The Application of Redemption, Book 1 · Section · Subsection 6
Third Case of Conscience.Quest.
Though a man can have no Right to any Spiritual … in Christ without Faith, and though the … never witnesseth this without, or before Faith; …, when Faith is there, when some gracious … is wrought, may not, doth not the Spirit … a mans good estate without any respect to …, or any gracious Qualification existent in the …?
I Answer: So marvelous, secret, and unsearchableAnsw are the Dispensations of the Spirit unto the Soul … as the wind blows where it …, thou hearest … John, 3. 8.sound of it, thou knowest not whence it comes … whither it goes: So it is here; The hidden … ousness of the manner of the Spirits work in the … of it, is so hard to discern, that to make any approach so as to discover the way of God, and to undermine an Error entrenching thereabout, by … of Reason, is more than ordinarily … and therefore for our better proceeding in Answer … this Question, I shall Endeavor to do these … Things.
1 State the Question, and open it in the … thereof.
2 Give in such Arguments as we conceive … plainest Evidence with them to settle … Truth.
3 Answer some such Objections as are of greatest weight.
For the right … of the Question, in … to the Case propounded, I lay down this Conclusion The Spirit of God never gives in immediate … of any right we have to, or that we are made … of any benesit from Christ without respect … some Qualification, gracious Disposition, or Condition in the Soul.
There are Three Particulars to be Opened for the right understanding of this Conclusion.
First, What is meant by Evidence? Answer. … light of … let in on Gods part, and … on ours, whereby either we have, or may have, … true and never failing ground of right discerning, … what is so manifested and apprehended; so that Evidence …,
First, That God by his Spirit manifests his … and our Good, and that we either do, or may … it for our Comfort; For its the aim of the … to understand this Evidence with Application … the truth to our own particular estate. For we … not now what the Word is in it self, or what … Spirit doth in the ordinary dispensation thereof, … that is light in it self, and makes all things … indifferently at all times, Eph. 5. 13. but here we … this Discovery and Manifestation of the Mind … God as it comes home to our Particular that … … and hearts may be settled: As Luke 24. 32. He opened the Scriptures, vers. 45. He opened their … that they might understand the …: and so the truth was more cleer and their sight … cleer, 1 Cor. 2. 12. He hath given us his spirit … we may know the things that are freely given to … of God: 1 Joh. 5. 20. He hath given us an …, that we may know that we know him.
Secondly, This right discerning on our part is not … a certain knowledge, or science of that good … is thus witnessed to us, but an assurance of Faith, whereby the heart embraceth it as true to it, … good for it: The one of these is a help to the …, sanctisied reason, or reason exercised about … truths, is an instrument appointed by God in the and of his Spirit, to beget this act of Faith; for … exercised about the Word and Work of the …, it brings in the light of the truth as a mighty … with more strength and plainness to the heart, … draws out this act of divine Faith, whereby it … this as a truth of God. For look what the … of another man may do in the use of the Word … Ordinance, that my Reason used in such a manner … to God may do. But another man by the … of Reason or strength of Argument out of the … may convince my Conscience, nay settle and … my heart, in assurance of a truth which formerly I saw not, and therefore it is said, Acts 14. 22. they confirmed the souls of the Disciples, exhorting them, &c.
True it is the Grace and Habit of Faith is presumed, and was wrought before by the … power of the Spirit which raised Christ from the dead; … being wrought, the truths of God under the exercise of … Reason, will not only settle our judgement in knowing, but our assurance of Faith in … firmly beleeving and embracing; for first truths … to the understanding to be judged, before they be … up and presented to the heart to be beleeved Psal. 9. 10. They that know thy name will trust in … This is eternal life to know thee, Joh. 17. 3. … 2 Pet. 1. 3. Through the knowledge of our Lord … Savior: For a blind hood-winkt Faith is the … of Apostates and Papists, of Deceivers and … but not the Faith of Gods Elect.
Secondly, This Evidence, is laid out according … its proper object according to which it looks in … place, and in this Dispute: Namely, 1 Its … aright to what spiritual benefit we shall have, Or, … the possession or partaking of what we do enjoy … Christ, and these are rather some spiritual priviledge or blessings received and manifested by our … tions, than the Qualifications themselves, as the … terms of the Question do undeniably determine.
Hence its plain (according to the Opinion of … that hold the … of the Question … ed) It is not touching the … of Faith in … Soul, because this Evidence in the Question, … Faith wrought; Again, its not touching any … … on or Qualification of Grace to be wrought in … Soul, For I take … to be an everlasting truth.
The … never doth give, nor can there be any vidence that God will work the first Condition Grace, or the first Grace in the Soul before it be …, for as we heard Evidence carries Two things … it, 1 God reveals his Will to, or work upon the …. 2 There is both Science issuing from that … wisdom that hath been set up in the mind, and … of Faith, which embraceth that truth and … … firmly, being so cleerly and firmly assented …: Hence it follows necessarily, and …,
That which presupposeth the first Grace wrought … the Soul, and is an effect of that, that cannot be … before the first Grace be wrought; but Evidence … presupposeth spiritual science and assurance … Faith; therefore it cannot be before the first Grace, … before Faith be wrought … the Soul: Hence that … the Apostle, 1 Cor. 2. last. Who knows the mind … the Lord, but we have the mind of Christ, because … have the Spirit of Christ, and that cannot be had without Faith, Gal. 3. 14. That we may receive the Promise of the spirit through Faith.
Those Promises then, which imply the working of … Condition of the Covenant, or the first Grace, do … Three things: 1 What God alone can do as … to his peculiar Prerogative. 2 What … will do for his; that is, Such as shall come of his Son Christ the second Adam, 3 What the means … manner is by which he will do it. As,
The seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents Gen. 1…: I will take away the heart of stone, and give … an heart of flesh, &c. That is, I alone can doEzek. 3 2 …, and I will do it for those that are the Seed of the Covenant (for still such Promises have an eye to the Covenant of the Church and the Faithful … it, as, … will Circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, Deut. … 6.&c. And by the manifestation of the Fulness and Freeness of this Mercy of mine I will work it. There is an irresistable light which the Lord lets into … mind at the first call, which makes way for Faith and is a direct act of Knowledge which turns the … of the Soul to look to that fulness of power and … of mercy, by which the heart is drawn to … but the reflect act of evidence by which we are assured of what God hath done to us and for us, … whereby we see that we do see, is after this, and implyes the thing done before we see it.
The issue is, The object of this Evidence (we now speak of) is not gracious Qualifications wrought … to be wrought, but our right to or possession of … Priviledges, as thou art my Son, thy … … accepted, thy sins are pardoned. But how … shouldest be brought to these, or have thy heart framed to receive these, that is not attended at all; the spiritual Priviledges which we have or hope …, mainly attended in this work of Evidence, are Pardon and Forgiveness in our Justification, our Adoption, and Acceptation to be Sons, and the Reconciliation of our Persons to the Lord, and our happiness …: These are the spiritual Benefits which are here considered, and about which the … is meant.
The Third term to be opeend in the Question is, Immediate Evidence without respect to Faith or any saving Qualification] Its called, Immediate, in this Dispute, not because it is without the word or not by means of the Word, for to deny that would be too loathsom …, but immediat in respect of … condition going before out of which it might … For however the Question propounded, grants … Faith and Grace is there, yet the Evidence must be had without eying or attending any thing of a Qualification; I … a double Pretence which … this kind of Curiosity.
First a fear least they should prejudice the freeness Grace, if any Condition or Qualification in any … should be attended:
1 A Conceit directly and expresly contrary to … very letter of the Text and intendment of the …, Rom. 4. 16. Therefore it is of Faith, that it might Rom. 4. 16.by Grace: and if the being of Faith in the relying … Christ in the act of it do not hinder free Grace, … less will the seeing of it.
2 Besides if a … attended would … free Grace, then the Covenant of the Gospel … not attend, and by name expresly require …, or else it should not be a Covenant of ….
3 Its Free Grace, that makes and works the …, and when its wrought there is nothing given … it, or the Party who beleeves, for his Faith, but … its an Empty hand to take all from Christ for … both the Party and it self in its imperfections … pardoned.
A Second Pretence is, That I cannot know … my Faith and Grace be good, before I know … my estate be good: Where these Two things … plain;
1 A man may be in a good estate in Nature before ….
2 A man may know that he is so, without the … or seeing of Faith or Grace.
The Revelation comes and sayes, Thou art a Son … God, thy sins are pardoned; and if you once get … a Revelation, though your Faith and Grace be … you may repair hither, this will serve; before you do know this, you can never know the … of your Grace and Faith. And in truth, I suspect here is the Mysterie of this Opinion, the very Hinge upon which all the rest turn. And therefore though in words they will say, This Evidence cannot be before Faith; that is, In time, yet in Nature it may be; though this Evidence and Faith are coexisting, and coappearing together in time, they exist and appear together, yet this Evidence may be before Faith in Nature; An Opinion which is desperately dangerous. For,
That which contradicts the Gospel is false: … to say a man may be in a good estate before Faith, contradicts the Gospel. He upon whom the wrath … God …, he is not in a good estate: but he that beleeves not, the wrath of God remains upon him, Joh. 3. 36. He that is not within the state of the Covenant of Grace, he cannot know himself in a good estate; but without Faith no man is in the estate of the Covenant of Grace: For they only who are of Faith, are within that Covenant, Gal. 3. 9.
As my Election is, so is the Evidence of my Consolation;Object. but my Election is without any Eye to Works.
If … be the meaning, As my Election is of … ….…, so also is my … and the Evidence thereof, of free Grace; it is true. But if this be the meaning, … as Election depends upon no Means, nor Works, no more doth the Evidence of my Consolation, its very false: It amounts to this, If the Decree of God be independent, then is the Execution; then which nothing is more contrary to Scripture and common Experience: 1 Pet. 1. 9. Receiving the End of your Faith, the salvation of your souls: Rom. … 13. Filled with joy and peace in Beleeving. In a word, We are Justified and Saved freely; and yet both by Faith: and yet we are not Elected by Faith.
Gather up the meaning of the Question briefly.
1 … Evidence is meant, The Spirit witnessing, and I …: This discerning is by Science of Knowledge, and Assurance of Faith, the one helps the other.
2 It is concerning these Spiritual Priviledges, Justification, Adoption, Reconciliation, Glorification. It cannot be touching the working of Faith or any Qualification to be wrought, because it is without respect to any Qualification, and must in their apprehension Evidence none. Nay there can be no Evidence (that is) neither science of spiritual Wisdom, or assurance of Faith, that God will work the first Condition of Grace. Because they are Effects of the first Grace and presuppose it.
3 Lastly, This Evidence is immediate not in regard of the Word according to which it is dispensed; but in regard of any Qualification which is neither expressed on Gods part, nor attended on my part, though it may be there.
Now we see the plain meaning of the Question: I affirm it to be an Erroneous and dangerous Assertion: and therefore do Oppose this against it. Viz.
The Spirit of God never gives such an immediate Evidence of Spiritual Priviledges without a respect to a Qualification.