Commentary Upon Colossians, Sermon 3
The third Sermon.
COLOSS. 1. 4.
4 Since wee heard of your faith in CHRIST IESVS, and of your louelove towards all Saints.
WE hauehave heard the laſt day of the prayer and of the thankſ-giuing giuen by the Apoſtle vntounto God for the Coloſſians. Now followeth to ſpeake of the cauſes of the thankeſ-giuing, the matter was for their faith towards CHRIST, and louelove towards all Saints: theſe are the cauſes of the thankeſ-giuing and prayers, the Apoſtle made daylie and ordinarily for the Saints at Coloſſe.
Doctrine. Theſe thinges we are to pray and giuegive God thanks for, eſpecially in others. Queſt. Queſt. How cometh it to paſſe that there being diuers guiftes beſtowed on the Coloſſians, yet the Apoſtle prayſeth God and prayeth to him for theſe onelyonly? Seing there is nothing, but which is receaued from God all, he is to be prayſed and prayed vntounto for them: eſpecially ſeing he before wiſhed them peace, Viz. All temporall benefits, and hauing prayed to God for theſe, why did he not thanke God for them, as health, peace &c?
Anſwer. The reaſon that the Apoſtle made choiſe of faith and louelove, not of other (though heFaith and charitie are graces chiefly to be deſired, and God is chiefly to be praiſed for them, as being the Cardinall vertues of Chriſtians. was not vnmindfull of them) is to teach vsus what gifts we are eſpecially to pray for, & deſire of God, and to giuegive thanks for, being receiued. Where he meeteth with the corruption of men, that will pray, and deſire worldly thinges, and will labour mightely in the comforts of this preſent life, and neuer make mention of theſe, which are principal, whereas the other are but ſweepinges, and thoſe thinges which are to be caſt to dogs, in compariſon, and as dung and droſſe, nay leſſe then nothing in compariſon of CHRIST, and the thinges belonging to him, which are of moſt ſingular price. As if a manNote. ſhould be carefull for the hangings of a houſe, and hauehave no care for a houſe to put them in, or to lye in: and for the boſſes of the bridle, and not the bridle: for the traps of the horſe, and hauehave neuer a horſe to ride vponupon. And therefore the Apoſtle ſets downe theſe two, notwithſtanding he gaue God thankes for eueryevery bleſſing, they had receaued.
Perticularly he firſt bindeth and lim…teth faith toChriſt is the obiect of faith. the obiect, which is CHRIST, by whom, by our faith we lay hould on God and his promiſes: therefore CHRIST ſaith: Beleeue in God, but beleeue Ioh. 14. 1.in me alſo, as if he ſhould ſay, ye cannot beleeue in God vnles ye beleeue in me firſt, for none can ſee the father but by the ſonne. And as the Apoſtle ſaith God dwelleth in light, that none can come vntounto, but by2. Tim. 6. 16. CHRIST, without whom we are vntounto God as ſtubble to the fier.
And as a man cannot looke on the ſunne withoutNote. hurt of his eyes, vnles there be a cloud betweene, ſo God the father, ſonne, and holy Ghoſt, is as a ſunne, that vnles the cloud of CHRIST, the mediator, come betweene vsus, we cannot behold the ſunne-ſhine of Gods glorie. And without the ſcreene of CHRISTS mediation we cannot come neere to God, which isHeb. 12. 29. a conſuming fire. Now by CHRIST we come neere to God boldly and lay hold on him.
Doctrine. Further, here he ſets forth that we are not to beleue in any but CHRIST, not in any Angel or Saint, as the Virgin Mary, as the Church of Rome and the Papiſts wretchedly expound the Articles of our faith. For faith onelyonly layeth hold on God and cannot be communicated to any. Indeed louelove ſpreadeth it ſelfe to men; but faith is onelyonly in Gods promiſes. For as it is ſaid, Thou ſhalt …oue the Lord thy God Deut. 6. 5. Et. 10. 20.and him only ſhalt thou ſerue, and ſith faith is the chiefeſt worſhip and ſeruice of all, and the inſtrument ofMath. 4. 10. all true worſhip, it ought onelyonly to layd hold on God in CHRIST; LoueLove to the Saintes) here we ſee to whom louelove properly belonges, namely to the Saintes who are (as we hauehave heard) iuſtified by CHRIST and hauehave his righteouſneſſe imputed vntounto them, and hauehave the beginning of holineſſe in them, which is the true feare of God.
The Apoſtle doth not here ſhut out all men, euen thoſe that are aliens from the houſe of God, for the Iewes, Turkes &c. are our neighbours and of our fleſh, as the Apoſtle ſaith, and therefore to be prayed for. Here we are to examine our ſelues whether we hauehave true louelove or no, Viz. if we louelove the Saints Ʋiz. thoſe that are ioyned to vsus in the bond of Chriſtianitie: for our louelove is vſually ſo ſtrait laced, that it cannot goe from our ſelues, and if it goe to our wiues and thoſe in our houſe: yet ſo poore it is, that it cannot goe out of our doores ouer our threſhold, where as we are to louelove others, euen thoſe that hate vsus, to ſpeake well of thoſe that ſpeake ill of vsus.Math. 5.
And our louelove muſt be to all the Saintes, to the poore aſwell as to the rich, whom Saint Iames meeteth with and ſayeth: If a poore man, though of the true religion, come in, he is bid to goe behind the dore and to ſit at our foot-ſtoole; if one rich he isIames. 2. 3. 4. exalted: whereas true louelove doth embrace euen all, that doe profeſſe the truth. Here Saint Iames diſcouereth the hipocriſy of men in their excuſes: why (will they ſay) are not we to louelove our neighbours? and the rich men are our neighbours. True, he is your neighbour, but if you louelove him, why doe you not louelove him alſo, that is poore, which is more neare peraduenture, if he be a profeſſor: and againe if your louelove be to the rich, becauſe of the commaundement of God, then ye will louelove the poore aſwell as the rich. As if for the louelove of God ye abſtaine from adultery, theft, murder &c. Then ye will abſtaine from all other ſinnes, which are of the ſame nature, all the commaundements being of the ſame nature, comming from God, who is one and the ſame; and therfore if I abſtaine from one ſinne for the louelove ofNote. Gods ſake, I will aſwell abſtaine from another for that cauſe. And therefore this condemneth the common practize of men, that being blamed for ſome one ſinne; as drunkeneſſe &c. will ſay I am no theefe, no murderer &c, and ſo will iuſtifie himſelfe. But if he hauehave no conſcience of that ſinne he is guilty of allIames. 2. 10. other. Indeed a man by infirmity may faile, and be inclining to one ſinne more then to another, but if he hauehave no ſtrife againſt it nor hatred of it, it is a ſure token that he is guilty of all other ſinnes, and hath no true hatred of any. He confirmeth their faith and louelove, by the true end, that there being a true end ofVerſe. 5. them, then their faith and louelove are true. The end is ye looke for reward in heauen, without which it were impoſſible your faith ſhould ſtand, and your louelove ſhould be ſupported: for there are ſo many aſſaults befalling vntounto vsus, in this preſent life, which would ouerthrow our faith and quench our louelove, vnles it were ſupported by the hope of euerlaſting life. Therefore in the Epiſtle to the Hebrewos it is comparedHeb. 6. 19. to an Anchor: yet there is difference: for as men caſt their Anchor into the ſea, to be faſtned in the earth, ſo this is faſtned in heauen, that no ſtorme of tentation, or trouble ſhall be able to breake it of.
Queſt. Queſt. Whether is it lawfull for a man in looking to the reward to vſe it as a ſpur to doe good things, where the Papiſts charge vsus wrongfully, that we hould that it is not lawfull to doe good workes, in regard of euerlaſting life, nor to auoid ſinne, in regard of the iudgement of hell.
Solution. Anſwer. We profeſſe and hould, that if there be nothing els but euerlaſting life that we doe good for, there is no faith, nor louelove: If onelyonly I auoid ſinneNote. for the terror and feare of hell, no pitty and godlineſſe. But the principall regard of our doing good, is to glorifie God: and therefore our Sauiour ſaith, Let your light ſo ſhine before men, that ſeeing your good Math. 5. 16.workes, they may glorifie God, your heauenly father. And we are principally alſo to hauehave regard to auoid euill for the glory of God, but yet that doth not exclude the regard of our ſaluation. Our reward, which our hope looketh vntounto, is layd vp, as a treaſure very ſafe, and this is laid vp in heauen with God. Doctrine. And therefore teacheth vsus that the faith of Gods children is without doubting, contrarie to the papiſts, who will hauehave doubting, therefore the Apoſtle ſaith; bleſſed be our Lord IESVS CHRIST, by whom we hauehave giuen vntounto vsus an inheritance, which is reſerued for vsus;
Comparing the ſpirituall Canaan to the Land of promiſe. And this is (ſaith he) an inheritance, which cannot be polluted by wicked men, and which cannot be taken away, as that was, nor made barren, as that is now, by the ſinnes of the Iewes, which was once flowing with milke and honey, contrarie to the wretched cauils of certaine Atheiſts, who becauſe it is now barren, will goe about to falſifie Moſes. And ſaith he, it is layd vp for you in ſafety, and ye are kept and layd vp for it, and preſerued, that nether it ſhall be taken from you, nor you can be loſt, or kept from it.
The end of the third Sermon.