A Helpful Exposition

By Rev. GEORGE HUTCHESON, Minister of Gospel at Edinburgh,
about the beginning of the 17th Century.
“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven.”—John iii. 13.

If we understand these words properly, of ascending to heaven and enjoying eternal felicity, it doth indeed hold good that only Christ entereth there by his own virtue, and all others only through and by him; and so the scope of this verse will be the same with verses 14, 15, of which in its own place. But the dependence on the former purpose, and the expression of this in the by-past time, whereas Christ was not yet ascended in his human nature, leads us rather to understand this ascending to heaven figuratively, of comprehending heavenly mysteries, and entering on God’s council concerning the way of salvation, as it seemeth to be understood, Romans, x. 6, 8, with Deut. xxx. 11, 12, 14. And so the meaning is, that no man of himself can know or take up these things, that being Christ’s prerogative, who manifested himself from the bosom of the Father, in our nature, and yet as God is still in heaven; and thus Christ, having reproved Nicodemus for his ignorance, doth yet shew the remedy thereof in himself. Whence learn—

1. Christ’s sharp word is not his last word to his own, but when he hath challenged most sharply for any fault, he is willing to offer himself, the only remedy, to cure it; for so doth he deal with Nicodemus’s ignorance.

2. It is alike impossible for men, by their own parts and natural endowments, to take up and comprehend spiritual mysteries, as to climb up to heaven and enter upon God’s council; therefore is it called an ascending up to heaven.

3. In so far as sinners come to a true and saving knowledge of heavenly mysteries, they are in a sort transported up to heaven from off the earth, as knowing the counsels of God, and being ravished with what they know; therefore also is it called an ascending to heaven. If Capernaum were exalted to heaven, Matt. xi. 23, because of the offer of these things, what are they who in some measure comprehend and embrace them?

4. It is proper to Christ the Mediator only, in some sense, to ascend to heaven, and comprehend spiritual mysteries, both for the measure and degree of knowledge in these things, which, as God, is infinite, and as man, is large as the human nature is capable of, and for the kind and manner of knowledge, which, as God, is of himself, and as man, by virtue of the personal union, whereas all others who have any knowledge they have it from him; for “no man hath ascended up to heaven” (or comprehended these things fully, or of themselves), “but he that came down from heaven.”

5. The Son of God in the bosom of the Father was pleased to condescend so far as to manifest himself unto the world in our nature, that so he might in our nature understand heavenly mysteries, and communicate the knowledge thereof to his people; therefore it is marked as the ground of his ascending to heaven, or comprehending of these things for his people’s use, that he “came down from heaven, the Son of man,” hereby shewing that his abasing of himself did exalt him as Mediator, God-man, to that dignity, to be the storehouse of wisdom and knowledge to his people; and that his love in stooping so low to bring and communicate knowledge to us is remarkable;—in all which we are not to understand that Christ, as God, did change place by his incarnation, but only did stoop and demit himself to assume the human nature in a personal union.

6. Christ, by his incarnation an becoming man, did not cease to be God, but continueth still the same, filling heaven and earth; for he that descended down from heaven, is in heaven, and so is upon the counsel of God still, to teach us infallibly.

7. The Son of God hath assumed the human nature into so strict a personal union, that what is proper to either nature is ascribed unto the person under whatsoever name; for, saith he, “the Son of man which is in heaven,” which is not to be understood, as if either his human nature came from heaven (for he is speaking of what still is there) or that his human nature were in every place, but that the same person who is the Son of man according to our nature is in heaven according to his divine nature, and yet but one person still. And hereby Christ sheweth his love to our nature, that under that name he ascribeth what is proper to his godhead, to himself.

In the best estate there will be suffering one way or another. Sometimes God’s children are troubled more with corruption than affliction; at other times, their peace is troubled both with corruption within and affliction without; at the best, they have sufferings of sympathy. We must be conformable to our Head before we can come to heaven.—Sibbes.