is there is a farther thing then restraining grace there is holinesse of life Ephes 4. 24. That ye put on that new man which after God is created in righteousnesse and true holinesse Now holinesse goeth farther than to the abstaining from some evill and doing of some good Holinesse reacheth to the mortification of lust where there is a new man created after holinesse lust will be pursued not onely to imprisonment but to death The Woolf is not onely tied up but turned into a Lamb the Sow is not onely put into a pasture but changed into a Sheep A woolf tyed up doth not so much mischief as before a Sow in a pasture is not so swinish and filthy as when it walloweth in the mire but their natures still remain So it is in restraining grace their natures are the same if not some change in their conversation Where the new-birth is there is a change of the heart and a new nature wrought therefore men do duties with delight and constantly Men look at lusts now not as David did at Absolom but as Joab did at Absolom that I may use that comparison Asolom he rebelled ye know David and Joab they both set themselves against him but so as David though he could not but be displeased with Absolom's rebellion yet he carrieth affection towards him and desireth that the young man may be dealt gently withall On the other side Joab when he getteth an opportunity throweth dart upon dart and never 2 Sam. 18. 14. leaveth till he hath slain him So ye have many a man that hath some work of grace upon his heart that yet hath a months mind and longing after sin he would have his sin supprest as David would have Absolom but yet Absolom must live though a rebellious son Many would have sin supprest that it may not expose them to hell and damnation but all this while their sins must live But the new creature is carried out with hatred against sin therefore it is not content without its destruction Mortifie your earthly members saith the Apostle Such a sin saith the regenerate soul will have my death therefore I will have its death I will not be content till it be crucified with the lusts and affections thereof I shall now proceed to the 14 Verse Vers 14. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us and we beheld the glory thereof as the glory of the onely begotten Son of the Father full of Grace and Truth Heretofore the Evangelist having proved the Divinity of Christ's manifestation in the flesh and the glory of his Person in both Natures Jesus Christ he commeth now to tell us of his manifestation in the flesh and of the glory of his Person consisting of both Natures So as this Verse calleth to us for attention because it holdeth forth the Object of our faith the Person of Christ in both his Natures And certainly every soul that is married to Christ will be affected with his Person and therefore desirous to hear of that The difference between a wife and a harlot is The wife desires and loveth the husband's person therefore careth not for his tokens unlesse his person be enjoyed The harlot loveth the token and careth not for the person It is the property of the Spouse not to be content with the Love-tokens of Christ but with the Person of Christ And concerning him ye have four things laid down here First The Incarnation of Jesus Christ The Word was made flesh Secondly His Conversation on earth And dwelt amongst us Thirdly Here is a speciall manifestation of his glory And we behold his glory as the glory of the onely begotten of the Father Fourthly The singular Qualifications of his Person Full of grace and truth First I shall begin with the Incarnation of Christ in these words And the Word was made flesh A Clause out of which Bees may suck hony and Spiders may gather poison These words have been a stumbling-block to many Hereticks and on the other side a sure and strong hold to many Saints Some think that when the children of Israel were in the land of Goshen and had some Egyptians mixed with them at the same time the Scriptures are light to Saints darknesse to unbelievers Hebrewes drew wholesome waters out of the fountains and the Egyptians bloody water at the same springs and that it was dark to the Egyptians in the same house and light to the Hebrewes If so me-thinks It affordeth that which may lead us into the Consideration of this and the like places of Scripture Hereticks have darknesse and Believers light The one draweth bloody waters and the other wholesome waters out of the same Text of Scripture as ye shall hear in the application what use may be made of this Clause Apollinarius saith That because the Word was made flesh Therefore Christ took upon his flesh the body but not the soul of a man Three things are here to be declared to you First Who is meant by the Word Secondly What is meant by the Flesh Thirdly In what sense the word was made Flesh First The divine nature of Christ is in the Word Secondly The human nature of Christ The Flesh Thirdly The personall union The Word made Flesh These are mysteries by some more spoken of and lesse understood Things that we cannot be ignorant of without danger nor discourse of without all Reverence Things that no Eloquence of man can reach no soul of man apprehend in the full latitude of them Yet some thing we shall speak hereof by God's assistance First Who is here meant by the Word I answer the 1. By the Word is meant the second Person in the Trinity second person in the Trinity so called in that known place There are three that bear witnesse in Heaven the Father and the Word and the Spirit and these three are one 1 Joh. 5. 8. The same person that is called the word in the beginning of this Chapter is said to be with God I shall not speak of that because heretofore I have been large in it but come to the second Secondly What is here meant by Flesh Flesh signifieth 2. By Flesh is meant the whole man the whole man in diverse places of Scripture Man ye know consisteth of two parts which are sometimes called flesh and spirit and sometimes called soul and body Now by a Synecdoche either of these parts may be put for the whole sometimes the soul is put for the whole man As when it is said there were so many souls in the Act. 27. 37. Gen. 46. 27. ship with Paul And seventy souls went down into Egypt with Jacob sometimes flesh or body is put for the whole man Rom. 12. 1. I beseech you brethren by the Mercies of God offer up your bodies a living sacrifice That is offer up your selves And sometimes flesh which is the word in the Text Rom. 3. 20. Therefore by the deeds of the Law shall
something hard This is the Case for Christ to have taken our nature as it was in Adam while he stood cloathed in his Integrity and flood right in the sight of God had not been so much as when Adam was fallen and proclaimed Traitor As Bernard saith Quò pro me vilior eò mihi charior Domine Lord thou shalt be so much the more dear to me by how much the more thou hast been vile for me Here is Condescension indeed that Christ should stoop so low to take flesh and flesh wlth infirmities You know what King Ahasuerus did when he met with the passage in the Chronicles which laid open what good service Mordecay had done for him saith he What hath been done for this man and when he saw nothing was done he thinks presently of advancing him Hest 6. 3. Let us call to our selves and say What hath been done for this Jesus that hath done so much for my soul If nothing at all It is time to fall upon this duty and to think of some way to Testifie our thankfullnesse to Christ How shall we do it Christ is above we are not able to reach Him True but He hath members here on Earth though He be in Heaven He will take it as done to himselfe if ye do it to one of them Would you be thankfull to Christ be kind to his people Kings when they go their progresse and come to this and that Town and are presented with some summe of Money or piece of Plate the Present they receive to give the people content but they give away the thing to some of their Favourites So it is with Christ He giveth away the things ye tender him he taketh it well but he is content that his Children should have what you give He himselfe standeth in no need of what we can do but if we do it to his people he will accept it as if it was done to himselfe Matth. 25. 40. Therefore David maketh a full Confession of this Psal 16. 2 3. Thou art my Lord saith he my goodnesse extendeth not to thee but to the Saints on the Earth and to the Excellent in whom is all my delight You see what use may be made now of what was said of the Divine nature of Christ as he is called the Word what of his human nature as he is said to be made flesh and what followeth and what hath been said of the personall union of these two natures Ye may from hence take a view of one of the deepest The greatest mystery in the World is the Word made flesh Mysteries in all the World for it is one of the deepest in all Religions and the Christian Religion containeth such mysteries â—s the world cannot shew besides all the depths of the world are but shallow to the things of God Here is one of the deepest things of God The Word being made flesh There are three great Unions that are three great Mysteries the deepest of any that are The Substantiall union The Personall union The Mysticall union And this is one of them First The Substantiall union of three Persons in one 1. The Substantiall union Nature and one Substance So Father Son and holy Ghost make but One God Secondly There is the Personall union of two Natures 2. The Personall union in one Person So God and Man make but one Christ Thirdly There is the Union of Severall both Persons 3. The Mysticall union and Natures in one Mysticall body and so Elect Angels and Men and Christ together make but one Body whereof Christ is the Head Here are the three great Mysteries of Religion That I speak of is the second of these The Personall union In the first of these Divines use to observe that there is alius and alius but not aliud and aliud another Person but not another Thing The Father is Alius a Filio a distinct Person from the Son and the Son is Alius à sancto Spiritu a distinct Person from the holy Ghost but not a distinct Thing The Father Son and holy Ghost make but one Essence there is not aliud to be found in them In the Second is aliud but not alius a distinct Thing but not distinct Persons The Human Nature is a distinct thing from the Godhead and the Godhead a distinct thing from the Manhood but not a distinct person from the Manhood for God and Man make but one Person In the Third the Mysticall union there is both aliud and alius but not alienus There is distinct Things and distinct Persons the Angelicall Nature and Human Nature the persons of Believers and the Person of Christ but there is not alienus amongst them One of these are united to another in near relation they are not aliud one from another Though there be different things and different persons there is a union between them That is one thing that ye may learn from hence Secondly Ye may learn from hence a ground of that communication of Properties which is a very mysterious thing in Religion that which they call Communicatio Idiomatum a thing not so easily understood But by reason of this personall union of the two Natures in Christ there is a communication of Properties that is That which belongeth to the Manhood may be ascribed and given to Christ though denominated from the Godhead and that that belongeth to the Godhead may be denominated to Christ because it belongeth to the Manhood A man may truly say The Son of How the Son of Mary made the world and how the Son of God shed his blood Mary made the world Here Christ is denominated from his human Nature but it is Christ as God that made the world not Christ as the Son of Mary for he was not the Son of Mary till many thousand years after the world was made On the other side you may say The Son of God was crucified and shed his blood upon tâ—â— Crosse Here ye ascribe that to Christ under the denomination of the Son of God which belongeth to him as Man to shed his blood as God he hath none to shed But yet this may properly be said because the Person is both God and Man It is not without precedent in Scripture Joh. 3. 13. No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven even the Son of man which is in heaven Christ here when he conversed upon earth he said The Son of man was in heaven Why Because that Person was in heaven according to his Godhead and yet the Son of man denominated from the Godhead is said to be in heaven whereas nothing more certain that Christ-Man was upon earth and yet in heaven as God And so on the other side Act. 20. 28. Take heed to the flock over which the holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood God hath no blood yet God is
said to purchase the Church with his blood because that Person which was God had blood to shed according to his human Nature though it was sanguis humanus yet it was sanguis Dei It was human blood yet the blood of that Person which was God as well as Man Now the ground of all this is that personall union The Word being made flesh Divines have laboured much to make this clear therefore have invented divers Comparisons I shall tell you of one or two of them They suppose a flaming fiery Sword here is a union of the metal and of the fire that are met together in this sword and therefore there may be a communication of the properties This fiery thing may be said to cut and this sharp thing may be said to burn because they are so united in one sword Or thus They suppose a man under two capacities one and the same man that hath skill in two Sciences suppose he is both a good Physitian and a good Lawyer Now one may in propriety of speech say This Physitian is a Lawyer and this Lawyer is a Physitian because both meet in one man A man may say This Physitian is a diligent follower of his Clyent 's businesse and this Lawyer is very good at curing his Patients Or thus A branch of a Vine is graffed into the stock of an Olive-tree and that so as it takes of each tree both the Vine-branch and the Olive bear according to their severall natures yet are in the union both of one tree but both Grapes and Olives grow upon it One may say This Vine beareth good Olives and this Olive-tree beareth good Grapes because united in one tree So it is in respect of the Manhood united to the Godhead This Son of Mary made the world and this Son of God shed his blood upon the Crosse But no more of this The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the onely begotten of the Father full of Grace and Truth I now go on to what remaineth And dwelt amongst us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word signifieth properly Dwelling as in a Tabernacle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth a Tent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to dwell in a Tent or Tabernacle Then this Clause Dwelt amongst us is capable of a three-fold sense though as I suppose but one is here intended There is a Mysticall sense of these words a Spirituall sense a Civill sense First A Mysticall sense and according to that this 1. The Divinity of Christ dwelt in the human Nature phrase Dwelt amongst us is an amplification of the former The Word was made flesh and implyeth this That the Divinity of Christ dwelleth in the human Nature as in a Tabernacle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in us the plurall number noteth the human Nature and implieth as diverse go this way especially the Greek Fathers and the Arabick and Syriack all give this sense of this place to intimate That the habitation or dwelling that Christ assumed to himself was not the Person of man but the Nature of man and therefore dwelt in us There is a place of Scripture that seemeth to favour this sense Col. 2. 9. where ye find it thus said In him dwelleth all the fulnesse of the Godhead bodily As if so be he should have said The Godhead dwelt in the body of Christ as in a tabernacle or tent which it had erected for its own habitation Dwelt and dwelt bodily Secondly There is a Spirituall sense of this Clause and 2. Christ dwelleth in us by his Spirit according to that the meaning is this Dwelt in us namely by his Spirit by influence from heaven and this way Cajetan goeth Lest men should suspect saith he because of what was said before The Word was made flesh that now we are to have none but fleshly communion with the Son of God Though It was made flesh yet he dwelt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in us by his Spirit and conversed with us in that respect and this is implyed in the Praeposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We say not inter nos but in nobis If he had meant it of Christ's dwelling in the world he would have said Inter nos but he saith In nobis that implyeth a communication of himself to our inward man according to that sense which other Scriptures hold forth That Christ-Man dwelleth in our hearts by faith Ephes 3. 17. 2 Cor. 6. 16. God hath said I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people Thirdly There is a third sense of these words that is a 3. By his conversing amongst us Civill sense Dwelt amongst us that is Conversed amongst us as one man converseth with another He took upon him the form of a servant and was in the likenesse of man and carried himself for about 33 years upon earth as a man This is his dwelling amongst us and that is the most proper sense in this place though there be a truth in all the former yet neither of them is here intended not the First which I call the Mysticall sense because the human Nature of Christ was not assumed like as a Tabernacle or Tent which is pitched for a while and then removed but as a Mansion The Divinity took up his habitation forever in the human Nature Christ now continueth and shall for ever as true Man as he was when he was born of the Virgin Mary In that place Col. 2. 9. the Apostle useth another word where he saith that all the fulnesse of the Godhead dwelleth in him bodily the word is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in a Tabernacle but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in a Mansion and abiding place He so took the human Nature as never to lay it down again Therefore not as in a Tabernacle As for the Spirituall sense that cannot well be the meaning here Though it be true that Christ dwelleth in the hearts of his Saints and converseth with their spirits yet the Evangelist speaketh of some kind of habitation amongst men but this kind of habitation dwelling in our hearts was that which was usually in the Word from the beginning of the world so he dwelt amongst the Jewes for they were his beloved people long before he was Incarnate Besides this was ceased when the Evangelist wrote The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 habitavit in the Praeterperfect Tense If ye take it of Christ's conversing amongst men upon the face of the earth he did dwell amongst them so but he did not dwell amongst them at this time that was past but his dwelling in his Spirit amongst us that is not past Joh. 6. 56. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him It remaineth therefore that the sense of this place is plainly thus not to seek into abstruse senses The
occasioned John as they say to write this Gospell wherein he asserteth the Godhead of Christ And so by the way occasionally yee see what use even Heriticks are made of to the Church of God We had lost this Gospell if Ebion and Cerinthus had not broached their heresies God suffereth desperate opinions to be vented for the purging of his owne Truth The Truth of God is compared to Silver The words of the Lord are pure yea as Silver tried in a furnace of Earth purified seven times Every corrupt opinion that cometh to be vented against any Truth of God that is a new furnace and the truth being cast into that furnace it cometh out the purer for it Purified seven times As it is with Passengers of quality and note were it not for some evill inveterate Currs in the street they might passe and never be observed the very barking of the Dogs maketh them to be noted So these evill inveterate Corrupt Hereticks by their barking have occasioned the taking notice of that truth of the Divinity of Christ Had not they barked John had not Written This was the occasion And this should incourage you to attention because the same Hereticks are with us now we have our owne Ebions and Cerinthusses to this day that deny the Divinity of Christ and say He had no being till he took it from the Virgin Mary Fourthly we come to the Scope of this Book which is to hold out the Divine nature of Christ as the object of our Faith to set forth Christ as the Sonne of God that we believe in Him so as to have Salvation by Him And This St. John telleth you to have been his aime Joh. 20. 31. These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Sonne of God and that believing you might have Life through Him He desires to set forth Christ to us as our Redeemer and therefore laboureth so much both in the beginning of his Gospell and throughout to hold forth the Godhead and Divine nature of Christ That so it might appear that he is a sufficient Redeemer If He had not been God He could not have gon through with the purchase As the Eagle trieth her young ones by holding them against the beams of the Sun and if they be able to look upon them with a stedfast eye she owneth such So John bringeth his Readers to the Sun of the Divinity of Christ and such as will not acknowledge that are bastard-Christians and not Saints Fifthly One thing yet remaineth by way of preface which is the difference between this and the other Gospells which lieth especially in two things First whereas the three former Evangelists insist especially upon things done by Christ after John was cast into Prison and so principally relate the acts of Christ in the last year of his Ministry St. John taketh in here the acts of his two former years what Christ did and what Christ said before John was cast into Prison which the other touch but sparingly upon Secondly whereas the other Evangelists insist mainly upon what Christ did Saint John relateth especially what Christ said They are much more large in recording his Miracles John in recording his Sermons and Prayers as Chap. 15. Some Miracles indeed he relateth to us but they are such as wake may either for his Discourse with the Disciples or for his disputation with his Adversaries So still he seemed more to take notice of what Christ said then what he did I now prepare you to be attentive for I begin to close with the first Chapter and with these first words of the Chapter which are of so great importance That as I told you before they had a most extraordinary force upon Junius his spirit and besides upon one Numenius a Heathen Philosopher That falling upon this Gospell cried out in a kind of indignation This Barbarian saith he for so the Greeks call the Jews hath concluded more in a few lines than our great Philosophers have in all their Books He was so taken with the mystery of these words For they are words which the most quick-sighted Christian can be hardly able to see through And throughout I shall indeavour to make it as plain as God shall inable me Onely ye must not take it amisse if some things shall be left obscure Augustine saith I will not defraud those that are able to understand for fear of being irksome to them that are not able Do but think your selves at a feast When many guests are invited to a feast They are of severall Constitutions and like severall dishes But now Shall a man that seeth such a dish before him to which he hath no stomack presently rise from the Table No he will perhaps think with himselfe Other men may like this dish So it should be taken here Suppose something be too hard for thee it may perhaps be clear to another Paul is a debtor to the wise and to the unwise therefore let none arise and goe away but let every man expect his portion Do you hope that whatsoever difficult passages there are in the Scriptures yet there will be some full of Light and Comfort To close then with the first verse In the beginning was the Word and the Word was Text. with God and the Word was God YE have here the Subject and the Predicate which are laid down in three Propositions The subject in every proposition is the same the Word And there are in these three propositions three things predicated of this Word First an eternall existency and that in the first Proposition The Word was in the beginning Secondly a Personall Co-exsistency of Christ with the Father The Word was with God namely as a distinct person from God That is the second Proposition Thirdly a divine Essence The Word was God a distinct Person indeed therefore said to be with God but of the same Nature therefore said to be God Mysteries have more need of Adoration than Locution The first thing we are to understand is a discourse of the Subject of these three Propositions The Word And for the clearing of that three Quaeries we shall resolve First what Person is here meant by the Word Quarie 1 I answer clearly The second Person in the Trinity Of Respon whom ye shall find him called not onely by St. John Christ is called the Word by Iohn but by St. Luke and Paul too Jesus Christ is called by St. John The Word 1 John 5. 7. There are three that beare record in Heaven The Father the WORD the Holy Ghost Here the Word cometh in in the second place between the Father and the Holy Ghost to denote the second Person Revel 19. 13. He was cloathed in a vesture dipt in Blood and His Name is called the Word of God Neither is John the onely man that calleth Him so though by the way St. John himselfe above all the Apostles got the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John the
who is meant by the Word and what is meant by Flesh I now proceed to shew you in what sense the Word is said to be made flesh First We must remove a false sense then assert the true The Word was made flesh Take it in the phrase of Athanasius The Word made flesh by taking the Manhood into God not by converting the Godhead into Man his Creed Not by conversion of the Godhead into Man but by the taking of the Manhood into God Quod erat permansit quod non erat assumpsit They were wont to sing so in an antient Liturgy Christ remaineth without any change in him as God I speak according to the meaning of that old Aenigmaticall Verse Sum quod eram quod eram non sum nunc dicor utrumque It is said in the Person of Christ I am what I was to wit God still I was not what I am to wit Man I am called both to wit God-Man To clear it by the application of the Text The Word was made flesh Christ is called the Word particularly in reference to that internall word and conceptions that are in a man's heart Now if a man manifest his own conceptions What doth he do He assumeth a voice as it were and by that voice makes men to hear what his conception is This Word was that that it was before yet it was manifested in the flesh without any change of what he was Here ye have the false sense removed Let the true sense now be asserted The Word was made flesh that is He assumed the Human Nature into By assuming the human nature into the union of his Person the union of his person He that was God before from everlasting doth now take man into the unity of his Person onely there is this difference in it The phrase seemeth to import something more because it is said The Word was made flesh And that some Hereticks catch at because they say One thing cannot be made another without some Object change As at the marriage in Canaan water was made wine and then it ceased to be water so say they If the Word be made flesh it must cease to be the Word for it is now made another thing For Answer to this first There is no necessity of translating Answ 1 it Made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Word became flesh So 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 9. 20. Unto the Jews I became as a Jew saith Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I became So the Word became flesh by a voluntary assumption of the Manhood So then the Objection is waved for it lyeth wholly in the Translation The Word was made flesh Secondly Let the Translation stand yet it will not overthrow Answ 2 what hath been said because every thing that is made another is not infallibly changed it self Let us therefore distinguish of a Naturall change and a Civill change a Physicall change and a Politicall change When one thing indeed is made another by a Physicall change then it ceaseth to be what it was before as when the water was made wine But one person may be made another in a way of Politicall change and yet continue what it was before As When one that is invested with Titles and Royalties of an higher nature is pleased out of condescention to assume some lower Title to himself as When a Soveraign Prince is pleased to be made or created Knight of the Garter when an English Earl is made a Gentleman of Venice Here is the King made a Knight and the Earl a Gentleman and yet continue what they were They have assumed a lower dignity without disparagement to what they were before And some of our Kings have been made free of this City of London in some Companies and it was an honour to the Company not a disparagement to the Prince So it is with Christ He honored that Nature he assumed and not lost that Nature which he had Thus you see the meaning of this Clause The Word was made flesh Let us now see what Use may be made of it First We shall apply the whole Clause and then draw Use 1 some instances from particulars The whole Clause may be of use for the confutation of For Confutation of Hereticks many Hereticks Our Evangelist here aimed at the confutation of Hereticks when he writ this Gospel and this one Clause knocketh many of them in the head It hath been the lot of the Church of Christ to be alwaies conflicting more or lesse with that kind of men For the first three hundred years after Christ the great thing then was by Persecution but after God had stirred up Constantine the Devil leaveth playing the Lion and turned to the Fox what he could not obtain by force he now seeks by fraud and instead of Persecution raiseth up Heresies And look as now adaies that which should unite all Christians together namely the Lord's Supper which we therefore call the Communion is made the greatest matter of Contention in the world The Lutherans and Caâ—vinists fall out about Consubstantiation Lutherans and Papists about Transubstantiation The Lord's Supper is made a meer matter of quarrell by the subtlety of Satan So of old this Personall Union of which I have spoken all this while the two Natures God and Man in one Person was the great matter of division in the Churches of Christ Many Hereticks struck at this and this Text meeteth with many of them I shall instance in four but not trouble you long about them but a little is fit to be said that we may know what was done in former ages Great use is of Evangelicall History There is the Heresie of The Arians All confuted by this Clause The Apollinarians The Nestorians The Eutychians The Arians held That Jesus Christ was not true God 1. The Arians opinion confuted This Text calleth him the Word and maketh him a Person in the Trinity It saith The Word was with God and the Word was God and that Word was made flesh The Apollinarians acknowledge him to be God yea and 2. The Apollinarians opinion confuted Man too but they held That he took onely the Body of a Man not the Soul of a Man but they say His Divinity supplied the room of a Soul We interpret the word Flesh rightly for the whole human nature Therefore the Apollinarians are confuted here too The Nestorians grant him to be both God and Man but 3. The Nestorians opinion confuted then they say The Godhead made one Person and the Manhood another Person We interpret the word Made rightly according as it holdeth forth an Hypostaticall Union and remember what was said of Christ's assuming not the person of man but the nature of man That Heresie is then confuted Here is God and Man two Natures but one Person 4. The Eutychians opinion confuted The Eutychians held but one Person in Christ then they confounded the Natures They say That the Godhead
the fulnesse of the Godhead In him dwelleth all the fullnesse of the Godhead bodily Not a parcell but all and bodily that is either really If ye take body as it standeth in opposition to shadowes and figures then the Godhead is said to dwell in Christ bodily in opposition to the shadowes Under the law the body dwelt figuratively in the Ark and thence the glory of the Lord filled the house But now it dwelleth in Christ as the substance of all those shadowes It dwells in him bodily Or if ye take body as it sometimes signifieth person The Hebrewes were wont to put the soul for the whole person so many souls went down with Jacob into Egypt The Greeks were Gen. 46. 27. wont to put body for the whole person I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God present your bodies as a living sacrifice so then to dwell bodily is to dwell personally Now the fulnesse of the Godhead dwells personally in Jesus Christ because he was the second Person in the Trinity The Son of God as full of the Divinity as the Father himselfe was The fulnesse of the Godhead dwelt as truly in the Son as in the Father Now Sonship implieth Identity of nature As if it will not be tedious to you Four things go to make up a perfect Sonship There Four things make up a perfect Sonship must be 1. Similitude 2. Procession and Production 3. Life and 4. Identity If any of these be wanting A person cannot be said to be the son of another I say Similitude Procession Life Identity There is a likenesse between the whitenesse of the wall and the whitenesse of the snow but no sonship between them because there is no production The whitenesse of the wall doth not produce the whitenesse of the snow Fire begets fire Here is a production But the fire is not the son of the fire because here wanteth Life The body of a living Man breeds worms Here is a production and life but yet the worm is not the son of Man because here is no Identity of nature The worm hath not the nature of man There must be a Coherence in all these four which you find in Christ in reference to God the Father There is a similitude He is the expresse Image 1. Similitude 2. Procession of his Fathers person There is a procession For the Son proceedeth from the Father and is begotten of the Father from all eternity There is Life For the Son hath Life 3. Life 4. Identity in himselfe as himselfe saith And there is Identity of nature The very same essence with that of the Father And a greater Identity then between any man and his son That take along with you too Take Abraham and Isaac Isaac hath the same nature with Abraham But how the same The same in species not in Individualls The same in kind not the same Individuall nature For it is possible that the father may be saved and the son damned or the son saved and the father damned But now the Lord Jesus Christ is the same Individuall nature with the Father because but one Deity and one Divinity and one Essence and the same Person pertakes of the same Individuall substance Here is the first fulnesse The fulnesse of Divinity Secondly There is in Jesus Christ A fulnesse of sufficiency Secondly a fulnesse of sufficiency for the work of the Mediator-ship which he undertook as God-man That which Divines call the grace of unction They speak of a double grace that dwelleth in Christ The grace of union namely that favour by which the human Nature was united Personally to the Godhead Secondly The grace of unction namely that anointing with the holy Ghost which Christ-Man had who is therefore said to be annointed with the oyle of gladness above his fellowes There is therefore this fulnesse of sufficiency because there was a fulnesse of Divinity there is therefore this grace of unction because by that grace of union Christ is therefore annoynted because the Manhood is so united to the Divinity The nearer any thing commeth to the Cause the more it taketh of the Effect Fire is the cause of heat therefore the nearer a man stands to the fire the hotter he is the farther off the lesse he partakes of the influence of the fire The Human Nature having a union with the Godhead must needs partake of all grace Write the letters of the Alphabet upon a seal and then put that upon the wax the wax will bear the image of all the letters Here is the Divinity The Godhead falls upon as it were and takes to it self the whole Manhood and therefore the Manhood bears the impression of the whole Godhead as far as the Manhood is capable Now indeeed it was necessary there should be a fulnesse of sufficiency in Christ because as Mediator he had three great Offices to discharge and every one of them requireth a fulnesse without which he could not have gone through with his work Accordingly ye shall find A three-fold fulnesse in Christ as to his Offices a fulnesse of power in Christ as King a fulnesse of wisdom in Christ as Prophet and a fulnesse of righteousnesse in Christ as he was the Priest of his Church which three make up the fulnesse of Sufficiency There is in Christ as King a fulnesse of power That is 1. As King the fulnesse of Power it which he speaks of Matth. 28. 18. Jesus came and spake to them saying All power is given to me in heaven and in earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations and I will be with you to the end of the world Christ hath all power in Heaven and Earth yea and in Hell too Of the two former this place speaks All power is given to me in heaven He hath the Angels in heaven at his command and can send them out as an heavenly hoast to assist his people All power is given to him on earth over all the Princes in the world Therefore he is King of kings and Lord of lords And this he telleth his Apostles before he sent them to preach the Gospell to encourage them Preach to all Nations all Nations all Mankind All power in heaven and in earth is given to me Therefore go preach I am with you And as all power in heaven and earth is given to Christ as King of the Church so all power in Hell Ye have an expression that may haply bear this sense Rev. 1. 18. I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen And have the keys of hell and of death Christ hath the keyes of hell and can send whom he will thither and keep whom he will from thence The Keys argue Power It is a metaphor taken from Conquerors when they take a City they have the Keys thereof delivered into their hands in token the City is now at their command If Hell be here taken for the Grave
lusts before the embracing of and yielding obedience to our blessed Saviour We are ready to defie the Jewes for crying Not him but Barabbas and yet our actions cry as loud Not Him but the world not Him but the flesh Rather imitate good Tremelius who was himself a Jew born and after when he turned Christian in reference to what his Country-men the Jews had once said Not him but Barabbas he made this his Motto Non Barabbam sed Christum Not Barabbas Tremelius his Motto after his Conversion but Christ to intimate his having renounced all for the Lord Jesus Christ Let it be thine Not the world but Christ not the creature but Christ not the flesh but Christ He was before all and shall be before all in my esteem Whom have I in heaven but thee Psal 73. 25. That is one Duty we are to learn from hence Secondly Seeing Christ is Eternall trust him for Eternall things expect such from him that is an everlasting Father Isa 9. 6. Do you think an everlasting Father will lay up none but temporall blessings for his children He that was from the beginning hath provided something that shall be after the end for everlasting for you if ye will seek after him Remember what the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 4. ult While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporall but the things which are not seen are eternall Oh! look at those eternall things trust in an eternall Saviour who hath purchased them first and since provided them for you He is gone before to provide heavenly things for you Grace is a thing which hath something of eternity in it The way of holinesse the Scripture calleth it the everlasting way Psal 139. ult Lead me in the way everlasting Seek to Christ for that For your everlasting Saviour will give you that which Grace begets Glory hath an influence into eternity so Grace hath It is an immortall seed that begets its glory and that is everlasting too Ye have a Promise Isa 45. 17. Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation He that was before the world hath happinesse world without end for all that believe in him So much for the first Proposition namely In the beginning was the word The second is that that concerneth the Personall Coexistency Propositi ∣ on 2d of the Word with the Father and it lyeth in these words The word was with God By the Word we still understand the same Person Jesus Christ By God in this Proposition ye are to understand the Father For you must know this tearm God is taken two manner of waies in this Verse Sometimes the term God is taken essentially and so it is appliable to all the Persons in the Trinity as when it is said God is a Spirit God there is taken so as to signifie the Nature of God and the Essence of God which is common to all the three Persons And so it is taken in the last clause of this Verse The word was God But otherwhile it is taken Personally and so it signifieth not the whole Essence but some one Person in the Trinity As when it is said God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself The Father in the Son When it is said Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son Here is God loving the world and giving Christ So in the second Proposition The word was with God that is with God the first Person This implyeth at once a Nearnesse and a Distinction A Nearnesse to God The word was God and yet a Distinction from him for it was but with him Now that which is with another doth imply a person distinct We do not say a man is with himself but Peter is with Paul or Paul with Peter So here The word was with God Take two or three places to help you to understand this Joh. 1. 18. No man hath seen God at any time the onely begotten Son which is in the bosome of the Father c. Here is the Son in the bosom of the Father that is the Word with God Here is a nearnesse and yet a Personall Christ near to and yet distinct from the Father distinction Nearnesse for it is in the bosom and yet a Personall distinction it is the Son in the Father's bosom One more clear that is fully parallel with the Text that is 1 Joh. 1. 2. The life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witnesse and shew to you that eternall life which was with the Father Eternall life is a Person here By Eternall life ye must understand the very self-same Person who is called the word of life in the first verse Eternall life is something that was seen and born witnesse to namely the Lord Jesus Christ of whom saith he vers 1. they have seen him and lookt upon him and have handled the word of life So that it is no new thing for John to call Christ the Eternall life He saith This is the true God and eternall life What doth he say of this Eternal life Why that we have seen it and bear witnesse That is of that Eternall life which is with the Father Take another which is parallel to the Text Prov. 8. 29 30. where by Wisdom is understood Christ which saith of it self Then I was by him as one brought up with him and was daily his delight Rejoycing alwaies before him rejoycing in the habitable part of his earth and my delights were with the sons of men Where Christ is spoken of as a son in the presence of the Father He is said to be with him as here in the Text. Take notice of two Praepositions there used in reference to Christ In and With 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is said Joh. 14. 10. Believest thou not saith Christ to Philip He that hath seen me hath seen the Father And then he saith I am in the Father and he in me Here Christ is said to be in the Father and in my Text with the Father with this difference in that noteth Unity with that importeth Distinction in that falls upon the Essence with that falleth upon the Person So as in plain tearms Christ is in the Father in regard of the Unity of the Essence which is the same with that of the Father Christ is with the Father in regard of the Distinction of his Person So as between the Son and the Father there is alius alius but not aliud aliud as Divines say That is The Son is another Person from the Father but not another thing from the Father The Father and the Son are Unum but not Unus the Father and the Son are one Thing but not one Person Ye may truly say The Son is with the Father as my Text hath it but ye cannot say The Son is
the Father because there is distinction of Persons and yet a personall Co-existency The word was with God So ye have the meaning of that Proposition Let us now make Use of it First Take notice here of the distinction of Persons in Vse 1 the Godhead a distinction without their Divinity Here is the Son the word with God and the Son with the Father not divided from him And yet one Person with another and so distinct one from another With him not without distinction and in him without division As in the night-time if a man set up three Candles in a room all these concurr to the lightning of the room yet there is but one light So but one Essence in the Divinity Yet here are three Candles that give that Light but no man can say that this light is peculiar to the First Candle and this to the Second for all shine together and yet the light of the second Candle is with the first but the light is all one But O the depth It is no wading here farther than a man hath footing out of Scripture for fear of being past our standing and be drowned The Word of God is with God and one Person with another but the manner How as Basil said when he met with some knots of difficulty in this Mystery I believe saith he I do not busie my self in searching over far what we cannot make out in plain reason we must make out in believing where we have the Scripture for our bottom onely take notice of such a thing Certainly there is a distinction of Persons in the Trinity Here is One with Another The word was with God Secondly Learn from hence to worship God according Vse 2 to a distinction of Persons Learn we to worship and look at Christ as a Person distinct from the Father and the holy Ghost or else we worship not Christ but our own fancies If we conceive him not as he is as he is distinct This is the great difference between the Christian and the Turkish Religion I might say the Jewish too for the Turks and Jews agree in that they hold one God but deny a distinction of Persons in the Godhead We Christians according to Scripture acknowledge that too There are three that bear record in heaven the Father the Word and the Spirit and these three are one And some kind of necessity appeareth in a way of reason which we may take notice of for the strengthning of our faith in this great Mystery that there should be a distinction of Persons God The benefit of the distinction of Persons the Father was the Person offended Reconciliation was to be made None but God hath enough in him to satisfie God Therefore it was requisite there should be a Person to satisfie the Person offended That the second Person the Lord Jesus undertakes and goeth through with it But how shall this be made known Poor man is as far off as ever he was if he be left here he hath no power in his own nature to reach this Therefore there is a Third Person the holy Ghost who discovereth this and applieth it So that the Salvation of Man is by the concurrence of the whole Trinity But I must here again take off my self with O the depth as Bernard did Hoc magnum est Mysterium This is a great Mystery a Mystery rather to be adored than searched into Well saith he Quomodo esset Pluralitas in Unitate unitas in Pluralitate How there should be a Plurality in Unity and how a Unity in Plurality three Persons and yet but one Essence Scrutari temeritas est It is rashnesse to search too far into it Credere pietas it is piety to believe it Cognosâ—ere vita aeterna It is life eternall to know it We can never have a full comprehension of it till we come to enjoy it Thirdly This may serve to Answer that Question which some make What was God a doing before he made the Vse 3 world Object It might suffice to Answer them as Augustine did in Answ the same case with a short Answer He was a making Hell for such as put these Questions But there is a fairer Answer in the Text which telleth you That the Word that was in the beginning before the Creatures were made that Word was with God God was delighting himself in his Word God and his Word were a contriving the Redemption of Mankind and had thoughts of peace towards the Elect from all Eternity That place Prov. 8. speaketh something to it When he appointed the foundations of the world vers 30 31. then I was by him as one brought up with him or as a Nourisher in Intention or decreeing of the Creatures that were to be made or out of the Church that was to be gathered out of the world I was daily his delight rejoycing God delighting in his Son before the world was alwaies before him This God was a doing before the world was made he was delighting in his Son this Text saith so clearly So saith Peter 1 Pet. 2. 19 20. The pretious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for you Before the foundations of the world what was God a doing Plotting as I may speak with reverence the work of mans Redemption projecting my Redemption and thine Before we were he had thoughts of peace and mercy towards us Therefore we may trust him as long as we live When we think little of him he thinks much of us The fourth Use we may make of this is this It should Vse 4 teach us and I pray God we may all learn infinitely to prize the love of Christ I say to prize and adore the love of Christ Who though he were from all Eternity the Word with God yet was pleased in the fulnesse of time to become Emmanuel God with us What an act of respect and love was it in Moses to his Country-men the Jews Moses his exceeding love to his Country-men the Jewes poor Hebrews in sore bondage and he in Pharaoh's Court brought up in all the learning of the Egyptians adopted by the King's daughter full of honour some say Lord Treasurer of Egypt and they build their conjecture upon that because it is said He forsook the treasures of Egypt It was a great thing for him to leave the Court and sort himself with poor Labourers at Brick-kilns yet that he did Here is an act of great condescention in Moses of much respect to his Country and love to the poor Hebrews But what is this of Moses to that of Christ who was with God in the Court of Heaven taken up with the mutuall delights which the blessed Trinity had in each other To leave this all this for a time and to come to be Man with us To leave his Mansion which was Heaven and to pitch his
to God as the Apostle's phrase is and it followeth upon the marriage in that expression Rom. 7. 4. Wherefore ye also are become dead to the Law in the body of Christ that ye should be married to another to God in that marriage Again It produceth society with Christ Conjugall society when he hath been received upon Conjugall terms Husbands 5. It produceth Conjugall society with Christ dwell with your Wives saith Peter 1 Pet. 3. Christ dwelleth with such a soul such a soul converseth with Christ As it is said of Isaac and Rebecca Gen. 26. 8. Abimeleck King of the Philistins looked out at a window and saw and behold Isaac was sporting with Rebecca his Wife And he concluded from thence that she was his wife because he saw her sporting with him in private The soul that hath truly received Christ will solace it selfe with Christ in private not onely injoy him in publick Ordinances in the sight of the World but in private Communion with him even in the private duties of his worship There will be a society with him Lastly There will be an expectation producing all good 6. It produceth expectation of all good in through and from him things in him and through him and from him For he that hath not spared his own Son but gave him to death for us all how shall he not together with him give us all good things Rom. 8. 32. He that hath Christ hath got the Fountain His blood is a fountain opened in Zachary He that hath the fountain may have what water he standeth in need of be it more or be it lesse be it a dish full or a paile full or a Cistern-full as long as he hath the fountain he may have what he wanteth So it fareth with the soul that hath Christ the soul expecteth all things from him for this and a better life onely with this caution That she must make account to him Expectation implieth a waiting that foll weth upon beliefe Isai 28. 16. Behold saith the Lord Expectation defined I lay in Sion a corner stone a pretious stone a sure foundation he that believeth shall not make haste Christ now being received is full of grace In Him are all treasures both of wisdome and knowledge and of grace and pardon suppose some of these be not immediately communicated he that believeth maketh not haste It is in Him in Christ therefore I may be content to waite I shall have it when he seeth his owne time Waiting is a spirituall expectation of believers as believing is of having received As put case a place is void at Court and two men are suiters for it One rideth Day and Night and tireth Horse after Horse and maketh more haste than good speed for fear the place should be gone The other he taketh his leisure goeth to the Court but slowly Why because he hath had the Prince's promise before and he knoweth he hath such and such friends at Court that will put the King in mind of it Which of these two hath the better hope Not he that maketh the most haste but the other He confideth the place shall be his because he trusteth to the Prince's promise and relieth upon his friends at Court I see at length we have got to an end of this particular I beseech you bring your souls to this touch-stone Try your selves whether you have received Christ or no and whether ye be sons and daughters or no by what ye receive of Christ Suppose we say Hast thou ever had any due and serious apprehensions of the person and office of Jesus Christ Hast thou been convinced of the nature and danger of sin and upon such conviction made to see the necessity of a Saviour The utter impossibility of obtaining salvation by any thing or person but Christ alone And hast thou after this seen a probability of having pardon and grace from Christ because of the aboundant goodnesse of God the Father and the powerfull mediation of God the Son and the free and gratious breathings of God the Holy Ghost Hast thou now thrown thy selfe into the arms of Christ or laid thy selfe at his feet and sayest if I die I will die there as the poor Lepers said when they went to the Camp of the Assyrians If we stay here we must perish if we go thither we can but perish Certainly if we stay in this condition we must be damned we will put it to that to go to Christ he can but damne us We have heard that the Kings of Israel are mercifull Kings and therefore Benhadad saith we will put ropes about our necks and go to him Hast thou acknowledged that it is just with God to damne thee and yet hast hope in Israel's God Hast thou said with Hester I resolve to go to him and lay hold upon the golden Scepter and if I perish I perish Better perish in a way of expectation then to do as I do Try it by what this receiving of Christ includeth Was there not a time wherein thy Soul made choice of Christ for her Husband with resolution in the attendance on Christ to forsake all and cleave to him and subject to him in all things To receive Jesus Christ as Lord not onely as Jesus to deliver thee from the wrath to come but as Lord to be ruled and governed by him Hast thou learned to trust in him for the payment of all thy debts and discharge of all thy sins to send Law and Divill to Christ for an answer Try what this receiving of Christ is by what it produceth Where is thy prizing love to Christ Is it more to thee then thousand worlds where is thy watchfullnesse If thou hast a Jewell about thee thou wilt take heed what Company thou comest into A man that hath treasure about him will be more carefull to avoid the society of Robbers then such as have no money in their purses If thou hast received Christ thou hast a Treasure Oh take heed of coming into such company as may occasion the with-drawing of Christ from thee Where is thy spirituall life if thou hast received him Dost thou grow as living things do Hast thou an Appetite to the word Dost thou desire the sincere milk of the Word What fruit doest thou bring forth Is it fruit to God Hath Christ any Issue by thy soul what society hast thou with Christ Is there any solacing thy selfe in Meditation and Prayer and secret Communion between Christ and thy soul And then doest thou expect all things from him And canst thou wait till God's time cometh to make good all his promises which are all yea and amen in Christ I shall leave these things with you Consider them And the Lord give you understanding in all things Let us now go on to a further use of Consolation from Use of consolation hence and after that to the next verse As there were no going to sea for any man with Comfort if there
no flesh be justified in his sight Compare that with Psal 143. 2. where it is said In thy sight shall no man living be justified No flesh saith Paul No man saith David So flesh is the whole man To clear this some Quaeries would be resolved Quaeries First whether Christ assumed the nature of man or 1. Whether Christ assumed the nature or person of Man the person of a man the whole man He did assume the soul as well as the body both under the tearm flesh And indeed unlesse he had assumed the whole man the whole man could not have been saved saith Damazen That which was not taken could not be healed If Christ had not taken the whole man He could not have saved the soul To the first Quaery Whether the nature of man or the person of man I answer The nature of man and not a single person Respons It will be dangerous to mistake here If Christ had onely He assumed the nature and not a single person taken the person of a man then there must have been two persons in Christ a person assuming and a person assumed Yea then that onely person which Christ assumed should have been advanced and saved He should have saved that person and no other if he had assumed the person of a man With us the soul and body being united make a person But in Christ the soul and body were so united as to have their subsistence not of themselves as in us but in the Godhead No sooner was the soul united in the body but both soul and body had subsistence in the second person in the Trinity So not the assuming of a person but the nature of a man common to all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve Therefore he took not the nature of the Angels but the seed of Abraham Hebr. 2. 16. Seed the first element of our nature before our persons come to have any subsistence Secondly Why did Christ take the nature of man Quaery 2 I answer That he might be a fit Mediator That lesson Why the nature of Man the Apostle giveth you Hebr. 2. 14. Because the Children were partakers of flesh and blood he also took part Resp 2 of the same that through death he might destroy him that That he might be a fit Mediator had the power of death that is the Devill His taking the nature of man conduced to his being a Priest For if he had not been man he could not have died And that he might be a fit Prophet A Prophet will God raise up to you like to me saith Moses It was fit and convenient for them to have a man Prophet because they were not able to hear Angels unlesse they died And that he might be a fit King The head of one nature and members of another make a Monster Hebr. 2. 11. Both he that sanctifyeth and they that are sanctified are all of one nature Christ is of the same nature with those that are sanctified and governed by Him Thirdly The third Quaery is whether did Christ take Quaery 3 our nature in its Integrity and perfection as it was before Whether he took our nature as before the fall or as after the fall or our nature cloathed with infirmities as after the fall I answer He took our nature cloathed with infirmities as after the fall which is implied in the word Flesh There Respons 3 is a Reason certainly why the Holy Ghost rather chose to He took our nature as after the fall say Why the Word was made flesh then why the Word was made man because it is according to the phrase of Scripture when it would speak contemptibly of man and shew him to be the lowest Creature to call him flesh when it would set forth the weaknesse that man is subject to To give you one or two Instances instead of many Psal 56. 4. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me that is weak and infirm frail man what Flesh can do unto me And again Psal 78. 39. He remembreth that we are but flesh a wind that passeth away and cometh not again So then the word was made flesh that is took not onely man's nature but man's infirmities which are expressed in that word flesh And that he did take our nature with the infirmities thereof appeareth by Isai 53. 4. Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows our infirmities 4. The fourth Querie is Whether Christ did take all the Quaer 4 infirmities of our flesh yea or no Whether Christ took all our Infirmities upon him I answer No. Our infirmities are of two sorts some penall and painfull infirmities others sinfull and culpable infirmities Those that are culpable and sinfull Christ did not take for the Prince of this world came and had nothing in Respons Ne ∣ gativè him But those that were penall infirmities those he took but not all of them neither for they are of two sorts either Sinfull infirmities Christ did not take nor Penall as Personall but Penall as Naturall Personall proper to some few men and women as to be inclined by birth to the Stone or Gout or Strangury or Leprosie or some other hereditary disease or Naturall common to all the sons and daughters of Adam as to be subject to pain and grief and sorrow and hunger and thirst and cold The former of these Christ did not take because they would have been impediments to him in his Function but the latter of these he did take 5. The fifth Querie is Why did Christ take these infirmities Quaer 5 implyed in the word flesh Why did Christ take these infirmities I answer For diverse ends which I will but name and have done He took these infirmities of our nature as well as the nature it self To shew the truth of his Humanity He Respons had a nature that could hunger and thirst even as other men 1. To shew the truth of his Humanity could He took them that he might sanctifie them to us Whatsoever Christ took that he sanctified Saith Luther Christ enriched poverty by becoming poor and glorified shame by enduring shame for us 2. He took our infirmities That he might set us an example of an holy life Had not 2. To give us an example of an holy life Christ been subject to passion he could never have set us an example of meeknesse or patience if he himself had not been liable to passion yet without sin Lastly He took 3. That we might have accesse to him with boldness these infirmities That we might confide the more in him and have accesse to him with boldnesse Consider him an High Priest that was subject to infirmities as well as our selves We have not an high Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points touched as we are yet without sin Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace Thus ye see
and Manhood make such a mixture as to produce a Third thing Here they are confuted by the right understanding of the Hypostaticall Union I will not perplex your understandings with these things onely see the care of the Church of God of old It met with all these sorts of Hereticks in four Adverbs the old Councills brought in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truly to oppose the Arians that implyeth that Christ was true God The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Perfectly to oppose the Sine Naturarum convulsione Apollinarians to shew he was perfectly Man consisting of a Soul and of a Body The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Undividedly to oppose the Nestorians to shew that his Natures were not divided And then the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Unmixtly to Inconfusè oppose the Eutychians who so mingled the Natures as to make a third thing out of both We now come to what remaineth in the Particulars See what they will afford us First That which concerneth the Divinity of Christ the 1. The Wisdom and the Love of God to be admired Word what hath been said of that may serve to fill us all with admiration of the love and wisdom of our God in ordering so that his own Son the Second Person in the Trinity the Word should be made flesh for our salvation God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son Here is love indeed Hardly will a man part with an onely son yet God doth He spared not his own Son but gave him to death for us all And yet haply a man may have such a son that he careth not for But what saith the voice from Heaven This is my beloved Son And yet he so loved the world as to part with his beloved Son One may have a son that he loveth and yet be displeased with him as David was with Absolom but this Son did please the Father and yet this Son is given to die O the admirable love of God shining in this that the Second Person in the Trinity is set on work to procure our Redemption Though Reason could never have found out such a way yet when God hath revealed it Reason though but shallow can see a fitnesse in it because there being a necessity that the Saviour of man should be Man and an impossibility that any but God should save him and one Person in the Trinity being to be Incarnate It suiteth to reason that the first Person in the Trinity should not be the Mediator For who should send him He is of none and therefore could not be sent There must be one sent to reconcile the Enmity and another to give gifts to friends two proceeding Persons the Son from the Father and the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son accordingly the second Person which is the Son he is sent upon the first errand to reconcile man to God and the third Person the Holy Ghost he is sent to give gifts to men so reconciled So as to Reason it is a suitable and a very great congruity That God having made all things by his Word should now repair all things by his Word That as the word of the serpent deceived man and brought him to ruine so the Word of God should restore him and bring him to happinesse That he that was the middle person in the Trinity should become the Mediator between God and man That he that was the expresse Image of the Father's person should restore the Image of God defaced in man by his sins Men may be too curious in such Quaeries but where there is a bottom in the love of God we may safely lose our selves in the admiration of the wisdome of God in the Contrivance of the work of our Redemption That for the first Secondly From what hath been said of the word flesh 2. Here is both matter of Comfort and matter of Duty here as importing the human nature and the human nature cloathed with infirmities we may gather both matter of Comfort and matter of Duty First Matter of Comfort from each of the two branches from flesh as it importeth man-hood from flesh as it importeth infirmity of man-hood The Son of God hath taken our nature upon him that may Comfort men It is matter of Rejoycing to any man when he heareth his friend is preferred What is so neer to us as our owne nature Behold our nature is preferred by Jesus Christ to a union Our nature preferr'd by Christ to union in the Godhead in the Godhead Christ sitteth in Heaven with our nature and the same flesh that we have upon us onely glorified It is that which all the World cannot give a sufficient reason of why the same word in the Hebrew Rashar should signifie both flesh and good Tydings Divinity will give you a reason though Grammar cannot Christ's taking of flesh upon him was good Tydings to all the whole World therefore no wonder if one word signifie both Aboundance of comfort may be taken from hence to poor souls when they think God hath forgotten them To consider Is it likely that Christ that is man should forget Man now He is at the right hand of the Father cloathed in that nature that we have When we are troubled to think it is impossible God and man should ever be reconciled Let us consider that God and man did meet in Christ therefore it is possible we may meet What hath been may be again The two natures met in Christ therefore God may be reconciled to man yea they therefore met that God might be reconciled to man He was made Emanuell God with us that he might bring God and us together When a man is troubled to think of the Corruptions of his nature that is so full of defilement that it cannot be sanctified let him withall think that his nature is capable of sanctification to the full Christ received human nature which was not polluted his nature is the same Therefore that nature is capable of sanctification to the uttermost Many more comforts may be raised from this Consideration That he assumed flesh with the sorrows of it and the nature of it penall infirmities The consideration of that in generall may give some comfort to men because it letteth us see that Christ is able and willing to help us because he hath taken our infirmities Both these the Apostle holdeth out Hebr. 2. ult It is said In that he himself had suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted He is therefore able because himselfe hath been tempted As a Physitian that trieth the vertue of some soveraign Composition upon his owne body he is the better able to cure another with that Receit because he himselfe hath tried it Christ hath born our infirmities therefore he knoweth better how to support us under them I but is he willing yes His willingnesse may be collected from this That he hath taken our infirmities
even as the Angels It is said of them that they behold the face of God Matth. 18. 20. Christ saith there I say to you that in heaven their Angels do alwaies behold the face of my Father which is in heaven So when men come to be like Angels in a state of glory they shall also see the face of God But no man hath seen God at any time during this life God in his Essence For this we have more than one place of Scripture the same words in the Text are repeated in 1 Joh. 4. 12. No man hath seen God at any time And Paul hath a place to the same purpose 1 Tim. 6. 16. Who onely hath immortality dwelling in light which no man can approach unto whom no man hath seen nor can see There are but three waies that can be imagined by which man in a state of mortality can see God in his Essence either it must be by his Bodily eyes or by the eye of Reason or by the eye of Faith But a man cannot see God by any of these therefore no man can see God in that sense First No man can see God by his Bodily eye for the very 1. The eyes of our bodies cannot behold the Essence of God light wherein he dwelleth is inaccessible to the eye of sense we cannot so much as see our own souls or the Angels that are inferiour spirits How then shall we be able with our bodily eyes to see the Father of spirits the Lord of glory The Israelites could not so much as endure the shining of Moses his face How then can the eye of the body be imagined capable of that infinite glorious light that is in the essence of God And yet there is a place that speaks as if a man in the state of mortality by his bodily eyes had seen God Gen. 32. 30. Jacob called the name of the place Penuel for I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved Here is a man in the state of mortality that saw God face to face For this ye must know that Jacob did indeed see God but God in a representation not God in his essence He saw the Second Person in the Trinity in the shape of a man that wrestled with him This was all the sight of God that he had The Second Person in the Trinity before he took the nature of man took the shape of man such a shape had Christ taken here in which he wrestled with Jacob and this is that God which Jacob saw face to face not God in his essence but God in a representation And that very thing of God appearing in the Old Testament in a representation to the eyes of the body sheweth that he never appeared to them in his essence because his representations are many and his essence is one He appeared in a Bush to Moses and to Eliah in a still Voice to Jacob as a Wrestler to Joshua as a Captain of the Lord's hoast These were all representations that God was pleased to make of himself and thus men saw him But his essence all this while was invisible neither could it be diversified as his representations were being but one That is memorable which Isaiah saith Isa 6. 5. Mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of hosts The Jews took this advantage against him and said he was a false Prophet Why He said he had seen the King the Lord of hoasts whereas God saith to Moses Thou canst not see my face and live Therefore they put him to death No man can see God in his essence and live But Isaiah saw him and he said true but it was in a representation Secondly No man can see God in his essence no not by the eye of Reason Reason hath but three waies by which it 2. The eye of our Reason cannot behold him in his Essence Reason knoweth God three waies 1. By way of Causality comes to the knowledge of God and those are known to Schollars by these names Via causalitatis via Remotionis and via Eminentiae First By way of Causality and so reason comes to gather of God by all the creatures which it seeth lovely and looks at all these as effects of God as the cause of all and so comes to the knowledge of God as the first cause Thus Reason collects of God But how far is this from seeing the essence of God Reason discovers a God but not what God is in his Beeing onely that He is For no effect can shew the nature of its cause fully but either such as manifesteth the whole force of the cause or else such as is of the same kind with the cause as burning that sheweth the nature of the fire because the fire being a naturall agent burns to the utmost of its power Therefore burning sheweth what nature the fire is of as carrying the nature of the force in it As a child sheweth the nature of the father because of the same nature with the father But the creatures cannot shew God because they are of effects different from him These are parts of the way but how little proportion is readd of him The thunder of his power who can understand Neither are the creatures of the same rank and kind with God as the child is with the father they are all of them finite God is infinite So that all that Reason can do this way is to gather that there is a God but not what he is Secondly There is the way of Remotion by looking over 2. By way of Remotion all the creatures and by setting aside whatsoever savours of imperfection in them and ascribing the remainder to God Thus we say that God is Immortall Impassible Impeccable because we say that to die to suffer and to sin are the imperfections of the creature God cannot sin God cannot die God cannot lie God cannot suffer But this still comes short of seeing God in his essence for by this we see what God is not not what he is by this way of Remotion 3. The third way which is a way of Eminency Reason 3. By way of Eminency goeth over the creatures once again and looks whatsoever is good in them and savours of perfection in them and ascribes that to God as the Author of those perfections So when it seeth in Man wisdom and strength and goodnesse Reason can ascribe to God as the cause of them a more eminent goodness and wisdom and strength And this is the nearest and the farthest Reason can go And yet in all these it cometh short of the essence of God because in this way it findeth out what he is rather in regard of his qualities speaking after the manner of men then what he is in his essence Thus we cannot see God in his essence no not by the eye of Reason There is onely one more that is the eye of Faith which â— The eye of Faith cannot apprehend God in his
excellent speech which he writeth concerning this subject of seeing God in his hundred and twelfth Epistle where he had disputed largely about this thing he taketh himself off and saith Let us be wise â—o sobriety and not be too full of heat In the carrying on of this Argument let us dispute fairly lest while we seek in a way of contention and bitternesse how God may be seen we lose that peace without which God cannot be seen Follow peace and holiness without which it is impossible to see the Lord. I come now to the second thing the Intimacy of Christ The Intimacy of Christ with his Father with the Father which lyeth in these words The onely-begotten Son which lyeth in the bosome of the Father Christ is the onely begotten Son that is in the bosom of the Father that lyeth clearly in my Text. Of his being the onely begotten Son I shall need to say nothing now because I spake before to it upon the fourteenth Verse And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us and we beheld his glory as of the onely begotten of the Father full of grace and truth This expression is to be opened here Which is in the bosome of the Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is not which was to be before the Incarnation or which was to be in the bosome of the Father after the Ascension but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in the bosome of the Father When these words were uttered and in every moment of time yea from eternity Christ is in the bosom of the Father The phrase I take it implyeth these three things The unity of Natures The dearnesse of Affections The communication of Secrets First It implyeth unity of Natures and so there is something 1. To be in the bosome of the Father implyeth unity of Natures more in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more in unity of Natures then distinction of Persons In the bosome of the Father The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But for the unity of Natures they use 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus the bosome is the child's place Look to the Scripture-expressions Ye find Moses speaking of himself as a father carrying Israel as a child in his bosome Numb 11. 12. Have I conceived all this people have I begotten them that thou shouldest say unto me Carry them in thy bosom And so in Nathan's Parable 2 Sam. 12. 3. A poor man had nothing save onely a little ewe-lamb which he had brought and nourished up and it grew up together with him and with his children it did eat of his own meat and drank of his own cup and lay in his bosome and was unto him as a daughter A daughter in the bosome And so accordingly here The onely begotten Son that is in the bosome of the Father to shew the unity of Natures that is between the Father and the Son Christ being God co-equall with the Father Secondly As it implyeth unity of Natures so it implyeth 2. It implyeth dearnesse of Affection dearnesse of Affection Bosom as it is for children so for nearness of Relation The wife of thy bosome and The husband of thy bosome Deut. 28. 54. His eye shall be evill towards the wife of his bosome and verse 56. Her eye speaking of a wife shall be evill against the husband of her bosome Because of those dear affections which that nearnesse of Relation as that of Marriage calleth for between man and wife John the beloved of the Lord ye find him lying nearest Christ even in his bosome Joh. 13. 23. And there was leaning on Jesus his bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved The posture of leaning upon Christ's bosome was an argument that Christ loved him In this sense Jesus is the Son of the Father's bosome because the Son of the Father's love He shall translate us into the kingdom of the Son of his love This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased saith the Voice from heaven Matth. 3. 17. Thirdly Being in the bosome implyeth communication 3. It implyeth communication of Secrets of Secrets the bosome is a place for them It is a speech of Tully to a friend that had betrusted him with a secret Crede mihi c. Believe me saith he what thou hast committed to me it is in my bosome still I am not ungirt to let it slip out But Scripture addeth this hint too where it speaketh of the bosome as the place of Secrets Prov. 17. 23. A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosome to pervert the waies of judgment speaking of a bribe Prov. 21. 14. A gift in secret pacifieth anger and a reward in the bosome expiateth wrath Here is secret and bosome all one as gift and reward are one So Christ lyeth in the Father's bosome this intimateth his being conscious to all the Father's secrets So have ye an opening of this phrase Much is to be learned from it 1. Give the same Worship to Christ as to the Father First Seeing Christ's being in the bosome of the Father implyeth unity of natures this should teach us to give the same worship to Christ as we give to the Father because there is the same nature in both It is that that Christ expecteth and calleth for Joh. 5. 23. The Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment to the Son that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him Jesus Christ requireth the same honour which we give to God the Father it is fit he should have it and it is fit this honour should be pleaded for now in this age wherein many plead against the Divinity of Christ We should give him the same honour that we give to the Father Heb. 1. 6. When he bringeth him in as the first-born of the world he saith Let all the Angels in heaven worship him If they then how ought all the world to worship him We should give him the honour of Invocation praying to him as Stephen did when they stoned him he called upon God and said Lord Jesus receive my spirit As with Worship and Invocation so with Faith It is said that Abraham gave glory to God by believing in him We should give honour to Christ by exercising the act of believing in him this he called for Let not your hearts be troubled ye Joh. 14. 1. Christ the proper object of Faith believe in God believe also in me He is the proper object of faith as he justifieth Circumferentia fidei est Verbum Dei sed Centrum est Deus The whole Word of God is the circumference of faith every thing learned in it is to be believed But the center of faith as the Word justifieth that is the Word God that is Jesus Christ blessed for evermore Secondly His being in the bosome