It is an unworthy thing that we should pass over this life, which is alto- gether to get into Christ, and to die before we begin to live. How many live a natural rational life, and live in an outward condition perhaps great in the world, and then all cndeth in death ; and they be out of the world before they come in. Here they come, here they live, and hence they go, and never do the work for which they came ; which is, to get out of nature and to grow in grace; to get into the spirit of the life of Christ, who is the life of a Christian, the sun that quickens all. Instead of this, they go on from day to day, from year to year, and so die before they begin to live. And thousands do this in the bosom of the church.
This is a fearful condition. Therefore let this be the conclusion of this point.
Never rest till we find ourselves in a condition above nature, till we find ourselves in such a state that none can come to but a child of God. Let us enter into eternal life while we live. For none shall be transpol'ted into heaven that is not engrafted into Christ here. This is the entrance of heaven. Therefore begin the life here, get into the church here, else it shall never be obtained hereafter. Labour for more and more experiment,* that Christ is in us, that at the day of judgment Christ may know us, by his own stamp, and by his own life, that the life that raised him up out of the grave, may raise our bodies out of the dust. For this is our com- fort we may have from the life of Jesus, efficacy to quicken us to duty. We shall find the life of Jesus to quicken us from troubles, and at the con- summation of all, we shall find the Spirit that cometh from him powerfully able to raise our dead bodies. If the Spirit that raised up Christ from the dead be in us, it will raise up our bodies likewise. Indeed, I should never satisfy myself almost in this subject, but that the time is past, and you may in your own meditations work better upon that I have said, than I can by any strength of mine press at this present.
VEKSE 11.
For we ichich live are ahvaijs delivered to death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus rnigJit be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
The holy apostle, by a more than ordinary wisdom, by a spirit en- lightened from heaven, doth not only take benefit from the weak estate he * That is, ' experience.' — G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. IV, VER. 11. 427
was in with bis fellows, but uiiikcs use likewise of sucb objections as were made against the profession of religion by sucb as looked on tbe outside. He grants to all that might be objected tending to the outward disparage- ment of religion, but then he retorteth all upon them, and makes a gracious and comfortable use of it. As you may see in these two verses : ' We bear in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, but the life of Jesus is made manifest in our mortal bodies.' Of the tenth verse, we spake something largely the last day : ' Always bearing about the dying of the Lord Jesus, that,' &c.
Wc ^^ill now proceed to the next verso, which is but an illustration and exposition of the former. For what ho said before, ' we bear in our bodies the dying of Christ,' here he saith, ' we are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake.' And where he saith there ' that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our bodies,' here by way of exposition and illustration, ' that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal life.' So that it is but an illustration and exposition of the former verse.
' For we which live,' saith he ; we apostles and ministers, and it is true of all Christians, we which live, while we live, are in some sense always delivered from* death for Jesus' sake.
Here is the circumstance of time, added to the condition they were in, and the aggravation of what they were delivered to. ' We are always delivered to death,' 'wc are delivered to death, and always,' and 'lor Jesus' sake.' These three things are a little considerable before we go further.
The condition is ' deliverance to death,' the circumstance ' always,' and * for Jesus' sake.'
Obj. How could they die, being alive ?
Ans. I answer, we are delivered to death, because God, by his permis- sion, gave them over to Satan ruling in the children of obedience,! to molest, and threaten, and deliver them, to death, in regard of the designing of cruel men of them to death, on all advantages they could take against them. And likewise delivered to death in their preparation for death continually, for they could make no other account every day they rose but that they might die before they slept again. And in this respect, they and every Christian ought to be a dying man to be delivered to death.