be possest with the same love of vertue and goodness which appeared so eminently in him which is much to the same sense with that expression of Christs being formed in you Gal. 4. 19. My little Children of whom I travel in birth again till Christ be formed in you that is till you be thoroughly instructed in the Doctrine and Religion of Christ and are thereby moulded into his likeness and image Hence in the 1 Cor. 6. 17. the Apostle tells us He that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit that is herein consists our Union to Christ that we have the same temper of mind which he had for there can be no Union betwixt Souls and Spirits without this that they are acted by the same Principles and love and chuse the same things bodies are united by an external adhesion of parts but Souls by an harmony and consent of wills This makes two one Spirit when there is a perfect likeness of disposition when they agree in the same designs as much as if the same Soul animated them both when we love God and men as our Saviour did when we are meek and humble and patient and contented as he was we are as closely united to him as if he dwelt in us and we in him as if we had but one Spirit in us both But Thirdly there is a closer Union still which results from this which consists in a mutual and reciprocal love When we are transformed into the image of Christ he loves us as being like to him and we love him too as partaking of his nature He loves us as the price of his blood as his own workmanship created to good works and we love him as our Redeemer and Saviour Now love is the great Cement of Union which unites interests and thereby does more firmly unite hearts hence when our Saviour had told his Disciples At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you Joh. 14. 20. he explains the meaning of it in v. 21. He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and manifest my self unto him That is God and Christ and Christians are all united by a mutual and reciprocal love founded on a likeness of dispositions and actions on obedience to those Laws which are but a Copy of the Original Holiness of God and of the life of Christ. To the same purpose Christ prays for his Disciples Ioh. 17. 21. that they may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us Which refers to their agreement in doctrine and love Thus according to the Scripture phrase love makes us one with God and Christ and with each other Fourthly This Union is exprest in Scripture by resembling the Christian Church to Gods Temple wherein he dwells as formerly he did in the Temple at Ierusalem while that typical and ceremonial Worship was in force God was pleased to dwell in a Temple made with hands there he placed the Symbols of his Presence from thence he gave forth his Oracles there he received their Sacrifices and Oblations and returned an answer to their prayers But since Christ hath introduced a more manly and spiritual Worship God dwells no longer in a Temple of wood and stones by such visible signs of his presence as formerly he did but hath chosen the society of devout minds and pure souls for the place of his residence and abode Thus in the 1 Cor. 3. 16. Know you not that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you and Chap. 6. vers 19. Know you not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God and 2 Cor. 6. 16. Ye are the Temple of the living God as God hath said I will dwell in them and walk in or among them and I will be their God and they shall be my people To the same purpose we find in Rev. 21. 3. that after the description of the Holy City the New Ierusalem coming down from God out of Heaven which signifies the state of the Christian Church there was heard a great voice out of Heaven saying Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God Now all this must be expounded in allusion to the Temple at Ierusalem that as the Temple was the place of Gods peculiar presence with that people signifying that he was always ready at hand to assist them in their distress to supply their wants to defend them from their enemies to hear all the pious prayers they put up to him that is that he would be their God and they should be his people as the Apostle expounds it thus it is now with the Christian Church they are the only society of men whom God hath a peculiar regard for with whom he is always present whom he protects and defends by a vigilant and more particular providence whom he hath chosen for his peculiar people to dwell among them And as in the Temple God placed the Mercy-seat and the Cherubims as Emblems of his Majesty and Presence for which reason he is so often said to dwell betwixt the Cherubims so he hath now bestowed his holy Spirit on the Christian Church which is a surer pledge of his dwelling among them than those Types and Shadows were as the Apostle speaks Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you or among you that is this is a sufficient evidence that ye are the Temple of God in that God hath given his Spirit to dwell with you which primarily refers to those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit which God in that Age bestowed on the Christian Church this was the true Shecinah or divine glory resting on them for which reason he is called the Spirit of Glory 1 Pet. 4. 14 The Spirit of Glory and of God resteth on you that is that Spirit of God which is the visible manifestation of his glory in the Christian Church of which that visible glory which sometimes filled the Jewish Tabernacle was an Emblem Hence S. Paul tells us that the glory of the new Covevant which is the ministration of the Spirit which was confirmed by such miraculous and plentiful effusions of the holy Spirit did far exceed the glory of the first Covenant written and engraven in stones though that was so glorious that the Children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance 2 Cor. 3. 7 8. for this was a glorious manifestation of a divine Presence with the Church that God did indeed dwell with them and walk among them and though these extraordinary gifts are now ceased yet
and the peculiar Moods of speaking in every language and in every age and to urge Metaphors no further than their first intention without which we may deal by all Authors as these men deal by the Scripture make them speak non-sence or as they use to call them venerable Mysteries and overthrow and contradict their own design And this is their first way of expounding otherwise called adulterating and debauching Scripture by the sound of words Secondly When this will not do then they argue and reason about the sense of Scripture from their own preconceived notions and opinions of Religion pretend to prove their own Scheme and fancies of Religion from the Scripture but in truth prove the sense of the Scripture by its agreement with their own opinions which is such a trick as the Papists have got to prove the Authority of the Church from the Scripture and the Scripture from the Church I might give Instances of this in abundance but I shall mention only some few lest I tire my self and my Reader Thus after all their talk of being justified by the imputation of Christs Righteousness there are a great many places of Scripture which expresly tell us that we are justified by Faith have Remission of sins by Faith have peace with God by Faith are sanctified by Faith are the Sons of God by Faith have Eternal Life and are saved by Faith now how do you think shall all these Scriptures be reconciled to their notion of being justified by the imputation of Christs Righteousness for Faith certainly is not the Righteousness of Christ in their notion of it why this is plain at first sight to these acquaintances of Christ. For when Faith is said to justifie and save c. we must not understand this absolutely that is we must not understand this of Faith considered as Faith but we must understand it relatively that Faith justifies as it brings us to Christ and makes us one with him by whom we are justified Faith apprehends the Righteousness of Christ and the Righteousness of Christ justifies now this distinction is plainly owing to their preconceived opinions without which no man could ever have stumbled on 't that when the Scripture saith that Faith justifies the meaning should be that it justifies and saves instrumentally and relatively words which the Scriptures are unacquainted with that is not as it is Faith but as it apprehends the Righteousness of Christ which in plain words signifies that Faith does not justifie though the Scripture so often says it does But now the Reason of this Interpretation is very plain for should Faith justifie as our own Act that is as Faith it would be as bad as good works and as perfectly irreconcileable with the free Grace of God For had justification been promised to any thing wrought in us or done by us it had been of desert not of Grace of wages not of mercy if God had promised justification upon any work of ours had said we must bring so much humiliation so much repentance so much breaking of Spirit so much Grace so many Prayers Alms-deeds or so much Faith as our own Act and then we should be justified it would not have been of Grace not of free mercy though modest men who are not so apt to dream of meriting by every thing they do would have thought that free Grace and Faith might have been easily reconciled though Faith had justified as our own Act since the reward and recompence does so infinitly exceed the work that there can be no suspition of merit and where there is no merit the Reward is of Grace and not of debt whatever the condition of the promise be But this is past all doubt when it is confirmed by a metaphor or two of which there is great variety some more apt than others as for Instance the vertue is not in Faith but in Christ as appears in this a Ring which hath a precious stone in it which will staunch blood we say the Ring stauncheth blood but the vertue doth not barely lye in the Ring but in the stone in the Ring so Faith is the Ring Christ the precious stone all that Faith does is to bring home Christs merits to the Soul and so it justifies so that if you can but find out an improper and absurd form of speech in use among the vulgar or if you can but invent one as this Gentleman does for I never met with this before it is a sufficient reason to expound Scripture as improperly as unlearned men talk or think or if you can but fancy Faith a Ring and Christ a precious Stone it is enough to answer all those places of Scripture which speak of that legal and meritorious way of justification by Faith And thus Faith justifies as it is a receptive Grace it is the receiving the Gold that enriches so Faith receiving of Christs merits and filling the Soul with all the fulness of God must needs be an enriching Grace In the body there are Veins that suck the nourishment that comes into the Stomach and turns it into blood and Spirits Faith is such a sucking Vein that draws vertue from Christ and therefore is called a precious Faith Is not this very plain now to him who understands the nature of our Union to Christ which is like that of the Members of a natural body and that we are saved by Christ just as the body is nourished by the Stomach And now to make all clear we may give a Philosophical account why God chose Faith to be the Instrument of our Justification because it is a humble Grace and gives the glory of all to free Grace If repentance should fetch justification from Christ a man would be ready to say this was for my tears strange deserving Creatures these who can dream of meriting Heaven with a few tears but Faith is humble it is an empty hand and what merit can there be in that doth a poor mans reaching out his hand merit an Alms yes just as much as a few tears merit Heaven Faith is only a golden Bucket that draws Water out of the well of life But why may not those who are so apt to be conceited of merit grow as proud that they have a golden Bucket as if the whole Well were their own Thus you see how these men deal with the Scripture and poor humble Faith make what they please of them to fit them to their purpose that Faith is sometimes feet to go to Christ sometimes a hand to receive him a mouth to feed on him an eye to look fiducially on him a Ring to hold this precious Stone a Vein to suck justification out of the Spiritual Stomach which by the way is a very new conceit for though Christ is called the head I never before read that he was the Stomach a Bucket to draw water out of this Well Christ though in this they are very civil to Faith in making it a
him that bear not fruit hence to distinguish all true Christians from such Hypocritical Professors he adds and I in you that is my words abide in you Ver. 7. if my Doctrines and Precepts take fast hold of your wills and affections they will make you fruitful in good works Thus you see that the Union of particular Christians to Christ consists in their Union to the Christian Church And hence it is that the Ancient Fathers interpret all those Metaphors which decypher the Union between Christ and Christians to signifie the entire love and Unity of Christians among themselves Thus St. Chrysost. expounds Eph. 2. 19 20 21. where the Apostle speaks of that spiritual building which is erected on the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Iesus Christ being the chief Corner Stone to signifie the Unity of the Church in all Ages that both the Jewish and Christian Church are united in Christ as the several parts of the building are kept together by the Corner Stone and St. Ambrose to the same purpose tells us duos populos in se suscepit salvator secit unum in Domino sicut lapis angularis duos parietes continet in unitate domûs sirmatos i. e. That Christ united two people in himself the Iew and Gentile and made them one in the Lord as the Corner Stone unites two Walls in a building and makes it but one House Which is the plain design of the place to prove that Christ hath taken away the enmity and distance which was between the Jew and Gentile and hath reconciled them both to God in one body by the Cross Ver. 16. Thus St. Chrysost. observes on 1 Cor. 3. 9. that the Apostle to disswade them from Schisms and Factions tells them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. That they were Gods building and if they were Gods building they must not be torn asunder for then they are no longer a building and if they were Gods Husbandry they must not be divided from each other but they must be one enclosure hedged and walled in by Unity and agreement And adds let us therefore be built on Christ and cleave to him as to a foundation and as a branch to the Vine that there may be no distance between Christ and us to interrupt this Union for if there be we immediately perish for the branch draws nourishment and fatness from the Vine by its Union to it and the building stands firm by the strong adhesion of its parts Which plainly signifies that our Union to Christ consists in our Union to the Christian Church and when we divide and separate from the Church we are broken off from Christ as a branch is from the Vine we are then like a building whose stones fall asunder and destroy the whole fabrick Thus the same Father argues on Iohn 14. 21. to perswade Christians to Peace and Unity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. for he Christ unites us to each other by many examples and patterns of the closest Union He is the Head and we the body and the whole body by the Union of its several parts must be firmly united to the head He is the foundation we the building He the Vine We the branches He the Husband We his Spouse He the Shepherd We his Sheep He the way we those who are to walk in that way We are a Spiritual Temple and He it is who dwells in us He is the first born we his Brethren He the Heir we fellow Heirs with him He the life we those who live by him He the Resurrection we those who rise with him He the light and we are all enlightned by him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All these metaphors describe the nearest and closest Union of Christians to each other and of all to Christ which will not admit of the least distance and separation so that according to the sense of this Holy man particular Christians are united to Christ by means of their Union to the Christian Church otherwise I cannot understand how our Union to Christ can be an argument to Unity and Concord among ourselves if we are immediately united to the Person of Christ without being first united to his Church Which I wish those men would seriously consider who boast so much of their Union to Christ and yet rend his Church into a thousand little factions tear the members of his body from each other and yet pretend to be united to the head make new enclosures in the Husbandry and Vineyard of God and when Christ hath broken down the middle Wall of Partition and made Jews and Gentiles but one Church do now erect more Partition Walls in the Christian than ever were in the Iewish Temple But we need not depend on Authority for the confirmation of this notion that the Union of particular Christians with Christ consists in their Union with the Christian Church for those Sacraments our Saviour hath Instituted as Symbols of our Union with him are a plain demonstration of it Our first undertaking of Christianity is represented in our Baptism wherein we make a publick profession of our Faith in Christ and it is sufficiently known that Baptism is the Sacrament of our admission into the Christian Church and if any one should deny this we have the Authority of St. Paul for the proof of it 1 Cor. 12 13. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body In which the Apostle seems to allude to Baptism which confers the same holy Spirit on us all and thereby makes us all members of that one body of Christ which is his Church but more expresly in Eph. 4. 4 5. There is one Body and one Spirit as you are called in one hope of your Calling one Lord one Faith one Baptism that is the Christian Baptism is but one and is a Sacrament of Union making us all the members of that one body of Christ this is called being Baptized into Christ i. e. admitted into the Christian Church by a publick profession of our Faith in Christ. Thus the Lords Supper is a Sacrament of Union and signifies that near Conjunction between Christ and the Christian Church and the mutual fellowship of one Christian with another hence the Apostle calls the Cup of Blessing the Communion of the blood of Christ and the Bread the Communion of the body of Christ for we being many are one bread and one body one body represented by this one bread for we are all partakers of that one bread 1 Cor. 10. 16 17. For the Intention of our Lord and Saviour in what he did and suffer'd for us was not meerly to reform and save some single Persons but to erect a Church and to combine all his Disciples into a publick Society to unite them by holy Mysteries and to engage them to a mutual discharge of all Christian offices whereby the whole body may edifie it self in love and therefore our Saviour does not owne any relation to particular men as
renounce the authority of our Head and Husband now as it is in an Army should any Captain revolt from his Prince the Souldiers under his Command are not bound to turn Rebels because their Leader is so or should a whole Troop or Regiment conspire in the Treason no particular Souldier is obliged to continue in the Company or submit to the Government of Rebels no more than he is obliged to be a Rebel the same reason holds good as to Christian Societies if any particular Church apostatize from the Faith of Christ we are then under the same necessity of deserting their Communion as we are of obeying the Laws and submitting to the Authority of our Lord and Master but nothing less than this can justifie a separation while the Church is subject to Christ we must be subject to the Church while the fundamental Laws of his spiritual Kingdom are observed and his Institutions reverenced and the great ends of his Religion advanced to separate from such a Church is to separate from the Body of Christ for our Union to Christ consists in a subjection to his Authority and it is plain that we disowne his Authority when we reject those who act by his Authority Now this Political Union betwixt Christ and his Church may be either only external and visible and so hypocrital Professors may be said to be united to Christ or true and real which imports the truth and sincerity of our obedience and subjection to our Lord and Master For since Christianity is become the Religion of Nations and is entailed on us by our Ancestors as part of our inheritance is received into the Laws and Constitutions of Kingdoms and made a great Instrument of Civil Government it is too often seen that many men undertake this Profession only as the Mode and Fashion of their Country to avoid singularity and to serve a worldly interest And thus the Christian Church is filled with Hypocrites and visible Professors who are great Strangers to the life and spirit of the Holy Iesus while some under the name of Christians practise all the villanies of the Heathen World and live in a publick defiance to the Laws of that Religion they pretend to owne others make a fair show of external conformity to the Laws and Constitutions of this spiritual Kingdom and conceal their impurities under some glorious and pompous form of Religion and pass for very good Christians when they are no better than disguised Hypocrites and this makes it necessary to distinguish between a meer external and real Union between those who do no more than make a visible profession of Christianity and those who are true and sincere Christians Earthly Princes can exact only an external conformity to their Laws because they can take no cognizance of the secret workings of mens minds and the end of their Government is attained in the preservation of publick peace and order But the spiritual Kingdom of our Lord is of another nature which requires not only an external and visible subjection to Christ our Head and Husband and a visible Union to the Christian Church but the homage and obedience of the Soul the government of our thoughts and passions the renovation of our minds and spirits We must be born again of Water and of the Spirit if we would enter into the Kingdom of God Ioh. 3. 5. That is before we can be the Disciples of Christ the Subjects of his spiritual Kingdom which is in Scripture called the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven we must be born of water must make a publick profession of our Faith in Christ and obedience to Him in our Baptism but this is not sufficient unless we be born of the Spirit too that is unless our minds and spirits become subject to Christ unless our Faith in Christ and subjection to Him be sincere and hearty do govern all the motions and desires of our Souls and make us really such as we pretend to be which is called Being born of the Spirit because all Christian Graces and Vertues are in Scripture attributed to the Spirit of God as the Author of them Hence the Apostle tells us that In Christ Iesus nothing availeth but a new Creature that is that none are true Subjects of Christ such as shall be rewarded by Him but those whose minds and spirits are transformed into the love of vertue and goodness Now as a visible Profession of Christianity is the Foundation of this external-political Union betwixt Christ and his Church so this new Nature is the Foundation of a real and spiritual Union and this the Scripture represents to us under several notions First by the subjection of our minds and spirits to Christ as our spiritual King when we put our Souls as well as Bodies under his Government and Conduct hence Christ is said to dwell in our hearts by faith Eph. 3. 17. that is to have the sole Command and Empire of our wills and affections to govern our hearts as a man does the house in which he dwells And thus all those Metaphors which signifie our subjection to Christ must be expounded of the subjection of our Souls and Spirits to Him as well as the outward conformity of our actions because Christ is a spiritual King who rules and governs hearts as earthly Princes govern the bodies of their Subjects our subjection to him ought to begin in the Soul in a sincere acknowledgment of his Power and Authority in a stedfast belief of his Doctrines and Revelations and in a chearful and willing obedience to his Laws such a subjection as a Wife ought to yield to her Husband and Members to their Head the effect of a free choice not a feigned or forced compliance Secondly By a participation of the same nature which is the necessary effect of the subjection of our minds to him for the Gospel of our Saviour is the truest image of his mind he transcribed his own nature into his Laws and therefore a sincere obedience to his Laws is a conformity to his Nature Hence is that exhortation That the same mind be in us which was in Christ Iesus Phil. 2. 5. and to be his Disciples is to learn of him who was meek and lowly in mind Matth. 11. 29. Hence also our Union to Christ is described by having the Spirit of Christ. Rom. 8. 9. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his that is unless he have the same temper and disposition of mind which Christ had which is called having the Spirit of Christ by an ordinary figure of the cause for the effect for all those vertues and graces wherein our conformity to Christ consists are called the fruits of the Spirit the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness righteousness and truth Eph. 5. 9. and therefore what the Apostle in that place calls having the Spirit of Christ in the next verse he expresses by if Christ be in you i. e. if you
after Christ. That is lest their minds be corrupted through Philosophical Speculations or Traditionary superstitions in worshiping Daemons and Angels c. which are inconsistent with the Gospel of Christ and owe their original only to the folly and superstition of Mankind And then he adds for in him that is in Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily so that this must refer to that compleat and perfect Revelation of the Gospel which needs not be supplyed by the Philosophy or Traditions of men And to understand the Reason of this Phrase and the force of the Apostles argument we must consider that this is an allusion to Gods dwelling in the Temple at Ierusalem by Types and figures which were the Symbols of his presence for the Tabernacle or Temple was Gods House wherein he dwelt and the mercy seat and Cherubims c. were the Emblems of Gods presence there and this Symbolical presence of God in the Temple was very agreeable to that Symbolical and Ceremonial worship which he then instituted and commanded He dwelt among them by Types and figures and fore instituted a Typical and figurative Religion and this was an imperfect and obscure Declaration of himself to the World But now God hath sent his Son to Tabernacle among us Iohn 1. 14. the Deity it self now dwells in the Temple of Christs body not by Types and figures as formerly he dwelt in the Temple at Ierusalem but by a real and immediate presence and Union and therefore those Revelations which are made by Christ are answerable to the Inhabitation of the Godhead in him contain a true and perfect Declaration of Gods will in opposition to the imperfect Rudiments and obscure Types and figures of the Law So that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or bodily is opposed to figurative and Typical and this is a plain demonstration of the perfection of the Gospel Revelation that the fulness of the Deity dwelt substantially in Christ and we need not doubt but that so excellent a Prophet as he was in whom the Deity it self inhabited hath perfectly revealed Gods will to us All the figures of the Temple were accomplisht in Christ's Person he was that in truth and reality which the Temple was a figure of God dwelling among us and his Religion answers the greatness of his Person The Godhead dwelt in him bodily not by Types and figures and his Religion is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 too all truth and substance The Law was but a shadow of things to come but the Body is of Christ Ver. 17. his Religion is Body truth and substance So that this place is exactly parallel with Iohn 1. 14. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tabernacled among us herein the figure of the Tabernacle was fulfilled that God dwelt in our flesh and the Revelations he made of God's will did agree with the manner of his appearance were full of Grace and truth not a Typical and figurative but a plain and perfect Declaration of Gods will And as the Evangelist tells us That of his fulness we have all received that we are perfectly instructed by him in the will of God so our Apostle adds here and ye are compleat in him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 filled in him you need no other Instructor but Christ who hath revealed as much of Gods will as is necessary for us to know So that this fulness of the Godhead dwelling bodily in Christ does ultimately resolve it self into the perfection of the Gospel-Revelation for since the fulness of the Deity did inhabit in Christs Person we need not question but he was able to acquaint us with the whole mind and will of God and that he would do so The force of which Reason our Saviour himself takes notice of Iohn 3. 34 35. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God that is declareth his whole will to us for God giveth not the Spirit by measure to him It is not with him as it was with meaner Prophets who had only some particular Revelations of the Divine will but the fulness of the Godhead dwells in him bodily The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hands Thus the fulness of Christ you see signifies the excellency and perfection of the Gospel and in other places this fulness signifies the Church of Christ. Eph. 1. 22 23. And hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the Church which is his body the fulness of him that filleth all in all Where the Church is called the fulness of Christ which makes him as it were compleat and perfect for he cannot be a perfect Head without a Body hence the Church is called Christ. 1 Cor. 12. 12. For as the body is one and hath many members and all the members of that one body being many are one body so also is Christ that is the Christian Church as it immediately follows for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we be Iews or Gentiles whether we be bond or free and Beza tells us that this is the the reason of that phrase which so frequently occurs in the New Testament of being in Christ that is being members of the Christian Church Now the Church is called the Fulness of Christ with respect to its extent and universality that it is not confined to any particular Nation as the Jewish Church was but takes in Iews and Gentiles Bond and Free for this I take to be the meaning of Col. 1. 19. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell which words are commonly expounded to the same sense with Col. 2. 9. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily but if we consult the Context we shall see reason for a different sense and Beza observes that some Expositors by his fulness in this place understand the Church for Vers. 18. the Apostle tells us that 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 for it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell where fulness must be expounded of the Church that it pleased God to unite his Church into Christ for the Apostle assigns this as the reason of Christs being the Head of the Church And if you would know why the Church is called Fulness and all fulness said to dwell in Christ the reason follows in 20 21. And having made peace through the blood of his Cross to reconcile all things by him I say whether they be things in Earth or things in Heaven And you who were sometime alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works yet now hath he reconciled This is that fulness that dwells in Christ that he is made the Head of the Universal Church both in Heaven and Earth that Jews and Gentiles are now united in one
was all the Righteousness he had while he was a Pharisee and this he accounts dung and loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Iesus Christ our Lord i. e. for the sake of the Gospel which is the knowledge of Christ as you hear'd above which contains a more excellent and perfect Righteousness than the Law did and that he might win Christ i. e. that he might attain to an Evangelical Righteousness such as Christ was the Preacher and example of and that he might be found in him not having his own Righteousness which is of the law that at the last day he might appear to be a sound and sincere Christian whose righteousness does not consist only in some external observances or an external Conformity to Gods Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith i. e. that inward and vital principle of holiness that new nature which the Gospel of Christ requires of us and which this Christian Faith will work in us which is a Righteousness of Gods own chusing which he commands and which he will reward To confirm all this we must observe a double Antithesis in the words the Righteousness of the law is opposed to the Righteousness which is by the Faith of Christ and my own Righteousness opposed to the Righteousness of God now the surest way to understand the meaning of this is to consider how these phrases are used in Scripture The Righteousness of the law as you have already hear'd is an external Righteousness which consists in washings and purifications and Sacrifices or an external Conformity to the moral Law the Righteousness which is by the Faith of Christ is an Internal Righteousness which consists in the renovation of our minds and Spirits in the government of our thoughts and passions which is therefore called being born again and becoming new Creatures and rising again with Christ and putting off the old man and being renewed in the spirit of our minds and putting on the new man which after God is created in Righteousness and true Holiness The meaning of all which phrases is that that Righteousness which God requires of us under the Gospel must be an inward principle of love and obedience which changes our natures and transforms us into the image of God as much as if we were born again and made new Creatures Hence St. Paul tells us that the reason why God sent Christ into the World in our nature to die as a Sacrifice for our sins and to confirm and seal the new Covenant with his blood was that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Rom. 8. 3 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the righteousness of the law that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as St. Chrysostom expounds it that which the law was designed to work in them but was found too weak to effect it by reason of the greater power and prevalency of sin i. e. the inward holiness and purity of mind which was represented and signified by those external Ceremonies of Circumcision washing purifications and Sacrifices this was the design of the Gospel to work in us that internal holiness and purity which is the perfection and accomplishment of the Typical and Figurative Righteousness of the Law I know very well that this place is expounded of the imputation of Christs Righteousness that we fulfil the Righteousness of the Law not personally but imputatively but what reason can there be assigned for this besides that they will expound Scripture so which no man can help for is there any mention here of the Righteousness of Christ that he fulfilled all Righteousness for us and that his Righteousness is imputed to us and so we fulfil the Righteousness of the law in him And we ought to consider how consistent such an interpretation is with the Apostles design which is to show the great vertue and efficacy of the Gospel in delivering us from the power of sin which the law could not effect The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Iesus that divine and spiritual law which Christ hath given us which governs our minds and spirits and is the principal of a new spiritual life makes us free from the law of sin and death from the power and dominion of sin which is called a law and the law in our members warring against the law of our minds Rom. 7. 21 23. for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh what the law could not do i. e. govern our minds and passions deliver us from the law of sin and death from the Power and Dominion of our lusts this God effected by sending Christ into the World to publish the Gospel to us and to confirm all those great promises and threatnings contained in it with his own blood That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit how can imputation come in here What pretty sense would this make of the Apostles Argument The Law was too weak to make men throughly good to conquer their love to sin and to reform their hearts and lives and therefore God sent his Son into the World What for To give them better laws and more excellent promises and more powerful assistances to do good No by no means but to fulfil all righteousness for them that they may fulfil the righteousness of the law not by doing any thing themselves but by having all done for them by having this perfect Righteousness of Christ imputed to them there was no reason surely to abrogate the law of Moses for this end it might have continued in full force still and have been as available to Salvation as the Gospel is with the supplemental Righteousness of Christ But the weakness of the law which the Apostle complains of was not the want of an imputed Righteousness which might have been had as well under the Law as under the Gospel if God had pleased but a want of strength and power to subdue the sinful appetites of men it was weak through the flesh by reason of the greater prevalency of sensual lusts which the law could not conquer and therefore the Gospel of our Saviour must supply this defect not by an imputed Righteousness but by an addition of greater power to enable men to do that which is good to fulfil the external righteousness of the law by a sincere and spiritual obedience Much to the same purpose the Apostle discourses in Rom. 7. Ver. 4 5 6. Wherefore my Brethren you also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ who put an end to that imperfect dispensation by his death that you should be marryed to another even to him who is raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit unto God for when we were in the flesh under that carnal and fleshly dispensation of the
never come And when the Soul hath this particular call suppose it should suspect this call for a delusion what course can it take to satisfie it self that this is the call of the spirit of God and not the cheat and imposture of an enthusiastick fancy truly none that I know of if this calling by name will not satisfie it there is no other way but to call for the Book of Election and see whether its name be enrolled there the best of it is that all that are called must come and therefore they need inquire no further But secondly Though we know not how to get into Christ it would be some comfort to know that we are in him but this is as impossible as the other as the only foundation of our Faith in coming to Christ according to these mens notions is this special and particular call of the Spirit so the only infallible assurance any one can have that he is in Christ is the testimony of the Spirit that Spirit of adoption which teaches us to cry Abba Father and yet God does not afford this testimony of the Spirit to all but suffers many good Christians to walk in darkness and hides his face from them and conceals the evidences of his eternal love for no other reason but because they are desirous of it and would be quiet if they should know it this is somewhat hard measure but suppose you have or think you have this testimony of the Spirit how can you be sure that it is not a cheat and delusion the imposture of the Devil or of your own self-flattering imaginations To satisfie this scruple we are directed to marks and evidences and thus this infallible assurance from the testimony of the Spirit must in its last resolve be founded upon some moral evidence as it is with the Church of Rome who after a great noise and cry of infallibility are at last forc't to resolve their Faith into some motives of credibility or to dance round in an endless circle Well but let us consider what are the marks and evidences of our being in Christ and now you must inquire whether you have the Spirit of Christ and it is just as easie to know this as whether you be in Christ But are you true Believers is your Faith of the right stamp is it wrought by the Almighty Power of God or is it such an easie common presumptuous false Faith as that which is in the generality of men and this is as easie to know as either of the former for if there be such a false presumptuous Faith as takes Christ when he does not belong to us and rests and relies on Christ only for pardon life and Salvation and yet shall never have Christ how shall we know whether our Faith be true and genuine such as will make Christ ours and the answer to this brings us to that great mark of sanctification you must consider the effects of Faith doth it purifie your heart doth it overcome the World doth it work by love if any man be in Christ he is a new Creature are you then new Creatures is the state of your person changed from a Child of wrath to an Heir of Grace which is the thing to be proved or is your nature changed do you not think speak act as you did before do ye walk in newness of life c. have you crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts do you bring forth fruit as every branch in Christ which is not rejected by him doth that is you must prove your justification by your sanctification your Faith by your Works It must be acknowledged that these are some of those marks and Characters which the Scripture gives of good Christians by which we may as certainly know what our state is as the Tree is known by its Fruit and since it is no better I am heartily glad it is no worse that good works and a holy life may at least put in for marks and evidences of a justified state though the truth is this is a meer complement to holiness and as they order the matter a holy life can no more be the sign of a justified state than it can justifie us For first since holiness is not necessary to our Union with Christ it can be no necessary sign of it we are united to Christ before we are holy as appears from what I have already discoursed and therefore an unholy man may be united to Christ and how then can holiness be the only sure mark of our Union to Christ indeed they tell us that holiness does necessarily follow our Union to Christ but no man knows how long it may be before it follows and yet all this while such a Person is united to Christ at best this gives evidence but to one part of the question a holy life may be a good evidence that such a man is in Christ but the want of it is no certain evidence that a man is not in Christ and therefore this mark may be rejected by any one who hath no mind to it Nay secondly According to these mens principles we cannot tell whether we are holy or not till we know whether we are in Christ or not our Union to Christ must be an evidence of our holiness not our holiness an evidence of our Union to Christ till we are united to Christ we can do nothing to please God the best actions of Christless and unregenerate men are but splendida peccata glittering impieties which may appear so fair and lovely that they may deceive both other men and themselves for the true fruits of the Spirit but yet are odious and abominable to God because the person who does them is out of Christ our persons must be first accepted in Christ and then our services we cannot judge of holiness by the external performance of any duty nor by the inward sense of our own minds but must first know whether we are in Christ whether our persons be accepted in him before we can tell whether any thing we do be good and acceptable to God and this is a plain demonstration that holiness cannot be an evidence of our Union to Christ because we must first know our Union to Christ before we can know that we are holy And thirdly At other times these men make the work of sanctification in this life so imperfect and so like an unsanctified state that it is impossible to distinguish a sanctified and unsanctified man and upon this account holiness and sanctification must needs be a very sorry evidence of our Union to Christ when it is so imperfect that it cannot be known for that which is an evidence of another thing ought to be very evident it self An unregenerate man is under the Law of Sin under the reigning power of it and a regenerate man as they describe him is in a state as like this as one Egg is like another for a regenerate man may