Paragraph 1.1

1. There is but one God, who is liuing, true, euerlasting, &c.

2. God is the maker, and preseruer of all things.

3. In the vnitie of the Godhead, there is a Trinitie of persons.

The proofe from the word of God.

That there is but one God, who is, &c. is a truth which may be gathered from the al-holy, and sacred Scripture; & is agreeable to the doctrine of the reformed Churches. For both Gods word giueth vs to knowe, that God is one, and no moe,^a* liuing,^b† and true God,^c‡ euerlasting:^d4 without bodie, parts, or passions:^e5 of infinite power,^f6 wisedome,^g7 and goodnes:^h8 and Gods people in their publike confessions from Ausburgh,⁹ Heluetia,¹⁰ Bohemia,¹¹ France,¹² Flanders,¹³ and Wittemberge,¹⁴ testifie the same.

Errors, and adversaries vnto this truth.

Then impious, & execrable are the opinions of Dragoras, & Theodorus, who fasly denied there was any God.¹⁵

Of Protagoras,¹⁶ and the Machiuilian Athiests, which are doubtfull whether there be a God.

Of such as fained vnto themselues, diuers and sundrie gods, as did the Manichies,¹⁷ the Basilidians,¹⁸ the Valentinians,¹⁹ the Messalian heretikes,²⁰ the Gentiles, and heathen people, whereof some in place of God, worshipped Beastes vnreasonable, as the Aegyptians did a Calfe,ⁱ an Oxe, Cats, Vulturs, and Crocodils;²¹ The Syrians, a Fish,²² and Pigeons;²³ the Persians, a Dragon:²⁴ some as Gods, haue adored men, vnder the names of Iupiter, Mars, Mercurie, and such like:^j25 and some, euen at this day for God doe worship Kine, the Sunne, and what they thinke good, so doe inhabitants of Baly in the East Indies.²⁶

Of the Anthropomorphites, which ascribed the forme and lineamentes of man vnto God,²⁷ thinking God to be like vnto man.

Of such as put their trust and confidence, to be reposed in God alone, either in men liuing, as doe both the Persians in their Soldan,²⁸ and the Papists in their Pope, who with them is God,²⁹ their Lord and God,³⁰ of infinite power:³¹ or in Saints departed this life, as doe the same Papists, both in their S. Francis, whome they tearme, The glorie of God, prefigured by Esay, when he said, Holy, Holy, Holy,³² &c. and in their Thomas Becket, whom they say, God hath set ouer the workes of his hands;³³ or in Beastes vnreasonable, as doth the Mordwite Tartar;³⁴ or finally in riches, and other senslesse creatures, as doe the Atheists, and irreligious worldlings.

The proofe from Gods word.

That the world, and all things both visible and invisible therein, both were made, and are preserved, by the almightie, and onely power of God, are truthes grounded vpon the holy Scripture, and agreeable to the confessions of Gods people.

For touching the creation of the world, we read that in the beginning God created the heauen and the earth^k &c. He made heauen and earth,^l by him were all things created, which are in heauen, and which are in earth, things visible and invisible, whether Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers, all things, were created by him, and for him:^m by his Sonne he made the worldes,ⁿ and all these acknowledged by the Churches primitiue,³⁵ and reformed at this day.³⁶

And touching the preseruation of all things by him created: My soule, praise thou the Lord, &c. (saith the Psalmist) which couereth himselfe with light as with a garment, spreadeth the heauens like a curtaine; which laieth the beames of his chambers in the waters, and maketh the cloudes his chariot, and walketh vpon the wings of the winde; which maketh the spirits his messengers, and flaming fire his ministers,^o &c.

Are not two sparrowes sold for a farthing, and one of them shal not fal on the ground without your Father? yea, and al the haires of your head are numbred, saith our S. Christ.^p God, that made the world, and all things that are therein, he is Lord of heauen and earth; he giueth life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all mankinde to dwel on all the face of the earth, and hath assigned the times which were ordained before, and the bonds of their habitation, saith S. Paul.^q

The Sonne is the brightnes of the glorie, and the ingraued forme of his person, and beareth vp all things by his mightie word.^r

The Churches of God in Heluetia,³⁷ Basil,³⁸ France,³⁹ and Flanders,⁴⁰ testifie the verie same.

Errors, and aduersaries vnto these truths.

Hereby are condemned all Heretikes, and errors impugning either the creation of the world by God; or his providence in the continuing, and preseruation of the same.

Of the former sort was,

First Aristotle, and his followers, which said the world was eternal, and without beginning.

Next, the Marcionites, that held, how God made not the world, as being too base a thing for him to create.⁴¹

3. Simon Magus, Saturnius, Meander, Carpocrates, Corinthus, who ascribed the worldes creation vnto Angels.⁴²

4. The Manichies, who gaue the creation of all things vnto two Gods, or Beginnings: the one good, whereof came good things; the other euill, whence proceeded euill things.⁴³

5. The same Manichies,⁴⁴ and Priscillianists,⁴⁵ which did affirme man to haue bin the workemanship not of God, but of the Deuill.

6. The Familie of Loue, who deliuer that God by them made heauen, and earth.⁴⁶

7. The Papists, who giue out how sacrificing Priests are the Creators of Christ.⁴⁷

Of the latter sort were,

The Stoike Philosophers, and the Manichies, who are the great patrones of Destinie, Fate, and Fortune.⁴⁸

The Familie of Loue, which may not say, God saue any thing: for they affirme that all things be ruled by nature, and not ordered by God.⁴⁹

The old Philosophers, who thought that inferior things were too base for God to be carefull of.⁵⁰

And lastly the Epicures, who thinke God is idle, and gouerneth not the same. Of which minde was Cyprian, who held that God, hauing created the world, did commit the gouerment thereof vnto certaine celestial powers.⁵¹

The proofe from Gods word.

The Scripture saith,

In the beginning God the Father,^s52 the Sonne,^t53 and the holy Ghost,^u54 created the heauen, and the earth.

By the word of the Lord were the heauens made, and all the host of them by the Breath of his mouth.^v

Loe, the heauens were opened vnto him; and (Iohn) sawe the Spirit of God descending like a Doue, and lighting vpon him: and loe, a voice from heauen saying, This is my beloued Sonne, in whome I am well pleased.^w

Because yee are sonnes, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Sonne into your heartes, which crieth, Abba, Father, saith the Apostle:^x and againe, The grace of our Lord Iesus Christ, and the loue of God, and the communion of the holy Ghost be with you all.^y

And S. Iohn: There are three which beare record in heauen, The Father, the word, and the holy Ghost, and these three are one.^z

This truth hath alwaies bin,⁵⁵ and serously is,⁵⁶ confessed in the church of Christ.

Errors, & adversaries vnto this truth.

Then cursed are all opinions of men contrarie herevnto: whereof

Some denied the Trinitie, affirming there is one God, but not three persons in the Godhead: so did the Montanists,⁵⁷ and Marcellians,⁵⁸ and so doe the Iewes,⁵⁹ and Turkes.⁶⁰

Some, as the Gnostikes,⁶¹ Marcionites,⁶² and Valentinians,⁶³ affirme there be moe Gods then one, and yet not three persons, nor of one and the same nature, but of a diuers, and contrarie disposition.

Some thinke there be three Gods, or spirits; not distinguished onely, but diuided also, as did the Ennomeans,⁶⁴ and Trethectes.⁶⁵

Some feare not to say, that in worshiping the Trinitie, Christians doe adore three Deuils, worse then all the idols of the Papists: such blasphemers were the Heretikes, Blandrat, and Alciat.⁶⁶

Some will haue a Quaternitie of persons, not a Trinitie to be worshipped, so did Anastasius the Emperour command; & the Apollinarians did hold.⁶⁷ Some doe graunt, and acknowledge the names of three in the God-head, but denie their persons, such were the Noëtians, Praxeneans, and Hermogenians: This did say, how the same God was called by diuers names in the holy Scripture: and therefore that the Father became flesh, and suffered, because one and the same God is called the Father, the Sonne, and the holy Ghost. For which cause they were tearmed Patripassians. In this number was Sernetus.

Againe, some doe grant the names, and persons of three, and yet depriue not onely the Sonne, and holy Ghost of their diuinitie, but the whole Trinitie also of their properties. For they say, there be three in heauen, viz. the Father, the Word, and holy Ghost, howbeit (say they) the Father onely is very God; the word is the breath of the Father; and the holy Ghost is the spirit created by God of nothing, through the word: spoiling so both the Sonne, and holy Ghost of their deitie, and the whole Trinitie of their properties. Such were the Arrian, and Macedonian heretikes, hence by-named Pneumatomachons, because they waged battel with the holy Ghost.

And some doe bring in other names of deitie, besides of the Father, Sonne, and holy Ghost, as did the Priscilianists.⁶⁸