Christian Classics
‹ A Body of Doctrinal Divinity
Contents
Chapter 1. Of the Being of GodChapter 2. Of the Holy Scriptures · Part 1Chapter 2. Of the Holy Scriptures · Part 2Chapter 2. Of the Holy Scriptures · Part 3Chapter 3. Of the Names of GodChapter 4. Of the Nature of GodChapter 5. Of The Attributes of God In General, and of his Immutability In ParticularChapter 6. Of The Infinity Of God, His Omnipresence And EternityChapter 7. Of The Life Of GodChapter 8. Of The Omnipotence Of GodChapter 9. Of The Omniscience Of GodChapter 10. Of The Wisdom Of GodChapter 11. Of The Will Of God, And The Sovereignty Of ItChapter 12. Of The Love Of GodChapter 13. Of The Grace Of GodChapter 14. Of The Mercy Of GodChapter 15. Of The Longsuffering Of GodChapter 16. Of The Goodness Of GodChapter 17. Of The Anger And Wrath Of GodChapter 18. Of The Hatred Of GodChapter 19. Of The Joy Of GodChapter 20. Of The Holiness Of GodChapter 21. Of The Justice Or Righteousness Of GodChapter 22. Of The Veracity Of GodChapter 23. Of The Faithfulness Of GodChapter 24. Of The Sufficiency And Perfection Of GodChapter 25. Of The Blessedness Of GodChapter 26. Of The Unity Of GodChapter 27. Of A Plurality In The Godhead; Or, A Trinity Of Persons In The Unity Of The Divine EssenceChapter 28. Of The Personal Relations; Or, Relative Properties Which Distinguish The Three Divine Persons In The Deity · Part 1Chapter 28. Of The Personal Relations; Or, Relative Properties Which Distinguish The Three Divine Persons In The Deity · Part 2Chapter 28. Of The Personal Relations; Or, Relative Properties Which Distinguish The Three Divine Persons In The Deity · Part 3Chapter 28. Of The Personal Relations; Or, Relative Properties Which Distinguish The Three Divine Persons In The Deity · Part 4Chapter 29. Of The Distinct Personality, And Deity Of The FatherChapter 30. Of The Distinct Personality, And Deity Of The SonChapter 31. Of The Distinct Personality, And Deity Of The Holy SpiritChapter 1. Of The Internal Acts And Works Of God; And Of His Decrees In GeneralChapter 2. Of The Special Decrees Of God, Relating To Rational Creatures, Angels, And Men; And Particularly Of Election · Part 1Chapter 2. Of The Special Decrees Of God, Relating To Rational Creatures, Angels, And Men; And Particularly Of Election · Part 2Chapter 2. Of The Special Decrees Of God, Relating To Rational Creatures, Angels, And Men; And Particularly Of Election · Part 3Chapter 3. Of The Decree Of Rejection, Of Some Angels, And Of Some MenChapter 4. Of The Eternal Union Of The Elect Of God Unto HimChapter 5. Of Other Eternal And Immanent Acts In God, Particularly Adoption And JustificationChapter 6. Of The Everlasting Council Between The Three Divine Persons, Concerning The Salvation Of MenChapter 7. Of The Everlasting Covenant Of Grace, Between The Father, And The Son, And The Holy SpiritChapter 8. Of The Part Which The Father Takes In The CovenantChapter 9. Of The Part The Son Of God, The Second Person, Has Taken In The CovenantChapter 10. Of Christ, As The Covenant Head Of The ElectChapter 11. Of Christ, The Mediator Of The CovenantChapter 12. Of Christ, The Surety Of The CovenantChapter 13. Of Christ, The Testator Of The CovenantChapter 14. Of The Concern The Spirit Of God Has In The Covenant Of GraceChapter 15. Of The Properties Of The Covenant Of GraceChapter 16. Of The Complacency And Delight God Had In Himself, And The Divine Persons In Each Other, Before Any Creature Was Brought Into BeingChapter 1. Of Creation In GeneralChapter 2. Of The Creation Of AngelsChapter 3. Of The Creation Of ManChapter 4. Of The Providence of God · Part 1Chapter 4. Of The Providence of God · Part 2Chapter 4. Of The Providence of God · Part 3Chapter 4. Of The Providence of God · Part 4Chapter 4. Of The Providence of God · Part 5Chapter 5. Of The Confirmation Of The Elect Angels, And The Fall Of The Non-ElectChapter 6. Of the Honour and Happiness of Man In a State of InnocencyChapter 7. Of the Law Given to Adam, and the Covenant Made with him in his State of Innocence; in which he was the Federal Head and Representative of his PosterityChapter 8. Of the Sin and Fall of our First ParentsChapter 9. Of the Nature, Aggravations, and Sad Effects Of the Sin of ManChapter 10. Of the Imputation of Adam’s Sin to All his PosterityChapter 11. Of The Of The Corruption Of Human NatureChapter 12. Of Actual Sins and TransgressionsChapter 13. Of the Punishment of SinChapter 1. Of the Manifestation and Administration of the Covenant of GraceChapter 2. Of the Exhibitions of the Covenant of Grace in the Patriarchal StateChapter 3. Of the Exhibitions of the Covenant of Grace Under the Mosaic DispensationChapter 4. Of the Covenant of Grace, as Exhibited in the Times of David, and the Succeeding Prophets, to the Coming of ChristChapter 5. Of the Abrogation of the Old Covenant, Or First Administration of it, And the Introduction of the New, Or Second Administration of it.Chapter 6. Of the Law of GodChapter 7. Of the GospelChapter 1. Of the Incarnation of ChristChapter 3. Of Christ’s State of HumiliationChapter 3. Of the Active Obedience of Christ in His State of HumiliationChapter 4. Of the Passive Obedience of Christ, or of His Sufferings and DeathChapter 5. Of the Burial of ChristChapter 6. Of the Resurrection of Christ from the DeadChapter 7. Of the Ascension of Christ to HeavenChapter 8. Of the Session of Christ at the Right Hand of GodChapter 9. Of the Prophetic Office of ChristChapter 10. Of the Priestly Office of ChristChapter 11. Of the Intercession of ChristChapter 12. Of Christ’s Blessing His People as a PriestChapter 13. Of the Kingly Office of ChristChapter 14. Of the Spiritual Reign of ChristChapter 1. Of Redemption by ChristChapter 2. Of the Causes of Redemption by ChristChapter 3. Of the Objects of Redemption by ChristChapter 4. Of those Texts of Scripture which seem to Favour Universal RedemptionChapter 5. Of The Satisfaction of ChristChapter 6. Of Propitiation, Atonement, and Reconciliation, as Ascribed to ChristChapter 7. Of The Pardon of SinChapter 8. Of Justification · Part 1Chapter 8. Of Justification · Part 2Chapter 8. Of Justification · Part 3Chapter 9. Of AdoptionChapter 10. Of the Liberty of the Sons of GodChapter 11. Of RegenerationChapter 12.Of Effectual CallingChapter 13. Of ConversionChapter 14. Of SanctificationChapter 15. Of the Perseverance of the Saints · Part 1Chapter 15. Of the Perseverance of the Saints · Part 2Chapter 15. Of the Perseverance of the Saints · Part 3Chapter 15. Of the Perseverance of the Saints · Part 4Chapter 1. Of the Death of the BodyChapter 2. Of the Immortality of the SoulChapter 3. Of the Separate State of the Soul until the Resurrection, and its Employment in that StateChapter 4. Of the Resurrection of the BodyChapter 5. Of the Second Coming of Christ, and His Personal AppearanceChapter 6. Of the Conflagration of the UniverseChapter 7. Of the New Heavens and Earth, and the Inhabitants of themChapter 8. Of the Millennium, or Personal Reign of Christ with the Saints on the New Earth a Thousand Years · Part 1Chapter 8. Of the Millennium, or Personal Reign of Christ with the Saints on the New Earth a Thousand Years · Part 2Chapter 8. Of the Millennium, or Personal Reign of Christ with the Saints on the New Earth a Thousand Years · Part 3Chapter 8. Of the Millennium, or Personal Reign of Christ with the Saints on the New Earth a Thousand Years · Part 4Chapter 8. Of the Millennium, or Personal Reign of Christ with the Saints on the New Earth a Thousand Years · Part 5Chapter 9. Of the Last and General JudgmentChapter 10. Of the Final State of the Wicked in HellChapter 11. Of the Final State of the Saints in Heaven

John Gill · 72 of 127

Chapter 1. Of the Manifestation and Administration of the Covenant of Grace

Having treated of the sin and fall of our first parents, and of the breach of the of works by them, and of the sad effects thereof to themselves, and of the woeful consequences of the same to their posterity; of the of their sin, and of the derivation of a corrupt nature unto them; and of actual sins and flowing from , and of the punishment due unto them: I am now come to the dawn of to fallen man, to the breakings forth and application of the of , and the blessings of it to the spiritual seed of Christ among the posterity of Adam.

I have considered the of in a former part of this work, as it was a compact in eternity, between the three divine persons, Father, Son, and Spirit; in which each person agreed to take his part in the economy of man’s salvation: and now I shall consider the administration of that in the various periods of time, from the beginning of the world to the end of it. The of is but one and the same in all ages, of which Christ is the substance; being given for “a of the people”, of all the people of God, both Jews and , who is “the same” in the “yesterday” of the Old Testament, and in the “today” of the New Testament, and “for ever”; he is “the way, the truth, and the life”, the only true way to eternal life; and there never was any other way made known to men since the fall of Adam; no other name under heaven has been given, or will be given, by which men can be saved. The patriarchs before the flood and after, before the law of Moses and under it, before the coming of Christ, and all the since, are saved in one and the same way, even “by the of our Lord Jesus Christ”; and that is the of the , exhibited at different times, and in divers manners. For though the is but one, there are different administrations of it; particularly two, one before the coming of Christ, and the other after it; which lay the foundation for the distinction of the “first” and “second”, the “old” and the “new” , observed by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 8:7, 8, 13; 9:1, 15; 12:24), for by the first and old , is not meant the of works made with Adam, which had been broke and abrogated long ago; since the apostle is speaking of a waxen old, and ready to vanish away in his time: nor was the of works the first and most ancient ; the of , as an eternal compact, was before that; but by it is meant the first and most ancient administration of the of which reached from the fall of Adam, when the of works was broke, unto the coming of Christ, when it was superseded and vacated by another administration of the same , called therefore the “second” and “new” . The one we commonly call the Old Testament dispensation, and the other the New Testament dispensation; for which there seems to be some foundation in 2 Corinthians 3:6, 14 and Hebrews 9:15 these two , or rather the two administrations of the same , are allegorically represented by two women, Hagar and Sarah, the bondwoman and the free (Gal. 4:22-26), which fitly describe the nature and difference of them. And before I proceed any farther, I shall just point out the agreement and disagreement of those two administrations of the of .

1. First, The agreement there is between them.

1a. They agree in the efficient cause, God: the of , in its original constitution in eternity, is of God, and therefore it is called his , being made by him; “I have made a —my I will not break”, (Ps 89:3, 34) and whenever any exhibition or manifestation of this was made to any of the patriarchs, as to Abraham, David, &c. it is ascribed to God, “I will make my —he hath made with me an everlasting ” (Gen. 17:2; 2 Sam. 23:5) so the new , or new administration of it, runs in this form, “I will make a new ” &c. (Heb. 8:8).

1b. In the moving cause, the mercy, and free of God, which moved God to make the of at first (Ps. 89:2, 3). And every exhibition of it under the former dispensation, is a rich display of it, and therefore it is called, the “mercy promised to the fathers” in his “holy ” (Luke 1:72), and which has so largely appeared in the coming of Christ, which is ascribed to “the tender mercy of our God”, that “” and “truth”, in the great abundance of them, are said to come by him; by which names the of , under the gospel dispensation, is called, in distinction from that under the Mosaic one (Luke 1:78; John 1:17).

1c. In the , who is Christ; there is but one of the of , let it be considered under what dispensation it will; even Christ, who under the former dispensation was revealed as the seed of the woman that should bruise the serpent’s head, and make by his sufferings and death, signified by the expiatory sacrifices, under the law; the Shiloh, the peaceable One, and the Peace Maker, the living Redeemer of Job, and of all believers under the Old Testament. Moses, indeed, was a , but he was only a typical one. There is but “one between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus”; there never was any other, and he is the “ of the new ” (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb 12:24).

1d. In the subjects of these , or administrations of the of , the of God, to whom the blessings of it are applied. It was with the chosen people of God in Christ, the of was originally made; and according to the of are the spiritual blessings of it dispensed to the children of men (Ps. 89:3; Eph 1:3,4), so they were under the former dispensation, from the beginning of the world, to the seed of the woman, in distinction from the seed of the serpent; to the remnant according to the of among the Jews, the children of the promise that were counted for the seed; and , or men, obtain the blessings of the in all ages, and under the present dispensation, more abundantly, and in greater numbers.

1e. In the blessings of it; they are the same under both administrations. Salvation and by Christ is the great blessing held forth and enjoyed under the one as under the other (2 Sam. 23:5; Heb 9:15). by the of Christ, which the Old Testament church had knowledge of, and faith in, as well as the new (Isa. 45:24, 25; Rom. 3:21-23). Forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ, all the prophets bore witness to; and the of old, as now, had as comfortable an application of it (Ps. 32:1, 5; Isa. 43:25; Micah 7:18; Acts 10:43). , spiritual circumcision, and , were what men were made partakers of under the first, as under the second administration of the (Deut. 30:6; Phil. 3:3). Eternal life was made known in the writings of the Old Testament, as well as in those of the New; and was believed, looked for, and expected by the of the former, as of the latter dispensation (John 5:39; Heb. 11:10, 16; Job 19:26, 27). In a word, they and we eat the same spiritual meat, and drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:3, 4).

2. Secondly, In some things there is a disagreement between these two administrations of the of .

2a. Under the first administration looked forward to Christ that was to come, and to the good things that were to come by him, and so were waiting, expecting, and longing for the enjoyment of them; but under the second and new administration, believers look backwards to Christ as being come, before whose eyes he is evidently set forth in the word and , as crucified and slain; and they look to the blessings of the through him as brought in; to peace, pardon, , , , and salvation, as wrought out and finished.

2b. There is a greater clearness and evidence of things under the one than under the other; the law was only a shadow of good things to come; did not so much as exhibit the image of them, at least but very faintly. The obscurity of the former dispensation, was, signified by the veil over the face of Moses, when he spoke to the children of Israel; so that they could not see to the end of what was to be abolished; whereas, believers under the present dispensation, with open face, with faces unveiled, behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord clearly and plainly (Heb. 10:1; 2 Cor. 3:13, 18), then, comparatively, it was night, now broad day; the day has broke, and the shadows are fled and gone.

2c. There is more of a spirit of liberty, and less of bondage, under the one, than under the other; under the one differed little from servants, being in bondage under the elements of the world; but under the other are Christ’s freemen, and receive not the spirit of bondage again, to fear; but the spirit of , crying Abba, Father; which is a free spirit, and brings liberty with it; and for this reason the two different administrations of the , are signified, the one by Hagar, the bondwoman, because it engendered to bondage, and those under it were in such a state; and the other by Sarah, the free woman, an emblem of Jerusalem, which is free, and the mother of us all (Gal. 4:1-3, 24-26; Rom. 8:15).

2d. There is a larger and more plentiful effusion of the Spirit, and of his gifts and graces, under the one than under the other; greater measures of , and of spiritual light and knowledge were promised, as what would be communicated under the new and second administration of the ; and accordingly , in all its fulness and “truth”, in all its clearness and evidence, are “come by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17; see Jer. 31:31-34).

2e. The latter administration of the extends to more persons than the former. The were strangers to the of promise, had no knowledge nor application of the promises and blessings of the of , except now and then, and here and there one; but now the blessing of Abraham is come upon the , and they are fellow heirs of the same and privileges, and partakers of the promises in Christ by the gospel (Eph. 2:12, 3:6; Gal. 3:14).

2f. The present administration of the of , will continue to the end of the world; it will never give way to, nor be succeeded by another; it is that which remains, in distinction from that which is done away, and so exceeds in glory: the ceremonial law, under which the former was administered, was “until the time of reformation”, until Christ came and his forerunner; “The law and the prophets were until John”, the harbinger of Christ, the fulfilling end of them; (see 2 Cor. 3:11; Heb 9:10; Luke 16:16).

2g. The of them are different. The first had of divine service; but those, comparatively, were and , at best but typical and shadowy, and faint representations of divine and spiritual things; and were to continue but for a while, and then to be shaken and removed, and other take place, which shall not be shaken, but remain to the second coming of Christ; and in which he is more clearly and evidently set forth, and the blessings of his (Heb. 9:1, 10; 12:27).

2h. Though the promises and blessings of under both administrations are the same, yet differently exhibited; under the former dispensation, not only more darkly and obscurely, but by earthly things, as by the land of Canaan, and the outward mercies of it; but under the latter, as more clearly and plainly, so more spiritually and nakedly, as they are in themselves spiritual, heavenly, and divine; and delivered out more free, and unclogged of all conditions, and so called “better promises”, and the administration of the , in which they are, a “better testament”; God having “provided” for New Testament some “better thing”, at least held forth in a better manner; that Old Testament might not be “made perfect” without them (Heb. 8:6; 7:22; 11:40).