Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A41822
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John Baptist's decreasing and Christ's increasing witnessed being a treatise concerning baptism in the type, and baptism in the mystery / by John Gratton ...
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Gratton, John, 1641-1712.
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1674
(1674)
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Wing G1585; ESTC R39439
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23,175
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59
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John Baptist's DECREASING AND CHRIST's Increasing WITNESSED Being a Treatise concerning Baptism in the Type AND Baptism in the Mystery By John Gratton Well-Wisher of the Anabaptists c. Printed in the Year 1674. TO THE Friendly Unprejudic'd READER Friend IT is no Desire in me that because so many have appear'd in Print that therefore I would be one also that should be accounted Eminent But having been one of the greatest Sinners upon Earth and therefore have through infinite Love and free Grace much forgiven me my Love is so much to him that is Lord of all that I am not a little grieved to see his Pure and Precious Truth so strongly on all hands incountered with and fought against its Comfortable and Glorious Appearance in the Lord 's poor despised People called by the scornful World Quakers And seeing that this of Water-Baptism hath been and is a Thing they that are not only Adversaries to Truth but to their own Souls have so publickly made use of to fight us with I having both been an Eye Ear-Witness of the same have been not a little exercised in Mind about this Matter but have seriously considered and tryed all their Arguments that I have been acquainted with for this thing and I find them so far contrary to Truth and the Mind of Truth that a Necessity fell upon me to write what it pleased the Pure Eternal God to communicate unto me by his Spirit so that what is according to Truth sound Iudgment thou wilt here find written as to the Tenor and Substance of the Matter from the Spirit of God in me and so is not mine but his to him be the Glory wholely given forever But if there be any circumstantial Defect for want of Heed or Exactness which may either fall upon me or upon the Printer charge it in its right Place and lay it not upon the Spirit of God Having given thee this Caution I desire thee to observe in the next place my End in the publishing this little Treatise which is First To clear Truth of Scandals in this Point laid to our Charge 2dly To strengthen the Owners and Lovers of it 3dly To acquaint or inform them that are mistaken about it And lastly That I might so aswer that Love so greatly bestowed upon me as to be clear of all Men and stand single unto God whose Servant I am through Mercy and might bring Glory Honour and Praise unto his Holy Name forever So now before I leave thee I shall only acquaint thee of the great Differences amongst men about this thing and then take leave The Presbyterian saith Water-Baptism belongs to Children of Believing Parents and therefore they examine the Parents of their Faith Now if the Parent be an Vnbeliever then his Child is not to be accepted to this Ordinance as they call it From which I shall only now observt this That if this be so then is the Child a Sufferer for the Sin of the Father's Vnbelief which God hath said shall never be The Child shall not suffer for the Sin of the Father nor the Father for the Sin of the Child but the Soul that sins it shall Dye 2dly The Episcopal saith The Child is by this regenerated and born again sanctified and changed and made a new Creature and therefore if a Child be in Danger of Death great Haste is made to get it sprinkled And if this be true What further need of a Saviour 3dly The Baptists say Believers only have Right to Water Baptism I grant Believers are only they that are Truly Baptized but that they are injoyn'd or commanded to observe this Water Baptism they now so differently observe I find not But I hope if thou readest what follows with a single Eye thou mayst come to see all these Dippers and Sprinklers and their Shortness in this and gain some Acquaintance with the Lord's Mind as thou waitest in his pure Light which makes all things manifest to which I beseech thee to turn thy Mind and believe in it that thou mayst be a Child of Light and then thy Fellowship will be with us who are Children of it and so we may Praise the Lord together who is Light to whom be all the Honour and Glory forever and ever Written by one of the Least of all yet one of the Lord 's Chosen Ones unknown to many yet known by the Name of Iohn Gratton Monyash the 4th of the 3d Moneth 1674. A TREATISE Concerning BAPTISM THey that are baptized into Christ have put on Christ live in him and are One Spirit with or in him are all united by One Spirit into One Body and are Members of his Body of his Flesh and of his Bones and of his Fulness receive Grace for Grace and know One Lord One Faith One Baptism and are One in him and he in them and so are come into the Alpha and Omega the Beginning and the End the First and the Last He whose Name is called The Word of God by which all things were made in Heaven and in Earth to him be Glory forever Now the Baptism of the Spirit is One in all and all that are baptized by the One Spirit are baptized into One Body and are all made to drink into One Spirit and these have no Confidence in the Flesh but are they that worship God in the Spirit and are truly led and guided by the Spirit hear and know his Voice and are acquainted with his Operations Life Power and Vertue and can do nothing acceptable to God but what they do in it and so it rather may be said as in Truth it is That it is the Gift or Grace of God in them and by them that works both to Will and to Do of his own Good Pleasure Now all other Baptisms whatsoever that are not in the Spirit are of no Profit for the Substance of all is come I say of all those Shadows Figures and Types which had their Day and in their Day were appointed to be used according to the Appointment of the Father but were but for an appointed Time until the Seed came to whom the Promise was made who is the Heir in whom all Fulness dwells mark that that in all things he might have the Preheminence for he alone of himself is sufficient and able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him him only without the Help of any outward Washings outward Offerings Oblations or whatever may be named or hath been named either of things in Heaven or in the Earth they are all to give place for him only hath God highly exalted and given him a Name above every Name that at his Name every thing though it hath been never so highly exalted should bow and that in all things he only who is Heir of all should rule as a Son over his own House for all these were but as Servants and were not to abide forever I say All those Types and Shadows and
things that they did by Permission and not by Commission from Christ I say their Intents in all tâ—ese were never to establish them with Christ Jesus to abide as long as the World lasted nâ— But after they had held them in hand in order to get them on they took all Occasions they could to bring them on further further till they all come in the Unity of the Faith unto a perfect Man in Christ Jesus unto the Measure of the Stature of Christ Jesus and so these became Useless and all gave place to him who is alone by himself established a Priest forever of an Unchangeable Priesthood Glory is wholy due unto him And so now they came to speak of One Baptism One Faith and One Lord as a foresaid and that by One Spirit they were all baptized into One Body mark they were ALL he saith ALL Baptized by One Spirit into One Body and had all been made to drink into One Spirit but none can prove that All were baptized into Water for Paul was instrumental in the Lord's Hand for the concinoing and converting of many But he saith He baptized none but Crispus and Cajus and the Houshold of Stephanus beside saith he I know not whether I baptized any other but many were convinced by him doubtless very many yea Multitudes yet no man can prove that all that were convinced and converted by the Gift of God in Paul were also All baptized into Water yet saith he Ye are All baptized by One Spirit and have been ALL made to drink into One Spirit and there is One Lord One Faith One Baptism Well but say you Baptists He doth not say There is but One Baptism No nor he doth not say There is but One Lord must we therefore say There are more Lords then One God forbid for to us there is but One Lord And he doth not say There is but One Faith must we therefore say There are more Faiths then One So he also saith There is One Baptism and so say we too and that One was promised and accomplished and commanded for we believe as Christ said The Works that I do mark ye the Works that I do shall ye do and greater Works then these shall ye do But it s plainly said That Christ baptized not I say not with Water but with the Holy Ghost And do you think that he used One Baptism to them and commanded them to use Another to them that believed in him do you think that he baptized them with the Holy Ghost and then sent them out to baptize with Water I know whatever you believe you have said no less but you can never prove it For the Works that I do shall ye do but Christ baptized not into Water nor never said that they should that you or any other can prove for Peter in the 11th of Acts declares what the Lord said when the Disciples were talking with him about his going in to the Gentiles Then said he remembred I the Word of the Lord how that the Lord said mark ye Christ's words the Lord said John indeed baptized with Water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost But he no where mentions Water by way of Commanding them to use it in Baptism but said Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost and Go ye teach all Nations baptizing them into the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and Lo I am with you But further I remember you Baptists have said That your Baptism into Water doth signifie Death Burial and Resurrection By which words you acknowledge it is but a Type And you further say That no man ought to be buried before he be dead Now I conclude that the Dead you mean are such as are Dead to Sin and if so how can ye that are dead to Sin live any longer therein Know ye not saith Paul in Rom. 6. 2 10 7. that so many of us as were baptized INTO mark into Iesus Christ were baptized into his Death therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into Death that like as Christ was raised up from the Dead by the Glory of the Father even so we also should walk in Newness of Life And in the 7th Verse For he that is dead is freed from Sin Well now let me ask you are you thus dead buried and risen with him by your Water Baptism Or can any Man conclude that Paul here speaks of Water-Baptism Is it not plainly said into Christ not into Water but into Christ into Death And in Gal. 3. 27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ and they that are in Christ are new Creatures behold all ye Water-baptizers all Old things pass away and all things become new a new Heaven and a new Earth in which dwells Righteousness And we say that the Sons of God inhabit in the New and Living Way that which is pure and changeth not but endures forever and in Righteousness are they established and act not by the Power of a Carnal Commandment but in the Power of an Endless Life not in Imitation of the Letter but in the Demonstration of the Spirit For although it should be so as ye would have it That Christ had commanded the Apostles to baptize into Water as he never did nor can it be ever proved yet if it had been so what is that to you Who commanded you Shew us your Commission Where did you receive your Power and Authority in this Matter that you both preach and baptize Whereas Paul saith He was not sent to Baptize but to preach And we say and know what we say to be true That we are not sent to Baptize into Water but to Preach the Gospel and our Authority came not by Man of Man nor from Man but by the Grace of God we are what we are and his Grace is sufficient for us and ever hath been since we were a People and so will be to the End And we further say we own that Iohn was sent to baptize with Water and we own him in his Day but where did Iohn baptize using those words Father Son and Holy Ghost for they that had been baptized unto Iohn's Baptism had not so much as heard of a Holy Ghost so that this Baptism ye practise cannot be Iohn's nor Christ's it cannot be for he never had Water asscribed to him But Iohn who was a true Minister in his time of Water-baptism said HE meaning Christ shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost Fire So then if not Iohn's as its clear it is not for Iohn's was a Type of the True Baptism of the Spirit and when the Types Figures Vails and Shadows were ended and HE the End and Beginning First and Last was arisen and had rent the Vail from the Top to the Bottom I say when his Sun of Righteousness did arise the Shadows fled away and gave him place over his own House to rule whose Right it