Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	true_a	truth_n	word_n	7,456	5	4.2077	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64255	A few necessary questions & conclusions for the present parish-teachers of England, &c deeply to ponder and answer in God's fear, for the good of their own and the peoples souls that are under them, for the Lord is arisen to call all things into judgment.	Taylor, Thomas, 1618-1682.	1670 (1670)	Wing T573; ESTC R9060	7,076	16

of Measure covetous and so palpably out of the Doctrine of Christ and so Idolaters seeing the Apostle saith Covetousness is Idolatry Ephes. 5. 5. 5. Whether did ever any Minister of Christ's sending preach up the Tenth of Peoples of Labour or Encrease of the Earth and earthly things as a standing Gospel-maintenance for his Ministers seeing the Apostles VVritings are wholely silent in the thing And now if any of you in your high Minds think much or strange to be question'd concerning these things such may know that these are the latter Dayes spoken of by Jeremiah Chap. 23. 20 21. wherein God hath done and is doing great things for his People And in the latter Dayes saith the Prophet there you shall consider perfectly of the pouring forth of God's Wrathful Indignation upon the false Prophets and Teachers who have run and God never sent them as also throughout that whole 23d Chapter of Jeremiah is to be seen also concerning the false Prophets and Teachers you may read John 10. 1. c. Isa. 56. 9. c. Ezek. 34. 1. Mic 3. 2 Pet. 2. with divers other Scriptures which speak of the false Prophets and Teachers also of the true ones from all which these few amongst many plain necessary Conclusions following may be gathered viz. 1. The true Prophet Messenger or Teacher is sent of God as before in the Power and Spirit of God with the living VVord of God which is as a Hammer and a Fire to break the hard Hearts in sunder and to burn up the Chaff and Dros in the Minds of disobedient People who know God's VVill but do it not but hold the Truth in Unrighteousness The false Prophet or Teacher he runs in his own Will having stoll'n the Word from his Neighbour useth his Tongue to say the Lord saith when the Lord never sent him so with good Words fair Speeches deceives the Hearts of the unwary Hearers making glad the Hearts of Hypocrites crying Peace when the Lord hath not spoken it 2. The true Prophet Teacher or Minister as he hath received freely so he ministers freely but the false Teacher as he runs in his own VVill so he ministers for a Self-End and if People put into his Month he cryes Peace but if otherwise he prepares War against them out of his corrupt Heart cryes Give can never have enough 3. The true Minister hath a Mouth alwayes open for God and against Sin and Evil in every Appearance of it without Respect of Persons and like a true Watcher gives notice of the Wolf's Approach and doth not flee when the Wolf comes but opposes him in the Loss of all because Christ's Sheep are dear to him But the Hireling fleeth because he is a Hireling and careth not for the Sheep and as concerning Sin it may live in People forever for him for he cannot bark against Sin he is so full of it himself for how can he that is an unclean covetous proud Person himself with a Face stand against such Sins in others nay nay the barking of such must needs be against such as do from the Heart depart from Iniquity and so separate from such as live in it according to the Call of the Lord. 4. The true Prophet Minister or Teacher fights the good Fight of Faith and his Weapons are spiritual and not carnal and so he fights not with Flesh and Blood to destroy Mens Persons Liberties or Estates but his War is with the wicked Devil the Power of Darkness in men that separates mens minds Hearts and Souls from God and brings them into Sin 's Captivity and so under God's Wrath and so the true Minister's Work is to preach People out of that woful Condition into the Liberty of the Sons of God But the false Teacher or Minister hi● Weapons are carnal and he runs to the worldly Powers to help him against such as oppose his evil Doctrine and Practice crying Men of England c. help as the Jews cryed out against Paul Men of Israel help and so matter not though they weary the Magistrate and set all the World in an Uproar to keep themselves up in their high Places of Deceit and so prove the greatest Enemies against God's Truth and his Servants of all other as is abundantly to be seen in Scripture concerning the Priests and their Confederates who persecuted Christ to Death and raged against his Followers because of their holy Testimony for God against their Soul-destroying Wayes 5. The true Messengers and Ministers of Jesus Christ as they are powerfully sent of God so they work effectually for God for the edifying of the Body of Christ and perfecting of his People in Holiness to God But the false Teacher as he hath run without God so his Work is for strengthning that Part in man to wit the Serpents Wisdom which is against God and wars against the Simplicity of Christ and Good of the Soul in all and so they being themselves out of that heavenly Power which perfects the Soul to God and gives it perfect Victory over all Sin they cry No Perfection here no perfect Victory over Sin on this Side the Grave and so they lead about a People laden with Sin and Lust filly as Woman in the Transgression ever learning and never able by their Means to come to the Knowledge of the Truth it self which sets the Soul free from all Sin for how should People ever come to the Knowledge of the Truth by following such Teachers as are out of the Truth for if the Blind lead the Blind must they not both fall into the Ditch Also seeing you profess the Scripture and not unwritten Traditions to be your Rule and would have people to believe that what you do is according to Scripture therefore it s demanded in a few Words further 1. What Scripture have you for your Sprinkling of Infants and Signing them with the Sign of the Cross and telling people That thereby they are made Members of Christ Children of God and Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven when in your own Catechism in Contradiction to your practice you teach That Children by Reason of their Infancy or tender Years then cannot perform the Requests of Baptism to wit Faith and Repentance 2. And what Scripture have you for your Sureties so called which you most unscripturally call the Childrens God-fathers and God-mothers which you pretend to make up the Defect in the Infants by and for putting these Pretended Sureties upon such bold Undertakings and unadvised Promisings of that for the Child which they never yet did for themselves nor indeed have Faith to believe that so great Works can be done in any upon Earth to wit to forsake the Devil and all his Works c. seeing that such generally hold That none can live without Sin Is not Sin the Devil's Work yea yea and is there any Undertaker for man to God-ward but Christ and was there ever any Surety betwixt God and Man but

A Few Necessary Questions Conclusions for the present Parish-Teachers of ENGLAND c. Deeply to Ponder and Answer in God's Fear for the Good of their own and the Peoples Souls that are under them for the Lord is arisen to call all things into Judgment 1. WHether any can be said to be true Gospel Ministers who are not sent of Christ as Christ was sent of the Father seeing Christ said As my Father hath sent me even so send 1 you for all Power is given me in Heaven and Earth Joh. 20. 21. 17. 18. Mat. 28. 18. 2. Whether any can be justly blamed for not hearing or upholding such as are not thus sent of Christ seeing Christ said My Sheep hear my Voice and a Stranger they will not follow for they know not the Voice of a Stranger Joh. 10. 1 Joh. 4. 3. Whether it be not the greatest Presumption for any upon what Pretence soever to take upon them to be Embassadors for Christ the great King who were never authorized or commissionated thereto by Christ as aforesaid it being his proper Right to send forth his own Labourers 4. Whether any who are not thus sent of Christ as Christ was sent of the Father can profit the People at all though they have never so much Authority from Man or be furnished with never so much Oratory or Wisdom of Words or Excellency of Speech according to Man seeing the Scripture testifieth The World by Wisdom knew not God 1 Cor. 1. And if any should say How was Christ sent or can any be sent now as Christ was sent I answer Christ was sent in the Wisdom Power and Spirit of the endless Love and Life of the Father to preach the Kingdom of God and the everlasting Gospel thereof as it 's said Luke 4. 18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor c. and so were the true Ministers formerly sent of Christ Luke the last 49. Acts 26. 16 17. Acts 20. 28. Joh. 16. 13 14 15. 2 Cor. 3. 5 6. And as in all former Ages all the true Messengers and Ministers of God and Christ were sent in the VVisdom Power and Spirit of God and Christ and thereby directed and guided in their Work both when to whom and what to speak Jer. 17. c. Ex. 3. 10. c. Ames 7. 14. 16. Acts 10. 19 20. Acts 8. 26 27 29. 1 Cor. 2. 12 13. Gal. 2. 7 8. Even so are Christ's true Messengers and Ministers sent now and alwayes must be because without Christ they can do nothing Joh. 15. 5. and because no Man knows the Things of God but the Spirit of God and therefore without that Spirit it must needs be impossible for any either rightly to know or minister the Things of God ● Cor. 2. 7. c. and so saith Christ I am with you not some but all my Servants Joh. 17. 20 21 22. not for a time only but alwayes even to the End of the World Mat. 28. 20. And therefore faith the Apostle How can they preach except they be sent to wit as Christ was Luke 4. 18. c. as is plain by the Apostle's applying that in general to Christ's Ministers which the Prophet speaks in the singular number of Christ Rom. 10. 15. compared with Isa. 52. 7. Again Christ was sanctified and sent so are also his Messengers and Ministers sanctified sent as Lambs among Wolves Joh. 17. 16 17 18 19. c. Isa. 6. 7 8. Let no unsanctified man here shelter himself under Judas who was only for the turn of fulfilling the Scripture numbred amongst the twelve but not at all for a Pattern of true Gospel-Ministers Again Christ came not to do his own Will but the Will of him that sent him and so it is with every one that Christ sends and who abide in his Doctrine and as Christ endured the Contradiction of Sinners against himself with all Patience even so do all he sends and who abide in his Doctrine not avenging themselves but committing their Cause to God who is the Avenger of all Wrongs done to his Servants Also seeing Christ said The Tree is known by its Fruits and by their Fruits ye may know such as come to you in Sheeps Cloathing but are inwardly ravening VVolves Mat. 7. 15. Therefore is is further asked of you 1. VVhether such as love to be called of men Master which Christ forbad Mat. 23. 10 11 12. or seek and affect other Titles of worldly Honour and to be great and to exercise Lordship in the Earth like the Gentiles do not plainly manifest themselves to be such as Christ is not with seeing he said to his It shall not be so amongst you Mark 10. 24. c. And how can they believe saith Christ who receive Honour one of another and seek not that Honour which comes from God only Joh. 5. 44. 2. Whether such as make Merchandize of their Words even selling them as it were for Money by agreeing with the People for so much a Year to settle at a Place for preaching c. and yet will not settle at a Place as Teachers but where they know before-hand so much Hire or certain yearly Maintenance provided for them seconded with the worldly Power to compel People to pay it them or by Force to take it from them whether they will or no I say is not this a manifest Token that such Ministers are not sent of Christ seeing he said to his Freely ye have received freely give and the Apostle said We seek not yours but you but if you say the same Apostle also said If we have ministred to you spiritual Things is it a great Matter if we partake of your carnal Things 3. The I query to let pass the Question here concerning what you minister whether it is spiritual or carnal whether ever the Apostle or any true Minister of God and Christ either under the Law or Gospel did ever use any other Means for that they had allowed them of God but the Power of the VVord only Or did ever the Apostle or any Minister of Christ receive much less compel by worldly Force any Maintenance for preaching from such as denyed them to be true Ministers And so such now as not only compel Wages from their own Hearers but even from such as they do no Work for do plainly manifest by their Fruits that they have run God never sent them and are so far from being Successors of the Apostles in their spiritual and heavenly Ministry as that they merit to be accounted of the Kind or old Eli's Sons who by their Doings caused the Offerings of the Lord to be abhorred 1 Sam. 2 from ver 12. to 18. 4. Whether such as cannot content themselves with the In-comes of one Parish though it be sixty eighty or one Hundred Pounds a Year but seek after one or more Parishes or Places of Revenue besides are not out