Creation

Q. Did God create man so wicked and perverse?

A. No. God created man good and in his own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might truly know God his creator, love him with all his heart, and live with God in eternal happiness, for his praise and glory.

Q. Then where does man's corrupt nature come from?

A. From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise. This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are all conceived and born in sin.

Q. But doesn't God do man an injustice by requiring in his law what man is unable to do?

A. No, God created man with the ability to keep the law. Man, however, at the instigation of the devil, in willful disobedience, robbed himself and all his descendants of these gifts.

Q. What are these articles?

A. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended to heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

Q. How are these articles divided?

A. Into three parts: God the Father and our creation; God the Son and our deliverance; and God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification.

Q. What do you believe when you say, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth"?

A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father for the sake of Christ his Son. I trust God so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends upon me in this vale of tears. He is able to do this because he is almighty God; he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.

Q. How does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us?

A. We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature will separate us from his love. For all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved.

Q. What is God's law?

A. God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I. You shall have no other gods before me. II. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. III. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. IV. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work— you, your son or your daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it. V. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. VI. You shall not murder. VII. You shall not commit adultery. VIII. You shall not steal. IX. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. X. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female servant, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Q. May we also swear by saints or other created things?

A. No. A legitimate oath is calling upon God as the one who knows my heart to witness to the truth and to punish me if I swear falsely. No created thing is worthy of such honor.

We know him by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20. All these things are enough to convict men and to leave them without excuse.

Second, he makes himself known to us more openly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for his glory and for the salvation of his own.

All these things we know from the testimonies of Holy Scripture as well as from the effects of the persons, especially from those we feel within ourselves. The testimonies of the Holy Scriptures, which teach us to believe in this Holy Trinity, are written in many places of the Old Testament, which need not be enumerated but only chosen with discretion. In the book of Genesis God says, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness." So "God created man in his own image"—indeed, "male and female he created them." "Behold, man has become like one of us." It appears from this that there is a plurality of persons within the Deity, when he says, "Let us make man in our image"—and afterwards he indicates the unity when he says, "God created." It is true that he does not say here how many persons there are—but what is somewhat obscure to us in the Old Testament is very clear in the New.

For when our Lord was baptized in the Jordan, the voice of the Father was heard saying, "This is my dear Son"; the Son was seen in the water; and the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. So, in the baptism of all believers this form was prescribed by Christ: "Baptize all people in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In the Gospel according to Luke the angel Gabriel says to Mary, the mother of our Lord: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and therefore that holy one to be born of you shall be called the Son of God." And in another place it says: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you." "There are three who bear witness in heaven—the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit—and these three are one." In all these passages we are fully taught that there are three persons in the one and only divine essence. And although this doctrine surpasses human understanding, we nevertheless believe it now, through the Word, waiting to know and enjoy it fully in heaven.

Furthermore, we must note the particular works and activities of these three persons in relation to us. The Father is called our Creator, by reason of his power. The Son is our Savior and Redeemer, by his blood. The Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier, by his living in our hearts.

This doctrine of the holy Trinity has always been maintained in the true church, from the time of the apostles until the present, against Jews, Muslims, and certain false Christians and heretics, such as Marcion, Mani, Praxeas, Sabellius, Paul of Samosata, Arius, and others like them, who were rightly condemned by the holy fathers.

And so, in this matter we willingly accept the three ecumenical creeds—the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian—as well as what the ancient fathers decided in agreement with them.

We believe that Jesus Christ, according to his divine nature, is the only Son of God—eternally begotten, not made nor created, for then he would be a creature. He is one in essence with the Father; coeternal; the exact image of the person of the Father and the "reflection of his glory," being in all things like him. He is the Son of God not only from the time he assumed our nature but from all eternity, as the following testimonies teach us when they are taken together. Moses says that God "created the world"; and John says that "all things were created by the Word," which he calls God. The letter to the Hebrews says that "God made the world by his Son." Paul says that "God created all things by Jesus Christ." And so it must follow that he who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ already existed when all things were created by him. Therefore the prophet Micah says that his origin is "from ancient times, from eternity." And Hebrews says that he has "neither beginning of days nor end of life." So then, he is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we invoke, worship, and serve.

We believe that the Father created heaven and earth and all other creatures from nothing, when it seemed good to him, by his Word—that is to say, by his Son. He has given all creatures their being, form, and appearance, and their various functions for serving their Creator. Even now he also sustains and governs them all, according to his eternal providence, and by his infinite power, that they may serve man, in order that man may serve God.

He has also created the angels good, that they might be his messengers and serve his elect. Some of them have fallen from the excellence in which God created them into eternal perdition; and the others have persisted and remained in their original state, by the grace of God. The devils and evil spirits are so corrupt that they are enemies of God and of everything good. They lie in wait for the church and every member of it like thieves, with all their power, to destroy and spoil everything by their deceptions. So then, by their own wickedness they are condemned to everlasting damnation, daily awaiting their torments. For that reason we detest the error of the Sadducees, who deny that there are spirits and angels, and also the error of the Manicheans, who say that the devils originated by themselves, being evil by nature, without having been corrupted.

We believe that God created man from the dust of the earth and made and formed him in his image and likeness—good, just, and holy; able by his own will to conform in all things to the will of God. But when he was in honor he did not understand it and did not recognize his excellence. But he subjected himself willingly to sin and consequently to death and the curse, lending his ear to the word of the devil. For he transgressed the commandment of life, which he had received, and by his sin he separated himself from God, who was his true life, having corrupted his entire nature. So he made himself guilty and subject to physical and spiritual death, having become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all his ways. He lost all his excellent gifts which he had received from God, and he retained none of them except for small traces which are enough to make him inexcusable. Moreover, all the light in us is turned to darkness, as the Scripture teaches us: "The light shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not receive it." Here John calls men "darkness."

Therefore we reject everything taught to the contrary concerning man's free will, since man is nothing but the slave of sin and cannot do a thing unless it is "given him from heaven." For who can boast of being able to do anything good by himself, since Christ says, "No one can come to me unless my Father who sent me draws him"? Who can glory in his own will when he understands that "the mind of the flesh is enmity against God"? Who can speak of his own knowledge in view of the fact that "the natural man does not understand the things of the Spirit of God"? In short, who can produce a single thought, since he knows that we are "not able to think a thing" about ourselves, by ourselves, but that "our ability is from God"? And therefore, what the apostle says ought rightly to stand fixed and firm: "God works within us both to will and to do according to his good pleasure." For there is no understanding nor will conforming to God's understanding and will apart from Christ's work, as he teaches us when he says, "Without me you can do nothing."

Man was originally created in the image of God and was furnished in his mind with a true and salutary knowledge of his Creator and things spiritual, in his will and heart with righteousness, and in all his emotions with purity; indeed, the whole man was holy. However, rebelling against God at the devil's instigation and by his own free will, he deprived himself of these outstanding gifts. Rather, in their place he brought upon himself blindness, terrible darkness, futility, and distortion of judgment in his mind; perversity, defiance, and hardness in his heart and will; and finally impurity in all his emotions.

And this is the regeneration, the new creation, the raising from the dead, and the making alive so clearly proclaimed in the Scriptures, which God works in us without our help. But this certainly does not happen only by outward teaching, by moral persuasion, or by such a way of working that, after God has done his work, it remains in man's power whether or not to be reborn or converted. Rather, it is an entirely supernatural work, one that is at the same time most powerful and most pleasing, a marvelous, hidden, and inexpressible work, which is not lesser than or inferior in power to that of creation or of raising the dead, as Scripture (inspired by the author of this work) teaches. As a result, all those in whose hearts God works in this marvelous way are certainly, unfailingly, and effectively reborn and do actually believe. And then the will, now renewed, is not only activated and motivated by God but in being activated by God is also itself active. For this reason, man himself, by that grace which he has received, is also rightly said to believe and to repent.

1. It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning, to create, or make of nothing, the world, and all things therein whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days; and all very good.

2. After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after his own image; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it: and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change. Beside this law written in their hearts, they received a command, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.

1. They, who are once effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart, and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified, really and personally, through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection, by his Word and Spirit dwelling in them: the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified; and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces, to the practice of true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

2. This sanctification is throughout, in the whole man; yet imperfect in this life, there abiding still some remnants of corruption in every part; whence ariseth a continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.

3. In which war, although the remaining corruption, for a time, may much prevail; yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome; and so, the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Q. How doth God execute his decrees?

A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

Q. What is the work of creation?

A. The work of creation is, God's making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.

Q. How did God create man?

A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.

Q. What special act of providence did God exercise towards man in the estate wherein he was created?

A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.

Q. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?

A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.

Q. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?

A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.

Q. Which is the fourth commandment?

A. The fourth commandment is, Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Q. How doth God execute his decrees?

A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will.

Q. What is the work of creation?

A. The work of creation is that wherein God did in the beginning, by the word of his power, make of nothing the world, and all things therein, for himself, within the space of six days, and all very good.

Q. How did God create angels?

A. God created all the angels spirits, immortal, holy, excelling in knowledge, mighty in power, to execute his commandments, and to praise his name, yet subject to change.

Q. How did God create man?

A. After God had made all other creatures, he created man male and female; formed the body of the man of the dust of the ground, and the woman of the rib of the man, endued them with living, reasonable, and immortal souls; made them after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it, and dominion over the creatures; yet subject to fall.

Q. What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created?

A. The providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created, was the placing him in paradise, appointing him to dress it, giving him liberty to eat of the fruit of the earth; putting the creatures under his dominion, and ordaining marriage for his help; affording him communion with himself; instituting the Sabbath; entering into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience, of which the tree of life was a pledge; and forbidding to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.

Q. Did man continue in that estate wherein God at first created him?

A. Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, through the temptation of Satan, transgressed the commandment of God in eating the forbidden fruit; and thereby fell from the estate of innocency wherein they were created.

Q. How is original sin conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity?

A. Original sin is conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity by natural generation, so as all that proceed from them in that way are conceived and born in sin.

Q. Which is the fourth commandment?

A. The fourth commandment is, Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.

Q. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it?

A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it, are taken from the equity of it, God allowing us six days of seven for our own affairs, and reserving but one for himself, in these words, Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: from God's challenging a special propriety in that day, The seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: from the example of God, who in six days . . . made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: and from that blessing which God put upon that day, not only in sanctifying it to be a day for his service, but in ordaining it to be a means of blessing to us in our sanctifying it; Wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Q. Why is the word Remember set in the beginning of the fourth commandment?

A. The word Remember is set in the beginning of the fourth commandment, partly, because of the great benefit of remembering it, we being thereby helped in our preparation to keep it, and, in keeping it, better to keep all the rest of the commandments, and to continue a thankful remembrance of the two great benefits of creation and redemption, which contain a short abridgment of religion; and partly, because we are very ready to forget it, for that there is less light of nature for it, and yet it restraineth our natural liberty in things at other times lawful; that it cometh but once in seven days, and many worldly businesses come between, and too often take off our minds from thinking of it, either to prepare for it, or to sanctify it; and that Satan with his instruments much labor to blot out the glory, and even the memory of it, to bring in all irreligion and impiety.

We confess and acknowledge one only God, to whom only we must cleave, whom only we must serve (Deut. 6), whom only we must worship (Isa. 44), and in whom only we put our trust (Deut. 4). Who is eternal, infinite, immeasurable, incomprehensible, omnipotent, invisible, one in substance and yet distinct in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Matt. 28). By whom we confess and believe, all things in heaven and earth (Gen. 1), as well visible as invisible, to have been created, to be retained in their being, and to be ruled and guided by His inscrutable providence, to such end as His eternal wisdom (Prov. 16), goodness, and justice has appointed them to the manifestation of His own glory.

We confess and acknowledge this our God to have created man (to wit, our first father Adam) to His own image and similitude (Gen. 1–2). To whom He gave wisdom, lordship, justice, free will, and clear knowledge of Himself. So that in the whole nature of man, there could be noted no imperfection. From which honor and perfection, man and woman did both fall (Gen. 3), the woman being deceived by the Serpent, and man obeying the voice of the woman: both conspiring against the sovereign majesty of God, who in express words had before threatened death, if they presumed to eat of the forbidden tree.

This our faith and the assurance of the same proceeds not from flesh and blood (Matt. 16), that is to say, from no natural powers within us, but is the inspiration of the Holy Ghost (John 14–16), whom we confess God equal with the Father and with the Son, who sanctifies us and brings us in all verity by His own operation, without whom we should remain forever enemies to God and ignorant of His Son, Christ Jesus. For by nature we are so dead, so blind, and so perverse that neither can we feel when we are pricked, see the light when it shines, nor assent to the will of God when it is revealed, unless the Spirit of the Lord Jesus quicken that which is dead, remove the darkness from our minds, and bow our stubborn hearts to the obedience of His blessed will. And so as we confess that God the Father created us when we were not; as His Son our Lord Jesus redeemed us when we were enemies to Him (Rom. 5); so also do we confess that the Holy Ghost does sanctify and regenerate us without all respect of any merit proceeding from us, be it before or be it after our regeneration. To speak this one thing, yet in more plain words, as we willingly spoil our selves of all honor and glory of our own creation and redemption, so do we also of our regeneration and sanctification, for of our selves we are not sufficient to think any good thought (2 Cor. 7). But He who has begun the good work in us is only He that continues us in the same to the praise and glory of His undeserved grace.

We believe and teach that God is one in essence or nature, subsisting by Himself, all sufficient in Himself, invisible, without a body, infinite, eternal, the Creator of all things both visible and invisible, the chief good, living, quickening and preserving all things, Almighty, and exceeding wise, gentle or merciful, just and true. And we detest the multitude of gods, because it is expressly written, "The Lord thy God is one God" (Deut. 6:4). "I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no strange gods before My face" (Ex. 20:2–3). "I am the Lord, and there is none other; beside Me there is no god. Am not I the Lord, and there is none other beside Me alone? a just God, and a Savior, there is none beside Me" (Isa. 45:5, 21). "I the Lord, Jehovah, the merciful God, gracious, and long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" (Ex. 34:6).

We nevertheless believe and teach that the same infinite, one, and indivisible God, is in persons inseparably and without confusion distinguished into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: so as the Father has begotten the Son from everlasting; the Son is begotten by an unspeakable manner; and the Holy Ghost proceeds from them both, and that from everlasting, and is to be worshipped with them both. There are not three Gods, but three persons, consubstantial, co-eternal, and co-equal; distinct, as touching their persons; and, in order, one going before another, yet without any inequality. For as touching their nature or essence, they are so joined together that they are but one God; and the divine essence is common to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

For the Scripture has delivered unto us a manifest distinction of persons: the angel, among other things, saying thus to the blessed virgin, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, and that holy thing which shall be born, shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Also in the baptism of Christ, a voice was heard from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son" (Matt. 3:17). The Holy Ghost also appeared "in the likeness of a dove" (John 1:32). And when the Lord Himself commanded to baptize, He commanded to baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28:19). In like sort elsewhere in the gospel He said, "The Father will send the Holy Ghost in My name" (John 14:26). Again He says, "When the Comforter shall come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who proceedeth from the Father, He shall bear witness of Me" (John 15:26). To be short, we receive the Apostles' Creed because it delivers unto us the true faith.

We, therefore, condemn the Jews and the Mohammedans, and all those that blaspheme the Trinity, which is sacred, and only to be adored. We also condemn all heresies and heretics, which teach that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God only in name; also, that there is in the Trinity something created, and that serves and ministers unto another; finally, that there is in it something unequal, greater or less, corporal or corporally fashioned, in manners or in will divers, either confounded or sole by itself: as if the Son and Holy Ghost were the affections and qualities of one God the Father; as the Monarchists, the Novatians, Praxeas, the Patripassians, Sabellius, Samosatenus, Aetius, Macedonius, Arius, and such like have thought.

This good and almighty God created all things, both visible and invisible, by His eternal Word, and preserves the same also by His eternal Spirit: as David witnesses, saying, "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Ps. 33:6). And as the Scripture says: "All things that the Lord created were very good" (Gen. 1:31) and made for the use and profit of man. Now we say that all those things proceed from one beginning: and, therefore, we detest the Manichees and Marcionites, who did wickedly imagine two substances and natures, the one of good, the other of evil; and also two beginnings, and two gods, one contrary to the other, a good and an evil.

Among all the creatures, the angels and men are most excellent. Touching angels, the Holy Scripture says, "Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire" (Ps. 104:4). Also, "Are they not ministering spirits sent forth to minister for their sakes, which shall be the heirs of salvation?" (Heb. 1:14). And the Lord Jesus Himself testifies of the devil, saying, "He hath been a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father thereof" (John 8:44). We teach, therefore, that some angels persisted in obedience and were appointed unto the faithful service of God and men; and that others fell of their own accord and ran headlong into destruction, and so became enemies to all good, and to all the faithful.

Now, touching man, the Spirit says that in the beginning he was "created good according to the image and likeness of God" (Gen. 1:27); that God placed him in Paradise, and made all things subject unto him; which David most nobly sets forth in the eighth Psalm. Moreover God gave unto him a wife and blessed them. We say also that man consists of two, and those divers substances in one person; of a soul immortal (as that which being separated from his body, neither sleeps nor dies) and a body mortal, which notwithstanding at the last judgment shall be raised again from the dead, that from henceforth the whole man may continue for ever, in life or in death.

We condemn all those who mock, or by subtle disputations call into doubt, the immortality of the soul, or say that the soul sleeps, or that it is a part of God. In short, we condemn all opinions of all men whatsoever, who think otherwise of the creation of angels, devils, and men than is delivered unto us by the Scriptures in the apostolic church of Christ.

Man was from the beginning created of God after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness, good and upright; but by the instigation of the serpent and his own fault, falling from goodness and uprightness, he became subject to sin, death, and divers calamities; and such a one as he became by his fall, such are all his offspring, even subject to sin, death, and sundry calamities.

And we take sin to be that natural corruption of man, derived or spread from our first parents unto us all, through which we, being drowned in evil concupiscence, and clean turned away from God, but prone to all evil, full of all wickedness, distrust, contempt, and hatred of God, can do no good of ourselves, no not so much as think any (Matt. 12:33–35). And, what is more, even as we grow in years, so by wicked thoughts, words, and deeds, committed against the law of God, we bring forth corrupt fruits, worthy of an evil tree: in which respect, we, through our own desert, being subject to the wrath of God, are in danger of just punishment; so that we had all been cast away from God, had not Christ, the deliverer, brought us back again.

By death, therefore, we understand not only bodily death, which is once to be suffered of us all for sins, but also everlasting punishments due to our corruption and to our sins. For the apostle says, "We were dead in trespasses and sins, and were by nature the children of wrath, as well as others; but God who is rich in mercy, even when we were dead by sins, quickened us together in Christ" (Eph. 2:1–5). Again, "As by one man sin entered into the world, and by sin, death, and so death went over all men, forasmuch as all men have sinned" (Rom. 5:12).

We, therefore, acknowledge that original sin is in all men; we acknowledge that all other sins which spring therefrom, are both called and are indeed sins, by what name soever they are termed, whether mortal or venial, or also that which is called sin against the Holy Ghost, which is never forgiven (Mark 3:29; 1 John 5:16–17). We also confess that sins are not equal, although they spring from the same fountain of corruption and unbelief, but that some are more grievous than others; even as the Lord has said, "It shall be easier for Sodom, than for the city that despiseth the word of the gospel" (Matt. 10:15).

We, therefore, condemn all those that have taught things contrary to these; but especially Pelagius, and all the Pelagians, together with the Jovinians who, with the Stoics, count all sins equal. In this matter we agree fully with St. Augustine, who produced and maintained his sayings out of the Holy Scriptures. Moreover we condemn Florinus Blastus (against whom also Irenaeus wrote) and all those that make God the author of sin; seeing it is expressly written, "Thou art not a God that loveth wickedness; thou hatest all them that work iniquity, and wilt destroy all that speak lies" (Ps. 5:4–6). And again, "When the devil speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; because he is a liar, and the father of lying" (John 8:44). Yes, there is even in ourselves sin and corruption enough, so that there is no need that God should infuse into us either a new or greater measure of wickedness. Therefore, when God is said in the Scripture to harden (Ex. 7:13), to blind (John 12:40) and to deliver us up into a reprobate sense (Rom. 1:28), it is to be understood that God does it by just judgment, as a just judge and avenger. To conclude, as often as God in the Scripture is said and seems to do some evil, it is not thereby meant that man does not commit evil, but that God suffers it to be done, and does not hinder it; and by His just judgment, who could hinder it, if He would: or because He makes good use of the evil of men, as He did in the sins of Joseph's brethren; or because He Himself rules sins that they do not break out and rage more violently than is meet. St. Augustine, in his Enchiridion, says, "After a wonderful and unspeakable manner, that is not done beside His will which is done contrary to His will; because it could not be done, if He should not suffer it to be done; and yet He does not suffer it to be done unwillingly, but willingly; neither would He, being God, suffer any evil to be done, unless, being also Almighty, He could make good of evil." Thus far Augustine.

Other questions, as, whether God would have Adam fall, or whether He forced him to fall, or why He did not hinder his fall, and such like, we count among curious questions (unless perchance the forwardness of heretics or of men otherwise importunate compels us to open these points also out of the Word of God, as the godly doctors of the church have often done), knowing that the Lord did forbid that man should eat of the forbidden fruit and punished his transgression; and also that the things done are not evil in respect of the providence, will, and power of God, but in respect of Satan and our will resisting the will of God.

Moreover, we believe and teach that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, was from all eternity predestinated and foreordained of the Father to be the Savior of the world. And we believe that He was begotten, not only then, when He took flesh of the virgin Mary, nor yet a little before the foundations of the world were laid, but before all eternity; and that of the Father, after an unspeakable manner. For Isaiah says, "Who can tell His generation?" (53:8). And Micah says, "Whose egress hath been from everlasting" (5:2). And John says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word" (1:1). Therefore, the Son is co-equal and consubstantial with the Father, as touching His divinity: true God, not by name only, or by adoption, or by special favor, but in substance and nature (Phil. 2:6). Even as the apostle says elsewhere, "This is the true God, and life everlasting" (1 John 5:20). Paul also says, "He hath made His Son the heir of all things, by whom also He made the world: the same is the brightness of His glory, and the engraved form of His person, bearing up all things by His mighty word" (Heb. 1:2–3). "Likewise in the gospel the Lord Himself says, "Father, glorify thou Me with Thyself, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was" (John 17:5). Also elsewhere it is written in the gospel, "The Jews sought how to kill Jesus, because He said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God" (John 5:18).

We, therefore, abhor the blasphemous doctrine of Arius, and all the Arians, uttered against the Son of God; and especially the blasphemies of Michael Servetus the Spaniard, and of his accomplices, which Satan by them has, as it were, drawn out of hell, and most boldly and impiously spread abroad throughout the world against the Son of God.

We teach also and believe that the eternal Son of the eternal God was made the Son of man, of the seed of Abraham and David (Matt. 1:1–25), not by the means of any man, as Ebion affirmed; but that He was most purely conceived by the Holy Ghost, and was born of Mary, who was always a virgin, even as the history of the gospel declares. And Paul says, "He took in no sort the angels, but the seed of Abraham" (Heb. 2:16). And John the apostle says, "He that believeth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God" (1 John 4:3). The flesh of Christ, therefore, was neither flesh in show only, nor yet flesh brought from heaven, as Valentinus and Marcion dreamed.

Moreover, our Lord Jesus Christ did not have a soul without sense and reason, as Apollinaris thought; nor flesh without a soul, as Eunomius taught: but a soul with its reason and flesh with its senses, by which senses He felt true grief in the time of His passion, even as He Himself witnessed when He said, "My soul is heavy even to death" (Matt. 26:38) and "My soul is troubled" (John 12:27).

We acknowledge, therefore, that there are in one and the same Jesus Christ our Lord two natures, the divine and the human nature; and we say that these two are so conjoined or united that they are not swallowed up, confounded, or mingled together, but rather united or joined together in one person, the properties of each nature being safe and remaining still: so that we worship one Christ our Lord, and not two; I say, one true God and man; as touching His divine nature of the same substance with the Father, and as touching His human nature of the same substance with us and "like unto us in all things, sin only excepted" (Heb. 4:15).

As, therefore, we detest the heresy of Nestorius, which makes two Christs of one, and dissolves the union of the person; so do we curse the madness of Eutyches and of the Monothelites or Monophysites who overthrow the propriety of the human nature.

Therefore, we do not teach that the divine nature in Christ suffered or that Christ according to His human nature is yet in the world, and so in every place. For we do neither think nor teach that the body of Christ ceased to be a true body after His glorification, or that it was deified, and so deified that it put off its properties, as touching body and soul, and became altogether a divine nature and began to be one substance alone: and, therefore, we do not allow or receive the unwitty subtleties, and the intricate, obscure, and inconstant disputations of Schwenkfeld and such other vain janglers about this matter; neither are we Schwenkfeldians.

Moreover, we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ did truly suffer and die for us in the flesh as Peter says (1 Peter 4:1). We abhor the most horrible madness of the Jacobites and all the Turks, which abandon the passion of our Lord. Yet we deny not but that "the Lord of glory (according to the saying of Paul) was crucified for us" (1 Cor. 2:8). For we reverently and religiously receive and use the communication of expressions drawn from Scripture, and used of all antiquity in expounding and reconciling places of Scripture which at first sight seem to disagree one from another.

We believe and teach that the same Lord Jesus Christ, in that true flesh in which He was crucified and died, rose again from the dead; and that He did not rise up another flesh instead of that which was buried, nor took a spirit instead of flesh, but retained a true body: therefore, while His disciples thought that they saw the spirit of their Lord Christ, He showed them His hands and feet, which were marked with the prints of the nails and wounds, saying, "Behold my hands and my feet, for I am He indeed: handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:39).

We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ, in the same flesh, did ascend above all the visible heavens into the very highest heaven, that is to say, the seat of God and of the blessed spirits, unto the right hand of God the Father. Which, although it signifies an equal participation of glory and majesty, yet it is also taken for a certain place of which the Lord, speaking in the gospel, says that "He will go and prepare a place for His" (John 14:2). Also the apostle Peter says, "The heavens must contain Christ, until the time of restoring of all things" (Acts 3:21). And out of heaven the same Christ will return unto judgment, even then, when wickedness shall chiefly reign in the world, and when Antichrist, having corrupted true religion, shall fill all things with superstition and impiety, and shall most cruelly destroy the church with fire and bloodshed. Now Christ shall return to redeem His, and to abolish Antichrist by His coming and to judge the quick and the dead (Acts 17:31). For the dead shall arise and "those which shall be found alive in that day" (which is unknown unto all creatures) "shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:51–52). And all the faithful shall be taken up to meet Christ in the air (1 Thess. 4:17) that thenceforth they may enter with Him into heaven, there to live forever (2 Tim. 2:11), but the unbelievers, or ungodly, shall descend with the devils into hell, there to burn forever, and never to be delivered out of torments (Matt. 25:41).

We, therefore, condemn all those which deny the true resurrection of the flesh, and those which think amiss of the glorified bodies; as did John of Jerusalem, against whom Jerome wrote. We also condemn those which have thought that both the devils and all the wicked shall at length be saved and have an end of their torments: for the Lord Himself has absolutely set it down that, "Their fire is never quenched, and their worm never dieth" (Mark 9:44). Moreover we condemn the Jewish dreams that before the day of judgment there shall be a golden world in the earth; and that the godly shall possess the kingdoms of the world, their wicked enemies being trodden under foot: for the evangelical truth, Matthew 24 and 25, and Luke 21, and the apostolic doctrine in the second epistle to the Thessalonians 2, and in the second epistle to Timothy 3 and 4, are found to teach far otherwise.

Furthermore, by His passion or death, and by all those things which He did and suffered for our sakes from the time of His coming in the flesh, our Lord reconciled His heavenly Father unto all the faithful (Rom. 5:10), purged their sin (Heb. 1:3), spoiled death, broke asunder condemnation and hell, and by His resurrection from the dead, brought again and restored life and immortality (2 Tim. 1:10). For He is our righteousness, life, and resurrection (John 6:44); and, to be short, He is the fullness and perfection, the salvation and most abundant sufficiency of all the faithful. For the apostle says, "So it pleaseth the Father that all fullness should dwell in Him" (Col. 1:19); and "In Him ye are complete" (Col. 2:10).

For we teach and believe that this Jesus Christ our Lord is the only and eternal Savior of mankind, yes, and of the whole world; in whom are saved by faith all that ever were saved before the Law, under the Law, and in the time of the gospel, and so many as shall yet be saved to the end of the world. For the Lord Himself in the gospel says, "He that entereth not in by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, he is a thief and a robber" (John 10:1). "I am the door of the sheep" (v. 7). And also in another place of the same gospel He says, "Abraham saw my day, and rejoiced" (John 8:56). And the apostle Peter says, "Neither is there salvation in any other, but in Christ; for among men there is given no other name under heaven whereby they might be saved" (Acts 4:12). We believe, therefore, that through the grace of our Lord Christ we shall be saved, even as our fathers were. For Paul says that "All our fathers did eat the same spiritual meat and drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ" (1 Cor. 10:3–4). And, therefore, we read that John said that "Christ was that Lamb which was slain from the beginning of the world" (Rev. 13:8) and that John the Baptist witnesses that "Christ is that Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). Wherefore we do plainly and openly profess and preach that Jesus Christ the only Redeemer and Savior of the world, the King and High Priest, the true and looked for Messiah, that holy and blessed one (I say) whom all the shadows of the Law, and the prophecies of the prophets, did prefigure and promise; and that God supplied and sent Him unto us so that now we are not to look for any other. And now there remains nothing but that we all should give all glory to Him, believe in Him, and rest in Him only, condemning and rejecting all other aids of our life. For they are fallen from the grace of God, and make Christ of no value unto themselves, whosoever they be that seek salvation in any other things besides Christ alone (Gal. 5:4).

And to speak many things in few words, with a sincere heart we believe, and with liberty of speech we freely profess, whatsoever things are defined out of the Holy Scriptures, and comprehended in the creeds, and in the decrees of those four first and most excellent Councils held at Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, together with blessed Athanasius' Creed, and all other creeds like to these, touching the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ; and we condemn all things contrary to the same. And thus do we retain the Christian, sound, and catholic faith, whole and inviolable, knowing that nothing is contained in the foresaid creeds which is not agreeable to the Word of God, and makes wholly for the sincere declaration of the faith.

Christian faith is not an opinion or human persuasion, but a sure trust and an evident and steadfast assent of the mind; to be most brief, a most sure comprehension of the truth of God set forth in the Scriptures and in the Apostles' Creed; yes and of God Himself, the chief blessedness; and especially of God's promise, and of Christ, who is the consummation of all the promises. And this faith is the mere gift of God because God alone of His power gives it to His elect according to measure; and that when, to whom, and how much He will; and that by His Holy Spirit, through the means of preaching the gospel and of faithful prayer. This faith has also her increases; which unless they were likewise given of God, the apostles would never have said, "Lord, increase, our faith" (Luke 17:5).

Now all these things which we have said before of faith, the apostles taught them before us, even as we set them down. For Paul says, "Faith is the ground," or sure subsistence, "of things hoped for, and the evidence," or clear and certain comprehension, "of things which are not seen" (Heb. 11:1). And again he says that "All the promises of God in Christ are Yea, and in Christ are Amen" (2 Cor. 1:20). And the same apostle says to the Philippians that "it was given them to believe in Christ" (Phil. 1:29). And also, "God doth distribute unto every man a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3). And again, "All men have not faith" (2 Thess. 3:2); and "All do not obey the gospel" (2 Thess. 1:8). Besides, Luke witnesses and says, "As many as were ordained to life, believed" (Acts 13:48). And, therefore, Paul also calls faith, "the faith of God's elect" (Titus 1:1). And again, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). And in other places he often wishes men to pray for faith. And the same also calls faith "powerful, and that showeth itself by love" (Gal. 5:6).

This faith pacifies the conscience and opens to us a free access unto God; that with confidence we may come unto Him and may obtain at His hands whatsoever is profitable and necessary. The same faith keeps us in our duty which we owe to God and to our neighbor and fortifies our patience in adversity: it frames and makes a true confession, and (in a word) it brings forth good fruit of all sorts; and good works (which are good indeed) proceed from a lively faith, by the Holy Ghost, and are done of the faithful according to the will or rule of God's Word. For Peter the apostle says, "Therefore, giving all diligence thereunto, join moreover virtue with your faith, and with virtue knowledge, and with knowledge temperance" (2 Peter 1:5–6).

It was said before that the law of God, which is the will of God, prescribes unto us the pattern of good works. And the apostle says, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from all uncleanness, and that no man oppress or deceive his brother in any matter" (1 Thess. 4:3, 6). But as for such works and worship of God as are taken up upon our own liking, which St. Paul calls "will-worship" (Col. 2:23), they are not allowed nor liked of God. Of such the Lord says in the gospel, "They worship Me in vain, teaching for doctrine the precepts of men" (Matt. 15:9).

We, therefore, disallow all such manner of works, and we approve and urge men unto such as are according to the will and commandment of God. Yes, and these same works that are agreeable to God's will must be done, not to the end to merit eternal life by them; for "life everlasting," as the apostle says, "is the gift of God" (Rom. 6:23), nor for ostentation's sake, which the Lord rejects (Matt. 6:1, 5, 16), nor for lucre, which also He dislikes (Matt. 23:23), but to the glory of God to commend and set forth our calling and to yield thankfulness unto God, and also for the profit of our neighbors. For the Lord says again in the gospel, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Likewise the apostle Paul says, "Walk worthy of your calling" (Eph. 4:1). Also, "Whatsoever ye do," he says, "either in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by Him" (Col. 3:17). "Let no man seek his own his own, but every man his brother's" (Phil. 2:4). And, "Let ours also learn to show forth good works for necessary uses; that they be not unprofitable" (Titus 3:14).

Notwithstanding, therefore, that we teach, with the apostle, that a man is justified by faith in Christ and not by any good works (Rom. 3:28), yet we do not lightly esteem or condemn good works: because we know that a man is not created or regenerated through faith that he should be idle, but rather that without ceasing he should do those things which are good and profitable. For in the gospel the Lord says, "A good tree bringeth forth good fruit" (Matt. 12:33); and again, "Whosoever abideth in Me, bringeth forth much fruit" (John 15:5). And lastly, the apostle says, "We are the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God hath prepared that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10). And again, "Who gave Himself for us, that He might deliver us from all iniquity, and purge us to be a peculiar people to Himself, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). We, therefore, condemn all those which do condemn good works, and do babble that they are needless and not to be regarded. Nevertheless, as was said before, we do not think that we are saved by good works, or that they are so necessary to salvation that no man was ever saved without them. For we are saved by grace and by the benefit of Christ alone. Works do necessarily proceed from faith: but salvation is improperly attributed to them, which is most properly ascribed to grace. That sentence of the apostle is very notable: "If by grace, then not of works; for then grace were no more grace: but if of works, then is it not of grace; for then works were no more works" (Rom. 11:6).

Now the works which we do are accepted and allowed of God through faith because they which do them please God by faith in Christ, and also the works themselves are done by the grace of God through His Holy Spirit. For St. Peter says that "Of every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him" (Acts 10:35). And Paul also, "We cease not to pray for you, that ye may walk worthy of the Lord, and in all things please Him, being fruitful in very good work" (Col. 1:9–10).

Here, therefore, we diligently teach, not false and philosophical, but true virtues, true good works, and the true duties of a Christian man. And this we do with all the diligence and earnestness that we can inculcate and beat into men's minds; sharply reproving the slothfulness and hypocrisy of all those who with their mouths praise and profess the gospel, and yet with their shameful life do dishonor the same; setting before their eyes, in this case, God's horrible threatening, large promises, and bountiful rewards, and that by exhorting, comforting, and rebuking.

For we teach that God bestows great rewards on them that do good, according to that saying of the prophet, "Refrain thy voice from weeping, because thy work shall have a reward" (Jer. 31:16). In the gospel also the Lord said, "Rejoice, and be glad, because your reward is great in the heavens" (Matt. 5:12). And, "He that shall give to one of these little ones a cup of cold water, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward" (Matt. 10:42). Yet we do not attribute this reward, which God gives, to the merit of the man that receives it, but to the goodness, or liberality, and truth of God, which promises and gives it: who although He owes nothing unto any, yet He has promised to give a reward to those that faithfully worship Him, notwithstanding that He also gives them grace to worship Him. Besides, there are many things unworthy of the majesty of God, and many imperfect things are found in the works even of the saints; and yet because God receives into favor and embraces those who work them for Christ's sake, therefore, He performs unto them the promised reward. For otherwise, our righteousnesses are compared to a menstruous cloth (Isa. 64:6); yes, and the Lord in the gospel says, "When ye have done all things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; that which we ought to do, we have done" (Luke 17:10).

So that though we teach that God gives a reward to our good deeds, yet withal we teach with Augustine that "God doth crown in us, not our deserts, but His own gifts." And, therefore, whatsoever reward we receive, we say that it is a grace, and rather a grace than a reward: because those good things which we do, we do them rather by God than by ourselves; and because Paul says, "What hast thou that thou hast not received? but if thou hast received it, why dost thou boast, as though thou hadst not received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7). Which thing also the blessed martyr Cyprian gathers out of this place, that "we must not boast of anything, seeing nothing is our own." We, therefore, condemn those who defend the merits of men that they may frustrate the grace of God.

Although religion is not tied unto time, yet it cannot be planted and exercised without a due dividing and allotting out of time unto it. Every church, therefore, chooses unto itself a certain time for public prayers, and for preaching of the gospel, and for the celebration of the sacraments: and it is not lawful for everyone to overthrow this appointment of the church at his own pleasure. For except some due time and leisure were allotted to the outward exercise of religion, without doubt men would be quite drawn from it by their own affairs. In regard hereof, we see that in the ancient churches, there were not only certain set hours in the week appointed for meetings, but that also even for the Lord's Day itself, ever since the apostles' time, was consecrated to religious exercises and unto a holy rest; which also is now very well observed of our churches for the worship of God and increase of charity. Yet herein we give no place unto the Jewish observation of the day or to any superstitions. For we do not account one day to be holier than another, nor think that mere rest is of itself liked of God. Besides we do celebrate and keep the Lord's Day, and not the Sabbath, and that with a free observation.

Moreover, if the churches do religiously celebrate the memory of the Lord's nativity, circumcision, passion, resurrection, and of His ascension into heaven, and sending the Holy Ghost upon His disciples, according to Christian liberty, we do very well approve of it. But as for festival days ordained to men or departed saints, we cannot allow them. For indeed such feasts must be referred to the first table of the Law and belong peculiarly unto God. To conclude, these festival days, which are appointed to saints and abrogated of us, have in them many gross things, unprofitable and not to be tolerated. In the meantime, we confess that the remembrance of saints in due time and place may be to good use and profit commended unto the people in sermons, and the holy examples of holy men set before their eyes to be imitated of all.

Now, the more sharply that the church of Christ accuses surfeiting, drunkenness, and all kind of lusts and intemperance, so much the more earnestly does it commend unto us Christian fasting. For fasting is nothing else but the abstinence and temperance of the godly, and watching and chastising of our flesh taken up for the present necessity, whereby we are humbled before God and withdraw from the flesh those things whereby it is cherished, to the end it may the more willingly and easily obey the Spirit. Wherefore they do not fast at all that have no regard of those things, but do imagine that they fast if they stuff their bellies once a day, and for a set or prescribed time abstain from certain meats, thinking that by this very work wrought they please God and do a good work. Fasting is a help of the prayers of the saints and of all virtues: but the fasts wherein the Jews fasted from meat and not from wickedness, pleased God not at all, as we may see in the books of the prophets.

Now fasting is either public or private. In old time they celebrated public fasts in troublesome times and in the afflictions of the church: wherein they abstained altogether from meat unto the evening and bestowed all that time in holy prayers, the worship of God and repentance. These differed little from mournings and lamentations; and of these there is often mention made in the prophets, and especially in the second chapter of Joel. Such a fast should be kept at this day when the church is in distress. Private fasts are used of every one of us, according as every one feels the Spirit weakened in him: for so far forth he withdraws that which might cherish and strengthen the flesh. All fasts ought to proceed from a free and willing spirit and such a one as is truly humbled, and not framed to win applause and liking of men, much less to the end that a man might merit righteousness by them. But let everyone fast to this end that he may deprive the flesh of that which would cherish it and that he may the more zealously serve God.

The fast of Lent has testimony from antiquity but none out of the apostles' writings; and, therefore, ought not, nor cannot, be imposed on the faithful. It is certain that in old time there were divers manners and uses of this fast; whereupon Irenaeus, a most ancient writer, says, "Some think that this fast should be observed one day only, others two days, but others more, and some forty days. Which variety of keeping this fast began not now in our times, but long before us; by those as I suppose which, not simply holding that which was delivered to them from the beginning, fell shortly after into another custom, either through negligence or ignorance." Moreover, Socrates, the writer of the History, says, "Because no ancient record is found concerning this matter, I think the apostles left this to every man's own judgment, that every one might work that which is good without fear or constraint."

Now as concerning the choice of meats, we suppose that in fasting all that should be taken from the flesh whereby the flesh is made more lusty, wherein it most immoderately delights and whereby it is most of all pampered, whether they be fish, spices, dainties, or excellent wines. Otherwise we know that all the creatures of God were made for the use and service of men. All things which God made are good (Gen. 1:31) and are to be used in the fear of God and with due moderation, without putting any difference between them. For the apostle says, "To the pure, all things are pure" (Titus 1:15); and also, "Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, eat ye, and ask no question, for conscience' sake" (1 Cor. 10:25). The same apostle calls the doctrine of those which teach to abstain from meats, "the doctrine of devils" for "God created meats to be received of the faithful and such as know the truth with thanksgiving because whatsoever God has created, it is good, and is not to be refused, if it is received with giving of thanks" (1 Tim. 4:1, 3–4). The same apostle to the Colossians reproves those which by an overmuch abstinence will get into themselves an opinion of holiness (Col. 2:20–23). Therefore, we altogether dislike the Tatians, and the Encratites, and all the disciples of Eustathius, against whom the Synod of Gangra was assembled.

1. In the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good.

2. After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, rendering them fit unto that life to God, for which they were created; being made after the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it; and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject to change.

3. Besides the law written in their hearts, they received a command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.

1. God, the good Creator of all things, in his infinite power and wisdom, doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created; according unto his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will; to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy.

2. Although in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the First Cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly; so that there is not anything befalls any by chance, or without his providence; yet by the same providence he ordereth them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.

3. God, in his ordinary providence maketh use of means; yet is free to work without, above, and against them at his pleasure.

4. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God, so far manifest themselves in his providence, that his determinate counsel extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sinful actions both of angels and men; (and that not by a bare permission) which also he most wisely and powerfully boundeth, and otherwise ordereth, and governeth, in a manifold dispensation to his most holy ends: yet so, as the sinfulness of their acts proceeds only from the creatures, and not from God; who being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be, the author or approver of sin.

5. The most wise, righteous, and gracious God, doth oftentimes, leave for a season his own children to manifold temptations, and the corruptions of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled; and to raise them to a more close, and constant dependence for their support, upon himself; and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for other just and holy ends. So that whatsoever befalls any of his elect is by his appointment, for his glory, and their good.

6. As for those wicked and ungodly men, whom God as a righteous judge, for former sin doth blind and harden; from them he not only withholdeth his grace, whereby they might have been enlightened in their understanding, and wrought upon in their hearts: but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they had, and exposeth them to such objects as their corruptions make occasion of sin; and withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan, whereby it comes to pass, that they harden themselves, even under those means which God useth for the softening of others.

7. As the providence of God doth in general reach to all creatures, so after a more special manner it taketh care of his church, and disposeth of all things to the good thereof.

1. Although God created man upright and perfect, and gave him a righteous law, which had been unto life had he kept it, and threatened death upon the breach thereof; yet he did not long abide in this honor; Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to seduce Eve, then by her seducing Adam, who, without any compulsion, did willfully transgress the law of their creation, and the command given unto them, in eating the forbidden fruit; which God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it, to his own glory.

2. Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them, whereby death came upon all; all becoming dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties, and parts, of soul, and body.

3. They being the root, and by God's appointment, standing in the room, and stead of all mankind; the guilt of the sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation, being now conceived in sin, and by nature children of wrath, the servants of sin, the subjects of death, and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus set them free.

4. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.

5. The corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those that are regenerated; and although it be through Christ pardoned and mortified, yet both itself, and the first motions thereof, are truly and properly sin.

1. It pleased God, in his eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus his only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them both, to be the Mediator between God and man; the Prophet, Priest, and King; Head and Savior of his church, the Heir of all things, and Judge of the world; unto whom he did from all eternity give a people to be his seed, and to be by him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified.

2. The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with him who made the world, who upholdeth and governeth all things he hath made: did when the fullness of time was come take upon him man's nature, with all the essential properties, and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin: being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowing her, and so was made of a woman, of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of Abraham, and David according to the Scriptures: so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, were inseparably joined together in one person: without conversion, composition, or confusion: which person is very God and very man; yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man.

3. The Lord Jesus, in his human nature thus united to the divine, in the person of the Son, was sanctified, anointed with the Holy Spirit, above measure; having in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell: to the end that being holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace, and truth, he might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of a mediator and surety; which office he took not upon himself, but was thereunto called by his Father; who also put all power and judgment in his hand, and gave him commandment to execute the same.

4. This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake, which that he might discharge he was made under the law, and did perfectly fulfill it, and underwent the punishment due to us, which we should have born and suffered, being made sin and a curse for us: enduring most grievous sorrows in his soul; and most painful sufferings in his body; was crucified, and died, and remained in the state of the dead; yet saw no corruption: on the third day he arose from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered; with which he also ascended into heaven: and there sitteth at the right hand of his Father, making intercession; and shall return to judge men and angels, at the end of the world.

5. The Lord Jesus by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself, which he through the eternal Spirit once offered up unto God, hath fully satisfied the justice of God, procured reconciliation, and purchased an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, for all those whom the Father hath given unto him.

6. Although the price of redemption was not actually paid by Christ, till after his incarnation, yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefit thereof were communicated to the elect in all ages successively, from the beginning of the world, in and by those promises, types, and sacrifices, wherein he was revealed, and signified to be the seed of the woman, which should bruise the serpent's head; and the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world: being the same yesterday, and today and forever.

7. Christ, in the work of mediation, acteth according to both natures, by each nature doing that which is proper to itself; yet by reason of the unity of the person, that which is proper to one nature is sometimes in Scripture, attributed to the person denominated by the other nature.

8. To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption, he doth certainly, and effectually apply, and communicate the same; making intercession for them, uniting them to himself by his Spirit, revealing unto them, in and by the Word, the mystery of salvation; persuading them to believe, and obey, governing their hearts by his Word and Spirit, and overcoming all their enemies by his almighty power, and wisdom; in such manner, and ways as are most consonant to his wonderful, and unsearchable dispensation; and all of free, and absolute grace, without any condition foreseen in them, to procure it.

9. This office of Mediator between God and man, is proper only to Christ, who is the Prophet, Priest, and King of the church of God; and may not be either in whole, or any part thereof transferred from him to any other.

10. This number and order of offices is necessary; for in respect of our ignorance, we stand in need of his prophetical office; and in respect of our alienation from God, and imperfection of the best of our services, we need his priestly office, to reconcile us, and present us acceptable unto God: and in respect to our averseness, and utter inability to return to God, and for our rescue, and security from our spiritual adversaries, we need his kingly office, to convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us to his heavenly kingdom.