SERMON XXX.
As Thou has sent
me into the world, even so now I also sent them into the world.—john XVII. 18.
in the context
our Lord had prayed for conservation and sanctification; first he saith, 'Keep
them through thine own name,' ver. 11; then, 'Sanctify them through thy truth.'
ver. 17. In this verse is the reason of the latter request, why he prays for
sanctification for the apostles; and the argument which he uses is,' I have
sent them into the world.' It was at hand, and therefore it is spoken of a thine done, I am about to send; or it referreth
to his election and choice, I have called them, that I may send them to preach
the word. The same office which thou hast put upon me as a prophet I have put
upon them, and therefore 'sanctify them.' They that are sent abroad to preach
the gospel need special preservation and special holiness; their dangers are
great, and so are their temptations. So much holiness as will serve an ordinary
Christian will not serve a minister. The measures of the sanctuary were double
to other measures, and so should the graces of ministers be double to the
graces of others. It is not enough that ministers excel in gifts, but they must
also excel in holiness; they are to bear forth the name of Christ before the
world, and therefore they should resemble Christ more than others do. This is
the reason of the context: 'Sanctify them through, or by, thy truth; for I have
sent them into the world, as thou hast sent me into the world.' In the text
there are two things:—
1. The mission of Christ.
2. The mission of the
apostles. Together with the comparison between them both; as
thou hast sent me into the world, even so, &c.
First, The mission of Christ, 'Thou hast sent me into the world,'
Here you may consider—(1.) Who sends; (2.) The nature of this [Pg. 462] mission, or what this sending is; (3.)
The ends and purposes why Christ was sent
1. Who sends. Christ saith to his Father, 'Thou hast sent me.' The
Holy Ghost sends as well as the Father, yea, the Son sends himself. The Trinity
are one in essence and in will, and their actions am
undivided; why then doth he say to the Father, 'Thou hast sent me into the
world?' I answer—It is chiefly ascribed to the Father,
because it is his personal operation. In the economy of salvation, the original
authority is said to reside in God the Father; he sent Christ, and the Spirit
fits and qualifies him, and the Son he takes human nature, and unites it to his
own person. Now there is a great deal of comfort in this, that the Father sends
Christ The Father, being first in the order of the persons, is to be looked
upon as the offended party, and as the highest judge. All sin is against God,
and it chiefly reflects upon the first person, to whom we direct our prayers,
and who is the maker of the law, and therefore requires an account of the
breach of it It chiefly
reflects upon the first person, to whom Christ tendered the satisfaction. Sin,
it is a grieving of the Spirit, it is a crucifying of Christ, there is wrong
done to all the persons of the Godhead; but in the last result of all, it is an
offence to God the Father, and an affront to his authority; for all that is
done to the other persons redounds to him. It is his Spirit that is grieved;
and our Saviour thus reasoneth,
Luke x. 16, 'He that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me;' so that he is the wronged
party. And again, he is the supreme judge. All the persons in the Godhead are
co-essential and co-equal in glory and honour; but in
the economy and dispensation of salvation, the Father is to be looked upon as
judge and chief. Therefore Christ doth say, 'My Father is greater than
2. What is this sending? It
implies three things—(1.) The designation of the person; (2.)
His qualification for the work; (3.) His authority and commission.
[1.] The designation of the
person. This was an act of divine and voluntary dispensation, according to
which the second person in the Trinity, the Son of God, not the Father, nor the
Holy Ghost, was sent to take our nature, and the office of a redeemer upon
himself. In this choosing of Christ was the original and first rise of elective
love. Augustine hath observed, in choosing Christ, what was the reason Christ
was the person designed: Col. i.
19, 'It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell' What is the
reason we are elected and chosen above others? that
God reveals himself to babes? and the things of his
grace are hidden from the wise and prudent? 'Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight,' Mat xi. 26. The same reason is given for the election and
choice of Jesus Christ to be the redeemer, that is given for our election; 'It
pleased the Father;' that is all That Christ might be the first pattern of free
grace the Father chose the Son, that he might be the redeemer. It was congruous
and very fit that the Son and heir of all things should give us the adoption of
sons: Gal. iv. 4, 6, 'God sent forth
his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under
the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.' He sent his Son
that we might have the same relation to God by grace which Christ had by
nature. By nature, he is the only-begotten Son of the Father; and this is that
which is purchased for us, that we should become the sons of God; and the
middle person of the Trinity is the fittest to be the mediator between us and
God.
[2.] This sending implies his
fitness and qualification to do the work for which he was sent (1.) He had fit
natures; (2.) He had fit endowments.
(1.) Fit
natures. He was God-man: God, else how could he send? man,
else how could he be sent into the world? This sending implies he was a person
truly existing before he came into the world, as a man must be before he is
sent, and therefore he is said to be 'sent forth from God;' Gal. iv. 4, 'God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman.' 'Sent forth,' that shows his being before
he took flesh; Christ was somewhere from whence he was sent forth. And then,
'made of a-woman,' that implies his incarnation. This sending doth suppose his
divine nature, and imply his incarnation, or God's bestowing upon him a human
nature. God he was, in the bosom of the Father, from, whence he was sent forth
into the world. Such an errand as Christ [Pg. 464] came about required a God, no inferior mediator would serve the turn. .Nothing but
an infinite good can remedy an infinite evil. Sin had bound us over to an
eternal judgment, and nothing can counterpoise eternity but the infiniteness
and the excellency of
Christ's person. His divine nature was requisite in many regards. Partly to
give efficacy and virtue and value to his sufferings; and therefore it is said
that we are 'purchased by the blood of God,' Acts xx. 28; the meaning is, the
blood of that person to whom the divine properties belonged. God is a spirit,
and hath not flesh, blood, and bones, as we have; how then are we said to be
redeemed with the 'blood of God'? that is, the blood of him who was God; which
makes it to be of infinite value, and enough to counterpoise that eternity of
torment which we should have endured. Again, the dignity of his person conduced
to the acceptance of one for all: 2 Cor. v. 15, 'And
that he died for all,' Ac., in the room and stead of all the elect; and
therefore that there might be such a value in his sufferings, his person must
be thus worthy; as they said to David, 'Thou art worth ten thousand of us,' 2
Sam. xviii. 3. A general or commander given in ransom will redeem thousands of private
soldiers; so the worth of Christ's person made him equivalent in dignity to the
persons of all those whom he sustained; yea, much more, God was more satisfied
from Christ, than if all the world had suffered, and all angels and men had
been made a sacrifice. Again, God he must be, because of the exuberancy of his merit Christ's suffering was not only a
ransom from death, but the merit of eternal life. By his death he satisfied the
old covenant, and ratified the new. The scriptures do not only set forth the
death of Christ as a ransom for souls, but as a price given to purchase
everlasting glory. A surety to an ordinary creditor, if he pay the debt, he
only frees the creditor from bonds, but doth not bring him into grace and favour. But now Christ hath merited happiness for us, and
not only freed us from wrath to come, and delivered us from bondage; there was
a price paid to divine justice. Again, the dignity of his person was necessary
by way of compensation for those circumstances of punishment which did not
beseem Christ The civility of nations remits to princes and nobles some
disgraceful circumstances; though the punishment is inflicted, jet the kind of
death is changed, because of the dignity of their birth, and place in the
commonwealth. So here; the sentence which passed upon men was eternal death;
the sentence itself is not ravened, that would lessen the authority of the law,
and the glory of God's justice. The truth is, there
are some circumstances abated which stood not with the worthiness of Christ's
person; as for instance, the eternity of the punishment is abated. Christ
suffered but a few hours, because of the greatness of his sufferings, and the
dignity of his person. A payment in gold is as full and valid as a payment in
silver, though it may take up less room, because of the excellency
of the metal; so here, the suffering and death of Christ was of full value,
though it was despatched in a lesser time; the
eternity, that is abated, because of the dignity and worth of his person. Once
more, the godhead of Christ was necessary, that he may be able to discharge the
office of a priest, as that he might satisfy on the cross, and know all those
whom he did personate and represent before the tribunal of God. As the high
[Pg. 465] priest had the names of the twelve tribes upon his shoulders and upon
his breast, Exod. xxviii. 12-29,—upon his shoulders,
to represent them to God, and upon his breast, to show how dear they were to
himself,— so Jesus Christ hath, as it were, the names of all those for whom he
was to suffer and intercede; he was to know them man by man. And it was meet that he should know all the sins that were imputed to
him; and therefore the person thus sent, for such a work as his was, must needs
be God. Again, he must be God, that he might support
his human nature, and overcome his sufferings. Jesus Christ was to be raised,
and also to raise himself; he was to be raised by God the Father as a judge. As
the apostles would not go out of prison till the magistrates came to fetch them
out themselves, so God as judge is said to raise Christ, and exalt him; he must
give him power to rise. But now Christ was also to raise himself: John ii 19,
'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise
it again·' He was to raise himself, to declare the glory of his person. Christ
was to rise by his Father's authority, and to rise by his own power. He was to
rise by the Father's authority; therefore, as a pledge of it, an angel is sent
to roll away the stone, and open the prison-door, and let our surety out of
prison, the debt being paid. And Christ was to rise also by the strength of his
own godhead. Why? This was necessary for our satisfaction. He that would
undertake our case, with comfort and satisfaction to the creature, had need be able to overcome divine wrath, for the creature
could never have satisfied. If our surety were kept in prison, and held under
wrath, we could have no security that the debt was paid; the great assurance
that is given to the world is the resurrection of Christ: Acts xvii. 31,
'Whereof he hath given assurance to all men, in that he hath raised him from
the dead; this was his public acquittance and
discharge. Again, it was necessary he should be God, for so much of his
prophetical office as he accomplished upon earth. Christ came to bring the
everlasting gospel out of the bosom of God, and to ratify it with miracles, to
choose disciples to preach it, to give the Holy Ghost, to give them power to
work miracles, suitable to the tenor of the gospel; as raising the dead, giving
sight to the blind, Ac. Thus his godhead was necessary to his work.
But now,
upon his sending (and that is more formally and expressly intended in the
phrase), he had new qualifications and a new power; for as God he could not
suffer, therefore the manhood is bestowed upon him: Ps. xi. 7, 'A body hast
thou prepared for me.' This is formally implied in that expression, 'He sent
him;' that is, prepared a body for him. God's sending of Christ doth not imply
his change of place; for Christ, as God, before was everywhere; 'the heaven of
heavens could not contain him;' but it implies the assumption of another
nature. He was sent, that is, took flesh, assumed
another nature into his own person. Now this was necessary, that Christ should
be man, that he might have an interest in us, and have compassion on us, and be
in a capacity to die for us. That he might have an interest in us, And be of our blood: the next of blood had a right to
redeem, Ruth iii. 9. Therefore Christ, he took our nature,
that he might be of our blood, that so he might have a right to redeem
us, having an interest in us; and therefore he was not only man, but the Son of
man. Christ [Pg. 466] might have been true man, if God had formed him out of
the duet of the ground, as he did Adam, he might have given him a true
human nature. But Christ was not only man, but was of our stock and lineage;
and therefore it is said, Heb. ii. 14, 'Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;'
and ver. 11, 'For both he that sanctifieth, and they
that are sanctified, are all of one.' They are 'all of one.' How is that? Of one stock. Justice required that the same nature that had
sinned should be punished. It was not fit our sins should be punished in the
nature of an angel, nor in the nature of man that was made out of nothing, or
out of the dust of the ground; but in one that was of the same stock Again,
that he might have compassion on us, as well as an interest in us. Christ hath
a nature that inclines him to hi» office; besides his essential mercy as God,
there is a human compassion, which ariseth from
feeling and from experience: Heb. iv. 15, 'For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.' He took our
nature, that he might have experience of our sorrows, miseries, temptations,
and so entender his own heart by an experimental pity
and compassion. As man, Christ had a feeling what it was to be in the state of
men, that we might have an assurance of his pity. As a man that hath felt the
racking of the gout and stono is more fit to pity
others in the same case, so Jesus Christ, having had a feeling of the
buffetings of Satan, and wrath of God, and of the neglects and scorns of men,
feeling of all conditions that are miserable, his heart is the more entendered, his human compassion is increased;, and God
would have it to be so for our greater assurance. Again, his human nature gave
him a capacity to suffer. As God he could not suffer; and therefore when God
would have no more sacrifices, but all were to be abolished; he prepared Christ
a body: Heb. x. 5, God invested him with a human nature, that he might offer
one sacrifice to abolish all the rest. Thus you see Christ was sent, that is,
fitted by his two natures; his divine nature, that is supposed, and his human
nature is formally included in that expression, 'He was sent;' that is assumed
a body, did not change place, but assumed a nature in his own person, that so
he might be fit to deal with God for us.
(2.) And
then he had fit endowments; he came to be loaded with graces and blessings, and
with all kind of qualities to do men good: John x. 36, 'Hun hath the Father sanctified,
and sent into the world;' that is God's sending, his anointing of Christ as our
head, 'with the oil of gladness above his fellows.' As the head of the high
priest was anointed, and thence the oil dropped down to all the members: Ps. cxxxiii. 3, 'It is like the precious ointment upon the
head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the
skirts of his garment;' so our head is anointed with the oil of gladness for
our sake·, Christ received the Spirit without measure in our nature, as
holiness, pity, and the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Look, tie when an
ambassador is sent forth, there is not only a designation of his person, but he
is furnished for his employment and work; so is Jesus Christ sent forth, that
is, his person not only designed and chosen in grace, and yet in wisdom, but
also furnished with all manner of [Pg. 467] endowments in our nature, grace and
strength for his work as our head.
[3.] This sending implies
authority, and noteth a commission sealed to him, so
that he was an authorised mediator, or an ambassador
with letters-patent from heaven. This is the principal thing intended in this
sending, the call and authority Christ had to do his office: Heb. v. 4, 5, 'No
man taketh this honour to
himself, but he that was called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified
not himself to be made an high priest; but he that
said unto him, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.' He was designed
in the council of the Trinity; and as every ambassador hath letters of credence
under the hand and seal of him from whom he is sent, that he may be
acknowledged as his deputy to act for hum, so Christ is sent as God's deputy
into the world, to act and deal for him; and the apostles they are thus sent
from Christ» to act and deal for Christ Here the comparison chiefly holds: 'As
thou hast sent me into the world,' that is, given me authority to execute the
office of a mediator, 'so have I sent them;' I have given them authority to
preach in my name, and to deliver the gospel to others. This sending of Christ,
it maketh all that Christ doth in the Father's name
to be valid, which is much for the comfort of our faith. Christ is not a
mediator by the right, or merely by the desire of the
creature, or by his own interposition; but he is sent and authorised;
you may plead it with God, he hath sent him to save sinners. You know Moses,
when he interposed on his own accord: Exod. xxxii.
32, 'Forgive their sin; and it not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which
thou hast written.' Though it was a high act of zeal in Moses, yet God refused
it: ver. 33, 'And the Lord said to Moses, Whosoever
hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.' So if Christ had been
set up as mediator by the right and desire of the creature only, he might have
been refused; but he was authorised by God; he did
not glorify himself by invasion of the mediatory office, but had a patent from
the council of the Trinity, indited by the Father,
accepted by himself, sealed by the Holy Ghost, evidenced to the world by his
personal endowments, and by his miracles. Thus you see what this sending is; it
implies the designation of the Father, the qualification of his person for the
work, and his authority to execute it in his name.
3. To what
purpose was he sent into the world? I answer—To perform the whole duty of the
mediator, but principally to redeem and instruct the world; those two offices
of prophet and priest Christ performed upon earth. The apostle toucheth upon
them: Heb. iii. 1, 'Consider the apostle and high priest of our profession,
Jesus Christ.' Mark, the apostle mentioneth but two
offices, but they were the highest fn both the churches: the high priest was
the highest officer in the Jewish church, therefore he saith he was the 'high
priest of our profession;' and an apostle was the highest officer in the
Christian church, therefore he saith he was' the apostle of our profession.'
And he mentions but these two, because these were the two offices Christ
chiefly performed on earth. He came to preach the gospel which we profess, so he is 'the apostle of our
profession;' and he came to ratify it with his blood, so he is 'the high priest
of our profession.' In short, he [Pg. 468] came to deal with God and with men:
to deal with God, and so is a high priest, to pacify God, to offer such a
sacrifice as might satisfy God; and he came to deal with men, and so he is an
apostle, to open the everlasting gospel, to bring it out of the bosom of God to
our hearts. His kingly office was but little exercised upon earth; we have a
glimpse of his kingly office, or rather of his divine nature, in turning the
money-changers out of the temple; but it was little exercised upon earth. Why? Because this was the time of Christ's humiliation. Now the
kingly office suits more with the exaltation of Christ; when he comes the
second time, then he comes to exercise his kingly office, to reign, and scatter
his enemies, and show his kingly power; but now he came to teach and to suffer.
That is the reason why his kingly office is made the consequent of his
resurrection: Acts v. 31, 'Him hath God exalted with
his right hand, to be a prince and a saviour, for to
give repentance to
APPLICATION.
We learn hence many
things. As
1. The distinction of the
persons in the Trinity. Christ is a distinct subsistence from the Father; for
he that sendeth and he that is sent are distinct
Mark, it implies a distinction, but not an inferiority; against the Arians.
Persons equal by mutual consent may send one another; as the elders of
2. The knowledge of Christ's
person; he was 'sent into the world,' therefore is God-man. He was one that was
sent, therefore had a being before he was incarnate;
and was 'sent into the world,' therefore there was an assumption of the human
nature.
3. It showeth
us the love of God; he would not intrust an angel nor archangel with our salvation, but sent his Son: 1 John
iv. 10, 'Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.' There is nothing too near nor too dear for us. It will take the more with us,
if we consider the infinite complacency and contentment God had in Christ, yet
he sent his Son. Man's love is defensive; he loves his children out of design
of immortality, because he lives in them. God had no reason to do so; he had
many reasons to the contrary, yet he sent his Son to die for us, when we were
enemies. And his Son is sent; what to do? Not only to treat with us, not only
to borrow a tongue to speak to us, but to take a body to die for us, to be
substituted in our room and stead.'
4. It
informs us of the great condescension of Christ, that
he submitted to be sent: Ps. xl. 7, 8, 'Then said I, Lo, I come; in the volume
of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy
law is within my heart' He was ready, when God would send him, like a servant
ready to be despatched upon his errand. That Christ
would be sent, that he would take our nature, not while it was innocent, but
when it was guilty, liable to the wrath of God, when all mankind were
proclaimed traitors and outlaws, and whoever partaked
of our nature was to partake of our sorrow; yet then was Christ sent: he came
'in the similitude of sinful flesh,' Rom. viii. 3. Christ did not partake of
the infection of our nature; he was not a sinner, by being born of our stock;
the infection was stopped by the Holy Ghost; but he took our nature, when it
was sinful, tainted with sin, and in this message and errand he laid aside his
majesty, and by an unspeakable dispensation he abstains from the full use and
exercise of the godhead, not from the godhead itself. Therefore, he prays, John xvii. 5, 'And now,
O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with
thee before the world was.' He begs for his glory again, which he had laid
aside for a while. It cannot be meant
of the divine nature, for to that nothing can be given; [Pg. 470] it cannot be
meant of human nature, because that is not capable of the glory which Christ
had before the world was. The meaning is, he desires to be restored to the full
use of the godhead, from which he had abstained by an unspeakable dispensation
a long time, and by the interposition of his human nature, the glory of the
godhead was, as it were, eclipsed, as a candle in a dark lantern; and therefore
he desires that the veil might be taken away, and he might return again to the
full use of the godhead, having done his work. It is irksome to us to go back a
few degrees in pomp and pleasure, even upon just and convenient reasons; but
how did Christ condescend and stoop, when he was thus sent into the world by
God for our sakes!
5. Here is some ground of
comfort to them that believe; you may offer to God a mediator of his own
choosing, one that was authorised by himself. When
you plead with God, you may say, 'Lord, thou hast sent thy Son.' Or when you
plead with your own hearts, you may urge them with this,' God sent him to be
helpful to my soul.' These things may be observed from the first thing, the
mission of Christ