Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	know_v	spirit_n	3,951	5	5.4085	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18915	The discription of a true visible Christian right confortable & profitable for all such as are distressed in sowle about present controversies in the churche. Dravven by He. Cl. but published by occasion (as will appeare in the epistle) by Io. I.	Clapham, Henoch.; Joope, John.	1599 (1599)	STC 5337; ESTC S111143	14,116	32

THE DISCRIPTION OF A TRVE VISIBLE CHRISTIAN RIGHT CONFORTABLE profitable for all such as are distressed in Sowle about present controversies in the Churche DRAVVEN BY He. C● but published by occasion as will appeare in the Epistle by Io. I. Luke 17. 22. And he sayd vnto the disciples the dayes vvil come vvhen ye shall desire to se one of the dayes of the Son of 23. man ye shall not se it Then they shall say to yovv Behold here or behold there but go not thither neither follovve them Math. 24. 25. Beholde I haue tolde yovv before In the Yeare from Christ his incarnation 1599. To the Christian Reader OUr beloued Brother Mr. He. Cl. after no small trauell he finished a booke contayning fully all poynts of Church-cōtroversie specially now turmoylinge our English people Which booke lying in myne house for a season I procured the third chapter of the Booke the whole contaynes about 26. ch to be copied out for myne owne vse what tyme both Mā ād Booke was presently by reason of busines in England to be sundred from me In whose absence as I tooke no small delite in the same chapter so I demed it my duty not knowing when the whole might be published to put it in print for publike vtility If curteous Read thow fynde it comly ād profitable in it self whē thow hast read it thē easily iudge of the whole when all the members knit togither shold presēt it self vnto the as a reasonable body Meane-tyme my desire is of all such faithfull people as to whom the whole or any part of the said booke shall com that if it be in theyr pouwre they will for the edificatiō of me ād others procure the printinge thereof The miserable distractions of the Catholike confused ād scatred Church it requireth such a salue nor knoe I any who of experience is better able to guide distressed sowles in this fore-prophecied tyme of disorder whereyn if it were possible the very Elect should be deceived An age wherein more heed is to be had of rēdinge Wolues clad in sheepish conversation as in skynnes rather then of open Beares Lyons and Leopards sittinge in the midst of the temple and Catholike wheatfeilde I meane the Church And thus desiring the praiers of the faithfull for my happy progresse in the wayes of holynes I leaue the to the gracious government of Christ his Spirit Amsterdam 1599. Amongst Christians the least of a thousande Io. Ioope Uvho is a true visible Christian. IT beinge once knowen who of vs may be adiudged a true visible Christian an easie entrance and firme ground is giuen to the substance off Church disputation And because no factious Spirit may haue an hole to creep out at such a christian must be considered Baptised or Unbaptised In the state of Unbaptisme som true christian may be and such a one I Describe thus 1. Vnto vs such a sowle cōfesseth it beleiueth that Iesus Christ is com in our nature by the holy Ghost his ouershadowinge the blessed Virgin Mary and that for the absolute salvatiō of his people Of which nomber this Sowle confesseth it to be And 2. professeth it self willinge to stand subiect to all the Sauiours Lawes as by the ministry of his worde shalbe revealed vnto it this only for bringing Glory to our Father in heauen More then this for substance cold not be in any to whome our Sauiour his ymmediate disciples preached as anie reading theyr sermons of Conuersion may easily perceiue Nor vpon such bare confession of Faith and Obedience was any sowle debarred Baptisme for it self and the subiect family as may also appeared by Iohn Baptists procedinge and the Apostles Arts. Now Baptisme being as will appeare in his owne Chapter not the exhibiton of Christianity but the seale of Christianity presumed first to exist it so is evident that a true visible Christian may be before Baptisme and that by the former Confession feinge such a one to vs-ward hath by Fayth apprehended Christ ād with Christ how shall he not haue all things also But let me labour breifly to explaine the particulars Vnto vs. The manifestation of a Christian lieth not in the worlds approbation for the world knoes neither God nor his Sons The reason is we haue the spirit that searcheth all things euen the deep things of God but the Naturall man perceiueth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishnes to him neither can he knoe them because they are spiritually discerned Yea though those Naturalls be crep into the Church they shalbe so farre from acknowledging them in truth as oftentymes They shall put them out of theyr Synagogues yea kill thē think they therein do God good service And in sayinge To vs rather thē To me it is because the faithfull theyr approbation it must not depend vpon any one no not on Elijah for euen in Israel there were true visible people to Obadiah who hid them by 50. and 50. in a caue when it may be Elijah demed all slayne by Iesabel So we se the blyndman in Iohns Gospell To be cast out of the Iuish church for an heretick who by and by was found out of Iesus for a Patrone of Christianity Such a sowle confesseth it beleiueth Beleif and Confession is ioyned togither of S. Paul with the heart man beleiueth vnto righteousnes with the mouth mā conf●sseth vnto salvation So the psalmist I beleiued and therfore haue spoken Nor without confession of faith can any of the church take particular knowledge of such that so they may proclame them visible Christians Nay how is it possible that anie now s●old haue true faith in God ād the same be hid from the whole Church Som must haue intelligence thereof except it shold be begottē without the ministrie of mankynd But this the Apostle denieth thus How shall they beleive without a Preacher how shall they preach except they be sent then Faith is by hearing and hearing by the word off GOD concluding hereby 1. that there cannot be faith without hearing 2. that such hearing is tyed to preaching 3 and it must be the word of God preached that only begets true faith 4. that such begetters of true apprehending faith for calling vppon God as a father in Christ Iesus whereof before he spoke they are sent of God and therefore theyr feete or governing affections to be proclamed Beauteous not Antichristian for Ministers sent of Satan or els of God in his wrath vnto Sowles they beget not such true applyinge faith in theyr hearers Now if a Sowle cannot be possessed with faith but it must be by the minister of faith no more then there now can be a childe without a father or an apple without a tre so the spirituall father at least must haue intelligence of such fruite nor can they hide it from the Teacher Consider this in the Eunuch Lidia the Iaylour