(1.) The extent of the things of Christ, which are to be showed unto believers by the Spirit; and they are, " All the things that the Father hath." "They are mine," saith our Saviour. And these " all things" may be taken either absolutely and personally, or with a restriction unto office. [1.] All things that the Father hath absolutely were the Son's also; for, receiving his personality from the Father, by the communication of the whole entire divine nature, all the things of the Father must needs be his. Thus, " as the Father hath life in him- self, so hath he given unto the Son to have life in himself," John
198 THE GENERAL WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT [BOOK IL
V. 26. Aiid the like may be said of all otlier essential properties of the Godhead. [2.] But these seem not to be the "all things" here intended. They are not the " all things" of the divine nature, which he had by eternal generation, but the "all things" of spiritual grace and power, which he had by voluntary donation, Matt. xi. 27; John iii. 35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." That is, all the effects of the love, grace, and will of the Father, whatever he had purposed in himself fi-om eternity, and whatever his infinite power and goodness would produce in the pursuit thereof, were all given and committed unto Jesus Christ. So all thiugs that the Father hath were his.
(2.) That these things may be rightly understood and apprehended, we must consider a twofold operation of God as three in one. The first hereof is absolute in all divine works whatever; the other re- spects the economy of the operations of God in our salvation. In those of the first sort, both the working and the work do in common and undividedly belong unto and proceed from each person. And the reason hereof is, because they are all effects of the essential pro- perties of the same divine nature, which is in them all, or rather, which is the one nature of them all. But yet as they have one nature, so there is an order of subsistence in that nature, and the distinct per- sons work in the order of their subsistence: John v. 19, 20, " Verily, verily, I say unto you. The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do : for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." The Father doth not first work in order of time, and then the Son, seeing of it, work another work like unto it ; but the Son doth the same work that the Father doth. This is absolutely necessary, because of their union in nature. But yet in the order of their subsistence, the person of the Father is the ori- ginal of all divine works, in the principle and beginning of them, and that in order of nature antecedently unto the operation of the Son. Hence he is said to "see" what the Father doth ; which, accoi'ding unto our former rule in the exposition of such expressions, when ascribed unto the divine nature, is the sign and evidence, and not the means, of his knowledge. He sees what the Father doth, as he is his eternal Wisdom. The like must be said of the Holy Spirit, with respect both unto the Father and Son. And this order of operation in the Holy Trinity is not voluntary, but natural and necessary from the one essence and distinct subsistences thereof. Secondly, There are those operations which, with respect unto our salvation, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do graciously condescend unto, which are those treated of in this place. Now, though the designing of this work was absolutely voluntary, yet, upon a supposition thereof, the order of its accomplishment was made necessary from the order of the subsist-
CHAP, v.] IN THE NEW CREATION. 199
ence of the distinct joersons in the Deity; and that is here declared. Thus, [1.] The things to be declared unto us and bestowed on us are originally the Father's things. He is the peculiar fountain of them all. His love, his grace, his wisdom, his goodness, his counsel, his will, are their supreme cause and spring. Hence are they said to be the " things that the Father hath." [2.] They are made the things of the Son, — that is, they are given and granted in and unto his dis- posal,— on the account of his mediation; for thereby they were to be prepared for us and given out unto us, to the glory of God. Answer- able hereunto, as the Lord Christ is mediator, all the things of grace are originally the Father's, and then given unto him. [8.] They are actually communicated unto us by the Holy Spirit: "Therefore said I, he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you." He doth not communicate them unto us immediately from the Father. We do not so receive any grace from God, — that is, the Father; nor do we so make any return of praise or obedience unto God. We have nothing to do with the person of the Father immediately. It is the Son alone by whom we have an access unto him, and by the Son alone that he gives out of his grace and bounty unto us. He that hath not the Son hath not the Father. With him, as the great treasurer of heavenly things, are all grace and mercy intrusted. The Holy Spirit, therefore, shows them unto us, works them in us, bestows them on us, as they are the fruits of the mediation of Christ, and not merely as effects of the divine love and bounty of the Father; and this is required from the order of subsistence before mentioned. Thus the Holy Spirit supplies the bodily absence of Jesus Christ, and effects what he hath to do and accomplish towards his [people] in the world ; so that whatever is done by him, it is the same as if it were wrought immediately by the Lord Christ himself in his own person, whereby all his holy promises are fully accomplished towards them that believe. And this instructs us in the way and manner of that communion which we have with God by the gospel; for herein the life, power, and freedom of our evangelical state do consist, and an acquaintance herewith gives us our translation " out of darkness into the mar- vellous light of God." The person of the Father, in his wisdom, will, and love, is the original of all grace and glory. But nothing hereof is communicated immediately unto us from him. It is from the Son, whom he loves, and hath given all things into his hand. He hath made way for the communication of these things unto us, imto the glory of God ; and he doth it immediately by the Spirit, as hath been declared. Hereby are all our returns unto God to be re- gulated. The Father, who is the original of all grace and glory, is ultimately intended by us in our faith, thankfulness, and obedience; yet not so but that the Son and Spirit are considered as one God