Selected quad for the lemma: water_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
water_n	baptize_v	eunuch_n	philip_n	3,839	5	10.4025	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30136	A confession of my faith and a reason of my practice, or, With who, and who not, I can hold church-fellowship, or the communion of saints	Bunyan, John, 1628-1688.	1672 (1672)	Wing B5506; ESTC R36326	44,845	152

himself for attempting to make his child a member without it Note again that as it admitteth of none to membership without it so as I said the very act of circumcising them without the addition of another Church act gave them a being of membership with that very Church by whom they were circumcised Exo. 4.24 25 26. But none of this can be said of Baptism First there is none debarred or threatned to be cutoff from the Church if they be not first baptized Secondly neither doth it give to the person baptized a being of membership with this or that Church by whose members he hath been baptized John gathered no particular Church yet was he the first and great baptizer with water he preached Christ to come and baptized with the baptism of repentance and left his Disciples to be gathered by him Acts 19.3 4 5. And to him shall the gathering of the people be Gen 49.10 Besides after Christs ascension Phillip baptized the Eunuch but made him by that no member of any particular Church We onely read that Phillip was caught away from him and that the Eunuch saw him no more but went on his way rejoycing to his Masters and countrey of Ethiopia Acts 8.35.40 Neither was Cornelius made a member of the Church at Jerusalem by his being baptized at Peters commandment at Caesarea Acts 10. chap. 11. Neither were they that were converted at Antioch by them that were scattered from the Church at Jerusalem by their baptism if they were baptized at all joyned to the Church at Jerusalem Acts 11.19 No they were after gathered and imbodyed among themselves by other Church acts Acts 16. What shall I say Into what particular Church was Lydia baptized by Paul or those first converts at Philippi Yea even in the second of the Acts Baptizing and adding to the Church appear to be acts distinct but if Baptism were the initiating ordinance then was he that we Baptized made a member made a member of a particular Church by the very Act of water baptism Neither ought any by Gods ordinance to have Baptized any but with respect to the admitting them by that Act to a being of membership in this particular Church For if it be the initiating ordinance it entereth them into the Church What Church Into a visible Church Now there is no Church visible but that which is particular The Universal being utterly invisible and known to none but God The person then that is baptized stands by that a member of no Church at all neither of the visible nor yet of the invisible A visible Saint he is but not made so by Baptism for he must be a visible Saint before else he ought not to be baptized Acts 8.37 Acts 9.17 Acts 16.33 Take it again Baptism makes thee no member of the Church neither particular nor universall neither doth it make thee a visible Saint It therefore gives thee neither right to nor being of membership at all Quest. But why then were they Baptized Answ. That their own Faith by that figure might be strengthened in the death and resurrection of Christ. And that themselves might see that they have professed themselves dead and buryed and risen with him to newness of life It did not seal to the Church that they were so their satisfaction as to that arose from better arguments but taught the party himself that he ought so to be Farther It confirmed to his own conscience the forgiveness of sins if by unfeigned faith he laid hold upon Jesus Christ. Col. 2.12 Rom. 6.3 4. Gal. 3.26 1 Cor. 15.29 Acts 2.38 Acts 22.16 1 Pet. 3.21 Now then if Baptism be not the initiating ordinance we must seek for entring some other way by some other appointment of Christ unless we will say that without rule without order and without an appointment of Christ we may enter into his visible Kingdom The Church under the Law had their initiating and entering ordinance it must therefore be unless we should think that Moses was more punctual and exact then Christ but that also our Lord hath his entering appointment Now that which by Christ is made the door of enterance into the Church by that we may doubtless enter and seeing Baptism is not that ordinance we ought not to seek to enter thereby but may with good conscience enter without it Quest. But by what rule then would you gather persons into Church-communion Answ. Even by that rule by which they are discovered to the Church to be visible Saints and willing to be gathered into their body and fellowship By that word of God therefore by which their Faith experience and conversation being examined is found Good by that the Church should receive them into fellowship with them Marke Not as they practise things that are circumstantial but as their faith is commended by a word of faith and their conversation by a moral precept Wherefore that is observable that after Paul had declared himself sound of faith he falls down to the body of the Law Receive us saith he we have wronged no man we have corrupted no man we have defrauded no man he saith not I am baptized but I have wronged no man c. 2 Cor. 5.18 19 20 21. chap. 7.2 And if Churches after the confession of faith made more use of the ten commandments to judge of the fitness of persons by they might not exceed by this seeming strictness christian tenderness towards them they receive to communion I will say therefore that by the word of faith and of good works moral duties Gospellized we ought to judge of the fitness of members by by which we ought also to receive them to fellowship Eor he that in these things proveth sound he hath the antitype of circumsion which was before the entering ordinance For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that circumsion which is outward in the flesh But he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. Phil. 3.1.2 3 4. Now a confession of this by word and life makes this inward circumsion visible When you know him therefore to be thus circumcised you ought to admit him to the Lords passover he if any hath a share not onely in Church communion but a visible right to the Kingdom of Heaven Again For the Kingdom of God or our Service to Christ consisteth not in meats or drinks but in righteousness peace and joy in the holy Ghost And he that in these things serveth Christ is accepted of God and approved of men Rom. 14 18. Deut. 23.47 By which word righteousness he meaneth as Iames doth the royal Law the perfect Law which is the moral precept Evangelized or delivered to us by the hand of Christ. James 2.8 9. The Law was given twice on Sinai The last time it was given with a proclamation of grace and mercy of God and of the pardon of sins