07. Chapter 2. What we have in unique fellowship with the Lord Christ –
Chapter 2. What we have in unique fellowship with the Lord Christ –
II. Having shown that the saints hold a unique fellowship with the Lord Jesus, it neatly follows that we show what it is they have in this unique communion with him. What they have is grace. This is eminently ascribed to him everywhere. John 1:14, “He dwelt among us, full of grace and truth;” there is grace in the truth and substance of this communion. All that went before was only typical and representative. And in its truth and substance, grace comes only by Christ. “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” verse 17; “and of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace,” verse l6. That is, we have communion with him in grace. We receive from him all kinds of grace, and in that have we fellowship with him.
It is likewise in the apostolic benediction, in which the communication of spiritual blessings from the several persons of the godhead to the saints is so exactly distinguished. It is grace that is ascribed to our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” In fact, Paul is so delighted with this that he makes it his motto, and the token by which he makes his epistles known, 2 Thessalonians 3:17-18, “The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” He makes these two expressions equivalent: “Grace be with you,” and, “The Lord Jesus be with you.” Sometimes he makes the one the token in his epistles, sometimes the other, and sometimes he puts them both together. This is what we are specifically to see in the Lord Jesus. Grace is what we are to receive from him, gospel-grace, as revealed in the gospel. Christ is the headstone in the temple of God, to whom “Grace, grace,” is to be cried, Zechariah 4:7.
Grace is a word with various meanings. Its primary ones may be divided into three categories:
1. Grace of personal presence and attractiveness. So we say a person is “graceful and attractive” either for himself or because of his adornments. In Christ, this is the subject of nearly half the book of Canticles. It is also mentioned in Psalms 45:2,
“You are fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into your lips.” Under this category I also place that acceptance of grace which, in respect to us, I place in the third category. Those inconceivable gifts and fruits of the Spirit that were bestowed on him, and produced in him, match his personal excellence, as will appear later.
2. Grace of free favor and acceptance. “By this grace we are saved.” Grace is the free favor and gracious acceptance of God in Christ. It is used in this sense in the expression, “If I have found grace in your sight.” It means being freely and favorably accepted. So he “gives grace” (that is, favor) “to the humble,” James 4:6; Genesis 39:21; Genesis 41:37; Acts 7:10; 1 Samuel 2:26; 2 Kings 25:27, etc.
3. Grace in the fruits of the Spirit. These sanctify and renew our nature, enabling us to do good, and preventing us from doing evil. Thus, the Lord tells Paul, “his grace was sufficient for him;” It refers to the assistance that he afforded him against temptation, Colossians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 8:6-7; Hebrews 12:28.
These two latter categories, in respect to our receiving them from Christ, I call purchased grace, because he purchased them for us. Our communion with him in that purchase is termed a “fellowship in his sufferings, and the power of his resurrection,” Php 3:10.
1. Let us begin with the first category, which I call personal grace. I will do two things: (1) Show what the personal grace of Christ is and what it consists of. And (2) Declare how the saints hold immediate communion with Christ in that personal grace.
(1.) In handling the first category, we are speaking of Christ as mediator.
Therefore, by the “grace of his person,” I do not mean his Deity apart from the office that he undertook for us as God and man. Nor do I mean the outward appearance of his human nature. I am not referring to him as exalted in glory, nor in his role on earth bearing our infirmities. His time on earth is only “to know Christ after the flesh,” 2 Corinthians 5:16. Instead, I mean the graces of the person of Christ as he is vested with the office of mediator. I mean his spiritual eminence, attractiveness, and beauty, as he was appointed and anointed by the Father to the great work of bringing home all his elect to his heart. In this respect, the Scripture describes him as exceedingly excellent, attractive, and desirable. He is far above comparison with the best created good, or any other endearment that we can imagine. Psalms 45:2, “You are fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into your lips” He is beyond comparison, more beautiful and gracious than any here below. The word yafyafita [OT:3302] is repeated to increase its significance, and to exalt its subject beyond all comparison. The Chaldee paraphrase of this passage is “shofaracha malka Meshicha ‘adif nivney nasha” or “Your fairness, O king Messiah, is more excellent than the sons of men.” “Pulcher admodum prae filiis hominum;” He is exceedingly desirable. His inward beauty and glory are expressed here by his outward shape, form, and appearance. That is because outward beauty was so highly esteemed in those who ruled or governed. In Isaiah 4:2, the prophet calls him “The branch of the Lord,” and “The fruit of the earth,” affirming that he will be “beautiful and glorious, excellent and attractive;” “for in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” Colossians 2:9. In Song of Solomon 5:9, the spouse is asked about this very thing. Concerning the personal excellence of the Lord Christ, her beloved, she is asked by the daughters of Jerusalem: “What has your Beloved more than another beloved, O you fairest among women?” She returns this answer in verse 10: “My Beloved is white and ruddy, the best among ten thousand.” She describes his excellence to the end of the chapter, and there she concludes that “he is altogether lovely,” verse 16. Particularly, he is affirmed here to be “white and ruddy,” a mixture of colors that produces the most beautiful complexion.
[1.] He is white in the glory of his Deity, and ruddy in the preciousness of his humanity. “His teeth are white with milk, and his eyes are red with wine,” Genesis 49:12. Whiteness (if I may say so) is the complexion of glory. In the appearance of the Most High, the “Ancient of days,” in Daniel 7:9, it is said that, “His garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool.” It is said of Christ in his transfiguration, when he had a mighty luster of the Deity on him, “His face shined like the sun, and his raiment was white as the light,” Matthew 17:2. The other evangelist says it was, “White as snow, so that no cleaner on earth can whiten them more,”
Mark 9:3; Revelation 1:14. It was a divine, heavenly, surpassing glory that was upon him. Hence the angels and glorified saints who always behold him are said to be in white robes. They are fully translated into the image of his glory. His whiteness is the glory of his Deity. For this reason, the Chaldee paraphrase ascribes this whole passage to God. “They say to the house of Israel, ‘Who is the God whom you will serve?’ Then the congregation of Israel began to declare the praises of the Ruler of the world, and said, ‘I will serve that God who is clothed in a garment white as snow, the splendor of the glory of whose countenance is like fire.’” Christ is also ruddy in the beauty of his humanity. Man was called Adam, from the red earth of which he was made. The word used here indicates he is the second Adam, partaker of flesh and blood, because the children also partook of flesh and blood, Hebrews 2:14. The beauty and attractiveness of the Lord Jesus is in the union of both these in one person.
[2.] He is white in the beauty of his innocence and holiness, and ruddy in the blood of his sacrifice. Whiteness is the badge of innocence and holiness. It is said of the Nazarites, typical of their holiness, “They were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk,” Lamentations 4:7. The prophet shows us that scarlet, red, and crimson are the colors of sin and guilt; whiteness is the color of innocence, Isaiah 1:18. Our Beloved was “a Lamb without blemish and without spot,” 1 Peter 1:19. “He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth,” 1 Peter 2:22. He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,” Hebrews 7:26. And yet the one who was so white in his innocence, was made ruddy in his own blood. That happened in two ways. Naturally, in the pouring out of his precious blood in that agony of his soul when thick drops of blood trickled to the ground, Luke 22:44. And it was done when the whips and thorns, nails and spears, poured it out abundantly: “There came forth blood and water,” John 19:34. He was ruddy by being drenched in his own blood. He was ruddy morally, by the imputation of sin, whose color is red and crimson. “God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin,” 2 Corinthians 5:21. He who was white became ruddy for our sakes, pouring out his blood as a sacrifice for sin. This also renders him graceful. By his whiteness he fulfilled the law. By his redness he satisfied justice. “This is our Beloved, O you daughters of Jerusalem,” Song of Solomon 5:16.
[3.] He is white in love and mercy to his own. He is red with justice and revenge towards his enemies, Isaiah 63:3; Revelation 19:13. This expresses his endearing excellence in the administration of his kingdom.
There are three things in general that this personal excellence and grace of the Lord Christ consists of: (1st.) His fitness to save, from the grace of his hypostatic union and its necessary effects. (2nd.) His fullness to save, from the grace of communion and its free consequences. (3rd.) His excellence to endear, from his complete suitability to all the wants of men’s souls:
(1st.) His fitness to save. Christ is “hikanos,” a fit Savior, suited to the work from his grace of union. The uniting of the natures of God and man in one person made him fit to be an ultimate Savior. He lays his hand upon God by partaking of God’s nature, Zechariah 13:7, and he lays his hand upon us, by partaking of our nature, Hebrews 2:14; Hebrews 2:16. And so he becomes an umpire between both. By this means, he closes the distance that sin created between God and us. We who were far off are made close in him (Ephesians 2:13). On this account he had room enough in his breast to receive, and power enough in his spirit to bear, all the wrath that was prepared for us. Sin was infinite only in respect to the object, and punishment was infinite only in respect to the subject. This arises from his hypostatic union. Union is the conjunction of the two natures of God and man in one person, John 1:14; Isaiah 9:6; Romans 1:3; Romans 9:5. The necessary consequences of this union are, [1.] The human nature in the Son of God has no subsistence of its own, Luke 1:35; 1 Timothy 3:16.
[2.] “Koinonia idiomaton,” by which the properties and attributes of either nature, God or man, are interchangably spoken of using the name of Christ, Acts 20:28; Acts 3:21.
[3.] His office as mediator is executed in his single person, but in respect to both his natures. Christ himself is “ho energon,” the agent, as both God and man. He is the principium quo, or “energetikon.” He is the principle that gives life and effectiveness to the whole work. Second, he is the principium quod. He is the operator, in which both natures are distinctly considered. Third, he is the “energeia,” or “draskike tes fuseos kinesis.”
He is the effectual working of each nature in itself. And lastly, he is the
“energema,” or “apotelesma.” He is the effect that is produced by all of these, and is related to all of them. This is the excellence I speak of in his personal union.
(2nd.) His fullness to save, from the grace of communion or the effects of his hypostatic union. These effects and consequences of his fullness are free. This fullness refers to all the equipping that he received from the Father, by the anointing of the Spirit, for the work of our salvation: “He is also able to completely save those who come to God by him,” Hebrews 7:25. All the fullness of the Spirit that was necessary for this purpose was communicated to him: “for it pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell,” Colossians 1:19. He did not receive “the Spirit by measure,” John 3:34. From this fullness, he suitably supplies all those who are his, “grace for grace,” John 1:16. Had it been given to him by measure, we would have exhausted it.
(3rd.) His excellence to endear, from his complete suitability to all the wants of the souls of men. There is no one who wants the things of God, that Christ cannot satisfy those wants. I am speaking of those who are given to him by his Father. Is he dead? No! Christ is life. Is he weak? No! Christ is the power and wisdom of God. Has he a sense of guilt? No! Christ is complete righteousness.
He is “The Lord our Righteousness.” Many poor creatures know their wants, but they do not know where to find their remedy. Indeed, whether it is life or light, power or joy, it is all wrapped up in him. This will suffice for the present of the personal grace of the Lord Christ. He is fit to save, having pity and ability, tenderness and power, to carry on that work to completion. He has a fullness to save, speaking of redemption and sanctification, righteousness and the Spirit. And he is suitable to fulfill the wants of all our souls. By this he becomes exceedingly desirable and altogether lovely. And as to this, the saints have distinct fellowship with the Lord Christ. The manner of this fellowship will be declared in the ensuing chapter. From this introduction to the description of the one with whom the saints have communion, some incentives may be proposed, and also some considerations that reveal the insufficiency of all other ways in which men engage their thoughts and desires. The daughters of Jerusalem, that is, ordinary professors of Christ, having heard the spouse describing her Beloved in Song of Solomon 5:10-16, are instantly roused to seek him with her: “Where has your Beloved gone, that we may seek him with you?” Song of Solomon 6:1. What Paul says of those who crucified him may be said of all those who reject him, or refuse communion with him: “Had they known him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” If men knew him, if they were acquainted with him in any way, they would not reject the Lord of glory. Christ calls them “simple ones,” “fools,” and “scorners” who despise his gracious invitation, Proverbs 1:22. No one despises Christ except those who do not know him, whom the god of this world has blinded so they will not behold his glory.
Men naturally seek something to rest on, something with which to satiate and delight themselves, to hold communion with. There are two ways they pursue these things. Some set before themselves a goal. Perhaps it is pleasure, profit, or, in religion, acceptance by God. Others seek a casual distraction, pleasing themselves now with one thing, now with another, like those in Isaiah 57:10.
Because something comes in by the strength of their own hand, they will not give it up, even though they are weary of it. Perhaps you have been greedy pursuing some secular or religious goal. Or maybe you have been chasing meaningless distractions, wearying yourself on a long road to nowhere.
Whatever condition you may be in, compare what you are aiming at, or what you are doing, with what you have already heard of Jesus Christ. If anything you have in mind is like him, or if anything you desire is equal to him, then reject him as unattractive. But if, indeed, all your ways are just vanity and frustration by comparison to him, then why you spend your “money for what is not bread, and your labor for what does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2).
Use 1. If you are still in the flower of your days, full of health and strength, and with all your vigor you pursue first one thing and then another, consider this: what are all your beloveds to this Beloved? What have you gotten by them?
Show us the peace, quiet, and assurance of everlasting blessedness that they have given you. Their paths are crooked paths. Whoever walks in them will not know peace. Look, here is an object fit for your finest affections, one in whom you will find rest for your soul, one in whom there is nothing to grieve and trouble you to eternity. Behold, he stands at the door of your soul, and knocks. Do not reject him, for fear you may seek him and not find him! I beg you, study him a little.
You do not love him because you do not know him. Why does one man spend his time in idleness and folly, wasting precious time, perhaps in debauchery?
Why does another associate himself with those who scoff at religion and the things of God? They do so only because they do not know our dear Lord Jesus. When he reveals himself to you, and tells you he is Jesus whom you have slighted and refused, it will break your heart, and make you mourn like a dove, that you neglected him! And if you never come to know him, it would be better if you had never been born. While it is called Today, do not harden your heart.
Use 2. Perhaps you are earnestly seeking righteousness, and you are a religious person. Consider this: Does Christ have his proper place in your heart? Is he your all? Does he dwell in your thoughts? Do you know him in his excellence and desirability? Do you count all things “loss and dung” compared to his exceeding excellence? Or do you prefer almost anything in the world to him?