0 Gal. v. 6. p 2 Tim. ii. 10.
1 John iii. 21. He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we Jcnoiv that he abidethin us, by the Spirit which he hath given vs.
THERE is, in the Epistles of St. John, a most remarkable simplicity, insomuch that he seems to speak truths level with the comprehension of a little child : yet is there in him a vast profundity of senti- ment, which no common mind can fathom. Not that he establishes his points by laboured argumentation. He does not offer himself to the bar of reason ; but, conscious of his own inspiration, he requires the sub- mission of human reason to his dictates. In my text, he asserts truths of the deepest import ; namely, the mutual in-dwelling of God in his people, and of his people in him ; and the consciousness which God's people have of this mystery being realized in their own experience. These are things of which men in general have very little conception : but, on the authority of this holy Apostle, 1 will proceed to shew,
I. The exalted privilege of God's people —
The character of God's people is here declared, in very simple terms —
[" He that keepeth God's commandments" is the person to whom the privilege belongs. Not that any man can keep them perfectly : but the true Christian does desire to fulfil them in their utmost extent; and, allowing for human infir- mity, he does keep them uniformly, and without reserve. He would not exclude one command from the Decalogue, or con- tract its import in any respect.
But the commandments here more especially referred to, are those of faith and love. In the preceding verse these are particularly specified. " This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment," Now, certainly, these are the two commandments, which, above all others, serve as a test, whereby to try the Christian character ; and obedience to them is that by which the Lord's people are uni- versally and exclusively distinguished. They are known by it universally : for there is not a Christian upon earth who does not live simply by faith on the Lord Jesus Christ ; or who does not love, with a peculiar and transcendent affection, all whom he supposes to belong to Christ, On the other hand, this character belongs to them exclusively : for there is no other person in the universe who so entirely relies on Christ, or who so pre-eminently regards the mystical members of his body.]
Of these it is said, that " God dwells in them, and they in him" —
[There is between God and them an union which does not exist in the whole world besides. Perhaps, the union of light with the air which it pervades, is the closest that will be found in nature : but, though the light pervades every particle of the air, and dwells in it, we cannot say that the air dwells in the light. But the in-dwelling of God and his people is mutual ; he abiding in them, and they in him. Of course, however, this must be understood, not as relating to the essential natures of God and man, but only to a mystical com- munion subsisting between them ; God dwelling in them, in a way of vital operation ; and they in him, in a way of implicit affiance. God has repeatedly promised that he will dwell in his people by his good Spirit ; enlightening their minds, sanc- tifying their souls, and filling them with heavenly consolations. In truth, this is the very office which the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the ever-blessed Trinity, sustains in the eco- nomy of redemption : and it is in this way that he applies to