The consideration of the oath of God deferred — The method first proposed somewhat waived — The influence of the mediation of Christ into God’s free and unchangeable acceptance of believers proposed — Reasons of that proposal — Of the oblation of Christ — Its influence into the saints’ perseverance — All causes of separation between God and believers taken away thereby — Moral and efficient causes thereby removed — The guilt of sin, how taken away by the death of Christ — Of the nature of redemption — Conscience of sin, how abolished by the sacrifice of Christ — Heb. x. 3, 4, 14; Dan. ix. 24 opened — Rom. viii. 34, deliverance from all sin, how by the death of Christ — The law innovated in respect of the elect — The vindictive justice of God satisfied by the death of Christ — How that is done Wherein satisfaction doth consist; absolute, not conditional — The law, how fulfilled in the death of Christ — The truth of God thereby accomplished; his distributive justice engaged — Observations for the clearing of the former assertions — Whether any one for whom Christ died may die in sin — The necessity of faith and obedience — The reasons thereof — The end of faith and holiness — The first argument for the proof of the former assertions concerning the fruit and efficacy of the death of Christ, Heb. ix. 14 — The second — The third — The compact between the Father and Son about the work of mediation — The fourth — Good things bestowed on them for whom Christ died antecedently to any thing spiritually good in them — The Spirit so bestowed, and faith itself — The close of those arguments — Inferences from the foregoing discourse — The efficacy of the death of Christ, and the necessity of faith and obedience, reconciled — Sundry considerations unto that end proposed: 1. All spiritual mercies fruits of the death of Christ; 2. All the fruits of Christ’s death laid up in the hand of God’s righteousness; 3. The state of them for whom Christ died not actually changed by his death; 4. On what account believing is necessary — Christ secures the stability of the saints’ abiding with God — What is contrary thereunto; how by him removed — The world overcome by Christ, as managed by Satan in an enmity to the saints — The complete victory of Christ over the devil — The ways whereby he completes his conquest — The rule of Satan in respect of sinners twofold: 1. Over them; 2. In them — The title of Satan to a rule over men judged and destroyed by Christ — The exercise of all power taken from him The works of Satan destroyed by Christ in and for his elect — The Holy Spirit procured by the death of Christ — The giving of the Spirit the great promise of the new covenant — This farther proved and confirmed — The perpetual residence of the Holy Spirit with believers proved by the threefold testimony of Father, Son, and Spirit — Isa. lix. 21, the testimony of the Father proposed and vindicated — Our argument from hence farther cleared — This promise absolute, not conditional — No condition rationally to be affixed to it — The import of those words, “As for me” — To whom this promise is made — That farther cleared — Not to all Israel according to the flesh — Mr G.’s objections answered — The testimony of the Son given to the perpetual abiding of the Spirit with believers — John xiv. 16 opened — The promise in those words equally belonging to all believers — Mr G.’s objections answered — No promise of the Spirit abiding with believers on his principle allowed — The promise given to the apostles personally, yet given also to the whole church — Promises made to the church made to the individuals whereof it is constituted — The giving of this promise to all believers farther argued from the scope of the place, and vindicated from Mr G.’s exceptions — The third testimony, of the Holy Spirit himself, proposed to consideration — His testimony in sealing particularly considered, 2 Cor. i. 22; Eph. i. 13, iv. 30 — Of the nature and use of sealing amongst men — The end, aim, and use, of the sealing of the Holy Ghost — Mr G.’s objections and exceptions to our argument from that sealing of the Spirit considered and removed — The same farther carried on, etc.
There remains nothing for the confirmation of the first branch or part of the truth proposed, but only the consideration of the oath of God; which, because it ought certainly to be “an end of all strife,” I shall reserve the handling of it to the close of the whole, if God be pleased to carry us out thereunto, that we may give the oath of God its due honour, of being the last word in this contest.
The order of our method first proposed would here call me to handle our steadfastness with God, and the glory created upon our grace of sanctification; but because some men may admire, and ask whence it is that the Lord will abide so steadfast in his love towards believers as hath been manifested upon several accounts that he will, besides what hath been said before of his own goodness and unchangeableness, etc., I shall now add that outward consideration which lies in the mediation of Christ, upon the account whereof he acts his own goodness and kindness to us with the greatest advantage of glory and honour to himself that can be thought upon. Only I shall desire the reader to observe, that the Lord Jesus is an undertaker in this business of perfecting our salvation and safeguarding our spiritual glory not in one regard and respect only. There is one part of his engagement therein which, under the oath of God, is the close of the whole, and that is his becoming a surety to us of his Father’s faithfulness towards us, and a surety for us of our faithfulness to him: so that, upon the whole matter, the business on each side as to security will be found knit up in him, and there we shall do well to leave it, though the handling of that suretiship of his be not of our present consideration. Men will scarce dispute him out of his faithfulness. “Henceforth he dieth no more; death hath no dominion over him; he sits at the right hand of God, expecting to have his enemies made his footstool.” This, then, I will do, if God permit. And [as] for the steadfastness of his saints in their abiding with God, I shall, I fear, no otherwise insist peculiarly upon it but as occasion shall be ministered by dealing with our adversary as we pass on.