Different ways of acting of the same divine nature

 II. To give some reasons of it.

First. They are all from the same Spirit of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:4, 1 Corinthians 12:6, "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. Diversities of operations, but it is the same God that worketh all in all." The graces of Christianity are all from the Spirit of Christ sent forth into the heart, and dwelling there as an holy principle and divine nature. And therefore all graces are only the different ways of acting of the same divine nature, as there may be different reflections of the light of the sun. But it is all the same kind of light originally, because it all comes from the same fountain, the same body of light. Grace in the soul is the Holy Ghost acting in the soul, and there communicating his own holy nature. As it is in the fountain, it is all one and the same holy nature; and only diversified by the variety of streams sent forth. These streams must be all [[of the same nature]],4 seeing that they thus come from the same fountain. And the difference of many of them, whereby they have different denominations, is chiefly from the various respects to those and those objects and manners of exercise rather than a real difference in their abstracted nature.5

Second. They are all communicated in the same work of that Spirit, viz. the work of conversion. There is not one conversion to bring the heart to faith, and another6 to infuse love to God, and another humility, and another repentance, and another love to men. But all are given in one work of the Spirit. All these things are infused by one conversion,7 one change of the heart; which argues that all the graces are united and linked together, as being contained in that one and the same new nature which is given in regeneration; just as it is in the first generation, several faculties are communicated in one generation of the child, the sense of seeing, hearing, feeling, speaking and tasting, and the power of moving, breathing and digesting. It is all therefore one common nature, one common life manifoldly diversified.

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Third. All graces have the same root and foundation, viz. the knowledge of God's excellency. The same sight or sense of God's excellency begets faith, and love, and repentance, and all other graces.8 One sight of this will beget all those, because the sight of God's excellency shows the ground and reason of all holy disposition, and all holy behavior towards God. They who know God's name will love him, and trust in him, and have a spirit to submit to him, and a spirit to praise and to obey him. Psalms 9:10, "They that know thy name, will put their trust in thee." John 6:40, "He that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life." 1 John 3:6, "Whosoever abideth in him, sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him." Jeremiah 22:16, "Was not this to know me?"

Fourth. All gracious dispositions have the same rule, viz. the law of God; and therefore must be linked together. For seeing they all have respect to this rule, they all tend to confirm the whole of that rule, and conform the heart and life to it. For he who has a true respect to one of God's commands, will have [[respect]]9 to all; for they are all established by the same authority, and are all jointly an expression of the same holy nature of God. James 2:10–11, "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law."

Fifth. They have all the same end. God is the end to which all the graces tend. As they are from the same cause, rising out of the same fountain, all standing on the same foundation, growing on the same root, and directed by the same rule, so they are all directed to the same end, viz. God, his glory, and our own happiness in him; which shows that they must be nearly related, and very much linked together.

Sixth. And lastly. They are related to one grace as the sum of them all; and that is charity, or divine love. This, we have before shown, is the sum of all true Christian grace,1 however many names we may give the different ways and manners of the exercise of grace; yet if we strictly examine them, they are all related to one. Love is the fulfilling of them all. They are but so many diversifications, and different habitudes and relations and manners of exercise of the same thing. One grace does in

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effect contain them all. Whence it is no wonder that they are nearly allied, and are always together, and dependent on one another, and implied one in another.