Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	body_n	sense_n	soul_n	8,577	5	5.4817	4	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01027	A fruitfull sermon made by the reverend and learned Mr. Iohn Forbes. Pastour of the English company of merchants adventures at Delft. Published by some of his flock out of sincere affection for common good	Forbes, John, 1568?-1634.	1626 (1626)	STC 11130; ESTC S116489	28,013	106

the chidren of God And so by consequence wherein stands the chief proof that the word of God is Gods power to our salvation but in the consideration of these our faith is the point that makes the conclusion For without faith its impossible wee can bee or know our selves to bee the children of God But notwithstanding that which makes the infallible determination of being in the faith depends upon the presence of Christ within us without which all conceit of having faith is frivolous and vain The order then of our minds in searching our spirituall estats is this 1. Wee are to try and examine our selves whether wee know our selves to bee of God or no for he is not of God that knowes not himself to bee of God for according to the saying of Iohn he hath given us a mind to know him which is true and wee are in him that is true and wee know that wee are of God Iohn 1. Epi. 5. 19. 20. Secondly wee are to try if wee bee in the faith because wee never can know our selves to bee of God untill the time wee find ourselves to bee in the faith according to the saying of Christ Hee that is of God heareth Gods words ye therefore heare them not because ye are not of God Iohn 8. 47. 3. For confirming our hearts in the knowledge of this 2. Point and so consequently in the full assurance of the first wee are to try if Christ bee in us without which wee can never assuredly know that wee beleeved and so consequently that wee are of God according to the saying of Christ speaking of the work of the spirit in those to whom he gives it at that day shall ye know that I am in my father and you in mee and I in you and againe in his prayer to God for his elect the glory that thou gavest mee I haue given them that they may be one as wee are one I in them and thou in mee that they may bee made perfect in one Iohn 17. 22. 23. And againe I haue declared unto them thy name and will declare it that the loue wherewith thou hast loved mee may be in them and I in them Ibidem 17. 26. For which cause the saincts are called the habitation of God by the spirit Ephesians 2. 22. Whereupon the Apostle concludeth that if any man haue not the spirit of Christ the same is not his Rom. 8. 9. And this dwelling of Christ by his spirit in our hearts is only wrought by faith according to the saying of the Apostle I bow my knees unto the father of our Lord Iesus Christ that he might grant you according to the richnes of his glory that you may bee strengthned by his spirit in the inward man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by saith Ephesians 3. 14. 15 16. 17. By all which it evidently appeares when it is that a man knowes himself indeed to be the child of God and also wherein this knowledge consisteth viz. when he comes to a lively feeling and cleare sight that Christ is in him all other gifts and graces whatsoever being of no valew or force in the least to give any assurance or true knowledge to a mans soule that he is truely and effectually called by the Gospell to the estate of grace and hope of glory for then onely it is that the Gospell becomes the power of God to our salvation when as thereby Christ is formed in us according to the words of the Apostle to the Galatians saying my litle children of whom I trauell in birth againe untill Christ bee formed in you Cap. 4. 19. The same is confirmed by that speech of the Apostle to the Colossiaus wherein he discribes what is the riches of the glorious mistery of the Gospell amongst the gentills saying which riches is Christ in you the hope of glory Cap. 1 27. The use of this is to teach us that in vaine any man contents himselfe with any other thing whatsoever thereby hoping to be saved if he haue not Christ within him and that he himself know it for with out him nothing availes to salvation synce nothing can make a man the child of God but he aloue in so far that faith it self is not the true faith of Gods elect whereby the heart is purified and a sinner justified and saved except that by it Christ be brought in and made to dwell in the heart and that in such evidency that the beleeving man know that he hath Christ within him for its impossible that a man can haue Christ but that he must know that he hath him such is the liuely operation and supernaturall working of Christ in the soule where he is illuminating quickning and transforming everie man who hath him in the spirit of his mind and in pacifying comforting the conscience and in filling and replenishing the soule with the sence of Gods loue and hope of his glorie that never man could ever more clearely discern that hee hath a soule within him by the naturall effects thereof in his bodie then a christian may perceaue Christ to be within him by his proper effects before mentioned Out of this use we gather a second viz. That a man should sett himselfe to gaine Christ rather and aboue all things esteeming all other things but losse and judging all to be but dung for the excellent knowledg sake of Iesus Christ our Lord according as Paul did Philip. 3. 8. So as with the same Apostle he may sencibly know the vertue of his resurrection and the fellowship of his afflictions and be made conform to him in his death ibid. ver 10 For as Christ himselfe saith What availeth it a man to win the whole world if he loose his soule Mark 8 36. But certaine it is that everie soule shall perish eternally hereafter which gayneth not Christ in this present life This yealds matter of just reproofe against the most part of men if not all who labour so much for the things of this earth which are but transitorie vanities and helpe nothing to their salvation and make so small account of gayning Christ for the inâ—oying of whom even when they are invited unto him will not forsake the smallest ease proffit or pleasure of this life but make light of him and goe their waies one to his farm another about his marchandize others take the inviters and use them sharply and kill them As Christ himself tels us in the â—arableâ— Mat. 22. 5 6. And â—e were to be wished that these were the worst sort of the dispisers of Christ though these be so bad that they shall never tast of the supper of the great King but there is another sort much more to be lameÌ„red who are lovers of sinfull pleasures more then of God spending the time appointed and sette for the purchase and gayning of Christ in abhominable filthines in chambring and wontonnesse in gluttony and drunckennesse in sport and unlawfull gayming and sinfull

theÌ„ to proove examine his words are proove yourselues examine yourselvs The question being of the power of Christ in Pauls ministry he referreth the tryall thereof to his hearers in themselvs which he would never haue done if the question concerning this power in all mens preaching were not to be decided rather by that which is felt by experience in the hearers than by any thing whatsoever in the Teacher Divers singular uses we haue of this poynt First touching the true knowledge of the nature of all spirituall things It must be taken from the tryall and experience which we have of them in onr selvs which is the true limits and bounds as well as the ground foundatioÌ„ of all true knowledg of God and all things belonging to salvation For how excellent and superemminently good soever they be in themselvs our mindes can rise no higher in apprehending and knowing them then the experience and sence is which wee receive of theire force and effectuall working in and upon ourselvs And this is true not onely in the supernaturall knowledge of God heavenly things but also in so far as nature it self can apprehend of God this is manifest by the Apostles words to the Romans when he sayth that which might be known of God is manifest in men themselves For which cause he justly concludeth the Gentiles to haue beene vniust detayners of the truth of God and therefore most justly punisht from heaven because knowinug God they did not glorifie him as God neither were thankfull For it is most certaine that there can bee no true judgement of these things that are spirituall and so no way subject to the apprehension of earnall sences but onely from the sence and seeling of our soules according to the measure of working whereby it pleaseth God by his spirit to make our soules sensible of his nature and goodnes which wee never can rightly esteeme of vntill by his blessed gospell begetting us again to a liuely hope of an inheritance immortall vndefyled and that withereth not he powreth in by his spirit aboundantly in our harts his loue and peace that passeth all vnderstanding neither can wee ever acknowledge the blessed word of God to be the power of God vnto salvation vntill that by experience wee find it to bee that which the Apostle describes it to bee in us viz. a living word mighty in operation and sharper then any two edged sword and piercing into the devision of our soule and of our spirit the joynts the marrow and judging the verie thoughts and intents of our harte so that wee may justly conclude that no man hath any more true knowledge eyther of God the gospell or ministry thereof then so far as in himself he hath felt by proofe and experience their efficacy and working upon himself Moreover this teacheth us another lesson touching the true course of mens tryall in matters spirituall and specially of the vertue and power of any mans ministry it is apparent that the Corinthians did narrowly marke the Apostle himselfe in his outward estate and in his vtterance and eloquence in all which they externally found nothing in their carnal judgmeÌ„t but basenes weakenes and words of no valew but in the meane time they did not marke the mighty work of that weake maÌ„ by his seeming weake words in their owne harts inwardly which made them perverse and sinistrous Iudges of his ministry the vertue and power whereof is not to be discerned by ought that outwardly can bee perceaved eyther by the eye in behoulding the speaker or by the eare in hearing his eloquence but onely by the inward sence and feeling of their owne harts and spirits And this serves to correct two great vices in our judging first concerninge the persons and 2 concerning the matter Touching the persons its a common vice to bee busie in taking notice in judging of others but not of our selves whereas our mindes ought to bee still examining our selves not others for as sayth the Apostle who art thou that judgest another mans servant hee standeth or falleth to his owne Lord and not unto thee and the scriptures of God continually warne us to absteyn from judging of others and still to judge and tax our selvs least wee be judged and in judging others to begine first at our selves because thereby we shal be the more able to giue righteous judgment of others for as Christ sayth how can a man say to his brother let me cast out a mote out of thine eie behould there is a beame in his owne eie Mat. 74. For how shall a man see to cast out a mote out of his brothers eie unto the time that first he hath cast out the beame out of his owne eie For Christ himself shewes that with what judgment wee judge others wee shal be judged and with what measure wee meat unto others it shal be measured againe to us Besides that the judgment of others is not left unto us by the Lord but reserved unto himself and therefore the Apostle counteth it a very small matter to bee judged by the Corinthians or any mans judgment touching his fidelity in his ministry but this Apostle earnestly invites us to judge and examine our selvs and sheweth to the Corinthians that if wee judged our selves wee should not bee judged of the Lord with his temporall plagues as infirmities sicknes and temporall death by which the Lord did chastise the Corinthians for not judging and examining theÌ„selvs before they did eat of the Lords bodie And this duety of not judging others but our selvs is the more carefully to bee observed by us because as we shall heare afterwards every faithfull Christian is able by the spirit of God given him to discerne of himself his spirituall estate aright but as concerning others although in the judgment of charity wee ought to esteeme well of all that professe Christ yea euen of those with whom wee refuse to converse for disobedience in them whom still according to the rule of the Apostle wee are not to esteeme as enemies but to admonish as brethren yet the infallible knowledge of their estate in Christ is only known to God who only knoweth who is his owne The 2. errour concerning the matter of our judgment is hereby likewise corrected wee see and perceaue this to bee a common folly in men to looke upon the person of the preacher upon his gifts and utterance and still to be censuring all men to bee eyther good or bad preachers according as they find them to satisfie or displease their judgment in their gifts of knowledge vtterance or eloquence and so often fall in a wofull errour in contemning the best applauding the worst whereas the matter of all true judgment of preaching consists not so much in the matter or utterance of the preacher as in the power of that which is spoken which power is

Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Text snippets containing the quad