Exposition of John 17, Exposition · Part 44
JOHN. 17.18.
Even ſo have I alſo ſent them into the world.
DOCTRINE 3. There is a great ſimilitude between the Fathers ſending Chriſt into the world, and Chriſts ſending his Apoſtles and Miniſters into the world.
THis is apparently ſuggeſted here in the particle as, and the particle alſo. As thou haſt ſent me into the world, even ſo have I alſo ſent them into the world. My ſending them is much like thy ſending me. So he compares them each with other in another place, almoſt in the ſame words, Iohn 20.21. As my Father hath ſent me, ſo ſend I you. The thing is plain enough, that ſo it was in ſome reſpects.
But wherein, and in what reſpects this likeneſs ſtood, will need to be explained with much Caution. Becauſe as there was great likeneſs between the Fathers ſending Chriſt, and Chriſts ſending his Apoſtles and Miniſters into the world, ſo there was a great unlikeneſs too. As the ſimilitude was great, ſo certainly the diſſimilitude was great too. And therefore while I ſhew the likneſs, I will ſhew you the unlikeneſs, both of them at one veiw, That you may ſee the one the better for the other.
As God the Father ſent the Son with authority and power, ſo Jeſus Chriſt ſends his Apoſtles and Miniſters with authority and power too: as God gives him power, ſo he gives them power. And therefore having ſaid to his Apoſtles, All power is given to me both in heaven and in earth, Mat. 28.18. he adds immediately in the very next words, Go ye therefore and teach all Nations and baptize them. q. d. becauſe I have received ſuch ample power my ſelf, therefore I give you this Commiſſion, by which I put a part of this authority and power on you; Go forth and exerciſe it over all the world. And this is that which the Apoſtle calls the power which Chriſt hath given him, 2 Cor. 13.10. To intimate that he received his power and his authority by way of delegation from the Lord Chriſt, as Chriſt received his power and his authority (as he is man and Mediator) by way of delegation from the Father; and as the Father gives the Son a Key of power, as you may ſee in that remarkable place, Iſa. 22.22. The Key of the houſe of David will I lay upon his ſhoulder, (that is, upon the ſhoulder of Eliakim who was in that reſpect a figure and a Type of Chriſt,) and he ſhall open and none ſhall ſhut, and he ſhall ſhut and none ſhall open: ſo Chriſt gives Keyes of power to his Apoſtles and his Miniſters, as you may ſee exemplified in Peter, Mat. 16.19. I will give thee (ſaith Chriſt) the Keyes of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatſoever thou ſhalt bind on earth, ſhall be bound in heaven, and whatſoever thou ſhalt looſe on earth, ſhall be looſed in heaven, viz. either in the preaching of the word, or in the regular adminiſtration of the cenſures of the Church.
Here is a great Similitude you ſee between the power with which the Father ſendeth Chriſt, and the power with which Chriſt ſendeth his Apoſtles and his Miniſters into the world. As Chriſt hath power to ſhut and open from the Father, ſo have they from Jeſus Chriſt; as Chriſt hath power to bind and looſe from God the Father, ſo have they from Jeſus Chriſt. As Chriſt hath power to remit ſins, and to retain them from the Father, ſo have they from Chriſt; and therefore having ſaid to his Apoſtles, As my Father hath ſent me, ſo ſend I you, he adds immediately in the next verſe ſave one, Whoſeſoever ſins ye remit, they are remitted, and whoſeſoever ſins ye retain they are retained.
But yet as the ſimilitude is great in this reſpect, ſo is the diſſimilitude: The power which Jeſus Chriſt received from God the Father, is an univerſal power. All power is given to me, ſaith our Saviour, both in heaven and in earth, Mat. 28.19. And in another place, he minds his Father, That he had given him power over all fleſh, Joh. 17.2. But now that power which the Apoſtles and the Miniſters of Chriſt received from him, is more particular and more confined. Jeſus Chriſt hath all power, all ſorts and all degrees of power; they have but ſome power, ſome ſorts, and ſome meaſures. The power which Jeſus Chriſt receives from God the Father, is a Kingly power; he ſets him up as King upon his holy hill of Sion; and ſo accordingly he crowns him: The power which they receive from Chriſt, is but a Miniſterial power. Chriſt hath a Legiſlative power to make laws, while they have but a Legiſ-narrative or Declaratory power to publiſh laws: Chriſt doth jus dare, and they do but jus dicere: Chriſt binds and looſes, ſhuts and opens, remitteth and retaineth ſins, authoritatively as a Soveraign Lord; they do it but declaratively as his Miniſters and ſervants.
There is a great ſimilitude between the Fathers ſending Chriſt, &c. in regard of qualification: as Chriſt receives an unction from the Father to his Office, ſo they received an unction from the Son to their Office; as Chriſt is qualified with the Spirit, ſo are they: Let us compare them each with other, and we ſhall ſee it very clear: The Prophet ſpeaking in the Perſon of our Saviour, ſaith, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he hath anointed me to preach, Iſa. 61.1. And ſo accordingly when he firſt began to preach, he took this very Text to preach upon, as you may ſee, Luk. 4.18. Behold my ſervant (ſaith the Lord) whom I uphold, Iſa. 42.1. and mine Elect in whom my ſoul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him, and that to qualifie him for his Office, as is apparent in the following words; for it is added preſently, That he ſhall bring forth judgement to the Gentiles. A bruiſed reed ſhall he not break, &c. And this is that which is ſuggeſted in the Propheſie, Iſa. 11.2. The Spirit of the Lord ſhall reſt upon him, and it ſhall reſt upon him in thoſe graces and endowments that fit him for the places to which he is deſigned. And hence it is immediately annexed, The Spirit of wiſdom and of underſtanding, the Spirit of counſel and of might, the ſpirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. So then you ſee the Father as he ſends Chriſt, ſo he endues him with the Spirit, to fit him for the buſineſs that he ſends him in.
But doth our Saviour ſo with his Apoſtles and his Miniſters? yes, my Beloved, juſt ſo: he qualifies them with the Spirit too: and therefore having ſaid to his Apoſtles and his Meſſengers, Joh. 20.22. As my Father hath ſent me, ſo ſend I you. The very next words are, And when he had ſaid thus, he breathed on them, and ſaid unto them, receive the Holy Ghoſt. And ſo accordingly the Holy Ghoſt fell upon them abundantly to fill them and enable them for their Miniſterial Office, even as they were about to go abroad and preach. Act. 2. Here is a greater ſimilitude you ſee, between the Fathers ſending Chriſt into the world, and Chriſts ſending his Apoſtles and Miniſters into the world, in regard of qualification.
But yet as the ſimilitude is great, ſo is the diſſimilitude in this too. The unction which the Miniſters of Chriſt received from him, though it be like the unction which Chriſt himſelf receiveth from the Father in the thing, yet it is nothing like it in the meaſure and degree. Though they be both the unction of the Spirit, Chriſts is ſurpaſſingly, tranſcendently beyond theirs; He is endowed with all the graces of the Spirit of every ſort, and every kind, ſo that not one of them is wanting in him: And therefore it is ſaid in Scripture, that in him all fulneſs dwells; that is, the fulneſs of all graces whatſoever. But now, my Brethren, in the Miniſters of Chriſt it is not ſo, in them there is a diviſion of graces (though not of the graces of Sanctification) yet of the graces of Edification, and one is made partaker of a gift which another hath not. There are diverſities of gifts, ſaith the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 12. to one is given by the Spirit the word of knowledge, to another propheſie, &c. But all theſe concur and …er in Jeſus Chriſt, ſo that he is in this reſpect inricht above them all.
And as our Saviour is qualified by the Father, with all kinds and ſorts of graces, ſo with all meaſures and degrees; As he hath all graces in him, ſo each of them is raiſed and intended to the higheſt meaſure, ſo that there can be nothing added to it, to make it more compleat and perfect. Indeed, my Brethren, he received not the Spirit by meaſure from the Father, as the Evangeliſt obſerves, John 4.32. but beyond all meaſure. But now the Miniſters of Chriſt receive from him but a meaſure of grace, as the expreſſion is, Rom. 12.3. So much as he ſees fit to qualifie them for the work that he imploys them in, as you may ſee, Eph. 4.8. When he aſcended up on high, he gave gifts unto men, for the work of the Miniſtry, and for the edifying of the body of it.
There is a great ſimilitude between the Fathers ſending Chriſt into the world, and Chriſts ſending his Apoſtles and Miniſters into the world, in relation to the Errand that both of them are ſent in. Chriſt ſends his Miniſters into the world, upon the very ſame errand that the Father ſent him into the world. For mark it, why did God the Father ſend Chriſt into the world? Truly my Brethren, to be his ſpokeſman unto the world, as the Apoſtle ſhews, God who in times paſt ſpoke to the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in theſe laſt days, ſpoken to us by his Son; To preach the Goſpel to the world: He hath anointed me to preach, ſaith Chriſt, Luk. 4.18. To preach what? to preach the Goſpel to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the Captives, &c. And why did Chriſt ſend his Apoſtles and Miniſters into the world? Why to preach the Goſpel too. That is the ſum of their Commiſſion, Mar. 16.15. Go preach the Goſpel to every Creature. The Miniſters of Chriſt are ſeparated to the Goſpel, as Rom. 1.1. They muſt preach all Goſpel, or elſe all for Goſpel ends. They muſt preach Law with Goſpel purpoſes, and Evangelical intentions. So that the Father ſends the Son, and the Son ſends his Apoſtles and Miniſters upon very the ſame errand; here the ſimilitude is very great.
But then the diſſimilitude is very great too, in that the Son whom God the Father ſends, is tranſcendently above the Miniſters whom Chriſt ſends, in the very ſame buſineſs; both are Apoſtles, but Chriſt is the chief Apoſtle; both are Preachers of the Goſpel, but Chriſt is the chief Preacher: He preaches it with ſuch authority as they are not inveſted with, and with ſuch efficacy too, as they can never reach to; He preaches by the Spirit to the heart and to the inward man; and ſo he doth it with infallible ſucceſs: They can preach only to the ear, and to the outward man, and hence they often fail of the deſired iſſue: they ſpend their ſtrength in vain, as the Prophet once complained. Indeed the efficacy of their preaching dependeth wholly on the work and power of Chriſt. So that you ſee he is tranſcendently above them in the ſame buſineſs.
And then beſides, Jeſus Chriſt is ſent on buſineſs which they are not to touch with. He is ſent about the work of mans Redemption, of ſatisfaction to the juſtice of his Father, by his bitter death and paſſion, which is too heavy and too hard for any Man or Angel to go through with, or to have a hand in.
There is a great ſimilitude between the Fathers ſending, &c. in relation to the end that both of them are ſent for. Chriſt ſends his Miniſters into the world, for the very ſame end that God the Father ſent him. For why did God the Father ſend his Son into the world? To ſave his people, as the expreſſion is, Mat. 1.21. In which reſpect his Father would not have him called Apollyon, a deſtroyer, but Jeſus a Saviour. It's true, that Chriſt is ſet and appointed by his Father, for the fall and riſing again of many: As for the riſing of believers, ſo for the fall of unbelievers. But this is but by accident, and beſides the main intention of God in ſending, and Chriſt in coming. He doth not cauſe the fall of ſuch as periſh, ſo properly and ſo directly, as the riſing of ſuch are ſaved by him. Indeed he came into world to ſave ſinners, 1 Tim, 1.15. not to deſtroy ſinners. It's true, that ſinners are deſtroyed by him, but this was not the proper end of his coming. God did not ſend his Son to condemn the world, but to ſave the world, Joh. 3.17. And ſo our Saviour Chriſt himſelf profeſſeth, Joh. 12.47. I came not to judge the world, but to ſave the world. Even ſo he ſent his Miniſters for the very ſame end, to work together with him in the Converſion and the Salvation of his people, by the fooliſhneſs of preaching to ſave them that believe, 1 Cor. 1.21. To ſave themſelves and thoſe that hear them, 1 Tim. 4.16. Here the Similitude again is great, between the Fathers ſending Chriſt, &c. in relation to the end that both of them are ſent for.
But then the diſſimilitude is great too, In that the Father ſends the Son to ſave his people by his merit and his Spirit. The Son ſends his Miniſters to ſave them by the application of his merit and his Spirit to them in the preaching of the Goſpel: The Father ſends the Son to ſave them by dying for them; the Son ſends his Miniſters to ſave them by preaching to them, and ſo by crucifying Chriſt again before their eyes, as Gal. 3.1. The Father ſends his Son to ſave his people meritoriouſly, and by way of effectual operation: The Son ſends his Miniſters to ſave them Miniſterially, and by way of vocal Declaration; ſo that Chriſt only is the proper Saviour, and Miniſters at moſt are but the Inſtrumental Saviours of his people.
Ʋſe. 1 Now is it ſo, my Brethren, That there is a great ſimilitude between the Fathers ſending, &c. Here then, my Brethren, is a perfect pattern for all the Minſters of Jeſus Chriſt: they muſt look on him that ſent them, and ſee what power he was endued withal, what errand he was ſent on, and for what ends, and ſo act accordingly. As God inveſted him with power, and ſent him into the world to preach the Goſpel, and to ſave his people: So Jeſus Chriſt hath inveſted them with power to do the ſame thing, for the ſame end; So that they muſt not aim at the deſtruction and the hardning of the people; No, they muſt make this their buſineſs, how they may bring about their converſion and ſalvation. It's true, they muſt be ſons of Thunder now and then, as well as ſons of Conſolation; they muſt preach the Law ſometimes, as well as the ſweet comforts of the Goſpel; they muſt threaten men ſometimes with wrath, and hell, and eternal condemnation: But then they muſt not do it ſo as wiſhing that theſe things might come upon them, but rather that they might avoid them. They muſt threaten them with wrath, that they may flee from the wrath to come; and threaten with hell, that they may eſcape the damnation of hell; they muſt preach the Law with Goſpel purpoſes and Evangelical intentions; they muſt ſend out the avenger of blood to dog them at the heels, that they may fly to the City of refuge: They muſt uſe ſharpneſs now and then, it cannot be avoided; But it muſt be for the ſame end that the Apoſtle ſpeaks of, 2 Cor. 13.10. where having minded the Corinthians, that in caſe he muſt uſe ſharpneſs, according to the power the Lord had given him, he had authority from Chriſt to do it; but mark in the ſucceeding words to what end; for edification, and not for deſtruction; according to the power the Lord hath given me for edification, and not for deſtruction: And therefore it is very notable, that when our Saviour Chriſt had ſaid to his Diſciples, All power is given to me both in heaven and in earth: and having put a part of that power and authority of his on his Apoſtles, having ſent them as his Father ſent him, he doth not ſay to them as God doth to the Prophet, Jer. 1.10. I have ſet you over the Nations, and over the Kingdoms, to root out and to deſtroy; but I have ſent you to the Nations to teach them, and to baptize them, that they may be ſaved: He doth not make them rooters, but planters; he doth not bid them to go out, and preach damnation to the people in the firſt place; but go and preach the Goſpel to them, that they may be ſaved.
And the Apoſtle ſpeaking of the execution of this Commiſſion, and authority in the Adminiſtration of the cenſures of the Church, ſaith, he would give a foul offendor up to Satan, for no other end but this, even for his good, and his ſalvation, 1 Cor. 5.34. I have already judged, ſaith he, concerning him that hath ſo done this deed, with the power of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, to deliver him to Satan, for the deſtruction of the fleſh, the carnal part, that the ſpirit may be ſaved in the day of the Lord: So that when we threaten judgement, when we retain the ſins of men, when we give them up to Satan either in preaching or in Church-cenſure, our aim is, that their corruption may be mortified, and that their ſpirits may be ſaved by this means: And all the Miniſters of Chriſt ought to have this continually in their eye, how they may reach this great end; they muſt remember that Jeſus Chriſt hath ſent them, as God the Father ſent him, and that was not to condemn the world, but that the world by him might be ſaved.
And thus of the Firſt Argument, with which our Saviour preſſeth and enforceth his Petition to his Father, in behalf of his Apoſtles for Sanctification, which hath been taken from the buſineſs and imployment that he is ſetting them about, viz, the very ſame in ſome reſpect, which he himſelf hath hitherto ſuſtained and undergone by the appointment of the Father. Sanctifie them with thy Truth, thy Word is Truth. Why, might the Father anſwer, why ſo? Cauſe enough ſaith Jeſus Chriſt; for as thou haſt ſent me into the world, even ſo have I alſo ſent them into the world; and therefore thou hadſt need to ſanctifie them, that ſo they may be fitted and enabled for ſuch a ſervice as this is.