SECOND PART OF THE TEXT.
AND TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST WHICH PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. These words are the second part of the text, and they deal mainly with the love of Christ, who is the Son of God. We have spoken already briefly of God, and therefore now we shall speak also of his Son. These words are a part of the prayer afore-mentioned, and have something of the same strain in them. In the first part, he prays that they might comprehend that which cannot absolutely by any means be comprehended: and here he prays that that might be known, which yet in the same breath he saith, passeth knowledge, to wit, the love of Christ. And to see the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. In the words we are to take notice of three things:
FIRST, Of the love of Christ.
SECOND, Of the exceeding greatness of it.
THIRD, Of the knowledge of it.
FIRST, we will begin with the first of these, to wit, of the love of Christ. Now, for the explication of this, we must inquire into three things: First, who Christ is. Second, What love is. Third, what the love of Christ is.
First, Christ is a person of no less quality than he is of whom we treated before: to wit, very God. So I say, not titularly, not nominally, not so counterfeitly, but the self-same in nature with the Father (John 1:1,2, 1 John 5:7, Phil 2:6). Wherefore what we have under consideration, is so much the more to be taken notice of; namely, that a person so great, so high, so glorious, as this Jesus Christ was, should have love for us, that passes knowledge. It is common for equals to love, and for superiors to be beloved; but for the King of princes, for the Son of God, for Jesus Christ to love man thus: this is amazing, and that so much the more, for that man the object of this love, is so low, so mean, so vile, so undeserving, and so inconsiderable, as by the scriptures, everywhere he is described to be.
But to speak a little more particularly of this person. He is called God (John 1:1). The King of glory (Psa 24:10), and Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8). The brightness of the glory of his Father (Heb 1:3). The head over all things (Eph 1:22). The Prince of life (Acts 3:15). The Creator of all things (Col 1:16). The upholder of all things (Heb 1:3). The disposer of all things (Matt 28:18). The only beloved of the Father (Matt 11).
But the persons of his beloved are called transgressors, sinners, enemies, dust and ashes, fleas (1 Sam 24:14), worms, shadows, vapours: vile, sinful, filthy, unclean, ungodly fools, madmen. And now is it not to be wondered at, and are we not to be affected herewith, saying, And wilt thou set thine eye upon such an one? But how much more when He sets his heart upon us. And yet this great, this high, this glorious person, verily, loveth such.
Second, we now come to the second thing, namely, to shew what is love; not in a way of nice distinction of words, but in a plain and familiar discourse, yet respecting the love of the person under consideration.
Love ought to be considered concerning the subject as well as to the object of it.
The subject of love in the text is Christ, but forasmuch as love in him is diverse from the love that is in us, therefore it will not be amiss, if a little of the difference be made appear.
Love in us is a passion of the soul, and being such, is subject to ebb and flow, and to be extreme both ways. For whatever is a passion of the soul, whether love or hatred, joy or fear, is more apt to exceed, or come short, than to keep within its due bounds. Hence, oftentimes that which is loved today is hated tomorrow (2 Sam 13:15); yea, and that which should be loved with bounds of moderation, is loved to the drowning of both soul and body in perdition and destruction (1 Tim 6:9,10).
Besides, love in us is apt to choose to itself undue and unlawful objects, and to reject those that, with leave of God, we may embrace and enjoy; so unruly, as to the laws and rules of divine government, oftentimes is this passion of love in us.
Love in us, requires, that something pleasing and delightful be in the object loved, at least, so it must appear to the lust and fancy of the person loving, or else love cannot act; for the love that is in us, is not of power to set itself on work, where no allurement is in the thing to be beloved.
Love in us decays, though once never so warm and strongly fixed, if the object falls off, as to its first alluring provocation; or disappointeth our expectation with some unexpected reluctancy to our fancy or our mind.
All this we know to be true from nature, for every one of us are thus; nor can we refuse, or choose as to love, but upon, and after the rate, and the working thus of our passions. Wherefore our love, as we are natural, is weak, unorderly, fails and miscarries, either by being too much or too little; yea, though the thing which is beloved be allowed for an object of love, both by the law of nature and grace. We therefore must put a vast difference betwixt love, as found in us, and love as seen in Christ, and that, both as to the nature, principle, or object of love.
Love in Christ is not love of the exact nature as is love in us; love in him is essential to his being (1 John 4:16), but in us it is not so, as has been already shown. God is love; Christ is God; therefore, Christ is love, love naturally. Love, therefore, is essential to His being. He may as well cease to be, as cease to love. Hence, thus, it follows that love in Christ floweth not from so low and beggarly a principle as doth love in man; and consequently is not, nor can be attended with those infirmities or defects that the love of man is attended with.
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