The Doctrine of the Saints' Perseverance

In the Reasons added of the former affirmation, there is an emphatical distribution of the two parts of the predicate of the former Proposition, by the way of ascending to a more vehement confirmation of them. He that is borne of God sinneth not, But why so? His seed remaineth: neither can be sin, why so? because he is borne of God. It is an expressive pursuit of the same thing; and not a redoubling of the Proposition; And this contexture of the Words, is so emphatically significant, that it seemeth strange how any head of opposition can be made against it; There is no reason then to resolve the words into two Propositions, of distinct consideration, each from other; it being one and the same thing, that the Apostle intendeth to express, though proceeding to heighten the certainty of the thing, in the minds of them to whom he delivered it, by the contexture of the words which he maketh use of. What is meant, or intended by the seed of God, we need not dispute; the Argument of the Apostle, lieth not in the words (seed of God) nor in the word (abideth) but in the whole, The seed of God abideth; and therefore it were to no purpose at all, to follow M. Goodwin in his considerations of the word Seed, and then of the seed of God, and then, of the word (abideth) divided one from another. The sum of his long answer is, The word (Seed) doth not import any such ⟨p. 371⟩thing as is aimed at from the Text; nor the word (abide:) but to the whole proposition, the seed of God abideth in him, as produced to confirm the former assertion of the not sinning of the Persons spoken of, there is nothing spoken at all; I shall therefore briefly confirm the Argument in hand, by the strength here communicated unto it, by the Holy Ghost, and then consider what is answered to any part of it, or objected to the interpretation insisted on. That he, that sinneth not, neither can sin, in the sense explained, shall never fall away totally or finally from God, is granted. That Believers sin not, nor can sin, so, or in the manner mentioned, besides the Testimony of the Holy Ghost, worthy of all acceptation, in the clear assertion of it, we have the Reason thereof manifested, in the discovery of the causes of its truth. The first Reason is, Because the seed of God abideth in them. A tacit grant seemeth to be made;

In the Reasons added of the former affirmation, there is an emphaticall distribution of the two parts of the praedicate of the former Proposition, by the way of ascending to a more vehement confirmation of them. He that is borne of God sinneth not, But why so? His seed remaineth: neither can be sinne, why so? because he is borne of God. It is an expressive pursuit of the same thing; and not a redoubling of the Proposition; And this contexture of the Words, is so emphatically significant, that it seemeth strange how any head of opposition can be made against it; There is no reason then to resolve the words into two Propositions, of distinct consideration, each from other; it being one and the same thing, that the Apostle intendeth to expresse, though proceeding to heighten the certainty of the thing, in the minds of them to whom he delivered it, by the contexture of the words which he maketh use of. What is meant, or intended by the seed of God, we need not dispute; the Argument of the Apostle, lieth not in the words (seed of God) nor in the word (abideth) but in the whole, The seed of God abideth; and therefore it were to no purpose at all, to follow M. Goodwin in his considerations of the word Seed, and then of the seed of God, and then, of the word (abideth) divided one from another. The summe of his long answer is, The word (Seed) doth not import any such