The Rule of Faith, Exegesis of Apostles Creed · Article 1 · Tenet 2 · Objection and solution 11
Ob. Whoſe operations are diſtinct, their Eſſences are diſtinct: 11. Obiect.but the operations of the Perſons in the Trinity, eſpecially thoſe internall are diſtinct, therefore they hauehave diſtinct Eſſences.
Sol. The Maior is true of Perſons that hauehave a finite Eſſence, Sol.but not of the Perſons in the Trinity, who hauehave an infinite Eſſence common to them.
The conſideration of this Doctrine of the Trinity ſhould ſerue for diuers Vſes.
1. It ſhould ſtrike vsus with amazement and admiration of the glory of God, and remoue the ſenſe of our owne inſufficiencie and narrowneſſe of heart and vnderſtanding, who are ſo ouercome with glory that our mindes are not able to conceiue of, or behold theſe wonderfull ſecrets in the Diuinity: It ſhould worke in vsus an vnſpeakeable feare and Reuerence to thinke of the being of God, that ſo infinitely excells the being of all creatures in heauen and earth.
2. It ſhould compell vponupon vsus, more care and attendance of ſpirit in worſhipping God, ſo as we be ſure we direct our ſeruice to him that is one in Nature and three in Perſons: for worſhip belongs equally to all three Perſons. And herein the Chriſtian fundamentally differs from Pagans, Turkes, and Iewes, and in heart becomes as one of thoſe when he worſhips a God that is not three Perſons.
3. We are bound to take notice as of the common glory of all the Perſons, ſo of that ſpeciall glory is due to each perſon, as we finde it either deſcribed in the Word of God, or expreſſed in the workes of God.
4. We muſt take heede what wee ſpeake of the Trinity in Vnity; for we may fall vponupon ſuch formes of ſpeech, as may be extreamely erronious and dangerous: and for the helpe of the ignorant, I will note diuers of the ſpeeches which are dangerous and vnſound: as that there are three Gods, three Eternalls, three Almighties, &c. or that the Eſſence is diſtinguiſhed into the Father, Son, and holy Ghoſt; that God is threefold, or that there is a triplicity in God; that God doth beget another God; that the Father is another thing from the Son; that the Sonne and holy Ghoſt hauehave a beginning of their Eſſence; that the Perſon was begotten or did proceede from the Eſſence: by diſcerning where the errour lies in theſe ſentences wee may try our skill in the former doctrine of the Trinitie.
5. The Doctrine of the Trinity ſhould be wonderfull comfortable vntounto the true Chriſtian, becauſe as the Apoſtle Iohn ſhewes there are three in Heauen, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, which will auouch the happineſſe of the true beleeuer: and his comfort may be increaſed, if he conſider what was before taught, that all three Perſons doe ioyne in the work of his Redemption, 1. Iohn 5. 9.
Laſtly, it is not vnprofitable out of the Doctrine of the Trinity to ſhew how all ſorts of Hereticks hauehave aſſaulted it, & bin confuted by it, which may be briefely thus ſhewed. We muſt beleeue that in the Trinity there is nothing created as Dioniſius would hauehave it: nothing vnequall, as Eunomius and Aetius: nothing before or after or leſſer then other as Arius ſaid: nothing forraine or ſeruing to another as Macedonius ſaid: nothing inſerted by ſtealth or perſwaſion, as Manichaeus ſaid: nothing corporeall, or in faſhion of bodies as Melito, Tertullian and Vadianus ſaid: nothing inuiſible to themſelues as Origen ſaid, or viſible to the Creatures as Fortunatus ſaid: nothing diuers in motion or will as Marcion ſaid: nothing taken out of the Eſſence of the Trinity and put into the Nature of the creatures, as Plato and Tertullian ſaid: nothing ſingular in office, or communicable to another as Origen ſaid: nothing confounded as Sabellius ſaid. Aug. Tom. 3.
Thus of the Trinity in generall.
The Father.]
This terme Father is attributed to God both eſſentially and perſonally. Eſſentially, and ſo the terme belongs to each Perſon in the Trinity, as being a terme that followes the God-head, Mat. 23. 9. and thus God is ſaid to bee a Father diuers waies: as, firſt, by Predeſtination, becauſe he inrolls the Elect as Sonnes from all eternity, Epheſ. 1. 3. ſecondly, by Creation, becauſe he made things to be of nothing by his owne power, thus Adam is ſaid to be the Sonne of God, Luke 3. 38. and and God is called the Father of ſpirits, Heb. 12. 9. thirdly, by temporall redemption, and ſo God is acknowledged for the Father of the Iſraelites, becauſe hee made them a people to himſelfe, and brought them out of Egypt and gaue them the outward priuiledges of his children, Eſay 63. 16. 11. 12. fourthly, by regeneration, when hee changeth our natures and makes them like his diuine Nature, 2. Pet. 1. 4. and ſo wee are ſonnes ſo ſoone as we beleeue, Iohn 1. 12. and ſo ſoone as he giues vsus the Spirit of Sanctification and Adoption, Rom. 8. 15. fifthly, by perſonall vnion, and ſo Chriſt in reſpect of his humane nature is the Sonne of God: becauſe that nature doth ſubſiſt in the diuine Nature, Luke 1. Now all theſe waies God is a Father by grace; and in reſpect of Regeneration, the ſecond Perſon in the Trinity is called a Father aſwell as the firſt, Eſay 9. 6. 7. and is ſaid to hauehave an ofspring and generation, Eſay 53. 10. Laſtly, God is ſaid to be a Father by Nature, and by generation, as he begets a Sonne, conſubſtantiall with himſelfe, and ſo the firſt Perſon in the Trinity is called Father onelyonly, as he is the Naturall Father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt.
In the Creed heere Faith beholds God as a Father principally in reſpect of eternall generation, as the firſt Perſon in Trinity is the Father of the ſecond, but withall, as it extracts vertue out of that high Myſterie, it layes hold vponupon the Father of Chriſt, as he is our Father in Chriſt alſo: for Faith is of that Nature, that when it laies hold of any thing, it will not off, till it hauehave gotten by contemplation and concluſion what may be collected any way from thence.
Wee are firſt then to conſider of God as the Father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, and then as our Father.
As God is the Father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, theſe things would be proued and opened.
1. That God doth beget a Sonne.
2. That IESVS CHRIST is that Sonne.
3. The manner of this Generation.
For the firſt, that God hath begotten a Sonne, is a Myſterie beyond the reach and comprehending of all men and Angels, yet is it a truth in many Scriptures charged vponupon vsus to beleeue, as namely, Pſal. 2. 7. Iohn 1. 14. Iohn 3. 16. 1. Ioh. 3. 8. & 5. 13. Mat. 28. 19.
For the ſecond, that the Lord IESVS CHRIST is that Sonne of God is apparant by Scripture too, Rom. 15. 6. Col. 1. 3. Epheſ. 1. 3. Mat. 16. 16. Mat. 3. 17. 2. Cor. 1. 19. 1. Ioh. 1. 4. & 4. 15. &. 5. 20. 2. Ioh. 3.
For the third, how the Father did beget the Sonne, is vnknowne vntounto vsus, It is a ſecret cannot be reuealed to vsus eſpecially in this mortality, Pro. 30. 4. onelyonly by way of Negation, the Scripture intreating of it ſhewes vsus that God doth not beget his Sonne as men beget theirs: for,
1. Men beget without themſelues, ſo as the Sonne is diuided from the Father: but ſo doth not GOD the Father beget Chriſt his Sonne, hee is diſtinguiſhed from the Father but not diuided, the Father begets in himſelfe.
2. The ſubſtance of the Son amongſt vsus, may bee like the Father, but it is not the Fathers ſubſtance. But in the Trinity the Father and the Sonne are of the ſame ſubſtance, conſubſtantiall.
3. In corporall Generation, the Father deriues vntounto the Sonne but a part of his ſubſtance, but GOD the Father communicates his whole ſubſtance to his Sonne.
4. The creature begets a Son that is mortall, but God begets a Son that is immortall.
5. The creature begets in time, but God begets in eternity, which hath three differences in it: for firſt, the time may be named when the creature did beget, the Creator begets before all time, Pro. 8. 22, &c. 30. ſecondly, the creature ceaſeth begetting, but God the Father begets his Son eternally, he alwaies begets, Pſal. 2. 7. thirdly, the ſubſtance of the Father was before the ſubſtance of the Sonne but not ſo in this eternall generation; Chriſt is of the Father, but not after the father.
6. Among the creatures the Son is ſubiect to the father, but in this eternall and diuine generation the Sonne is equall to the father: Subiection is due to God the father from all creatures, but not from the Sonne, or holy Ghoſt, Phil. 2. 6.
7. Among the creatures, the father and Sonne are two things in number, but in this diuine generation it is not ſo; for the Father and Sonne, and ſo the holy Ghoſt are but one God, 1. Iohn 5. 7.
The Vſe may bee either for information, or inſtruction, or conſolation, or terror: firſt, ſince GOD is the Father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt by ſuch an vnconceiueable generation, wee may thence learne:
1. The glory of our Sauiours condition: He was before the world was, he was with the father, brought vp with him, as his eternall delight, more deere to the father then any created nature can conceiue of, the Sonne of his LoueLove, neuer father loued his ſon, ſo as God the father loues Christ, yea, hee was God with the father Conſubſtantiall, Coequall, Coeternall, Pro. 8. 22. &c. 30. Iohn 17. 25. Philippians 2. 6 Rom. 9. 5.
2. The Originall of all father-hood: The father of Ieſus Christ was the firſt father euer was, yea, the Creed giues the Title of father to God onelyonly, as if there were no father but he: and ſo Chriſt ſaith, Mat. 23. 9. call no man father on earth, for one is your father, which is God: and indeed properly none is a father but God: other fathers that are called ſo hauehave the name only, becauſe there is in them a kind of Image or ſimilitude of God the father, and yet they beget ſo imperfectly in compariſon of God the father, that they reſemble him, rather in that generall that they doe beget, then in the manner of begetting.
Thus for Information.
2. Since God is the father of Ieſus Chriſt wee ſhould bee inſtructed:
1. To acknowledge this Myſtery, and though wee hauehave cauſe to be abaſed for the defect of our vnderſtanding heerein, in that we cannot tell the fathers name, nor what is the name of his Son, Pro. 30▪ 4. yet we ſhould confidently beleeue, as the very foundation of our Religion, that Ieſus Chriſt is the Son of the liuing God: vponupon the Rock of this confeſſion is the Church built, Mat. 16. 16, &c. It is a glory Chriſt ſtands vponupon to be acknowledged in the glory of the onelyonly begotten Son of God, Ioh. 1. 14. If we acknowledge the Son, wee hauehave the father, or elſe not, 1. Ioh. 2. 23. Yea, this is an honour God ſtands vponupon to bee glorified with one heart and one mouth of all his ſeruants, euen as the father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, Rom. 15. 6.
2. To be fully eſtabliſhed in the perſwaſion of the ſufficiency and efficacie of the obedience and paſſion of Ieſus Chriſt for vsus: we may confidently call him the Lord our righteouſnes ſeeing God is called his father: for his obedience, is more then the obedience of a man, yea, of more value then the obedience of worlds of men; and beſides hee is all in all with God the father who ſo loues him, hee can denie him nothing, &c.
3. To rely vponupon him for inſtruction. The father loues him and ſhewes him all things that he doth or intends to doe, and in Ioh. 5. 20.him are all treaſures of wiſedome and knowledge, & therefore we ſhould heare him alwaies, in any thing hee will reueale to vsus: yea, God the father chargeth vsus with this duty, as the very vſe he would hauehave vsus make of the knowledge of his eternal generation, as appeares by the voice from heauen mentioned, Mat 17. 5. While he yet ſpake, behold a bright cloud ſhadowed them, and behold there came a voice out of the cloud ſaying, This is that my beloued Sonne, in whom I am well pleaſed, heare him.
But eſpecially this doctrine ſerues for conſolation, and ſo is frequently vrged in Scripture: for if God be the Father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt then theſe comforts will manifeſtly follow to the beleeuing Chriſtian.
1. That God is well pleaſed with the ſacrifice of Ieſus Chriſt for our ſinnes, Mat. 3. 17.
2. That Chriſt is able to raiſe vp the dead hearts of men with ſpirituall life, for as the Father hath life in himſelfe, ſo hee hath giuen to the Son to hauehave life in himſelfe, Ioh. 5. 26.
3. That in Chriſt we may hauehave ſupply for all our wants, wee may receiue of his fulnes all ſorts of graces needfull for vsus as is from this doctrine gathered, Iohn 1. 14. 18.
4. That Chriſt is able to giuegive vsus eternall life, and will performe euen that great gift at the time appointed to all that beleeue, Iohn 3. 16. & 17. 2. no beleeuer ſhall periſh.
5. That whatſoeuer he askes the Father for vsus, hee ſhall hauehave it, yea, that our prayers preſcribed by him ſhall be heard.
6. That nothing that is good for vsus ſhall bee withheld from vsus: for if God hath giuen vsus his Son, how ſhall he not with him giuegive vsus all things alſo, Rom. 8. 32.
7. That God beares a great affection euen to vsus: for Chriſt hath beſought the Father that he would louelove vsus with the LoueLove he loued him, and that the warmth and comfort of that louelove may be euer with vsus, Iohn 17. 24. 25.
Laſtly, if God be the Father of our Lord Ieſus Christ, then vaine are all the conſultations and rebellious proiects of wicked men againſt Chriſt and the meanes of his kingdom: then alſo woe will bee vntounto them, for God will make Chriſts enemies his footſtoole: hee will bruiſe them with an iron rod and breake them like a Potters veſſell: for vntounto the Son hath the Father giuen the ends of the earth, and whatſoeuer rebels againſt him ſhall not proſper: as from this doctrine is inferred, Pſal. 2. & 110. 1.
Thus God is the Father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt. Secondly, Faith lookes vponupon God as our Father eſpecially in Chriſt, 2. Cor. 1. 2. Gal. 1. 4. 2. Theſ. 1. 1. 2. 1. Theſ. …. 11. 13.
God is our Father foure waies: firſt, by Creation, and ſo principally in reſpect of our ſoules, which he creates of nothing and infuſeth into our bodies: and ſo he is called Father of Spirits, Heb. 12. 9. ſecondly, by Regeneration, becauſe by his Almighty power he renewes ſpirituall life into our ſoules that were dead in ſin, 1. Pet. 1. 3. thirdly, by Adoption, when of his meere grace hee acknowledgeth vsus for children, Gal. 4▪ 5. 6. fourthly, by Reſurrection, becauſe he giues a glorious being to our bodies that were rotted and diſſolued in the earth: and ſo as hee was ſaid to beget Chriſt in the day that he raiſed him from the dead, Act. 13. ſo is he ſaid to grant vsus the Adoption of ſonnes, when he reſtores our bodies to life out of the graue, Rom. 8. 19. 21.
And this terme of Father is giuen to theſe workes of God, not vnfitly for the reſemblance they hauehave to the relation betweene a Father and Son in Nature: for,
1. God giues vsus a ſpirituall being, making vsus a ſoule or ſpirituall ſubſtance: for as we call them Fathers, becauſe we hauehave our bodies from them, ſo God is more fitly called a Father, becauſe we hauehave our ſpirits from him.
2. God renewes our natures, and begets them to bee like his Nature: for being regenerated we partake of the diuine nature, being made to liue Gods nature in holines and righteouſnes, and he may well be called a Father that begets that which is like to himſelfe: beſides, by Faith we put on Ieſus Chriſt, Gal. 3. 26. 27.
3. God giues vsus the right and priuiledge of Sons, and therefore is fitly called our Father: for firſt hee findes vsus foode and rayment, Mat. 6. and teaching, Eſay 54. 13. and attendance not onelyonly ſetting his Angels to looke to vsus, Pſal. 34. Heb. 1. but himſelf alſo carrying and bearing vsus in his armes when any thing ayleth vsus, Eſay 63. 9. & 46. 4.
Secondly, he layes vp for vsus as Fathers do for their children, Pſal. 89. 28. & 31. 19. and appoints vsus the inheritance of Sons to be inioyed when we be of full yeeres, Rom 8. 16.
Before I paſſe from this point one thing muſt be added, and that is, that howſoeuer God be the Father of all men in reſpect of the Creation of their ſoules, yet Faith lookes vponupon him as a Father in Chriſt, and ſo by Adoption and regeneration, and therefore wee muſt diligently examine our ſelues whether we be ſons and daughters to God by grace in Chriſt or no: for all ſuch as are by grace truely the Children of God hauehave in themſelues ſuch ſignes as theſe.
1. They were borne by promiſe: the preaching of the Goſpell did mightily work vponupon them to the renewing of their natures, and infuſing ſpirituall life into their ſoules, Gal. 4. 29. Rom. 9. 8.
2. They are all beleeuers; they come to Chriſt for happineſſe and rely vponupon him, and ſo hauehave power to be the Sons of God Iohn 1. 12.
3. They lay hold vponupon Gods couenant, and conſecrate themſelues to his ſeruice, and louelove his name, and to be his ſeruants, and in particular are carefull to keepe his Sabboths, Eſay 56. 4. 5. 7.
4. They are children that will not lie: they are noe Hypocrites, they deſire to be as good as they ſeeme to bee, they abhorre counterfeiting and diſſimulation, their ſpirits are without guile, Eſay 63. 8.
5. They are led by the ſpirit and mortifie the deeds of the fleſh, Rom. 8. 13. 14.
6. They cry Abba Father: they hauehave the ſpirit of prayer, they can call vponupon God in ſecret, with affection and confidence, eſteeming nothing more then the LoueLove and fauour of God: And thus how God is a Father and to whom. The Vſes follow and ſo.
In the firſt place this ſhould teach Gods children many leſſons: as,
1. To giuegive this glory to God, to acknowledge him as a Father, and daily ſo to call him from their hearts. The firſt thing a childe ſpeakes in nature vſually is the name of his parents, and ſo the firſt thing in Religion ſhould bee to call God Father: we can doe nothing in Religion till we can call vponupon God, as vponupon a Father: this is the very foundation of the Church, becauſe all effectuall Religion is built vponupon this principle that God is our Father, 2. Theſ. 1. 1. Rom. 8. 15.
2. We ſhould liue without care: as our Sauiour ſhewes, Mat. 6. for we hauehave a Father to care for vsus, and hee is a heauenly Father, and therefore both knowes what wee need, and is fully able to helpe vsus, and beſides he daily feedes the foules of the ayre, and yet he is not a Father to them, how therfore can hee neglect vsus, whom hee hath begotten as children to himſelfe, ver. 26. 32.
3. If God be our Father then we muſt honour him: for wee are bound to honour our father and mother: all our care ſhould be to obey him, and honour him, and pleaſe him, and doe our worke ſo as others might glorifie our Father which is in heauen, Mal. 1. 6. Mat. 5. 16. liuin… … …as we ſhame not our fathers houſe.
4. If God be our Father, we muſt ſtri… … be like him, and to imitate his nature, and carriage, and ſo we are vrged to follow and imitate him in merciemercy, Mat. 5. 45. 48. in LoueLove Epheſ. 5. 1. 2. and in holines, 1. Pet. 1. 14, 15.
5. If God be our Father, wee ſhould be quickned vntounto prayer, wee ſhould runne to him to make our moane in all our wants: But withall it imports two things we ſhould looke to in prayer: firſt, that we auoide vaine bablings, and repetitions and affectation of length of prayer and the like: for wee pray to a Father that needs not vaine and tedious diſcourſes. The words of a childe ſhould bee humble and earneſt and direct to the point, but not tedious as our Sauiour ſhewes, Mat. 6. 7. 8. ſecondly, that wee pray in faith and not wauer, becauſe wee aske of a father: If earthly fathers can giuegive good gifts to their children, what will the heauenly father denie to his children, Mat. 7. 7. 16. Yea, if God himſelfe ſhould fight againſt vsus with his terrors, yet we muſt in prayer ſtick faſt to this, that he is our father, and alwaies keepe this in our pleadings to wreſtle with God by this Argument, as the Church did in thoſe ſtraites mentioned, Eſay 64. 8. 4.
6. If God bee our father, wee muſt then patiently beare his corrections, ſeeing we indure correction at the hands of the fathers of our bodies, who many times correct vsus for their owne pleaſure, therefore much more ſhould we ſubmit our ſelues to the father of ſpirits, who neuer corrects vsus but for our profit. And to deſire to be without correction, is to be in the condition of baſtards and not of ſonnes: if we would hauehave God to louelove vsus we muſt be willing to let him correct vsus, Heb. 12. 4. to the 10.
7. If God be our father, then nothing ſhould more grieue vsus, then that wee hauehave offended him by our ſinnes, Ier. 31 18. Luke 15. 18.
8. If God be our father, then wee muſt ſort our ſelues with his children, and auoid all needleſſe ſocieties, and vnequall yoaking with the wicked of this world, who are as like the diuell as euer childe was like his father, Iohn 8. 2. Cor 6. 14 18.
9. We ſhould in all welldoing reſt in his praiſe, as being our father that ſeeth in ſecret. A childe ſeekes no more then to be accepted of his father, Mat. 6. 1. 4.
10. We need not therefore the helpe of Saints or Angels to bring vsus to God. He is our father, wee may goe to him our ſelues, Eſay 63. 16.
11. Therefore we ſhould call no man father vponupon earth, hauing ſo great and gratious a father in heauen, Mat. 23. 9.
12. Therfore alſo we ſhould liue in peace one with another, ſeeing we hauehave all one heauenly father, Epheſ. 4. 4▪ 6.
Thus for inſtruction.
Secondly, many conſolations ariſe from hence, if we beleeue that God is our father: for then,
1. He will ſpare vsus as a father doth his ſon that ſerueth him, he will beare with our infirmities, Mal. 3. 17.
2. Though hee ſhould correct vsus, yet hee will not take his mercy from vsus. 2. Sam. 7. 14.
3. We hauehave right to Gods houſe: we may with great incouragement reſort to all Gods ordinances, becauſe it is our fathers houſe: and if hard times befall vsus in reſpect of the meanes of Religion, and that the enemies of the Church do inuade the Sanctuarie, we muſt then go to God and pleade our right, ſeeing his houſe belongs to vsus and not to them: thus did the godly, Eſay 63. 16. 18. 19.
4. Wee may caſt all our care vponupon God for hee careth for vsus, Iam. 4▪ 9. Pro. 14. 26.
5. Wee ſhall bee deliuered from this preſent euill world: for, if God be our father, he will prouide for vsus in a better place then this, Gal. 1. 4.
6. Our title to the creatures is reſtored which was loſt in Adam.
But theſe conſolations will appeare to be much the greater, if we conſider not onelyonly that God is a Father, but ſuch a Father:
1. He is a father in heauen, not an earthly father.
2. He is a father almighty, he can doe more for vsus then all the fathers in the world.
3. He is an euerlaſting father, Eſay 9. 6. our naturall fathers dye, but our ſpirituall father liues for euer; and makes vsus liue for euer too: for naturall fathers can giuegive but a temporall being to their children, but God giues vsus an eternall being; and therefore are we called the children of the Reſurrection, becauſe our very bodies muſt not periſh, but be made to liue for euer alſo. The ſonne he alwaies abides in the houſe, Luke 20. 36. Iohn 8. 35. Rom. 8. 19. 21.
4. That he is ſuch a father as makes his ſons all heires, Rom. 8. 16. all are as if they were firſt borne, Ier. 31. 9.
5. That he is ſuch a father, as giues the higheſt kinde of inheritance; therefore they are all heires of a kingdome, Luk. 12. 32. Mat. 13. 43. And ſuch a kingdome as is immortall and vndefiled, and lieth in heauen, 1 Pet. 1. 3. 4. in regard whereof they hauehave fellowſhip with his naturall ſon Ieſus Chriſt, 1 Cor. 1. 9. Rom. 8. 16. 17.
In reſpect of all which, we hauehave not onelyonly good hope, but euerlaſting conſolation: and the more, if we conſider, that we hold all this by no Naturall propagation, but by the meere grace and mercy of God our father, being in our ſelues the children of corruption, Iob 17. 14. and of wrath, Eph. 2. 3. And therefore vntounto all the former Inſtructions, from hence this muſt be added, that we take heede of that vile ingratitude and impatiency at any time, to repent vsus of our repentance, or to thinke the caſe of wicked men better then the caſe of godly men, for ſo we ſhall ſinne fearefully againſt God our father, and againſt our owne right, and againſt the whole generation of his children, Pſal. 73. 15. Our life, and the glory of it, may by affliction be hid in God: and it doth not fully appeare what we ſhall be, but it is enough for vsus that we are the ſonnes of God; for when Chriſt appeares in glory, then ſhall we appeare alſo as he is, aboue the glory of all the Potentates and Kings of the earth, 1 Iohn 3. 2 Col. 3. 3. 4.