Gospel Reconciliation, Chapter 12
CHAP. 12. Doct. Our Reconciliation with God is made in Chriſt. Seven things propounded for opening the Doctrin.
YOu have read much of the bleſſedneſs of Reconciliation, what a happy condition it is to be at peace with God, eſpecially in theſe times of war, and trouble, when there is ſo little peace in the Land. And you have read that God begins the work; But how doth he do it? obſerve; it is not God meerly conſidered as Creator of Heaven, and Earth, that infinite firſt being of al things; But (the firſt thing propounded in the firſt Chapter to be opened is this,) It is God [in Chriſt] reconciling him to the world. God and man were enemies; an enmity, and a breach there was, and the breach was infinitely wide, and dreadful; how ſhal God and man now come to be reconciled? you wil ſay, the Lord is a God of infinite mercy, and he ſees his poor creatures muſt needs periſh eternally if he come to take advantage againſt them; therefore it may be God was willing to paſs by al, and ſo free of himſelf, and his own free Grace to be reconciled to ſuch, and ſuch creatures as have ſinned againſt him, and ſo Reconciliation was made up; No, this was not the way, there is more required than this. Let God, and the creature be put together without any Further Conſideration: and al the mercy of God on the one ſide; and al the Cries, and tears and repentings of the creature, on the other ſide, this wil never make up a peace. This you muſt know is the Doctrine of the Goſpel; that man having made a breach betwixt God, and himſelf, and conſider God meerly in himſelf, as he is himſelf, without relation to a Mediator; and then take al the mercy of God on one ſide, and al the tears, and repentings, the Cries and Prayers of the creature, on the otherſide; and both theſe together can never make peace. What muſt there be more, you wil ſay? That which we have in the Text, God [in Chriſt] reconciling the world. It is not God in himſelf reconciling the world to himſelf, but it is God in Chriſt. So that there muſt come ſomthing between God, and us as to the matter of Reconciliation, or otherwiſe there can never be a Reconciliation made. This thing I have often had occaſion to treat of; and I am very willing upon every occaſion to ſet this before thoſe that I am to preach unto; for this is the great truth of the Goſpel; and truly al our preaching ſhould be, even to bring this truth home to the hearts of people; and whatſoever we preach, if it be not in order to this, we loſe our labor, and God hath little glory from what we do, except it be in order to this; or as it may be ſome way a fruit of it. So then the point is this.
Doct. Our Reconciliation with God is made in Chriſt. As we read of Jonah when the ſtorms and tempeſts werein the Sea, and when the waves roared, and when the ſhip and the Marriners and al were like to be ſwallowed up, when jonah was caſt into the ſea, preſently there was a calm. So, the ſtormes, and tempeſts of Gods everlaſting wrath are up againſt a Sinner, and the waves of that wrath are ready to ſwallow him up; But now Chriſt is caſt into the heart of a man, and Chriſt being preſented as one ſtanding between God and man, al comes to be at a Calme. When the Diſciples were upon the Sea, and the Sea troubleſome; yet when Chriſt came, and rebuked the Sea, and the winds, all was ſtil. So when there are troubles of Conſcience, nothing can rebuke thoſe troubles of Conſcience; nothing can bring in peace and quiet into the ſoul, but only Chriſt coming into the heart; God is [in Chriſt] reconciling the world to himſelf. There is nothing more plain in the Scripture than this; that it is God in Chriſt that reconciles the world to himſelf. It is evident enough in the text, but I wil give you a Scripture, or two for it, and then proceed to the opening of the point. That place in Rom. 5, 1. is moſt cleer; Being juſtified by faith, we have peace with God; How? through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt: no peace with God, but through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. It is an eaſy matter for us to ſay ſo; but to apprehend the neceſſity of this, that it muſt be through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt that we have peace with God; to apprehend this cleerly, and throughly, it is a great matter; and thoſe know much of the minde of God that know this experimentally, and powerfully. In Eph. 2.13.14. In Jeſus Chriſt you that were far off are made nigh through his blood, for he is our peace: This is ſpoken in two regards; he is our peace with God, it is apparent that it muſt be ſpoken in that regard, for ſo it follows in verſe 18. through him we have acceſs unto the father; but it is ſpoken of Chriſts being our peace in regard of uniting us to the Church of God, to be made one with the people of God; but no ſaith God here is a reconciliation, are conciliation with God, and then a union with the people of God, with the church of God; the partition wal is broken down through Chriſt; and thoſe that were as doggs before, are now ſet up at the table: and there is a peace made between Gods people and us; for ſo Chriſt makes peace that way in taking away the enmity, that the people of God might be one together, as wel as they are one with God. So in Collo. 1 21, 22. You that were ſomtimes alienated, and enimies in your mindes by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled; How? In the body of his fleſh through death to preſent you holy, and blamleſs, and unreprovable in his fight: and that in verſe the 20. is remarkable for this purpoſe; have (ſaith he) made peace, How? through the blood of his Croſs by him to reconcile althings to himſelf: [by him] I ſay. ſo that the Apoſtle would put an emphaſis on this, that we are reconciled by Chriſt, By him, Saith he: and he was not ſatisfied in ſaying of it once, but he repeateth it again, by him, I Say, whether they be things on Earth, or things in Heaven. There are two difficulties in this Scripture. firſt in that it is ſaid, God hath reconciled al things to himſelf in Chriſt; how doth God reconcile all things to himſelf in Chriſt? we are now ſpeaking of reconciling thoſe that ſhal be Saved eternally; but here the Apoſtle ſpeaks of reconciling of all things: God may be ſaid to reconcile, not only Saints, but al things unto himſelf in this regard: In that al things were lyable to diſtruction through mans Sin; and it is in Chriſt, and through Chriſt that any thing in the world is preſerved in a good Condition. When you behold the Heavens, and the Earth, and the Sea, and al theſe things, and ſee the preſervation of them in any good Condition; you muſt know it is al through Chriſt; and had it not been in regard of Chriſt, al things would have come to ruine, and confuſion preſenly, and ſo God reconcileth al things to himſelf in Chriſt.
Further; Al things are reconciled in Chriſt too, in this regard: In that now al things are through him come to be made Serviceable to thoſe that are his Saints, and reconciled ones; and in that regard al things may be ſaid to be reconciled to God; becauſe they are reconciled to Gods friends; whereas before, al Creatures were enemies t… us through Sin; and now through Chriſt they come to be made uſeful to us; and ſo unto God by us. A Second difficulty in this text is, How God hath by Chriſt reconciled al things in heaven; what things are there in Heaven that are Reconciled to God by Chriſt? We muſt underſtand that the things in Heaven that are ſaid to be reconciled, are eſpecially to be meant of the Angels. But you wil ſay; How can the angels be reconciled to Chriſt, there was never a falling out, never an enmity between God and them? I Anſwer, That though in a proper ſence, as reconciliation Concerns man, there is no reconciling of Angels unto God; yet becauſe there is a neerer and a further and a more firm union made between God and the Angels through Jeſus Chriſt than ever there was before or than ever there ſhould have been, for ought we know, if Chriſt hade not been; in that regard reconciliation may be ſaid to be of things in Heaven; God and them being now by Chriſt more firmly made one, than ever they were before. And again though the Angels had never Sinned againſt God, and ſo were no actual enemies unto God; yet they were in a capacity of ſinning, for they being but Creatures, they could not but be frail in themſelves; and ſo lyable to fal from God and to ſin againſt him as wel as thoſe that did fal; therefore in regard of the eſtabliſhment which they have now through Jeſus Chriſt, becauſe they are now confirmed in ſuch a condition, that they are in an impoſſibility of falling from God, God having ſo taken them to himſelf, and they being ſo one with God, that they can never fal from him; in this regard alſo they may be ſaid to be reconciled. For notwithſtanding al the perfection of their Creation, they might have fallen into the ſame condition that thoſe did that are now reſerved in Chaynes to the Judgment of the great day. But now God hath ſo reconciled al things in Heaven by Jeſus Chriſt, that the Angels themſelves are more firmly made one with God than they were before. And further; the Lord doth receive them into a more intire affection of love, in, and by Jeſus Chriſt, than he did before; the Lord looking upon the Angels, in and through Chriſt, there is a more through, firme, intimate intire affection of God towards them to eſtabliſh them, and to accept of them in Jeſus Chriſt. And beſides they are reconciled to God, or unto us rather, becauſe they are come to be our friends, whereas at firſt they were our enemies, ſo that in that regard there is a kind of Reconciliation; but becauſe I conceive the text doth not ſo much intend that, we ſhal let it paſs. Thus you ſee how God was in Chriſt reconciling to himſelf, even in ſome ſenſe the very Angels themſelves. This then is the firſt thing; the very thoughts that God had of entering into any tearmes, or parly with man about peace, is by Chriſt; that the Lords heart was inclined to man, it is from Chriſt; that the Lord would be willing to accept of any ſatisfaction, it is through Chriſt; that we have an acceſs to God any way, it is through Chriſt. There is nothing from the one end of the work of Reconciliation to the other, but it is al through Chriſt.
For further opening of this great point, there are theſe things to be propounded.
Firſt, Briefly, to ſhew you the neceſſity of Chriſts coming in, in order to our Reconciliation with God, and likewiſe that it could be no other way, but by Chriſt.
Secondly, How Chirſt comes to be a fit Reconciler.
Thirdly, What it is that Chriſt hath ingaged himſelf to, and performed according to his ingagement for our Reconciliation.
Fourthly, How that which Chriſt hath done comes to be made over to us, and that we come to have the fruit of it for our Reconciliation with God.
Fiftly, The Conſequences that flow from this; Namely, that our Reconciliation comes through Chriſt.
Sixtly, The reaſons why God wil be reconciled to us through his Son, rather than any other way. And
Laſtly, To make ſome Application of al.
Theſe particulars might hold us ſome time; but becauſe we often meet with much of this Doctrine of Reconciliation, and have divers times before, and are likely, if God lengthen out opportunities ſtil to do it; therefore I intend to preſent al theſe ſeven particulars before you in a very ſhort view.