CHAPTER IX.—Of communion with Christ in holiness
CHAPTER IX
Of communion with Christ in holiness—The several acts ascribed unto the Lord Christ herein: 1. His intercession; 2. Sending of the Spirit; 3. Bestows habitual grace—What that is, and wherein it consists—This purchased by Christ; bestowed by him—Of actual grace—How the saints hold communion with Christ in these things; manifested in sundry particulars.
II. Let's now consider our communion with the Lord Jesus in relation to the grace of sanctification and purification, as we have discussed previously in its various aspects and degrees. In doing so, we need to show: 1. The specific actions of the Lord Christ in this communion, and 2. The duty of the saints in this regard. In summary, we explore how we commune with Christ in holiness, in addition to righteousness. Let's address this briefly:
1. There are several actions attributed to the Lord Jesus concerning this matter: (1.) He intercedes with the Father, based on His offering on behalf of His people, to bestow the Holy Spirit upon them. I choose to begin with this because I have already spoken about Christ's offering itself. However, everything ultimately leads back to that source and spring. The foundation of all spiritual blessings lies there, as we shall see later on. Now, the Spirit, as a Spirit of grace, holiness, and consolation to us, is obtained through the redemptive work of Christ. It is, in essence, the great promise of the new covenant, as stated in Ezekiel 11:19: "I will put a new spirit within you," and elsewhere in Ezekiel 36:27 and Jeremiah 32:39-40, among other places, which we will discuss later. Christ is the mediator and surety of
this new covenant, as mentioned in Hebrews 7:22: "Jesus was made surety of a better testament," or rather, covenant. A testament does not require a surety. Christ undertakes this role on behalf of both God and man. On man's part, He provides satisfaction, and on God's part, He bestows the fullness of the promised grace, as stated in Hebrews 9:15: "For this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." He satisfied for sin and obtained the promise. He secures all the love and kindness that flow from the covenant, as He is its original promise, as seen in Genesis 3:15.
Every aspect of the covenant is "ordered in all things and made sure" (2 Samuel 23:5) so that its effects are derived from Him, dependent on Him, and obtained through Him. He is to have preeminence in all things (Colossians 1:18) according to the covenant and agreement made with Him (Isaiah 53:12). All of these blessings are the result of His redeeming blood, including the Spirit, as promised in that covenant (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Therefore, the fullness and accomplishment of His redemptive work is received from the Father through His intercession. He promised His disciples in John 14:16-18 that He would continue
His work on their behalf and intercede with the Father for the Spirit as a fruit of His redemption. He declares that He will not pray to the Father for His love toward them since the eternal love of the Father is not a fruit but the source of His redemption.
However, the Spirit is indeed a fruit, and He says, "That I will pray the Father for." Therefore, part of Christ's intercessory prayer to the Father, as the mediator, is for the bestowal of the Holy Spirit upon us as a fruit of His death and shed blood. This is the relationship between the Spirit of holiness, bestowed upon us, and the mediation of Christ. Christ is the firm foundation of
the covenant of grace, being eternally designated and freely given to secure all its blessings. He receives the Holy Spirit (Acts
2:33) and pours Him out on His own. This is what faith considers, focuses on, and dwells upon.
(2.) Once His prayer is granted, for the Father always hears Him, Christ actually sends His Spirit into the hearts of His saints to dwell in His place and accomplish all that He Himself has to do in and for them. This is the second aspect to be contemplated in the Lord Jesus by faith. It involves not only the initial endowment of our hearts with His Holy Spirit but also the continuous supply of His Spirit, drawing forth and stimulating more powerful operations and actions of the indwelling Spirit. Although in John 14:16, He says that the Father will give them the Comforter, since the primary and sovereign dispensation rests in His hands and is made possible through Him by the intercession of Christ, He affirms that, in terms of actual conferral or bestowal, He Himself sends the Spirit. In John 15:26, He states, "I will send the Comforter to you, from the Father." He receives the Spirit from the Father and actually sends Him to His saints. In John 16:7, He declares, "I will send him." In verses 14 and 15, He reveals how He will send Him. He will provide Him with that which is His to bestow upon them: "He shall take of mine (that which is truly and uniquely Mine as the mediator, the fruit of My life and death for holiness) and give it unto you." We will discuss these matters further later on. Therefore, the second action of the Lord
Christ, to be observed and contemplated by faith, is that He sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts. The Spirit is the efficient cause of all holiness and sanctification, reviving, enlightening, and purifying the souls of His saints. I have previously discussed at length how our union with Him, along with all its dependent benefits, flows from this communication of the Spirit to us, to abide and dwell within us.
Furthermore, I have expounded on this entire subject elsewhere. By
faith, we must consider and reflect upon these aspects concerning the Spirit itself.
(3.) Lastly, there is what we call habitual grace, which encompasses the fruits of the Spirit— the Spirit that is born of the Spirit, as mentioned in John 3:6. That which is produced by the Holy Spirit in the heart or soul of a person when they are regenerated—that which makes them spiritually alive—is the spirit, as opposed to the flesh or the inherent enmity against God that exists within us by nature. It manifests as faith, love, joy, hope, and the other graces of the gospel, all rooted in a common principle. We should note two things in this regard: [1.] Although many specific graces are mentioned, they do not represent different habits or qualities within us—there are not distinct and separate principles to account for them. Rather, there is a single spiritual principle that manifests itself in various operations and expressions, depending on the different objects it engages with.
Thus, it is distinguished not so much by its inherent nature but by its exercise in relation to its objects. It is one root with many branches.
[2.] This is what I mean by habitual grace—a new gracious and spiritual life or principle that is created and bestowed upon the soul, transforming all its faculties and affections, enabling it to engage in obedience to every divine object presented to it in accordance with God's will. For example, the mind can spiritually discern spiritual things, thus demonstrating enlightenment. The entire soul embraces
Christ as revealed in the promises of the gospel for righteousness and salvation—this is faith, which often gives its name to the whole.
When the soul finds rest, delight, desire, and complacency in God and Christ, it is known as love. In reality, it is a principle that equips all the faculties of our souls for spiritual and living operations, allowing them to function according to their intended purpose.
Now, habitual grace differs from the Spirit dwelling in the saints, as it is a created quality. The Spirit dwells in us as a free agent in a holy abode. Habitual grace, on the other hand, remains in us as its own proper subject, possessing no existence beyond that, and it can be experienced in various degrees. It is distinct from actual grace, which is transient and operates in and through the soul for specific spiritual acts or duties, without pre-existing or continuing beyond them.
Actual grace is God working in us, both to will and to do. In contrast, habitual grace always resides in us, enabling the soul to be a suitable principle for all the holy and spiritual operations to be performed by actual grace. It is capable of increase and decrease, as previously mentioned. It may be more abundant and effective in some individuals than in others, and even vary within the same person at different times. Therefore, we see these fluctuations, declines, restorations, complaints, and joys frequently mentioned in Scripture.
With these points regarding its nature in mind, let us now consider what we are to focus on in the Lord Jesus concerning this grace of sanctification and purification, in order to enter into communion with Him in this aspect. These are the things performed by Him or on His behalf:
Just as I mentioned about the Spirit, I now say the same about this grace. It is a result of Christ's purchase, and we should view it as such. "It is given to us for His sake to believe in Him" (Philippians
1:29). The Lord, on behalf of Christ, bestows faith and, by the same principle, all grace upon us because it has been purchased and procured by Him for us. "We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Him" (Ephesians 1:3). And by "in Him," I mean in and through His mediation for us. His sacrifice and intercession form the foundation of this dispensation. If grace were not procured by them, no soul would ever enjoy it. All grace flows from this source.
When we receive it from Christ, we must always consider the cost to Him. Neglecting this weakens the proper workings of faith. His entire intercession is based on His sacrifice (1 John 2:1-2). He intercedes for what He purchased through His death, neither more nor less. He prays that all His saints may have this grace we speak of (John 17:17). If we continually consider all grace as the fruit of Christ's purchase, it will greatly endear us. According to the gospel, we cannot ask for or expect any grace without this consideration.
Recognizing something as the Son's purchase does not detract from the free grace of the Father; in fact, it was by that grace that He made the purchase. When receiving grace from God, we do not have communion with Christ, who is the treasury and storehouse of grace, unless we acknowledge it as His purchase. He has obtained our sanctification, given us life, made us humble, holy, believing, and victorious over the works of the devil within us.
Secondly, the Lord Christ actually imparts this grace to His saints and bestows it upon them. "From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace" (John 1:16). This occurs because: (1) The Father invests Him with all the grace that He has acquired through His covenant and agreement, as He has received the promise of the Spirit. This grace encompasses everything necessary to bring His many sons to glory. "It pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell" (Colossians 1:19), meaning He is vested with the fullness of grace needed for His people. He Himself calls it the "power to give eternal life to His elect" (John 17:2), which refers not only to His ability but also to His right to do so. Thus, He bases His invitation to sinners for refreshment on the fact that "all things have been delivered to Me by My Father" (Matthew 11:27). He says, "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"
(verse 28). This covenant between the Father and Him, as promised in Isaiah 53:10, where His soul is offered for sin and He sees His seed
and prospers, forms the foundation and cause for these things. It is the basis for justification ("By His knowledge shall the righteous one,
My servant, make many to be accounted righteous" - verse 11) and sanctification (in "destroying the works of the devil" - verses 11, 12).
Therefore, our merciful high priest possesses all grace and dispenses it according to His own will, quickening whomever He chooses. As our head, He truly possesses it within Himself because He did not receive the Spirit by measure (John 3:34), which is the bond of union between Him and us (1 Corinthians 6:17). By holding onto Him, the head, we are filled with His fullness (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians
1:19). He is also a treasury of grace in a moral and legal sense, not only because "it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell" (Colossians 1:19), but also because the entire dispensation of grace is founded on His mediation.
(2) Once vested with this power, privilege, and fullness, He designates the Spirit to take from His fullness and actually bestow it upon us. "He will take what is mine and declare it to you" (John
16:15). The Spirit takes from the fullness that is in Christ and, in the name of the Lord Jesus, actually bestows it on those for whom He is sent to sanctify. More will be said later about the manner and almighty efficacy of the Spirit of grace in this actual conferring of grace upon His chosen ones.
(3) As for actual grace, which is the power or influence enabling the saints to perform specific duties according to God's will, there is no need for further elaboration. What concerns our communion with the Lord Christ in this aspect is in proportion to what was previously discussed.
There is one more thing to note about these matters that have been mentioned. I will now proceed to explain the way in which we carry
on communion with the Lord Jesus in all these aspects. They can be considered in two ways: (1) in terms of their initial bestowal upon the soul, and (2) in terms of their continuation and increase, regarding the degrees of grace.
In the first sense, as to the actual communication of the Spirit of grace to the soul, raising it from death to life, the saints have no communion with Christ in that regard except through passive reception of that life-giving, quickening Spirit and power. They are like the dead bones in the prophet's vision; the wind blows on them, and they live. They are like Lazarus in the grave; Christ calls, and they come forth, with the call accompanied by life and power. This is not the specific focus of my discussion. Instead, I will focus on the second sense, which pertains to the further efficacy of the Spirit and the increase of grace, both habitual and actual. It is through this that we become more holy, more empowered to walk with God, and bear more fruit in obedience and success against temptations. In this aspect, (2) we have communion with the Lord Christ. I will now explain how and in what way we do this.
We continually view the Lord Jesus as the great Joseph, entrusted with the distribution of all the storehouses of the kingdom of heaven.
He is the one in whom the Father has pleased to gather all things together, so that everything may be dispensed from Him. All treasures, all fullness, and the Spirit without measure are in Him. In relation to our condition, we focus on this fullness in three particular aspects:
(1) We consider the preparation for the mentioned dispensation and the expiating, purging, and purifying efficacy of His blood. His sacrifice was not only for atonement but also for purification. The
apostle highlights this in Hebrews 9:13-14: "For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" His blood surpasses all the ceremonial purifications of the Old Testament. It has a spiritually purifying, cleansing, and sanctifying virtue in itself, as offered and poured out.
It is referred to as a "fountain for sin and uncleanness" (Zechariah 13:1), a fountain that is opened, prepared, virtuous, and efficacious in itself even before anyone approaches it, because it was poured out and appointed for that purpose. The saints recognize that they are still greatly defiled within themselves. Indeed, perceiving the defilements of sin is a more spiritual revelation than merely feeling its guilt. This follows every conviction and is commensurate with it.
Such revelations reveal the purity and holiness of God and His ways.
As a result, they cry out within themselves, "Unclean, unclean!" They are unclean in their nature, their person, and their conduct. They are covered in the filth of their defilements. By nature, their hearts are like a sink, and their lives resemble a dung heap. They also know that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God or find a place in the new Jerusalem. They realize that God's eyes are too pure to look upon iniquity. They cannot bear to look at themselves, so how can they dare to appear in His presence? What remedy can they use? In this situation, they turn their gaze to the purifying virtue of Christ's blood as the first remedy. It is able to cleanse them from all their sins
(1 John 1:7) and is the source from which flows all the purifying virtue that will ultimately remove all their spots and stains, make them holy and blameless, and present them as glorious to Him
(Ephesians 5:26-27). They meditate on this with faith, pondering it in their minds and spirits. Here, faith receives new life and vigor when a sense of their own unworthiness threatens to overwhelm it. A
fountain is opened—approach and behold its beauty, purity, and efficacy. This is the foundation of the work we long to see accomplished. A moment of communion with Christ by faith in this aspect is more effective in purging the soul and increasing grace than a thousand ages of self-effort.
(2) They view the blood of Christ as the blood of sprinkling. When they come to "Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant," they come to the "blood of sprinkling" (Hebrews 12:24). Merely considering the shedding of Christ's blood will not remove pollution. There is not only a shedding of blood (αἱματεκχυσία) necessary for forgiveness
(Hebrews 9:22), but also a sprinkling of blood (αἵματος ῥαντισμός) required for actual purification. The apostle describes this in detail, explaining how Moses sprinkled the blood of calves and goats, mixed with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, upon the book and the people as part of the law (Hebrews 9:19). He also sprinkled the tabernacle and its vessels. Under the law, almost all things were purified with blood. The earthly patterns had to be purified in this way, but the heavenly realities required better sacrifices (Hebrews 9:19-23).
Previously, the apostle compared the blood of Christ to the blood of sacrifices in terms of its procurement and purchase, but now he focuses on the blood as sprinkled for application to purification and holiness. He explains that the sprinkling was done by dipping hyssop in the blood of the sacrifice and then sprinkling it on the objects and people to be purified. This method was also used for the paschal lamb (Exodus 12:7). Therefore, David, in a recognition of the pollution of sin, prays to be "purged with hyssop" (Psalm 51:7). The use of hyssop specifically related to the uncleanness and defilement of sin is evident because, apart from the lamb sacrifice, there is no mention of sprinkling blood with hyssop in other sacrificial rituals. It was specifically associated with purification from uncleanness, such as in the case of leprosy (Leviticus 14:6) and other defilements
(Numbers 19:18). Although the latter purification is not performed with blood but with the water of separation, it is also typologically connected to the blood of Christ, which is the fountain for separation from uncleanness (Zechariah 13:1). In our case, this bunch of hyssop, in which the blood of purification was prepared for sprinkling on the unclean, corresponds to the free promises of Christ. The cleansing power of Christ's blood resides in the promises, just as the blood of sacrifices resided in the hyssop, ready to be applied to those who draw near. Thus, the apostle argues that receiving the promises leads to universal holiness and purity: "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God" (2
Corinthians 7:1). Therefore, the saints focus on the blood of Christ as it is in the promise, ready to be applied to purify their souls. It is through the blood of Christ that they are cleansed from all their sins
(1 John 1:7). Until now, this purifying blood, prepared and ready, has been somewhat distant from the soul. Although it was shed for the purpose of purging, cleansing, and sanctifying, and it is associated with the promises like the bunch of hyssop, the soul may not partake of it. Therefore, (3) they regard Him as the sole dispenser of the Spirit and all sanctifying and holy grace through His own Spirit. They recognize that He has been granted by His intercession the power to make effective all the fruits of His redemption for the sanctification, purification, and glorious holiness of His people. They know that this is actually accomplished through the Spirit, according to the countless promises given for that purpose. The Spirit is the one who sprinkles the blood of Christ on their souls, creates the holiness they long for, and becomes a well of water springing up to eternal life within them. In this state, they look to Jesus. Their faith is fixed on Him, expecting Him to give the Spirit for all these purposes. They
combine the promises with faith and thereby become actual partakers of all this grace. This is their way, their communion with Christ. This is the essence of a life of faith in relation to grace and holiness. Blessed is the soul that practices it. Such a soul will be like a tree planted by the waters, spreading out its roots by the river. It will not fear when heat comes, and its leaf will remain green. In a year of drought, it will not be anxious and will continue to bear fruit
(Jeremiah 17:8). Convinced individuals who do not know Christ or the fellowship of His sufferings attempt to manufacture holiness from their own resources. They try to accomplish it through their own strength. They start with their own efforts and follow with vows, duties, resolutions, and engagements, toiling at it all day long.
However, this usually ends in hypocrisy and apostasy. On the other hand, the saints of God, even at the beginning of their journey with Christ, acknowledge that they have three essential needs: (1) the Spirit of holiness to dwell in them, (2) a habit of holiness to be infused within them, and (3) actual assistance to perform all their works. They understand that without these, they cannot perform any act of holiness before the Lord, no matter how much might, power, and effort they exert. They recognize that they are insufficient on their own, that they can do nothing without Christ. Therefore, they look to Him, who is entrusted with a fullness of all these things on their behalf. By faith, they draw from Him an increase in what they lack. This is how the saints have communion with Christ in terms of their sanctification and holiness. They receive the Spirit from Him to dwell within them, the new principle of life that forms the foundation of all their obedience, and the actual assistance required for every duty they are called to fulfill. They spend their lives and time with Him in waiting, expectation, and reception of these blessings, based on the reasons mentioned earlier. To seek help from other sources is in vain. To exert strength in pursuing righteousness without these blessings is futile. Fix your soul here, and you will not be put to