A69028:213
The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as…
The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as it affordeth both milk for babes, and strong meat for such as are at full age / by ... Nicholas Bifield ; ... now published ... by his son, Adoniram Bifield.The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as it affordeth both milke for babes, and strong meat for such as are at full age / by ... Nicholas Bifield ; ... now published ... by his sonne, Adoniram Bifield.
London: printed by G.M. for Philemon Stephens and Christopher Meredith, 1626
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.
Answ. No: for Faith is wrought in men by degrees, and so some have a weak Faith, and some a strong Faith: Faith is 1formed in the soul, as the body is in the womb; for in framing the body in the womb, there is first the brains and heart, and then the veins, sinews arteries, and bones, and then afterwards all is covered, and filled with flesh unto a just proportion: So is it in the soul, for first, there is wrought a small degree of saving knowledge, and spiritual desire after God in Christ, and then flows from thence the veins and sinews that take hold of the promises of grace; and lastly, by degrees, as our knowledge and experience increaseth, the whole body of Faith grows after a complete manner formed in us, when our hearts are filled with increase of sound and solid knowledges: but because this point toucheth the spiritual free-hold of many godly Christians, I would therefore beat it out more distinctly: And so four things are to be considered: 1. How it may be known that Faith is weak. 2. How weak Faith, may be known to be a right Faith. 3. How the believer may be comforted, that finds he hath but a weak Faith. 4. Admonition to him that is weak in the Faith, not to rest in that condition, for divers reasons.