Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	need_v	zeal_n	zealous_a	21	3	9.5436	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64833	Venning's remains, or, Christ's school consisting of four classes of Christians, I. babes, II. little children, III. young men, IV. fathers : with their several characteristical differences and attainments, also the doctrines proper to be taught to each of them : being the substance of many sermons / preached by Ralph Venning and fitted by him for the press before his death.	Venning, Ralph, 1621?-1674.	1675 (1675)	Wing V225; ESTC R27039	205,701	393

of great use Qui dubitat qui saepe rogat c. but carnal men as the Pharisees and Sadducees were askt Christ many a captious and quarrelsome question yea the Devil abused our common Mother by a Quaerie and in this the Babes are as carnal that they take up a great deal of time and discourse about impertinent and little things The Corinthians troubled Paul about such things as common discretion would have determined and therefore he tells them so often in relation to it thus say I not the Lord 1 Cor. 7.6 and 12. and 25 26. and 40. as much as to say these things are not so much matter of Religion and Conscience as of prudence and discretion As about Marrying so about eating they seemed to be very solicitous and much concerned 1 Cor. 8. which yet was an indifferent thing Vers 8. only such liberty must not be abused to the offence of others Vers 9. else 't is not a matter of Conscience whether I may eat or not this or that for any thing that is sold in the Shambles and good for food is lawful to be eaten without a dispute 1 Cor. 9. 27 33. so the Disciples till Christs Ascention were full of pitiful questions who shall be greatest Matth. 18.1 what shall this man do Joh. 21.21 Wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel Acts 1.6 Alas what a poor low way of questioning is this indeed to ask What shall I do to be saved what is the Will of God concerning me in my place and relation how shall I attain to a more perfect state such things are considerable and worth the asking but to be taken up about little and low things is to be as Babes and as carnal more nice than wise 7. These Babes live much more by Tradition and the example of men than by rule or reason They are as to their Faith a kind of implicite believers and believe as the Church or such and such a great wise and learned Doctor believes and their practice is a kind of imitation of some men in such and such things This made Paul speak to his Corinthians to follow him but as he followed Christ if you will follow and have an example of me look on me only as in and walking in the steps of Christ Jesus 1 Cor. 11.1 3. I fear that to this day many persons take into such a track because such and such men whom they affect do so more than for any conviction that is upon them or any account they can give that it is the way of God But remember Non quâitur sed quâ cundum est we should not walk by what is done but by what ought to be done Morth 19.1 9. 8. They are as carnal in having more zeal than knowledge to manage it of the Jews the Apostle speaks thus Rom. 10.2 3. and in like manner doth he speak of the Galatian-Babes and upon the like occasion Gal. 4.16 21. and Chap. 3.1 5. They no sooner get a notion by the end but they are all of a flame they like tinder take fire presently and suffer zeal though without discretion to eat them up Paul himself while carnal was a most zealous man but 't was in the daies of his ignorance Zeal like fire is a good Servent indeed but 't is a bad Master it need be well watch'd When the Disciples in their zeal would have called for fire from Heaven 't was from their unacquaintedness with their own spirit And 't was in such a fit that Peter drew his Sword But this is not the way of Christ whose Kingdom is not of this world and therefore will not that his servants fight Matth. 26.51 with Joh. 18.10 and 36. 't is like carnal men to think we do God good service by killing them that do not deserve it as being not of our way Joh. 16.2 and usually this zeal of such men shews it self most in the presence of their leaders and dies in their absence Gal. 4.18 2 Chron. 24.2 I will not undertake to tell who are and how many such Babes there are in our daies but I am afraid there are too many 9. Babes are as carnal in this that they can hardly bear a reproof or an Exhortation carnal men and Babes that are as carnal look on reproofs as reproaches and cannot bear them They are not without heart risings and grudgeings against them that reprove them the Corinthians were nettled at Paul's dealing roundly with and rebuking them sharply that they might be found in the Faith they could hardly bear with him but almost called him fool for his kindness and love 2 Cor. 11.1 and 12.11 15. the Author of the Epistile to the Hebrew-Babes is fain to entreat them to suffer a word of Exhortation Heb. 13.22 I beseech you Brethren suffer the word of exhertation for I have written a Letter to you in few words Though one speak but a little but a few words they think them too many if they like not what is said though perhaps it concerns none so much as themselves Eli's carnal Sons could not bear reproof from their Father nor can Babes as carnal bear any though from a Father And beside this they are loth to suffer for Religion but will rather comply and conform with to the rudiments of this world as the Hebrews with Jewish and the Corinthians with Gentile Rites rather than suffer persecution 'T is true the Hebrews after they were illuminated indured a great fight of affliction at first Heb. 10.32 but they had weak hands and feeble knees and began to faint and be weary which occasioned that quickening exhortation Chap. 12. which he intreats them to suffer Chap. 13.22 The Disciples themselves were scattered and fled at the smiting of the Shepherd so tedious a thing is suffering to them that are but Babes and as carnal If thou saint in the day of affliction thy strength is small Prov. 24.10 10. To name no more some of them are apt to measure Gods heart by his hand as carnal men do love and hatred by the things before them which is a false rule If Gods hand be open to and fill them with his blessings then all is well but if his hand be shut up from or laid upon them then like Sion of old God hath forsaken them this is their infirmity for the best of this world is not good enough to be a Love token nor the worst of it bad enough to be a token of hatred If God slay their Son or take away what they love they draw sad conclusions as if God had no respect for them so it seems the Corinthians were apt to do when God afflicted them and therefore the Apostle tells them 1 Cor. 11.32 when we are Judged though for this cause Vers 30. yet we are chastened of the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world And so the Hebrew-Babes were heartned by the like consideration that they might not measure Gods heart

that we are so by Adoption and not by nature for so we are Children of wrath Ephes 2.3 and as to works we were Children of disobedience and enemies in our minds by wicked works Col. 1.21 And as to works wrought by us after the new birth we are not the Children of God by them for they are from our being first the Children of God and that not from our worth or will but his grace and good will to this and to nothing but this and on this account doth the Spirit bear witness And this much of the second Rule viz. the ground on which it witnesseth 3. The witness of the Spirit is known by the ends it aims at and attains by affecting them when it beareth witness what they are I have declared in part before and shall shew more hereafter and therefore content my self with but hinting a few things here The design of the Spirit is the abasing of us and the exalting of the Fathers and the Sons love the Fathers grace and the Sons righteousness in our eyes that we may be nothing that God and Christ may be all in all that we may admire the God of all grace glorifie his Son Jesus for ever and for ever The best admirations are those which spring from knowledge and assurance ignorance is the Mother of but saint languid piteous devotion but that which flows from knowledge is strong and vigorous and therefore doth the Spirit bear witness that our admirations devotions and adorations may be such 'T is to indear God to us that we may love him the more and serve him the better that he may be not only the dearer for his mercy but dearer than it and we may live to the praise and glory of God in righteousness and true holiness in this present world that is all the daies of our life yea and that to come too in Eternity I might add that this witness designs to wean us from this world that we may put the scorn upon the lust of the eye and flesh and pride of life and live above above the grandeur and gallantry pride and pomp pleasures and prettinesses of this world I say that we might live above where the way of life is to them that are wise so wise as to have their affections and conversations in Heaven Thus it follows upon our Text 1 Joh. 2.15 where he bespeaks the Fathers Young men and little Children Not to love the world neither the things that are in the world upon this very account that if any man love the world the love included in the knowledge of the Father is not in him he doth not know the Father So that if any conceit themselves to be Children of God and yet admire themselves grow proud wanton and worldly minded they deceive themselves for they have not the witness of nor this witness from the Spirit Gods Children are of another world while in this and they that know him to be their Father live like men of another world in this Psal 73.25 Phil. 3.20 Heb. 11.13 16. And hence there is fair way made for me to pass on to the third part of this discourse viz. to shew more at large the result of this knowing the Father or that by the witness of the Spirit they are the Children of God as to the priviledges and the injoyments of this attainment of the little Children CHAP. III. Shews the priviledges and injoyments of the little Children in knowing the Father in four Sections SECT 1. HOw upon having received the witness of the Spirit they do triumph over the Law Sin the world and present enjoyments I have declared long since in a little short Discourse in Print called the Triumph of Assurance being an Appendix to the first part of my Orthodox Paradoxes to which I refer the Reader and proceed to discover other the priviledges and enjoyments of these assured ones Which priviledges must be more than ordinary or common because to know the Father is more than common knowledge and the more excellent the knowledge the more excellent the enjoyment is whether it be in kind or but only in degree That which I shall chiefly instance in is the great priviledge dignity and honour of being able to cry Abba Father by the Spirit of Adoption received into and witnessing in our selves not barely Adoption nor only the Spirit of Adoption but by it to cry Abba Father is the great thing I shall instance in according to Rom. 8.14.15 16. compared with Gal. 4.1 7. Now whether the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father be the same thing with the witness of the Spirit whereby we know the Father i. e. that we are his Children or something precedaneous to it or something succeeding it and following thereupon is a great question in so critical and nice a thing we need be wary and cautious Yet with all humble submission I shall speak what I think to be most clear and evident in this case which I suppose to be this viz. that the Spirit of Adoption may in part and a little precede the witness of the Spirit as the dawning of the day doth the Suns rising to our view withall that more of it may come and appear together with the witness but especially and chiefely that most of all as to exercise use and comfort doth flow from the witness after the receit thereof that is the Children of God who are led by the Spirit do act most in and by the Spirit of Adoption crying Abba Father after they have received the witness of the Spirit whereby they know the Father and that they are his Children For the better clearing hereof I shall from comparing Rom. 8. with Gal. 4. lay down several gradual positions all which well considered will not a little contribute to the deciding of the question according to what I have already hinted Position 1. These Texts with several others do discover the great advantage and dignity of the Gospel state beyond that of the Law under the Law they were Sons and Heirs but under age i. e. Babes Gal. 4.1 The Heir as long as he is a Babe so the Word is and Vers 3. So we while we were Babes so the word is there also which we render Children yea they were Sons by Adoption or by grace Acts 15.11 for none have been the Sons of God any other way since the fall of Adam But under the Law they were under a Spirit of bondage more than of Adoption and differed not from servants Gal. 4.1 were under bondage Vers 3. and received not the Spirit of Adoption till the redemption by Christ was over Vers 4 5. and till they received the filiation or Son ship by Adoption thus manifested they had not the Spirit of the Son crying Abba Father Vers 6. and after this they ceased to be servants Vers 7. that is they ceased to be Sons and Heirs as Babes only which differeth nothing from a Servant Vers 1. and