Obj. But you will say, it seems he was not ' justified in the Spirit.' There are many heretics that think not Christ to be God ; that take not Christ to be so glorious as he is.
Ans. I answer : When we speak of the justifying of Christ, it is meant to those that have eyes to see him, to those that shut not their eyes. He was 'justified' to be so great as he was to those ' whose eyes the god of the world had not blinded,' 2 Cor, iv. 4; to all that were his; as it is excel- lently set down, John i. 14, ' The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
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US ; and wc bclicld his glory, as the gloiy of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.' We ' beheld his glory.' We did ; others did not take notice : but they were those ' whose eyes the god of the world hath blinded,' the malicious Scribes and Pharisees, that sinned against the Holy Ghost, and would never acknowledge Christ ; and ignorant people, that had not faith nor the Spirit of God. He was justified by the Spirit of God, to all that had spiritual eyes to see and take notice of his course ; as St John saith in one of his epistles, ' What we have seen and heard, and our hands have handled, the Word of life, that we declare to you,' 1 John i. 1. So that he was ' God manifest in the flesh,' and he shewed himself to be the ' Word of life' to those that were his apostles and disciples, and those that were converted by him. As we see St Peter, when he had felt his divine power upon his heart by his preaching, ' Lord,' saith he, ' thou hast the words of eternal life ; whither shall we go ?' John vi. 68. He felt the Spirit in his preaching. And so another time, St Peter, in Matt. xvi. 16, he confessed him to be * the Son of the living God.' You see to whom he was 'justified' and declared to be the true Messiah, to be God as well as man by his Spirit.
The reason why he justified himself to be so, 1. It was the more to strengthen our faith. All his miracles were but so many sparkles of his divine nature, so many expressions of his divine power. And after he was raised from the dead, at his ascension and sending of the Holy Ghost, he shewed his divine power more gloriously ; and all to strengthen the faith of the elect ; and, 2. To stop the viouths of all impudent rehellious j^crsojin. For, considering that he wrought such miracles, that he raised men from the dead, and raised himself; considering that he called the Gentiles, and converted the world, by the ministry of weak men, he shewed that he was more than a man. Well ! to make some use of this, that Christ was
' Justified in the Spirit.' Then first of all,
Use 1. Christ ivill at len/jth justify himself. This is a ground of faith. However he be now as a sign set up that many speak against and contradict, yet the time will come when he will gloriously justify himself to all the world. Now some shut their eyes willing^, and the opposites of Christ seem to flourish ; yet Christ will be ' justified by his Spirit ' to all his elect in every age, especially in the resurrection. For ' when he shall come and appear to be glorious in his saints,' 2 Thes. i. 10, it will appear who he is indeed. Now he suffers many to tread upon his church, and he suflers many heretics to deny him, sometimes in one nature, sometimes in another, and so to oflend against him. But the time will come that he will trample all his enemies under his feet ; he will be ' justi- fied by his Spirit.' That is our comfort. There are many schismatics and heretics and persecutors, but Christ will be 'justified' at length. • The kingdoms of the earth will be the Lord Jesus Christ's,' Rev. xi. 15. Ai'e they not now so ? They are. But truly they appear not to be so. But at length they will appear to be so. At the conversion of the Jews and the confusion of antichrist, then it will appear more and more that he is King of the world indeed. Now, as it were, his ofiices are darkened : his kingly office is darkened and his prophetical ofiice is darkened ; but at length it will appear that he is King of the church, and all kingdoms will be Christ's. There are glorious times coming, especially the glorious day of the resurrection. Christ at length will be cleared, he will be justified. The sun at length will scatter all the clouds. In the morning they gather about the sun, as if they would cover it. Oh, but the sun breaks through
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all, and gloriously appears at length. So Christ will scatter all clouds, and gloriously appear to be that which the word ^ets him forth to be.
Again, As Christ will justify himself, so he ivill justify his church and children, Jirst or last, hyh\ii8]iir[t. His children are now accounted the offscour- ing of the world. They are trampled and trod upon, they are the objects of scorn and hatred, and who accounted so base ? Will Christ endure this ? No. He that 'justified' himself; that is, that declared himself, and will more and more declare himself to be as he is ; will he not ' justify ' his church, his mystical body, to be as they are indeed ? Certainly it shall appear to the world that he will justify them, to be kings and priests, to be heirs, to be glorious, to be so near and dear to him as the Scripture sets them forth to be. Whatsoever the Scripture hath spoken of the saints and children of God, the time will come that all this shall be ' justified ' and made good by that Spirit of Christ, whereby he made good whatsoever he hath said of himself.