OF CHRIST, THE
MEDIATOR OF THE COVENANT
John Gill
Another relation, or office,
which Christ bears in the covenant, is that of Mediator; three times in the
epistle to the Hebrews is he called the Mediator of the new, or better covenant
or testament, #Heb 8:6 9:15 12:24 the same with the everlasting covenant,
only so called in reference to a former administration of it. The apostle Paul
asserts, that there is "one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus", #1Ti 2:5. Both Jews and Gentiles have a notion of a Mediator; the
Jews {1} call the Messiah aeuma, the Mediator, or middle one; and so Philo the
Jew {2}, speaks of the most ancient Word of God, as mesov, a middle Person
between God and men, not unbegotten as God, nor begotten as
man, but the middle of the extremes, one between both. The Persians {3} call
their God Mithras, mesithv, a Mediator; and the Demons, with the heathens, seem
to be, according to them, mediators between the superior gods and men; but we
have a more sure word of prophecy to direct us in this matter; Christ is the
one and only Mediator. It will be proper to enquire,
1. First, In what sense Christ
is the mediator of the covenant; not as Moses, who stood between God and the
people of Israel, "to show" them "the word of the Lord",
#De 5:5 to receive the law, the lively oracles, and deliver them to them, said to be ordained, or disposed by angels, in the hand of a
mediator, supposed to be Moses, #Ga 3:19. Christ indeed is the revealer and
declarer of his Father's mind and will, and the dispenser of the covenant of
grace in the different administrations of it, in each of the periods of time;
but this more properly belongs to him as the "angel" or
"messenger of the covenant", as he is called, #Mal 3:1 than the
mediator of it. Christ is a mediator of reconciliation; such
an one as interposes between two parties at variance, in order to bring them
together, and in some way or other reconcile them to each other. "A
mediator is not of one", of one party; for where there is but one party
there can be no difference, and so no need of a mediator; but "God is
one", he is one party, the offended party, and man is the other, the
offending party; and Christ is the mediator between them
both to bring them together, who are through sin at as great distance as earth
and heaven; and he is the antitype of Jacob's ladder, that reaches both and
joins them together; the daysman between them, who lays his hand on them both,
and makes peace between them; and so a learned Grecian {4} interprets the word
for "mediator" eirhno poiov, "a peacemaker";
and this work he performs not merely by way of intreaty, as one man may intreat
another to lay aside his resentment against an offender, and not pursue him to
his destruction, which lies in his power; or as Moses intreated God with great
vehemence and importunity to forgive the Israelites, or blot him out of his
book; for however commendable this may be for one man to intercede with
another, or with God for an offender, in such a manner; yet
it seems too low and mean an office for Christ the Son of God, barely to
intreat his Father to lay aside the marks of his displeasure against a sinner,
and not so honourable for God to grant it, without satisfaction; wherefore
Christ acts the part of a mediator, by proposing to his Father to make
satisfaction for the offence committed, and so appease injured justice.
Christ is a mediator of reconciliation in a way of satisfaction; reconciliation
in this way is Christ's great work as mediator; this is what was proposed in
covenant, and what he therein agreed to do, and therefore is called the
mediator of the covenant.
Reconciliation
supposes a former state of friendship, a breach of that friendship, and a
renewal of it; or a bringing into open friendship again. Man in a state of
innocence was in a state of friendship with God, had many high honours and
special favours conferred upon him; being made after the image and likeness of
God, had all the creatures put in subjection to him, was placed in a delightful
garden, had a right to eat of the fruit of all the trees in
it but one; to him the creatures were brought to give them names, and an help
meet was provided for him; but man being in this honour abode not long, sin
soon separated chief friends, and he was drove out of his paradisaical Eden;
and appeared to be, as all his posterity are, not only at a distance from God,
and alienation to him, but enmity against him, as the carnal mind
of man is; and in this state the elect of God were considered, when Christ
undertook in covenant to be the mediator of reconciliation for them; and in
this condition he found them, when he came to make actual reconciliation for
them; "you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by
wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled", #Col 1:21 and hereby has
brought them into an open state of grace and favour with
God; into greater nearness to him, and into a more exalted state of friendship
with him than was lost by the fall.
It should be observed, that
the elect of God are considered in the covenant of grace as fallen creatures;
and that Christ being a mediator of reconciliation and satisfaction
for them, supposes them such. In the covenant of works there was no mediator;
while that covenant remained unbroken, and man continued in a state of
integrity, he needed none; he could correspond and converse with God without
one; though he might have knowledge of Christ as the Son of God, and second person
in the Trinity, which was necessary to his worship of him, yet he knew nothing
of him as mediator, nor needed him as such; he could hear
the voice of God, and abide in his presence without fear or shame; it was after
he had sinned, and not before, that he hid himself among the trees, on hearing
the voice of God: nor is there any mediator for angels, none was provided, nor
admitted, for the fallen angels, they were not spared; and the good angels
needed not any, having never sinned; they are admitted into
the divine presence without a mediator to introduce them; they stand before
God, and behold his face continually. Some have thought that Christ is the
medium of union of angels with God, and of elect men, chosen in Christ, and
considered as unfallen, which I will not object to; but a mediator of
reconciliation and satisfaction, Christ is only to fallen men, and they needed
one; a reconciliation was necessary, and without such a
mediator the purposes of God concerning elect men, the covenant of grace made on
their account, the prophecies of the Old Testament, and the salvation of men
could not have been accomplished; nor the perfections of God, particularly his
justice and holiness, glorified in it.
Sin has
been committed, which is offensive to God, provoking to the eyes of his glory,
and deserving of his wrath, even of eternal death; the law broken, which
reflects dishonour on the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; justice
injured and affronted, and which insisted on making a satisfaction, and that
nothing less than perfect obedience to the law, and a bearing the penalty of
it; fallen man could not make his peace with God, nor
reconcile himself to him on such terms; Christ, as mediator of the covenant,
undertook to make reconciliation for elect men; and God set him and sent him
forth to be, and he is become the propitiation for their sins; and God is
pacified towards them for all that they have done, and has taken away all his
wrath, and turned himself from the fierceness of his anger, and removed all the visible marks and effects of his displeasure.
Nor is this reconciliation
Christ is the mediator of, as thus stated, any contradiction to the everlasting
love of God to his elect in Christ; where there is the strongest love among
men, when an offence is committed, there is need of reconciliation to be made. David had the strongest affection for his son Absalom as
can well be imagined; Absalom committed a very heinous offence, murdered his
brother Amnon, David's firstborn, and heir to his crown; he fled from justice,
and from his father's wrath and vengeance he might justly fear; Joab became a
mediator between them, first more secretly, by means of the woman of Tekoah,
and then more openly in his own person, and succeeded so
far as to obtain leave that the young man be called from his exile;
nevertheless, when returned, David would not admit him into his presence until
two years after, when, and not before, a full and open reconciliation was made
and declared; and yet all this while the heart of David was towards his son,
and continued, even notwithstanding his unnatural rebellion against
him. And so the love of God to his people is from everlasting to everlasting,
invariably the same: with him there is no shadow of turning; there is no change
in God, as not from love to hatred, so not from hatred to love; he is in one
mind, and none can turn him, no, not Christ himself; nor was it the work of
Christ's mediation, nor the design of it, to turn the heart of God; for that
proceeded according to the unalterable and unchangeable
will of God; nor did the mediation of Christ procure, nor was it intended to
procure the love and favour of God to his elect; so far from it, that itself is
the fruit and effect of that love, #Joh 3:16 #Ro 5:8 1Jo 4:10. It was love that
set forth and sent forth Christ to be the propitiation for sin; it was owing to
the good will and free favour of God, that a Mediator was admitted
for sinful men; and it appeared still greater, in providing one to be a
Mediator of reconciliation for them; and the reconciliation the scriptures
speak of, as made by the blood, sufferings, and death of Christ, is not a
reconciliation of God to them, as to his love, but justice; but a
reconciliation of them to God; and that not so much of their persons, which are
always acceptable and well pleasing to God, as considered
in Christ, in whom they were chosen, as for their sins, #Ro 5:10 2Co 5:19 Col
1:20,21 Heb 2:17 and which is no other than a satisfaction for them to divine
justice; for the reconciliation of their persons in that way, is not to the
love and affections of God, from which they were never separated, but to the
justice of God, offended by their sins; and the whole is a reconciliation of
the divine perfections to each other in the business of
salvation; for though these agree among themselves, yet with respect to that,
had different claims to make; the love and grace of God pleaded for mercy, and
mercy pleaded for itself, that it might be shown to the objects of love; but
justice insisted on it, that satisfaction be made for the offences committed;
the difficulty was how to answer each of these pleas; Christ interposed, and offered himself in the covenant, to be a Mediator of
reconciliation, or to make satisfaction for sin; and so mercy and truth have
met together, and righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Reconciliation then is the principal branch of Christ's office in the covenant
as Mediator. Another follows, namely,
His
intercession, or advocacy, which proceeds upon reconciliation or satisfaction
made; "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our sins", #1Jo 2:1,2 and it
is his being the Propitiation for sin, that is the foundation of his advocacy,
or on which is grounded his plea for the remission of it; he is the Angel of
God's presence, who always appears there for his people,
and ever lives to make intercession for them; he is first the Mediator of
reconciliation, and then of intercession; as they are reconciled to God by his
sufferings and death, they are saved through his interceding life. He is called
the Angel of God's presence, not only because he enjoys it himself; but because
he introduces his people into it, and presents their petitions to God, offers up the prayers of all saints, perfumed with the much incense
of his mediation; through which they become acceptable to God. Christ is the
medium of access to God, to the throne of his grace; there is no drawing nigh
of sinful men to God without a Mediator, without him he is a consuming fire; no
man can come to the Father but by Christ; he is the only Way, the new and the
living Way; and through him, his blood, righteousness, and
sacrifice, there is access with boldness and confidence. And he is the medium
of acceptance, both of persons and services, which are only accepted in the
Beloved, and become acceptable through his prevalent mediation and
intercession; and he is the medium of conveyance of all the blessings of the
covenant of grace to his people, which are all communicated in virtue of his advocacy for them; and he is the medium of the saints'
communion and fellowship with God now, as he will be the medium of their glory
and happiness to all eternity. The next thing to be considered is,
2. Secondly, The fitness of
Christ for his work and office, as the Mediator of the covenant;
since a mediator was necessary, and he must be one of the divine Persons in the
Trinity; the Son of God being the middle Person in it, seems most proper and
suitable to preserve the order, name, and place of the Persons in it: it does
not seem so decent, that the first Person should be a Mediator to the second;
but rather, since, as Dr. Goodwin expresses it, the suit of trespass was
commenced, and ran in the name of the Father, of the first
Person for the rest; it seems most agreeable that the reconciliation be made to
him by one of the other Persons; and since the second Person bears the name of
a Son, as the first of a Father, it seems most in character that the Son should
mediate with the Father, than the Father with the Son; and since it was proper
that the Mediator should become the Son of man, as will be seen hereafter, it seems most agreeable, that he who is the Son of
God should become the Son of man; otherwise there would be two Sons in the
Trinity, or two Persons so called: and for the first or third Person to become
a Mediator between God and man, does not seem so becoming, as he who is the
second or middle Person among them. But the principal fitness of Christ for his
office, as Mediator, at least for the execution of it, lies
in the union of the two natures, human and divine, in his one Person; whereby
he is the Immanuel, God with us, God manifest in the flesh; and as he partakes
of both natures, he has an interest in, and a concern for both; he is fit to be
a Mediator between God and man; both to take care of things pertaining to God
and his glory, and to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
2a. It was requisite that he
should be man, assume human nature into union with his divine Person, even a
true body, and a reasonable soul.
2a1. That he
might be related to those he was a Mediator,
Redeemer,
and Saviour of; that he might be their brother,
their near
kinsman, their God, and so have an apparent
right to redeem
them, as the near kinsman, according to the
law, had, #Le
25:48,49.
2a2.
That sin might be satisfied for, and reconciliation be made
for it, in
the same nature which sinned; and whereas,
according to
the scheme of mediation and salvation by
Christ, the
same individuals that sinned were not to suffer;
it seems
requisite and reasonable that an individual of that
nature
should, in their room and stead, that so it might
come as near
to what the law required as could be, #Ge 2:17.
2a3. It was proper
that the Mediator should be capable of obeying
the law,
broken by the sin of man: as a divine Person could
not
be subject to the law, and yield obedience to it; and
had he
assumed the angelic nature, that would not have been
capable of
obeying all the precepts of the law, which are
required of
men; and universal perfect obedience was
necessary for
the justification of a sinner before God;
hence
Christ was made of a woman, that he might be made
under the
law, and yield obedience to it; by which obedience
men are made
righteous in the sight of God, #Ga 4:4 Ro 5:19.
2a4. It was
meet the Mediator should be man, that he might be
capable
of suffering death; as God he could not die, and had
he assumed
the nature of an angel, that is uncapable of
dying; and
yet suffering the penalty of the law, death, was
necessary to
make reconciliation; a sacrifice for sin was to
be offered,
and therefore it was proper Christ should have
somewhat
to offer; even a true body, and a reasonable soul,
Which he did
offer; peace was to be made by blood, and
reconciliation
by the sufferings of death, and therefore a
nature must
be assumed capable of shedding blood, and of
suffering
death; and without which he could not be made sin,
and
a curse for men, as the law required he should. In a
word, it was
highly becoming, that the Captain of our
salvation
should be made perfect through suffering, that he
might be a
perfect Saviour, which could not be, without the
assumption of
human nature; see #Heb 2:10,14,15 5:9 8:3.
2a5. It was
fit the Mediator should be man, that he might be a
merciful, as
well as a faithful High Priest, have a
fellow
feeling with his people, and sympathise with them
under all
their temptations, afflictions, and distresses,
and
succour and relieve them, from love and affection to
them, as
their friend and brother, #Heb 2:17,18 4:15.
2a6. It was
necessary that he should be holy and righteous, free
from all sin,
original and actual, that he might offer
himself
without spot to God, take away the sins of men, and
be an
advocate for them, #Heb 7:26 9:14 1Jo 3:5 2:1 but it
was not
enough to be truly man, and an innocent person; he
must be more
than a man, to be a mediator between God and
man; it was
requisite, therefore,
2b. That he
should be God as well as man.
2b1. That he
might be able to draw nigh to God, and treat with
him about
terms of peace, and covenant with him; all which a
mere
man could not do; and therefore it is with wonder said,
and as expressive
of the arduousness of the task, of the
difficulty of
the work, and of the necessity of a divine
Person to do
it; "Who is this that engaged his heart to
approach unto
me, saith the Lord?" #Jer 30:21 to mediate
between
him and sinful men, to lay his hands on both, and
reconcile
them together; none but Jehovah's fellow could or
dared to do
this.
2b2. That he
might give virtue and value to his obedience and
sufferings;
for if he had been a mere man, his obedience and
righteousness
would not have been sufficient to justify men,
nor his
sufferings and death a proper sacrifice and
atonement for
sin. But being God as well as man, his
righteousness
is the righteousness of God; and so sufficient
to
justify all that believe in him, and them from all their
sins; and his
blood is the blood of the Son of God, and so
cleanses from
all sin, and is a proper atonement for it.
2b3. Being
Mediator, Redeemer, and Saviour, it naturally and
necessarily
leads men to put their trust and confidence in
him, and rely
upon him, for peace, pardon, and salvation;
whereas, if
he was a mere man, and not God, this would
entail a
curse upon them; "for cursed is the man that
trusteth in
man, and maketh flesh his arm", #Jer 17:5 and
even
to worship and adore him, and ascribe divine honour and
glory to him;
which to do would be idolatry, was he not God;
for though he
that is Mediator is to be worshipped by angels
and men, yet
not as mediator, but as God; for it is his
Deity that is
the foundation of worship, and renders him the
proper
object of it; God will "not give" his "glory to
another",
#Isa 42:8 not even the glory of being a Mediator
to any other
but a divine Person; for of Christ, in his
mediatorial
capacity, are the words spoken, as appears from
the whole
preceding context: it is necessary that the
Mediator
should be God, that he might be the proper object
of trust,
worship, honour, and glory divine.
Nor is it any
objection to his being a Mediator, as to
his divine
nature, that then the Father and the Spirit would
be
Mediators too, the divine nature being common to them
all; since it
is not in the divine nature, essentially
considered,
but as it subsists in the second Person, the Son
of God, that
Christ is Mediator, and performs his office;
and to
exercise this office in it, is no lessening and
degrading
of his Person, since it is a glory that none but a
divine Person
is fit to bear: and it may be observed, that
among men
this office is sometimes assumed and exercised by
one superior
to either of the parties between whom he
mediates; and
though the Father may be said to be greater
than
Christ, considered in his office capacity, yet this
does not
suppose any subjection and inferiority of his
divine
Person: nor is it any objection to Christ being
Mediator, as
to his divine nature, that then he must be a
Mediator to
himself, or reconcile men to himself; for not to
observe,
that Christ in his office may be distinguished from
himself, as a
divine Person; as one may be distinguished
from himself
as to different circumstances of age, office,
&c. there
is no impropriety that Christ is a Mediator for
himself, or
has made reconciliation and satisfaction to
himself;
for if the Father may be said to reconcile men to
himself by
his Son, as in #2Co 5:18,19 Col 1:20 why may not
the Son be
said to reconcile men to himself, as God, by his
sufferings
and death as man? There is no impropriety, that
if a man has
offended a society of men, one of that society
should
take upon him to be a mediator for him, and reconcile
him to that
society, though he himself is a part of it, and
as such,
equally offended as they: or, still nearer to the
case in hand,
supposing a rebellion in a nation, against the
king of it,
and this king should have a son, who is heir to
his
throne, and so must be equally offended with the rebels
as his
father, and yet should take upon him to be a mediator
between his
father and the rebels, and make peace between
them; where would
be the impropriety of it, though he
himself, with
his father, is the party offended?
The mediation
of Christ thus stated, meets with and
militates
against two errors; one of those, who say he is
only a
Mediator as to his human nature; and that of others,
who assert
him to be only a Mediator as to his divine
nature.
But most certain it is, that there are various acts
and works of
Christ, as Mediator, in which both natures
manifestly
appear, and are concerned; not to make mention of
the incarnation
itself, or Christ's assumption of human
nature, which
manifestly implies both; for it was a divine
Person
that partook of flesh and blood, or assumed, not an
angelic, but
an human nature: it was the Word, which was in
the beginning
with God, and was God, that was made flesh,
and dwelt
among men; it was he that was in the form of God,
and thought
it no robbery to be equal with him, that was
found
in fashion as a man, and took on him the form of a
servant; it
was God manifest in the flesh. In the obedience
of Christ
both natures are to be perceived; not only the
human nature,
in his being obedient unto death, even the
death of the
cross; but the divine nature also; or
otherwise,
where is the wonder, that "though he was a Son,
yet learned
he obedience by the things that he suffered",
#Heb 5:8 and
it was that which gave virtue to his obedience,
and made it
satisfactory to the justice of God, and made the
law more
honourable than the perfect and perpetual obedience
of
angels and men could do. In the act of laying down his
life for men,
both natures appear; the human nature, which
is passive in
it, and is the life laid down; the divine
nature, or
the divine Person of Christ, who is active in it,
and laid down
his life of himself, he having such a power
over
his life as man, and that at his dispose, as no mere
creature ever
had; and both are to be observed in his taking
of it up
again; his human nature, in his body being raised
from the
dead; his divine nature or person, in raising it up
of himself,
whereby he was declared to be the Son of God
with
power: he was put to death in the flesh, in human
nature, and
quickened in the Spirit, or by his divine
nature; the
sacrifice of himself, was his own act, as
Mediator; what
was offered up were his soul and body, his
whole human
nature; this was offered by his eternal Spirit,
or
divine nature, which gave virtue to it, and made it a
proper
atoning sacrifice for sin. To observe no more, the
redemption
and purchase of his people, is a plain proof of
both natures
being concerned in his work as Mediator; the
purchase
price, or the price of redemption, is his precious
blood,
his blood as man; but what gave virtue to that blood,
and made it a
sufficient ransom price, is, that it was the
blood of him
that is God as well as man; and therefore God
is said to
purchase the church with his own blood,
#Ac 20:28.
2c. It was not only requisite
and necessary, that the Mediator should be God and man, but that he should be
both in one Person, or that the two natures should be united in one Person; or,
rather, that the human nature should be taken up, and united to, and subsist in
the Person of the Son of God; for the human nature, as it has
no personality of itself, it adds none to the Son of God; it is no constituent
part of his Person; he was a divine Person, before his assumption of human
nature; and what he assumed was not a person, but a nature, and is called a
"thing, nature, seed", #Lu 1:35, Heb 2:16 had it been a person, there
would be two persons in Christ, and so two mediators, contrary to the express
words of scripture, #1Ti 2:5 and if the human nature was a
person, as it must be a finite one, what was done and suffered by it, must be
finite also, and of no use but to that person, and could have no sufficient
virtue and value in them to justify men, and atone for sin; but these two
natures being in personal union, the works and actions of either, though
distinct and peculiar to each, yet belong to the whole Person, and are
predicated of it; and so those of the human nature have
virtue and efficacy in them, from the personal union, to make them effectual to
the purposes for which they were designed, without which they would be
ineffectual. Hence it may be observed, that Christ is described in one nature,
by qualities, works, and actions, which belong to him in the other, and is what
divines call a communication of idioms, or properties; thus the Lord of glory is said to be crucified; God is said to purchase the
church with his blood; and the Son of man is said to be in heaven, while he was
here on earth, #1Co 2:8 Ac 20:28 Joh 3:13 the advantage of this personal union
is, that the divine nature has an influence upon, and gives virtue and dignity
to whatsoever is done or suffered in the human nature; which is of the utmost
concern in the mediation of Christ: nor is it any objection
that two natures should influence one and the same action, or be concerned in
the production or perfection of it; when it is observed, that the soul and body
of man, united together, concur in the performance of the same action, whether
good or bad. I shall next enquire,
3.
Thirdly, How Christ came to be the Mediator of the covenant, even the Mediator
of reconciliation in it: it was owing originally to a thought in the heart of
God, the offended Party; whose thoughts were "thoughts of peace, and not
of evil", towards offending man; this affair began with God the Father;
"All things are of God", that is, the Father, as appears by what
follows; "Who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus
Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation"; the doctrine
of it, to publish and declare to the world; the sum and substance of which is,
"to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself",
#2Co 5:18,19 that is, consulting with Christ his Son, and with him contriving
the scheme and method of reconciling to himself the world of his elect,
considered as sinful fallen creatures in Adam: upon the
first thought of peace and reconciliation, a council of peace was held between
the divine Persons, which issued in a covenant of peace in which it was
proposed to Christ, and he agreed to it, to be the Peace maker, upon which he
was constituted the Mediator of it; "I was set up from everlasting",
#Pr 8:23 says Christ; that is, by his divine Father; though not without his own
consent: or, "I was anointed", which does not
design a collation of any gifts, qualifying him for the office of Mediator; as
when he is said to be anointed with the Holy Ghost; only his investiture with
that office, so expressed, because the rite of anointing was used in the
consecration of kings, priests, and prophets to their office. And God not only
set him up, but "set" him "forth", in his eternal purposes
and decrees, to be the "propitiation for sin", to
make reconciliation and satisfaction for it, #Ro 3:25 and declared him in
prophecy to be the Prince of peace, and the Man that should appear in human
nature, and make peace and reconciliation between him and men; he sanctified
him, or set him apart to this office before the world began; and in the fulness
of time, sent him to be the propitiation, or propitiatory sacrifice, for the
sins of men; and even before his incarnation, being
constituted in covenant the Mediator of it, he acted as such, throughout the
whole Old Testament dispensation: he exercised in each of his offices then; his
prophetic office, by making known to Adam the covenant of grace, immediately
after his fall; by preaching by his Spirit to the disobedient in the times of
Noah, the spirits that were in prison, in the times of the apostle
Peter; and by his Spirit, in the prophets testifying beforehand his own
sufferings, and the glory that should follow. His Kingly office, in gathering,
governing, and protecting his church and people, who acknowledged him as their
King, Judge, and Lawgiver: and his Priestly office, through the virtue of his
blood reaching backward to the foundation of the world, and therefore said to
be the Lamb slain so early, #Re 13:8 and instances there
are of his intercession under the former dispensation, #Zec 1:12,13 3:1-4 the
actual existence of Christ's human nature from eternity, was not necessary to
his being a Mediator of the covenant; it was enough that he agreed in covenant,
to be man in time; that this was known he would be, and was certain he should
be; and accordingly he was, from the instant of the
covenant making, reckoned and accounted, and bore the name of the God-man and
Mediator, and acted as such. Some parts of his work did not require the actual
existence of the human nature; he could draw nigh to God, as Jehovah's fellow,
without it; he could treat with God about terms of peace, and promise to fulfil
them, and covenant with God without it: it no more required the actual
existence of his human nature, to covenant with his Father,
about the reconciliation and redemption of man, than it required that the
Father should assume such a nature to covenant with his Son about the same:
there were other parts of Christ's work as Mediator, which required its actual
existence; as obedience to the law, and suffering death, the penalty of it; but
then, and not before, was it necessary for him to assume it, when the fulness of time was come agreed on, to obey and suffer. It
only remains now,
4. Fourthly, To show what a
Mediator Christ is, the excellency of him, and the epithets which belong to him
as such. And,
4a. He is
the one and only Mediator; "There is one Mediator between God and man, the
Man Christ Jesus"; and there is no other: the papists plead for other
mediators, angels and saints departed; and distinguish between a Mediator of
redemption, and a mediator of intercession; the former, they own, is peculiar
to Christ, the latter common to angels and saints; but there is no Mediator of
intercession, but who is a Mediator of redemption and
reconciliation; the instances produced are insufficient, and respect either the
uncreated angel, Jesus Christ himself, #Zec 1:12 Re 8:3 or saints, ministers,
and members of churches in the present state, and not as departed, #Re 5:8 and
if is to be understood of departed spirits, it is only an #Re 6:9 instance of
prayer for themselves, and not for others: the passages in #Ex 32:13 Job 5:1
with others, are quite impertinent.
4b. Christ is a Mediator of
men only, not of angels; good angels need not any, and as for evil angels, none
is provided nor admitted, as before observed. Yet not of all men; for the
world, said to be reconciled to God by Christ, is not all the individuals in it; but the world Christ gave his flesh, or human nature
for the life of, since there is a world for which he is not so much as a
Mediator of intercession, and much less a Mediator of reconciliation; see #2Co
5:19 Joh 6:51, 17:9. The persons for whom Christ acted as a Mediator, by means
of death, for the redemption of their transgressions, were such as were called,
and received the promise of the eternal inheritance, #Heb
9:15.
4c. Yet he is the Mediator
both for Jews and Gentiles; for some of both these are chosen vessels of mercy;
and God is a covenant God, not to the Jews only, but to the Gentiles also; and
Christ is a Propitiation, not for the sins of the Jews only, but for the sins of the whole world, or of God's elect throughout the
whole world: and therefore both have access to God through the one Mediator,
Christ, #Ro 9:23,24 3:29,30 1Jo 2:2 Eph 2:18.
4d. Christ is Mediator both
for Old and New Testament saints; there is but one Mediator
for both, but one Way to the Father, which is Christ the Way, the Truth, and the
Life; but one Way of life, peace, reconciliation, and salvation; but one
Redeemer and Saviour; but one name given under heaven among men, whereby they
can be saved; Old and New Testament saints are saved by the grace of our Lord
Jesus; he is the Foundation of the apostles and prophets.
4e. Christ is a prevalent
Mediator, his mediation is always effectual, ever succeeds, and is infallible;
as his work was to make peace and reconciliation, and he agreed and engaged to
make it; he has made it, the thing is done, and done effectually; and as for
his prayers, they are always heard, his intercession ever prevails, and is
never in vain; "I knew that thou hearest me
always", #Joh 11:42.
4f. Christ is an everlasting
Mediator; he was Mediator from everlasting, and acted as such throughout the
whole Old Testament period and still continues; he has an unchangeable
priesthood; his blood always speaks peace and pardon, and he ever lives to make intercession; and when his mediatorial kingdom
will be completed, and there will be no need of him, either as a Mediator of
reconciliation or intercession, at least in the manner he has been, and now is;
for sin being wholly removed from the saints, even as to the being of it, they
may have access to God, and he may communicate unto them, without the
intervention of a Mediator; as is the case of the holy
angels; though Christ may be the medium of the glory and happiness of his
people to all eternity; and since the happiness of the saints will greatly lie
in beholding the glory of Christ as God-man, and the glory of God will be most
illustriously displayed in him, it may be admitted: I shall observe no more,
only that this office of Christ, as Mediator, includes his Kingly, Priestly,
and Prophetic offices; all which will be considered in
their proper place.
{1} R. Joseph Albo, lkkarim,
Orat. 2. c. 28.
{2} Quis Rer. Divin. Haeres,
p. 509. Vid. ibid. de Cherubim, p. 112.
{3} Plutarch. de Isid. et
Osir.