A17690:54
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…
Divers sermons of Master John Calvin, concerning the divinity, humanity, and nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ as also touching his passion, death, resurrection, ascension: together with the coming down of the holy Ghost upon his Apostles: and the first sermon of S. Peter. The order of which you shall find in the page ensuing.Diuers sermons of Master Iohn Caluin, concerning the diuinitie, humanitie, and natiuitie of our Lorde Iesus Christe as also touching his passion, death, resurection, ascention: togeather with the comming downe of the holy Ghoste vpon his Apostles: and the first sermon of S. Peter. The order of which you shall finde in the page ensuing.
London: printed by Thomas Dawson for George Byshop, 1581
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
To be short, though we shall view all the holy Scripture, yet we shall never find that it is said,1 that we are life in our selves, but that God only hath life, and that not only the spiritual life, but even that life, from which all things have their being, and by which we live, and that we have life and breath in him, as I have already alleged out of S. Pauls saying. And by this we see the trueth of this sentence, to wit, that nothing of all that which was made, was made without that word of God. And this is the order of the reading that hath been found and observed, in all the most old Greek Doctors, ⟨p. 9⟩and other expositors:2 neither was there any but one alone that hath otherwise expounded it. Furthermore we have to note, that the Manichees laboured to pervert and wrest this place, (saying, All that was made in him was life) to prove their foolish opinions: as that all creatures had life in them and were living, for example Stones, Trees, Corn, Oats: All this in their fantasy was living, insomuch that they durst not eat bread, unless they were sanctified of God before hand. And wherefore? he must be good, that eateth this, would they say. The Devil certainly possessed them, and yet notwithstanding they would allege places of Scripture,3 and abuse them, to prove their foolish speculations withal. Now I meant in deed to touch this by the way, to declare that the Devil hath always endeavoured to pervert, wrest and wring the holy Scripture: but whatsoever it be, if we search and seek after Gods trueth, we shall find it pure and simple as it is, and the Devil shall not be able to devise or perform any thing against it or us, to turn us away from it, because it is showed and set out unto us before our eyes, and it shall appertain to none but to us, if we will behold it in his purity, and keep it in such sort, as God hath revealed the same unto us. Then let us come to the natural meaning. After that Saint John had said, That nothing was made of that which was made without this word: He addeth, That in it was life. Now here he mindeth to set out two divers things: that is to say, that as all was once created by the power of that word of God: so all things continue and are preserved by that power, and by the same mean.