Selected quad for the lemma: opinion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
opinion_n	creation_n	glorify_v	plausible_a	12	3	16.4487	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64003	A treatise of Mr. Cottons clearing certaine doubts concerning predestination together with an examination thereof / written by William Twisse ...	Twisse, William, 1578?-1646.	1646 (1646)	Wing T3425; ESTC R11205	234,561	280

and serve them Now marke the reason whereupon the Lord dehorts them from this which the Lord thy God hath distributed to all people under the whole heaven as much as to say God hath made them to doe you service therefore doe not you make them your gods So Pastours and Apostles and Angels are made by God to doe us service therefore set not us make them our gods Thus wee see plainly by All in this place not the world only but the Church of God is signified every one of them being made to doe service unto the Church that is one unto another For are they not all members of one body though some performe more honourable service then others like as in a naturall botly some members are more honourable and for more honourable uses than others Unlesse wee thus understand it wee shall exclude the Apostles out of the Church And when it is said We are Christs this seemeth not to admit the same sense with the former for undoubtedly Christ is as much for our good as any nay more then all the world the Apostles and Angels and all for unto us hee was born unto us hee was given Esa 9. 6. given by the Father Joh. 3. 16. given by himselfe and that for us Tit. 2. 14. Gal. 2. 20. and that to dye for our sinnes and rise againe for our justification Rom. 4. and to redeeme us from all iniquity and to purge us a peculiar people unto himselfe zealous of good works Tit. 2. 14. and that by his bloud 1 Joh. 1. 7. Revel 1. 5. Wee are therefore his not so much in respect of any good wee bring to him but in respect that hee hath bought us And so we are Gods too as Who sent his Son to redeem us unto God his Father Revel 5. 9. Yee are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your bodies and in your spirits for yee are Gods 1 Cor. 6. 20. And Christ is Gods in speciall manner as touching his Godhead the naturall Sonne of God as touching his Manhood assamed into an hypostaticall union with his naturall Sonne in both the Chiefe Servant of God for the work of mediation and redemption for Gods elect given by the Father unto him that he might bestow eternall life upon them Joh. 17. 2. according to the good pleasure of his Father Mar. 10. 40. Thus I have been bold to deliver my judgement touching the Interpretation of this place without consulting any Interpreter onely the native genius of the Text it selfe seemed to afford sufficient light and evidence to discerne the meaning thereof which I willingly submit to the judgement of any It is no part of my meaning to dispute much lesse to determine whether Christ should have been incarnate if Adam had never fallen I conceive it a question no lesse frivolous then curious The purpose of glorifying Christ though it presuppose not the creation or fall of man as making way for such an intention in God yet doth it enforce the creation and fall of Adam as making way for this purpose Nothing usually doth cause more perturbation and hinderance in the inquisition of truth than incommodious expressions The purpose of glorifying Christ say you presupposeth not the creation and fall No marvell for the creation and fall are things temporall but Gods purposes are eternall Again such a purpose you say doth not make way to any such intention This phrase such intention is spoken in reference to the creation and fall as if they were intentions which indeed they are not but rather executions of intentions it should run thus As making way for the intentions of such things in God Purpose and Intention signifying the same it is good to keep our selves in one sentence to the use of one of them lest wee expose our Readers to distraction possibly suspecting they may have different significations Your meaning questionlesse is this Gods intention of glorifying Christ doth not presuppose the intention of creation or fall of Adam And I am of your mind in this But your meaning containes two things more whereof the first is this Gods intention of the creation and fall doth presuppose his intention of glorifying Christ The second is this Gods intention of glorifying Christ doth inferre the intention of creation and fall of Adam As in both these I differ from you so I will endeavour to disprove your opinion in both And first I prove that the intention of glorifying Christ was not before the intention of creation and permission of Adams fall For although this may seeme plausible for as much as thus the glorifying of Christ as it is first in intention so also shall it be most congruously last in execution yet according to this very rule the issue will fall more foule then you are aware of For to begin with the Creation if the glorifying of Christ were before creation then also was it much more before the generation of all mankind but this will appeare to be most untrue by the same rule for if in comparison of the glorifying of Christ with the generation of all mankind the glorifying of Christ was first in intention then accordingly it should bee last in execution which is most untrue for that of the Apostle Heb. 9. 2. Wee see Jesus crowned with glory and honour was delivered above 1500. years agoe and yet the generation of all mankind is not in execution Again if the glorifying of Christ were first in intention then was it the end and the generation of all mankind should be as the meanes tending to the furthering of that end but what I pray doth the generation of a little child of mine tend to the furtherance of the glory of Christ wherewith hee was crowned above 1500. years agoe Come we to the permission of Adams fall I say the glorifying of Christ was not in intention before this though it seems never so plausible in respect of congruity in execution for by reason of incongruity in the very same kind I disprove it thus If the glorifying of Christ were in Gods intention before the permission of Adams fall then much more was it before the permission of other mens sinnes in Gods intention but this is most untrue upon the very same ground For if in comparison between the glorifying of Christ and the permission of all mens sinnes to the end of the world the glorifying of Christ were first in Gods intention then should it be last in execution which is most untrue for the glorifying of Christ was accomplished above 1500. years agoe as hath been shewed but the permission of all mens sinnes to the end of the world is not yet in execution Again if the glorifying of Christ were first in intention then should it have rationem finis and the permission of all mens sinnes to the end of the world should be a congruous meanes to that end but to averre this were most unreasonable for what furtherance doth my sinnes this day and

both Junius did endeavour but very obscurely and Piscator hath endeavoured very perspicuously to reduce them into one If he failed therein especially in some one particular his failing rightly observed and discerned may open a way for the discovery of the entire truth But let the issue therof commend it selfe Your phrase of usefull truths I do not like amongst Arminians I often meet with such a course of arguing truth by the usefulnesse of it which is like the giving of the larger coat to him that is bigger because it is fitter for him when in the mean time he had no right unto it And though we can judge aright of a coats fitnesse to a body yet it is a dangerous course for us to presume so farre of our judgements in the usefulnesse of opinions as thereupon to conclude what are true and what are false 1. To choose before the world is to choose before the creation or Adams fall according to your owne exposition formerly mentioned but in this sense your selfe confesseth in the 4. place that Austin and Zanchy doe not concurre with others in this was there no more in Gods intention when he elected some then the manifestation of the riches of his glorious grace Did not God purpose to manifest also the glory of his remunerative justice Is it not undeniable that God will bestow salvation upon all his elect of ripe yeares before their departure out of this world by way of reward and crowne of righteousnesse which God the righteous Judge shall give at that day to all that love his Sonnes appearing It being a righteous thing with God as to recompence tribulation to them that trouble his Children so to his Children that are troubled rest with his Apostles when the Lord Jesus shall shew himselfe from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire rendring vengance c. When he shall come to be glorifyed in his Saints and be made marvellous in all them that beleeve c. It is great pity this is not considered as usually it is not especially for the momentous consequence thereof in my judgement sufficient if I mistake not to have stifled this opinion following touching Reprobation in the first conception of it 2. Touching the Second I have nothing to say for if you have any opinion concerning some benefit that redounds to the Reprobate by the death of Christ it is more then hitherunto you do discover 3. Touching the Third it were to be desired you did expresse whether no lesse powerfull motion would serve to the drawing of them to faith and repentance 4. Likewise touching the Fourth whether this powerfull worke being denyed to any it is possible for such a one to beleeve and repent unto salvation Concerning the order here mentioned though my opinion be that the object of predestination is massa nondum condita yet in no moment of nature or reason was the decree of God concerning Christs incarnation and our salvation by him before the decree of creation and of permission of Adams fall and consequently Election unto Salvation had the consideration of massa corrupta concomitant with it though not precedent only the consideration of massa nondum condita being antecedentall to all these decrees Likewise in my opinion they doe mistake who take the Synod of Dort to maintaine the consideration of massa corrupta as precedent to Election though they beginne with signifying what God purposed to bring to passe upon the fall of mankind in Adam And Galvin in his answere to Pighius confesseth that the safest course is to treate of predestination upon the consideration of the corrupt masse in Adam As touching what you have delivered touching Election in Christ our head in the first place that I have already examined Our Divines commonly conceive a double act of Reprobation as Bellarmine and others of the Papists doe 1. Negative as they call it a non-election or Reprobation unto which some adde a purpose of forsaking the creature excluding it from glory and from sufficient meanes of grace in Christ 2. Positive ordaining it to condemnation The former they conceive to be absolute as being an act of Gods soveraigne Lordship over the creature without all respect to sinne The latter they conceive as being an act of vindicative justice to presuppose originall sinne at the least and some of them as Bellarmine actuall sinne also whom Paraus in this point seemeth to give way unto 1. To the first of these acts I wholly assent so farre as it resteth in a non-election or preterition of the creature according to the libertie of Gods absolute soveraignety That which is added to it of a purpose of forsaking the creature and to exclude it from glory and from sufficient meanes of grace in Christ before all respect of sinne I want warrant from scripture to condescend unto But this Negative act I would rather expresse in such words as the holy Ghost hath used before me and so distinguish it into two branches That before all respect of good or evill in the creature 1 God did not so love the world I meane the world of mankind distinguished from the elect this is plaine from the Apostles comparison of Jacob and Esau Rom. 9. 11. 12 13. 2. God did not give the world to Christ by him of grace to be brought to salvation as he did the elect for they are not said to be written in the Lambs book of life from the beginning of the world Revel 13. 8 17 18. And indeed all who were given to Christ doe in fulnesse of time come unto him Joh. 6. 37. Gods hatred of Esau before he had done good or evill reacheth to this act also Rom. 9. 13. 2. Touching the positive act which they conceive I wholly agree with them that God ordaineth none to condemnation but upon sinne presupposed Annihilate the creature God may without presupposall of sinne for annihilation is an act of Soveraignetie suteable to creation but condemne it he may not without presupposall of sinne For condemnation is an act of justice and presupposeth a rule of justice transgressed and thereby wrath or just revenge provoked onely this positive act of Gods counsell about the world of mankind severed from the elect upon serious consideration of sundry passages of Scripture I would rather distinguish into a double act 1. Whereby without all respect of good or evill in the men of this world God ordained them unto judgment according to their works Ezech. 33. 20. to judgment I say not of condemnation which presupposeth sinne in the creature to be condemned but judgment I meane of just retribution whereby God is willing to deale with them according to their works in justice justice I say aswell distributive to reward them with life if they continue in obedience as vindicative to punish them to death if they provoke him by carelesse and wilfull disobedience Hitherto even to this act the hatred of God to Esau reached 2. Whereby upon the