170 SALVATION OF MAN BY CHRIST. Lord Jesus Christ delivers us from our sinfnl natures, or the power of sin that works in us, for he is our sanctification as well as our righteousness ; 1 Cor. i. 30. Our blessed Saviour in this respect, is sometimes repre- sented as our almighty Redeemer, who rescues us from the power of Satan, and of our own lusts, by the more powerful influences of his Spirit : He is our Sanctifier, who renews the image of God in us, which was lost by our first apostacy, and this he does by his sovereign creating power, for we are created anewunto good, works, in or by Christ Jesus Eph. ii. I0. He is sometimes set forth as our prophet, to give us light and the knowledge of God, and of the way of salvation, by the divine instructions of his gospel. He is our example to go before us, and to mark out for us the path of duty and holiness by his own footsteps, amityencourage our walking therein by his precedency, and so he is also our forerunner to heaven. Christ is alsoour King to give us laws and rules of life, and to rule in our hearts by givingus an inclination to obey his laws ; By his royal power also in his exalted state, he subdues sin in us, he mortifies our unruly appetites and passions which are bis enemies, he brings every powerof pur nature into obedience and subjection to him- self. He fits us for the heavenly kingdom, and actually bestows upon us this final happiness. He is also represented in scripture as our vital head, or head of spiritual life, and believers areOs members ; and so his Spirit becomes the spring of spiritual life in us, renewsour sinful nature, raisesus from death in trespasses and sins, conveys a new and divine life to us, and will at last, by the same Spirit, raise our bodies from the dead, to live for ever with him. Thus much concerning one branch of our salvation, viz. the recovery of our nature from the sinfulness thereof, which I shall ho longer insist upon here. SECT. II.The Characters of Christ as our Deliverer from the Guilt and Punishment of Sin. Theother branch of our salvation is, that which I chiefly have in view at present, viz. that which consists in the deliver- ance of ourpersons from the guilt of sin, from condemnationand punishment, and in that right to eternal lifewhich isprovided and given us by our'Lord Jesus Christ. There are many re- presentations thereof in scripture, borrowed from the affairs of men ; andthe characters which Our blessed Lord sustains, toge- ther with the respects that our faith and our salvation bear to him, under these characters, are chiefly such as these : h The first and most general character which our Lord Jesus Christ assumes, is that of a Saviour; by which name he is most frequently called in.theNew Testament. This is the very
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=