Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	apostle_n	doctrine_n	receive_v	1,639	5	4.9836	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12209	Two sermons: preached by that faithfull and reverend divine, Richard Sibbes, D.D. and sometimes preacher to the honorable society of Grayes Inne; and master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1639 (1639)	STC 22520; ESTC S114825	20,880	93

the damned And take this with you the more sence you have of the love of Christ the lesse you will regard the pleasures the riches or contempts of the world And indeed what joy can bee compared with this that the soule hath communion with Christ All the world is nothing to this And now seeing you cannot require this love of Christ yet shew your love to him as you may and as you may manifest your love to his members and kisse them with the kisses of your love Doe good to the poore especially to those poore that have the Church of God in their Families As the woman powred her oyle on the head of Christ so doe you powre some of yours upon the feete of Christ. That which yee would doe to him if hee were here that doe to his members in whom he is after a sort present with you Thereby you may further your communion with him and make him your debter then as one saith well hee can be no loser that makes God his debter THE POWER OF Christs Resurrection COLOS. 3. 1. If yee he risen with Christ seeke those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God THis Verse hath dependance on the second Chapter before the twelve and thirteen Verses of that Chapter where the Apostle tells the Colossians that they were risen with Christ from the dead by Faith and quickned by the Spirit that raised him hereupon followes this inference If therefore yee be risen with Christ shew it by seeking after those things which are in heaven or are heavenly The Apostle had much adoe to roote out those dangerous seedes of conceit which false teachers had sowen upon these Colossians touching some legall ceremonies as touch not taste not handle not he tells them that these dead things have no life of use now and that therefore if they be risen with Christ they must fall to other matter seeking those things that are above These ceremonies were indeede appointed by God at the first but now being ended and brought to their grave they must be buried there never to rise againe And therefore no more to be revived as being not dead onely but deadly As I sayd the Apostle finding their hearts tainted with this false doctrine having first sought by purging to drive it out of their hearts and liking he now begins to season them with that truth which is after godlinesse that is with heavenly and other truths and doctrines not of men such as were those of these false Apostles but of God where hee begins with generall instructions and then proceeds to particular callings as of husbands and wives of parents and masters of children and servan's Now because the well managing of the particular duties of these particular callings depends on a good principle that is that they bee sound in Christianitie which is the generall Therefore hee begins first to season their hearts with that grace of their generall callings knowing that it is so much the easier to bee good in their particular callings when they are first good in the generall But if not good in the generall then never good in the particular If a good man then a good husband a good father and a good master fit for any good service but if not a good man then good for nothing So a woman if a good woman then a good wife and good in any calling So for children and servants if good in the generall then good in the particular also But to come to the order of these words they containe first a ground and then an inference upon that ground If you be risen with Christ there is the ground then seeke the things that are above there is the inference From the ground observe two things First that Christ is risen himselfe Secondly that wee therefore shall rise For the first It is an Article of our Faith and the Holy Ghost hath taken a great deale of paines to prove it It is the confidence of Christians it is the maine or free hold that wee have for wee hold all by the resurrection of Christ as of fee and wee have sixteene apparitions of him to prove this Besides it was impossible that hee should bee held of the bonds of death Impossible I say being invested with these three offices of King Priest and Prophet Impossible as hee was King for how then could hee have triumphed over his enemies here and in hell Impossible as hee was Priest for if hee had not risen how could hee have made daily intercession for us as he doth And lastly impossible as he was a Prophet for else how could he have instructed his people in doctrines of salvation But when rose hee wee say with the Scriptures and our Creede the third day Now as Christ rose and rose the third day manifesting thereby that he was dead and this after so great basenesse for his greater glory So it is to teach us that as it was with him so it is with all his members never nearer helpe then when at the worst nor more glorious then when basest for Christ for then it appeares to bee Gods owne worke who therefore will raise them to glory that he may be glorified in and by them When therefore wee are in any distresse voyd of the helpe of man then God will come in and raise us up whether in our credit estate or persons c. onely therefore let us have patience for a while and waite his comming But as Christ is risen so we shall rise Hee is the meritorious cause of our resurrection hee hath deserved that wee should rise Also he is the worker of it and by that same power whereby he rose againe by the same will he raise up us at the last day He is every way the cause of our rising and hereupon we are risen with him As hee was a publick person in his death and as upon the Crosse hee stood in the place of all the elect so as all their sinnes committed or foreseene to be committed were layd upon him and hee bare the iniquitie of us all so after and now he freed himselfe and us by his Resurrection First he freed himselfe of his suretiship our bond was taken up and our debt payd where justice lost not a penny by us So wee were freed in him and for him and therefore he rising wee are to rise with him for what should hold us in the grave now that deaths bands are loosed or shal the head be above water and the members perish in it But further to speake of the Resurrection This Resurrection of Christ is twofold spirituall and corporall spirituall when wee take life from Christ and being quickned by him begin to rise with him corporall when our bodies shall bee raised at the last day When wee beleeve that Christ is dead for our sinnes our sinnes are then in their grave and Christ is

infinite desire to a further and still further taste of his love and of a nearer communion with him And so whether we regard the nature of love which is never satisfied or whether wee consider Christs infinite riches manifest in his truth there must be an in satiable mind of desire in a Christian to bee further filled with and more fully assured of the love of Christ. Where grace is there is a further desire of growing in grace and it is an higher degree of love to desire an enjoying of the presence of Christ then to desire to enjoy heaven it selfe which cannot be yet Therefore here let us try our love by our labouring for that sight of Christ w ch we may have of him in this life below and here lot us desire often and much to see him in his ordinances where hee manifests himselfe in a speciall manner Therefore I say art thou sicke and in prison or so lame of thy limbes that thon canst not come to the assembly and is it therefore thy greatest trouble and the great greefe of thy soule that thou art thus shut out from the presence of Christ and the Angells in his ordinances and from the congregation of the Saints where he by familiar kisses useth to manifest his love to thee and to them and if so it is well But here I cannot but wonder how some persons dare to take upon them the name of Christianitie and yet thinke the men too holy and the course too strict that lookes that way Surely such want the true Character of a right Christian which is to have a further and further desire of the manifestation of Christs love Many of these neglect the ordinances of God or if they come where they may bee had never desire by them a further increase as it were the inward kisses of Christs mouth but content themselves with the outward even the barke of those ordinances When the Spirit should witnesse and seale up this love the love of Christ to their soules by an inward kisse they content themselves with the outward the bare hearing of the word But mark what I say where this further desire of familiaritie with Christ is not there is but a barren soile and soule of a Christian there is no true taste of Christs love for if there were there would be a further desire of growth in that affection There are some that make a faire profession like unto many that marry to cloake their adultery for so such professe Christ to cover their strong covetousnesse and other strong faults that they may have more libertie to commit sin But Christians truly religious must not content themselves with outwardnesse in these kisses but give as the outward man so the sacrifice of the inwaid the soule unto God Let those that finde after such tryall these desires springing up in them comfort themselves in this that they are Christs and that Christ will manifest his love more and more unto them For he hath promised to grant the desires of the righteous Hast thou then a longing desire to have a further taste of the love of Christ Vse the meanes conscionably and then be sure that Christ this Ioseph will open himselfe further and further unto thee and thy soule shall know it This for one use Another is for exhortation and spirituall direction as how wee shall come to a further assurance signe and fruit of this love of Christ. My beloved if we desire it wee must labour to have first chast judgements and secondly chast affections A chast judgement from errour heresie and schisme and affections chast from the world from pleasures and the like for Christ is wonderfull jealous both of our judgements and of our love Therefore Paul desires to present the Corinths a pure Virgin unto Christ. And further as we must affect goodnesse so wee must professe truth wee must have chast judgements as well as chast affections the Spouse of Christ as shee is pure in affections so shee is is pure in judgement shee heares his voyce and followes him Whatsoever comes not from the Word she receives not but rejects it And as her judgement is right set so her affections are pure and holy Now therefore labour for these that is for chast affections Christ will not have us to divide our affections some for him and some for the world or partly for pleasures and partly for him no hee will not have it so for a fire divided hath lesse heat Hee will have the whole heart and the whole of our affections or he will have neither heart nor affection If wee give our hearts to the world or to the pleasures of the world the love of which is enmity with God then have wee an adulterous heart which to doe is a double sinne as it is for a wife to commit whoredome for in her whoredome there is a breach of chastitie and breach of the marriage band And indeed to embrace the world after we are contracted unto Christ what is it lesse then whoredome and a breach of covenant in our spirituall contract with Christ therefore beware of worldly-mindednesse which as glew will tie all thy affections so fast to the earth that thou shalt not be able to lift any to Christ. Take heede of the pleasures of the world least they drowne thy soule in perdition and destruction as the Apostle saith 1 Tim. 6. 9. for many soules hath this Sea covered even of those that have professed with the best and have gone for good Christians But thirdly if wee will grow in the assurance of the love of Christ and have more familiar kisses of his mouth then labour we to get an humble heart by searching out our owne great unworthinesse in respect of what wee are or were by nature Indeed we may disparage our credits by abasing our selves in respect of men but never can wee be too much humbled to our Saviour in acknowledging our selves unworthy of all that wee have There is no danger in debasing our selves to our Saviour nay 't is for our greater honour with God for those that thus honour him hee will honour and grace with his blessings who giveth grace to the humble In such a Spirit he delights to dwell as a man at home Esay 66. 3. Let us with all humilitie then acknowledge all to bee from his free grace and with Iacob that we our selves are lesse then the least of his mercies Againe fourthly if wee will grow in the assurance of the love of Christ let us give Christ no peace nor take any nay of him till hee hath given us the sweet kisses of his love Many times he delayes the manifesting of his love but what though yet waite thou his pleasure he hath waited long upon thee We see Mary Magdalen what a doe shee made when shee could not finde Christ at last he manifested himselfe unto her and called her by her name demanding for