The Scripture Gospel defended, and Christ, grace, and free justification vindicated against the libertines…

IV. The fourth think so also of the Divine, (which is the Deity it self; for there is nothing in God but God) Andrew Osiander is for our Justification by the Divine Essence, but I think rather by Communication than Imputation. Thus hath our weakness distracted and disgraced us. But Mr. Bradshaw truly noted, that if the sense of Imputation were well agreed of, the rest might well be reconciled; viz. that no Righteousness of Christ is imputed to us in the strict sense of Representation, as if we our selves were legally accounted to have been done or suffered, what Christ did, was and •uffered. But in the just sense of Imputation all is imputed to us, that is, Christs Habitual, Active and Passive Righteousness, fulfilling his own part of the Covenant, advanced in ⟨p. 25⟩dignity by the Union of the Divine nature and perfection was the true meritorious cause of our Justification, and not any one of these alone.

Cont. 8. Whether Christs righteousness be the efficient, material or formal cause of our Righteousness and Justification.

Ans. Its pity that poor people must be thus tempted with Controversies of Logic. But what remedy? Christs righteousness as materially and formally his, merited our Justification: But for the accidental relation of righteousness in Christ, to be the accidental relation of righteousness to every believer, is impossible unless the Subject be the same: If Christ be the believing sinner, and as many persons as there be such, or all these be the same person with Christ, then his individual righteousness is formally theirs, else not. For as noxa caput sequitur, so no accident is the same numerically in various Subjects. They that deny this wanted but the same advantages to have believed Transubstantiation, and renounce the common principles.