A69028:1495
The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as…
The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as it affordeth both milk for babes, and strong meat for such as are at full age / by ... Nicholas Bifield ; ... now published ... by his son, Adoniram Bifield.The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as it affordeth both milke for babes, and strong meat for such as are at full age / by ... Nicholas Bifield ; ... now published ... by his sonne, Adoniram Bifield.
London: printed by G.M. for Philemon Stephens and Christopher Meredith, 1626
THE CREED. › Article 2 › His only Sonne.]THE CREEDE. › Article 2 › His onely Sonne.]
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
2. What kind of Son Christ is to God; God hath many Sons, some by Grace, and one by Nature. The sorts of sons which God hath by Grace, see in the explication of the term Father, in the first Article of the Creed. But Christ is his natural Son, because God the Father did communicate to him his own nature, so as he is by nature the Son of God: he is the begotten Son of God, because he received his Fathers Nature by Generation. He is the first begotten Son of God, so called in Scripture, because he hath the right of the first-borne over his brethren, and was begotten before the world was: he is the only begotten Son of God, because by Generation God hath no other Sons but he.
2. What kinde of Sonne Christ is to God; God hath many Sonnes, some by Grace, and one by Nature. The sorts of sonnes which God hath by Grace, see in the explication of the terme Father, in the first Article of the Creed. But Christ is his naturall Sonne, because God the Father did communicate to him his owne nature, so as he is by nature the Son of God: he is the begotten Sonne of God, because he receiued his Fathers Nature by Generation. He is the first begotten Sonne of God, so called in Scripture, because hee hath the right of the first-borne ouer his brethren, and was begotten before the world was: he is the onely begotten Son of God, because by Generation God hath no other Sonnes but he.
3. In what Nature Christ is the only Son of God. It may be conceived, that he is so in respect of his humane Nature, for no other Sons of God were conceived of the holy Ghost, or borne of a Virgin, but he only: but we must understand, that Christ in his Incarnation hath the same Nature with us, it differs only, in the manner of receiving it: Now he is called the only Son, from the nature which he receives from the Father, and he only, and so he is the only Son of God, as he is the second Person in the Trinity, and in respect of the manner of receiving his divine Nature. This is mightily opposed by the ancient and modern Arians, who strive vehemently to carry it, that he is called in Scripture the Son of God only as he is man, and that God hath no Son that was before Jesus was borne, or conceived. Now to establish our Faith against their Heresy, we should often think of these Scriptures, where mention is made of a Son of God before Jesus was borne, or was greater then man could be: as