Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	ghost_n	holy_a	understand_v	6,901	5	6.3105	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16943	The house of God The sure foundation, the stones, the vvorkmen and order of the building. The incomparable strength of that house, and the vaine assaults and batteries of Satan and all his power. In a sermon preached at Pauls Crosse, December 24, 1626. / By Matthevv Brookes.	Brookes, Matthew, fl. 1626-1657.	1627 (1627)	STC 3836; ESTC S119308	25,408	48

in the third yeere of his Ministrie which was the 33. yeere of his age An. Osiand Harm Euang. lib. 2. cap. 32. went the second time vnto the borders of the Gentiles and vpon the confines of Caesarea Philippi propounded vnto his Disciples this question Whom doe men say that I the sonne of man am and when as hee had receiued their answer reporting the opinions or diuers conceipts which the people had of him Mar. 6.14 15. Luc. 9.7 8. some giuing out that he was Iohn the Baptist some Elias some Hieremias or one of the Prophets Our Sauiour who was not ignorant of this hauing for this purpose asked the question doth from thence take occasion to come neerer to their consciences that so he might see what good vse they had made of that heauenly doctrine which hee had taught them and those diuine Miracles which he had wrought before them and to demand further saying Whom say ye that I am To which proposition when Peter readily replyed saying Thou art Christ the Sonne of the liuing God hee hath then that he look't for and taketh occasion from thence to cleare the whole matter and to make it appeare who are his chosen people by what lawes he will gouerne them what that building of his might be which the Temple figured and that elected place which he would neuer leaue nor forsake First he assureth Peter that the answer which he had giuen him was not nati ex carne sanguine the sensuall wisdome of a man borne of flesh and blood but renati ex spiritu sancto the heauenly wisdome of a man borne againe of the holy Ghost Flesh and blood hath not reuealed it vnto thee but my Father which is in heauen Secondly he letteth Peter to vnderstand what prerogatiue he had obtained by laying vp in his heart that good lesson taught him by the Spirit of God viz. hee is made a member of that spirituall building which Christ would to bee built vpon himselfe as the foundation the fruite and effect whereof is that he should neuer fall away from Christ to his destruction And I say vnto thee Thou art Peter and vpon this Rocke will I build my Churh and the gates of Hell shall not preuaile against it Lastly he doth amplifie this prerogatiue by declaration of that priuiledge which he receiued by his Ministeriall function and the fruit and effect of the same And I will giue vnto thee the Keyes of the Kingdome of Heauen and whatsoeuer thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heauen whatsoeuer thou shalt loose on earth shall be loofed in Heauen That which I will set before you is the prerogatiue which Peter obtained by the faith which he had receiued the fruite and effect whereof was his good confession and heerein confider three things First his personall benefit Thou art Peter Secondly whereunto that personall benefit hath relation viz. the building this is described and the dignitie and worthinesse of it expressed by a double exposition the first is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for it is not only a Church but the Church of Christ my Church Secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and hence you haue the definition of that Church as if he should say My Church is that building which I will build vpon this Rocke which thou hast confessed and therein you haue two propositions First The Church is builded by Christ I will build my Church Secondly Christ his Church is builded vpon a Rocke and that not euerie Rocke but vpon this Rocke Vpon this Rocke I will build my Church Lastly the inference or conclusion because it is the Church of Christ because he builds it because hee builds it vpon that Rocke therefore the gates of hell shall not preuaile against it Heerein consider two things First what those gates of hell are secondly how they preuaile not against that My Church the Church of Christ I shall shew you that the Iewes were not onely the Church of Christ the Mount Moriah not properly the foundation or the stones of the Iewes Temple the stones of that building I will shew you that the Church is the company of Gods Elect and chosen that Peter was not the head of it but a stone of the building that Christ is the sure foundation and that whosoeuer is builded on him shall neuer be broken downe no not by the gates of hell Let me beg your attention in the name of Christ Of Peters prerogatiue and therein first of the personall benefit which he receiued which is the first thing THou art Peter The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Originall doth signifie a stone the prerogatiue therfore which Peter had is this he is made a stone non conuersione naturae not by conuersion of his nature into stone sed done gratiae but hee is made a stone by the gift of grace And he is made a stone two manner of waies by his faith and by his function Heere is our Sauiour as good as his word and performeth that promise which he made vnto him Ioh. 1.42 when his brother Andrew first brought him vnto Christ Thou art Simon the sonne of Iona thou shalt bee called Cephas which is by interpretation a stone And our Lord did reserue the confirmation of his promise till Peter had made this good confession The Church of God which is the companie of those whom God hath elected to life eternall is often in the Scriptures resembled to a materiall Temple and in particular to the Temple of Hierusalem so that as that was called a house Mat. 21.13 the house of prayer so is this called a house 1 Pet. 5.2 a spirituall house for distinctions sake The materiall house was built of stones layed one vpon another the spirituall house is likewise said to bee builded 1 Cor. 12.26 1. Pet. 2.5 builded of stones not naturall stones but liuing stones The naturall stones of the materiall Temple were ioyned and cimented one to another that so the building might rise vp to perfection and the spirituall stones are fitly framed together Eph. 2.21 that the building may grow vnto an holy Temple of the Lord. Now to make the similitude more plaine the materiall Temple had a strong foundation a Rocke next to which were stones of great strength to support the whole fabricke of the building which stones might not improperly be called the foundation being indeed a second foundation most necessarie for so great a pile and afterwards it was raised with costly and curious stones 1 King 6.7 such as Salomon made ready and brought thither or such as those stones which the Disciples did maruell at in the Temple Mar. 13.1 for the fairenesse and the greatnesse of them Antiq. lib. 15. cap. 14. which stones as saith Iosephus were 25. cubits long 8. cubits high and 12. cubits broad In like maner this spirituall building is built on Christ a most strong and sure foundation that is the first

haereticorū fraudes et furta conuincit Tertullian the blessed Scripture reproueth the sleights and thefts of Hereticks thence therefore they must ordinarily fetch their directions and be instructed how to build 2 Tim. 3.17 for they will make the man of God absolute Extraordinarily the builders are directed sometimes immediately by God himselfe and by his holy Angels as the ancient Fathers from Adam to Moses sometimes by visions and reuelations as the Prophets from Moses to Christ sometimes by the immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost as the Apostles Which extraordinarie meanes beeing now most rare the direction on which the builders must looke is the written Word of God together with the inward assistance of the Holy Ghost Will you know then how to make experience whether any builder be inwardly guided by the Spirit of God Heare then how one of the learned Fathers concludes the point Chrysost de 〈◊〉 ado●and Spirit There bee many saith he who doe bragge that they haue the Holy Ghost for they that speake of their owne doe falsly giue out that they haue him For as Christ did deny that he spake of himselfe when hee spake out of the Law and the Prophets euen so now if any thing saue the Gospell be thrust vpon vs vnder the name of the Holy Ghost we must not beleeue it For as Christ is the fulfilling of the Law and of the Prophets euen so is the Holy Ghost the fulfilling of the Gospell Lastly by these good meanes this doth come to passe that the stones are well placed in the Walles of this spirituall house for the labourers in Gods Haruest Mat. 9.37 whom he directeth by his Word and Spirit doe strongly proue and make appeare by the authority of the Word of GOD that God so loued the world Ioh. 3.16 that he gaue his onely begotten Sonne that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life This labour of theirs with the assistance of the Holy Ghost bringeth this to passe that first their minds are enlightened to see their owne misery in and by themselues Secondly their willes are inflamed to seeke reconciliation with God in Christ Iesus And it is admirable to see how God hath blessed the labours of his seruants to lay those liuing stones into the walles of this spirituall House who are well placed there by faith and baptisme Saint Peter hauing fully opened the state of the question and proued mightily Christ to be the Redeemer Act. 2.41 at one Sermon conuerted about 3000. soules who were also baptized How graciously were these stones layed in and placed Augustine confesseth of himselfe Confes lib. 5. cap. 14. that he heard Ambrose but for his eloquence sake et dum cor aperirem ad decipiendum quam disertè diceret pariter intrabat quam verè diceret By this meanes the Lord caught him for while he conceiued how learnedly hee discoursed he perceiued also how truly hee spake both conceipts entred together as heate and light which cannot bee separated Admirably was this stone layed in and placed By Caecilius a Minister of Christ was Cyprian that blessed Martyr conuerted to the faith Nazian laudib Cyprian He was both rich and Noble as Nazienzene reporteth of him hee was of great note for his learning and eloquence Lactant. instit lib. 4. cap. 1. Ioh. Trithem de script Cypr. Pont. Diacon de vita Cypr. as Hierom and Lactantius say And therefore considering his superstition as a rich and noble man hee might haue scorned to haue heard and as a learned and eloquent man disdained to haue beene taught by so meane a Minister as Caecilius was but the LORD would haue him to be layed into the building by his Ministery and therefore he was not onely won to the faith but euen at the first to shew that hee would practise what he had learned he sold all his substance and bestowed it vpon the poore wherby as Pontius Diaconus well concludeth paene antè coepit perfectus esse quam disceret De vita Cypr. he began to bee a perfect man in his religion almost before hee had learned the rules of it Was not this a blessed stone worke-man-like layed in and placed Wonder heere at the vndeserued loue of GOD toward his redeemed ones Epiph. ad Physiol cap. 21. Diuina opera incomprehensibilia sunt in hominibus mirabilia in excelsis super mel fanum super creata omnia dulciora His workes are incomprehensible to men for who can giue a reason of the choise of these liuing stones His workes are admirable in heauen euen the Angels themselues haue cause to admire the goodnesse of God toward his people His workes are sweeter then the honey the honey Combe or any thing created Behold how good it is vnto his people not to bee choise stones onely but to haue their Election made sure vnto them and by faith and baptisme through the ministerie of faithfull workmen directed by his Word and Spirit to be layed into the building All this were yet nothing if the house stood but vpon sandy ground and therefore to take away all doubts our Sauiour telleth vs whereupon his Church is built 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vpon this Rocke Vpon this Rocke Secondly of the second proposition viz. the Church is built vpon Christ the Rocke Rainolds Conf. Hart. c. 2. diuis 1. Lex Graec. ad sacri appar instruct reg b●●lior Tom. 6. Thomas voce petra Illyr voce petra I will not much contend with our Aduersaries concerning words onely this I affirme that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth alwayes signifie a stone neuer a rocke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth most vsually signifie a rocke grandem aliquam rupem viuum lapidem though sometimes it be likewise taken for a stone In this place it cannot signifie a stone but a rocke for our Sauiour is speaking of the foundation of his great building the Church vpon which foundation he would lay many Peters many stones This you shall see further by the metaphoricall acceptions of the word for sometimes petra is a firme place by way of opposition to sandy or mudground Psal 40.2 Hee brought me vp also out of an horrible pit out of the mirie clay and set my feete vpon a rocke and stablished my goings Sometimes it signifieth a place fortified and inexpugnable like vnto a Castle builded vpon a high craggy Rocke against which the power of the Enemie cannot preuaile Leaue the Cities Hier. 48.28 Psal 18.2 Psal 31.2 and dwell in the Rocke Lastly God is said to be our Rocke The Lord is my Rocke Be thou my strong Rocke for an house of defence to saue me This is the metaphor vsed in this place for our Sauiour telleth Peter who is the Rock of his Church that firm place vpon which his Church standeth that inexpugnable high Rocke vpon which it is situated namely himselfe whom Peter had confessed