The Institution of Christian Religion

Also he doth slanderously cavil, that they which deny that Christ is our righteousness according to his nature of Godhead, do ⟨image 256⟩leave but one part of Christ, & (which is worse) do make two gods, because although they confess, that God dwelleth in us, yet they say again that we are not righteous by the righteousness of God. For although we call Christ the author of life, in respect that he suffered death to destroy him that had the power of death, we do not by & by take away that honour from whole Christ as he was openly showed God in the flesh,¹ but we only make a distinction how the righteousness of God is conveyed unto us, that we may enjoy it. In which point Osiander hath to foully erred. Neither do we deny that that which is openly given us in Christ, proceedeth from the secret grace & power of God: & we strive not against this, that the righteousness which Christ giveth us is the righteousness of God that proceedeth from God: but we hold this steadfastly, that we have righteousness & life in the death & resurrection of Christ. I overpass that heaping together of places whereof he may well be ashamed, wherewith he hath tediously cumbered the readers, without choice & without common reason, to prove that wheresoever is made mention of righteousness, there ought to be understanded this essential righteousness. As where David calleth upon the righteousness of God to help him: whereas he doth the same above a hundred times, Osiander sticketh not to corrupt so many sentences. And nothing stronger is the other objection, that that is properly & rightly called righteousness, whereby we be moved to do rightly, but that God only worketh in us both to will & to perform. For we do also not deny, but that God reformeth us with his Spirit unto holiness of life & righteousness:² but we must first see whether he do this by himself and immediately, or by the hand of his Son, with whom he hath left all the fullness of his holy Spirit, that with his abundant store he should supply the need of his members. Moreover although righteousness come unto us out of the secret fountain of the godhead, yet it followeth not that Christ which sanctified himself in y• flesh for our sakes,³