Christ
the Kinsman-redeemer in the Covenant
From
“A View of the Covenant of Grace” by Thomas Boston.
Thomas
Boston
(1676-1732) was a pastor of
God's flock in
Ettrick,
Scotland,
whose preaching God abundantly blessed in the saving of many souls. The son of
a Presbyterian who knew the Lord and was imprisoned for non-conformity,
Boston
was raised in times of murderous persecution. Nevertheless, he lived to see
God’s people flourish and multiply, as “the Lord added to the church daily
such as should be saved” (Acts
2:47). He
is perhaps best known for his part in the reprinting of “The Marrow of
Modern Divinity”, a book which distinguishes the Covenant of Works from the
Covenant of Grace.
The
object of the administration of the covenant, is, sinners of mankind
indefinitely: that is to say, Christ is empowered, by commission from his
Father, to administrate the covenant of grace to any of all mankind, the
sinners of the family of Adam without exception: he is authorized to receive
them into the covenant, and to confer on them all the benefits thereof, to
their eternal salvation; according to the settled order of the covenant. The
election of particular persons is a secret, not to be discovered in the
administration of the covenant, according to the established order thereof,
till such time as the sinner have received the covenant, by coming personally
into it. And the extent of the administration is not founded on election, but
on the sufficiency of Christ’s obedience and death for the salvation of all;
neither is it regulated thereby, but by the fulness
of power in heaven and earth given to Jesus Christ, as a reward of his
becoming obedient even unto death.
For
confirming this truth, let the following things be considered.
1.
The grant which the Father hath made
of Christ crucified, as his ordinance for the salvation of lost sinners of
mankind. In the case of the Israelites in the wilderness, bitten by fiery
serpents, God instituted an ordinance for their cure, namely, a brazen serpent
lifted up on a pole; and made a grant thereof to whosoever would use it for
that purpose, by looking to it. No body whosoever that needed healing,
was excepted: the grant was conceived in the most ample terms, Numb. 21:8,
“It shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh
upon it, shall live.” So all mankind being bitten by the old serpent, the
devil, and sin, as his deadly poison, left in them; God hath appointed Jesus
Christ the ordinance of heaven for their salvation. There is a word of divine
appointment passed upon a crucified Christ, making and constituting him the
ordinance of God for salvation of sinners; and God hath made a grant of him as
such, to whomsoever of Adam’s lost race will make use of him for that
purpose, by believing on him; in the which grant none of the world of mankind
is excepted. All this is clear from John
3:14
, 15, 16, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever
believeth in him, should not perish, but have eternal life. “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.” Now, the
administration of the covenant being settled in pursuance of this grant
therein made for a reward of the Mediator’s obedience, the object of the
former can be no less extensive than that of the latter.
2.
The Mediator’s commission for the administration,
is conceived in the most ample terms; and he is clothed with most ample powers
with relation to that business. It carries his administering the covenant, not
only to the meek, the poor, the broken-hearted; but to the captives, blind,
bruised, prisoners, bond-men and broken men, who have sold their inheritance
and themselves, and can have no hope of relief but by a jubilee, Luke 4:18,
19; with Isaiah 61:1, 2. What sort of sinners of mankind can one imagine, that
will not fall in under some of these denominations? Christ is indeed given for
a covenant of people; not of this or that people, but of people indefinitely.
“All power is given him in heaven and in earth,” Matthew 28:18. So there
are none on earth excepted from his administering the covenant to them. He is
empowered to save the guilty law-condemned world, by administering it to them;
“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through him might be saved,” John 3:17; forasmuch as he is the
ordinance of God for taking away the sin of the world, chap. 1:29; though many
to whom he offers the covenant, do refuse it, and so are not saved eternally.
Accordingly, from this fulness of power he issues
forth the general offer of the gospel; wherein all without exception are
declared welcome to come and suck the full breasts of the divine consolations
in the covenant: Matthew 11:27, “All things are delivered unto me of my
Father.” Ver. 28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.” Chap. 28:18, “All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth.” Ver. 19, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations.”
Mark 16:15, “Preach the gospel to every creature.”
3.
He executes his commission in an
unhampered manner, administering the covenant to any sinner of mankind:
Proverbs 8:4, “Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of
man.” The object of his administration is not this or that party of mankind,
under this or the other denomination; but men, any men, sons of men
indefinitely. So the gospel, in which he administers the covenant, is good
tidings to all people, Luke 2:10, a feast made unto all people, Isaiah 25:6,
though many, not relishing the tidings, never taste of the feast. Accordingly,
he commissioned his apostles for that effect, in
terms than which none can imagine more extensive, Mark 16:15, “Go ye into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” The Jews called man
the creature, as being God’s creature by way of eminence: so by every
creature is meant every man. There are in the world, some men, who, by reason
of their monstrous wickedness, are like devils; there are other men, who, by
reason of their savageness seem to differ but little from brutes: but our Lord
saith here in effect, “Be what they will, if ye can but know them to be men,
ask no questions about them on this head, what sort of men they are: being
men, preach the gospel to them, offer them the covenant; and if they receive
it, give them the seals thereof: my Father made them, I will save them.”
4.
If we inquire, who they are to whom Christ stands related as a
Saviour? or, whose Saviour he is, according to the
scriptures? we find, that considered as an actual Saviour, saving actually and
eventually, he is indeed only Saviour of the body, Ephesians 5:23; but
considered as an official Saviour, a Saviour by office, he is the Saviour of
the world, 1 John 4:14; John 4:42. Thus one having a commission to be the
physician of a society, is the physician of the
whole society, by office; and so stands related to every man of them, as his
physician: howbeit, he is not actually a healer to any of them, but such as
employ him. Though some of that society should not employ him at all, but on
every occasion call another physician; yet he is still their physician by
office: though they should die of their disease, being averse from calling
him; yet still it is true, that he was their physician, they might have called
him, and had his remedies; and it was purely their own fault, that they were
not healed by him. Even so our Lord Jesus Christ hath Heaven’s patent,
constituting him the Saviour of the world; by the authority of his Father he
is invested with that office: and wheresoever the gospel comes, his patent for
that effect is intimated, 1 John 4:14, “And we have seen and do testify,
that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” Wherefore,
none of us shall perish for want of a Saviour. Jesus Christ is the Saviour of
the world; he is your Saviour, and my Saviour, be our case what it will: and
God, in and by him, is the Saviour of all men, specially
of those that believe, 1 Timothy
4:10
. Hence Christ’s salvation is the common salvation, Jude 3.:
and the gospel is the grace of God that bringeth
salvation to all men, Titus 2:11, marg. Christ
then stands related as a Saviour by office to the world of mankind; he is
their Saviour: and he is so related to every one of them, as sinners, lost
sinners of that society, 1 Timothy 1:15, “Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners.” Luke 19:10, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save
that which is lost.” Let no man say, “Alas! I have nothing to do with Christ,
nor he with me; for I am a sinner, a lost sinner.” Nay, upon that
very ground there is a relation between him and you. Since you are a sinner of
mankind, Christ is your Saviour: for he is by office Saviour of the family
whereof you are a branch. If you will employ another than him, or pine away in
your disease, rather than put yourself in his hand, ye do it upon your peril:
but you know assuredly, that you have a Saviour of your own, chosen of God for
you, whether you employ him or not. He is by his Father’s appointment the
physician of souls: ye are the sick; and the less sensible ye are, the more
dangerously sick; there is a valuable relation then betwixt Christ and you, as
such, Matthew 9:11, 12. He is the great burden-bearer, that gives rest to them
that labour and are heavy laden, Matthew
11:28
; Psalm 51:22. Ye labour, spending your labour for that which satisfied not:
and are laden with iniquity, even heavy laden; and nothing the less so, that
ye are not duly sensible thereof: there is a relation then betwixt Christ and
you, on that very score. Now, if Christ stands related to the world of
mankind-sinners, as their Saviour, then they are the object of his
administration of the covenant.
5.
Lastly, If it were not so, then there would be some excepted
persons of the world of mankind-sinners, for whom there is no warrant, more
than for devils, to take hold of the covenant, by believing in Christ:
contrary to the constant voice of the gospel, John 3:16; Mark 16:15. For
surely they have no warrant to take hold of the covenant, to whom the
Administrator is not empowered to give it. Which of the world of
mankind-sinners can these excepted persons be? Not pagans, and other infidels,
who hear not the gospel: for howbeit, in the depth of sovereign wisdom, that
warrant is not intimated to them; yet it doth really extend to them; as
included under that general term, whosoever, John 3:16. And if it did not
extend to them, the covenant could not lawfully be preached and offered to
them by ministers of the gospel; more than a crier could lawfully go and
proclaim and offer the king’s indemnity to those who have no concern in it,
but are excepted out of it. The ministerial
gospel-offer is undoubtedly null and void, as far as it exceeds the bounds of
the object of Christ’s administration of the covenant; as being, in so far,
from one or more having no power to make it. Neither are any who hear the
gospel excepted: for the not taking hold of the covenant by faith in Christ,
is the great sin and condemnation of all who, having the gospel, do so
entertain it, Proverbs 8:36; John 3:19; Mark 16:16. But it could not be the
sin of such persons; because it can never be one’s sin, not to do a thing
which he hath no warrant from God to do. Much less are the non-elect excepted:
for at that rate, not only should their unbelief be none of their sin; but the
elect themselves could never believe, till such a time as their election were,
in the first place, revealed to them, which is contrary to the stated method
of grace: for none can believe in Christ, till once they see their warrant;
forasmuch as that warrant is the ground of faith.
Wherefore
we conclude, that sinners of mankind indefinitely are the object of Christ’s
administration of the covenant; that he is empowered to administer it to you,
and every one of you, whatever you are, or have been; and that you must either
take hold of the covenant for life and salvation, or perish as despisers of
it, since ye have heard the gospel.
Reference
“A
View of the Covenant of Grace” by Thomas Boston.
Focus
Christian
Ministries
Trust,
1990. pp 151-155.
