Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	bear_v	enter_v	kingdom_n	5,396	5	6.1932	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52905	Three sermons upon the sacrament in which transubstantiation is impartially considered, as to reason, scripture, and tradition to which is added a sermon upon the feast of S. George / by N.N. ... Preacher in ordinary to Their Majesties.	N. N., Preacher in Ordinary to Their Majesties.	1688 (1688)	Wing N60; ESTC R11075	101,855	264

way of speaking when we say This Glass is a new Health in Wine the glass is one metaphor the health is another and yet the wine is truly substantially Wine Having thus exposed the weakness of their arguments by which they undertake to shew that Transubstantiation is repugnant to plain words of holy Scripture I shall now endeavour to make out that Transubstantiation may if any thing can be plainly provd by holy Writ the proof of which shall make the second part of my Discourse SECOND PART In the 6. ch of S. Iohn our Saviour promises that he will give us his flesh that sacred flesh which he design'd to sacrifice upon the Cross for our Redemption In the 51. v. he says the Bread that I will give is my Flesh which I will give for the life of the world I know very well that in the former verses from 26. to 51. He uses some expressions which are purely metaphorical But whatsoever a few modern Authors may say of this matter I can never be persuaded that this chapter talks of nothing else but Faith that from 50. to 60. the Eating which is so much talkt of signifies nothing but Believing We have appeal'd to Scripture Let it judge the Case betwixt us When in the 52 v. we read how the Jews strove amongst themselves saying How can this man give us his flesh to eat we know they understood him in the literal Sense wonderd how it could be true If he had spoken only in a figurative Sense it had been easy to have told them so In other matters of much less importance 't was his usual custom to expound his meaning Iohn the 3. ch 4. v. Nicodemus said to him How can a man be born again when he is old He let him understand He did not mean it in the literal sense but that He spoke of Baptism Except a man be born of water the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Matth. 13. He proposed to his Disciples the Parable of the Sower They understood it not He presently expounded it to them The Parable of Tares they understood as little but as soon as they desir'd him He declar'd to them the whole mystery of it In these other occasions when he had spoken any thing obscurely He was always willing to interpret it And there was never more necessity than when the Jews were scandaliz'd to hear him say the Bread that I will give is my Flesh. If he only design'd to give them Bread not his Flesh. I will not say He ought to have explain'd himself because to punish their perversness He might lawfully have left them in their ignorance and though he were the Light of the world yet He might justly leave those in the dark who obslinately shut their eyes against him But that our Saviour should not only refuse to explicate his words but also make it his business to confirm them in an errour that He who came to instruct the world should labour to deceive it that He who left the ninety nine sheep in the Desert should endeavour to drive the lost sheep farther from the true way home Let who will say it A Christian must be asham'd to think it If he were then resolv'd to give us nothing else to eat drink but bread wine is it probable that He would so industriously repeat the eating of his Flesh drinking of his Blood Is it possible that he should tell them in the 55. v. My Flesh is meat indeed my Blood is drink indeed if really the meat drink were neither Flesh nor Blood When in the 24. of S. Luke our Adversaries read our Lord is risen indeed or in the 4. of S. Iohn this is indeed the Saviour of the world They understand it believe it in the literal sense But when they read these words my Flesh is meat indeed my Blood is drink indeed they believe 't is nothing else but sacred bread wine Is this Believing Scripture No no When Scripture speaks as plainly in one place as in another no convincing reason can be given why they force the sense of this place more than that if they believe that not this They do not believe the Scripture but themselves They do not believe because they read it but because they like it When the Disciples saw how seriously their Master taught the literal sense they cryd out in the 60. v this is a hard saying who can hear it They consider'd it foolishly says S. Austin * In Psal 98. they understood it carnally thought our Lord would chop of morsels of his flesh give it them They were not only startled at the seeming impossibility but also at the barbarousness of the design And the three following verses shew us how our Saviour endeavour'd to let them know it neither was impossible nor barbarous Dos this offend you says He Do you think I am not able to make good my words Surely you know not who I am you would not otherwise mistrust my Almighty Power But what if you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before Then I suppose you 'l know that I am God and from that miracle conclude that this is easy to me that I have not only wisdom to contrive but power to execute my promise Dos this offend you It is the Spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing The words that I speak unto you they are Spirit they are Life I do not intend to give dead morsels of my flesh which being separated from my Spirit Divinity will profit nothing because they will not give your souls the lise of grace You shall not eat it in the natural form of human flesh that is indeed a carnal and a barbarous way of eating it But nevertheless under the form of bread you shall receive the true real substance of my flesh and this is that spiritual way of eating which you are not yet acquainted with This is the mystery which I expect you should believe This neither is impossible nor barbarous This is not contrary to Reason though it be above it But yet says he v. 64. there are some of you that believe not And v. 65. he tells the reason why because says he no man can come unto me unless it be given to him of my Father Proud Silly Wretches as we are We think it is sufficient to read Gods word we think there goes no more than reading to believe it we never reflect that no man can believe the word of God the Son unless he first receive the powerfull grace of Christian Humility from God the Father that Grace by which we willingly submit our Reason to such mysteries as are above it The 66. v. laies before our eyes the sad example of those many disciples who from that time went back walkt no more with him They heard the same words which our Adversaries