How the Spirit of

6. Such, as love themselves and their own things, the provifions of the flesh, and a quiet, eafie, and commodious life, better than Chrift Jefus and his things.

7. In a word, they are fuch, as under the glo rious profeflion,and fubtil pretence of Church,

are truly and inwardly the Church of the De vil and Antichrist.

Such a People and no other hath Antichrift to hear Him, and to embrace and depend on Him, and his Doctrine, Ministry, and Ordinances; that is, the multitude of falfe and Carnal Chriftians, which are almost the whole world of the outward Profeffors of the Gospel and Christianity. For a Antichrift and his Prophets are of the world, and fpeak of the world, fo alfo the world hears them.

And thus much for the fifth Point.

In the Sixth place the Apostle fhews, How the Truth and Spirit of Truth and Error may be known in the People, Error may as well as in the Teachers, to wit, by the Peoples the Hearers, cleaving to the Teachers of Truth, or to the Teachers the Tach. of Error, faying, ver. 6.

be known in

as well as in

We are of God; He that knoweth God heareth Us;

He that is not of God, heareth not Us; hereby know we the Spirit of Truth, and the Spirit of

Error.

We are of God; to wit, according to his New Workmanship in Chrift Jefus, through which we partake of the true Nature of God in Chrift, as Members, as Chrift Himself doth partake of that Nature, as Head; and being thus of God, we cannot but confefs God, his Name, and Truth, in our Heart, Mouth, and Life.

He that knoweth God, heareth us; that is, he that knoweth God, through the teaching of God, knoweth

Us who are born and taught of God; because we fpeak to them of God, and the things of God, as God himfelf hath taught them of Himself, and of bis Things; and therefore they readily receive from Us that Teftimony of the Truth, which God himself, either hath already inwardly taught them, or doth teach them by his Spirit, whilft we yet fpeak by that Spirit. And fo they hear Us, by being fatisfied, and acquiefcing, or being at reft, in the true and wholfom, and faving Doctrine of Jefus Chrift, which we teach. Hereby know we the Spirit of Truth, to wit, in the Hearers; when they cleave to the Truth of the Spirit, or to the Truth, as it is and dwells in Jefus, published by the Teachers of Truth.

It follows,

He that is not of God beareth not us; That is, He that is not of God, through a new Birth, and the renewing of the Spirit, and fo is deftitute of the Divine Nature, or of the Eternal Word, and Spirit, which through his Unbelief have no Place in his Heart: He that, thus, is not of God, but contrarily is of the Devil, through Sin, Error, Darknefs, Death, Enmity to God, and his whole evil Nature, he hearing not us; that is, he doth not Taft, and Relish, and approve, and receive, and embrace, and love the Word of Faith, and Mystery of Chrift and his Gospel, which we teach; but do rather hate, oppose, reproach and perfe

cute our Doctrine.

And hereby know we alfo the Spirit of Error, to wit, in the Hearers, when they do not receive the Word of Truth from the Teachers of Truth, but do contrarily cleave to Human, and Philofophical, or Moral, or Formal, and National Dotrine, published and held forth by the Teachers of Error,

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Now

Two Heads or Chief

Now hence it is evident, That there are two Teachers in Heads, or chief Teachers in the World, which the World. are Chrift and Antichrift; and alfo, that there

are two Seeds, or Generations, which flow from them, begotten by their Doctrine: The one is Chrift's Seed, or the Elect and Faithful; the other is Antichrift's Seed, or the Reprobate and Unbelievers; and each Sort of thefe People, do joyn themselves to their feveral and proper Heads; and by this, they are certainly diftinguished, known, and difcerned.

Antichrift and his falfe Teachers, who are the Head of the Malignant Church and People, they come in great Pomp and Glory, as to the eye of the World, being beautified, and dignified with Degrees, Names and Titles; being exalted to great Honour, Authority, and Power; being full of fleshly Wifdom, Rhetorical Eloquence, and Philofophical Learning; and fo to Humane Judgment, They are molt confiderable Perfons in the Church, and very Angels of Light in appearance. And they being thus adorned and beautified, to the pleafing and content of the world, all the world come in, and commit fornication with them, and do hear and conceive them, and are conquered by their la chantments.

But Chrift and his Teachers, come in true Humility, and Self-denial, and Meekness, and Lowfinefs, and without the Titles and Glory of the false Teachers, which they utterly defpife, and refufe, and without all Excellency of Speech, and Wisdom, and Learning of this World; and thefe do contradict the Religion and Righteousness of the World, and fpeak the Truth which is of God, by the Spirit which is of God: And thefe Teachers, all the true Sheep of Chrift, the faithful Flock do own and acknowledge, and they come and hear the Words of their Lips; being affured,

affured, that it is not they that speak, but the Spirit of their Father, which speaks in them.

For the Body and Members of Chrift, do neceflarily cleave to Chrift their Head; and the Body and Members of Antichrift, do in like manner neceffarily cleave to Antichrift their Head. And as the Body and Members of Chrift do cleave to 5 Chrift their Head, and to thofe that are in his Spirit, and will not, nor cannot joyn to Antichrift, and to thofe that are in his Spirit; fo allo the Body and Members of Antichrift, do cleave to Antichrift their Head, and those that are in his Spirit, and will not, nor cannot joyn to Christ, and to thofe that are in his Spirit.

For fuch as the Body it felf is, fuch a Head will it choose to it felf; and fo a Spiritual, Heavenly and Faithful People, will joyn themselves to fuch a Teacher, or rather to Chrift himself, in and through him: And a carnal, worldly, and unbelieving People, will joyn themselves to fuch a Teacher, and to Antichrift himself in and through him.

Wherefore, as they that hear the true Teachers, and Chrift in them, and do joyn and cleave by Faith to the Word and Doctrine which they hear, knowing that it is of God, as all fuch are certainly of God, even his true Children and People, and the true Sheep of Christ, in as much as they know his Voice, and cleave to it: So they that hear the falfe Teachers, and Antichrift in them, and do cleave to their Doctrine and Ministry; and do like, commend, and applaud that, all fuch are not of God, but of their Father the Devil, and the true and natural Members, and People of Antichrift."

And this very Doctrine Chrift himself hath clearly taught in his Gofpel; as John V. 43. where: he faith to the Jews, I am come in my Father's Name,

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and

1

and ye receive me not; another shall come in his own Name, and him ye will receive: That is, the unbelieving Jews would not come and cleave to Chrift as their Head, though coming in the Name of God, that is, in the true Power, Wifdom and Righteousness of God, because they were none of Chrift's own Sheep; but Antichrift coming in his own Name, that is, in his own Power, Wisdom, and Righteousness, they receive him, and joyn to him as to their own true and natural Head. And again, John viii. 47. Chrift faith to the Jews, He that is of God, heareth God's Word; ye therefore bear it not, because ye are not of God.

Whence it appears, that to hear and cleave to the true Word of God, taught and held forth by Chrift and his Prophets, is a manifeft Token that Men are of God; but to turn away from it, and to defpife it, and to embrace another Doctrine, is as as manifeft a Sign, that they are not of God, but of the Devil, as Chrift faith, to the fame People, ver. 44. Te are of your Father the Devil; for there is no Truth in him, and he abides not in the Trub, no more do ye. Again, John x. ver. 4, 5. Christ faith, His own Sheep follow him, the true Shepherd, because they know his Voice; and a Stranger will they not follow, but flee from him, because they know the Voice of Strangers.

Wherefore they that hear the Word of Faith, in the true Teachers of the Gospel, they have in them the Spirit of Truth; but they that diflike and difrelish that Word, and joyn to the Teachers and Doctrine of Antichrift, they all have in them, the Spirit of Error.

And therefore it concerns us, more than the World is aware of, to take heed, whom we hear. For if we cleave to the Teachers of Truth, as hath been declared, then have we the Spirit of

Truth;