In the same manner it appeareth,in the books of the Prophets,that though they spake by the Spirit of God,that is to say,by a special grace of prediction;yet their knowledge of the future was not by a ghost within them,but by some supernatural dream or vision.
It is said,"God made man of the dust of the earth,and breathed into his nostrils (spiraculum vitae)the breath of life,and man was made a living soul."There the breath of life inspired by God signifies no more but that God gave him life;and "as long as the spirit of God is in my nostrils"is no more than to say,"as long as I live."So in Ezekiel,1.20,"the spirit of life was in the wheels,"is equivalent to,"the wheels were alive."And "the spirit entered into me,and me,and set me on my feet,"that is,"I recovered my vital strength";not that any ghost or incorporeal substance entered into and possessed his body.
In the eleventh chapter of Numbers,verse 17,"I will take,"saith God,"of the spirit which is upon thee,and will put it upon them,and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee";that is,upon the seventy elders:whereupon two of the seventy are said to prophesy in the camp;of whom some complained,and Joshua desired Moses to forbid them,which Moses would not do.Whereby it appears that Joshua knew not they had received authority so to do,and prophesied according to the mind of Moses,that is to say,by a spirit or authority subordinate to his own.
In the like sense we read that "Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom,because Moses had laid his hands upon him":that is,because he was ordained by Moses to prosecute the work he had himself begun (namely,the bringing of God's people into the promised land)but,prevented by death,could not finish.
In the like sense it is said,"If any man have not the Spirit of Christ,he is none of his":not meaning thereby the ghost of Christ,but a submission to his doctrine.As also,"Hereby you shall know the Spirit of God:every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God";by which is meant the spirit of unfeigned Christianity,submission to that main article of Christian faith,that Jesus is the Christ;which cannot be interpreted of a ghost.
Likewise these words,"And Jesus full of the Holy Ghost"(that is,as it is expressed,Matthew,4.1,and Mark,1.12,"of the Holy Spirit")may be understood for zeal to do the work for which he was sent by God the Father:but to interpret it of a ghost is to say that God Himself (for so our Saviour was)was filled with God;which is very improper and insignificant.How we came to translate spirits by the word ghosts,which signifieth nothing,neither in heaven nor earth,but the imaginary inhabitants of man's brain,I examine not:
but this I say,the word spirit in the text signifieth no such thing;but either properly a real substance or,metaphorically,some extraordinary ability or affection of the mind or of the body.
The Disciples of Christ,seeing him walking upon the sea supposed him to be a spirit,meaning thereby an aerial body,and not a phantasm:for it is said they all saw him;which cannot be understood of the delusions of the brain (which are not common to many at once.as visible bodies are;but singular,because of the differences of fancies),but of bodies only.In like manner,where he was taken for a spirit,by the same Apostles:so also when St.Peter was delivered out of prison,it would not be believed;but when the maid said he was at the door,they said it was his angel;by which must be meant a corporeal substance,or we must say the disciples themselves did follow the common opinion of both Jews and Gentiles that some such apparitions were not imaginary,but real;and such as needed not the fancy of man for their existence:these the Jews called spirits and angels,good or bad;as the Greeks called the same by the name of demons.And some such apparitions may be real and substantial;that is to say,subtle bodies,which God can form by the same power by which He formed all things,and make use of as ministers and messengers (that is to say,angels),to declare His will,and execute the same when He pleaseth in extraordinary and supernatural manner.But when He hath so formed them they are substances,endued with dimensions,and take up room,and can be moved from place to place,which is peculiar to bodies;and therefore are not ghosts not ghosts incorporeal,that is to say,ghosts that are in no place;that is to say,that are nowhere;that is to say,that,seeming to be somewhat,are nothing.But if corporeal be taken in the most vulgar manner,for such substances as are perceptible by our external senses;then is substance incorporeal a thing not imaginary,but real;namely,a thin substance invisible,but that hath the same dimensions that are in grosser bodies.
By the name of angel is signified,generally,a messenger;and most often,a messenger of God:and by a messenger of God is signified anything that makes known His extraordinary presence;that is to say,the extraordinary manifestation of His power,especially by a dream or vision.
Concerning the creation of angels,there is nothing delivered in the Scriptures.That they are spirits is often repeated:but by the name of spirit is signified both in Scripture and vulgarly,both amongst Jews and Gentiles,sometimes thin bodies;as the air,the wind,the spirits vital and animal of living creatures;and sometimes the images that rise in the fancy in dreams and visions;which are not real substances,nor last any longer than the dream or vision they appear in;which apparitions,though no real substances,but accidents of the brain;yet when God raiseth them supernaturally,to signify His will,they are not improperly termed God's messengers,that is to say,His angels.
