Section 3: The Reasons Why Christ and His Salvation May Be Represented to Us Under These Various Characters

The Great God was pleased to send his own Son Jesus Christ to save us by these various Characters or Offices, and to represent him to us under so many Relations, Emblems or Figures borrowed from the Things of Men, perhaps for such Reasons as these.

Reason 1. That those Attributes of the Divine Nature, namely his Wisdom, his Power, his Justice, his Mercy, his Faithfulness, and so forth which could not have so full an Illustration one way, or under one Expression or Metaphor, might have another. God is said to be just and kind, and faithful in the Forgiveness of our Sins through the Blood of Christ. He is just in bestowing this Blessing upon us, since Christ has become our Sacrifice of Atonement, and made full Satisfaction for our Offences: He is kind or merciful in appointing such a Forgiveness for us, and sending his own Son to purchase or procure it: He is faithful in fulfilling his Promise made to Jesus Christ, in the Covenant of Redemption, and bestowing upon us what Christ our Benefactor has purchased for us. His Wisdom also and his Goodness are rendered more conspicuous to us in contriving and effecting our Salvation, in assuring it to us, and bestowing it upon us in so many different ways and manners.

Reason 2. That our Lord Jesus Christ might be the better known by us, and the more endeared to us, by sustaining these various Offices and Relations; and that we might be able to borrow some further Ideas, and some clearer Knowledge of these divine and important things of our Salvation, from many of the common Affairs and Occurrences of Life. When the blessed God has taken so much care to provide such a Saviour for us, and such as illustrious Salvation, he is very desirous that we should view it on all Sides, and be more thoroughly acquainted with it, as well as with that blessed Person by whom he prepares and bestows it.

Reason 3. That all sorts of Persons, of whatsoever Temper or Capacity, whatsoever Want or Difficulty, they are in, might have wherewith to suit them and their Circumstances; that every Son and Daughter of Adam, in their various Ranks of Life, might all learn the way to receive this Saviour, and lay hold on this Salvation of Christ, and that he might render it easy and familiar to us by so many common Similitudes, or Parallels drawn from the things of common Life. And thus those who know not how to apply themselves to Christ one way, might do it another.

As for Instance, some poor feeble Creatures who are convinced of Sin, and ready to perish, perhaps may not know how to apply or address themselves to Christ, as a Surety or as a Sacrifice, or as a Redeemer, and so forth for these things are done already, and in a great measure were finished long ago. But the meanest and poorest Creatures can easily learn how to apply to Christ as a Mediator, to do something for them that is yet to be done, to reconcile them to God, and to bring them into his Presence with Comfort; or as a High Priest of Intercession, or as an Advocate to plead for them before the Throne of God, and their Faith can wait on Christ, can call upon him, and trust in him to make Intercession for them in the Virtue of his Blood, or to present his Blood before the Father as an Atonement for their Sins, to appear before God for them as their great Friend in Heaven, to become their Mediator, Peace-maker or Reconciler, to bring them into the Favour of God.

Those who are Infants, or Babes in Christ, may thus be nourished by the sincere Milk of the Word, and with Diet fitted for their feeble Capacity, when they are not sufficiently grown to bear strong Meat, as the Apostle expresses himself, Hebrews 5:12-14. Whereas those who are well grown Christians, and, in the Sense of the Apostle, may be called perfect, may know better how to converse with Christ as their great Representative, they may know and rejoice in him, and in the Power of his Resurrection, and the Fellowship of his Suffering, and be made conformable unto his Death; but those that are in a lower Form may not have their Apprehensions so well cleared, and so much raised at present, although afterwards God may reveal also these things unto them, Philippians 3:10, 15.

Reason 4. Christ is set forth under these various Characters, that as our Understanding in the Things of Religion, and in the Graces and Glories of Christ increases, we might take the faster hold of Christ, if I might so express it, and that we might have more various Exercises of our Faith, and more numerous Evidences of the Truth of our Faith, and secure to ourselves more solid ground of Hope, when we can view him in all these Relations, and our Faith can receive or lay hold of him under all these Forms. Thus we may hereby obtain double and triple Confirmation of our Faith and Comfort, Hebrews 6:17, 18. God gives us both his Promise and his Oath, to secure Salvation to us; he swears, in order to confirm what he had promised, that by several immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong Consolation, who have fled to lay hold of the Hope set before us.

Thus has God been pleased also to do in the various Representations he has made of Christ Jesus our Saviour, that our Meditations and Prayers, our Hopes and Dependencies, and indeed all the pious Exercises of our Souls towards Christ, might have a rich Variety for our Entertainment, Support and Joy; and therefore the Apostles have written these things unto the Disciples of Christ, that their Joy might be full. 1 John 1:4.

I add fifthly, another Reason is, that God our Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour might have the larger Revenues of Glory from us, and receive Honour from our Hands in a rich Variety; that we might have our Thank-Offerings rising up to God and the Lamb, in many Forms of Adoration and Expression; that we might bless our dear Redeemer, rejoice in him, and do Honour to his Name under all those happy Representations of his Grace and Glory, in which he has set himself before us in the Gospel.

The last Reason I will add, shall be this: That in all Ages the Followers of Christ might have a more clear and easy Relief, from those Difficulties and Controversies which may attend these great Doctrines of our Salvation, and which might darken and perplex the Way whereby God has appointed us to be made Partakers of this Blessing.