Chapter VIII
How the Holy Ghost is the gift of God the Father to us, in and by Jesus
Christ. That this inestimable gift is bestowed freely, by the pure mercy,
grace, and love of God.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; ivhich he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
TiT. III. 5, 6.
We have seen, in a short but comprehensive view, the operations of the
Holy Ghost in the great work of our salvation. The next prospect of him
is, as he is the gift of God, conferred on us for this end and purpose. To
open this to our sight, I offer these following considerations.
1. That it is God the Father who is the donor, or the bestower of him
on us. This is plainly expressed by the words of the text, which declares
that he sheds the Spirit on us. 2. This gift of the Spirit is in and through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and mediator. 3. This gift of the Spirit is be
stowed, not according to the covenant of works, but of grace and free love.
For those words, not according to works, and the other words of the
text, which speak of the appearance of the love and kindness of God,
refer as well to this rich shedding forth the Holy Ghost upon us as unto
saving us through regeneration, and renewing us. 4. The condition of the
persons to whom he is given is altogether unworthy. When we were in
our disobedience, serving our lusts, the Holy Ghost was poured out, and
renewed us.
52 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK I.
1. The donor or bestower of the Holy Ghost is God the Father through Christ. As the Father is the original of the persons in the Trinity, so of
this great gift. Therefore Christ (John xv. 26) when he speaks of send
ing the Spirit from the Father, adds, as the reason why he should be sent from the Father, that
* he proceeds from the Father (his subsistence doth), naming him as the fountain both of himself and the Spirit also. He is termed the Spirit of God, rou @sov, I Cor. ii. 11, in the same sense that we say the spirit of a man (as in the same verse) ; for as God is a Spirit, Isa. xlviii. 16, The Lord God and his Spirit, says the prophet there; but
the apostle further adds, ver. 12, the Spirit, IK rov sou, who personally is from God, whom therefore we have and receive from God : 1 Cor. vi. 19,
* The Holy Ghost which we have, acre) &tov. This gift is therefore espe
cially attributed to the Father, and termed by Christ the promise of the
Father, Acts iv., Luke xxiv. 49, the Spirit of the Father, Mat. x. 20, from whom Christ, as God-man, received the Spirit first. The Holy Ghost was sent down by the Father upon Christ as a dove in his baptism
* God
anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost, Acts x. 38. And when Christ ascended
into heaven he received him from the Father, Acts ii. 33, and so he shed him forth on us. And therefore Christ also, as mediator, was to pray the Father to give the Spirit, John xiv. 16 : I will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter, &c. Yet so as, 2dly, even the Father himself sends him not, but in and
through Christ : John xiv. 26, The Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name. Through Christ our Saviour, says the apostle, Tit.
iii. 6. Which imports not barely the Son s concurrence, as second per son, in sending him as well as the Father, even as his person proceeded from both (as John xv. 26, whom I will send unto you ) ; but further, that Christ, as a redeemer, had a virtual meritorious influence or hand
herein ; so as for his sake, and through his purchase and intercession, the Father sends him. Christ purchased not only all the graces of the Spirit for us, but the Spirit himself (whom we had forfeited) to dwell in us. We have an express scripture, Gal. iii. 13, 14, Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us : for it is written, Cursed
is every one that hangeth on a tree : That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ ; that we may receive the pro mise of the Spirit through faith. Where there are two ends adequately and alike made of Christ s being made a curse for us: 1. That we might receive the blessing of Abraham ; 2. That we might receive the promise of
the Spirit. And, forasmuch as the gift of the Spirit comes under a pro mise, as well as other blessings, it must needs come under the purchase of
Christ s blood, which confirmed all the promises ; and this, as all the rest
* yea and amen in him. And to this end it is observ
of the promises are,
able, that he breathed not the Spirit until after his resurrection ; but then
* And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. He had not shed his blood until now, and therefore breathed not the Holy Ghost until now. But
lie did, John xx. 22,
Christ having died, and having, as the Lamb slain, purchased the Spirit, and being ascended up to the throne of God, he, as the Lamb, now sheds
* He that believeth on me, as the scrip ture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this
: John vii. 38, 39,
forth the Spirit
spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive ; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. He compares the Spirit, as communicated to us, to a spring of living water.
CHAP. VIII.] IN OUR SALVATION. 58
But not as then broke forth, as afterwards it should, because Christ had not died, and so entered into glory. Now compare with it Kev. xxii. 1 ;
* And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceed ing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. This water of life issues, you see, from the throne of the Lamb, who in the 5th chap., ver. 6, appeared at the throne of God as the Lamb slain, and redeeming us with his blood, and as such doth shed forth the Spirit upon us ; and is even there also said to have all the fulness of the Spirit on him, who hath the seven
Spirits ; that is, the Holy Ghost in all the varieties of his gifts and graces, called seven from perfection. For that the seven Spirits are taken metonymically for the Holy Ghost, is evident by chap, i., ver. 4 : John to the seven churches of Asia : Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, arid which is to come ; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne. Hence also when we receive the cup in the Lord s
supper, which is termed the communion of Christ s blood, 1 Cor. x., we are yet said to drink into one Spirit ; for that blood is vehiculum Spi-
ritus, the Spirit runs in and with this blood. We therefore know whom we are beholden unto for the Spirit ; and whom to go unto for the Spirit, even
to the Father, and to Christ, and to his blood ; and to the Father through Christ, who gives commission to the Spirit to work such and such mea sures of grace, at such times to fall upon us, and at such and such times
to withdraw.
Hence, 3dly, the Spirit is given us from mere grace and love, and not
according to works ; so in the text those words, who not according to
works, but mercy, &c., refer as well to this shedding forth the Holy Ghost, as to his saving us by regeneration. You may therefore observe, 2 Cor.
xiii. 14, that the grace of the Lord Jesus, and the love of God the Father, are put before communion of the Holy Ghost, as that which proceeds from
both. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. Therefore, in
scriptures, both the law, the preaching of it, and the works of it, are in
express words excluded and shut out from having any influence to convey the Spirit to us, that we may never so much as think to obtain the Spirit
thereby : Jer. xxxi. 32, I will make a new covenant, not according to the
covenant I made with their fathers ; but this shall be my covenant, I will
write my law in their inward parts. Which, compared with Ezek. xxxvi.
26, 27, is renewed with this addition, I will give you a new heart, and
put my Spirit within you. And you may compare with both, 2 Cor. iii. 3 :
* Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us,
written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not in tables
of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart ; which clears both. Yea, so far
forth as they in the Old Testament had the Spirit (as they had, Neh.
ix. 20, Thou gavest them thy good Spirit to instruct them ; and Hag.
ii. 5, According to the word I covenanted with you when ye came out of
Egypt, so my Spirit remaineth with you ) ; so much gospel was even then
mingled with it, and running in the veins of it. It was fcedus mixtum, and
so in the virtue thereof the Spirit was (though in a lesser measure) given.
Therefore, when the gospel came to take place, then the preaching of the
: to shew that it was
law, or ceremonies of it, did not convey the Spirit
purely upon the covenant of grace that the Spirit is given, 2 Cor. iii. 6-8,
1 Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the
: for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.
letter, but of the Spirit
But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stone, was glo-
54 THE WOKE OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK I.
rious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious ? You see that the old covenant is the ministration of the letter, and of death ; and the New Testament, in exclusion of that Old, hath alone obtained this more excellent name, the ministration of the Spirit. As not the preaching of the law gave the Spirit, so, nor can any works of the law obtain the Spirit at God s hands. The text is as express for this as for the other : Gal. iii. 2, This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith ? Paul useth that as argumentum palmarium against the law, fas alone sufficient evidence. This one thing (says he) I would learn of you, and let that decide it, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hear
ing of faith ? By Spirit he here means the Spirit of regeneration and sanctification ; for, ver. 5, he speaks of extraordinary gifts afterwards, and ver. 2, he speaks of that receiving which was general to all believing Gala-
tians, even common to all saints, to whose universal experience he appeals, if ever any one of them had received him upon their doing. Now extraor
dinary gifts were not common to all saints, no, not in those days. And by the hearing of faith, he means the doctrine of faith, the gospel ; and ver. 14-17, he asserts the Spirit to be given freely by the covenant of grace, which God afore the law did establish with Abraham, and in him together with Isaac (as the type) with Christ : Gal. iii. 14-17, That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men : Though it be but a man s covenant, yet if it be con
firmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many ; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, which was confirmed before of God in! Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. Yea (to end this), he makes it an evidence of not being under the law, if a man hath received the Spirit, and be led by him : Gal. v. 18, But if ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. And for this also it is, that he is called the Spirit of grace, Heb. x. 29, because given freely. He is the gift of grace, Eph. iii. 7, and so
given upon the terms of the covenant of grace.
Hence, from both these, appears the difference between Adam s having the Spirit in that estate of holiness, and the saints under the state of
grace. Adam had the Spirit as well as we, and the Holy Ghost was at the making of him, and wrote the image of God upon his heart : for where holiness was, we may be sure the Spirit was too. The Holy Ghost was at that consultation, Let us make man, and one of the us spoken unto. Yea, and that Spirit that moved upon the waters, who also is sent forth to renew the face of the earth (Ps. civ.), the same Spirit was in Adam s heart to assist his graces, and cause them to flow and bring forth, and to move him to live according to those principles of life given him. But there
is this difference between that his having the Spirit, and ours, apparent from what hath already been said.
1. That he concurred with Adam, merely as the third person, who
joined in all works, and so upon no further account than as he concurred in assisting all creatures else in their kind, to cause the earth to bring forth
fruits according to their kind ; and, indeed, he must necessarily have a
CHAP. VIII.] IN OUR SALVATION. 55
hand in all works of creation and providence. Whereas we have the
Spirit upon Christ s account, in his name, purchased by him, as whom he had first received, also purchased as the head of his church. And there
fore it is ordinary in Scripture to term this Spirit as now dwelling in us,
1 the Spirit of Christ, Rom. viii. 9 ; the Spirit of the Son, Gal. iv. 6.
And, 2. Hence Adam retained the Spirit according to the tenor of the covenant of works (which is but that equal law of creation between God and the creature), whereby he held a continuance of the privileges given him at
the creation, even as he did life in God s sight, upon works of obedience : Do this and live. _And as by one act of disobedience he forfeited life ( Cursed is he that
continueth not in all things ), and so in like manner the Spirit was forfeit-
able by him upon the same terms. Even as in a man that comes from Adam, one mortal stab causeth the soul to depart, so here, one act of sin
ning caused the soul* to depart ; for the bond of the union ceased. But
as it would not be so in a man risen from the dead, and by the power of
the second Adam, made a quickening Spirit ; no wounds would be mortal
to such an one ; so here the gift of the Spirit to us is by promise, as Gal.
iii. 14-17, the apostle argues. The gift of the Spirit, to a truly converted
soul, is an absolute gift, and not upon conditions on our parts, but to work and maintain in us what God requires of us. The gift of the Spirit
is not founded upon qualifications in us, to continue so long as we preserve
grace in our souls, and do not sin it away. I will give you my Spirit to
preserve you, and prevent your departing from me, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27.
I will give you a new heart, but you would soon make it an?old one, as bad
as ever ; to prevent this, it follows, And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And so it is said in Jer. xxxii. 40, Ye shall not depart from me. He comes by virtue of election on us, as he did on Christ, Isa.
xlii. 1, Behold my elect in whom my soul delights, I have put my Spirit
upon him. Gal. iv. 6, Because ye are sons (by election, namely, as it
is said, Eph. i. 5, God having predestinated us to the adoption of children ), God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. And Mat.
x. 20, The Spirit of your Father is in you ; that is, God having taken on him the relation of your Father, thereupon bestoweth his Spirit on you. And therefore it is that so few of many that hear the same sermons receive
the Holy Ghost ; for he comes on men by the grace of election, and so the
Spirit picks and chooses (as God hath done), and rests on this soul, and
not on that ; and so (as Isaiah says, Isa. xxvii. 12) they are gathered one
by one. It goes as it were by lot, as it is (Acts viii. 21), spoken to Simon
Magus, in relation to the Holy Ghost, v. 19. It hath the appearance of
chance, because this man is taken, and not that ; when yet it is the eternal
good pleasure of God that puts the difference. And the Spirit, that knows God s mind, seizeth on men accordingly ; and is said to be as the wind,
< blows where it lists, which is spoken of regeneration, John iii. 8.
that
Hence it is that he is given to us for ever, and not to depart from us ;
the reason is, because his person is given without conditions, and to work
all conditions, he is so in us as to be with us for ever ; John xiv. 16, 17,
I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he
may abide with you for ever : even the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. He came in
* Qu. Spirit ? ED.
56 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK I.
Christ the head, to make his abode in him : John i. 33, And I knew him not : but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. Which was a ful
filling of that piece of the prophecy, Isa. xi. 2, The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. To which Peter alludes, speaking also of us, 1 Peter iv. 14,
< The Spirit of God resteth on you ; and to signify this, when visibly he came upon the apostles, Acts ii. 3, it sat upon each of them. Christ s abode among us is compared to the dwelling in a tabernacle : John xiv.,
eaxqvufftv, He dwelt as in a tabernacle amongst us, for he soon removed to heaven. But the Spirit dwells in us as in the temple, which was, instead of that moveable habitation, a more fixed settled abode : 1 Cor. vi. 19, Ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost. I go and come, says Christ, John xiv. 18, 19, but he shall be with you, and in you, v. 17, for ever. And there fore he is not only given as the earnest of our inheritance (Eph. i. 14, and 2 Cor. v. 5), a certain pawn that we shall have heaven ; but he becomes also from that time a spring in us never to be dammed up, a living foun tain of water, springing up into eternal life, as Christ himself speaks, com paring John iv. 14 with John vii. 38, 39. Now we do not say the spring shall continue whilst water is in the stream ; but water shall continue in the stream, and bubble up whilst there is a spring. If indeed the spring could fail, the waters might fail. Now the Holy Ghost is given to become a perpetual spring, both of grace and glory. And accordingly also, 1 Peter
i. 23, the Holy Ghost is said to be the incorruptible seed, of which we are begotten, which some have understood to be meant of the word ; but that is put in besides, as the instrumental cause, in the words following, by the word of God. Nor is it the new creature which is there meant, for that is the thing begotten in us. But the principal cause of whom we are begotten is the Holy Spirit, John iii. 6, That which is begotten of the Spirit. Now he is called the incorruptible seed, because he is cast into the soul with the word, as the prolific virtue in the word ; which is the seed materially, but the Spirit virtually. And this also shews the dif ference between this giving the Spirit by virtue of election, and that com munication of him to temporary believers that fall away, who are said, Heb. vi., to be partakers of the Holy Ghost; as Saul "The Spirit of the Lord came on Saul, 1 Sam. x. 10, but so as to depart away again, 1 Sam. xvi. 14 ; thus on Balaam he did, Num. xxiv. 2, 3, and opened his eyes. _The fundamental difference lies in the differing terms of the gift of the Spirit, insinuated here in the text : that many receive the Spirit, not from God as a Father, by virtue of election, or through Christ as a Saviour ; they receive not, as children, the Spirit of God as from a Father ; as Rom! viu. 14, 15 ; as also Mat. x. 20 ; and as Christ s speech also (in John 14th and 15th chapters, I will pray the Father, &c.), doth import ; but they receive him from God out of dominion and sovereignty, and from Christ as a Lord, who hath brought* even wicked men to serve him, 2 Peter ii. 1. This distinction of this double receiving the Spirit, the apostle in sinuates both in that Rom. viii. and Gal. vi. 7, 8. In that Rom. viii. 15, he speaks of a Spirit of bondage, which, as servants, they in some measure or other had formerly received from God. Look in what state men stand to God, they answerably more or less have a portion of his Spirit on them. [f they are only in the state of servants, they have a Spirit of bondage working legally that fear of death which is in all men : Heb. ii. 15,
< And * Qu. bought ? ED.
CHAP. VIII.] IN OUR SALVATION. 67
deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to
bondage. The one place interprets the other. Those stirrings of guilt and condemnations which are in all men s hearts, are from workings of the
Spirit in all men. The same Spirit that moved upon the waters, Gen. i., moves upon all men s hearts. Now if men live under the preaching of the
law and gospel, then the same Spirit falls with higher works upon the spirits of men unrenewed, yet still but upon the same account that is mentioned : Gen. vi. 3, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is
but flesh. He had spoken of the sons of God (ver. 2), that were the pro fessors of that age, who lived under Noah s ministry, a preacher of right
eousness, Heb. xi. 7. And he went with his ministry in a way of striving with and opposing men s corruptions in their hearts ; of which Peter,
(1 Peter iii. 18), having said that Christ was quickened or raised by the
Spirit, he adds (ver. 19), by which Spirit also he went and preached unto
the spirits in prison, which sometimes were disobedient, when once the
longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a pre
paring, when few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. These men
were corrupt, and remained flesh, and yet received the Spirit, striving with
them from God, as the Lord and Judge of the world, who to men fallen
gives his Spirit, as at first he did to Adam, with a new stock of gifts and
motions, but deals with them therein but upon a covenant of works. It
is a favour indeed to give him, as all outward gifts of the Spirit are, but
their persons being under the covenant of works, and servants, their retain
ing this Spirit is according to the terms thereof ; and so it proves in the
issue, and their improving that gift is managed according to the dispensa tion of such a covenant. And so they, by opposing and resisting such
strivings of the Spirit, God withdraws him. For he says, My Spirit shall
not always strive. He deals with them as with servants that are untoward and rebellious : John viii. 35, The servant abides not in the house for
ever ; but as Hagar was turned out of doors, and inherited not, so it is here.
* But (says Christ) a son abides for ever in the house, and therefore they,
as children, receive the Spirit of adoption to cry, Abba, Father. And
the Spirit of Christ, as their head, remains in them, and they are overcome and led by the Spirit of God. These are sons ; and that they may abide in
the house for ever, this Spirit abides in them for ever. You have the very same distinction of men receiving the Spirit as servants and as sons^: Gal.
< Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son
iv. 6, 7,
into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a
servant, but a Son, an heir of God through Christ. The meaning is, they
receive the Spirit as sons, not as servants, as others do. To which add
ver. 22, 23, &c., where Hagar and Ishmael, and Sarah and Isaac, are
made the types of these two conditions of men living in the church, as they
did in Abraham s family ; and Christ, John viii., alluded evidently unto
it in that speech fore-quoted, verses 33, 34, 35, They answered him, We
be Abraham s seed, and were never in bondage to any man ; how sayest
thou, Ye shall be made free ? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant
abideth not in the house for ever, but the son abideth ever. Both these,
living under the means, had dealings with God : Gen. xxi. verses 17-20, And the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar ? Fear not ; for God hath heard the voice of the
lad, where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand ; for
I will make him a great nation. And God was with the lad, &c. But yet
58 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK I.
this was but according to the covenant of works, whereof they were types.
And their spirits used all gifts, motions, visions, &c., in such a way, and
so at last the Spirit was withdrawn from them.
And therefore let not that deceive you, that men that fall away are said
to be partakers of the Holy Ghost, &c., for they may be so when yet they are not sons. The Holy Ghost comes to some as a wayfaring man, for a night. But do you not feel that though he may withdraw many
effects, yet still his person is in you, and works, even amidst your sinnings, to reduce you again to God, and suffers you not to be finally overcome, but frames your hearts so as you give yourselves up to be led by him, and you treat with God of his abode in you, and of your salvation, not upon a covenant of works, but grace. Look to your tenure, by which God guides your hearts to seek the Spirit and salvation. Every man s heart and spirit
(as a pen in his hand) is guided to write his own deeds and terms he holds
salvation on. Dost thou treat with God, as a son, upon mere terms of free
grace, renouncing Ishmael s covenant and tenure, not daring to treat with
God upon these terms, If I walk thus and thus, God will give and continue
his Spirit to me ? No ; but thou sayest as David, Lord, give me thy constant Spirit, to work all in me, to cause me to walk in thy statutes.
Ps. li. 10, 11, Create in me a clean heart, God; and renew a right
spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. In the margin it is, a constant spirit within me ; and if this is thy dependence and thy salvation, and if upon these terms thou boldest and retainest the Spirit, thou art a son. You esteem it in
lands as a matter of great moment the tenure, whether it be freehold or
copyhold. My brethren, know there is a freehold of the Spirit, and a
copyhold ; and go over but thy prayers and the workings of thy spirit with God, and thou wilt easily see thy tenure.
CHAPTEE IX.
That we not only partake of the effects of the Holy Spirit s operations in us, but also of his person dwelling in us.
There is a gift of his person, first and chiefly, or primarily ; but second
arily of his graces, to be wrought in us by him. And in this gift of his
person doth consist the greatness, the richness of the gift. This is ex
pressed in those words, Whom he shed on us richly, Titus iii. 6. This, I say, is intended of his person first, and simply, and then of his graces and effects, as in the second place intended to us, as those which accompany the gift of his person, and as handmaids upon it, and do flow from and
depend upon the bestowing and gift of himself. Thus there is the gift of the pers on of Christ to us and for us ; and there is the gift of all those
benefits which he hath purchased ; but the gift of his person is, of the two,
greater infinitely than that of his benefits, as the person is more worth than the dowry. And thus you are to look at the gift of the person of the
Spirit more than all his pag/V//,ara, or gifts. Let us hear how the
Scripture speaks to this great point, and sets a value and indigitation upon
* The love of God is shed abroad in^our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. Here you may observe a set distinction made between this one effect of the Spirit in us,
: Rom. v. 5,
it as in distinction from his graces
viz., the shedding abroad the love of God in our hearts, and the gift of
CHAP. IX.] IN OUR SALVATION. 59
the person of the Spirit ; and how there is brought in a manifest superaddition of the gift of his person over and above that effect of shedding God s
* which he hath given us. Thus he speaks of the gift of the person himself singly and apart, distinct from the other ;
love : by the Spirit, says he,
yea, and as being the foundation of it. Take this instance and comparison. God having given a wife to a man, by whom he hath had such and such
children, such and such an estate, benefits, and privileges ; when mention
is made of any one of those good things that accrued by her, she, to heighten the mercy of the gifts, by the consideration of the person by means of whom the man hath them, might say, All these things are by the wife which God hath given thee. The same import you have in other such appendixes and additional clauses to the like purpose. Acts v. 32,
* And we (that is,
* are his witnesses, (that is, Christ s)
* of these things ; and so is
apostles)
also the Holy Ghost, (which manifestly refers to his person). The apostle adds,
* Whom God hath given to them that obey him ; thus notably holding up unto their view the greatness of this gift. And indeed the pouring forth the Holy Ghost is all the discourse of the first ten chapters of the Acts. And therefore it is elsewhere called the gift of the Holy Ghost, Actsx. 45.
It is not ^ag/V/Aara (spoken of 1 Cor. xii.), gifts, in the plural, as speaking of his graces, but it is the gift, as one absolute, full, and entire gift, once
given for all ; his person containing virtually all other parcels and particular
gifts, which he after works. The like addition to signify this you may observe, 1 Cor. vi. 19, Your bodies are temples of the Holy Ghost, which
is in you, whom ye have of God. This refers also manifestly to his person, as I shall have occasion further to shew ; and it comes in to mind them of the greatness of the gift, and the special favour of the donor, whom ye have of God. Again you have it, 1 Cor. ii. 12,
* We have received the Spirit which is of God, that we may know the free gift of God to us. Here is a double gift, and both from God, distinguished, 1, The grace or gifts of God and his Spirit bestowed on^us, ra xagiadevra or ^ag/V/xara ; and 2, The
gift of the person of the Spirit distinct from these, whom we receive (says
he) as given by God first, and so received by us. And he is given (as to
other ends) so that we may know these things he gives us, or works in us, the gift of which is distinct from that of his person, which is set out further
by this rb vvsufta rov sou. The Spirit is out of God himself, and proceed
ing from him, and he is in God, as the spirit of a man in a man, ver. 11. The reason of this is, because the Spirit is given us by the covenant of
grace, which covenant makes freely over all that is in God unto us, and for our good ; all, both attributes and persons in him, the donation
* I will be thy God, and thou shalt be my people. I use to say that the covenant of grace is in all the transactions a covenant
thereof running thus,
of persons. Consider that of election in the Father s hand ; he pitched not on qualifications, but persons, afore they had done good or evil, Rom ix. 13. And therefore so long as the persons remain, his love remains ; and thence he works that in the person which may make him comely
: Eph. i. 4, He hath chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and^without blame before him in love. And Christ, when he comes, he gives his person,
* He gave himself, as everywhere it is said, both to us and for us ; and he died not for abstracted propositions, but persons. I
lay down my life for my sheep, and I know them by name. And when he
applies his blood to us, he gives us himself, and the soul in the end seeks
his person also, as Paul did, Phil. iii. 8. Thus answerably, in the third
person, the gift of the Holy Ghost is the gift of his person to dwell in us.
CO THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK I.
The next thing to be considered is his coming upon us, and his dwelling in us. I have two assertions to add concerning this.
1. Concerning his coming upon us, and God s shedding him forth, my assertion is, that the first coming of the Holy Ghost is immediately upon us, as we are in our natural condition, in our uncleanness and pollution, without any preparation to make way for his coming upon us, or into us. He doth not work grace first, and then come into a man ; hut he comes first and seizeth on a man, then works grace in him. And this the text in Tit.
iii. 6 insinuates ; when weighing the mercy thereof, the apostle says, He shed his Spirit upon us. On us ; how qualified ? The fourth verse tells
us, Us, when disobedient, serving divers lusts and pleasures. And he then sent him to renew us, ver. 5. Such were the vessels when this pre cious liquor was first poured into them, and upon them. And his coming first thus on men when in their natural state, is exemplified in the Corin thians ; yea, and pressed on them as a great point, which the apostle would have them seriously to mind and consider, to the end they might ascribe unto the Holy Ghost his due glory
: 1 Cor. xii. 1-3, Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto those dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I will give you to understand, that no man speaking by the
Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed : and that no man can say that Jesus
is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Being to treat of spiritual gifts in fused into the people of God, he prefaceth this, I would have you (says he) know and consider these things about them. 1st, That the author of them
is wholly and entirely the Spirit of God. No man can say, or confess out of conviction of judgment, that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. And the embracing of this foundation of Christian religion was before any further spiritual gift was communicated unto you, but was in deed the foundation of bestowing it, for no man, speaking by the Spirit, calleth Jesus an execration. Then, 2d, says he, I would have you remem ber the condition you were in when the Spirit of God began first to teach you this : you were all idolaters, led away as brute beasts after dumb idols, when also you execrated and abominated our Jesus (as to this day the Jews and heathens do), when it was certain, therefore, that you had not the Spirit of God in you ; for no man that hath the Spirit calleth Christ accursed, as ye then did. So then, who was the first beginner of this great change and alteration but the Spirit of God ? And 3d, If this were your condi tion (as it was), what did or could the Spirit find in you, as preparatory and inviting of him thereunto ? Absolutely nothing at all. The lowest and first step which can be supposed to be out of heathenism into Chris
tianity, viz . , the thoughts and profession that our Jesus is the Lord and Christ ; even this first thought, which is the introduction to all, you, says the
apostle, had from the Spirit of God first, as well as you have been enlight ened by him since. 4th, He would have them further consider that they, when they were thus idolatrous, were acted and possessed by another greater spirit than their own, who invisibly was in them, and yet effectually wrought in them, and had possession of their minds, fancies, and affections (which unless he had been in them he could not have), Even Satan, that evil
spirit, the god of this world, who (as it is said, 2 Cor. iv. 4) blinded these heathens. This he clearly insinuates to them (and puts it in, as in oppo sition to their now having the Spirit of God) in these words, Ye were led after dumb idols. Led, even as brute beasts are at the pleasure of them that possess them ; and led by some other spirit than their own. It had
CHAP. IX.] IN OUR SALVATION. 61
been impossible else that so many wise heathens should have worshipped dumb idols (as on purpose he terms them), themselves having reasonable
souls, that thought and spake, which those idols, that had eyes and saw
not, wanted. Now then the apostle wo aid have them to consider that ere
their judgments could be led to own Christ as Lord, this evil spirit must be dispossessed ; and another spirit, even . the Spirit of God, come in his room, and possess their hearts, and so lead them into all the truth they then possessed ; without which they had never embraced the first element or principle of Christian verity. From which instance and experiment in the Corinthians, I infer, that the Spirit of God, when he converts men to
things spiritual, comes upon a man when a heathen, suppose, as then the world went, or on us, when unregenerate. And it is confirmed by this, that the Holy Ghost reveals not any truth, or works any saving good, but a man first hath him sent down into his heart. He is first sent and shed upon us, ere we are led into all or into any truth ; as the 14th, 15th, 16th
chapters of John shew. We receive him as an unction first, ere he savingly teacheth us any truth. 1 John ii. 20, Ye have an unction from the holy One (which is the Spirit, Acts x. 30), and ye know all things, first and
last. All that ye know in spirituals, it is from him, yea, and by having him first. And as from having him first it is that we begin to know, so, that we continue to know and acknowledge spiritual things savingly, is from
his abiding in us. He in his person is first said to abide, and so to go on
to teach us. So ver. 27 of that chapter, But the anointing which ye have received of him abides in you
: but as the same anointing teacheth you of
all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. So then these idolatrous Corinthians, when they were converted to God, had first the Spirit communicated to them, casting out
that evil spirit, and possessing his room in them, ere they could be taught the first letter in this school. Which agrees with what Christ says of the
casting out Satan, in order to men s conversions (unto which Christ s scope extends)
: Mat. xii. 27, 28, If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do
your children cast them out ? therefore they shall be your judges. But if
I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you ; with which compare Luke xi. 20-22, &c. It is said by Matthew that it is the Spirit, by Luke, the finger of God, by whom Christ professeth to cast out devils, in men to be converted, as well as out of men possessed. This Spirit he compares there to a stronger than Satan, that comes upon him immediately as he is in his house or place,- binds him, and overcomes him ; and so himself enters in, as Matthew s and Mark s phrase is. For
it is entry and possession the Holy Ghost aims at ; and it is the first thing he doth, after he hath pulled forth Satan, that was in possession, and bound him ; and then, being entered, he throws out his goods and weapons, mor
tifies corruptions, and sanctifies the heart, and leads the soul into saving truths. And this is it which Paul insinuates, that he came upon these
Corinthians, cast out the spirit that led them into error, entered himself, and led them into truth. And it was as necessary he should first come on
them, ere they could spiritually assent to the first or least truth, as it is
necessary he comes on us, and abides in us, to lead us into all truth else. And therefore it evidently follows, both, first, that the shedding forth, or.
entering in of the Holy Spirit is the first foundation to all wrought in us ; and secondly, that therefore this his coming upon us and entering into us
is immediately, without any preparation, when men are unregenerate. * Qu. palace ? ED.
G2 THE WOEK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK I.
When Christ indeed comes to dwell in our hearts by faith, as Eph. iii. 17, there need be preparation in our hearts for that his coming, and there is a
preparing the way of the Lord. For he is to be received by our faith as a Saviour and Redeemer, and therefore we cannot receive him as supposed to be such until we see ourselves sinners. But our receiving the Spirit is not
objective, as we receive an object into our understandings or hearts, and so needs no preparation on our parts ; for he himself must first come to work
all apprehensions and affections in us, from first to last : Gal. iv. 6, He sends his Spirit into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father ; and he cries as he comes along.
There are two or three objections which I wnVanswer.
Obj. 1. Can we imagine that the Spirit of God, who is so holy a Spirit, will come and enter into and possess himself of an unclean, filthy, and
defiled heart, in the fulness and spring-tide of its filth and uncleanness ? Doth he not rather first make the heart holy, and then by that holiness dwell
therein, seating himself in the new creature which he first creates ? Thus indeed some have evangelised, and thereupon distinguished between his
coming upon us, as at first, and his dwelling in us.
But I answer. Am. 1. That if the Spirit could be defiled in so doing, he would not do
it ; but this earth muds not the water that gets into it to become a spring, no more than the sunbeams are by shining into a dunghill.
Ans. 2. The substance of the soul (which he comes to) is his own, and he comes to make it clean, which he cannot do, unless he gets within it. It
is well for us he is so holy, for no other water but of this preciousness would have virtue and power to cleanse us. And this is no more absurdity than to saj
7 , that pure water is poured first into a vessel to take away the
filth of it ; or that fire gets into and fills the pores of metals in the ore, whilst full of dross, to burn out, and consume, and separate it from them. Now these are the comparisons the Scripture useth: Ezek. xxxvi. 25,
* I
will sprinkle clean water upon you. And is not that pity, you will say, that not only water, but clean water, should be poured upon defiled hearts,
utterly defiled ? God prevents the objection, in telling us that he thinks not much at this cost. The cleanest, sweetest water that heaven affords, he chooseth, viz., his own Holy Spirit. But the water is so clean, as it
receives no tincture whilst it runs through you, and cleanseth you ; as it there follows, And ye shall be clean ; from all your filthiness, and from all
your idols, will I cleanse you ; and a new heart will I give you, And this
: ver. 27, I will put my Spirit within you ; not upon you only
is interpreted to be the Spirit
: that will not serve to cleanse ; he therefore puts him
first into you. And what is this but what you read, 1 Cor. vi. 11, Such were some of you, but ye are washed : there is the genus, or in common the Spirit s work ; the particulars follow : But ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. The Spirit must do both, And it is no strange thing ye should receive the
Spirit, and he come into you to do all these, ere ever you are sanctified or
justified. That other comparison of fire, I need not insist on. You have
it, Isa. iv. 4, When the Lord shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem by the Spirit of burning. You know how the Holy Ghost in this respect is
compared to fire up and down the New Testament. Now what is it to the
fire to enter into what is drossy and defiled, to eat it out and consume it ? Such fuel is proper for it to seize on, and shew its power upon. And what
is it to this rushing wind to enter into the middle of a rotten house (the old
CHAP. IX.] IN OUR SALVATION. 63
man) and blow it down, and rear up a new one in the room of it ? And what is it for this strong man to enter into Satan s house, whilst he is in
it, and throw him out, and spoil and rifle all his goods, and throw them out
after him ? He will not stand without doors to do it, as Christ also tells us.
Obj. 2. A second objection is out of John xiv. 17, where Christ, speaking of the Spirit, says, Whom the world (or men unregenerate) cannot receive, because they see him not, neither know him : but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, &c. Am. The answer is clear. That promise of the Spirit there is meant of him as a comforter and assurer of salvation ; so ver. 16, I will pray the
Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with
you for ever. Now, as such, he can never come first on an unregenerate man, but he must be a Spirit of bondage first to him, and (as chap. xvd.
* convince the world of sin. And therefore they in that condition
ver. 8)
are not capable of the Spirit as a sealer ; for they must have regeneration
first, and faith first wrought: Eph. i. 13, After ye believed, ye were sealed with the Spirit of promise. So as Christ s plain meaning is this : you that are
already believers, and have already experimentally felt the workings of this
Spirit in you, you know him (says he), and to you, and to others that know him, by having been already wrought upon, I will send him as a
Comforter, to fill your hearts with joy in believing, unspeakable and glorious. But unregenerate men are utterly incapable of this privilege, for they know him not in these first effects of regeneration and change of heart, and there
fore as a comforter they see not nor know him. He must be a regenerator ere a comforter. Receive him they may to convert them, but not thus to assure them, until he hath wrought regeneration in them, as he hath done on you.
I shall now discourse about the indwelling or inbeing of the Spirit in us
after he is thus come. Concerning which my assertion is this, That the indwelling of the Spirit also is of his person primarily and im
mediately, and by his graces secondarily. And although it be with his
graces, yet it is not primarily by his graces ; but his person is given to dwell in us immediately and for ever, and his graces secondarily. Our
persons (bodies and souls) are the temples of his person immediately ; his
graces are the hangings, the furniture, that he may dwell like himself, ut
habitet decore, that he may dwell handsomely. He is a holy Spirit, and
( holiness becomes his house, as the psalmist speaks ; and so, though he comes first into bare walls, yet he afterwards adorns them. You have a parallel made in the Scriptures of this point of his indwelling with that
former, of the gift of him : that as his person hath been shewed to be the
great gift, and his graces the secondary gift, so his indwelling is primarily added to his person, and to his graces secondarily. Because sometimes in
Scripture the Spirit is used to express his graces, the cause being put for the effect, therefore it hath been generally almost asserted that he dwells no otherwise in us than by having wrought such and such graces. But my
position is, that as the person of the Spirit is primarily given, so his person doth primarily dwell in us, and his graces secondarily. And this I hope to make clear by parallel scriptures to those other.
I. That text in 1 Cor. vi. 19 (which I said I should have recourse to
again), shews it: Your bodies (and therefore much more your souls) are the temples of the Holy Ghost, who is in you. It was not sufficient for him to say they were as his temples, for him to be worshipped in, by and
through the graces he puts in them, but he adds, Who is in you, whom
64 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK I.
ye have of God. Besides what afore was said, it appears further thus ; for as he heightens their sin of fornication, in the former verse, that it is
against the person of Christ, in respect of their relation to him as a husband, so in like manner in this verse, that it is against the person of the Holy Ghost, an indweller in them : Ye are the temples of the Holy Ghost, who
is in you. It is therefore made a distinctive property of the Holy Ghost
as in relation to the saints (even as procession is proper to him in relation
* That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which
to the Father), that he is the indweller in us : 2 Tim. i. 14,
dwelleth in us. You may observe that in the place before cited, how still
there came in this superadditional clause, By the Holy Ghost which is given in us ; so in like manner that other clause,
* the Holy Ghost which dwells
in us, where the person of the Holy Ghost, as thus dwelling in us, is spoken of as abstracted and severed from his grace by two characters : First, That he exhorts Timothy to keep the truth in faith and love ; ver. 13, as also
ver. 14, that whole frame both of grace and form of truth, which he calls
that good thing committed to him by the Holy Ghost. For evidently
severing the Holy Ghost s person, as the conservator of faith, and love of
the truth, and of all that is good within us, or committed to us. He dis-
tinguisheth him (I say) from these graces as the things that are to be pre
served by him. For else he should exhort to keep these graces by these
graces themselves, if he meant that they were these graces by which the
Holy Ghost doth only dwell within us. Secondly, his exhortation to
Timothy runs not thus, By the Holy Ghost who dwells in thee, which
yet had been more proper if he had intended the indwelling of those graces in him ; but he speaks generally by the Holy Ghost who dwells in thee and
us, all in common.
II. It may be observed, that whereas both God and Christ, those other two persons, are also in Scripture said to be in us, and to dwell in us, yet this indwelling is more special, and immediationi suppositi, attributed to the
Holy Ghost ; which, as it serves to give him an honour peculiar to him, so when set in such a comparison, even with them, must be meant and understood of his person immediately, and not by his graces only. Yea, the other two persons are said to dwell in us, and the Godhead itself, be cause the Holy Ghost dwells in us, he being the person that makes entry, and takes possession first, in the name and for the use of the other two, and so bringeth them in. I shall but name the place which looks this way
Eph. ii. 22, Ye are an habitation unto God by the Spirit; 1 Cor. iii. 16, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God ? namely, the Father, or (if ye will) the Godhead itself. And it follows by a special addition,
* And
that the Spirit of God dwells in you. So giving the original foundation or
ground how we came to be tempies of God, because the Spirit of God dwells
* The Spirit which ye have of God.
there. Or, as afterwards, chap, vi.,
Likewise, 1 John iii. 24, He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in
him, and he in him. Take it either of God the Father or the Son, for he had spoken of either : ver. 23, And hereby we know that he abideth in
us, by the Spirit which he hath given us, whom we feel dwelling and work
ing in our hearts. And therefore our divines have generally affirmed it, that Christ is said to dwell in us, because first his Spirit dwells in us, from Rom. viii. 9, 10, compared. Now to me it were strange to interpret such
speeches that God and Christ dwell in us, because their Spirit dwells in
us, and then by the Spirit mean only his grace, or the Spirit only by his
grace ; for the Spirit of God being a third person, must needs be acknow-
CHAP. IX. j IN OUR SALVATION. 65
ledged an indweller as well as the other two ; yea, and to come in between them and his own grace, seeing their dwelling in us is attributed to his. The truth is, that it is in this union of ours with God, as in that of Christ ; that look, as in the union of the man Jesus unto the Son of God, and in
the indwelling of the Son of God in that human nature, the Son of God first and originally dwells there, and he dwelling therein, the Father is in the man, and the Spirit is in him, and he in the Father; so is it here in this subordi
nate union of ours that the third person comes as the first inmate in us, and
he taking possession, the other two come in and take up their abode also.
Or, if you will, you may view it in the Spirit s comforting of us, which
holds parallel to this. Christ first promiseth to send the Spirit, as our com
forter, into us: And when he is come (says he, Johnxiv. 15, 17), I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever ; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. And in that day (ver. 20) ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. If
any man love me (ver. 23), ^my Father will love him, and we will come to
him, and make our abode with him. So the Spirit comes first. And thus
it is even in their indwelling also ; so as indeed it may be rightly urged to
the point in hand, that if it be thus, that God and Christ dwell in us, be cause his Spirit dwells in us, that then much more it must be granted that
his graces are said to be and to dwell in our hearts, because the Spirit first and primarily, who is the author of them, doth so ; as the beams do there
fore dwell in this visible world, or the heavens, because the sun doth first and originally dwell there, whose emanations and flowings forth they are. I might bring an invincible argument from this, that he first comes ere he works grace, but I refer it to the next head.
I observe that gifts and graces are called the manifestation of the Spirit, 1 Cor. xii. 7, that is, an outward demonstration or manifestation in men of
that Spirit that dwells and abides within the heart, and is invisible. The
seeing of the eye, the hearing of the ear, the acting of the fancy, and speech in the tongue, are the manifestation of the soul that dwells in the body, and
dwells not there by these, but with these ; and in order, the soul itself is
that sysXz^a,* that actus primus of these, as actus secundi. And such is the
Spirit to our souls, and his grace, he dwelling first in us himself. And
therefore, as aniinalis homo is a man that hath no more but a soul in him, that informs him, and acts him, without the Spirit of God, so oppositely he is a spiritual man (you have the opposition, 2 Cor. ii. 15) that hath
received into his heart the Spirit of God (read all the verses afore), that he
might know the things of God.
The objection which hath diverted men from this assertion is, that the
* Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or whither shall I fly from thy presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there, &c. And in that respect, his person is as much in a worm as in the saints, and in all alike ; therefore, how can his
person of the Holy Ghost is everywhere
: Ps. cxxxix. 7,
person be said to dwell more in the saints than elsewhere, otherwise than
by his effects and graces ?
1. According to the severity of this reason, the second person, the Son of
God, should not be said to dwell otherwise in the human nature of Christ than by effects and graces, which, Col. ii. 9, he is said to do : For in him
* WeXs^s/a ? ED. VOL. VI. B
* Qu.
66 THE WOKK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK I.
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, in distinction from saints and angels. For essentially, as he is God, he is also in the meanest crea ture ; and yet the person of the Son, and the Godhead itself, dwells person
ally in that nature, and not the graces only. Now, what is it makes that
indwelling to be more than by graces and effects, and so puts that vast
difference? All acknowledge that it is because he takes up that human nature into a nearer relation to his person, so as to be one person with it
immediately ; and such an union graces alone work not, nor gives founda
tion unto. And so he dwells in him upon that account. Well then, 2dly, it is true that into so near and high a relation the
saints are not taken up. They are not made one with the Spirit, nor doth the Spirit dwell in them upon that account. The Spirit dwelling in a saint
is not said to be made flesh, as the Word is, John i. 14 ; for then, what
good or evil the saints do would personally be accounted the Holy Ghost s ; our prayers his, subjectively ; yea, and our sins his ; as the blood and obe dience of that man Jesus was the blood and obedience of God, and the Son of God. Therefore our relation to the Holy Ghost s person is not so near by God s ordination. Yet, 3dly (as to the point in hand), We are capable and are made partakers, by the like ordination and free gift of God, of a relation, or propriety rather, to the very person of the Holy Ghost, which, though it be lower than that of the Son of God to human nature in Christ God-man, yet it is not founded upon graces, but is beyond them, and before them, even by God s
free and absolute gift and donation of his person to us, in order to such
graces, and the working of them in us. So as that this person should indeed dwell in us, in reference to graces as the final cause, but not the instrument at all, or means of his indwelling. It is unio personarum, an union of two persons immediately, us and him remaining two persons
still, as that of marriage is of two persons immediately, in order to such and such ends. And it is not unio iwrsonalis, to become one person, as that of the two natures of Christ, the human and the divine, which is unio duarum natiiramm, but not unio naturdlis, of two natures, but not into one
nature, but one person. And this difference w
ras exemplified in Christ him
self, our head, in the man Christ Jesus, in whom the Spirit of God dwells, not personally, for then Christ would be one person with the Holy Ghost as well as with the Son of God ; nor doth the Father dwell personally in
Christ, for then all three persons should have been said to be incarnate. And yet I suppose none will say that the person of the Spirit, nor of the
Son, dwells in the man Jesus only by means of his graces. But further, the person of the Spirit first rests on the man Christ, which person he hath
a right unto, that he should dwell in him, because that man Christ Jesus
is now united to the second person personally, and so to his graces second
arily. So as if we ask whether in order of nature the person of the Spirit dwells in him first, or the Spirit by its graces, we may without any hesita tion answer, the person of the Spirit primarily, and then his graces. Unto which seems to me to accord that in Isa. xi. 12, where it is first said, The
Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him ; namely, the person of the Holy Ghost, simply and absolutely considered ; then relatively, as in order to
endowing him with such and such particular graces, viz., The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of
knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord.
Now for the manner of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost s person ; it is no error to affirm that it is the same in us and the man Christ Jesus. Sure
CHAP. X.] IN OUR SALVATION. 67
we are capable of it, and therefore shall have it, we being to be conformed
to his image and likeness (as he to ours) in all that is possible, as he was
to us, sin only excepted ; so we to him, the personal union and the privi
lege of it excepted. Only, indeed, we differ herein from him in two things.
1. In the measure; for he hath the Spirit given him without measure
in his effects. 2. In the right to this indwelling of his person in us, and
in him. He holds it as a royalty, and one of the greatest, from his per sonal union with the Son of God. We hold it in his right, and by virtue
of the covenant of grace, and free donation ; for because we are sons
adopted in him, he hath sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, Gal.
iv. 6. But the modus, the manner of the indwelling, is one and the same. These things long since satisfied me in this great point, and I submit them to judgment.