Selected quad for the lemma: church_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A64650
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Immanuel, or, The mystery of the incarnation of the son of God unfolded by James Archbishop of Armagh.
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Ussher, James, 1581-1656.
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1643
(1643)
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Wing U180; ESTC R7064
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32,765
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70
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done himselfe alone It may be his burden being thus lightened the abilities that were left him for government were not altogether so great as the necessity of his former employment required them to have beene and in that regard what was given to his assistants might perhaps be said to be taken from him But we are sure the case was otherwise in him of whom now we speake unto whom b God did not thus give the spirit by measure And therefore although so many millions of beleivers do continually receive this c supply of the Spirit of Iesus Christ yet neither is that fountaine any way exhausted nor the plenitude of that well-spring of grace any whit empayred or diminished it being Gods pleasure d that in him should all fullnesse dwell and that e of his fulnesse all we should receive grace for grace that as in the naturall generation there is such a correspondence in all parts betwixt the begetter and the infant begotten that there is no member to be seen in the Father but there is the like answerably to be found in the Child although in a far lesse proportion so it falleth out in this spirituall that for every grace which in a most eminent manner is found in Christ a like grace will appeare in Gods childe although in a far inferiour degree similitudes likenesses being defined by the Logicians to be comparisons made in quality and not in quantity VVe are yet further to take it into our consideration that by thus enliving and fashioning us according to his owne Image Christs purpose was not to raise a seed unto himselfe dispersedly and distractedly but to f gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad yea and to g bring all unto one head by himselfe both them which are in heaven and them which are on the earth that as in the Tabernacle h the vaile divided between the holy place and the most holy but the curtains which covered them both were so coupled together with the taches that it might still i be one Tabernacle so the Church militant and triumphant typified thereby though distant as far the one from the other as Heaven is from Earth yet is made but one Tabernacle in Jesus Christ k in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord and in whom all of us are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit The bond of this mysticall union betwixt Christ and us as l elsewhere hath more fully been declared is on his part that m quickening Spirit which being in him as the Head is from thence diffused to the spirituall animation of all his members and on our part n Faith which is the prime act of life wrought in those who are capable of understanding by that same spirit Both wherof must be acknowledged to be of so high a nature that none could possibly by such ligatures knit up so admirable a body but he that was God Almighty And therefore although we did suppose such a man might be found who should perform the Law for us suffer the death that was due to our offence and overcome it yea and whose obedience and sufferings should be of such valve that it were sufficiett for the redemption of the whole world yet could it not be efficient to make us live by faith unlesse that Man had been able to send Gods spirit to apply the same unto us VVhich as no bare Man or any other Creature whatsoever can doe so for Faith we are taught by S. o Paul that it is the operation of God and a worke of his power even of that same power wherewith Christ himselfe was raised from the dead VVhich is the ground of that prayer of his that the p eyes of our understanding being enlightened we might know what is the exceeding greatnesse of his power to ms-ward who beleeve according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when be raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places farre above all principality and power and might and every Name that is named not only in this world but also in that to come and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the Church which is his body the fulnesse of him that filleth all in all Yet was it fit also that the Head should be of the same nature with the Body which is knit unto it and therefore that he should so be God as that he might partake of our Flesh likewise q For we are members of his body saith the same Apostle of his flesh and of his bones And r except ye eat the flesh of the Sonne of man saith our Saviour himselfe and drink his bloud ye have no life in you s He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud dwelleth in me I in him declaring thereby first that by this mysticall and supernaturall union we are as truly conjoyned with him as the meat and drink we take is with us when by the ordinary worke of nature it is converted into our owne substance secondly that this conjunction is immediately made with his humane nature thirdly that the t Lamb slaine that is u Christ crucified hath by that death of his made his flesh broken and his bloud poured out for us upon the crosse to be fit food for the spirituall nourishment of our soules and the very well-spring from whence by the power of his God-head all life and grace is derived unto us Upon this ground it is that the Apostle telleth us that we x have boldnesse to enter into the Holiest by the bloud of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the vaile that is to say his flesh That as in the Tabernacle there was no passing from the Holy to the most Holy place but by the vaile so now there is no passage to be looked for from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant but by the flesh of him who hath said of himselfe y I am the way the truth and the life no man commeth unto the father but by me Jacob in his dreame beheld z a ladder set upon the earth the top whereof reached to heaven and the Angels of God ascending and descending on it the Lord himself standing above it Of which vision none can give a better interpretation then he who was prefigured therein gave unto Nathanael a Hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man Whence we may well collect that the only meanes whereby God standing above and his Israel lying here below are conjoyned together and the only ladder whereby Heaven may be scaled by us is the Son of man The type of whose flesh the vaile
he is Paul and who is Apollo but ministers by whom you beleeved even as the Lord gave to every man I have planted Apollo watered but God gave the increase So then neither is he that planteth anything neither he that watereth but God that giveth the increase Two things therefore we finde in our great Prophet which do far exceed the ability of any bare Man and so do difference him from all the h holy Prophets which have beene since the world began For first we are taught that i no man knoweth the Father save the Son and hee to whomsoever the Son will reveale him and that k no man hath seen God at anytime but the only begotten Son which is in the bosome of the Father he hath declared him Being in his bosome he is become conscious of his secrets and so out of his own immediate knowledge enabled to discover the whole will of his Father unto us whereas all other Prophets and Apostles receive their revelations at the second hand and according to the grace given unto them by the Spirit of Christ Witnesse that place of S. Peter for the Prophets l Of which salvation the Prophets have enquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you searching what or what manner of time THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST WHICH WAS IN THEM did signifie when it testified before hand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow and for the Apostles those heavenly words which our Saviour himselfe uttered unto them whilst he was among them m When the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himselfe but whatsoever he shall heare that shall he speake and he will shew you things to come He shall glorifie me for he shall receive of mine shew it unto you All things that the Father hath are mine therefore said I that he shall take of mine and shall shew it unto you Secondly all other Prophets and Apostles can do more as hath been said but plant and water only God can give the increase they may teach indeed and baptize but unlesse Christ were with them by the powerfull presence of his Spirit they would not be able to save one soule by that ministery of theirs We n as lively stones are built up a spirituall house but o except the Lord doe build this house they labour in vaine that build it For who is able to breath the spirit of life into those dead stones but he of whom it is written p The hour is comming and now is when the dead shall heare the voyce of the Son of God and they that hear it shall live and again q Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light Who can awake us out of this dead sleep and give light unto these blinde eyes of ours but the Lord our God unto whom we pray that he would r lighten our eyes least we sleep the sleep of death And as a blinde man is not able to conceive the distinction of colours although the skilfullest man alive should use all the art he had to teach him because he wanteth the sense whereby that object is discernable so s the naturall man perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishnesse unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned VVhereupon the Apostle concludeth concerning himselfe and all his fellow-labourers that t God who commanded the light to shine out of darknesse hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Iesus Christ but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us Our Mediatour therefore who must u be able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him may not want the excellency of the power whereby he may make us capable of this high knowledge of the things of God propounded unto us by the ministery of his servants and consequently in this respect also must be God as well as Man There remaineth the Kingdome of our Redeemer described thus by the Prophet Esay x Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdome to order it and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever and by Daniel y Behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of daies and they brought him near before him And there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdome that all people nations languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not passe away and his kingdome that which shall not be destroyed and by the angel Gabriel in his ambassage to the blessed Virgin z Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son and shalt call his name Iesus He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David And he shall reigne over the house of Iacob for ever and of his kingdome there shall be no end This is that new a David our King whom God hath raised up unto his b owne Israel who was in truth that which he was called the Son of Man and the Sonne of the Highest that in the one respect c we may say unto him as the Israelites of old did unto their David d Behold we are thy bone and thy flesh and in the other sing of him as David himself did e The Lord said unto my Lord Sit thou at my right hand untill I make thine enemies thy footstoole So that the promise made unto our first parents that f the seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents head may well stand with that other saying of S. Paul that g the God of peace shal bruise Satan under our feet seeing h for this very purpose the Son of God was manifested i in the flesh that he might destroy the works of the Divel and still that foundation of God will remaine unshaken k I even I am the Lord and beside mee there is no Saviour l Thou shalt know no God but me for there is no Saviour beside me Two speciall branches there bee of this Kingdome of our Lord and Saviour the one of Grace whereby that part of the Church is governed which is militant upon earth the other of Glory belonging to that part which is triumphant in Heaven Here upon earth as by his Propheticall office he worketh upon our Mind and Understanding so by his Kingly he ruleth our Will and Affections m casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it selfe against the