<h2><SPAN name="link2HCH0041" id="link2HCH0041"></SPAN> CHAPTER XLI.<br/>OF THE OFFICE OF OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR </h2>
<h3><SPAN name="link2H_4_0553" id="link2H_4_0553"></SPAN> Three Parts Of The Office Of Christ </h3>
<p>We find in Holy Scripture three parts of the Office of the Messiah: the
first of a Redeemer, or Saviour: The second of a Pastor, Counsellour, or
Teacher, that is, of a Prophet sent from God, to convert such as God hath
elected to Salvation; The third of a King, and Eternall King, but under
his Father, as Moses and the High Priests were in their severall times.
And to these three parts are corespondent three times. For our Redemption
he wrought at his first coming, by the Sacrifice, wherein he offered up
himself for our sinnes upon the Crosse: our conversion he wrought partly
then in his own Person; and partly worketh now by his Ministers; and will
continue to work till his coming again. And after his coming again, shall
begin that his glorious Reign over his elect, which is to last eternally.</p>
<h3><SPAN name="link2H_4_0554" id="link2H_4_0554"></SPAN> His Office As A Redeemer </h3>
<p>To the Office of a Redeemer, that is, of one that payeth the Ransome of
Sin, (which Ransome is Death,) it appertaineth, that he was Sacrificed,
and thereby bare upon his own head, and carryed away from us our
iniquities, in such sort as God had required. Not that the death of one
man, though without sinne, can satisfie for the offences of all men, in
the rigour of Justice, but in the Mercy of God, that ordained such
Sacrifices for sin, as he was pleased in his mercy to accept. In the old
Law (as we may read, Leviticus the 16.) the Lord required, that there
should every year once, bee made an Atonement for the Sins of all Israel,
both Priests, and others; for the doing whereof, Aaron alone was to
sacrifice for himself and the Priests a young Bullock; and for the rest of
the people, he was to receive from them two young Goates, of which he was
to Sacrifice one; but as for the other, which was the Scape Goat, he was
to lay his hands on the head thereof, and by a confession of the
iniquities of the people, to lay them all on that head, and then by some
opportune man, to cause the Goat to be led into the wildernesse, and there
to Escape, and carry away with him the iniquities of the people. As the
Sacrifice of the one Goat was a sufficient (because an acceptable) price
for the Ransome of all Israel; so the death of the Messiah, is a
sufficient price, for the Sins of all mankind, because there was no more
required. Our Saviour Christs sufferings seem to be here figured, as
cleerly, as in the oblation of Isaac, or in any other type of him in the
Old Testament: He was both the sacrificed Goat, and the Scape Goat; “Hee
was oppressed, and he was afflicted (Isa. 53.7.); he opened not his mouth;
he brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep is dumbe before the
shearer, so opened he not his mouth:” Here he is the Sacrificed Goat. “He
hath born our Griefs, (ver.4.) and carried our sorrows;” And again, (ver.
6.) “the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquities of us all:” And so he is
the Scape Goat. “He was cut off from the land of the living (ver. 8.) for
the transgression of my People:” There again he is the Sacrificed Goat.
And again (ver. 11.) “he shall bear their sins:” Hee is the Scape Goat.
Thus is the Lamb of God equivalent to both those Goates; sacrificed, in
that he dyed; and escaping, in his Resurrection; being raised opportunely
by his Father, and removed from the habitation of men in his Ascension.</p>
<h3><SPAN name="link2H_4_0555" id="link2H_4_0555"></SPAN> Christs Kingdome Not Of This World </h3>
<p>For as much therefore, as he that Redeemeth, hath no title to the Thing
Redeemed, before the Redemption, and Ransome paid; and this Ransome was
the Death of the Redeemer; it is manifest, that our Saviour (as man) was
not King of those that he Redeemed, before hee suffered death; that is,
during that time hee conversed bodily on the Earth. I say, he was not then
King in present, by vertue of the Pact, which the faithfull make with him
in Baptisme; Neverthelesse, by the renewing of their Pact with God in
Baptisme, they were obliged to obey him for King, (under his Father)
whensoever he should be pleased to take the Kingdome upon him. According
whereunto, our Saviour himself expressely saith, (John 18.36.) “My
Kingdome is not of this world.” Now seeing the Scripture maketh mention
but of two worlds; this that is now, and shall remain to the day of
Judgment, (which is therefore also called, The Last Day;) and that which
shall bee a new Heaven, and a new Earth; the Kingdome of Christ is not to
begin till the general Resurrection. And that is it which our Saviour
saith, (Mat. 16.27.) “The Son of man shall come in the glory of his
Father, with his Angels; and then he shall reward every man according to
his works.” To reward every man according to his works, is to execute the
Office of a King; and this is not to be till he come in the glory of his
Father, with his Angells. When our Saviour saith, (Mat. 23.2.) “The
Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses seat; All therefore whatsoever they bid
you doe, that observe and doe;” hee declareth plainly, that hee ascribeth
Kingly Power, for that time, not to himselfe, but to them. And so hee hath
also, where he saith, (Luke 12.14.) “Who made mee a Judge, or Divider over
you?” And (John 12.47.) “I came not to judge the world, but to save the
world.” And yet our Saviour came into this world that hee might bee a
King, and a Judge in the world to come: For hee was the Messiah, that is,
the Christ, that is, the Anointed Priest, and the Soveraign Prophet of
God; that is to say, he was to have all the power that was in Moses the
Prophet, in the High Priests that succeeded Moses, and in the Kings that
succeeded the Priests. And St. John saies expressely (chap. 5. ver. 22.)
“The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son.”
And this is not repugnant to that other place, “I came not to judge the
world:” for this is spoken of the world present, the other of the world to
come; as also where it is said, that at the second coming of Christ, (Mat.
19. 28.) “Yee that have followed me in the Regeneration, when the Son of
man shall sit in the throne of his Glory, yee shall also sit on twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”</p>
<h3><SPAN name="link2H_4_0556" id="link2H_4_0556"></SPAN> The End Of Christs Comming Was To Renew The Covenant Of The Kingdome Of God, And To Perswade The Elect To Imbrace It, Which Was The Second Part Of His Office </h3>
<p>If then Christ while hee was on Earth, had no Kingdome in this World, to
what end was his first coming? It was to restore unto God, by a new
Covenant, the Kingdome, which being his by the Old Covenant, had been cut
off by the rebellion of the Israelites in the election of Saul. Which to
doe, he was to preach unto them, that he was the Messiah, that is, the
King promised to them by the Prophets; and to offer himselfe in sacrifice
for the sinnes of them that should by faith submit themselves thereto; and
in case the nation generally should refuse him, to call to his obedience
such as should beleeve in him amongst the Gentiles. So that there are two
parts of our Saviours Office during his aboad upon the Earth; One to
Proclaim himself the Christ; and another by Teaching, and by working of
Miracles, to perswade, and prepare men to live so, as to be worthy of the
Immortality Beleevers were to enjoy, at such time as he should come in
majesty, to take possession of his Fathers Kingdome. And therefore it is,
that the time of his preaching, is often by himself called the
Regeneration; which is not properly a Kingdome, and thereby a warrant to
deny obedience to the Magistrates that then were, (for hee commanded to
obey those that sate then in Moses chaire, and to pay tribute to Caesar;)
but onely an earnest of the Kingdome of God that was to come, to those to
whom God had given the grace to be his disciples, and to beleeve in him;
For which cause the Godly are said to bee already in the Kingdome of
Grace, as naturalized in that heavenly Kingdome.</p>
<h3><SPAN name="link2H_4_0558" id="link2H_4_0558"></SPAN> The Preaching Of Christ Not Contrary To The Then Law Of The Jews, Nor Of Caesar </h3>
<p>Hitherto therefore there is nothing done, or taught by Christ, that
tendeth to the diminution of the Civill Right of the Jewes, or of Caesar.
For as touching the Common-wealth which then was amongst the Jews, both
they that bare rule amongst them, that they that were governed, did all
expect the Messiah, and Kingdome of God; which they could not have done if
their Laws had forbidden him (when he came) to manifest, and declare
himself. Seeing therefore he did nothing, but by Preaching, and Miracles
go about to prove himselfe to be that Messiah, hee did therein nothing
against their laws. The Kingdome hee claimed was to bee in another world;
He taught all men to obey in the mean time them that sate in Moses seat:
he allowed them to give Caesar his tribute, and refused to take upon
himselfe to be a Judg. How then could his words, or actions bee seditious,
or tend to the overthrow of their then Civill Government? But God having
determined his sacrifice, for the reduction of his elect to their former
covenanted obedience, for the means, whereby he would bring the same to
effect, made use of their malice, and ingratitude. Nor was it contrary to
the laws of Caesar. For though Pilate himself (to gratifie the Jews)
delivered him to be crucified; yet before he did so, he pronounced openly,
that he found no fault in him: And put for title of his condemnation, not
as the Jews required, “that he pretended to be King;” but simply, “That
hee was King of the Jews;” and notwithstanding their clamour, refused to
alter it; saying, “What I have written, I have written.”</p>
<h3><SPAN name="link2H_4_0559" id="link2H_4_0559"></SPAN> The Third Part Of His Office Was To Be King (Under His Father) Of The Elect </h3>
<p>As for the third part of his Office, which was to be King, I have already
shewn that his Kingdome was not to begin till the Resurrection. But then
he shall be King, not onely as God, in which sense he is King already, and
ever shall be, of all the Earth, in vertue of his omnipotence; but also
peculiarly of his own Elect, by vertue of the pact they make with him in
their Baptisme. And therefore it is, that our Saviour saith (Mat. 19.28.)
that his Apostles should sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel, “When the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his
glory;” whereby he signified that he should reign then in his humane
nature; and (Mat. 16.27.) “The Son of man shall come in the glory of his
Father, with his Angels, and then he shall reward every man according to
his works.” The same we may read, Marke 13..26. and 14.26. and more
expressely for the time, Luke 22.29, 30. “I appoint unto you a Kingdome,
as my Father hath appointed to mee, that you may eat and drink at my table
in my Kingdome, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
By which it is manifest that the Kingdome of Christ appointed to him by
his Father, is not to be before the Son of Man shall come in Glory, and
make his Apostles Judges of the twelve tribes of Israel. But a man may
here ask, seeing there is no marriage in the Kingdome of Heaven, whether
men shall then eat, and drink; what eating therefore is meant in this
place? This is expounded by our Saviour (John 6.27.) where he saith,
“Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give you.” So that by
eating at Christs table, is meant the eating of the Tree of Life; that is
to say, the enjoying of Immortality, in the Kingdome of the Son of Man. By
which places, and many more, it is evident, that our Saviours Kingdome is
to bee exercised by him in his humane nature.</p>
<h3><SPAN name="link2H_4_0560" id="link2H_4_0560"></SPAN> Christs Authority In The Kingdome Of God Subordinate To His Father </h3>
<p>Again, he is to be King then, no otherwise than as subordinate, or
Viceregent of God the Father, as Moses was in the wildernesse; and as the
High Priests were before the reign of Saul; and as the Kings were after
it. For it is one of the Prophecies concerning Christ, that he should be
like (in Office) to Moses; “I will raise them up a Prophet (saith the
Lord, Deut. 18.18.) from amongst their Brethren like unto thee, and will
put my words into his mouth,” and this similitude with Moses, is also
apparent in the actions of our Saviour himself, whilest he was conversant
on Earth. For as Moses chose twelve Princes of the tribes, to govern under
him; so did our Saviour choose twelve Apostles, who shall sit on twelve
thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel; And as Moses authorized
Seventy Elders, to receive the Spirit of God, and to Prophecy to the
people, that is, (as I have said before,) to speak unto them in the name
of God; so our Saviour also ordained seventy Disciples, to preach his
Kingdome, and Salvation to all Nations. And as when a complaint was made
to Moses, against those of the Seventy that prophecyed in the camp of
Israel, he justified them in it, as being subservient therein to his
government; so also our Saviour, when St. John complained to him of a
certain man that cast out Devills in his name, justified him therein,
saying, (Luke 9.50.) “Forbid him not, for hee that is not against us, is
on our part.”</p>
<p>Again, our Saviour resembled Moses in the institution of Sacraments, both
of Admission into the Kingdome of God, and of Commemoration of his
deliverance of his Elect from their miserable condition. As the Children
of Israel had for Sacrament of their Reception into the Kingdome of God,
before the time of Moses, the rite of Circumcision, which rite having been
omitted in the Wildernesse, was again restored as soon as they came into
the land of Promise; so also the Jews, before the coming of our Saviour,
had a rite of Baptizing, that is, of washing with water all those that
being Gentiles, embraced the God of Israel. This rite St. John the Baptist
used in the reception of all them that gave their names to the Christ,
whom hee preached to bee already come into the world; and our Saviour
instituted the same for a Sacrament to be taken by all that beleeved in
him. From what cause the rite of Baptisme first proceeded, is not
expressed formally in the Scripture; but it may be probably thought to be
an imitation of the law of Moses, concerning Leprousie; wherein the
Leprous man was commanded to be kept out of the campe of Israel for a
certain time; after which time being judged by the Priest to be clean, hee
was admitted into the campe after a solemne Washing. And this may
therefore bee a type of the Washing in Baptisme; wherein such men as are
cleansed of the Leprousie of Sin by Faith, are received into the Church
with the solemnity of Baptisme. There is another conjecture drawn from the
Ceremonies of the Gentiles, in a certain case that rarely happens; and
that is, when a man that was thought dead, chanced to recover, other men
made scruple to converse with him, as they would doe to converse with a
Ghost, unlesse hee were received again into the number of men, by Washing,
as Children new born were washed from the uncleannesse of their nativity,
which was a kind of new birth. This ceremony of the Greeks, in the time
that Judaea was under the Dominion of Alexander, and the Greeks his
successors, may probably enough have crept into the Religion of the Jews.
But seeing it is not likely our Saviour would countenance a Heathen rite,
it is most likely it proceeded from the Legall Ceremony of Washing after
Leprosie. And for the other Sacraments, of eating the Paschall Lambe, it
is manifestly imitated in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper; in which the
Breaking of the Bread, and the pouring out of the Wine, do keep in memory
our deliverance from the Misery of Sin, by Christs Passion, as the eating
of the Paschall Lambe, kept in memory the deliverance of the Jewes out of
the Bondage of Egypt. Seeing therefore the authority of Moses was but
subordinate, and hee but a Lieutenant to God; it followeth, that Christ,
whose authority, as man, was to bee like that of Moses, was no more but
subordinate to the authority of his Father. The same is more expressely
signified, by that that hee teacheth us to pray, “Our Father, Let thy
Kingdome come;” and, “For thine is the Kingdome, the power and the Glory;”
and by that it is said, that “Hee shall come in the Glory of his Father;”
and by that which St. Paul saith, (1 Cor. 15.24.) “then commeth the end,
when hee shall have delivered up the Kingdome to God, even the Father;”
and by many other most expresse places.</p>
<h3><SPAN name="link2H_4_0561" id="link2H_4_0561"></SPAN> One And The Same God Is The Person Represented By Moses, And By Christ </h3>
<p>Our Saviour therefore, both in Teaching, and Reigning, representeth (as
Moses Did) the Person of God; which God from that time forward, but not
before, is called the Father; and being still one and the same substance,
is one Person as represented by Moses, and another Person as represented
by his Sonne the Christ. For Person being a relative to a Representer, it
is consequent to plurality of Representers, that there bee a plurality of
Persons, though of one and the same Substance.</p>
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