Fourthly, The way and manner in which we are brought into this fellowship with Christ ; which is yet more admirable. The apostle gives us a strange account of it m 2 Cor. viii. 9- " For you " know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was " rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his " poverty might be rich :" he empties himself of his glory, that we might be filled ; he is made a curse, that we might enjoy the blessing ; lie submits to be crowned with thorns, that we might be crowned with glory and honour ; he puts himself into the number of worms, Psal. xxii. 6. that we might be made equal to the an- gels. O, the inconceivable grace of Christ !
Fifthly, The reciprocal nature of that communion which is be- twixt Christ and believers ; we do not only partake of what is his, but he partakes of what is ours : he hath fellowship with us in all our wants, sorrows, miseries and afflictions ; and we have com- munion with him in his righteousness, grace, sonship and glory: he takes part of our misery, and we take part of his blessedness ; our sufferings are his sufferings, Col. i. 24. O, what an honour is it to thee, poor wretch, to whom a great many would not turn aside to ask how thou dost ; to have a King, yea, the Prince of all the kings of the earth, to pity, relieve, sympathize, groan and bleed with thee, to sit by thee in all thy troubles, and give thee his cordials ; to say thy troubles are my troubles, and thy afflic- tions are my afflictions : whatever toucheth thee, toucheth me also. O what name shall we give unto such grace as this is !
Sixthly, and lastly, Consider the perpetuity of this privilege : Your fellowship with Christ is interminable, and abides for ever. Christ and the saints shall be glorified together, Rom. viii. 17. while he hath any glory they shall partake with him. It is said indeed, 1 Cor. xv. 24. that there shall be a time when Christ will deliver up the kingdom to his Father ; but the meaning is not that
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ever he will cease to be the Head of his saints, or they from being his members : No, the relation never ceases ; justification, sancti- fication and adoption, are everlasting things, and we can never be divested of them.
Inference 1. Are the saints Christ's fellows? What honourable persons then are they ! and how should they be esteemed and valued in the world ! If a king, who is the fountain of honour, do but raise a man by his favour, and dignify him by bestowing some honourable title upon him, what respect and observance is presently paid him by all persons ? But what are all the vain and empty titles of honour, to the glorious and substantial privileges with which be- lievers are dignified, and raised above all other men by Jesus Christ ? He is the Son of God, and they are the sons of God also : he is the Heir of all things, and they are joint-heirs with Christ : he reigns in glory, and they shall reign with him i he sits upon the throne, and they shall sit with him in his throne. O that this vile world did but know the dignity of believers, they would never slight, hate, abuse, and persecute them as they do ! And O that believers did but understand their own happiness and privi- leges by Christ, they would never droop and sink under every small trouble at that rate they do !
Inf. 2. How abundantly hath God provided for all the necessities and wants of believers ! Christ is a storehouse filled with blessings and mercies, and it is all for them : from him they " receive abun- " dance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness," Rom. v. 17. " Of his fulness they all receive grace for grace," John i. 16. All the fulness of Christ is made over to them for the supply of their wants : " My God shall supply all your needs, (saith the apostle) " according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ," Phil. iv. 19. If all the riches of God can supply your needs, then they shall be supplied. Say not, Christ is in the possession of consummate glory, and I am a poor creature, struggling with many difficulties, and toiling in the midst of many cares and fears in the world ; for care is taken for all thy wants, and orders given from heaven for their supply : My God shall supply all your need. O say Mith a melting heart, I have a full Christ, and he is filled for me : I have his pure and perfect righteousness to justify me, his holiness to sanctify me, his wisdom to guide me, his comforts to refresh me, his power to protect me, and his all-sufficiency to supply me. O be cheer- ful, be thankful, you have all your hearts can wish ; and yet be humble ; it is all from free-grace to empty and unworthy creatures.
Inf. 3. How absurd, disingenuous, and unworthy of a Christian, is it to deny, or withhold from Christ any thing he hath, or by which he may be served or honoured ? Doth Christ communicate all he hath to you, and can you withhold any thing from Christ ? On Christ's
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part it is not mine, and thine, but ours, or mine and yours ; John xx. 17. "I ascend to my Father, and your Father ; to my God, " and vour God."" But O this cursed idol self I which appro- priates all to its own designs and uses. How liberal is Christ ! and how penurious are we to him ! Some will not part with their credit for Christ, when yet Christ abased himself unspeakably for them. Some will not part with a drop of blood for Christ, when Christ spent the whole treasure of his blood freely for us ; yea, how loth are we to part with a shilling for Christ, to relieve him in his distressed members, when as yet " we know the grace of our Lord " Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he bc- " came poor, that we through his poverty might be rich !" O un- grateful return ! O base and disingenuous spirits P1 The things Christ gives us are great, and the things we deny to him are small : he parts with the greatest, and yet is denied the least. The things he communicates to us are none of ours, we have no right nor title by nature, or any desert of ours to them ; the things we deny or grudge to Christ are by all titles his own, and he hath the fullest and most unquestionable title to them all ; what he gives to us, he gives to them that never deserved it ; what we withhold from him, we withhold from one that hath deserved that, and in- finitely more from us than we have or are.
He interested you freely in all his riches when you were enemies ; you stand upon trifles with him, and yet call him your best and dearest friend : he gave himself and all lie hath to you, when you could claim nothing from him ; you deny to part with these things to Christ, who may not only claim them upon the highest title, his own sovereignty, and absolute property, but by your own act, who profess to have given all in covenant to him : what he gives you return no profit to him ; but what you give or part with for him is your greatest advantage. O that the consideration of these