BOOK 8. THE ASCENSION.
CHAPTER 2.
8.2.5. Of Believing in Jesus in that Respect.
Of Believing in Jesus in that Respect.
Let us believe on Jesus, as carrying on the great work of our salvation for us in these particulars, many scruples are in many hearts. "What, is it possible that I should have any share in Christ's ascension, Christ's session, Christ's mission of his Spirit? Was it ever in God's heart that I should partake with Christ in all these glories? If it must be so, that he would let out his loves to so unworthy a wretch, was it not sufficient for him to have come down from heaven, and to have acted my redemption here below? Is it not a high favour for a king to leave his court, to give a poor prisoner in the gaol a visit? But will he take him with him to his own home, and bring him into his own presence chamber, and set him at his right-hand in his throne? And so that Christ should not only leave his Father's throne, and give me a visit, lying in the dark dungeon of unbelief, but that he should take off the bolts, and set open the prison doors, and take me up with him into heaven, and there set me down at his right-hand, and in the mean time, give me the earnest and pledge of my inheritance, by filling my soul with his own Spirit; O! what an admirable incredible thing is this? It was the last vision of John which was so full of wonders, "I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them," Rev. xxi. 2, 3. Surely it was a miraculous mercy that heaven should come down upon earth, and that God should come down unto men: but, " Oh! what is this, that earth should go up to heaven, that men should ascend up to God? Yea, that my soul with Christ, and by Christ, should ascend to God, and sit down with God in heavenly places? Yea, that my soul should have for its inmate, the very same spirit that Christ himself hath? Oh! I cannot, I will not, I dare not believe."
Scrupulous souls, be not faithless, but believing: there is none of these particulars for which we have not a warrant out of the word of God; and therefore believe: but that I may persuade to purpose, I shall lay down, 1. Some directions, and 2. Some encouragements of faith.
1. For directions of faith, observe these particulars. As, --
(a). Faith must directly go to Christ.
(b). Faith must go to Christ, as God in the flesh.
(c). Faith must go to Christ as God in the flesh, made under the law.
(d). Faith must go to Christ, not only as made under the directive part of the law by his life, but under the penal part of the law by his death.
(e). Faith must go to Christ not only as put to death in the flesh, but as quickened by the Spirit: of all these before.
(f). Faith must not only go to Christ as quickened by the Spirit, but as going up into glory, as sitting down at God's right-hand, and as sending the Holy Ghost: faith should eye Christ as far as he goes if he be descended; so should faith, if he go into glory, and sit down there, and act there for his people; so should faith, and so should we in a way of believing follow after him, and take a view of all his transactions where he is; we have heard before how faith should go to Christ as dying, and as rising again, but yet faith is low, while it doth not go within the veil, and see him in glory; it is not enough to have only a faith of justification, but of glorification. O come let us see Christ in heaven! and we can have no less than a glorious faith! how many are there that never yet came to act faith in Christ as a glorified Christ; we are yet still in the lower form; many of us take in no more of Christ than what was done on the cross, or what some natural, and common resemblance of him can hold forth, we seldom follow Christ into heaven, to see what he is doing there for us. O my soul! and O my faith! mount up and be on the wing! Christ is gone up to heaven, Christ is set down at God's right-hand, Christ hath sent down his holy Spirit; to this purpose, it was expedient that he should go away, and now he is gone away to do something that remains to be done for thee in his kingdom; he had still some glorious piece to frame for thy salvation, and therefore he left this world, and went to his Father, that he might act it in glory; and now he is invested with all the riches in heaven, he hath all the keys of heaven and hell, he hath all power to command, he hath received all the promise to himself, and all that he hath to do, it is to let out of himself again unto his saints; he hath not only got his Father's heart for them, but he hath got all his riches to bestow upon them; when he came to heaven, the Father bid him sit down at his right-hand, and take what he would, and bestow what he would upon his saints; and thereupon he gave gifts unto men, yea, he gave the gift of gifts, even the Holy Ghost himself: what, art not thou a partaker of this gift? O! then look up unto Jesus in reference to all these actings! set him before thee, Christ in all these particulars is a right object for thy faith to act upon.
(g). Faith in going to Christ, his ascension, session, and mission of the Spirit, it is principally to look to the purpose, intent, and design of Christ in each of these particulars: Christ did nothing but he had an end, a meaning in it for our good; and here is the life of faith to eye the meaning of Christ in all his doings. Now the ends of Christ's ascension, session, and mission of his Spirit were several; I shall instance only in these few. As, --
(i). Christ ascended that we might ascend: look whatever God acted on Christ's person, that he did as in our behalf, and he means to act the same on us; was Christ crucified? so are we; is Christ risen again? so are we risen together with him. Is Christ gone up into glory? so are we; heaven is now opened and possessed by Jesus Christ for us, and, at last we shall ascend even as he ascended. Christ cannot be content with that glory he hath in himself until we be with him, "Father, I will, that those also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold, or enjoy my glory which thou hast given me," John xvii. 24. Christ, as our head is in glory, and so we are there already with him, and Christ as our advocate is in glory, and there he is pleading and praying for us, that we may actually be received and brought up to him, "Father, I will, that those whom thou hast given me may be with me." Christ's crown of glory is, (as it were) a burden on his head, until it be set on the heads of all his saints; O the blessed end of Christ's ascension? how should faith pry into this? Believers, you see your object, and know his person, never be quiet until you come into his condition, as we must go through all ordinances and creatures till we come to Christ, so through all conditions of Christ until we come to glory.
(ii). Christ sat down that we might sit with him in heavenly places; what is the end of Christ's session, but that he might invest all his saints with the same privilege? in this height of glory, Christ is the pattern, and platform, and idea of what we shall be? surely this is the very top of heaven, that we might in our measure and proportion be exalted with Christ; it was Christ's prayer, that his Father, and he and we might all be one. "As thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us," John xvii. 21. Oh how should faith stand and gaze on Jesus Christ in this respect? What, is he on God's right hand? and is he there preparing a room, a seat, and mansion for my soul? What, shall I sit at the right hand of Christ? Shall I sit as an assessor on his judgment-seat to judge the world with Jesus Christ? "When the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel," Matth. xix. 28. Oh! what is this! Had not Christ said it, how could I have believed it? Admire, O my soul, at this aim of Christ! the meaning of his exalting himself, it was to exalt thee, and the meaning of his exalting thee on this manner, it is to manifest to all the world what the Son of God is able to do, in raising so poor a creature, to so rich a glory. O the end of Christ's sitting at God's right hand! hereby the saints are Christ's assessors; lords of the higher house, the king's peers to judge the world with him; Christ divides (as it were) the throne with them, "I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel," Luke xxii. 29, 30.
(iii). Christ sent down the Holy Ghost, that he might dwell in our souls, endow us with gifts and graces, that he might comfort us, seal us unto the day of redemption, fit us for glory. Amongst the many ends for which Christ sent down his holy Spirit, I shall insist only on these two:
- That he might help us to cry "Abba, Father," and make us to come boldly to the throne of grace, as children to a father. It is the Spirit that takes us by the hand, and leads us to the Father, when others stand at a distance, and cannot come near: as a prince's son is admitted at all times, though others are kept out by officers and guards; so though there be never so much darkness, and fire, and terror about God, yet the adopted child, who hath received the Spirit of adoption, can say, "Make way there, and let me come to my Father; guards are appointed to keep out strangers, but not sons and no wonder, for "the Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered," Rom. viii. 26. The Spirit teacheth us what to pray, and how to pray as we ought; the Spirit puts a courage and boldness into the hearts of his saints, even to admiration; this appears in that sometimes they have beset God with his promises, that he could no way get off, "Quicken me according to thy word, Psal. cxix. 25. -- And strengthen me according to thy word, verse 28. -- And be merciful unto me according to thy word, verse 58. -- And uphold me according to thy word, verse 16. -- And give me understanding according to thy word," verse 169. And sometimes they have beset God with their challenges of his justice, faithfulness, and righteousness: so David, "Deliver me in thy righteousness, Psal. xxxi. 1. -- And judge me according to thy righteousness, Psal. xxxv. 24. -- And quicken me according to thy righteousness, Psal. cxix. 40. -- And in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness," Psal. cxliii. 1. Why, this is the Spirit's work; he helps our infirmities, he emboldens our spirits in their approaches to God: surely it is one end of the Spirit's mission, "because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father," Gal. iv. 6. I will not deny but that bastards, strangers without the covenant, having no right to God as their Father, may yet petition God as a subdued people do their conqueror, or as ravens cry to God for food, or as some "howl upon their beds for corn and wine," Hos. vii. 14. But they cannot pray: in right prayer there is not only required gracious ingredients in the action, but also a new state of adoption and filiation; many speak words to God, who do not pray; many tell over their sins, who confess not their sins to God, many speak good of God, who do not praise him; thousands claim Fathership in God, where there is no sonship nor ground in the thing itself. A new nature is only that best bottom of prayer that takes it off from being a taking of God's name in vain. Now this is the fruit of the Spirit, and one of those ends of the Spirit's mission.
- That he might guide us into all truth, I mean into all necessary, fundamental, saving truths; in this respect we have need of the Spirit in these days. He it is
that dictates to us which is the true religion; he it is that transcribes upon our hearts, that which was before only written in our books; he it is that not only
reveals truth from without, but imprints it also on the soul, as a man doth a seal by impressing it on the wax; to this purpose saith the apostle, "He that believeth
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself," 1 John v. 10. How in himself? I answer,
- In that the Spirit gives him the habit of faith.
- In that the Spirit causeth him to bring it forth into act.
- In that the Spirit stamps on the soul all those other impressions of desire, hope, love, joy, or whatsoever else we call the new nature, so that now there is a new nature within him, he hath new thoughts, new designs, new desires, new hopes, new loves, new delights, he drives a new trade (as it were) in this world for another world; he is become in Christ a new creature, "Old things are passed away, and all things are become new," 2 Cor. v. 17. And from hence we may soundly argue the truth of our religion. Mark this, as the written word is the testimony without us, so are these impressions of the Spirit the testimony within us, by which we may know every necessary truth as it is in Jesus: this is the meaning of the apostle, "He that believeth hath the witness in himself." Unbelievers have indeed a testimony without them, but believers have a double testimony, one without, and one within; and this witness within us, will go with us which way soever we go; it will accompany us through all straits and difficulties. The external testimony may be taken from us, men may take from us our Bibles, our teachers, our friends; or they may imprison us where we cannot enjoy them; but they cannot take from us the Spirit of Christ: this witness within, is a permanent, settled, habituate, standing witness; O! what an excellent help is here, that a poor Christian hath beyond all the furniture of the most learned men that want this testimony of the Spirit of Christ? Surely this advantage will exceedingly furnish us against all temptations to any error, that is plainly contrary to the essentials of religion.
One of our divines puts a case, --
If the devil, or any seducer, would draw us to doubt, whether there be indeed a Christ, or whether he did rise again, ascended, sat down at God's right hand, and thence sent down the Holy Ghost? (Mr Baxter's Spirit's witness to the truth of Christianity.) What an excellent advantage is it against this temptation, when we can repair to our own hearts, and there find a Christ, or a Spirit of Christ within us? O! saith the sanctified soul, "Have I felt Christ relieving me in my lost condition, delivering me from my captivity, reconciling me to God, and bringing me with boldness into his glorious presence? and now after all this. Shall I doubt whether there be a Christ in heaven, or a Spirit of Christ in my heart on earth? Have I felt him new creating me, opening my dark eyes, and bringing me from darkness into his marvellous light, and from the power of Satan unto God, binding the strong man, and casting him out, and yet shall I question, whether there be a Christ, or a Spirit of Christ? Hath he made me love the things which I hated, and hate that which I loved? Hath he given me such a taste of the powers of the world to come, and possessed me with the hopes of glory with himself, and given me a treasure and portion in God, and set my heart where my treasure is, and caused me in some measure to have my conversation in heaven above, and yet shall I doubt whether there be a Christ above, or a Spirit within? O what an impudent lying Spirit is this! that would tempt me against so much experience?" And thus may a believer argue from the testimony that is within.
I know some seeming saints have fallen off into as great blasphemies as these I have named; witness the Quakers and Ranters, etc. But I may say of such as John did, "They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us," 1 John ii. 19. It is no wonder if Satan prevail against those that gave Christ no deeper room but in their phantasy, and that did never heartily close with him in love. But for those that have the Spirit of Christ within them, it is not so with them. If they cannot answer the cavils of Satan, or any of his instruments, yet they can hold fast the grounds of faith; Christ hath a deep room and interest in their spirits: he is held faster by the heart than by the head alone: love will hold Christ; when reason alone would let him go; his ear is nailed (as it were) unto his door, and because he loveth him, he will not leave him: "Who shall separate him from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (As it is written. For thy sake are we killed all the day long;) nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that hath loved us," Rom. viii. 35, 36, 37. A modern writer brings in a sincere heart paraphrasing (as it were) on this text, in this manner, (Mr Baxter's Spirit's witness to the truth of Christianity.) "Who shall separate me from the love of Christ?" "O thou malicious devil, thou dost hunt me with thy fiery darts! O ye dull heretics, infidels, blasphemers, that fill up my ears with your foolish sophisms, and trouble me with your disputes against my Lord and Redeemer! go to him that knows him only by the hearing of the ear, if you mean to prevail: but I have known him by the sweet experience? of my soul; go to him that makes a religion of his opinion, and whose belief was never any deeper than his fancy, and whose piety never reached higher than to abstinency and tasks of formal duty; these you may possibly draw away from Christ. But do you think to do so by me? why, tell me how? With what weapons or arguments can you think to prevail? What, shall tribulation be the means! No, no, I have that promise in the hand of my faith, and that glory in the eye of my hope, that will bring me through all tribulations under heaven; or, shall distress do it? Why, I will rather stick so much closer to him that will relieve me in distress, and bring me to his rest. Or, Will you affright me by persecution? I am assured that this is the nearest way to heaven, and am blessed of Christ, when I am persecuted for righteousness sake. Or, shall nakedness be the weapon? I had rather pass naked out of this world to heaven, than be clothed in purple, and to be stript of it at death, and to be cast into hell; Adam's innocent nakedness, and Lazarus' rags were better than that Epicure's gay apparel. Or, shall famine be the means? Why, man liveth not by bread alone, I had rather my body were famished than my soul; I have meat to eat that ye know not of, even the bread of life, which who so eats shall live forever. Or, will you affright me from Christ by the sword of violence? I know that the Lord whom I believe in, and serve, is able to deliver me out of your hands; but if he will not, be it known to you I will not forsake him; your sword will be only the key to open the prison doors, and let out my soul that hath long desired to be with Jesus Christ. If ye tell me of peril, I know no danger so great as of losing Christ and salvation; and of bearing his wrath that can kill both body and soul; do I not read in certain histories of that noble army of martyrs, who loved the Lord Jesus to the death, and gloried in tribulation, and would not by the flames of fire, or jaws of lions, be separated from Jesus Christ? Did not they pass through the Red sea, as on dry ground, to the promised land, yea, though "they were killed all the day long, and accounted as sheep to the slaughter?" Did they not stick and cleave fast to the Lord, and to the Captain of their salvation? Nay, were they not in all this conquerors, and more than conquerors, triumphing in flames, to the corfusion of Satan, and all their enemies; as Christ triumphed on the cross destroying by death the prince of death? Heb. ii. 14. Oh! what a blessed advantage is it against all temptations to have the impress of the gospel of Christ on our heart, and the witness in ourselves?"
But I hear some object, if the witness in ourselves, be so full of, and convincing, then what need have we any more to make use of scriptures or ministers? Why, should we leave an higher teacher to go to a lower? But I answer; --
There is more than one thing wanting to us wise as to salvation, as Firstly: An outward word. And, Secondly, an outward teacher and Thirdly, an inward light.
And accordingly God supplies this threefold want, the first, by giving us the scripture, the second, by giving us a ministry, and other occasional teachers; the third, by giving us the illumination of the Spirit, to help us to see by the former means, and to make the word and ministry to us effectual. Now it were a mad thing for a man to say, I have eyes to read in a book, and therefore I have no need of the light of a candle or of sun: or I have eyes and sun, and therefore I have no need of the light in the air, which cometh from the sun; or I have the light both of the eye, and sun, and air; and therefore I can read by it without a book; or, I have a book, and therefore I can read it without a teacher: certainly if a man would read, he must have all these, or more than one of these; so God hath appointed us three necessary means for our illumination and direction, the word, the ministry, and the Spirit; "What God hath joined, let no man separate;" if any would foolishly go, and set one of these against another, when God hath set them all together, and made them all necessary, assigning to each a several part in the work of our illumination, they may abuse God and themselves, and go without the light, while they despise the necessary causes of it, God's evidences must not be separated, much less must one be pleaded to the neglect of all the rest; as the work within us is not the first testimony, but a secondary confirming testimony, so doth it not make the first unnecessary and void; besides that, by the external testimony, we must convince other men, which by the witness within us we cannot do. But this only by the way.
2. For the encouragement of our faith to believe in Christ, as in reference to his ascension, session, and mission of his Spirit.
(a). Consider of the excellency of this object: what is it but Christ? Christ in his ascendant, culminant, regnant power? Christ in his marching, conquering, triumphing postures? In his free and large and magnificent gifts, "When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." O the glory! O the excellency of Christ in these respects! verily they are enough to tire out men and angels, with the only act of wondering and surveying of their vastness. Here is gospel-work for all eternity, to dig into this gold mine, to roll and turn this soul-delighting precious stone, to behold, enquire, and search into these depths and heights of Christ exalted: and I believe this is the satiety, the top, and prime of heaven's glory; to see and wonder at the virtues of him that sits on the throne, at the right hand of God; to be filed, but never satiated with the glory of Christ? What, Christ ascended! Christ set down in glory? And Christ sending down his holy Spirit? Here is a compendium of all glories; here is one for an heart to be taken with, made up of nothing but of several mysteries of glory.
(b). Consider the power, virtue, and influence of this object unto our souls salvation; oh! what a stately tower have we here erected to see heaven on; faith may stand (as it were) on this mount, and see itself in glory: Oh the flowings! the rich emanations of grace and glory that come from hence! come, let us draw, the well is deep; all the drops and dewings that fall on men or angels, are but as chips, in comparison of that huge and boundless body of the fulness of grace that is in Christ; one lily is nothing to a boundless and broad field of lilies; Christ is in these respects the mountain of roses; oh how high! how capacious, how full, how beautiful, how green? Could we but "smell him who feeds among the lilies, till the day breaks, and the shadows fly away?" Could we but dive into the golden veins of these unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ, we should say, "It is good to be here?" Oh! it is good to gather up the fragments that fall from Christ! his crown shines with diamonds and pearls; Oh! why do we toil ourselves in gathering sticks, when to-morrow we shall be out of this world and go to Christ; Come, where is our mouth of faith? Let us lay it to here, let us suck and be satisfied with these breasts of consolation, let us milk out and be delighted with the abundance of his glory.
(c). Consider the suitableness of these objects to our several conditions: you may remember the first cry, "was it not love enough for Christ to come down, and to visit us here: but that he must go up and take us with him?" No, no; his love was so great and vast, that for our sakes he moves up and down; this ravished the spouse, "Behold he comes leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills," Cant. ii. 8. Gregory, that measured his leaps, thus gives them; he first leaps from his Father's mansion to his mother's womb: from his mother's womb to his cratch; from his cratch to his cross; from his cross to his grave; from his grave up again to heaven; great leaps indeed, that showed both his readiness to love, and willingness to save; infinite love can never be out-tired with greatest actions. But another cries. How should I believe that Christ is exalted, and that by virtue thereof I shall be exalted, when I see myself in a forlorn condition, forsaken of God, an object amongst men: "Alas! man at his best is altogether vanity, yea, men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie, to be laid in the balance, I am altogether lighter than vanity; how then should I believe any such a condition? Is a worm a fit, or a capable subject to wear a crown?" Psal. lxii. 9. Yes, the Lord is great, and he can do great things, "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory; for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them, he will keep the feet of his saints;" 1 Sam. ii. 8, 9. Why, there is my sadness, cries another, "He will keep the feet of his saints; if I were but a saint, I could believe his power; but alas! I am unholy, an unsanctified piece of clay; I am a sinner, a sinner of the Gentiles, chief of sinners; I deserve to be thrown down into hell, rather than to be invested with glory, and to sit in heaven." True, but yet the Holy Ghost is given to make thee holy; of thyself, thou art vile, and most vile; but hath not the Holy Ghost entered in, and taken possession of thy spirit? Hath he not washed thee with water? Yea, thoroughly washed away thy blood? Hath he not anointed thee with oil, and covered thee with silk, and decked thee with gold and silver, and made thee comely through his comeliness, which he put upon thee? Why, this is the office of the Holy Ghost, and if thou hast but the indwelling of the Spirit, this is thy state: I know there is a part of thee unregenerate, and it will be so whiles thou art on earth, but withal there is in thee a new nature, another nature; there is something else within thee which makes thee wrestle against sin, and shall in time prevail over all sin, and this is the Spirit of Christ, sanctifying of thee, "Being sanctified (saith the apostle) by the Holy Ghost," Rom. xv. 16. Other complaints may be thus brought in, but if we understand the meaning, the design of Christ in his ascension, session, and mission of his Spirit, how might a true faith answer all? Oh believe! Believe thy part in Christ's ascension, Christ's session, Christ's mission of his holy Spirit, and thou mayest go singing to thy grave; a lively faith in such particulars, would set a soul in heaven, even whilst yet on earth.