VeR. 6.] SERMONS UPON 1 JOHN III. 31
you may bring forth fruit, John xv. 8. Fourthly, In abiding in liini we have much joy and comfort: John xv. 10, 11, *If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abode in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and your joy might be full.' The Lord's supper was appointed to represent and seal this union : 1 Cor. x. 16, it is called, ' The cup of blessing,' &c. There we come to eat his flesh and drink his blood, and to be joined to the Lord 60 as to become one spirit. Since Christ calleth the bread his body and the wine his blood, these outward things are signs to put you in remem- brance, and seals to put you in possession of Christ, whose flesh you eat and blood you drink, that you may live by him ; not with your mouth, that were to think carnally of heavenly mysteries ; as Nicodemus, when told of being born again, thought that a man must enter the second time into his mother's womb ; or as the Capernaites said, John vi. 59. ' How can this man give us his flesh to eat ? ' No ; the eating and drinking must be answerable to the hungering and thirsting ; now that is not carnal, but spiritual. We nuist solemnly receive Christ into our heart, that he may dwell there. Oh, then, own Christ as your Lord, devote yourselves to him : 2 Chron. xxx. 8, ' Yield yourselves to the Lord.' Heartily, sincerely resolve to be Christ's, and he will be yours. 2d Point. That no sight and knowledge of Christ is saving and effectual but what checketh sin and hindereth the life of it. There is a twofold knowledge — speculative and practical. 1. Knowledge speculative, which is nothing else but a naked map and model of divine truths. The Jew had his form of knowledge in the law, Rom. ii. 20. So the speculative christian has a form of god- liness, 2 Tim. iii. 5, a scheme and delineation of gospel truths. There are different degrees of this.
[1.] A memorative knowledge, such as children have when the field of memoiy is planted with the seed of christian doctrine. Children are taught to speak of divine mysteries by rote, such as God, Christ. heaven, hell, sin, righteousness ; as the philosopher observed of young men, that they learned the mathematics with all their hearts and minds, but moral things tliey only said them over, rather rehearsed and said after another, than believed them. Children answer you the words of the catechism, but they heed not what they say, nor understand not whereof they affirm ; but it is good that children should learn divine things, and after be further instructed in the nature and cer- tainty of them, Luke i. 5.
[2.] Another degree above this is opinionative knowledge, when they do not only charge their memories, but exercise a kind of conscience and judgment about these things, so as to be orthodox and right in opinion, and to bustle and contend about that way of religion wherein they have been educated, or that which suiteth best with their fancies antl interests ; yet wisdom entereth not upon the heart, I'rov. ii. 10. This inaketh men hot disputers, but cold practisers of godliness; they have a religion to talk of, but not to live by ; they mny know much of religion in the notion, and it may be more accurately than the serious christian. As a vintner's cellar may be better stored with wines than a nobleman's, but he hath them for sale and not for use, so these
32 SERMONS UPON 1 JOHN III. [SeR. X.
may form llieir notions into better order than the serious godly man. These are useful in the church, as a dead post may support a living tree, or as negroes and slaves dig in the mines to bring up gold to others. But alas ! with all their learning they may be thi-ust into hell : ' They received not the love of the truth, whereby they might be saved.'
[3.] There is a higher degree of speculative knowledge beyond this, and that is, when men have some kind of touch upon their hearts, but it is too slender and insufficient to break their lusts or to stand out against temptations.
Use. Well, then, let us seek after this saving knowledge, to see and know Christ as we ought to know and see him, with a renewing, trans- forming knowledge : Eph. iii. 10, ' And that ye put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him.' It is but hearsay knowledge. Think every notion lost that doth not invite your minds to the saving knowledge of Christ, and secure your practice against error and temptations ; therefore beg the Spirit ; he teacheth us to know things so as to have them impressed upon our hearts : Eph. iv. 21, 22, ' If so be ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus : that ye put off, concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt accordinq; to the deceitful lusts.'