An Antidote Against Heresy, Chapter 2 – Chapter 3
CHAP. II. Of the Bleſſed Trinity.
Truth.THere is but one living and true God everlaſting; and in the unity of this Godhead there be three perſons of one ſubſtance, power and eternity, the Father, the Son, and the holy Ghoſt.
Errours.This one point of Chriſtian Religion is the very baſis or foundation of all the reſt; and if this be ſhaken, the reſt muſt needs totter and fall to the ground: and therefore the devil hath raiſed up ſuch furious adverſaries to oppugn it with ſtrange and monſtrous blaſphemies; as of old did Simon Magus, Cerinthus, Ebion, Manes, a Perſian, a man according to his name furious and mad, and ſuch like: at this day the adverſaries to this doctrine of the Trinity are all the enemies of Chriſt and his divinity, as the unbeleeving Jews, all Mahometans, Turks, Moors, and ſuch miſcreants; among Chriſtians only ſuch as have ſuckt their principles from the ſchools of thoſe Infidels.
They ſtand marſhalled all in two Regiments. 1. The firſt is of thoſe that deny all diſtinction of perſons in the Godhead, making the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt but ſeveral names only of one and the ſame perſon in regard of ſome diſtinct actions or offices. This Hereſie was commonly aſcribed to Sabellius, but Noetus a diſciple of Montanus hatcht it, and Simon Magus layd the egg long before; at this day it is revived by one M. Erbury, a late Chaplain of the Army, who taught, That there is but one perſon in the Godhead, and when we read of the Father, Son and Holy Ghoſt, we muſt not take them for ſo many diſtinct perſons, but only as ſo many appearances of God unto men. And truly if M. Erbury had been that Sorcerers own diſciple, he could not have deviſed a doctrine more like his, as it is recorded by St. Auguſtin, lib. de Haereſ. ad Quodvultdeum cap. 1.
There be others that admit a diſtinction of theſe 3 perſons but deny the equality of them, That the Son and Holy Ghost are not God equal with the Father, of one ſubstance and eternity with the Father. This was the Hereſie of Arius, whoſe chief undertaking was againſt the Son of God and his eternal generation; and of Macedonius who denyed the Godhead of the holy Ghoſt. They are both revived at this day among us: that of Macedonius by one M. Biddle, who not queſtioning the Godhead of the Son, a point, as he profeſſeth, wherein he is not yet ſo well reſolved, denies only the Godhead of the holy Ghoſt, granting no more but, that he is an excellent creature, and chief of all the miniſtring ſpirits. One M. Beſt, not fearing that fearful judgment that befel Arius, (who burſt aſunder in the midſt like Judas the traitor, that his bowels guſhed out) hath notwithſtanding revived his Hereſie, and in theſe times of general and deſperate Apoſtacy hath found many favorors and followers. Now the fountain of all theſe impure waters was Simon Magus an impious ſorcerer: and the conduit that conveyed them to our times almoſt was Mahomet, an impudent impoſtour: For about the year 630. or as others pleaſe 670. that vile and lewd Arabian began his curſed book called the Alcoran, and therein amongſt a multitude of other impure follies, impious fables, and lyes he raked alſo together & cōmended to his barbarous followers all thoſe Hereſies and Blaſphemies againſt the Trinity: Out of this filthy puddle Michael Servertus a Spaniard, a man better read in Mahomets curſed Law then in the holy Goſpel of Jeſus Chriſt, ſuckt his Hereſie; about the year 1530. for denying the eternal Son of God he was burnt at Geneva; and out of his aſhes aroſe that monſter Socinus. But to paſs by particular perſons, the firſt Country that made defection from this truth was Tranſylvania, a Country bordering upon the Turks, from whom they received this point of their Religion; for to gratifie or comply with thoſe barbarous neighbours, they abjured their Faith in the holy Trinity about the year 1593. denying the Son and holy Ghoſt: the contagion of this peſt is now ſpread into moſt places of Chriſtendom.
The devil hath deviſed and uſed many ways and manifold ſleights to elude this ſacred truth, but all drive at this one end, even to ſpoil (if it were poſſible) our Saviour Chriſt of his Divinity, and ſo deſtroy at one blow the whole body of Chriſtianity.
The Antidote we ſhall divide into three doſes or propoſitions.
1. That there are three perſons in the eternal Godhead, &c. ſc. Father, Son, and holy Ghoſt.
2. That the Son is God everlaſting, equal with the Father.
3. That the holy Ghoſt is God everlaſting, equal with the Father and the Son.
1. That there are three perſons in the Godhead, &c. Gen. 1.26. And God ſaid, let us make man in Our Image. Gen. 3.23. And the Lord God ſaid, behold the man is become as one of us. Iſa. 6.8. And I heard the voyce of the Lord, ſaying, whom ſhall I ſend, and who will go for us? [I] plainly expreſſing the unity of eſſence, and [Ʋs] the plurality of perſons. Gen. 19.24. And the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah fire and brimstone, from the Lord out of heaven. Hoſea 1.6, 7. God ſaid unto them, I will ſave them by the Lord their God. So Zech. 2.8, 9. & 3.2. Pſa. 2.7. —the Lord ſaid unto me thou art my ſon. Gen. 1.2. The Spirit of God moved upon the waters. Mat. 3.16, 17. & 28.19. The Father, Son and Holy Ghoſt are plainly and diſtinctly named. So 1 Ioh. 5.7. There are three that hear record in heaven, the Father, the Word (that is the Son) and the Holy Ghoſt.
We ſee how this ſacred truth, which at the beginning was more obſcure, in every age grew clearer and clearer like the morning light till it came to perfect day; firſt a plurality of perſons is intimated; then a Trinity is expreſly named; and laſtly a plain difference or diſtinction is made of divers perſons, one ſpeaking of or to the other, and both are called the Lord of hoſts and Lord God. So Iob. 8.17, 18. The witneſs of two men is true, I am one, &c. plainly making his Father and himſelf two. Ioh. 5.32.37. There is another that beareth witneſs of me; ſc. the Father: and Ioh. 14.16, 17. And he will ſend you another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth. Here the word [another] puts a manifeſt and plain dif…erence between the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt; ſo that there is another and …nother, (i) three diſtinct perſons in the Godhead, but not another and another …hing, for one ſingle undivided eſſence is …ommon to all three.
Joh. 15.26. The Comforter &c. which cometh out from the Father. Joh. 16.28. I came out from the Father. Now by theſe emanations or comings out of the Son and Holy Ghoſt from the Father, it is evident, that they are diſtinct perſons from the Father, each of them having a true ſubſiſtence proper to himſelf. And yet theſe three perſons are but one eſſence; three in one and one in three; differing but not divided; ſeveral but not ſundered; many and yet one: all diſtinct for their perſons, all one for their nature, ſubſtance, or eſſence; according to that 1 Joh. 5.7. —and theſe three are one.
Object. In this text we are to underſtand not an unity of eſſence but of conſent or agreement; as it is more plainly expreſt v. 8. and theſe three agree in one.
Sol. In theſe two verſes the Apoſtle oppoſeth the heavenly and earthly witneſs, or the teſtimony of men and the teſtimony of God. The earthly witneſs he calls the teſtimony of men in the plural number, becauſe they are three in number, and though they agree in one, yet they are not one, but three different and diſtinct things. The heavenly witneſs he calls the teſtimony of God in the ſingular number, v. 9. knitting three in one, becauſe though they are three in number, yet they are but one in nature, three perſons in one ſubſtance or eſſence: and ſo three bear witneſs in heaven, and yet all is the teſtimony but of one God.
Secondly, The Son is God everlaſting, &c. Iſa. Who ſhall declare his generation. Joh. 1.14, 18. & 1 Joh. 4.9. The only begotten Son of the Father. He is not a Son by grace, either of Creation as the Angels, or Adoption as the Saints are; for then he were neither the only Son, nor begotten; To which of the Angels ſaid he at any time thou art my ſon? Heb. 1.8. No: for though they are all the ſons of God by Creation, yet this is the only Son by generation and God hath no other. The Son of God then cannot be a creature (as wicked Arrians affirm) becauſe he is begotten; for if he were made, created or adopted, then he were not the begotten Son, nor the only Son, becauſe by creation and adoption God hath more ſons then one. Now begetting is always of the nature and ſubſtance of the parents; and ſo this Son is begotten of Gods own ſubſtance, therefore alſo called his Own Son, Rom. 8.32. And becauſe God is a moſt ſingle eſſence, that cannot be divided or communicate it ſelf by parts, therefore he hath not a part, as the ſons of men have, but the whole ſubſtance of his Father, and ſo muſt needs be one God with the Father. He muſt needs alſo be coequal, of the ſame power and majeſty; and coeternal too, everlaſting as the Father himſelf is everlaſting, becauſe being both but one ſubſtance or eſſence, they were never nor could be one without the other.
He is called in Scripture expreſly God, as Iſa. 9.6. The mighty God. Tit. 2.13. The great God. 1 Joh. 5.20. The true God. Rom. 9.5. God over all. Pſa. 40.7. Heb. 1.8. —to the Son he ſaith, thy Throne, O God, endureth for ever.
Such works are aſcribed to him as agree only to God. 1. The work of Creation. Ioh. 1.3. All things were made by him. Of Preſervation. Heb. 1.3. All things are upheld by him. Mat. 9.2. Forgiveth ſins. Ioh. 10.28. giveth eternal life, which none but God o… do: and Ioh. 5.19. whatſoever the Father doth, that the Son doth likewiſe.
The eſſential attributes of God are given to him; as 1. Omnipotency, Rev. 1.8. Eternity, Iſai. 9.6. Omniſcience, John 21.17. He is equal with the Father, John 5.18. Phil. 2.6.
Divine worſhip is given to him, which is due only to God: Pſal. 97.7. Worſhip him all ye Gods, Heb. 1.6. Let all the Angels of God worſhip him. Which were plain Idolatry, if he were a creature; and John 5.23. the ſame honor is due to the Son that is due to the Father, The Apoſtles profeſs themſelves the ſervants of Jeſus Chriſt, Rom. 1.1. 2 Pet. 1. 1. Jude 1. Rev. 1.1. We are commanded to truſt in him. Iſai. 11.10. Rom. 15.12. To beleeve in him as we do in God, John 14.1. and Pſalm 2.…2. Bleſſed are all they that put their truſt in him. But Jer. 17.5.7. it is, Curſed are all they that truſt in man, and make fleſh their arm, and whoſe heart departeth from the Lord: It is apparent then, that the Son is God equal with the Father.
Thirdly, The Holy Ghoſt is God everlaſting, one living and true God with the Father and the Son. For, firſt, he is called expreſly both Lord and God, 1 Cor. 12.5. and 6.28. the mighty God, Iſai. 40.13, 18. and Iſai. 6.9. compared with Acts 28.25, 26. Pſal. 95. compared with Heb. 3. Levit. 26.12, 13. compared with 1 Cor. 3.16. & 6.19. & 2 Cor. 6.16. where he is called the Lord our God, the Lord our maker. Our bodies are the temples of the living God, 1 Cor. 3.16. and the temples of the Holy Ghoſt, 1 Cor. 6.16. Now if we were commanded to build him a temple of wood and ſtone, it were a clear proof of his Godhead, becauſe this ſervice is only due unto God; how much more, ſeeing our ſelves are called his temple. Auguſt. lib. 1. Cont. Maxim. Arian.
Divine attributes are given to him. 1. Omniſcience. 1 Cor. 2.10. Omnipreſence, Pſal. 136.7. Eternity, Heb. 9.14. But above all, that which God takes to himſelf as a peculiar mark to be known from all falſe Gods, even to foretel things to come, Iſai. 41.23. is aſcribed to the Holy Ghoſt. 2 Sam. 23. 2. Acts 1.16. 1 Tim. 4.1.
Such works are aſcribed to him as are proper only to God. As of 1. Creation. Job 26.13. & 33.4. Of Preſervation. Gen. 1.2. Of Regeneration, Sanctification, John 3.5. Tit. 3.5. 1 Cor. 6.11. Alſo he raiſeth the dead, Rom. 8.11. And therefore the ſecond general Councel held under Theodoſius the great, condemned Macedonius in theſe words: If he were created, how doth he create? How doth he ſanctifie? How doth he give life? &c. for theſe are not the works of a creature. but the peculiar works of the great and mighty God. Laſtly, The very name of Spirit ſheweth his nature; for as the Spirit of man is of the nature of man, ſo the Spirit of God is of the nature of God; not a part, as the ſpirit of man is a part of him, but the whole Godhead, for the Divine Eſſence is not compounded of parts. And whereas he is called the Spirit of the Son as well as of the Father, and is ſaid to be ſent or come by and from them both; from hence appears clearly the eſſential Union that is between them, that all three are but one God.
The Catholick Faith then is this; That we worſhip one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the perſons, nor dividing the ſubſtance: The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghoſt is God, and yet they are not three Gods but one God: For the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt are all one, the glory equal, the Majeſty co-eternal. In this Trinity none is afore or after other, none greater or leſs then other; and he that will be ſaved muſt thus think of the Trinity. Athanaſ. Symb.
CHAP. III. Of the Creation.
Truth.IN the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth, and all things therein, both viſible and inviſible. Man he formed of the duſt of the ground; not corrupt and ſinful, as now he is, but according to his own likeneſs or image, in true holineſs and perfect happineſs.
Errours.There were anciently many Errours about the Creation that now we do not hear of; the Maſters whereof were Simon Magus, Cerinthus, Marcion, Manicheus, and divers others. At this day, firſt, the old Anthropians or Anthropomorphites are new riſen: they conceived groſly, becauſe it is ſaid, man was made after the likeneſs of God, that therefore God had a body in ſhape like mans body: Epiphanius imputes it to their rudeneſs, ſparing to call them Haereticks, but rather Schiſmaticks. So the Meſſalian Haereticks, of old, thought that God might be ſeen with bodily eyes, miſtaking that ſaying of our Saviour, Mat. 5. Bleſſed are the pure in heart, for they ſhall ſee God. This Errour is maintained at this day by thoſe that affirm, that Adam was created after the likeneſs of God in perſonal ſhape, and that God hath a perſonal ſhape, the which he can make viſible when he pleaſe. Ofiander taught, that man was made like unto God by influence of the divine ſubſtance; an Errour borrowed of the Manichees and Priſcillianiſts: For M…s taught, that the body of man was made of the ſubſtance of the Prince of darkneſs, but his foul was part of the Divine ſubſtance. From the ſame ſtock ſprang that doctrine of one E. Avery, who publiſhed in print, Anno 1647. That the reaſonable ſoul in all mankind is God himſelf. With theſe rank the Familiſts, who ſay, That Adam was all that God was, and God all that Adam was. The Papiſts alſo have their Errours, concerning the Image of God in Adam, original righteouſneſs, the place of Paradiſe, tree of life, &c.
AntidoteMan was made after that the heaven and earth were finiſht, as a creature partaking of both; in his ſoul heavenly, in his body earthly: a little model of the whole Creation. And it is ſaid, he was created after the likeneſs or Image of God, not that the body of man is like God in ſhape and proportion; for God is a Spirit, and hath no body or bodily members, no viſible form or lineament, and therefore is called the inviſible God. Col. 1.15. But man is like God. 1. In the grace, majeſty, and comelineſs of his body, excelling the other creatures, and after a ſort reſembling the Divine Majeſty. 2. In his ſoul; Becauſe 1. It is immortal like God. 2. It is endued with underſtanding and will like God, and adorned with Divine graces, as wiſdom, knowledg, righteouſneſs and true holineſs, and that theſe are the more ſpecial and principal parts of the Image of God in man, appears, Epheſ. 4.23. Col. 3.10.3. Man is like God in his dominion over the other creatures given him in his firſt Creation, Gen. 1.28. being in that regard a petty God to other creatures, as Magiſtrates are to other men, Pſal. 82.6. Laſtly, The very name of Image doth clearly evince, that the ſoul of man is not God himſelf, nor any part of the Divine ſubſtance, becauſe nothing is the Image of it ſelf, or can be ſaid like it ſelf. And the ſouls of wicked men ſhall periſh for ever in hell, Mat. 10.28. And therefore the ſoul of man is no part of the Divine ſubſtance, but an immortal nature created of nothing by the power of God, and breathed into the body.