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IV The Christian Life

1. SALVATION

For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.John 3:16.

Here Christ presents us with the cause and as it were the fountain of our salvation, so as to remove all doubt; for our minds cannot come to rest in tranquillity unless they arrive at the free love of God. Since we are not to seek the ground of our salvation anywhere but in Christ, we must try to find out where he came to us from and why he was offered up to be our Savior. This verse distinctly teaches both truths: faith in Christ means life to all men, and Christ had this life because God loved mankind and would not let it perish. This sequence must be carefully noted. When it is a question of the source of our salvation, we must consider the inborn and wicked ambition of our nature, which traps us into the devilish fancy that we deserve to be saved. Therefore we imagine that God is good to us because he judges us worthy of his favor. But Scripture praises everywhere his pure and unmixed mercy, which does away with all merit.

By this text, Christ means to do nothing else than establish the love of God as the ground of our salvation. When we try to go beyond this, the Spirit himself slams the door in our face; he teaches us by Paul's mouth that God's love is founded in his own will and purpose (Eph. 1:5). And it is obvious that Christ spoke as he did so as to turn men's attention from themselves to the mercy of God alone. God does not declare that he was led to deliver us because he found us worthy of such a blessing. On the contrary, he attributes the glory of our deliverance solely to his love. This appears more clearly from the added statement: the Son was given to men that they may not perish. Therefore, unless Christ rescues the lost, all are doomed to eternal ruin. Paul expresses the same thing in terms of temporal sequence: We were loved while we were enemies because of sin (Rom. 5:10). For surely, where sin reigns, there is only the wrath of God which carries death with it. It follows that mercy alone reconciles us to God and, in so doing, restores us to life.

The above may seem to conflict with many testimonies of Scriptures that Christ is the ground of God's love for us, since apart from him they present God as hating us. We must remember what was said before: the secret love with which our Heavenly Father embraces us, being his eternal purpose for us, takes precedence over all other reasons for our deliverance. But it is true that the grace which God wanted to show us, and by which we are moved to the hope of salvation, appeared with the reconciling work of Christ. Since sins are of necessity odious to God, how can we maintain that God loves us freely, unless an offering has been made for these same sins which are offensive to him? Hence, before we receive any knowledge of God's Fatherly good will for us, the blood of Christ must intercede for us and restore us to God's favor. Besides, as we were formerly told that God so loved us as to give up his Son to die for us, so it is immediately added that in a strict sense faith should look to Christ alone.

He gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. Faith looks to Christ rightly when it sees in him the heart of God overflowing with love. Faith rests upon the death of Christ as upon a firm and solid support, and finds in it the only surety of salvation.Only-begottenis emphatic, commending to us God's love in all its fervor. And because it is hard for men to be persuaded of God's love, he removes all doubt by saying, We are so dear to God that for our salvation he did not spare his only-begotten Son. Since, therefore, God has testified to his love for us so sufficiently and abundantly, anyone who is not content and still doubts offers no small insult to Christ, as though he were someone who was killed by accident. Rather, we ought to reconsider that since God had the highest regard for his only-begotten Son, our salvation must be very precious to him, because he was willing to pay for it with the Son's death.

That whosoever believeth in him may not perish. What a praise of faith, that it delivers us from eternal destruction! Christ means clearly that even though we are born for death, by faith in him we are offered a sure deliverance from it; therefore, we ought not to fear the death which still awaits us. And now he adds a universal call, inviting all men without exception to share in life, and leaving unbelievers without an excuse. The wordworld, in the previous phrase, has the same significance. Even though there is nothing in the world worthy of God's favor, he shows himself gracious toward the whole world, and he invites all men without exception to faith in Christ, which is nothing less than entering into Life.

On the other hand, let us remember that while life is promised in Christ to all who believe, only a small part of the people are believers. Christ is indeed presented to all, but God opens the eyes of the elect alone, and enables them by faith to seek after him. The wonderful effect of faith is also seen in our receiving Christ from the Father, who has in Christ truly freed us from the punishment of eternal death, and made us heirs of eternal life; for by the sacrifice of his death, Christ has expiated our sins; and now nothing keeps God from acknowledging us as his sons. Since therefore faith embraces Christ, together with the efficacy of his death and the fruit of his resurrection, it is no wonder that by faith likewise we obtain the very Life of Christ.

It is not yet quite clear as to why and how faith gives us life. Is it because Christ himself regenerates us by his Spirit, so that the righteousness of God may live and flourish in us; or is it because, purged by his blood, by God's free forgiveness, we are accounted righteous before him? Of course these two go together. Still, when it comes to the certainty of salvation, we must hold to it that we live because God loves us, and that freely; this he shows by not imputing our sins to us. Sacrifice is here mentioned because by it sin, curse, and death have been abolished. As I have already explained, the two clauses put together in this verse mean that, having lost life, we recover it in Christ. In this wretched state of mankind, ransom comes before salvation.

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. John 15:9.

There is much more in this verse than is commonly believed. Those who think that he is here speaking of the eternal and secret love of the Father, philosophize beside the point. It was rather Christ's purpose, in effect, to deposit in our laps a sure pledge of God's love toward us. The abstruse question of how God in eternity loved himself in the Son has nothing to do with this verse. The love in question here has to do with us, because it is as the Head of the church that Christ testifies to God's love for him. Any man who tries to find out how God loved Christ, apart from his office as Mediator, gets caught in a labyrinth, without path or exit. Let us therefore fix our eyes on Christ, because it is in him that we see the pledge of God's love clearly exhibited. For, God poured his love upon him, so that it might flow from him to the members of his body. This is also the significance of the title,the beloved Son, in whom the will of the Father is satisfied; and we must consider the purpose of this love, which is that God in Christ may be well pleased with us. Therefore, we must not look at God's love from afar off or in a mirror. Christ was loved by the Father not in and for himself alone, but that he might with himself unite us with the Father.

Continue ye in my love. Some explain these words to mean that Christ enjoined his disciples to love one another. Others explain it better when they say that they refer to the love with which Christ loves us. He in fact bids us live always in the joy of the love with which he once and for all loved us, warning us not to deprive ourselves of it. For many reject the grace offered them, and many throw away what they have in their hands. So then, once we are beneficiaries of the grace of Christ, let us see to it that we do not fall away from it through our own fault.

It is foolish to infer from the above words that, without the help of our constancy, God's grace avails nothing. I do not concede that the Spirit asks no more from us than what is within our ability. Rather, he shows us where we must turn when we lack the strength to obey him. When we hear Christ, in this verse, exhort us to perseverance, we must not rely on our own energy and industry; we must rather pray him who commands us to confirm us in his love.

For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:39.

We know that the Spirit is eternal. But the Evangelist denies that the grace of the Spirit which was poured upon men after the resurrection of Christ was manifested in public while Christ was in the world in the form of a humble servant. He draws a similar contrast between the New Testament and the Old. In the New Testament, God promises his Spirit to believers as though he had never given him to the fathers. But of course the disciples had already received the first fruits of the Spirit; for where is faith from except from the Spirit? The Evangelist does not deny the presence of the Spirit among the godly before Christ's death; he only says that it was not so conspicuous and striking as after [the resurrection]. This then is the highest adornment of the Kingdom of Christ, that he rules over his church by his Spirit. He came to a proper and solemn possession of his Kingdom when he ascended to the right hand of the Father. No wonder then that the full revelation of the Spirit was deferred until that time.

But there is one question left. Does the Evangelist mean here the visible graces of the Spirit, or that true regeneration which is the fruit of adoption? I answer that the Spirit, which was promised with the coming of Christ, was seen in visible gifts as in a mirror; but here we have to do with the power of the Spirit by which we are born again in Christ and become new creatures. If now we are left on earth, poor, dry, and almost empty of spiritual goods, while Christ sits on the right hand of the Father glorious with the majesty of empire, it is because our faith is too puny and we are too slow [to rise to him].

He who heareth my word, and believeth in him who sent me, hath eternal life . . . hath passed from death to life. John 5:24.

Certain later Latin copies have changedpassedintoshall pass. But they have done this out of ignorance and rashness; not knowing what the Evangelist meant, they have presumed to do more than what was right. The Greek word is not in the least unclear. There is nothing wrong about sayinghas passed from death, because the children of God even now have in them the incorruptible seed of life, by which they are called and sit with Christ, by faith, in heavenly glory. Thus they have the Kingdom of God established firmly within them (Luke 17:21; Col. 3:3). Even while their life is hid, they nevertheless by faith do not fail to possess it. Even while they are besieged by death, they have peace because they know that Christ defends them adequately, and that they are safe. The state of the believers in this life is such that they always carry about the stuff of death in themselves. But the Spirit who lives in them is Life itself, and will at the end destroy what is left of death. Paul was right in saying that death shall be the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26). But obviously this verse has nothing to do with the coming full destruction of death, or with the ultimate complete manifestation of Life. The point here is that though life in us is only begun, Christ announces it to the believers as their sure possession. Thus he removes the fear of death from them. And this is not surprising, since they are united with (insiti sint) him who is the inexhaustible Fountain of Life.

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. John 11:25.

This is the exposition of the second clause. It tells us that Christ is the Life, because he will never let the Life he has given us be destroyed, and will on the contrary preserve it till the end. What would happen to us if we, who are flesh and weak, having received the Life, should be left to our own strength? Therefore, if Christ is to finish what he has begun, it needs be that we continue in Life through the power of Christ himself. Believers are said never to die because their souls, born again of an incorruptible seed, enjoy the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ, who gives them Life without ceasing. While the body is subject to death because of sin,the Spirit is Life because of righteousness(Rom. 8:10). The fact that the outer man decays from day to day does not hurt the believers' true Life. It even helps its growth, because the inner man in turn is renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). What is more, death itself is in its way an emancipation from bondage to death.

And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:28.

We have this matchless fruit of faith that, by Christ's command, we live with confidence and safety when we are gathered in his fold. At the same time let us keep in mind the support which makes this confidence firm; for he testifies that he has our salvationin his handand will remain its faithful guardian. And as though this were not enough, Christ says that his disciples shall be defended by God's power. This is a striking passage. We are taught that the salvation of all the elect is as certain as that God's power is invincible. Besides, Christ was not beating the air. He wanted to give them a word of promise and to fix it deeply in their minds. Therefore, we must understand this statement of Christ as showing that the salvation of the elect is sure and firmly established. We are besieged by powerful foes; and we are so weak that every moment might well be our last. But because our salvation is in the hands of One who is greater, who is mightier, than all, we ought not to tremble as though our very life were in peril.

From this we gather further how insane is the trust of the papists which rests on free will, on one's own virtue and the merit of works. Far differently, Christ teaches his own that they must think of themselves as in a forest, surrounded by a host of robbers, knowing not only that they are unarmed and open prey, but also that they carry the stuff of death around with them. Hence, if they would live in safety, they can do it only by confidence in God's protection. The only reason for security is that our salvation is in God's hand. Our own faith is unfirm and we ourselves tend greatly to waver. But God who has taken our salvation into his hands is mighty enough to scatter all the weapons of our foes with one puff of his breath. The most important thing we can do is to turn our eyes to this [power of God], if we are not to be overcome by the fear of temptations. For Christ wanted to show us how the sheep are enjoying peace and quiet even while they wander among wolves.

And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath, I am from above; ye are of this world, I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins, for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. John 8:23-24.

Since they did not deserve instruction, he wanted to confound them with a curt reproof. So, in this place, he declares that they reject his teaching because they absolutely abhor the Kingdom of God. Underworldandbelowhe includes whatever men have by nature, and brings out the difference between his gospel and the sharpness and penetration of the human mind: the gospel is heavenly wisdom, but our minds are of the earth. No one, therefore, is fit to be Christ's disciple unless he is refashioned by his Spirit. And faith itself is so rare in the world because by nature all men, except those he lifts up by a special grace of his Spirit, are turned against Christ and estranged from him.If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

The lost have no way of recovering salvation except by going to Christ.That I amhere is emphatic, because it includes all that Scripture says of the Messiah and all that it bids us to hope in him. He is talking primarily about [his work in] the restoration of the church, which exists by the light of faith, and the righteousness and new life which grow from it. Some of the ancients have interpreted this passage as having to do with the divine essence of Christ. But in this they are wrong, because he is speaking of his office [or work] in our behalf. This statement is worthy of special notice. Men are always ignoring the evils which surround them. Even when they have to admit their peril, they neglect Christ and look all around for some other useless remedy. The fact is that unless we are extricated by the grace of Christ, we remain subject to the violence of a whole mass of innumerable evils.

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Phil. 1:21.

In my Judgment, interpreters so far have given a wrong translation and exposition of this passage; for the distinction they make is that, to Paul, Christ was life, and death gain. I, on the other hand, take Christ to be the subject of both the phrases in this statement, so that he is said to be gain in life and in death. (It is common in Greek to imply the word pro/ Vwithout using it.) This interpretation, besides being less forced, goes better with what went before and expresses our faith more fully. Paul affirms that it makes no difference to him, and is the same thing, whether he lives or he dies, because having Christ, he is the gainer either way. And certainly, it is Christ alone who makes both our life and our death blessed; otherwise, if death be misery, life is no better. Hence without Christ, there is little to choose between life and death. On the other hand, if Christ be with us, he will bless our death equally with our life; and we shall look ahead to both with hope and gladness.

Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. Eph. 1:20.

The Greek word is e) ne/ rghsen, whence comes e) ne/ rgeia. In Latin you might say: According to the efficacy which he effected. My translation means the same, and is not as awkward.

However, here Paul rightly enjoins us to consider the power of Christ; for, so far, its presence in us is hidden, andGod's power is perfected in our weakness(2 Cor. 12:9). How are we ahead of the children of this world, except that our situation seems to be worse than theirs? Even though sin does not reign in us, it is still there. Since death itself is working in us, the blessedness we have by hope is totally hidden from the world; for the power of the Spirit is something flesh and blood knows nothing about. Meanwhile, we are exposed to a thousand distresses, and more than all other men are become objects of derision.

Hence, Christ alone is the mirror in whom we are able to see the glory which is altogether blurred in us who live in weakness under the cross we ourselves bear. Since it behooves us to raise our minds on high, to believe in righteousness, blessedness, and glory, let us learn to turn them to Christ. For we now live subject to the dominion of death; but he, having been made alive again by power from heaven, even now has life and dominion. We labor in servitude to sin; and besieged by a thousand afflictions, we are engaged in a dreadful warfare (1 Tim. 1:18); he on the other hand, being seated at the right hand of God, has received all government in heaven and on earth, and triumphs wondrously over his foes as he defeats and overthrows them. We bite the dust, covered with contempt and ignominy; to him is given a name which fills men and angels with reverence, and makes devils and godless men grovel in fright. Here we are impoverished, so poor that we lack everything we need; he on the other hand has been appointed by the Father to possess all blessings and to dispense them according to his good pleasure. In view of all this, we shall be the gainers if we turn our minds to Christ, so that in him, as in a mirror, we may contemplate the wonderful treasures of divine grace and the infinite greatness of God's power, all of which we can hardly discern at present in our own lives.

Yet a little while, and the world shall see me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. John 14:19.

He continues to speak to his disciples of his special favor toward them, which should have been enough to mitigate and even take away their sorrow. " When I go away," he says, " and the world no longer sees me, I shall no less be still with you." If we are to rejoice in such secret vision of Christ, we must not judge his presence or absence with the eyes of the flesh. We must rather be intent upon discerning his power with the eyes of faith. Thus it is that Christ is always present to the believers and seen by them in the Spirit, even though they are bodily far from him.

Because I live. This may be taken in two ways. It may simply confirm what went before, or it may go with the next phrase, which says that the believers shall live because Christ lives. I accept the former alternative, even though we may also learn from it that we live because Christ lives. Christ points out why it is that his disciples shall see him, while the world shall not: Christ cannot be seen except in the spiritual life which the world does not possess. No wonder the world does not see Christ, for it is blind because of death. But no sooner does a man begin to live by the Spirit than he is given eyes with which to see Christ, because our life flows from the life of Christ as from its source. Otherwise, we have no life. We in ourselves are dead, and the life we boast is a most awful death. Therefore, when it comes to obtaining life, our eyes must be upon Christ, and his life must be given us by faith. So it is that we receive confidence that, while Christ lives, we are safe from the peril of destruction. For it remains an immovable truth that while he is alive the members cannot be dead.

Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If any man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. John 8:52.

The reprobate who keep on with their stupidity are not touched by promises, whether small or great. Hence they can neither be led nor drawn to Christ. Some think that the Jews slandered Jesus and twisted his words around when they spoke of tasting death, because they had not heard him saying anything of the sort. But I think this objection is flimsy. I rather think that the Hebrews meant the same thing bytasting deathandseeing death. Both expressions meant simply " to die." Of course, to apply the spiritual teaching of Jesus to the body is to interpret it falsely. No believer shall see death, for he is born again of an incorruptible seed. Even though believers die, being united with Christ their head, they shall be not snuffed out by death. Their death is simply a transition to the Heavenly Kingdom; the Spirit dwelling in them is Life because of righteousness, and what is left of death in them is consumed. Those who are carnal know nothing about freedom from death except in an obviously physical sense. And this disease is much too common in this world, since many have only contempt for the grace of Christ, which they judge merely by the senses of their flesh. If we do not wish the same blindness to affect us, let us arouse our minds, so that they may discern spiritual life in the midst of death.

And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.1 Cor. 15:28.

Will God be all in all also in the devil and the ungodly? Far from it, unless perhaps we choose to accept " to be" as meaning to be known and openly be seen. If so, the statement would mean: " Since now the devil is at war with God, since the wicked confound and confuse the order established by him, since we see an infinity of scandalous deeds with our own eyes, it is by no means clear that God isall in all. But when Christ executes the judgment commanded him by God, and overthrows Satan and all the wicked, then in their destruction the glory of God shall be revealed. The same may be said of powers which are sacred and legitimate in themselves, for they now prevent, in their way, God's appearing to us rightly and as he is in himself. But then, God shall beallin the sense that he shall reign alone and directly in heaven and earth, and will therefore be in all; not onlyin allpersons, but in all creatures."

Now, this is a pious interpretation, and since it agrees well enough with the apostle's purpose, I am willing to accept it. However, there would be nothing wrong in taking this verse as having to do with believers, in whom God has already begun his Kingdom and shall then perfect it, so that they shall cleave to him completely.

Both these interpretations in themselves are sufficient refutation of those who pretend that this verse proves their wicked deliriums. Some imagine that God shall beall in all, in that all things shall vanish and become nothing. But Paul's words mean only that all things shall be brought back to God as their only beginning and end, and shall thus be bound firmly to him. Others infer from this verse that the devil and all the wicked shall be saved, as though the fullness of God would not be more striking in the destruction of the devil than if he made him his associate and equal. We see therefore with what impudence such madmen torture Paul's statement when they use it to establish their blasphemies.

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