Wesley Corpus

“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 elo quence and utterance in preaching the gospel; which engen dereth 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 lest he have not the grace of the Holy Ghost within him.” (Homily on Whit-Sunday, Part I.) “It is the office of the Holy Ghost to sanctify; which the more it is hid from our understanding,” (that is, the more par ticular 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 re ceived’ (he meaneth the Holy Ghost) ‘abidethin you.’ (1 John ii. 27.) And St.