Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	faith_n	grace_n	receive_v	7,604	5	5.6899	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64913	Truth and innocency defended being a sober reply to some excesses in a treatise written by John Norris, concerning the divine light, wherein his personal reflections and misrepresentations of the Quakers about their principle of the light are further considered.	Vickris, Richard, d. 1700.	1693 (1693)	Wing V341; ESTC R22212	75,043	73

Understanding by and not of our Supernatural Light of Redemption and Restoration by Christ Jesus the second Adam the Lord from Heaven the quickening Spirit which indeed is such an extraordinary superaddition to Human Nature as may be rightly termed Grace and which man as considered in his fallen and degenerate estate might be and is without receiving and enjoying it by Faith and yet be and does remain a reasonable and understanding Spirit or a Rational and Intelligent Nature which is expresly contrary to his notion of the Light as he has stated it But to proceed J. N. takes another Turn for it to prove the Quakers Represent this Light within as a sort of Extraordinary Inspiration He says 'T is plain that they make this Internal Light to be Grace that special and peculiar Grace of Christ whereby he restores laps'd man from the Corruption of his Natural State for this end he quotes out of R. B's Apol pag. 330. God hath communicated and given to every man a measure of the Light of his Son a measure of Grace or a measure of his Spirit and again out of R. B. pag. 346. where he calls it a Supernatural Gift and Grace of Christ. What does J. N. infer from all this Not that he would be thought to deny the Divine Light to be Grace as to certain degrees of it What then Is it Grace in one degree and not in another What stuff is here he should have settled and distinguished his Degrees that we might have known how to judge of them surely one might think this Man would make the knowledge of the Gospel Truths if not the way to Heaven it self such a Laberinth as is fit only for such as be of notional complexion or have their Heads cast in a Metaphisical Mould as he expresses himself on another occasion to find out or who can be tamely given up to follow his Clue whether they see it or no. But he goes on and says That he is so far from that viz. denying the Divene Light to be Grace as to certain degrees of it That he thinks it to be the greatest Grace of God that is he says with respect to the degrees of it Many of which I allow to be such Extraordinary superadditions to the common order or state of Human Nature as man might simply be without and yet continue in the rank and form of a Reasonable and Intelligent Creature Here J. N. still leaves us in the dark what sort of Grace his Light is and in what degrees and measures it is so he hath a little before opposed it to that Grace the Quakers make their Principle of Internal Light to be viz. That special and peculiar Grace of Christ whereby he restores Laps'd man from the Corruption of his Natural state consequently we may justly infer he intends not that and therefore whatever else he intends does not signifie much but if his Preaching be no better then such his Writing 't were better he held his peace for any good such Doctrine will do But he says further The Quakers not content with this make the Divine Light to be Grace simply and absolutely as to its whole Nature and Kind so as to be all over Extraordinary Do they so And is that their fault and the sum of all reduced to this I profess I think they do well to make it so in this sence of the word Extraordinary viz. Superaddition to the state of Human Nature in the Fall for in so doing they give the honour of all to Christ Jesus who is this Divine Light and Grace in the account and esteem of the Quakers Though I cannot perceive it to be so in his account upon the foot of his Notion as he hath explained it for that Christ in his whole Nature and Kind if I may so express my self is the Grace of God to man and all over Extraordinary full of Grace and full of Truth here the word Extraordinary hath still relation to the quallity of the Light Gift and Grace and not as opposed to common or universal in its manifestation as I have observed before so that it proves nothing of his Assertion wherein I Charge him of misrepresenting the Quakers Principle Here we may see what a mean and narrow shift J. N. is driven to to exalt his Principle of the Light and to debase and expose the Quakers that when all is done he makes his Light to be the Grace of God but as to certain degrees of it undiscovered and that not the special and peculiar Grace of Christ neither and the Quakers make it to be so viz. the peculiar Grace of Christ in its whole Nature and Kind J. N. proceeds on the same Argument viz. That the Quakers do make the Light something Extraordinary that is something added to the common way of Vnderstanding so as not to be simply necessary to Vnderstanding in general but only to the greater advantage of it by which he says their Principle is set at a sufficient distance from his I perceive he is fond of his Distance now and is very exact in keeping it he need not be afraid the Quakers will not run away with his new Notion of the Light he may keep it for any excellency they see in it I have already granted him his Difference and owned this Distinction and answered it so that what he quotes out of R B's Apol. serves only to support his distance and requires no farther notice then a bare recital of it being unquestionably sound and true and was opposed to a common Calumny viz That the Quakers preached up a Natural Light or the Light of mans Natural Conscience It is as followeth That man as he is a Rational Creature hath reason as a natural faculty of his Soul by which he discerns things that are Rational we deny not for this is a property Natural and Essential to him by which he can know and learn many Arts and Sciences beyond what any other Animal can do by the meer Animal Principle Neither do we deny but by this Rational Principle man may apprehend in his Brain and in the notion a knowledge of God and Spiritual things yet that not being the right Organ as in the second Proposition hath more at length been signified it cannot profit him towards Salvation but rather hindereth and indeed the great cause of the Apostacy hath been that man hath sought to fathom the things of God in and by this Natural and Rational Principle and to build up a Religion in it neglecting and over-looking this Principle and Seed of God in the Heart so that herein in the most universal and catholick sence hath Antichrist in every man set up himself and sitteth in the Temple of God as God and above every thing that is called God for Men being the Temple of the Holy Ghost as saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 3.16 When the Rational Principle sets it self up there above the Seed of God to reign and