A20752:920
The Christian warfare wherein is first generally showed the malice, power and politic stratagems…The Christian warfare wherein is first generally shewed the malice, power and politike stratagems…
The Christian warfare wherein is first generally showed the malice, power and politic stratagems of the spiritual enemies of our salvation, Satan and his assistants the world and the flesh, with the means also whereby the Christian may withstand and defeat them : and afterwards more specially their particular temptations, against the several causes and means of our salvation, whereby on the one side they allure us to security and presumption, and on the other side, draw us to doubting and desperation, are expressed and answered : written especially for their sakes who are exercised in the spiritual conflict of temptations, and are afflicted in conscience in the sight and sense of their sins / by I. Downame ...The Christian warfare wherein is first generally shewed the malice, power and politike stratagems of the spirituall ennemies of our saluation, Sathan and his assistants the world and the flesh, with the meanes also whereby the Christian may vvithstand and defeate them : and afterwards more speciallie their particvlar temptatiions, against the seuerall causes and meanes of our saluation, whereby on the one side they allure vs to security and presumption, and on the other side, draw vs to doubting and desperation, are expressed and answered : written especially for their sakes who are exercised in the spirituall conflict of temptations, and are afflicted in conscience in the sight and sense of their sinnes / by I. Dovvname ...
London: printed for Cuthbert Burby, 1604
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
1Secondly the faithful are united unto Christ in a more near union, for he is there head and they his members, as appeareth Ephe. 5 23.30. he is the true vine and we the branches, as himself speaketh John 15 1. he is the fruitful Olive tree, we the sciences which are grafted into him. as it is Rom. 11. he is the foundation, we the building, as the apostle affirmeth Ephe. 2.20.21. by reason of which near union, it cometh to pass that those things which appertain unto Christ belong unto us, and ours unto him, for as the head deriveth sense and motion unto the members; and as the Olive tree and vine do communicate their virtue, fatness, and sap unto their branches and sciences, by which they live and bring forth fruit, and as the foundation doth sustain and uphold all the building; so doth our Saviour Christ our head, root, and foundation communicate unto us his members and branches, the virtue of his merits and the juice and sap of his precious blood, whereby we are quickened and revived who were dead in trespasses, our sins washed away and purged and we made fruitful in all righteousness and holiness, as in that his imputed righteousness whereby we are justified before God, and that inherent righteousness begun in us by his holy spirit, whereby we are justified before men. And as he hath bestowed and communicated unto us his righteousness, death and obedience, so hath he taken upon him from us all our sins original and actual, of commission and omission, and in his own person hath suffered all that punishment, which we by them had deserved, so as now he having taken upon him our sins, and endued us with his righteousness, merit, and obedience, we need not to fear the exact rigour of Gods justice, for by him and in him we are without sin, pure and ⟨p. 459⟩undefiled, and perfectly righteous in Gods sight. Neither shall we need to fear the violence of all our spiritual enemies, for our head Jesus Christ is God almighty, and therefore none shall be able to pluck us out of his hands against his will, and we are as dear unto him as the members of his body, and therefore look how loath any careful head would be to have any of the members pulled from it by force and violence, so loath and unwilling will our Saviour and head be, to have any of his members plucked from him.