Fountain of Life (John Flavel) — Executive Summary [Part 2]

11. The Nature and Necessity of Christ's Priesthood

Doctrine: That the sacrifice of Christ, our High Priest, is most excellent in itself, and most necessary for us.

Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. (Hebrews 9:23)

SALVATION (as to the actual dispensation of it) is revealed by Christ as a Prophet, procured by him as a Priest, applied by him as a King. Jesus, as our Priest, purchased our salvation.

Two things to be observed.

1. The nature of Christ's death and sufferings.
2. The necessity of His offering.

Sacrifices are of two sorts.

1. Eucharistical, or thank-offerings, in testification of homage, duty, and service; and in token of gratitude for mercies freely received
2. Ilastical, or expiatory, for satisfaction to justice, and thereby the atoning and reconciling of God.

Nature of Christ's Priesthood

1. At first sight, it supposes man’s revolt and fall from God, and a dreadful breach made thereby between God, and him, else no need of an atoning sacrifice.
2. His priesthood supposes the unalterable purpose of God to take vengeance for sin; he will not let it pass.
3. The priesthood of Christ presupposes the utter impotency of men to appease God and recover His favor by anything he could do or suffer.
4. Christ’s priesthood implies the necessity of Him being truly God and truly man.
5. The priesthood of Christ implies the extremity of His sufferings.
6. It implies the gracious design of God to reconcile us at a dear rate to Himself, in that He called and confirmed Christ in His priesthood by an oath and thereby laid out a sacrifice of infinite value for the world.

Necessity of Christ's Priesthood

1. God stood upon full satisfaction, and would not remit one sin without it. This will be cleared from the nature of sin; and from the veracity and wisdom of God.
2. Man can render to God no satisfaction of his own, for the wrong done by his sin.
   1. Not by man's doing.
   2. Not by man's suffering.

Corollaries

1. This confirms the incomparable excellency of the reformed Christian religion above all other religions known to or professed in the world.

2. Be informed of the necessity of faith in order to have a state and sense of peace with God.

3. Freely acknowledge your utter impotency to reconcile yourselves to God by any thing you can do or suffer; let Christ have the whole glory of your recovery ascribed to Him.

4. See your necessity of this priest and His most excellent sacrifice; and accordingly to make use of it.

12. Christ's Priestly Office I: Excellency of His Oblation

Doctrine: That the oblation^[1] made unto God by Jesus Christ, is of unspeakable value, and everlasting efficacy, to perfect all them that are, or shall be sanctified, to the end of the world.

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

My present business is to open and apply the oblation of Christ; the efficacy and excellency whereof is excellently illustrated, by comparison with all other oblations, in the precedent context and with a singular encomium commended to us in these words, from the singularity of it.

1. The Priest that appears before God with an oblation for us, is Jesus Christ, God-man.
2. The oblation or offering He made, was not the blood of beasts, but His own blood.
   1. Invaluably precious.
   2. Needs be a most complete and all-sufficient oblation, fully to expiate the sins of all for whom it was offered, in all ages of the world.
   3. Being so precious in itself and so efficacious to expiate sin, it must be a most grateful oblation to the Lord, highly pleasing and delightful in His eyes.
3. This oblation He brings before God, and to Him He offers it up.
4. The persons for whom, and in whose stead He offered Himself to God, was the whole number of God’s elect, which were given Him of the Father, neither more nor less.
5. The design and end of this oblation were to atone, pacify, and reconcile God, by giving Him a full and adequate compensation or satisfaction for the sins of His elect.

Inferences

1. That actual believers are fully freed from the guilt of their sins, and shall never more come under condemnation.
2. The inflexible severity of divine Justice, which could be no other way diverted from us, and appeased, but by the blood of Christ.
3. Let us improve, in every condition, this sacrifice and labor to get hearts duly affected with such a sight as faith can give us of it.

13. Christ's Priestly Office II: The Intercession of Christ our High Priest

Doctrine: That Jesus our High-priest lives forever in heaven, in the capacity of a potent Intercessor, for believers.

For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

1. What is it for Christ to be our intercessor? To intercede is to go between two parties to entreat, argue, and plead with one for the other.
2. What does the intercession of Christ consist of, or by what acts does He perform His glorious office?
   1. Christ presents Himself before God the Father in our names, and upon our account.
   2. Christ performs his intercession work in heaven, not by appearing naked in God's presence only but also by presenting His blood and all His sufferings to God as a moving plea on our account.
   3. Christ presents the prayers of his saints to God with His merits, and He desires that they may, for His sake, be granted.
3. What confirms the potency and prevalency of Christ's intercession?
   1. Our intercession in the heavens is every way able and fit for the work He is engaged in there.
   2. Consider His great interest in the Father, with whom He intercedes.
   3. The Father is under a covenant tie and bond to do what He asks, for Christ has fully performed the work on His part, and the mercies He intercedes for are as due as the laborer's hire when the work is faithfully done.
   4. Consider Christ is making intercession for the friends of God, the children of God, those that the Father Himself loves, and His heart is propense and ready enough to grant the best and greatest of mercies to.
4. In what sense does Christ live forever to make intercession?
   1. As to its essence, it is eternal. He will never cease to be a Mediator.
   2. As to its substance, it does not change.

Uses

1. How sad then are those who have no interest in Christ’s blood, but instead of pleading for them, Christ's intercession cries to God against them as the despisers and abusers of it!
2. Let believers obtain relief and draw encouragement against all the causes and grounds of their fears and troubles, for surely this answers them all.
   1. Be encouraged against all sinful infirmities and lamented weaknesses.
   2. Be encouraged against all heart-stritenings and deadness of Spirit in prayer.
   3. Be relieved against all sinful damps and slavish fears from the justice of God.
   4. Be encouraged against the fears of deserting him again by apostasy.
   5. Be relieved against the defects and wants that yet are in our sanctification.
3. Let those who reap on earth the fruits of that his work in heaven, draw instruction about the following duties.
   1. Do not forget Christ in an exalted state.
   2. Let Christ's intercession in heaven encourage you to constancy in God's good ways.
   3. Let it encourage you to be constant in prayer. Do not neglect that excellent duty, seeing Christ is there to present all your petitions to God.
   4. Be encouraged to plead for Christ on earth, who continually pleads for you in heaven.

14. Effect of Christ's Priesthood I: A Vindication of the Satisfaction of Christ

Doctrine: The death of Christ has made a full satisfaction to God for all the sins of His elect.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us. (Galatians 3:13a)

We must take into consideration the principal fruits and effects of His priesthood. They are the complete (1) satisfaction and the (2) acquisition or purchase of an eternal inheritance.

• Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
• Christ did us with a full price paid down, thus making a complete and full satisfaction.

What is the satisfaction of Christ, and what does it imply?

1. It is the act of God-man; no other was capable of giving satisfaction for an infinite wrong done to God.
2. If Christ satisfied God for us, He must present Himself before God as our surety, in our stead, and for our good. Otherwise, His obedience signified nothing to us. To this end, he was "made under the law" (Gal 4:4).
3. The internal moving cause of Christ's satisfaction for us was His obedience to God and His love for us.
4. The matter of Christ's satisfaction was His active and passive obedience to all the requirements of God's law.
5. The effect and fruit of His satisfaction are our freedom, ransom, and deliverance from the wrath and curse due to us for our sins.

What biblical evidence establishes the truth of Christ's satisfaction?

• So much more, Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant. (Heb 7:22)

• But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law. (Gal 4:4)

• All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way; but Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Isa 53:6)

• He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32)

• And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46)

• This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death. (Acts 2:23)

• And walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Eph 5:2)

• And by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh,

  Was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1 Tim 3:16)

• Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. (Rom 8:1, 34)

Common objections against the satisfaction of Christ

• The doctrine of Christ's satisfaction is absurd.
  • The blood of the man Christ Jesus is the matter of the satisfaction; the Divine Nature dignifies it and makes it of infinite value.
• If Christ satisfied by paying our debt, then He should have endured eternal torments.
  • He that can make it at one entire payment (as Christ could and did) ought to be discharged.
• If God will be satisfied for our sins before he pardon them, how then is pardon an act of grace.
  • Pardon could not be an act of pure grace if God received satisfaction from us. But if He pardons us upon the satisfaction received from Christ, though it is of debt to Him, it is of grace to us.
• But God loved us before Christ died for us, for it was the love of God to the world that moved him to give his only-begotten Son. Could God love us and yet not be reconciled and satisfied?
  • God’s complacent love is inconsistent with an unreconciled state: He is reconciled to everyone he loves. But his benevolent love, consisting of his purpose of good, may precede actual reconciliation and satisfaction.
• Temporal death, as well as eternal, is a part of the curse. If Christ has fully satisfied by bearing the curse for us, how is it that those for whom he bore it die as well as others?
  • As temporal death is a penal evil and part of the curse, so God inflicts it not upon believers. But they must die for other ends. To be made perfectly happy in a more full and immediate enjoyment of God than they can have in the body, death is theirs by way of privilege (1 Cor. 3:22).

Inferences

1. If the death of Christ was that which satisfied God for all the sins of the elect, then certainly there is an infinite evil in sin since it cannot be expiated but by an infinite satisfaction.
2. If the death of Christ satisfied God and thereby redeemed the elect from the curse, then the redemption of souls is costly. Souls are dear things and of great value to God.
3. If Christ’s death satisfied God for our sins, how unparalleled is the love of Christ to poor sinners!
4. If Christ, by dying, has made full satisfaction, then God is no loser in pardoning the greatest of sinners who believe in Jesus. Consequently, His justice can be no bar to their justification and salvation.
5. If Christ has made such a full satisfaction, how much is it the concern of every soul to abandon all thoughts of satisfying God for his own sins and surrender himself by faith to the blood of Christ, the ransomer, that in that blood they may be pardoned?

15. Effect of Christ's Priesthood II: The Blessed Inheritance Purchased by the Oblation of Christ

Doctrine: The death of Jesus Christ has not only satisfied our debts but over and above, purchased a rich inheritance for the children of God.

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4–5)

The purchase of an inheritance for those redeemed ones is expressed here by their receiving the adoption of sons.

What did Christ pay?

It was much more than sufficient: a superlegale meritum, a merit above and beyond what the law required. For, though the law required the death of the sinner, who is but a poor, contemptible creature, it did not require that one, perfectly innocent, should die. It did not require that God should shed His blood. It did not require blood of such value and worth as this was.

What did Christ purchase?

This inheritance is so large that creatures cannot survey it, nor can its boundaries and limits be described, for it comprehends everything. (1 Cor. 3:22)

• All temporal good things. (1 Tim 6:7)

• All spiritual good things. (Rom 3:24)

• All eternal good things. (1 Pet 1:3–4)

For whom did Christ purchase this inheritance?

• All this is purchased for believers; hence it is called “the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Col 1:12)

Inferences

1. Has Christ not only redeemed you from wrath but also purchased such an eternal inheritance by the overplus of His merit for you? How content should believers be with their lot of providence in this life? Be it what it will be!
2. With what affections should the people of God walk up and down this world: to be content to live and to be willing to die?
3. We infer the impossibility of salvation for those who do not know Christ or are disinterested in His blood.
4. How greatly are we all concerned about clearing up our title to the heavenly inheritance? It is horrible to see how industrious many are for an inheritance on Earth and how careless they are for Heaven.

16. Christ's Kingly Office I: Applied Spiritually Upon the Souls of the Redeemed

Doctrine: Jesus Christ exercises kingly power over the souls of all whom the gospel subdues to His obedience.

As we tear down speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Christ has a twofold kingdom.

• One is spiritual and internal, by which He subdues and rules the hearts of His people;
• The other is providential and external, whereby He guides, rules, and orders all things in the world in a blessed subordination to their eternal salvation.

How does Christ obtain the throne in the hearts of men?

By way of conquest, Christ must fight his way into the soul, though He has a right to enter, as into His dearly purchased possession.

How does Christ rule on the throne, and by what acts He exercises His kingly authority?

1. He imposes a new law upon them and enjoins them to be severe and punctual in their obedience. He rules not by compulsion but most sweetly.
2. He rebukes and chastises souls for the violations and transgressions of His law.
3. Another regal act of Christ is restraining and keeping back His servants from iniquity and withholding them from those courses in which their hearts would incline and lead them.
4. He protects them in His ways and prevents them from relapsing into a state of sin and bondage to Satan. Whether He restrains from sin or impels to duty, He does so with a soul-determining efficacy.
5. As a king, He rewards their obedience and encourages their sincere service. He rules them suitably to their natures in a rational way.
6. He pacifies all inward troubles and commands peace when their spirits are tumultuous.

What are the privileges of those souls over whom Christ reigns?

1. These souls, over whom Christ reigns, are certainly and fully set free from the curse of the law.
2. Another privilege of Christ’s subjects is freedom from the dominion of sin.
3. A third privilege of Christ’s subjects is protection in all the troubles and dangers to which their souls or bodies are exposed.
4. A fourth privilege of Christ’s subjects is a merciful and tender bearing of their burdens and infirmities.
5. Sweet peace and tranquillity of soul are the privileges of the subjects of this kingdom.
6. Everlasting salvation is the privilege of all over whom Christ reigns.

Inferences

1. How great are their sin and misery who continue in bondage to sin and Satan and refuse the government of Christ?
2. How much does it concern us to enquire and know whose government we are under and who is king over our souls? Is it Christ or Satan on the throne that sways the scepter over our souls?
   • To whom do you yield your obedience?
   • Do you have the power of godliness or a form of it only?
   • Have you the special saving knowledge of Christ?
   • With whom do you delightfully associate yourselves?
   • Do you live holy and righteous lives?
3. Does Christ exercise such a kingly power over the souls of those subdued by the gospel to Him? O then let all under Christ’s government walk as the subjects of such a King.

17. Christ's Kingly Office II: Executed Providentially in the World for the Redeemed

Doctrine: All the affairs of the kingdom of providence are ordered and determined by Jesus Christ for the special advantage and everlasting good of his redeemed people.

And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church. (Ephesians 1:22)

Notice four things in this verse.

1. The nature of this authority: “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” This implies absolute dominion, which the Father has delegated to Christ.
2. The subject of this authority: “Christ.” He is the only recipient of all power and authority.
3. The object of this authority: “over all things.” This is the whole creation. Christ rules from sea to sea.
4. The end of this authority: “to be head over all things to the church.” Christ governs the universe for the church’s comfort, advantage, and salvation.”

The Acts of Christ's Rule

• Christ supports the world and all creatures in it by His power (Col. 1:17).
• Christ permits the worst of creatures in His dominion to exist and act as they do (Job 12:16).
• Christ restrains creatures from the commission of those things to which their hearts are inclined (Ps. 76:10).
• Christ limits the creatures in their actions, assigning them boundaries that they cannot pass (Rev. 2:10).
• Christ protects His people in a world of enemies and dangers.
• Christ punishes evil-doers and repays them for their evil.
• Christ rewards the services done to Him and His people.

The Manner of Christ's Rule

• It is holy.
• It is wise.
• It is supreme.
• It is profound.
• It is irresistible.
• It is harmonious.
• It is good.

Inferences

1. We are indebted to Christ for our lives, comforts, liberties, and all that we enjoy in this world.
2. We can leave our particular concerns in Christ’s hands and know that the infinite love and wisdom that rule the world manage everything related to us.
3. We do not need to stand in fear of creatures. Christ, our head and husband, is the Lord of all the hosts of heaven and earth.
4. We can entrust all our affairs to Christ.
5. We should look to Christ in all the events of providence.

18. Christ's Necessary Humiliation in His Incarnation

Doctrine: The state of Christ, from his conception to his resurrection, was a state of deep abasement and humiliation.

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

Notice three descriptions of Christ's humiliation in this verse.

1. Its nature: “he humbled himself.” The word imports both a real and voluntary abasement. It was real and voluntary.
2. Its degree: He “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
3. Its duration: it continued from the first moment of His incarnation to the very moment of His vivification in the grave.

Truths about Christ's Humiliation in His Incarnation.

• Christ was humbled by His incarnation because He who is “over all, God blessed for ever” (Rom. 9:5) was thereby brought into the rank and order of creatures. God “was manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16).
• Christ was humbled by His incarnation because He became not only a creature but an inferior creature.
• Christ was humbled by His incarnation because He assumed the human nature after sin had blotted its original glory and withered away its beauty and excellency.
• Christ was humbled by His incarnation because it so clouded His glory that He looked like a poor, sorry, and contemptible sinner in the eyes of the world.
• Christ was humbled by His incarnation because it distanced Him from His Father and the ineffable joy and pleasure that He enjoyed eternally with Him.

Inferences

1. We infer the fullness and completeness of Christ’s satisfaction as the sweet firstfruits of His incarnation.
2. We have a tremendous pattern of self-denial in Christ’s example (John 13:14).
3. Those who perish under the gospel perish without excuse.
4. No one can love like Christ, for His love to us is matchless.
5. We should exalt and honor the One who was so abused for our sakes. We should speak frequently and delightfully of Christ. We should trust in Christ for whatever is still unfulfilled in the promises. We should draw near to God “through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Heb. 10:20). We should apply ourselves to Him in all wants, troubles, and temptations, as to One who is tenderly sensible of our case and most willing to relieve us.