This is gathered from these words, We made knowne unto you the power and comming of our Lord Iesus Christ. For his power hath respect unto his divine nature, together with the effects thereof, Rom. 1.4. And his comming hath respect unto his humane nature, together with the end and benefit of his incarnation. Now if these two be joyned together, namely, that Christ came to save us, and that he came with power, so that he had all sufficiency & efficacy at his comming, nothing more can be desired to comfort the faithfull. Vse 1. This may serve to admonish, 1 Preachers, to make the power and comming of Christ the center as it were of all their Sermons. The Apostle, 1 Cor. 2.2. Determined to know nothing save Iesus Christ and him crucified, & then also, 2. the hearers, to have a speciall eye unto that in the hearing of Sermons, how they may profit in the understanding of this mystery.
2. To exhort us, to fetch all the obedience which we performe unto God, from him as from the fountaine. For whatsoever duties flow not from the power and comming of Christ, are not Evangelicall, but are infected with hypocrisie, or consist in civility.
Doct. 4. The certainty of this Gospell, even as it may be had after the manner of men, is as great as any we can have of any things that are done and past.
This is gathered from these words; We have seene, we have heard. For it is confirmed by the testimony of those, that sensibly perceived it; who by the confession of all were men at least worthy to be believed, having no reason to witnesse any otherwise then the thing it selfe was; in regard that they could not expect to receive any profit thereby from men; and being such as confirmed it unto us, not by the bare testimony of their words, but also with their life and blood: so that even after the manner of men we may be as certaine of the Gospell as we are, that there was sometimes a Monarchy of the Assyrians, Grecians, Romans: that there were Captaines, and Knights, of such and such a countrey, or the like.
Vse 1. This may serve to reprove and condemne the perversnesse of men, who easily believe all other things, though there be but weak arguments to confirme it; but they can scarce be brought to receive the Gospell of salvation.
