Chapter V (continued, part 2)
: the eye of a man sees nothing, but by the image of the thing some way or other coming into it, and therefore now when you behold any man, if your eye be looked upon, there is the image of that man in your eye. Now if a
glass doth take that image (and a glass it is an artificial eye, as I may call
it, and the eye is a natural glass), I say, if a glass doth take in that image,
it beats it back again, and that is seeing a man in a glass ; whereas, if you see the man face to face, his image is conveyed immediately into your eye ; but go now and hold a glass before that man, and the same image which you received directly into your eye by seeing him immediately, is in the
glass, which if you behold, that image is reverberated or beaten back again to you. As an echo is your own voice beaten back again, so is a man s
image which you behold in a glass. And therefore it is the most lively way of seeing and beholding a thing that can be. Why ? Because you do not see a mere picture, but you see the man himself by a reverberated species, that is, by the likeness of him beaten back again to your eye. And thus, my brethren, doth the knowledge of Christ in the gospel, and in heaven, differ. In heaven, there you see him by sight. Why ? Because, as the
820 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. VI.
< we see him there face to face ; but in the gospel, we see him as in a glass, but still the same Christ, really represented in the glass of the gospel, above all pictures whatsoever, whom one day we shall see
apostle saith,
face to face in heaven. For the sight we have of Christ in the gospel, is not merely notional or literal, but it hath a reality in it ; and therefore we
are said to see the glory of the Lord in this glass. This glory could never have been painted, for the glory of Christ it must be beams shed imme
diately from himself, and to see Jesus Christ with his own beams, though shining in the glass of the gospel, is to see Christ himself. And therefore
you see how the apostles speak> as they compare the thing we see Christ
in, to a glass ; so they compare the faith we see him by, to sight plainly, Heb. ii. 8,
* We see Jesus crowned with glory and honour. Alas ! they had not eyes of their bodies to look up into heaven, but their sight of Christ was so lively, as he was represented in the glass of the gospel, that the
* we see Jesus crowned with glory and honour. So that, my brethren, suppose that you had a glass that did perpetually retain the
apostle saith,
image of an absent friend, suppose you had not only a picture of him, but a glass, that look what image he had when he looked upon it when he was
present, that image sticks in it still. What would you give for such a glass ? Some nations do use to keep their dead in a glass, which being artificially closed up, preserves them from stench ; but, alas ! it is but a dead friend
in a case of glass. But here is another artifice that Jesus Christ useth : he hath framed by his Spirit a doctrine of the gospel, which is delivered to us in the writings of the apostles, which doth retain a lively image of Jesus
Christ ; and if men, when they come to hear it preached, or when they look into it, bring the Spirit with them, they see the glory of the Lord there. But now you will say unto me, How can this be ? How comes this to
pass ? Is not the word preached, or read, or thought upon, not merely words, and so the picture of things, and of Christ, as all other stories of men are ? They are better, indeed, than emblems are ; the ceremonial law was nothing but emblems of Christ, but the gospel is a plain describing of him in words, but yet as he said, poetry and oratory is but the picture of
things, how should this word, written and preached, come to be a glass to
represent Christ thus lively ?
I will give you the reason of it, for the apostle doth it in that 2 Cor. iii.
4, he saith, that it is the ministration not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The gospel, my brethren, hath a Spirit lying hid in it, and which goes along with it ; and if the Holy Ghost did not accompany it to the heart of a believer,
it would but speak mere words of Christ, even as the law spake but mere
words. It would be but a mere letter, for, indeed, the gospel of itself is but the ministration of the letter to worldly and carnal men, whose eyes God doth not open (so saith the 4th verse of the 4th chapter of that 2d Co
rinthians), It is hid, saith he, to them that are lost, in whom the God
of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. But it is
called spirit, and there is a Spirit that doth accompany it, and as he saith, in Isa. lix. 21,
< the word and the Spirit shall not depart out of thy mouth. And the Holy Ghost thus accompanying all that is said of Christ and his
glory in the gospel, he createth (let me say it, for it is true) such apprehen sions of Christ, and of all the things spoken of him, which never entered
into the heart of any carnal man in the world. He createth a new light, by which you do really view Jesus Christ, although by faith, and though as in
a glass, yet a real sight you have of him beyond all the story of words and
hearsay whatsoever. It were indeed but the ministration of the letter, if
CHAP. VI.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 821
there were only but a verbal and hearsay knowledge of him. No ; but
whilst you read words in the Scripture, or hear but words in the preaching of the gospel, there is a spirit goes along with it, whose peculiar artifice it
is to make it to be as a glass, to see Jesus Christ in the doctrine of it, as
you see a man in a glass, and that sight is a lively and real sight of his
image. Whilst we do limn out Jesus Christ by words as well as we can
(for what we express is still but literal, in comparison of what a man, if he
be a believer, apprehendeth while it is expressed, and we are to use all the
art we can to express things to you ; whilst, I say, we are doing this), the
Holy Ghost, that dwelleth in the word, and dwelleth in the heart of believers,
begetteth such a real image of Christ by that which is spoken, that they behold the glory of the Lord as in a glass, and are changed into the same
image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. It is compared to the seeing in a glass, because there is a subsistence given by the Holy Ghost to the things spoken of, beyond all pictures, or words, or notions. And hence do but observe what follows in the text (which I shall afterwards more distinctly open) ; Which, saith he, is Christ in you, which
importeth thus much, that while that Jesus Christ is known by a believer
in the doctrine of the gospel, he becometh Christ in him ; he is not only known by him as a man knows the king, but he is known as when a man knows the sun, the beams of it coineth into his eye. So that the apprehensional knowledge that a saint hath of Jesus Christ by faith, the taking in of Christ by faith, is so real a thing that it is called Christ in a man. And I take that to be the meaning of that in Gal. iii. (which I shall further
* Till Christ be formed in you, and so Piscator
open anon), where he saith,
takes it.
I shall endeavour to make this further plain to you thus. You may see an imitation of this work of the Holy Ghost in this. Suppose there were a man standing two or three houses off from your house ; it is possible by the reflection of looking-glasses set one against another, to see the image of this man in a glass in your own room. Is the art of man able to do
this ? The art of the Holy Ghost is abb to do it much more. You see
Satan, what doth he do that is a spirit ? Whereas men can make but the
picture of a man, what can Satan do ? Absolutely he will make a man
appear before one as a man, in lively colours, not a bare picture. This
artifice Satan hath. My brethren, the Holy Ghost accompanying the
doctrine of the gospel, hath a further artifice : though you see not Christ
face to face (that is reserved for heaven), yet you shall see him in a spiritual
glass, you shall not only see him as described by words, but you shall have those lively, real apprehensions of him created in your mind (and you have
so, if Christ be in you), as puts down all the literal and hearsay knowledge in the world ; it is like the seeing of a man s image in a glass. And there
fore, now observe it, in that 2 Cor. iv. (for I have still recourse to that), the
apostle hints how it cometh to pass that you come to see thus by the Spirit. He gives the reason there, why that the gospel that is thus glorious is hid from the eyes of the world ; saith he of some, ver. 4, Whom the God of
this world hath blinded, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
is the image of God, should shine unto them. But how is that light wrought ? Read on. Ver. 6,
* 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. It is done, you see, plainly by a creation. He createth a light in the soul of a man, out of that dark ness that is in him. And without this, let a man stand under the gospel a VOL. iv. x
322 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. VI.
thousand years together, he would only know Christ by hearsay. But if the Spirit cometh and createth a light, this light shall carry the image of Christ to the soul, such an image of him as never entered into the heart of
any carnal man, though he knows never so much of the gospel. I shall make it plain by opening the apostle s comparison. Every beam of light always carries with it the image of that thing which it is the beam of. If
you do behold a little beam of the sun coming through a pin-hole in a dark
room, run to the beam, lay your eye to it ; that beam conveys to you the
image of the whole sun. So whenas there cometh a created light into a man s soul by the Holy Ghost, joining with the gospel which speaks of
Christ, he who is a believer, by his eye of faith taking in that beam of light, beholdeth Jesus Christ, that image of God, beholdeth the glory of Christ in the gospel thus described, in such a manner as no creature else is able to
apprehend. It is, I say, because the light of the glorious gospel is com manded to shine out of darkness. It is a light that is given ; so saith the
* He hath given us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ. And therefore now in Isa. Ix. 1, 2, 3, where he speaks of the glory of the gospel, which shall one day break forth to the
apostle,
Jews, he expresseth it in these very terms : Arise, saith he, for thy light
is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Whenas the light of the gospel cometh and shineth into a man s soul by the creation of the
Holy Ghost, the glory of the Lord cometh into him too ; he beholdeth the
glory of the Lord as in a glass. And hence, my brethren, it comes to pass, that a man doth see the Lord Jesus Christ really in the glass of the gospel. The understanding understandeth everything per phantasma, as we say, the
fancy of a man. Still when the understanding works to understand any
thing, the fancy of a man begets the image of the thing in his mind. When ever you hear a story told of a thing done in such a place, by such or such a person, still your fancy will be working the image of that thing or person in your mind, though it be a story told you never heard before ; for God hath appointed the fancy to give the mind a subsistence of what it under
standeth. Now when God cometh to reveal spiritual things, the fancy could never take them in, it could never give any subsistence to them, it hath no
images to make of them. What therefore doth God do ? He createth faith. And what is faith ? It is not phantasia, but hypostasia; it gives a subsistence
(so the apostle saith, Heb. xi.), a reality to the things we understand, even
as the image of a man in a glass is a real thing, it is a subsistence ; so God and Christ, they have a subsistence, a reality in a man s spirit. And hence, my brethren, it comes to pass, that the soul doth form up out of the gospel
glorious apprehensions of Christ, for as the gospel holds forth Jesus Christ
in his glory really, so by the help of the Spirit, the same image that is in
the gospel is begot in my heart of this Jesus Christ ; that is, real and
glorious apprehensions I have of him, which are wrought in me in and by the gospel, and according to what the gospel describeth of him. And as I
said afore, it is part of the apostle s meaning in^that place of the Galatians, when he tells them, I am in travail, till Christ be formed in you ; he doth not speak in respect of sanctificatkm, that he laboured to have the image of
Christ formed in them in that respect, for they were sanctified and had not
fallen from that ; but saith he, I endeavour, till such time as those appre hensions you have had of Christ, which you have lost, be formed in your hearts again, and that your understanding take him in aright.
So then to close up this first thing, of the glory of the gospel in respect
of the matter of it, here is the sum of all that that I have said. First, Here
CHAP. VI.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 323
is Jesus Christ ; lie is the image of God, the most glorious image of God
that ever was. Here is the gospel appointed to be a glass to represent this
glory of Christ, describing him not by words only and in a literal way, or
by a picture, but in a glass, lively and really, and so the gospel becometh
a glorious image of Christ; even as if you hold a glass to the sun, there is a
glorious image of the sun in the glass ; and hold your eye to that glorious image of the sun in the glass, and that image is begotten in your eye
: so
is it here, the gospel being the image of the glory of Christ, having the
Holy Ghost in it, the heart of a believer coming to it by faith, takes in all
that glory, so far as it is revealed to him, and so having further and larger apprehensions of Christ, he is formed in him, and as the gospel hath Christ s
image in it, so he hath Christ s image in his heart. So the apostle indeed
tells us, in that 2 Cor. iii. 18, We are changed into that image from glory to glory. To see a thing, my brethren, that is glorious, by its own light,
it always makes a glorious sight, a real sight. The least beam of Christ it
helps you to the sight of him, if it be a beam of himself. You may hear
of him by hearsay, as of other things, but if (as the apostle s expression is) there shine into your hearts but a beam from himself by his Spirit, it doth
convey the reality of Christ to you, it makes Christ to be in you, as the
text saith, although you do not see him face to face. If the sun were down
at this instant, if there were a glass that took in the beams of it above the
earth, I might always see the sun in that glass. So though Jesus Christ be in heaven now, yet the gospel being that glass in which the image of
Christ is, I may have a real and lively representation of him, so far as the
gospel reveals him. And so much now for that first thing, in respect of
the matter.
I will but add a comparison to shew you how much the glory of the
gospel exceedeth that of the law in this respect. Compare it either with
the moral law, or with the ceremonial law.
1. Go, take the moral law. Why ? The moral law it is a glass too, and a glass that revealeth God, or rather, what the image of the mind of God is. Yet it is merely a glass of the image of God in Adam s heart, it
is but a copy of the image of God in man, and so it is rather a glass to shew man to himself than God to him ; you have it in James i. (for it is
good to compare the similitudes the Scripture useth, one with another), If
any man be a hearer of the word, saith he, and not a doer, he is like to a man beholding his natural face in a glass, but he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was. Whilst you look into the law, you see what an image of God was once in you, and
by comparing yourselves with it, you see your own deformity now ; and
so I know not how far, by a remote consequence, you see what a holy God he is that gave such a law. But it is not a glass that representeth God, but a glass that representeth yourselves, and representeth that image that was in man by nature. And therefore the apostle calleth it only a dead
letter written upon stones, rather than a glass, when he makes a compari son of it with the glorious gospel.
2. Go, take the ceremonial law, that was joined to it, and that reveals more of the gospel, for indeed that was nothing else but gospel in shadows, and you shall find that, because it had gospel in it, it is called glorious too ; there is glory attributed to it more than to the moral law simply or alone considered. Hence the ark, which was Jesus Christ in a shadow, is
* To them belonged the adoption and the glory, namely, the ark. And so the
called the glory of Israel, in 1 Sam. iv. 22 ; and so in Rom. ix. 4,
324 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. VI.
* glorious high throne, in Jer. xvii. 12. And in 1 Kings
temple is called a
< The glory of the Lord filled it at the dedication. Yet what is
viii. 11,
all this now in comparison of the gospel, this gospel that is now revealed, the glass that we see Christ in ? The law is called glorious, only because, as if the sunshould shine upon a cloud in a rainbow, it took in the sun
that was arising before we saw it. All this in comparison of the gospel is but a shadow, it is but as the glory of the sun in a cloud ; but the gospel is a glass, that look as you would think, what a great deal of difference there
is between the seeing of a man in a glass, and seeing his mere shadow, such a difference is there between that knowledge of Christ which the cere monial law afforded, and this which the gospel now affordeth. You have
it expressly in Heb. x. 1. (Let us go up and down still, and examine the
* The law, saith he, having a shadow of good things to come (he speaks expressly of the ceremonial
Scriptures which speak to this comparison.)
* the very image of the things. It was so far off from having the image of it, saith he, that it had but the shadow of it. But now what saith he of the gospel ? We behold as in a glass, saith he,
law, for the moral law had it not), and not, saith he,
* the glory of the Lord. It is more than
shadow, nay, more than an image or picture, you see the thing in a reality. The glory of the Lord that filled that same first temple, what was it ? A
cloud, a mere mist, it was no more ; yet it is called the glory of the Lord. But what is it that appeareth in this glass ? Read Mai. iv. 2,
* The Sun of
righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings. He speaks of the
coming of Christ, for he was the last that prophesied, he had said at the 3d chapter, ver. 1 , The Lord shall suddenly come to his temple ; and
presently in chapter iv. he saith, that he is the Sun of righteousness that
shall arise with healing under his wings. Nay, further, that you may see how the Scripture still speaks in this language, the apostle, in Col. ii. 17,
speaking of the ceremonial law, saith, They are the shadow, which, saith
he, vanisheth when the body is come. You will say, the shadow doth never use to arise till the body comes. , Yea, but if the body be the sun itself, if
that come, all the other vanish ; so they did when the Sun of righteousness did arise. Hence therefore, in Hag. ii, 7, 9, it is said, that the glory of the second temple should be more than the first. Why ? Because Christ the Sun of righteousness is the glory of it. He is called the Glory of
Israel in the song of Simeon, Luke ii. 32. And the gospel is the glass in which we see this sun.
And so now I have done with this first thing, in respect of the matter of
it, that the gospel is thus glorious, because that Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of glory, shineth in it thus really, and clearly, and fully, as in a glass, and that compared with the knowledge that the Old Testament afforded. I
might also compare it with that knowledge which may be had by the crea
tures, which is a glass too, for you may behold God in the creatures ; but
the truth is, they hold forth merely the handiwork of God, you do not see God there as in a glass. But I will not stand upon that.
Secondly, The gospel is glorious in respect of the matter of it, because
the riches of the glory of God shineth in Christ revealed in this gospel. This is intimated too in that 2 Cor. iv. 6, where he endeth the discourse of
the glory of the gospel, He hath shined in our hearts, saith he, to give the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But to give you a scripture or two more for it in a word, 1 Tim. i. 11, I quoted it before,
to prove that the gospel is a glorious gospel, for so it is called there ; but mark what follows, it is called, the glorious gospel of the blessed God.
CHAP. VI. J GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 325
Observe that expression; there is a connection between those two, why he should give that attribute to God, when he calleth it his gospel, and a
glorious gospel. Why, it is not only a glorious gospel, because it holds
forth all the glory of God, but because it doth communicate ; and God s end in revealing it is to communicate his glory, and to make men blessed. And the plain meaning of it is this, as if he had said, the Lord, that great God, being so blessed in himself, having such riches of happiness and
glory in himself, he did so overflow, he did so overbound in himself, that he meant to make others happy with this happiness in himself, for he is God allsufficient; and being so full of blessedness, and his blessedness con
sisting in his own gloiy, he inventeth the gospel, contriveth in his own
glorious wisdom the great design of his Son Christ, in whom he would reveal himself, who is the subject of the gospel, that by revealing of it he
might communicate that blessedness unto others. He did it not only to hold forth his own glory, and to manifest how great a God he is, but he did it as a blessed God, that delighteth to communicate that glory unto others ; and he doth it by the gospel, that so as he was blessed in himself, he might by the gospel communicate his glory, and bless others. For, my brethren, look as envy ariseth in a sinful creature that is miserable, when he sees another happy, and he doth it naturally ; so doth the desire of
communicating what happiness one hath, arise in the heart of him that is
truly noble, and perfectly happy and blessed. And so it did in God. Am
I thus blessed in myself ? saith he ; I will have others blessed by me, to whom I will communicate this happiness and glory ; and he therefore inventeth this gospel, which is therefore called the glorious gospel of the blessed God.
Of all things God s mercy is his glory; and while you look upon the face of Jesus Christ, you there behold nothing but grace and mercy shine in the
gospel. We behold, saith he,
< the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, that as in the face of a man you behold his disposition toward you, so you see the disposition of God in the face of Christ, you see his mercy, you see his glory. Not a whit of this did shine in the law, not a whit of mercy or
free grace, and yet that is the glory of God. In Exod. xxxiii. 18, 19, 20, Moses there desired to see the glory of God : I beseech thee, saith he, shew me thy glory. Saith God, ver. 19, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. But how should all his goodness appear? Clothed all
in mercy ; for it follows, I will proclaim the name of the Lord before
thee, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. The law speaks not such a word ; no, my brethren, this is the very bottom of the gospel, the bottom of God s heart ; here is his glory, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. It is the glorious gospel of the blessed God, that being blessed in himself, thus resolveth to be gracious and good to poor creatures, to such sinners as we are. Moses had seen the
glory of God upon the mount ; he had seen the glory of God in delivering the law in a great deal of state ; after all this, Lord, saith he,
* let me see
thy glory. What is God s answer ? I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, &c. Here is my glory. And this glory shinethin the gospel, and if you will see it, look upon the face of Jesus Christ. You may see Jesus Christ s face in the glass of the gospel, and in that face you may see all this grace and mercy shine. And so I have done with the second thing, namely, the chief and principal matter of the gospel. It
revealeth, 1, Jesus Christ in his glory; and, 2, it reveals the glory of
826 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. VI.
God in the face of Jesus Christ; and all this as in a glass. I come now
to the third.
8. The things that the gospel communicateth and conveyeth are all
glorious. The apostle compares it with the law too in this respect, in that 2 Cor. iii. 6, 7, &c., God hath made us able ministers of the New Testa ment ; not of the letter, but of the Spirit
: for the letter killeth, but the
Spirit giveth life. If the ministration of the letter, written and engraven in
stones, was glorious, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather
glorious ? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the
glory that excelleth ; that is, the gospel. In the first place, he tells you that the gospel is the ministration of the
* It is not the ministration of the letter only, saith he,
Spirit of God.
* but the Spirit, and he meaneth the Holy Ghost plainly, for in the last
verse of that chapter he saith, that by beholding as in a glass the glory of
the Lord, we are changed into the same image, even by the Spirit of the
Lord, that is, by the Holy Ghost. Now do but lay these two things together. First, that the gospel only communicateth the Holy Ghost to you. And, secondly, that the Spirit is
a Spirit of glory upon whomsoever he resteth : and then the gospel must needs be, in respect of its communication, a glorious gospel. To make out both these to you.
First, Look, as when Jesus Christ was baptized, that excellent glory opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him ; so when the gospel is
preached, doth the Holy Ghost descend upon the elect, and look upon whom the Holy Ghost resteth, he is the Son of God. As he said to John, John i. 88, Upon whomthou shaltseethe Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he ; so it is here. In the primitive times, when they heard the gospel preached, the Holy Ghost did visibly, and apparently, and
instantly fall down upon them. And now he falls upon them so as to turn
their hearts, and to enable them to see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ,
which is more than falling down upon men in extraordinary gifts, simply considered, if there were nothing else. For to have the Holy Ghost to fall
upon a man so as to dwell in him for ever, to take possession of his heart, and to bring him to glory, is more than to have extraordinary gifts, which many had who never were saved. Now it is the gospel only which helps you to the Holy Ghost, and not the law. What saith the apostle in Gal.
iii. 2, This only I would learn of you, Eeceived ye the Spirit by the work of
the law, or by the hearing of faith ? No ; it was only by the hearing of
faith, only by the hearing of the doctrine of the gospel, that is, the doctrine bf faith, for that is meant by faith there, as in many other places of Scrip
ture. The law indeed, as the apostle saith, Eom. vii., is holy and spiritual, but it is not the conveyer of the Spirit ; though it be a spiritual thing, it is
but a spiritual letter, saith he, it is not the ministration of the Spirit itself, but so is the gospel. Now as the gospel only conveyeth the Holy Ghost to men, and the know
ledge of it, so the receiving of the Holy Ghost is to receive all glory. For the Holy Ghost will never rest till he hath glorified you fully and per
fectly. As Jesus Christ s work was to redeem you, so the Holy Ghost s work is to work all grace and glory into you ; therefore when you receive
the Holy Ghost you receive all glory in the seed and foundation of it. It
is the foundation of our union with Christ; they that are joined to the
CHAP. VI.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 327
Lord are one spirit ; it is by the Holy Ghost. To give you an express
* The Spirit of glory shall rest upon you. And the giving of this Spirit of the Holy Ghost unto you is more than all
scripture for it, 1 Pet. iv. 14,
grace and glory that ever you shall have. If you would ask now what is
the substantial glory of a man, that is the foundation of all his parts and
wit, and makes him capable of the glory the world puts upon him, without which he would lose all in an instant, what is it? It is his soul that dwelleth in his body ; take that away and he is a beast ; nay, take that
away and he is a dead carcase, he is sown in dishonour instantly as soon as
that is gone. Therefore, in Gen. xlix., the soul of man is called his glory, Into his secret, saith he, let not my glory enter. Now look, what the
soul is to a man, that is the Holy Ghost to a holy man. He is the founda
tion of all glory, of all grace. When he hath given you the Spirit, he hath
given you all the grace and glory in the foundation that ever you shall
have, for he will never leave you till he hath wrought you up to glory ; and the gift of him is the earnest of glory ; so he is called expressly in 2 Cor.
v. 5. Jesus Christ is the glory of the Lord to you objectively, but the Holy Ghost is all grace and glory efficiently, yea in heaven ; and when you receive him, you receive glory, because you receive a Spirit that will never
rest till he hath made you glorious ; and this Spirit you receive by the gospel, and by nothing else, by no knowledge else, either of the law or whatever else. Hence therefore the gospel that communicateth this is called a glorious gospel, in respect of what it ministereth ; for, saith he, if the ministration of the
letter was glorious, which did give nothing else but the literal knowledge of the law in men s heads, then the ministration of the Spirit is much more
glorious. That is the first thing the apostle saith. The second thing the apostle saith here in this 2 Cor. iii. is, in respect of a righteousness which the gospel doth convey. You shall find it at the 9th verse of that chapter, If the ministration of condemnation be glorious, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. By righteousness here he means the righteousness of justification clearly. Why ? Because he doth oppose it to condemnation. He doth not mean the righteousness of sanctification ; no, he means the righteousness where by we are justified, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why, saith he, what doth the law do ? Alas, saith he, the law, although it be a
glorious thing, for it reveals the image and mind of God, yet it doth but shew you your own unrighteousness, and leaveth you where it found you. A man sees his own face as in a glass, and soon forgets what image he had, sees his spots and deformity, and sees the sentence of death written in his own countenance, and in the threatenings of the law. He sees himself look like a dead man, guilty of death, and that is all the law holds forth.
But, saith he, the gospel is the ministration of righteousness, and that
righteousness is glorious, and therefore the gospel is such which ministereth
it ; for that is the thing he aims at. Will you know what righteousness it is ? Why it is the righteousness of Christ ; and in the last verse of that 3d chapter of the Corinthians, that
righteousness of Christ is called his glory clearly ; We behold, saith he, as in a glass the glory of the Lord. As he means the personal glory of
Christ, so he also means his holiness and righteousness for justification. How prove you that ? Because it is that into which we are changed into the same image by beholding it. For whilst a man eyes Christ to be justi fied by him, look what righteousness he lays hold upon by faith, the image
of that righteousness is wrought in his heart. And therefore the apostle
328 A DISCOUKSE OF THE [CHAP. VI.
here speaks in a more special manner of the righteousness of Christ, which the gospel is the ministration of; it is a ministration of righteousness, and of the glory of the Lord, saith he. Now then do but think what a glorious righteousness the gospel reveals and offers to men. It is the righteousness of Christ, and the righteous ness of Christ must needs be glorious. Why ? He is the Lord of glory. The righteousness of the angels is not glorious in this respect, They are
glorious creatures, but they are not lords of glory. When you speak of the will of a king, what do you call it ? His royal pleasure. If you speak of a message he sendeth, what is it ? A gracious message, be it what it
will be. Why ? Because you put these titles upon his person, therefore you put the same upon whatsoever he doth or thinketh. This is the manner of men. My brethren, Jesus Christ is the Lord of glory. Did he work upon a trade as a carpenter ? It was a glorious action, it was a
glorious part of that righteousness which he performed in obedience to his Father ; for he was the Lord of glory, and therefore I say his righteousness is called, The glory of the Lord. But besides this, it is glorious also in another respect, viz., because he, to perform this righteousness, and in performing of it, laid all his glory down, and therefore it is as much worth as the glory he left. His death is valued at the rate that the life which he might have led in heaven is worth.
They crucified the Lord of life, saith he. And the obedience he per formed hath the value and the stamp upon it of that glory he might have had. He was equal with the Father in glory, and in all things else ; and he emptied himself of it all, laid it all aside, and took upon him the form of a servant, and became obedient even to the death. His righteousness is therefore a glorious righteousness, because it is to be valued by that
glory he laid aside, and might have had, to perform it ; so much as he forewent to do it, so much it is to be valued at. God the Father was
s nsible of it. Father, saith he, glorify me, as I have glorified thee on earth ! I will give you one scripture more for it, it is in John i. 14, We saw his glory, as the glory of the only begotten Son of God. What was that glory? In a special manner his grace and, holiness. How do you prove that ? It follows in the text, Full of grace and truth. Now, my brethren, it is the gospel that doth communicate to sinners, to men con demned to die everlastingly of themselves in hell, all this righteousness of the Lord of glory makes it theirs. If they get but this righteousness upon their
backs, what glorious creatures, think you, must they be ! Yet it is the
gospel that communicateth it to them, and puts it on, through the Holy Ghost by faith, as the apostle in Gal. v. 5, We through the Spirit wait
for the hope of righteousness by faith. In Rev. xii. 1, you have a woman clothed with the sun. Is not here a glorious clothing ? What is that sun ? It is the Sun of righteousness ; it is the Lord made our righteous ness ; it is the Lord Jesus Christ and his glory ; it is his righteousness which a man is clothed withal. Is not this a glorious gospel then, that doth not only shew you the glory of this Sun, but wrappeth you about with the beams of it, clotheth you with it ? The angels are poor, beggarly creatures, that is the truth of it, as we may so speak, to* a poor sinner clothed with this righteousness. The text saith, Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like to the lilies of the field ; so the angels in heaven, in all their
glory, are not clothed like one sinner here upon earth, that is clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This Sun of righteousness was never * That is, in comparison with. ED.
CHAP. VI.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 329
put upon their backs, not to be righteousness to them. He is a means of
conveying grace and good to them, but to be the Lord our righteousness, so he is only to sinners ; and thus he is only revealed and communicated
in the gospel. What is it that makes you glorious in God s eyes ? It is not your own inherent grace, in any comparison; it vanisheth, it is nothing. No ; it is your being clothed with Christ, with this Sun, this is it which makes the foulest creature, an ugly toad (for so a sinner is of himself), thus glorious in the eyes of God. A wife shineth with her husband s
beams, and so doth every believer with the righteousness of Christ. As the moon shineth with a borrowed light that the sun clotheth her with ; and her own entire light, without that of the sun s (as you see it in an
eclipse), it looks like the bottom of red brass, such is your own inherent
righteousness if Jesus Christ take his away from you. But take the moon out of an eclipse, when she is clothed with the light of the sun, what a
glorious creature is she ! So is every believer when he is clothed with this Sun of righteousness.
Thirdly, When a soul is thus, by means of the gospel, clothed with his
glorious righteousness, which the gospel revealeth, he is able, with open
face, to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Whenas Moses his face did shine, which was a type of the law, they could not behold the glory of it, there was a terror in it ; it was the glory of a judge condemning which did shine in Moses, for he had the law in his hands. But when the Holy Ghost hath once communicated to you, and you come
by faith to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and appear before God, then you dare (as the text saith) with open face behold and look God in the face. Why ? Because you behold the glorious mercy and favour of God in the
face of Jesus Christ, which is called the light of his countenance, that is lift
up upon you too ; that as the favour of a man is seen in his looks, shines more there than in all other parts of his body, so is the glory and the
mercy of God, it is seen in his face, even in the face of Christ. Therefore
in Psalm xc. 16, the favour of God is called his glory
: Let thy glory, saith he, be upon thy servants. This the gospel revealeth to you ; you behold the glory of God, that is, his favour, in the face of Jesus Christ.
Fourthly, The gospel doth not only thus convey the Holy Ghost to you, to dwell in you for ever, clotheth you with this righteousness, enableth you with open face to behold God and the more glorious God is, when you see him nothing but love and favour, you will never be dazzled with that
sight ; that is the reason you are not terrified, because all his attributes
appear in love ; God is love, saith the apostle I say the gospel doth not only do all this, but it changeth you into the same image, from glory to
glory ; so saith the last verse of that third chapter. You might look in the law long enough, even look your eyes out, and never be changed. In the law you may see your spots, but you go away as full of corruption as
you were before. You may there see and read your own destiny, and read
your own duty, but it will not change you one whit. A man beholdeth
his natural face in a glass, saith James, and goes his way, and straight way forgetteth what manner of man he was. If it have an impression in
his memory, that is all ; but, saith the apostle, we in this glass of the
gospel behold the glory of the Lord, and are thereby changed into the same image. If that an ugly and deformed woman or man could have a
glass that if they see but a beautiful person in it, they should be changed into the same image, what would they give for it ? My brethren, this doth the gospel do.
380 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. VI.
But you will say, If it doth change me into the same image, is that
image glory too ? Yes, so it followeth, We are changed into the same
image, from glory to glory ; that is, from one degree of grace to another.
All the grace the gospel works in you is glorious, for it is the image of
Christ, in whom shineth the glory of God. And therefore in Eph. v. 26
the apostle, there speaking of sanctification (for to me it is clear he speaks
of it, both by the words before and after), he saith that he hath cleansed us and washed us with water by the word, that he might present us to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle ; for when he hath done (he speaks of what he will do at the latter day, when he hath fully sanc
tified us), he will present us to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that we should be holy and without blemish. I quote it for this, that every degree of grace is glory, and when
that is filled up, there is a glory in it which Jesus Christ reckoneth such,
* He shall greatly
is pleased to look upon as such, for it is his image.
delight in thy beauty, saith he, Psalm xlv. What is that beauty ? She
is all glorious within ; so it follows there in that Psalm. And, my brethren, let me tell you this, so far you are changed into his image, that
you never look upon him in the glass of the gospel, but you go away with some further degree of holiness wrought in you, if you see him really as in a glass. You may come to a sermon and hear notions indeed, but if you
get a real sight of Christ, you will be changed ; and, I say, so far as we
see him, so far we are changed. Here we seeing of him but as in a glass, in his holiness, and in his righteousness, as he is described in the gospel, how he walked while he was here below (for so the gospel represents him), we are changed into the same image, into the same image of holiness and
righteousness, from one degree to another. But now, at the latter day, when he shall appear, we shall then be changed into his image too, for we
shall see him as he is ; and when we see him as he is, we shall be as he is, in his glory in heaven.
I will add but one more ; it doth not only change us into a glorious image, which is called glory, but it doth work also in the hearts of believers a joy that is glorious. And this, although it be but the hope of glory, yet that
hope of glory works a glorious joy in the hearts of the people of God. It
is a known place that in 1 Pet. i. 8, Whom having not seen, ye love ; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeak able and full of glory. Whom having not seen, that is, face to face, but
having seen him in that glass of the gospel for to the sight of things in a
glass is the sight of Christ in the gospel compared, even the sight of faith
yet because it is not seeing him face to face, the apostle saith, Whom
having not seen, &c.
It is not every act of faith that works this joy, but faith may be so ele
vated as it will work and bring in joy unspeakable and full of glory. That phrase is it I quote it for. It is called unspeakable, because it ex
ceeds the sense and the understanding ; that is, the understanding cannot
naturally take in such joy, or apprehend what it should be ; as in Philip,
iv. 7, The peace of God is said to pass all understanding. The plea sures of the senses are great, but the pleasures of the understanding are
far greater ; but, saith he, this is a peace, and this is a joy, that passeth
* when they saw the Lord
all understanding. We read in John xx. 20, that
they rejoiced ; so when a believer, though but by faith, seeth the Lord Jesus Christ, though but in this glass, and that but darkly, hath but a
glimpse of him, yet it begets a joy which is unspeakable. And it is not
CHAP. VI.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 331
only said to be unspeakable, but to be glorious. All the joys in this world
are mean things, things that men shall be .ashamed of, but this, saith he,
is a magnific joy. True joy is a solid thing, but you see the apostle riseth
higher ; it is, saith he, full of glory ; or, as the word implies, it is dipped,
it is steeped, in glory. Now, I say, it is not always thus, that whensoever
any one seeth Christ by faith, that this joy is wrought ; but it is by faith
though, that is, faith elevated, yet so as it is but a sight of Christ in the
gospel, and that by faith, whenever it is wrought. It doth not, I say, always accompany an act of faith, that is plain and clear from the next
words, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. You see here that joy unspeakable and glorious, which God sometimes works in the hearts of his people, is called the end, the reward of their
faith (for so in Prov. xvi. 25 the word end there signifies reward) ; and the
meaning is this, that when a man hath a long while believed and glorified God by a way of sheer faith of recumbency, then God doth reward him,
gives him a reward of his faith by giving him joy unspeakable and glorious, which is called the salvation of the soul. And that that is the meaning of
* receiving ; he
it is plain by this, because he speaks in the present tense,
* receiving the reward of your faith, the
saith not, ye shall receive, but
salvation of your souls. And if you mark it, it is called likewise the sal
vation of your souls. Now, the reward which we shall receive at the latter
day, will be the salvation both of soul and body ; and of that the apostle speaks in Eom. viii. 23, which he saith there we wait for. But there is a
salvation of the soul which a man receiveth now, and therefore in the 24th
verse of that Romans viii. he saith, We are saved by hope, by hope of
* By grace ye are saved. Now, then, our eyes beholding this salvation of the Lord, having the evi dence of it, the soul is filled with it, it is saved, it receiveth the reward of
that glory at present. And so in Eph. ii. 8,
its faith, the salvation of the soul. And thus, my brethren, it is full of
glory, the least dram of it is like elixir, it expelleth all trouble. We re
joice, saith the apostle in Rom. viii., in the hope of the glory of God.
It exceeds and weigheth down all the good things here. And this the
gospel communicateth to us.
I will mention no more particulars whereby the glory of this gospel is
held forth to us, but proceed to the next particle, passing by such uses as
I might make of what I have said of this glory.
That which is next to be considered is, that the glory of this mystery shines among the Gentiles. There is never a word but it doth hold forth
something of the excellency of this gospel. You know I have made a com
parison of this gospel with the law, and shewed you how the law had a
glory in it, which yet was no glory in comparison of that which the gospel hath, which I have opened in divers particulars. Let us now compare the law and the gospel together in another respect also. When God did give the law, he gave it but to one nation, the Jews, whose land was no bigger than the dominion of Wales. Ps. cxlvii. 19, He shewed his word unto
Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel, but he hath not dealt so with any nation ; and as for his judgments they have not known them. But now, what saith the apostle ? He did keep from ages and from gene rations a further glorious mystery to be made known among the Gentiles, that is, to all nations. You have a place in Num. xiv. 21 (that I may speak coherently to the point of glory, the gospel is a glorious gospel, and
it is glorious in this respect), when the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord, against the law that was newly given, God doth at Moses his
332 A DISCOUBSE OF THE [ClIAP. VI.
entreaty pardon them for the present
: I will pardon them according to
* all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. I know that many interpreters do interpret this to be meant thus, that God would take a course, that his justice in punishing of this people should be known to all the world, and so he would fill the whole earth with his glory. But I take it (and I shall give you Scripture for it) that he here makes known and manifest his own counsels of his one
thy word, but as truly as I live, saith he,
day rejecting of the Jews, to the end he might provoke them to jealousy, as the apostle saith, he having given them a law, and they sinning thus
against it ; well, saith he, I will not contain myself within this nation, but
I have a glory which I will fill all the earth withal ; and that indeed is the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. I shall give you a scrip ture for this interpretation ; it is in Is. vi. 3. For there the phrase of fill
ing the earth with his glory is again used, and nowhere else that I know of
in the whole Scripture, answering to that phrase that God had used in that
place of Numbers afore-mentioned. Now, whenas it is said here in Isaiah, the whole earth is full of his glory, what do you think is spoken of? Why, it is Jesus Christ revealed sitting upon his throne, with his train
filling the temple, hardening the hearts of the Jews, and giving commission
to his apostles to go and preach to all nations. How is that manifest ? Look in John xii. 40, where Christ himself quoteth this very chapter in
Isaiah, ver. 10 and 11. Go and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of
this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their
heart, and convert, and be healed. And upon that follows their casting
< Then said I, Lord, how long ? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be
off,
utterly desolate. But is this spoken of Christ ? Yes ; read John xii. 40.
* He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I should heal them; these things (saith he) said Esaias, when he saw
his glory, and spake of him. Here is plainly, in this prophecy of Isaiah, the oath fulfilled that God sware in that place of Numbers. And God swears it in that sense (as I said even now) that Paul speaks in Rom. xi. ; when he lays open the riches of the gospel, he says he did it that he might provoke to emulation them which were of his own nation ; so doth God
here. Have they indeed sinned thus against my law, which also typically holds forth Christ ? Well, though I pardon them for the present, yet I have a glory beyond all this, which I will fill the earth with, when I send my Son into the world, and which I have reserved for the Gentiles and for
all nations. And therefore this gospel must needs be infinitely more glo rious than the law, God now breaking up his treasures, and fulfilling his
oath, to provoke the Jews if possible unto jealousy. He reserved some
better things for us, as the phrase is, Heb. xi. 40. And as he reserved a greater glory for us than that of the law, so, to
speak to the other property (for the gospel is called both rich and glorious), he reserved a greater treasury of riches whenas he would break open his mind to the Gentiles. You have it under these very terms expressed in
Eph. iii. 8, 9, To me is this grace given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, &c. When all men, all sorts of men, were
to see it, and God meant to communicate it to the world, then he brings
CHAP. YII.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 333
forth bis riches, the unsearchable riches of Christ, which had been hid, as it is here,
* from all ages and generations. So that now this particle in this text, among the Gentiles, it is not
idle, it hath an emphasis in it, it hath this emphasis in it, that God did
reserve the fulness of his glory, and the riches of Christ, till such time as
all the world was to come in. He would have all the world to be specta
tors, and he would have all men know what is the riches of the glory of
this mystery among the Gentiles ; and therefore, I say, he reserved the
revelation of it till then. And so much now for that particle. I shall only here, as the coronis of all, spread before you this great truth which concerns us : that though God s primary aim in giving the gospel is
to make it known to his saints, yet because the elect of nations in the
succession of ages are infinitely numerous, and none knows where this inhe
ritance will fall, or upon whose posterity, therefore the gift of the gospel unto the several nations of the Gentiles was, and is, indefinitely bequeathed to the Gentiles by God as a national endowment, as a national inheritance
to every nation it takes place in. It is not to be judged given to the
saints of a present age that enjoy it, but indefinitely to the whole lump of a nation, even as you call the proper native commodity of a nation a
staple commodity to the nation. Although every man in that nation trades not in it, yet it is national as proper to that nation, as benefiting the nation, and no man is excluded from traffic in it. Because in process of time none knows upon whom in that nation it may fall ; therefore every nation is to look upon it as a national interest and concernment.
CHAPTEE VII.
How it is the glory of the gospel, that Christ is not only revealed in it, but
Christ so known by the believer is in him.
Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. COL. I. 27.
The apostle, in the former words, having laid open the glory and excel
lency of the gospel, the riches of the glory, saith he, of this mystery among the Gentiles, he closeth up all that he had said of it with this short appli cation, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He doth not only hold
forth Jesus Christ as the subject of the gospel (and yet the highest glory the gospel hath is that Christ is the subject of it) ; he doth not content himself to say the riches of which mystery is Christ, as he saith afterwards,
* the mystery of God, and of the
chap. ii. 3, where he calls the gospel
Father, and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge ; but he addeth, which is Christ in you. How excellent the
gospel is, because Christ is the subject of it, I have partly shewn you all
* which is Christ in you ; and what is the apostle s meaning thereby. In the first place, I take it, the apostle brings this in here by way of
along ; I shall therefore now shew you why this cometh in here,
application, for their comfort. When he had shewn them all these glories which the gospel holds forth, by holding forth of Christ, he tells them, this Christ is in you if you be saints ; he is your Christ, by whom you have
possession of all these riches, and that in so intimate a manner, that they are not only without you, but you have them all within you by having
884 A DISCOURSE OF THE [CHAP. VII.
Christ, which is Christ in you, saith he, and with this addition, the hope of glory, of a greater glory than yet you have received. And when he saith, which is Christ in you, the least of his meaning, if at all, is that the image of Christ is in them, as some would have it. Though
* we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, yet I know no place where the image of Christ is called Christ, or Christ in us. There are many places where the image of God is said to be in Christ, but nowhere the image of Christ is called Christ. He that is in Christ is a new creature ; and in Jesus Christ there is neither bond nor free, but the new creature ; and we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works ; so the
apostle still expresseth himself. There is one place indeed which hath a
seeming show of it, that Christ in us should be put for the image of Christ in us, and that is that in Gal. iv. 19, That Christ may be again formed
i.n you ; but that is not the meaning of that place, as I shall shew anon. However, it cannot be the meaning here, at leastwise not the only mean
ing, for it is too narrow, too poor a thing, that after he had spoken such
great and glorious things of the gospel of Christ, he should go and contract
all the riches and glory of it to the new creature which is in us, to the
image of Christ in us ; no, it is Christ personally, Christ himself certainly that is here meant,
I shall as briefly as I can give you all the interpretations of this clause that have fallen into my thoughts. My scope is not to go and handle how many ways Christ is in you, but in relation to the context, to the coherence, to the gospel which he had commended before.
First, Therefore, Christ in you implies that that knowledge which
they had of the Lord Jesus Christ, take the object of that knowledge, it is
Christ. I appeal, saith he, to your own consciences, you Colossians that have taken in the gospel as you have done, taken in Christ, in the know
ledge of him, whether yea or no, there is not abundance both of riches and
glory hath been manifested to you concerning Jesus Christ ; and this know
ledge which you have of Christ here in this life begotten by the gospel, I
appeal to you, whether it be not the greatest evidence of a future glory. It is impossible it should rest here, but as this Christ, in whom you know
so much riches of glory, is now in you the hope of glory, so when you come to be with him for ever, do but think what a glory you will be filled
withal then. I take this, I say, to be the first part of the meaning, that it
is Christ in you, objective. And this is to me clearly one part of his scope, for he speaks in respect of the gospel revealing Christ to them, whereby they behold the glory of Christ, which gives them hope of that glory after wards with him.
That which must make good this interpretation is this, that the know
ledge which the saints have of Jesus Christ is called Christ, and Christ in
you. I told you before that the gospel is compared to a glass, and it is
called the gospel of Christ, because it representeth him ; and the doctrine
of the gospel is ordinarily and familiarly called Christ in the Scripture. Now that knowledge, that representation which is taken from Christ him
self in the gospel, by the eye and faith of a believer, is called Christ in him. And as the gospel itself, being the glass of Christ, is called Christ, so the
sight of Christ, that image of Christ (I call it now image, as being an objec
tive image, as I may so express it, not subjective, the grace that is in you,
but), that knowledge that is in you of him, taken from himself in the gospel, which a believer hath, is called Christ in him. In Gal. i. 16, Paul, speak
ing there of the revelation of the gospel to him, at the 12th verse, saith,
CHAP. VII.] GLORY OF THE GOSPEL. 335
I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation
of Jesus Christ ; Christ himself revealed it ; now at the 16th verse he
saith, It pleased God to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen. The knowledge that he had of Jesus Christ by reve
lation in the 12th verse is called in the 16th verse the revealing of Christ
in him ; mark the expression ; and it is the revealing of Christ in him, that he might preach him to others. God gave him an intimate knowledge of Christ in his own heart, the light of the knowledge of God in the face of
Christ did shine in his heart, that so he might preach it unto others ; and
therefore when he saith, He revealed his Son in me, it is all one as if he had said, He revealed the gospel, for it was that he might preach the
gospel. And he speaks not only of an experimental knowledge ; I mean, that is not all the purport of it, that he had experience of it, and what it
wrought, for that he might have had without revelation. Neither doth he mean only that the image of Christ was in him, and that God revealed his
Son in him by enabling him to walk as Christ walked, for it was not the
image of Christ only which he preached, but it was Christ himself. There
fore now it is the gospel, and the knowledge of Christ in the gospel, that
is called the revealing of his Son in him ; and it is said to be revealed in