Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	blood_n	flesh_n	inherit_v	5,014	5	11.6402	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61193	A testimony to an approaching glory being an account of certain discourses lately delivered in Pancras, Soperlane, London / by Joshua Sprigge.	Sprigg, Joshua, 1618-1684.	1648 (1648)	Wing S5076; ESTC R28873	71,995	251

Clouds you have a Chapter before and after this that you are ready to say when you read it What profit is it nothing but a Chronologie and a Genealogie a descent of persons but here is that which is enough to take up the meditation of a whole Chapter Enoch walked with God c. Of all the rest it is said that they lived so long and begat so many sons and daughters but when the Holy Ghost comes to Enoch he saith first of him in the 22 verse and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah c. and not contented to give such a touch the Holy Ghost records again and moreover that he walked with God and was not for God took him That which I do design and which I hope if the Spirit of God so design may be for good unto your hearts out of these words is this viz. to hold forth unto you a chief Character of a Christian if so be that they were Christians from the beginning as they were for they all dyed in the Faith as it is said in the 11. Hebrews and that is this that he is one that is not it is a strange Character to shew you what a man is by telling you he is not This is the very main thing of a Christian the most essential thing that can be affirmed of him that he is not Enoch walked with God and was not c. First for the meaning of the words there is no great difficulty in them the Phrase is common of walking that walk not after the flesh but after the spirit but what is the meaning of this he was not It is one thing in the Letter another in the Spirit it hath both a literal and mystical meaning he was not that is he was translated so we find in the 11. Heb. 5. where it is said By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found and so it follows in the Text he was nor for God took him But there is also a Spirituall meaning of it and that is this Enoch was not that is he in himself was not but his own being excellency and glory was past away he was nothing but what he was he was in Christ Christ was to him his life his person and his all in the Original it runs thus Enoch walked with God and was not he according as the Apostle saith in the Epistle to the Galathians Nevertheless I live yet not I c. So it is said here Enoch walked with God and not he for God translated him in the Spirit translated him into Jesus Christ and so a Beleever is one in Jesus Christ he is nothing in himself his self is past away he hath got a new self God is his self Christ is his self Now that same former sence of God translating him literally that was but an outward signification to the world as it were of that which was Enochs real glory Enoch was past out of the flesh into the spirit out of himself into God when he was upon earth and God to signifie this to the world takes him from the sight of men and translates him locally This was a Figure of that which was done in the spirit before and it is far the greatest to be translated in the spirit If a man were carryed into heaven if he were not translated inspirit he would have no joy in heaven for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God and therefore we are said to be translated out of darkness into light and out of the Kingdom of Sathan into the Kingdome of his dear Son And thus having made way I shall come to observe something out of the words First here is the translation of a Saint and then here is the Author and Principle of that translation The translation of a Saint the point that I would observe from thence is this Observ That every true Christian he is translated out of his owne being into a being in God and this is the death of a Christian Enoch walked with God and he was not he is dead unto the world and he is dead unto the Law he is dead unto his own righteousnes and unto all created glory and excellency but he is alive unto God a true Christian he is not that is he is not in himself his self is past away he hath got another self a new self and that is God instead of his old self instead of his rotten self you shal see this in the 7. Rom. the latter end So then with my mind I my self serve the Law of God but with the flesh the law of sin Mark you there The flesh a Believer counts none of himself as it is in Rom. 8. 9. You are not in the flesh but in the spirit if the spirit of God dwel in you and so in the 6. Chap. of that Epistle How can we that are dead to sin live any longer therein Sin is said to be condemned in the flesh in the 8. Chap. 3 v. That which I desire chiefly to bind my self unto is this to shew unto Beleevers that if so be they be true Beleevers they have a being in God and in the Spirit yea an intire being they are to have no being at all in the flesh I say if so be they are true Beleevers they have an intire being in God and the Spirit and are to account themselves to have no being no interest at all in the flesh There are they that speak of a fleshly and a spirituall part in Beleevers and this same spiritual part they look upon as that which should be encouraged that to which all the promises belong but many times they cannot find this same spiritual part and so can have no comfort as in time of tentation and I beseech you consider that for it will be a sufficient argument against the going on in such a kind of apprehension as that is of a spirituall part and a fleshly and the like taking this spirituall part to be grace in the act for when they finde not grace in the act they cannot take any comfort at all then they ●ake up themselves in the same heap and dunghill with the world but if God made out this to you that you have an intire being in the spirit and that it is possible for a Saint to retreate into the spirit so wholy as to gather himself intirely and to gather up all his interest into the spirit this would be much to the relief comfort of a poor soul Now I must shew you what are the fruits and consequences of this and then come to shew you the way that God brings his people to this First I wil shew you the benefit of a Christians losing himself in the flesh this is the benefit of it he loseth sin by losing that being in the flesh pray mark it he doth lose his sin and the reason is this because it is only flesh that is the

that he doth and is in Heaven in all he doth he wants no command to tell him he must do thus and thus he would naturally do those things whereby he might shew forth the vertues and praises of him that hath called him for he is a living man who needs stir up life to live in a living man Life wil shew it self If you be living Christians the Spirit of God will work in you and it will be like fire consuming your flesh and every day carrying you forth to the honor and praise of God This is a living man and this is he in whom Christ is risen But one Question more and that is of what part or principle in a man are these things spoken Doth this life break forth in the flesh or is it a life in the Spirit only I answer that this life is not in any part or principle in a man It is not in the soul it is not in the body it is not in the Spirit but a a man is taken up into this life It is when we are removed from our selves that we are in the Spirit Enoch was not for God took him The Lord takes us into this life we take not the Lord into our principle we are not comprehenders of this life but we are comprehended Here is the mistake we see men that hold forth such a doctrine and principle as this and we see flesh it may be in them still and they see flesh in themselves still Do but consider therefore that same place 1 John 3. beginning compared with the 6. verse Now are ye the Sons of God but it doth not yet appear what ye shall be but when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Compare but this with the 6. verse Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not We are the Sons of God but it doth not yet appear our flesh is a vail and while we are in the flesh let us act never so spiritually yet we fall short of this life Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God But if at any time we are taken up into the communion of this life it is by being taken out of our selves therefore saith Paul Whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell I conceive God gave Paul an earnest of that which he will make known to his people in the latter days and made it known to Paul in a visible and sensible rapture and whosoever in the latter days is taken into the communion of this life must be spiritually dissolved as Paul was for as Christ crucified in the flesh is but a fleshly pattern of our being crucified in the Spirit So Paul being taken out of the body fleshly is but an Image of the Beleevers being taken out of the body into the Spirit and so when we are taken up into him He that abides in him sinneth not But when we go to make out God in our flesh behold we cannot make out the glory of this appearance in us when we come to live in a fleshly principle I say we find shortness and death and darkness and make out the things of God in visible and audible shapes as it were but God makes out himself to us when he takes us out of our selves into himself without any form Did you see any shape saith the Lord to the Israelites when the Lord talked with you So when the Lord takes a man into this communion with himself he takes him out of the flesh off from Ordinances administers not to him in the flesh and thus indeed it is that only when we are taken out of our selves can we apprehend or speak of this same life in God A Beleever when he is taken up into God and Christ he sees that which he cannot make out by all his parts and all the helps that he hath he sees that freedom from sin he sees as it were that omnipotency with him when he is taken up he sees himself perfect as God said to Abraham walk before me and be perfect Here is that which he cannot make out to the world Well may men say Do not we see that you are a man I am so but you cannot see what I am when I am taken up into God God is the subject and recipient that comprehends us we cannot comprehend him Use Now all that I would infer from hence is thus much I beseech you that you would know the things that concern your peace O what a sad thing is it that men should run away from life This is an evill heart with a witness to depart from the living God This is darkness with a witness when the Creature will comprehend God and will not be comprehended by God when we will say There is no other enjoyment of God then what we can make out in the flesh No other state then what may be visible to men Oh take heed of this and take heed of despising those that bring you the glad tydings of peace How beautifull rather should even the feet of those be though upon the Mountains that bring these glad tydings that say unto Sion thy God raigneth Christ hath been long in a Sepulchre he is now rising and you have the Testimony hereof brought to you by men like your selves and we are not able to make out the glory of it to you This flesh is not the subject and recipient of this glory this flesh is laid by But what we have seen and heard we declare unto you And therefore we beseech you not to depart from the living Lord. Every man would be a living man in his health Every man would be a living man in his trade would drive a free trade and will you only be content to be dead creatures in respect of communion with God I beseech you gird up the loyns of your minds be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is yet to be brought unto you by the Revelation of Jesus Christ in Spirit as well as beleeve that grace that is already brought by the Manifestation of Jesus Christ in the flesh Do but consider that God hath always entertained his people with a long expectation of things ere he hath given them It was but in the Apostles days that the first fruits of the Spirit were given The Israelites were in Aegypt 400 years before they came to the Land of Canaan This was but a typicall Canaan and not worth the waiting so long for as the spirituall Canaan Then again consider Gods promises have been first sown and dead in the earth of mans unbelief before they have been performed witness Sarahs womb barren witness the children of Israel in Egypt made slaves and bondmen what likelyhood was thereof their being a Kingdom of Priests unto God Nay from the beginning of the performance there is usually an Apostacy that comes before the ful accomplishment was it not so when God began to perform his promise to Israel of