from Falshood the Rule of what ought to be received and embraced and the Guide of Life be the Anointing which none denies that I know of to be the Spirit of God then both the only way to be taught all things necessary to be believed and performed is the Anointing and that Anointing is in Believers respectively but the Scripture so asserts And consequently the right Christian is not without that Infallible Spirit to teach and lead him into all Truth 1 John 3. 24. And he that keepeth his Commandments dwelleth in him and he in him and hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us If the Union betwixt Christ and his Children be that they dwell in him and he in them and that they thereby know it by the Spirit that he hath given them which implies that they had the Unerring Spirit of Christ then true Believers are not without Christ and his Spirit dwelling in them to Guide Rule and Instruct them in all things necessary to Eternal Life and Salvation He that denyes the first denyes the Scripture and he that rejects the second Proposition had as good deny that Day is an Effect of Light Jude 19 20. These be they who separate themselves sensual having not the Spirit But ye beloved building up your selves on your most holy Faith praying in the Holy Ghost c. If such as have not the Spirit are sensual then because the true Children of God are not sensual it follows that they have the Spirit and that those who have it not are not the Children of God because such are sensual This the Apostle further manifests to be his mind because leaving the sensualists he addresses himself to the Sanctified of God exhorting them To build up one another on their most holy Faith Praying in the Holy Ghost which shews that they performed their Worship to God in the Motion of the Eternal Spirit and consequently they could not be destitute of an Unerring Spirit in what concerned them either towards God or Men. Thus have I briefly run through the Scriptures of Truth and doubt not but I have made it appear That God has afforded his People in all Ages such a measure of his Eternal Spirit as hath been sufficient to Inform Rule and Guide them infallibly in and about those things which are absolutely necessary to be known or done unto Eternal Life It remains That I evidence the Truth of my Assertion by Reason also which I shall endeavour with what convenient brevity I can That Christian Men have an Infallible Principle to Judge Rule and Guide them I prove by REASON First I Shall take it for granted That no man whom either Education or Conviction gives to believe there is a God can be so unreasonable as to tâ—ink That any man may be farther able to understand what this God is and his Divine Pleasure concerning him then the same is discovered to him by some external or internal Operation from the same infinite Beeing this then must either be by the visible Creation or that invisible Taste or Rellish the Soul has by vertue of the divine Touches Influences and Discoveries that the Almighty Invisible God is pleased to approach his Creatures by as the next clearest way to communicate unto them the knowledge of himself Secondly And as I know not any who professeth Religion that makes the least scruple of this so how is it possible that such Discoveries as God himself is pleased to make should be fallible or subject to any Defect in themselves for were that admitted as must be upon the Principles of our Adversary then must we conclude an Imperfect Knowledge nay an uncertain not to say Erronious Knowledge of and Faith in God to be from God's own defective Manifestations of himself which however truly deduced from his Positions is a most Vnworthy and False Reflection upon the Mercy and Goodness of God Thirdly There is an absolute necessity That what it is convenient for man to know should be certainly and infallibly discovered to him because of that great Corruption Idolatry and Superstition which through that misty and uncertain Prospect they say man has of the Divine Will he may be subject to fall into and like the vain Worshippers of old conceit an Ape Serpent or Crockedell to be a Deity or some other Beeings or Fancies though less gross yet too gross for a Christian man Fourthly Upon our Adversary's Principles there can be no assured Ground of Comfort for when a man shall think he hath workt out his Salvation in the Way he Conceives most acceptable with God perhaps he hath followed an Erronious Judgment and Unsubject Affection and when Repentance may be too late he is to be fob'd off with such an Award as this You had no Infallible Knowledge and having lived in an Erronious sense of your own you must inherit the Displeasure that follows thereby making well or ill believing or doing a meer Lottery or doing of things by Chance and not from any certain knowledge in themselves of what God required of them A Conceit worthy to be disdained by every sober man Fifthly And were I as our Adversary I would never beat my Brain about what is true or false since upon his Principles when Truth meets me I know her not from Error and after I should have writ Volums I am as certain of the Truth of what I oppose as of what I assert so that the Quakers may be in the right for ought he knows nor have they any certain grounds from him on which to alter or believe the contrary Sixthly Nor does this Opinion of our Adversary that there is no such thing as man's being now led by an infallible Spirit end there for it rendereth the Almighty more injust then the worst of men since first he seems to offer men the clearest Discoveries of so much of his Will as he requires them to live conformable unto yet means nothing less by leaving Mankind to labour under the perplexity of an uncertain Knowledge And secondly Concludes him notwithstanding under the greatest certainty of eternal Punishment Methinks then If these things seem unreasonable though the genuine Effects of a fallible Guide our Adversary should by this time think it fit to allow us 1. That God cannot be known but by the Discoveries he makes of himself through his Eternal Power and Spirit unto Mankind 2. That though such Discoveries may be imperfect in Degree yet not in kind 3. That such Revelation Discovery or Instruction is infallibly true and that there is nothing wanting on God's part to accommodate man with a Spiritual Certain Infallible Discovery and Knowledge of Almighty God his Creator and therefore man has to rectifie and assist his fallible Judgement an Vnerring Certain Infallible Spirit Power or Principle which as man listens unto it and follows it his Vnderstanding becomes illuminated his Reason purified and a sound Judgment restored and in all things is
he made a fit Tabernacle for the Glorious God to live in Thus is he King of Saints and will he be King of Nations who is God over all Heaven and Earth blessed forever Amen There be two Objections which I fore-see may be made by some to the way I have taken to prove That a Christians Judge Rule and Guide is the Unerring Spirit of God whom I shall endeavour to answer Obj. 1. Though you have said a great deal to prove that Christians should have an Infallible Spirit in general yet you prove nothing distinctly but confound a Judge Rule and Guide together To which I answer Answ 1. That to me there is no more difference then essentially there can be in the Wisdom Justice and Holiness of God which are but so many words that agree to express the Perfection of one and the same Beeing and so that as the one cannot be without the other but the same Eternal Godhead is all and that in all for he is truly Wise in being Just and both in being Holy and back again they are so interwoven that the one goes not without the other thus it is in being a Judge Rule and Guide for that which gives me a right Sense or Judgment of Truth from Error is as well to me a Rule what I should believe or dis-believe and a Guide what I should practice or not practice as at first it was my Judge of what was Truth from what was Error So that the same Informing Convincing Spirit is that Ruling and Guiding Spirit and not a dristinct Spirit or medium by which such as are convinced through the Illumination and Reproof of it are to be ruled and guided in all they believe and practice about Matters relating to God and his Worship Obj. 2. But at this rate you utterly contemn and seclude the Scriptures as having no Part nor Portion in being a Judge Rule or Guide to Christians Answ 2. By no means for though we acknowledge it to be our Principle That the Eternal Spirit who in several Generations hath revealed a great part of the things contained in the Scriptures to be superior to these Writings yet far be it from us forever to deny the absolute necessity of our Conformity to such weighty Christian Truths and Principles as are therein expressed and urged upon the Churches as what are indispensable to eternal Salvation So that we plead not that the Spirit of God should be a Judge Rule and Guide contrary to the Truth declared in Scripture nor yet exclusive of the Scripture but as the holy men of old time were ordered ruled and guided by that Eternal Spirit in reference to those weighty things which the Prophets and Apostles were moved to exhort those of that time to press after so that it is impossible for men now to come into a right Christian-frame and keep therein but by the Spirit 's being their Judge Rule and Guide as he was to the Ancients who trusted in God and obtained a good Report In short The Scripture is much like the shaddow of the true Rule which may give us some ground to guess what the Rule it self is as a Card or Map of a Country how it lies yet not be the very Place it self and in this respect it may be a kind of secondary Rule carrying with it a Testimonial Confirmation that what we are led by is the TRUE SPIRIT because the People of God in old time enjoyed the same as the Eternal Spirit first of all confirms the Divine Authority of the Scriptures unquestionably to us That they are a Declaration of the Will and Pleasure of Almighty God to the Sons of Men in several Ages of the World He that is so inward with a Prince as to know viva voce what his mind is heeds not so much the same when he meets it in Print because in Print as because he has received a more living Touch and sensible Impression from the Prince himself to whose Secrets he is privy And this the Scriptures teach us to believe is a right Christian's State and Priviledge for said the Apostle We have the Mind of Christ and the Secrets of God are with them that fear Him and guide me by thy Counsel and bring me to thy Glory To Conclude The Scriptures we own and the Divine Truths therein contained we reverence and esteem as the Mind and Will of God to men and we believe that they ought to be conformed to according to the true intent of the Holy Spirit therein and we know that all good People will respect them read them believe and endeavour to fulfil or obey them And those who trade neither Ministerially or Controversally with them and are out of that Cleansed Holy and Self-denying State they testifie of and believe it not attainable the Plagues therein declared of shall be their Portion forever I Know that AUTHORIâ—Iâ—â— are of no great force with him but since I writer more one of an expectation of benefit to others on whom this Libel has taken any hold perhaps it may not be unseasonable to subjoyn a few and the rather since we have not only the suffrage of some who are called Socinians whom he pretends to follow but thereby we may justly take occasion to detect him of contradiction to their Sentements whilst one of them 1. Then first Upon that remarkable Place in John where Christ promised to send his holy Spirit Howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all Truth c. Those two famous Commentators I mean so accounted by the Romanists Tolletus and Maldonatus and the last very frequently and with great Respect commemorated and quoted by Crellius one of the most redoubted of the Scoinian Party Tollet thus He shall when he is come manifest all those things which ye are not able to bear and to discover to you all that Doctrine that is fit for my Church to believe and practice He shall teach you the compleat Truth and to this end God gives it to the Faithful and to his Church that in Doctrine Life and Government she may inerrably be guided Maldonat Shall lead you into all Truth that is sayes he Discover unto them and to the Church of God all that Truth which is convenient or fit for them to know concerning Salvation Thus says Cyrill Theophil August and Beda too Beza tells us That Protestants believe God to have given his Spirit not only to his Apostles but to his Church that by her Testimony the World may be convinced of Sin that many Consciences may be compelled to confess that they have sinned in not believing on him c. Dr Hammond thus But when the Holy Ghost comes whose Title is the Spirit of Truth he shall instruct you what is to be done which he shall reveal to you And I will ask my Father and he shall send you the Holy Ghost to Interceed Exhort and Comfort and when he is come
he shall abide with you that is all that shall suceed you in the Faith forever As in his Comment on the 28th Chapter of Matthew upon these words I am with you alwayes even unto the end of the World And though I shall now shortly part with you yet I will by sending the Spirit upon you to lead you into all Truth and by my perpetual Presence and Assistance afforded you and by that Authority that I have received of my Father and now commit unto you John 20. 21 22. continue with you and your Successors unto the End of the World Now if we read that Scripture he quotes as an Interpretation of what he understands by Christ's being with them and their Successors to the end of the World we shall find it to be this Then said Jesus to them again Peace be unto you As my Father hath sent me even so send I you And when he had said this he breathed on them and saith unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost What can be fuller then that in his apprehension not only the Apostles but their Successors in the Faith were to have continued unto them the perpetual Presence and Assistance of the Holy Ghost And sayes no mean Protestant upon the Place and very truly It is by the Spirit only that men who do not profit under outward means will be enabled to profit who when he cometh reveals Truths clearly and bears them in with Life and Power upon the Heart and doth renew mens spirits to embrace and submit to them And on the 14th Chapter thus The Spirit of God in Believers is not only a Comforter to apply and bear in the Consolations of God purchased by Christ upon their Hearts but is their Advocate also who pleads their Cause with God by furnishing them with Prayers and Groans that cannot be uttered I shall now produce the sense of several Persons so great in the Socinian way conformable to what has been asserted concerning the Holy Spirit that one would think our Adversary ought to be concluded by it And the first shall be Socinus himself who in his explication of the 1st verse of the 8th Chapter to the Romans speaks in short thus Neque enim jam carni sed spiritui obsequuntur spiritus namque vitalis imperium cui et ego omnes qui Christi sunt subduntur nos a jugo peccati mortis assernit For neither do they now follow or live after the Flesh but the Spirit for the Power of the living Spirit to which both I and all who are Christ's are subdued hath freed us from the Yoak of Sin and Death Slichtingius who in his Comment upon the Passage already mentioned especially that part He shall lead you into all Truth gives us his mind thus Quando autem veniet ille nempe Paracletus spiritus ille veritatis ducet vos nempe interna illuminatione in omnem veritatem nempe ad salutem aeternam pertinentem ita ut omnia sciatis intelligatis quae vera sunt ad salutem pertinent That is When the Paraclet to wit the Spirit of Truth shall come by his internal Illumination or inward Enlightening he will lead into all Truth and to the Knowledge and Vnderstanding of all those things which are true and necessary and do pertain to Eternal Life Now since all are concerned in the End namely Eternal Life methinks it is most reasonable that all should be in a share in the means to it I mean the Teachings and Guidings of that Vnerring Spirit Thus much for this place I will instance one place more and the thoughts of these men upon it I mean this last cited and one not less Famous in the same way Crellius in his Comment upon the Romans Chap. 8. vers 14 15. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are Sons of God for ye have not received the spirit of Bondage c. sayes Etenim quotquot spiritui illi divino se regendos tradunt ejusque ductum sequuntur quemadmodum sane faciunt ij qui ejus ope carnis opera in se perimunt eque non admittunt illi Dei ipsius sunt Filij qui quemadmodum jam naturae ipsius sunt quodammodo participes ejusque similes Ita etiam vicissim a 〈◊〉 â—iliorum loco habentur ab eoque sunt adoptâ—ti in Filiorum jus adsâ—iti Eos autem qui a Deo instar Filiorum diliguntur vitae sempiternae fore participes quanquam per se unicuique videtur patere mox tamen planum faciam Certainly then our Adversary if he hath any regard for Crellius will not oppose himself to the necessity of Christians being accompanied by an infallible Spirit when this Author plainly tells us That without that Spirit of God and the Operation of it to a Regeneration of Soul there is no being a true Child of God and Heir to the possession of Glory as he further speaks upon the 17th verse Slichtingius gives us the same Interpretation differing only in the Expression sayes he Probant illos victuros esse si spiritu actiones corporis mortificent Again Spiritu Dei agi ferri impelli regi spiritu actiones corporis perimere They prove themselves to be Conquerors if by the Spirit they mortifie the Deeds of the Body Again To be acted led moved perswaded governed ruled and directed and to overthrow and destroy the Works of the Flesh by the Spirit of God this is to be a true Child of God Crellius is most express upon the 12th verse of the 2d chapter of Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians Sed spiritum qui est ex Deo id est qui ex Deo proficiscitur seu derivatur in homines ideoque Dei Spiritus merito vocatur But the Spirit which is of God that is which proceedeth from God or is derived from God into men it is therefore deservedly called the Spirit of God Crellius upon that remarkable Passage of the same Apostle and in the same Chapter But the spiritual man judgeth all things c. speaks thus Opponit animali homini spiritualem Spiritualis autem homo ille est qui non soluâ— spiritu Dei praeditus est sed etiam ejus ductum sequitur a spiritu ipso totus pendet Sayes he The Apostle opposeth the Spiritual to the Natural man that is the spiritual man who is not only endued with God's Spirit but is also under the Spirit 's Conduct and wholy depends upon it What man speaks more pathetically for inspiration then Crellius doth in whom out Adversary pretends to believe Nor is Slichtingius much behind him who on the same place gives us his mind thus Spiritualis autem id est homo divino spiritu non tantum praeditus sed illi etiam totus deditus But the Spiritual man that is saith he not only the man who is adorned and over-seen as by his good Angel by the holy Spirit but who
weighty Scripture containing the very Work of Regeneration and sine qua non or that only certain Means Condition and Requisit without which there can be no obtaining of Eternal Life and Salvation requires our best notice and consideration in order to which I shall divide the place into these two Heads and briefly raise my Argument thereon 1. Christ's most positive exclusion of all from any Portion in God's Kingdom who were not born again in answer to Nicodemus his carnal Conceit of the impossibility of an old mans entring a second time into his Mothers Womb. 2. That the Birth which all such as would inhererit God's Kingdom should be Witnesses of was and is the Birth of Water and the Spirit upon which I thus proceed to argue If none can Inherit God's Holy Kingdom but those who are regenerated of Water and the Spirit then none can inherit God's Holy Kingdom but such as are cleansed by Water and taught led and guided by God's Holy Spirit The first none can deny that own the Scripture it being but a part of the very verse quoted the second I evidently prove thus If Water and Spirit be the only operative to Regeneration and Regeneration the alone Way to the Kingdom of God then can no man inherit God's Kingdom that is not regenerated neither can any man be regenerated that is not washed by the Water of Life begotten work't formed inspired and acted by that Eternal Spirit to Newness of Life That to be begotten is to be principally guided and acted by that by which any is so begotten I prove No man can live move sensate or act but from the original Heat Life Motion and Action of that which did beget him because the Nature of that which begets being conveyed to the begotten truly renders him begotten or else there were no such thing but every regenerate man is the Begotten of the Eternal Spirit so far as concerns his Renovation or Regeneration therefore every such regenerated man was and is led motion'd and acted by that Eternal Spirit which begot him and consequently the Saints which are the regenerated are not left destitute of an infallible Teacher Judge Rule and Guide amongst them In short We look upon being born of Water and the Spirit to be Our being cleansed from all filthiness and quickened informed ruled and guided by the most pure and perfect Dictates and Operations of God's Eternal Spirit And how a Regenerated man can be made or continue such without the daily Guidance of that Infallible Spirit and the Scriptures kept clear from the Reflection of Contradiction if not gross Error is a Riddle too hard for me to explain and a Task I may without Presumption say too great for our trifling Antagonist to perform Twelfthly John 14. 16 17 18 20. 16. 13. And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever Even the Spirit of Truth whom the World cannot receive because it seeth Him not neither knoweth Him but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you I will not leave you comfortless I will come to you at that day ye shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you Again Howbeit when he the Spirit of Truth is come be will guide you into all Truth Upon these Divine Passages thus particularly exprest by the Holy Ghost I offer these short Arguments 1. If the Spirit of Truth or most infallible Spirit be God's Gift to his Servants in Gospel times to abide with them forever then are they accompanied with an infallible Spirit but we see the plain Text proves that God gives his Spirit of Truth to his Servants that they might be assisted in all their Wants and therefore they are not without such an infallible Spirit And our Adversary is more to blame to reflect upon the Guidance of an infallible Spirit which is so consonant with the express Letter of a multitude of Scripture Passages then we are because we credit G. F. upon Conviction And if he tells us That unless we believe what our Eyes see of Contradictions as he pretends by him collected out of G. F's Book that he will not believe whatever we shall say or affirm we may on much better Grounds conclude never to believe what he asserts and wholy to decline writing or speaking to him to use his own words if hereafter he will dare to continue in the belief of so Anti-scriptural and Anti-gospel an Apprehension as that there is no infallible Spirit to guide men in the Way of Salvation which is as express and evident from many naked Texts of Scripture as that God is Truth else never did any Writing more delude Mankind because none could be more particular and plain in the Promise and allowance of it But let God and his written Will be true and our Vnspiritual Adversary in his confest Fallible Judgment of us a very Lyar. 2. If the not seeing and knowing of the Spirit of Truth be the Reason rendred by our Lord Jesus why the World receives it not then may we most justly infer that they never saw it neither know it but are of the World who cannot receive it but write against it in reference to its greatest Office viz. Of being the Saints Teacher Leader and Comforter And indeed because the Spirit is not some visible elementary thing that may be seen by their outward Eyes and be comprehended by their dark confused and disputative Brains which is contrary to the Decree and Way of God's manifesting of his Will from the conviction of the least sin to the enjoyment of the highest Glory therefore they dis-regard it as contemptible and dis-believe it as incredible 3. If the Ground of the Saints Knowledge of that Infallible Spirit be the Spirit 's inhabiting them for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you then were they not without that Spirit and consequently they were attended with an infallible Guide within them 4. If the Lord Jesus would not leave them comfortless but though visibly with-drawn yet in a more Spiritual and Invisible manner would come to them again and that at that day they should know that He was in his Father they in Him and He in them Then were his Servants not destitute of an infallible Judge Leader and Guide because they had Him that was the Way Truth and Life to whom all Power and Judgment were committed 5. If both the Spirit of Truth was promised to come and when come to guide into all Truth that is to say that whateve they scrupled were ignorant in or ought to know and practicer with what they were oblieged to reject and testifie against should be by that Eternal Spirit discovered unto them then undoubtedly they were not without an infallible Spirit to Judge Regulate and Guide them in all that concerned Faith Worship and Conversation but the first Proposition is purely Scriptural and therefore the consequent not
things of God which all Natural Understanding can never fathom because they are Spiritually to be discerned Fifteenth 1 Cor. 6. 19. What Know ye not that your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God and ye are not your own The Apostle treating of the great nearness that every Believer stands in to the Lord and that Blessed Union which the Dispensation of the Gospel brings to by the putting away the Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit and the Answer of a good Conscience before God in winding up this subject he thus smartly and as if his Query were enough to clear up all that he had to say to them as to their Duty and his Exhortation What know ye not that your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you From whence I draw this Argument If Believers be the Temple in which the Holy Ghost dwells as evidently speaks the Scripture then are they not left without an Infalible Spirit as Judge Rule and Guide to repair to but it is apparent to sence that the holy Ghost is by the Apostle affirmed to inhabit or take up his abode in believers therefore they must needs be attended with an iufallible Spirit and for what if not the End before-mentioned Sixteenth 1 Cor. 12 13. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into Body whether we be Jews or Gentiles whether we be Bond or Free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit By which Divine Sence of the Apostle we cannot but allow that if they were both baptized by one Spirit into one Body and made to drink into the same Spirit that the Saints were not without an Infallible Spirit since such Baptizing and Drinking do emphatically imply the whole Work of the Spirit in their Regeneration and their daily Union with and intimate Enjoyment of it the whole course of their lives And certainly If by that Eternal Spirit they were baptized ito that one Body Christ It was as impossible for them as Members thereof to live without the Life Vertue and Spirit of Christ Jesus their Head as for any natural Body to live without the same Life Blood Heat and Motion which belongs to its Head And how this man can be esteemed a good Christian who would render Christ Jesus the Head of a Fallible Body by divesting Christians of an Infallible Spirit I leave to Persons of better Judgment more Honesty and greater Moderation then himself to judge Seventeenth 2 Cor. 3. 18. But we all with open Face beholding as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. This whole Chapter is an admirable account of the Super-Excellency of the Gospel Administration of Life to that of the Law how far it did transcend it as to all spiritual Knowledge Priviledge and Enjoyment which I desire the Reader seriously to read as well as to consider what is offered from the Verse cited If a Christian's Change into God's Image from Glory to Glory be the Work of the Eternal Spirit in men it follows necessarily That Christians can no more be without the Discoveries Leadings and Orderings of God's Spirit then they can be his Children without his Image since whatever they think say or do in reference to Religion should bear a near Relation to that resemblance of God which above all things they ought to act correspondently with but we see how very expresly and profoundly the Apostle describes the exceeding Blessedness of the New Covenant namely A being changed into the Image of God from Glory to Glory not by our own Notions or Comprehensions from the strength of our natural Reason or any Book without us but by the Spirit of the Lord operating in us therefore God's Children are not without an infallible Spirit unless he should deny God's Spirit to be such which methinks I cannot believe him to do Gal. 3. 3. Are ye so foolish having begun in the Spirit are ye now made perfect in the Flesh If Christians are both to begin and end in the Spirit or if a Christian throughout the whole course of his Life from the first step or measure to the fulness and perfection of his stature is to be informed regulated and guided by the infallible Spirit of God as the Apostle's Reproof of the Galatians for their declining to be ordered thereby evidently proves then Christians ought to begin and end in the Strength Knowledge Wisdom and Guidance of an Infallible Spirit aud consequently that Doctrine which denies such an Unerring Spirit to be the Judge Rule and Guide of Christians is Antichristian Gal. 4. 6. Because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your Hearts If God sends forth his Spirit into the Hearts of his Children then are they not without an Infallible Spirit but the express Letter of the Scripture affirms it and consequently our Adversary's Reflection upon us for making it part of our Belief is unsound and condemnable Gal. 5. 16 18. This I say then Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the Lust of the Flesh They that walk by the Spirit must first have it and next be led by it but the Apostle exhorted the Church so to walk therefore the Church had and Christians have the Spirit and should walk in or by it that is according to the Motions Leadings and Rule of â—it Eph. 1. 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Glory may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him If the Heavenly Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of God be through the Spirit then as without Revelation there is no Knowledge of God so without the Spirit there is no divine Wisdom and Revelation And if the Church was attended with that Wisdom and Revelation then with that Spirit from whence they came and consequently Christ's Church is not without that Eternal Vnerring Spirit as saith the Apostle in the 5th Chapter Be not Drunk with Wine wherein is Excess but be filled with the Spirit which signifies the Apostles mind to be quite another thing from the Judgment of our Adversary who thinks All men ought to be empty of it esteeming such as are filled therewith as the Jews did Paul Drunk with New Wine 1 Thes 15 19. Quench not the Spirit If those could not quench the Spirit who had it not then those to whom he gave that Caution had the Spirit consequently the Primitive Churches were not without an Vnerring Spirit because they were not without the Spirit of God which is Unerring 1 John 2. 27. But the Anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you but as the same Anointing teacheth you of all things and is Truth and is no Lye and even as it hath taught you ye shall abide in him If the Judge of Truth
is also rendered or yielded forever to his Government Dijudicat quidem omnia id est omnia quae dicuntur cognoscit qualia sint an divina sint an prophana de omnibus judicandi habet facultatem Judgeth all things that is sayes Slichtingius He measureth and knoweth all things that are spoken of what sort soever they may be whether they be Divine or Prophane because he has the Faculty or Gift of right Judgment concerning all things Thus far Slichtingius concerning this place I shall mention one more of this kind and then I shall conclude Crellius upon that passage to the Gallatians God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your Hearts further observes Quia in cordibus hominum vim suam exerat Again Spiritus istius operationis est ut nos ex paterno Dei in nos amore certos reddat filialem erga eum fiduciam nobis ingeneret What can we desire beyond this against our Adversary in this Point to prove that the primitive Socinians as they are called believed God to have given and still to give his good Spirit unto Believers as without which they could not neither can be Children of God It is God's displaying his Power in the Hearts of men and it is by the Operation of his Spirit that he makes us acquainted with his Fatherly Love to us who begets in us a filial or Son-like Faithfulness towards him for us Slichtingius on that notable Saying of the Apostle John in his first Epistle and second Chapter But the Anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you but as the same Anointing teacheth you commenteth Unctio pro eo quo facta est unctio id est prooleo coelesti qui spiritus est sanctus Again Hic enim erat spiritus istius sancti effectus qui eo fine dabatur ut esset internus doctor veritatis in omnem deduceret veritatem Again Unctio id est spiritus sanctus vos de omnibus docet nempe ad salutem pertinentibus In English thus Vnotion stands for Heavenly Oyl that is the Holy Ghost or Spirit And to this End was the Holy Spirit given that it might become an internal Doctor or Teacher of Truth and lead into all Truth Again The Unction is the Holy Ghost which teaches you all things to wit what pertains to Eternal Salvation Certainly either our Adversary ought to relinquish his great Opinion of these men or else conclude that Enthusiasm or spiritual Motions Revelations Teachings Rulings and Guidings are not things absurd fantastical or inconsistant with Christianity but most agreeable with and suitable to the Nature of it as that without which no man can possibly be a right Christian But neither is Crellius of this mind in his Commentaries only where the weight of Scripture tends him to these Interpretations but in his Book of One God the Father he frequently takes occasion to declare himself I think most plainly I wish he had been as sound and clear in his Understanding of all other Points The Holy Spirit is the Power or Efficacy of God namely that we may explain it which proceedeth from God and issuing unto men doth sanctifie and Consecrate them and produce various and admirable Effects in them which Power and Efficacy of God they are wont to call Divine Inspiration Again That the Holy spirit is given to men by God and that men obtain receive and have him from God by Prayers as numberless places of the holy Scripture shew out of which it is sufficient to have looked into but these few Luke 11. 13. John 7. 39. 14. 16 17. a place by me quoted to the same purpose Acts 5. 32. 15. 8. Cor. 6. 19. By the Holy Spirit in these places is understood Some Divine and Holy Inspiration or some Power flowing from God which is as it were breathed into man Again The Holy Spirit iâ— properly given unto men and not Metonymically nor Metolepsically that is the Gift of the holy Ghost is simply and plainly to be taken as exprest which signification sayes Crellius was not unknown even to the Gentiles themselves although in the mean time they did most grievously 〈◊〉 in the thing taking a false Inspiration for a true one a Davilish for a Divine It would be tedious to instance a fourth part of what he argumentatively writes on this only I will produce a few of those Scriptures which he so understands and applies 2 Cor. 1. 22. 5. 5. Ephes 1. 14. here a Pledge and Earnest are mentioned Neâ—â— sayes he all those places where the Holy Spirit is said to be poured out on men as Isae 44. 3. Joel by us cited chap. 2. 28 29. Zachariah 12. 10. Tit. 3. 6. where sayes he men are said to be baptized in or with it again agree to it that of Christ who in John inviting men to the participation of so excellent a Gift thus saith If any man thirst let him come to me and drink Understand it sayes Crellius of that Living Water which it is manifest is the Holy Spirit Let those places be added says he in which Christ himself is said to be anointed or others are signified to be anointed with the Holy Spirit John 7. 37. Isa 61. 1. Luke 4. 18. Acts 8. 38. Heb. 1. 9. Psal 51. 8. 2 Cor. 1. 1 John 2. 20 21 27. He proceeds to several Arguments upon divers other Scripture-Heads as all Scriptures touching divine Participation not quenching the Spirit the Holy Spirit being sent The Spirit searcheth all things c. But above all I shall conclude his whole Discourse with this one Expression viz. In this we know that we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us his Spirit which we have expressed is both perfect and plainly expresseth the thing given and such indeed as may demonstrate most clearly that God dwells in us in some most singular and divine manner and we in him and that there is a most streight Bond of Love and Conjunction betwixt us and him for how could we be more streightly joyned with him or he with us then when he hath imparted to us of his Holy Spirit Curcellius shall conclude these Testimonies Nec enim desinent fideles esse Templum spiritus sancti nimirum quia Deus in ipsis per spiritum suum habitaret That is Neither do the Faithful cease to be the Temple of the Holy Ghost why because God by his Spirit dwells in them Thus much for the first part of this Discourse I shall now apply my self to the Second which concerns a Vindication of George Fox and his Citation of Scripture from the Reproach and Unworthy dealing of our Adversary A VINDICATION OF George Fox And the TRUTH by him Vindicated Particularly his Quotation of Scripture from the Calumny and Cavil of this LIBELLER WE shall say nothing here of the Disingenuity of the Man
pressed thereby as a Cart is with Sheaves and that since the Foundation of the World 4thly He quotes G. F. thus The Promise is to the Seed the Seed is Christ and Christ is all and in all To which he sayes The Apostle has it thus And when all things shall be subdued unto Him then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him that God not Christ may be all in all He could not have doâ—â— greater Injury to the Holy Spirit 's words then to put Christ for God It will not be hard to clear this Mistake in our Adversary and that to his great Shame For who will think him fit to mannage Controversies that is ignorant in the very letter of the Scripture It is evident that he denies Christ to be all and in all and that G. F's so asserting him to be is the Cause of his Cavil at him Now hear what the Apostle sayes in the matter Col. 3. 11. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew Circumcision nor Vncircumcision Barbarian Scythian Bond nor Free but Christ is All and in All And if Christ be All and in All and he that is All and in All be the True and Living God then because Christ is All and in All Christ is the true and Living God Now who has done the Injury G. F. to the Holy Writ or this obstinate and peevish Adversary to Christ Jesus the only Lord of Glory 5thly His next Socinian Clash at G. F's Citation of Scripture is in the same Page with the former and it is at his saying God is the Word instead of the Word was God adding That though the Word was made Flesh or was Flesh yet no considerate man will say that Flesh is the Word A great deal of do for fear Christ should be God but from this notable Distinction of his we are not without a Relief If the Word was God and the Word be God then God must needs be the Word that is If he that is called God be the same Being with him that is called the Word then God may as well be called the Word as the Word may be called God for instance If Christ and Jesus agree equally to one and the same Being what is the difference betwixt saying Jesus was Christ or Christ was Jesus Certainly we may justly say of him what he in a way of Reflection sayes of G. F. Methinks he is more Nice then Wise And for his Instance about the Word 's being made Flesh that is sayes he was Flesh I deny his Paraphrase for it is neither properly to be read was made Flesh nor was Flesh but rather The Word took Flesh and pitcht his Tent or Tabernacle in us Thus Clarius and almost all agree It to import a more Spiritual signification so Erasmus and Grotius especially and for the Ancients they were positive Ireneus Justinus Tertullianus Origen c. but above the rest Tertullian adv Praxeam but this is not so very material to the Point However if the very Word had become very Flesh I mean visible to Carnal Eyes it would not be inconsiderate in any man to say then Flesh is or was the Word and if our Adversary understood himself he would perceive that there would be only a Transposition of words and no material Alteration For that which is now Flesh or as the Hebrews have it Man is the Word as that which is God is also the Word But enough for this only we may observe by the way that the Man is not so hearty an Enemy to Transubstantiation as he would have us believe pag. 44. who can think the Word was properly made Flesh 6thly His Objection against G. F. for joyning Christ with God saying His Father and He are greater then all is Irreverent and Frivolous For who dares deny it and what abuse is it to Scripture Sure I am his saying so and that without any Reason shews him to be a man of Unreasonable Confidence 7thly He is angry that when G. F. mentions this Passage To whom every Knee must bow and Tongue confess to the Glory of God that he adds not Father I could not have believed that any man who loves Seriousness should bestow his Time so idlely Is this the earnest and deep Study â—e talkt of by which he hopes to obtain Divine Knowledge But sayes he Why did he not add the term Father to God nor insert that Jesus Christ is Lord But the truth of this Scripture consists not with their Doctrine that the Father and Son are one I confess it is somewhat hard to understand what he would be at but let it suffice that he who is called God is called Lord above an Hundred times therefore one to which Christ Himself bears Record I and my Father are one my Father worketh hitherto and I work for whatsoever things he doth those doth the Son To us a Child is born to us a Son is given and the Government shall be upon His Shoulders and his Name shall be called Wonderful Councellor the Mighty God the Everlasting Father the Prince of Peace the same Power Spirit Light Life Wisdom and Being forever 8thly His next Antichristian Cavil is at G. F's making the Holy Spirit as well to proceed from the Son as from the Father The Scripture runeth thus But when the Comforter is come the Spirit of Truth whom I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of Truth which proceeds from the Father He shall testifie of Me But sayes he according to G. F. thus Christ is in the Father and the Father in Him and He will send them the Comforter that proceeds from the Father and the Son and for this quotes an Epistle writ by G. F. and J. S. and prefixt to G. W's Book of the Divinity of Christ It is past my skill to understand the Difference unless it be this That the Spirit he makes to proceed as well from the Son as from the Father and so it doth if I understand Scripture for the place it self saith it But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father which shews that not only God but Christ also sends forth the Holy Spirit into the Faithful Also But if I depart I will send Him unto you He shall not speak of Himself but whatsoever He shall hear He shall glorifie me and shall shew it unto you And when he had said this Peace be unto you my Father hath sent me even so send I you He breathed on them and saith unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost In short If the Holy Spirit be sent by Christ and received of Christ and is breathed on His by Christ then the Spirit must needs proceed or come from Christ and consequently what G. F. said is sound and Scriptural and our Adversary's Clamours are Vain and Envious For whilst he quotes G. F's calling upon Vincent Danson and
that he was not antecedent to that work that he never enlightned the Fathers and holy men of old with a sufficient measure of that same Divine Light which without measure appeared in him and far greater then before to the Sons of men I appeal to any modest intelligent man if this be not Ingratitude nay Sacriledge in the highest degree Certainly therefore it can be no Injury to the Scripture if we say That He who enlightned the Patriarchs and Prophets of old hath in a more excellent manner and suitable to the Spirituality of his own Divine Nature revealed himself in this Gospel administration the which may aptly be compared to a well-built Temple which has been of old begun but left to these latter daies of Christ's more eminent manifestation to superstruct compleat adorn and sit for him the eternal Light of Life and Righteousness to be worshipped in so that there is a great Difference as Grotius in other words doth well observe between the Beginning of an administration and of the Author of it That might be the Beginning of those large Discoveries but not the Light that gave them and consequently notwithstanding John should have intended a Divine Creation yet it will not necessarily follow that the Light which is that Creator was not in beeing antecedently to that Divine Creation and so God both by pre-existence and omnipotency But I shall say no more of this I mean the transposition of the Participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 till our Adversary sayes more to the contrary if we may then think it worth our notice But it may be fit to observe that the man shows a waveâ—ing in his own Judgment which is not only manifest from his saying It may as well be referred to Light as Man but in a manâ—script to a Friend of ours he affirmed it to be unreasonable to refer coming to Man and not to the true Light All we can say is this that though it show him to be unsettled in his own thoughts yet he was willing to be a little more modest in print then in his manuscript For his Distinction between Lighteth and Enlightneth I confess my self troubled not at his great Skill but â—olly It shows he would say something if he could tell what and to use a familiar Proverb The poor man will be playing at small game rather then stand out Then let 's to the Word since he would be thought a Critick 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we read in Greek in the Latin illuminat and should in the English enlightneth the defect is not in the Original nor Latin versions but our English only I perceive whether it be Original or Translation which makes most for him that is the Infallible Text till it happens to contradict him and then if in the Original the Word is foisted in or thus to be transposed or rendred if in any of the versions then it is not so in the Original it is lamely rendred and the like But this Callenge I make to the man that if he can find one version in three and three to one that 's odds which reâ—dres it different from what we understand by it I shall acknowledge him a Critick and our selves ignorant in words All the Greek Coppies and Latin Translations I ever saw or heard of import no other thing then Illumination or Enlightning All that I have hitherto mentioned so give it us quae illuminat omnem hominem c. That this is the constant use of the Word throughout both the Old and New Testament so called is evident It is said of Jonathan that after he had tasted a little of that honey into which he put his rod his eyes were enlightned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quia illuminati sunt oculi mei See saith Jonathan I pray you how mine eyes have been enlightned The Chaldee version hath it illuxerunt oculi mei how my eyes shined The Syriack thus my eyes have received light The Arabick thus quomodo illustrata est acies mea how is my Eye-sight clear'd but the Septuagint expresseth it thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 behold how my eyes have seen which in a mystical sense is the same now for that eternal Light or Word of Life is that Honey out of that true Rock and Milk that the Prophet exhorted the Jews to buy without money and without price And who taste of that in faith receive that blessed effect namely true illumination Thus Job To bring his Soul from the pit that is from darkness death and sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad lucendum in luce viventium to be enlightned with the light of the living The Chaldee has it after this manner that my Soul may shine by the Light of the Living The Syriack and Arabick that is may see the Light of Life Job 33. 30. and upon v. 28. which speaks to the same purpose sayes Vatablus De luce illa coeleâ—â—â— intelligit fruetur Dei conspectu Which is He means by that heavenâ—â— Light he shall enjoy the presence of God Likewise David most emphatically useth the same Verb and that to our purpose undeâ—â—â—bly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quoniam tu illuminabis lucernam meam Deus meuâ— illuminabit tenebrositatem meam For thou wilt light my Candle the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness The Chaldee has it thus because thou wilt enlighten the Candle of Israel which was put out in the captivity for thou art the Author of the Light of Israel The Lord my God will bring me out of Darkness into Light A notable addition at least explanation of the place yet this is in the Chaldee version The Syriack Aethiopick and Septuagiâ—t are the same the Arabick differs only in tenses thou dost enlighten for wilt enlighten and he hath enlightned my darkness for he will enlighten my darkness And if the spirit of man be the Candle of the Lord and that God only can light it then certainly since man's spirit is within him it is not more unsound nor any more violating of Scripture sence to say that God enlightens then that he lightens every man within by communicating of his own Light to man's Spirit which receiving it becomes lighted by it to all right Knowledge and good Works Further if David's darkness was within him in his Soul and understanding as certainly he meant it so when he spake of it then must that Light which was to shine there shine in David's Soul and understanding And what false Doctrine or English it is or perversion of Scripture to say that man is then enlightned let sober people judge It is thus exprest in the Greek Copies of the New Testament also and the Latin Versions of them witness the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. illuminatos oculos cordis vestri Beza has it in his Copy and version 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 illuminatis oculis mentis vestrae The Syriack has it that the eyes of your
new Men after his own Image in which sense the Image of Christ is by him renewed and created in right Believers and they made new Creatures by bearing his Image His next Perversion of Scripture is that in John which he saith G. F. often useth and alwayes abuseth as he remembers I doubt his Memory much but let 's hear it And now O Father Glorifie thou me with thine own self with the Glory which I had with thee before the World was Thus the Scripture but G. F. thus Christ who was Glorified with the Father before the World began On which read his Comment You will say perhaps his words and Christ's are the same in sense but doth God give G. F. his Infallible Spirit to correct his Son Christ's words Sottish Ignorance and Enmity with a witness What Is every Variation of a Word or Syllable a Wrong done to the Meaning of Scripture And did ever Christ his Apostles or any sober Man living chide or reprove a Person if through Defect of Memory or for Brevity or in a way of Paraphrase he did leave out or put in or change a Word not in the least perverting the Sense so uncharitable a Person I know not ever to have heard of fitter to be severely reproved then answer'd and to whom Silence had been the best Confutation had it not been more for the sake of others then his To dare to conclude a Man a Lyar Imposter False-Prophet and I know not what more because he expresses the same matter with a small Variation in the Words But I shall say more of this else-where He proceeds Nay doth not G. F. take his Phrase in a Divers Sense from what Christ intended by his for sayes He it is manifest that Jesus prayed now to be glorified with the Glory wherewith He was not then glorified but God was glorious before the World was therefore Jesus intends by the Glory He had with the Father before the World was the Glory He had given him in Decree before the world was The Clinch is Foolish and his Consequence False and pernicious For what if Christ was not then glorified must it therefore follow that He was not in being much less glorified before the World was Can He be so great a Stranger to the Apostles Doctrine delivered in his Epistle to the Philippians where we find him first Equal with God as being in his very Form or Essence next making Himself of no Reputation then appearing in the Fashion or Likeness of Men and lastly that He humbled Himself and became Obedient unto Death even the Death of the Cross which shews that he was in an exalted and glorified Estate before He humbled Himself else how was He humbled And it is peece of Sacriledge and Ingratitude I almost tremble to think on that because He was pleased to descend in the Likeness of men in order to the Salvation of Mankind in which Our Adversary may also have his share if He unfeignedly repent he should unworthily robb Him of all Pre-existence in the Form of God whilst He Himself thought it no Robbery to be Equal with God So that though in his humbled Estate and Fashion of a Man He could not properly be said to be glorified and therefore prayed to be so yet it is no right Consequence that therefore He never was before For that would be to say because an Earthly Prince may for a certain time debase himself and take upon him the Condition of an Inferior Person for some great Benefit that He thereby designes to do his Country if after having effected it He desires to be received again into that Glory and Splendor he enjoyed before that therefore he never had any before only in Decree If this would be both False and absurd the other is much more This is the great Mystery of the Socinians indeed the Rock on which they split they do not distinguish betwixt the Form of God and Likeness of Men that which came into the World to do the Will of God and the Body He took in which to perform it Nor does this Scripture at all make for his Opinion for Jesus was not yet Glorified since it might as well have been said He has not yet dyed the Death of the Cross neither is Risen and Ascended which was the Period of that state unto which He had from the Form of God Humbled Himself even to the being of no Reputation which he thus expresseth himself I have Glorified thee on Earth I have finished the Work thou gavest me to do And in another place thus I came forth from the Father and am come into the World Again I leave the World and go to the Father where is the same Reason that we should believe he was with the Father before he came into the World as that he did come into the World and afterwards go to the Father again else why is it again going to the Father But now let me ask him if he can be so brazen'd as to think that God allows him not only to correct his Son Christ's words but the very substance of his Prayer Was it so great a Crime in his account for G. F. to say who was Glorified before the World began instead of Glorifie thou me with thy own self with the Glory which I had with thee before the World was And is it no wayes reprovable in him instead of the last clause to turn it thus Glorifie thou me â—â—th thy own self with the Glory which I had with thee not actually but in degree only before the World began That ever any man should undertake to Correct others in that which doth not deserve it whilst the Beam is in his own Eye and is himself most guilty My Soul blesseth God that our Religion is above these slight Shifts and pittiful starting Holes I would tâ—ll the man in his own words of us though more seriously That he whom G. F. and all of us call Christ by way of Excellency was in the Sense aforementioned glorified before the World began and if what he calls Christ was not it is to us a Proof that he was not that True Christ which both appeared to the Fathers of old for the Rock followed them and that Rock was Christ and in the fashion of a Man in these latter Times humbling himself to the Death of the Cross Thus much in the clearing of this place 3dly He is very angry with G. F. that he makes Christ speak these words by the Prophet Amos Behold I am pressed under you as a Cart is pressed with Sheaves which sayes he belongs to the Lord or Jehovah Grant it Does it not therefore belong unto Christ who is God over all Blessed forever that said Before Abraham was I am But he gives us no reason to the contrary and till he does let this suffice That as Christ has been a Lamb slain through Sin and Iniquity so also has he been