54 LADeclaration of the Glorious M Y STER Y and head of the church. This alfo is an effed of divine and infinite power. And to deny thefe things unto the Lord Chrift, is to rafe the foundation of chriftian religion. Neitherfaith in hiss, nor love unto Min, nor depen- dance on him, nor obedience unto his authority, can be preferred one mo- ment, without a perfuafion of his immediate intuition and infpeítion into the hearts, minds and thoughts of all men, with a real influence into all the adings ofthe life of God in all them that believe. And the want ofthe faith hereof is that whichbath disjoyned theminds ofmany from adherence unto him ; and hath produced a lifelefs carcafs ofchriftian religion, inftead ofthe faringpower thereof. (3.) The fame may be faid concerning his facerdotal office, and all the ads of it. It was in and by the humane nature that he offered himfelf a facrifice for us. He loadforce what ofhis own to offer, Heb. viii. g. And to the end a body was preparedfor him, chap. x. g. But it was not the work of a man by one offering, and that ofhimfelf, to expiate the fins of the whole church, and for ever to perfect them that are fandified, which he did, Heb. x. 04. God was topurcbafe his "church with his own blood, Ads xx. a8. But this alfo-I have fpoken to at large elfewhete. This is thefumof what we plead for. We can have no due confederation of the offices'of Chrift, can receive no benefit by them, nor perform any ad ofduty with refped unto them, or any of them, unlefs faith in his devine perfon be aduahly exercifed as the foundation of the whole. For that is it whence all their glory, power and efficacy are derived. Whatever therefore we do with refped unto his rule, whatever we receive by the communication of his fpirit and grace, whatever we learn from his word by the teachings of his fpirit, whatever benefit we believe, expect and receive by his facrifice and interceífion on our behalf, our faith in them all, and concerning them all, is terminatedon his divine perfon. The church is faced by his offices, becaufe they are his. This is the fub- fiance of the teftimony given concerning him, by God even the Father, s John v. to, t t. This is the witnefrthat God hatb teffifiedconcerning his Son, that Godhatb given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Soli. Eternal life is given unto us, as it was wrought out and procured by the mediationof Chrift on our behalf. But yet in him it was original- ly, and from him do we receive it in the difcharge of his office; for this life is in the SonofGod. Hence it is that all thofe by whom the divine perfonofChrift is denied, are forced to give furls a defcriptionof his offices,'as that it is utterly impoffl- hue that the church Mould be faved by the difcharge of theme. CHAP.
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