One-Hundred Forty-Five Sermons Upon John 17, Sermon 124
SERMON CXXIV. That Jeſus Christ though God Co-equall with the Father, had many things given him by the Father; And how that can be?
JOH. 17.22.
And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them.
WE have treated of the nature of that glory which Chriſt giveth to all beleevers: The next conſiderable is the deſcription of the manner and way how Chriſt comes to have this glory, and that is ſaid to be by way of gift, The glory which thou gaveſt me, Now this ſeemeth very hard to underſtand how Chriſt being God could receive any thing, for as God can have nothing given him, ſo it ſhould ſeem Chriſt neither could have any thing given him, inſomuch that this place with many others of the like fence is brought by the Socinians as an unanſwerable Argument, that Chriſt was not truly and eſſentially God, for they heap up many places of Scripture where all that Chriſt hath is ſaid to be given him, and from hence conclude he cannot be God; But the weakneſs of this will appear in further diſcovery of this Truth, which that it may be more clearly underſtood, Obſerve,
Doct. Chriſt though God had many things given him of his Father. There is a twofold givingThat Chriſt though God had many things given him of his Father; The Fathers giving of many things to him doth not take off from his divine Nature; This Truth will be profitable both to inform your judgement in that main Article of Religion, and alſo is of that practical conſequence; Therefore to clear this, Conſider,
1. That we may conceive of a two-fold giving, that which is natural and neceſſary, 2. that which is free and voluntary, ſo that it might or might not be given, for a naturall and neceſſary giving, So Chriſt as God hath his divine Eſſence from the Father, for the Father communicateth the God-head to his Son by neceſſary generation, So that it was not free to him whether he would have this Son or no, as it was whether he would create the world or no; It's true, there are ſome Learned men that ſay, Pater liberè genuit filium, becauſe in all that the Father doth, he doth it with underſtanding and will, which they make to be the formal cauſe of liberty; But thoſe that do ſo, take not liberty for that which may be or may not be, but for that which is immutably ſo, onelyonly there is underſtanding and will concurring to it; In this ſence the expreſſion may be admitted, otherwiſe it would be blaſphemy to ſay the Father did ſo freely communicate the divine nature to the Sonne, that he might have choſen whether he would have done it or no; Therefore indeed if we ſpeak ſtrictly it is not a giving of the Son of his Godhead unleſſe we take gift in a large ſence for that which is communicating, yet the Scripture cals it ſo, To this purpoſe ſome bring that Joh. 5.26. As the Father hath life in himſelf, ſo hath he given to the Son to have life in himſelf; Where to have life in himſelf is the higheſt perfection that can be, and proper only to the ſupreme deity, yet this is given to the Son to have, and to have it ſo as the Father hath it, and therefore he is called the Son becauſe he hath his being of the Father eternally, and the Fathers giving of this, or the Sons receiving of it argueth no imperfection but perfection in both.
2. There may be a giving to another by way of intrinſecall perfection, or by way of extrinſecall declaration and manifeſtation of this, when God gave Angels and men holineſſe this was to give internall perfection to them, but now when Angels and men declare the wiſedom, power, and goodneſſe of God praiſing and magnifying him for it; This addeth no inward perfection to him, only it outwardly declareth it, and thus it was with Chriſt as God, many things are ſaid to be given him, which yet he had with the Father before the world, only it's ſaid to be given him becauſe it was then declared and manifeſted what he had; Indeed if we ſpeak of Chriſts humane nature, ſo it had many things given to it, which were an inward perfection to him in that reſpect, but in reſpect of his divine nature, ſo he was not capable of any new perfection, which he had not alwaies:
Theſe things premiſed,What things were given Chriſt of the Father. Let us now conſider what was given him of the Father, And
1. Chriſt even as God had many things given him in reſpect of externall Declaration: Thus when glory and honour is given unto him by the Father, as in that exceeding glorious manifeſtation, when it was ſaid, Thou art my well-beloved Son, this was external glory, God gave the outward manifeſtation of glory, that which did already belong to him.
2. We reade of his Office of Mediatorſhip, and that was alſo given to him: Hence it is that it's ſo often ſaid that the Father ſent him into the world, not as if the Son did not willingly conſent to this office alſo, only the Father he aſſigned and appointed him who was alſo willing to this work; So that to be a Mediatour, to be ſent into the world, &c. they are mixt Attributes, for they denote perfection and ſome imperfection; To be ſent, To feel the glory of the Father, theſe denote he was man as well as God, but ſo to be ſent as by his own power and ſtrength to work out our Salvation, and purchaſe our peace, argueth the higheſt pefection, which none but a God can do; So that this is neceſſary to be obſerved when the Scripture ſpeaks of his appointment to this officiall Kingdom of a Mediatour, this no waies takes off from Chriſts God-head, but neceſſarily ſuppoſeth it, becauſe none but God can perform that work.
3. The Scripture ſpeaks of perſons that are given him of the Father, and this expreſſion is very often with the Apoſtle John in this Chapter, it's many times repeated, Thoſe that thou haſt given me, So Joh. 6.59. All that the Father hath given me will come unto me; Now theſe are ſaid to be given by the Father to Chriſt, not that Chriſt as God had them not before but in reſpect of his Mediatory Office, So that they are given to him that he ſhould by his death and merits bring them to Eternal happineſſe, and this makes greatly for the comfort and conſolation of the godly, and this cannot argue any imperfection in Chriſt that theſe were given to him as a Mediatour, for he did not need them, he was happy without them, So that beleevers are given to Chriſt not for his good but for their own good, and therefore though Chriſt be the Head and beleevers members, yet it doth not follow, that becauſe the Head cannot be without members, but needeth the members as well as they do the head, that therefore Chriſt cannot be without beleevers; No, Chriſt took theſe to him, not out of want but out of bounty, He took them not to be bettered by them but to better them, not to perfect himſelf but them; As the Fountain is not helped by the ſtreams, but the ſtreams by the Fountain; Neither do the Stars enlighten the Sun, but the Sun the Stars, So that if we Conſider in what ſence beleevers are given to Chriſt, we ſhall finde it's no imperfection in him, but perfection to be added to them.
4. We reade of spirituall gifts and graces given to him, So he is ſaid to receive the Spirit without meaſure, and hence he is called Chriſt becauſe he is anointed with the oyle of all grace, and this is in reſpect of his humane nature: For the humane nature of Chriſt being a creature, and of the ſame univocal ſpecies with ours, it could not ſanctifie it ſelf, it could not adorn it ſelf with all habituall and actuall grace; Therefore in his conflicts an Angel was ſent to comfort him, We muſt therefore alwaies diſtinguiſh though not divide thoſe two Natures in Chriſt; As God he could not be anointed, he could not receive the Sp…rit, or be ſanctified from a cauſe without, but take him as man, ſo all the good he had was of free-grace; The perſonal Union was of free-grace, and all habitual holineſſe was infuſed into him by grace, for none but God can be eſſentially and naturally holy, and therefore Austin of old did urge this as an unanſwerable Argument, if the humane nature of Chriſt had not free-will or power to ſanctifie it ſelf, to adorn it ſelf with holineſſe, much leſs hath any meer man, but ſo it was with Chriſt, that as man he was wholly furniſhed with graces and gifts from above; Indeed the end why he had theſe, as alſo why he was made man, was in reference to us; It was of his fulneſs that we do receive, ſo that he became man, and was thus furniſhed with all fitneſſe to be a Mediatour, becauſe we could not be without him: It behoved us (ſaith the Apoſtle Heb 7.26.) to have ſuch a High-Prieſt that was holy and unſpotted, ſeparated from ſinners, that needed not to offer for his own ſins.
5. We reade that not only habitual grace was given him in reſpect of his humane nature, but alſo the ſpirit of God was beſtowed on him, and though this be thought by the Socinians a pregnant Argument becauſe he that is God cannot have the Spirit of God given him; Now to this we readily grant, that not only the graces and gifts of Gods Spirit, but the Spirit it ſelf alſo was beſtowed on him, So the Prophet Iſa. 11.2. The ſpirit of the Lord is ſaid to reſt on him, the ſpirit of wiſedom and counſell; Thus Act. 1.2. he is ſaid through the holy Ghoſt to give Commandments unto the Apoſtles whom he had choſen, but yet this doth not take off from his God head, for firſt, the aſſiſtance and operation of the holy Ghoſt was only in reſpect of his humane nature, for as by the holy Ghoſt his humane body was prepared and fitted, So alſo his rationall ſoul by the ſame holy ſpirit was ſanctified and made the holy One; It was not therefore in reſpect of his divine nature but his humane, that he had the holy Ghoſt working in him, and if you ſay▪ What neceſſity was there of the holy Ghoſt, Seeing his divine nature was able to aſſiſt and ſanctifie his humane nature; It's anſwered, that the holy ſpirit being the third perſon cannot be ſeparate from the Father and the Sonne, though therefore Chriſt as the ſecond perſon was able to do all things, yet becauſe where the Father and Son is, there alſo is the holy Ghoſt, therefore that works alſo as the other, not that the other perſons need it, but becauſe of the inſeparability; Even as the Father did at firſt create all things by the Son, not that he was inſufficient or impotent without him, but becauſe of their intimate Union.
6. That which we do ſo eminently reade of in the Scripture is the glory, power, and honour that the Father gave him upon fullfilling the work of Redemption for us, Act. 2.36. God hath made Jeſus both Lord and Chriſt, he was made Lord; Now that dominion is not his eſſentiall dominion which he had as God, for ſo he could not be made any more Lord then God, but his Mediatory Dominion, whereby he is exalted above all, and rules all things for the good of his people, So Phil. 2.9. Wherefore God alſo hath highly exalted him, giving him a Name above all Names, &c. In theſe and many other places we reade of wonderfull Majeſty and glory beſtowed upon him, and that upon his humiliation and voluntary obedience in reference to us, but although the Scripture doth evidently ſpeak of this glory and power given him, yet this doth not take off from his God-head: For
1. It is one thing to ſpeak of the giving of the right and property to a thing, another thing to ſpeak of the poſſeſſion of it; It's true indeed Chriſt upon his Reſurrection had the poſſeſſion of all that glory and honour which the Word mentioneth, but yet he had right to it farre before, and therefore we reade of divine wotſhip given to him before his Reſurrection, as alſo of a Kingdom he had, and that he could work what Miracles he pleaſed, and ſo he believing God had a right to all that glory which could any waies be ſuperadded to him.
2. This dominion and glory given to him is ſo farre from evacuating his Godhead, that it doth rather neceſſarily preſuppoſe it, for who can be made the Judge of the whole world? who can be exalted to be the King of Saints and the Nations but he who hath infinite wiſedom, power, and greatneſs?
Ʋſe 1. Doth Chriſt receive all that he hath, not for himſelf, but for his members? then what great encouragements and hopes have all the people of God, for though they have not enough, yet Chriſt hath; Though the ſtarre hath not light enough to diſpell the day yet the Sun hath: Though the ſtream cannot refreſh, yet the Fountain hath water enough; Oh therefore that beleevers would more enlarge and quicken themſelves up with hopes in Chriſt, That they would live on his fulneſſe, That they would depend on his fulneſs, God gives thee grace and many gifts, but what he hath given Chriſt that muſt be thy only ſupport.
Ʋſe 2. How wofull the condition of all wicked men is who are ſeparated from Chriſt, for if all fulneſſe come by him, then none of this can be derived to thee; The devil will give of the torments he hath to thee, not Chriſt of his glory.