Book III
The corruption of man s whole nature, and of all the faculties of his soul by sin ; and first of the depravation of the understanding, which is fall of dark
ness and blinded, so that it cannot apprehend spiritual things in a due
spiritual manner.
And the very God ofpeace sanctify you wholly : and I pray God your whole
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I THES. V. 23.
CHAPTER I.
The words of the text explained. That all the faculties of the soul, even the
mind, are wholly corrupted, proved from the expressions concerning it in
Scripture, and from the equal extent both of sin and grace.
THESE words have no coherence or dependence with the foregoing, for the
conclusion of the epistle doth begin with them. They are a prayer for the
working and perfecting that sanctification in them unto which he had ex
horted, and which God had begun to work. Concerning which you have
these things.
1. The author of this sanctification, God, to whom Paul prays to work and perfect it. And in prayer believers use to suit their invocation to God,
according to the nature of the blessing they seek for. James i. 5, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, ver. 17, the Father of lights. So
if we pray for mercy and comfort, then we are to call upon God, as the Father
of mercies and God of all consolation, as Paul doth, 2 Cor. i. 3, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Yet still we are to use such expressions, both as motives to move God out of his fulness to bestow what we ask, and as a
strengthening to our own faith. And accordingly here in the text, when Paul asks sanctification at God s hands, he looks up to him as the God of
peace. Sin is nothing else but a disorder and confusion of all the powers of our souls, whereby they are turned rebels, and .will not be subject to God : Horn. viii. 7, Because the carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. And these powers of our
souls are also turned enemies one to another. Hence there is in our souls a
confusion, an dxaraffraff/a, James iii. 16, so that lusts war in our members. James iv. 1,
i From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come
they not hence, even of your lusts, that war in your members ? Whereas now sanctification puts all into their right order again, and so causeth peace ; and that kingdom where it comes, and is set up, is peace and righteousness : Rom. xiv. 17, For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but right eousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. As the end of other king doms is by laws to put subjects in order, and to bring them to and to keep
126 AN UNREGENERATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK III.
them in peace, so it is the end of grace and righteousness also ; therefore he
desires God to shew himself such a God, a God of peace, in sanctifying them
throughout more and more, by putting all the powers of the soul into their
right frame and order. For so,
2. You have expressed the subject of this sanctification in its full extent, not themselves only, but everything in them ; expressed first in general, not simply to sanctify you, but throughout, oXoVeXs/c, which is more than
6Xog, for it seems to signify not only totus homo, the whole man, but totum
hominis, the whole of man, all in man ; also it signifies sanctifying them to
the end 0X05 riXo;. Then, secondly, he expresseth the subject of this sancti
fication, particularly by an enumeration of the particular and chief parts of which man s nature consists,
* spirit, soul, and body ; for as the whole man
is usually divided into soul and body, which division, to be true, death proves, so he divides that which we call the soul into soul and spirit, which division, to be right, the word of God makes good
: Heb. iv. 12, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Piercing to the
dividing of soul and spirit. By soul he means those inferior faculties and
powers of the mind, the internal senses and affections, fancy, anger, desire,
&c., which, being the more gross part, common to beasts; and the other,
being more sublime, viz. the judgment, conscience, &c., these he terms
spirit. Even as those more sublime, active, nimble parts of the body which run in our bloods and cause all the motion in us, we call spirits, in compari son of the rest of the body, though they are parts of it ; so this more sublime
part of the soul, wherein we partake with angels, is called, in comparison of the other, the spirit of the mind : Eph. iv. 23, And be renewed in the
spirit of your mind. Where it is put for a part of the mind, and not for
anything superadded, as, I confess, sometimes spirit is taken for those sparks of moral light and virtues in the conscience and will. But here spirit signi
fies that natural power of the mind which is the strength and quintessence of
it. Neither, thirdly, doth he content himself with reckoning thus up all the
parts in a threefold division, but because every one of these contain many
particulars in them, as the spirit hath in it the understanding, memory, judgment, conscience, &c., the body many members ; therefore to shew that
all in every one of these are to be sanctified, he adds another word, that
your whole spirit, 6Xo?cXj9ov, tola sors, every portion of it, as it signifies, which words are fis full as can be imagined to express that the whole man,
body, soul, and all, and everything in man, is to be sanctified and restored ; the want of which integrity that ought to be in them all, he says, is a sin, and blameworthy, therefore he adds
* that they may be kept blameless. So
that there are two doctrines which naturally and principally arise out of
these words.
Obs. 1. That every part and faculty of soul and body in a man un-
sanctified are wholly and throughout corrupted and defiled, for else they needed not sanctification.
Obs. 2. That true sanctification is also universal. And these two doctrines may be proved by the same reasons. But I shall
(as my method leads me) speak only to the first.
Now, as I have shewed before, that this corruption is universal in regard of all sin, or that all sin is in every man s nature, so now I am to prove that
this corruption is in all parts of our nature ; for this is a differing conside
ration from the other, as it is one thing to have all diseases, and another
thing to have all parts diseased, which may be so by but one disease.
CHAP. I.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 127
1. We have a clear proof for this from the testimony even of the pharisees themselves, who though they were much corrupted in judgment, in regard of
discerning into man s corruption, thinking and teaching lust to be no sin,
yet it may seem there was in them a relic and glimpse of the total corrup tion of every man s nature, by a speech which they cast out concerning the man born blind : John ix. 34,
* They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us ? Thou wert alto
gether, 0X0?, born in sin. This indeed they seem only to apply unto such, whom in their birth God had branded with some defect, as he had this man with
blindness, yet we may justly take it from those extenuators of corruption, as a remainder of that truth which from their forefathers had been derived to
them, but which they had corrupted, and limited only to such, as unto whom some mishap had befallen in their birth. Now I cite this to prove, not that men are born in sin, but that the whole man, 0X0$, is so.
2. We have plain scriptures which evidence it.
1st, It is called the old man. Why ? Because it overspreads every part in man ; it is not called the old understanding only, or old will, but the old man, because all the powers and parts that go to make a man are tainted with it, and therefore ail things do become new, when a man is regenerated : 2 Cor. v. 17,
l Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away ; behold, all things are become new ; that is, all
in a man s nature. All things were old, corrupted, and naught, and there
fore all becomes new. And to this purpose it is observable (which is observed by some) that the Scripture, speaking of the subject of this corrup tion, speaks not as of the person of men only, but of the faculties in man, as implying not totus homo, the whole man only, but totum hominis, all that
is in man : Gal. iii. 22, But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that be
lieve. The Scripture (says he) hath shut up all, ra <7rdvra, all things under
sin ; so that the word implies not only all men, xdvreg, but all things in man. So likewise Christ expresses it, John iii. 6, That which is born of the flesh
is flesh ; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. He doth not only say, that he that is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the
flesh is flesh, TO ysysvrjfAsvov, there being not that thing in man, who is born of flesh by fleshly generation, but is corrupted. And therefore,
2dly, We find all parts in man termed flesh. So the mind of the most acute knowers (for of such he there speaks) is termed, Col. ii. 18, Intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.
It is a mind of flesh. And answerably that wisdom, whereby in our walk
ing we are guided, is termed wisdom of the flesh : 2 Cor. i. 12, For our
rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and
godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world. Nay, the conscience, which seems least to be corrupted, is yet said to be defiled : Titus i. 15, But unto them that are defiled and unbelieving, is nothing pure ; but even their mind and con science is defiled. And now these are the noble parts of the spirit ; and as these, so the will is of the flesh also: Eph. ii. 3, Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. It is rh SsX^/xara rr,g adoxo:, xai ruv 6/ai/o/wv, the wills of the flesh and of the mind. And in another scrip ture the will of the Gentiles is flatly opposed to the will of God : 1 Peter iv.
2, 3, That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our lives may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasci-
? S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK III.
128 AN UNREGENERATE MAN
viousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banqueting, and abominable
idolatries. Where the apostle persuades them to live no longer to the
* working the will of the Gentiles, but to the will of God. And our affections also are called the lusts and
lusts of men, which, ver. 3, is interpreted
passions of the flesh : Gal. v. 24, And they that are Christ s have crucified
the flesh, with the affections and lusts. And 1 Peter ii. 11, Dearly beloved,
I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. And these make up that which in my text is called
soul. And last of all, the flesh or body is said to be corrupted and filthy, as well as the spirit or soul ; so 2 Cor. vii. 1,
* Having therefore these pro mises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. And sin is said to reign in the body
: Rom. vi. 12, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof ; which is taken as distinct from
the soul, for it is added mortal, which the soul is not. And if we look on
all the members of the body, they shew their corruption, they being fit
weapons for unrighteousness, even all the members of the body. The eyes are full of adultery
: 2 Peter ii. 14, Having eyes full of adultery, and
that cannot cease from sin : beguiling unstable souls : an heart they have
exercised with covetous practices ; cursed children. The tongue is a world of evil : James iii. 6, And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity ; so is the tongue amongst our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature ; and it is set on fire of hell. The feet are swift to shed blood, and the throat an open sepulchre : Rom. iii. 13-15, Their throat is an open sepulchre
: with their tongues they have used deceit : the poison of asps is under their lips ; whose mouth
is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood. To
conclude, they are said to be full of all unrighteousness, full of all readiness
to evil : Acts xiii. 10, full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the
right ways of the Lord ? He doth not speak of the fulness of actual sin, as a tree is said to be full of fruit, as the phrase is used, Rom. i. 29, Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, mali ciousness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers. But here in Acts xiii. 10, the fulness is understood, tanquam plenitudo vasts, as a vessel is full of liquor. Elymas his soul and body was full of readi ness to evil, which denotes inward dispositions thereunto. Neither doth he
(as there he speaks of it) call it a fulness in regard of all the parts of un
righteousness only, for that is after added besides, full of all unrighteous ness ; not only all readiness to evil, but full of all. And therefore in this
regard onr depraved nature is compared to a corrupt tree, whereof we know both root, and branch, and bark, and all to be poisoned if the tree is so : Mat. vii. 17, 18, Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but
a> corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. And so is
every sprig and faculty in man that brings forth any act or motion, as fruit, be it the understanding, will, &c. ; all is corrupt, bark and body, and all. And this sin in our nature is called d^a^r/a luTsg/craroj, that which begirts
all our faculties : Heb. xii. 1, Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Now for the reasons and demonstrations of this truth, that every part in man is corrupted and infected by sin, and so ought to be sanctified.
CHAP. I.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 129
First, In general. The dominion and extent of power, both of grace and
sin, are commensurate; and their dominions are of equal compass ; and where
they come they give laws to every member and subject that which is within
their dominions, for both are said to reign, and both are of a spreading nature over all. Grace is compared to leaven, because it leavens the whole
: Mat. xiii. 33, The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. And sin and corruption of nature is compared to leaven also : Gal. v. 7-9,
lump
* Ye did rnn well ; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth ? This persuasion cometh not of him that called you. A little leaven leaveneth
the whole lump. 1 Cor. v. 6, 8, Your glorying is not good. Know ye not
that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump ? Therefore let us keep the
feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness ; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Grace, where it
comes, comes in as life, and as the soul doth into the body, and informs all
in that body it comes into, and accordingly we see all parts to live in a living man; and, on the contrary, this corruption of our nature is as death, which
is as general also as life, for it is the privation of it. And habitus et privatio versantur circa idem, the habit and privation belong to the same sub
ject. But,
Secondly, More particularly to demonstrate this. If habitual grace and
sanctification was seated in every part of the first Adam, and of the human nature of Christ, and begins to be in every faculty of a regenerate man, then
is every faculty by nature corrupted. The consequence is strong, not only for the reason before given in general, that grace and sin are of a like extent, but more particularly it may be demonstrated from them severally. 1. If grace begun reacheth to every part of a regenerate man, then did sin
before corrupt all ; for that sanctification is but the restoring of every part to its health and integrity again. Now, if any part were whole, it would not need the physician nor cure.
2. That sin is thus seated in every part, may be proved by experiment, drawn from the state of a regenerate man. We feel that there is a combat
against the work of grace in every part ; darkness and unbelief in the under
* Lord, I believe, help my unbelief,
standing fights against light and faith :
says that poor man in the Gospel, Mark ix. 24. Grace in the will fights against sin in the will ; the flesh in the will lusteth against the spirit in the
* For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other ; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. I say, in the will ; for the apostle infers from what he had said, that thence it was that they could not do the
will : Gal. v. 17,
things which they would. It is not a fight of one faculty against another, but of the same faculties against themselves, and this through the whole man.
3. The consequence is also strong, that if the grace which was in Adam, when innocent, did reach to every part of his nature, then that sin, after he had fallen, hath the same extent; for the corruption of our natures is but the privation of that grace which was in him, and therefore is in every part wherein that grace was. Privatio est in eodem sabjecto in quo habitus : pri vation is in the same subject wherein the habit was before.
4. The consequence is strong too, that if in the nature of Christ grace was in every part of it, then sin is so in our natures ; for the end of Christ s
assuming and sanctifying our natures was to condemn sin in the flesh: Eom.
* For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
viii. 3,
VOL. X. I
130 AN UNREGENERATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK III.
sin in the flesh ; that is, by sanctifying our nature in his person, and by the righteousness of that his nature he takes away the sin of ours, and there was no part of that his nature which he sanctified to any other end : John
xvii. 19, And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be
sanctified through the truth. And in this Romans viii. says the apostle at
verse 2, The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. He had complained in chapter vii. of a law
of sin in his members, which would be there to his dying day; now, says he, my comfort is that a contrary law of grace and life was in Christ to take away
the guilt of it. So that every part in Christ being sanctified with a law of
life, was to take away the law of sin in every part of us. Now, it remains
to be proved that every part of human nature in Adam and in Christ was
sanctified, and also that every part of it in a regenerate man begins to be made holy. This I demonstrate two ways.
First, You shall see how the one follows from the other, so as if it be true
of any it is true of all.
Secondly, I will give the general reasons for it.
1. I say, the one follows necessarily upon the other ; for,
1st, If every part in a regenerate man be sanctified, then every part of human nature was sanctified in Adam, and e contra; for it is the same image that is restored and created anew which was created at first, only with this
difference (as one observes), Adam was
6">.Z>$, sanctified, but not oXorgXw; ; but we, though not oXug, that is, wholly and perfectly, yet oXorsXwc, that is, to the end. Now, that every part in a regenerate man is sanctified, appears by that common experiment, which yet is peculiar to regenerate men, that
there is a combat in every part between flesh and spirit, seated in all the
faculties, as I proved before.
2dly, If every part of human nature was sanctified in Christ, then it is so
* For
in us, and e contra; for he took flesh to sanctify us: John xvii. 19,
* For both he that
their sakes I sanctify myself; and Heb. ii. 11, 14, 17,
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one : for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is, the devil. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto
his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. It is
said of Christ and us there, that he who sanctifieth and we that are sancti
fied are of one, that is, of one nature in every part ; for, ver. 17, we are said
to be like in all things. He took our nature, and every part of it, to sanctiy
it, that we might be made partakers of his sanctification, and so might be
of one, agree and be alike to him ; and that there might want no part in his
sanctification, he wanted no part of our nature. And even in this sense we may understand that scripture in Eph. i. 23, of Christ s filling all in all ; he fills all in all his children from his own fulness. Now he is full of grace and truth : John i. 10,
* He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. And he took our natures to sanctify them, and therefore all he took was sanctified ; therefore he is called that
* The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
: Luke i. 85,
holy thing
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore also that holy thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.
2. Now, I shall assign the reasons which may evince that grace was and
is seated in Christ and Adam, in and through every part of them, and so
ought to be in us.
CHAP. I.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 131
1st, Because God hath made all in man to glorify himself, not as other
creatures only, but by shewing forth those virtues and graces which he
stamped on man above all other works of his hands : 1 Cor. vi. 20, Glorify God in your body, and spirit too ; Ps. ciii. 1, Bless the Lord, my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name. God therefore gave abili
ties at first to man thus to glorify God in his whole soul ; for as we cannot
love him till he love us, so neither can we glorify him unless he implant in
every faculty holiness and grace first, whereby we have abilities to do so.
2dly, The whole nature of man, and every part of it, in its pure and right
constitution, was made subject to the law of God, and therefore was entirely
holy. And therefore thus was the entire nature of Adam and of Christ con
stituted, for indeed if anything had been in Adam and Christ not subjected to the law, it had been enmity to God ; for that is the reason which the
apostle gives of the carnal mind s being enmity against God : Rom. viii. 7,
* Because the carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. But now there being nothing of
this enmity neither in Adam, while innocent, nor in Christ, no part in them was lawless. And this is evident too from the word of God s judging every creature in man : Heb. iv. 12, 13, For the word of God is quick and
powerful, and sharper than any two-eged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that
is not manifest in his sight : but all things are naked and opened unto the
eyes of him with whom we have to do. And everything in man which is thus tried and judged by the word, ought to be agreeable and subject to it
in its first original frame. And it is yet more clearly proved if we consider
that when Christ declares the sum of the law, he reckons up all in man : Mark xii. 29, 30,
* And Jesus answered him, The first of all the command ments is, Hear, Israel ; The Lord our God is one Lord : and thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. Lest
anything should be left out, Christ adds, with all thy strength. If this, then, be the law, as Christ says it is, then this law was originally written in the whole soul, and every part of it, in Adam, and so in Christ too, of whom it
is said, that the law was in his heart, Ps. xl. 8. And what is indeed the
sanctification of the understanding and will but the writing of the law there, which God promises to do under the new covenant? Jer. xxxi. 33, But this
shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel : After those
days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in
their hearts ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Now, to
write the law in the heart, is to put such dispositions in whereby a man may live according to it. And thus the law was written on all in man in his pri mitive condition ; and now, alas ! since his fall, the contrary law of sin is written upon all in his heart.
3dly, God hath made and ordained spiritual objects and acts for every
faculty of soul and body, and therefore he gave to Adam at first answerable
spiritual dispositions in all his faculties, for between every faculty and its
object there must be a suitableness ; and as the natural man receives not
the things of the Spirit, for, says the apostle, they are spiritually discerned, 1 Cor ii. 14, so neither can any faculty, if not sanctified, be in a spiritual manner carried to or be conversant about spiritual things. Therefore if God did provide spiritual objects for all in man, then surely he put spiritual dis
positions into all those powers of his soul. Now, that God did provide
spiritual objects for every faculty, is easy to be demonstrated by all the par-
132 AN UNREGENERATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK III.
ticulars. For the understanding, there are things of the Spirit; for the will,
spiritual good things; for conscience, spiritual motives, &c.
4thly, God made all in man capable of glory, therefore he made everything in man holy; for since God would glorify all that is in man, so that even so much as our bodies shall be made like his glorious body, Philip, iii. 21,
all in man must therefore be sanctified ; for indeed no vessel is capable of
glory till it be prepared, Kom. ix. 23, and made meet, Col. i. 13. And
therefore since the understanding, will, memory, and all shall be glorified,
all these powers of the soul must be first sanctified. And therefore now
grace and holiness being introduced into every faculty of the soul, shews
that all in man is infected with sin, since the disease and the remedy are of
equal extent.