Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	believe_v	church_n	creed_n	9,079	5	10.7231	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85431	Christ the universall peace-maker: or, The reconciliation of all the people of God, notwithstanding all their differences, enmities. / By Tho: Goodvvin, B.D.	Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.	1651 (1651)	Wing G1237; Thomason E626_1; ESTC R202317	39,180	60

CHRIST THE UNIVERSALL PEACE-MAKER OR THE RECONCILIATION Of ALL the PEOPLE of GOD Notwithstanding all their Differences Enmities By THO: GOODVVIN B. D. LONDON Printed by J. G. for R. Dawlman 1651. CHRIST The Vniversall PEACE-MAKER I. PART EPHES. 2. 14 15 16. For he is our peace who hath made both one and hath broken downe the wall of partition between us Having abolished in his flesh the enmity even the Law of Commandments contained in ordinances for to make in himselfe of twain one new man so making peace And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the Crosse having slaine the enmity thereby or in Himselfe IT were a manifest folly in the judgements of most knowing men to goe about to use in any set way exhortatory motives to perswade to peace reconciliation the people of God amongst us The provocations are so high and exasperations so fresh and encreasing that if I had an audience made up of those alone that have the swaying power of either and together therewith their most favourable attention and interest in affection without prejudice I should not know how to attempt it with any hope of successe But though the animosities of mens spirits augmented by coincident circumstances are gon beyond the power of the perswasions of men in this present paroxisme yet they are not above the power of Gods wisedome and providence nor the force and efficacy of Christs bloud You may therefore in the midst of all contrary appearances give me leave though I cannot hope to perswade yet to BELEEVE The Catholique Church and Communion of Saints they are in my Creed and because I beleeve therefore to speake and so to give you an account of my faith as to this issue Let your faith but wait and give God time for it and leave him to effect it his owne way And to this end I have taken this Text Christus Pax nostra For he is our peace who hath made both one c. and my inference is That therefore the Saints SHALL and MUST be one and reconciled in the end And this is the best newes which in these times can be told you the seasonablest we can heare of and is indeed one great part of the glad tidings of the Gospell it selfe without which it were imperfect which Christ himselfe our peace who came to purchase it as these words shew so came to preach as the very next v. 17. hath it The maine and principall intendment of these words is to give an eminent instance of the efficacy of Christs mediation in slaying the enmities that are amongst the people of God themselves and of his being our peace in that respect instancing in that the greatest that ever was between Jew and Gentile Whom yet as here he hath made both one and hath broken downe the partition wall betweene us and however he mentions in the 16. v. our reconciliation made with God of which elsewhere he treats more largely yet here but by way of confirmation of our faith in this other of reconciliation amongst our selves For the aime of its introduction here is but to shew how that Christ in reconciling us to God himselfe carried it so and did it under such a consideration and respect as necessarily drew on and involved our reconciliation one with another namely this that he reconciled us unto God IN ONE BODY among our selves It is an happy clause that addition in one body and on purpose inserted thereinto to shew that when God was to transact our peace and reconciliation to and with Christ hanging upon the Crosse he would not nor did not acknowledge himselfe to him then reconciled to us by him upon any other termes then as withall we were lookt at and represented to him by Christ as one body and therein reconciled one to another whilest we were reconciled to himselfe The Connection of the 16. ver. with the 15. discussed And how That Reconciliation to God in one body ver. 16. is to be understood whether of that reconciliation wrought for us or in us I Meet but with one eminent difficulty in the coherence and contexture of these words and that is the connexion of these two verses v. 15. 16. as namely of these words And that he might reconcile us to God v. 16. c. with the former v. 15. Having abolisht the enmity c. Now this enmity mentioned v. 15. is evidently intended of the enmity betweene Jew and Gentile as is clear by its connexion with v. 14. Who hath made of twaine one and broken downe the partition wall Having slain the enmity Now the twaine or the two thus made one between whom this enmity was is not God and we but the Jewes and the Gentiles of whom he had spoken in the former verses for he adds that he might create both in one new man which could not be said of God and us Now then the difficulty is what reconciliation to God in one body that should be v. 16. which the Apostle makes the consequent of having slain the enmity betweene these Jewes and Gentiles For the connexion seemes to import the one a consequent of the other And the words to run thus Having slain the enmity between themselves v. 15. that he might reconcile them to God v. 16. Now this reconciliation to God must be either meant of the work of reconciliation wrought in us whereby we turne unto God as 1 Cor. 5. Be ye reconciled to God or that Reconciliation which Christ wrought for us unto God and whether of these should be intended is the Question And so withall the Question is whether those words v. 16. And that he might reconcile both unto God are to be cast unto the 15. verse as a part of the discourse thereof or doe not rather begin a new and entire discourse full and compleat within themselves For the first stand many Interpreters and the chief reason for that opinion is The coherence of these words with those next immediately foregoing Having abolisht the enmity that he might create in himselfe of twayne one New man and that he might reconcile both unto God c. The resolve of which seemes to be this That Christ having on the Crosse wrought in himselfe this great worke for us to slay the enmity betweene us and make both one by the sacrifice of himselfe and this as the antecedent worke That yet there remained two other as consequent works as the effects that follow therefrom Namely 1. To create both one new man so making actually peace between themselves And 2. To bring them both into an actuall state of reconciliation with God by working reconciliation in them towards God so making them one body And the reason for this interpretation further is That both these two are brought in and yoked in the like Tenour of speech That he might create c. And that he might reconcile as if they were like parallel fruits of that