A Cure for the Cankering Error of the New Eutychians, Chapter 9
CHAP IX. Containing an Anſwer to ſeveral Objections.
Object CHriſt as Man was fleſh and bones, and not a Ghoſt, as you ſeem to ſay we by our Opinion make him; and this ſhews your Ignorance of our Opinion, and therefore you ſentence it as you do; But doth not Paul ſay, Rom. 8.3. he came in the [likeneſs] of ſinful fleſh? therefore he took not our Fleſh, as you ſay he did.
Anſw. St. Paul doth not ſay he took upon him the likeneſs of fleſh, ſimply as it is fleſh, but of the fleſh of ſin, or ſinful fleſh: for he had ſaid before, Chap. 1.3. That he was made of the Seed of David according to the fleſh. And alſo again in Chap. 9.5. Whoſe are the Fathers, and of whom, as concerning the fleſh, Chriſt came, &c. And I pray you tell me what St, Paul meaneth by theſe words, verſ. 3. For I could wiſh that my ſelf were accurſed from Chriſt, for my Brethren my Kinſmen according to the fleſh? And then you may tell your ſelves what he means by theſe words, verſ. 5. Whoſe are the Fathers, and of whom as concerning the fleſh Chriſt came: The word fleſh being the ſame in the 3d and 5th verſe, and of the ſame ſignification.
Object. 2. From Joh. 1.14. But the Eutychians ſay, That the Divine Nature of Chriſt was turned into fleſh, and ſo was made like to his brethren in all things excepting two, viz. ſin, and earthy matter.
Anſw. 1. The Holy Ghoſt doth except but one thing, viz. Sin, (if it be proper to call ſin a thing) Heb. 2.17. & 4.15. And how dare you ſay two? Have you no fear of the curſe of God coming upon you, ſith he ſaith, Curſed is he that addeth, or diminiſheth? See Deut. 4.2. Rev. 22.18. Add thou not unto his words, leſt he reprove thee, and thou be found a lyar, Prov. 30.6.
Bur, Secondly, I anſwer to that of Joh. 1.14. (it having the moſt ſhew of any of the Texts that I know for your Opinion) therefore I will endeavour by God's help, to ſhew you that it was never written to that end, to juſtifie your Opinion; and therefore I pray conſider what St. John ſaith, verſ. 1. The Word which was in the beginning was with God, and was God; by whom all things were made, and without whom was nothing made that was made. In whom was Life, and the Life was the light of men, for he lighteth every man that cometh into the World: by whom the World was made; Was in the fulneſs of time made a Man in a Humane Body, having his Divine Majeſty dwelling in him, full of Grace and Truth; ſo that we beheld his Glory, ſaith St. John, in his Miracles, in his Grace, and Truth, in his Holy and wiſe Doctrine, ſuch as manifeſted him to be the only begotten of the Father, verſ. 14, 16. which is in the boſom of the Father; mark that word, is in the boſom of the Father; he doth not ſay which [was] but [is], which muſt be underſtood of his Generation before the World was made, of the ſubſtance of his Father, for the term notes Generation, and ſubſiſtence from his ſubſtance, not Creation or making that which was the Creator into fleſh, that ſo he might be a Creature, and ſo die; this was impoſſible, ſith God cannot die, nor yet be changed, as I have oft ſaid and proved in this Treatiſe, from 1 Tim. 1.17. Jam. 1.17. and many other places of the Holy Scriptures.
Thirdly, John doth not ſay he was begotten fleſh of the Virgin Mary, but made fleſh; for ſaith he, The Word was made Fleſh, even as St. Paul ſaith, Rom. 1.9. made of the Seed of David; and came of the Fathers according to the fleſh, Chap. 9.5. and made of a Woman, Gal. 4.4. And ſo, as St. Peter ſaith, He came out of the loins of David, according to the fleſh, Acts 2.30. for ſo God had ſworn to David, Pſal. 132.11. For Solomon was but a Type, which came out of his loins, 1 King. 8.19. All theſe Texts do expreſly teach us that Chriſt had a Humane Nature, which is termed the fleſh; as it is frequent by the word fleſh to underſtand a man or Humane Nature. See Rom. 3.20. No fleſh can be juſtified in his ſight, which muſt be underſtood of men, alſo Chap. 11.14. Iſa. 57.7. Gal. 2.16. Joh. 17.2. As thou haſt given him power over all fleſh, that he ſhould give Eternal Life to as many as thou haſt given him, &c.
Fourthly, Conſider this word, raiſed up according to the fleſh, out of the loins of Divid; which plainly ſheweth that there was another Nature, which was Davids Lord: Matth. 22.44. which was not raiſed up out of his loins, which was God over all bleſſed for ever, Rom. 9.5. Elſe why was it not ſaid of him without this diſtinction, as of Solomon, Thou ſhalt not build the Houſe, but thy Son that ſhall come forth out of thy loins. 1 King. 8.19. He doth not ſay, according to the fleſh, neither is this diſtinction made, concerning any man but only Chriſt; which was Emmanuel, God and Man in one Perſon, or, God with us, Matth. 1.23. From whence I infer, That He who is ſo David's Son according to the fleſh, raiſed out of the fruit of his loins according to the fleſh; made of the Seed of David according to the fleſh, and of the Father's according to the fleſh; As that he alſo is Davids Lord, and the Son of God, God over all bleſſed for ever, is conſubſtantial with his Father as touching his Godhead, and conſubſtantial with us as touching his Manhood: but ſuch is Jeſus Chriſt; therefore God by Nature, and Man alſo. And now, I hope, I have Anſwered your great Objection, and alſo told you how he is truly called the Son of God, as being in the boſom of his Father, and alſo how he is truly called the Son of Man, and ſo the Son of David, as being made of a Daughter of David, which Mary was. See for proof of this Luke the 3d Chap.
And now what hath been ſaid in Anſwer to this Objection, if heeded by you, will Anſwer all your Objections, from Joh. 3.15. and Joh. 6. from the 50 verſe to the 64. For John ſaith, No man hath aſcended up to Heaven, but he that came down from Heaven, even the Son of Man, which is in Heaven: which proveth the union of Natures in one Perſon, otherwiſe he could not be in Heaven and Earth at one time.
Now I hope you will not ſay with the Socinians, your Adverſaries, that after his Baptiſm he aſcended immediately up into Heaven, and there received his Commiſſion from his Father to preach the Goſpel, as Moſes did his in Mount Horeb, concerning the Law, Exod. 20. And yet if Chriſt hath but one Nature as you ſay, (with them he had not) then I pray tell me (if you can) Whether the Eternal Word was ever called Man, or the Son of Man, properly before the Holy Ghoſt overſhadowed the Virgin Mary; and ſo he was born of her, or made of her according to the fleſh; for it is the Perſon (viz. the Word) that is ſaid to come down from Heaven, as appeareth, Joh. 6.62. What if ye ſhall (ſaith Chriſt) ſee the Son of Man (viz. Chriſt's Humane Nature) aſcend up where he (viz. his Divine Nature) was before? For as he is the ſecond Adam, he was not there before, as appeareth by what St. Paul ſaith, 1 Cor. 15.46. The firſt Adam was made a living Soul, the laſt Adam was made a quickning Spirit. Howbeit that was not firſt which is ſpiritual; but that which is natural, and afterward that which is ſpiritual: The firſt Man is of the Earth, Earthy; the ſecond Man is the Lord from Heaven. As is the Earthy, ſuch are they alſo that are Earthy; and as is the Heavenly, ſuch are they which are Heavenly. And as we have born the Image of the Earthy, we ſhall alſo bear the Image of the Heavenly. So that by this compariſon, the natural Man was before the ſpiritual, which cannot be meant of the Eternal Word, which St. Paul calleth the Lord, the Spirit, 2 Cor. 3.17. For ſo conſidered as he is the Eternal Spirit, Heb. 9.14. 1 Pet. 3.18. he was before Adam, or elſe he could not have Created him, and all other things which he did, Joh. 1.3. Col. 1.16. So then, as the natural Adam was the firſt Man that God Created, ſo the ſecond Adam (viz. the Humane Nature of Chriſt) was the firſt Spiritual Man that was raiſed from the dead, and ſo aſcended up into Heaven, and was glorified, and ſo is the beginning of the Creation of God, Rev. 3.14. And the firſt-born from the dead; for as St. Paul ſaith, He was the first fruits of them that ſleep: and ſo becauſe of the Perſonal Union, is called the firſt and the laſt, even he that was dead and is alive, and behold, ſaith he, I live for evermore, and have the keyes of Hell, and Death, Rev. 1.18. Now the Name Almighty which is applyed to Chriſt, Rev. 1.8. muſt needs be meant as he was Davids Lord, Pſal. 110.1. And as St. John calleth him Davids Root. But when St. Paul calleth him the ſecond Adam, it muſt be as he is his Son, or offſpring; for the true Adam is never properly in all the Scripture applied to God, viz. the Divine Nature: for you know Adam ſignifieth Earth, viz. the Matter which Man was made of. And as for the term Heavenly, it is as truly applyed to the Saints, as to the Humane Nature of Chriſt; for verſ. 48. As is the Earthy, ſuch are they alſo that are Earthy; and as is the Heavenly, ſuch are they alſo that are Heavenly. Which St. Paul applyes to the Saints after their Reſurrection, verſ. 44. It is ſown a natural body, it is raiſed a ſpiritual body. So that Paul doth not run the Parallel betwixt the Natural body, and the Spirit, viz. the Creator as aforeſaid: For if you obſerve him, he calleth the ſecond Adam Spiritual alſo, verſ. 46. and calleth the Saints Heavenly, verſ. 49. Now will you ſay, becauſe the bodies of the Saints after their Reſurrection are Spiritual bodies, therefore their bodies are Spirits? Surely no. Even ſo, albeit the ſecond Adam after his Reſurrection is called Spiritual, that therefore his body is a Spirit, as the Papiſts think: even ſo, albeit the Saints bodies are called Heavenly, doth that prove that the original Matter they were made of, came from Heaven? You will ſurely ſay, No. Even ſo ſay I of the body of Chriſt. For the main deſign of the Apoſtle in all this Chapter, was to prove the Reſurrection of the dead, as appears by verſ. 13. But if there be no Reſurrection of the Dead, then is not Chriſt riſen: And verſ. 17. If Chriſt be not raiſed, your Faith is vain, you are yet in your ſins; then they alſo which are faln aſleep in Chriſt, are periſhed. And verſ. 22. For as in Adam all die, even ſo in Chriſt ſhall all be made alive, &c. Now where there are divers Opinions, they may be all falſe, there can be but one true, and that one Truth oft-times muſt be fetched by piece-meal out of divers branches of contrary Opinions, &c. For, although the Lord hath made all Nations of one blood, and commanded them to ſeek the Lord, Acts 17.30. yet if you divide them into thirty parts, ſaith Mr. Perkins, nineteen of them be Heathens, and Pagans; then there remains but eleven, and of theſe, five be Turks and Mahometans; then there remains but a ſixth-part of the thirty; and of theſe ſix, How few do believe in God aright! (God knows they be very few): as for the twenty four parts of the thirty, they do not own Chriſt to be their Saviour, no not ſo much as in Profeſſion; as to the other ſix-parts, it is true, they all confeſs him to be the Son of God, and in ſome ſenſe their Saviour alſo: Yet ſo, as by ſome of their Opinions, they by juſt conſequence deny him, either in his Divine Nature, or in his Humane, or elſe in the Union of Natures, and ſo by conſequence deny the true Chriſt, and of them that do profeſs him to be both Davids Lord, and Davids Son alſo; yet of them how few do love him, and keep his Commandments. Luk. 6.46. Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I ſay? The Lord grant for his Sons ſake that I and you may be of thoſe Sheep that will hear the Voice of the true Shepherd, and ſo follow him; and will not follow a ſtranger, Joh. 10. Where ſhall I begin to wonder at thee, O thou Divine and Eternal Peace-maker, the Saviour of Men, the Anointed of God, the Mediator between God and Man, in whom there is nothing which doth not exceed, not only the conceit, but the very wonder of Angels; who ſaw thee in thy Humiliation with ſilence, and Adore thee in thy Glory with perpetual Prayers and Rejoycings; Thou waſt for ever of thy ſelf as God, of the Father as the Son, the Eternal Son of an Eternal Father; not later in Beginning, not leſs in Dignity, not other in Subſtance, begotten without diminution of him that begat thee, while he communicated wholly to thee, which he retained wholly in himſelf, becauſe both were Infinite, without inequality of Nature, without diviſion of Eſſence; when being in this eſtate, thine infinite Love and Mercy to deſperate Mankind, cauſed thee, O Saviour, to empty thy ſelf of thy Glory, that thou mighteſt put on our ſhame and miſery! Wherefore not ceaſing to be God as thou wert, thou beganſt to be what thou waſt not, viz. Man, to the end thou mighteſt be a perfect Mediator betwixt God and Man, which were both in one Perſon; God, that thou mighteſt ſatisfie; and Man, that thou mighteſt ſuffer; that ſince Man had ſinned, and God was offended, thou which wert God and Man, mightſt ſatisfie God for Man; None but thy ſelf which art the Eternal Word, can expreſs to us this great Myſtery, how God ſhould be manifeſted in the Fleſh, juſtified in the Spirit, ſeen of Angels, Preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the World, and received up into Glory, and we in him, &c.