41. those of the seventy that prophecied in the camp PART III. of Israel, he justified them in it, as being subservient therein to his government; so also our Saviour, when St. John complained to him of a certain man that cast out devils in his name, justified him therein, saying, (Luke ix. 50) Forbid him not, for he that is not against us, is on our part. thority in the nate to that Again, our Saviour resembled Moses in the in- Christ's austitution of sacraments, both of admission into the kingdom of kingdom of God, and of commemoration of his de- God, subordiliverance of his elect from their miserable condition. of his Father. As the children of Israel had for sacrament of their reception into the kingdom of God, before the time of Moses, the rite of circumcision, which rite having been omitted in the wilderness, was again restored as soon as they came into the Land of Promise; so also the Jews, before the coming of our Saviour, had a rite of baptizing, that is, of washing with water, all those that being Gentiles embraced the God of Israel. This rite St. John the Baptist used in the reception of all them that gave their names to the Christ, whom he preached to be already come into the world; and our Saviour instituted the same for a sacrament to be taken by all that believed in him. From what cause the rite of baptism first proceeded, is not expressed formally in the Scripture; but it may be probably thought to be an imitation of the law of Moses, concerning leprosy; wherein the leprous man was commanded to be kept out of the camp of Israel for a certain time; after which time being judged by the priest to be clean, he was admitted into the camp after a solemn washing. And this may therefore be a type of the washing in baptism; 41. thority in the nate to that wherein such men as are cleansed of the leprosy of sin by faith, are received into the Church with Christ's au- the solemnity of baptism. There is another conkingdom of jecture, drawn from the ceremonies of the Gentiles, God, subordi- in a certain case that rarely happens: and that is, of his Father. when a man that was thought dead chanced to recover, other men made scruple to converse with him, as they would do to converse with a ghost, unless he were received again into the number of men by washing, as children new-born were washed from the uncleanness of their nativity; which was a kind of new birth. This ceremony of the Greeks, in the time that Judea was under the dominion of Alexander and the Greeks his successors, may probably enough have crept into the religion of the Jews. But seeing it is not likely our Saviour would countenance a heathen rite, it is most likely it proceeded from the legal ceremony of washing after leprosy. And for the other sacrament of eating the Paschal lamb, it is manifestly imitated in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; in which the breaking of the bread, and the pouring out of the wine, do keep in memory our deliverance from the misery of sin, by Christ's passion, as the eating of the Paschal lamb kept in memory the deliverance of the Jews out of the bondage of Egypt. Seeing therefore the authority of Moses was but subordinate, and he but a lieutenant of God; it followeth that Christ, whose authority, as man, was to be like that of Moses, was no more but subordinate to the authority of his Father. The same is more expressly signified, by that that he teacheth us to pray, Our Father, let thy kingdom come; and, For thine is the kingdom, the power and the 41. glory; and by that it is said, that He shall come PART III. in the glory of his Father; and by that which St. Paul saith, (1 Cor. xv. 24) then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; and by many other most express places. the same God by Moses and Our Saviour, therefore, both in teaching and One and reigning, representeth, as Moses did, the person of is the person God; which God from that time forward, but not represented before, is called the Father; and being still one and Christ. the same substance, is one person as represented by Moses, and another person as represented by his son the Christ. For person being a relative to a representer, it is consequent to plurality of representers, that there be a plurality of persons, though of one and the same substance. CHAPTER XLII. OF POWER ECCLESIASTICAL, FOR the understanding of POWER ECCLESIASTICAL, what, and in whom it is, we are to distinguish the time from the ascension of our Saviour, into two parts; one before the conversion of kings, and men endued with sovereign civil power; the other after their conversion. For it was long after the ascension, before any king or civil sovereign embraced and publicly allowed the teaching of Christian religion. on the apostles. And for the time between, it is manifest, that of the holy the power ecclesiastical was in the apostles; and spirit that fell after them in such as were by them ordained to preach the gospel, and to convert men to Christi 42. PART III. anity, and to direct them that were converted in the way of salvation; and after these, the power was delivered again to others by these ordained, and this was done by imposition of hands upon such as were ordained; by which was signified the giving of the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God, to those whom they ordained ministers of God, to advance his kingdom. So that imposition of hands was nothing else but the seal of their commission to preach Christ, and teach his doctrine; and the giving of the Holy Ghost by that ceremony of imposition of hands, was an imitation of that which Moses did. For Moses used the same ceremony to his minister Joshua, as we read (Deut. xxxiv. 9) And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him. Our Saviour therefore, between his resurrection and ascension, gave his spirit to the apostles; first, by breathing on them, and saying, (John xx. 22) Receive ye the Holy Spirit; and after his ascension (Acts ii. 2, 3) by sending down upon them a mighty wind, and cloven tongues of fire; and not by imposition of hands; as neither did God lay his hands on Moses: and his apostles afterward transmitted the same spirit by imposition of hands, as Moses did to Joshua. So that it is manifest hereby, in whom the power ecclesiastical continually remained, in those first times where there was not any Christian commonwealth; namely, in them that received the same from the apostles, by successive laying on of hands. Of the Trinity. Here we have the person of God born now the third time. For as Moses, and the high-priests, were God's representative in the Old Testament; 42. and our Saviour himself, as man, during his abode PART III, on earth so the Holy Ghost, that is to say the apostles and their successors, in the office of of the Trinity. preaching and teaching, that had received the holy Spirit, have represented him ever since. But a person, as I have shown before, (chap. XIII.) is he that is represented, as often as he is represented; and therefore God, who has been represented, that is personated, thrice, may properly enough be said to be three persons; though neither the word Person, nor Trinity, be ascribed to him in the Bible. St. John, indeed (1 Epist. v. 7) saith, There be three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are One. But this disagreeth not, but accordeth fitly with three persons in the proper signification of persons; which is, that which is represented by another. For so God the Father, as represented by Moses, is one person; and as represented by his Son, another person; and as represented by the apostles, and by the doctors that taught by authority from them derived, is a third person; and yet every person here, is the person of one and the same God. But a man may here ask, what it was whereof these three bear witness. St. John therefore tells us (verse 11) that they bear witness, that God hath given us eternal life in his Son. Again, if it should be asked, wherein that testimony appeareth, the answer is easy; for he hath testified the same by the miracles he wrought, first by Moses; secondly, by his Son himself; and lastly by his apostles, that had received the Holy Spirit; all which in their times represented the person of God, and either prophecied or preached Jesus |