Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A33207
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A discourse concerning the operations of the Holy Spirit together with a confutation of some part of Dr. Owen's book upon that subject.
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Clagett, William, 1646-1688.; Owen, John, 1616-1683. Two discourses concerning the Holy Spirit and his work.
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1678
(1678)
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Wing C4379; ESTC R14565
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218,333
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348
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trusted and his Soveraign Dominion owned by a spirit of obedience and submission to it which are incomparably more effectual acknowledgments of the Divine perfections than whole Burnt-offerings and Sacrifices For this as our Saviour speaks is to worship God in spirit and in truth Such a Temple as this God is so delighted in that in comparison therewith he disregarded the Temple at Hierusalem with all the external services that belonged to it For that God dwelleth in pious mindes was not unknown to the Jews Where is the house that ye build unto me and where is the place of my rest To him will I look saith the Lord even to him that is poor and of a contrite heart and trembleth at my word Isa. 66.2 3. Thus saith the high and holy One that inhabiteth eternity whose name is Holy I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the spirit of the contrite ones Isa. 57.15 Let us now lay these things together and the conclusion will be that God's dwelling in men implies a plentiful communication of Divine grace to confirm and strengthen them in all goodness which was what I took upon me to shew under this head For since this expression of God's dwelling in men denotes the presence of a peculiar grace and favour to those in whom he is said to dwell which is not afforded to others Since the dwelling of the Holy Ghost in Believers is to enable them to mortifie the deeds of the body and to prevail finally against all their spiritual Enemies Since also it is true that God dwelleth in good and righteous but not in impure and unholy persons it follows in the first place that after we are regenerated it is still by the grace of God and the Operations of his Holy Spirit that we are enabled to proceed in vertue and godliness and to persevere therein to the end for God dwelleth in us that we may mortifie the deeds of the body by the Spirit Secondly it follows also that there is a more abundant measure of Divine Grace communicated to holy persons than to those who are not so For God's dwelling implies the presence of more than ordinary Grace And thus our Saviour also hath plainly told us To him that hath shall be given and he shall have abundantly Finally this Doctrine is very well consistent with that of attributing the beginnings of Christian Faith and goodness in us to the Operations of the Holy Spirit For although the Spirit of God dwells onely in good men yet it is by his Operations that any are made so at first and as the Apostle speaks we are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit Eph. 2.22 But his dwelling in us afterward signifies as we have shewn the more abundant grace we are made partakers of And thus although the blessings which all the World enjoyed while the Tabernacle and Temple stood flowed to Mankinde from the Divine bounty and goodness yet God was said to dwell onely among the Israelites because he had a more especial care of that people than of any other Nation in the World My designe in this Chapter was to shew that the beginnings and progress of that state whereby we are qualified for Heaven are in the Scriptures ascribed to the Operations of the Holy Spirit and that all Christian Vertues are the gifts and graces of God I might now prove by as convincing testimonies that perseverance in the Faith and obedience of the Gospel is the effect of a Divine Operation in us But this truth is so evidently consequent from what the Scripture asserts concerning God's dwelling in good men which I have largely enough discoursed of that I reckon it needless to produce any further testimonies to confirm it Thus have I discharged what I promised in the close of the last Chapter which was to prove that those Christian Vertues in which the state of Regeneration consists together with our improvement and perseverance in them are particularly ascribed in the Scriptures to the Operations of the Holy Spirit And from what hath been thus proved these things follow 1. That he who is endued with these Virtues hath the Spirit of God for they are the effects of his grace And to say that a man may be endued with them and yet be void of Grace is to contradict the Scriptures which ascribe them in whomsoever they are to the Operations of the Holy Spirit 2. And by consequence it is an idle supposition that God will be displeased with us though we be never so careful to do his Commands and to increase in Christian Virtues if all this while we have not the Spirit of God for the former cannot be without the latter 3. Wherefore also it is a vain thing to make our believing and obeying the Gospel on the one side and our having true Grace and the Spirit of God on the other distinct marks of a Regenerate state For if Faith and Obedience are the fruits of the Holy Spirit within us if they are Grace as that signifies the performance of our duty and the effects of Grace as that signifies Divine Assistance then having the Grace of God and the Spirit of God is not a mark of Regeneration distinct from believing and obeying the Gospel because this is Grace it self in the former and is it self the onely mark of Grace in the latter sence of the word i. e. of our having the Spirit of God And now I have not discoursed upon this subject out of the least suspition that there are any in this Church who deny the Qualifications of a true Disciple of Jesus to be the graces of the Holy Spirit For excepting Dr. Owen and some of his party and as those who are acquainted with them say the Quakers I do not know of any in England who may justly be suspected to use one of the Doctor 's phrases of being gone over into the Tents of the Pelagians Nor was it merely to vindicate the Ministers of this Church whose judgement in this matter I am acquainted with something better than our Author seems to be from the imputation of Pelagianism which with so much clamour and railing he hath charged them withal But principally to give those who believe what the Scripture thus plainly declares occasion to consider it again and to lay it to heart since there can hardly be a more effectual encouragement to Piety and Virtue than this that God will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him for all blessings needful for their eternal welfare And nothing will render the wilful sinner more inexcusable and more severely punishable than this that whilst he goes on in his wicked life he does despight unto the Spirit of Grace CHAP. V. Concerning pretended Gifts of the Spirit SECT I. HItherto I have shewn of what kinde those Effects are for which the Holy Spirit
purpose it is observable that God's dwelling thus in the Most Holy place is called his dwelling amongst the Israelites Thus when he commanded the building of the Ark Let them saith he make me a Sanctuary that I may dwell amongst THEM Exod. 25.8 And after he had promised to sanctifie the Tabernacle with his Glory he tells Moses And I will dwell amongst the Children of Israel and will be their God Exod. 29.45 Now that the presence of his mercy and favour towards them was meant in this promise appears by the following words And they shall know that I am the Lord their God that brought them forth out of the land of Aegypt i. e. he would so manifest his power in protecting and defending them from all their Enemies that they should know he had the same care of them which he shewed in delivering them from the Aegyptian bondage But this is yet more clearly signified by those words In all places where I record my NAME I will come unto thee and BLESS thee Exod. 20.24 For the Name of God as we find in 2 Sam. 6.2 was The Lord of Hosts that dwelleth between the Cherubims And this is that account which the Psalmist gives of God's dwelling in Sion where the Ark of his presence was The Lord hath chosen Sion he hath desired it for his habitation This is my rest for ever here will I dwell for I have desired it I will abundantly satisfie her poor with bread I will cloath her Priests with salvation and her Saints shall shout aloud for joy Psal. 132.13 Thus in times of distress and danger they began their prayers for deliverance by invoking the Lord God of Israel that dwelleth between the Cherubims 2 Kings 19.15 and Psal. 80.1 By all which it appears that Gods dwelling there signified the peculiar favour which he had towards the house of Israel before all other people And accordingly we may observe that the Scripture doth use to express the presence of God amongst them when they were punished for their sins not by dwelling with them but by visiting them which you know is a word that does not imply continuance and long abode as the other does and is therefore much fitter than that to express the presence of his angry Justice who delighteth not in Vengeance but in Mercy and who is more easily prevailed with to withdraw his displeasure than his favour and kindness Thus saith the high and lofty One I DWELL with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit which that it signifies the lasting presence of his favour is plain from the following words For I will not contend for ever neither will I be always wroth for the spirit should fail before me and the souls which I have made Isa. 57.15 16. Although God is said to visit men both when he is present to punish them as in Exod. 32.34 Psal. 89.36 c. and when he is present to deliver and bless them as in Exod. 3.16 Psal. 106.4 yet 't is in respect of the latter onely that he is said to dwell amongst them Now as I observed before the Apostle cites that promise of God made to the Israelites that he would dwell in them applying it to the state of the Christian Church as you may see 2 Cor. 6.16 Wherefore God's dwelling in men as this phrase is used in the New Testament signifies also his peculiar grace and favour toward them as the Apostle himself explains it by subjoyning that other place thereto And I will be a Father unto you and ye shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord God Almighty And this is that testimony which he hath given us hereof that the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth John 1.14 By whom we have received God's blessings and favours and the clear revelations of his Will more freely than the Israelites ever did by the dwelling of the Ark amongst them They prayed towards their most Holy place where God was extraordinarily present that he would stir up his strength and come and save them But we look up to the more Holy Mercy-seat where God is more gloriously present than he was between the Cherubims even to Jesus whom all the Angels of God worship and in whom the fulness of the God-head dwelleth bodily that through him we may have help and salvation The Name of God which he hath now recorded amongst us is The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and by this name we invoke him that he would come unto us and bless us And there is as great difference between the Blessings that God's coming to us and dwelling amongst us implies and those which were promised to the Israelites as between the testimonies themselves of God's presence amongst them and amongst us They were temporal favours and deliverances which they promised to themselves from God's presence in the most Holy place But we look for a salvation incomparably more excellent God having blessed us through Christ with all spiritual blessings in things that concern Heaven Eph. 1.3 The Enemies we are to subdue by the strength of the Lord and the power of his might are those which would hinder us of our heavenly Canaan viz. our sensual Lusts and earthly Affections and the temptations of the World and the Devil For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickednesses in high places Eph. 6.12 against all the suggestions of evil spirits whether to more gross and sensual or to more refin'd and spiritual vices And they are Enemies so much more dangerous than those which the Israelites had to deal withal that theirs do not deserve to be called Principalities c. when they are compared with those here mentioned by the Apostle Thus by the Spirit of God dwelling in us twice mentioned by St. Paul Rom. 8.9 11. we are to understand the presence of his Grace whereby we are constantly enabled to mortifie the deeds of the Body vers 13. For then our Bodies shall have a blessed Resurrection vers 11. and the Spirit is life because of Righteousness vers 10. our Souls shall then be qualified for eternal Life and Happiness Now this being certain to come to pass if the Spirit of God dwelleth in us it is plain that the peculiar grace and favour of God towards us which is signified thereby is that by which we may be kept from living after the flesh which if we do we shall die and enabled to mortifie the deeds of the Body to subdue our spiritual Enemies more perfectly and to prevail finally against them that we may live vers 13. Therefore to conclude this point as God's dwelling amongst the Israelites signified his peculiar favour to them in protecting and defending them and bringing them to the Land of Canaan and blessing them with plenty and increase c. so is the peculiar presence of his Grace