Christus in corde, or, The mystical union between Christ and believers considered in its…

Again, Believers give themselves to Christ; their minds are devoted to his holy light; their wills are resigned to his sacred will; their pious posture tells the world, That they are not their own, but his; to give him all is their duty; to keep back the least part from him is no less than sacrilege, because all is consecrated to him. Thus in both the Marriages there is a giving of themselves each to other; yet still there is an excellency on the spiritual side: Man and Wife make over themselves mutually, so as to become one flesh; but Christ and Believers make over themselves mutually, so as to become one spirit. It is the Apostles observation, He that is joined to an harlot is one body; for two (saith he) shall be one flesh: But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit, 1 Cor. 6.16, 17. A communion of bodies is a great thing; but what is it to that union which is between Christ and his Church, in which there is one and the same spirit in both? Man and Wife, however united in love, have two different ⟨p. 56⟩souls; but in Christ and Believers there is but one spirit. I know some Divines interpret this one spirit to be only this, That there is one temper in Christ and Believers; but this, though a very great truth, is not the all, or full Emphasis of the Text. When the Scripture tells us, that the mind of Christ is in us, it may be fairly interpreted of one temper; but when it tells us of one spirit, it must needs import something more high and mysterious. To make this appear, the circumstances of the Text must be considered; the Apostle in this place dehorts them from fornication, not only because it is a sin against our own bodies, vers. 18. but from three other reasons: First, our bodies are the members of Christ, and shall we make them the members of an Harlot? vers. 15. Then we are joined, and one spirit with Christ; and shall we be joined and one flesh with an Harlot, vers. 16, and 17? Lastly, our bodies are the Temples of the Holy Ghost; and shall we profane that Temple by fining against it, vers. 18, and 19? Here it is to be noted, That these three Reasons are fundamentally but this one, viz. That we have the Spirit of Christ in us; this Spirit makes us Members; this Spirit being in us, we are one Spirit with Christ; this Spirit hath a Temple in us; ⟨p. 57⟩therefore upon the account of this Spirit we should fly fornication.