, and that we
share in his victory, and that the very God of peace shall quickly
bruise Satan under our feet, Rom. xvi. 20.

CHAPTER VII.

HOW CHRIST IS TO BE MADE USE OF, IN REFERENCE TO GROWING IN GRACE.

I come now to speak a little to the other part of sanctification, which
concerneth the change of our nature and frame, and is called
vivification, or quickening of the new man of grace; which is called the
new man, as having all its several members and parts, as well as the old
man; and called new, because posterior to the other; and after
regeneration is upon the growing hand, this duty of growing in grace, as
it is called, 2 Pet. iii. &c. is variously expressed and held forth to
us in Scripture; for it is called "an abiding and bringing forth fruit
in Christ," John xv. 5; "adding to faith virtue, and to virtue
knowledge," 2 Pet. i. 5, 6, 7; "a going on to perfection," Heb. vii. 1;
"a growing up in Christ in all things," Eph. iv. 15; "a working out our
salvation," Phil. ii. 12; "a perfecting of holiness," 2 Cor. vii. 1; "a
walking in newness of life," Rom. vi. 4; "a yielding of ourselves unto
God, as alive from the dead, and our members as instruments of
righteousness unto God," Rom. vi. 13, 18; "a bringing forth fruit unto
God," Rom, vii. 4; "a serving in newness of spirit," Rom. vii. 6; "a
being renewed in the spirit of our minds, and a putting on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness," Eph. iv.
23,24. Col. iii. 10, and the like: some whereof do more immediately
express the nature of this change, as to the root, and some as to the
fruit and effects thereof, and some the progress and advancement that is
made or to be made therein. And all of them point out a special piece of
work, which lieth on all that would see the face of God, viz. to be
holy, gracious, and growing in grace.

This, then, being a special piece of the exercise and daily work of a
Christian, and it being certain, as some of the places now cited do also
affirm, that without Christ they cannot get this work either begun or
carried on, the main difficulty and question is, How they are to make
use of Christ for this end?

For answer whereunto, though by what we have said in our former
discourse, it may be easy to gather what is to be said here; yet I shall
briefly put the reader in mind of those things, as useful here.

1. The believer would consider what an ornament this is to the soul, to
have on t