The Mystical Union Between Christ and Believer, Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
The Myſtical Ʋnion ſet forth by the Vine and the Branches. Chriſt hath one nature with Believers; they are as branches in him, and receive juice from him. The myſtical union ſet forth by the natural head and the body. Thoſe two famous Texts, Epheſ. 4. 16. Col. 2.19. conſidered, which import more than when Chriſt is called Head over all things, Head of principality and power, Head of every man, Head of the Heathen, or Head of the Church as an Husband. Chriſt as an Head hath the ſame nature with Believers; but exceeds them in order, as being firſt and higheſt; in perfection, as being full of Grace; in virtue, as influencing into the Church. The neceſſity, matter, and way of this influence. Chriſt an Head above all other heads, as making of no member a member; and as having virtue enough for a world.
THE Union between the Foundation and the Building in the earthly pattern importing only a ſupport, but no vital influence; the Holy Ghoſt goes on to ſet forth the myſtical union by that which is between the Vine and the Branches. I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the ſame bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing, ſaith our Saviour, Joh. 15.5. In the former Chapter he told them of his going away; here he comforts them againſt it, his departure ſhould be no ſeparation, ſtill he would be cloſely united to them as the Vine is to the Branches. He is a Vine, one whoſe ſhadow reaches to the ends of the earth, whoſe precious blood cheereth the heart of God and man; I mean, it ſatisfies juſtice, and quiets conſcience. Believers are Branches in him, not native ones, but inſititions, taken off from the old ſtock of Adam, and implanted into Chriſt. Hence they are ſaid to be foreign, Rom. 6.5, implanted into him, ſo as to have juice from him. The union between him and them is ſo intimate, that they abide in him by Faith, and he abides in them by his Spirit; the effect of this union is fruitfulneſs. Though the ſeeming Branches mentioned verſe 2. are but pampinarii, ſuch as have leaves only; yet the real ones are always fructuarii, ſuch as have holy fruit. In this reſemblance ſome things are to be obſerved:
The Vine and the Branches have one nature, ſo have Chriſt and Believers; he took an humane nature, that he might be a Vine to us, and we Branches in him; that he might communicate ſpiritual ſap unto us, and in vertue of it we might bring forth fruit unto God. The Arrians of old argued from this place againſt the Deity of Chriſt; The Vine (ſaid they) is of the ſame nature with the branches, but not of the ſame nature with the Husbandman; Chriſt is conſubſtantial with us who are the Branches, but not with the Father who is the Husbandman. To which I anſwer, this parable of the Vine proves Chriſts Deity as well as his humanity; he muſt be, not a meer man, but God-man in one perſon, elſe he could not be ſuch a Vine as he is here deſcribed to be. Were he only God, he could not be an homogeneal Vine, and have one nature with us; were he only man, he could not be an influxive Vine, and communicate ſpiritual life unto us, it being beyond the ſphear of a meer creature to do it: Were he (as the Arrians would have him) no more than ſo, all the Branches in him would be dry and withered, no ſap of Grace or ſpiritual Life would be found among men. It's true, the earthly Vine hath not the ſame nature with the Huſbandman, but the ſpiritual one hath it; here the Husbandman is the root of the Vine it ſelf; here the Vine calls the Huſbandman Father, My Father (ſaith our Saviour) is the Husbandman; this Vine in eternity ſprung out of the Fathers boſom, and in time ſprung out of the Virgins womb; ſo he is conſubſtantial with the Father as to his Divinity, and conſubſtantial with us as to his humanity.
The Branches are in the Vine, ſo are Believers in Chriſt. St. Auſtin ſaith of every Branch, Si in vite non est, in igne erit; In Job. Tract. 81.If it be not in the Vine as a living Branch, it ſhall be in the fire as a dead one. Naturally all men are in the old ſtock of Adam, dead and withered branches, fit to be gathered up and caſt into the fire; but the Holy Spirit (which fills the humane nature of Chriſt, and will not ſuffer ſuch a Vine as he is to be without Branches) works Faith in men, and ſo implants them into him: Believers are ſaid to be in him; they are not united to him mediately only, as being in the Church, which is his body; but immediately, as being myſtical parts of him. A man (ſaith Theophylact) is by faith foreign, part of the root, not meerly tied to him by outward ordinances,In Joh. 15. but intimately joined and incorporated into him.
The Vine communicates juice to the Branches:In Coenâ. Ser. 10. Chriſt (in whom, as St. Bernard ſpeaks, there is totus humor, a fulneſs of the Holy Spirit) influences Grace and ſpiritual Life into Believers. Hence it is that they bear holy fruits; our Saviour emphatically expreſſes this, The branch cannot bear fruit foreign, of it ſelf, verſe 4. To make it bear fruit, two things are requiſite; it muſt be in the Vine, and it muſt have ſap from thence, elſe it is dry and withered; in like manner Believers muſt be in Chriſt, and muſt have a Divine Spirit from him, elſe they are good for little or nothing; foreign, ſevered from me ye can do nothing, ſaith Chriſt, verſe 5. A man off from Chriſt, like a branch off from the Tree, is altogether ſapleſs and unprofitable; whatever bloſſoms of morality may be, no ſpiritual fruits can be found in one ſeperate from Chriſt; holy fruits are from Divine Influences; and theſe are from union with Chriſt. The Ancient Fathers obſerve from this parable,Ita ſunt in vite palmites, ut viti nihil conferant, ſed inde accipiant unde vivant, ſic quippe vitis eſt in pulmitibus, ut vitale ſubminiſtret eis, non ſumat ab eis, ac per hoc & maventum in ſe habere Chriſtum, & mavere in Chriſto, diſcipulis prodeſt, & non Chriſto. Conc. Aranſ. 2. can. 24. that the union between Chriſt and Believers is ſuch, that he communicates life to them, but receives it not from them; they receive life from him, but communicate it not to him: We have here a great myſtery, Believers are ingrafted into Chriſt, and in a ſort parts of him; hence the very ſame Spirit which is in him, is derived to them, to make them bear good fruit.
The union between the Vine and the Branches importing a vital influence, but in a low negative life, the Holy Ghoſt goes on to ſet forth the myſtical union by that which is between the natural head and the body; we have two excellent Texts for this. Chriſt is an head, From whom the whole body fitly joyned together, and compacted by that which every joynt ſupplieth, according to the effectual working in the meaſure of every part, maketh increaſe of the body unto the edifying of it ſelf in love, Epheſ. 4.16. Again, he is an Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nouriſhment miniſtred, and knit together, increaſeth with the increaſe of God, Col. 2.19. Here Chriſt is the head, and Believers the body; here the body is fitly joined together and compacted; there is in all the members a congruity and a cloſe conjunction unto the Head, and unto one another; here are joints and bands, the primary ligature is the Holy Spirit, which makes Chriſt and Believers to be as it were continuous, and to touch one another. Under the Spirit are the bonds of Faith and Love; Faith unites and incorporates Believers into Chriſt; Love glues and cements them one to another; here's an effectual working in the meaſure of every part; the holy Spirit ſtirs up the principles of Grace in Believers, the principles of Grace ſtir up the Soul, the Soul in the virtue of thoſe principles ſtirs up it ſelf, all is ſet into motion from Chriſt the Head. Laſtly, Here's an edifying of the body, an increaſing with the increaſe of God; Believers grow up into Chriſt in all things, their Faith is more radicated, their Love is more inflamed, their union with Chriſt becomes cloſer, their likeneſs to him grows more lively than before; in every part of the new creature there is a Divine increaſe, and all is becauſe they are united to the Head: Between Chriſt and Believers there is an apt and intimate union made by excellent joints and bands; through theſe bands there comes to be an effectual working in Believers; by this working there iſſues forth an increaſe of all holy graces. O what an Head is Chriſt! how happy are Believers who are in conjunction with him! the excellency of this union is much beyond what can be ſaid or thought of it; it is not for us to dive into the bottom of it, or to ſee it in the full compaſs: Nevertheleſs, that we may know ſomewhat of it, it is worth while to compare the headſhip of Chriſt in theſe two excellent Texts, with his Headſhip in other Scriptures; he is Head over all things, Epheſ. 1.22. He is Head of all principality and power, that is, of Angels, Col. 2.10. He is Head of every man, 1 Cor. 11.3. He is Head of the Heathen, reigning as a King over them, Pſal. 18.43. He is Head of the Church, as the Husband is head of the Wife, Epheſ. 5.23. But his Headſhip in thoſe two famous places imports much more than the other headſhips.
Chriſt is head over all things to the Church, Epheſ. 1.22. That is, the Churches Head hath a power over all things. God hath highly exalted him, ſaith the Apoſtle, Phil. 2.9. In the original there is an emphatical Pleonaſm, foreign, God exalted him above all exaltation, lifted him up above all altitude; hence Chriſt hath a name above every name, he ſits at the right hand of Power and Majeſty; all creatures in Heaven, in Earth, under the Earth, that is Angels, Men, Devils, all muſt bow the knee to him, every tongue muſt confeſs him to be Lord; all things are put under him, not only the lower world as it was to Adam, but all the Creation, Angels themſelves, who are the top of it, not excepted; he hath all the power in Heaven and Earth, thus he is head over all things: But we muſt obſerve here, the Apoſtle doth not ſay, that he is head unto all things, but head over all things, which denotes only power, not union; neither doth he ſimply ſay, that he is head over all things, but that he is head over all things to the Church; which imports, that though he be Lord over all, yet he is a proper peculiar head to the Church; he is united to it as to his body, not ſo to all things; though all things be reduced to him as an head of power over them, yet all things are not his body; he is united to the Church by joints and bands, not ſo to all things; he communicates his own ſpirit to the Church, not ſo to all things; he is head over all things, that he might be a complete allſufficient head to the Church; his univerſal power makes him meet to protect and preſerve the Church which is his body and chief care; all things are managed in ordine ad ſpiritualia, in a ſubſerviency to the Churches good.
Chriſt is head of all principality and power, Col. 2.10. That is, he is an head of eminency and power over the Holy Angels; he is made ſo much better than the Angels, as he hath by inheritance a more excellent name than they, Heb. 1.4. Unto which of the Angels ſaid God the Father at any time, Thou art my Son, or ſit thou at my right hand, verſ. 5. and 13? Angels are Sons by creation, but Chriſt is foreign, the proper Son of the Father; not as creatures, made out of nullity, but a proper Son begotten out of his ſubſtance. Angels, as Courtiers of Heaven ſtand in the preſence of God, but he ſits at his right hand in ſtate and majeſty; Angels and Authorities and Powers being made ſubject unto him: But to Believers he is an head of union and influence; the Church made up of them is his body, homogeneal and of one nature with him, joined to him by the bands of Faith and a regenerating Spirit, and ſupplied from him with ſpiritual life and motion; thus it is not with Angels.
It is true, ſome worthy Divines hold, That from Chriſt God-man, there is an influence into the holy Angels, not only of illumination and accidental joy (which may be eaſily granted), but of confirming and eſtabliſhing grace: He is (ſay they) a Mediator to them, though not of redemption and reconciliation, yet of preſervation and confirmation in their holy eſtate. The Apoſtle ſaith, that God doth foreign, gather together as into one head in Chriſt all things in Heaven and Earth, Epheſ. 1.10. And again, that he doth by him reconcile all things in Heaven and Earth to himſelf, Col. 1.20. St. Bernard ſpeaking of Chriſt, ſaith,In Cantica. ſer. 22. Qui erexit hominem lapſum, dedit ſtanti Angelo, ne laberetur, he who lifted up fallen man, gave that grace to the ſtanding Angel, that he ſhould not fall.
But here I crave leave to diſſent, and to offer ſome things by way of anſwer.
1ſt. The diſtinction between a Mediator of Redemption, and a Mediator of Confirmation only, is not, I think, to be found in Scripture; we read of a Mediator between God and men, not of a Mediator between God and Angels; A Mediator is not a Mediator of one, Gal. 3.20. but of more than one, and thoſe not in amity, as God and Angels are; but at variance, as God and fallen man are. A Mediator (as the word foreign imports) is a middle perſon interpoſing between parties at variance; but God and holy Angels are not at variance at all, that any ſhould interpoſe between them: It is congruous, that a Mediator ſhould partake of the ſame nature with thoſe for whom he mediates, the one Mediator between God and man, is the man Chriſt Jeſus, 1 Tim. 2.5. The ſubſtantial mediation muſt precede the actual one; he that is medium reconciliationis, muſt be firſt medium participationis; he muſt partake of our nature, that he may mediate for us. Hence it appears, that Chriſt not aſſuming the nature of Angels, hath not a fit nature, in which he may mediate for them; neither indeed do they want a Mediator. Adam in innocency wanted none, much leſs do the holy Angels, much higher in perfections than he, ſtand in need of one: It's true, the Apoſtle ſaith, that God in Chriſt doth gather together and reconcile all things in Heaven and Earth; but the (all things) in the Text are to be limited to men only; the things in Heaven are the Spirits of juſt men there, not the holy Angels; who, becauſe they were never ſcattered, cannot be gathered; and becauſe they never offended, cannot be reconciled: but if the things in Heaven ſhould reach to Angels, it would not from thence follow, that Chriſt mediates for Angels; but that he ſo mediates for men, that the Angels, who before ſtood off and at a diſtance from men, are reconciled and at amity with them.
2dly. Chriſt the Son of God was incarnate, not for Angels, but for men; Ʋnto you (ſaith the Angel) is horn a Saviour, which is Chriſt the Lord, Luk. 2.11. Unto you men, and not unto us Angels. Chriſt came to ſeek and to ſave that which was loſt, not among Angels (for what was loſt there, was finally ſo) but among men; for us men and for our ſalvation he deſcended from Heaven, ſaith the Ancient Creed. Incarnation being a myſtery made known by ſupernatural revelation only, it is no leſs than preſumption in us to put other ends upon it than the Holy Scripture hath done; the incarnation of the Son of God doth preſuppoſe the fall of man, but the confirmation of Angels doth not do ſo; had not man fallen, Chriſt had not come in the fleſh, yet had the elect Angels been confirmed; his coming therefore was not for Angels but for men.
3dly. Chriſt in our aſſumed nature obeyed and ſuffered not for Angels but for men. The end of his obedience and ſufferings was, as the Scripture tells us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, that he might fanctify and cleanſe us, that he might make an end of ſin, that he might reconcile us unto God, that he might purify unto himſelf a peculiar people, that he might purchaſe a Church with his own blood, that he might gather together in one the Children of God ſcattered up and down the wide world, all which concern not Angels, but men: Angels ſtanding in their primitive purity and integrity, are not capable of any ſuch things as redemption and reconciliation, neither doth the Scripture ſpeak one word or ſyllable of Chriſts dying or giving himſelf for them; it was loſt man that was aimed at.De Incarn; cap. 8. Filius Dei pro mortuis natus eſt ad mortem, ſaith Fulgentius, The Son of God was born to dye for the dead; not for the living Angels, but for men dead in Adams. fall; that they who died in the firſt Adam, might live in the ſecond.
4thly. The holy influence into Angels (which preſerves them) is from God, but not (as the influence into Believers is) from Chriſt as God-man; the influence from Chriſt as God-man, being the fruit of his incarnation and paſſion, reaches only to thoſe for whom he was incarnate and ſuffered; he was incarnate for men only, therefore this influence is only unto them, not unto Angels. Both he that ſanclifieth, and they who are ſanctified, are all of one: for which cauſe he is not aſhamed to call them brethren, Heb. 2.11. And a little after, he calls them Children, verſ. 13. Thoſe who are ſanctified by Chriſt, have one and the ſame nature with him, and upon that account, are his Brethren and Children; Angels not being ſuch, are not ſanctified by him; but men being, ſuch have a ſanctifying influence from him. Again, he ſuffered for men only, therefore this influence is only unto them, not unto Angels. For their ſakes I ſanctifie my ſelf, that they alſo might be ſanctified through the truth, ſaith our Saviour, Joh. 17.19. for their ſakes, not for Angels did he conſecrate himſelf to be a propitiatory ſacrifice; they therefore, not Angels, are ſanctified by him; the holy Spirit, which iſſues out of his meritorious wounds, falls down only on thoſe whom he died for: Moreover, this influence from Chriſt as God-man, is proper only to the Church which is his Body; the word (Church) in Scripture, notes the Church of men, not of Angels; Ʋpon this rock I will build my Church, Matt. 16.18. God purchaſed the Church with his own blood, Act. 20.28. Unto principalities is known by the Church the manifold Wiſdom of God, Epheſ. 3.10. Chriſt loved the Church, and gave himſelf for it, that he might ſanctifie and cleanſe it, Epheſ. 5. 25, 26. The Church of the firſt-born, which are written in heaven, Heb. 12.23. In all theſe places, by Church is meant the Church of men, not of Angels. The Greek word (foreign) (which is caetus evocatus, a company called out of the corrupt maſs) is not proper to Angels, but to men only; I find not in Scripture that it extends any further than ſo; the Church (which is Chriſts body) muſt be homogeneral and one nature with him, therefore it is made up of men, not of Angels.
Thus it appears, That Chriſt is an Head of eminency over Angels, but of influence unto men. The very Text (which proves him head of Angels) demonſtrates this, ye are foreign, filled in him who is the head of all principality and power, Col. 2.10. ye are filled, not Angels; to them he is an head of eminency, but to you of influence.
Chriſt is head of every man, 1 Cor. 11.3. Not to ſtraiten the words, but to take them in their full latitude, he is head, not of Believers only, but of all men; he is an head of eminency to them; never was the humane nature ſo exalted and lifted up as in him, in whom it is united to the Deity, and filled with all grace; he is an head of authority over them; he is Law-giver and Judge of the world; nay, in ſome ſort he is an head of influence to them; he is that light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, that is, with the light of Reaſon, which is the Candle of the Lord; in the firſt lighting of it up, it was a piece of nature coming from Chriſt as God; in the continuance of it in fallen man, it is a reprieved thing, owing to the ſweet ſmelling ſacrifice of Chriſt as God-man and Mediator; ſin being an univerſal forfeiture, not only of the outward bleſſings in the world, but of the inward furniture in the ſoul; it is through the Mediator, that the world ſtands unturned into a Chaos, and that reaſon continues not extinct and utterly gone out; we are bound to thank Chriſt, that our forfeited Reaſon is not taken away from us. In this ſenſe Chriſt is an head of influence to every man; but unto Believers he is an head in a more excellent way, influencing unto them, not nature or reaſon only, but his own Spirit and Grace, to raiſe them up above nature, and mould them into his own likeneſs.
Chriſt is head of the Heathen, Pſal. 18.43. That is, he reigns as a King over the Church of the Gentiles; his kingdom is a ſpiritual one: he doth not, as other Princes, rule meerly by outward Laws, but he inſpires obedience into his Subjects, and by a vital influence inclines them to do his will; yet the myſtical union is not ſo clearly expreſſed, when in the Pſalm he is called the head of the Heathen, as when in the Apoſtle he is called the head of the body; there he is called an head, ex analogiâ regis in regno, by a reſemblance drawn from a King in a Kingdom; here he is called an head, ex analogiâ capitis in corpore naturali, by a reſemblance drawn from an head in a natural body; there the earthly pattern imports only a political union, here it ſhadows out a myſtical one; as importing a vital influence, which the other pattern doth not.
Chriſt is head of the Church, as the huſband is the head of the wife, Epheſ. 5.23. He is ſuch an Husband as never was; the earthly Husband and Spouſe are one fleſh, but Chriſt and Believers are one Spirit, there is a vital influence between them; yet the myſtical union is not ſo fully expreſſed, by ſaying, that Chriſt is the head of the Spouſe, as by ſaying, that he is the head of the Body; there he is called head by a reſemblance drawn from the Husband and Wife; here he is called head by a reſemblance drawn from an Head and a natural Body; there the earthly pattern imports chiefly a moral union, here it ſhadows out a myſtical one, as importing a vital influence which the other pattern doth not.
Thus much touching the headſhip of Chriſt comparatively taken.
I ſhall now conſider it abſolutely in it ſelf: Chriſt is the Head, Believers are his Body;Sir. in feſto Magdal. Duo corpora (ſaith St. Bernard) habet Chriſtus, unum quod ſuſcepit ex virgine, alterum Eccleſiae, quod charius habet benignitas redimentis: Chriſt hath two bodies, one that he took of the Virgin, another of the Church, of which he in his redeemingkindneſs was more chary than of the other. In an Head two things may be noted, ratio convenientiae & ratio differentiae, there is ſomewhat in which the Head agrees with the Members, ſomewhat in which the head exceeds them.
Firſt, there is ſomewhat in which the head agrees with the members, the head hath the ſame nature with them; Chriſt hath the ſame nature with Believers; he, though the eternal word, took an humane nature that he might be an head to them; the Children being partakers of fleſh and blood, he alſo took part of the ſame, Heb. 2.14. that they, in themſelves poor fallen creatures, who could not immediately approach unto his Deity, might through the vail of his fleſh come and be joined to him as their head; that from the fountain of his Deity, all Graces might flow through his humanity, as through a channel unto them: Here is admirable encouragement for their Faith; the glorious Son of God came down into their fleſh, that they might join themſelves to him, and receive Divine influences from him. Again, there is ſomewhat in which the head exceeds them; the Schoolmen place this exceſs in three things, in ordine, in perfectione, in virtute, Aquin. 3. pars Queſt. 8. Art. 1.in order, in perfection, in virtue. The head is in order the firſt and higheſt part; Chriſt even in his humane nature is firſt in dignity, and higher than all men; he is in nearer conjunction with the Deity than all creatures are; creatures of life are nearer to the Deity than thoſe of meer being; creatures of ſenſe are nearer to it than thoſe of life; intellectual creatures are nearer to it than thoſe of ſenſe only; but the humane nature of Chriſt is nearer to it than all the reſt, as being hypoſtatically united to it; we are predeſtinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firſt-born among many brethren, Rom. 8.29. Chriſt is the firſt-born, firſt in dignity and prerogative; his image is the prototype and grand ſampler according to which all Believers are formed and faſhioned in holineſs; the graces of all Saints, as well thoſe before his incarnation, as thoſe after it, carry a reſpect to him as the firſt and chiefeſt of all.
The head excels in perfection, all the ſenſes are in it; Chriſt is an head of perfection, he is full of Grace, not as the Saints are, in a meaſure only; but in an evident ſuperlative way; in them there is plenitudo vaſis, the fulneſs of a Veſſel, but in him there is plenitudo fontis, the fulneſs of a Fountain; they have ſome feathers of the Dove, ſome firſt-fruits of the Spirit, but he hath the Dove it ſelf, the whole entire Spirit in all the graces of it; the Spirit was not given to him foreign,Deſcendit ſuper eum omnis fons Spiritûs Sancti. Hier. in 11. cap. Eſaiae. out of a veſſel or meaſure, in a ſcanty or ſparing manner; but the whole Fountain of it was as it were poured out upon him. He hath all Graces; extenſively, all kinds of Grace; nothing, that imports perfection, is wanting; intenſively, all degrees of Grace, the higheſt top of holineſs is no where to be found but in him; Grace is in him, as water is in the Ocean, or light in the Sun, in an abundant and indeficient manner; he is the great Element or primary ſubject of Grace, ſo that in all the intellectual world it is no where to be found in that fulneſs as in him; his humane nature hath as much Grace as it can hold, its capacity is filled up to the brim, at leaſt in reference to Gods ordinary power; nay, ſome of the Schoolmen go higher, and ſay, that its capacity is ſo filled up, that if God ſhould put forth his abſolute power to the utmoſt, he could not poſſibly pour into the Soul of Chriſt one drop of Grace more than it hath already; not out of any defect in the Divine power, but for want of room in the capacity of the Soul to receive it. But to wave this, it is enough for us to ſpeak as the Scripture doth, It pleaſed the father, that in him ſhould all fulneſs dwell, Col. 1.19. Chriſt hath all fulneſs of Grace, he hath grace in the greateſt extent as to all the kinds of it, and in the greateſt excellency as to all the degrees of it; he hath whatever appertains to Grace, and hath it, as Aquinas ſpeaks,3. Part. qu. 7. Artic. 9. in ſummo ſecundam perfectiſſimum modum quo haberi poteſt, in the higheſt degree, according to the moſt perfect manner that it could be had; no intellectual creature hath the like, it is only to be found in his humane nature.
It was requiſite that Chriſt our head ſhould have ſuch a fulneſs of Grace; the nearer a creature is to the influent cauſe, the more abundant is the influx; the humane nature of Chriſt was moſt nearly united to the Deity; therefore it was congruous, that it ſhould have grace in the ſupream degree. From the firſt inſtant of his incarnation he was not a meer viator, but a comprehenſor; he always enjoyed the beatifical viſion, therefore all his Graces were in termino, and at a full point. It's true, that by ſpecial diſpenſation there was ſome reſtraint of the influence of Gods favour at the time of his Paſſion, but his graces were ſtill in the higheſt degree. Again, Grace was conferred upon Chriſt, not as a private perſon, but as a publick one; not for himſelf only, but for us; he received gifts for men, that he might give them out to them; he was to be the head of the Church, a vital and univerſal principle of Grace to it; therefore no leſs than a plenitude of Grace was requiſite to make him meet for it, that of his fulneſs we all might receive Grace for Grace, Joh. 1.16. Grace anſwering to the Grace in him.
The Head excels in virtue, it influences into the whole body. Chriſt is an head of incomparable virtue, he influences into the whole Church, even into that part of it which was before his incarnation, as well as into that which was after it. Ab Abel juſto (ſaith one) uſ que in finem mundi omnes juſti unum Corpus Chriſti ſunt, from righteous Abel, down to the end of the world all the righteous are the Body of Chriſt; all have an influence from him as their head; From him the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint ſupplieth, according to the effectual working in the meaſure of every part, maketh increaſe of the body to the edifying of it ſelf in love, Epheſ. 4.16. the whole body is joined to him, the whole body hath an energy from him. Medina ſpeaking of this famous Text, notes the Phraſe, foreign, according to the effectual working, which the members receive from the head, and by virtue of which they act; and then adds theſe memorable words,In 3. Part. Thom. Qu. 13. Art. 2. Nihil potuit ſignificantius dict ad explicandum, quod omnis operatio, omnis motus, omnis vis & efficacia & energia, quam habent Chriſtiani homines, habent a Chriſto & per Chriſtum, quemadmodum membra a capite vitam, & efficaciam, & energiam recipiunt, ratione cujus agunt & vivunt; nothing could be more ſignificantly ſaid, to expreſs that all the operation, motion, power, efficacy, and energy, which Chriſtians have, they have from and by Chriſt, as the members receive from the head life, and efficacy, and energy, by virtue of which they do act and live.
Touching this influence from Chriſt the Head, I ſhall conſider three things, the neceſſity of an influencing head, the matter of the influence, and the way how it comes from Chriſt.
The firſt thing is the neceſſity of an influencing head, I mean not a ſimple neceſſity, but an hypothetical one. God was not bound to raiſe up a Church out of the corrupt maſs of mankind; but upon ſuppoſal that he will do ſo, it was requiſite that there ſhould be an influencing head. In our firſt head Adam, there was once a ſtock of holineſs and righteouſneſs, not meerly for himſelf, but for us; but in the fall he ſpent it, and became an utter bankrupt. Had he ſtood in his integrity, holineſs had come along with nature unto us; but through his Apoſtacy nothing comes along with it but pravity and corruption; we are now void of Grace and full of Sin. And how ſhould there be a Church? which way ſhould fallen man arrive at inherent Grace? Nature cannot aſcend above its level, or lift up it ſelf to ſuch a thing as Grace, which is altioris ordinis, of a rank and order above nature. God doth not treat with fallen man immediately, or communicate Grace to him, but in and through a Mediator; it was therefore meet that the Son of God ſhould in our fleſh interpoſe, and become an head of influence to us, that ſo grace might be communicated; nay, and continued to us. It could not be communicated but through a mediating head, and he is a compleat one; it could not be continued without a perpetual ſupply, and he is not as Adam a failing Head, but an everliving one; his ſatisfaction and merit have an endleſs life in them; the holy unction upon him is indeficient, and ever running down upon Believers; hence the anointing, which they receive from him, abideth in them, 1 Joh. 2.27. becauſe there is a continual ſupply from him who hath the Spirit above meaſure; not only the being of the Church, but the continuance of it requires an influencing Head.
The next thing is the matter of the influence, I mean that which by it is derived to us; Chriſt the Head influences a Divine life, ſenſe and motion, into his believing members.
He influences life into them. As long as they are in old Adam, they are dead in ſin; but as ſoon as they are in Chriſt, they live: I live, yet not I, but Chriſt liveth in me, Gal. 2.20. His ſpiritual life was not from himſelf but from Chriſt the Head, who communicated the Holy Spirit to him, and in that reſpect lived in him; neither was this peculiar to Apoſtles, but common to all Chriſtians; Chriſt is their life, Col. 3.4. a Divine virtue from him makes them live; this was typed out in Eliſha. No ſooner did the dead man touch his bones, but he revived and ſtood upon his feet, 2 Kings 13.21. No ſooner do we by Faith touch Chriſt crucified, but there is a vital principle in us, a ſpirit of life, which diſcovers it ſelf in the pulſe of heavenly affections, and breath of ſpiritual prayer; and is a real proof and demonſtration that. we have a living Head in Heaven, who makes us (in our ſelves but dead lumps of clay and corruption) partakers of a Divine life.
Again, he influences ſenſe into them. There are interna foreign, internal ſenſes in them; ſome quickneſs in the fear of the Lord, ſome ſight of the beauty and rectitude of his Holy Commands, ſome taſts of the Divine Love and Grace, ſome ſavourings of Chriſt and the Holy Unction, ſome experimental touches of the things above, ſome glimpſes of Heaven and Glory; but all theſe are from the Head, elſe Believers would, as well as others, lie in the ſtupor of the fall, and be no more concerned about heavenly things, than about meer nullities. It's true, a man, not joined to the Head, may have a great notion of theſe things, but he hath no particular ſenſe of them; the current of his affections is ſuch, that, one would think, there were no other world but an outward ſenſible one; ſpiritual ſenſations are not from meer notion, but from Chriſt the Head.
Further, He influences motion into them. Whether they be melting in repentant tears, or burning in acts of holy zeal, or drawing out their ſouls in charity, or ſweating in a lawful calling, or bowing down under an afflicting providence, all the motion is from the Head; without him all their Graces would lye dormant in an habit, and be as it were none at all. It is the Head which awakens them and makes them go forth into act. I can do all things through Chriſt which ſtrengtheneth me, ſaith the Apoſtle, Phil. 4.13. The holy action is in Believers, but the ſtrength is in the Head only; whatever good they do, they muſt thank the Head for it; which not by an outward command only, but by an inward virtuous influence alſo, bids them ariſe and do it.
The laſt thing is, the way how the influence comes from Chriſt unto Believers. We are not to think, that the habits of Grace in Chriſts humane nature are transfuſed into us; habits go not out of their ſubjects into another; they produce acts in their own ſubjects, but procreate not habits in foreign ones. But this is the way: Chriſt being full of all Grace, did by his glorious ſatisfaction and merit, procure, that the ſame Holy Spirit, which is upon himſelf the Head, ſhould fall down upon Believers the myſtical parts and members of him: Hence the Apoſtle ſaith, that the Holy Spirit is ſhed on us richly, through Jeſus Chriſt our Saviour, Tit. 3.6. Had not he atoned and merited for us, the Holy Spirit would not have touched upon one fallen Son of Adam; but in, and through him, there is, as St. Chryſoſtom ſpeaks,In Epheſ. cap. 4. bom. 11. foreign, a Spirit flowing from above, which touches every member of his body. After this ſort he is an Head of influence to his Church, communicating his Spirit to all his members, to unite them one to another, and all of them to himſelf the Head: There is one body and one ſpirit, Epheſ. 4.4. Were there not one Spirit in Believers, they (being as far diſtant from one another in time, as the morning and evening of the world, and in place as the parts and quarters of the earth) could not poſſibly be one body; were not the one Spirit from Chriſt, he could not be an Head of influence to his Church, or carry himſelf to it as his Body; but there being one Spirit in Believers, they are one Body; and that one Spirit being from Chriſt, he is an Head of influence to them. Thus the Apoſtle ſaith, That he is head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fulneſs of him that filleth all in all, Epheſ. 1.22, 23. Such an Head is he, as filleth the Body, his Church, with his own Spirit. It's true, the Church is his fulneſs in one reſpect; though he hath all fulneſs in him, and filleth all in all, yet, as he is an Head (which he deigned to be to us) he is not full without a body; but he is the Churches fulneſs in a much higher reſperct; the Church is his outward fulneſs, ſupplying him with members, without which he is not compleat as an Head, but is pleaſed to accoumt himſelf maimed; but he is, as I may ſo ſay, the Churches inward fulneſs, by his own Spirit moving and actuating it as his Body. The Church is his fulneſs in reſpect of integrity of parts, without which he would be as an Head without a Body; but he is the Churches fulneſs in reſpect of virtue and the ſpirit, without which the Church would not be a living Body, depending on him as a living Head. Thus he is an Head of influence to Believers, communicating in a meaſure his own ſpirit to them. Notable is that of Durandus, Nullus actus vitae eſt in corpore, qui non ſit in capite, In Sext. lib. 3. diſt. 13. queſt. 1nullus actus gratiae eſt in totâ Eccleſiâ, ad quam ſe non extendat gratia Chriſti: There is no act of life in the Body which is not in the Head; there is no act of Grace in the whole Church, to which the Grace of Chriſt extendeth not it ſelf.
It is further to be noted, that Chriſt is an Head of incomparable excellency; he is not only Head over all things, but an Head above all other heads; and for this I ſhall inſtance in two things.
The one is this, The natural head cannot make membrum de non membro, a member of that which was none before; but Chriſt, ſuch is his excellent virtue, can draw and gather men off from the old corrupt ſtock of Adam, and tranſplant and incorporate them as members into himſelf the Head: naturally they were loſt, but he ſeeks them; dark, but he inlightens them; dead, but he quickens them; foul, but he waſhes them; black, but he puts a beauty upon them; all the members of him may admire infinite Grace, and ſay, we were not the people of God, but now we are ſo; we were not members of Chriſt, but now we are ſo. In Adam the firſt head, all men were ruined; but Chriſt the ſecond Head hath power over all fleſh, Joh. 17.2. to draw and gather men into union with himſelf; and in ſo doing, to make his Power and Grace illuſtrious.
The other is this, The natural Head hath virtue enough for its own members; but Chriſt our Head hath virtue enough for a world; did all the men on earth by Faith come into union with him, there would be no defect, but a ſupply of grace for them all; his ſatisfaction and merit are of an immenſe value; his Spirit is a fountain of Grace never to be drawn dry or exhauſted; There is in him (as Bonaventure ſpeaks) not only plenitudo ſufficienciae, In Sent. lib. 3. diſt. 13. qu. 3.a fulneſs of ſufficiency, as in the Saints; but plenitudo ſuperabundantiae, a fulneſs of ſuperabundance; enough to overflow a whole world of men in caſe they were by Faith united to him. Oh! what an Head is Chriſt! there is a famine of Grace in lapſed nature, but in him there are ſtores and treaſures for our ſupply; there is a fulneſs of ſin in us, but in him there is a ſuperabundance of Grace to overcome it; in him we may ſee holineſs, not in the little Pictures of it as in the Saints, but in the great Sampler and Origen thereof. That beautiful thing, Grace, in him appears not in beams and drops, but as in a Sun or Ocean. Happy are thoſe who are in union with him! they live in the ſpring and univerſal principle of Grace; in all the acts of ſpiritual life, ſenſe and motion, they may feel the Power, Virtue, and Divine Efficacy of him the Head.