Selected quad for the lemma: diversity_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
diversity_n	gift_n	grace_n	spirit_n	1,075	5	6.0013	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12478	An exposition of the Creed: or, An explanation of the articles of our Christian faith. Delivered in many afternoone sermons, by that reverend and worthy divine, Master Iohn Smith, late preacher of the Word at Clavering in Essex, and sometime fellow of Saint Iohns Colledge in Oxford. Now published for the benefit and behoofe of all good Christians, together with an exact table of all the chiefest doctrines and vses throughout the whole booke	Smith, John, 1563-1616.; Palmer, Anthony, fl. 1632.	1632 (1632)	STC 22801; ESTC S117414	837,448	694

it but for the unbeleevers sake if any should be here I will give foure reasons to prove it First because it is proper to none but God to be in all places at one time as Ierem. 23. 24. Doe not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord This is the propertie onely of God on bodily substance can because they cannot be but in one place at one time and must be bounded in their owne essence but the Holy Ghost is in all places he is in heaven and earth and in the hearts of the faithfull all the world over therefore the Holy Ghost is God I but some man may say the light of the Sunne is all the world over To this I answer although the light of the Sunne be all the world over yet there are divers parts of it But the Holy Ghost is all one and the same and is not divided but he fils heaven and earth and hee is in the hearts of the godly all the world over and therefore the holy Ghost is God Secondly Because none but God can create and make things of nothing none but God knoweth all things none but God can give gifts of grace to his servants but the Holy Ghost doth all this and therefore the Holy Ghost is God First we may see the Holy Ghost creates as well as the Father and the Sonne as Iob 33. 4. The Spirit of the Lord hath made mee and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life So Psal. 33. 6. By the Word of the Lord were the heaven and the earth made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth Secondly no man knoweth the things of God but God the Holy Ghost knoweth all and therefore he is God as 1 Cor. 2. 11. For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of a man which is in him even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God Thirdly none but God gives gifts of grace to men but the Holy Ghost doth therefore the Holy Ghost is God Now that the Holy Ghost doth give gifts and graces it is plaine 1 Cor. 12. 6. There are diversities of operations but God is the same that worketh all seeing then it is the Holy Ghost that doth create that knoweth the things of God and that gives gifts of grace into the hearts of men therefore the holy Ghost is God Thirdly No man is to be baptised into the name of any creature but into Gods only but wee are commanded to be baptised into the name of the Holy Ghost therefore the Holy Ghost Now that no man is to be baptised into the name of any creature it is plaine by the Apostles words 1 Cor. 1. 13. where he demands Were yee baptised into the name of Paul I baptised I thanke God name of you but Crispus and Gaius lest any man should say that I baptised into mine owne name Againe We that be baptised are grafted into another stocke and so draw spirituall grace into our selves but if a man be baptised into any other name he cannot draw spirituall grace and therefore wee are to be baptised into none other name but into Gods Name besides there is an expresse charge and command to baptise in no other name but in the Name of the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost Therefore the Holy Ghost is God Now I spend the more time in this that yee might have your Christian faith grounded for Matth. 13. wee see that the seed that was sowen in the stony ground withered and came to nothing because it wanted a root of judgement so if our knowledge be not rooted and grounded it will come to nothing every temptation will shake it and therefore we must labour to have our knowledge grounded Let us come to make use of it First seeing the holy Ghost is God therefore we must take heed we doe not grieve him with our sins and our corruptions this is the use Saint Paul makes of it Ephes 4. 30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God by whom ye are sealed unto the day of redemption It is a great fault to grieve man but it is a greater to grieve God it is said in the Law that the people grieved God and Moses his servant and Esay 7. 10. the question is asked Is it a small thing to grieve man but ye will also grieve my God Now there is never a sinne we commit but wee grieve God every oath wee sweare every lye we tell c. and therefore we must take heed we doe not sin to grieve the holy Spirit and to cause him to depart from us as Heb. 3. 10. God complaines Forty yeeres long was I grieved with this generation c. so it is our sinnes that grieve the holy Ghost If a man hath a guest that commeth to his house to tarry but a night he will be wary lest hee offend him much more wee should be loth to offend the holy Ghost seeing he commeth to dwell with us not a night but for ever consider with thy selfe O man if thou have a friend that will helpe thee in all times of extremitie and releeve thee wilt thou offend him nay thou wouldst labour to please him So the holy Ghost is a friend to us and will speake comfortably and kindly to us at the day of death and in our troubles therefore if we grieve him what comfort can we looke for at the day of death and in the time of trouble Secondly seeing the holy Ghost is God we must take heed that we doe not destroy the temple of the holy Ghost now our bodies be the temples of the holy Ghost therefore we must take heed we doe not destroy the So 1 Cor. 3. 16. saith the Apostle Know ye not that yee are the temples of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you and if any man destroy this temple God will destroy him which is done first by pulling downe the wals and then by defacing of it which bloudy tyrants doe when they kill good people and deface them If a Noble-man have his house pulled downe over his head he will not take it well at their hands but he will labour to destroy them who did it so if tyrants pull downe Gods Temple he will not take it well at their hands but will destroy them Secondly we may destroy this temple by polluting it for though they let the wals stand yet they may destroy Gods temple by destroying the sanctitie and the holinesse of it by their bad lusts and vile sinnes that they doe commit and then God will destroy them as Iohn 2. you see how angry Christ was that hee made a whip and did scourge them out of the Temple that brought oxen and sheepe and doves to sell there now if Christ were angry with them that defiled the materiall Temple with their oxen sheepe and

descention into Hell as all doe agree Now for the particulars I must grant there bee divers opinions of it some thinke one thing some another yea there is not onely diversities of opinions between the Protestants and the Papists but in both sides even in the bosome of their Churches and amongst themselves It is the opinion of some Papists that Christ was not in the place of the damnd of Hel but they say he was in the skirts and brimmes thereof but Bellarmine hee dissents from them and affirmes he was in the vaults and chambers in Hel and another saith he was not in Hell bodily but by efficacy and vertually so we see the Papists be not all of one minde but there be divers opinions amongst them Now before wee goe any further there bee two sorts of men that must be satisfied First such as say seeing there is such a diversitie of opinions they will beleeve nothing till all be agreed To such I answere if thou wilt beleeve nothing till all be agreed then thou wilt never beleeve at all and so thou shalt never be saved because there have been dissentions in all ages Moses was withstood by Iannes and Iambres Elias with Baals Priests Ieremie with the false Prophets Christ with the Pharisies and the Apostles with Simon Mogus so there hath been diversitie of opinions from the beginning and will be as long as there is the seede of the vvoman and the seede of the Serpent so long as the Flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh so long as we see but in part as it were in a glasse and therefore if thou wilt not beleeve till all agree thou wilt never beleeve and so thou shalt never bee saved as in Chrysostom● time many heathen came unto him and told him that they would bee Christians but that there were such diversities of opinions amongst them and such divisions every one pretending the truth Now Origen doth worthily answer this saith he Wilt thou not be a Christian because there be diversity of opinions thou hadst as good say thou wilt not be of any calling for there is no calling but hath its diversities of opinions and dissent in judgement wilt thou bee a Philosopher some of them be of one judgement and some of another and there is an hundred opinions amongst them Wilt thou bee a Physition there is diversity of judgements amongst them too Wilt thou be a Lawyer why one interprets the law one way and one another way yea there is not any Art but therein are dissentions in judgement one from the other and therefore if thou wilt doe nothing till all bee agreed thou canst not be of any calling It is a strange thing that men should doe more foolishly in religion than in any thing else If a man hath his lands to sow and he goe and aske his neighbour when it is best to sow some will say at such a time and some at such a time and every man will speake according to the judgement and light of knowledge he hath therefore wilt thou neglect sowing thy land so it may be thou mayest be starved Now since for diversitie of mens opinions concerning the season thou wilt not omit the time of sowing much more doe not thou neglect the saving of thy soule This is the madnesse of men they will not neglect the sowing of their land nor the building of their houses and yet they will neglect the saving of their soules Another sort of men that must bee satisfied are such who say if great Doctors and learned men are not able to settle themselves how shall we bee able that are unlearned I answere that if a man make conscience of plaine truths God will reveale the other so farre forth as shall bee needfull for him Saint Paul gives us a rule for it Philip. 3. 15. Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall reveale even the same thing unto you Neverthelesse in that whereunto wee are come let us proceede by one rule that wee may minde one thing Now there be some truths that wee all generally agree in we hold that whoredome is a sin that drunkennes swearing lying and slandering our neighbour be sinnes and dealing unjustly is a sin and if we make not conscience of these knowne truthes it is just we should care and wander in the great matters therefore let us make conscience of knowne truthes and God will reveale the other to us As we see Acts 10. in the example of Cornelius he being ignorant in a maine point fasted praied made conscience of knowne truthes and God did informe him in the same by Peter so likewise Peter in the same Chapter being ignorant of the conversion of the Gentiles preached and prayed on the house toppe and making conscience of that knowne truth God did reveale the other to him in a vision So likewise Apollos Acts 18. knowing nothing but the Baptisme of Iohn went on and preached life and salvation by Christ and making conscience of that knowne truth God did reveale the other hee stirred up Aquila and Priscilla and they informed him therefore let us make conscience of knowne truthes and God will reveale the other as far form as shall be needfull for us If a man powre water into a glasse if the glasse foule the water and mud it hee will stay his hand and will powre in no more but if it remaines cleare hee fils it up to the top so if God powre knowledge into a man if he marres his knowledge or soyles it then God will stay his hand but if hee with his knowledge labour to glorifie God and make conscience of his wayes then God will fill him up to the toppe This may bee the stay of a true Christian when great Doctors erre and wander and be unsetled if thou make conscience of thy wayes and walke in the plaine truths God will reveale unto thee the other Now having satisfied these two sorts of men I will shew you first what I allow not of secondly what I take to be more probable and come more neere the truth thirdly what I take to be the truth in my judgement all under correction of the more grave and learned First what it is that I reject and allow not of for though no man can presently know the certaine truth of this yet it is good to avoid the dangerous opinions As a man that is at sea if he cannot hit of the right haven to arrive at yet if he can avoid the dangerous rockes and sands it is well So although we cannot know all certaine truths yet it is well if we can avoid uncouth and false opinions Now there be foure opinions which I allow not of First That his body descended into hell this in my judgement stands not with the Scripture for Christs body was in the grave three nights and three dayes