Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; The Intercession of Christ, and Who Are Privileged In It. 159

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

I. OF THE INTERCESSION OF CHRIST.

FIRST, We will begin with HIS INTERCESSION, and will show you, First, What that is; Second, For what he intercedes; and, Third, What is also to be inferred from Christ's intercession for us.

First, I begin, then, with the first, that is, to show you what intercession is. Intercession is prayer, but all prayer is not intercession. Intercession, then, is a prayer that is made by a third person about the concerns that are between the two. And it may be made either to set them at further difference or to make them friends; for intercession may be made against, as well as for, a person or people. 'Wot ye not what the Scripture says of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel.' (Rom 11:2) But the intercession that we are now to speak of is not an intercession of this kind, not an intercession against, but an intercession for a people. 'He ever liveth to make intercession for them.' The high priest is ordained for, but not to be against, the people. 'Every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things about God,' to make reconciliation for the sins of the people; or 'that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.' (Heb 5:1) This, then, is intercession; and the intercession of Christ is to be between two, between God and man, for man's good. And it extends itself to these: 1. To pray that the elect may be brought all home to him—that is, to God. 2. To pray that their sins committed after conversion may be forgiven. 3. To pray that their graces, which they receive at conversion, may be maintained and supplied. 4. To pray that their persons may be preserved unto his heavenly kingdom.

Second, This is the intercession of Christ or that for which he does make intercession.

1. He prays for all the elect, that they may be brought home to God, and so into the unity of the faith, &c. This is clear, for that he saith, 'Neither pray I for these alone'; that is, for those only that are converted; 'but for them also which shall believe on me through their word'; for all them that shall, that are appointed to believe; or, as you have it a little above, 'for them which thou hast given me.' (John 17:9,20, Isa 53:12) And the reason is that he hath paid a ransom for them. Christ, therefore, when he maketh intercession for the ungodly, and all the unconverted elect are such, doth but petitionarily ask for his own, his purchased ones, those for whom he died before, that they might be saved by his blood.

2. When any of them are brought home to God, he still prays for them, namely, that the sins that, through infirmity, they may commit after conversion may also be forgiven.

This is shown to us by the intercession of the high priest under the law, that was to bear away the iniquities of the holy things of the children of Israel; yea, and also by his atonement for them that sinned; for that it saith, 'And the priest shall make an atonement for him, for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.' (Lev 5:10) This is also intimated even where our Lord doth intercession, saying, 'I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.' (John 17:15) That Christ prayed that the converted should be kept from all manner of commission of sin, must not be supposed, for that is the way to make his intercession, at least in some things, invalid, and to contradict himself; for, saith he, 'I know that thou hearest me always.' (John 11:42) But the meaning is, I pray that thou wouldest keep them from soul-damning delusions, such as are unavoidably such; also that thou wouldest keep them from the soul-destroying evil of every sin, of every temptation. Now this he doth by his prevailing and by his pardoning grace.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; Christ A Complete Savior.158

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

THE INTERCESSION OF CHRIST, AND WHO ARE PRIVILEGED IN IT.

'Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them..'—HEBREWS 7:25.

The apostle, in this chapter, presents us with two things: the greatness of the person and of the priesthood of our Lord Jesus.

First, He presents us with the greatness of his person, in that he preferreth him before Abraham, who is the father of us all; yea, in that he preferreth him before Melchisedec, who was above Abraham, and blessed him who had the promises.

Second, As to his priesthood, he shows the greatness of that, in that he was made a priest not by the law of a carnal commandment but by the power of an endless life. Not without, but with an oath, by him that said, 'The Lord sware, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedec'; wherefore, 'this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.' Now my text is drawn from this conclusion, namely, that Christ abideth a priest continually. 'Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that comes unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.' In the words, I take notice of four things: FIRST, Of the intercession of Christ—He maketh intercession. SECOND, Of the benefit of his intercession—'Wherefore he can save to the uttermost,' &c. THIRD, We have also here set before us the persons interested in this intercession of Christ—And they are those 'that come unto God by him.' Fourth, We have here the certainty of their reaping this benefit by him, to wit, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them—'Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; Christ A Complete Savior.157

 

THE INTERCESSION OF CHRIST, AND WHO ARE PRIVILEGED IN IT.

However strange it may appear, it is a solemn fact that the heart of man, unless prepared by a sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, rejects Christ as a complete Saviour. The pride of human nature will not suffer it to fall, helpless and utterly undone, into the arms of Divine mercy. Man prefers a partial savior—one who has done so much that, with the sinner's aid, the work might be completed. No such were the opinions of John Bunyan; the furnace of sharp conviction had burned up this proud dross; he believed the testimony of Scripture, that from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet all nature is corrupted; so that out of the unsanctified heart of man proceed evil thoughts, murders, and the sad catalogue of crimes which our Lord enumerates, and which defile our best efforts after purity of heart and life.

No sinner will ever totally rely upon the Saviour until he is sensible of his own perishing state; hanging by the brittle thread of life over the yawning gulf of perdition; sinking in that sin which will swallow him up in those awful torments that await the transgressor; feeling that sin has fitted him as stubble for the fire; then it is that the cry proceeds from his heart, Lord, save, I perish; and then, and not till then, are we made willing to receive 'Christ as a complete Saviour' to the uttermost, not of his ability, but of our necessity. This was the subject of all of Mr. Bunyan's writings and, doubtless, of all his preaching. It was to direct sinners to the Lamb of God, who alone can take away sin. This little treatise was one of those ten 'excellent manuscripts' that, at Bunyan's demise, were found prepared for the press. It was first published in 1692 by his friends E. Chandler, J. Wilson, and C. Doe.

It is limited to a subject that is too often lost sight of because it is within the veil—the intercession of Christ as the finishing work of a sinner's salvation. Many persons limit the 'looking unto Jesus' to beholding him upon the cross, a common popish error; but this is not enough; we must, in our minds, follow him to the unseen world and thus ascend to a risen Saviour, at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for our daily sins. And he is our ONLY intercessor, and it is a rejection of him for us to seek the aid of another. Whoever was mad enough to ask Moses to intercede for him, surely he is as able as Mary or any other saint?

To atone for sin calls for the amazing price of the blood of Christ, who was 'God manifest in the flesh.' He undertook the work by covenant, and all the'slaves form part of his mystical body, thus perfectly obeying the law in him. He poured out his life to open a fountain for sin and uncleanness; as they are liable to pollution in their passage through the world, he is only able, and he ever liveth, to make intercession for their transgressions. Thus he becomes a complete Saviour, and will crown, with an eternal weight of glory, all those who put their trust in him. Beautiful, soul-softening, and heart-warming thoughts abound in this little work, which cannot fail to make a lasting impression on the reader. Bunyan disclaims 'the beggarly art of complimenting' in things of such solemnity. He describes the heart as unweldable, a remarkable expression drawn from his father's trade as a blacksmith; nothing but grace can so heat it as to enable the hammer of conviction to weld it to Christ, and when thus welded, it becomes one with him.

There is hope for a returning backslider in a complete Saviour; he combines the evidence of two men, the coming and the returning sinner; he has been, like Jonah, in the belly of hell; his sins, like talking devils, have driven him back to the Saviour. Sin brings its own punishment, from which we escape by keeping on the narrow path. Good works save us from temporal miseries, whichever follow an indulgence in sin; but if we fall, we have an Advocate and Intercessor to lift us up; still, if thou lovest thy soul, slight not the knowledge of hell, for that, with the law, are the spurs which Christ useth to prick souls forward to himself. Gather up your heels and mend your pace, or those spurs will be in your sides. Take heed, O persecutor; like Saul, thou art exceeding mad, and hell is thy bedlam. Take heed of a false faith; none is true but that which is acquired by kneeling, searching, and seeking truth as for hidden treasure. Death is God's bailiff; he will seize you without warning, but with the saints, the grave's mouth is the final parting place between grace and sin. Forget that a good improvement will make your little grace thrive. Reader, may Divine grace indelibly fix these wholesome truths in our minds.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.156

 

THE USE AND APPLICATION

But, I say, what is this to them that they are not admitted to a privilege in the advocate office of Christ? Whether he is an Advocate or not, the case for them is the same. True, Christ as a Saviour is not divided; he that hath him not in all shall have him in none at all of his offices in a saving manner. Therefore, he, for whom he is not an Advocate, is nothing as to eternal life.

Indeed, Christ by some of his offices is concerned for the elect, before by some others of them he is; but such shall have the blessing of them all before they come to glory. Nor hath man ground to say Christ is here or there mine; before he hath ground to say, he also is mine Advocate; though that office of his, as has already been shown, stands in the last place and comes in as a reserve. But can anyone imagine that Christ will pray for them as Priest for whom he will not plead as advocates? or that he will speak for them to God, for whom he will not plead against the devil? No, no; they are his own, that he loveth to the end (John 13:1), to the end of their lives, to the end of their sins, to the end of their temptations, to the end of their fears, and of the exercise of the rage and malice of Satan against them. The end may also be understood, even until he has given them the profit and benefit of all his offices in their due exercise and administration. But, I say, what is all this to them that makes him not their Advocate?

You may remember that I have already told you that there are several who have not the Lord Jesus for their Advocate-to wit, those that are still in their sins, pursuing of their lusts; those that are ashamed of him before men; and those that are never otherwise but lukewarm in their profession. And let us now, for a conclusion, make further inquiry into this matter.

Is it likely that those should have the Lord Jesus as their Advocate to plead their cause? Who despises and rejects his person, his Word, and his ways? or those either who are so far off from a sense of, and shame for, sin that it is the only thing they hug and embrace? True, he pleaded the cause of his people both with the Father and against the devil, and all the world besides; but open profaneness, shame of good, and without heart or warmth in religion are no characters of his people. It is irrational to think that Christ is an Advocate for, or that he pleaded for, the cause of such, who, in the same hour and before his enemies, are throwing dirt in his face by their profane mouths and unsanctified lives and conversations.

If he pleads as an Advocate for any, he must plead against Satan for them, and so consequently must have some special bottom to ground his plea upon; I say, a bottom better than that upon which the carnal man stands; which bottom is either some special relation that this man stands into God or some special law he hath privilege by, that he may have some ground for an appeal, if need be, to the justice and righteousness of God; but none of these things belong to them that are dead in trespasses and sins; they stand in no special relation to God; they are not privileged by the law of grace.

Objection: But doth not Christ as Advocate pleads for his elect, though not called yet?

Answer: He died for all his elect; he prays for all his elect as a Priest, but as an Advocate he pleaded only for the children, the called. Satan objecteth not against God's election, for he knows it not; but he objecteth against the called-to wit, whether they be truly godly or not, or whether they ought not to die for their transgressions (Job 1:9, 10; Zech 3). And for these things, he has some colour to frame an accusation against us, and now it is time enough for Christ to stand up to plead. I say, for these things, he has some colour to frame a plea against us; for there is sin and law of works, and a judge too, that has no respect for persons. Now to overthrow this plea of Satan, is Jesus Christ our Advocate; yea, to overthrow it by pleading law and justice, and this must be done for the children only: My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.155

 

THE USE AND APPLICATION

Use Eighth. But what is all this to you that is not concerned with this privilege? The children, indeed, have the advantage of an advocate; but what is this to them that have none to plead their cause? (Jer 30:12, 13); they are, as we say, left to the wide world, or to be ground to powder between the justice of God and the sins which they have committed. This is the man that none but the devil seeks after; that is pursued by the law, sin, and death, and has none to plead his cause. It is sad to consider the plight that such a person is in. His accuser is appointed, yea, ordered to bring in a charge against him: Let Satan stand at his right hand," in the place where accusers stand. "And when he shall be judged, let him be condemned." Let there be none to plead for his deliverance. If he cries or offers to cry out for mercy or forgiveness, "let his prayer become sin" (Psa 109:6-7). This is the portion of a wicked man: "Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealthy him away in the night, the east wind carried him away, and he departed, and as a storm hurled him out of his place, for God shall cast upon him and not spare; he would fain flee out of his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him and shall hiss him out of his place" (Job 27:20–23). And what shall this man do?

Can he overcome the charge, the accusation, the sentence, and condemnation? No, he has none to plead his cause. I remember that somewhere I have read, as I think, concerning one who, when he was being carried upon men's shoulders to the grave, cried out as he lay upon the bed. I am accused before the just judgment of God, and a while later, I am condemned before the just judgment of God. Nor was this man as strict as the religion that was then on foot in the world, but all the religion of the world amounts to no more than nothing. I mean as to eternal salvation if men be denied an Advocate to plead their cause with God. Nor can any advocate save Jesus Christ the righteous avail anything at all, because there is none appointed but him to that work, and therefore not to be admitted entering a plea for their client at the bar of God.

Objection. But some may say, There is God's grace, the promise,
Christ's blood and his second part of the priesthood are now in heaven.
Can none of these severally, nor all of them jointly, save a man
from hell, unless Christ also becomes our Advocate?

Answer. All these, his Advocate's office not excluded, are few enough, and little enough, to save the saints from hell; for the righteous shall scarcely be saved (I Peter 4:18). There must, then, be the promise, God's grace, Christ's blood, and him to advocate too, or we cannot be saved. What is the promise without God's grace, and what is that grace without a promise to bestow it on us? I say, what benefit have we thereby? Besides, if the promise and God's grace, without Christ's blood, would have saved us, wherefore then did Christ die? Yea, and again I say, if all these, without his being an Advocate, would have delivered us from all those disadvantages that our sins and infirmities would bring us to and into; surely in vain and to no purpose was Jesus made an Advocate. But, soul, there is need of all, and therefore be not thou offended that the Lord Jesus is of the Father made so much to his, but rather admire and wonder that the Father and the Son should be so concerned with so sorry a lump of dust and ashes as thou art. And I say again, be confounded to think that sin should be a thing so horrible, of power to pollute, to captivate, and detain us from God, that without all this ado (I would speak with reverence of God and his wisdom) we cannot be delivered from the everlasting destruction that it hath brought upon the children of men.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.154

 

THE USE AND APPLICATION

Use Seventh. Is it so? Is Jesus Christ an Advocate with the Father for us? Then this should encourage strong Christians to tell the weak ones that, when they are in their temptations and fears through sin, they may have one to plead their cause. Thus the apostle doth by the text, and thus we should do one to another. Mark, he telleth the weak of an Advocate: "My little children, I write unto you that ye sin not; though if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father."

Christians, when they would comfort their dejected brethren, talk too much at rovers37 or in generals; they should be more at the mark: "A word spoken in season, how good is it?" I say, Christians should observe and inquire, that they may observe the cause or ground of their brother's trouble, and having first taken notice of that, in the next place consider under which of the offices of Jesus Christ this sin or trouble has cast this man, and so labor to apply Christ in the word of the gospel to him. Sometimes we are bid to consider him as an Apostle and High Priest, and sometimes as a forerunner and an Advocate. And he has, as was said afore, these diverse offices, with others, that we, by his consideration, might be relieved of our manifold temptations. This, as I said, as I perceive John teaches us here, as he doth a little before of his being a sacrifice for us; for he presenteth them that after conversion shall sin with Christ as an Advocate with the Father. As who should say, My brethren, are you tempted, are you accused, have you sinned, has Satan prevailed against you? "We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Thus, we should do so and deliver our brother from death. There is nothing that Satan more desires than to get good men in his sieve to sift them as wheat, so that if possible, he may leave them nothing but bran—no grace, but the very husk and shell of religion. And when a Christian comes to know this, should Christ, as an Advocate be hidden? What could bear him up? But let him now remember and believe that "we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." He forthwith conceiveth comfort, for an advocate is to plead for me according to what has been shown afore, that I may be delivered from the wrath and accusation of my adversary and still be kept safe under grace.

Further, by telling of my brother that he hath an Advocate, I put things into his mind that he has not known, or do bring them into remembrance which he has forgotten-to wit, that though he hath sinned, he shall be saved in the way of justice; for an advocate is to plead justice and law, and Christ is to plead these for a saint that has sinned; yea, so to plead them that he may be saved. This being so, he is made to perceive that by law he must have his sins forgiven him and that by justice he must be justified. For Christ, as an Advocate pleaded for justice, justice to himself, and this saint is of himself a member of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Nor has Satan so good a right to plead justice against us, though we have sinned, that we might be damned, as Christ has to plead it, though we have sinned, that we might be saved; for sin cannot cry so loud to justice as can the blood of Christ; and he pleads his blood as Advocate, by which he has answered the law; wherefore the law, having nothing to object, must need to acquit the man for whom the Lord Jesus pleads. I conclude this with that of the Psalmist: "Surely his salvation is near them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring from the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good, and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him and shall set us in the way of his steps" (Psa 85:9–13).

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.153

 

THE USE AND APPLICATION

Use Sixth. Doth Jesus Christ stand up to plead for us, and that of his mere grace and love? Then this should teach Christians to be watchful and wary of how they sin against God. This inference seems to run retrograde, but whoever duly considers it will find it fairly far-fetched from the premises. Christianity teaches ingenuity and the aptness to be sensible of kindnesses, and it does instruct us to a loathness to be overheard upon him from whom we have all at free cost. "Shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Shall we do evil so that good may come? God forbid. Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid" (Rom 6:1, 2, 15).

It is the most disingenuous thing in the world not to care how chargeable we are to that friend who bestows all upon us gratis. When Mephibosheth had an opportunity to be yet more chargeable to David, he would not, because he had his life and his all from the mere grace of the king (II Sam 119:24–28) Also, David thought it was too much for all of his household to go to Absalom's feast because it was free. Why, Christ is our Advocate of free cost, we pay him neither fee nor income for what he doth; nor doth he desire aught of us, but to accept of his free doing for us thankfully; wherefore let us put him upon this work as little as may be, and by so doing we shall show ourselves Christians of the right make and stamp. We count him but a fellow of a very gross spirit that will therefore be lavishing what is his friend's because it is prepared of mere kindness for him; Esau himself was loath to do this; and shall Christians be disingenuous?

I dare say, if Christians were sober, watchful, and of a more self-denying temper, they need not put the Lord Jesus to that to which for the want of these things they do so often put him. I know he is not unwilling to serve us, but I also know that the love of Christ should constrain us to live not to ourselves but to him who loved us, died for us, and rose again (II Cor 5:14, 15). We shall do that which is naught too much, even then when we watch and take care of what we can to prevent it. Our flesh, when we do our utmost diligence to resist, will defile both us and our best performances. We need not lay the reins on its neck and say, What are we? the more sin the more grace, and the more we shall see the kindness of Christ and what virtue there is in his Advocate's office to save us. And should there be any such here, I would present them with a scripture or two; the first is this: "Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise?" (Deut 32:6). And if this gentle check will not do, then read the other. Shall we say, Let us do evil that good may come? Their damnation is just (Rom 3:8). Besides, as nothing so swayed us as love, there is nothing so well pleasing to God as it. Let a man love, though he has the opportunity to do nothing, it is accepted by the God of heaven. But where there is no love, let a man do what he will, it is not at all regarded (I Cor 13:1-3). Now to be careless and negligent, and that from a supposed understanding of the grace of Christ in the exercise of his advocateship for us in heaven, is as clear sign as can be, that in thy heart there is no love to Christ, and that consequently thou art just a nothing, instead of being a Christian. Talk, then, what thou wilt, and profess never so largely, Christ is no Advocate of thine, nor shalt thou, thou so continuing, be ever the better for any of those pleas that Christ, at God's bar, puts in against the devil, for his people.

Christians, Christ Jesus is not unwilling to lay himself out for you in heaven, nor to be an Advocate for you in the presence of his Father; but yet he is unwilling that you should render him evil for good; I say that you should do so by your remissness and carelessness for want of such thinking of things as may affect your hearts therewith. It would be more comely in you, would please him better, would agree with your profession, and also prove you gracious, to be found in the power and nature of these conclusions. "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom 6:2)."If ye have risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sited on the right hand of God; for ye are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience" (Col 3:1–6).

I say it would be more common for Christians to say, We will not sin because God will pardon; we will not commit iniquity because Christ will advocate for us. "I write unto you that ye sin not; though if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father. "Why, the brute would conclude, I will not do so, because my master will beat me; I will do thus, for then my master will love me. And Christians should be above such men, brutish men.

And for a conclusion as to this, let me present you with three considerations: (1.) Know that it is the nature of grace to draw holy arguments to move to goodness of life from the love and goodness of God, but not thence to be remiss (II Cor 5:14). (2.) Know therefore that they have no grace that find not these effects of the discoveries of the love and goodness of God. (3.) Know also that among all the swarms of professors that from age to age make mention of the name of Christ, they only must dwell with him in heaven that do part from iniquity, and are zealous of good works (II Tim 2:19). He gave himself for these (Titus 2:11-14). Not that they were so antecedent to this gift. But those that he has redeemed to himself are thus sanctified by his faith (Acts 26:18).

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.152

 

THE USE AND APPLICATION

Objection. But I cannot pray, says one; therefore, how should I persevere? When I go to prayer, instead of praying, my mouth is stopped. What would you have me do?

Answer. Well, soul, though Satan may baffle thee, he cannot so serve thine Advocate; if thou must not speak for thyself, Christ thine Advocate can speak for thee. Lemuel was to open his mouth for the dumb-to-wit, for the sons of destruction, and to plead the cause of the poor and needy (Prov 31:8, 9). If we knew the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Word reveals it, we would believe, we would hope, and we would, notwithstanding all discouragements, wait for the salvation of the Lord. But many things hinder us, so faith, prayer, and perseverance are difficult things for us. But if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and God "shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." was once a good word to me when I could not pray.

5. As we should improve this doctrine for the improvement and encouragement of these graces, so we should improve it to the driving of difficulties down before us, to the getting of ground upon the enemy—"Resist the devil," drive him back; this is it for which thy Lord Jesus is an Advocate with God in heaven; and this is it for the sake of which thou art made a believer on earth (I Peter 5:9; Heb 12:4). Wherefore has God put this sword, WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE, into thy hand, but to fight thy way through the world? "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life," and say, "I will go in the strength of the Lord God." And since I have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, I will not despair, though "the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about" (Psa 49:5).

Use Fifth. Doth Jesus Christ stand up to plead for us with God, to plead with him for us against the devil? Let this teach us to stand up to plead for him before men, to plead for him against the enemies of his person and gospel. This is reasonable, for if Christ stands up to plead for us, why should we not stand up to plead for him? He also expects this at our hands, saying, "Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?" (Psa 94:16). The apostle did it and counted himself engaged to do it; where he saith, he preached "the gospel of God with much contention" (I Thess 2:2). Nor is this the duty of apostles or preachers only, but every child of God should "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).

And, as I said, there is a reason why we should do this; he stands for us. And if we, (1.) Considering the disparity of persons to plead, it will seem far more reasonable. He stands up to plead with God, we stand up to plead with men. The dread of God is great, yea, greater than the dread of men. (2.) If we consider the persons pleaded for. He pleads for sinners, for the inconsiderable, vile, and base; we plead for Jesus, for the great, holy, and honorable. It is an honor for the poor to stand up for the great and mighty, but what honor is it for the great to plead for the base? Reason, therefore, requires that we stand up to plead for him, though there can be little reason why he should stand up to plead for us. (3.) He stands to plead for us in the most holy place, though we are vile; why should we not stand up for him in this vile world, since he is holy? (4.) He pleads for us, though our cause is bad; why should not we plead for him, since his cause is good? (5.) He pleads for us against fallen angels; why should we not plead for him against sinful vanities? (6.) He pleads for us to save our souls; why should not we plead for him to sanctify his name? (7.) He pleads for us before the holy angels; why should not we plead for him before princes? (8.) He is not ashamed of us, though now in heaven; why should we be ashamed of him before this adulterous and sinful generation? (9.) He is unwearied in pleading for us; why should we faint and be dismayed while we plead for him?

My brethren, is it not reasonable that we should stand up for him in this world? Yea, is it not the reason that in all things we should study his exaltation here since he in all things contrives our honor and glory in heaven? A child of God should study in every of his relations to serve the Lord Christ in this world, because Christ, by executing every one of his offices, seeks our promotion hereafter. If these are not sufficient arguments to bow us to yield up our members, ourselves, and our whole selves to God, that we may be servants of righteousness unto him, yes, if by these and such, we are not made willing to stand up for him before men, it is a sign that there is but little, if any, of the grace of God in our hearts.

Yea, further, that we should have now at last in reserve Christ as authorized to be our Advocate to plead for us, for this is the last of his offices for us while we are here and is to be put into practice for us when there are more than ordinary occasions. This is to help, as we say, at a deadlift, even then when a Christian is taken for a captive, or when he sinks in the mire where there is no standing, or when he is clothed with filthy garments, or when the devil doth desperately plead against us our evil deeds, or when by our lives we have made our salvation questionable and have forfeited our evidence for heaven. And why, then, should we not also have Christ in reserve? And when profession and confession will not do when loss of goods and prison will not do when loss of country and of friends will not do, then to bring it in, then to bring it in as the reserve, and as that which will do to wit, willingly to lay down our lives for his name; and since he doth his part without grudging for us, let us do ours with rejoicing for him (Isa 24:15; John 21:19)

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.151

 

THE USE AND APPLICATION

3. As we should make use of this doctrine to strengthen faith and prayer, we should also make use of it to keep us humble; for the more offices Christ executes for us with the Father, the greater the sign that we are bad, and the more we see our badness, the more humble we should be. Christ gave for us the price of blood, but that is not all; Christ as a Captain has conquered death and the grave for us, but that is not all: Christ as a Priest intercedes for us in heaven, but that is not all. Sin is still in us and with us and mixes itself with whatever we do, whether what we do is religious or civil, for not only our prayers and our sermons, our hearings and preaching, and so on, but our houses, our shops, our trades, and our beds are all polluted with sin. Nor doth the devil, our night and day adversary, forbear to tell our bad deeds to our Father, urging that we might forever be disinherited for this. But what should we now do, if we had not an Aadvocate—yeah if we had not one who would plead in forma pauperis; yea, if we had not one that could prevail, and that would faithfully execute that office for us? Why, we must die. But since we are rescued by him, let us, as to ourselves, lay our hand upon our mouth, and be silent, and say, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." And, I say again, since the Lord Jesus is fain to run through so many offices for us before he can bring us to glory, oh! how low, how little, how vile and base in our own eyes should we be.

It is a shame for a Christian to think highly of himself since Christ is fain to do so much for him, and he again not at all able to make him amends; but some, whose riches consist in nothing but scabs and lice, will yet have lofty looks. But are not they much to blame who sit lifting up of lofty eyes in the house, and yet know not how to turn their hand to do anything so, but that another, their betters, must come and mend their work? I say, is it not more meet that those that are such, should look and speak, and act as such that declare their sense of their unhandiness, and their shame, and the like, for their unprofitableness? Yea, is it not clear that to everyone they should confess what sorry ones they are? I am sure it should be thus with Christians, and God is angry when it is otherwise. Nor doth it become these helpless ones to lift up themselves on high. Let Christ's advocateship therefore teach us to be humble.

4. As we should improve this doctrine to strengthen faith, encourage prayer, and keep us humble, so we should make use of it to encourage perseverance-that is, to hold on, to hold out to the end; for, for all those causes the apostle setteth Christ before us as an Advocate. There is nothing more that discourages the truly godly than the sense of their own infirmities, as has been hinted all along; consequently, nothing can more encourage them to go on than to think that Christ is an Advocate for them. The services, also, that Christ has for us to do in this world are full of difficulty, and so apt to discourage: but when a Christian shall come to understand that we do what we can, it is not a failing either in matter or manner that shall render it wholly unserviceable, or give the devil that advantage as to plead thereby to prevail for our condemnation and rejection; but that Christ, by being our Advocate, saves us from falling short, as also from the rage of hell. This will encourage us to hold on, though we do but hobble in all our goings, and fumble in all our doings, for we have Christ for an Advocate in case we sin in the management of any duty: If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Therefore, let us go on in all God's ways as well as we can for our hearts; when our foot slips, let us tell God of it, and his mercy in Christ shall hold us up (Psa 84:9-12).

Darkness, and being shut up in prison, are also a great discouragement to us; but our Advocate is for giving us light, and for fetching us out of our prison. True, he that Joseph chose to be his Advocate with Pharaoh remembered not Joseph but forget him (Gen 40:14, 23); but he that has Jesus Christ to be his Advocate shall be remembered before God, (Micah 7:8–10). -"He remembered us in our low estate; for his mercy endured forever" (Psa 136:23). Yea, he will say to the prisoners, Show yourselves, and to them in the prison house, Go forth. Satan sometimes gets the saints into prison when he has taken them captive by their lusts (Rom 7:23). But they shall not be always there, and this should encourage us to go on in godly ways, for "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.150

 

THE USE AND APPLICATION

Use Fourth. Is it so? Is Jesus Christ the Savior also our Advocate? Then let us labor to make that improvement of this doctrine, as it tends to strengthen our graces and our role in their management. Indeed, this should be the use that we should make of all the offices of Christ, but let us, at this time, concern ourselves about this; let, I say, the poor Christian thus expostulate with himself-

1. Is Christ Jesus the Lord my Advocate with the Father? Then awake, my faith, and shake thyself like a giant; stir up thyself, and be not faint; Christ is the Advocate of his people, and he pleaded for the cause of the poor and needy. And as for sin, which is one great stumble to thy acts, O my faith, Christ has not only died for that as a sacrifice, nor only carried his sacrifice unto the Father, in the holiest of all, but is there to manage that offering as an Advocate, pleading the efficacy and worth thereof before God, against the devil, for us. Thus, I say, we should strengthen our faith, for faith has to do with the Word and the offices of Christ. Besides, considering how many assaults are made upon our faith, we find little enough to support it against all the wiles of the devil.

Christians have too little concern for themselves, as I have said, with the offices of Jesus Christ; therefore, their knowledge of him is so little and their faith in him is so weak. We are bid to have our conversation in heaven, and then a man so hath, when he is there, in his spirit, by faith, observing how the Lord Jesus doth exercise his offices there for him. Let us often, by faith, go to the bar of God, there to hear our Advocate plead our cause; we should often have our faith in God's judgment because we are concerned there; there we are accused of the devil, there we have our crimes laid open, and there we have our Advocate to plead; and this is suggested in the text, for it saith, "We have an Advocate with the Father"; therefore, thither our faith should go for help and relief in the day of our straits. I say we should have our faith in God's judgment, and show it there, by the glass of our text, what Satan is doing against, and the Lord Jesus for, our souls. We should also show it how the Lord Jesus carries away every cause from the devil, and from before the judgment, to the comfort of the children, the joy of angels, and the shame of the enemy. This would strengthen and support our faith indeed and would make us more able than, for the most part, we are to apply the grace of God to ourselves, and hereafter to give more strong repulses to Satan. It is easy with a man when he knows that his advocate has overthrown his enemy at the King's Bench bar or Court of Common Pleas, less to fear him the next time he sees him, and more boldly to answer him when he renewed his threats on him. Let faith, then, be strengthened, from its being exercised about the advocateship of Jesus Christ.

2. As we should make use of Christ's advocateship for the strengthening of our faith, so, we should also make use thereof to encourage us to prayer. As our faith is, so is our prayer; to wit, cold, weak, and doubtful, if our faith to be so. When faith cannot apprehend that we have access to the Father by Christ, or that we have an Advocate, when charged before God for our sins by the devil, then we flag and faint in our prayer; but, when we begin to take courage to believe-and then we do so when most clearly we apprehend Christ-then we get up in prayer. And according as a man apprehends Christ in his undertakings and offices, so, he will wrestle with and supplicate God. As, suppose a man believes that Christ died for his sins; why, then, he will plead that in prayer with God. Suppose, also, that a man understands that Christ rose again for his justification; why, then, he will also plead that in prayer; but if he knows no more, no further will he go. But when he shall know that there is also for him an Advocate with the Father, and that that Advocate is Jesus Christ; and when the glory of this office of Christ shall shine in the face of this man's soul; oh, then, he takes courage to pray with that courage he had not before; yea, then is his faith so supported and made strong, that his prayer is more fervent, and importuning abundance. So that, I say, the knowledge of the advocateship of Christ is very useful to strengthen our graces; and, as of graces in general, so of faith and prayer in particular. Wherefore, our wisdom is, so to improve this doctrine that prayer may be strengthened thereby.