Christian Classics
‹ The Doctrine of Justification by Faith
Contents
The Doctrine of Justification by Faith, through the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ; explained, confirmed, and vindicated.Prefatory note.To the reader.The general nature of justificationA due consideration of God necessaryOur apostasy from GodOpposition between works and graceCommutation as unto sin and righteousnessIntroduction of grace by Jesus ChristPrejudices against imputation of righteousness of ChristInfluence of doctrine of justification at the ReformationChapter I. Justifiying faith; the causes and object of it declared.Chapter II. The nature of justifying faith.Chapter III. The use of faith in justification; its especial object farther cleared.Chapter IV. Of justification; the notion and signification of the word in Scripture.Chapter V. The distinction of a first and second justification examined. The continuation of justification: whereon it does depend.Chapter VI. Evangelical personal righteousness, the nature and use of it. Final judgement, and its respect unto justification.Chapter VII. Imputation, and the nature of it; with the imputation of the righteousness of Christ in particular.Chapter VIII. Imputation of the sins of the church unto Christ. Grounds of it. The nature of his suretiship. Causes of the new covenant. Christ and the church one mystical person. Consequents thereof. · Part 1Chapter VIII. Imputation of the sins of the church unto Christ. Grounds of it. The nature of his suretiship. Causes of the new covenant. Christ and the church one mystical person. Consequents thereof. · Part 2Chapter VIII. Imputation of the sins of the church unto Christ. Grounds of it. The nature of his suretiship. Causes of the new covenant. Christ and the church one mystical person. Consequents thereof. · Part 3Chapter VIII. Imputation of the sins of the church unto Christ. Grounds of it. The nature of his suretiship. Causes of the new covenant. Christ and the church one mystical person. Consequents thereof. · Part 4Chapter IX. The formal cause of justification, or the righteousness on the account whereof believers are justified before God. Objections answered.Chapter X. Arguments of justification by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ — The first argument from the nature and use of our own personal righteousness.Chapter XI. The nature of the obedience that God requires of us. The eternal obligation of the law thereunto.Chapter XII. The imputation of the obedience of Christ unto the law declared and vindicated. · Part 1Chapter XII. The imputation of the obedience of Christ unto the law declared and vindicated. · Part 2Chapter XII. The imputation of the obedience of Christ unto the law declared and vindicated. · Part 3Chapter XIII. The nature of justification proved from the difference of the covenants.Chapter XIV. The exclusion of all sorts of works from an interest in justification. What is intended by “the law,” and the “works” of it, in the epistles of Paul.Chapter XV. Faith alone.Chapter XVI. The truth pleaded farther confirmed by testimonies of Scripture. Jer. xxiii. 6.Chapter XVII. Testimonies out of the evangelists considered.Romans iii.–v.Romans iii. 24–26Romans iv.Romans v. 12–21Romans x. 3, 41 Corinthians i. 302 Corinthians v. 21Galatians ii. 16Ephesians ii. 8–10Philippians iii. 8, 9Chapter XIX. Objections against the doctrine of justification by the imputation of righteousness of Christ. Personal holiness and obedience not obstructed, but furthered by it.Chapter XX. The doctrine of the apostle James concerning faith and works. Its agreement with that of St Paul.

John Owen · 39 of 45

1 Corinthians i. 30

The next place I shall consider in the epistles of this apostle is, —

1 Cor. i. 30. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and , and , and .”

The design of the apostle in these words is to manifest, that whatever is wanting unto us on any account that we may please God, live unto him, and come to the enjoyment of him, that we have in and, by Jesus Christ; and this on the part of God from mere free and , as verses 26–29 do declare. And we have all these things by virtue of our insition or implantation in him: ἐξ αὐτοῦ, — “from,” “of,” or “by him.” He by his is the principal, efficient cause hereof. And the effect is, that we are “in Christ Jesus,” — that is, ingrafted in him, or united unto him, as members of his mystical body; which is the constant sense of that expression in the Scripture. And the benefits which we receive hereby are enumerated in the following words. But, first, the way whereby we are made partakers of them, or they are communicated unto us, is declared: “Who of God is made unto us.” It is so ordained of God, that he himself shall be made or become all this unto us: Ὃς ἐγενήθη ἡμῖν ἀπὸ Θεοῦ, where ἀπό denotes the efficient cause, as ἐξ did before. But how is Christ thus made unto us of God, or what act of God is it that is intended thereby? Socinus says it is “a general act of the of God, it is come to pass, or is so fallen out, that one way or other the Lord Christ should be said to be all this unto us.” But it is an especial and institution of God’s and wisdom, designing Christ to be all this unto us and for us, with actual thereon, and nothing else, that is intended. Whatever interest, therefore, we have in Christ, and whatever benefit we have by him, it all depends on the and constitution of God, and not on any thing in ourselves. Whereas, then, we have no of our own, he is appointed of God to be our “,” and is made so unto us: which can be no otherwise, but that his is made ours; for he is made it unto us (as he is likewise the other things mentioned) so as that all boasting, that is in ourselves, should be utterly excluded, and that “he that glorieth should glory in the Lord,” verses 29–31. Now, there is such a , or such a way of being righteous, whereon we may have somewhat to glory, Rom. iv. 2, and which does not exclude boasting, chap. iii. 27. And this cannot possibly be but when our is inherent in us; for that, however it may be procured, or purchased, or wrought in us, is yet our own, so far as any thing can be our own whilst we are creatures. This kind of , therefore, is here excluded. And the Lord Christ being so made unto us of God as that all boasting and glorying on our part, or in ourselves, may be excluded, — yea, being made so for this very end, that so it should be, — it can be no otherwise but by the of his unto us; for thereby is the of God, the honour of his person and mediation exalted, and all occasion of glorying in ourselves utterly prescinded. We desire no more from this testimony, but that whereas we are in ourselves destitute of all in the sight of God, Christ is, by a gracious act of divine , made of God unto us, in such a way as that all our glorying ought to be in the of God, and the of Christ himself. Bellarmine attempts three answers unto this testimony, the two first whereof are coincident; and, in the third, being on the rack of light and truth, he confesses, and grants all that we plead for. 1. He says, “That Christ is said to be our , because he is the efficient cause of it, as God is said to be our strength; and so there is in the words a metonymy of the effect for the cause.” And I say it is true, that the Lord Christ by his Spirit is the efficient cause of our personal, inherent . By his it is effected and wrought in us; he renews our natures into the image of God, and without him we can do nothing: so that our habitual and actual is from him. But this personal is our , and nothing else. And although the same internal habit of inherent , with operations suitable thereunto, be sometimes called our , and sometimes our , with respect unto those operations, yet is it never distinguished into our and our . But his being made unto us in this place is absolutely distinct from his being made unto us; which is that inherent which is wrought in us by the Spirit and of Christ. And his working personal in us, which is our , and the of his unto us, whereby we are made righteous before God, are not only consistent, but the one of them cannot be without the other.

2. He pleads, “That Christ is said to be made unto us, as he is made . Now, he is our , because he has us. So is he said to be made unto us, because by him we become righteous;” or, as another speaks, “because by him alone we are .” This is the same plea with the former, — namely, that there is a metonymy of the effect for the cause in all these expressions; yet what cause they intend it to be who expound the words, “By him alone we are ,” I do not understand. But Bellarmine is approaching yet nearer the truth: for as Christ is said to be made of God unto us, because by his blood we are , or freed from sin, death, and hell, by the ransom he paid for us, or have through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins; so he is said to be made unto us, because through his granted unto us of God (as God’s making him to be unto us, and our becoming the of God in him, and the of his unto us, that we may be righteous before God, are the same), we are .

His third answer, as was before observed, grants the whole of what we plead; for it is the same which he gives unto Jer. xxiii. 6: which place he conjoins with this, as of the same sense and importance, giving up his whole cause in satisfaction unto them, in the words before described, lib. ii. cap. 10.

Socinus prefaces his answer unto this testimony with an admiration that any should make use of it, or plead it in this cause, it is so impertinent unto the purpose. And, indeed, a pretended contempt of the arguments of his adversaries is the principal artifice he makes use of in all his replies and evasions; wherein I am sorry to see that he is followed by most of them who, together with him, do oppose the of the of Christ. And so of late the use of this testimony, which reduced Bellarmine to so great a strait, is admired at on the only ground and reason wherewith it is opposed by Socinus. Yet are his exceptions unto it such as that I cannot also but a little, on the other hand, wonder that any learned man should be troubled with them, or seduced by them; for he only pleads, “That if Christ be said to be made unto us because his is unto us, then is he said to be made wisdom unto us because his wisdom is so , and so of his ; which none will allow: yea, he must be for us, and his be unto us.” But there is nothing of force nor truth in this pretence: for it is built only on this supposition, that Christ must be made unto us of God all these things in the same way and manner; whereas they are of such different natures that it is utterly impossible he should so be. For instance, he is made unto us, in that by his Spirit and we are freely ; but he cannot be said to be made unto us, in that by his Spirit and we are freely . And if he is said to be made unto us, because by his Spirit and he works inherent in us, then is it plainly the same with his being made unto us. Neither does he himself believe that Christ is made all these things unto us in the same way and manner; and therefore does he not assign any special way whereby he is so made them all, but clouds it in an ambiguous expression, that he becomes all these things unto us in the of God. But ask him in particular, how Christ is made unto us, and he will tell you that it was by his doctrine and example alone, with some such general assistance of the Spirit of God as he will allow. But now, this is no way at all whereby Christ was made unto us; which being a thing external, and not wrought in us, Christ can be no otherwise made unto us than by the unto us of what he did that we might be , or reckoning it on our account; — not that he was for us, as he childishly cavils, but that he did that whereby we are . , Christ is made of God unto us in such a way and manner as the nature of the thing does require. Say some, “It is because by him we are .” the text says not that by him we are , but that he is of God made unto us; which is not our , but the ground, cause, and reason whereon we are . is one thing, and is another. we must inquire how we come to have that whereby we are ; and this the same apostle tells us plainly is by : “Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord ,” Rom. iv. 6. It follows, then, that Christ being made unto us of God , can have no other sense but that his is unto us, which is what this text does undeniably confirm.