Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	apostle_n	church_n	faith_n	2,015	5	5.2733	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85548	The shipwrack of all false churches: and the immutable safety and stability of the true Church of Christ. Occasioned: by Doctour Chamberlen his mistake of her, and the holy scriptures also, by syllogising words, to find out spirituall meanings, when in such cases it is the definition, not the name, by which things are truly knowne.	Graunt, John, of Bucklersbury.	1652 (1652)	Wing G1594; Thomason E674_21; ESTC R207205	29,575	28

he cannot see the Kingdome of God In which words there are four parts and the tearms therein to be distinctly considered of The first is Of whom our Lord speaks by the name man and by it he means a naturall man And secondly That this man is to be born again his meaning is not as Nicodemus at that time understood him to enter into that place of nature from whence he came forth but to be born from above by a supernaturall force power vertue and operation of the Spirit of God In the third place He speaks of the matter of the Birth and that hath two parts The first is heavenly and spirituall water meaning thereby the grace and gift of God which the holy Ghost often in the Scriptures calls by the name of water which is the Baptisme of Repentance a true turning to God The second part consisteth of another more excellent work of the Spirit which is here called the Holy Ghost but in other places by metaphoricall tearms blood and fire by which is meant the Baptisme of the Holy Ghost or Remission of sins The first part is full of spirituall grief and disconsolation the last full of heavenly comfort and consolation And lastly By seeing the Kingdome of God he means the knowing and being a member of his Church in the state of Regeneration receiving the Spirit of Adoption through which he is made the Child of God and if Children then Heirs of the everlasting Kingdome the World to come the inheritance of the Saints so then from this Scripture thus opened we are taught that Gods method and way to convert men from nature to grace to make them members of his Church is to Turne them from darknesse to light from the power of Satan to be reconciled unto God To deliver us from the power of darknesse and translate us into the Kingdome of the Son of his love And by this way and means the Lord made and constituted the true Church of Christ at Collosse as he doth all other Churches of his which were Saints and faithfull brethren in Christ And so did he likewise that famous Church at Ephesus Yee were somtimes darknesse saith the Apostle but now are yee light in the Lord walk as Children of light Mark I pray you he calls this Church these Saints these Faithfull in Christ Jesus Children of light and how came they to be so but by being Borne of God of his own will begat he them being born again of incorruptible seed the Word of God which is the Word of his Grace the New Covenant the Word of Promise the Covenant of Life the making us partakers thereof is the taking away the stony heart and in the place thereof to give his Elect a heart of flesh that is a soft tender and humble heart and in it to write his everlasting love mercy and kindnesse never to be obliterated or revoked as before is shewed For those whom he thus loves once he loves unto the end And these Children of God are those little ones the Scripture speaks of those humble ones the Lord teacheth those contrite and penitent ones that the Lord comforteth refresheth and reviveth this is his Sion his little City his desired Habitation his delightfull dwelling his Holy Mountaine And where two or three of these are gathered together in his Name where by Name we are to understand Spirit there is he in the midst of them that is it that is it that makes them his Church even his holy presence that is it that makes them his House his Tabernacle to doe his great pleasure in Earth by his Spirit as the everlasting Father and the Son doth in Heaven whose voyce not to regard is as much as not to regard the voyce of God himselfe Oh Doctour for you to compare your hay wood and stubble with the purity and excellency of this Churches mettle which is Gods building it will even so eclipse your rush light and split your hulk and shipwrack your bark for ever as never to recover and your sandy foundation will shortly cause such a fall of your foolish Church building as never to be built again And that you may repent of your ignorance of the true Church of Christ I will give you another discovery of her excellency by her pure estate and glorious condition which the Propheticall Apostle Iohn saw in a Vision and writ it for posterity in these words And a great signe appeared in Heaven a Woman cloathed with the Sun and the Moon under her feet and on her head a Crown of twelve stars And being great with Child shee cryed travelling and labouring to be delivered In which Scripture there are many things considerable 1. A matter of wonderment and admiration for the great excellency of it 2. The place where it appeared and that was in Heaven 3. What it was that appeared and that was a woman 4. Then her cloathing and apparell all over her body 5. As also what she was crown'd with on her head 6. What she trod under her feet and not only denominating all things without her but 7. what was within her also And being great with Child she cryed travelling and labouring to be delivered This precious Virgin Spouse the Lords Bride being in her condition spirituall did shine forth in her primitive estate not in any outward pomp and humane carnall glory as now in any externall forme or soft Rayment after the fashion of the multitude of gathered Churches in these dayes but in her heavenly gifts and holy vertues her chast and prudent conversation the shining of her faith love patience and moderation in all things she was such as she was the light of the world to the wonderment and admiration of all the Children that had eyes to behold her And whereas it is said She appeared in Heaven the meaning is the places where the Gospel was beleeved the truth of God and way to salvation professed as in Iudea Italy Macedonia Asia and divers other places Cities and Countries in which sense the Apostle speaks to the Church of Thessalonica For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not onely in Macedonia and Achaia but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad c. And that the Church of Christ is signified by the appellation and title of a Woman that is usuall and often the expression of the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures as The Kings Daughter The Daughter of Sion The Spouse of Christ The Lambs Wife The Mother of all the Saints c. And there is great reason for the Female Sex resembles the Church of Christ in many respects as for their fruitfulnesse for their beauty for their subjection and passivenesse and tender bowels of compassion And that she may want nothing that may tend to her full description in her whole attire to make her all glorious without as the Prophet saith The Kings Daughter is all glorious within The son of Righteousnesse even his own

any other title to the Doctours purpose In the second place he continues his speech to his persecuting enemies which I hope upon second thoughts he doth not understand to be his Church In the third place he graciously informs and confirms his faithfull servant Phillip in the Mystery of his Divinity as of his Humanity and that his words are the works of God but not a word in the Doctours meaning And in the 24. verse as he speaks of them that love him so he speaks of them that hate him whom to affirme to be his Church is to blaspheme her And in the last place John 5. 19 30. the Lord speaks of himselfe as distinguishable from the Father and also declareth the hypostaticall union of both Natures Humane and Divine The true meaning of these Scriptures being thus considered shewes plainly that his doctrine and their intention were at a vast distance for it is far from their meaning that the Church of Christ may play the Harlot and of pure become base and unclean because they testifie that she is so long to last and continue holy even every member of her his body as Jesus Christ her head is to be Christ who was yesterday and to day and for ever And s●ving your learning Sir this doctrine sheweth that you are still tainted with the old leaven of corrupt Popery and Arminianisme which will be more manifested when I come to shew what the true Church of Christ is indeed discovering thereby your fancie more particulerly and exactly Another conclusion that he would teach the people was That his Church was a Baptized Church and had the true marks of a true Church which is the true Preaching the Word and the true administration of the Sacraments as he calls them Here the Gentleman is at a losse also and beats the air as before and that which he saith is to as little purpose his terms not being cleared to what sense he means from their various ac●eptations But the truth is his owne meaning by Baptisme is but that which is outward that any man may bear witnesse to that is present as he affirms in page 23. So then his Baptisme is of the same nature as his Church is both carnall the inside foule as Simon Magus his heart was not right in the sight of God his estate naturall and miserable in the Gall of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquity yet washt and cleansed without Where doe you read in the Scriptures that the Churches of God true spirituall Christians did ever brag and boast of the fleshly and carnall parts of the Ordinances of the Gospel as you have done No they see those are shaddows elementary representations and say that it is not Baptism in the flesh that saves not but the Baptism of the heart the heart sprinkled from an evil conscience and the body washed with pure water by this spirituall Baptisme men are saved So also they affirm that 's not Circumcision that is in the flesh but that is Circumcision that is of the heart in the spirit and not in the Letter inward spirituall and heavenly Baptisme And this Circumcision is that which Gods Church glories in and not the outward that Divells may participate of as well as Saints But the Doctour fears not to avouch that the washing with the Old Ford or Thames water and the like places is that Baptisme which the Scripture in a speciall sense speaks of by which men are regenerated because he maketh it the true mark of the rue Church Indeed this is the opinion of the stupid obdurat hard-hearted Jews and Papists and of most carnall Protestants in which they are all alike But as the true Church of Christ is spirituall so is her Baptisme and so are her fruits and manifestations her marks and seals by which she is distinguished from all other Churches that are false as when I come to establish the truth shall be cleared But the Doctour further affirmeth that their Baptized Churches have the true Preaching of the Word and he thinks himselfe to be none of the meanest amongst the rest and therefore in the first place and in the behalf of all the Baptized Churches as he calls them we will examine his owne true Preaching of the word as he affirms in page 24. That his Church and all other Baptized Churches baptize such as shall be saved according to Mark 16. 16. because as he saith they are beleivers and repenters Again saith he they that Baptize such as confesse with their mouth the Lord Jesus and beleeve in their hearts that God hath raised him from the dead Rom. 10. baptizeth such as shall be saved But baptized Churches baptize such as confesse with their mouth the Lord Jesus and beleeve with their hearts that God raised him from the dead therefore baptized Churches baptize such as shall be saved This professed workman for want of true understanding to divide the word aright hath from his own mouth eternalized his own shame for want of a clear and true distinction in the same terms that have divers meanings And that his folly may the more be manifested we will ingeniously consider the Scriptures the first we read thus He that beleeveth and is baptized shall be saved Now to find out the true meaning hereof two terms of necessity must be opened for one and the same term admitting of divers meanings in Scripture that sense must be distinguished from all others of like nature that is properly and only intended in that place Now for the term Faith it hath divers significations in the Scripture somtimes it is referred unto God somtimes unto men when unto God then it implyeth or intendeth nothing else but the sure and certain unalterablenesse of his promise and decree If unto men then it signifieth and intendeth either the doctrine of the Gospel it selfe or their faithfulnes that declare it or else some speciall gifts which the Spirit of God indueth his servants with now of such gifts there are but three sorts that bear the name of faith Somtimes the knowledge and certain understanding of the truth of Gods word is called Faith which for distinction sake may be called and that truly The Faith of knowledge or Historicall Faith which Faith although all the Saints under the Scriptures administration of the Gospel have yet it is not peculiar to them alone but common to all perishing Christians such as the Doctours Church consisteth of and may abundantly exceed in yea even Sathan himselfe The second gift of the holy Ghost is that by which any one miraculously doth such things as causeth admiration in the beholders exceeding naturall effects and is often in holy Writ called by the name of Faith and so may be denominated Miraculous Faith But with this gift the unholy may more excell then the holy men of God for John the Baptist did no Miracle but Iudas the Traytour did many in which gift of Faith the Priests and Juglers of Rome were famous as