Anonymous on Article II: Of the Word or Son of God, which was made very Man

Thing by the Word of his Power, to be what it was: For the Article II. Word which had such Energy and Force in it, which called fort every Thing out of Nothing, and said, Let there be Light, and there. was Light. This same Word was the Son of the Father, from Everlasting with hin. DI the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God : the same was in the beginning with God. All Things were made by him, and with- out him was not any Thing made that was made.

2. This Word of the Father was begotten of him from Everlast. ing, and is Co-eternal with him. © I will declare the Decree, the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son, this Day have I be- e gotten thee. Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A * Scepter of Righteousness is the Scepter of thy Kingdom. Thou, « Lord, in the beginning hast laid the Foundation of the Earth ; and the Heavens are the Work of thy Hands. They shall perish, ce but thou remainest ; they all shall wax old as a Garment, but thou ee art the same, and thy Years shall not fail. Thou art a Priest for © ever after the Order of Melchizedeck.” And we beheld his glo- ry, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.

3. Well might he be from Everlasting, or the everlasting Son of the Father, who is the Very Eternal God, God of God ; for it is expressly said, that © God was manifested in the Flesh, justify’d in

< the Spirit, seen of Angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the World, received up into Glory; and that we may not look upon this as an honorary Title, given to him upon the Account

of his Office, as © Kings are said to be Gods“; it is expresly said that The Word was God, and that he is God Blessed for evermore ”; as whose Divinity is not to end with his Office, but is to remain as his Throne for ever and ever. And therefore he 1s called the True God, and Eternal Life; for the True God must remain possessed of Divinity for ever: And Eternal Life cannot end or cease to be.

And we know that the Son of God is come, and bath given to us

an rage pays „that we may know him that is true, and we are 8 in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ : This the true 9 7 God, and Eternal Life. fs |

4. In that he is the True God, he must be of one Substance with the Father: For that which is begotten of the Father, which is Eternal with him, and of Equal Majesty and Power, must be of the same Substance with him; as much Spirit, and Partaker of the fame Ef- sence and Nature, and as truly Divine, as he hunself can be. As an earthly Son is of the same earthly Substance with his Father, and has the same Essence of a Man in him: So the Divine Spiritual Son, Eternal, must be of the same Divine, Spiritual, Eternal Nature, or Essence with the 7 520 * it 5 . Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his per- son Se METS 4 chin 72 the word of his power , A he had by himself purged our y 4 sat down on the Right Hand of the » Majesiy on high. He that is Light of Light, the Brightness of his Father’s Glory, that bears his Image, is his very Likeness, the

C | express

Joh. x. 1,2,3«

Joh. 1. 14.

Heb, 1. 3.

—

gy EXP OSITI ON of the

Article II. express Image of his Person, must partake of the same Substance and . Essence with the Father . N

II. This very true God took Man’s Nature in the Womb of tlie Blessed Virgin, of her Substance, and was made Flesh. To explain this, we must consider, 1 Tops ; |

1st, That this Very God took Man’s Nature, or became Man, had an

Human Body, and a Reasonable Soul, as we have: He had Bone of

our Bone, Flesh of our Flesh, was embodied as we are, and dwelt in this Body for a while upon Earth , to satisfy us, that he was.in Re- ality as one of us, Sin only excepted. He was ready to take Possessi- on of this Body, as soon as it was prepared for him; that he might be

the true Immanuel, God with us, or God manifested in the Flesh.

Wherefore when he cometh into the world he saith, Sacrifice and .Of-

Heb. 10. 557. fering thou worldes? nor, but. a Body hast thou prepared me. Then

Luk. 1. 31,

1 Joh. 4. 9.

forth a son, and shalt call bis name Jesus; and he shall be

said I, Lo] I come, (in the volume of the Book it is written of

me) to dp thy will, O God.

2. This Body he took in the Womb of the Blessed Virgin, of her Substance. That we might apprehend, how this might be, he took our Flesh from her, and was born of her Body, which was sanctify’d

for this very Purpose , to receive the Saviour of the World; and

that she might be his Mother, as you may read at large in the Scri-

ptures. And as the History of it is true, we can have no Reason to

call it into Question, or to entertain the least Doubt of it. The Angel told her, Behold , thou shalt conceive in thy womb , and bring ; 1d be | great, and sball be called the son of the 1 175 And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David,

III. In this Birth, Two whole and perfect Natures, that ĩs to say,

the Godhead and the Manhood, were joined in One Person, never to

be divided. Consider, I say , (as our Church directs) that Two Natures were joined in One Person, and this Conjunction was {9

close, as never to be dissolved again.

1. Two Natures, that is to fay, the Godhead and the Manhood,

were joined in that One Person, Christ Jesus ; One Nature did not

{wallow up or nullify the other, but Both were united by the Hypo-

statical Union to make One God-Man. The Godhead remained

perfe& and entire without any Diminution or Degradation, without any lessening or loss of Honour: The Manhood continued limited

and finite, as it is in us. So that he was Perfect God and Perfect

Man, of a Reasonable Soul and Human Flesh subfisting. The Uni-

on of Both the Natures entitled the Person to all the Attributes of either: So that as he was Man, he suffered, and died; and as he

was God, he could not suffer or die; and yet as he was God and Man , his Blood was meritorious for us Sinners. In this was ma- nifesied the love of God towards 1s, because that God sent his only begotten son into the world, that we might live through him.

2. These

eu WW

Thirty Nine ARTICLES,

_ Y —

2. These Two whole and perfect Natures thus joined in One Per- son, were never to be divided; or this Jesus is to be always God- Man, and the great Mediator betwixt God and Man; no other was admitted to intercede for us: And he was to be for ever our Priest; his Two Natures were to be for ever united. When therefore he suffered upon the Cross, the Godhead and Manhood were not divi- ded ; that is, the Son of God, the Eternal Word, and that Human Soul, to which he was joined, were never separated ; but the Sepa-

ration that was made at his Death, was between the Human Soul

and the Body, which is truly and properly Death. The Body which hung upon the Cross was dead, his Spirit left it, when he gave u

the Ghost : But the Spirit of the Manhood, the Reasonable Soul, Which is the Man, remained at the same Time in Union with the Divinity, and returned to the Body, when the Divinity returned, and was united to the Divinity,whilst the Body lay dead in the Grave: So that at his Passion and after it, the Godhead and the Manhood were not divided, nor could be divided. And if Death could not break that Union, they must remain united to all Eternity, For this Reason the Scripture saith, © That the God manifested in the Flesh was received into Glory”. And what was so united, is Eternal Life. For the life was manifested , and we have seen it , and bear witness ,

and \shew unto you that eternal life which was with the father, and was manifested unto us.

IV. This Very God in our Flesh suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a Sacrifice not only for Original Guilt, but also for all Actual Sins of Men. Here we are taught to confess his Passion, to declare the Ends of his Death, or why he died, and own the Sacrifice he made of himself for all Sin. 5 | 1

if, We confess in this our Lord’s Passion, that though he was God and Man, he suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, as the History of his Passion sufficiently proves: And therefore I shall not insist upon it, but only observe, that because he was Man, he was

in a Capacity of Dying; and that being God-Man, he the self same Person is (aid to suffer, to be dead, and buried, which shews the U-

Article II. nA

1 John 1. 2.

mon of Both Natures, and the Liberty to ascribe that to God,

which Man underwent, because he that was Man was also God. 2. We thus declare the Ends of Christ’s Death, or why he died, which was to reconcile his Father to us, and to atone his Wrath, ap- pease his Anger, or to be a Sacrifice for Sins. Sin had set God at Enmity with Man, and the Son knowing the Displeasure of his Fa- ther, comes down from Heaven, and takes upon him our Flesh, that in our Stead and Place he might reconcile his Father, and establish Peace between us. And thus he has obtained Eternil Redemption

for us; he has reconcil’d us unto God by the Cross, having slain the

Enmity thereby. So that through his Merit, we that were afar-off are made nigh through his Blood ; we that were Aliens from the Co- venant of Grace, are put into a salvable Condition, may look up

for Mercy, and in his Name plead for Acceptance, AY things are of

C2 G94,

2 Cor. 5. 18.

ctual Sins, upon Condition, that those which shall receive any Bene- fit by his Sacrifice, shall sincerely bewail their natural State, truly repent of what they themselves have done amiss, and faithfully live up to the Gospel. By so doing they shall enjoy that Pardon, which he hath promised : But if these Conditions are not observed, they shall neither be freed from Original Guilt nor Actual; tho’ he died, they shall have no Benefit by his Death ; though he was offered by himself upon the Cross, as a Sacrifice for the Sins of the World, they shall partake of no Fruits of it. And therefore as he was a Sacrifice,

and & by one Oblation hath perfe&ed for ever them that are sancti- * fied” ; we must become his Disciples, and walk worthy of him,

being obedient to him in all Things, as we desire to be freed from

1 Jol. 2. 1, 2.

Adam’s Pollution, and from our own Actual 3 If we are believing and dutiful, his Sacrifice is a sufficient Oblation ard Sa-

tisfaction for our Sins, and for the Sins of the whole World. My

little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sm not; and i

any man sim we have an advocate with the father, Fesus Christ the righteous ; and he is the a gong for our fins, and not for mars un-

ly, but for the fins of the whole world. — a. This is the Sense of the Article ; and from it we may admire at the Condescension of our Lord, our Capacity of living with him in

Heaven, the Vastness of his Love, and the Hope we have by it of

Pardon and Acceptance. „ 8 - 1, We ought to admire at the Condescension of our Lord, who visited us in our fallen State, and submitted to the Sorrows of Hi man Life, to rescue and fave us. For though he was the Son of

God, he yielded to be as the Son of Man: Tho’ he was the Word

of the Father, by which he made the World, he was contented to speak to us, and to shew us the Way to Life and Happiness ; Tho’

he was the only begotten Son of the Father, © he came to seek and „ save that which was lost ” ; that he might purchase for us the A-

doption of Sons, and prevail with his Father to be our Father, and with his God to be our God; Thv’ he was from Everlasting, and

was above the Enjoyments of Human Life , which are but for a Time, and will soon end, he thought fit to live amongst us, to fare

as hardly as we do, that he might win us by his familiar Acquain-

_ tance, and shew us how to obtain the Bread and Water of Life,

that we might hunger and thirst no more: Nay, though he was the Very Eternal God, of the same Substance with the Father, lived

in Heaven as he did, enjoyed what he enjoyed, and was as happy

as God himself can be ; yet this Very God became dying Man, in

Or-

rr 3 -, k q T0; Ih) ＋

Thirty Nine Ax TICLES.

order to redeem us from the Curse of the Law, to deliver us from Article II. the Slavery of Sin and Satan, and to restore us to the glorious L iW.

berty of the Sons of God; he humbled himself to take our Nature in the Womb of the blessed Virgin, was born an Infant, grew up

to Childhood and Manhood, passed through the different Stages of

human Life, was Hungry and Thirsty, Sorrowful and Heavy, Im- prisoned and Slain, that we might not fall under his Father’s Dif.

_ pleasure, and perish in our Sins. These are such wonderful Conde-

scensions as may amaze us, when we ponder upon them: These are such Discoveries of Tenderness and Love, as may conquer the very worst of us, and constrain us to break off a vicious Course of Life, and to become new Men in Obedience to him: For his Kindness ex- ceeds all that Men have done or can do for Men; surpasses all our

Expectations, was more than we can ask or imagine, and should pre- vail wich us to take him for our Lord, to admire at his meritorious

Death, and to obey him from the Heart. For who could have thought that the Son of God, so great in himself, and of that Su- perlative Majesty, shou’d take upon him such an humble Appearance, and bear such Sorrows in our behalf! We must be void of Under- standing, if this does not gain our Approbation ; and Strangers to Humanity and good Nature, if this does not captivate us in his

Fear, and lead us into Righteousness. How can we (in, that have been thus delivered by the Son of God >

2. This may assure vs, that if we live here as he commands us, we are

very capable of living with him in Heaven. He hath shewn us this

Capacity in taking our Nature upon him, and ascending with it into Heaven. For if that Body which was born of the Virgin, that was

Flesh and Blood, like our Body, was raised up by him, and received

into Glory ; what should or can hinder us from following him, or

being where he is? Did he carry our Manhood into Heaven, and can he not take us up thither? *Tis said indeed that flesh and blood

cannot enter into the kingdom of beaven : neither doth corruption in-

berit incorrupt ion. But cannot the same Power that made his Bod glorious, prepare ours for the same Region? Are we not to be © chan-

« ged ina Moment, in the Twinkling of an Eye, at the last Trump?“ And shall not our vile Bodies be made like unto his glorious Bo-

dy, according to the mighty working, whereby he is able to sub- « dueall Things to himself? We may then safely rely upon his Word, and trust to follow him to the same Place; for we are capa- ble of the Change, and of the Removal. Our Nature in him is al- ready exalted, and shall never be divided from him. And if we can

have Faith, can live according to his Will, and can persevere in

Well-doing, we shall be where he is, shall behold his Glory, and

partake of it to all Eternity. As we are already capable, we shall en-

ter, if we faint not. He thus prayed in our Behalf to his Father ; and we may trust to him for the Performance, for the Father will not deny him: Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold the glory which

1 26 given me; for thou lovedst me before the Foundation of the World. | LEND

z4ly,

Joh. 17. 24.

—

& E

4 An EXPOSITION of the

Article II. ARS

Heb, 8. 12.

Zaly, His Love is vast and perpetual : He hath sacrificed himself for the Sins of all Mankind, and hath proclaimed Mercy in the Ears of all, that every one that hears of it may believe, and be saved: If we trust to him as we ought, not our original Guilt shall hurt us,

not our actual Sins shall condemn us, not the Fall of Adam shall ruin

us, nor our own Presumption shall undo us; for as he hath offered himself to his Father to be a Sacrifice for Original Guilt, and all Actual Sins, the greatest of Sinners that return and amend, may

hope ; the most forward and bold in Vice, whose Hearts smitethein, and who are truly grieved for offending him, who are true Believers

and true Penitents, may look up for Mercy. The Blood of such

a Sacrifice will cleanse them from all Sin: Such a Priest will atone

for them with Success ; and such Merits as he presents to the Father

will 6btain their Pardon. Though then our Consciences accuse us,

though our Sins are many , our Guilt great, and we may have cause to tremble at the Wrath of God, yet if we are at last humble

and penitent, if we do in earnest reform and live as Christians ; tho

our Sins are many, they shall be forgiven, tho’ provoking, they shall

for his Sake be remembered no more. For I will be merciful to their

unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I member no

more, according to the Covenant in his Blood.

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Thirty Nine Ax Tic L Es. I; 1 Artic, Il. — ed