Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A27584
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A brief view of the state of mankind in the first Adam and the second Adam being the sum of many larger discourses upon that great context of the redemption and mediation of Jesus Christ / by T. Beverley.
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Beverley, Thomas.
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1690
(1690)
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Wing B2125; ESTC R15745
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14,528
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60
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that Word of God And when we Find the Highest Accounts of Sin and Death so sensibly and experimentally Known in the World to be most Rationably and Credibly Trac'd to their Original in the same Word far beyond all in the World that is written of them We must needs have Greatest force of Conviction of its Truth Now that the First Adam was Intended by God to be such a Figure of Him that is to Be Besides that the Assertion is Seated here in the midst of this weighty Discourse of Redemption It is also made the Center of as great a Discourse of the Resurrection These Two 1 Cor. 15. 45. 47. Adams call'd also Two Men the First and Second Man as if there had been but those Two Men at any Time in the World and indeed there were never Any Two such Men Men each Comprehending whole Humane Nature within Themselves Heads each of the Nature Communicating to it All in Themselves Two Perfect Men at the Full dimensions Men as Adam before the Fall and Jesus Christ for Ever These Two are made One the Head of Death the other of the Resurrection These Two Men then I say had the whole Nature of Man in them Adam Created the onely Man in the World and Eve One Adam with Him comprizing All the Nature to descend from Him Jesus Christ hath this Nature whole and entire in Him He as the Son of God of an Eternal Personage in Himself Embrac'd and Assum'd not a Humane Person but the Abstract Humane Nature by the Immediate Operation of the Divine Spirit not deriving it from Adam in the way of ordinary Generation and so not under Him as a Head And yet the First of these Two Common Heads Adam passes under Headship of Jesus Christ which peculiarity of so doing is nothing to Any of Those to whom He Communicates as such a Common Head Humane Nature For Adam by Faith came under Christ as the Head of Recovery of which none of Humane Nature descending from Him receive any Thing more than from any other man For He did not that as a Common Head but as one private man For in that Act He forsook his own Apostate Headship chusing rather to be under the saving Headship of Christ But Jesus Christ by the infinitely wise Counsel of God though He took the same common Nature of the Sons of Adam yet he took it on a new Title not from Adam as a Head but as the Son of God from the Holy Spirit and not under Adam's Covenant so that while He derived his substance his Nature as man from Him so as to be called the Son of Adam and the Seed of the Woman He was yet by the prerogative of his Immediate Conception from the Divine Spirit the Son of God in a Higher Sense then Adam was the Son of God even in regard of his Humane Nature Christ was so the Son of God And while the Seed that are in Him Receives nothing from him of the old Humane Nature but from Adam only They yet receive from him a new Humane Nature parallel by Regeneration to his miraculous Generation in the Renovation of their Nature And as Eve was taken out of Adam so they are his Spouse taken as Ephes 5. 32. out of him by mystical Communication from him They are from him also as Children from the second Adam Father of the World to come They are conform'd to him as the First born among many Brethren so Esay 9. 6. Rom. 8. 29. that all Types all Relations meet in him Let us then settle this First point That Adam was made by God a common Person a Head a Root a Mediator of Humane Nature not of Intercession but of Communication so that if he had stood He had held up Humane Nature and herein he was primarily a Type of Christ Arguments of this 1. Whatever Adam was made at first In that he was made a Type of Him that was to be viz. Christ But God Gen. 1. 27. Eccl. 7. 29. Created him in his own Image at first in Knowledge Righteousness and True Holiness He made him upright Now if Adam in this State had not been a Type of Him that was to be It had been too late as I may so say when he had sinned and fallen to be made such a Type for that had been to enchain his Posterity in Sin and Death without any prevention which can never be supposed to be done by God He was then at first a Head of Life and Righteousness And this is the first Sense of his being a Type of Christ who is to be viz. in Communication of Life and Righteousness And by his Fall only a Head of Sin and Death else he had been not a Type but a Counter Head only But in being such a Head he is infinitely out-done by Christ For the First Adam was made a living Soul He had the Breath of Life breathed into him Gen. 2. v. 7. Adam might as a Vessel of Gold have held that Life given him by God But He was not a Spring that could still supply it that it could not be lost nor spring it again if lost He could not Rise from the Dead nor Raise the Dead This Christ can do as the Last Adam the Lord from Heaven 1 Cor. 15. 45. a quickning Spirit For as the Father hath life in himself So John 5. 25 26. hath he given to the Son to have life in himself They therefore that are dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and Live He is a Well of water c. 4. 14. springing up to Eternal Life Adam might Fall because he had not the Spring of Life Christ cannot Fail and can recover the Fallen because he is the Life it self Here is our own Hope 2. Adam was in state of Favor and Acceptance with God As a Prince He went near unto Him and declared to Him concerning the Creatures Genes 2. 19. 23. concerning Eve he was not afraid of God till he sinn'd This he was to have convey'd For to convey the Wrath and Displeasure of God so as that his Children should be Children of Wrath by Nature Ephes 2. and not to have convey'd the Favor of God had not been according to either the Justice or Goodness of God But being fallen into Displeasure he cannot as the only begotten Son of the Father Maâ— 3. 17. 〈◊〉 higher than the Heavens â—he 〈◊〉 in whom he is well pleas'â— I … ede or Mediate for Hiâ— self or his Posterity It is Christ onely who by his Spirit even the Spirit of the Galat. 4. 6. Son sent into their Hearts restores his to the Crying Abba Father 3. Adam was in his Creation and the Covenant made with Him upon it to be a Head of Life and of a Blessed Immortality and to have conveyed it to All in Him Of this the Tree of Life in the midst of Paradise Genes 2. c. was a Sacrament
Adam by a Humane Person that must look to it self as well as to the Nature So All he did and suffer'd ran out wholly to the Nature but He is the Head most properly especially to the Renewed Humane Nature entire in Him being conceived into it by the Holy Spirit Adam therefore left his publick Station and privately as a private Person retired into this Head looking as I said to Himself and not to the Nature in this Action The Ends of Gods Constituting this One Man as a Common Head even his Son our Lord Jesus Christ are 1. That He might have in Humane Nature an Adoption of many Sons to Glory in this Great Son of God and Son of Man Heb. 2. 10. 2. There is a Redundancy of Benefit Common Grace and other Advantages upon all parts of Humane Nature in preserving so much of the Remains of Conformity to the Law of Righteousness in the World which would only condemn as in Hell and not guide to any Thing Good but turn the World into a Hell were it not for Christ in whom also so much of Patience and Bounty is vouchsafed to men in outward Blessings essaying their Return to God by Repentance Rom. 2. 4. 2 Pet. 3. 9. in hopes of his Mercy to which this Patience and Bounty give so Great Encouragements Vse This shews the admirable Congruity to our Case to have our Help laid upon so mighty and near a Mediator as Emmanuel God with us Proposition 5. Jesus Christ is a Mediator of Compare v. 15. and v. 19. the double parallel lying on each side the Proposition v. 18. the Grace of God and of the Free Gift of Righteousness by Grace in its Great Abundance even as Adam was of the Offence and its Abundance yet so as that He is a Mediator of Righteousness in his own Obedience also The Grace of God is the Highest Manifestation of the Divine Glory and Goodness to us How High therefore is the Honour of Christ to be the Mediator of it Adam was at first intended to be the Mediator of Righteousness and of the Benignity of the Creator to his Creatures according to a Covenant of Works and Debt and proportionably Rom. 4. 4. by his Fall He becomes a Mediator of the Justice of God upon Sin and Sinners For Sin were it not for that Justice were only the Impotency and weakness and defect of a Creature made to be so Righteous not bearing up to Righteousness that Justice makes Sin so strong 1 Cor. 15. 56. Christ as a Mediator of Free Grace hath infinite Advantages in regard of us above a Mediator of Righteousness only for Righteousness walks by severe Rules and exact Steps Psal 145. 17. Adam being so and sinning could never Recover by Himself Nor any of his Posterity by any Power Receiv'd from Him who entailed Sin and Death But Grace is unlimimited Ephes 1. 6 7. 11. c. 2. 7 8 9. and unbounded in all its motions having no Cause but it self no bound but it self viz. It s own Wisdom and Holiness so is infinitely more potent then Sin It is True Justice in God is Infinite as Grace for in God They are one Grace therefore provides an infinite Satisfaction to Justice in the Obedience of Christ constituting Righteous Rom. 5. 19. of which being secure It triumphs as it pleases and Sin vanishes before it for the strength of Sin is the Justice of God in his Law That satisfied Sin is weak and is blotted out as a Cloud is sought for and not found Corruption dyes vanquished as Grace pleases That the Mediatorship of Christ may be more fully understood in its being a Mediatorship of Grace seeing Justice is infinite in God and his Grace and his Justice One in Him which Justice Judges acts and proceeds according to number weight and measure The Apostle hath joyn'd in an opposite parallel on the other side of the proposition v. 18. the Obedience of Christ so full and so perfect that he plainly asserts that even as by the Disobedience of one many were made or constituted that is judg'd and determin'd Sinners so by the Obedience of One many were not only pardoned and so accepted as Righteous but They are and shall be constituted decreed determined and justly judged to be Righteous by this Righteousness of Christ infinite in number weight and measure becoming theirs Vse This Obedience therefore is to be considered in the Mediator of it truly higher then the Heavens deeper in sufferings in their value and vertue then the lowest Hell broader then the Persons and Sins of All over whom and over which Adams Sin can extend it self in those for whom as in Christ It is accepted and longer then the whole Line of Adams Sin beginning with Time and running on for ever if not cut off by this Righteousness of Christ which is eternal or from Everlasting to Everlasting and nothing beyond it And thus was the Obedience of Jesus Christ an Obedience of infinite Purity and of unfathom'd sufferings of the Son of God a Priest for ever without beginning of Days or end of Life Eternal Propos 6. Upon this full and compleat verse 16. compared with 20. Satisfaction to Justice although the one Sin of Adam becomes Legions of Legions by Actual Transgressions and are seen in every Atom every aggravating Circumstance in the Beams of that Fiery Law yet the Free Gift of Grace in and upon this Righteousness blots them all out of this Light of Gods Countenance And this Righteousness and Obedience is as the Ark of Noah that was not overwhelm'd by the swelling of the Floods but Rode above them and the higher they were the higher the Ark was so the Soul enclos'd and ARKED in this Righteousness of Grace and the Free Gift Rides above all the surges of raging Guilt whether from just fears of Gods Righteous Judgment from the Turmoils of Conscience or the soming Accusations from Hell and stands Righteous notwithstanding All before God before Angels and to the Consternation and silence of lost Spirits For where Sin abounds Grace does much more abound and the Free Gift is of many never so many Offences to Justification Vse Behold then by way of Adoration and Holy Confidence the ample Rest of Consciences wash'd in the Blood of Jesus Proposition 7. The Great Question now arising will bee How can it be ever reconciled to Divine Justice or to Natural Conscience that the Righteousness of one should be made the Righteousness of so many To this the Apostle hath laid the Answer in the Center and even ballance of the whole Discourse As by the Offence of one Judgment came upon All to v. 18. Condemnation so to the Righteousness of one to the Justification of Life The infinite Righteousness and Truth of God hath determin'd the Case One Person may communicate to Many and to All in Him for the Many who are also the All in One Adam in whom the Man Christ Jesus was not