CHAPTER VII.—The nature of purchased grace
through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them"
(Hebrews 7:25).
The intercession of Christ, with respect to its influence on purchased grace, can be understood in two ways:
Firstly, it continues and advances His offering, ensuring that all its fruits and effects are fully extended to us. This is referred to as His
"appearing in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24). Just as the high priest, after offering the great sin offering, would carry its blood into the most holy place where God's presence was symbolically represented, Christ, having offered Himself as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God and having sprinkled His own blood, appears in the presence of God. This serves as a reminder to fulfill the commitment made for the redemption of sinners by His blood and to ensure the delivery of the promised blessings procured through it. Thus, His appearance influences purchased grace by advocating on our behalf.
Secondly, He secures the Holy Spirit for us, effectively bestowing all this purchased grace upon us. His commitment and fulfillment of this can be found in His promise of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). This aspect of purchased grace, in terms of its source and origin, shall not be discussed further at present, as it will be extensively explored in the context of our communion with the Holy Spirit.
CHAPTER VII
The nature of purchased grace; referred to three heads:—1. Of our acceptation with God; two parts of it. 2. Of the grace of sanctification; the several parts of it.
THE source of the grace that the saints share with Christ having been revealed, let us now consider the nature of this grace itself. As previously mentioned, it can be classified into three categories: 1.
Grace of acceptance with God. 2. Grace of sanctification from God. 3.
Grace of privileges with and before God.
1. Grace of acceptance with God. Without Christ, we are in a state of alienation from God, not accepted in our persons or our deeds. Sin creates a division between God and us. I will not delve into the details of this state and its consequences. The primary outcome of purchased grace is to restore us to a state of acceptance. This is achieved in two ways: (1) By removing the cause of enmity for which we are rejected. (2) By bestowing upon us that which makes us the objects of God's delight and pleasure, bridging the gap that separates us.
(1) It removes the cause for our rejection. This cause is the guilt of sin and all its accompanying effects. The initial result of purchased grace aims to remove the guilt of sin so that it no longer binds our souls to its wages, which is death.
The manner in which Christ accomplishes this and the way it is brought about was explained in the previous chapter. It is the fruit and effect of His death for us. Guilt is the sole reason for our separation and distance from God, as previously stated. It makes us liable to God's wrath, punishment, and displeasure. It imprisoned us under the curse of the law and handed us over to the power of Satan.
This is the state of unacceptance. Through His death, Christ—bearing the curse, enduring the punishment due to us, paying the ransom on
our behalf—delivers us from this condition. Thus, the death of Christ is the sole cause of our acceptance with God, as it removes every cause for quarrel and rejection. His sufferings are imputed to us because by being "made sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21), He becomes
"righteousness to us" (1 Corinthians 1:30).
However, this alone does not complete our acceptance with God. The old quarrel may be laid aside, but a new friendship must also commence. We may no longer be sinners, yet we may not possess the righteousness required to have a rightful claim to the kingdom of heaven. Adam had no claim to life simply because he was innocent; he needed to "do this" in order to "live." He not only required a negative righteousness—being innocent of any wrongdoing—but also a positive righteousness, needing to fulfill all things.
(2) Therefore, the second requirement for our complete acceptance is that we not only have the non-imputation of sin but also the imputation of righteousness. This is attained through the obedience of Christ's life. This was also discussed in the previous chapter. The obedience of Christ's life was for us, it is imputed to us, and it is our righteousness before God. By His obedience, we are "made righteous" (Romans 5:19). The basis on which faith's obedience takes effect will be explained later.
These two aspects, sin being removed and righteousness bestowed, grant us peace with God and continuous acceptance in His sight.
There is nothing to accuse us of anymore. Through Christ, what was there has been taken away, nailed to His Cross, publicly and legally cancelled so that it can never be used as evidence again. Just as no human court would admit evidence that has been publicly cancelled and displayed for all to see, Christ has dealt with what was against us. Not only that, He grants us that which enables our acceptance.
He adorns us with His beauty, clothing us in white garments to stand before the Lord. This constitutes the first part of purchased grace in which the saints share with Jesus Christ. It consists of the remission of sin and the imputation of righteousness, arising from Christ's death as a price, sacrifice, and punishment, as well as His life spent in obedience to the law. It is the remarkable product of the Father's righteousness, wisdom, love, and grace—the astonishing fruit of the Son's love and condescension—and the great revelation of the Holy
Spirit in unveiling the mystery of the gospel.
2. The second aspect is the grace of sanctification. Christ not only secures love for His saints but also makes them lovely. He came not only by blood but also by water and blood. He not only justifies His saints from the guilt of sin but also sanctifies and cleanses them from its defilement. The former is accomplished through His life and death as a propitiatory sacrifice, while the latter is achieved through His death as a purchase and His life as an example. The apostle speaks of this in Hebrews 9:14 and Ephesians 5:26-27. Two notable elements arise from this outcome of purchased grace: (1) The removal of defilement, and (2) The bestowal of purity in actual grace.
(1) Regarding the first aspect, it can also be understood in three parts:
[1.] The habitual cleansing of our nature. By nature, we are unclean and defiled. "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" (Job
14:4). "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6). We are born in the pollution of our blood, as described in Ezekiel 16—wholly depraved and polluted. The grace of sanctification, purchased by the blood of Christ, removes this inherent defilement of our nature. As stated in 1 Corinthians 6:11, "Such were some of you; but you were
washed, you were sanctified." Likewise, Titus 3:3-5 declares, "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy
Spirit." The extent to which this original, inherent pollution is removed need not be debated, but it is certain that the soul is made fair and beautiful in the sight of God. Although the sin that defiles remains, its habitual defilement is eradicated. However, the discussion of this topic is not my focus here.
[2.] The removal of the defilement caused by actual transgressions.
Every actual sin carries its own defilement. Our own actions cause us to be abhorred (Job 9:31). Every sin leaves a mark, a stain, rust, wrinkle, filth, or blood. Yet, 1 John 1:7 assures us that "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." In addition to purging the pollution of our nature (Titus 3:5), Christ removes the defilement from our persons caused by our actual foolishness. "By one offering, he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews
10:14). Through Himself, He purges our sins even before He sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3).
[3.] Even in our best deeds, there is defilement (Isaiah 64:6).
Selfishness, unbelief, and formality infiltrate all that we do. We may feel ashamed of our most exceptional performances. God has promised that the good works of the saints shall follow them. Truly, if these works were to be evaluated as they come from us and weighed on the scales of holiness, it might be to our benefit if they were buried forever. However, the Lord Christ, as our high priest, bears the iniquity, guilt, and provocation that justly accompany them
(Exodus 28:38). Not only that, but He also washes away all their filth and defilements. He acts as a refiner's fire, purging both the Levites and their offerings, while adding sweet incense to them to ensure their acceptance. Whatever is of the Spirit, of Himself, and of grace remains, while whatever is of self, flesh, and unbelief (like hay and
stubble) is consumed, removed, and wasted. Thus, the good works of the saints will one day appear in a transformed countenance that they will barely recognize. That which seemed black, deformed, and defiled to them will appear beautiful and glorious. They shall no longer fear their works but rejoice to see and follow them.
The cleansing of our nature, persons, and deeds finds its foundation entirely in the death of Christ. Therefore, our washing, purifying, cleansing, and purging are ascribed to His blood and its sprinkling.
Meritoriously, this work is accomplished by the shedding of Christ's blood, while the sprinkling of His blood is its efficient cause. The sprinkling of Christ's blood is made possible through the communication of the Holy Spirit, which He promised to us as the result of His purchase. He is the pure water by which we are sprinkled from all our sins—the Spirit of judgment and burning who removes the filth and blood from the daughters of Zion. And this concludes the first aspect of the grace of sanctification. More on this topic will be discussed later.
(2.) By bestowing actual purity in the form of grace. In this purchased grace, the blood of Christ not only removes defilement but also imparts purity. This happens in a threefold progression:
[1.] It gives us the indwelling Spirit of holiness. As stated in 1 Corinthians 1:30, Christ becomes our sanctification by procuring the Spirit of sanctification for us. Our renewal comes from the Holy
Spirit, who is poured out on us solely through Christ (Titus 3:6). The apostle Paul emphasizes this aspect, particularly in Romans 8, highlighting that the primary and principal gift of sanctification we receive from Christ is the presence of the Spirit and our obedience to His guidance. However, any discussion about the Spirit in any
capacity should be reserved for my upcoming discourse on our communion with Him.
[2.] Christ bestows habitual grace upon us—a principle of grace that opposes the principle of lust inherent within us by nature. This grace dwells in us and makes its home with us. Depending on the distinct faculties of our souls in which it operates or the specific objects it engages with, it receives various names. Nevertheless, it is truly one unified principle of new life. In the understanding, it is light; in the will, obedience; in the affections, love; and in all aspects, faith. It also differs in terms of its operations. When it directs the soul to rely on Christ, it is faith; when it leads to delight in Him, it is love. However, it remains one and the same habit of grace. This constitutes the second aspect.
[3.] It provides us with actual influence to carry out every spiritual duty. Even after receiving the previous two aspects, Christ reminds
His saints that without Him, "they can do nothing" (John 15:5). They remain dependent on Him for fresh influences of grace and the supply of the Spirit. They cannot live and rely on the old reserves, for every new action requires new grace. He must "work in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). In these three aspects, briefly mentioned, lies the essence of purchased grace in relation to sanctification—the bestowal of purity and cleanliness in which we commune with Christ.
3. This purchased grace also encompasses the privileges to stand before God, which can be classified as primary and consequential. Primary privileges include adoption—the Spirit of adoption. Consequential privileges encompass all the blessings of the gospel that only the saints have a rightful claim to.