A41536:200
The trial of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing…The tryall of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing…
The trial of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing forth more fruit a treatise handling this case, how to discern our growth in grace : affording some helps rightly to judge thereof by resolving some tentations, clearing some mistakes, answering some questions, about spiritual growth : together with other observations upon the Parable of the vine, John 15. 1, 2 verses / by Tho. Goodwin.The tryall of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing forth more fruit a treatise handling this case, how to discerne our growth in grace : affording some helps rightly to judge thereof by resolving some tentations, clearing some mistakes, answering some questions, about spiritual growth : together with other observations upon the Parable of the vine, John 15. 1, 2 verses / by Tho. Goodwin.
London: printed by J.G. for R. Dawlman, 1650
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
CHAP. IV.
What it is to bring forth more fruit, explicated positively, wherein many direct trials of Growth are given.
What it is to bring forth more fruit, explicated positively, wherein many direct tryalls of Growth are given.
Thus I have shown you negatively, what this growth is not to be measured by, and so by way of intimation wherein it consists; I will secondly do it more positively, and directly, and affirmatively.
THus I have shewne you negatively, what this growth is not to be measured by, and so by way of intimation wherein it consists; I will secondly do it more positively, and directly, and affirmatively.
First,1 we grow, when we are led on to exercise new graces, and so to add one grace to another, as the Apostle Peter exhorts; as when in our knowledge we are led into new truths, and have answerable affections running along with those discoveries towards the things revealed. At first a Christian doth not exercise all graces, though all are radically in him: But as a man lives first the life of a plant, then of sense, then of reason, so is it in Graces. There are many forms Christians go through, as scholars at school do, wherein their thoughts are in a more especial manner taken up about divine objects of an higher or inferior nature. The first form is to teach them to know their sinfulness of heart and life more; and so they go to school to the Law, and are set to study it, even oftentimes a good while after conversion, and faith begun: and then after they have learned that lesson throughly, they are led up higher to have their faith drawn out, and to be exercised about free grace more, and towards Christ his person, union with him, and about the art and way of drawing virtue from him, and doing all in him. And herein it falls out with particular Christians, as with the Church in general; that as although the most infant days of the Church from Adams time in the old world had the knowledge of all Fundamentals, necessary to salvation, yet God went