SERMON X.
THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT.
DISCOURSE I.
ROM. viii. 16.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
1. HOW many vain men, not understanding what they spake, neither whereof they affirmed, have wrested this scripture, to the great loss, if not the destruction, of their souls? How many have mistaken the voice of their own imagination, for this witness of the Spirit of God? And thence idly presumed, they were the children of God, while they were doing the works of the devil? These are truly and properly Enthusiasts; and indeed in the worst sense of the word. But with what difficulty are they convinced thereof? Especially, if they have drank deep into that spirit of error. All endeavours to bring them to the knowledge of themselves, they will then account fighting against God. And that vehemence and impetuosity of spirit, which they call contending earnestly for the faith, sets them so farabove all the usual methods of conviction, that we may well say, With men it is impossible.
2. Who can then be surprized, if many reasonable men, seeing the dreadful effects of this delusion, and labouring to keep at the utmost distance from it, should sometimes lean toward another extreme? If they are not forward to believe any who speak of having this witness, concerning which others have so grievously erred? If they are almost ready, to set all down for Enthusiasts, who use the expressions which have been so terribly abused. Yea, if they should question, whether the witness or testimony here spoken of, be the privilege of ordinary Christians, and not rather, one of those extraordinary gifts, which they suppose belonged only to the apostolic age.
3. But is there any necessity laid upon us, of running either into one extreme or the other? May we not steer a middle course? Keep a sufficient distance from that spirit of error and enthusiasm, without denying the gift of God, and giving up the great privilege of his children? Surely we may. In order thereto, let us consider, in the presence and fear of God,
First, What is this witness or testimony of our spirit? What is the testimony of God’s Spirit? And how does he bear witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of God?
Secondly, How is this joint testimony of God’s Spirit and our own, clearly and solidly distinguished, from the presumption of a natural mind; and from the delusion of the devil?
I. 1. Let us first consider, what is the witness or testimony of our spirit. But here I cannot but desire all those who are for swallowing up the testimony of the Spirit of God, in the rational testimony of our own spirit, to observe, that in this text the apostle is so far from speaking of the testimony of our own spirit only, that it may be questioned, whether he speaks of it at all? Whether he does not speak, only of the testimony of God’s Spirit? It does not appear, but the original text may be fairly understood thus. The apostle had just said, in the preceding verse, Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father, and immediately subjoins Αὐτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα· (some copies read τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα) συμμαρτυρεῖ τῷ πνεύματι ἡμῶν, ὅτι ἐσμεν τέκεν Θεοῦ. Which may be translated, The same Spirit beareth witness to our spirit, that we are the children of God (the preposition σὺν only denoting, that he witnesses this at the same time that he enables us to cry Abba, Father!) But I contend not; seeing so many other texts, with the experience of all real Christians, sufficiently evince, that there is, in every believer, both the testimony of God’s Spirit, and the testimony of his own, that he is a child of God.