Believed on in the World
Christ will delight to be with us still, when we make much of him, and esteem, and prize, and value him.
'Believed on in the World.'
After 'preached to the Gentiles,' he joins 'believed on in the world,' to shew that faith 'comes by hearing.' Indeed, 'preaching' is the ordinance of God, sanctified for the begetting of faith, for the opening of the understanding, for the drawing of the will and affections to Christ. Faith is the marriage of the soul to Christ. Now in marriage there must not be a mistake and error in the person, for then it is a kind of nullity. Now that the person to whom we are to be married by faith may be known to us, there is an ordinance of preaching set up, to lay open our own beggary and necessity, what we are without him; and to open the riches of our husband, the nobility, and privileges, and whatsoever is glorious in Christ, that the church may know what a kind of husband she is like to have. In Rom. 10:14, seq., you have the scala cœli, the ladder of heaven, as a good old martyr called it; and we must not presume to alter the staves of that ladder (m). 'How can they call upon him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe without a preacher? and how shall they preach unless they be sent?' Here is preaching, and believing, and then prayer. There are some that are bitter against this ordinance of preaching, and advance another excellent ordinance of prayer, to the disparagement of this: if they would join them both together, it were well. You see what the apostle saith: 'How shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe without a preacher?' without this ordinance of preaching? shewing that we cannot have the spirit of prayer without faith, nor faith without preaching. And the wise man saith, 'He that turns his ear from hearing the law' (under what pretence soever), 'his prayer
shall be abominable,' Prov. 28:9. The prayers of such men that would cry down this ordinance, how are they like to be accepted? They are abominable. We see here the apostle sets them down in this degree, hearing, and believing, and prayer; and here in this place preaching goes before believing.
Therefore the gospel unfolded is called 'the word of faith,' because it begets faith. God by it works faith; and it is called the 'ministry of reconciliation,' 2 Cor. 5:18, because God by it publisheth reconciliation. As preaching goes before believing, so it is the blessed instrument, by reason of the Spirit accompanying of it, to work faith.
In the ministry of the gospel there is not only an unfolding of the excellent things of Christ, but there is grace given by the Spirit to believe. And herein this publication and proclamation differs from all other publications in the world. Men may publish and proclaim what they would have, but they cannot give hearts to believe it. But in the blessed promulgation and publishing of divine truths, there is the Spirit of God accompanying it, to work what it publisheth. It opens the riches of Christ, and offers Christ; and Christ is given to the heart with it. It publisheth what is to be believed and known, and it alters our courses. Together with it there goes a power—the Spirit clothing the ordinance of preaching—to do all. Therefore it is called 'the ministry of the Spirit,' 2 Cor. 3:8. Why? Because what is published in the preaching of the word, to those that belong to God, it hath the Spirit to convey it to the souls of God's people. Therefore he saith here, first preached and then believed.
Therefore, those that are enemies to this ordinance of God, they are enemies of the faith of God's people, and by consequent, enemies of the salvation of God's people. But the more the proud and haughty atheistical heart of man riseth against it, the more we should think there is some divine thing in it. It must needs be excellent, because
the proud heart of man stomachs* it so much. We see here it is the means to work faith. Therefore, as we esteem faith and all the good we have by it, let us be stirred up highly to prize and esteem of this ordinance of God. So much for the coherence or connection,
'preached to the Gentiles,' and then 'Believed on in the world.'
For the words themselves, we see here, first, that Christ, as he must be unfolded in preaching, so he must be 'believed on.'
Because the dispensation ministerial is not enough, unless there be an applying grace in the heart; and that is a spirit of faith, whose property is, to make peculiar that that is offered. There is a virtue of application in this grace of faith. Where there is a giving there must be a receiving, or else the gift is ineffectual. Christ is the garment of the soul. He is the foundation and food, &c. As I said before, he is our husband. We must give our consent. 'Believing' is a spiritual marriage. In marriage there must be a consent. This consent is faith.
That makes up the bond between Christ and the believing soul.
Therefore of necessity there must be faith; all else, without believing in Christ, is nothing. Faith is the means of making Christ our own, and no other thing whatsoever.
The papists have ridiculous means, that they understand not themselves, nor anybody else. They make the sacrifice of the Mass a means to apply Christ, and other courses; but the ministerial means to apply to Christ is the preaching of the gospel, and faith that is wrought by the ministry of the gospel; and there is no other way of application, by the Mass, or any such thing. Christ without faith doth us no good; in Heb. 4:2, 'The word that they heard did not profit them, because it was not mingled with faith.' The word of God, the gospel, it is the 'power of God to salvation;' but it is to all that
'believe,' 1 Peter 1:5. Whatsoever good Christ doth to us, he doth it by faith. It is a rule in divinity, and it is to purpose in the deciding some controversies, that a spiritual benefit, not known and applied, is a nullity; because God intends all, whatsoever we have, to be opened to us and applied, that he might have the glory, and we the comfort. We see the excellency and necessary use of this grace of faith.
How is Christ to be believed on?
1. We must rest upon no other thing, either in ourselves or out of ourselves, but Christ only. In popery they have many other things to rest on, and their faith being corrupt, all their obedience likewise is corrupt that springs from it. They dishonour Christ to join anything in the world with him. The apostle is wondrous zealous in this, to have nothing joined with Christ; as in Gal. 5:2, 'If ye be circumcised,
Christ shall profit you nothing;' only Christ must be believed on in matter of salvation.
2. And whole Christ must be received. 'Believing' is nothing but a taking or receiving of Christ as a Lord and as a Saviour; as a priest, to redeem us by his blood; and Christ as a king, to govern us. We must take whole Christ.
We see what manner of faith is in most men, that snatch out of Christ what they list, to serve their own turn. As he died for their sins, so they are glad of him; but as he is a lord and king to rule and govern them, so they will have none of him, but 'turn the grace of God into wantonness,' Jude 4. But Christ, as we must rest and rely on him only, so we must receive him and believe on him wholly.
Now faith looks upon Christ as the main object of it, as it justifieth.
The same faith it looks upon the whole word of God as a divine truth revealed; but for the main work of it, it looks upon Christ. Christ is
the jewel that this ring of faith doth enclose; and as the ring hath the value from the jewel, so hath faith from Christ. In the main point of justification and comfort, faith lays hold upon Christ for mercy; for the distressed afflicted soul it looks first of all to comfort, and peace, and reconciliation; therefore it looks first to him that wrought it— that is, Christ. Now, the same faith that doth this, it believes all divine truths, the threatenings, and precepts, &c. Faith chooseth not its object to believe what it lists, but it carries the soul to all divine truths revealed. But when we speak of justifying faith, then Christ, and the promises, and the mercy of God in Christ, is the first thing that the soul looks unto.
Christ is the first object of faith, before any benefit or gift that we have from him; first, we must receive Christ before we have any grace, or favour, or strength, from him. And a sanctified soul looks first to Christ, to the love of Christ, to the person of Christ, and then to his goods and riches. As one that is married, she regards first the person of her husband, and then looks to the enjoyment of his goods, and inheritance, and nobilities, or else it is no better than a harlot's love. So faith looks to the person first. It knits us to Christ, to be in love with, and to embrace Christ, and then it looks to all the good things we have by him. For he never comes alone. There is a world of good things in him: all that tends to grace and glory. Yet it is the person of Christ that the soul of a Christian principally looks to.
Other divine truths are the object of faith to direct and sway our lives; yet, notwithstanding, they are not the object of faith; when we look for comfort, for forgiveness of sins, and reconciliation with God, then it looks to Christ especially.
Therefore we that are ministers of the gospel of Christ should especially look to unfold the riches of Christ; and those that are God's people should especially desire to have Christ unfolded, and the
riches of God's love in Christ. The soul that ever found the sting of sin, the conscience that ever was awakened to feel the wrath of God, it accounts nothing so sweet as evangelical truths, those things that concern his Husband and Saviour. A carnal man loves to hear moral points wittily spoken of, as delightful to his ear; but the soul that understands itself, what it is by nature, that ever felt in any degree the wrath of God for sin, of all points, it desires most to hear of Christ and him crucified. Therefore we may judge ourselves by our ears, of what tempers our souls are; for 'the ear tastes of speeches as the mouth doth meat,' as Job saith, Job 12:11.
'Believed on in the world.'
By 'world,' especially here in this place, is meant the world taken out of the world, the world of elect. There is a world in the world, as one saith well in unfolding this point; as we see, man is called a little world in the great world (n). Christ was preached to the world of wicked men, that by preaching, a world might be taken out of the world, which is the world of believers. Hence we may clear our judgments in that point, that when Christ is said to redeem the world, it must not be understood generally of all mankind. We see here, the world is said to believe in Christ. Did all mankind believe in Christ? was there not a world of unbelievers?
We see here Christ 'believed on in the world'—the world that was opposite, that were enemies, that were under Satan. Who shall despair, then? Therefore, let us conceive well of Christ. Why was he
'manifest in the flesh?' and why is there an ordinance of preaching?
Wherefore is all this, but that he would have us believe, be our sins what they will? Put the case that there were a world of sin in one man, that one man were a world of naughtiness; as in some sense, St James saith, 'there is a world of wickedness in the tongue,' James
3:6. If in the tongue, much more in the heart, which is the sink of wickedness. But put the case, there were a world of wickedness in one man, what is this to the satisfaction of 'God manifest in the flesh,' and to the infinite love of God, now pacified in Christ, looking upon us in the face of his beloved Son? You see here Christ is
'believed on in the world.' Do but consider what is meant by the world in Scripture, how it is set down to be in an opposite state to Christ, and look to the particular state of the Gentiles, that are said to be the world. What wretched people were the Corinthians before they believed, and the Ephesians, and the rest!
Let no man therefore despair; nor, as I said before, let us not despair of the conversion of those that are savages in other parts. How bad soever they be, they are of the world, and if the gospel be preached to them, Christ will be 'believed on in the world.' Christ's almighty power goeth with his own ordinance to make it effectual. Since the coming of Christ, the world lies before Christ, as beloved of him, some in all nations. The gospel is like the sea: what it loseth in one place it gaineth in another. So the truth of God, if it lose in one part— if it be not respected—it gets in another, till it have gone over the whole world.
And when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in, then comes the conversion of the Jews. Why may we not expect it? They were the people of God. We see Christ 'believed on in the world.' We may therefore expect that they shall also be called, there being many of them, and keeping their nation distinct from others.
Now, I shall shew how this is a mystery. 'Great is the mystery of godliness, Christ believed on in the world.' This is a great mystery to join these together: 'the world' and 'believing.' It is almost as great a mystery as to join God and man together; a virgin and a mother; to
bring an unbelieving rebellious heart, such as is in the world, and believing together. It is a great mystery in divers considerations.
1. First, If we consider what the world was, an opposite and enemy to Christ; and under his enemy, being slaves to Satan, being idolaters, in love with their own inventions, which men naturally doat on; here was the wonder of God's love and mercy, that he should vouchsafe it to such wretches. We may see by St Paul's epistles what kind of people they were before they embraced the gospel. Here was God's wondrous dignation,* that God should shine upon them that 'sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death,' that were abused by Satan at his will. That the world, that is, all sorts of the world, from the highest to the lowest, should at length stoop to the cross of Christ; that the emperors should lay their crowns at Christ's feet, as Constantine and others—Christ at length subdued the Roman empire itself to the faith; that the philosophers of the world, that were witty* and learned, should at length come to embrace the gospel—for divers of the fathers were philosophers before (o); that men of great place, of great parts, and learning, and education, and breeding, should deny all, and cast all prostrate at the feet of Christ; for these to be overcome by plain preaching; for meanness to overcome mightiness; for ignorance to overcome knowledge; yet, notwithstanding, these great and wise men of the world were overcome by the gospel.
It was a mystery that the world should believe. If we consider, besides their greatness and wisdom, the inward malicious disposition of the world, being in the strong man's possession, for these men to believe the gospel, surely it must needs be a great mystery.
2. Again, if we consider the parties† that carried the gospel, whereby the world was subdued—a company of weak men, unlearned men,
none of the deepest for knowledge, only they had the Holy Ghost to teach and instruct, to strengthen and fortify them,—which the world took no notice of,—men of mean condition, of mean esteem, and few in number: and these men they came not with weapons, or outward defence, but merely with the word, and with sufferings. Their weapons were nothing but patience, and preaching, offering the word of Christ to them, and suffering indignities; as St Austin saith,
'The world was not overcome by fighting, but by suffering' (p). So the lambs overcame the lions, the doves overcame the birds of prey, the sheep overcame the wolves. 'I send you,' saith Christ, 'as sheep among wolves;' and how? By nothing but by carrying a message, and suffering constantly and undauntedly for going with their message; for they had cruel bloody laws made against them, that were executed to the utmost; yet by these means they overcame by preaching, and sealing the truth that they taught by suffering—a strange kind of conquest. The Turks conquer to their religion, but it is by violent means; it is a religion of blood. But here, as I said, meanness overcame greatness, ignorance overcame learning, simplicity overcame pride, baseness overcame glory; a mystery in this respect.
3. Again, If we consider the truth that they taught, being contrary to the nature of man, contrary to his affections; to enforce self-denial to men that naturally are full of self-love, that make an idol of their wit and will; for them to come to be taught to be fools, in respect of wit, and to resign up their wills to the will of another—for these men to believe things that are above belief to carnal men, as St Austin observes, it was the wonder of the world (q). What a kind of doctrine was this, to win such entertainment in the world as it did! Yet it did make men deny themselves, deny their wits, their wills, their goods, their lives. Therefore in this respect it was a great mystery that Christ should be 'believed on in the world.'
4. Again, If we consider another circumstance, it adds to the mystery; that is, the suddenness of the conquest. The world was conquered to the faith and obedience of Christ. In a short time after Christ, one man, St Paul, spread the gospel almost all the world over; he conquered almost all the world; he spread the savour of the gospel like lightning, suddenly and strongly, because there was an almighty power and Spirit accompanying the glorious gospel; and thereupon it came to be thus effectual with the world.
5. Again, It is a wonder in respect of Christ, whom the world 'believed on.' What was Christ? Indeed, he was the Son of God, but he appeared in abased flesh, in the form of a 'servant.' He was crucified. And for the proud world to believe in a crucified Saviour, it was a mystery.
6. Lastly, It is a great mystery, especially in respect of faith itself, faith being so contrary to the nature of man. For the heart of man, where faith is wrought, to go out of itself, and to embrace a beginning, and principle, and rising of life from another; to seek justification and salvation by the righteousness and obedience of another; for the proud heart of man to stoop to this, to acknowledge no righteousness of its own to stand before the tribunal of God, but to have all derived from Jesus Christ; to fetch forgiveness of sins out of the death of another; to wrap itself in the righteousness and obedience of Christ, given of God for it: the heart of man, without a supernatural work of the Spirit to subdue it, will never yield to this, because proud flesh and blood will alway have somewhat in itself to doat upon, and to set it out before God; and when it finds nothing in itself, then it despairs. For the heart of man thus to go out of itself, and rely only upon the righteousness of Christ, not having its own righteousness, this is the greatest mystery. Especially for a guilty soul, that hath its eyes opened to discern of its own estate; for a
conscience awakened to trust in God, being a holy God, a just God: for these two to meet together, God, and a doubting, galled, misgiving conscience, forecasting the worst; for such a conscience to find peace by this act of faith casting itself upon Christ, this is more than can be done by any power of nature.
There is somewhat in nature for all legal obedience. Man naturally hath some seeds, to love his parents, to hate murder, and the like; but to go out of himself, and cast himself upon God's love and mercy in Christ, there is no seeds of this in nature, but all against faith in Christ. Ofttimes when a man is cast down, all in the world seems to make against him; and then for a man to have his heart raised up by an almighty power to 'believe,' certainly this must be a mystery. I say, when all makes against him; his conscience makes against him, and the judgment of God against him, and Satan's temptations against him—all the frame of things present seems to be against him—God himself ofttimes seems to be against him, to be an offended God, justly offended with his sins. For the soul in this case to cast itself upon God in Christ, there must needs be a hidden and excellent deep work on the soul. This is the greatest mystery. The greatest difficulty is in this branch, considering how contrary to the heart of man faith is.
Let us take heed of shallow conceits of faith, as if it were an easy common universal grace to 'believe.' No, beloved! It is a supernatural powerful work. Saint Paul sets it out divinely and largely in Eph. 1:18.
He calls it the 'mighty power of God.' It requires not only a power, but an almighty power, to raise the heart of man to believe. For even as the work of redemption by Christ is a greater work in itself than the work of creation, so also the work of conversion.
1. Though they be all one to an infinite power, yet the thing itself is more difficult, to make the heart of man to believe, than to make a world of nothing; for when God made the world there was nothing to oppose. There he had to do with simply nothing. But when God comes to make the heart believe, he finds opposition and rebellion.
He finds man against himself. He finds the heart and conscience against itself. He finds opposition from Satan, that helps man's distrustful heart. Then all meet together, afflictions, the sense of God's anger and man's guilty conscience. Now to make such a man believe, is more than to create a world.
2. And as God shewed more power, so he shewed more mercy in the work of redemption than in the creation. In the creation there he did good to a good man; Adam was created good, and he should, had he stood, have continued in a good condition. But in the work of redemption God doth good to evil men. God transcends in his love, because the glory of his mercy reigns in the work of redemption; so that the power, and wisdom, and mercy being greater in the work of redemption, it requires a more supernatural power in the soul to apprehend this than any other truth. As the work in redemption is more glorious, so the divine grace and virtue in the soul, that makes use of this, which is faith, it must be more excellent than all other graces whatsoever. And as it must be God that must save and redeem us, so it must be God that must persuade the heart of this. As Christ, who is God, must perform the work of redemption, so it must be God the Holy Ghost that must persuade the heart, that God loves it so much, and raise the heart to apprehend it, and make use of it; no less power will do it. Let us, I say, have great conceits of this excellent grace of faith. 'All men have not faith,' 2 Thes. 3:2. It is a rare grace, a rare jewel. When Christ comes, 'shall he find faith in the world?'
Luke 18:8. Certainly it is a mystery for a man to believe in Christ, for a natural man to be brought to rely upon Christ. 'To you it is given to
believe,' saith the apostle, Mat. 13:11.* He might well say, it is 'given.'
It is no ordinary gift neither. Therefore let us pray with the disciples, 'Lord, increase our faith,' Luke 17:5; and with the poor man in the gospel, 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief,' Mat. 9:24.
The next thing I shall touch shall be this, that faith is put here for all graces. Here, in these six clauses of this 'great mystery of godliness,' there is only this one that is within us. 'God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, received up in glory'—these are all without us. But this one, 'believed on in the world,' that is only within us, and it is set down instead of all, and indeed so it is; for it draws all other graces after it. It enlivens and quickens the soul. It is the spring of spiritual life in us. It is the first grace of all. There are some degrees of the Spirit perhaps before it; but all graces have their quickening from faith. It infuseth supernatural vigour into all the parts and powers of the soul, and into all graces whatsoever. Where Christ is 'believed on in the world,' all follows, love and patience, and courage and fortitude whatsoever; as we see in Heb. 11:2, 'By faith they had a good report.' They had a good report for patience and for courage, and other good works; but all these came from faith. Therefore, 'by faith they had a good report.'
Therefore the acting of all other graces, it comes from faith. By faith, 'Enoch walked with God;' by faith, Noah and Moses did so and so, signifying that faith is the ground of all. Faith it fetcheth spiritual life from Christ for all, whatsoever is good; it knits us to the spring of life,
Christ; it is the grace of union. Even as Satan, by unbelief, did infuse all his poison at the first; for by making our first parents stagger in the word of God came sin; so by faith all obedience comes; all have their rising and beginning from faith.
As it draws spiritual life from Christ, so the encouragements are by faith, to all other graces whatsoever, for patience and love, &c. Faith
must set before them the object and the reasons from the glory to come, from the love of God in Christ. When faith propounds all this, then it stirs and quickens all graces. Faith yields strong reasons and discourse, to stir us up to whatsoever is necessary. Why do I hope for the glory to come? I believe it first. Why do I love God? I believe he is my Father, in Christ. All have strength from love, and that from faith: unless I believe that God loves me in Christ, I cannot love him; unless I love him, I can express no virtue for him, no patience, no good work. So it puts life into all; therefore it is here put for all,
'believed on in the world.' It should stir us up to make much of this faith; above all graces to desire it.
And being a mystery, and so excellent a grace, we have need to discern whether we have it or no. Therefore I will touch a few evidences, some of them out of the text.
1. First, If you believe, it comes usually after preaching. We see here, 'preached to the Gentiles,' and then 'believed on in the world.'
Whence came thy faith? If not by the ordinance of God, thou mayest expect it to be a bastard faith; it hath not a right beginning; especially if it be joined with contempt of God's ordinance, it is no faith, but, a presumptuous conceit. Preaching and believing here go one after another. Therefore examine how thy faith was wrought in thy heart.
2. Again, as I said, faith being a mystery in regard of such a world of opposition between the heart of man and Christ, Satan helping the unbelieving heart, here must needs be a strife and conflict with faith.
Therefore those men that never had conflict with their own unbelieving heart, that never had conflict with Satan's temptations, they never had faith; for it is a mystery to have faith. It is with opposition and conflict. No grace hath the like conflict and opposition from Satan; for Satan aims, in all sins, to shake our faith
and affiance in God's love. As God aims at the strengthening of faith above all, so the devil hates it above all, and in all temptations whatsoever he aims to shake our faith at the last. Therefore there must needs be opposition to ourselves and our own doubting nature, and to Satan's temptations, and to the course of things, that sometimes are clean opposite to a man. For a sinner to believe the forgiveness of sins; for a miserable man to believe glory in the world to come; for a dying man to believe life eternal; for a man tumbled into the grave to believe that he shall rise from the dead: if there be no conflict with these things, so opposite to faith, there is no faith.
3. Then again, in the third place, it is the spring of all obedience. The apostle calls it the obedience of faith, Rom. 1:5. All preaching is for the obedience of faith. Obedience of faith brings obedience of life and conversation. Examine thyself, therefore, by the course of thy obedience, by that that comes from faith. See what it works in thy soul, in thy life and conversation. And here I might be very large; for where faith is, (1.) First of all, after it hath been a means to justify, to lay hold upon the all-sufficient righteousness of Christ, to stand between God and us, to clothe and cover our souls, then it pacifieth the conscience.
'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through Jesus Christ our Lord,' Rom. 5:1. Faith hath a quieting power. It quiets the soul, because it propounds to the soul a sufficient satisfaction in God-man. It propounds to the soul Christ sealed by God the Father.
Having done all that is necessary to salvation, it sets down the soul: for he was God, and therefore able; and man, and therefore willing to save. Faith sets Christ as wooing us first; in his ministers inviting us, alluring us, commanding us, removing objections from our unworthiness. 'Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden,'
Mat. 11:28; and objections from our want of any goodness: 'Come
and buy without money,' Isa. 55:1, the all-sufficiency of Christ.
Hereupon faith comes to quiet the soul, in the sweet course that Christ takes to bring the soul to him, being so able and willing, and shewing his willingness by all means that may procure love, that the soul may rest without doubting. Saith the soul, Surely Christ intends well to me, being so able, 'God in the flesh,' and setting up an ordinance, a ministry, whereby he invites me, and allures me, and commands me; and then also I have examples before me, of wicked men that have been converted: hereupon the soul comes to be at rest.
Faith hath a quieting power.
(2.) And then again, there is presently an alteration of the course:
Jordan goes backward; there is a turning of a man wholly; for faith is a turning of the soul clean another way. It turns the soul from the world to God and Christ, from the present evil world to a better world. We see as soon as Zaccheus believed, his thoughts were altered, his esteem of the things of this life was altered; 'half my goods I give to the poor,' Luke 19:8. We see in the Acts of the Apostles, as soon as they believed, they burned their books, Acts
19:19. As soon as a man believes in Christ, down goes the esteem of the world, and all worldly things whatsoever, because he sees a higher excellency in Christ. The poor jailer, when he had misused the apostles, as soon as he believed, we see how he neglects all, and makes a feast for them presently.
(3.) As soon as faith enters into the soul, there is a mean and base esteem of all things, and a high esteem of Christ. 'All is dung, in comparison of Christ,' Philip. 3:8. There is a change of the soul, and an esteem that goes before that change. We work as we esteem. As soon as we believe, we esteem Christ, and the things of a better life, above all other things; and thereupon goes the whole soul, and the bent of it, that way, though with some conflict. We see in the epistles
of St Paul, before those men believed in Christ, the Ephesians, the Colossians, the Romans, &c., what wicked people they were before, and how they were changed, as soon as they believed; then they were saints.
(4.) Again, Where this faith is, it is a triumphing, a conquering grace, a prevailing grace. It overcomes the world and whatsoever is opposite, for it sets before the soul greater things than the world can.
The world presents terrors. What are these 'to the glory that shall be revealed?' The world sets out pleasures to allure us, and profits, and favours, and this and that; but what are all these to the favour of God in Christ? what are they to heaven? What can the world set before the soul of a believer that is not beneath? Faith can raise the soul above all worldly things. It subdues the natural doubts and loves, the fears of troubles and cares for the world, and all the affections that were before ruling in the soul. Faith coming into the soul subdues all to itself, and makes them all serviceable. Thus it prevails, if not at the first, yet in the continuance of time. It prevails by little and little in the hearts of all believers. It is a victorious grace, as we see in Moses and Abraham, &c., how it prevailed against all obstacles whatsoever.
How many discouragements had blessed Abraham to leave his father's house, and to go he knew not where, and after to sacrifice his son! Yet faith overcame all. So Moses to leave the court, and to cleave to a despised people, what a work of faith was there! Faith is victorious. Therefore when people are drawn away with anything, that the looks of any man scares them, that the very noise of danger affrights them; when the hope of any rising will make them warp to do anything, when the hope of any gain will make them crack their conscience; where is the triumph of faith? As I said before, there is a prevailing power in faith, because faith sets before the soul that which is incomparably better and incomparably worse. What is all that man can do in comparison of hell and damnation? Conscience
saith, If you do this, ye shall die. And on the other side, what is all the world can give, in comparison of heaven, which faith presents to the eye of the believer?
(5.) Again, Where this believing is, it is a working grace; it works by love. By the love to God it desires the communion and fellowship of that it desires, and it works by love to other believers. It works towards Satan hatred, toward wicked men strangeness in conversation. It is a working grace. It works by love, to all good, to God and God's people, and to ourselves. It makes us have too high esteem of ourselves to be stained with the base services of sin. It works every way; and indeed it must needs be so, when faith sets before the soul the love of God in Christ: Hath God loved me so, to redeem me from such misery by such a course as this, 'God manifest in the flesh,' to advance me to such happiness, being, such as I was before, a sinner? Oh the thought of this will constrain us, as the phrase of the apostle is, 'The love of Christ constraineth me,' 2 Cor.
5:14; and then the soul will be active and earnest in anything that may be for the honour of Christ. Hath Christ thought nothing too dear for me, not his own blood, for the salvation of my soul is the price of his blood? He came down from heaven, he was 'God manifest in the flesh,' on purpose, in love to my soul; and shall I think anything too dear for him? And hereupon faith works and stirs up love, and when it is stirred up by it, it is acted by it; it useth the love of God in all the performance of worship to God, and in doing all good to our brethren and to ourselves, to carry ourselves as we should every way.
We see the woman in the Gospel, Luke 7:47, when she had much forgiven her, 'she loved much.' All duties come from love. What need
I speak of particular branches? Christ brings all to love. He includes all duties in that one, in love, because they come from love, and have
love to carry them, and to mingle itself with them; and love comes from faith. 'Faith working by love' evidenceth that we believe, Gal.
5:6. Where there is no love there is no faith. Therefore let us labour to have this affection of love kindled. If we would have love kindled, we must stir it up by faith. You see then that this believing is the leading grace.
Let us labour by all means therefore to water this root. When we would have trees flourish and thrive, we pour water to the roots of them. Now, the radical grace in a Christian's soul is this believing, this trusting in God reconciled in Christ, this relying upon Christ; a convincing persuasion that God and Christ are mine. This is the radical grace of all other. Let us water and cherish this by all means whatsoever.
And to this end, let us labour to increase in knowledge. 'I know whom I have believed,' saith the apostle, 2 Tim. 1:12, for all grace comes into the soul by the light of knowledge. Whatsoever is good is conveyed by light into the heart. Faith especially is the bent of the will to Christ, receiving him; but this comes by a supernatural light, discovering Christ. Therefore let us desire to hear much of Christ, of his privileges and promises. The more of Christ we know, the more we shall believe, and say with the apostle, 'I know whom I have believed,' 2 Tim. 1:12.
It is a fond* and wicked tenet† of the papists, to say that ignorance is the mother of devotion (r); and Bellarmine's tenet is, that 'faith is better defined by ignorance than by anything else' (s)—a fond and unlearned conceit. For howsoever the reason and depth of the things of faith cannot be searched, yet we may know the things that are revealed in the Scriptures. The more I know the things that are revealed concerning Christ, and know that they are God's truths, the
more I know, the more I shall believe. Faith of necessity requires knowledge; therefore knowledge is put for all other graces. 'This is eternal life, to know thee, and whom thou hast sent,' John 17:3, because it is an ingredient in all graces. It is a main ingredient in faith. The more we know, the more we shall believe. 'They that know thy name will trust in thee,' Ps. 9:10. Is it not so in men's matters?
The more we know a man to be able and loving and faithful of his word, the more we shall trust him. Is it not so in divine things? The more we know of Christ and of his riches and truth, the more experimental knowledge we have of him, that we find him to be so, the more we shall trust him. Therefore, by the knowledge that is gotten by the means, let us labour for an experimental knowledge, that so we may trust and believe in him more and more. Let us look to the passages of our lives in former times, how gracious God hath been towards us, and take in trust the time to come, that he will be so to the end. 'He is the author and finisher of our faith,' Heb. 12:2. And let us search into the depth of our own wants and weaknesses; and this will force us to grow in faith more and more. This will be a means to increase our faith. The more we see of our own nothingness and inability, without Christ, that we are nothing, nay, that we are miserable without him, the more we shall cleave to him and cast ourselves upon him. Those that have the deepest apprehensions of their own wants and weakness, usually they have the deepest apprehensions of Christ, and grow more and more rooted in him.
The searching of our own corruptions every day is a notable means to grow in faith, to consider what we are, if it were not for God's mercy in Christ; and this will make us to make out of ourselves to Christ, it will make us fly to the city of refuge. Joab, when he was pursued, he fled to the horns of the altar, 1 Kings 2:28. When conscience pursues us, it will make us fly to the horns of the altar, to the city of refuge. A search into our own conscience and ways will force us to live by faith and to exercise faith every day in Christ Jesus.
And this is to feed on Christ daily, to fly to Christ, when we are stung with sin, and hunger, in the want of grace and strength, to fly to him for supply; and so to keep and increase faith by this excellent means.
Christ is all in all to those that hope to be saved by him. Christ is the ground of our life and comfort, and our happiness. Therefore we should make out to him upon all occasions, to cleave to him in life and death. We cannot press this point of faith too much. Why are
Christians called believers? Because believing is all. If we can prove the truth of our faith and belief, we prove all. If we be faulty in that, all is rotten. 'Whatsoever is without faith is sin,' Rom. 14:23. All men's natural morality and civility, it is, as it were, but copper graces; but counterfeits. They are but for the outward appearance, and not in truth. They are not enlivened and quickened by faith in Christ. But I leave this, and come to the last clause,
'Received up in glory.'
This is the last branch of this divine 'mystery of godliness,' but it is none of the least. Christ 'ascended,' if we respect himself; he was
'received,' if we look to his Father; himself 'ascended,' his Father 'received' him. The Scripture hath both words: ἀνέβη, he 'ascended up,' that is, for himself; ἀνελήφθη, he was 'received up,' that is, he was assumpted.* There is no difficulty in the words. He 'ascended up' as well as he was 'received up,' positively as well as passively. In his death, he was not only crucified by others, and delivered by his
Father, but he gave himself to death; so he was not only 'received up in glory,' but he 'ascended up into glory.' This shews the exaltation of Christ. The apostle begins with 'God manifest in the flesh.' There is the descent; a great mystery, for the great God to descend into the womb of a virgin, to descend to the 'lowest part of the earth,' Ps.
86:13; and then he ends with this, received up in glory.' The ascent is from whence the descent was. Christ ascended, and was 'received' as