Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	ghost_n	holy_a	put_v	5,164	5	5.0928	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54035	The flesh & blood of Christ, both in the mystery and in the outward briefly, plainly, and uprightly acknowledged and testified to, for the satisfaction and benefit of the tender-hearted, who desire to experience the quickning, healing, and cleansing vertue of it : with A brief account concerning the people called Quakers in reference both to principle and doctrine : whereunto are added some few other things which by the blessing of God may be experimentally found useful to the true pilgrim and faithful travellers out of the nature & spirit of this world / written in true love and tenderness of spirit by Isaac Penington.	Penington, Isaac, 1616-1679.; Hicks, Thomas, 17th cent. Continuation of the dialogue between a Christian and a Quaker.	1675 (1675)	Wing P1168; ESTC R7890	24,794	63

being turned and to cause it to spring in me day by day and to give me ability through it Ah none knows but they who have had experience how we have been weakned in the natural part how poor we have been made that we might receive the Gospel and how poor in our selves we are kept that we might enjoy the riches and inheritance of the Kingdom And this we daily experience that not by the works of Righteousness which we had done but according to his mercy he saved us and doth daily save us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the holy Ghost yea Gods writing his Law in our hearts and placing his fear there and putting his spirit within us to enlighten and quicken and cause us to walk in his wayes and to keep his statutes and judgments and do them and all the mortifying of sin and denying of the lusts of the flesh and performing that which is holy and acceptable in the eyes of the Lord as all that proceeds from his own holy spirit is all this is of the new Covenant and performed by the working thereof and not by the working of the natural part of it self but by the working of the spirit of life in the new Birth and through the natural part as his instrument So let none reproach the works that God brings forth in us who hath created us a new in Christ Jesus unto good works lest thereby he reproach the holy Spirit and power of the living God in which they are wrought and by which they are brought forth and could never be brought forth without it Then for our sufferings indeed they are gifts we receive from God so that we can truly say it is given us by the Lord our God not only to believe in his Son but to suffer for his sake and that it is only in good Conscience to God and by the assistance of the Lord that we suffer and that the patience and meekness wherewith we suffer is not of our selves but of him When ever the Lord permits afflictions or sufferings to come upon us our eye is to him and we enter into them in his fear knowing our own inability to go through them and looking up to him for strength And when we are in them while they continue we daily look up to him for strength and have been many times very weak in our selves when immediatly or very soon after we have felt great strength in the Lord. Also after our sufferings when the Lord hath been with us all along and brought us through our sufferings in the peace and joy of his Spirit we do not look back boastingly as if we had been any thing or done any thing as of our selves but we bow before the Lord and bless the Lord when we consider how he hath been with us and how he hath upheld us by the right hand of his Righteousness and what he hath done for us when we were very poor weak afflicted and often sorely distressed Therefore let none Reproach mis-represent or vilifie our sufferings which our God hath helped us through and for which we in humility of heart give him thanks and cannot but do so all our days because the thankful remembrance and sense of them is written by the finger of his Spirit upon our hearts O all sorts of People whom we love and travel for and use our interest in the Lord our God for that ye might be truly sensible of your conditions know the inward appearance and visits of the Shepherd and Saviour of the Soul turn to him looking in true faith unto him and be saved I say unto you in tenderness of Spirit O do not requite us so ill for our love and truth of heart towards you as to cast untrue and unjust Reproaches upon us and to render that truth vile which God has made honourable in sanctifying and redeeming many thereby Truly our love is from the God of love We could not so love you as we do if our God had not taught us nor so seek after you as we do in tenderness of Bowels if we were not instruments in the hand of the Shepherd of Israel And the light we testifie of which we feel shine in us it is no less then the true sure light of the Sun of Righteousness which God hath caused to shine in our hearts who also loveth mankind and causeth it to glance into the darkest Corners of the Earth And the life we are quickned by out of Sin and Transgression and the power we have received to become Sons of God it is from him who is the fountain of life and hath all power in Heaven and Earth O that ye could receive the blessed report O that the Arm of the Lord might be revealed in you O that ye could feel and witness the Saviour working out your Salvation in you binding the strong man in you casting him out of you with all his goods after him that the place of the wicked one might be found no more in you nor none of his lusts or vain thoughts lodge in your hearts any more but ye might witness and experience the new heart the clean heart the pure heart in which God dwells and the eye that sees him that is invisible O glory to the Lord for what he hath done in and for a despised People who were no People before the Lord made them one who hath brought them to Sion his holy Mountain where he dwells and reigns and where he builds up his own house and Temple which he establisheth over all where the Sheep of Israel seed and where the Shepherd of Israel Reigns and Triumphs in glory over the enemies of his Kingdom The little innocent Babes tast somewhat of his holy Dominion and Power and of his Kingdom of Peace and Righteousness but in his ancients his light shines very brightly and before them he reigneth gloriously so that he is praised in the very heights of Sion and his name renowned there over all for ever Glory glory to the pure spring of life from whence the living streams come which refresh the Souls of the living Surely his pure praises shall be sounded in the hearts of the living for ever and ever Amen AN EXHORTATION To true Christianity It is easie to pretend to Christ but to be a true Christian is very pretious and many Tribulations and deep Afflictions are to be passed thorow before it be attained unto as those that are made so by the Lord experience NOw everlasting Happiness and Salvation depends upon true Christianity Not upon having the name of a Christian only or professing such or such Christian Doctrines but upon having the Nature of Christianity upon being renewed by the Spirit of Christ and receiving the Spirit and walking in the Spirit and bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit Oh here is the Christian indeed and it should be every ones care not to fall short of this Now because there is such a

contention about Christianity who is the right Christian it behoves every man to take care as to himself that he be really such that he receive that from God and be that to God which none but the right Christian can be or can receive This is the use I would make of these things in my own heart even to be sure I be such an one as God hath made and will accept and own as a Christian And having had some experience of this thing and truly understand what the Christian-state is and what doth attend it I shall set down some few things which he that inwardly knoweth witnesseth and enjoyeth is without all controversie a true Christian what ever men may account of him First He that is a new Creature is without doubt a true Christian He that is Regenerated he that is renewed in the Spirit of his mind by Christ Jesus he that is New-Created in the Holy Heavenly Image he has felt the power of Gods Spirit begetting him anew forming him anew out of the old nature and Image of the first Adam into the nature and Image of the second Adam who is the quickning Spirit and that which is begotten and born of him is Spirit Secondly He that is in the new Covenant is a true Christian He that hath thirsted after the living waters and hath heard the call to the waters of life hath heard the voice of him who gives life and hath received life from him who giveth life to all that come to him and who maketh the new and everlasting Covenant with all that hear his voice take up his Cross and follow him he is without doubt one of Christs Sheep whom the Shepherd owneth and taketh care of Thirdly He that is inwardly circumcised with the circumcision made without hands he is a Jew inward a Christian inward in the sight of God who hath felt the Spirit and power of Christ Jesus and rejoyceth in Christ Jesus and is one of those Worshippers whom God hath sought out and taught to Worship him in the life and spirit of his Son Fourthly He that is inwardly washed with the clean water with the inward water he is the inward Jew the inward Christian God promised to pour out clean water upon his Israel and they should be clean He who hath the clean water poured upon him inwardly which inwardly washeth and cleanseth he is without controversie of Gods inward Israel Fifthly He that feeds on the Bread of life within and drinks the water of life out of his own Well or Cistern he without doubt is living He that is invited to the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb and comes and Sups with the Lamb he is one of the same nature and spirit with him He with whom Christ Sups who hath heard Christ knocking at his door hath opened to him and received him in to purifie his heart and dwell in him and Sup with him and to give him to Sup with himself so that he eats Bread in the Kingdom and drinks Wine in the Kingdom and partakes of the Feast of fat things which God makes to his Israel in his holy Mountain he is without doubt one of Christs and partakes of this in and through him Sixthly He that lives the Christian life who walks not after the Flesh but after the spirit who doth not fulfill the lusts of the Flesh but hath the law of God written in his heart and his fear put within him and his holy Spirit given to instruct him and to guide him to answer the holy law written in his heart which the carnal mind is not subject nor can be subject to without doubt he is spiritual without doubt he is a true Christian Seventhly He that lives by faith who knows the faith which is the gift of God hath received it and lives by it who can do nothing of himself but only by faith in that holy power which doth all in him so that he lives and believes and obeys from an holy Root of life which causeth life to spring up in him and love to spring up in him and the Lambs meekness and patience to spring up in him and all grace to spring up in him I say he that lives thus without doubt is engraffed into the true Vine into the true Olive-tree and the Root bears him and Ministers sap unto him and he is a true fresh green living branch of the true Vine of the holy Olive-Tree Many more things might be mentioned as they are experimentally known and felt amongst us who are true Christians though the Baptists and others have represented us to the world as if we were no Christians but that toucheth us not their saying so is no more to us than the professing Jews of the same Spirit who said Christ had a Devil but these are to give a Tast And he that knows and feels these may also know and feel the rest and he that doth not know nor feel these would not know or feel the rest if never so many more should be mentioned Now the way to feel these and to become a true Christian and to grow up in the Christian life is to feel the Seed of the Kingdom which is the beginning of the Kingdom the beginning of true Christianity and then to feel the Seed abiding the Seed which is of the Spirit and which is Spirit here 's the constant Seal of Christianity in my heart here are true and certain evidences day by day of the Christian nature and Spirit manifesting themselves undeniably inwardly And now having the witness in my self the Testimony of him that begat life in me testifying to his own work and to his own Birth of what value are any Testimonies of men without against this Christianity is a mystery and he only can truly see who is a Christian indeed who hath the inward eye opened and with that inward eye is taught of God to peirce into that wherein Christianity consisteth There have been many Christians of mens making there are also some Christians of God and Christs making which Christians God and Christ will own but not the other O let men have a care that when God cometh to distinguish between Cattle and Cattle between Christian and Christian they be found such as God will make up as his Jewels and own as the Sheep of his fold such as shall be able to bear the Tryal of his searching judgment and pure impartial eye and not such as still notwithstanding all their profession of Religion and Christianity are found workers of iniquity and so not created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works and therefore not truly of him nor true Christians in his eye The End ERRATA PAge 13. l. 4. read ground p. 19. l. 21. r. Sun p 24. l. 2. ibid. p. 20. l. 25. r. Enemy p 31. l 7. r. man p. 36. l. 13. r. here p. 46. l. 11. r. 〈◊〉

maketh his personated Quaker speak thus Thou sayest we account the blood of Christ no more than a common thing yea no more than the blood of a common Thief To which he makes his personated Christian answer thus Isaac Penington who I suppose is an approved Quaker asks this question can outward blood cleanse Therefore saith he we must enquire whether it was the blood of the Vail that is of the humane nature or the blood within the Vail viz. Of that spiritual man consisting of Flesh Blood and Bones which took on him the Vail or humane Nature 't is not the blood of the Vail that is but outward and can outward blood cleanse Now to satisfie any that desire to understand the Truth as it is and to know what the intent of my heart and words as spoken by me were I shall first say somewhat to his stating the question and then open my heart nakedly and plainly as it then was and still is in this matter First I answer these were not my words which he hath set down as mine but words of his own patching up partly out of several queries of mine and partly out of his own conceivings upon my queries as if he intended to make me appear both ridiculous and wicked at once For I no where say or affirm or did ever believe that Christ is a spiritual man consisting of Flesh Blood and Bones which took on him the Vail or humane Nature Thus he represents me as ridiculous It is true Christ inwardly or to his inward being was a Spirit or God blessed for ever manifested in Flesh which to speak properly cannot have Flesh Blood and Bones as man hath And then besides his alterations at the beginning putting in only four words of my query and leaving out that which next follows which might have manifested my drift and intent in them he puts in an affirmation which was not mine in these his own words 'T is not the Blood of the Vail that is but outward and then annexeth to this affirmation of his own the words of my former query Can outward Blood cleanse as if these words of mine can outward Blood cleanse did necessarily infer that the Blood of Christ is but a common thing Herein he represents me wicked and makes me speak by his changing and adding that which never was in my heart and the contrary whereto I have several times affirmed in that very Book where those several queries were put out of which he forms this his own query giving it forth in my name For in the Tenth page of that Book beginning at line 3. I positively affirm thus that Christ did offer up the Flesh and Blood of that body though not only so for he poured out his Soul he poured out his life a Sacrifice or Offering for sin a Sacrifice unto the Father and in it tasted death for every man and that it is upon consideration and through Gods acceptance of this Sacrifice for sin that the sins of Believers are pardoned that God might be just and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus or who is of the Faith of Jesus Is this common Flesh and Blood can this be affirmed of common Flesh and Blood ought not he to have considered this and other passages in my Book of the same tendency and not thus have reproached me and misrepresented me to the world Is this a Christian Spirit or according to the Law or Prophets or Christs Doctrine Doth he herein do as he would be done by O that he had an heart to consider it I might also except against those words Humane Nature which he twice putteth in being not my words nor indeed my sense for by humane Nature as I judge is understood more than the body whereas I by the word Vail intended no more than the Flesh or outward body which in Scripture is expresly so called Heb. 10.20 through the Vail that is to say his Flesh Secondly I cannot but take notice of this That he hath not cited the place page or pages nay not so much as named the Book where those words or sayings which he attributeth to me are written whereby any persons that were not willing to take things upon bare Report especially in so deep charges reflecting not only upon one person but an whole people might consult the place and see whether they were my words or no and whether the queries I did put indeed to the hearts of people had any such drift or no and might compare the words if they were mine both with what went before and also followed after and with what was said in several other places of the Book which speak of Christ's Flesh and Blood as of no common thing but as that which God made use of toward the Redemption of Mankind Thirdly The drift of all those Queries in that Book was not to vilifie the Flesh and Blood of Christ by representing it as a common or useless thing but to bring people from sticking in the outward to a sense of the inward mystery without which inward sense and feeling the magnifying and crying up the outward doth not avail Indeed at that time I was in a great exercise concerning Professors Love was deeply working in my heart and I was in a very tender frame of Spirit towards them as any may perceive who in the fear of God and in meekness of Spirit shall read that Book It is Entituled A question to the Professors of Christianity whether they have the true living powerful saving knowledge of Christ or no c. And in this tender frame in the midst of my crying to God for them those Queries from a true sense and understanding sprang up in my heart even to necessitate them if possible to some sense of the mystery which there is an absolute necessity of unto true Christianity and Salvation This was the very intent of my heart in the several Queries which generally speak of one and the same thing under several Metaphors and Figures And that this was my intent these words following in the second page of my Preface to that Book do plainly express the words are these Now to draw mens minds to a sense of truth to a sense of that which is the thing that they might know the Bread indeed that they might know the living waters come to them and drink thereof and find Christ in them a Well of water springing up to eternal life therefore was it in my heart to give forth this Question and the ensuing Queries which he that rightly answers must know the thing and he that doth not know the thing by his inability to answer may find that he doth not and so may wait upon God that he may receive the knowledge of it and come to it for the eternal life which it freely giveth And that I did mean the mystery when I speak of Bread Water the Vine the live-coal from the Altar the leaves of the Tree of life the

the darkness from the bonds of sin and iniquity from the power of the Captiver and Destroyer and turned our minds inwardly towards our Lord and Saviour to mind his inward appearance his inward shinings his inward quicknings all which were fresh from God and full of vertue And as we came to be sensible of them joyn to them receive and give up to them we came to partake of their vertue and to witness the rescuing and redeeming of our Souls thereby So that by hearing the Sons voice and following him we came to find him the way to the Father and to be gathered home by him to the Fathers house where is Bread enough and Mansions of rest and peace for all the Children of the most High Now as touching the blessed principle of truth which we have had experience of and testifie to for how can we conceal so rich a Treasure and be faithful to God or bear true good will to men it is no new thing in it self though of late more clearly revealed and the minds of men more clearly directed and guided to it than in former ages It is no other then that which Christ himself abundantly Preached who Preached the Kingdom who Preached the truth which makes free and that under many Parables and Resemblances sometimes of a little Seed sometimes of a Pearl or hid Treasure sometimes of a Leaven or Salt sometimes of a lost piece of Silver c. Now what is this and where is this to be found What is this which is like a little Seed a Pearl c. And where is it to be found What is the field is it not the World and is not the World set in mans heart what is the house which is to be swept and the Candle lighted in Is it not that house or heart where the many Enemies are A mans Enemies saith Christ are those of his own house Indeed the testimony concerning this was pretious to us but the finding and experiencing the thing testified of to be according to the testimony was much more And this we say in perfect truth of heart and in most tender love to the Souls of people that whoever tries shall find this little thing this little Seed of the Kingdom to be a Kingdom to be a Pearl to be Heavenly Treasure to be the Leaven of Life leavening the heart with life and with the most pretious oyl and oyntment of Healing and Salvation So that we testifie to no new thing but to the truth and grace which was from the beginning which was alwayes in Jesus Christ the Lord and Saviour and dispenced by him in all all Ages and Generations whereby he quickned renewed and changed the heart of the true believers in his inward and spiritual appearance in them thereby destroying the Enemies of their own house and saving them from them For indeed there is no saving the Creature without destroying that in the Creature which brings spiritual death and destruction upon it Israel of old was saved by the destroying of their outward Enemies and Israel now the new Israel the inward Israel is saved by the destruction of their inward Enemies O that people could come out of their own wisdom and wait for Gods wisdom that in it they might come to see the glory the excellency the exceeding rich vertue and Treasures of life that are wrapped up in this principle or seed of Life and so might receive it give up to it and come to partake thereof And as touching Doctrines we have no new Doctrine to hold forth The Doctrines held forth in the holy Scriptures are the Doctrines that we believe And this doth farther seal to us our belief of this principle because we find it a Key by which God openeth the Scriptures to us and giveth us the living sense and evidence of them in our hearts We see and have felt in it to whom the curse and wrath belongs and to whom the love mercy peace blessings and pretious promises belong and have been led by Gods holy spirit and power through the judgments to the mercy and to the partaking of the pretious promises So that what should we publish any new faith or any new Doctrines for indeed we have none to publish but all our aim is to bring men to the ancient principle of truth and to the right understanding and practise of the ancient Apostolick Doctrine and holy Faith once delivered to the Saints Head-notions do but cause disputes but heart-knowledge heart-experience sense of the living power of God inwardly the evidence and demonstration of his spirit in the inward parts puts an end to disputes and puts men upon the inward travel and exercise of spirit by that which is new and living which avails with God Now whereas many are offended at us because we do not more Preach Doctrinal points or the History of Christ as touching his Death Resurrection Ascention c. but our ●eclaration and Testimony is chiefly concerning a Principle to direct and guide mens minds thereto To give a plain account of This thing as it pleaseth the Lord to open my heart at this time in love and good will to satisfie and remove Prejudices where it may be thus it is in brief FIrst that which God hath given us the experience of after our great loss in the litteral knowledge of things and that which he hath given us to testifie of is the mystery the hidden life the inward and spiritual appearance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ revealing his power inwardly destroying Enemies inwardly and working his work inwardly in the Heart Oh this was the joyful sound to our Souls even the tydings of the arising of that inward life and power which could do this Now this spiritual appearance of his was after his appearance in flesh and is the standing and lasting Dispensation of the Gospel even the appearance of Christ in his spirit and power inwardly in the hearts of his So that in minding this and being faithful in this respect we mind our peculiar work and are faithful in that which God hath peculiarly called us to and requireth of us Secondly There is not that need of publishing the other as formerly was The Historical Relation concerning Christ is generally believed and received by all sorts that pretend to Christianity His death his miracles his rising his ascending his intercedeing c. is generally believed by all people but the mystery they miss of the hidden life they are not acquainted with but alienated from the life of God in the midst of their litteral owning and acknowledging of these things Thirdly The knowledge of these without the knowledge of the mystery is not sufficient to bring them unto God for many set up that which they gather and comprehend from the Relation concerning the thing instead of the thing it self and so never come to a sense of their need of the thing it self nay not so far as rightly to seek after it And so many