Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n
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A37493
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Baptismōn didachē, or, The doctrine of baptisms reduced from its ancient and modern corruptions and restored to its primitive soundness and integrity, according to the word of truth, the substance of faith & the nature of Christ's kingdom / by William Dell ...
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Dell, William, d. 1664.
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1697
(1697)
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Wing D916; ESTC R37724
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22,953
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73
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the Baptism of Repentance for the Remission of Sin but there the Head who was free from Sin was Baptized for the Body which was full of Sin that he might fulfil all Righteousness in his own Person And this was a great Honour to the Baptism of Iohn that Christ though in reference to our Flesh more than his own submitted himself to it Thus it appears that the Baptism of Iohn was very Honourable and of high Account in its time so that the very Disciples of Christ took it up and Christ himself suffered them because Iohn's Baptism was the Sign and Fore-runner of His and because the time of his own Baptism was not yet come but Christ himself used it not as Iohn witnesses Chap. 4. 2. saying Iesus himself Baptized not but his Disciples to wit with Iohn's Baptism which was Water-Baptism For it became not the Son of God to Baptize with a Creature nor the Lord of all to use the Baptism of a Servant And thus having shewed how Honourable Iohn's Baptism was in it self wherein I conceive I have not done him though a Servant the least Prejudice but have fully attributed to his Office whatever the Word or He himself a Messenger from God attributes to it I shall now proceed to shew That the Baptism of John how Honourable and Excellent soever is yet far beneath and below Christ's yea and most Weak and Imperfect in comparison of his For first Iohn's Baptism was with a Creature with the Element of Water for the Creature could Baptize but with the Creature that is Iohn with Water and so this was far beneath the Baptism of Christ which was the Work of God by God the Work of the Father by the Son and of the Son by the Spirit 2. Iohn's Baptism was tantum exterius lavacrum but Outward and reached the Outward Man only the Baptism of Water reached but the Body and it could pierce no deeper and after all the washing of the Body with Water the Soul still remained as full of Filth Sin and Corruption as ever and so it was far beneath Christ's which reaches the Soul The Baptism of John was the Baptism of Bodies but the Baptism of Christ the Baptism of Souls and only the Baptism of the Spirit reaches the Spirit and attains to the Soul Conscience and Inner Man to Purge and Purifie them 3. The Baptism of Iohn was but a Sign and Ceremony though it had more Life and Light in it than any of the Signs of the Law as being nearer to Christ and more newly revived by God and so thought useful in its Season yet the Efficacy of it after the manner of all Signs was but weak For first It did not give the Spirit one drop of the Spirit yea some who were Baptized with Iohn's Baptism did not know the VVay of the Lord perfectly that is had no certain knowledge of Christ the only Way to God as Apollos Acts. 18. yea some of them did not so much as know whether there were any Holy Ghost or no as those Twelve Disciples Acts 19. much less had received the Spirit Secondly Neither did it give Repentance and Remission of Sin for what was the Plunging of a Man in cold VVater towards Repentance and Remission of Sin but these were the Works of Christ's own Baptism which is the Baptism of the Spirit For no Man can repent of Sin but by the Presence of the Righteousness of God in his Heart which is the work of that Spirit which is given in Christ's Baptism Neither can any remit Sin but God Our Sins are never forgiven by God till God dwell in us through Iesus Christ by the Work of the Spirit So that Repentance was given and Sin forgiven not in hope only in Iohn's Baptism but really and truly in Christ's which was the real Baptism of Repentance and Remission of Sin Thirdly Neither did it give entrance into the Kingdom of God for the Kingdom of God is a Spiritual Kingdom and no Earthly or Corporal thing can give entrance into it The Baptism in the Water of Iordan could deliver no Man up into the Kingdom of God but the Baptism in that River that makes glad the City of God Psal. 46. 4. in that River clear as Christal that proceeds from the Throne of God and of the Lamb which is the Spirit which delivers up all that partake of it first into the Kingdom of the Son and after thro' that into the Kingdom of the Father The Baptism of Iohn left Men in that Old World wherein it found them but the Baptism of Christ delivers them up into the new World or the Kingdom of God Now in all these Regards it appears that Iohn's Baptism did not do the Work of the Baptism of the New Testament for then that only had been sufficient and there had been no need of Christ to come And thus you see that the Baptism of Iohn as it is Distinct from Christ's so it is far Inferiour to His. And therefore great hath been the mistake of many for several Ages who have made Iohn's Baptism equal to Christs for what is this but to make the Servant equal to the Lord and to set down the Creature in the Throne of the only begotten of the Father Tea and it is the quite perverting of Iohn's Office for Iohn was to be a burning and shining Light to usher in Christ the true Light He was to be as the Morning-star to usher in Christ the Son of Righteousness and was not to be so much Clouds and Darkness to obscure him He was but to point out Christ and depart again and not to sit in equal Glory with him on his Throne in the New Testament Iohn said He was not worthy to bear his Shoes and therefore they do not well who have prepared an equal Crown for him with Christ who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords Wherefore we must take great heed that we do not so magnifie Iohn's Office as to intrench on Christ's and to make the Son out of the Bosom of the Father to take up the Baptism of Iohn a Servant and to Administer one entirely his own surely this would not have been suitable to the Glory of the only begotten Son of God The third thing I propound to speak to touching Iohn's Baptism is the Time of its Durance or Continuance and that was but very short For Iohn's Baptism as all the Ceremonies of Moses was but for a time yea This being nearer the Truth and Substance than they was of less Duration as the Morning-Star though brighter than the rest of those Heavenly Lights shines less while than they because the hasty Appearance of the Sun swallows it up And so Iohn's Baptism was of great use a little before Christ's Manifestation to Israel and continued till the time of his Ascension and then when Christ's Baptism began the Shadow was to give way to the Substance and the Sign to the Truth and the Letter to the
Baptized you with Water but one comes after me who shall Baptize you with the Spirit even you whom I have before Baptized with Water And this was not a second Baptism but the first Baptism of the New Testament Iohn's Baptism being more Legal than Evangelical and Evangelical only in so much as it pointed out this Baptism of Christ at hand Again The Baptist himself saith I have need to be Baptized of thee so that the very Author or chief Minister of Water Baptism stood in need of Spiritual Baptism himself Paul also Acts 19. when he found certain Disciples Baptized only with the Baptism of Iohn he Baptized them again in the Name of Christ because they had not received the Spirit and this Baptism into the Name of Christ was not the repeating of any Water but meerly the Gift of the Spirit for Paul Preached to them largely the Doctrine of Faith in Christ for the Text relates but the Abstract of the thing and laid his hands on them and through his Ministry the Holy Spirit came upon them and this was Christ's Baptism indeed and no renewing of Water at all as the Anabaptist would fain inforce from this place By these things it is evident that Christ's Baptism and Iohn's are distinct and therefore as what God hath joyned no Man ought to put asunder so what God hath put asunder no Man ought to joyn as if the Baptism of Christ were insufficient and incompleat except we should add to it the Baptism of Iohn which is exceedingly to eclipse the Brightness of the Son of God as to draw 〈…〉 ail over the greatest Glory of the New Testament which is the Baptism of the Spirit Object If the ordinary Objection shall be offered against this to wit That Iohn's Doctrine was the same with Christ's and therefore his Baptism also was the same with his Answ. I answer it is most true that Iohn did Preach Christ clearly both in Regard of his Person and Offices but this was not his proper Work as he was the Baptist but in so much as he Preached Christ in the Spirit he belongeth to the Kingdom of Christ which is Spiritual as also Abraham Moses David Isaiah and all the Prophets did in the same sense But so far forth as he Preached the Doctrine and Administred the Baptism of Repentance and both these not Really and Spiritually but only in the Letter and Sign so far he belonged to the Old Testament rather than to the New Here was Iohn in his Proper Office I say so far as Iohn Preached Christ Spiritually he did not that as Iohn the Baptist but as Iohn a Believer And so the same Iohn in regard of his Baptists Office belonged to the Old Testament but according to the Revelation which he had from the Father touching Christ and his Faith in him and Confession of him he belonged to the New And except we learn thus to distinguish of Iohn's Doctrine to wit what he Preached as Baptist and in his Proper Office and what as a Believer who had the Revelation of the Father we shall never understand his Baptism aright For Iohn's Baptism was the Seal of his Old Testament-Doctrine and not of his New or of his own immediate Ministry and not of Christ's at the highest Iohn's Ministry and Baptism pointed out Christ but neither of them were the same with Christ's And thus having cleared from the Word that Iohn's Baptism is distinct from Christ's I shall proceed to speak of each of these Baptisms apart by themselves and to hold forth to others what my self have learned touching them from the same Word And first I begin with Iohn's Baptism as being the first in order of time Now the Baptism of Iohn was brought in besides the rite and manner of the Law and so was a sign of a great change to follow The Iews indeed had their Baptisms in the Law for they washed their Members Garments Vessels c. and by this they were cleansed from Legal Pollutions but not from any Sin or Stain that did cleave to their Conscience But Iohn was the Author or first Minister of a new and unwonted Baptism calling all Men to Repentance for Sin and to flee from the Wrath to come and awakening them to Confession of Sin and Amendment of Life and also pointing out One to come and now at hand Who should do all these things for them indeed which neither he nor his Baptism could do Now touching Iohn's Baptism I shall shew First The Honourableness of it in it self And secondly The Weakness and Imperfectness of it in reference to Christ. And thirdly The Continuance and Duration of it 1. For the Honourableness of it self It appears in several Passages 1st That though the Baptism of Iohn in it self were more Legal than Evangelical yet in this it did excel all the former Legal Baptisms that it pointed out Christ's Baptism near at hand for as Iohn himself was greater than all the former Prophets because he Pointed out with his Finger Christ the true and great Prophet of the Church so his Baptism was more excellent than all the former Baptisms because it pointed out Christ's Great and Glorious Baptism no 〈…〉 at hand as he saith I Baptize you with Water and he that comes after me shall Baptize you with the Spirit 2. Iohn's Baptism was from Heaven and not from Men it had its Institution from God and was not an Ordinance he took up of his own head Luke 3. 2. It is said that at the beginning of Iohn's setting forth to his Baptism and Ministry That the Word of God came to him in the wilderness that is he was Inspired Instructed and Taught by a Word from God himself touching his Ministry Baptism and the discovery of Christ he was to make and Iohn 1. 6. There was a Man sent from God whose Name was John and Verse 33. He that sent me to Baptize with VVater said unto me He went not of his own accord but God sent him to Baptize so that as God was the Author of those Inferiour Baptisms of Moses so of this more high and excellent Baptism of Iohn and hereupon the Publicans that received Iohn's Baptism are said to justifie God and the Pharisees and Lawyers that refused it to reject against themselves that is to their own harm the Councel of God Luke 7. 29 30. 2. Christ himself who was born under the Law and subject to the Law submited himself also to the Baptism of Iohn as the last and liveliest Ceremony Mat. 3. 13. Then cometh Iesus from Galilee to Jordan to be Baptized of him and so Christ who had submitted himself to the Circumcision of Moses submitted himself also to the Baptism of Iohn and as he submitted himself to all the Ceremonies of Moses not for his own sake but for ours so also to the Baptism of Iohn For seeing Christ was free from Sin he stood in no need of Repentance and so not of that Baptism which was