Christ to us : John vi. 37, ' All that the Father givetli me shall come to me ; and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out ; ' John xvii. 6, ' 1 have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world ; thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word.' And in time he doth execute and accom- plish this out of his mere love : Jer. xxxi. 3, ' The Lord hath appeared to me of old, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee/ As by elective love the heirs of salvation were distinguished from others in God himself, or in his intention and purpose, so by regeneration and converting love they are distinguished from others in themselves, and set apart from the rest of the world, to be the objects of his special love and instru- ments of his glory. Besides, there is a love of God whereby he loveth us when we are in Christ Jesus, which is the ground of our safety and preservation : Rom. viii. 38, 39, ' For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
[2.] ' The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.' What is intended us by tlie Father is brought about by the grace of the Eedeemer, and there- fore all the provision Christ had made for our salvation is called grace : 2 Cor. viii. 9, ' For ye 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;' that is, ye know his gracious condescen- sion in submitting to such a mean condition for our sakes. So 1 Cor. xvi. 23, ' The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.' Grace is God's favour and love, which was first purchased by Christ by his obedience and bloody sufferings : Rom. iii. 24, * Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Ciu-ist.' Secondly, applied by his intercession, which is also another act of his grace ; and therefore we ' come boldly to the throne of grace, that w'e may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in time of need,' Heb. iv. 16 ; namely, ' having a great high priest that is jiassed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,' ver. 14, who knoweth our infirmities. Thirdly, as it is bestowed by him, as Lord of the new creation, upon such terms as every way keep up the honour and interest of grace in our salvation : Eph. ii. 8, ' By grace ye are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.' All the saving benefits we have by Christ are from grace, such as reconciliation with God, the renovation of our natures, and everlasting glory and happiness ; they are all dispensed in a gracious way from first to last.
[3.] ' The communion of the Holy Ghost.' Communion is ascribed to the Holy Ghost. It may be rendered communion or communication. The Spirit reneweth and changeth our nature, and worketh faith and holiness in us. Light, life, and love are the special benefits which he comnnmicates to us. He doth enlighten our minds, to understand and believe the great things prepared for us by God through Jesus Christ. It is said, 1 Cor. ii. 10, ' But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit ; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.' So Eph. i. 17, 18, 'That the God of our Lord Jesus
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Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him ; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.' Life ; for we live in the Spirit, and are born of the Sph-it ; that is, have a new life begotten in us, therefore called a Spirit of life : before we lived as men, now as christians. And love ; the heart is bent and in- clined to God. It began in love, and endeth in love ; love of God endeth in love to God. This threefold effect is expressed, 2 Tim. i. 7, ' For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind.' Life in power, as light in a sound mind. And it is altogether called the divine nature : 2 Peter i. 4, ' Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature ; ' for it answereth to the wisdom, power, and goodness of God.
3. That all these words imply riches of goodness, bounty, and liber- ality. Love notetli a ready inclination to do good to others, without the excitement of external motives ; it openeth and enlargetli the heart to another, and then the hand cannot be shut: 2 Cor. vi. 11, 'Oye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you ; our heart is enlarged.' Grace is some good thing freely given. So KoivwvCa, communion, noteth a liberal effusion or distribution of the graces of God's sanctify- ing Spirit ; and so it suiteth with cv^airr) &eov, and %a/3i9 Xpiarov, ' the love of God,' and ' the grace of Christ ; ' elsewhere, Kowcovia Trvoevi^aro^, 'the communion of the Spirit,' is joined with 'bowels and mercies :' Phil, ii. 1, ' If any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies ; ' that is, if you have received any good from Christ by the Spirit. So Rom. XV. 26, ' For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.' What is in our translation to ' make a contribution ' for the saints, is in the original KOLicovlav iroitjaaOai, to make a communion or com- munication. So 2 Cor. viii. 4, ' Praying us with much entreaty, that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the mini- stering to the saints,' KOiv(oviavrrj<i hiaKovia'^. So 2 Cor. ix. 13, 'And for your liberal distribution unto them,' aTT\oT7]Ti rf]'; kolvcovlu^;. So here, ' the communication of the Spirit.' If you will render it ' communion,' this is the great effect of the love of God a;nd the grace of Christ, that we are made members of Christ's mystical body by the Spirit : 1 Cor. xii. 13, ' For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body;' and so are united to the head, and to one another by this bond of union. The church is a mystical body, whereof Christ is the head, and the Holy Ghost is, as it were, the heart of it ; the one guideth this great body, the other quickeneth it. Now in this mystical body we actually come to the participation of what Christ hath purchased for us by the Holy Ghost.