Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	believe_v	faith_n	revelation_n	1,466	5	9.8611	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28667	A publick tryal of the Quakers in Barmudas [sic] upon the first day of May, 1678 by Samson Bond, late the preacher of the Gospel in Barmudas.	Bond, Samson.	1682 (1682)	Wing B3585; ESTC R29047	105,090	110

manifested himself to Cain by his word three times Gen. 3. 8 9. and afterward that the Word of God came to Noah and so to Abraham and others Now O ye Teaching Seducing Quakers I would ask you this Question sc Could your Light within tell you ought of all this if the written Scriptures had not told it first And yet you would fain make us believe that your Light within is the true Scripture and Word of God even the everlasting Word so that this most notorious lie the whimsie called Light within is the new devised ground of your Faith and Religious Worship Oh ye poor Soul deluded and Soul-deluding ones know assuredly that this Doctrine of your beloved Idol-light in your own addle brains is directly contrary to what the Lord Christ said to his Father concerning his Apostles Joh. 17. 8. I have given them thy words word ver 14. which thou gavest me and they have received them and have known surely that I came out from thee and they have believed that thou didst send m● Note here that the words which the Father gave to Christ and Christ to his Apostles they believed and so believing Preached them to the World the Substance whereof is in their written Gospel and Epistles which is to true Christians the Word of God and the ground of their Faith but ye Soul-deceivers labour to dissolve this ground of our Christian Faith because ye would lay a Foundation of your own humane Invention sc an un bloody Light within which Idolized Light hath no more real blood in it then there is in the Transubstantiated Bread of your Popish Brethren wherein both ye and they do exactly agree in one feigned blood-less Sacrifice for sin which is evidently another Gospel which stands under the doubled Curse of God Gal. 1. 8 9. which is further confirmed Heb. 9. 22. Without shedding of Blood is no remission O read and tremble before the i●raversible decree of wrath and vengeance go forth for without shedding of blood sc true humane blood there is no remission as above and consequently the unavoidable curse of hell and damnation doth attend a non remission which leads me to the Quakers third Principle The third Principle That the Soul of Man is God in part and therefore infallible Reply This titular Principle consists of two parts which shall be dealt with distinctly 1. That the Soul of Man is God in part Thus James Nayler ●n his Book Love to the Lost page 58. teaching fulness of light or soul within in which fulness is meaning the fulness of God in part and John Tayne in his Book of ten Epistles page 71. saith the soul of man is God in part who in page 3. renders this reason for it because the Soul is no created substance and John Lilborn a la●e grand leading Quaker in his Book of six particulars page 16. he affirms That the Light in man was the Light in God himself in whom is no darkness at all referring to 1 Tim. 6. 16. Who only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto which no man hath seen or can see to him be honour and power everlasting Reply Although these words do most plainly exclude any meer man from possessing God in his essential nature yet in page 15. he inferrs That the Light which is the infinite essence of God is the living or quickening holy tender part of man the everlasting Word of God by whom all t●ings were made And in page 19. further saith It is the very Principle of true Religion consider now if it be so then it must be such a Principle to the Devils and all damned creatures for as creatures the everlasting word made them and their Being Life and Motion is in him bec●us● he that is Being it self is the bottom of the being of all created Natures and consequently according to John Lilbourn the Light in man which he calls the Everlasting Word by whom all things are made mu●● be the principle of true Religion in the Devils and damned O hel●ish Divinity Doctrine for even they sc the Devils damned live and move and have their dependance upon the divine nature or infinite essence of the Godhead otherwise they would all fall to nothing by an annihilation Nevertheless this is in a special manner to be noted viz. It s one thing that the infinite essence thus possesseth men devils and all things else and another thing for man or any other creature to possess the 〈◊〉 Essence of God to his happiness and blessedness for so man only possesseth God according to his revealed will but through the w●nt of a right understanding of this special difference above stated it comes to pass that this untoward Generation Dream the Light within them to be God in part and hence inferr that the Soul is God in part here and full in God hereafter for which they do pretend especially four Texts of Scripture to wit Gen ● 7. Eccles 12. 7. Act. 17. 27. 28. 2 Pet. 1. 4. Reply To the first Scripture Gen. 2. 7. And the Lord God formed Man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his Nosthrils the breath of life and Man became a living Soul hence they argue that the Soul in this life is God in part Reply 1. It is to be noted That in the former part of the verse we have the Creation of Adams body The Lord God formed Man that is he fashio●ed the outward and inward part of Adam straight and upright with all his outward limbs and lineaments in their due places without and Veins Arteries Venticles and Bowels in their due places within 2. The Creation of Mans Soul is described i. e. breathed into his nosthrils which Syn●cdochically denotes the whole Man the breath of life Go●s order herein is very observable sc after the Lord had formed his body he gives in not himself in but from himself the Soul here 's the nature of Gods act Breathed it is spoken after the manner of men for as God hath no hands to form so nor mouth to breathe so that hereby must be meant Gods powerful Creation of his Body and infusion of his Soul which God doth as easily as man breathes But to the matter in hand 1. The Divine Being is infinite and indivisible therefore the Soul of man cannot be God either in whole or in part 2. The words being spoken after the manner of men that is to say as the breath of Man is not man in whole or in part but only from him so the Soul being breathed is only from God by infusion 3. The Soul of Man was made after Gods Image Gen. 1. 26. And God said let Us make man in our sc the Father through the Son by the Spirit Image after our likeness i. e. in our Image most like to not the same with us It is an Hebraisme noting a superlative Image most like the Trinity in Vnity This image or likeness

Reply The charge is only to be As perfect not So perfect let it be observe ●here that As is only a note of likeness or quality in which respect the meanest Saint upon Earth is like his Father in Heaven i. e. as to the likeness of Quality for he hath of the same pure and perfect nature being made partaker of the divine nature 2 Pet. 14. And Paul exhorts the Philippians Chap. 2. 5. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ the meanest Saint hath the same mind in reference to his new nature that is in God himself that is he is like to God who beg●tteth all his Children in his own likeness Eph. 4. 24. But in regard of the likeness of Equality thus no man is like the Father or the Son in the degrees of these perfect or pure Qualities the most pure Saint is not Equal to God the Father in this or that or the other which is infinitely pure and perfect in him this interpretation is only proper to the Text of Scripture above which speaks not of a perfection from sin though the Father be perfect from all sin yet the Evangelist hath not asserted it in this place and therefore deductions of freedome from sin in the Saints of God in this life cannot from thence be dra●n nor rat●onally argued The sixth Scrip●ure Rom 6. 18. Being then made free from sin Reply To be made free from sin may not be understood of a freedome from a Being of sin in this life but only of a freedome from the Reign and Dommi●n of Sin As the Apostle explains it in ver 12. Let not sin reign in your mortal boaus and in ver 14. Sin shall not have dominion over you that is ●e shall not be the Servants of sin as it is implied in ver 22. and so to be free from sin is to be free from a voluntary subjection in will or work to the comman●ing motions of corrupt and sinful nature ver 16. It s most certain it cannot be understood of a freedome from sin simply and absolut●ly for in Ch●p 14 10. 7. The same Apostle chargeth sin both upon the weaker and stronger Saints why dost thou judge thy Brother this judging was the sin of the weaker Christians or why dost thou set at thy Brother this setting at nought the weaker Brother was the sin of the stranger Christians well then there can be no state of perfect freedome from sin in this life As the same Apostle in the same Chapter hath inserted ver 7. For he that is dead is free from sin The seventh Scripture Rom. 8. 4. That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us Reply In us That is in our nature in general Heb. 2. 14. not in our particular persons Rom. 8. 3. I have given a large return to the sense of this place of Scripture in the dispute pa's 15 16 c. where I do refer the Reader The eighth Scripture Rom. 2. 14 15. For when the Gentiles which have not the Law do by nature the things contained in the Law these having not the Law are a Law unto themselves which shew the work of the Law written in their Hearts and their Conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts the main while accusing or else excusing one another Reply There is naturally in all men as such a light of direction two manner of wayes 1. By the Law written in their hearts for which the Apostle is here express for when the Gentiles meaning the unconverted Gent●●s which have not the Law do by nature or Natural Lig●t the things contained in the Law these having not the Law formally published or Preached to them are a Law unto themselves which shew the work of the Law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing wi●ness c. And as all have a light of direction from the Law written in their hearts or in the Book of natural Conscience So also 2. They have a light of Direction from the Law of Creation or from that which is written of God in the Book of the Creature And Paul makes this light the ground of the righteousness of God in that dreadful revelation of his wrath Chap 1. 18 against all ungodliness and unrighteousness yea for this very reason because that which may be known of God is manifest in them or to them ver 19. For God hath shewed it to them the whole is though all men have not a light of direction from God so powerful as to change them and make them holy much less perfect without sin yet they have a Light so clear and full as is enough to make them guilty And when they refuse to follow this Light of Direction in the Book of the Creature Chap. 1. 20. in doing what is right then follows the second Light to wit the Light of conviction their natural Consciences troubling them or as Pauls phrase is their thoughts accusing them because they have done that which is not right which plainly argues the imperfection of sin and not a perfection from any much less from all sin in Men as Men. The ninth Scripture Phil. 3. 15. Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded Reply The word Perfect here may not be taken for a perfect freedome from sin for Paul ver 12. saith in effect that he was not perfect from sin which may appear by the 11th verse If by any means I might attain unto the Resurrection of the dead now the estate which accompanies the Resurrection from the dead excludes all sin the Saints shall then be legally perfect this the Apostle aimed at ver 14. and used all means to accomplish ver 13. but he could not attain it as he doth confess in the 12th verse Not as though I had already attained either were already perfect meaning with that perfection from sin which accompanies the Resurrection of the dead so then Paul doth not only deny himself to be perfect from sin but withal inferres such an estate of perfect freedome not to be attainable in this life by any meer Saint because it attends the Resurrection from the dead which is sufficiently evidenced from the foregoing verses he grants a Gospel ver 15. but denies a legal perfection ver 12. if so then the phrase Perfect in the 15th verse above cannot be understood in a Quakers sense for Paul's being perfect from sin we may not affirm that of Paul which he himself effectually doth deny without manifest wrong to the holy Spirit Besides the Term Perfect let us as many as be perfect may be aken as learned judicious Authors have averr'd for some ripeness and growth in matters of Christianity as in the Jewish Discipline there were two sorts of Learners Beginners these did only exercise themselves in the first principles of religious matters and while they were but endeavouring Beginners they were accounted weak or imperfect in Christianity then there were others that had made some progress in and