14. Chapter 9. Communion with Christ in holiness –
Chapter 9. Communion with Christ in holiness –
II. Our communion with the Lord Jesus as to that grace of sanctification and purification may be neatly considered in two parts. We have made mention of this earlier in its several distinctions and degrees. We must show 1. What the specific acts of the Lord Christ are as to this communion, and 2. What the duties of the saints are in this communion. The sum will be how we hold communion with Christ in holiness as well as in righteousness.
1. There are several acts ascribed to the Lord Jesus in reference to this. Briefly, (1.) He intercedes with the Father by virtue of his offering on behalf of his saints; and this is to bestow the Holy Spirit on them. I choose to enter here, because I have spoken before of the offering of Christ itself. Everything else flows from that spring. It is the foundation of all spiritual mercies, as I will show later. Now, the Spirit is part of the purchase of Christ. To us, he is a Spirit of grace, holiness, and consolation. Receiving him is the great promise of the new covenant, Ezekiel 11:19, “I will put a new spirit within you;” also Ezekiel 36:27; Jeremiah 32:39-40; and a number of other places. Christ is the mediator and “surety of this new covenant.” Hebrews 7:22, “Jesus was made surety of a better testament,” or covenant (a testament needs no surety). He undertakes what he does on the part of both God and man. On the part of man, he gives satisfaction for sin. On the part of God, he bestows the whole grace of the promise, as in Hebrews 9:15, “For this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, so that by means of death, for the redemption of transgressions that were under the first covenant, those who are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
He satisfied for sin, and he procured the promise. He procures all the love and kindness that are the fruits of the covenant. He is, himself, the original promise of the covenant, Genesis 3:15. The whole of this is so “ordered in all things, and made sure,” 2 Samuel 23:5, that the remainder of its effects all derive from him, depend on him, and are procured by him. It is done “so that he, in all things, might have the pre-eminence,” Colossians 1:18. This is according to the agreement made with him, Isaiah 53:12. These fruits are all purchased by his blood, and therefore the Spirit is too, as promised in that covenant, 1 Cor.
1:30. Now, the whole fruit and purchase of his death derives from the Father upon Christ’s intercession. John 14:16-18, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the
Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
He promises his disciples that he will pursue the work which he has in hand on their behalf.
He will intercede with the Father for the Spirit as a fruit of his purchase.
Therefore he tells them that he will not pray the Father for his love for them, because the eternal love of the Father is not the fruit but the fountain of his purchase. Instead he will pray for the Spirit, which is a fruit. And as mediator, what Christ asks the Father to bestow on us is part of his purchase. It is promised to him upon his undertaking to do the will of God. This is the first thing to be considered in communion with the Lord Jesus. He intercedes with his Father, so that the Spirit may be bestowed on us as a fruit of his death, of his blood shed on our behalf. This is the relation of the Spirit of holiness, as bestowed on us, to the mediation of Christ. The Spirit is the great foundation of the covenant of grace. He is everlastingly destined and freely given to purchase all the good things of that covenant. Receiving the Holy Spirit according to the promise, Acts 2:33, he sheds him abroad on his own, Romans 5:5. Faith considers this. It fixes on it and dwells upon it. For, (2.) His prayer being granted (because the Father “always hears him”) he actually sends his Spirit into the hearts of his saints to dwell in his stead. The Spirit does all things for them and in them that Christ himself does. Secondly, the Lord Christ is to be seen in this by faith. That is not only in respect to the first provision of his Holy Spirit, but also the continuing supplies of the Spirit.
Christ draws out and stimulates more effective operations and acts of that indwelling Spirit. Hence, although John 14:16 says the Father will give them the Comforter, Christ affirms that he sends the Spirit himself. The original and sovereign dispensation is in the Father’s hand. It is executed by him upon the intercession of Christ. Yet, the Spirit is not bestowed immediately upon us. He is given into the hand of Christ for us. Christ actually bestows him. Jn.
15:26, “I will send the Comforter to you, from the Father.” He receives him from his Father, and actually sends him to his saints. So to in John 16:7, “I will send him.” And in verses 14-15 he shows how he will send him. He will equip him with what is Christ’s to bestow upon them: “He will take of mine
[of what is properly and uniquely mine as mediator, the holy fruit of my life and death], and give it to you.” But more of these things afterward.
This, then, is the second thing that the Lord Christ does, and which is to be seen in him: He sends his Holy Spirit into our hearts to abide with us, and to dwell in us. This is the efficient cause of all holiness and sanctification. The Spirit quickens, enlightens, and purifies the souls of his saints. How our union with Christ flows from this communication of the Spirit to us, with all the benefits that depend on it, I have declared elsewhere at some length. This reference to the Spirit is to be considered in Christ by faith.
(3.) There is what we call habitual grace. This means the fruits of the Spirit, the spirit which is born of the Spirit, John 3:6. What is born of, or produced by, the Holy Spirit, in the heart or soul of a man when he is regenerate, and what makes him regenerate, is spirit. It is in opposition to the flesh, or that enmity against God which is in us by nature. It is faith, love, joy, hope, and the rest of the graces of the gospel, in their root or common principle.
Concerning habitual grace, two things are to be observed:
[1.] Although many particular graces are mentioned, we do not have different habits or qualities in us. Several distinct principles do not exist for each. There is only the same habit or spiritual principle that expresses itself in various operations or ways of working. And it does so according to the variety of objects which it addresses. So it is distinguished in respect to its actual exercise in relation to its objects, rather than those objects being inherent in it. It is one root which has many branches.
[2.] What I mean by this habit of grace is a new, gracious, spiritual life, or principle, that is created and bestowed on the soul. By this principle, the soul is changed in all its faculties and affections. It is fitted and enabled to progress in the way of obedience to every divine object that is proposed to it according to the mind of God. For instance, the mind can discern spiritual things in a spiritual manner; and in that ability, this principle acts as a light, or illumination. The whole soul joins with Christ for righteousness and salvation, as promised of the gospel. Faith, being the principal work of grace, is often given as the title for the whole. So when faith rests in God, in Christ, with delight, desire, and contentment, it is called love. It is the principle that suits all the faculties of our souls for spiritual and living operations, according to their natural use. Now, habitual grace differs from several other things.
1st. It differs from the Spirit dwelling in the saints, because it is a created quality. The Spirit dwells in us as a free agent in holy habitation. This grace, as a quality, remains in us as something that does not have any subsistence, but is capable of being roused or restrained in great degree.
2dly. It differs from actual grace, which is transient. Habitual grace makes its residence in the soul. Actual grace is a passing of divine influence and assistance to work any spiritual act or duty in the soul. It does not pre-exist the act, nor continue after it. “God working in us, both to will and to do.” But habitual grace is always resident in us. It causes the soul to be a fit vehicle for all those holy and spiritual operations which are to be performed by actual grace.
3dly. It is capable of growing and shrinking by degree, as was said. In some people, it is larger and more effectual than in others. In the same person, it may be more effectual at one time than it is at another. Hence, the Scripture frequently mentions how we die, decay, spoil, recover, complain, and rejoice depending on the vigor of this habitual grace.
These things being said as to its nature, let us now consider what we are to see in the Lord Jesus in reference to habitual grace. This will be an introduction to our communion with him in this, as things performed by him or on his part: First, as I said of the Spirit, I say of this grace. It is a purchase of Christ, and it is to be seen as such. “It is given to us for his sake to believe on him,” Php 1:29.
Because it is purchased and procured by him for us, the Lord bestows faith, and (by same rule) all grace upon us. “We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in him,” Ephesians 1:3. “In him” means it is the result of his mediation for us. His offering and intercession lie at the bottom of this dispensation. If grace were not procured by them, it would never be enjoyed by anyone. All grace is from this fountain. In receiving it from Christ, we must still consider what it cost him. The lack of this weakens faith. His whole intercession is founded on his offering, 1 John 2:1-2. What he purchased by his death may be bestowed, neither more nor less. And he prays that all his saints may have this grace we are speaking of, John 17:17. If we continually consider all grace as the fruit of the purchase of Christ, it would greatly endear our spirits. Without this consideration, according to the tenor of the gospel, we cannot ask for or expect any grace. It does not prejudice the free grace of the Father to look at anything as the purchase of the Son. It was from the Father’s free grace that Christ made that purchase. In receiving grace from God, we do not have communion with Christ, the treasury of the God’s grace, unless we look upon it as his purchase. He obtained it so that we would be sanctified throughout, so that we would have life, be humble, holy, believing, and so that we would divide the spoil with the mighty, by destroying the works of the devil in us (Isaiah 53:12; 1 John 3:8).
Secondly. The Lord Christ actually communicates this grace to his saints. He bestows it on them: “Of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace,”
John 1:16. For,
(1st.) The Father, by compact and agreement, actually invests him with all the grace he has purchased (just as he received the promise of the Spirit). This is everything that is useful to bring his many sons to glory. “It pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell in him,” Colossians 1:19. It pleased him that Christ should be invested with the fullness of grace that is needed for his people. Christ calls this the “power of giving eternal life to his elect,” John 17:2. This power is not only his ability to do it, but also his right to do it.
Hence, all things are delivered to him by his Father. This is the basis for inviting sinners to come to him for refreshment: “All things are delivered to me of my Father,” Matthew 11:27. “Come to me, all that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” Matthew 11:28. The covenant of the Father with him, and his promise to him, is that upon making “his soul an offering for sin, he would see his seed, and the pleasure of the LORD would prosper in his hand,” Isaiah 53:10. “Pouring out his soul to death, and bearing the sins of many,” Isaiah 53:12, is the foundation and procuring cause of our justification and sanctification: 1. Of justification: “By his knowledge he will justify many,” Isaiah 53:11.
2. Of sanctification; in “destroying the works of the devil,” 1 John 3:8.
Thus our merciful high priest comes to be the great possessor of all grace, so that he may give to us according to his own pleasure, quickening whom he will. He has this grace in him really, as our head, in not receiving that Spirit by measure (John 3:34). The Spirit is the bond of union between him and us, 1 Corinthians 6:17. By holding the head, we are filled with his fullness, Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:19. He has this grace as a common person. He is entrusted with it on our behalf, Romans 5:14-17. “The last Adam is made a quickening Spirit” to us, 1 Corinthians 15:45. He is also a treasury of this grace in a moral and legal sense. This is not only because “it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell in him,” Colossians 1:19, but also because the whole dispensation of grace is founded on his mediation.
(2dly.) Being actually vested with this power, privilege, and fullness, he intends the Spirit to take from this fullness and give it to us: “He will take of mine, and will show it to you,” John 16:15. The Spirit takes of the fullness that is in Christ, and in Christ’s name, he actually bestows it on those he is sent to sanctify. More will be said later concerning the manner and efficacy of the Spirit in doing this.
(3dly.) As for actual grace, which is that influence or power by which the saints are enabled to perform particular duties according to the mind of God, there is no need to further discuss it. What concerns our communion with the Lord Christ was said before.
I now proceed to the way by which we carry on communion with the Lord Jesus in all of these things. They may be considered first in respect to their bestowal, and secondly in respect to their degrees of continuance and increase. In the Spirit’s communication of grace to the soul, raising it from death to life, the saints have no communion with Christ beyond a passive reception of that life-giving, quickening Spirit and power. They are like the dead bones mentioned in the prophet; the wind blows on them and they live. They are like Lazarus in the grave; Christ calls, and they come forth, because the call is accompanied with life and power. It is in the second respect, the efficacy of the Spirit in continuing and increasing our habitual and actual grace, that we become more holy and more powerful in walking with God. We have more fruit in our obedience and more success against temptations. This brings us to our duties in communion with Christ.
2. The duties of the saints in this communion with Christ. The saints continually eye the Lord Jesus as the great Joseph, who has charge of all the granaries of the kingdom of heaven committed to him. He is the one in whom it pleased the Father to gather all things under one head, Ephesians 1:10, so that from him all things might be dispensed to the saints. All treasures, all fullness, and the Spirit without measure are in him. And they eye this fullness, in reference to their condition, in these three particulars: (1.) In the preparation of the dispensation mentioned – in the expiating, purging, and purifying efficacy of his blood itself. It was a sacrifice not only of atonement as offered, but also of purification as poured out. The apostle presents this eminently in Hebrews 9:13-14. “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on the unclean will purify the flesh, then how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” This blood of his is what satisfies all the types of sacrifices instituted for carnal purification. And therefore it has a spiritually purifying, cleansing, and sanctifying virtue in itself, as offered and poured out. Hence, it is called, “A fountain for sin and for uncleanness,” Zechariah 13:1; that is, it washes them and takes them away. It is “a fountain opened;” It is already prepared, virtuous, and efficacious in itself, before anything is put into it. It is poured out, instituted, and appointed for that purpose. The saints see that they are still greatly defiled. Indeed, to be able to see the defilements of sin is a more spiritual discovery than to have only a sense of the guilt of sin. This follows every conviction, and it is commensurate to the revelation of the purity and holiness of God and all his ways. Upon this discovery, they cry with shame, within themselves, “Unclean, unclean,” unclean in their natures, unclean in their persons, unclean in their lives; they are completely soaked in the blood of their defilements. Their hearts by nature are a cesspool, and their lives a dung hill. They know, also, that no unclean thing will enter the kingdom of God, or have a place in the New Jerusalem. They know that God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. They cannot endure to look at themselves. How will they dare to appear in his presence? What remedies will they now use? “Though they wash themselves with lye, and use much soap, yet their iniquity will continue marked,” Jer.
2:22. With what, then, will they come before the Lord? To remove this defilement, I say, they look first to the purifying virtue of the blood of Christ, which is able to cleanse them from all their sins, 1 John 1:7. It is the spring from which flows all the purifying virtue that will take away all their spots and stains, “make them holy and without blemish, and in the end present them glorious to himself,” Ephesians 5:26-27. They dwell on this with thoughts of faith. They roll it around in their minds and spirits. Here faith obtains new life, new vigor, when this sense of vileness has overwhelmed it.
Here is a fountain opened: draw close and see its beauty, purity, and efficacy. This is where a foundation is laid for that work we long to be accomplished.
One moment’s communion with Christ by faith in this is more effective to purge the soul, and to increase grace, than the self-endeavors of a thousand ages.
(2.) They eye the blood of Christ as the blood of sprinkling. When they come to “Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant,” they come to the “blood of sprinkling,” Hebrews 12:24. The stain of Christ’s shed blood will not take away pollution in itself. Not only is there “haimatekchusia,” a “shedding of blood” for the remission of sin, Hebrews 9:22, but there is also “haimatos rantismos,” a
“sprinkling of blood,” for the actual purification. The apostle largely describes this in Hebrews 9:19, “When Moses,” he says, “had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the testament which God has enjoined to you.’ Moreover, he likewise sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. Almost all things are by the law purged with blood. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these,” verses 19-23. The apostle had previously compared the blood of Christ to the blood of sacrifices, in respect to the petition and the purchase it made. Now he does it to the blood as sprinkled, in respect to its application for purification and holiness. He tells us how this sprinkling was performed. It was by dipping hyssop in the blood of the sacrifice, and dashing it on the things and people to be purified, just as instituted with the Paschal lamb, Exodus 12:7. Hence, David, in a sense of the pollution of sin, prays that he may be “purged with hyssop,” Psalms 51:7. It is evident that this specifically referred to the uncleanness and defilement of sin. That is because there is no mention made of sprinkling blood with hyssop in any sacrifice other than those for purification of uncleanness. This was true in the case of leprosy, Leviticus 14:6, and any other defilements, Numb. 19:18. For the latter, it is not a sacrifice of blood, but the water of separation. This is also typical of the blood of Christ, which is the fountain for separation for uncleanness, Zechariah 13:1.
Now, this bunch of hyssop, by which the blood of purification was prepared to sprinkle the unclean, is (to us) the free promises of Christ. The cleansing virtue of the blood of Christ lies in the promises, just as the blood of sacrifices lies in the hyssop. It is ready to pass out to those who draw close to it. Thus, the apostle takes us from receiving the promise, to universal holiness and purity: “Therefore, having these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,” 2 Corinthians 7:1. This, then, is what the saints do: they eye the blood of Christ as it is found in the promise, ready to spray out upon the soul to purify it. This is how its purging and cleansing virtue is communicated to them. By the blood of Christ, they are purged from all their sins, 1 John 1:7.
Thus far, this purifying blood is only prepared and made ready for its purpose. Although the bunch of hyssop is drenched with it in the promises, the soul may not yet partake of it. And so,
(3.) The saints look upon Christ as the only dispenser of the Spirit, and the source of all grace of sanctification and holiness. They consider that, by his intercession, it is granted to him to make all the fruits of his purchase effective, to sanctify, purify, and make glorious in holiness, his whole people.
They know that this is actually to be accomplished by the Spirit, according to the innumerable promises given to that end. He is to sprinkle that blood upon their souls. He is to create the holiness in them that they long for. He is to be a well of water in them, springing up to everlasting life. In this state, they look to Jesus. Faith fixes itself here, expecting him to give out the Spirit for all these ends and purposes. They mix the promises with faith, and so they become actual partakers of all this grace. This is their way. This is their communion with Christ. This is the life of faith, as to grace and holiness.
Blessed is the soul who exercises it: “He will be like a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out her roots by the river, and will not notice when heat comes, but her leaf will be green; and will not be afraid in the year of drought, neither will she cease from yielding fruit,” Jeremiah 17:8.
People convicted of their sin, who do not know Christ nor the fellowship of his sufferings, would create holiness out of their own depths; they would work it out in their own strength. They start with difficult striving, and then follow it with vows, duties, resolutions, and commitments, sweating at it all day long. They continue this way for a season, until their hypocrisy ends for the most part in apostasy. The saints of God, at the start of their walk with him, desire three things:
[1.] the Spirit of holiness to dwell in them.
[2.] a habit of holiness to be infused in them.
[3.] actual assistance to work out all their duties;
If these continue to be lacking, they can never, with all their might, power, and endeavors, perform a single act of holiness before the Lord. They know that they are insufficient in themselves. Without Christ, they can do nothing.
Therefore, they look to him, the one who is entrusted with a fullness of all these things on their behalf. In doing so, by faith, they derive from him an increase of what they need. In this, I say, the saints have communion with Christ as to their sanctification and holiness. From him they receive the Spirit to dwell in them. From him they have the new principle of life which is the root of all their obedience. From him they have actual assistance for every duty they are called to perform. They spend their lives and time with him in waiting for, expecting, and receiving these blessings. Looking for help from other mountains is pointless. Spending our strength in pursuing righteousness is also pointless if this communion is wanting.
Fix your soul here; you will not be ashamed. This is the way, the only way, to obtain full and effectual manifestations of the Spirit’s indwelling. This is the only way to have our hearts purified, our consciences purged, our sins mortified, and our graces increased. This is the way our souls are made humble, holy, zealous, believing, and Christ-like. This is the only way to make our lives fruitful, and our deaths comfortable. Let us abide in this, absorbing the stain of Christ by faith, being conformed to him to the extent allotted to us in this world, so that when we see him as he is, we may be like him.