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	member_n	mystical_a	10,421	5	11.0632	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95348	Theophosoi [sic] theophiloi: God's fearers are God's favourites, or, An encouragement to fear God in the worst times delivered in several sermons / by ... Nath. Tucker ...	Tucker, Nath.; Kentish, Richard.; Whitfield, Thomas.	1662 (1662)	Wing T3209A; ESTC R42917	82,402	157

Latitude and Profundity the love and wisdom of God have Altitude added which is a fourth All these dimensions serve onely to shew the immensity both of the love and wisdom of God Take this onely in passage and so we might that expression too To know the love of God which passeth knowledge the meaning is to know so much of it as is knowable the love of God is past the knowledge not onely of Nature but of Grace because 't is infinite But this is not the thing that I urge this text for the passage which is to my purpose and which I would insist on a little is that in verse 19. the later part of it That ye might be filled with the fulness of God Divines distinguish of a twofold fulness There is say they an universal fulness and there is a modified or qualified fulness For a creature to be universally so full as God is is impossible as he is infinite so his fulness is infinite and a finite creature is not capable or receptive of any such fulness But now take this in a qualified or modified sense so we may and 't is ordinary to be filled with the fulness of God i. e. with all fulness accomplishable or attainable by us thus we ought to be filled with the fulness of God We are not onely enjoyned to get some grace or some fear of God but 't is our bounden duty to aspire to and endeavour after the perfection of it and after augmentation and growth in it And to this end too is that 2 Pet. 3.18 Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This shall suffice to be spoken of those texts which conduce to the growth in grace or in the fear of God in general I shall likewise briefly touch some texts which require an abounding in the several branches of this holy fear as 1. We are commanded to abound in saving knowledge in true spiritual wisdom Col. 1.10 2. We should grow in faith that which is lacking to our faith must be supplied and made up 1 Thess 3.10 2 Thess 1.15 We should labour to grow both in the assurance of faith and in the exercise of it in the full assurance of it using all diligence that we might get and keep the full assurance of faith and hope unto the end labouring to be established rooted and soundly grounded in our particular assurance of Gods favour in Jesus Christ and of our own eternal salvation Col. 2.6 7. Heb. 10.22 And then for the exercise and improvement of faith we should learn every day to live by faith let faith be upon the wing in all the occasions and occurrences of our life holding fast our confidence and striving to be examples one to another in our faith in God according to that 1 Tim. 4.12 3. We must abound in love Phil. 1.10 bearing with and forbearing one another seeking to enlarge our acquaintance with such as fear God and to do them good 4. We must grow in mercy and the fruits of mercy 2 Cor. 8.7 Therefore as ye abound in every thing in saith in utterance in knowledge and in all diligence and in your love to us see that ye abound in this grace also he means tender heartedness or bowels of compassion 5. We should grow in patience meekness and lowliness of minde Jam. 1.4 I might instance contentation heavenly mindedness contempt of the world and several other parts of this fear of God but by these few links you may guess at the whole chain or series of this grace So then the strength of this second Motive lies thus God requires and expects that we should grow up more and more in the fear of his Name he calls for it at our hands In the third place this is the end of our union with and implantation into Jesus Christ namely that we should in all things grow up into him who is the head To which purpose reade Eph. 4.15 16. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things which is the head even Christ from whom the whole body fitly joyned together and compacted by that which every joynt supplieth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of it self in love The importance of which words is this namely that we are joyned and united unto the Lord Jesus Christ that so of his fulness we might all receive grace for grace that look as an infant groweth not in one but in every member so we should grow every way in every member and in every particular grace appertaining unto the new creature We must not walk by halfs or obey God with reservation but grow up unto full holiness As from the natural head sense and motion floweth into the body so there is internal influence of grace from Christ the Head into the whole mystical body every true believer receives a vital and quickning power or virtue from Christ even as a graff set into a stock partaketh with it in the sap and life of it Unless we walk in Christ we can never assure our selves that we have received Christ If we shall sit down and rest in a mediocrity and scanty measure of grace and of the fear of God except we are still on the growing hand labouring to arrive to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ we cannot say that we are yet put into Christ A soul as one notes very well that hath union with Christ will not be like Hezekiahs sun which went backward or like Joshua's sun that stood still but like David's sun that great and glorious gyant of the heavens that like a bridegroom comes out of his chamber and as a champion that rejoyceth to run a race If he be joyned to Christ he will joyn grace to grace according to that of the Apostle Peter 2 Pet. 1.5 6 7. And thus briefly of the third Motive In the fourth place as God hath given us his Son to the end we should grow up in his fear so hath be to the same end given us the Spirit of his Son he hath sent forth his Spirit into our hearts not onely for the conveying of grace to us but for the strengthening and increasing of grace in us Observe how the Apostle prays for the Ephesians Chap. 3.16 That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthned with might by his Spirit in the inner man This is the very office of the Spirit he is sent of God to this purpose not onely to give us a being in grace but to strengthen us in grace he doth not onely make us new men but living men in Jesus Christ As the soul is to the body so is the spirit to the soul the Spirit furnisheth and enableth every faculty it enlightens the Understanding it rectifies the Will it sanctifieth the Affections it filleth a man