Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	ancient_a	church_n	doctrine_n	1,896	5	6.2759	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60471	The designed end to the Socinian controversy, or, A rational and plain discourse to prove, that no other person but the Father of Christ is God most high by John Smith.	Smith, John, fl. 1673-1680.	1695 (1695)	Wing S4103; ESTC R15169	29,912	68

own Practice was according to his Doctrine I bow my Knee saith he to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Eph. 3. 14. and in many other Places God or the Father not Christ is mentioned as the alone Object of Divine Adoration and Petition And 't is worth nothing that Christ himself whose Example and Footsteps we should follow prayed always to his Father and never did so much as once petition any other Person of the supposed Trinity And as to Thanksgiving 't is plainly said to be the Will of God that we should do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus giving Thanks to God and the Father by him Col. 3. 17. And in another Place we are commanded to give Thanks always unto God and the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ Eph. 5. 20. And accordingly we read in a great number of Places in the New Testament how the Apostles gave God Thanks through Jesus Christ Jesus our Lord is said in Scripture to appear in the Presence of God for us Heb. 9. 24. to be an Advocate for Sinners 1 Joh. 2. 1. To make Intercession for the Saints Rom. 3. 34. To be the Mediator between God and Men 1 Tim. 2. 5. The Minister of the new Covenant Heb. 8. 6. All which proves him to be the Person that pleads our Cause that solicites our Acceptance the great Transactor and Manager of all Affairs between God and us but it no ways intimates any Divine Worship due to himself And indeed should we put Christ instead of the true God and make him the alone Object of Divine Prayer and Thanksgiving in whose Name then shall we approach the Throne of Grace and by whom shall we render Thanks to God who shall be our Intercessor our Advocate our Mediator For my part I know but of one Mediator and that 's the Man Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2. 5. and he only is the Mediator between us Men and the one true God whom I before have proved to be only the Father of Jesus Christ To make our Lord Christ therefore the Object of our Divine Addresses is as much as in us lies to deprive him of his Mediatory Office which also by Consequence is to deny him to be the Son of God even the Beloved in whom alone we are accepted Eph. 1. 6. Yea and by this we deny also the Godhead of the Father in whose stead we do by this Means place Christ than which there can be nothing in this World that is more truly Antichristian See 1 John 2. 22. Now from the aforegoing Arguments 't is evident that whatever the Sense of the objected Places are yet they cannot mean that which the Objector intends since in vastly more numerous and plain Places the Scriptures make God and not Christ to be the alone Object of our Divine Addresses Of the Novelty of the Vnitarian Doctrine Some object against the Doctrine of God's being but one in Person the Novelty thereof that 't is but of Yesterday in comparison to that which asserts a Trinity which is they say of at least 1600 and odd Years standing I answer that the Objector is greatly mistaken for can that be a new Doctrine which has the greatest and the most plain part of the Scripture for its Foundation The Doctrine of God's being but one in Person is in the former part of this Work proved to be expresly and plainly contain'd both in the Old and New Testament and by Consequence must needs be as antient as the Scriptures are The long Continuance of the contrary Doctrine if it were as antient as the Objectors affirm is yet no Argument of its real Truth We read that soon after the good Wheat was sown the Enemy began to sprinkle Tares in the Field Mat. 13. 25. And the Mystery of Iniquity began to work even in St. Paul's time 2 Thess 2. 7. So that 't is no wonder that some Errors as suppose this of the Trinity be almost of equal standing to the greatest Truths for where God has a Church the Devil always has a Chappel 'T is not the long or short Continuance of any Doctrine as to its Profession that makes it authentick but that Foundation of Reason and Scripture on which it is built A Tenet is not therefore true because of its long or general Belief if at the same time it contradicts Self-evidence and the general Current of the sacred Scriptures Of Scripture-Mysteries Some object that much of the Scripture is mere Mystery and therefore since all Scripture is the Object of our Faith we must sometimes believe things which we cannot comprehend I answer if we are to believe Mysteries when clearly revealed yet it does not from thence follow that therefore we must believe Impossibilities and Contradictions A just God can never lay on us a necessity of submitting to those Terms and Conditions of Salvation which we cannot possibly understand Hence it follows that such obscure Mysteries as evidently do contradict other plain Truths do no ways concern us so long as we are in the dark as to their true Sense and Meaning When a Mystery is plainly express'd in Scripture as when 't is said a Virgin did conceive a Son or that all Men shall rise again or that Christ shall judg the World and no other plain Scripture contradicts it neither is it contrary to humane Reason we are then to believe it tho it may be above our Understanding to conceive which way the Power of God should enable a Virgin to conceive or in what manner our scattered Dust shall be recollected and revived or how our blessed Saviour can be made fit for so great a Work as an Universal Judg. But if some Places in Scripture had said these things but others more numerous and plain had affirmed the contrary or had it contradicted any self-evident Principle of Reason we might then have rejected the Belief thereof as safely and with as good Authority as we now do that of the Popish Transubstantiation which by the way is as expresly contain'd in Scripture as is that of the Trinity But for Mysteries of a more doubtful Nature such as want the Qualifications before express'd they can no ways oblige our Faith so long as their true Meaning lies hid in Obscurity of Expression There will be a time when all secret things shall be revealed and all hidden things shall be brought to light for which we must wait with Patience and not pretend as some do to explain even what is most hard and difficult by such Notions as are purely unintelligible for this is but the more to confound their Minds which were at a loss before 'T is true if any Man can rationally explain a Mystery he then does good Service both to God and Man but this we are infallibly certain is never done when the Sense that is given of a doubtful Place of Scripture is contrary not only to the general Current of the rest of the Word of God but is also a