Thomas Boston - Of the Benefits of Effectual Calling

Rom. viii. 30.—Whom he called, them he also justified ; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

In this and the preceding verse is the golden chain of salvation, consisting of five links. The first two lie out of the sinner's view, till they be brought to light by means of the third. The first is God's foreknowledge, or eternal free-love and favour to some of mankind, laid on them from everlasting. The second is the predestination of these, Meeting them to everlasting life, and the means leading thereto. The third is the calling of the predestinated, calling them effectually, which is done in time, of which we have spoke before: There are other two that hang upon this. The fourth is the justification of the called which may imply the whole of the relative change made upon them, both their justification and adoption; for it is evident from verse 29, that the apostle has respect to adoption in this chain. The fifth is the glorifying of the justified,  which may import the whole of the real change made on the elect, namely, the sanctifying of them here, and glorifying of them hereafter. For what is grace but glory in the bud, and glory but grace brought to perfection? and therefore believers, ' with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord,' 2 Cor. iii. 18. Thus effectual calling, as it rises from eternal love, so it makes the soul happy here and hereafter.
The text affords this doctrine, viz.
Doct. ' They that are effectually called do thereby partake of great and glorious benefits and privileges, both in this life and the life  to come.'
Here I shall briefly shew,
I. What are those benefits which they who are effectually called partake of in this life.
II. The benefits they partake of in the life to come.
III. Apply.
I. I shall shew what are those benefits which they that are effectually called partake of in this life.
First, There are three leading benefits which they partake of here.
1. They are all justified. So says the text. As soon as ever the soul answers the call of the gospel, and comes to Christ, the man is brought out of a state of condemnation, and gets his absolviture, Rom. viii. 1. He lives not a moment longer under the black cloud of the curse, but is translated into another climate, where he lives under the sunshine of the blessing. His sins are all pardoned, and he is accepted as a righteous man. He is judged, and he gets the white stone. Rev. ii. 17. The law and justice have no more to demand of him; the cords of guilt are loosed and thrown away, and he is clothed with a perfect righteousness.
2. They are all adopted children of God, Eph. i. 5. They get not only the white stone, but the new name, the name of sons and daughters to God. They are brought out of the devil’s family, and made members of the household of faith: not servants only, but sons. For the moment they answer the call, new blood runs in their veins; they are of the blood-royal of heaven; Christ's Father is their Father, he is their elder brother; and the Spirit of his Son dwells in them, teaching them to cry, Abba, Father. They are of the same household with the excellent of the earth: All ye are brethren; nay, with the saints and angels in heaven; for though the one dwell above, and the other below, they are all but one family, Eph. iii. 15.
3. They are all sanctified, 1 Cor. i. 30. 1 Thess. iv. 7- It is a holy calling, 2 Tim. i. 9. The author of it is holy, the means are holy, and the end and effect of it must needs be holy. As soon as the sinner answers the call, the Spirit of sanctification goes on with the begun work in him, breaks the reigning power of sin, gives it a deadly blow, so that it shall never recover, but languish on, till it quite die out. He adorns him with all saving graces, conforming the sinner to the image of Christ, John i. 16 ; so that he begins to lead a new life, living to the Lord and his service. The call brings him, like Lazarus, out of the congregation of the dead, and then the remainder of his life is spent in putting off the grave-cloths of sin, and acting from a principle of spiritual life.
Secondly, There are other benefits which accompany or flow from these. For these come not alone, but each of them is the opening of a treasure to the called, the striking up of a fountain, that runs out in many streams, Eph. i. 3. Some of these are mentioned in that question, ' What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification? ' Ans.—' Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.' But who can reckon up all these benefits? For 'all things are theirs; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are theirs,' 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22. I shall only at present single out the following.
    1. Reconciliation with God, Rom. v. 1. ' Being justified by faith we have peace with God. 'When the sinner is effectually called, the real enmity is taken away, and the legal enmity is removed by justification. God and the sinner become friends, and are firmly so in a covenant of peace, having common friends and enemies. Sin being removed and pardoned, the peace follows of course. The war is ended; for the treaty of peace proposed by the ambassadors of peace is complied with. But of this I spoke when treating of Christ's priestly office.
    2. Access to God, as children to a Father, Eph. iii. 12. as one  friend to another. The war being ended, and peace concluded, the communication betwixt heaven and earth is opened. They may export thither all their wants, petitions, and requests, being sure that they will be taken oft' their hands; and import supplies of all kinds necessary, to make them happy, light, life, strength, &c.
    3. Freedom from the slavery of sin and Satan, John viii. 32. They that are sanctified by the Spirit, are loosed from the Egyptian bondage, and made the Lord's free-men. Though Satan and sin molest them, and put them hard to it, they shall never get them back again into their former house of bondage. But they shall, like a dog snarling at the horses heels, be bruised under their feet at length; and the soul shall be more than conqueror.
    4. Lastly, A right to eternal life. Rom. viii. 17- Acts xx. 32, They may claim it in their head Christ, and their title is good and sure in him ; for it is a heavenly calling, whereby they are called to the eternal inheritance. And therefore says the apostle, 2 Cor. v. 1. 'We know, that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'
II. I shall shew what benefits they that are effectually called partake of in the life to come. The advantages of effectual calling are great in this life, but they do not stop there, when a man must leave all temporal benefits, which he enjoys any manner of way here in this world, he will enter to the full enjoyment of the benefits coming by his answering the gospel-call. These are comprehended in one word, glorification, which will fall in afterwards to be treated of. In a word, at death the converted soul is received into heaven ; at the last day his body will be gloriously raised, and both soul and body made perfectly happy for ever, 2 Thess. ii. 14.
    I come now to make some practical improvement of this subject.
    Use I. Of information. This doctrine lets us see,
    1. That the gospel is the best news that ever was heard in the world, and the most excellent offer that ever was made to poor sinners, Eph. iii. 8. There are many to court the soul; Satan makes his offers, the world its offers, and sin has its offers too. But all that they offer will not tell far, it perishes in the using, at most it cannot reach beyond this life. But Christ's offer in the gospel is of the best of things here, and the best of all hereafter, that we may enter to the enjoyment of, when nothing remains but the bitter dregs of the offers of sin, Satan, and the world.
    2. God deals very liberally and kindly with his people that answer his call. He docs not put an empty spoon into their mouths, he sets them not down to bare commons; they get much in hand, and yet far more in hope, Psal. Ixxxiv. 11. Their present possessions are far more valuable than crowns and sceptres in the world; but what they have a title to, is what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to conceive. And then all is firm and sure ; they can never be shaken out of their privileges, Rom. xi. 29. Heb. xii. 28.
    3. Whatever men lose by complying with and following the gospel-call, they are gainers, Phil. iii. 8. He was a wise merchant that sold all to buy the pearl of great price. They are wise indeed that are wise for their souls ; and they are so that come to Christ on his call ; while all the neglectors of the great salvation, gain what they will otherwise, do lose a talent while they gain a mite, losing their own souls, which loss can never be made up.
Use II. Of exhortation.
    First, To unconverted sinners. O comply with the gospel-call at length, and come away to Christ. I offer a few motives to press the exhortation.
    Mot. 1. While ye do not come away upon the call, ye have no part or lot in these benefits. If ye presume to apply them to yourselves, God's word knocks off your fingers from them, for they are the peculiar privilege of those that are effectually called. And,
    1. Ye are not justified, the sentence of condemnation is standing in force against you. Gal. iii. 10. John iii. ult. And as sure as God's word cannot fail, it will be executed, if ye come not in in time. Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse; all that thou dost is sin. But not one of all thy sins is pardoned; they are all wreathed about thy neck, and thou hast them all to reckon for. And thou hast not a cautioner to go between justice and thee; the burden must lie on thy own back.
    2. Ye are none of God's children, but of the devil's, John viii. 44. Ye are still of the family ye were born of. A sad family against which God will have war for ever. Ye can have no access to God, nor communion with him, nor may any of the privileges of the children of God be claimed by you. Your inheritance is suitable to the family ye are of, namely, that ye are children of wrath, and heirs of hell.
    3. Ye are not sanctified. There is no sanctification without the Spirit of Christ dwelling in you; ye have not Christ's Spirit, for ye are none of his. A form of godliness ye may have, but the power of it ye are strangers to. Ye are Satan's drudges and sin's slaves, though all are not employed in alike coarse work by the master of that family, Eph. ii. 2, 3,
    Mot. 2. If ye will come to Christ on his call, ye shall partake of all these benefits. If your sins were never so great and many, they shall be pardoned, Isa. Iv. 7. Ye shall be the children of God through Jesus Christ, John i. 12. Ye shall be made holy, 1 Cor. vi. 11. Come in under the covert of his blood, and then neither law nor justice shall reach you. Match with the Son of God, and ye shall be of his Father's family. Answer his call, and he will break the yoke from off your necks, and make you free.
    O, Sirs, do not ye need this benefits? How will ye live without them? are ye able to bear the weight of unpardoned guilt? How will ye die without them? What will it be to die in an unpardoned state, strangers to the family of heaven, and still in your sins? May not these glorious privileges prevail with you? Do ye think nothing of the white stone and new name, which ye may get by coming to Christ? Seemeth it a light thing to you to be adopted into the family of the King of heaven, and to have his image drawn on you? Think with yourselves how it will aggravate your condemnation, that Christ and all his salvation was in your offer, and ye would have none of him, Heb. ii. 3.
    Secondly, To converted sinners that have answered the call.
    1. Labour to know your great privileges for time and eternity, 2 Pet. i. 10.! it is a sad matter that the people of God should have so little knowledge of their state. This would be a notable means to promote sanctification, and tenderness in heart and life.
    2. Be thankful for these privileges. Bless God for Christ and the gospel. bless him for his holy and powerful Spirit. Admire and adore his rich grace, bestowed on worthless worms through Christ, 1 John iii. 1.
    3. Lastly, Walk worthy of the vocation, and suitable to the privileges of it, that is, humbly, holily, heavenly, contentedly patiently, and cheerfully, in hopes of the glory that is to be revealed.

Samuel Willard - The Nature of Christ's Resurrection

Question 28. Wherein consists Christ's Exaltation? Answer. Christ's Exaltation consists in his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up to heaven, and in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.


[This is the second of a five sermon series on this question from the Westminster Shorter Catechism.]


Leaving the general consideration of Christ's Exaltation, we will continue with a more detailed account. There are several steps to his Exaltation, which may be summarised under two heads: either those degrees of triumph, to which he is exalted already, or the manifestation of it which is reserved for the Day of Judgement. God has already highly lifted him up, but he will yet make his glory known more conspicuously at the end of the world. The saints in heaven see his face in glory and are happy in that sight. Believers on earth see him with an eye of faith and rejoice in it, 1 Pet. 1:8, "Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory." At that time his enemies also will see him. They had seen him dead and buried, that was the last sight they had of him: but they must see him glorified to their eternal confusion, Rev. 1:7 "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen."
Let us consider the glorification which Christ has received already. It consists in two things: his resurrection from death, and his taking possession of the kingdom of glory. We will begin with his resurrection because it was the first step of his glorification, after he had humbled himself in death.
This article is a main pillar of the Christian faith, and we need to be well established on it. As the apostles were appointed to be witnesses of the resurrection of Christ (Acts 1:22), so they preached it clearly in every place they came. We may take a brief account of it under several heads.

I. The precise nature of Christ's resurrection consists of two things: there is something internal, the reunion of his soul and body, and external, his coming out of the grave after that reunion. Both of these are implied by the words used in the New Testament to express resurrection. The word used in Matt. 28:6, egeirw [hegeiro], signifies both to wake out of sleep and to rise out of bed. When Christ's soul came into his body he awakened, and when he left his sepulchre, then he left his bed. Resurrection is also expressed by anastasiV [anastasis], which signifies rising from a fall and standing up again. Christ fell down into the dust when he died, and stood up again when he arose. The first of these was properly his resurrection, and the second the manifestation of it.

II. The subject of this resurrection may be considered in two categories.
1. The precise subject of the resurrection was the whole human nature of Christ. Christ is said to die and to rise again, 1 Cor. 15:14,15. It is attributed to his person in respect to his human nature because his divine nature is not in itself capable of either Humiliation or Exaltation. The resurrection may be attributed to his whole human nature in as much as both his soul and body were sharers in it. His entire humanity fell by death in some sense, and his soul therefore arose by a deliverance from the state of separation and its reunion, and his body arose by a restoration to life and being brought out of the grave.
2. The resurrection is ascribed to his body, his soul, and his person in various regards, as:
It was his body that was most strictly raised. That only fell down; while his soul went upward to paradise, Luke 23:43, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Only his body lay in the grave, his soul ascended to heaven. Only his body was completely deprived of its working, for his soul as it departed was actively happy in the presence of God.
1. Now, regarding his body:
a. It was the same body that fell, which was raised again. Matt. 28:5,6 "But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." He did not take upon himself another body to be exalted in, but the same in which he was humbled.
b. His rational soul came from heaven into the sepulchre, where his body lay, and was there reunited with it. Psa. 16:10 "For you will not leave my soul in Sheol." This must be understood as the state of separation.
c. His vital spirits, which had been dissipated by death, were again restored and helped to knit his soul and body together. For this reason he is said to be alive again, Rom. 14:9 "For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living."
d. His senses were also restored to his body. His organs of sensation had been deprived of their power by his death and had been useless, but now his eyes and ears and other organs of sensation received their power of operation. Thus they were prepared to serve his rational soul according to their natural use, and were evident proof of his being alive again, Acts 1:3.
e. The prison doors were opened and he came out of his grave. His body was raised a glorious body, Phil. 3:21, 1 Cor. 15:43. However, the glorious splendour of his body was veiled for a time as he thought it appropriate. This was for a few days while he abode with his disciples before his ascension, so that they might be able to have communion with him.
2. Regarding his soul, while it may not be quite correct to say that it arose, nevertheless a resurrection is connected with it.
a. It was reunited with his body after separation. Otherwise his body would not have arisen. Its death was effected by that separation, and therefore its resurrection required such a reunion.
b. In this way it was delivered from that separation which was contrary to its natural inclination and was made again to enjoy the desired company of the body. A separated soul, being only a part of the man, is not at rest until it is restored to the other part for which it was made, and so undergoes a sort of death while separate.
c. It came out of the sepulchre with and in his body, and so it joined with it in the second part of his resurrection. It was for this cause that his body was enabled to come forth, which before was lifeless.
d. It now enjoyed its previous freedom of exercising its operations upon and in his glorious body. It had again the use of all his senses and members, which had been for a while suspended.
e. Both together took possession of the glory which he had merited with both in his humiliation, Psa. 16:9-11. His mediatorial glory was not completed until he was thus raised.
3. Regarding his person, it is certain that he who arose was Christ, the second Person of the Trinity. As it was mentioned before, the divine nature of Christ, being unchangeable, could neither die nor rise. Nevertheless the declarative glory of his divine nature which was obscured in the days of his flesh began to radiate out and shine forth clearly in his resurrection. Therefore, Christ is "...declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead," Rom. 1:4. In this regard it was a declarative begetting of Christ, Acts 13:33, "God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that he has raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm: 'You are my Son, today I have begotten You.'" Christ as mediator was now glorified to fulfil the promise made to him in the Covenant of Redemption.

III. Christ really did rise again. The Scripture gives abundant testimony to this. Because it is a matter of historical fact, the historical witness alone should be a sufficient reason for faith to accept it; although there are also persuasive arguments to accept it, such as:
1. There is the testimony of the two glorious angels for the resurrection, Matt. 28:5,6 and Luke 24:45,46.
2. The testimony of the women that went to the sepulchre, where they saw him and spoke with him, Matt. 28:9.
3. The various appearances which he made to his disciples. Before his ascension he was seen by at least five hundred persons who had his resurrection confirmed by many tangible and convincing proofs, 1 Cor. 15:5-8.
4. In particular there is the testimony of the Apostles, who because they were to be bearers of this truth, and witnesses to the world, had frequent communion with him at times, for forty days after he had risen, Acts 1:3, during which time they "looked upon and handled" the "Word of life," 1 John 1:1,2. Therefore, Luke 24:39,40, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet." "Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing,'" John 20:27.
5. Indeed the very nature of the thing declares that he must be risen. If he was the Son of God and by his death satisfied for sin, and answered all the demands of justice in the place of his redeemed, it was impossible that the grave could hold him. Therefore when he had lain in it long enough to confirm the reality of his being dead, there was no reason for his lying there any longer. Thus the Scripture argues, "God raised [him] up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it," Acts 2:24.

IV. If it should be demanded, by what power did he arise, or who was the causative agent of his resurrection? It may be replied, that it was not any other outside power, but he himself was the author of his own rising from the dead. This he clearly prophesied beforehand, John 2:19 and 10:17,18. It is true that this work is ascribed to the Father, Acts 2:24. Being the Creditor, now fully satisfied in the discharge of the debt which his Son determined to pay, sent his angel as an officer to discharge him with glorious pomp and majesty. This work is also attributed to the Spirit, Rom. 8:11, because he was raised by a glorious and almighty power. This power did not manifest itself so much in the raising of his body from the grave (though nothing but omnipotent power could do that), as in releasing the chains of the second death which were upon him in his state of humiliation, and in discharging him from the sentence of the Law, by which he was condemned to die as our surety and representative. Indeed this work, being a divine work, belongs to the Deity and consequently to the Trinity. Yet Christ attributes this work to himself because his divine nature exerted itself mightily in his resurrection. As it was by a voluntary act that he laid down his life, and no one else could have taken it from him, so by an act of his mighty power he took it up again. Death himself could not stand against him, and he became a conqueror over it. In his own person Christ fulfilled the prophecy, Hosea 13:14 "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from my eyes." The angels who were present at the resurrection were not the instruments of it, but only waited on their Lord and honoured him in this phase of his Exaltation.

V. Christ's resurrection was on the third day after his death and burial, Luke 24:7. This was foretold by Christ himself, John 2:19. "And be raised the third day," Matt. 16:21. In this regard he claimed that Jonah was a type of himself, Matt. 12:39,40. He continued three days in a state of death, in order that there would be no question about his being truly dead. It was no longer in order that his disciples would not faint in their spirits and be discouraged by the corruption of his body, because it was foretold that it would not see corruption, Psa. 16:10. It is true, that he did not lay in the grave three whole days, but it was for some part of three successive days. He was buried on the sixth day (Friday) before sunset, and he lay in the grave the entire seventh day (Saturday) and the night of the first day (Sunday), considering the day to begin with the sunset.

VI. It was required that Christ should rise from the dead. Just as he had to die, he had to rise and live. This was necessary for several reasons:
1. He rose again to prove and declare that he was the Son of God, Rom. 1:4. During his Humiliation, and particularly in his death, Christ's divinity was obscured under a veil of the many infirmities of his humanity, but in his resurrection he proved his eternal power and Godhead. Indeed it is true that others were raised, and indeed shortly all shall rise; therefore merely to be raised from the dead is not proof of the divinity of the one raised. Yet, for someone to raise himself by his own power, that is sufficient proof of divinity. He gave evidence of divinity by raising others in his name, but he was required to raise himself by his own power to prove himself God.
There was a further proof of his divinity in the resurrection, in that he died according to the Law and justice of God, sentenced as our Surety to suffer the whole weight of the wrath of God. For him to be released from this sentence, after he had been born for that very purpose, and to live again having fulfilled all the demands of justice upon him, proves him to be God. The weight of wrath that he bore would have broken the whole of creation, and they would never have been released.
2. In this way he attested to his perfect victory over death and our spiritual enemies. It was not enough that Christ should die for us. In dying he must be a conqueror, otherwise his death would not profit us. Indeed, he suffered in order that he might overcome, Heb. 2:14, "That through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." This was shown and proven by his resurrection. This is the reason why Paul, after he had demonstrated by many arguments that Christ was risen, and then shown what was the glorious cause of it, concluded the passage with a note of triumph, 1 Cor. 15:57, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is true that Christ conquered all on his cross: there the battle was fought and there the victory was gained. But that victory was made into a triumph in his resurrection. Now his enemies fled, quitting the field. Psa. 68:1, "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; let those also who hate him flee before him." He made a conquest of death itself, and it lay dead at his feet. Christ would never be known as a conqueror, except for this. If death had held him as her captive, where would his victory be?
3. He rose for our justification. "Who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised because of our justification," Rom. 4:25. As he died to pay our debt, so he rose again to acquit or absolve us from it. Christ's resurrection was both his and our discharge: his, when he stood as our surety bond for us, and ours, as those for whom he was Surety. As Christ by dying was made virtually, so by rising he becomes actually the object of our justifying faith.
He became a sufficient object of faith not merely by undertaking to appear in our place, but by actually making an end of the transgressions on our account and paying our whole debt. If he had not made satisfaction for us, we could not in justice have been pardoned. If he had not fully reconciled us to God and completely answered the Law's demands, we could not have been saved. Therefore if he had continued on in death, it would have shown the continuing need for payment; which would have revealed its imperfection, and consequently its invalidity. Christ could not rise until justice acquitted him. His bond was submitted for our cause, and it must be accepted by the Judge, and that only by a full payment of the bond. When he arose, this bond was returned to him, and cancelled. Our debt is paid, our bond is returned. Therefore his resurrection stands in opposition to all that could be laid to our charge, Rom. 8:34. Therefore this is one of the arguments that the Apostle uses to prove that Christ must be risen, "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!" 1 Cor. 15:17.
4. It was to put Christ into a proper condition for the completing of the work remaining in the execution of his offices. We observed in a previous sermon that Christ executes his offices in both states of Humiliation and Exaltation. As our Priest he was to satisfy justice for us, and afterwards to intercede for us, Heb. 7:25. As our Prophet, here he taught with his mouth, but there he sent forth his Spirit, and therefore he had to go to the Father, John 16:17. As our King, here he commanded his disciples and gave them laws, but he must also govern them by his power and wield the sceptre over the world. This was accomplished by his resurrection, Psa. 2:6 and following, cf. Acts 13:33. Indeed, there was the glory of a mediator promised to him as a reward for his obedience, and it was necessary for him to rise in order to take possession of it, Luke 24:26, "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"
5. It was necessary for him to rise, so he would be the first fruits of our resurrection, both spiritually and bodily. See 1 Cor. 15:20-23. By first fruits we are not to understand first in order of time, but in order of causation. Those who rose at Christ's death, as described in the Gospel, Matt. 27:52,53, rose by the power and influence of his resurrection. Furthermore it is a sure pledge of the resurrection of his members. When the first fruits were offered to God under the Law, he accepted them and gave his people an assurance of the harvest. The Apostle makes the same point in 1 Cor. 15 using the order of the covenants. Just as Adam in the first covenant, standing for us, procured death for us, so Christ in the new covenant, being our Surety, has purchased a resurrection for us. His resurrection is the earnest of ours, 1 Cor. 15:20.
To summarise, Christ as God is the efficient cause: Christ as our substitute satisfying for our sins is the meritorious cause: Christ rising from the dead is the continuing cause of our resurrection. "A little while longer and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also," John 14:19.

APPLICATION 1. Learn from this, that it is the concern of all those who desire a joyful, triumphant resurrection at last, to get and secure a claim to Christ's resurrection. There will be a general rising again of all who die, both just and unjust, but no one will rise in glory except those who are under the saving power of the resurrection of Christ.
Others shall rise only to receive an everlasting second fall into the bottomless pit of never-ending miseries. As long as men are out of Christ, thoughts of the resurrection may well be full of dread, for it is that which truly makes death to be a reason for terror. If death were to put an end to the being of men, it would not have such fearfulness in it, as it does when one considers that after death comes a dreadful judgement and then a resurrection to condemnation. To think that I must be restored to an incorruptible state for the purpose of being prepared to suffer eternal torments, and lie in everlasting burning, is a most confounding thought. Is it enough to cause us to seriously enquire how may we escape this doom, and be happy at the last day? The solution is, let us get the power of Christ's resurrection applied to us, first to raise us up from sin, which is done in this life, and then to raise us up to glory, which will be at the last day. The second depends upon the first. Let us make sure, then, that he rose for our justification by being in him by faith, and so we shall be both justified and glorified by him at that day.

APPLICATION 2. Let us labour to get our faith strengthened and established by rightly meditating on the resurrection of Christ. Let this satisfy us, that Christ has made a complete redemption, as the Apostle argues, Heb. 7:25. Justice had him in its hands, it put him to death, but it has released him. A risen Surety must be a sufficient Saviour: there can no longer be any reason to question whether the justice of God is satisfied. Let this encourage us to go to Christ to finish all that is lacking in our being prepared for eternal life. Remember, he is exalted for this very purpose, to complete what he began in his earthly life and death.
APPLICATION 3. Let the consideration of our interest in his resurrection help us to triumph over death and the grave. Christ is risen and gone to heaven: he is our forerunner to take possession in our name and make ready our accommodations. Let us cheerfully follow him, rejoicing in the hope of a happy rising, and being with him forever.

[Preached June 8,1697]

William Gouge - Preaching God's Word

How Preaching May be Called "The Word of God"

The subject matter to be preached is here called "the word of God." Although that which is spoken by ministers is only the sound of a man's voice, yet that which true ministers of God preach in exercising their ministerial function is the word of God. Thus it is said of the apostles, "They spoke the word of God," Acts 4:31, and it is said of the people of Antioch, that "almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God," Acts 13:44.

That which ministers do or ought to preach is called the word of God in four respects.

1. In regard to the primary author of it, which is God. God did immediately inspire extraordinary ministers, and thereby informed them in his will. "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," 2 Peter 1:21. Therefore they would commonly use these introductory phrases, "The word of the Lord," Hosea 1:1; "Thus says the Lord," Isa 7:7; and an apostle says, "I have received of the Lord, that which also I delivered unto you," 1 Cor. 11:23. As for ordinary ministers, they have God's word written and left upon record for their use, "For all Scripture is given by inspiration of God," 2 Tim. 3:16. They therefore that ground what they preach upon the Scripture, and deliver nothing but what is agreeable to it, preach the word of God.

2. In regard to the subject-matter which they preach, which is the will of God; as the apostle exhorts, to "understand what the will of the Lord is," Eph. 5:17, and to "prove what is that good, that acceptable, and perfect will of God," Rom. 12:2.

3. In regard to the purpose of preaching, which is the glory of God, and making known "the manifold wisdom of God," Eph. 3:10.

4. In regard to the mighty effect and power of it, for preaching God's word is "the power of God unto salvation, Rom. 1:16. Preaching the word of God is "mighty through God to bring every thought to the obedience of Christ," 2 Cor. 10:4,5. For "the word of God is quick and powerful," etc., Heb. 4:12.

So close ought ministers to hold to God's word in their preaching, that they should not dare to swerve away from it in anything. The apostle pronounces a curse against him, whosoever he is, that shall preach any other word, Gal. 1:8,9.

Therefore we have just cause to avoid such teachers as preach contrary to this doctrine, Rom. 16:17, 2 John 10. The whole body of Roman Catholicism is to be rejected for this reason. So are the manifold errors and heresies which have been broached in former ages, and in this our age. The feigning of new light and immediate inspiration in these days is a mere pretence.

The Right Hearing of Preaching

by this subject matter of preaching the word of God, we may receive a good direction to observe two caveats enjoined by Christ concerning hearing:

The first is concerning the matter which we hear, "Take heed what you hear," Mark 4:24. We must hear nothing with approval except what we know to be the word of God. We must, therefore, be well acquainted with the Scriptures ourselves, and by them test the things which we hear, whether they are the word of God or not, as the men of Berea did, Acts 17:11.

The second caveat is concerning the manner of hearing, "Take heed how you hear," Luke 18:18. That which we know to be grounded upon the Scriptures we must receive, "not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God," 1 Thess. 2:13. We must with reverence attend to it; we must in our hearts believe, and we must in our lives obey it.

Preach the Pure Word

It is God's word that does convert, quicken, comfort, and build up, or, on the other side, wound and beat down. What is the reason that there was so great an alteration made by the ministry of Christ and his disciples, by the apostles and others after them, indeed, by Luther, and other ministers of reformed churches? They did not preach traditions of elders like the scribes; nor men's inventions like the Roman Catholics do. They preached the pure word of God. The more purely God's word is preached, the more deeply it pierces and the more kindly it works.

Thomas Boston - An Illustration of the Doctrines of the Christian Religion

AN ILLUSTRATION OF

THE DOCTRINES OF

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

OF MAN'S CHIEF END AND HAPPINESS.

1 Cor. X. 31.—Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Psalm Ixxiii. 25, 26.—Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Knowledge is a necessary foundation of faith and holiness; and where ignorance reigns in the mind, there is confusion in the heart and life. "We have the word of truth in our hands, and many methodical systems of divine truths, amongst which the Shorter Catechism, composed by the Reverend Assembly of Divines at Westminster, in pursuance of the solemn league and covenant, as a part of the then intended uniformity between the three nations, is deservedly reckoned the chief. This I shall endeavour to explain with all possible brevity and perspecuity, that ye may have a view of those divine truths, with the reasons of them. And this I have thought it the more necessary to do, in order that your minds may be established in the truth, as our time is like to be a time of trial, wherein ye may be exposed, to many snares, and so be in danger of apostasy.

In the first of the texts which I have read, ye have,

1.The chief end of human actions, the glory of God: that is the scope of which all we think, or speak, or do, should tend ; this is the point or common centre, in which all should meet. 

2.The extent of it. It is not only some of our actions, but all of them, of what kind soever, that must be directed to this end. This, then, is man's chief duty.

In the second text we have,

1. The Psalmist's chief desire, and what he points at as his only true happiness ; that is, the enjoyment of God. He takes God for and instead of all, that in him alone his soul may rest.

2. The reason of this is taken from, (1.) The creature's emptiness, both in body and spirit, ver. 25. (2.) From God's fulness and sufficiency: and this is amplified by the eternity of it, my portion for ever.

From both texts the following doctrine natively follows. Doct. " Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever."

In handling this doctrine, I shall speak, 

I. to the glorifying of God, which is one part of man's chief end.

II. To the enjoyment of God for ever, wherein man's chief happiness consists, and which he is to seek as his chief good.

III. I shall speak to the glorifying of God, which is one part of man's chief end. And here I shall shew,

1. The nature of glorifying God.

2. In what respects God's glory is man's chief end.

3. The extent of this glorifying God.

4. The reason of it.

First, I shall shew the nature of glorifying God. To glorify, is either to make glorious, or to declare to be glorious. God glorifies, i. e. makes angels or men glorious; but man cannot make God glorious, for he is not capable of any additional glory, being in himself infinitely glorious, Job xxxv. 7- Hence it is plain, that God gets no advantage to himself by the best works of men, the profit of our holiness redounding entirely to ourselves. Acts xvii. 25. Psal. xvi. 2.

God is glorified, then, only declaratively ; he is glorified when his glory is declared. This is done two ways. Objectively, by the creatures inanimate and irrational. Thus the heavens declare the glory of God, Psal. xix. 1. This the creatures do, while they afford matter of praise to God, as a violin is fit to make music, though there must be a hand to play on it ere it can sound. Man declares his glory also actively. And this he ought to do,

1. By his heart, 1 Cor. vi. 20. Glorify God in your spirit. Honouring God with the lips, not with the heart, is but a very lame and unacceptable performance. He ought to be glorified by our understanding, taking him up in the glory which the scripture reveals him in, thinking highly of him, and esteeming him above all other persons or things, Psal. Ixxiii. 25. So they that know him not, can never glorify him: and they that esteem any person or thing more than, or as much as him, dishonour him. We glorify him by our wills, chusing him as our portion and chief good, as he really is in himself; by our affections loving him, and rejoicing and delighting in him above every other.

2. By his lips, Psal. 1. 23. ' Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.' Therefore man's tongue is called his glory, Psal. xvi. 9. not only because it serves him for speech, which exalts him above the brutes, but because it is given him as a proper instrument for speaking forth the glory of God. So that it must needs be a strange perverting of the tongue, to set it against the heavens, and let it loose to the dishonour of God, and fetter it as to his glory.

3. By his life. Mat. v. 16. ' Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.' A holy life is a life of light ; it is a shining light, to let a blind world see the glory of God. Sin darkens the glory of God, draws a veil over it. David's sin made the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. The study of holiness says, God is holy mourning for every slip says, God is spotless; walking holily in all manner of conversation, within and without, &c. says, God is omniscient and omnipresent, &c. As when men find a well-ordered family, that tells what a man the master of it is.

Secondly, I proceed to show in what respects God's glory is man's chief end.

First, It is man's end,

1. It is the end which God aimed at when he made man. Prov. xvi. 4. ' The Lord hath made all things for himself,' Rom. xi. 36. ' For of him, and through him, and to him are all things.' Every rational agent proposes to himself an end in working, and the most perfect the highest end. Now God is the most perfect Being, and his glory the noblest end. God is not actively glorified by all men, and therefore he surely did not design it ; but he designed to have glory from them, either by them or on them; and so it will be. Happy they who glorify him by their actings, that they may not glorify him by their eternal sufferings.

2. It is the end of man as God's work. Man was made fit for glorifying God, Eccl. vii. 29. ' God made man upright;' as a well- tuned instrument, or as a house conveniently built, though never inhabited. The very fabric of a man's body, whereby he looks upward, while the beasts look down, is a palpable evidence of this.

3. It is that which man should aim at, the mark to which he should direct all he does, 1 Cor. x. 31, the text. This is what we should continually have in our eye, the grand design we should be

carrying on in the world, Psal. xvi. 8. ' I have set the Lord always before me,' says David.

Secondly, It is man's chief end, that which God chiefly aimed at, the chief end of man as God's work, and that which man should chiefly aim at. God made man for other ends, as to govern, use, and dispose of other creatures in the earth, sea, and air, wisely, soberly, and mercifully, Gen. i. 26. Man was fitted for these ends, and a man may propose them lawfully to himself, seeing God has set them before him; but still these are but subordinate ends to his glory.

There are some ends which men propose to themselves, which are simply unlawful, as to satisfy their revenge, their lust, their covetousness, &c. These are not capable of subordination to the glory of God, who hates robbery for burnt-offering. But there are other ends, which are indeed in themselves lawful, yet become sinful, if they be not set in their due place, that is, subordinate to the glory ofGod. Now, God's glory is made our chief end, when these three things concur.

1. When whatever end we have in our actions, the glory of God is still one of our ends in acting. We may eat and drink for the nourishment of our bodies ; but this must not justle out our respect to the glory of God. If the nourishment of our bodies be the only end of our eating and drinking, it is sinful, and out of the due order.

2. It must not only be our end, but it must be our main and principal end, that which we chiefly design. When God's glory is our chief end, all other ends that we propose to ourselves will be down-weighed by this ; all other sheaves must bow to that sheaf: as a diligent servant designs to please both the master and his steward, but chiefly the master. But when, on the contrary, a man eats and drinks (for instance) more for the nourishment of his body than for God's glory, it is plain, that God's glory is not the chief end of the man in that action. Hence we read, 2 Tim. iii. 4. of some that are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

3. When it is the ultimate end, the last end, the top and perfection of what we design, beyond which we have no more view, and to which all other ends are made subservient, and as means to that end. Thus we should eat that our bodies may be refreshed ; we should desire that our bodies may be refreshed, that we may be the more capable to serve and glorify God in our stations. Thus we are obliged to seek our own salvation, that God may be glorified and not to seek God's glory only that we may be saved; for that is to make the glory of God a stepping-stone to our own safety. 

Thirdly, I come now to show the extent of this duty. Respect to the glory of God is as salt that must be served up with every dish. The great work of our life is to glorify him; it is the end of our first and of our second creation, Isa. xliii. 21. ' This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.' We must be for God, Hos. iii. 3. and live to him. This must be the end.

1. Of our natural actions, 1 Cor. x. 31. eating, sleeping, walking, &c. we are under a law as to these things. We may not eat and drink as we please, more than pray as we please, Zech. vii. 6. All these things must be done in subserviency to the glory of God. These things must be done that we may live, and living may glorify God ; and when we can do it without them in heaven, then none of these things shall be done.

2. Of our civil actions, working our work, buying and selling, &c. Eph. vi. 7. Prov. xxi. 4. It was one of the sins of the old world, that they were eating ; the word is properly used of beasts eating their food : they had no higher end in it than beasts; and marrying, a thing in itself lawful, but they had no eye to God in it.

3. Of our moral and religious actions, Zech. vii. 5. We must pray, hear, &c. for God's glory.

This is such a necessary ingredient in our actions, that none of them are truly good and acceptable to God without it, Zech. vii. 5. Do what we will, it cannot be service to God, if we do not make him our end ; no more than a servant's working to himself is service to his master. God will never be the rewarder of a work, whereof he is not the end; for if a man should build houses to all the country, if he build not one to me, I owe him nothing. Alas! to what purpose serves a generation of good works all killed by a depraved end?

Though it is a duty frequently to have a formal and express intention of the glory of God in our actings, yet to have it in every action is impossible: neither are we bound to it; for then, for that very intention we should be obliged to have another, another for that, and another for that, in infinitum. But we should always habitually and interpretatively design the glory of God. And that is done when, (1.) The course of our lives is directed to the glory of God, Psal. 1. ult. (2.) When we walk according to the rule of God's word, taking heed that we swerve not in any thing from it. And, (3.) When God's will is the reason as well as the rule of our actions ; when we believe a truth, because God has said it ; and do a duty, because God has commanded it. If we do not so, God loses his glory, and we lose our labour.

Fourthly, The reason of the point is, because he is the first principle, therefore he must be the last end. He is the first and the last, the Alpha, and therefore the Omega. God is the fountain of our being; and therefore seeing we are of him, we should be to him, Rom. xi. ult. forecited. Man is a mere relative being; God is our Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor. Our being is but a borrowed being from him, as the rays or beams of the sun are borrowed from the sun: therefore I AM is God's name. Whatever perfection we have is from him hence he is called 'the only wise, none good but one, that is God:' he gives us the continuance of all these things, and it is on his cost that we live. As when the waters come from the sea unto the earth, and go back again unto it by brooks and rivers; so all we receive and enjoy comes from God, and ought to go back again to him, by being used for his glory. Wherefore to make ourselves our chief end, is to make ourselves a god to ourselves; for a creature to be a centre to itself, and that God should be a means to that end, is to blaspheme, John viii. 50.

II. I shall speak to the enjoyment of God for ever, wherein man's chief happiness consists, and which he is to seek as his chief good. Here I shall show,

1. The nature of this enjoyment.

2. The order of it.

3. That it is man's chief end in point of happiness.

First, I shall shew the nature of this enjoyment. There is a twofold enjoyment of God, imperfect and perfect.

First, There is an imperfect enjoyment of God in this life ; which

consists in two things.

1. In union with him, or a special saving interest in him, whereby God is their God by covenant. By this union Christ and believers are so joined, that they are one spirit, one mystical body. The whole man, soul and body, is united to him, and, through the Mediator, unto God. This is the foundation of all saving enjoyment of God.

2. In communion with God, which is a participation of the benefits of that saving relation, whereof the soul makes returns to the Lord in the exercise of its graces, particularly of faith and love. This is had in the duties of religion, prayer, meditation, &c. in which the Lord privileges his people with manifestations of his grace, favour, and love, bestows on them the influences of his Spirit, gives them many tokens of his kindness, and fills them with joy and peace in believing.

Secondly, There is a perfect enjoyment of God in heaven, when this world is no more. This consists in,

1. An intimate presence with him in glory Psal. xvi. 11, ' In his presence is fulness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore.' God himself shall be with them, and they shall ever be with the Lord, enjoying his glorious presence, brought near to his throne, and standing before him, where he shews his inconceivable glory.

2. In seeing him as he is, 1 John iii. 2. They shall have a full, a satisfying, and never-ending sight of God, and of all his glorious perfections and excellencies, and they shall be ravished with the view thereof for ever.

3. In a perfect union with him, Rev. xxi. 3. He will be their God. They were united to God in Christ here by the Spirit and faith, and made partakers of a divine nature, but then only in part but in heaven they shall perfectly partake of it. There shall be a most close and intimate union between God and them: God shall be in them, and they in God, in the way of a glorious and most perfect union, never to be dissolved.

4. In an immediate, full, free, and comfortable communion with him, infinitely superior to all the communion they ever had with him in this world, and which no mortal can suitably describe.

5. Lastly, In full joy and satisfaction resulting from these things for ever, Mat. xxv. 21. The presence and enjoyment of God and the Lamb, shall satisfy them with pleasures for evermore. They shall swim for ever in an ocean of joy, and every object they see shall fill them with the most ecstatic joy, which shall be ever fresh and new to them, through all the ages of eternity. (The reader may see a more full account of the happiness of the saints in heaven, in the author's book, Fourfold State, state 4, head 6, Vol.)

Secondly, Let us consider the order of this enjoyment.

1. It is a part of man's chief end, and, in conjunction with glorifying of God, makes it up. And these two are put together, because no man can glorify God, but he that takes God for his chief good and supreme happiness.

2. Glorifying of God is put before the enjoying of him, because the way of duty is the way to the enjoyment of God. Holiness on earth must necessarily go before felicity in heaven, Heb. xii. 14. There is an inseparable connexion betwixt the two, as between the end and the means; so that no person who does not glorify God here, shall ever enjoy him hereafter. The connexion is instituted by God himself, so that the one can never be attained without the other. Let no person, then, who has no regard for the glory and honour of God in this world, dream that he shall be crowned with glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life, in the heavenly mansions. No; the pure in heart, and they who glorify God now, shall alone see God, to their infinite joy in heaven.

Thirdly, I shall shew, that the enjoyment of God is man's chief end in point of happiness, the thing that he should chiefly seek. For this end,

1. Consider what man is. He is, (1.) A creature that desires happiness, and cannot but desire it. The desire of happiness is woven into his nature, and cannot be eradicated. It is as natural for him to desire it as it is to breathe. (2.) He is not self-sufficient he is conscious to himself that he wants many things, and therefore he is ever seeking something without himself in order to be happy. (3.) Nothing but an infinite good can fully satisfy the desires of an immortal soul: because, whatever good he finds in the creature, he can still desire more, and will continue to desire it; and where it is not to be found, there his happiness is marred. So that man's happiness is neither to be found in himself nor in any creature, or created good.

2. Consider what God is.

1st, God is the chief good. Some persons, as angels, &c. and some things, as grace, glory, &c. are good; but God is the chief good, for he is the fountain good, and the water that is good is always best in the fountain. All other goodness is but second-hand goodness, derived and dependant; but God is original, underived, and independent goodness, the cause and source of whatever is good in heaven and earth. Now, where the more goodness is, there the more it is to be sought. And therefore, seeing God is the chief good, the enjoyment of him is the chief end which man should aim at in seeking.

2nd, God is all good. (1,) There is nothing in him but what is good; he is entirely without imperfection. (2.) All that is good is in him; so that the soul, finding him commensurate to its desires, needs nothing besides him; and therefore should not, and cannot, fully rest in any person or thing but God, who alone is able to satisfy all its desires, and afford it that happiness which it earnestly pants after.

I shall conclude with a few inferences.

1. how does reigning sin pervert the spirit of man, turning it quite away from its chief end! How many are there who make themselves their chief end! They are conjured within the circle of self, and out of it they cannot move. Like beasts they grovel on the ground, seeking themselves, and acting for themselves only or chiefly, pursuing the enjoyment of earthly things; but look not to God, Phil. iii. 19. Their own advantage is the chief motive and aim they have in their natural, civil, and religious actions, either their own pleasure, profit, or honour and glory. And they never think of, never propose the glory and honour of the infinite Majesty of heaven in any thing they do.

2. This may fill the best with shame and blushing. how much is God dishonoured by our hearts, lips, and lives! what self-seeking mixes itself with our best actions! How eagerly do we pursue created things, and how faintly the enjoyment of God! How absurd is such conduct! and how dishonourable to a holy God! It is a saying upon the matter, that God is not the chief good, that he is not a suitable portion for the soul, and that the creature is better than God. How should we be ashamed of ourselves on this account, and labour earnestly to make God the chief and ultimate end of all our actions, and the enjoyment of him our chief happiness!

3. Behold the excellency of man above other creatures on earth! He is made for a noble end, to glorify and enjoy God, while other creatures were made for him. How sad is it, that men should thus forget their dignity, and turn slaves to those creatures which were made to serve them! And how deplorable and lamentable is it, that men, in place of making God their ultimate end, and placing their chief happiness in him, should make their belly, their lusts and idols, their God, and place their chief felicity in the gratification of sensual and brutish pleasures; as the drunkard does in his bottle, the unclean person in his whore, the miser in his wealth, and the ambitious man in titles of honour. Alas! our hearts by nature are set on the earth that we tread upon, and our desires reach up to those things that we should make stepping-stones of. Let us earnestly implore divine grace to cure this disorder of our hearts, and give them a bias to more excellent things, and the enjoyment of that which will survive the grave, and not perish with the wrecks of time, and the dissolution of the world.

4. The soul of man is immortal, seeing to enjoy God for ever is its ultimate and supreme happiness. God is immortal, and so must the soul be too, which can never be satisfied but in this never-dying being. The body too must rise again, seeing God is the God and portion of the whole man. Now, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Can that thinking and immaterial substance which eagerly desires happiness, and can find it no where but in the immortal God, perish with the body, and all its thoughts and desires be extinguished in the grave? No; its chief happiness will subsist for ever, and so will the soul too. And both soul and body, which were united to God here, shall continue to be united to him for ever, after the resurrection. Let us then seek to be united to God here, that we may be happy with and in him for ever. 

5. When God and the creature come in competition, we must renounce the creature, and cleave to God only, Luke xiv. 33. God is the chief good, and to glorify and adhere to him at all times, and in all cases, and amidst all trials, is our great duty, a duty absolutely required of us. If we are reduced to that dilemma, that we must either give up with the creature, or any worldly goods or possessions, or even life itself, or give up with and deny God and his cause, we must give up with and abandon the former, and not prefer them to the glory of God, which we ought always to study as our main end, and account our chief happiness and joy.

6. Here is a rule to try doctrines by, and also practices. Whatever doctrine tends to glorify God, and promote his honour in the world,is certainly from God, and is to be embraced. And whatever practices have that same tendency, they are good, and deserve to be imitated. Whereas any doctrine that tends to dishonour God, to rob him of his glory, and set the crown upon the creature's head, to depreciate the free grace of God, exalt the power of nature and of free-will, in opposition to the efficacious and irresistible grace of God, as the doctrines of the Pelagians, Papists, Arminians, and others do, is not from God. Neither is any doctrine or opinion that robs the Son of God of his essential dignity, supremacy, independency, and equality with the Father, to be received, because it is not of God, who will have all men to honour the Son even as they honour the Father.

Lastly, Let this then be your main and chief work, to glorify God, and to seek to enjoy him. And hence see the absoluteness of Christ, and faith in him; for there is no glorifying of the Father without the Son, 1 John ii. 23. and no enjoying of God, but through him. No sacrifice is or can be accepted, unless offered upon this altar; and there is no coming into the chamber of presence, but as introduced by Christ.

John Bunyan - Last Sermon Preached Before Death

BUNYAN'S LAST SERMON--PREACHED JULY 1688.

"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God;" John i. 13.

The words have a dependence on what goes before, and therefore I must direct you to them for the right understanding of it. You have it thus,--"He came to his own, but his own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them which believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God." In the words before, you have two things

First, Some of his own rejecting him when he offered himself to them.

Secondly, Others of his own receiving him, and making him welcome. Those that reject him he also passes by; but those that receive him, he gives them power to become the sons of God. Now, lest any one should look upon it as good luck or fortune, says he, "They were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." They that did not receive him, they were only born of flesh and blood; but those that receive him, they have God to their father, they receive the doctrine of Christ with a vehement desire.

First, I will shew you what he means by "blood." They that believe are born to it, as an heir is to an inheritance; they are born of God; not of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God; not of blood--that is, not by generation; not born to the kingdom of heaven by the flesh; not because I am the son of a godly man or woman. That is meant by blood, Acts xvii. 26, "He has made of one blood all nations." But when he says here, "not of blood," he rejects all carnal privileges they did boast of. They boasted they were Abraham's seed. No, no, says he, it is not of blood; think not to say you have Abraham to your father, you must be born of God if you go to the kingdom of heaven.

Secondly, "Nor of the will of the flesh." What must we understand by that? It is taken for those vehement inclinations that are in man to all manner of looseness, fulfilling the desires of the flesh. That must not be understood here; men are made the children of God by fulfilling their lustful desires; it must be understood here in the best sense. There is not only in carnal men a will to be vile, but there is in them a will to be saved also--a will to go to heaven also. But this it will not do, it will not privilege a man in the things of the kingdom of God. Natural desires after the things of another world, they are not an argument to prove a man shall go to heaven whenever he dies. I am not a free willer, I do abhor it; yet there is not the wickedest man but he desires some time or other to be saved. He will read some time or other, or, it may be, pray; but this will not do--"It is not in him that wills, nor in him that runs, but in God that shews mercy;" there is willing and running, and yet to no purpose; Rom. ix. 16, "Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, have not obtained it." Here I do not understand as if the apostle had denied a virtuous course of life to be the way to heaven, but that a man without grace, though he have natural gifts, yet he shall not obtain privilege to go to heaven, and be the son of God. Though a man without grace may have a will to be saved, yet he cannot have that will God's way. Nature, it cannot know anything but the things of nature; the things of God knows no man but by the Spirit of God; unless the Spirit of God be in you, it will leave you on this side the gates of heaven--"Not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." It may be some may have a will, a desire that Ishmael may be saved; know this, it will not save thy child. If it were our will, I would have you all go to heaven. How many are there in the world that pray for their children, and cry for them, and ready to die; and this will not do? God's will is the rule of all; it is only through Jesus Christ, "which were born, not of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Now I come to the doctrine.

Men that believe in Jesus Christ to the effectual receiving of Jesus Christ, they are born to it. He does not say they SHALL be born to it, but they ARE born to it; born of God, unto God, and the things of God, before they receive God to eternal salvation. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Now unless he be born of God, he cannot see it. Suppose the kingdom of God be what it will, he cannot see it before he be begotten of God; suppose it be the Gospel, he cannot see it before he be brought into a state of regeneration; believing is the consequence of the new birth, "not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God."

First, I will give you a clear description of it under one similitude or two. A child, before it be born into the world, is in the dark dungeon of its mother's womb; so a child of God, before he be born again, is in the dark dungeon of sin, sees nothing of the kingdom of God, therefore it is called a new birth; the same soul has love one way in its carnal condition, another way when it is born again.

Secondly, As it is compared to a birth, resembling a child in his mother's womb, so it is compared to a man being raised out of the grave; and to be born again is to be raised out of the grave of sin-- "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee life." To be raised from the grave of sin is to be begotten and born; Rev. i. 5. There is a famous instance of Christ- -"He is the first-begotten from the dead, he is the firstborn from the dead;" unto which our regeneration alludeth,--that is, if you be born again by seeking those things that are above, then there is a similitude betwixt Christ's resurrection and the new birth; which were born, which were restored out of this dark world, and translated out of the kingdom of this dark world into the kingdom of his dear Son, and made us live a new life; this is to be born again; and he that is delivered from the mother's womb, it is the help of the mother; so he that is born of God, it is by the Spirit of God. I must give you a few consequences of new birth.

First of all, a child, you know, is incident to cry as soon as it comes into the world; for if there be no noise, they say it is dead. You that are born of God, and Christians, if you be not criers, there is no spiritual life in you; if you be born of God, you are crying ones; as soon as he has raised you out of the dark dungeon of sin, you cannot but cry to God, What must I do to be saved? As soon as ever God had touched the jailor, he cries out, "Men and brethren, what must I do to be saved?" Oh! how many prayerless professors are there in London that never pray? Coffee-houses will not let you pray, trades will not let you pray, looking-glasses will not let you pray; but if you were born of God, you would.

Secondly, It is not only natural for a child to cry, but it must crave the breast, it cannot live without the breast; therefore Peter makes it the true trial of a new-born babe; the new-born babe desires the sincere milk of the Word, that he may grow thereby. If you be born of God, make it manifest by desiring the breast of God. Do you long for the milk of promises? A man lives one way when he is in the world, another way when he is brought unto Jesus Christ; Isa. lxvi., "They shall suck, and be satisfied." If you be born again, there is no satisfaction till you get the milk of God's word into your souls; Isa. lxvi. 11, "To suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of consolation." O what is a promise to a carnal man; a whorehouse, it may be, is more sweet to him; but if you be born again, you cannot live without the milk of God's word. What is a woman's breast to a horse? But what is it to a child? There is its comfort night and day, there is its succour night and day. O how loath is he it should be taken from him. Minding heavenly things, says a carnal man, is but vanity; but to a child of God, there is his comfort.

Thirdly, A child that is newly born, if it have not other comforts to keep it warm than it had in its mother's womb, it dies. It must have something got for its succour; so Christ had swaddling clothes prepared for him; so those that are born again, they must have some promise of Christ to keep them alive. Those that are in a carnal state, they warm themselves with other things; but those that are born again, they cannot live without some promise of Christ to keep them alive, as he did to the poor infant in Ezekiel xvii., "I covered thee with embroidered gold." And when women are with child, what fine things will they prepare for their child! O but what fine things has Christ prepared to wrap all in that are born again! O what wrappings of gold has Christ prepared for all that are born again! Women will dress their children, that every one may see them how fine they are; so he in Ezekiel xvi. 11--"I decked thee also with ornaments, and I also put bracelets upon thine hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head;" and, says he in the 13th verse, "thou didst prosper to a kingdom." This is to set out nothing in the world but the righteousness of Christ, and the graces of the Spirit, without which a new-born babe cannot live, unless he have the golden righteousness of Christ.

Fourthly, A child when it is in its mother's lap, the mother takes great delight to have that which will he for its comfort; so it is with God's children, they shall he kept on his knee; Isaiah lxvi. 11, "They shall stick and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolation." Ver. 13, "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." There is a similitude in these things that nobody knows of but those that are born again.

Fifthly, There is usually some similitude betwixt the father and the child; it may be the child looks like its father; so those that are born again, they have a new similitude, they have the image of Jesus Christ (Gal. iv.), every one that is born of God has something of the features of heaven upon him. Men love those children that are likest them most usually; so does God his children; therefore they are called the children of God. But others do not look like him, therefore they are called Sodomites. Christ describes children of the devil by their features; the children of the devil, his works they will do; all works of unrighteousness, they are the devil's works. If you are earthly, you have borne the image of the earthly; if heavenly, you have borne the image of the heavenly.

Sixthly, When a man has a child, he trains him up to his own liking, he learns the custom of his father's house; so are those that are born of God; they have learned the custom of the true church of God, there they learn to cry, My Father and my God; they are brought up in God's house, they learn the method and form of God's house for regulating their lives in this world.

Seventhly, Children, it is natural for them to depend upon their father for what they want. If they want a pair of shoes, they go and tell him; if they want bread, they go and tell him; so should the children of God do. Do you want spiritual bread? go tell God of it. Do you want strength of grace? ask it of God. Do you want strength against Satan's temptations? go and tell God of it. When the devil tempts you, run home and tell your heavenly Father; go pour out your complaints to God. This is natural to children; if any wrong them, they go and tell their father; so do those that are born of God, when they meet with temptations, go and tell God of them.

The first use is this, to make a strict inquiry whether you be born of God or not. Examine by those things I laid down before of a child of nature and a child of grace. Are you brought out of the dark dungeon of this world into Christ? have you learned to cry, My Father? Jer. iii. 16, "And I said, Thou shalt call me thy Father." All God's children are criers. Can you be quiet without you have a bellyful of the milk of God's word? Can you be satisfied without you have peace with God? Pray you consider it, and be serious with yourselves. If you have not these marks, you will fall short of the kingdom of God, you shall never have an interest there; there is no intruding. They will say, "Lord, Lord, open to us; and he will say, I know you not." No child of God, no heavenly inheritance. We sometimes give something to those that are not our children, but not our lands. O do not flatter yourselves with a portion among the sons, unless you live like sons. When we see a king's son play with a beggar, this is unbecoming; so if you be the king's children, live like the king's children. If you be risen with Christ, set your affections on things above, and not on things below. When you come together, talk of what your Father promised you; you should all love your Father's will, and be content and pleased with the exercises you meet with in the world. If you are the children of God, live together lovingly. If the world quarrel with you, it is no matter; but it is sad if you quarrel together. If this be amongst you, it is a sign of ill-breeding, it is not according to rules you have in the Word of God. Dost thou see a soul that has the image of God in him? Love him, love him; say, This man and I must go to heaven one day. Serve one another, do good for one another; and if any wrong you, pray to God to right you, and love the brotherhood.

Lastly, If you be the children of God, learn that lesson: "Gird up the loins of your mind as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to your former conversation; but be ye holy in all manner of conversation." Consider that the holy God is your father, and let this oblige you to live like the children of God, that you may look your Father in the face with comfort another day.