The Two Peculiar Acts of the Father within the Work of Redemption

Appointing the Son to the Workplace of Mediator

First, an authoritative imposition of the workplace of mediator, which Christ closed withal, by his voluntary susception⁴ of it, willingly present process the workplace, whereby by dispensation the Father had and exercised a type of superiority, which the Son, although “within the type of God,” humbled himself unto (Phil. 2:6–7).⁵

Giving the Son the Presents and Graces for His Work

The second act of the Father’s sending the Son, is the furnishing of him in his sending, with a fullness of all items and graces, that may any method be requisite for the workplace he was to undertake, the work he was to bear, and the cost he had over the home of God.

There was certainly in Christ a twofold fullness and perfection of all religious excellencies. First the pure all-sufficient perfection of his Deity,⁶ as one together with his Father in respect of his divine nature: for his glory was “the glory of the one begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). The second fullness that was in Christ,⁷ was a communicated fullness, which was in him by dispensation from his Father bestowed upon him to suit him for his work and workplace, as he was and is the “Mediator between God and man, the person Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5), not as he’s the Lord of hosts, however as he’s “Immanuel God with us,”⁸ as he was a “Sonne given to us, referred to as wonderfull, Counsellour, the mighty God, the eternal Father, the Prince of peace, upon whose shoulders the federal government was to be” (Isa. 9:6).

Getting into into Covenant with the Son About This Work

The third act of this sending, is, his coming into into covenant, and compact together with his Son regarding the work to be undertaken, and the difficulty or occasion thereof: of which there be two components.

First his promise to guard and help him, within the accomplishment and ideal fulfilling of the entire enterprise and dispensation about which he was employed, or which he was to undertake. The Father engaged himself, that for his half, upon his Son’s enterprise this nice work of redemption, he wouldn’t be wanting in any help in trials, power in opposition to oppositions, encouragement in opposition to temptations, and robust comfort within the midst of terrors, which is likely to be any method vital or requisite to hold him on by means of all difficulties to the tip of so nice an employment.

Secondly of success, or a very good problem out of all his sufferings, and a cheerful accomplishment and attainment of the tip of his nice enterprise: now of all the remaining this mainly is to be thought-about, as immediately conducing to the enterprise proposed, which but wouldn’t have been so clear with out the previous concerns: for in any way it was that God promised his Son, ought to be fulfilled and attained by him, that actually was it, at which the Son aimed in the entire enterprise, and designed it as the tip of the work, that was dedicated to him, and which alone he may and did declare upon the accomplishment of his Father’s will: what this was, and the guarantees whereby it’s at massive set forth, you will have Isaiah 49.

There was certainly in Christ a twofold fullness and perfection of all religious excellencies.

Laying on Him the Punishment of Sin

The second is of laying upon him the punishment of sins, in every single place ascribed unto the Father: “ ‘Awake O sword in opposition to my shepheard, in opposition to the person that’s my fellow,’ saith the Lord of hosts: ‘Smite the shepheard and the sheepe shall bee scattered’ ” (Zech. 13:7). What right here is about down imperatively, by means of command is within the gospel indicatively expounded, “I’ll smite the shepheard, and the sheepe of the flocke shall bee scattered overseas” (Matt. 26:31). He was “stricken, smitten of God, and troubled,” yea “the Lord layed upon him the iniquity of us all,” yea it “happy the Lord to bruise him, and to place him to griefe” (Isa. 53:4, 6, 10), “hee made him to bee sinne for us, who knew no sinne, that we is likely to be made the righteousnesse of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

The adjunct in each locations is put for the topic, because the opposition between his being made sin, and our being made righteousness declares: “him who knew no sinne” that’s who deserved no punishment, “him hath he made to be sinne,” or laid the punishment because of sin upon him; or maybe within the latter place, “sin” could also be taken for an providing or sacrifice for the expiation of sin, ἁμαρτία answering on this place to the phrase חטאת⁹ within the Outdated Testomony which signifies each sin and the sacrifice for it. And this the Lord did, for as for Herod, Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the individuals of Israel, after they had been gathered collectively they did nothing however “what his hand and councell had decided earlier than to bee completed” (Acts 4:27–28), whence the nice shakings of our Savior, had been in his shut battle together with his Father’s wrath, and that burden which by himself he instantly imposed on him, when there was no hand or instrument outwardly showing to place him¹⁰ to any struggling or cruciating¹¹ torment; then “started he to bee sorrowfull even unto dying” (Matt. 26:37–38), to wit when he was within the backyard together with his three alternative apostles, earlier than the traitor or any of his accomplices appeared; then was he “sore amazed and really heavie” (Mark 14:34),¹² that was the time “within the dayes of his flesh when he supplied up prayers and supplications with sturdy cryes and teares unto him that was capable of save him from dying” (Heb. 5:7), which how he carried out the apostle describes, “There appeared an angell unto him from heaven strengthening him, however being in an agony he prayed extra earnestly, and his sweat was because it had been nice drops of blood falling downe to the bottom” (Luke 22:43–44): absolutely it was a detailed and robust trial and that instantly from his Father he now underwent: for a way meekly and cheerfully does he submit with none remorse or bother of spirit, to all of the cruelty of males, and violence supplied to his physique, till this battle being renewed once more, he cries, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”¹³

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And this by the way in which, can be value our remark, that we could know with whom our Savior mainly needed to do, and what was that which he underwent for sinners, which additionally will give some gentle to the grand quaere,¹⁴ regarding the individuals of them for whom he undertook all this: his sufferings had been removed from consisting in mere corporal perpessions¹⁵ and afflictions, with such impressions upon his soul and spirit, as had been the consequences and points solely of them: it was no extra, nor much less, than the curse of the legislation of God, which he underwent for us, for he freed us from the curse “by being made a curse” (Gal. 3:13), which contained all of the punishment that was because of sin, both within the severity of God’s justice, or in response to the exigence¹⁶ of that legislation which required obedience. That the execration¹⁷ of the legislation ought to be solely temporal dying, because the legislation was thought-about to be the instrument of the Jewish polity, and serving that financial system or dispensation, is true; however that it ought to be no extra as it’s the common rule of obedience and the bond of the covenant between God and man, is a silly dream. Nay however in dying for us Christ didn’t solely purpose at our good, but in addition immediately died in our stead: the punishment because of our sin and the chastisement of our peace was upon him: which that it was the pains of hell of their nature and being, of their weight and stress, although not in tendence¹⁸ and continuance (it being not possible that he ought to be detained by dying), who can deny, and never be injurious to the justice of God, which is able to inevitably inflict these pains to eternity upon sinners? It’s true certainly, there’s a rest of the legislation, in respect of the individuals struggling, God admitting of commutation: as within the outdated legislation when of their sacrifices, the lifetime of the beast was accepted (in respect to the carnal a part of the ordinances) for the lifetime of the person; that is absolutely revealed, and we consider it: however for any change of the punishment, in respect of the character of it, the place is the least intimation of any alteration? We conclude then this second act of God, in laying the punishment on him for us, with that of the prophet: “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have now turned each one to his personal method, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6). And add thereunto this remark, that it appears unusual to me, that Christ ought to bear the pains of hell of their stead, who lay within the pains of hell earlier than he underwent these pains, and shall proceed in them to eternity, for “their worme dieth not, neither is their hearth quenched.”¹⁹

The Universalists’ “Dilemma”

To which I could add this dilemma to our universalists: God imposed his wrath due unto, and Christ underwent the pains of hell for, both all of the sins of all males, or all of the sins of some males, or some sins of all males. If the final, some sins of all males, then have all males some sins to reply for, and so shall no man be saved, for “if God enter into judgment with us,”²⁰ although it had been with all mankind for one sin, “no flesh ought to be justified in his sight”:²¹ “if the Lord ought to marke iniquities who ought to stand?” (Ps. 130:3). We would all go to forged all that we have now, “to the moles and to the bats, to goe into the clefts of the rocks, and the tops of the ragged rocks for feare of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty” (Isa. 2:20–21). If the second; that’s it which we affirm, that Christ of their stead, and room, suffered for all of the sins of all of the elect on the earth. If the primary, why then are usually not all free of the punishment of all their sins? You’ll say, due to their unbelief, they won’t consider, however this unbelief, is it a sin or not? If not, why ought to they be punished for it? If it’s, then Christ underwent the punishment because of it, or not: if that’s the case, then why should that hinder them greater than their different sins for which he died, from partaking of the fruit of his dying: if he didn’t, then did he not die for all their sins? Allow them to select which half they are going to.

This text is tailored from The Demise of Christ revised by John Owen and edited by Richard Snoddy.

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