Secondly, When we say no man is able to fulfil the Law of God in this life, because the flesh doth still abide in us; We mean not as if this were so, because God could not subdue it, or sin and the Devil were more potent then Christ, but he hath in his Word declared, that he will not give such a measure of grace in this life, by the righteousness whereof we should be justified. So that Castellio's exclamations in this case are ridiculous; here is no injury done to the Spirit of God; we do not make Christ a semi-Saviour; for we readily grant, That the Spirit of God could make us absolutely free from sin in the twinkling of an eye. In the hour of death we are immediately purged from all evil. So that it's plain, the Spirit of God could make us thus complete, but he will not; neither doth this tend to his dishonour, no more than that we die, that we are ••ck, and carry about with us corruptible bodies. For did not Christ die that we might have glorious bodies, that we might be redeemed from this corruption? Yet this is not done immediately. Seeing then Christ hath assured us, that both soul and body shall be made perfectly holy and happy in time, though it be not done as soon as we would have it; we are not to cavil herein, but satisfy our selves with the wisdom of God, who doth every thing beautiful in his season, It is true, Christ when he cured bodily diseases, he did perfectly cure them; but doth it therefore follow, that he must do so in soul-diseases, as Castellio urgeth? No certainly, but rather as Christ, though he healed some perfectly of their diseases, yet he did not take away their mortality from them: So though by the grace of God, we have strength to overcome gross sins, yet we are not made impeccable, as the glorified Saints in Heaven are, but there remaineth the fuel of sin still within us; not but that God could remove it, as he could have enabled the Israelites to have conquered all the Canaanites, but because he will not; God could have made all the world at once, but he proceeded by degrees; and thus he doth in our sanctification. So that herein we are daily taught to be humble in our selves, and to depend alone upon the grace of God. It is true, if all sin were removed, and we confirmed in a state of grace, then there would be no danger of pride, as there is not in those who are made glorious in Heaven:
Secondly, When we say no man is able to fullfill the Law of God in this life, because the flesh doth still abide in us; We mean not as if this were so, because God could not subdue it, or sinne and the Devil were more potent then Christ, but he hath in his Word declared, that he will not give such a measure of grace in this life, by the righteousness whereof we should be justified. So that Castellio's exclamations in this case are ridiculous; here is no injury done to the Spirit of God; we do not make Christ a semi-Saviour; for we readily grant, That the Spirit of God could make us absolutely free from sinne in the twinkling of an eye. In the hour of death we are immediately purged from all evil. So that it's plain, the Spirit of God could make us thus compleat, but he will not; neither doth this tend to his dishonour, no more than that we die, that we are ••ck, and carry about with us corruptible bodies. For did not Christ die that we might have glorious bodies, that we might be redeemed from this corruption? Yet this is not done immediately. Seeing then Christ hath assured us, that both soul and body shall be made perfectly holy and happy in time, though it be not done as soon as we would have it; we are not to cavil herein, but satisfie our selves with the wisdom of God, who doth every thing beautifull in his season, It is true, Christ when he cured bodily diseases, he did perfectly cure them; but doth it therefore follow, that he must do so in soul-diseases, as Castellio urgeth? No certainly, but rather as Christ, though he healed some perfectly of their diseases, yet he did not take away their mortality from them: So though by the grace of God, we have strength to overcome gross sinnes, yet we are not made impeccable, as the glorified Saints in Heaven are, but there remaineth the fuell of sinne still within us; not but that God could remove it, as he could have inabled the Israelites to have conquered all the Canaanites, but because he will not; God could have made all the world at once, but he proceeded by degrees; and thus he doth in our sanctification. So that herein we are daily taught to be humble in our selves, and to depend alone upon the grace of God. It is true, if all sinne were removed, and we confirmed in a state of grace, then there would be no danger of pride, as there is not in those who are made glorious in Heaven:
