MarginaliaAn. 1555. August.feare, hauing a good conscience, that when they backbite you as euill doers, they may be ashamed, for asmuch as they haue falsely accused your good conuersation in CHRIST. As touchyng my doctrine, for that litle talent that God hath geuen me, God I take to record, myne owne consciēce and myne auditory knoweth, that I neither in doctrine nor maners, willyngly taught any other thing then I receiued of the holy Patriarckes, Prophetes, CHRIST, and his Apostels. For it were not onely sinne, but also the very part of a cursed miscreant, to deny, to belye, or betray the innocency of that heauenly doctrine, MarginaliaMarke. 8.or to be ashamed to confesse and stand to the defence of the same, seing that CHRIST planted it with his most precious bloude: and all good men haue more esteemed the true and infallible worde of God, then all this transitory world, or their owne mortall lyues. And I beleue this doctrine of the Patriarkes, Prophetes, CHRIST and his Apostles to be sufficient and absolutely perfect to instruct and teach me & all the holy church, of our duties towardes God, the Magistrates, and our neighbours.

MarginaliaOne God.First and principally I do assuredly beleue without any doubting, that there is one deity or diuine essence, and infinite substaunce, which is both called and is in dede God euerlasting, vnbodily, vnpartible, vnmeasurable in power, wisdome, and goodnes, the maker and preseruer of all thinges, as well visible as inuisible: and yet there be MarginaliaThree persōs.three distinct persons, all of one Godhead or diuine being, and all of one power, coequall, consubstantiall, coeternall, the Father, the sonne, and the holy Ghost.  

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This paragraph is especially intended to rebut anti-trinitarian radical protestants.

I beleue in God the father Almighty. &c. As touching God the Father of heauē, I beleue as much as holy scripture teacheth mee to beleue. The father is the first person in Trinity, first cause of our saluation, MarginaliaEphesi. [illegible text].which hath blessed vs with all maner of blessinges in heauenly thinges by CHRIST: which hath chosen vs before the foundations of the world were layd,MarginaliaAct. 17. Psal. 176. that we should be holy and with out blame before him: who hath predestinate vs and ordayned vs to be his childrē of adoption through CHRIST IESV. In him, as it is sayd, we liue, we moue and haue our being: he nourisheth, feedeth, and geueth meate to euery creature.

MarginaliaThe second Article.And in IESVS CHRIST his onely sonne our Lord. I beleue that the word, that is, the Sonne of God the second person in Trinity, did take mans nature in the wombe of the blessed Virgin Mary:MarginaliaHeb. 1. So that there be in him two natures, a diuine nature and an humaine nature in the vnity of person inseperable, conioyned and knit in one CHRIST, truely God and truely man, the expresse and perfect Image of the inuisible God, wherein the will of God the father shineth apparantly, and wherin man, as it were in a glasse, may behold what he ought to do that he may please God the Father.  

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This paragraph is particularly intended to rebut Anabaptists and those who denied the Incarnation.

MarginaliaNo merites to saluation but only in Christ. Esay. 48. 43. Gen. 1. 22. Esay. 53. Act. 10. Math. 8.Borne of the Virgin Mary: truely suffryng his passion, crucified, dead and buryed, to the entent to bring vs agayne into fauour with God the father almighty, and to be a sacrifice, host and oblation, not onely for originall sinne, but also for all actuall sinnes of the whole generation of mankinde. For all the workes, merites, deseruinges, doings and obedience of man towardes God, although they be done by the spirit of God in the grace of God, yet being thus done, be of no validitie, worthynes, nor merite before God except God for his mercy and grace, accompt them worthy for the worthynes and merites of CHRIST IESVS.

The same CHRIST went downe to the hels, and truely rose again the third day, and ascended into the heauens, that he might there still reigne and haue dominion ouer all creatures: and from thence shall come &c.

I beleue in the holy ghost, coequall with God the Father and the Sonne, and proceeding from thē both: by whose vertue, strength and operation, the true catholycke church, MarginaliaThe catholicke church is the communiō of Saintes.which is the cōmunion and society of Saintes, is guyded in all truth and verity, and kept from all errours and false doctrine, the deuill, and all power of sinne. Which church is sanctified and halowed with the precious bloud, and spirit of our Lord IESVS CHRIST: which hath also her signe and marke, MarginaliaIohn. 10. 8. Galat. 1. 1. Timo. 3.that shee heareth and followeth the voyce of her onely and true pastour CHRIST, and no straungers. Thys Church also is the house of God, the congregation of the liuyng God, the piller of truth, the liuely body of CHRIST, a church both in name and in deede.

I beleue the remission of sinnes, by the onely meanes and

merites of CHRISTES death and passion: who was made vnto vs of God MarginaliaRemission of sinnes only by the merites of Christ aprehended by fayth.that onely sacrifice and oblation offered once for all and for euer, for all them that be sanctified.

I beleue the resurrection of the body, whereby in the last day all men shall ryse agayne from death, the soules ioyned agayne to the bodyes, the good to euerlasting lyfe, the wycked to euerlasting payne and punishment. And nothyng may more certaynly stablish and confirme our fayth that we shall ryse agayne immortall both in body and soule, then the resurrection of CHRIST our Sauiour and first fruites of the dead.MarginaliaConfirmation of our resurrection. Now that CHRIST our head is risen, we being his body and members must follow our head. Death, hell, and sinne cānot sunder nor plucke vs from him. For as the Sunne can not be diuided nor sundred from the Father,MarginaliaIohn. 10. Iohn. 1. nor the holy ghost from them both, no more may wee being the faythfull members of CHRIST, be seperated from CHRIST. And for a confirmation of our resurrection, CHRIST would be seene after his resurrection in his most glorious body, his woūdes being handeled and felt, speaking and teaching, eating & drinking. &c. We looke (sayth S. PauleMarginaliaPhil. 3.) for IESVS CHRIST our Sauiour, which shall transfigure our vyle bodyes, and conforme them to his glorious body by the same power and vertue, wherwith he is able to subdue all thinges: euen lyke as MarginaliaIohn. 12.the grayne of wheat sowē in the ground is first putrified and brought as into a thing of nought, yet after that it springeth vp freshly with a more goodly colour, forme, & beuty then it had before. The body is sowen in corruption and ryseth in incorruption: it is sowen in dishonour and ryseth in honour.Marginalia1. Cor. 15.

Thus I verely know and assuredly beleue the resurrection of our bodies, and to haue lyfe eternall by Christ and for CHRISTES sake. MarginaliaIohn. 5.Verely, Verely, I say vnto you (sayth CHRIST) he that heareth my word and beleueth on him that sent me, hath euerlasting lyfe, and shall not come into damnation, but is escaped from death to lyfe. It is CHRIST that dyed once for our sinnes, and is risen agayne, neuer more to dye:MarginaliaRom. 10. Ose. 12. it is he that swallowed vppe death and hath cast it vnder hys feete for euer. What now can death do vnto vs?MarginaliaThe sting of death pluckt out. Verely nothing els but for a little tyme separate our precious soules from our wretched bodyes, that diuine substaunce from a Masse of synne, that eternall lyfe from a body of death, and so send our soules out of this miserable, wretched, and sorowfull lyfe cumbred withall calamities, vnto that most blessed felicity and ioyes eternall.

MarginaliaHis confession touching the Sacramentes.As concerning the holy and reuerend Sacraments of CHRISTES church, which be in number two, the Sacrament of Baptisme and the Super of the Lord, I beleue them to be as Saint Paule calleth them, confirmations or seales of Gods promises,MarginaliaSacramentes are confirmations of gods grace and acceptation. which haue added to them a promise of grace, and therefore they are called inuisible signes of inuisible grace.

MarginaliaThe Sacrament of Baptisme.The Sacrament of baptisme is a marke of CHRISTES Church, a seale and confirmation of our acceptation into the grace and fauour of God, for CHRISTES sake. For his innocency, his righteousnes, his holynes, hys iustice is ours, geuen vs of God: and our sines and vnryghteousnes, by his obedience and abasing of hym selfe to the death of the crosse, are hys, whereof Baptisme is the signe, seale, and confirmation.

Baptisme is also a signe of repentaunce, to testify that we be borne to the waues of perils, and chaunges of life, to the intent that wee should dye continually as long as we liue, from sinne, and ryse agayne like new men vnto righteousnes. Rom. 6.

MarginaliaThe Sacrament of the Lordes Supper.The other Sacrament, which is the Supper and holy Maundy of our Sauiour CHRIST, wherby the church of CHRIST is knowen, I beleue to be a remēbraunce of CHRISTES death and passion, a seale and confirmation of his most precious body geuen vnto death, euen to the vyle death of the crosse, wherewith wee are redeemed and deliuered from synne, death, hell, and damnation. It is a visible word, because it worketh the same thing in the eyes, which the word worketh in the eares. MarginaliaGods word to the eare Gods word to the eyeFor like as the worde is a meane to the eares whereby the holy ghost moueth the hart to beleue, Rom. 10: so this Sacrament is a meane to the eyes whereby the holy ghost moueth the hart to beleue: it preacheth peace betwene God and man: it exhorteth to mutuall loue and all Godly lyfe, and teacheth to contemne the world for the lyfe to come, when as CHRIST shall appeare,MarginaliaAct. 1. 3. which now is in heauen and no where els as concerning his humane body.