Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	heart_n	power_n	soul_n	6,944	5	4.6487	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17973	An examination of those things wherein the author of the late Appeale holdeth the doctrines of the Pelagians and Arminians, to be the doctrines of the Church of England written by George Carleton ...	Carleton, George, 1559-1628.	1626 (1626)	STC 4633; ESTC S1219	68,302	126

infirmities to an happy end is the worke of God which no power in the world can defeate CHAP. 9. An examination of the Arminians definition of grace FOr the better vnderstanding of these men that pleade against the grace of God We must obserue that one especiall ground of their errour is in this that they conceiue and vnderstand amisse of grace They take it for another thing then the Scriptures haue declared and the Church of God from the Scriptures haue taken it to be And therefore when they define grace they say it is a morall perswasion Arminius himselfe saith it is lenis suasio they admit no power of God here And are not these a strange kinde of men that will make vnto themselues their owne grounds and not take their grounds from the Scriptures If this ground which they so blindly begge were true then were it indeed easie for them to proue many of their conclusions that alike or generall grace is offered vnto all that quantum ad Deum pertinet for so much as is in God one man receiueth as much grace as an other that the difference is in mans free-will in accepting or reiecting of grace that grace may soone bee gotten and soone lost altogether But who gaue these men authority to make a definition contrary to that which the holy Scriptures haue deliuered These men acknowledge no other power in the Gospell preached but onely the power of the Minister that preacheth The Preacher hath not power to giue faith and repentance to infuse grace but only vseth morall perswasions to the people but together with the labour of the Preacher the spirit of God worketh And therefore we are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 helpers with God in that great worke And because the spirit of God worketh with power in opening mens hearts humbling them leading them to an acknowledgement and confession of their sinnes conuerting their soules drawing them out of the power of darknesse out of the power of Sathan and sinne which worke cannot be done by a gentle perswasion onely it cannot be done but by the power of God therefore the Apostle declaring that grace which commeth to belieuers by the preaching of the Gospell calleth it the power of God to saluation And againe The preaching of the crosse is to them that perish foolishnesse but vnto vs that are saued it is the power of God And the Apostle speaking of faith which is the first and one of the greatest graces which we receiue saith your faith standeth not in the wisedome of man but in the power of God If our faith which is the first and the chiefest grace whereby we stand be in the power of God not in the wisedome of man then it is no morall perswasion For morall perswasion reacheth no further then mans wisedome But this is most perspicuously taught in the Epistle to the Ephesians where the Apostle saith I cease not to giue thankes vnto God making mention of you in my prayers that the eyes of your vnderstanding may be enlightned that you may know what the hope of his calling and what the riches of his glorious inheritance is in his Saints and what is the exceeding greatnesse of his power towards vs which beleeue according to the working of his mighty power Then when wee are drawne vnto faith when we beleeue this is done by the power of God by the exceeding greatnesse of his power by the mighty working of his power And therefore they that say that grace is onely a morall perswasion and quantum ad deum that saluation is alike prepared for all and that the reason why one receiueth grace another receiueth it not is onely in mans free-will These men and their vaine and weake fancies are cleane ouerthrowne because grace is found to bee in the power of God For if quantum ad deum as they say it were prepared alike to all why then doth the Apostle say that preaching is foolishnesse to them that perish but the power of God to vs that are saued If it bee foolishnesse vnto some and the power of God to saluation to others then verily it is not alike vnto all God is able to make his powerfull grace appeare vnto them to whome it is foolishnesse but hee will not Heere wee may finde many things to admire and to wonder at and to cry out with the Apostle O the depth But still wee finde that the power of God is in his calling and declared in our faith which standeth not in mans wisedome but in the power of God This doth sufficiently prooue that the grace of God is not as these men affirme without and against all grounds of Scripture a morall perswasion For it is the power of God the exceeding greatnesse and the mightie working of his power They that would vnderstand this controuersie betweene the Church of God and th●se vngratefull and vngracious men that oppugne the grace of God may best vnderstand it if they seeke out with care and diligence the definition of grace It is of the greatest importance to know and being knowne will leade a man as by a thread vnto the particulars of this question We finde plainely that the loue of God and the power of God is in it And wee may be sure that they who deny the power of God to be in grace can neuer come to the true knowledge of it It is true that if that definition were once granted that grace is nothing but a morall perswasion then would all those strange conclusions follow of which I spake before and others more mad then they that the purpose of Praedestination is a thing vncertaine and of no power that Gods purpose of Praedestination must bee ruled by man and not by God It is much to bee wondred at that such men should bee found in the Church professing Christianitie that with such boldnesse take such a definition as granted and with such ignorance draw those conclusions from it Let vs but stoppe this principle and we stop their mouthes For if grace be the power of God to saluation if Faith and grace stand not in mans wisedome but in the power of God if wee bee drawne to beleeue by the exceeding greatnesse of Gods power by the mighty working of his power then it followeth that the grace whereby we are called whereby wee beleeue and repent and are iustified and in the end saued is the power of God It was his good will and purpose to praedestinate vs but it is his power to execute that good purpose to draw sinnefull men out of the power of darkenesse into the kingdome of light to worke in our hearts a loue of obedience by his holy Spirit To worke this farre surpassed the power al of creatures and therefore it is done by the power of God Vpon this ground thus laide the course of Arminians is stopped If they tell vs that grace is a gentle perswasion and goeth no further Wee answer that

he bringeth no reasons but a conceit of implications When he is vrged he doth but relate other mens opinions but what himselfe thinketh that he keepeth close This close-keeping of his opinion which he so much professeth is very suspitious there is something in it that he is loath should be knowne yet he hideth it not so closely but it may be found out He pleadeth that a man may fall from grace totally and finally A man may fall away from grace and become no child of God All this may be truely said and then who hath any thing to say to him that saith nothing but that which any other man may avouch Forsooth aliquid latet If he should say plainely that they that are called and iustified according to Gods purpose doe fall away totally and finally then he seeth that he should contradict the doctrine of the auncient Fathers and of our Church but holding himselfe in these generall termes that men may fall away from faith and grace he vnderstood that this might be maintained We must therefore open this matter plainly This is soone done by calling to remembrance what hath beene said of the respectiue Decree or irrespectiue He holdeth the Decree of predestination to be respectiue that is to respect something in men If this be so then it maketh no matter whether faith grace be vtterly lost For all may be repayred againe But repayred in regard and consideration of that which men doe and not vpon that which God hath done But if the Decree respect nothing in man then the case is altered We haue before declared the doctrine of the orthodoxe Church that the purpose of God which he calleth the Decree respecteth nothing but Gods will and therefore they that are called and iustified according to Gods purpose doe beleeue and obey repent and walke in good workes and at last obtaine the end everlasting life These graces that proceed from Gods calling according to his purpose cannot be vtterly lost because these gifts and this calling are without repentance They may be troubled and shaken but totally lost they cannot be This man taketh these things otherwise that they may be totally lost To be short we must bring him to this stand either plainly to confesse that the graces that are given according to Gods calling and purpose may be totally lost or else to confesse that his writings are idle and trouble our Church to no purpose because if he speake of graces which proceed not from Gods purpose and calling as many graces doe and in which graces men may make fayre and farre proceedings of which graces the Homilies speake in this point he hath no adversary that I know If he will acknowledge plainly that the graces which proceed from Gods calling and purpose may be lost then should not I trouble him in this point Provided withall that he giue ouer his respective Decree which is the ground root of all this trouble wherewith he hath troubled himselfe and others Now we come to examine that which he bringeth out of the Homilies concerning falling from God The first Homily sayth that sometimes men goe from God for lacke of faith sometimes by neglecting his commandements to be short all they that may not abide Gods word but following the perswasions and stubbornnesse of their owne hearts goe backward and not forward And whereas God hath shewed to all them that truely beleeue his Gospell his face of mercy in Iesus Christ which doth so lighten their hearts that if they beleeue it as they ought to doe this Parenthesis the Author hath left out which might some way direct the meaning of the Homilie they be transformed to his image be made partakers of heavenly light and of his spirit be fashioned to him in all goodnes requisite to Gods children so if they after doe neglect the same if they be vnthankefull c hee will take away from them his kingdome his holy word c. These words that follow the Parenthesis depend vpon those wordes contained in it which our Author hath left out It is true that if these men behold this grace and beleeue as they ought to doe that then they are so enlightned c. But this is ioyned with that condition expressed in the Parenthesis if that condition faile then these other things following are not well vrged from those words And what is all this but if we forsake him he will forsake vs as the Scripture teacheth 2 Chron. 15.2 It is evident that the Homily speaketh of profane and wicked men that goe from God because they never care for comming vnto God of which profane men there are God knoweth too many in our Land whereof the Homily complaineth The Homily speaketh partly of such partly of hypocrites This is evident from the words of the Homily which are these For God that promised his mercy to them that be truely penitent hath not promised to the presumptuous sinner either that he shall haue a long life or that he shall haue true repentance at the last end Doth not the Homily speake plainly of wicked profane and presumptuous sinners What is this to them that are called according to Gods purpose and walke with feare and obedience in the workes of their calling To the same purpose is that which he hath brought out of the second Homily Wherein by his leaue he hath vndertaken more then he hath proved or can proue out of the words of the Homily For he saith that in that Homily is concluded not onely a totall lapse for a time but also a finall separation for ever This conclusion is not prooved out of the words of the Homily And if they were they helpe him not For that Homily is to be expounded by the words of the former Homily which speaketh in expresse words of presumptuous sinners that such may fall away altogether who did every deny And because he vrgeth so much the words of the Homilies in this point I would know of him a reason why in that Homily which is against Worshipping of Images he denieth that the Homilies containe the publique dogmaticall resolutions of our Church Why doth he play fast and loose Why doth he vrge this in one place which he flatly denieth in an other place Let him giue a reason But the 16. Article teacheth the same sayth hee the words of the Article are these After wee haue receiued the holy Ghost we may depart from grace given and fall into sinne and by the grace of God we may rise againe and amend our lifes The Article speaketh religiously and truely For it is true and must be confessed that after grace given we may fall into sinne The Article attributeth all power of rising againe to the grace of God This we embrace What hath this man against this truely no reason but a prety fancy of his owne For sayth he he that saith a man may fall away and may recover implyeth withall that some may fall away and no