Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	need_v	object_n	vail_n	24	3	16.1521	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47152	Immediate revelation, or, Jesus Christ the eternall Son of God revealed in man and revealing the knowledge of God and the things of his kingdom immediately : or, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit of promise, the spirit of prophecy poured forth and inspiring man and induing him with power from on high ... not ceased, but remaining a standing and perpetual ordinance in the Church of Christ and being of indispensible necessity as to the whole body in general ... / writ by George Keith, prisoner of the truth in the Tolbooth of Aberdein, the 29th of the third moneth, 1665.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.	1668 (1668)	Wing K175; ESTC R28754	117,830	152

immediately speaking manifesting or revealing as the Prophets and Apostles witnessed but God speaking from without in the Scriptures that is it and that this may be believed they say There is need of an Illumination they are a fraid to call it a Revelation as may be seen in their Consession of Faith 1 Cap. 6 Art Where denying all new Revelations of the Spirit they add nevertheless we acknowledg the inward Illuminations of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saveing understanding of such things as are revealed in the Scriptures for therein say they the whole Counsel of God concerning all things is revealed yet some are now calling it an inward Revelation or an Immediate Revelation ex parte subjecti sive potentiae but not ex parte objecti sive medii aut principii cogniti quod prius cognitum in se ducit in cognitionem alterius and they call it to witt this Revelation ex parte subjecti sive potentiae medium Incognitum assentiens i. e. an unknown midst of assenting See for this Robert Barrones book concerning this part against Iesuit Turnbul where the Reader will see I faithfully relate his Doctrine and this man refutes but so caused me Wonder them who affirm that the Foundation or formal object of Faith is the Internal Testimony of the Spirit speaking or manifesting in such a way as the Prophets who were inspired witnessed having as he acknowledges the objects presented unto their minds from God himself by species or formes Supernatural as he calls them and as they term them in the Scools and he illustrates this further in what sense he owns Immediate Revelation and in what sense he denies it by a pretty fitt comparison as when a vail or cover is taken off a man's eye that is sayes he a Revelation ex parte subjecti sive potentiae of the part of the subject or facultie or sense which perceives and that which he denies is Revelation ex parte objecti as when the eye having no vail upon it or stop from seeing but that the object is hid by a vail covering it and this vail must be removed ere the eye see though never so quick of discerning in it self and thus he concludeth that there needs the operation of the Spirit of God to take the vail off the eye but not off the object for that needeth not the object of a man's Faith is the doctrines of the Scriptures which are most clear and evident therein only the Vail must be taken off the eye of the mind to see them in the Scriptures and this is the general Doctrine of the Priests and Teachers in the Natural Ministry as I haue discoursed with themselves both South and North and it s the Doctrine generally of the Protestant Churches so called as they stand at this day and now they say in their Pulpits and else-where That we do them great wrong when we affirm They deny immediate Revelation and the teachings of Gods Spirit for they say that we maintain but in such a way and not in such a way as is before declared and I have asked some of them If they be for an inward Revelation Testimony or Teaching of the Spirit of God then whither is the inward of the Spirit or the outward of the Letter the most evident certain or perswasive to me I have been answered though some hath said That of the Letter is the greatest weightiest most evident c. They are not two Revelations the inward and the outward but they are one and the same Revelation Testimony or Teaching caused by different Mediums the Scriptures by way of Object the Illumination of the Spirit and the Mind concurring therewith by way of Power or Faculty as when I look upon a Lillie three things concurr to make me see it the Eye the Light and the Lillie and if one of the three be wanting there will be no sight of the Lillie yet the Eye makes not one Vision the Lillie another but one and the same Vision is made with both and so the Revelation of the Spirit is not to be compared with the outward of the Letter say they Whether is best or most certain these being not two but one and each midst being Supream or greatest in its kind the one ex parte subjecti the other ex parte objecti and that ex parte subjecti they call medium incognitum assentiendi that which gives the knowledge of the object but is not known itself Immediately or first known or perceived and then giving the knowledge of the other as the Eye is medium incognitum videndi it gives the sight but is not seen it self so the fore-cited Robert Barron And I have found it with men th●… more largely to hold forth the Priests Doctrine in this thing to undeceive such as are so gulled and cheated with them who w●…les would give the poor people to believe they are for Immediate Revelation but it is well known they deny it both in Principle and Practice and did they not deny it Why persecute they such who are for it and were they for the immediate Teachings of Gods Spirit in man's Heart Why oppose they such who witnesseth it and are not better learned and when they say They are taught and called of God to Preach as Peter and many others who had not book learning O they cry out Fancy Delusion Revelation Immediate is ceased And they are very blind who see not that upon this Foundations of denying Immediate Revelation or teaching of Gods Spirit depends their Church Ministery and the whole Clergy and their so called Theology and Philosophy Schools and Colledges for if once people were perswaded and convinced That God did Teach and would teach them who wait on him such and many more things and in a more excellent way than are taught by them for such great Summs of Mony then they would turn their backs upon them and their Colledges would become like the Abacies at this day which lodged that Prophane Rabble of Papist Monks and Friers who pretended to as great Spirituality as the National Priests do an habitation for Owles and Ravencus Beasts and then down should all the Proud Lording lofty Clergy with their many degrees of Doctorships Lordships and Masterships pass who being strangers to the true knowledge which is Life Peace Joy and Satisfaction in full assurance to the Soul are vainly puffed up in their fleshly minds by the form of knowledge in the Letter as I was my self whilst among them and thought all men Idiots and unlearned who were not sk●…lled in that litteral knowledge but the Lord by his rich Grace brought me to see the vanity of all that knowledg And I was convinced that I was yet ignorant of the true knowledge of God and I came to value one dram of the living knowledge from God himself so to speak to ●…all the Talents of that other which I had laboured so much for and had cost me so much

measure testifie hereto even the Kingdom come with power and great glory and more abundantly coming in the Revelation and appearance of Jesus Christ the second time unto salvation and we are made to sing that song Isay 25. 9. 〈◊〉 this is our God he is come he is come we have waited for him he is cloathed with the gar●…nts of Salvation we will be glad and r●…yce in him We will remember his love more then Wine 1. Ca●… And further the usefulness of this principle concerning Immediate Revelation and the spirit of Prophesie yet remaining and to remain a standing perpetual indispensible necessary ordinance of God i●… the true Church being demonstrated will appear seeing it is the hinge and foundation of all the other weighty differences betwixt these of the national way and us for this principle being asserted and demonstrated to be of indispensible necessity in the church and the grand and main ordinance the foundation ordinance of all the other ordinances so much cryed up in opposition to this the foundation of the true Church Ministry Worship c. Then will it appear that these who deny and manifestly oppose this principle and the assertors of it whatever be there pretences are no church of Christ but Babylon and their Ministers no true Ministers of Christ but her Merchants and their worship no true worship but Idolatry and consequently that our separating from their Church Ministry and Worship is justifiable and we ought to separate therefrom as we would escape the Plagues that are to be poured forth on Babylon and all who seek to uphold her And now I proceed to the Arguments or reasons tending to demonstrate what is asserted and though the earthly carnal mind which ever accounted the way and wisdome of God foolishness fancy and madness will account all that can be said for it light frivolous and inconsequential yet I am assured of it that it shall have weight with them who have any the true Nobility of understanding and it shall reach the seed and principle of God in their consciences and hereto I shall be made manifest and the arguments brought shall be of force for I have not fetched them from my own wisdom neither has it taught me them but in the measure of the heavenly wisdom given me of God have I learned them and though I cite Scriptures and make use of them in arguing this point yet I can truly say it I have not my knowledge therefrom neither shall I dare to use striving words any further then the things by them declared in some measure are opened in my understanding and interpreted unto me from that spirit of truth which gave them forth and this gives me aright to speak and make use of them Argument 1. There is no other way to God but by the Revelation of his son he dwells in the light inaccessible which the mortal or natural understanding cannot approach unto clouds and darkness are round about him he filleth all things but is apprehended by nothing but that which cometh from himself is begotten of himself and leadeth unto himself the eye of flesh cannot see God neither can it see any thing which is beyond its sphear the earthly can only apprehend the earthly nothing can reach further then its proper object wherewith it is bounded and limited Now God is not the object of the eye of flesh I do not mean the bodily eye this is as uncapable hereof as that the carnal mind the natural man the eye and understanding in man which can judge of things earthly and pass a true judgement upon them and have a certain infallible knowledge of them in the capacity it is placed in and can be wi●…e as to these things and find out many secret things in nature and demonstrate them sufficiently to a mans understanding yet this is blind in respect of God it cannot know him with the true knowledge when it stretches it self to know him it is confounded and dashed more then if the bodily eye would set it self to look upon the Sun it is blinded with his beams and yet it will be medling and trying and searching into this mistery but it cannot by searching find out God he dwels in any other principle then it can reach unto and nothing can reach beyond its principle he dwels in the light here is his habitation and therefore in the light he can only be known that can only reveal him and it is somewhat begot of the light the child of light which has its element its habitation its principle in the light which can see and understand God and know him this is that which Christ taught himself in the dayes of his flesh and is recorded in Scriptures no man knoweth the Father save the Son and he to whom the Son reveals him Matthew 11. 27. Now if any should object and say he means an outward Revelation a mediate not Immediate Revelation this will be manifestly confuted by what is said already and is yet to be said for that you call the outward or mediate Revelation write words spoken from without though the best of words uttered from Christ in the dayes of his flesh or from any of the Apostles or Prophets and yet recorded in the Scriptures cannot reveal the Father nor the Son either they point only at that which reveals and were spoken and write for that end that people might come to the principle of true knowledge in themselves for first let us begin with Moses he was a man sent of God and of Christ he was inspired with the holy spirit Christ spoke in him to the people of the Jews and all these words could not reveal God nor his Son unto them the vail hung before Moses face and remains upon their hearts to this day in the reading of Moses words and by this vail their minds are blinded then come down to the Prophets who were sent of God come to David to Isaiah the evangelical Prophet so called who had very clear and glorious discoveries of God and his Son Jesus Christ yet could their words reveal God unto the people of the Iews or can they at this day no the vail remains then come to Jesus Christ himself who spoke to them in the dayes of his flesh face to face did his words reveal him or his Father unto them did they not mistake him for all this he stood in the midst of them and they knew him not for their eyes were held were blinded and thorough their ignorance they crucified him the Lord of glory but could the Apostles words reveal him either nay for they continued blind and persecuted them unto death as deceivers and blasphemers the god of this world have blinded that eye in them which could know the glorious appearance of him either in the dayes of his flesh or in his spiritual appearance in his people So then it is clear neither any of the Prophets or Apostles though they were lights yet they were