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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A86160 The heart opened to Christ Jesus. Translated out of High Dutch for the good of all men. 1653 (1653) Wing H1311; Thomason E1287_1; ESTC R208966 25,961 108

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to keep the Word of God Should God through his Son impose us things Impossible What an absurd speech is this Shall a Man think to make the most gracious and most merciful God a Tyrant O abominable Error to the greatest hinderance of the true Birth When Peter gave Christ hindersom and offensive counsel disswading him that he with his suffering should not fulfil the Will of his Father Christ reproved Peter calling his words the speech of Satan saying Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me for thou savorest not the things that be of God but those that be of men Mat. 16.23 Mark 8.33 Even so may a man likewise say to those that rather speak to please and nourish the security of the flesh and quench the Spirit then to help and set forth the Word of God by men and yet notwithstanding will be held and called good Christians therefore saith Christ Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 7.21 but he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven Christ will have his Word kept in deed and not only with opinion tongue or oral faith comparing such a one with a wise man which built his house upon a rock Mat. 7.25 The true faith makes indeed up the house but good works of Love lays the foundation as Christ saith Joh. 14.23 If a man love me he will keep my words which consisteth properly in our life and conversation viz. to walk in his steps even as he hath walked 1 John 2.6 Therefore Christ neither regarded nor required in his followers any prating wit but obedient works of Love and charitable Deeds proceeding from a free heart and he saith further Whosoever will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me Mark 8.34 Neither may any man boast of Christ as if he knew him unless he keepeth his Commandments for otherwise he is a Lyar in whom there is no truth But whosoever keepeth his Word in him verily is the love of God perfected Hereby know we that we are in him 1 Joh. 4.5 Also every one that doth righteousness is born of him 1 Joh. 2.29 Yea he that doth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous 1 Joh. 3.7 Now what want or Impossibility is here Are the Commandments of christ too too grievous Saith not John that the Commandments of Christ are not grievous 1 John 5.3 And Christ himself wisheth us and all others to come freely and confidently unto him and take his yoke upon us being that his yoke is easie and his burden light Matth. 11.30 Now by whom I pray is the truth by Christ or by Antichrist But here lies all the difficulty viz. Antichrist and the Child of this World will not turn in and enter to the Love of God fully and aright leaving the cursed love of the world and of the flesh which hath taken so deep roots in his heart Therefore he had rather make God to be unjust and with the Excuse of Impossibility justifie himself leaving the whole Burden upon the neck of Christ only that he himself may go free and in the security of his wicked spirit and flesh according to his own bestial desire and disposition jump as it were into the Kingdom of God as if he need to do nothing and take no care for his Salvation but only to live freely forth on in pleasures and carnal lust of his Heart proceeding from the false and venomous seed of the wicked Serpent and yet would merit Heaven thereby though he never put on again the Heavenly Image of Christ changing his Bestial and Diabolical Malice into Love But what doth a Men else but shew forth that he hath an abomination to the Childship of God which is in Christ Jesus For St John saith in his 1 Epistle cap. 5.2 By this we know that we love the Children of God when we love God and keep his Commandments for this is the love of God viz. that we keep his Commandments and his Commandments are not grievous To whom therefore Love is hard and grievous he is as yet far from God and his Image being as fast and deep in Lyes Darkness and Death 1 Joh. 2.9 21. and cap. 3.14 Yea he is an Antichrist christ bearing the Mark of the Beast and of the Whore in his Heart and in his forehead Apoc. 19. c. For God Himself is Love and Love is God and he that loveth not knoweth not God 1 Joh. 4.7 Whosoever therefore will be and be called a right true Christian and attain to perfection desiring to be one Spirit with God and obtain his Image again he must make haste and strive to this Gate where the Love of Christ stands open continually and diligently exercising himself therein especially in the inward Image and Likeness of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ esteeming it above all Creatures and then nothing will be hard and grievous for him for what can be grievous to him that rightly loveth Now to learn this aright we must look and consider well what is to be observed in christ CHAP. V. What are those seven thins in Christ which ought to be well and especially considered And how we may attain to the perfection of Love THere are summarily seven principal Points in our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ well and especially to be considered Viz. 1. His wonderous Humiliation and Conception 2. His Birth of a Virgin 3. His whole Life in his Infancy Youth and Mans Age 4. His bitter Passion and Death 5. His Descending into Hell Resurrection Apparition and Clarification 6. His Ascension and Entrance into his Glory again 7. His Glorious Manifestation or Revelation and coming again to Judgment and to his Kingdom In these seven Points all the Mysteries of God are comprehended without which no Man can be a true Teacher in the Church of God and of christ according to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit which are ordained by God to such Ministry although they are not absolutely necessary for every Child of God for it is not Knowledg and Science that saveth and maketh us happy in Christ Jesus but the true Faith being effectual by Love Therefore the knowledg wisdom and understanding of children is one thing and another thing that of the young Men and another thing that of Fathers and old Men for every one hath his own peculiar Gift of Grace of the Spirit of God as Paul teacheth 1 Cor. 14. For it is not a meer Outward Literal or Habitual work of Reason borrowed from the Heathens as now adays is taught in the Schools where the Spirit of God with his true Gifts is extruded and rejected But the Spirit of God and of Christ imparteth in to every one as much as it pleaseth and according as the holy Souls do order and behave themselves in praying aright that they may be fully and fundamentally Partakers of the Divine
be converted to Christ And even this is the Eternal Gospel viz. that God hath loved us in Christ from Eternity and he himself is Love and this is the Evangelium or good tydings which we have heard from him viz. that he hath loved the whole world and therefore given his Son that we might live through him for he is not willing that one should be lost This is the Eternal Commandment and the Tydings which we have heard from him viz. that he is Love it self and hath sent his best Beloved through him commanding us to love one another Hereby we know the Children of God for he that loveth is Born of God let him be according to the outward man a Heathen Turk Jew or Infidel yet by this he is a true Christian and known by the Spirit in his Christianity though according to the letter and the flesh or according to the outward man he be neither baptized nor circumcised nor acknowledged For as the Circumcision in the flesh is not accounted for the right and true Circumcision availing in the sight of God unto Salvation neither the Baptism of and in the flesh nor Faith consisting in a literal and historical knowledg So is neither this true and saving Faith which is according to the literal knowledg and history but according to the Spirit the Power and the Deed which is Love therefore saith the Scripture very well In Christ neither Circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing nor Baptism neither but Faith which worketh and is effectual by Love CHAP. VIII That Love is the true and only means whereby a man may attain the true Christianity SEeing that the Body of Christians is by discord so divided yea wholy rent and turn asunder that there is nothing but Envy Hatred Strife and Contention among them in so much that one Member in hostile manner sets upon the other kills and destroys it whereby the right and true Christianity wholy goes to ruine and Christ himself according to the Prophecy of Daniel seems to be rooted out being here is no unity nor doth Christ find true Faith upon Earth It is plain therefore and manifest that of Necessity they must all return to be of one Mind one Faith and Knowledg one Religion and Worship of God lest the Lord come and smite the Earth with a curse and they all perish together This General and Universal Conversion will not be done by any carnal humane literal mind but by the mind of the Spirit of God which is not Pauls Cephas and Apollos according to the self-willed Imagination of literal and carnal Christians but the mind of Peter Paul and Apollo is the mind of the Spirit of whom they received it Now although Paul planteth Apollo watereth Peter dresseth and cleanseth yet they are not divided though different If therefore the mind of the Sects be also the mind of the Spirit and if they have received it from the Spirit then it is right and good and then they are the children of the Spirit And although one man hath labored more then another and one hath planted Christianity amongst the Heathens another watered it the third cleansed and refined it yet they must not hate one another much less command their Disciples and Followers to kill one another or although they now and then yea for the most part find but false Apostles yea many Wolfs amongst the sheep yet notwithstanding the whole Apostleship and the whole Herd is not to be rejected therefore but rather know this that the Church and Congregation of God is amongst all sorts of people offices sorts and degrees and hath this seal viz. the Lord knoweth who are his and no man else And this is the true mark of Christians viz. Love out of a pure Heart of a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned In every Nation he that feareth God and worketh Righteousness is accepted with him Act. 10. This is the most precious and blessed way to Salvation viz. Love being the chiefest of all graces 1 Cor. 13. Therefore how can the torn Body of the Christians become whole and happy again Verily not otherwise then by Love Here all the great and learned Schollers among all sorts of Sects must lay down their great Wisdom Arts and Sciences and must turn and become Children laying hold on Love otherwise they shall never come to unity nor enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal Salvation Therefore says the Scripture 1 Cor. 1.20 c. Where is the wise where is the Scribe where is the disputer of this world hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world For it is written I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world let him become a fool that he may be wise for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God for it is written He taketh the wise in their own Craftiness And again The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain Therefore woe be to those that pack and heap up so many Articles of Faith and pass over Judgment and the Love of God Luk. 11.42 If we were wise we should know that there is but one Article of Faith that is but one Commandment of Faith which we ought to learn confess and practise viz. Love towards God and All men even towards our very Enemies This is such an Article as all men can beleeve apprehend and understand let them be called Heathens Turks Jews or Christians whether they be children young men or old men man or woman whosoever hath but a rational mind and indeed every man can easily find and know it of himself in his own Heart and Conscience neither can nor dare he contradict it and even in this only thing the whole Law and all Laws and Commandments yea the Gospel it self is comprehended This is called and is also the Everlasting Gospel which shall and must be preached to those that sit and dwell upon the Earth viz. to all Heathens Generations Tongues and Nations and thereby shortly shall all Heathens Jews Turks and unchristian men be converted to God Therefore this only Article is above all others that are forged by humane wit and Imagination It is the first and the last and the only Article which is above all Faith Prophecy Mystery and Knowledg yea above all Treasures and precious things and above all Tongues both of Men and Angels having so sure a ground of truth that it never can be found fault withall much less judged or rejected And it is such a permanency as shall endure for ever and ever All Faith Hope Prophecy Tongues Knowledg c. shall cease But this only Article of all true Christians shall never cease in all Eternity This is our Everlasting Gospel which we do preach This is both our Law and our Gospel which we have received This is our Faith our Prophecy our Wisdom our