Works of John Bunyan: JUSTIFICATION BY AN IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS: SAVED BY GRACE. 363

 

QUEST. II.—WHAT IS IT TO BE SAVED BY GRACE?

[Second. How poor he made himself.] Now this heaven he forsook for our sakes—"He came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim 1:15).

[1.] He was made lower than the angels, for the suffering of death (Heb 2:9). When he was born, he made himself, as he saith, a worm, or one of no reputation; he became the reproach and byword of the people; he was born in a stable, laid in a manger, earned his bread with his labor, being by trade a carpenter (Psa 22:6; Phil 2:7; Luke 2:7; Mark 6:3). When he betook himself to his ministry, he lived upon the charity of the people; when other men went to their own houses, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Hark what himself saith for the clearing of this—"Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." He denied himself of this world's good (Luke 8:2,3; 9:58; John 7:35; 8:1).

[2.] Again, as he was Prince of life, so he for our sakes laid down that also; for so stood the matter, that he or we must die; but the grace that was in his heart wrought with him to lay down his life: "He gave his life a ransom for many." He laid down his life that we might have life; he gave his flesh and blood for the life of the world; he laid down his life for his sheep.

[3.] Again, he was a Prince of peace, but he forsook his peace also. (1.) He laid aside peace with the world, and chose upon that account to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and therefore was persecuted from his cradle to his cross, by kings, rulers, &c. (2.) He laid aside his peace with his Father, and made himself the object of his Father's curse, insomuch that the Lord smote, struck, and afflicted him; and, in conclusion, hid his face from him (as he expressed, with great crying) at the hour of his death.

[Object.] But perhaps some may ask what Jesus Christ needed to do all this? Could not the grace of the Father save us without this condescension of the Son?

Answ. As there is grace, so there is justice in God; and man having sinned, God concluded to save him in the way of righteousness; therefore, Jesus Christ needed to put himself into our very condition, sin only excepted. 1. Now by sin we had lost the glory of God. Therefore, Jesus Christ lays aside his glory with the Father (Rom 3:23; John 17:5). 2. Man, by sin, had shut himself out of an earthly paradise, and Jesus Christ will leave his heavenly paradise to save him (Gen 3:24; 1 Tim 1:15; John 6:38,39). 3. Man by sin had made himself lighter than vanity, and this Lord God, Jesus Christ, made himself lower than the angels to redeem him (Isa 40:17; Heb 2:7). 4. Man, by sin, lost his right to the creatures, and Jesus Christ will deny himself of a whole world to save him (Luke 9:58). 5. Man, by sin, had made himself subject to death, but Jesus Christ will lose his life to save him (Rom 6:23). 6. Man by sin had procured to himself the curse of God, but Jesus Christ will bear that curse in his own body to save him (Gal 3:13). 7. Man by sin had lost peace with God, but this would cause Jesus Christ also lose, to the end, man might be saved. 8. Man should have been mocked of God, therefore Christ was mocked of men. 9. Man should have been scourged in hell, but to hinder that, Jesus was scourged on earth. 10. Man should have been crowned with ignominy and shame, but Jesus was crowned with thorns to prevent that. 11. Man should have been pierced with the spear of God's wrath, but to prevent that, Jesus was pierced both by God and men. 12. Man should have been rejected of God and angels; but, to prevent that, Jesus was forsaken of God, and denied, hated, and rejected of men (Isa 48:22; Prov 1:24-26; Matt 27:26,39,46; Psa 9:17; 11:6; 22:7; Dan 12:2; John 19:2-5,37; Num 24:8; Zech 12:10; Luke 9:22).

Thus, I might enlarge that by authority from this text—"He became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." All the riches he stripped himself of, it was for our sakes; all the sorrows he underwent, it was for our sakes; to the least circumstance of the sufferings of Christ, there was a necessity that so it should be, all was for our sakes: "For our sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."

And you see the argument that prevailed with Christ to do this great service for man, the grace in his heart; as also the prophet saith, "In his love and in his pity he redeemed them." According to the Corinthians, "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," both agree with the text, "By grace, ye are saved."

I say this was the grace of the Son and the exercise thereof. The Father, therefore, shows his grace one way and the Son his another. It was not the Father, but the Son, that left his heaven for sinners; it was not the Father, but the Son, that spilled his blood for sinners. The Father indeed gave the Son and blessed be the Father for that, and the Son gave his life and blood for us and blessed be the Son for that.

But methinks we should not yet have done with this grace of the Son. Thou Son of the Blessed, what grace was manifest in thy condescension! Grace brought thee down from heaven, grace stripped thee of thy glory, grace made thee poor and despicable, grace made thee bear such burdens of sin, such burdens of sorrow, such burdens of God's curse as are unspeakable. O Son of God! Grace was in all thy tears, grace came bubbling out of thy side with thy blood, grace came forth with every word of thy sweet mouth (Psa 45:2; Luke 4:22). Grace came out where the whip smote thee, where the thorns pricked thee, where the nails and spear pierced thee. O blessed Son of God! Here is grace, indeed! Unsearchable riches of grace! Unthought-of riches of grace! Grace to make angels wonder, make sinners happy, and astonish devils. And what will become of them that trample underfoot this Son of God?

Works of John Bunyan: JUSTIFICATION BY AN IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS: SAVED BY GRACE. 362

 

QUEST. II.—WHAT IS IT TO BE SAVED BY GRACE?

So then, it remained that I show you, FIRST, How we are saved by the grace of the Father. SECOND, How we are saved by the grace of the Son. And, THIRD, How we are saved by the grace of the Spirit.

Of the Father’s grace.

FIRST. How we are saved by the grace of the Father. Now this will

I open unto you thus—

1. The Father by his grace hath bound up them that shall go to heaven in an eternal decree of election. Here, indeed, as was showed at first, is the beginning of our salvation (2 Tim 1:9). And election is reckoned not the Son’s act, but the Father’s—” Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:3,4). Now, this election is counted as an act of grace—” So then, at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (Rom 11:5).

2. The Father’s grace ordained and giveth the Son to undertake for us our redemption. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world—” In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph 1:7; 2:7; 1 John 4:14; John 3:16; 6:32,33; 12:49).

3. The Father’s grace gives us Christ to be justified by his righteousness, washed in his blood, and saved by his life. Christ mentions this and tells us it is his Father’s will that they should be safe-coming at the last day and that he had kept them all the days of his life, and they shall never perish (John 6:37-39; 17:2,12).

4. The Father’s grace giveth the kingdom of heaven to those he hath given to Jesus Christ—” Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

5. The Father’s grace provided and lay up in Christ, for those that he hath chosen, a sufficiency of all spiritual blessings, to be communicated to them at their need, for their preservation in the faith, and faithful perseverance through this life; “not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Tim 1:9; Eph 1:3,4).

6. The Father’s grace saves us by the blessed and effectual call that he gives us to the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ (1 Col 1:9; Gal 1:15).

7. The Father’s grace saves us by multiplying pardons daily for Christ’s sake—” In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph 1:7).

8. The Father’s grace saves us by exercising patience and forbearance towards us all the time of our unregeneracy (Rom 3:24).

9. The Father’s grace saves us by holding us fast in his hand and by keeping us from all the power of the enemy—” My Father,” said Christ, “that gave them me is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29).

10. What shall I say? The Father’s grace saves us by accepting our persons and services, lifting up the light of his countenance upon us, manifesting his love, and sending his angels to fetch us to himself when we have finished our pilgrimage.

Of the grace of the Son.

SECOND. I come now to speak of the grace of the Son; for as the Father put forth his grace in the saving of the sinner, so doth the Son put forth his—” For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Cor 8:9).

Here, you also see that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is brought in as a partner with the grace of his Father in the salvation of our souls. Now, this is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; he was rich, but for our sakes, he became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be made rich.

To inquire, then, into this grace, this condescending grace of Christ, and that by searching out how rich Jesus Christ was, and then how poor he made himself, that we, through his poverty, might have the riches of salvation.

First. How rich was Jesus Christ? To which I answer—1. Generally; 2. Particularly.

1. Generally. He was rich as the Father—” All things that the Father hath,” saith he, “are mine.” Jesus Christ is the Lord of all, God over all, blessed forever. “He thought it not robbery to be equal with God,” being naturally and eternally God, as the Father, but of his Godhead he could not strip himself (John 10:30; 16:15; Acts 10:36; Phil 2:6; Rom 9:4,5).

2. Particularly. Jesus Christ had glory with the Father; yea, a manifold glory with him, which he stripped himself of.

(1.) He had the glory of dominion; he was Lord of all the creatures; they were under him upon a double account—(a) as he was their Creator (Col 1:16); (b) as he was made the heir of God (Heb 1:2).

(2.) Therefore the glory of worship, reverence, and fear from all creatures was due unto him; the worship, obedience, subjection, and service of angels were due unto him; the fear, honor, and glory of kings, and princes, and judges of the earth were due unto him; the obedience of the sun, moon, stars, clouds, and all vapors, were due unto him; all dragons, deeps, fire, hail, snow, mountains and hills, beasts, cattle, creeping things, and flying fowls, the service of them all, and their worship were due unto him (Psa 148).

(3.) The glory of the heavens themselves was due unto him; in a word, heaven and earth were his.

(4.) But above all, the glory of communion with his Father was his; I say, the glory of that unspeakable communion that he had with the Father before his incarnation, which alone was worth ten thousand worlds, that was ever his.

(5.) But again, as Jesus Christ was possessed with this, so, besides, he was Lord of life; this glory also was Jesus Christ’s: “In him was life,” therefore he is called the Prince of it; because it was in him originally as in the Father (Acts 3:15). He gave to all life and breath, and all things; angels, men, beasts, they had all their life from him.

(6.) Again, as he was Lord of glory and Prince of life, he was also Prince of peace (Isa 9:6); by him, harmony and good order were maintained among things in heaven and things on earth.

Take things briefly in these few particulars—(a.) The heavens were his, and he made them. (b.) Angels were his, and he made them. (c.) The earth was his, and he made it. (d.) Man was his, and he made him.

Works of John Bunyan: JUSTIFICATION BY AN IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS: SAVED BY GRACE. 361

 

QUEST. II.—WHAT IS IT TO BE SAVED BY GRACE?

Now I come to the second question—What is it to be saved by grace? For so are the words of the text, "By grace, ye are saved." But,

First. I must touch the word GRACE and show you how diverse it is. Sometimes, it is taken for the goodwill and favor of men (Esth 2:17: Ruth 2:2: 1 Sam 1:18: 2 Sam 16:4). Sometimes, it is taken for those sweet ornaments that a life according to the Word of God put about the neck 9 (Prov 1:9; 3:22). Sometimes it is taken for the charity of the saints, as 2 Corinthians 9:6-8.

But "grace" in the text is taken for God's goodwill, "the goodwill of him that dwelt in the bush," and is expressed variously. Sometimes, it is called "his good pleasure." Sometimes, "the good pleasure of his will," which is all one with "the riches of his grace" (Eph 1:7). Sometimes, it is expressed by goodness, pity, love, mercy, kindness, and the like (Rom 2:4; Isa 63:9; Titus 3:4,5). Yea, he styles himself, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty" (Exo 34:6,7).

Second. As the word "grace" signifies all these, it intimates to us that all these are free acts of God, love, mercy, and kindness; hence, we have other hints in the Word about the nature of grace, as, 1. It is an act of God's will, which must need to be free; an act of his own will, of the good pleasure of his will; by each of these expressions, it is intimated that grace is a free act of God's goodness towards the sons of men. 2. Therefore, it is expressly said—"Being justified freely by his grace" (Rom 3:24). 3. "And when they had nothing to pay, he forgave them both" (Luke 7:42). 4. Again, "Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you" (Eze 36:32; Deu 9:5). 5. And therefore "grace," and the deserving of the creature, are set in flat opposition one to another—"And if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace; otherwise work is no more work" (Rom 11:6).

The word "grace," therefore, being understood, doth most properly set forth the true cause of man's happiness with God, not but that those expressions, love, mercy, goodness, pity, kindness, &c., and the like, have their proper place in our happiness also. Had not God loved us, grace had not acted freely in our salvation; had not God been merciful, good, pitiful, kind, he would have turned away from us when he saw us in our blood (Eze 16).

So then, when he saith, "By grace ye are saved," it is all one as if he had said, By the goodwill, free mercy, and loving-kindness of God ye are saved; as the words conjoined with the text do also further manifest: "But God," saith Paul, "who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ —by grace ye are saved."

[Third.] The words thus understood admit us to these few conclusions: 1. God, in saving the sinner, hath no respect for the sinner's goodness; hence, it is said he is frankly forgiven and freely justified (Luke 7:42; Rom 3:24). 2. That God doth this to whom and when he pleases because it is an act of his own good pleasure (Gal 1:15,16). 3. This is the cause why great sinners are saved, for God pardoned "according to the riches of his grace" (Eph 1:7). 4. This is the true cause that some sinners are so amazed and confounded at the apprehension of their own salvation; his grace is unsearchable; and by unsearchable grace God oft puzzles and confounds our reason (Eze 16:62,63; Acts 9:6). 5. This is why sinners so often recover from their backslidings, heal the wounds they get from their falls, and rejoice in God's mercy. Why, he will be gracious to whom he will be gracious, and he will have compassion on whom he will have compassion (Rom 9:15).

[Fourth.] But I must not conclude this point here. We are here discoursing of the grace of God, and that by it we are saved; saved, I say, by the grace of God.

God is outlined in the Word unto us under a double consideration—1. He is outlined in his own eternal power and Godhead. Thus, we are to conceive of him by his attributes of power, justice, goodness, holiness, everlastingness, &c. 2. But then, we have him outlined in the Word of truth as consisting of Father, Son, and Spirit. Although this second consideration contained the nature of the Godhead, the first did not demonstrate the persons in the Godhead. We are saved by the grace of God—that is, by the grace of the Father, who is God; by the grace of the Son, who is God; and by the grace of the Spirit, who is God.

Now, since we are said to be "saved by grace," and that the grace of God, and since also we find in the Word that in the Godhead there are Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we must conclude that it is by the grace of the Father, Son, and Spirit that we are saved; wherefore grace is attributed to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost distinctly. 1. Grace is attributed to the Father, as these scriptures testify; Romans 7:25, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 3. 2. Grace is also attributed to the Son. I first manifest it by all those texts above-mentioned, as also by these that follow: 2 Corinthians 8:9, 13:14, Galatians 6:18, Philippians 4:23, 1 Thessalonians 5:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:18, Philemon 25, Revelation 22:21. 3. It is also attributed to the Holy Ghost. He is called the Spirit of grace because he is the author of grace as the Father and the Son (Zech 12:10; Heb 10:29).