Religion & morality > Human nature in its fourfold state

Head II. San^llJIcation. 28r
niy Jiatutes. Tl ofe that have been planted together,
with Chrift, in the iikciiefs of his death, fliah he aifa
in die likenefs of his refurredhion, Rom. vi. 5. At
Ci'iViil’s rcfurreclion, when his foul was re-united with
his body, every member of that bleffcd body was ena¬
bled again to perform the actions of life ; fo, the foul
being influenced by the fandVifying Spirit of Chrift, is
enabled more and more, to perform all the aclions of
fpiritual life. And as the whole of the law, and not
fome fcrans of it only, is written on the holy heart; fo
believers are enabled to tranfcribe that law' in their
converfation And although tliey cannot write one
line of it without blots, yet God, for Chrift’? fake, ac¬
cepts of the performances, in point of fan-cbncation :
they being difciples to his own Son, and led by his own
Spirit.
This funclifying Spirit, communicated bv the Lor l
Jefus to his members, is the fpiritual nourdhment the
branches have from the (lock into which they are in¬
grafted, wdrereby the life of grace, given them in rege¬
neration, is preferred, continued and achutrd It. IT
the nouriftiment whereby the new creature bveth, and
is nourifhed up towards perfection. Spiritual life needs
to be fed, and mud have fupply of nouriftiment; and be¬
lievers derive the fame from Chrift, whom the Fa¬
ther has conftituted the head of influences to T his
members, Col. ii. ip. And not holding the head from
which all the body by joints and bands, having nourijh-
inent minijlered, or fupplied, &c. Nov>, this fuf’dy is.
He fupply of the Spirit of Jepus Chrijt, Phil i. 19 Phe
faints feed richly, eating Chrift’s fir fir, and ciri ’.king
his blood, for their fpiritual nourifhnaent; yet,our Lord
himfeif teacheth us, that it is the Spirit that qrirk-
eneth, even that Spirit who dwells in that bleiied bady,
John vi. 63. The human nature is united to the di¬
vine nature, in the perfon of the Son, and fo (like the
bowl in Zechariah’s candletlick, Zech. iv ) lies at the
fountain head, as the conveyance of influences, from the
fountain of the D.ity; and receives not the Spir>• by
meaiufe, but ever hath a fulnefs of the Spirit,by t.eafori
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