USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > The first century of the history of Springfield; the official records from 1636 to 1736, with an historical review and biographical mention of the founders, Volume I > Part 10
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Again, it is evident that his death was miraculous, because at that instant when he breathed out his soul into the hands of God. the veil of the Tem- ple (which typified his human nature) rent itself in twain from the top to the bottom; and at the same time also the graves of the Saints did open themselves, and many of the dead Saints did arise, Mat. 27.51.
Hence we learn that the doctrine of the Papists and the Lutherans in transubstantiations and consubstantiations is very erroneous; for they
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place the meritorious price of their Redemption in the gross substance of Christ's flesh and blood, and in the passive shedding of it upon the Cross by the Romans.
The cleansing virtue of his blood lies in his own Mediatorial shedding of it, for though he did not break his own body, and pour out his own blood with nails and spears, as the Roman soldiers did, yet he break his own body in pieces by separating his own soul from his own body by the power of the Divine nature: and then he did actually shed his own blood when he did pour out his own soul to death, Isa. 53.12, as a Mediatorial sacrifice of Atonement for the procuring of his Father's Atonement for our full Redemption, Justification and Adoption, and in this sense only the blood of Christ doth purge us, Tit. 2.14, and cleanse us, I John 1.17, and wash us from our sins, Rev. I.
Obedience of Christ to the Moral Law, Whether for our Justification, or by way of Imputation.
Before I can speak anything touching Christ's obedience to the Moral Law, it must be understood what you mean by this term moral Law: By the term Moral Law you mean the Decalouge or Ten Commandments, and call it Moral Law, because every one of these Ten Commandments were engraven in our nature in time of innocency: but in my apprehension in this sense the term Moral Law is very ill applied, because it makes most men look at no further matter in the Ten Commandments but at moral duties only: or it makes them look no further but at sanctified walking in relation to moral duties.
But the truth is, they are greatly deceived, for the Ten Commandments do require faith in Christ as well as moral duties, but faith in Christ was not engraven in Adam's nature in time of his innoceney, he knew nothing con- cerning faith in Christ, till after his fall; therefore the Ten Commandments in the full latitude of them were not given to Adam in his innocency: they were not given till after Christ was published to be the seed of the woman, to break the devil's head-plot, therefore the Ten Commandments do re- quire faith in Christ as well as moral duties.
If the whole Law and the Prophets do liang upon the Ten Command- ments as the general heads of all that is contained within the Law and the Prophets, then the Ten Commandments must needs contain in them rules of faith in Christ as well as moral duties.
And this is further evident by the Preface of the Ten Commandments, which runs thus, I am Jehovah thy God, which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt: Christ was that Jehovah which brought them out of the Land of Egypt: So it was Christ that gave the first Commandment, Thou shalt have no other Gods but me, that is to say, Thou shalt have no other Gods but the Trinity, and no other mediator but me alone to be thy Re- deemer and Saviour. In like sort Christ in the second Commandment doth require obedience to all his outward worship and in special to all his Levitical worship, and the observation of that worship is especially called the Law of works, though the Ten Commandments also must be included.
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But the right application of the typical signification of the Levitical worship to the soul, is called the Law of faith, the third Commandment doth teach holy reverence to the person of the Mediator: Faith in Christ is also typically comprehended under the fourth Commandment.
Arguments Against the Imputation of Christ's Obedience.
I cannot see how the common doctrine of Imputation can stand with God's justice; God cannot in justice impute our Saviour's Legal obedience to us for our just righteousness or justification, because it is point blank against the condition of the Legal Covenant so to do: for the Legal promise of eternal life is not made over to us upon condition of Christ's personal performance, but upon condition of our personal performance.
It is evident that God never propounded the Law of works to the fallen sons of Adam, with any intent that ever any of the fallen sons of Adam should seek for justification and atonement in God's sight by Legal obe- dience , but his intent was directly contrary, for when he propounded the Legal promise of life eternal to the fallen sons of Adam, he did propound it upon condition of their own personal obedience, to allure them thereby to search into their own natural unrighteousness, by this perfect rule of Legal righteousness, so by this Law of life God intended chiefly to make the soul of fallen sons of Adam to be sensible of their own spiritual death in corruption and sin, thereby to provoke our souls to seek for life some other way, viz .: by the mediation of the Mediator promised: So it follows by good consequence that God did never intend to justifie any son of Adam by Legal obedience done by his own person, nor yet by our Sa- viour's obedience imputed as the formal cause of a sinner's justification or righteousness.
God cannot in justice justifie sinners by our Saviour's Legal obedience imputed: because Legal obedience is altogether insufficient to justifie a corrupt son of Adam from his original sin; for our corrupt and sinful nature did not fall upon us for the breach of any of Moses his Laws, but for the breach of another Law of works, which God gave to Adam in his innocency by way of prohibition, In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death: so God cannot in justice impute our Saviour's Legal obe- dience to any corrupt son of Adam for his full and perfect righteousness, because it is altogether insufficient to make a sinner righteous from his original sin.
If Christ's Legal obedience imputed were sufficient to justifie a sinner from all kinds of sin both original and actual, then Christ made his obla- tion in vain, for it had been altogether needless for him to give his soul as a Mediatorial sacrifice of atonement for the procuring of our justice in God's sight, if his Legal righteousness performed by his life had been suf- ficient to justifie us from all sin in God's sight; for if righteousness could have come to sinners by the Law, then Christ died in vain, Gal. 2.21.
Christ's Legal obedience was but the work of his flesh or of his human nature; therefore it could not be the procuring cause of God's atonement for justification; for no obedience is meritorious but that obedience which is mediatorial. I never heard that the Father required the Mediator to
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perform Legal obedience as a proper condition of his Mediatorial office, nay, our Saviour himself doth testifie, that his flesh (alone considered) doth not profit us to life and salvation, John 6.63, therefore not his Legal obedience: for that was but the work of his flesh or human nature.
There was great jarring among Divines about the right stating of the doctrine of imputation.
I. Some affirm, that God the Father doth impute Christ's Legal obe- dience to sinners as their obedience for their full and perfect justification.
2. Others do affirm that Christ's Legal obedience imputed is not suffi- cient to make sinners righteous, and so they do affirm that God doth impute another kind of Christ's righteousness to sinners for their full justification, viz: the purity of his nature to justifie us from original sin.
3. Others go further in that point of imputation, for they affirm that God imputes another kind of righteousness to sinners for their full justification, viz: the passive obedience: and so by necessary consequence they do make sinners to be their own Mediator, because they do make Christ's Mediato- rial obedience to be a sinner's obedience by God's imputation.
The actions of Christ's obedience neither active nor passive can be made ours by God's imputation, no more than our sinful actions can be made his by God's imputation; as I have at large expressed in the opening, Gen. 2.17.
If God do make sinners righteous by the active obedience of Christ imputed, then Christ must perform all manner of obedience for us that God doth require of us, or else God cannot in justice make us perfectly righteous by the active obedience of Christ imputed; but Christ did not perform all manner of acts of obedience for us that God requireth of us, because he was never married, &c. and yet we have as much need to be made righteous in such like actions as in any, therefore God cannot in justice make us perfectly righteous by the actions of Christ's active obe- dience imputed.
Distinction Between Legal and Mediatorial Obedience.
It is a necessary thing to observe a right difference between Christ's Legal and Mediatorial obedience, which we have in part distinguished already, but for your further satisfaction I will again distinguish already between them.
I grant that God required the Mediator to fulfill all righteousness, but yet his obedience to the Law of works, and his obedience to the Law of Mediatorship must be considered as done for several ends and uses.
First. God appointed the Mediator to fulfill the Law of works, I mean so much of it as fell within the compass of his human course of life, not as a proper condition belonging to the Law of Mediatorship: (as Media- tor) but as true man only, for he was bound to observe the Law of works as he was true man, as much as any other Jew, by a native right, Gal. 4.4.
Secondly, Though I make this Legal obedience to be no more but human obedience, yet I grant that he was thereby qualified, and fitted to make his soul a Mediatorial sacrifice, for he could not have been the Lamb
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of God without spot, if he had not been exact in the performance of so much Legal obedience as fell within the compass of his human course of life, Heb. 7.26.
Thirdly, The rewards which his Father did promise him for his Media- torial obedience, do far exceed the rewards which he doth promise to Legal obedience: for I cannot find that ever the Father did promise to reward any man's Legal obedience with such special rewards as he doth promise unto Christ's Mediatorial obedience. I will give thee the end of the earth for thy possession, Psal .. 2. And he shall see his seed, and prolong his days, when he shall make his soul a trespass-offering, Isa.53.10
Fourthly, Christ was not bound to fulfill personal obedience to every branch of the Law of works (for he had no wife and children to instruct, &c.) but he was bound to fulfill every branch and circumstance of the Law of Mediatorship, he must not be wanting in the least circumstance thereof, if he had been wanting in the least circumstance he had been want- ing in all.
M. Calvin observeth rightly, that some of the actions of Christ were proper to his God-head only; and some of his actions were proper to his human nature only, and some of his actions were common to both his natures, and this observation (saith M. Calvin) shall do no small service to assoyl many doubts, if the Reader can but fitly apply it.
It is absurd to affirm that all the acts of Christ's obedience were Media- tory, because his person consisted of both natures; for then his natural Actions should be Mediatorial as well as any other. You may as well say, that all actions of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost are the actions of the Father, because they are united into one Godhead, as say that the acts of Christ's Legal obedience were Mediatorial, because his person consisted of two natures.
As for example all the Actions of Christ from his birth until he began to be thirty years of age, must be considered as natural actions, or as Legal acts of obedience: for till he began to be thirty years of age, he led a private life with his parents.
Secondly, When he began to be thirty years of age he did then begin to declare himself to be the Mediator. for when he was baptized of John in Jordon, the Holy Ghost lighted upon him in visible manner before all John's Auditory, and the Father by his voice from Heaven declared that he was the Mediator.
Thirdly, In the upshot of his life, as soon as he had fulfilled all things that were written of him he sacrificed himself and sacrificed his oblation by the joint concurrence of both natures; and this was the masterpiece of his Mediatorial obedience. Having thus distinguished the actions of the Mediator, we may and must rank his acts accordingly: his obedience to the Law of works must be ranked among the actions of his human nature, and his obedience to the Law of Mediatorship must be ranked among his Mediatorial actions, which he performed by the personal union of both his natures.
It may be you think (as many others do) that Christ began to pay the price of our redemption from the very first beginning of his incarnation,
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for many affirm that he was conceived by the Holy Ghost without any original sin, that so he mnight thereby justifie us from our original sin, which opinion I have confuted: but the open History of the Evangelists do speak nothing at all of his Mediatorial actions till he was publicly installed into the office of the Mediator by John's Baptism.
Yet the Apostle testifieth that Christ himself saith by the Psalmist. wherefore when he cometh into the world he saith, sacrifice and offering thon wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offering and sacrifice for sin thou hast had no pleasure; then said I, Low I come (in the volume of thy book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God: Coming into the world. his incarnation, doing his will, is the fulfilling the Law for our Redemption.
Yea, when Christ began to be thirty years of age, he was publicly in- stalled into the Mediator's office, by the joint consent of all the Trinity; and so our Saviour doth explain the matter unto John, saying. Thus our Desire is (or thus it becometh us) to fulfill all Righteousness, Mat. 3.14. The two terms, 1. our desire, 2. our fulfilling all righteousness, had need to be explained : the term us or our desire must have relation to some other, namely. to the joint desire of the Trinity: all the Trinity desired to fulfill all that righteousness which appertained to the Mediator's person and office: at this time they desired to fulfill that part of righteousness which appertained to his public Installment.
Further Reasoning against the influence of Christ's Obedience unto Jus- tification by way of Imputation.
The Apostle in the text, Rom. 8.4, that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, doth not speak of that part of Legal obedience which God requires of every man that looks to be saved thereby: but in this place he speaks only that part of righteousness which the Gospel-part of the Law taught and tipified by their sacrifices of Atonement, which sacrifices are called sacrifices of righteousness, becuse they taught sinners how they might obtain the Father's Atonement by the Mediator's sacrifice of Atonement for their full and perfect Righteousness.
Did Christ condemn sin in the flesh by his Legal Obedience? no; but by his Mediatorial Obedience only, Rom. 8. 3.4.
God sent his Son for sin, when he sent him to make his soul a sacrifice of Atonement for sin, as I have opened the phrase at large in Cor. 5.21.
In brief the meaning of the Apostle lies thus, when God sent his Son to die as a Malefactor in similitude of sinful flesh, Christ did at the same time condemn sin, because he did at the same time die as a Mediator, and make his soul a Mediatorial sacrifice of Atonement for sin, and so pro- cured his Father's Atonement to poor sinners, and by this means he con- demned sin in the flesh, and made sinners sinless, that is to say Righteous. But this distinction of the double death of Christ I have opened more at large in Gal. 3.13, and Luke 22.19, and in Psa. 22.15.
And in this very sense all sacrifices of Atonement are called sacrifices of Righteousness. Deut. 33.19, Psa. 4.5, 51.19.
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And in this sense Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth. Rom. 10.4.
And thus I think I have explained the true nature of a sinner's right- eousness, justice, or justification, which I have described to be nothing else, but the Father's merciful atonement, pardon, and forgiveness, so that I may more fitly call a sinner's righteousness a merciful justice put upon poor believing sinners, by God's Fatherly pardon and forgiveness, than a strict Legal righteousness imputed to us from Christ's Legal obedience, as our actual righteousness, as the common doctrine of imputation doth teach.
And indeed the righteousness which God the Father bestowed upon poor believing sinners in making them sinless by this Atonement, is an example of the highest degree of mercy.
The Geneva note 011 Psalm 130.3, is excellent, and speaketh thus, he declareth that we cannot be just before God, but by forgiveness of sins. for God's forgiveness is a part of his merciful Atonement.
Hence it is evident that God's Atonement, pardon, and forgiveness communicated to poor believing sinners must needs be the formal cause of a sinner's righteousness.
Whether the Justice and Righteousness of a Sinner doth lie only in God's Merciful Atonement.
The justice and righteousness of a sinner doth not lie in his own righteous nature, nor in his own just actions, nor yet in the righteousness of Christ imputed, but it doth lie only in the Father's righteous atonement pardon and forgiveness, procured by the meritorious Sacrifice of atone- ment, and conveyed by the Father through the Mediator to every believ- ing sinner, as soon as they are in the Mediator by faith.
This doctrine of a sinner's righteousness hath ever been well known, and witnessed among the godly in all ages from the beginning of the world.
I. It is witnessed by the practices of all sacrifices of Atonement before the Law.
2. It is witnessed by the practices of all sacrifices under the Law.
3. It is witnessed by the doctrine of the Prophet.
4. It is witnessed by the doctrine of the New Testament, and it was never so much obscured as it hath been of late days by the doctrine of impu- tation.
It is evident that our first Parents were well acquainted with the doctrine of a sinner's justification by God's Atonement: for as soon as ever God had told them, that the seed of the woman should break the devil's head-plot, he explained unto them the manner how the seed of the woman should do it, namely, by his Mediatorial sacrifice of Atonement.
After the flood when Noah offered sacrifice of Atonement, Jehovah smelled a smell of Rest, Gen. 8.21, and to that resting of God in the promise, the sweet smell of rest, which God smelt in Noali's sacrifice did look. The word Rest implieth that now God's Spirit was quieted, and
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that he did rest satisfied and well pleased in the sacrifice of Christ, which was thereby typified: confer to this Eph. 5, the fathers by faith saw Christ's sacrifice.
By this means Noah knew and believed that he was made righteous or sinless by God's merciful Atonement procured by Christ's Mediatorial sacrifice of Atonement.
For the God of Glory Jesus Christ appearer to him (that is, to Abraham) whilst he dwelt at Ur of the Caldees, Acts 7.2, no doubt but Jesus Christ did then tell him in what miserable lost condition he was, and how he should be that seed of the woman that should break the devil's head-plot by his sacrifice of Atonement, and how he should thereby procure his Father's Atonement to all broken-hearted sinners. All which Abraham believed, and so his sins were done away by God's Atonement, which he received by his faith, and so he was made perfectly just and righteous in God's sight.
The doctrine of a sinner's justification or righteousness was abundantly taught under the Law by their sacrifices of atonement, namely, by their burnt-offerings, sin-offerings, trespass-offerings, in Lev. I. Lev. 4 Lev. 5, &c., as I have explained their use above.
The doctrine of a sinner's justification or righteousness by the Father's Atonement was taught, and explained by the Prophets. The Prophet David saith in the Person of Christ, I have preached thy righteousness to the great Congregation, Psa. 40.9, what righteousness was it that he by himself and by his Officers preached to the Church of the first born? Was it his Legal Righteousness made theirs by his Father's Imputation? no, the Text denieth that, and saith, that it was such a righteousness, as he obtaineth by his sacrifice of Atonement, saying, Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire. and then said I, Lo I come, I delight to do thy will, O my God, Ps. 40.8, By the doing of which will, saith Paul, we are sanctified from sin, or made perfectly righteous.
Or thus, Christ purchased or procured such a righteousness of his Father for sinners, as shall last to all Eternity by the same way and means by which he purchased their eternal redemption, but he did not purchase their redemption and freedom from sin by his active Legal Obedience, but by his active Mediatorial Obedience, when he made his soul a Media- torial Sacrifice of Atonement for poor sinners. Compare Heb. 9.12, 14, with Dan. 9.24, therefore Christ purchased and procured such a right- eousness for sinners as shall last to all Eternity by no other way or means, but by his Mediatorial Sacrifice of Atonement, therefore his Father's Atonement is a sinner's Righteousness.
The New Testament doth also bear witness to this doctrine. St. Paul the Apostle doth tell us Rom. 8.4, that the Righteousness of the Law, (namely, the righteousness which was taught and typified by the sacrifices of the Law) might be fulfilled in us, that walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit; as I have explained this Text a little before.
Secondly, The Apostle Paul doth in another place confirm this doctrine, saying, God made him to be sin for us (that is to say, God ordained him to be a Sacrifice of Atonement for our sins,) that we might be made the
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righteousness of God in him; that is to say, that we might be made righteous or sinless by God's Atonement.
How Abraham's Faith was imputed to him for Righteousness.
Abraham's faith was imputed to him for Righteousness, because by it he did receive the Father's Atonement for his full and perfect Right- eousness, because he believed all this both in Gen. 11.31, and again Gen. 12, therefore God imputed that faith to him for righteousness, for by that faith he apprehended and received the Father's Atonement, and applied it to his own soul, as an effectual remedy to acquit him from the guilt of all his sins, and so by that means he became sinless, that is to say, justified and righteous in God's sight.
And in this sense the Apostle Paul doth prove that Abraham's faith was accounted to him for righteousness, by a Testimony taken from David, Psa. 32, saying, even as David also describeth the blessedness of that man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works; saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord doth not impute sin. What other reason can any man else render, why the Apostle should interlace this testimony in this place, but to describe unto us the true manner how Abra- ham's faith did make him righteous, namely, because by faith he did appre- hend and receive the Father's atonement, by which his sins were forgiven, covered, and not imputed.
And thus after this sort the Apostle doth bring in forgiveness of sin as an effect of justifying faith: for faith is the only instrument of the Spirit, by which sinners come to the Mediator in and through whose Mediation they apprehend, and receive the Father's Atonement, pardon and forgiv- ness, for their full and perfect justification.
This was the only true reason why God imputed Abraham's faith to him for righteousness, namely, because he believed in God's Atonement, through the mediation of the seed promised.
And it is further evident that this doctrine of a sinner's righteousness by faith was taught and preached by all the Prophets as Peter affirmeth, for all the Prophets, (saith he) do witness that through the name of Christ, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of their sins, Acts 10.43, that is to say, they shall receive remission of their sins for their justifica- tion by the Father's atonement, procured by Christ's sacrifice of atone- ment.
And to this tenor the Apostle Paul doth explain the use of faith in the point of a sinner's justification, Phil. 39, and in Rom. 10.4, 6.10, With the heart saith he man believeth unto righteousness. He doth not say faith is a sinner's righteousness, but that by it a sinner believeth unto righteous- ness.
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