Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	faith_n	grace_n	habit_n	5,104	5	10.5147	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86340	Glory sometimes afar off, now stepping in; or, The great gospel-mysterie of spirit, or Divine nature in saints: not in that philosophical and humane sense, by effects and habits of grace, but after a more evangelical, divine, and mysterious manner of in-being. Opened, affirmed and cleared, and gloriously breaking forth through a cloud of subtil pervertings, carnal objections, and dreadful condemnings cast upon it; and closed up with an account of some principles, practises and wayes which have sealed up this mysterie, and thereby held down the saints in weakness, and shut up the world in darkness for so long a time.	Higgenson, Thomas.	1653 (1653)	Wing H1948; Thomason E687_9; ESTC R206885	45,476	57

2 Cor. 5.21 that is holy and without all spot of sin in the sight of God to restrain it to the weakness and imperfection of humane Laws and Justice Further those Books do present unto me the Covenant of the Gospel under conditions to be performed by the Creature before the grace and riches of glory in the Covenant become his after the form and example of mans Covenant whereas the whole and every part of the Covenant is free and perfected by God alone first in forgiving sins and remembring iniquities no more and then in putting the spirit into them which brings forth in them faith love and obedience Again they bind up the free spirit of grace to one way that he reveals not the love of God and reconciliation by Christ to any but whom the Law hath first wounded and sore bruised into repentance and sorrow for sin after the custom and manner of men who forgive not the Offender until he ask pardon and confess his Offence thus binding up the everlasting kindnesses of the Lord to the narrow kindnesses of man whereas some are melted with Love as others are bruised by the Law Moreover they confine and restrain the office and power of prophesying or teaching to certain measures and attainments of humane wit and worldly wisdom the anoynting alone which teacheth all truth not giving a sufficiency of light and knowledge for the work of ministring without natural Learning without running for help to flesh and blood They invest the General-Church-Assembly of a Nation with a commanding and coercive Authority over the conscience in matters of faith and Divine worship which lie up as high as in the hands of the spirit they bring down into the hands and power of man herein proudly affecting or aemulating the image and greatness of the civil power they do command over the spirit as he doth over the bodies of men They affirm faith love humility patience temperance c. to be several habits principles or graces in a Saint whereas the Scripture affirms 1 Cor. 12.11 Gal. 5.22 they are not many but one and are but the different effects and actings of the same grace which is one in all and fruits of the same spirit who is one in all Lastly those Books do deny any other coming of Christ until the last Resurrection and so by this Doctrine shut out the Kingdom of the fifth Monarch the Son of God and Saints and the new Jerusalem out of the world and also hereby quenching all that light and glory which shall arise upon Sion Isa 60.1 and that spirit which shall be poured upon sons and daughters in the last days And thus in all these instances it is to be clearly seen that God hath been set at a great distance from Saints by these carnal misty and corrupt doctrines of men so that grace and truth the righteousness and spirit of Christ could not appear in their heights and bredths fulness and glory as near unto us and within us being described and as it were engraven after some similitude in nature and conceived and drawn out as here appears by the short measure and imperfect rule of natural Reason the boundless things of the spirit folded up within the limits and streits of Nature SECT XVIII The third veil which hath been upon the truth of the spirit in Saints THese Systems and Models of Divinity or Canons and Articles of Faith have been the pattern and platform of all the faith and worship the Judge of all differences and controversies the Touchstone of all opinions the Measure of all light and spiritual knowledge beyond which the spirit might not teach nor they profess the key of all Mysteries and the sum and substance of all Doctrines Interpretations and Expositions upon Scripture-truth caught or written in former times And thus the Church of Christ in those days being rather under the rudiments of men then the clearer teachings of the anoynting in them could not see in any other light then through the principles and traditions received from their Teachers Which principles as they had in them some light much smoke some Divine truth much carnal reason Reason of the low attainments of Saints in former times so they begat in the believers of those times like faith like knowledge like communion like spirit of bondage and of liberty of fl●sh and of spirit so that their faith was more adherence which is coupled with some darkness of fear then assurance which is the clear sight of love scattering all fear their strength was the strength of Babes not of strong Men their Communion with God stood more in bitter complaints and beggings then in quiet faith joy and praises their knowledge and beholding of the glory of the Lord was by reflexion rather then through direct beams through the shadowy and imperfect illustrations of worldly similitudes and humane eloquence rather then the pure irradiations of the spirit in them And in present times and from hence doth proceed all that darkness which is yet in the temple of the Lord that dimness and legality in Teachers that unstableness and dulness in people ever Learning and never able at least to find the clear knowledge of the truth and all those carnal childish and confining apprehensions principles and practises wherein Saints do know and approach to God as a blessed Being indeed but as one without them and at a distance from them judging and likening the spiritual knowledge of God to the natural knowledge of a creature and that the fruition or enjoyment of God is in contemplation of his glory as without us that Saints are perfectly justified from the Law guilt and condemnation by the death of Christ but not from the spot and stain of sin so as to be perfectly holy in the sight of God by the pure and spotless righteousness of Christ that believers after every falling into sin are brought again under the Law until repenting whereas the spirit sayes Rom. 6.14 Rom. 8.15 ye are no more under the Law but under grace that Christ is here or there in this form of fellowship order of gathering and way of worship and not in any other these and many other low and dark Principles formerly were and still are as a veil upon the face of truth and upon the hearts of most Saints not so thick a veil as to hide all Light knowledge and grace from them yet so thick as to hide deeper Mysteries higher communion a greater glory of light and love from them the summe of all is Attainments of most in former and in present times what Gospel-truths are either for regeneration into the faith and such are some true discoveries of free love and righteousness by Christ c. or they are for edification from faith to faith and such are deeper discoveries nearer union sweeter and choicer embraces richer understanding of more heavenly Mysteries as of Saints presented perfect in Christ Jesus Col. 1.28 of Christ