Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	holy_a	spirit_n	word_n	12,159	5	4.3929	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41790	A sigh for peace, or, The cause of division discovered wherein the great Gospel promise of the Holy Ghost, and the doctrine of prayer with imposition of hands, as the way ordained of God to seek for it, is asserted and vindicated, as the interest and duty of Christs disciples in general : in answer to a book intituled A search for schism / by Tho. Grantham ...	Grantham, Thomas, 1634-1692.	1671 (1671)	Wing G1548; ESTC R39437	69,616	172

In Jesus Christ there is neither male nor female but if ye be Christs then are ye Abrahams seed and Heirs according to promise It is the Spirit of promise which doth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God And again He that stabiisheth us in Chr●st and hath ano●nted us is God who also hath se●led us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our Hearts Yea this even this Spirit is one of the great and precious promises by which Christians are made partakers of the Divine Nature according to 2 Pet. 1 3 4. Thus we see that the Scriptures do evince that the Handmaids as well as the servants of the Lord that the Children of God without excepti●n that ●he Church of God without rejection of any true Member thereof have a clear indubit●te right to the gift of the h●ly Spirit And it is also evident that the promise of the Spirit consists not only no nor chiefly in those gifts which some say are now ceased to wit of Miracles Tongues c. though they have no Scripture for it But this promise chiefly consists in the sanctifying graces and soulest ablishing comforts thereof yea in that which sealeth a Christian to the day of redemption which tongues and miracles will fail to do and in the mean time is like water to him that i● thirsty as before we have seen 'T is that Vnction which the holy one which Teacheth Christians all things or Leads them into all truth I● a word it is that reception of the Spiri● which is above all gifts of Tongues Prophesies c. called Charity and is branched into meekness temperance goodness and faith yea ' ti● that gift of the Spirit by which the Love of God is shed abroad in the hearts of Christians being the Spirit of Love power and a sound mind in the exercise whereof I mean this gift o● the Spirit a Christian is both accepted of God and approved of men So then we have the glorious promise of the Spirit remaining for and pertaining to the Handmaids and servants o● the Lord in the most excellent gifts thereo● as much as ever and consequently are as much concerned to seek for it as ever any was and this leads me to the second branch of my Proposition viz. The dutiful observance of that way which is allowed and confirmed from Heaven for obtaining that heavenly donation That God should by his Prophets foretell o● such grace and so often mention it as so grea● a promise the reception whereof is so necessary as without which Christians do want the lively evidence ●ea● confirmation that they are the Sons of God and heirs with Christ not assign some peculiar way and special means for all that are concern'd to make use of in order to their obtaining it seems not to be credible which yet he hath not done if prayer with imposition of Hands by the Church or her delegates be rejected if otherwise it were well if some body would assign us what peculiar way the word of God directs us to as being that which God hath ratified from heaven as a means peculiar for that end and purpose which if any assay to shew us Let them also consider why the Apostles took that way which is so much neglected by our Brethren if there were any other particular means and way to be used for the end aforesaid But if it be said that no special way or means is left us but the general Ordinance of prayer c. We must then say it is not like the dealings of God in other cases for ordinarily when it pleased God to promise or give some special favour or gift unto his Church he therewithall ordered some solemn or service to keep in memory that his favour and to be a means to partake of the fruit of his promise Thus the Covenant which God made with Abraham and his seed the deliverance which he wrought for them the great things which he promised them must be perpetuated and waited for in the use of such wayes as in the wisedome of God were thought fit for the memorial or reception of these favours respectively And so must the remission of our sins by the death of Christ be sought for and signified not only by the word and prayer in general but particularly in the Baptisme of of repentance for the remission of our sins also Nor must we only receive the flesh and blood of Christ by the word preached but particularly in the solemn use of the Table of the Lord also In like manner we are not only to seek to God for his Spirit in the constant and ordinary course of Prayer but also in a special and peculiar way of Prayer allowed and confirmed from Heaven for that very end and purpose which is the point to be demonstrated according to what the Scriptures in that behalf doth teach us And first from that place Acts 8. 14 15 16 17. Now when the Ap●stles which were at Jerusa●em heard that Samaria had received the word of God they sent unto them Peter and John who when they were come down prayed for them that they might rec●ive the holy Ghost then laid they their hands on them and they received the holy G●ost For the better understanding of this place it is meet to consider that such as pray to God ought to know that the thing which they pray for is attainable and that they know it is the will of God that they should ask of him that very thing which they pray for especially when the prayer is made positively I mean withou● conditional expressions as in the case before us the prayer is such as indeed it ought to be without doubting when we ask of God those gifts which he hath promised James 1. 5 6 7. But if by the holy Ghost in this place be meant only the extraordinarie gifts thereof such as Tongues M●racles c. Then certainly there was no ground from any promise of God to pray that all those persons which were Baptized in Samaria should so receive the Spirit No nor any ground from any promise of God to pray for so much as any one particular person among them ●l● sith the Promise of God in that case is not made to this or that man or woman by name and consequently here was no ground for the Apostles to pray absolutely and believingly but rather doubtingly for that very thing which they purposely prayed for Seeing it is evident that not all the members of a Church but rather very few and them also unknown by name to any man no not to the Apostles themselves 1 Cor. 12. 11 29. Acts 1. 24. are chosen to be Prophets workers of miracles c. And therefore it followeth that there could be no such laying on of hands at all practised here as some imagine namely a laying on of hands for the extraordinary gifts of the holy Ghost For though it is true that God did sometimes give

generally are to wait upon him for the reception thereof which way is the prayers of the Church performed by her Ministers with the laying on of hands and this as a principle of Christian Rel●gion belonging to them in the min●rity of their Christian state For explication of some parts of this Proposition it is meet that we shew first what we mean by the holy Ghost sith some now as well as heretofore Acts 19. either by reason of ignorance or some worse cause seem not to know whether there be any holy Ghost As if they had forgotten unto what they were Baptized Matth. 28. 19. By the Holy Ghost then we do not mean the Spirit of man in its most reformed and elevated state imaginable neither any created Spirit whatsoever But by the Holy Ghost we mean that Spirit by whose operation the Creation of the world was brought forth and formed Gen. 1. 2. Job 26. 13. And which knoweth all things even the deep things of God 1 Cor. 2. 10. And which is present every where Psal 139. 7 8. 9. Which Spirit we therefore believe to be one with the Father in nature and essence and therefore rightly said to be God Acts 5. 3 4 9. Secondly when we speak of mens receiving this holy Spirit we do not mean that he dwels in them essentially and personally for so they cannot contain him But he dwels in them by manifestation and operation By gifts according to 1 Cor. 12. By fruits according to 1 Cor. 13. 4 5 6 7. Galath 5. 22 23. And seeing the ground of this so much neglected truth the fourth principle of Christs doctrine lieth much in that great promise of the Spirit of God as the right of all the Disciples of Christ It behoveth that we open the nature of that glorious promise that being affected with the excellency and made sensible of the necessitie thereof we may the more devoutly seek for it not only in our private devotion but also in that special and publick way assigned in the holy Scripture for the obtaining so great a benefit Let it therefore first be considered that to be under the common influence and operation of the Spirit in the Ministery of the Word in order to conversion is one thing and the reception of the Holy Ghost as a Seal and confirmation of the souls of Christians as it is the earnest of their inheritance is another It is certain a person may be eminently under the operation of the Spirit in the first consideration and yet be a stranger to the reception of the Spirit in the other as appeared first in the Apostles themselves who though they were the persons which received the first fruits of the promised Holy Spirit yet were they for some time in the profession of the Gospel before they received it For they did not receive the Spirit of promise till after the Ascention of our Lord Acts 1. 4 5. But wait for the promise of the father which saith he ye have heard of me f●r John truly baptized with water but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many dayes hence John 7. 39. The Spirit was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified In like manner the Samaritans were converted from the errour of their way by the preaching of the word and became the Disciples of Christ and yet the Spirit of promise was faln on none of them Acts 8. 12 15 16. The Ephesians also believed in God after they heard the Gospel of their salvation But were not sealed with the holy Spirit of promise till afterward Eph. 1. 13 14. Agreeable hereunto is that question of the Apostle Acts 19. 2. Have ye received the Holy Ghost SINCE ye believed The persons to whom this question was put were believers in Christ yea Baptized believers Whence we are to note that Baptized Disciples have right to the promise of the Holy Ghost and indeed hence it was that Peter could so confidently and universally promise in the word of the Lord the gift of the Holy Ghost to every one that doth repent of their iniquities and are baptized in the name of the L●rd Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins Acts 2. 38. It appeareth therefore that persons may be under the operation of the spirit of God in the Ministerie of the Word to their illumination and conversion so far as to be brought into a certain state of Christianity for those that may be called Disciples are called Christians Acts 11. 26. and yet be without the enjoyment of the sealing and confirming spirit of promise in themselves which is yet more evident from John 14. 16 17. I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter even the Spirit of TRUTH for he dwelleth WITH you and SHALL be IN you Note well this promise doth not respect the spirit as it worketh Miracles only but also and indeed much more the Spirit as it is a Leader into all Truuh called therefore the Spirit of Truth yea 't is the Spirit in such wise as sh●uld ●bide with and in the Saints for ever yea it is the Comforter or Spirit of Comfort and is therefore that gift of the Spirit which pertaineth to Christians generally Secondly That this sealing and confirming Spirit of promise belongs to Christs Disciples generally whether male or female I conceive some necessity to demonstrate because the Searchers to the intent that at the least they may exclude ●omen from the benefit of prayer with the laying on of Hands will not have them included in the word THEM Acts 8. 17. but if we prove that women have right to the promise equally with men we shall not at all fear the trifling demands of the Searchers in their 29 Querie which only serves to shew the weakness of their cause for it seems if it be true that women as well as men had Hands imposed on them with Prayer by the Apostles for the Holy Spirit then their cavils against the universality of the pract●ce of laying on o● Hands is at least the less considerable Now that the promise of the Spirit extends to Christian women as well as men appeareth from the Prophets foresight of the extent thereof Isa 44. 3. I will powr water upon him that is thirsty and flouds upon the dry ground I will powr my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon their off-spring Joel 2. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will powr out my Spirit upon all flesh and upon the servants and upon the Handmaid in those dayes will I powr out of my Spirit Which glorious promise was first fulfilled to the Christians soon after the Assention of our Lord Acts 2. And now is the time as well as then for Christians to reap the fruit of that promise Acts 5. 32. the holy Ghost which God hath g●ven to them that obey him Because ye are sons God hath s●nt forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts Gal. 4. 6.

such gifts of his Spirit in the way of Praier with laying on of Hands yet that such gifts was the only proper end of that service is confidently denied because as before it was impossible to know in any ordinarie way for whom to pray or on whom to impose Hands whether on men or women seeing neither sex is exempted from the extraor dinarie gifts of the Spirit It is certain that God gave the gift of Tongues c. in the Ministerie of the Word Acts 10. Yet it doth not follow thence that such gifts are the only proper end of preaching the Word but the undoubted end of the Lord in that Ordinance is that men believe and be saved though perhaps they never receive the gift of tongues prophesie c. and this is certainly that end which shall be attained by all that rightly accept that means of salvation John 20. 31. These things are written that ye might believe and in believing that ye may have life through his name Nor will Acts 19. 6. prove that there is or ever was any such thing as laying on of Hands for the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit only for still we must distinguish between an effect onely and that which is the undoubted end of any service The reasons even now urged do forbid us to say that tongues miracles c. was the undoubted or precise end of laying on of Hands Acts 19. because the service was universal but extraordinarie gifts are particular only And let it be seriously considered that if Paul had found twelve hundred men instead of twelve who had not receiv●d the holy Gh●st since they believed ought he not to have done that to them all which he did to these Doubtless he ought yet who can imagine that such gifts as Tongues Miracles c. should be given to each individual This would be far from that order which God hath beautified his Church withall 1 Cor. 12. 29 30. And whereas Paul in this place and Peter and John in Acts 8. is conceived by some of our opposites to have imposed hands to work Miracles for confirmation of the Word this is a very great mistake for then there is no reason to imagine that the practice of laying on of hands should have been general as doubtless it was For seeing that the healing of one Cripple Acts 4. 16. was sufficient to convince open enemies that the power of God was with his Apostles Then surely it was not necessarie that all the Baptized should miraculously speak with tongues for to convince themselves or others that the Word which they had received was from heaven But alas men fall into thi● errour by their unwillingness to see the truth for signes are not for them that believe and Miracles had been wrought by Philip at S●m●ria to confirm the word before Peter and John came there Acts 8. 6 7. and all that we read of Peter and John in respect of confirming the Word is only this that they testified and preached it and departed vers 25. Now that all the Disciples at Samaria had Hands imposed on them cannot without absurdity be denied for certainly they imposed hands on all in wh●se hehalf they prayed but will anyman say that they prayed but for some of them only that they might receive the promise of the Father and that all the rest must be excluded both from the prayer and the gift prayed for Surely such a conceit would make Peter and John miserable comforters to those Disciples whom they should thus neglect in their prayers for the holy Spirit as all the women which were Baptized were so neglected in the opinion of the Searchers for they by their demands will needs suppose that the Apostles did not impose hands on women as if women had not as clear a right to the promised Spirit as men They might as well have doubted whether Peter and Iohn laid hands on men seeing the Text sayes nothing particularly of them any more than of the women But I say these imaginations are very irrational sith as before it was not known to Peter or John what persons by name should have extraordinary gifts whether the Servants or Handmaids of the Lord nor whether any of them should be Prophets or ●peakers with tongues But this they knew that the gift of the Holy Ghost belonged to them all for so they had preached to others Acts ● 38. and therefore certainly they prayed for all to whom the promise did belong and then doubtless for whom they prayed on them they laid their hands and so it is evident they laid their hands on all The same may be noted from Pauls question Acts 19. 2. Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed Where certainly he includeth the whole number of these certain Disciples who by their ●nswer to the question being all discovered ●o be wanting in respect of that great gift of God Paul must needs be very partial if he had not the same care for all that he had for some and if his care was equally for them all ●hen reason tels us he would not be want●ng to any of them in his endeavours that they might receive that Spirit which as 〈◊〉 they had not received So that still we see laying on of Hands was practised as generally as Baptism or any other Ordinance where the practise of it is recorded and that is an evidence that the end of that service was that gift of the Holy Ghost which is general and consequently not for the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit otherwise then as they are included within the compass of that gracious promise That the laying on of Hands Acts 8. Acts 19. was not the laying on of Hands for extraordinarie gifts but for the general donation of the Spirit to Disciples indifferently is yet more manifest because upon this only ground could Paul ask the Disciples whether they had received the Holy Ghost since they believed and upon this only ground may the Ministers of Christ ask this question of the Disciples at this day I mean so to ask it as thereby implying that they ought to have it for so much Paul's question doth plainly imply as appears by his endeavours that they who had been so long without it might now be made partakers of it and that for them all indifferently And upon this ground only could Peter and Iohn use the means to obtain the Spirit for the Disciples at Samaria generally namely because the promise of the Spirit was universal Again from this consideration that that laying on of Hands Acts 8. Acts 19. was a general practise and the gift prayed for in that service a general gift it will follow that the Apostles performed this service of prayer with laying on of Hands by vertue of their Ministerial Authoritie and not by vertue of any particular power they had to give the Holy Ghost as some do vainly imagine otherwise it will follow that by their gift of miracles they were bound

determine positively concerning this principle what it is and let their diligence appear in teaching it together with the rest of the principles which yet to use their own dialect I despair ever to see them perform either the one or the other at least so long as they carry themselves towards those who shew them that which they so ignorantly pretend to own so much like the Athenians as to account of those to be setters forth of strange Principles as they accounted Paul a letter forth of strange gods And though you as they seem to be very desirous to hear what in this case we have to say yet when we have told you the truth then as they thought it a thing incredible that God should raise the dead so you think it incredible that we should receive any blessing in the way of prayer with the laying on of Hands as evidently appears by your demand in these words How doth your practise of laying on of hands agree with theirs meaning the Apostles Acts 8. Acts 19. having no such blessing to communicate as they had In which demand you seem to lye under two very great mistakes as first that the Apostles had the blessing of the gifts of the Spirit to communicate to others as if they could give the gift of prophesie tongues miracle c Secondly that on whomsoever they laid their hands the same received such a blessing to wit the miraculous gifts of the Spirit Which blinde conceits you never learned of Simon Peter for they are the errours of Simon Magus Acts 8. Whose blindness was rebuked by Peter affirming that that blessing was the gift of God Yea it is written and the Scripture cannot be broken that every-good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of Lights c. Yea the Spirit it self is free blowing where it listeth and is therefore not to be communicated by any man whatsoever We conclude therefore that the Apostles had no blessing to communicate to those on whom they laid their hands but could only beg it at the hands of God as the very words of the Text doth shew Acts 8. They prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost not that they might receive the gift of tongues miracles c. but only that they might receive the Holy Ghost From the Text thus considered I argue He did communicate the blessing only to whom the prayer was made for it But the prayer was only made to God therefore he only did communicate the blessing Again They that beg a blessing for themselves or for others do not communicate that blessing to themselves or to others But the Apostles did only beg the blessing of the Spirit c. therefore they did not communicate it c. Let it further be considered that if that which they ask be obtainable and obtained by those that now wait upon God in prayer with the laying on of Hands then our practise doth agree very well with theirs now what did they ask The gift of tongues c. No they only asked the Holy Ghost and surely the Holy Ghost is now attainable and attained even there where tongues are not attained Otherwise it will follow that the greater part of the Saints in the primitive times as well as the Saints in these dayes have not received the Holy Ghost which is not only foolish but very pernicious to imagine For Acts 13. 32. its said the Disciples were filled with ●oy and with the Holy Ghost and the Church is exhorted to be filled with the Spirit All which may be attained to now although the miraculous gifts of the Spirit be not attained nor indeed are they necessary in order thereunto as the places last quoted do shew Now that there is an agreement between the laying on of hands Acts 8. Acts 19. Heb. 6. 2. and that which we practise will further appear by this parallel The Apostles performed laying on of Hands with prayer to the Lord and so do we They performed this service on Disciples as such whether male or female and so do we It was practised by them in order to the receiving the Holy Ghost and so it is by us They placed laying on of Hands in the fourth place of Christian principles and so do we They asked not Tongues and Miraculous gifts no more do we The effects of that service depended not on them no more it doth on us But that was according to the will of the Father then and so it is to us Justly might we return our Brethrens demand upon themselves in their practises of prayer and preaching when we consider how God gave the Spirit in the likeness of fiery tongues to the hundred and twenty Disciples who prayed with one accord in one place The like to which effect never followed the most serious prayer that ever proceeded from our Brethren Must we then conclude that there is no agreement between their prayer and the prayer of the Church in those dayes This is the way to make void the the wayes of God unless he give us the like effect at all times which he ever gave to any at any time The like may be said of preaching For when Peter preached Acts 10. the Holy Ghost fell on all that heard the word so as that they spake with tongues Would it not be absurd now to say that Peter did communicate the blessing of tongues here And thence to conclude that none may preach unless they have the blessing of tongues to communicate to those to whom they preach Nor may we say that the like effect did alwayes follow the preaching of Peter himself no nor his laying on of Hands neither For there is no mention that those Disciples at Samaria received the gift of tongues but only that they reeeived the Holy Ghost For we have shewed that the Holy Ghost may be received so as that persons may be known and said by others to be full of the Holy Ghost and yet the miraculous gifts of the Spirit may be absent Nor is it to be doubted but that Simon Magus had hands imposed on him in common with the rest sith he was a Believer and Baptized and shewed as much zeal as the rest if not more for it s said he continued with Philip and wondered beholding the miracles which were done c. Nor was the deceit of his heart perceived till after the service of laying on of Hands was performed Acts 8. And yet certainly his receivings in respect of Spiritual blessings was not so great but that it may be safely presumed that many Christians in these dayes do receive the Holy Ghost as much as Simon M●gus did And though Peter said to him thou hast no part or lot in this matter yet the words this matter cannot refer to Simons desire of subjection to laying on of Hands but to his ambitious and avaritious desire to be a Minister to dispence that ordinance to others for carnal