Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	father_n	holy_a	jesus_n	13,652	5	5.8822	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60515	The foundation of preaching asserted In opposition to a counterfeit sermon pretended to be preached before the people called Quakers, in the park, Southwark, 27th of 9th 1687. That all those that feign themselves ministers of the Gospel dispensation, may see that all preaching without the Holy Spirit, and a real call by the grace of God, working in their hearts, and immediately leading them thereto; is nothing but the meer notion of their own brains, and not for the advancement of pure religion. By R. S.	R. S.	1687 (1687)	Wing S4150; ESTC R218090	4,814	14

THE FOUNDATION OF True Preaching Asserted In Opposition to a Counterfeit Sermon pretended to be Preached before the People called Quakers in the Park Southwark 27th of 9th 1687. That all those that feign themselves Ministers of the Gospel Dispensation may see that all Preaching without the Holy Spirit and a Real Call by the Grace of God working in their Hearts and immediately leading them thereto is nothing but the meer Notion of their own Brains and not for the Advancement of Pure Religion By R. S. If any Man Speak let him Speak as the Oracles of God If any Man Minister let him do it as of the Ability which God giveth That God in all things may be Glorified through Jesus Christ To whom be Praise and Dominion forever and ever Amen 1 Pet. 4.11 LONDON Printed by Andrew Sowle in the Year 1687. To the READER I Hope that no Person will believe that that Counterfeit Sermon was Preached by any Person that was call'd a QUAKER but will think that it was a meer Fiction as it really was And the Author in my hearing Confessed It was a little Trick or a Nack to get Money And therefore in Answering which I shall not insist on any Particular in his Sermon but to shew the Emptiness and Vanity of all such Preachers and Sermons that are not as the Oracles of God and from the Ability that God giveth which is a sufficient Reprove to this and all that Preach without a real Call. R. S. THE FOUNDATION OF True Preaching Asserted c. THE Holy Scriptures and the Histories of the Primitive Times do abundantly Demonstrate and set forth by what Means and Methods the Gospel of Christ which is the Power of God to Salvation made its own way into the World and how the Preachers thereof were Qualified and Unassisted by any Secular Power or Interest Triumphed over all Opposition that was made against it and at the appearance of which the Religion of the Gentiles that was the standing Religion of the Roman Empire many Years together flunk away into Obscurity and the Darkness of Pagan Idolatry and Superstition fled away and as the Light of the Gospel prevailed the clearer it discovered the Folly and Impiety of their Worship their Solemn Rites appeared more Trifling their Sacrifices more Barbarous and Inhumane their Oracles became Mute and Silent and the very Priest Ashamed That it was not by Humane Learning School Divinity or the Notions of Plato and Aristotle but by the alone Power and Wisdom of God And the Preachers of the Gospel being Divinely Inspired by the Holy Ghost called of God as was Aaron Qualified by his Grace in their Hearts as will appear hereafter God who in former Times communicated the Law to the Children of Israel by the Ministry of Moses in the Wilderness from Mount Sinai after a long Succession of many Ages for the great Blessing of the Promised Seed thought meet in his own appointed time to put an end thereto and to perform the Mercies Promised to the Fathers and accordingly in or about the Year of the World Four Thousand and the declining part of the Reign of Augustus the Empire enjoying a Universal Peace God sent his dear Son as an Ambassador from Heaven to Reconcile the World and having fulfilled the Law and the Righteousness thereof for which he was sent to put a Period and to enlarge the Bounds of Salvation to admit both Jews and Gentiles to the terms of the Gospel and being the Mediator between God and Man he Preached the Gospel of Repentance and the Remission of Sins to all them that obey his heavenly Message And having approved himself and the excellency of his Doctrine by many great and wonderful Signs Miracles he gave Commission to his Disciples and his Power and Presence for their Assistance in his saying Math. 28. All Power in Heaven and Earth is given unto me go ye therefore and Teach all Nations Baptizing them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in No-men into the Name of Father Son and Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have Commanded you and lo I am with you always unto the end of the World Amen In which there is two things to be considred first his Command Go ye Teach Baptizing all Nations into the Name that is into the Power and Vertue but some may say That the Work to Baptize is Christs and not Mans to wipt off that I answer to Baptize with the Spirit though not wrought without Christ and his Grace is many times instrumentally done by Men fitted of God for that purpose and therefore no Absurdity follows that to Baptize with the Spirit should be expressed as the action of the Apostle for though it be Christ by his Grace that gives Spiritual Gifts yet the Apostle tells of his imparting to them some Spiritual Gifts Rom. 1.11 And the Corinthians That he had begotten them through the Gospel 1 Cor. 4.15 And yet to beget People to the Faith is the Work of Christ not of Men to Convert the Heart is properly the Work of Christ and yet the Spirit oft-times ascribes it to Men as being the Instruments and the Apostle was sent to turn Men from Darkness to Light from Satans Power to God though that be not done without Christ Cooperating by his Grace and in like manner may Baptizing with the Spirit be expressed as performable by Man as the Instrument though the Work of Christs Grace be needful as the principal Cause so that it is no absurdity to say That the Apostles did administer the Baptism of the Spirit Secondly his Promise And lo I am with you to the end of the World which is a lively Demonstration that the Church and People of Christ shall never want his Presence by his Spirit to Instruct and Assist them whether to Preach or to Pray he will be with them and he tells his Disciples As my Father sent me so send I you here we may see the Apostles had an immediate Call to the Ministry to Preach the Gospel yet they were to wait for the Holy Ghost to be poured on them as a further Commission and in pursuance of his Command they met at Jerusalem to receive Power from on high and being met they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with new Tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance By this Commission the Apostle Peter and the other Apostles being filled with the Holy Ghost as the best Qualification Preached to both Jews and Gentiles and afterwards the Apostle Peter visiting by his Epistle the scattered Disciples saith As every man hath received the Gift even so Minister the same one to another as good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God If any man Speak let him Speak as the Oracles of God If any man Minister let him do it as of the Ability which God giveth that God in all things may be Glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be Praise and Dominion forever and

ever Amen By which we may see that the true Preachers of the Gospel of Christ which is the Power of God to Salvation was not made Ministers thereof by Human Learning but by the inward Power and Vertue of the Spirit of God in their own hearts drawing them thereunto such Ministers we own as are called immediatly by the Grace of God but all those that come in without the Call Moving and Leadings of the Spirit of Christ come in not by Christ who is the Door into the Sheepfold but clime up some other way and therefore Christ proclaims them Thieves and Robers whom the Sheep ought not to hear such Ministers and Preachers we utterly disown and deny And we may further observe that these that Minister must Minister according to the Gift and Grace received but thay that have not such a Gift cannot Minister according thereunto and as good Stewards of the Grace of God but how can a man be a good Steward of that which he hath not can Ungodly Men and Wicked Preachers that are not Gracious themselves but live more like Gentiles then Christians in that they strive to imitate the one rather then to live the Life of the other and think it strange that others run not with them into the same Excess of the Gentiles which is Lasciviousness Lust Excess of Wine Revilings Banquetings and abominable Idolatry be good Steward of the manifold Grace of God and therefore in the following Verses he makes an Exclusive Limitation of such as are not thus furnished saying If any man Speak let him Speak as the Oricles of God and if any man Minister let him do it as of the ability that God giveth which is as much as if he had said they that cannot thus Speak and thus Minister ought not to do it seeing no man ought to take this Honour to himself but he that was called of God as was Aaron For the Particle If denotes a Necessary Condition Now what this Abilyty is doth appear from the former Words to wit the Gift Received and the Grace whereof they are Stewards as by the immediate concern and dependency of the Words doth demonstrate Neither can it be understood of a mere Natural Ability or acquired Parts and Laerning because man in this Posture in this Natural State and Condition knoweth not the things of God and so he cannot Minister them to others of what he is Ignorant himself and the following Words shew and Illustrate this also in that he immediately Subjoyned That God in all things may be Glorified But surely God is not Glorified but greatly dishonoured when Wicked men undertake to Preach notwithstanding their great Learning and acquier Parts an● from their meer natural Ability meddle in Spiritual thing● which they neither Know nor Understand as saith t●● Apostle As no Man knoweth the Mind of a Man but the Spirit of a Man so no Man knoweth the things of God but by the Spirit Thus far we may see how the Gospel of Jesus Christ was Preached in the Purity of it without any Mixtures of self Wisdom Human Learning School Divinity or the Notions of Plato or Aristotle but they that Preached Speak as the Oracles of God and those that did Minister did it of the Ability that God had given them that God in all things might be glorified But When the Power and Life of Religion went down up went Schools of Learning and the Phylosophy of the Gentiles embraced and Mens Religion was turn'd into Notions out of the Heart into the Head and they forgot the Command of Christ who said Observe all things whatsoever I have Commanded you and lo I am with you to the end the World but he is not with those that breaks his Commandements and will have none of his Counsel nor obey his Doctrine which was Abide in me and I in you as the Branch cannot bear Fruit of it self except it abides in the Vine no more can ye except ye abide in me I am the Vine ye are the Branches He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much Fruit for without me ye can do nothing If anyman abide not in me he is cast forth as a Brand and is Withered So all those that abide not in Christ are cast forth and withered and in that withered State and Condition they Preach the Figments of their own Brain being Qualified with Humane Learning and School Divinity and the Wisdom which this World teacheth which the Apostle Paul utterly Rejected and Reproved Acts 17. both at Athens being then the most Famous University in the World and at Corinth a famous City of Greece to the Philosophers and Orators he taught nothing among them but Christ Crucified to the Jews a Stumbling-block and to the Greeks Foolishness but to them that believe both Jews and Greeks Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God 1 Cor. 1. And that he made use of to Convert those that were counted the Wits of the World So in 1 Cor. 2. He plainly Renounces and Rejects the Wisdom of it saying Vers 1. And I Brethren when I came to you came not with excellency of Speech or Wisdom declaring unto you the Testimony of God. 2. For I determine not to know any thing among you but Jesus Christ and him Crucified 3. And I was with you in Weakness and Fear and much Trembling 4. And my Speech was not with enticing Words of Mans Wisdom but in demonstration of that Spirit and Power 5. That your Faith should not stand in the Wisdom of Man but in the Power of God. 6. Howbeit we speak Wisdom among them that are Perfect yet not the Wisdom of this World nor of the Prince of this World wich comes to naught 7. But we speak the Wisdom of God in a Mystery even the hidden Wisdom V. 13. Which things also we speak not in the Words which Mans Wisdom teacheth but which the Holy Spirit teacheth comparing Spiritual things wich Spiritual things By which we may see that the Apostle made use of no other Philosophy then the Wisdom of Christ in comparison of which the Wits of Athens and the Learning of the whole World is but Foolishness and as Dross and Dung in comparison of the Cross of Christ And in our Age especially God hath determined to show his Power by weak Instruments which he hath raised up and hath furnished them with his own Power Life and Vertue though dispised because Mean and Illeterate and therefore seeing in and amongst them my self with many others have found that heavenly Pearl that giveth Contentment which is the only Learning to be sought after and waited for forever and ever THE END