Part 2, Chapter 8: How Saints Hold Communion with Christ in Acceptation

This chapter concerns how the saints hold communion with Christ as to their acceptation with God. It treats what is required on Christ's part: his intention and the declaration thereof. It sets forth the sum of our acceptation with God, and what is required on believers' part. Some objections are proposed and answered: why the elect are not accepted immediately upon the undertaking and death of Christ; in what sense they are so; and how Christ is a common or public person and came to be so. The way of our acceptation with God on that account is considered, along with a second objection. The necessity of our obedience is stated from Ephesians 2:8-10, and its grounds, causes, and ends are manifested, along with its proper place in the new covenant. How the saints in particular hold communion with Christ in this purchased grace is set forth: they approve of his righteousness and reject their own, and the commutation of sin and righteousness between Christ and believers is explained.

Communion with Christ in purchased grace, as to acceptation with God, arising from the obedience of his life and efficacy of his death, is the first thing we enquire into. What is required on Christ's part and what is required on our part is what we now intend to discover — for our mutual actings, even his and ours, are necessary for fellowship and communion together.

On Christ's part, no more is required than these two things. First, that what he did, he did not for himself but for us. Second, that what he suffered, he suffered not for himself but for us. That is, his intention from eternity — and when he was in the world — was that all he did and suffered was and should be for us and our advantage as to our acceptance with God. That he still continues making use of what he so did and suffered for that end and purpose only. This is most evident.

What he did, he did for us and not for himself. He was made under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons, Galatians 4:4-5. He was made under the law — that is, in that condition of being subject to its will and commands — and why? Not for himself, but to redeem us. This is the aim of all that he did, of all his obedience. He acquaints us with this very intention in John 17:19: for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they may be sanctified through the truth. I sanctify myself — that is, I dedicate and set myself apart to all the work I have to do. I came not to do my own will; I came to save that which was lost, to minister and not to be ministered unto, and to give my life a ransom. This was the testimony he bore to all he did in the world. From eternity he had thoughts of what he would do for us, and delighted himself therein. When he went to be baptized, John said: I have need to come to you, and do you come to me? Matthew 3:14-15. But Christ replied: permit it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness — I do it for them who have none at all, and who stand obliged to all.

In what he suffered, this is even more clear. Daniel 9:26: the Messiah shall be cut off, and not for himself. The apostle lays down this as a main difference between Christ and the high priests of the Jews — when they made their solemn offerings, they offered first for themselves and then for the people. But Jesus Christ offers only for others. He had no sin and could make no sacrifice for his own sin which he had not, but only for others. He tasted death for all, Hebrews 2:9. He gave his life a ransom for many, Matthew 20:28. The iniquity of us all was made to meet on him, Isaiah 53:6. He bore our sins in his body on the tree, 1 Peter 2:24. He loved his church and gave himself for it, Ephesians 5:26, Galatians 2:20, Romans 4:25. This is abundantly clear — that Christ in his suffering and oblation had his intention only upon the good of his elect and their acceptation with God, suffering for us, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.

To complete this communion on Christ's part, it is required that there be added to what he has done the gospel tenders of that complete righteousness and acceptation with God which arise from his perfect obedience and sufferings. These tenders are of two kinds.

First, declaratory — in the conditional promises of the gospel. John 7:37, Matthew 11:28: he that believes shall be saved; come to me and you shall have life. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to those who believe, Romans 10:4. Now declaratory tenders are very precious; there is much kindness in them, and if they are rejected they will be the savor of death unto death. But the Lord Christ knows that the outward letter, though never so effectively held out, will not enable any of his for that reception of his righteousness which is necessary to give them an interest in it. Therefore, second, in this tender of acceptation with God on account of what he has done and suffered, a law is established that whosoever receives it shall be so accepted. But Christ knows the condition and state of his in this world — this will not do by itself. If he does not effectually invest them with it, all is lost.

He sends them his Holy Spirit to quicken them, John 6:63, to cause those who are dead to hear his voice, John 5, and to work in them whatever is required to make them partakers of his righteousness and accepted with God. Thus does Christ deal with his own. He lives and dies with an intention to work out and complete righteousness for them. Their enjoying it to a perfect acceptation before God is all that in the one and the other he aimed at. Then he tenders it to them, declares the usefulness and preciousness of it to their souls, stirs them up to desire and value it, and lastly effectually bestows it upon them — reckons it to them as theirs, so that they should by it, for it, and with it be perfectly accepted with his Father.

For our acceptation with God, two things are required.

First, that satisfaction be made for our disobedience — for whatever we had done that might damage the justice and honor of God — and that God be atoned toward us. This could be no otherwise than by undergoing the penalty of the law. This, as I have shown, is done by the death of Christ. God made him to be sin for us, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and a curse, Galatians 3:13. On this account we have our absolution and acquittal from the guilt of sin, from the sentence of the law, and from the wrath of God, Romans 8:33-34. We are justified, acquitted, and freed from condemnation — because it was Christ who died. He bore our sins in his body on the tree, 1 Peter 2:24.

Second, that the righteousness of the law be fulfilled and the obedience performed that is required at our hands. This is done by the life of Christ, Romans 5:18-19. Answerable to our state and condition, our acceptation with God has two parts.

First, our absolution from the guilt of sin — that our disobedience not be charged upon us. This we have by the death of Christ. Our sins being imputed to him shall not be imputed to us, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 4:25, Isaiah 53:12.

Second, the imputation of righteousness — that we may be accounted perfectly righteous before God. This we have by the life of Christ. His righteousness in yielding obedience to the law is imputed to us. And thus is our acceptation with God completed. Being discharged from the guilt of our disobedience by the death of Christ, and having the righteousness of the life of Christ imputed to us, we have friendship and peace with God. This is the grace of acceptation with God, wherein we have communion with Jesus Christ.

It remains for me to show how believers hold distinct communion with Christ in this grace of acceptation, and how thereby they keep alive a sense of it — the comfort and life of it being to be renewed every day. Without this, life is a hell; no peace, no joy can we be made partakers of but what has its rise from hence. Whatever grounded persuasion we have of our acceptation with God — that he is at peace with us — to that is our revenue of peace, comfort, joy, and even holiness itself proportioned.

But before I come in particular to handle our practical communion with the Lord Jesus in this matter, I must remove two considerable objections. The one lies against the first part of our acceptation with God, the other against the latter.

Objection 1: If the elect have their absolution, reconciliation, and freedom by the death, blood, and cross of Christ, why are they not all actually absolved at the death of Christ — or at least as soon as they are born — but rather many of them live a long while under the wrath of God in this world as unbelievers, under the sentence and condemning power of the law? Why are they not immediately freed upon the payment of the price and the making of reconciliation for them?

Objection 2: If the obedience of the life of Christ is imputed to us, and that is our righteousness before God, then what need we yield any obedience ourselves? Is not all our praying, laboring, watching, fasting, giving of alms — all fruits of holiness in purity of heart and usefulness of conversation — all in vain and to no purpose? And who then will or need take care to be holy, humble, righteous, meek, temperate, patient, good, peaceable, or to abound in good works in the world?

I shall briefly remove these two objections, and then proceed to carry on the design in hand about our communion with Christ.

First, in answer to Objection 1: Jesus Christ, in undertaking the work of our reconciliation with God — for which cause he came into the world — and in the accomplishment of it by his death, was constituted and considered as a common, public person, in the stead of those for whose reconciliation to God he suffered. Hence he is the Mediator between God and man, 1 Timothy 2:5 — one who undertook to God for us, as the next words show: he gave himself a ransom for all. And he is the Surety of the new covenant, Hebrews 7:22, undertaking for and on behalf of those with whom that covenant was made. Hence he is said to be given for a covenant to the people, Isaiah 42:6, and a leader, Isaiah 49:8. He was the second Adam, 1 Corinthians 15:45-47, to all ends and purposes of righteousness to his spiritual seed, as the first Adam was of sin to his natural seed, Romans 5:15-19.

His being thus a common person arose chiefly from these things. First, in general, from the covenant entered into by himself with his Father to this purpose. The terms of this covenant are at large set forth in Isaiah 53, summed up in Psalm 40:7-8, and Hebrews 10:8-10. Hence the Father became his God — which is a covenant expression, Psalm 89:26, Hebrews 1:5, Psalm 22:1, Psalm 40:8, Psalm 45:7. So was he by his Father designed to this work, Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 61:1, Isaiah 49:9, Malachi 3:1, Zechariah 13:7, John 3:16, 1 Timothy 1:15. Thus the counsel of peace became to be between them both, Zechariah 6:13 — that is, the Father and the Son. And the Son rejoiced from eternity in the thought of this undertaking, Proverbs 8:21-30.

Second, in the sovereign grant, appointment, and design of the Father — giving and delivering the elect to Jesus Christ in this covenant to be redeemed and reconciled to himself. John 17:6: yours they were, and you gave them to me. They were God's by eternal designation and election, and he gave them to Christ to be redeemed. Hence before their calling or believing, he calls them his sheep, John 10:15-16, laying down his life for them as such. Hence we are said to be chosen in Christ, Ephesians 1:4 — designed to obtain all the fruits of the love of God by Christ, and committed into his hand for that end and purpose.

Third, in his undertaking to suffer what was due to them, and to do what was to be done by them, that they might be delivered, reconciled, and accepted with God. And he undertakes to give in to the Father, without loss or miscarriage, what he had so received of the Father, John 17:2, 12, John 6:37-39. As Jacob did with the cattle he received of Laban, Genesis 31:39-40.

Fourth, they being given to him, and he undertaking for them to do and suffer what was on their part required, he received on their behalf and for them all the promises of all the mercies, grace, good things, and privileges which they were to receive upon the account of his undertaking for them. On this account, eternal life is said to be promised of God before the world began, Titus 1:2 — that is, to the Son of God for us, on his undertaking on our behalf. And grace also is said to be given to us before the world was, 2 Timothy 1:9 — that is, in Christ, our appointed head, mediator, and representative.

Fifth, Christ being thus a common person — a mediator, surety, and representative of his church — upon his undertaking as to efficacy and merit, and upon his actual performance as to solemn declaration, was as such acquitted, absolved, solemnly declared, and freed from all and every thing which, on behalf of the elect, as due to them, was charged upon him or could be. As to all the efficacy and merit of his undertakings, he was immediately absolved upon his faithfulness in his first engagement, and thereby all the saints of the Old Testament were saved by his blood no less than we. As to solemn declaration, he was so absolved when the pangs of death being loosed, he was declared to be the Son of God with power, Romans 1:4, by the resurrection from the dead. God said to him: you are my Son, this day I have begotten you, Psalm 2:7, Acts 13:33. This his absolution Christ expresses his confidence of in Isaiah 50:6-9. And he was justified, 1 Timothy 3:16. What I intend by this absolution of Christ as a public person is this: God having made him under the law for those who were so, Galatians 4:4, in their stead, subject to the punishment due to sin — made him sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21 — and so gave justice, and law, and all the consequences of the curse thereof, power against him, Isaiah 53:6. Upon his undergoing of what was required of him, Isaiah 53:12, God looses the pangs and power of death, accepts him, and is well pleased with him as to the performance and discharge of his work, John 17:3-6. He pronounces him free from the obligation that was on him, Acts 13, and gives him a promise of all the good things he aimed at and which his soul desired. Hereon are all the promises of God made to Christ, and their accomplishment — all the encouragements given him to ask and make demand of the things originally engaged to him, Psalm 2:8 — which he did accordingly, John 17 — founded and built. And here lies the certain, stable foundation of our absolution and acceptation with God. Christ in our stead, acting for us as our surety, being acquitted, absolved, and solemnly declared to have answered the whole debt incumbent on him to pay and made satisfaction for all the injury we had done, a general pardon is sealed for us all, to be sued out particularly in the way appointed.

Christ as a public person being thus absolved, it became righteous — a righteous thing from the covenant, compact, and convention between him and the mediator — that those in whose stead he was should obtain and have bestowed on them all the fruits of his death in reconciliation with God, Romans 5:8-11. That as Christ received the general acquittance for them all, so each one of them should individually enjoy it. This is manifested everywhere in those expressions which express a commutation designed by God in this matter, as 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:21-24.

Seventh, being thus acquitted in the covenant of the mediator — whence they are said to be circumcised with him, to die with him, to be buried with him, to rise with him, to sit with him in heavenly places, namely in the covenant of the mediator — and it being righteous that they should be acquitted personally in the covenant of grace, it was determined by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that the way of their actual personal deliverance from the sentence and curse of the law should be in and by such a way and dispensation as might lead to the praise of the glorious grace of God, Ephesians 1:5-7. The appointment of God is that we shall have the adoption of children. The means is by Jesus Christ. The peculiar way of bringing it about is by the redemption that is in his blood. The end is the praise of his glorious grace.

Eighth, until the full time of their actual deliverance — determined and appointed to them in their several generations — be accomplished, they are personally under the curse of the law, and on that account are legally subject to the wrath of God, from which they shall certainly be delivered. They are personally subject to the law and its curse, but not at all with its primitive intention of execution upon them. Rather, it is a means appointed to help forward their acquaintance with Christ and acceptance with God on his account. When this is accomplished, that whole obligation ceases, being continued on them in a design of love, their condition being such that without it they cannot be brought to a participation of Christ, to the praise of the glorious grace of God.

Ninth, the end of the dispensation of grace being to glorify the whole Trinity, the order fixed and appointed for this is to ascend to the Father's love through the works of the Spirit and the blood of the Son. The emanation of divine love to us begins with the Father, is carried on by the Son, and then communicated by the Spirit — the Father designing, the Son purchasing, the Spirit effectually working. That is their order. Our participation is first by the work of the Spirit to an actual interest in the blood of the Son, whence we have acceptation with the Father.

This then is the order whereby we are brought to acceptation with the Father, for the glory of God through Christ.

First, that the Spirit may be glorified, he is given to us to quicken us, convert us, and work faith in us, Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:19-20, according to all the promises of the covenant, Isaiah 44:3-5, Ezekiel 19:11, Ezekiel 36:26.

Second, this being wrought in us, for the glory of the Son, we are actually interested — according to the tenor of the covenant, at the same instant of time — in the blood of Christ as to the benefits which he has procured for us thereby. Indeed this very work of the Spirit is itself a fruit and part of the purchase of Christ, but we speak of our sense of this thing, to which the communication of the Spirit is antecedent.

Third, to the glory of the Father, we are accepted with him — justified, freed from guilt, pardoned, and have peace with God, Romans 5:1. Thus through Christ we have access by one Spirit to the Father, Ephesians 2:18. And thus are Father and Son and the Holy Spirit glorified in our justification and acceptation with God: the Father in his free love, the Son in his full purchase, and the Holy Spirit in his effectual working.

Tenth, all this, in all the parts of it, is no less fully procured for us, nor less freely bestowed on us for Christ's sake and on his account — as part of his purchase and merits — than if all of us had immediately upon his death been translated into heaven. Only this way of our deliverance and freedom is fixed upon, that the whole Trinity may be glorified thereby. This may suffice in answer to the first objection. Though our reconciliation with God is fully and completely procured by the death of Christ, and all the ways and means whereby it is accomplished, yet we are brought to an actual enjoyment thereof by the way and in the order mentioned, for the praise of the glorious grace of God.

The second objection is that if the righteousness and obedience of Christ to the law be imputed to us, then what need we yield obedience ourselves? To this also I shall return answer as briefly as I can in the ensuing observations.

First, the placing of our gospel obedience on the right account — so that it may neither be exalted into a state, condition, use, or end not given to it of God, nor any reason, cause, motive, end, or necessity of it on the other hand taken away, weakened, or impaired — is a matter of great importance. Some make our obedience, the works of faith, the matter or cause of our justification. Some make it the condition of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. Some make it the qualification of the person justified. On the other hand, some exclude all necessity of them and turn the grace of God into licentiousness. To debate these differences is not my present business. Only I say: on this and other accounts, the right stating of our obedience is of great importance as to our walking with God.

Second, we do by no means assign the same place, condition, state, and use to the obedience of Christ imputed to us and to our own obedience performed to God. If we did, they were really inconsistent. Therefore those who affirm that our obedience is the condition or cause of our justification do all of them deny the imputation of the obedience of Christ to us. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to us as that on account of which we are accepted and esteemed righteous before God — and are really so, though not inherently. We are as truly righteous with the obedience of Christ imputed to us as Adam was or could have been by a complete righteousness of his own performance. So Romans 5:18: by his obedience we are made righteous — truly made so and truly accepted — as by the disobedience of Adam we are truly made transgressors and so accounted. This is what the apostle desires to be found in, in opposition to his own righteousness, Philippians 3:9. But our own obedience is not the righteousness upon which we are accepted and justified before God, although it is acceptable to God that we should abound therein. This distinction the apostle evidently delivers and confirms in Ephesians 2:8-10: for by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves — it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared that we should walk in them. We are saved — or justified, for that is the apostle's subject — by grace through faith which receives Jesus Christ and his obedience. Not of works, lest any man should boast. But what works does the apostle intend? The works of believers, as the very next words make manifest: for we are his workmanship — we believers, with our obedience and our works. Yet what need then of works? Need still there is: we are his workmanship.

Two things the apostle intimates in these words.

First, a reason why we cannot be saved by works: namely, because we do them not in or by our own strength, which is necessary if we are to be saved or justified by them. But this is not so, says the apostle — for we are the workmanship of God. All our works are wrought in us by full and effectual undeserved grace.

Second, an assertion of the necessity of good works notwithstanding that we are not saved by them. That is, God has ordained that we shall walk in them, which is a sufficient ground for our obedience whatever its use may be.

What then are the true and proper gospel grounds, reasons, uses, and motives of our obedience — by which the necessity of it may be demonstrated and our souls stirred up to abound and be fruitful therein? They are so many, lying so deep in the mystery of the gospel and the dispensation of grace, and spreading so throughout the whole revelation of the will of God, that to handle them fully and distinctly would require far more space than I can engage in here. I shall only give some brief heads of what might at large be insisted on.

First, our universal obedience and good works are indispensably necessary from the sovereign appointment and will of God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In general: this is the will of God, even our sanctification and holiness, 1 Thessalonians 4:3. This is what God wills — that we be holy, that we be obedient, that we do his will as the angels do in heaven. The equity, necessity, profit, and advantage of this ground of our obedience might at large be insisted on. And were there no more, this might suffice alone — if it is the will of God, it is our duty.

The Father has ordained or appointed it; it is the will of the Father, Ephesians 2:10, the Father being spoken of personally, with Christ mentioned as Mediator.

The Son has ordained and appointed it as Mediator. John 15:16: I have ordained you that you should bring forth fruit of obedience, and that it should remain.

The Holy Spirit appoints and ordains believers to works of obedience and holiness, and to work holiness in others. So in particular, Acts 13:2, he appoints and designs men to the great work of obedience in preaching the gospel, and in sinning, men sin against him.

Second, our holiness and obedience — works of righteousness — are one eminent and special end of the peculiar dispensation of Father, Son, and Spirit in the work of exalting the glory of God in our salvation: of the electing love of the Father, the purchasing love of the Son, and the operative love of the Spirit.

It is a peculiar end of the electing love of the Father. Ephesians 1:4: he has chosen us that we should be holy and blameless. So Isaiah 4:3-4. His aim and design in choosing us was that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. This he is to accomplish and will bring about in those who are his. He chooses us to salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, 2 Thessalonians 2:12. This the Father designed as the first and immediate end of electing love, and proposes the consideration of that love as a motive to holiness, 1 John 4:8-10.

It is so also of the exceeding love of the Son, of which the testimonies are innumerable. Titus 2:14: who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. This was his aim and design in giving himself for us. Ephesians 5:26-27: Christ 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. See also 2 Corinthians 5:15, Romans 6:5.

It is the very work of the love of the Holy Spirit. His whole work upon us, in us, and for us consists in preparing us for obedience, enabling us thereunto, and bringing forth the fruits of it in us. He does this in opposition to a righteousness of our own, either before it or to be made up by it, Titus 3:5. The fruits of the Spirit in us are known, Galatians 5:22.

Thus we have a twofold foundation for the necessity of our obedience and personal holiness. God has appointed it and requires it. And it is an eminent immediate end of the distinct dispensation of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the work of our salvation. If God's sovereignty over us is to be owned, if his love toward us is to be regarded, if the whole work of the ever-blessed Trinity for us and in us is of any moment — our obedience is necessary.

Third, it is necessary in respect of its end — whether you consider God, ourselves, or the world.

The end of our obedience in respect of God is his glory and honor, Malachi 1:6. He will take his honor from the stoutest and proudest rebel in the world, but all we give him is in our obedience. The glorifying of God by our obedience is all that we are or can be.

It is the glory of the Father. Matthew 5:16: let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. By our walking in the light of faith, glory arises to the Father; the fruits of his love, his grace, and his kindness are seen upon us, and God is glorified on our behalf.

The Son is glorified thereby. It is the will of God that as all men honor the Father, so should they honor the Son, John 5:23 — and this is done by believing in him, John 14:1, and obeying him. Hence John 17:10: he says he is glorified in believers, and prays for an increase of grace and union for them, that he may yet be more glorified and all might know that as Mediator he was sent of God.

The Spirit is glorified also by our obedience. He is grieved by our disobedience, Ephesians 4:30, and therefore his glory is in our bringing forth fruit. He dwells in us as in his temple, which is not to be defiled. Holiness becomes his habitation forever.

If what has been said is not sufficient to prove the necessity of our obedience, we must suppose ourselves to be speaking with men who regard neither the sovereignty, nor love, nor glory of God — Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. Let men say what they please — though our obedience should be all lost and never regarded, which is impossible, for God is not unrighteous to forget our labor of love — yet here is a sufficient foundation, ground, and reason for yielding more obedience to God than ever we shall do while we live in this world. I speak here only of gospel grounds of obedience, and not of those that are natural and legal, which are indispensable to all mankind.

Second, the end of our obedience in respect of ourselves immediately is threefold: honor, peace, and usefulness.

Honor: it is by holiness that we are made like unto God and his image is renewed again in us. This was our honor at our creation; it exalted us above all our fellow creatures here below — we were made in the image of God. This we lost by sin and became like the beasts that perish. To this honor of conformity to God, of bearing his image, we are exalted again by holiness alone. Be holy, says God, because I am holy, 1 Peter 1:16. And be perfect in doing good, as your heavenly Father is perfect, Matthew 5:48 — a likeness and conformity to him. Herein is the image of God renewed, Ephesians 4:23-24: put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and holiness of truth. This was what was originally attended with power and dominion — it is still all that is beautiful or comely in the world; how it makes men honorable and precious in the sight of God, of angels, and of men.

Peace: by holiness we have communion with God, wherein peace alone is to be enjoyed. The wicked are like a troubled sea that cannot rest, and there is no peace to them, says God, Isaiah 48:22. There is no peace, rest, or quietness in a distance, separation, or alienation from God. He is the rest of our souls; in the light of his countenance is life and peace. Now if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, 1 John 1:7, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son Jesus Christ, verse 3. He that walks in the light of new obedience has communion with God, and in his presence is fullness of joy forever. Without it there is nothing but darkness, wandering, and confusion.

Usefulness: a man without holiness is good for nothing. Ephraim, says the prophet, is an empty vine that brings forth fruit to itself. And what is such a vine good for? Nothing, says another prophet — you cannot make a pin of it so much as to hang a vessel on. A barren tree is good for nothing but to be cut down for the fire. Notwithstanding the seeming usefulness of men who serve the providence of God in their generations, the world and the church might want them, and in themselves they are good for nothing. Only the holy man is a common good.

Third, the end of obedience in respect of others in the world is manifold. It serves to the conviction and stopping of the mouths of some enemies of God, both here and hereafter. Here: 1 Peter 3:16 — keeping a good conscience, that wherein they speak against you as evildoers, they may be ashamed, beholding your good conduct in Christ. By keeping a good conscience, men will be made ashamed of their false accusations — so that their malice and hatred of the ways of God, which provoked them to speak all manner of evil against the profession of them, is overcome by the holiness and righteousness of the saints. They are convicted and made ashamed as a thief when he is caught, and driven to acknowledge that God is among believers and that they themselves are wicked, John 17:23. Hereafter: the saints shall judge the world. Their good works, their righteousness, and their holiness shall be brought forth and manifested to all the world, and the righteousness of God's judgments against wicked men shall be evinced. See, says Christ, these are they that I own — whom you so despised and abhorred — and see their works following them, Matthew 25:42-43.

It serves the conversion of others. 1 Peter 2:12: having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that wherein they speak against you as evildoers, beholding your good works, they may glorify God in the day of visitation. Matthew 5:16. Even revilers, persecutors, and evil speakers have been overcome by the constant holy walking of believers, and when their day of visitation has come, have glorified God on that account, 1 Peter 3:1-2.

It serves the benefit of all — partly by keeping judgments from the rest of men, as ten righteous men would have preserved Sodom, Genesis 18:32-33 — partly by the real communication of good to those with whom believers have to do in their generation. Holiness makes a man a good man, useful to all, and others eat of the fruits of the Spirit that he brings forth continually.

Fourth, it is necessary in respect of the state and condition of justified persons — whether you consider their relative state of acceptation or their state of sanctification.

They are accepted and received into friendship with a holy God — a God of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, who hates every unclean thing. Is it not necessary that they should be holy who are admitted into his presence, walk in his sight, and lay in his bosom? Should they not with all diligence cleanse themselves from all pollution of flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord, 2 Corinthians 7:1?

In respect of sanctification: we have in us a new creature, 2 Corinthians 5:17. This new creature is fed, cherished, nourished, and kept alive by the fruits of holiness. To what end has God given us new hearts and new natures? Is it that we should kill them, stifle the creature that is found in us in the womb, that we should give him to the old man to be devoured?

Fifth, it is necessary in respect of the proper place of holiness in the new covenant, and that is twofold.

First, holiness is the means to the end. God has appointed that holiness shall be the means — the way — to that eternal life which, as in itself and originally, is his gift by Jesus Christ. Yet with regard to his constitution of our obedience as the means of attaining it, it is a reward, and God in bestowing it is a rewarder. Though holiness is neither the cause, matter, nor condition of our justification, yet it is the way appointed of God for us to walk in for the obtaining of salvation. Therefore he that has hope of eternal life purifies himself as he is pure, and none shall ever come to that end who walks not in that way — for without holiness it is impossible to see God.

Second, it is a testimony and pledge of adoption — a sign and evidence of grace, that is, of acceptation with God. And thirdly, it is the whole expression of our thankfulness. Not one of all these causes and reasons of the indispensable necessity of our obedience, good works, and personal righteousness but would require a more extended discourse to unfold and explain than I have allotted to the proposal of them all. He who upon these accounts does not think universal holiness and obedience to be of indispensable necessity — unless also it be exalted into the place of the obedience and righteousness of Christ — let him be filthy still.

These objections being removed, and having at the entrance of this chapter declared what is done on Christ's part as to our fellowship with him in this purchased grace as to our acceptation with God, it remains to show what is also required and performed on our part for the completing of it. This consists in the following particulars.

First, the saints cordially approve of this righteousness as that alone which is absolutely complete and able to make them acceptable before God. This supposes five things.

First, their clear and full conviction of the necessity of a righteousness wherewith to appear before God. This is always in their thoughts; this in their whole lives they take for granted. Many men spend their days in obstinacy and hardness, adding drunkenness to thirst, never once inquiring what their condition shall be when they enter into eternity. Others trifle away their time and their souls, sowing the wind of empty hopes and preparing to reap a whirlwind of wrath. But this lies at the bottom of all the saints' communion with Christ: a deep, fixed, resolved persuasion of an absolute and indispensable necessity of a righteousness wherewith to appear before God. The holiness of God's nature, the righteousness of his government, the severity of his law, and the terror of his wrath are always before them. They have all been convinced of sin and have looked on themselves as ready to sink under the vengeance due to it. They have all cried: what shall we do to be saved? With what shall we appear before God? And they have all concluded that it is in vain to flatter themselves with hopes of escaping as they are by nature. If God is holy and righteous, and of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, they must have a righteousness to stand before him. They know what will be the cry one day of those who now bear up themselves as if they were otherwise minded, Isaiah 53:15, Micah 7:6-7.

Second, they weigh their own righteousness in the balance and find it wanting. This is done in two ways.

First, in general and upon the whole of the matter, at their first setting themselves before God. When men are convinced of the necessity of a righteousness, they catch at everything that presents itself to them for relief — like men ready to sink in deep waters, catching at whatever is nearest to save them from drowning, which sometimes proves a rotten stick that sinks with them. So did the Jews, Romans 9:31-32 — they caught hold of the law, and it would not relieve them. The law put them upon setting up a righteousness of their own; this kept them doing and in hope, but kept them from submitting to the righteousness of God. Here many perish and never get one step nearer to God all their days. This the saints renounce. They have no confidence in the flesh; they know that all they can do, all that the law can do — which is weak through the flesh — will not avail them. See what judgment Paul makes of all a man's own righteousness, Philippians 3:8-10. This they bear in their minds daily, filling their thoughts with the conviction that on account of what they have done, can do, or ever shall do, they cannot be accepted with God or justified thereby. This keeps their souls humble, full of a sense of their own vileness all their days.

Second, in particular: they daily weigh all their particular actions in the balance and find them wanting as to any such completeness as might on their own account be accepted with God. Such a saint says: if I had nothing to commend me to God but this prayer, this duty, this conquest of a temptation — wherein I myself see so many failings and so much imperfection — could I appear with any boldness before him? Shall I piece up a garment of righteousness out of my best duties? It is all as a defiled cloth, Isaiah 64:6. These thoughts accompany them in all their duties, in their best and most choice performances. Lord, what am I in my best estate? How little suitableness to your holiness is in my best duties? O spare me — in reference to the best thing I have ever done in my life. When a man who lives on convictions gets some enlargements in duties, some conquest over a sin or temptation, he hugs himself like Micah when he had got a Levite to be his priest — now surely it shall be well with him. But he who has communion with Christ, when he is highest in duties of sanctification and holiness, is clearest in his apprehension of his own unprofitableness, and rejects every thought that might arise in his heart of setting his peace in or upon those duties. He says to his soul: do these things seem something to you? Alas, you have to do with an infinitely righteous God who looks through and through all that vanity which you are but little acquainted with. And should he deal with you according to your best works, you must perish.

Third, they approve, value, and rejoice in this righteousness for their acceptation which the Lord Jesus has worked out and provided for them. When it is discovered to them, they approve it with all their hearts and rest in it. Isaiah 45:24: surely shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength. This is their voice and language when once the righteousness of God in Christ is made known to them: here is righteousness indeed, here have I rest for my soul. Like the merchant in the gospel, Matthew 13:45-46, who finds the pearl of great price — I had been searching up and down, looking this way and that for help, but it was far away. I spent my strength for what was not bread. Here is what indeed makes me rich forever. When first the righteousness of Christ for acceptation with God is revealed to a poor laboring soul that has sought rest and found none, he is surprised and amazed and is not able to contain himself. Such a one always approves this righteousness in his heart on a fivefold account.

First, as full of infinite wisdom. To those who believe, says the apostle, Christ crucified is the wisdom of God, 1 Corinthians 1:24. They see infinite wisdom in this way of their acceptation with God. In what darkness, in what straits, in what entanglements was my poor soul, says such a one. How little able was I to look through the clouds and perplexities by which I was encompassed. I looked inward and found nothing but sin, horror, fear, and trembling. I looked upward and saw nothing but wrath, curses, and vengeance. I knew that God was a holy and righteous God and that no unclean thing should abide before him. I knew that I was a poor, vile, unclean, and sinful creature — and how to bring these two together in peace, I knew not. But in the righteousness of Christ a world of wisdom opens itself, dispelling all difficulties and darkness, and manifesting a reconciliation of all. O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, Romans 11:33, Colossians 2:3.

Second, they approve of this righteousness as full of grace. They know that sin had shut up the whole way of grace toward them — and whereas God aims at nothing so much as the manifestation of his grace, they were utterly cut short of it. Now to have a complete righteousness provided, and yet abundance of grace manifested, exceedingly delights the soul — to have God's dealing with their person all grace, and his dealing with their righteousness all justice. God everywhere assures us that this righteousness is of grace. It is by grace and no more of works, Romans 11:6, as the apostle sets it out at large, Ephesians 2:7-9. It is from riches of grace and kindness that the provision of this righteousness is made. It is of mere grace that it is bestowed on us; it is not at all of works. Though it is in itself a righteousness of works, yet to us it is of mere grace. So Titus 3:4-7: after the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The rise of all this dispensation is kindness and love — that is, grace, verse 4. The way of communication, negatively, is not by works of righteousness that we have done; positively, by the communication of the Holy Spirit, verse 5. The means of procurement is Jesus Christ, verse 6; the work itself is by grace, verse 7. Here is use made of almost every word by which the exceeding rich grace, kindness, mercy, and goodness of God may be expressed — his benignity and readiness to communicate himself; his mercy and propensity to help those whom he loves; his compassion and tenderness toward those who suffer; and his free pardoning bounty and undeserved love — all concurring in this work. In bestowing the Holy Spirit he shed him upon them abundantly, as water poured out from a vessel without stop or hesitation. The saints of God in their communion with Christ exceedingly rejoice in this before him — that the way of their acceptation before God is a way of grace, kindness, and mercy — that they might not boast in themselves but in the Lord and his goodness, crying: how great is your goodness, how great is your bounty!

Third, they approve and rejoice in this righteousness as a way of great peace and security to their own souls. They remember what was their state and condition while they went about to set up a righteousness of their own and were not subject to the righteousness of Christ — how miserably they were tossed up and down with continually fluctuating thoughts. Sometimes they had hope and sometimes were full of fear. Sometimes they thought themselves in some good condition and soon were at the very brink of hell, their consciences racked and torn with sin and fear. But now, being justified by faith, they have peace with God, Romans 5:1. All is quiet and serene. Not only is that storm over, but they are in the haven where they would be. They have abiding peace with God. Hence is that description of Christ to a poor soul, Isaiah 32:2: a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Wind and tempest and drought and weariness — nothing now troubles the soul that is in Christ. He has a hiding place and a covert, and rivers of water, and the shadow of a great rock for his security. This is the great mystery of faith in this matter of our acceptation with God by Christ: whereas the soul of a believer finds enough in himself and upon himself to rend the very covering of the heart and fill him with fears, terror, and disquiet all his days, yet through Christ he is at perfect peace with God, Isaiah 26:3, Psalm 4:6-8. Hence the souls of believers exceedingly magnify Jesus Christ — that they can behold the face of God with boldness, confidence, peace, joy, and assurance; that they can call him Father, bear themselves on his love, and walk up and down in quietness and without fear. They remember the wormwood and gall they have eaten, the vinegar and tears they have drunk, the trembling of their souls like an aspen leaf shaken by the wind whenever they thought of God — and to be brought now to settlement and security must greatly affect them.

Fourth, they cordially approve of this righteousness because it is a way and means of the exceeding exaltation and honor of the Lord Jesus, whom their souls love. Being once brought to an acquaintance with Jesus Christ, their hearts desire nothing more than that he may be honored and glorified to the utmost and in all things have the preeminence. What can more tend to advancing and honoring him in their hearts than to know that he is made of God unto them wisdom and righteousness, 1 Corinthians 1:30? Not that he is this or that part of their acceptation with God — but he is all, he is the whole. In the account of his working out their acceptation with God, he is everything.

First, Christ is honored of God his Father. Philippians 2:7-10: he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow — of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth — and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. On account of his suffering, and as the end of it, he was honored and exalted of God to an unspeakable preeminence, dignity, and authority, according as God had promised him on the same account, Isaiah 53:11-12, Acts 2:36, Acts 5:30-31. Therefore it is said that when he had by himself purged our sins he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:3.

Second, he is on this account honored by all the angels in heaven — because of this great work of bringing sinners to God. They not only bow down and desire to look into the mystery of the cross, 1 Peter 1:12, but worship and praise him always on this account. Revelation 5:11-14: I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne — the living creatures and the elders, the number of them being ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands — saying with a loud voice: worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea heard I saying: blessing and honor and glory and power be to him that sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. The reason given for this glorious ascription of honor and glory to Jesus Christ by the whole host of heaven is that he was the Lamb that was slain — because of the work of our redemption and our being brought to God. It is no little refreshment and rejoicing to the souls of the saints to know that all the angels of God — the whole host of heaven, which never sinned — yet continually rejoice and ascribe praise and honor to the Lord Jesus for bringing them to peace and favor with God.

Third, he is honored by his saints throughout the world. And indeed if they do not honor him, who should? If they honor him not as they honor the Father, they would be of all men the most unworthy. See what they do: Revelation 1:5-6: to him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests to God and his Father — to him be glory forever and ever, amen. Revelation 5:8-10: the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: you are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to God, and we shall reign on the earth. The great solemn worship of the Christian church consists in this ascription of honor and glory to the Lord Jesus. Therefore do they love him, honor him, and delight in him, as Paul, Philippians 3:8, and so the spouse, Song of Songs 5:9-11.

Fifth, they cordially approve of this righteousness — this way of acceptation — as that which brings glory to God. When they were laboring under the guilt of sin, what most of all perplexed their souls was that their safety seemed inconsistent with the glory and honor of the great God — with his justice, faithfulness, and truth, all of which were engaged against sin. How to come off from ruin without those attributes being dishonored, they saw not. But now by the revelation of this righteousness from faith to faith, Romans 1:17, they plainly see that all the properties of God are exceedingly glorified in the pardon, justification, and acceptance of poor sinners, as was before shown.

This is the first way whereby the saints hold daily communion with the Lord Jesus in this purchased grace of acceptation with God. They consider, approve of, and rejoice in the way, the means, and the thing itself.

Second, they make an actual exchange with the Lord Jesus as to their sins and his righteousness. Of this there are also several parts.

First, they continually keep alive upon their hearts a sense of the guilt and evil of sin, even when they are under some comfortable persuasion of their personal acceptance with God. Sense of pardon takes away the horror and fear, but not a due sense of the guilt of sin. It is the daily exercise of the saints of God to consider the great provocation that is in sin — their sins, the sin of their nature and their lives — to render themselves vile in their own hearts and thoughts on that account, to compare it with the terror of the Lord, and to judge themselves continually. My sin is ever before me, says David. They set sin before them not to terrify and frighten their souls with it, but that a due sense of the evil of it may be kept alive upon their hearts.

Second, they gather up in their thoughts the sins for which they have not yet made a particular reckoning with God in Christ — or if they have begun to do so, they have not made clean work of it nor come to a clear and comfortable resolution. There is nothing more dreadful than for a man to be able to digest his convictions — to have sin look him in the face and speak some words of terror to him, and to be able by any charms of diversion or delay to put it off without coming to a full trial as to his state and condition in reference to it. This the saints do. They gather up their sins, lay them in the balance of the law, and see and consider their weight and desert. And then —

Third, they make this exchange I speak of with Jesus Christ.

First, they seriously consider — and by faith conquer all objections to the contrary — that Jesus Christ, by the will and appointment of the Father, has really undergone the punishment due to those sins which they now lay under his eye and consideration. Isaiah 53:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21. He has as certainly and really answered the justice of God for them as if the sinner himself were at that instant cast into hell.

Second, they hearken to the voice of Christ calling them to him with their burden. Come to me, all you that are weary and heavy laden — come with your burdens. Come, poor soul, with your guilt of sin. What to do with it? This is mine, says Christ. This is the agreement I made with my Father — that I should come and take your sins and bear them away. They were my lot. Give me your burden, give me all your sins. You know not what to do with them; I know well how to dispose of them, so that God shall be glorified and your soul delivered.

Third, they lay down their sins at the cross of Christ, upon his shoulders. This is faith's great and bold venture upon the grace, faithfulness, and truth of God. To stand by the cross and say: he is bruised for my sins and wounded for my transgressions, and the chastisement of my peace is upon him. He is thus made sin for me. Here I give up my sins to him who is able to bear them and to undergo them. He requires it of my hands, that I should be content for him to undertake for them, and I heartily consent. This is every day's work. I know not how any peace can be maintained with God without it. If it is the work of souls to receive Christ as made sin for us, we must receive him as one who takes our sins upon himself. Not as though he died any more or suffered any more — but as the faith of the saints of old made that present and before their eyes which had not yet come to pass, Hebrews 11:1, so faith now makes present that which was accomplished and past many generations ago. This is what it is to know Christ crucified.

Fourth, having thus by faith given up their sins to Christ and seen God laying them all on him, they draw near and take from him that righteousness which he has worked out for them. So fulfilling the whole of what the apostle says in 2 Corinthians 5:21: he was made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. They consider him tendering himself and his righteousness to be their righteousness before God. They take it, accept it, and complete this blessed exchange of faith. Anger, curse, wrath, death, sin in its guilt — he took it all and takes it all away. With him they leave whatever of this nature belongs to them, and from him they receive love, life, righteousness, and peace.

Objection: surely this course of proceeding can never be acceptable to Jesus Christ. What? Shall we daily come to him with our filth, our guilt, our sins? May he not — will he not — bid us keep them to ourselves? Shall we be always giving sins and taking righteousness?

Answer: there is nothing that Jesus Christ is more delighted with than that his saints should always hold communion with him as to this business of giving and receiving.

First, this exceedingly honors him and gives him the glory that is his due. Many cry Lord, Lord and make mention of him, but honor him not at all. They take his work out of his hands and ascribe it to other things. Their repentance, their duties, shall bear their iniquities — they do not say so, but they do so. The exchange they make, if they make any, is with themselves. All their reckoning about sin is in and with their own souls. The work Christ came to do in the world was to bear our iniquities and lay down his life a ransom for our sins. The cup he had to drink was filled with our sins as to the punishment due to them. What greater dishonor then can be done to the Lord Jesus than to ascribe this work to anything else — to think to get rid of our sins by any other way or means? Herein is Christ honored indeed, when we go to him with our sins by faith and say to him: Lord, this is your work; this is what you came into the world for; this is what you have undertaken to do. You call for my burden, which is too heavy for me to bear. Take it, blessed Redeemer. You tender your righteousness — that is my portion. Then is Christ honored, then is the glory of his mediation ascribed to him, when we walk with him in this communion.

Second, this exceedingly endears the souls of the saints to him and constrains them to put a due valuation upon him, his love, his righteousness, and his grace. When they find it and have the daily use of it, then they do so. Who would not love him? I have been with the Lord Jesus, the poor soul may say. I have left my sins and my burden with him, and he has given me his righteousness, with which I am going with boldness to God. I was dead, and am alive, for he died for me. I was cursed, and am blessed, for he was made a curse for me. I was troubled, but have peace, for the chastisement of my peace was upon him. I knew not what to do nor where to send my sorrow, but by him I have received joy unspeakable and glorious. If I do not love him, delight in him, obey him, live to him, and die for him, I am worse than the devils in hell. The great aim of Christ in the world is to have a high place and esteem in the hearts of his people — to have there, as he has in himself, the preeminence in all things; not to be jostled up and down among other things, but to be all and in all. And thus are the saints of God prepared to esteem him, upon engaging themselves in this communion with him.

Objection: if this is so, what need have we to repent or amend our ways? It is but going to Christ by faith, making this exchange with him, and so we may sin that grace may abound.

Answer: I judge no man's person, but this I must say — I do not understand how a man who makes this objection in cold blood, not under a temptation or accidental darkness, can have any true or real acquaintance with Jesus Christ. However, this I am certain of: that this communion in itself produces quite different effects from those supposed.

As for repentance: it is, I suppose, a gospel repentance that is intended. For a legal, bondage repentance full of dread, amazement, terror, self-love, and astonishment at the presence of God — this communion does take that away, prevents it, and casts it out with its bondage and fear. But for gospel repentance, whose nature consists in godly sorrow for sin with its relinquishment, proceeding from faith, love, and abhorrence of sin on account of Father, Son, and Spirit — that this should be hindered by this communion is not possible. The foundation of this communion is laid in a deep, serious, daily consideration of sin, its guilt, vileness, and abomination, and our own vileness on that account. A sense of this is to be kept alive in and upon the heart of everyone who will enjoy this communion with Christ — without it Christ is of no value or esteem to him. Is it possible that a man should daily fill his heart with thoughts of the vileness of sin on all accounts — law, love, grace, gospel, life and death — and be filled with self-abhorrence on that account, and yet be a stranger to godly sorrow? Here is the mistake: the foundation of this communion is laid in that very thing which they suppose it overthrows.

As for obedience: if Christ is so glorified and honored by taking our sins, the more we bring to him the more he will be glorified? A man could not suppose this objection would be made, but the Holy Spirit, who knows what is in man's heart, has made it for them and in their name, Romans 6:1-3. The very same doctrine that I have insisted on, being delivered in chapter 5, verses 18-20, has the same objection made against it. For those who think it may have any weight, I refer them to the answer given in that chapter by the apostle, and also to what was said before concerning the necessity of our obedience notwithstanding the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.

But you will say: how should we address ourselves to the performance of this duty? What path are we to walk in?

Faith exercises itself in this communion especially in three ways.

First, in meditation. The heart goes over in its own thoughts the matters discussed above — sometimes separately, sometimes jointly, sometimes fixing primarily on one thing and sometimes on another. At one time perhaps the soul is most occupied with consideration of its own sinfulness, filling itself with shame and self-abhorrence on that account. At another time it is filled with thoughts of the righteousness of Christ and with joy unspeakable and glorious on that account. Especially on great occasions — when grieved and burdened by negligence or the eruption of corruption — then the soul goes over the whole work and so drives things to an issue with God, and takes up the peace that Christ has wrought out for it.

Second, by considering and inquiring into the promises of the gospel which hold out all these things: the excellency, fullness, and suitableness of the righteousness of Christ, the rejection of all false righteousness, and the exchange made in the love of God, which was formerly discussed.

Third, in prayer — herein do their souls go through this work day by day. And this communion all the saints have with the Lord Jesus as to their acceptation with God, which was the first thing proposed for consideration.

This chapter concerns how saints hold communion with Christ in their acceptance before God. It covers what is required on Christ's part — His intention and its declaration. It sets forth the sum of our acceptance with God and what is required on the part of believers. Several objections are raised and answered: why the elect are not accepted immediately upon Christ's undertaking and death; in what sense they are accepted; and how Christ became a public or representative person. The way our acceptance with God works on that basis is considered, along with a second objection. The necessity of our obedience is established from Ephesians 2:8-10, with its grounds, causes, and ends explained, along with its proper place in the new covenant. Finally, how saints in particular hold communion with Christ in this purchased grace is set forth: they approve of His righteousness and reject their own, and the exchange of sin and righteousness between Christ and believers is explained.

Communion with Christ in purchased grace — specifically our acceptance with God, which flows from the obedience of His life and the power of His death — is the first thing we examine. We now seek to understand what is required on Christ's part and what is required on ours, since both His activity and ours are necessary for genuine fellowship and communion.

On Christ's part, only two things are required. First, that what He did, He did not for Himself but for us. Second, that what He suffered, He suffered not for Himself but for us. That is, His intention — from eternity and throughout His time on earth — was that everything He did and suffered was for us and our benefit as to our acceptance with God. He continues to make use of what He did and suffered for that same purpose. This is abundantly clear.

What He did, He did for us and not for Himself. He was made under the law so that we might receive the adoption of sons (Galatians 4:4-5). He was made under the law — that is, placed under its demands and commands — but why? Not for Himself, but to redeem us. This is the aim of everything He did, of all His obedience. He declared this very intention in John 17:19: 'For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.' He sanctified Himself — meaning He dedicated and set Himself apart for all the work He had to do. He did not come to do His own will; He came to save the lost, to serve rather than to be served, and to give His life as a ransom. This was His testimony throughout His earthly life. From eternity He had thoughts of what He would do for us and delighted in them. When He came to be baptized, John said, 'I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?' (Matthew 3:14-15). But Christ replied, 'Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness' — meaning He did it for those who have no righteousness at all, though they stand obligated to all of it.

In what He suffered, this is even clearer. Daniel 9:26: the Messiah will be cut off, but not for Himself. The apostle draws this as the key contrast between Christ and the Jewish high priests — when they made their solemn offerings, they first offered for themselves and then for the people. But Jesus Christ offered only for others. He had no sin and could make no sacrifice for sin He did not have; He sacrificed only for others. He tasted death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9). He gave His life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). The iniquity of us all was laid on Him (Isaiah 53:6). He bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). He loved His church and gave Himself for it (Ephesians 5:26; Galatians 2:20; Romans 4:25). This is abundantly clear: Christ in His suffering and sacrifice had His intention fixed entirely on the good of His elect and their acceptance with God — suffering for us, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.

To complete this communion on Christ's part, what He has done must be accompanied by the gospel's offer of the complete righteousness and acceptance with God that come from His perfect obedience and suffering. These offers come in two forms.

First, declaratory — through the conditional promises of the gospel. John 7:37; Matthew 11:28: 'He who believes will be saved; come to Me and you will have life.' Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to all who believe (Romans 10:4). Declaratory offers are precious; there is great kindness in them, and if they are rejected, they become the smell of death to those who perish. But the Lord Christ knows that the outward letter, however faithfully proclaimed, will not enable any of His people to receive His righteousness in the way needed to make them truly partakers of it. Therefore, second, an arrangement is established whereby whoever receives this offer of acceptance with God — based on what He has done and suffered — will indeed be so accepted. But Christ knows the state and condition of His people in this world: this offer alone is not enough. If He does not effectively clothe them with it, everything falls short.

He sends them His Holy Spirit to give them life (John 6:63), to cause the dead to hear His voice (John 5), and to work in them everything needed to make them partakers of His righteousness and accepted with God. This is how Christ deals with His own. He lives and dies with the intention of working out and completing righteousness for them. His entire aim — in both His life and His death — was that they would come to perfect acceptance before God. Then He offers that righteousness to them, declares its value and preciousness to their souls, stirs them up to desire and treasure it, and finally effectively bestows it on them — reckoning it to them as their own, so that by it, for it, and with it they are perfectly accepted before His Father.

For our acceptance with God, two things are required.

First, satisfaction must be made for our disobedience — for everything we had done that damaged the justice and honor of God — and God must be reconciled toward us. This could only happen by enduring the penalty of the law. As I have shown, this was accomplished by the death of Christ. God made Him sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and a curse (Galatians 3:13). On that basis we receive our acquittal and release from the guilt of sin, from the sentence of the law, and from the wrath of God (Romans 8:33-34). We are justified, acquitted, and freed from condemnation — because it was Christ who died. He bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).

Second, the righteousness of the law must be fulfilled and the obedience required of us must be performed. This is accomplished by the life of Christ (Romans 5:18-19). Corresponding to our condition, our acceptance with God has two parts.

First, our acquittal from the guilt of sin — so that our disobedience is not charged against us. This we have through the death of Christ. Our sins were imputed to Him and will not be imputed to us (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 4:25; Isaiah 53:12).

Second, the imputation of righteousness — so that we may be counted perfectly righteous before God. This we have through the life of Christ. His righteousness in yielding obedience to the law is credited to us. And so our acceptance with God is complete. Discharged from the guilt of our disobedience by the death of Christ, and credited with the righteousness of Christ's life, we have friendship and peace with God. This is the grace of acceptance with God, in which we hold communion with Jesus Christ.

It remains for me to show how believers hold distinct communion with Christ in this grace of acceptance — and how they keep that sense alive day by day, since its comfort and life must be renewed continually. Without this, life becomes a kind of hell; no peace, no joy can be ours except what rises from this source. Whatever grounded assurance we have of our acceptance with God — that He is at peace with us — our supply of peace, comfort, joy, and even holiness itself is proportioned to that assurance.

Before I come specifically to the practical side of our communion with the Lord Jesus in this matter, I need to address two significant objections. One concerns the first part of our acceptance with God; the other concerns the second part.

Objection 1: If the elect receive their acquittal, reconciliation, and freedom through the death, blood, and cross of Christ, why are they not all actually acquitted at the moment of Christ's death — or at least at birth — rather than living for a long time in this world under God's wrath as unbelievers, under the sentence and condemning power of the law? Why are they not immediately freed as soon as the price is paid and reconciliation is made for them?

Objection 2: If the obedience of Christ's life is credited to us as our righteousness before God, why do we need to yield any obedience ourselves? Is all our praying, working, watching, fasting, giving — and all the fruit of holiness in purity of heart and usefulness of life — pointless and to no purpose? And who then would need to care about being holy, humble, righteous, gentle, self-controlled, patient, good, peaceable, or abounding in good works in the world?

I will briefly address these two objections, then continue with the main purpose of explaining our communion with Christ.

In answer to Objection 1: Jesus Christ, in undertaking the work of our reconciliation with God — for which purpose He came into the world — and in accomplishing it by His death, was constituted and treated as a public representative person, standing in the place of those whose reconciliation to God He secured. Thus He is the Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5) — one who undertook before God on our behalf, as the following words confirm: 'He gave Himself a ransom for all.' He is also the Guarantor of the new covenant (Hebrews 7:22), acting on behalf of those with whom that covenant was made. Therefore He is said to be given as a covenant to the people (Isaiah 42:6) and as a leader (Isaiah 49:8). He was the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-47), serving as the source of righteousness for His spiritual offspring in every way that the first Adam was the source of sin for his natural offspring (Romans 5:15-19).

His status as a public representative person arose chiefly from three things. First, in general, from the covenant He entered into with His Father for this purpose. The terms of this covenant are set out at length in Isaiah 53, summarized in Psalm 40:7-8 and Hebrews 10:8-10. Through this covenant, the Father became His God — a covenant expression (Psalm 89:26; Hebrews 1:5; Psalm 22:1; Psalm 40:8; Psalm 45:7). The Father also appointed Him to this work (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 61:1; Isaiah 49:9; Malachi 3:1; Zechariah 13:7; John 3:16; 1 Timothy 1:15). Thus the counsel of peace was established between them both — the Father and the Son (Zechariah 6:13). And the Son rejoiced from eternity in the thought of this undertaking (Proverbs 8:21-30).

Second, through the Father's sovereign choice, appointment, and plan — giving and entrusting the elect to Jesus Christ in this covenant to be redeemed and reconciled to Himself. 'Yours they were, and You gave them to Me' (John 17:6). They were God's by eternal designation and election, and He gave them to Christ to be redeemed. For this reason, even before their calling or believing, He calls them His sheep (John 10:15-16), laying down His life for them as such. Thus we are said to be chosen in Christ (Ephesians 1:4) — appointed to receive all the fruits of God's love through Christ, and entrusted to His care for that purpose.

Third, through His undertaking to suffer what was owed by them and to do what was required of them, so that they might be delivered, reconciled, and accepted with God. He undertook to present to the Father — without loss or failure — all that He had received from the Father on their behalf (John 17:2, 12; John 6:37-39). This was like Jacob, who was held accountable for the livestock he had received from Laban (Genesis 31:39-40).

Fourth, being given to Him, and He having undertaken on their behalf to do and suffer everything required on their part, He received — on their behalf and for them — all the promises of every mercy, grace, blessing, and privilege they were to receive on account of His undertaking. On this basis, eternal life is said to have been promised by God before the ages began (Titus 1:2) — that is, promised to the Son of God for us, given His undertaking on our behalf. And grace is also said to have been given to us before time began (2 Timothy 1:9) — that is, in Christ, our appointed head, mediator, and representative.

Fifth, Christ being thus a public person — a mediator, guarantor, and representative of His church — was, through the merit of His undertaking and by solemn declaration upon its completion, fully acquitted, absolved, publicly declared, and freed from everything that had been charged against Him on behalf of the elect. As to all the merit and efficacy of His work, He was immediately acquitted upon His faithfulness in His original engagement — so that all the saints of the Old Testament were saved by His blood no less than we are. As to solemn declaration, He was publicly acquitted when, the chains of death having been broken, He was declared to be the Son of God with power through His resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). God said to Him, 'You are My Son; today I have begotten You' (Psalm 2:7; Acts 13:33). Christ expressed His confidence in this acquittal in Isaiah 50:6-9. And He was justified (1 Timothy 3:16). What I mean by this acquittal of Christ as a public person is this: God had placed Him under the law in the place of those who were under it (Galatians 4:4), subject to the punishment due for sin — making Him sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) — and so gave justice and law and all the consequences of the curse power over Him (Isaiah 53:6). When He had undergone everything required of Him (Isaiah 53:12), God broke the power and pangs of death, accepted Him, and was pleased with Him in the completion of His work (John 17:3-6). He declared Him free from the obligation that had rested on Him (Acts 13) and gave Him the promise of all the good things He had sought and His soul had desired. All the promises of God made to Christ and their fulfillment rest on this — as do all the encouragements given Him to ask and claim the things originally promised to Him (Psalm 2:8), which He did accordingly (John 17). Here lies the certain and stable foundation of our acquittal and acceptance with God. Christ standing in our place, acting as our guarantor, was acquitted and absolved — publicly declared to have paid the entire debt He had taken on and to have made full satisfaction for all the wrong we had done. A general pardon was thereby sealed for all of us, to be received personally by each one in the appointed way.

Christ having been acquitted as a public person, it became right — by the terms of the covenant, agreement, and arrangement between Him and the Father — that those in whose place He stood should receive and have bestowed on them all the fruits of His death in reconciliation with God (Romans 5:8-11). Just as Christ received the general acquittal on behalf of them all, each one of them individually would enjoy it. This is shown throughout Scripture in those expressions that describe the exchange God designed in this matter, as in 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:13, and 1 Peter 2:21-24.

Seventh, being thus acquitted in the covenant of the mediator — from which they are said to be circumcised with Him, to die with Him, to be buried with Him, to rise with Him, and to sit with Him in heavenly places — and it being right that they should be personally acquitted in the covenant of grace, it was determined by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that the way of their actual personal deliverance from the sentence and curse of the law would unfold through a manner and ordering that would bring praise to the glorious grace of God (Ephesians 1:5-7). God's purpose is that we receive adoption as His children. The means is through Jesus Christ. The specific way it is brought about is through the redemption found in His blood. The end is the praise of His glorious grace.

Eighth, until the appointed time of their actual deliverance — fixed for each person in his own generation — arrives, they remain personally under the curse of the law and are therefore legally subject to the wrath of God, from which they will certainly be delivered. They are personally subject to the law and its curse, but not at all with its original purpose of executing that curse against them. Rather, it serves as a means appointed to bring them to know Christ and to be accepted with God on His account. When this purpose is fulfilled, that whole obligation ceases — having been allowed to rest on them in a design of love, since without it they could not be brought to a participation in Christ, to the praise of the glorious grace of God.

Ninth, the purpose of the whole arrangement of grace is to glorify the entire Trinity, and the order fixed for this is to ascend to the Father's love through the work of the Spirit and the blood of the Son. The outflow of divine love to us begins with the Father, is carried forward by the Son, and is applied by the Spirit — the Father designing, the Son purchasing, the Spirit effectually working. That is their order. Our participation begins with the Spirit's work, which brings us into actual possession of the blood of the Son, through which we receive acceptance with the Father.

This, then, is the order by which we are brought to acceptance with the Father, for the glory of God through Christ.

First, so that the Spirit may be glorified, He is given to us to make us alive, convert us, and work faith in us (Romans 8:11; Ephesians 1:19-20), according to all the promises of the covenant (Isaiah 44:3-5; Ezekiel 19:11; Ezekiel 36:26).

Second, when this has been worked in us — for the glory of the Son — we are at that same moment actually brought into the benefits of Christ's blood, according to the terms of the covenant. Indeed, this very work of the Spirit is itself a fruit and part of what Christ purchased, but we are speaking of how we experience this — and the communication of the Spirit comes first in that experience.

Third, to the glory of the Father, we are accepted by Him — justified, freed from guilt, pardoned, and at peace with God (Romans 5:1). Through Christ we have access to the Father by one Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). And so the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all glorified in our justification and acceptance with God: the Father in His free love, the Son in His complete purchase, and the Holy Spirit in His effective working.

Tenth, all of this — in every part of it — is no less fully secured for us, and no less freely given for Christ's sake and on His account, as part of His purchase and merit, than if all of us had been taken directly to heaven the moment He died. This particular path of our deliverance and freedom was chosen so that the whole Trinity would be glorified through it. This is a sufficient answer to the first objection. Though our reconciliation with God was fully and completely secured by the death of Christ, and all the means by which it is accomplished are complete, we are still brought into actual enjoyment of it through the way and order described — for the praise of the glorious grace of God.

The second objection is this: if the righteousness and obedience of Christ to the law is credited to us, why do we need to yield any obedience ourselves? I will answer this as briefly as I can in the following observations.

First, placing our gospel obedience on the right footing — so that it is neither elevated to a role, condition, or purpose God did not give it, nor stripped of its reason, cause, motivation, or necessity — is a matter of great importance. Some make our obedience and works of faith the ground or cause of our justification. Some make it the condition on which Christ's righteousness is credited to us. Some make it the qualifying mark of the person who is justified. On the other hand, some remove all necessity of obedience and turn the grace of God into an excuse for sin. It is not my purpose here to debate these differences. I will only say this: for this and other reasons, rightly understanding the place of our obedience is vital to how we walk with God.

Second, we in no way assign the same place, role, and use to Christ's obedience credited to us and to our own obedience rendered to God. If we did, they would truly be contradictory. That is why those who claim our obedience is the condition or cause of our justification all end up denying that Christ's obedience is credited to us. The righteousness of Christ is credited to us as that on account of which we are accepted and counted righteous before God — and we truly are righteous, though not inherently. We are as genuinely righteous with Christ's obedience credited to us as Adam was or could have been with a complete righteousness of his own doing. As Romans 5:18 says: through His obedience we are made righteous — truly made so and truly accepted — just as through Adam's disobedience we were truly made transgressors and counted as such. This is what the apostle desires to be found in, in contrast to his own righteousness (Philippians 3:9). But our own obedience is not the righteousness on the basis of which we are accepted and justified before God — even though it is pleasing to God that we abound in it. The apostle makes this distinction clearly in Ephesians 2:8-10: 'For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.' 'For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.' We are saved — or justified, which is the apostle's topic — by grace through faith, which receives Jesus Christ and His obedience. Not by works, so that no one may boast. But which works does the apostle mean? The works of believers, as the very next words make clear: 'for we are His workmanship' — we believers, with our obedience and our works. Yet why are works still needed? Because we are His workmanship — there is still a need.

The apostle suggests two things in these words.

First, a reason why we cannot be saved by works: because we do not perform them in our own strength, which would be required if we were to be saved or justified by them. But this is not the case, says the apostle — for we are the workmanship of God. All our works are produced in us by the full and effective grace we did nothing to deserve.

Second, an affirmation of the necessity of good works, despite the fact that we are not saved by them. That is, God has ordained that we shall walk in them — which is a sufficient basis for our obedience, whatever its specific role may be.

What, then, are the true and proper gospel grounds, reasons, uses, and motivations for our obedience — by which its necessity can be demonstrated and our souls stirred to abound and bear fruit in it? They are so numerous, reaching so deep into the mystery of the gospel and the arrangement of grace, and spreading throughout the whole revelation of God's will, that to address them fully would require far more space than is available here. I will give only brief headings of what could be developed at greater length.

First, our complete obedience and good works are absolutely necessary by the sovereign will and appointment of God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In general: this is the will of God — our sanctification and holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:3). God wills that we be holy, that we be obedient, that we do His will as the angels do in heaven. The fairness, necessity, benefit, and advantage of this basis for our obedience could be developed at length. But even if there were nothing else, this would be sufficient on its own — if it is the will of God, it is our duty.

The Father has ordained and appointed it; it is the will of the Father (Ephesians 2:10, where the Father is spoken of personally and Christ is mentioned as Mediator).

The Son has ordained and appointed it as Mediator. 'You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain' (John 15:16).

The Holy Spirit also appoints and calls believers to works of obedience and holiness, and to bring holiness to others. Specifically, in Acts 13:2, He appoints and designates people to the great work of obedience in preaching the gospel — and when people sin, they sin against Him.

Second, our holiness and obedience — our works of righteousness — are one prominent and special end of the unique working of the Father, Son, and Spirit in exalting God's glory in our salvation: of the electing love of the Father, the purchasing love of the Son, and the active love of the Spirit.

It is a special end of the Father's electing love. He chose us so that we should be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4; see also Isaiah 4:3-4). His aim and design in choosing us was that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love. This He will accomplish and bring to completion in those who are His. He chose us for salvation through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and belief of the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:12). The Father designed this as the first and immediate end of His electing love, and He presents that love as a motivation for holiness (1 John 4:8-10).

It is also an end of the exceeding love of the Son, to which there are countless testimonies. 'Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed, and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds' (Titus 2:14). This was His aim and design in giving Himself for us. 'Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless' (Ephesians 5:25-27). See also 2 Corinthians 5:15 and Romans 6:5.

It is the very work of the love of the Holy Spirit. His entire work upon us, in us, and for us consists in preparing us for obedience, enabling us to walk in it, and bringing forth its fruits in us. He does this in contrast to any righteousness of our own, either before it or made up by it (Titus 3:5). The fruit of the Spirit in us is well known (Galatians 5:22).

So we have a twofold foundation for the necessity of our obedience and personal holiness. God has appointed it and requires it. And it is a clear and immediate end of the distinct working of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our salvation. If God's sovereignty over us is to be honored, if His love for us is to be heeded, if the whole work of the ever-blessed Trinity for us and in us means anything at all — our obedience is necessary.

Third, it is necessary in regard to its end — whether you consider God, ourselves, or the world.

The end of our obedience with regard to God is His glory and honor (Malachi 1:6). He will claim His honor from even the most stubborn rebel in the world, but all that we give Him flows from our obedience. Glorifying God through our obedience is everything we are or can be.

It brings glory to the Father. 'Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven' (Matthew 5:16). When we walk in the light of faith, glory rises to the Father; the fruits of His love, His grace, and His kindness are visible in us, and God is glorified through us.

The Son is glorified by our obedience as well. It is God's will that all people honor the Son just as they honor the Father (John 5:23) — and this happens through believing in Him (John 14:1) and obeying Him. Therefore in John 17:10 He says He is glorified in believers, and He prays for increased grace and unity for them so that He may be more fully glorified, and so that all may know that He was sent by God as Mediator.

The Spirit is also glorified by our obedience. He is grieved by our disobedience (Ephesians 4:30), and so His glory is expressed in our bearing fruit. He dwells in us as in His temple, which must not be defiled. Holiness belongs to His dwelling place forever.

If what has been said is not enough to prove the necessity of our obedience, then we must assume we are speaking with people who have no regard for the sovereignty, love, or glory of God — Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. Let people say what they will — even if our obedience were entirely disregarded, which is impossible since God is not unrighteous to forget our labor of love — yet here is a more than sufficient foundation and reason to yield more obedience to God than we will ever manage to give in this life. I am speaking here only of the gospel grounds of obedience, not of the natural and moral grounds, which are binding on all of humanity.

Second, with regard to ourselves, the end of our obedience is threefold: honor, peace, and usefulness.

Honor: it is through holiness that we are made like God and His image is renewed in us. This was our honor at creation; it lifted us above all other creatures on earth — we were made in the image of God. We lost this through sin and became like the animals that perish. We are restored to this honor of conformity to God, of bearing His image, only through holiness. 'Be holy, for I am holy,' God says (1 Peter 1:16). 'Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect' (Matthew 5:48) — a likeness and conformity to Him. Here the image of God is renewed: 'put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth' (Ephesians 4:23-24). This image was once paired with power and dominion — it is still everything that is beautiful and precious in the world, and it makes a person honorable and treasured in the sight of God, of angels, and of other people.

Peace: through holiness we have communion with God, and peace is found only in that communion. The wicked are like a restless sea that cannot be still, and 'there is no peace for the wicked,' says God (Isaiah 48:22). There is no peace, rest, or quietness in distance, separation, or estrangement from God. He is the rest of our souls; in the light of His face there is life and peace. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7), and our fellowship is truly with the Father and with the Son Jesus Christ (verse 3). The person who walks in the light of renewed obedience has communion with God, and in His presence is fullness of joy forever. Without it there is nothing but darkness, wandering, and confusion.

Usefulness: a person without holiness is good for nothing. Ephraim, says the prophet, is an empty vine that bears fruit only for itself. And what is such a vine good for? Nothing, says another prophet — you cannot even make a peg from it to hang a vessel on. A barren tree is good for nothing but to be cut down and burned. However much men seem useful in serving God's providence in their generation, the world and the church could do without them, and in themselves they are good for nothing. Only the holy person is a genuine blessing to others.

Third, with regard to others in the world, obedience serves many purposes. It silences and shames some of God's enemies, both in this life and at the judgment. In this life: 'keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame' (1 Peter 3:16). By living with a clear conscience, believers put false accusers to shame — the malice and hatred of God's ways that drove people to speak evil against His followers is overcome by the holiness and righteousness of the saints. Those accusers are convicted and put to shame like a thief caught in the act, and are driven to acknowledge that God is among believers and that they themselves are wicked (John 17:23). At the final judgment: the saints will judge the world. Their good works, their righteousness, and their holiness will be displayed before all, and the justice of God's judgments against the wicked will be made plain. 'See,' says Christ, 'these are the ones I acknowledge — those you despised and rejected — and see the works that follow them' (Matthew 25:42-43).

Obedience also serves the conversion of others. 'Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation' (1 Peter 2:12; see also Matthew 5:16). Even revilers, persecutors, and slanderers have been won over by the consistent holy lives of believers, and when their day of visitation came, they glorified God because of it (1 Peter 3:1-2).

Obedience also benefits everyone — partly by keeping God's judgments from others, as ten righteous men would have preserved Sodom (Genesis 18:32-33) — and partly through the real good that believers bring to those around them in their generation. Holiness makes a person genuinely good, useful to all, and others continually eat of the fruit of the Spirit that he produces.

Fourth, obedience is necessary in view of the state and condition of justified persons — whether you consider their standing of acceptance before God or their condition of sanctification.

They have been accepted and welcomed into friendship with a holy God — a God whose eyes are too pure to look on evil, who hates every unclean thing. Is it not necessary that those who are admitted into His presence, who walk before Him and rest in His embrace, should be holy? Should they not diligently cleanse themselves from all defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord (2 Corinthians 7:1)?

In regard to sanctification: we have a new nature within us (2 Corinthians 5:17). This new nature is fed, cared for, nourished, and kept alive by the fruit of holiness. Why has God given us new hearts and new natures? Is it so that we should starve them, smother this new life found in us, or hand it over to the old nature to be destroyed?

Fifth, obedience is necessary in view of the proper place of holiness in the new covenant, and that place is twofold.

First, holiness is the means to the end. God has appointed holiness as the path — the way — to the eternal life that, in its source and nature, is His gift through Jesus Christ. Yet because God has ordained our obedience as the means of obtaining it, eternal life is a reward, and God in giving it is a rewarder. Though holiness is neither the cause, the basis, nor the condition of our justification, it is still the path God has appointed for us to walk in on the way to salvation. Therefore the one who has hope of eternal life purifies himself as God is pure — and no one will ever reach that end who does not walk that path, for without holiness no one will see God.

Second, holiness is a testimony and pledge of adoption — a sign and evidence of grace, that is, of acceptance with God. Third, it is the whole expression of our thankfulness. Not one of all these reasons for the absolute necessity of our obedience, good works, and personal righteousness could be fully explained without a much longer treatment than I have given here. The person who, given all these reasons, does not see universal holiness and obedience as absolutely necessary — unless they also want to elevate it into the place of Christ's obedience and righteousness — let him remain as he is.

With these objections removed, and having set out at the beginning of this chapter what Christ does on His part for our fellowship with Him in this purchased grace of acceptance with God, it remains to show what is required and done on our part to complete it. This consists of the following particulars.

First, the saints wholeheartedly approve of this righteousness as the only one that is completely sufficient to make them acceptable before God. This approval rests on five things.

First, a clear and full conviction of the need for a righteousness to appear before God. This is always on their minds; throughout their lives they take it for granted. Many people spend their days in hardness and stubbornness, never once asking what their condition will be when they enter eternity. Others waste their time and their souls, sowing empty hopes and preparing to reap a harvest of wrath. But this lies at the foundation of all the saints' communion with Christ: a deep, settled, unshakable conviction of the absolute and unavoidable need for a righteousness to stand before God. The holiness of God's nature, the righteousness of His government, the severity of His law, and the terror of His wrath are always before them. They have all been convicted of sin and have seen themselves on the verge of sinking under the judgment it deserves. They have all cried out: what must we do to be saved? With what shall we appear before God? And they have all concluded that it is useless to comfort themselves with hopes of escaping as they are by nature. If God is holy and righteous, too pure to look on evil, they must have a righteousness to stand before Him. They know what people will cry on that day who now carry themselves as if they thought otherwise (Isaiah 53:15; Micah 7:6-7).

Second, they weigh their own righteousness in the balance and find it lacking. This happens in two ways.

First, in general and on the whole matter, as they first set themselves before God. When people are convinced of the need for a righteousness, they grab at anything that presents itself — like someone about to go under in deep water, clutching at whatever is nearest to keep from drowning, which sometimes turns out to be a rotten branch that sinks with them. So the Jews did (Romans 9:31-32) — they grabbed hold of the law, and it did not help them. The law set them on establishing a righteousness of their own; this kept them busy and hopeful, but it kept them from submitting to the righteousness of God. Many perish here, never getting one step closer to God all their days. The saints renounce this approach. They have no confidence in the flesh; they know that everything they can do, everything the law can do — which is weakened by the flesh — will not save them. Consider the judgment Paul makes of all a person's own righteousness in Philippians 3:8-10. The saints carry this conviction daily, filling their minds with the settled awareness that on the basis of what they have done, can do, or ever will do, they cannot be accepted by God or justified before Him. This keeps their souls humble and full of a sense of their own unworthiness all their days.

Second, in particular: they daily examine all their specific actions and find them lacking in any completeness that could be accepted by God on its own. Such a believer says: if I had nothing to commend me to God but this prayer, this duty, this victory over a temptation — in all of which I myself see so many failures and so much imperfection — could I stand before Him with any boldness? Shall I stitch together a garment of righteousness from my best duties? It is all like a filthy cloth (Isaiah 64:6). These thoughts accompany them in all their duties, even in their best and most sincere performances. Lord, what am I even at my best? How little of what I do truly matches Your holiness? O spare me — even for the best thing I have ever done in my life. When a person who lives on convictions gets some freedom in prayer or some victory over sin, he congratulates himself like Micah who had gotten a Levite as his priest — surely now things will go well. But the one who truly has communion with Christ, when he is at his highest point in sanctification and holiness, is clearest in seeing his own inadequacy, and he pushes away every thought that rises to settle his peace in or upon those duties. He says to his soul: do these things seem significant to you? You are dealing with an infinitely righteous God who sees through and through all the vanity that you barely know is there. If He dealt with you according to your best works, you would perish.

Third, they approve, value, and rejoice in this righteousness for their acceptance — the righteousness the Lord Jesus has worked out and provided for them. When it is revealed to them, they embrace it with all their hearts and find rest in it. 'Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength' (Isaiah 45:24). This is their voice when the righteousness of God in Christ becomes known to them: here is true righteousness, here my soul finds rest. Like the merchant in the parable (Matthew 13:45-46) who finds the pearl of great price — I had been searching everywhere, looking this way and that for help, but it was far off. I wore myself out pursuing what was not bread. Here is what truly makes me rich forever. When the righteousness of Christ for acceptance with God is first revealed to a weary soul that has sought rest and found none, that person is surprised and overwhelmed, scarcely able to contain themselves. Such a person always approves this righteousness in his heart on five grounds.

First, as full of infinite wisdom. 'Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God,' says the apostle, to those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:24). They see infinite wisdom in this way of their acceptance with God. 'In what darkness, in what confusion, in what entanglements was my poor soul,' such a person says. How unable was I to see through the clouds and difficulties that surrounded me. I looked inward and found nothing but sin, horror, fear, and trembling. I looked upward and saw nothing but wrath, curses, and judgment. I knew that God was holy and righteous and that nothing unclean could stand before Him. I knew that I was poor, vile, unclean, and sinful — and I had no idea how to bring those two facts together in peace. But in the righteousness of Christ, a world of wisdom opens up, scattering all difficulties and darkness, and revealing a reconciliation of everything. 'Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!' (Romans 11:33; Colossians 2:3).

Second, they approve of this righteousness as full of grace. They know that sin had shut off every path of grace toward them — and since God aims above all at the display of His grace, they were completely cut off from it. Now to have a complete righteousness provided, while grace overflows in abundance, delights the soul — to have God dealing with their person in pure grace, and dealing with their sin in pure justice. God assures us throughout Scripture that this righteousness is of grace. It is by grace and not at all of works (Romans 11:6), as the apostle sets out at length in Ephesians 2:7-9. It is from the riches of grace and kindness that this righteousness has been provided. It is of sheer grace that it is given to us; it is not at all of works. Though it is in itself a righteousness of works, yet to us it comes as pure grace. As Titus 3:4-7 says: 'When the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.' The source of this whole arrangement is kindness and love — that is, grace (verse 4). Negatively, the way it comes to us is not through righteous works we have done; positively, it comes through the communication of the Holy Spirit (verse 5). The means of securing it is Jesus Christ (verse 6); the work itself is by grace (verse 7). Here nearly every word that could express the exceeding richness of God's grace, kindness, mercy, and goodness is brought in — His generosity and willingness to give of Himself; His mercy and readiness to help those He loves; His compassion and tenderness toward those who suffer; and His free, undeserved pardoning love — all of them working together in this. In giving the Holy Spirit, He poured Him out richly, like water poured freely from a vessel without pause or holding back. The saints of God in their communion with Christ greatly rejoice in this before Him — that the way of their acceptance with God is a way of grace, kindness, and mercy — so that they boast not in themselves but in the Lord and His goodness, crying out: how great is Your goodness, how great is Your bounty!

Third, they approve and rejoice in this righteousness as a way of great peace and security for their souls. They remember what their condition was while they were trying to set up a righteousness of their own, refusing to submit to the righteousness of Christ — how miserably they were tossed about by constantly shifting thoughts. At times they had hope; at other times they were full of fear. Sometimes they thought they were in a good condition, and soon found themselves at the very edge of hell, their consciences torn by sin and terror. But now, being justified by faith, they have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Everything is quiet and at rest. Not only has that storm passed, but they have arrived at the haven they were seeking. They have a lasting peace with God. Hence that description of Christ to a weary soul in Isaiah 32:2: 'a man will be like a hiding place from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.' Wind and storm and thirst and weariness — none of it troubles the soul that is in Christ. He has a hiding place and a shelter, streams of water and the shade of a great rock for his security. This is the great mystery of faith in our acceptance with God through Christ: while a believer finds in himself more than enough to tear his heart apart and fill him with fear, terror, and restlessness every day of his life, yet through Christ he is at perfect peace with God (Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 4:6-8). Therefore the souls of believers greatly magnify Jesus Christ — that they can look into the face of God with boldness, confidence, peace, joy, and assurance; that they can call Him Father, rest in His love, and go about their lives in quietness and without fear. They remember the bitterness and grief they have known, the tears and trembling of their souls like a leaf in the wind whenever they thought of God — and to be brought now to settledness and security fills them with deep gratitude.

Fourth, they wholeheartedly approve of this righteousness because it is a way that greatly exalts and honors the Lord Jesus, whom their souls love. Once brought into an acquaintance with Jesus Christ, their hearts desire nothing more than that He be honored and glorified in every way and have first place in all things. What could more fully advance and honor Him in their hearts than to know that He has been made by God their wisdom and righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30)? Not that He contributes this or that part of their acceptance with God — He is all; He is the whole. In everything concerning their acceptance with God, He is everything.

First, Christ is honored by God the Father. 'He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father' (Philippians 2:7-10). On account of His suffering, and as the result of it, He was honored and exalted by God to an indescribable eminence, dignity, and authority, as God had promised Him for this reason (Isaiah 53:11-12; Acts 2:36; Acts 5:30-31). Therefore it is said that after He had made purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3).

Second, He is honored on this account by all the angels in heaven — because of this great work of bringing sinners to God. They not only bow down and long to look into the mystery of the cross (1 Peter 1:12), but continually worship and praise Him for it. 'Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever"' (Revelation 5:11-14). The reason given for this glorious ascription of honor and glory to Jesus Christ by all of heaven is that He was the Lamb who was slain — it is because of the work of our redemption and our being brought to God. It is no small refreshment and joy to the souls of the saints to know that all the angels of God — the whole host of heaven, who never sinned — yet continually rejoice and ascribe praise and honor to the Lord Jesus for bringing them into peace and favor with God.

Third, He is honored by His saints throughout the world. And indeed if they do not honor Him, who should? If they do not honor the Son as they honor the Father, they would be the most unworthy of all people. Hear what they say: 'To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood — and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father — to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen' (Revelation 1:5-6). And again: 'The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth"' (Revelation 5:8-10). The great solemn worship of the Christian church consists in this ascription of honor and glory to the Lord Jesus. Therefore they love Him, honor Him, and delight in Him — as Paul did (Philippians 3:8) and as the bride does in Song of Solomon 5:9-11.

Fifth, they wholeheartedly approve of this righteousness — this way of acceptance — as one that brings glory to God. When they were struggling under the guilt of sin, what troubled their souls most was that their deliverance seemed to conflict with the glory and honor of the great God — with His justice, faithfulness, and truth, all of which stood against sin. They could not see how to escape ruin without those attributes being dishonored. But now, through the revelation of this righteousness from faith to faith (Romans 1:17), they clearly see that all the perfections of God are greatly glorified in the pardon, justification, and acceptance of poor sinners, as was shown earlier.

This is the first way the saints hold daily communion with the Lord Jesus in this purchased grace of acceptance with God. They consider, approve of, and rejoice in the way, the means, and the reality of it itself.

Second, they make an actual exchange with the Lord Jesus — their sins for His righteousness. This also has several parts.

First, they continually keep alive in their hearts a sense of the guilt and evil of sin, even when they enjoy a comforting assurance of their personal acceptance with God. A sense of pardon removes the horror and fear, but it does not remove a proper awareness of the guilt of sin. The daily exercise of God's saints is to consider the great offensiveness of sin — their own sin, the sin of their nature and their lives — to see themselves as vile on that account, to measure it against the terror of the Lord, and to judge themselves continually. 'My sin is ever before me,' says David. They keep sin before them not to terrify and paralyze their souls, but to keep a right sense of its evil alive in their hearts.

Second, they gather up in their minds the sins for which they have not yet made a particular reckoning with God in Christ — or if they have begun to, they have not resolved the matter fully or come to clear and peaceful terms. Nothing is more dangerous than for a person to be able to digest his convictions — to have sin stare him in the face and speak some words of terror to him, and then to push it aside through distraction or delay without coming to a full reckoning about his state before God. The saints do not do this. They gather their sins, weigh them by the law, and honestly consider their weight and what they deserve. And then —

Third, they make this exchange I am describing with Jesus Christ.

First, they seriously consider — and by faith overcome all objections to the contrary — that Jesus Christ, by the will and appointment of the Father, has truly undergone the punishment due to the very sins they now bring before Him. Isaiah 53:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21. He has as certainly and truly satisfied the justice of God for those sins as if the sinner himself had at that very moment been cast into hell.

Second, they listen to the voice of Christ calling them to come to Him with their burden. 'Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden' — come with your burdens. Come, poor soul, with your guilt of sin. What should you do with it? 'This is Mine,' says Christ. 'This is the agreement I made with My Father — that I would come and take your sins and carry them away. They were assigned to Me. Give Me your burden, give Me all your sins. You do not know what to do with them; I know exactly how to deal with them, so that God will be glorified and your soul will be set free.'

Third, they lay their sins down at the cross of Christ, placing them on His shoulders. This is faith's great and bold venture on the grace, faithfulness, and truth of God. To stand at the cross and say: He was wounded for my sins and crushed for my transgressions, and the punishment that brought me peace fell on Him. He has been made sin for me. Here I hand over my sins to the One who is able to bear them and to answer for them. He calls me to be willing for Him to take them on, and I gladly consent. This is every day's work. I do not know how any peace with God can be maintained without it. If it is the soul's task to receive Christ as having been made sin for us, we must receive Him as the One who takes our sins upon Himself. Not as though He dies again or suffers again — but as the faith of the saints of old made present and visible what had not yet occurred (Hebrews 11:1), so faith now makes present what was accomplished and completed many generations ago. This is what it means to know Christ crucified.

Fourth, having by faith given their sins to Christ and seen God laying them all on Him, they draw near and receive from Him the righteousness He has worked out for them. This fulfills everything the apostle says in 2 Corinthians 5:21: 'He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.' They see Him offering Himself and His righteousness to be their righteousness before God. They take it, receive it, and complete this blessed exchange of faith. Wrath, the curse, condemnation, death, sin with all its guilt — He took it all and takes it all away. With Him they leave everything of that nature that belongs to them, and from Him they receive love, life, righteousness, and peace.

Objection: surely this approach can never be acceptable to Jesus Christ. What? Are we to come to Him daily with our filth, our guilt, our sins? Will He not — must He not — tell us to keep them to ourselves? Are we always to be giving sins and receiving righteousness?

Answer: there is nothing that Jesus Christ is more delighted with than for His saints to always hold communion with Him in this giving and receiving.

First, this greatly honors Him and gives Him the glory that is rightly His. Many cry 'Lord, Lord' and speak His name, but honor Him not at all. They take His work out of His hands and attribute it to other things. Their repentance, their duties, will carry their sins — they do not say this, but that is how they act. Whatever exchange they make, if any, is with themselves. All their reckoning about sin stays within their own souls. The whole purpose of Christ's coming into the world was to bear our iniquities and lay down His life as a ransom for our sins. The cup He had to drink was filled with our sins and the punishment they deserved. What greater dishonor, then, can be done to the Lord Jesus than to attribute this work to something else — to think we can get rid of our sins by any other way or means? Christ is truly honored when we go to Him with our sins by faith and say: Lord, this is Your work; this is what You came into the world for; this is what You undertook to do. You call for my burden, which is too heavy for me to carry. Take it, blessed Redeemer. You offer Your righteousness — that is my portion. Christ is honored, His glory as Mediator is acknowledged, when we walk with Him in this communion.

Second, this deeply endears the souls of the saints to Him and moves them to place a fitting value on Him, His love, His righteousness, and His grace. When they find it and live in it daily, they cannot help but do so. Who would not love Him? 'I have been with the Lord Jesus,' the poor soul may say. 'I have left my sins and my burden with Him, and He has given me His righteousness, with which I am going boldly to God.' I was dead and am alive, because He died for me. I was cursed and am blessed, because He was made a curse for me. I was troubled, but now have peace, because the punishment that brought me peace fell on Him. I did not know what to do or where to take my sorrow, but through Him I have received joy that is inexpressible and full of glory. If I do not love Him, delight in Him, obey Him, live for Him, and die for Him, I am worse than the devils in hell. Christ's great purpose in the world is to hold the highest place in the hearts of His people — to have there, as He has in Himself, first place in everything; not to be pushed around among competing things, but to be all and in all. And so God's saints are prepared to esteem Him when they engage in this communion with Him.

Objection: if this is so, why do we need to repent or change our ways? We can simply go to Christ by faith, make this exchange, and then sin so that grace may abound.

Answer: I pass no judgment on any person, but I must say this — I do not understand how someone who raises this objection calmly and in earnest, and not under the pressure of temptation or some momentary darkness, can have any true acquaintance with Jesus Christ. But this I am certain of: this communion in itself produces effects that are the exact opposite of those assumed in the objection.

As for repentance: I take it that what is meant here is gospel repentance. This communion does take away, prevent, and drive out a legal, fear-driven repentance full of dread, alarm, terror, self-preservation, and horror before God. But gospel repentance — which consists in godly sorrow for sin and its abandonment, flowing from faith, love, and a hatred of sin on account of the Father, Son, and Spirit — that kind of repentance cannot possibly be hindered by this communion. The very foundation of this communion is a deep, serious, daily consideration of sin — its guilt, its ugliness, and its wickedness — and of our own wretchedness on that account. A sense of this must be kept alive in the heart of anyone who would enjoy this communion with Christ — without it, Christ has no value or worth to him. Is it possible for a person to daily fill his heart with thoughts of the vileness of sin in every way — by the law, by love, by grace, by the gospel, by life and death — and be filled with self-disgust on that account, and yet remain a stranger to godly sorrow? Here is the mistake: the very thing they suppose this communion destroys is what it is actually built on.

As for obedience: if Christ is glorified and honored by taking our sins, does it follow that the more we bring to Him, the more He will be glorified? One would not suppose anyone would raise this objection, but the Holy Spirit — who knows what is in the human heart — has raised it on their behalf, in their own name (Romans 6:1-3). The very same doctrine I have set out, when delivered in Romans 5:18-20, faces the same objection. For those who think it has any force, I refer them to the apostle's answer in that chapter, and also to what was already said about the necessity of our obedience even in light of the imputed righteousness of Christ.

But you may ask: how should we actually go about practicing this? What is the path to walk in?

Faith exercises itself in this communion especially in three ways.

First, through meditation. The heart goes over in its thoughts the matters discussed above — sometimes separately, sometimes together, sometimes dwelling mainly on one thing and sometimes on another. At one time the soul may be most occupied with its own sinfulness, filling itself with shame and self-disgust on that account. At another time it is filled with thoughts of the righteousness of Christ and with inexpressible, glorious joy. Especially at critical moments — when weighed down and burdened by carelessness or the eruption of some sin — the soul then goes through the whole work and brings things to a resolution with God, and takes up the peace that Christ has secured for it.

Second, by turning to and meditating on the promises of the gospel, which present all these things: the excellence, fullness, and suitability of Christ's righteousness; the rejection of all false righteousness; and the exchange accomplished in the love of God, which was described earlier.

Third, through prayer — it is in prayer that their souls carry out this work day by day. This is the communion all the saints hold with the Lord Jesus in their acceptance with God — which was the first thing proposed for consideration.