Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	love_n	patience_n	temperance_n	1,817	5	11.3534	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33947	A second generall epistle to all the saints wherein is unfolded the covenant of grace, as its a law in the spirit, of light, liberty, righteousness, holinesse, power and glory : as likewise as it is a law of peace, love and edification : published for the good of those who love peace and holinesse / written by T. Collier.	Collier, Thomas, fl. 1691.	1649 (1649)	Wing C5297; ESTC R12986	48,646	138

conversation as wel as of the lips there is not onely the fruit of saying but doing If any man doe my will he shall know saith Christ c. Now this doing consists either 1. In doing workes of piety according to the power and liberty received 2. In doing workes of righteous justice and equity not in seeking alone our owne but others good 3. In doing workes of mercy both to the soules and bodies of those who want else you may see the fruits of this spirit Gal. 5. 22. The fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance against such there is no law These are the fruits of the spirit which being manifest makes God and truth and Saints appeare lovely not onely each to other but to the world likewise they shall fall downe and confesse That God is in you of a truth These fruits of the spirit Peter mindes 1 Pet. 1. 5. Adde to faith virtue to your virtue knowledg to knowledge patience and to patience temperance and to temperance godlinesse and to godlinesse brotherly kindnesse and to brotherly kindnesse charity Thus the true Christian hath a holy conversation holy within and holy without holinesse written upon the horses bridles every pot in Jerusalem appeares to be holy in al manner of holy conversation and godlinesse a universall walking with and conformity to God in spirit soule and body Their conversation is in heaven their hearts there their minde their comfort and communion and it appeares by their walking before men in their word and actions that it is so Chap. VIII Of false or fleshly holinesse AS there is a holinesse in the spirit so likewise there is a holinesse after the flesh so accounted so called though it be indeed but unholinesse for the man of sinne imitates Christ in every particular and I believe that there hath been as great a mistake in the matter of holinesse in taking it to be what it is not as in any one particular therefore I shal minde a word or two briefly in the discovery of this mystery of iniquity 1. This mystery of iniquity the appearance of holinesse when it is nothing but flesh may be considered either First As it workes within and that either 1. Looking upon good purposes and good resolutions to amend and to doe better Or else 2. In a good minde to leave sin but it wants power a good a holy heart though a bad conversation not knowing that good purposes are common to the worst of men and that where there is a bad outside there is a worse inside for if the streames be filthy the fountaine is much more filthy For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh and the outward man acts an ungodly conversation alwaies flowes from an unsanctified soule if the conversation be light vain and foolish the heart is much more light and vain for all prodigality prophanenesse and vanity hath its first rise in the heart therfore it is the Lord saith My son give me thy heart Or 3. Not only in having a minde to leave it but likewise in having some hatred against it and from hence a forsaking of it because it sees an evill a danger in it perhaps it now apprehends that the wages of sin is death and it feares hell and the eternall flames spoken of in Scripture and from hence growes out of liking with it when perhaps else it could be content many times to embrace it thus most men under the name and notion of Christian deceive themselves with a fleshly fancy of holinesse in the heart when indeed and in truth it is nothing more then fleshly delusions and that which is usually found in the hearts of naturall men Secondly There is likewise a most outward appearance of holinesse in the flesh which is indeed but fleshly and this may be discovered either 1. In the more common and carnall sort who account that now and then the performance of a good act is enough to make them holy and that their good acts will weigh downe their evill they thinke that Lord have mercy upon me or now and then a good prayer is enough to make them holy though perhaps they take the more liberty to sinne by meanes thereof a wonderfull delusion in the mindes of men 2. Others come higher perhaps in an outward civility and an externall acting in the use of Ordinances they will goe to Church as they call it and heare Sermons too perhaps have their Infants sprinkled go to the Sacrament as they call it c. And this is a high degree of holinesse in the mindes of most how doe poore creatures blesse themselves in such vaine and empty formes and fashions to their owne undoing For this is that which is sutable to nature to act in these low and formall waies after the doctrines and precepts of men or after the fleshly imaginations of the vaine and deceitful heart and not after Christ 3. Others come higher then this into an universall as they suppose hatred and forsaking of sin to the acting and performing of that which is good and thus it is much in doing and acting looking upon outward actings to be their holinesse and here hath lien a mysterious mystery of iniquity both in Ministers and People the one teaching the other practising such a holinesse Hence is it that Ministers when they would preach people in holinesse and righteousnesse they presse them to forsake sinne to weepe and mourne pray and heare Sermons to be much in duty and this without all peradventure was enough to make them holy never looking after that internall spirit of holinesse which occasions those external actings sutable to such an internall principle Hence it comes to passe that many poore soules being thus mis-led come under a spirit of delusion or else under a spirit of bondage being sensible of its coming short in performance being daily told that if thou canst not mourne and pray and performe such and such duties then thou art no Christian but Satan rules in thee Now the difference betweene the performance of the externall actings lieth principally in these two things the one acts in it as under a taske a burden a bondage and he hath no comfort till the thing is done the other acts in liberty and freedome of spirit God is his portion without any such acting and God is his portion in it he hath communion with God without it and that is it he expects in it 3. The one acts in duty that he might be holy lookes upon himselfe that the more he is in exercising and performing the more holy he is the other acts in externals because he is holy that is made partaker of that spirit of holinesse all true actions flowing from that fountain of light life liberty and love and thus most under severall forms and apprehensions live low and fleshly contenting themselves with a fleshly holinesse a holinesse consisting in formes formes and creature

the letter could not that was a Covenant that could not give life this is a law of life a law of power in the spirits of Christians Chap. X. The power of the law in the flesh AS this Law this Covenant in the spirit is a law of power so there is a powerfull law in the flesh likewise though this law in the spirit over-powers it and subjects it to it selfe where it is manifest in power This law of power in the flesh may be considered either as it is more grosse or more refined 1. As it is more grosse powerfully working the mindes and actions of naturall men into a conformity unto it selfe it carries on the naturall man to act all manner of unrighteousnesse and that with greedinesse insomuch that they thinke strange of those who run not with them to the same excesse of riot thus it operates in naturall men But 2. This same law of the flesh workes with much power many times even in the spirits of Christians this law of the flesh rebelleth against the law of the minde and lendeth captive to the law of sinne in the members how can Saints experience this truth Many times though the inner man be upright and as they are borne of God they sinne not yet what temptations what workings of flesh appeares within them which occasions blacknesse and darknesse many times the appearance of flesh in a way of power which seemes to stoppe the current of the soules present communion and leaves it under a waiting condition for deliverance Qu. Is this law in the flesh too strange and powerfull for that in the spirit when it seemes thus to prevaile in its rebelling against that holy law Ans It s not too strong for it but wisedome gives way to this rebelling law that it may act its part that so the soule may see it selfe what it is by nature and so may the more prize grace and the more earnestly waite for a deliverance and likewise for the keeping of the soule in a humble waiting dependency upon this Almighty power therefore he sends a pricke in the flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet lest there should be an exaltation above measure as experience teacheth us that flesh is ready to take advantage and that from spirituall discoveries 2. This law in the flesh worketh in a more refined and pure though in a more deceivable way not onely in working soules with violence and greedinesse in a way of sinne but likewise worke soules when they come to see their sinne into a fleshly righteousnesse so that the soule being ignorant of the righteousnesse of God it goes about to establish its owne righteousnesse Rom. 10. 3. And so it workes the soule into a fleshly boasting and a fleshly glorying in fleshly and carnall excellencies and that with as much violence as into a way of sinne and prophanenesse unlesse the power of this spirituall law prevent then it s true the soule is content with joy to suffer the losse of all and and to account all things but dung and drosse that it may winne Christ and be found in him then its content not only to suffer the losse of this law in the flesh in the grosser consideration but in the most refined consideration then it can say What things were gaine to me those I counted losse for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord c. Chap. XI The glory of this law in the spirit THis Covenant in the spirit is a glorious Covenant when Christ comes he comes with power and much glory this law rules in that Kingdome where there is power and much glory The glory of this Covenant appeares not onely in all those forementioned particulars as its a law of light liberty righteousnesse holinesse power c. which must needs produce much glory where all those excellencies met together in one soule and all are glorious glorious light and liberty and righteousnesse and holinesse and power it must needs be glorious when made partaker of the light liberty righteousnesse holinesse power and glory of the glorious God Besides this for illustrating of this glorious law I might minde how it 1. Interests the soule in whom it is into a neare relation to the Father not onely of son and of heire but likewise the relation of Wife of Spouse and so is married to the Almighty eternally this is a name better then that of sons and daughters 2. This glorious law makes forth many glorious discoveries and revelations in the hearts of Christians Such as eye hath not seene eare hath not heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive those things that he hath prepared for them that love him but he hath revealed it to or in us by his spirit 1 Cor. 2. 9 10. Oh those sweet discoveries God oft makes in the spirits of his that they can say sweetly to their soules after a blacke and darke day Returne to thy rest O my soule for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee Thus are they let see into that glorious mystery of love which passeth knowledge 3. As it discovers glory so it works a glorious minde a desire in the minde to be compleated in this glory not out of selfe-love as most doe desire heaven that they might avoid hel but for glories sake its selfe it beholds its beauty its sweetnesse its purity its perfection and so the soule is overcome with it nothing in the world is to be compared to it and hence it is that Saints have such noble heroick spirits looking above slighting all things below as nothing all riches and creature-excellencies and glories is but grasse but drosse unto it this is the nature of this glorious law it fils the soule with so much glory where it is that the desire is taken up with it because it out-glories all other glories in the world besides 4. As it is an out-glorying glory and so drawes the desire of the minde unto it so it is likewise a transforming changing glory it never leaves soules in whom it is til it compleates them in al the glory set before them it workes up soules more and more to it selfe untill it hath perfected them in the glory of the Father Well done good and faithfull servant enter thou into the joy of thy master Hence it was Paul being possest with this truth expecting this compleating in glory presses on to the marke of the price of the high calling set before him and was able to say I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith from henceforth is laid up for me a crowne of glory which the Lord the righteous Judge hath laid up for me and not for me onely but for all those who looke for his appearing Oh therefore my deare brethren in the unity of this spirit looke and waite for this day of God the glorious appearing of the great God because when he shall appear you shall appeare