The Door of Salvation Opened by the Key of Regeneration, Treatise
THE Door of Salvation OPENED, BY THE Key of Converſion.
JOHN 3.3.
Jeſus anſwered and ſaid unto him Verily, verily I ſay unto thee Except a man be born again, he cannot ſee the Kingdom of God
AS Iſaiah is called the Evangelical Prophet becauſe he doth ſo lively deſcribe and foretel the death of Chriſt; ſo John may not unfitly be called the Prophetical Evangeliſt; for though in his Epiſtles he ſhews himſelf an Apoſtle, in his Goſpel an Evangeliſt, yet in his Revelation he is a Prophet. The Antients do aptly aſcribe the Eagle to him for his Enſign; becauſe when the other Evangeliſts begin with the Mediators Incarnation and Humanity, proving him to be the Son of Man; he doth at firſt flye out of ſight, and beginneth with the Saviors Deity, proving him to be the Son of God. And his whole Goſpel indeed is a demonſtration of Chriſts Divinity, which was occaſioned (as Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtorians record) by the hereſie of Ebion and Cerinthus, who denied it.
In this third Chapter we have firſt, Chriſt teaching Nicodemus, to verſ. 21.
Secondly, John …s teſtimony concerning Chriſt, to the end.
The Text is Chriſts ſpeech to Nicodemus; Nicodemus had ſeen Chriſts miracles, and thereby was convinced to come unto him; Chriſt lets him hear his oracles, that thereby he might be converted, and come unto him: Nicodemus in the ſecond verſe had called Chriſt Rabbi, and confeſſed him to be a Teacher ſent from God; Chriſt in purfuance of that Office, ſets him his leſſon, aſſuring him that he muſt learn it in the School of earth, or he can never be removed to the Univerſity of Heaven.
In the words we obſerve two general parts.
Firſt, An Affirmation, or the neceſſity of Regeneration, Except a man be born again, he cannot ſee the Kingdom of God.
Secondly, Its confirmation or the certainty of that aſſertion; Verily, verily, I ſay unto thee.
In the Affirmation we may take notice of two particulars;
1. The univerſality of the perſons, A Man, that is every man; the propoſition is indefinite, and ſo equivalent to one that is univerſal.
2. The quality of the thing affirmed, Be born again; mending will not ſerve, the whole man muſt be new made; Non unius partis correctionem, ſed totius naturae renovationem deſignat, ſaith Calvin, It ſpeakes not the reparation of one part, but the renovation of the whole man.
In the Confirmation of it there are likewiſe two things conſiderable;
1. The manner of the expreſſion, Verily, verily.
2. The Author of it, I ſay unto thee.
The meaning of the words.
Verily, verily,] that is, Amen, faithfully, foreign, compara Mar 13.43. tum Luk. 21.3. & Luk. 9.27. cum Mat. 16.18. & Mar. 9.1.truly; the word cometh from the Hebrew Aman, which ſignifieth True, Faithful. It is uſed by the people as a ratification of their prayers, and teſtimony of their deſires to be heard, Jer. 11.5. 1 Cor. 14, 16. And when it is doubled, as here by the great Prophet, it is a vehement aſſeveration, or ſtrong confirmation of the thing aſſerted: As if Chriſt had ſaid, Nicodemus, Thou mayſt believe me; for truly, aſſuredly it is ſo; except thou art a new creature, thou canſt never enter into the new Jeruſalem. All Gods ſayings are of equal truth; but to ſome there is affixed a ſpecial note of certainty, becauſe of their extraordinary weight, and mans infidelity. Private Soldiers may go with a common paſs, but Generals and Commanders in chief have Trumpets ſounding before them. Verily, verily. All Orders and Warrants of Kings have not their ſeals annexed, but thoſe that be of greateſt weight.
I ſay unto thee] I who am the Prophet of my Church, foreign.the Teacher ſent from God, the true and faithful witneſs, fer whom it is impoſſible to lie, I deliver thee this doctrine as a certain unqueſtionable truth, that unleſs thou haſt a new being, it had been better for thee to have had no being; for thou canſt never ſee the Kingdom of God.
Except a man] Let him pretend never ſo much, foreignlet his performances be never ſo many, let his priviledges be never ſo great, and his profeſſion never ſo glorious, yet if he be not born again all theſe will do him little good, for he can never ſee the Kingdom of God. The aſſertion as I hinted before, is general; as every man is born of the fleſh, ſo every man muſt be born of the spirit, or it had been happy for them if they had never been born.
Be born again] that is be renewed, foreignand turned by the Holy Ghoſt from Nature to Grace, from darkneſs to light, from the power of Satan to God, Acts 26.18. Except a man be inwardly and really altered from what he was; except he become a new creature; Put off the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful luſts, and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteouſneſs and true holineſs, Epheſ. 4.22, 24. Except he be turned up-ſide-down, and walk Antipodes to his former way; except the ſtream of his heart and life run in another channel, carry him towards another haven, he can never arrive at Heaven: Except the image of the Devil be razed out and defaced, and the image of God be imprinted on him, he can never be ſaved: Except he be throughly and univerſally changed; his Underſtanding by illumination, his Will by renovation, his Affections by ſanctification, and his Life by reformation, he can never obtain Salvation.
He cannot ſee] that is, enjoy; foreign Druſ…animad. lib. 2. cap: 2.he cannot have his portion in it, or ever attain the enjoyment of it. Videre eſt frui. Viſion in Scripture is frequently put for fruition, as Pſa. 27.13. Heb. 12.14. Iſa. …3.11. Pſa. 34.12. Matth. 5.8.
The Kingdom of God; foreign.] Gods Kingdom is twofold.
1. The Kingdom of Grace here, Rom. 14.17. The kingdom of God is not meat a… drink, but righteouſneſs, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoſt, Matth. 6.33.
2 The Kingdom of Glory hereafter, 1 Theſſ. 2.12. Now except a man be born again he can have no right to the priviledges of the Kingdom of Grace, nor to the poſſeſſion of the Kingdom of Glory.
The Text being thus briefly explained, I ſhall glean ſome few ears by the way, before I come to the full ſheaf; which will afford, through the bleſſing of God much ſpiritual food to our ſouls.
1. Obſerve, That Chriſt is very willing to inſtruct them that come to him, notwithſtanding their many weakneſſes.
Nicodemus was ſhort in his confeſſion of Chriſt, and faulty in his coming to him only by night; yet the meek Maſter overlooketh this, and preſently falls upon teaching his untoward Schollar. The tender Father doth not turn his weak childe out of doors, but lends him his helping hand wherby he might be enabled to go. As when a ſoul is in him, he doth not refuſe its gold becauſe it wanteth ſome grains, nor its honey though it be mingled with wax, Cant 5.1. ſo when a ſoul is in the way to him, he doth not reject it for its imperfections, nor twit it with its corruptions, as thoſe flies that love to feed on ſores; but as the loving parent beholdeth the Prodigal while he is afar off, runneth more then half way to meet him; and as the true Turtle chirpeth ſweetly, that he may cluck ſinners nearer to himſelf.
2. Obſerve, A man may be a noble, knowing perſon, and yet ignorant of, and a ſtranger to regeneration.
Nicodemus was a Ruler of the Jews, either one of the Sanhedrim, or great Council, or one of the Rulers of their Synagogue; one that taught others, and yet was himſelf untaught in this rudiment, this A B C of Chriſtianity; how childiſhly doth he talk of this weighty truth? verſ. 4. How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the ſecond time into his mothers womb and be born? How deep may a man dive into the myſteries of Nature, how ſharp-ſighted may he be there, and yet as blind at a Mole in the things of Grace! Nature may in ſome men be dung'd with induſtry, art, education, and example, and thereby ſhew fair, ſpread far, and overtop others, but yet manured to the utmoſt, it is but Nature ſtill: Its grapes will be the grapes of Sodom, and its cluſters the cluſters of Gomorrah. The natural man like Zacheus is too low of ſtature to ſee Jeſus, he diſcerneth not the things of God neither indeed can he, for they are ſpiritually diſcerned, Cor. 2.14. The wiſeſt Philoſophers that could cunningly pick the lock of Natures Cabinet, and behold much of her riches and treaſure, were meer Ideots and fools in the things of the Spirit, and underſtood no more of theſe myſteries of Divinity, then a Cowherd doth of the darkeſt precepts of Aſtonomy. Water riſeth no higher then its fountain; the light within us, or Nature, is but a ruſh candle, and cannot enable us to ſee the Sun of Righteouſneſs: the light without us, or Scripture, is the ſtar to the wiſe men leading us to the place where the Babe of Bethlehem lieth. As the eye without the optick vertue is but a dead member, ſo all humane wiſdom without divine inſpiration is but learned folly and elaborate wickedneſs.
3 Obſerve, That regeneration is one principal thing which Paſtors ought to inſtruct their people in.
Jeſus Chriſt (though the wind of Nicodemus words, verſe 2 ſeemed to blow towards ſome other coaſt, yet he) waves all other diſcourſe, and ſpeaks directly and home to this, as the one doctrine neceſſary for his unregenerate Diſciple to learn: Regeneration and Salvation by Chriſt are the two ſubſtantial diſhes which the faithful Stewards of God ſet conſtantly before the Families committed to their charges: Thoſe that preach notions inſtead of ſuch doctrines do curſedly cozen their gueſts with flowers inſtead of meat, which may fill the eye of the wanton, but not the heart of the hungry ſoul. Oh what a bleſſed pattern have we here for our practices, when our Pariſhoners come to us, or we go to them! what more weighty ſubject can we treat of then their Converſion! without which they muſt be puniſhed with everlaſting deſtruction. Alas how boundleſs and endleſs is that wrath to which they are liable, though their hearts are inſenſible! therefore though their mouths do not call, yet their miſerie doth cry aloud to us to inſtruct them in Regeneration, as ever we deſire they ſhould eſcape Damnation.