Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life…Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life…

Lastly, our holiness must have growth and proficiency with it, grow in grace. Let these things be in you and abound; as it is said of Christ, that He increased in wisdom ¹and favour with God and men, and that He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. If it be here objected, that Christ was ever full, and had the Spirit without measure even from the womb; For in as much as his Divine nature was in his infancy as fully united to his humane as ever after, therefore the fullness of grace, which was a consequent thereupon, was as much as ever after: To this I answer, that certain it is Christ was ever full of Grace and Spirit; but that excludes not his growth in them, proportionably to the ripeness, and by consequence capacity of his humane nature. Suppose² we the Sun were vegetable and a subject of augmentation, though it would be never true to say that it is fuller of light then it was, yet it would be true to say that it hath more light now, then it had when it was of a lesser capacity: Even so Christ being in all things save sin like unto us, and therefore like us in the degrees and progresses of natural maturity, though he were ever full of Grace, may yet be said to grow in it, and to learn, because as the capacity of his nature was enlarged, the spring of Grace within him did rise up and proportionably fill it.

Lastly, our holynesse must have growth and proficiencie with it, grow in grace. Let these things be in you and abound; as it is said of Christ, that He increased in wisedome ¹and favour with God and men, and that He learned obedience by the things which Hee suffered. If it bee here objected, that Christ was ever full, and had the Spirit without measure even from the wombe; For in as much as his Divine nature was in his infancie as fully united to his humane as ever after, therefore the fulnesse of grace, which was a consequent thereupon, was as much as ever after: To this I answere, that certaine it is Christ was ever full of Grace and Spirit; but that excludes not his growth in them, proportionably to the ripenesse, and by consequence capacitie of his humane nature. Suppose² we the Sunne were vegetable and a subject of augmentation, though it would be never true to say that it is fuller of light then it was, yet it would be true to say that it hath more light now, then it had when it was of a lesser capacitie: Even so Christ being in all things save sinne like unto us, and therefore like us in the degrees and progresses of naturall maturitie, though he were ever full of Grace, may yet be said to grow in it, and to learne, because as the capacitie of his nature was enlarged, the spring of Grace within him did rise up and proportionably fill it.