Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A47190
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Truth and innocency defended against calumny and defamation in a late report spread abroad concerning the revolution of humane souls : with a futher clearing of the truth by a plain explication of my sence, &c. / by George Keith.
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Keith, George, 1639?-1716.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing K224; ESTC R6443
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17,150
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20
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that hath for its Object the Man Christ Jesus our alone Mediator without us in whom the Fullness dweâ—eth as well as the â—â—â—ature â—f him inwardly revealed in us and without this Faith in God the Father and in the Man Christ Jesus without us and in the Fullness that is in him as the greatest and most principal Object of our Faith I can own none to be true Christians or Believers in Christ Jesus who are the Children of God by the Free-woman Jerusalem from above let their Pretentions be ever so great to Christ as the Light in them As for Justin Martyr his calling Socrates a Christian Socrates might have had the Faith of Christ according to the Substance of it then but obscurely revealed and so might Pythagoras and Plato who conversed with Jews for the least measure of the Light of Christ in every true Christian to whom the Gospel Day of Châ—iâ—â— is dawned doth most necessarily draw and lead the Soul's Faith Love and Devotion to the Man Christ without them and to God the Father as dwelling in him most abundantly and gloriously that so God out of Christ our alone Mediator may continually supply us aâ— out of a most rich Treasury and Store-house with all new and fresh Supplies Aids and Assistances of his divine Grace Light Life and Spirit to serve him acceptably and to enjoy the indwelling of God the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit in our own Hearts and Vessels daily more and more abundantly as our Faith Love and Devotion is thus daily and continually exercised upon him Nor is there any real danger by so believing or by so preaching to draw the Minds of People from the Gift of Christ in them this at most is but the Abuse or evil Use of this Doctrine as the best of Doctrines have been and may be abused which all ought to watch against but indeed the real proper and necessary direct tendency of such Doctrine rightly improved is to bring People still more and more to the Gift of Christ in themselves and to the more abundant enjoyment of him as the Scripture Testimony and the Experience of Thousâ—nds and ten Thousands do sufficiently confirm But such who preach Faith only in the Light within calling that Light Christ as they have learned by hear-say or reading and yet are ignorant of that great Mystery of Christ without us they neither know Christ within nor believe in him as such for though Christ the true Light be in all men both Believers and Unbelievers yet only true Believers in him who believe in him as he dyed for us and rose again and is ascended c. truly know him the Light and Life in them and have the true Comfort and Enjoyment of him every way and of all his Blessings and benefits and such Preachers and Ministers who have this Faith of Christ wholly and Fully it is no indifferent thing to them to have it or preach it for as they daily live by it so they daily labour in Word and Doctrine to preach it for the Hearers Salvation and for bringing them to know Christ in them as Thousands can witness with me that had we not believed in Christ without us aâ— he dyed and rose again and had we not been perswaded that Christ dyed for us and rose again that God and Christ might dwell in us and that we might receive the inward and spiritual blessing and Benefit of him in our hearts we had not believed in him nor known him as in us And such Preachers who say as some do whom I have heard to my grief and sorrow That men may be saved in Gods ordinary way aâ— for Example the Indians here in America or any else-where without the Faith of Christ as he dyed for us and rose again by their honest and sober Living according to the Reâ—uirings or Dictates of the Light in them and that not only so as to witness a beginning but a perfecting the work of Christianity and Salvation in them They are not like to be at great pains to preach Faith in Christ crucified and raised from the Dead either to Indians or any others or to encourage others to do it for this Faith not being necessary where or to whom it is not preached the effectual way to make the Faith of it wholly an indifferent and unnecessary thing is not at all to preach it but bury it in Oblivion as some would do and so to bring our Posterity to be Indians or Heathens and as it was almost quite buried and forgot by too many â—igh Pretenders to the Light within And if God in his infinite Mercy in those American Parts where we have but few Bibles and very few other Books perused by many among us that teâ—ch the necessity of this Faith had not raised a Godly Zeal in some to revive and raise up this most precious and necessary Doctrine concerning the Faith in Christ both Without us and Within us the Faith and Reâ—â—membrance of it would have been in probability lost in many Families in a little time especially iâ— being rarely preached by many high Pretenders to the Light within and if at any times mentioned by them not hold forth as the necessary Object of Faith but rather as occasional as other Historical-Things of Scripture and â—o this the Conceit that some have that the Scriptures are not Instrumental to our Faith and Knowledge the Light or Spirit being the only means c. as some say and to preach Christ without us is to lead People to know Christ after the Flesh and to bring them from the Spirit to the Letter but the great and indispensible Necessity of Preaching it is that it may be believed to Eternal Salvation for it is not only necessary to be believed because preached but because it is necessary to be believed universally in some measure therefore it is necessary to be Preached so that the very cause of its Preaching is the Necessity of the Faith it self in order to finish the Work of mens Salvation universally even as men gather Materials of Stone and Timber to build and the Building is not necessary for Materials but the Materials are necessary for the Building This as the necessary Effect That as a necessary Antecedent in an ordinary way 4 thly And thus it manifestly appeareth how there is no Contradiction nor Contrariety betwixt the present Doctrine I Preach or Print and any of my former printed Books nor betwixt my dear and worthy brother and Friend R. Barclay nor any of my dear and worthy Friends and Brethren who have said That Pious and Conscienious Gentiles are not excluded from Gods Mercy or Salvation who have not had the express Historical Knowledge and Faith of Christ revealed to them by distinguishing first betwixt the Express Knowledge and Faith of that great Mystery and the Implicit Faith and Knowledge of it for to deny the Necessity of the express Faith c. is to affirm the
to query things that call not into Question any one Article of the Christian Faith But further to clear the matter I do affirm that I never said to any nor did I ever conclude in my thoughts that the Doctrine of the Revolutions as they are commonly understood or as delivered in that Book was the matter of my Faith or were things inwardly revealed or opened to me by the Spirit of Truth as I am free to say concerning all things of my Christian Faith which I both believe and profess nor have I ever had any Controversie Strife or Contention with any man about the Revolutions so called and I have been very shy and backward either to lend or recommend the said Book But it is one thing what a man may suppose to be a probable Opinion or rational Hypothesis either as touching the Doctrine of the Revolutions of which there are many sorts asserted by Authors or as touching any other Doctrine in Astronomy or Physick and it is far another thing what a man asserts to be his Christian Faith grounded upon the inward Evidence and Testimony of Gods Spirit in the Heart But as to my real sence of the Opinion of that called the Revolutions which do generally relate to Times past and not with the least certainty to any one particular Person to the time to come ever since the Death of Christ If any hold any such Opinion or Doctrine of them as I know none that do that doth teach That men may delay their Repentance or living a good Life in hope that they shall live again after Death I do sincerely declare I have alwayes abhorred any such Doctrine and judged it Wicked and Abominable and still I do so judge and hope so to do while I live and I have upon many occasions born my zealous Testimony both in publick and in private to the contrary viz. That to entertain any such hope to live again in order to Repent and live a good Life after a man has neglected the present Opportunity wherein to Repent c. in this present Life is as Wicked as it is vain for The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation teacheth us to deny Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present World Tit. 2.11 12. But it teacheth no man to delay his good living to any time after Death either in hope of a Purgatory while the Soul is out of the Body or in hope to live again in a mortal Body for NOW is the accepted Time NOW is the Day of Salvation 2 Cor. 6.2 And it is the last Time as John hath declared 1 John 2.18 And also Paul saying Rom. 13.11 And that knowing the Time that NOW it is high Time to awake out of sleep c. let us therefore cast off the Works of Darkness and put on the Armour of Light for the Times of Ignorance God wincked at but NOW comenandeth all men every where to Repent Acts 17.30 And as John said Mat. 3. 10. And NOW also the Ax is laid to the Root of the Trees therefore eveâ—y Tree that bringeth not forth good Fruit is hewn down and cast into the Fire And therefore if any hold such Doctrine of Revolutions that putteth men upon delaying their Repentance or neglecting to live a good Life in hope to live again after Death to Repent and Amend as I have alwayes abhorred it so I hope I shall alwayes do and bear my faithful Testimony against it And whereas the said Person hath accused me before divers Witnesses That my manner of Preaching the Faith of Christ Crucified and Raised again its being necessary to make men Christians and Sons of God of the Free Woman and Children of the New-Covenant doth infer my holding of the Revolutions to wit that all pious Gentiles dying without all bearing Christ crucified and raised again preached to them must of necessity live again in a mortal Body in order to hear that Doctrine outwardly preached to them or then be damned The which Alternative I possitively deny And by this his Accusation he hath shown what a Changeling he is from better to worse in so finding fault with my Doctrine for Preaching or Printing the necessity of this Faith to Salvation which he hath so frequently held forth himself owned and approved in my Books And I propose it to the serious Consideration of all sincere Christians Whether this Difficulty show much so ever real or seeming doth more pinch or straiten me than all Christendom that universally assert the necessity of faith in Christ crucified and raised again to make men true and sincere Christians and that by this Faith men are justified sanctified and attain to eternal Life and that therefore no Jew or Turk can be a true Christian because they have not this Faith however otherwise just and conscientious they may be And whether seeing the whole strain and current of the Scripture both of the Old and New Testament is such as doth demonstrate the necessity of this Faith and Gospel to be preached to all Nations to wit That Christ Jesus the Son of God dyed for our sins and rose again for our Justification and that it is plain from express Scripture That this Justification is not obtained nor Salvation to wit finally fully and perfectly without this Faith I say Whether in opposition to and in prejudice of the Revolutions and for avoiding that Doctrine and laying it aside we must and ought to lay aside the Preaching and Faith of Christ as he outwardly dyed for our sins on the Tree of the Cross and rose again for our â—ustification as a thing unnecessary and indifferent as it must needs be if men may be compleat and perfect Christians without this Faith and perfectly overcome all sin and attain to a perfect state of Sanctification without it and may be Children of God and Sons of the free Woman and have the Spirit of Adoption without this Faith And if so then doth not this wholly render Pious Paganism or Gentilism to be perfect Christianity and perfect Christianity to be nothing else than pious Gentilism And doth not this make the Faith and Knowledge of Christ both without us and within us of none effect for it cannot be proved that ever any had the true Knowledge or Faith of Christ within them but who had the true Knowledge and Faith of Christ without them for though Christ was and is in Pious and Conscientious Gentiles in thâ—ir meer Gentile state yet they did not know him as such nor did they believe in him as Christ as all sincere Christians did and do And shall not this be of most evil tendency thus to make void the Faith of Christ crucified without us and raised again in prejudice of and in opposition to that call'd the Revolutions as my Accuser hath done though he himself hath declared his favouring of the Revolutions as a probable Hypothesis and hath frequently and but very lately declared the necessity