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- Jonathan Edwards - GOD Glorified in
Man's Dependence
"GOD Glorified in Man's Dependence" by Jonathan Edwards
 That
no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. - I Corinthians 1:29, 30,
31
THOSE Christians to whom the apostle directed this epistle, dwelt in
a part of the world where human wisdom was in great repute; as the
apostle observes in the 22nd verse of this chapter, "The Greeks seek
after wisdom." Corinth was not far from Athens, that had been for
many ages the most famous seat of philosophy and learning in the
world. The apostle therefore observes to them, how God by the gospel
destroyed, and brought to nought, their wisdom. The learned
Grecians, and their great philosophers, by all their wisdom did not
know God, they were not able to find out the truth in divine things.
But, after they had done their utmost to no effect, it pleased God
at length to reveal himself by the gospel, which they accounted
foolishness. He "chose the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and things that
are despised, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought the
things that are." And the apostle informs them in the text why he
thus did, That no flesh should glory in his presence, etc.- In which
words may be observed,
1. What God aims at in the disposition of things in the
affair of redemption, viz. that man should not glory in himself, but
alone in God; That no flesh should glory in his presence, --that,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord.
2. How this end is attained in the work of redemption, viz.
by that absolute and immediate dependence which men have upon God in
that work, for all their good. Inasmuch as,
First, All the good that they have is in and through Christ; He is
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
All the good of the fallen and redeemed creature is concerned in
these four things, and cannot be better distributed than into them;
but Christ is each of them to us, and we have none of them any
otherwise than in him. He is made of God unto us wisdom: in him are
all the proper good and true excellency of the understanding. Wisdom
was a thing that the Greeks admired; but Christ is the true light of
the world; it is through him alone that true wisdom is imparted to
the mind. It is in and by Christ that we have righteousness: it is
by being in him that we are justified, have our sins pardoned, and
are received as righteous into God's favour. It is by Christ that we
have sanctification: we have in him true excellency of heart as well
as of understanding; and he is made unto us inherent as well as
imputed righteousness. It is by Christ that we have redemption, or
the actual deliverance from all misery, and the bestowment of all
happiness and glory. Thus we have all our good by Christ, who is
God.
Secondly, Another instance wherein our dependence on God for all our
good appears, is this, That it is God that has given us Christ, that
we might have these benefits through him; he of God is made unto us
wisdom, righteousness, etc.
Thirdly, It is of him that we are in Christ Jesus, and come to have
an interest in him, and so do receive those blessings which he is
made unto us. It is God that gives us faith whereby we close with
Christ.
So that in this verse is shown our dependence on each person in the
Trinity for all our good. We are dependent on Christ the Son of God,
as he is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
We are dependent on the Father, who has given us Christ, and made
him to be these things to us. We are dependent on the Holy Ghost,
for it is of him that we are in Christ Jesus; it is the Spirit of
God that gives faith in him, whereby we receive him,and close with
him.
DOCTRINE
"God is glorified in the work of redemption in this, that there
appears in it so absolute and universal a dependence of the redeemed
on him." -- Here I propose to show, 1st, That there is an absolute
and universal dependence of the redeemed on God for all their good.
And, 2dly, That God hereby is exalted and glorified in the work of
redemption.
I. There is an absolute and universal dependence of the
redeemed on God. The nature and contrivance of our redemption is
such, that the redeemed are in every thing directly, immediately,
and entirely dependent on God: they are dependent on him for all,
and are dependent on him every way.
The several ways wherein the dependence of one being may be upon
another for its good, and wherein the redeemed of Jesus Christ
depend on God for all their good, are these, viz. That they have all
their good of him, and that they have all through him, and that they
have all in him: That he is the cause and original whence all their
good comes, therein it is of him; and that he is the medium by which
it is obtained and conveyed, therein they have it through him; and
that he is the good itself given and conveyed, therein it is in him.
Now those that are redeemed by Jesus Christ do, in all these
respects, very directly and entirely depend on God for their all.
First, The redeemed have all their good of God. God is the great
author of it. He is the first cause of it; and not only so, but he
is the only proper cause. It is of God that we have our Redeemer. It
is God that has provided a Saviour for us. Jesus Christ is not only
of God in his person, as he is the only-begotten Son of God, but he
is from God, as we are concerned in him, and in his office of
Mediator. He is the gift of God to us: God chose and anointed him,
appointed him his work, and sent him into the world. And as it is
God that gives, so it is God that accepts the Saviour. He gives the
purchaser, and he affords the thing purchased.
It is of God that Christ becomes ours, that we are brought to him,
and are united to him. It is of God that we receive faith to close
with him, that we may have an interest in him. Eph. 2:8. "For by
grace ye are saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God." It is of God that we actually receive all the
benefits that Christ has purchased. It is God that pardons and
justifies, and delivers from going down to hell; and into his favour
the redeemed are received, when they are justified. So it is God
that delivers from the dominion of sin, cleanses us from our
filthiness, and changes us from our deformity. It is of God that the
redeemed receive all their true excellency, wisdom, and holiness;
and that two ways, viz. as the Holy Ghost by whom these things are
immediately wrought is from God, proceeds from him, and is sent by
him; and also as the Holy Ghost himself is God, by whose operation
and indwelling the knowledge of God and divine things, a holy
disposition and all grace, are conferred and upheld. And though
means are made use of in conferring grace on men's souls, yet it is
of God that we have these means of grace, and it is he that makes
them effectual. It is of God that we have the Holy Scriptures; they
are his word. It is of God that we have ordinances, and their
efficacy depends on the immediate influence of his Spirit. The
ministers of the gospel are sent of God, and all their sufficiency
is of him.-- 2 Cor. 4:7. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."
Their success depends entirely and absolutely on the immediate
blessing and influence of God.
1. The redeemed have all from the grace of God. It was of
mere grace that God gave us his only-begotten Son. The grace is
great in proportion to the excellency of what is given. The gift was
infinitely precious, because it was of a person infinitely worthy, a
person of infinite glory; and also because it was of a person
infinitely near and dear to God. The grace is great in proportion to
the benefit we have given us in him. The benefit is doubly infinite,
in that in him we have deliverance from an infinite, because an
eternal, misery, and do also receive eternal joy and glory. The
grace in bestowing this gift is great in proportion to our
unworthiness to whom it is given; instead of deserving such a gift,
we merited infinitely ill of God's hands. The grace is great
according to the manner of giving, or in proportion to the
humiliation and expense of the method and means by which a way is
made for our having the gift. He gave him to dwell amongst us; he
gave him to us incarnate, or in our nature; and in the like though
sinless infirmities. He gave him to us in a low and afflicted state;
and not only so, but as slain, that he might be a feast for our
souls.
The grace of God in bestowing this gift is most free. It was what
God was under no obligation to bestow. He might have rejected fallen
man, as he did the fallen angels. It was what we never did any thing
to merit; it was given while we were yet enemies, and before we had
so much as repented. It was from the love of God who saw no
excellency in us to attract it; and it was without expectation of
ever being requited for it. And it is from mere grace that the
benefits of Christ are applied to such and such particular persons.
Those that are called and sanctified are to attribute it alone to
the good pleasure of God's goodness, by which they are
distinguished. He is sovereign, and hath mercy on whom he will have
mercy.
Man hath now a greater dependence on the grace of God than he had
before the fall. He depends on the free goodness of God for much
more than he did then. Then he depended on God's goodness for
conferring the reward of perfect obedience; for God was not obliged
to promise and bestow that reward. But now we are dependent on the
grace of God for much more; we stand in need of grace, not only to
bestow glory upon us, but to deliver us from hell and eternal wrath.
Under the first covenant we depended on God's goodness to give us
the reward of righteousness; and so we do now; but we stand in need
of God's free and sovereign grace to give us that righteousness; to
pardon our sin, and release us from the guilt and infinite demerit
of it.
And as we are dependent on the goodness of God for more now than
under the first covenant, so we are dependent on a much greater,
more free and wonderful goodness. We are now more dependent on God's
arbitrary and sovereign good pleasure. We were in our first estate
dependent on God for holiness. We had our original righteousness
from him; but then holiness was not bestowed in such a way of
sovereign good pleasure as it is now. Man was created holy, for it
became God to create holy all his reasonable creatures. It would
have been a disparagement to the holiness of God's nature, if he had
made an intelligent creature unholy. But now when fallen man is made
holy, it is from mere and arbitrary grace; God may for ever deny
holiness to the fallen creature if he pleases, without any
disparagement to any of his perfections.
And we are not only indeed more dependent on the grace of God, but
our dependence is much more conspicuous, because our own
insufficiency and helplessness in ourselves is much more apparent in
our fallen and undone state, than it was before we were either
sinful or miserable. We are more apparently dependent on God for
holiness, because we are first sinful,and utterly polluted,and
afterward holy. So the production of the effect is sensible, and its
derivation from God more obvious. If man was ever holy and always
was so,it would not be so apparent, that he had not holiness
necessarily,as an inseparable qualification of human nature. So we
are more apparently dependent on free grace for the favour of God,
for we are first justly the objects of his displeasure, and
afterwards are received into favour. We are more apparently
dependent on God for happiness, being first miserable, and
afterwards happy. It is more apparently free and without merit in
us, because we are actually without any kind of excellency to merit,
if there could be any such thing as merit in creature excellency.
And we are not only without any true excellency, but are full of,
and wholly defiled with, that which is infinitely odious. All our
good is more apparently from God, because we are first naked and
wholly with- out any good, and afterwards enriched with all good.
2. We receive all from the power of God. Man's redemption is
often spoken of as a work of wonderful power as well as grace. The
great power of God appears in bringing a sinner from his low state,
from the depths of sin and misery, to such an exalted state of
holiness and happiness. Eph. 1:19. "And what is the exceeding
greatness of his power to us- ward who believe, according to the
working of his mighty power."----
We are dependent on God's power through every step of our
redemption. We are dependent on the power of God to convert us, and
give faith in Jesus Christ, and the new nature. It is a work of
creation: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature," 2 Cor.
5:17. "We are created in Christ Jesus," Eph. 2:10. The fallen
creature cannot attain to true holiness, but by being created again.
Eph. 4:24. "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is
created in righteousness and true holiness." It is a raising from
the dead. Colos. 2:12-13. "Wherein also ye are risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from
the dead." Yea, it is a more glorious work of power than mere
creation, or raising a dead body to life, in that the effect
attained is greater and more excellent. That holy and happy being,
and spiritual life, which is produced in the work of conversion, is
a far greater and more glorious effect, than mere being and life.
And the state from whence the change is made -- a death in sin, a
total corruption of nature, and depth of misery -- is far more
remote from the state attained, than mere death or non-entity.
It is by God's power also that we are preserved in a state of grace.
1 Pet. 1:5. "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation." As grace is at first from God, so it is continually from
him, and is maintained by him, as much as light in the atmosphere is
all day long from the sun, as well as at first dawning, or
sun-rising. -- Men are dependent on the power of God for every
exercise of grace, and for carrying on that work in the heart, for
subduing sin and corruption, increasing holy principles, and
enabling to bring forth fruit in good works. Man is dependent on
divine power in bringing grace to its perfection, m making the soul
completely amiable in Christ's glorious likeness, and filling of it
with a satisfying joy and blessedness; and for the raising of the
body to life, and to such a perfect state, that it shall be suitable
for a habitation and organ for a soul so perfected and blessed.
These are the most glorious effects of the power of God, that are
seen in the series of God's acts with respect to the creatures.
Man was dependent on the power of God in his first estate, but he is
more dependent on his power now; he needs God's power to do more
things for him, and depends on a more wonderful exercise of his
power. It was an effect of the power of God to make man holy at the
first: but more remarkably so now, because there is a great deal of
opposition and difficulty in the way. It is a more glorious effect
of power to make that holy that was so depraved, and under the
dominion of sin, than to confer holiness on that which before had
nothing of the contrary. It is a more glorious work of power to
rescue a soul out of the hands of the devil, and from the powers of
darkness, and to bring it into a state of salvation, than to confer
holiness where there was no prepossession or opposition. Luke
11:21-22. "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are
in peace; but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and
overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour, wherein he trusted,
and divideth his spoils." So it is a more glorious work of power to
uphold a soul in a state of grace and holiness, and to carry it on
till it is brought to glory, when there is so much sin remaining in
the heart resisting, and Satan with all his might opposing, than it
would have been to have kept man from falling at first, when Satan
had nothing in man.-- Thus we have shown how the redeemed are
dependent on God for all their good, as they have all of him.
Secondly, They are also dependent on God for all, as they have all
through him. God is the medium of it, as well as the author and
fountain of it. All we have, wisdom, the pardon of sin, deliverance
from hell, acceptance into God's favour, grace and holiness, true
comfort and happiness, eternal life and glory, is from God by a
Mediator; and this Mediator is God; which Mediator we have an
absolute dependence upon, as he through whom we receive all. So that
here is another way wherein we have our dependence on God for all
good. God not only gives us the Mediator, and accepts his mediation,
and of his power and grace bestows the things purchased by the
Mediator; but he the Mediator is God.
Our blessings are what we have by purchase; and the purchase is made
of God, the blessings are purchased of him, and God gives the
purchaser; and not only so, but God is the purchaser. Yea God is
both the purchaser and the price; for Christ, who is God, purchased
these blessings for us, by offering up himself as the price of our
salvation. He purchased eternal life by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb. 7:27. "He offered up himself." And 9:26. "He hath appeared to
take away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Indeed it was the human
nature that was offered; but it was the same person with the divine,
and therefore was an infinite price.
As we thus have our good through God, we have a dependence on him in
a respect that man in his first estate had not. Man was to have
eternal life then through his own righteousness; so that he had
partly a dependence upon what was in himself; for we have a
dependence upon that through which we have our good, as well as that
from which we have it; and though man's righteousness that he then
depended on was indeed from God, yet it was his own, it was inherent
in himself; so that his dependence was not so immediately on God.
But now the righteousness that we are dependent on is not in
ourselves, but in God. We are saved through the righteousness of
Christ: He is made unto us righteousness; and therefore is
prophesied of, Jer. 23:6, under that name, "the Lord our
righteousness." In that the righteousness we are justified by is the
righteousness of Christ, it is the righteousness of God. 2 Cor.5:21.
"That we might be made the righteousness of God in him." --Thus in
redemption we have not only all things of God, but by and through
him, 1 Cor. 8:6. "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of
whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom are all things, and we by him."
Thirdly, The redeemed have all their good in God. We not only have
it of him, and through him, but it consists in him; he is all our
good.-- The good of the redeemed is either objective or inherent. By
their objective good, I mean that extrinsic object, in the
possession and enjoyment of which they are happy. Their inherent
good is that excellency or pleasure which is in the soul itself.
With respect to both of which the redeemed have all their good in
God, or which is the same thing, God him- self is all their good.
1. The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God
himself is the great good which they are brought to the posses- sion
and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum
of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of
the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth
and treasure, their food, their Life, their dwelling- place, their
ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honour and glory. They
have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed
are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end
of the world. The Lord God is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem;
and is the "river of the water of life " that runs, and "the tree of
life that grows, in the midst of the paradise of God." The glorious
excellencies and beauty of God will be what will for ever entertain
the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their
everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they
will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another; but that which
they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in any thing else
whatsoever that will yield them delight and happiness, will be what
shall be seen of God in them.
2. The redeemed have all their inherent good in God. Inherent
good is twofold; it is either excellency or pleasure. These the
redeemed not only derive from God, as caused by him, but have them
in him. They have spiritual excellency and joy by a kind of
participation of God. They are made excellent by a communication of
God's excellency. God puts his own beauty, i.e. his beautiful
likeness, upon their souls. They are made partakers of the divine
nature, or moral image of God, 2 Pet. 1:4. They are holy by being
made partakers of God's holiness. Heb. 12:10. The saints are
beautiful and blessed by a communication of God's holiness and joy,
as the moon and planets are bright by the sun's light. The saint
hath spiritual joy and pleasure by a kind of effusion of God on the
soul. In these things the redeemed have communion with God; that is,
they partake with him and of him.
The saints have both their spiritual excellency and blessedness by
the gift of the Holy Ghost, and his dwelling in them. They are not
only caused by the Holy Ghost, but are in him as their principle.
The Holy Spirit becoming an inhabitant, is a vital principle in the
soul. He, acting in, upon, and with the soul, becomes a fountain of
true holiness and joy, as a spring is of water, by the exertion and
diffusion of itself. John 4:14. "But whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I
shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life." Compared with chap. 7:38-39. "He that believeth
on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water; but this spake he of the Spirit, which they
that believe on him should receive." The sum of what Christ has
purchased for us, is that spring of water spoken of in the former of
those places, and those rivers of living water spoken of in the
latter. And the sum of the blessings, which the redeemed shall
receive in heaven, is that river of water of life that proceeds from
the throne of God and the Lamb, Rev. 22:1. Which doubtless signifies
the same with those rivers of living water, explained, John 7:38-39,
which is elsewhere called the "river of God's pleasures." Herein
consists the fulness of good, which the saints receive of Christ. It
is by partaking of the Holy Spirit, that they have communion with
Christ in his fulness. God hath given the Spirit, not by measure
unto him; and they do receive of his fulness, and grace for grace.
This is the sum of the saints' inheritance; and there- fore that
little of the Holy Ghost which believers have in this world, is said
to be the earnest of their inheritance, 2 Cor. 1:22. "Who hath also
sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."
And chap. 5:5. "Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing,
is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit." And
Eph. 1:13-14. "Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the
purchased possession."
The Holy Spirit and good things are spoken of in Scripture as the
same; as if the Spirit of God communicated to the soul, comprised
all good things, Matt. 7:11. "How much more shall your heavenly
Father give good things to them that ask him?" In Luke it is, chap.
11:13. "How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him?" This is the sum of the blessings that
Christ died to procure, and the subject of gospel-promises. Gal.
3:13-14. "He was made a curse for us, that we might receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith." The Spirit of God is the great
promise of the Father, Luke 24:49. "Behold, I send the promise of my
Father upon you." The Spirit of God therefore is called "the Spirit
of promise," Eph. 1:33. This promised thing Christ received, and had
given into his hand, as soon as he had finished the work of our
redemption, to bestow on all that he had redeemed; Acts 2:13.
"Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed
forth this, which ye both see and hear." So that all the holiness
and happiness of the redeemed is in God. It is in the
communications, indwelling, and acting of the Spirit of God.
Holiness and happiness is in the fruit, here and hereafter, because
God dwells in them, and they in God.
Thus God has given us the Redeemer, and it is by him that our good
is purchased. So God is the Redeemer and the price; and he also is
the good purchased. So that all that we have is of God, and through
him, and in him. Rom. 11:36. "For of him, and through him, and to
him, or in him, are all things." The same in the Greek that is here
rendered to him, is rendered in him, 1 Cor. 8:6.
II. God is glorified in the work of redemption by this means, viz.
By there being so great and universal a dependence of the redeemed
on him.
1. Man hath so much the greater occasion and obligation to
notice and acknowledge God's perfections and all-sufficiency. The
greater the creature's dependence is on God's perfections, and the
greater concern he has with them, so much the greater occasion has
he to take notice of them. So much the greater concern any one has
with and dependence upon the power and grace of God, so much the
greater occasion has he to take notice of that power and grace. So
much the greater and more immediate dependence there is on the
divine holiness, so much the greater occasion to take notice of and
acknowledge that. So much the greater and more absolute dependence
we have on the divine perfections, as belonging to the several
persons of the Trinity, so much the greater occasion have we to
observe and own the divine glory of each of them. That which we are
most concerned with, is surely most in the way of our observation
and notice; and this kind of concern with any thing, viz.
dependence, does especially tend to command and oblige the attention
and observation. Those things that we are not much dependent upon,
it is easy to neglect; but we can scarce do any other than mind that
which we have a great dependence on. By reason of our so great
dependence on God, and his perfections, and in so many respects, he
and his glory are the more directly set in our view, which way
soever we turn our eyes.
We have the greater occasion to take notice of God's
all-sufficiency, when all our sufficiency is thus every way of him.
We have the more occasion to contemplate him as an infinite good,
and as the fountain of all good. Such a dependence on God
demonstrates his all-sufficiency. So much as the dependence of the
creature is on God, so much the greater does the creature's
emptiness in himself appear; and so much the greater the creature's
emptiness, so much the greater must the fulness of the Being be who
supplies him. Our having all of God, shows the fulness of his power
and grace; our having all through him, shows the fulness of his
merit and worthiness; and our having all in him, demonstrates his
fulness of beauty, love, and happiness. And the redeemed, by reason
of the greatness of their dependence on God, have not only so much
the greater occasion, but obligation to contemplate and acknowledge
the glory and fulness of God. How unreasonable and ungrateful should
we be, if we did not acknowledge that sufficiency and glory which we
absolutely, immediately, and universally depend upon!
2. Hereby is demonstrated how great God's glory is considered
comparatively, or as compared with the creature's. By the creature
being thus wholly and universally dependent on God, it appears that
the creature is nothing, and that God is all. Hereby it appears that
God is infinitely above us; that God's strength, and wisdom, and
holiness, are infinitely greater than ours. However great and
glorious the creature apprehends God to be, yet if he be not
sensible of the difference between God and him, so as to see that
God's glory is great, compared with his own, he will not be disposed
to give God the glory due to his name. If the creature in any
respects sets himself upon a level with God, or exalts himself to
any competition with him, however he may apprehend that great honour
and profound respect may belong to God from those that are at a
greater distance, he will not be so sensible of its being due from
him. So much the more men exalt themselves, so much the less will
they surely be disposed to exalt God. It is certainly what God aims
at in the disposition of things in redemption, (if we allow the
Scriptures to be a revelation of God's mind,) that God should appear
full, and man in himself empty, that God should appear all, and man
nothing. It is God's declared design that others should not "glory
in his presence;" which implies that it is his design to advance his
own comparative glory. So much the more man "glories in God's
presence," so much the less glory is ascribed to God.
3. By its being thus ordered, that the creature should have
so absolute and universal a dependence on God, provision is made
that God should have our whole souls, and should be the object of
our undivided respect. If we had our dependence partly on God, and
partly on something else, man's respect would be divided to those
different things on which he had dependence. Thus it would be if we
depended on God only for a part of our good, and on ourselves, or
some other being, for another part: or if we had our good only from
God, and through another that was not God, and in something else
distinct from both, our hearts would be divided between the good
itself, and him from whom, and him through whom, we received it. But
now there is no occasion for this, God being not only he from or of
whom we have all good, but also through whom, and is that good
itself, that we have from him and through him. So that whatsoever
there is to attract our respect, the tendency is still directly
towards God; all unites in him as the centre.
USE
1. We may here observe the marvellous wisdom of God, in the
work of redemption. God hath made man's emptiness and misery, his
low, lost, and ruined state, into which he sunk by the fall, an
occasion of the greater advancement of his own glory, as in other
ways, so particularly in this, that there is now much more universal
and apparent dependence of man on God. Though God be pleased to lift
man out of that dismal abyss of sin and woe into which he was
fallen, and exceedingly to exalt him in excellency and honour, and
to a high pitch of glory and blessedness, yet the creature hath
nothing in any respect to glory of; all the glory evidently belongs
to God, all is in a mere, and most absolute, and divine dependence
on the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And each person of the Trinity
is equally glorified in this work: there is an absolute dependence
of the creature on every one for all: all is of the Father, all
through the Son, and all in the Holy Ghost. Thus God appears in the
work of redemption as all in all. It is fit that he who is, and
there is none else, should be the Alpha and Omega, the first and the
last, the all and the only, in this work.
2. Hence those doctrines and schemes of divinity that are in
any respect opposite to such an absolute and universal dependence on
God, derogate from his glory, and thwart the design of our
redemption. And such are those schemes that put the creature in
God's stead, in any of the mentioned respects, that exalt man into
the place of either Father, Son, or Holy Ghost, in any thing
pertaining to our redemption. However they may allow of a dependence
of the redeemed on God, yet they deny a dependence that is so
absolute and universal. They own an entire dependence of God for
some things, but not for others; they own that we depend on God for
the gift and acceptance of a Redeemer, but deny so absolute a
dependence on him for the obtaining of an interest in the Redeemer.
They own an absolute dependence on the Father for giving his Son,
and on the Son for working out redemption, but not so entire a
dependence on the Holy Ghost for conversion, and a being in Christ,
and so coming to a title to his benefits. They own a dependence on
God for means of grace, but not absolutely for the benefit and
success of those means; a partial dependence on the power of God,
for obtaining and exercising holiness, but not a mere dependence on
the arbitrary and sovereign grace of God. They own a dependence on
the free grace of God for a reception into his favour, so far that
it is without any proper merit, but not as it is without being
attracted, or moved with any excellency. They own a partial
dependence on Christ, as he through whom we have life, as having
purchased new terms of life, but still hold that the righteousness
through which we have life is inherent in ourselves, as it was under
the first covenant. Now whatever scheme is inconsistent with our
entire dependence on God for all, and of having all of him, through
him, and in him, it is repugnant to the design and tenor of the
gospel, and robs it of that which God accounts its lustre and glory.
3. Hence we may learn a reason why faith is that by which we
come to have an interest in this redemption; for there is included
in the nature of faith, a sensible acknowledgment of absolute
dependence on God in this affair. It is very fit that it should be
required of all, in order to their having the benefit of this
redemption, that they should be sensible of, and acknowledge, their
dependence on God for it. It is by this means that God hath
contrived to glorify himself in redemption; and it is fit that he
should at least have this glory of those that are the subjects of
this redemption, and have the benefit of it.-- Faith is a
sensibleness of what is real in the work of redemption; and the soul
that believes doth entirely depend on God for all salvation, in its
own sense and act. Faith abases men, and exalts God; it gives all
the glory of redemption to him alone. It is necessary in order to
saving faith, that man should be emptied of himself, be sensible
that he is "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked." Humility is a great ingredient of true faith: he that truly
receives redemption, receives it as a little child, Mark 10:15.
"Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of heaven as a little
child, he shall not enter therein." It is the delight of a believing
soul to abase itself and exalt God alone: that is the language of
it, Psalm 115:1. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name
give glory."
4. Let us be exhorted to exalt God alone, and ascribe to him
all the glory of redemption. Let us endeavour to obtain, and
increase in, a sensibleness of our great dependence on God, to have
our eye to him alone, to mortify a self-dependent and self-righteous
disposition. Man is naturally exceeding prone to exalt himself, and
depend on his own power or goodness; as though from himself he must
expect happiness. He is prone to have respect to enjoyments alien
from God and his Spirit, as those in which happiness is to be
found.-- But this doctrine should teach us to exalt God alone; as by
trust and reliance, so by praise. Let him that glorieth, glory in
the Lord. Hath any man ope that he is converted, and sanctified, and
that his mind is endowed with true excellency and spiritual beauty?
that his sins are forgiven, and he received into God's favour, and
exalted to the honour and blessedness of being his child, and an
heir of eternal life? let him give God all the glory; who alone
makes him to differ from the worst of men in this world, or the most
miserable of the damned in hell. Hath any man much comfort and
strong hope of eternal life, let not his hope lift him up, but
dispose him the more to abase himself, to reflect on his own
exceeding unworthiness of such a favour,and to exalt God alone. Is
any man eminent in holiness, and abundant in good works, let him
take nothing of the glory of it to himself, but ascribe it to him
whose "workmanship we are, created in Christ Jesus unto good works."Jonathan Edwards
July 8, 1731
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