John xv. 5. Without me ye can do nothing.
THE various systems of heathen philosophers were all calculated to confirm the pride of man : the ten- dency of the Gospel, on the contrary, is to humble and abase the soul. Its sublimest doctrines are by far the most humiliating. The sovereignty of God,
for instance, annihilates, as it were, our fancied great- ness ; and the atonement of Christ brings to naught our boasted goodness. Thus the mysterious doctrine of union with Christ proclaims our insufficiency for any thing that is good. Our blessed Lord declares this, first by a comparison a, and then in plain terms, " Without me ye can do nothing."
In discoursing upon this assertion, I will, I. Explain it —
In explaining the words of Scripture we must take care not to strain them beyond their obvious mean- ing. These must evidently be understood in a qualified sense:
They must not be understood in reference to things which come within the province of the natural man — [A natural man has the same faculties and powers as a spiritual man : his understanding is as capable of comprehend- ing common subjects, or of investigating the depths of human sciences : his will and affections are as capable of being exer- cised on objects according to their quality, as much as ever they will be when he shall be converted to God : and his memory is as retentive as that of any other man. A spiritual man has no advantage over him in these respects. Consequently, our Saviour's assertion must not be interpreted as extending to things purely intellectual, or even moral : since, beyond a doubt, a natural man may either do or forbear many things which come under the designation of morals.]
They refer exclusively to what is spiritual —
[There are different gradations or different kinds, of life, if I may so speak : there is a vegetative life, an animal life, a rational life, and a spiritual life : and the powers of each are limited to its own order: a thing which vegetates, is not capable of animal exertion ; nor is an animal capable of exercising the faculties of reason ; nor does the rational man comprehend or enjoy what is spiritual. If any one order of being will affect the offices of that above it, it must first attain the powers of that superior order : for without the powers suited to the object, its efforts will be in vain. There is indeed this point of difference between the different kinds of life. The three first differ in their nature : but the last differs only in the application of powers previously possessed. Yet is the last called a new nature, because it is produced in the soul by the
a ver. 4.