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rose again for our justification." He died for none, for whose sake he did not rise. And for whom did he rise? Who are they who are benefited by his resurrection? Those, surely, who 'shall come forth unto the resurrection of life.' 'Now Christ is risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that slept.'' The sleep here is not the sleep of death merely, which all undergo, but that refreshing rest to which the death of the righteous is compared, and which is called, by the same apostle, in another of his writings, sleeping in Jesus:-Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Then he adds, in language fully corroborative of the restricted extent of those who profit by his resurrection, 'Every man in his own order; Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." Those, then, to whom Christ in his resurrection stood in the relation of the first-fruits, are they who sleep in Christ, they who are Christ's, and not the whole race of mankind. And, from the connexion subsisting between his resurrection and his death, for these only can he be held to have died.

A similar relation subsists betwixt the death and the intercession of Christ. Such is the economy of our salvation, that his intercession is necessary to a participation of the fruits of his death. No one can ever partake of the latter without the former. Of course, he cannot be supposed to have died for any for whom he does not intercede, as he cannot be

2 Rom. iv. 25.

31 Cor. xv. 20. 41 Thess. iv. 14.

51 Cor. xv. 23.

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supposed to intercede for any for whom he has not died. And for whom does he make intercession? For all, or only some of the human race? Let us see. 'I PRAY NOT FOR THE WORLD, BUT FOR THEM WHICH THOU HAST GIVEN ME.'-'Father, I will that THEY WHOM THOU HAST GIVEN ME, be with me where I am.' If he died for all, how comes it that he prays only for some? Are there any for whom he died, for whom he neglects or refuses to pray? The thing is incredible, impossible, on every view that can be taken of the Redeemer's character and work. If he died for all, he must pray for all; and, if he prays for all, all must be saved, for him the Father heareth always. But the intercession of Christ is manifestly special and restricted, as respects the persons who are the subjects of it. Whence, we feel warranted to conclude, that an analogous restriction attends his death.

The work of Christ and that of the Holy Spirit are also closely connected, and bear an exact correspondence the one to the other. It is not our object to trace this correspondence extensively. The fact, however, is abundantly evident. This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood: and it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth." The ancient ceremony of the two birds, one of which was to be killed in an earthen vessel over running water, and the other to be dipt alive in the

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blood of the slain bird, significantly prefigured this connexion. Nor do the writers of the new testament fail to call our attention to the circumstance. "The blessing of Abraham comes on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." God's having 'sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law,' bears a distinct relation to His 'sending forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father."9 How appropriate and expressive, in this view, was the act of the divine Saviour, when, just after his resurrection from the dead, 'he breathed on the disciples, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.' In the economy of redemption, they bear so close a relation to one another, as to induce the belief that they must necessarily be coextensive as regards those who are their objects. The connexion is, indeed, inseparable. If the atonement removes the legal obstructions to man's salvation, the Spirit removes such as are moral; but it were alike preposterous and nugatory to conceive that there are any who enjoy the one without the other, any who are delivered by Christ from the condemnation, without being rescued by the Spirit from the power, of sin. If the atonement opens the door of the heavenly sanctuary, the Spirit's work is necessary to fit for inhabiting the holy place; and it were of no avail that the one of these were secured for any without the

8. Gal. iii. 14.

9 Gal. iv. 4—6.

10 John xx. 22.

other. If the atonement of Christ lays the foundation, the Spirit by his work rears the superstructure of grace; but it were a reflection alike on the wisdom and goodness of our covenant God, to suppose that there are any who possess the former of these blessings without the latter, which is necessary to its perfection and utility. The question, then, comes to be, do all receive the gift of the Spirit? Are all actually regenerated, sanctified, and put in possession of eternal life? If not, we have no ground for supposing that all are interested in the atoning virtue of Christ's precious blood; for, as we have seen, the work of Christ and the fruits of the Spirit have a corresponding extent. 'He who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.' This is good reasoning, but it is fatal to the opinion we are combating, as it infallibly establishes that all for whom God delivered up his own Son shall certainly come to the enjoyment of every fruit of his purchase.

6. Some weight is deserving of being attached to the limited application and even revelation of the atone

ment.

The argument from the limited application, is substantially involved in what we have already said respecting the nature of atonement, and its inseparable connexion with the work of the Spirit. Of the designed extent of Christ's atonement, we may judge from that of its influence. Is the effect or application of the atonement universal or restricted? Restricted, as we have already seen is acknow

ledged on all hands. But as the omnipotent and omniscient God cannot fail in any of his designs, the actual effect lets us know the extent of the designed effect. Betwixt these there can never exist any proper disagreement. And as the effects of atonement, namely, redemption, reconciliation, sanctification, and glory, extend but to some, we are bound to apply to the atonement itself a similar restriction in the designed extent of its subjects.

Even the limited extent to which the atonement has been revealed, would seem to point to the same conclusion. A knowledge of the fact, is, according to the plan of our salvation, necessary, in the case of adults, to a participation in its fruits. 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved:' but 'faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God;' and 'how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher?' It seems to follow from this, that all for whom the remedy revealed in the gospel is designed, must be put in possession of the gospel. They must believe that they may be saved;—they must know that they may believe;-and they must hear that they may know. Many, for whose ultimate benefit the remedy itself is not secretly designed, may possess the revelation of it; but all, for whom it is so designed, must. Now, in connexion with this, consider the limited diffusion of the gospel. In every age of the world, the revelation of mercy has been, in fact, restricted to a few. In ancient times, the Almighty showed his word to Jacob and his judgments to

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