[Propositions and principles of diuinitie propounded and disputed in the vniuersitie of Geneua; (At Edinburgh: Printed by Robert Waldegraue, printer to the Kings Maiestie, Anno Dom. 1591.)]

Theodore Beza, born on June 24, 1519, in Vézelay, France, was a distinguished theologian, scholar, and reformer of the Protestant Reformation. Educated under the humanist Melchior Wolmar, Beza initially pursued law but later embraced the Reformed faith, leading to his exile from France. In 1548, he settled in Geneva, where he became a close associate of John Calvin. Beza's contributions were manifold. He served as a professor of Greek at the Academy of Lausanne and later at the Geneva Academy, where he succeeded Calvin as the chair of theology. His leadership extended to the Company of Pastors in Geneva, where he played a pivotal role in shaping Reformed theology and church governance. A prolific writer, Beza authored several significant works. His De jure magistratuum (1574) defended the rights of magistrates against tyranny, and his editions of the Greek New Testament were instrumental in biblical scholarship. Beza also penned a biography of Calvin and contributed to the Genevan Psalter, enhancing the liturgical life of the Reformed churches. Throughout his life, Beza was actively involved in theological debates, notably defending the doctrine of predestination and engaging in dialogues with Lutheran theologians. His efforts were crucial in consolidating the Reformed tradition during a period of religious upheaval. Beza passed away on October 13, 1605, in Geneva, leaving behind a legacy as a steadfast guardian of Reformed orthodoxy and a key figure in the Protestant Reformation.

Theodore Beza, born on June 24, 1519, in Vézelay, France, was a distinguished theologian, scholar, and reformer of the Protestant Reformation. Educated under the humanist Melchior Wolmar, Beza initially pursued law but later embraced the Reformed faith, leading to his exile from France. In 1548, he settled in Geneva, where he became a close associate of John Calvin. Beza's contributions were manifold. He served as a professor of Greek at the Academy of Lausanne and later at the Geneva Academy, where he succeeded Calvin as the chair of theology. His leadership extended to the Company of Pastors in Geneva, where he played a pivotal role in shaping Reformed theology and church governance. A prolific writer, Beza authored several significant works. His De jure magistratuum (1574) defended the rights of magistrates against tyranny, and his editions of the Greek New Testament were instrumental in biblical scholarship. Beza also penned a biography of Calvin and contributed to the Genevan Psalter, enhancing the liturgical life of the Reformed churches. Throughout his life, Beza was actively involved in theological debates, notably defending the doctrine of predestination and engaging in dialogues with Lutheran theologians. His efforts were crucial in consolidating the Reformed tradition during a period of religious upheaval. Beza passed away on October 13, 1605, in Geneva, leaving behind a legacy as a steadfast guardian of Reformed orthodoxy and a key figure in the Protestant Reformation.

Table of Contents:

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THE SECOND SORT OF PRINCIPLES: CONCERNING THE HOLY AND UNSEARCHABLE TRINITY (BOOK II)

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I. The Superiority of Scriptural Knowledge Concerning God

I. That knowledge of God, which we attain unto by His written Word, doth far surpass all that whatsoever it be, whereunto the light of nature doth or can lead us.

II. The Mystery of the Trinity Not Discoverable by Nature

II. For, that God is one in substance, and three in persons, is nowhere else to be learned, save only out of the Word. The truth of which doctrine, it setteth down most clearly and undoubtedly, but so as it leaveth the reason thereof, as a matter altogether unsearchable, and a mystery, not to be sought out by human arguments, but to be reverenced and embraced by faith only.

III. The Lawfulness and Use of Ecclesiastical Terms

III. These words, Trinity, Essence or Substance, Person, and Coessential, though they be not in express syllables (the word Person only excepted) to be found in the canonical Scriptures; yet, notwithstanding, they were not without just cause brought into use by the godly ancient Fathers; neither are they to be rejected, as adding anything unto the Word, but rather, to be still profitably and wholesomely retained in the Church.

IV. The Terms Defined

IV. By the word Trinity, we understand the number of the persons contained in the divine essence, which is one only.

V. By the word essence, in this doctrine is meant, that which indeed is one, and of all things most singular or single, wherein the several persons, being every one of them, the whole and the same essence, do subsist, being distinguished in their peculiar properties. These persons are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

V. The Nature of the Divine Persons

VI. The Persons in the Deity are the whole and the very same substance of the Deity, distinguished the one from the other by their peculiar or respective incommunicable properties.

VII. The properties whereby the persons are distinguished, are the diverse manner of being which they have in the Deity, whereby the substance of the Godhead is no wise divided asunder, nor the persons of the same essence separated, but yet so distinguished, as the one of them cannot possibly be the other.

VIII. The divine Essence, the Deity or Godhead, and God, are essentially the one and the same.