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A27589 Christianity, the great mystery in answer to a late treatise, Christianity not mysterious, that is, not above, not contrary to reason : in opposition to which is asserted Christianity is above created reason in its pure estate and contrary to humane reason as fallen and corrupted, and therefore, in proper sense mystery : together with a post[s]cript letter to the author on his second edition enlarg'd / by T.B. Beverley, Thomas.; Toland, John, 1670-1722. Christianity not mysterious. 1696 (1696) Wing B2131; ESTC R12817 48,779 66

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CHRISTIANITY The Great Mystery IN ANSWER to a late Treatise Christianity not Mysterious THAT IS Not Above Not Contrary to Reason In opposition to which is Asserted Christianity is above Created Reason in its pure Estate And contrary to Humane Reason as Fallen and corrupted and therefore in proper sense Mystery Together with a Postcript Letter to the Author on his Second Edition Enlarg'd By T. B. DONDON Printed for W. Marshal at the Bible in Newgate-Street And John Marshall at the Bible in Grace-Church-street 1696. TO THE Truly Christian Readers I Have I hope through the Grace of God with a sincere Christian Zeal desired to Argue for the Glory of the Truths of the Gospel under the Honourable Title of Mysteries as they were once for All delivered to the Saints according to the best Methods of Discussion and Ratiocinative Debate from Scripture Reason But behold I first shew to my self and to you a more Excellent or Transcendent way That is Receiving the love of Truth or Truth in the Love of it and with those mighty Energies and Efficacies of it upon the Heart and Life David observing Men making void the Law that is the whole Doctrine of God in his word was Holily Enflam'd upon it Therefore I love thy Commandments above Gold yea above Fine Gold Therefore I esteem All thy Precepts concerning All Things to be Right and I hate every false way The best Antidote against the Poyson of an Infectious Air or Age is the inward Experimental Sense that God hath chosen us to Salvation through Sanctification of the Spirit and Belief of the Truth The most distinguishing Test of Truth that it is of God is self-Resignation and Obedience in doing the Will of God The Witness of the Father the Word the Spirit when we have it in our Selves can alone enable us to set our Seal to that Truth The Conscience purged from dead Works to serve the Living God by the Blood Offer'd by the Eternal Spirit and the Blood of the Everlasting covenant making perfect in every Good Work to do his Will and working in us what is well pleasing in his Sight are the most Assuring Seals of the Eternal Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ in such an Antichristian Time The Gates of Hell All the Reason Policy Wit Authority of it cannot prevail against a Christian so founded on that Rock The Work of Faith with Power according to that History of Believers Heb. 11. does above All display the Mysterious Efficacy of it which none know but they who have it That it gives a presence of its Objects above all that Sence can do of its proper Objects and a Demonstration of its Idea's above all that Reason is Able for For it can prevail Above both when they would carry contrary to its Scope and End and Impowers to Action far above them by vertue of that Hypostasis and those its Demonstrations Let us therefore Bow our Knees mutually that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ would grant us according to the Riches of his Glory to be strengthen'd by his Spirit in the Inner Man that Christ may dwell in our Hearts by Faith that we may comprehend with All Saints the Heighths and Depths the Breadths and Lengths of what passes Knowledg That we may be filled with All the Fulness of Him who can to perfect Mystery do above All we can ask or think and yet to shew it no Blind Chimerick or Imaginary thing By a Power that Worketh IN us To Him be Glory in his Church by Jesus Christ throughout All Ages Amen And in Regard of so many Antichrists Enemies to the Glory of Christ and of his Gospel in this Age and in the midst of us Let us Hereby know to our Consolation It is the very Last of the Last Time the Time for God to Work for the Consuming the Grand Antichrist and all the Lesser Antichrists that come out of his Smoke with Him The Lord Hasten it in this his very Time So Joyn I beseech you in Supplication with your most Humble Affectionate Servant In our Lord Jesus T. B. THE PREFACE THere hath Lately Appeared in Print A Book Entituled Christianity not Mysterious And It Vndertakes to Shew There is nothing in the Gospel Contrary to Reason or Above it And that no Christian Doctrine can be call'd A Mystery The Writer Conceals his Name and I do not desire to make Enquiry after it For it is not a Name but Truth and Weight of Discourse I would Insist upon Nor would I if I could make Any Reflexion upon Persons Having All Reasons in my self for Humility in Regard both of Consciousness of my own Weakness and also of Vnworthiness I would deal onely with Things and Treat them as They Require to be Treated That All may Rest on the Merit of True Reason according to the Word of God and not on Sallyes of Wit or Satyre And that All may be Managed with a Gravity Condecent to the Mysteries of Christianity and with Reverence of Scriptures as All who Discourse in their Defence ought to Speak and Write I desire to observe the Apostolical Rule To give the Apology of the Hope of Christianity to Those who Ask for it with Meekness and Fear and in Meekness to Instruct If Any oppose Themselves If God Peradventure will Give them Repentance to the Acknowledging the Truth I could Have Heartily wish'd that even the Writer of the Treatise I Design to Review had Avoided any thing that Looks so Like Ridiculing and Exposing as that Dialogue between the Doctor and Parishioner p. 112 c. and Left his Reader to Bow before the Majesty of Evidence as He expresses it wherever he Found it and had Forborn that as Least Indecorousnesse of Expression towards Persons of so Great Veneration for their Accomplishments of Holiness and Learning as also their Early Profession of Christianity I mean The Fathers whom He calls p. 5. The Herd of the Fathers as if because of Their Reverence of the Mysteries of the Gospel above the Pretensions of Reason They were to be Look'd upon as Irrational not to say Worse A Vein of clear unsullyed Reason especially Bowing before a Greater Majesty then what we are too suddenly prone to call Evidence I mean the Authority of God in his Word I value above All Flourishes tha serve the Reader 's Diversion and Airyness rather then his Instruction and Benefit I am glad to find so many Reflexions on the Mystery of Iniquity and the Depths of Sathan as I hope they will shortly be Vniversally deem'd and spoken of I mean That of Popery or Antichristianism so Great an Eclipse upon the Glory of True Christianity because Scripture hath so often Doomed it to Impenitency and Perdition But I cannot but look upon it as most Injurious to Parallel in any Degree with it those Forms of Sound Doctrine so often Reproached under the Name of Systems or Systematic Theology wherein any have taken care to keep especially Close to
Rom 8.20 and yet is Subject by Reason of him who so Subjected it in Hope into the Glorious Liberty of the Children of God § 10. As every Reason and Wisdom together with the Speech and Expression it hath and makes of it self hath a certain Energy and Force or Spirit that it powerfully sends forth and works on others by so it is Attributed to the Eternal wisdom Reason and word of God to Powre out his Spirit Prov. 1.23 c. 14. Joh. c. 15.16 to send the Paraclet or Comforter the Holy Spirit whom the Father sends in the Sons Name who is called the Spirit of that Word by whom the world was made the Spirit of Wisdom of Revelation The Spirit of the Son The Spirit of Christ and which was given upon the Glorification of Christ Iohn 7.30 the Spirit of Christ in the Prophets and whom Scripture Introduces on all Accounts as the Spirit Breathing in and with the Declared Word of God and Revealing the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven that cannot otherwise be knwon and yet this Spirit none can know but they who have it John 14.17 Thus in all things appears the Happy Union of Reason and Mystery in the Supreme Reason and Mystery and Word CHAP. VII Of the Mystery of the Father The Word The Spirit In whom the Gospel gives the most Explicate and Consummate Manifestation of Eternal Wisdom and Reason THE former Parts of this Discourse concerning Reason and Mystery hath necessarily led to the distinct consideration of God The Father of Lights and of Spirits The Introduction All Beings of Reason descending from Him Of The Son of the Father in Truth viz. The Eternal wisdom and Reason and in Love The Word declaring the Father Full of Grace Full of Truth Of The Spirit of wisdom of Holiness of Power The Spirit giving Vtterance The Father the VVord who is the Son and the Spirit are plainly Assured to us in Scripture to be ONE Herein is highest Mystery as a conclusion therefore of this Discourse Let us in very Brief consider them so and the rather because One cannot but suspect This Jannes and Jambres Treatise Christianity not mysterious 2 Tim. 3.8 was designed to Resist this great Truth The Discourses of which however keeping close to Scripture it Stiles p. 25. Extravagancies about the Trinity and that Period pag. 29. Savors strongly of the fame Leven But what do they mean by Consisting with themselves yet not with our common Notions Four may be called Five in Heaven but so only the Name is chang'd the thing remains the same And since in this World we cannot know any thing but by our common Notions How shall we be sure of this Pretended consistency between our present seeming Contradictions and the Theology of the World to come In Answer hereunto in this great point let us consider § 1. It is certain an intellectual Spirit cannot be made such but that the Infinite Intellectual Object and most Intelligible GOD must needs be seen in his great Glory and Attributes of Perfection by it But he cannot yet be found out to Perfection but still dwells in that Light to which no one can Approach both in regard of Infinity and Infinite Holiness and Spirituality Job 4.3 so as to Charge purest Created Beings with Folly to put no Trust in the Holyest of his Servants and the Stars are not pure in his sight The most Blessed of Created Spirits cover not only their Feet but their Faces and cast their Crowns before him Even those who are not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa 6.2 2 Pet. 3.17 Jud. v. 13. Defirmamented nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wandring Stars Who have not Left their first Estate nor forsaken their own Habitation They dare not stand on their Intellectual or Moral Accomplishments How much less they who dwell in Houses of Clay whose Foundation is in the Dust who are but worms The Author of the Treatise we are upon acknowledges we have not Adequate conceptions of the Divine Being and yet denies Mystery because not above Reason not considering That we must now by Faith that Intellectual Grace of the New Creation and of Divine Illumination and therefore necessarily above the Reason of the First Creation if entire much more as fallen come to God Believing He is and is a Rewarder of them who Diligently seek him That is To know him in the Mediator and in the Light of his Divine Spirit according to the Revelation of his Word § 2. This Revelation of Scripture is so clear and full throughout especially the New Testament that it cannot be Denied There are so many and so distinct Namings of them both apart and together The Father The Word who is the Son The Spirit They are so Distinguished One from the Other and yet their Union one to another is most Illustriously made known as in this one Instance the Spirit is Stiled The Spirit who proceeds from the Father John 14. c. 15. c. 16. whom the Father sends in the Sons Name Now the Father as he is the Father cannot be the Son SO the Spirit is stiled The Spirit whom the Son sends from the Father The Spirit who Glorifies Christ The Spirit of the Son The Spirit of Christ And we know The Son cannot be The Father as he is the Son when therefore as the Apostle Expresly Affirms The Spirit is the One and the Self Same Spirit and he is continually stiled the Spirit of God whom most of the Adversaries acknowledg one with God as the Spirit of a man is one with himself and that yet the Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son It is absolute Scripture Demonstration that the Father the Son the Spirit are both most distinct and yet most truly The One true God Their Attributes are Distinct to Each and yet the same Divine Perfections shine out alike in All Their Acts of Love and Grace in the Salvation of man are so distinct and yet proper only to the One Eternal Being as the Fountain of them That they from whom those Emanations are cannot but be understood as Distinct and yet but One. The acknowledgments and Returns that are called for from and made by Redeemed Saints unto the Father the Son the Spirit are such as can only be Required by the most High God to himself nor without Horrible and Abominable Idolatry yeilded to any other The Gospel is so Abundant in all these and makes this manifestation of God so principal an end and scope of all its Discourses and places so much its Glory in it as in what it most designs to declare That if we own it to be a Revelation from God it is as great an Injury either to reject or to interpret it contrary to it self herein because our short and corrupt Reason cannot allow it as to impute any monstrous Thing to it For it must be supposed either to Reveal some such Portent as cannot be Believed or