A SYNOPSIS Or short view of ESSENTIAL CHRISTIANITY In Part In which the first Fruits unto God or Saints in the Apostles dayes lived According to the Doctrine of Christ and his Holy Apostles beginning at the very foundation thereof With some Explications or Enlargements thereupon Tending to the Edification Comfort and refreshing of all sorts of People that fear God and love Righteousness without respect to any one particular Form and yet not excluding all Form And which may tend also to the encouraging of others that as yet regard not God to turne to him in Submission and the obedience of Faith By WILLIAM TOMLINSON A lover of all that are of a humble Heart and that live the life of Righteousness in whatsoever form they are London Printed for B. Harris at the Stationers Armes under the Piazza of the Royal Exchange 1684. The Explayning of the Title I Call that Essential Christianity in which the Heart is truely turned from sin to God In which state there be various degrees Some are but as smoking Flax where no flame of righteousness as yet appears yet have they a love to Righteousness and to God these our Lord will not quench Others are as bruised Reeds wounded and bruised and bowed down under their transgression and therefore are poor in Spirit mourning under the body of Sin which they are made sensible of and hungring and thirsting after Righteousness which their Hearts long after these holding on shall be filled Some are not farr from the Kingdom of God but near it Others are in the Kingdom which consists iâ— Righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit â—r Holy Ghost who have received the Spirit of Adoption and are in the Son-â—hip walking in fellowship with the Father and the Son and in all these â—tates there be various degrees also Now I call that essential in which â—hese have their life to distinguish from that which is outward and circumstantial and may be taken up bâ— those that love wickedness and havâ— a Spirit of enmity in them against truâ— holines For there is no Form of Godliness 〈◊〉 of Religion but a wicked man and lover of unrighteousness may take it uâ— and that as well now as under the mâ—nistration of the Law or as in tâ— Apostles dayes when some had a forâ— of Godliness and yet denyed the Powâ—â— thereof But take notice that I doe not câ—â— these things contained in this Book Eâ—sential in opposition to all things thâ— are outward or circumstantial but distinction from those things that wicked man may take upon him whiâ—â— things nevertheless may in due placeâ— observed by the truly righteous The 〈◊〉 of the Title needs no explication Nâ— what is here offered is but in part we know but in part and Propâ—cy but in part and he in whom 〈◊〉 fullness dwells gives out of his fullâ— as it pleaseth him to whom be 〈◊〉 Glory of all his gifts A SYNOPSIS Or short view of ESSENTIAL CHRISTIANITY c. 1. GOD so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but should have eternal life For God sent not his Son into the World to condemn the World but that the World through him might be saved Joh. 3.16 17. 2. The Son of God Christ Jesus our Lord so loved the World also that he gave up himself a Sacrifice for our Sinnes according to the good will of God thereby to make attonement for us and to reconcile us to God He bare our Sins in his own body on the Tree 1 Pet. 2.24 Thus the love of God is manifested and the love of the Son of God Christ Jesus our Lord. 3. He whose understanding an Heart is rightly opened to believe this love of God in Christ he receives it He receives thâ— joyfull tydings or Gospel Hâ— receives the Testimony of Chrisâ— and sets to his Seal that God 〈◊〉 true yea he receives Christ himself and with him power to bâ—come a Son of God Joh. 1 1â— He shall receive remission of Siâ— Act. 10.43 He shall be made paâ—taker of the Holy Spirit Ro. 8. â— Gal. 3.2 And such a faith as thâ— is the right Evangelical faith 4. This true Faith in Christ Jesus or Evangelical faith wherein the things are received hath also the Fruits and concomitants atteâ—ding it 1. It brings Peace and consolatioâ— or rejoycing 2. It works by love 3. It purifyes the Heart turniâ—â— it from unrighteousness and teacheâ— to deny ungodliness and Worldly lusts and to live righteously and soberly and Godly in this present World 4. It excludes boasting and exaltation of our selves 5. It drawes the Heart after Christ after Sanctification and after Heavenly treasures and fellowship with God 6. It is accompanyed with an Unction from the Holy one which inlightens the understanding and inclines the Heart to good and gives a sense or feeling of the will of God and being kept to it leadeth into all truth and is a continual teacher And this is the new Covenant not written in Tables of Stone as the first was but in the Fleshly Tables of the heart 2 Cor. 3.3 7. This true Gospel faith begets Hope that is it raises the heart into an expectation of good things to come and so bears up the head under all the afflictions and tribulations which it meets with all in this life For if in this life only we had hope we were of all men most miserable And so it hath a secret dependency upon the righteous judgment of God at the last day when he shall bring everything to light and render to every one according 〈◊〉 their deeds done in the body This short view of Christianity is comprehended under these 4 heads 1. The Love of God to man 2. The Love of Christ Jesus ouâ— Lord the First-borne of every Creature and the expresse image of the invisible God 3. The Gospel Faith which recei es Love of God in Christ Jesuâ— our Lord. 4. The Fruits of this faith whereby it is known and distinguished from all false faiths Of all which a little more at large by way of Explication as they shall be opened to mee Explication 1. GOD so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Joh. 3.16 For God sent him not into the World to condemn the World but that the World through him might be saved ver 17. Here 's the Fountaine or rather Ocean from whence all good doth come even from the Love of God or from God who is love yea an unfathomable Ocean of love Therefore the beloved Disciple who leaned on the bosom of our Lord describes him thus God is Love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him 1 Joh. 4.16 And this love is an extensive love reaching to all therefore saith he God so loved the World he saith not God so loved this or that Nation or this or that sort
the Scripture And this thing the Servants of the Lord witnessed as to their own condition as well as others We our selves saith the Apostle Tit. 3.3 4 5. were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hatefull and hating one another This was their state before the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared to them but after that appeared to them which is the very ground of Faith then came the washing from these things and Salvation But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared not by works of rightousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour Here Faith is plainly implyed in this work For the kindness and love of God appearing is received and that 's Faith and in this receiving of the love and kindness of God comes the washing of regeneration without which washing we have no part in Christ Joh. 13.8 And so here comes the renewing of our Hearts by the Holy Spirit which the Apostle calls the renewing of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit That is the renewing of our Hearts by him who is let in by Faith for it s we that want renewing not the Holy Spirit So here the new Creature is begot by the Spirit which is created in Christ Jesus unto good works Mark In Christ Jesus that is in the ministration of the Gospel or of the kindness and love of God whereof Christ Jesus is the Minister not in Moses or in the ministery of the Law which consists in works But in Christ Jesus whose ministery is in Faith in this is the Creation unto good works that we should live in them and no longer to serve the evil and impure lusts of the Flesh For if we live after the Flesh we shall dye but if we through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body we shall live Rom. 8.13 Now the Heart thus washed and renewed that which proceeds out of the Heart savours of cleannes and purity Out of the aboundance of the Heart the mouth speaks and so better language is hereby learn't Corrupt language comes under judgment being felt inwardly to be contrary or a burthen to thâ— Spirit of life now in measure received And thus the Lord fulfills hiâ— promise to his People in turning to them a pure language The leaâ—â— grain of Faith though it be but aâ— a grain of Mustardseed inclines thâ— Heart thus after righteousness anâ— Holyness And if through temptation the Heart be sometimes overtaken with evil yet it hath not rest there but it turnes again in pursuite of righteousness until it get Victory over the World and the lusts thereof and in Faith is the victory 1 Joh. 5.4 And here 's the Heart that hungers and thirsts after righteousness which it hath received a taste of by the Holy Spirit shed abroad upon it And this is one inseparable Fruit of true Faith thus to work against sin and to thirst after rightousness from the seed of Sanctification sown in the Heart which springs up to eternal life Secondâ—y Another inseparable Fruit of true Faith is Love Gal. 5.6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but Faith which worketh by love Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision no outward badge or character is now available with God but Faith which worketh by love No outward distinction nor every Faith neither is available with God but that Faith which works by love Such a Faith as is of the true stamp which hath the nature of Christ Jesus in it which is love This is that Faith which pleases the Lord. And this therefore discovers all killing and destroying Faiths all persecuting and hurtfull Faiths to be ungrounded and false Faiths They are not right they bear not a resemblance with the Faith of the Apostles and ancient believers But such a Faith is a Heterodox Anti-christian Faith Its not of a right birth but spurious begot by thâ— Law of works or from the evil one and not from the kindness and love of God in Christ Jesus It s a kin to the faith of Devils The Devils believe and tremble but remain Murderers So these that believe and remain Mutherers and persecuters stand as yet ingrafted into the murthering and persecuting Spirit The works of their Fatheâ— they doe who was a Murderer from the beginning But he that come to the true Faith he works according to the nature of that Spirit that begets his Faith and that is to save life to doe good and not to destroy The destroying Faith is of Apollyon that is a destroyer but the saving Faith is of him that came to save mens lives and not to destroy That Faith that saves us teaches us to save or preserve others not to seek their destruction It matters not how zealous men be for their Faith if it carry the destroying nature in it it s not right in the sight of God it springs but from works at best not from grace nor is it according to knowledge The persecuting Jews had a Zeal of God but not according to knowledge and so may false Faiths have and hereby they are discovered to the true seed that they are not according to true knowledge This is the second Character of true Faith it works by love Thirdly It brings peace and consolation Rom. 5.1 Therefore being justifyed by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Therefore saith the Apostle the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing Rom. 15.13 It must needs follow that he that sensibly believes this love of God in Christ Jesus to all men and to him in particular It must needs be I say that peace will spring up in his Heart thereby And so here 's the entrance into the Kingdom of God by Faith The Kingdom of God is within and it consists in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit And into this Kingdom or Heavenly Canaan we enter by Faith While unbelief and fears lye upon us and shut up our Spirits we are short yet of our possession of the Kingdom There are some to whom the Kingdom of Heaven belongs who are not fully entred into the possession of it as an inheritance may belong to an Heir before the time come that he possesseth it such are the poor in Spirit who go mourning under the sense of the body of sin not yet shaken off and who go hungring and thirsting after righteousness which they have not yet attained unto as their Souls desire Such I say are under a blessing and have right to the Kingdom of God though as yet they go mourning For Christ Jesus our Lord applyes the right of the Kingdom to them Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
And blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted Matt. 5.3 4. Their mourning is while they are in travel but when they have brought forth then there is rejoycing when Faith hath overcome then joy and gladness And this is in some sooner in some later In the primitive times of the Apostles when the mystery of the Gospel or glad tydings was holden forth with open face as I may say and without a vail or myst many that received those tydings by Faith were immediatly filled with peace and consolation How quickly was the Jaylor that came in trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas crying out Syr's what must I doe to be saved How quickly I say was he raised up into peace and consolation after he had heard the joyfull tydings of Salvation by Christ Jesus plainly preached to him in few words and by Faith received it Act. 16.31 32 33 34. And they said Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy House And they spake unto him the word of the Lord and to all that were in his House And he took them the same hour of the night it was not a work of many hours but the same hour and washed their stripes and was Baptized he and all his straight way And when he had brought them into his House he set meat before them and rejoyced believing in God with all his House See how love and joy accompanied his Faith believing in God he rejoyced Therefore the Gospel is called glad tyding of great joy For who can believe that his sins are done away in Christ Jesus and that freely by grace or in love the Lord accepteth him in Christ Jesus and not therein rejoyce The Preaching of the Gospel is preaching peace by Jesus Christ Act. 10.26 Eph. 2.17 And therefore it s call'd the Gospel of Peace How beautifull are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace and bring glad tydings of good things Rom. 10.15 The Eunuch to whom Philip preached Christ and opened to him the way of Salvation by Christ and he by Faith had received this love of God in Christ the same day he was filled with joy and after Philip was caught away from him he went on his way rejoycing Act. 8.39 So at Samariâ— Philip having preached Christ unto them and working Miracles in his name there was great joy in that City Act. 8.8 So likewise that great multitude that was converted at Peters preaching the Gospel to them Act. 2. besides those eminent Fruits of love which sprang up in them in an extraordinary manner they also were filled with great joy and consolation which made them to eat their meat with gladness and singlenes of praising God This true Faith in Christ Jesus brings peace and consolation upon two principal accounts First because it receives the glad tydings of remission or forgiveness of sins by Jesus Christ The guilt of sin or conscience of sin binds a man under the fear of condemnation and causes him to cry out in the bitterness of his Soul what shall I doe As it did these here in the 2d of the Acts when they were struck with a sense of their sin they cryed out Men and Brethren what shall we doe And so the Jaylor what shall I doe to be saved And this state the Apostle Paul personates Rom. 7.24 O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Now what can be more joyfull at such a time and to such a condition then to be satisfyed that their sins are forgiven them and that Christ Jesus the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sin of the World hath borne their sin in his own body on the Tree And so to have their conscience sprinkled by his blood from an evil conscience and to be made clean by that blood of sprinkling Here 's cause indeed of rejoycing by Faith in him For now the chaine of darkness is unloosed and the liberty of the Sons of God begins to appear and he is translated out of darkness into marvellous light Even the light of life 1 Pet. 2.9 And then secondly in this faith there is also a measure of the Spirit received which is the comforter and brings his Testimony with him which is beyond all words for giving consolation and peace The Spirit witnessing with our Spirits that we are accepted into Sonship with God And therefore the joy received in believing is called the joy of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit 1 Thess 1.6 And ye became followers of us and of the Lord having received the word in much affliction and joy of the Holy Ghost That is joy which the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit ministred in their receiving the word There 's joy in Heaven over one sinner that truely repents and he also is made partaker of that joy Thus the Fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace to that man that receives the Testimony of the love of God in Christ Jesus and also it begets the same in that man towards others It begets love in him towards others and joy in their returning to God and makes him a man of Peace in the World Obj. It may be some may say how can this be seeing Christ said I came not to send peace on Earth but a Sword And to set one man at variance against another Answ That is occasionally because the Earthly Spirit will be opposing and persecuting the rightous seed although the righteous seed be a seed of peace and quietâ—ess in it self and to others Obj. Again some may say Christ â—ells of mourning ye shall mourn â—nd the World shall rejoyce c. How then doth this stand with that â—y which thou speaks of Answ A Woman while she is in â—ravel hath sorrow but when she hath brought forth she rejoyceth for joy that a man Childe is brought forth into the World so it is here And then again saith Christ Jesus In the World ye shall have tribulation but in me ye shall have peace Joh. 16.33 Forthly I come now to another Fruit or concomitant of this Faith and that is this it excludes boasting It cuts down vainglory Where is boasting then It is excluded By what Law Of Works Nay but by the Law of Faith Rom. 3.27 For what hath that man to glory in in respect of himself that sees himself wholy a receiver at the hands of the Lord When he rightly sees himself justifyed freely by grace and the superaboundant mercy oâ— God who hath revealed himself to him in Christ Jesus That is hath revealed his love to him in Chrisâ— Jesus for God is love And hath let him see that he is accepted freely in Christ Jesus He that hath the right sence of this upon his Spirit it draws his Heart into the admiration of the infinite love and mercy of God in deep humility And the more fully this is revealed to him or in him the greater is his admiration still of
that were with him when the Hoâ—â— Ghost fell on all them that heard â—â—e word ver 44. Now where â—hrist and his Spirit is received it â—â—rnes the Heart from sin and turns 〈◊〉 to righteousness And this turâ—ing of the minde and Heart from â—n to righteousness is repentance 〈◊〉 is not a little remorse or sorrow â—or sins past only and yet contiâ—uing therein but turning from â—t toward righteousness that 's reâ—entance So all these things acâ—ompany the ministery of the Gosâ—el or the true preaching of Christ â—nd receiving of him it opens the â—yes to see the love of God and â—is mercyfull kindness in Christ Jeâ—us and this turns them from darkâ—ess to light and so from the power of Satan unto God this is true repenâ—ance that so they may receive remission of sins and inheritance among â—hem which are sanctifyed by faith in Christ Jesus Act. 26.18 The Spirit of Christ entring into the Heart by faith or in believing turns it or converts it from sin to God by renewing of it and so washes 〈◊〉 from its filthines by the blood 〈◊〉 Christ and Sanctifyes it Therefore said Christ except I wash theâ— thou hast no part in mee Here 's thâ— washing and sprinkling by thâ— blood here 's the being born agaiâ— of Water and of the Spirit withoâ—â— which one cannot enter into thâ— Kingdome of God here 's the worâ— of regeneration without whicâ— one cannot see the Kingdom 〈◊〉 God Joh. 3. So now all things aâ—â— become new and the Stream turneâ— The Stream of that mans Heart 〈◊〉 which was downward towards thâ— Earth and towards evil is noâ— turned upwards towards God anâ— towards things that are good Longing after a participation of Goâ— Heavenly nature and Holyness which it hath received a taste 〈◊〉 and as a new born Babe he now desires and longs after the sinceâ— Milk of the word that he maâ— grow thereby and feel more anâ— more fellowship with the Heavenâ—â— nature Flourishes of wit and eloquence which please the itching Ear will not satisfy this hungring Babe but the sincere uncorrupted Milk of the word which adds strength and growth Thus I say God lets in something of himself and Heavenly nature by faith into the Hearts of the Sons of men that they tasting of that Heavenly nature may presse after a further enjoyment thereof and to be more and more filled therewith And thus faith is an inward work wrought by the power of God opening the Heart to receive the love of God whereby a new work is wrought in the Heart renewing it or regenerating it again to God and forming a new Creation in the Heart which makes a man a new Creature And there is a going on in this work from faith to faith and so a following on in the regeneration And this is the great available thing with the Lord as the Apostle testifyed saying neither circumcision availeth any thing witâ— the Lord nor uncircumcision but 〈◊〉 new creature or new creation Galâ— 6.15 which he otherwise expresses thus chap. 5.6 Neither circumcision availeth any thing with thâ— Lord nor uncircumcision but faitâ— which worketh by love No outwarâ— thing no outward profession iâ— the available thing but faith whicâ— worketh by love and which renewes the creature or makes 〈◊〉 man a new creature This is thaâ— which the Lord accepts because now a man begins to live to God and to be a Vessel sanctifyed for thâ— Masters use This work raises him up and sets him upon his feet aâ— a man raised up from the dead and now it is the delight of thiâ— new man to doe the will of God and to be found in his work Anâ— now he begins to warr and sighâ— the good fight of faith striving against sin that he may keep hiâ— conscience pure and clear beforâ— the Lord. For the mystery of faitâ— is thereby preserved The mystery of faith is held in a pure conscience 1 Tim. 3.9 Faithfulness to God preserves and nourishes faith That is Faithfulness to what the conscience knows to be the will of God this preserves peace and faith in God But in case of being overcome by the Enemy the Lord calls for repentance that is turning from the evil with all our Hearts and turning again to him and looking to his mercy and forgiveness with a stedfast purpose to cleave to him in fear and trembling considering our own weakness and so waiting upon him for help to overcome and in his due time he purges the conscience again from the evil and purifies it by the blood of sprinkling even by the blood of Christ and thus our Lord Jesus Christ washes us in his own blood by the Spirit renewing his love in the Heart and remitting the transgression And so faith is restored in a true Heart though it hath been overtaked by the subtilty of the Enemy For indeed the failings of the true Seed or truely converted are not from a life had in the evil buâ— rather from being surprised and overtaken therefore it causes grieâ— and anguish and a crying unto the Lord for deliverance Whereas he that hath a life in the Evil he rests in it While the strong man keeps the House all things are at quiet But when a stronger then he is come he disturbes that quietness in the evil ther 's no rest there For what fellowship can the true seed have with falsehood What Communion can Christ the true Spirit have with the works of the evil Spirit in us Therefore he casts out the deceiver and his works Therefore that Faith that is under the blessing must needs warr against the deceiver to cast him out otherwise it is not right For Faith in Truth begets an honest and true Heart which works against deceit and the deceiver True Faith first begets an honest and true Heart and then is therein retained as in a fit Vessel And the departing from Truth and honesty and uprightness makes Shipwrack of Faith To open this mystery of Faith more plainly whereby the Truth thereof may be known and it may be discerned in some measure from all false appearances thereof I shall come to some particulars that we may know it by the Fruits of it as Christ our Lord hath taught us to know Prophets of what sort they are Yee shall know them by their Fruits First This Faith purifyes the Heart Act. 15.9 That so that which flowes out of the Heart may be pure Out of the Heart unsanctifyed proceeds evil thoughts Murthers Adulteries Thefts Blasphemies or speaking evil of Holyness and of Holy men as well as of God envy malice revenge pride scornfulness ambition coveteousness and such like which keep a man from entring into the Kingdom of God For such shall not inherit the Kingdom of God It s the Apostles Testimony 1 Cor. 6.9 Eph. 5.5 6. Therefore faith is like a Refiners fire to these things to consume and burn them up and to purifie the Heart from such filth Purifying their Hearts by faith saith
the Children of God witnessing with their Spirits and administring comfort and Heavenly food to the Soul So also he administers words and matter to Christs little ones when they are called before Rulers and Magistrates for his names sake And Christ Jesus our Lord taught his to depend hereupon and not to perplex themselves with thinking before hand what to say to them Matt. 10.19 20. But when they deliver you up take no thought how or what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak For it is not ye that speak but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you Hence it is that sometimes Women and unletter'd Persons have been enabled to confound great learned men for the Lord by his Spirit gives a mouth and wisdome which their Adversaries ar◠not able to gainsay nor to resist This is that Spirit which begetteth earnings and longings in our Hearts after the Lord and which helpeth our infirmities when we know not how to utter our minds to the Lord for then he maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered and these groanings being according to the will of God he hears them for he knoweth what is the minde of the Spirit Rom. 8.26 27. There be many Spirits gone forth into the World which are not this Unction but work contrary to it and lead out from Christ into the World therefore the Apostle bids us try the Spirits whether they are of God 1 Joh. 4.2 Well but how shall we try them He tells us how to know them in the next verses following Hereby know ye the Spirit of God Every Spirit that confesseth Jesus Christ come in the Flesh is of God And every Spirit that confesseth not Jesus Christ come in the Flesh is not of God For so the words run more truely according to the Greek then to render them thus Every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh c. For this confession is such a confession as owns an interest in him or professes a relation to him by Faith in him and by love and obedience to him The evil Spirits did verbally confesse him Mar. 1.24 and so evil men may verbally confesse him tho they neither truely believe in him nor love nor obey him But this true confession of him hath these things necessarily conjoyned therewith 1. Faith Iohn 3.18 36. For that Spirit that wants that is under condemnation and wrath as this Scripture testifyes 2. Love 1 Cor. 16.24 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha 3. Obedience to him And therefore saith John he that saith I know him and keepeth not his Commandements is a lyar and the Truth is not in him So then every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ that suffered for our sins i◠Faith and in Love and Obedience to him that Spirit is of God But otherwise evil Spirits may confesse him and Children of the evil one may confesse him Also the Apostle draweth this down to himself and others who were in the pure and living faith and innocent life in whom Christ appeared ver 6. o◠the same Chapter We are of God he that knoweth God heareth us 〈◊〉 that is not of God heareth not us hereby know we the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of error So here you see he places the mark to know Spirits by upon their owning or not owning of Christ himself come in Flesh and of him appearing in others For they that know him not in his Children where he appears but deny his appearance there they are not of his Spirit themselves But then how shall we know his Children from the Children of the Devil The Apostle tells us this is manifest by their works 1 Joh. 3.10 He doth not say its manifest by any particular forme but by their works In this the Children of God are manifest and the Children of the Devil Whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God neither he that loveth not his Brother So then let men pretend what they will if their works be evil they are not of God So that by their works false Spirits and false Prophets are known and by them they shall be judged at the last day Though they shall say we have Prophecyed in thy name yet it shall be said to them Depart from me I know you not ye workers of Iniquity Now these must needs own his comming that Prophecy in his name And that they may doe and yet not own hi◠where he is come and appears i◠Flesh And so they may confesse hi◠comming and yet not confesse himself where he is come As the Iew owned Moses and the Prophets wh◠were come and gone but yet persecuted them that came in their Spirit they owned and confessed Abraham but owned not nor confessed the true seed of Abraham and so were not of Abraham thoug◠they confessed him In like manne◠many now confesse that Christ cam◠in the Flesh but persecute the◠that come in his Spirit that is persecute him in them for so he wil◠charge it upon them Because what done to his little ones is done upo◠this account that he is in them who hath no fellowship with th◠unfruitfull works of darkness in which they are who persecute them For if he were not in them who hath not fellowship with unfruitfull works of darkness they would not hate them but would love them The World loves its own and those of its own Spirit If you were of the World the World would love his own but because ye are not of the World but I have chosen you out of the World therefore the World hateth you Joh. 15.19 A little further still for the manifestation of this true Unction or Anointing to distinguish it from other Spirits not only from evil Spirits but even from some operations of the true Spirit Consider that this Holy Unction is an abiding thing keeping the Heart in the fear and love of God making that the maine care of him in whom it is to keep in obedience to the will of God and so in fellowship with God for that 's the Kingdom into which we are translated and whatsoever interposeth between us and that fellowship with God who i◠love that wounds and slayes And we are then like one banished hi◠native Kingdom and like an Exile until we be established in it again and then there 's rest and care and fear lest we grief the Spirit again And thus the promise to the true seed is fulfilled which saith I wil◠put my fear in their Hearts and they shall not depart from me Jer. 32.40 Now other Spirits which give no◠this fellowship in the love of God may doe great things whereby the person may be admired but they doe not keep the heart low watching to doe the will of God Balaam had an eminent Prophecy given him by the Spirit of the Lord which also strove with him to keep
way for this Under the great Apostacy wherein the Whorish Spirit hath raigned the mystery of the glorious Gospel hath been vailed And men have highly pretended Faith in Christ and yet lived in the nature of the Devil murdering and destroying one another and despising one another for a few outward observations and Ceremonies Whereby it is manifest that the Faith of the Gospel hath been vailed among them The Sun hath been darkened in the Firmament through the Clouds of mens imaginations and inventions and traditions upon which they have put the weight of their Religion and so wanting the nature of the true Faith they have persecuted one another for these things For they have been ignorant of their own state and taken themselves to be Churches of Christ when they were but the outward Court which was left out unmeasured and given to the Nations When the Woman the true Church withdrew her self into the Wilderness the Lord in mercy left an outward Court open for the Gentiles or Nations to assemble in for their assemblings are in the outward Court. And he left it unmeasured giving the Gentiles or Nations leave to use their own wisdom in their wayes of assembling and approaching towards his Holy Temple But they mistaking their own institutions for the true Ordinances and Institutions of Christ have in their blinde Zeal for them persecuted one another and also trampled the Holy City under foot among them because she could not walk with them in their humane traditions and mingled inventions which indeed have borne some face of Christs Ordinances but polluted through mens inventions the Nations setting Gods post by mans post as the Scripture speaks And hence in pretence for God they have been destructive one to another and all to the true worshippers and so are plainly discovered to be out of the true Gospel Faith which hath been obscured among them and they involved in darkness and ignorance For had the Nations known their own state that they were but the outward Court left unmeasured then would they have known also that the measures of others in their approaching to worship might be as good as their own or at least wise that it was left at liberty as well as their own Or had the Nations known the power and true nature of Faith they would not have persecuted and destroyed others for differing from them in profession of Religion But it is said when the Son of man comes shall he finde Faith on the Earth Which implyes the great defect thereof and the great Apostacy therefrom upon the Earth As indeed is made manifest by the lives and works of men For if by Faith the Son of God were received they would do the works of God Yea they in whom Christ lives they do the works of Christ And blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that he is again reviving of the truth and dispelling the darkness and begetting a People to himself not only to know his Heavenly nature better but also to live therein in their measure And he will yet more and more discover the false Fruitless and destroying Faith of Nominal and National Churches who pretend Faith in Christ and Hope in Christ and yet live in the nature and works of him whom Christ doth cast out and whose works he comes to destroy which kinde of believers or Professors of Christianity cause the gloryous name of our Lord Jesus Christ to be blasphemed that is evil spoken of among them that own him not as namely Turks and Jews and other infidels Therefore the Lord will bring down such Hypocritical Faiths And that shall be the fall of Babylon the great For what was the fall of the Jews Was it not the discovery of their false and Hypocrical profession of his name leaving them therein as in a Snare when he drew out from among them the upright and simple hearted who truely feared him and believed in him So the fall of Babylon that is of all false Faiths which work the works of Satan and hold the seed of Christ in bondage their fall shall be the discovery of their Hypocriticall Faith that shall be the fall thereof and she shall be discovered to be a habitation of Devils False Faiths that bring forth the works of the Devil lying deceit murder persecution pride envy hatred and such like such Faiths are fit receptacles and habitations for the Devil to act his part under and men living in his Spirit and doing his works are rightly caâ—led by his name as Peter was when he did so On the other hand they that live in the Spirit of Christ Jesus in his innocent nature following him they are rightly called the Sons and Daughters of God This was no strange thing in the Apostles dayes when their Faith was a living Faith and gave them fellowship with God though in our dayes since the memory of many some have been Pillored and Stigmatized for blasphemers for professing Sonship with God Which showes what grosse ignorance and darkness hath been over the Spirits of men though highly professing Faith in Christ For if they had known either the Scriptures or the power and Priviledges of a living Faith they durst not have done so Now are we the Sons of God saith John And as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God saith Paul and such having received the Spirit of Adoption draw nigh to God in that Spirit crying Abba Father Yea the Apostle goes higher and is very bold in his expressing of the near relation of the Sons of God with him If Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joynt-heirs with Christ if we suffer with him that we may be also glorifyed together Rom. 8. True and living Faith gives this Sonship As many as received him to them he gave power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his name So believing on his name is receiving Christ and with him Sonship and Heir-ship And then he being received and his Spirit leading us we are thereby taught to walke as the Sons of God without rebuke in the World And so the lives of the Servants of the Lord being blamelesse are ar lights in the World and preaches righteousness to the World and tend to the glory of God Let your light so shine before men saith Christ that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven To whom be glory and Honour for ever for his unsearchable love manifested to us in Christ Jesus our Lord. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 FINIS