Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	angel_n	company_n	zion_n	344	4	8.6321	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26928	Faithful souls shall be with Christ the certainty proved and their Christianity described, and exemplified in the truely Christian life and death of that excellent saint, Henry Ashhurst, Esq ... : briefly and truly published for the conviction of hypocrites and the malignant, the strengthning of believers, and the imitation of all, especially the masters of families in London / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1681 (1681)	Wing B1265; ESTC R4853	35,484	74

compleat perfect Teacher who teacheth you by words and works and inspiration and can make you what he bids you be and leaveth out nothing that is necessary to your salvation 7. And you have the only sufficient Guid to happiness He is the Way the Truth and the Life and no man cometh to the Father but by him No man but he hath revealed the God and Glory which he hath fully seen and known All men are liers and deceivers not to be trusted further than some way they have learnt of him by the teaching of his Works or Word or Spirit And now shall we need to say more to men that are already vowed to Christ in their Baptism who profess themselves Christians who know that they must die and who know that there is no other hope or way to perswade them to be what they profess that they may not miss of what they hope for But the following Promises if believed will perswade you III. Where I am there shall my servant be They that Serve and follow Christ shall in their measure speed as he doth and be with him where he is Quest. And where is that Ans. It is certainly in no ill place Though it be a controversie whether Christ descerded to Hell it is certain that now he is not there And therefore his members shall not be there He is certainly in Paradise for there he promised the converted thief to be that day with him He is in Heaven Acts 1. 11. This same Iesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven Acts 3. 21. Whom the heaven must receive till the time of restitution of all things John 17. And now O Father glorifie me with thine own self Vers. 13. And now I come to thee It is in the Glorious presence of God that Christ now abideth in our nature Even at the Right hand of God Matth. 26. 64. Mark 14. 62. 16. 19. Luk. 22. 6. 9. Act. 7. 55. 56. Rom. 8. 34. Eph. 1. 20 Col. 3. 1. Heb. 1. 3 13. 8. 1. 12. 2. 10. 12. 1 Pet. 3. 22. Therefore though many Texts do seem to intimate that he will return to earth again and that the New Ierusalem shall come down from Heaven and that we look for a new Heaven and Earth in which righteousness shall dwell yet these Texts do fully prove that faithful Souls go presently to Christ who is in Heaven and that there will be no such descent to earth as shall be any diminution of the Glory of the Saints For it shall be no diminution of the Glory of Christ And we shall be where Christ will be If Heaven come down to Earth and the Vail be drawn it will be no loss 2. That departed faithful Souls go to him the Scripture elsewhere also tells us Ioh. 17. 24. Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me Luke 23. 43. To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Luke 16. 9. When we fail here we shall be received into the everlasting habitations Vers. 22. The beggar died and was carryed by Angels into Abrahams bosome Vers. 25. Now he is comforted 2 Cor. 5. 1 8. We know that if our earthly house of this 〈…〉 were dissolved we have a building of God 〈…〉 not made with hands eternal in the Heavens For in this we groan earnestly desiring to 〈…〉 upon with our house which is from heaven that 〈…〉 might be swallowed up of life Vers. ● We are confident and willing rather to be 〈◊〉 from the body and present with the Lord. Phil. 1. 21 22. To me to live in Christ and 〈…〉 gain having a desire to depart to be with 〈…〉 Heb. 12. 22 23 24. We are come to Mount Sion and to the City of the living God the heavenly Ierusalem and to an innumerable company of Angels to the General Assembly and Church of the first born which are written in heaven and to God the Iudge of all and to the Spirits of just men made perfect and to Iesus the mediator of the new Covenant Rev. 14. 13. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them I heap all these Texts together for my self as well as you that we may see that as the faithful shall certainly have a blessed resurrection so their departing souls at death shall certainly be with Christ in glory For I take the assurance of the Souls immortality and felicity at death to be a point that deserveth as much of our thoughtful diligence as any one that we have to think of He is mad that doubteth whether there be a God if he live with his eyes open in the world And as for Christianity it is Life and Immortality which Christ came to secure us of and bring to light And he that by the light of Nature doth but believe the Souls immortality and a life of retribution is much prepared to be a Christian so suitable will he find Christianity to our everlasting interest But yet all will be dark to men and seem uncertain till Christ be their Teacher and they truly believe in him and take it on his certain word Truly believe that Iesus is the Christ and his Gospel true and there is no room for a doubt of the Immortality of Souls and future blessedness so plainly is it exprest in all the Gospel The Socinians that look for nothing till the Resurrection dream of a dreaming sleep of Souls but dare not talk of any cessation or annihilation of them For then a Resurrection is a Contradiction Another soul may be created but it cannot be the same that was annihilated And as no man can believe that Christ speaketh truth and is Christ indeed but he must needs believe his promise that the faithful Soul shall be where he is So no man can truly believe that all faithful Souls and only such shall be with Christ and partake of blessedness but it will constrain him to a life of serious holiness at least if it feast him not with the foretast of heavenly joys Can you imagine that any man can firmly believe that all and only holy souls go to Christ in glory when they leave the body and yet not seek first the Kingdom of God and make the securing of this his chiefest care and business in the World It cannot be every man loveth himself And no man can be indifferent whether his Soul be in Heaven or Hell for ever Dulness and present diverting things may make a man negligent and inconsiderate about lesser matters where the loss seemeth tolerable But I cannot believe that if a man be awake and in his wits any thing but secret unbelief and doubting can make one so dull or inconsiderate about his everlasting joy or

confidently as we believe and trust a parent or a tried friend for any thing promised which is in their power yea or but as confidently as we can trust their Love without a Promise O how joyfully should we live and die O bend your prayers and best endeavours against the unbelief and doubtings of the Gospel and the unseen World were your Faith here strong it would bring you to that Holiness which would much end your doubts of your own sincerity and part in Christ. Had we nothing else to prove the sinful weakness of our Faith but our uncomfortable thoughts of the Life to come and the State of our departing Souls alas how sad an evidence is it Come on then Christians Think further what this Text containeth and beg of God that you and I may believe it as we need and as Christ deserveth to be believed Think what it is to be with Christ We shall be with our compassionate great High Priest with him that came down in flesh to us with him that loved us to the death and redeemed us by his blood to God and will make us Kings and Priests for ever We shall be with him that is gone to prepair a place for us in his Fathers house he hath many mansions Ioh. 14. 3. It was not a meer man it was not an Angel that made us this promise but the Son of God who hath confirmed it by four Seals his Blood his Miracles and Resurrection his Sacraments and his Spirit Are you afraid that your Souls shall die with your Bodies Christ is not dead and we shall be with him It is his promise Because I live ye shall live also Ioh. 14. 19. The Article of his descending to Hades called Hell is to tell us that Christs Soul died not with his Body yea it went that day to Paradise Our Head and we shall not be separated Are you afraid of going to Hell Christ is not there Are you afraid lest God forsake you He forsaketh not Christ though for our sakes he once in part forsook him that we might not be forsaken Can you fear Devils or any Enemies Where Christ is glorified there come no Devils Enemies or Fears We are here with him as Chickens under the wings of the Hen Matth. 23. 37. How safely and how joyfully then shall we be lodged in the bosom of eternal Love But we see not the place nor what our depated friends enjoy But Christ seeth it who is there But we see not Christ. But firm Belief will make us Love him and rejoice with unspeakable glorying joy 1 Pet. 6. 8 9. But we cannot conceive of the state and operations of a separated Soul nor where it is nor how God is there enjoyed But is it not enough to believe that we shall be with Christ and fare in our measure no worse than he If you are afraid lest Christ be deceived or deceive you that is a sinful fear indeed But if you only fear lest you have no part in him Consent to his Covenant do but give up your selves in Obedience and Trust though not in perfection yet in sincere desire and resolution and then you have no just cause to fear it O Sirs why do not our Hearts rejoyce when we think that we shall shortly be with Christ Here we have ill company too oft implacable enemies unsuitable and sinful Friends and worst of all a foolish and perverted Heart that is in effect our greatest Enemy But where Christ is none of this is so With him we shall have the company of our holy departed Friends even all of them that we conversed with in the Flesh whom we lamented and wept over as if they had been lost We shall with Christ have the company of innumerable Angels and all the faithful from the days of Adam And O how much better will Christs own glorious presence be than his presence in humbled Flesh was to his followers on Earth Here Christ was a despised crucifyed Man There even his Body is more glorious than the Sun and the Heaven or holy City needs no Sun because God and the Lamb is the light thereof Spirits are there in confirmed Holiness and not left to that imperfect Liberty of Will which lets in by abuse all sin and misery on the World They strive not in the dark in ignorant Zeal or mixtures of Error and selfish partiality as we do here There are no silencers of the holy Ministers that continually sing Iehovahs praises There is no malignant calumny or persecution no envious reproach of one another or striving who shall have his will or be the Master of the rest But holy Love uniteth animateth and delighteth all For it is God that they Love in one another There is no selfish foolish fear lest individuation cease and Saints shall be too much one and all be one common Soul In a word to be with Christ is to be perfect in Holiness and Glory in God in the Heavenly society in the Joys of Sight and Love and Praise delivered from the bondage of corruption from sin and fear and from temptation and troubles of all our Enemies IV. But yet the promise here saith more If any man serve Me him will my Father honour The Fathers Love did give us the Redeemer and the Fathers Love shall Glorifie us with him What is the Honour that is here meant Honour some time signifieth Advancement in General making one Great and Happy Numb 22. 17. 37. 24. 11. 27. 20. 1 King 3. 13. 1 Chron. 16. 27. Psal. 8. 5. 1 Sam. 2. 30. And sometime it signifieth the provision and maintenance which is due to deserving superiors which is half the double honour due to the Elders that rule well especially that labour in the Word and Doctrine 1 Tim. 5. 17. And sometime it is taken for a magnified praised State God will honour faithful Christians all these ways He will advance them to the highest dignity they are meet for He will give them the most bounteous provisions of his houshold even more than they can now desire or believe He will make them Kings and Priests to God and coheirs with Christ in the glorious Inheritance Rom. 8. 17. Rev. 1. 6. 5. 1● 20. 6. They shall Iudge the World and Angels 1 Cor. 6. 2 3. They shall see God Matth. 5. and be called his Children and all together the spouse and Body of Christ Eph. 5. Rev. 21. 22. c. They shall at Christs appearing who is their Life appear with him in Glory Col. 3. 4. When he cometh to be admired in his Saints and glorified in all them that Believe 2 Thes. 1. 10. c. We shall see face to face and shall see him as he is 1. Ioh. 3. 2. We shall behold the Glory that God hath given him Ioh. 17. 24. The Righteous shall have dominion in that Morning And shall shine as Stars Dan. 12. 13. yea as the Sun in the firmament of the Father