Quest. How is God made known to us by his divine Attributes?
Answ. God is made known to us by his divine Attributes to be one Infinite and Eternal Spirit, having life in and of himself, having most perfect understanding and will, and is infinitely more glorious then any Spirit, and is perfection and blessedness itself.
1. We ought to attribute the most excellent kind of being, and the most excellent properties of Being unto God, in the most eminent manner.
1. The most excellent kind of Being.
1. A living Being is the most excellent, Attribute Life unto him, Deut. 32.40.
2. A Spirit is the most excellent of living Beings, attribute that kind of Being to him, Joh. 4.24.
3. But we must attribute these to him in an eminent manner.
1. Life of him, he is the Fountain of Life.
2. All kinds of life are of and in him eminently, Ps. 84.8, 9, 10.
3. His Life and Being are one, not first a Being, and afterwards a living Being, -- hence Infinitely more glorious then any Spirit whatsoever.
We ought to attribute the most excellent Properties of Being to him.
1. The most excellent quantity, Deut. 32.3 hence
1. Unity absolutely one, Deut. 6.4.
2. Infiniteness, without limits of Essence, Isai. 40.12, hence, 1. Immense not measurable, Joh. 11.8, hence
2. Incomprehensible in place; not included nor excluded, Psal. 139.7, 8.
3. Eternity, without beginning or end. 1. No time to come with him, for then he should
be limited to time past and present. 2. No time past with him, for then he should be limited to time present and to come.
3. Hence they are one with him, for he can not be more ancient, then himself, and there can be no succession in Eternity, where there is no beginning nor end, Psal. 40.2.
2. Attribute the most excellent qualities to him
1. Most excellent faculties, understanding and will.
2. Most excellent virtues, Intellectual and Moral. And these to be attributed in the most eminent manner, hence, the Attributes of greatness are to be attributed to the Attributes of Goodness, he is Infinitely and eternally wise, holy, just, merciful, &c. Psal. 147.5. Isai. 6.3.
And here shineth his happiness, who by his perfect understanding doth comprehend the most sovereign Truth, and with a most perfect will imbraceth the chiefest good, and is not only happy, but is perfection and happiness itself.
Quest. What is the Subsistence of God?
Answ. The Subsistence of God is that whereby the first Being reflecting upon himself stands under divers mutual respects, and distinct manners of Being, which are only one, in respect of the Essence, and yet are distinct from the Essence, and one from another.
1. The first Being reflecting upon himself for God who is the first Being is happy in himself. 2. Hence he is acquainted with his own happiness. 3. Hence he reflects upon himself. 4. Hence he is reflected upon by himself.
2. He stands under divers mutual respects, and distinct manners of Being for his reflecting upon himself, and his Being reflected upon by himself are mutual respects, reflecting hath respect to reflected, and reflected hath respect to reflecting, and thus they are mutual respects.
3. And these are distinct the manners of the Being of the first Being, under which he stands, hence called subsistence, Heb. 1.3. the express Image of his person, the word in the Original is Subsistence, (the Image of his Subsistence.)
4. These manners of Being are only one in respect of the Essence, and yet are distinct from the Essence, and one from another, this is explained in that which follows.
Quest. How may this be more plainly understood?
Answ. God who is the first Being knoweth himself, and is known of himself, and is breathed after by himself, all which mutual respects belong to the first Being, and yet are distinct from him, and one from another.
1. God knows himself, otherwise he could not be happy in himself, Isai. 44.8. 2. Hence he is known of himself. 3. Hence he is breathed after by himself as the most adequate Object of his own perfect understanding and will.
2. All which are mutual respects, knowing, and being known, have a mutual respect one to the other, and being breathed after by himself, hath a mutual respect to knowing, and being known by himself.
3. These mutual respects belong to the first Being, in which we may consider. 1. The Unity of Subsistences. 2. Their diversity.
1. Their Unity, that whereby the Subsistences having one and the same Essence, are all God, and one God.
1. There is but one first Being. 2. The Subsistences are the first being reflecting upon himself. 3. Hence these are one in Essence, on God. Hence it followeth.
1. They are Co-Essential, having the Essence together, and wholly, as when the same man is Teacher and Scholar, the Teacher hath the whole man, and the Scholar the whole man, being one and the same man, I Joh. 5.7.
2. Hence they are Co-equal, for they are one God, Phil. 2.6.
3. Hence the divine Attributes belong to them equally, what doth belong to God as God, doth belong to the Subsistences equally, for they are all God and one god, Isai. 9.6.
4. Hence they are not God of God, for to be God is the absolute Being, and this is not relative, and derivative, but is one & the same in all the persons, the Son hath his relative being of the Father as he is Son, but not his absolute Being as God, but thus he is an Everlasting Father, and the mighty God, Isai. 9.6.
5. Hence the love they have one to another, and delight to glorifie one another, Job. 5.23.
2. Of the diversity of the Subsistences, this will appear in that which followeth.
Quest. How may the Subsistences be distinguisht from the Essence, and one from another?
Answ. The Subsistences may be distinguisht from the Essence, as adjunct manners belonging to the same Essence, and are distinguisht one from another as Relates, by relative properties, and are not improperly called persons, for a divine person is the Godhead with a relative and individual property, and is either Father, Son, or Holy Ghost.
1. The Subsistences are distinguisht from the Essence, as adjunct manners belonging to the same Essence, as the same hand opening and shutting, the beams of the Sun reflecting and reflected, these are not the hand nor the Sun, but adjunct manners of the Being of these.
2. Hence they differ from the Essence only in some respect, not as divers Essences, the same hand, the same Sun, so the same God-head reflecting and reflected.
3. Hence the Subsistences are not divine attributes, which are one as they are in God, but diversly appearing to us, but these are divers whither we apprehend them so or not.
4. They are not inherent qualities in the Essence, for there are none such in the Essence, as we heard in the description of the Essence.
5. They are manners adhering and belonging to the Essence with it and by it, Prov. 8.30.
2. They are distinguisht one from another, as Relates by their relative and individual properties, as teaching and being taught, reflecting and being reflected, hence followeth.
1. They are coexistent, as Relates, for they are mutual causes, therefore exist together, I Joh. I. Prov. 8.30
2. Coinexistent one in another, for Being and existence is of, and in the cause, and they are Relates, therefore mutual causes, & therefore one in another, Joh. 14.10.
3. They are coapparant, for knowledge is of the causes, and these are mutual causes, hence he that knows the one, knows the other, Joh. 14.9.
4. And yet one is not the other, for Relates are mutual causes, and differ as cause and effect.
3. Hence they are not improperly called persons.
A person is a perfect and individual substance of a reasonable nature. 1. A substance; For meer Accidents or Adjuncts are no person, as virtues are not called persons individual, for mankind is not a person, because it's the genus, but individual men are called persons. 3. Perfect, for the Soul alone is not a person, because it's but a part of man, not a perfect man. 4. A reasonable nature, creatures without Reason are not persons, and by way of eminency it's attributed to men.
And the God-head with a relative and individual property is a divine person, and is either persons breathing, or breathed, Spirante or persons breathing, as Father and Son, Spirit, or breathed, as the Holy Ghost.
Quest. Who is the Father?
Answ. The Father is the first person who begets his Son, God is happy in himself. 2. Hence he knows himself. 3. Hence he conceives the Image of himself. 4. Hence to conceive and beget, and this may be called active Generation, this properly belongeth to the Father, and he is first in order I Joh. 18.
Quest. Who is the Son?
Answ. The Son is the second divine person begotten of the Father. 1. God is happy in himself. 2. Hence is known and conceived of himself. 3. Hence to be conceived and begotten, and this may be called passive generation, this properly belongs to the Son, Heb. 1.3 Joh. 1.18 and he is the second in order.
Quest. Who is the Spirit?
Answ. The Spirit is the third divine person proceeding from the Father and the Son.
1. God is happy in himself. 2. Hence knoweth and is known of himself. 3. Hence is breathed after by himself, and this may be called passive spiration, and is the relative property of the Spirit, Joh. 16.14.
And the Reason why active spiration doth not constitute a person is, because it doth not nextly and immediately belong to the divine Essence, but to the Father and the Son, for it is God conceiving, and having conceived the Image of himself, doth breath after himself, and thus active Spiration doth nextly proceed from the Relative properties of the Father, and the Son.
2. Active spiration belongs in common to the Father and the Son, and is no individual property belonging only to one.
Part 3
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