Forty-nine Sermons upon Colossians, Part 2 · Sermon 24
The Twenty-fourth SERMON.
COL. CHAP. II. VER. XIII.
Ver. XIII. And when ye were dead in offences, and in the uncircumciſion of your fleſh, He quickned you together with Him, having freely forgiven you all your offences.
DEar Brethren, The Philoſophers do, with good reaſon, commonly ſay, That contraries illuſtrate one another: For nothing makes us better underſtand the excellence of liberty, than conſideration of the miſ…r…es of bondage; and nothing doth more diſcover the nature and advantages of Vertue, than the deformity and wretchedneſs of its oppoſit… Vices. The beauty and uſefulneſs of light, is perceiv'd by the hideouſneſs of black obſcurity; and the ſweetneſs of health, by the incommodities of ſickneſs. For this cauſe, the Miniſters of God, to teach us the true worth of his benefits, do frequently repreſent to us the miſery of that eſtate out of which he deliver'd us. Thus you …ee, the Prophets of the Old Teſtament did continually put the Iſraelites in mind of their once ſad and pitiful eſtate in Egypt, under the tyranny of Phara…h. They would have them keep it in their eye, that ſo they might duly reliſh the red…mption of GOD, and the ſweetneſs of that liberty he had given them. Under the New Teſtament the Apoſtles are no leſs intentive to repreſent, at every turn, the extream hideouſneſs of our original condition, for to make us acknowledg, ſo much the more, the grace that GOD hath ſhew'd us in his Son, by tranſlating us out of the Kingdom of darkneſs, into his marvellous light. Thus S. Paul doth in the Text we have read; wherein, that the Coloſſians might be brought to a fuller comprehenſion of the ineſtimable excellency of the benefit they had receiv'd from GOD in JESUS CHRIST, when they were raiſed again with him in Baptiſm, by the faith of his efficacy, as he expreſſed in the foregoing Verſe: He now lays before them the miſery they were before engult'd in. When ye were dead in offences (ſaith he), and in the uncircumciſion of your fleſh, &c.
Now this diſcourſe does alſo hit the mark he principally aim'd at in the whole diſpute; which is, as you have often heard, to refute the pernicious error of thoſe who accounted the obſerving of circumciſion, and other Ceremonies of Moſes, neceſſary for Chriſtians. Sure all the profit they could pretend to by them, was either the remiſſion of our ſins, or the ſanctification of our lives. But the Apoſtle doth here ſhew us, in few words, that we have both the one and the other of theſe two graces in JESUS CHRIST; The firſt, Since GOD hath freely forgiven us all our offences in Him: The ſecond, Since of being dead, as we were in our ſelves, He hath made us alive with him; whereby it is evident, that the Ceremonies of the Law are henceforth wholly uſeleſs to us. There is no need of the knife of Moſes any longer. GOD, by the ſole Goſpel of his CHRIST, dying and riſen again for us, the true Sword of Heaven, infinitely ſharper than any of the Metals of Nature, hath cut off all the corruption of our fleſh. He hath done much more yet. By the alone vertue of the ſame CHRIST, he hath reſcued us from death, and animated, and made us alive. And as for the ſins whereof we were guilty, he hath pardon'd us them all. His pure grace in JESUS CHRIST hath effectually fulfill'd whatſoever Moſes's Law did promiſe or figure. You have had experience of it (ſaith the Apoſtle to the faithful at Coloſs), you have ſeen and felt the efficacy of JESƲS CHRIST in your ſelves. Remember what you were, when you believed on him; and conſider what you are, ſince you paſſed through his hands. Ye were dead, and ye are alive; ye were covered with crimes, and are fully abſolv'd of them. Do not ſo aſſront your Deliverer, as to think, that having wrought ſo great Miracles by his own power alone, he does need the Elements of the Law to finiſh his work in you; and that he cannot compleat, without Moſes, what he ſo magnificently began and advanced without him. This, my Brethren, is the Apoſtle's expreſs deſign, in theſe words.
We, who through the grace of GOD, are not troubled with the error of theſe falſe Teachers, which dyed, and was buried long ago; will conſider this Text more generally, and view the whole extent it hath, for our edification and conſolation, without inſiſting preciſely upon that particular uſe for which it was firſt written to the Coloſſians; and that nothing in it may eſcape us, we will examine, if GOD permit, the two heads which are propoſed in it, diſtinctly one after another.
The firſt is, The eſtate we were in before the vocation of GOD in his Son; Ye were d…ad (ſaith the Apoſtle) in offences, and in the uncircumciſion of your fleſh.
The ſecond is, The grace that GOD hath ſhewed us in JESUS CHRIST; He hath quickned you (ſaith he) together with Him, having freely forgiven you all your offences.
Here is, in ſum, the map of our whole Redemption. The firſt part repreſents unto us our miſery by Nature. And the ſecond, our happineſs under Grace. That is, the archrevement of the firſt and of the ſecond Adam; the death into which the one had ſunk us; and the life unto which the other hath raiſed us.
There's none ſo ignorant, but knows what life and death are. As life is the ſweeteſt and deareſt of all our good things; ſo death is the greateſt and the laſt of all our evils. Accordingly you ſee, now prudent-Nature hath given Animals ſuch an Inſtinct, as to uſe all the ſtrength and skill they have, to preſerve themſelves alive, and prevent their dying. Other evils take from us, each of them, but ſome part of our comforts. Death bereaves us of them all. Bondage deprives us of Liberty; Baniſhment, of our Countrey; Sickneſs afflicts our Bodies; Shame or Infamy our Souls; Pain troubleth our Senſes; Poverty incommodateth our life. But there is no calamity ſo great, as not to leave us the uſe or enjoyment of ſome good, or at leaſt of our ſelves. Death extinguiſhing our life, and by this means ſapping and overthrowing the very foundation of our enjoyments, doth at the ſame time deſpoil us of all other good things altogether. Wherefore the holy Apoſtle, and the other ſacred Writers, that they might repreſent the hideouſneſs and miſery of the condition of men, that are without the grace of GOD, do not call it ſimply a Bondage, a Baniſhment, a Sickneſs, a Diſgrace, a Blindneſs, a Poverty, a Calamity, a Nakedneſs: They term it a Death; to ſignifie, that it is the utmoſt of all the evils that can betide our nature; that it is a privation, not of ſome good things only, but generally of all: ſo as nothing remains either in the ſpirit, or in the ſenſes, or in the body of theſe miſerable creatures, that deſerves to be called good. It's the term Iſaiah makes uſe of, to expreſs the eſtate of people, while they had no part in the Covenant of GOD: Light hath ſhined (ſaith he) upon them that dwell in the region of the ſhadow of death. Iſa. 9.1.And the LORD JESUS puts us all in the ſame condition, before he hath called us; Joh. 5.25.The hour cometh (ſaith he) and already is, that the dead ſhall hear the voice of the Son of GOD, and they that hear it ſhall live. And without doubt it is to theſe kind of dead that he willed one of his Diſciples to leave the care of burying their dead. Matt. 8.22. 1 Tim. 5.6.And you know what the Apoſtle ſays of that Widow who paſſeth her time in the pleaſures of ſin, That ſhe is dead while ſhe liveth. And our Saviour tells that perſon who led a wicked life, under a falſe reputation of piety, Rev. 3.….Thou haſt a name to live, but art dead. S. Paul, following the ſtile of the Holy Ghoſt, doth call them dead, who abiding in the ignorance that is natural to all men, do neither know GOD, nor his will: Ye were dead (ſaith he to the Epheſians, Eph. 2.1, …ſpeaking of the time they ſpent in the darkneſs of Paganiſm) ye were dead in treſpaſſes and ſins. And a little after, putting himſelf in the ſame number, though he was otherwiſe a Jew, When we (ſaith he) were dead in our treſpaſſes, GOD quickned us together with CHRIST; which are preciſely the ſame terms that he here applies to the Coloſſians, whoſe original condition was in effect the ſame with that of the Epheſians they being both the one, and the other of them, by birth Pagans.
I well know, that the men of the world, and generally they that have no part in the grace of GOD, do live, and are ſenſible, and go to and fro; they do deſire, and fear, and hope, and exerciſe, in ſum, all the actions in which life is ordinarily made to conſiſt. Yea, I confeſs, that to meaſure things by appearances, and the outſide only, there are none that ſeem to live but they, filling the world with the noiſe of their actions and motions, while the faithful for the moſt part groan in ſome corner, or paſs their days obſcurely in the ſilence of retirement, without appearing, or making themſelves ſeen; ſo as it may be ſaid of them, in this reſpect, as the Apoſtle ſomewhere doth in another, 1 Cor. 1.28.that GOD hath choſen things that are not, to bring to nought things that are; the fleſh no more accounting the faithful to be any thing, than if they neither lived, nor exiſted at all; and conſidering none but men of the world, when things that live, and indeed are, do come to be reckon'd up. But S. Paul himſelf clearly ſhews us, that he ſpeaks not here of the privation of this kind of life, in as much as he ſaith not ſimply, that we were dead, but that we were dead in offences, and in the uncircumciſion of our fleſh. We muſt know therefore, that there are two kinds of life; the one carnal and natural, which conſiſts in the exerciſe of natural actions and faculties, ſuch as are common to us, partly with ſenſitive creatures, as drinking, eating, ſleeping, and the like; partly with evil ſpirits, as ſinning, offending GOD, and our Neighbour. The other ſort of life is ſpiritual and divine, having for its principle the Image of GOD, and his Grace; and for its actions, the exerciſing of piety towards GOD, and charity towards our neighbour. Such a life as Adam's would have been, if he had perſever'd in the innocence wherein he was created; and ſuch as is the life of the holy Angels now in Heaven. To theſe two kinds of life do anſwer two kinds of death; the one natural, which is the ſeparation of the ſoul from the body, and an abolition of the actions, and motions, and ſenſations, which the union of theſe two parts of our beeing doth produce in us. The other ſpiritual, which is nothing elſe but a privation of the Image of GOD, and of thoſe good and holy faculties, and habitudes, and actions, wherewith it is accompanied. It's this ſecond kind of death the Apoſtle intends here, when he ſaith, that we were dead in offences, and in the uncircumciſion of our fleſh. For the Holy Ghoſt, the true Judg and Eſtimator of things, doth count all thoſe for dead, which have not the life of GOD, how full of life ſoever they be, in reſpect of earth and fleſh. And truly for juſt cauſe. For if we conſider the thing in the light of true reaſon, we ſhall find, that what men call life in them, is unworthy of that name; it being, to ſpeak properly, meer death. For living, is right acting, and exerciſing of faculties ſuitable to one's nature, with ſuch ſatisfaction and pleaſure as he is capable of: So as the true life of man (for of him we ſpeak) is nothing elſe but a continual exerciſe of good, and holy, and juſt actions, ſuitable to his true nature, and worthy of that immortal ſoul which was given him at the beginning, with ſuch high contentment as muſt needs accompany the ſame. Now it is evident, that thoſe that are in the fleſh, do do nothing like this. Inſtead of thoſe excellent and noble actions for which they were created, they do none but baſe and bad ones. Inſtead of meditating on GOD their Creator, and on heavenly and divine things, they dream on nothing but the fleſh and the earth, unworthily weltring in theſe bogs with all the ſenſe and underſtanding they have. Inſtead of loving GOD above all, of adoring and ſerving him with all the ſtrength of their ſoul, their whole will is ſet on creatures and vanity. And their Appetites, inſtead of being ſubject to right reaſon, do drag it into corruption and unrighteouſneſs. Sure this univerſal diſorder in actions and motions, is not, to ſay true, the life of a man; it's a depravation, and an overthrow of it, which deſerves the name of Death, rather than of Life. As when a Clock is marr'd, and all its motions put awry and confus'd, there's no longer the going of a Clock; though it ſtill have the parts, it no longer doth the office; it hath only the name of a Clock, not the truth. So is it with Man; he hath ſtill the broken remainders, and ruins of his primitive nature; but the pieces being confus'd, and the wheels cruſh'd together, and all motions diſorderly, he hath no longer the true life thereof, he hath but a falſe and deceivable image of it. Again, acting in this horrible confuſion, it cannot be, that he ſhould have that pure and calm contentment, without which his life is not life. He muſt of neceſſity be always in doubt, in diſtruſt, in fear, and diſquietneſs; and at laſt fall under thoſe juſt executions which this diſorder doth deſerve; that is, into that eternal death which is the wages of ſin. And though he doth not yet ſuffer this final infelicity, while he is on earth; nevertheleſs, becauſe it is infallibly his portion, and will eftſoons aſſuredly betide him, we are to count him even at preſent a dead man; and look on him, as on a Malefactor, that is on the point of being condemned and executed. For though he in the mean time doth live and breathe, yet we ſtick not to ſay, that ſuch a one is a loſt man, becauſe his puniſhment is certain. Thus you ſee it is very juſtly, that the Apoſtle reckons all thoſe to be dead, who are without the grace of GOD, foraſmuch as they do none of the actions of true life; and eternal death is unavoidable to them, while they are in this eſtate.
But the Apoſtle's words do ſignifie ſomewhat more yet. For to be dead, is not ſimply to be without exerciſing the actions of life; it is an having loſt the principles of life, and a being incapable of doing the actions thereof. You call him a dead man, not who is ſimply without action, and doth not exerciſe ſenſation or motion (for they that are aſleep, or in a ſwoon, are verily in that condition, yet are not dead); but him, who cannot any longer act, nor feel, nor move; and with action, hath loſt the faculty or power of it. Sure then, ſince the Apoſtle ſaith, that carnal men are dead; he means, not only that they are without the operations, and motions, and ſentiments of true life; but that moreover they lye deſtitute of the faculty and power to act them. Himſelf teacheth it us expreſly elſewhere. For as to their underſtanding, which is the foremoſt and the ruling guide of all actions properly humane, he ſaith not ſimply, that it doth not comprehend the things of GOD; but moreover, that it cannot diſcern them. The natural man (ſaith he) comprehends not the things of the Spirit of GOD, 1 Cor. 2.14.for they are fooliſhneſs unto him; neither can he underſtand them, foraſmuch as they are ſpiritually diſcerned. And as for the Affections, which are another principle of human actions, he affirms likewiſe ſomewhere, that the affection of the fleſh is enmity againſt GOD; Rom. 8.7. John 5.44.that it is not ſubject to the law of GOD, nor indeed can be. Our Saviour alſo ſaith of ſuch as are in this miſerable eſtate, that they cannot believe; and one of his Prophets had ſaid long before, Jer. 6.10. & 13.23.that the ear of that people was uncircumciſed; and that they could not underſtand; and in general, that they could no more do any good, than the Ethiopian change his skin, or the Leopard his ſpots.
But the Apoſtle here doth further ſhew us the quality and the cauſe of this death under which we lay before the LORD did call us; Ye were dead (ſaith he) in offences (that is, Eph. 2.1.in your ſins, as he expreſly adds in the Epiſtle to the Epheſians) and in the uncircumciſion of your fleſh. I acknowledg, this word is ſometimes taken in the Scripture for the external condition of the Gentiles; and circumciſion, on the contrary, for the ſtate of the Jews; whence it comes, that theſe two terms are uſed to ſignifie, one of them the Gentiles, and the other the Jews; as when the Apoſtle ſaith elſewhere, that the preaching of the Goſpel to the uncircumciſion was committed unto him; and the circumciſion unto Peter; that is, he receiv'd the charge of publiſhing the Goſpel to the Gentiles, and S. Peter to the Jews. I confeſs alſo, that theſe Coleſſians to whom he writes, were by birth Gentiles; ſo as it may be ſaid of them, that they were dead in that miſerable heatheniſh eſtate they were ſometime in. Yet I do not think that this is intended by the Apoſtle in this place. For in that caſe, it would have been ſufficient to ſay ſimply, when ye were dead in uncircumciſion, i. e. in Paganiſm; and there would have been no need to add, as he doth, in the uncircumciſion of your fleſh. Beſides, it is evident, it ſeems, that he maketh here a ſecret oppoſition between that uncircumciſion whereof he ſpeaks, and that circumciſion which the Coloſſians had received from the hand of JESUS CHRIST, whereof he ſpake immediately before, ſaying, that in JESƲS CHRIST they had been circumciſed with a circumciſion not made with hand, by putting off the body of the ſins of the fleſh. Therefore as by circumciſion in that paſſage, a ſpiritual and myſtical cutting off was ſignified; ſo in the Text, the Apoſtle takes the word uncircumciſion myſtically, and not literally; for the internal corruption of our nature, and (as he expreſs'd it afore) for the body of the ſins of the fleſh; not ſimply, for the external condition and mark of Paganiſm. Ye were dead in the uncircumciſion of your fleſh; that is, in the corruption of your fleſh; preciſely in the ſame ſenſe that Moſes meant, when he commanded the Iſraelites to circumciſe the foreskin of their heart, that is, to cut off the vices and corruption of their hearts. This myſtical uncircumciſion of the fleſh, is nothing elſe but the depravedneſs of our nature; the vices, and perverſe habitudes and qualities which have ſeiz'd on all its faculties; the blindneſs, error, and folly of the underſtanding; the diſorder of the will, and its adherence unto vanity, and falſe good things; the rebelliouſneſs of the appetites, and luſts … …inted with gall, and bittereſt poyſon. This is properly the princip … wherewith we all were ſtruck before the vocation of GOD. This is the curſed … from which it ſprings up in us. In the ſtirrings and motions of this hateful ſource, which boils inceſſantly in us, and caſts up filth continually, doth this ſpiritual death conſiſt. And I confeſs, in this reſpect, there is a difference between the condition of the dead, commonly ſo called; and the condition of theſe ſpiritually dead, whom the Apoſtle ſpeaks of. For the former, as they do no good, ſo neither do they any evil. Their faculties are equally diſabled to the one, and the other. Whereas theſe ſpiritually dead men, have loſt ſenſe and motion, only in reference to that which is good. They have both quick enough, but it is only in reference to evil. They underſtand, they love, they deſire, but altogether oppoſitely to good; their thoughts and affections being full of error, extravagancy, and malignity. As for true good, they neither comprehend it, nor diſcern it, nor love it any more than … they had neither underſtanding, nor will at all. Whence it follows, that whereas the deadneſs, the inſenſibility, and unmovableneſs of other dead, is an innocent miſery, deſerving our pity, and not our hate; theſe mens, on the contrary, is an evil infinitely culpable, and doth merit, not compaſſion, but abhorrence and execration, from every reaſonable creature. For that they neither do, nor can love GOD, doth not proceed from their being deſtitute of natural faculties of underſtanding and loving, but from a ſtrong and obſtinate rebelliouſneſs of thoſe faculties; and from that invincible paſſion which carrieth them to evil; John 5.44.as our Saviour ſhews us, when he ſaith unto the Jews, How can you believe, ſeeing that you ſeek honour one of another, and ſeek not the honour which comes of GOD alone? An evident ſign, that theſe wretched people's impotency to believe, did come from nothing but their impiety, their ſtiff and inflexible averſion from the glory of GOD, and that ardent and invincible affection they had for vanity, and their own glory.
See then, beloved Brethren, what the condition of all men is, before the LORD doth effectually call them unto the grace of his Son. Where now are they, that pretend they have the power of a free determination, and a will equally capable of good and evil? that do hereupon conteſt, they can either convert them themſelves unto GOD (as ſaid the Pelagians of old); or at leaſt prepare themſelves for converſion, and diſpoſe themſelves for grace; as the greater part of the Doctors of Rome, and with them ſome others alſo, do maintain at this day? The Apoſtle blaſteth all this pride in one word, when he ſaith, that we were dead in our ſins, and in the uncircumciſion of our fleſh. If a dead man be able to make himſelf alive, or to prepare himſelf for the reception of life, by any actions that come from him, I will yeeld, that the error of theſe men is not incompatible with the Doctrine of S. Paul. But ſince common ſenſe aſſureth us, that the dead are depriv'd not of the actions alone, but alſo of the power of life; and that there is nothing but a ſupernatural action of GOD, that is able to reſtore them to the ſociety of the living, ſo as they can contribute nothing thereto themſelves; we muſt needs either charge a falſh…od upon the Apoſtle, who ſaith, that before Grace, we are dead in our ſins; or confeſs, in conſequence of his Doctrine, that men neither have, nor can have of themſelves, any action or diſpoſition unto ſpiritual life; and that the power of the hand of GOD, working ſupernaturally in them by his grace, is the only ſtrength that raiſeth them up out of this miſerable ſtate If their will be free, it is free to evil only; which it embraceth and followeth moſt freely (I confeſs), that is, moſt voluntarily, and without any conſtraint, taking all its delight therein. If their underſtanding do act, it is for error, which it doth conceive, and moſt obſtinately embrace. But as for the life of GOD, they have not liberty, or light for it any more, John 6.44. and 8.36.than if they had neither will nor underſtanding at all; according to that which our Saviour hath taught us, ſaying, No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath ſent me, draw him: and again, If the Son make you free, you ſhall be free indeed. Without this, a man can have neither life nor liberty.
The Apoſtle clearly ſheweth it, when having repreſented the death, wherein we were, he adds, in the ſecond part of our Text, that God hath quickned us together with CHRIST, having freely pardoned us all our offences. For there is no doubt, but we muſt refer this action unto GOD, of whom he juſt before was ſaying, that He raiſed JESƲS CHRIST from the dead. It is therefore the ſame GOD, who raiſed up the chief Shepherd from the dead, that doth alſo make alive his faithful flock, bringing them our of that ſpiritual and eternal death into which we are naturally ſunk; and putting them into a celeſtial and immortal life. As there is none but He, that could inſpire and quicken that duſt of which He formed us at firſt; ſo there is again none but He, that can expel out of our fleſh that death which hath ſeized on it, and reſtore that life which ſin hath extinguiſh'd in us. Both the one and the other vivification is the work of His hand alone. Yet to ſay, as truth is, it is needful for Him to put forth more might in the ſecond of them, than He did in the firſt. For if that handful of earth of which He created Adam, had no diſpoſition at all to that form and life which He put in it; yet at leaſt it had no repugnancy thereto; whereas beſides that He now findeth in us no diſpoſition to an heavenly life, He meets with (over and above) reſiſtance and contrariety; a ſpirit of rebellion a…mating the whole maſs of our fleſh, which He muſt neceſſarily caſt out, that celeſtial life may be infuſed. Now as that Death, in which we lay, doth comprehend two things; namely firſt, the corruption of a nature deſtitute of all juſt and rational apprehenſions and motions; and ſecondly, the guilt of ſin, and an oblig…tion to eternal puniſhment: In like manner that life to which GOD calleth us by his grace, doth conſiſt in two particulars; firſt, a reſtauration of His Image in us, by the infuſion of principles and faculties of true life; and ſecondly, the remiſſion of our ſins. The Apoſtle here doth briefly ſpeak of them both; of the firſt, in ſaying, that GOD hath quickned us together with CHRIST: of the ſecond, in adding, that he hath freely pardoned us all our ſins.
For the firſt, GOD hath quickned us, in that, delivering us from the death we were under, he hath put into us, by the grace of his Spirit, the principles of an heavenly life, and formed in our breaſts new hearts, hearts illuminated with a new light, to wit, the good knowledg of his Truth, and of the myſteries of his will. Then in the ſecond place, by the virtue of this Divine flame, he enkindleth in our ſouls the love of his moſt excellent Majeſty, charity towards our neighbour, u…ection for juſt and honeſt things, zeal for his glory, abhorrence and hatred of ſin, and in a word, ſanctification, and all the virtues which it comprehendeth, that are the ſproutings and productions of this ſecond, celeſtial, and happy life, which in his great mercy he conferreth on us. From this new nature, as from a bleſſed root, do iſſue good and holy actions, prayer, worſhipping of GOD, frequent meditation, and reading of his word, extaſies of love to him, travels for his glory, ſufferings for his Name ſake, relieving, inſtructing, aſſiſting of our Neighbour, and ſuch others that are as it were the flowers and fruits; in the production whereof, that life, which GOD hath given us in his Son, doth properly conſiſt. It's the ſame thing that the Apoſtle elſewhere compriſeth in few words, ſaying, Eph. 2.10. and 4.24.that we are the workmanſhip of GOD, being created in JESƲS CHRIST unto good works, which GOD hath prepared, that we ſhould walk in them. And again in another place, that our new man (that is, the ſecond nature, which he formeth in us, when he quickneth us by his grace) is created after GOD in true righteouſneſs and holineſs. The holy Spirit being rich and magnificent in its expreſſions, doth explain this admirable and bleſſed operation of the grace of GOD in us, by divers terms, taken from different reſemblances, but all amounting to the ſame ſenſe. For to ſet it forth, it ſaith not only, as here, that GOD hath quickned us; but alſo, Eph. 2.10. 1 Pet. 1.3. Ezek. 36.26. Jer. 31.33. Rom. 11 23. Col. 1.13. 1 Cor 3.6. Acts 16.4. Phil. 2.13.that He hath created us; and in another place, that He hath begotten us again; the ſame is meant when it ſaith, that GOD taketh out of us our hearts of ſtone, and gives us hearts of fleſh, in which he writes his laws: that He reneweth us, and formeth us into new creatures, or new men; that He graffeth us by his power into the true olive: that He tranſlateth us out of the kingdom of darkneſs, into his marvellous light: that it's He who giveth encreaſe, the Miniſters of the Word being nothing: that He openeth our hearts, and worketh in us effectually both to will and to do of his good pleaſure: and other like phraſes which are found here and there in the Scriptures.
But the Apoſtle addeth here, that GOD hath thus quickned us together with CHRIST; ſhewing us, by theſe words, the cauſe and the manner of our viviſication; namely, that it was effected in JESUS CHRIST, and with Him, and by Him. For as that death which we heretofore bore in our ſelves, doth come from Adam, the ſtock and original of our carnal beeing, who by deſtroying himſelf, deſtroyed us alſo with him; and corrupting his own nature, corrupted ours likewiſe; ſo as it is in him and from him that we inherit this miſery: in like manner, on the contrary, that life which we have now receiv'd from GOD, doth come from JESUS CHRIST, the ſtock and root of the new nature; who raiſing up himſelf unto life, raiſed us up alſo, according to what the Apoſtle ſaith elſewhere, viz. that as all dye in Adam, ſo likewiſe in JESƲS CHRIST are all made alive. But this aſſertion of his here, that GOD hath quickned us together with CHRIST, 1 Cor. 15.22.doth particularly refer to his reſurrection; as if GOD, in reſtoring him to that glorious life, which he receiv'd at his iſſuing out of the Sepulcher, had at the ſame time given us alſo part therein. And he ſpeaks in this manner, for two reaſons principally. The firſt is, becauſe it was then, that JESUS CHRIST brought to light that bleſſed life whereof we have been made partakers; and from him, as from its ſource, hath it been derived unto us; ſo as that ſame time was the day of our new birth as well as his. For if he had not been made alive, no more ſhould we have ever been. Not but that the Father all had the might and power that was neceſſary to give us life again. But his Juſtice could not have ſuffer'd him to give life to any of the ſons of men, if their Surety and Mediator had abode under death. The ſecond reaſon is, That he being our Head, and we his Members; he our Pattern, and we Copies, drawn (if I may ſo ſay) from his Original; when GOD raiſed him, he re-enliven'd us alſo by the ſame means; ſince by this action he obliged himſelf to vivifie us likewiſe; it being evident, that without this, we ſhould not have that conformity with our Head, to which he predeſtinated us. Not to mention, for the preſent, the efficacy this Reſurrection hath, to form in us faith, and hope, and love of glorious immortality, which are the principles of that new life that GOD doth put into us by his Spirit; as we intimated in the expoſition of the precedent Verſe.
There remains now the other part of this bleſſed life which GOD giveth us in his Son, namely, the remiſſion of our ſins. S. Paul ſets it before us here, when he ſaith, that GOD hath freely pardoned us all our ſins. For the Spirit of Sanctification, which is as the ſoul of that new life he createth in our hearts, doth indeed turn away our affections from vice, and obſtruct our committing of unjuſt, ungodly, and impure actions, wherein we wallowed afore. Yet this reſpecteth only the preſent and the future; and if there were no more, the guilt of ſins committed in time paſt, during our ſpiritual deadneſs, would nevertheleſs remain in its ſtrength; it being clear, that though the act of ſin be paſt, the faultineſs wherewith it commaculates him who committeth it, goes not off ſo ſoon. It ſubſiſts ſtill, both in the conſcience of the ſinner, if he have any; and in the regiſters of the Juſtice of the Supream Judg of the World, binding over the ſinner unto puniſhment. Whence it follows, that ſuppoſing a man be perfectly cured of vicious habits and inclinations, yet would he nevertheleſs be faulty, by reaſon of his fore-paſſed ſins; and conſequently liable, upon this account, unto the curſe; with which, and the terrors that precede it, true life is ſo incompatible, that it is not imaginable a man in ſuch a ſtate could ever reſolve to ſerve GOD freely and ſincerely. Therefore GOD, that he may throughly quicken us, doth not only deliver us from the tyranny of vice, and of the fleſh, by that Princely Spirit which he poureth into our inward parts; but moreover pardoneth us all the ſins whereof we are guilty; and it ſeems in very deed, if we do accurately obſerve the moments of his action in us, that it's there he does begin, firſt remitting our former offences, to the end that the ſenſe of this goodneſs of His, may cauſe us to love him, and encline us to obey him, and conform our ſelves with all our might unto his holy will.
The Apoſtle attributeth unto this remiſſion, two remarkable qualities. One, that GOD forgiveth us all our offences; that is, doth not impute to us any of our ſins, either in whole, or in part; but treateth us, as if we had committed none at all. Another is, that he doth it freely, and of meer grace (for ſo doth the word [giving] uſed here in the Original, properly ſignifie; as our Tranſlation hath well expreſs'd, by rendring, He hath freely forgiven us). The Scripture tells us not of any other kind of pardon. For as to that which our Adverſaries do aſſert, to wit, whereby the fault is remitted, but the puniſhment exacted either in whole, or in part; or is bought out with the payment of our own ſatisfactions, or the ſatisfactions of others; it's a figment of their own Schools, of which the Holy Ghoſt ſays nothing any where; but repreſents unto us all that remiſſion which GOD gives the faithful, either at the beginning, or in the progreſs of their regeneration, as an entire pardon, and purely gratuitous. As for that ſatisfaction, by which our LORD and Saviour obtained it for us, it is ſo far from any way diminiſhing, that it does infinitely exalt the bounty of GOD towards us, ſince that he ſo loved us, as that he might pardon our faults with the conſent of his Juſtice, he would have his only Son to ſhed his precious blood for the contenting thereof. This is that we had to deliver upon this Text of the Apoſtle's.
Dear Brethren, Let us hold faſt what it hath taught us of the condition that all men are naturally in, before GOD calleth them to his grace. Let not their outward appearance deceive you, nor the pleaſures of their fleſh, nor the ſplendor of their pretended virtues, either civil or moral. All this is but a falſe image of life, covering a carkaſs that's ſtinking, and abominable before GOD. Make account that they are dead; and that if they walk, it is not a true principle of life, but ſin the poyſon of life, which doth animate them, and ſet them on working. The iſſue will one day clear it to us all; when the juſt judgment of GOD, having ſtript them of that fallacious diſguiſe which now hideth the hideouſneſs of their nature, ſhall ſhew it before Heaven and Earth, and make us plainly ſee, that they were but Sepulchers, whited without, and full of filth and infection within; and caſt them, thereupon, into that wretched and eternal death, which is prepared for them with the Devil and his Angels. Bleſs we GOD, who hath deliver'd us from this perdition by his great mercy; and hate we ſin, and the corruption of the fleſh, which had involv'd us in it. Look we on them as peſts and poyſons that deſtroy our life; and reckon we, that we have liv'd no more time than what hath been exempted from our ſerving of them. You deceive your ſelf, Worldling, who count the days of your unclean pleaſures, or your vain honours, the beſt part of your life. To ſay plainly, it was the time of your being dead, and not of your being alive. After ſo many years, as you have tumbled up and down the earth, you have not yet liv'd a moment. You have all along been in a ſtate of death. And they that write upon your Tombs, that you liv'd ſo many years, and died ſuch a day, do groſly err. You did not live, when you offended GOD and your Neighbour; or loſt your time in the filth of your infamous delights. And on the day that you ſhall quit the earth, you will not ceaſe to live (for to ſay true, you never liv'd); but from one kind of death, you will paſs into another; from the death of ſin, to a death of torment. Chriſtians, if you love life, and hate horror at death, renounce ſin, and mortifie your fleſh. You cannot live, except it dye. Put in exerciſe that noble life which the LORD hath given you in his Son. Act according to the Principles which he hath put into you by his Spirit; and lay forth continually in good and holy works, the Graces wherewith he hath veſted you. Faithfully love and ſerve him. Let your minds meditate on nothing beſide him, your hearts deſire none but him, your tongues ſpeak only of him. Let the contemplation of the wonders of his love, and the hopes of his glory, be the whole food of your ſouls. Reſpect thoſe men in whom you ſee his Image ſhine. Affect them, and ſerve them for his ſake, looking upon their lives, their eſtates, their honour, their bodies, and ſouls, as ſacred and inviolable things. Endeavour to enrich them by communicating of your proſperities unto them. Offend no man. Do good to all. Let your charity and your innocence be conſpicuous in the ſight of GOD and Man. Faithful Brethren, This is that life, truly worthy to be called life, which GOD doth reward for the preſent with a joy and contentment of Conſcience, that's a thouſand times more ſweet and ſavoury, than any of the vain delights of the world; and which he will crown one day with that glorious Immortality he hath promiſed. It's for this that he hath vouchſafed to forgive us freely all our offences, all thoſe ſo many horrible Crimes which had merited Hell-fire; and is ſtill ready to pardon all the ſins we have committed ſince. This ſo great and admirable loving-kindneſs of his tendeth only to withdraw us from ſin, and oblige us to love and revere ſo good a GOD. It's for the ſelf-ſame end that he hath raiſed up his Son from the dead, and enliven'd us with him, giving us faith, hope, and charity, the principles of a new life, even that henceforth renouncing ſin, and the fleſh, and turning our hearts towards Heaven, where our treaſure and our glory is, we might live ſoberly, righteouſly, and godly in the preſent world, looking for the bleſſed hope and appearing of the glory of our great GOD, and Saviour JESUS CHRIST. Amen.