Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	divine_a	life_n	soul_n	5,625	5	5.0009	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28599	A short discourse of the true knowledge of Christ Jesus to which are added some passages in the reasonableness of Christianity &c. and its vindication : with some animadversions on Mr. Edward's reflections on the reasonableness of Christianity and on his book entituled Socinianism unmask'd / by S. Bold.	Bold, S. (Samuel), 1649-1737.	1697 (1697)	Wing B3493; ESTC R24663	19,917	58

1 Cor. 12.3 Tho' the Lord Jesus doth not oblige himself not to give forth the special Influences of his Holy Spirit to any but in and with their serious using their natural Abilities and the common assistances of the Spirit generally afforded in those ways he hath appointed in order to Peoples partaking of his supernatural Aids and Blessings yet he obliges us thus to make use of the means he hath ordained and we have not any reason to expect these supernatural effects any other way When he does extraordinarily and out of his common and Instituted way work on awaken convince and effectually convert Sinners as he did Saul when Travelling on such a wretchedly wicked design towards Damascus he does it not as King and Ruler but as absolute Lord. And when we find our selves so inlightned and powerfully wrought on in the use of Instituted means that we are effectually determined to yield up our selves intirely to Christ as our Lord this effect is from the special influence of the Holy Spirit and must be attributed unto Him Faith is the gift of God tho' ordinarily conferred along with out making use of the natural Powers we are endued with in the ways and methods instituted for this end as reading and hearing the Word Meditation Prayer c. There is no natural connexion between our employing of our natural Abilities and Powers in these ways and this happy effect for God hath not obliged himself to bestow this Blessing by the Rules and Laws he hath established to observe in the ordinary way of his Providence in ordering and governing the World so far as doth concern and relate to Man The connexion between them is purely Gracious by virtue of the Laws and Rules He hath fixed to proceed by in the dispensation of his Grace We may by that concurrence God affords in the way of his ordinary Providence attain to as great a measure of speculative notional discoursive knowledge of what the Gospel doth teach as we can of those matters which are treated of in other Books provided we do proportionably apply our Study to them But when in our using our natural Abilities these ways we are brought to close unfeignedly with Christ and yield up our selves entirely to his Conduct this is owing to a divine Influence vouchsafed beyond the ordinary course of Providence and is from God's proceeding with us according to his Law of Grace Tho' we cannot apprehend in what way the Spirit doth effect and bring about this excellent and happy change in us so as certainly to distinguish what is done by the Spirit from what is done by our natural Abilities cooperating yet we know by the effect that He hath exerted his wonderful Power and to Him must all the Glory be ascribed who is the principal agent in this business 3dly In the singular and inestimable Benefits which do accrue unto us upon our thus knowing of Christ Jesus Of which Benefits I will now name but these two 1. God's justifying of us and owning us to be in the Covenant of Grace By Justification I do mean something more than his Pardoning all our past Sins even a change of our State his acquitting and discharging us from the Law of Works as a Covenant of Life Were all my Sins freely pardoned and I left under the Law of Works this Pardon would not avail me any thing if my Life were at all continued for my very next performances would fall so short of what that Law requires I should immediately be in the same state I was in before my Pardon We are all under the Law of Works till we do so know Christ Jesus as to yield up our selves unreservedly unto his Conduct Indeed we are not now so under the Law of Works as our first Parents were immediately on their Transgression and before that gracious Promise that the Seed of the Woman should break the Serpent's head was given them for till then they were purely under the Law of Works and had no remedying Law to make use of for their Relief We are naturally still under that Law of Works only we have this advantage that now there is a Law of Pardon or a remedying Law concurrent with it if we will make use of it But till we comply with and accept of that Law i. e. do yield up our selves absolutely to Christ Jesus the other Law stands in full force against us Our so knowing of Christ Jesus as hath been mentioned is our actual consenting to the gracious tender and offer God hath made to all Sinners without excepting any whereby we come to be really in the Covenant of Grace What is ordinarily called the Covenant of Grace is only the Declaration and Testament which Christ hath made of the Grace of God or the Blessings he will bestow on all those who do or shall unfeignedly consent to yield up themselves absolutely to Him It is a Covenant only with those who do thus consent unto it And upon our giving up our selves thus to Christ God owns us to be in Covenant with Him Of this Covenant Christ Jesus is the Mediator to whom it pertains to see that both parts of the Covenant thus consented to be performed We are to do what is assigned to us i. e. we must follow Christ's Conduct in every thing we shall know he hath ordained for us and therefore must use our honest endeavours to understand what he hath taught and upon our doing so we come to be entitled to the Benefits God hath promised which Christ is also to see accomplished and made good unto us When we know Christ Jesus a right we are delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of his dear Son Col. 1.13 2. Power to perform such Obedience as God will graciously accept This knowledge of Christ Jesus which is a special effect of the Holy Spirit is not a dead notion but the Light of Life a divine vital principle which hath an influence on all the Powers of the Soul and Faculties of the whole Man spiriting and directing them all in a good measure in ways suitable to its own Nature and the end for which it is given It possesseth the Soul with a predominant Love to Christ and influences the Person to labour after a Conformity to Him It puts the Person upon considering and enquiring what things He whom he hath taken for his Lord hath revealed what he doth Command and in what manner it behoves him now he hath thus resigned himself to Him to behave himself and it furnishes him with ability to execute the same by deriving fresh supplies of strength from that Holy Spirit who is the Author of this divine vital Principle It disposeth and enclineth him to do those good Works Christ hath commanded him and to use those means Christ hath enjoyned in order to his receiving greater measures of the influences of the Holy Spirit Eph. 2.10 Such a Person 's Good Works and Obedience are accepted with