work of his gospel. And here I shall close up what I have said, desiring thee (if thou be a christian) to pray for him who desires to continue

Thy servant in the Lord Jesus Christ, though less than the least of all saints,

JOHN BUNYAN.

TO THE READER,

READER, thou hast in this small treatise, set before thee, the several pieces of that great and glorious mystery, Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh: And if thou art enlightened by the Spirit of Christ, here thou mayest see by that Spirit how Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Son of Mary, is both true God and true Man, both natures making but one Christ, one Jesus, as Phi. ii. 5–9. where speaking first of his being God, and then of his taking upon him the nature of man; afterwards in the 8th and 9th verses, he saith, he (meaning this Jesus) humbled himself, &c., and God (meaning the Father) hath highly exalted him, &c. speaking of both natures God and man as together making but one Christ; who is the Saviour, and is to be believed and trusted in for salvation not only as God, but as man also; and those who do not thus make him the object of their faith, will surely fall short of pardon of sin, and of salvation; 'through this man (speaking of Christ as crucified at Jerusalem) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: Ac. xiii. 38. And saith he, there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;' 1 Ti. ii. 5. and this discovers the damnable errors of those commonly called Socinians, who on the one hand deny him that was born of the Virgin Mary to be true God as well as true Man: And this is also quite contrary to those commonly called Familists, Ranters, Quakers, or others, who on the other hand either deny Christ to be a real Man without them, blasphemously fancying him to be only God manifest in their flesh; or else make his human nature with the fulness of the godhead in it, to be but a type of God, to be manifest in the saints, and so according to their wicked imagination, his human nature was to be laid aside after he had offered it up on the cross without the gate at Jerusalem, contrary to Ac. i. 1 -3, 9-11. compared with the last chapter of Luke, ver. 39, 40, 50, 51. where it is clearly held forth, that the man Christ rose again out of the grave, with the same body which was crucified and laid in the grave, and was taken up above the clouds into heaven with the same real body, and that he shall again descend from heaven in that same glorious body of flesh, as Ac. i. 9—11. And this sure truth of Christ being the Saviour and Mediator, as Man,

and not only as God, will also shew serious believers what to think of some, who though they will not (it may be) deny that Christ is a real man without them in the heavens as well as God, yet do own him to be the Saviour only as God, first dwelling in that flesh that was born of the Virgin, and then dwelling in saints, and thus both beginning and perfecting their salvation within them, and so indeed do hold Christ as Man, to be only (I say to be only) the saved or glorified one of God, together with the saints his members, only something in another and more glorious manner and measure than the saints; and these high-flown people are in this very like to Familists and Quakers, undervaluing the Lord Jesus Christ, Godman, and though they may speak much of Christ, yet they do not rightly and savingly lay him for their foundation.

Now as a help against all these dangerous things, thou hast here the main things of Christ laid down before thee briefly, and fully proved by the scriptures:

First, Of his being true God out of flesh from eternity, and then of his taking flesh, or the nature of man upon him in the womb of the Virgin, and so his fulfilling the law, his dying for sins at Jerusalem, his rising again without, his ascending into heaven without, and not into a fancied heaven only within, as some say; his interceding in heaven for all his, and his coming again in his body of flesh to judge the world. And if thou art yet in a state of nature, though covered over with an outside profession, here thou mayest find something (if the Spirit of Christ meet thee in reading) to convince thee of the sad condition thou art in, and to shew thee the righteousness thou art to fly to by faith, and to trust in for salvation, when convinced of sin; which is a righteousness wrought by that God-man Jesus Christ without thee, dying without thee at Jerusalem for sinners: here also thou mayest see the difference between true and false faith. If thou art a true believer, as these things are the foundation of thy faith, so they may be of great use for thee to meditate upon, and to exercise thy faith in, particularly in meditation, and in this way to seek daily for a higher faith in these truths, to be given into thy heart from heaven; and there is a great need of this, for though these truths be commonly known amongst profes

Secondly, These truths being put thus together, and plainly proved by the scriptures, may be a great help (through the Spirit concurring) to strengthen thee against all those damnable heresies which are spread abroad, which deny the Lord Jesus Christ either plainly, or more cunningly and mysteriously. And

Thirdly, The more thou art rooted and set down from heaven in the faith of these truths of Christ, to believe fully the glorious reality of them, and their interest in them, the more heavenly peace and joy thou wilt have, 1 Pc. i. 7, 8. and also thou wilt hereby attain the more true holiness and purity of heart and life, purifying their hearts by faith.' Ac. xv. 9. And then the more thou hast of the right faith of Christ, and of his things in thy heart, the more strong and valiant wilt thou be in spirit, to do any work private or public for Jesus Christ, like Stephen, who being full of faith, and of the Holy Spirit, was also full of power. Ac. vi. 8.

In this book thou hast also laid down from the scriptures, how Jesus Christ is without the saints as Man, and yet dwelleth within them, that is, something of his divine nature or his blessed Spirit dwells within them, which Spirit is sometime called, The Spirit of Christ. Ro. viii. 9. He that hath not the Spirit of Christ, &c. and sometime called Christ, If Christ be in you.' &c. Ro. viii. 10. And also how we may know whether it be Christ and the Spirit of Christ within, or a false spirit calling itself Christ, and that is thus; If it be indeed Christ within, that is, the Spirit of Christ God-man; why then it teaches that man or woman in whom it is, to apply, and trust in Christ without for salvation; Christ as born of the Virgin Mary, as fulfilling the law without them, as dying without the gate of Jerusalem as a sacrifice for sin; it teaches them to trust in the Man Christ as rising again out of the grave without them, as ascending into, and interceding in heaven without for them; and as to come from that heaven again in his flesh to judge the world. Thus the man Christ himself saith, When he (the Spirit of truth) is come, &c. he shall glorify me.' Jn. xvi. 13, 14. He shall make you more to prize, admire and glorify me, who am both God and man, and who shall be absent from you touching my body. Then follows, for he shall take of mine (of my glorious things) and shew them to you; he shall take my divine and human nature, my birth, my person and offices, my obedience, death, satisfaction, my resurrection,

in the clouds with my mighty angels to judgment, and shall shew them, or clear them up to you: He shall take of my salvation, which I have wrought for you in my own person without you: And he shall take of my glory and exaltation in the heavens, and shew to you. Now to mind this one thing, and to be set down in a right understanding of it, by the Spirit, from the scriptures, will be of great concernment to thee and me; for, for want of this, many professors have split themselves, some looking only on what Christ hath done and suffered without them, resting in an historical, traditional, and indeed a fancied faith of it, without looking for the Spirit of Jesus Christ to come with power into their hearts, without which they cannot rightly know, nor rightly believe in Christ the Son of God without them, so as to have any share or interest in him, 'If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.' Ro. viii. 9. Others have been depending too much upon something they call Christ, and the righteousness of Christ within them, in opposition to Christ and his righteousness without them, from which all true saints have their justification and comfort, it being received through the operation of the Spirit which dwells in them; and however these may talk much of Christ within them, yet it is manifest, that it is not the Spirit of Christ, but the spirit of the devil; in that it doth not glorify, but slight and reject the man Christ and his righteousness which was wrought without them: Reader, in this book thou wilt not meet with high flown airy notions, which some delight in, counting them high mysteries, but the sound, plain, common, (and yet spiritual and mysterious) truths of the gospel, and if thou art a believer, thou must needs reckon them so, and the more, if thou hast not only the faith of them in thy heart, but art daily living in the spiritual sense and feeling of them, and of thy interest in them. Neither doth this treatise offer to thee doubtful controversial things, or matters of opinion, as some books chiefly do, which when insisted upon, the weightier things of the gospel have always done more hurt than good: But here thou hast things certain, and necessary to be believed, which thou canst not too much study. Therefore pray, that thou mayest receive this word which is according to the scriptures in faith and love, not as the word of man, but as the word of God, without respect of persons, and be not offended because Christ holds forth the glorious treasure of the gospel to thee in a poor earthen vessel, by one who hath neither the greatness nor the wisdom of this world to commend him to thee; for as the scripture, saith Christ, (who was low and contemptible in the world himself) ordinarily chooseth such for himself, and for the doing of his work. 1 Co. 1. 26-28.

company of such poor souls as had by transgression fallen from their own innocency and uprightness, into those wicked inventions that they themselves had sought out. Ec. vii. 29. The agreement also how this should be, was made before the foundation of the world was laid. Tit. i. 2. The Apostle, speaking of the promise, or covenant made between God and the Saviour (for that is his meaning,) saith on this wise; In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began.' Now this promise, or covenant was made with none but with the Son of God, the Saviour. And it must needs be so; for there was none with God before the world began, but he by whom he made the world, as in Pr. viii. from ver. 22 to ver. 31. which was and is, the Son of his love.

This covenant, or bargain, had these conditions in it.

First, That the Saviour should take upon him flesh and blood, the same nature that the sons of men were partakers of (sin only excepted) He. ii. 14. He. iv. 15. And this was the will or agreement that God had made with him: And therefore when he speaks of doing the will of God, He. x. 5. he saith, 'a body hast thou prepared me,' (as according to thy promise, Ge. iii. 15. which I was to take of a woman,) and in it I am come to do thy will, O God, as it is written of me in the volume of thy book.

ver. 7.

Second, The Saviour was to bring everlasting righteousness to justify sinners withal. Da. ix. 24, 25. The Messias, or Saviour, shall bring in everlasting righteousness, and put an end to iniquity, as it is there written, To make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.' This, I say, was to be brought into the world by the Saviour, according to the covenant, or agreement, that was between God and Christ before the world began, which God, that cannot lie, promised at that time. Tit. i. 2. Third, He was to accomplish this, everlasting righteousness by spilling his most precious blood, according to the terms of the covenant, or bargain; and therefore when God would shew his people what the agreement was that he and the Saviour had made, even before the covenant was accomplished and sealed actually. See for this Zec. ix. (where he is speaking of him that should be the Saviour,) v. 11. As for thee spoken the covenant was also (meaning the Saviour) by not actually sealed, for the blood of thy covenant,' or blood of Christ was let as some render it, whose covenant is by blood (which is all to one purpose) I (meaning God) have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.' The meaning is this: As for thee also, seeing the covenant, or bargain that was made between me and thee before the world was, is accomplished in

When these words were

that was done when the

out upon the cross.

To be holy and without blame is that which God

intended for us in that glorious covenant; and by it alone we are holy

and without blame be

fore him in love; for we

my account, as if it were actually and really done, with all the conditions that were agreed upon by me and thee; I have therefore, according to that agreement that was on my part, sent forth the prisoners, and those that were under the curse of my law, out of the pit wherein there is no water; seeing thou also hast completely fulfilled in my account whatsoever was on thy part to be done, according to our agreement. And thus is that place to be understood in Jn. xvii. 9. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me' (which I covenanted with thee for) 'thine they were and thou gavest them me,' (but on such and such conditions as are beforementioned, Zec. ix.) And again, According as he hath chosen us in him, (that is, in Christ,) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.' Ep. i. 4. Now, seeing this was thus concluded upon by those that did wish well to the souls and bodies of poor sinners, after the world was made by them, and after they had said, 'let us make man in our image, after our likeness.' Ge. i. 26. And after man, whom God had made upright, had by transgression fallen from that state into which God at first placed him, and thrown himself into a miserable condition by his transgression, then God brings out of his love that which he and his Son had concluded upon, and begins now to make forth that to the world, which he had purposed in himself before the world began, Ep. i. 4, 9; 2 Ti. i. 9. 1. Now the first discovery that was made to a lost creature of the love of God, was made to fallen Adam. Ge. iii. 15. Where it is said, 'I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed;' which is the Saviour, Ga. iv.4. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.' This was the first discovery of the love of God to lost man: This was the gospel which was preached to Adam in his generation; in these words was held forth to them in that generation, that which should be farther accomplished in after generations.

are complete in him alone, with whom the covenant was made. Co. ii. 10; Tit. i. 2.

2. Another discovery of the love of God in the gospel, was held forth to Noah, in that he would have him to prepare an ark to save himself withal; which ark did type out the Lord that was to come, and be the Saviour of those whom he before had covenanted for with God the Father. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; make thee an ark of gopher wood.' Ge. vi. 13, 14. and ch. vii. 1. "The Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.'

3. God breaks out with a farther discovery of himself in love to that generation in which Abraham lived, Where he saith, And in thee, (that is, from thee shall Christ come through, in whom) shall all families of the earth be blessed.' Ge. xii. 3. This was also a farther manifestation of the good will of God to poor lost sinners; and through this discovery of the gospel, did Abraham see that which made him rejoice. Jn viii. 56.

4. When the time was come that Moses was to be a prophet to the people of his generation, then God did more gloriously yet break forth with one type after another, as the blood of bulls, and lambs, and goats: Also sacrifices of divers manners, and of several things, which held forth that Saviour more clearly which God had in his own purpose and decree determined to be sent; for these things (the types) were a shadow of that which was to come, which was the substance. He. ix. 9, 10. He. x. 1, 6-7. Now when these things were thus done, when God had thus signified to the world, what he intended to do in after times, presently all that had faith to believe that God would be as good as his word, began to look for, and to expect that the Lord should accomplish and bring to pass what he had promised, what his hand and counsel had before determined to be done.

(1.) Now Abraham begins to look for what God had promised and signified; namely, that he would send a Saviour into the world in his appointed time, which thing being promised, Abraham embraces, being persuaded of the certainty of it; as in He. xi. 18. And this did fill his heart with joy and gladness, as I said before; for he saw it, and was glad.' Jn. viii. 56.

(2.) Jacob also, while he was blessing his sons, concerning things to come, breaks forth with these words, I have waited for thy salvation.' Ge. xlix. 18. He was also put in expectation of salvation to come by this Saviour.

(3.) David was in earnest expectation of this, which was held forth by types and shadows in the law; for as yet the Saviour was not come, which made him cry out with a longing after it, O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Sion.' Ps. liii. 6. And again, 'O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Sion!' Ps. xiv. 7. The thing that David waited for, was not in his time come, though before his time it was promised; which makes him cry out, O that it were come, that it were come out of Sion! Where, by the way, take notice, that the true salvation and Saviour of Israel was to come out of Sion, that is, out of the church of God, touching the flesh, as it is written; A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me. De. xviii. 15, 18. And again, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. Ps. Ixxxix. 19.

and Ro. ix. 5. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever.' Christ, as concerning the flesh, did come of the fathers.

(4.) Isaiah did prophesy of this, that God would thus save his people; yea, he breaks forth with these words, But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation.' Is. xlv. 17. He also tells them how it shall be accomplished in that 53d chapter. Yea, he had such a glorious taste of the reality of it, that he speaks as though it had been actually done.

(5.) In the days of Jeremiah, this that God had promised to the fathers, was not yet accomplished; in ch. xxiii. 5. he saith, 'Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will (mark, it was not yet done) but I will (saith God) raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name wherewith he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

(6.) He was also to come in Zechariah's time, Zec. iii. 8. Where he saith, 'for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.'

(7.) He was not come in the time of Malachi neither, though he was indeed at that time near his coming. For he saith himself, Behold, I will send my messenger, (meaning John the baptist,) and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.' Mal. iii. 1; see also Is. xl. 3; Lu. i. 76.

(8.) Old Simeon did also wait for the consolation of Israel a long time. Lu. ii. 25. Where it is said, 'And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.' That is, waiting for him that was to be the Saviour, as is clear, if you read with understanding a little farther: And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.' ver. 26.

God has a Christ, one distinct

from all other things whatsoever that is called Christ, whether they be spirit or body, or both spirit and body, and this is signified, where he saith, the Lord's Christ.

And thus have I in brief shewed you, 1. That there is such a thing as Christ. 2. That this Christ was promised and signified out by many things before he did come. 3. How he was waited for, and expected before the time that God had appointed in the which he should come.

The SECOND THING that I will (through the strength of Christ) prove, is this, THAT HE THAT WAS OF THE VIRGIN, IS HE THAT IS THE SAVIOUR.

FIRST, And first, I shall lay down this for a truth; That it is not any Spirit only by, and of