/ Here lay the foundation of the Christian church : The Lord Christ had called his apostles to the great work of building his church, and the propagation of his gospel in the world. Of themselves, they were plainly and openly defective in all qualifications and abilities that might contribute any thing thereunto. But whatever is want- ing in themselves, whether light, wisdom, authority, knowledge, utterance, or courage, he promiseth to supply them withal. And this he would not do, nor did, any otherwise but by sending the Holy Spirit unto them; on whose presence and assistance alone de- pended the whole success of their ministry in the world. It was " through the Holy Ghost that he gave commandments unto them," Acts i. 2. Those commandments concern the whole work in preach- ing the gospel and founding of the church ; and these he gives unto them through the actings of divine wisdom in the human nature by the Holy Ghost. And on their part, without his assistance he for- bids them to attempt any thing, verses 4, 8, In this promise, then, the Lord Christ founded the church itself, and by it he builded it up. And this is the hinge whereon the whole weight of it doth turn and depend unto this day. Take it away, suppose it .to cease as unto a continual accomplishment, and there will be an abso- lute end of the church of Christ in this world; — no dispensation of the Spirit, no church. He that would utterly separate the Spirit from the word had as good burn his Bible. The bare letter of the New Testament will no more ingenerate faith and obedience in the souls of men, no more constitute a church-state among them who enjoy it, than the letter of the Old Testament doth so at this day
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among the Jews, 2 Cor. iii. 6, 8. But blessed be God, who hath knit these thinsis together towards his elect, in the bond of an everlastinoj covenant! Isa. lix. 21. Let men, therefore, cast themselves into what order they please, institute what forms of government and re- ligious worship they think good; let them do it either by an attend- ance according unto the best of their understandings unto the letter of the Scripture, or else in an exercise of their own wills, wisdom, and invention, — if the work of the Spirit of God be disowned or dis- claimed by them, if there be not in them and upon them such a work of bis as he is promised [for] by our Lord Jesus Christ, there is no church-state amongst them, nor as such is it to be owned or esteemed. And on the ministry and the church do all ordinary communications of grace from God depend.
Thirdly, It is the Holy Spirit who supplies the bodihj absence of Christ, and by him doth he accomplish all his promises to the church. Hence, some of the ancients call him " Vicarium Christi," " The vicar of Christ," or him who represents his person, and dis- chargeth his promised work : Operam navat Ghristo vicariam. When our Lord Jesus was leaving the world, he gave his disciples command to " preach the gospel," Mark xvi. 15, and to " disciple all nations" into the faith and profession thereof. Matt, xxviii. 19. For their en- couragement herein, he promiseth his own presence with them in their whole work, wherever any of them should be called unto it, and that whilst he would have the gospel preached on the earth. So saith he, " I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," or the consummation of all things, verse 20. Immediately after he had thus spoken unto them, " while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight," and they " looked stead- fastly toward heaven as he went up," Acts i. 9, 10. Where now is tlie accomplishment of his promise that he would be with them unto the end of all things, which was the sole encouragement he gave them unto their great undertaking? It may be that after this his triumphant ascension into heaven, to take possession of his kingdom and glory, he came again unto them, and made his abode with them. "No," saith Peter; "the heaven must receive him until the times of restitution of all things," Acts iii. 21. How, then, is this promise of his made good, which had such a peculiar respect unto the ministry and mmisters of the gospel, that without it none can ever honestly or conscientiously engage in the dispensation of it, or expect the least success upon their so doing? Besides, he had promised unto the church itself, that " wherever two or three were gathered together in his name, that he would be in the midst of them," Matt, xviii. 19, 20. Hereon do all their comforts and all their acceptance Avith God depend. I say, all these promises are perfectly fulfilled by his VOL. III. 13
T94i THE GENERAL WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT [BOOK IL