A tract of the soueraigne iudge of controuersies in matters of religion. By Iohn Cameron minister of the Word of God, and divinity professour in the Academie of Montauban. Translated into English by Iohn Verneuil. M.A.

CHAP. 16. (Book 16)

The verifying of the second meanes of Nullity against the eight allegation by declaring the vntrueth thereof. (Book 16)

BVT if wee proceede so farre as to demand how we may know, whether the Scripture bee the coppy of the declared will of God, since a man cannot know, neither who hath, nor whether hee himselfe hath the spirit of God or no; the an∣swere is very easie, hee who knoweth not whether he hath the spirit or no, belongs not to Christ; and therefore it is not strange if he knowes not the voyce of Christ; but all those who belong to Christ are made partakers of his spirit.* 1.1 If any man hath not the spirit of Christ hee is none of his. As many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sonnes of God, they haue not receiued the spirit of bondage againe to feare, but the spirit of adoption which cryeth Abba Father in their hearts.

The spirit it selfe beareth witnesse to their spirit,* 1.2 that they are the children of God. They are sealed vntill the redempti∣on of the purchased possession, hee is vnto them a spirit

of wisdome and reuelation:* 1.3 They are the sheepe of Christ, they heare and know the voyce of their sheepheard. They follow him,* 1.4 and the voice of a stranger they will not follow but will flie from him, for they know not his voyce. The Father driues them to Christ, they are taught of God, they haue learned of the Father,* 1.5 they are spirituall, and therefore comprehend the things that are of God, because the spirit hath revealed thē vnto them, & they are spiritually discerned. They haue receiued the anoynting by the holy spirit and know all things:* 1.6 God hath written his lawes in their hearts. Christ dwels there by faith. Their bodies are the temples of the holy Ghost. And those who are adorned and enriched so sump∣tuously, can they bee ignorant of the excellencie of the dia∣mond, and the magnificencie of the riches which they pos∣sesse? Those who are enlightened with such a light, vpon whom the Lord causeth the day to spring from on high to shine, and the light of his countenance to airse, to whom he is the sun and buckler, the sunne of righteousnesse, bearing health vnder his wings, whose eyes hee hath enlightened, can they doubt whether they walke in his light?

Shall the naturall man by his reason comprehend that he discourseth, and the spirituall man shall not hee discerne by the spirit, that hee hath the spirit?

And here some man may say vnto vs; But how many may bee found who boast, nay who thinke verily they haue the spirit, and yet are grossely deceiued; how many haue the spirit, and yet erre oftentimes in their iudge∣ments? and indeede it is so: but is it not either a strange perversity, or indiscretiō, to inferre from thence that none can know, that none can judge and discerne assuredly to salvation, the spirituall things which God hath revealed outwardly to his by his word, & inwardly by his spirit? For do we not see amōgst men how many there are who glory and deceiue themselues with a false opinion of wisdome, being indeed imprudent & foolish, & yet whosoever would conclude from thence, that hee who is truly wise, cannot know that hee is so; should bring into the world not that of

the Academiques, but even the Pyrronian suspence of judg∣ment. If then the boasting and vanity of a foole, cannot prejudice the assured knowledge, which hee who is wise can, and ought to haue of wisdome; no more can the false perswasions of hypocrites which proceede from the illusiō of Satan, shake the certainty of that assurāce which procee∣deth from the sense and feeling of the spirit dwelling in the heart of the spirituall man, and giuing as wee haue said, testimony to his spirit. Yea the conformity of his moti∣ons with the word of the Scripture, assures and strengthens him, and putteth a difference betweene the sence and feeling he hath, and that which ariseth from the false illusion of Sa∣tan, which hath no other rule then it selfe. From the same fountaine either of malice or vnadvisednesse it proceedes that vnder pretence that those who haue receiued the spi∣rit do erre sometimes, they would conclude, that in that which is necessary to salvation they cannot passe any cer∣taine judgement: for the wisest in the knowledge of world∣ly businesses may offend against the rules of wisdome, and yet who will deny for all this but they can giue advise and sure counsell. Wee say, sure, according to the rules of wisdome: For no man can answere for the event which is oftentimes contrary to the wisedome of Counsell and favoureth rash attempts. The learned are ignorant of ma∣ny things, but not of such without which they cannot de∣serue that name. As then the prudent differ not from fooles in this that they never commit any follies, but in this that their follies are not grosse, are not ordinary, and as the difference that is between the learned & the ignorāt cō∣sists in that which is the Principall in the Science which he professeth. The ignorāt on the contrary is either ignorant of all, or knowes very little, and even that little which hee knowes to speake properly hee knowes not. So the diffe∣rence that is betweene the man spiritually wise, & him that is ignorant according to the spirit, it is not in this that the Spirituall man never, but in that hee erres not grossely and ordinarily: Not in that hee knowes all, but in that hee

knowes all that which is necessary in his profession, where∣as hee that is spiritually foolish and ignorant, erres almost alwayes, erres ordinarily, is ignorant of that which is neces∣sary that he should know for the making of himselfe such as hee professeth himselfe to bee. And euen as there is a great disproportion betweene fooles and wisemen in the or∣dinary course and cariage of their liues; betweene the lear∣ned and ignorant in the knowledge of good arts, and yet all the wise in that kind are not equally wise, nor all the learned equally learned, nay in that very humane and secular wise∣dome, and learning, there is no one perfectly wise, perfectly learned: so great is the difference betweene those whom God hath enlightned with his knowledge, and those whom the eyes of their vnderstanding the God of this world hath blinded, and yet there is no one amongst them all, who hath attained to the highest degree of perfection.

Wee conclude then, that as those that belong not to the Lord, cannot assure themselues of his spirit, and by conse∣quent cannot discerne his word vnto saluation: so all those that are his, do feele the efficacie of his spirit in their hearts, euen as they feele and finde in themselues by experience the vse of reason; and judge by the spirit of spirituall things proposed in the word, after the same manner as by reason, they judge of things that canne bee comprehended by it. It sufficeth vs to haue proued that the faithfull haue an assu∣red and certaine rule in the Scripture.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Rom. 8. 9. v. 14. 15. 16.
• * 1.2

  Eph. 1. 13. 14.
• * 1.3

  Iohn 10. 3. 4. 5.
• * 1.4

  1. Cor. 2. •• 4. 15. 16.
• * 1.5

  1. Iohn 2. 27.
• * 1.6

  2. Cor. 3. 3. Ephes. 3. 17. 1. Cor. 16. 19. Luke 1. 78.