Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Power Of Christ To Save, Or To Cast Out, 284

 

3. Coming to Christ is not by the power of man. This is evident partly,

(1.) From that which goes before. For man's power in the putting forth of it, in this matter, is either stirred up by love, or sense of necessity; but the wisdom of this world neither gives man love to, or sense of a need of, Jesus Christ; therefore, his power lies still, as from that.

(2.) What power has he that is dead, as every natural man spiritually is, even dead in trespasses and sins? Dead, even as dead to God's New Testament things as he that is in his grave is dead to the things of this world. What power has he, then, whereby to come to Jesus Christ? (John 5:25; Eph 2:1; Col 2:13).

(3.) God forbids the mighty man's glorying in his strength; and says positively, "By strength shall no man prevail;" and again, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord" (Jer 9:23,24; 1 Sam 2:9; Zech 4:6; 1 Cor 1:27-31).

(4.) Paul acknowledged that man, nay, converted man, of himself, hath not a sufficiency of power in himself to think a good thought; if not to do that which is least, for to believe is less than to come; then no man, by his own power, can come to Jesus Christ (2 Cor 2:5).

(5.) Hence we are said to be made willing to come, by the power of God; to be raised from a state of sin to a state of grace, by the power of God; and to believe, that is to come, through the exceeding working of his mighty power (Psa. 110:3; Col 2:12; Eph 1:18,20; Job 23:14). But this needed not, if either man had power or will to come; or so much as graciously to think of being willing to come, of themselves, to Jesus Christ.

Second, I should now come to the proof of the second part of the observation [namely, the coming to Christ is by the gift, promise, and drawing of the Father, but that is occasionally done already, in the explicatory part of the text, to which I refer the reader; for I shall here only give thee a text or two more to the same purpose, and so come to the use and application.

1. It is expressly said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44). By this text, there is not only insinuated that in man is want of power but also of will, to come to Jesus Christ: they must be drawn; they come not if they are not drawn. And observe, it is not man, nor all the angels in heaven, that can draw one sinner to Jesus Christ. No man comes to me, except the Father who sent me draws him.

2. Again, "No man can come unto me, except it was given unto him of my Father" (John 6:65). It is an heavenly gift that makes a man come to Jesus Christ.

3. Again, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me" (John 6:45).

I shall not enlarge but make some use and application, and so come to the next observation.

Use and Application of Observation First. Use First. Is it so? Is coming to Jesus Christ not by the will, wisdom, or power of man, but by the gift, promise, and drawing of the Father? Then they are to blame that cry up the will, wisdom, and power of man, as things sufficient to bring men to Christ.

There are some men who think they may not be contradicted when they plead for the will, wisdom, and power of man about the things that are of the kingdom of Christ; but I will say to such a man, he never yet came to understand, that himself is what the Scripture teaches concerning him; neither did he ever know what coming to Christ is, by the teaching, gift, and drawing of the Father. He is such a one that hath set up God's enemy in opposition to him, and that continuity in such acts of defiance; and what his end, without a new birth, will be, the Scripture teaches also; but we will pass this. Use Second. Is it so? Is coming to Jesus Christ by the gift, promise, and drawing of the Father? Then let saints here learn to ascribe their coming to Christ to the gift, promise, and drawing of the Father. Christian man, bless God, who hath given thee to Jesus Christ by promise; and again, bless God for that he hath drawn thee to him. And why is it thee? Why not another? O that the glory of electing love should rest upon thy head, and that the glory of the exceeding grace of God should take hold of thy heart, and bring thee to Jesus Christ!

Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Power Of Christ To Save, Or To Cast Out, 282

 

I intend brevity here; therefore, a word to the second, and so conclude.

Second, How it appears that he hath power to cast out. This appears also by what follows:—

1. The Father, for the service that he hath done him as Saviour, has made him Lord of all, even of quick and dead. “For to this end Christ both died, rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living” (Rom 14:9).

2. The Father hath left it with him to quicken whom he will, to wit, with saving grace, and to cast out whom he will, for their rebellion against him (John 5:21).

3. The Father made him judge over those who have been born again and those dead in their trespasses. He entrusted all judgment to the Son, and appointed that all should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father (John 5:22–23).

4. God will judge the world by this man: the day is appointed for judgment, and he is appointed to judge. “He has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man” (Acts 17:31). Therefore we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive for the things done in the body, according to what they have done. If they have closed with him, heaven and salvation; if they have not, hell and damnation! And for these reasons, he must be judged:—

(1.) Because of his humiliation and his Father’s word, he humbled himself, and he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This hath respect to his being judge, and his sitting in judgment upon angels and men (Phil 2:7-11; Rom 14:10,11).

(2.) All men might honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. “For the Father judged no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father” (John 5:225:22–

23.) Because of his righteous judgment, this work is fit for no creature; it is only fit for the Son of God. He will reward every man according to his ways (Rev 22:12).

(4.) Because he is the Son of man. He “hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (John 5:27).

Thus have I in brief passed through this text by way of explications. My next work is to speak to it by way of observation. But I shall be also as brief in that as the nature of the thing will admit. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

And now I come to some observations, and a little briefly to speak to them, and then conclude the whole. The words thus explained afford us many, some of which are these. 1. That God the Father, and Christ his Son, are two distinct persons in the Godhead. 2. That by them, not excluding the Holy Ghost, is contrived and determined the salvation of fallen mankind. 3. That this contrivance resolved itself into a covenant between these persons in the Godhead, which stands in giving on the Father’s part, and receiving on the Son’s. “All that the Father giveth me,” &c. 4. That everyone that the Father hath given to Christ, according to the mind of God in the text, shall certainly come to him. 5. That coming to Jesus Christ is therefore not by the will, wisdom, or power of man; but by the gift, promise, and drawing of the Father. “All that the Father giveth me shall come.” 6. That Jesus Christ will be careful to receive, and will not in any wise reject those that come or are coming to him. “And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” There are, besides these, some other truths implied in the words. As, 7. They that are coming to Jesus Christ are ofttimes heartily afraid that he will not receive them. 8. Jesus Christ would not have them that in truth are coming to him once think that he will cast them out.

Works of John Bunyan: The Greatness of The Soul And Unspeakableness of the Loss Thereof; The Power Of Christ To Save, Or To Cast Out, 281

 

SECOND. And now we come to the second thing to be inquired into, namely, how it appears that Christ has the power to save or cast out. For by these words, "I will in no wise cast out," he declares that he has the power to do both. Now this inquiry admits us to search into the things: First, How it appears that he hath power to save; Second, How it appears that he hath power to cast out.

First, That he has the power to save, appears by that which follows:

1. To speak only of him as he is a mediator: he was authorized to this blessed work by his Father before the world began. Hence the apostle saith, "He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:4). With all those things that will produce our salvation,. Read the same chapter, with 2 Timothy 1:9.

2. He was promised to our first parents, that he should, in the fullness of time, bruise the serpent's head; and, as Paul expounds it, redeem them that were under the law. Hence, since then, he has been reckoned as slain for our sins. which means all the fathers under the First Testament were secured from the wrath to come; hence, he is called, "The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev 13:8; Gen 3:15; Gal 4:4,5).

3. Moses gave testimony of him by the types of shadows, and bloody sacrifices, that he commanded from the mouth of God to be in use for the support of his people's faith, until the time of reformation; which was the time of Jesus his death (Heb 9, 10).

4. At the time of his birth, it was testified of him by the angel, "That he should save his people from their sins" (Matt 1:21).

5. It is testified of him in the days of his flesh, that he had power on earth to forgive sins (Mark 2:5–12).

6. It is testified also of him by the apostle Peter, that "God hath exalted him with his own right hand, to be a prince and a savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31).

7. In a word, this is everywhere testified of him, both in the Old Testament and the New. And there is a good reason that he should be acknowledged and trusted as a savior.

(1.) He came down from heaven to be a savior (John 6:38–40).

(2.) He was anointed when on earth to be a savior (Luke 3:22).

(3.) He did the work of a Savior (a.) He fulfilled the law and became the end of it for righteousness, for those that believe in him (Rom 10:3,4). (b.) He laid down his life as a Saviour; he gave his life as "a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1 Tim 2:6). (c.) He hath abolished death, destroyed the devil, put away sin, got the keys of hell and death, is ascended into heaven; is the acceptance of God, and bid sit at the right hand as a Saviour; and that because his sacrifice for sins pleased God (2 Tim 1:10; Heb 2:14,15; 10:12,13; Eph 4:7,8; John 16:10,11; Acts 5:30,31).

(4.) God hath sent out and proclaimed him as a Saviour, and he tells the world that we have redemption through his blood, that he will justify us if we believe in his blood, and that he can faithfully and justly do it. Yea, God doth beseech us to be reconciled to him by his Son; which could not be, if he were not anointed by him to this very end, and also if his works and undertakings were not accepted by him as a Saviour (Rom 3:24,25; 2 Cor 5:18-21).

(5.) God has already received millions of souls into his paradise because they have received this Jesus as a Saviour; and he is resolved to cut them off, and cast them out of his presence, which will not take him for a Saviour (Heb 12:22-26).

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