OF CHRIST, THE
SURETY OF THE COVENANT
John Gill
The suretyship of Christ is a
branch of his mediatorial office; one way in which Christ has acted the part of
a Mediator between God and men, is by engaging on their behalf, to do and
suffer whatever the law and justice of God required, to make satisfaction
for their sins. The Greek word for "surety" egguov, is used but once
throughout the whole New Testament, #Heb 7:22 and there of Christ; where he is
said to be made, or become, "the Surety of a better testament", or
covenant. And the word is derived either from egguv, "near", because
a surety draws nigh to one on the behalf of another, and lays himself under
obligation to him for that other; thus Christ drew nigh to
his Father, and became a Surety to him for them; hence those words, "I
will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me; for who is this
that engaged his heart to approach unto me, saith the Lord?" #Jer 30:21 or
rather, it is derived from guion, which signifies the "hand" {1};
because when one becomes a Surety, he either puts something into the hand of
another for security, or rather puts his hand into the hand
of another, or strikes hands with him; a rite much used in suretyship, and is
often put for it, and used as synonymous; see #Pr 6:1 17:18 22:26. Snidas {2}
derives it from gh, guh, the "earth", because that is the firmest of
the elements, and remains immoveable, and may denote the firmness and security
of the promise, or bond, which a surety gives to one for another.
The Hebrew word for a "surety", in the Old Testament, bre, #Ge 43:9
and elsewhere, has the signification of "mixing", because, as
Stockins {3} observes, in suretyship persons are so mixed among themselves, and
joined together, that the one is thereby bound to the other: and, upon the
whole, Christ, as a Surety, drew nigh to his Father on the behalf of the elect,
struck hands with him, and gave him firm security for them,
and put himself in their place and stead, and engaged to perform everything for
them that should be required of him; for the better understanding this branch
of Christ's office in the covenant, it may be proper to consider,
1. First, In what sense Christ
is the Surety of the covenant. And,
1a. First, He is not the
Surety for his Father, to his people, engaging that the promises made by him in
covenant shall be fulfilled; which is the Socinian sense of Christ's suretyship
{4}; for though the promises were made to Christ, and are Yea and Amen in him;
and many of them, such as respect him, were fulfilled in him, and by him, as the minister of the circumcision, #Ga 3:16 #2Co 1:20
Ro 15:8. Yet, such is the faithfulness of God that has promised, that there
needs no surety for him; his faithfulness is sufficient, which he will not
suffer to fail; he is God, that cannot lie, nor deny himself; there is no
danger of his breaking his word, and not fulfilling his promise, which may be
depended on, and strongly confided in: and if his word was not
enough, he has joined his oath to it; so that by two immutable things, in which
it was impossible for God to lie, the heirs of promise might have strong
consolation, in believing the fulfilment of every promise made, #Heb 6:18.
Besides, though Christ is equal with his Father, is Jehovah's fellow, and has
all the perfections of Deity in him, yet he is not greater than he; and, with
reverence to him be it said, he cannot give a greater
security, than the word and oath of God, or that will lay a firmer foundation
for confidence in the promises of God; and it is with an ill grace these men
advance such a notion; since they make Christ to be but a mere man; and what
dependence can there be upon him, when cursed is the man that trusts in man,
and makes flesh his arm? #Jer 17:5 and what greater security is it possible
that a mere man should give, than what the promise of God
itself gives? or what additional strength can a creature give to that, to
induce a stronger belief of it? Nor,
1b. Secondly, Is Christ in
such sense a Surety, as civilians call a "fidejussor", or such a
surety that is jointly engaged with a debtor, for the payment of a debt; or is so bound for another, as that other remains under obligation,
and the obligation of the surety is only an accession to the principal
obligation, which is made stronger thereby, and the creditor has the greater
security; yet still the principal debtor is left under his debt, that is not
removed from him, and he is under obligation to pay it, if able; and it is
first to be demanded of him, or should his surety desert his suretyship,
and not make satisfaction. But now none of these things are to be supposed in
Christ's suretyship.
1b1. He is not
a mere accessory to the obligation of his people
for payment
of their debts; he and they are not engaged in
one
joint bond for payment; he has taken their whole debt
upon himself,
as the apostle Paul did in the case of
Onesimus; and
he has paid it off, and entirely discharged it
alone.
1b2.
Nor was any such condition made in his suretyship
engagements
for his people, that they should pay if they
were able;
for God the Father, to whom Christ became a
Surety, knew,
and he himself, the Surety, knew full well,
when this
suretyship was entered into, that they were not
able
to pay, and never would be; yea, that it was impossible
for them, in
their circumstances, ever to pay; for having
failed in
their obedience to God, all after acts of
obedience,
though ever so perfect, could not make amends, or
satisfy for
that disobedience, since to those God has a
prior
right; and their failure in obedience, brings upon
them a debt
of punishment, which is everlasting, and "ad
infinitum";
and, if left on them, would be ever paying, and
never paid;
see #Lu 7:41,42 Mt 18:24,25 5:26 25:46.
1b3.
Nor is such a supposition to be made, that Christ might
desert his
suretyship, withdraw himself from it; this indeed
has been
supposed by some: but though Christ was not obliged
to become a
Surety, he voluntarily engaged in this work, and
cheerfully
took it on him; yet when he had undertaken it he
could
not relinquish it, without being guilty of disobedience
to his Father,
and of unfaithfulness to his own engagements;
for from the
instant he became a Surety for his people, he
became a
Servant to his Father, and he called and reckoned
him as such;
"Thou art my servant, O Israel; behold my
servant
whom I uphold", #Isa 49:3 42:1 and laid his commands
upon him,
both to obey his law, and lay down his life for his
people, both
which he undertook to do, and did perform; or
otherwise he
could not have had the character of God's
righteous
Servant, nor would have been faithful to him that
appointed
him, nor to himself, #Isa 53:10 Heb 3:2 and
consequently
could not be without sin, which God forbid
should ever
be said or supposed of the holy Jesus, who did no
sin, nor was
guile found in his mouth; yet this has been
supposed of
him by some, and the dreadful consequences of it,
which
have been blasphemously uttered by some schoolmen and
popish
writers, not fit to be mentioned.
1b4. Nor is
it to be supposed, that Christ might not fulfil his
suretyship
engagements, or not make satisfaction, as might
be
expected; since if he did not, it must be either for want
of will, or
want of power; not of will, since the persons he
became a
surety for, he bore the strongest affection to;
these were
the sons of men, in whom was all his delight from
everlasting;
and such his love to them, that nothing
whatever
could separate from it: nor could it be for want of
power, since,
as a divine Person, he is the mighty God; as
Mediator, has
all power in heaven and in earth; as man, was
made strong
by the Lord for this work, and had a power, as
such, to lay
down his life, and take it up again: and should
he
have deserted his suretyship, and not have made the
promised and
expected satisfaction, the purposes of God,
respecting the
salvation of the elect by Christ, must have
been
frustrated, and made null and void; the council of
peace held
concerning it would have been without effect; the
covenant
of grace abolished; the salvation of God's people
not obtained,
and the glory of God, of his grace, mercy,
truth, and
faithfulness lost; yea, Christ himself must have
been deprived
of his mediatorial glory; all too shocking to
be admitted.
But,
1c. Thirdly, Christ is in such
sense a Surety, as civilians call an expromissor, one that promises out and
out, absolutely engages to pay another's debt; takes another's obligation, and
transfers it to himself, and by this act dissolves the former obligation, and
enters into a new one, which civilians call "novation"; so that the obligation no longer lies on the principal debtor, but he is
set free, and the Surety is under the obligation, as if he was the principal
debtor, or the guilty person. Now this sort of suretyship being most similar,
and coming nearest to Christ's suretyship, is made use of to express and
explain it; though they do not in everything tally; for the civil law neither
describes nor admits such a Surety among men as Christ is; who so substituted himself in the room and stead of sinners, as to
suffer punishment in soul and body for them; but in some things there is an
agreement.
1c1. Christ,
by his suretyship, has took the whole debt of his
people upon
himself, and made himself solely responsible for
it;
he has dissolved thereby their obligation to payment or
punishment,
having taken it on himself; so that they were by
it entirely
set free from the very instant he became their
Surety; it is
a rule that will hold good, as Maccovius {5}
observes,
that as soon as anyone becomes a surety for
another,
the other is immediately freed, if the surety be
accepted:
which is the case here; for from henceforward, God
the Father
looked for his debt, and expected satisfaction of
Christ, and
let the sinners go free, for whom he engaged; he
was gracious,
and said, "deliver" them "from going down to
the
pit; I have found a Ransom", #Job 33:24 just as when the
apostle Paul
became a surety for Onesimus; supposing him
accepted as
such by Philemon, Onesimus was set free; the
apostle taking
the whole debt and wrong upon himself, and
promising to
repay and make satisfaction, and which he wrote
1c2. When
Christ became a Surety for his people, their sins were
no longer
imputed to them, but were imputed to Christ, were
placed to his
account, and he became responsible for them;
it
was not, at the time of his sufferings and death, that
God laid on
him first the iniquities of his people, and they
were imputed
and reckoned to him, and he accounted them as
his own, #2Co
5:19 Isa 53:6 Ps 40:12 69:5 by which it
appears, that
obligation to payment of debts, or punishment,
did
not lie upon the principal debtor, or guilty person, but
upon Christ,
who became their Surety; for,
1c3. The Old
Testament saints were really freed from guilt,
condemnation,
and death, before the actual payment was made
by
Christ their Surety; some had as full an application of
the pardon of
their sins, and as clear a view of their
interest in
Christ's righteousness, as their justifying
righteousness
before God, as any of the New Testament saints
ever had; the
one were saved by the grace of Christ as the
other;
yea, they were received into heaven, and actually
glorified,
before the suretyship engagements of Christ were
fulfilled,
#Isa 43:25 45:24,25 Ac 15:11 Heb 11:13-16. So
that it is a
plain case, that the obligation to payment and
punishment
lay not on those for whom Christ became a Surety,
but
was transferred from them to him; unless this absurdity
can be admitted,
that such an obligation lay on glorified
saints, till
the actual payment was made by Christ; or that
there was a
"limbus patrum", as the papists say, where the
saints,
before Christ's coming, were detained; but were set
1c4. It is
certain that the Old Testament saints had knowledge of
the
suretyship engagements of Christ, and prayed and pleaded
for the
application of the benefits of them to them,
#Job
19:25 Ps 119:122 Isa 38:14 and which they enjoyed: and
such was the
dignity of Christ's person, and his known
faithfulness
to his engagements, and the eternity of them,
which with
God has no succession, they were always present
with him, and
in full view, as if actually performed; before
and
after made no difference in the sight of God, with whom
a thousand
years are as one day, and eternity itself as but
a moment. And
now, from this suretyship of Christ arise both
the
imputation of sin to Christ, and the imputation of his
righteousness
to his people; this is the ground and
foundation
of both, and on which the priestly office of
Christ
stands, and in virtue of which it is exercised,
#2Co 5:21 Heb
7:20-22. I proceed,
2. Secondly, To consider what
Christ as a Surety, engaged to do. And,
2a. First, He engaged to pay
the debts of his people, and satisfy for the wrong and injury done by them;
this may be illustrated by the instance of the apostle Paul engaging for
Onesimus; which is thus expressed, "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee
ought, put that on my account; I Paul, have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it", #Phm 1:18,19. Sin is a wrong and injury
done to divine justice, and to the holy law of God, broken by it; which Christ
undertook to satisfy for; and sins are debts; see #Mt 6:12 compared with #Lu
11:4 not proper ones, for then they might be committed with impunity, since it
is right and commendable to pay debts: but in an improper sense, as debts
oblige to payment, so sins to punishment; even to endure
the curse of the law, and death eternal, the sanction of it: these debts, or
sins, are infinite objectively, as they are contracted and committed against an
infinite being, and require punishment of a creature ad infinitum; and
therefore not to be paid off, or answered, by a finite creature; but Christ
being an infinite Person, as God, was able to pay off those debts, and answer
for those sins, and engaged to do it, and has done it.
There is a twofold debt paid
by Christ, as the Surety of his people; the one is a debt of obedience to the law
of God; this he engaged to do, when he said, "Lo, I come to do thy
will"; thy law is within my heart: and accordingly he was made under the law, and yielded perfect obedience to it, by which his people
are made righteous; and the other is a debt of punishment, incurred through
failure of obedience in them; the curse of the law he has endured, the penalty
of it, death; and by paying both these debts, the whole righteousness of the
law is fulfilled in his people, considered in him their Head and Surety. Now
let it be observed, that these debts are not pecuniary
ones, though there is an allusion to such, and the language is borrowed from
them; but criminal ones, a wrong and injury done, as supposed in the case of
Onesimus; and are of such a nature as deserve and require punishment in body
and soul, being transgressions of the righteous law of God; and God is to be
considered, not merely as a creditor, but as the Judge of the whole earth, who
will do right, and who will by no means clear the guilty,
without a satisfaction to his justice; and yet there is a mixture of grace,
mercy, and goodness in God, with his justice in this affair, by admitting a
Surety to obey, suffer, and die, in the room and stead of his people, which he
was not obliged unto; nor does the law give the least hint of an allowance of
it; nor do the civil laws of men admit of any such thing, that an
innocent person should suffer death in the room of one that is guilty, even
though he consents to it, and desires it; because no man has a power over his
own life, to dispose of it at pleasure; but God, who can dispense with his own
law, if he pleases, has thought fit to explain it, and put a construction on it
in favour of his people, where it is not express; and allow of a commutation of
persons, that his Son should stand in their legal place and
stead, obey, suffer, and die for them, that they might be made the
righteousness of God in him. This is owing to his sovereign grace and mercy;
nor is at all inconsistent with his justice, since Christ fully consented to
all this, who is the Prince of life, and had power over his own life, as man,
to lay it down, and take it up again; and since justice is fully satisfied, by
the obedience and death of Christ, and the law magnified
and made honourable, and more so than it could have been by all the obedience
and sufferings of angels and men put together.
2b. Secondly, Another thing
which Christ as a Surety engaged to do, was to bring all the elect safe to
glory; this may he illustrated by Judah's suretyship for Benjamin; thus expressed to his father, "I will be surety for him;
of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him not unto thee, and set him
before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever", #Ge 43:9. And thus
Christ became a Surety to his divine Father, for his beloved Benjamin, the
chosen of God, and precious; as he asked them of his Father, and they were
given into his hands, to be preserved by him, that none of them
might be lost; he agreed that they should be required of his hand, everyone of them,
and pass under the hand of him that telleth them, and their whole number appear
complete, and none missing; as will be the case, when he shall say, "Lo,
I, and the children which God hath given me", #Heb 2:13. Christ engaged to
"bring" his people to his Father; this was the work proposed to him,
and which he agreed to do; "to bring Jacob again to
him, and to restore the preserved of Israel", #Isa 49:5,6 to recover the
lost sheep, to ransom them out of the hands of him that was stronger than they;
to redeem them from all iniquity, and from the law, its curse and condemnation,
and save them with an everlasting salvation, and bring them safe to his Father
in heaven; and because he laid himself under obligation to do all this; hence he says, "them also I must bring", into his
fold here, and into heaven and glory hereafter, #Joh 10:16 and "set"
them "before" his Father; as he did at his death, when all the elect
were gathered together in one Head, even in him, to present them in the body of
his flesh, through death, holy, unblameable, and unreproveable in the sight of
God; and as he now does in heaven, where he appears in the presence of God for them, and they are set down in heavenly places in
him, as their Head and Surety; and as he will at the last day, when he will
deliver up the kingdom to the Father, the mediatorial kingdom, the kingdom of
priests, complete and perfect, as he received them; and having first presented
them to himself, as a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, he will present
them faultless before the presence of his Father's glory,
with exceeding joy; and will be so far from bearing any blame, having so fully
discharged his suretyship engagements, that he will appear without sin unto
salvation; even without sin imputed, without the wrong done by his people put
on his account; all being fully answered for according to agreement.
{2} In voce ennuh.
{3} Clavis Ling. Sanct. p.
810.
{4} Crellius et Schlichtingius
in Heb. vii. 22.
{5} Theolog. Quaest. loc. 31.
qu. 6.