A Father and the Son. The fecond Epistle of John the ninth verfe, who is a lyar but be that denyeth that Jefus is the Chrift? He is Antichrift that denyeth the Father and the Son.Whofoever denyeth the Son,the fame bath not the Father, I fab. 2. 22, 22, 24. He who hath not the true God, Father, Son, and holy Ghoft for his God, is an Atheist; for if he do acknowledge a falfe God, a falle God being no God, it must still bee granted that no man can bee excufed from Atheisme by his acknowledgment or worship of any thing that is not God I fpeak of such speculative Atheisme as doth commonly run into practical Atheism, and may confequently end in direct and down-right Atheisme, or at least fuch affec ted Atheisme, as will permit that Radicall and Seminall Atheifme which was borne with them to fit quietly in their hearts as ona Throne, fo that they have no actuall belief of the true God which doth amount to an historicall beliefe; much leffe any that can effectually over-power or dethrone their natural Atheisme. And yet I beleeve thefe Atheistical Libertines can never fully blot out all the natural notions of a God- Vide John. head written in their hearts by the finger of Junium in God, though many of them have made a Refutatiovery unhappy progrefs in this devillifh fta- le&t.Socini dy; for the devils themselves have not at- cap. 2. & tained to any Atheistical negozia or dra. D.Rivet, in Pfal. 19 Ee 2 37 ne. Præ D.Voet.de anoia; the Devils beleeve and tremble; but us ignorantia prave difpofitionis, & contra fenfum numinis congenitum verum Deum negans, Atheus cerre, nec immeritò, dicendus eft.Nulli autem funtAthei qui certò perfuafi funt non effe Deum.Vide Merfeum in Gen.1.à pag.235.ufque ad pa, 279. & Voetium in Ther fite. Se&.2. cap.4. & de Atheismo parte fecundâ; & parte quarta pag. 189. Wigandum de Arianis in Polonia. Facilis eftab Atheismo Sociniano in direćtum Atheifmum prolapfus. Vide Beda nocas in Ephef. 2. 14. & Di Vedelium de Deo Synagoga. Atheifmus interpretativè contradicens & dire&è blafphemans ferendus non eft in civili hominum focietate, quia bonum civile non confiftit fine metu cultuque numinis. Vide Calvin.in Pfal, 115. de Atheo blaf phemante. It is not enough for Chriftian Commu nicants to atraine to the first principle of natural Theology, and confefs that there is a God, but they muft acknowledge the first principle of Chriftianity, which is indeed Supernatural Divinity, and acknowledge, that Father, Son,and holy Ghoft are the only true God,for elfe we go no farther then Pharaoh that grand Seeker did, when he af ked, who is fehovah that I should obey his voice? Exo, 5.2. or then the Samaritans and Athenians did, who worshipped they knew: not what. Job.4.22. Act.17.23. The Turks, the Pagans, the Jews do acknowledge that there is a God; unless then we do intend to hold Church-Communion with Pagans, de cœlo lib. 1.cap.3.Aug.in Pfal.44 Senec.Epift. 117-Damafc.de Orth fid. lib.i.c.1.Ciceron. de naturâ Deorum, VideArift. Jews, The Fa ther and nour. Jews, Mahumetans, we must require fomewhat more of those, whom we admit un to Chriftian Communion than a bare acknowledgment that there is a God, or that the Father is God. For he who doth deny the Godhead of the Son, doth deny the Father alfo, and confequently hath no God at all for his God, as hath been proved already from the ninth verfe of the second Epiftle of John, and 1 John 2.22,23,24. He that honoureth not the Son as highly as he honoureth the Father, he doth not honour bis coequal the Father, who fent his co-equall Son to Son are to give us life. Iob.5.21,23.We must acknow. be honou ledge the Son to be equall to the Father, red with for this redounds to the glory of God the equal bo Father.Phi.2.6.11.We can have no Chriftian Chriftian and fpiritual Communion with God the Fa- communion ther but in his natural Son, and by their Co- with the effential Spirit, as is manifeft by comparing his natural thefe Texts together, 1 Iob.1.3. I Cor. 1.9. Son by 2 Cor. 13. 14. Rev. 1.4,5. Mat.28.19,20. their co-efEphef. 2.18,22. 1 Cor. 12. 3, 6, 8, 11, 13, fential fpiand by the full scope of all my practical Difcourfe in the ninth Chapter of this Treatife. This is life eternal,&c. Iohn 173. 1 John 5. 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 20. When Saint The largest Paul doth enlarge the bounds of Chriftian bounds of Communion as far as he can, he writes thus; Chriftian Vnto the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are fanctified in Chrift fefus, called to be Saints,with all that in every place Ee 3 call Father in rit. Communię 02. We can have no call upon the name of Iefus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours, 1 Cor.1.2. We cannot maintaine any Chriftian Communion with Christian fuch as deny the Godhead of Chrift; for communion they muft (as Francis David, and David with fuch George, &c. did) deny that Chrift is to as deny the be worshipped with divine faith and love, Godhead of because (as they blafpemoufly faid) he chrift. Vide Epi- hath not the fame divine nature with God ftolas Martini the Father; or elie they must fay as Socinus, who wrote against Francis David,said, that Chrift is to be worthipped with divine pud Soci- worship; and then they will if you put num de A- their principles together (as you may fee doratione them together in that Racovian Alcoran Chriftiad the Racovian Catechifme) be found to be Christian even the very best of them, but a pack of verfus cum Da Franc- Blafphemous Idolaters, with whom we ought ken. & not to hold Communion. For whilft they Francif- do blafphemoufly affirme, that Chrift is a vidis. meere man in glory, and the Son of God Catechif. only in a metaphoricall, not any proper Racov. fenfe, We muft draw thefe conclufions. The Soci- The best of the Socinians maintaines nians are blafphemous and Idolatrous Herėticks. I. H. Nico 1. That Jefus Christ our Lord is but a The Family meere man in glory, a very Creature and of Love. no more: and therefore they are blafphelaus Fami- mers; and fo are all they who fay, that lie Carita- they are as much God as Iefus Chrift; for tis: Pater thefe are high fwelling blafphemies, fuch as as the Deified Atheists of the Family of love dixit,. Ege' (with whom 1 feare Mr Fry hath had too fum Deus. much acquaintance) do ufually vent to the Vide The great difhonour of Chrift and Chrifti odor. anity. Cornhert in Speci mine injuftitiæ Deificati Hen. Nicolai Præfat. Mr Fry his Bellows.pag.16. II. Mr Fry his 2. That a meere man, a very Creature is to be worshipped with divine Honour; and therefore they are Idolators. Mafter Proud blafphemy. Fry muft prove, that he himfelfe is to be worshipped with divine Honour also, or elfe he cannot make good his proud affertions in his blafphemous Pamphlet, or elfe he muft fay as David George did, that Chrift is not to be worshipped with divine Honour. concerning Now then the question is, what respect The grand is to be hewn, or Communion ought to be held question With blafphemous and Idolatrous Hereticks, Chriftian who are Seducers alfo, and do zealously en-communion deavour to payfon foules, as it doth well be- with blaf come Apoftatizing Renegadoes? phemous Idolaters, feducing Hereticks, and bafe Apoftates. They who are acquainted with Ecclefiafticall Writers, know what refpect was Vide Go fhewne, or Communion held with Arians marum, Voetium, and others, who did deny the God-head Zanchium, of Chrift, though they did maintaine that Polanum Chrift was to be worshipped with divine de TriniEe 4 Ho- tate. Jod. |