They that loue God, must loue his natural Sonne IESVS, and his sonnes by adoption,
& keep his commandements, which to the regenerate are light. 4. But not, vnles they continue
in the Catholike faith, namely of this article, that IESVS is the Sonne of God, and
therfore able to giue vs life euerlasting, 14. and al our petitions 16. and our praiers for al
our Brethren that sinne not vnto death, dying in their mortal sinnes by impenitence. Last of al, he
warneth them not to communicate with Idols.
1. WHOSOEVER beleeueth that Iᴇꜱᴠꜱ is Christ, is borne of God. And euery one that
loueth him which begat, loueth him also which was borne of him.
2. In this we know that we loue the children of God: when as we loue God, and keep
his commandements.
3.
⋮
The Epistle vpon Dominica in albis or Low Sunday.
For this is the charitie of God, that we keep his commandements:
*
Mat. 11,30.
and his
commandements are not heauy.
4. Because al that is borne of God, ouercommeth the world: And this is the victorie
which ouercommeth the world, our faith.
5. Who is he
*
1. Cor. 15,57.
that ouercommeth the world, but he that beleeueth that Iᴇꜱᴠꜱ is
the Sonne of God?
6. This is he that came by water & bloud Iᴇꜱᴠꜱ Christ: not in water only, but
in water and bloud. And it is the Spririt which testifieth, that Christ is the truth.
7. For there be three which giue testimonie in heauen, the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost. And these three be one.
8. And there be three which giue testimonie in earth: the spirit, water, and bloud
and these three be one.
9. If we receiue the testimonie of men, the testimonie of God is greater.
Because this is the testimonie of God which is greater, that he hath testified of
his Sonne.
10.
*
Io. 3,36.
He that beleeueth in the Sonne of God, hath the testimonie of God in himself. He
that beleeueth not the Sonne, maketh him a lier: because he beleeueth not in the testimonie
which God hath testified of his Sonne.
11. And this is the testimonie, that God hath giuen vs life euerlasting. And this life
is in his Sonne.
12. He that hath the Sonne, hath life. He that hath not the Sonne of God, hath not life.
13. These things I write to you, that you may know that you haue eternal life which
beleeue in the name of the Sonne of God.
14. And this is the confidence which we haue toward him: that,
*
Mt. 7,7.
21,22.
1. Io. 3,22.
whatsoeuer we shal
aske according to his will, he heareth vs.
15. And
✟
or, if we know.
we know that he heareth vs whatsoeuer we shal aske: we know that we haue the
petitions which we request of him.
16. He that knoweth his brother to sinne a sinne not to death, let him aske, and life shal be
giuen him, sinning not to death. There is a sinne to death: for that I say not that any man aske.
17. Al
✟
ἀδικία .
iniquitie, is sinne. And there is a sinne
✟
' not to death
to death.
18. We know that euery one which is borne of God, sinneth not: but the generation of
God preserueth him, and the wicked one toucheth him not.
19. We know that we are of God, and the whole world is set in wickednesse.
20. And we know that the Sonne of God commeth: and he
*
Lu. 24,45.
hath giuen vs vnderstanding,
that we may know the true God, & may be in his true Sonne, This is the true God, & life
euerlasting.
21. My litle children, keep your selues from
✟
ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων.
Idols. Amen.
ANNOTATIONS.
Cʜᴀᴘ. V.
3. His commaundements are not heauie.) How can the Protestants say that Gods commaundements
can not possibly be fulfilled or kept in this life, seing the Apostle saith, they be not heauie:
and Christ saith, his yoke is sweete, and his burden light? See for the ful vnderstanding of this
place. S. Augustine de perfectione iustitia c. 10. The Heretikes in fauour of their foresaid
errour, rather translate, His commaundements are not greuous; then, are not heauie.
7. Three which giue testimonie.) An expresse place for the distinction of three persons,
& the vnitie of nature and essence in the B. Trinitie: against the Arians and other like
Heretikes, who haue in diuers ages found them selues so pressed with these plaine Scriptures,
that they haue (as it is thought) altered and corrupted the text both in Greeke and Latin many
waies: euen as the Protestants handle those textes that make against them. But because we
are not now troubled with Arianisme so much as with Caluinisme, we neede not stand vpon the
varietie of readings or expositions of this passage. See S. Hierom in his epistle put before
the 7 Canonical or Catholike Epistles.
16. A sinne to death.) A sinne to death is an other thing then a mortal sinne, for it is
that mortal sinne onely, whereof a man is neuer penitent before his death, or in which he
continueth til death, and dieth in it. I affirme (saith S. Augustine de correp. & grat. c. 12)
that a sinne to death is to leaue faith working by charitie euen til death. So likewise in
the wordes before, a sinne not to death, is not that which we call a venial sinne, but any
that a man committeth and continueth not therin til death.
16. For that I say not.) If the sinne to death where of he speaketh, be the sinne
wherein a man dieth without repentance, according to S. Augustines wordes before rehearsed:
then the praier which he speaketh of, must needes be praier for the dead. because he
speaketh of praying, or not praying, for them that died in deadly sinne, exhorting vs to pray,
and encouraging vs to doe it with confidence to be heard, if we pray, for them that departed
this life not in deadly sinne: and contrariwise in maner dissuading & discouraging vs from
praying for such as continued in wickednes euen til their liues end. And S. Augustine setteth
downe the Churches practise agreable to the Apostles meaning, li. 21 c. 24. de Ciuit. Dei.
if there be any (saith he) that persist til death in impenitence of hart, doth the Church now
pray for them, that is for the soules of them that so are departed? So saith he. And this is
the cause, that Concilium Bracharense primum sap. 34 forbiddeth to pray for such as die in
desperation, or kil them selues: and the reason, why the Church forbeareth to pray for
Heretikes that die in their heresie, or mainteine heresie vnto death and by their death.
And that the place is most properly or onely meant of praying for the departed, this
conuinceth, that neither the Church nor any man is dehorted here from praying for any sinner yet
liuing, not for: he remission of any sinne in this life: al sinnes (of what sort soeuer) being
pardonable, so long as the committers of them be in case and state to repent: as they be, so
long as they be in this world. And we see that the Church praieth, and is often heard, for
Heretikes, Iewes, Turkes, Apostataes, and what other infidels or il men soeuer, during their
liues. And it is great blasphemie that the Caluinistes vtter vpon this place: to wit, that
Apostasie and certaine other sinnes of the reprobate, can not be forgiuen at al in this life.
Which they hold, onely to auoid the sequele of praying for the dead vpon these wordes of S. Iohn,
besides that they must take vpon them presumptuously, to know and discerne of Gods secretes,
who be reprobate, and who be not, and according to that, pray for some, and not for othersome
al which is most wicked and absurd presumption.
As for their allegation, that S. Ieremie the Prophet was forbidden to pray for the Iewes,
and warned that he should not be heard, Chap. 7. 11. 14: there is great difference. first, he
had a reuelation by the wordes of God, that they would continue in their wickednes, as we
haue not of any certaine person, whereof S. Iohn here speaketh. secondly, Ieremie was not
forbidden to pray for the remission of their sinnes, nor had denial to be heard therein for any
mans particular case, whereof the Apostle here speaketh: but he was told that they should
not escape the temporal punishment and affliction which he had designed for them, and that he
would not heard him therein.
21. From idols.) It is so knowen a treacherie of Heretikes to trāslate idola images
(as here and in a number of places, specially of the English Bible printed the yere 1562) that
we neede not much to stand vpon it. As this also is seen to al the world, that they doe it
of purpose to seduce the poore ignorant people, and to make them thinke, that whatsoeuer in
the Scriptures is spoken against the idols of the Gentiles (which the Prophet calleth Simulachra
Gentium) is meant of pictures, sacred images, & holy memories of Christ and his Saincts.
Against such seducers the second sacred Councel of Nice, called the seuenth Synode, decreeth
thus Act. 4. pag. 122. Quicunque sententias sacrae scriptura de Idolis, contra venerendas
imagines addu•unt, anathema. Qui venerandas imagines idola appellant, anāthema, Qui dicunt
Christiani adorant imagines vt Deos, anathema that is, Anāthema to al them that bring the
sentences of holy Scripture touching Idols; against the venerable images, Anáthema to them that
call the venerable images, idols. Anáthema to them that say, Christiam adore images as gods.
Now in their later translations the Heretikes perceiuing that the world seeth their vnhonest
dealing, corrected them selues in some places, and in this place haue put, idols, in the text:
but to giue the people a watchword that the Churches images are to be comprised in the word,
idols, they haue put, images, in the margent. But concerning this matter, it is most euident
that neither euery idol is an image, nor euery image an idol: and that, howsoeuer the origine
or etymologie of the word, idol, may be taken in the Greeke, yet both the wordes and the
things be in truth and by the vse of al tonges, far differing. The great dragon that the
Babylonians adored (Dan. 14) was an idol, but not an image: the Cherubins in Salomons temple
were images, but not idols and the face of the Queene in her coine or elswhere, as Caesars
face vpon the coine that Christ called for, is an image, but not an idol and the Heretikes
dare not translate that text of Scripture thus, whose idol is this superscription? nor call
the Queenes image, the idol of the Queene: nor Christ, the idol of his father: nor woman, the
idol of the man: nor man, the idol of God al which in Scripture be named images for al that,
and be so in deede, and not idols. Which conuinceth, that the Heretikes be false & corrupt
translatours in this place and other the like, confounding these two wordes as if they were
al one.
But as for the hauing of images or purtraites of holy things, not onely in priuate houses, but
also in Churches, God him self doth warrant vs, who cōmaunded euen the Iewes them selues
(a people most prone to idolatrie, and that after he had giuen them a special precept of not
hauing, making, or worshipping of idols) to make the images of Angels (the Cherubins) and that
in the soueraine holiest place of adoration that was in the Temple, & about the Arke yea and
in respect of which sacred images partly, they did (as S. Hierom saith ep. 17 c. 3) so great
reuerence to the holy place called Sancta sanctorum. If they then were warranted and
commaunded to make and haue in so great reuerēce the images of mere spirites or Angels, whose
natural shape could not be expressed how much more may we Christians haue and reuerence the
images of Christ, his B. mother, the Apostles, and other Saincts, being men, whose shape may
be expressed? So doth the said Nicene Councel argue against the Heretikes which at that time
were the Aduersaries of images.
And note here, that eight hundred yeres agoe, they were straight counted Heretikes, that
began to speake against images, and that Councel was called purposely for them, and condemned
them for Heretikes, & confirmed the former auncient reuerence and vse of sacred images. Which
began euen in our Sauiours time or litle after, when good religious folke for loue and reuerence
made his image, namely the woman that he healed of the blouddy fluxe. Which image was also
approued by miracles, as the Ecclesiastical historie telleth, and namely Eusebius Eccl. hist.
li. 7 c. 14. who also witnesseth that the images of Peter and Paul were in his daies. as you
may see also in S. Augustine (li. d. consens. Euangelist. c. 10) that their pictures commonly
stoode together in Rome, euen as at this day. Of our Ladies image see S. Gregorie li. 7. ep.
5. indict. 2 ad Ianuar. & ep 53. In whom also (li. 7. ep. 109) you may see the true vse of
images, & that they are the bookes of the vnlearned, and that the people ought to be instructed
and taught the right vse of them, euen as at this day good Catholike folke doe vse them to
helpe & increase their deuotion, in al Catholike Churches: yea the Lutherans them selues
reteine them still. S. Damascene wrote three bookes in defense of sacred images against the
foresaid Heretikes.