Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A36018
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Protestant certainty, or, A short treatise shewing how a Protestant may be well assured of the articles of his faith
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Dillingham, William, 1617?-1689.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing D1485; ESTC R1392
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22,130
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40
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whereof they cannot give us a greater Certainty at least as great as this But besides all this every true Believer who hath a true saving Faith which is the Gift of God alone infused into him and wrought by the Operation of the Holy Ghost hath a further Certainty of what he believes For the Object to be believed being offered and brought home to his Faculties by the Preaching of the Word the Holy Ghost makes the Ordinances effectual for the working of Saving Faith in the Hearts of all who are ordained to Eternal Life by clearly shining upon the Truths proposed to them out of the Holy Scriptures in which respect it is called a Spirit of Revelation and by opening strengthning and raising their Understanding by a Special Donum intellectus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the owning and acknowledging of the Truth in which respect it is called a Spirit of Wisdom Eph. 1.17 by which they are enabled clearly to discern and fully to assent unto those Divine Rays and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wherewith its self hath invested Divine Truth in the Scriptures by a kind of spiritual Sensation as the Eye doth unto Light and Colours or by a kind of Spiritual Intelligentia whereby it assents unto this Object as a First Principle in Credendis un-induced by any preceding Process of Ratiocination which is a Fides divina Principiorum And from it will be produced a Divine Faith to the Conclusion which may be inferred from it that so much of the Holy Scripture is the Word of God. Much after the same way by which those to whom the Word of God was immediately revealed were assured of its being the very Word of God and not any illusion which was offered to them But as the Matter there was new and to be by them offered to the Faith of others there were added miraculous Works of a Divine Power to accompany the Revelation into the World which might give Assurance that the Words because the Works did proceed from God and this Divine Working was to be observable by others to whom those Messengers were sent whereunto their own Senses might give Testimony of the Works done and their Reason That they must needs proceed from a supernatural Cause But now the Conviction here being but for the Person of the Believer in order only to his particular Salvation both the Illumination of the Mind Illustration of the Object and the powerful Workings which are here upon the Conscience accompanying it are all transacted within the Precincts of the Soul and intended no further only as they may be reported by him unto others and then they will have the force of an human Testimony of what has passed within himself And this cannot be called a private Spirit for it is the same Holy Spirit which opens the Hearts of all who receive the Word by a divine Supernatural Faith necessarily required for their Salvation and it works this Conviction and Assent not immediately at least ordinarily but by the means of that same word which it had before revealed by others for the common good of the Church and the common Salvation of all of them that believe Such an assurance as this is cannot be wrought but by God himself and therefore it is Supernatural Faith. And to shew that this is no singular Opinion but the common Doctrine owned and taught by the Learned of both Communions I shall mention only two Testimonies of each one Aquinas secunda secundae Qu. 8. Art. 4. in Corpore speaking of the donum intellectus saith that it illustrates the Mind of a Man enabling it to know a certain supernatural Truth His words are illustrat mentem hominis ut cognoscat veritatem quandam supernaturalem And in the same place ad tertium he saith of the same special gift of Understanding that it is never wanting unto Holy Men in things necessary to Salvation Nunquam se subtrahit sanctis circa ea quae sunt necessaria ad salutem The other is that of Archbishop Lawd in his Conference with Mr. Fisher the Jesuite where Paragraph 16. he hath these Words But if by Faith they mean the Habit or Act of divine infused Faith by which Vertue they do believe the credible Object and thing to be believed then their Speech is true and confessed by all Divines of all sorts For Faith is the Gift of God of God alone and an infused Habit in respect whereof the Soul is meerly recipient And therefore the sole Infuser the Holy Ghost must not be excluded from that work which none can do but He. For the Holy Ghost as he first dictated the Scripture to the Apostles so did he not leave the Church in general nor the true Members of it in particular without Grace to believe what himself had revealed and made credible So that Faith as it is taken for the vertue of Faith whether it be of this or any other Article though it receive a kind of Preparation or occasion of Beginning from the Testimony of the Church as it proposeth and induceth to the Faith yet it ends in God revealing within and teaching within that which the Church Preached without For till the Spirit of God move the Heart of Man he cannot Believe be the Object never so credible Thus far he and to the same purpose he produces St. Augustine Aquinas Canus and Stapleton And this is truly a Divine Faith not only as it is given to a Divine Testimony as the Object and as induced by a Divine Testimony as the Medium or motive of Assent but also as it is infused into the Soul by God as the Author and Giver of it and it cannot be but that the Special Providence of God that guides Men unto Salvation should concern it self to bring all such without fail to the knowledge and Belief and such knowledge and Belief of all those Truths without the Knowledge and Belief whereof he hath determined not to save them But as for any other Men they do never savingly believe And as to other Matters the same special Providence will certainly give them such Assurance of them as he shall think needful for his own Glory and Service and for their Obedience Comfort and Salvation who dispenseth to all Men freely such Measures of Gifts and Graces as it pleaseth him Phil. 3.15 And for the ordinary extent of such Assurance it may be further considered That the Assurance which a Man hath of necessary Truths will reach unto many more Truths which have consanguinity or necessary connexion with them as Causes or Consequents or else by vertue of the Penning and Context As we see an whole Board fastned by a Nail driven in one Place because of the continuity of the Parts and a Seal confirming an whole Indenture though affixed but to one part of the Parchment And thus a Testimony of the Holy Scripture concerning some particular part of it self being the Word of God will take in very many others Thus have we considered
is there that a suspected and accused Party 's own Word should be admitted as his sufficient Justification Especially in things known to be false by Sense and Reason and contrary to Holy Scripture and therein contrary to that far mor general certain and impartial Tradition for the Scriptures being the Word of God. The as for the Infallibility of this Delivery we know that there is no such Attribute as Infallibility belonging to any Creature or its actings although it be impossible in sensu Composito for any one to err or deceive while he thinks and speaks the Truth and therefore all Mans Infallibility consists in his Faculties being guided infallible by the Infallible God and by Him kept from Error and so far and so long as he is so he can neither deceive nor be deceived Yet even then he is fallible in himself But now that God ever did or will ever so guide any Man we must come to know it either by his Promise to do it or his Testimony that he has done it or by the Testimony and Tradition of others concerning it As for his Promise 'T is very true that our Blessed Saviour did Promise to his Holy Apostles and Disciples That his Spirit should guide them in all Truth John 16.13 i. e. Those Truths which he had taught them vers 14 15. And that by enabling them to remember them John 14.26 And also into Truth concerning things to come for so it follows in verse 13. And that the Holy Ghost should dwell in them Chap. 14.17 Now if this Guidance be understood of Infallible and as promised to all Christ's Disciples and all their Successors in their common Faith it will prove that all true Christians are infallible which perhaps will be thought too much Or if promised only to all the Apostles and all their Successors in the Ministry of the Gospel this also will prove too much for the Romanists purpose But the truth is that though the Promise be to be applied to all the Apostles and Disciples and all their Successors yet not to all in the same extent of Guidance for then all their Successors must have the Spirit of Prophecy and the afore-knowledge of things to come which is not pretended by any to be true and common Experience shews the contrary The assistance therefore and guidance promised relates diversly to those to whom the Promise was made 1. As to all holy Disciples in all Ages whom the Holy Ghost doth sanctifie it guides them by infallibly bringing them to believe all Truths necessary to be believed by them in order to their Salvation so that they shall not fail to believe them who are therefore said to be led by the Spirit Rom. 8.14 And to be the Sons of God and to have the Spirit dwelling in them Rom. 8.9 John 14.17 But yet they are not subjective infallible in their Faculties or Act of Believing but only as guided by the Holy Spirit 2. As to all the Holy Apostles and divers others Holy Disciples of that Age the Guidance promised is to instruct and enable them infallibly to know remember and Preach unto others the whole Counsel of God taught by our Saviour for Mans Salvation and to confirm that Assistance in Teaching by miraculous Works and to some of them infallibly to pen is also and unto some to fortel things to come 3. And as to all the Successors of the Apostles in the office of the Ministry and Preaching of the Gospel whether single or conjoyned the Guidance of the Holy Ghost promised is not immediate constant or subjective infallible but is only so far forth as by its Pastoral Gifts and Graces it enables them to discover and deliver those Truths which it hath inspired others in that first Age infallibly to record in the Holy Scripture and which it now intends by their Ministry to work the Hearts of all who shall be Saved to give a true divine Faith unto and by it to bring them infallibly to Salvation For which Purpose Christ hath promised to be with them alway even to the end of the World Matth. 28.20 assisting them by Gifts protecting their Persons and blessing their Labours and that the true doctrine of Faith which St. Peter had professed and should both Preach and Pen by infallible Assistance should never fail to be Preached and Believed nor his personal Belief of it wholly fail but continue to eternal Life and that the Gates of Hell should not be able to prevail against his Church but that there should always be on Earth a faithful People professing the Gospel Truth and worshiping God in the Spirit But for any Infallibility that such Successors have in giving the meaning of Scripture we cannot find that Christ ever promised it much less to any particular Church or Pastor above all the rest And indeed some interpretations of Scripture which those have given us who pretend most to Infallibility are so evidently false and vain not to say prophane that they have thereby sufficiently convinced us of the Vanity of their own Pretensions And as for that appropriating Claim which is laid to it by the particular Church of Rome and those of its Communion there are many shrewd and violent Presumptions in prejudice of it As 1. That the Assertors of it are not yet agreed in what Ensuring-Office to lodge their Infallibility whether in the Bishop or in a General Council or both or in oral Tradition and it may well seem strange to us that those who as is now pretended did formerly make so much use of it should forget in what Cabinet they laid up so precious a Jewel or forget to deliver the Keys of it to ther Successors which alone if ever they had it may sufficiently shew how possible it is for a Tradition to miscarry 2. It is also vilely suspicious that they so keep up their Traditions in their Sleeve for either they cannot or will not ever give out a perfect Catalogue of their traditional Doctrines which as they tells us are kept up in reserve with wise Men perfectioribus in occulto tradita Which truly has an evil appearance as if they did purposely conceal the just number of them that so they might forge some upon occasion to serve a turn when there should be need of a new Article to promote the interest of that Church in some present juncture of affairs though we would willingly be so Charitable as to hope it is not so 3. But how shall we ever be able to overcome the so many Contradictions which have happened between Pope and Pope yea the Pope and himself between Council and Council pila minantia pilis we cannot see how such Contradictions can be consistent with a Spirit of Infallibility and in the mean while what a scandalous diversion was it to the World to see two or three Popes at once thundring out Anathema's and tilting their Infallibilities at one another and a Council at last putting them all in a