The Institution of Christian Religion

If a man do more heedfully weigh with himself those things that I do but shortly touch, it shall appear that Moses was the sure witness and publisher of the one God the creator. I omit here that which I have already declared, that he speaketh not there only of the bare essence of God, but also setteth forth unto us his eternal Wisdom and Spirit, to the end we should not dream that God is any other, than such as he will be known by the image that he hath there expressed.

If a man do more hedefully weye with himselfe those thinges that I doe but shortly touche, it shall appeare that Moses was the sure witnesse and publisher of the one God the creator. I omitt here that which I haue already declared, that he speaketh not there onely of the bare essence of God, but also setteth forth vnto vs his eternall Wisedome and Spirite, to the ende we should not dreame that God is any other, than such as he wil be knowē by the image that he hath there expressed.

But before that I begin to speak more at large of the nature of man. I must say somewhat of Angels. Because though Moses applying himself to the rudeness of the common people reciteth in his history of the creation no other works of God but such as are seen with our eyes, yet whereas afterward he bringeth in Angels for ministers of God, we may easily gather that he was the creator of them in whose service they employ their travail and offices. Though therefore Moses speaking after the capacity of the people doth not at the very beginning rehearse the Angels among the creatures of God: yet that is no cause to the contrary, but that we may plainly and expressly speak those things of them, which in other places the Scripture commonly teacheth. Because if we desire to know God by his works, so noble and excellent an example is not to be omitted. Beside that this point of doctrine is very necessary for the confuting of many errors. The excellence of the nature of Angels hath so dazzled y• minds of many, that they thought the Angels had wrong offered them, if they should be made subject to the authority of one God, and brought as it were in obedience. And hereupon were they feigned to be Gods. There rose up also one Manicheus with his sect, which made themselves two original beginnings of things, God, and the Devil, and to God he assigned the beginning of good things, and of things of evil nature, he determined the Devil to be the author. If our minds should be entangled with this error, God should not keep whole his glory in the creation of the world. For where as nothing is more proper to God than eternity and a being of himself as I may so term it, they which give that unto the Devil, do they not in a manner give him the title of Godhead? Now where is the almightiness of God become, if such authority be granted to the devil, that he may put in execution what he will though God say nay & withstand it?