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A40444 A vindication of the Unitarians, against a late reverend author on the Trinity Freke, William, 1662-1744. 1687 (1687) Wing F2166; ESTC R15264 34,768 28

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so that tho' there be but One Supream God the Father yet he has constituted the Son and Holy Ghost two Deputies under him calling the Son an Angel in this deputation in the Old Testament And on this Foundation stand those Expressions Let us make Man c. And thus through the Son it is that we are said to have Access by one Spirit to the Father and thus it is that the Holy Ghost and S●tan the E●●l God are in us like two contrary prompting and ruling powers Thus it is that the Son as Governour under the Father of these two lesser Gods administers the Gifts of the One and restrains the temptations of the other whilst they are in a perpetual War in us that is all Mankind at once one helping us the other tempting us one comforting us and the other accusing us one having seven the Number of Perfection attributed to him as likewise has the other And thus you are to understand the Texts of a universal good Angel and a universal evil one and tho' some have thought both Satan and the Holy Ghost rather Names of Orders of Spirits than God-Angels citing for it yet 't is plain by the whole course of Scripture that those places more rationally ought to be understood that those Gods have Principalities and Angels c. which are sometimes employ'd by them in Offices under them If you desire to see this Matter more amply argued you must read Mr. Bidell's Twelve Arguments of the Holy Ghost who when he had made the Holy Ghost so considerable as he did I wonder how he could continue a Socinian longer for the Scriptures so plainly set the Son above the Holy Ghost and tell us That all Power is given to the Son both in Heaven and Earth which he cannot possibly otherwise manage that I admire he did not turn Arrian through-out But to return this Order of God's Administration through the Son and by the Holy Ghost appears more plainly when we consider their gradative Stiles in Scripture and the Apostles Creed thus the Father only is called God in our Creed as only being so the Son called Lord as he only really is so under him 1 Cor. 8. 5 6. and the Holy Ghost or Spirit only stiled Holy in opposition to the Evil One. And thus the Divine Benefits we receive as from the Father are called Love and Operation from the Son Grace and Administration but from the Holy Ghost and lesser Power only Gift and Fellowship 1 Cor. 12. 4 5 6. 2 Cor. 13. 14. and hence it was that all Communication between the Father and Holy Ghost being through the Son Prophecies ceas'd while the Son was Incarnate Next unto these as I have said succeed Principalities Powers and Dominions Now these by their very Names shew themselves to be as lesser Deputies that is as Governours of Provinces and Kingdoms under the Gods of the World the Holy Ghost and Satan and for these and their Offices you may see Dan. 10. 12 13 20 21 12. 1. Acts 16. 9. Lastly As for Angels I need say nothing of them seeing their Names declare their Offices and the Scriptures abound with Examples of their performing them thus an Angel came to the Virgin Mary to Cornelius and several others so that of this enough And if any thing remain it must be to explain the reasonableness of there Hierarchy REFLECTIONS I say therefore when we think to reason of Spirits we must freely allow our selves an open and generous source of Thought for as the Air and much more they are too fine for the gross Casements of our Eyes so if we design duly to examine their Nature we must be able to walk without Sence a little and not think to grope grosly after them as if we would feel them First then I lay it down as a Rule That Spirits are Immortal and have no need of any nourishment nor do nor need we doubt this when we consider even how the Sun has subsisted how his unwearied Rays impair him not and how so many Thousand Years has not exhausted his Source of glowing Fuel 2 ly To this I must add that I cannot but believe that like unto Clouds in the Air they gradually subsist in each other by the proportional Purity of each others Substances nor need this be strange to us for this is evident that God at least exists in all of them and rules them as easily as they by his permission can us and if so what hinders but that he may have Deputy-Gods to do the like under him Nor can it well be otherwise than that they should rule one another thus through their gradual Purity and Inexistency for when we consider that Devils are entirely wicked and are not to be ruled otherwise than through a real force there remains no doubt but that as they are in subjection to one another so it is through such a real force as this that neither Art nor Conspiracy can destroy But yet after all this methinks I hear hear you object that this is difficult to conceive that any Creature should be of so extensive a Power And yet why so Does not the Sun do the same thing in the Sensible and Vegetable World And shall we think as general a power in a Spirit that as easily pierce the thickest Bodies as he does the Air impossible nay or so much as difficult in the rational World But what We know not how it is done no more we know not how God and our own Spirit exist within us To conclude I shall only add that this being once granted there remains no difficulty to imagine how all our Spiritual Actions are perform'd and how we are tempted thus only the Supream God and his Son possibly may see our Thoughts the lesser Gods the Holy Ghost and Satan may only have power of Imagery and prompting us while Potentates and Angels may only have power to rule and converse us But of this enough and I shall now proceed to handle those particular Texts that you and others have cited against us Particular TEXTS John 1. 1. Page 216 you tell us In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God And what Sir can be more agreeable to an Hypothesis than this to ours May I tell you more agreeable than the Trinitarian for here is no mention of a Union of these two but that in the beginning of all Things there was a God which we beheld as the Word on the Earth that Existed with the Supream God that as his Instrument made all things and that coming to his own to redeem them they knew him not And here Sir your Charges against the Socinians not only vanish to Air but turn against you when us'd by the Arrians Now that you may not take our Idea of the Son to be groundless I shall give it you thus from Scripture itsself He is the
I presume this liberty with you Of the SON Consider then I say is it not strange that you should make the Son know things as God and not know them as Man. p. 177 pray after what manner was the God head Incarnate and what kind of Person was this that by a kind of Ventriloquy you make to speak something as Divine when the ordinary Person knows nothing of them himself i p. 270. So what an Answer you have there that the Son was tempted as to his Manhood but not as to his Godhead And pray then where was the Godhead all the while like Baal's asleep or was the Man Christ now and then as it were possessed by Fits Methinks I am asham'd to handle the Absurdities of this Hypothesis they make me giddy when I consider them So in the same Page in Interpreting Mark 13. 32. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man no not the angels that are in heaven neither the Son but the Father Do you not think you wrest and destroy the Scripture Sence and in pretence of saying St. Matthew has not what St. Mark has blemish the clearest Text You had better write down-right St. Mark 's Gospel is not true or that Gradation Man Angel or Son is impertinent and then you would answer something-like as if you defended a Mystery But by the way you must excuse me Sir if for Truth's-sake I am forc'd thus to make such Reflections on your words which tho' they may seem hard yet are necessary and yet not that they belong so much unto you as your Cause which I cannot otherwise set to a full light which I believe you have hitherto embrac'd with too much inadvertency and in following the corrupt Interpretations of the Church with too much Zeal But to return to my purpose Nor will your Evasion of Self-consciousness make God and Man One Person here as you would insinuate pag. 262. for 't is plain God and Man are thus two Persons if they acted together and God commanded the Reason regularly as the Reason does the Sence as you urge pag. 268 9. there might be some pretence for their being One Person but you see plainly the Godhead exerts itsself may be now and then as it lists nay ever and anon as it did at Christ's Crucifixion and Acclamation left the Man by himself and crying out upon the Godhead My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And what Can here be any pretence then that the Godhead suffer'd For shame leave the Blasphemy and for his being conscious to the Man Christ Jesus that that should make him Incarnate is such a shuffle that you had as good say God is personally united to us all because he is conscious to all our thoughts as suppose a Personal Incarnation of God himself in Christ on that account So that all that you alledge of the Incomprehensibility of the Incarnation will not salve your Sores for all that you urge of that kind pag. 264 is but gratis dictum and you ought to have more Truth in your Foundation before you can justifie such profound Mysteries in the Building Of the FATHER So surely hereafter Sir you will be asham'd to see how groundlesly you have made the Person of the Father signifie the whole Trinity as you have done I am perswaded if God should mercifully open your eyes once to a Conviction your own wrested Allegations will settle and six you for ever from wavering What you say pag. 89 and 193. That the Son calls the Father the only true God Quatenus fons Deitatis and that not in opposition to the Persons in Vnion with him but the False Gods pag. 185 186. is so groundless and withal so perverting a Construction of Scripture and meerly on the presumption of your Hypothesis that I wonder how in fair Argument you can use it nay and when in the very Text you cite you have the Father called the only true God in opposition to the Son himself Sir Give me leave to tell you your Church and Self have by Time and Industry given your selves such Methods to blind your selves like the ancient Astronomers with so many Epicicles and blind and precarious Principles in leading your interpreting Scriptures that without singular Courage and Integrity lead you I may say the peculiar Grace of God do it indeed 't is almost impossible to shew you Truth you are so clouded and maz'd from it by your own corrupt Subtleties in defending Error But yet why do I accuse you so far you have already granted one half of what I desire That so many leading Terms as Hypostasis c. are to be blam'd pag. 139. be pleas'd but to move one step further clap Homo ousios among them which you confess is not in Scripture pag. 15 and yield me that our imposing Explanations must at least mud if not corrupt the stream of Truth and you shall see after that that you and I shall never disagree I shall add no more in this place but to shew you how deep you are dipt by your Zeal in this Error that pag. 150 you can tell us We ought not to interpret Scriptures by Reason the Reason you assign us is because we must observe the Propriety of Words and Phrases and the Scope of the Text And what then Sir is not Reason to enquire and rule those You had as good say she has no concern in Language And pray in what has she more But I shall forbear further Reflections INCARNATION I have hitherto shewn you how much you have err'd in your general Interpretation of Scripture I shall now proceed to rectifie your Errors in particulars wherein I shall be the larger that I may comprehend the Objections of the late Dr. S and others on my Subject I shall begin first with the Incarnation Now that I may the better shew the Errors of the Incarnation as in your Hypothesis I shall state it as it lies most natural in mine Know then that tho' I do not violently acknowledge the Son of God to be co-equal to the Father yet I freely grant him to be as Great and Eminent as God could possibly make him Sir I do not imagine a Prosopopeia Incarnate as you suggest p. 227. nor do I make the Godhead carry about and now and then possess a Body as I have shewn your Trinity Hypothesis will necessitate but I suppose the great God and Angel who under the Father fram'd all things to satisfie God's Justice and destroy the Malice of Satan and to redeem his own willingly condescended that through the Power of God his Being might be reduc'd as to a first Semen and so he might live with Purity and suffer under that Trial that no Creature but himself could be able besides to accomplish with any certainty for our Redemption This Sir I conceive is the great Mystery of the Incarnation and this methinks carries some semblance of Rationality for if we from little Semens may hereafter