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and frees me from the dominion of sin. The ohedicncc of Christ frees me from the condemnation of sin, and the Spirit of sanctification frees me from the dominion of sin. This is the freedom of sanctification, which faith lays hold on. ' Whosoever hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his,' Rom. viii. 9. Christ as a head derives* to me the Holy Spirit to sanctify my nature ; and ' of his fulness we receive grace for grace,' John i. 16. So the Spirit of sanctification in Christ frees me from the dominion of sin and death.
It is said here, that by Christ we have spiritual liberty and freedom, not from sin and death, but from tJie law of sin and of death. It is one thing to be freed from sin and death, and another thing to be freed from the law of them ; for we are not indeed freed from sin and death, but from the law of sin and death, that is, from the condemning power of sin ; that though sin be in us yet it doth not condemn us ; and though we die, yet the sting is pulled out. Death is but a passage to a better life. So I say in justi- fication, we are freed from the condemning power of sin ; and in sanctifi- cation, from the commanding power of sin. When we are knit once to Christ, we have the obedience of Christ, ours in justification ; and the holiness of Christ is derived to us, as fi'om the head to the members in sanctification ; and so we are freed from the law of sin. To understand this a little better, the same Spirit that sanctified the natural body, the human nature of Christ, whereby he ' became bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh,' Eph. v. 80 : the same Spirit doth sanctify the mystical body of Christ, that it may be ' bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh.' For before we come to heaven, Christ must not only ' be bone of our bone,' &c., that is, in his incarnation, but we must be ' bone of his bone,' &c. ; that is, we must have natures like Christ, not only flesh and blood — for so a reprobate hath flesh and blood, as Christ hath — but we must have his Spirit altering and changing our nature : that instead of a proud, disobe- dient, rebellious nature, now it must be a holy and humble and meek nature, together with human frailty, for that we carry about with us. Then the Spirit of life derived from Christ makes us ' bone of his bone.' For indeed, in his human nature being ' bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh,' he made us ' bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.' He became man that we might partake of the divine nature, being partakers of the divine Spirit. So that now the Spirit of life in Christ, when we are knit to him, is a Spirit of sanctification, altering our natures and working in our hearts a disposition like Christ's : that we judge as Christ judgeth, and choose as Christ chooseth, and aim at God's glory as Christ did ; for there is ' the same mind in us that was in Christ,' Philip, ii. 5 — in our proportion, growing still more and more to conformity with Christ, till we be in heaven, till ' Christ be all in all,' 1 Cor. xv. 28, when he will change our nature to be holy as his own,
II. Besides this liberty from sin and death in this life, there is a glorious liberty and freedom that we have by the Spirit of Christ when we are dead ; for then the Spirit of life that raised Christ's dead body will raise our bodies ; and that Spirit of Christ that raiseth his body and raiseth our souls in this world from sin to believe in him, will raise our dead bodies. The same virtue and power that works in Christ works in his members. This is caUed ' the glorious liberty of the sous of God.' Then we shall be freed indeed, not only from the law of sin, but from sin itself; and not only from the law of death, but death itself; and we ' shall live for ever with * That is, ' communicates.' — G.
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the Lord,' 1 Thcss. iv. 17. Christ then ' shall be all in all by his Spirit.' Christ will never leave us till he have brought us to that glorious freedom. Wo are freed already from sin and death. lie hath ' set us in heavenly places together with himself now, Eph. i. 3. In faith we are there already : but then we shall be indeed. Thus you see how we come to have the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, to free us from the law of sin and death, and all the passages of it.
Use. You see here that there is law against law — the law of the Spirit of life in Christ against the law of sin and death. I beseech you, consider that God hath appointed law to countermand law ; the Spirit of Christ to overcome sin in us, not only in justification but in sanctification. Oh let us therefore comfortably think there is a law above this law. I have now cold, dead, base afiectious; but if I have the Spirit of , Christ, ho can quicken and enliven me. He will not only pardon my sin, but by the law of his Spirit direct, guide, and command me a contrary way to mj' lusts. And this is an art of spiritual prudence in heavenly things, whensoever we are beset with dangers, to set greater than that against it. The devil is an angel ; but we have a guard of angels about us. The devil is a serpent ; but we have a brazen serpent that cures all the stings of that serpent. We have principalities and powers against, but we have greater principalities and powers for us : the law of life against the law of sin and death. We have a law of our lusts tyrannizing over us and enthralling us. It is true. But then there is a law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, to overcome and subdue that law of our lusts, if so be that we use the prerogatives we have, if we use faith and go to God and Christ, in whom are all the trea- sures of grace. He is the treasury of the church : ' Of his fulness we receive grace for grace,' John i. 16. Ai'e we troubled with any corruptions ? Go to the Spirit of liberty in Christ, and desire him to set us at liberty from the bondage and thraldom of our corruptions. And remember what Christ hath done for us, and where he is now, in heaven. Let us raise our thoughts that we may see ourselves in heaven already ; that we may be ashamed to defile our bodies and souls with the base drudgery of sin and Satan, that are sanctified in part in this world, and shall be glorified in heaven. Certainly faith would raise our souls so. We betray ourselves, when, being once in the state of grace, we are enthralled basely to any sin. * For sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are under grace,' saith the apostle, Rom. vi. 14. Being under grace, if we do but use our reasoning and use faith and exercise the grace we have given us, we cannot be in thrall to corruptions. We shall have remainders to trouble us, but not to rule, and reign, and domineer. For sin never bears sway, but when we betray ourselves, and either believe not what Christ hath done for us, or else exercise not our faith. A Christian is never overtaken basely, but when he neglects his privileges and prerogatives, and doth not stir up the grace of God in him.