His second question is, " Wherein consists the prerogative of that Holy Spirit above other spirits? — A. 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11."
' See his confession in his Epistle to his book against the Deity of Christ.
2 Cloppenburgius Vindiciae pro Dcitate S. S. adversus Pueumatomach. Bedcllum Ano-lum.
OF THE DEITY OF THE HOLY GHOST, AND HIS WORK. 335
The prerogative of that Holy Spuit of whom we speak is that of God above his creatures, — the prerogative of an infinite, eternal, self- subsisting being. Yea, and that this is indeed his prerogative we need not seek for proof beyond that testimony here jaroduced by Mr B. (though to another purpose) in answer to his question. He that " searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God," is God. To " search all things" is the same with knowing all things; so the apostle interprets it in the next verse, "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." To know all things is to be omniscient; but he that is omniscient is God. His angels he charged with folly. Omniscience is an essential attribute of God ; and therefore Socinus, in his disputation with Franken, durst not allow Christ to be omni- scient, lest he should also grant him to be infinite in essence. ■^ Again, he that searches or knows rd iSddri rod ©soD, the " deep things of God," is God. None can know the deep things of an infinite wis- dom and understanding but he that is infinite. All creatures are excluded from an acquaintance with the deep things of God, but only as he voluntarily revealeth them : Rom. xi. 34, " Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?" that is, no creature hath so been. Qihv ovdilg lupaxz -TruTOTi, John i. 1 8. Nov/ the Spirit doth not know the deep things of God by his volun- tary revelation of them ; for as the spirit of a man knows the things of a man, so doth the Spirit of God know the things of God. This is not because they are revealed to the spirit of a man, but because that is the principle of operation in a man, and is conscious to all its own actions and affairs. And so it is with the Spirit of God : being God, and having the same understanding, and will, and power, with God the Father and Son, as the spirit of a man knows the things of a man, so doth he the things of God. Thus in the begin- ning of this, as in the close of the last chapter, Mr B. hath provided sufficiently for his own conviction and scattering of all his paralo- gisms and sophistical insinuations, running through them both.
The design of this present chapter being to pursue what Mr B. hath some years since publicly undertaken, namely, to disprove the deity of the Holy Ghost, — his aim here being to divert the thoughts of his catechumens from an apprehension thereof, by his proposal and answer of such questions as serve to his design, pretending to de- liver the doctrine concerning the Holy Ghost from the Scripture, and not once producing any of those texts which are most usually insisted on for the confirmation of his deity (with what Christian candour and ingenuity is easily discovered), — I shall briefly, from the Scripture, in the first place establish the truth concerning the eter- nal deity of the person of the Holy Ghost, and then consider his questions in their order, so far as shall be judged meet or necessary.
' De Adoratione Jesu Christ i disputatio, pp. 18, 19.
S3 6 VINDICI^ EVANGELICE.
I shall not go forth unto any long discourse on this subject: some plain testimonies of Scripture will evince the truth we contend for, being the heads of as many arguments, if any one shall be pleased to make use of them in that way.
First, then, the Spirit created, formed, and adorned this world, and is therefore God : " He that made all things is God," Heb. iii. 4. " By the word of the Lord were the heavens made ; and all the host of them by the Spirit of his mouth," Ps. xxxiii. 6. " By his Spirit hath he garnished the heavens," Job xxvi. 13. " The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life,"" chap, xxxiii. 4; Ps. civ. 30. He that makes the heavens and gar- nisheth them, he that maketh man and giveth him life, is God. So in the beginning nsniQ, motabat se, moved himself, as a dove warming its young, as he afterward appeared in the form of a dove. And hence that which is ascribed unto God absolutely in one place is in another ascribed to the Spirit absolutely: as, Exod. iv. 15, Num. xii. 8, what it is affirmed that God doth, will do, or did, is affirmed of the Spirit, Acts i. 16, xxviii. 25: so Num. xiv. 22, Deut. vi. 16, Avhat is said of God is affirmed of the Spirit, Isa. Ixiii. 10, Acts vii. 51: so also Deut. xxxii. 12, compared with Isa. Ixui. 14. Innumer- able other instances of the same kind might be added.
Secondly, He regenerates us. " Except we be born of water and of the Spirit, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God," John iii. 5 ; 2 Thess. ii. 1 3 ; 1 Pet. i. 2. He also " searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God," as was before observed, 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. From him is our illumination, Eph. i. 17, 18 ; 2 Cor. iii. 18. John xiv. 26, " The Comforter", which is the Holy Ghost, he shall teach you all things." Chap. xvi. 13, " The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth." " The Holy Ghost shall teach you," Luke xii. 1 2. And he foretelleth " things to come," John xvi. 13, 1 Tim. iv. 1; which is a property of God, whereby he will be known from all false gods, Isa. xii. 22, 23, etc. And he is in some of these places expressly called God, as also 1 Cor. xii. 5, 6, compared with verse 11; and he is immense, who dwells in all believers.