CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St.…

Lastly, In that he is called the Father, it is thereby implied, That he is the fountain and original of divine being to the Son. Thus John 5.26. As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given the Son, to have life in himself. To have life in himself is only proper to God: Now as the Father hath it, so also hath the Son, but he hath it by donation, or communication from the Father: In this ⟨p. 585⟩sense it is, that Christ saith, He speaketh nothing of himself, but as he heareth of the Father, still reducing all things unto him, not that the Divine Nature is begotten, but the second Person, who hath the Divine Nature.

Lastly, In that he is called the Father, it is thereby implyed, That he is the fountain and original of divine being to the Son. Thus John 5.26. As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given the Son, to have life in himself. To have life in himself is only proper to God: Now as the Father hath it, so also hath the Son, but he hath it by donation, or communication from the Father: In this ⟨p. 585⟩sense it is, that Christ saith, He speaketh nothing of himself, but as he heareth of the Father, still reducing all things unto him, not that the Divine Nature is begotten, but the second Person, who hath the Divine Nature.

Secondly, The property of the Son is, to be begotten of the Father. And herein lieth the true proper difference of those two Persons, The Father is of himself not begotten, the Son is of the Father and begotten: Now this doth imply, that Christ hath not his being by creation, as Adam had, and Angels, who therefore are called The sons of God, but truly and really by generation, for so the Scripture appropriates this to him, That he is the only begotten Son of God; only you are not to measure this spiritual and eternal generation with that of the creatures, but to abstract it from all such humane imperfections; and therefore though it be truly a generation, yet it's not of the same univocal nature with that of creatures: So that as God is not in a predicament, neither is there the same univocal being to God, and the creature: Thus it is also in this generation. Let us not therefore judge of this mystery by examples and instances from the creature; for as the nature of God is incomprehensible, so also is this generation.