Eleven Choice Sermons, Part 2 · Sermon 2
1 Corinth. 2. 2.
For I determined to know nothing among you, but Chriſt Jeſus, and him Crucified.
MArlorat upon this place, obſerves two things out of Calvin, and thoſe both of ſpeciall conſequence. 1. Quid docendum: What is the dutie of every Minister. 2. Quid diſcendum: What is the duty of every man. The duty of every Miniſter is expreſly implyed, in the particular example of Pauls determination: the duty of every man is directly deduced by an eaſie conſequence out of the nature of Relation. For if the dutie of the teacher be to teach Christ, and nothing but Chriſt, as it appeares in Paul, who determined to know nothing, but Chriſt Ieſus, and him Crucified: then the duty of the learner can be nothing elſe, but to learne to know Chriſt Ieſus and him crucified.
The Miniſters duty is more naturall to the ſcope of the Text: the duty of every man is more generall in the order of nature; ſo that they may both challenge and ſtrive for the precedency. Therefore I determined to take an indifferent courſe: The laſt time I handled the former, ſo farre as it made for the clearing of the Text, but deſcended not to any ſpecialties: wherein I pointed only what was the dutie of the Miniſter, generally out of the Context, particularly in the words.
And leaſt any man ſhould object, that Paul indeed did thus, but we are not pinned to his ſleeve, we live not by examples, & nos habemus Spiritum Sanctum, I ſhewed how his example did conteine, not only a precept concerning the argument of preaching, but alſo an argument to provoke us to the obſervation of that precept. For it was,
1. Paul, who was brought up at Gamaliels feet, rapt up into the third heaven, taken for a god at Lyſtra, even Mercurie the god of Eloquence; if Paul then be exemplified for this humble vaine of preaching, who then is exempted?
2. Paul did it not out of rudeneſſe, or raſhneſſe, but he deliberated what was beſt to be done, and determined of this.
3. He determined not ſo much as to know, as if he ſhould ſay, deleo dehinc ex animo omnes, foreign.
4. Not to know any thing, not a foreign, not a tittle of any thing.
5. Not any thing, no, not among the Corinthians, among you, rich, learned Graecians, Corinthians. All which inferre, or rather inforce this concluſion.
That if Paul upon theſe termes would not, then no Miniſter, upon any termes must preach any thing, but Chriſt Ieſus, and him crucified.
And thus much I thought good to premiſe concerning the firſt, Quid docendum, what is the duty of every Miniſter, becauſe it ſeemes to be ſomthing more ſpecially intended in the verſe: now I come to the ſecond.
Quid diſcendum, What is the duty of every man, which I will proſecute, becauſe it is more generally extended in uſe: or rather I come to the Doctrine which is common to both, and out of which both of them are derived. The Doctrine is this.
That the knowledge of Chriſt Ieſus crucified, is ſufficient to ſalvation.
Which in a word juſtifies both Pauls determination, as a reaſon, and warrants Calvins obſervation, for the duty both of Preacher and People, as a ground and foundation: therefore ſeeing the whole frame of this building lies upon it, it will not be amiſſe to take a ſpeciall view of it.
The riſe of this Doctrine out of theſe words is evident: for if Paul who was ſent by God to preach ſalvation to thoſe that believe, determined to preach nothing among them but Ieſus Chriſt and him crucified, then either that was ſufficient to that end, or els it muſt needs be, that he either weakly conceived of the means, and ſo was unskilfull; or wilfully concealed ſome part of them, and ſo was unfaithfull in his office; but it were blaſphemy to ſay ſo; for, as for his fitneſſe he was not inferiour to the greateſt Apoſtles; and as for his fidelitie, he revealed to them the whole will of God: and this very place, (ſo eminent it was) propounds him as an exemplary patterne: and therefore I thinke it is firme out of this place, That the knowledge of Chriſt Ieſus crucified is ſufficient to ſalvation.
Now that we may the more diſtinctly conceive of this truth, I will endeavour to cleare theſe two things.
1. That Chriſt Ieſus is a ſufficient Saviour.
2. That faith (for this I underſtand here by knowledge) is ſufficient to make him our Saviour: For theſe two things muſt conſidered in our ſalvation, the appretiation, (that I may ſo ſpeak) and the appropriation, the gift, and the conveyance, and both theſe are comprehended in that propoſition: for, Christ crucified is the price paid, which is made ours by faith, when his ſpirit enlightening our minds to apprehend his mercy, and inclining our wils to imbrace it, unites us to our Saviour: and if there be any defect in the ſufficiencie, it muſt needs be, either becauſe Chriſt is not a ſufficient Saviour, or, becauſe faith is not ſufficient to make him our Saviour: but neither of theſe can be.
1. For the firſt, That Chriſt is a ſufficient Saviour: I will firſt point out what Salvation is: and ſecondly, prove that Christ hath wrought it ſufficiently.
1. By Salvation, I meane the Summum bonum, the utmoſt end, the chief happineſse of man, which cannot conſiſt in any thing in the world, ſave in his conjunction and conformity with his Creator: For the Lord made all things for man, and man for himſelfe. Indeed he imprinted the veſtigia of his power, and wiſdome, and all his Attributes, in the glorious workemanſhip of the World; but as for all other creatures, though they contain the arguments of his praiſe, written in golden Letters, yet they have no eye to read them, though they obey the word of his will, for he did but ſay, let it be ſo, and it was ſo, yet it was without a free and voluntarie obedience; therefore it pleaſed God to create man, who might glorifie him in the carefull obſervation of his wiſdome, written in the volume of his workes, and in the chearfull obſervance of his will ingraven in the table of his heart; and for this cauſe was he made, as he was the image of God, in ſcience and ſanctitie; and on this condition was he made the Lord of all the creatures, that in their names that could not, he might that could, offer the tribute of praiſe to his Lord and Maker. And this was the reaſon, that man was the laſt of all his workes, as though all proceeded from him, but ended in man, and man only ſtood betweene them and God, receiving all the profit of them with the one hand, and re-delivering all the praiſe of them with the other hand, into the hands of the Lord. This then was the end of man, in the obſervation of his wiſdome, and the obſervance of his will to glorifie God, and this ſhould have beene his honour, and his happineſſe.
Perhaps you doe not well underſtand yet what I meane by Salvation; neither indeed can you well underſtand it, till you have conſidered the ſtate that man now is in: and therefore I pray give me leave to touch it briefly.
I ſay then that every man of us, every mothers ſonne is born by nature a veſſell of wrath, a vaſſall of Satan, an enemy to God, and all goodneſſe. If you aske me whence this comes, I anſwer as Chriſt in another caſe, Ab initio non fuit ſic: for as I told you before, and now tell you againe, Man was created the moſt glorious piece of this goodly frame, a Citizen of Heaven, Inhabitant of Paradiſe, Brother of the Angels, Lord of the Creatures, Sonne of the Almightie, even the glorious image of the Lord of glory, the lively picture of the living God, his body being graced with many ornaments, and his ſoule adorned with many graces, ſo that Heaven and Earth might ſeeme to have beene maried in his making.
Now, then man was no ſooner made but he rebelled againſt his maker, he that was right, was fat and kicked againſt his Lord, and we in him:foreign ▪ we were, ſonnes of prevarication, and the †foreignſonnes of perdition, Ex illo fluere, from that fountaine ſprings all our miſerie: we have all ſinned againſt the Lord, and therefore this great evil is upon us: hence it is that our minds are blind, the Crowes of the valley have picked out our eyes: our wil's lame to any thing that is good, our nature catcht a fall, like Mephiboſheth, in the cradle of her infancie, and we could never outgrow it: hence it is that our bodies are ſubject to deformities, infirmities, death, our ſoules and bodies to the wrath of God, which lies heavie upon us here, proſecuting us with armies of plagues, and will never leave us till it hath brought us (unleſſe his mercy prevent us) to eternall torments, and ſunck us into the bottome of Hell.
No marvaile then, if Plato complaine that the ſoule hath broke her wings: if Poets tell us of an iron age: if whole volumes be filled with declamations of the brevitie of mans life, and the miſeries of mankind. No, I marvaile not, if they who had but one eye ſaw theſe things, even through the cloudes of obſcuritie: I marvaile rather, that among Chriſtians, who have both their eyes, the eye of reaſon, and the eye of faith, and beſides, live in the Sunneſhine of the Goſpell, ſo few ſee this, as they did, or at leaſt, the reaſon of this, which they could not.
I marvaile I heare no more cry out with S. Paul, O miſerable man that I am, who ſhall deliver me from this body of death! for if Paul ſo pathetically cryed out, who could ſo triumphantly give thanks; how much more juſtly may we, if we cannot adde that which follows, reiterate the ſame againe, and ſay? O miſerable man that I am, who ſhall deliver me from this body of death!
Ye ſee now the miſery of a naturall man, conſiſting in the conſcience of ſinne, and the conſequence of ſinne, the fault and the guilt, malum culpae, malum poenae: this is the miſerie of man, which eſtranges him farre from the ſtate of happines: and out of this ye may gather what ſalvation is. For every Salve ſuppoſes a Sore, and the ſore is ſinne and paine, and therefore the ſalve is that which will free us from this horrible condition: and reſtore, and re-eſtate us into the favour of the Lord, and ſo into our former felicitie. This is that which I meane by Salvation.
And thus am I falne into the ſecond point, That Chriſt is a ſufficient Saviour. The Sunne ſhines not ſo cleare in his ſtrength, as this truth I hope ſhall ſhine, though through my weakneſſe: for, to let paſſe all that might bee alleadged for it, and to make uſe of thoſe grounds onelyonly, which have beene laid already. Yet it will be more then evident: for as you heard, Salvation is the redeeming us from that miſerable condition, in which by nature we lie plunged moſt deſervedly, and reſtoring us to that happy ſtate which we ſhould have enjoyed, had we continued in our integrity: But Christ Ieſus hath performed both theſe for us: therefore he is a ſufficient Saviour. The proofe of the Propoſition was provided for before: the Aſſumption I will make good in the parts. For firſt Chriſt hath redeemed us from all our miſery, whether ſinne, the roote, or puniſhment, the fruit be conſidered.
1. He hath taken away all ſinne, both our originall impuritie, by the originall purity of his manhood, which was therefore ſanctified in his conception, by the worke of the Holy Ghoſt, that it might be exempted from the common condition of corruption; and our actuall impietie, by the actuall obſervance of the whole Law of God. The Phariſees could not take him tripping in a word, though they laid many traines to intrap him. The High Prieſts could lay nothing to his charge, though they hired falſe witneſſes againſt him. Pilate himſelfe was conſtrained, through the innocencie of his cauſe, ceremonially to juſtifie him by waſhing his hands, though he were conſtrained through the importunitie of his enemies judicially to proceed againſt him, and ſo ſpill blood guiltleſſe. Thus was Chriſt Ieſus the Lambe without ſpot, the Iſraelite without guile, fairer then the children of men, that ſo he might take away the pollution of our nature, with which we were wholly defiled. And this was his active obedience, wherein hee did that which we ſhould have done, but could not, exactly fulfilling even the rigorous exaction of all Gods Commandements.
2. The Puniſhment of ſinne he tooke away likewiſe by ſuffering and overcomming that which we muſt have ſuffered, but could not overcome, even the full viols of Gods wrath, and the weight of his hand, the heavie weight of his heavie wrath, which was due to us for our offences: for he tooke not on him our nature only, but the infirmities of our nature: hee that was rich became poore for our ſakes, that we which were poore might be made rich: hee that was cloathed with majeſtie as with a garment, became naked, that we might be decked with the robes of his righteouſneſſe: he that was annointed with the oile of gladneſse above his fellowes, wept; that all teares might be wiped from our eyes: he whoſe throne was in the Heavens, wandred and had not whereon to reſt his head, that he might lead us, who had loſt our ſelves in the Labyrinth of ſinne, to eternall reſt, and fix us like ſtarres in the Firmament.
Doe you believe in him for theſe things (as he once ſaid to Nathaniel) follow me a little with your attention, and you ſhall ſee greater things then theſe: For he tooke upon him the chaſtiſements of our ſinnes, and bare the burden of our iniquities: he was accuſed, that wee might be acquitted; he was condemned, that wee might be condoned; he was accurſed, that wee might be acquitted; he was hanged upon the Croſſe and accounted a ſinner, that our ſinnes might be croſſed out of the booke of accounts, and we might be accounted holy and righteous, and wholly righteous. Who now ſhall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect? Take a view of all the enemies, they were three, like the three ſonnes, all terrible Gyants, terrible to all the ſonnes of Adam, Sinne, Death, and Hell. If the Lord had not beene on our ſide, may we now ſay, if the Lord had not beene on our ſide, they had ſwallowed us up quicke: But thanks be to God in Chriſt Ieſus, the net is broken, and we are eſcaped, and behold, they are dead that ſought our lives.
The Divell, like a Serpent in the Garden, ſtirred Adam to ſinne; and Sinne, like a Serpent in the Wilderneſſe, ſtung Iſrael to the death: but our Saviour hath overcome them all: he tamed the Serpent in the wilderneſſe, that tempted Adam in the Garden to ſinne: and he tooke out the ſting of ſinne, the Serpent of the Deſart, by the deſert of his ſuffering: for ſinne was the Serpent, and the ſting of ſin was death, and death he vanquiſhed in the grave, even in his owne denne, even on his owne dunghill. So that if death ſhould now reaſon that he hath us ſtill in captivitie, becauſe he hath us ſtill in keeping, we may ſay as Tully once to Atticus, O mors, ubi eſt acumen tuum? or rather as S. Paul prompteth us, O death, where is thy ſting? ô grave, where is thy victorie?
And thus was Christ the Lambe ſltaine, the price paid, the propitiatory ſacrifice for his choſen: and this was his paſsive obedience, whereby he ſuffered and overcame that which we ſhould have ſuffered, but could not have overcome, ſatisfying even the rigorous exaction of Gods exact juſtice: and theſe are both the parts of the payment, which he tendred up to God in our behalfe and for our behoofe: by which he hath not only freed us from our naturall miſery, which was the firſt part of Salvation, and hath beene ſhewed hitherto, but hath alſo filled us with all good things, which, as the former, conſiſts in two things, Holineſſe, and Happineſse.
Both which Chriſt hath furniſhed us withall, out of the rich ſtorehouſe of his merits; for what he did he did for us, and we are righteous in his righteouſneſſe; and what he merited, for us he merited; and we are victorious in his victorie: in a word, he hath cloathed us with an undefiled immaculate*foreign. robe of righteouſneſſe, and crowned us with an immortall†foreign. crown of glory: even in incorruptible crowne of inconceivable glory: with righteouſneſſe irreprehenſible, with glory incomprehenſible.
And if any man doubt yet of the ſufficiency of his ſatisfaction, weighing the heinouſneſſe of our tranſgreſſion: let that man conſider but who it was that did theſe things, and what the things were that he did and ſuffered, and then I hope he ſhall be ſufficiently ſatisfied. It was the Lord of glory that emptied himſelfe into the forme of a ſervant, it was the Lord of life, that ſhed his precious blood for us: he humbled himſelf to be a man, yea a ſervant, of whom it was every way true, if ever it were true,*foreign. there is one ſervant only which is maſter of the houſe: yea, not a man, a worme and no man: he humbled himſelfe to the death, the death of the croſse, the moſt ignominious, and ignoble death of all other… he deſcended out of the boſome of bleſſedneſſe, into the bottome of baſeneſſe: and therefore needes muſt his paſſion be very meritorious, whoſe perſon was ſo magnificent: his deſert muſt needs be great, whoſe deſcent was ſo glorious.
Neither need any man doubt of Gods acceptation: for beſide that which hath beene ſaid, that what he did, and what he ſuffered, it was for us, becauſe he was man: he tooke not the nature of Angels upon him, but of man; and it was ſufficient, becauſe hee was God, which adds infinite value to both: beſide this, I ſay, who could be ſo fit to reconcile man to God, as he who was both God and man? Man, quia ſolus Deus ſentire; God, quia ſolus homo ſuperare non potuit mortem quam pro nobis obire debuit: yea, and it was the counſell of the Lord, that this ſhould be the meanes to bring this to paſſe, and therefore hee laid his wrath upon him, which otherwiſe had beene injuſtice: his wrath, I ſay, ſo heavily upon him, that it wrung out ſtrange words, My God, my God, why hast thou forſaken me? and therefore, he that accounted him a ſinner for our ſakes, muſt needs accept of the ſacrifice that he offer'd for our ſins.
Now when I review all that I have ſaid for his ſufficiency, me thinks I need not have gone further off my text, for demonſtration of this truth; for Paul ſaith, he determined to know nothing but Chriſt Ieſus, and him crucified: therefore he is Chriſt, and Ieſus, and crucified, therefore he is an alſufficient Saviour: for theſe three, like the three termes of a Syllogiſme, draw in a demonſtrative Concluſion: like the three tongues that were written upon the Croſſe, Greeke, Latine, Hebrew, to witneſſe Christ to be the King of the Iewes, doe each of them in his ſeverall Idiom avouch this ſingular Axiom, that Chriſt is an alſufficient Saviour: and a threefold cord is not eaſily broken.
He was that Chriſt, which was annointed and appointed of God, for that purpoſe; and therefore, filled and furniſhed with all graces fit for the accompliſhment. According to the ſmell of thine Ointments, thy Name is an Ointment powred forth, therefore the virgins love thee, ſaith the Spouſe in the Canticles. His name is*foreign. the Annointed, and in him many graces concurred to make a full performance; as in a precious ointment, many ſpices concurre to make a ſweete perfume: Therefore the virgins love thee, the virgins that are pure in heart: hence they fetch Oyle for their Lamps, and therefore they burne in love: virgins love ointment for their beautie, thy Name is an ointment powred forth, therefore the virgins love thee: the wiſe virgins love thee, becauſe they are wiſe; and ſo would the fooliſh too, but that they are fooliſh:
2. This Christ was crucified for us: there was the whole box of ointment broken, and powred forth, there all the ſpices gave their ſmell,aforeign a ſweet ſmelling ſavour, which aſcended into the noſthrils of the Lord, and became to himbforeign a dutifull ſmell, in which he is well pleaſed: And therefore.
3. He muſt needs be Ieſus, whether you derive the name from the Greeke, as ſome have done,cforeign., to heale, more finely then fitly, and yet, more fit then finely: for he hath healed all our infirmities, by the merit of his blood, and the annointing of his Spirit: or from the Hebrew, as it is moſt truly, for he hath ſaved us from our ſinnes, from all our ſinnes, and therefore is a true Ieſus, a Saviour, a perfect Saviour, (for ſo the Angell that impoſed his name expounded it) And therefore is an Angell from Heaven preach any other doctrine then this, let him be accurſed, ſaith S. Paul.
I need not heape up any more, yet it will not be amiſſe to let you heare the voice of the Scripture, where, to omit the common conſent of the whole frame and phraſe of the booke, and the murmure of every letter, which all of them proclaime this truth: and beſide thoſe words of note, which note thus much every where, as,dforeign Grace by Chriſt did overflow and ſuperabound, andeforeign. the riches of grace, fforeign.the exceeding great love of Christ, andgforeign. the bredth, and the length, and the height, and the depth of love. A man would thinke that Paul had ſpent all his Arts, all his Rhetorick, in Pleonaſmes, and Hyperbolies: his Geometry, in taking the height of his deſert, and could not attaine it. And indeed, they are words of wonder, wondrous words, or rather, as he ſayes, †foreign.wonders, not*foreign. words, to expreſſe his abſolute perfection: to omit all theſe, I ſay, I will content my ſelfe with two or three witneſſes to ratifie it, which ſhall be paſt exception.
Iohn 1. 29. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the ſinne of the world, ſaith Iohn Baptiſt of Chriſt. Will you believe the Lords Meſſenger, Behold the Lamb, what ſhall we behold in a Lamb? Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the ſinnes of the World, Iohn 19. 30. It is finiſhed, (ſaith Chriſt Ieſus himſelfe) It, what? the Redemption of mankind: what of the Redemption? It is finiſhed: will you believe the Lord and Maſter? Let no man think to thruſt his Sickle into another mans harveſt, for it is finiſhed. Matth. 3. laſt. This is my welbeloved ſonne, in whom I am well pleaſed, ſaith God the Father: This, which? even Chriſt Ieſus: what of Chriſt? This is my welbeloved ſonne, in whom I am well pleaſed: will you believe the Lord and Maker? Let no man feare any after reckoning, the Lord will looke for no more, he will take no more, for he is already pleaſed, for in his welbeloved ſonne, he is well pleaſed.
I thinke there's no man can ſlight the credit of theſe witneſſes: for Iohn, *foreign,hee ſaid no more then he ſaw: and Chriſt, †foreign,he affirmed no more then he performed: and God, *foreign.ſpoke that which be received, his acquittance could be no larger then his acceptance: and therefore needs muſt all theſe make it irrefragable.
Neither was their witneſſe a perfunctory teſtimoniall, but a peremptory proofe of his fufficiencie: for Iohn was nothing but a voice, and †foreignthe voice of a cryer, and yet this is all that he ſaid with ſuch earneſt contention, and God ſaid it, not in a ſilent manner, whiſpering; not in a ſecret place, but it was a*foreign. voice from Heaven: and Chriſt ſaid it not in his ordinary ſpeech, but when he was upon the Croſſe, then he ſaid a †foreign.great voice, as S. Matthew and S. Marke note: then he ſaid it with his laſt breath, and ſeald it with his deareſt blood. And therefore I hope that this will ſuffice to have ſpoken of his ſufficiencie.
I come now to the ſecond point, That Faith is ſufficient to make him our Saviour: which I will handle according to my former order, but exceeding briefly. 1. What faith is, viz. out of the true ſence of our own miſery by nature, and ſweet apprehenſion of Gods mercy offered, an humble denyall of our ſelves, and all creatures, and confident relying on the mercy of the Lord in Christ Ieſus: This may ſerve for a weake delineation of that worthy grace, framed according to the proportion of my former principles.
And that this is ſufficient, needs no more proof, but to point at that which ye have heard already: for ſeeing our Salvation muſt be wrought by another, and he that wrought it is Chriſt, what can be further requiſite, then that Chriſt and his merits be made ours, which can be done by faith only: beſide which, there can be no other affection betweene God and man: for the Spirit of God is the bond that unites and knits us to Chriſt by faith: and faith is the hand that receives the treaſure of Chriſts merits, that inrich us: and Chriſt is all our riches: for being once tranſplanted out of the old Adam, and ingrafted into the new, which is Chriſt, and made one with him, the Lord cannot chuſe but repute us righteous, through the imputation of his righteouſneſſe.
Hence it is, that all our ſinnes are remitted and blotted out of the booke of remembrance, and our ſelves re-admitted into his favour, and into his family: hence it is, that we are adopted to be his ſonnes, and adorned with his ſonnes holineſſe: hence it is, that the curſe of our ſinnes is take away, and we have peace with God and all his creatures, the Angels pitch their Tents about us, and the ſtones of the field are in league with us: for it is written, He hath given his Angels charge over us, to preſerve us in all our wayes, leaſt at any time we ſhould hurt our foot againſt a ſtone: hence it is, that the old man, with the luſts of the ſame, dye in us, and decay, and the new man is renewed daily.
As ſoone as we begin to believe in the Lord Ieſus, the ſcales fall from our eyes, that we can not only read in the book of the Scripture, the will of God, which before, was a booke cloſed, a booke ſealed up to us, but alſo lift up our eyes to Heaven, and looke into the volumes of eternitie, and read our names written in the booke of life: The ſhackels alſo fall from our feet, and we being inlarged, are enabled, not only to walk in the Lords Statutes, but alſo, to run the way of his Commandements.
And though we groane under the burden of our ſinnes, ſo long as we live here cloathed with this body of death; yet we are freed from the bondage of them, and ſtill grow on to perfection: which then wee ſhall attaine, when we ſhall bee tranſlated into the Heavens: where we ſhall receive the end of our faith, even the ſalvation of our ſouls, through his mercy, who hath ſo dearely bought us, and brought us thither: where we ſhall enjoy the bleſſed preſence of God, in whoſe preſence, there is fulneſſe of joy, and pleaſure for evermore.
Bleſſed are the people that are in ſuch a caſe, in ſuch a place, yea, bleſſed are the people whoſe God is the Lord. But all this is made ours by faith only, which entitles us to the merits of Christ, who purchaſed it for us: therefore faith is ſufficient. I ſhould now juſtifie this by Scripture, but to ſay truth, this truth and this Text, is the only ſcope of the Scripture, the theme of Theologie, the pith of all piety: and therefore becauſe it deſerves ſome better obſervation, I will deferre it to ſome better opportunitie.
Μόνῳ τῷ Θεῷ δόξα.