Chapter 38: Showing How Sanctification Comes from Christ in Six More Particulars
who are familiar with Christ's ways, have higher arguments. They see Christ with the eye of faith and so gain power over their sin and peace for their souls.
Thus says Christ: Come to me. You have corruptions prevailing over you, and you may struggle against them with various arguments, but come to me, and I will show you things that will reveal the depth of sin and the beauty of holiness. What I will show you will help you fight against your corruptions and progress in the way of holiness. In this way, you will find rest for your souls.
Chapter 38 Showing How Sanctification Comes from Christ in Six More Particulars.
1. He reveals the Father to the soul.
2. Through Christ, the love of God is shed abroad in the heart.
3. All the promises are made to us through Him.
4. In Him, all the ordinances are effectual.
5. He sends the Spirit into the heart.
6. Christ rules in the heart.
Seventhly: Christ becomes our sanctification, and we find rest in Him for sanctification in the following way: It is Christ who reveals the Father to the soul. No one knows the Father, says Christ, but the Son, and he to whom the Son reveals Him. I trust you know the Scripture where Christ says, If you have seen me, you have seen the
Father (John 14). It is Christ who makes God known to the soul, and there is a mighty power to work holiness in the heart through the knowledge of God. As the apostle John says in 1 John 2:4, He that says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar. The knowledge of God cannot coexist with neglect of His commandments.
There is a mighty power in the knowledge of God for the sanctifying of the heart. Simply beholding God's holiness has great power to sanctify the heart. The reason for all the wickedness and profaneness in the world is that people do not know the Lord. They do not realize what an infinite, blessed, and glorious God they must deal with. They that know your name will trust in you, says the Psalmist. In the same way, we can say that those who know your name, O Lord, will fear you, serve you, and walk before you in obedience and holiness.
Now, the knowledge of God is found in Christ. While there may be some kind of natural knowledge of God outside of Christ—such as through beholding the works of God—there is no saving knowledge of Him apart from Christ. As 1 Corinthians 1:21 says, After that in the wisdom of God (that is, in the glory of God that shines in creation), the world by wisdom knew not God. The world, with all its natural understanding and learning, including that of philosophers who saw much of God's glory in creation, still did not know God. Yet, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:21). What preaching was this? We preach
Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23).
Therefore, there is no saving knowledge but only in Christ. When the soul comes to Christ, the Lord Jesus reveals the Father to it. He reveals the counsels of God, even the very heart of God, to the soul.
This explains why many poor and ignorant people, who knew little to
nothing of God and had strange thoughts of Him, suddenly gain high and honourable thoughts of God as soon as the Gospel is revealed to them. Those high and honourable thoughts of God powerfully purge sin from their hearts and sanctify them exceedingly. Consider those places where the Gospel has been scarcely preached—there, people have poor thoughts of God and live in all manner of ungodliness. But when the Gospel is preached, and God is made known, the devil is cast out, and the people, filled with the knowledge of God, become sanctified unto His service. This is another reason why Christ reveals the Father to the soul and sanctifies the heart.
Eighthly: It is through Christ that the love of God is shed abroad into the heart of a believer, and this has a mighty power to sanctify the heart. The shedding abroad of God's love into the heart can only happen in Christ. Outside of Christ, there may be common fruits of God's bounty, such as general patience and goodness, but the special love of God, which sanctifies the heart, is only found in Christ. When the soul comes to have union with Christ, it experiences the sweet sense of God's love shed abroad in the heart. The heart, filled with the sweetness of God's love, is sanctified by it. The base loves of the creature and the love of sin are consumed, and the heart is drawn toward God in a blessed, sweet, and gracious manner.
The terror of the Law cannot sanctify a person in the same way that the love of God in Christ can. Indeed, the Law's terror may restrain sin, but it cannot sanctify the heart. This is a certain truth: the Law may restrain sin, but it cannot make the heart holy. The terrors of the Law are useful in preaching to restrain sin, but when we preach them, we do not expect them to sanctify the heart. They may hold corruption in check for a while, but the only thing that can truly sanctify the heart is the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Fulgentius compares the love of God in Christ to a fire in a furnace, while God's general love for His creation is like a few sparks that fly out of the furnace. Even if God were to give you possession of the entire world or a thousand worlds, this would be no more than a spark from the furnace. But the love of God in Christ is like the heat of the furnace itself. And just as the heat consumes stubble and any combustible matter thrown into it, so does the love of God, shed abroad in the heart through Christ, consume the lusts of the heart.
The soul grows in holiness as a result.
It is with the heart of a believer as it is with the fruits of the earth.
You know that frost may suppress some weeds, but it is the sunshine —the warm beams of the sun—that makes the fruit ripen and grow.
Fruit that grows in the sun ripens quickly. Grass in the shade, like that in an orchard, is sour, and the animals will not eat it. Similarly, herbs that grow in the shade never mature fully nor are as good as those that grow in the sun. Fruit that grows on a sunlit wall ripens quickly, while that in the shade withers.
In the same way, some live entirely under the legal fears and troubles of conscience. They may bear fruit, but it is sour. It is not as sweet as the fruit of those who live under the sunshine of the Gospel, those who have the love of God shining upon their hearts. Their fruit is sweet, they thrive more abundantly, and they lead more amiable and lovely lives. This is yet another way in which Christ is our sanctification, shedding the love of God into the heart. Scripture is full of examples of how the love of God is shed abroad in Christ.
Ninthly: Christ is our sanctification because all the promises of the Gospel are made to us in Him. He is the foundation of all the promises. They are all fulfilled in Him, and they have great sanctifying power. Christ is our sanctification because it is through
Him that the promises, which have a mighty sanctifying effect, are made.
Consider 2 Corinthians 1:20: For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him, Amen, unto the glory of God by us. All the promises of God are affirmed in Christ and fulfilled through Him.
This is a profound and noteworthy meditation, revealing the excellence of Jesus Christ. In Him, all the promises are made and made certain to us. They are guaranteed in Him. Some manuscripts even translate the passage as, Therefore in Him let them be yea and Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
What does this mean? It means that as God has made all promises certain in Christ, we are to look to Christ, see the promises in Him, believe them, and by faith say "Amen" to these promises, bringing glory to God. The word "Amen" signifies something firm and sure.
When we end our prayers with "Amen," we mean, "Let it be, O Lord, according to Your promise." It is an expression of faith after prayer, affirming that the promises in Christ are certain. Therefore, by faith, we make them firm and sure to our souls, bringing glory to God.
Question: But how does this help our sanctification?
Answer: It helps exceedingly. Nothing aids the sanctification of a believer's soul more than the promises of the Gospel. Those who rely on the promises of the Gospel grow in sanctification far more than others. The promises of the Gospel are channels not only of mercy for our salvation but also of holiness for our sanctification.
For this, consider 2 Corinthians 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. This is as full a scripture as any, showing how the Holy Spirit would have us
use the promises of the Gospel. Some may think that because there are promises of mercy, they can indulge the flesh more freely. But that is not the Spirit's reasoning. Rather, the Spirit urges, Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, for filthiness cannot coexist with faith in the promises.
Note how the verse calls for cleansing from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. It is not enough to say, "I have a good heart towards God, and my spirit is right." Yes, but you must cleanse yourself from both the filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit. The promises, if rightly used, will have a mighty cleansing power.
The verse calls for cleansing from all filthiness, not just some gross sins. It is not enough to avoid the more egregious sins that others in the world may commit—such as whoremongering, drunkenness, cheating, or profaning the Sabbath. The promises will cleanse you from all filthiness, so that no sin will cling to you as it does to the wicked. Gradually, you will be cleansed from all filthiness, whether of the flesh or the spirit.
It is not just about avoiding outward sinful actions. The promises will cleanse even your thoughts, your affections, and the inner wickedness of your spirit. Perhaps you would consider it a vile thing to be accused of whoredom (a sin of the flesh). But what about the filthiness of the spirit—pride, malice, distrust, and earthlymindedness? The promises cleanse from these as well.
Furthermore, the verse calls for perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This means that those who are familiar with the promises of the Gospel will not be satisfied with any level of holiness but will continually strive for more, growing higher and higher until they reach perfection. This shows the purifying nature of the promises.
My brethren, be much exercised in the promises of God. Store them up in your hearts if you wish to gain power over your corruptions.
And then one more Scripture on this point: 2 Peter 1:4, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises." The promises of the Gospel are indeed precious, worth more than the entire world. A believer who understands their preciousness values them more than his own estate. What do you consider precious? You may long for your ships to return home laden with precious goods, but to have your heart filled with precious promises is far better than that.
But now, how do these promises show themselves to be so precious?
The verse says, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature." By these great and precious promises, you become partakers of the divine nature, which is holiness, or sanctification. This is what is meant by the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Through these promises, the soul escapes the corruption of the world caused by lust. And not only does the soul avoid the wickedness that others live in, but it is transformed, made a partaker of the divine nature through these promises.
So, Christ is the rest of sanctification because, in Him, all the promises are made. They have a mighty cleansing power to sanctify the heart. You desire to have a share in the promises and to receive the mercy they offer. As much as you seek to have an interest in the promises and to claim the mercy they promise, you must also strive to feel the power of these promises working in your heart, cleansing it and making you a partaker of the divine nature.
Tenthly, Christ is our sanctification because, in Him, all the ordinances are made effectual. The ordinances have power only
through Christ. Christ first gave His ordinances to His Church, and they become effectual through Him. It is not about what you hear in the Word, but how much of Christ you receive through the Word.
When you come to the sacrament, it is not merely about what you partake of there, but how much of Christ you gain there. The efficacy of all the ordinances—whether Word, sacrament, or prayer—lies in Christ. The ordinances are like the vehiculum Christi, the means by which Christ is conveyed to the soul.
Therefore, when we come to any ordinance, we should ask ourselves, "What have we received of Christ? Have we encountered Christ here?" In the Word, prayer, or sacraments, has our heart been drawn closer to Christ? For it is certain that Christ is the true virtue and essence of all the ordinances.
This is why those who are familiar with Christ and have come to Him find that they profit more in one month by the ordinances than they did in all their previous years. Before, the ordinances were empty and lifeless to them, but now, in Christ, they have become effectual.
Eleventhly, Christ is our sanctification by sending the Holy Ghost into our hearts. The Holy Ghost comes from both the Father and the Son, and we can never expect His saving or sanctifying work except through Christ. As Christ says in John 16:14 regarding the Spirit, "He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine." The Holy Ghost receives from Christ when He comes into the heart, and thus, if there is any sanctification by the Holy Ghost, it must come through Christ.
The Holy Spirit works from both the Father and the Son.
This is why Scripture uses the phrase "We are baptized into one Spirit." By being baptized into Christ and receiving the inward work of baptism, we are made partakers of that one Spirit—the Holy
Ghost. The excellence of sanctification is such that it cannot be
wrought by any natural means but requires the Holy Ghost to be sent into the heart. This is why the saints are said to be "the temple of the Holy Ghost." Whatever work of the Holy Ghost is required for sanctification, it must come in and through Christ and from Christ.
The Holy Ghost never comes to sanctify anyone except the members of Jesus Christ, for He is the Spirit of Christ as well as of the Father, and He comes only to the members of Christ in this work of sanctification.
There are some common gifts of God's Spirit that even the heathen may possess, but the gift of true holiness is given only to the members of Christ, to whom the Holy Ghost comes.
Lastly, Christ is our sanctification through His kingly power, ruling and reigning in our hearts. He subdues our lusts, as a king subdues rebels, and governs the hearts of His people. Christ exercises this kingly power when any soul believes in Him. When Christ enters a heart, He comes as a king, setting up His throne in a kingly manner, and by this, He sanctifies the heart and gives it rest. Just as in a kingdom there are mutinies and seditions, so too are there mutinies and seditions in the hearts of sinners—rebellion even against God
Himself.
But when the King sends forth His power, that very power prevails against all opposition. If it prevails in a way of justice, all things are brought into right and due order again. So it is when Christ enters the heart as the King of Righteousness and then as the King of Peace. By His kingly power, He brings rest and quiet to the heart.
Carnal hearts may think that Christ's kingly rule would be a disturbance to Christians, but in truth, the government of Christ in the heart brings the only true rest and peace to the soul.