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…

Paul which he uttereth against all mankind: that all they that would be over sharp sighted and subtle witted, and did not seek God in such reverence and humility as they ought, are fallen into a bottomless depth of error. And certainly this is a just judgement of almighty God, when we proceed so far to defile his doctrine mingling it amongest the foolish inventions of men. But let us now go further. The Evangelist sayeth: That all things were made by it, & that without it nothing was made of all that which was made. After that he had assured us, of the eternal essence of that word of God, he addeth a confirmation, thereby to set out unto us his eternal deity, to the end we may be very certain of the whole matter.¹ All things (sayeth he) were made by it. The essence of God is known to us, not only by that which we can conceive or comprehend thereof in our own understandings, but also when it pleaseth him to declare him self unto us by his creatures: for when the scripture handleth that, then doth he make him self visible, & not only visible, but S. Paul passeth yet somewhat further, saying, that although we were blind, yet we may thereby feel him as it were with the hand So then though we had our eyes shut,² yet so it is that we may know this power of God. And how so? Because it is here within us. In whom is it that we live, that we have our moving and being? It is in God, who hath breathed life into us, & by whom we subsist or stand. This then is that which S. John showeth us, saying, that all things were made by it. By this we know, that that word of God hath been from the beginning, who also is our God.³ And how know we this? Certainly we cannot climb so high, and therefore God is come down even unto us, God I say, with that his word, so that we may know him. And albeit that our understanding stretcheth not it self so far, neither yet is able to ascend above the clouds, yet so it is that we are constrained to know that this word is truly God. And how so? Because all things were made by it. In it is it then, that all things have been, as the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews showeth the same.⁴ We confess (sayeth he) that the word of God is eternal and everlasting. And why so? Because so it is, that by this word all things were made. And this is also the same that S. Paul