him back from the error of his wayes but he had not this Holy abideing Unction And so may others have the gift of Prophecy and understand many mysteries c. and yet be destitute of this Anointing as its plain from the Scriptures Psal 68.18 Mat. 7.22 1 Cor. 13. But I am sparing of speaking of these things because the same gifts may accompany the true Anointing and these gifts are serviceable for the edifying of the Babes of Christ Therefore let none think that I would undervalue such precious gifts or teach others to despise Prophecying that is not my purpose but only to give the right understanding of that which is essential to Christianity and a Heavenly life in which true believers walk with God Who doe not alwayes bear the greatest show in their profession by such gifts nor bear forth themselves the highest among their Brethren but yet their lives are most innocent in the World I have seen in several professions of Religion this humble seed this plain hearted this true hearted Jacob bowing under his rough Brother Esau and like a little shrub under tall Cedars which flourish and spread forth themselves over his head for their inclination is to exalt themselves his care to keep out of vain-glory and to walk humbly with his God Thus in some measure the Children of light who are the first Fruits unto God are distinguished from the Children of darkness who are of the World and therefore love the World and the things that are of the World namely the lusts of the Flesh the lust of the Eyes and the pride of life I doe not mean that hereby they are made so distinct one from another that they may certainly and fully be known in the World but my endeavour is so to discover the essential life of Christianity to themselves that they may not rest in a formal and circumstantial profession of Christianity without the true life and power thereof wherein true peace and fellowship with God is enjoyed and lived in which indeed is the Kingdom of God Which at first may be but like a grain of Mustardseed but it is of a growing nature Therefore many may for a time in an outward profession outshine those that are entring yea and entred into the Kingdom But these last will become first and those first will become last For the seed of the free Woman or new Covenant born by promise and begot by Faith will become Heir when the seed of the bond Woman borne after the Flesh must be cast forth These things here written are no new things but according to the current of the Doctrine of Christ and his Holy Apostles left upon Record But it may be some Objections may be made against them by some For Truth doth usually meete with Opposition Obj. Perhaps some will say these things speak of the Kingdom of God here in this life but we look for the Kingdom of God after this life Answ True the Kingdom of God is here spoken of to be entred into in this life but not in opposition to the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven hereafter but as an entrance into the everlasting Kingdome which shall have no end For the Kingdom of Heaven is begun here and entred into by faith which works by love and purifyes the Heart And therefore when Christ Jesus our Lord sent forth his Disciples to preach and to heal the sick he bid them preach saying The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand And he told the Jews that the Kingdom of God commeth not with outward observation but that the Kingdom of God was within And the Apostle tells us wherein it doth consist namely in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit For the Spirit that comforter administers that joy And this is the earnest of the everlasting inheritance and it is the beginning of his Kingdome into which the Saints witnessed an entrance formerly Col. 1.13 who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the Kingdome of his dear Son And the Apostle Peter tells us how an entrance shall be ministred unto us abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 1. A place of Scripture worthy to be Printed in every ones Heart seeing it teaches an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of God In which things there written the Saints then living were found walking and yet being of so great importance the Apostles care was to put them still in minde of them that after his decease they might alwayes have them in remembrance I shall give you some of the words and leave you to read the rest in your Books Peter writing to those believers who had obtained like precious Faith with him and other Apostles through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ note not through their own rightousness but through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ he exhorts them to give all diligence to add to this Faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience Godliness and to Godliness Brotherly kindness and to Brotherly kindness love For if these things be in you and abound they make you that ye shall not be barren argues slothfull nor unfruitfull to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ But he that lacketh these things is blinde and cannot see far off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins Wherefore the rather Brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if ye doe these things ye shall never fall For so an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Now take notice that it is not the knowing of these things but the walking in them that gives an abundant entrance into the Kingdom If ye doe these things saith the Apostle Obj. Doubtles It is a happy thing to walk and live in these Admonitions of the Apostle may some say But who is there that do so We know but few if any that do so then how few enter into the Kingdom if so great and high things are to be lived in Answ For answer hereunto consider these things following 1. That there be various stations in Religion and so some are nearer and some further off from the Kingdom of God Some are seeking it with their faces thitherward as it s said of Sion some are weeping and mourning and hungring and thirsting after Gods Righteousness These if they hold on are under a blessing and promise to be answered and filled and though they be poor in Spirit yet theirs is the Kingdome and in due time they shall possesse it and enter into it Some are near the Kingdom as that young man was who had keept the precepts of the Law from his youth which Christ looked upon and loved though he was not yet able to enter into the Kingdom because of his riches
that were with him when the Hoâ—â— Ghost fell on all them that heard â—â—e word ver 44. Now where â—hrist and his Spirit is received it â—â—rnes the Heart from sin and turns 〈◊〉 to righteousness And this turâ—ing of the minde and Heart from â—n to righteousness is repentance 〈◊〉 is not a little remorse or sorrow â—or sins past only and yet contiâ—uing therein but turning from â—t toward righteousness that 's reâ—entance So all these things acâ—ompany the ministery of the Gosâ—el or the true preaching of Christ â—nd receiving of him it opens the â—yes to see the love of God and â—is mercyfull kindness in Christ Jeâ—us and this turns them from darkâ—ess to light and so from the power of Satan unto God this is true repenâ—ance that so they may receive remission of sins and inheritance among â—hem which are sanctifyed by faith in Christ Jesus Act. 26.18 The Spirit of Christ entring into the Heart by faith or in believing turns it or converts it from sin to God by renewing of it and so washes 〈◊〉 from its filthines by the blood 〈◊〉 Christ and Sanctifyes it Therefore said Christ except I wash theâ— thou hast no part in mee Here 's thâ— washing and sprinkling by thâ— blood here 's the being born agaiâ— of Water and of the Spirit withoâ—â— which one cannot enter into thâ— Kingdome of God here 's the worâ— of regeneration without whicâ— one cannot see the Kingdom 〈◊〉 God Joh. 3. So now all things aâ—â— become new and the Stream turneâ— The Stream of that mans Heart 〈◊〉 which was downward towards thâ— Earth and towards evil is noâ— turned upwards towards God anâ— towards things that are good Longing after a participation of Goâ— Heavenly nature and Holyness which it hath received a taste 〈◊〉 and as a new born Babe he now desires and longs after the sinceâ— Milk of the word that he maâ— grow thereby and feel more anâ— more fellowship with the Heavenâ—â— nature Flourishes of wit and eloquence which please the itching Ear will not satisfy this hungring Babe but the sincere uncorrupted Milk of the word which adds strength and growth Thus I say God lets in something of himself and Heavenly nature by faith into the Hearts of the Sons of men that they tasting of that Heavenly nature may presse after a further enjoyment thereof and to be more and more filled therewith And thus faith is an inward work wrought by the power of God opening the Heart to receive the love of God whereby a new work is wrought in the Heart renewing it or regenerating it again to God and forming a new Creation in the Heart which makes a man a new Creature And there is a going on in this work from faith to faith and so a following on in the regeneration And this is the great available thing with the Lord as the Apostle testifyed saying neither circumcision availeth any thing witâ— the Lord nor uncircumcision but 〈◊〉 new creature or new creation Galâ— 6.15 which he otherwise expresses thus chap. 5.6 Neither circumcision availeth any thing with thâ— Lord nor uncircumcision but faitâ— which worketh by love No outwarâ— thing no outward profession iâ— the available thing but faith whicâ— worketh by love and which renewes the creature or makes 〈◊〉 man a new creature This is thaâ— which the Lord accepts because now a man begins to live to God and to be a Vessel sanctifyed for thâ— Masters use This work raises him up and sets him upon his feet aâ— a man raised up from the dead and now it is the delight of thiâ— new man to doe the will of God and to be found in his work Anâ— now he begins to warr and sighâ— the good fight of faith striving against sin that he may keep hiâ— conscience pure and clear beforâ— the Lord. For the mystery of faitâ— is thereby preserved The mystery of faith is held in a pure conscience 1 Tim. 3.9 Faithfulness to God preserves and nourishes faith That is Faithfulness to what the conscience knows to be the will of God this preserves peace and faith in God But in case of being overcome by the Enemy the Lord calls for repentance that is turning from the evil with all our Hearts and turning again to him and looking to his mercy and forgiveness with a stedfast purpose to cleave to him in fear and trembling considering our own weakness and so waiting upon him for help to overcome and in his due time he purges the conscience again from the evil and purifies it by the blood of sprinkling even by the blood of Christ and thus our Lord Jesus Christ washes us in his own blood by the Spirit renewing his love in the Heart and remitting the transgression And so faith is restored in a true Heart though it hath been overtaked by the subtilty of the Enemy For indeed the failings of the true Seed or truely converted are not from a life had in the evil buâ— rather from being surprised and overtaken therefore it causes grieâ— and anguish and a crying unto the Lord for deliverance Whereas he that hath a life in the Evil he rests in it While the strong man keeps the House all things are at quiet But when a stronger then he is come he disturbes that quietness in the evil ther 's no rest there For what fellowship can the true seed have with falsehood What Communion can Christ the true Spirit have with the works of the evil Spirit in us Therefore he casts out the deceiver and his works Therefore that Faith that is under the blessing must needs warr against the deceiver to cast him out otherwise it is not right For Faith in Truth begets an honest and true Heart which works against deceit and the deceiver True Faith first begets an honest and true Heart and then is therein retained as in a fit Vessel And the departing from Truth and honesty and uprightness makes Shipwrack of Faith To open this mystery of Faith more plainly whereby the Truth thereof may be known and it may be discerned in some measure from all false appearances thereof I shall come to some particulars that we may know it by the Fruits of it as Christ our Lord hath taught us to know Prophets of what sort they are Yee shall know them by their Fruits First This Faith purifyes the Heart Act. 15.9 That so that which flowes out of the Heart may be pure Out of the Heart unsanctifyed proceeds evil thoughts Murthers Adulteries Thefts Blasphemies or speaking evil of Holyness and of Holy men as well as of God envy malice revenge pride scornfulness ambition coveteousness and such like which keep a man from entring into the Kingdom of God For such shall not inherit the Kingdom of God It s the Apostles Testimony 1 Cor. 6.9 Eph. 5.5 6. Therefore faith is like a Refiners fire to these things to consume and burn them up and to purifie the Heart from such filth Purifying their Hearts by faith saith
the glory of God in this his mercy and the deeper is his humility and lowlines of minde Minde but the writings of the Holy Apostles of Christ Jesus and you will finde it so that still they are harping upon this string sounding forth the mercies of the Lord in Christ Jesus and his love in revealing his Son to them Yea observe but that high state of the Elders spoken of in the Book of the Revelations who were set upon seats round about the Throne and cloathed in white Raiment and Crowned The substance of their song was this Thou art worthy to take the Book and to open the Seals thereof Now mark why For thou was slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy Blood out of every kinred and Tongue and People and Nation Mark Not a word of their own righteousness not a word of their works how good soever they were which doubtles were excellent but yet not a word thereof the riches of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus puts all that out of sight and layes them low at his Footstool for they are said to fall down before the Lamb and sing this Song Now what are these Elders but representatives of all the Elect seed of God from all parts of the Earth Seeing it is contained in their Song that they were redeemed by his Blood out of every kinred and Tongue and People and Nation Now there be many more kinreds and Tongues and Nations then four and twenty but all represented by these four and twenty Well then you see their faith in Christ is not like the Faith of the Pharisees in which they stand justifying themselves in their own works and exalting themselves thereby over poor Publicans But all their admiration and glorying is in the mercy of God And so we finde the Apostles sounding forth the same things in their Epistles Eph. 2.4 5 6 7 8 9. But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickned us together with Christ by grace ye are saved And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus For by grace ye are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Not of works lest any man should boast Thus all boasting is excluded by true Faith And as I have shewed before the right Faith works by love and that love is not of an exalting nature But as the Apostle saith it vaunteth not it self is not puffed up 1 Cor. 13.4 Thus the true and right Faith shuts out boasting and cuts down vainglory and makes humble Therefore saith our Lord Jesus Christ Verely I say unto you except ye be converted and become as little Children ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little Childe the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 18.3 4. Fifthly To proceed this true Faith is accompanyed with an Vnction or an Anointing from the holy one John writing to those he calls little Children whose sins are forgiven for his names sake saith thus But ye have an Vnction from the holy one and ye know all things 1 Joh. 2.20 All things that is that appertained to life and godliness Why For this Unction or Anointing taught them all things that appertained thereto that so walking according to the teaching thereof they might abide in Christ Now this Unction is the Spirit which gives a sense and feeling of the will of God what he would have us to doe and what he would have us to forbear And we need not that any maâ— should teach us beyond the teachingâ— of that to amuse us with high notions and mysteries which the Unction gives us no openings of Anâ— so keeping to that keept us wiâ— to sobriety minding to doe thâ— will of God which the Unction inclines our Hearts to rather theâ— to fill the brain with knowledge 〈◊〉 things which add not to our comfort and profiting and grouth iâ— Christ Now that this Unction 〈◊〉 the Spirit appears by compearinâ— this Scripture with another Thaâ— is compare this 1 Joh. 2.20 2â— with Ioh. 14.16 17. Where it 〈◊〉 expressed by the name of the Spirit I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you for ever 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 This is that abideing Unction which abides with the Faithfull for ever The Unction is a constant abiding thing and so is the Spirit abiding for ever Thus the Lord fulfills his promise of old Isa 44.3 and chap. 59.21 I will pour Water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground Thirsty and dry these are such as hunger and thirst and fit to receive the Heavenly rain but he expresses â—t more plainly in the following words thus I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon â—hine Off-spring Then in ch 59.21 â—he promises the constancy of this Spirit with the seed of Christ in â—hese words As for me this is my Covenant with them saith the Lord. My Spirit that is upon thee and my words which I have put in thy Mouth shall not depart out of thy Mouth nor out of the Mouth of thy Seed nor out of the Mouth of thy Seeds Seed saith the Lord from henceforth and for ever So that this is a promise to all the Seed and that for ever which promise is fulfilled to all faithfull believers in Christ Jesus Therefore saith the Apostle if any maâ— have not the Spirit of Christ he iâ— none of his Rom. 8.9 And herein thâ— Son-ship is established even in thiâ— Spirit or abiding Unction oâ— Anointing As the Apostle witnesseth ver 14. For as many as are leâ— by the Spirit of God they are the Sonâ— of God Thus the Anointing witâ— the Spirit typifyed by the precious Ointment that was poureâ— upon Aarons head and ran dowâ— to the Skirts of his Garment thiâ— Anointing with the Spirit runâ— down from our High-Priest to thâ— lowest of his Servants He waâ— anointed with the Oyl of gladness above his fellows but we all of his fullness receive every one a measure of his Spirit and so are hereby stated by this Spirit of Adoption into Sonship and Heir-ship with him If Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joynt-heirs with Christ c. Rom. 8.17 And this state or Spiritual condition carryes its own evidence in it self for the Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirit that we are the Children of God ver 16. And as this Spirit or Unction is a guide to the Children of light leading them into all Truth and as it is a witness to
the Children of God witnessing with their Spirits and administring comfort and Heavenly food to the Soul So also he administers words and matter to Christs little ones when they are called before Rulers and Magistrates for his names sake And Christ Jesus our Lord taught his to depend hereupon and not to perplex themselves with thinking before hand what to say to them Matt. 10.19 20. But when they deliver you up take no thought how or what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak For it is not ye that speak but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you Hence it is that sometimes Women and unletter'd Persons have been enabled to confound great learned men for the Lord by his Spirit gives a mouth and wisdome which their Adversaries ar◠not able to gainsay nor to resist This is that Spirit which begetteth earnings and longings in our Hearts after the Lord and which helpeth our infirmities when we know not how to utter our minds to the Lord for then he maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered and these groanings being according to the will of God he hears them for he knoweth what is the minde of the Spirit Rom. 8.26 27. There be many Spirits gone forth into the World which are not this Unction but work contrary to it and lead out from Christ into the World therefore the Apostle bids us try the Spirits whether they are of God 1 Joh. 4.2 Well but how shall we try them He tells us how to know them in the next verses following Hereby know ye the Spirit of God Every Spirit that confesseth Jesus Christ come in the Flesh is of God And every Spirit that confesseth not Jesus Christ come in the Flesh is not of God For so the words run more truely according to the Greek then to render them thus Every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh c. For this confession is such a confession as owns an interest in him or professes a relation to him by Faith in him and by love and obedience to him The evil Spirits did verbally confesse him Mar. 1.24 and so evil men may verbally confesse him tho they neither truely believe in him nor love nor obey him But this true confession of him hath these things necessarily conjoyned therewith 1. Faith Iohn 3.18 36. For that Spirit that wants that is under condemnation and wrath as this Scripture testifyes 2. Love 1 Cor. 16.24 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha 3. Obedience to him And therefore saith John he that saith I know him and keepeth not his Commandements is a lyar and the Truth is not in him So then every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ that suffered for our sins i◠Faith and in Love and Obedience to him that Spirit is of God But otherwise evil Spirits may confesse him and Children of the evil one may confesse him Also the Apostle draweth this down to himself and others who were in the pure and living faith and innocent life in whom Christ appeared ver 6. o◠the same Chapter We are of God he that knoweth God heareth us 〈◊〉 that is not of God heareth not us hereby know we the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of error So here you see he places the mark to know Spirits by upon their owning or not owning of Christ himself come in Flesh and of him appearing in others For they that know him not in his Children where he appears but deny his appearance there they are not of his Spirit themselves But then how shall we know his Children from the Children of the Devil The Apostle tells us this is manifest by their works 1 Joh. 3.10 He doth not say its manifest by any particular forme but by their works In this the Children of God are manifest and the Children of the Devil Whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God neither he that loveth not his Brother So then let men pretend what they will if their works be evil they are not of God So that by their works false Spirits and false Prophets are known and by them they shall be judged at the last day Though they shall say we have Prophecyed in thy name yet it shall be said to them Depart from me I know you not ye workers of Iniquity Now these must needs own his comming that Prophecy in his name And that they may doe and yet not own hi◠where he is come and appears i◠Flesh And so they may confesse hi◠comming and yet not confesse himself where he is come As the Iew owned Moses and the Prophets wh◠were come and gone but yet persecuted them that came in their Spirit they owned and confessed Abraham but owned not nor confessed the true seed of Abraham and so were not of Abraham thoug◠they confessed him In like manne◠many now confesse that Christ cam◠in the Flesh but persecute the◠that come in his Spirit that is persecute him in them for so he wil◠charge it upon them Because what done to his little ones is done upo◠this account that he is in them who hath no fellowship with th◠unfruitfull works of darkness in which they are who persecute them For if he were not in them who hath not fellowship with unfruitfull works of darkness they would not hate them but would love them The World loves its own and those of its own Spirit If you were of the World the World would love his own but because ye are not of the World but I have chosen you out of the World therefore the World hateth you Joh. 15.19 A little further still for the manifestation of this true Unction or Anointing to distinguish it from other Spirits not only from evil Spirits but even from some operations of the true Spirit Consider that this Holy Unction is an abiding thing keeping the Heart in the fear and love of God making that the maine care of him in whom it is to keep in obedience to the will of God and so in fellowship with God for that 's the Kingdom into which we are translated and whatsoever interposeth between us and that fellowship with God who i◠love that wounds and slayes And we are then like one banished hi◠native Kingdom and like an Exile until we be established in it again and then there 's rest and care and fear lest we grief the Spirit again And thus the promise to the true seed is fulfilled which saith I wil◠put my fear in their Hearts and they shall not depart from me Jer. 32.40 Now other Spirits which give no◠this fellowship in the love of God may doe great things whereby the person may be admired but they doe not keep the heart low watching to doe the will of God Balaam had an eminent Prophecy given him by the Spirit of the Lord which also strove with him to keep
more then we read of the other Apostles in so much that he called him Satan saying to him quickly after he had called him Peter or a Rock or a Stone get thee behinde me Satan we finde not that he ever said such a word to any of the rest except Judas whom he said was a Devil one of you is a Devil Therefore Peter standing in the Revelation of the Father firm in that or upon that Rock he became as a secundary Rock layed upon the chief Corner-stone and so did all the rest of the Apostles and Prophets Eph. 2.20 But Peter standing in the wisdom of the Flesh out of that Revelation of the Father he was an offence and no better then Satan and to be rejected and cast behind the back and so is every one that stands there namely in the wisdom of the Flesh in opposition to the work of God Peter was no foundation for the Church to be built upon as he was a mutable man but only as he stood in the infallible Counsel and Revelation of the Son of God So he held forth the Rock to others and was dignifyed with the name of the Rock So likewise Christ will put his own name upon others that stand faithfull to him as he writ to the Church of Philadelphia Rev. 3.12 Him that overcometh will I make a Pillar in the Temple of my God and I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the City of my God and my new name And so Peter was dignifyed with the name Petrus or Petros from Petra which was the true Rock in all ages because he professed him from the revelation of the Father Whom say ye that I am saith Christ Thou art the Son of the living God saith Peter Here was the Rock or foundation the Corner-stone Petra As all the Scriptures testify and from hence he was called Petros but in Satans work he was called Satan Therefore the Spirit he stood in gives the denomination So likewise concerning others Herod in his crafty ravenous Spirit was called a Fox So if Peter or the Pope pretending to be Peters Successor shall stand in a destroying Spirit doth not he deserve the name of Apollyon which signifies a destroyer And is not this name justly put upon the King of the destroying Locusts Rev. 9.11 I desire thee whosoever thou art to weigh this well Peter or whoever it is that stands in the Spirit of God which reveales the Son of God and are keept in that God dignifies them with Honourable names such as none knowes but they which receive them On the other hand those that stand in another Spirit have names given accordingly Therefore i'ts a sottish and incongruous thing for men living in one Spirit to challenge a name proper to the contrary How foolish and impertinent is it for men that are as Locusts and Scorpions carrying stings in their Tails wherewith to hurt men who arise out of the smoke of the bottomless pit of mans wisdom and imaginations for them to challenge the name of Christians a name proper to those who standing in the Revelation of God and nature of Christ follow him as innocent Lambs I'ts as discrepant or contrary as for a Wolf or Fox to challenge the name of a Lamb. So for the King of these Locusts these stinging Scorpions for him to go under the name of Christs Vicar and Peters Successor is as contrary as to call Fire Water or Water Fire I'ts to put light for darkness and darkness for light And thereunto belongs a woe Isa 5.20 Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil that put darkness for light and light for darkness that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter I have insisted the more upon this lest men should misse of their expectation and fall short of the comfortable enjoyment of the Kingdom of God in building upon the Sands and not upon the true Rock Another thing to be considered and which was published by the Apostles to beget faith was the sufferings and resurrection of Christ This also was done without us we have no hand in it And this also was from the love of God God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but should have eternal life And what did God give him to do for us One thing was to bear our sins He became sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the rightousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5.21 that is he bare our sins in his own body and suffered for them that we by faith in him might be cloathed with Gods righteousness or with the love and mercy of God For that 's it which being received by faith is called Gods righteousness Now tho the foundation for Faith be layd out of us in the good will and love of God in Christ Jesus and in his sufferings and resurrection yet the work of Faith that 's wrought in us by the Spirit of God for it s he that opens the Heart of man to believe his love Sin shuts up the Heart of man against the Lord and is as it were a bolt against him Therefore to take away that bolt and to make way for the opening of the door Christ suffered He bare our sins in his own body on the Tree to make way for man to conceive the love of God in Christ And that 's not all I'ts the entrance or the beginning of Faith which he follows by the operation of his Spirit in us washing our consciences by the Blood of Christ and so giving boldness through him to draw near to God and to come to him as a Father and thus by degrees the Lord makes his entrance into the Hearts of the Sons of men that they may become the Sons of God He living in them and they living in him For his love being received which in very deed is Faith he himself who is love is received and here is begotten a Son to God As many as receive him to them gives he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his name For this is the end of our Faith that God may dwell in us and so renew his image again which through sin hath been defaced That man that pretends faith in Christ and yet lives in the nature or Spirit of the Devil doing his works his Faith is but like the Faith of his Father the Devil whose works he doth The Faith of the Sons and Daughters of God is shown by their Fruits for they work the works of their Father Every Tree is known by its Fruits Now this is the great mystery hid for so many ages and generations which in due time God revealed by his Spirit to the Apostles of Christ Namely Christ to be brought forth in us and this is the hope of glory And the preaching of the first principles of the Doctrine of Christ is but to make