~.t.Setl:.11. Book IV. 495 I know tlJ' objeC\ions, As 1 . lf rhe Spirit be united to a believers foul, and fo made one with him, then may a believer fay, I am the Spmt; or I am equalw1th God in rejpeCt of theSpirit in me, thoughnot as Perer, l_'homas, &c. . , Bur I anfwer, this follows not ; for though the Sp1rtt .be really umred to a believers fpirir, fo that he may fay with the ApoHle, He that u joyned to the Lord u one ' Cor.6. 1 7· Spirit, or imh one Spirit ; yer. firfl, this union is a >olunrary at'!:, .and not a natural aCl, and in that refpeC\ rhe Sptm may un~te h1mfelf 10 the foul fo f~r as he pleaferh, and no further : And certainly rhus far be 1s norplea fed to unite lumfelf ro a bel1ever, as rhata bdiever 01ould fay properly, I am th<Spirit; or I am equal with God in rcfpeEI. of the Spirit; for rhen a. believer might 1be worlhippe~ with Divine wor01ip. 2. This union is by way of a?pl1catton, and not byway ofl\ux~ure; tf an heap of Wheat and a !l:one Otould be joyncd together, there Is an umon, they make both one heap, but rhe \Nhearcannor fay, I ~tm af/one, nor can the {\one fay, I am Wheat, becaufe this union i> only by way of application; bur if Wine and Water fhould ~e joy ne~ together, then every part may fay, I""' w.1ter, and I amwi.>Ie , becauf~ tlus umon ~s not only by application, but by way of miXture. Certamly there 15 a great umon betwixt the Spirit and abelieversfoul , yet cannon!Je believer fay properly, lam. the Spirit, or 1 am equal with God, b~caufe tbetr umon IS only by. way of appltcauon, and nor by way of mixture. z. ObieCt. No more was the union of ChriCt as God, with our mrure as man, any union by 'way of mixture, yet could he fay, I am God, and I ~<m man. Butlanfwer Cbri{\'sunion was nor only lpirirual or my!hcal, but hypo{\atical or perfonal; and in that refpeet though there was no mixture, yet there was fuch an union as cannot be parallel'd inall the world. Our fouls union with the Spirit of Chri!l: goes very far, and indeed fo far as we cannot exprefs lt, though we had the tongues, and heads, and hearts of men ~nd Angels ; yet comes it 010rt of that union betwixt the fecond perfon in the Trinity, and the foul and body of Chri!l:; his union was pcrfonal, but fo is not ours j a believer is a perfon before he is united to the Spirit of Chri£1:; but now Chrifi's foul and body were not a perfonbefore united to the perfon of the Godhead. Go we there– fore as far as we can, and I 01all eafily yield that our union with the Spirit is a true, real, e!Tendal,fublhntial, fpiritual, .invifible, my!l:ical, intimate union, yet is it not a perfonal, or hypo!l:atical union; the Spirit doth not a!Tume the foul or. body of a believer, as the fecond perfon a!Tumed the foul ~nd body of thrill:. Away, away with thefe cavils and blafphemyes, wherewith too many un!l:able fouls are now in– fected ! I have done with this Reafon. 4· That the holy Ghofr might according to his Office endow men with gifts, 1\C> fooner he befiows his perfon, but immediately he fills us with his train. • Now the gifts of the Spirit are of rhefe two forts, fome are common to good and bad, others are proper to rhe Elect only. Thofe gifts which are common, ·are again two-fold, for fome of them are given but to certain men', and at certain times, as rhe· gift of Miracles, cf Tongues, of Prophefico, and thefe were nece!Tary for the Apo- !Hes, and the Primitive Church, when the Gofpel was fir{\ to be difperfed · others are given to all the members of the Church . and at all times, as the giffs o'f Imer– ·pretation, Sciences , Arts , Prudence, Learning , Knowledge, Eloquence and fuch like ; the former gifts we have not, bur thefe latter are now given to every me~ber of the Church according to the meafme of ChriiFs gift, as the calling and vocation of evrry member needet!l. As for thofe gifts and faving graces which are proper to the godly, I fball fpeak of themanon. Now here is another reafon of the Spirits miffion, that he E h might giv< gifts unto men ; if you ask, what are thofe gifts? the Apo{\\e tells you in P ' 4 ·•• one place, hegave fome A pojlles, and (ome Prophets, and fome Evangelifts, and fome v. tr. !aJlors and Teachers. Three of thefe gifts are now gone, and their date is out, but m_tbe fame place ~e find Pajlors and T CA.chcrs, and them we have ftill; oh how may thts teach us to thtnk of fuch (even of Pafoors and Teachers)' as of the fpecial gifts and favours of Jefus Chri!l:; if our fpecia!Jriend Orould but fend us from a far Countrey one of Ins ch1ef fervants, would we not we!corn him? Chri{\ now is in Heaven and he fends us Minilters, os the Stewards of his houfe; fure if we have any love t; Ch11{\, ·the very feet _of them wot<ld be pycciotls , ~nd beautiful, who bring us glad ty- 1\orr. rc.: . dmgs of- peace. Agarn, the Apo!l:le tells us m another place, that there are diverjitics · S of gifts, butthefameSpirit; and diverjities dfca/ling, but thefame Lord, orChi-'ifi:;. 1 Cor.l'. 4, , ~nddwerjims of work£, but thefameGod and Farher worksth all in a/1. Chrift's errand ~' being
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=