Divers sermons of Master John Calvin, concerning the divinity, humanity, and nativity of our…Diuers sermons of Master Iohn Caluin, concerning the diuinitie, humanitie, and natiuitie of our…

And when they shall have once known these three persons, they will not any more straggle & wander hither & thither, but they will come to this one & only essence, to know that there is no more but one only God, yea such a one and only God indeed, as hath in such sort created the world, that he hath not left undone any thing of all that, which was requisite & necessary to accomplish our redemption. Thus much then we are to mark, as concerning that which is said, that this word was with God, to wit, that the Evangelist meant to separate Jesus Christ from all creatures,¹ and yet notwithstanding to declare unto us the distinction which is between him & the father. Now he addeth, that that word was God: & this he doth the more fully & better to express, the which he meant, to wit, that Jesus Christ was not a thing created,² which had had a beginning, but that he is our true & very God, This place hath bin ill understood of some,³ and they have also foolishly translated it, as to say God was the word: for if we should say, that God is the word, the father should be no more God, the holy Ghost should be no more God. But S. John meant to speak altogether the contrary, to wit, ye this word is God, as if he should say, ye Jesus Christ in respect of his deity & Godhead, is of the same essence with the father. So he shutteth not the father out from the deity, but declareth that there is no more, but one only essence in God: & although there be a distinction between God and his word, yet must we always come back to this simple & plain trueth that they are one God, which we must worship.⁴ It is true that the old heretics travelled very sore, to pervert this place to the end they might not be enforced to confess, that Jesus Christ was our true God. But we see here, that S. John speaketh so plainly, of the everlastingness and eternity of this word, that there is no place left, either for wrangling, or starting into holes. He addeth afterward that this word was in the beginning with God: He had not before spoken these two words together: he had ⟨p. 7⟩only said, This word was in the beginning also. It was with God. But now he joineth both of them together. Mark then how we ght in such sort to behold Jesus Christ that we should continually believe, that he is very God, and of the same essence with the father.