The Combat Between the Flesh and Spirit, Sermon 10
SERMON. X. At Lawrence Jury, London, Decemb. 8. 1650.
GAL. 5. verſe 16.
This I ſay then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye ſhall not fulfil the luſts of the fleſh.
I Come now to the particular directions, touching the motions of the Spirit of God.
Direct. 1 1. When the Spirit of God ſuggeſts holy motions into your mindes, leave not theſe motions till you have brought them into actions; holy motions ſhould be backed with holy reſolutions, which alſo ſhould be followed with holy actions. It is the fault of many Chriſtians, they let good motions die in their breaſts, and ſo they come to an untimely iſſue. Daniel 1.8.That of Daniel is for our imitation, He purpoſed in his heart that he would not defile himſelf with the portion of the Kings meat, nor with the wine which he drank, therefore he requeſted of the Prince of the Eunuchs, that he might not defile himſelf. He did not reſt in the bare motion, and purpoſe, but he made it his requeſt, he joyned endeavour to his reſolution: but as for us, how may we (as I before told you) take up the complaint of Job, Our purpoſes are broken off, even the thoughts of our hearts: Job 17.11Holy motions they ſhould be followed with holy reſolutions, and accompliſhed with holy performances.
2. When the Lord vouchſafes you the motions of his Spirit, you muſt not conceive that you have the Eſſence, or the Perſon of the Spirit; this is the errour of the Familiſts, and no leſſe then blaſphemy, for want of a diſtinction between the motions of the Spirit and the Perſon of the Spirit; their opinion is this, that there is in a Beleever not only the graces of the Spirit, but the Perſon of the Spirit; but this is nothing elſe but to make humanity the Deity. For the clearing hereof let me exemplifie it by a compariſon. The Sunne that is in the firmament, we uſe to ſay that it is in ſuch a houſe, or ſuch a window; but when we ſay ſo, we do not mean that the body of the Sunne is there, but only that the light, heat, or influence of the Sunne is there: So though the Scripture tells us that the holy Ghoſt, 1 Cor. 3 16. Spiritus Dei habitatin nobis, quia, regit, gabernat & ſa… ctificat. Paraeus.or Spirit dwells in us; the meaning is not, as if the Perſon of the holy Ghoſt were in us, but only the motions and graces of the Spirit are there. And therefore in both thoſe expreſſions, You are the Temple of the holy Ghoſt, and, The holy Ghoſt dwelleth in you, there is (ſaith Paraeus) a Metaphor.
3. Take heed that you miſtake not the Spirits motions for Satanical illuſions. I gave you the characters before, how you might know the Spirits motions from the devils deluſions: I ſhall only hint this to you, which is an infallible rule, That all motions that are not conſonant to a written Word, they are from the devil, not from God. Prov. 1.23. Iſa. 59.21.I gave you two Texts of Scripture, wherein the Spirit and the Word were joyned together; therefore ſee that all your motions be according to a written Word.
Direct. 4 4. Take heed of beleeving every one that ſayes he is inſpired by the Spirit. There are many high-flown Teachers in theſe dayes, (who indeed are Maſters of errour, yet would be thought the Diſciples of truth) that ſay they are inſpired, when none elſe are beſide them. But as the Apoſtle John ſaith, Believe not every Spirit, 1 Ioh. 4.1. 2 Theſ. 2.2.that is, every corrupt teacher, but try the Spirits whether they are of God, becauſe many falſe Prophets are gone out into the world. They are called Spirits, becauſe they pretend with ſuch confidence to have the Spirit.—Now that you may know ſuch men, I ſhall diſcuſſe this Queſtion.
Queſt.How you may know men who pretend to have the Spirit, when indeed they have not?
Anſw. 1 Such men who only pretend to have the Spirit, they are always proud of the gifts of the Spirit; their conceited opinion of having the Spirit, raiſes their mindes to a high degree of pride. This is a certaine rule that they who are truely inſpired of the Spirit, 1 Cor. 7.40.they are alwayes humble; thus it was with Paul, I give my judgement, (ſayes he) and I think I have the Spirit of God: Paul he knew he had the Spirit, yet would he ſpeak in humility, not boaſtingly and inſultingly as many did. And ſo at another time, ſayes he, 2 Cor. 12.2,3,4I knew a man in Chriſt above fourteen years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth: ſuch a man caught up into the third heaven, and heard words which it is not lawful for man to utter.—Now who was this man? it was none but himſelf; it was his modeſty that made him ſpeak in a third Perſon; therefore thoſe who boaſt of the Spirit, and are vain glorious, it is an argument that indeed they have not the Spirit of Chriſt, which is a Spirit of meekneſſe and of humility.
Anſw. 2 Thoſe that ſo cry up the Spirit, as to cry down ordinances, and the Miniſtery, they have not the Spirit of God. In the time of the New Teſtament, when viſion and inſpiration were in uſe, yet then the Spirit would not teach men immediately; but did referre them to an outward Miniſtery. Acts 8.A famous inſtance you have hereof (as I noted before) in the Ethiopian Eunuch; who being reading in his Chariot the Prophecie of Eſaias, the Spirit would not interpret to him the meaning hereof, Acts 9.6.but bids. Philip go and expound it.—So Paul when Chriſt revealed himſelf to him, he would not teach him himſelf, but bids him go to Damaſcus, and there it ſhould be told him what he ſhould do.—The like example we have in Cornelius; Acts 10.5,6.the Spirit would not teach him immeditely, but bids him ſend for Peter, and he ſhould tell him what he ought to do.—By theſe examples we ſee how the Lord hath honoured the Miniſtery of the Word. And therefore thoſe who cry up the Spirit, ſo as to cry down the Miniſtery, as expecting to have the immediate teaching of the Spirit; doubtleſſe they have not the Spirit of God.
Anſw. 3 Thoſe who pretend to the Spirit, and yet boaſt of the effects of the Spirit, rather in future Revelations, then in preſent motions to holy duties, are deceived by a Satanical deluſion. There are many in theſe dayes that will take upon them to tell you future contingent events, but this can be nothing elſe but a deluſion of the devil, becauſe the gifts of the Spirit in foretelling future events is now ceaſed, and doth not remaine in the Church. It is true I deny not but that the devil by a ſpecial manifeſtation from God may tell a future event, but I am ſure your Aſtrologers cannot by the help of the ſtarres. Thus the devil appeared to Saul in the ſhape of Samuel, 1 Sam. 28.…9and ſayes he, To morrow ſhalt thou, and thy ſonnes be with me, the Lord alſo ſhall deliver the Hoſt of Iſrael into the hands of the Philiſtines. Now how came the devil to the knowledge of this? but by a ſpecial Revelation from God, the Lord permitting it for the deluſion of wicked Saul. Or elſe the devil may know future events by that great knowledge which he hath in Scripture-Prophecies; thoſe Prophecies which are dark to us the devil may know them: and therefore we read in Hiſtory, that the devil hath told the events of Wars. Thus the devil in the Delphick oracle told Alexander, that both the Caldean, and Grecian Monarchies ſhould be under his government, the devil told him ſo. So that if men ſhall take upon them peremptorily to tell future contingent events; I may confidently ſay, it comes from the devil, not from God.
Direct. 5 Another direction about the Spirits motions is this. Bring your ſelves under all advantages, whereby you may gain the Spirits motions. There are three advantages which I would commend to you.—
1. Be much in holy diſcourſe with good company; converſing with thoſe who have the Spirit about ſpiritual things, is a likely advantage for thee to gain the Spirits motions. What Chriſt did whileſt he was upon earth, that will he yet do by his holy Spirit. You read when the two Diſciples were going to Emmaus, Luke 24.15.communing and reaſoning together, that Jeſus drew neere and went with them; Chriſt will draw neere to thoſe by the motions of his …pirit, who are diſcourſing about holy things.
2. Give due attendance to the ordinances of God; they are that poole which the Angel at certain times will move. It is a Text worthy of obſervation, which you read of in the Prophet Iſaiah, where the Lord ſayes, Iſa. 30.20,21That thy Teachers ſhall not be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes ſhall ſee thy Teachers, and thine ears ſhall hear a voice behinde thee, ſaying, This is the way, walk ye in it. Mark the connexion; you ſhall ſee your Teachers, and in ſeeing them ſhall heare a voyce, that is, of the Spirit. The ordinances are they which convey the Spirit in its motions to us: and to this purpoſe I may accomodate that of the Prophet Zachariah, Zech. 4.12where it is ſaid, that the two Olive-branches did empty themſelves of the golden oile, by the two golden pipes, and ſo it ranne into the Candleſtick. This Candleſtick is the Church, the oile is the motions of Gods Spirit, and theſe motions they runne through ordinances; they are thoſe golden pipes which convey the Spirits motions into your hearts. It is with the motions of the Spirit and holy ordinances, as it is with the blood and Spirit, and the veines and Arteries; for as theſe convey the blood and ſpirit to each part: ſo alſo ordinances convey the graces and comforts of the Spirit to each believing member of Chriſt. Waite upon the Preaching of the Word, and then waite alſo upon prayer; that will be a means whereby you ſhall obtaine the Spirit. Chriſt he makes this an incouragement to prayer. Luke 11.13.If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts to you children; how much more (ſayes he) ſhall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that aske him? Go therefore to God in prayer, and that will be a means to bring the Spirit into thy heart.
3. Be much alone in holy meditation. Chriſt could tell you that he was alone, and yet (ſayes he) I am not alone, becauſe the Father is with me; So you, if you are alone in meditation, yet you will not be alone, becauſe the Spirit will be with you in its holy motions. That as Iſaac when he went forth to meditate, Gen. 24.63,64it is ſaid that then he ſaw Rebeccah, that mercy he ſo long prayed for: ſo may I ſay to thee, be much in meditation and the Spirit which thou haſt prayed for ſhall be given in unto thee. 1 Kings 19.12.As Eliah when he was in the mountaine, he perceived that the Lord was in the ſtill voice; ſo will the ſoul at laſt perceive, that though the holy Spirit is not in the ſtrong winde of boiſterous paſſions, yet he will be in the ſtill voice of holy meditation.
Direct. 6 Look more after the holy motions of the Spirit then after the raviſhing comforts of the Spirit; and the reaſon is this, becauſe you more need the Spirits motions then the Spirits comforts; you may go to heaven without comfort, but you cannot go to heaven without grace; though it be the raviſhing work of the Spirit which makes my life comfortable, yet it is the holy work of the Spirit which makes my ſoul ſaveable. The ſealing work of the Spirit, whereby I cry, Abba Father, gives comfort; but the Sanctifying work of the Spirit, whereby I mortifie the deeds of the fleſh, Romans 8.13,14,15. is the ground of that comfort.
Direct. 7 And laſtly, take heed that you do not miſtake moral perſwaſions, for the Spirits motions. This is a very uſeful rule. Men are apt if they have a good motion to intitle it unto the Spirit; whereas there may be a thouſand good motions in thy minde, which may meerly come from moral perſwaſion. Meere nature may make a Reprobate go farre; how do you read of flaſhes of joy in Herod? he heard John Baptiſt gladly; of pangs of fear, and horrour in Felix? and fits of ſorrow and grief in Judas? yet all theſe came from the force of moral perſwaſion, and were not ſaving workings of the Spirit.
That you may not be miſtaken about moral perſwaſion: I ſhall give you four differences between it and the Spirits working.
1. Moral perſwaſion it may move a man to do good, but it never changes the affections. And therefore you read of thoſe, 2 Theſ. 2.10.That did not receive the truth in the love of it. Which intimates that men may receive the truth in the motion of it, and yet not in the love of it. Eph. 4.15. foreign.And hence are thoſe expreſſions Of ſpeaking the truth in love, or doing the truth in love; whatſoever you do you muſt do it in love. Now moral perſwaſion may move you to do a good act, but it never draws out your affections in love to the things you do.
2. Moral perſwaſion preſſes men to do good, but it gives them no power to do the thing it perſwades to. Moral perſwaſion may give a man an eye, to ſee what is to be done; but the Spirit it gives not only an eye, Rom. 3.26.but a hand alſo, and helps us in the doing of that good whereunto it perſwades.
3. Moral perſwaſion moves men to do good more out of hope of reward, or fear of puniſhment then of love to grace, or holineſſe; it looks more at what God gives, then what he requires; and hath more reſpect to the reward of grace, then to grace it ſelf.
4. Moral perſwaſions they are partial perſwaſions; they move a man to ſome kindes of good, but not to all good; to good that may be eaſily done, but not to difficult duties; to outward, but not to inward good: but the Spirits motions they are univerſal; there is no good act, but the Spirit it moves a man to.
Ʋſe 1 Of comfort, Conſider in the general what cauſe of comfort we have, in that the Lord hath promiſed to us more of his Spirit then he gave out under the law. It ſhall come to paſſe in the laſt dayes, Acts 2.17.(ſaith God) that I will power out my Spirit upon all fleſh. The Spirit it reveales things now more clearly, and more abundantly. In the laſt dayes the Spirit ſpeaks expreſly; before they ſaw things darkly; but now we ſee face to face, that is, more plainly; there ſhall be a more full revelation of the Spirit, Iſaiah 30.26.When the light of the Moone ſhall be as the light of the Sunne, and the light of the Sunne ſevenfold, as the light of ſeven dayes. Eph. 3 5.And hence is that promiſe, that knowledge ſhall fill the earth as water filleth the ſea. In other ages the Myſtery of Chriſt was not made known unto the ſons of men, as it is now revealed unto us by the Spirit. Bleſſe God then; this is a general comfort that more of the Spirit was reſerved under the New Teſtament, then was diſpenſed under the Old.
In particular, there are ſix comforts which I ſhall lay down for ſuch who walk after the guidance and motions of Gods Spirit.
1. The Spirit of God will be a ſure guide to you, to diſcover to you, John 16.13.and to lead you in all truth; ſo ſaith our Saviour, He will guide you into all truth, that is, into all truth neceſſary to ſalvation. A like place you have in the ſame Evangeliſt, John 14.26.where it is ſaid, that the Spirit ſhall teach you all things; that is, all things needful for an elect man to know that he may be ſaved. The Spirit of God reveales the Myſteries of ſalvation to his people, 1 Cor. 2.9,10.and therefore you read, that eye hath not ſeen, nor eare heard, neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them which love him: but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, The Spirit it makes known to us Goſpel-truths, and reveals Goſpel-Myſteries; 1 Cor. 2.15.The ſpiritual man judgeth all things, yet he himſelfe is judged of no man; he hath the Spirit of God inabling him to diſcerne of Doctrines whether they be true or falſe; and ſayes the Apoſtle, he himſelfe is judged of no man; that is, he is ſo aſſured of the truth of his Doctrine, Hilderſam on Pſalme 51. pag. 774.that other men cannot pervert him.
2. The Spirit will not be only a guide to lead you, but a ſeale to aſſure you of your Adoption. Rom. 8.14.As many as are led by the Spirit of God, (that is, which walk after its motions, and guidance) they are the Sonnes of God. And becauſe ye are ſonnes, God hath ſent forth the Spirit of his Sonne into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father; Gal. 4.6that is, giving you a farther aſſurance, and Seale of your Sonneſhip, that you may with more boldneſſe poure out your hearts into the boſome of your Father.
3. The Spirit will be an evidence unto thee of thy union with Jeſus Chriſt. So ſaith the Apoſtle, Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given to us. And hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he in us, becauſe he hath given us of his Spirit. 1 John 3.24.Chap. 4 13Get therefore the Spirit into thy heart, and follow its motions and guidance, and hereby wilt thou be aſſured of thy union with Chriſt.
4. Walk in the Spirit, and it will be a ſure pledge to thee, that thou art exempted from damnation and brought into a ſtate of ſalvation. Rom. 8.1.There is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jeſus, who walk not after the fleſh, but after the Spirit. It will be an evidence to you that you are paſt damnation.
5. That you are free from the curſe and power of the law. If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Gal. 5.18Liberati ſumas per Chriſtum à damnatione, non à directione legis.You muſt not underſtand it as if you were not under the moral law as a rule of life, but only that you are freed from the curſe of it, ſo you are not under it.
6. And laſtly, if ye have the Spirit of God, and walk after its guidance, here will be your comfort, that ye ſhall not fulfill the luſts of the fleſh. And this brings me to the ſecond Doctrine, to wit, That walking after the Spirit is an eſpecial help to Beleevers, that they ſhall not fulfill the luſts of the fleſh; though they may act the luſts of the fleſh, and commit thoſe ſinnes which the devil, and their own hearts may move them to, yet they ſhall not fulfill the luſts of the fleſh.—But more of this in the following Sermons.