Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	law_n	life_n	power_n	7,129	5	5.5274	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26946	The judgment of non-conformists of the interest of reason in matters of religion in which it is proved against make-bates, that both conformists, and non-conformists, and all parties of true Protestants are herein really agreed, though unskilful speakers differ in words.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1676 (1676)	Wing B1293; ESTC R1374	14,946	24

distance of place or time that saw them not may have certain infallible evidences of the Historical truth or report de facto that such things indeed were said and done 18. There are as is aforesaid Characters of Divine Authority in Religion and in the Sacred Scriptures which are their Inherent evidence or propria Lux even the Impress of Gods Power Wisdome and Love 19. There are evident unimitable effects of the Christian Faith which prove it to be of God even the Spirits sanctifying Work on Man which may by those that have it not be partly discerned in the holy Lives of Believers especially in the Sanctity of the Church that it should be holy in Comparison of the unholy World that is all sound Believers which are the real spiritual living Church for if one Letter might be made without Reason by chance yet so cannot a Learned Book And if an individual Christian might by chance be holier than Infidels yet so could not all true Believers But he that hath this Sanctification or Spirit in himself hath clearer and more assuring evidence and those most that have the greatest degree of holiness These all have the Witness in themselves 20. The Spirit of Christ thus sent from him as his Agent and Advocate in Mens Souls is the Author both of Common preparatory and of Special saving Illumination inlightening the Mind to understand the things of God and as is aforesaid giving the sanctified Will a new Relish to them as congruous and good And this Knowledge and Faith objectively and subjectively is the gift of God or a Beam from Christ the Light of the redeemed World But to some the same Spirit giveth far greater measures of Knowledge and Faith than to others and those are likest to receive most of that Grace who are most sincere and diligent in the Study of Gods Word and the use of all other holy means and not the idle negligent presumers 21. Neither corrupted no nor sound Reason can discern things without Supernatural evidence which Natural evidence doth not declare Therefore those that never hear the Gospel cannot know the Misteries of Christianity without a Miracle though they may know much of God as merciful and just by his Mercies and Government of the World 22. The Spirit is not given to ordinary Christians though it be to Prophets to bring them from God new Doctrines or Laws nor to make any supplements to the Gospel already revealed as if it was not sufficient in its kind nor yet to reveal the matter of Christs Gospel immediately to the Intellect or phantasie within by way of Inspiration Visions or Intuitions without an external Word or Revelation nor yet to cause them to work Miracles themselves But he is given to enable dispose and help us to understand believe love and practise the Doctrine and Law already by the same Spirit given to the Church by sanctifying our Power our Reason and our Wills by holy Life and Light and Love And as Christ is the Intercessor without us by whom we must receive all Mercies from God and send up all our duties to God so his Spirit is the Intercessour within us on Christs part as his Advocate and Witness pleading his Cause against our unbelief and other sin and working all Gods Graces in us and on our part teaching inclining and quickening us in all the Prayers and Praises which we send up to God in the Name of Christ Illuminating and sanctifying is not making us Prophets or Apostles nor equal to them as not being called to their Works 23. We must use our best Reason in diligent Meditation and Judgement to search the Works of God in Nature to know which are the true Canonical Scriptures to discern true Copies and Readings where the Copies differ to expound the Text to Translate it truly to discern the Order of sacred Verities that are dispersed through all the Scriptures to gather them into Catechismes and Professions of Faith discerning things more necessary from the less needful and the more clear from the more obscure to Compose our Sermons Prayers and Praises of God according to his Word To gather just and certain Inferences from Scripture Assertions To apply general Rules to particular Cases in matters of Doctrine Worship Discipline and ordinary Practice prudently to discern those Duties which are but generally commanded in the Scripture and left to be discerned by us in particular according to determining Accidents Circumstances and Occurrences which must be considered and compared And when Parents Magistrates Pastors Tutors or Masters shall so determine of such particulars in the Government of their Inferiours which belong to their several Relations or Offices to determine of according to Gods general Laws or Rules Inferiours must obey them in such determinations and in so doing they do obey Gods General Laws and obey God consequentially in obeying such Laws of his Officers as he authorizeth them to make For we are all agreed that there are some parts of Scripture which contain more necessary Doctrine than other parts and some great Duties of Prime necessity which are the end of many lower Duties and consequently a Rule to them as means and as subordinate and Actions otherwise Good become Evil when they cross these great final regulating Duties such a Canon is the Interest of the New Creature and Unity therein as to Circumcision or Uncircumcision Gal. 5.6 and 6.15 And such a Canon is the Love Peace and Concord of Christians in so much as they have attained while they seek after more Phil 3.16 such a Canon is Edification and order as to several Modes of Worship and Ministerial Acts and Discipline 1. Cor. 14.5.12.26 2. Cor. 10.8 and 12.19 and 13.10 Eph. 4.16 And the right ordering of a Christian Conversation doth much consist in discerning by true Reason when circumstantiated Actions are subservient or cross to these final regulating Canonical Duties that we may know whether pro hic nunc they are Duties or Sins Because affirmative Precepts bind not ad semper though no Sin must at any time be done lesser Duties when inconsistent with the greater at that time are no Duties but Sins And means are no means when they lose their tendency to the end or are against it So did Christ teach Men to difference between Tything Mint Anise and Cumine and the great things of the Law and between the least and the great Commandments and to judge of observing the Sabbath Rest and Conversing with Publicans and Sinners by this Rule I will have mercy and not Sacrifice Mat. 9.13 and 12.7 And to leave our gift at the Altar and go first and be reconciled to our Brother and then come and offer our gift Mat. 5. And to cast first the Beam out of our own Eyes before we take the Mote out of our Brothers Mat. 6. Thus to try circumstantiated Actions by their ends and greater Canon-duties and to try what Accidents do preponderate for the time and place is

Order c. And if they will call any Lawful Assemblies of Pastors or orderly Associations by the Name of humane Churches so they will but distinguish them from Churches of proper Divine Institution and take away none of those Rights from such as Christ hath given them in Scripture we know no Party of Protestants that differ de re against them though many wish that the Name Churches were not made common to those of Divine and of Humane Institution lest it obscure the great difference of the things named and lest as in the Papacie Societies and Matters of Divine Institution should be thought to stand in a direct Subordination to those of Humane Institution and the Churches which Christ hath Instituted should be thought to be but as Parishes to a County Streets or Houses to a City Cities to a Kingdom meer similar parts of the Churches of Mans making which conceit is the strength of the whole Roman Kingdom called a Church Object 3. But some say that only the Spirit can assure us that the Scriptures are the Word of God Ans So we say all not excluding but including the Means and Evidence and Use of Reason That is 1. The Spirit in Christ and his Apostles and Prophets hath Imprinted Gods Image of Power Wisdome and Love on the Sacred Scriptures which is their intrinsick Evidence 2. And the same Spirit by that Word doth Powerfully Wisely and Gratiously Imprint an answerable Image on our Hearts 3. And he helpeth us by this effect and impulse to discern that it is Gods Word that did it And giveth us as the new born Babe to his Milk a discerning of and Appetite to this holy Word as Connatural or suitable to our Souls The Spirit giveth us such Reasons for our Religion as else we should not have and also helpeth our Reason actually to understand it and also maketh us Habitually more Rational herein And do not all agree in this Object 4. But some say that the Scripture is known propria luce Ans So say all but not by that alone Reason must discern the Divinity of Scripture partly by the evident Impulses of Divinity which are in it which are its proper Light and partly by extrinsick attestations in the due use of the means which God hath appointed Reason to make use of II. Our second Proof of our Common Agreement shall be by an Induction of the particular Points which we are all agreed in where if the enumeration be sufficient our Proof will be clear And if we seem to over-do in naming more than needs it is to avoid the charge of an insufficient enumeration 1. We are all agreed that all true Religion objectively taken is the effect of Gods Wisdome and subjectively taken also is the Gift of the Father of Lights 2. We are agreed that as Gods Wisdome is the first efficient so the Impress of Divine Wisdome by which it is eminently wise and reasonable is its very Constitutive Cause its Form and the proper Light by which it is to be known 3. We are agreed that objective Religion is to be received by Mans Reasonable Intellect and is when so received the light and guide the advancement and perfecting of our Reason And the most Religious are the most truly and nobly rational 4. We are agreed that it hath Intelligible evidence which sheweth it to be of God and true And that Mans Reason must by discerning this evidence know its Divinity and truth Seeing nothing is an Object of the Intellect but by Intelligible evidence as nothing is an Object of sight but Light and things by Light made visible 5. And as our own receiving it is by receiving the said evidence and knowing its Divinity and truth thereby so our Teaching it to others and proving it against Gain-sayers by defence must be by our manifesting the same evidence 6. The Reason or Intellect of Man in Innocency was apt to understand both the natural and supernatural manifestations of Gods governing Will and so to be Actively Religious and to increase herein by exercise and Divine help 7. The Reason of fallen Man before gratious Illumination is still the same essentially in the Faculty but is dispositively depraved called Blindness disposed to Judge carnally falsly and malignantly of things spiritual and holy and undisposed to discern savingly the truth and goodness of Religion 8. There are found in all Man-kind at Age some Natural notices which are an advantage to the Reception of Religion and make Men more capable of it than otherwise they would be And Grace giveth Men usually a common sort of external aad internal Light which is preparatory to that which is specially saving 9. The Christian Religion consisting of things partly naturally and partly supernaturally revealed the natural part of it hath its natural evidence either Rei ipsius or Medij naturalis by which without supernatural Revelation it may be known but is not without Gods illuminating Grace effectually and savingly known 10. The natural part of Revelation or objective Religion is in order of Time before the supernatural part and natural evidence and Religion is more common than supernatural We are Men before we are Christians in order of Nature at least 11. There is no Contradiction between the natural and supernatural Revelation or parts of Religion for God contradicteth not himself He therefore that thinketh that he findeth a Contradiction is deceived and must Correct the error of his own understanding and not accuse the Word of God 12. Things equally true are not equally evident and revealed and sure to us some things in Nature are much clearer than others and some parts of Scripture farr more intelligible than some others and so more evident to us 13. Ceteris paribus things sensible and the Common Natural notices have greater evidence to us and are of easier belief than Prophetical Revelations But some supernatural Revelations have extrinsecally and intrinsecally more ascertaining evidence than many Natural Revelations or Verities no small Number of these are very obscure 14. When the Understanding once discerneth a thing to be a Divine Revelation it hath therein a certain Medium from which it may infer the thing revealed to be true All known Divine Revelations are so far ascertaining as they are known For God cannot Lye Divine Veracity is the formal Object of Divine Belief 15. If we doubt of the evidence of any Revelation Natural or Supernatural whether it be indeed Divine we must hold that with the strongest affiance or belief which hath the clearest assuring evidence that it is Divine 16. Prophets and Inspired Seers had such Internal satisfying evidence whether by Intuition or abstract Species or internal Sense which no Man can formally and clearly conceive of but he that hath it But the Reason of others may know it by the effects and concomitant or consequent Proofs 17. Those that heard the Voice and saw the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles had sensible evidence thereof And those at