A Discourse of Christian Religion, Part 1 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
I Shall now draw both Parts of the Text into one Doctrinal Observation, which is plainly this, That Christ in us is our Hope of Glory; or Christ dwelling in our hearts by Faith now, is the only sure ground and foundation of our Hope of Glory hereafter. And therefore (1 Tim. 1. 1.) Christ is called our Hope. Why he is so called; and how our Hope is grounded upon him, I am now to shew;
(1.) From the Nature of Faith, by which we receive Christ. And
(2.) From the Object of Faith, Christ received, or, Christ in us.
I shall shew you, How Faith, by receiving Christ into the Soul, begets Hope: And also, How Christ received, doth feed, nourish, and maintain this Hope, keep it up.
I begin with the
First, To consider the Nature of Faith, as it is a Cause of Hope. When the Apostle saith, Christ in us is the Hope of Glory; he means Christ received by us, or Christ believed on: For nothing but Faith can raise up Hope; no, not from Christ himself. Faith is before all other Graces, is the Mother of them all. Hope, Love, Fear, Joy, Zeal, and the like, are but the several Motions of the Heart towards Christ, as he is represented to us by Faith. Faith raises and sanctifies our Affections; lets them out upon Christ, so leading out our Souls towards him, by all those holy Passions that may be any way expressive of the high Veneration we have for him. Our Affections do express the sense of our Souls, whether we like or dislike; how we stand affected towards any thing proposed to us.
My business is, To shew how Faith begets Hope; how naturally Hope rises out of Faith, and is founded upon it. And I shall argue from the Nature of Faith, as it stands in relation to Hope; so it is spoken of, Heb. 11. 1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. It is the Substance, foreign, Quasi fulcrum rerum sperendarum. It is Calvin's Notation upon the word, foreign, Institut. lib. 3. c. 2. Sect. 41. Faith is that which under-props Hope, and therefore rendred the substance of things hoped for; à substando, denoting not only the subsistance of the things hoped for, in the Understanding of a Believer, but also the help that Faith gives our Minds to conceive of things to come, as if they were now before our eyes, and in our hands. Faith is Hypostasis, that which under-props our Hope, that which Hope stands upon. Faith bears up Hope; Hope stands upon the shoulders of Faith, and looks over into Eternity, upon things to come, which are lifted up as it were by Faith, out of their Futurity, and rendred as present to us in their very substance; that is, The Objects of a lively Hope do affect the Mind of a Believer, as much as present Objects do our Senses. Hence Faith is also called foreign, the Index, Ostension, Probation, or Conviction of things hoped for; that is, it is the evidence of things not appearing; the sight or intellectual Vision of things not seen; it is the Perspicuity or plain Appearance of things obscure; it is the presence of things absent; the demonstration of things occult and hidden; and all this, because Faith doth secure to us what is hoped for from the Promise of God: Evidence is a rational, intellectual thing, the demonstration of something to our Understandings: But the Substance of a Thing is the Thing it self, it is as if it were so, to a Lively Hope thus raised and influenced by Faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Besides, Faith sees that in Christ that answers all Objections against our Hope. His Power and Ability to save, is unquestionable to every true Believer; whether he will save such vile sinners as we are, many doubts may come in at this door; but it is of the Essence of Saving Faith to believe the Power and Ability of Christ to save to the uttermost; there can be no Faith till then, neither weak nor strong. Where there is nothing to relye upon, there can be no reliance. That which we rely upon must be sure and certain in it self. Hence Christ is compared to a Rock, to a Foundation, to a Corner-Stone that bears up the Weight of the whole Building. He is one mighty to save, and must be looked upon as such, before a poor trembling Sinner will venture to trust in him. I grant, they who don't question his Power, may doubt of his Will; as that Leper, Matth. 18. 2. If thou wilt, thou canst make me whole. Yet when things come to extremity between God and a Sinner, Faith in the Power and Ability in Christ to save us, will carry it against all surmizes of any unwillingness in him to save us: When we are put to it indeed, Faith will make the venture; the Consideration whether he will or will not save thee, is out of doors then; you'll cast your selves upon him at all adventure; if I perish, I perish; tho thou killest me, I will trust in thee: To whom should we go? with thee only are the words of eternal life. There is no other name under heaven, salvation is in no other, Acts 4. 12. There is many a soul goes o Christ for Salvation, who at the same time may fear, and think, and it may be, say, That Christ will not save them, will not own them, nor look upon them; but having none else to flye unto▪ to him they must, and to him they will go at last, if they belong to God; Lord save us, we perish, say they. They come to Christ under fears of perishing, as appears by their Outcries; and yet not without some hope of Deliverance, as appears by their Coming. I am persuaded many a dear Child of God goes out of the world, under such a trembling Act of Faith; and blessed are they that do so; for certainly that is dying in the Lord. It may not be so comfortable, yet it is a safe state. And this may be not only the concluding Act of Faith in a dying hour, but Faith may and doth so act in weak Christians at other seasons; it brings them to the feet of Christ full of Fears and Doubts, and there they lye, and there they will lye, till help comes from the Lord. They are long a coming to Christ, but come they will, first or last; It shews they have some hope, more it may be than they themselves take notice of: They express it rather by their Actions than by their Words: They act like those who have hope, tho they speak like those who have none; Master, save us, we perish! I must allow something for these doubts and fears of our Acceptance with God upon the account of our own unworthiness, as consistent with the Nature of Saving Faith in the main: Yet whatever shew of Humility they have, they are but a proud piece of Unbelief: And I will further say, That these distrustful Thoughts of Christ's Willingness to save us, are most directly opposite to the Hope in the Text, and do arise, I am persuaded, from a secret Distrust of his All-sufficiency and Power; tho we may not discern this in our selves. That act of Unbelief that is uppermost, and most palpable, goes for all the Unbelief that is in our heart, when it is quite otherwise, if they were searched to the bottom. Unbelief hath many Strings and Fibres; it is a complicated thing, all evil is in it, even Atheism it self; let us carry it how we will, it is a denial of God. See how the Psalmist, Psal. 77. 7, 8, 9. under a fit of Unbelief, doth not so much question himself, as God's Faithfulness and Truth; Is his Mercy clean gone? doth his promise fail for evermore? hath God forgotten to be gracious? He had forgot himself, and he thought that God had forgot himself: But as I told you before, Faith in the Power of Christ, will carry it at last against all our fears: At what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. As there is something in Fear that makes us draw back from God, so there is something in it that puts us forward. The greater the extremity is, the more apt we are to venture. As a man pursued by an Enemy, and running for his life, tho he may boggle at some difficult pass, he tries, and tries again; draws back his foot, thinks he feels the ground sink under him; but the Enemy being now at his heels, he must through, or Perish; and so he ventures without any more ado, and glad he is to find firm ground under his feet; he did not think so, till he was upon it. And so it is with a weak Believer; Faith doth not presently drop all its fears when it is coming to Christ. Act reliance upon Christ, and you will find support, which was the thing you doubted of; by taking hold of Christ, you will stay your selves, and feel your selves upheld. A Soul when actually come to Christ, is rid of many fears it was under all the while it was coming, and lives under a more comfortable Hope ever after.
Thus you see how Faith begets Hope, how naturally it arises out of Faith.
In the Next place, I shall shew you, how Christ received; or, Christ in us, doth cherish, maintain, and keep up this Hope in Believers: Christ in us, the hope of Glory, saith the Text.
Brethren! Glory is a great thing, and the Hope of Glory is a great Hope: And great hopes must have a great foundation to support them. There must be that in the ground of my Hope, that will, at least, make it probable to me, that the thing I Hope for, is attainable that way, else it is not a rational ground of Hope. Now I will make it evident to you, That a Believer is the most rational man in the world in all the actings of his Faith and Hope. He goes upon sure ground, he hath the clearest Evidence, the fullest Conviction, the most demonstrable Proof on his side, that can be, which heightens his Hope exceedingly. Do you make good the foundation, that Christ is in you of a truth; and I will make good the Hope built upon it; and prove it to be sufficiently grounded, provided you are grounded, and setled, and stablished in the Faith. Col. 1. 23. comp. with Col. 2. 7. I am sure you will not be moved away from the Hope of the Gospel.
I shall shew you, that Christ is the only foundation of a Christians Hope of Glory: I prove it many ways.
First, Christ removes all that may obstruct our Hope of Glory.
Secondly, He hath done all that may raise and strengthen our Hope of Glory: All that conduces to it, that any ways tends to invest us in it, and make it ours.
Thirdly, Christ hath given us a famous instance of the full actual accomplishment of his whole Undertaking for us in himself.
Fourthly, He hath given us some present earnest of all this in our selves.
Fifthly and Lastly. Lest Death should dash all our Hopes, he hath assured us of a Glorious Resurrection.
If I make out all this to you, there will be no scruple left in the Case, you must needs be convinced, That Christ in you is your hope of Glory. I begin with the First, Christ hath removed all that may obstruct our Hope of Glory.
1. He hath overcome the Devil, that grand Adversary to our Souls. The strong man is bound, Matth. 12. 29. Captivity is led captive, Ephes. 2. 4, 8. Satan falls like lightning from heaven, Luke 10. 18. He that had the power of death is destroyed, Heb. 2. 14. The prince of this world is cast out. Joh. 12. 37. Principalities and powers are spoyled, triumphed over, Col. 2. 15. And thus the head of the old serpent is bruised, Gen. 3. 15. We are turned from the power of Satan unto God, Acts 26. 18. And for this very purpose, the Son of God was manifest, that he might destroy the works of the Devil, 1 Joh. 3. 8.
You see how full, how particular, the Scripture is in setting forth the Victory that Christ gained over the Devil: And all, that he might secure unto us this Hope of Glory. The devil was once in Hope to bring us all into the same place of Torment with himself; but Christ hath appeared, and hath destroyed, and overcome that great destroyer of Souls.
2. Christ hath freed us from the Curse of the Law, and the Wrath of God. Gal. 3. 13. comp. with 1 Thess. 1. 10. He hath redeemed us from the curse, being made a curse for us; and hath delivered us from the wrath to come. He was wounded for our transgressions: He was made under the law, Gal. 4. 4. He fulfilled all righteousness, required in the law. Matth. 3. 15. And
3. Christ hath taken away all Sin, that causes shame, and is therefore directly opposed to this Glory in the Text. Sin is a reproach to a man, it fills him with shame and confusion of Face, is a blot upon him, leaves a note of infamy upon him: Now Jesus Christ he bore our Sins in his own body on the tree, 1 Pet. 2. 24. That we being dead to sin, might live to righteousness. While we live in Sin, and live unto Sin; we live to the dishonour of God, to the reproach of our Profession, and of all the pretended Hopes that we were under of our Eternal Salvation. He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him, 2 Cor. 5. 21. He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity, Tit. 2. 14.
Thus you see how Christ hath removed all that may obstruct our Hope of Glory.
Secondly; He hath done all that may raise and strengthen our Hope of Glory: All that conduces to it, that any way tends to invest us in it, and make it ours.
1. He satisfies the Justice of God in order to the free Remission of our Sins. We are justified freely by his Grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus, Rom. 3. 24, 25, 26.
2. Christ doth not only justifie us, procure Pardon of our Sins; but he also reconciles us to the Holiness of God, by his sanctifying Spirit. Before, we were Enemies to God in our minds by wicked works; but being justified, God doth immediately begin to sanctifie, to reconcile us to himself, to the Power, Purity, and Strictness of Gospel-Holiness; he transforms us more and more into his own Image from Glory to Glory; (all this tends to Glory you see) by the Spirit of the Lord, 2 Cor. 3. 8.
God's Holiness inclines him to hate Sin, and his Justice to punish it: And till these Two Attributes of God be for us, there is no Hope of Glory. Christ by taking our Nature, put himself into a capacity of suffering for us. He took not on him the Nature of Angels; this is some ground of Hope to Man; and having drawn his heart to believe in him, rely upon him, it is a sure sign he intends good unto him. Christ being become Man, he doth through our own nature, convey himself to us in the most intimate, familiar manner that can be. His Spirit enters into us, passes through all the Faculties of our Souls, leaving a Spiritual Inclination in them all towards God, which by degrees prevails over all the sinful inclinations of our corrupt natures, making us at last perfectly conformable to the Son of God; and this is our Sanctification. Christ in us demonstrates the Love of God to us, sheds it abroad in our hearts by his Spirit. We hope for little from those who have no kindness for us, no love to us: But the love of God most eminently appears to us in Christ; Ephes. 2. 4. God having given us his Son, how shall he not with him give us all things? There is ground enough for Hope. Faith having Christ, raises our Hope for every thing else: If Christ be ours, all is ours.
Thirdly; Christ hath given us a famous Instance in himself, of the full actual accomplishment of his whole Undertaking for us; which I find insisted upon in Scripture, as an Encouragement to Believers. Saith the Apostle, Heb. 2. 9. There are many Promises and Prophesies not yet come to pass, many things we do not see fulfilled: But do we see nothing fulfilled? Ay, saith he, we see Jesus entred into Glory, that is enough for us, so 1 Pet. 1. 21. saith he, God hath raised up Christ from the dead, and given him Glory; to what end, pray? That your Faith and Hope might be in God. Believers by virtue of their Union to Christ, their Head and Representative, they are in Heaven already, made to sit together in Heavenly places in Christ, Ephes. 2. 6.
All is already fulfilled in Christ that you hope for. You hope for full pardon of Sin, full sense of Comfort, full sense of your Justification; you hope for thorough Mortification of your Sin, perfect Sanctification; you hope for full deliverance from all afflictions, for a Resurrection from the Grave; you hope to ascend up to Heaven, to be Glorified there: All this is past upon Christ already; he hath finished Transgression, as to what concerns the business of our sins, Christ hath finished it; he hath finished Transgression, and brought in Everlasting Righteousness: It is not a thing to be done, but already actually done; he hath finished Transgression. Sin when finished brings forth death, saith James, this is the perfection of Sin, in the utmost extent of its fatal Energy and Efficacy; when it is finished it brings forth Death. But Christ's finishing Sin, was to prevent Death, the dispatching it out of the World. He by finishing Sin, utterly abolished Death, and Sin too, by the infinite Merit of his precious Blood. Christ's finishing Transgression, was the blotting it out, the undoing and reversing of all that Evil that Sin had brought upon us, that it might not be able to bring down a Curse upon us any more.
The consideration of this famous instance, is a wonderful support to our Faith. Let me tell you this, that a bare word of Promise concerning things to be done for us, by God, without this famous instance of their being done and actually accomplished in the Man Christ Jesus, would not have been such a confirmation of our Faith, tho in it self it ought to be; yet through our weakness and infirmity, it would not have been such a convincing confirmation, as now it is in conjunction with this undeniable instance. It strengthens the very Word of God, and helps us with more confidence to settle upon it. There is nothing we hope for, but the Man Christ Jesus is already possessed of; he is Risen, he is Ascended, he is sate down at the right Hand of God upon his Throne, he is Glorified in our Nature; and what is done to man, may be done again.
So that Christ is the most rational ground of a Christians Hope that can be.
Fourthly, Christ hath not only given us a famous instance in himself, of the coming to pass of all that is promised to us; but in the Fourth place, he gives us present earnest of all this in our selves. We have the first fruits, the earnest of the spirit in our hearts, 2 Cor. 1. 22. We are sealed by the holy spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, Ephes. 1. 13, 14. They who are so sealed, do walk in the comfort of the Holy-Ghost, Acts 9. 31. as well they may under so great an Assurance of Glory hereafter. Some Rays of this Glory do shine in upon the hearts of Believers here: A spirit of glory rests upon them now, 1 Pet. 4. 14.
Now from these Beginnings we may hope for all that is to follow. Our Light is come, and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon us in some measure already, and is continually rising higher and higher towards a Noon-day Light, which is our perfect day. Thus we are transformed now from Glory to Glory. Believers find it so in themselves: And therefore experience should beget Hope, Rom. 5. 4. And then,
Lastly: Lest Death should dash all our Hopes, Christ hath assured us of a Glorious Resurrection: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable, 1 Cor. 15. 19. Christ hath taken off this Objection, that we might not be in bondage through fear of death, Heb. 2. 16. It is evident he hath power to raise the dead, as he hath raised himself from the Grave. They deny matter of Fact, who deny the Resurrection. 1 Cor. 15. 13. If there be no resurrection, then Christ is not risen; but that is matter of fact, he is risen; we know it: Christ is the first fruits of them that sleep in the Grave: The first begotten of the dead, Rev. 1. 5. The first who rose from the dead, Acts 26. 23. He is the first-born from the dead, Col. 1. 18. And he will change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like to his glorious body, Phil. 3. 21.
See what ground there is for your Hope of Glory, from the Resurrection of Christ. That which is sown in dishonour, shall be raised in glory, 1 Cor. 15. 43. This still maintains your Hope of Glory. Therefore my beloved brethren, saith Paul, be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know your labour is not in vain in the Lord, v. 58. Were there no Resurrection, all the pains we take in Religion, would be labour in vain; but we know our labour is not in vain.
Thus you see how Christ in us, is our Hope of Glory; because Christ without us, is now personally in Heaven: And if since his Ascension and Glorification, he is pleased to descend down into us by his Spirit, and dwell in us, this is a sure sign he intends to bring us to the same place of Glory with himself. Christ was to bring many sons to glory, Heb. 2. 7. And he sends his Spirit as an earnest to assure us of this. The Spirit never quite leaves that soul, into whom he once comes. He abides with us for ever, John 14. 16. He comes to take possession for Christ; he enters in in his name, he sets his mark upon the Soul; casts out the Devil, seals up the Soul for Christ; Thou art mine, saith the Spirit of Christ: The Spirit it self bears witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God, Rom. 8. 16. Saints are sensible of this, and do give themselves unto the Lord: As Christ gives himself unto the Saints, so they give themselves unto the Lord. My beloved is mine, and I am his; they do mutually own each other. And this is the happy day of our Espousals; we are married unto the Lord, and he is become an husband to us, and ever after we dwell comfortably together in Love.
Brethren: If we set our minds to know these things, the Spirit will shew us out of the Word, what Christ is now doing for us in Heaven; That he is gone to prepare a place for us, John 14. 2. To make intercession for us, Rom. 8. 34. He is entred in for us as a forerunner, Heb. 6. 20. that we may follow after. He will come again, and receive us to himself, John 14. 3. We shall partake of his glory, Joh. 17. 22. We shall sit down with him on his Throne, Rev. 3. 21. These are good grounds of Hope; we should seriously weigh and consider these things, we should ponder them well in our hearts. Some apply themselves with great earnestness to outward Duties of Religion: Others, they study the Controversial part, and rest in an Orthodox Judgment, in the bare knowledge of the Truth: And may be neither the one nor the other do attend to the acting of their Faith upon Christ, which only brings down Religion to our selves, engages our Hearts and Consciences in it: And I am sure till then, let our Profession and Knowledge be what it will, we are not real Christians in the sight of God; Christ is not in us of a truth.
I see many Professors wrapt up close in their several Forms, crying, Lo here, and Lo there; each one contending for his own Opinion, pleasing themselves with their different ways and methods of outward Devotion: Here they rest, and are no further concerned in Religion, than to join to such or such a Party, going under such or such a Name. We may see many Professorts of all sorts and forms, walking softly to Hell, talking of Christ all the way they go. This is Truth; This is Gospel; This is the Protestant Religion; This and that is a good Sermon: And yet it is visible, that the most important Truths of the Gospel have not that weight with them as they should: They do not carry on the grand design of their Profession: They don't live and walk as if they really believed what they so solemnly profess. This is the Charge I have against the Professors of this Age; I am afraid of them; I am afraid of you, I am afraid of my self. Let every one examine himself. If you know these things, happy are ye if you do them. Let us either resolve to live up to our Christian Principles, or lay aside that Name to live, by which we deceive both our selves and others. Let us lay aside all Hope of Salvation by Christ; or study Christ more who is the only sure Ground and Foundation of our Hope of Glory.