Christ for Salvation These two Faiths are of as different kinds as can well be imagined and therefore we cannot reason from one to the other and St. Paul certainly understood himself better than to argue at this weak rate And therefore to bring this discourse to an Head the difference between the Faith of Abraham and the Faith of Christians is this that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for Righteousness and we believe in Christ and this is counted unto us for Righteousness Abraham believed those Revelations God made to him either immediately by himself or by the Ministry of Angels we believe all those Revelations God hath made to us by his own Son for God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past to the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son Hebr. 1. 1. So that the first notion of Faith in Christ is a firm belief of his Divine Authority which necessarily draws after it a belief of the whole Doctrine of the Gospel thus in Iohn 20. 31. The Christian Faith is described by believing that Iesus is the Christ the Son of God and 1 Iohn 5. 5. Who is he that overcometh the World but he that believeth that Iesus is the Son of God That is that he came from God with full power and Authority to declare his will and confirm and ratifie the new Covenant So that the difference between the Faith of Abraham and Faith in Christ is that Abrahams Faith was founded on the immediate inspirations of God or the Revelations of Angels but a Faith in Christ is founded on the Authority of Christ which is the first object of the Christian Faith and the reason and foundation of all other Acts of Faith Abraham had only some particular Revelations as the object of his Faith but now Christ hath made a perfect Revelation of the whole will of God which is the object of our Faith and thus the Christian Faith excells all other kinds of Faith as much as the Revelations of the Gospel excel all other Revelations made to Abraham and other good men but still the end of all Faith is the same to govern our lives and make us obedient in all things to God as Abraham was without which no Faith can justifie And the same difference there is between the Righteousness of Faith in a general notion as it is applyed to Noah and Abraham and those worthies of old and the Righteousness of God by the Faith of Iesus Christ Rom. 3. 22. and that Righteousness which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith Phil. 3. 9. The first signifies that Righteousness which is owing to an hearty belief of the Being and Providence of God and those particular Revelations which they received from God the latter is the effect of a sincere belief and obedience to the Gospel which is the most perfect Revelation which God ever made of his will to mankind This is so plain and easie an account of the rise and use of these phrases and of the force of the Apostles reasoning from the Faith of Abraham to the Faith of Christ which is unintelligible in any other way that could men be reconciled to plain sense it would need no other confirmation but the natural evidence of naked and simple truth But not to be wanting to a good cause let us now examine those Texts of Scripture which are abused by these men to set up the Personal Righteousness of Christ as the only formal cause of our justification as that alone which can make us righteous before God I shall begin and end with that famous place Phil. 3. 8 9. for the explication of this will give us occasion to consider all the material passages of Scripture which are applyed to this purpose yea doubtless and I account all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Iesus my Lord for whom I have suffer'd the loss of all things and I do account them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith by my own righteousness these men understand inherent righteousness whatever good St. Paul had done either while he was a Jew or after his Conversion to Christianity this he rejects and therefore the righteousness which is through the Faith of Christ must needs be an imputed Righteousness the Personal Righteousness of Christ apprehended by Faith and imputed to us This is fairly offer'd but what proof have they for it That I confess I cannot learn only it is taken for granted that my Righteousness signifies inherent Righteousness and the Righteousness of Faith imputed Righteousness and it is a sufficient answer to this to say they need not signifie so My own Righteousness can signifie no more than that in which he placed his Righteousness whatever it was and what necessity is there to understand this of Inherent Holiness an external Righteousness serves most mens turn very well and this is the righteousness by which the Pharisees and amongst the rest St. Paul while he was a Pharisee expected to be justified for what his Righteousness was he tells us in Ver. 6 7. Circumcised the eight day of the stock of Israel of the Tribe of Benjamin an Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the Law a Pharisee who were mighty strict and punctual in observing all external Ceremonies and he exprest his zeal for the law of Moses by persecuting the Christian Church and touching the Righteousness which is in the Law he was blameless which last phrase touching the Righteousness of the law blameless signifies only an external blamelessness of Conversation as Mr. Calvin himself acknowledges for this was the Pharisees notion even of the moral law that the obligation of it did reach no farther than the outward man and Trypho the Iew in Iustin Martyr quarrels with the Gospel of our Saviour for this very reason that it requires the government of our thoughts and passions which he says is impossible for a man to do and thus we must understand this blamelessness here unless we will say that St. Paul while he was a Pharisee did perfectly observe the moral law was blameless before God as well as before men which I suppose those who talk so much of the impossibility of keeping Gods laws will be loath to owne So that my own Righteousness which is of the law is so far from signifying an inherent Righteousness an inward and vital principle of holiness that it signifies only an external Righteousness which consisted in some external Rites as Circumcision and Sacrifices c. or external priviledges as being of the Seed of Abraham and stock of Israel or an external Civility and blamelessness of Conversation and this Righteousness he had reason to reject because God will reject it This
such but as they are members of his body for he is the Saviour of the body and Redeemed his Church with his own blood Hence St. Iohn tells us in his first Ep. Ch. 1. Ver. 3. That which we have seen and heard the whole Doctrine and History of the Gospel declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Iesus Christ. First that ye may have fellowship with us become members of the Church of Christ by which means you have fellowship and Communion with God and Christ. And therefore those publick censures whereby rotten or dead members are cut of from the body of Christ consist in casting such persons out of the Society of Christian people in debarring them from the Communion of Prayers and Sacraments and all Religious offices which is a plain demonstration that our Union to Christ is not an Union to his Person of which more hereafter but consists in a sincere and spiritual Communion with the Christian Church otherwise this external Communion with the Church could be no visible signification of our Union to Christ nor could our excision from the visible Church signifie our separation from him But thirdly It will be requisite now to explain more particularly the nature of this Union between Christ and the Christian Church which is not a natural but a Political Union that is such an Union as is between a Prince and his Subjects Christ is a spiritual King and all Christians are his Subjects and our Union to Christ consists in our belief of his Revelations obedience to his Laws and subjection to his Authority Hence our Saviour tells the Jews if you continue in my words then are ye my Disciples indeed John 8. 31. which is the same thing with being in him and by keeping his Commandments we abide in his love Iohn 15. 10. 14. 21. and to have his word abide in us is a description of the closest and firmest Union to him Iohn 15. 7. As obedience to our Prince is the strongest bond of a Political Union which is dissolved and broken by disobedience and Rebellion Thus our Saviour calls himself a Shepherd and Christians his Sheep Iohn 10. to signifie that Authority he hath over his Church which bears some Analogy to the government of a Shepherd which is oft-times used as a name of power and Authority as God is styled the Shepherd of Israel Psalm 80. 1. and Kings are frequently called Shepherds both by prophane and sacred Writers Though this name is most commonly given to Prophets who feed and instruct the Church which includes power and Authority and so does very properly belong to our Saviour who erected this spiritual Kingdom on the Foundation of his Doctrine and Laws and by the exercise of his prophetical office for which Reason he is called the Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls Thus he is called a Head and the Church his Body a Husband and the Church his Spouse which two metaphors signifie the same thing and are both of them names of power and Authority as appears from Eph. 5. 23. c. For Husbands are said to be the head of their Wives as Christ is the head of the Church and are commanded to love their Wives as their own bodies as Christ loves his Church so that a Husband as a Husband represents the head and the Wife the body and what the meaning of all this is the Apostle plainly tells us that Christ is called the Head and Husband because he hath the Rule and Government of us and therefore exhorts Wives to be subject to their Husbands as the Church is subject unto Christ the Spiritual Head v. 24. For because the Head in the natural body hath the command and government of all the members hence Head is a common name for Princes and Governours Deutr. 28. 13. The Lord shall make thee the Head and not the Tayl and thou shalt be above only and thou shalt not be beneath that is thou shalt rule and govern Psalm 18. 43. Thou hast made me the Head of the Heathen and a people whom I have not known shall serve me And therefore the Apostles always expound this metaphor of Christ's being a Head by power and Authority Eph. 1. 20 21 22. Hath set him at his own right hand in Heavenly places far above all Principalities and Powers and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be Head over all things to the Church which is his body Col. 1. 18. And he is the Head of the body the Church who is the beginning the first born from the dead that in all things he might have the preheminence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is that he might not only excel other things but that he might rule and govern them for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies him who hath the first place of Authority because government is naturally entailed on the greatest excellency and perfection Thus Christ is the Head of all Principalities and powers that is their Lord and Governour Col. 2. 10. This is the true explication of this relation betwixt Christ and his Church He is the Head and Husband because he is invested with Authority to govern and the Church is his body and Spouse because it must be obedient to his Laws and subject to his Government as we know it is very familiar to call a Society of men who live under the same Laws and Civil Government a body Politic which signifies their subjection to the same Authority as a body hath but one Head and that regard they must have to the preservation of the whole and their mutual care of each other as members of the same body Now the true Reason why this spiritual Kingdom of Christ is described by the Authority of a Shepherd over his Sheep and of a Head and Husband over his body and Spouse is to signifie the mildness and gentleness of his government and that great and near concern he hath for the welfare of his Church that he governs his Church with the care and tenderness of a Shepherd that he defends and ransoms his Church with his own blood as a good Shepherd lays down his life in defence of his Sheep Iohn 10. That he loves his Church with the natural kindness of a Head or Husband that his Government is only for the good of his Church not for his own private advantage as a kind Husband exerciseth no other Authority over his Wife but what is for her good as well as his own or as the Head hath no other concern but that all his members be preserved in their natural State and vigour and perform their proper and natural offices and therefore we may be secure that his yoak is easie and his burden light that he will be gentle in his Discipline and favourable in his censures especially when we consider how dearly he hath purchast this relation to his Church
the vertue and glory of them still remains they are a lasting demonstration of Gods peculiar presence with his Church in all Ages as they are of the truth of the Christian Religion for the Christian Church in all Ages since Christ and his Apostles is but one and therefore still inherits the glory as well as the Religion of former Ages In allusion to this the Christian Church is called Gods Building 1 Cor. 3. 9. and Eph. 2. 20 21 22. and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Iesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy Temple in the Lord in whom ye are also built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a Spiritual Temple in opposition to the material Temple at Ierusalem which S. Peter calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a spiritual House or Temple 1 Pet. 2. 5. all which refers to this notion that the Christian Church is Gods Temple wherein he dwells Now though all this do most properly belong to the Christian Church as a spiritual Society that they are the Temple of the living God yet it is accommodated in Scripture to particular Christians and Philo also alludes to it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that the mind of a wise and good man is in truth and reality the Palace and Temple of God every devout Soul is Gods Temple wherein he dwells an enlightned mind which is stored with all the treasures of divine wisdom and knowledge is his Debir or Oracle a pure heart is his Altar and devout prayers are spiritual incense and sweet perfumes the body it self is a consecrated place and is also called the Temple of God which must therefore be preserved pure and undefiled 1 Cor. 6. 19. nay our bodies are Sacrifices too which we must offer up to God by devoting them to his service Rom. 12. 1. for the Scripture loves to allude to the Temple and Aliar and Sacrifices of the Law which in a moral sense may very well be accommodated to the Christian Worship and Service as in their Typical signification they prefigured Christ whose Body was the true Temple where the Divine Glory dwelt who was both Priest and Sacrifice and by his death put an end to that Typical Dispensation only we may observe that when the Scripture mentions Gods or Christs dwelling with particular Christians it uses a more familiar style and seems rather to allude to a private house than a publick Temple Thus in Ioh 14. 23. If any man love me he will keep my words and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him and Rev. 3. 20. Behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me This is all I can find in Scripture concerning the Union betwixt Christ and Christians and that this is the true account of it besides what hath been already urged will evidently appear from those Institutions of our Saviour which are the Instruments and Symbols of our Union to him which we commonly call Sacraments Baptism and the Lords Supper which represent and signifie both our external and real Union with him First our external Union Thus Baptism is a publick profession of the Christian Religion that we believe the Gospel of Christ owne his Authority and submit to his Government We are baptized in the Name of Christ that is we publickly owne him for our Instructor and Governour to believe whatever he hath taught and to do whatever he hath commanded And the Lords Supper is a foederal Rite which answers to the Feasts on Sacrifices under the Law whereby we renew our Covenant with our Lord and vow obedience and subjection to him hence these Institutions were by the Ancients called Sacraments in allusion to that Oath which Souldiers took to be true and faithful to their Prince when they were listed into his Army which was called Sacramentum Militiae or the Military Oath of this nature are Baptism and the Lords Supper a Vow and Covenant to be subject to Christ as our Head and Husband wherein our external and visible Union consists Secondly They signifie also our real Union to Christ thus Baptism signifies our profession of becoming new men our profession of conformity to Christ in his Death and Resurrection We are buried with Christ by Baptism into death that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life Rom. 6. 4. that is Baptism or our immersion under water according to the ancient Rite of administring it is a figure of our burial with Christ and of our conformity to his death and so signifies our dying to sin and walking in newness of life for the death of Christ must be considered not barely as a natural death a separation of soul and body but as a Sacrifice for sin to destroy the power and dominion of it and so our dying to sin that is ceasing from the practice of it is the truest conformity to the death of Christ and we must consider his Resurrection not only as his returning to life again but as his living to God his advancement into his spiritual Kingdom the design of which is to promote the interest of Religion and a divine life and so our walking in newness of life a vertuous and religious life is our conformity to his Resurrection makes us the true Subjects of his spiritual Kingdom which the Apostle tells us gives us an abundant assurance of a glorious resurrection that we shall in a proper sense rise with him because this new life wherein our spiritual Conformity to the resurrection of Christ consists is an immortal principle of life which can no more die than Christ can die again now he is risen from the dead Thus Baptism is called putting on Christ Gal. 3. 27. He that is baptized into Christ hath put on Christ that is hath engaged himself to be conformed to his image and likeness to adorn his mind with all those vertues and Graces which appeared in our Saviours life Thus the Lords Supper is a spiritual feeding on Christ eating his flesh and drinking his blood which signifies the most intimate Union with him that we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone Eph. 5. 30. That as we are redeemed by his Death and sufferings are the purchase of his blood and so as it were taken out of his Crucifyed body as the Woman was taken out of the Man so by this spiritual feeding on Christ we are transformed into the same nature with him as much as if we were of his flesh and bones This is a Sacrament wherein we celebrate the love of our dying Lord and express our most passionate love and devotion to him The memory of what he hath done
Gospel prescribes which is contained in the Sermons and Parables of Christ and consists in a sincere and universal obedience to the Commands of God That we may the better understand this we must observe farther that this Righteousness of God that which he commands and rewards is the Righteousness of Faith or Righteousness by the Faith of Christ Now Faith and Faith in Christ is often used objectively for the Gospel of Christ which is the object of our Faith or contains those matters which are to be believed and so the Righteousness of Faith or by the Faith of Christ is that Righteousness which the Gospel commands Thus in Acts 24. 24. Felix sent for Paul and heard him concerning the Faith of Christ that is concerning Righteousness Temperance and the judgment to come Ver. 25. which are the principal matters of the Gospel thus obedience to the Faith is obedience to the Gospel Rom. 1. 5. In this sense Faith and Works are opposed to each other in St. Pauls Epistles as hath been abundantly proved by others the great dispute in the Epistle to the Romans is whether we must be justified by the Law of Moses or by the Faith of Christ that is whether the observation of all the external Rites and Ceremonies of the Law and an external conformity of our Actions to the moral Precepts of it will justifie a man before God or that sincere and universal obedience which the Gospel of Christ requires which transforms our minds into the likeness of God and makes us new Creatures And that this Righteousness of Faith and this alone can recommend us to God the Apostle proves from the example of Abraham in the 4. Chapter who was accounted Righteous for the sake of his sincere and stedfast belief of Gods promises Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for Righteousness Ver. 3. and this while he was uncricumcised which is a convincing argument against the Jews that Circumcision and the observance of the Law of Moses is not necessary to justification because Abraham who was the Father of the faithful and is set forth for the Pattern of our justification was justified without it But that we may understand what this justification by Faith is and how the Apostle argues from Abrahams being justified by Faith to prove that we must now be justified by the Faith of Christ it is necessary to enquire what that Faith was whereby Abraham was justified and what agreement there is between the Faith of Abraham and Faith in Christ. For Abrahams Faith was not a Faith in Christ but Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for Righteousness Christ indeed was the Material object of Abrahams Faith that is he believed that promise which God made of sending Christ into the World upon which account our Saviour tells the Jews your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad Iohn 8 5 6. But no man could believe in Christ till he came that is could not believe any thing upon his Authority which is the true notion of believing in him as you shall hear more presently There is not a plainer argument how apt men are to pervert the Scriptures to reconcile them to their own prejudices and preconceived opinions than to observe what work they make with Abrahams Faith as if that Faith which was imputed to him for Righteousness were a fiducial reliance and recumbency on Christ for Salvation upon which the Righteousness of Christ apprehended by Faith was imputed to him for suppose this imputation of Christs Righteousness were revealed in the most plain and express words in the New Testament yet it is hard to conceive how Abraham should learn this great Mystery from that general and obscure promise In thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed which is all that was ever revealed to Abraham concerning Christ This is such a train of thoughts from in thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed to the imputation of Christs Righteousness as Mr. Hobs himself could never have hit on for is there no possible way for God to bless the World but by the imputation of Christs Righteousness or is there such a natural and necessary connexion between this blessing and the imputation of Christs Righteousness that we cannot understand the one without the other Pray let us consider how many things Abraham must distinctly know according to these mens own principles before he could come to the knowledge of the imputation of Christs Righteousness and he would be a wonderful man indeed who could learn all this from that general promise without some more particular revelation As first he must be well assured that the Blessings here meant are spiritual blessings pardon of sin and eternal life and that Christ should be a spiritual King and Saviour and though this be the least difficulty of all yet the promise is not so clear and express in this matter but that men might mistake it and so we know the whole Iewish Nation for many Ages did who had more particular promises concerning Christ than this was and yet expected only a Temporal Prince who should sit on the Throne of David and subdue their Enemies under their feet and this was the great prejudice which the Iews had against Christ and his Religion that he so much deceived their expectations by his mean appearance And secondly Abraham must know too that Christ was to die for the sins of the World without which according to the Doctor it is impossible God should forgive sin considering the naturalness of his vindictive Iustice to him and this was more than the Apostles of Christ themselves understood till after his Resurrection though Christ had expresly told them of it And Thirdly He must understand also the perfect Holiness and Innocency of Christs life and that he fulfilled all righteousness not for himself but for us Nay Fourthly He must understand that great Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God for without this it is impossible to understand the vertue and efficacy of his expiation and Sacrifice and Righteousness since the sufferings of a meer man could never expiate sin nor his Righteousness serve any more than himself And Fifthly He must understand also that intimate oneness and Conjunction which is betwixt Christ and his Church by vertue of which Union believers may challenge a right to all that Christ did and suffer'd which is such a riddle as these men explain it as is not understood to this day And Sixthly He must understand too the nature of Faith of rowling the Soul on Christ for Salvation and renouncing all Righteousness of his own and then possibly he might without any more ado understand this great Mystery of the imputation of Christs Righteousness and he that can believe that Abraham could learn all this from that general promise In thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed may believe what he will and