-- CHAPTER I: That all the faculties of the soul, even the mind, are wholly corrupted
and blinded, so that it cannot apprehend spiritual things in a due spiritual manner
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.—1 THES. 5:23
CHAPTER I:
That all the faculties of the soul, even the mind, are wholly corrupted The words of the text explained.—That all the faculties of the soul, even the mind, are wholly corrupted, proved from the expressions concerning it in Scripture, and from the equal extent both of sin and grace THESE words have no coherence or dependence with the foregoing, for the conclusion of the epistle doth begin with them. They are a prayer for the working and perfecting that sanctification in them unto which he had exhorted, and which God had begun to work.
Concerning which you have these things.
1. The author of this sanctification, God, to whom Paul prays to work and perfect it. And in prayer believers use to suit their invocation to God, according to the nature of the blessing they seek for. James 1:5,
'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,' ver. 17, 'the Father of lights.' So if we pray for mercy and comfort, then we are to call upon God, as the Father of mercies and God of all consolation, as Paul doth, 2 Cor. 1:3, 'Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.' Yet still we
are to use such expressions, both as motives to move God out of his fulness to bestow what we ask, and as a strengthening to our own faith. And accordingly here in the text, when Paul asks sanctification at God's hands, he looks up to him as 'the God of peace.' Sin is nothing else but a disorder and confusion of all the powers of our souls, whereby they are turned rebels, and will not be subject to God:
Rom. 8:7, 'Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' And these powers of our souls are also turned enemies one to another. Hence there is in our souls a confusion, an ἀκαταστασία, James 3:16, so that lusts war in our members. James 4:1, 'From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts, that war in your members?' Whereas now sanctification puts all into their right order again, and so causeth peace; and that kingdom where it comes, and is set up, is peace and righteousness: Rom.
14:17, 'For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.' As the end of other kingdoms is by laws to put subjects in order, and to bring them to and to keep them in peace, so it is the end of grace and righteousness also; therefore he desires God to shew himself such a God, a God of peace, in sanctifying them throughout more and more, by patting all the powers of the soul into their right frame and order.
For so, 2. You have expressed the subject of this sanctification in its full extent, not themselves only, but everything in them; expressed first in general, not simply to sanctify you, but throughout, ὁλότελεῖς, which is more than ὁλος, for it seems to signify not only totus homo, the whole man, but totum hominis, the whole of man, all in man; also it signifies sanctifying them to the end ὅλος τέλος. Then, secondly, he expresseth the subject of this sanctification, particularly by an enumeration of the particular and chief parts of which man's nature consists, 'spirit, soul, and body;' for as the whole man is usually divided into soul and body, which division, to be true, death proves, so he divides that which we call the soul into soul and spirit, which division, to be right, the word of God makes good: Heb. 4:12,
'For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.' Piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit. By soul he means those inferior faculties and powers of the mind, the internal senses and affections, fancy, anger, desire, &c., which, being the more gross part, common to beasts; and the other, being more sublime, viz. the judgment, conscience, &c., these he terms spirit. Even as those more sublime, active, nimble parts of the body which run in our bloods and cause all the motion in us, we call spirits, in comparison of the rest of the body, though they are parts of it; so this more sublime part of the soul, wherein we partake with angels, is called, in comparison of the other, the spirit of the mind:
Eph. 4:23, 'And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.' Where it is put for a part of the mind, and not for anything superadded, as, I confess, sometimes spirit is taken for those sparks of moral light and virtues in the conscience and will. But here spirit signifies that natural power of the mind which is the strength and quintessence of it. Neither, thirdly, doth he content himself with reckoning thus up all the parts in a threefold division, but because every one of these contain many particulars in them, as the spirit hath in it the understanding, memory, judgment, conscience, &c., the body many members; therefore to shew that all in every one of these are to be sanctified, he adds another word, 'that your whole spirit,' ὁλόκληρον tota sors, every portion of it, as it signifies, which words are as full as can be imagined to express that the whole man, body, soul, and all, and everything in man, is to be sanctified and restored; the want of which integrity that ought to be in them all, he says, is a sin, and blameworthy, therefore he adds 'that they may be kept blameless.' So that there are two doctrines which naturally and principally arise out of these words.
Obs. 1. That every part and faculty of soul and body in a man unsanctified are wholly and throughout corrupted and defiled, for else they needed not sanctification.
Obs. 2. That true sanctification is also universal.
And these two doctrines may be proved by the same reasons. But I shall (as my method leads me) speak only to the first.
Now, as I have shewed before, that this corruption is universal in regard of all sin, or that all sin is in every man's nature, so now I am to prove that this corruption is in all parts of our nature; for this is a differing consideration from the other, as it is one thing to have all diseases, and another thing to have all parts diseased, which may be so by but one disease.
1. We have a clear proof for this from the testimony even of the pharisees themselves, who though they were much corrupted in judgment, in regard of discerning into man's corruption, thinking and teaching lust to be no sin, yet it may seem there was in them a relic and glimpse of the total corruption of every man's nature, by a speech which they cast out concerning the man born blind: John
9:34, 'They answered and said unto him, Thou wert altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?' Thou wast altogether, ὅλος, born in sin. This indeed they seem only to apply unto such, whom in their birth God had branded with some defect, as he had this man with blindness, yet we may justly take it from those extenuators of corruption, as a remainder of that truth which from their forefathers had been derived to them, but which they had corrupted, and limited only to such, as unto whom some mishap had befallen in their birth.
Now I cite this to prove, not that men are born in sin, but that the whole man, ὅλος, is so.
2. We have plain scriptures which evidence it.
1st, It is called 'the old man.' Why? Because it overspreads every part in man; it is not called the old understanding only, or old will, but the old man, because all the powers and parts that go to make a man are tainted with it, and therefore all things do become new, when a man is regenerated: 2 Cor. 5:17, 'Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new;' that is, all in a man's nature. All things were old, corrupted, and naught, and therefore all becomes new. And to this purpose it is observable (which is observed by some) that the Scripture, speaking of the subject of this corruption, speaks not as of the person of men only, but of the faculties in man, as implying not totus homo, the whole man only, but totum hominis, all that is in man: Gal. 3:22, 'But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.' The Scripture (says he) hath shut up all, τὰ πάντα, all things under sin; so that the word implies not only all men, πάντες, but all things in man. So likewise Christ expresses it, John 3:6, 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.' He doth not only say, that he that is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the flesh is flesh, τὸ γεγενὴμενον, there being not that thing in man, who is born of flesh by fleshly generation, but is corrupted. And therefore,
2dly, We find all parts in man termed flesh. So the mind of the most acute knowers (for of such he there speaks) is termed, Col. 2:18,
'Intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.' It is a mind of flesh. And answerably that wisdom, whereby in our walking we are guided, is termed wisdom of the flesh: 2 Cor. 1:12, 'For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world.' Nay, the conscience, which seems least to be corrupted, is yet said to be defiled: Titus 1:15, 'But unto them that are defiled and unbelieving, is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.' And now these are the noble parts of the spirit; and as these, so the will is of the flesh also: Eph. 2:3, 'Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.' It is τὰ θελήματα τὴς σάρκος, καἰ τῶν διανοιῶν, the wills of the flesh and of the mind. And in another scripture the will of the Gentiles is flatly opposed to the will of God: 1 Peter 4:2, 3, 'That he no longer should live the rest of his
time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our lives may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banqueting, and abominable idolatries.' Where the apostle persuades them to live no longer 'to the lusts of men,' which, ver. 3, is interpreted 'working the will of the Gentiles,' but to the will of God.
And our affections also are called the lusts and passions of the flesh:
Gal. 5:24, 'And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts.' And 1 Peter 2:11, 'Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.' And these make up that which in my text is called soul. And last of all, the flesh or body is said to be corrupted and filthy, as well as the spirit or soul; so 2 Cor. 7:1, 'Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.' And sin is said to reign in the body: Rom. 6:12, 'Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof;' which is taken as distinct from the soul, for it is added mortal, which the soul is not. And if we look on all the members of the body, they shew their corruption, they being fit weapons for unrighteousness, even all the members of the body. The eyes are full of adultery: 2 Peter 2:14, 'Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin: beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children.' The tongue is a world of evil: James 3:6, 'And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue amongst our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.' The feet are swift to shed blood, and the throat an open sepulchre: Rom. 3:13–15, 'Their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they have used deceit: the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood.' To conclude, they are said to be full of all unrighteousness, full of all readiness to evil: Acts 13:10, 'O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?' He doth not speak of the fulness of actual sin, as a tree is said
to be full of fruit, as the phrase is used, Rom. 1:29, 'Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers.' But here in Acts 13:10, the fulness is understood, tanquam plenitudo rasis, as a vessel is full of liquor. Elymas his soul and body was full of readiness to evil, which denotes inward dispositions thereunto. Neither doth he (as there he speaks of it) call it a fulness in regard of all the parts of unrighteousness only, for that is after added besides, 'full of all unrighteousness;' not only all readiness to evil, but full of all. And therefore in this regard our depraved nature is compared to a corrupt tree, whereof we know both root, and branch, and bark, and all to be poisoned if the tree is so: Mat. 7:17, 18, 'Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.' And so is every sprig and faculty in man that brings forth any act or motion, as fruit, be it the understanding, will, &c.; all is corrupt, bark and body, and all. And this sin in our nature is called ἁμαρτία ἐυπερίστατος, that which begirts all our faculties: Heb. 12:1,
'Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.' Now for the reasons and demonstrations of this truth, that every part in man is corrupted and infected by sin, and so ought to be sanctified.
First, In general. The dominion and extent of power, both of grace and on, are commensurate; and their dominions are of equal compass; and where they come they give laws to every member and subject that which is within their dominions, for both are said to reign, and both are of a spreading nature over all. Grace is compared to leaven, because it leavens the whole lump: Mat. 13:33, 'The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.' And sin and corruption of nature is compared to leaven also: Gal. 5:7–9, 'Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This
persuasion cometh not of him that called you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.' 1 Cor. 5:6, 8, 'Your glorying is not good.
Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.' Grace, where it comes, comes in as life, and as the soul doth into the body, and informs 'all in that body it comes into, and accordingly we see all parts to live in a living man; and, on the contrary, this corruption of our nature is as death, which is as general also as life, for it is the privation of it. And habitus et privatio versantur circa idem, the habit and privation belong to the same subject. But, Secondly, More particularly to demonstrate this. If habitual grace and sanctification was seated in every part of the first Adam, and of the human nature of Christ, and begins to be in every faculty of a regenerate man, then is every faculty by nature corrupted. The consequence is strong, not only for the reason before given in general, that grace and sin are of a like extent, but more particularly it may be demonstrated from them severally.
1. If grace begun reacheth to every part of a regenerate man, then did sin before corrupt all; for that sanctification is but the restoring of every part to its health and integrity again. Now, if any part were whole, it would not need the physician nor cure.
2. That sin is thus seated in every part, may be proved by experiment, drawn from the state of a regenerate man. We feel that there is a combat against the work of grace in every part; darkness and unbelief in the understanding fights against light and faith: 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief,' says that poor man in the Gospel, Mark
9:24. Grace in the will fights against sin in the will; the flesh in the will lusteth against the spirit in the will: Gal. 5:17, 'For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.' I say, in the will; for the apostle infers from what he had
said, that thence it was that they could not do the things which they would. It is not a fight of one faculty against another, but of the same faculties against themselves, and this through the whole man.
3. The consequence is also strong, that if the grace which was in Adam, when innocent, did reach to every part of his nature, then that sin, after he had fallen, hath the same extent: for the corruption of our natures is but the privation of that grace which was in him, and therefore is in every part wherein that grace was. Privatio est in eodem subjecto in quo habitus: privation is in the same subject wherein the habit was before.
4. The consequence is strong too, that if in the nature of Christ grace was in every part of it, then sin is so in our natures; for the end of Christ's assuming and sanctifying our natures was to condemn sin in the flesh: Rom. 8:3, 'For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh;' that is, by sanctifying our nature in his person, and by the righteousness of that his nature he takes away the sin of ours, and there was no part of that his nature which he sanctified to any other end: John 17:19, 'And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.' And in this Romans 8 says the apostle at verse 2,
'The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.' He had complained in chapter 7 of a law of sin in his members, which would be there to his dying day; now, says he, my comfort is that a contrary law of grace and life was in Christ to take away the guilt of it. So that every part in Christ being sanctified with a law of life, was to take away the law of sin in every part of us.
Now, it remains to be proved that every part of human nature in Adam and in Christ was sanctified, and also that every part of it in a regenerate man begins to be made holy. This I demonstrate two ways.
First, You shall see how the one follows from the other, so as if it be true of any it is true of all.
Secondly, I will give the general reasons for it.
1. I say, the one follows necessarily upon the other; for, 1st, If every part in a regenerate man be sanctified, then every part of human nature was sanctified in Adam, and è contra; for it is the same image that is restored and created anew which was created at first, only with this difference (as one observes), Adam was ὁλῶς, sanctified, but not ὁλοτελῶς; but we, though not ὁλῶς, that is, wholly and perfectly, yet ὁλοτελῶς, that is, to the end. Now, that every part in a regenerate man is sanctified, appears by that common experiment, which yet is peculiar to regenerate men, that there is a combat in every part between flesh and spirit, seated in all the faculties, as I proved before.
2dly, If every part of human nature was sanctified in Christ, then it is so in us, and è contra; for he took flesh to sanctify us: John 17:19,
'For their sakes I sanctify myself;' and Heb. 2:11, 14, 17, 'For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.' It is said of Christ and us there, that he who sanctifieth and we that are sanctified are of one, that is, of one nature in every part; for, ver. 17, we are said to be like in all things. He took our nature, and every part of it, to sanctiy it, that we might be made partakers of his sanctification, and so might be of one, agree and be alike to him; and that there might want no part in his sanctification, he wanted no part of our nature. And even in this sense we may understand that scripture in Eph. 1:23, of Christ's filling all in all; he fills all in all his children from his own fulness. Now he is full of grace and truth: John 1:10, 'He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.'
And he took our natures to sanctify them, and therefore all he took was sanctified; therefore he is called that holy thing: Luke 1:35, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee': therefore also that holy thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.'
2. Now, I shall assign the reasons which may evince that grace was and is seated in Christ and Adam, in and through every part of them, and so ought to be in us.
1st, Because God hath made all in man to glorify himself, not as other creatures only, but by shewing forth those virtues and graces which he stamped on man above all other works of his hands: 1 Cor. 6:20,
'Glorify God in your body, and spirit too;' Ps. 103:1, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.' God therefore gave abilities at first to man thus to glorify God in his whole soul; for as we cannot love him till he love us, so neither can we glorify him unless he implant in every faculty holiness and grace first, whereby we have abilities to do so.
2dly, The whole nature of man, and every part of it, in its pure and right constitution, was made subject to the law of God, and therefore was entirely holy. And therefore thus was the entire nature of Adam and of Christ constituted, for indeed if anything had been in Adam and Christ not subjected to the law, it had been enmity to God; for that is the reason which the apostle gives of the carnal mind's being enmity against God: Rom. 8:7, 'Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' But now there being nothing of this enmity neither in Adam, while innocent, nor in Christ, no part in them was lawless. And this is evident too from the word of God's judging every creature in man:
Heb. 4:12, 13, 'For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-eged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked
and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.' And everything in man which is thus tried and judged by the word, ought to be agreeable and subject to it in its first original frame. And it is yet more clearly proved if we consider that when Christ declares the sum of the law, he reckons up all in man: Mark 12:29, 30, 'And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel;
The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment.' Lest anything should be left out, Christ adds, with all thy strength. If this, then, be the law, as Christ says it is, then this law was originally written in the whole soul, and every part of it, in Adam, and so in Christ too, of whom it is said, that the law was in his heart, Ps. 40:8. And what is indeed the sanctification of the understanding and will but the writing of the law there, which God promises to do under the new covenant? Jer. 31:33, 'But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.' Now, to write the law in the heart, is to put such dispositions in whereby a man may five according to it. And thus the law was written on all in man in his primitive condition; and now, alas! since his fell, the contrary law of sin is written upon all in his heart.
3dly, God hath made and ordained spiritual objects and acts for every faculty of soul and body, and therefore he gave to Adam at first answerable spiritual dispositions in all his faculties, for between every faculty and its object there must be a suitableness; and as the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit, for, says the apostle, they are spiritually discerned, 1 Cor 2:14, so neither can any faculty, if not sanctified, be in a spiritual manner carried to or be conversant about spiritual things. Therefore if God did provide spiritual objects for all in man, then surely he put spiritual dispositions into all those powers of his soul. Now, that God did provide spiritual objects for every faculty, is easy to be demonstrated by all the particulars. For
the understanding, there are things of the Spirit; for the will, spiritual good things; for conscience, spiritual motives, &c.
4thly, God made all in man capable of glory, therefore he made everything in man holy; for since God would glorify all that is in man, so that even so much as our bodies shall be 'made like his glorious body,' Philip. 3:21, all in man must therefore be sanctified; for indeed no vessel is capable of glory till it be prepared, Rom. 9:23, and made meet, Col. 1:13. And therefore since the understanding, will, memory, and all shall be glorified, all these powers of the soul must be first sanctified. And therefore now grace and holiness being introduced into every faculty of the soul, shews that all in man is infected with sin, since the disease and the remedy are of equal extent.