Looking Unto Jesus, Book 10 · Chapter 1 · Section 9
SECT. IX. Of Chriſt's Subjection to the Father, that God may be all in all.
1 Cor. 15.28.9. FOR the end of Chriſt's Subjection to his Father that God may be all in all. Surely this is the meaning: Chriſt therefore Subjects himſelf unto his Father, that God himſelf might be all in all; that God may no more Reign by a Deputy, or by a Chriſt, but that immediately and perfectly he may reign by himſelf, ſo that every one may ſee him face to face. Here we enjoy God (as it were) by means as in the uſe of the Word, and Sacraments, and the like, but when that Kingdom (where theſe Adminiſtrations are made uſe of) ſhall be delivered up, then ſhall God himſelf be all in all, without means, without defect, without end.
It is obſervable that Chriſt in his mediatory Kingdom hath ſome ſuch things as bear an Analogy to the means and inſtruments of governing in the Kingdomes of men; As, 1. He hath his Militia and his Laws, with threatnings and promiſes, in the ordinances of his Word. 2. He hath his grants, and ſeals, with many priviledges to confirm his people in the Ordinances of his Sacraments. 3. He hath his Officers and Embaſſadours for the management of ſpiritual affairs in the Ordinances of his Miniſtry; but the ceaſing of Chriſt's Kingdom is the ceaſing of all theſe; and he therefore ceaſeth his Kingdom that God may immediately ſucceed all theſe; without any means, or without any Mediatour at all, he himſelf may be inſtead of all; or all in all.
In proſecution of this, I ſhall diſcuſs. 1. The meaning, what it is for God to be all in all. 2. The particulars, wherein more eſpecially is God all in all.
1. For the meaning; it is a periphraſis of our compleat enjoyment of God: that God may be all in all, is as much as to ſay, that we may enjoy God alone to all purpoſes, neither wanting nor willing any thing beſides himſelf; for a perſon to be all in all to me, it is to have an enjoyment of that perſon to all purpoſes, ſo that I neither do; nor need I to enjoy any thing beſides himſelf; thus God is to the Saints in glory, he is their exceeding great reward; they need nothing elſe beſides himſelf, their very droughts of happineſs is taken in immediately from the fountain, and they have as much of the fountain as their ſouls in their wideſt capacity, can poſſibly hold.
2. For the particulars, wherein more eſpecially is God our all in all? I anſwer.
1. In our enjoying God immediately; here we enjoy God by means; either he communicates himſelf unto us through his Creatures, or through his Ordinances, and hence it is, that we know him but in part, we ſee him but in a glaſs darkly;1 Cor. 13.12. 1 John 3.2. but when he ſhall be our all in all, we ſhall ſee him face to face; we ſhall then ſee God as he is clearly and immediately. Oh how excellent is this enjoyment above all preſent enjoyments here below? as the enjoyment of a friend in his picture, letters, tokens, is ſhort of what we enjoy when we have his perſonal preſence; or as the heat and light of the Sun through a cloud is beneath that heat and light when the glorious body of it is open to us without any interpoſition; even ſo all the injoyments of God in the uſe of means, graces, bleſſings, ordinances are infinitely inferior to that enjoyment of God which ſhall be without all means; all the raviſhments of our ſpirit in prayer, hearing, reading, meditating, is but a ſip of thoſe Rivers which we ſhall have in heaven. I know the remembrance of God in a private meditation is ſweet, Pſal, 104.34. and communion with God in any Ordinance is a feaſt of ſweetneſs and marrow, and fatneſs. Pſal. 63.5, 6. But when the ſoul ſhall immediately poſſeſs God, when this Kingdom of grace ſhall expire, and all the Adminiſtrations of it ſhall vaniſh away, will not the fountain be much more ſweet then all the ſtreams? ſurely feaſts, and ſweetneſs, and marrow, and fatneſs, are terms exceedingly too diminitive to give us any more than a ſmall hint of that incomprehenſible ſatisfaction by immediate communion. O the wonders of Heaven! there ſhall be Light without a candle, and a perpetual day without a Sun, there ſhall be health without phyſick, and ſtrength of Body without uſe of food; there ſhall be knowledge without Scriptures, and ſetled government without a written Law; there ſhall be Comunion without Sacraments, and Joy without promiſes to be its fewel; the ſoul in glory ſhall go ſtreight unto God, and immediately perticipate his glory and happineſs. 'Tis the compariſon of a Learned Divine, ſuppoſe you ſaw a company of Chryſtal Globes placed in a parallel line, becauſe their poſture will not admit the Suns immediate beams; we'll ſuppoſe another ſingle Globe ſet by the middle of them, to tranſmit the Sun-beams unto all thoſe Globes, by this means they all ſhine, though it be only by reflection; but when the Sun ſhall ſo come about, as that they may immediately receive its beams, there's no further uſe of the ſingle Globe then; ſo here, while we through our diſtance from God are uncapable of immediate enjoyment, there's a neceſſity of Chriſt's Mediation, but when all things that cauſe the diſtance are removed, and we brought into the preſence-chamber of God himſelf, ther's no ſuch need of a Mediator then. Now here is one thing, wherein he is our all in all, ſhall enjoy him immediately.
2. It conſiſts in our enjoying of God fully. Now I know in part (ſaith the Apoſtle) but then I ſhall know, even as I am known; 1 Cor. 13.12.our enjoyment of God is but here in its infancy, there it will be in its full age; here it is in drops, there it will be in the Ocean, here we ſee God's back parts, and we can ſee no more, but there we ſhall ſee his face, not his ſecond face (as ſome diſtinguiſh) which is his grace and favour enjoyed by Faith, but his firſt face, which is his Divine eſſence enjoyed by ſight. Yet I mean not ſo, as if the ſoul which is a creature could take in the whole Eſſence of God which is incomprehencible; but the ſoul ſhall, and muſt be ſo full of God, as that it ſhall not be able to receive, or deſire one jot more. And oh how excellent is this enjoyment above all preſent enjoyments? it is now our higheſt happineſs to have ſome glimpſes of his glory ſhining on us, and ſome drops of his favour diſtilled into us, oh but when God ſhall be our all in all, we ſhall have as much of God as our ſouls can hold, we ſhall have the glory of God ſo poured in, till we ſhall be able to receive no more. And here is that which gives the ſoul a full ſatisfaction; never would it be ſatisfied till it came to this; ſuppoſe that God would draw out all the beauty, ſweetneſs, goodneſs that he hath communicated to all Creatures in the world, and bring the quinteſſence of all, and communicate that unto the ſoul of one poor Saint, certainly it would not ſerve the turn, there muſt be a greater comunication before the ſoul be fully ſatisfied and reſt content; only once admit it into the glorious preſence of him who is all in all, and preſently it expires its infinite deſire into the boſome of that God; for there's enough to fill his ſpirit, he cannot deſire ſo much, but there is more and yet infinitely more; if there be enough in God for the ſprrits of all juſt men made perfect with God, if there be enough in God for Angels whoſe capacities are greater than the Saints, if there be enough in God for Jeſus Chriſt, whoſe capacity is yet far wider than the Angels, if there be enough in God for God himſelf, whoſe capacity is infinitely greater than them all; then there muſt needs be ſatisfaction enough in God to any one poor ſoul. Here is another thing wherein God is our all in all, we ſhall enjoy him fully.
3. It conſiſts in our enjoying God ſolely. Not as if there were nothing elſe in Heaven but onelyonly God; but that God in Heaven ſhall be all in all, and inſtead of all; it is God in Heaven that makes Heaven to be Heaven; the Saints bleſſedneſs, and Gods own bleſſedneſs doth conſiſt in the enjoyment of God himſelf; the Schoole-men tells us, that we ſhall not properly enjoy any thing elſe but only God; we may have ſome uſe of the Creatures, but no fruition; and therefore is God ſaid to be all, or as good as all. And indeed what can we imagine to be in Heaven, which is not eminently in God himſelf: if it be greatneſs, power, and glory, and victory, and majeſty, all theſe are his; if it be joy, or love, or peace, or beauty, or any thing amiable or deſirable, all theſe are in him. Hence ſome take it to be David's meaning, when he ſaid, he had none in Heaven but God; Pſal. 73.25.that the ſole enjoyment of God, (of God, and of nothing elſe but God) is the ſouls true happineſs, when it is at higheſt; whom have I in heaven but thee? whom? why there are Angels, there are Saints, there are the ſpirits of juſt and perfect men; are theſe nothing with David? O yes! all theſe are good, but they are not able to ſatisfie a ſoul without God himſelf. Whether God will make uſe of any Creatures for our ſervice then? or if any, of what Creatures? and what uſe? is more than I yet know; but to make up a full enjoyment there is required a gracious-glorious preſence, a ſweet effuſion or communication of that preſence, a juſt comprehenſion of the excellency of that communication, a perfect love, and a perfect reſt in the love of whatſoever it is we comprehend; now this is proper only to God; it is he only that fills the whole capacity of the Soul, it is he that ſo fills it that it can hold no more, it is he only that is the object of love intended to the utmoſt, and therefore he only is properly enjoyed, he only is poſſeſſed with a full contentment as portion enough, and as reward enough for the ſoul for ever.
But ſhall not the Saints have to do with ſomething elſe in Heaven, but only with God? O yes! I believe there ſhall be in Heaven a communion of the bleſſed Spirits in God, an aſſociation of the Saints and Angels of God: yet this ſhall not take away the ſole enjoyment of God, that he ſhould not be their all in all. For they ſhall not mind themſelves or their own good as created things, but altogether God; they ſhall not love them or one another as for themſelves, but only for God; here we love God for himſelf, and it is a gracious love; but there we ſhall love our ſelves for God, and 'tis a glorious love; why this is to enjoy God ſolely, in this reſpect he is all, and in all; whom have I in Heaven but thee?
Here's a point enough to wean us to the World. Alas! the time is coming on a pace,Ʋſe. that all this World ſhall be diſſolved, and then God ſhall be all in all; here lies the Saints happineſs to have God immediately, God fully, and God ſolely; and will not Saints prepare themſelves for ſuch a condition as this? you that have the World, uſe it as if not, 1 Cor. 7.31.for the faſhion of this World paſſeth away; and you that have but a little to do with the World, improve that condition; ſurely 'tis your own fault if you have not more to do with God, for you have little elſe to take up your hearts; God may dwell and walk in your hearts without diſturbance, give me neither poverty nor riches (ſaith the wiſe man upon that account) a mean condition is more capable of happyneſs than that which over-loads us with outward things; whilſt others are caſting up their accounts, you may ſay with David, how precious are thy thoughts unto me O God? Pſal. 139.17.how great is the ſum of them? whil'ſt others are following their ſuits at courts of Juſtice, you may follow all you have at a Throne of grace; whil'ſt others are numbring their Flocks and Heards, all your Arithmetick may be imployed to number your days; whilſt others cannot get out of the clutches of the world, you may get into the embraces of your God; why, this is to prepare your ſelves for fuller and fuller enjoyments of God; it is God will be all in all, and this is the very top of Heavens happyneſs; ſurely the leſs you have of the World now, if you can but improve it, the more you may have of Heavens happineſs even upon earth: for what is the happineſs of Heaven, but the ſole enjoyment of God? Chriſtians! if you feel any inclinations, pantings, breathings after this world, give me leave to tell you, that you will never be happy till you have loſt all, till you have no friends, nor eſtates, no enjoyment but God alone; when all his done, when this world is nothing, when means ſhall ceaſe, both for bodies and ſouls, and when Chriſt ſhall ceaſe his Mediators office, and the Son of man be Subject to his Father, then God ſhall be all in all.