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	true_a	work_n	6,989	5	6.0140	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54048	A question to the professors of Christianity, whether they have the true, living, powerful saving knowledge of Christ or no? with some queries concerning Christ, and his appearances, his taking upon him our flesh : as also concerning his flesh and blood, and our being formed thereof, and feeding thereon, and an incitation to professors seriously to consider, whether they or we fail, in the true acknowledgment and owning of the Christ which died at Jerusalem : likewise some propositions and considerations concerning the nature of church-worships and ordinances, since the death of the apostles, for the sake of simplicity, which hath been long held captive therein : with the sounding of bowels towards thee, O England : also a faithful guidance to the principle and path of truth, with some sensible experimental questions and answers from the tenth chapter of John / by Isaac Penington ...	Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679.	1667 (1667)	Wing P1184; ESTC R18236	42,725	54

mans nature nor to be attained by his Art They also know and hear the Voice of the Word nigh in the mouth and heart and follow the Law of his Spirit received from his mouth which none else but his Sheep do or can do for this is given by him and it is given by him only to his Sheep Quest 7. What doth Christ the Shepherd the eternal Word the Wisdom Life and Power of the Father do for his Sheep Answ He doth great things for them which utter who can but happy is he that feels and knows them He gives them a new Nature a new Spirit a new Heart a new Name which none knoweth but he that hath it for it is written on the white stone which none else receives nor none else can read but he that hath the eye which is of him what is written thereon He giveth them eternal Life he leadeth them into the postures of Life he giveth them to drink of the Waters of Life He patteth them forth out of the Prison-house out of the Chains and Fetters out of the Darkness out of the Bonds and from under the burthens of the Soul into the pure Light and liberty of the Spirit where they taste know and enjoy of his freedom and dwell with him and rest with him and lie down with him and rise up with him even in the same eternal Life Spirit and Power wherein his dwelling-place is And all this they enjoy safely hearkening to the Voice of the Shepherd and turning from the voice of the stranger which it is natural to them to do For being turned from man born of that which is immortal and keeping to that that ear which is there received will alone hearken to the Voice of him who is Immortal and the voice of the stranger who speaketh of himself is presently discerned and turned from by him that heareth with the true ear The Lord God who is the Spring and Fountain of all good inflame people with desires after the pure Life and holy Nature which is of and from Christ the Seed his Son and satisfie those desires which are singly and uprightly after him The Conclusion GLorious was the estate of the Church before the Apostacy for Purity of Doctrine for holy Order and Discipline for Love to God one to another and to all men even of Enemies for Faith in God for the Presence and Power of his Spirit among them insomuch as the unbeliever coming among them might find his heart and state reached to and be forced to confess and report that God was in them of a truth for singleness and uprightnesse of Heart meekness and innocency of Spirit and Conversation for zeal for God and his Truth suffering the spoiling of their Goods Imprisonments Stripes and many other wayes both from the Heathen and also from the professing Jews who had been the Church once O what shall I say concerning the beauty and loveliness of that State Ye that would know it O wait to feel it in that which giveth the true sence of it But over this glorious State came a dark thick corrupt night wherein the Kernel was lost and the Shell defaced wherein the House which had been swept and garnished became again recovered and possessed by the wicked spirit And how great hath this darkness been O what a kind of Church hath appeared in the World wherein the spirit of Enmity hath dwelt and acted in men under the Name of Christianity So that instead of loving and seeking the good of Enemies they are ready to rend and tear one another for every little difference and will be Lords over mens Faith requiring men to practise things in Religion before the Spirit of the Lord teacheth them so to do which the Apostles did not For though they had from God the express knowledge of what was Truth and could certainly instruct and build men up therein yet they were not Lords over mens Faith but if men were otherwise minded then according to what they knew and taught they could wait and bear with them bidding them walk so far as they had attained and God in his due time would reveal the rest also O that men were come to this Spirit again Then they would be Christians indeed and then they might be known to be Christs Disciples by their loving the Brethren and fellow-Disciples But without this love mens Religion is but as a tinkling Cymbal making a noise and sound of somewhat but not having the true Nature or Virtue of Religion in it Now will it not be a glorious Day when the Spirit of the Lord cleanseth away this thick darkness and causeth the Light of his pure Truth to arise and appear again Why there is such a Day to be wherein the true Church which was reproached and driven into the Wilderness is to come out of the Wilderness again and her Witnesses stand on their feet again and her Seed to spring up in the Power of Life following the Lamb who marcheth on fighting with the Sword of the Spirit the words of his mouth conquering and to conquer thereby the corrupted Antichristian World even as he did at first the corrupt Heathenish World The Lord will purifie his Temple and cleanse the World by the Plagues of his Angels which he hath prepared making way for the beauty of his Truth and the Church of his gathering wherein he will bring forth his Righteousness wherein his Power shall appear wherein his Presence shall be made manifest wherein that which shined before in the Primitive Church shall shine again in this new-reared Building of his insomuch as men shall be forced to say This is the Church of Christ indeed God is here of a truth This is the Gospel-Jerusalem indeed which is built upon the holy Hill of Sion in which Innocency Righteousnesse Truth Love Sweetnesse Peaceablenesse and the gentle Nature and Spirit of the Lamb lives and reigns and the Lord bless thee O Habitation of Justice and Mountain of Holiness Now of a truth this Work is begun The times of refreshment are come from the Presence of the Lord. The Lord hath heard from Heaven pittying the cries of his Seed and hath visited their Souls causing the Light of Life even the pure Light of the everlasting Covenant to shine upon their Tabernacles But whoever would know these things and partake of them must come in at the Door by the Guidance of the Spirit through the Light which is with him And he that would enjoy the full Light even the shinings forth of the Sun at noon day must begin with its glimmerings even that in the heart which discovereth and draweth out of the corrupt state of the World towards the Father O hear and live Do not dispute about it but wait to feel it upon the feeling of it despising the shame and taking up and enduring the Cross and so bearing the reproach and sufferings of Christ in thy Age and Generation And as thou obeyest thou shalt know of its Doctrine but out of the pure Faith and Obedience there is no true sound deep rooted knowledge but all of that kind must be parted with for the knowledge which is of the Faith and which is made manifest and increased in the Obedience which knowledge is of a far more excellent Kind and Nature than that which thou art to part with for it The Lord guide thy Mind and stretch forth his Hand to help thee who from the least touch of a true Nature and Spirit desirest after the pure Truth and way of eternal Life Amen This Testimony here held forth is faithful and true and I know the Witness of God in many hearts will answer to it and happy is he that maketh a right use of it For so doing his Soul will not fall short of the pure living Truth nor set up any thing else for Truth which is not THE END

while he was here on Earth yet was not excluded from being in Heaven with the Father at the very same time as he himself said concerning himself The Son of Man which is in Heaven John 3.13 Nor was the Father excluded from being with him in the Body but the Father was in him and he in the Father whereupon he said to Philip He that hath seen me hath seen the Father What did every on that saw that Body see the Father also Nay not so but be that saw Christ the Son of the living God whom flesh and blood revealed not but the Father only Mat. 16.16 17. he saw the Father also O Friends look to your knowledge of Christ and to your Faith and Knowledge of the Scriptures and to your Prayers also for it is easie missing of the living substance in all these and meeting with a shadow which may please and make a great shew in the earthly part in the natural understanding and affections but satisfieth not the Soul or that which is born after the Spirit but still the cry there goes out where the Soul is awakened after Truth Substance Life Virtue from Gods Spirit in the Spirit which it alone can feed upon These four things following I am certain of which he that cometh into the true Light shall infallibly experience them there First That nothing can save but the knowledge of Christ even of that very Christ and no other who took upon him the prepared Body and offered it up at Jerusalem Secondly That no Knowledge of Christ can save but the living Knowledge Not a knowledge of him after the Letter which the carnal part may get much of and value it self much by but a knowledge of him in the Spirit which is only given to that which is begotten and born of the Spirit and only retained by that which abides and remains in the Spirit and runs not out into the fleshly reasonings imaginings and conceivings about the things mentioned in the Scriptures Thirdly That that man who knoweth not Christ in Spirit nor keepeth close to him in Spirit but through darkness and misguidance of the spirit of deceit calleth the shinings of his Light his reproofs his checks for that which is evil and his secret motions to that which is good natural This man though he seem to own Christ never so much according to the Letter yet in Truth denies him Fourthly He that denies Christ in his knocking 's and visitations of him in his own heart and before men in the Truths which he holds forth by his Servants and Ministers of his Spirit him will he deny before his Father in Heaven O I beseech you do not trifle about these things for they are exceeding weighty lest ye perish from the way for missing of the Saviour ye must needs also miss of the Salvation O that ye knew your state as God knows it to be and as it is ceatainly known and felt in the measure of his Life and holy Spirit by those whom God hath gathered together and whose eyes he hath opened and preserveth open there Glory be to his Name therefore Yea Glory Glory Glory and everlasting Praises be sung to him throughout all the holy Land yea in the very heights of Sion by the Souls of the Redeemed from henceforth and for evermore Amen whose Mercy Love Grace Wisdom Power and rich Goodness remaineth and endureth for ever by and in which the Redeemed live to his Praise who have overcome by the Blood of the Lamb whose Blood they know what it is and none else knoweth it but they who feel the sprinkling and virtue of it Lo this is our God we have waited for him and how can we but be glad and rejoyce in his Salvation O let all that live by the breath of thy Power and drink of thy Streams sing praise unto Thee and exalt thy great and wonderful Name for ever and ever Some Propositions and Considerations concerning the nature of Church-Worships and Ordinances since the dayes of the Apostles for the sake of the Simplicity which hath been long held captive therein HE that would know the true state of the Church and Ordinances thereof must wait upon God in fear and humility of heart who alone is able to give the true knowledge and understanding of these things And he that cometh to the Spirit waiteth in the Spirit and receiveth the true Light from the Spirit he shall be able to measure Ages and Generations past as with a span and see clearly in that Light how things were before the Apostacy while the Church was in the Wilderness and how things shall be again after the Apostacy when the Church cometh out of the Wilderness She her self is the same in all but her state is different according to the wisdom and good pleasure of him who variously disposeth of her One while she is cloathed appearing in the beauty and glorious dress which the Lord had put upon her Another while she is stripped of her outward Garments and the Harlot dressed therewith and appearing therein After which season she is adorned again as gloriously if not more gloriously then before but whether ever she appears more in those Garments wherein the Harlot had been dressed and wherein she had long appeared even all the time of the Apostacy the Lord would be enquired of and waited on to know Now to help the tender and upright hearts towards the true sense of these things the Propositions and Considerations following are given forth which he that sincerely waiteth on the Lord from him may receive the true understanding and right acknowledgment of 1. That upon the coming of Christ and the change of that outward Covenant the distinction betwen the outward Jew and Gentile fell they becoming all one as in relation to Christ and then another distinction arose in relation to the Faith Believers becoming Jews now and unbelievers Gentiles 2. That these true inward Jews had not only the inward Faith the Life the Power the Spirit but also a Ministry Ordinances and gifts of the Spirit relating to their present state 3. That there was a time after a long and sharp fight between the true Ministers who appered in the true Light and Power of the true Spirit and the false Ministers who also appeared as Ministers of Righteousness and as in the Power of the Spirit but were not such indeed but instructed by Satan to transform themselves into a resemblance and likeness of Ministers of Righteousness For though they said they were Apostles and seemed so in appearance yet their Spirit being tried was found not to be the Spirit of the Apostles I say there was a time when there was a division or separation made between the inward Temple and the outward Court 4. That when this division was made the outward Court was given to the Gentiles not any longer reserved by God for the true worshippers who worship in Spirit and Truth but given to the unbelievers the

worshippers out of the true Faith the worshippers out of the Spirit and out of the Life 5. That henceforward since this separation the Believers or true Jews are not to be expected in the outward Court in the worship thereof wherein they were found before this separation but the unbelievers the Gentiles who have not the true Nature but at best but the appearance of the Jew are to be expected there and the true Jew is to be looked for and found more inward 6. That therefore which allureth to look for God there and to wait for him in the wayes and worships of that Court all this time of the separation is not the true Spirit which rightly guideth the simple heart to the place where God appears and where he is to be waited for but the wrong spirit who when he cannot stifle the simplicity and hinder it from breathing and seeking after God waits to draw aside and mislead it 7. That the great way of that spirits misguiding and misleading the honest heart in its breathing and longing state is not by a direct taking it off from seeking after God but rather by pointing it to a way to seek him in wherein he once appeared and was enjoyed but is now withdrawn from 8. He that will keep close to God and not be withdrawn from him must watch to his Spirit and know the leadings of it else he will not follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes but stay behind in some observation or practice which the Lamb is gone out of and so miss of his Leader and meet instead thereof with another Leader even the spirit of Antichrist who enters into the outward Court and outward practises so soon as ever the Spirit of God hath left them 9. That Gods People since his withdrawing inward and giving the outward Court to the Gentiles have been much deceived by the Antichristian Spirit and led captive into Babylon in so much as God when he cometh to overthrow Antichrist with the Babylon of his building finds them there and calls them out from thence For the light growing low and the deceit great and that spirit subtile how can the poor weak innocent Babe espy that spirit and escape his snares when he tempts to those very paths and wayes of worship wherein the Saints had walked and met with God before the Spirit of the Lord departed out of them and gave them up to the Gentiles 10. That there is danger to the People of God of not understanding his Call out of Babylon but abiding there through the subtile entanglements of the false spirit who bewitcheth with the Cup of Fornication to make Babylon appear as Sion her doctrines as the Truths of the Gospel her ordinances and wayes of worship as the true Ordinances and wayes of Worship For the deceit is exceeding deep and the mystery of iniquity very great following that heart close which the Lord is drawing to depart therefrom and if the Lord God were not strong and vigilant who judgeth the Whore she would still keep her hold of the heart and if the heart be not kept very close to the Lord in the Judgement it cannot come out of Babylon but will still be entangled and held in some part or other of the mystery of its deceit 11. Such of the People of God as do not wait to understand and receive the full Call and so do not follow the Lord perfectly out of that City of Abominations but by her subtilties and inward or outward witchcrafts are held captive therein and found in any part thereof when the Lord cometh to judge her such must partake of her Plagues from the hand of the Lord who will not spare her nor the spirits of his dearest People who are found there in the day of his visitation and righteous judgments Therefore come out of her come out of her O ye that love your Souls and the pure Presence and fresh Light of Gods countenance Ye that know what it is to provoke him to jealousy and fear the weight of his hand upon your spirits ye that love the holy Land the holy City and Temple of the living God O come out of that impure building that fleshly building those fleshly wayes and worships which that spirit adorneth to make them appear as if they were spiritual O depart ye depart ye out of your new removes for they are also polluted and not your rest but short of that wherein the Rest the Peace the Presence of the Lord of Life is felt by others and to be found by you And consider this if ever ye will come to the holy City which was once built in the dayes of the Apostles but since the division of it from the outward Court hath been trodden down and trampled under the feet of the unbelievers even while they have been worshipping in the outward Court which God once built and chose but afterwards withdrew his Spirit from and gave up to the unbelievers I say if ever ye will come to this holy City the holy Land wherein it is built and the holy Hill whereon it is founded ye must pass through the Wilderness be exercised in the Wilderness even till ye are fitted for it and not strive to raise up a building your selves in the likeness of it but wait till God hath hewen and prepared the stones by his Spirit and then by the skil of the same spirit build up his Sion again Therefore in the fear of the Lord consider seriously meekly humbly and brokenly that the Lord may manifest your present state and condition unto you Whether ye have not erred in these things as well as others and have not cause to repent of your forwardness herein and to acknowledge that your buildings have been raised in the forwardness of your own spirits and in the confidence of your reasonings upon Scripture-words without feeling the presence guidance and holy Power of Gods Spirit raising up the Foundation of many Generations and rearing his own pure House upon his own holy Mountain In the Lords hand is the time and season of building his own house David though his desire was approved yet might not build the outward Temple in the time of his choice but Gods time and season was to be waited for both for the first building and for the rebuilding of it There is likewise a season for the rebuilding of Spiritual Sion after the long captivity of it in Mystery-Babylon Now he that is forward building before the time and season of the Spirit buildeth without the Spirit and his building is not of the Spirit but of the nature of Babylon which is wholly to be departed from and left behind in the Souls travels and progress towards Sion And what ever is of the nature of Babylon must at length fall with Babylon in the day of her terrible Judgement if the Lord in mercy do not shake it and cause it to fall before Therefore O all Professor awaken out of the flesh

Salvation that ever the Son had from him The Jews were to learn in Types Figures and Shadows till Christ came And after Christ came he also taught them in Resemblances and Similitudes of things and the Apostle wrote and spake much to persons as just coming out of that state in a language suited to that state But he that comes into the thing it self and is taught there by the Spirit after he is grown up and made capable he is taught plainly the nature of the Heavenly things and the words of the Apostles concerning the deep things of God which are mysterious to others are manifest plain to him Yea the Lord so teacheth him things as words cannot utter that is He so knoweth the Peace of God the Joy of his Spirit the Life and Power of the Lord Jesus Christ his Wisdom Righteousness and pure pretious way of sanctifying the heart the tender Mercy Faithfulness and rich love of the Father c. as he cannot utter to any man nay so as he never learned nor could learn from words about the thing but by the sense and experience of the thing it self the Lord in whom are the depths of life and who giveth the sense and understanding of the deep things of the Spirit opening them in him and manifesting them to him And indeed this is the right and excellent way of knowledge to come into the Union to come into the Thing it self to learn in the Union to see and know in the Thing This is the Way that the Lord teacheth all his Children in the new Covenant by inward Life by the pure Light within by the inward demonstration of his Spirit by the Power and Virtue of the Truth it self which it hath in him that is true And he that is in the Son hath some measure of this Life and he that hath not some measure of this Life is not in the Son but in a talk and wise knowledge of things after the flesh which will perish and he with it who abideth there For no man can be saved but by coming into the knowledge which is of a pure eternal living saving Nature Can an opinion which a man takes up concerning Christ from the Scriptures and casting himself thereupon save him for it is no more than an Opinion or Judgment unto a man unless he be in the life and power of the thing it self Then indeed it is Truth to him Knowledge in him right Knowledge otherwise it is but Knowledge falsly so called Knowledge which will not subdue his heart to Truth nor hath its seat there but in his head making him wise and able there to oppose Truth and so bringing him into a state of Condemnation Wrath and Misery beyond the Heathen and making him harder to be wrought upon by the Light and Power of Truth than the very Heathen Therefore consider your wayes O Professors of Christianity and do not despise the hand which is stretched forth to you in the love of God and in the motion and guidance of his Spirit who condescends to you exceedingly that he might reach to his own in you and scatter your Apprehensions Imaginations and Conceivings about the meanings of Scriptures which are as so many Chains of Death and Darkness upon you that ye might come to him in whom is Life and who gives life freely to all that come to him O observe what Barrs were in the way of the Scribes and Pharisees They would not come to him that they might have life nay indeed they could not as they stood There are greater Barrs in your way yea it is harder for many of you to come to him than it was for them My upright desire to the Lord for you is That he would remove the stumbling-blocks out of your way that he would batter and knock down the flesh in you that he would strip you of al your knowledge of Scriptures according to the flesh that ye might be made by him capable of knowing and receiving things according to the Spirit and then ye will know how to understand honour and make use of the Letter also but till then ye cannot but make use of it both against your own Souls and against Christ and his Truth And then for setting up a natural Principle we are further from that then ye are aware For we are as shy of this and jealous that it was a natural Principle as ye can be and started from it divers of us till the Lord by his eternal Power and demonstration of his Spirit reached our hearts and shewed us that it was the Seed of the Kingdom even the Root of all the Spiritual life that either we our selves formerly or ever any else received at any time and gave us the sight of the things of the Kingdom in it and at length wrought that in us and for us by it which never was wrought in us before and which can be wrought by nothing else but the power of the Spirit Now having certainly felt and known the thing in our own hearts and having also seen the Snares and Nets which the Enemy laies for you whereby he keeps you from the true Bread and from the Water and Wine of the Kingdom even as he kept us formerly How can we hold our peace but witness to you in the love and drawings of the Spirit of the Lord of the Truth Life and Power which we have felt in Jesus though ye become our Enemies therefore Nor do we this to bring you to another Opinion or outward Way that is not our end but that ye might feel the thing it self and know assuredly what is the Truth in that which never was deceived it self nor ever deceived any nor will suffer any to be deceived who are joyned to it and abide in it O why should ye wander in the dark Opinions and uncertainties of the night Why should ye not rather come to that wherein the light of the day springs and out of which it shines And can the natural man who hath his eyes be deceived about the light of the natural day Doth he not know the Light of the day both from the lights and also from the darkness of the night Ten thousand times more certain and inwardly satisfied is he who is born of the spiritual Day brought forth in the Light thereof and who spiritually sees lives and walks therein So that there is no doubt in him who is grown up into the thing but he hath the assurance of Faith which is far above the assurance of outward sense or reason and the assurance of understanding O blessed is he who hath an eye to see an ear to hear an heart to understand the things which God hath revealed by his Spirit in this our day the living Way which he hath now made manifest the principle of Life that he hath raised out of the Grave of Death But he that reproacheth and speaketh evil of this that will neither enter in himself nor suffer

body for him to do his Will in all things in and particularly to offer up to him the acceptable Sacrifice for the sins of the whole World Quer. 3. Whether it was not necessary in this respect also that Christ should take upon him our flesh that he might have experience of our temptations and infirmities and become a merciful and faithful High Priest and Intercessor for us Quer. 4. Wherein lay the value and worth of his Sacrifice and of all he did Did it lie chiefly in the thing done or in the Life wherein he did it in that he did it in the pure Faith and in obedience to the Father He became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross and he through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God Quer. 5. What was he for whom the Father prepared a Body and who took it up to do the Will and did the Will in it was he not the Arm of God the Power of God the Saviour and Salvation of God the Jesus and Christ of God Quer. 6. To whom do the Names and Titles Jesus and Christ chiefly in the first place belong do they belong to the Body which was took by him or to him who took the Body The Body hath its Nature and Properties and the eternal Word or Son of God the pure spotless Lamb the Fountain of Innocency its Nature and Properties Now the Query is Which was the appointed Saviour of the Father which was the Anointed of the Father chiefly and in the first place Whether the Body prepared or he for whom the Body was prepared to do the Will and offer up the acceptable Sacrifice in Quer. 7. Which is Christs Flesh and Blood which we are to partake of whereof we are to be formed which we are to eat and drink and which is meat and drink indeed nourishing to life everlasting Is it the flesh and blood of the Body which was prepared for and taken by him wherein he tabernacled and appeared or is it the flesh and blood of him who took tabernacled and appeared in the Body For that which he took upon him was our Garment even the flesh and blood of our Nature which is of an earthly perishing Nature but he is of an eternal Nature and his flesh and blood and bones are of his Nature Now as the Life and Nature which is begotten in his is Spiritual so that which feeds and is the nourishment of it must needs be of a spiritual and eternal Nature Quer. 8. What is the Bread which came down from Heaven Is not the Bread and the Flesh all one Outwardly-visible flesh and blood was not in Heaven nor came down from Heaven but the Bread of Life did come down from Heaven which the heavenly Birth feeds on and lives by For that which redeems that which is Jesus the Saviour came down from Heaven and took upon him a body of flesh here on earth in which he manifested himself as King Priest and Prophet and did the Work appointed him by the Father John 17.1 c. Quer. 9. What was that which saved people outwardly from their outward infirmities and diseases while Christ was on the earth in that Body Was it the Body or the Life Power and Spirit of the Father within the Body and manifested through the Body And can any thing less save inwardly Now that which saves that which hath the Virtue and Power of Salvation in it that the Eye of Faith is to fix upon and not to stick or stop in that through which the Life works it Quer. 10. Who was he that humbled himself that made himself of no reputation that took upon him the form of a Servant and was made in the likeness of men and found in fashion or habit as a man Was it the body of flesh or was it He that was glorified with the Father before the World was And who is to have the honour and exaltation At whose Name is every knee to bow Is not the reward to him who laid down his Glory to take upon him the body of flesh and appear in it that he might honour glorifie and fulfill the Will of his Father Quer. 11. Are not the Children and he of one Is not he and they of the same stock Both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one Heb. 2.11 Is it not from thence that he is not ashamed to call them Brethren even because he finds the Nature Spirit and Life of his Father in them What makes a Child to God Is it not the being begotten of the Father and born of the Spirit And that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit Now mark Have we the denomination and relation with Christ from that which is Spiritual and hath Christ himself the Name from or because of the body of flesh Nay nay the Name Christ was from the anointing which was in the Body which ran into and filled the Vessel It is true the Body in and by the Union partakes with him of his Name but the Name belongs chiefly and most properly to the treasure in the Vessel Quer. 12. What is it to put on Christ or what is the putting on of Christ Is it the putting on of that body of flesh Or the putting on a belief concerning him according to what is said of him in Scripture Or is it not rather a putting on of his Nature his Seed his Spirit his Life wherewith the Souls of those that are born from above are cloathed as the Body is with a Garment Quer. 13. Who was it that said I am the Resurrection and the Life Was it not Christ And what did he say it concerning Did he say it concerning the Body Or did he say it concerning the Power and Virtue of the Father which was in the Body Did he not say it concerning that which had the power of Life in it before it took up the Body and had also the power of Life while it was in the Body yea and could raise up not only other bodies but that also after it had laid it down For after it was laid in the Grave he could raise it up and take it on again as well as he did at first when it was first prepared John 10.17 18. Quer. 14. If I or any one else have felt the saving Arm of the Lord revealed in us If we have felt a measure of the same Life Power and Anointing revealed in our Vessels as was revealed in his Is it not of the same Nature Is it not the same thing Is not Christ the Seed And is not this Seed sown in the heart Now if this Seed spring and grow up in me into a spiritual shape or form though it be but of a Babe is not Christ then formed in me If I be ingrafted into and grow up in it am I not ingrafted into Christ the true Olive-Tree the true Vine and do I not grow up in him And is not this the

corruption daily bringing forth sin and fruits unto death shall find these by the pure Light and holy instructions of Life daily purged out of him and Christ formed in him and the holy Fruits of Righteousnesse brought forth through his Vessel by the Power and Spirit of Christ to the Glory of God the Father And then being in Christ being in the Principle of his Life and acting therein here is peace in the Soul rest to it from its Enemies and Gods Judgments and acceptance with the Father in what the Soul thus is and works But then the World will persecute and hate exceedingly because this Soul who thus submits to God and is thus changed by him is not of the World but of the Father which begat it in Christ and formeth it in his image and likeness Likewise in this Light the eyes are opened to reade the Scriptures and to understand therein the conditions of the People and Saints of the most High in former Generations and how the wicked spirit wrought then to oppose the Truth and People of God and to draw men into deceit Yea and many other wayes the Scriptures are exceeding sweet and useful being read in that which giveth the true sense and understanding of them But let him that once putteth his hand to the Plow beginning to feel somewhat of God and to subject unto it and so to taste of the Peace and pureness of it never look back to the World nor mind the temptations and oppositions he will meet with from that nature and spirit either in himself or others for if he do he will never be able to travel on but rather consult with flesh and blood and so return back into Egypt and lose the Crown which is laid up for those who pass on through the Wilderness through the Tryals through the Temptations through the Wants through the various Exercises to their journeys end This is the Path of Life in brief happy is he who feels the guider into it and faithfully follows him therein to the end There is another Question springs up in my heart which is this Quest How may a man come to have his sins washed away by the Blood of Christ Answ By coming into the Light and walking in the Light which discovers the Blood and wherein alone it is sprinkled by God and felt by the Soul he may receive the cleansing which is by it This is according to the Testimony of Scripture as 1 John 1.7 If we walk in the Light as he is in the Light we have fellowship one with another and the Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin By the Light the darkness is dispelled and in the Light the corruption and filth is washed away by the Blood and the Soul Mind and Conscience cleansed from it This then is the Message that we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is Light and in him is no darkness at all vers 5. What then Why then they that will know God and walk with God must by the Virtue of his Truth be turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God as Acts 26.18 and in that Light he shall meet with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ and have fellowship with them ver 3. and shall be washed both with the Water and with the Blood and kept clean and pure thereby in the sight of God Quest But how shall I come into the Light and how may I walk therein Answ Christ is the Light He is the Light of the World the Light of Men the Light of Life And thou needest not say in thine heart Who shall go up to Heaven or down into the deep for him for he is near in thy mouth and in thy heart This is the Word of Faith which thou art to believe in love and obey that in the love faith and obedience thereof thine heart may be circumcised and thou mayest live This is the Gospel of our Salvation even this Christ this Word this Light this Life which redeems from sin which destroyeth the destroyer and setteth the Soul free to serve and live to the Lord. This was the Message the Apostles had to deliver in their day as Rom. 10.8 And this was Moses his Message too when he spake concerning the new Covenant For Moses did not only deliver the old Covenant but he also spake concerning the new even another Covenant than that of Mount Horeb Deut. 29.1 And the Word of this other Covenant was not the Law written in Tables of Stone but the Word nigh in the mouth and heart chap. 30.14 Objection But that place speaks of doing which is the Voice of the old Covenant Do this and live but the new Covenant stands in believing Answ The end of Faith is obedience Why do I believe Christ but that I may receive the Law of his Spirit and walk before him in the newness of the obedience thereof And he that obeys is of the Faith and in the Truth and he that obeys not is out of it is not in the Power not in the Life which brings forth the obedience so out of the thing which redeems and in which the redemption is witnessed But he that obeys he that doth the Will he is in the Righteousness in the Power in the Life from which the obedience springs And here the washing and purifying of the Soul is truly known and witnessed Outward Sacrifices under the Law were vain as to cleansing the Soul and an outward belief of what Christ did and suffered effects not the thing known What then The new Creature doth The pure Faith doth The pure Obedience doth It did it formerly it doth it still and nothing else can do it Bring no more vain Oblations but wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well c. But how should this be could they ever attain this by the old Covenant Nay but Moses had not only delivered them the old Covenant but also had directed them to the new to the Word of Faith to the Word of Life and Power in the heart and mouth through the obedience whereof they might wash themselves as Peter even in the Gospel-times speaketh 1 Pet. 1.22 put away the evil of their doings cease to do evil learn to do well c. And what then Why then they should receive the cleansing through the Blood of the Lamb for then though their sins were as Scarlet they should be as white as Snow though they were red like Crimson they should be as Wool Isa 1.16 17 18. So Micah tells them when they asked how they might come before God to please him He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God Mich. 6.8 Where or how doth God shew this to man Had not