Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; Objections That Usually Lie in The Way Of Coming To Christ, 255.

Object. 3. But I cannot believe that I come to Christ aright, because sometimes I am apt to question his very being and office to save.

Thus to do is horrible, but mayest thou not judge amiss in this matter? How can I judge amiss, when I judge as I feel? Poor soul! Thou mayest judge amiss for all that. Why, says the sinner, do I think that these questions come from my heart. Let me answer. That which comes from thy heart, comes from thy will and affections, from thy understanding, judgment, and conscience, for these must acquiesce in thy questioning if thy questioning is with thy heart. And how sayest thou, for to name no more, dost thou with thy affection and conscience thus question? Answ. My conscience trembles when such thoughts come into my mind, and my affections are otherwise inclined.

Then I conclude, that these things are either suddenly injected by the devil, or else they are the fruits of that body of sin and death that yet dwells within you, or perhaps from both together.

If they come wholly from the devil, as they seem because thy conscience and affections are against them, or if they come from that body of death that is in thee, and be not thou curious in inquiring from whether of them they come, the safest way is to lay enough at thy own door; nothing of this should hinder thy coming, nor make thee conclude thou comes not aright. 7 And before I leave thee, let me a little query with thee about this matter.

1. Dost thou like these wicked blasphemies? Answ. No, no, their presence and work kill me.

2. Dost thou mourn for them, pray against them, and hate thyself because of them? Answ. Yes, yes; but that which afflicts me is, I do not prevail against them.

3. Dost thou sincerely choose, mightiest thou have thy choice, that thy heart might be affected and taken with the best, most heavenly, and holy things? Answ. With all my heart, and death the next hour, if it were God’s will, rather than thus to sin against him.

Well then, thy not liking of them, thy mourning for them, thy praying against them, and thy loathing thyself because of them, with thy sincere choosing of those thoughts for thy delectation that are heavenly and holy, clearly declares, that these things are not countenanced either with thy will, affections, understanding, judgment, or conscience. So, that thy heart is not in them, but that rather they come immediately from the devil or arise from the body of death that is in thy flesh, of which thou oughts’ thus to say, “Now, then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me” (Rom 7:17).

I will give thee a pertinent instance. In Deuteronomy 22, thou mayest read of a betrothed damsel, one betrothed to her beloved, one that had given him her heart and mouth, as thou hast given thyself to Christ; yet was she met with as she walked in the field, by one that forced her, because he was stronger than she. Well, what judgment now doth God, the righteous judge, pass upon the damsel for this? “The man only that lay with her,” saith God, “shall die. But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death. For, as when a man rises against his neighbor, and slayed him, even so, is this matter; for he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her” (Deut 22:25-27).

Thou art this damsel. The man that forced thee with these blasphemous thoughts, is the devil; and he lights upon thee in a fit place, even in the field, as thou art wandering after Jesus Christ; but thou cries out, and by thy cry did show, that thou abhorrest such wicked lewdness. Well, the Judge of all the earth will do right; he will not lay the sin at thy door, but at his that offered the violence. And for thy comfort take this into consideration, that he came to heal them “that were oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38).

Object. 4. But, saith another, I am so heartless, so slow, and, as I think, so indifferent in my coming, that, to speak the truth, I know not whether my kind of coming ought to be called a coming to Christ.

Answ. You know that I told you at first, that coming to Christ is a moving of the heart and affections towards him.

But, saith the soul, my dullness and indifference in all holy duties, demonstrate my heartlessness in coming; and to come, and not with the heart, signifies nothing at all.

1. The moving of the heart after Christ is not to be discerned, at all times, by thy sensible affectionate performance of duties, but rather by those secret groanings and complaints which thy soul makes to God against that sloth that attends thee in duties.

2. But grant it to be even as thou sayest it is, that thou comes so slowly, &c., yet, since Christ bids them come that come not at all, surely they may be accepted that come, though attended with those infirmities which thou at present groans under. He saith, “and him that cometh;” he saith not, If they come sensible; so fast; but, “and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” He saith also in the ninth of Proverbs, “As for him that wanted understanding,” that is, an heart (for oftentimes the understanding is taken for the heart), “come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.”

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Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; Objections That Usually Lie in The Way Of Coming To Christ, 254.

 

All these particular parts and qualities of faith are in that soul that comes to Jesus Christ for life, as is evident from any indifferent judgment. For, will he that believeth not the testimony of Christ concerning the baseness of sin, and the insufficiency of the righteousness of the world, come to Christ for life? No. He who believes not in this testimony of the word comes not. Whoever believes that there is life anywhere else does not. Whoever questions whether the Father has given Christ the power to forgive does not. He that thinketh that there is more in sin, in the law, in death, and in the devil, to destroy, than there is in Christ to save, comes not. He also questions the faithful management of his priesthood for the salvation of sinners.

Thou, then, that art indeed the coming sinner, believes all this. True, perhaps thou dost not believe with that full assurance, nor hast thou leisure to take notice of thy faith as to these distinct acts of it, but yet all this faith is in him coming to Christ for life. And the faith that thus works is the faith of the best and purest kind; because this man comes alone as a sinner, seeing that life is, and is to be only in Jesus Christ.

Before I conclude my answer to this objection, take into consideration these two things.

1st. [Consider] that the cities of refuge were erected for those that were dead in law, and that yet would live by grace; even for those that were to fly thither for life from the avenger of blood that pursued after them. And it is worth your noting, that those that were upon their flight there are peculiarly called the people of God: “Cast ye up, cast ye up,” saith God; “prepare the way; take up the stumbling block of the way of my people” (Isa 57:14). This is meant to prepare the way to the city of refuge, that the slayers might escape there; the flying slayers are here, by way of specialty, called the people of God; even those of them that escaped there for life.

2dly. [Consider] that of Ahab, when Benhadad sent to him for life, saying, “Thus saith thy servant Benhadad, I pray thee let me live.” Though Benhadad had sought the crown, kingdom, yea, and also the life of Ahab, how effectively did Benhadad prevail with him! Is Benhadad yet alive? saith Ahab; He is my brother; yea, go ye, bring him to me. So he made him ride in his chariot (1 Kings 20).

Coming sinner, what thinks thou? If Jesus Christ had as little goodness in him as Ahab, he might grant a humble Benhadad life; thou neither begest of him his crown and dignity; life, eternal life, will serve thy turn. How much more then shalt thou have it since thou hast to deal with him who is goodness and mercy itself! Yea, since thou art also called upon, yea, greatly encouraged by a promise of life, to come unto him for life! Read also these Scriptures, Numbers 35:11,14,15, Joshua 20:1-6, Hebrews 6:16-21.

Object. 2. When I say I only seek myself, I mean I do not find that I do design God’s glory in mine own salvation by Christ, and that makes me fear I do not come aright.

Ans. Where doth Christ Jesus require such a qualification of those that are coming to him for life? Come thou for life, and trouble not thy head with such objections against thyself, and let God and Christ alone glorify themselves in the salvation of such a worm as thou art. The Father saith to the Son, “Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” God propounded life to sinners, as the argument to prevail with them to come to him for life; and Christ says plainly, “I have come that they might have life” (John 10:10). He hath no need of thy designs, though thou hast need of his. Eternal life, pardon of sin, and deliverance from the wrath to come, Christ propounds to thee, and these be the things that thou hast need of; besides, God will be gracious and merciful to worthless, undeserving wretches; come then as such a one, and lay no stumbling blocks in the way to him, but come to him for life, and live (John 5:34; 10:10; 3:36; Matt 1:21; Prov 8:35, 36; 1 Thess 1:10; John 11:25,26).

When the jailer said, “Sirs, What must I do to be saved?” Paul did not so much as once ask him, What is your end in this question? do you design the glory of God, in the salvation of your soul? He had more wit; he knew that such questions as these would have been but fools’ babbles about, instead of a sufficient salve5 “Which Cambell seeing, though he could not salve, to so weighty a question as this. Wherefore, since this poor wretch lacked salvation by Jesus Christ, I mean to be saved from hell and death,” which he knew, now, was due to him for the sins that he had committed, Paul bids him, like a poor condemned sinner as he was, to proceed still in this his way of self-seeking, saying, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-32). I know that afterward thou wilt desire to glorify Christ by walking in the way of his precepts, but at present thou wants life; the avenger of blood is behind thee, and the devil like a roaring lion is behind thee; well, come now, and obtain life from these; and when thou hast obtained some comfortable persuasion that thou art made partaker of life by Christ, then, and not till then, thou wilt say, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgives all thine iniquities, who health

all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Psa 103:1-4).

Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; Objections That Usually Lie In The Way Of Coming To Christ, 253.

 

Before I speak to the other head, I shall answer some objections that usually lie in the way of those who, in truth, are coming to Jesus Christ.

Objection 1. Though I cannot deny my mind runs after Christ, and that too as being moved thereto from sight and consideration of my lost condition, for I see that without him I perish; yet I fear my ends are not right in coming to him.

Quest. Why, what is the end of coming to Christ?

Ans. My end is, that I might have life, and be saved by Jesus

Christ.

This is the objection; well, let me tell thee, that to come to Christ for life, and to be saved, although at present thou hast no other end, is a lawful and good coming to Jesus Christ. This is evident, because Christ propounds life as the only argument to prevail with sinners to come to him, and so he also blames them because they come not to him for life. “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40). Besides, there are many other scriptures whereby he encourages them to come to him, in which he propounded nothing to them but their safety. “Whoever believeth in him should not perish;” he that believes is “passed from death unto life.” “He that believeth—shall be saved.” “He who believes in him is not condemned.” And believing and coming are all one. So that you see, to come to Christ for life, is a lawful coming and good. In that, he believes that he alone has made atonement for sin (Rom 2). And let me add over and above, that for a man to come to Christ for life, though he comes to him for nothing else but life, it is to give much honor to him.

1. He honors the word of Christ and consents to the truth of it, and that is in these two general heads. (1.) He consented to the truth of all those sayings that testify that sin is most abominable in itself, dishonorable to God, and damnable to the soul of man; for thus saith the man that cometh to Jesus Christ (Jer 44:4; Rom 2:23; 6:23; 2 Thess 2:12). (2.) In that he believeth, as the word hath said, that there is in the world’s best things, righteousness and all, nothing but death and damnation; for so also says the man that comes to Jesus Christ for life (Rom 7:24,25; 8:2,3; 2 Cor 3:6–8).

2. He honors Christ’s person, in that he believes that there is life in him and that he can save him from death, hell, the devil, and damnation; for unless a man believes this, he will not come to Christ for life (Heb 7:24, 25).

3. He honored him, in that he believes he is authorized by the Father to give life to those that come to him for it (John 5:11, 12; 17:1-3).

4. He honors the priesthood of Jesus Christ. (1.) In that he believeth that Christ hath more power to save from sin by the sacrifice that he hath offered for it, than hath all law, devils, death, or sin to condemn. He who believes not in this, will not come to Jesus Christ for life (Acts 13:38; Heb 2:14–15; Rev 1:17–18). (2.) In that he believes that Christ, according to his office, will be most faithful and merciful in the discharge of his office. This must be included in the faith of him that comes for life to Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1–3; Heb 2:17–18).

5. Further, He that cometh to Jesus Christ for life, taketh part with him against sin, and against the ragged and imperfect righteousness of the world; yea, and against false Christs, and damnable errors, that set themselves against the worthiness of his merits and sufficiency. This is evident, for such a soul singles Christ out of them all, as the only one who can save.

6. Therefore, as Noah, at God’s command, thou preparest this ark, for the saving of thyself, by which also thou condemnest the world, and art become heir of the righteousness which is by faith (Heb 11:7). Wherefore, coming sinner, be content; he that cometh to Jesus Christ, believeth too that he is willing to show mercy to, and have compassion upon him, though unworthy, that comes to him for life. And therefore thy soul lies not only under a special invitation to come but also under a promise of being accepted and forgiven (Matt 11:28).

Tagged And Uns

Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; What Is It To Come To Christ, 252.

 

Take two or three things to make this plainer; to wit, That coming to Christ flowed from a sound sense of the absolute need that a man hath of him, as afore.

1. “They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble” (Jer 31:9). Mind it; they come with weeping and supplication; they come with prayers and tears. Now prayers and tears are the effects of a righteous sense of the need for mercy. Thus, a senseless sinner cannot come, he cannot pray, he cannot cry, and he cannot become sensible of what he sees or feels. “In those days, and in that time—the children of Israel shall come; they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten” (Jer 1:4,5).

2. This coming to Christ, is called a running to him, as flying to him; a flying to him from wrath to come. By all which terms is set forth the sense of the man that comes; to wit, That he is affected with the sense of his sin, and the death due thereto; that he is sensible that the avenger of blood pursues him, and that, therefore, he is thus off, if he does not speed to the Son of God for life (Matt 3:7; Psa 143:9). Flying is the last work of a danger man; all that are in danger do not fly; no, not all that see themselves in danger; flying is the last work of a danger man; all that hear of danger will not fly. Men will consider if there is no other way of escaping before they fly. Therefore, as I said, flying is the last thing. When all refuge fails, and a man is made to see that there is nothing left but sin, death, and damnation, unless he flies to Christ for life; then he flies, and not till then.

3. That the true coming is from a sense of an absolute need of Jesus Christ to save, &c., is evident by the outcry that is made by them to come, even as they are coming to him, “Lord, save me,” or I perish; “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” and the like (Matt 14:30; Acts 2:37; 16:30). This language doth sufficiently discover that the truly-coming souls are souls sensible of their need of salvation by Jesus Christ; and, moreover, that there is nothing else that can help them but Christ.

4. It is yet further evident by the few things that follow: It is said that such are “pricked in their hearts,” that is, with the sentence of death by the law; and the least prick in the heart kills a man (Acts 2:37). Such is said, as I said before, to weep, to tremble, and to be astonished in themselves at the evident and unavoidable danger that attends them unless they fly to Jesus Christ (Acts 9:16).

5. Coming to Christ is attended with an honest and sincere forsaking of all for him. “If any man comes to me, and hates not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26–27).

By these and the like expressions elsewhere, Christ described the true comer or the man that indeed is coming to him; he casts all behind his back; he leaves all, he forsakes all, and he hates all things that would stand in his way to hinder his coming to Jesus Christ. There are many pretended comers to Jesus Christ in the world, and they are much like the man you read of in Matthew 21:30, who said to his father’s bidding, “I go, sir, and went not.” There are many such comers to Jesus Christ; they say, when Christ calls by his gospel, I come, Sir; but still, they abide by their pleasures and carnal delights. They come not at all, only they give him a courtly compliment; but he takes notice of it, and will not let it pass for any more than a lie. He said, “I go, sir, and I went not,” and he dissembled and lied. Take heed of this, you that flatter yourselves with your own deceiving. Words will not do with Jesus Christ. Coming is coming, and nothing else will go for coming with him.

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Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; What Is It To Come To Christ, 251.

 

Second, it is a moving of the mind towards him, from a sound sense of the absolute want that a man has of him for his justification and salvation. Indeed, without this sense of a lost condition, there will be no moving of the mind towards him. “With their mouths, they show much love” (Eze 33:31). Such a people as this will come as the true people cometh; that is, in the show and outward appearance. And they will sit before God’s ministers, as his people sit before them; and they will hear his words too, but they will not do them; that is, they will not come inwardly with their minds. 

“For with their mouth they shed much love, but their heart,” or mind, “goes after their covetousness.” Now, all this is because they want an effectual sense of the misery of their state by nature; for not till they have that will they, in their mind, move after him. Therefore, it is said concerning the true comers, “That day the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem” (Isa 27:13). They are then, as you see, the outcasts, and those that are ready to perish, who, indeed, have their minds effectively moved to come to Jesus Christ. This sense of things was that which made the three thousand come, that made Saul come, that made the jailer come, and that, indeed, makes all others come, that come effectually (Acts 2:8,18).

Of the true coming to Christ, the four lepers were a famous semblance, of whom you read, (2 Kings 7:3), &c. The famine in those days was sore in the land, there was no bread for the people; and as for that sustenance that was, which was asses’ flesh and doves’ dung, that was only in Samaria, and of these the lepers had no share, for they were thrust without the city. Well, now they sat in the gate of the city, and hunger was, as I may say, making his last meal of them; and being, therefore, half dead already, what do they think of doing? Why, first they display the dismal colors of death before each other’s faces, and then resolve what to do, saying, “If we say we will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: if we sit still here, we die also. 

Now, therefore, come, let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; if they kill us, we shall but die.” Here, now, was a necessity at work, and this necessity drove them to go thither for life, whither else they would never have gone for it. Thus it is with them that in truth come to Jesus Christ. Death is before them, they see it and feel it; he is feeding upon them, and will eat them quite up if they come not to Jesus Christ; and therefore they come, even of necessity, being forced thereto by that sense they have of their being utterly and everlastingly undone, if they find not safety in him. These are those that will come. Indeed, these are those that are invited to come. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28).

Tagged And 

Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; What Is It To Come To Christ, 250.

 

FIRST, I will show you WHAT IT IS TO COME TO CHRIST. This word must be understood spiritually, not carnally; for many came to him carnally, or bodily, that had no saving advantage for him. Multitudes did thus come unto him in the days of his flesh; yea, innumerable companies. There is also at this day a formal customary coming to his ordinances and ways of worship, which availed not anything; but with them, I shall not now meddle, for they are not intended in the text. The coming, then, intended in the text is to be understood as the coming of the mind to him, even the moving of the heart towards him. I say the moving of the heart towards him, from a sound sense of the absolute want that a man has of him for his justification and salvation.

This description of coming to Christ divides itself into two heads: First, coming to Christ is a moving of the mind towards him. Second, That it is a moving of the mind towards him, from a sound sense of the absolute want that a man has of him for his justification and salvation.

[First.] To speak to the first is a moving of the mind towards him. This is evident; because coming hither or thither, if it be voluntary, is by an act of the mind or will; so coming to Christ is through the inclining of the will. “Thy people shall be willing” (Psa 110:3). This willingness of the heart is what sets the mind moving after or towards him. The church expressed this moving of her mind towards Christ by the moving of her bowels. “My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him” (Can 5:4). “My bowels;” the passions of my mind and affections; which passions of the affections are expressed by the yearning and sounding of the bowels, the yearning or passionate working of them, the sounding of them, or their making a noise for him (Gen 43:30; 1 Kings 3:26; Isa 16:11).

This, then, is the coming to Christ, even moving towards him with the mind. 4 “And it shall come to pass, that everything that lived, which moved, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live” (Eze 47:9). The water in this text is the grace of God in the doctrine of it. The living things are the children of men, to whom the grace of God, by the gospel, is preached. Now, saith he, every living thing that moves, whither the water shall come, shall live. And see how this word moved is expounded by Christ himself, in the book of Revelations: “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him who is eager come. And whosoever will,” that is, willing, “let him take the water of life freely” (Rev 22:17).

So that to move in thy mind and will after Christ, is to be coming to him. There are many poor souls that are coming to Christ, but cannot tell how to believe it, because they think that coming to him is some strange and wonderful thing; and, indeed, so it is. But I mean, they overlook the inclination of their will, the moving of their mind, and the sounding of their bowels after him; and count these none of this strange and wonderful thing; when, indeed, it is a work of greatest wonder in this world, to see a man who was sometimes dead in sin possessed of the devil, an enemy to Christ and to all things spiritually good; I say, to see this man moving with his mind after the Lord Jesus Christ, is one of the highest wonders in the world.

Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Son’s Reception Of The Gift, 249.

 

“All that the Father giveth me SHALL COME.” In these last words, there is closely inserted an answer to the Father’s end in giving his elect to Jesus Christ. The Father’s end was, that they might come to him, and be saved by him; and that, says the Son, shall be done; neither sin nor Satan, neither flesh nor world, nor wisdom nor folly, shall hinder their coming to me. “They shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

Therefore, the Lord Jesus is positively determined to put forth such a sufficiency of all grace as shall effectively perform this promise. “They shall come;” that is, he will cause them to come, by infusing an effectual blessing into all the means that shall be used to that end. As was said to the evil spirit that was sent to persuade Ahab to go and fall at Ramoth-Gilead: “Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so” (1 Kings 22:22). 

So will Jesus Christ say to the means that shall be used for the bringing of those to him that the Father has given him. I say, he will bless it effectually to this very end; it shall persuade them, and shall prevail also; else, as I said, the Father’s end would be frustrated; for the Father’s will is, that “of all which he hath given him, he should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day,” (John 6:39); in order next unto himself, Christ the first-fruits, afterward those that are his at his coming (1 Cor 15). But this cannot be done if there should fail to be a work of grace effectively wrought in any one of them. But this shall not fail to be wrought in them, even in all that the Father has given him to save. “All that the Father hath given me shall come unto me,” &c. But to speak more distinctly to the words, THEY “SHALL COME,” two things I would show you from these words—FIRST, what it is to come to Christ. SECOND, What force is there in this promise, to make them come to him?

Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Father's Intent In Giving, 248.

 

God did once give Moses, as Christ’s servant, a handful of his people, to carry them in his bosom, but no further than from Egypt to Canaan; and this Moses, as is said of him by the Holy Ghost, was the meekest man that was then to be found in the earth; yea, and he loved the people at a very great rate; yet neither would his meekness nor love hold out in this work; he failed and grew passionate, even to the point of provoking his God to anger under this work. “And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant?” But what was the affliction? Why, the Lord had said unto him, “Carry these people in thy bosom as a nursing father bears the suckling child, unto the land which thou swore unto their fathers.” And how, then? Not I, says Moses, “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because it is too heavy for me. If thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, and let me not see my wretchedness” (Num 11:11–15).

God gave them to Moses, that he might carry them in his bosom, that he might show gentleness and patience towards them, under all the provocations wherewith they would provoke him from that time till he had brought them to their land; but he failed in the work; he could not exercise it, because he had not that sufficiency of patience towards them. But now it is said of the person speaking in the text, “That he shall gather the lambs with his arm, carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are young” (Isa 40:11). It was intimating that this was one of the qualifications that God looked for, and knew was in him when he gave his elect to him to save them.

Fourth, The Father, giving of him to save them, declares that he has sufficient wisdom to wage with all those difficulties that would attend him in bringing his sons and daughters to glory. He made him to us to be wisdom; yes, he is called wisdom itself (1 Cor 1:30). And God says, moreover, That “he shall deal prudently” (Isa 52:13). And, indeed, he who shall take upon him to be the Saviour of the people, had to be wise because their adversaries are subtle above any. Here they are to encounter the serpent, who, for his subtilty outwitted our father and mother when their wisdom was at its highest (Gen 3). But if we talk of wisdom, our Jesus is wise—wiser than Solomon, wiser than all men, and wiser than all angels; he is even the wisdom of God. “Christ is the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). And hence it is that he turned to sin, temptations, persecutions, falls, and all things, for good unto his people (Rom 8:28).

Now these things thus concluded do show us also the great and wonderful love of the Father, in that he should choose out one every way so well prepared for the work of man’s salvation.

Herein, indeed, we perceive the love of God. Huram gathered, that God loved Israel because he had given them such a king as Solomon (2 Chron 2:11). But how much more may we behold the love that God has bestowed upon us, in that he has given us to his Son, and also given his Son for us?

T

Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Father's Intent In Giving, 247.

 

The Father, therefore, in giving them to him to save them, must declare to us the following things:

First, he can answer this design of God, to wit, to save them from the uttermost sin, the uttermost temptation, &c. (Heb 7:25). Hence he is said to lay “help upon one that is mighty,” “mighty to save” (Psa 89:19; Isa 63:1), and hence it is again, that God did even of his old promise to send his people “a Saviour, a great one” (Isa 19:20). To save is a great work, and calls for almightiness in the undertaker: hence, he is called the “Mighty God, the Wonderful Counsellor,” &c. Sin is strong, Satan is also strong, death and the grave are strong, and so is the curse of the law; therefore, it follows, that this Jesus must need to be, by God the Father, accounted almighty, in that he has given his elect to him to save them and deliver them from them, despite all their force and power.

And he gave us testimony of his might when he was employed in that part of our deliverance that called for a declaration of it. He abolished death; he destroyed him that had the power of death; he was the destruction of the grave; he hath finished sin, and made an end of it, as to its damning effects upon the persons that the Father hath given him; he hath vanquished the curse of the law, nailed it to his cross, triumphed over them upon his cross, and made a show of these things openly (2 Tim 1:10; Heb 2:14,15; Hosea 13:14; Dan 9:24; Gal 3:13; Col 2:14,15). Yea, and even now, as a sign of his triumph and conquest, he is alive from the dead and has the keys of hell and death in his own keeping (Rev 1:18).

Second, the Father’s giving of them to him to save them, declares unto us that he is and will be faithful in his office of Mediator and that therefore they shall be secured from the fruit and wages of their sins, which is eternal damnation, by his faithful execution of it. And, indeed, it is said, even by the Holy Ghost himself, that he “was faithful to him that appointed him,” that is, to this work of saving those that the Father has given him for that purpose; as “Moses was faithful in all his house.” Yea, and more faithful too, for Moses was faithful in God’s house but as a servant; “but Christ as a Son over his own house” (Heb 3). And therefore this man is counted worthy of more glory than Moses, even upon this account, because he is more faithful than he is, as well as because of the dignity of his person. Therefore, in him, and in his truth and faithfulness, God rested well pleased, and he has put all the government of this people upon his shoulders. Knowing that nothing shall be wanting in him, that may in any way perfect this design. And of this, he, to wit, the Son, has already given proof. For when the time came that his blood was, by Divine justice, required for their redemption, washing, and cleansing, he freely poured it out of his heart, as if it had been water out of a vessel; not sticking to part with his own life, that the life that was laid up for his people in heaven might not fail to be bestowed upon them. And upon this account, as well as upon any other, it is that God calleth him “my righteous servant” (Isa 53:11). For his righteousness could never have been complete, if he had not been to the uttermost faithful to the work he undertook; it is also, because he is faithful and true, that in righteousness he doth judge and make work for his people’s deliverance. He will faithfully perform the trust reposed in him. The Father knows this and has therefore given his elect to him.

Third, the Father’s giving of them to him, to save them, declares that he is, and will be gentle, and patient towards them, under all their provocations and miscarriages. It is not to be imagined, the trials and provocations that the Son of God has all along had with these people that have been given to him that save them: indeed, he is said to be “a tried stone;” for he has been tried, not only by the devil, guilt of sin, death, and the curse of the law, but also by his people’s ignorance, unruliness, falling into sin, and declining to errors in life and doctrine. Were we not capable of seeing how this Lord Jesus has been tried even by his people, Ever since there was one of them in the world, we should be amazed at his patience and gentleness toward them. It is indeed said, “The Lord is very pitiful, slow to anger, and of great mercy.” And, indeed, if he had not been so, he could never have endured their manners as he has done from Adam hitherto. Therefore, his pity and bowels towards his church are preferred above the pity and bowels of a mother towards her child. “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion for the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee,” saith the Lord (Isa 49:15).

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Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; Come and Welcome To Jesus Christ, 246.

1. That though the act of giving among men does admit of the time past, or the time to come, and is to be spoken of concerning such time, with God it is not so. Things past, or things to come, are always present with God, and with his Son Jesus Christ: He “calleth those things which be not,” that is, to us, “as though they were” (Rom 4:17). And again, “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” All things to God are present, and so is the gift of the Father to the Son, although to us, as is manifested by the word, it is an act that is past (Acts 15:16).

2. Christ may express himself thus, to show, that the Father hath not only given him this portion in the lump before the world was but that those that he had so given, he will give him again; that is, will bring them to him at the time of their conversion; for the Father bringeth them to Christ (John 6:44). As it is said, “She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework,” that is, in the righteousness of Christ; for it is God that imputes that to those that are saved (Psa 45:14; 1 Cor 1). A man giveth his daughter to such a man, first to marry, and this respects the time past, and he giveth her again at the day appointed in marriage. And in this last sense, perhaps, the text may have a meaning; that is, that all that the Father hath, before the world was, given to Jesus Christ, he giveth them again to him in the day of their espousals.

Things that are given among men are often best at first; to wit, when they are new; and the reason is, that all earthly things wax old; but with Christ, it is not so. This gift of the Father is not old, deformed, and unpleasant in his eyes; therefore, it is always new to him. When the Lord spoke of giving the land of Canaan to the Israelites, he said not, that he had given, or would give it to them, but thus: “The Lord thy God giveth thee—this good land” (Deut 9:6). Not but that he had given it to them, while they were in the loins of their fathers, hundreds of years before. Yet he says now he giveth it to them; as if they were now also taking possession when, as yet, they were on the other side of Jordan. What, then, should be the meaning? Why, I take it to be this. That the land should be to them always as new; as new as if they were taking possession thereof, but now. And so is the gift of the Father, mentioned in the text, to the Son; it is always new, as if it were always new.

“All that the Father giveth me.” In these words, you find mention of two persons, the Father and the Son; the Father giving, and the Son receiving or accepting this gift. This, then, in the first place, clearly demonstrates, that the Father and the Son, though they, with the Holy Ghost, are one and the same eternal God; yet, as to their personalities, are distinct. The Father is one, the Son is one, and the Holy Spirit is one. But because there is a mention in this text of two of the three, therefore, a word about these two. The giver and receiver cannot be the same person in a proper sense, in the same act of giving and receiving. He that giveth, giveth not to himself, but to another; the Father giveth not to the Father, to wit, to himself, but to the Son: the Son receiveth not of the Son, to wit, of himself, but of the Father: so when the Father giveth commandment, he giveth it not to himself, but to another; as Christ saith, “He gave me a commandment” (John 12:49). So again, “I bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me” (John 8:18).

Further, here is something implied that is not expressed, to wit, that the Father hath not given all men to Christ; that is, in that sense as it is intended in this text, though in a larger sense, as was said before, he hath given him every one of them; for then all should be saved: he hath, therefore, disposed of some another way. He gives some up to idolatry; he gives some up to uncleanness, to vile affections, and to a reprobate mind. Now these he disposeth of in his anger, for their destruction, that they may reap the fruit of their doings, and be filled with the reward of their own ways (Acts 7:42; Rom 1:24,26,28). But neither hath he thus disposed of all men; he hath even of mercy reserved some from these judgments, and those are they that he will pardon, as he saith, “For I will pardon them whom I reserve” (Jer 50:20). Now these he has given to Jesus Christ, by will, as a legacy and portion. Hence the Lord Jesus says, “This is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day” (John 6:39).

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