Light from Heaven, Part 8
In the Spirit.
That is,God a Spirit. in his God-head: that did shew it selfe in his life & death, in his resurrection and ascension; the beames of his God-head did sparkle out: though he were God in the flesh, yet he remained God stil, & was justified to be so in the Spirit, that is, in his divine Power, which is called the Spirit, because the spirit of any thing is the quintessence & strength of it.1For puritie. God hath the name of Spirit, from his purity, and power, and vigour. So God is a Spirit, that is,2Strength. God is pure, opposite to grosse things, earth, and flesh; and God is powerfull, and strong. The Horses of the Aegyptians are flesh, and not spirit; that is, they are weake, a spirit is strong; so much spirit, so much strength. So, by the puritie and strength of the Divine Nature, Christ discovered himselfe to be true God, as well as true man.
Spirit how taken in Scripture.The word Spirit is taken in three senses especially in the Gospel.
1For the nature of God.It is taken for the whole nature of God: God is a Spirit, sayth Christ to the woman of Samaria; the very nature of God,Iohn 4. is a Spirit; that is, active, and subtile; opposite to meanenesse, and weakenesse.
2For the Divine Nature of Christ.Then againe, Spirit is taken more particularly for the Divine Nature of Christ, as it is Rom. 1.4.Rom. 1.4. Of the Seed of David, according to the flesh, but declared mightily to be the Sonne of God with power, according to the spirit of sanctification, or holinesse, by the resurrection from the dead. The opposition shewes, that Spirit is taken there for the Divine Nature of Christ. He had spoken in the Verse before, concerning his humane nature, he was made of the Seed of David, according to the flesh; and it followes, declared to be the Sonne of God, according to the spirit of holinesse, by the resurrection from the dead ▪ and so likewise, in 1 Pet. 3.18.1. Pet. 3.18. He was put to death in the flesh, …ut quickned in the spirit: He was put to death in his humane nature out quickned, and raysed, as he was God.
3For the third Person in Trinitie.The Spirit is taken likewise for the third Person in the Trinitie, the Holy-Ghost, the holy Spirit: And indeed, whatsoever God the Father, or God the Sonne doth graciously to man, it is done by the Spirit: For, as the holy Spirit is in the order of the Persons, so he is in the order of working: the Father workes from himselfe, the Sonne workes from the Father, the holy Spirit from them both; the holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, and the Sonne, as a common Principle: Therefore, sometimes the Father is sayd to rayse Christs Body, by his Spirit; Christ is sayd to do things by the Spirit. Here in this place, it is especially to be understood of Christs Divine Nature, not excluding the Holy-Ghost: For, as the Holy-Ghost, in the Incarnation, sanctified his flesh, the second Person tooke flesh, but the third Person sanctified it; so in the Resurrection of Christ, the second Person that raysed it selfe up, but yet it was by the Holy-Ghost too. So, when there is mention here of Christ justified by the Spirit, that is, by his God-head, and by the Holy-Ghost, which he alway used, not as an instrument, for the Holy-Ghost is a common Principle with himselfe, one with himselfe, of equall dignitie, onelyonly differing in the order of Persons: Whatsoever Christ did, he did with the Spirit; that must not be excluded. Christ was as well justified in the Spirit, as God, as manifest in our nature to be man.
And this was in the time of his abasement: in the greatest extremitie of abasement, there was somewhat that came from Christ, to justifie him that he was the Sonne of God,God-head appeared in Christs abasement. the true Messias: there is no part of his abasement, but some beams of his God-head did breake forth in it.
He was made flesh; but he tooke upon him the flesh of a Virgin: Could that be otherwise then by the Spirit, to be borne of a Virgin, she remaining a Virgin? When he was borne, he was layd in a Manger; indeed, there was God in the low estate of the flesh: I, but the Wisemen worshipped him, and the Starre directed them; there he was justified in the Spirit. He was tossed when he was asleepe in the Ship, but he commanded the Winds and the Waves: He wanted Money to pay Tribute, as he was abased; but to fetch it out of a Fish, there he was justified: the one, was an argument of his povertie, and meanenesse; but the other was an argument, that hee was another manner of person then the World tooke him for; that he had all the creatures at his command. He was apprehended as a Male-factor, but he struck them all down with his word, Whom seeke yee?
Come to the greatest abasement of all: when he was on the Crosse, he hung betweene two Theeves; I, but he converted the one of them. When the Theefe had so much discouragement, to see his Saviour hang on the Crosse; yet hee shewed such power in that abasement, that the very Theefe could see him to be a King, and was converted by his Spirit. He did hang upon the Crosse; but at the same time there was an Eclipse, the whole World was darkned, the Earth trembled, the Rocks brake, the Centurion justified him; Doubtlesse, this was the Sonne of God. He was sold for thirtie pence; but he that was sold for thirty pieces, did redeeme the whole World by his bloud.
Nay,Christ at the lowest, did the greatest works. at the lowest degree of abasement of all, when he struggled with the wrath of God, and wat beset of Devils; then he triumphed: when he was visibly overcome; then invisibly he overcame: he was an invisible Conqueror, when he was visibly subdued: For, did he not on the Crosse satisfie the wrath of God, and by enduring the wrath of God, free us from it, and from Satan, Gods Gaoler, and reconcile us by his bloud? The chiefe workes of all, were wrought in his chiefe abasement. At length he died, and was buried: I, but he that died, rose againe gloriously; therefore he was mightily declared to be the Sonne of God, by raysing himselfe from the dead: That was the greatest abasement, when he lay in the Grave; and especially then he was justified, by his Resurrection from the dead, and his Ascension, in his state of Glorification especially. So, if we goe from Christs birth, to his lowest degree of abasement, there was alway some manifestation of his justification by the Spirit.
He was justified in a double regard.Christ justified
In regard of God,1In regard of God. he was justified, and cleared from our sinnes that he tooke upon him; He bore our sinnes upon the Tree, and bore them away, that they should never appeare againe to our discomfort. He was made a Curse for us: How came Christ to be cleared of our sinnes, that lay upon him? When by the Spirit, by his Divine Nature, he raysed himselfe from the dead; so he was justified from that that God layd upon him, for he was our Suretie: Now the Spirit raysing him from the dead, shewed that the Debt was fully discharged, because our Suretie was out of Prison. All things are first in Christ, and then in us; he was acquitted and justified from our sinnes, and then we.
2In regard of men.And then he was justified by the Spirit, from all imputations of men, from the mis-conceits that the World had of him; they thought him to be a meere man, or a sinfull man. No; he was more then a meere man; nay, more then a holy man, he was God-man. Whence were his Miracles? Were they not from his Divine Power? He overcame the Devill,By overcomming the Devill. in his temptations: Who can overcome the Devill, but he that is the Sonne of God? He cast out the Devils, and dispossest them with his Word. All the enemies of Christ that ever were, at length he conquered them, and so declared himselfe mightily to be (as he was) the Sonne of God. By healing the outward and inward man.He healed the outward man, and the inward man, by his Divine Power; he caused the spirituall as well as the bodily eyes to see, the dead to live, and the lame to goe, &c. Whatsoever he did in the bodie he did in the soule likewise; in those excellent Miracles he was justified, and declared to be the Sonne of God, especially in his Resurrection and Ascension, and daily converting of soules by his Ministerie; all being done by his Spirit, which is his Vicar in the World, ruling his Church, and subduing his enemies; so that he was every way justified in the Spirit to be God, to be the true Messias prophesied of, and promised to the Church. Therefore he was justified in his Truth, that all the Promises were true of him; and in his faithfulnesse, that he was faithfull in performing the Promises he made; he was justified in his goodnesse, and mercy, and all those attributes; he was justified in the Spirit.
But you will say,Object. it seemes he was not justified in the Spirit: There are many Heretikes, that thinke not Christ to be God, that take not Christ to be so glorious as he is.
I answer;Answer. when we speake of the justifying of Christ,To whom Christ is justified. it is meant to those that have eyes to see him, to those that shut not their eyes; hee was justified to be so great as he was to those whose eyes the god of the world had not blinded, to all that were his: as it is excellently set downe, Iohn 1.14.Iohn 1.14. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glorie as the glorie of the onelyonly begotten Sonne of the Father, full of Grace and Truth. We beheld his glorie; we did, others did not take notice: but they were those, whose eyes the god of this world hath blinded, the malicious Scribes and Pharises, that sinned against the Holy-Ghost, and would never acknowledge Christ; an ignorant people, that had not Faith, nor the Spirit of God. He was justified by the Spirit of God, to all that had spirituall eyes to see and take notice of his course; as S. Iohn sayth in one of his Epistles, What we have seene and heard, and our hands have handled, the Word of Life, that we declare to you: So, that he was God manifest in the flesh, and he shewed himselfe to be the Word of Life, to those that were his Apostles and Disciples, and those that were converted by him. As we see S. Peter, when he had felt his Divine Power upon his heart, by his Preaching: Lord (sayth he) thou hast the words of eternall life, whither shall we goe? He felt the Spirit, in his preaching. And so another time, S. Peter, in Matth. 16.Matth. 16. he confessed him to be the Sonne of the living God. You see to whom he was justified, and declared to be the true Messias, to be God as well as man, by his Spirit.
Christ justified himselfe.The reason why he justified himselfe to be so, it was the more to strengthen our Faith;1To strengthen our Faith. all his Miracles, were but so many sparkles of his Divine Nature, so many expressions of his Divine Power. And after he was raysed from the dead, at his Ascension, and sending of the Holy-Ghost, he shewed his Divine Power more gloriously, and all to strengthen the Faith of the Elect,2To stop the mouthes of gaine-sayers. and to stop the mouthes of all impudent rebellious persons: For, considering that he wrought such Miracles, that he raysed men from the dead, and raysed himselfe; considering, that he called the Gentiles, and converted the World, by the Ministerie of weake men; he shewed, that hee was more then a man. Well, to make some use of this, that Christ was