William Ames
William Ames
William Ameswas an English Protestant divine, philosopher, and controversialist. He spent much time in the Netherlands, and is noted for his involvement in the controversy between the Calvinists and the Arminians...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPhilosopher
matter eternity makers
Nothing exists from eternity but God, and God is not the matter or a part of any creature, but only the maker.
blessing faithful unions
Participation in the blessings of the union with Christ comes when the faithful have all the things needed to live well and blessedly to God.
special ordinary inward
Sanctification is not to be understood here as a separation from ordinary use or consecration to some special use, although this meaning is often present in Scripture, sometimes referring to outward and sometimes to inward or effectual separation.
yield firsts concern
The first act of religion, therefore, concerns those things which are communicated to us from God. The other concerns those things which we yield to God.
father son essence
The relative property of the Son is to be begotten, that is, so to proceed from the Father as to be a participant of the same essence and perfectly carry on the Father's nature.
attributes attributes-of-god
The attributes of God tell us what He is and who He is.
hearing receiving gods-will
Hearing the word is the devout receiving of the will of God.
teaching doctrine theology
Theology is the doctrine or teaching of living to God.
agents action creation
Active creation is conceived as a transitive action in which there is always presupposed an object about which the agent is concerned; it is virtually but not formally transitive because it makes, not presupposes, an object.
perfection use goodness
The goodness of a thing created is the perfection of its fitness for the use which it serves. Now that use is either particular or universal.
spiritual men grace
The passive receiving of Christ is the process by which a spiritual principle of grace is generated in the will of man.
spiritual heart men
The inward offer is a kind of spiritual enlightenment, whereby the promises are presented to the hearts of men, as it were, by an inward word.
conceive duty english-philosopher good joined known perfect whatever
For this is our most perfect duty and yet least known to us by nature: Whatever we conceive or will should be joined with the good of our neighbor.
according english-philosopher nor ordering
The world has not been in existence from eternity nor could it have been according to the present dispensation and ordering of things.