Survey of the Spiritual Antichrist, Part 1 · Chapter 22
CHAP. XXII. The highest discovery Familists have of Christ, to wit, that he is a man only figuratively not true man.
OF the highest & last discovery of God to man saith Saltm. 201. They say (speakinge of Familists) Adam was a way by which God preached first to man, and was not the first man in whom all stood and fell, The first & second Adam men only in figures not truly and realy by the way of Saltmarsh.but a way by which this mystery of God was made to appeare first to the creation, and Adam held forth nature or a part of this creation in communion with God as to grace and love while hee stood, and another part of the creation or nature out of communion with God, as to love and grace, (he should say as to no love, no grace) but in communion or union to God as to Law and Justice, & thus they interpret these scriptures of mans first glory, & fall, lesse in the very letter, and more in the mystery, and in this twofold state were all the rest, Cain and Abel &c.—They say the Gospel or fulnesse of time of the clearer discoverie of this mystery was the Lor… Jesus himselfe, or God manifested in the flesh, or as in one man, a figure of the whole mystery, as to grace and love, or God in flesh, or in his; or of God in that other part of his creation his Church or Saints—And all that Christ did from his childhood to his crucifing, death, and crosse, was a discovery of God by this figure in the whole mystery, how God is in all his, & how he works, & hath his times of law and of graces, and gospel, of crucifing and offering up all to death through the eternall spirit which is the blood of the everlasting Covenant, or Seale, whereby God witnesseth to his people, that he is their God, and they his people, by killing all the strength, and life, and power of the first creation, and carrying it up into a more excellent life, his own Spirit: And so all Christs birth, growing, submitting to ordinanecs, crucifying, death, buriall, resurrection, ascension, were so many discoveries as to us in the flesh, of the whole mystery of God in the Saints, made out in these parts and degrees, and severall ages and conditions, to shew how God weakens and brings to nothing the life of nature, or of this creation in which he will dwell, and make his Tabernacle, and carry it up into a higher and more excellent life, even himselfe and his own glory: So, as they say, all that is spoken of Christ, as in that person that was born of a virgin, who was crucified, dead and buried, risen and ascended, is spoken in figure, (in a myst…ry▪ an …llegory, not in Christ as a true reall man) of the … into which God enters, or is born into the world, and so … along with him, through severall admini…trations into ….
Answ. In all this observe a greater and higher mystery of Familists then in Antinomians, though they be birds of the same nest. Saltmarsh speakes of them in the third person▪ that he may seem not to own them, but they are his own Sparkles of vain glory, while as he would speake his Antinomianisme and Familisme, in so high, mysterious, su…lime a strain, so farre above and beyond the L…tter, and written Scripture, that Mr. Gattaker, and those whom he calleth Legali…ts, doe not understand him, page 320 3…1▪ The same very thing saith Calvin of Libertines, They used stra…ge and dark language, so prating of Spirituall things, that they could not be understood Instruct. adve…s. Libertinos, cap, 3. in Opus… ▪ p 435. Caeterum obscuro & peregrino sermone utebantur, ut de rebus spiritualibus ob…annientes minimè intelligi possent Libertini. But lest this high and last discovery of the Spirit, should not be known to all the Familists of England, he will reveale it them, and in print too, to all Legalists, whereas before we heard Familists reveale their secrets, but to some few of the perfect… of their own Tribe. So H. Nicholas tels us, Exhor. 1. c. 6. Sect. 5.7 8, 9. And in his Elidad. Sect. 5.
But 1. there is nothing of the first Adams sinne imputed to us: that is plainly denied: They say Adam was a way, that is, a figure, mystery, or example, by which God preached first to man, Law, Justice and Wrath, and was not the first man in whom all stood and fell. What then? He was not a materiall man at all, it was no tree, no fruit, no eating materiall or bodily. For all that is according to the Familists way, to expone the word in the letter and fl…sh, not in the Spirit. For saith he, thus they interpret … Scriptures of mans first glory and fall, lesse in the very Letter, and more in the mystery. So to expone all the histories of the first Adam, and of Christ, not in the Historicall, Literall, and Grammaticall sense, but in the Mysterious, Allegoricall, and Spirituall sense, is the way of Legalists; who (say they) follow the Letter, and know nothing of the Spirit; but the Letter killeth, and the Spirit quickneth. Read Philosophy dissected, and the peeces called Theologia Germanica, and the Bright Star, and H. Nicholas his Exhortations and Documentals, and you shall find strange Allegories. And Saltmarsh is as Monkish in Allegories as they.
2. Antinomians tell us often of imputed righteousnesse, which supposeth Christ was a true reall Man, and God-Man in one person, and that we are saved by the merit an satisfaction of his obedience and death imputed to us. But Saltmarsh and Familists her… tell us, Christ is a meere figure, sampler, document or example onelyonly, in which God discovers to us grace and love, And, all that is spoken of Christ as in that person, (not in that person really, but figuratively as in that person) that was borne of a virgin, who was circumcised ▪ &c. is spoken in figure of the whole nature. What? Was not Christ reall and very Man, our only surety, Mediator, High Priest, who offered a reall sacrifice for us? Is he nothing but a figure? and if Adam was not the first man in whom all stood and fell, so that all have sinned in him, neither can Christ be the second Man, in whom all his sonnes are justified, redeemed, and saved. But Familists deny that Adam was the first man in whom all stood and fell, as Saltmarsh told us before, and therefore Familists deny that doctrine of the first and second Adam, Rom. 5. and 1 Cor, 15.
3. It is a mystery, that all that Christ did from his childhood to his crucifying, death, and crosse, was a discove…y of God by this Figure in the whole mystery, how God is in all his, and works and hath his times of Law-crucifying, &c. Was his crucifying but a discovery, or a document of God by this figure? The Scripture riseth higher: He was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, with his stripes we are healed, Esai. 53. And him that knew no sinne, God made sinne for us, that we might be made the righteousnesse of God in him, as it is 2 Cor. 5.21. And in his own selfe on the tree he bare our sinnes, 1 Pet. 2.24. The Familists make Christ a discovery, and a teaching figure, not a true Man. The Socinians make him a Man, but a meere example of patient suffering, if we follow him, his example will save us; but they denyed he payed a reall satisfactory ransome to Gods justice for us.
4. By Christs death (say they) God witnesseth to his people that he is their God and they his people, by killing all their strength and life, and power of the first creation, and carrying it up to a more excellent and glorious life, his own Spirit. How killed Christ the strength, life and power of the first creation? Christ is but a figure, and Christ but suffers (sayth Gortine) and dies in us, when we who beare his Image (For Man saith Saltmarsh, p. 3, 4. is created according to the Image of God, which was Jesus Christ) doe suffer and die, for God cannot die. And to this agreeth well what Saltmarsh saith, p. 288. Others say (he himselfe and Familists, in opposition to Protestants, who make Gospel-administration to stand in repentance, faith, sanctification justification, 285, 286. the mystery of salvation is no other then Immanuel, or God with us, Christ being no more but an anointed one, and that anointed one is our nature or weaknesse, anointed with the Spirit, even God himselfe who is strength. And this mystery of great and exceeding glory, is revealed in peeces and parts, and after the manner of men, according to the infirmity of our flesh, within the Christian in graces, &c. and in the Scriptures, or expressions and formes without the Christian: then is Christ crucified nothing but a beleever graced within with Gods Image. And p. 283. he saith, O how doth the pure appearance of God powre shame upon all flesh, and fleshly glory,— Either by letter or by graces, the day of the Lord will be upon all our Cedars and Okes. Now a Saint anointed, is God manifested in the flesh to Saltmarsh, and will the Lord powre shame on God manifested in the flesh? or is the day of the Lord against Christ …evealed within the Christian in graces, and in the Scriptures without the Christian? Then is Gods wrath kindled against grace within, and Scripture without; brave Divinity. The Scripture saith not, that Christ on the Crosse killed the strength, life, and power of the first creation, that is, Gospel-grace, beleeving, and God manifested in the Saints, that is, the new creature in them; and the first creation, that is, as they say, the natu…rall faculties of knowing, willing, nilling; so as the holy Ghost, and the Lord Jesus must come in place of these faculties, and in us, love, feare, beleeve rejoyce; and we & all our powers that we had in creation, must be dead passive organs; Industry, Arts, Sciences, Tongues, Labouring, acting of Duties, quite removed, as flesh and corruption, and we turned in all spirit. See Rise reign, Er. 1, 2. For Saltm. saith, Sparkles of Glory, 230, 231. all other askings or seekings of God, which are not thus in Spirit, or in the will or mind of God, in some evidence or pure work of the Spirit, is but the askings of creatures, as creatures. All exhortations in Scripture to this duty, as, Seek yee my face, Pray continually, are onelyonly then rightly, effectually, and properly applied and obeyed, when the Spirit of God doth it in the Christian, when the Spirit of God breathes in, and reveals the will of God, and acts in the duty, or expressions, and the Christian speakes in himselfe, or the presence of others, that mind of God, and so the Spirit of God cloathes it selfe in flesh, or letter, or expressions as to the outward man. If by a pure work of the Spirit, Saltmarsh mean, that the Spirit acteth as the principall determining, moving, acting cause, carrying on the work so, as our Spirit, and naturall faculties of mind, will, affection, have their own subordinate, and inferiour active influence in the work, the holy Ghost helping our infirmities, it is good; but this is no new light, nor Familisticall secret of all Spirit, but that which Protestants teach against Den, and other Arminians, & old liers, and new lights. But … feare, a pure work of the Spirit, is as much as the Spirit acts purely, wholly, only, in praying, and all supernaturall acts, and the naturall faculties, strength, power and life of the first creation are destroyed and annihilated, so as we are dead passive Organs, doing nothing, but the Spirit doth all, as Libertines say: Second causes work nothing, but God, as the soul of all, worketh all in all creatures. This is the secret, and so the praying, and all the supernaturall duties of beleevers, are pure works of the Spirit, and works of all Spirit, and perfect according to the rigor of the Law: for the acts of the pure Spirit admitting of no retardment, pollution, or sinne from our nature, must be as perfect as pure works of Angels. And if our naturall faculties be not wholly dead, they are but acts of the creature, as the creature: then are all our supernaturall personall duties, no lesse perfect and sinlesse, then the imputed righteousnesse and actings of Christ. 2. Then the holy Spirit onelyonly, is to be blamed, when either the Saints pray not, or pray not in the Spirit, or not with that fervor, faith, feeling, and pure spirituality that God requireth in his holy word: this, if any thing, is a pillow of security.
3. So all the exhortations to pray continually, to act and work out our salvation in feare, to love the brethren, must be given to the holy Ghost, not to us: the contrary whereof is evident, we the Saints (not God, not the Spirit of God) are exhorted to praying, and acts supernaturall, which cannot be if the Saints have no more active influence in all these, then stones & blocks have; for that is none at all: then are we meere passive and dead in all these▪ then must a praying Christian be God, or his Spirit manifested in the flesh, as to this; and a Christian beleeving, praising, is the like.