Chapter IX
That Christ s person, as Son of God, in one person with the man Jesus, is the prime object of faith, and taught by the Father, as the truth is in Jesus.
To evidence that Christ s person, as the Son of God in one person with the man Jesus, is the great object of our faith, two things are to be con sidered :
1. That the spirits of the first believers on Christ were generally taught by God, and carried out to him, to receive, obtain, close with him as such ; that is, under the apprehension of his person, Son of God, and God-man (which properly is called his person), not God simply in his divine nature
singly considered, but God manifest in flesh, or the Son of God made flesh. You heard before the Baptist s confession, who was the leader on unto this distinct faith on him in this particular, as also the confession of the apostles, even long before Christ s ascension.
CHAP. IX.] OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 185
Other particular instances may be given ; as you find this to have been
at the bottom of Martha s faith, when Christ himself ransacked and searched
into it : John xi., Christ puts her faith to it by way of question, ver. 25, 26,
1 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life : he that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and
believeth in me, shall never die. Believest thou this ? But she answers
not in let-minis and directly: ver. 27, She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I
I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into
the world. She brings forth the very bottom of her faith, and ground of
all, the chief, the primary thing which she believed about him, which car
ried all the rest. She utters what lay most near her heart. Thus also
unbelieving Thomas, when his faith had obtained a resurrection, upon occa
sion of Christ s being risen from the dead (whereby he was declared to be
the Son of God, and God, Rom. i. 3, 4), whither runs his faith thereupon ?
My Lord, and my God, John xx. 28. The eunuch heard Philip expound
to him the 53d chapter of Isaiah, which treats of Christ s being a Saviour,
and bearing our sins : Acts viii. 32, 33, The place of Scripture which he
read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter ; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. In his humiliation
his judgment was taken away ; and who shall declare his generation ? for
his life is taken from the earth. This text must needs lead Philip to
preach Jesus to him as a Saviour for sinners ; but he beginning (as it is
there said) but with that scripture, proceeded to add many more : ver. 35,
< Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and
preached unto him Jesus. And whereas there was but one passage in that
which he read that gave occasion to preach him to be the Son of God, viz.,
Who shall declare his generation ? or whose Son he was ; yet that neces
sarily fell in, and deciphered who the person was that was to be the Saviour. Now observe how the eunuch s faith took hold of that above all other ; for
when Philip told him, ver. 37, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou
mayest be baptized, the eunuch s heart tells us what it was above all other
which his whole soul closed in with ; and that was, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. And yet we may well suppose that Philip s dis
course had run mainly upon his being a Saviour, and his bearing our sin,
for it was the main argument of the text, which the eunuch gave him to
expound, and sure he kept to it : He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb dumb before the shearer ; which the Baptist referred to in
his Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world, John i. 29. But the Spirit of God did (we see) set that other character
of his person, which the Baptist also gave him, Jesus Christ, the Son of
God.
But to give over the pursuit of any more single instances, let us see the
universal effect of this doctrine, both in the Baptist s ministry, and of the
apostles , upon the whole lump, body, and generality of believers. What
* The
the effect of John Baptist s ministry was, is prophesied of Isa. xl. 3,
voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God ; which is undeniably
applied by three evangelists to mean, that that Lord and God, to make way
for whom in men s hearts that preparation was, is evidently our Lord Christ,
as appears in the same evangelists. And what was the issue and conse
quent of it, that Christ coming and preaching after John ? The glory of
the Lord (Christ) was revealed; and all flesh (that is, believing flesh, whose eyes Satan had not blinded) saw it together ; that is, they all enter-
188 OF THE OBJECT AND ACTS [BOOK II.
tained him by faith, as their Lord and their God (as Thomas professed him), when he began to manifest his glory, John ii. 11. Then again, what was the effect of the apostles ministry, who, after Christ s ascension, were sent forth to preach him ? It follows in the same
prophecy, Isa. xl. 9 : Zion, thatbringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain ; Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength
: lift it up, be not afraid : say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God. This gospel message was, Behold your God ! that
is, your Christ, who is your God, Son of God in his person, the ruler, the rewarder, in whom is eternal life, and the shepherd of his people
: ver. 10, 11, Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him ; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. The voice of the crier, the Baptist, had cried him up, Behold the Lamb of God ! the Son of God; and the eminentest message which the apostles delivered, was, Behold your God ! that is, we preach a Saviour unto you, who is God. So they preached, and so they believed that heard them : 2 Cor. iv. 5, 6, For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord ; and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ. In the face, that is, in the person of Jesus Christ, who
is God, and the image of God, ver. 4. And when the veil was taken off from all nations, and specially when it shall be taken off from the few*
(which in the 3d chapter, ver. 15, 16, afore, he had applied the prophecy of Isaiah unto), Oh, how will they stand astonished at the faith and revela tion of this very thing, that the person of their Messiah, they so long waited
for, proves to be their God, Isa. xxv. 7. When the veil shall be taken off from all nations, &c., then, ver. 9, It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him. Oh, wonderful (will they say), this Messiah we waited so for, is our God ; he is so in his person, he will save us ; he is our Saviour also, and his name is Jesus, that saves his people from their sins ; this is the Lord, and he will save us. God and Saviour, you see again, Son of God and Saviour joined ; and this is the faith of believers, this is he they believe upon, and this universally. What one saint is there distrusting it, or questioning it ? For it found the most
general acceptation in the hearts of believers, when he wrote to Timothy
: 1 Tim. iii. 16, And without controversy, saith he, or with one consent, great is the mystery of godliness
: God was manifest in the flesh, or made flesh ; justified in the Spirit
: i. e., his Godhead manifested in the resurrec tion ;
< preached to the Gentiles, and believed on in the world. This last is that which proves that Christ is God-man, Son of God in the flesh, and was, as such, the prime grand object of all the believers faith that were in that age of the world ; and he is the great mystery and foundation of all Christian religion ; and therefore under that notion and apprehension of him, made lively and real to our souls, it is that we must come to him. I have not alleged these places singly to prove that Christ is God, though they serve for it, but that as such he is the primary foundation of a believer s faith.
2. The second thing is (which I carry with me still along), that to teach and reveal to souls, that Christ is the Son of God, is the work of the * Qu. Jews ? ED.
CHAP. X.] OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 187
Father, which he doth in such a manner, as no human understanding doth
: this is express and
arrive at, nor can attain unto, without his teaching
recognised by our Saviour, as his seal of approbation, set to that confession
of Peter s, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God, Mat. xvi. 16. And Jesus answered, ver. 17, and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father
which is in heaven. It was a revelation which made him blessed, and
such as was peculiar to them that are saved, and which all that are saved
were to have ; and it had not been taught him by man, and by education
alone, &c., nor from his own natural understanding (by which men that
live under the knowledge of divine truths come to profess them, but without
the special revelation of the Father they cannot attain to the blessedness of
true faith), but wholly it was to be ascribed to the Father s revelation, which is there opposed to flesh, or fleshly ways, of discovery. And lastly,
it is the Father of Christ, his Son : My Father, saith Christ, hath
revealed this to thee, to whom principally this belongs, to reveal this point of all other, that I am his Son ; for he begat me, and he discovers me to them whom he means to bless.
* He is thy Lord, worship thou him, Ps.
xlv. 11. The point the Father instructs her in is, that Christ is her Lord, and means her God withal ( My Lord and my God, says Thomas, instructed
* worship thou him, evince ;
by the same hand), as the following words,
for it is God alone whom we are to worship.