Selected quad for the lemma: water_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
water_n	ghost_n	holy_a	spirit_n	10,746	5	5.4766	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94766	Four sermons, preach'd by the right reverend father in God, John Towers, D.D. L. Bishop of Peterburgh. 1. At the funerall of the right honorable, William Earl of Northampton. 2. At the baptism of the right honorable, James Earl of Northampton. 3. Before K. Charles at White-Hall in time of Lent.	Towers, John, d. 1649.	1660 (1660)	Wing T1958; Thomason E1861_2; ESTC R210178	89,836	224

only Author the principal efficient cause of our new Birth The Principal I say for he does not use to worke Regeneration in the heart of any man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Enthusiasts will have it immediately but by such ordinary meanes as he has appointed both for himselfe to offer and for us to apprehend eternal Salvation The means allotted to us in this behalfe who are Receivers is Faith the onely Hand he has given us to reach out and lay hold on and apply unto ourselves the Grace of God offered the merit of Christ with the consequents thereof Forgivenesse of our sins justification and eternal salvation By faith of Jesus Christ the righteousnesse of God is unto all and upon all that believe Rom. 3.22 But then in respect of God who is the Donor the means by which he does usually bestow these Graces upon us and convey them unto us are two his Word his Sacraments Of the efficacy of his Word no Christian doubteth By hearing comes faith Rom. 10.17 and by the hearing of faith is the spirit received Gal. 3.2 And for the Sacraments they have as little reason to trouble themselves and the Church of God with seruples of doubt as if they were but bare signes and no more Do not the Fathers call the Sacraments Verbum visibile a visihle Word Are they not as it were an Epitome of the Gospel Receive they not all their worth and vertue and operation not only from the present Grace but from the ancient Appointment and Ordinance of God and from the Word of God which by Divine as well as Ecclesiasticall Ordination is joyned to the outward Elements But to make it good against them in this one Sacrament which we have now in hand If he and he onely shall be saved in an ordinary course who believes and is baptized Mark 16.16 may we not well reckon Baptism an ordinary means of this salvation If of salvation then also of those other graces which are the way unto it regeneration remission of sins righteousness and renewing of the mind Except a man be born of water and the spirit John 3.5 there 's regeneration by it John Baptist preach'd the Baptism of Repentance for the remission of sins Luk. 3.3 Repent saies S. Peter and be baptized for the remission of sins Act. 2.28 and Arise says Ananias to Paul upon his conversion and be baptized and wash away thy sins Act. 22.16 there 's remission Ye are wash'd saies St. Paul 1 Cor. 5. then presently follows upon that Ye are sanctified ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus v. 11. there be two other graces As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ Gal. 3.27 and having Christ upon us we have his obedience his merits his righteousnesse how shall he not with him also freely give us all things Rom. 8.32 So that as S. James in the case of our regeneration does joyn together the Spirit and the Word which is one of the means he uses to that purpose Of his own will begat he us with the Word of Truth Jam. 1.18 so our Saviour Christ does joyn the Holy Ghost and Baptism which is another effectuall meanes Except a man be born of water and the spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God Joh. 3.5 And S. Paul couples both these means together makes them march hand in hand as equally usefull to sanctification in the Church of God Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctifie it and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word Eph. 5.26 what shall I say more This will I say that A cause therefore we need not fear to call it of our regeneration and salvation though not the principall that 's God himselfe yet the instrumentall as we speak in Schools or medium He saved us saies the Apostle God Tit. 3. there 's the principall cause by the washing of regeneration there 's the instrumentall v. 5. We have the steps of all the ancient Fathers of the Church walking in this Track a warrant to us for this confidence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we find it call'd and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a second Birth and a Divine Generation by Dionysius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a being born again by Greg. Nazianz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Bath by which we wash away our sinnes Clem. Alexandr Peccatorum omnium remissionem the forgivenesse of all our sins by S. Ambrose Fons Divinus quo Fideles in Creaturam novam regenerantur by Cassiodorus the Divine Fountain by which the Faithfull are made up into a New Creature and by every one the Door of Heaven the Sacrament of Initiation the first admission into Gods Kingdome Not that all that are baptized are thereby necessarily admitted into the Kingdome of Heaven or that all do receive the Grace of God who receive the Sacrament of his Grace for as not the Bread and Wine in the Eucharist so neither the water in Baptism does contain in it selfe any vital force or efficacy That Grace which is a consequent of the Sacraments it doth accompany them as their end the benefit whereof whoso partakes he receives it from God himselfe the Author of Sacraments and not from any other natural or supernatural quality in them And therefore their manner of necessity to life supernatural is not in all respects as food unto natural life they are not Physical but Moral Instruments of Salvation Duties of Service and Worship which unlesse we perform as the Author of them requireth they are unprofitable Hugo's Rule we acknowledge and follow in this case De Sacr. lib. 1. c. 3 Fideles salutem ex istis elementis non quaerunt etiamsi in istis quaerunt though we seek for salvation in Baptism yet not from Baptism but from God for this is the instrument of God to that end and purpose a Moral Instrument the use whereof is in our hand the effect in his for the use we have his express command for the effect his conditional promise so that without our obedience to the one there is of the other no apparent assurance whereas on the other side where the signes and Sacraments of his Grace are not either omitted through contempt or received with contempt we are not to doubt but that they really give what they promise and are what they signifie The same is true here which Solomons Wisdome observeth in the Brazen Serpent He that turned himselfe to it was not healed by the thing he saw but by thee O Saviour of all Wisd 16.7 The necessity therefore that Ispake of for the comming to Christ this way for our being renewed by this second Birth I hope appeareth which necessity notwithstanding we do not preach unto you to be so absolute as if God had never another door into Heaven as if he had so tied his saving Grace to this means as without it 't were impossible to be attained by any this is

thy trust thy hope in the Lord Let none by their impatience to bear a lesse misery rid themselves into a greater whoever he be that can speak with that Emphasis I am the man that have seen affliction Lam. 3.1 and does therefore with Job abandon the day of his birth Job 3.3 and importune for the hour of death would this man have death be good unto him and save him O then let him apply the counsel of the 26. verse as a remedy against the complaint of the first It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Well Non omnes post obitum the last part remains yet to be handled no man can obtain true blessednesse till he leaves this world that we have done with nor then all men but morientes in Domino they who so cease to live as that they die in the Lord these are they who are blessed Beza renders it propter Dominum who die for the Lord who in their fervent love to him lay down their life for his sake as his Son did for theirs and lose it or rather give it or rather yet sell it in his quarrel and for the defence of his truth true this but not all for thus to expound it ties this promised blessednesse onely upon the Martyrs of God those valiant and faithfull Servants of his as if his many many promises to the faithfull became void if they were not valiant too or though valiant if they had not a cruel occasion to trie their valour who patiently underwent the torments of a violent death at the hands of persecutors for the witnesse-bearing to the truth of his Gospel These no doubt are blessed in Heaven He that loses his life for my sake shall finde it Matth. 10.39 blessed with a double crown both as they regarded the glory of God and the good of their Christian brethren by their example of constancy the bloud of the Martyrs having ever been the seed of the Church and that which is fire to their flesh and bones water to the Gospel to make it slourish a good confession witnessed before the wicked Tyrants of the world doth good service to God and his truth so it fell out in that martyrdome of S. Paul which he suffered in his life time for they are Martyrs too which for Gods cause stoutly endure any kind of misery besides death and yet to humour some rigid Interpreters who will not be brought to allow of a living Martyr let us for once call every affliction a death too not onely by the example of Pharaoh who persecuted the Church of God Take away this death Exod. 10.17 but especially by that of S. Paul who in this afflicted sense suffered many yea dayly deaths for the Church he was in deaths often 2 Cor. 11.23 he did die dayly 1 Cor. 15.31 The things which bappened unto him in his persecution at Rome they fell out unto the furtherance of the Gospel insomuch that many of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident by his bonds were much imboldned to speak the word without fear Phil. 1.12 14. This is it that has made many of Gods righteous servants not sparing of themselves that Christ might be magnified in their bodies whether it be by life or by death by life I say and S. Paul sayes so too as well as by death v. 20. and that they might be blessed after this life and death as those Martyrs the Apostle speaks of Heb. 11.35 who were tortured and cared not to be delivered that they might obtain a better resurrection But we must not restrain this blessednesse to those only who thus die for the Lord since the Lord bestows this crown of blisse upon them also who are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so the Text who die in the Lord. If we will know what this is Mori in Domino to die in the Lord and who they be that so do we must first understand what it is to be in the Lord while we live for even then this happinesse begins in us when we begin to be in Christ There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Rom. 8.1 If no condemnation then no wrath of God if not that then Grace and Love and Favour and consequently salvation and eternal life Man is no indifferent thing to his Maker if he does not hate he loves nay the very earth upon which Man is God does either blesse it with encrease or curse it with barrennesse and the Lord of the earth under the Lord of Heaven Man much more and no lesse than this is the effect of Gods love to Mankinde God so loved the World John 3.16 So how even to everlasting life v. the same Now what it is thus uncondemnedly to be in Christ we have it explained John 3.18 He that believes on him is not condemned so in the verse before Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish 16. Not be condemned not perish what them he shall have life everlasting that 's the effect of Gods love that 's the consequent of Gods not condeming So then to be in Christ is to be in the love of God and faith of Christ to cleave unto him and rely upon him then are we by his Holy Spirit ingrafted into him made his members spiritually joyn'd unto him and live in him There is a general conjunction which all men living have with the Son of God in that he took upon him our humane nature not the flesh of man but of mankinde Forasmuch as the Children are partakers of flesh and bloud he also himselfe likewise took part of the same Heb. 2.14 But this conjunction which is so general with all men does not therefore make all men to be in him we are thus conjoyned with him as I may say only in regard of the matter and to say sooth all this notwithstanding there is a great disjunction betwixt him and us and the nature of men as of men does much differ from that nature which the Son of God took upon him that Humane Nature of his now with him in Heaven is of it selfe immortal without spot or stain free from all sin adorned with all holinesse and purity and the fulnesse of all excellent graces ours is impure and unholy and wofully subject to corruption because miserably defiled with sin we are conceived in sin Psa 51.5 saies holy David we are by nature the sons of wrath saies S. Paul Ephes 2.3 our natural our first birth in the flesh separates us from him keeps us out of him but our second our spiritual birth our regeneration when we are born again Joh. 3.5 of water and the spirit when we are indued with the spirit of Christ to believe in him to live according to the direction of his Holy Spirit then is our nature so repaired so renewed that we come near to his nature we are thereby conformed to the image of the Son of God