The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as…

For the first, if we ask who died, the Apostle Paul, Rom. 8. 34. answers, It is Christ which is dead. Which is to be observed, the better to stir up our hearts to consider, both the wonder of it, and the reason of it. That any other man should die, is no wonder, because all other men were sinful and mortal, but here Jesus Christ the Righteous, who only hath immortality, dies: and withal, it leads us to think of the reason of it, for he did not die, nay he could not die, if he had been considered as a private person, because he deserved not death in his own person, but he died as our surety, and as a public undertaker for us all, he died in our room.

For the first, if we aske who died, the Apostle Paul, Rom. 8. 34. answers, It is Christ which is dead. Which is to be obserued, the better to stirre vp our hearts to consider, both the wonder of it, and the reason of it. That any other man should die, is no wonder, because all other men were sinfull and mortall, but here Iesus Christ the Righteous, who onely hath immortality, dies: and withall, it leads vs to thinke of the reason of it, for he did not die, nay he could not die, if he had beene considered as a priuate person, because he deserued not death in his owne person, but he died as our suretie, and as a publike vndertaker for vs all, hee died in our roome.

But yet we are further to inquire into this question, and to consider whether this death belong to the person of Christ, ⟨p. 419⟩or only to his Natures, or to each of them, he being God and man in one person: And in this we must take heed what our hearts answer: for though it be true that Christ died in respect of the flesh, so as it was only the flesh that suffered death, in respect of the Nature that died, yet his death belonged to the Word, in respect of the Person: for the Word, the Lord of life and glory, suffered and died, not in respect of his Divinity, which is immutable, and altogether impassible, but in respect of his Humanity, or in his flesh, God did not die with the flesh, but in the flesh, and he died in his flesh, that is, in that flesh which was united to the divine Nature. If the flesh of Christ were the flesh of the Son of God, then his dying in the flesh, doth belong to him as the Son of God. Thus his blood is said to be the Blood of God,