A treatise of Mr. Cottons clearing certain doubts concerning predestination together with an examination…A treatise of Mr. Cottons clearing certaine doubts concerning predestination together with an examination…

As for the glory which he receives from his Father, that he hath already received above 1500. years ago. I have overcome, and am sate with my Father in his Throne, Revel. 3. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straight-way glorify him, Joh. 13. 32. So that every way the glory of Christ, is afore ours, not after ours; for when the elect are once glorified, their glory shall continue for the time to come as long as Christs glory: but for the time past, certainly, Christs glory and his advancement, you here speak of, (noting thereby what you mean by Christs glory in this place) was long before ours. Whereas you say, that Christ, as man, was first humbled, before he was glorified; if we consider the greatest advancement of Christ, it is untrue; for his greatest advancement was the assuming of his nature into an hypostatical union with the Son of God, and this was afore his humiliation in the sense you speak of, to wit, in humbling himself to the death, even to the death of the Cross: though I willingly confess, the humiliation of the Godhead went jointly along with the advancement of the manhood, even to this hypostatical union. You say, His advancement was purposed before his humiliation. I deny it: You will say, that was the means tending to his advancement, as the end (for so I take your meaning to be, leaving the consideration of the phrase mentioned of making way; which if it be delivered in any other sense then to signify the means of his advancement, will make your cause worse, and nothing better.) ⟨p. 21⟩For now I deny that Christs humiliation was the means of Christs advancement; and I prove it: Those only are to be accounted means to such an end, quorum ratio petitur a ratione finis designati, that is, the means are only such as the nature of the end, duly considered, doth bespeak: But the advancement of Christ doth not bespeak any such means; for, undoubtedly, God could advance Christ without any such humiliation: nay, having taken his manhood into an hypostatical union with his Son, even in this respect his advancement was far more requisite, than in respect of his humiliation. You will say, God purposed to advance him no other way then this. I grant it: and if you consider it well, you shall find the reason of it, by considering the right ends hereof in the counsel of God: