Sermons Volume 2, John 17 · Sermon 32
SERMON XXXII.
JOHN XVII.18.
As thou hast sent me into the World, even so have I also sent them into the World.
Secondly▪I Now come to speak of the Dignity that is put upon them that are called to the Work of the Ministry; they are sent by Christ as his Deputies and Ambassadors, as those who impersonate Christ, and represent him to the World. 2 Cor. 5.20. foreign, Wherefore we are Ambassadors for Christ, as tho God did beseech you by us, we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. Ministers are sent out as Christ's Proxies.
Here I shall shew;
1. Who are sent.
2. From whom.
3. To whom.
4. Why, or about what Business.
1. Who are sent. Principally the Apostles; but secondarily, the ordinary Ministers of the Gospel: The Apostles as Ambassadors extraordinary, but we as Leigers and Agents. The Apostles were immediatly sent by Christ, and furnished with extraordinary Gifts, as Infallibility of Doctrine, Gifts of Miracles, Gifts of Tongues; as Ambassadors are set forth with more Pomp and State than Agents. But now Ministers are sent by a Power derived and delegated from Christ; and we have not like Authority and Infallibility as the Apostles had, but the substance of the Commission, and of the Work, is the same; we are to open the Mind of God to Men, and in Christ's Name and Authority, to pray you to be reconciled to God. And therefore both Apostles, and ordinary Ministers of the Gospel, ordinary Pastors and Teachers of the Church are sent.
2. From whom they are sent. From Christ, who is the King of the Church, tho with the Consent of all the Persons in the Trinity. The Father sendeth, Christ sendeth, the Holy Ghost sendeth. Gal. 1.1. Paul an Apostle, not of Men, neither by Men, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the Dead. Paul raiseth up his Commission, as far as the Grant and Consent of God the Father. And the Holy Ghost sendeth, Acts 20.28. Take heed therefore unto your selves, and to all the Flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers. So, Acts 13.2. As they ministred to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Paul and Barnabas for the Work whereunto I have called them. In short then, we are sent by the Decree and Will of the Father, qualified by the Holy Ghost, and commissioned by the Authority of Christ as King of the Church. And therefore the Apostles were to tarry at Jerusalem till Christ was ascended, and seated on the Throne, and seized upon the Kingdom, and poured out the Holy Ghost upon them. None are sent, but such are also called, and chosen by the Holy Ghost, by whom also they are gifted, with respect to God the Father's Consent, and Christ's Authority.
3. To whom are they sent? I Answer; To all without any distinction of Nation, Sex, Person, or Condition. Mark 16.15. Go ye into all the World, and preach the Gospel to every Creature. Men send an Embassy to Kings and Princes, but Christ to every mean Creature, without any restraint. It is true, the Motion and Course of the Gospel is directed, by a special Providence, to some Places, and not to others. Acts 16.7. After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. But doth the Holy Ghost hinder the preaching of the Gospel? We must distinguish between the Grant of Power, and the Exercise of it. Tho there be a general Grant, that the Pale of the Church shall be inlarged; yet this Grant is to be made good as the Lord will. There is a general Grant, that the Gospel shall be preached unto all Nations; but as for the Exercise and making good this Grant, God will have the World to know, that the Preaching of the Gospel is a Priviledge, and a special Favour, and therefore he sendeth it to some and not to others, as a Token of his Love. It is a thing that doth not come by chance, or by the Counsels of Men, but by his special Grant and Designation. Therefore it is notable, that the Apostles were guided by the Spirit, not only in their Doctrine, but in their Journeys; and the external Means are distributed by the Will of God, as well as internal Grace, that where-ever it cometh, we may acknowledg it as a special Favour; to some it cometh later, to others sooner, but to all as God will. He oweth it to none; and therefore, tho the Pale be inlarged, and there is a general Grant, that all Creatures that live within the precincts of the round World, shall have the Gospel in their turn; yet to some it is sent before others. Acts 3.26. VntoUnto you first God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you. The Jews had the first Offer, and liberty of Choice or Refusal. So, Acts 13.26. Men and Brethren, Children of the Stock of Abraham, unto you is the Word of this Salvation sent; he doth not say, it is brought by me, but sent. The Preaching of the Gospel is governed by God's special Providence and Care. As the Scriptures came not in old time by the Will of Man; but Holy Men of God spake, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, 2 Pet. 1.21. So it is not preached by the Will of Men. It is not your Purses that procure it, nor your Goodness that deserveth it; but good Ministers are sent to you by Christ's special Love and Care, and so should you acknowledg it. I tell you, many have laboured for the Gospel, fought for the Gospel, and yet they have missed it, because they do not consider him that hath the Stars in his Hand, and directeth and guideth their Motions. God will have this Mercy taken out of his own Hand, as a special Token of his Love; therefore because they do not acknowledg God, tho they fight, strive, and labour for it, yet the Gospel is taken from them.
4. For what are they sent, or the End and Scope of the Gospel? Ever since the Fall, there is a quarrel between God and Man; and God might send Heralds to proclaim War, as he sendeth Ambassadors of Peace to pray you to be reconciled, 2 Cor. 5.20. that is the purport and drift of our Message, to gain Men to lay down the Weapons of their Defiance, and to accept of Christ, that in him they may find Life and Peace. God might send Messengers into the World, as he sent Jonah to Nineveh, to warn the World of their Destruction; or, as he revealed the Law upon Mount Sinai, to make Men sensible of their Bondage, and obnoxiousness to Divine Wrath and Justice: But he sendeth Messengers of Peace, with an Olive Branch in their Mouths, to tell the World of God reconciled, and God pacified by Christ, and invite them to be in Favour and Peace with God, that so they may enjoy Communion with him in Grace here, and Glory hereafter. Col. 1.27, 28. Christ in you, the Hope of Glory. Whom we preach, warning every Man, and teaching every Man in all Wisdom, that we may present every Man perfect in Christ Jesus. There is the Subject of our Ministry, Communion with Christ, and Reconciliation with God by Christ, as the Hope of Glory; the manner of managing it, with Wisdom warning every Man; the Persons with whom we treat, every Man, without distinction; and our Aim and Scope, that we may present every Man perfect in Christ Jesus.
Vse 1. It informeth us of four Things.
1. The Excellency and Dignity of the Ministry. They are Christ's Ambassadors; they are sent, not as a Post or Letter-Carrier, but as honourable Messengers. An Ambassador usually is one of the Nobility, sent by a Prince, or the Supream Power of a Nation; not to private Men, but to their Fellow-Princes or States; not upon a light Cause, but to treat of Matters of Moment; and not in a low or base manner, but with an Equipage and Pomp answerable to the Dignity of him that sendeth. Or, in short, an Ambassador is an Eminent Person, sent from some chief Prince, with Dignity and Authority to transact Affairs of the greatest Moment; and because he representeth the Person from whom he is sent, therefore Credit and Honour is to be given to him, suitable to his Place and Office. Now the greater the King or Potentate is, from whom he is sent, the more Honour is done him: if from an Emperor, it is more Honour than from an ordinary Prince; and the greater and more welcome the Business is, still the greater Honour: If the Nature of the Business be to require Satisfaction for Injuries, to denounce War, yet still he is respected according to his Place; but if it be a Matter of Peace, he is more welcome; or if it be to establish a Correspondence of Traffick between Nation and Nation; much more if it be about a Treaty of Marriage, and to propound Terms of the highest Amity and Friendship, he is much more respected; and yet more especially, if the State or Prince to whom he is sent, be inferior to the other that sent him. Now these are the Terms upon which the Ministers of the Gospel are sent; they are Christ's Ambassadors, they are sent from the greatest Monarch that ever was, from Christ, who is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; and they are sent to miserable and wretched Men, to Rebels to the Crown of Heaven; and their Message is not to denounce War, but to propose Terms of Friendship and Amity, to tell you that God is willing to be reconciled to, and to be at Peace with his Creatures. Oh, how beautiful upon the Mountains should their Feet be, that publish such glad Tidings! Isa. 52.7. It is an Allusion to the dirty Feet of Travellers, that come about weighty Business; the Dirt of the Journey doth not render them defiled, but beautiful. Nay, this is not all, they are furnished with Authority, with Power of binding and loosing, of remitting and retaining Sins. John 2.23. Whose soever Sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever Sins ye retain, they are retained. To them are given the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, to open and shut; not as they please, but so as the Lord ratifies their regular Proceedings in the Court of Heaven. They have a Power, in God's Name, to take up the Controversy between God and you, and they bear God's Name, that is, represent his Person. And they are set forth with an answerable Equipage, with plentiful Gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are, as it were, their Letters of Credence, with Gifts of Knowledg, Experience, and Comfort, above the ordinary sort of Christians.
2. It informeth us of the Duty of the Ministry, as well as their Dignity; their Duty, both in their Life and Conversation, and in their Ministry and Calling.
(1.) In their Life and Conversation. Remember the Gravity and State of Ambassadors; you represent Christ's Person, and you must be Examples and Paterns to others. You should not be guilty of Levity, or be given to the Pomp and Vanities of the World, as others are; not only that you may not disparage your Ministry, and hinder the Ends of it, but that you may the better represent the Person of him that hath sent you, and not disgrace Christ. An imprudent, vain, carnal Minister, is a disgrace to Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. 3.18. We all with open Face, beholding as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the same Image, from Glory to Glory, even as by the Spirit of our God. Principally that Text concerns Ministers, so Beza, Calvin, and others expound it; for there he is comparing the Ministry of the New Testament, with the Ministry of the Legal Dispensation: that as Moses, by conversing with God, his Face shone; so Ministers of the Gospel have their Glory too; by conversing with Christ, they carry away his Image. So that a Minister should be a Representative of Christ. It is a Spiritual Dignity, not a Temporal, to be Christ's Ambassadors; and therefore you must excel, not in Place only, but in Grace. 1 Tim. 4.12. Let no Man despise thy Youth, but be thou an Example of the Believers, in Word, in Conversation, in Charity, in Spirit, in Faith, in Purity. This is the Duty of a Minister, to appear like Christ's Deputy, just as he was in the World. This will make way for your esteem, tho young for Age, and mean in Birth and Estate. The Apostle doth not write to others, and say, See you do not despise Timothy; but he writes to Timothy, Let no Man despise thee: Our disesteem cometh from our selves, when we let fall the Majesty of our Conversations. Well then, let the Dignity of your Office be in your Eye, that you may not be a disgrace to him that sent you, but may walk with all Religious Circumspection, Gravity and Prudence.
(2.) In their Ministry and Calling, there is also required Faithfulness, Gravity, and Sincerity.
(1.) Faithfulness. Propound nothing to others, but what you have in command from God, and what you know to be certainly agreeable to his Will. As an Ambassador must not go beyond his Commission, that is upon his own Score, and to his own Peril. When Christ gave us our Commission, this he gave us in charge; Mat. 28.20. Teach them all things which I have commanded you. The first mischief in the Church came from dogmatizing, Men would be wise above the Word, and that made way for foul Abuses, and they for Heresies; when you press things without Warrant, others question all. You shall see the Lord Christ often avoucheth, how punctually he kept to his Commission. John 12.49. For I have not spoken of my self: but the Father which sent me, he gave me Commandment what I should say, and what I should speak. Christ would not go a tittle nor hairs breadth from his Instructions. When we are adding to the Word, others will detract from it. It is sweet, when we can say, John 7.16. My Doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me; This I have in charge from God, when we have clear Evidence from the Word, and a strong Instinct from the Spirit to deliver such a Message; not the Visions of our own Brain, but the Counsel of God to the People.
(2.) With Gravity. God's Message must be delivered like his Message, speaking as the Oracles of God, 1 Pet. 4.11. with affection, as having experience of it in our Souls, feeling the Divine Power of the Word on our Hearts, and with Authority: thou art delivering Christ's Message, in the presence of Christ and his Holy Angels; and therefore it must not be delivered with frothy gayish Eloquence, but with Majesty and Power. Vain-glorious Preaching, such as is intermixed with strains of Wit, and Fancies, and idle Speculations, ill becometh God's Ambassadors. Such speak as if they were in jest, not as if they had a serious Message to deliver from God; this becometh the Stage rather than the Pulpit.
(3.) With Sincerity. It is required of an Ambassador, that he be faithful to him that sent him. He is not sent abroad to seek his own Ends, and enter into a Confederacy with Foreign Princes, to gratify his Interest by secret Combinations, but must be faithful to him that sent him. Prov. 13.17. A wicked Messenger falleth into Mischief, but a faithful Ambassador is Health; Health to himself, and Health to the Prince that sendeth him. And therefore we must not seek our selves, but be faithful to God. You seek your selves most, when you do not seek your selves, when you are faithful to God, when you do nothing for fear or favour of Men, but are bold upon the Lord's Commission. Your Work is to go for another, not for your selves. God himself will reward his own Messengers, and will set the Crown upon their Heads with his own Hand. And that is one Reason why he permits them to have bad Entertainment in the World, that they may not take up with Men, and that he himself might crown them, and give them their Reward.
3. It informeth us of the Mercy and Love of God to Mankind. He was the offended Party, and yet he first sendeth about Terms of Reconciliation. In us there is Infirmitas & Animositates, Weakness, and strength of Stomach; tho we have done the Injury, yet we are not ready to offer Terms of Reconciliation. As David speaks of the Mercy of the Covenant in general, 2 Sam. 7.19. And is this the manner of Men, O Lord God? Was it ever heard, that he that is offended should be so sollicitous and careful to send about Agreement and Reconciliation? But this God doth, not out of any need that he hath of our Friendship, as Men sometimes in Policy seek to those who have injured them, for God is stronger than we; but out of pure Love. The first Ambassador God sent, was his own Son: 1 John 4.10. Herein is Love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the Propitiation for our Sins. And, Vers. 19. We love him, because he first loved us. Christ cometh out from the Bosom of God. The Law was delivered by an Angel, but the Gospel by Christ himself. And then God sendeth Apostles with extraordinary Gifts, and Power of working Miracles, to lay a Foundation. 1 Cor. 3.10. According to the Grace that is given unto me, as a wise Master-builder I have laid the Foundation. And then Pastors and Teachers, Men of like Passions with our selves, weak Men, but furnished with Gifts proper to their Calling. There is a Mercy in this Institution. We cannot endure God's Presence: Deut. 5.25. If we hear the Voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. Moses trembled and quaked, when a Voice was heard out of the Clouds and Darkness. Therefore God sends Men of like Infirmities with our selves, that our Defects might be born with patience, because they have experience of the hardness and obstinacy of their own Hearts; and that our Ignorance might be familiarly instructed, and Knowledg dropped in by degrees; we are to learn by little and little, here a Line, and there a Line; God, in condescention to our weakness, hath appointed this help.
4. It informeth us of the Madness of the World, that use Christ's Ambassadors ill, when they come about such a Message. It is against Jus Gentium, the Law of Nations, to offer violence to Ambassadors: let their Message be never so displeasing, their Persons are secured by the Civility of all Nations. Yet Christ's Ambassadors are often ill intreated: Matth. 23.37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the Prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee! It is England's Sin, to malign and hate God's Messengers, tho they come with Terms of Peace. Never was the Ministry more Evangelical, yet never more hated than now. What should be the Reason of this Madness? No Calling is more profitable to Humane Society, to civilize a People, to take them off from their brutishness and fierceness, and yet none more opposed. Partly out of a Gadarene Temper, they grow weary of Christ's Ministers; but chiefly out of a natural Enmity against them. Since the Fall, Man is an Enemy to his own Happiness. In bodily Miseries it is otherwise; a blind Man loves his Guide, and as Elymas, when stricken blind, they seek about for some to lead them; a sick Man loveth his Physician: but Spiritual Blindness and Sickness is of another Nature, Men hate those that offer to lead them, and cure them. The guilty World would fain take a Nap, and rest; and because God's Messengers will not let them alone, therefore they hate them. Errors and Lusts are touchy; Mundus senescens patitur phantasias. The World, as it grows old, is given to Dreams and Dotage, and is loth to be disturbed. A Thief would have the Candle put out that discovereth him. Christ's Messengers, tho Instruments of common Good, yet often meet with publick Hatred. Ephes. 6.20. For whom I am an Ambassador in Bonds, foreign, in Chains; A Man would think he meant Golden Chains, because he speaks of his Ambassadorship; no, he means hard Iron Chains, which he suffered for Christ's sake; and usually this is the Lot of Christ's Ambassadors.
Vse 2. Advice both to People, and Ministers.
First; To People. If Ministers be sent by Christ, then it adviseth you to respect their Message, their Calling, their Persons.
1. Accept their Message. When we speak for the Honour and Dignity of the Ministry, we plead for a Spiritual Respect to them, not for a Temporal Domination and Precedency in all Meetings and Companies. Our King, whom we serve, is a Spiritual King; his Kingdom is not of this World, he came not with external Pomp and Splendor, therefore these are not things we should look after. Tho some respect is due to their Persons, yet chiefly we plead for a respect to their Doctrine. Do not despise the Message which they bring, tho their Persons be obscure and despicable. Doctrines delivered from the Scripture, have a Divine Authority; it is God's Message, as if it had been spoken from Heaven. And therefore if we must speak at the Oracles of God, you must hear it as God's Word. 1 Thess. 2.13. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it, not as the Word of Men, but (as it is in Truth) the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. Never can you expect the Word should work with you, till you have this respect and reverence for it.
But you will say, Is all Gospel that is delivered by one in Office?
I Answer; No, but you must humbly consider what is brought to you in Christ's Name. When Ehud said to Eglon, Judges 3.20. I have a Message from God unto thee; he arose out of his Seat. See what it is, and let it move you more to look to your ways.
2. Respect the Calling more. Many seek to undermine it, as if it were grown the Burden of the Christian World; others think disgracefully and meanly of it, as if it were below their Parts, or Rank and Place. Let me tell you, it is the highest Honour that can be put upon a Creature, to be Christ's Messenger: No Nobility of Birth, Antiquity of House, Plenty of Estate is to be compared with it; all worldly Honours and Titles are beneath it, and so shall we judg, when once we come to see a Prophet's Reward. Do not think scornfully of the Calling; It is a great Mercy, if God should chuse any of thine to this Work, the best and chiefest of thy Family. The First-born were separated to God, before the Priesthood was setled upon the Tribe of Levi. Usually Men consecrate the worst to God, if any be lame, blind, unfit for Work; like the Deceiver, Mal. 1.14. Which hath a Male in his Flock, and …oweth and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing. I speak the more in this Matter, because if God suffer the Wickedness of the Age to go on, if Maintenance go away, Nobles must put their Necks to the Yoke, to serve Christ in this Employment, as some have done in other Churches.
3. Respect their Persons. Something is due to them for the Work's sake. 1 Thess. 5.12, 13. And we beseech you, Brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their Work's sake. Gal. 4.14. Ye received me as an Angel of God, even as Christ Jesus; whose Deputy he was, tho compassed with Weaknesses. Certainly there is some good Will due to the Persons, that bring such glad Tidings from Heaven. We reward a Messenger that bringeth a Token from a Friend, and these come to you from your best Friend, Jesus Christ. There is a Promise made to that respect that you shew to the Persons of Christ's Messengers. Matth. 10.42. Who shall give to drink unto one of these little Ones a Cup of cold Water only, in the Name of a Disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his Reward. It was said of Gamaliel, a Teacher of the Law, Acts 5.34. He was, foreign, in Reputation among the People: The Original word signifies, he was precious to the People. If a Doctor of the Law was in such esteem, something is due to the Teachers of the Gospel. Do not say, we plead for our selves; it is fit you should hear your Duty pressed.
Secondly; To Ministers. It quickneth you to your Work, notwithstanding great Afflictions, and the Inconveniences you meet with in the World. Remember you are sent, as Christ was, to an unthankful World. It will hold good, not only in regard of Authority, but Condition; The Disciple is not above his Lord, Mat. 10.35. Nor he that sent, greater than he that sent him, John 13.16. Comfort your selves against Contempt; God hath vouchsafed this high Favour and Prerogative to you above many others, that seemed worthy to be preferred before you, that have quicker Parts, and higher Abilities; above the Nobles and the Princes of the World. You have no cause to envy them, nor their Greatness, tho you are counted the Dregs of the World, and made a daily Reproach. Paul ballanceth his Office and his Afflictions: Ephes. 6.20. For which I am an Ambassador in Bonds. There is his Ambassadorship, and his Bonds; the greatness of his Office, and the straitness of his Condition; his Dignity before God and the Church, and his Shame and Disgrace in the World.
Vse 3. Reproof to those that wrong Christ's Messengers, their Persons with Reproach and Violence, or their Estate by Sacrilegious Hands, seeking to deprive them of their Maintenance. Take heed what you do, the Persons and Goods of Ambassadors are privileged. You rob God and Christ, whose receivers they are, and to whom these things are consecrated. Rom. 2.22. Thou that abhorrest Idols, dost thou commit Sacrilege? God will wink at the Superstition of former Times, that had no better Light, when he will not at the Unthankfulness, Rapine, Avarice, and Robbery of these Times, and therefore take heed what you do.
1. The Affronts you put upon them, redound to Christ, whose Deputies and Proxies they are. They represent his Person, therefore he takes it as done to himself. Luke 10.16. He that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me. It goes up to God himself, from Messengers to Christ, from Christ to God. As the Lord tells Samuel, 1 Sam. 8.7. They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. Christ counts it as done to himself in his own Person.
2. It sheweth you do not prize the Word, when you hate the Messengers of it, when you offer Violence to their Persons, and rob them of their good Names. Isa. 52.7. How beautiful upon the Mountains are the Feet of him that bringeth good Tidings, that publisheth Peace, that bringeth good Tidings of Good, that publisheth Salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! The Messengers of Christ are precious to those that have received benefit by them. If ever you tasted the Power of the Word, certainly you would love the Instruments more. Take heed of rotten Hypocrisy. You profess you detest the Persecutions of former Times, of Pagans, and Antichrist, that so furiously persecuted the Church; and alas! you do the same, when you oppose God's Messengers, that live in your Age, whom Christ hath put into Office, to deliver his Counsel to the People. So the Scribes and Pharisees, Mat. 23.29, 30. Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites; because ye build the Tombs of the Prophets, and garnish the Sepulchres of the Righteous; And say, if we had been in the days of our Fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the Blood of the Prophets. Dathan and Abiram were as odious and accursed to the wicked Jews in Christ's Days, as the memory of Judas and Julian can be to us. Therefore do not flatter your selves, that you detest the Persecution of former Ages, when your Heart is carried out with such Rage and Malice against the Messengers of Christ now.
3. God will not always suffer it. Prophet-hating is a deadly Sin. It is said of Herod, Luke 3.20. He added yet this above all, that he shut up John in Prison. So, 2 Chron. 16.10. Then Asa was wrath with the Seer, and put him in a Prison-house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. Were these Scriptures written for our Instruction, and yet are you guilty of Prophet-hating, that seek, by Sacrilegious Violence, to rob and deprive Ministers of that which is their Portion before God and Men? So, Hosea 4.4. This People are as they that strive with the Priest. Enter your Protest against it, have no hand in this Sin.