Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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B02798
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The fulness and freeness of Gods grace in Christ declared. Namely, how God orders and appoints men to their final ends; some to honor, some to dishonor to eternity. The second part.; Fulnesse and freenesse of Gods grace in Christ declared. Part 2
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Duke, Francis.
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1655
(1655)
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Wing D2502A; ESTC R176022
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62,389
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122
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posture and thus the Jews which have been dead in sins and in trespasses this sixteen hundred years this Spirit of Christ will inliven their dead spirits that so they shall or may receive the said gift of life again for in this sense the gifts and callings of God to mankind are without repentance that is to call men and thus to give them as is said in pursuance of his said final end Again Is it so that the Spirit of Christ strives with the spirits of all sorts of men in the world to preserve and increase the one and to suppress the other as is proved Hence observe That all men which as yet have not the gift of faith are to be carefull that they are faithfull in that little they have received but especially not to resist this Spirit striving with their spirits as we see did Cain the old world Noah's posterity at Babel as did Shems in Terah's and Israel Gods Elect the offspring of Abraham lest God denying them the gift of faith and so his gift of life For then in seeing they shall not see and in understanding they shall not understand and shall never truely nor rightly be able to see the things which do belong to their eternal peace Again Is it so That this Spirit of Christs thus strives with all men of the world and also with all men in the visible Churches of Christ and also with the invisible Members as is proved then let them which think they have the true Spirit of faith in God and love to God and their neighbour kindled in their breasts by this Spirit of Christs beware they quench not the Spirits flame of love and firm faith by inordinate cares and love of this worlds profits or pleasurable lusts lest they having begun in the Spirit doe end in the flesh and reap corruption Again Is it so that the Spirit of Christ thus strives and effects in the hearts of the invisible Members of Christs true faith and love and other graces Then hence observe That although in attaining eternal life they can do nothing but in that Christ alone doth all and also that in the gift of internal light of Christ and in the gift of faith and in the gift of other graces and in the increase and grouth of them the invisible members of Christ are meerly passive in all this yet hence observe That by the same spirit of faith and love they are inabled to keep their hearts with care and diligence so that no man or power shall take away their Crown of comfort and hope of glory First because in the said gifts they have received the spirit of love of power and of a sound mind in some degree therefore they are able so to doe A second Reason is this The Spirit of Christ is at hand when they so put forth that power they have not only to assist them to keep their hearts in these endeavours but also to add that wherein they are meerly passive as I said before namely to add the increase of all these graces they have and so they grow from strength to strength in Sion and therefore they may and are able to keep their hearts as is said And therefore saith our Lord As I say unto all men so I say unto you Watch lest ye enter into temptation The Reason why I call the third in the one God or the third Person in Trinity the Spirit of Christ is this Because that as all that the Father hath is Christ's in pursuance of this said final end so Christ by the third in the one Iehovah in Gods mercifull voice in the Creation and most eminently and most properly by the voice of the Gospel in the tongue of man to man by the Ministry of this Spirit doth strive with the spirits of all men to depress the mind of the Devil in them and to implant the similitude of the mind of Christ in them which is mans sanctification in order to the Fathers will to a right receiving of his said righteousness imputed to their eternal life or to be either as is proved CHAP. IX In which is handled the fifth branch of the manifold wisdom of God precedently propounded and the last ingredients which makes up the said posture namely that God by the seed of the woman immediately after the fall gave a rule suitable to all men to work or operate by in reference to his said final end THis Point divides it self into three parts two whereof are handled in this Chapter the third in the next The first declares unto all men who it is that Governs them by this Rule for a Governor is imployed The second is to let all men see what this Rule is The third is that all men may see how suitable this rule is unto them Of these in their order As for the first Certainly he that restoreth all mankind out of the falne mass of death into the said posture to receive the said gift of life he it is that governs man by his own Rule and therefore saith man believing truth To us a Child is born and to us a Son is given and the Government shall be laid upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderfull Councellor and the mighty God and so forth And saith the Lord himself Esa 9.6 All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth and then goes on governing all men in this Government by his Apostles by the said suitable rule Mat. 28.18 19. For he commanded them saying Mar. 16.16 Goe ye therefore into all the world and Preach the Gospel to every creature He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that will not believe shall be damned From this ground it is that the Father judgeth no man because he committeth all judgement to the Son John 5.22 So much for the first Point Secondly That all men may see what this Rule is And in a word it is no more but this namely The Tenor of the Gospel and that is a Rule of Justice and Mercy for the Gospel it self is one thing and its Tenor is another and the Gospel it self is no more but this Gods highest mercy manifested by Christ to man to relieve him out of his deepest misery First implyed immediately upon the fall Gen. 3.15 Luke 2.10 11. when God said unto the Serpent The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head Secondly In the fulness of time when the Angel said Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy that shall be unto all people that is That unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord and the Gospels Tenor is no more but this as is said A Rule of Justice and Mercy for all men to work by and not a Rule of Justice only as was that to Adam in his innocency before the fall in pursuance of Gods said final end For proof of this Point the Oracles
capacity to receive the said gift of life for the whole need not the Physitian but the sick since Original corruption is an evil privitive and positive CHAP. VIII In which is handled the fourth Branch of the manifold wisdom of God precedently propounded and being the second ingredient to make up the said posture namely that the Spirit of Christ striveth with the spirits of all men in the world to preserve and encrease the said internal disposedness consequently to depress the force of the seed of original sin so to bring and to keep men in the said posture in which they might receive Gods gift of eternal life THis Spirit of Christ thus began to strive immediately upon the fall and upon the said universal election and universal imputation in these words Adam Where art thou so seeking to save what was lost and so forth Gen. 4.4.5 Again Thus Christ's Spirit strived with the spirits of Cain and Abel To Abel in an approbation and confirmation of his operations in this posture to continue to receive and hold fast the said gift of life for saith the Text God had respect unto Abel and to his offering and the reason is Heb. 11.4 because it was by belief Abel offered a more acceptable offering then Cain Again the same with Cains spirit for when he began to go on in nourishing the seed of original sin to the acquired habits therein so to extinguish the light of Christ in him then the same spirit of Christ strived with his spirit to suppress the one and to cherish and increase the other for in respect to the one God gave him no respect but to his discontent and discouragement but in respect to the other he encourages him to goe on in his posture as Abel his brother saying If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted implying most certainly Thou shalt as well as he Now the ground why this Spirit is the Spirit of Christ that thus strives with the spirits of all mankind as with these two men it did is this Because ever since the falne Mass of mankind Christ immediately entred as the first-born of every creature in an universal relation to the whole world in pursuance of Gods said final end and thereupon according to his own saying All things that the Father hath are mine and so saith he The Spirit shall take of mine that is not only to comfort the faithfull in this world John 16.8 9 10 11. but also to reprove the world of sin that is to the same end as to Cain and saith the Text When he shall come he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgement Of sin because they believe not in me Of righteousness because I goe to my Father Of judgement because the Prince of this world is judged And according to this the said Spirit of Christ thus strives with the spirits of all men as to Cain and Abel and so to the worlds end that is to depress the one and increase the other as is said to bring them into the said posture and to preserve them therein and it clearly appears that it so did strive with man during the first world for saith God When their Apostacy did abound my Spirit shall not alwaies strive with man Genesis 6.3 for that he also is flesh Whereupon God limited the time of the striving of Christs Spirit with them from time to come Gen. 7.1 to one hundred and twenty years and no longer 1 Pet. 3.18 19 20. and as this Spirit striveth with Abels spirit to preserve him and establish him in the said posture consequently so did it with all the righteous in the generations precedent and to the end of that world even untill there was but one righteous man left saying unto them Thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation so establishing and confirming his mind in the said posture so that thus the Spirit of Christ strived with the spirits of the men of that world both good and bad when once thelong patience of God waited in the daies of Noah for to return and keep them in the said posture to receive his gift of life in the said righteousness of the seed of the woman Again In the next world thus the Spirit of Christ strived with the spirits of all men to preserve the one and to depress the other as is said and that by the Ministry of Christ by Noah to his own posterity who saith the Text 2 Pet. 2.5.8 was a Preacher of righteousness Gen. 9.28 the which righteousness that he preached to their spirits was twofold The first was manifested to them by the Sacrifices he offered unto God which figured unto them the satisfactory righteousness of the seed of the woman imputatively Gen. 8.21 22 bringing to them the said gift of eternal life and also further manifested in that God smelled a savour of rest and from thence ratifying to them and their generations the good of this world and that to come in reference to keep them in the said posture in their succeeding generations Eph. 5.2 and to this end Noah their Father lived thus with them three hundred and fifty years after the Flood The second righteousness which he preached was the rectitude of his operations which is sanctification and this he preached to his posterity by his posture in the right reception of Gods gift of eternal life by the manner of his sacrificing and building an Altar unto Jehovah and by making choice of Beasts in refusing unclean and taking clean Gen. 8.20.21 and also by his building the Ark according to the commandment of God all being fruits of his operations according to faith in his said posture Heb. 11.4.7.8 So much for the second righteousness namely Sanctification which he preached and also for the first righteousness which came upon all men for justification of life Again Likewise the Spirit of Christ strived with the spirits of Shems Family-Church for Noah's three hundred and fifty years a Preacher of righteousness after the Floud extended within two years of the birth of Abraham as Learned Broughton observes in his Consent of Scriptures Again When this Family began to Apostate from the said posture to Idols as appears in Terah the Father of Abraham and were become corrupt and abominable not knowing the way of peace like to those who were confounded and scattered at Babel then it is implyed that God precedently had strived with their spirits for now he began to put an end to the striving of the Spirit of Christ with the spirit of Shems Family in that God commanded Abraham to depart from his Kindred and from his Fathers house to this end to raise a Nation out of his loynes to carry on Gods said final end and so leave that Family to themselves Again When that one Nation was existent and did spring out of Abrahams seed in number as the sands on the