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	sin_n	soul_n	7,400	5	5.2096	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76354	The worst enemy conquered A brief discourse on the methods and motives to pursue a victory over those habits of sin, which war against the soul. Delivered, on June 6th. 1698. the day for election of officers, in the Artilery-Company [sic], at Boston. By Mr. Joseph Belcher, Pastor of the church in Dedham. [Two lines in Latin]	Belcher, Joseph, 1669-1723.; Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728.; Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts.	1698 (1698)	Wing B1783; ESTC W20950	15,646	39

Corruption as well as Grace Though Sin be beat out of its strong holds yet it hath betaken it self to its inward Castle where it will remain and have a being in us as long as we shall have a being here in this world This Canaanite will dwell in the Land nor can the Children of God drive it out of this City God doth with us in respect of Sin our inward Enemy as the Psalmist prayed against his outward Enemies Psal 59.11 Slay them not scatter them by thy power and bring them down O Lord our Shield Thus doth the Lord do in respect of Sin and Corruption in his Saints here in this World those enemies are brought down from that power and dignity in which they were wont to be but they are nor wholly slain They are surrounded are taken arraigned a Sentence of death is past upon them and they are dead in Law but yet they have their lives lengthened out for a season during our bodily life nor can we till the death of the Body expect perfectly to be freed from the body of death The wise man proclaims a Challenge to all the world to enter the Lists with him upon this account Prov. 20.9 Who can say I have made mine heart clean And though there may be some of man-kind that may falsely and presumptuously say that they have yet none can truly and safely say that they have For if we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us 1 Joh. 1.8 Conclusion 5. Sin not being thus quite overcome and destroyed it follows that every man who hath listed himself under the banner of Christ hath a diversity of principles in him between which there can be no amity and friendship but on the other hand a continual warring The principles Sin and Grace Flesh and Spirit are diametrically opposite one unto another are the greatest contraries in the whole world as contrary as light and darkness as life and death as good and evil as Heaven and Hell And being so opposite and contrary they cannot be dormant and latitant in the Soul but must needs be up in armes indeavouring to vanquish and expell each other These two principles are as it were the company of two armies Cant. 6.13 They lie intrencht and engaged one against the other As long as a man keeps his league with sin and serves that he feels nothing at all of this While the strong man armed keeps the Palace his goods are in peace Luk. 11.21 A● long as Israel is subject to the Egyptians and doth their drudgery all is well there 's no stir but when once they shake off that Servitude and set out for Canaan then they are pursued with all the forces and powers imaginable to be brought back to their former bondage Especially therefore upon a mans first chusing of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Captain of his Salvation is this onsett high and not only then but when we have made considerable proficiency and have obtained much victory over Sin Yea those that have arrived to the highest Attainments are not free from this combat within but like Rebekah have twins struggling in their wombs the Flesh and the Spirit like the twins in her womb do war and strive one with another The law in the members wars against the law in the mind Rom. 7.23 the fleshly lusts war against the Soul 1 Pet. 2.11 and the Soul also wars against them Gal. 5.17 The Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these two are contrary one to the other Conclusion 6. This keeping under the Body of Sin and bringing it into subjection consists in such a warring with Sin as to endeavour its death and destruction and the subjecting all our faculties and members to the Service of God and Christ We must endeavour the death and destruction of sin in this sense there must be a Resistance unto blood striving against Sin Heb. 11.4 Sin will have it pleas to be spared and saved alive and we may be willing to deal gently with it as David gave charge concerning Absalom this Prisoner of War will cry for quarter when the life of it is in danger and will speak us fair and make seemingly great propositions Some sins will promise us profit and worldly gain if we will not slay them as those ten men said to Ishmael Jer. 41.8 Slay us not for we have treasures in the field Others will promise us promotions and worldly honour as Baalak said to Balaam Am I not able indeed to promote thee unto Honour Others will promise us pleasures and delights if they may be spared and indulged Others will plead they are little ones and therefore will desire they may escape yea and others will plead they are our Relations and our Kindred flesh of our flesh and bone of our bones and no man ever yet hated his own flesh but we must stop our ears against all their most cursed charmes endeavour to do by every Sin as Joab by Absalom thrust it through the heart 2 Sam. 18.14 Both small and great must be dealt with after this manner The great ones the Champions the Goliahs that come out of the Camp of these Enemies these Philistins must be fought with and kill'd and the little ones must be also dasht against the stones This slaughter must be like that which Saul was commanded to effect against the Amalekites 1 Sam. 15.3 all sorts both young and old must be put to the Sword and not so much as one Agag must be spared alive And as there is in the duty we are speaking of an endeavouring the death and destruction of Sin so an endeavouring to subject all our faculties and members to the Service of Christ every thought we must endeavour to bring into obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10 5. Our members not only the parts of our Bodies but the faculties of our Souls also these must not be yielded as Instruments of unrighteousness unto Sin but yielded as instruments of righteousness unto God Rom. 6.13 we must not any longer live the rest of our time to the lusts of men but to the will of God as it is exprest 1 Pet. 4.2 Our bodies i. e. our whole man I conceive a part is put for the whole man Rom. 12.1 Our whole man must be presented a living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto God and when we do sincerely endeavour this viz. the death and destruction of Sin and the improving the whole man for the Service of God though in many things we may fail and sometimes by our indwelling enemy be put to the worst yet if this be our bent inclination sincere desire and endeavour it will be accepted of God and we shall be accounted by him as such as do keep under the Body of Sin and bring it into subjection And thus of the first thing proposed to be spoken to we pass to the second Secondly We shall endeavour to shew how this keeping

alledge the old proverb Physician heal thy self Thou that teachest another teachest thou not thy self To anticipate therefore prevent every thing of this nature and to draw them to be active industrious and very diligent in their Spiritual warfare he tells them he ran in the same Spiritual race with them contended in the same Spiritual warfare that he was their fellow Souldier and gave them no other advice than he himself practised and would only have them follow Himself as Gideon said to his army Judg. 7.17 Look on me and do likewise as I doe so shall ye doe In the words of our Text we have the Apostle asserting and declaring how he fought and behav'd himself in his Spiritual warfare and this the Apostle lays down 1. Negatively So fight I as one not beating the air 2. Positively But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection Where we have 1. The object or enemy that he encountred or combated with in those words My Body 2. The act or manner how he manag'd himself towards that object or enemy and this is exprest by two terms 1. I keep under my body 2. I bring it into subjection So Fight I not as one that beateth the Air but I keep under my body He fought but it was not as one that beateth the air He did not act like a young Fencer making only a flourish and beating only the air but he fought in good earnest and beat his adversaries The Enemies of his Salvation My Body Body is not to be taken here so much in a Physical as in a Moral sence We are not to understand by his body only the Apostles fleshly part that part of him which consisted of flesh and bones which body is put in Scripture sometimes to signify but by his body we are to understand besides his outward man his Sin that which the Apostle else where calls the body of Sin Rom. 6.6 And the body of death Rom. 7.24 The old man The flesh with its affections and lusts Gal. 5.24 Those carnal lusts and affections which warred against the peace of his Soul These he maintain'd a war with and indeavoured to keep under and bring into subjection I keep under The Greek word UPOPIAZO which is here rendred keep under signifyes to Seize to lay hold of to grasp and to gripe as a man would his adversary and one with whom he contends for the Mastery and not only so but to beat knock thump and pound as Wrestlers and Champions were wont anciently to do And as some think the terme is borrowed from those Runners and Wrestlers who were wont to contend in the afore-mentioned Games and who were wont to beat and pound one another till they were black and blew and of a gore blood and forc'd to acknowledge themselves vanquished and over-come I bring it into subjection The Greek word DOULAGAGEO which is here rendred to bring into subjection is sometime used for a leading Captive and most properly signifyes to bring under Command in Servitutem redigere to make one a Servant Thus the Apostle tells us how he acted in his Spiritual warfare and in telling us what he did he tells us what we ought to do If we would be Spiritual Fighters as all the Saints in their several Generations have been and if we consider what the Apostle lays down here affirmatively viz. the keeping under his body and bringing it into subjection as some do as the means by which he came to be more than such a fighter as only beats the air as the means by which he came not to loose his labour in his Spiritual warfare There seems to result this plain truth which we shall briefly by Divine assistance insist upon from the words viz. DOCTRINE That those that would fight to purpose in the Spiritual War must indeavour to keep under their Body of Sin and bring it into Subjection Or thus Those and only those do fight to purpose in the Spiritual War who do indeavour to keep under and bring in Subjection all those carnal lusts and affections whsch they have warring in them In the brief speaking to this Doctrine we shall attend only these three things 1. We shall indeavour to speak something of the nature of the duty viz. the keeping under the body of Sin and bringing it into subjection 2. We shall indeavour to shew how this keeping under this body of Sin and bringing it into Subjection is necessary in order to the fighting to purpose in the Spiritual War 3. We shall conclude with some brief Application cast off its Service and are resolved to live in perpetual Hostility with it Conclusion 3. As when a man lists himself under the banner of Christ he breaks his league and correspondence with Sin and proclaims a War with it so he hath had a mortal wound given to the habit of it by the Spirit of God When a man voluntarily offers himself to the Service of Christ upon his proclamation call I say when a man is brought effectually to answer that call as he renounces his correspondence with sin and enters upon a War with it so there is by the Spirit of God a deadly blow given to the old man our habit of sin However in a mans natural estate he is under the dominion of sin Yet when Grace comes into a man the Spirit of God which is stronger than that strong man armed comes upon him overcomes him and takes from him his armour wherein he trusted Every one that doth indeed actually belong to the Lord Jesus Christ is freed from the reigning power and dominion of sin that is accomplished in him Rom. 6.12 14. That sin hath not dominion over him and sin shall not reign in his mortal body that he should obey it in the lusts thereof The Spirit of God hath spoiled sin of its power and dominion and given it its Deaths wound An unregenerate mans heart is Sins Territory Sin is in such a mans heart as in its Throne before the Spirit comes but when that comes and by that the nature is changed and renewed Sin is cast out of its Throne and condemned to die Conclusion 4. Though a mortal wound be given by the Spirit of God to the habit of Sin when a man Lists himself under the banner of Christ yet Sin is not then quite overcome and destroyed in a man However Grace doth really subdue Sin yet it does not wholly destroy Sin Though it doth really purify a mans nature yet in this life it doth not quite perfect his nature A Christian must not expect to experience a state of perfection here in this life No that estate is reserved till he comes to experience a state of Glory The best of men in this life have a double nature in them as we may see of man in general that he consists of Body Soul so we may say of every Godly Man in a Theological sense that he hath both Flesh and Spirit