A Golden Chain

And to conclude, I would have all the devils in hell with the cursed order of Lucians, Porphyrians, and Atheists whatsoever to answer •his one point, how it could come to pass, that Christ by publishing the doctrine of the Gospel, that is as contrary to mans reason, will, and affections, as water to fire, should win almost the whole world to become his disciples, and to give their lives for him, unless he were God indeed, as he professed himself to be.

And to conclude, I would haue all the deuills in hell with the cursed order of Lucians, Porphyrians, and Atheists whatsoeuer to answer •his one point, how it could come to passe, that Christ by publishing the doctrine of the Gospel, that is as contrarie to mans reason, will, and affections, as water to fire, should winne almost the whole world to become his disciples, and to giue their liues for him, vnlesse he were God indeede, as he professed himselfe to be.

There be sundry special reasons wherefore it was necessary that Christ should be God. I. There is none which can be a Saviour of body and soul but God.¹ I even I am the Lord, and besides me there is no Saviour. And, I am the Lord the God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me: for there is no Saviour beside me. ²II. There must be a proportion between the sin of man and the punishment of sin: now the sin of man in respect of the offence of the majesty of God is infinite, in that he is infinitely displeased with man for the breach of his law: therefore the punishment of sin must be infinite: and hence it followeth, that he which suffereth the punishment being man, must withal be God, that the manhood by the power of the Godhead may be supported, that in suffering it may vanquish death, and make a sufficient satisfaction. III. He that must be a Saviour, must be able first to deliver men from the bondage of their spiritual enemies, namely sin and Satan: secondly to restore the image of God lost by the fall of Adam, and to confer righteousness and life everlasting: thirdly, to defend them from hell, death, damnation, the flesh, the devil, the world: fourthly, to give them full redemption from all their miseries both in body and soul, and to place them in eternal happiness: all which none can do, but he which is very God. IV. It was the pleasure of God, to show his incomprehensible goodness in this, that his grace should not only be equal to our sin, but also by many degrees go beyond it. And therefore the first Adam being but a mere man, the second Adam must be both God and man: that as the second was more excellent then the first, so our comfort might be greater in our redemption by the second, then our misery and discomfort was by the fall of the first.