Christ the Universal Peacemaker, Part 2

Christ the Universal Peacemaker · Part 2

p. 23II. PART.

II. Head. What hath been done in the perſon of Chriſt himſelfe on the Croſſe, Virtually and Repreſentatively, towards our reconciliation Mutuall. A two-fold reconciliation between the Saints themſelves, in and by Chriſt, held forth in the words, and diſtinguiſht.

THis ſecond is to unfold the tranſactions by which Chriſt hath virtually ſlaine and aboliſht all this enmity, and procured this peace.

Now to make way for the diſtinct handling of what belongs to this ſecond Head from what is to follow in the third; And to ſever the one from the other, I deſire that in the text this difference may be obſerved betweene the things that Chriſt hath done for the effecting and accompliſhment of that peace. 1. What was tranſacted and done ſimply and abſtractly in his owne perſon alone, for the procurement of it, On the Croſſe. 2. What he workes efficiently in us, (though concretely, in himſelfe, upon us) by his Spirit; and through Providences, to the full accompliſhment thereof. The firſt of theſe belongs to this ſecond Head; the laſt of theſe takes up the third Head.

OnelyOnly for the clearing of this method, I ſhall deſire it may be noticed, how evidently in the text, theſe two ſorts of workings by Chriſt are diſtinguiſhed each from other, and ranged there in the order I have propoſed them.

Here is manifeſtly a double making of theſe twaine one: 1. The one expreſt in time paſt; the other as to come, and to be perfected. 1. foreign, who hath made both one, v. 14. and foreign, having aboliſht, v. 15. in his owne fleſh perſonally. 2. foreign, That he might make both one. The firſt antecedent, and already done; the other conſequent, and p. 24to be accompliſht: the latter diſtinguiſht from the former, as the conſequent or effect from its cauſe: He hath made both one, THAT HE MIGHT create both one into one new man; the influence and vertue of the firſt, bringing about the latter. And 2. accordingly in the Originall, theſe two are further diſtinguiſhed by words of a different import (though our Tranſlation hath taken no notice of it, but hath folded them up each, under one and the ſame word [making one] ſo making them one indeed; But) the firſt foreign making one, v. 14. is of a more large ſignification, and is appliable and extendible to expreſſe (as here alſo it is intended) a virtuall, influentiall making Us one in his own perſon, afore we are made one in our ſelves. The latter foreign (more reſtrictive) properly and ſtrictly ſignifies Creation, [CREATING both one] or making both one by a new creation: And therefore [IN ONE NEW MAN,] is added as the product of this ſecond kind of making: and this imports a phyſicall efficiency, and working upon us; a moulding and forming us, by creation, into this oneneſſe among our ſelves, although the mould in which this latter is wrought and caſt, is his perſon alſo, [in himſelfe:] Yet not in himſelfe, conſidered perſonally and alone, but as uniting us to himſelfe, and ſo working upon us concretely through in and by himſelfe. And therefore 3. they differ, the firſt being performed in himſelfe ſingly, perſonally when he was in this world, and eſpecially on the Croſſe, and is therefore expreſt as paſt, Hath made one, as a buſineſſe done, and perfected already, as much (in reſpect of ſuch a way making one) as ever it ſhall be. The other to be effected afterwards in us, in our ſeverall ages, and by degrees, as the new Creature is: that he might create of two, one new man.

To illuſtrate the difference of theſe two makings one, but in one parallel inſtance (although the like duplicate is found, and diſtinction holds in all kind of works done in us, and p. 27for us by Chriſt:) becauſe it is the next akin to this. The parallel is that of Reconciliation or making peace betweene God and the Saints. Theſe two workes, as they are the neereſt twins of all other done for us by Chriſt: ſo are they, herein, exactly parallel and alike. Now unto the accompliſhment of our reconciliation with God, a double reconciliation is neceſſary: The one wrought out of us, in Chriſts perſon for us; God was in Chriſt reconciling the world: The other in us; We beſeech you to be reconciled to God, 1 Cor. 5. 19, 20. The like holds in this our Reconciliation Mutuall. Or to ſet the likeneſſe of theſe Gemelli to your view in another glaſſe (that is, another Scripture) that gives forth the neerneſſe of the reſemblance of this ſort of Reconciliation, in parallel words and lines, to thoſe in the text, it is, 1 Coloſſ. 20. He ſayes firſt, Chriſt having made peace by the bloud of his Croſſe, to reconcile all to himſelfe; this is a work already done, and done FOR ALL, at once, meritoriouſly, and repreſentatively, as there it followes. [In the body of his fleſh through death, v. 22.] After which he ſpeakes of another reconciliation of us, wrought in us, towards God too, in theſe words, And you that were enemies hath he NOVV reconciled. This latter therefore wrought ſince, and after the former, was perfected, as the effect of it. The very ſame or like here you have expreſſed of that reconciliation or making one of the Saints mutually, which we have in hand. 1. He hath made both one, v. 14. in his fleſh, v. 15. in one body by the Croſſe, v. 16. thus meritoriouſly and repreſentatively. 2. That he might create of twaine in one new man, ſo efficiently: Both muſt goe in their ſeverall ſeaſons and ſucceſſions to the effecting thereof, or there would not be peace. I have given you the grounds for theſe generall heads out of the text; I come to ſuch particular branches of each, as into which the text alſo ſpreads it ſelfe, and is a roote unto them.

p. 261 SECTION. Two Branches of what Chriſt did in his own perſon, On the Croſſe, to reconcile the Saints. 1. By way of ſacrifice, and taking on him their enmities. 2. Of repreſentation, [in one body] in himſelfe.

THat which is proper (as was ſaid) to this PART, is, What hath beene done in Chriſts own perſon. The particulars hereof are two, which I find in the text, (to the materialls of which I confine my ſelfe, and ſhall take them in that order in which they lye:) 1. By way of ſacrifice, having taken on him before God the enmities of both againſt each other, and ſo offering up his fleſh as a ſacrifice for both. The 2. By a voluntary aſſuming and gathering the perſons of all the Elect into one BODY in himſelfe: he repreſenting and ſuſtaining their perſons, and ſo [in one body] reconciling them unto God.

Both are expreſſely and diſtinctly mentioned: The firſt in theſe words, Having aboliſht the enmity (namely, between them) in his fleſh: which fleſh, taking on him their enmities, was made a ſacrifice on the Croſſe, therefore v. 16. By the Croſſe is added. The ſecond in theſe words, That he might reconcile both to God in one body: and though both theſe were performed at once, and by one individuall act, yet that act is to be lookt at, as having theſe two diſtinct conſiderations concurring in it. And the firſt in order of nature, making way for the ſecond, as in opening the connexion of v. 15, and 16. I have already ſhewed; I muſt handle them therefore each apart.

How Chriſts offering himſelfe up as a ſacrifice to God, and his ſtanding as a common perſon in our ſtead before God, ſhould aboliſh all our enmities againſt God himſelfe, p. 27and reconcile us unto him, This is ordinarily and generally apprehended, and were proper to ſpeake of, if our reconciliation to God himſelfe had beene the theme ſet out to be treated of: But how theſe very ſame acts and tranſactions of Chriſt ſhould together therewith conduce to our reconciliation one with another, this onelyonly is genuine at this time, and to be eyed as the direct and proper levell of what doth enſue: although even this is ſo involved with that other, that this cannot be explicated without ſuppoſing and glancing thereat: this but to ſet and keepe the Readers eye ſteady upon the ſingle marke aymed at.

1. Branch. Two things to explicate the firſt Branch. 1. That Chriſts offering himſelfe was intended as a ſacrifice for Enmities betweene the Saints, as well as againſt God.

TWo things are diſtinctly to be ſpoken unto for the clearing of theſe things.

1. That the offering up Chriſts fleſh on the Croſſe, was intended as a ſacrifice, as well for our reconciliation mutuall, as for reconciliation with God.

2. How according to the analogy of the ends, uſe, and intent of ſacrifices of old, the offering up of Chriſts fleſh ſhould be intended and directed as a ſacrifice, to take away theſe our owne enmities, and make peace and friendſhip amongst our ſelves.

For the firſt, which is the foreign of this point, That as a ſacrifice it was ſo intended, the whole frame and contexture of theſe words doth evince it.

1. When he ſayes v. 15. That he hath aboliſht the enmity in his fleſh, he doth undeniably intend that enmity which p. 28was betweene theſe twaine, the Jew and Gentile (this hath beene proved afore:) and therefore he is found particularly to inſtance in the rites of the ceremoniall Law, (which by a metonymie he calls the enmity,) as the outward occaſion of that bitter enmity in each others hearts.

Now then 2. That this enmity was taken away by his fleſh as a ſacrifice;

Firſt, The laying together the phraſes of the Text, evinceth it; as when he ſayes, He hath aboliſht this enmity in his fleſh. 1. In ſaying the enmity in his fleſh, it neceſſarily imports his having taken that enmity in or upon his owne fleſh, to anſwer for it in their ſtead. Even as well, as when in the 16. verſe, he is ſaid to have ſlaine the enmity (namely, againſt God) in himſelfe; thereby is intended, that he tooke that enmity on himſelfe; undertaking to pacify and allay, and by being himſelfe ſlaine, to ſlay it. 2. In ſaying in the time paſt, that he hath aboliſht it, in his fleſh, this notes out a virtuall act perfectly done and paſt, (as in him:) by vertue of which it is to be deſtroyed actually in us after. Unto which 3. adde that in the 16. v. there is an additionall word [By the Croſſe] put in, which foreign, or in common, is to be referrd to the aboliſhing of this enmity in his fleſh, v. 15. and reconciling us mutually; as well as to the ſlaying of the enmity againſt God mentioned, v. 16. as that which equally and alike ſhewes the way, how, we are to underſtand that in his fleſh, he hath perfectly aboliſht both theſe enmities; namely, by taking on his fleſh that enmity, and offering it up upon the Croſſe as a ſacrifice for it. For to ſay, by the Croſſe, or by the ſacrifice of himſelfe on the Croſſe, is all one: ſo as what the one verſe wants, the other ſupplies: In his fleſh, ſayes the 15. v. By the Croſſe, ſayes the 16. and (which will warrant this) we have elſwhere both put together, 1 Coloſſ. 20, 22. By the bloud of his Croſſe, in the body of his fleſh, through death.

p. 292. The paralleling this place with that of the 2 Coloſſ. argues this: The enmity here inſtanced in, by a metonymie is the rites of the ceremoniall Law: which he is ſayd to have made voyd or weake. Thus expreſſely v. 15. Having aboliſht in his fleſh the enmity, the Law of Commandements in Ordinances: Now the aboliſhing thereof is in that ſecond to the Coloſsians expreſſely ſaid to have beene by the ſacrifice of His Fleſh on the Croſſe: or which is all one, That, by His being nayled to the Croſſe, He nayled it to His Croſſe, Coloſs. 2. 14. Blotting out the hand-writing of Ordinances that was againſt us, and tooke it out of the way, NAYLING IT TO HIS CROSSE, which fully accords with this Text, He aboliſht it in his Fleſh by the Croſſe.

Laſtly, (for a winding up of this) The parallel which the Apoſtle obſerveth in his Diſcourſe betweene his effecting our Peace and Reconciliation with God, and this our Peace and Reconciliation one with another, will induce to it: He being firſt alike in common termed our peace. v. 14. in reſpect to either. Then to demonſtrate each apart, a double enmity (as I obſerved at firſt) is diſtinctly and apart mentioned by him. The one v. 15. the other v. 16. Of the one he ſayes, he hath aboliſht: of the other, hee hath ſlaine it: of the one he ſayes, he hath aboliſht it in His Fleſh: of the other, in himſelfe (as the Greeke hath it v. 16.) And ſo thoſe words by the Croſſe are common to each: As thoſe firſt words, [He is our Peace] were to all that followed. And ſo as the Parallel hath hitherto run along in theſe particulars, ſo it holds on, that looke How in this, or by what way He ſlew the enmity betwixt God and us, on the Croſſe, by the ſame way he aboliſht the enmity betweene the Jew and Gentile, or the people of God mutually: But he ſlew the enmity betweene God and us, on the Croſſe by taking thoſe our enmities againſt God on Himſelfe, and they being found on him, he was ſlaine and ſacrificed for them on the p. 30Croſſe, and thereby ſlew them and reconciled us to God: In like manner then it is to be underſtood, that HE firſt tooke all our enmities againſt one another on His Fleſh [in His Fleſh] ſayes the Text: (and it was the generall intent of Sacrifices to be offred up, for what was layd upon them or reckoned to them.) And ſo, our enmities being there all found in His Fleſh, that Fleſh was offred up for them, and ſo they were all diſſolved and aboliſht and made weak, as the Text ſpeaks of them, in his being diſſolved or made weake (as the 2 Cor. 13. and Phil. 3. ſpeakes in like manner of him.)

So then as there was a double enmity, and a double ſlaying which the Apoſtle mentions; ſo there muſt be in this one Sacrifice a double conſideration in the intention thereof: It is a Sacrifice ſerving at once, to ſlay & aboliſh both the one and the other: he being in common alike and indifferently termed, Our peace, as in relation unto either; there being nothing alſo done for us by Chriſt, but the like was firſt done on Himſelfe.

The ſecond thing to explicate the firſt Branch. That one end or Uſe of Sacrifices, both among Jewes and Gentiles, was to ratifie peace betweene Man and Man, as truly as betweene God and Man: and that Chriſts Sacrifice holds an Analogie herein to other Sacrifices.

THis being cleared, I come to the ſecond, the foreign, namely to demonſtrate how according to the Analogy of the ends, and uſe of ſacrificing of old in the ſhadow, Chriſts Sacrifice was likewiſe intended and directed to make peace betweene Man and Man, Jew and Gentile, as truly and as genuinely as betweene God and Man. For the illuſtration p. 31of this, we muſt know and conſider, that of old Feuds or enmities betweene Man and Man, were removed and put to an end, by Sacrifice: and alſo leagues of amity and friendſhip even betweene Man and Man, were antiently ratified and confirmed, and Reconciliation eſtabliſhed by Sacrifices: and as by Sacrifices ſo likewiſe AFTER Sacrifices, or over and beſide Sacrifices, by eating and feaſting together, and this both among Jewes and Gentiles (of which latter, namely, that by eating together, friendſhip was ſealed,Liquet quod apud Iſraclitas faedera partim epulis partim Sacrificiis inita fuiſſe & ſancita. Vide Rivet in Gen. 31. Exercit. 135.Gen 31 we ſhall have further uſe anon to confirme and explicate this very Notion in hand.) I ſay leagues of peace and friendſhip were uſed to be ratifyed by Sacrifices ſolemnly afore God: ſo to make ſuch Covenants, a matter of Religion (to bind the ſtronglier:) and not to be meerly the obligations of humane faith and honeſty: even by this, that men did finde them ratifyed in the preſence of a Deity; which they worſhipt as their God, by ſo ſolemne and Religious and Action; which did withall invocate from God a curſe upon the infringers of that peace and friendſhip made thereby. This to have beene their uſe, I am to cleare.

We may conſider that though all Sacrifices were offred up afore and unto God, yet not all onelyonly by way of expiation, or atonement made unto God, or as expreſſions of thankfulneſſe unto him: but ſome were Sacrifices of pacification, and faederall in their intention, betweene Man and Man, being offred up before God as a witneſſe and avenger. This to have been one uſe of Sacrifices is evident both among Jewes, and likewiſe Gentiles (who were in their Sacrifices and the rites thereof imitators of the Jews.)

1. The Jewes. Jer. 34. from v. 8. &c. we reade, That Zedekiah the King made a ſolemne Covenant with the people, and they with their ſervants to let them goe free according to Gods Law in that behalf made Exod. 21. 1. and p. 32Deut. 15. 12. and this Sacrificiall Covenant was ſolemnely performed in Gods Houſe, and before God, as v. 15. and 18. The rites of it were, They cut a Calfe in twaine, and paſſed betweene the parts of the Calfe, even the Princes and all the people, v. 19. in token that it was one common Sacrifice between All thoſe parties, Maſters and Servants, and the joint act of each, which being thus ſolemne, afore God, carried with it an implicit or tacit execration, That if either brake this Covenant in this manner confirmed, then let God ſo deale with them, as this Calfe ſacrificed was dealt withall: and therefore theſe having broken this Covenant, v. 11. (which breach of Faith was the occaſion of this part of Jeremies meſſage to them) God threatens to bring the curſe invocated and ſignified by that rite, upon them, and to retaliate the like unto them v. 18. I will GIVE the men that have tranſgreſſed MY COVENANT ſo he calls it, becauſe the matter of it was his command, and it had been ratified before him, as it followes:) which have not performed the words of the COVENANT which they had made BEFORE ME, when they cut the Calfe in twain, and paſſed betweene the parts thereof. That, therefore [I will give,] it is verbum ſimilitudinis (as 'tis often uſed:) whoſe meaning is, I will make them as that Calfe, I will anſwerably deale with them: and ſo it is explained; I will give them into the hands of them that ſeeke their life, and expoſe them to the Sword of the ſlayer, to ſlay at his pleaſure, as you have done this beaſt, which you Sacrificed: and their dead bodies ſhall be for meate to the fowls of Heaven, &c.

The like intendment of Sacrifices with the ſame rite, and like imprecation to confirm Leagues and Covenants, & end feuds, was in uſe among the Heathen, as might be evidenced by many Quotations, which I have met withall. To inſtance in one out of Livy which is moſt punctuall p. 33to the thing in hand, and parallel to the former out of Jeremy. They cut a beaſt in two, Caput, medium, & prior pars ad dextram, poſterior ad Laevam viae: pariter inter hanc diviſam hoſtiam copiae armatae traducuntur. Liv. L. 39.The midst and the head with the bowells were placed at the right hand of the way: and the hinder parts on the left hand, and both the Armies (that made the league,) paſſed betweene this divided Sacrifice. And as the ſame rites with the former are expreſſed in this, ſo the ſame imprecation is recorded at the making of this Covenant, and by Sacrifice confirmed, recorded by the ſame Author, when theſe two Nations, Albanes and Romanes, made this league: Si prius defexit, The Latin Foedus à feriendo; and hence percutere, elicere faedus, to ſtrike a Covenant (with us.) Thus Sanctio à ſanguine, which that of Tacitus confirmes, Sacrificiis conſpiratio ſancitur: agreements and combinations had their ſanction and confirmation by Sacrifices: and faedus cruore ſacratum, lib. Annal. 12.Tu illum Jupiter ſic ferito, ut ego hunc porcum hodie feriam: Let God ſtrike him that breakes it, as I ſtrike this Swine, ſayd the Sacrificer.

Et caeſâ jungebant foedera porcâ. Aeneid Virgil. l. 8.

The Holy Ghoſt ſpeakes in like language, Pſal. 50. 5. My people that have made a Covenant with me by Sacrifice.

To bring all this home to the point in hand: There being to be a perpetuall League and Covenant of Peace to be ſtrucken between Jew and Gentile, and all other the elect of God, who ſhould be at variance in any Age; and Chriſt having interpoſed himſelfe as a Mediatour for us to God, he did with all undertake to be an Arbiter betweene them, (and us all) among Our ſelves, for all Our differences alſo: and he offred up his Fleſh as one common Sacrifice upon the Croſſe, at once to be expiatory, to God, to blot out the ſinnes and enmities of ours againſt God Himſelfe: So alſo pacificatory betweene Man and Man, Jew and Gentile, and all other the elect: and therein anſwering to, and p. 34fulfilling one true end and intendment of Sacrifices, as well as in the other of making atonement to God. And the Text you ſee having ſaid firſt, that hee is made our Peace, in making both One, verſ. 14. and then pointing us to his Fleſh, as (in) which he bore their enmities, verſ. 15. and then carrying us to the Croſſe, verſ. 16. it evidently (as was ſaid,) argues, That Hee was made our Peace, by being thus made a pacificatory Sacrifice, for both. And ſurely (if there were no other reaſon to confirme it,) all Sacrifices in all their ends and uſes having beene but ſhadowes of this, and His Fleſh and the Sacrificing it being the ſubtance, this eminent Sacrifice of his muſt needs be ſuppoſed (as ſuch,) to have the Perfection, Uſe and Efficacy, that all other Sacrifices could any way be ſuppoſed ſubſervient unto, or it had not beene the complete perfection of them; Eſpecially there being this need of having His Sacrifice directed to this end, as well as to that other, there falling out ſo great animoſities among thoſe that were members of Him; which as it call'd for a Sacrifice to bee offred up to allay and deſtroy them: ſo CHRIST in Sacrificing Himſelfe would not leave out, or loſe this part of His Glory and Perfection in this reſpect.

Hence accordingly, as here He is termed our Peace; ſo elſewhere the Covenant of the People, and both in the like latitude of ſenſe and meaning. When here He is called our Peace, the meaning extends not onelyonly to His being our Peace betweene God and us; but betweene our ſelves alſo: ſo when Hee is called the Covenant of the People, it intends not onelyonly His being a Covenant unto God for us, but a Covenant afore God OF US; or (as there 'tis expreſſed) of the People of God, namely among themſelves. Hee is twice ſo called, and with much evidence, as to this ſenſe: Iſai. 4 2. 6. I will give thee for a Covenant of the People, p. 35that is, (ſayes Sanctius,) to the Jew, and for a light of the Geatiles: and thus a Covenant of both. And Ch. 49. 8. For a Covenant of the People to eſtabliſh the Earth, that is, to this end, to ſettle in peace the whole Earth, both Jew and Gentile; ſo then a Covenant of the People (as you ſee) even in this very reſpect: Peace on Earth, among men, as well as good will toward men from God in Heaven, being the foote of that Song was ſung at His Birth, and the ſum of what is here ſaid; He is our Peace.

II. SECTION. The Analogy betweene the Rites of ſuch pacificatory Sacrifices, and this Sacrifice of Chriſts as offred up for our mutuall enmities: and how This end and intention of Chriſts Sacrifice is held forth in the Lords Supper.

NOw obſerve further, A correſpondency unto thoſe rites mentioned, that were uſed in thoſe Sacrifices of peace, alſo held forth in this Sacrifice of His. The Beaſt in ſuch caſes was divided and cut in twain for both parties to paſſe through, and ſo peace to be made between them. And Chriſt to make both, or, twain one (as here,) was divided and cut (as it were) in twain: The Godhead for a time forſaking the manhood, Pſal. 22.Ps 22My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? His Soule alſo being by Death ſeparated from His Body; his joynts looſned, to diſſolve this enmity; the vaile of His Fleſh rent, to rend the partition wall. Thus He was cut in twain as one common Sacrifice, between both.

And againe as the ſacrificing of the beaſt cut a ſunder was reckoned the common joynt Act of both parties in ſuch p. 36a caſe, and they were eſteemed by God, and by one another, each to have an hand in the ſacrificing of it, and as conſenting to the Covenant and peace that was intended to be entred into and ratified by it: ſo here in this. And though we then perſonally exiſted not, yet all we being conſidered in Him, by God, (who gave us to Him;) and by Himſelfe, that voluntarily ſuſtained our perſons, and He offering up Himſelfe as a Sacrifice on our behalfe, and for our behoofe and in our names; Hence His Will in offring up Himſelfe, was volunt as totius, the act and will of the whole body, whoſe perſons He ſuſtayned; our wills were thereby involved in His will; His act was our act: and it may truly be ſaid, that a Covenant of peace was then made afore God, BY US, and for us: for He was our Prieſt therein for us, as well as our Sacrifice.

And hence in a further correſpondency to the manner of thoſe typicall Sacrifices: Therein although the Prieſt onelyonly offred up the Sacrifice for the People, and in their name and ſtead, yet to ſhew it was their act, they uſed to eate of it after, or of that which was offred up with it. The interpretation of which eating thereof, by the People, the Apoſtle gives us to be this, 1 Cor. 10. 18. They that did eate of the Sacrifices were partakers of the Altar: that is, thereby they declared the Sacrifice to be theirs, the offering it up to be their Act, that they partook, and had an hand in it, as if they had been at the Altar with the Prieſt himſelfe. Juſt in like manner, to ſhew that we were reckoned conſenting to, and partakers in this ſacrifice of Chriſt our Prieſt, and that it was our own act, we doe in like manner partake of that Sacrifice by eating of it; The Lords Supper being as Tertullian rightly termed it, Participatio Sacrificii, which Notion the Apoſtle there confirmes in a parallel of the Lords Supper in this very reſpect, to the caſe of thoſe Sacrifices then (for unto this p. 37purpoſe it was that he brings in that inſtance of the ſacrifices, v. 16.) The bread which we breake, (ſayes he) is it not the communion of the body of Chriſt? namely conſidered, as ſacrificed once upon the altar of the Croſſe, and ſo by eating thereof, we are all partakers of that one bread, as the thing ſignifying; and of that one body ſacrificed, as the thing ſignified: and ſo by this way of partaking therein, namely, by eating thereof, is ſhewn, as in the ſacrifices of old, that it is our owne ſacrifice. And this not onelyonly asaaEdendo cenſebantur, ipſius ſacrificii tanquam pro ipſis oblati fieri participes. Eſt. in loc. Eſtius upon the place, who ſayes, That by eating they were accounted partakers of the ſacrifice, as that which was offered for them: But further as bbChriſtus vult in ſe credentes participes fieri ejus ſacrificii, plane, quaſi ipſi hoc ſacrificium obtuliſſent, quia oblatum ab eo qui naturam eorum ſuſceperat.Grotius, (ſpeaking of the Lords Supper, upon Mat. 26. 25.) They are in Chriſts intent, ſayes he, through their eating thereof, So partakers of this his ſacrifice, quaſi ipſi hoc obtuliſſent, as if themſelves had offered it up. And thus to hold forth this previous conſent of theirs, was one part of Chriſts intent in inſtituting eating and drinking in the Lords Supper, in a correſpondency to the like myſterious intent in the peoples eating of the ſacrifices of old: Grotius indeed puts the reaſon, why it is to be eſteemed, as if we had offered up that ſacrifice, onelyonly upon this, becauſe it was offered up by him (ſayes he) that had taken their nature: but I adde out of this text, becauſe he had tooke on him their perſons, in One Body, and their enmities, and ſtood in their ſtead, as their Prieſt, as well as their ſacrifice: and ſo it was to be reckond their act on his Croſſe, as much as the peoples then, who uſed to bring the ſacrifice to the Prieſt, who, there, offered it alone upon the Altar; whereas here WE (our ſelves) were brought to Chriſt by the Father to undertake to be a Prieſt for Us, and he voluntarily undertooke Our perſons. And ſo, as Levi is accounted to have offered tithes in Abraham his Father, when he paid them to Melchiſedech; ſo we much p. 38rather to have offered up a common ſacrifice of peace amongſt our ſelves, when Chriſt offered up himſelfe.

And hence alſo likewiſe, as in thoſe pacificatory foederall ſacrifices between two parties of men, whoever of them went about to violate or infringe the tearmes of peace, that ſacrifice was intended to confirme, did (by reaſon it was his act) bring upon himſelfe the curſe, which ceremonially and viſibly was inflicted on the beaſt or ſacrifice ſlaine: ſo here this act of ſacrificing of Chriſt for mutuall peace being thus interpretativè OURS, and our conſent involved, Hence I ſay in like manner, whoever goeth about to breake this Covenant, and ſeeketh to uphold the enmity among the people of God, he doth not onelyonly renounce his owne act, but what in him lies, fruſtrates that intention of it; and ſo further incurres the imprecation infolded in it, and brings upon himſelfe the bloud of the Covenant, as in alluſion to this curſe (according to the implyed intent of ſuch a ſacrificiall Covenant) the Apoſtle ſpeakes Heb. 10.

Now further to finiſh this Branch, let this be added; That Chriſt was not ſimply offered up as a ſacrifice to confirme a meere or bare league of peace and amity betweene us: (ſometimes ſuch ſacrifices afore ſpoken of were deſigned onelyonly to make and bind new Leagues and Covenants betweene ſuch parties, as never had beene at variance:) But here in this caſe of ours, as there was a Covenant of amity to be ſtrucke, ſo there were enmities to be aboliſht and ſlaine, as the text hath it; and that by this ſacrifice and ſlaying of his fleſh: which cannot be conceived otherwiſe to have beene tranſacted, but that as in other ſacrifices offered up, the treſpaſſes were laid upon the head of the ſacrifice, and ſo in a ſignificant myſtery ſlaine and done away in the death of the thing ſacrificed: And that as in that other way of reconciling us to God, The Lord did lay upon him the iniquities of us all, namely, againſt himſelfe (as Iſay ſpeakes in p. 39alluſion unto the rites (and the ſignification therof, in thoſe ſacrifices:) to which this text ſimularly ſpeakes when it ſaies, He ſlew the enmity in himſelfe, v. 16.) So anſwerably it was in this (which is its parallel:) All the enmities and mutuall injuries and feuds between us the people of God, were all laid upon him, and he tooke them in his fleſh, and in ſlaying thereof ſlew theſe alſo, and aboliſht them, that ſo he might reconcile them in one body. And ſo the ſame nailes that pierced through his hands and feet, did naile all our enmities, and the cauſes and occaſions of them, to the ſame Croſſe, as 2 Coloſſ. inſinuates. So as, we are to looke upon Jeſus Chriſt hanging on the Croſſe, as an equall Arbiter betweene both parties, that takes upon himſelfe whatever either partie hath againſt the other. Lo here I hang (ſaies Chriſt a dying) and let the reproaches wherewith you reproach each other fall on me: The ſting of them all fix it ſelfe on my fleſh; and in my death dye all together with me; lo I dye to pacific both: Have therefore any of you ought againſt each other? Quit them, and take me as a ſacrifice, in bloud betweene you; onelyonly doe not kill me, and each other too, for the ſame offence: for you, and your enmities, have brought me to this altar of the Croſſe, and I offer my ſelfe as your peace, and as your Prieſt: will you kill me firſt, and then one another too?

And thus, if taking all your ſinnes againſt God himſelfe upon his fleſh, and ſacrificing it for you, is of prevalency to kill, and ſlay that enmity; much more is it of force to kill theſe your enmities alſo. Thus, like as by aſſuming the likeneſſe of ſinfull fleſh, Rom. 8.Rom 8he killed the ſinne in our fleſh: ſo by taking theſe our enmities and animoſities in his fleſh, he ſlew and aboliſht them:1 Cor. 15.1 Cor 15 and as his death was the death of death, ſo of theſe. And like as he cured diſeaſes by taking them on himſelfe by ſympathy, 'tis ſaid of him when his healing of them is recorded) Himſelfe tooke our infirmities, p. 40and bare our ſickneſſes: And as not our ſinnes againſt God onelyonly, but our ſickneſſes by ſympathy: ſo, not our enmities againſt God onelyonly, but our animoſities one againſt another; and by bearing them aboliſht them; by dying as an Arbiter betweene us, ſlew them: and therefore in the text, he is called our peace, not our peacemaker onelyonly, (when this peace amongſt our ſelves is ſpoken of,) to note out, as Muſculus obſerves, that he was not onelyonly efficiently our peacemaker, the Author of our peace, but our peace materially, the matter of our peace, by the ſacrifice of himſelfe. God is ſtiled our peacemaker, our reconciler; God was in Chriſt reconciling the world: but not our peace; this is proper to Chriſt: and why? but becauſe he onelyonly was the ſacrifice of our peace, and bore our enmities. Even as he is not only called the Redeemer, (ſo God alſo is,) but redemption it ſelfe.

Now for a coronis to this firſt Branch, and withall to adde a further confirmation yet, that Chriſts death was intended as a ſacrifice to theſe ends, for amity and unity among Gods people, we may clearly view and behold this truth in the Mirrour of the Lords Supper. One moſt genuine and primary import whereof, and end of the inſtitution of it, being this very thing in hand: (I ſhall have recourſe thereto againe in the next Branch alſo upon the ſame account that now.)

The Lords Supper in its full and proper ſcope, is, as you know, a ſolemne commemoration of Chriſts death offered up upon the Croſſe, or if you will, in the Apoſtles owne words, it is a ſhewing forth his death till he comes: And doe this (ſayes Chriſt) in remembrance of me; namely, in dying for you: and ſo withall to commemorate with application to themſelves, the principall ends and intendments of that his death, which is therein acted over afore their eyes. Hence p. 41therefore I take this as an undoubted maxime, which no knowing Chriſtian will deny (and its the foundation of what I am now a building:) That looke what principall ends, purpoſes or intendments this Supper or ſacrificiall feaſt holds forth in its inſtitution unto us: thoſe muſt needs be lookt at, by all Chriſtians, in the like proportion, to have been the maine ends and purpoſes of his death to be remembred. So that we may argue mutually from what were the ends of Chriſts death, unto what muſt needs be the deſigned intendments of this Sacrament. And we may as certainly conclude, and inferre to our ſelves, what were the intendments of his death, by what are the genuine ends of that Sacrament. Theſe anſwer each to other, as the image in the glaſſe doth to the principall lineaments in the face; the impreſſe on the wax, to that in the ſcale; the action, the ſigne and remembrances, to the thing ſignified and to be remembred.

Now it is evident that Chriſt upon his death inſtituted that Supper, As, to be a ſeale of that Covenant of Grace betweene God and us, ratified thereby; ſo, alſo to be a communion, the higheſt outward pledge, ratification and teſtimony of love and amity among his members themſelves. And accordingly, it being in the common nature of it, a feaſt: looke as betweene God and us, it was ordained to be epulum foederale, a Covenant feaſt betweene him and us: (the evidence whereof lyes in this, That he invites us to his table as friends, and as thoſe he is at peace withall, and reconciled unto:) So, in like manner betweene the Saints themſelves, it was as evidently, ordained to be a Syntaxis, a love feaſt, in that they eate and drinke together at one and the ſame table, and ſo become as the Apoſtle ſaies, ONE BREAD. And againe, looke as betweene God and us, to ſhew that the procurement of this peace and reconciliation betweene him and us, was this very ſacrifice of Chriſts death, (as that which made our peace,) p. 42God therefore invites us, poſt ſacrificium oblatum, after the ſacrifice offered up, to eate of the ſymboles of it; that is, of Bread and Wine, which are the ſignes and ſymboles of his body and bloud ſacrificed for peace: So in like manner doth this hold as to the peace betweene our ſelves: And we may infer, that we were through the offering up thereof, reconciled one to another, and all mutuall enmities ſlaine and done away thereby, in that we eate together thereof in a communion; which was a ſacrifice once offered, but now feaſted upon together: And doth ſhew, that Chriſtians of all profeſſions or relations of men have the ſtrongeſt obligations unto mutuall love and charity: For the bread broken and the cup are the ſymboles of their Saviours body and bloud once made a ſacrifice; and therefore they eating thereof together, as of a feaſt after a ſacrifice, doe ſhew forth this Union and Agreement, to have been the avowed purchaſe, and impretation of the body and bloud ſo ſacrificed.

There was a controverſie of late yeares fomented by ſome through Popiſh complyances, That the Lords Supper might be ſtiled a Sacrifice, the Table an Altar, which produced in the diſcuſſion of it (as all controverſies doe in the iſſue ſome further truth) the diſcovery of this true deciſion of it: That it was not a ſacrifice, but a feaſt after and upon Chriſts ſacrificing of himſelfe; Participatio ſacrificii, as Tertullian calls it, a ſacrificiall feaſt commemorating and confirming all thoſe ends for which the onelyonly true and proper ſacrifice of Chriſt was offered up, and ſo this feaſt a viſible ratification of all ſuch ends, whereof this, is Evidently One.

p. 43III. SECTION. A Digreſsion ſhewing: 1. That Eating and Drinking together. Eſpecially upon, and after a pacificatory Sacrifice, was a farther confirmation of Mutuall peace, both among Jewes and Gentiles: And 2. That the Eating the Lords Supper, hath the ſame intent and accord thereunto: The Harmony of all theſe notions together.

NOw therefore to draw all theſe lines into one center, and to make the harmony and conſent of all theſe notions the more full; and together therewith to render the harmony more compleat betweene the Lords death, and its being intended as a ſacrifice to procure this peace, and the Lords Supper as a feaſt after this ſacrifice, holding forth this very thing, as purchaſed thereby, and ſo further to confirme all this: looke as before I ſhewed (as in relation to the demonſtration that Chriſts death was intended as a ſacrifice for ſuch a peace) that that was one end and uſe of ſacrifices both among Jewes and Gentiles, to found and create Leagues of amity between man and man ſo it is proper and requiſite for me now to make another like digreſſion, (as in relation to this notion of the Lords Supper) to ſhew how that alſo by eating and feaſting together (eſpecially after or upon ſuch a kind of ſacrifice) theſe Leagues of Love were anciently uſed to be further confirmed and ratified: that ſo it may appeare that as according to the analogy of ſuch ſacrifices, Chriſts death was a ſacrifice directed and intended to that end; ſo alſo that according to the analogy of ſuch feaſting in and upon ſacrifices, this eating and feaſting together upon the ſymboles of that ſacrifice by believers, is as genuinely intended a ſcale of this reconciliation amongſt them, and that in a due correſpondency p. 44and anſwerableneſſe to the genuine intent of that ſacrifice it ſelfe, as that which had purchaſed and procured it.

I might be as large in this as in the former. When after a grudge and enmity paſt betweene Laban and Jacob, Laban to bury all things betweene them would enter into a Covenant of peace; Come (ſayes he, Gen. 31. 44.) let us make a Covenant I and thou: and (that by a ſigne, for he addes) let it be a witneſſe betweene thee and me: Now what was that ſigne and witneſſe? in the 46. 'tis ſaid, They tooke ſtones, and made an heape, and did EATE THERE: and v. 54. (after an Oath paſſed v. 53.) Jacob offered a ſacrifice on the Mount; and called his Brethren (or Kinſmen) to eate bread; and early in the morning Laban departed. The like did Iſaac with Abimelech, Gen. 26. 28. David with Abner, 2 Sam. 3. 20. I ſingle forth chiefly thoſe two, 1. Becauſe the parties that uſed and agreed in this ſignall rite, were the one Jewes, as Iſaac and Jacob; the other Gentiles, as Abimilech and Laban: to ſhew at once that this way of convenanting was common to them both, as the former by ſacrificing was alſo ſhewn to be.

**Some inſtances have been collected by Mr. Meade, Diatr. 2. part. upon Mal. 1. 11. as alſo by R. C. after him. Grotius, Rivetus, of the cuſtomes of ſeverall Nations, antient and modern, to ſhew eating and drinking together to have been intended teſtimonies, and ratifications of amity. I only ſhall caſt in one from the cuſtome of the Eaſt-Indians (as in the ſtories of whom there are found, as well as in other Eaſtern Nations to this day, many footſteps of like cuſtomes to the Jewes of old:) Sir Th. Roe Ambaſſador there, in his journall obſervations relates, how he was invited by one of the great ones of the Court to a Banquet with this very expreſſion (ſimular to thoſe which thoſe Authors alledge as in uſe among other Nations:) We will eate bread and ſalt together to ſcale a friendſhip which I deſire. Purchas Pilgri. 1 Part. p. 348.Mal 1:11And further, that this rite of eating together, the Gentiles themſelves did uſe, eſpecially after ſuch ſacrifices as were federall, unto this intent, that by that ſuperadded cuſtome of eating together, upon or after ſacrificing, they might the more ratifie and confirme ſuch Covenants, firſt made, and begun by ſacrificing. This ſeemes to me to be the intendment, Exod. 34. 15. Leſt thou make a Covenant (God ſpeakes it to the Jew) with the Inhabitants of the Land, and thou goe a whoring p. 45after their Gods, and doe Sacrifice unto their Gods, and one call thee, and thou eate of their Sacrifices: namely upon pretence of confirming that Covenant, which having firſt been contracted and agreed on, they might further be drawn on, to Sacrifice and ſo eate of the Sacrifices alſo, with thoſe Heathens in token of confirming ſuch a league, as was the known common manner and cuſtome of each to doe.

Yea, and thoſe that were more barbarous and inhumane among the Gentiles, when they would put the more binding force into their Covenants, or ſome ſuch more ſolemne conſpiracy, they uſed to ſacrifice a man (a ſlave ſuppoſe,) and eate His Fleſh, and drinke His Bloud together; which becauſe they judged the more ſtupendious, they judged would carry with it, the deepeſt and more binding obligation. Thus,foreign wee read in Plutarch, Thoſe Roman Gallants entring into a Covenant dranke the bloud of a man, whom firſt as a Sacrifice they had killed. And the ſame Plutarch ſayes of another company (thoſe conſpirators with Catiline:) that they Sacrificed a man, and did eate His Fleſh. So to bind and unite each other more firmely to ſtick faſt, and cloſe together in ſo great an undertaking, by the moſt ſure and firmeſt way that their Religion could invent. foreignAnd Pſal. 16. 4. makes an expreſſe mention of ſuch among the Heathens, terming them Their drinke offerings of blood. See alſo EZek. 39. 17, 18, 19. Men and Nations leſſe barbarous tooke WINE inſtead of bloud, to confirme their leagues after Sacrifices, it being the likeſt and neereſt unto bloud, the bloud of the Grape.

Now then to bring all this home to the point in hand, Chriſt our Paſſeover, (and ſo our Sacrifice for us) having been ſlayn and offred up for our mutuall peace, hath inſtituted and ordained us Believers to keepe this feaſt, (It is the Apoſtles own alluſion, agreeing with and founded on the p. 46notion we have been proſecuting:) and that to this end, That by partaking of it as a Sacrifice, and by ſhewing forth His death, wee might hold forth, all the avowed ends of that Sacrifice with Application to our ſelves. The eminent ends of the one as a Sacrifice, correſponding and anſwering to the eminent ends of the other as a Feaſt. A Feast it is, of Gods providing, and he the great entertainer of us at it, in token of peace betweene Him and us: for HE it was, who prepared the Sacrifice it ſelfe, and unto whom as a whole burnt offring Chriſt was offred up; But God is not as one that ſits down and eates with us, though He ſmelt a ſweet ſavour in it, we are the gueſts, and He the Maſter, of this Feaſt: And yet He thereby proclaimes, and profeſſeth His being reconciled, in that He cauſeth us to ſit downe at His Table. And this is the prime, and moſt eminent ſignificancy of it. And to hold forth this intent thereof, as between God us, others have proſecuted this notion. But there is another, (more conſpicuouſly ſuited to the notion which hath been driven, and) which is no leſſe in the intention of the inſtitution it ſelfe: and indeed of the two more obvious to outward ſence,) and that is, that the Perſons themſelves, for whom it is prepared, that doe viſibly ſit down, and doe eate and drinke (in proper ſpeech,) the Bread and Cup together, that they are agreed, and at peace each with other. God He is but as an inviſible entertainer: but our eating and drinking together, is viſible to all the world; we outwardly ſhew forth his death, and doe withall as viſibly ſhew forth this to have been the intent of it. Yea and if wee could raiſe up thoſe Nations of old, both Jewes and Gentiles, and call together the moſt part of the world at this day: and ſhould but declare, that this is a Feast, eſpecially a ſacrificall Feaſt, a Feaſt after a Sacrifice, offered once up for our amity & peace by ſo great A Mediatour: the common inſtinct, and notion which p. 47their own cuſtomes had begot in them, would preſently prompt them, and cauſe them univerſally to underſtand and ſay among themſelves, Theſe men were at enmity one with another, and a Sacrifice was offred up to aboliſh it, and to confirme an Union and Pacification amongſt them, and loe therefore, they doe further eate and participate thereof, and communicate therein. A manifeſt profeſſion it is, that they are in mutuall love, amity and concord one with another: and thereby further ratifying that Unity, which that Sacrifice, had beene offred up afore, for the renewing of. This is truly the interpretation of that ſolemn celebration even in the ſight of all the Heathens and unto the Principles of all the Nations, among whom Sacrifices were in uſe: yea and this they would all account, the ſtrongeſt and firmest bond of union that any Religion could afford. And add this, the more noble the Sacrifice was, as if of a man, beeing a more noble Creature, the more obliging they accounted (as was obſerved) the bands of that Covenant made thereby.

Now our Paſſeover is ſlain, our peace is ſacrificed, not man, but Chriſt God-man; He ſanctifying by the fulneſſe of God dwelling perſonally in him the Sacrifice of that His Fleſh and humane nature, to an infinity of valew and worth. He hath become a Sacrifice of our mutuall peace, was cut in twain; and to compleate this union among our ſelves, He hath in a ſtupendious way appointed His own Body and Bloud to be received and ſhared as a Feaſt amongſt us, ſucceeding that Sacrifice once offred up. The bread we breake is it not the communion of the Body of Chriſt: 1 Cor. 10.1 Cor 10the Cup the Communion of His Bloud: Scipio, Jovis epulo, cū Graccho Concordiam Communicavit.(ſo ſpeakes Paul a moſt faithfull interpreter of theſe myſteries) and a Communion of many as one Body (as it followes there.) 'Tis ſtrange that an Heathen ſpeaking of one of their ſacred Feaſts, intended to confirme an agreement between two great perſonages, ſhould uſe the ſame expreſſion;Vale Max. lib. 6. c. 2. Communicarunt concordiam p. 48they are ſaid TO HAVE COMMUNICATED CONCORD, And this becauſe they communicated together in the ſame Feaſt dedicated to their chiefe God, and which was ordained to teſtify concord between them: The Apoſtle calls it in like manner, A COMMUNION: whereby MANY are made ONE Bread, IN THAT THEY EATE OF THAT ONE BREAD; Which whileſt they eate and drinke in, they eate and drinke the higheſt charity and agreement each with, and unto other.

But that this ſort of Peace and Love, namely mutuall among the Receivers was an avowed intendment of our partaking of the Lords Supper, needs not to be inſiſted on: this import of it hath tooke the deepeſt impreſſion upon the moſt vulgar apprehenſion, of all that profeſſe Chriſtianity, of any other. To be in charity with their Neighbour, &c. hath remaind in all ages of the Church, upon the ſpirits of the moſt ignorant and ſuperſtitious, when thoſe other higher ends and intendments of it were forgotten. My inference therefore is ſtrong and ſure: that what was thus eminent an intention of this Feaſt upon a Sacrifice, muſt needs be, upon all the former accounts, as eminent an intention of that Sacrifice it ſelf, as ſuch.

OnelyOnly let mee ad this: That though all the people of God will not; ſome of them not at all: many not together eate of this Feaſt through difference of judgement, (And it is ſtrange, that this which is the Sacrament of concord, ſhould have in the controverſies about it more differences, and thoſe more dividing then any other part of Divine truth or worſhip,) yet ſtill however this ſtands good, to be the native originall end, and inſtitution of the Ordinance it ſelfe, and ſo by inference, This to have been the intent of Chriſts death as a Sacrifice to the ſame end: of which death, to be ſure, they all muſt partake; and unto which Christ they muſt have recourſe, even all and every p. 49perſon that are, or ſhall be the people of God; And by ſo doing they find themſelves upon all theſe accounts forementioned, engaged and obliged unto peace and concord with all the Saints in the world, how differing ſo ever in judgement, in Him, who is our Peace, and by that Sacrifice hath made both one. And thus much for this Branch, which treates of what Chriſt hath done in his own perſon to procure this peace.

IV. SECTION. The ſecond Branch, What Chriſt did by way of Repreſentation of our perſons: That phraſe in one Body explained.

THe ſecond Branch of this firſt head is, What Christ did by way of Repreſentation of our perſons, and how that conduceth to this mutuall Reconciliation of the Saints among themſelves. This we have in that ſmall additionall which is found in the 16. verſe, That he might reconcile both unto God [IN ONE BODY,] by the Croſſe having ſlayn the enmity. The meaning whereof is this, that he did collect, and gather together in one Body all the people of God, that is, did ſuſtaine their perſons, stood in their ſtead, as one common perſon in whom they were all met, repreſenting them equally and alike unto God, and ſo reconciled them to God in one body.Bullinger. Zanchius. Beza. Groius. As you heard he bore their enmities in his fleſh and ſo aboliſht them: ſo withall He bore their perſons, conſidered as one collective body, and under that conſideration reconciled them to God.

And this ſuperadds to the former conſideration of being a Sacrifice for their enmities mutually, for that he might have been, and have performed it for each of their perſons, p. 50conſidered ſingly and apart. But further we ſee Hee was pleaſed to gather them into one body in Himſelfe.

If you aske me where and when this Repreſentation of all the Saints was by Chriſt, more eſpecially made, and when it was they were lookt at by God as one body; The text tells us, ON THE CROSSE. By which He thus reconciled us to God in one body.

I will not now inſiſt on that which at firſt, to make my way cleare, I was ſo large upon: That that kind of reconciliation of us, wrought by Chriſt for us on the Croſſe, is here intended: to all which this may be added; That it was that Reconciliation which at once tooke in and comprehended, all both Jew and Gentile in all ages into one body; which was never yet ſince actually done, but therefore then was done in himſelfe. That which is now onelyonly left for clearing my way, is the opening the import of thoſe words [in one body,] which clauſe is that I take for my foundation of this ſecond Paragraph.

There is a queſtion among interpreters, whether by this one body in the text be meant the Church onelyonly, conſidered as one myſticall body in Chriſt; or onelyonly the body and humane Nature of Jeſus Chriſt Himſelfe, hanging upon the Croſſe: I would to reconcile both ſenſes take in both, as conducing to the reconciliation of us.

1. Suppoſing, (which is neceſſary,) Chriſts perſon, His humane nature, or (His Fleſh v. 15.) to be the Ubi, the ſubſtratum, the meeting place, and Randezvouz of this other great body of the Elect, where this whole company appeared, and was repreſented, ſo to be reconciled unto God. For indeed what the Apoſtle mentions here apart, and at diſtance each from other: His Fleſh, v. 15. and Body, v. 16. theſe elſewhere he brings together, 1 Coll. 22. Having made peace IN THE BODY OF HIS FLESH through death.

p. 51Which body as hanging on the Croſſe was 2 cloathed upon when moſt naked with this other body, which He Himſelfe tooke on Him to ſuſtaine and repreſent, and to ſtand in their ſtead, even the whole body of His Elect: His body (perſonally His) becoming by repreſentation one with that His other body, (myſtically His.) In ſum, in the body of Chriſt perſonall, as the body repreſenting, the whole body of Chriſt mysticall, as the body repreſented, was met in one afore God, and unto God. And in that one body of Chriſt perſonall, were all theſe perſons (thus repreſented,) reconciled unto God together, as in one body, by vertue of this Repreſentation.

V. SECTION. The influence, That our being reconciled to God, IN ONE BODY, hath into our reconciliation mutuall: in two eminent reſpects.

IF any ſhall aske what influence and virtue this their being conſidered as one body, met in His body, and under that conſideration reconciled to God hath into their reconciliation one to another; I anſwer, much every way; neither is it mentioned laſt (as laſt in order,) but as the foundation of all other conſiderations thereto belonging.

1. In that they were thus all once met in one body, in the body of Chriſt both in his intendment, and his Fathers view, This conſideration, (if no more,) hath force enough in it to bring them together againe, in after times. Even this clandeſtine union (ſuch indeed in reſpect of our knowledge of it then, yet having all three perſons the witneſſes in Heaven preſent) this precontract, this anticipated oneneſſe, this p. 52forehand union hath ſuch vertue in it, that let them afterwards fall out never ſo much, they muſt be brought together again and be one; Heaven and Earth may be diſſolved, this union thus once ſolemnized, can never be fruſtrated or diſſolved: what God and Chriſt did thus put together, ſinne and devill, men and angells cannot alwayes, and for ever keepe aſſunder. His Fathers donation of them to Him, and Chriſts own repreſentation of the ſame perſons to His Father again, have a proportionable like virtue in them: for there is the ſame reaſon of both. Now of the one Chriſt ſayes, All that the Father giveth me ſhall come to me, Joh. 6. 37. Chriſt mentions that gift of them, by the lumpe to him, by the Father, as the reaſon or cauſe (rather) why they could not ever be kept from him: And as none can keep them from him, becauſe given of the Father to him, in like manner and for the like reaſon, the whole body of them cannot be kept one from another, becauſe preſented by him againe to the Father: Chriſt mentions both theſe conſiderations as of equall efficacy in that prayer, whereby he ſanctifyed that Sacrifice of himſelfe, John 17. Thine they were, And thou gaveſt them me. All mine are thine, and thine are mine, And I pray v. 21. that they all may be one, (and that in this world) as we are. Chriſt then not onelyonly died for his ſheepe apart, that they might come to himſelfe, as Joh. 10. 15. but further that they might be one fold, as it followes there. And as the Evangeliſt interprets Cajaphas prophecy; Hee died to gather together in one the children of God, that were ſcattered abroad. Joh. 11. 51, 52. To make ſure which gathering to come, He in and at His death gathered them together repreſentatively, they met all in him, and aſcended the Croſſe with him, as Peters phraſe is of all their ſins, (therefore much more their perſons) 1 Pet. 2. 24. foreign. He himſelfe carryed up in (or together with) his body, our ſins up to the p. 53tree: aſcendere fecit ſurſum ſimul cum ſeipſo. The Croſſe was the firſt generall Rendezvouz in this world appointed for him and his members, where they were crucified in him and with him, as the Apoſtle often ſpeakes. Chriſt told the Jewes, If I be lifted up, Joh. 12. 32. (ſpeaking of his death on the Croſſe, v. 33.) I will draw all to me: And here you ſee the reaſon of it, for in their lifting up him, they lift up all his with him, as hung to and adjoyned with him in one body, in his body. This great and univerſall loadſtone ſet in that ſteele of the Croſſe, having then gathered all theſe leſſer magneticke bodies, pieces of himſelfe, into himſelfe; the vertue hereof will draw them all together in one againe, as they come to exiſt in the world: They may be ſcattered, they may fall out, but as branches united in one root, though ſevered by winds and ſtormes, and beaten one from and againſt another, yet the root holding them in a firme and indiſſoluble union, it brings them to a quiet order, and ſtation againe. And if the now ſcattered Jewes muſt one day come together, and make one body againe; becauſe thoſe dry bones (the Umbrae, the ghaſtly Shadowes of them) were ſeene once to meet in Ezekiels viſion: how much more ſhall the Elect coaleſce in one New man, becauſe they once met in him, that is, the body, and not the ſhadow? If thoſe Jewes muſt meet, that the prophecy, the viſion might be fulfilled, theſe muſt much move, that the end of his death, and his hanging on the tree may be fulfilled, in whom all viſions and promiſes have their Amen and accompliſhment. As in his death, ſo in his reſurrection alſo, they are conſidered as one body with him, Iſay 26. 19. Together with my dead body they ſhall ariſe (ſayes Chriſt) and both, in death and reſurrection, one body, to the end they may be preſented (together) in one body, all at laſt, Coloſſ. 1. 22. and in the meane time in the efficacy of theſe forehand meetings are they to be created into one new man, p. 54v. 15. and that even foreign, ONE individuall man, Gal. 3. ult. not foreign, one bulke, body, or thing onelyonly. This one new man, which they are to grow up into, anſwereth exactly to that one body, which was then gathered together, repreſented and met in him on the Croſſe, bearing the image of it, and wrought by the vertue of it.

The ſecond is, that if ſuch a force and efficacy flowes from their having met once, as One Body, then much more from this, (which the text addes) that they WERE RECONCILED TO GOD in that one Body. This clauſe, In one Body, was on purpoſe inſerted together with their RECONCILIATION TO GOD, to ſhew, that they were no otherwiſe eſteemed, or lookt at by God as reconciled to him, but as under that repreſentation, view and reſpect had of them (as then) by him, that ſo, dum ſociaret Deo, ſociavit inter ſe: Crocius.their reconciliation with God was not conſidered, nor wrought onelyonly apart, ſingly, man by man (though Chriſt bore all their names too) but the tearmes were ſuch, unleſſe all were, and that as in one body, and community together among themſelves reputed reconciled, the whole reconciliation, and of no one perſon, unto God, ſhould be accounted valid with him. So as their very peace with God, was not onelyonly never ſevered from, but not conſidered, nor effected, nor of force without the conſideration of their being one each with other, in Chriſt. Inſomuch as upon the law and tenour of this Originall act thus paſt, God might according to the true intent thereof, yea and would renounce their reconciliation with himſelfe, if not to be ſucceeded with this reconciliation of theirs mutually. And allthough this latter doth in reſpect of execution and accompliſhment ſucceed the other in time, (the Saints they doe not all preſently agree, and come together as one body) yet in the originall enacting, and firſt founding of reconciliation by p. 55Chriſt, theſe were thus on purpoſe by God interwoven and indented the one in the other; and the termes and tenure of each enterchangeably wrought into, and moulded in one and the ſame fundamentall Charter and Law of reconciliation mutuall: then which nothing could have been made more ſtrong and binding, or ſure to have effect in dne time.

VI. SECTION. This Reconciliation of the Saints to God conſidered as in One Body, Held likewiſe forth in the Adminiſtration of the Lords Supper. And one eminent foundation of the inſtitution of fixed Church Communion, hinted Herein.

THe impreſſe and reſemblance of this, namely Chriſts Reconciling us to God in one Body, wee may likewiſe perceive: (And I ſhall mention it the rather to make the harmony of this with all the former ſtill more full) in the adminiſtration of the Lords Supper: in which we may view this truth alſo, as wehave done the other.

That Supper being ordeined to ſhew forth his death; looke as he dyed, ſo it repreſents it. As therefore Chriſt was ſacrificed repreſenting the Generall aſſembly of Saints, & ſo in one body reconciled them to God: ſo, this Supper was ordeined, (in the regular adminiſtration of it,) to hold forth the image of this, as neer as poſſible ſuch an ordinance could be ſuppoſed to have done it; For anſwerably the ſeate, the foreign of it, is a Communion of many Saints met together in one Body. And not otherwiſe. Thus 1 Cor. 10. 17. For we being many are òne bread and ONE BODY. He had ſaid v. 16. That the Lords Supper it was the Communion of the body of Chriſt, p. 56&c. that is, a Communion of Chriſts Body, as to each, ſo as of a company united together among themſelves; and accordingly the Apoſtle ſubjoynes this as the reaſon; For we (whom you ſee, doe ordinarily partake of it,) are many (not one or two apart) and thoſe many, are one bread and one body: One bread as the ſigne; One Body as the thing ſignified. And thus we are, then, conſidered to be, when Chriſt as dying is communicated by us. For to ſhew forth His Death is the end of this Sacrament. The ſeate therefore or ſubject of partaking in this Communion, of Chriſts Body and Bloud; and which is ordained for the publique participation of it, is not either ſingle Chriſtians, but a many; nor thoſe meeting as a fluid company like clouds uncertainly, or as men at an ordinary for running Sacraments (as ſome would have them) but fixed ſetledly, as incorporated Bodyes. Which inſtitution, having for its ſubject ſuch a ſociety, as then, when Chriſts Death is to be ſhewne forth, doth ſuitably and correſpondently ſet forth, how that the whole Church the Image of which whole Univerſall Church, Omnes qui eidem menſae ſacrae pa…iter accumbimus, & unam facimus & foreign, quae foreign totius Eccleſiae gerit imaginem. Grot. 1 Cor. 10. 17.1 Cor 10:17(theſe particular Churches doe beare, as a late Commentator hath obſerved upon that plaee) was repreſented in and by Chriſt dying for us, under this conſideration of being One Body, then in Him.

And there is this ground for it, that the whole of that Ordinance was intended to repreſent the whole of his Death, and the imports of it, as farre as was poſsible. So then looke as the Death it ſelfe and his bitter Paſſion are repreſented therein, both of Body in the breaking the Bread, which is the Communion of his Body: of the Soule in the Wine, which is called the Communion of his Bloud, and this is the bloud of the New Teſtament, ſo expreſſed in alluſion to that of the Old, in which the bloud was choſen out, as the neereſt viſible repreſenter of the inviſible Soule, that p. 57could be. The life lies in the bloud (for the ſpirits which are the animal life doe run in it,) ſo ſpake the old Law, and the Poet the ſame;

Sanguine quaerendi reditus animâque litandum.Virg. 11. Aen.

He termes the Sacrifice of the bloud, the Sacrifice of the Soule: and ſo Wine was choſen as the neereſt reſemblance of bloud, being alſo the bloud of the Grape.

As thus the death it ſelfe in all the parts of it; ſo the SUBJECT for which hee dyed, His Body, and that under that very conſideration He died for them [as one Body,] is in like manner, as viſibly and plainly held forth; Every particular Church bearing by inſtitution the image of the whole Church (as therein it hath alſo all the priviledges of it) fitly ſhewing forth, thereby, not onelyonly that Chriſt died for them ſingly, and a part conſidered (which yet is therewith held forth here in that each perſonally doth partake thereof,) That might have been ſufficiently evidenced if every perſon or family apart, had been warranted to have received, and eaten this ſacrificiall feaſt alone (as they did the Paſſeover and the Sacrifices, Lent. 7. 18.) but the inſtitution is for many; which very word Chriſt mentions in the inſtitution, This is the bloud of the new Teſtament ſhed for many, which word, I believe the Apoſtle had aney unto when he ſayd, We being many are partakers, &c. Chriſt indeed principally aimed therein, to ſhew, that his intent in dying, was for a multitud of mankinde, the whole body of his Elect: yet becauſe he inſerts the mention hereof; at the delivery of thoſe Elements, and that the ordinance it ſelfe was ſuited to hold forth this intent, The Apoſtle takes the hint of it; and adds this gloſſe and conſtruction upon it as glaunced at in it: that according to the inſtitution and import of this Ordinance, the partakers hereof are to be a many (not one or two alone:) and theſe united into one Body, to the end that thereby may be held forth this great intendment in His p. 58death, That he died for the many of His Church, as one collective body. This however wee are ſure of, that this way of partaking this Supper as in one Body, was to the Apoſtle a matter of that moment, That we find him bitterly inveighing in the next Chapter, that the ſame individuall Church of Corinth, when they came together in one for that and other Ordinances, ſhould of all Ordinances elſe, not receive this Ordinance together in ſuch a community, but perverting that order, ſhould even in that place appointed for the meetings of the whole Church, divide themſelves into private ſeverall companies, and ſo make this as a private Supper, which in the nature and intendment of the inſtitution of it, was to be a Communion of the whole Church or body together. Inſomuch as he ſayes, This is not to eate the Lords Supper: for in eating (namely this Sacramentall Supper,) every one takes before (others perhaps do come:) His own Supper, together with the Lords, & ſo maketh it as a private colation or as foreign; wherefore my brethren when you come together to eate (that Supper,) tarry one for another, to make a full meeting of the whole body: and as for other Suppers, every man is at liberty to take them at home as he pleaſeth, v. 34. The Apoſtle is thus zealous in it, as he had reaſon, becauſe hereby is ſhewne forth one principall myſtery in Chriſts death, for from this, at leaſt upon occaſion of this particular as well as any other, doth the Apoſtle utter this great maxime, yea ſhew forth His death till he comes, v. 26. Of ſuch moment in their import and ſignificancy are things (thus ſmall and meane in the eyes of ſome) that yet are full of Myſtery in Chriſts intendment. And thus much for the Second Head.

FINIS.

End of the text · Thomas Goodwin, Christ the Universal Peacemaker (1651)