The grounds and ends of the baptism of the children of the faithful. Opened…The grounds and ends of the baptisme of the children of the faithfull. Opened…

And therefore Christ mystically considered, is the root here spoken of, which being holy, the branches are also so too.

But here the Major or former Proposition is justly denied. For though Christ himself be a root which the Jews refused, and the Gentiles received, yet he is not that root here intended, whose holiness inferreth and concludeth the conversion of the Jews to holiness. But the Apostle here speaketh of such a root, who being holy, argueth that his branches, (though now broken off) will come on again to holiness; which cannot be argued from the holiness of Christ. For take Christ for the root, and will the Apostles Argument then follow; If Christ be holy, then the Jews (though now broken off) are, or shall be holy also? Is there any soundness in such an inference? If you say, Nay, but all that you would infer from thence, is this, that if Christ the root be holy, then the Jews, when they shall come to be grafted into ⟨p. 98⟩him again, they will be also holy: That is true indeed, and needs no proof. But that is not the Apostles scope, to show that they shall be holy, when they are engrafted into Christ, but to prove that they shall be engrafted into Christ, and become holy because their root is holy▪ which will indeed strongly follow, by virtue of the Covenant with Abraham and his seed, if Abraham be here taken for the root, but not so, if Christ: What then will you say? is Abraham better then Christ? Not so neither; but Christ doth more delight to communicate his grace, rather in the way of the Covenant of his grace, then out of it.

But here the Major or former Proposition is justly denyed. For though Christ himselfe be a root which the Jewes refused, and the Gentiles received, yet hee is not that root here intended, whose holinesse inferreth and concludeth the conversion of the Jewes to holinesse. But the Apostle here speaketh of such a root, who being holy, argueth that his branches, (though now broken off) will come on againe to holinesse; which cannot bee argned from the holinesse of Christ. For take Christ for the root, and will the Apostles Argument then follow; If Christ be holy, then the Jews (though now broken off) are, or shall be holy also? Is there any soundnesse in such an inference? If you say, Nay, but all that you would infer from thence, is this, that if Christ the root bee holy, then the Jewes, when they shall come to bee graffed into