Chapter Four
The means by which the Spirit of God accomplishes our union with Christ he means or tools through which the Spirit of God accomplishes our union with Christ and our fellowship with Him in all holiness are the gospel and faith. The gospel serves as the avenue through which Christ enters our hearts, working faith in us. Faith, in turn, enables us to receive
Christ Himself, along with His fullness, into our hearts. This faith is a gift of the Spirit, through which we genuinely believe in the gospel and put our trust in Christ as He is revealed and freely promised to us for our salvation.
The previous discussion about the necessity of being in Christ and having
Christ in us through a mystical union to empower us for a holy life might cause us to hesitate in our pursuit of holiness. We may struggle to comprehend how we can elevate ourselves above our natural limitations to attain such a glorious union and fellowship. However, God, in His graciousness, reveals to us two means or tools through which His Spirit enables us to partake in this high privilege. These means are within the reach of rational beings through the working of His Spirit in them.
One of these means is the gospel of the grace of God. Through the gospel, God unveils to us the immeasurable riches of Christ and the hope of glory that comes from having Christ dwelling within us. He invites and commands us to believe in Christ for our salvation and encourages us with the free promise of salvation to all who believe in Him. The gospel serves as God's own instrument, through which He sends Christ to bless us with His salvation. (Acts 3:26). It is through the work of the Spirit and righteousness (2 Cor. 3:6, 8, 9). Faith is generated by hearing the gospel, and therefore it serves as a powerful tool through which we are born again in Christ and Christ is formed within us (Rom. 10:16, 17; 1 Cor. 4:15; Gal.
4:19). There is no need for us to think, 'Who will ascend to heaven to bring
Christ down?' or, 'Who will descend to the depths to bring Christ up from the dead, so that we may be united with Him in His death and resurrection?'
The Word is close to us, the gospel, the message of faith, in which Christ graciously draws near to us. We can reach Him there without any further effort, if we desire to be joined with Him (Rom. 10:6-8).
The other means is faith, which is produced in us through the preaching of the gospel. This faith serves as our means of reception, enabling us to personally receive Christ Himself with all His fullness into our hearts. This is the central focus of the present explanation.
The faith that philosophers commonly discuss is merely an intellectual habit by which we give assent to a testimony based on the authority of the one testifying. Some argue that faith in Christ is nothing more than believing the truth of religious matters based on Christ's testimony.
However, the apostle shows that the faith through which we are justified is faith in Christ's blood, not just faith in His authority as a testifier (Rom.
3:24, 25). While a mere assent to a testimony may be sufficient for knowledge of things, as pursued by philosophers, we must understand that the purpose of saving faith is not only to know the truth about Christ and His salvation, as testified and promised in the gospel, but also to apprehend and receive Christ and His salvation as given through the promise.
Therefore, saving faith must necessarily involve two acts: believing the truth of the gospel and believing in Christ as freely promised to us in the gospel for our complete salvation. Through the first act, we receive the means through which Christ is conveyed to us, and through the second act, we receive Christ Himself and His salvation in the means. It is similar to the act of receiving a breast or cup that contains milk or wine and the act of actually sucking the milk or drinking the wine from them. Both these acts must be performed wholeheartedly, with genuine love for the truth and a desire for Christ and His salvation above all else. This love is our spiritual appetite, necessary for partaking of Christ as the nourishment of life, just as a natural appetite is needed for bodily nourishment. Our assent to or belief in the gospel should not be forced by mere conviction of the truth, which even wicked individuals and devils may experience when they would prefer it to be false. Likewise, our belief in Christ should not be motivated solely by fear of damnation without any sincere love and desire for the enjoyment of Him. Instead, we must embrace the love of the truth by savouring its goodness and excellence. We should consider all things as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord, counting them as rubbish in order to gain Christ and be found in Him (2 Thess. 1:10; Phil.
3:8, 9). We should regard Christ as our complete salvation and ultimate happiness, in whom all fullness dwells (Col. 3:11; Col. 1:19). This love should extend to every aspect of Christ's salvation, including holiness and forgiveness of sins. We should earnestly desire God to create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us, not being like those who only care about deliverance from hell and nothing else in Christ (Ps. 51:9, 10).
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matt. 5:6). The first of these acts immediately unites us to Christ since its focus is solely on the means of conveyance, the gospel. However, if performed rightly, it is a saving act because it inclines and prepares the soul for the second act, through which Christ Himself is immediately received into the heart. One who believes the gospel with genuine love and appreciation for its truth will undoubtedly believe in Christ with the same sincerity for salvation. Those who know the name of the Lord will surely put their trust in Him (Ps. 9:10). Therefore, in Scripture, saving faith is sometimes described by the first act alone, as if it were simply believing in the gospel, and other times it is described by the second act, as believing in or on Christ: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom.
10:9). "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame" (v. 11).
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God" (1
John 5:1). "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life" (v. 13).
For a better understanding of the nature of faith, it should be further noted that the second and primary act of faith, believing in Christ, includes believing in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are one and the same infinite God, and all work together in our salvation through Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and us. In Him, all the promises of God are fulfilled and affirmed (2 Cor. 1:20). Through Him (as the Mediator), we believe in God who raised Him from the dead and glorified
Him, so that our faith and hope might be in God (1 Peter 1:21). Trusting in God or in the Lord is the same as believing in Him, and this is highly praised throughout the entire Scripture, particularly in the Old Testament.
The similarity becomes evident when considering that they share the same causes, effects, objects, attributes, opposites, and all the same circumstances, except that in the Old Testament, trust had reference to the promised Christ before His coming, while now it refers to Him who has already come in the flesh. Believing in the Lord and trusting in His salvation are equivalent terms that clarify each other's meaning (Ps. 78:22).
I acknowledge that trusting in things seen or known by the mere light of reason, such as our own wisdom, power, wealth, earthly rulers, or any human strength, may not be accurately described as believing in them.
However, trusting in a Saviour as revealed through testimony is properly believing in Him. It is also expressed through terms like resting, relying, leaning, and staying ourselves on the Lord, which is referred to as hoping in the Lord. This is because it is the basis of the expectation that is the proper act of hope, although our belief and trust encompass both present and future benefits of salvation. The reason why the Scriptures of the New Testament commonly use the term "believing in Christ" may be because, at the time of writing that part of Scripture, there was a particular need to emphasize belief in the testimony that was newly revealed through the gospel.
Having explained the nature of faith, I now affirm its proper use and function in our salvation: it is the means and instrument by which we actually receive Christ and His fullness into our hearts. This excellent use and function of faith is challenged by various errors. People naturally consider it too insignificant and trivial to produce such great effects, just as Naaman believed that washing in the Jordan was too simple a solution for his leprosy. They despise the true means of entering through the narrow gate because it seems too easy for such a purpose, thus rendering the entrance not only difficult but impossible for themselves. Some acknowledge that faith is the sole condition for our justification and the instrument to receive it, as previously maintained by the Protestants against the Papists. However, they argue that it is not sufficient or effective for sanctification. They claim that it tends towards licentiousness if it is not accompanied by some other powerful means to ensure a holy way of life.
They commend this great doctrine of the Protestants as a comforting remedy for those on their deathbeds or tormented by a guilty conscience.
However, they believe it is not suitable for everyday sustenance and that ministers should rarely and sparingly offer it, always with an antidote or correction to prevent the licentiousness it supposedly promotes. Their common antidote or correction is the assertion that sanctification is necessary for salvation, in addition to justification. They claim that while we are justified by faith, we are sanctified by our own observance of the law. Thus, they establish salvation by works, nullifying the grace of justification and rendering it neither effective nor comforting. If this doctrine truly had such a pernicious influence on practice, it could not be recognized as a teaching from the most holy God, and any comfort it provides must be baseless and deceptive. Some recent reformers of the Protestant religion are well aware of this consequence, and therefore they have sought to revise this doctrine. They present saving faith merely as a condition to obtain a right and title to our justification through the righteousness of Christ. This condition must be fulfilled before we can legitimately claim to enjoy it or use any instrument for its actual reception, which they refer to as accepting or receiving Christ. To ensure the practice of holiness through their conditional faith, they do not consider trusting in God or Christ for salvation to be the primary saving act of faith. They argue that many loose and wicked individuals trust in God and Christ for their salvation just as much as others and, in fact, their confidence only hardens them further in their wickedness. Instead, they propose that the principal act of faith should be obedience to all of Christ's laws, or at least a resolution to obey, a consent to accept Christ as Lord, and a surrender of oneself to His rule in all things. It is evident that the scriptural form of teaching has fallen out of favour with our esteemed intellectuals when trusting in the Lord, which is highly praised in Scripture, is considered a mediocre and ordinary thing. They attempt to dissuade us from acknowledging faith as an instrument of justification by claiming that we, the users of this instrument, become our own primary justifiers, thereby dishonouring God. Yet, it could easily be countered that in this way, we simply become the primary recipients of our justification from God, the giver of it, to whom all the glory belongs.
All of these errors will be refuted if it can be proven that the kind of faith
I have described is the instrument by which we actually receive Christ
Himself into our hearts, along with holiness of heart and life, in addition to justification, through our union and fellowship with Him. To provide evidence for this, I will present the following arguments.
1. Through faith, we truly experience and possess Christ Himself, not only the forgiveness of sin but also life and, therefore, holiness.
Christ dwells in our hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17). We live for God, yet it is not us but Christ who lives in us through faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:19-20). Whoever believes in the Son of God has the Son and eternal life in Him (1 John 5:12-13; John 3:36).
Whoever hears Christ's word and believes in Him who sent Christ has eternal life and has crossed over from death to life (John 5:24).
These texts clearly express the kind of faith I have described.
Therefore, the effectiveness or operation of faith, for the purpose of experiencing Christ and His fullness, cannot be merely obtaining a legal right or title to this experience; rather, it must be an entry into it and taking possession of it. We have gained access and entry through faith into the grace in which we stand (Romans 5:2).
2. The Scriptures clearly attribute this effect to faith: through faith, we receive Christ, put Him on, become rooted and grounded in Him.
The Scriptures also state that through faith, we receive the Spirit, forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among the sanctified (John
1:12; Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 2:6-7; Galatians 3:14; Acts
26:18). Moreover, the Scriptures illustrate this receiving by the analogy of eating and drinking: whoever believes in Christ drinks the living water of His Spirit (John 7:37-39). Christ is the bread of life; His flesh is true food, and His blood is true drink. The way to eat and drink this is to believe in Christ, and by doing so, we abide in Him, and He in us, and we have eternal life (John 6:35, 47, 48, 54-56). How can it be made any clearer that through faith, we truly receive Christ Himself into our souls, just as we receive food into our bodies through eating and drinking? Thus, Christ is united to us in this way, just as our food is united to us when we eat or drink it.
Therefore, faith cannot be a condition merely to obtain a legal right or title to Christ, any more than eating or drinking merely obtains a legal right or title to our food; rather, faith is the instrument by which we receive Christ, just as the mouth receives and consumes food.
3. Christ, along with His salvation, is freely given by the grace of God to all who believe in Him, for we are saved by grace through faith.
And this salvation is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are justified freely by His grace through faith in His blood (Romans 3:24-25). The Holy Spirit, who serves as the bond of union between Christ and us, is a gift (Acts 2:38). Now, something that is given as a gift of grace should not be earned, purchased, or obtained through any work or effort performed as a condition to acquire a right or title to it. Therefore, faith itself should not be considered such a conditional work. If it is by grace, then it is no longer based on works; otherwise, grace would not be grace (Romans 11:6). The condition for receiving a free gift is simply to take it and have it. In this sense, we can acknowledge that faith is a condition, allowing for flexibility in the terms while agreeing on the substance. However, if you give a peppercorn to purchase a title to it, you undermine the freeness of the gift. The free offer of Christ to you is sufficient to confer upon you a right and even make it your duty to receive Christ and His salvation as your own. And because we receive Christ by faith as a free gift, we may consider faith to be the instrument and, so to speak, the hand by which we receive Him.
4. It has already been demonstrated that all spiritual life and holiness are stored up in the fullness of Christ and communicated to us through union with Him. Therefore, the accomplishment of union with Christ is the initial work of saving grace in our hearts. Faith itself, being a holy grace and part of spiritual life, cannot be present in us before the beginning of this work; rather, it is given to us and produced in the very process of union. And the way in which it contributes to the union is not by merely obtaining a title to Christ as a condition, for then it would need to be performed before the uniting work begins. Instead, it functions as an instrument through which we can actually receive and embrace Christ, who has already come into the soul to take possession of it as His dwelling place.
5. True saving faith, as I have described, possesses a particular aptitude or suitability in its nature and manner of operation to receive Christ and His salvation, to unite our souls with Him, and to equip the soul with a new holy nature that produces a holy way of life through union and fellowship with Him. Just as natural instruments, such as hands and feet, are designed for specific functions according to their nature and natural way of operating, God has fashioned saving faith to fulfil its purpose.
Similarly, we can understand that faith is an instrument specifically designed for our union with Christ and sanctification if we consider its unique suitability for the task. Recognising this is crucial for comprehending the mysterious manner in which we receive and practice all holiness through our union and fellowship with Christ, facilitated by the precious grace of faith. To help you visualise its nature as the instrument I have described, I will present three key aspects.
1. The grace of faith is as well-suited for the soul's reception of Christ and union with Him as any bodily instrument is for receiving and embracing essential things. Through the sincere act of trusting or believing in Christ for salvation and happiness, the soul casts aside everything that keeps it distant from Christ: reliance on our own strength, efforts, works, privileges; or on worldly pleasures, profits, honours; or on any human assistance or aids for our happiness and salvation. Such confidences are incompatible with our confidence in Christ for complete salvation. Paul, in his confidence in Christ, let go of all confidence in the flesh. He considered his privileges and legal righteousness as loss and regarded all other worldly and religious enjoyments as insignificant compared to gaining Christ and being found in Him (Philippians 3:3, 5-9). The voice of faith declares, "Assyria shall not save us. We will not ride on horses. We shall not say any more to the work of our hands, 'You are our gods'; for in You the fatherless find mercy" (Hosea 14:3). "We have no might against this great company" of our spiritual enemies, "we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You" (2 Chronicles 20:12).
I could provide numerous biblical passages to demonstrate how faith is a grace that empties the self and expels other confidences from the soul, as it rises above them towards Christ as the sole source of happiness and salvation. The very act of trusting or believing in Christ or in God is the means by which our souls approach Christ (John 6:35), draw near to the Lord (Psalm 73:28), seek refuge in the shadow of His wings (Psalm 57:1), anchor our minds on the Lord (Isaiah 50:10; 26:3), lay hold of eternal life (1
Timothy 6:12), lift up our souls to the Lord (Psalm 25:1), commit our way or cast our burden on the Lord (Psalm 37:5; 55:22), and partake of the nourishment of Christ, as we have already discussed. We must consider that Christ and His salvation cannot be seen, touched, or grasped through physical actions; rather, they are revealed and promised to us in the Word.
Now, if anyone can invent another way for the soul to engage in any motion or activity to receive this unseen promised salvation apart from believing the Word and trusting in Christ for the promised benefits, let them do so.
Even if Christ were to be earned by works or any other form of conditional faith, faith would still be instrumental in receiving Him. Some may argue that love is more fitting as the uniting grace, but I have shown that love for Christ's salvation is an element of faith. While love may foster a desire for union, when we are in this world, trusting in Christ for all His benefits as promised in the gospel is the most likely way to satisfy this appetite.
1. Saving faith inherently inclines the soul towards holiness and equips it with all the necessary qualities from the fullness of Christ. When we wholeheartedly trust in Christ, affectionately relying on Him for His freely promised salvation, it naturally works within us a rational inclination and ability to practice holiness. This trust encompasses the belief that through Christ, we are dead to sin and alive to God; that our old self has been crucified (Romans 6:2-4); that we live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25); that we have received forgiveness of sins; that God is our God (Psalm 48:14); that we have righteousness and strength in the Lord, enabling us to do all things (Isaiah 45:24; Philippians 4:13); and that we will experience glorious happiness in the eternal enjoyment of Christ (Philippians 3:20, 21). When the saints in Scripture speak so highly of these spiritual privileges, they reveal the familiar sentiments and language of their faith, their trust in God and Christ. They simply explain the nature and contents of this faith, describing what they receive from the fullness of Christ.
How can we not conclude that those who genuinely love Christ and can think and speak so highly of themselves on solid grounds must be sincerely inclined and profoundly strengthened for the pursuit of holiness?
Given that faith has a natural disposition to enable and fortify the soul for the practice of holiness, we can rightly consider it a suitable instrument for accomplishing every aspect of that practice in an acceptable manner. Those who, with sincere affection, steadfastly believe in Christ for the free gift of His complete salvation can attest through experience that their faith, to the extent of its strength or weakness, propels them to love God wholeheartedly because He loved them first (1 John 4:19). It prompts them to praise Him, pray to Him in Christ's name (Ephesians 5:20; John 16:26, 27), endure afflictions with a cheerful patience while giving thanks to the Father who called them to their heavenly inheritance (Colossians 1:11, 12), love all the children of God out of love for their heavenly Father (1 John 5:1), walk as Christ walked (1 John 2:6), and surrender themselves to live for Christ in all things, compelled by His love demonstrated in His sacrifice for them (2
Corinthians 5:14). The accounts of excellent works produced by faith in the cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 11) demonstrate this. While trusting in God may be considered insignificant and contemptible, I see no act of obedience that it cannot generate. Note the excellent manner in which faith operates.
Through faith, we live and act in all good works as people in Christ, transcending our natural state by participating in Him and His salvation. We do everything in His name and for His sake. This is the practice of the mysterious way of living in holiness that is unique to the Christian faith in which we exist—yet it is not us who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). When Christ and His salvation are known to us solely through the gospel, it is hard to conceive of any other way for such a practice to be possible.
The explanation I have provided regarding the nature and role of true faith, and its suitability for its purpose, is sufficient to demonstrate that it is indeed a profoundly holy faith, as it is referred to (Jude 20). The kind of trusting in Christ that I have described, by its very nature, cannot lead to licentiousness but only to holiness. It establishes us firmly in holiness more than merely accepting the terms of salvation and consenting to have Christ as our Lord can achieve. It is more effective in securing a life of holiness than any resolutions of obedience or acts of surrender that some consider to be the key conditions of our salvation, which are in reality nothing more than hypocritical acts if they are not produced by this faith. There is, indeed, a counterfeit form of dead faith that even wicked individuals can possess. If that leads to licentiousness, let not true faith be blamed. Instead, pay attention to the description of true faith that I have provided, so that you may not be deceived by a counterfeit faith in its place.
I shall now add some thoughts on the efficient cause of this excellent grace and our union with Christ through it. By doing so, it will become evident that this path of salvation is not as easy and trivial as some might imagine. The author and perfecter of our faith, and of our union and fellowship with Christ through faith, is none other than the infinite Spirit of God, and God and Christ Himself through the Spirit. By one Spirit, we are all baptized into one body of Christ and made to drink of one Spirit (1
Corinthians 12:12, 13). May God grant us, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in our inner beings, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:16, 17).
When we consider the profound effect of faith, that through it we are elevated to live above our natural condition with Christ and His Spirit dwelling within us, it is not reasonable to believe that it is within the power of human nature to achieve something that raises us to such heights.
Even if God had only restored us to our original natural holiness in our sanctification, this could not have been accomplished without the exercise of His own almighty power to revive those who are dead in sin. How much more is this almighty power necessary to elevate us to this remarkable new state, in which we live and act above the capabilities of nature, by a higher principle of life than what was granted to Adam in his innocence, namely, Christ and His Spirit living and working within us? The natural person brings forth offspring in their own image through the natural power of procreation with which God blessed them at the time of their creation.
However, the second Adam, Christ, brings forth His newborn offspring according to His image solely by the Spirit (John 3:5). Those who receive
Him, who believe in His name, are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12, 13). Just as Christ took on His own human nature through a personal union with Himself in the womb of the virgin Mary, accomplished by the Holy Spirit coming upon her and the power of the Most High overshadowing her— the same power by which the world was created (Luke 1:35)—in a similar manner, He takes us into a mystical union and fellowship with Himself through nothing less than infinite creative power. We are God's masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10), and if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
To accomplish the great work of our new creation in Christ, the Spirit of God first works on our hearts through the gospel to produce the grace of faith within us. If the gospel were to come to us in mere words, without power and the Holy Spirit, the labours of Paul and Apollos to plant and water would be in vain, for we are unable to receive the things of the Spirit of God. In fact, we would consider them foolishness until the Spirit of God enables us to discern their true value (1 Thessalonians 1:5; 1 Corinthians
3:6; 2:14). We can never come to Christ through human teaching alone; we must also hear and learn from the Father and be drawn to Christ by His Spirit (John 6:44, 45). And when saving faith is wrought within us, the same Spirit firmly grasps hold of Christ through it. Just as the Spirit opens the mouth of faith to receive Christ, He also fills it with Christ; otherwise, the act of faith would be like a dream where one thinks they are eating and drinking but awakens to find themselves empty. The same Spirit of God not only gave the faith through which miracles were performed but also worked the miracles by means of that faith. Similarly, the Spirit of Christ works saving faith in us and fulfils the purpose of that faith by granting us union and fellowship with Christ through it. Thus, none of the glory of this work belongs to faith, but solely to Christ and His Spirit. Indeed, faith is of such a humbling and self-denying nature that it attributes nothing it receives to itself, but rather acknowledges all as coming from the grace of God.
Therefore, God saves us by faith, so that all the glory may be attributed to His free grace (Romans 4:16). Even if Adam had sufficient strength in his state of innocence to exercise the duty of faith as we do, it does not mean he had the strength to elevate himself above his natural condition into union with Christ. This is because faith does not unite us to Christ by its own virtue but by the power of the Spirit working through and with it. Thus, we are passive first and then active in this great work of mystical union. We are first apprehended by Christ, and then we apprehend Christ. Christ first enters the soul to join Himself to it by giving it the spirit of faith, and so the soul receives Christ and His Spirit through their own power, just as the sun first enlightens our eyes, and then we can see it by its own light. We should also note, to the glory of God's grace, that this union is fully accomplished by Christ giving the spirit of faith to us even before we exercise that faith in receiving Him. It is through this grace or spirit of faith that the soul is inclined and disposed to actively receive Christ. Without a doubt, Christ is thus united to many infants who possess the spirit of faith but cannot exercise faith due to their lack of understanding. However, those who are of riper years and passively joined to Christ by the spirit of faith will also actively join themselves to Him through the act of faith. Until they exercise this faith, they cannot know or enjoy their union with Christ, nor can they make use of it in carrying out other duties of holiness acceptably in this life.