Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	flesh_n	life_n	reap_v	6,710	5	11.2413	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06060	The mirrour or miracle of Gods loue vnto the world of his elect Preached on the third of Iohn, verse the sixteenth: wherein the said scripture is very learnedly expounded, and the rich treasures of Gods grace in Christ are accurately opened. By that faithfull seruant of Christ, and preacher of his Gospell, Mr. Paul Baine.	Baynes, Paul, d. 1617.	1619 (1619)	STC 1646; ESTC S101581	52,320	82

workes If ye mortifie the deeds of the flesh yee shall liue Rom. 8.13 If yee sowe to the Spirit you shall reape of the Spirit life euerlasting Gal. 6.8 I answere hereunto that there are some conditions The conditions of the Gospell are not couenant● binding 〈◊〉 merit but simple conditions according well with mercy simply conditionall that doe well stand with grace Such are those conditions whereon they onely interceding we promise and vndertake to doe a matter or bestowe a kindnesse on any As Goe with me to such a place and I will giue thee hidden treasure Come to me to morrow and I wil giue thee an hundred pound There are other conditions which haue the reason of a cause meritorious Such doe not onely intercede but deserue vpon contract as much as wee promise as Doe my worke well and I will pay you truely Of this kinde are those conditions which are contained in the Law Doe this and thou shalt liue As for the other of the Gospell they are onely bare and simple conditions which deserue nothing but must intercede and precede the bestowing of eternall life And heere it were worth our labour to consider the grounds of merit 4. Grounds of the merit of workes laid by Papists which the Papists lay downe in the chiefe of their arguments They are these First Christs Merit Secondly our Adoption Thirdly our Workes Fourthly Gods couenanting with vs. But none of these are sufficient to establish merit But they are false ones For first we cannot merit as children eternall life because it is our right by birth No child can be said to merit the inheritance to which hee is borne and how doth any merit that which is his right already Nor doe our workes of themselues merit when all obedience is but a witnesse of our thankefulnesse nor is there any proportion betweene the duety and the inheritance Neither yet as they are died with the bloud of Christ or doe come from his spirit For as they are of Christ dwelling in vs by his spirit so are they also from our selues hauing a Law of sinne dwelling in vs and lusting against the spirit which make them to be done imperfectly and by halues But this say they maketh them the more meritorious because they bee done with the greater difficultie Yea but this is a doctrine which the Apostle knew not For then hee needed not to haue cried out in that respect O miserable man that I am c. and to flye to Christ that he might escape condemnation as he doth Rom. 7.24 25. And for their couenant it is not a couenant binding vs to doe any thing meritorious toward the obtaining of life but onely a simple condition requiring some thing to be done before the full fruition of glory but well agreeing with and no way hindering mercy It is further obiected that life euerlasting is a reward and that rewards are deserued Answ All rewards are not due vpon nor giuen for desert there is a reward giuen by fauour Rom. 4.4 There are rewards of fauour as well as desert When Paul saith that to him that worketh the reward is counted not by fauour but by debt doth hee not insinuate so much that some oft receiue euen liberall rewards onely vpon the fauour of the donour And our Sauiuiour saith Luke 6.32 And if yee loue them that loue you what thankes shall ye haue c. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a gratuitie as it were and a reward of free fauour importing thus much that what reward men haue of God euen vpon their best seruice it is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a gratuitie no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no debt vpon desert Lastly they say that which is giuen according to workes is deserued by workes But so is eternall life Answ That indeed which is giuen according vnto workes as the meritorious causes thereof that may wel be said to be deserued by works But now eternall life is not so giuen but is bestowed according to workes as they are testimonies of our faith Workes haue a reward not as merits but as testimonies of Faith whereby we rest on Christ onely for our saluation and for whose sake onely beleeued on they expect eternall life Vses 1. It sheweth the prerogatiue of the faithfull Now for the vses of this point First it doth shew vs our prerogatiue that we haue by faith and should excite vs to reioice therein yea to long and labour fully to enioy it What is then the prerogatiue of such as beleeue Surely as Saint Paul saith of the Iew Rom. 3.2 much euery manner of way For thereby wee are brought out of dismall darkenesse to walke in the light of Gods countenance and truth wee are translated out of the wofull condition of eternall death to life and immortalitie both which are brought to light for vs to behold and enioy by the Gospell 2. Tim. 1.10 wee are made aliue to God exalted to the dignitie of Gods sonnes and daughters Who are thereby Gods children heires of life called to the hope yea inuested with some possession of euerlasting life And are not these great preferments aboue the residue of mankinde who through vnbeliefe abide still in death and misery Are not these worthy dignities for earth and ashes as wee are to attaine to Behold saith Iohn 1. Ioh. 3.1 what loue the Father hath shewed vs that wee should be called the sonnes of God Yea it is an honour and dignitie Which is a great dignity so to be Iohn 1.12 When Saul did offer vnto Dauid to make him his sonne by the marriage of his daughter it did seeme too high an honour for him whose parentage was meane for to accept Seemeth it vnto you saith he a light thing to bee a Kings sonne in law seeing I am a poore man and of small reputation 1. Sam. 18.23 What an vnspeakeable dignitie is it then that by faith wee obtaine to bee the sonnes of the great King of heauen and earth are made his heires and adopted into fellowship of eternall life and glory with Iesus Christ For God dealeth not with vs as Abraham did with his base sonnes so to call them vnto whom he gaue gifts and then sent them packing Gen. 25.6 God doth not so turne off his faithfull ones but he receiueth and keepeth them in his family and admitteth to be partners in the inheritance wit●●is Isaac euen with his Christ who is the heire of all things It is then an inheritance that by faith we are b●gotten too and such a one as is immortall vndefiled and neuer fading It is life that we obtaine life I say which of it selfe is most sweet chiefely to such as we were who were condemned to die and could looke for nothing but death and such a life as is both accompanied with all fulnesse of ioy peace glory and happinesse and shall also euer endure Now then this being our prerogatiue how should

we hauing right thereunto wee haue the accomplishment of glory when wee beleeue in regard of right and propriety thereunto When first wee beleeue then we are intituled to life euerlasting Euen as the title to an outward inheritance followeth vpon the birth so the right and hope of this kingdome doth follow our spirituall birth By our spiritual birth None that are not begotten of God by water and the spirit shall enter into the kingdome He hath begotten vs vnto an inheritance 1. Pet. 1.3.4 Now the Lord begets vs his sons daughters when he giueth vs to beleeue For first the good pleasure of God resteth on his naturall and onely begotten Sonne on whom when we come to lay holde by faith we are then made sonnes Iohn 1.12 Yea sons accepted Eph. 1.6 And being sonnes accepted vvee are heires As Gods sons and heires euen ioynt-heires with Christ. Rom. 8.17 The glory of heauen is therefore called by the name of Adoption because it followeth thereon and is the thing to which we are adopted By faith therefore when we obtaine to be the sonnes of God wee also thereby obtaine that euerlasting life which is to be reuealed Which truth that wee may cleare somewhat better obserue with me briefely these three things First then Christ hath merited life euerlasting no lesse for vs For Christ hath merited it for vs. then righteousnes as Heb. 10.19.20 By the bloud of Iesus we may be bold to enter into the holy place by the new liuing way which he hath prepared throgh the vaile that is his flesh And Heb. 9.15 Through the death of the Mediatour wee which are called receiue the promise of the eternall inheritance Secondly 2. Faith doth apprehend it also as well as righteousnes faith applies and apprehendeth the one as well as the other We are saued by grace through faith Eph. 2.8 It is the Apostles meaning that faith doth looke vnto and lay holde euen of saluation it selfe which we haue of Gods grace as well as of any benefit tending thereunto And if it be obiected that hee speaketh not of life euerlasting which is laid vp for vs in due time to be reuealed but of the present saluation and redemption whereof heere wee are partakers I answer It is manifest in the verse going before what he meaneth by saluation euen specially the treasures of glory God hath raised vs vp together and made vs sit in heauenly places c. For wee are saued by grace through faith 3. Faith doth euer rest vpon it vntill wee come to enioy it Thirdly Faith doth not onely beginne to apprehend it and then leaue vs to workes that wee may attaine it but faith doth still apply life vnto vs till wee are iustified and saued By faith we stand and reioyce vnder the hope of the glory of God Rom. 5.2 Wee are kept by the power of God through faith vnto saluation which is to be reuealed 1 Pet. 1.5 So that our faith neuer giueth ouer till wee haue this saluation euen the end of our faith And these considerations doe sufficiently shew that faith is it or rather Christ receiued by faith by for which we are righteous and accepted yea and at length attaine life euerlasting The opinion of the Papists touching life eternall Now let vs consider a little what is the sentence of the Papists in this poynt The Papists then confesse that life is merited by Christ and is made ours by the right of inheritance so farre wee go with them Yea touching works they holde many things with vs that no works of themselues can merit life euerlasting 2. that works done before conuersion can merit nothing at Gods hand and merit of works much lesse life euerlasting 3. that there is no merit at Gods hand without his mercy no exact merit as often there is amongst men all these are true The point whereabout wee dissent Our dissent from th●m is that with the merit of Christ and free promise they vvill haue the merit of works ioined as done by them who are adopted children That which directly must be opposed vnto this is that Gods gracious promising Gods grace and any merit of workes cannot stand together and giuing it to vs in Christ cannot stand with the merit of our workes And the Scripture herein is so euident As it is euident by the Scripture that some of the Papists are forced to deny this coniunction of a double title vnto life eternall For in the fourth of the Romanes 4. the wages cannot be counted both by meere fauour and also by debt and desert and Rom. 11.6 If it be of grace then not of workes for grace then were no grace In which place obserue this that fauour and grace are meant and to bee taken for the rich grace of God which is now made manifest in Christ For otherwise there is a grace which may stand with workes It was grace that God did couenant with man in Adam that had hee stood in righteousnesse hee should haue deserued eternall life but the riches of grace of meere grace cannot abide one worke as meritorious to be coupled with it If any heere except The Apostle speaketh of workes of the Ceremoniall Law or done by force of nature not by the grace of Christ I answere that in the first place Workes of grace being excluded from iustification the Apostle reasons of the workes of Abraham being now iustified and euen in the flower and prime of workes Further we may see plainely Ephes 2.8 9 10. that grace doth exclude al works of regeneration We are saued saith the Apostle by grace not by workes What workes Such as are ceremoniall or done in our naturall state No nor by workes of regeneration euen such good workes as we are created to in Christ Iesus And marke heere the reason of the Papists All our workes say they come from the grace of God in vs and are from Christ dwelling in vs Ergo it hindreth not the grace of God nor Christs merit that we haue them and merit by them Now the Apostle doth inferre the quite contrary Our workes euen our best workes cannot saue vs. Why For they are not ours but they are of God whose workemanship we are being by him created vnto them Gal. 3.11 12. And fa●th and the Law being opposed Further The iust doth liue by faith Ergo he cannot liue by doing For The Law is not of Faith Nor is faith of the Law neither can these two be conioined As Gal. 3.18 If the inheritance be of the Law it is no more by the promise but God gaue it freely by the promise Marke heere that there is such opposition betweene workes and grace that a thing cannot bee together a donatiue of mercy and deserued by working If any thing bee ioined with Christ as together meritorious of righteousnesse and life it abolisheth Christ But why then doth God promise life euerlasting to