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BENEFIT OF RECEIVING CHRIST
THE blessings which administer to our worldly interest or bodily comfort, are equally welcomed by persons of all ranks and conditions: but those which have relation only to our spiritual good, are despised by many, and desired by very few. The light of the sun is not less prized by one than by another: all are sensible of its benefits, and value it accordingly. But “the Sun of Righteousness has arisen upon us,” and the benighted world regards him not: “he shines in the darkness, and the darkness apprehends him not [Note: ver. 5.].” Some however there are, who rejoice in his advent: and as they only have learned to appreciate his worth, they only shall enjoy the full benefits he confers.
The words of the Evangelist will lead us to shew,
I. The contempt poured on Christ by the unbelieving world—
What was said of him in that day is equally true in this:
1. His own creatures “do not know him”—
[It was Christ who formed the universe: “the world was made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made [Note: ver. 3. with the text.].” He has moreover “been in the world” from the very beginning, “upholding it by his power [Note: Heb_1:3.],” and ordering every thing in it by his superintending providence. Yet, before his incarnation, he was not known; neither yet now is he known as the Creator and Governor of the world. His name indeed is known: but he is considered only as a great prophet. The generality of those who doctrinally maintain his proper Deity, never practically realize the thought, that “by him all things subsist [Note: Col_1:17.].”]
2. His own people “do not receive him”—
[The Jews were called “Christ’s own,” because he had separated them from all other people, brought them out of Egypt, led them through the wilderness, and derived his human nature from the stock of Abraham, their father. Their very country was called “Emmanuel’s land [Note: Isa_8:8.]. But we are his in a still more appropriate sense; because he has bought us with his blood; and we have been baptized into his name; and profess ourselves his followers. Yet we “do not really receive him,” any more than the Jews themselves did. We do not receive him in the character which he bears in the Holy Scriptures [Note: He is a Prophet to teach us, a Priest to atone for as, a King to rule over us and in us. Do we receive him under these characters?] — — — We do not receive him for the ends and purposes for which he came [Note: He came to justify us by his blood, to sanctify us by his grace, and to save us with an everlasting salvation. Do we receive him for these ends?] — — —]
Alas! what contempt is this which we pour upon him! We can shudder at the indignities offered him by the Jews; but we ourselves are no less criminal than the people who crucified and slew him: they through ignorance apprehended and executed him as a malefactor: we, with our eyes open, cry, “Hail, Master!” and betray him [Note: Mat_26:49.].]
But that we may not continue to treat him thus, let us consider,
II. The honour he confers on those who believe in him—
A “receiving of Christ,” and a “believing in him,” are represented in the text as of precisely the same import. It is superfluous therefore to add any thing more in explanation of the terms. The benefits accruing from faith are the objects which next demand our attention. Unspeakable is the honour of becoming a child of God: yet to every one that believes in him, our blessed Lord gives,
1. To bear this relation to God—
[“To the Jews belonged the adoption [Note: Rom_9:4.],” as far as related to the external privileges of it. But we, on believing, “are made partakers of the Divine nature [Note: 2Pe_1:4.].” We become the children of God as well by regeneration as adoption: yea, faith is at once the means [Note: Gal_3:26.], and the evidence [Note: 1Jn_5:1.], of our sonship with God. There is no interval of time left for us to give proofs of our sincerity, before God will acknowledge us as his: but the instant we believe in Christ, we are “sons and danghters of the Lord Almighty [Note: 2Co_6:18.].”]
2. To enjoy the privileges of this relation—
[The children of a stranger are not noticed by us, while our own children are admitted freely into our presence, and are the objects of our tenderest solicitude, our unremitted attention. We feed them, we clothe them, we protect them, we provide every thing for them that is suited to our circumstances, and that will contribute to their welfare. In all these respects believers find God a Father to them. They can go into his presence, “crying, Abba, Father [Note: Gal_4:6.]!” and obtain from him whatever is necessary either for their support or comfort.]
3. To possess an inheritance worthy of that relation—
[Parents account it a duty to provide for the future maintenance of their children, and not merely for their present subsistence. With this view they lay up fortunes for them, which they are to inherit after the decease of their parents. Similar to this is the provision made for those who believe in Christ. They are “begotten again to an inheritance that is incorruptible, and undefiled, and never-fading [Note: 1Pe_1:3.].” “Being sons, they are heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ [Note: Rom_8:17.].” Nor shall they merely divide their Father’s inheritance among them; but every one of them shall enjoy the whole, and have his happiness enlarged, rather than diminished, by the communication of it to others.]
Learn then from hence,
1. The folly of unbelievers—
[One would suppose, that, in calling them to believe in Jesus Christ, we urged them to make the greatest sacrifices, and to resign every thing that could conduce to their happiness. But, on the contrary, we only invite them to “receive;” to receive “the greatest gift” which God himself is able to bestow [Note: Joh_4:10.]: to receive Him, in whom they will find all that they can possibly desire. We require them to surrender nothing but what will make them miserable; and to receive nothing which will not make them happy. How unreasonable does their conduct appear when viewed in this light! If we were to offer them bags of gold, we should find them willing enough to accept as many as we could bestow. But when we exhort them to accept Him who is of more value than ten thousand worlds, they turn a deaf ear to our most importunate entreaties. See, ye unbelievers, see your extreme folly! and remember, that the day is coming, when that rejection of Christ, in which you now glory, will become the ground of your bitterest lamentation.]
2. The unspeakable benefit of faith—
[There are many things which put a considerable difference between one man and another. The influence of wealth and dignity exalts some far above the level of their fellow-creatures. The acquisition of knowledge and wisdom has no less effect in elevating the characters and conditions of men. But all the distinctions in the universe do not avail to dignify a man so much as faith. Faith brings Christ into the soul, and puts the poorest of men into the possession of “unsearchable riches.” Faith makes him, from a child of the devil, a child of God; from an heir of misery, an heir of glory. Faith elevates him from death to life, from infamy to honour, from hell to heaven. “Faith, even though it be small as a grain of mustard-seed,” produces all these wonderful effects. Cultivate then, my brethren, this divine principle. Labour to have it in more continued exercise. Let Christ, the greatest object of faith, be more and more precious to your soul. Thus shall you be really the most distinguished characters on earth, and ere long “inherit the kingdom prepared for you by your heavenly Father.”]