Chapter 36: Showeth how our sanctification cometh from Christ in six particulars.
through Jesus Christ our Lord." Paul acknowledges that his deliverance from the body of death comes from God—but not directly. It comes through Jesus Christ our Lord. While all grace ultimately flows from God, it comes to us through Christ, just as our forgiveness and holiness come through Him.
Another passage that confirms this truth is Acts 26:18, where Christ tells Paul that his mission is "to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." The sanctification that comes through faith is in Christ. Many scriptures testify to this, but these should suffice to demonstrate that sanctification is found only in Christ.
Chapter 36 Showeth how our sanctification cometh from Christ in six particulars.
1. It was the end of his coming: to destroy the works of the Devil.
2. He is the great Ordinance appointed by God to sanctify his people.
3. His death is appointed to mortify sin.
4. By him the curse upon the heart is taken away.
5. By his union with believers, being the head of the second Covenant.
6. In Christ are the strongest arguments for holiness that can be.
Thirdly, and especially, we are to inquire how Christ is the rest of sanctification. "Come to me and I will give you rest;" I will give you power against your corruptions, and you shall have sanctification in and by me. For that:
1. We are to know that a special end of why Jesus Christ came into the world was to dissolve the works of the Devil. That was a special end of Christ's coming into the world. In 1 John 3:8, He that committeth sin is of the Devil, for the Devil sinneth from the beginning; for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, etc. It is a strange scripture: whosoever committeth sin is of the Devil. You say you defy the Devil, but the Holy Ghost saith if you commit sin, that is, walk in any way of sin. For you will say, "Who is there that commits not sin?"
Well, but the words are thus: He that committeth sin is of the Devil. Therefore it is apparent there is a kind of commission of sin that is an argument they are of the Devil, for they are the words of the Holy Ghost. And for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil. It was the end of why he came into the world. Yes, it is a special thing that Christ is anointed to by God the Father, to deliver souls from the bondage of their corruption and to work holiness in them.
You have that in Isaiah 61 at the beginning, that notable prophecy concerning Christ: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me (that is upon Christ, for it is a prophecy of him), because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to spiritual captives that are under spiritual bondage. And then in verse 3: That
they might be called Trees of Righteousness, the planting of the Lord. So, that is the first consideration of Christ's giving the rest of sanctification, that it is the end for which Christ was born, and it is the end for which he was anointed by God the Father, to sanctify the hearts of those that he shall redeem. So that Christ is our sanctification by attaining the end of his own coming into the world, by fulfilling that which God the Father hath anointed him for.
Secondly, Christ is our Sanctification Christ is our sanctification, as the great ordinance that God has set up for the sanctifying of the hearts of His people. I say, Christ is set up as the great ordinance appointed by God for this end; the Lord has established Him and filled Him full of holiness so that holiness might be conveyed through Him to the souls that belong to Him.
Therefore, it is said in that well-known passage in John 1:16, Of his fullness we receive, grace for grace. From His fullness, Jesus Christ is filled with holiness, like a cistern filled with precious liquid. Grace must come through Him to the souls of all those who are godly, who are believers.
Faith draws grace from Him—grace for grace—that is, grace corresponding to grace, as a seal makes an impression upon wax, and the impression in the wax matches that of the seal. Just as the seal leaves its print on the wax, so the grace that is in Christ is reflected, to some measure, in the saints. Of his fullness we receive—all the believers who have ever lived have received all the grace they have from Him, out of His fullness, and from Him as the great ordinance that God has set up for dispensing the graces of His Spirit, for working sanctification in all those who shall be saved.
Yes, Christ is such an ordinance appointed by God the Father for holiness and sanctification, that indeed there is so much virtue in Him that simply looking upon Christ has the power to sanctify the heart. The very act of looking upon Him has this effect. As you know, the brazen serpent in the wilderness was the great ordinance of God appointed for healing those who were bitten by serpents. Being the ordinance for their healing, those who merely looked up to the brazen serpent received virtue immediately and were healed of their sting, of the deadly disease inflicted upon them by the serpents' bites.
Now, this was by virtue of that ordinance.
Therefore, I reason thus: if, when God makes a mere piece of brass an ordinance, there is such virtue in it that simply looking upon it has the power to heal the body, then surely, when God makes His own Son, Jesus Christ—God blessed forever, God and man—an ordinance to heal the souls of His people, those who look up to Him by the eye of faith will receive healing for their souls, just as they received healing by looking upon the brazen serpent. The very beholding of Christ has the power to sanctify the heart.
Therefore, if you desire holiness, you must often look upon Christ.
Set Christ before your eyes; do not only pore over your corruptions and look down into the darkness that exists in your spirits. Many
Christians labour under the burden of their corruptions for a long time. Why? Because they spend their time and energy merely poring over their corruptions and fixating on them. But oh, Christian, you must look up! Set your eyes upon Christ, the great ordinance, and behold Him as the great ordinance set up by God the Father for the conveyance of grace to the souls of believers and for the healing of all their souls and wounds. Then healing virtue will come from Him.
We read of the poor woman with the issue of blood, who had spent all she had on physicians. She simply came to Christ and touched the hem of His garment, and then she was healed. Surely Christ has a great deal of virtue in Him if merely touching Him could heal her.
Therefore, He said, Who hath touched me? Virtue went from Him at the very touch of the hem of His garment. Christ is the great ordinance, full of virtue and excellence, and the looking upon Him and the touching of Him brings virtue to the soul, to heal it of its corruption.
Thirdly, More Particularly Christ brings sanctification to the heart because the death of Christ is appointed by God to have an effectual power to mortify sin and corruption. It is through the application of the death of Christ, filled with virtue and ordained by God for that very purpose, that it has power over the heart to mortify the corruption within. A man may resolve against his sin, vow and covenant to overcome it, strive and struggle, pray, and even fast, using all the means he can think of, and yet find that his sin is not dead within him. Perhaps the means he uses may restrain the sin, keeping it at bay, but they will never mortify it.
It is the application of the death of Christ, which is ordained by God, for Christ Himself is appointed as the great ordinance. More specifically, the way appointed by God for the mortification of corruption is the application of the death of Christ to the soul. The virtue comes from Christ as the dying Christ, the crucified Christ, the dead Christ, to mortify the corruption in the heart. This is clearly taught in Romans 6, at the beginning: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall
we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? (Rom. 6:1-2). Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (Rom. 6:3). Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death (Rom. 6:4). And in verse 5, For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Again in verse 6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Our old man is crucified with Him. In His crucifixion, there is virtue in Christ's death to crucify the corruption, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. He does not say that we might have some power against sin, or that a particular sin might be kept down, but that the body of sin might be destroyed.
The application of the death of Christ does not just deal with one specific sin; it strikes at the entire body of sin. All those principles of sin in the soul, interconnected like the members of a body, come to be destroyed. Though not entirely cast out, nor fully eradicated, their ruling power is taken away. As soon as the soul comes to Christ, the body of sin receives a deadly blow.
Many of you strive against particular sins, sometimes one, sometimes another. God's children may feel more inclined toward certain sins at different times—one may labour under the burden of anger, another unbelief, another pride, another lust. You may find at certain times one corruption stirs, and you strive against that; at another time, another sin arises, and you spend your energy against that. But here is the way to strike at the whole body of corruption at once.
If a man wants to cut down a tree, and he stands chopping at each twig or branch, the tree may stand for a long time. But if he goes to
the root and strikes there, a few blows will bring the tree down. This is the wisdom of a Christian: when he comes to fight against sin, he does not merely focus on this or that particular corruption but strikes at the root—the whole body of corruption. How does he gain strength to do this? By applying the blood of Christ, the death of Christ, by faith. Through this, the body of death comes to be destroyed.
This explains why some Christians, in a short time, gain much strength against their corruptions, while others take a long time to gain any power at all. Those who are unfamiliar with the way of Christ may find a notorious sinner, a wicked person—a swearer, a Sabbath-breaker—experiencing a mighty change in a short time when God brings him to the Word and reveals Christ to his soul. In just a week, there is a great transformation. This man not only leaves behind his drunkenness, lying, swearing, and Sabbath-breaking, but all his sins seem to fall away at once. Why? Because, in one application of the death of Christ, the whole body of sin begins to be destroyed, though not entirely dead and withered. Like a tree that may be dead but still has green leaves, so the sin may not appear completely dead, but it has received a fatal blow. Therefore, the way to kill sin is to continually apply the death of Christ.
Indeed, this should be the focus of a Christian—not merely to avoid sinful actions, but to ensure that the death of Christ is applied to his soul. This is why you will never read about the mortification of corruption in any heathen writings. Mortification of sin is a mystery to all heathen writers. Mortifying sin and the heart is an expression unique to the Gospel and to believers.
Many people, through good upbringing, are restrained, and they appear decent in their conduct. Others, as they mature and move past the folly of youth, avoid some of their former sins. But what is
this compared to the mortification of the body of death within their hearts? This is unique to a Christian and comes only through the application of the death of Christ—the application of Christ dying, crucified, shedding His blood for sin. This has the virtue to mortify sin.
There is a great difference between a mortified lust and a restrained lust, a mortified sin and a restrained sin. The difference lies in this: when a lust is mortified, there is not only a ceasing from its act, but the heart and the sin are no longer aligned. There may still be restraint in some, but the heart still desires the sin, even if they dare not commit it. When sin is mortified, however, the heart is so changed that it no longer finds the sin attractive. This mortification of the body of sin comes only through the death of Christ.
Fourthly, Christ is our Sanctification Christ is our sanctification, and He alone, because it is by Him that the spiritual curse upon every man's heart by nature is taken away. It is Christ alone who delivers the soul from the spiritual curse that rests naturally upon every man's heart. You know that this is the natural condition of man—he is under the curse of the Law: Cursed is the man who does not abide by all things written in the Law to do them.
We often understand this curse as either outward misery or the eternal punishment of hellfire. However, we must understand that one branch of this curse is already upon the souls of men here in this life. There is a spiritual curse upon the souls of men due to the fall of Adam, and this curse consists of God giving them over to themselves
—to the lusts of their own hearts and to their own counsel and ways.
Now, I confess that just as outward afflictions in this world vary in degree from one person to another, so too does this spiritual death. It is executed to a greater degree on some and to a lesser degree on others, but all are naturally under it. Every soul, in some degree or other, is given over to the lusts of its own heart. Sometimes, there is a final and complete giving up of the soul to its lusts, but there is always some measure of this curse present in every individual. This explains, to some extent, the prevailing corruption in men's hearts.
It is remarkable to see how, despite the convictions of conscience— despite being warned of the dangers of their ways, being told that there will be no peace in the end, that they will regret it—people still continue in sin. Their consciences may trouble them, and yet they persist. Despite the terror of the Law, the heavy hand of God upon them, their cries against their sins, and their promises to forsake them, they find themselves unable to overcome their sins. Even when their sins destroy their health, deplete their estates, ruin their reputations, and cause them to lose all their friends, they are still powerless to stop. As Scripture says of some, they have eyes full of adultery, they cannot cease to sin.
Sometimes people even offer this as an excuse for their sin, claiming that they would like to stop but cannot, and they think this excuses them. But no, this inability may well stem from the spiritual curse upon their souls—because God, in His just judgment, has given their hearts over to the lusts they pursue.
This, I believe, is part of the meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:56, The strength of sin is the Law. The primary meaning of the verse is that all the power sin has to condemn, to kill, and to bring death, comes from the Law. But there is also this secondary meaning: the Law of God gives a certain strength to sin. You may ask, How does the Law
give strength to sin? It is like this: the justice of God, according to His Law, requires that those who forsake God be forsaken by Him. It requires that those who give their hearts over to any way of sin be given up to that sin. In this sense, the strength of sin is the Law—the Law gives sin more power over the person.
How, then, can the soul be delivered from the strength of sin? The Law must be satisfied; the power of the Law must be taken away.
And no one can take that power away but Christ. Christ takes away the strength of the Law, though the Law was not executed upon Him in the same way it would be upon a sinner. The Scripture says He was made sin for us—He took our sin upon Himself, as closely as was possible, though He was not capable of having the full execution of the Law upon Him. The text says He was made sin for us, and this is a great part of the meaning of that passage, though acknowledging and suffering for sin is the primary meaning.
Fifthly, Christ is our Sanctification Christ is our sanctification by being the head of the second Covenant, and through our mystical union with Him, the virtue of holiness is conveyed from Him. As the head of the second Covenant, and we as members of His body, we draw this virtue of holiness from Him. Just as sin was conveyed to us through Adam by propagation, so grace is conveyed to us through Christ. Romans 5 explains how by one man, sin came into the world. Adam was the head of the first Covenant, and through this headship, all humanity is regarded as members of the first Adam. We are not only seen as Adam's children but also as members of his body. Thus, Scripture speaks of two men: the first
Adam and the second Adam.
Just as sin is conveyed to us by being members of the first Adam, grace is conveyed to our souls by being members of the second
Adam, Jesus Christ, who is the head of the second Covenant. This is how holiness is transmitted—through our union with Christ. As the natural union of the members of a body with the head provides life to the body, so through our mystical union with Christ, our head, holiness and grace are conveyed to strengthen us against our corruptions.
Just as the oil of anointing ran down from Aaron's head to the rest of his body, so Christ, the anointed one, who is filled not only with the oil of gladness but also with holiness, causes that holiness to flow down to all His members through their union with Him. For this reason, Romans 8:2 says, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. This passage is rich with meaning. The law of sin and death refers to the power of sin and the death that results from sin, which reigns in the hearts of unbelievers. Sin has power, and so does death, and they act as a law that compels people, much as a legal command forces compliance. This is no excuse for sin, but it is true that, as far as sin compels people, it also leads to death.
How, then, is the law of sin and death overcome? Look at the words:
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death. The law of the Spirit of life refers to the holiness in Christ, which also operates like a law—just as corruption has strength, so does the holiness of Christ. When grace enters the heart, it compels the heart toward holiness with a kind of necessity. As the apostle says, We can do nothing against the truth. Yet this necessity is accompanied by a willing spirit, as there is a law of love and kindness at work. The term law here indicates a powerful force that drives the soul toward holiness.
Further, it is the law of the Spirit of life. The holiness of Christ is not only life itself but also the spirit of life. The spirit of life represents a higher degree than mere life—it is the essence that quickens and gives vitality beyond the mere existence of a thing. Just as the essence of an herb, when extracted, has far more potency than the whole herb, so the spirit of life expresses the dynamic power of the holiness that comes from Christ. It is life; it is the spirit of life; it is the law of the Spirit of life.
Oh, my brethren, see here that godliness is no dull or burdensome thing. It is not a weak, contemptible thing, but rather it is life itself— the life of Christ, the spirit of life, and the law of the Spirit of life. He speaks of grace in this manner.
In sin, there is the law of sin and death, but in grace, there is life, the spirit of life, and the law of the Spirit of life, and all this is in Jesus
Christ. It is not found in our resolutions, purposes, or efforts, but in our union with Jesus Christ. This union is what brings grace to the heart. Though there may have been much corruption before, once the soul is united to Christ and looks to Him as the head of the second Covenant, it draws from Him a mighty strength to help against corruption and to quicken it in the ways of God. Thus, the soul finds rest in sanctification through Christ.
Carnal hearts do not understand how to receive grace. They hear talk of grace and the leaving of sin, but they do not know how to obtain it.
They may pray, read, and listen, but they must know that grace comes by a different means than they think. It must come from God, but it comes through Christ in a mystical way. Perhaps some of you understand that, as God is the fountain of all grace, it is conveyed through Christ, as if through a cistern. But you must also understand that you must receive it from God through Christ as the head, and
you as His members. This happens through a mystical union in which your souls are united to Christ. You must be made one with Christ, for just as a member of a body cannot receive life from the head unless it is united to the body, so too must you be united to Christ to receive His life. It is not enough to be externally attached to Christ.
Consider an arm of flesh: if it is merely tied to a man's shoulder, it will never receive life that way. The union must be natural, not artificial. Similarly, those who merely profess the name of Christian, without being spiritually united to Christ, are like artificial limbs.
They may be fastened to the body and may have some usefulness, but they do not receive life from the head. In the same way, common
Christians may have some knowledge of Christ and may make use of Him, profess Him, and speak of Him, but they do not receive true life or holiness from Him. They lack the true holiness that comes from the law of the Spirit of life in Christ.
Sixthly, Christ and the Arguments for Holiness Another aspect of Christ's role in sanctification is that in Him are found the greatest arguments for holiness that can be imagined.
Christ provides rest in sanctification in this way: when the soul comes to Christ and knows Him rightly, it finds in Him all that is needed to combat sin and promote holiness. Even if the soul had nothing else, it would find enough in Christ to help against sin and further holiness. What is discovered in Christ has immense power to help the soul fight sin and walk in holiness.