The fountain of life opened, or, A display of Christ in his essential and mediatorial glory wherein the impetration of our redemption by Jesus Christ is orderly unfolded as it was begun, carryed on, and finished by his covenant-transaction, mysterious incarnation, solemn call and dedication ... / by John Flavell ...

Inference 1.

We Infer,* 1.1 That if Christ was thus raised from the dead, then death is fairly overcome, and smallowed up in Victo∣ry. Were it not so, it had never let Christ escape out of the Grave. The prey of the terrible had never been thus rescued out of its paws. Death is a dreadful enemy, it defies all the Sons and Daughters of Adam. None durst cope with this King of terrors but Christ. And he by dying went into the very den of this Dra∣gon, fought with it and foiled it in the Grave its own territories and dominions, and came off a Conqueror. For as the Apostle speaks, Acts 2.24. It was impossible it should hold or detain him. Never did death meet with its over match before it met with Christ. And he conquering it for us, and in our names, rising as our representative, now every single Saint triumphs over it as a vanquisht enemy, 1 Cor. 15.55. O death where is thy Sting? O Grave where is thy Victory? Thanks be to God, who hath given us the Victory through our Lord Iesus Christ. Thus like Ioshua they set the foot of faith upon the neck of that King, and with an holy scorn deride its power. O death where is thy Sting? If it be objected that it's said, 1 Cor. 15.26. The last enemy that is to be destroyed is Death. And if so, then it should seem the Victo∣ry is not yet atchieved, and so we do but boast before the Victory. It is at hand to reply, that the Victory over death obtained by Christs Resurrection is twofold, either personal and incompleat, or general and compleat. He actually overcame it at his Resur∣rection in his own person perfectly, and vertually for us as our head, but at the general Resurrection of the Saints (which his Resurrection as the first fruits assures them of) then it's utterly vanquisht, and destroyed. Till then it will exercise some little power over the bodies of the Saints, in which respect it's called the last enemy. For sin the chief enemy that let it in, that was conquered utterly and eradicated when they died; but death holds their bodies in the Grave till the coming of Christ, and then it is utterly to be vanquished. For after that they can die no more,

Luk. 20.35. And then shall be brought to pass that saying that is written, death is swallowed up in Victory. Then, and not till then will that conquest be fully compleated in our persons, though it be already so in Christs, incompleatly in ours, and then compleatly and fully for ever. For the same word which signifies Victory, doth also signifie Perpetuity, and in this place a final or perpetual conquest. And indeed it drives but a poor trade for present, smi∣ting only with its Dart, not with its Sting, and that but the believers body only, and the body but for a time remains under it neither. So that there is no reason why a believer should stand in a slavish fear of it.

Notes

• * 1.1

  How far short do we come of the primitive Christians whose faith in the Resurre∣ction, and con∣tempt of death Cyprian th••s expresses. ••ente integra, side firma vir∣tute robusta pa∣rati ad omnem Dei voluntat▪ ne fimus pavo••e mortis omni excluso; i••∣mortalitatem quae sequitur cogitamus. Et cum accersitio∣nis propria dies venerit, incun∣ctanter & li∣benter ad domi∣••••m ipso vocan∣te venimus. Cypr. sect. 5. de laps. Quod i••terim morimur, ad i••mo talitatem morte transgre∣dimur non est ••xitus, sed transitus, &c. Cyprian, ubi s••p. Absorpta est mors 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in perpetuum ex Hebraeo 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 quod & victorian sig••ifi••at, & perpe••nitatem Class. Rhet. sac. p. 468.