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	jesus_n	john_n	3,386	5	6.8394	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47744	Five discourses by the author of The snake in the grass viz. On water baptism, episcopacy, primitive heresie of the Quakers, reflections on the Quakers, a brief account of the Socinian trinity ; to which is added a preface to the whole.; Selections. 1700	Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.	1700 (1700)	Wing L1133; ESTC R1214	55,897	120

is plain that the word Baptism and the word Washing tho' not the same word have yet the self-same meaning 2. It is true that the word Baptism is often taken in a Figurative and Allegorical Sense to mean the INWARD BAPTISM the Washing or Cleansing of the Heart But so is the word Washing also as often as Jer. iv 14. c. And there is scarce a Word in the World but is capable of many Figurative and Allegorical Meanings Thus Circumcision is very often us'd for the Inward Circumcision or Purity of the Heart And Fire is taken to express Love and likewise Anger and many other things But it is a receiv'd Rule for the Interpretation of Scripture and indeed of all other Writings and Words that the plain Literal Meaning is always to be taken where there is no manifest Contradiction or Absurdity in it as when a Man is said to have a Fire burning in his Breast it cannot be meant of the Literal Fire So when we are commanded to Wash or Circumcise our Hearts and the like But on the other hand if any Man will take upon him to understand Words in a Figurative Sense at his own will and pleasure without an apparent Necessity from the Scope and Cohenrence he sets up to Banter and leaves no Certainty in any Words or Expressions in the World Therefore I will conclude this Point of the natural Signification and Etymology of the word Baptize And unless the Quakers can shew an apparent Contradiction or Absurdity to take it in the Literal Signification in this Text Matth. xxviii 19. then it must be meant of the OUTWARD WASHING or BAPTISM because that is the only True and Proper and Literal Signification of the Word And it will be further Demonstrated in the next Section that there can be no Contradiction or Absurdity to take it in a Literal Sense because the Apostles and Others thereunto Commissionated by them did Practise it in the Literal Sense SECT II. I. That CHRIST did Practise Water-Baptism II. That the Apostles did it after Him III. That the Catholick Church have done it after Them I. THat Christ did Practise Water-Baptism It is written John iii. 26. And they came unto John and said unto him Rabbi He that was with thee beyond Jordan to whom thou barest witness Behold the same Baptizeth and all Men come to him That this was Water-Baptism there can be no Doubt because 1. The Baptism with the Holy Ghost was not yet given For that was not given till the Day of Pentecost fifty Days after the Resurrection of Christ as it is Recorded in the Second of the Acts. This Spiritual Baptism was promised John xiv 16 26. xv 26. xvi 7. And the Apostles were commanded to tarry in the City of Jerusalem till it should come upon them Luke xxiv 49. 2. The Quakers allow that John did Baptize with Water and there is no other sort of Baptism here mentioned with which Christ did Baptize and therefore these Baptisms being spoke of both together there can be no Reason to interpret the one to be with Water and the other not It is said John iv 1. The Pharisees heard that Jesus made and baptized more Disciples than John How cou'd the Pharisees hear of it if it was not an Outward and Visible Baptism For as before is said the outward and miraculous Effects of the Baptisms with the Holy Ghost were not then given And since it was an Outward it must be the Water-baptism for there was then no other Obj. But the Quakers start an Objection here That it is said John iv 2. Jesus himself baptized not but his Disciples 1. Ans Tho' Jesus himself baptized not yet it is said in the Verse foregoing that He made and baptized i. e. those whom His Disciples by His Order Baptized For if it had not been done by His Order it cou'd not be said that he had Baptized those whom his Disciples Baptized But because He that doeth a thing by Another is said to do it Himself therefore Christ himself is said to have Baptized those whom his Disciples by his Order did Baptize 2. Ans That Baptizing which Christ is said to have Administred himself John iii. 26. might have been at another Time than that which is mention'd in the 4th Chapter And then the consequence will only be this That at some Times Christ did Baptize Himself and at other Times he left it to his Disciples Tho' as to our Argument it is the same thing whether he did it Himself or commanded his Disciples to do it For either way it is his Baptism his Onely his Disciples did but Administer what he commanded II. As Christ himself did Baptize with Water and his Disciples by his Commandment while he was with them upon Earth so did his Apostles and Others thereunto by them commissionated after his Death and Resurrection by vertue of his Command to them Matth. xxviii 19. after he was risen from the Dead What is said above of the Etymology and true Signification of the word Baptize is of it self sufficient to prove that by Baptism in this Text the outward Baptism with Water is meant especially till the Quakers can shew any Contradiction or Absurdity in having the word taken in the Proper and Literal Sense in this and the other Texts which speak of it And this will be very hard to do since as it is just now proved that Christ did Baptize with Water as well as John And what Absurdity or Contradiction can be alledged that his Apostles shou'd Administer the same sort of Baptism after his Death as he had Practised and Commanded during his Life Nay rather what Reason can be given why they shou'd not be the same since the same word i. e. Baptize is us'd in Both and no new Sense or Acceptation of the word is so much as hinted And therefore to put any new Sense or Acceptation of the word must be wholly Arbitrary and Precarious But as I promis'd I will Demonstrate yet more fully and plainly that the Apostles did Practise the Outward i. e. Water-baptism after CHRIST's Death Acts x. 47. Can any Man forbid Water that these shou'd not be Baptized Acts viii 36. As they Philip and the Eunuch went on their way they came to a certain Water and the Eunuch said See here is Water what doth hinder me to be Baptized And Verse 38. they went both down into the Water both Philip and the Eunuch and he Baptized him And when they were come up out of the WATER c. Acts xxii 16. And now why tarriest thou Arise and be Baptized and Wash away thy sins And to save more Quotations the Quakers do own that the Baptism of the Corinthians mentioned 1 Cor. i. 14. and 17. was Water-baptism Therefore I will conclude this Point as undeniable That the Apostles did practise Water-baptism And the Argument from thence will lie thus The Apostles did practise that Baptism which Christ commanded Matth. xxviii 19.

But the Apostles did practise Water-baptism therefore Water-baptism was that Baptism which Christ commanded Matth. xxviii 19. III. And as the Practise of the Apostles is a most sure Rule whereby to understand the meaning of that Command which they put in execution so the Practise of those who immediately succeeded the Apostles who were Cotemporaries with them and learn'd the Faith from their Mouths is as certain a Rule to know what the Practise and what the Sense of the Apostles were And thus the Practise of the present Age in the Administration of Water-baptism is an undeniable Evidence that this was the Practise of the last Age the same Persons being many of them alive in both the last and the present Age. For one Age does not go off the World all at once and another succeed all of perfect Age together but there are old Men of the last Age and young Men and Children growing up to another Age all alive upon the Earth the same time and Mankind being dispersed into far distant Countries and Climates who know not of one another nor hold any Correspondence It is by these means morally impossible for any Man or Men to deceive us in what has been the Vniversal and Receiv'd Practise of the last Age to which the present Age is so linked that it is even a part of it I say it is impossible for all the Fathers of the World to be suppos'd willing or if they were to be capable of imposing upon all younger than themselves namely That they had been all Baptized and that this was an universal receiv'd Custom and of which Registers were always kept in every Parish of all who had been from time to time Baptized and that such Registers were publick and to be recurr'd to by all that had a mind to it Every Man's reason will tell him that it is utterly impossible for such a thing to pass upon Mankind And as certainly as the present Age is thus assur'd of the Practise of the last Age in a Thing of so publick and universal a nature so certainly and by the same Rules must the last Age know the Practise of the Age before that and so backward all the way to the first Institution to the Age of Christ and the Apostles The publick nature of this Water-baptism as now practised being an outward matter of Fact of which Men's outward Senses their Eyes and Ears are Judges not like Matters of Opinion which sort of Tares may be privately sown and long time propagated without any remarkable Discovery and to this so publick matter of Fact adding the universal Practise of it through all the far distant Nations of Christianity I say these two Marks make it impossible for the World to be impos'd upon nor was it ever or ever can be impos'd upon in any such publick Matter of Fact so universally practised All this makes it undeniably plain That the last Age did practise the same outward Water-baptism which is practis'd in this Age and that the same was as certainly practis'd in the Age before the last Age and by the same Rule in the Age before that and so onward as abovesaid to the Age of the Apostles I have made more Words of this than needed but I wou'd render it exceeding plain considering with whom I have to do And I beseech them to consider That all the Authority which they have to Over-ballance all these Demonstrations is the mad Enthusiasm of a Lay-Apostle George Fox a Mechanick so Illiterate that he was hardly Master of Common Sense nor cou'd write English or any other Language and started up amongst us in the Year 1650 the Age of Schism and Rebellion and Damn'd as Apostates all Ages since the Apostles In all of which no One cou'd be found before G. Fox to bear their Testimony against this Water-baptism tho' it was constantly and universally practised and that Christians were then so Zealous as to contend against the least Variation or Corruption of the Faith even unto Death and the most cruel sort of Martyrdom Can any Man imagin that if Water-baptism were a Human Invention or Superstitiously either Continu'd or Obtruded upon the Church no One shou'd be found for 1650 Years to open his Mouth against it when Thousands sacrific'd their Lives for Matters of much less Importance But I have over-labour'd this Point to any Man who will give himself leave to make use of his Reason Therefore I will proceed to the next Section SECT III. That Baptism must be Outward and Visible because it is an Ordinance appointed whereby to Initiate Men into an Outward and Visibly Society which is the Church THere goes no more towards the proving of this than to shew First That the Church is an Outward and Visible Society 2dly That Baptism was appointed and us'd for Initiating or Admitting Men into the Church First That the Church is an Outward and Visible Society Our Saviour calls it A City that is set on a Hill Matth. v. 14. The Quakers themselves are an Outward and Visible Society and so are all those who bear the Name of Churches upon Earth They cou'd not otherwise be Churches For that implies a Society of People and every Society in the World is an Outward and Visible Thing And as it is so has an Outward and Visible Form of admitting Men into it For otherwise it wou'd not be known who are Members of it Every Society is Exclusive of all others who are not of that Society otherwise it cou'd not be a Society For that supposes the Men of that Society to be thereby distingushed from other Men And that supposes as much that there must be some Outward and Visible Form whereby to Initiate Men and intitle them to be Members of such a Society otherwise it cou'd not be known who were Members of it and who were not and it wou'd thereby ipso facto cease to be a Society for it cou'd not then be distinguish'd from the rest of Mankind as a River is lost in the Sea because it is no longer distinguished from it but goes to make up a part of it From hence it appears that the Church being an Outward and Visible Society must have some Outward and Visible Form to Initiate Men and make them Members of that Society 2dly That Baptism was that Outward Form All the several Baptisms that were before Christ's were all meant for Initiating Forms The Jews had a Custom long before Christ to Initiate the Proselites or Converts to their Religion not only by Circumcision but by Baptizing or Washing them with Water The same was the meaning of John's Baptism to make Men his Disciples And the same was the meaning of Christ's Baptism to initiate Men into the Christian Religion and make them Disciples of Christ. Hence Baptizing Men and making them Disciples mean the same thing Thus John iv 1. it is said That Jesus made and baptized more Disciples than John That is he baptized them Disciples which

baptize cou'd not be the Baptism of John Tho' it be said John iv 2. That Jesus himself baptized not but his Disciples For so the Apostles and other Ministers of Christ have baptized more into the Faith of Christ than Christ himself has done Yet here is no ground of Jealousie or Rivalship to Christ because the Administration of Christ's Baptism is all to the Honour and Glory of Christ And therefore Christ's baptizing more Disciples than John cou'd be no Lessning of John but rather a Magnifying of him so much the more if Christ had baptized with John's Baptism 3dly When John's Disciples had told him of Christ's out-rivalling him by baptizing more than he John answer'd He must increase but I must decrease John iii. 30. But if CHRIST did baptize with the Baptism of John then John still increased and CHRIST decreased For 4thly He is greater who institutes a Baptism than those who only administer a Baptism of another's appointment Therefore if Christ did baptize with the Baptism of John it argues John to be greater than Christ and Christ to be but a Minister of John 5thly All the Jews who had been baptized with the Baptism of John did not turn Christians therefore John's Baptism was not the Christian-baptism 6thly Those of John's Disciples who turn'd Christians were baptized over again in the Name of Christ of which there is a remarkable Instance Acts xix to v. 7.20 But the same Baptism was never repeated as is shewn above Sect. III. Numb iii. therefore the Baptism which the Apostles did administer was not John's Baptism 7thly The Form of the Baptism which Christ commanded Matth. xxviii 19. was In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost But that was not the Form of John's Baptism Therefore that was not John's Baptism See what is before said Sect. V. Numb ii of the Difference of Baptisms as to the Author the Form and the End of each Baptism And in all these Respects it is made apparent that the Baptism which was practis'd by Christ and the Apostles was not the Baptism of John To all these clear Arguments the Quakers without answering to any of them do still insist That the Water-baptism which the Apostles did administer was no other than John's Baptism That they had no Command for it only did it in Compliance with the Jews as Paul circumcis'd Timothy Acts xvi 3. And purify'd himself in the Temple Acts xxi 21 to 27. But this is all Gratis Dictum here is not one word of Proof And they might as well say That the Apostles PREACHING was only in Compliance with the Jews and that it was the same with John's PREACHING for their Commissions to Teach and to Baptize were both given in the same Breath Matth. xxviii 19. Go ye TEACH all Nations BAPTIZING them c. Now why the Teaching here shou'd be Christ's and Baptizing only John's the Quakers are desir'd to give some other Reason besides their own Arbitrary Interpretations before which no Text in the Bible or any other Writing can stand Besides I wou'd inform them That the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this Text which we Translate Teach signifies to make Disciples so that the literal and more proper reading of that Text is Go and Disciple all Nations or make Disciples of them baptizing them c. If it be ask'd Why we shou'd Translate the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matth. xxviii 19. by the Word Teach if it means to Disciple a Man or make him a Disciple I Answer That Teaching was the Method whereby to Perswade a Man to Convert him so as to make a Disciple of him But the Form of Admitting him into the Church and actually to make him a Disciple to give him the Privileges and Benefits of a Disciple was by Baptism Now the Apostles being sent to Teach Men in order to make them Disciples therefore instead of Go Disciple Men we Translate it Go Teach as being a more Familiar Word and better understood in English Tho' if both the Greek words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this Text were Translated Literally it would obviate these Quaker-Objections more plainly For then the Words wou'd run thus Go and Admit all Nations to to be my Disciples by Washing them with Water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you Here the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Teaching is plainiy distinguished from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to Disciple them tho' our English renders them both by the Word Teaching and makes a Tautology Go Teach all Nations Teaching them But as a Child is Admitted into a School before it be Taught So Children may be Admitted into the Pale of the Church and be made Disciples by Baptism before they are Taught Which shews the meaning of these two Words i. e. Discipling and Teaching to be different Because tho' in Persons Adult Teaching must go before Discipling yet in Children who are within the Covenant as of the Law to be Admitted at Eight Days old by Circumcision so under the Gospel by Baptism Discipling goes before Teaching And that Discipling is only by Baptism But to return The Quakers are so hard put to it when they are press'd with that Text Acts x. 47. Can any forbid Water c That they are forced to make a Suppose without any ground or appearance of Truth That these Words were an Answer to a Question And that the Question was Whether they might not be Baptized with John's Baptism And that this proceeded from a Fondness the Jews had to John's Baptism And that the Apostle Peter only Comply'd with them out of Condescension as Paul Circumcis'd Timothy Answ 1. Cornelius and those whom Peter Baptized Acts x. were Gentiles and not Jews They were Romans and therefore cannot be supposed to have had any Longing after John's Baptism none of them having ever own'd it or having been Baptized with it 2. The Gentile Converts to Christianity refus'd to submit to the Jewish Circumcision or any of their Law Acts xv And therefore it is not to be imagin'd that they wou'd be fond of any of the Baptisms which were us'd among the Jews 3. Even all the Jews themselves no not the Chief and Principal of them neither the Pharisees nor Lawyers did submit to John's Baptism Luke vii 30. 4. The Ethiopian Eunuch requested Baptism from Philip Acts viii And it cannot be suppos'd that the Ethiopians had more knowledge of John's Baptism or regard for it than the Romans or great part of the Jews themselves 5. There is no ground to suppose that St. Peter's words Can any Man forbid Water c. were an Answer to any Question that was ask'd him The most forcible Affirmation being often express'd by way of Question Can any Man forbid Water That is No Man can forbid it