20. Jesus And The Promises
XX. Jesus and the Promises
"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God. by us."—2 Corinthians 1:20.
JESUS our Lord, stands for ever connected with the way of the promise. Indeed, he is "the way, the truth, and the life." No man comes to the Faithful Promiser but by Jesus Christ. We could not close this little book without a short chapter upon HIM. Our hope is that the reader will not attempt to obtain any comfort from a word that we have written, or even from the Word of God itself, except as he receives it through Jesus Christ. Apart from him the Scripture itself contains nothing which the soul of man may live upon. This, indeed, is the great fault of many—they search the Scriptures, for in them they think they have eternal life, but they will not come unto Christ, that they might have life. Let us not be of this foolish company; but let us come to Jesus day by day, knowing that it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. Only as we know him do we know the light, life, and liberty of the heirs of promise; and, as surely as we wander from him we roam into bondage. Oh, for grace to abide in him, that we may possess all the good things of the covenant made with us in him!
Jesus is the Gate of the promises. Through him the Lord is able to enter into gracious engagements with guilty men. Until "the seed of the woman" had been appointed to be the Mediator between God and man, no messages of comfort could be sent to the offending race. God had no word for sinners till the Word of God undertook to be made flesh, and to dwell among us. God could not communicate his mind of love to men except through Jesus, the Word. As God could not come to us apart from the Messenger of the covenant, so we could not approach to him except through the Mediator. Our fears drive us away from the Holy One till we see in the Son of God a Brother full of tender sympathy. The glory of the divine Trinity overawes us until we behold the milder radiance of the Incarnate God. We come to God through the humanity of his Son, and especially through that humanity suffering and dying on our behalf.
Jesus is the Sum of all the promises. When God promised his Son to be ours, he gave us in him all things necessary for our salvation. Every good gift and every perfect gift will be found within the person, offices, and work of our Redeemer. All the promises are "in him." If you would add them up, or make a long catalogue of all the blessings which they secure to us, you may save yourself the pains, and be happy to know that this is the full total—the Lord has given us his Son Jesus. As all the stars are in the sky, and all the waves are in the sea, so are all covenant blessings in Christ. We cannot think of a real blessing outside of our Lord: He is all in all. On this thread all pearls are strung: in this casket all gems are contained.
Jesus is the Guarantee of the promises. He that spared not his own Son will deny nothing to his people. If he had ever thought of drawing back, he would have done so before he had made the infinite sacrifice of his Only-begotten Son. Never can there be a suspicion that the Lord will revoke any one of the promises since he has already fulfilled the greatest and most costly of them all. "How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
Jesus is the Confirmer of the promises. They are. "in him yea, and in him Amen." His coming into our nature, his standing as our federal Head, and his fulfilling of all the stipulations of the covenant, have made all the articles of the divine compact firm and enduring. Now is it not only kind but just with God to keep his promises to men. Since Jesus has rendered, man's behalf, a full recompense to the divine honour which sin has assailed, the justice of God unites with his love in securing the carrying out of every word of promise. As the rainbow is our assurance that the world shall never be destroyed by a flood, so is Jesus our assurance that the floods of human sin shall never drown the faithful kindness of the Lord. He has magnified the law, and made it honourable; he must be rewarded for his soul-travail, and therefore all good things must come to those for whom he died. It would be an unhinging and dislocation of all things if the promises were now to become of none effect after our Lord has done all that was required to make them sure. If we are indeed one with the Lord Jesus Christ, the promises are as sure to us as the love of his Father is to him.
Jesus is the Remembrancer of the promises. He pleads with God on our behalf, and his plea is the divine promise. "He made intercession for the transgressors." For the good things which he has promised the Lord will be enquired of by us that he may do them for us; and that this enquiry may be carried out under the most encouraging circumstances, behold, the Lord Jesus himself becomes the Intercessor for us: for Zion's sake he doth not hold his peace, but day and night he makes remembrance of the everlasting covenant, and of the blood whereby it was sealed and ratified. At the back of every promise stands the living, pleading, and prevailing High-priest of our profession. We may forget the faithful promise, but he will not: he will present the incense of his merit, and the engagements of God on our behalf, in that place within the veil where he exercises omnipotent intercession.
Jesus is the Fulfiller of the promises. His first Advent brought us the major part of the blessings which the Lord has foreordained for his own, and his second Advent is to bring us the rest. Our spiritual riches are linked with his ever-adorable person. Because he lives, we live; because he reigns, we reign; because he is accepted, we are accepted. Soon, at his manifestation, we shall be manifested; in his triumph, we shall triumph; in his glory, we shall be glorified. He is himself the Alpha and the Omega of the promises of God: in him we have found life as sinners, in him we shall find glory as saints. If he be not risen, our faith is vain; and if he come not a second time, our hope is a delusion; but, since he has risen from the dead, we are justified; since he will come in the glory of the Father, we also shall be glorified.
Reader, what hast thou to do with Christ?
All will depend upon thine answer to this question. Dost thou rest alone in Him? Then the Lord has promised to bless thee, and do thee good; and he will surprise thee with the amazing manner in which he will do this unto thee. Nothing is too good for the Father to give to the man who delights in his Son Jesus. On the other hand, art thou trusting to thine own doings, feelings, prayings, and ceremonials? Then thou art of the works of the law, and thou art under the curse. See what we said of the seed of Hagar, the bondwoman; and guess what thy portion will be. Oh, that thou wouldst quit the house of bondage, and flee to the home of free grace, and become one whom God will bless According to the Promise!
God grant this great favour unto thee for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.