The Communion of Saints, Chapter 6
CHAPTER. VI.
HOw holines is given vntounto God and Christ, and how vntounto creatures.
HOlynes is ascribed vntounto God in the word, both by *Isa. 6. 3. Psal. 99. 3. 5. 9. Rev. 4. 8.Angels & men, in two respects; 1. Because he in himself is sanctitie and puritie it self; and it is vnpossible that in him should be any evill syn, or vncleannes. He ‡1 Iohn. 1. 5.is light, & darknes in him there is not any; he †Psal. 5. 4.delighteth not wickednes, neyther shal evil soiourn with him he cānot so much as be ‡Iam. 1. 13.tempted with evil; therefore is hee sequestred from this synfull world, and heaven is the ”Isa. 63. 15.habitation of his holines. 2. Againe because he is the onelyonly author and effecter of all holines & sanctimonie in whomsoever; †Lev. 20. 8. Iohn. 17. 17. Iude. vers. 1.sanctifying vsus his people, & giving his Sabbath for a ‖Ezek. 20. 1…signe hereof; & *Deut. …6. 18. 19.advancing vsus hereby, above all nations which he hath made; this being one of his principall ‡Deut. 28. 2. 9.blessings. He giveth holines to all things about him, to the ”Psal. 20. 6.heavens, and to earthly places where hee vouchethsafe †Exod. 3. 5. Psal. 48. 1. Neh. 11. 1. 18 Rev. 21. 2.to appear or remayn. So that ‖1 Sam. 2. 2.none is holy as Iehovah; he is a *Isa. 5. 16.holy God sanctified in iustice, and let ‡Psal. 145. 21.al flesh blesse the name of his holines for ever and ay.
2. Iesus Christ hath holines in his divine nature equal with the Father, and Holy Ghost: and in his manhood hee was holy by ”Luk. 1. 35.byrth; in life also and conversation he shewed all manner holynes †Isa. 53. 9. Iohn. 8. 46. 1 Pet. 2. 22.without syn or spott. For such an high priest it ‖Heb. 7. 26.became vsus to hav, as is holy, harmlesse, vndefiled, and separated from synners. And he giveth *Ephes. 5. 26.holines and purity to his church, for whose sake he ‡Iohn. 17. 19sanctified himself; and is therfore worthily intituled the †Luk. 4. 34. Act. 4. 27.holy one of God, even the *Dan. 9. 24.Holie of holies; vntounto whom the Seraphim doe sing as he sitteth on ye high throne of his glorie within his temple, ‡Isay. 6. 1. 3. with Ioh. 12. 41.Holy holy holy (is) the Lord of hosts.
3. The Angels are spirits holy by nature, so created of God at the first, and hauing kept their original, are stablished by Gods election through Christ their *Colos. 2. 10.head, in their holy & happy estate for ever, & therfore carie the title of Angels *1 Tim. 5. 21elect and †Mat. 25. 31. Rev. 14. 10holie. Yet even these heavenly spirits, being compared with God himself, the bottomlesse fountaine of holines; ar as *Iob. 15. 15.impure in his sight & ‡Isa. 6. 2.hide their faces: though through the grace of God by which they ar confirmed, they alwayes doe ‖Mat. 18. 10.behold his face.
4. Holines in men, by nature ther is not any, for they ar ‖Psal. 51. 5. Isa. 64. 6.sinners & vnclean from the wombe; †Eph. 2. 3.children of wrath, and rather to be reputed ‡Iob. 11. 12. & 24. 5. Ier. 51. 17.beasts then men: having lost the holines wherin God at first created them; as †Chap. 2. Sect. 3. 4. &c.before is shewed. But holines is restored againe to men by the Lord; as it is written ‖Lev. 22. 32.I The Lord sanctify you: and againe, †1 Thes. 5. 23.Now the God of peace sanctify you throughout: wherfore he caleth himself, ‖Isa. 43. 15.the Lord our Holy one.
5. This our sanctification, is ascribed vntounto the Father: according to the prayer of Christ ‖Ioh. 17. 17.Sanctify them with thy truth, and in the epistle of ‖Iude. 1. 1.…ude, to them that ar caled and sanctified of God the Father. It is ascribed to the Son ‖Eph. 5. 25. 26.who loved the church and gav himself for it that he might sanctify it, and of God is made vntounto vsus wisdome and justice & *1. Cor. 1. 30.sanctification & redemption; Also to the holy Ghost, as it is written, ‖1. Cor. 6. 11.ye ar washed ye ar sanctified ye ar justified in the name of the Lord Iesus, and by the spirit of our God
6. Our sanctification in Christ is two wayes; First by imputation of that which himself wrought for vsus, when by the wil of God we wer †Heb. 10. 10.sanctified by the offring of his body once; and thus are we ‖Rev. 1. 5.washed from our sins in his blood, and God reconciled vsus to himself, in the body of his flesh through death to make vsus *Colos. 1. 20. 22.Holy and vnblameable, & without fault in his sight. Secōdly, it is by his own gracious work in vsus ‖Mat. 3. 11.baptising vsus with the holy spirit into his †Rom. 6. 3. 4. 5▪death, burial & resurrection; that our ‖vers. 6.old man being crucified with him, the bodie of sin might be destroyed, & henceforth we should not serv sin, but ‖vers. 19.give our members servants vntounto righteousnes in holynes: and so †vers. 22.being freed from sin, and made servants vntounto God, may have our fruit in holines, and the end everlasting life. Both which wayes of our sanctification, vvere shadowed out vntounto Israel by blood and by oile.
7. For when the body of that church was purged once a year; the †Lev. 16. 15.blood of the syn offring was sprinkled in the inmost holy place of the Sanctuary and vponupon *vers 1….the altar without, to ‖vers. 16. 19.…ense and sanctify them from the sin and vncleannes of the sons of Israel. When the priests were consecrate the ‖Exod. 29. 20 21. Lev. 8. 23 24. 30.blood of their sacrifice was put vponupon their right eares, thumbs, & toes; and sprinckled vponupon their bodies and garments, that so they might be sanctified: even as before at the making of the covenant, the people had bē *Exod. 24. 8sprinckled with blood. The holy Ghost thereby signifiing, how by ‡Heb. 9. 13. 14. 22. &c.the blood of Christ much more, our cōsciences should be purged; and therefore caleth it the Heb. 10. 29.blood of the testament wherwith we are sanctified.
8. The precious oynting oyle, †Exod. 30. 23 &c.made of principall spices, and called ‖vers. 32.holie, did hallow and sanctifie the *Exod. 40. 9.Tabernacle and al therin, the ‡vers. 10.brazen alter and all his instruments; the ‖vers. 11.Laver and his foot; the †vers. 13. 15.Priests & their garments, on whom it was ‖Lev. 8. 30. Exod. 29▪ 21sprinckled together with the blood of their consecraion, for their sanctification; and figured out the graces of the Isa. 61. ….Spirit, and †1 Iohn. 2. 2…. 2 Cor. 1. 21.oyntment that wee have from him that is holy; that ‖Rom. 8. 9. 10Christ and his spirit being in vsus, the body may be dead because of syn, and the Spirit life for righteousnes sake; whiles the *1 Iohn. 2. 27.anoynting that we have received dwelleth in vsus, & Christ as a ‡Song. 1. 1….bundle of myrrh lodgeth betweene our brests. Thus are we made an acceptable sacrifice vntounto God, Rom. 15. 16.beeing sanctified by the holy Ghost.
9. The outward means which God vseth, for our sanctification, is his truth or word, as it is written, †Iob. 17. 17.Sanctifie them with thy truth, thy Word is truth. By this word ‖Rom. 10. 17.fayth is wrought in vsus, which fayth *Act. 15. 9.purifieth the hart, ‡Act. 26. 18.sanctifieth the beleevers, and causeth them to †Isa. 8. 13.sanctify the Lord, (as ‖Num. 20. 1…vnbeleef maketh men that they sanctify him not;) and therfore is worthily caled the *Iude. ver. 20most holy faith. The ‡Ephes. 5. 26. Act 22. 16. Mat. 26. 28.seals of the covenant, do also confirm and help forward our faith and sanctification; yea even the chastisements of God vponupon vsus, have this vse & end, †Heb. 12. 10.that we might be partakers of his holines. And we by prayer obteyn at Gods hand, as other blessings, so this ‖2 Chron. 30. 17. 18. 19. 20 1 Tim. 4. 5.sanctification both of our selves and of al his creatures to our vse. Finally, this grace is conveyghed *Rom. 12. 1. 1 Pet. 1. 2. 1 Cor. 7. 34.both into our bodies & into our spirits even into the whol man ‡1 Thes. 5. 23throughout; so great is †Isa. 12. 6.the Holy-one of Israel in the mids of vsus.