An answer to the discourse of Mr. William Sherlock, touching the knowledge of Christ,…

Touching Faith, which, as the Learned Usher saith, is the Soul of all other Graces, the Scripture teaches us, that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, Eph. 3.17. and that Faith comes, receives, leans on, puts on, feeds on, and, in a word, possesses Christ: In one place, Gal. 2.20. we have both these Bonds together, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, that is, by his Spirit, and I live by the faith of the Son of God; these two Make up the Mystical Union. The Name of this Union is also expressly in Scripture; Fancy did not baptize it, Mystical, but the holy Ghost; This is a great mystery, to be members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones, Eph. 5.30, 32. Nay, The riches of the glory of the mystery, is Christ in us the hope of Glory, Col. 1.27. The ancient Fathers were no strangers to this Union; that of Ignatius, [Greek or Hebrew],¹ points it out to us. In the times of St, Cyprian and Julius Bishop of Rome, the Church, in the Lord's Supper, which is a divine Seal of this Union, ⟨p. 166⟩used over and above to note it out by mixing Water with the Wine: Hence St. Cyprian saith,² Quando in calais vinum aquâ miscetur, Christo populus adunatur, & credentium plebs ei, in quem credidit, copulatur & conjungitur. And Julius saith, Si sit vinum, tantùm, est Christus sine populo; si aqua sola, populus sine Christo. St. Hilary and St. Cyril of Alexandria compare our Union with Christ with that high Union which is between the Father and the Son: St. Cyril upon John tells us, as I have him quoted by the Noble Sadeel, that Christus per fidem ingreditur in nos, & per Spiritum sanctum inhabitat. St. Basil speaks of a [Greek or Hebrew], an intellectual mouth in the inner Man, by which we feed upon Christ the Bread of Life. St. Chrysostom saith,³ that there is [Greek or Hebrew], a Spirit flowing from above, which touches all the Members of Christ. Diximus fratres (saith St. Austin) hoc Dominum commendasse in manducatione carnis suae & potion sanguinis sui,