OF THE CREATION OF MAN

¹ SEEING that God would especially open & manifest himselfe in the creatiō of angels & men, necessary for man is the knowledge of himselfe; both for that God wil be knowen by his own image, which he engraued in mans nature, & also because without it we neither aspire, nor attaine to that end, to the which we were created. Now the knowlege of our selfe is two-fold: That is, of man vncorrupted, such as hee was made of God, & shal be after his restoring accōplished: & of man fallē into sin & corrupted, such as he now is. The first is of the excellency and happines, the other of the misery of mankind.

Now this common place is annexed vnto the former of sinne: 1. Because when it is proued that there is sinne,² and that the nature of man is sinfull, the question straight ariseth, whether God created man subiect to sinne. And if not so, how then? For out of the doctrine concerning Original sinne this obiection seemeth to follow. Man is a sinner. Man was created of God. Therefore God created man a sinner. Whereunto our answere is, that it is a fallacie of the Accident, or that more is brought in the Conclusion, than was in the Antecedent. Secondly, This place is annexed that it may be vnderstood out of what dignitie and felicitie man hath throwne himselfe by his owne vnthankefulnes. Thirdly, that we may know whence sin came, and so not thinke God to be vniust. Fourthly, that we may know the greatnes of sinne in vs. Fiftly, that there may be kindled and increased in vs an earnest desire of recouering our first felicitie, yea and farre greater than that was. Sixtly, that we may be thankefull for the restoring of it. But there occurre many thinges, which proue God not to bee the author of sinne. 1 The nature of God. He is of his owne nature good,³ and the chiefe good: how then should anie euill thing come from him? 2. It is written Gen. 1.31. All that God had made, was verie good. 3. It is proued by the lawe of God, by which hee condemneth all euill thinges and sinnes, and commandeth good thinges. Wherefore he is not the author of sinnes. For the lawe of God is as it were the glas of that puritie which is in God. 4. It is proued by the punishmentes which God inflicteth vpon sinners: but he were vniust, if he shoulde punish that in man, whereof himselfe were author. 5. By the description of sinne, which is a destruction of the image of God in man, according to which man was made. This image was righteousnes. And therefore not sinne. More vnto this purpose hath beene spoken in the former place of sinne. To this place of the creation may be referred the place of the Image of God. Likewise the place of the first sinne of Adam and Eue. Those two places we will handle next after this, that so afterwardes wee may come to the place of freewill, which is also ioined with this of mans creation.