Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A27139
|
The true Christ owned in a few plain words of truth, by way of reply to all such professors or profane who lay to the charge the elect people of God called Quakers that they deny the bloud of Christ, and his body, and resurrection, and that they deny the Lord that brought them, and trample the blood of the Covenant under their feet ... / by William Bayly.
|
Bayly, William, d. 1675.
|
1667
(1667)
|
Wing B1542; ESTC R25915
|
15,895
|
23
|
incorruption And in the 24th verse saith Awake to Righteousness and sin not for some have not the Knowledge of God I speak this to your shame which were such as he called Fool that questioned and imagined about the Resurrection of the Body and what manner of Body it should be before they were awakened to Righteousness and left off sinning in which state they could not discern the Lords Body not the Resurrection for Sin is Darkness and the Wages of it is Death and what can you see in the Dark and when ye are Dead What knowledge of God have them that are in the Grave Therefore I say Awake and let your Eyes be opened and contend no longer against the Light within for it is that which gives the knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Christ Jesus And such as know the Power of his Resurrection being made conformable to his Death have seen his Glory To whom be Praise and Eternal Glory and Thanksgiving who is the Immortal Invisible the onely Wise God blessed forever Amen And much more might be written as to manifest your Darkness and Ignorance in the things of God and of the very Letter of the Scriptures and so denying the Light which should give you a good Understanding ye do err not knowing the Scriptures nor the Power of God see Matth. 22.29 which was spoken concerning the Resurrection Post-script THe Key that opens the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God is the Spirit of God and without it no man can rightly understand or judge of them or have any true sight thereof for the Natural man is blind and so speaks by imagination not at all perceiving them because they are spiritually discerned as it is written 1 Cor. chap. 2. And so often it happeneth with such to speak evil of those things they know not but in what they know naturally in those things they corrupt themselves mark naturally it s an easie thing for any vain Man or Hypocrite to talk or dispute about a natural thing as you may see how these Natural Professors use the word visible about the Body and Blood of Christ which I do not find written in all the Scriptures of Truth as to those particulars And so because we do not speak to answer their wills contrary to the Scriptures they are highly offended with us as Matthew Caffen was with me because I said God dwells in his People and that Christ sitteth at the Right-hand of God but M. C. said with a loud voice My Saviour that I own Salvation by is that visible Man Christ that is ascended up into Heaven and there sitteth at the Right-hand of God that visible Man with the same Flesh and Bones which he took of the Virgin Mary Which Heaven dost thou mean said I to him I mean said he that visible Heaven up there pointing over his head towards the Sky What up there where the Sun Moon and Sars are said I Yea said M. C. this is my Faith and my Principle I care not who knows it though you Quakers hide yours and will not deal plainly but are ashamed of what ye hold c. That is false Then said I Did Paul speak Truth and honestly to the People or did he mock them and deal deceitfully with them when he bid them seek the things that are above where Christ fitteth at the Right-hand of God c Or did he speak of impossibilities to them For if he meant up there where the visible Sun Moon and Stars are the visible Heaven How was it possible Or wherein was it any way profitable for them to seek things up there Or what things were they there to seek Oâ— did ever any of them obey his Exhortation to whom he thus spake Did any of them clime up thither and find Christ fitting there in a visible single Person as M. C. said he was there so And what things are there to be sought as pertaining to Salvation let the Witness of the living God in all People that have but the least understanding judge and answer And whether these men in their imaginations have not made to themselves the likeness of things in Heaven or things in Earth contrary to the command of God For Christ doth not always sit where he is though he mentioned sitting signifying a place of abode but Stephen saw Heaven open and Jesus standing at the Right-hand of God when he was before the Council bearing a Testimony That the Most-High dwelleth not in Temples made with Hands as saith the Prophet Heaven is my Throne and Earth is my Foot-stool What House will ye build me saith the Lord Or what is the Place of my Rest Hath not my Hands made all these things Acts 7.48 But Stephen was full of the Holy Ghost looking up stedfastly into Heaven and saw the Glory of God and Jesus standing on the Right-hand of God which they that gnashed with their Teeth on him did not see for they did alwayes resist the Holy Ghost as their Fathers did and they stopt their Ears and ran upon him with one accord as all the Professors in Christendom so called have done against the harmless People of God in this Age such as resist that which is Holy in themselves must needs resist and reproach and persecute them that are filled with it and born of it and so the Scripture is fulfilled they hated me before they hated you John 15.18 And so though men may be wise and zealous and learned and prudent and great and rich and mighty and be Rulers and Teachers c. yet if they resist the Holy Ghost or Spirit of Truth the Mysteries of God and of his Kingdom are still hid from them though they profess and talk of them with their mouth and lips yet their foolish heart is still darkened because they like not to retain God in their knowledge but like to retain only a kind of outside knowledge of those things that his Children do witness the Life and Power of within and so they are inwardly ravened from that which only can give the true and saving knowledge of God and of his Glory 2 Cor. 4.6 And so from the Wise and Prudent of the World in that which is natural and visible God hath hid and doth hide the Mysteries of his Heavenly Kingdom and Dominion but doth reveal and shew them plainly to Babes whom he forbids to cast their Pearls before Swine such as feed upon the Husk lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rent them yet are we rent with divers and manifold Reproaches and Persecutions by such as pretend themselves the Sheep of Christ and People of God But by their Fruits ye shall know them and especially from the Teachers of the Letter of all sorts do we meet with much opposition but Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ their strength is but a Reed of Egypt where Death and Darkness is which may be felt and the Lord is
THE True Christ Ovvned IN A few Plain Words of Truth by way of Reply to all such Professors or Profane who lay to the charge of the Elect People of God called Quakers That they deny the Bloud of Christ and his Body and Resurrection and that they deny the Lord that bought them and trample the Blood of the Covenant under their feet This is the great Out-cry in the Mouthes of such as know not what they say nor whereof they affirm lifting up their Voices like the unbelieving Jews of Heresie and Blasphemy against us and all this is because we answer not their Wils and the Imaginations of their dark mind but according to the Manifestation of God in every mans Conscience as the true Apostles and Ministers of Christ did and according to the Scriptures of Truth which Holy Men of God spake forth as they were moved by the Holy Ghost as will plainly appear to all whose Eye the Lord hath opened which may give much satisfaction to such as sincerely desire to know the Truth as it is in Jesus and walk in it for whose sake and the Vindication of the Truth and People of God is this written By WILLIAM BAYLY London Printed in the Year 1667. The Preface READER who ever thou art consider seriously that the things of God and the true knowledge of them are of deep and weighty concernment and there are but few in comparison that have attained to the true and right knowledge of the Mysteries of his everlasting Kingdom notwithstanding their great noise and talk of Profession the things that truly belong to their peace are hid from their Eyes and their House is desolate and so will remain till they are turned from the Darkness to the Light of Christ which shines in their hearts as it is written God who commanded Light to shine out of darkness hath also shined in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ Mark here what gives the true knowledge of the things of God which the natural man understands not because they are spiritually discerned it is the Light which shines in the hearts of people which is the Maifestation of the Spirit of God given to every man to profit withal and except people be turned to this and learn of it they can never be profited in the Way and Worship and true Knowledge of God Therefore while People are from th Gift of God in them they put Light for Darkness and Darkness for Light And so if thou wouldst have a clear and right understanding of these things and be fully satisfied in thy own mind concerning them thou must wait in the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ for Counsel and Instruction for no man can know the things of God but by the Spirit of God who giveth his Holy Spirit to them that rightly ask it of him to which I shall leave thee to be led into the right understanding hereof that the things belonging to thy Souls peace may not be hid from thee The First Query and Charge 1. DO you Quakers own that Blood of Christ which was shed without the Gates of Jerusalem upon the Cross which when the Souldier thrust in his Spear forthwith there came Water and Blood and they that saw it bare Record that this was visible Blood which came out of the side of the visible Man Christ Do you own Justification by this Blood which was visible which we do believe you do not For we could never hear you directly answer us to this matter but evade it by other terms and shuffle it off not daring to shew your Faith and Principle in this particular so that we conclude and publish that you are them that deny Justification alone by the visible Blood of the visible Man Christ that was born of the Virgin Mary Thus said Matthew Caffen Answer As for the word visible Blood and visible Man which thou so much talkest of in this kind they are terms quite beside the Language of the Scriptures of Truth or else I am very ignorant of such Translations But we do as really own our Justification by the Blood of Jesus Christ the onely begotten Son of God as the Apostles and Saints of old did without any evasion or shuffling according to their very meaning and plain Declaration who said If we are in the Light as he is in the Light then have we fellowship one with another mark in what their fellowship was Is yours in the Light and the Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin 1 John 1.7 You may see here is nothing mentioned of the word visible And again John 6.53 Then Jesus said unto them Verily verily I say unto you Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you Whoso eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood hath Eternal Life and I will raise him up at the last day For my Flesh is meat indeed and my Blood is drink indeed He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him c. These words of Truth we own and witness but your word visible Flesh and visible Blood which you would strain us up to express to answer your wills and dark imaginations we do not read from Christ nor his Apostles in all the Scriptures So we desire all People to take notice of the ground these People have to say we deny the Blood of Christ for because I did not answer Matthew Caffen in a late Discourse about these things in the express tearm visible it being not according to the form of sound words he therefrom concluded that we deny the Blood of Christ that we do not own justification by it who might as well conclude the same of Paul and the rest of the Apostles and Ministers of Christ as of us for not using the word visible when they express the Flesh and Blood of Christ yea of Christ himself who leaves out that expression which they so much contend about and on the contrary saith The Flesh profits nothing it s the Spirit gives Life John 6.62 63. Then tell me O ye Professors of Christ's and his Apostles words who say they are your Rule What is that Flesh that is meat indeed And what is that Flesh that profits nothing seeing both are the words of Truth And again take the words of Peter a Minister of the Word which endureth for ever to the Elect that were scattered throughout several Places 1 Pet. 1.18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye are not redeemed with corruptible things as Silver and Gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your Fathers but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot Why do you not here find fault with Peter for not using the word visible instead of precious which was my term several times to thee and thy Companions in that