PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Whole Works of John Flavel — Volume 1
Flavel, John, 1630?-1691 · 283,724 words · 235 reading sections
Section 181
Thirdly, Ex parte nostri. Yea, and it was no less necessary upon our account that this work should be finished ; for, had not Christ finished this work, sin had quickly finished all our lives, com- forts, and hopes. Without the finishing this work, not a son or daughter of Adam could ever have seen the face of God. The…
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Secondly^ It is apparent that Christ finished the work, by the discharge or acquittance God the Father gave him, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand. If Christ, the sinner's surety, be, as such, discharged by God the creditor, then the debt is fully paid. Now Christ was justified, and cl…
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the finishing of his own work of redemption without us, gives full evidence that he will finish his work of sanctification within us ; and that because these two works of Christ have a respect and re- lation to each other ; and such a relation, that the work he finished by his own death, resurrection, and ascension, wo…
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Fourthly, He did much work for God in a very silent manner : he wrought hard, but did not spoil his work, when he had wrought it, by vain ostentation. When he had expressed his charity in his acts of mercy and bounty to men, he would humbly seal up the glory of it, with this charge ; " see ye tell no man of " it," Matt…
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« profit and advantage of our souls ; inasmuch as Christ, by this " very prayer, hath delivered them into his Father's hand, as a " precious treasure, whenever the time comes that they are to be " loosed from the bodies which they now inhabit *.11 Jesus Christ neither lived nor died for himself, but for believers ; wha…
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Thirdly, It also implies the great value belivers have for their souls. That is the precious treasure ; and their main solicitude and chief care, is to see it secured in a safe hand : " Father, into thy hands " I commit my spirit :" They are words speaking the believer's care for his soul, that it may be safe, whatever…
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Secondly, As the gracious soul is his creature, so it is his redeemed creature ; one that he hath bought, and that with a great price, even with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. i. IS. This greatly encourages the departing soul, to commit itself into the hands of God ; so you find, Psal. xxxi. 5. " Into thy h…
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ceive, coming to him at death, firmly depending upon his faithful- ness that hatli promised, saying, as David, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. Though Lord, there be many defects in me, " yet thou hast made " a covenant with me, well ordered in all things, and sure ; and this " is all my salvation, and all my hope."" Lord, I am resolv…
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But what means this objection ? Let your faith be but suitable to these conditional promises, i. e. believe they shall be made good to you so far as God sees them good for you : do you but labour to come up to those conditions required in you, and thereby God will have more glory, and you more comfort : If your prayers…
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1. The preparations that were made for it, and that was mainly in two particulars, viz. the begging and perfuming of the body. His body could not be buried, till, by begging, his friends had obtained it as a favour from his judge. The dead body was by law in the power of Pilate, who adjudged it to death, as the bodies …
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Reason 4. Fourthly, But the great end and reason of his inter- ment was the conquering of death in its own dominion and territo* ries ; which victory over the grave furnished the saints with that triumphant svivtxiov song of deliverance, 1 Cor. xv. 55. " O death ! " where is thy sting ? O grave ! where is thy destructi…
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As for the rending in twain of' the vail, it was a notable miracle, plainly shewing that all ceremonies were now accomplished and abo- lished ; no more vails now : as also that believers have now most free access into heaven. At that very instant when the vail rent, the high-priest was officiating in the most holy plac…
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To have no funeral, is accounted a judgment, Eccles. vii. 4. or to be tumbled into a pit without any to lament us, is as lamentable. We read of many solemn and mournful funerals in scripture*, wherein the people of God have affectionately paid their respects and honours to the dust of the saints, as men that were deepl…
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Indeed, the grave is a terrible place to them that are out of Christ ; death is the Lord's serjeant to arrest them ; the grave is the Lord's prison to secure them. When death draws them into the grave, it draws them thither as a lion doth his prey into the den to devour it. So you read, Psal. xlix. 14. " Death shall fe…
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Sixthly, To conclude : if in Christ, know this for your comfort, that your own Lord Jesus Christ keeps the keys of all the cham- bers of death : and as he unlocks the door of death, when he lets you in, so he will open it again for you when you awake, to let you out ; and from the time he opens to let you in, till the …
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First, One principal design and end of shedding the blood of Christ was to deliver his people from danger, the danger of that wrath which burns down to the lowest hell. So you find, 1 Thess. i. 1 0. " Even Jesus who delivered us from wrath to come.11 Here our misery is both specified and aggravated. Specified, in calli…
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Thirdly, What are the troubles of a moment to that wrath, which, after millions of years are gone, will still ^ . . be called wrath to come ? O what comparison be- twixt a point of hasty time, and the interminable duration of vas^ eternity ! Fourthly, What comparison is there betwixt the n t- u intermitting sorrows an…
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Reconciliation of the elect to God, is therefore another of those beautiful births which Christ travailed for. So you find it ex- pressly, Rom. v. 10. " If when we were enemies, we were re- " conciled to God by the death of his Son." This [if] is not a word of doubting, but argumentation. The apostle supposes it is a k…
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As he consulted his own glory, in the terms on which he offers us our peace with him : so it is his grace which brings up souls to those terms of reconciliation. And surely he hath not suspended the mercy of our reconciliation upon unreasonable or impossible conditions. He hath not said, if you will do as much for me, …
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the sins of his people: so speaks the apostle expressly, Eph. v. 25, 26. " Christ gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify " and cleanse it." And so he tells us himself, John xvii. 29. " And for their sakes I sanctify myself,11 i. e. consecrate or devote myself to death, " That they also might be sanctified …
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Thirdly, All eternal good things. Heaven, glory, and eternal life, Rom. viii. 10, 11. No such bequests as these were ever found in the testaments of princes. That which kings and nobles settle by will upon their heirs, are but trifles to what Christ hath conferred in the New Testament upon his people. And all this is c…
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to reward him for his deep humiliation, with a most glorious and illustrious advancement, Isa. xlix. 5, 6, 7. And how God (as it became him) made this good to Christ, the apostle very clearly expresses, Phil. ii. 9- Yea, justice required it should be so. For how could our surety be detained in the prison of the grave,…
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Wherein the Resurrection of Christ, with its influences upon the Saints Resurrection, is clearly opened, and com- fortahly applied, being the first Step of his Exaltation. He is not here ; for he is risen, as he said : come, see the place where the Lord lay. VV E have finished the doctrine of Christ's humiliation, wh…
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To conclude. Had he not risen from the dead, how could he have been installed in that glory whereof he is now possessed in heaven, and which was promised him before the world was, upon the account of his death and sufferings ? " For to this end Christ " both died, and rose and revived, that he might be Lord both of " t…
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Fifthly, But lastly, Christ rose as a public or common person. " As the first fruits of them that slept," 1 Cor. xv. 20. I desire this may be well understood ; for upon this account it is that our resurrection is secured to us by the resurrection of Christ ; and not a resurrection only, but a blessed and happy one, for…
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Secondly, His body was raised, not by a word of power from the Father, but by his own Spirit. So will ours. Indeed the power of God shall go forth to unburrough sinners, and fetch them for- cibly out of their graves ; but the resurrection of the saints is to be effected another way ; as I opened but now to you. Even by…
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And thus I have shewed you the certainty of Christ's resurrec- tion, the nature and properties of it, the threefold influence it hath on the saints resurrection, and the conformity of ours unto his, in these five respects. His body rose substantially the same, so shall ours ; his body was raised by the Spirit, so shall…
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Thirdly, Let not the contentment and accommodation of your bodies draw your soul into snares, and bring them under the power of temptations to sin. This is a very common case. O how many thousands of precious souls perish eternally for the satisfaction of a vile body for a moment ? Their souls must, because their bodie…
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Evidence 4. If you strive now' by any means to attain the re- surrection of the dead, no doubt but you shall then attain what you now strive for. This was Paul's great ambition, " that by any means " he might attain the resurrection of the dead," Phil. iii. 11. He means not simply a resurrection from the dead, for that…
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So much the apostle plainly witnesseth, Eph. iv. 10. " He that " descended, is the same also that ascended up far above all hea- " vens," i. e. all the aspcctable heavens. A full and faithful ac- count whereof the several evangelists have given us, Mark xvi. 19. Luke xxiv. 51. This is sometimes called his going away, a…
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A cloud is prepared, as a royal chariot, to carry up the King of glory to his princely pavilion -f\ " A cloud received him out of " their sight," Luke xxiv. 51. And then a royal guard of mighty angels surrounded the chariot, if not for support, yet for greater state and solemnity of their Lord's ascension. And oh what …
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First, If Christ had not ascended, he could not have interceded, as now he doth in heaven for us. And do but take away Christ's intercession, and you starve the hope of the saints. For what have we to succour ourselves with, under the daily surprises of sin, but this, " That if any man sin, we have an advocate [with th…
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Inf. 4. Did Christ ascend so munificently, shedding forth so many mercies upon his people ? mercies of inestimable value re- served on purpose to adorn that day ? O then see that you abuse not those precious ascension-gifts qf Christ, but value and improve them as the choicest mercies. Now, the ascenion-gifts, as I tol…
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evidence your souls have for heaven. It were endless to enume- rate the mercies you have by him. And now, reader, dost thou not blush to think how unworthy thou hast treated such a friend ? For which of all these his offices or benefits dost thou grieve and quench him ? O grieve not the Holy Spirit whom Christ sent as …
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* The right-hand of God denotes divine honour and glory, on which the Son of God, who existed before all ages, as God, in the highest, co-essential with the Father, and incarnate in the latter times, sat down with his glorified body. Damme, lib. 4. c. 2. de orth.Jide. 510 THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. SERM. XU. So, in token …
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Fourthly, It imports the sovereignty and supremacy of Christ over all. The investiture of Christ, with authority over the em- pire of both worlds : for this belongs to him that sits down upon his throne. When the Father said to him * Sit at my right-hand, he did therein deliver to him the dispensation and ceconomy of t…
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Inference 1. Is this so great an honour to Christ, to sit enthroned at God's right hand ? What honour then is reserved in heaven for those that are faithful to Christ, now on the earth ? Christ prayed, and his prayer was heard, John xvii. 24. " That we may be with " him to behold the glory that God hath given him ;" an…
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O that you did but know what a glorious Lord you worship and serve. Who makes the very place qf his feet glorious, wherever he comes. Surely He is greatly to be feared in the assembly of his saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are round about him. There is indeed a co^cr/a boldness or free liberty of speech …
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This last act of Christ, namely, his judging the world, is a spe- cial part of his exaltation and honour bestowed upon him, " be- " cause he is the Son of man," John v. 27. In that day shall his glory, as King, and absolute Lord, shine forth as the sun when it shineth in its strength. O what an honour will it be to the…
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Secondly \ Man is a reasonable being, and every reasonable being, is an accountable being. He is a subject capable of moral govern- ment. His actions have a relation to a law. He is swayed by re- wards and punishments. He acts by counsel, and therefore of his actions, he must expect to give an account, as it is Rom. xi…
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Imagine Christ, like the general of an army, mentioning with honour, on the head of all the hosts of heaven and earth, all the services that the saints have done for him in this world : then sen- tentially justifying them by open proclamation ; then mounting with him to the third heavens, and entering the gates of that…
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Inference 1. Is Jesus Christ ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead ? Great then is the security believers have, that they shall not be condemned in that day. Who shall condemn, when Christ is Judge ? If believers be condemned in judgment, Christ must give sentence against them ; yea, and they must condemn t…
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Fifthly, To conclude, if sentence be once given by Christ against thy soul, what in all the world canst thou imagine should hinder the execution? will he alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth ? No, Psal. lxxxix. 34. Dost thou hope he is more merci- ful and pitiful than so? Thou mistakest, if you expect mercy ou…
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O brethren, never was the heathen world acquainted with such arguments to deter them from sin; never acquainted with such motives to urge them to holiness, as I shall this day acquaint you with. My request is, to give up both your hearts and lives to glorify the Father, Son, and Spirit, whose you are, by the holi- ness…
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ence ! Oh what a good Master do saints serve ? You that are re- miss and unconstant in your obedience, you that are heartless and cold in duties; hear how your God expostulates with you, Jer. ii. 31. " Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of dark- " ness ?" q. d. Have I been a hard Master to you ? Have you any…
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ver. 7. and the Lord's confident expectations of suitable returns from them, ver. 8. I said, i. e. (speaking after the manner of men in like cases) I made a full account, that after all these endear. ments and favours bestowed upon them, they would not offer to be disloyal and false to me. I have made them sure enough …
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" Hast thou thus requited me, for all the favours and kind- " nesses thou hast received from me? Have I rpj vn-r'£<; eoc " queened thee when thou wastdead in trans- htl(£n with gress.ons? Did I descend upon thee in the £^ chyM_ " preaching ot the gospel, and communicate " life, even the life of God, to thee ; leaving …
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Secondly, You are professors of holiness. You have given in your names to Christ, to be his disciples ; and by this your engagements to a life of holiness, are yet further strengthened, % Tim. ii. 19- " Let every one that nameth the name of Christ, depart from ini- " quity."" The name of Christ is called upon you, and …
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Sapores in his minority. And this man for fear denied the Chris- tian faith, and complied with the idolatrous worship of the king. And one day (saith the historian) sitting at the court-gate, he saw Simon, the aged archbishop of Seleucia, drawn along to prison, for his constancy in the Christian faith ; and, though he …
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First, Shall men* of such principles walk as others do? Shall wc lament for vou, as David once did for Saul, saying, " There the " shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, the shield of Saul ; " as though he had not been anointed with oil.'** There the ho- nour of a Christian was vilely cast away, as though he had no…
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nations were m heaven, whilst they tabernacled on earth. Whilst this lower world had their bodies, the world above had their hearts, and their affections. Their actions and their designs were all for heaven. Men that improved troubles and comforts ; losses and grains, smiles and frowns, and all for heaven. Men that did…
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Fourthly, and lastly, to mention no more, You have a further advantage to this holy life, by all the rods of God that are at any time upon you. I might shew you in many particulars, the ad- vantages this way also, but I shall only present these three to your observation at this time. First, By these you are clogged, t…
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First, To win over souls to Christ, and bring them in love with religion. Practical holiness is a very lovely, attractive, and obliging thing. If the heathen could call moral virtue verticordia, turn- heart, from that obliging and winning power it exercises upon the hearts of men ; if they could say of it, that were it…
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presses it, " Ministers would not be gray-headed so soon, nor die so " fast, notwithstanding their great labours, if they were but suc- " cessful ; but this cuts to the heart, and makes us bleed in secret, " that though we do much, yet it comes to nothing. Our work " dies, therefore we die. Not so much that we labour, …
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O then, since you are thus obliged to holiness of life, thus singu- larly assisted for it ; and since there are such great dependencies upon it, and uses for it, both now and in the world to come, see that ye be holy in all manner of conversation. See that, " as ye " have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so ye walk in h…
491 wordsSource & rights
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.