Commentary Upon Colossians 1 and 2, Chapter 2 · Verse 6
VERSE 6. As yee have therefore received Chriſt Ieſus the Lord, ſo walke yee in Him.
THus farre you have heard the Doctrinall part of this Epiſtle with the digreſſion annexed to it, from the foure and twentieth verſe of the firſt Chapter to the ſixth verſe of this Chapter. Now followeth the Second part of this Epiſtle, which is exhortatory, and it reacheth from this ſixth verſe of the ſecond Chapter to the ſeventh verſe of the fourth Chapter. The exhortations are of two ſorts.
Some generall, that is, conteyning matter which all ſorts and ſexes, and conditions are to obey; which beginning in this verſe reacheth to the eighteenth verſe of the third Chapter.
Some particular, that is, which doe not concerne all men and women in this or that particular calling of life, as Wives, Husbands, Maſters, ſervants, to the ſeventh verſe of the third Chapter. Where the concluſion beginneth.
To returne unto our generall exhortations, they are
Principall,
Or,
Secondarie, ſerving to the principall.
The Principall mayne one, in the ſixth and ſeventh verſes: the other following. Firſt you have the duty it ſelfe, walke in Chriſt. Secondly the manner or conſequents following on this their walking, deſcribed by two Cardinall vertues.
1 Confirmed faith:
2 Thankefulneſſe.
The firſt hee doth not ſimply propoſe, but premiſeth their good beginning, which hath the force of an argument thus:
Thoſe who have received Chriſt Ieſus the Lord, as their onelyonly Saviour, Prieſt, Prophet, King; they muſt in their whole courſe onelyonly acknowledge Him. But yee have received Him, that is, believed on Him as your Lord and Saviour: Therefore as you have received Him, ſo walke in Him.
Marke firſt: What is the property of true faith; Doct. it receiveth Chriſt: even as the hand doth take a thing from another reached unto it; So doth Faith take Chriſt offered unto us, and given us by GOD the Father in the miniſtery of the Word and Sacraments: thus Galath. 3.14. CHRIST was made a curſe, that we by Faith might receive the bleſsing of Abraham, the ſpirit promiſed: marke, receive by Faith, not into knowledge; for the Saints doe not know onelyonly that the ſpirit is given of GOD to His children, but that it is poured on them in their meaſure, and received to dwell in them. Iohn 1.11, 12. The Iewes received Him not, that is, they believed not in Him; but ſo many as received Him, Hee made them the Sonnes of GOD, even ſo many as believed on His Name; the latter words expound the former, yea faith ſo receiveth Christ, that He commeth to dwell in the heart. Epheſ. 3.17. Hence it is, that faith is ſaid to put on Chriſt; Rom. 13.to engraft us into Him, to unite us with Him, as the members and head are coupled. For faith doth not onelyonly know and aſſent unto, but it hath a hearty affiance in it, which maketh us reſt upon Chriſt, as made of God every thing unto us;1 Co. 1.30 Wiſedome, righteouſneſſe, ſanctification and redemption.
It condemnes the Papiſts; Vſe 1 for faith by their doctrine (as faith) hath no affiance in it, it is only a knowledg of Chriſt as a Saviour, without any confidence reſting upon him as a Saviour: whence their Schoolmen diſpute, that a man may be ſound in faith; and in a damnable deſpayre at the ſame inſtant. Now this faith leaveth Chriſt in the ayre, doth not at all apply him unto us. For as if one hold out a thing unto me and ſay, it is thus and thus; my ſight, and conceiving what it is, without reaching my hand to it, doth not at all receive it: So while faith with the eye of it looketh on, and conceiveth what GOD offereth, but doth not by truſt and confidence reach that which God offereth into the ſoule; we receive nothing, and therefore have no benefit by CHRIST. For as medicine, meate, cloathes ſeene onelyonly and conceived on, but not taken in and put on, profit nothing: So in Chriſt, our medicine, our meate, our apparell, to heale us, nouriſh us and cover us in the ſight of GOD. Wherefore labour for this effectuall juſtifying faith, let the confidence of your hearts be toward Chriſt, that having Him within you ſpiritually, all his benefits may be yours likewiſe.
This may ſerve to informe us ſomething in the Doctrine of faith; Vſe 2 it letteth us ſee what is the ground of believing, ſurely the free offer of GOD. That which is the ground and warrant of receiving, the ſame is the ground and warrant of believing, it is the free offer of God. The offer of an almes from a rich man is a warrant ſufficient for a poore man to receive it: The free offer of Chriſt to a ſinner is warrant ſufficient unto a ſinner for to receive Chriſt. It is not then for a poore ſoule when he would ſettle the firſt ground of his faith, to looke for ſomething in himſelfe that ſhould make him worthy of Chriſt; but in this buſineſſe there is nothing to be done, but for a man to goe out of himſelfe, and to take Chriſt with an empty hand, as He is offered; that is, to ſave ſinners, to ſeeke the loſt, to heale the wounded, to feede the poore: The ſenſe of nakedneſſe and poverty is warrant enough for a man to receive Chriſt. This being well underſtood will be very avayleable to ſettle the faith of Chriſtians, to keepe them from wavering in believing, whereunto they are expoſed by Sathans malice; they cannot thinke Chriſt will ſave them, GOD will not looke upon them, GOD will vouchſafe no ſuch priviledge unto them, becauſe they are poore, blind, and naked: But I ſay, for that cauſe receive Him, and take Him for that end He is offered: therefore when the Lord convinceth the Church of Laodicea, thou art wretched, poore, blind and naked, then I counſell thee to buy of mee eye-ſalve, that thou maiſt ſee, and white rayment that thou mayſt be clothed: Say not, Chriſt is not myne, I dare not apply Him, becauſe I am a ſinner; indeede if thou haſt a purpoſe to goe on in ſinne, thou muſt not venture to apply Chriſt: But if thou be humbled in the ſight of thy own unworthineſſe, and doeſt account it the greateſt favour of GOD to be freed from ſinne, thou haſt good warrant to receive Chriſt thus offered; for ſo the LORD IESUS doth invite poore ſinners;Mat. 11.28 Come unto mee all yee that are weary and heavy loaden, and I will eaſe you.
It may ſerve to teach us, Vſe 3 by way of examination to try whether we have received Chriſt or not. To receive Chriſt is a thing done with the whole heart: It was a queſtion which the Apostles were woont to put when they received any man to be baptized,Acts 8. Doe you believe with your whole heart? as Philip ſaid to the Eunuch. It muſt be a receiving of Chriſt with the whole ſoule.
2 True faith apprehends Chriſt ſuch a Saviour as the ſpirit of God in Scripture ſetteth Him out to be,Hebr. 7.25. a perfect Saviour, who is perfectly able to ſave all that come to Him through faith. As He alone trod the wyne-preſſe of Gods wrath: So He alone worketh our ſalvation. This the Apoſtle preſſeth, becauſe of the falſe Apoſtles that were crept into the Church: they would graunt that Ieſus Chriſt, the Sonne of Mary, was the true Chriſt, in whom the Iewes and Gentiles ſhould truſt; yet they would have ſomething elſe to be joyned with him, they would have Moſes joyned with Chriſt, and the Law with the Goſpell in the matter of ſalvation; againſt which the Apoſtle much laboureth, and to ſettle their hearts onelyonly upon Chriſt, excluding all other cauſes and things from having any hand or ſhare in being meritorious cauſes of mans ſalvation.
3 All is not done when the judgement is informed that Chriſt is the onelyonly Saviour, and a perfect Saviour without any act of ours concurring to merit ſalvation; there is another thing to be added which muſt faſten upon the affections: Chriſt muſt be received with the whole heart; not onelyonly with the underſtanding, but the will and affections, the whole ſoule muſt incline to it, thus to reſt onelyonly upon Him, to prize Him onelyonly for Himſelfe, faith fixeth upon the perſon of Chriſt, and takes all other things as conſequents deduced from that which is in Chriſt: So the joy of a Chriſtian, the delight of a Chriſtian, the love of a Chriſtian, ſhould bee fixed onelyonly upon Chriſt.
4 There is yet another thing to be done: to receive whole Chriſt into the whole heart, is to receive Chriſt in all His offices,Ioh. 14.6. I am the way, the truth, and the life; He is our way, He is our Peace-maker, ſo He is our Prieſt: He is the truth, as He is our Prophet, to leade us into all truth: and He is our life, as He is our King, and mighty Lord to worke effectually in the hearts of all that ſhall be ſaved. Take Him thus: expect not onelyonly peace by Him, but truth alſo; nor knowledge of the truth onelyonly, but life alſo and ability to walke in obedience to that truth: thus you muſt receive whole Chriſt; not only as a Saviour to free you from the wrath of God, but alſo as a Lord and King to rule over you and to guide you. Hereby you may know whether you have received CHRIST or not.
2 Marke hence: Doct. That true beliefe on Chriſt must have with it perſeverance, and a life obedient unto Him. A true believer on Him muſt be a conſtant believer, and a good liver in Him; for to walke in Chriſt is every where to converſe as thoſe who muſt in all things acknowledge Him. As Chriſt is the author and object of our faith; ſo He muſt be the Soveraigne commander, the chiefe worker, the end of all thoſe workes which I walke in, and occupy my ſelfe about through my whole life.
But the phraſe is worth the opening.
1 It ſignifieth as much as to doe all we doe after the rule and command of Chriſt, the ſame with foreign. after CHRIST. verſe 8. He is our onelyonly law giver, we are in all things to heare Him, and to attend His pleaſure, not ſtirring without His warrant.
2 It ſignifieth continuing in Him, in faith on Him, to which Hee hath brought us; not to recoyle or give in.
3 To walke in Chriſt is to ſet before our eyes His glory, as the white we ſhoote at in all our affaires great and ſmall: Whatſoever you doe, doe all to the glory of GOD; and ſo of Chriſt. I count not my life deare, that I may fulfill the miniſtery which the Lord Ieſus hath given me: whether in my wits or out, &c. I am to the Lord. And what is more equall? when a woman hath married a man, muſt ſhe not live to Him alone? Is ſhe to be commanded by others? Is ſhee not to ſeeke to pleaſe him? to obey him, honour him in all things, with feare? How much more meet is it, that we being by the hand of faith contracted to our Lord, ſhould live to Him? And as a woman new married muſt not ſtart, but for better or worſe continue where her faith is plighted: So muſt we, having given our faith not goe backe from Chriſt our husband, that hath bought us deare, and given us in joynture, heaven it ſelfe.
Wherefore this muſt both admoniſh us of our duties, Vſe and be applyed to convince ſuch as ſay, they believe in Chriſt, but live not in Him, looke not to His will, deny not themſelves, ſeeking for His ſtrength, labour not to ſet forth His glory. Nay they are at the command of men, what ſuch and ſuch like of, is their ten commandements, yea walke in the fleſh, in obeying the luſts of their owne hearts, following their owne corrupt mindes and affections, and the examples of others like themſelves. O wretch hart thou not aſhamed? haſt thou the face of an honeſt man, and wouldſt thou not bluſh to take a woman to thee, and make no conſcience of following every trull, and leaving her ſo as ſhe ſcarce from the beginning of the weeke to the end comes into thy thoughts? thus thou ſerveſt thy husband Chriſt.
Obſerve laſtly: Doct. That our good beginnings muſt be a bond unto us to make good proceeding. Have you begunne (ſaith Saint Paul) in the ſpirit; and will you end in the fleſh? have you ſuffered ſo many things in vaine? So he exhorteth Timothy even from this that hee had beene brought up in the Scriptures of a child, and had made a good profeſsion before many witneſſes. We ſee that children, when that they have done already, is commended, it doth hearten them to further diligence. Beſides it is a ſecret ſhame to leape from pale to ſprigge, and with the Moone to change our beliefes: Therefore even in this regard it inforceth continuance, to remember us what we have begunne in. Beſides, be that ſetteth his hand to Gods plough, and looketh backe, is not fit for His kingdome.
Wherefore we muſt the rather (I ſay) hold on. Vſe What art thou aſhamed to be counted an unconſtant man, by ceaſſing in that which thou beginneſt ſinfully, and wilt thou not be aſhamed to be variable in that courſe which is good and holy? Oh thou haſt forgot this, who haſt loſt thy firſt love, who haſt beene more zealous, more carefull of good duties; who haſt embraced CHRIST more powerfully and affectionately than now thou doſt: Why doeſt thou marre good beginnings with ſuch ſlothfull proceedings?