Berm. L VII. `l e danger of Ápof acyfrom Chir/tianity. 4g5. ling upon God the Father, and the name of. our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the name of the Holy Ghoft, ó pcer;óaévCA, 7yUzat, the enlightned Perfon is wafhed 5 and again more exprefly, Kcc><elrcy ál aa.ro A.n.re'r po,zaal435, this Laver ( fpeaking of Baptifm) is called Illumination. And St. Cyprian gives us the Reafon 5 becaufe by virtue of Baptifm in expiatum pe6hee ac purum defuper fe lumen infundit, Light is it(ufed from above into the purified Soul. And that this Expreflìon is fo to be underftood here in the Text, as altoChap. io. 32. the Syriac and Ethiopic gives us goodground tobe- lieve; for they render theText thus, It is impoffible for thofe whohave been once baptized, and have tafled of the Heavenly Gift. And at the aoth. Chap. v. 32. which we tranflate, But call to remembrance the former days, in whichafter ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afiigions; that is, call to mind the for- mer days, in which after by Baptifm ye had publickly embraced the Profeflion of Chriftianity, ye were upon that account expofed to many grievous Sufferings and Perfecutions. So that I think therecan be nogreat doubt, but, by thofe that were once enlightned, the Apottle means thofe that were baptized. To proceed then, For it is impoilible for thofe who wereonce enlightned, and have tailedof the heavenlygift, andwere made partakers of the Holy Ghoft5 thefe twoEx- preffions feem todenote the Spiritual Benefits and Graces of the Holy Ghoft con- ferred upon Chriftians by Baptifm ; particularly Regeneration, which is the pro- per work of the Holy Ghoft, and JufHfication and Remiflion of Sins. So we find Faith, whereby we are juftified, called the Gift of God, Eph. 2. 8. Faith is the gift of God; and our Juftification is called a Gift, and a free Gift, five feveral times in one Chapter, Rom. g. 15, a 6, a 7, 18. But not as the offence, fo alfo is the free gift; for if through theoffence of one many be dead, much more thegrace of God, f e no and the gift by grace, which it by one Man Chrift, hath abounded unto many; and what this free Gift is, he tells us in the next words, viz. Juftification, or Remiflion of Sins, v. 16. And inn as it was by one that finned, fo is the gift 5 for the judgment was by one to Condemnation; but the feegift is of marry offences unto jollification. For if by one Man's offence, death reignedby one, much more they which receiveabundance of grace, and of the gift of righteoufnefs, jball reign in life by one, yefus Chrift. Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to Con- demnation: even fo by the righteoufnefs of one the free gift came Upon all men unto jollification of life. So that by the Heavenly Gift, I underftand remiffìon of Sins; and by beingmade partakers of the Holy Ghoft, the SanctifyingPower and Efficacy of God's Spirit. And have tafied the good Wordof God; that is, entertained theGofpel, which is here called thegood Word of God; by reafon of the gracious promifes contained in it, particularly the Promifes ofEternal Life and Happinefs. And thepowers ofthe World to come, óuvzl4el5 ve,efA.T.o'rg cúw "vim, the Powers of the GofpelAge; that is, the miraculous Powers of the HolyGhoft which werebe- Rowed upon Men, in order to the propagationof the Gofpel. And that this is the truemeaning of this Phrafe, will I think be very plain to any one who Ihall but confider, that the word uvdfeeu5 isgenerally in Scripture ufed for miraculousPow- ers andOperations; and particularly to exprefs the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghoft, which were beftowed upon the Apoltles and firft Chriftians 5 (I need not cite the particular Textsfor the proof of this, they are fomany and fo well known;) And then if we confider farther, that the Timesof the Gofpel, the Days of the Meffia, are frequently called by the Jews Seculum futurism, The Age to come. And indeed this is the very Phrafe ufed by the LXX concerning our Saviour, Ifa. 9. 6. where he is called according to our Tranflation, The Everlaliing Father, but ac- cording to thatof the LXX 7ettv)ó /t_1levv de`i;erd., The Father of the future Age. And this very Phrafe is ufed once more in this Epiftle to the Heb. ch. 2. 5. For unto theAngels hath he notput in fubjellion the World to come, whereof we now fpeak. He had raidbefore, that theLawwas given by Angels, v. 2. If the word fßoken by An- gels was f edfa(t; but the Difpenfation of the Gofpel, whichhe calls The World to come, or the future Age, was not committed to them, this was adminif red by the Son of God ; Unto the Angels bath he not put into fubjellion the Worldto come. And'eis obfervable, that this Phrafe is only tiled in this Epiftle to the Hebrews, becaufe the Jews very well underftood the meaningof it, being that whereby they
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