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11 - The Witness of the Spirit, Discourse II - Sermons on Several Occasions · Philosophy and Faith

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  Speaker 1: Sermon eleven, the witness of the Spirit Discourse two. The
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  Speaker 1: Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are
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  Speaker 1: the children of God Romans eighth, verse sixteen. None who
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  Speaker 1: believe the scriptures to be the word of God can
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  Speaker 1: doubt the importance of such a truth as this, a
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  Speaker 1: truth revealed therein not only once, not obscurely, not incidentally,
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  Speaker 1: but frequently, and that in express terms, but solemnly, and
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  Speaker 1: of a set purpose, as denoting one of the peculiar
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  Speaker 1: privileges of the children of God. And it is the
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  Speaker 1: more necessary to explain and defend this truth, because there
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  Speaker 1: is a danger on the right hand and on the
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  Speaker 1: left if we deny it. There is a danger lest
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  Speaker 1: our religion degenerate into mere formality, lest having a form
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  Speaker 1: of godliness, we neglect if not deny the power of it.
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  Speaker 1: If we allow it, but do not understand what we allow,
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  Speaker 1: we are liable to run into all the wildness of enthusiasm.
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  Speaker 1: It is therefore needful in the highest degree to guard
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  Speaker 1: those who fear God from both those dangers by a
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  Speaker 1: scriptural and rational illustration and confirmation of this momentous truth.
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  Speaker 1: It may seem something of this kind is the more needful,
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  Speaker 1: because so little has been wrote on the subject with
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  Speaker 1: any clearness, unless some discourses on the wrong side of
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  Speaker 1: the question, which explain it quite a way, and it
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  Speaker 1: cannot be doubted. But these were occasioned, at least in
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  Speaker 1: a great measure by the crude, unscriptural, irrational explication of
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  Speaker 1: others who knew not what they spake, nor whereof they affirmed. It.
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  Speaker 1: More nearly concerns the Methodists so called clearly to understand, explain,
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  Speaker 1: and defend this doctrine, because it is one grand part
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  Speaker 1: of the testimony which God has given them to bear
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  Speaker 1: to all mankind. It is by peculiar blessing upon them
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  Speaker 1: in searching the scriptures, confirmed by the experience of His children,
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  Speaker 1: that this great evangelical truth has been recovered, which had
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  Speaker 1: been for many years well nigh lost and forgotten. But
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  Speaker 1: what is the witness of the spirit. The original word
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  Speaker 1: matirihea may be rendered either, as it is in several places,
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  Speaker 1: the witness, or less ambiguously, the testimony or the record.
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  Speaker 1: So it is rendered in our translation one John five,
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  Speaker 1: verse eleven. This is the record, the testimony, the sum
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  Speaker 1: of what God testifies in all the inspired writings that
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  Speaker 1: God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life
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  Speaker 1: is in His son. The testimony now under consideration is
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  Speaker 1: given by the Spirit of God too, and wi with
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  Speaker 1: our spirit. He is the person testifying. What he testifies
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  Speaker 1: to us is that we are the children of God.
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  Speaker 1: The immediate result of this testimony is the fruit of
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit, namely love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness.
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  Speaker 1: And without these the testimony itself cannot continue, for it
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  Speaker 1: is inevitably destroyed, not only by the commission of an
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  Speaker 1: outward sin or the omission of known duty, but by
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  Speaker 1: giving way to any inward sin. In a word, by
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  Speaker 1: whatever grieves the Holy Spirit of God. I observed many
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  Speaker 1: years ago it is hard to find words in the
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  Speaker 1: language of men to explain the deep things of God. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: there are none that will adequately express what the Spirit
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  Speaker 1: of God works in his children. But perhaps one might say,
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  Speaker 1: desiring any who are taught of God to correct, soften,
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  Speaker 1: or strengthen the expression by the testimony of the Spirit,
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  Speaker 1: I mean an inward impression on the soul, whereby the
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  Speaker 1: Spirit of God immediately and directly witnesses to my spirit
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  Speaker 1: that I am a child of God, that Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 1: hath loved me and given himself for me, that all
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  Speaker 1: my sins are blotted out, and I even I am
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  Speaker 1: reconciled to God. After twenty years further consideration, I see
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  Speaker 1: no cause to retract any part of this. Neither do
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  Speaker 1: I conceive how any of these expressions may be altered
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  Speaker 1: so as to make them more intelligible. I can only
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  Speaker 1: add that if any of the children of God will
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  Speaker 1: point out any other expressions which are more clear or
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  Speaker 1: more agreeable to the word of God, I will readily
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  Speaker 1: lay aside these. Meanwhile, let it be observed I do
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  Speaker 1: not mean hereby that the Spirit of God testifies this
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  Speaker 1: by any outward voice, no, nor always by an inward voice,
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  Speaker 1: although he may do this sometimes. Neither do I suppose
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  Speaker 1: that he always applies to the heart, though we often
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  Speaker 1: may one or more texts of scripture. But he so
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  Speaker 1: works upon the soul by his immediate influence and by
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  Speaker 1: a strong though inexplicable operation, that the stormy wind and
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  Speaker 1: troubled waves subside, and there is a sweet calm, the
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  Speaker 1: heart resting as in the arms of Jesus, and the
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  Speaker 1: sinner being clearly satisfied that God is reconciled that all
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  Speaker 1: his iniquities are forgiven and his sins covered. Now, what
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  Speaker 1: is the matter of dispute concerning this, Not whether there
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  Speaker 1: be a witness or testimony of the spirit, not whether
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  Speaker 1: the spirit does testify with our spirit that we are
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  Speaker 1: the children of God. None can deny this without flatly
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  Speaker 1: contradicting the scriptures and charging a lie upon the God
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  Speaker 1: of Truth. Therefore, that there is a testimony of the
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  Speaker 1: Spirit is acknowledged by all parties. Neither is a question
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  Speaker 1: whether there is an indirect witness or testimony that we
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  Speaker 1: are the children of God. This is nearly, if not exactly,
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  Speaker 1: the same with testimony of a good conscience toward God,
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  Speaker 1: and is the result of reason or reflection on what
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  Speaker 1: we feel in our own souls. Strictly speaking, it is
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  Speaker 1: a conclusion drawn partly from the Word of God and
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  Speaker 1: partly from our own experience. The Word of God says
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  Speaker 1: everyone who has the fruit of the spirit is a
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  Speaker 1: child of God. Experience or inward consciousness tells me that
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  Speaker 1: I have the fruit of the spirit, and hence I
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  Speaker 1: rationally conclude therefore I am a child of God. This
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  Speaker 1: is likewise allowed on all hands, and so is no
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  Speaker 1: matter of controversy, nor do we assert that there can
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  Speaker 1: be any real testimony of the Spirit without the fruit
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  Speaker 1: of the Spirit. We assert, on the contrary, that the
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  Speaker 1: fruit of the Spirit immediately springs from this testimony, not always, indeed,
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  Speaker 1: in the same degree, even when the testimony is given
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  Speaker 1: first and much less afterwards. Neither joy nor peace is
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  Speaker 1: always at one stay, no nor love, as neither is
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  Speaker 1: the testimony itself always equally strong and clear. But the
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  Speaker 1: point in question is whether there be any direct testimony
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  Speaker 1: of the Spirit at all, whether there be any other
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  Speaker 1: testimony of the Spirit than that which arises from a
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  Speaker 1: consciousness of the fruit. I believe there is, because that
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  Speaker 1: is the plain, natural meaning of the text. The Spirit
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  Speaker 1: itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the
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  Speaker 1: children of God. It is manifest. Here are two witnesses
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  Speaker 1: mentioned who together testify the same thing, the Spirit of
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  Speaker 1: God and our own spirit. The late Bishop of London,
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  Speaker 1: in his sermon on this text, seems astonished that anyone
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  Speaker 1: can doubt of this which appears upon the very face
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  Speaker 1: of the words. Now, the testimony of our own spirit,
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  Speaker 1: says the Bishop, is one which is the consciousness of
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  Speaker 1: our own sincerity. Or to express the same thing a
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  Speaker 1: little more clearly, the consciousness of the fruit of the spirit.
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  Speaker 1: When our spirit is conscious of this, of love, peace,
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  Speaker 1: long suffering, gentleness, goodness, it easily infers from these premises
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  Speaker 1: that we are the children of God. It is true
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  Speaker 1: that great Man supposed the other witness to be the
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  Speaker 1: consciousness of our own good works. This, he affirms, is
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  Speaker 1: the testimony of God's spirit. But this is included in
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  Speaker 1: the testimony of our own spirit. Yea, and in sincerity,
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  Speaker 1: even according to the common sense of the word. So
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  Speaker 1: the apostle our rejoicing in this the testimony our conscience, that,
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  Speaker 1: in simplicity and godly sincerity, refers to our words and actions,
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  Speaker 1: as least as much as to our inward dispositions. So
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  Speaker 1: that this is not another witness, but the very same
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  Speaker 1: that he mentioned before, the consciousness of our good works
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  Speaker 1: being only one branch of the consciousness of our sincerity. Consequently,
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  Speaker 1: here is only one witness. Still, If therefore the text
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  Speaker 1: speaks of two witnesses, one of these is not the
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  Speaker 1: consciousness of our good works, neither of our sincerity, all
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  Speaker 1: this being manifestly contained in the testimony of our spirit,
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  Speaker 1: What then is the other witness. This might easily be
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  Speaker 1: learned if the text itself were not sufficiently clear from
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  Speaker 1: the verse immediately preceding, Ye have received not the spirit
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  Speaker 1: of bondage, but the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry
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  Speaker 1: Abbah Father. It follows the spirit itself beareth witness with
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  Speaker 1: our spirit that we are the children of God. This
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  Speaker 1: is farther explained by the parallel text Galatians four, verse six.
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  Speaker 1: Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit
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  Speaker 1: of His Son into our hearts, crying Abba Father. Is
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  Speaker 1: not this something immediate and direct, not the result of
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  Speaker 1: reflection or argumentation. Does not his spirit cry Abbah Father
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  Speaker 1: in our hearts the moment it is given and accedingly to
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  Speaker 1: any reflection upon our own sincerity, yea, to any reasoning whatsoever.
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  Speaker 1: And is not this the plain, natural sense of the words,
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  Speaker 1: which strikes anyone as soon as he hears them. All
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  Speaker 1: these texts, then, in their most obvious meaning, describe a
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  Speaker 1: direct testimony of the spirit, that the testimony of the
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  Speaker 1: Spirit of God must, in the very nature of things,
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  Speaker 1: be antecedent to the testimony of our own spirit. May appear.
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  Speaker 1: From this single consideration, we must be holy in heart
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  Speaker 1: and life before we can be conscious that we are so.
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  Speaker 1: But we must love God before we can be holy
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  Speaker 1: at all, this being the root of holiness. Now we
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  Speaker 1: cannot love God till we know he loves us. We
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  Speaker 1: love him because He first loved us. And we cannot
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  Speaker 1: know this love to us till His spirit witnesses it
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  Speaker 1: to our spirit, till then we cannot believe it. We
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  Speaker 1: cannot say the life which I now live, I live
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  Speaker 1: by faith in the Son of God, who loved me
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  Speaker 1: and gave himself for me. Then only then we feel
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  Speaker 1: our interest in his blood, and cry with joy unspeakable,
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  Speaker 1: Thou art, my Lord, my God. Since therefore the testimony
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  Speaker 1: of his spirit must precede the love of God and
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  Speaker 1: all holiness of consequence, it must precede our consciousness thereof
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  Speaker 1: And here properly comes in to confirm the scriptural doctrine.
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  Speaker 1: The experience of the children of God, the experience not
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  Speaker 1: of two or three, not of a few, but of
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  Speaker 1: a great multitude which no man can number. It has
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  Speaker 1: been confirmed both in this and in all ages, by
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  Speaker 1: a cloud of living and dying witnesses. It is confirmed
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  Speaker 1: by your experience and mine, the spirit itself bore witness
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  Speaker 1: to my spirit that I was a child of God,
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  Speaker 1: gave me an evidence thereof and I immediately cried Abbah, Father,
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  Speaker 1: And this I did, and so did you. Before I
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  Speaker 1: reflected on or was conscious of any fruit of the spirit.
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  Speaker 1: It was from this testimony received that love, joy, peace,
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  Speaker 1: and the whole fruit of the spirit flowed. First I
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  Speaker 1: heard thy sins are forgiven, accepted thou art, I listen,
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  Speaker 1: and heaven sprung up in my heart. But this is
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  Speaker 1: confirmed not only by experience of the children of God,
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  Speaker 1: thousands of whom can declare that they never did know
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  Speaker 1: themselves to be in the favor of God till it
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  Speaker 1: was directly witnessed to them by His spirit, but by
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  Speaker 1: all those who are convinced of sin, who feel the
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  Speaker 1: wrath of God abiding on them. These cannot be satisfied
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  Speaker 1: with anything less than a direct testimony from His spirit
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  Speaker 1: that He is merciful to their unrighteousness, remembers their sins
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  Speaker 1: and iniquities. No more tell any of these. You are
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  Speaker 1: to know you are a child by reflecting on what
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  Speaker 1: He has wrought in you, on your love, joy and peace.
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  Speaker 1: And will He not immediately reply? By all this, I
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  Speaker 1: know I am a child of the devil. I have
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  Speaker 1: no more love to God than the devil has. My
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  Speaker 1: carnal mind is enmity against God. I have no joy
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  Speaker 1: in the Holy ghost. My soul is sorrowful even unto death.
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  Speaker 1: I have no peace. My heart is a troubled sea.
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  Speaker 1: I am all storm and tempest. And which way can
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  Speaker 1: these souls possibly be comforted but by a divine testimony,
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  Speaker 1: Not that they are good or sincere, or conformable to
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  Speaker 1: the scripture in heart and life, but that God justifieth
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  Speaker 1: the ungodly Him that till the moment he is justified,
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  Speaker 1: is all ungodly, void of all true holiness, Him that
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  Speaker 1: worketh not that worketh nothing that is truely good, till
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  Speaker 1: he is conscious that he is accepted, not for any
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  Speaker 1: works of righteousness which he hath done, but by the
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  Speaker 1: mere free mercy of God holy and solely for what
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  Speaker 1: the Son of God hath done and suffered for him.
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  Speaker 1: And can it be any otherwise If a man is
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  Speaker 1: justified by faith without the works of the law, If so,
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  Speaker 1: what inward or outward goodness can he be conscious of
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  Speaker 1: antecedent to his justification? Nay, is not the having nothing
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  Speaker 1: to pay that is, the being conscious that there dwelleth
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  Speaker 1: in us no good thing, neither inward nor outward goodness
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  Speaker 1: essentially indispensably necessary before we can be justified freely through
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  Speaker 1: the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. Was ever any
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  Speaker 1: man justified since his coming into the world, or can
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  Speaker 1: any man ever be justified till he is brought to
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  Speaker 1: that point? I give up every plea beside, Lord, I
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  Speaker 1: am damned, but thou hast died. Everyone therefore who denies
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  Speaker 1: the existence of such a testimony does in effect deny
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  Speaker 1: justification by faith. It follows that either he never experienced this,
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  Speaker 1: either he never was justified, or that he has forgotten,
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  Speaker 1: as Saint Peter speaks Ta Katharasmu tan palae Adu Hamaratian,
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  Speaker 1: the purification from his former sins, the experience he then
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  Speaker 1: had himself, the manner wherein God wrought in his own
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  Speaker 1: soul when his former sins were blotted out, And the
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  Speaker 1: experience even of the children of the world. Here confirms
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  Speaker 1: that of the children of God, many of these have
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  Speaker 1: a desire to please God. Some of them take much
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  Speaker 1: pains to please him. But do they not one and
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  Speaker 1: all count it to the highest absurdity for any to
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  Speaker 1: talk of knowing his sins are forgiven? Which of them
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  Speaker 1: even pretends to any such thing. And yet many of
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  Speaker 1: them are conscious of their own sincerity. Many of them
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  Speaker 1: undoubtedly have in a degree the testimony of their own spirit,
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  Speaker 1: a consciousness of their own uprightness. But this brings them
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  Speaker 1: no consciousness that they are forgiven, no knowledge that they
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  Speaker 1: are the children of God. Yea, the more sincere they are,
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  Speaker 1: the more uneasy they generally are for want of knowing it,
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  Speaker 1: plainly showing that this cannot be known in a satisfactory
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  Speaker 1: manner by the bare testimony of our own spirit, without
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  Speaker 1: God's directly testifying that we are as children. But abundance
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  Speaker 1: of objections have been made to this, the chief of
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  Speaker 1: which it may be well to consider. It is objected. First,
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  Speaker 1: experience is not sufficient to prove a doctrine which is
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  Speaker 1: not founded on scripture. This is undoubtedly true, and it
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  Speaker 1: is an important truth. But it does not affect the
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  Speaker 1: present question. For it has been shown that this doctrine
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  Speaker 1: is found on scripture. Therefore, experience is properly alleged to
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  Speaker 1: confirm it. But madmen, French prophets and enthusiasts of every
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  Speaker 1: kind have imagined they experienced this witness. They have so,
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  Speaker 1: and perhaps not a few of them did, although they
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  Speaker 1: did not retain it long. But if they did not,
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  Speaker 1: this is no proof at all that others have not
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  Speaker 1: experienced it. As a madman's imagining himself a king does
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  Speaker 1: not prove that there are no real kings. Nay, many
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  Speaker 1: who pleaded strongly for this have utterly decried the Bible.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps so, but this was no necessary consequence. Thousands plead
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  Speaker 1: for it, who have the highest esteem for the Bible, Yea,
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  Speaker 1: But many have fatally deceived themselves hereby and God above
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  Speaker 1: all conviction. And yet a scriptural doctrine is no worse,
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  Speaker 1: though men abuse it to their own destruction. But I
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  Speaker 1: lay it down as an undoubted truth. The fruit of
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  Speaker 1: the s is the witness of the Spirit, not undoubted.
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  Speaker 1: Thousands doubt of YEA flatly deny it. But let that pass.
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  Speaker 1: If this witness be sufficient, there is no need of
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  Speaker 1: any other. But it is sufficient unless in one of
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  Speaker 1: these cases one the total absence of the fruit of
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  Speaker 1: the spirit. And this is the case when the direct
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  Speaker 1: witness is first given. Two the not perceiving it, but
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  Speaker 1: to contend for it in this case is to contend
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  Speaker 1: for being in the favor of God and not knowing
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  Speaker 1: it true, not knowing it at that time any otherwise
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  Speaker 1: than by the testimony which is given for that end.
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  Speaker 1: And this we do contend. For we contend that the
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  Speaker 1: direct witness may shine clear even while the indirect one
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  Speaker 1: is under a cloud. It is objected. Secondly, the design
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  Speaker 1: of the witness contended for is to prove that the
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  Speaker 1: profession we make is genuine. But it does not prove this.
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  Speaker 1: I answer the proving this is not the design of it.
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  Speaker 1: It is antecedent to our making any profession at all
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  Speaker 1: but that of being lost, undone, guilty, helpless sinners. It
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  Speaker 1: is designed to assure those to whom it is given
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  Speaker 1: that they are the children of God, that they are
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  Speaker 1: justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
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  Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ. And this does not suppose that their
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  Speaker 1: preceding thoughts, words, and actions are conformable to the rule
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  Speaker 1: of scripture. It supposes quite the reverse, namely, that they
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  Speaker 1: are sinners all over, sinners both in heart and life.
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  Speaker 1: Were it otherwise, God would justify the godly and their
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  Speaker 1: own works would be counted for them for righteousness. And
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  Speaker 1: I cannot but fear that a supposition of our being
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  Speaker 1: justified by works is at the root of all these objections.
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  Speaker 1: For whoever cordially believes that God imputes to all that
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  Speaker 1: are justified righteousness without words, works will find no difficulty
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  Speaker 1: in allowing the witness of His Spirit preceding the fruit
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  Speaker 1: of it. It is objected. Thirdly, one evangelist says, your
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  Speaker 1: heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that
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  Speaker 1: ask him. The other evangelist calls the same thing good gifts, abundantly,
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  Speaker 1: demonstrating that the spirit's way of bearing witness is by
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  Speaker 1: giving good gifts. Nay, here is nothing at all about
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  Speaker 1: bearing witness, either in the one text or the other. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: till this demonstration is better demonstrated, I let it stand
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  Speaker 1: as it is. It is objected. Fourthly, the scripture says,
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  Speaker 1: the tree is known by its fruits. Prove all things.
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  Speaker 1: Try the spirits, examine yourselves most true. Therefore, let every
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  Speaker 1: man who believes he hath the witness in himself try
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  Speaker 1: whether it be of God. If the fruit follow it
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  Speaker 1: is otherwise it is not. For certainly the tree is
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  Speaker 1: known by its fruit. Hereby we prove if it be
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  Speaker 1: of God. But the direct witness is never referred to
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  Speaker 1: in the Book of God, not as standing alone, not
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  Speaker 1: as a single witness, but as connected with the other,
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  Speaker 1: as giving a joint testimony, testifying with our spirit that
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  Speaker 1: we are the children of God. And who is able
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: to prove that it is not thus referred to in
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: this very scripture? Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith?
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: Prove your own selves, know ye not your own selves,
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: that Jesus Christ is in you. It is by no
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: means clear that they did not know this by a
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: direct as well as a remote witness. How is it
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: proved that they did not know it first by an
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: inward consciousness, and then by love, joy and peace. But
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: the testimony arising from the internal and external change is
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: constantly referred to in the Bible. It is so, and
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: we constantly refer there too to confirm the testimony of
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: the spirit. Nay, all the marks you have given whereby
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: to distinguish the operations of God's Spirit from delusion, refer
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: to the change wrought in us and upon us. This
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: likewise is undoubtedly true. It is objected fifthly, that the
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: direct witness of the Spirit does not secure us from
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: the greatest delusion. And is that a witness fit to
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: be trusted, whose testimony cannot be depended on, that is
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: forced to fly to something else to prove what it asserts.
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  Speaker 1: I answer, to secure us from all delusion, God gives
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  Speaker 1: us two witnesses that we are as children, and this
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  Speaker 1: they testify conjointly. Therefore, what God hath joined together, let
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: no man put asunder. And while they are joined, we
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: cannot be deluded. Their testimony can be depended on. They
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: are fit to be trusted in the highest agree, and
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: need nothing else to prove what they assert. Nay, the
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: direct witness only asserts, but does not prove anything. By
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: two witnesses, shall every word be established. And when the
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: Spirit witnesses with our spirit, as God designs it to do,
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: then it fully proves that we are children of God.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: It is objected. Sixthly, you own the change wrought is
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: a sufficient testimony unless in the case of several trials,
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: such as that of our Savior upon the cross. But
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: none of us can be tried in that manner. But
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: you or I may be tried in such a manner,
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: and so may any other child of God, that it
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: will be impossible for us to keep our flile confidence
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: in God without the direct witness of His Spirit. It
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: is objected. Lastly, the greatest contenders for it are some
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: of the proudest and most uncharitable of men. Perhaps some
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: of the hottest contenders for it are both proud and uncharitable.
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: But many of the ermis contenders for it are eminently
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: meek and lowly in heart, and indeed, in all other respects,
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: also true followers of their Lamb like Lord. The preceding
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: objections are the most considerable that I have heard, and
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: I believe contain the strength of the cause. Yet I
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: apprehend whoever calmly and impartially considers those objections and answers together,
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: will easily see that they do not destroy, know nor
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: weaken the evidence of that great truth that the Spirit
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: of God does directly as well as indirectly, testify that
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: we are the children of God. The sum of all
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: this is the testimony of the Spirit is an inward
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: impression on the souls of believers, whereby the Spirit of
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: God directly testifies to their spirit that they are the
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: children of God. And it is not questioned whether there
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: is a testimony of the spirit. But whether there is
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: a direct testimony, whether there is any other than that
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: which arises from a consciousness of the fruit of the spirit,
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: we believe there is, because this is the plain, natural
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: meaning of the text, illustrated both by the preceding words
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: and by the parallel passage in the Epistle to the Galatians,
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: because in the nature of the thing, the testimony must
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: precede the fruit which springs from it, and because this
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: plain meaning of the word of God is confirmed by
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: the experience of innumerable children of God yea, and by
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: the experience of all who are convinced of sin, who
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: can never rest till they have a direct witness, and
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: even of the children of the world, who, not having
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: the witness in themselves one and all declare none can
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: know his sins forgiven. And whereas it is objected that
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: experience is not sufficient to prove a doctrine unsupported by scripture,
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: that madmen and enthusiasts of every kind have imagined such
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: a witness, that the design of that witness is to
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: prove our profession genuine, which design it does not answer
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: that the scripture says the tree is known by its fruit,
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: examine yourselves, prove your own selves. And meantime, the direct
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: witness is never referred to in all the book of God,
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: that it does not secure us from the great delusions.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: And lastly, that the change wrought in us is a
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: sufficient testimony unless in such trials as Christ alone suffered.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: We answer one, experience is sufficient to confirm a doctrine
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: which is grounded on scripture. Two. Though many fancy they
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: experience what they do not, this is no prejudice to
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: real experience. Three. The design of that witness is to
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: assure us we are children of God, and this design
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: it does answer. Four. The true witness of the Spirit
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: is known by its fruit love, peace, joy, not indeed
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: preceding but following it. Five it cannot be proved that
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: the direct as well as the indirect witness is not
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: referred to in that very text. Know ye not your
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you. Six, the
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: Spirit of God witnessing with our spirit does secure us
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: from all delusion. And lastly, we are all liable to
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: trials wherein the testimony of our own spirit is not sufficient,
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: wherein nothing less than the direct testimony of God's Spirit
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: can assure us that we are His children. Two inferences
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: may be drawn from the whole. The first, let none
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: ever presume to rest in any supposed testimony of the
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: Spirit which is separate from the fruit of it. If
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: the Spirit of God does really testify that we are
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: the children of God, the immediate consequence will be the
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: fruit of the Spirit, even love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, temperance.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: And however, this fruit may be clouded for a while
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: during the time of strong temptation, so that it does
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: not appear to the tempted person while Satan is sifting
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: him as wheat. Yet the substantial part of it remains
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: even under the thickest cloud. It is true. Joy in
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: the Holy Ghost may be withdrawn during the hour of trial. Yea,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: the soul may be exceeding sorrowful while the hour and
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: power of darkness continue, But even this is generally restored
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: with increase till we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: of glory. The second inference is let none rest in
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: any supposed fruit of the Spirit. Without the witness. There
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: may be foretastes of the Spirit. Without the witness there
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: may be foretastes of joy, of peace, of love, and
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: those not delusive but really from God, long before we
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: have the witness in ourselves, before the Spirit of God
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: witnesses with our spirits that we have redemption in the
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: blood of Jesus, even the forgiveness of sins. Yea, there
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: may be a degree of long suffering, of gentleness, of fidelity, meekness, temperance,
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: not a shadow thereof, but a real degree, by the
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: preventing grace of God, before we are accepted in the Beloved,
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: and consequently before we have a testimony of our acceptance.
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: But it is by no means advisable to rest here.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: It is at the peril of our souls if we do,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: if we are wise, we shall be continually crying to
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: God until His spirit cry in our heart Ahbah Father.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: This is the privilege of all the children of God,
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: and without this we can never be assured that we
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: are His children. Without this we cannot retain a steady peace,
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: nor avoid perplexing doubts and fears. But when we have
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: once received the spirit of adoption, this peace, which passeth
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: all understanding, and which expect tells all painful doubt and fear,
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: will keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: when this has brought forth its genuine fruit, all inward
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: and outward holiness, it is undoubtedly the will of Him
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: that calleth us to give us always what he has
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: once given, so that there is no need that we
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: should evermore be deprived of either the testimony of God's
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: spirit or the testimony of our own, the consciousness of
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: our walking in all righteousness and true holiness, Newy, April fourth,
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: seventeen sixty seven, end of section eleven