Book V
Of the work of the Holy Ghost in us, as it is represented to us under the notion of a new creature. That besides the Holy Spirit s indwelling in us, and his motions and actings of our spirits, there arepermanent or abiding principles wrought in our souls, which dispose them for holy actions, and give spiritual abilities for the performance of them. That this new creature is a change of the heart . That it is a conformity to the image of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
CHAPTER I.
That exciting and moving grace is not all that the Spirit doth for us, to enable us to the performance of holy actions. But he works grace inherent, which is an abiding principle in us. The opinions of the popish doctors, of the Arminians, and of some enthusiastics, considered.
That which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. JOHN III. 6.
I have proved from this text of Scripture that the thing wrought in us by the Spirit is spirit, and makes us spiritual. I now resume the same text, to demonstrate from it this assertion or doctrine.
Doct. That over and above exciting, and moving, and aiding grace unto acts, there are inwrought and infused in the soul at regeneration, inherent and abiding principles of spiritual life, by which the soul is inwardly fitted, capacitated, inclined, and quickened unto the operations of a spiritual life.
I shall first consider, and refute some opinions that are contrary to this assertion. Though the papists very much speak of habitual grace as a principle by which the soul acts, yet they assert that the first and only grace that actually turns the soul is no more than exciting and adjuvant grace ; and that so to conversion it is sufficient that we be aided and assisted by divine grace, without receiving a new principle of life from it. But yet they say when a man hath turned to God out of free will, excited by an internal motion of grace at first, then God infuseth a habit of grace as a root, or a radical principle of good works. But then observe the reason, and to what end they thus state it, and affirm how that then, and not before, the soul s first turning to God, the habits of grace are infused by God.^
1. Because, in plain terms, according to their doctrine, sanctification, or inherent grace, or the infusion of a new principle of life, is justification, or that for which God adopts and accepts a man to eternal life, as that which renders a man amiable and acceptable to God, and constitutes him righteous.
And 2. They assert that a man being at present made righteous, or justified thereby, then those habits infused further becoming the roots and
188 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK V. principles of good works, these good works come accepted in order to the meriting eternal life, and are habitual graces given as the foundation of merit, but so as still the first acts of turning to God are carried on by excit ing grace ; and therefore they say the understanding and will are but as of a man in the dark, that can see imperfectly, or of a man fettered or sick, that can stir if helped. And they therefore call all these acts of turning to God by the names of attrition and contrition, and the like, as pre-dispositions of the soul to the infusion of this form or principle of grace, even as fire or flame is introduced into the wood when it hath been heated and hath smoked. This is the papist s doctrine. See Bellarmin, de gratid, lib. 6, cap. 15, per totum. And so Bishop Davenant in his Determinations, Quest. 9, and in Perkins his Reformed Catholick, do state their opinion and refute it.
And though I know many of them say that to every supernatural act of exciting grace, a habit at least, or an inherent disposition infused is required; yet I retort this as a contradiction in their doctrine, which is that justifica tion after a man is so turned to God in the infusion of habits, which therefore they must necessarily thereby deny to be afore conversion ; or else why is not the man justified thereby, or else acceptable afore ? Bishop Davenant also, in that before-cited Determination of his, retorts it further thus upon them : Some papists (says he, citing Suarez) overcome by force of argu ment, do yield, that unto the bringing forth of spiritual acts, there is always infused by God a quality which supplies that which a habit serves for. Yet to solve that other principle, they withal say that it differeth from a habit only in this, that it is not permanent, but passeth away together with the act, when that ceaseth. To what end (saith he) are these evasions ? Why do they not acknowledge these kind of infusions into the powers of men s souls to be the vivification of them, and that to continue as permanent and to be increased. *
Others, who are not papists, putting our justification upon faith in Christ alone, and not upon habitual grace at all, yet withal falling in with the popish doctrine of free will and exciting grace as sufficient to the first con version, they professedly and utterly deny any infusion of habits or principles abiding in the soul necessary to conversion, but that it consists altogether in acts stirred up by supernatural motions, by which the will is strengthened to accept or refuse. And so all of our conversion, according to this Arminian opinion, lieth in such acts of our parts, excited by extrinsecal motions and enlightenings on God s part. Hereby it comes to pass (as they would have it) that the whole of conversion is parted between the will, nakedly considered, and the adjuvant grace of God, assisting or elevating the will by way of motion and persuasion, without any working or infusion of a new heart and spirit unto us ; for they being not necessitated to em brace such habits for justification, as the papists do, and yet falling in with the freedom of man s will and supernatural exciting grace only, as the papists do, they reject all such infusion of habits, and wholly deny any part of regeneration to lie therein, and say it is figmentum sclwlasticiim, an invention of the schoolmen. Only indeed this they own, that the soul being thus once turned to God by exciting grace, by its multiplying such acts, though that grace acquires a habit or facility to act graciously, as by the often repeating of other acts men use to do in arts or faculties acquired (as in playing on the lute, &c.), which indeed supposeth (as their principles
How Alvarez states it out of the writings of many modern papists, you may read in his book De Auxiliis, lib. 7, THsp. 66, Nu. 1, whom yet heopposeth, as we do see also Suarez, lib. 8, de Gratia, cap. 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, &c.
CHAP. I.] IN OUR SALVATION. 189 do) an imperfect inchoate power already in man s will to act graciously, which through assisting grace, stirred up by crebrous and frequent acts, grows up into a habit or facility of working. But the doctrine of regenera tion which we profess is differing from both. We detest that doctrine of infusion of habits for justification, or as a foundation of works, to make them meritorious. But we say they are simply required for man s acting holily, and for the pleasing of God by good works, which good works declare and assert withal that in our regeneration, from the first acts to the last, and so throughout our lives, there are infused supernatural principles of life and grace, which remain and are inherent in us ; and so the works thereof, nay, the workings of grace in us, are not merely from motions and excita tions of the Holy Spirit in us, which is the full scope of the apostle : Eph. ii. 10, We are saved (that is, justified and made heirs of life) through faith ; not of works ; for we are his workmanship, created unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Here are good works as the fruit, and here is a workmanship created in us as the * we are his workmanship, created to good works, and there are no good works without it. But yet instead of good works being ordained to justify us, he * is the adequate and full end and principle whence works proceed ; ordination of God s workmanship in us unto good works, which is only that we should walk in them.
There is another opinion of some high-flown people, who reject and despise all habits and effects of grace, esteeming such a participation of the divine nature (and of which the apostle speaks, 2 Peter i. 4) to be merely by accidents and qualities, which they contemn. This notion is too low for them, and therefore they boldly assert that they are partakers of the divine nature by being transubstantiated into God, and that though they be no more than creatures in appearance, yet the being of God is in reality the substance of their being. And though this opinion is veiled under the notion only of higher union with God, yet it is demonstrable out of their writings, that they, rejecting all that our divines say of our blessed state in heaven itself, and of God s being all in all, as to the communications of himself to us there ; and rejecting also the hypostatical union of the human nature to the person of the Son of God, they cannot feign any higher union above those than that which consists in this, that the saints shall become God. And their believing themselves to be God, though in appearance creatures, is the fundamental in which all their religion centres, and indeed they need no more. So then as God said, upon occasion of the fall of man, Man is become as one of us ; so say they of man restored, that he becomes God. And therefore they professedly cry out against two things especially in our divinity, because they lie in the way of this high imaginary preferment of the new creature, to which they profess to advance it. One truth decried by them is the personal union of our nature with the divine in Jesus Christ, which, though it be the highest advancement any creature is capable of, yet falling lower than this which they aspire unto, they despise it, as not nigh enough for them, all the saints being (as they say) raised up to the form of God, and transformed unto God.
Among many other grounds of this bold assertion, there is one more plausible, which is this, that by our opinion we make all our communion with God to be but accidental, by virtue of accidents, or qualities in the soul, and not real or substantial.
But I answer, It is true, that as the soul itself, and its faculties of under- *Qu. here ? ED.
190 THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST [BOOK Y. standing and will, are but creatures, so graces are but qualities in it, and that knowledge and love which remain in heaven, are no more than qualities. But yet if they will allow the substantial soul of man to be a mere creature, and to remain a creature for ever, distinct from that divine essence and being, then it cannot otherwise be partaker of the Godhead than by such communion with him as our* person with another person, who never become one in nature and essence, but continue two several beings. The communications therefore of God to us, and our communion with him, are transacted no otherwise than by our knowing God, loving him, and en joying him for ever. A created understanding and will in a creature, not united to one of the persons hypostatically, can come no otherwise to be capable of communion and intercourse with God. And yet to say that this is but an accidental enjoyment of God, or the divine nature, is utterly false. For as we acknowledge and profess that it is God himself, and all the blessedness of him objectively, that is both known and loved of us, so we profess to enjoy as our happiness the divine nature as it is in itself; for such will our enjoyment of him be in heaven, where these inherent principles of communion with him, viz., the knowledge of God, and the love of God, will continue, and be perfected. And withal we affirm, that the soul is swallowed up into the enjoyment of God, as its all in all. But as for essential participation, viz., so to enjoy him as to be made one being with him, that can never be. The manner of the enjoyment is by means of accidents indeed, but the thing enjoyed is the divine nature made known to us, and beloved of us, as most blessed in himself. But withal we say that if the soul had not these faculties of understanding and will, which are but accidents, though essential properties of it, and likewise if it had not those infused qualities of grace and holiness superadded, it could not have this participation of God. Look, as the eye, when it beholds the sun, hath an immediate communion with the sun ; yet if it had not a visive faculty, a power of seeing, and were but a mere ball of flesh (such flesh as other parts of the body are), the eye could not be a receptive of the sun ; so it is here. The understanding could not see or know him as God, nor the will glorify him or love him as God, if it were not inspired and endowed with those new principles for which we are contending. Much less would it be capable of taking in the glory of God (as in heaven it doth) to be itself glorified thereby. And look, as when the eye beholds the sun, it reflects not on itself, it thinks not of, nor regards to boast of this, that it hath such a power of seeing in aspect, but it is wholly taken up with the glory of the sun itself, which is all in all in such a view ; so is it in heaven, when God is all in all to the blessed souls there. Only if there were not a new eye given to the soul to see with, and a heart to love him, or a divine nature like unto God s, it could never have to do with him, nor were it capable of it, nor meet for it. Take lead, yea, gold itself, and the loadstone will not draw it, nor will it follow the loadstone nor cleave unto it ; but let the divine power turn that gold into iron, which hath qualities like to and assimilated to the loadstone, and then you shall see the new-made iron in motion, as the load stone moves to it ; yea, if the loadstone doth touch a piece of metal, it infuseth a magnetic virtue to draw needles unto it, and yet that virtue is but a new quality, or accident. So it is here with souls ; it is not the best or largest or most refined soul for the substance of it, with all its essential faculties, nor the largest or greatest understanding faculty in any such soul, that is fitted for this communion with God. But take the dullest soul and *Qu. one? ED.
CHAP. II.] IN OUR SALVATION. 191 meanest among all the number of souls, and let God infuse his likeness unto it, that is, give it a divine qualified understanding to know him and a disposed heart to love him, and instantly it runs after him, and doth it naturally and suitably.