25. “God gave them of old grace to be his children, as he doth us now. But now, by the coming of our Saviour Christ, we have received more abundantly the Spirit of God in our hearts.” Homily on Faith. Part II.
“He died to destroy the rule of the devil in us, and he rose again to send down his Holy Spirit, to rule in our hearts.” Homily on the Resurrection.
“We have the Holy Spirit in our hearts, as a seal and pledge of our everlasting inheritance.” ibid.
“The Holy Ghost sat upon each of them, like as it had been cloven tongues of fire: to teach, that it is he which giveth eloquence and utterance in preaching the gospel; which engendereth a burning zeal towards God’s word, and giveth all men a tongue, yea, a fiery tongue.” (N. B. Whatever occurs in any of the journals, of God’s “giving me utterance,” or “enabling me to speak with power,” cannot therefore be quoted as enthusiasm, without wounding the church through my side) “So that if any man be a dumb Christian, not professing his faith openly, he giveth men occasion to doubt, least he have not the grace of the Holy Ghost within him.” Homily on Whitsunday. Part I.
“It is the office of the Holy Ghost to sanctify; which the more it is hid from our understanding” (i. e. the particular manner of his working) “the more it ought to move all men, to wonder at the secret and mighty workings of God’s Holy Spirit which is within us, for it is the Holy Ghost that doth quicken the minds of men, stirring up godly motions in their hearts. Neither doth he think it sufficient inwardly to work the new birth of man, unless he do also dwell and abide in him. Know ye not, saith St. Paul, that ye are the temple of God, and that his Spirit dwelleth in you? Know ye not that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you? Again he saith, Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, For why? The Spirit of God dwelleth in you. To this agreeth St. John. The anointing which ye have received (he meaneth the Holy Ghost) abideth in you.[¹] And St. Peter saith the same, The Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. O what comfort is this to the heart of a true Christian, to think that the Holy Ghost dwelleth in him! If God be with us, as the apostle saith, who can be against us? He giveth patience and joyfulness of heart, in temptation and affliction, and is therefore worthily called the Comforter[²]. He doth instruct the hearts of the simple, in the knowledge of God and his word; therefore he is justly termed The Spirit of truth[³]. And where the Holy Ghost doth instruct and teach, there is no delay at all in learning.” ibid.
[¹] 1 John ii. 27.
[²] John xiv. 16.
[³] John xvi. 13.
(From this passage I learn, 1. That every true Christian now receives the Holy Ghost, as the Paraclete or Comforter promised by our Lord, John xiv. 13. Secondly, that every Christian receives him as the Spirit of truth (promised John xvi.) to teach him all things: and 3. That the anointing mentioned in the first epistle of St. John, abides in every Christian.)
26. “In reading of God’s word, he profiteth most, that is most inspired with the Holy Ghost.” Homily on reading the scripture. Part I.