John 17.3. opened at

large.

m En ftru. &uram

doth acknowledge his Father to be the onely true God, and therefore doth exclude both himselfe and the Holy Ghoft; for there is but one only God, and God the Father alone is that only true Go.

Thefe fubtile Hereticks are guilty of a pitifull piece of Sophiftry in the drawing up of this argument, which is more full of blafphemy then wit: for observe,

1. Our Saviour doth not say, [That we may know "Thee only to be the true God] but [That we may know Thee the only true God:] For as Athanafius faid ell, we must know lefus Chrift to be the onely true Gramma- Godalfo; because Chrift, and fo the Holy ticam [ut Ghost also,is "one and the fame God with cogno- the Father; all three Perfons are the only illum folú true God; for though they differ in jub fiftence, they do not differ in nature, they Deum] have all of them one and the fame fingular non autem Godhead, the self-same divine nature; the [ut cogno- Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are but one fcant folú and the fame infinite Spirit, one Jehovah, one God, who is the only true God, God Deum.] bleffed for ever.

fcant Te

verum

Te, illum

verum

» En ftru&uram logicam, particula exclufiva Solum non cohæret cum fubje&o,fed cum prædicato,pater eft ille Deus,qui folus verus Deus eft.

• Diftinationem perfonalem concedimus, effentialem negamus. Hi qui tres funt perfonaliter, funt unum effenti. aliter.

Now

*

lus verus

præter

quem non

unus et

Now it doth not follow that the Father, Non eSon and Spirit do differ Effentially,because nim fenthey differ perfonally for these three are fus eft, foone, 1 John. 5. 7. One God, who is the onely Pater eft true God. The Father is the onely true Deus,fed God; behold, the prædicate in that pro- Pater eft pofition is not personall,but effentiall, and folus veevery Effentiall Predicate belongs to all and rus Deus every one of the three perfons, because they have one and the fame Divine Effence, and eft alius therefore the Apoftle faith these three are Deus. one. 2. Obferve how the 17. of Iohn and 3. verle is expounded by Iohn himself, Deus eft 1 John 5. 20. And we know that the Son of trinus, fed God is come, and hath given us an understand- nonfecuning that we may know him that is true, and dum idem, we are in him that is true, in his Son Iefus eft unus Chrift. This is the true God and Eternall life. Now adde, Iohn 17. This is life eter- Perfonanall to know thee the onely true God,&c. and liter;conthen put all together thus, 1 his is life E- radiatoria ternall that they might know thee the onely affi.mintrue God and lefus Christ whom thou hast tur de cofent [The onely true God] for as lohn dem, fi ci himfelf expounds This Iefus Chrift is the tribuantur true God and Eternall life. 1 Iohn 5.20. idem.

effentiali

ter Trinus

enim non

fecundum

In effentia Divina eft alius et alius, non aliud et aliud, alius enim eft Pater, alius Filius, alius Spiritus San&us, hi tres autem funt potius num, quam Vnus. 1 Iohan.5 7. Unus verò Deus, non alius Pater eft; alius non Effentialiter, fed Perfonaliter. vide Auguftinum de fide ad Petrum cap. 1. et de hærefibus. Cap.41. vide D.Salomon,Glaffium in orat. Chrift. wegas Iohan. 17,

3. Obferve

p Spiritus San&us ent αυτο

θεός

3 Obferve that John himself expounds this alfo of the P Holy Ghoft; for, Father, Beos non Son, and Holy Ghoft are one onely God, I Ioh. relate quá 5.7. These three are one; and therefore it perfona doth not at all follow that the Son and Spiprocedens, rit are not the true God,because the Father fed abfois the onely God; for they are all three one and the fame God, who is the onely God, the per Effen- only true God

lute quá Deus elt

tiam perfe&illi

4. Obferve that I do not (as fome lear mam á fe ned men do) onely affirm that the word ipfâ exift- [onely is put there to exclude false gods, entem, eft but I fay it doth alfo deny Jefus Chrift, and enim Spi- the Holy Ghost to be different Gods, other him patri gods from God the Father, because they are one filioque and the fame God with the Father, as is evicoeffenti dent in thofe two places 1 John 5.7.20, cialis et co- ted before.

ritus Elo

æqualis. Gen I

2.

q Particu

I

Thofe learned men doe well to exclude falle gods, the Socinians do ill to exla exclufi- clude the Son and Spirit who are the fame va[Solum] God with the Father;[onely] doth exclude Dee's avevery falfe god; but the Son and Spirit, are τι διαςολὴν (as the Father is ) the onely true God,blesκαὶ ἀντι- fed for ever.

διαίρεσιν

non reli

quarum Trinitatis perfonarum fed fictitiorum numinum ufur. patur, ita ut excludat ca tantum quæ extra naturam divinam funt,et á Patre res effentiâ diverfæ funt; eadem autem natura divina eft in Patre, Filio et Spiritu Sancto.

The term [onely] doth not exclude any Divine perfon, but it doth exclude all and

r Vt cognofcant

illa eft fo

every one of the creatures; 'because every Divine perfon hath the fame Divine nature, e, qui es but no creature is capable of the Divine na ille Deus, ture, unleffe we do understand it as 2 Pet. qui folus 1.4. is to be understood, of the image of verus eft, God, or having such an intereft in the Di- quoniam yine Attributes, that God will exercife, and la Deitas put forth his wifdome, power, and all, for vera, quæ their everlafting good, and be himself their eft in Paallfufficient reward, portion, and objective tre, & fic happineffe. And it is to be obferved that ditur Filithe termes Only and True, are both applied us, qui eft to the fame part of the Propofition, name- in Patre ly to the Pradicate alone.

non exclu

unus idem

cum Patre

terna hie

5. This is life eternall, to know thee: que Deus But the Text faith, This is life eternall to & Spiritu know Jefus Chrift alfo; that is, this is the Sancto. way and meanes for the obtaining of eternall Job.1.1. life,and this is the beginning of eternal life, 1 70.5,7. to know, believe, love and obey Jefus S Vita Chrift. But eternall life is perfected by inchoative knowing of God in heaven, not by faith habetur but by fight. Now eternall life doth not cognofcenconfift in the knowledge, belief, or love of any do Deum meer creature; and therefore the Godhead per fidem, of Jefus Chrift is proved out of this very autem in habetur Text, which they urge (who deny his God- calis perhead) to justifie their blafphemy in the denial fe&te cogof it.

t

nofcendo

Deum per

vifionem. Verba de wegwo7ique vitæ intelligenda, vid.cyril. lib.2.in Joban Hilar.lib.9.de Tris. lib.5. contra Julian. Ambrof. lib.5.de fide. t Vita æterna eft folummodo in vero & æterno Deo, in fummo bono, uti Ambrofius cont. Arianos.

Ifa.41.10,

11,25.

6. Eternall life doth consist in knowing of Jesus Christ, whom God hath fent to be our Mediatour; and this eternall life will be perfected in heaven, when the mediation of Chrift will have an end: and therefore it is the knowing of and believing in this. Mediatour as God fatisfying for us, which makes us happy; for he doth perfect the work of Mediatour as God by his eternall Spirit, that is his divine nature, Heb.9.14. and by the bloud of God, A&t.20. 28 By the fufferings of the Lord of glory, 1 Cor. 2. 8. for he obtained eternall redemption for us by vertue of his eternal fpirit, Heb.9.12. 14.

7. To know Jefus, that is, to know him as a Saviour, as one that faves us from our fins, is to know him as a God,as one God with his Father,as the true God & the only God; according to that which we read Ifa. 43.10,1 12,25. that ye may know and believe and understand that I am he; I even I compared am* Iehovah, and beside me there is no Saviwith Heb. our. And Ifa 45. 21,22,23,24,25. I here is 1,2,3. no God elfe befide me. A juft God & a Saviour, 1 Joh. 1.7 there is none befide me.. befide me. Look unto me and be ye *O Feho- Saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God, vahjuftitia and there is none elfe. to me every knee Shall bow. in Jehovah have I righteousIn Iehovah fhall the feed of Ifrael

A&.4.12.

noftra.

Jer.23.5. nefe.

Pf.68. 18,

19, 20. compared with Ephef.4.8, Ifa.8.14,16. compared with

Rom9 30,33.