p6 An Expoption of the Epifile ~ Now then Secondly, When this new Creoture is wrought, that is, when a Sermo11 man bath a new Eye given him, there mufl be a~other Creation befo_re a man XXV. will know any thing .actually, before he wtll fee tt.. Thts new C:reauon, this v-v--..J new Under!\anding gtveth htm a new Eye, a capactty mdeed whtch a Natural man hath not; the other is blind, he hath an Eye : But !\ill his Eye will not hell! him to fee; this new Under!\anding wtll not fee, except "od cloth fomewhai more, it .will not fee aright and fpiritually. You will ask, what is it that is fur. ther reqmred ? As great a thing as the former. It is this, It is for the Holy Gho!\ to create· in your under!\andings a new Image of things, a new fpecies or reprcfentation of things, fuch as never any Carnal man in this .world. had; and this mu(\ go to Spiritual knowledge, or you wtll never know thmgs anght; you all come eafily by it, but this power goeth to work it. It is the Point in hand. You (hall find too, that an act of faith is exprefi by an act of Sight ; He that feeth the Soil, aud belitveth o1t him, that is the expreilion 9t Chri(\, .'!ohn 6. 24There is fuch a fight of God and of Cl,lri!\, by the Unckrfianding of a rnan renewed, when he doth know them, when his mind Wprks upon them fpiritu. ally, there isfuch a fight wrought in his mind of them,_as all the men in the World have not, nor are any way capable oE If all the Angels in Heaven, (mark what I fay) lhould go and defcribe God and ChriU upon their own knowledge, and all their excellencies, (they faw Cbrifi upon Earth, they fee him now he is in Heaven;) if a man lhould go and quicken up his Under!\and· ing and Natural parts, yea, and have the utmofi afli(\ance of the Holy GboU. (fo as not to renew his Underfianding ;) all thefe will but raife up a fhadow of Chri!l, in comparifon of what a godly man hath of him in his heart. It will be but a ~"''!I'""• it will be but as we call afat[t Sun, you know there is feme– time> more Suns than one appears in the Clouds; look what that is in cpmpari· fan of the true Sun; fuch will all that knowledge be. that a man hath, that is meerly a Natural man. Take a man in Nature , raifed never fo high, all his knowledge is but a falfe J'rm of Righteottfnefs in comparifon of what a godly fl\nn feetb, becaufe the Holy Gho(\ createth in him, Uampeth upon his mind another manner of image and reprefentation of," him, than he doth io the heart of the mo(\ enlightn,ed men in the Wor\d. To open this unto you a little. I told you even now of raifing up a falfe Sun, and feeing the lrt<e Sttn, they are like ypu know, but they are mighty va!\, wide, d.ffertnt things. Saith the Apoflle, Ephef.4-21, when he exhorteth them to put off the Old man, and to put on the New;lf fa bt (faith he,ver.2o.) that J'e have heard him,alld have bm1 taught~ him, a> the trrtth is i11 Jefus; that ye pttt off cot(cer11i11g theformr•' Com;erfattoll, the 0/dman,~c. Thefe words, If fo be .;·e havt heard htin, atl4 have brm tattght 4y him tU. the truth u i11 Jdus,, they are a c 0 rrection of him– felf in what he fa id before. All Chri!\ians, faith he, mi taught not to walk as the Gmtiles walk, Te have "ot {o lrar11td Chr~fl; but yet becaufe many Chri· fiians do learn Chrift, and know Chrift, and yet do otherwife, he correcteth him· felf, If fo be (faith he).;•r have heard, a1Jdhavebeen taught qy him tU the t~uth u itt Jefm; If you have fcen him in truth, faith he, if you have feen the true .'!eftu as he is in himfell, if you have feen fpiritttal Jeftu fpiritually; then faith he, it will have this fruit upon you, that.;·e willput off tht oM. man, tmd ptil vrt the uew; it is impoilible it fhould be otherwifc. The thing I gatherfrom hence is this, The Apo(\!e you (ee difiinguilheth the knowledge of ChnUtans, all have learned Chrifi in the outward learning of him; but there is, faith he, a learning of him in the mind, M the trmh u i11 .J•fm. There is a falfe knowledge, a knowledge of a falfe Jefus, but of an ap· pearanee of him, a !hadow of hi~, which all Carnal men that live under the preaching of the Gofpel have; but if you have feen J>fus in truth, this lollow– eth upon it, you will pttt off" the Old mcm, attd put ott th~ Jl{ew. So that from hence it is evident that there is fuch a kqowledge of Chrill, whicll a man is taught, and bath wrought in his heart by the ~9ly Gholt, fuch an image and reprefeotation of him which ii in truth, ~nd in comparifon of which other knowledge is a falfe knowledge. My
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