302. SERMONS upon Serm.31. the Manhood of Chrift, as they went, into the holy Place by the Vail. And then a whole Chri(tian is united to Chrift, Body and Soul. The Soul is united unto him, be- caufe it receiveth Influences of Grace ; and the Body alfo is taken in : Therefore the Apojile difputeth againt Fornication, becaufe the Body is a Member of Chrift, r Cor. 6. 15. Shall I then take the Members ofChri, fi,and make them the Members of an Harlot ? God f rbid ! It is a kind of difinembring and plucking a Limb from Chrift, you defile Chrilt's Body, the Difgrace redounds to him. And hereupon eltewhere doth the ..?pofrle prove the R efiirre&ion by virtue of our Union with Chrift, Aom. 8. ro, t r. ifChrifi be in you, the Body is dead, becaufe of Sin ; but the Spirit is Life, becaufe of Righteeufnefs. Bet if the Spirit of him, that railed up Jefus from the Dead, dwell in you, he that rail d op Chriji from the De:rd, fhall alto quicken your mortal Bodies by his Spirit, that dwelleth in yon. You may die, but you (hall not be brought to nought, becaufe the Body hath a Princi- ple of Life in it ; it is a Part of Chrift, and he will lofe nothing : John 6.39. And this is the Father's Will, which fens me, that of all which he kath given me, 1fhould lofe nothing, but Amid raifi it op again at the laß Day. As Plants live in the Root, though the Leaves fade, and in Winter they appear not : fo doth the Body live in Chrift. So that it is a Ground of Hope, and a Motive to Stri &nets, that you may not wrong a Member of Chrifr, nor feek to pluck a Joint from his Body. (4.) The mariner of this Union. It is fecret and myfterious: µd7« µvs os, Eph. 5.2 2. This k a great Nay fiery, not only a Myjlery, but a great Myftery ; beet I (f eak con- cerning Chrift and the Cbnrch. It is a part of our Portion in Heaven to underftand it ; John t 4.20. ,fit that Day ye Pali know, that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.. When we are more like God, we (hall know what it is to be united to God through Chrift. Here Believers feel it, rather than underftand it, and it is our.Duty rather to get an intereft in it, than fubtily to difpute about it. (5.) Though it be fecret and myftical, yet it is real ; becaufe a Thing is fpiritual, it Both not ceafe to be real : thefe are not Words, or poor empty Notions only, that we are united to Chrift, but they imply a real Truth. Why Ihould the Holy Gholt ufe fo many Terms, of being planted into Chrift ? Rom. 6. 5. For if we have been planted toge- ther in the likenefs of his Death, we (hall be alfa in thelikenefa of his Refnrreclion : of being joined to Chrift ? r Cor. 6. 17. He that is joined to the Lord, is one Spirit : of being made Partakers of Chrift ? Hebr. 3. 14. For we are made Partaker: of Chrift, if we hold the be- ginning ofour Confidence fiedfail to the end: Do thefe Terms only imply a Relation be- tween us and Chrift ? No, then the Emphals of the Words is loft. What great My- fiery in all this ? why is this Myflery fo often fpoken of? Chrift is not only ours, but he is in us, and we in lñm. God is ours, and we dwell in God. t John 4. t3. Hereby know we, that we dwell in him, and he in no, becauf he hath given us of his Spirit. And verfe 15. Whofoever find confefs, that jefus io the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and be in God. It is reprelènted by Similitudes, that imply a real Union, as well as a Relative, by Head and Members, Root and Branches, as well as by Marriage, where Man and Wife are made one Fleth. It is compared here with the Myllery of the Trinity, and the Unity of the Divine Perlons, though not &tteepiüs. It is not a Notion of Scripture, but a Thing wrought by the Spirit. r Cor. 2. 13. Which Things aifo we peak, &c. It worketh a Pretence, and conveyeth real Influences. (6.) It may be explained as far as our prefent Light will bear, by Analogy to the Union between Head and Members. The Head is united to the Body primarily; and firft of all, by the Soul. Head and Members make but one Body, becaufe they are ani- mated by the fame Soul, and by that means doth the Head communicate Life and Mo- tion to the Body. Betides this there is a fecondary Union, by the Bones, Mufcles, Nerves,. Veins, and other Ligaments of the Body, and upon all thefe by the Skin, all which do conftitute and makeup this natural Union. Jult fo in thisfpiritual and myfli- cal Union, there is a primary Band and Tie, and that is the Spirit of eahrift: rCor. 6. 17. He that is joined to the Lord, is one Spirit; that is, is a &ed by the fame Spirit, by which Chri(i is a&ed, and liveth the fame Life of Grace that Chrift liveth, as if there were but one Soul between them both : The Fulnefs remaineth in Chrift, but we have our (hare; and he that bath not the Spirit of Chrift, isnone of his. But over and above, there is a fecondary Bond and Tie, that knitteth us and Chrift together, which anfwer- eth to the Joints and Arteries, by which the Parts of the Body are united to one ano- ther, and that is Faith, and Love, and Fear, and other Graces of the Spirit, by which the Pretence is kept in the Soul. Thus I have a little opened this Myftery to you. 2. There is an Union of the Members one with another. A little of that. I. The
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