The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, Book 3 · Chapter 11
CHAP. XI.
The last generall argument.
OUr next argument is taken from some particular places of Scripture clearly and distinctly in themselves holding out the § I truth of what we doe affirme: out of the great number of them I shall take a few to nisist upon, and therewith to close our arguments.
The first that I shall begin withall is, the first mentioning of § II Jesus Christ, and the first revelation of the minde of God concerning a discrimination between the people of Christ, and his enemies, Gen. 3. 15. I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: by the seed of the woman is meant the whole body of the elect, Christ in the first place as the head, and all the rest as his members: by the seed of the serpent, the Devil with all the whole multitude of reprobates making up the malignant state in opposition to the Kingdome and body of Jesus Christ: That by the first part, or the seed of the woman, is meant Christ with all the elect, is most apparent: for they in whom all things, that are here foretold of the seed of the woman, do concurre, they are the seed of the woman: (for the properties of any thing do prove the thing it self) but now in the elect, believers, in and through Christ, are to be found all the properties of the seed of the woman; for for them, in them, and by them is the head of the serpent broken, and Sathan trodden downe under their feet, the Devil disappointed in his temptations, and the devils agents frustrated in their undertakings: principally and especially this is spoken of Christ himself, collectively of his whole body, which beareth a continuall hatred to the serpent and his seed.
Secondly, By the seed of the serpent is meant all the reprobate, men of the world, impenitent, unbelievers.
For first, the enmity of the serpent lives and exerciseth it selfe in them, they hate and oppose the seed of the woman, they have a perpetuall enmity with it, and every thing that is said of the seed of the serpent belongs properly to them.
Secondly, They are often so called in the Scripture, Matth. 3. 7. Oh generation of vipers, or seed of the serpent, so also, Matth. 23. 33. so Christ telleth the reprobate Pharisees, ye are of your father the Devill, and his workes yee will doe, John 8. 44. So again the child of the Devil, Act. 13. 10. That is the seed of the Serpent, for he that commiteth sinne, is of the Devil, 1 John. 3. 8. These things being undeniable wee thus proceed: Christ dyed for no more than God promised him unto, that he should dye for: but God did not promise him to all, as that he should dye for them, for he did not promise the seed of the woman, to the seed of the serpent, Christ to reprobates, but in the first word of him, he promiseth an enmity against them: in summe the seed of the woman dyed not for the seed of the serpent.
Secondly, Matth. 7. 33. I professe unto you I never knew you, Christ § III at the last day professeth to some he never knew them: Christ sayth directly that he knows his owne whom he layeth downe his life for, John 10. 14. 17. And surely he knowes whom, and what he hath bought; were it not strange that Christ should dye for them, and buy them, that he will not owne, but professe he never knew them? if they are bought with a price, surely they are his owne? 1 Cor. 6. vlt, If Christ did so buy them, and lay out the price of his precious bloud for them, and then at last denye that he ever knew them, might they not well reply, ah Lord! was not thy soule heavy unto death for our sakes? didst thou not for us undergo that wrath that made thee sweat drops of bloud? didst thou not bathe thy selfe in thine owne bloud, that our blouds might be spared? didst thou not sanctifie thy self to be an offering for us as well as for any of thy Apostles? was not thy precious blood by stripes by sweat, by nailes, by thorns, by speare poured out for us? didst thou not remember us, when thou hungest upon the crosse? and now dost thou say thou never knewest us? Good Lord though we be unworthy sinners, yet thine own blood hath not deserved to be despised: why is it that none can lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect? is it not because thou diedst for them? and didst thou not doe the same for us? why then are we thus charged, thus rejected? could not thy blood satisfie thy Father, but we our selves must be punished? could not justice content it self with that sacrifice, but we must now heare, depart, I never knew you? what can be answered to this plea, upon the granting of the generall ransom, I know not.
Thirdly, Mat. 11. 25. I thank thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise & prudent & …st revealed § IV them unto babes; even so O Father for so it seemed good in thy sight: those men, from whom God, in his soveraignty as Lord of heaven and earth of his owne good pleasure, hideth the Gospell, either in respect of the outward preaching of it, or the inward revelation of the power of it in their hearts, those certainely Christ dyed not for: for to what end should the Father send his onelyonly Sonne, to dye for the redemption of those, whom he for his owne good pleasure had determined should be everlasting strangers from it, and never so much as heare of it, in the power thereof revealed to them. Now that such there are our Saviour here affirmes and thankes his Father for that dispensation, at which so many doe at this day repine.
Fourthly, John 10. 11. 15. 16. 27. 28. This cleare place, which of it selfe is sufficient to evert the generall ransom, hath been a little § V considered before, and therefore I shall passe it over the more briefly: First, that all men are not the sheep of Christ is most apparent. For first, he himself sayth so v. 26. Yea are not of my sheep. Secondly, The distinction at the last day will make it evident, when the sheep and the goates shall be seperated. Thirdly the properties of the sheep here, that they heare the voyce of Christ, that they know him and the like, are not in all: Secondly, that the sheep here mentioned are all his elect, as well those that were to be called as those that were then already called, v. 16. Some were not as yet of his fold, of called ones, so that they are sheep by election and not believing. Thirdly, That Christ so sayes that he laid down his life for his sheep, that plainely he excludes all others. For first, he layes downe his life for them as sheep; now that which belongs to them as such, belongs onelyonly to such: if he layes downe his life for sheep as sheep, certainely he doth it not for goates and wolves and doggs. Secondly, He lays downe his life as a Shephard, v. 11. Therefore for them as the sheep: what hath the Shephard to do with the wolves, unlesse it be to destroy them? Thirdly, dividing all into sheep and others v 26. he saith, he layes downe his life for his sheep, which is all one as if he had said hee did it for them only. Fourthly, he describes them for whom hee died by this, his Father gave them to him, v. as also chap. 17. v. 6, Thine they were and thou gavest them me, which are not all, for whatsoever the father giveth him cometh unto him—and hee gives unto them eternall life and they shall never perish, v. 28. Let but the sheep of Christ keepe close to this evidence, and all the world shall never deprive them of their inheritance; further to confirme this place adde Matth. 20. 28. John 11. 52.
Fifthly, Rom. 8. 32, 33, 34. the intention of the Apostle in this § VI place is to hold out consolation to believers in affliction, or under any distresse, which he doth, v. 31. in generall, from the assurance of the presence of God with them, and his assistance at all times, enough to conquer all oppositions, and to make all difficulty indeed contemptible by the assurance of his loving kindnesse, which is better than life it selfe; if God be with us, who shall bee against us? to manifest this his presence and kindnesse, the Apostle minds them of that most excellent, transcendent and singular act of love towards them, in sending his sonne to dye for them, not sparing him, but requiring their debt at his hand, whereupon hee argues from the greater to the lesse, that if he have done that for us, surely he will doe every thing else that shall bee requisite: If hee did the greater, will hee not doe the lesse? If he give his sonne to death, will he not also freely give us all things? whence wee may observe; First, that the greatest and most eximious expression of the love of God towards beleevers, is in sending his sonne to dye for them, not sparing him for their sake, this is made the chiefe of all: Now if God sent his sonne to dye for all, he had as great an act of love, and hath made as great a manifestation of it to them that perish as to those that are saved. Secondly, that for whomsoever hee hath given, and not spared his sonne, unto them he will assuredly freely give all things; but now he doth not give all things that are good for them unto all, as faith, grace, and glory: from whence wee conclude, that Christ died not for all. Again, v. 33, hee gives us a description of those that have a share in the consolation here intended, for whom God gave his sonne, to whom he freely gives all things, and that is, that they are his Elect; not all, but only those whom he hath chosen before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy, which gives another confirmation of the restraint of the death of Christ to them alone, which he yet further confirmes, v 34. by declaring that those of whom he speakes, shall bee freely justified and freed from condemnation; whereof he gives two reasons: First, because Christ died for them. Secondly, because he is risen and makes intercession for them for whom hee dyed, affording us two invincible arguments to the businesse in hand: The first taken from the infallible effects of the death of Christ; who shall lay thing any to their charge? who shall condemn them? why? what reason is given? it is Christ that died: So that the death doth infallibly free all them from condemnation for whom he died. Secondly, from the connexion that the Apostle here makes betweene the death and intercession of Jesus Christ: for whom he died, for them he makes intercession, but be saveth to the utmost them for whom he intercedeth, Heb. 7. 24. from all which it is indeniably apparent, that the death of Christ with the fruits and benefits thereof belongeth only to the Elect of God.
Sixtly, Ephes. 1. 7. In whom wee have Redemption: if his bloud were shed for all, then all must have a share in those things that are to be had in his bloud; now amongst these is that redemption that consists in the forgivenesse of sinnes, which certainely all have not, for they that have are blessed, Rom. 4. and shall bee blessed for evermore, which blessing comes not upon all, but upon the seed of righteous Abraham.
Seventhly, 2 Cor. 5. 21. Hee made him to be sinne for us, that wee might become the righteousnesse of God in him. It was in his death that Christ was made sin or an offering for it; now for whomsoever he was made sinne, they are made the righteousnesse of God in him, by his stripes we are healed, Isay 53. John 15. 13. greater love hath none than this, that he lay downe his life for his friend Then to intercede is not of greater love than to dye, nor any thing else that he doth for his Elect; if then he laid downe his life for all, which is the greatest, why doth he not also the rest for them, and save them to the uttermost,
Eighthly, Iohn 17. 9. I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them, which thou hast given me, for they are thine. And v. 19. For their sakes I sanctifie my selfe.
Ninthly, Ephes. 5. 25. Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved his Church and gave himselfe for it, as Acts 20. 28. The object of Christs love and his death is here asserted to be his Bride, his Church, and that as properly as a mans owne wife is the only allowed object of his conjugall affections: And if Christ had a love to others so as to dye for them, then is there in the exhortation a latitude left unto men in conjugall affections for other women besides their wives,
I thought to have added other arguments as intending a cleare discussing § VII of the whole controversie, but upon a review of what hath beene said, I doe with confidence take up and conclude, that these which have been already urged wil be enough to satisfie them who will be satisfied with any thing, & those that are obstinate will not bee satisfied with more. So of our arguments here shall bee an end.