Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	flesh_n	life_n	spiritual_a	7,689	5	7.0313	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14237	The substance of that vvhich was deliuered in a sermon before the Commons House of Parliament, in St. Margarets Church at Westminster, the 18. of February, 1620. By Iames Vssher, Professor of Diuinity in the Uniuersity of Dublin, in Ireland	Ussher, James, 1581-1656.	1621 (1621)	STC 24553.5; ESTC S118943	33,246	56

vertue of the bread and wine to his bodily sustenance vnlesse he first doe receiue the substance of those creatures so neither can any participate in the benefits arising from Christ to his spirituall reliefe except he first haue communion with Christ himselfe We must a 1. Ioh. 5.12 haue the Sonne before wee haue life and therefore b Ioh. 6.57 eate him we must as himselfe speaketh that is as truly bee made partakers of him as we are of our ordinary food if we will liue by him As there is a giuing of him on Gods part for c Esa 9.6 vnto vs a Sonne is giuen so there must bee a receiuing of him on our part for d Ioh. 1.12 as many as receiued him to them gaue hee power to become the sonnes of God And as wee are e 1. Cor. 1.9 called by God vnto the communion of his Sonne Iesus Christ our Lord so if we doe heare his voyce and not harden our hearts by vnbeliefe wee are indeed made f Heb. 3.14 partakers of Christ. This is that great mystery for so the Apostle termeth it of our vnion with Christ Ephes 5.30 32. whereby we are made members of his body of his flesh and of his bones and this is that eating of the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinking of his blood which our Sauiour insisteth so much vpon in the sixth of Iohn Where if any man shall demand that I may now come vnto the second poynt of our inquiry How can this man giue vs his flesh to eate Ioh. 6.52 he must beware that he come not pre-occupied with such dull conceits as they were possessed withall who moued that question there hee must not thinke that we cannot truly feed on Christ vnlesse we receiue him within our iawes for that is as grosse an imagination as that of Nicodemus who could not conceiue how a man could bee borne againe Ioh. 2.4 vnlesse he should enter the second time into his mothers wombe but must consider that the eating and drinking which our Sauiour speaketh of must be answerable to the hungring and thirsting for the quenching whereof this heauenly Banquet is prouided Marke well the words which he vseth toward the beginning of his discourse concerning this argument Ioh. 6.35 36. I am the bread of life hee that commeth to me shall neuer hunger and hee that beleeueth on me shall neuer thirst But I said vnto you that ye also haue seene me and beleeue not And compare them with those in the end Ioh. 6.63 64. It is the Spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speake vnto you they are spirit and they are life But there are some of you that beleeue not Now obserue that such as our hungring is such is our eating But euery one will confesse that the hunger heere spoken of is not corporall but spirituall Why then should any man dreame heere of a corporall eating Againe the corporall eating if a man might haue it would not auaile any thing to the slaking of this hunger nay we are expressely told that the flesh thus taken for so we must vnderstand it profiteth nothing a man should neuer be the better nor one iot the holier nor any whit further from the second death if he had filled his belly with it But that manner of feeding on this flesh which Christ himselfe commendeth vnto vs is of such profit that it preserueth the eater from death Ioh. 6.50 51 54 58. and maketh him to liue for euer It is not therefore such an eating that euery man who bringeth a bodily mouth with him may attaine vnto but it is of a farre higher nature namely a spirituall vniting of vs vnto Christ whereby he dwelleth in vs and we liue by him If any doe further inquire how it is possible that any such vnion should be seeing the body of Christ is in heauen and wee are vpon earth I answere that if the manner of this coniunction were carnall and corporall it would bee indeed necessary that the things conioyned should bee admitted to bee in the same place but it being altogether spirituall and supernaturall no locall presence no physicall nor mathematicall continuity or contiguity is any way requisite thereunto It is sufficient for the making of a reall vnion in this kinde that Christ and we though neuer so farre distant in place each from other bee knit together by those spirituall ligatures which are intimated vnto vs in the words alledged out of the sixth of Iohn to wit the quickening Spirit descending downeward from the Head to be in vs a fountaine of supernaturall life and a liuely faith wrought by the same Spirit ascending from vs vpward to lay fast hold vpon him who hauing by himselfe purged our sinnes sitteth on the right hand of the Maiesty on high Heb. 1.3 First therefore for the communion of the Spirit which is the ground and foundation of this spirituall vnion let vs call to minde what we haue read in Gods Booke that Christ the second Adam was made a 1. Cor. 15.45 a quickening spirit and that he b Ioh. 5.21 quickeneth whom he will that vnto him c Ioh. 3.34 God hath giuen the Spirit without measure and d Ioh. 1.16 of his fulnesse haue all we receiued that e 1. Cor. 6.17 he that is ioyned vnto the Lord is one Spirit and that f 1. Ioh. 3.24.4.13 heereby wee know that we dwell in him and he in vs because hee hath giuen vs his Spirit By all which it doth appeare that the mystery of our vnion with Christ consisteth mainly in this that the selfe-same Spirit which is in him as in the Head is so deriued from him into euery one of his true members that thereby they are animated and quickened to a spirituall life We reade in the first of Ezekiel of foure liuing creatures and of foure wheeles standing by them When those went saith the Text these went and when those stood these stood and when those were lifted vp from the earth the wheeles were lifted vp ouer against them Hee that should behold such a vision as this would easily conclude by that which he saw that some inuisible bands there were by which these wheeles and liuing creatures were ioyned together howsoeuer none did outwardly appeare vnto the eye and the holy Ghost to giue vs satisfaction heerein discouereth the secret by yeelding this for the reason of this strange connexion that the spirit of the liuing creature was in the wheeles Ezek. 1.21 From whence wee may inferre that things may truly be conioyned together though the manner of the coniunction bee not corporall and that things distant in place may be vnited together by hauing the spirit of the one communicated vnto the other Nay if we marke it well we shall finde it to be thus in euery of our owne bodies that the formall reason of the vnion of the members consisteth not

in the continuity of the parts though that also be requisite to the vnity of a naturall body but in the animation thereof by one and the same spirit If we should suppose a body to be as high as the heauens that the head thereof should be where Christ our Head is and the feet where we his members are no sooner could that head thinke of mouing one of the toes but instantly the thing would be done without any impediment giuen by that huge distance of the one from the other And why because the same soule that is in the head as in the fountaine of sence and motion is present likewise in the lowest member of the body But if it should so fall out that this or any other member proued to be mortified it presently would cease to bee a member of that body the corporall coniunction and continuity with the other parts notwithstanding And euen thus is it in Christ although in regard of his corporall presence the heauen must receiue him vntill the times of the restitution of all things Act. 3.21 yet is he here with vs alway euen vnto the end of the world in respect of the presence of his Spirit Math. 28.20 by the vitall influence whereof from him as from the Head the whole body is fitly ioyned together Ephes 4.16 and compacted by that which euery ioynt supplieth according to the effectuall working in the measure of euery part Which quickening Spirit if it be wanting in any no externall communion with Christ or his Church can make him a true member of this mysticall body this being a most sure principle that He which hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his Rom. 8.9 Now among all the graces that are wrought in vs by the Spirit of Christ the soule as it were of all the rest and that whereby a Habak 2.4 Rom. 1.17 Gal. 3.11 Heb. 10.38 the iust doth liue is Faith b Gal. 5.5 For we through the Spirit waite for the hope of righteousnesse by faith saith S. Paul to the Galatians And againe c Gal. 2.20 I liue yet not I but Christ liueth in me and the life which I now liue in the flesh I liue by the faith of the Sonne of God who loued me and gaue himselfe for me By faith it is that wee doe d Ioh. 1.12 receiue Christ and so likewise e Ephes 3.17 Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith Faith therefore is that spirituall mouth in vs whereby wee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood that is as the Apostle expresseth it without the trope f Heb. 3.14 are made partakers of Christ he being by this meanes as truly and euery wayes as effectually made ours as the meate and drinke which we receiue into our naturall bodies But you will say If this be all the matter what doe we get by comming to the Sacrament seeing we haue faith and the quickening Spirit of Christ before wee come thither To this I answere that the Spirit is receiued in diuers measures and faith bestowed vpon vs in different degrees by reason whereof our coniunction with Christ may euery day bee made straiter and the hold which we take of him firmer To receiue the Spirit g Ioh. 3.34 not by measure is the priuiledge of our Head we that h Ioh. 1.16 receiue out of his fulnesse haue not our portion of grace deliuered vnto vs all at once but must daily looke for i Phil. 1.19 supply of the Spirit of Iesus Christ So also while we are in this world k Rom. 1.17 the righteousnesse of God is reuealed vnto vs from faith to faith that is from one degree and measure of it to another and consequently we must still labour to l 1. Thes 3.10 perfect that which is lacking in our faith and euermore pray with the Apostles m Luk. 17.5 Lord increase our faith n Colos 2.6 7. As wee haue therefore receiued Christ Iesus the Lord so must wee walke in him rooted and built vp in him and stablished in the faith that wee o Ephes 4.15 may grow vp into him in all things which is the Head And to this end God hath ordained publike officers in his Church p Eph. 4.12 13. for the perfecting of the Saints for the worke of the ministery for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come in the vnity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Sonne of God vnto a perfect man vnto the measure of the stature of the fulnesse of Christ and hath accordingly q 2. Cor. 3.6 made them able Ministers of the Spirit that quickeneth and r 1. Cor. 3.5 Ministers by whom we should beleeue euen as the Lord shall giue to euery man When wee haue therefore receiued ſ Gal. 3.2 the Spirit and t Ioh. 17.20 Faith and so spirituall life by their ministery we are not there to rest but u 1. Pet. 2.2 as new borne babes we must desire the sincere milke of the Word that we may grow thereby and as growne men too wee must desire to be fed at the Lords Table that by the strength of that spirituall re●●●● we may be inabled to doe the Lords worke 〈◊〉 may continually be nourished vp thereby in the life of grace vnto the life of glory Neither must we heere with a fleshly eye looke vpon the meanenesse of the outward elements and haue this faithlesse thought in our hearts that there is no likelihood a bit of bread and a draught of wine should be able to produce such heauenly effects as these For so we should prooue our selues to be no wiser than Naaman the Syrian was 2 King 5.12 13. who hauing receiued direction from the man of God that he should wash in Iordan seuen times to be cleansed of his Leprosie replied with indignation Are not Abana and Pharpar riuers of Damascus better then all the waters of Israel May I not wash in them and be cleane But as his seruāts did soberly aduise him then If the Prophet had bid thee doe some great thing wouldest thou not haue done it How much rather then when hee saith to thee Wash and be cleane So giue mee leaue to say vnto you now If the Lord had commanded vs to doe some great thing for the attaining of so high a good should not we willingly haue done it How much rather then when hee biddeth vs to eate the bread and drinke the wine that he hath prouided for vs at his owne Table that by his blessing thereupon wee may grow in grace and be preserued both in body and soule vnto euerlasting life True it is indeed these outward creatures haue no naturall power in them to effect so great a worke as this is no more then the water of Iordan had to recouer the Leper but the worke wrought by these meanes is supernaturall and God hath been pleased