But besides these particular instances, there is that which is more general, and which we may a little insist upon from the context and design of the apostle in this whole discourse, whose consideration will not again occur unto us; and it is, that God in infinite wisdom ordered all things in the first creation, so as that) the whole of that work might be subservient to the glory of his grace in the new creation of all by Jesus Christ.
By the Son he made the worlds in the beginning of time, that in the fulness of time he might be the just heir and lord of all. The Jews have a saying, that “the world was made for the Messiah;” which is thus far true, that both it and all things in it were made,
78 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [ CHAP. I.
disposed of, and ordered in their creation, so as that God might be everlastingly glorified in the work which he was designed unto, and which by him he had to accomplish. I shall consider it only in the present instance, namely, that by the Son he made the worlds, that he might be the proper heir and lord of them; of which latter we shall treat more particularly on the ensuing words.
This was declared of old, where he was spoken of-as the Wisdom of God, by whom he wrought in the creation and production of all things, Prov. viii. 22-31. This Son, or Wisdom of God, declares at large,—first, his co-existence with his Father from eternity, before all or any of the visible or invisible creation were by his power brought forth, verse 22, 23, and so onward; and then sets forth the infinite, eternal, and ineffable delight that was between him and his Father, both before and also in the work of the creation, verse 30, Further, he declares his presence and co-operation with him in the whole work of making the world and the several parts of it, verses 27-80; which in other places is expressed, as here by the apostle, that God by him made the worlds. After which he declares the end of all this dispensation, namely, that he might rejoice in the habitable part of the earth, and his delight be with the sons of men; to whom, therefore, he calls to hearken unto him, that they may be blessed, verse 81, to the end of the chapter ;—that is, that he might be meet to accomplish the work of their redemption, and bring them to blessedness, to the glory of the grace of God; which work his heart was set upon, and which he greatly delighted in, Ps. xl. 6-8. -
Hence the apostle John, in the beginning of his Gospel, brings both the creations together,—the first by the eternal Word abso- lutely, the other by him as incarnate,—that the suitableness and correspondency of all things in them might be evident. “The Word was with God,” saith he, “in the beginning,” and “all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made,” verses 1-3. But what was this unto the gospel that he undertook to declare? Yes, very much; for it appears from hence that when this Word was made flesh, and came and dwelt among us, verse 14, he came into the world that was made by him, | though it knew him not, verse 10; he came but to his own, what- — ever were the entertainment that he received, verse 11. For this — end, then, God made all things by him, that when he came to change and renew all things, he might have good right and title so to do, seeing he undertook to deal with or about no more but what he had originally made.
The holy and blessed Trinity could have so ordered the work of creation as that it should not immediately, eminently, and signally have been the work of the Son, of the eternal Word; but’there was a further design upon the world to be accomplished by him, and
VER. 1, 2.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 79
- therefore the work was signally to be his,—that is, as to immediate operation, though as to authority and order it peculiarly belonged to the Father, and to the Spirit as to disposition and ornament, Gen. i. 1, 2; Job xxvi. 13.
This, I say, was done for the end mentioned by the apostle, Eph. i, 10. All things at first were made by him, that when they were lost, ruined, scattered, they might again, in the appointed season, be gathered together into one head in him; of which place more at jarge elsewhere. ' And this mystery of the wisdom of God the apostle at large un- foldeth, Col. i: 15-19. Speaking of the Son, by whom we have redemption, he informs us that in himself and his own nature, he is “the image of the invisible God;” that is, of God the Father, who until then had alone been clearly revealed unto them: and that in respect of other things he is “the first-born of every crea- ture;” or, as he terms himself, Rev. ii. 14, the “beginning of the creation of God,’—that is, he who is before all creatures, and gave beginning to the creation of God. For so expressly the apostle explains himself in the next verses: “By him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and in- visible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” But this is not the full design of the apostle. He declares not only that “all things were made by him,” but also that “all things were made for him,” verse 16; so made for him that he might be “the head of the body, the church,” —that is, that he might be the fountain, head, spring, and original of the new creation, as he had been of the old. So the apostle declares in the next words, “Who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead.” As he was the “ beginning” and the “first-born of every creature” in the old creation, so he is the “beginning” and “first- born from the dead;” that is, the original and cause of the whole new creation. And hereunto he subjoims the end and design of God in this whole mysterious work; which was, that the Son might have the pre-eminence in all things. As he had in and over the works of the old creation, seeing they were all made by him, and all consist in him; so also he hath over the new on the same account,