This sermon was preached by Rev. THOS. BOSTON, on a a Sacramental occasion at Maxton, 1729.
THE sanctification of sinners is no less a mystery than their justification: the former springing out of the cross of Christ unto them, through the intervention of faith knitting the sinner to a crucified Christ, as well as the latter. Hence the apostle—having asserted the assurance of the sanctification of believers, that they shall certainly walk in “newness of life,” (verse 4), in the “likeness of Christ’s resurrection,” that is, as Christ, during the forty days after His resurrection, lived in the world after a new manner, very different from His life in it before His death—brings the ground of it from the cross of Christ, in the words of the text. In which we have: (1) The ground insuring holiness of life in believers united to Christ, “our old man is crucified with Him.” This supposeth that Christ was crucified; that in believers there is a two-fold man, a new man and an old, for while he saith, “our old man,” he intimates that the old man is not the old man, as in the unregenerate. This new man is the new creature of grace in the believer, or he as renewed. The old man is the corruption of nature, or he as unrenewed. The old man is the fountain of sin in his heart and life. Now, the state it is in is a state of crucifixion; it is nailed to the cross, which is a state of death. And its crucifixion is a crucifixion with Christ: “I am crucified with Christ,” (Gal. ii, 20). In so far as the believer is by faith united to Christ, his old man is nailed to the cross of Christ, to fare here as Christ fared: and that was heavy fare.
(2) The issue of this state of the fountain of sin in believers. It is two-fold. Firstly, the final issue, “that the body of sin might be destroyed.” The old man is the body of sin, being a complication of the several lusts opposite to the holy law, as the body is of members competent to the human frame. Now, the final issue of this state of the old man, the body of sin, is its destruction and ruin. Crucifixion is not present death indeed, but it is sure and certain death. Pilate would have chastised Christ and released Him, but the Jews would have Him crucified, for that would carry Him away from among them: even so the old is not to be corrected and amended, but destroyed quite and clean. Secondly, the intermediate issue, “that henceforth that we should not serve sin,” that from the moment of our union with Christ we should not serve sin any more, voluntarily living in it, and giving up ourselves to it as its servants, to live and act for satisfying it, as we did before. The old man may live long on the cross before he is destroyed: but then his hands and feet cannot serve him as they did before; there are nails driven through them; he may move them indeed, but then it is with pain and difficulty. So was it with Christ; He behoved to recommend His mother to the care of His beloved disciple John, for that His own hands and feet were not at liberty to act and do for her as formerly.
(3) The certainty concerning this ground, “Knowing this,” It is not a matter of uncertain hope, but known for truth. It could not be known by sense; no bodily eye could discern our old man on the cross with Christ: nor yet by rational deduction from natural principles; for the whole mystery of Christ is supernatural. Therefore it is known by faith upon divine testimony; it is a conclusion of faith to be laid down for invigorating us in all our endeavours after holiness of life and to be firmly held and stuck by, in all our struggles with the old man as ever we would desire to make head against him.
That I may touch the several purposes of this text, I shall offer them in several doctrines to be briefly handled.
Doctrine I. There is in believers united to Christ a new man, a holy principle; and an old man, a fountain of sin.
I. Why the holy principle and the corrupt nature in believers are called the old and the new man?
(1) They are called men, because each of them possesseth the whole man, though not wholly. There are by their means two “I’s” in every believer, (Rom. vii. 15). “For that which I do, I allow not: for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate that do I.” There is not one part of the man that is in Christ, but grace has a part of it, and corruption has a part of it: as in the twilight there is light over all, and darkness over all too, the darkness being mixed in every part with the light. So my renewed part is I, a man having an understanding enlightened, a will renewed, affections spiritualised, using my body conformably: but my unrenewed part is I too, having an understanding darkened, a will rebellious, affections corrupted, and using my body accordingly. (2) They are called new and old for two reasons.
(i) Because the new nature is brought in, upon the corrupt principle, which was the first possessor. The corrupt nature is of the same standing with ourselves from the conception and birth, and possessed us alone till our union with Christ by faith. And then only came in the new nature, and that made the former old.
(ii) Because of their different originals; the one being in us from the corrupt first Adam, the other from the holy second Adam. So the believer, looking on the corruption of his nature, may call fallen Adam father; and on the new creature in him, he may call Christ father. The second Adam, coming after the first, made the first old: so the produce of them in us is the old and new man accordingly.
II. How the believer comes to be thus split in two, two men.
This is done by virtue of his union with Christ, from whence ariseth a communication to him from Christ, “But of Him ye are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,” (I Cor. i. 30). Concerning which two things are to be noted.
(1) That in the moment of one’s union with Christ by faith, there is communicated to him, out of the fulness of grace in the man Christ, a measure of grace in him, as the wax impressed receives every point in the seal. “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace,” (John i, 16). “Till we all come unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,” (Eph. iv, 13). And thus is the new creature formed, being a new man perfect in parts, entire or having all its members, no grace totally, wanting. Hence it is that the new man is formed immediately after Christ’s image, so that it is the very picture of the man Christ, as Eve was of Adam. Therefore, the forming of it is said to be the forming of Christ in the believer (Gal. iv, 19).
(2) That yet there is not then, nor during his life, communicated to the believer a full measure of any grace. “For we know in part,” (I Cor. xiii, 9). So all the grace being imperfect, though they remove sin as far as they go, they cannot fill up the room in any part, mind, will, or affections. And thus is there an old man left in the believer still, (Rom. vii, 14), which is the image of the first Adam, from whom the corruption composing it is derived.
Use I. Hence see, that the believer’s life while here cannot miss to be a struggling life.
“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,” (Gal. v, 17). The believer is like Rebekah in another case, the two men struggle in him, and like the two armies in the Shulamite.
2. See here the rise of the peace and easy life of it most men have.
The flesh in them has no competitor. In the state of glory, grace has all, so there is a perfect peace: in the state of nature, corruption has all, so there is peace too; except what is marred by the struggle between the flesh in one part lusting, and the flesh in another part fearing, as in Balaam, “Who loved the wages of unrighteousness,” (II Peter ii, 15), compared with “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the Word of the Lord my God, to do less or more,” (Numb. xxii, 18). Whereas the struggle in the believer is betwixt the flesh and Spirit in the same part willing, and willing the same thing of their proper motion, (Rom. vii, 15, 16).
Doctrine II. The old man in believers is a body of sin, an entire body, lacking none of its members.
“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. vii, 24). This appears from the account of it already given. As we derive every grace from the second Adam in our regeneration, so every corruption from the first Adam in our natural generation.
Use (1). This may serve to humble believers, when they are at their best.
There is an entire body of sin in them while they are here. Do they excel in any grace? yet there is in them a member of the old man opposite to it, as passion in meek Moses. Have they every grace in them? They have every corruption too, though every one does not appear, more than every grace. Therefore they have need to watch against all sin whatsoever; for there is never a snare in the ill world but there is a member of the old man ready to fall in with it. “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, etc.,” (Col. iii, 5).
(2) No wonder the believer groans being burdened, having a whole body of sin to carry about with him.
And they that groan not under it are certainly all flesh; no new man in them. If ye belong to Christ ye cannot want an errand to Him for sanctification. Ye have a body of sin to lay before Him, which He alone can destroy.
Doctrine III. The old man in believers is crucified with Christ.
This bears two things. (1) Christ was crucified. He not only died for us, but died for us the cursed, painful, shameful, lingering death on the tree of the cross; which we are met to commemorate. Christ was put to this death for us, rather than another kind of death.
Firstly, that the first sin that let in all sin into the world might be more clearly read in the punishment.
When ye consider the awful and tremendous dispensation of the Son of God, the second Adam, hanging naked on a tree, and dying there at great leisure in exquisite pain, can ye miss to see the fiery wrath of God against the sin of that naked pair in paradise, pleasuring themselves in the fruit of the forbidden tree, and in an instant defacing the image of God in them.
Secondly, that the whole world might see what a low and hard state Christ took on Him, putting Himself in our room.
We were bondmen under the curse, and Christ took on Him our state of servitude, and that under the curse becoming a bondman for us under the curse. “He took upon Him the form of a servant,” (Phil. ii, 7). Hereof the death on the cross was the sign and badge, being the punishment of slaves, and accursed in the law. And to make way for this circumstance, the Jews were subjected to the Romans.
Use I. Remember a crucified Christ; enter this night deep into the thought of the Son of God hanging, groaning, dying on a cross for us.
Admire the matchless love of it. Behold the severity of divine justice in it. Prize the salvation so dearly bought, and receive it with thankfulness.
2. Think it not strange, if ye have a crucified life in the world.
If ye are Christians, followers of Jesus, why should ye think of it, to be thus conformed to your Head? (To be continued.)