Secondly, That this obedience was performed by Christ not for himself, but for us, and in our stead. It is true, it must needs be, that Avhilst he had his conversation in the flesh he must be most perfectly and absolutely holy ; but yet the j^rime intendment of his accomj^lish- ing of holiness, — which consists in the complete obedience of his whole life to any law of God, — that was no less for us than his suffering death. That this is so, the apostle tells us, Gal. iv. 4, 5, "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law." This Scripture, formerly named, must be a little farther insisted on. He was both made of a woman, and made under the law; that is, obedient to it for us. The end here, both of the incarnation and obedience of Christ to the law (for that must needs be understood here by the phrase hvo v6(iov yivoij^ivog, — that is, disposed of in such a condition as that he must yield subjection and obedience to the law), was all to redeem us. In these two expressions, " Made of a woman, made under the law," the apostle doth not knit his in- carnation and death together, with an exclusion of the obedience of his life. And he was so made under the law, as those were under the law whom he was to redeem. Now, we were under the law, not only as obnoxious to its penalties, but as hound to all the duties of it. That this is our being " under the law," the apostle informs us, Gal. iv. 21, " Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law." It was not the penalty of the law they desired to be under, but to be under it in respect of obedience. Take away, then, the end, and you destroy the means. If Christ were not incarnate nor made under the law for himself, he did not yield obedience for himself; it was ail for us, for our good. Let us now look forward, and see what influence this hath into our acceptation.
Thirdly, Then, I say, this perfect, complete obedience of Christ to the law is reckoned unto us. As there is a truth in that, " The day thou eatest thou shalt die," — death is the reward of sin, and so we can- not be freed from death but by the death of Christ, Heb. ii. 1 i, 15; so also is that no less tme, " Do this, and Uve," — that life is not to be ob-
' "III vita passivam liabuit actionem; in morte passionem activam sustinuit; duni Balutem oporatur in medio tcna?." — Bern. ISer. 4.
OF COMMUNION WITH THE SON JESUS CHRIST. 163
tained unless all be done that the law requires. That is still true, " If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments," Matt. xix. ] 7. They must, then, be kept by us, or our surety. Neither is it of any value which by some is objected, that if Christ yielded perfect obe- dience to the law for us, then are we no more bound to yield obedi- ence; for by his undergoing death, the penalty of the law, we are freed from it. I ansAver, How did Christ undergo death? Merely as it was penal. How, then, are we dehvered from death? Merely as it is penal. Yet we must die still; yea, as the last conflict with the effects of sin, as a passage to our Father, we must die. Well, then, Christ yielded perfect obedience to the law; but how did he do it? Purely as it stood in that conditional [arrangement], " Do this, and live." He did it in the strength of the grace he had received ; he did it as a means of life, to procure life by it, as the tenor of a covenant. Ai'e we, then, freed from this obedience? Yes; but how far? From doing it in our own strength ; from doing it for this end, that we may obtain life everlasting. It is vain that some say confidently, that we must yet work for life; it is all one ais to say we are 3'et under the old covenant, " Hoc fac, et vivos:" we are not freed from obedience, as a way of walking with God, but we are, as a Way of working to come to him : of which at large afterward.
Rom. V. 18, 19, "By the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life : by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous," saith the Holy Ghost. By his obedience to the law are we made righteous ; it is reckoned to us for righteous- ness. That the passive obedience of Christ is here only intended is false : —
First, It is opposed to the disobedience of Adam, which was active. The dr/tcciojfia is opposed 'xapa-xrui/j.an, — the righteousness to the fault. The fault was an active transgression of the law, and the obedience opposed to it must be an active accomplishment of it. Besides, obe- dience placed singly, in its own nature, denotes an action or actions conformable to the law; and therein came Christ, not to destroy but to fulfil the law. Matt. v. 1 7, — that was the design of his coming, and so for us ; he came to fulfil the law for us, Isa. ix. 6, and [was] born to us, Luke ii. 11. This also was in that will of the Father which, out of his infinite love, he came to accomplish. Secondly, It cannot clearly be evinced that there is any such thing, in propriety of speech, as passive obedience ; obeying is doing, to which passion or suffering cannot belong: I know it is commonly called so, when men obey until they suffer; but properly it is not so.