The doctrine of baptisms, reduced from its ancient and modern corruptions; and restored to its primitive soundness and integrity: according to the word of truth; the substance of faith, and the nature of Christ's kingdom. / By William Dell, Minister of the Gospel, and master of Gonvil and Caius College in Cambridge. ; [Two lines from Isaiah] Baptismōn didachē Dell, William, d. 1664. Approx. 79 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 43 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI : 2011-05. N06568 N06568 Evans 8338 APY4580 8338 99031729

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Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 8338. (Evans-TCP ; no. N06568) Transcribed from: (Readex Archive of Americana ; Early American Imprints, series I ; image set 8338) Images scanned from Readex microprint and microform: (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 8338) The doctrine of baptisms, reduced from its ancient and modern corruptions; and restored to its primitive soundness and integrity: according to the word of truth; the substance of faith, and the nature of Christ's kingdom. / By William Dell, Minister of the Gospel, and master of Gonvil and Caius College in Cambridge. ; [Two lines from Isaiah] Baptismōn didachē Dell, William, d. 1664. The fifth edition. iv, 5-43, [1] p. ; 19 cm. (8vo) London printed: Philadelphia, reprinted, by B. Franklin, and D. Hall., [Philadelphia] : 1759. Also issued as the third title in: A Collection of devotional tracts ... [Philadelphia, 176-?] (not in Evans).

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eng Baptism. 2009-01 Assigned for keying and markup 2009-02 Keyed and coded from Readex/Newsbank page images 2010-01 Sampled and proofread 2010-01 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2010-04 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

THE DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS, Reduced from its Ancient and Modern CORRUPTIONS; And reſtored to its PRIMITIVE SOUNDNESS AND INTEGRITY: According to the WORD OF TRUTH; the SUBSTANCE OF FAITH, and the NATURE OF CHRIST's KINGDOM.

By WILLIAM DELL, Miniſter of the Goſpel, and Maſter of Gonvil and Caius College, in Cambridge.

ISAIAH lii. 15.

That which hath not been told them, they ſhall ſee; and that which they have not heard, they ſhall conſider.

The FIFTH EDITION.

LONDON Printed: PHILADELPHIA, Reprinted, by B. FRANKLIN, and D. HALL. 1759.

To the READER.

THE Doctrine of Baptiſins hath been dark and obſcure in the Church, from the very primitive Times, and hath had more of human Notion, than of divine Truth in it; and therefore Zuinglius, writing touching this Point, ſpeaks thus, in the Beginning of his Book, intituled, De Bap. Tom. 2. f. 57. Illud mihi ingenuè circa Libri Initium diſcendum eſt, ferè omnes eos, quotquot ab ipſi Apoſtolorum Temporibus, de Baptiſmo ſcribere inſtituerunt, non in Paucis (quod Pace omnium Hominum dictum eſſe velim) à Scopo aberraviſſe: That is, In the Beginning of my Book (ſaith he) I muſt ingenuouſly profeſs, that almoſt all thoſe that have undertaken to write of Baptiſm, even from the very Time of the Apoſtles, have (which I deſire may be ſpoken with the Favour of all) not in a few Things erred from the Scope. And as he affirms, that almoſt all before him had erred in many Things touching Baptiſm, ſo did he himſelf alſo err, as well as they, not in a Few: And it is as free for me, or any Body elſe, to differ from him, and other late Writers; eſpecially if that be true which godly and learned Chemnitius affirms out of Auguſtine, that theſe Things are not Tanquam Articuli Fidei, à quibus diverſum ſentire Piaculum ſit Anathemate dignum, Chemnit. Examen Concil. Trident. l. de Bapt.

And therefore, Reader, I acquaint thee beforehand, that in this Point, I ſhall ſpeak much otherwiſe than all former, or latter Writers whatever, that I have met with; and though I do not, without ſome Fear and Trembling, diſſent from ſo many worthy and gracious Men, that have been, and are, otherwiſe minded; yet it is the leſs grievous to me, becauſe I differ from them (I can ſay it in Truth before the Lord) not out of any Deſire to be ſingular, or for any worldly or carnal End whatſoever, but only that I might cleave to the clear and evident Word of God alone, even there where I ſee the very Faithful to leave it; ſeeing I am rather to join to the Word without Men, than to join to Men without the Word; and where I find the holieſt Men in the World, and the Word parting, I am there to leave them, and to go along with the Word.

And ſo, in all Love and Meekneſs, I tender this Diſcourſe to thee; deſiring that if thou canſt not at the preſent agree to what is therein contained, yet that thou wouldſt not raſhly judge and reproach it, ſeeing, thro' God's Goodneſs, it may come to paſs, that what thou knoweſt not now, thou mayeſt know afterwards.

But becauſe I ſee this preſent Generation ſo rooted and built up in the Doctrines of Men, I have the leſs Hope that this Truth will prevail with them; and therefore I appeal to the next Generation, wich will be farther removed from thoſe Evils, and will be brought nearer to the Word; but eſpecially that People whom God hath, and ſhall form by his Spirit for himſelf; for theſe only will be able to make juſt and righteous Judgment in this Matter, ſeeing they have the Anointing to be their Teacher, and the Lamb to be their Light.

THE DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS, &c.

THE Lord, foreſeeing how great an Evil it would be in the Church, to leave Men either to their own, or other Mens Opinions and Judgment, in the Things of God, did, in the very Beginning of the Goſpel, command and bind all the Faithful, to hear Chriſt alone; ſaying from Heaven (that we might give abſolute Credit to his Voice) This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleaſed, hear him; And the more the Faithful have kept to the Word of Chriſt, the more they have been free from Error, and the more they have left this, and turned aſide after the Doctrines of Men (though Men in ſome Meaſure faithful and holy) the more have they been perverted and ſeduced; inſomuch that the true Church of God, and the very Faithful themſelves, have received, held and maintained, divers Errors, and falſe Doctrines, and Opinions, even for many Ages and Generations; yea, and have not been altogether free from ſome, from the very Apoſtles Time: And becauſe many, or moſt, godly Men, in former Ages, held ſuch and ſuch Opinions; therefore the following Ages have taken them upon Truſt from them, and have entertained them as ſure and certain, though not at all conſulting, in thoſe Points, with the great Doctor and Apoſtle of the New Teſtament, Jeſus Chriſt. And thus have the very Elect themſelves been drawn into much Error, though they have ſtill had Chriſt for their Foundation, and were built on him ſo firmly by Faith, that the Gates of Hell could not prevail againſt them.

Now, to free the Faithful from the former Miſtake (and conſequently from all Error) there is no other Way than this, wholly to forſake the Doctrines of Men, and to lay by all thoſe Opinions that we have ſucked in from our very Cradles, and which are now become even a natural Religion to us; I ſay, utterly to lay by, and wholly to forget all theſe Things, and to come immediately to the pure unerring Word of God, and to the Voice of Jeſus Chriſt himſelf, by his Spirit, wherein all Things are true, ſincere and perfect; and not bring Hearts to the Word, that are prepoſſeſſed with Doctrines and Opinions learned of Men, but to come thither with Hearts and Conſciences free and unengaged, and in all Meekneſs, Uprightneſs and Simplicity of Heart, to hear what Jeſus Chriſt, the faithful and true Witneſs, will ſay by his Spirit, which alſo is the Spirit of Truth; and to receive and believe that alone, though never ſo differing from the Opinions and Doctrines of this preſent Age, as well as of the former, and tho' perhaps the whole Nation would be offended with it.

And this is the Courſe that I have obſerved, to come to ſome clear and certain Knowledge in the Doctrine of Baptiſm: For, having read much, and diſcourſed with many touching this Point, and having ſeriouſly conſidered what they ſay, as one that ſearched after the Truth, for itſelf only, and for the Satisfaction of my own Soul; I do profeſs I could not find any Thing almoſt ſpoken, for my Spirit boldly and ſafely to lean on, as perceiving moſt of what they ſaid, to be but the Apprehenſions and Thoughts of Men, and that they ſpoke very much by Conjecture, and at Uncertainty in this Matter; and thereupon I reſolved, wholly to withdraw from ſuch Diſcourſe, and to lay down whatever Opinions I had before entertained, touching this Point, and to come to the plain and manifeſt Scriptures; and from thence (after much ſeeking God) to learn whatever the Lord ſhould pleaſe to teach me; chuſing rather to build on the clear Word, though alone, than on any uncertain Inferences, and blind Conjectures of Men, though embraced and magnified by all the World.

Now, in this Enquiry from the Word, I met with that Place, Heb. vi. 2. where the Apoſtle, ſpeaking of ſome of the firſt and initial Points of Chriſtian Religion, names the Doctrine of Baptiſms; whence I perceived that, in the primitive Church they had the Doctrine of Baptiſm in the Plural Number; and therefore did apply myſelf to ſearch from the Word, what theſe Baptiſms might be, and ſo met with the Baptiſt's own Doctrine, touching Baptiſms, mentioned Matthew iii. Mark i. Luke iii. and John i. (for all the Evangeliſts make Mention of this, it being a Matter of ſo great Concernment) and Luke makes Mention of the Ground of this Doctrine of the Baptiſt, Chap. iii. 15. As the People were in Expectation (ſaith he) and all Men muſed in their Hearts of John, whether he were the Chriſt or not, John anſwered, ſaying, &c. The People, it ſeems, had great and high Thought of John, becauſe he was the Son of the High Prieſt, conceived after an extraordinary Manner, his Parents being both well ſtricken in Age, and paſt Children, by the Courſe of Nature; and then the Manner of his Life was ſtrange, for he lived in the Wilderneſs out of the ordinary Converſe of the World; and his Apparel and Diet were unuſual, being Raiment of Camel's Hair, and a leathern Girdle about his Loins, and his Meat Locuſts and wild Honey; but eſpecially his Miniſtry was mighty, being in the Spirit and Power of Elias; and his Baptiſm new and famous; ſo that all the People ſtood in great Expectation of ſome Work or Event from him, that ſhould manifeſt him to be the Chriſt; wherefore John, to take them off from that groſs and dangerous Miſtake, plainly told them all, and that openly, That he was not the Chriſt, but that there was a great Deal of Difference between himſelf and the Meſſiah, and that both in Regard of his Perſon and Office.

Firſt for his Office. For he begins to ſhew the Difference from thence, becauſe the Newneſs of his Baptiſm, was the Occaſion of the Peoples conceiving, that he was the Meſſiah; whereupon he vilifies his own Baptiſm, in reſpect of Chriſt's, ſaying, I indeed baptize you with Water; that is, my Baptiſm is but Water-Baptiſm, that waſhes the Body only with a corporeal Element; but one mightier than I comes, for I am but a Creature, he the Power of God; I but a Servant, he the Lord of all, and one ſo infinitely excellent above all that I am, that the Latchets of his Shoes I am not worthy to unlooſe; that is, I am unworthy to perform the meaneſt and loweſt Office for him. And having thus firſt ſpoken meanly of his own Baptiſm, and then magnified Chriſt's Perſon above his own, He (ſaith he) ſhall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with Fire; that is, I that am a Servant do baptize with Water; but he, that is, the Son, baptizes with the Spirit; my Baptiſm waſhes but the Body from the Filth of the Fleſh; but his, the Soul from Filth of Sin; ſo that how much the Spirit excels Water, and God the Creature, ſo much his Baptiſm tranſcends mine.

Now hence I gather clearly, even from the Baptiſt's own Mouth, that John's Baptiſm and Chriſt's were diſtinct Baptiſms, the one Water-Baptiſm, the other Fire-Baptiſm; and though our late Writers and Teachers have, and do affirm, that John's Baptiſm and Chriſt's make up but one intire Baptiſm; yet all generally of the antient Chriſtians apprehended them to be diſtinct; one whereof ſaith, Illud manifeſtum eſt, alium fuiſſe Johannis Baptiſmum, alium Chriſti. Auguſt. contra Liter. Petil. c. c. 37. And I could produce many more Teſtimonies beſides, but it is not my Meaning to entangle any Body with the Authority of Men, and therefore I ſhall make it plain by clear Scriptures, and Evidences from them, that John's Baptiſm and Chriſt's, are diſtinct.

1. John's Baptiſm and Chriſt's are diſtinct in their Appellations in Scripture; for John's Baptiſm was ſtill ſo called, even when the Apoſtles uſed it; and it was not called by their Names who adminiſtered it, but was ſtill called John's Baptiſm: Yea, after Chriſt's Baptiſm came in, John's ſtill retained its Name, as being diſtinct from it; and therefore, Acts xviii. 24, 25. it is ſaid, Apollos taught diligently the Things of the Lord, knowing only the Baptiſm of John.

2. The Scripture ſaith, that Chriſt's Baptiſm was to follow John's, and did not accompany it at the ſame Time; for Matth. iii. John ſaith, I do baptize you with Water, but he that come after me, i. e. in Order of Time, he ſhall baptize you. And in Luke iii. I have baptized you, but he ſhall baptize you; which Places plainly declare Chriſt's Baptiſm did not go along with John's, but was to follow it, and that he was to baptize with the Spirit, after John's Water-Baptiſm had had its full Courſe, to wit, when he was riſen from the Dead, and aſcended into Heaven. And therefore Chriſt, after he was riſen from the Dead, and immediately before he was to aſcend into Heaven, tho' his Diſciples had uſed Water-Baptiſm, or John's Baptiſm, for above three Years, yet affirms that which John had ſaid of him, touching his Baptiſm with the Spirit, was not yet fulfilled, but was ſhortly to be fulfilled, as appears, Acts i. 4, 5. Chriſt being aſſembled with the Apoſtles, commanded them that they ſhould not depart from Jeruſalem, but wait for the Promiſe of the Father, which, ſaith he, you have heard of me; for John truly baptized with Water, but ye ſhall be baptized with the Spirit, not many Days hence; and this was fulfilled at the Day of Pentecoſt, whence it is evident, that Chriſt's Baptiſm did not go along with John's, and make that up one entire Baptiſm with itſelf, ſeeing it followed almoſt four Years after, an therefore John's Baptiſm and Chriſt's muſt needs be diſtinct.

3. It is evident, that Chriſt's Baptiſm and John's were diſtinct, in as much as the Baptiſm of Chriſt was neceſſary for thoſe very Perſons, who had before been baptized with the Baptiſm of John; whereas, if John's Baptiſm had been one and the ſame with Chriſt, that only had been ſufficient; but now, thoſe whom John had baptized with Water, Chriſt was to baptize again with the Spirit, as in that Place before mentioned, I have baptized you with Water, but one comes after me, who ſhall baptize you with the Spirit; even you whom I have before baptized with Water: And this was not a ſecond Baptiſm, but the firſt Baptiſm of the New Teſtament, John's Baptiſm being more legal than evangelical; and evangelical only, in ſo much as it pointed out this Baptiſm of Chriſt at Hand.

Again, the Baptiſt himſelf ſaith, I have Need to be baptized of thee; ſo that the very Author, or chief Miniſter of Water-Baptiſm, ſtood in Need of ſpiritual Baptiſm himſelf: Paul alſo, Acts xix. when he found certain Diſciples baptized only with the Baptiſm of John, he baptized them again in the Name of Chriſt, becauſe they had not received the Spirit; and this Baptiſm into the Name of Chriſt, was not the repeating of any Water, but meerly the Gift of the Spirit; for Paul preached to them largely the Doctrine of Faith in Chriſt (for the Text relates but the Abſtract of the Thing) and laid his Hands on them, and through his Miniſtry the holy Spirit came upon them, and this was Chriſt's Baptiſm indeed, and no renewing of Water at all, as the Anabaptiſt would fain inforce from this Place.

By theſe Things it is evident, that Chriſt's Baptiſm and John's are diſtinct; and therefore as what God hath joined, no Man ought to put aſunder, ſo what God hath put aſunder, no Man ought to join; as if the Baptiſm of Chriſt was inſufficient and incompleat, except we ſhould add to it the Baptiſm of John; which is exceedingly to eclipſe the Brightneſs of the Son of God, as to draw a Vail over the greateſt Glory of the New Teſtament, which is the Baptiſm of the Spirit.

Obj. If the ordinary Objection ſhall be offered againſt this, to wit, that John's Doctrine was the ſame with Chriſt's, and therefore his Baptiſm alſo was the ſame with his;

Anſw. I anſwer, it is moſt true, that John did preach Chriſt clearly, both in Regard of his Perſon and Offices; but this was not his proper Work, as he was the Baptiſt, but in ſo much as he preached Chriſt in the Spirit, he belongeth to the Kingdom of Chriſt, which is ſpiritual, as alſo, Abraham, Moſes, David, Iſaiah, and all the Prophets, did in the ſame Senſe: But ſo far forth as he preached the Doctrine, and adminiſtered the Baptiſm of Repentance, and both theſe not really and ſpiritually, but only in the Letter and Sign, ſo far he belonged to the Old Teſtament, rather than to the New: Here was John in his proper Office. I ſay, ſo far as John preached Chriſt ſpiritually, he did not that as John the Baptiſt, but as John a Believer; and ſo the ſame John, in Regard of his Baptiſt's Office, belonged to the Old Teſtament; but according to the Revelation which he had from the Father, touching Chriſt, and his Faith in him, and Confeſſion of him, he belonged to the New. And except we learn thus to diſtinguiſh of John's Doctrine, to wit, what he preached as Baptiſt, and in his proper Office, and what as a Believer, who had the Revelation of the Father, we ſhall never underſtand his Baptiſm aright: For John's Baptiſm was the Seal of his Old Teſtament Doctrine, and not of his New, or of his own immediate Miniſtry, and not of Chriſt's; at the higheſt, John's Miniſtry and Baptiſm pointed out Chriſt, but neither of them were the ſame with Chriſt's.

And thus having cleared from the Word, that John's Baptiſm is diſtinct from Chriſt's, I ſhall proceed to ſpeak of each of theſe Baptiſms apart by themſelves, and to hold forth to others what myſelf have learned touching them from the ſame Word.

And firſt I begin with John's Baptiſm, as being the firſt in Order of Time.

Now the Baptiſm of John was brought in beſides the Rite and Manner of the Law, and ſo was a Sign of a great Change to follow: The Jews indeed had their Baptiſms in the Law, for they waſhed their Members, Garments, Veſſels, &c. and by this they were cleanſed from legal Pollutions, but not from any Sin or Stain that did cleave to their Conſcience; but John was the Author, or firſt Miniſter of a new and unwonted Baptiſm, calling all Men to Repentance for Sin, and to flee from the Wrath to come, and awakening them to Confeſſion of Sin, and Amendment of Life, and alſo pointing out one to come, and now at Hand, who ſhould do all theſe Things for them indeed, which neither he nor his Baptiſm, could do.

Now touching John's Baptiſm, I ſhall ſhew,

Firſt, The Honourableneſs of it in itſelf.

Secondly, The Weakneſs and Imperfectneſs of it, in Reference to Chriſt.

And Thirdly, The Continuance and Duration of it.

1. For the Honourableneſs of itſelf, it appears in ſeveral Paſſages.

Firſt, That tho' the Baptiſm of John, in itſelf, was more legal than evangelical, yet in this it did excel all the former legal Baptiſms, that it pointed out Chriſt's Baptiſm near at Hand; for as John himſelf was greater than all the former Prophets, becauſe he pointed out, with his Finger, Chriſt the true and great Prophet of the Church; ſo his Baptiſm was more excellent than all the former Baptiſms, becauſe it pointed out Chriſt's great and glorious Baptiſm now at Hand, as he ſaith, I baptize you with Water, and he that comes after me, ſhall baptize you with the Spirit.

2. John's Baptiſm was from Heaven, and not from Men; it had its Inſtitution from God, and was not an Ordinance he took up of his own Head. Luke iii. 2. it is ſaid, that at the Beginning of John's ſetting forth to his Baptiſm and Miniſtry, That the Word of God came to him in the Wilderneſs; that is, he was inſpired, inſtructed and taught by a Word from God himſelf touching his Miniſtry-Baptiſm, and the Diſcovery of Chriſt's his was to make; and John i. 6. There was a Man ſent from God, whoſe Name was John, and Verſe 33. He that ſent me to baptize with Water, ſaid unto me. He went not of his own Accord, but God ſent him to baptize; ſo that as God was the Author of thoſe inferior Baptiſms of Moſes, ſo of this more high and excellent Baptiſm of John; and hereupon the Publicans, that received John's Baptiſm, are ſaid to juſtify God; and the Phariſees and Lawyers that refuſed it, to reject againſt themſelves; that is, to their own Harm, the Counſel of God, Luke vii. 29.30.

3. Chriſt himſelf, who was born under the Law, and ſubject to the Law, ſubmitted himſelf alſo to the Baptiſm of John, as the laſt and livelieſt Ceremony, Matt. iii. 13. Then cometh Jeſus from Galilee to Jordan, to be baptized of him, and ſo Chriſt, who had ſubmitted himſelf to the Circumciſion of Moſes, ſubmitted himſelf alſo to the Baptiſm of John; and as he ſubmitted himſelf to all the Ceremonies of Moſes, not for his own Sake, but for ours; ſo alſo to the Baptiſm of John. For ſeeing Chriſt was free from Sin, he ſtood in no Need of Repentance, and ſo not of that Baptiſm, which was the Baptiſm of Repentance for the Remiſſion of Sin; but there the Head, who was free from Sin, was baptized for the Body, which was full of Sin, that he might fulfil all Righteouſneſs in his own Perſon. And this was a great Honour to the Baptiſm of John, that Chriſt (though in Reference to our Fleſh more than his own) ſubmitted himſelf to it.

Thus it appears, that the Baptiſm of John was very Honourable, and of high Account in its Time, ſo that the very Diſciples of Chriſt took it up, and Chriſt himſelf ſuffered them, becauſe John's Baptiſm was the Sign and Fore-runner of his, and becauſe the Time of his own Baptiſm was not yet come; but Chriſt himſelf uſed it not, as John witneſſes, Chap. iv. 2. ſaying, Jeſus himſelf baptized not, but his Diſciples; to wit, with John's Baptiſm, which was Water-Baptiſm. For it became not the Son of God to baptize with a Creature; nor the Lord of all, to uſe the Baptiſm of a Servant.

And thus, having ſhewed how Honourable John's Baptiſm was in itſelf (wherein I conceive I have not done him, though a Servant, the leaſt Prejudice, but have fully attributed to his Office, whatever the Word, or he himſelf, a Meſſenger from God, attributes to it) I ſhall now proceed to ſhew, That the Baptiſm of John, how honourable and excellent ſoever, is yet far beneath and below Chriſt's; yea and moſt weak and imperfect in Compariſon of his.

For firſt, John's Baptiſm was with a Creature, with the Element of Water, for the Creature could baptize but with the Creature; that is, John with Water; and ſo this was far beneath the Baptiſm of Chriſt, which was the Work of God by God, the Work of the Father by the Son, and of the Son by the Spirit.

2. John's Baptiſm was tantum exterius Lavacrum, but outward, and reached the outward Man only; the Baptiſm of Water reached but the Body, and it could pierce no deeper; and after all the Waſhing of the Body with Water, the Soul ſtill remained as full of Filth, Sin, and Corruption as ever; and ſo it was far beneath Chriſt's, which reaches the Soul: The Baptiſm of John was the Baptiſm of Bodies, but the Baptiſm of Chriſt the Baptiſm of Souls; and only the Baptiſm of the Spirit reaches the Spirit, and attains to the Soul, Conſcience and inner Man, to purge and purify them.

3. The Baptiſm of John was but a Sign and Ceremony, though it had more Life and Light in it than any of the Signs of the Law, as being nearer to Chriſt, and more newly revived by God; and ſo thought uſeful in its Seaſon, yet the Efficacy of it (after the Manner of all Signs) was but weak.

For Firſt, It did not give the Spirit one Drop of the Spirit; yea, ſome who were baptized with John's Baptiſm, did not know the Way of the Lord perfectly; that is, had no certain Knowledge of Chriſt, the only Way to God, as Apollos, Acts xviii, yea, ſome of them did not ſo much as know, whether there were any Holy Ghoſt, or no, as thoſe twelve Diſciples, Acts xix. much leſs had received the Spirit.

Secondly, Neither did it give Repentance and Remiſſion of Sin (for what was the Plunging of a Man in cold Water towards Repentance and Remiſſion of Sin?) but theſe were the Works of Chriſt's own Baptiſm, which is the Baptiſm of the Spirit; for no Man can repent of Sin, but by the Preſence of the Righteouſneſs of God in his Heart, which is the Work of that Spirit, which is given in Chriſt's Baptiſm; neither can any remit Sin, but God: Our Sins are never forgiven by God, till God dwell in us through Jeſus Chriſt, by the Work of the Spirit; ſo that Repentance was given, and Sin forgiven, not in Hope only in John's Baptiſm, but really and truly in Chriſt's, which was the real Baptiſm of Repentance and Remiſſion of Sins.

Thirdly, Neither did it give Entrance into the the Kingdom of God; for the Kingdom of God is a ſpiritual Kingdom, and no earthly or corporeal Thing can give Entrance into it: The Baptiſm in the Water of Jordan could deliver no Man up into the Kingdom of God, but the Baptiſm in that River that makes glad the City of God, Pſal. xlvi. 4. in that River clear as Chryſtal, that proceeds from the Throne of God, and of the Lamb, which is the Spirit, which delivers up all that partake of it, firſt, into the Kingdom of the Son, and after, through that into the Kingdom of the Father The Baptiſm of John left Men in that old World, wherein it found them, but the Baptiſm of Chriſt delivers them up into the new World, or the Kingdom of God.

Now, in all theſe Regards, it appears that John's Baptiſm did not do the Work of the Baptiſm of the New Teſtament, for then that only had been ſufficient, and there had been no Need of Chriſt's to come.

And thus you ſee that the Baptiſm of John, as it is diſtinct from Chriſt's, ſo it is far inferior to his. And therefore great hath been the Miſtake of many, for ſeveral Ages, who have made John's Baptiſm equal to Chriſt's; for what is this, but to make the Servant equal to the Lord, and to ſet down the Creature in the Throne of the only Begotten of the Father? Yea, and it is the quite perverting of John's Office, for John was to be a burning and ſhining Light, to uſher in Chriſt the true Light; he was to be as the Morningſtar, to uſher in Chriſt, the Sun of Righteouſneſs, and was not to be ſo much Clouds and Darkneſs to obſcure him; he was but to point out Chriſt, and depart again, and not to ſit in equal Glory with him, on his Throne, in the New Teſtament. John ſaid, he was not worthy to bear his Shoes; and therefore they do not well, who have prepared an equal Crown for him with Chriſt, who is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

Wherefore we muſt take great Heed that we do not ſo magnify John's Office, as to intrench on Chriſt's, and to make the Son, out of the Boſom of the Father, to take up the Baptiſm of John, a Servant, and to adminiſter one entirely his own; ſurely this would not have been ſuitable to the Glory of the only begotten Son of God.

The third Thing I propound to ſpeak to, touching John's Baptiſm, is the Time of its Durance, or Continuance, and that was but very ſhort; for John's Baptiſm, as all the Ceremonies of Moſes, was but for a Time; yea, this being nearer the Truth and Subſtance than they, was of leſs Duration; as the Morning Star, though brighter than the Reſt of thoſe heavenly Lights, ſhines leſs While than they, becauſe the haſty Appearance of the Sun ſwallows it up. And ſo John's Baptiſm was of great Uſe a little before Chriſt's Manifeſtation to Iſrael, and continued till the Time of his Aſcenſion; and then when Chriſt's Baptiſm began, the Shadow was to give Way to the Subſtance, and the Sign to the Truth, and the Letter to the Spirit, and the Servant to the Son; ſo that Chriſt's Baptiſm put an End to John's, Free-Baptiſm to Water-Baptiſm, and Spirit-Baptiſm to Creature-Baptiſm: For as all the Prophets were until John, ſo John was until Chriſt; and John muſt no more exceed his Bounds, than Moſes and the Prophets theirs; but as the Prophets gave up to John, ſo John muſt give up to Chriſt. John's temporary Miniſtry had a temporary Baptiſm; but the everlaſting Goſpel (which is that Word in our Fleſh) hath an everlaſting Baptiſm, which is the pouring out of the Spirit. So then, John being a Servant and Forerunner of Chriſt, Chriſt was not to take up his Baptiſm, but John was to reſign up his Baptiſm to Chriſt; yea, and as a Servant, to deliver up all Things into his Hands, as Heir and Lord: And ſo John's Water-Baptiſm was to laſt but till Chriſt's Fire-Baptiſm ſhould come in, and then the Fire ſhould lick up the Water; and as Spirit-Baptiſm ſhould increaſe, Water-Baptiſm ſhould decreaſe. So that John's Baptiſm, or Water-Baptiſm (which is all one) belongs not to Chriſt's Kingdom, which is a Kingdom not of the Letter, but of the Spirit, not of Signs and Shadows, but of the Truth; and therefore we leave it where we found it, even without the Bounds and Reach of Chriſt's Kingdom; for John's Office and Baptiſm reached unto Chriſt's Kingdom, but hath no Place in it; and to bring Signs and Ceremonies into the Kingdom of Truth, is (if rightly underſtood) to act againſt Chriſt glorified.

Object. But ſome will ſay, this is ſtrange indeed, that Water-Baptiſm ſhould have no Place in the Kingdom of Chriſt: and therefore pray ſtay a little, for we have many Things to object againſt it.

Object. 1. Why this ſhould rob us of our Chriſtendom.

I anſwer, No; for it is not Water, but Spirit-Baptiſm that makes us Chriſtians; and Water-Baptiſm hath been an unlawful blending or mixing of the Church and World together; ſo that hitherto they could not be well differenced from each other, to the great Prejudice of the Congregations of Chriſt.

Object. 2. But have ſo many Ages erred, who have uſed Water-Baptiſm?

Anſw. For the Errors of former Ages, and their great Miſtakes in many of the Truths of God, I have nothing to ſay, but that of the Apoſtle, How unſearchable are his Judgments, and his Ways paſt finding out.

Object. 3. But you are the firſt Man, for ought we know, that ever oppoſed it.

Anſw. One ſingle mean Man, with the Word, may very juſtly and lawfully contradict the whole World without it; Truth is not to be judged by Multitudes, or an Unity, but by the Word.

Object. 4. But Chriſt himſelf was baptized with Water, and ſurely that perpetuates it in the Church.

Anſw. Chriſt's being baptized with Water under John, no more perpetuates Water-Baptiſm in the Chriſtian Church, than his being circumciſed under Moſes, perpetuates Circumciſion in the Chriſtian Church; or his ſubmitting to other Moſaical Ceremonies, perpetuates them; Chriſt brings no temporal or carnal Thing into his everlaſting or ſpiritual Kingdom, though himſelf ſubmitted to them under their ſeveral Diſpenſations in the Seaſon of them.

Object. 5. But Chriſt juſtifies and commands Water-Baptiſm in John iii. Except a Man be born of Water, &c. And Mat. xxviii. Teach and baptize.

Anſw. I confeſs theſe are Places that many have miſtaken, to juſtify the Practice of Water-Baptiſm; but ſhall ſhew you, that they do indeed miſunderſtand them. For that firſt Place, John iii. 5. Except a Man be born of Water, and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God; I confeſs, many of the Ancients have, by Water here, underſtood material Water, and have interpreted the Place of external Baptiſm, which was John's only: And hereupon divers of them have exceedingly magnified Water, and aſcribed it to the Waſhing of Souls, and the Regeneration of Chriſtians in ſome Meaſure, they not conſidering, in the mean time, what Chriſt ſaith in the very next Verſe, That which is born of the Fleſh, is Fleſh, and that which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit; by which they might have learned, that outward and corporeal Water can do nothing but outward and corporeal Things, and can contribute nothing to the Cleanſing of Souls and Conſciences from Sin.

So that this Place cannot be underſtood of corporeal Water; and I could produce the Teſtimonies of many godly Men, of good Note, to this Purpoſe, but do forbear, becauſe I would not have our Faith built upon the Authorities of Men; but the Thing is evident from the Text itſelf, for it ſaith, Except a Man be born of Water, which ſhews the Water he ſpeaks of, muſt be ſuch as is able to give a new Birth, and to make a Man anew, that is, a ſpiritual, holy, heavenly Creature; and no Water can do this, but the Spirit; and therefore Chriſt adds to Water the Spirit, by Way of Explication; as if he had ſaid, No Man can enter into the Kingdom of God, except he be born again of Water; but the Water I ſpeak of is no material Water, but the Spirit, which is able to produce in us a heavenly Nature, through which only we can have an Entrance into an heavenly Kingdom, ſeeing Fleſh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; ſo that the Water Chriſt means in this Place is the Spirit; and many other Places give Witneſs to this, John iv. 10. If thou didſt know who it is that ſaith unto thee, give me to drink, thou wouldſt have aſked of him, and he would have given thee living Water. And Verſes 13, 14, Jeſus ſaid unto her, whoſoever drinks of this Water (meaning the Water of the Well, called Jacob's Well) ſhall thirſt again; but whoſoever ſhall drink of the Water that I ſhall give him, ſhall never thirſt; but the Water that I ſhall give him, ſhall be in him a Well of Water, ſpringing up unto everlaſting Life. and John vii. 37, 38, 39. Jeſus ſtood and cried, ſaying, if any Man thirſt, let him come unto me and drink; he that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath ſaid, out of his Belly ſhall flow Rivers of living Water; but this ſpake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him ſhould receive.

Now by Water, in all theſe Places, is not meant material Water, but the Spirit, as Chriſt himſelf explicates; and ſure his Teſtimony alone is ſufficient.

But again, if in this Place, except a Man be born of Water and Spirit, you will needs underſtand material Water; why then, upon the ſame Ground, you muſt needs underſtand that Place in Matthew of material Fire, where it is ſaid, Mat. iii. 11. He ſhall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with Fire; which is abſurd to very Reaſon to think; but Water and Fire, in each Place, added to the Spirit, ſhew only the Efficacy of the Spirit; and ſo you may as well bring in the Uſe of material Fire in Baptiſm, from the Text in Matthew, as of material Water, from the Text in John. So that this Place in John proves no Authority of Chriſt for Water-Baptiſm in his Kingdom, which is the Church of the New-Teſtament.

Now the other Place, Matt. xxviii. 19. Go ye and teach all Nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is alſo of as little Force as the former, to prove Water-Baptiſm to be an Inſtitution of Chriſt. Indeed I find, that where ever Men have met with the Word Baptiſm or baptize in the Scriptures, preſently their Thoughts have deſcended to material Water; th •• not ſo well conſidering or underſtanding that Water, which is the Spirit, which is the only Water that performs all the Baptiſm in the Kingdom of God.

Now for that Place, Go teach all Nations, baptizing them, they underſtand it thus, teach them, and baptize them with material Water, uſing this Form of Words, I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, &c. But herein they err from the Mind of Chriſt; for by theſe Words Chriſt leads his Diſciples from John's Baptiſm to his own; as if he had ſaid, John indeed baptized with Water, and ye have hitherto uſed his Baptiſm, but I ſhall now ſhortly baptize you with my own Baptiſm of the Spirit; and from that Time I would have you go teach all Nations, and by the Miniſtration of the Spirit, not baptize them, or dip them in cold Water (as John did in his own Baptiſm, and you in his) but baptize them, or dip them into the Name of God the Father, Son and Spirit; and note, that he ſaith not here, in the Name, but, in the Name of the Father, &c. and by the Name of God, is meant the Power and Virtue of God, or God himſelf; as Mark xvi. Chriſt ſaith, in my Name they ſhall caſt out Devils; that is, in my Power and Virtue; ſo that the Senſe lies thus, teach the Nations, and baptize them into the Name, &c. that is, by your Miniſtry, which ſhall be of the Spirit, and not of the Letter; you ſhall baptize them, or dip them, or intereſt them into the Name of God, who is the Father, Son and Spirit, as he hath diſcovered himſelf, in his laſt and moſt glorious Diſcovery of himſelf in the Goſpel; you ſhall (I ſay) dip them into his Name, or ſprinkle his Name upon them, that they may be holy, juſt, true, merciful, righteous, good, &c. that is, your Miniſtry, after you have received the Spirit, ſhall have ſuch Efficacy, that it ſhall clothe Men with the Name of God, and transform them into his very Nature.

So that this Place cannot be underſtood of Water, but inſtead of baptizing in material Water, as John, he tells them, they ſhould baptize into the Name of God, in ſuch Sort, that they that were before ſinful, corrupt, and evil Men, ſhould now be taken up into the Glory of the Name of God. Neither can this Place be underſtood of a Form of Words, which the Apoſtles and their Succeſſors ſhould uſe in baptizing, as moſt Men have thought and taught, ſeeing no Place of Scripture can be named, wherein the Apoſtles, in baptizing, uſed this Form of Words, ſaying, I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, Son and Spirit, which they had undoubtedly done, if Chriſt had commanded it as an abſolute Form. And becauſe many will preſently be ready to be enraged at this Aſſertion, I will a little cool their Heat with what Zuinglius ſaith of this Place, who was one of the greateſt Enemies to the Anabaptiſts, that was in his Time; Chriſtus Jeſus (ſaith he) Baptiſmi Formulam, qua uteremur his Verbis, non inſtituit, quemadmodum Theologi hactenus falſo tradierunt, Zuing. Lib. de Bap. P. 56. Tom. 2. Oper. that is, Jeſus Chriſt did not in theſe Words inſtitute a Form of Baptiſm, which we ſhould uſe, as Divines have hitherto falſly taught; and he affirms it upon the ſame Ground I have mentioned before.

Again, if by this Place, go teach and baptize, be meant Water-Baptiſm, Paul did very ill obſerve the Command of Chriſt, who baptized but two or three believing Families at the moſt, with Water-Baptiſm, and yet preached the Word in a Circuit from Jeruſalem to Illiricum, Acts xv. 19. through many Kingdoms, Countries, Villages, People; but I ſay Paul, though he uſed not Water-Baptiſm, yet did punctually fulfil the Command of Chriſt, and did teach them, and baptize them into the Name of God. So that, no Queſtion, there were many Churches planted in Paul's Time, who believed in Chriſt, and received the Spirit, and walked in Fellowſhip with the Father and the Son, and with one another in the Father and the Son, who never were waſhed at all with Water-Baptiſm; but Paul knew well, that no outward Thing is of any Account in the Kingdom of God; and that as Circumciſion and Uncircumciſion were nothing, ſo neither Water-Baptiſm, nor the Want of it, were any Thing, but a new Creature is ALL; and if there be Faith and the Spirit, they are ſufficient to the Kingdom of God, without any outward Ceremonies whatſoever.

So that neither of theſe two Places prove any Inſtitution of Water-Baptiſm of Chriſt, but that ſtill remains John's Baptiſm, and not Chriſt's.

Object. 6 The laſt, and that which ſeems the ſtrongeſt Objection, is, that the Apoſtles practiſed Water-Baptiſm, not only before Chriſt's Baptiſm came in, but after; and this is moſt evident in very many Places in the Acts of the Apoſtles.

Anſw. I anſwer, true indeed, the Apoſtles did practiſe Water-Baptiſm, but not from Chriſt, but from John, whoſe Baptiſm they took up; and an outward Ceremony of Honour and Account, is not eaſily and ſuddenly laid down; and hence ſome of the Apoſtles uſed Circumciſion, and that after the Aſcenſion of Chriſt; for Circumciſion was an honourable Ceremony, uſed from Abraham's Time, and ſo they could not (no not in the Time of the New Teſtament) ſuddenly and abruptly leave it off, but they did uſe it for a Time, for their Sakes who were weak, well knowing, that the Circumciſion without Hands, would by Degrees put an End to the Circumciſion made with Hands. For Ceremonies are beſt laid down, and old Cuſtoms beſt laid aſide, by the Eſſicacy of the Spirit, and Power of Righteouſneſs. And ſo in like Manner the Apoſtles uſed the Baptiſm of John, or Water-Baptiſm, it having been of high Account in the Dawning of the Day of the Goſpel, and for the preſent ſtill continuing ſo; but they knew that Spirit, or Fire-Baptiſm, would by Degrees conſume Water-Baptiſm, and lick up all the Drops of it; for ſo John himſelf intimates, ſaying, he muſt increaſe, but I muſt decreaſe; that is, the Truth muſt eat out the Ceremony, and the Subſtance the Sign, and the more his Miniſtry and Baptiſm come in, mine ſhall go out; and the Miniſtry of the Son ſhall ſwallow up the Miniſtry of the Servant, as the Sun-light doth the Moonlight; and the Baptiſm of Fire ſhall devour the Baptiſm of Water, and his Spirit-Baptiſm, by Degrees, ſhall put an End to my Water-Baptiſm; and therefore Paul (as you have heard) after he had uſed this Baptiſm twice or thrice, quite forbore it, and yet planted many Churches of Chriſt; and probably by Degrees did other Apoſtles too; for they knew that Chriſt's Baptiſm included John's, and was fully ſufficient of itſelf without it; and therefore we find Paul teaching in Chriſt's Kingdom but one Baptiſm, and this the Baptiſm of the Spirit, Eph. iv. from which the Church of the New-Teſtament, both Jews and Gentiles, was to take its Beginning, and not from outward Elements, or Water-waſhing.

Wherefore, ſeeing theſe Things are ſo, the Anabaptiſts have extremely miſtaken, who have made their Water-waſhing ſo eſſential a Work of the New-Teſtament, that they would neither hear the Word, nor have Chriſtian Communion with any one that was not ſo waſhed; yea, though they were convinced touching them, that they had received the Spirit; this, I ſay, hath been the great Error of very many honeſt and well meaning People, through miſunderſtanding the Word, to make waſhing with material Water ſo neceſſary a Thing in ſpiritual Worſhip; yea, and more eſſential to the Communion of Saints, than the very Spirit itſelf, whom I do not therefore judge, but pity.

And thus much for Water-Baptiſm, which was John's, and belonged only to that middle Miniſtry, betwixt the Prophets and Chriſt.

Now the other Baptiſm I am to ſpeak of, is Chriſts, which is Spirit, or Fire-Baptiſm; and this is the one and only Baptiſm of the New-Teſtament, as we find Paul affirming, Eph. iv. 6. where he ſaith, that in Chriſt's Kingdom, where is but one Body, and one Spirit, and one Hope of our Calling, and one Lord, and one Faith, there is alſo but one Baptiſm; and this is the Baptiſm of the Spirit, as the Apoſtle elſewhere ſhews, ſaying, 1 Cor. xii. 13. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one Body; and have been made all to drink into one Spirit.

Now this Spirit-Baptiſm did not go along with John's Water-Baptiſm, but followed it about four Years after (as you have heard) and as appears by the fore-mentioned Place of Chriſt, Acts i. 5. where he tells his Diſciples, ſaying, John verily baptized with Water, but ye ſhall be baptized with the holy Spirit, not many Days hence; and this Promiſe of Chriſt, and of the Father, was fulfilled at the Day of Pentecoſt, when the Apoſtles being all met together, there came a Sound from Heaven, as of a mighty ruſhing Wind, and it filled the Houſe where they were ſitting, and there appeared unto them cloven Tongues, like as of Fire, and it ſat upon each of them, and they 〈◊〉 all filled with the Spirit. Here was the firſt Beginning of Chriſt's, or Spirit-Baptiſm, for it began not till after the Aſcenſion of Chriſt into Heaven, and his ſitting down on the Throne of God; and John the Apoſtle alſo witneſſes to this, Chap. vii. ſaying, the Spirit was not yet given, becauſe Chriſt was not yet glorified; but as ſoon as he was glorified, then did he begin to baptize with the Spirit; not the Apoſtles only, but alſo the Jews and Gentiles, and all Sorts of People that did believe in his Name, through the Word of the Goſpel: So that then Chriſt's Baptiſm began to take Place, and to prevail, as you may ſee, Acts viii. When the Apoſtles that were at Jeruſalem, had heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, by the Preaching of Philip, they ſent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet he was fallen on none of them (only, ſaith the Text, they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jeſus, i. e. they had only been baptized with John's Baptiſm, who only baptized with Water, ſaying, that they ſhould believe on Chriſt that was to •• me after; for John's Baptiſm was yet uſual, in as much as Chriſt's Baptiſm was but new begun.) Then did the Apoſtles lay their Hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit; ſo that here now was the Progreſs of Spirit-Baptiſm. And after, when Peter preached to Cornelius, and his Family and Friends, the holy Spirit fell upon them, Acts x. And Peter gives this Account to thoſe of the Circumciſion at Jeruſalem, Acts xi. 15. And as I began to ſpeak, the Holy Spirit fell on them as on us at the Beginning; then remembered I the Word of the Lord, how that he ſaid, John indeed baptized with Water, but ye ſhall be baptized with the Holy Spirit; ſo that Peter evidently declares the Gift of the Spirit, by the Miniſtry of the Goſpel, to be the Baptiſm of Chriſt, or the Baptiſm of the Holy Spirit and Fire, which Chriſt promiſed at his Aſcenſion into Heaven.

And this is the only Baptiſm wherein all the Church of the New-Teſtament are to partake with Chriſt, I ſay, not the Baptiſm of Water, but of the Spirit; he and we drinking into one Spirit, and the ſame Spirit deſcending on us as it did on him. The pouring out of the Spirit on the Fleſh of Chriſt, was his New-Teſtament Baptiſm, and it is ours too; and all our true and ſound Comfort and Happineſs lies in this, that we are baptiſed with the ſame Spirit that he was; for it would be as little ſpiritual Comfort to be dipped in the ſame Water with Chriſt, as to eat with him at the ſame Table, or to drink with him in the ſame Cup, or to go along with him in the ſame Ship, as Judas did, and divers of the unbelieving Jews; but to drink with him in one Spirit, is to partake of one Fleſh with him, and to be one Chriſt with him; and this is a Comfort indeed.

Now the outward Inſtrument of Chriſt's, or Spirit-Baptiſm, is not material Water, but the Word, as Chriſt ſhews, Matt. xxviii. where he ſaith, teach and baptize, ſhewing that teaching the Word, is the outward Means of baptizing with the Spirit. And again, John xvii. Now are you clean through the Word, not which Moſes, but which I have ſpoken to you (and therefore is the Goſpel called the Miniſtration of the Spirit, becauſe it proceeds from the Spirit, and communicates the Spirit, and Chriſt baptizes with the Spirit, through the Miniſtration of the Spirit, which is the Preaching of the Goſpel) and Eph. v. 26. Chriſt gave himſelf for his Church, that he might ſanctify and cleanſe it, with the Waſhing of Water by the Word; that is, Chriſt cleanſes his Church by ſuch a Waſhing of Water, as is brought about by the Word and the Water with which the Word waſhes in the Spirit; for by the Word the Spirit is given; and the Word cleanſes by the Spirit, and the Spirit by the Word; and therefore it is alſo ſaid, 1 Cor. vii. 1. Having theſe Promiſes, let us cleanſe ourſelves from all Filthineſs of Fleſh and Spirit.

From all this it appears, that Spirit-Baptiſm is not to be performed by Water, but by the Word; and no Man, under the New-Teſtament, receives the Spirit through the Baptiſm of Water, but through the Miniſtry of the New-Teſtament, which is the only Miniſtration of the Spirit.

To conclude; this Baptiſm of the Spirit, that is performed only by the Word, is that Baptiſm of which ſo many excellent Things are ſpoken in the New-Teſtament; as,

1. This Baptiſm of the Spirit gives a new Nature, and this Nature is a divine Nature, or the Nature of God; and hence it is ſaid, except a Man be born of Water, and the Spirit; ſo that the Baptiſm of the Spirit gives a new Birth, and ſo a new Nature. And again, that which is born of the Spirit, it Spirit; ſo that the Baptiſm of the Spirit makes us Spirit, and through the Baptiſm of the Spirit, we become that which the Spirit itſelf is; and ſo the true Foundation of Chriſtianity, begins from Faith and a new Creature, and not from Water-waſhing. 2. This Baptiſm gives a new Name, not John or Thomas, &c. but as Chriſt ſaith, Rev. iii. 12. I will write upon him, my new Name: Our own Name is Sin, and Ignorance, and Pride, and Injuſtice, and Envy, and Covetouſneſs, and Uncleanneſs, and all Evil; and this is the Name which the firſt Adam wrote upon; but the Name the ſecond Adam writes on us, is Righteouſneſs, and Holineſs, and Truth, and Love, and Meekneſs, and Wiſdom, and all Good, and this the Name the ſecond Adam writes on us, or his own new Name; for Chriſt himſelf was baptized by the Spirit into the Name of God; that is, was taken up into God, and the Things of God, which are himſelf, as into the Truth, Wiſdom, Juſtice, Mercy, Power, &c. and all the whole Fleſh or Humanity of Chriſt, even all his Members are baptized into the ſame Name of God with him, and ſo are called by his new Name; ſo that this Name of Chriſt, this new Name which is given us by God through the Baptiſm of the Spirit, is infinitely better than that Name which is given us by Parents or God-fathers, in Water-Baptiſm. 3. Chriſt's Baptiſm tranſlates us into a new World: Except a Man be born of that Water which is the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. No Man can poſſibly enter into the Church of the New-Teſtament, which is the Kingdom of God, but through the Baptiſm of the Spirit; the Baptiſm of the Spirit makes a new Creature, and this new Creature enters into a new World, which is the new Jeruſalem, that comes down from God out of Heaven. 4. Spirit-Baptiſm enables us to the ſame Work with Chriſt; that is, to the Miniſtry of the New-Teſtament, ſaith Chriſt, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he hath anointed me to preach Iſa. lxi. 1. And he began his Miniſtry 〈…〉 Spirit-Baptiſm, which, did immediately 〈◊〉 his Water-Baptiſm, but was in no Sort one Baptiſm with it; and having, through the Opening the Heavens, received the Spirit which taught him the Name of God, he preſently began to teach the Name of God to others; and Chriſt himſelf was not a Miniſter of the New-Teſtament but thro' the Baptiſm of the Spirit. Now all Believers that are anointed with him in his Unction, or which is all one, are baptized with him in one Baptiſm of Spirit, are anointed and baptized to the ſame Miniſtry; for the Anointing of the Spirit, is the Teaching of God, and they that are taught of God themſelves, ought alſo to teach others; and the Spirit of Chriſt is the Spirit of Prophecy, and they that have received that Spirit muſt prophecy, as it is written, it ſhall come to paſs in the laſt Days, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all Fleſh, and your Sons and Daughters ſhall prophecy; which very Place Peter, Acts ii. applies to the Baptiſm of the Spirit; ſo that this Spirit-Baptiſm of Chriſt makes all Prophets, that partake of it. 5. Spirit-Baptiſm makes all thoſe one with Chriſt the Head, who partake of it, Gal. iii. 27. As many as have been baptized into Chriſt, have put on Chriſt; ſo that by the true Baptiſm of the New-Teſtament, we do actually put on Chriſt, and are made one with Chriſt; and this is not done by any Water-waſhing, but by the Spirit; for through the Gift of the Spirit only are we made one Fleſh with Chriſt; yea, through this we neceſſarily become one Spirit with him too, as it is ſaid, he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit; ſo that not through Water, but Spirit-Baptiſm, do we put on Chriſt, the Spirit carrying us into Chriſt, and bringing Chriſt into us, and being one and the ſame Spirit in both; and this is to be baptized into Chriſt.

Now this Baptiſm that makes us one with Chriſt, makes us to partake both of his Death and Reſurrection.

1. Through Baptiſm of the Spirit, we are dipt into the Death of Chriſt, Rom. vi. 3, 4. Know ye not that ſo many of us as are baptized into Jeſus Chriſt, are baptized into his Death? And this is, as the Apoſtle unfolds it, Verſe 6. The crucifying of the old Man with him, that the Body of Sin may be deſtroyed, that henceforth we ſhould not ſerve Sin. And all this is done, not through any Water-waſh, but through the Gift of the Spirit; for it is through the Spirit only, that we are able to mortify the Deeds of the Fleſh; and nothing but the Preſence of the Spirit in us is the Deſtruction of Sin; ſo that the Spirit of Chriſt baptizes us into the Death of Chriſt.

2. Spirit-Baptiſm makes us partake of his Reſurrection as well as of his Death, yea, therefore do we die with him, that we may live a better Life, Rom. vi. 3, 4. Therefore we are buried with him by Baptiſm (that is, Spirit-Baptiſm) into Death, that like as Chriſt was raiſed up from the Dead by the Glory of the Father, i. e. the Spirit, ſo ſhould we alſo live in Newneſs of Life; for if we have been planted together in the Likeneſs of his Death, we ſhall be alſo in the Likeneſs of his Reſurrection. Where you ſee the ſame Baptiſm of the Spirit that makes us die with Chriſt, doth alſo quicken us into his Reſurrection, and depriv •• us of our own Life; not that we remain dead, but that it may communicate to us a better Life than our own, even the Life of Chriſt himſelf, that we that are Men may live the very Life of the Son of God in our own Souls and Bodies, and may be quickened with him, and raiſed up with him, and ſet in heavenly Places in him.

6. As Spirit-Baptiſm makes us one with Chriſt the Head, ſo with the Church the Body, 1 Cor. xii. 13. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit; ſo that by drinking into one Spirit with the Church, we become one Body with it, and no otherwiſe; I ſay, not by being dipt into the ſame Water, but by receiving the ſame Spirit do we become one Body with the Church; and it is not being of one Judgment, or Opinion, or Form, or the like, that makes Men one true. Church or Body of Chriſt, but the being of one Spirit; and there are no more of that Church, which is the Body of Chriſt, than they that are baptized with that one Spirit of Chriſt.

7. Spirit-Baptiſm, it truly waſhes and cleanſes from Sin; what Water-Baptiſm doth in the Sign, this doth in the Truth, even cleanſes from all carnal and ſpiritual Filthineſs; and no Man is cleanſed from Sin, but by the Waſhing of the Spirit; the pouring forth of the Spirit on all Fleſh, is the killing of Sin in all Fleſh, 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, 11. Neither Fornicators, nor Idolaters, nor Adulterers, nor Effeminate, nor Abuſers of themſelves with Mankind, nor Thieves, nor Covetous, nor Drunkards, nor Revilers, nor Extortioners ſhall inherit the Kingdom of God; and ſuch were ſome of you, but ye are waſhed, but ye are ſanctified in the Name of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and by the Spirit of our God: So that Spirit-Baptiſm cleanſes from all Sin whatever it is, and there is no Man cleanſed from Sin, but through this Baptiſm.

And again, Eph. v. 26, 27. Chriſt gave himſelf for the Church, that he might ſanctify and cleanſe it with the Waſhing of Water by the Word, that he might preſent it to himſelf, a glorious Church, not having Spot or Wrinkle, or any ſuch Thing, but that it ſhould be holy, and without Blemiſh; and nothing doth thus purify the Church, till it be without Spot, Wrinkle or Blemiſh, and till it be perfectly holy, but the Baptiſm of the Spirit. And therefore, though the Baptiſm of John was adminiſtred but once, yet the Baptiſm of Chriſt is a continued Baptiſm; for as long as Corruption is in the Fleſh, the Baptiſm of the Spirit is in Uſe; ſo that the Nature and Life of a Chriſtian are under a conſtant and continual Baptiſm, God every Day pouring forth his Spirit upon a Believer, for the purifying and ſanctifying of him, and making him meet for the immediate Preſence of God, whither no unclean Thing comes, nor the leaſt Uncleanneſs in any Thing.

8. Spirit-Baptiſm ſaves: Whatever in us is waſhed with the Spirit, is ſaved as well as ſanctified; and how much any one hath received of the Spirit, ſo much is he already ſaved, Tit. iii. 5. According to his Mercy he hath ſaved us by the Waſhing of Regeneration, and renewing of the holy Spirit, which he ſhed on us abundantly, through Jeſus Chriſt our Saviour: Where the Apoſtle teaches us how God ſaves, and that is not by John's Batpiſm, or Water-waſhing, but by the Laver of Regeneration; which is the renewing of the holy Spirit, poured on us abundantly thro' Chriſt; ſo that he calls the Baptiſm of the Spirit, the Laver of Regeneration; ſuch a Laver that renews the old Nature; yea, and begets a new one; ſo that a Man through this Baptiſm is wholly changed, not in a few good Works, but in his whole Nature; and from his Newneſs of Nature flows Newneſs of Life; ſo that he is no more as he was, but is, and lives, and loves, and thinks, and ſpeaks, and acts otherwiſe than he was wont, and this cannot be the Work of Water in any Meaſure, but wholly of the Spirit, for where Men are deſtitute of the Spirit, though waſhed with Water a thouſand Times, there is no Change of Nature in them; but the Change of Nature, wrought by Spirit-Baptiſm, is ſo much preſent Salvation, even in this preſent World. There is another Scripture witneſſes the ſame Thing, and it is 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21. A Few (that is, eight Souls) were ſaved by Water, to which Figure Baptiſm anſwering, doth now alſo ſave us, not that whereby the Filth of the Fleſh is caſt away, but whereby a good Conſcience anſwers well to God, by the Reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt, Peter having ſaid, that Baptiſm anſwers to the Flood, and ſaves the Church now, as the Flood did the Church then; yea, ſaith he, but I mean not the outward Baptiſm, or the Waſhing away of the Filth of the Body, but the Anſwer of a good Conſcience towards God, by the Reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt: Which Place is difficult; but I thus conceive it, the Efficacy of Chriſt's Reſurrection is the Gift of the Spirit; and the Spirit of Chriſt, in a Believer, rectifies his Conſcience, and makes it good, ſo that it can return a ſweet Anſwer to God upon every Word of his; for the Work of the Spirit in the Heart anſwers every Word of Faith ſpoken from God; particularly it can ſay to God, I was indeed filthy and unclean throughout, but I am now waſhed, and juſtified, and ſanctified in the Name of the Lord Jeſus, and by the Spirit of my God; and this Spirit-Baptiſm is that that ſaves, and not the Water, which puts away the Filth of the Fleſh only, but leaves the Filth of the Spirit as much as ever.

So that, in this Place, Peter puts an End to Baptiſm in the Fleſh, as Paul, Rom. ii. 28. puts an End to Circumciſion in the Fleſh, ſaying, He is not a Jew that is one outwardly, neither is that Circumciſion which is outward in the Fleſh; but he is a Jew that is one inwardly, and Circumciſion is that of the Heart in the Spirit, and not in the Letter, whoſe Praiſe is not of Men, but of God; that is, ſaith Paul, in the Kingdom of Chriſt, where all Things are ſpiritual; Circumciſion in the Spirit puts an End to Circumciſion in the Fleſh; and in the ſame Kingdom of Chriſt, ſaith Peter, Baptiſm in the Spirit puts an End to Baptiſm in the Fleſh; for he is not a Chriſtian, who is one outwardly, neither is that Baptiſm which is outward in the Fleſh; but he is a Chriſtian who is one inwardly, and Baptiſm is that of the Heart in the Spirit, and not in the Letter, whoſe Praiſe alſo is not of Men, but of God. For under the Goſpel, which is the Miniſtration of the Spirit (as ye have been often minded) we can find nothing among all outward Things, through the Uſe and Exerciſe whereof we may attain the Cleanneſs and Purity of Righteouſneſs in our Natures; and therefore Chriſt hath put an End to all outward, carnal and earthly Things of the firſt Teſtament, by the inward, and ſpiritual, and heavenly Things of a ſecond, and better, Teſtament; and by his own Death and Reſurrection only, not without us, but within us, through the Power and Efficacy of his Spirit, all the Baptiſm of the New-Teſtament is fully and perfectly performed.

And thus, in all theſe Particulars, you ſee the infinite Excellency and Glory of the Spirit-Baptiſm above Water-Baptiſm, and this only is ſufficient in the Days of the Goſpel, as being the true and proper Baptiſm of the New-Teſtament; for as Chriſt himſelf only is ſufficient to the Faithful without John, though John were of Uſe in this Seaſon, to point out Chriſt, ſo the Baptiſm of Chriſt, only is ſufficient to the Faithful, without the Baptiſm of John, though the Baptiſm of John were of Uſe in its Seaſon, to point out the Baptiſm of Chriſt; and the Baptiſt himſelf was of this Judgment, who ſaid to Chriſt, I have Need to be baptized of thee; which he means not of Water-Baptiſm (for ſo Chriſt himſelf, as you have heard, did not baptize) but with the Baptiſm of the Spirit, and ſo the Baptiſt himſelf, who was never baptized with Water, neither by Chriſt nor the Apoſtles, nor any Body elſe, yet was baptized with the Spirit; and the Baptiſm of the Spirit was ſufficient for the Baptiſt, without any Water-Baptiſm; and ſo Chriſt's Spirit-Baptiſm, by the Word, is ſufficient for all the Faithful now, without John's Water-Baptiſm; for he that is truly waſhed from all Filthineſs of Fleſh and Spirit, and hath the Holy Ghoſt in him, to renew his Nature, and to conform him exactly to Chriſt's own Image, and to work him in this preſent World into the true Similitude of Heaven, and to be in him a Fountain of Water ſpringing up unto everlaſting Life; what Need hath he of cold material Water to be poured on his Body, under the Pretence of any Sign whatever, either of Moſes or John, when as he hath the Truth, Subſtance, and heavenly Thing itſelf?

Now this, it may be, may ſeem ſtrange and dangerous to ſome of low, and fleſhly, and cuſtomary Religion, but let all ſuch (if it be poſſible) conſider, that where the Subſtance comes the Shadow is at an End, and the Ceremony where the Truth comes, and the Creature where God comes: And if they underſtand not this for the preſent, I hope they may underſtand it afterwards, for we ſpeak not at Uncertainties in this Point, but what we have in ſome Meaſure ſeen, and felt, and handled of the Word of Life, that we deliver to you, that ye may have Fellowſhip with us; and truly our Fellowſhip is with the Father, and his Son Jeſus Chriſt, through the Spirit.

FINIS.