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	truth_n	worship_v	16,055	5	9.8540	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50959	A treatise of civil power in ecclesiastical causes shewing that it is not lawfull for any power on earth to compell in matters of religion / the author, J.M.	Milton, John, 1608-1674.	1659 (1659)	Wing M2185; ESTC R13133	23,223	97

abolishd when by them compelld or els controverted equally by writers on both sides and somtimes with odds on that side which is against them By which means they either punish that which they ought to favor and protect or that with corporal punishment and of thir own inventing which not they but the church hath receivd command to chastise with a spiritual rod only Yet some are so eager in thir zeal of forcing that they refuse not to descend at length to the utmost shift of that parabolical prooff Luke 14.16 c. compell them to come in therfore magistrates may compell in religion As if a parable were to be straind through every word or phrase and not expounded by the general scope therof which is no other here then the earnest expression of Gods displeasure on those recusant Jewes and his purpose to preferre the gentiles on any terms before them expressd here by the word compell But how compells he doubtless no otherwise then he draws without which no man can come to him Ioh. 6.44 and that is by the inward perswasive motions of his spirit and by his ministers not by the outward compulsions of a magistrate or his officers The true people of Christ as is foretold Psal. 110.3 are a willing people in the day of his power then much more now when he rules all things by outward weakness that both his inward power and their sinceritie may the more appeer God loveth a chearfull giver then certainly is not pleasd with an unchearfull worshiper as the verie words declare of his euangelical invitations Esa. 55.1 ho everie one that thirsteth come Ioh. 7.37 if any man thirst Rev. 3.18 I counsel thee and 22.17 whosoever will let him take the water of life freely And in that grand commission of preaching to invite all nations Marc 16.16 as the reward of them who come so the penaltie of them who come not is only spiritual But they bring now some reason with thir force which must not pass unanswerd that the church of Thyatira was blam'd Rev. 2.20 for suffering the false prophetess to teach and to seduce I answer that seducement is to be hinderd by fit and proper means ordaind in church-discipline by instant and powerfull demonstration to the contrarie by opposing truth to error no unequal match truth the strong to error the weak though slie and shifting Force is no honest confutation but uneffectual and for the most part unsuccessfull oft times fatal to them who use it sound doctrine diligently and duely taught is of herself both sufficient and of herself if some secret judgment of God hinder not alwaies prevalent against seducers This the Thyatirians had neglected suffering against Church-discipline that woman to teach and seduce among them civil force they had not then in thir power being the Christian part only of that citie and then especially under one of those ten great persecutions wherof this the second was raisd by Domitian force therfore in these matters could not be requir'd of them who were then under force themselves I have shewn that the civil power hath neither right nor can do right by forcing religious things I will now shew the wrong it doth by violating the fundamental privilege of the gospel the new-birthright of everie true beleever Christian libertie 2 Cor. 3.17 where the spirit of the Lord is there is libertie Gal. 4.26 Ierusalem which is above is free which is the mother of us all and 31. we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free It will be sufficient in this place to say no more of Christian libertie then that it sets us free not only from the bondage of those ceremonies but also from the forcible imposition of those circumstances place and time in the worship of God which though by him commanded in the old law yet in respect of that veritie and freedom which is euangelical S. Paul comprehends both kindes alike that is to say both ceremonie and circumstance under one and the same contemtuous name of weak and beggarly rudiments Gal. 4.3.9 10. Col. 2.8 with 16 conformable to what our Saviour himself taught Iohn 4.21 23. neither in this mountain nor yet at Ierusalem In spirit and in truth for the father seeketh such to worship him that is to say not only sincere of heart for such he sought ever but also as the words here chiefly import not compelld to place and by the same reason not to any set time as his apostle by the same spirit hath taught us Rom. 14.6 c. one man esteemeth one day above another another c. Gal. 4.10 Ye observe dayes and moonths c. Coloss. 2.16 These and other such places of scripture the best and learnedest reformed writers have thought evident anough to instruct us in our freedom not only from ceremonies but from those circumstances also though impos'd with a confident perswasion of moralitie in them which they hold impossible to be in place or time By what warrant then our opinions and practises herin are of late turnd quite against all other Protestants and that which is to them orthodoxal to us become scandalous and punishable by statute I wish were once again better considerd if we mean not to proclame a schism in this point from the best and most reformed churches abroad They who would seem more knowing confess that these things are indifferent but for that very cause by the magistrate may be commanded As if God of his special grace in the gospel had to this end freed us from his own commandments in these things that our freedom should subject us to a more greevous yoke the commandments of men As well may the magistrate call that common or unclean which God hath cleansd forbidden to S. Peter Acts 10.15 as well may he loos'n that which God hath strait'nd or strait'n that which God hath loos'nd as he may injoin those things in religion which God hath left free and lay on that yoke which God hath taken off For he hath not only given us this gift as a special privilege and excellence of the free gospel above the servile law but strictly also hath commanded us to keep it and enjoy it Gal. 5.13 you are calld to libertie 1 Cor. 7.23 be not made the servants of men Gal. 5.14 stand fast therfore in the libertie wherwith Christ hath made us free and be not intangl'd again with the yoke of bondage Neither is this a meer command but for the most part in these forecited places accompanied with the verie waightiest and inmost reasons of Christian religion Rom. 14.9 10. for to this end Christ both dy'd and rose and reviv'd that he might be Lord both of the dead and living But why dost thou judge thy brother c. how presum'st thou to be his lord to be whose only Lord at least in these things Christ both dy'd and rose and livd again We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ why then dost

teaching every one to beleeve the scripture though against the church counts heretical and persecutes against his own principles them who in any particular so beleeve as he in general teaches them them who most honor and beleeve divine scripture but not against it any humane interpretation though universal them who interpret scripture only to themselves which by his own position none but they to themselves can interpret them who use the scripture no otherwise by his own doctrine to thir edification then he himself uses it to thir punishing and so whom his doctrine acknowledges a true beleever his discipline persecutes as a heretic The papist exacts our beleef as to the church due above scripture and by the church which is the whole people of God understands the pope the general councels prelatical only and the surnam'd fathers but the forcing protestant though he deny such beleef to any church whatsoever yet takes it to himself and his teachers of far less autoritie then to be calld the church and above scripture beleevd which renders his practise both contrarie to his beleef and far worse then that beleef which he condemns in the papist By all which well considerd the more he professes to be a true protestant the more he hath to answer for his persecuting then a papist No protestant therfore of what sect soever following scripture only which is the common sect wherin they all agree and the granted rule of everie mans conscience to himself ought by the common doctrine of protestants to be forc'd or molested for religion But as for poperie and idolatrie why they also may not hence plead to be tolerated I have much less to say Their religion the more considerd the less can be acknowledgd a religion but a Roman principalitie rather endevouring to keep up her old universal dominion under a new name and meer shaddow of a catholic religion being indeed more rightly nam'd a catholic heresie against the scripture supported mainly by a civil and except in Rome by a forein power justly therfore to be suspected not tolerated by the magistrate of another countrey Besides of an implicit faith which they profess the conscience also becoms implicit and so by voluntarie servitude to mans law forfets her Christian libertie Who then can plead for such a conscience as being implicitly enthrald to man instead of God almost becoms no conscience as the will not free becoms no will Nevertheless if they ought not to be tolerated it is for just reason of state more then of religion which they who force though professing to be protestants deserve as little to be tolerated themselves being no less guiltie of poperie in the most popish point Lastly for idolatrie who knows it not to be evidently against all scripture both of the Old and New Testament and therfore a true heresie or rather an impietie wherin a right conscience can have naught to do and the works therof so manifest that a magistrate can hardly err in prohibiting and quite removing at least the publick and scandalous use therof From the riddance of these objections I proceed yet to another reason why it is unlawfull for the civil magistrate to use force in matters of religion which is because to judge in those things though we should grant him able which is prov'd he is not yet as a civil magistrate he hath no right Christ hath a government of his own sufficient of it self to all his ends and purposes in governing his church but much different from that of the civil magistrate and the difference in this verie thing principally consists that it governs not by outward force and that for two reasons First because it deals only with the inward man and his actions which are all spiritual and to outward force not lyable secondly to shew us the divine excellence of his spiritual kingdom able without worldly force to subdue all the powers and kingdoms of this world which are upheld by outward force only That the inward man is nothing els but the inward part of man his understanding and his will and that his actions thence proceeding yet not simply thence but from the work of divine grace upon them are the whole matter of religion under the gospel will appeer planely by considering what that religion is whence we shall perceive yet more planely that it cannot be forc'd What euangelic religion is is told in two words faith and charitie or beleef and practise That both these flow either the one from the understanding the other from the will or both jointly from both once indeed naturally free but now only as they are regenerat and wrought on by divine grace is in part evident to common sense and principles unquestiond the rest by scripture concerning our beleef Mat. 16.17 flesh and blood hath not reveald it unto thee but my father which is in heaven concerning our practise as it is religious and not meerly civil Gal. 5.22 23 and other places declare it to be the fruit of the spirit only Nay our whole practical dutie in religion is containd in charitie or the love of God and our neighbour no way to be forc'd yet the fulfilling of the whole law that is to say our whole practise in religion If then both our beleef and practise which comprehend our whole religion flow from the faculties of the inward man free and unconstrainable of themselves by nature and our practise not only from faculties endu'd with freedom but from love and charitie besides incapable of force and all these things by transgression lost but renewd and regenerated in us by the power and gift of God alone how can such religion as this admit of force from man or force be any way appli'd to such religion especially under the free offer of grace in the gospel but it must forthwith frustrate and make of no effect both the religion and the gospel And that to compell outward profession which they will say perhaps ought to be compelld though inward religion cannot is to compell hypocrisie not to advance religion shall yet though of it self cleer anough be ere the conclusion further manifest The other reason why Christ rejects outward force in the goverment of his church is as I said before to shew us the divine excellence of his spiritual kingdom able without worldly force to subdue all the powers and kingdoms of this world which are upheld by outward force only by which to uphold religion otherwise then to defend the religious from outward violence is no service to Christ or his kingdom but rather a disparagement and degrades it from a divine and spiritual kingdom to a kingdom of this world which he denies it to be because it needs not force to confirm it Ioh. 18.36 if my kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight that I should not be deliverd to the Iewes This proves the kingdom of Christ not governd by outward force as being none of this world whose