The xviij. Chapter. A plaine exposition of Peter Martyr, vpon the twelue articles of the Christian faith.
¶ Heere (brethren) ye haue a short exposition of the particular things belonging to our faith. And as touching those things, which shall be perceiued of you to want, I beseech you to allow of these excuses. One is, that my abilitie is but small and slender; the other is, for that I meane, in the booke which I haue in hand touching the true worshipping of God: to supplie manie wants, which for breuitie sake I haue omitted. God and the Father make you partakers more and more of his grace in Christ Iesu our Lord! Amen.
THe articles of our faith, set foorth nothing vnto vs but the knowledge of God. And as we be not able throughlie to comprehend him, he being perfect and vncorrupt in nature: so is there particularlie giuen vs, sometime some one small taste and féeling of him, and sometime another. And séeing in the diuine nature, there be thrée persons (as we beléeue) of one essence; namelie, the Father, the Sonne, and the holie Ghost, the whole essence perteineth to ech one of them. 1 But now this first article, which properlie concerneth the Father, propoundeth foure things to be obserued; first, that he, in whom we beléeue, is the true God; secondlie, that the same is the Father; thirdlie, that he is omnipotent; and lastlie, that he is the author and first originall of all things created. Now go to: let vs sée particularlie, 2 what the proper meaning is of these words; I beleeue in God. Assuredlie, we cannot otherwise explaine this sentence, than to saie, that he is to be acknowledged as God.
So as, if a man demand of thée; What is God? (refusing all humane subtiltie, 3 and laieng aside the difficulties that be vnsearchable) thou must boldlie & absolutelie answer without sticking, that God is the eternall good, of whom euerie other good dooth come. Wherevpon it appeareth, that he, which estéemeth anie thing as much, or more than God, cannot trulie saie; I beleeue in God. For if so be thou acknowledge him to be the chéefe good, thou wilt neuer preferre anie thing before him. Neither yet can he rightlie beléeue this, that at anie time setteth his hope anie other waie; séeing hope is not but of some good thing. If then, God (as I haue said) be the good, from whence euerie good thing dooth flowe; whosoeuer expecteth anie good else-where, beléeueth not trulie in him. Furthermore, they which attribute the good things, which they possesse, vnto their owne righteousnesse, indeuour, dooings, and finallie to themselues, haue not the sense and (as I may saie) the true taste of this first article of our faith. What then wilt thou saie of them, which haue appointed to themselues certeine ends of good things, out of the vanitie of their owne deuise, and out of the decrées of Philosophers and politike men; yea, and out of the sense of brute beasts, in the which they in verie déed repose themselues, whatsoeuer euill they bring? Such kind of men doubtlesse properlie worship not God, but in the place of God, doo worship the phansies & inuentions of their owne braine. The thing (beléeue me) is of greatest importance, for a man to haue the true God to be his GOD. 4 The prophet Dauid pronounced that people blessed, whose God is the true God.
2 But now it dooth appeare what it is to beléeue in God: howbeit, 5 we haue not yet declared, whie the father is called by the name of father. That name is attributed vnto him for two causes chéefelie. The one is, for that he is the father of our Lord Iesus Christ, which is the second person in diuine nature. The other, bicause it pleased him to be our father. And he is therefore called father, bicause he distributeth his inheritance to vs; and so communicateth his nature with vs, 6 as Paule to the Romans calleth vs The heires of God: and Peter saith, that we participate of the diuine nature. 7 For these two things speciallie, the parents are woont to giue vnto their children. For first, they indeuour (as much as they can) to make them like vnto themselues, as concerning nature and state of liuing. Then, when they haue made them their heires, 8 they desire to inrich them with all their substance. The similitude vndoubtedlie, which the regenerate haue with God their father, consisteth in wisedome, iustice, simplicitie of mind, magnanimitie, charitie, and in other like heauenlie and diuine affections of the mind: whereby they iudge themselues to be made according to the image of GOD, as they were created at the beginning. And the inheritance, which they expect of so excellent a father, is eternall and most blessed life.