Section One: Christ not only the minister, but also the author and prince of
salvation. Divine grace not obscured by this mode of expression. The merit of Christ not
opposed to the mercy of God, but depends upon it.
A question must here be considered by way of supplement.
Some men too much given to subtilty, while they admit that we obtain salvation through
Christ, will not hear of the name of merit, by which they imagine that the grace of God is
obscured; and therefore insist that Christ was only the instrument or minister, not the
author or leader, or prince of life, as he is designated by Peter, (Acts 3: 15.) I admit
that were Christ opposed simply, and by himself, to the justice of God, there could be no
room for merit, because there cannot be found in man a worth which could make God a
debtor; nay, as Augustine says most truly, "The Saviour, the man Christ Jesus, is
himself the brightest illustration of predestination and grace: his character as such was
not procured by any antecedent merit of works or faith in his human nature. Tell me, I
pray, how that man, when assumed into unity of person by the Word, co-eternal with the
Father, as the only begotten Son at God, could merit this." - "Let the very
fountain of grace, therefore, appear in our head, whence, according to the measure of
each, it is diffused through all his members. Every man, from the commencement of his
faith, becomes a Christian, by the same grace by which that man from his formation became
Christ." Again, in another passage, "There is not a more striking example of
predestination than the mediator himself. He who made him (without any antecedent merit in
his will) of the seed of David a righteous man never to be unrighteous, also converts
those who are members of his head from unrighteous into righteous" and so forth.
Therefore when we treat of the merit of Christ, we do not place the beginning in him, but
we ascend to the ordination of God as the primary cause, because of his mere good pleasure
he appointed a Mediator to purchase salvation for us. Hence the merit of Christ is
inconsiderately opposed to the mercy of God. It is a well known rule, that principal and
accessory are not incompatible, and therefore there is nothing to prevent the
justification of man from being the gratuitous result of the mere mercy of God, and, at
the same time, to prevent the merit of Christ from intervening in subordination to this
mercy. The free favour of God is as fitly opposed to our works as is the obedience of
Christ, both in their order: for Christ could not merit anything save by the good pleasure
of God, but only inasmuch as he was destined to appease the wrath of God by his sacrifice,
and wipe away our transgressions by his obedience: in one word, since the merit of Christ
depends entirely on the grace of God, (which provided this mode of salvation for us,) the
latter is no less appropriately opposed to all righteousness of men than is the former.
Section Two: The compatibility of the two proved by various passages of Scripture.
This distinction is found in numerous passages of
Scripture: "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him might not perish," (John 3: 16.) We see that the first
place is assigned to the love of God as the chief cause or origin, and that faith in
Christ follows as the second and more proximate cause. Should any one object that Christ
is only the formal cause, he lessens his energy more than the words justify. For if we
obtain justification by a faith which leans on him, the groundwork of our salvation must
be sought in him. This is clearly proved by several passages: "Herein is love, not
that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our
sins," (1 John 4: 10.) These words clearly demonstrate that God, in order to remove
any obstacle to his love towards us, appointed the method of reconciliation in Christ.
There is great force in this word "propitiation"; for in a manner which cannot
be expressed, God, at the very time when he loved us, was hostile to us until reconciled
in Christ. To this effect are all the following passages: "He is the propitiation for
our sins;" "It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell, and
having made peace by the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto
himself;" "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them;" "He has made us accepted in the Beloved,"
"That he might reconcile both into one body by the cross." The nature of this
mystery is to be learned from the first chapter to the Ephesians, where Paul, teaching
that we were chosen in Christ, at the same time adds, that we obtained grace in him. How
did God begin to embrace with his favour those whom he had loved before the foundation of
the world, unless in displaying his love when he was reconciled by the blood of Christ? As
God is the fountain of all righteousness, he must necessarily be the enemy and judge of
man so long as he is a sinner. Wherefore, the commencement of love is the bestowing of
righteousness, as described by Paul: "He has made him to be sin for us who knew no
sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," (2 Cor. 5: 21.) He
intimates, that by the sacrifice of Christ we obtain free justification, and become
pleasing to God, though we are by nature the children of wrath, and by sin estranged from
him. This distinction is also noted whenever the grace of Christ is connected with the
love of God, (2 Cor. 13: 13;) whence it follows, that he bestows upon us of his own which
he acquired by purchase. For otherwise there would be no ground for the praise ascribed to
him by the Father, that grace is his, and proceeds from him.
Section Three: Christ by
his obedience truly merited divine grace for us.
That Christ, by his obedience, truly purchased and
merited grace for us with the Father, is accurately inferred from several passages of
Scripture. I take it for granted, that if Christ satisfied for our sins, if he paid the
penalty due by us, if he appeased God by his obedience; in fine, if he suffered the just
for the unjust, salvation was obtained for us by his righteousness; which is just
equivalent to meriting. Now, Paul's testimony is, that we were reconciled, and received
reconciliation through his death, (Rom. 5: 11.) But there is no room for reconciliation
unless where offence has preceded. The meaning, therefore, is, that God, to whom we were
hateful through sin, was appeased by the death of his Son, and made propitious to us. And
the antithesis which immediately follows is carefully to be observed, "As by one
man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous," (Rom. 5: 19.) For the meaning is - As by the sin of Adam we were
alienated from God and doomed to destruction, so by the obedience of Christ we are
restored to his favour as if we were righteous. The future tense of the verb does not
exclude present righteousness, as is apparent from the context. For he had previously
said, "the free gift is of many offences unto justification."
Section Four: This grace obtained by the shedding of Christ's
blood, and his obedience even unto death.
When we say, that grace was obtained for us by the merit
of Christ, our meaning is, that we were cleansed by his blood, that his death was an
expiation for sin, "His blood cleanses us from all sin." "This is my blood,
which is shed for the remission of sins," (1 John 1: 7; Luke 22: 20.) If the effect
of his shed blood is, that our sins are not imputed to us, it follows, that by that price
the justice of God was satisfied. To the same effect are the Baptist's words, "Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," (John 1: 29.) For he
contrasts Christ with all the sacrifices of the Law, showing that in him alone was
fulfilled what these figures typified. But we know the common expression in Moses -
Iniquity shall be expiated, sin shall be wiped away and forgiven. In short, we are
admirably taught by the ancient figures what power and efficacy there is in Christ's
death. And the Apostle, skilfully proceeding from this principle, explains the whole
matter in the Epistle to the Hebrews, showing that without shedding of blood there is no
remission, (Heb. 9: 22.) From this he infers, that Christ appeared once for all to take
away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Again, that he was offered to bear the sins of many,
(Heb. 9: 12.) He had previously said, that not by the blood of goats or of heifers, but by
his own blood, he had once entered into the holy of holies, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. Now, when he reasons thus, "If the blood of bulls and of goats,
and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the
flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself to God, purge your consciences from dead works to serve the living God?"
(Heb. 9: 13, 14,) it is obvious that too little effect is given to the grace of Christ,
unless we concede to his sacrifice the power of expiating, appeasing, and satisfying: as
he shortly after adds, "For this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that
by means of his death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first
testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance,"
(Heb. 9: 15.) But it is especially necessary to attend to the analogy which is drawn by
Paul as to his having been made a curse for us, (Gal. 3: 13.) It had been superfluous and
therefore absurd, that Christ should have been burdened with a curse, had it not been in
order that, by paying what others owed, he might acquire righteousness for them. There is
no ambiguity in Isaiah's testimony, "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed," (Is. 53: 5.) For had not Christ satisfied for our sins, he
could not be said to have appeased God by taking upon himself the penalty which we had
incurred. To this corresponds what follows in the same place, "for the transgression
of my people was he stricken," (Is. 53: 8.) We may add the interpretation of Peter,
who unequivocally declares, that he "bare our sins in his own body on the tree,"
(1 Pet. 2: 24,) that the whole burden of condemnation, of which we were relieved, was laid
upon him.
Section Five: In this way he paid our ransom.
The Apostles also plainly declare that he paid a price to
ransom us from death: "Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus: whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood," (Rom. 3: 24, 25.) Paul commends the grace of God, in that he gave the price
of redemption in the death of Christ; and he exhorts us to flee to his blood, that having
obtained righteousness, we may appear boldly before the judgement-seat of God. To the same
effect are the words of Peter: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with
corruptible things, as silver and gold," "but with the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot," (1 Pet. 1: 18,19.) The antithesis
would be incongruous if he had not by this price made satisfaction for sins. For which
reason, Paul says, "Ye are bought with a price." Nor could it be elsewhere said,
there is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a
ransom for all," (1 Tim. 2: 5, 6,) had not the punishment which we deserved been laid
upon him. Accordingly, the same Apostle declares, that "we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins," (Col. 1: 14;) as if he had said, that we
are justified or acquitted before God, because that blood serves the purpose of
satisfaction. With this another passage agrees, viz., that he blotted out "the
handwriting of ordinances which was against us, which was contrary to us," (Col. 2:
14.) These words denote the payment or compensation which acquits us from guilt. There is
great weight also in these words of Paul: "If righteousness come by the law, then
Christ is dead in vain," (Gal. 2: 21.) For we hence infer, that it is from Christ we
must seek what the Law would confer on any one who fulfilled it; or, which is the same
thing, that by the grace of Christ we obtain what God promised in the Law to our works:
"If a man do, he shall live in them," (Lev. 18: 5.) This is no less clearly
taught in the discourse at Antioch, when Paul declares, "That through this man is
preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from
all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses," (Acts 13: 38,
39.) For if the observance of the Law is righteousness, who can deny that Christ, by
taking this burden upon himself, and reconciling us to God, as if we were the observers of
the Law, merited favour for us? Of the same nature is what he afterwards says to the
Galatians: "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law," (Gal. 4: 4, 5.) For to what end that subjection,
unless that he obtained justification for us by undertaking to perform what we were unable
to pay? Hence that imputation of righteousness without works, of which Paul treats, (Rom.
4: 5,) the righteousness found in Christ alone being accepted as if it were ours. And
certainly the only reason why Christ is called our "meat," (John 6: 55,) is
because we find in him the substance of life. And the source of this efficacy is just that
the Son of God was crucified as the price of our justification; as Paul says, Christ
"has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling
savour," (Eph. 5: 2;) and elsewhere, he "was delivered for our offences, and was
raised again for our justification," (Rom. 4: 25.) Hence it is proved not only that
salvation was given us by Christ, but that on account of him the Father is now propitious
to us. For it cannot be doubted that in him is completely fulfilled what God declares by
Isaiah under a figure, "I will defend this city to save it for mine own sakes and for
my servant David's sake," (Isaiah 37: 35.) Of this the Apostle is the best witness
when he says "Your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake," (1 John 2: 12.)
For although the name of Christ is not expressed, John, in his usual manner, designates
him by the pronoun "He," ("autos".) In the same sense also our Lord
declares, "As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that
eateth me, even he shall live by me," (John 6: 57.) To this corresponds the passage
of Paul, "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him,
but also to suffer for his sake," (Phil. 1: 29.)
Section Six: The presumptuous manner in which the Schoolmen handle this subject.
To inquire, as Lombard and the Schoolmen do, (Sent. Lib.
3 Dist. 18,) whether he merited for himself, is foolish curiosity. equally rash is their
decision when they answer in the affirmative. How could it be necessary for the only Son
of God to come down in order to acquire some new quality for himself? The exposition which
God gives of his own purpose removes all doubt. The Father is not said to have consulted
the advantage of his Son in his services, but to have given him up to death, and not
spared him, because he loved the world, (Rom. 8.) The prophetical expressions should be
observed: "To us a Son is born;" "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion:
shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee," (Isaiah 9: 6;
Zech. 9: 9.) It would otherwise be a cold commendation of love which Paul describes, when
he says, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us," (Rom. 5: 8.) Hence, again, we infer that Christ had no regard to
himself; and this he distinctly affirms, when he says, "For their sakes I sanctify
myself," (John 17: 19.) He who transfers the benefit of his holiness to others,
testifies that he acquires nothing for himself. And surely it is most worthy of remark,
that Christ, in devoting himself entirely to our salvation, in a manner forgot himself. It
is absurd to wrest the testimony of Paul to a different effect: "Wherefore God has
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name," (Phil. 2: 9.) By
what services could a man merit to become the judge of the world, the head of angels, to
obtain the supreme government of God, and become the residence of that majesty of which
all the virtues of men and angels cannot attain one thousandth part? The solution is easy
and complete. Paul is not speaking of the cause of Christ's exaltation, but only pointing
out a consequence of it by way of example to us. The meaning is not much different from
that of another passage: "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to
enter into his glory?" (Luke 24: 26)
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