Chapter I
How not Christ s person simply, but Christ as dying, is the object of faith as
justifying.
To come now to all these four particulars of or about Christ, as the object of faith here mentioned ; and to shew both how Christ in each is the object of faith as justifying ; and what support or encouragement the faith of a
believer may fetch from each of them in point of justification, which is the
argument of the main body of this discourse.
First, Christ as dying is the object of justifying faith, Who shall con demn ? Christ hath died. For the explanation of which, I will
1. Give a direction or two.
2. Shew how an encouragement, or matter of triumph, may from hence be fetched.
1. (1.) The first direction is this, that in seeking forgiveness or justifica tion in the promises, as Christ is to be principally in the eye of your faith, so it must be Christ as crucified, Christ as dying, as here he is made. It was the serpent as lift up, and so looked at, that healed them. Now this
direction I give to prevent a mistake, which souls that are about to believe do often run into. For when they hear that the person of Christ is the main object of faith, they thus conceive of it, that when one comes first to
believe, he should look only upon the personal excellencies of grace and
glory which are in Jesus Christ, which follow upon the hypostatical union- ; and so have his heart allured in unto Christ by them only, and close with him under those apprehensions alone. But although it be true, that there
is that radical disposition in the faith of every believer, which if it were drawn forth to view Christ in his mere personal excellencies, abstractively considered, would close with Christ for them alone, as seeing such a beauty and suitableness in them ; yet the first view which an humble soul always doth, and is to take of him, is of his being a Saviour, made sin, and a
curse, and obeying to the death for sinners. He takes up Christ in his
first sight of him, under the likeness of sinful flesh, Rom. viii. 3, for so the gospel first represents him, though it holds forth his personal excel-
CHAP. I.J OF FAITH, IN HIS DEATH. 17
lencies also ; and in that representation it is that he is made a fit object for a sinner s faith to trust and rest upon for salvation ; which in part dis-
tinguisheth a sinner s faith whilst here on earth, towards Christ, from that
vision or sight which angels and the souls of men have in heaven of him. Faith here views him not only as glorious at God s right hand (though so
also), but as crucified, as made sin, and a curse, and so rests upon him for
pardon ; but in heaven we shall see him as he is, and be made like unto him. Take Christ in his personal excellencies simply considered, and so with them propounded as an head to us, and he might have been a fit
object for angels and men even without sin to have closed withal ; and what an addition to their happiness would they have thought it, to have him for their husband ! But yet, so considered, he should have been, and rather is, the object of love, than of faith or affiance. It is therefore
Christ that is thus excellent in his person, yet farther considered as clothed with his garments of blood, and the qualifications of a mediator and recon
ciler ; it is this that makes him so desirable by sinners, and a fit object for
their faith, which looks out for justification, to prey and seize upon, though they take in the consideration of all his other excellencies to allure their
hearts to him, and confirm their choice of him.
Yea I say farther, that consider faith as justifying, that is, in that act of
it which justifies a sinner ; and so Christ, taken only or mainly in his
personal excellencies, cannot properly be called the object of it. But the
formalis ratio, the proper respect or consideration that maketh Christ the
object of faith as justifying, must necessarily be that in Christ, which doth indeed justify a sinner ; which is, his obedience unto death. For the act and object of every habit or faculty are always suited, and similar each to other ; and therefore Christ s justifying must needs be the object of faith
justifying. It is true, that there is nothing in Christ with which some answerable act of faith in us doth not close ; and from the differing con
siderations under which faith looks at Christ, have those several acts of
faith various denominations : as faith that is carried forth to Christ and his
personal excellencies may be called uniting faith ; and faith that goes forth
to Christ for strength of grace to subdue sin may, answerably to its object, be called sanctifying faith ; and faith as it goes forth to Christ, as dying, &c., for justification, may be called, justifying faith. For faith in that act looks at what in Christ doth justify a sinner ; and therefore Christ con sidered as dying, rising, &c., doth in this respect become the most pleasing and grateful object to a soul that is humbled; for this makes Christ suitable
to him as he is a sinner, under which consideration he reflects upon him
self, when he is first humbled. And therefore thus to represent Christ to
believers under the law, was the main scope of all the sacrifices and types therein. All things being purged with blood, and without blood there
being no remission, Heb. ix. 22. Thus did the apostles also in their sermons. So Paul, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, seemed by the matte*
of his sermon to have known nothing but Christ, and him as crucified, 1 Cor. ii. 2, as Christ above all, so Christ as crucified above all in Christ, as suiting their condition best, whom he endeavoured to draw on to faith on him. Thus, in his Epistle to the Galatians, he calls his preaching among them the preaching of faith, iii. 2. And what was the main scope of it, but the picturing out (as the word is) of Christ crucified before their eyes ?
ver. 1. So he preached him, and so they received him, and so they * began in the spirit, ver. 3. And thus also do the seals of the promises
(the sacraments) present Christ to a believer s eye ; as they hold forth VOL. IV. B
18 CHEIST, THE OBJECT AND SUPPORT [SECT. II.
Christ (as was in the former direction observed), so Christ, as crucified; their
* shew forth his death till he come, 1 Cor. xi. 26, the bread
scope being to
signifying Christ s body broken in the sufferings of it ; and the cup signi
fying the sufferings of his soul, and the pouring of it forth unto death. And hence likewise, as faith itself is called faith on Christ, as was before
observed, so it is called faith on his blood, Eom. iii. 25, because Christ,
as shedding his blood for the remission of sins, is the object of it. So the words there are, whom God hath ordained to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins. And look how God hath ordained and set forth Christ in the promise
: under
that picture of him doth faith at first close with him. And one reason
similar to the former may be grounded on the 24th verslj*of that 3d to the
* Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is
Romans,
in Christ. And as I shewed before, in the reason of the former direction, that all promises hold of his person, as being heir of all the promises ; so
the special tenure upon which forgiveness of sins doth hold of him is by
purchase, and by the redemption that is in him. So that, as the promise of
forgiveness refers to his person, so also to this redemption that is in him.
Thus, both in Eph. i. 7 and Col. i. 14, In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, his person gives us title
to all the promises, and his blood shews the tenure they hold on ; a
purchase, and a full price, avriXurgov, and adequate price, 1 Tim. ii. 6. And as sin is the strength of the law, and of the threatenings thereof, so
Christ s satisfaction is the strength of all the promises in the gospel. In a word, an humbled soul is to have recourse to that Christ who is now
alive and glorified in heaven, yet to him as once crucified and made sin. He is to go to Christ now glorified, as the person from whom he is to
receive forgiveness, &c., but withal to him as crucified; as through whom, considered in that condition he then was in, he is to receive all.