Selected quad for the lemma: head_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
head_n	body_n	church_n	invisible_a	4,247	5	10.9779	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65669	Infant-baptism from heaven, and not of men, or, A moderate discourse concerning the baptism of the infant-seed of believers whereunto is prefixed, a large introductory preface, preparing the readers way to a more profitable perusal of the ensuing treatise / by Joseph Whiston.	Whiston, Joseph, d. 1690.	1670 (1670)	Wing W1691; ESTC R38588	165,647	346

Object 1. First That Christ is said to be the Saviour of all men 1 Tim. 4.10 To be the Saviour of the world John 4.42 and therefore though it should be granted that the Infant-seed of believing Parents are under the Promise of being saved by Christ it will not follow that they were looked upon as appertaining to or as Members of his mystical Body Answ To that I answer that though Christ in a large sence may be and is in Scripture said to be the Saviour of all men and the Saviour of the world yet no particular or individual person is actually and that for the present as personally considered under any Promise of being saved by him especially taking Salvation of spiritual and eternal Salvation but such who are of or do appertain to his mystical Body therefore it is said of these Ephesians before their imbracement of Christ They were strangers to the Covenants of promise Ephes 2.12 They had nothing to do with the Promises of spiritual and saving Mercies and as they were strangers to the Covenants of promise so they were without hope without any grounded hope interest in the Promises being the alone true ground of all hope of spiritual and eternal Salvation so that interest in the Promise of Salvation declares the persons so interessed to appertain to or to be of the mystical Body of Christ all others being strangers to the Promises and therefore without hope Object 2 Secondly It is objected That when it is said Christ is the Saviour of his Body it is only meant of his mystical body as invisible and consequently in case this Scripture will prove that the Infant-seed of believing Parents as having the Promise of Salvation appertaining to them do appertain to the mystical Body of Christ it will prove that they do universally appertain to his Mystical Body as invisible which it will be said we our selves deny and therefore this Scripture is impertinently brought to prove their relation to the mystical Body of Christ as visible which only speaks of his mystical Body as invisible Answ To that I answer This Objection will receive a more full answer by and by where I shall meet with it again at present I shall only say 't is evident the Apostle speaks of the mystical Body of Christ as visible and not meerly as invisible for let it be observed that Body and Church in this discourse of the Apostle are Synonimies or words exactly answering one another in sence and signification whom he intends by Body he intends by Church and so on the other hand whom he intends by Church he intends by Body Now this Church or Body of Christ of which he is said here to be the Saviour was that Church or Body of which the Ephesians were an homogeneal Part that is a part of the same kind with the whole hence the Apostle speaks of them as joynt Members with himself of this Body verse 20. for we are Members of his Body of his flesh and of his bones Mark he takes in the Ephesians universally and indefinitely one as well as another as joynt Members with him of this Body So Ephes 2.19 Now therefore ye are no longer Strangers and Forreigners but fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God To be fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God is all one with being of this Church or Body Now it is evident the Apostle did not suppose that every indivipual person of this Church were Members of the invisible Body of Christ what he saith Acts 20 30. plainly declares the contrary Now then this Church or Body of which the Apostle saith Christ was the Head and Saviour being that Church or Body of which the Ephesians were an homogeneal part and they not being supposed by the Apostle universally to appertain to the Church or Body of Christ as invisible It will undoubtedly follow that he doth not speak of the Church or Body of Christ meerly as invisible but as visible Christ is in Scripture said to be the Saviour of his Church or Body as visibly considered and the Infant-seed of believing Parents being under a Promise of Salvation by him or of being saved by him they must needs by the Apostles be owned and looked upon as Members of that Body of which he is the Saviour none as I have said being under a Promise of being saved by him but such as do appertain to that Body of which he is the Saviour Secondly All those who under the Gospel administration and that as personally considered are the actual Subjects of that Promise wherein God ingaged himself to be a God to Abraham and his Seed in their Generations were owned and looked upon by the Apostles as appertaining to or as Members of the mystical Body of Christ as visible But the Infant seed of believing Parents under the Gospel administration and that as personally considered are the actual Subjects of that Promise therefore c. The Major is undeniably proved by that positive Assertion of the Apostle Galatians 3.16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the Promises made he saith not to is Seeds as of many but to thy Seed which is Christ that is Christ mystical Now if that Promise were made to Christ and to Christ only as we see the Apostle denyes it to be made to any other it was not made to Seeds but to Seed to thy Seed which saith the Apostle is Christ I say if this Promise was made only to Christ it will undeniably follow that whosoever that Promise was made unto or to whom that Promise may by Scripture-warrant be applyed as the Actual Subjects of it and that as personally considered they must needs by the Apostles be looked upon and owned as appertaining to or as Members of the mystical Body of Christ and therefore let none evade this plain evidence to the deceiving themselves or others by saying that there are Promises made to others that are not Members of the mystical Body of Christ Let it be remembred the Argument speaks not of Promises in the general nor of any kind of Promises but of this Promise in special nor doth it speak of this Promise as an indefinite Promise made to any sort or species of persons collectively taken where 〈◊〉 single or individual person can be said to be an actual Subject of it as personally considered and therefore so produce any such Instances is wholly impertinent as to the Argument in hand let it be shewed that any person whether old or young might according to Scripture be accounted an actual Subject of this Promise and that as personally considered who yet was not by the Apostles owned or looked upon as appertaining to or as a Member of the mystical Body of Christ till which be done which I shall not doubt to affirm is impossible to be done we may undoubtedly conclude that all those that are the actual Subjects of that Promise as personally considered were owned and