A discourse of Christian religion, in sundry points preached at the merchants lecture in Broadstreet / by Thomas Cole ...

CHAP. II.

More Particularly, How Christ is in us by Faith: How Faith brings Christ into the Soul: Or, how Christ conveys himself into our hearts through Faith: And also, How we may discern this in our selves.

THis is the Point, and a Point of great∣est concernment it is unto us all: And therefore, I beseech you follow me with your strictest Attention.

First, That Christ may be in us, it is necessary that he should be first outwardly proposed unto us. There is an outward Light of the letter proposing Christ to us; and there is an inward Light of the Spirit revealing Christ in us. It is one thing to speak Notionally, from the outward Light of the Letter; another thing to speak Ex∣perimentally, from an inward Light of the thing it self in our own Souls. Besides the outward Light of the Word, there is in every true Believer an inward Light, flowing through the Word from the Ob∣ject,

or thing spoken of. The Spirit re∣veals Christ the Object, and so making us Light in the Lord, in his Light we see Light. As we cannot see the Sun but by its own Light, so neither can we see Christ but in his own Light. By Faith we go unto Christ, by Faith we go into Christ, and we sit down in his Light, entertaining our selves with Spiritual Contemplations of his Glory. I say, that Christ presents himself to us in a Gospel Promise, as our God and Saviour: He offers himself to us as such; and by offering himself, or under that proposal, he doth act as a Gracious God towards us. Here lyes the Convert∣ing point, the effectual working of the Word; when together with the outward proposal, Christ lets forth some Virtue from himself, to draw in the Heart unto him. When God owns us for his Children, who were not his Children before, yet his Adoption makes us Children; that is the time of our effectual Calling: When under the outward Preaching of the Gospel, Christ doth so powerfully impress his own first act of Love upon us, in dying for us, that we cannot but be sensible of it. His Love is shed abroad in our hearts, we are overcome by it; we cannot but call him Father, who by calling us Children, hath made us so; letting in at the same

time the Spirit of the Son into our hearts. God's owning us for his Children, is a sufficient proof that he is our Father, we cannot but call him so ever after Zec. 13. 9.

Thus Christ makes himself inwardly known to us, by giving us Faith in himself; for there is no other way of knowing Christ, but by believing. Sense and Rea∣son cannot bring Christ into the Soul, but Faith can, giving that account of him from the Word, that is fully satisfactory. How Glorious is Christ in the Eye of Faith! How is a believing Soul taken with him as the Fairest of Ten thousand! And this is the first step, according to the Method of the Holy Ghost, that God takes in bring∣ing Christ into the Soul.

Secondly, Christ is let into the Soul by an appropriating act of Faith, by which we do take him into our hearts as our Jesus: Every Believer saith for himself, the Lord Jesus, my Righteousness, and my Life, and my Salvation, my God, and my Lord! The Soul knows this by that sense that Faith gives of that act by which we do receive him; I say, by that sense that Faith gives of that appropriating act by which we do receive Christ as our Jesus. Those who understand themselves in an act of be∣lieving, know it to be so. Saving Faith, so far as it reaches, is all evidence;

it carries conviction along with it of those Truths which we believe. Heb. 11. 1. I told you the last time, How Faith doth Spiritually draw in the object upon which it acts, into every believing Soul. Faith is in us, Christ is in our Faith, as the ob∣ject of it, always in the view and eye of Faith. Faith hath nothing else to act upon for Justification, but Christ held forth in the Word: Now Faith takes Christ out of the Word into the Heart. And this I would a little open to you; for here lyes the Mystery of your Faith; this is the critical Act of Faith.

I say thus; Faith takes in the Promise, and in and with the Promise, Christ him∣self, who is wrapt up in it. Faith takes in the Promise; and in and with the Pro∣mise, the Mercy it self that is Promised. Our Title to, and Interest in the Lord Jesus Christ, it doth arise out of this Act of Faith. By this Act of Faith, all is com∣pleated both on God's part and our part, that may confirm our Title to Christ. God hath past his word in the Promise, Faith lays hold upon that Promise, receives Christ from the hand of the Father as his Gift, hath it from God's own Mouth that Christ is ours; and Faith doth so interpret the Promise of God to the Soul, by a par∣ticular application of it unto us by Name;

which gives us that security of mind about our real Interest in Christ, that we do no longer doubt of it. We are under a sense of the greatness of the Gift, of the free Grace of the Donor, of our Propriety and Interest in so great a Gift; and all this by our actual receiving the Promise, and in and with the Promise, Christ himself pro∣mised. Faith draws both into the heart together, Christ and the Promise; and Faith keeps them together; it is impossible to have and to hold one without the other. A Promise of Christ, is Christ to a Belie∣ver; Faith takes hold of Christ in and by the Promise. Faith carries in the Promise, as well as Christ, into the Soul: To pre∣vent all after challenges, The Devil is ready to question our Interest in Christ; How came you by Christ? By Peace? And Pardon? What have you to shew that Christ is yours? Then the Soul holds up a Promise. Here is the offer that God hath made of Christ to me, saith a Believer; and what should hinder my acceptance of it? I have accepted it, and I will keep my hold on this Promise; It is the Word of God to me, who cannot lye; and what have you, Satan, to say against this? Thus by resisting the Devil, we make him fly from us. And this Armour of Light doth so dazzle the Eyes of the Prince of dark∣ness,

that he is not able to stand before it.

Many complain that Christ is not theirs, but they do not consider, that it is long of themselves, because they don't receive him: To as many as received him, to them he gives power to become the Childreu of Cod. You will never be able to apprehend your self to be a Child of God, till you re∣ceive Christ; do that, and you will quick∣ly find the Spirit witnessing with your spirit, that you are a true Child of God.

Thirdly, We always have in this appro∣priating act of Faith, by which we take Christ into our Souls, a respect and re∣ference to Christ without us, to him as actually Incarnate, according to the Word, and personally Glorified now in Heaven, yet Spiritually present in us. I speak this against a late Generation of Men, who speak so much of the Light within them, and would seem to understand the same that we do by Christ in us; though it is evident they put a mere natural Principle for Christ; it is not the Person of Christ as God-Man who dyed at Jerusalem, and is now Glorified in Heaven, and in our Nature in Heaven; it is not this Christ whom they rely upon, but a Principle of Light in themselves, which they call Christ; a mere imaginary Christ.

If our Faith doth not terminate upon the Person of Christ without us, and fix distinctly upon him, observing what was done in, by, and upon his Person, as Dying for us; Rising, Ascending up to Heaven, continually making Intercession there for us: I say, if our Faith doth not begin with the Person of Christ, and end in the Person of Christ, we may be mista∣ken in all our seeming Spiritual apprehensi∣ons of Christ. The Spirit of Christ is the Spi∣rit of a real Person, of the second Person in the Trinity, who is very God and very Man. To talk of the Spirit of Christ, without any relation and reference to the Divine Person of Christ, is mere Enthusiasm, and over∣throws the foundation of Christian Religi∣on. When the Scriptures speak of Christ as dwelling in us, it still refers to the Person of Christ, to what was really done, and acted by, and upon that Person. Rom. 8. 11. His Spirit dwells in you, i. e. the Spirit of him that Rose from the Dead, and is now Alive in Heaven. When we speak of Christ being in us, we do not mean his Cor∣poral, Personal Presence, but his Spiritual Presence. If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his, so saith the Apostle, Rom. 8. 9, 10. Though his Per∣son be taken away from us, Acts 1. 11. and is contained in Heaven till his second

Coming; Yet the Life, Power and Spirit of Christ doth dwell in us now; and this is the Spiritual Presence of Christ in the hearts of Believers now; this is a good proof of Christ being in us of a truth, in power and spirit, 2 Cor. 13. 3, 4, 5.

Fourthly, Christ appears to be in Belie∣vers by the inward Communion they have with him, by the daily moving of their hearts towards him; the Soul gathering up it self more and more into Christ, often revolving what Christ hath done for them. Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. We have fre∣quent serious Thoughts of Christ: That which is in you, is in your Thoughts, must be in your Thoughts, you are full of him. Some can think of nothing but the world, and the things of the world; and it is a sign Christ is not in them: That's the Fourth.

Fifthly; By the suitable actings of the Soul towards Christ in the most proper and seasonable Exercise of those Graces that such or such a Manifestation of Christ unto us, may call for.

A Soul in communion with Christ, is very observant of him, very attentive to him, eyes him strictly; As the eye of the servant looks unto the hand of his master, and the eye of the maiden to the hand of her mi∣stress,

so do our eyes wait upon thee, O God; Psal. 123. 9. You would take it ill, and count it a great neglect in a servant, if while you are speaking to him, he should look another way, not minding what you say: And so doth Christ: If you will not keep him company when he comes to visit you; if you will not sit with him, and converse with him, and perform your part of Communion with him, readily answer∣ing to his Call, making suitable Returns to all the Motions of his Holy Spirit, you of∣fend the Holy Ghost, and give him just oc∣casion to leave you to your worldly, sullen frame of Spirit. See what the Spouse in the Canticles lost by such a carriage, chap. 5. 2. She was in a sleepy frame when Christ came to visit her, not at all disposed to en∣tertain him: He calls, and knocks at the door, uses many loving compellations to al∣lure her to open to him: Open to me, my love, my dove, my sister, my undefiled. What kind, soft words are here! Christ would fain have had Admittance; tells her how long he had waited, that he was now be∣nighted, and suffered the injury of the weather, was wringing wet: Nothing would do; she is loth to rise; I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on; I have washed my feet, and how shall I defile them? What! set her naked feet upon the bare ground! not

she; tho but a step or two to the door. Af∣ter she had paused a while, she bethought her self, and arose; I rose up to open to my beloved, and my beloved had withdrawn him∣self, and was gone: And well he might after such ill usage. If Christ be in you, be sure you use him well, lest he withdraw from you. They who know what it is to have Christ within them, unless it be under some such Temptations as the Spouse was assaulted with, they will do all they can to keep him dwelling in their hearts: They study to please him; their Carriage towards him is suitable to the Apprehensions their Fath hath of him. There are many things in Christ, that fall under the consideration of a Believer, some at one time, and some at another; some upon one occasion, and some upon another, as the matter they come to Christ about, may require; and as he is pleased to let out himself more or less to us: This must be attended to: We must answer the Call of Christ, by stirring up that Grace by which we may best expe∣rience the sense of what Christ is to us, doth for us, requires of us, at such or such a season, under such or such circumstances, in reference to this or that particular disco∣very Christ makes of himself unto us. Sometimes our duty lies in acting this Grace, sometimes in acting that Grace;

whether it be Faith, Love, Fear, Joy, &c. Tho we cannot act one Grace aright, but we must in some degree act every Grace; for all Graces run into that one, which bears the name for the time, as most suited to the present occasion we have for the Exercise of our Grace. Hence the Saints sometimes speak of one Grace, and sometimes of ano∣ther Grace. Sometimes it is Faith, some∣times it is Love, Zeal, Joy. I protest by our rejoicing in Christ Jesus. Sometimes it is this, sometimes it is that Grace, that their Souls are most taken up with. There is that in Christ that will draw out every Grace in its season; and we should at all times be in the actual exercise of some Grace: If you ask, Which? I say, That which best suits the present occasion that is given for the exercise of your Grace. We should labour to pitch our Thoughts upon that in Christ, that doth most directly re∣late to our present case; and many are the cases of our Souls; God hath ordered it so, that we might have recourse to all his At∣tributes, sometimes to one, sometimes to another: God hath suited our dependance upon him to his several Attributes, and to the several Properties of his Name, and of his Son's Name. He expects our Faith in him should be always grounded upon that in Christ, which we see makes most for

our present Relief: Whether we want Wis∣dom, Righteousness, Strength, Patience, Pardon, Comfort, we must eye that in Christ that is the next immediate Encou∣ragement to our Faith for that thing.

In the next place I shall shew you the ne∣cessity of Christ being in us; and that upon a double ground.

First; Because otherwise there can be no Vital Union between Christ and us; no real Communion with him, no saving Ap∣plication of him to our Souls; no Commu∣nication of Life and Grace to us. A Branch can't bear fruit, unless it abide in the Vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me, John 15. 4. He saith further, Every branch that brings not forth fruit, v. 2. (A dreadful Text; it should make Professors tremble at the reading of it); every branch in me that brings not fruit. No wonder to hear of fruitless Professors out of Christ; but to hear how fruitless many are who are in Christ, that is outwardly by Profession! We may seem to be in Christ, when Christ is not really in us. The unfruitfulness of many Professors, gives sad Demonstration of this Truth. When Christ is really in us, we must needs be in him; there is a mutual in-being in each other, John 17. 21. That they may be all one, as thou Father art in

me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us. This is meant, not of a Personal, but of a Mystical Union, a Spiritual Union, Christ letting in the Virtue, the Power of his Re∣surrection upon us,* 1.1 so purging our hearts from corruption, and redeeming us from our vain conversation.

Secondly; Christ must be in us, because Christ hath much to do within us. He hath a kingdom to set up, Luke 17. 21. Many strong holds of Satan to pull down; the strong man to cast out; many lusts and corruptions to mortifie; many Graces to raise up and strengthen: He sanctifies us throughout, not only in Body, but in Mind and Spirit; and therefore he must deal in∣wardly with us: He takes away an heart of stone, and gives an heart of flesh; and this is inward work: The Spirit of Christ strives with our Spirits about this; deals with the hearts of men to turn them unto himself. Many Checks, many Calls, many Pangs, many Throws, before Christ be formed in us, Gal. 2. 19. He is a Jew, who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, Rom. 2. 29. This inward man is renewed and strengthned day by day, by Christ living in us, Gal. 2. 20. comp. with 2 Cor. 4. 16. Tho Christ hath done much without us, in dying for us, yet if he did not come into

us by his Spirit, we should be little the bet∣ter for all he hath done without us. Christ is a Saviour out of us by his Merit, and in us by the Virtue and Efficacy of his Spirit. He makes a powerful entrance at our first Conversion; he creates new Principles, by which he works further and further up∣on the heart, till he hath reduced it to per∣fect conformity to himself.

Now here may come in a Query; Possi∣bly some may say, Could not Christ have done all within us? What need he do any thing without us? Might he not come and live in us, without dying for us? Might he not enter in the Soul, and sanctifie us, though he had not first suffered outwardly for us?

I answer, No;

1. Because the Justice of God had been then unsatisfied: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, were all unsatisfied: They could have nothing to do with fallen Man in a way of Mercy, till Satisfaction was made to Divine Justice.

2. Supposing such a Sanctification, man must be damned notwithstanding, for his former sins. Now no man will be at the pains to wash and cleanse a Vessel that must presently be broken in pieces, and thrown away. What Christ did in Person in our

Nature without us, that he doth Spiritual∣ly in our Hearts. As he suffered on the Cross for us, truly so he suffers much in us, and by us, meets with much opposition from in-dwelling Corruption: The Fight of Faith is great and long, even to our lives end; our Warfare is not accomplished till then. Tho Christ hath satisfied the Law and Justice of God in dying for us, yet the same power must be put forth to make us believe this, as in raising up Christ from the dead. Christ meets with a Legal Con∣science in every man, that will not readily admit of the Grace of God, till it be over∣powered by the Spirit of Christ, and sprin∣kled with his Blood. It is a mighty work of Divine Power, to bring over a trem∣bling, convinced sinner, to trust in Christ for the Pardon of all his Sins. There are many carnal Reasonings against this, many thoughts and imaginations that do with a great deal of confidence exalt themselves against the Mystery of God's Grace in Christ. Now all these Thoughts must be brought into Captivity to the Obedience of Christ: And this is a mighty work of Divine Power, like levelling of Moun∣tains, and breaking Rocks asunder, giving hearts of Flesh, that may take in Impressi∣ons of God's Love to us in Christ, and thankfully accept of Eternal Life, as the

Free Gift of God. When it pleases God to open the wonderful Mysteries of his Grace to us, by shining into our hearts, he doth at last fully convince us of that which we could never believe before Were there more of this inward Religion among us; more of the Power and Efficacy of the Gospel experienced in the hearts of Profes∣sors, the savour of it would be much stronger in our lives. Christ within makes every thing in the Soul bow down before him.

Let us not then keep at a distance from Christ, but gather up nearer and nearer to him by Faith, till we are united and joined to the Lord in one Spirit, and then the Power of Christ will rest upon us, 2 Cor. 12. 11. We shall be strengthned with might in our inward man, Eph. 3. 16, 17. It must needs be so, if Christ be in us. How strong is the Devil in the hearts of Wicked Men? How doth he rage and rule in the children of disobedience? Eph. 2. 2. Let Satan enter into Iudas, what bold Attempts doth he make upon his Master? How ready to be∣tray him? Thus when the Devil is in men, how mad are they? How doth he hurry them on to all manner of Wickedness; till Christ, who is stronger than this strong man, enters in and binds him, casting him forth, Matt. 12. 25. Unconverted men act

like so many mad-men; the Devil is in them; Satan reigns in them; and it will never be otherwise, till Christ comes into them: The Power of Satan's Kingdom is founded in the Darkness of our Minds; and when one beam of Saving Gospel-Light shines in upon us, we are turned from the Power of Satan unto God, the whole Soul is subjected to him; every re∣bellious Thought is captivated to the Obe∣dience of Christ. Till we feel Christ thus living in us, we know not where we are, nor what our state is. If Christ be not in you, I am sure you are not in Christ; and what the sad consequence of that is, you may see Ephes. 2. 12. At that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the common-wealth of Israel, and strangers from the co∣venants of promise; without God in the world, having no Hope: But Christ in us is our Hope of Glory.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Tit. 2. 14. 1 Pet. 1. 18.