Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the moral law and the covenants, from the…Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the morall law and the covenants, from the…

7. Whether Adam was mortal, before his eating of the forbidden ¹fruit. And this indeed is a very famous question; but I shall not be large in it. The orthodox they hold, that immortality was a privilege of innocency, and that Adams body then only became mortal, when his soul was made sinful. This is vehemently opposed by Papists, and by Socinians: now they both agree, that man should not actually have dyed, but for sin; only they say, he was mortal, as the Socinians, or immortal, by a mere supernatural gift of God▪ But a thing may be said to be immortal several ways, as the Learned observe: 1. From an absolute ²necessity, either inward or outward; in this sense God only is said to be immortal. 2. When there is no inward material cause of dissolution, though outwardly it may be destroyed; and thus are Angels, and the souls of men. 3. A thing may be said to be immortal by some special gift and appointment of God, as the bodies glorified: and, as some say, the heavens and main parts of the world shall have only a qualitative alteration, not a substantial abolition. 4. That is immortal, which hath no propensity to death, yet such a condition being put, it will die; and thus Adam was: therefore in some sense he may be said mortal, in another immortal: But because he is commonly called mortal that is obnoxious to death, therefore we say, Adam, before his sin, was immortal; and this is abundantly confirmed by this sentence of commination. And therefore though Adam would have eaten and drunk, though his body was elementary, and the original of it dust, though he would have begotten children; yet none of these can prove him mortal, because the righteousness in his soul would have preserved the fit temperament of his body, especially having Gods Promise made to his obedience.

7. Whether Adam was mortall, before his eating of the forbidden ¹fruit. And this indeed is a very famous question; but I shall not be large in it. The orthodox they hold, that immortality was a priviledge of innocency, and that Adams body then onely became mortall, when his soule was made sinfull. This is vehemently opposed by Papists, and by Socinians: now they both agree, that man should not actually have dyed, but for sin; only they say, he was mortall, as the Socinians, or immortall, by a meere supernaturall gift of God But a thing may be said to be immortall severall wayes, as the Learned observe: 1. From an absolute