such a view as no creature could ever have antici- pated ; and in such a view as must fill the whole creation, whether of men or angels, with the pro- foundest admiration, and gratitude, and love. This is the Gospel which ye " have heard ;" which also, through the illuminating influence of the Spirit of God, many of you " know ;" and the excellency of which may be seen,
I. By the effects produced in our hearts —
There are three effects mentioned, as produced in the converts of Colosse :
1. " Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" —
[This is the first effect which the Gospel produces, wherever it is received into the heart. It reveals to us our need of a Saviour ; and it holds forth the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, sent into the world to bear our sins, and to expiate our guilt by his atoning sacrifice, and thereby to reconcile us to our offended God. It discovers to us the fulness and suitableness of this salvation; and brings us to this Saviour, as our only hope. It leads every one to renounce altogether every other hope, and to trust entirely in the merits and mediation of this adorable Redeemer ]
2. Love to all the saints —
[This is the next effect produced on all. Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are brought into a new family, of which Christ is the master : yea, we are incorporated into a new body, of which Christ is the head, and all the saints are members. I add further, we are all penetrated with one spirit ; (for " he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit ;") and have thus a bond of union, which never did, nor could, exist before. The very instant we believe in Christ, we feel our- selves brought into this relation to all his believing people, whether they be separately known to us or not ; and we have, from that moment, somewhat of the same sympathy with them, as every member of our body has with all the rest, the eye with the hand, and the hand with the foot ]
3. Hope of happiness in heaven —
[" The hope laid up for us in heaven " is that for which the Apostle principally gives thanks in the passage before usa. But this, like the two foregoing principles, is wrought in the heart by the Gospel : by which, as St. Peter says, " we are
a See the Greek. The faith and love are parenthetically inserted.