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

6. It is the very Character of the Church: and serves to distinguish ¹us from all other professions of men in the world: as first, from mere naturalists, that believe no more concerning God & religion then they can see by the light of nature as it is now corrupted: and so it distinguisheth us from the Philosophers: and therefore much more from the common sort of Gentiles, that entertained opinions monstrous, and against the very light of Nature: secondly, from the Turks, who though they receive some truths from the light of Scripture, yet rejecting most of these fundamental truths, & entertaining a multitude of blasphemies of their own against the Christian faith, are worthily condemned as men without the pale of the Church: thirdly, from the Jews, because they deny all the Articles concerning Christ: fourthly, from all sorts of Heretics, that have erred from this ⟨p. 10⟩faith, in some of the Articles concerning Christ, such as are the Arians and Papists at this day: fifthly, from such as have but a wandering opinion concerning God in any of these Articles, so as they only know them by conjecture or hearsay, and have not entertained them with distinct assurance into their hearts: and such are multitudes of people of all sorts even in the Visible Church. ²To conclude, every word almost of the Creed doth pierce the sides of some or other heretical or blasphemous men. As we believe one God, against the Gentiles; the Father, Son, and holy Ghost, against the Antitrinitans; Creator of Heaven and Earth, against Carpocrates, Cerinthus and the Ebionites; we believe that Christ is the Lord, against Valentinus, who acknowledged him to be a Saviour, not a Lord; and that he is our Lord, against those in Origens time, that said he was the Lord of God; and that he is the only begotten Son, against the Arians; conceived by the holy Ghost, against Apollinaris, Valentinus, and Eutiches; that he was dead, against Basilides; & rose again, against Cerinthus; and sitteth at the right hand of God, against Praxeus; and we believe one Catholic Church, against the Donatists and Novatian; and the Communion of Saints, against Sectaries; and the Resurrection, against the Sadducees and Cerinthians, and the like.³