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A41197
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A brief exposition of the Epistles of Paul to the Galatians and Ephesians by James Fergusson.
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Fergusson, James, 1621-1667.
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1659
(1659)
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Wing F772; ESTC R27358
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577,875
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820
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the hearing of Faith HE again returneth to the Argument for Justification by Faith set down ver 2. and enlargeth it thus That the Lord had not only accompanied that Doctrine among them with the fruits of the Spirit of Regeneration and saving Graces wrought by it but also with other extraordinary gifts of the Spirit such as the working of miracles speaking with strange tongues curing of diseases which were so many confirmations that the Doctrine was of God Doct. 1. Though the saving Graces of God's Spirit are conveyed to the hearts of hearers by the preaching of the Gospel Yet God is the author and worker of them and the Gospel only a mean by which He worketh for having spoken of their receiving the Spirit when he first propounded this Argument ver 2. he doth here in the resuming of it explain how they received it to wit by God's bestowing of it He therefore that ministreth to you the Spirit 2. When the Doctrine of the Gospel as it is now dispensed under the New Testament did first break up the Lord to confirm the Truth thereof did accompany the preaching of it with the working of miracles which properly are works above natures strength and so could be wrought by none but God and this that hereby the truth of the Doctrine might be confirmed which being once sufficiently done there is no further use for miracles now for the Apostle sheweth that miracles were wrought among the Galatians by the hearing of Faith and that this was one Argument of the divinity of that Doctrine while he saith He that worketh miracles among you doth He it by the works of the Law or by the hearing of Faith 3. So strong and provalent is the spirit of Error where it is letten loose and so weak are the best in themselves to resist it that for love to Error they will quit Truth though formerly never so much confirmed and sealed unto them by the saving fruits of God's Spirit in their hearts accompanying it for though these Galatians had the Doctrine of Justification plainly preached ver 1. and sealed to them by the saving Graces of God's Spirit and by many miracles wrought among them yet they make defection from it He therefore that ministreth to you the Spirit and worketh miracles among you c. Vers. 6. Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness 7. Know ye therefore that they which are of Faith the same are the children of Abraham HAving put a close to that Argument which he brought from their own experience proving that we are justified by Faith and not by Works he addeth another from a Scripture-example of Abraham to confirm the same Truth who though he did abound in many vertues and good works yet he was not justified by these but by Faith only which he proveth by the testimony of Moses Gen. 15. 6. where it is affirmed that Abraham believed in the Lord to wit not only by giving assent unto the Promise spoken of immediately before about the multiplication of his seed and giving unto them the Land of Canaan Gen. 15. 5 7. but by assenting unto and imbracing of the prime Promise of the Covenant made by God with him that in the Messias who was to come of him he himself and the Nations were to be blessed Gen. 12. 3. of which Promise this of the multiplication of his seed was but a dependent and the means to effectuate it which Faith of Abraham's or the thing believed and laid hold upon by Abraham's Faith to wit the obedience of the Mediator the blessed Seed was imputed unto him for righteousnesse or accepted of God as his obedience for his Justification ver 6. from which he inferreth or rather the matter being so evident he exciteth themselves to infer the conclusion which he intendeth to prove That only they who are of the Faith or seek after Justification by Faith are children of Abraham by following of his steps and succeeding to him in the inheritance of that blessing of free-gifted Righteousnesse and Justification thereby which he enjoyed for an equivalent phrase to this here is that which is ver 9. They are blessed with faithfull Abraham ver 7. Doct. 1. Though saving Faith hath for its general object the whole Word of God consisting of Histories Threatnings Commands and Promises both of temporal and eternal blessings for Faith giveth firm assent unto the whole Word because of that divine Authority which revealeth it Act. 24. -14. yet the principal object of justifying Faith is the Word of Promise holding forth Christ and His Righteousnesse as the meritorious cause of the Believers Salvation for this Promise which Abraham did believe and the Faith wherof was imputed to him for righteousnes had Jesus Christ in its bosom it being a Promise of giving unto Abraham a numerous seed Gen. 15. 4 5. and so a Promise of Jesus Christ to come of him in whom all the Nations Act. 3. 25. and Abraham himself ver 9. were to be blessed Even as Abraham believed God 2. That it may go well with a soul and be accepted in God's sight who can endure no unclean thing Hab. 1. 13 it is necessary that it be cloathed with some righteousnesse of one sort or other for Faith was accounted unto Abraham for righteousnesse 3. It being wholly impossible for fallen man to attain unto that personal perfect righteousnesse which the Law requireth Rom. 3. 10 c. the Wisdom of God hath found out another way of making him righteous to wit that whereby Faith is imputed reckoned or accounted unto him for righteousnesse for Abraham's Faith was accounted unto him to wit by God for righteousnesse 4. Faith is not in a proper sense imputed to the Believer for righteousnesse as if the work of Faith it self were imputed to us and accepted of God whether freely or because of the merit of Christ for our total and perfect righteousnesse but it 's imputed in a figurative sense with respect had to that which Faith apprehendeth and layeth hold upon to wit the obedience and sufferings of Jesus Christ these being laid hold on by Faith become our righteousnesse Rom. 5. 19. and 10. 4. for the Apostle all alongst this Chapter opposeth Faith and Works now his Arguments would be of no force if Faith did justifie as a work and for any worth in it self It was accounted to him for righteousness 5. In the matter of Justification Faith is opposed not only to those Works which go before Conversion but to those also which follow after it and are the real fruits of God's Spirit in the Believer all Works whether of the one sort or other are excluded for even to Abraham many years after his Conversion when he had abounded in good Works and many gracious Vertues Gen. 12 13 14 chapters his Faith was accounted for righteousnesse 6. As there is a second and reiterated Justification of one and the same person in this sense that upon our renewed
it to make Paul invidious if Titus had been circumcised they were ready to traduce him to the Gentiles as a man who preached one thing to them and practised the contrary among the Apostles if he had not been circumcised they had ground to incense the Jews against him as a contemner of that divine Ordinance 7. Jesus Christ having by that only Sacrifice of Himself upon the Crosse fulfilled all those Legal Types and Shadows of things to come Heb. 8. 5. and 9. 9. hath purchased liberty unto the Christian Church and made them fully free from the observation of those Levitical Ceremonies chap. 5. 1. hence this freedom is called Our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus 8. The Ceremonial Law of Moses was a great bondage and most burdensome yoke Act. 15. 10. to the ancient Church what through the multitude of performances which were thereby injoyned some whereof were extreamly expensive Lev. 1 2 3 4 5. chapters others painfull and hazardous to the natural life Gen. 34. 25. and others most wearisom to the flesh Deut. 16. 16. and what through the punctual observance of all those Ordinances enjoyned under most terrible Certifications Deut. 27. 26. for the Apostle calleth the return of the Christian Church to the observation of the Ceremonial Law which was endeavoured by those false brethren a bringing of them unto bondage That they might bring us unto bondage From Vers. 5. Learn 1. When things in themselves indifferent are urged as necessary and required as an evidence of our assent unto an untruth or quitting of any part of Truth in that case which is indeed a case of confession the practice of a thing indifferent is sinfull and to be abstained from for so did the false brethren urge the Circumcision of Titus even as an evidence of Paul's receding from the Doctrine of Christian Liberty and therefore he obeyed them not To whom we gave place no not for an hour 2. Though much may be done for comopsing of Church-differences by using all meeknesse and forbearance towards those who oppose themselves 2 Tim. 2. 25. acting joyntly with them in those things wherein there is an harmonious agreement Phil. 3. 16. holding off publick debates in those things whereabout the difference is Rom. 14. 5. providing they be not of the most weighty and substantial Truths Gal. 5. 2 3. Yet we are not for peace's cause to quit the least part of Truth whether by a formal denying of it or doing that which in reason may and ought to be so expounded thus Paul who for lawfull ceding did become all things to all men 1 Cor. 4. 19 c. would not give place by way of subjection so as to yeeld the cause controverted to the adversaries neither would he do any thing though never so little and in its own nature indifferent which might be an evidence of his yeelding To whom we gave place by subjection no not for an hour he would not use Circumcision no not that once he would not cede one hair breadth to them 3. A Minister of Christ when he is called to confesse and avow Truth hath not only his own peace with God and keeping of a good conscience to look unto 2 Tim. 2. 11 12. but also the condition of his Flock who will be much shaken or confirmed in the Truth by his faint or bold and faithfull confession Thus Paul in the present business had an eye to the converted Gentiles of whom were these Galatians lest their Faith had been shaken by his inconstancy We gave not place faith he that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you 4. It is not enough that people have the name of the Gospel among them of some Truths of it being mixed with several Errors but all and especially Ministers should endeavour to have the Gospel in purity and integrity free from any mixture of contrary Errors for a little leaven to which Error is compared Mat. 16. 12. leaveneth the whole lump 1 Cor. 5. 6. Thus it was Paul's endeavour that the truth of the Gospel might continue with them that is the whole Doctrine of the Gospel not corrupted with any Error Vers. 6. But of these who seemed to be somewhat whatsoever they were it maketh no matter to me God accepteth no mans person for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me FOlloweth a seventh Evidence that both Paul's Doctrine and Office were divine containing the event of that meeting which he had with the Apostles in three things the first whereof is in this Verse to wit that of these or from those who were looked upon as chief among the Apostles of whom Paul's adversaries did boast as if they had been his superiours Paul had learned nothing which last words or some such like are to be supplied for making out the sentence and because their personal prerogatives such as that they had seen Christ in the flesh were Apostles when he was a persecutor might have been objected to his prejudice he sheweth these were not to be taken notice of by him neither would be taken notice of by God whose judgment is not swayed by any thing which is extrinsecal and belongeth not to the cause in hand and therefore their being Apostles before him would not make his Office or Doctrine more uncertain or lesse divine than theirs seing he was an Apostle now aswell as they and his Doctrine such as could not be questioned by themselves for after that conference wherein he related to them the Gospel preached by him they corrected nothing and added nothing to what he had said but approved all Doct. 1. It is nothing contrary to but agreeth very well with Christians modesty and humility for a man to speak to his own commendation in some cases especially when he laboureth under reproach and when the honour of God and the Gospel do also suffer with him for Paul avoweth that he learned nothing from the chief Apostles and was not in any thing inferiour to them because if he had yeelded to the contrary his adversaries would presently have retorted that he was no Apostle but at the most an ordinary Preacher and his Doctrine in time bypast had been erroneous But of these or from those who seemed to be somewhat supply for making out the sense I learned nothing which Paul concealeth in modesty it being that part of the phrase which should have expressed his praise most and leaveth it to be supplied by the reader from the scope of the purpose and from the like expression in the close of the verse The like form of speaking is used 1 Chron. 4. 10. Oh that thou wouldest c. or If thou wouldest 2. It is not unusual for heretical spirits to cry-up some of Christ's faithfull Ministers above the rest and so to have the persons of men in admiration and this not from any respect to them but for their own advantage Jude ver -16. as hereby rendring those whom they so cry-up