Chapter 102

To inquire, then, into this grace, this condescending grace of Christ, and that by searching out how rich Jesus Christ was, and then how poor he made himself, that we through his poverty might have the riches of salvation.

First. How rich was Jesus Christ? To which I answer—1. Generally; 2. Particularly.

1. Generally. He was rich as the Father—“All things that the Father hath,” saith he, “are mine.” Jesus Christ is the Lord of all, God over all, blessed for ever. “He thought it not robbery to be equal with God,” being naturally and eternally God, as the Father, but of his Godhead he could not strip himself (John 10:30; 16:15; Acts 10:36; Phil 2:6; Rom 9:4,5).

2. Particularly. Jesus Christ had glory with the Father; yea, a manifold glory with him, which he stripped himself of.

(1.) He had the glory of dominion, he was Lord of all the creatures; they were under him upon a double account—(a) as he was their Creator (Col 1:16); (b) as he was made the heir of God (Heb 1:2).

(2.) Therefore the glory of worship, reverence, and fear from all creatures, was due unto him; the worship, obedience, subjection, and service of angels were due unto him; the fear, honour, and glory of kings, and princes, and judges of the earth were due unto him; the obedience of the sun, moon, stars, clouds, and all vapours, were due unto him; all dragons, deeps, fire, hail, snow, mountains and hills, beasts, cattle, creeping things, and flying fowls, the service of them all, and their worship, were due unto him (Psa 148).

(3.) The glory of the heavens themselves was due unto him; in a word, heaven and earth were his.

(4.) But above all, the glory of communion with his Father was his; I say, the glory of that unspeakable communion that he had with the Father before his incarnation, which alone was worth ten thousand worlds, that was ever his.

(5.) But again; as Jesus Christ was possessed with this, so, besides, he was Lord of life; this glory also was Jesus Christ’s: “In him was life,” therefore he is called the Prince of it; because it was in him originally as in the Father (Acts 3:15). He gave to all life and breath, and all things; angels, men, beasts, they had all their life from him.

(6.) Again, as he was Lord of glory, and Prince of life, so he was also Prince of peace, (Isa 9:6); and by him was maintained that harmony and goodly order which were among things in heaven and things on earth.

Take things briefly in these few particulars—(a.) The heavens were his, and he made them. (b.) Angels were his, and he made them. (c.) The earth was his, and he made it. (d.) Man was his, and he made him.

[Second. How poor he made himself.] Now this heaven he forsook for our sakes—“He came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim 1:15).

[1.] He was made lower than the angels, for the suffering of death (Heb 2:9). When he was born, he made himself, as he saith, a worm, or one of no reputation; he became the reproach and byword of the people; he was born in a stable, laid in a manger, earned his bread with his labour, being by trade a carpenter (Psa 22:6; Phil 2:7; Luke 2:7; Mark 6:3). When he betook himself to his ministry, he lived upon the charity of the people; when other men went to their own houses, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Hark what himself saith for the clearing of this—“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” He denied himself of this world’s good (Luke 8:2,3; 9:58; John 7:35; 8:1).

[2.] Again, as he was Prince of life, so he for our sakes laid down that also; for so stood the matter, that he or we must die; but the grace that was in his heart wrought with him to lay down his life: “He gave his life a ransom for many.” He laid down his life that we might have life; he gave his flesh and blood for the life of the world; he laid down his life for his sheep.

[3.] Again; he was Prince of peace, but he forsook his peace also. (1.) He laid aside peace with the world, and chose upon that account to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and therefore was persecuted from his cradle to his cross, by kings, rulers, &c. (2.) He laid aside his peace with his Father, and made himself the object of his Father’s curse, insomuch that the Lord smote, struck, and afflicted him; and, in conclusion, hid his face from him (as he expressed, with great crying) at the hour of his death.

[Object.] But perhaps some may say, What need was there that Jesus Christ should do all this? Could not the grace of the Father save us without this condescension of the Son?

Answ. As there is grace, so there is justice in God; and man having sinned, God concluded to save him in a way of righteousness; therefore it was absolutely necessary that Jesus Christ should put himself into our very condition, sin only excepted. 1. Now by sin we had lost the glory of God, therefore Jesus Christ lays aside the glory that he had with the Father (Rom 3:23; John 17:5). 2. Man by sin had shut himself out of an earthly paradise, and Jesus Christ will leave his heavenly paradise to save him (Gen 3:24; 1 Tim 1:15; John 6:38,39). 3. Man by sin had made himself lighter than vanity, and this Lord God, Jesus Christ, made himself lower than the angels to redeem him (Isa 40:17; Heb 2:7). 4. Man by sin lost his right to the creatures, and Jesus Christ will deny himself of a whole world to save him (Luke 9:58). 5. Man by sin had made himself subject to death; but Jesus Christ will lose his life to save him (Rom 6:23). 6. Man by sin had procured to himself the curse of God; but Jesus Christ will bear that curse in his own body to save him (Gal 3:13). 7. Man by sin had lost peace with God; but this would Jesus Christ lose also, to the end man might be saved. 8. Man should have been mocked of God, therefore Christ was mocked of men. 9. Man should have been scourged in hell; but, to hinder that, Jesus was scourged on earth. 10. Man should have been crowned with ignominy and shame; but, to prevent that, Jesus was crowned with thorns. 11. Man should have been pierced with the spear of God’s wrath; but, to prevent that, Jesus was pierced both by God and men. 12. Man should have been rejected of God and angels; but, to prevent that, Jesus was forsaken of God, and denied, hated, and rejected of men (Isa 48:22; Prov 1:24-26; Matt 27:26,39,46; Psa 9:17; 11:6; 22:7; Dan 12:2; John 19:2-5,37; Num 24:8; Zech 12:10; Luke 9:22).

I might thus enlarge, and that by authority from this text—“He became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” All the riches he stripped himself of, it was for our sakes; all the sorrows he underwent, it was for our sakes; to the least circumstance of the sufferings of Christ there was necessity that so it should be, all was for our sakes: “For our sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

And you see the argument that prevailed with Christ to do this great service for man, the grace that was in his heart; as also the prophet saith, “In his love and in his pity he redeemed them.” According to this in the Corinthians, “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”; both which agree with the text, “By grace ye are saved.”

I say, this was the grace of the Son, and the exercise thereof. The Father therefore shows his grace one way, and the Son his another. It was not the Father, but the Son, that left his heaven for sinners; it was not the Father, but the Son, that spilt his blood for sinners. The Father indeed gave the Son, and blessed be the Father for that; and the Son gave his life and blood for us, and blessed be the Son for that.

But methinks we should not yet have done with this grace of the Son. Thou Son of the Blessed, what grace was manifest in thy condescension! Grace brought thee down from heaven, grace stripped thee of thy glory, grace made thee poor and despicable, grace made thee bear such burdens of sin, such burdens of sorrow, such burdens of God’s curse as are unspeakable. O Son of God! grace was in all thy tears, grace came bubbling out of thy side with thy blood, grace came forth with every word of thy sweet mouth (Psa 45:2; Luke 4:22). Grace came out where the whip smote thee, where the thorns pricked thee, where the nails and spear pierced thee. O blessed Son of God! Here is grace indeed! Unsearchable riches of grace! Unthought-of riches of grace! Grace to make angels wonder, grace to make sinners happy, grace to astonish devils. And what will become of them that trample under foot this Son of God?

Of the grace of the Spirit. THIRD. I come now to speak of the grace of the Spirit; for he also saveth us by his grace. The Spirit, I told you, is God, as the Father and the Son, and is therefore also the author of grace; yea, and it is absolutely necessary that he put forth his grace also, or else no flesh can be saved. The Spirit of God hath his hand in saving of us many ways; for they that go to heaven, as they must be beholding to the Father and the Son, so also to the Spirit of God. The Father chooseth us, giveth us to Christ, and heaven to us, and the like. The Son fulfills the law for us, takes the curse of the law from us, bears in his own body our sorrows, and sets us justified in the sight of God. The Father’s grace is showed in heaven and earth; the Son’s grace is showed on the earth, and on the cross; and the Spirit’s grace must be showed in our souls and bodies, before we come to heaven.

Quest. But some may say, Wherein doth the saving grace of the Spirit appear?

Answ. In many things.

In taking possession of us for his own, in his making of us his house and habitation, so that though the Father and the Son have both gloriously put forth gracious acts in order to our salvation, yet the Spirit is the first that makes seizure of us (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; Eph 2:21,22). Christ, therefore, when he went away, said not that he would send the Father, but the Spirit, and that he should be in us for ever—“If I depart,” said Christ, “I will send him, the Spirit of truth, the Comforter” (John 14:16; 16:7,13).

The Holy Spirit coming into us, and dwelling in us, worketh out many salvations for us now, and each of them in order also to our being saved for ever.

1. He saveth us from our darkness by illuminating of us; hence he is called “the Spirit of revelation,” because he openeth the blind eyes, and so consequently delivereth us from that darkness which else would drown us in the deeps of hell (Eph 1:17,19).

2. He it is that convinceth us of the evil of our unbelief, and that shows us the necessity of our believing in Christ; without the conviction of this we should perish (John 16:9).

3. This is that finger of God by which the devil is made to give place unto grace, by whose power else we should be carried headlong to hell (Luke 11:20-22).

4. This is he that worketh faith in our hearts, without which neither the grace of the Father nor the grace of the Son can save us, “For he that believeth not, shall be damned” (Mark 16:16; Rom 15:13).

5. This is he by whom we are born again; and he that is not so born can neither see nor inherit the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3-7).

6. This is he that setteth up his kingdom in the heart, and by that means keepeth out the devil after he is cast out, which kingdom of the Spirit, whoever wanteth, they lie liable to a worse possession of the devil than ever (Matt 12:43-45; Luke 11:24,25).

7. By this Spirit we come to see the beauty of Christ, without a sight of which we should never desire him, but should certainly live in the neglect of him, and perish (John 16:14; 1 Cor 2:9-13; Isa 53:1,2).

8. By this Spirit we are helped to praise God acceptably, but without it, it is impossible to be heard unto salvation (Rom 8:26; Eph 6:18; 1 Cor 14:15).

9. By this blessed Spirit the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, and our hearts are directed into the love of God (Rom 5:5; 2 Thess 2:13).

10. By this blessed Spirit we are led from the ways of the flesh into the ways of life, and by it our mortal body, as well as our immortal soul, is quickened in the service of God (Gal 5:18,25; Rom 8:11).

11. By this good Spirit we keep that good thing, even the seed of God, that at the first by the Word of God was infused into us, and without which we are liable to the worst damnation (1 John 3:9; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Tim 1:14).

12. By this good Spirit we have help and light against all the wisdom and cunning of the world, which putteth forth itself in its most cursed sophistications to overthrow the simplicity that is in Christ (Matt 10:19,20; Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11,12).

13. By this good Spirit our graces are maintained in life and vigour, as faith, hope, love, a spirit of prayer, and every grace (2 Cor 4:13; Rom 15:13; 2 Tim 1:7; Eph 6:18; Titus 3:5).

14. By this good Spirit we are sealed to the day of redemption (Eph 1:14).

15. And by this good Spirit we are made to wait with patience until the redemption of the purchased possession comes (Gal 5:5).

Now all these things are so necessary to our salvation, that I know not which of them can be wanting; neither can any of them be by any means attained but by this blessed Spirit.

And thus have I in few words showed you the grace of the Spirit, and how it putteth forth itself towards the saving of the soul. And verily, Sirs, it is necessary that you know these things distinctly—to wit, the grace of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the grace of the Holy Ghost; for it is not the grace of one, but of all these three, that saveth him that shall be saved indeed.

The Father’s grace saveth no man without the grace of the Son; neither doth the Father and the Son save any without the grace of the Spirit; for as the Father loves, the Son must die, and the Spirit must sanctify, or no soul must be saved.

Some think that the love of the Father, without the blood of the Son, will save them, but they are deceived; for “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb 9:22).

Some think that the love of the Father and blood of the Son will do, without the holiness of the Spirit of God; but they are deceived also; for “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”; and again, “without holiness no man shall see the Lord” (Rom 8:9; Heb 12:14).

There is a third sort, that think the holiness of the Spirit is sufficient of itself; but they (if they had it) are deceived also; for it must be the grace of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the grace of the Spirit, jointly, that must save them.

But yet, as these three do put forth grace jointly and truly in the salvation of a sinner, so they put it forth, as I also have showed you before, after a diverse manner. The Father designs us for heaven, the Son redeems from sin and death, and the Spirit makes us meet for heaven; not by electing, that is the work of the Father; not by dying, that is the work of the Son; but by his revealing Christ, and applying Christ to our souls, by shedding the love of God abroad in our hearts, by sanctifying of our souls, and taking possession of us as an earnest of our possession of heaven.

QUEST. III.—WHO ARE THEY THAT ARE TO BE SAVED BY GRACE?

I come now to the third particular—namely, to show you who they are that are to be saved by grace.

[Who are not saved.]

First. Not the self-righteous, not they that have no need of the physician. “The whole have no need of the physician,” saith Christ. “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). And again, “He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away” (Luke 1:53). Now when I say not the self-righteous nor the rich, I mean not that they are utterly excluded; for Paul was such an one; but he saveth not such without he first awaken them to see they have need to be saved by grace.

Second. The grace of God saveth not him that hath sinned the unpardonable sin. There is nothing left for him “but a certain fearful looking for of judgment,—which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb 10:26,27).

Third. That sinner that persevereth in final impenitency and unbelief shall be damned (Luke 13:3,5; Rom 2:2-5; Mark 16:15,16).

Fourth. That sinner whose mind the god of this world hath blinded, that the glorious light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, can never shine into him, is lost, and must be damned (2 Cor 4:3,4).

Fifth. The sinner that maketh religion his cloak for wickedness, he is a hypocrite, and, continuing so, must certainly be damned (Psa 125:5; Isa 33:14; Matt 24:50,51).

Sixth. In a word, every sinner that persevereth in his wickedness, shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven—“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” “Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience” (1 Cor 6:9-12; Eph 5:5,6).

[Who are saved.] Question. But what kind of sinners shall then be saved?

Answ. Those of all these kinds that the Spirit of God shall bring [to] the Father by Jesus Christ; these, I say, and none but these, can be saved, because else the sinners might be saved without the Father, or without the Son, or without the Spirit.

Now, in all that I have said, I have not in the least suggested that any sinner is rejected because his sins, in the nature of them, are great; Christ Jesus came into the world to save the chief of sinners. It is not, therefore, the greatness of, but the continuance in, sins that indeed damneth the sinner. But I always exclude him that hath sinned against the Holy Ghost. That it is not the greatness of sin that excludeth the sinner is evident—

1. From the words before the text, which doth give an account of what kind of sinners were here saved by grace, as namely, they that were dead in trespasses and sins, those that walked in these sins, “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Eph 2:2,3).

2. It is evident also from the many sinners that we find to be saved, by the revealed will of God. For in the Word we have mention made of the salvation of great sinners, where their names and their sins stand recorded for our encouragement; as, (1.) You read of Manasseh, who was an idolater, a witch, a persecutor, yea, a rebel against the word of God, sent unto him by the prophets; and yet this man was saved (2 Chron 33:2-13; 2 Kings 21:16). (2.) You read of Mary Magdalene, in whom were seven devils; her condition was dreadful, yet she was saved (Luke 8:2; John 20). (3.) You read of the man that had a legion of devils in him. O how dreadful was his condition! and yet by grace he was saved (Mark 5:1-10). (4.) You read of them that murdered the Lord Jesus, and how they were converted and saved (Acts 2:23). (5.) You read of the exorcists, how they closed with Christ, and were saved by grace (Acts 19:13). (6.) You read of Saul the persecutor, and how he was saved by grace (Acts 9:15).

Object. But, thou sayest, I am a backslider.

Answ. So was Noah, and yet he found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Gen 9:21,22). So was Lot, and yet God saved him by grace (Gen 19:35; 2 Peter 2:7-9). So was David, yet by grace he was forgiven his iniquities (2 Sam 12:7-13). So was Solomon, and a great one too; yet by grace his soul was saved (Psa 89:28-34). So was Peter, and that a dreadful one; yet by grace he was saved (Matt 26:69-74; Mark 16:7; Acts 15:7-11). Besides, for further encouragement, read Jeremiah 3, 33:25,26, 51:5, Ezekiel 36:25, Hosea 14:1-4; and stay thyself, and wonder at the riches of the grace of God.

Quest. But how should we find out what sinners shall be saved? All, it seems, shall not. Besides, for aught can be gathered by what you have said, there is as bad saved as damned, set him that hath sinned the unpardonable sin aside.

Answ. True, there are as bad saved as damned; but to this question: They that are effectually called, are saved. They that believe on the Son of God shall be saved. They that are sanctified and preserved in Christ shall be saved. They that take up their cross daily, and follow Christ, shall be saved.

Take a catalogue of them thus: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Mark 16:16; Acts 16:31). “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved” (Rom 10:9). Be justified by the blood of Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Rom 5:9). Be reconciled to God by the death of his Son, and thou shalt be saved by his life (Rom 5:10). “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).

See some other scriptures. “He shall save the humble person” (Job 22:29). “Thou wilt save the afflicted people” (Psa 18:27). “He shall save the children of the needy” (Psa 72:4). “He shall save the souls of the needy” (Psa 72:13). “O thou, my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee” (Psa 86:2). “He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him, he also will hear their cry, and will save them” (Psa 145:19).

[Caution.] But, sinner, if thou wouldst indeed be saved, beware of these four things—

1. Beware of delaying repentance; delays are dangerous and damnable; they are dangerous, because they harden the heart; they are damnable, because their tendency is to make thee outstand the time of grace (Psa 95:7; Heb 3-12).

2. Beware of resting in the word of the kingdom, without the spirit and power of the kingdom of the gospel; for the gospel coming in word only saves nobody, for the kingdom of God or the gospel, where it comes to salvation, is not in word but in power (1 Thess 1:4-6; 1 Cor 4:19).

3. Take heed of living in a profession, a life that is provoking to God; for that is the way to make him cast thee away in his anger.

4. Take heed that thy inside and outside be alike;, and both conformable to the Word of his grace; labour to be like the living creatures which thou mayest read of in the book of the prophet Ezekiel, whose appearance and themselves were one 10 (Eze 10:22).

In all this, I have advertised you not to be content without the power and Spirit of God in your hearts, for without him you partake of none of the grace of the Father or Son, but will certainly miss of the salvation of the soul.

QUEST. IV.—HOW IT APPEARS THAT THEY THAT ARE SAVED, ARE SAVED BY GRACE?

This fourth question requireth that some demonstration be given of the truth of this doctrine—to wit, that they that are saved are saved by grace.

What hath been said before hath given some demonstration of the truth; wherefore, first repeating in few words the sum of what hath been said already, I shall come to further proof. 1. That this is true, the Scriptures testify, because God chose them to salvation before they had done good (Rom 9:11). 2. Christ was ordained to be their Saviour before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4; 1 Peter 1:19-21). 3. All things that concur and go to our salvation were also in the same laid up in Christ, to be communicated in the dispensation of the fullness of times, to them that shall be saved (Eph 1:3,4; 2 Tim 1:9; Eph 1:10; 3:8-11; Rom 8:30).

[That salvation is by grace appears in its contrivance.] Again, as their salvation was contrived by God, so, as was said, this salvation was undertaken by one of the three; to wit, the Son of the Father (John 1:29; Isa 48:16).