Sermon XXI.1 Gospel charity.
“And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” Col. iii. 14.
The word ἀγάπη, which we here translate “charity,” is the only word used in the [New Testament to signify “love.” And I wish we had always rendered it so, because in our common use of speech, charity is restrained to one effect of love, in relieving the poor and afflicted; which is nowhere the sense of the word in Scripture. It is love, then, that is intended. “Above all these things put on love.” There is no grace nor duty but the exercise and practice of it is commanded in the Scriptures, and most of them fall under particular commands, and are enjoined absolutely; but there is but this one, that I remember, which hath a preference given unto it in a command above other things, as here, Επὶ πᾶσι δὲ τούτοις, — “Above all these things put on love.” So 1 Pet. iv. 8, Πρὸ πάντων, — “Before all things, have fervent love among yourselves.” And so in that of our apostle, 1 Cor. xii. 31. He had given them directions about the use and improvement of spiritual gifts for the edification of the church (and it is an excellent way to have the church edified, by the due and orderly exercise of the gifts of the Holy Ghost in the elders and members); but when he hath done, he adds, “Behold, I yet show you a more excellent way;” and that is this duty of love, as he shows in the next chapter. It is not only commanded, but it hath a special eminency and excellency put upon it, in reference to all other duties, for some certain end.
That which I shall at present discourse upon is this:—
Observation. Love, and its exercise, is the principal grace and duty that is required among, and expected from, the saints of God, especially as they are engaged in church-fellowship.
I shall not prove it in general, but speak to these three things:— I. I shall show you the nature of this love that is thus signalized in the gospel precept. II. Give you the reasons of the necessity and importance of it, by mentioning some of them the Scriptures give. III. Lay down some directions for its practice:—
I. Concerning the first we may observe, that the love here intended is the second great duty that was brought to light by the gospel. There is nothing of it in the world, neither as to the degree nor as to the knowledge of it, but what proceeds from the gospel. The world neither hath it nor knows what it is. Variance, strife, wrath, entered by sin; for when we fell off from the love of God, and from his love to us, it is no wonder if we fell into all hatred and variance among ourselves. The love of God was originally, in the state of innocency, the bond of perfection: when that was broke, all the creation fell into disorder, — all mankind, in particular, into that state described by the apostle, Tit. iii. 3, “Living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” There is carnal and natural love still in the world, that follows necessarily upon natural relations; and the same is in some degree in brutes themselves. There is also a love that arises from a society in sin, in pleasure, — from a suitableness of humour in conversation, or of design as to political ends; to which heads you may reduce all the love in the world: but all these are utter strangers from this evangelical love. And therefore, when it was brought to light by the gospel, there was nothing so much amazed the heathen world as to see this new love among Christians. It was even a proverb among them: “See how they love one another!” To see persons of different sorts, different nations, tempers, degrees, high and low, rich and poor, all knit together in love, was the great thing that amazed the heathen world. And I shall show you the grounds of it afterward.
You may likewise observe, that this love is the means of communion between all the members of the mystical body of Christ, as faith is the instrument of their communion with their head, Jesus Christ. And, therefore, our apostle doth seven or eight times in his epistles join faith and love together, as the entire means of the communion and fruitfulness of the mystical body of Christ. And in one place he hath so ordered his words, to show their inviolableness and indissolubleness, that you must make a distribution of them to gather their right sense. It is in Philem., verse 5, “Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints.” A man would think that both the objects relate to both the duties, — faith and love towards Christ, and towards all the saints. But though Christ be the object of our love also, the saints are not the object of our faith; so that you must make a distribution of the words: “Hearing of thy faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and of thy love towards all the saints.” But the apostle so places them to show how indissoluble these things are, that they must go together; — where the one is, there will be the other; and where the other is not, there that will not be. It is therefore the life, and soul, and quickening form2 of all duties that are performed, among believers toward one another. Whatever duties you do perform, be they never so great and glorious, never so useful one to another, to any of the members of Christ; if they are not quickened and animated by this love, they are of no value to thy communion with Christ, and edification of the church. And men may perform many things that appear to be duties of love, without love. In the two verses before the text, saith the apostle, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. But above all these things put on love.” So that all these things may be, yet not love. Those which seem to be the greatest and most effectual fruits of love whatever, yet they may be all without love. We may forbear without love, forgive without love, be kind to one another without love; and all this of no use, if above all these things, over and upon them, we do not superinduce love, — if we be not quickened and acted by love. The truth is, he that shall read over the New Testament, especially those things which we have most reason particularly to consider in it, — which are the special instructions and commands that Christ left unto his disciples when he was going out of this world, — would think this same love, whatever it be, is the sum and substance of all that Christ required of us; as indeed it is. And the apostle John, who lived long, and lived to see the Christian religion much propagated in the world, and very probably saw a decay of love, wrote his First Epistle almost to this very end and purpose, — to let us know, that there was neither truth of grace, nor evidence of the love of God to us, nor of our love to God, unless there was fervent and intense love towards the brethren. Whatsoever we think of our profession, if there be not an intense love unto the brethren, we have neither the truth of grace, nor evidence of God’s love to us, or of our love to God.