SERMON UPON JOHN XIX. 30. 37
wronf^ed, as if he did not hate sin ; and his justice and truth, as if he would not punish it ; his power lessened, for sin is an act of presump- tion, and implieth a contest with God. Now in all these respects it was necessary that God should vindicate his glor}^ and he no loser ; which was fully hrought to pass hy Christ, to whom there is in scrip- ture a douhle fulness and sufficiency attrihuted. A fulness of grace or holiness : ' For it i)leased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell, and hy him to reconcile all things to himself,' Col. i. 19, 20. And therefore he is said, ' To he full of grace and truth, that of his fulness we may all receive, and grace for grace,' John i. 14, 16. Besides this, there is a 'fulness of the godhead that dwelt in him hodily,' Col. ii. 9. Not mystically and spiritually, as in helievers ; not sym- bolically, as in the sacraments ; not typically, as in the law ; but bodily, that is, really and personally, as body is opposed to shadow, or notetli a person. Well, then, the argument is strong. If the person satisfying were not only holy and undefiled, but also infinite, the satis- faction also must be infinite, and therefore most perfect and sufficient ; for what can be greater and more perfect than what is infinite ? And therefore all is finished ; if such a person will take a body, and die for us, there needeth no other satisfaction.
2. I reason from the unity of the mediatory office, and that oblation or sacrifice which was made by Christ by virtue of that office : 2 Coi-. V. 14, ' If one died for all, then were all dead ; ' 1 Tim. ii, 5, ' There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.' And as these |)laces ]:)rove that there is but one mediator, so there is but one sacrifice : Heb. x. 10, ' By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all;' and ver. 14, ' For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified ; ' Kom, v. 18, * By the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all to justification of life ; ' Heb. ix. 26, 'But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself; ' ver. 28, ' So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.' The scripture so emphatically insisting upon this term, ' once ; ' certainly all is finished ; there needeth no more to be done by us to satisfy God's justice ; that is sufficiently done already.
3. From tlie greatness of the punishment imposed upon Christ; for if he suffered all the punishments due to us, it cannot be that any- thing more should be done to pacify God ; all is finished. Now Christ omitted none of those things which divine justice required : he ' ful- filled all righteousness,' Mat. iii, 15 ; ' Was obedient to death, even the death of the cross,' Phil. ii. 8. Yea, and suffered all those things which the law did put upon sinners, either as to loss or sense, as to desertion or as to the curse ; and therefore he is said, * To bear our griefs, and carry our sorrows, and to be wounded for our transgressions, and to be bruised for our iniquities,' Isa. liii. 4, 5 ; ' To be made a curse for us,' Gal. iii. 15 ; ' To be made sin for us,' 2 Cor. v. 21. God spared him not, but put him to grief, not out of hatred to his Son, but love to our salvation. Hence those agonies of Christ, and prayers, and tears, and strong cries.
4. From God's approbation of the person and sacrifice of Christ. If God did so far approve the sacrifice of Christ as willingly to accept it
38 SERMON UPON JOHN XIX. 30.
for our redemption, that upon it lie groundeLl a covenant, and made offers of terms of grace to us, and reconciliation with us, there is no question but that upon Christ's death all was finished. No more was necessary for paying the price and ransom, for God, the most just judge, would not accept of an imperfect satisfaction, or give testimony that he was well pleased with it. But that Christ's person and sacrifice was approved of God is evident, not only as he appointed it ; and surely he will accept what he hath appointed ; not only also by the miracles which he wrought when alive, which evidenced his commission: Acts ii. 22, 'Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you ; ' but chiefly by the resurrection of Christ, which was not only a testimony of the truth and dignity of his person : Rom. i. 4, ' And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead ; ' but it was a clear argument of the perfectness of his satisfaction ; for unless he had abundantly satisfied God, how could God, who, as a just judge, had appointed him to die for our sins, raise him up from the dead ? Would an upright judge deliver a debtor or his surety from prison unless first full payment had been made ? Would God show himself willing to be reconciled to us if yet there remained any wrath to be appeased, any farther ransom necessary to be paid for us ? Now in the scripture Christ is sometimes said to rise from the dead to show his divine power ; sometimes to be raised by God to show the fulness of his satisfaction : Acts ii. 24, ' Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be hoi den of them.' When Christ was raised, our surety was let out of prison ; and the scripture hath delivered it to us under that notion : Isa. liii. 8, ' He was taken from prison, and from judg- ment, and who shall declare his generation ? For he was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgression of my people was he stricken.' The Lord sent an angel to remove his gravestone, not to supply any lack of power in Christ, but to show he was fully appeased and satisfied. Therefore it is said, Heb. xiii. 20, ' Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.' Mark, through the blood of the everlasting covenant he is become the God of peace ; through the blood of the everlasting covenant he brought Christ from the dead. He doth not only do us good, but lets go our surety through the virtue of that blood. The phrase of ' bring- ing again from the dead,' is emphatical. Christ did not break prison, but was brought forth as the apostles. Acts xvi. 39 ; the magistrates came to the prison ' and brought them out.' Christ rose not only by his own power, but by the Father's authority. If our surety had perished in prison, we could have no assurance ; or if he had continued still under death, the world could have no discharge ; but Christ rose again, and is not only taken out of prison, but carried up to God in glory and honour : 1 Tim. iii. 16, ' Received up into glory.' It is not avkdr], actively he ascended, but avaXi](^dr}, passively he was raised up. God hath rewarded him ; and therefore he hath perfectly done his work. God hath not only taken him out of the grave, but taken him up to glory. Certainly God is well pleased since he hath