Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	godliness_n	patience_n	temperance_n	6,856	5	12.1407	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19694	A treatise of faith wherein is declared how a man may liue by faith and finde releefe in all his necessities : applied especially vnto the use of the weakest Christians / by Ezekel Culvervvell.	Culverwell, Ezekiel, 1553 or 4-1631.	1623 (1623)	STC 6113.5; ESTC S4074	171,849	534

point to quiet the minds of all that be troubled with the doubt how they shall be able to get the mastery ouer their greatest corruptions If any should further require to haue particular promises for particular sinnes hee is to know that howsoeuer the Lord doth sometimes descend to particulars Ezek. 36. 25 26. as that the wil cleanse them frō their Idols and that he will take away the stony heart out of them and such like Yet this is not done in euery sin neither is it needfull for when God speaketh so generally that he will clense vs from all vnrighteousnes and that he will heale al our diseases and the like many as we haue seene in the forenamed places who would require more Let vs then learne to apply these generall promises to our particular occasions I nothing doubt but it will as sufficiently comfort vs as if the Lord had saide in particular hee will kill our pride our vnbeleefe our hypocrisie and the rest Onely let vs be familiarly acquainted with these as need shal require and be oft in meditation vpon these whereof wee shall haue daily vse and hereunto ioyne feruent prayer that the Lord would perswade vs by his Spirit thus to rest vpon his promise for his helpe in our greatest need and then shal we more couragiously set our selues against our greatest sinnes and dayly more and more get the victory ouer them all to the honour of God and of our holy profession to the good ensample and incouragement of our brethren and to the present comfort and saluation of our owne soules c. THE THIRD generall head of liuing by faith is concerning holy duties THus hauing seene how we are to gather out of Gods promises daily more certainety of our saluation both by faith and by the principall fruits thereof and in the second place how wee may bee daily more assured of a full victory ouer all our corruptions that they shall neuer ouercome vs but wee them which must needs bring much comfort to all poore distressed soules who groane vnder the burthen of them till they may be eased Wee are to proceede to the third generall point propounded wherein wee are to haue vse of our faith against those many doubts which arise in our hearts how we who be so full of frailty and so weake in grace may yet be able to performe all those duties which God requireth at our hands both towards his maiesty in the first table of the ten commandements and towards man our selues and others in the second table and that in such manner as may bee pleasing to him For howsoeuer many carnall professours in truth little better then hypocrites imagine it is no such hard matter to leade a godly life and so content themselues with such common duties as may vpholde a name in profession of true Religion as frequenting the publike assemblies saying prayers in their houses and liuing honestly among their neighbours all which must bee done and many come not so farre yet they who haue truely tasted of Gods mercy in their redemption by Christ doe know that God hath deserued better seruice at their hands What holinesse God requires and requires more duty of them 1. Pet. 1. 15 namely That as he who hath called them is holy so they must bee holy in all manner of conuersation and that it must be their chiefe Study to adde to their faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance 2. Pet. 1. 4. 6. and to temperance patience and to patience godlinesse and to godlinesse 7. brotherly kindnesse and to brotherly kindnes charity And for the manner of their seruice it must bee 1. without feare that is not seruile and constrained but willing and cheerefull 2. vniuersall in holinesse towards God in righteousnes towards mē 3. before him as in his sight sincerely Luk. 1 78. 75. 4. all the dayes of their life constantly in all estates vnto the end and so to please God in all things Col. 1. 10. The faithfull people of God know Gods children vnable thus to liue by themselues that this is the life which God in his word so much requireth at their hands and which they so earnestly desire and endeauour to performe But so are they beset round with sinne Heb. 12. 1. and oft so taken captiue by the power of their corrupt nature That when they would doe good euill is present with them Rom. 7. 21 whereby it comes to passe that all euen the strongest Christians finde it a matter aboue their ability thus to leade their liues and many of the weaker sort bee oft discouraged to see how weakely they performe all Christian duties And no meruaile for seeing the regenerate themselues haue not receiued any such measure of grace whereby they may thus willingly and throughly sincerely and constantly so serue God as to feare him with reuerence and godly feare Heb. 12. 28 witnesse the slips and fals of the most worthy seruants of God but all our sufficiency is of God 2 Cor. 3. 5. 12. 9. and his grace must bee sufficient for vs Ioh. 15. 5. and his power must bee magnified in our weakenesse and without Christ we can doe nothing Out of all this may be gathered what need we haue of faith to enable vs to leade this life wherby we may please God and finde comfort to our soules Which shall further appeare What is necessary to please God if we well consider what is necessarily required of vs sinners that we may please God in any duty we performe which I conceiue be these three 1. First a conscionable indeauour to doe the will of God Mat. 7. 21. in such sort as hee in his word commandeth 2. Secondly Psal 51. 17 a true griefe for our many failings heerein Esa 66. 2. both in the deede Heb. 11. 6. and right manner of doing 3. Thirdly a beliefe that God for Christs sake will assist vs and accept of our weake obedience All which as we see be euident in the scripture and oft required so are they as manifest by reason that seeing Gods will is the rule of all equity therefore whatsoeuer swarueth from it though neuer so little must needes be vnequall and so displeasing to God And on the other side seeing all our righteousnesse is as a stained or defiled cloath such as Gods pure eyes cannot endure of necessity it follows that they who will be acceptable to God must come vnto God in Christ All our sufficiency is in Christ receiued by faith both for strength to do that which God requireth and for fauour that God will bee pleased to accept of the satisfaction made by Christ for the pardon of their defects in their best duties and for the allowing of their obedience to bee well liking in his sight Whereupon it necessarily followes that whosoeuer intends so to leade a godly life that he may be pleasing

God the father mooued by nothing but his free loue to mankinde lost hath made a deed of gift and grant of his Sonne Christ Iesus vnto mankinde that whosoeuer of all mankinde shall receiue this gift by a true and liuely faith hee shall not perish but haue euerlasting life which the same Apostle expresly saith 1. Ioh. 5. 11. This is the record that God hath giuen to vs eternall life and this life is in his Sonne meaning that this it is which God hath witnessed for vs to beleeue which hee that doth not makes God a lyar and shall most iustly be condemned therefore this then is the first thing in true faith to be considered that euery soule to whom God sendeth this message of the Gospell doe truely beleeue and giue credit vnto it to bee true that God hath made grant of Christ to sinners so that if he accept this grant he shall bee saued This is that faith which in schooles is called historicall because it goeth no further then to giue assent and credit to the story of that which God speaketh to be true which one may beleeue for another and therefore this cannot be true iustifying faith and this may be in those that knowe they are bidden to the wedding yet refuse to come So that though this bee necessary to true iustifying faith yet it is not sufficient therfore in iustifying faith there is required another and more speciall work namely to receiue Christ and life in him offered in the Gospell which was the second generall point to bee considered in the nature of this iustifying faith Namely that beside the assent of the mind and iudgment to the truth of the Gospell The second speciall worke of faith is to receiue Christ offered vs in the Gospell wee giue consent with our heart and will and so willingly and gladly accept Gods gift of Christ whereby indeede he is become ours and we his and so we in him be made partakers of all things pertaining to life and godlinesse 2. Pet. 1. 3. as the Apostle Peter speaketh where I would haue this specially to be marked that hee saith this is by the knowledge or acknowledging of him which I vnderstand to be by true faith whereby we know and acknowledge Christ to be ours This I the rather obserue for that I see some honestly minded herein beguiled to imagine that a man may be a true member of Christ and so be iustified before he thus actually beleeue and thereby apprehend Christ I deny not but that some weake in faith may feare that they do not beleeue and that they haue not apprehended Christ when in deede they haue apprehended him though they feele it not who may be discerned partly by their heauinesse for want of sense of faith but especially by their loue they beare to God shewed manifold waies whereof we shall here more in the triall of faith But that he who neuer apprehended Christ by beleeuing should ordinarily bee a member of Christ I cannot see sure I am the Scripture constantly speaketh otherwise as Iohn 12. As many as receiued him Gal. 3 26. to them hee gaue power to bee the sonnes of God euen to them that beleeue in his name Gal. 2. 20. And to like effect often that we are all the children of God by faith in Christ Iesus That wee liue by faith of the Sonne of God That Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith Eph. 3. 17. In which and the like many it is euident that faith is the Instrument whereby wee receiue Christ our righteousnes and life And this is the constant opinion of all found Diuines so farre as I know Thus then we see that the very nature of faith consisteth in the true acceptation of Christ proclaimed in the Gospell How faith is gotten Now followeth to be considered how this faith is to be obtained and increased that so we may liue by it wherein wee haue these two points to be obserued 1. First 2. point what is the ground of faith 1. 2. Secondly 2. how faithis hereon builded But before this blocke at which so many stumble is to be remooued That wee yet speake not how a man that hath faith may know it to bee so whereof more in his place but how one that indeede hath not apprehended Christ by faith may attaine vnto it So that here onely we seeke the causes which beget this faith not the effects of faith which only prooue we haue it Many not discerning this difference doe much mistake Causes and effects of faith differing and being asked what caused them to beleeue they say because they haue truely repented and changed their course of life which if it proceede not from faith is not so much as a sound proofe of faith much lesse can it bee any cause to drawe them to beleeue By which mistaking it comes to passe that such persons building their faith vpon their life which is subiect to many changes can neuer haue sound and stedfast faith but a staggering vnconstant opiniō at the best We haue neede therefore to looke for a more sure ground whereon to build our faith which must stand against so many and mighty stormes wherewith it is so vsually assaulted The onely firme ground of this sauing faith is Gods truth reuealed in his word The onely ground of faith is Gods truth Reason why as is plainely taught Rom. 10. 17. So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God And so likewise it is saide of the Ephesians 1. 13. That they by hearing the word of truth the Gospell of saluation beleeued which is as manifest to reason in that there is not any thing in heauen or in earth which can testifie to vs such good will in God to saue vs but wee must haue Gods owne word to witnesse this vnto vs and all little enough It is a matter so incredible that the holy and iust God who cannot abide any iniquity Heb. 2. 2. but will certainely giue to euery sinne his due punishment yet of his owne free mercy hath giuen and granted to poore sinners eternall life Therefore hath the Lord so often and so euidently spoken no lesse that hee might thereby mooue vs to beleeue as 1. Ioh. 5. 11. expresly affirming This is that which is testified That God hath giuen vs eternall life and this life is in his sonne For our further confirmation wherein it is saide vers 7. that this is witnessed both by three witnesses in heauen The first the father the second the word that is the sonne of God the second person in Trinity the third the holy Ghost which three be one diuine nature and testifie the same things as also by three witnesses on earth all which be in euery true beleeuer and none els The first the spirit the second the water the third the blood which agree in one witnessing the same things wherby are meant By the first