SERMON XXXV.
That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they aim may be
one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent
we have seen for whom Christ prayeth. Now
let us see what he prayeth for; their comfortable
estate in the world, and the happiness of their everlasting estate in heaven.
With respect to their estate in the world, Christ mentioneth
no other blessing but the mystical union, which is amplified throughout, ver.
21-23. Here he beginneth, 'That they may be all one;
as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.' He had before prayed for the
apostles, 'That they may be one, as we are one.' ver. 11; and now, 'Let them all
be one.' The welfare of the church is concerned, not only in the unity of
the apostles, but of private believers; you had need be one as well as your
pastors. Many times divisions arise from the people, and those that have least
knowlege are most carried aside with blind zeal and principles of separation;
therefore Christ prayeth for private believers,' That
they may be all one.' &c. [Pg. 24]
in which words
there is
1. The blessing prayed for,' That
they may be all one.'
2. The manner of this unity,
illustrated by the original pattern and exemplar of it, 'As thou, Father, art
in me, and I in thee;' the ineffable unity of the persona in the divine
essence.
3. The
ground of this unity, the mystical union with Christ, and by Christ with God,'
That they may be one with us.'
4. The end and
event of this union,' That the world may believe that thou hast sent me.'
First, From the
blessing prayed for, I observe, that the great blessing Christ asketh for his church is the mystical union of believers in
the same body; 'Let them be one,' one in us, and 'as thou in me, and I in
thee.' All these expressions show that the mystical union is here intended.
'Let them be one,' \~en\~, that is, \~en\~ \~swma\~, as it is
elsewhere explained, that they may grow together in one body, whereof I am the head,
or one temple. It· is sometimes set out by 'one mystical body,' sometimes by
One spiritual temple.' One body: Col. ii. 19, 'And not holding the head, from which all the body by joints
and bands, having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God;' Rom. xii. 5,' We, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one
members one of another;' Eph. i. 22, 23, 'And gave
him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body.' And one
temple: Eph. ii. 20-22, 'And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the
building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy
temple in the Lord: in whom yon also are builded
together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.' 'One,
as thou in me, and I in thee.' Christ doth not say that they maybe one
in another; that \~empericwrhsiv\~ doth not agree to them; but in the mystery of the Trinity it
denotes the union between the divine persons. 'One in us,' that is, by the
communication and inhabitation of that Spirit which proceedeth from us. Our union is from God, in God,
and to God; from the Spirit, with God, through Christ
Let me now inquire—(1.) What it is?
(2.) Why it is so valued by Christ?
First, What
it is? There is a union with Christ the head, and between the members one with
another. I shall speak of both, though but little of the latter, because I
handled it ver. 11.
1. There is a union with Christ the
head. That ye may conceive of it, take these propositions.
[1.] The whole Trinity is concerned
in this union. By the communion of the Spirit we are mystically united to
Christ, and by Christ to God. The Father is, as it were, the root, Christ the
trunk, the Spirit the sap, we the branches, and our works the fruits, John xv.
This is the great mystery delivered in the scriptures. Christ doth not only
'dwell in us by faith,' Eph. iii. 17, but 'God dwelleth
in us, and we in God,' 1 John iv. 16,
and 'the Spirit dwelleth in us;' Rom. viii. 11. We are
consecrated temples, wherein the whole Trinity take up
their residence. We are children of God, members of Christ, pupils to the Holy
Ghost; God's family, Christ's body, and [Pg. 25] the Spirit's charge. We are united to the Father as the fountain
of and mercy, to the Son as the pipe and conveyance, and the Spirit accomplisheth and effecteth
all. The Father sendeth the Son to merit this grace,
and the Son sendeth the Spirit to accomplish it;
therefore we are said 'by one Spirit to be baptized into the same body.'
[2.] Though all the persons be concerned
in it, yet the honour is chiefly devolved upon Christ
the second person. Christ, as God-man, is head of the church upon a double
ground — because of his two natures, and the union of these in the same person.
It was needful that our head should be man, of the same nature with ourselves:
Heb. ii. 11, 'He that sanctifieth, and they that are
sanctified, are of one; 'the same stock. It were monstrous to have a head and
members of a different nature; as in Nebuchadnezzar's image, the substance of
the head and body differed; the head was of fine gold, the arms of silver, the
belly and thighs of brass, the legs of iron, part of the feet of clay; here was
a monstrous body indeed, made up of so many metals differing in nature and
kind. But Christ took our nature that he might be a suitable head, and so have
a right to redeem us, and be in a capacity to give himself
for the body, and sympathise with us. All these are
fruits of the Son's being of the same nature. And again, God he needed to be,
to pour out the Spirit, and to have grace sufficient for all his members. Mere
man was not enough to be head of the church, for the head must be more
excellent than the body; it is above the body, the seat of the senses, it guideth the whole body, it is the shop of the thoughts and
musings. And so Christ the head must have a preeminence; in him 'the fullness
of the Godhead dwelt bodily, that we might be complete in him,' Col. ii. 8, 9; and 'it pleased the Father that in him should all
fulness dwell,' Col. i. 19.
The grace of God is most eminent in him, as life is most eminent in the head.
Now there must be a union of these two natures in the same person. If Christ
had not been God and man in the same person, God and we had never been united
and brought together; he is 'Emmanuel, God with us,' Mat i.
23. God is in Christ, and the believer is in Christ; we have a share in his
person, and so hath God; he descendeth and cometh
down to us in the person of the mediator; and by the man Christ Jesus we ascend
and climb up to God. And so you see the reason why the honour
of head of the church is devolved upon Christ.
[3.] Whole
Christ is united to a whole believer. Whole Christ is united to us, God-man,
and whole man is united to Christ, body and soul. Whole Christ is united to us;
the Godhead is the fountain, and the human nature is the pipe and conveyance.
Grace cometh from him as God, and through him as man: John vi.
56, 57, 'He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me,
and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so
he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.' God is
a sealed fountain, his humanity is the pipe, so that
his flesh is the food of the soul. Christ came from heaven on purpose, and
sanctified our flesh, that there might be one in our nature to do us good, that
righteousness and life might pass from him, as sin and death from Adam; but our
faith first pitcheth upon the manhood of Christ, as
they went into [Pg. 26] the holy place by the veil. And then a whole Christian
is united to Christ, body and soul. The soul is united unto him, because it receiveth influences of grace, and the body also is taken
in; therefore the apostle disputeth against
fornication, because the body is a member of Christ: 1 Cor.
vi. 15, 'Shall I then take the members of Christ, and
make them the members of an harlot? God forbid!' It is
a kind of dismembering and plucking a limb from Christ; you defile Christ's
body, the disgrace redounds to him. And hereupon elsewhere doth the apostle
prove the resurrection by virtue of our union with Christ: Rom. viii. 10,11, 'If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin;
but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the
dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit, that dwelleth in you.' You may die, but you shall not be brought
to nought, because the body hath a principle of life
in it; it is a part of Christ, and he will lose nothing: John vi. 39, 'And this is the Father's will, which sent me, that
of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up
again at the Fast day.' As plants live in the root, though the leaves fade, and
in winter they appear not, so doth the body live in Christ. So that it is a
ground of hope, and a motive to strictness, that you may not wrong a member of
Christ, nor seek to pluck a joint from his body.
[4.] The manner of this union. It is
secret and mysterious: \~mega\~ \~musthpion\~, Eph. ν. 22, 'This is
a great mystery;' not only a mystery, but a great mystery; 'but I speak
concerning Christ and the church.' It is a part of our portion in heaven to
understand it: John ziv. 20, 'At that day ye shall know
that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.'
When we are more like God, we shall know what it is to be united to God through
Christ. Here believers feel it rather than understand it, and it is our duty
rather to get an interest in it than subtly to dispute about it.
[5.] Though
it be secret and mystical, yet it is real; because a
thing is spiritual, it doth not cease to be real. These are not words, or poor
empty notions only, that we are united to Christ; but they imply a real truth.
Why should the Holy Ghost use so many terms; of being planted into Christ? Rom.
vi. 5, 'For if we have been planted
together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his
resurrection;' of being joined to Christ? 1 Cor.
vi. 17, 'He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit;'
of being made partakers of Christ? Heb. iii. 14, 'For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning
of our confidence steadfast to the end.' Do these terms only imply a
relation between. us and
Christ? No; then the emphasis of the words is lost. What great mystery in nil
this? Why is this mystery so often spoken of? Christ is not only ours, but 'he
is in us, and we in him.' God is ours, and we dwell in God: 1 John iv. 13, 'Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us,
because he hath given us of his Spirit;' and ver. 15, 'Whosoever shall confess
that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him,
and he in God.' It is represented by similitudes,
that imply a real union as well as a relative, by head and members, root and
branches, as well as by marriage, where man and wife are made one flesh. It is
[Pg. 27] compared here with the mystery of the Trinity, and the unity of the
divine persons, though not \~akribwv\~. It is not a notion of scripture, but a thing wrought
by the Spirit: 1 Cor. ii. 13, 'Which things also we
speak.' &c. It worketh a
presence, and conveyeth real influences.
[6.] It may be explained as far as
our present light will bear, by analogy to the union between head and members.
The head is united to the body primarily, and first of
all by the soul. Head and members make out one body, because they are animated
by the same soul, and by that means doth the head communicate life and motion
to the body. Besides this there is a secondary union, by the bones, muscles,
nerves, veins, and other ligaments of the body, and upon all these by the skin,
all which do constitute and make up this natural union. Just so in this
spiritual and mystical union there is a primary band and tie, and that is the
Spirit of Christ: 1 Cor. vi.
17, 'He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit;' that is, is acted by the
same Spirit by which Christ is acted, and liveth the
same life of grace that Christ liveth, as if there
were but one soul between them both. The fulness remaineth
in Christ, but we have our share; and 'he that hath not the Spirit of Christ in
none of his.' But over and above there is a secondary bond and tie, that knitteth us and Christ together, which answereth
to the joints and arteries, by which the parts of the body are united to one
another, and that is faith, and love, and fear, and other graces of the Spirit,
by which the presence is kept in the soul. Thus I have a little opened this
mystery to you.
2. There is a union of the members one with another.
A little of that.
[1.] The same Spirit that uniteth the members to the head uniteth
the members one to another. Therefore the apostle, as an argument of union, urgeth the communion of the same Spirit: Phil. ii. 1, 2,
'If any fellowship of the Spirit, fulfil ye my joy,
that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one
mind.' As Christ is the bead of the church, so the Holy Ghost is the soul of
the church, by which all the members are acted. As in the primitive times: Acts
iv. 32, 'The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.' And this is that that
Christ prayeth for here, that they may all be one, in
the communion of the same Spirit, that they may be of
the same religion, and have the same aim, and the same affection to good
things.
[2.] From
the communion of the Spirit, there is a secondary union by love, and seeking
one another's good, as if they were but one man; wherever dispersed throughout
the world, and whatever distinctions of nations and interests there are, they
may love and desire the good of one another, and rejoice in the welfare, and
grieve for the evil of one another: Ezek. i. 24,'
When the beasts went, the wheels went, and when the beasts were lifted up from
the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them;' and the reason is
given, 'for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.' The same
spirit is in one Christian that is in another, and so they wish well to one
another, even to those whom they never saw in the flesh: Col. ii. 1, 'For I would that ye knew
how great conflict I have for you, and for them at
[3.] This love is manifested by real
effects. Look, as by virtue of union with Christ there are real influences of
grace that pass out to us, it is not idle and fruitless, so by virtue of this
union that is between the members there is a real communication of gifts and
graces, and the good things of this life one to another. If the parts of the
body keep what they have to themselves, and do not disperse it for the use of
the body, it breedeth disease, as the liver the
blood, the stomach the meat; the liver imparts blood to the veins, and the
stomach sends the food abroad into its proper vessels and channels; so God's
children impart their spiritual or temporal gifts as the body needeth. When a famine was but prophesied, the disciples
thought of sending relief according to their ability to the brethren of
Secondly, Why Christ valueth it so much as to make it his only request for
believers in the present state? I answer—We can never
be happy till we have a share in this union.
1. Because
God hath instituted the mystical union to be a means to convey all grace to us,
grace to us here, and glory hereafter; we receive all from God in it, and by it
Christ without us doth not save us, but Christ in us. Christ without us is a
perfect Saviour, but not to you; the appropriation is
by union. Generally we think we shall be saved by α Christ without us. He came down from heaven, took our nature, died
for sinners, ascended up into heaven again, there he maketh
intercession; all this is without us. Do not say there is a Saviour
in heaven; is there one in thy heart? Col. i. 27, 'Christ in you the hope of glory.' He doth not
say, Christ in heaven the hope of glory, though that is a fountain of comfort,
but Christ in you: 1 Cor. i.
30, 'Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.' Whatsoever is imputed or
imparted, light, life, grace, glory, it is still in him. Still look to Christ
within you. It were a merry world to carnal men to be
saved by a Christ without them. Christ without establisheth
the merit, but Christ within maketh application: 2 Cor. xiii. 5, 'Know ye not your own selves, how that Christ
is in you, except ye be reprobates? Unless first or last he be
in you, though disallowed for the present, he will be of no advantage to you.
You have nothing to show till you feel Christ within you. All the acts of his
mediation must be acted over again in the heart His birth; he must be born and
formed in us: Gal. iv. 19, 'My little children, of
whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed
in you.' His death: Rom. vi. 4,' Therefore
we are buried with him by baptism into death.' His resurrection: Col. iii. 1, 'If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
that are above.' His ascension: Eph. ii. 6, 'And hath raised
us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.'
His intercession: Rom. viii. 26,' Likewise the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.' The acts without us do
us no good unless we have the copy of them in our own hearts. [Pg. 29]
2. It is the ground of that exchange
that is between Christ and us; we communicate to him our nature, our sins, and
troubles, and Christ communicateth to us his nature
and merits and privileges. What hath Christ from thee? Thy nature, thy sins,
thy punishments, thy wrath, thy curse, thy shame; and thou hast his titles, his
nature, his spirit, his privileges. All this
interchange between us and Christ is by virtue of union. All interests lie in
common between Christ and the church; he taketh our
nature, and is made flesh, and we are made 'partakers of the divine nature.' 2 Peter i. 4. He is made the Son
of man, we the sons of God; he had a mother on earth, we a Father in
heaven; he is made sin, we righteousness: 2 Cor. v.
21, 'Who hath made him to be sin for us, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.' He was made a curse that we might have the
blessing of Abraham: Gal. iii. 13,14,' Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one
that hangeth on a tree; that the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.' Thus he imparteth
his privileges to us, and assumeth our miseries to
himself. He hath a share in all our sorrows, and we have a share in his
triumphs; he is afflicted in our afflictions, as we ascend in his ascension:
Eph. ii. 6, 'He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus.' we live by his life: Gal. ii. 20, 'I live, yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me.' &c.
And we are glorified by his glory. He suffereth with
us in heaven, and we reign with him on earth; he suffereth
with us, non per passionem, sed compassionem, not that glorified Christ feeleth any grief in heaven, but his bowels yearn to an
afflicted member, as if he himself were in our stead; and we are set down with
him in heavenly places, because our head is there, and hath seized upon heaven
in our right It is a notable expression: Col. i. 24,'
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up, \~ustehma\~
\~ylifewn\~ \~Cristou\~,
that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ in my flesh for his body's
sake, which is the church.' Christ and the church are considered as one person,
whose afflictions are determined by providence; thus much the head must suffer,
thus much the members. Christ suffered his share, and we ours in our turn. In
short, Christ suffereth no more in the body that he carried
to heaven, but in his body that he left upon earth. Every blow that lighteth on a member, lighteth on his heart: Acts ix. 6, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' Christ was in heaven at that time;
how could he say, 'Why persecutest thou me?' Did he
climb up into heaven, and war upon Christ in the midst
of his glory? No; Saul persecuted the Christians, and them Christ calleth me, his mystical body. As in a throne, if
somebody treadeth upon your foot, the tongue crieth out, You have hurt me; the tongue is in safety, but
it is in the same body with the foot, and so their good and bad are common; for
though Christ's person be above abuse, he still suffereth
in his members; and he that persecuteth the church persecuteth Jesus Christ.
3. If once interested in the
mystical union, then they are safe, preserved in Jesus Christ: Jude 1,
'Sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ;' ver. 24,' Now
unto him that is able to keep you from falling,' Ac. The union is indissoluble;
that is a cabinet, [Pg. 30] where God's jewels are kept safe.
If a member could be lost, Christ's body could be maimed; as the union between
the two natures could not be dissolyed; it was the
body of Christ in the grave; there was a separation between his human body and
human soul, yet both still remained united to the divine nature; so this union
cannot be dissolved. You may as well sever the leaven and the dough, when they
are kneaded together, as separate Christ and the church when once united. Impossibile est
massam a pasta separare. Christ
will not suffer his body to be mangled; the cutting off of a joint goeth to the quick.
Use 1. To press us to look after an interest in this great privilege.
It is the main work of your lives. To move you, consider the honour and the happiness of them, that they are thus one
with God through Christ.
1. The honour. What am I, to be son-in-law to the king? What are
you, to be members of Christ? Christ counteth himself
to be incomplete and maimed without us: Eph. i. 23,' The
church is his body, the fulness of him that filleth
all in all.' How are we \~plhrwma\~ \~autou\~, 'the fulness
of him'? It relateth not to his personal perfection.
Take Christ absolutely as God, and he is a person most perfect and glorious.
Before the assumption of the human nature, before any creature in the world was
made, there was enough in Christ to satisfy his Father's heart. Nay, take him
relatively as mediator, what doth Christ want? Doth the body give aught of
perfection to the head? No; 'The fulness of the godhead dwells in him bodily.'
and 'he filleth all things.' But taken in his
mystical person, Christ mystical, as head and members are called Christ: 1 Cor. xii. 12,' As the body is one, and hath many members,
and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is
Christ' So he is not perfect without his body, as a head without members is not
perfect. Now, what an honour is this,
that he accounteth himself imperfect without
us I And till all his members be gathered in, we are not grown up to the state
wherein Christ is full: Eph. iv. 13,' Till we all come to the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ' Christ's mystical body hath
not its complete stature till all the saints be gathered. This honour is not put upon the angels; they are servants, but
not members. He did not take their seed to be a head to them, nor die for them,
nor took them for his members, as he doth us: Prov. viii.
31, 'Rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were with
the sons of men.' He left the company of angels to dwell with us; his heart was
set upon our good, that, next to the title of Son of God, he valueth this of being head of the church. He purchased it
with his blood. He loveth his mystical body above his
natural, for he gave his natural body to redeem the church, which is his
mystical body; as husbands love their wives as their own body. O Christians! is not this a mighty privilege? We are not only his, but
him, and Christ knoweth us and loveth
us as parts of his own body, and will glorify us not only as his clients and
servants, but members; all the injuries and wrongs done to the church, Christ taketh it as done to himself. Wicked men they are his
footstool; Christ is over them, but not as a mystical head. As the head of a
king is lifted up above all his subjects, and governeth
them, and weareth the garland of honour.
[Pg. 31] but in a peculiar manner it governeth and gnideth his own natural body; so Christ is 'head over all
things to the church,' Eph. i. 22. Certainly this is
a great honour put upon poor worms. What are the
fruits of it? We are interested in all Christ's communicable privileges; we
need not stretch it too far, it is ample enough of itself. Some things are
incommunicably proper to Christ, neither given to man nor angel; as the name
above all names, to be adored, to be set at the right hand of God, to be head
of the church, the Lord our righteousness. But other things are communicated to
us, first to Christ, and then to us. Christ is one with the Father, and a poor
Christian, though never so mean, is one with Christ Christ
is called 'God's fellow.' Zech. xiii. 7, and every
saint is Christ's fellow: Ps. xlv. 7,' Thou hast anointed him with the oil of
gladness above his fellows.' The Father loveth him
because he is the express image of his person, and delights in the saints
because they are the image of Christ. God is his God and our God, his
Father and our Father; where Christ is, they are, because they are a part of
his body. Alas I we should count it blasphemy to speak so, if the word did not
speak it before us.
2. The happiness: 'In him the
fulness of the Godhead dwelleth bodily.' There is a
sufficiency in Christ for all his members. We have all things in him, which is
as good as if we had it in our hands, and better; for he is a better steward
and keeper of the treasures of wisdom, grace, and comfort, than we are. If he
hath it, it is for our use; for Christ is full as an officer to impart life,
sense, and motion to all the body. It is the office of the liver to impart the
blood to the veins; it were monstrous and unnatural to
keep it As a treasurer, it is his office to pay money out upon all just
demands: Ps. xvi. 2, 3, 'My goodness extendeth not to
thee; but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is
all my delight' Thou shalt not be forgotten, for the
care of Christ extendeth to every member. To neglect
a member is to neglect ourselves. If a man could forget a child, yet certainly
he could not forget his members. This is your relation to Christ; if he hath
bid the 'members to take care one of another,' 1 Cor.
xii. 25, what will the head do? These grounds of comfort and faith you have.
Use 2. How shall
we know that we have a share in this mystical Onion? I answer—By the Spirit of
Christ: 1 John iv. 13, 'Hereby know we that we dwell
in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit' There is a
communication of the Spirit; so Rom. viii. 9, 'Now if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his;' his creature, but not his member; a limb
of Satan, not a member of Christ Christ's Spirit is poured on all his brethren;
it is shared among them, it is given to every member as soon as they are added
to Christ's body.
Now, how shall we know whether we
have the Spirit of Christ?
Ans. By life and conformity.
1. Life and
stirring. A man may know whether the Spirit of Christ be
dwelling in him, as a woman knoweth whether the child
in the womb be quickened, yea or no, she knoweth it
by the stirring; so you may know whether the Spirit of Christ be in you by its
working. They are no members of Christ that are not quickened by the life of
[Pg. 32] grace; there is no withered member in his body. If a member of a
fingering body be dead and numb, we rub it and chafe it to bring heat and
spirits into it again: so do you feel any grace, any spiritual love? Gal. ii. 20, 'I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.' As
we know there is life by the beating of the pulses, so there is spiritual life
when there is a striving against corruption, complaining of it, sighing,
groaning under it, seconded with a constant endeavour
to grow better. These sighs and groans are in the greatest desertion.
2. Conformity. Where the Spirit of
Christ is it fashioneth us into the likeness of
Christ: 2 Cor. iii. 18,' We all 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.' It maketh
us to represent Christ, to be such as he was in the world, meek, holy, humble, useful, as if Christ were come again to converse with men.
If you are acted with an unclean, proud, carnal, wrathful spirit, who is it
that dwelleth in you? whose
image do you bear? There is α changing,
transforming power that ariseth from this union, that we delight to do the will of our Father, wherein
the conformity lieth chiefly. We shall be humble,
meek, gentle: Mat xi. 29, 'Learn of me, for I am meek
and lowly of heart;' thinking humbly of ourselves, not aspirins after
greatness. This spirit is a spirit of obedience, enabling us to look to our
Father's glory and commandment in all things. We shall have compassionate
melting hearts to the miseries of others, as he had bowels yearning to see
sheep without a shepherd.