The Twenty-first Lord’s Day

21 The Twenty-first Lord’s Day
Ephesians 5:25-27
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that it should be holy and without blemish.
It is the Apostle’s purpose in this passage to stir men up to the duty of love to their wives. And he illustrates this duty and persuades us of it from the example of Christ’s love for his Church. And in the example, the love of Christ towards his Church is declared from its effects. The first of which is that he laid down his life for her. The second is the end and effect of the former; namely, that by virtue of his death, he sanctified and purified the Church for himself. The third is the effect and end of both the former; namely, that he makes her glorious. The fourth is the conjunction and union that the Church has with Christ; namely, that she is his body, and of his flesh and bones, Ephesians 5:30. The manner of this union and its nature is shown to consist in a mystery, and not in any carnal or bodily way, but in a most spiritual and hidden way.
Doctrine 1. The Church is the whole company and community of the elect.
This is hence gathered, because she is here described and designed by Christ’s spiritual love towards her, as the love of a husband ought to be towards his wife. Now this love always includes in itself a differencing by her beloved, separating her from all others; and so it is nothing else but an election or choice made of her above others. This is to be understood of a company chosen to eternal life. Now this company is considered in two ways: First, as election lies in the absolute and internal counsel of God. Secondly, as it is described and manifested by its effect of calling, and the blessing that follows upon it. Those that are chosen the first way are members of the Church only virtually; and are potentially members in time — brought about by such a determinate power, that it will certainly act in due time, by the decrees of God. Therefore, the elect who are not yet called, are not yet formal members of the Church, actually and in themselves.
The second way, because the act of vocation1 and the effect of election is there, it makes men actual and formal members of the Church. Now that first effect of internal election, which is proper to the elect, is effectual calling, which is a kind of external election, as it were, made in time. Therefore the Church has her name from this calling, rather than from justification, sanctification, or glorification — to which moreover this accrues: that by this means the company or community of actual believers is fitly designed, seeing that ordinarily none are effectually called, except those who answer that call by actual faith.
Use . Of Direction: how we may obtain for ourselves the certainty of our election; namely, how we can be certain of our effectual calling. That is, how we can be sure of our election by an inward feeling and experience of our true faith and unfeigned repentance — of their operations on and in our hearts, and by the effects that follow from that.
1 That is, the act of calling – both the external call of the Gospel, and the internal call of the heart. Doctrine 2. This Church is the body of Christ.
Reason 1 . It is called his body by way of proportion or similitude, not like a body politic, as found in worldly Cities or Commonwealths; but more as a natural body, such as man’s. Now it is called the body of Christ, because the union that it has with Christ is so very near — being as it were, flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone, as it is in the Text.
Reason 2 . Because of that dependence it has from Christ, as its head.1 For just as all sense and motion of a sensitive creature is derived from the head into every particular member, so also all spiritual virtue is derived by influence from Christ into his Church.
Reason 3 . Because of the union and communion that the faithful have among themselves in Christ, which is the communion of Saints; and the joints whereby these members are coupled together.2 The bonds also of this conjunction, are the Spirit, Faith, and Charity. By the Spirit they are properly conjoined with God in Christ, and also among themselves; but by Faith they are properly conjoined to God in Christ only; and by Charity, most properly, they are conjoined among themselves.
Use 1 . Of Consolation: to all believers, because they are made partakers of so great a dignity as to be assumed to the body of Christ, on whose behalf they may also certainly expect all good things from Christ.
Use 2 . Of Admonition: that we do not dishonour this most holy body of Christ with our life and manners; but with all our care and diligence we may go about this, that our conversation may be such that it is worthy of those who have so near a conjunction with Christ and his most holy servants.
Doctrine 3. The Church in that acceptance of the word, as she is mystically considered, is one only, holy and universally, catholic.
These things are understood of her mystical estate, because in her visible or external estate, she is neither one, nor catholic, nor altogether holy. These things are thus gathered from the Text. She is one, because she makes but one body of Christ, and he does not have more bodies than one. She is holy because she is said to be sanctified and purified by Christ, namely, by separation from the world; by pardon of her sins in justification; by renovation of our inherent righteousness in the sanctification of this life, and the perfecting of it in the life to come. She is lastly Universal or catholic, because all the elect or faithful of all Nations, and of all times, and places, make up but one and the same mystical body of Christ.
Use 1 . Of Refutation: against Papists who wrest all that is proposed to be believed and spiritually understood by Christ’s mystical body, to the Popish state of their Roman visible Church. And that church is neither one, because it is not now the same as it was when the Apostles wrote to her; nor is it holy, because by their own confession, many Popes (that is, heads of the Roman Church) were most wicked beasts; nor is she catholic or Universal, because it implies a contradiction that one particular church, as the Roman church properly is, should be Universal in any propriety of speech. 
Use 2. Of Consolation: to all believers, because in this very thing — that they are actual believers — they are members of this Church that is proposed to us to be believed. And as to the main business of this, they are in the same condition as the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles, and all the Saints were in, that ever lived or shall live hereafter, in any place or time of the world.
1 Ephesians 5:23; also Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church… 
2 Colossians 2:19 …holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. 
Doctrine 4. To this Church relate and belong all those benefits that Christ has procured for men by his death.
It is gathered from this Text, because Christ is said to have done all that he did, out of love for his Church.
Reason 1 . Because it was the wise purpose and intention of God, gloriously by Christ, to communicate his grace to certain men. For otherwise the whole dispensation of Christ’s incarnation, life, and death, would have been of uncertain success or event.
Reason 2. Because Christ not only promerited1 this, but he also brings it to pass, and does that to perfection by his efficacy or power.
Use . Of Consolation: chiefly to all true believers.
For whatever is said of the whole Church in common, is extended to each member of that Church; because the Church is nothing else but a collection of believers, or believers considered as gathered together, or conjoined in one body or multitude.
1 To deserve; to procure by merit.