〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 good Dispositions or well-meaning people Expounding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 good-natured persons and easy to be imposed upon Like as in that other Verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 slow-bellies are usually interpreted as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gluttons We are not therefore to Hold Parly with them as Eve with the Serpent But rather as the Apostle directs they are to be Rebuked sharply that they may be sound in the Faith their Moâ—thes to be stopped that they subvert not whole Houses and that their Folly proceed no further A second thing that I here observe is this That the Promise of a glorious Resurrectâ—on concerns not Vs onely But the Fathers also before Christ. We are not to think that They had onely Promises of Temporal things but of Eternal also Christ is the First-fruits of those that Slept for the time past as well of those that were to sleep for the time to come 'T is true The Mystery which had been Hidden from Ages and Generations is now made Manifest to the Saints It is now more clearly Reveiled then before it was And Christ is the Mediator of a Better Covenant than that delivered by Moses established upon Better Promises Better as to the way of Administration and the clearness of Discovery but the same as to the Substance of the Things Promised Christ as to this is the same Yesterday and To day and for Ever 'T is the same Faith by which the Elders obtained a good Report and Enoch was Translated that he did not see Death By which We beleeve to the saving of our souls And St. Paul proves Rom. 4. that We are Justifyed by Faith Because Abraham and David were so Justified Nor was this unknow'n to the Jewish Church For though the Sadduces denyed the Resurrection Yet they were herein Singular The Pharisees Professed it with the rest of the Jews Search the Scriptures sayth Christ to the Jews for in them yee think to have Eternal Life And St Paul frequently from Moses and the Prophets and from the Promise made to the Fathers argues the Point of the Resurrection And our Saviour himself after his Resurrection first to the Two Disciples going to Emmans and then to the Eleven at Jerusalem doth from Moses and the Prâ—phets and the Psalmes and all the Scriptures make it Evident That thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to Rise from the Dead the third day and that Repentance and Remission of sins should be preaâ—hed in his name among all Nations And before that he proves to the Sadduces the Doctrine of the Resurrection from that of God to Moses I am the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob and that they did therefore Erre because they Knew not the Scriptures nor the Power of God Which he would not have sayd had not the Doctrine of the Resurrection been taught in the scriptures that then were that is those of the Old Testament So that the Socinians without allowing that Christ is God indeed if at lest they will but allow That he is a Good Man and a Wise man one who did understand the Consequence of an Argument and did not designe purposely to impose upon us must needs acknowledge That the Doctrine of the Resurrection was taught in the Scriptures of the Old Testament for sure it is that Christ thought so and That the Promises made to the Fathers were not onely Promises of Temporal things but of Eternal Life They may as well say That the Threatning to Adam In the day that thou Eatest thereof thou shalt Dy the Death was meant onely of a Temporal Death and then surely God would not Punish beyond what he Threatned Contrary to which St. Jude tells us that those Before Christ as well as since do suffer the vengeance of Eternal Fire The Third and last thing which I here observe is this That the Rewards and Punishments of another Life do concern us not onely as to our Personal capacities but as to our Relative and Politick capacities also As we are Incorporated into Kingdomes Cities Families and other Societies We must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive according to the things done in the Body whether Good or Bad. Whatsoever is done in the Body in whatsoever Capacity It may be Objected That Kingdomes and Cities and Bodies Politick shal not in that Capacity rise againe And therefore cannot in that capacity be Punished or Rewarded And consequently God being equally obliged to punish the sins of Societies as of single Persons he is obliged in this World to punish the sins of Societies and to reward their good acts since that hereafter it cannot be done But this Argument I take to have more in it of Witt and Rhetorick than of Logick or sound Divinity and would do better in a Poem or Panegyrick than in a Sermon For by the same reason we may as well say That the sins of Father and Child of Master and servant of Husband and Wife must be Allways Punished in this Life and in this onely Because that in the Resurrection they do neither Marry nor are Given in Marriage For Oeconomical Relations shall then cease as well as Political If it be said That these Relations are but Relations between single Persons not Societies and therefore the Sins thereof may in those Persons be Punished I say that this doth not alter the case at all For beside that this is not Universal For a Father may have many Children and may sin against his whole Posterity to the Third and Fourth Generation and a Lord or Master may have many Servants and may Sin against his whole Family and a man may be Servant to a Society as well as to a single Person Beside this I say If this Exception were cogent we might thence as well conclude That Kings because single Persons may hereafter be punished for Oppressing their Subjects and that Eternally but the States in an Aristocrary are punishable onely in this World and but with Temporal Punishments because These are a Collective Body And it would hence follow likewise That the greatest Villanies of Societies are at lest one degree below that of the Papists Venial sins For I presume the Jesuites themselves will not say that their whole Societie shall in that capacity be punished in Hell not yet in Purgatory for the greatest Villanies by them committed as a Socieâ—y But Venial Sins they acknowledge to be punished at lest in Purgatory though not in Hell And by this means also the greatest number of Sins and those the most Hainous would as to another World remain Unpunished and good Actions Unrewarded For much the greater number of Actions and the most considerable are those of persons in their Relative Capacities
Natural Generation so that of Christ Thou art my son this day have I Begotten thee expounded of his Resurrection Act. 13. do influence also those that are Christ's by Spiritual Regeneration And therefore Heb. 1. where the same is again so applyed to him Thou art my son this day have I Begotten thee he is not called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Only-begotten but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the First begotten when he bringeth his First-begotten into the World Because this had an aspect on those that are his Brethren and were on that account so called as it after follows For which cause he is not ashamed to call them Brethren And this I have the more insisted on because it is the Apostles great Argument for proving Our Resurrection from that of Christ That he Rose not only as a Single person but as the First-fruits of those slept and That in pursuance thereof those that are Christs are likewise to expect a glorious Resurrection For as we have born the image of the Earthy dying a natural Death as Adam dyed so shall we bear the image of the Heavenly in a glorious Resurrection like that of Christ. And he who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise Vs also by Jesus There is yet one thing more very considerable for the explication of this place To wit That the Apostles Argument and Discourse both in this verse and the whole Chapter extends only to prove the Resurrection of the Righteous not that of the Wicked 'T is of Christ the First-fruits afterwards those that are Christs of those who are not Christ's he says nothing As we have born the image of the Earthy so we shall bear the image of the Heavenly which can be meant of the Righteous onely It is sown in Dishonour it is raised again in Glory or It is sown a Vile Body it is raised a Glorious Body which cannot be understood of the Bodies of Wicked men And it is agreed for ought I find by all Expositors and amongst the râ—st by Grotius and Dr. Hammond That this whole Discourse is not at all to be understood of the Resurrection of the Wicked But of the Glorious Resurrection of the Righteous onely And That in those Words As in Adam all Dy so in Christ shall All be made Alive the word All is not of the same extent in both Clauses But extends in the first clause to All that appertain to Adam that is to All Mankind in the lâ—tter clause to All that are Christs that is to All the Faithfull For 't is those onely that are made Alive by Christ That of the Wicked being an Eternal Death As our Saviour himself distinguisheth Joh 5. They that have done Good to the Resurrection of Life and they that have done Evill to the Resurrection of Damnation And That the Parallel is thus to be understood As All that are in Adam do Dy in Him so All that are in Christ aâ—e by Christ made Alive jâ—stified sanctified and saved And this Grotius parallels with that of Rom. 5. As by the Offence of One that is of Adam Judgement came upon All men to condemnation so by the Righteousness of One that is of Christ the Free-gift came upon All-men for Justification of Life Where by All-men in the first clause Grotius understands All Mankind by All-men in the second clause All Beleevers Making this the adequate sense of both places As all that are in Adam that is all the Race of Adam do by Adam come to Dy So all that are in Christ are Justified by Christ and by Christ Raised to a Life of Glory But what must we then say That the Wicked are not also to be Raised Or that St. Paul did not Know it No we must sâ—y neither of these That the Wicked shall be also Raised by Christ himself tells us expressely Joh. 5. All that are in the Graves shall hâ—ar the voice of the Son of Man and come forth They that have done Good to the Resurrection of Life and they that have done Evill to the Resurrection of Damnation And That St. Paul Knew it so to be himself assures us in his Discourse to Felix Act. 24. not as his Own Faith onely but that of the Fathers also So worship I the God of my fathers Beleeving all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets And have hope toward God which themselves also allow that there shall be a Resurrection of the Dead both of the Just and Vnjust Than which nothing can be more express For though the Wicked by reason of their Impenitence and Unbelief do not injoy the Benefits of Christs Redemption to the Resurrection of Life Yet are they subject to Christs Dominion as the Judge of the World and shall be raised by his Power to the Resurrection of Damnation Which though it be not the business of this place before us is proved by divers others But why then you will ask doth St. Paul say nothing of it in this place where he speaks so copiously of the Resurrection To which I make this Answer We are to take notice of St. Paul as a Close Disputant It was his manner of arguing here and elsewhere to keep himself close to the point in question Both as to the Conclusion he was to prove and as to the Topicks from whence he fetched his Arguments Now the matter in question with these Corinthians was not What should become of those that were out of Christ and not to expect Benefit by him and therefore of that he saies nothing But What are the Benefits which they that are in Christ receive from him Amongst which that of Eternal Life was the main and of which they doubted To this therefore he applies his Arguments not to the other selecting such as were most proper for this Conclusion Waving the other but not Denying it In like manner as in our Creed We profess to Beleeve the Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting without mentioning that of Eternal Death or the State of the Wicked after this Life Yet this we Beleeve also According to what our Saviour tells us Math. 25. These shal go into Everlasting Punishment but the Righteous into Life Eternal The same is implyed also in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of those that Slept That is of those that are Dead in Christ. For to the Death of the Righteous the Scripture doth usually apply the soft term of Sleep Lazarus slepeth David slept with his Fathers Stephen fell A-sleep And ver 6. of this Chapter He was seen of five Hundred Brethren at once whereof some are fallen Asleep Whereas the Wicked are said to Perish to be Cut off to go down to the Pit with other the like hard expressions And in a parallel place to this 1 Thes. 4. it is expounded by those that are Dead in Christ. I would not have you
Sanctified to their use according to that Rom. 11. If the First-fruits be Holy the Lump is also Holy For which cause it was that they were not to Eat any of the Harvest Bread or Parched Corn or Green Ears till the First-fruits had been first offered And with a like Allusion He is elsewhere called The First-born from the Dead and The First begotten from the Dead For as the First-fruits in lieu of all the Crop so the First-born in lieu of all the Brethren was Consecâ—ated unto God Implying his Title to all the rest But when he is called the First-fruits of them that Slept it is not so to be understood as if he were the first that Slept as if he had been simply 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the First-fruits from the Dead of them that slept As he is elsewhere called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the First-born from the Dead For I take the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text to have an Aspect both ways 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 From the Dead he is Risen the First-fruits from the Dead of them that slept That is The first that should Rise againe of them that slept or as Act. 26. The First that should Rise from the Dead Yet not Absolutely so neither as if he were absolutely the First that was Raised For we read of one raised by Eliah another by Elisha And Christ himself raised Lazarus and some others But these were so Raised as to Dy again Their Corruptible had not putt on Incorruption nor their Mortal Immortality He was the First that was Raised to Life Immortal If it be said That Enoch who was Translated that he did not see Death And Eliah who 's Body was taken up into Heaven in a fiery Chariot Did before the Resurrection of Christ injoy what is Equivalent to the Resurrection of the Body According to what is here after implyed We shall not all Dy but we shall all be Changed The Trumpet shall sound the Dead shall be Raised and we shall be Changed Yet without disputing how far forth they injoyed a Glorified Body even that though Antecedent in time to the Resurrection of Christ was in nature Consequent to it and an Effect of it For though in a Physical Causality the Effect is never in time before the Cause Yet in a Moral Causality it may be As when a Debt is Acquitted a Captive Released an Inheritance Purchased and accordingly Injoyed upon prospect of a Price or Ransome to be payd by the Surety somewhile after And in this sense may Christ be said to be the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World Rev. 13. If at lest those words from the Foundation of the World relate there to that of the Lamb slain and not rather to that former clause written in the book of Life Who 's names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world That is who 's names were not written from the foundation of the World in the Lamb's book of Life According as the sâ—me is again repeated Rev. 17. Who 's names were not written in the book of Life from the foundation of the World without mention of the Lamb slain But whatever be the construction of those words sure it is that the Efficacy of Christs Death and Resurrection did as well look backward to the Beginning of the World as forward to the End of it And we are expressely told Heb. 11. That it was by Faith that Enoch was translated that he should not see Death Even by the same Faith which he there describes to be the Substance of things hoped for and the Evidence of things not seen By which the Elders obtained a good report and of which he had said a little before The just shalt live by faith and by which We beleeve to the Salvation of our Souls 'T was by Faith therefore in Christ who Died and Rose again that Enoch was Translated so as not to see Death as well as We from Death are Raised so a Life Immortal And Christ at lest virtually the First-fruits of both Now the notion of First-fruits implies two things a Possession of so much and a Title to the rest If the First-fruits be Holy the Lump also Holy If God hath right to the one he hath to the other also It is in the nature of an Earnest-penny a similitude oft used by our Apostle to the same purpose which is both part of Payment and an Ingagement to pay the rest And what in one place he calls the First fruits of the Spirit Our selves also who have the First-fruits of the Spirit wait for the Adoption to wit the Redemption of our Body the same he calls elsewhere the Earnest of the Spirit Who hath Sealed us and given us the Earnest of his Spirit in our hearts And again Ye were Sealed with the holy Spirit of promise which is the Earnest of our Inheritanâ—e untill the Redemption of the purchased Possession The First-fruits of the Spirit which they had then received was not onely a part of the Purchâ—se but was an Earnest penny to bind the Bargain for what was afâ—erward to coâ—e And such is the Resurrection of Christ as to Our Resurrection Not as a thing wnich being once accomplished was to rest so But as that which was to draw more after it We have hope saith the Apostle which entereth within the vail whether our Fore runner is entred For Vs as it were to take Livery of Seisin in Our stead And I go saith Christ to prepare a place For you that where I am you may be also And that other Phrase The First-born from the dead implies that there were more to follow That he may be the First-born amongst many Brethren And when St. Paul called Ipenetus the First-fruits of Achaia unto Christ he intimates a larger Harvest And the like of Stephanas elsewhere The word First being an Ordinal is spoken with respect to others that are to follow In what respect Christ is Singular he is not called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the First-begotten as here the First begotten from the Dead But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Onely-begotten of the Father And that in this place he is called the First-fruits from the dead with respect to a larger Crop is evident from the words next following where the same is further amplified For since by Mâ—n came Death by Man also came the Resurrection of the Dead For as in Adam all Dy so in Christ shall all be made Alive But every man in his own order Christ the First-fruits afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming Like as that sentence on Adam In the day that thou Eatest thereof thou shalt surely Dy was intended with respect to those that are His by