Again, believers are said, to be _led by the Spirit_, Rom. viii. 14. and this is assigned as an evidence of their being _the sons of God_; and, on the other hand, it is said, _If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his_, ver. 9. from whence we may conclude, that there was, in the apostles’ days, an effusion of the Spirit, common to all believers, besides that which was conferred in an extraordinary way, on those who were favoured with the gift of inspiration; otherwise, the having the Spirit would not have been considered as a privilege belonging only to believers, and being destitute of it, an argument of a person’s not belonging to Christ. As for the extraordinary dispensation of the Holy Ghost, it was not inseparably connected with salvation; for many had it who were Christians only in name, and had nothing more than a form of godliness; and on the other hand, many true believers brought forth those fruits which proceeded from the Spirit, in an ordinary way, who had not these extraordinary gifts conferred on them. Moreover the apostle speaks of believers _through the Spirit mortifying the deeds of the body_, Rom. viii. 13. Now if the work of mortification be incumbent on believers in all ages, then the influences of the Spirit, enabling hereunto, may be expected in all ages. Now to apply this to our present argument; the Spirit’s bearing witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God, which is the foundation of that assurance which we are pleading for, is, together with the other fruits and effects of the Spirit but now mentioned, a privilege which believers, as such, are given to desire and hope for, and stand in as much need of as those who had this or other privileges conferred on them in an extraordinary way, in the first age of the gospel-church.