Fellowship with God, Sermon 7
SERMON VII·
1 Joh. 1.3.
— And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Iesu… Christ.
Vers. 4.
And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
IT was sin that did f…rst break off that fellowship that was between God and man, and cut off that blessed society, in which the honour and happinesse of man consisted; but that fundamental bond being loosed, it hath likewise untyed all the links of society of men among themselves, and made such a general dispersion and dissipation of mankind, that they are almost like wild beasts, raging up and down; and in this, wilder then beasts, that they devour one another, which beasts do not in their own kind; and they are like fishes of the Sea, without rule and government. Though there be some remnants of a sociable inclination in all men, that shews it self in their combinings in societies, and erecting governments; yet generally that which is the true bond and ligament of men, which alone can truly knit them together, is broken, that is love, the love of God and our neighbours; And therefore notwithstanding of …ll the means used to reduce, and to contain mankind in order and harmony by government; yet there are nothing but continual rents, distractions, dissipations, divisions, and dissolutions in Commonwealths amongst themselves, and between Nations; so that all men may be represented as Lions, Tigers, Wolves, Serpents, and such like unsociable creatures, till the Gospel come to tame and subdue them, as it is often holden out in the Prophets, Isai. 2.4. and 11.6, 7, 8. and 65.25.
Now indeed you have here the express end and purpose of the Gospel, to make up these two great breaches in the creature, between God and men, and between men and men. It is a Gospel of peace; where ever it takes hold of mens spirits, it reduceth all to a peaceable temper, joyns them to God, …nd one to another: for the very sum and substance of it is the love of God to mankind, and proposed for this end, to engage the love of man again; and love is the glew, the cement that alone will conjoyn hearts unto this fellowship. It is a strange thing, and much to be lamented, that Christendome should be a field of blood, an Aceldama, beyond other places of the world: that where the Gospel is pretended to be received, that men have so far put off even humanity, as thus to bite and devour one another. Certainly it is, because where it is preached it is n…t believed: therefore sin taketh occasion by it to become the more sinful; alwayes let us take heed to this, that it is the great purpose and grand design of the Gospel preached to u…, to restor… us to a blessed society and fellowship with the Father, and withal, to a sweet fellowship amongst our selv…s; for both you see are here.
We are called to fellowship with the Father, …nd what is that? but to have the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ thy Father, and thou to be his son by adoption of grace: It is certainly the very marrow and extract of the whole Covenan…, and all the promises thereof, I will be your Father, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty, 2 Cor. 6.18. I go (saith Christ) to your Father and my Father, and to your God and my God. O what a sweet complication and interchange of relations, Iob. 20.17.
I will be your God, and ye shall be my people, he…e is the Epitome of all …appinesse and felicity; In this word all i… inclo…ed, and without this, nothing is to be found that deserves the desires of an immortal spirit: For hence it follows, that a soul is filled with the all-fulnesse of God, Eph. 3.19. for that is made over to thee who believes the Gospel, and thou hast as real a right and title to it, as men have to their f… thers inheritance. Then to have fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, is …nother branch of this dignity, and this is that which introduceth the other, Christ is the middle person, the Mediator between God and man, given for this end, to recover men from their woful dispersion, and separation from God, and reduce them …gain to that blessed society: and therefore our acquaintance, as it were, first begins with him, and by him we are led to the Father, No man can come to the Father but by the Son: Therefore, if you have his friendship, you have done the busines…, for he and his Father is one.
Now this fellowship, to branch it forth mor… particularly, is either real, or personal: Real, I mean, foreign Bonorum, a communion of all good things, a communion with him in his Nature, Offices, and Benefits, and thi… must be laid down as the foundation-stone of thi… fello… ship, he came near us, to partake of flesh and blood with us, that we might have a way, … ne… and living way consecrated, even the vail of his flesh, to come to God by; for certainly this gives boldnesse to a soul to draw near to God, with some expectation of successe and acceptation, when it is seriously considered, that our nature is so nearly conjoyned already to God; by this step a soul climbs up to the Majesty of God, and by means of this, we become partakers of the Divine Nature,, as God of Humane Nature, 2 Pet. 1.4. So by the same degrees we ascend to God, that God hath descended to us; he drew near us by our nature, and we by the intervention of that same ascend to him, and receive his image and stamp on our souls: for the Lord did stamp his own image upon Christs Humane N…ture, to make it a pattern to us, and to represent to us, as in a visible symbole and pledge, what impression he would put upon us: Then we have fellowship with him in his Offices, I need not branch them out severally, you k…ow what he was anointed for, to be a Priest ▪ to off…r s…crifice, and reconcile u… to God, an… …o make intercession for u…; to be … King, …o ru… us by his Word and Spirit, and defend u… …g…inst our enemies▪ to be … Prophet, to r…veal …he will of God to u…, … instruct us in … same. He…e …s … large field o… fellowship, we h…ve …dmit… an… … by faith in Jesus Christ, to th… real …dva…tage …nd benefit of …ll these▪ there i… nothing in them but it r…late… to us, …nd …edou…ds to us, the living ver…ue of that sacrifice, i… as fresh and recent this day, to send up … favour of rest …o Heaven, and to pacifie a troubled conscience, as the first day it was offered: That perfect sacrifice is as available to thy soul, as if thou had offered it thy self, and this day ye have the benefite of his prayers in Heaven, we partake of the strong cryes and tears in the days of his flesh, and of intercession since, more then of our own supplications. What shall I say? ye have one to teach you all things that is needful for you; one to subdue your sins under you; and by vertue of fellowship with Jesus Christ in these Offices, there is something derived from it, and communicated to us by it, that we should be Kings and Priests to God our Father; Kings to rule over our own s…i…it… and lusts, in as …ar as grace reigns in us to eternal life, and that is truly a heroick royal spirit, that overcomes himself and the world; and Priests, to offer unto God continually the sacrifice of prayer and praises, 1 Pet. 1.3, 4, 5. which are sweet smelling and pleasant in his fight; yea, we should offer up our own bodies a… a reasonable service, Rom. 12.1. and this is a holy …nd living sacrifice, when we dedicat and consecrat all our faculties, members, and abilitie… to his will and service; and do not spare to kill our lust…, which are his and our enemies.
Let us sum up …ll in this, whatsoever grace or gift is in Christ Jesus, whatsoever preheminence he hath above Angels and men; whatsoever he purch…sed, he purchased by his obedient life, and patience in death, there i… nothing of all that, but the soul may be admitted to fellowship in it, by its union with him by …aith; have him, and have all that he hath: Faith mak…s him …ours, and all that he hath is a consequential appendix to himself: the Word of the Gospel offers him freely to you, with all his benefits, interests, and advantages, O that our hearts may be induced to open to him.
N…w being thus united to Jesus Christ, that which I would pe…swade next to, is a personal communion, that is, a suitable intertainment of him, a conjunction of your soul to him by love, and a conspiracy of all your endeavours henceforth to please him: It is certain, that true frien…ship is founded on a conjunction and harmony of souls by affection, by which they cease to b… two, and becomes in a manner one; for love makes … kind of transport of the soul into another, and then all particul…r and proper interests are drowned in oblivion, no more mine and thine, but he makes an interchange, mine th…ne, and thine mine, my heart thine, and thy honour mine. Now certain it is, that in this God hath given us a rare pattern, and leads the way; for he declare… hi… love to the world, in the rarest effects of …t, which give the clearest demonstrations possible; God so loved the world, that he sent his Son: And you have the most in…allible argument of the Sons love, greater love hath no m…n th…n this, to lay down his life for his friends, but h… for his enemies. Now then, you see how the heart of God and his Son Jesus Christ is fixed from everlasting on the sons of men so unalterably, and so fully set towards them, that it hath t…ansported the Son out of his own glory, and brought him down in the state of a servant. But it is not yet known what particular persons are thus fixed upon, untill that everlasting love break out from under ground, in the ingagement of thy souls love to him, and till he have fastned this chain, and set this seal on thy heart, which makes thee impatient to want him: thou knowest not the seal that was on his heart from ete…nity. But now the love of a believer being the result of his love, this is it that is the source and spring of constant communion: and it vents it self in converse with God, and daily intertainment of him in our spirits and wayes; There is a keeping of company with him in prayer and meditation, and all the Ordinances; there is a communication and familiar conference of the heart with him, either in thinking on him, or pouring out our requests to him; there is a mutual and daily intercourse and correspondence of that soul with God, in answering his word by obedience, in praying to him, and receiving answers from him, and then returning his answer again with a letter of thanks …nd praise, as it were; these are the wayes to increase that love of God, and kindle it up to a higher flame; and it being thus increased, it gathers in all the indeavours and abilities of the soul, and sets all on fire, as a sweet …melling sacrifice to plea…e him: It is henceforth the great study of the soul, to remove all things that are offensive to him; for the intertaining of sin, his enemy, is most inconsistent with this true fellowship and friendship: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me, Psal. 66.18. This will ma…r that sweet correspondence in prayer and praises; for it is a breach of peace and Covenant, to regard and maintain his enemies; therefore the …oul that loves God, will study to compose it sel… in all things to his good pleasure, as well as his love that is strong as death, puts him upon a careful watching, to do all things for our profite; and so this takes in our whole carriage and walking in religious approaches, or in common b…sines…es, to have this as our great design, Conversing with God, and walking to all w…ll-pleasing.
Now if we were once enrolled in this blessed fellowship with the Father and the Son, then it follows as a fruit and result of thi…, that we should have fellowship one with another, and truly the more unity with God, the more unity amongst our selves; for he is the uniting, cementing principle: he is the Cen…er of all Christian…, and as Line…, the furthe… they are from the Center, the farrer distant they are one from another; so the distance and elongation of souls from God, sets them at furthest distance amongst themselves: The nearer we come every one to Jesus Christ, the nearer we joyn in …ffection one to anot…er: and this i… imported in that of Ch…ist… Prayer, That they may be one in us, Joh. 17 21, 22▪ No unity but in that one Lord, and … perfect unity but in a perfect union with him. I would exhort to study this more, to have fellowship one with another, as member… of the same body, by sympathy, by mutual helping one another in spiritual and temporal things: Even amongst Christians that live obscurely in … City, in a Village, there is not that harmoniou… agreement and consent of hearts, that contention and plea of love, of gentlenesse, and forbearance, who shall exercise most of that; but there are many jealousies, heart-burnings, g…udg…ngs, st…fes, evil speakings, &c. to the stumbling of others, and the weakning of your selves, which certainly argue that ye are much ca…nal, and walk as men, and that the love of God, and fellowship with him is waxed cold, and is languished and dead, &c.