Christ Exalted and Wisdom Justified, Tract 1 · Application 2
2. USE.
2. Use of Direction Which is intended to make a threefold discovery.
1. Whom we are to understand by Christ.
2. Whom by Believers.
3. What by being precious.
1. Who is meant by Christ? And one would think that in this knowing age this need not to be made a matter of enquiry. But its a prophesy of long standing that in the last daies perillous times should come, and amongst other abounding iniquities this should be a main one, that many should deny the Lord that bought them. 2. Pet. 2.1. and its further foretold that many false spirits should goe out into the world, denying that Christ was come in the flesh. 1. Joh. 4.1, 2. And yet further that many false prophets should arise, Mat. 7.15. and these false prophets should hold out false Christs, and should deceive many, Mat. 24.24. yea their delusions should be so energeticall, and their errours so efficacious, that if it were possible they should deceive the very elect. Ile give you but a brief touch of those that cry loe here is Christ, and loe there is Christ, and then when I have made some discovery of their false Christs, I shall give you some description of the true.
1. There is the Papists Christ and that's a mangled one, such a one as the persecuting Jewes once made of the true Christ by crucifying him, nailing his hands, and feet, and piercing his sides, and heart, and you may easily conceive what a Christ thats like to be that is of Anti-christs making. The gospell-Christ was made of a woman, of flesh and bloud, but theirs is made of a wafer cake. The gospell. Christ offered himself up a sacrifice once for all; theirs is sacrificed often. The gospell-Christ was his own priest, and as God and man offered up his manhood upon the Altar of his Godhead, their Christ is offered up by their priest as a propitiatory sacrifice for quick and dead. The gospell-Christ was the only Mediator both of satisfaction and intercession. They have joyned other Mediators of intercession with him, as Angells, Saints and the Virgin Mary, whom they invocate to pray, and interceed for them, though the Scripture advances him principally for that intercessory part of his priestly office. He is able to sav… to the uttermost all them that come unto God b… him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercessio… for them. Heb. 7.25.
2. There is the Arrians Christ, that is deprived of his divinity, and degraded from hi… coequality with the father, and made a subordinate God, or rather (as they choose to call him) the most excellent creature, though the Scripture be so plaine, that he that runs may read it, that he thought it no robbery to be equall with God, though he were found in fashion as a man; and humbled himself, and became obedient to death even the death of the Crosse; and the Gospell saith plainly, that he is one with the father John. 14.9.
3. There is the Antitrinitarians Christ or rather their no Christ, that is wholly lost and swallowed up in the diety, for they say that there are no such persons as the son and spirit, but one only infinite Being, which they call God. The Ranters, and some of the Anabaptists doe joyn with them in the same opinion.
4. Ther's the Antinomians Christ, one that hath abrogated and made void the law and such a Christ is a stranger to the gosp… for the Gospell Christ hath fullfilled t… Ceremoniall Law and abolished it, and hath fullfilled the Morall law and established it.
5. Ther's the Anabaptists Christ, one that will not admit of infant Church members, whereas the gospell Christ Commanded such to be brought unto him. Mark. 10.14. If Christ when he was an infant was the head of the Church, I see no reason why believers infants may not be members of it, especially since Christ undertakes to be their Advocate, and hath sign'd their matriculation with his own hand. Mark. 10.14. Where he saith and who dare gainsay it, of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.
6. Ther's the Ranters Christ, one that will admit all uncleaness into his Kingdom, and countenance such as say and do. Let us therefore sin that grace may abound. Whereas the gospell Christ is holy harmless, undefiled and separated from sinners, with whom the sonns of Beliall can have no more fellowship than darkness can have with light. And every sect hath a severall Christ or rather a severall fancy or imaginary Idol which they call Christ, but as the Poets fain that Ixion did imbrace a cloud and thought it had been Juno, so these deluded ones do embrace shaddows and call them Christ.
But now to give you a true Character of the true Christ, whom my Text saith is so precious to believers. It is he that was from all eternity the Coessentiall; Coaeternall, and Coaequall son of his omnipotent and aeternall father; Who was a Lamb slain from the beginning of the World, in his fathers purpose, and in respect of the efficacy of his passion, who took our nature upon him actually in the fullness of time, was born at Bethlehem, brought up at Nazareth, crucifyed at Jerusalem, who without us hath done all himself in his own person to purchase heaven for us, and within us doth all by his mighty word and spirit to prepare us for heaven: He was buried, rose again, and ascended, and sitteth at the right hand of his father in full power and glory in heaven, who hath sent his spirit wherein he is allwaies present with his Church, and will come again at the end of the world to receive it to glory. Joh. 1.33. As the Baptist was told of God, On whomsoever thou shalt see the spirit of God to descend and abide upon him, that is he, so I say: He with whom these Characters and markes do agree, that is the true Messias, that is the precious Saviour that you have heard of.
2. The second Branch of the Direction is to discover who is meant by the Believer. Not every one that taketh himself to be so, for there are many that are ready to take up any fancy upon trust: to whom the Prophet addresses, Isay. 50.11. Behold all yee that kindle a fire, that compass your selves about with sparkes, walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that yee have kindled, this shall yee have at my hand, that yee shall lie down in sorrow. And our Saviour in the G…spell tells them what they must trust too. From him that hath not, from him shall be taken away all that he seemeth to have, Luk. 8.18.
Nor every one that is taken by others to be so, God seeth not as man seeth, for man by the judgment of charity judgeth according to the outward appearance, but God by the judgment of certainty knows the heart: and many that have a name to live, and a form of godliness, they are dead in sinns, and utter strangers to the life of grace.
By the true Believer then understand to be meant such a one as having been convinc'd of sin, and shaken by the spirit of bondage, and so broken for sin in compunction as to be broken from it, and hath been unbottomed by self-denyall and humiliation, and hath been further convinced of righteousness and setled upon Christ by the spirit of adoption, Or such a one who hath considerately & deliberately resigned up himself to God through Christ upon a Covenant-account, and hath taken God to be his portion, and Jesus Christ to be his Prophet and King as well as Priest, and is heartily willing to give up himself unreservedly to God and Christ, against all other interests of the world and flesh henceforward and for ever.
3. The third branch of the Direction is, What we are to understand by precious. Expositors doe give a twofold sense of the word.
1. It signifies a price, and so they put a great rate upon Christ their Purchaser and Lord redeemer.
2. It signifies an honour, and so he puts great honour upon them.
1. Christ is precious, or a price in their Eyes, and they doe magnify him by speaking him to be great, and doe glorify him by declaring him to be glorious &c.
2. They are honourable in his Eyes, who doth magnify them by making them great and glorify them by making them glorious, such honour have all his Saints.