Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	deed_n	flesh_n	mortify_v	5,880	5	10.8136	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68951	A reformation of a Catholike deformed: by M. W. Perkins Wherein the chiefe controuersies in religion, are methodically, and learnedly handled. Made by D. B. p. The former part.; Reformation of a Catholike deformed: by M. W. Perkins. Part 1	Bishop, William, 1554?-1624.	1604 (1604)	STC 3096; ESTC S120947	193,183	196

if he be not in state of grace it is long of himselfe and no want on Gods parte The second place hath not so much as any shewe of wordes for him thus he speaketh Let no man aske an other man Tract 5. in Epis Ioan. but returne to his owne hart and if he finde Charity there he hath securitie for his passage from life to death What neede was there to seeke charity in his hart for security of his saluation if his faith assured him thereof therefore this text maketh flat against him The next Author he citeth is Saint Hylarie in these wordes Sup. 5 cap. Mat. The Kingdome of heauen which our Lord professed to be in him selfe his will is that it be hoped for without any doubtfulnes of vncertayne will at all is an addition otherwise there is no iustification by faith if faith it selfe be made doubtfull First he saith but as we say that the Kingdome of heauen is to be hoped for without anie doubtfulnesse for wee professe certayntie of hope and deny onely certayntie of faith as M. PERKINS confesseth before And as for faith we say with him also it is not doubtfull but very certaine What maketh this to the purpose that a man must beleeue his owne saluation when S. Hilary speaketh there of faith of the resurrection of the dead His last Author is S. Bernard Epist 107. Who is the iust man but he that being loued of God loues him againe which comes not to passe but by the spirit reuealing by faith the eternall promise of God of his saluation to come which reuelation is nothing else but the infusion of spirituall grace by which the deedes of the flesh are mortified the man is prepared to the kingdome of heauen together receiuing in one spirit that whereby he may presume that he is loued and loues againe Note that he saith the reuelation of the spirit to be nothing else but the infusion of spirituall graces and comfort whereby a man hath some feeling of Gods goodnesse towardes him by which as he saith he may presume but not beleeue certainlie that he is loued of God But let S. Bernard in the same place interpret himselfe there he speaketh thus as I cited once before It is giuen to men to tast before hand somewhat of the blisse to come c. Of the which knowledge of our selues now in part perceiued a man doth in the meane season glory in hope but not yet in security His opinion then is expresly that for all the reuelations of the spirit made by faith vnto vs we are not assured for certainty of our saluation but feele great joy through the hope we haue hereafter to receiue it This passage of testimonies being dispatched let vs now come vnto the fiue other reasons which M. PERKINS produceth in defence of their opinion The first reason is That in faith there are two thinges the one is an infallible assurance of those thinges which we beleeue This we graunt and therehence proue as you heard before that there can be no faith of our particular saluation because we be not so fully assured of that but that wee must stand in feare of losing of it Apoc. 3. according to that Holde that which thou hast least perhaps an other receiue thy crowne But the second poynt of faith puts all out of question For saith M. PERKINS it doth assure vs of remission of our sinnes and of life euerlasting in particular Proue that Sir and we neede no more Iohn 1. It is proued out of S Iohn As many as receiued him he gaue them power to be made the sonnes of God namely to them that beleeue in his name This text commeth much too short he gaue them power to be the sonnes that is gaue them such grace that they were able and might if they would be sonnes of God but did not assure them of that neither much lesse that they should so continue vnto their liues end I omitte his vnsauoury discourse of eating and beleeuing Christ and applying vnto vs his benefittes which he might be ashamed to make vnto vs that admitte no part of it to be true I confesse that therein faith hath his part if it be joyned with charity and frequentation of the Sacraments This is it which S. Paul teacheth Gal. 3. That not by the workes of Moyses lawe but by faith in Christ Iesus we receiue the promises of the spirit and shall haue hereafter the performance if we obserue those thinges which Christ hath commaunded vs. But what is this to certainty of Saluation But saith he it is the property of faith to apply Christ vnto vs and proues it out of S. Augustine Beleeue and thou hast eaten Againe Send vp thy faith and thou maist holde Christ in heauen c. To which Tract 25. in Ioh. and such like authorities I answere that we finde Christ we holde Christ we see Christ by faith beleeuing him to be the sonne of God and redeemer of the world and Iudge of the quicke and the dead and wee vnderstand and disgest all the mysteries of this holy worde But where is it once said in any of these sentences that we are assured of our saluation we beleeue all these poyntes and many more but we shall be neuer the neare our saluation vnlesse we obserue Gods commaundements The seruant which knowes his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes Luke 12. Ioh. 15. Then you are my friends saith our Sauiour when you shall doe the things which I commaund you which we being vncertaine to performe assure not our selues of his friendship but when to our knowledge we goe as neare it as we can and demaund pardon of our wantes wee liue in good hope of it The second reason is Whatsoeuer the holy Ghost testifieth vnto vs that certainly by faith we must beleeue but the holy Ghost doth particularly testifie vnto vs our saluation ergo the first proposition is true The second is proued thus S. Paul saith the spirit of God beareth witnesse with our spirit that we are the children of God The Papists to elude this reason alleage that it doth indeede witnesse our adoption Rom. 8. by some comfortable feeling of Gods fauour towarde vs which may often be mistaken whereof the Apostle warneth vs when he saith beleeue not euery spirit but trie the spirits whether they be of God or no. But saith M. PERKINS by their leaue 1. Ioh. 4. the testimonie of the spirit is more then a bare feeling of Gods grace For it is called the pleadge and earnest of Gods spirit in our harts And therefore it takes away all doubting as in a bargaine the earnest giuen puts all out of question 1. Cor. 1. I answere first out of the place it selfe that there followeth a condition on our parts to be performed which M. PERKINS thought wisedome to conceale For S. Paul saith that the spirit witnesseth with our

justification they put degrees they must perforce allowe them in the justificatiō it selfe And thus much of this question Pag. 200. the objections which M. PERKINS makes for vs in this Article doe belong either to the question of merits or of the possibility of fulfilling the lawe or to the perfection of our justice and therefore I remitte them to those places and will handle the two latter poynts before I come to that of merits WHETHER IT BE POSSIBLE FOR A MAN IN GRACE to fulfill Gods lawe Pag. 95. Gal. 5. MASTER PERKINS argueth that it is vnpossible First for that Paul tooke it for his ground that the lawe could not be fulfilled Admitte it were so I then would answere that he meant that a man helped only with the knowledge of the lawe cannot fulfill the lawe but by the ayde of Gods grace he might be able to doe it Which I gather out of S. Paul Rom. 8. where he saith That that which was impossible to the lawe is made by the grace of Christ possible 2 Object The liues and workes of most righteous men are imperfect and stayned with sinne ergo quid Of this there shall be a seuerall Article 3 Object Our knowledge is imperfect and therefore out faith repentance and sanctification is answerable I would to God all our workes were answerable to our knowledge then would they be much more perfect then they are but this Argument is also impertinent and doth rather proue it possible to fulfill the lawe because it is possible to knowe all the lawe Then if our workes be answerable to our knowledge we may also fulfill it 4 Object A man regenerate is partly flesh and partly spirit and therefore his best workes are partly from the flesh Not so if we mortifie the deedes of the flesh by the spirit Rom. 8.13 as the Apostle exhorteth But these trifling arguments belong rather vnto the next question I will helpe M. PERKINS to some better that the matter may be more throughly examined Why goe yee about to put a yoke vpon the Disciples neckes Act. 1.15 which neither we nor our Fathers were able to be are these wordes were spoken of the lawe of Moyses therefore we were not able to fulfill it I answere first that that lawe could not be fulfilled by the only helpe of the same lawe without the further ayde of Gods grace Secondly that it was so burdensome and comberous by reason of the multitude of their Sacrifices Sacraments and Ceremonies that it could hardly be kept with the helpe of ordinary grace and in that sence it is said to be such a yoke as we were not able to beare Because thinges very hard to be donne are now and then called impossible Now that Iosue Ios 11.3 Reg. 14. Act. 13. 4. Reg. 23. Luke 1. Dauid Iosias Zachary Elizabeth and many others did fulfill all the lawe is recorded in holy Scripture Wherefore it is most manifest that it might be kept To will is in me but I finde not how to performe Rom. 7. If S. Paul could not performe that which he would how can others Answere He speakes there of auoyding al euil motions and temptations which he would willingly haue donne but he could not Marry he could well by the assistance of Gods grace subdue those prouocations to sinne and make them occasions of vertue and consequently keep all the commaundements not suffering those passions to leade him to the breach of any one of them The like answere we make vnto that objection that one of the ten commandements forbids vs to couet our neighbors goods his wife or seruants which as they say is impossible but we holde that it may be well donne vnderstanding the commaundement rightly which prohibiteth not to haue euill motions of couetuousnes and lechery but to yeelde our consent vnto them Now it is so possible for a man by Gods grace to refrayne his consent from such wicked temptations Libr. 10. conf c. 7. Iac. 3.2 1. Ioan. 1. that S. August thinketh it may be donne of a mortified vertuous man euen when he is a sleepe And testifieth of himselfe that waking he performed it Wee doe all offend in many thinges And if we say we haue no sinne we deceiue our selues But if we could obserue all the lawe we should offend in nothing nor haue any sinne ergo Answere I graunt that we offend in many thinges not because it is not possible to keepe them but for that we are fraile and easely ledde by the craft of the Diuell into many offences which we might auoyde if wee were so warie and watchfull as we ought to be againe although wee cannot keepe our selues from veniall offences yet may wee fulfill the lawe which is not transgressed and broken vnlesse we committe some mortall sinnes For veniall sinnes either for the smalnesse of the matter or want of consideration are not so opposite to the lawe as that they violate the reason and purport of it although they be somewhat disagreeing with it But of this matter more fully in some other place Lastly it may be objected that the way to heauen is straite the gate narrowe which is so true that it seemeth impossible to be kept by flesh and bloud but that which is impossible to men of themselues is made possible and easie too by the grace of God which made S. Paul to say I can doe all thinges in him that strengthneth and comformeth me Philip. 4. Psal 118 And the Prophet Dauid after thou O Lord hadest dilated my hart and with thy grace set it at liberty I did runne the waies of thy commaundements that is I did readely and willingly performe them Of the loving of GOD vvith all our hart c. shall be treated in the question of the perfection of justice Hauing nowe confuted all that is commonly proposed to proue the impossibility of keeping Gods commaundements let vs now see what we can say in proofe of the possibility of it First S. Paul is very playnlie for it Rom. 8. saying That which was impossible to the lawe in that is weakned by the flesh God sending his Sonne in the similitude of flesh of sinne damned sinne in the flesh that the iustification of the lawe might be fulfilled in vs who walke not according to the flesh but according vnto the spirit See how formally he teacheth that Christ dying to redeeme vs from sinne purchased vs grace to fulfill the law which before was impossible vnto our weake flesh Againe how farre S. Iohn was from that opinion of thinking Gods commaundements to be impossible may appeare by that Epistle cap. 5. lath 11. And his commaundements be not heauy Which is taken out of our Sauiours owne wordes My yoke is sweete and my burthen is light The reason of this is that although to our corrupt frailty they be very heauy Yet when the vertue of charity is powred into our hartes by the holy Ghost then