^ Qu. ' uncreated ' 1 — Ed,
256 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SeII. XIII.
From hence we may g-ather the unity, and yet the distinction of tlie divine i)Grsons, they have their distinct right and title, and yet they all communicate in the same essence, dignity, and privileges.
2. To persons ; and so it implieth not the uncreated riches of the Godhead, but their created goods and possessions. Believers are the created treasure of the divinity, and every person hath a distinct right. Christ saith to the Father, ' They are thine,' and again, ' They are mine ;' and the Spirit is not to l)e excluded, though he be not men- tioned, as appeareth in the parallel place but now quoted. They are God's children, Christ's members, and the Spirit's temples.
But to come more closely to the words : ' All mine are thine, and thine are mine.' How are believers Christ's ? how the Father's ? The first title Christ hath to us is the same that he hath to all things else ; all things are God's and Christ's by creation and preservation. So the whole Godhead saith, Ezek. xviii. 4, ' All souls are mine.' God is the maker and judge of all. But that sense is too large for this place. Christ useth it as a special argument why he prayed for his own and not for the world. Another sort of creatures nnist be understood ; by creation tlie beasts are theirs as well as men : Ps. 1. 10, ' For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.' But there is a peculiar heritage in which they delight, of which it is said, 2 Tim. ii. 19, ' The foundation of the Lord standeth sure, having this seal ; the Lord knows those that are his.' There is a number of men whose names are written and .sealed ; now these are the Father's, the Son's the Spirit's. The text speaketh only of the two first persons, and so I shall mainly carry on the discourse. The distinct possession must be understood according to the personal propriety of each person ; thine by election, mine by redemption. All that I am to redeem, to make intercession for, that are to have benefit by me, are God's elect ; and all God's elect are to have benefit by me.
The })oint which I shall handle is, the commensurableness of the distinct propriety of all the persons in believers ; election, redemption, and sanctification are of the same sphere and latitude. They are one joint possessor, Lord and maker: ' All mine are thine, and thine are mine.' All that the Father electeth the Son redeemeth ; and I may add (because he communicateth in the same unity of essence) the Spirit sanctifieth. So the apostle, 1 Peter i. 2, ' Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience, and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ,' the same persons are interested in these personal operations of the same Godhead. Election is ascribed to God the Father, sanctification to the Spirit, and reconcihation to Jesus Christ. The beginning is from God the Father, the dispensation through his Son Jesus Christ, and the application through the Holy Ghost. This is the chain of salvation, and never a link of this chain must be broken. The Son cannot die for them whom the Father never elected, and the Spirit Avill never sanctify them whom the Father hath not elected nor the Son redeemed. Reason 1. From the unity of essence. They are one ; and if any per- son be interested in them, all must ; otherwise men might be beholden to Christ that were never beholden to the Father nor the Spirit. They arc oixoQVdLoi and o^iotliioi, of one essence and of equal dignity ; none
VeK. 10.] SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. 257
shall be beholden to one that are not beholden to the other. It is very- notable that when Christ speaketh of his own flock, and the certainty of their conversion and the sureness of their estate, he saith, John x. 27-30, ' My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me ; and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand : I and my Father are one. He is greater than me as redeemer. If I acknowledge them for mine, they must have grace, and cannot miscarry. We are two persons, but one God ; he is a joint-cause working together with me, one in power, one in counsel.
Beason 2. From the unity and agreement in will and design. They are one, and agree in one ; the persons are resolved to glorify one another. In man's salvation the Father will have the honour of electing, that the Son may have the honour of purchasing, and the Spirit the honour of sanctifying. It is said of the Spirit, John xvi. 14, ' He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it mito you :' and Christ saith, John xiv. 13, 'Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.' The Son came into the world to make good the purposes of the Father : John viii. 50, 'I seek not my own glory;' and the Son sendeth the Spirit. God sendeth the Son, and the Spirit anointeth Christ : Acts X. 38, ' God anointeth Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.^ There is a perfect agreement, mutual missions between them.