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A28139
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XII arguments drawn out of the Scripture wherein the commonly-received opinion touching the deity of the Holy Spirit is clearly and fully refuted : to which is prefixed a letter tending to the same purpose, written to a member of the Parliament ... / by John Biddle.
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Biddle, John, 1615-1662.
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1647
(1647)
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Wing B2880; ESTC R208727
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25,901
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51
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heard Satan cometh immediately and taketh the word that was sown in their hearts Suppose now that the seed of the Word be sown in ten thousand places at one time as it happeneth on every Lords day How can Satan whom the Adversaries will deny to be omnipresent come and immediately snatch the Word out of the hearts of the greatest part of the hearers The same Resolution that they shall give to this Question will I apply to their own Objection If this be not sufficient take yet more proofs that may seem to evince the omnipresence of the unclean spirit Thus is he said to have been a lying spirit in the mouth of four hundred false prophets 1 King 22. 22 23. and there is the same reason between four hundred and four millions Thus is he said to hold the impenitent who make the greatest part of mankinde in his snare and to take them captive at his will 2 Tim. 2. ult. To blinde the mindes of them that believe not 2 Cor. 4. 4. To dwell in the ungodly Rev. 2. 13. To shew the wicked whatsoever they practise Joh. 8. 38. Yea to deceive the whole world Rev. 12. 9. 20. 2 3. If they dare not for all this to affirm the unclean spirit to be omnipresent Why do they on less ground conclude the omnipresence of the holy Spirit especially when the Scripture so plainly testifieth that he changeth place as Joh. 15. 26. But when the Advocate is come whom I will send you from the Father the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth or goeth out from the Father he shall testifie of me How could the holy Spirit be sent and go out from the Father to the disciples if he were already with them and could not but stay with the Father Gal. 4. 6. Because ye are sons God hath sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father This sheweth that the Spirit was not in their hearts before otherwise he needed not to be sent out into them 1 Pet. 1. 12. The things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the holy Spirit sent down from heaven Could the holy Spirit be sent down from heaven if he were already upon the earth and continued still in heaven For that the coming of the holy Spirit down from heaven is properly to be taken appeareth by the very sight in that John the Baptist did see the Spirit descending from heaven in a bodily shape like a dove and he abode on Christ Joh. 1. 32. compared with Luke 3. 21 22. where the words of the Scripture are diligently to be heeded for it is not said that the bodily shape did descend but the Spirit in the shape so that the descent did primarily and by it self agree to the holy Spirit but in a secondary way and by accident to the shape which he had assumed Now is it possible to descend out of heaven to the earth and not change place Or is there any thing better then an ocular demonstration to evince a change of place Certainly if notwithstanding all this and much more which may be alleadged it is yet true that the holy Spirit doth not go from place to place what assurance can I have when the Scripture saith of any one whomsoever that he is sent or cometh down or goeth out that he moveth from one place to another and doth not abide where he was before Neither is it rightly done by the Adversaries when against so many evident Scriptures they alleadge one obscure passage Psal. 139. 7 8. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence If I ascend up into heaven thou art there if I make my bed in hell behold thou art there For to omit that the Psalmist as the precedent and subquent words yea the passage it self cited at large doth shew intendeth onely to prove the omnipresence of God himself and not of his Spirit and that divers of the very Adversaries as namely the Divines of the Assembly in their Annotations on this place do by Spirit here understand the knowledge or power of God and not the holy Spirit should it be granted that thesewords Whither shall I go from thy Spirit are meant of the holy Spirit yet do they import no more then that David could go into no place but the Spirit could be there with him and so sign fie not that he is in all places at one time but can be in them at several times accordingly as David should come into them Again should it be further granted what the Adversaries are not able to evince that Davids meaning is that he could go into no place where the Spirit was not present yet would not this presently argue that he was there present in his person or substance as the Adversaries conceive when they say that he is Omnipresent and therefore God since it is sufficient for the truth hereof that he is in every place by his knowledge so that a man can be in no place whatsoever but the holy Spirit will know where he is This Omnipresence which I verily believe belongeth to the holy Spirit doth not hinder him to go from one place to another Yea whosoever diligently looketh into Davids words shall finde that he intended in this Psalm to assert no other Omnipresence to God himself then that of knowledge and power For he openly speaketh of the knowledge of God in the first six verses saying in the second of them Thou understandest my thoughts afar off Which implyeth that the person or substance of God himself was not upon the earth with David otherwise he would understand David's thought neer at hand and not afar off But in the tenth verse which is an explication of the three preceding ones he speaketh of the hand of God whereby is wont to be understood his power Afterwards vers. 11. and 12. he returneth to the knowledge of God whereof he had before spoken Moreover the main current of the Scripture runneth that way and plainly intimateth that the person or substance or shape of God I speak the language of the Scripture see Job 13. 7. Will ye accept his God's Person will ye contend for God Heb. 1. 3. Who being the brightness of his God's Glory and express Image of his person Gr. substance John 5. 37. And the Father himself which hath sent me hath born witness of me Ye have neither heard this voice at any time nor seen his shape is nowhere else but in Heaven Neither let the Adversaries reply that if I ascribe an universal knowledge of humane affairs to the holy Spirit this very thing will evince him to be God For first I have already excepted the searching of the heart proving in the twelfth Argument that it agreeth not to the holy Spirit Secondly had the holy Spirit an Universal knowledge as of other things so also of the heart yet would not this prove him to be God unless he had this knowledge originally and of himself For it is apparent from the Scripture John 5. 22. that God hath given all judgement unto Christ and consequently all knowledge without which that judgement cannot be managed But if he hath given all knowledge unto Christ he can as well give it to the holy Spirit Wherefore let the Adversaries when they are driven from their opinion by that invincible Argument drawn from the Intercession which the holy Spirit is said to make for the Saints cease to take up the same weapon and contend that the holy Spirit inasmuch as he maketh intercession for the Saints must needs know all their wants and so be God For is not Christ also said to make intercession for the Saints and doth he not intercede with God as a man and so as a man know all their wants But if Christ as a man and so as a Creature maketh intercession unto God for the Saints and knoweth all their wants why not the holy Spirit also though he be a created Spirit and not God As for the dwelling of the holy Spirit in so many persons though I might forbear to shew in what manner this is done untill the Adversaries had answered my Querie yet will I for the satisfaction of such as are studious of the truth here declare it He dwelleth therefore in all the Saints dispersed through the whole world not in his person or substance for then his person or substance would fill the world and dwell in all men a like whereas the indwelling of the holy Spirit is by the Scripture made a peculiar priviledge of the Saints Rom 8. 9. But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be or for the Spirit of God dwelleth in you Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Wherefore he dwelleth in them by his Gifts or Effects since no other dwelling can be imagined which is an Expression frequent in the writings of the Adversaries themselves but that they are wont to forget it when they reason about the Godhead of the holy Spirit FINIS * See Heb. 1. 1 14. whence these words are borrowed and compare it with 1 Pet. 1. 12. as also Heb. 1. 7. compared with Act. 2. 2 3 4. and it will easily appear that the holy Spirit is a minister of God as well as others a 1 Pet. 5. 8. b Zech. 13. 2. c 1 Sam. 16. 15 16. d Ibid. verse the last e 1 Kings 22. 21. See the Original a Joh. 16. 7. b Eph. 4. 30. c Neh. 9. 20. d 1 Cor. 7. 40. e Acts 10. 19. m So the word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} in the Original perpetually signifieth amongst Greek Authors and is so rendred by the Translators themselves 1 Joh. 2. 1. and ought to have been so rendred here especially because he saith in the following words that the Holy Spirit shall convince the world for it is proper to an Advocate to convince * By Person I understand as Philosophersdo suppositum intelligens that is an intellectual substance compleat and not a mood or subststence which are fantastical sensless terms brought in to cozen the simple * Abi Ariane ad Jordanem Trinitatem videbis * For when the verb Substantive to be is joyned with the holy Spirit it signifieth his Being or Person not the gifts issuing from him
the end of their prayers since there is neither precept nor example for it in all the Scriture and being taxed by me for giving the glory of God to another and w 〈…〉 ing what the hath not commanded nor ever came into his heart have in a cruel and unchristian manner resorted to the arm of flesh and instigated the Magistrate against me hoping by his sword not that of the Spirit to uphold their Will-worship but in vain since every plant that the Heavenly Father hath not set shall be rooted up and that this practice of Worshipping the Holy Spirit as God is such a plant as God never set in his word would soon appear to the Honourable House could they be but so far prevailed with as laying aside all prejudice seriously to weigh the many and solid proofs that I produce for my opinion out of the Scripture together with the sleight or rather no proofes of the adverse party for their opinion which they themselves know not what to make of but that they endeavour to delude both themselves and others with Personalities Moods Subsistences and such like brain-sick Notions that have neither sap nor sence in them and were first hatched by the subtilty of Satan in the heads of Platonists to pervert the worship of the true God Neither could this controversie be set on on foot in a fitter juncture of time then this wherein the Parliament and Kingdome have solemnly engaged themselves to reform Religion both in Discipline and Doctrine For amongst all the corruptions in Doctrine which certainly are many there is none that more deserveth to be amended then this that so palpably thwarteth the whole renour of the Scripture and trencheth to the very object of our worship and therefore ought not to be lightly passed over by any man that professeth himself a Christian much more a Reformer God is jealous of his honour and will not give it to another we therefore as beloved children should imitate our Heavenly Father hetein and not upon any pretence whatsoever depart from his express command and give the worship of the supreme Lord of Heaven and Earth to him whom the Scripture nowhere affirmeth to be God For my own particular after a long impartial inquiry of the truth in this controversie and after much and earnest calling upon God to give unto me the spirit of wisdome and revelation in the knowledge of him I finde my self obliged both by the principles of Scripture and of Reason to embrace the opinion I now hold forth and as much as in me fyeth to endeavour that the honour of Almighty God be not transferred to another not onely to the offence of God himself but also of his Holy Spirit who cannot but be grieved to have that ignorantly ascribed to himself which is proper to God that sends him and which he nowhere challengeth to himself in the Scripture What shall befal me in the pursuance of this work I refer to the disposal of the all wise God whose glory is dearer to me not onely then my libery but then my life It will be your part Honored Sir into whose hands God hath put such an opportunity to examine the business impartally and to be an helper to the truth considering that this controversie is of the greatest importance in the world and that the divine truth suffers her self not to be despised scot-free Neither let the meanness of my outward presence deter you from stirring since it is the part of a wise man as in all things so especially in matters of Religion not to regard so much who it is that speaketh as what it is that is spoken remembring how our Saviour in the Gospel saith that God is wont to hide his secrets from the wise and prudent and to reveal them unto Children In which number I willingly reckon myself being conscious of mine own personal weakness but well assured of the strength and evidence of the Scripture to bear me out in this cause and remain April 1. 1647. Yours in the Lord J. Biddle XII ARGUMENTS drawn out of the Scripture Wherein the commonly-received Opinion touching the Deity of the Holy Spirit is clearly and fully refuted Argument 1. HE that is distinguished from God is not God The holy Spirit is distinguished from God Ergo The Major is evident for if he should be both God and distinguished from God he would be distinguished from himself which implieth a contradiction The Minor is confirmed by the whole current of the Scripture which calleth him the Spirit of God and saith that he is sent by God and searcheth the depths of God c. Neither let any man here think to flie to that ignorant refuge of making a distinction between the Essence and Person of God saying that the holy Spirit is distinguished from God taken Personally not Essentially For this wretched distinction to omit the mention of the Primitive Fathers is not onely unheard-of in Scripture and so to be rejected it being presumption to affirm any thing of the unsearchable nature of God which he hath not first affirmed of himself in the Scripture but is also disclaimed by Reason For first it is impossible for any man if he would but endeavour to conceive the thing and not delude both himself and others with empty terms and words without understanding to distinguish the Person from the Essence of God and not to frame two beings or things in his minde and consequently two Gods Secondly If the person be distinct from the Essence of God then it must needs be something since nothing hath no accident and therefore neither can it happen to it to be distinguished If something then either some finite or infinite thing if finite then there will be something finite in God and consequently since by the confession of the adversaries every thing in God is God himself God will be finite which the adversaries themselves will likewise confess to be absurd If infinite then there will be two infinites in God to wit the Person and Essence of God and consequently two Gods which is more absurd then the former Thirdly to talk of God taken impersonally is ridiculous not onely because there is no example thereof in Scripture but because God is the name of a * Person and signifieth him that hath sublime dominion or power and when it is put for the most high God it denoteth him who with Soveraign and absolute authority ruleth over all but none but a person can rule over others all actions being proper to persons wherefore to take God otherwise then personally is to take him otherwise then he is and indeed to mistake him Argument II. If he that gave the Holy Spirit to the Israelites to instruct them be Jehovah alone then the Holy Spirit is not Jehovah or God But he that gave the Holy to the Israelites to instruct them is Jehovah alone Ergo The sequele of the major is plain for if he that gave the Holy Spirit be