Selected quad for the lemma: master_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
master_n	work_n	world_n	worth_a	24	3	8.2165	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87095	The first general epistle of St. John the Apostle, unfolded & applied. The second part, in thirty and seven lectures on the second chapter, from the third to the last verse. Delivered in St. Dionys. Back-Church, by Nath: Hardy minister of the gospel, and preacher to that parish.; First general epistle of St. John the Apostle. Part 2.	Hardy, Nathaniel, 1618-1670.	1659 (1659)	Wing H723; Thomason E981_1; ESTC R207731	535,986	795

Paul where he saith that being or according to the force of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 subsisting in the forme of God he took upon him the forme of a servant whence it plainly followeth that before he took upon him the forme of a servant he had a subsistence It is not unworthy our observation to this purpose that Christ when he was incarnate is said to come down from heaven and to come forth from the Father whereby is manifestly implyed that before his incarnation he was in heaven and in the bosome of his Father Thus when we read The Word was made flesh and God sent his Sonne into the world it is evident that he was the Word and the Sonne before else how could he be capable of assuming flesh and being sent into the world It is a clear maxime nothing can be predicated of nothing so that if he were not at all till he was made flesh and sent it could not be predicated of him that he was made flesh or that he was sent by the Father 2. But further That being which Jesus Christ had before his incarnation was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the begining which we cannot better expound then by that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the beginning which we meet with in the Gospel and so the sense is that when the world began to be Christ was and so consequently from eternity because before all time Express to this purpose is that prayer of our Saviour Father glorifie thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was the genuine plain doctrine whereof is that Christ had a glory ●nd therefore a co-existence with his Father before the world was I am not ignorant how that Samosatenian and Socinian Hereticks interpret this only of Gods eternal purpose to glorifie his Sonne after he had finished his work upon earth And truly it is worth our noting how absurdly these pretended Masters of reason construe as others so this Scripture whilest they would have us to believe that when Christ positively saith he had this glory with his Father before the world was he only meaneth by it that his Father decreed before the world was he should have this glory and so that which is averred of actual possession must only signifie an intentional preparation when yet it had been as easie for Christ to have said if he had meant no more the glory which thou hast prepared for me before the world was yea whenas both Christ and his Apostles where they would express the decree of glory still use the phrases of prepared and layed up and such like No less doth it tend to the confirmation of this truth that the Evangelist saith concerning Christ All things are made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made and therefore St Paul having asserted that all things were created by him and for him presently addeth and he is before all things Indeed as Tertullian strongly argueth Non potuit c●rere substantiâ quod tantas substantias fe●it he that gave being to all things could not himself want a being and if all creatures receive their essence and existence from him he must needs be before them It would not be passed by to what a shift the forenamed Hereticks are put to for evading the force of these Texts whilest they would expound the making and creating all things to be the making of new men and the creating of a Christian Church for besides that the Apostle manifestly speaketh not only of persons to whom the new creation belongs but things yea all things whatsoever and therefore the Evangelist joyneth a negative to the affirmative without him nothing and St Paul maketh a distribution of the all into things visible and invisible in heaven and earth whereby it appeareth the first creation is intended It would yet further be considered that the Evangelist and Apostle speak of this making and creation as a thing already past yea as the context in the Gospel sheweth done in the beginning which compared with Moses his in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth appeareth to be the beginning of the world whereas the new creation was then nay is still but in fieri not in facto nor shall be finished till the end of the world To end this Let the meditation hereof confirme us in the faith of our Saviours Deity which must necessarily follow upon the preceding doctrine for if Christ is so from as that he was before the beginning of the world and so is eternall he can be no other then the true Jehovah the most high God eternity being one of those incommunicable Attributes of the Deity which cannot in its proper and adequate notion be predicated of any thing besides or below the Godhead And so much shall suffice to be spoken of the Character which is here given of Christ pass we on to the 2. Character by which the aged Christians to whom our Apostle writeth are described and that is that they know him which was from the begining What it is to know Christ I had occasion heretofore to discuss and therefore shall not insist upon it only be pleased in brief to take notice That there is a threefold knowledg of him who is from the begining Comprehensive Intuitive and Apprehensive 1. The Comprehensive knowledg is that which is peculiar to himself he who is from the begining can only know himself from the begining Indeed it is impossible for any finite Creature to comprehend the infinite eternity of Christ himself as man could not comprehensively know himself as God 2. The Intuitive knowledg of Christ in his person natures offices is reserved for Glory when we shall see him as he is so far as created nature is capable of 3. That which then is here meant is an Apprehensive knowledg whereby it is we are enlightned to discern the excellency of Christ together with the need we stand in of and benefit we receive by him That expression which we finde used by St Paul To know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledg is seemingly contradictory but easily reconciled by this distinction as Christ so his Love passeth knowledg because the infiniteness of it is incomprehensible and yet we both may and ought to know that is in some measure to apprehend the Love of Christ to us Now this Apprehensive knowledg is either nuda or conjuncta naked only scituate in the understanding when we know what Christ is and what he hath done or else such as is conjoyned with Faith Love Obedience So to know him as to trust him to prize him to imbrace him and to obey him This is that knowledg which as it is here the commendation so ought to be the endeavour of every Christian Indeed knowledge considered absolutely is a rare and precious endowment and that which a rationall nature cannot but set an high value upon and