III. Thirdly, This God and man must be one person ; for if there were two persons, God one distinct person and man another, then there were two Christs, and so the actions of the one could not be attributed to the other.
As man died and shed his blood, it could not have been said that God died; but because there was but one person, God is truly said to die, though he died in man's nature, for he took man's nature into unity with his person ; and whatsoever either nature did, the whole person is said to do ; and therefore Christ is a Saviour according to both natures, as God and as man ; for he was to sufi'er, and he was to overcome, and satisfy in sufi'ering. He was not only to hear our prayers, but to answer them. Both natures had an ingredience* into all the work of mediation.
God died, and God sufiered, and supported the manhood, that it might 'uphold the burden of the wrath of God, that it might not sink under it. * That is, ' entrance.' — G.
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And so in all his actions there was concurrence of divinity and humanity ; the meaner works being done by the manhood, the greater works by the Godhead, so making one ' Emmanuel, God with us.'
For God must bring us to heaven by a way suitable to his holiness, and therefore by way of satisfaction ; and that cannot be but by God equal with himself.
And that is the reason why the apostle joins together ' without Christ, without God,' Eph. iii. 12; that is, they that know not Christ God-man, to reconcile God and man, have nothing to do with God. For the pure nature of God, what hath it to do with the impure nature of man, without Emmanuel, without him that is God-man, to make satisfaction ?
But now that Christ hath taken our nature, it is become pure in him, and beloved of God in him. And God in him is become lovely, because he is our nature ; yea, in Christ, God is become a Father : ' I go to your Father, and my Father,' John xiv. 28. His nature is sweet to us in Christ; our nature is sweet to him in Christ; God loveth not our nature, but first in him in whom it is pure. And then he loveth our nature in us, because, by the Spirit of Christ, he will make our natures like to Christ's ; and therefore we may conceive of God as Emmanuel, God well pleased with us, and we well pleased with him. Out of Christ we are angry with God, and he angry with us. We could wish there were no God, and choose rather to submit to the devil, to be led by his spirit to all profane- ness and licentiousness. We have a rising against God and his image ; and whatever comes from God, the proud, unmortified heart of man swelleth against it. But when the heart once believeth that Christ, Emmanuel, God with us, hath satisfied God's justice, now, God is taken by the believing heart to be a Father ' reconciled in Jesus Christ,' 2 Cor. V. 18. And we are taught to be his sons. And our nature is more and more pui-ified and cleansed, and made like the pure nature of Christ ; and so by little and little the terms between God and us are more sweet, till we get to heaven, where our nature shall be absolutely perfect and purged by the Holy Spirit. So that he is Emmanuel, God with us, to make God and us friends, which is two ways : first, by satisfaction, taking away the wrath of God; and then, secondly, by the Spirit; for God sendeth his Spirit into our hearts, to fit us for friendship and communion with him, when we have something of God in ug.
From hence many things may be spoken, partly for instruction and com- fort. I will name a few.
1. First of all, it is to be wondered at, and we cannot wonder enough, though we were angels, and had natures larger than they are, at the mar- vellous mercies and love of God, that iloidd stoop so low, as that God in the second person should take our nature and become one with us. It is marvellous love that he would be one with us by such a means as his own Son, to make peace between him and us. It is a marvellous condescend- ing and stooping in the Son to take our nature. When there be better creatures above us, that he would let pass all above us, and take our nature, that is dust, into unity of his person ; that earth, flesh and blood, should be taken into one person with the Godhead, it is wonderful and marvellous.
He took not the nature of angels ; so that we be above angels, by the incarnation of Christ. Because he took not the angels' nature, they are not the spouse of Christ, but every believing Christian is the spouse of Christ. He is married to Christ; he is the head, we the members. He
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114 MIRACLE OF MIRACLES.
is the husbaiKi, we the spouse ; and therefore we may stand in admiration of the love of God, in taking our natures on him.