Christian Church This Opinion Answer which denies that particular Believers are immediately united to Christ being as I take it but novel hath not yet found its Center but rowls about from the Catholick Church which is made up all of Saints to visible particular Churches which are made up of Believers and Unbelievers First the Author spake of our Union to the Body of Christ now of it to the Church Visible Before I made it appear that particular Believers were immediately united to Christ in respect of the Church Catholick and it is as evident that they are so united to him in respect of the Church Visible On the one hand all that are in the Church Visible are not really united to Christ the hypocritical Professors do but seem to be so It is observed by the Learned Whitaker that Eccesiae particulares visibilibus nexibus colligantur Ecclesia verò Catholica invisibilibus A Visible Church as such is connected by visible Bands and more the Connection cannot be because Believers and Hypoctites of both which the Church is made up cannot otherwise be knit together and how is it possible that the Union of Believers to Christ which is made by invisible Ligatures should consist in their Union to the Visible Church which as such is only knit together by visible Bands On the other hand those which are not of the Church Visible may yet be really united to Christ Thus the Catechumeni were but in vestibulo and not actually in the Visible Church and yet if Believers were united to Christ The same may be said of unbaptized Believers The Emperor Valentinian died before Baptism but in real Union to Christ hence St. Ambrose saith that he had in se imaginem Christi and that his Soul was in refrigerio Believers if unjustly excommunicate are no longer in the Visible Church and yet they are in Union to Christ The Apostles as Christ foretold them were to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cast out of the Synagogues but never to be parted from Christ Believing Merchants may be at a vast distance from the Visible Church and yet in near spiritual Conjunction with Christ And what if a Visible Church turn Apostate from the Gospel True Believers will come out of her and I hope without any loss of their Union to Christ Those 7000 which in the time of Elias bowed not the knee to Baal were I suppose joyned to no visible Church and yet they were a choice reserved people unto God Thus it appears that Believers are immediatly united to Christ in respect of the Visible Church As for what the Author adds Those words I in him Joh. 15. 5. are the same with those My words abide in you Ver. 7. I answer The 5. vers saith that Christ is in Believers and the 7. denies it not but declares that where Christ is there are his words also Hence it is Mr. Sherlock that the ancient Fathers interpret all those Metaphors which decypher the Vnion between Christ and Christians to signifie the cntire Love and Vnity of Christians among themselves Thus St. Chrysostome expounds Eph. 2.19 20 21. to signifie the Unity of the Church in all Ages the Jewish and Christian Church being both united in Christ Thus also St. Ambrose to the same purpose Thus St. Chrysostom on 1 Cor. 3. observes That the Apostle disswades from Schisms and Factions and tells us that the Branch draws nourishment and fatness from the Vine by its Union to it and the Building stands firm by the strong adhesion of its parts Which plainly signifies that our Vnion to Christ consists in our Vnion to the Christian Church Thus the same Author argues from Joh. 14.21 He unites us to each other by many Examples and Patterns of the closest Union he the Head we the Body he the Foundation we the Buildding c. According to the sence of this holy Man Christians are united to Christ by their Vnion to the Church otherwise I can-not understand how our Vnion to Christ can be an argument to Vnity among our selves if we are immediately united to the Person of Christ without being first united to the Church The Fathers interpret those Metaphors Answer which decypher the Vnion between Christ and Christians to signifie the Love and Vnity of Christians among themselves so the Author And is there no Union between Christ and Christians according to the Ancients Or do they deny that particular Believers are immediatly united to Christ Oh! no St. Chrysostome on that place Eph. 2.19 20 21. saith expresly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Every one of you is a Temple for God And upon 1 Cor. 3.11 Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ he adds as our Author hath it Let us be built on Christ and cleave to him as to a Foundation and as a Branch to the Vine that there may be no distance between Christ and us for if there be we immediatly perish By the way observe Christ is the Vine in St. Chrysostome and for the point in hand if there be no distance between Christ and us surely we are immediatly united to him And this is very emphatical in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let there be no Medium between Christ and us and if there be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 any Medium we immediately perish Nothing could be more emphatically spoken for immediate Union And in that place Joh. 14. he expresses as the Author quotes him plainly the Vnion of Christians to Christ And for St. Ambrose I shall quote but one place on 2 Cor. 13.5 he saith Qui fidei suae sensum in corde habet hic scit Christum Jesum in se esse But saith the Author If our Vnion to Christ be immediate it can be no argument to Vnity among our selves But the consequence fails there can be no greater argument to Unity among our selves than this That we are all built upon one Foundation Christ and have all one and the same Spirit in us so it is with all that are mystically united to him The Sacraments our Saviour hath instituted as Symbols of our Vnion with him are a plain demonstration of it Mr. Sherlock Baptism is the Sacrament of our admission into the Christian Church For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body 1 Cor. 12.13 In which the Apostle seems to allude to Baptism which confers the holy Spirit on us all and thereby makes us all members of the Body of Christ But more expresly in Eph. 4.4 There is one body and one Spirit as ye are called in one hope of your calling One Lord one Faith one Baptism That is the Christian Baptism is but one and is a Sacrament of Vnion making us all members of that one Body This is called being baptized into Christ that is admitted into the Church by a publick Profession of our Faith in Christ Thus the Lord's Supper is a Sacrament of Vnion and signifies the
Union and what better proof can be of it than that divine Life which issues from thence Our Saviour hath put it out of all doubt He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him Joh. 6.56 And in another place he tells them Abide in me and I in you Joh. 15.4 What can be more emphatical and expressive of our Mystical Union If such words do not signifie it what can We are said to be in him that is true even in Jesus Christ 1 Joh. 5.20 And Christ is said to be in us the hope of glory Col. 1.27 And how full are these Expressions This our Saviour prayed for in that solemn Prayer Joh. 17. As thou Father art in me and I in thee that they may be one in us This he promised At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you Joh. 14.20 Surely that Union which is set forth by the Union of the Father and the Son in the blessed Trinity must be a mystical one The Bonds of this Union are no less pregnantly expressed touching the holy Spirit which as Bishop Davenant tells us is Primaria Commissura by which Christ and we touch the Scripture speaks negatively If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Rom. 8.9 that is he hath no Union or Communion with him and positively or affirmatively He that is joyned unto the Lord is one Spirit 1 Cor. 6.17 Hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his Spirit 1 Joh. 4.13 Touching Faith which as the Learned Vsher saith is the Soul of all other Graces the Scripture teaches us that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith Eph. 3.17 and that Faith comes receives leans on puts on feeds on and in a word possesses Christ In one place Gal. 2.20 we have both these Bonds together I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me that is by his Spirit and I live by the faith of the Son of God these two Make up the Mystical Union The Name of this Union is also expresly in Scripture Fancy did not baptize it Mystical but the holy Ghost This is a great mystery to be members of his body of his flesh and of his bones Eph. 5.30 32. Nay The riches of the glory of the mystery is Christ in us the hope of Glory Col. 1.27 The ancient Fathers were no strangers to this Union that of Ignatius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist ad Eph. points it out to us In the times of St Cyprian and Julius Bishop of Rome the Church in the Lord's Supper which is a divine Seal of this Union used over and above to note it out by mixing Water with the Wine Hence St. Cyprian saith Cypr. E. pist 63. Decret Julii in Concil Quando in calice vinum aquâ miscetur Christo populus adunatur credentium plebs ei in quem credidit copulatur conjungitur And Julius saith Si sit vinum tantùm est Christus sine populo si aqua sola populus sine Christo St. Hilary and St. Cyril of Alexandria compare our Union with Christ with that high Union which is between the Father and the Son St. Cyril upon John tells us as I have him quoted by the Noble Sadeel that Christus per fidem ingreditur in nos per Spiritum sanctum inhabitat St. Basil speaks of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an intellectual mouth in the inner Man by which we feed upon Christ the Bread of Life St. Chrysostom saith Hom. 11. in Ephes that there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Spirit flowing from above which touches all the Members of Christ Diximus fratres saith St. Austin hoc Dominum commendasse in manducatione carnis suae potione sanguinis sui Tract 27. in Joh. ut in illo maneamus ipse in nobis maneamus autem in illo cùm sumus membra ejus manet ipse in nobis cùm sumus templum ejus And in another place De peccator Mer. cap. 31. Homines sancti fideles ejus siunt cum homine Christo unus Christus unus Christus caput corpus magna est mira dignatio Theophylact saith In Joh. 15. that a man is by Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 part of the Root united to the Lord and incorporated in him And to name no more generally those Sayings of the Fathers which the Papists plead for an oral Manducation of Christ are so many proofs of the Mystical Union The Schoolmen concurr in the same thing Aquinas saith that Christ and his Members are but una Persona mystica And Barthol Medina expresses it fully In 3. partem Thom. qu. 8. Cùm efficimur membra sub Capite Christo mirabili quâdam Spiritûs sancti operatione unimur transimus in Christum induimúsque illum deiformi quâdam insitione atque Vnione illi inserimur Modern Divines go the same way to name but a few Bishop Vsher saith Imman pag. 50. The Bond of this Mystical Vnion between Christ and us is on his part the quickning Spirit and on ours Faith Est inter Christum omnia Christi Membra continuitas quaedam ratione Spiritûs sancti qui plenissimè residens in Christo Capite In Col cap. 1. ver 18. unus idem numero ad omnia ejus membra diffunditur vivificans singula uniens universa so Bishop Davenant The Spirit knitteth us as really though mystically Life of Christ 457. unto Christ as his Sinews and Joynts do fasten the parts of his sacred Body together thus Bishop Reynolds But I shall shut up all with the Authority of our Church In the Lords Supper there is no vain Ceremony no bare Sign nor untrue Figure of a thing absent but the Table of the Lord the Bread and Cup of the Lord the Memory of Christ the Annunciation of his death the Communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord in a marvellous Incorporation 1. Hom. of the Sacrament which by the operation of the holy Ghost the very Bond of our conjunction with Christ is through Faith wrought in the Souls of the faithful the true Vnderstanding of this Fruition and Vnion between the Body and the Head between Believers and Christ the ancient Catholick Fathers perceiving themselves and commending to their people were not afraid to call this Supper the Salve of Immortality a Deifical Communion pledge of eternal health and food of immortality This Mystical Union we see is no Fancy no very great moments depend upon it Tota veraejustitiae salutis vitae participatio ex hâc pernecessariâ cum Christo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pendet saith the Learned Zanchy Without it how should Christ profit us which way should his blood wash or righteousness cover us What illapses of the holy spirit or vital influences of Grace could we look for in a state
united to Christ or true and reall which imports the truth and sincerity of our Obedience and Subjection to our Lord and Master Hypocrites may seem Answer but are not members of Christ or united to him non potest Christus habere damnata membra omnia ista membra absit omninò Contr. Cresc l. 2. cap. 21. ut in membris illius columbae unicae computentur saith St. Austin and in another place Si amas amplecteris peccata tua contrarius es Christo Expos in Epist Jo hannis intus sis foris sis Antichristus es intus sis foris sis palea es sed quare foris non es Quia occasionem venti non invenisti Our Obedience to Christ our Lord is not the very mystical union it self but a Divine fruit of it The Spiritual Kingdom of Christ requires the homage of the Soul Mr. Sherlock the Government of our thoughts and passions the renovation of our minds and Spirits we must be born again of water and of the Spirit if we would enter into Gods Kingdom that is before we can be the Disciples and Subjects of Christ we must be born of water make a publick profession of our faith in Christ and obedience to him in our Baptism we must be born of the Spirit too that is our minds and Spirits must become subject to Christ our faith in Christ and subjection to him must be sincere and hearty governing all the motions of our Souls and making usually such as we pretend to be which is called being born of the Spirit because all Christians Graces are in Scripture attributed to the Spirit as the Author of them Here are two things Answer Baptism and Regeneration both are not of a like necessity to make us Disciples of Christ Regeneration is simply necessary but so is not Baptism unbaptized persons may be reall believers and if they die before Baptism as Valentinian did they enter into Bliss Contr. Don. l. 1.4 cap. 22. Impletur invisibiliter cum mysterium Baptismi non contemptus religionis sed articulus necessitatis excludit saith St. Austin Baptism may be administred by man but Regeneration is the sole work of the holy Spirit which breaths where it lists and forms all those Graces which make up the new creature hence we are said to be born of the Spirit and all the Graces in the new man are called the fruits of the spirit Hence Fulgentius saith ex eodem Spiritu renati sumus ex quo natus est Christus De Jucava cap. 20. The very same Spirit which formed Christ in the womb forms him in the heart And S. Ambrose speaking of the Gracious Image of God in us saith Pictus es ô homo Hexaem l. 6. cap. 8. à Domino Deo tuo bonum habes artificem atque pictorem No other hand but that of the holy spirit only is able to draw such a picture of God as is in the new creature we who naturally lye in a Mass and Chaos of corruption are not capable of doing any thing in it As a visible profession is the foundation of an external Political union between Christ and his Church Mr. Sherlock so this new nature is the foundation of a real and spiritual union And this the Scripture represents under several notions First by the Subjection of our minds and Spirits to Christ as our spiritual King when we put our Souls as well as our Bodies under his Government Hence Christ is said to dwell in our hearts by Faith Eph. 3.17 That is to have the sole command and Empire of our wills and affections to govern our hearts as a man does the house in which he dwells Secondly by a participation of the same nature which is the necessary effect of the Subjection of our minds to him for the Gospel of our Saviour is the truest image of his mind he transcribed his own nature into his Laws and therefore a sincere Obedience to his Laws is a conformity to his nature Hence is that exhortation That the same mind may be in us as was in Christ Phil. 2.5 And to be his Disciples is to learn of him Matth. 11.29 Hence our union to Christ is described by having the Spirit of Christ Rom. 8.9 If any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his that is unless he have that same temper of mind which Christ had which is called having the Spirit by an ordinary figure of the cause for the effect for all those Virtues and Graces wherein our conformity to Christ consists are called the fruits of the Spirit and therefore what the Apostle calls having the Spirit in the next verse he expresses by If Christ be in you that is if you be possest with the same love of virtue and goodness which appeared so eminently in him which is much to the same sence with that expression of Christ being formed in you Gal. 4.19 Hence in 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit Herein consists our union to Christ that we have the same temper Souls are united by an harmony of wills this makes two one Spirit After a long discourse touching external communion with the Church Answer the Author is now come to own a spiritual union with Christ and this saith the Author the Scripture represents to us first by the subjection of our minds to Christ as our King Christ dwells in our hearts by Faith Eph. 3. that is he commands there But I take that place of the Apostle to be an eminent proof of the mystical union it is not said Christ commands though that be very true but he dwells in our hearts not by a piece of faith such as accepts Christ as our Lord but by an entire one such as receives him in all his offices We have in those words faith expressed which is a bond of that mystical union and where faith is there is that other bond the holy Spirit which flows as rivers of living water in the believers heart and just before those words of Christs dwelling in our hearts by faith the Apostle speaks of the holy Spirit in the inner man Verse 16. which is the principal bond of that mystical Union And St. Chrysostom on the words saith that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By the holy spirit in the inner man Christ doth dwell in our hearts by faith But saith the Author Secondly this is represented in Scripture by a participation of the same nature which is the necessary effect of the subjection of our minds to Christ To which I answer If by that subjection be meant a receiving Christ as our Lord it is but a part of that faith which with its Sister Graces make up the new creature all Graces are found in the new creature and among others Faith which receives Christ in all his offices and among other in his Kingly but if by that subjection be meant Obedience to his
as the Apostle mentions That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable to his death Phil. 3.10 And whence had they this Learning they heard him and were taught by or in him not from the personal Preaching of Christ in the flesh but in and by his Ministers and holy Spirit I add his holy Spirit because the Gospel alone cannot do it which made St. Austin say De Praed Sanct. cap. 8. Cùm Evangelium praedicatur quidam credunt quidam non credunt sed qui credunt praedicatore forinsecùs sonante intùs à Patre audiunt atque discunt qui autem non credunt foris audiunt intùs non audiunt neque discunt that such is the Learning meant here appears from the after words As the truth is in Jesus Truth is in the Gospel notionally but in Christ practically all Graces being exemplified in him and the true learners are conformed to his Image and as the Apostle hath it in the next Verses they put off the old man and put on the new and so are assimilated to his Death and Resurrection It is acknowledged by all Mr. Sherlock that Christ sometimes signifies the Church which is his Body Thus we must understand those Phrases of being in Christ engrafted into Christ and united to Christ It is acknowledged by all Answer that Christ sometimes signifies the Church how then can he charge those whom he opposes that where-ever they meet with the word Christ in Scripture they always understand by it the Person of Christ pag. 4 As for the Phrases of being in Christ c. I shall reserve them till I come to the Mystical Union To what the Author infers from the various significations of the Name Christ That such mistakes have been occasioned thereby that some are very zealous to advance Christ's Person to the prejudice and reproach of his Religion I shall only say It is not so Instead of the substantial Duties of the Love of God and Men Mr. Sherlock and an universal Holiness of Life they have introduced a fanciful Application of Christ to our selves and Vnion to him set off with those choice Phrases of closing with Christ and embracing Christ and getting an interest in Christ and trusting and relying and rolling our selves on Christ Fanciful Answer alas that a Christian a Divine should let drop such a reproachful word on so sacred a thing as the Application of Christ Without this the excellent Scripture must I fear labour under very odd Glosses such as these A Believer may be in Christ and out of him he may put him on and off at the same time he may have Communion with him without Union and feed on him without so much as reception Christ may dwell in the Believer at a Distance and abide in him without the least approach Which are such kind of Absurdities as a man would hardly name for fear of grating pious Ears and Hearts But this is not all Without this true Faith which as Learned Dr Ward observes is uppropriativa Christi must forfeit its Nature unless it can appropriate without Application and Christ its precious Object must lose the Vertue of his Blood and Merits unless they can heal at a distance For what shall we say May an unapplied Christ be in us the hope of Glory or may his unapplied Obedience make us righteous or his unapplied Blood justifie us or his unapplied Death reconcile us to God It is not for ordinary Capacities to apprehend it However if Application fail may the Universal Holiness of Life which the Author speaks of consist Our Saviour tells us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 separate from me ye can do nothing Joh. 15.5 In which words the Melevitan Fathers observe a great Emphasis Non dicitur sine me difficiliùs potestis facere sed sine me nihil potestis facere And how any man should either not be separate from an unapplied Christ or lead a Life of Universal Holiness in such a statu separato I cannot imagine But what speak I of Universal Holiness Never any man off from that divine Root of Grace hath since the Fall bore so much as a Blossom of true Sanctity Instead of Obedience to the Gospel and Laws of Christ Mr. Sherlock they have advanced a kind of Amorous and Enthusiastick Devotion which consists in a passionate love to the Person of Christ in admiring his personal Excellencies Fulness Beauty Loveliness Riches c. the foundation of all which Riddles and Mysteries is that they may make the Person of Christ almost the sole Object of the Christian Religion To slight the Fulness Answer Beauty Loveliness Riches of Christ is very hardly tolerable among Christians and to question why they so passionately love such an one is as the Philosopher told him who asked why men were so taken with outward Beauty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a blind man's question none but the spiritually blind can wonder at the loving of one altogether lovely But these men are for an Amorous and Enthusiastick Love Amorous all Love is so but what in a gross and carnal way No it is far from those Men who are not at all a kin to Castalio who as is said called the Song of Solomon an obscene Ballad not relishing that divine Love between Christ and the Church which all along is pourtraied therein in Allegories and beautiful colours Enthusiastick why so possibly because it is a thing inspired from the Spirit it is so Scriptures and Fathers will own such a blessed Enthusiasm Ipse nobis fidem amorem sui inspirat saith the Arausican Council But which is the fundamental mistake they make the Person of Christ almost the sole Object of the Christian Religion I confess and it is no shame to say so they esteem themselves compleat only in Christ they trust in him they love and obey him their acceptance is in his Merits therir assistance from his Spirit their Graces hang on him as Beams on the Sun their good Works are perfumed with his sweet-smelling Sacrifice they look on him as their great All and do all they do in him and for him Quicquid oratur docetur vivitur extrà Christum est Idololatria coram Deo peccatum said Luther CHAP. II. THose men who talk so much of the Person of Christ Mr. Sherlock frequently without any Sense and Generally without any just Ground from Reason or Scripture are very clamorous and alarm the world with strange jealousies and fears as if there were a Party of men started up who design to make Christ useless What! without Sense Reason Answer and Scripture too Alas poor inconsiderable Creatures What need such strong impetuous opposition be made against them or how are such men likely to alarm the World with fears But for the thing it self I hope the Author designs not to make Christ useless but what he doth towards it in denying
all the Dispensation of Grace to it self But if we may not have acquaintance with Christ himself may we have one with the Gospel No I doubt not the Gospel tells us That the Spirit reveils the things of God 1 Cor. 2.10 and by necessary consequence the Gospel will lead us unto Christ for that Spirit and to communion with him which is the thing opposed by the Author but to me so pretious that before I would open my lips against it I would put my self under the penance of Severus Sulpitius who having sullied himself with Pelagianism afterwards repented and devoted himself to perpetual silence ut peccatum Spond Ann. An. 430. quod loquendo contraxerat tacendo emendaret But now we must see the Pious Learned Dr. Owen brought upon the Stage The Dr. tells us Mr. Sherlock that Christ is not only the Wisdom of God but made Wisdom to us not only by teaching us wisdom by his Doctrine as he is the great Prophet of his Church but also because by knowing of him we become acquainted with the Wisdom of God which is our Wisdom To which purpose he applies that Text which speaks of the Doctrines of Christ to his Person Col. 2.3 For in him dwell all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge A little before those words Answer the Doctor 's Design by which in all Candor his After-discourse should be construed appears to be that all Wisdom is laid up in Christ and that from him alone it is to be obtained who is so hardy as to deny it He that knows him becomes acquainted with one in whom dwell all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge and from whom are derived all the Riches of Understanding in the Saints As in the corporal vision of an Object there is requisite a Light in the Air and another in the Eye so in this intellectual Vision there is external Revelation and internal Illumination and both are from Christ Cui Veritas comperta sine Deo De Anima cap. 1. cui Deus cognitus sine Christo cui Christus exploratus sine Spiritu sancto cui Spiritus sanctus accommodatus sine Fidei Sacramento saith Tertullian By that Col. 2.3 In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge is as I take it meant the Person of Christ the very same which is pointed out Ver. 9. In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead Ver. 10. in him ye are complete Ver. 11. In him ye are circumcised and Ver. 12. With him ye are buried in Baptism and with him ye are risen through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead I can very hardly understand all these of the Gospel neither did I ever find that it was raised from the dead But now let us hear the Author's Inference So that our acquaintance with Christ's Person signifies such a knowledge of what Christ is hath done and suffered for us Mr. Sherlock from whence we may learn those greater deeper and more saving Mysteries of the Gospel which Christ hath not expresly reveiled to us for so the Doctor adds That these Properties of God Christ hath reveiled in his Doctrine in that Revelation he hath made of God and his Will but the Life of this Knowledge lies in an acquaintance with his Person whereby the express Image and Beams of this Glory of his Father doth shine forth that is that these things are clearly eminently and savingly only to be discovered in Christ So that it seems the Gospel of Christ makes a very imperfect and obscure discovery of the Nature Attributes and Will of God and a little after This sets up a new Rule of Faith above the Gospel acquaintance with Christ Doth our Acquaintance with Christ teach us Mysteries not reveiled in the Gospel No by no means neither doth the Doctor say so Redde verba mea vanescet calumnia tua saith St. Austin to Julian The Doctor saith those Properties are reveiled in the Doctrine And in a Sentence interposed by the Doctor but omitted by the Author he saith The knowledge of them is exposed to all but saith the Dr. The life of this knowledge lies in acquaintance with Christ So it is he is God manifest in the Flesh and so a rare Mirrour of the divine Perfections and withall he is the Great Illuminator by his Spirit and so opens our eyes to see the Mysteries in Christ and the Gospel Without this Illumination the outward Revelation gives not a saving Knowledge It may be the Author will smile at me but hear St. Austin De Praed Sanct. c. 8. Valdè remota est à sensibus carnis haec Schola in quâ Deus auditur docet gratia ista secreta est gratiam verò esse quis ambigit Hear Bishop Davenant Exp. in Col. cap. 2. Tales illuminationes fieri talem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imprimi fidelium animis non credunt mundani experiuntur tamen pii The Gospel is a perfect outward Revelation and Rule of Faith yet our blindness needs an inward Illumination that we may spiritually discern the Mysteries therein But now the Author will shew us what Additions these men make to the Gospel from an Acquaintance with Christ's Person and first upon the doctors words That the knowledge of God the knowledge of our selves and skill to walk in Communion with God in which three is the sum of all true Wisdom are obtained and manifested in and by the Lord Christ. The Author observes that by is fallaciously added to include the Revelations Christ hath made To which I answer The Dr. never excluded outward Revelation but this alone cannot give saving knowledge All Wisdom is in Christ as the Mirrour of divine Perfections and by Christ as the great Illuminator by his Spirit We should use outward Revelation in the very same posture as Zuinglius did who understanding from St. Peter that the Scripture was not of private Interpretation Mel. Ad. in vit Zuing. In coelum suspexit doctorem quaerens Spiritum looked up to heaven seeking the the Spirit for his great teacher Had Christ never appeared in the World Mr. Sherlock yet we had reason to believe that God is Wise and Good and Holy and Merciful because not only the works of Nature and Providence but the Word of God assure us that he is so And a little after he adds And is not this a confident Man to tell us That the love of God to sinners and his pardoning Mercy could never enter into the heart of man but by Christ when the Experience of the whole World confutes him for whatever becomes of his new Theories both Jews and Heathens who understand nothing at all what Christ was to do in order to our recovery did believe God gracious and merciful to sinners The Jews knew God to be gracious and merciful Answer very true but through the promised Messiah whom the Believers among them saw slain
make holiness needless Under pardon this is neither better nor worse than an old Popish calumny such as hath been cast into the face of Protestants over and over Chemnitius asserting justification by imputed Righteousness tells us Exam. Conc. Trid. de Justif Inde verò Pontificii texunt calumniam omnia decreta Tridentina ita condita sunt de justificatione ut obliquè nos insimulent quasi doceamus credentes non renovari quasi charitatem obedientiam ita excludamus ut nec adsit nec sequatur in reconciliatis And what return doth that learned man make thereunto Sed tantùm Syeophanticae impudentes calumniae sunt quibus strepitum excitant The learned Chamier brings in Sapeins Cham. de Sanctif cap. 2. charging the Protestants thus Non esse nos justos nist solû imputatione justitiae Christi non autem ullâ inhaerente qualitate And Costerus thus Christus est nostra justitia nulla est ergo alia justitia in nobis And Bozius thus Vt salutem consequaris sis sanctus aiunt omnes Protestantes nihil est necesse boni aliquid velis moliaris aut facias Christo fidas impunè quidvis audeas ad exitum perducas and then expresses himself thus Immanem ita me Deus amet calumniam The excellent Davenant De Hâ—tuali cap. â— ushering in Bellarmine and Campian and Becanus as casting the same dirt into the face of Protestants saith plainly to the two first quot verba tot serè mendacia and to the third calumnia est apertè falsa The Papists you see have cast out these calumnies but should a Protestant do so No surely the Author I confess hath done a great honour to these few Nonconformists in casting upon them that reproach of Christ for so as a Protestant I must call it which many a son of the Church of England would willingly bear hoping to have the spirit of Glory rest upon him but I suppose he hath done no great right to the Protestant cause therein How vain this calumny is doth assoon appear as we can open our eyes upon the common distinction between Justification and Sanctification Justification is an Action of God without us Sanctification an Action of the Spirit within us the one is by the perfect Righteousness of Christ imputed the other by the holy Graces of the Spirit infused and inherent in us In the one we are freed from the Guilt of Sin in the other from the Corruption and Pollution of it By the one we have a Title to God's Kingdom by the other a Meetness for it it being such as no unclean thing can enter into the same And what colour of Repugnancy is there between these two and how doth the one make the other useless Both are useful to the Believer and both in Harmony between themselves Obedience is so far from being needless that it is a necessary consequent upon Justification by Christ's Righteousness St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans first treats of Justification and then of Sanctification as a consequent thereupon Good works as our Church tells us in the 12th Article are the Fruits of Faith and follow after Justification To me it is unimaginable that the holy Spirit which is procured by Christ's Righteousness and before whose inspiration as our Church tells us in the 13th Article works done are not pleasant unto God should inspire unjustified persons to Obedience nay had it not been for Christ's Righteousness the holy Spirit I verily believe would no more have touched in the least holy motion upon Men than upon Devils I shall close this Point with the Authors own words Christ's Satisfaction was for sins of Omission and Commission and by it we are reputed by God as having done nothing amiss and as perfectly righteous to have done all to have kept the whole Law pag. 60. and yet I hope the Author doth not esteem Holiness needless though I cannot tell how Christ's imputed Righteousness whereof his Satisfaction is a part should make any man more than perfectly righteous However Holiness is necessary with respect to Sanctification Mr. Sherlock We have in us a New Creature which is fed cherish'd nourish'd kept alive by the fruits of Holiness God hath not given us new Hearts to kill them in the womb or to give them to the Old Man to be devoured as Dr. Owen hath it The phrase of this is admirable and the reasoning unanswerable if men be new Creatures they will certainly live new Lives And this makes Holiness necessary by the same reason that every thing necessarily is what it is when it is The new Creature is fed with fruits of of Holiness Answer so Dr. Owen Upon which the Author tells us in sport that the phrase is admirable I suppose it is so Hear our Church As Men that be very Men indeed 1. Hom. of good works quoting St. Chrysost for it first have life and after be nourished so must our Faith in Christ go before and after be nourished with good works But for the reason I think it cannot be answered Exercise is necessary for the Body and is it not necessary for the Body and is it not necessary for the Soul It is necessary for the Soul in meer Moral Virtues and is it not necessary for it in spiriritual Graces too Reason though a natural Talent only necessarily obliges us to walk sutably to it and how much more do Divine Graces which are altogether supernatural bind us to live in a Decorum thereunto These things to me are very cogent Well! Mr. Sherlock but holiness is necessary as the means to the end but how Though it neither be the Cause Matter nor Condition of our Justification yet it is the Way appointed by God for us to walk in for the obtaining Salvation he that hopeth purifieth himself none shall come to the End who walk not in the Way without Holiness it is impossible to see God This is all pertinent and home to the purpose but it hath two little faults in it that it contradicts it self and overthrows their darling Opinions which I can pardon if he can What the necessary way to eternal Life and yet neither Cause Matter nor Condition At least it might be the Causa sine qua non and that will make it a Condition But not to dispute about words I am content it should be only a way to life but what becomes of Christ then who is the only way Cannot Christ's Righteousness save us without our own Doth Christ's Righteousness free us from guilt and entitle us to Glory and yet can we not be saved without Holiness What becomes of free Grace then Is not this to eek out the Righteousness of Christ with our own To make Christ our Justifier and our Works our Saviour This is all pertinent Answer It seems the former Arguments drawn from the sovereign Will of God from the End of the Love of the blessed Trinity from the
Laws which the Author after mentions calling it a conformity to his nature the new creature is not the effect of Subjection or Obedience but the cause of it true Obedience is too pure a thing to issue out of an unregenerate heart before it can come forth Enchir. cap. 106. Ipsum liberum arbitrium liberandum est As St. Austin speaks Lapsed nature must be new-natured and its deadly wound healed by regenerating Grace First according to Scripture there must be a good tree and then good fruit De Eccles Hierar cap. 2. First a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Divine state or being as Dionysius calls it and then Divine operations issuing forth in a sweet connaturalness to the Heavenly principles within To this purpose let us hear our Church 2. Hom. of Almes As the good fruit is not the cause that the tree is good but the tree must first be good before it can bring forth good fruit so the good Deeds of men are not the Cause that maketh men good but he is first made good by the Spirit and Grace of God that effectually worketh in him and afterwards he bringeth forth good fruit As for such as are regenerate and new Creatures I acknowledge them to have the same temper of Mind with Christ and that every Grace in the new Man answers to that in Christ and morally unites to him but the Mystical Union is made by the holy Spirit and Faith which hath this above other Graces to receive Christ and incorporate us into him That place Phil. 2. of having the same mind with Christ holds out the same temper in both that in Matt. 4.11 calls us to an imitation of him that Gal. 4.19 expresses the State of the new Creature which is moulded after the Image of Christ But the other two places quoted by the Author prove the Mystical Union the one is that Rom. 8.9 If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his By Spirit is not meant an holy temper of Mind but the Spirit it self the very same which just before the words is called The Spirit of God and ver 11. The spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead and by which our mortal bodies shall be quickned This is that Spirit which unites us to Christ in such an admirable manner that Christ is said to be in us ver 10. St. Chrysostome on the words saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that hath the holy Spirit hath Christ himself the Spirit being present Christ nay the whole Trinity must be so The other is that 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned unto the Lord is one Spirit that is one and the same holy Spirit is in Christ and Believers mystically uniting them together This appears as well by the opposition of one spirit in this 17. Verse to one flesh in the 16. Verse For as the Learned Beza notes on the place Vt constet expositio exterioris corporum copulae nostrae cum Christo interoris spiritûs nomen usurpavit Apostolus as also by the after-words What know ye not that your body is the Temple of the holy Ghost which is in you ver 19. The holy Ghost is that one Spirit which unites Christ and Believers Hence the Reverend Vsher quoting this place among others concludes That the Mystery of our Vnion with Christ consists mainly in this that the self same Spirit which is in him as in the Head is derived from him into every one of his true Members There is yet a closer Vnion Mr. Sherlock which consists in a mutual reciprocal Love when we are transformed into the image of Christ he loves us as being like to him and we love him as partaking of his Nature he loves us as the price of his Blood as his own workmanship created to good Works and we love him as our Redeemer and Saviour I acknowledge there is a Moral Union between Christ and Christians by holy Love Answer but this Moral Union supposes a Mystical one made by the Spirit and Faith Where these are not there can be no such thing as Love to Christ Hence the Apostle Eph. 3.16 17. first lays down the Mystical Union with its two Bands the Spirit in the inner man and Faith whereby Christ dwells in the heart and immediately after adds the Moral one That ye may be rooted and grounded in Love Where-ever the Mystical Union is there is holy Love to Christ What the Author afterwards adds touching God's dwelling in the Church as his Temple is so far from opposing that it points out the Mystical Union especially seeing as the Author confesses Particular Christians are in Scripture stiled the Temple of the living God That place quoted by the Author Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you 1 Cor. 3.16 is very emphatical Christians are the Temple of God and made so by the indwelling Spirit which is the bond of the Mystical Union Indeed the Author saith That the indwelling of the Spirit primarily refers to the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit which God in that Age bestowed on the Church this was the true Shechinah or divine Glory resting on them But I conceive the holy Spirit hath been in Believers in all Ages God dwelt in the Jewish Temple in Types and Symbols of his Presence but which was far more excellent than those outward shadows and appearances of Glory he dwelt even then by his Spirit in all true Believers The sweet strains of Devotion in David did plainly evidence that the holy Spirit was in him the spiritual Imbroidery or Needle-work in every Psalm tells us that the Finger of God was there The believing Israelites in Mannâ Christum intellexerunt saw Christ in their Manna and fed on the same spiritual Meat as believing Christians do which is a clear proof that the holy Spirit was in them The Son of God coming in the Flesh the holy Spirit was poured down in extraordinary Gifts and though those Epiphanies of divine Glory went off yet the same Spirit hath been and ever will be in Believers This our Church acknowledges 1. Hom. for Whitsunday Neither doth the holy Spirit think it sufficient inwardly to work the spiritual and new Birth of Man unless he do also dwell and abide in him And a little after our Church breaks out in an holy admiration O what comfort is this to the heart of a true Christian to think that the holy Ghost dwelleth in him The Apostle tells the Ephesians that they are builded for an habitation of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 through the Spirit Eph. 2.22 Indeed the Author interprets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a spiritual Temple in opposition to the material one which St. Peter calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a spiritual house but I take it the Spirit it self is meant Thus Grotius as I have him quoted in the Criticks saith Non tantùm tota fidelium
Nature of it consists in the Vnion of things which in Rational Beings consists in mutual Relations and common Interests and the Foundation of it is a likeness of Nature and Harmony of Wills And therefore the Apostle explains our fellowship with God by our being the Temple of God and that God dwells in us and walks in us ver 17.18 As for that place 1 Joh. 1.3 Answer I have answered before As for the other 1 Cor. 1.9 Ye were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ it is to be considered that in the Epistles written to Visible Churches some things are common to all some proper only to Believers Those Churches are made up of Believers and Unbelievers and all things do not quadrate to all Thus in the quoted Chapter that touching schisms and divisions is an Item to all ver 10. but that fellowship of Christ ver 9. is proper to Believers such as shall be confirmed unto the end ver 8. This place evinces not that our Fellowship with Christ is founded on our Fellowship with the Visible Church all that are in it have not Communion with Christ those therefore who walk in darkness have it not and if they say that they have it the Apostle gives them the lye in plain terms 1 Joh. 1.6 Where by the way it appears that the fellowship with Christ mentioned ver 3. consists not in Fellowship with a Visible Church on the other hand all that are out of it want not Communion with Christ The unbaptized and unjustly excommunicate if Believers have it and yet are not in a Visible Church But saith the Author the Apostle 1 Cor. 1.10 argues from the nature of their Faith in Christ to the obligations of Peace and Vnity To which I answer that the Apostle argues from the precedent Commendations that the Grace of God was given to them ver 4. that in every thing they were inriched ver 5. that they came behind in no gift ver 7. that they had fellowship with Christ ver 9. which were only proper to the Believers among them and from thence exhorts all to Unity ver 10. Because the Believers among them were really such and the rest would seem to be such Afterwards the Author tells us That the Foundation of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Communion is a likeness of Nature and harmony of Wills Now if we speak of Communion with a Visible Church made up of Believers and Unbelievers these have not a likeness of Nature the one having a divine Nature in them the other only an humane and that corrupt nor an harmony of wills the Will of the one being sanctified of the other carnal and vitious which shews that a Visible Church in the whole Complex of it hath only external Ligaments to tye the Members of it together If we speak of Communion with Christ which is proper to believers they are mystically united to Christ by the Spirit and Faith and withal have an heavenly Nature and Will suting to his Now because the Lord's Supper is the only Act which the Scripture mentions Mr. Sherlock whereby our Fellowship with God and Christ is expressed hence it is called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Communion 1 Cor. 10.16 The cup is the Communion of Christ's blood the bread of his body And he calls it the Communion 1. Because it signifies the Communion of Christians with each other that they are all Members of Christs body ver 17.2 Because it signifies our fellowship with God ver 18. Behold Israel after the flesh are not they that eat of the sacrifice partakers of the Altar The sacrifice on the Altar was reckoned as God's meat as the Temple was his House therefore those who eat of the Sacrifice were entertained at God's Table which was a signification of their Fellowship with him Thus the Lords Supper is a Feast upon a Sacrifice even that great stupendious one of the Body of Christ which was offered on the Cross Therfore to eat the Bread and drink the Wine which are Figures of his Body and Blood is to eat of that Sacrifice that spiritual food God hath provided for us Thus God entertains us at his Table as his own Children who are of his Family as Members of Christ who have a right to all the Blessings of the New Covenant which was sealed with his Blood This is the only Act of Religion which in Scripture signifies Communion with God But Prayer Meditation and such like Acts of Devotion are no where called Communion with God though a prevailing custom hath in our days almost wholly appropriated that name to them Fellowship with God doth not consist in transient acts but is a state of life that relation we stand in to God and Christ and no act of religion properly signifies this fellowship with God but only eating at his table You will not say that a poor man enjoyes communion with his Prince when he puts up his petition to pray to God is an act of homage which we owe him a Duty which results from our fellowship with God but it is not in its own nature an act of communion The Lords Supper is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Answer or Communion but Prayer Meditation and such like acts of Devotion are no where called so thus the Author But the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mentioned 2 Cor. 13.12 cannot be spared out of Divine Ordinances unless we would strip them of their Divine excellency and write upon them that Ichabod which is proper to their departure And what if there were no such word as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Scripture No more was the Nicene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nor the Ephesine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the thing it self being there will suffice all men but Chimers who only follow the sound of words True Believers as they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Partakers of the divine Nature 2 Pet. 1.4 moulded and formed into the Resemblance and beautiful Image of God so they have Communion with God in all holy Ordinances there God meets them and dispenses out spiritual Blessings to them there is a divine Converse and Entercourse between God and believing Souls the drawings of God are answered with the Soul 's running Cant. 1.4 God saith Seek ye my face and the Antiphon in the Soul is Thy face Lord will I seek Psal 27.8 In Prayer the holy Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 8.26 lifts over against us to help up our devotions and the Great God above makes such sweet returns of Grace and Mercy as if he were present and vocally said Here I am Isai 58.9 While we are devoutly musing the holy Fire will perhaps drop down from Heaven and set the Heart as a spiritual Altar burning and aspiring upwards towards the great Origen of all Goodness and Perfections In the Dispensations of the Word oh what divine Influences and Spirations are there on Gods part What Compliances and Responses on the Believer's Justice
a part or share of it and as the Apostle speaks Eph. 4.7 Grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. We may then conclude that the Fulness is in Christ's Person and say of him Hom. of Man's Misery as our Church doth He is the alone Mediator between God and Man which paid our Ransom he is the Physician which healeth all our diseases he is the Saviour which saveth us from our sins he is that flowing and most plenteous Fountain out of whose Fulness all we have received But saith the Author We may learn what this Fulness is by ver 14. We beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten Son of God full of grace and truth so that this Fulness is a Fulness of Grace and Truth and if we consult ver 17. we shall find that this Grace and Truth is opposed to the Law of Moses so that Grace and Truth signifies the Gospel To which I answer In the 14. ver we have only a description of the Person of Christ whose Glory is there set forth by being full of Grace and Truth not a tittle in it of the Gospel In the 17. vers we have not the word fulness but we have Grace and Truth opposed to the Law of Moses but how not as if under the Law taken in the whole Complex and Administration of it there were no Evangelical Truths or Graces this is evident for in the Second Commandment we have mercy for thousands Upon the renewing of the Tables we have God proclaiming himself in those stately Titles of Love The Lord gracious merciful longsuffering abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin In Deut. 30.6 we have the circumcision of the heart in the 37. Psal 31. we have the Law of God in the heart as the Character of a righteous man We have the holy Spirit in the Saints hence David siducially prayes Take not thy holy Spirit from me Psal 51.11 We have Job looking to his living Redeemer Job 19.25 Abraham rejoicing to see Christ's day Joh. 8.56 Abraham Isaac and Jacob embracing the Promises and looking to an heavenly countrey Heb. 11. and and to say no more all the Types and Shadows in the Ceremonial Law were a kind of veiled Gospel and pointed at Christ the great Center of both Testaments And hence it appears that in case the Law be never called Grace yet Evangelical Truths and Graces were not wanting under it But in that 17. vers two things are pointed out to us the one is this That the Evangelical Truths and Graces after the coming of Christ in the flesh though in Substance but the same were gradually far more excellent than before those Truths which under the Law were in Shadows and dark Resemblances after the coming of Christ appeared in Splendour and evidential Glory those Graces which under the Law were but as Drops and in lesser measures after his coming were as Showers and in greater plenty The other is this That Christ is in a transcendent manner supereminent above Moses though there were Grace under the Law yet Moses could not communicate it he could declare the Law or Doctrine but being but a Man a Minister he could go no further Just as John could baptize with water but then he was at his utmost Moses could no more communicate Grace then John could baptize with the holy Ghost and Fire but Christ dispenses more than meer Doctrine he communicates Grace it self Hence it appears that in that 17. vers there is more than bare Doctrine opposed to the Law and attributed to Christ I confess the Gospel to be the Charter and Medium of Grace but it is in the Royal hand of Christ to communicate it and that from his own Person He is a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and remission of sins Act. 5.31 Moreover if all Grace and the fulness of it be only in the Gospel in the outward Doctrine and Declaration of Gods Will as the Author seems to hint what becomes of the influences of Grace What are the supplies of the Spirit of Christ Phil. 1.19 What the inward drawings and teachings John 6.44.45 What the measure of the gift of Christ Eph. 4.7 What the effectual working in every part which is from the Head Christ Eph. 4.16 All internal operations of Grace all vital influences from Christ must utterly cease the condemned Pelagius may come in and set up the very first and rudest draught of his Heresie which placed all Grace in Free Will and external Doctrine and the Orthodox Fathers which with might and main opposed him therein may be justly censured for doing so To the same purpose the Apostle discourses in Coloss 9.10 Mr. Sherlock For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily and ye are complete 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 filled in him who is the head of all Principalities and Powers The expression is allusive and Metaphorical For God who is a Spirit cannot in a proper sence dwell bodily in any thing The Apostle's design in this Chapter is to perswade the Colossians to adhere to the Gospel not to be seduced by Jews or Gnosticks who talk'd very much in their canting phrase of the Pleromata to corrupt the Religion of Christ with Jewish Ceremonies or Pagan Superstitions and the principal argument he urges to this purpose is the perfection of the Gospel-revelation that in Christ that is the Gospel are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge Verse 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is not in whom are hid but in whom are all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge that is who hath now revealed to us all those treasures which in former ages were hidden from the world upon this he exhorts them to be firm to the Gospel Vers 6.7 To beware lest any man spoil them through Philosophy and vain deceit after the traditious of men after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ and then adds For in him that is in Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily So this must refer to the complete and perfect revelation of the Gospel which needs not be supplied by the Philosophy or Traditions of men To understand the reason of this phrase and the force of Argument we must consider that this is an allusion to Gods dwelling in the Temple at Jerusalem by Types and Figures which were the Symbols of his presence The Temple was Gods house the Mercy-Seat and Cherubims c. were the emblems of Gods presence he dwelt among them by Types and Figures and therefore instituted a typical and figurative Religion and this was an imperfect declaration of himself to the world But now God hath sent his son to tabernacle among us Joh. 1.14 The Deity it self dwells in the Temple of Christ's Body not by Types and Figures but by a real and immediate Presence and Vnion and therefore those revelations which are made by Christ are
only Name Jesus is not named the holy Spirit the Fountain of all Grace is not heard of the holy Ordinances the Chariot of the Spirit are wanting and how can we think of the Influences of Grace there The Fathers in the fourth Council of Carthage would have every Bishop believe Crab. Concil Tom 1. that Extra Ecclesiam Catholicam nullus salvetur I therefore conclude with Camero Vult Apostolus omnem plenitudinem esse à Christo non vult omnes participes esse hujus plenitudinis Thus saith the Author the fulness of Christ Eph. 4.13 signifies the fulness of the Church the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ is the explication of the perfect man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies the age and stature of a man the fulness is to be understood of the Christian Church I confess this Text may well be construed as Eph. 1.23 ought to be of the Church only whereas there the Apostle speaks of the Churches being the Body of Christ here he speaks of its growing to ripeness and full perfection which is chiefly accomplished above in Glory But we must still remember that the Churches being Christ's Fulness doth not deny but suppose a personal fontal Fulness in Christ who silleth all in all Let us now consider in what sence Christ is called our Life Mr Sherlock he is called Life with respect to his Doctrine he preached the Word of Life and brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel In him was life and the life was the light of men Joh. 14.6 that is he preached the Word of Life which enlightneth the dark Minds of men it is not imaginable how Life should be Light in any other sence Christ tells his Disciples I am the way the truth and the Life Joh. 14.6 that is I declare the true way to Life Thus he calls himself the bread of life Joh. 6. with respect to the Doctrine he preached ver 33. and with respect to that Sacrifice he offered for the Life of the World The bread I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world ver 51. Christ is also our Life because he hath power to bestow immortal Life upon all his sincere followers Joh. 11.25 I am the Refurrection and the Life Joh. 5.25 The hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live He first raises those who are dead in sin to a new spiritual Life by the power of his Doctrine and then hath Authority to raise them to an immortal life Thus Col. 3.3 4. Ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in glory That is you profess your selves dead to the world in conformity to Christ's Death and though that immortal Life which you expect to enjoy with Christ who is now risen again from the dead be at present concealed from your view yet when Christ who is the Author of Eternal Life and hath power to raise us up from the dead shall appear the second time to judge the world then shall ye appear with him in glory We must not dream of fetching Life from the Person of Christ as we draw water out of a Fountain but we must stedfastly believe and obey his Gospel which is a Principle of divine Life in us and then we may expect a Resurrection and immortal Life Christ preached the Word of Life Answer he brought Life and Immortality to light that is in a more illustrious manifestation of it Immortality which did but dawn and glimmer under the Law breaks forth in Lustre and Glory under the Gospel That Joh. 1.4 The life was the light of men speaks not of Christ's Doctrinal Word but of his Creative which lighted up an excellent Reason in Man This is clear from the Series of the Evangelist's speech which in this place makes its progress from a state of Creation unto Darkness or the amission of Light and from thence to the instauration of it Christ is the life Joh. 14.6 not only declaring the Way to Life but inspiring that Spiritual Life which is a Seed of Eternal He is our Life with respect to his Sacrifice Joh. 6. but then that Sacrifice must be applied to us by the quickening Spirit which unites to Christ and by Faith which feeds on him He raises up those that are dead in sins to a new spiritual Life Joh. 5.25 Not by his Doctrine only but by his Regenerating Spirit and when he hath raised them up he is their Life still by the supplies of the Spirit and influences of Grace Hence St. Austin upon the 26. Verse As the Father hath life in himself so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself observes That Christ hath Life in himself but the Believer hath not Life in himself but in Christ living but as a part or piece of Christ and ever in dependence on him Christ is called our life Col. 3.4 that is he is the Fountain of the glorious Life in Heaven and withal of those Graces which are the first-fruits and buddings of it After all this the Author concludes thus We must not dream of fetching Life from the Person of Christ as we draw water out of a fountain This is durus sermo indeed we must not fetch Life from Christ he calls us to come to him nay charges the unbelieving Jews for not coming to him for Life Joh. 5.40 yet we must not fetch life from him St. Paul did all things through Christ strengthening him Phil. 4. 13. and did not live himself but Christ lived in him Gal. 2.20 yet we must not Christ is in Scripture an Head who gives all vital Influences to his Members 2. Hom. of Mans misery and in our Church-Homily a flowing and most plenteous Fountain of whose fulness we all receive yet we must not And what then must we do We must believe and obey the Gospel which is a Principle of divine Life in us so the Author But is Christ and his Gospel at odds indeed If we fetch Life from Christ may we not believe and obey the Gospel Or if we believe and obey the Gospel may we not fetch Life from Christ What strange inconsistencies are these The Ephesians tusted in Christ and yet heard the Gospel of Salvation Eph. 1.13 they were for the great Purchaser and Fountain of Life and yet cast not away the Charter The Jews searched the Scriptures and yet should have gone to Christ for Life they thought they had Eternal Life in the Scriptures and which was their folly they thought they had it there in a way separate from Christ but he told them that the Scriptures if they had digged deep enough in them would have testified of him unto them and so have pointed out unto them the Fountain of Life in Christ Joh. 5.39 40.
the power of sin and that by the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Thus the Author to which I answer God sent his Son indeed into the world that we might be sanctified by his Spirit but that was not all he sent him that we might be justified by his Blood and Righteousness to which purpose it will be worth while to consider that place Rom. 8. The Apostle in the first verse sets forth believers men in Christ by two excellent things first by Justification There is no condemnation to them no though there be reliques of corruption in them as is imported in the seventh Chapter there is none and then by Sanctification which is in conjunction with the other they walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit And in the other verses he confirms both but inverso ordine first he confirms their Sanctification from the great Origen of it the holy Spirit The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of sin and death vers 2. The power of the holy Spirit hath subdued the power of sin and then he confirms their Justification from the sufferings of Christ with which his active obedience is to be taken in conjunction What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh vers 3. Their sins were condemned in the flesh of Christ there was an atonement made for them which certainly must relate to Justification from these sufferings of Christ with which his active obedience must be taken in conjunction the Apostle inferrs That the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us vers 4. The Law was not able to justifie us for want of a perfect obedience in us but God translated the impletion of the Law upon Christ Christ fulfilled all Righteousness for us Christ bore the wrath of God for us and these things being imputed unto us the Righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us But then the Apostle returns again to Sanctification and subjoyns Who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit assuring us that those who are justified by the imputed Righteousness of Christ are also Sanctified and led by his holy Spirit This I take to be the meaning of the place But let us hear our Church treating upon this place in conjunction with other Scriptures r. Hom. of Salvation St. Paul saith Rom. 3. We are justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ And Rom. 10. Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth And Rom. 8. That which was impossible by the Law in as much as it was weak by the flesh God sending his own Son in the similitude of sinful flesh by sin damned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us which walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit In these places the Apostle toucheth three things which must go together in our Justification upon Gods part his great mercy and grace upon Christ's parts justice that is the satisfaction of God's justice or the price of our redemption by the offering of his body and shedding of his Blood with fulfilling of the Law perfectly and throughly and upon our part true and lively Faith in the merits of Jesus Christ which yet is not ours but by Gods working in us So that in our Justification is not only Gods Mercy and Grace but also his Justice which the Apostle calleth the Justice of God and it consisteth in paying our ransom and fulfilling of the Law And so the Grace of God doth not shut out the Justice of God in our Justification but only shutteth out the justice of man that is to say the justice of our works as to be merits of deserving our justification And therefore St. Paul declareth here nothing upon the behalf of man concerning his justification but only a true lively Faith which nevertheless is the gift of God and not man's only work without God and yet that Faith doth not shut out Repentance Hope Love Dread and the fear of God to be joyned with Faith in every man that is justified but it shutteth them out from the office of justifying so that although they be all present in him that is justified yet they justifie not all together These are the excellent words of our Church worthy without flattery be it spoken to be written in Letters of Gold but much more in the hearts of all true Christians We see here that there is in justification nothing on the behalf of man but Faith only no internal Holiness Repentance Hope Love Fear of God are in the justified but shut out from the office of justifying God's Grace and Christ's Righteousness are the great causes of justification But saith the Author Is there here any mention of Christ's Righteousness or the imputation thereof I answer Our Church surely thought so and we have his passive Righteousness expressed vers 3. and where that is expressed the active is implied This is clear when the Scripture saith That we are made righteous by Christ's obedience Rom. 5.19 It doth include his blood also and when he saith That we are justified by his blood Rom. 5.9 It doth include his active obedience also so that the Scripture because it expresses justification by both and because it must be consistent with it self in expressing the one includes the other When therefore Rom. 8.3 his sufferings are expressed his active obedience is also included both therefore are intended and withall an imputation without which they cannot be profitable to us But saith the Author The Law could not do it that is the Law could not deliver from the power of sin I answer The Law could not do it of it self and without the Spirit of Christ but if that divine Spirit take the Law into its hand and write it in the heart I suppose there will be a New Creature But the Author saith That the righteousness of the Law may be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit vers 4. How can imputation come in here What pretty sence will this make of the Apostles argument I answer The sence is very clear the Righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us by Christ's Righteousness imputed to us and withall we to whom that is imputed walk after the Spirit the one is our Justification the other our Sanctification Both the Apostle proves to be in Believers and both consist very well together as appears from the first verse There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit The No condemnation appertains to Justification and the walking after the Spirit to Sanctification and both stand very well together As to what the Author saith afterwards That there was no reason to abrogate Moses ' s
Law it might have availed to Salvation as well as the Gospel with the supplemental righteousness of Christ there might have been an imputed righteousness as well under the Law as under the Gospel I answer That I conceive that the Moral Law delivered by Moses obliges us Christians as I have before proved and I suppose our Church is of that mind too for I cannot imagine that she should in her Catechism instruct Children in an abrogated Law How there should be an imputed Righteousness without a Gospel I know not it pleased God to found the Gospel upon a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a satisfaction and that cannot be or be profitable to us without an imputation The impotency of the Law was as I noted before that it could not justifie us for want of perfect obedience But God translated the impletion of the Law upon Christ and his Righteousness being made ours by imputation the Law is said to be fulfilled in us To the same purpose the Apostle discourses Mr. Sherlock Rom. 7.4 5 6. Wherefore my Brethren you also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ who put an end to that imperfect dispensation by his death that you should be married to another even to him who is raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit unto God for when we were in the flesh under that carnal and fleshly dispensation of the Law of Moses the motions of sins which were by the Law which grew more boisterous and unruly by the prohibitions of the Law vers 8. did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death That is did betray us to those wicked actions which end in death But now we are delivered from the Law that being dead in which we were held that we should serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the Letter So that the reason why the Law of Moses was abrogated was because it could not make men good it nursed them up in a ritual external Religion taught them to serve God in the Letter by Circumcision Sacrifices or external conformity to the Letter of the Law but the Gospel of Christ alone teacheth us to worship God in the Spirit to offer a reasonable Sacrifice to him to fulfill the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all the internal Righteousness of which those legal Ceremonies were the Signs and Sacraments This is the plain meaning of the Apostles which can never be reconciled with imputed Righteousness which would make his argument foolish and absurd Therefore he tells us in other places what little reason we have to be so zealous for the Law of Moses since we have the perfection of it in the Gospel what need is there of the circumcision of the flesh which the Law required When in the Gospel we have the circumcision made without hands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of that fleshly circumcision What need of legal washing and purgations When they are all fulfilled in the washing of regeneration in the Gospel baptism Thus we are compleat in Christ who bath perfectly instructed us in the will of God and instiluted such a Religion as is the perfection of all Ceremonies Col. 2. We must now offer another Sacrifice than the Law of Moses commanded not the Sacrifices of dead beasts but of a living and active soul Rom. 12. The Apostle Answer Rom. 7. vers 4. Shews that we are dead to the Law by the body of Christ that is by Christ crucified we have remission and the holy Spirit and so are dead to the cursing and irritating power of the Law that we might bring forth fruits of holy works to God Before when we were in the flesh in our corrupt unregenerate estate the motions of sin which were accidentally irritated by the Law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death that is to bring forth sinful actions which tend to death vers 5. But now saith the Apostle we are delivered from the Law from the curse and irritating power of it That being dead wherein we were held that we should serve in newness of Spirit and not in the oldness of the Letter vers 6. That is in those new Divine Prinples which our spirits have from Gods not in the old nature which by the outward Letter of the Law is irritated unto sin This I think is the scope of the Apostle he discourses of the regenerate and unregenerate the one dead to the Law the other irritated by it he discourses not of the difference between those under the Old Testament and those under the New for the regenerate under the Old Testament were dead to the cursing and irritating Law they had internal Righteousness which the Author calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they had the circumcision of the heart Deut. 30.6 which in the Author is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the fleshly circumcision they had the law in the heart Psal 37.31 And by consequence they had true regeneration in which saith our Author all the legal washings and purifications are fulfilled they were not irritated by the Law but delighted in it as in their joy choice treasure hony-comb of sweetness and what not as appears in the Psalms They served in the newness of the Spirit in new Divine Principles which they had from the holy Spirit in the easiness of the New Creature to which the Will of God is natural Even in their Rituals and Sacrifices they knew all must be done in newness of Spirit in the exercises of internal Graces The very Heathens themselves thought that they were to Sacrifice Mente candidâ expurgatâ conscientiâ How much more did the servants of God under the Old Testament do so they knew that there were better Sacrifices than the outward ones Sacrifices of righteousness Psal 4.5 And sacrifices of a broken spirit Psal 50.17 They understood that the heart the truth in the inward parts was more than all the rest On the other hand the unregenerate under the New Testament they are in the flesh the motions of sin carry all before them they have nothing of internal Righteousness they are uncircumcised in heart as well as in flesh they are baptized yet want the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of regeneration they are irritated by the Law their inward malignity swells and rises against the holy commands which stand in Scripture as so many damms and bars to their impetuous lusts Whatever they do in Evangelical Ordinances they do all in the oldness of the Letter the Letter the outward Rule presses them to Duty but there is no inward acting of Faith no suavity of Love or holy Affections all is done in a dead dull flat manner nothing is minded but the opus operatum the meer external work By this we see clearly where the difference lies It s true the Ceremonials of Moses were abrogated by Christ but I suppose the Moral Law was not it s own intrinsecal Rectitude and Righteousness immortalizes it so
that it stands faster than the Pillars of Heaven and Earth and must be so as long as God is God and Man Man The Reason of Man must be bound in duty to point to God as the Primum Verum and the Will of Man to resign to him as the Primum Amabile these are Foundations never to be shaken The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Law amounts to so much more than the inherent Righteousness of all Saints put together that it is no were to be found but in the perfect spotless obedience of Christ neither can that be made ours but by imputation Hence Christ is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mr. Sher-Jock the end of the Law the perfection and accomplishment of it for Righteousness to them that believe Rom. 10.4 That is the Gospel of Christ requires that Rightcousness of us which the Law did only typifie and represent that holiness and purity of mind which is the perfection of all legal Righteousness For that Christ should be the end of the Law by imputation of his Righteousness to us hath no foundation in the Text. The Apostle explains what he means by this in the following verses where he gives us a description of the righteousness of the Law and the righteousness of Faith The righteousness of the Law is an external conformity to the letter of the Law the man that doth them shall live in them that is shall enjoy all the Temporal Blessings of Canaan which were promised to the observance of the Law But the Righteousness of Faith is a firm and stedfast belief of the Divine Authority of Christ that he is the Lord and more particularly a belief of his Resurrection from the dead as the last and great confirmation which God gave to the divinity of Christ's Person and Doctrine This is that Faith that overcometh the world and purifies the heart and transforms us into the likeness of God which is the perfection of all the ritual righteousness of the Law Vpon this account Christ is said to be made to us Righteousness 1 Cor. 1.20 He of God is made to us Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption He is our Wisdom as he is our great Prophet who instructs us in true Wisdom our Righteousness as we are justified by Faith in him by a sincere belief of his Gospel which is the only Righteousness acceptable to God our Sanctification because the law of the spirit of life in him makes us free from the law of sin and death our Redemption as by these means he bath delivered us from the bondage of the Jewish Law from the idolatrous Customs of the Heathens and the tyranny of wicked Spirits and the wrath of God which is the merit of sin Christ is the end of the Law Answer even of the Moral Law and what did that call for Not external Conformisty only but all Holiness and Righteousness and that in pure sinless perfection this our Faith or inherent Graces because imperfect can never amount to The Law therefore hath its end only in the perfect spotless Righteousness of Christ and that being made over to Believers by Imputation Christ is truly said to be the end of the Law for righteousness to the believer The man that doth them shall live in them Rom. 10.5 that is saith the Author shall enjoy the temporal blessings of Canaan Indeed the Racovian Catechist will go no further Nusquam in Lege Mosis reperies vitam aeternam promissam saith he But we find the Saints in the Old Testament fixing their Faith upon eternal Life My Redeemer liveth and I shall see him saith Job Job 19.25 and 27. Abraham desireth a better country that is an heavenly Heb. 11.16 The just shall live by his faith Hab. 2.4 which is interpreted of eternal Life Rom. 1.17 Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved Joel 2.32 that is with eternal Life as it is applied Rom. 10.13 Paul said no other things than the Prophets and Moses did Act. 26.22 and yet surely he spake of eternal Life Moses and the Prophets are frequent in promising the Messiah and in him all the Promises are contained Do this and live is meant of eternal Life a Curse that is eternal Death is threatned to the violaters of the Law Gal. 3.10 therefore Life and that eternal is promised to the keepers of it When the Lawyer asked What shall I do to inherit eternal life our Saviour answered him that he must keep the Law Luk. 10.25 28. If the Law did not promise eternal Life then it did not threaten eternal Death and by consequence Christ who redeemed us from the Curse of the Law redeemed us only from a temporal one But to pass on Christ of God is made unto us righteousness 1 Cor. 1.30 that is saith the Author we are justified by Faith in him by a sincere belief of his Gospel That we are justified by Faith in Christ I acknowledge but not in the Authors sence he makes Faith properly and as an Act to justifie he makes the nature of Faith to consist only in a firm assent But I have before proved that Faith justifies as it receives Christ and his Righteousness and that justifying Faith over and above assent includes in it a fiducial Recumbency Christ is made to us righteousness one of these two ways either by the Graces of his holy Spirit imparted to us or else by his perfect Obedience imputed to us He is not made Righteousness to us by the Graces of his Spirit imparted to us for with respect to these he is made Sanctification to us and Sanctification and Justification must not be confounded As we have holy Graces from him to sanctifie us so we have Righteousness from him to justifie us He is therefore our Righteousness because his perfect Righteousness by Imputation becomes ours Bellarmine speaking of this place at sâ—â—â—interprets it of the inherent Righteousness in us which comes from Christ but afterwards as convicted of the truth De Jusiâ—â— 11.2 cip 10. he saith Nobis imputari Christi justitiam merita cùm nobis donentur applicentur ac si nosipsi Deo satisfecissemus That the Righteousness and Morits of Christ are imputed to us when they are given and applied to us as if we our selves had satisfied God Further our Author upon this Text saith That Christ is our wisdom as he is cur Prophet our Righteousness as we are justified by believing the Gospel our Sanctification as we have the Law of the Spirit of life and our Redemption as by these means he hath delivered us I see not what room is left here for the redeeming Blood of Christ nevertheless I suppose the Author meant to include the same This is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mr. Sherlock the foundation of all other mistakes that by the Righteousness of the Law and the Righteousness of Works most men understand an internal Holiness and then conclude That if this Righteousness will
righteousness of one vers 18. and the obedience of one vers 19. The Apostle is so far from speaking of our own inherent righteousness that the great scope of the Chapter is not of Sanctification but Justification and that not by a righteousness of our own but of another that is of Christ But now let us hear the Authors conclusion Christs righteousness and our own are both necessary to our salvation the first as the foundation of the Covenant the other as the condition of it Very well Faith in Christ is indeed the condition of the Covenant and in us inherent but I had thought the Author had been treating of that righteousness which is the matter of our justification and not only of the condition of the Covenant To understand what that righteousness is which is the matter of our justification we must consider what it is which we are to answer unto in the point of justification if we are only to answer unto the terms of the Gospel Covenant then indeed Faith answers thereunto but what will be the consequences of this If we are only to answer unto the terms of the Gospel Covenant then our Saviour contrary to his words came 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to dissolve the Law to untye all the Bonds of it to loosen the very Foundation of it then Justification is not in such a way as establishes the Law as the Apostle tells us Rom. 3.31 But in such a way as voides and abrogates it then all true Believers must be in a state of perfection the defect of their Graces must be no sins for they have that true Faith which answers the terms of the Gospel and to more then these they are not to answer then the Gospel the great Charter of Grace hath no pardon in it for no more is required of us but the truth of Faith and other Graces and the want of true Faith and other Graces the Gospel doth not pardon Then Christ dyed not to obtain the pardon of those sins which are consistent with Gospel-sincerity but dyed to prevent them from being sins which otherwise would have been sins and to prevent them from being pardoned by his Blood and to name but one thing more Then all the Pagans must be in a justified state for the Gospel Covenant being founded for them also they are only to answer to the terms of the Gospel and to these they have a very easie full answer that they knew them not By these things it appears that in the point of Justification we must answer not to the terms of the Gospel only but to the pure perfect Law also and to that nothing of our own imperfect Graces can respond nothing less can answer but the perfect Righteousness and Obedience of Christ which is made ours by imputation Hence the Apostle tells us That by the righteousness of one we have justification of life and by the obedience of one we are made or constituted righteous SECT IV. According to the notion of these Men Mr. Sherlock men may nay must be united to Christ while they continue in their sins Mr. Shephard tells us expresly That Obedience doth not make us Gods People or God our God but he is first our God which is only by the Covenant of Grace and hence it is that he being ours and we his we of all others are most bound to obey him We are Gods People and that by vertue of the Covenant before we obey him The same Author tells us That we are united to Christ our life not by Obedience as Adam was to God by it but by Faith that is by such a Faith of which Obedience is no part and therefore as all actions in living things come from union so all our acts of Obedience are to come by Faith from the Spirit on Christs part and Faith on ours which make the union The meaning is this We must first be united to Christ by Faith before we can do any thing that is good before this union the best actions we can do are sins which is a plain demonstration of the truth of this charge because according to this principle we can do nothing but sin before we be united to Christ hence these Men constantly place our Justification before our Sanctification that we are first accounted holy by God before we are made so now our Justification follows our union to Christ and our Sanctification follows our Justification and therefore we must first be united to Christ before we are sanctified that is before we are made holy Hence we are told that holyness is a remote end of vocation but the next end is to come to Christ And the same Author makes a speech for Christ to a Sinner more gracious than all the Gospel invitations though thou hast resisted my Spirit refused my grace wearied me with thy iniquities yet come to me this will make me amends I require nothing of thee else but to come We cannot indeed be united to Christ whilest we continue in our sins Answer in the wilful Indulgence of them neither can we be holy whilest we are separated from Christ and the influence of his Holy Spirit Mr. Shephard sets Faith in the first place and then Obedience after it as a fruit thereof and well he may do so Ye are all the Children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus Gal. 3.26 Faith makes us Gods People Obedience which comes after proves us such Without Faith it is impossible to please to God Heb. 11.6 and therefore without Faith it must be impossible to obey him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Faith is the beginning of life saith Ignatius Fides principium Christiani est Faith is the first principle Epist ad Eph. or mover in the new Creature saith St. Ambrose Laudo fructum boni operis In Psal 118. Ser. 20. sed in Fide agnosco radicem I praise the fruit of a good work but I acknowledge the root of it to be in Faith So St. Austin And a little after he saith In Psal 31 That works before Faith are but inania cursus ceberrimus praeter viam Vain things and a swift running beside the way Hence our Church in the 1. Homily of good works assures us That Faith giveth life to the Soul and that they be as much dead to God that lack Faith as they be to the World whose Bodies lack Souls that without Faith all that is done of us is but dead before God all good works are but shadows and shews of good things that out of Faith come good works that be good works indeed and without Faith no work is good before God I suppose Mr. Shephard cannot speak more fully it may seem harsh to some that before Faith in Christ there should be nothing good in us that our best actions should be sins but if we look on a wicked Man that is a Man without Faith in the Scripture-glass nothing can be plainer take him at an honest calling
The plowing of the wicked is sin Prov. 21.4 Take him in sacred or Devotional affairs His Sacrifice is an abomination Prov. 15.8 And so is his Prayer too Prov. 28.9 Whatever his outward work or posture be To the unbelieving there is nothing pure Tit. 1.15 The very mind and conscience is defiled and will be so till it be purified by Faith Mr. Shephard places Justification before Sanctification and what doth the Church of England do It tells us in the 12. Article That good works are the fruits of Faith and follow after Justification that they spring necessarily of a true and lively Faith And in the 13. Article That works done before the Grace of Christ and the inspiration of his Spirit are not pleasant to God forasmuch as they spring not of Faith in Jesus Christ Nay in the close of that Article our Church saith of such works We doubt not but they have the nature of sin As for Mr. Shephards speech for Christ come in a sense that they have in some measure resisted his Spirit refused his Grace and wearied him with their iniquities the inviting of such is no more than that of our Saviour which calls the weary and heavy laden to come to him for rest in which all are concerned except such as can without Christ earn a sanctity or holyness at the fingers ends of Nature and take a nap at home in a presumption of their own worthiness and self made righteousness But let us consider Mr. Sherlock the whole progress of the Soul to a closure with Christ the several steps to this are Conviction Compunction Humiliation and Faith which is the uniting Grace Now if there be nothing of forjaking of sin included in all this then Men must be united to Christ before they forsake their sins Now Conviction is a great sense of the evil of sin and the evil after it of its abominable accursed Nature and the Judgments which follow it and this is as it ought to be Men must be awakened to see these evils before they will reform their lives Reform nay you are out this is not the end of Conviction to reform sin that is a legal way but Compunction is the end of it well then what is this Compunction Why Compunction is first a great fear of being damned he sees death wrath eternity near to him next to this succeeds a great sorrow and mourning for sin and that which perfects this Compunction is a separation from sin this is something like but by a separation from sin you must not understand a leaving sin but such a separation as consists with living in it For it is nothing but a being willing or rather not unwilling that the Lord should take it away the Lord doth not wound the heart that the Soul should first heal it self but that it may desire the Physician the Lord Jesus to come and heal it So that all he means by separation from sin is to be content that Christ by an irresistible power should take away our sins By this Separation the Soul is cut off from the will to sin not from all no nor from any sin in the will for that must be mortified by a Spirit of holyness after the Soul is implanted into Christ Now this is down right non-sense for he must be a subtil Man who can distinguish between a will to sin and sin in the will and all that can be made of it is this that this separation is a willingness or rather not unwillingness that Christ should take away our sins against our wills and therefore he tells us That this Separation is no part of our Sanctification The whole design of this Compunction is to work humiliation in us which is the work of the Spirit whereby the Soul broken off from self-conceit and confidence submitteth and lieth under God to be disposed as he pleaseth this self-confidence is any hope of pleasing God by Reformation or Repentance or any thing he can do When Men feel this Compunction the great danger is lest they should seck ease by Repentance and Reformation if they can repent and reform they have some hopes as well they may if they do so that this will heal their wounds and pacify the Lord towards them when they see no peace in a sinful course they will try a good one But this is a dangerous mistake for while it is thus with the Soul he is uncapable of Christ For he that trusts to other things to save him or makes himself his own Saviour or rests in his duties without a Saviour that is according to this Author all those who repent and reform he can never have Christ to save him So that true Humiliation is this when the Soul feels its own inability and unworthiness that it may lye under God to be disposed of that is contented to be saved or damned as shall please God and when the Soul is at this pass it is vas capax a vessel capable of Grace And now they are made thus hollow and empty by Humiliation they are capable of receiving Christ as an hollow vessel is of receiving any thing This is a new notion of our union to Christ that it is a receiving Christ into us as an hollow vessel receives any liquor poured into it This is a Philosophical account of the nature of Humiliation that a man must have such a sense of his inability to please God that he shall never dare to be so prophane as to attempt it but must leave repentance and reformation to carnal christless men and that he may be so sensible of his unworthiness that he shall contentedly submit to God to be damned or saved as he pleases And now the Soul being thus hollow is fit to receive Christ and being grown careless of its Salvation and indifferent whether it be saved or damned for it is impossible thus to submit without being indifferent in some measure which God shall chuse it is a fit object for mercy certainly it is a very hard thing to bring any man in his wits to this and I find by this Author that God is very hard put to it to humhle the Soul thus For he is forced to irritate and stir up original corruption to stir the dunghil a very unfit office for an Holy Being that so men finding themselves sensibly grow worse and worse may despair of growing better and leave off such vain attempts and sit down humble under God Nay the Lord loads and tires and wearies the Soul by its own endeavours till it can stir no more That is when the Soul labours to repent and reform the Spirit of God which should assist such pious endeavours withdraws it self because it knows the Soul would rest therein without Christ Now I know not who suffers most by this The sinner who is thus humbled or God who thus humbles him for it must needs be as contrary to the holy merciful nature of God to use such
methods of Humiliation as it is to the proud heart of man to be thus humbled Thus you see that Humiliation hath nothing to do with repentance and reformation of our lives The steps of the Soul towards Christ Answer are conviction compunction Humiliation Faith Now if there be nothing of forsaking of sin in all this then men must be united to Christ before they forsake their sins So the Author But doth Mr. Shepherd allow of no kind of forsaking of sin before union to Christ Yes surely There is saith he a separation from sin so much separation as makes the Soul willing that sin should be taken away So much separation as is necessary to the Souls closing with Christ He never thought that a man indulging his lusts should immediately come and be united to Christ No every step or degree which he sets in the Souls progress to a closure with Christ proves the contrary what need conviction compunction humiliation If the Soul wallowing in its lusts might be united to Christ But Mr. Shephard makes the end of conviction to be not reformation of sin but compunction But how doth he so What that there is no tendency at all in conviction towards reformation No he saith expresly that the next end of it is compunction Sorrow for sin is so called for in Scripture that no man may deny it to be one of God's methods by which he uses to bring men home to himself Neither is it imaginable that sin our old joy unless in some measure it become our sorrow should ever be reformed as it ought without compunction saith Mr. Shephard a sinner will never part with his sin A bare conviction doth but light the Candle to see sin but compunction burns his fingers and that makes him dread the fire But Mr. Shephard who places this compunction in a fear of wrath sorrow for sin and separation from sin means by separation not a leaving of sin but a being willing or rather not unwilling that the Lord should take it away and that by an irresistable power and that against our wills To which I answer touching irresistable Grace and that objection as if we were made willing against our will I have before discoursed In compunction there is a leaving of sin in some measure the fear of wrath will make a man start from it sorrow for sin will make it cease to be joy separation from sin so as to be willing to have it taken away is a kind of withdrawing and departure of heart from it But indeed in this compunction there is not such a leaving of sin as if we could be our own Physicians and heal our corrupt natures as if we could our selves reach that victory over the world and its lusts which is the triumph of Faith as if we could mortifie the deeds of the body without that holy Spirit which is given to Believers for that end This were to render Christ Faith the holy Spirit unnecessary to our Sanctification and to render our selves like those Pagans of whom St. Austin speaks who would not be made Christians Quia quasi sibi sufficiunt de bonâ vitâ suâ Mr. Shephard saith Enarr in Psal 31. That this separation from sin cuts off the Soul from the will to sin not from all sin in the will which is mortified by the Spirit of Holiness Now this saith the Author is down right non-sence for he must be a subtil man who can distinguish between a will to sin and sin in the will But I suppose no great subtilty is required to solve this by a will to sin is meant that act of the will whereby it is carried out to sin as its beloved Object and by sin in the will is meant that habitual corruption which is there In compunction there is such a separation from sin that the will is not in its acts carried out as before to sin as its pleasure joy and pursuit but not such a separation from sin as if the habitual corruption in the will were mortified as after Faith it is by the holy Spirit But saith Mr. Shephard Huniiliation breaks off the Soul from self-considence after compunction men are apt to seek ease by repentance and reformation to try a good course but if they trust in themselves or rest in their duties without a Saviour they are uncapable of Christ that is saith the Author all those who repent and reform are uncapable of Christ And must the world believe that Mr. Shephard is against repentance and reformation Surely there is no reason at all for it the thing is very plain if a man will stand like the proud Pharisee upon his bottom if with the Jews he will go about 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to make to stand his own weak cadaverous righteousness if he will repent and reform in his own strength and without coming to Christ the Fountain of Grace Surely he is not whilst in this proud posture capable of Christ Repentance and Reformation are good things but they must be done in a good manner they must not be made our Christ's or Saviours they must not keep us off from Jesus Christ or make us say as the Pagan mentioned by St. Austin did Jam benè vivo quid mihi necessarius est Christus I can live well already what need have I of Christ All that reformation which is without Faith in Christ is as our Church saith of works without Faith But dead before God Nemo computet bona opera sua ante fidem saith St. Austin If we would reform indeed we must go to Christ by Faith But saith the Author in this Humiliation of Mr. Shephards a man must have such a sense of his inability to please God that he must not dare be so prophane as to attempt it and such a sense of his unworthiness as to submit to God whether he will save or damn him he must in some measure be indifferent whether he be saved or damned but it is an hard thing to bring a man in his wits to this To which I answer for the first a sense of our inability to please God is a thing so necessary that our Saviour tells Laodicea that she was wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked and must have her gold and raiment and eye-salve and all from him If we think we can please God in our selves not in the beloved Jesus Christ or that we can please God by walking in our own strength and not in the power of Grace we do but deceive our selves and our labour will be but in vain it will fare with us as it did with the man storied of in one of the Jewish Rabbins who in the night lighted his Candle and it went out again and lighted it again and again and still it went out Our Lamps of a self-made Sanctity and Righteousness though trimmed over and over with our endeavours will certainly go out and at last we must resolve as he did
sin we lye and do not the truth but if we walk in the light as God is in the light then have we fellowship one with another 1 Joh. 1.5 6 7. This doctrine doth not only take away the necessity of Holiness in order to our Vnion to Christ but destroys the necessary obligations to Holiness and Obedience for the suture and so thrusts Holiness quite out of the Christian Religion Our Vnion to Christ is perfected while we are unholy and when we are united to Christ there is less need of Holiness than before For now the merit of Christs death is imputed to us to remove the guilt and punishment of sin and his actual obedience is imputed to us to make us righteous and to give us an actual right to glory So that if men will obey Christ out of a principle of good nature and thank fulness they may but according to this notion there is no necessity of it because they are delivered from wrath and have a right to eternal life without it Still the Author goes on with this charge Answer That wicked men who live in sin may be united to Christ Mr. Shephard holds that we are united to Christ by Faith And are Believers wicked men they receive Christ whole Christ as their Prophet to teach them their Priest to satisfie for them their King to rule them and upon account of this receiving they are the sons of God Joh. 1.12 And are they wicked men for all this they have the promise of pardon and justification Act. 13.39 The promise of the Spirit Joh. 7.38.39 The promise of eternal life Joh. 3.16 And may we call them wicked men If wicked men may be intitled to such promises there is no need at all of Holiness or Obedience But saith the Author an holy life must not only follow our Vnion to Christ But at least in order of nature go before it because by this we are united to Christ To which I answer Without doubt that Faith which in Scripture phrase doth come to Christ receive Christ put on Christ and feed upon Christ must needs unite to him and of this Faith Obedience or an holy Life is not a part but a fruit all those worthies Heb. 11. First believed and then by that Faith produced all those acts of Obedience there recorded First We are married to Christ by Faith and then we bring forth fruit unto God Rom. 7.4 And in that fifth Chapter of John quoted by the Author First there are branches in Christ by Faith and then there is holy Fruit brought forth An holy Life must needs presuppose Faith it flows out of a pure heart and the heart cannot be such without Faith It is a conformity to the Divine Rule and that Rule cannot be assured to be such but by Faith It is levelled at the Glory of God and the single eye which looks at that great end is Faith without which the whole Body of our Works is full of darkness Now if Faith unite to Christ and precede Obedience or an holy Life then it is evident that Obedience or an holy Life do not go before our Union to Christ but follow after it But saith the Author our Vnion to Christ is not perfected without Obedience Hence our Saviour saith Herein is my Father glorified that you bear much Fruit so shall ye be my Disciples Joh. 15.8 To which I answer Our Union to Christ is not indeed perfect before Obedience as to its Fruit and Consequences but it is as to its essentials for the Believer in the very instant of believing hath a true title to the promises of pardon of the Spirit and of eternal Life So that should he immediately and before any one act of Obedience depart this Life he should undoubtedly and without any scruple enter that blessed Region where are the spirits of just men made perfect as for that place Joh. 15.8 where our Saviour tells them That bearing of fruit they should be his Disciples it is parallel to that place If ye continue in my word then are ye my Disciples Joh. 8.31 In both they were Disciples before In that Joh. 8.31 they were Disciples before that period of life unto which their continuance in the word extends it self or else their discipleship must have been adjourned to the other World And in that Joh. 15.8 they were Disciples before their bearing of fruit for they could not bear fruit without being branches in Christ and Branches they could not be without being Disciples when there fore our Saviour saith so shall ye be my Disciples the meaning only is that by their fruitfulness they should give a real proof and demonstration that they are indeed true Disciples and Branches of Christ But saith the Author This Doctrine destroys the obligations to holyness and thrusts holyness out of the Christian Religion our union to Christ is perfected while we are unholy and when we are united to Christ there is less need of holyness than before for now the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us To which I answer As to that that our union to Christ is perfected while we are unholy If by unholy be meant only before a holy life Believers before that are so perfectly united to Christ as to have a true title to the promises of Pardon the Spirit and Salvation If by unholy is meant a wicked Man no wicked Man is united unto Christ this would be a dishonour to our Saviour a contradiction to the Gospel such a one walks in darkness and cannot have fellowship with God who is Light as St. John speaks But a Believer who before an holy life is united to Christ is not must not be called a wicked Man As to the other That when we are united to Christ there is no need of holyness because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us I answer That before I have proved that this assertion that imputed righteousness makes holyness needless is but a Popish calumny and without any ground at all SECT V ACcording to these principles Mr. Sherlock there is no certain way to get into Christ the method prescribed is Conviction Compunction Humiliation and Faith which is the uniting Grace Now I observe first that a Man is passive in all this and can contribute nothing to it himself any otherwise than as he is acted by an irresistible power and it is a vain thing to give such rules and directions as no man can follow this only tells us by what methods God unites us to Christ not what we must do but what we must suffer in order to this union A Sinner may stir up in himself some natural Conviction of sin some natural fear sorrow c. And in a sense of this may set upon the work of Reformation of leaving his sins and performing duties But all this they tell us is to no purpose for unless this Conviction Compunction Humiliation be wrought in us by the irresistible power of the
Spirit of God which no Man can possibly tell whether it be or not it is not of the right stamp and will avail us nothing so that the Sinner hath nothing to do but to sit still and patiently expect till God will do all for him The method is Conviction Compunction Answer Humiliation and Faith but a Man is passive in all this How passive what is he to sit still and do nothing at all No surely he may abstain from outward Acts of sin he may do Acts of Sobriety Justice Charity he may hear pray but internal Grace is Gods work Some have taken those words Let us make Man as if God hath spoke to the four Elements and said Vos date Corpus ego dabo Animam Do you give the Body I 'll give the Soul If I may allude to this Gloss thus it is Man may frame a Body of outward Piety but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the inward life of Grace is from God only it is he Who quickneth the dead in trespasses and sins Eph. 2.1 Believers are not born of the will of Man but of God Joh. 1.13 But saith the Author It is a vain thing to give such rules and directions as no Man can follow To which I answer Rules are not therefore vain because Man cannot follow them by his own power God gave not the Moral Law in vain yet the spotless sanctity of it was a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a meer impossible thing to any fallen Man in the World God bid them not in vain to make a new heart Ezek. 18.31 and yet claims it as his prerogative and as an act of special Grace to make such an heart Ezek. 36.26 Christ did not in vain call Men to come to him and yet withal tells them That no Man could come to him except the Father drew him Joh. 6.44 Moses was but to lift up the Rod but it was God only who could divide the Sea we are to use the means but it is God only who can work the great work of Grace These Rules though we cannot follow them of our selves may yet shew us our duty and if we reflect upon our selves they may point out our impotency to us and withal they minister under that Spirit which in the use of means infuses the life of Grace into Men. Polychronius in the 6. Council of Constantinople offered by a Paper containing in it the Doctrine of the Monothelites to raise a dead Man to life again Mr. Shephard never thought that his rules though containing excellent truths in them could raise the Spiritually dead but this they do they minister under that Divine Spirit which breathes regenerating Graces into the Soul St. Paul would have Timothy instruct the Opposers not as if they had a power of themselves to repent but if God peradventure would give them repentance 2 Tim. 2.25 All Rules and Instructions do but minister under the Holy Spirit who gives Faith and Repentance as it pleaseth But saith the Author These tell us not what we must do but what we must suffer in order to our union to Christ To which I answer we are to use the means and thus far we must be doers but I suppose we must suffer the Holy Spirit to have the glory of our Regeneration we must not presume to be such doers as if we could work Regeneration our selves or by our works procure it Pelagius would have been a doer in this kind alledging that Gratiam darisecundum merita that is in the Phrase of the Ancients in those dayes secundum opera that Grace was given according to works But unless he had recanted he had in the Palestine Council been by the Church turned into a Sufferer by a just Excommunication neither is our Church for any such doers for it tells us in the 13. Article That works done before Grace do not make Men meet to receive Grace or deserve Grace of congruity yea rather they have the nature of sin The Inspiration of the Spirit which that Article mentions must work the great work of Grace in us which when we see in our selves we must needs acknowledge the insuperable power that was in it Suppose a Man have this Conviction Mr Sherlock Compunction Humiliation is this a sufficient reason to lay hold upon Christ by Faith by no means The end of Conviction is Compunction the end of Compunction Humiliation and all this carries us no nearer to Christ than quietly to lye down before God that he may do what he will with us he may save or damn us So that all this contributes nothing to our union to Christ but brings us to such a temper of mind as to be content to have Christ or go without him as God shall please this is all Men get by Humiliation that if the Lord intend to do them good this is the way in which he will do it but though they be humbled they cannot be sure whether God intend to do them good or not therefore we are told we are as much bound to submit to God whether he will save or damn us as we are to submit to the disposal of God as to any common mercy though you must pray for mercy it must be with submission to Gods good will saying the Lords will is good whether it be to save or damn but mine is evil though it be to be saved and have Jesus Christ Nay we are much more bound to submit to God whether he will save or damn us than we are to submit in the lesser concernments of this life if it be pride to murmur in case the Lord deny you smaller matters the off-alls of this life is it not greater pride to quarrel with him if he deny the greater the things of another life Is he bound to give thee greater who doth not owe thee the least The Lord gives you life but you ask for treasures of Grace and Mercy now God hath given you life you would live for ever an unpardonable fault this thousands of pounds Christ and all he is worth and the Lord seems to deny you and now you sink and grow sullen may not the Lord say Was there ever such pride insolence as to be unwilling to be damned for ever though I dare say this is not the pride which cast the Angels out of Heaven so that though Humiliation be the way to Christ yet it brings us never the nearer him when all is done we are where we were Before Humiliation it was at Gods pleasure whether we should have Christ or not and so it is still The humbled Soul may Answer without doubt lay hold upon Christ but we must remember that we cannot do it by the power of Nature but must do it by the Grace of God Faith is a great receiver it receives Christ and all blessings in and with him but this Faith this very receiving must be received from Grace Nothing is plainer in Scripture than that Faith is the
to say that which he cannot know and that against his own Soul and eternal Salvation Is there any such reprobation in Scripture as barrs out of Heaven such as by Faith venture upon Christ No surely Christ hath so far dyed for all men as to found for them that general promise whosoever believeth shall be saved This is a plain sure foundation for men to venture upon none that by Faith venture upon Christ shall be barred out of Heaven by any Decree of God because his Decree cannot clash with his Promise It is very irregular arguing to say I know not Gods Decree therefore I 'll neglect my duty St. Paul exhorts the Philippians to work out their Salvation with fear and trembling for it is God which worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure Phil. 2.12 13. Might the Philippians have said how do we know what Gods pleasure is or what he will work in us Why should we work at such a venture or at the pleasure of another No the fear and trembling in the Text was enough to keep them back from arguing at that rate Suppose now that there were no such thing as Election will there not be a paucity and an hard venture still Our Saviour tells us that few find the way to life Matth. 7.14 And God whose prescience is immutable eternally foresaw that it would be so and what must we do now May we deny the truth of Christs words or of Gods prescience Surely we ought not or may we argue thus Few enter into life why should I venture It s an hard venture and great odds against me May I now cry out Good God what Merchant adventurers are poor sinners Surely it doth not at all become me I must look upon the Rule in the Word and endeavour to do my duty Duties belong to us and issues to God But to pass on according to Mr. Shephard it seems assurance it self cannot secure us to which the bare recital of Mr. Shephards words will be answer enough they are these The Call of Christ is the ground by which we first believe It is a constant ground of Faith For if you come to Christ because you have assurance or because you feel such and such Graces and heavenly Impressions of Gods Spirit in you you may then many a day and year keep at a distance from Christ and lye without Christ for the feeling of Graces and assurance of favour are not constant His meaning is very plain the Call of Christ is the ground of our first believing and it is a constant ground if by after renewed acts of Faith we come to Christ because we have assurance we may many a day live without Christ for assurance is no constant thing as the Call is The Author I suppose took out a little out of Mr. Shephard not to interpret him but to sport with him Afterwards we have the Author concluding from Mr. Shephards particular Call That the general Call signifies nothing that there is no foundation for our Faith in Christ but this particular Call To which I answer The general promises of the Gospel signifie Gods will to save Believers and therefore are a sufficient foundation for a man to believe in Christ for Salvation a greater warrant we cannot have for it then Gods own Charter sealed with the Blood of his Son Jesus Christ But that which works this Faith in us is a special Call or internal Grace which shines into the heart and calls forth Faith into being But though we know not how to get into Christ Mr. Sherlock it would be some comfort to know that we are in him But this is as impossible as the other As the only foundation of our Faith in coming to Christ aocording to these mens notions is a special call of the Spirit So the only infallible assurance that we are in Christ is the testimony of the Spirit The spirit of adoption which teaches us to cry Abba Father And yet God doth not afford this Testimony to all but suffers many good Christians to walk in darkness and hides his face from them for no other reason but because they are desirous of it and would be quiet if they should know it this is somewhat hard measure But suppose you have or think you have this testimony of the Spirit how can you be sure that it is not a cheat and delusion the imposture of the Devil or of your own self-flattering imagination to satisfie this we are directed to marks Thus this infallible assurance from the testimony of the Spirit must in its last resolve be founded upon some Moral evidence As it is with the Church of Rome who after a great noise and cry of infallibility are at last forc'd to resolve their Faith into some Motives of credibility or to dance round in an endless circle Well what are the marks of our being in Christ You must enquire whether you have the Spirit of Christ And it is just as easie to know this as whether you be in Christ But are you true Believers Is your Faith of the right stamp is it wrought by the Almighty Power of God Or is it such an easie common presumptuous false faith as that which is in the generality of men This is as easie to know as any of the former For if there be such a false presumptuous faith as takes Christ when he does not belong to us and rests and relies on Christ only for pardon and salvation and yet shall never have Christ How shall we know whether our Faith be true and genuine such as will make Christ ours and the answer to this brings us to that great mark of Sanctification You must consider the effects of Faith Dr. Jacomb pag. 65. doth it purifie the Heart overcome the World work by Love are you new Creatures Is the state of your person changed from a Child of wrath to an Heir of Grace which is the thing to be proved Or is your nature changed Do you walk in newness of life Have you crucified the flesh with its lusts Do you bring forth fruit That is you must prove your justification by your sanctification your Faith by your Works I am glad it is no worse that good works and an holy life may at least put in for marks and evidences of a justified state though the truth is this is a meer complement to Holiness and as they order the matter an holy life can no more be a sign of a justified state than it can justifie us It would be some comfort to know Answer that we are in Christ But this is impossible Thus the Author Impossible Nothing plainer in Scripture we read of the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts 2 Cor. 1.12 The sealing of the holy Spirit of promise Eph. 1.13 The witness of the Spirit with our spirits that we are the children of God Rom. 8.16 But God doth not afford this testimony of the Spirit to all
and miss of Heaven And yet when he was in a more gentle humour he told the poor doubting soul that desire nay that a desire only to desire at two or three removes was enough But I am zealous so was Jehu and Paul while a Pharisee in persecuting the Church and therefore an universal religious well-governed zeal for God can be no sign of Grace But I am constant and persevere in godly courses so did the young man all these have I kept from my youth only he left Christ for the sake of his riches and so did not persevere But I do all with a good heart for God so thou mayst think of thy self and be deceived And if this be an objection let a man have what marks he will the objection will still be good and so all evidences signifie nothing for after all a man may be deceived in it and think he hath those marks when he hath them not There is a way that seemeth right to man but the end thereof is death thou mayst live so as to deceive thy self and others and yet prove an hypocrite as if because some men may think themselves good who are in a bad estate no man could ever be sure that he is in the right And thus farewel all evidences There is reason to administer comfort to wounded Souls from the lowest measures of Grace Answer and no less to pluck down the proud Plumes of Hypocrites from the inward and pure spirituality of Religion Our Saviour doth both he gave out gracious Promises to mourners and to the poor in spirit and he poured out woes upon the Pharisees and upon all the pomp of their external righteousness But saith the Author they do so magnifie the attainments of Hypocrites that a sanctified man can do no more than an Hypocrite and so all the evidences of Sanctification are spoiled But how so do they paint the Hypocrite fairer than he is Do they attribute to him a jot or tittle more than what is true No surely an Hypocrite may be no Drunkkard or Swearer he may escape the pollutions of the World that is gross sins and though he be not entangled therein again and so a Swine in his outward converses yet he may be such inwardly his inward parts may be wickedness and uncleanness He may live a blameless innocent honest smooth life and yet be foul within He may fast pray hear read the Scriptures and yet his heart not right in the sight of God He may have some kind of sorrow or repentance some kind of love to good men and yet like the foolish Virgins have no Oyl in his Lamp no true Grace with his profession He may have a notional knowledge and yet not be Sanctified by the Truth He may keep a Sabbath in the outward decorum of it and yet want the Spirit and Life of it a delight in the Almighty He may have some kind of zeal and some desires after Heaven and yet not of the right stamp He may presume that he hath a good heart and a godly course and be deceived in both all this is true Now one Truth cannot oppose another The truth which concerns the attainments of Hypocrites cannot oppose that which concerns the evidences of Sanctification The outward reformation is an evidence not meerly as it is outward but as it flows from Faith and a pure heart Fasting prayer hearing reading are evidences not meerly in opere operato in the work done but in the doing of them in a Spiritual manner Faith and Hope and holy Love being actuated therein Keeping the Sabbath is an evidence not meerly in the outward observation of it But when it is filled up with Duties spiritually performed Knowledge Zeal Repentance Love to good Men are Graces when of the right stamp but meer notion which swims in the brain is not that sanctifying Knowledge which influences Holiness into the Heart and Life Every heat upon a Religious account is not true Zeal but that celestial Fire which rightly inflames the heart for the glory of God Every sorrow or pressure from the Law is not true repentance but that which melts the heart into tears for the sinfulness of sin Every respect to good men is not the right love but that which flows out of love to God and points to the Divine Image in them Desires after Heaven may be a mark of a good Estate but then they must be such as are vertually Grace and issue out of poverty of spirit A man may think he hath a good heart and a godly course and be deceived therein yet it follows not that we must bid farewel to evidences an holy life issuing out of a pure heart will still be an evidence to him who hath it But after all this Mr. Sherlock it would be worth while to know how to distingush a regenerate from an unregenerate man and that he tells us may be done thus An unregenerate man let him go never so far do never so much yet he lives in some one sin or other This now is very strange What go never so far and do never so much and yet live in some one sin or other what live a blameless innocent honest smooth life and yet live in some one sin or other Yet suppose he did a regenerate man may be in captivity to the Law of sin And pray what 's the difference But then an ungenerate man cannot be poor in spirit and so carried out of all Duties to Christ That is if an unregenerate man do good he is conscious to himself that he doth it If he have a good heart he feels a good heart in himself and in all he doth and therefore feels not a want of all good which is true poverty of spirit So that according to this discourse the surest mark of a regenerate man is either to have no good in himself or if he have any to be mistaken and think he hath none either of which I think is a very odd sign of Grace But then an unregenerate man comes to Christ but he never gets into Christ never takes up his eternal rest and lodging in Jesus Christ only I thought coming had been believing and that believing would have done the business And if so God forbid that any man should be damned for want of that other Metaphor of taking up his eternal rest and lodging in Christ Men in distress of conscience that 〈◊〉 unregenerate men under such distress If they have comfort from Christ they are contented If Salvation from Hell by Christ they are contented and I think they have some reason then to be contented But Christ himself that is without Comfort and without Salvation contents them not Now to be contented with Christ without comfort and salvation is so far from being the mark of an unregenerate man that I am not yet satisfied that it is the mark of an unreasonable man An unregenerate man Answer let him go never so far do
never so much yet as long as he is in his old Sphere in corrupt unregenerate nature he lives in some one sin or other in an unregenerate heart while such Gods throne is not cannot be and therefore sins must be there Such an heart as yet not elevated by Grace to the true and immense goodness which is above hunts after an happiness in the lower Sphere of its self and the world embracing some vain Image or Shadow instead of a Deity The young man in the Gospel for all his smooth innocent life had yet a regnant World within Trajan and Antoninus the Philosopher as fair Moralists as they were were yet enemies to Christianity But a regenerate man however he groan under the indwelling sin doth not indulge his lusts his heart having found out God the true center of Blessedness rests no where else But saith Mr. Shephard an unregenerate man cannot be poor in spirit and so carried out of all duties to Christ Upon which saith the Author if an unregenerate man do good he is conscious to himself that he doth it if he have a good heart he feels it And is it so indeed If an unregenerate man may have a good heart and do that which is truly spiritually good Regeneration is altogether useless internal and supernatural principles of Grace are to no purpose Nature though lame and lapsed may do its own work But I suppose rather that all this in the unregenerate is but pride and presumption his feeling a good heart in himself but a lye and imposture But saith the Author the regenerate man is either to have no good in himself or to think he hath none either of which is an odd sign of Grace To which I answer To be a regenerate Man and to have no good in himself is not possible to think he hath none if he know he hath some is as little possible as the other The regenerated man hath a Divine Life and Principle in him yet by reason of inherent corruptneâ—s sees little or nothing in himself and is ever in dependance upon the treasures of Grace in Christ An unregenerate man may come to Christ in Profession or Ordinances but not in believing He takes not up his rest in Christ He would saith Mr. Shephard like Judas have Christ and the bag too Or as the young man have Christ and the world too He would live in his Lusts and if at last Christ would save him from Hell it would be enough But the regenerate are in love with Christ himself Epist ad Rom. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My Love Christ was crucified and with him my love to all other things sait Ignatius and the Reverend Vsher as Mr. Baxter relates was of opinion That by the first act of Faith we receive Christs person and by a second his benefits Mr. Shephard Jaith Mr. Sherlock That men tyred and weary in themselves go to Christ to remove their sins If they get these sins subdued and removed if they find power to do better they hope to be saved here is the evidence of Sanctification whereas thou mayst be damned and go to the Devil at last though thou dost escape all the pollutions of the World and that not from thy self and thine own strength but from the knowledge of Christ Woe to you if you dye in this state with your sins mortified and subdued by Christ and the reason is because this is to come to Christ to suck juyce from him to maintain his own Berries his own stock of Graces Alas he is but the Ivy he is no Member nor Branch in this Tree And hence he never grows to be one with Christ So that Holiness and Obedience is no evidence of our Vnion to Christ though we fetch strength from Christ to do his will we may only grasp about Christ all this while as the Ivy about the Oak but never be united to him and become one with him Mr. Shephard's plain scope is no more but this Answer that poor sinners tyred with their sins should not rest in any thing no not in some power to subdue sin and do better without Union to Christ And the Scripture-Method calls for this that we should have our being in Christ put on Christ and receive Christ that we may have all benefits from him 1. Hom. of the Sacrament Hence our Church tells us That we must make Christ our own and apply his merits to our selves Thus the Learned Zanchy Tota verae justitiae De verâ dispensat vitae salutis participatio ex hâc pernecessariâ cum Christo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pendet The whole participation of Righteousness Life Salvation depends on our Vnion with Christ which is most necessary A man through the knowledge of Christ may escape the pollutions of the World that is gross sins he may learn to do better in his life but true mrtification of sins flows from our Union to Christ and is effected by the holy Spirit in Believers Holiness and Obedience such as indeed is true and spiritual doth not go before Faith and Union to Christ but follow after it and so evidence it as the Fruit doth the Root As for the Authors subjoyned exclamation Good God! into what mazes and labyrinths do these men lead poor distressed souls I must leave it to the Reader to determine whether there be any just cause for it or not The testimony of the Spirit concerns the general adoption of Christians for the sons of God Mr. Sherlock not to testifie to any particular man that he is a good Christian or in the estate of Grace It is not a private but a publick testimony given to the whole Christian Church That holy Spirit which God bestowed upon the Apostles and Primitive Christians which enabled them to work Miracles speak Languages and Prophesie was a plain argument to all the World that God now owned the Christians not the Jews for his chosen and elect people for his sons and children For this was the great dispute of those days whether Jews or Christians were the sons of God whether God now owned the Jewish or Christian Religion and the Apostles decide this Controversie by the Testimony of the Spirit for God could not give a greater Testimony to the Christian Church than the gift of the holy Spirit for it was a plain argument that he owned them for his sons when he bestowed the Spirit of his Son on them as the Apostle argues Galat. 3.2 Received ye the Spirit by the Works of the Law or by the hearing of Faith that is did God bestow his Spirit on you while you were Jews or upon your conversion to Christianity For if God bestowed his spirit on Christians This is a sufficient seal to the Christian Religion This is plain and intelligible the Testimony of the Spirit assures us that all Christians are the Sons of God and Heirs of the Promises and every mans conscience will tell him whether
he be a Christian whether he heartily believe and obey the Gospel and herein consists our Vnion to Christ and fellowship with him let us then leave those other dim notions to men who can believe what no man can understand who despise every thing that can be understood as if it were no better than carnal reason The Author Answer who hitherto hath highly though without cause charged his opposites with violating the evidences of Christians doth now himself blast the highest of all evidences the Testimony of the holy Spirit which is so clealy asserted by the holy Apostle that the Jesuits themselves though hotly disputing against assurance never yet attempted totally to deny it The Testimony of the Spirit saith the Author concerns the general adoption of Christians not to testifie to any particular man It is not a private but a publick Testimony given to the whole Church But let us consider the Text it self in the Apostle The Spirit it self beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God Rom. 8.16 The Spirit the Apostle speaks not of the Spirit as shewing forth it self in Miracles and Tongues but as sanctifying and sealing Believers he speaks of the spirit dwelling in them vers 9. Mortifying the deeds of the body in them vers 13. Leading of them vers 14. Making them cry Abba Father vers 15. And then follows 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the self same spirit beareth witness Here is not one jot or tittle of Miracles or Tongues the testimony of the Spirit in Miracles or Tongues is an external one which runs into the senses But the Testimony of the Spirit in the Text is internal it beareth witness not to our senses but to our Spirits It is said to be sent forth into our hearts Gal. 4.6 The Testimony is not without in Miracles or Tongues but within in the heart The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit the Apostle saith not it beareth witness with the Spirit of the Church for there is one body and one spirit the Spirit of the Church Catholick is the holy Spirit which quickens the whole Mystical Body of Christ And these words The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit cannot be translated thus The Spirit beareth witness with it self but the plain meaning is It beareth witness with our spirit that is with the spirits and consciences of particular Believers And what doth it testifie The Apostle tells us That we are the children of God We particular Believers are so Thus in another place ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of Promise Eph. 1.13 Ye particular Believers were so And again He hath sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts 2 Cor. 1.22 He hath dealt so with us in particular The Testimony of the Spirit in the Gospel is that all Believers are the Sons of God But the Testimony of the Spirit in our spirits is that we are Believers and so the Sons of God in particular This Testimony of the Spirit though so fully asserted in Scripture Nay and I will add though so sweetly experimented by the dear Saints of God that they have thought themselves in the very borders of Heaven in respect of it is yet with the Author no better than a dim unintilligible notion and as he speaks a little before a private Enthusiasm But why unintelligible cannot the holy Spirit so illustrate and irradiate the heart that the truth of Grace may appear to the Believer that he may certainly see in his own heart that this is precious Faith and that is love in incorruption and so of other Graces there Or what if it were unintelligible Shall we cast off the Divine Revelation because above our narrow reason What then must become of those Mysteries of the Trinity and hypostatical Union What of that peace of God which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 passing or transcending all understanding Phil. 4.7 Surely in such things reason must vail and do homage to Revelations Ephraem Syrus discerning an heretical propensity in his Disciple Paulinus gave him that excellent advice Vide Pauline ne te submittas tuis cogitationibus sed cum te perfecte comprehendisse Deum putaveris crede nec intellexisse We must not commit Divine Mysteries to the measures of Humane Reason but take them as they are in Scripture But this Testimony of the Spirit is but a private Enthusiasm saith the Author To which I answer We are now more afraid of Enthusiasm than they were of old Dyonisius would have the Hierarch to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De Eccles Hierarch to be a divine man and a kind of Euthusiast Ignatius in the Epistle to the Romans saith That he wrote 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secundum arbitrium Dei as if he had wrote by impulse and Inspiration And as Dr. Arrowsmith hath it in Suidas and Hesykius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Enthusiasm is when the whole soul is irradiated by God And in this sence I wish with him Vtinam essemus omnes Enthusiastae Would we were all Enthusiasts It s true there is not now an Enthusiasm of gifts in an extraordinary way but sure there must be still in the use of the means an Enthusiasm of Graces in Regeneration and an Enthusiasm of comforts in the Testimony of the Spirit or else which is quite contrary to Scripture there must be no new Creatures but what are of Mans own making nor no Divine comforts for them but what are of Mans own gathering The Just need no longer live by Faith or in dependence upon the Divine Spirit but may have his being and well-being his graces and comforts all from himself CHAP. V. Sect. 1. CHrist hath reveiled the whole mind and will of God Mr. Sherlock in such a plain and familiar manner that every one may understand it who will but exercise the same reason in it that he doth to understand the Laws of his Prince Before the Author took away the witnessing Spirit now the illuminating one Answer A Man may according to him understand the things of God by the exercise of his reason Thus Episcopius Men may by meer natural perception without any supernatural superinfused light understand the Will of God After the same manner speak the Socinians The darkness for such are all the unregenerate Men may it seems comprehend the Evangelical light But the Apostle tells us That the natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 2.14 That flesh and blood doth not reveil these things but our Father in Heaven Matth. 16.17 Hence the Apostle prays for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation for the Ephesians Ephes 1.17 Hence our Church tells us 2. Hom. of Scripture That the Revelation of the Holy Ghost inspireth the true meaning of Scripture into us In truth we cannot without him attain true saving knowledge According to these Men Mr. Sherlock the love of Christ is a love to the person of a Believer without considering any