The Scripture Gospel defended, and Christ, grace, and free justification vindicated against the libertines…

In a Political Union Christ as the head, and the Church as the body make one Society as parts constituting the whole. And so whatever is predicated of a part merely as a part, is predicable of both: But that which is predicated of the whole as a whole is properly predicable of neither alone: And that which is predicated of the Head as a head, is not predicable of the body, nor that of the head, which is proper to the body, nor that of one member which is proper to another. But some things by way of Communication may be predicated ⟨p. 27⟩of the whole, for the sake of a part. So the Church is called sinful and imperfect for our sake, though Christ be not so: And it is eminently holy and glorious, because Christ is so; that is, secundum quid.

In a Political Ʋnion Christ as the head, and the Church as the body make one Society as parts constituting the whole. And so whatever is predicated of a part meerly as a part, is predicable of both: But that which is predicated of the whole as a whole is properly predicable of neither alone: And that which is predicated of the Head as a head, is not predicable of the body, nor that of the head, which is proper to the body, nor that of one member which is proper to another. But some things by way of Communication may be predicated ⟨p. 27⟩of the whole, for the sake of a part. So the Church is called sinful and imperfect for our sake, though Christ be not so: And it is eminently holy and glorious, because Christ is so; that is, secundum quid.

But no Union will make us righteous and personally happy by another's righteousness and happiness, unless it were a personal Union, (natural or Legal at least as to Relative rights.) The question then is whether every believer be one person with Christ? And if so, whether one natural person, or one Legal (as a lawful vicarius is.) They that hold the first plead that the same Spirit that is in Christ, is the same divine nature, and maketh us one natural person. But where doth the Scripture say so? The Sun is not one Individual with every Plant that it quickeneth, nor every plant with it. A nettle or rose is not the Sun, nor is it the illuminator of the World that maketh day, &c. But they have so much from the Sun as it communicateth, and no more. So we are not Christ, nor the Eternal and Natural Son of God, nor infinite in Wisdom and Goodness, nor perfectly just and glorified, as Christ is: But we have from Christ so much of the Spirit as he communicateth; And nothing is ours merely because it is his, and we one person with him; but because he Communicateth it to us: What further real Union there will be in our glorious perfection we cannot well know till we are there. But in this imperfection our Union is not such as far as I understand it, as maketh us one natural person with Christ; And surely it doth not make his proper accidents to be our accidents.