they were under him upon a double account—(a) as he was their Creator
(Col 1:16); (b) as he was made the heir of God (Heb 1:2).
(2.) Therefore the glory of worship, reverence, and fear from all
creatures, was due unto him; the worship, obedience, subjection, and
service of angels were due unto him; the fear, honour, and glory of
kings, and princes, and judges of the earth were due unto him; the
obedience of the sun, moon, stars, clouds, and all vapours, were due
unto him; all dragons, deeps, fire, hail, snow, mountains and hills,
beasts, cattle, creeping things, and flying fowls, the service of them
all, and their worship, were due unto him (Psa 148).
(3.) The glory of the heavens themselves was due unto him; in a word,
heaven and earth were his.
(4.) But above all, the glory of communion with his Father was his; I
say, the glory of that unspeakable communion that he had with the
Father before his incarnation, which alone was worth ten thousand
worlds, that was ever his.
(5.) But again; as Jesus Christ was possessed with this, so, besides,
he was Lord of life; this glory also was Jesus Christ’s: “In him was
life,” therefore he is called the Prince of it; because it was in him
originally as in the Father (Acts 3:15). He gave to all life and
breath, and all things; angels, men, beasts, they had all their life
from him.
(6.) Again, as he was Lord of glory, and Prince of life, so he was also
Prince of peace, (Isa 9:6); and by him was maintained that harmony and
goodly order which were among things in heaven and things on earth.
Take things briefly in these few particulars—(a.) The heavens were his,
and he made them. (b.) Angels were his, and he made them. (c.) The
earth was his, and he made it. (d.) Man was his, and he made him.
[Second. How poor he made himself.] Now this heaven he forsook for our
sakes—“He came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim 1:15).
[1.] He was made lower than the angels, for the suffering of death (Heb
2:9). When he was born, he made himself, as he saith, a worm, or one of
no reputation; he became the reproach and byword of the people; he was
born in a stable, laid in a manger, earned his bread with his labour,
being by trade a carpenter (Psa 22:6; Phil 2:7; Luke 2:7; Mark 6:3).
When he betook himself to his ministry, he lived upon the charity of
the people; when other men went to their own houses, Jesus went to the
Mount of Olives. Hark what himself saith for the clearing of
this—“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of
man hath not where to lay his head.” He denied himself of this world’s
good (Luke 8:2,3; 9:58; John 7:35; 8:1).
[2.] Again, as he was Prince of life, so he for our sakes laid down
that also; for so stood the matter, that he or we must die; but the
grace that was in his heart wrought with him to lay down his life: “He
gave his life a ransom for many.” He laid down his life that we might
have life; he gave his flesh and blood for the life of the world; he
laid down his life for his sheep.
[3.] Again; he was Prince of peace, but he forsook his peace also. (1.)
He laid aside peace with the world, and chose upon that account to be a
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and therefore was persecuted
from his cradle to his cross, by kings, rulers, &c. (2.) He laid aside
his peace with his Father, and made himself the object of his Father’s
curse, insomuch that the Lord smote, struck, and afflicted him; and, in
conclusion, hid his face from him (as he expressed, with great crying)
at the hour of his death.
[Object.] But perhaps some may say, What need was there that Jesus
Christ should do all this? Could not the grace of the Father save us
without this condescension of the Son?
Answ. As there is grace, so there is justice in God; and man having
sinned, God concluded to save him in a way of righteousness; therefore
it was absolutely necessary that Jesus Christ should put himself into
our very condition, sin only excepted. 1. Now by sin we had lost the
glory of God, therefore Jesus Christ lays aside the glory that he had
with the Father (Rom 3:23; John 17:5). 2. Man by sin had shut himself
out of an earthly paradise, and Jesus Christ will leave his heavenly
paradise to save him (Gen 3:24; 1 Tim 1:15; John 6:38,39). 3. Man by
sin had made himself lighter than vanity, and this Lord God, Jesus
Christ, made himself lower than the angels to redeem him (Isa 40:17;
Heb 2:7). 4. Man by sin lost his right to the creatures, and Jesus
Christ will deny himself of a whole world to save him (Luke 9:58). 5.
Man by sin had made himself subject to death; but Jesus Christ will
lose his life to save him (Rom 6:23). 6. Man by sin had procured to
himself the curse of God; but Jesus Christ will bear that curse in his
own body to save him (Gal 3:13). 7. Man by sin had lost peace with God;
but this would Jesus Christ lose also, to the end man might be saved.
8. Man should have been mocked of God, therefore Christ was mocked of
men. 9. Man should have been scourged in hell; but, to hinder that,
Jesus was scourged on earth. 10. Man should have been crowned with
ignominy and shame; but, to prevent that, Jesus was crowned with
thorns. 11. Man should have been pierced with the spear of God’s wrath;
but, to prevent that, Jesus was pierced both by God and men. 12. Man
should have been rejected of God and angels; but, to prevent that,
Jesus was forsaken of God, and denied, hated, and rejected of men (Isa
48:22; Prov 1:24-26; Matt 27:26,39,46; Psa 9:17; 11:6; 22:7; Dan 12:2;
John 19:2-5,37; Num 24:8; Zech 12:10; Luke 9:22).
I might thus enlarge, and that by authority from this text—“He became
poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” All the riches he
stripped himself of, it was for our sakes; all the sorrows he
underwent, it was for our sakes; to the least circumstance of the
sufferings of Christ there was necessity that so it should be, all was
for our sakes: “For our sakes he became poor, that ye through his
poverty might be rich.”
And you see the argument that prevailed with Christ to do this great
service for man, the grace that was in his heart; as also the prophet
saith, “In his love and in his pity he redeemed them.” According to
this in the Corinthians, “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”;
both which agree with the text, “By grace ye are saved.”
I say, this was the grace of the Son, and the exercise thereof. The
Father therefore shows his grace one way, and the Son his another. It
was not the Father, but the Son, that left his heaven for sinners; it
was not the Father, but the Son, that spilt his blood for sinners. The
Father indeed gave the Son, and blessed be the Father for that; and the
Son gave his life and blood for us, and blessed be the Son for that.
But methinks we should not yet have done with this grace of the Son.
Thou Son of the Blessed, what grace was manifest in thy condescension!
Grace brought thee down from heaven, grace stripped thee of thy glory,
grace made thee poor and despicable, grace made thee bear such burdens
of sin, such burdens of sorrow, such burdens of God’s curse as are
unspeakable. O Son of God! grace was in all thy tears, grace came
bubbling out of thy side with thy blood, grace came forth with every
word of thy sweet mouth (Psa 45:2; Luke 4:22). Grace came out where the
whip smote thee, where the thorns pricked thee, where the nails and
spear pierced thee. O blessed Son of God! Here is grace indeed!
Unsearchable riches of grace! Unthought-of riches of grace! Grace to
make angels wonder, grace to make sinners happy, grace to astonish
devils. And what will become of them that trample under foot this Son
of God?
Of the grace of the Spirit. THIRD. I come now to speak of the grace of
the Spirit; for he also saveth us by his grace. The Spirit, I told you,
is God, as the Father and the Son, and is therefore also the author of
grace; yea, and it is absolutely necessary that he put forth his grace
also, or else no flesh can be saved. The Spirit of God hath his hand in
saving of us many ways; for they that go to heaven, as they must be
beholding to the Father and the Son, so also to the Spirit of God. The
Father chooseth us, giveth us to Christ, and heaven to us, and the
like. The Son fulfills the law for us, takes the curse of the law from
us, bears in his own body our sorrows, and sets us justified in the
sight of God. The Father’s grace is showed in heaven and earth; the
Son’s grace is showed on the earth, and on the cross; and the Spirit’s
grace must be showed in our souls and bodies, before we come to heaven.
Quest. But some may say, Wherein doth the saving grace of the Spirit
appear?
Answ. In many things.
In taking possession of us for his own, in his making of us his house
and habitation, so that though the Father and the Son have both
gloriously put forth gracious acts in order to our salvation, yet the
Spirit is the first that makes seizure of us (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; Eph
2:21,22). Christ, therefore, when he went away, said not that he would
send the Father, but the Spirit, and that he should be in us for
ever—“If I depart,” said Christ, “I will send him, the Spirit of truth,
the Comforter” (John 14:16; 16:7,13).
The Holy Spirit coming into us, and dwelling in us, worketh out many
salvations for us now, and each of them in order also to our being
saved for ever.
1. He saveth us from our darkness by illuminating of us; hence he is
called “the Spirit of revelation,” because he openeth the blind eyes,
and so consequently delivereth us from that darkness which else would
drown us in the deeps of hell (Eph 1:17,19).
2. He it is that convinceth us of the evil of our unbelief, and that
shows us the necessity of our believing in Christ; without the
conviction of this we should perish (John 16:9).
3. This is that finger of God by which the devil is made to give place
unto grace, by whose power else we should be carried headlong to hell
(Luke 11:20-22).
4. This is he that worketh faith in our hearts, without which neither
the grace of the Father nor the grace of the Son can save us, “For he
that believeth not, shall be damned” (Mark 16:16; Rom 15:13).
5. This is he by whom we are born again; and he that is not so born can
neither see nor inherit the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3-7).
6. This is he that setteth up his kingdom in the heart, and by that
means keepeth out the devil after he is cast out, which kingdom of the
Spirit, whoever wanteth, they lie liable to a worse possession of the
devil than ever (Matt 12:43-45; Luke 11:24,25).
7. By this Spirit we come to see the beauty of Christ, without a sight
of which we should never desire him, but should certainly live in the
neglect of him, and perish (John 16:14; 1 Cor 2:9-13; Isa 53:1,2).
8. By this Spirit we are helped to praise God acceptably, but without
it, it is impossible to be heard unto salvation (Rom 8:26; Eph 6:18; 1
Cor 14:15).
9. By this blessed Spirit the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts,
and our hearts are directed into the love of God (Rom 5:5; 2 Thess
2:13).
10. By this blessed Spirit we are led from the ways of the flesh into
the ways of life, and by it our mortal body, as well as our immortal
soul, is quickened in the service of God (Gal 5:18,25; Rom 8:11).
11. By this good Spirit we keep that good thing, even the seed of God,
that at the first by the Word of God was infused into us, and without
which we are liable to the worst damnation (1 John 3:9; 1 Peter 1:23; 2
Tim 1:14).
12. By this good Spirit we have help and light against all the wisdom
and cunning of the world, which putteth forth itself in its most cursed
sophistications to overthrow the simplicity that is in Christ (Matt
10:19,20; Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11,12).
13. By this good Spirit our graces are maintained in life and vigour,
as faith, hope, love, a spirit of prayer, and every grace (2 Cor 4:13;
Rom 15:13; 2 Tim 1:7; Eph 6:18; Titus 3:5).
14. By this good Spirit we are sealed to the day of redemption (Eph
1:14).
15. And by this good Spirit we are made to wait with patience until the
redemption of the purchased possession comes (Gal 5:5).
Now all these things are so necessary to our salvation, that I know not
which of them can be wanting; neither can any of them be by any means
attained but by this blessed Spirit.
And thus have I in few words showed you the grace of the Spirit, and
how it putteth forth itself towards the saving of the soul. And verily,
Sirs, it is necessary that you know these things distinctly—to wit, the
grace of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the grace of the Holy
Ghost; for it is not the grace of one, but of all these three, that
saveth him that shall be saved indeed.
The Father’s grace saveth no man without the grace of the Son; neither
doth the Father and the Son save any without the grace of the Spirit;
for as the Father loves, the Son must die, and the Spirit must
sanctify, or no soul must be saved.
Some think that the love of the Father, without the blood of the Son,
will save them, but they are deceived; for “without shedding of blood
is no remission” (Heb 9:22).
Some think that the love of the Father and blood of the Son will do,
without the holiness of the Spirit of God; but they are deceived also;
for “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”; and
again, “without holiness no man shall see the Lord” (Rom 8:9; Heb
12:14).
There is a third sort, that think the holiness of the Spirit is
sufficient of itself; but they (if they had it) are deceived also; for
it must be the grace of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the grace
of the Spirit, jointly, that must save them.
But yet, as these three do put forth grace jointly and truly in the
salvation of a sinner, so they put it forth, as I also have showed you
before, after a diverse manner. The Father designs us for heaven, the
Son redeems from sin and death, and the Spirit makes us meet for
heaven; not by electing, that is the work of the Father; not by dying,
that is the work of the Son; but by his revealing Christ, and applying
Christ to our souls, by shedding the love of God abroad in our hearts,
by sanctifying of our souls, and taking possession of us as an earnest
of our possession of heaven.
QUEST. III.—WHO ARE THEY THAT ARE TO BE SAVED BY GRACE?
I come now to the third particular—namely, to show you who they are
that are to be saved by grace.
[Who are not saved.]
First. Not the self-righteous, not they that have no need of the
physician. “The whole have no need of the physician,” saith Christ. “I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17).
And again, “He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he
hath sent empty away” (Luke 1:53). Now when I say not the
self-righteous nor the rich, I mean not that they are utterly excluded;
for Paul was such an one; but he saveth not such without he first
awaken them to see they have need to be saved by grace.
Second. The grace of God saveth not him that hath sinned the
unpardonable sin. There is nothing left for him “but a certain fearful
looking for of judgment,—which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb
10:26,27).
Third. That sinner that persevereth in final impenitency and unbelief
shall be damned (Luke 13:3,5; Rom 2:2-5; Mark 16:15,16).
Fourth. That sinner whose mind the god of this world hath blinded, that
the glorious light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
can never shine into him, is lost, and must be damned (2 Cor 4:3,4).
Fifth. The sinner that maketh religion his cloak for wickedness, he is
a hypocrite, and, continuing so, must certainly be damned (Psa 125:5;
Isa 33:14; Matt 24:50,51).
Sixth. In a word, every sinner that persevereth in his wickedness,
shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven—“Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of
God.” “Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because of these
things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience” (1
Cor 6:9-12; Eph 5:5,6).
[Who are saved.] Question. But what kind of sinners shall then be
saved?
Answ. Those of all these kinds that the Spirit of God shall bring [to]
the Father by Jesus Christ; these, I say, and none but these, can be
saved, because else the sinners might be saved without the Father, or
without the Son, or without the Spirit.
Now, in all that I have said, I have not in the least suggested that
any sinner is rejected because his sins, in the nature of them, are
great; Christ Jesus came into the world to save the chief of sinners.
It is not, therefore, the greatness of, but the continuance in, sins
that indeed damneth the sinner. But I always exclude him that hath
sinned against the Holy Ghost. That it is not the greatness of sin that
excludeth the sinner is evident—
1. From the words before the text, which doth give an account of what
kind of sinners were here saved by grace, as namely, they that were
dead in trespasses and sins, those that walked in these sins,
“according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past
in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of
the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others”
(Eph 2:2,3).
2. It is evident also from the many sinners that we find to be saved,
by the revealed will of God. For in the Word we have mention made of
the salvation of great sinners, where their names and their sins stand
recorded for our encouragement; as, (1.) You read of Manasseh, who was
an idolater, a witch, a persecutor, yea, a rebel against the word of
God, sent unto him by the prophets; and yet this man was saved (2 Chron
33:2-13; 2 Kings 21:16). (2.) You read of Mary Magdalene, in whom were
seven devils; her condition was dreadful, yet she was saved (Luke 8:2;
John 20). (3.) You read of the man that had a legion of devils in him.
O how dreadful was his condition! and yet by grace he was saved (Mark
5:1-10). (4.) You read of them that murdered the Lord Jesus, and how
they were converted and saved (Acts 2:23). (5.) You read of the
exorcists, how they closed with Christ, and were saved by grace (Acts
19:13). (6.) You read of Saul the persecutor, and how he was saved by
grace (Acts 9:15).
Object. But, thou sayest, I am a backslider.
Answ. So was Noah, and yet he found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Gen
9:21,22). So was Lot, and yet God saved him by grace (Gen 19:35; 2
Peter 2:7-9). So was David, yet by grace he was forgiven his iniquities
(2 Sam 12:7-13). So was Solomon, and a great one too; yet by grace his
soul was saved (Psa 89:28-34). So was Peter, and that a dreadful one;
yet by grace he was saved (Matt 26:69-74; Mark 16:7; Acts 15:7-11).
Besides, for further encouragement, read Jeremiah 3, 33:25,26, 51:5,
Ezekiel 36:25, Hosea 14:1-4; and stay thyself, and wonder at the riches
of the grace of God.
Quest. But how should we find out what sinners shall be saved? All, it
seems, shall not. Besides, for aught can be gathered by what you have
said, there is as bad saved as damned, set him that hath sinned the
unpardonable sin aside.
Answ. True, there are as bad saved as damned; but to this question:
They that are effectually called, are saved. They that believe on the
Son of God shall be saved. They that are sanctified and preserved in
Christ shall be saved. They that take up their cross daily, and follow
Christ, shall be saved.
Take a catalogue of them thus: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved” (Mark 16:16; Acts 16:31). “If thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved” (Rom 10:9). Be
justified by the blood of Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Rom 5:9). Be
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, and thou shalt be saved by
his life (Rom 5:10). “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).
See some other scriptures. “He shall save the humble person” (Job
22:29). “Thou wilt save the afflicted people” (Psa 18:27). “He shall
save the children of the needy” (Psa 72:4). “He shall save the souls of
the needy” (Psa 72:13). “O thou, my God, save thy servant that trusteth
in thee” (Psa 86:2). “He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him,
he also will hear their cry, and will save them” (Psa 145:19).
[Caution.] But, sinner, if thou wouldst indeed be saved, beware of
these four things—
1. Beware of delaying repentance; delays are dangerous and damnable;
they are dangerous, because they harden the heart; they are damnable,
because their tendency is to make thee outstand the time of grace (Psa
95:7; Heb 3-12).
2. Beware of resting in the word of the kingdom, without the spirit and
power of the kingdom of the gospel; for the gospel coming in word only
saves nobody, for the kingdom of God or the gospel, where it comes to
salvation, is not in word but in power (1 Thess 1:4-6; 1 Cor 4:19).
3. Take heed of living in a profession, a life that is provoking to
God; for that is the way to make him cast thee away in his anger.
4. Take heed that thy inside and outside be alike;, and both
conformable to the Word of his grace; labour to be like the living
creatures which thou mayest read of in the book of the prophet Ezekiel,
whose appearance and themselves were one 10 (Eze 10:22).
In all this, I have advertised you not to be content without the power
and Spirit of God in your hearts, for without him you partake of none
of the grace of the Father or Son, but will certainly miss of the
salvation of the soul.
QUEST. IV.—HOW IT APPEARS THAT THEY THAT ARE SAVED, ARE SAVED BY GRACE?
This fourth question requireth that some demonstration be given of the
truth of this doctrine—to wit, that they that are saved are saved by
grace.
What hath been said before hath given some demonstration of the truth;
wherefore, first repeating in few words the sum of what hath been said
already, I shall come to further proof. 1. That this is true, the
Scriptures testify, because God chose them to salvation before they had
done good (Rom 9:11). 2. Christ was ordained to be their Saviour before
the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4; 1 Peter 1:19-21). 3. All things
that concur and go to our salvation were also in the same laid up in
Christ, to be communicated in the dispensation of the fullness of
times, to them that shall be saved (Eph 1:3,4; 2 Tim 1:9; Eph 1:10;
3:8-11; Rom 8:30).
[That salvation is by grace appears in its contrivance.] Again, as
their salvation was contrived by God, so, as was said, this salvation
was undertaken by one of the three; to wit, the Son of the Father (John
1:29; Isa 48:16).
Had there been a contrivance in heaven about the salvation of sinners
on earth, yet if the result of that contrivance had been that we should
be saved by our own good deeds, it would not have been proper for an
apostle, or an angel, to say, “By grace ye are saved.” But now, when a
council is held in eternity about the salvation of sinners in time, and
when the result of that council shall be, that the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost will themselves accomplish the work of this salvation,
this is grace, this is naturally grace, grace that is rich and free;
yea, this is unthought-of grace. I will say it again, this is
unthought-of grace; for who could have thought that a Saviour had been
in the bosom of the Father, or that the Father would have given him to
be the Saviour of men, since he refused to give him to be the Saviour
of angels? (Heb 2:16,17).
[Grace appears in the Son’s undertaking this work.] Again; could it
have been thought that the Father would have sent his Son to be the
Saviour, we should, in reason, have thought also that he would never
have taken the work wholly upon himself, especially that fearful,
dreadful, soul-astonishing, and amazing part thereof! Who could once
have imagined that the Lord Jesus would have made himself so poor as to
stand before God in the nauseous rags of our sins, and subject himself
to the curse and death that were due to our sin? but thus he did to
save us by grace.