Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	fire_n	set_v	tongue_n	3,652	5	9.4006	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08335	Spiritus est vicarius Christi in terra. A breefe and pithie summe of the Christian faith made in fourme of a confession, vvith a confutation of the papistes obiections and argumentes in sundry pointes of religion, repugnaunt to the Christian faith: made by Iohn Northbrooke, minister and preacher of the worde of God. Seene and allowed, according to the order appointed in the Queenes iniunctions.; Breefe and pithie summe of the Christian faith	Northbrooke, John.	1571 (1571)	STC 18663; ESTC S120959	288,552	342

confesse euen the same that our Sauiour Iesus Christe who alone by his holy spirite doeth sanctifie all men and euen the very babes in their mothers belly doeth there speake of the spirituall regeneration of man and of his newe birth declaryng what is requisite and necessarie for him for to be a christian that is to say howe that it is necessarie that he forsake his first generation and birth whiche is altogether corrupted accursed and naught and that he be regenerated and borne agayne by the spirite of God and by the incorruptible séede of his worde so that he must be made a new creature bearing the image of Iesu Christe the true heauenlye Adam as he did beare the image of the olde Adam And therefore he saith Except a man be borne a newe or from aboue he cannot see the kyngdome of god And then afterwardes he doeth expounde by an other sentence folowyng the selfe same thyng that he had saide before For to be borne a newe or from aboue and to be borne of water and the spirite are phrases and maner of speakinges whiche doe signifie all one thyng so that those two sentences of Christe doe differ in nothyng sauyng only that the last doth expounde the first beyng somewhat more ample and copious For sithe that our first generation and byrth is carnall it behoueth that the seconde be spirituall sith that the first man beyng of the earth is earthy it is requisite and necessarie that the seconde which is from heauen be heauenly and spirituall But this generation and chaunge can not be doen but by the spirite of god For as it is written in the same place That whiche is borne of the spirite is spirite And therfore our Sauiour Christ going about to expound the same vnto Nicodemus that he had saide before Excepts a man be borne a newe or from aboue he cannot sée the kingdome of God he doeth saie afterwardes Excepte that a man be borne of water and of the spirite he cannot enter into the kyngdome of God bicause that the spirite the aucthour of this generation is geuen from aboue who worketh this new birth in vs whiche is altogether heauenly and spirituall But paraduenture they wil saie what neede he to adde water was it not enough to name the spirite Unto whom I aunswere Wherefore did Iohn Baptiste saie speakyng of the office and ministerie of our Sauiour Christ that he should baptize with the holie ghost and with fire What neede had he sith that he had named the spirite to make any mention of fire Shall it therefore be necessarie to appointe a Baptisme of fire as they saie that some folke haue doen and yet doe at this presente daie Saint Augustine doth testifie that the heretiques Seleucus and Hermias who were Galatians did not baptize with water he telleth not wherwith they did baptize but other writers saie that they did baptize with fire Wee reade likewise that the Iacobites doe vse fire in the circumcision of their children wherwith they be wont to marke them either in the forehead or in the cheeke They saie also that the Indians Ethiopians and Persians whiche counte them selues to be Christians doe yet at this present tyme vse fire in stéede of water in their baptisme Which errour without all doubt did come of the false intelligence and vnderstandyng of our sauiour Christes wordes For they doe not perceiue nor vnderstande that fire is taken of our Sauiour Christe and also of Iohn Baptiste by a figuratiue maner of speakyng for the holy spirite of God that so they might the more liuely expresse the nature and propertie of the holy ghoste For as the fire is pure and cleane and can suffer no vncleannesse so the holy ghoste doth pourge and cleanse and lighten the consciences setting them on fire with the loue of God. For the whiche cause hee was sent vnto the Apostles in the likenesse of fierie tongues Which thyng was both foreséene forespoken of Iohn Baptiste and also meant by our Sauiour Christe If wee doe not sticke to take fire in that place for the holye spirite of God and for a more ample exposition and settyng foorth of his nature and properties wherfore should we sticke to take water here in this place for the same selfe spirite considering the conformity agreement and affinitie that the water hath with the nature and properties of the holy Ghoste yea all thynges beyng well considered it standeth with more reason then the other doth For Saint Iohn speaketh of the holy ghoste firste and then maketh mention of the fire Therefore a man might thinke that either he did vnderstande two seueral thynges or that he did expounde one thing that is plaine of it selfe by an other thyng whiche is obscure and darke But in this place our sauiour Christe doeth put the water first and then afterwards as though he would expound vnto vs his figuratiue maner of speakyng and geue vnto it a greater light he doeth declare what he will haue vs to vnderstande by the same water that is to saie his holy spirite vnto whom he geueth this name for many causes Firste bicause that as the fire is an Elemente exceadyng pure and cleane and so necessary for mans life that it is impossible that men might forgoe it So the water is very needefull beyng of a very cleare pure and cleane nature and verie meete for to represent and signifie the nature and properties of the holy ghost For as the water doeth renewe the earth maketh it fertile causyng it to bryng foorth fruite and doeth wash the filthinesse of the bodies so the holy ghost doth wash purifie refresh and water the hartes and consciences of men comfortyng them and also makyng them to bryng foorth pleasaunt fruictes and acceptable to God. And as water doeth put out fire and quenche the thirste so the holy Ghoste doeth quenche the fire of the euill concupiscences of the fleshe he doeth also quenche the thirste of the poore troubled soules satisfiyng them for euermore Secondly he would by this maner of speakyng make vs to vnderstande those ceremonies washynges and purifiynges that be conteined in the Lawe of Moyses and likewise those Prophecies whereby the holy ghoste was promised and specially by Esay and Ezechiell vnto whiche Prophecies he had nowe a respect Therfore he would declare vnto vs that those waters that were promised of God did signifie nothyng els but the aboundaunt giftes of the holy spirite of God which shoulde be powred vpon all flesh as a streame or flood of water that doeth run downe and ouerfloweth all the whole earth whiche thyng S. Peter doeth testifie to haue been fulfilled both in hymself and in all the other disciples of our Sauiour Christe in the feast of Whitsontide accordyng to the Prophecie of Ioell And for this cause our sauiour Iesus christ both in this place and whē he

all in Gods worde Therfore we may well conclude that it is an abhominable synne And therefore Sainct Augustine saieth full well Non est iusta oratio nisi per Christum Oratio autem que non fit per Christum non solùm non potest delere peccatum sed etiàm ipsa fit in peccatum there is no iust or right praier but that that is made by Christ that praier that is not made vnto God by Christe not onely doeth not put awaie sinne but also is turned into sinne And no marueile for what greater blasphemie can there be in the world then to robbe the only begotten sonne of God of his glory and to geue it vnto dead creatures but as the glorie of Christe doth consist in this that he is our omnisufficient Sauiour for none other name vnder heauen is there geuen vnto men wherby thei must be saued so it doth consist in this that he is an omnisufficient and most perfect mediatour able to obteine at his fathers hande all maner of thynges that are necessarie for the saluation both of our bodies and soules They therfore that seeke any other mediatours besides hym doe robbe hym of his glory and so commit a most detestable sacriledge Is it then marueile that the more that they praie after this maner the more the wrath of God is kindeled against them Againe in what case must they néedes stande that seeke other wayes for to come vnto God vnto the seat of his mercie than he himselfe hath appoynted in his sacred worde But his heauenly and eternall wisedome saith vnto vs that he is the way the trueth and the life and that none commeth vnto the father but by him It can not be then but that they must be farre out of the way that seke to come vnto God by any other meane or way then by Christe and that in stéede of commyng vnto God they go the plaine dunstable high way vnto the deuyll and that most deseruingly sith that they will not go that plaine and sure way that God him selfe appointed vnto them saying This is the way walke in the same Why do they not sith that they wyll alwayes séeme to be such folowers of the auncient fathers of the primitiue church print in their mindes that golden saying of Saint Ambrose where he saith on this maner Christe is our mouth whereby we speake vnto the father our eye wherewith we sée the father our right hande whereby we offer our selues vnto the father without whose intercession neither we nor all the saintes haue ought to do with god Do they not learne by the wordes of this auncient writer and father of the Church that if we wyll speake vnto the father Christe must be our mouth If we wyll see the father he must be our eye Or if we wil offer our selues vnto the father he must be our right hande It is so farre of that he shoulde appoynt any of the saintes to be either our mouth our eye or our right hande that rather he doeth boldly affirme that except Christe doeth make intercession all the saintes haue nothing to do with god For why Saint Paul saieth That as there is but one God of all so there is but one mediatour betwixt God and man These be his wordes For there is one God and one mediatour betwixt God and man which is that man Christ Iesus who gaue himselfe a raunsome for all men Here we doe both sée and learne that as there is but one God so there is but one mediatour betwixt God and men which is our sauiour Iesus Christ the only begotten sonne of God who was made man for to set God and man at one and for to make attonement betwixt them For when we wyll ioyne two thinges together which do differ or be of contrary natures there must be some third thing that doth approche holde of the nature of them both or else there can be none attonement no agréement nor true coniunction betwixt them specially if the natures be repugnaunt and contrary one vnto another But what agréement can there be betwixt God and man looke what agréement there can be betwene consuming fire and thornes betweene light and darkenesse betweene righteousnesse and vnrighteousnesse betwéene blessyng and cursyng betweene death and life Paradise and Hell euen the same can be betwixt God and man if we doe consider man in his corrupted nature Therefore it was most necessarie that we should haue a mediatour for to make this agreement and coniunction which mediatour shoulde bee partaker of both the natures but yet without sinne and whiche should be both perfect God and perfect man for to make this coniunction and alliaunce betwixt God and man But there is no such sauyng onely our sauiour Iesus Christ. Therefore it doeth necessarily folow that none other can be our mediatour aduocate and intercessour but he alone Whiche thyng hath been sufficiently proued already by the wordes that haue been aleaged nowe out of Sainct Paule For they signifie asmuche as if he should haue saide after this maner As there is but one God whiche neuerthelesse is sufficient for all creatures as one only Sunne serueth for all the whole worlde so there is but one mediatour whiche is Iesus Christe who alone hath paide our raunsome and is meete for this office The same thyng doeth that blessed Euangelist sainct Iohn meane when he saieth that we haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christ which is righteous Upon whiche place S. Augustine writeth on this wise He beyng such a man did not saie ye haue an aduocate with the father but if any man doth synne we haue saieth he an aduocate with the father He said not ye haue mée for your aduocate But brethren we haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christe the righteous and he is the satisfaction for our synnes Hoc qui tenuit haeresim non fecit hoc qui tenuit schisma non fecit He that holdeth this committed no heresie he that hath holden this hath committed no schisme These are Sainct Augustines wordes wherby we maie gather that it is neither heresie nor schisme to cleaue vnto Christe alone as vnto an omnisufficient mediatour aduocate and intercessour as our Popecatholikes doe make it nowe persecutyng them with fire and sworde that will haue none other mediatour nor intercessour but hym onely whom the Scriptures and worde of God doeth appointe The .xxvj. Chapiter ¶ Christe is both our mediatour of saluation and also of intercession NOW ye shall haue the trickes of the deuilles sophistrie We doe not denie saie they but that Christe is the onely mediatour betwixt God and man But howe ought this to be vnderstanded Christe is onely the mediatour of redemption saie they for it is he onely that hath redéemed vs and by his death and bloodshedding hath made attonement betwéene god and vs but the blessed virgin Marie and other sainctes in heauen are