Of the incarnation of christ
John Gill
Having treated, in the
preceding Book, of the exhibition of the covenant of grace, both under the Old
and New Testament dispensations, and of the law and gospel, as held forth in
both; and of the latter only in a general way; I shall now proceed to consider, the particular, special, and important doctrines of
the gospel, which express the grace of Christ, and the blessings of grace by
him; and shall begin with the incarnation of the Son of God. This is a very
considerable part of the glad tidings of the gospel, and which give it that
name: when the angels related to the shepherds the birth of Christ, he said
unto them; "Behold I bring you good tidings of great
joy", &c. #Lu 2:10,11. The whole gospel is a mystery; the various
doctrines of it are the mysteries of the kingdom; the knowledge of which is
given to some, and not to others; it is the mystery of godliness, and, without
controversy, great; and this stands the first and principal article of it;
"God manifest in the flesh", #1Ti 3:16. This is the basis of the
Christian religion; a fundamental article of it; and without the
belief of it no man can be a Christian; "Every spirit that confesseth that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God"; born of God, and belongs to
him, and is on the side of God and truth; "And every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God",
#1Jo 4:2,3.
The
incarnation of Christ is a most extraordinary and amazing affair; it is
wonderful indeed, that the eternal Son of God should become man; that he should
be born of a pure virgin, without any concern of man in it; that this should be
brought about by the power of the Holy Ghost, in a way unseen, imperceptible
and unknown, signified by his overshadowing; and all this in order to effect
the most wonderful work that ever was done in the world, the
redemption and salvation of men: it is a most mysterious thing,
incomprehensible by men, and not to be accounted for upon the principles of
natural reason; and is only to be believed and embraced upon the credit of
divine revelation, to which it solely belongs. The heathens had some faint
notions of it; at least say some things similar to it. The Brachmanes
among the Indians, asserted, that Wistnavius, the second person of the
trine-une god with them, had nine times assumed a body, and sometimes an human
one; and would once more do the same again; and that he was once born of a
virgin {1}. Confucius, the famous Chinese philosopher, who lived almost five
hundred years before Christ, it is said {2}, foresaw that the Word would be
made flesh; and foretold the year in which it would be; and
which was the very year in which Christ was born: but this seems to savour too
much of the tale of a Christian in later times. However, several of the deities
and heroes of the heathens, Greeks and Romans, are represented as having no
father {3}. Now whatever notion the heathens had of an incarnate God, or of a
divine Person born of a virgin, in whatsoever manner expressed;
this was not owing to any discoveries made by the light of nature, but what was
traditionally handed down to them, and was the broken remains of a revelation
their ancestors were acquainted with. Otherwise the incarnation of the Son of
God, is a doctrine of pure revelation; in treating of which I shall consider,
1. First,
The subject of the incarnation, or the divine Person that became incarnate. The
evangelist John says it was the Word, the essential Word of God; "The word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us", #Joh 1:14. And therefore not the
Father; for he is distinguished from the "Word", in the order of the
Trinity, #1Jo 5:7. And, he is said to be the "Word with God"; that
is, with God the Father; and therefore must be distinct from
him, #Re 19:13 Ac 20:32 Joh 1:1. Besides, the Father never so much as appeared
in an human form; and much less took real flesh; nay, never was seen in any
shape by the Jews, #Joh 5:37. And though their anceston. heard a voice, and a
terrible one at Sinai, they saw no similitude, #De 4:12. And wherever we read
of any visible appearance of a divine Person in the Old Testament, it is always
to be understood, not of the first, but of the second
Person. And it may be further observed, that the Father prepared a body, an
human nature in his purpose, council and covenant, for another, and not for
himself, even for his Son, as he acknowledges; "A body hast thou prepared
me"; #Heb 10:5. To which may be added, that that divine Person who came in
the flesh, or became incarnate, is always distinguished from
the Father, as being sent by him; "God sending his own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh", #Ro 8:3. And again; "God sent forth his Son made of
a woman", #Ga 4:4 that is, God the Father, in both passages; as appears
from the relation of the Person to him, sent in the flesh, his Son. Once more,
if the Father had been incarnate, he must have suffered and died; for that is
the end of the incarnation, that the Person incarnate, might
obey, suffer, and die, in the room of sinners; so Christ suffered in the flesh,
and was put to death in the flesh. There were a set of men in ancient times,
who embraced the Sabellian folly, and were called Patripassians, because they
held that the Father suffered; and, indeed, if there is but one Person in the
Deity, and Father, Son, and Spirit are only so many names and manifestations
of that one Person; then it must be equally true of the Father as of the Son,
that he became incarnate, obeyed, suffered, and died. But this notion continued
not long, but was soon rejected, as it must be by all that read their Bible
with any care. Nor is it the Holy Spirit that became incarnate, for the same
reasons that the Father cannot be thought to be so: and besides, he had a
peculiar hand, and a special agency, in the formation of the
human nature, and in its conception and birth: when the Virgin hesitated about
what was told her by the angel, she was assured by him, that the Holy Ghost
should come upon her, and the power of the Highest should overshadow her; and
accordingly the birth of Christ was on this wise, when Joseph and Mary were
espoused, before they came together, "she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost"; and Joseph was told, in order to encourage
him to take her to wife, that what was "conceived in her, was of the Holy
Ghost"; and therefore he himself was not incarnate; see #Lu 1:35 Mt
1:18,20. It remains, that it is the second Person, the Son of God, who is meant
by "the Word that was made flesh", or became incarnate; and, indeed,
it is explained of him in the same passage; for it follows;
"And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father". And it is easy to observe, that the same divine Person that bears
the name of the Word, in the order of the Trinity, in one place, has that of
the Son in another; by which it appears they are the same; compare #1Jo 5:7
with #Mt 28:19. When this mystery of the incarnation is expressed by the
phrase, "God manifest in the flesh"; not God the
Father, nor the Holy Spirit, but God the Son is meant, as it is explained #1Jo
3:8 for "this purpose the Son of God was manifested"; that is, in the
flesh; and as before observed, it was the Son of God that was sent in the likeness
of sinful flesh, and in the fulness of time was sent forth, made of a woman,
#Ro 8:3 Ga 4:4. He, therefore, is the subject of the incarnation, or the divine
Person that became incarnate.
Now the Logos, the Word and
Son of God, who is made flesh or become incarnate, is not to be understood of
the human soul of Christ; for this Word was "in the beginning with
God"; that is, was with him from all eternity; see #Pr 8:22-30 whereas the human soul of Christ is one of the souls that God
has made; a creature, a creature of time, as all creatures are; time is an
inseparable adjunct and concomitant of a creature; a creature before time, is a
contradiction: besides, this Word "was" God, a divine Person,
distinct from the Father, though with him, the one God; which cannot be said of
the human soul. Likewise, to it is ascribed the creation of
all things; "All things were made by him"; not as an instrument, but
as the efficient cause; "And without him was not anything made that was
made"; and since the human soul is what is made, being a creature; if that
is the Word and Son of God, it must be the maker of itself, seeing nothing that
is made is made without it; which is too great an absurdity to be admitted. So
the creation of all things is elsewhere ascribed to the Son
of God, who therefore cannot be a creature; see #Heb 1:1,2,10 Col 1:16,17. To
which may be added, that the human soul of Christ is a part of the human nature
assumed by him; it is included in the word "flesh", the Word, or Son
of God, is said to be made, as will be shown presently; it is a part of that
nature of the seed of Abraham, in distinction from the nature of angels, which
the Word, or Son of God, a divine Person, took upon him,
and into union with him, and therefore cannot be the assumer; the assumer and
the assumed cannot be the same, but must be distinct from each other; see #Heb
2:14,16.
Nor by the Logos, or Word,
made flesh, are we to understand the divine nature, essentially
considered, or the essence of God, as common to the three divine Persons,
Father, Son and Spirit; for then it would be equally true of the Father and the
Spirit, that they are made flesh, or become incarnate, as of the Son; as it
must needs be, if the divine nature, so considered, was incarnated; or the
human nature was united to it as such: such phrases are therefore unsound,
unsafe, and dangerous; as that the man Christ stands in the
divine nature; and that the human nature is united to Deity: this is not the
truth of things; the human nature is not united to Deity absolutely considered:
but as that in a distinct mode of subsisting, is in the second Person, the Son
of God; it was the Son of God, by whom God made the world, and by him speaks to
men, in these last days, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person; the Creator of angels,
and the object of their worship and adoration; and who upholds all things by
the word of his power, who partook of the same flesh and blood with the
children, and has taken upon him, and assumed to him, not the nature of angels,
but the seed of Abraham; he who was in the form of God, of the same nature with
him, and thought it no robbery to be equal with God, is he
that took upon him the form of a servant, the nature of man in a servile state,
was made in the likeness of man, and found in fashion as a man, or really
became man. I proceed,
2. Secondly, To observe, in
what sense the Word, or Son of God, was "made flesh", became a partaker "of flesh and blood, came in the
flesh", and was "manifest in the flesh": all which phrases are
made use of to express his incarnation, #Joh 1:14 Heb 2:14 1Jo 4:2,3 #1Ti 3:16
and signify, that he who is truly God really became man, or assumed the whole
human nature, as will be seen presently, into union with his divine person.
Socinus is so bold as to say {4}, that if any passages of scripture could be found, in which it is expressly said that God was made man,
or put on and assumed human flesh, the words must be taken otherwise than as
they sound, this being repugnant to the majesty of God. The contrary to this
will soon appear; and though this is not to be found in scripture just
syllabically, the sense clearly is, as in the scriptures referred to. But there
is no dealing with such a man who will talk at this rate;
and who elsewhere {5} says, on another account, that the greatest force must be
used with the words of the apostle Paul, rather than such a sense be admitted,
which yet is obvious. It will be proper to inquire, both what is meant by
flesh, and what by being made flesh.
2a. First,
What is meant by flesh, in the phrases and passages referred to. And by it is
meant, not a part of the human body, as that may be distinguished from other
parts, as the bones, &c. nor the whole human body, as that may be
distinguished from the soul or spirit of a man; as in #Mt 26:41 but a whole
individual of human nature, consisting of soul and body; as when it is said,
"There shall no flesh be justified in his sight":
and again, "That no flesh should glory in his presence", #Ro 3:20 1Co
1:29 with many other passages; see #Ge 6:12 Lu 3:6 for such acts as being
justified and glorying, can never be said of the flesh or body, abstractly
considered; but of the whole man, or of individuals of human nature, consisting
of soul and body; and in this sense are we to understand it, when it is used of
the incarnation of the Son of God, who took upon him the
whole nature of man, assumed a true body and a reasonable soul, being in all
things made like unto his brethren; so his flesh signifies his human nature, as
distinct from the Spirit, his divine nature, #Ro 1:3,4 1Pe 3:18.
2a1.
He took a true body, not a mere phantom, spectre, or
apparition,
the appearance of a body, and not a real one; as
some fancied,
and that very early, even in the times of the
apostle John,
and afterward; and who imagined, that what
Christ was,
and did, and suffered, were only seeming, and in
appearance,
and not in reality; and hence they were called
"Docetae":
and this they argued from his being sent in the
"likeness"
of sinful flesh; and being found in fashion as a
man; and from
the appearances of Christ before his coming;
of which same
kind they supposed his appearance was when he
came.
As for the text in #Ro 8:3 "likeness" there, is not to
be connected
with the word "flesh", but with the word
"sinful";
he was sent in real flesh, but that flesh looked
as if it was
sinful: it might seem so to some, because he
took flesh of
a sinful woman, was attended with griefs and
sorrows,
the effects of sin; had the sins of his people
imputed to
him, and which he bore in his own body on the
tree; all
which made his flesh appear as if it was sinful,
though it was
not; and hindered not its being real flesh. As
to #Php 2:7,8
the as there is not a note of similitude, but
of
certainty; as in #Mt 14:5 and signifies, that Christ was
really a man,
as John was accounted a real prophet, and not
merely like
one; and which is evident by his being obedient
unto death,
as follows: and as for the appearances of Christ
in an human
form, before his coming in the flesh, the
Scriptures
speak of; admitting they were only appearances,
and not real,
it does not follow, that therefore his coming
in the flesh,
in the fulness of time, was of the same kind;
but rather
the contrary follows; and since these were
preludes of
his incarnation, that must be real; though some
of
these previous appearances were not merely appearances,
but
realities: real bodies were formed and animated, and
made use of
for a time, and then laid aside; as seems to be
the case of
the three men that appeared to Abraham, two of
which were
angels, and the other the Lord, Jehovah, the Son
of
God; who were clothed with bodies, capable of walking and
travelling,
of talking and conversing, of eating and
drinking in; so
the man that wrestled with Jacob, who was no
other than
the Angel of the covenant, the promised Messiah;
the body he
appeared in was not a mere phantom, spectre,
and
apparition, but palpable flesh, that was felt and
handled, and
grasped, and held fast, by Jacob; and which he
would not let
go till he had received the blessing.
However, it
is certain that Christ partook of the same flesh
and blood as
his children and people do; and therefore, if
theirs
is real, his must be so. Likewise, his body is called
the body of
his flesh, his fleshly body, #Col 1:22 to
distinguish
it from the token of his body in the supper; and
from his
mystical and spiritual body, the church: all his
actions, and
what is said of him from his birth to his
death,
and in and after it, show it was a true body that he
assumed; he
was born and brought into the world as other men
are; and when
born, his body grew and increased in stature,
as other
human bodies do: the Son of man came eating and
drinking; he
travelled through Judea and Galilee; he slept
in
the ship with his disciples; he was seen, and heard, and
handled by
them; he was buffered, scourged, bruised,
wounded, and
crucified by men; his body, when dead, was
asked of the
governor by Joseph, was taken down from the
cross by him,
and laid in his tomb; and the same identical
body,
with the prints of the nails and spear in it, was
raised from
the dead, and seen and handled by his disciples;
to whom it
was demonstrated, that he had flesh and bones, a
spirit has not:
yea, the very infirmities that attended him,
though
sinless, were proofs of his body being a true and
real
one; such as his fatigue and weariness in travelling,
#Joh 4:6 his
tears at the grave of Lazarus, and over
Jerusalem;
and his sweat in the garden, #Joh 11:35
#Lu 19:41
22:44. In short, it was through weakness of the
flesh that he
was crucified; which was not in appearance,
but
in reality. The body he assumed was mortal, as it was
proper it
should be, since the end of his assumption of it
was to suffer
death in it; but being raised from the dead,
it is become
immortal, and will never die more, but will
remain, as
the pledge and pattern of the resurrection of the
bodies
of the saints, which will be fashioned like to his
glorious
body; and which will be the object of the corporal
vision of the
saints after their resurrection, with joy and
pleasure, to
all eternity.
2a2.
Christ assumed a reasonable soul, with his true body, which
make up the
nature he took upon him, and are included in the
flesh he was
made, as has been seen; and is the flesh and
blood he
partook of; which is sometimes understood of an
individual of
human nature, as flesh is; see #Mt 16:17
#Ga
1:16. The Arians deny that Christ has an human soul;
they say,
that the Logos, or the divine nature in him, such a
one as it is,
supplied the place of an human soul. This nature,
they say, is
not the same, but like to the nature of God;
that it was
created by him; which they ground on #Pr 8:22
and
read, "He created me"; and they make this the first and
principal
creature God made, and by which he created others;
that it is a
superangelic spirit, and is in the room of an
human soul to
Christ. But Christ asserts, that he had a
soul; and
which, he says, was exceeding sorrowful; and which
was
an immaterial and immortal spirit; and which, when his
body died,
and was separated from it, he commended into the
hands of his
divine Father, #Mt 26:38 Lu 23:46. Had he not
an human
soul, he would not be a perfect man; and could not
be called, as
he is, the man Christ Jesus: the integral
parts
of man, and which constitute one, are soul and body;
and without
which he cannot be called a man; these
distinguish
him from other creatures: on the one hand he is
distinguished
from angels, immaterial and immortal spirits,
with which
his soul has a cognation, by having a body, or by
being
an embodied spirit; whereas they are incorporeal: so,
on the other
hand, he is distinguished from mere animals,
who have
bodies as well as he, by his having a rational and
immortal
soul: and if Christ was without one, he could not
be in all
things like unto us; being deficient in that which
is
the most excellent and most noble part of man. But that
he is
possessed of an human soul, is evident from his having
an human
understanding, will, and affections; he had an
human
understanding, knowledge, and wisdom, in which he is
said to grow,
and which in some things were deficient and
imperfect,
#Lu 2:52 Mr 13:32. He had an human will, distinct
from the
divine will, though not opposite, but in subjection
to it, #Joh
6:38 Lu 22:42. And he had human affections, as
love, #Mr
10:21 Joh 13:23. And joy, #Lu 10:21. Yea, even
those
infirmities, though sinless passions, prove the truth
of
his human soul; as sorrow, grief, anger, amazement, and
consternation,
#Mt 26:38 Mr 3:5 14:33. Besides, if he had
not had an
human soul, he could not have been tempted in all
points like
as we are, #Heb 4:15 since the temptations of
Satan chiefly
respect the soul, the mind, and the thoughts
of
it, and affect and distress that: nor could he have bore
the wrath of
God, nor have had a sensation of that; which it
is certain he
had, when the weight of the sins of his people
lay on him,
and pressed him sore; see #Ps 89:38 Mt 26:38.
Nor could he
have been a perfect sacrifice for their sins;
which
required his soul as well as his body, #Isa 53:10
#Heb 10:10
nor have been the Saviour of their souls; as he
is both of
body and soul, giving life for life, body for body,
soul for
soul, #1Pe 1:9.
2b.
Secondly, In what sense the Word, or Son of God, was "made" flesh,
and so became incarnate; the Word could not be made at all, that is, created,
since he is the Maker and Creator of all things; and therefore he himself could
not be made or created: nor was he, nor could be, made, converted, and changed
into flesh; the divine nature in Christ could not be changed into human nature;
for he is the Lord, that changes not; he is the same in the
"yesterday" of eternity, in the day of time, and "for ever"
to all eternity. By the incarnation nothing is added to, nor altered in the
divine nature and personality of Christ. The human nature adds nothing to
either of them; they remain the same they ever were; Christ was as much a
divine Person before his incarnation as he is since; the union of the human
nature to the divine nature, is to it as subsisting in the
Person of the Son of God; so it is always to be understood, whenever we speak
of the union of the human nature to the divine nature; for it is not united to
the divine nature, simply considered; or as that is common to the three
Persons; for then each would be incarnate; but as it has a peculiar subsistence
in the Person of the Son of God: and so the human nature has its
subsistence in his Person, and has a glory and excellency given it; but that
gives nothing at all to the nature and person of the divine Word and Son of
God. But, as other scriptures explain it, God the Word, or Son, was made and
became "manifest in the flesh"; the Son that was in the bosom of the
Father, the Word of life, that was with him from all eternity, was manifested
in the flesh in time, to the sons of men; and that in order
to take away sin, and destroy the works of the devil, #1Ti 3:16 1Jo 1:1,2
3:5,8. And the incarnation of the Word or Son of God, is expressed and
explained by his partaking of flesh and blood; and by a taking on him the
nature of man; or by an assumption of the human nature into union with his
divine Person; so that both natures, divine and human, are united in one
Person; and there is but one Lord, and one Mediator between
God and man. The Nestorians so divided and separated these natures, as to make
them distinct and separate Persons; which they are not, but one. And the Eutychians,
running rate the other extreme, mixed and confounded the natures together;
interpreting the phrase, "the Word was made flesh", of the divine
nature being changed into the human nature; and the human nature
into the divine nature; and so blended together as to make a third; just as two
sort of liquors, mixed together, make a third different from both. But this is
to make Christ neither truly God, nor truly man; the one nature being
confounded with and swallowed up in the other. But this union of natures is
such, that though they are closely united, and not divided, yet they retain
their distinct properties and operations; as the divine
nature to be uncreated, infinite, omnipresent, impassible, &c. the human
nature to be created, finite, in some certain place, passible, &c. at least
the latter, before the resurrecuon of Christ. But of this union, and the nature
of it, more hereafter.
2c.
Thirdly, The causes of the incarnation, efficient and moving, or to whom and
what it is to be ascribed; and the final cause, for the sake of whom, and what.
2c1. The
efficient cause of it, God, Father, Son, and Spirit; all
the three
Persons have a concern in it, it being a work "ad
extra".
The Father prepared a body for the Son in his
purpose, and
proposed it to him in council and covenant to
assume it;
and he sent him forth in the fulness of time,
made of a
woman, in the likeness of sinful flesh, #Heb 10:5
#Ga 4:4 Ro
8:3. The Son having agreed to it, being sent,
came
in the flesh, by the assumption of it; he took upon him the
nature of the
children, and partook of the same flesh and
blood with
them; he took upon him the form of a servant, and
was found in
fashion as a man, #Heb 2:14,16 Php 2:7,8. The
Holy Ghost
had a very great concern in this affair; for that
which
was conceived in the Virgin was of "the Holy Ghost",
#Mt 1:20 not
of his substance, nature, and essence; for then
he would have
been the Father of it, which he is never said
to be;
Christ, as man, was "without Father", and so a proper
antitype of
Melchizedec, #Heb 7:3. Besides, the body of
Christ
would have been not human, but spiritual: but it was
of him as the
efficient cause of it; it was through his
overshadowing
power and influence that it was conceived and
formed, #Lu
1:35. Now, though all the three Persons in the
Deity had an
hand in the wondrous incarnation, yet only one
of
them became incarnate; only the Son assumed the human
nature, and
took it into union with his divine Person; it is
the Word only
that was made flesh. Some have illustrated
this, by
three virgins concerned in working a garment; when
only one of
them puts it on and wears it.
2c2. The
moving cause of the incarnation of Christ, is the love
of the
Father, and of the Son, to mankind. God so loved the
world, that
he gave his only begotten Son to become man,
obey, suffer,
and die for sinners; herein is love, and this
love
manifested, that God sent his Son in human nature to be
the
propitiation for the sins of his people, and save them
from death,
#Joh 3:16 1Jo 4:9,10. And such was the love and
condescending
grace of the Son, that though he was in the
form of God,
of the same nature with him, and equal to him;
yet
he took upon him the form and nature of man in a servile
condition,
humbled himself, and died in it. The grace of our
Lord Jesus
Christ is well known; who, though rich in his
divine
Person, became poor in human nature, to make his
people rich,
#Php 2:6-8 2Co 8:9.
2c3. The
final cause, or for whose sake, and for what the Son of
God became
incarnate. It was for the sake of the elect of
God; "To
us", or "for us", for our sakes, "a Child is born;
a Son is
given": it was "unto all people"; or rather, "unto
all
the people"; for the sake of the whole people of God
among Jews
and Gentiles, that Christ was born a Saviour, or
to be a
Saviour of them; for which reason, as soon as he was
born, his
name was called Jesus, because he was to save his
people from
their sins; for which end he was born and came
into
the world. But of this more hereafter; see #Isa 9:6
#Lu 2:10,11
Mt 1:21.
2d. Fourthly, The parts of the
incarnation are next to be considered, conception and nativity.
2d1. First,
Conception; this is a most wonderful, abstruse, and
mysterious
affair; and which to speak of is very difficult.
2d1a. This
conception was by a virgin; it was a virgin that
conceived
the human body of Christ, as was foretold it
should; which
was very wonderful, and therefore introduced
with a note
of admiration; "Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a
Son!" This was a "new thing"; unheard of and
astonishing;
which God "created in the earth", in the lower
parts
of the earth, in the virgin's womb; "A woman
compassed",
or conceived, "a man", without the knowledge of
man, #Isa
7:14 Jer 31:22. This was not natural, but
supernatural;
though Mela {6} the geographer, speaks of some
women in a
certain island who conceived without copulation
with
men; but that is all romance; Plutarch {7} asserts,
such a thing
was never known. This conception was made "in"
the virgin,
and not without her; for so says the text; "That
which is
conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost"; this I
observe to
meet with, and confute the heretical illapse, as
it
is sometimes called; it was a notion of some of the
ancient
heretics, the Valentinians {8}, and of late, the
Mennonites
{9}, that the human nature of Christ was formed
in heaven,
and came down from thence into the virgin, and
passed
through her as water through a pipe, as their
expression
was; so that, according to them, he was not
conceived in
her, nor took flesh of her: to countenance
this, it is
observed, that the "second man" is said to be
"the
Lord from heaven", #1Co 15:47. But the words are not to
be understood
of the descent of the human nature of Christ
from
heaven; but of his divine Person from thence; not by
change of
place, but by assumption of the human nature into
union with
him; by virtue of which union the man Christ has
the name of
the "Lord from heaven"; and not because of the
original and
descent of the human nature from thence; and in
this
sense, and in this sense only, are we to understand the
words of
Christ, when he says, "I came down from heaven",
#Joh 6:38
namely, that he descended in and by the human
nature; not
by bringing it down from thence, but by taking
it into union
with his divine Person.
2d1b. This
conception was through the power and influence of the
Holy Ghost,
overshadowing the virgin. His operations in this
affair may be
considered in this manner, and after this
order; He
first took a part and portion of the virgin, of
her
semen, or blood, and conveyed it to a proper place; and
purified and
sanctified it, or separated it, not from any
moral
impurity, which it was not capable of, being an
unformed
mass; but from a natural indisposition in it,
which, had it
not been removed, might hereafter have
occasioned
sin; to prevent which this was done; and then he
impregnated
it with a fructifying virtue, and formed the
members of
the human body, in order, at once, and in a
fitness
(being properly organized) to receive the human
soul; for to
consider its immediate formation in such a
state,
is much more agreeable to the formation of the first
man, more
becoming the workmanship of the Holy Ghost, and
more suitable
to the dignity of the Son of God to assume it
into union
with himself, than to suppose it an unformed and
unshapen
embryo. Yet this is to be understood, not as if it
was
in such a state as not to admit of a future increase,
both before
and after birth; nor to contradict its
continuance
in the womb of the virgin the usual time of
every man.
Now though this affair has been spoken of as in
various
processes, yet must be understood as all
instantaneously
done by the almighty power of the Holy
Spirit: in
the same instant the human body was thus
conceived,
formed, and organized, the human soul of Christ
was created
and united to it, by him who "forms the spirit
of man within
him"; and in that very instant the body was
conceived
and formed, and the soul united to it, did the Son
of God assume
the whole human nature at once, and take it
into union
with his divine Person, and gave it a subsistence
in it; so
that the human nature of Christ never had a
subsistence
of itself; but from the moment of its
conception,
formation, and creation, it subsisted in the
Person of the
Son of God: and hence the human nature of
Christ is not
a person; a person is that which subsists of
itself: but
that the human nature of Christ never did;
therefore,
2d1c. It was
a nature, and not a person, that Christ assumed so
early as at
its conception; it is called "the holy Thing",
and not a
person; "The seed of Abraham", or the nature of
the seed of
Abraham; the "form" and "fashion" of a man, that
is,
the nature of man; as "the form of God", in the same
passage,
signifies the nature of God; see #Lu 1:35 Heb 2:16
#Php 2:6-8.
The Nestorians asserted the human nature of
Christ to be
a person; and so made two persons in Christ,
one human and
one divine; and of course four persons in the
Deity,
contrary to #1Jo 5:7 but there is but one Person of
the Son, one
Son of God, one Lord of all, one Mediator
between God
and man: if the two natures in Christ were two
distinct
separate persons, the works and actions done in
each nature
could not be said of the same Person; the
righteousness
wrought out by Christ in the human nature,
could not be
called the righteousness of God: nor the blood
shed in the
human nature the blood of the Son of God; nor
God be said
to purchase the church with his blood; nor the
Lord of life
ahd glory to be crucified; nor the Son of man
to
be in heaven, when he was here on earth: all which
phrases can
only be accounted for, upon the footing of the
personal
union of the human nature to the Son of God, and
his having
but one Person; of which these various things are
predicated.
Besides, if the human nature of Christ was a
person
of itself, what it did and suffered could have been
of no avail,
nor of any benefit to any other but itself; the
salvation
wrought out in it, and by it, would not have been
the common
salvation, or common to elect men; but peculiar
to that
individual human person; and the righteousness he is
the
author of, he would only have had the benefit of it,
being
justified by it, and accepted with God in it; whereas,
it being
wrought out in the human nature, as in personal
union with
the Son of God, this gives it an enlarged virtue,
and spread;
and so it comes to be "unto all, and upon all
I treat of
the union of the two natures, divine and
human, in the
person of the Son of God, under the article of
conception, and
before the birth of Christ, as it certainly
was;
hence when Mary paid a visit to her cousin Elizabeth,
before the
birth of Christ, and just upon the conception of
him, she was
saluted by her thus; "Whence is this to me,
that the
mother of my Lord should come unto me?" #Lu 1:43.
Wherefore,
before I proceed to consider the second part of
the
incarnation, the nativity of Christ, I shall further
observe some
things concerning the union, which took place
at the
conception; and of the effects of it.
1. Of the union itself;
concerning which let it be observed,
1a. That though Christ, by
assuming the human nature, united it to his divine Person; yet there is a
difference between assumption and union assumption is only of one nature; union
is of both: Christ only assumed the human nature to his divine Person; but both
natures, human and divine, are united in his Person: that he has two distinct natures is evident; in that, according to the
flesh, or human nature, he is the Son of David; and according to the Spirit of
holiness, or the divine nature, he is the Son of God: he was of the father's,
according to the flesh, or human nature; but, according to the divine nature,
God over all, blessed for ever: he was put to death in the flesh, in the human
nature; but quickened in or by the Spirit, the divine nature, #Ro
1:3,4 9:5 1Pe 1:18 yet but one Person.
1b. This union is
hypostatical, or personal; but not an union of persons: the union of Father,
Son, and Spirit in the Deity, is an union of three Persons in one God; but this
is not an union of two persons; but of two natures in one person.
1c. This an union of natures;
but not a communication of one nature to another; not of the divine nature, and
the essential properties of it, to the human nature; for though "the
fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily" in Christ, #Col 2:9 that is,
substantially and really, not in shadow and type; yet the perfections of the
Godhead are not communicated to the manhood, as to make
that uncreated, infinite, immense, and to be everywhere, &c. the properties
of each nature remain distinct, notwithstanding this union.
1d. This union lies in a
communication of, or rather in making the personality of the Word,
common to the human nature; or giving it a subsistence in the Person of the
Word or Son of God; hence because of this union and community of person, it has
the same name with the Word; and is called, "the Son of God", #Lu
1:35. And hence it appears, that the human nature of Christ is no loser, but a
gainer, and is not inferior, but superior to other individuals of human nature,
by its not being a person, subsisting of itself; because it
has a better subsistence in the Person of the Son of God, than it could have
had of itself; or than any creature has, angel or man.
1e. This union is
indissoluble: though death dissolved the union between the body and soul of
Christ, it did not, and could not, dissolve the union between the human nature and person of Christ; wherefore, in consequence of this
union, he raised up the temple of his body, when destroyed, the third day, and
thereby declared himself to be the Son of God with power, #Joh 2:19 Ro 1:4.
2. The effects of this union,
both with respect to the human nature, and to the Person of
Christ. With respect to the human nature;
2a. Preeminence to all other
individuals of human nature; it is chosen and preferred to the grace of union
with the Son of God, above them all; it has a better subsistence than they
have, and has obtained a more excellent name than they, and even than the angels; and is possessed of glory, blessings, and
privileges above all creatures; as will appear from what will be further
observed. All which is not of any merit in it, but of the free grace of God.
2b. Perfect holiness and
impeccability: it is called, "the holy Thing"; it is eminently and perfectly so; without original sin, or any actual
transgression; it is not conscious of any sin, never committed any, nor is it
possible it should.
2c. A communication of habitual
grace to it in the greatest degree; it is, in this respect, fairer and more
beautiful than any of the sons of men; grace being poured into
it in great plenty; it is anointed with the oil of gladness above its fellows;
that is, with the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit; it has the Spirit given
unto it, but not by measure; the Spirit of God rests upon it, in his several
gifts and graces, in a most glorious and perfect manner, #Ps 45:2,7 Joh 3:34
#Isa 11:2. And should it be asked, if the same graces were in it, and exercised
by it, as love, faith, and hope, in the saints? it may be
answered, they were, and were exercised by it in its state of humiliation, as
its circumstances required: Christ trusted and hoped in God, when upon his
mother's breasts, #Ps 22:9,10. When in suffering circumstances, he exercised
faith on him, that he would justify, help, and deliver him, #Isa 50:7-9. When
the time of his death drew nigh, he expressed his love to God by a readiness to
submit to his will, and obey his command, #Joh 14:31. And
when his body lay in the grave, he rested in hope of the resurrection of it,
#Ps 16:10.
2d. A very high and glorious
exaltation of it, after his death and resurrection from the dead: it was highly
exalted by being united to the Person of the Son of God; and though
it came into a state of humiliation in it, yet being raised from the dead, is
highly exalted, far above all principality and power, and might and dominion,
and above every name that is named in this world or in that to come; it is set
down at the right hand of God, where angels are never bid to come; and where
angels, authorities, and powers, are made subject to it, #Eph 1:20,21 Php
2:9,10 Heb 1:13 1Pe 3:22.
3. With respect to the Person of Christ, the effects of this union
are,
3a. A communication of idioms,
or properties, as the ancients express it; that is, of the
properties of each nature; which are, in common, predicated of the Person of
Christ, by virtue of the union of natures in it; for though each nature retains
its peculiar properties, and does not communicate them to each other; yet they
may be predicated of the Person of Christ: yea, he may be denominated in one
nature, from a property which belongs to another; thus in his divine nature he
is God, the Son of God, the Lord of glory; and yet in this
nature is described by a property which belongs to the human nature, which is
to be passible, and suffer; hence we read of God purchasing the church with his
blood; and of the blood of the Son of God cleansing from all sin; and of the
Lord of glory being crucified, #Ac 20:28 1Jo 1:7 #1Co 2:8. And on the other hand, in his human nature
he is called the Son of man; and yet as such, is described
by a property which belongs to the divine nature, which is to be omnipresent,
to be everywhere. So it is said; "No man hath ascended to heaven but he
that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven", #Joh
3:13 who was in heaven at the same time he was here on earth; which was true of
his Person, though denominated from his human nature; and thus what cannot be said of Christ in the abstract, is true of him in
the concrete, by virtue of this union; it cannot be said, that the Deity of
Christ suffered; or that the humanity of Christ is everywhere: but it may be
said, that God, the Son of God suffered; and that the Son of man was in heaven
when on earth, or everywhere. It cannot be said, that the Deity is humanity;
nor the humanity Deity, nor equal to God: but it may be said,
that God the Word is man, and the man Christ is God, Jehovah's Fellow; because
these names respect the Person of Christ, which includes both natures.
3b. A communion of office, and
of power and authority to exercise it in both natures: thus by Virtue of this
union Christ bears the office of a Mediator, and exercises
it in both natures; there is "one Mediator between God and man, the Man
Christ Jesus", #1Ti 2:5 but he is not Mediator only in his human nature,
and only exercises it in that; he took upon him, and was invested with this
office before his assumption of human nature; and could and did exercise some
parts of it without it, as has been shown in its proper place; but there were
others that required his human nature; and when, and not
before it was requisite, he assumed it; and in it, as united to his divine
Person, he is God-man, is Prophet, Priest, and King, Judge, Lawgiver, and
Saviour; and has power over all flesh, to give eternal life to as many as the
Father has given him; and upon his resurrection, had all power in heaven and
earth given him, to appoint ordinances, and commission men to administer them; and had authority also to execute judgment, both in the world
and in the church; because he is the Son of man, #Mt 28:18 Joh 17:2 5:27.
3c. A communion of operations
in both natures, to the perfecting of the same work; which, therefore, may be
called "theandric", or the work of the God-man; there being a concurrence of both natures in the performance of it;
which, when done, is ascribed to his Person: thus, for instance, the sacrifice
of himself, as the propitiation for the sins of men; as God-man and Mediator,
he is the Priest that offers; his human nature, consisting of soul and body, is
the Sacrifice; and his divine nature is the altar which sanctifies it, and
gives it its atoning virtue, his blood was shed in the human
nature, to cleanse from sin; but it is owing to its union with the Son of God
that such an effect is produced by it. The redemption of men is by the ransom
price of the life and blood of Christ; but it is the divine nature, to which
the human is united, in the Person of the Son of God, that makes it a
sufficient one. The mission of the Spirit, by Christ, is owing both to his
intercession in the human nature, and to his power and
authority in the divine nature, according to the economy of things settled
between the divine Persons.
3d. The adoration of the
Person of Christ, having both natures united in him, is another effect of this
union. The human nature of Christ is not the formal object of worship;
it is a creature, and not to be worshipped as such; nor is worship given for
the sake of it, or as singly considered; but then the divine Person of Christ
having that nature in union with him, is the object of worship; the flesh of
Christ is not worshipped, but the incarnate God is; a whole Christ is
worshipped, but not the whole of Christ. "When he bringeth in the first
begotten into the world", which was at the time of the
incarnation, "he saith, let all the angels of God worship him", #Heb
1:6. And upon his resurrection from the dead, God has "given him a name
which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus should bow"; that is,
in a way of religious #Php 2:9,10 and though Christ, as man, is not the object
of such adoration; yet what he has done in the human nature, is a motive and
argument why blessing and honour should be given to his
Person, having both natures united in him; "Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain, to receive power", &c. #Re 5:12,13.
2d2.
Secondly, The birth, or nativity of Christ, the other part
of the
incarnation, is next to be considered.
2d2a. Of whom
born; of a virgin, of the house of David, and of
the tribe of
Judah.
2d2a1. Of a
virgin: this was hinted at in the first promise of
"the
seed of the woman"; and is fully expressed by Isaiah;
"A
virgin shall conceive and bear a Son"; to fulfil which
prophecy,
before Joseph and Mary cohabited as man and wife,
and so, while
she was a virgin, "she was found with child of
the Holy
Ghost", #Mt 1:18-23. And it was brought about in
this
manner, that the human nature of Christ might be clear
of original
sin, which it otherwise must have been infected
with, had it
been conceived and born in the ordinary and
natural way
of generation; for "whatsoever is born of the
flesh, is
flesh", carnal and corrupt; but being produced in
this
extraordinary and supernatural way, but the power of the
Holy Ghost,
that which was born of the virgin is "the holy
Thing";
free from all spot and blemish of sin. This is most
surprisingly
accounted for, by the more modern philosophy
respecting
generation, that every man is born of an
animalcule;
which agrees with the sacred philosophy {10} in
#Job 25:6 and
that all the animalcula from which millions of
men spring in
all ages, were originally formed by the great
Creator in
the first man; which, as it accounts for the
guilt and
pollution of all men in him; so for the purity of
Christ's
human nature, since that was not born of an
animalcule,
as other men are; nor was it of man, nor of the
seed of man
{11}; but was according to the first promise,
the pure seed
of the woman; nor was it ever in Adam, in the
first man;
no, not in "animalculo", as the rest of the
individuals
of human nature, according to this hypothesis,
and so was
not represented by him; nor did he stand related
to it, as a
covenant head; nor did it descend from him by
ordinary
generation; but was conceived in the virgin through
the power of
the Holy Ghost; and did not exist in any
respect
before; no, not in "animalculo"; which lies strongly
against the
preexistence of Christ's human nature in any
sense
whatever; and so, being free from sin, was fit to be a
sacrifice for
sin, since it could be offered up to God
without spot,
by the eternal Spirit. Moreover, so it was,
that
as the ruin of men came by means of a virgin; for the
fall of Adam
was before he knew his wife; so the Saviour of
men from that
ruin, came into the world by a virgin: and so
it was
ordered by the wisdom of God, that Christ should
appear to
have but one Father, having none as man, and so be
but
one Person; whereas, had he had two fathers, there must
have been two
persons.
2d2a2. Christ
was born of a virgin of the house of David; as in
#Lu 1:27 for
the phrase of the house of David, is equally
true
of the virgin, as of Joseph, and may be connected with
her. God
promised to David, that the Messiah should be of
his seed; and
accordingly, of his seed he raised up unto
Israel, a
Saviour Jesus, who is therefore called the Son of
David; and is
both "the root and offspring of David"; the
root
of David, as God, and David's Lord; and the offspring
of David, as
man, descending from him, #Ac 13:23 Re 22:16.
2d2a3. He was
born of a virgin of the tribe of Judah; as she must
be, since she
was of the house of David, which was of that
tribe;
and it is manifest, as the apostle says, that our
Lord sprung
out of the tribe of Judah, as it was foretold he
should, #Ge
49:10 Heb 7:14.
2d2b. The
birth of Christ, or his coming into the world, was
after
the manner of other men; his generation and conception
were
extraordinary; but his birth was in the usual manner;
he came into
the world after he had lain the common time in
his mother's
womb; for it is said, "the days were
accomplished that
she should be delivered"; she went her
full
time with him, and brought forth him, her firstborn
Son, as other
women do; and no doubt with pains and sorrow,
as every
daughter of Eve does: and presented, him to the
Lord when the
days of her purification were ended, according
to the law,
as it is written, "Every male that openeth the
womb,
shall be called holy to the Lord", #Lu 2:6,22,23.
So that in
these respects Christ was made in all things like
unto his
brethren.
2d2c. The
place of his birth was Bethlehem, according to the
prophecy
in #Mic 5:2 here it was expected he would be born;
and this was
so well known to the Jews, that when Herod
inquired of
the chief priests and Scribes where Christ
should be
born; they, without any hesitation, immediately
reply, in
"Bethlehem of Judea", and quote the above prophecy
in
proof of it, #Mt 2:4-6 yea, this was known by the common
people, #Joh
7:42 and so it was wonderfully brought about in
providence;
that though Joseph and Mary lived in Galilee,
yet through a
decree of Caesar Augustus to tax the whole
empire, they
were both obliged to come to the city of
Bethlehem,
the city of David, to be taxed, being of the
lineage and
house of David; and while they were on that
business
there, the virgin was delivered of her Son,
#Lu 2:1-7.
Bethlehem signifies the house of bread; a fit
place for the
Messiah to be born in, who is the bread that came
down
from heaven, and gives life unto the world.
2d2d. The time
of his birth was as it was fixed in prophecy;
before the
sceptre, or civil government, departed from
Judah: Herod
was king in Judea when he was born; before the
second
temple was destroyed; for he often went into it, and
taught in it:
and it was at the time pointed at in Daniel's
weeks; see
#Ge 49:10 Mal 3:1 Hag 2:6,7,9 Da 9:24, &c. The
exact year of
the world in which he was born, is not agreed
on by
chronologers; but it was about, or a little before or
after
the four thousandth year of the world; nor can the
season of the
year, the month and day in which he was born,
be
ascertained. However, the vulgar account seems not
probable; the
circumstance of the shepherds watching their
flocks by
night, agrees not with the winter season. It is
more
likely it was in autumn, sometime in the month of
September, at
the feast of tabernacles, which was typical of
Christ's
incarnation; and there seems to be some reference
to it in #Joh
1:14. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt", or
"tabernacled"
among us; the temple of Solomon, a type of
Christ's
human nature, was dedicated at the feast of
tabernacles:
and as Christ, the passover, was sacrificed at
the very time
of the passover; and the Holy Ghost was given
on the very
day of Pentecost, typified by the firstfruits
offered on
that day; so it is most reasonable to suppose,
that
Christ was born at the very feast of tabernacles, a
type of his
incarnation; and which feast is put for the
whole
ministry of the word and ordinances, to be observed in
gospel times,
#Zec 14:16. However, it was in the fulness of
time, or when
the time was fully up he was to come, that God
sent
him, and he came; and in due time, in the fittest and
most proper
time, infinite Wisdom saw meet he should come:
God could
have sent him sooner; but he did not think fit to
do it; but he
sent him at the most seasonable time; when the
wickedness of
men was at its height, both in Judea and in
the
Gentile world; and there appeared a necessity of a
Saviour of
men from it; and when the insufficiency of the
light of
nature, of the power of man's free will, which had
been
sufficiently tried among the philosophers; and of the
law of Moses,
and of the works and sacrifices of it, to take
away
sin, and save men from it, had been clearly evinced. To
conclude, it
was in time, and not before time, that Christ
became man.
To talk of the human nature of Christ, either in
whole or in
part, as from eternity, is contrary both to
scripture and
reason; nor can that man, or human nature, be
of
any avail or benefit to us; but he that is the Seed of
the woman,
the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, and the Son
of Mary.
2e. Fifthly, The ends of
Christ's incarnation are many; there is a cluster of them in the
song of the angels at his birth; "Glory to God in the highest; and on
earth peace, good will towards men", #Lu 2:14.
2e1. One end
of Christ's incarnation was, to show forth the glory
of God in it;
the glory of his grace, kindness, and goodness
to
men, in the mission of his Son in this way; the glory of
his
faithfulness in fulfilling his promise of it; the glory
of his power
in the miraculous production of Christ's human
nature; and
the glory of his wisdom in bringing it into the
world in such
a manner as to be free from sin, and so fit
for
the purpose for which it was designed: and all this that
God might be
glorified in these his perfections; as he was
by the
angels, by Mary, by the father of John the Baptist,
and by
Simeon, at, or about, the time of Christ's birth;
and as he has
been by saints in all ages since.
2e2. Another
end of Christ's incarnation was, to make peace with
God for men
on earth; to make reconciliation for sin, was
the work
appointed him in covenant; and to do this, was the
reason of his
being made in all things like unto his
brethren;
and this end is answered; he has reconciled
sinners to
God by his death, and made peace for them by the
blood of his
cross.
2e3. Another
end of Christ's incarnation was, not only to show
the
good will of God to men, but that they might receive the
fruits of his
good will and favour towards them; even all
the blessings
of grace, those spiritual blessings provided
in covenant,
and laid up in Christ; and which came by him
our High
Priest, and through his blood, called therefore,
the
blood of the everlasting covenant.
2e4.
Particularly, Christ became man that he might be our God,
our near
kinsman, and might appear to have a right to redeem
us; and he
was, in the fulness of time, made of a woman, to
redeem
men from the law, its curse and condemnation; and
that they
might receive the adoption of children, and every
other
blessing included in or connected with redemption; as
peace, pardon,
and justification; for he was sent in the
likeness of
sinful flesh, that by the sacrifice of himself
for
sin, he might condemn it in the flesh; and that the
righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us, as
represented
by him, and so be completely justitled in him;
see #Ga 4:4,5
Ro 8:3,4.
2e5.
Christ became man, that he might be a Mediator between God
and men; and
the better to perform each of the parts of his
office as
such, he took upon him the nature of man; that he
might have
something to offer as a Priest to be a Sacrifice
for sin, and
that he might make satisfaction for it in that
nature
that sinned; and that he might be a prophet like unto
Moses, raised
up, as he was, among his brethren; and having
the Spirit of
the Lord God upon him, might preach glad
tidings to
the meek; and that he might appear to be a King
taken from
among his brethren, as the kings of Israel were;
and
to be the Ruler, Noble, and Governor that proceeded from
the midst of
them, as was predicted he should, #Jer 30:21
and so sit
and reign upon the throne of his father David.
{1} Huet. Quaest. Alnetan. l.
2. c. 13. p. 234. & c. 15. p. 241. See Philosoph. Transact. abridged, vol. v. part 2. p. 168.
{2} Martin. Sinic. Hist. l. 4.
p. 131, 132. Vid. Huet. ut supra, p. 235.
{3} Hesiod. Theogon. v. 927.
Apollodor. de Deor. Orig. l. 1. p. 8. Vid. Huet. ut supra, c. 15, p. 237, 238.
{4} Opera, tom. 1. De Christi
Natura Disput. p. 784.
{5} Ibid.
Ep. 2. ad Balcerovicium, p. 425.
{6} De Situ Orbis, l. 3. c. 9.
{7} Conjugial Praecept. p.
145.
{8} Irenaeus Adv. Haeres. l.
1. c. 1. p. 29.
{9} Socini Disput. Adv.
Mennonitas in Oper. tom. 2. p. 461.
{10}
"Omnia nimirum animalia, etiam perfecta similiter ex vermiculo gigni",
Harveus de Generat. Animal, Exercit. 18. p. 144.
{11} The animalcula are only
"in semine masculo; "see the Philosophical Transactions abridged,
vol. 2. p. 912, 913.