The first part of a further chapter on the same subject as before, in “The New Creature”, to be found in MacBride’s Remains. “The New Creature” is a series of sermons on: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor 5:17). The main point in the previous article, last month, was that “God gave those whom He loved to Christ to be saved”.
4. Christ Has Removed All the Obstacles
Here I observe: (1.) Union to Christ flows from the love of Christ. He loved them with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness He draws them thus to Himself; and hence the words of the Apostle: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Rev 1:5,6). I observe:
(2.) Next to this love, this union flows from the connection formed between Christ and them in the covenant of grace, whereby He became their covenant Head, commonly called a legal union; in other words, it flows from this covenant of grace. Hence the words of Paul: “We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise” (Gal 4:28). Observe that:
[1.] The Apostle is here speaking of this very covenant of grace, as is clear from the context (verses 24,26). This doctrine is abundantly considered in the Word of God.
[2.] He shows they become the children of God, according to this covenant and by it. As Isaac was literally born through the promise of God, and His power in fulfilling it, so are true believers thus regenerated through the covenant of grace.
[3.] They are therefore brought into union with Christ, for it is by regeneration that one is brought to this; and now if one is thus regenerated in virtue of this covenant, it is clear that one is united to Christ in virtue of the covenant. O brethren, how precious this covenant is, this fruit of the love of God. It is an everlasting covenant, formed in the eternity that is past, lasting for ever. It is a well-ordered covenant, in which everything is arranged as to the salvation of sinners. It is a sure covenant: it can never fail. It is a covenant full of every blessing to believers, for Christ Himself is the source of it; so David might well say, “This is all my salvation, and all my desire” – that is, Christ Himself.
This covenant is the source of every saving blessing to us. All comes to us through this channel. Nothing now comes to us by the covenant of works but guilt and wrath. It is therefore in vain that we look to it or, in other words, trust in our own merits in the hope of getting any saving blessing, for “as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them”. How unspeakable is the folly of desiring to be under the law, and yet that is the desire of all by nature. Let all seek deliverance from this! Blessed be God that there is a way. And if you ask, What is the way in which there is deliverance? I answer:
(1.) It is the work of God, and so you must seek that He would do this. He must bring you Himself by His Spirit into the bond of the covenant, if you come to this at all. This is God’s work, by His Spirit. I beseech you to remember this. Isaac, the child of promise, was not born of nature, but by promise, by the immediate power of God; and so must you be. Here is where many fail: in seeking deliverance through the covenant of works. They satisfy themselves with trying to deliver themselves through the covenant of works; but no one was ever delivered in that way. O remember that this must be a work of God – a renewing, regenerating work – if you would be delivered.
It is true there are means for this, and blessed be God that there are; it is an unspeakable mercy. And it is our duty to wait on God in these means and thus to seek Him. But, remember, God never appointed means so that we may be independent of Him, or that we may apply the benefits of redemption to ourselves, but that He may apply them, as our excellent Shorter Catechism says. Have you experienced this? If you have experienced this, seek that you may experience more; if not, seek it now. Remember that it is through God’s work in you that you will, like Isaac, become children of promise. It is thus He delivers sinners from the covenant of works, and brings them within the bonds of the covenant of grace.
(2.) This is done through closing, by a living faith, with the offers of the gospel. This is clearly stated in Isaiah 55: one is brought within the covenant of grace: [1.] By seeing his needs. [2.] By seeing the glory of Christ as a Saviour. [3.] By being brought to close with Christ as fully offered in the gospel. O seek this, and then seek to live by this covenant: [1.] In all your duties. [2.] In all your trials. [3.] In the prospect of death itself. [4.] In regard to everything, seek that you may thus receive from Christ, who is given as a covenant of the people.
(3.) This union flows next from the union of Christ to our nature in His own Person and through the work He thus finished.
1. Consider the need there was of the work of Christ
in order to this union. Here, I observe, there was need for it because of the obstacles that were in the way of it, because of what sinners naturally are. Here remember the state of all who are brought to this union: (1) They are all fallen in Adam. They are all connected with him in the covenant of works, and so they are all fallen in him; and (2) they themselves fall further and further as soon as they are capable of it.
So they are: (1) Guilty creatures before God, under the guilt of Adam’s first sin, and under the guilt of innumerable sins of their own, as soon as they are capable of committing them. They are thus further condemned, the children of wrath. Everyone by nature is condemned already. (2) They are also depraved and helpless before God. They can do nothing to deliver themselves. “When we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly,” says the Apostle. (3) They are under the power of the wicked one; they are given over to him. Now there are many difficulties in the way of their union to Christ:
[1] Justice stood against them. The justice of God required that such sinners should not be delivered till their sin should be punished. God cannot allow sin to pass unpunished. His holiness forbids this, for He hates sin infinitely and so cannot but punish it. His justice requires it; for He must give sin what is its due, and that is punishment. His truth requires it; for He has said, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die”; and so it must be. So justice stood in the way of the deliverance of sinners and their union to Christ, which is the source of their deliverance. Justice could not allow them to be exalted without an atonement; God would cease to be a just God if that could be.
[2] The law stood against them. It demanded the obedience due to it. It cannot allow creatures to enjoy happiness except in the way of obedience. But they failed in this obedience. This the law could never overlook; so it stood against them. Not merely did its precept so stand, but much more its threatening, which never could be satisfied without satisfaction for sin, as well as the fulfilment of its precepts. Here then were the real difficulties in the way of the union of sinners to Christ.
[3] Their bondage stood in the way. They became bondmen in consequence of sin. And if it is asked, To what? I answer,
(1) They became slaves to sin. It reigns over them; it has dominion in them. They are under the power of darkness, so as not to see things as they really are; they are under the power of death, so as not to feel things as they ought. In short, they are under the power of their evil hearts and lusts, which war against the soul.
(2) They are under bondage to the world. They are the slaves of its traditions and customs, and so are carried away by it.
(3) They are slaves of Satan. This spirit rules over all the children of disobedience and leads them captive at his will. Such is the state of man.
(4) They are slaves to the law, under it, and willing to be so; and this law binds them under all their other taskmasters. Such is the state of man, and this renders their deliverance difficult and puts a barrier in the way. It is true that divine power could easily break their bondage, but it could not justly do so without satisfying the law. This then is the difficulty.
(5) The distance between God and them rendered this also impossible. They could not be delivered by Christ Himself unless He would come into the world for that end.
2. Christ has now removed these things out of the way.
(1.) He did so by coming into our nature. This was the first thing needful. Nothing could be done at all without this. It was impossible that the glorious Redeemer Himself, notwithstanding His love, could do anything to deliver poor sinners without this. This could not be done by the mere exercise of divine power and wisdom; no, but by the fulfilment of the law in the nature that sinned. This could never therefore be done without His incarnation.
Wonder at the love of Christ which could think of this. We might well exclaim, “Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth?” If Solomon said so in reference to His typical dwelling in the temple, how much more may this be said as to His dwelling in human nature! This is indeed a mystery; it is a great mystery. It is so in itself, and involving, as it were, all others in it. It is a mystery of love, a mystery of wisdom, a mystery of power, a mystery of sovereignty, a mystery that implies the mystery of the Trinity, the Sonship of Christ, His death and His salvation.
But Christ did come into the world. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14), “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; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham” (Heb 2:14-16).
Here observe: (1) He took the whole nature of man. (2) He took it in a holy manner, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost. (3) He took it into personal union to Himself. (4) He took it without any confusion, but with two distinct natures in one Person for ever. The two distinct natures were necessary: (1) the nature of man, to obey and suffer; and (2) the nature of God, to give efficacy to what He did. Also the unity of His Person was necessary, for the work done in the one nature could not otherwise derive any virtue from the other. Thus He has removed all difficulty. Here He laid the foundation for this in Himself.
(2.) He took away the obstacles by the work which He finished in the nature He thus assumed. This work was: (1) a work of perfect fulfilment of the law. He did all that it required as to its precept and threatening; all that the law could demand, not merely of Adam, but of everyone that will be saved—Christ did all that was necessary to satisfy these demands; (2) a work of satisfaction to justice; He did all that justice required, not merely in obeying, but also in suffering for sinners. He suffered for all the sins of those whom He came to save and all that they deserved; so He left nothing in the way of their union to Christ and nothing in the way of their deliverance. He did it all fully. It was all a work by which glory was given to God. He glorified God in it all; so all the requirements of the glory of God, as to sin, are fully answered in Christ. Thus He removed all difficulty.
(3.) He did so by obtaining their redemption. By what He did, He purchased redemption from wrath, redemption from sin, redemption from the law, redemption from misery and, in short, full and eternal redemption. Thus He removed all difficulties.
2. Consider how this bears on His union with believers.
It does so,
(1) Because all difficulties are now actually removed. There is nothing in heaven, earth, or hell that can object to this union. All things are now ready, so nothing can stand in the way of this union. Thus Christ has opened the way for His love to break forth in bringing His own to Him.
(2) Because He has thus secured this, He will now see of the travail of His soul in them. He has purchased all these sinners to Himself and merited this union for them.
(3) Because He has now also secured all other things for them. Thus, for instance, He has secured the coming of the Spirit. As the flowing of the water depended on the smiting of the rock, so the coming of the Spirit on the death of Christ. Without this He could not come at all, but now that this is secured, so also, in the same manner, He provides all that is needful for them.
All power in heaven and on earth is given to Christ, that He may do this; He has all power for this end: so He has thus secured this union. All bears on this very thing. Now seeing this is the case,
- See what they are who are brought to this union.
- Consider that Christ will by no means reject anyone that comes.
- See that your sins will not stand in the way of this union to Christ. Do you say that you are unworthy? He has removed all this.
- See that your depravity cannot stand in the way of it, for Christ has obtained deliverance for those who believe: He can do it. Look then to Him and be saved.
- Let those who come to Christ see that they have an interest in all that Christ has done.