THE a Conversation of sur Saviour with Nicovemus ILLUSTRATED- QB Sermon, ST. PAUL’S CHURCH, DEDHAM, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 1821, BEFORE THE ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. WITH NOTES, AND AN APPENDIX. IN WHICH fhe Suwdbject of Regeneration 18S MORE LARGELY CONSIDERED. ° BY SAMUEL FARMAR JARVIS, D. Dz. Rector of St, Paul’s Chureh, Boston. eteeeee BOSTON : PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH W. INGRAHAM. 1822, mphlet Collection Duke Divinity School AT the annual eeting of the Convention of the Protestant Epis- copal Church, in the state of Massachusetts, held at St. Paul's Church, in Dedham, June 20, A. D. 1821, It was voted, That the thanks of this Convention be. presented. to the Rev. Dr. Jarvrs, for his Sermon, this day delivered before the Convention, and that Stephen Codman, Samuel Lowder, and Wal- ter M’Farlan, Esquires, be a committee to request a copy for the press- A copy of record, Attest, THOMAS CARLILE, Secretary. Rev. Sm, In obedience to the foregoing. vote of- the Conyention of the Pro- testant Episcopal Church, in the state of Massachusetts, we do our- selves the honour to wait upon you, and to request that you will fur- nish for the press, a copy of the Sermon therein referred to, as soon as your convenience will permit. Very respectfully, we are, Reverend sir, your most obedient, and humble servants, STEPHEN CODMAN, SAMUEL LOWDER, Committee. WALTER M‘FARLAN, Dedham, June 20, 1821. Rey. SamuEt F. JArvis, D.D. Dedham, June 20, 1821- GENTLEMEN, I feel very sensibly the honour which the Convention has conferred upon me, in requesting, through you, a copy for the press, of the Sermon this day delivered before them. As the subject of it is, however, of great importance, and I am studious to avoid even the appearance of novelty in the interpretation of the scriptures, I wish to suspend the publication, till I cam find time to annex a few notes, and perhaps a short dissertation, referring the reader to some of the authorities on which the explanatory part of the Sermon is founded. With this reservation, I shall. consider it my duty to com- ply with the request of the Convention. I am, gentlemen, very respectfully, your most obedient, and hum- ble servant, ‘ SAMUEL FARMAR JARVIS. To Stephen Codman, Samuel Lowder, and Committee. * Walter M‘Farlan, Esquires, Boston, June 1, 1822. GENTLEMEN, The: publication of the Sermon, preached before the Jast annuat Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the state of Massachusetts, has been so long delayed, and the dissertation whick I thought of adding has insensibly grown to such a length, that I am unwilling to have the publication of the worl, in its present state, considered as authorized by the Convention of last year. I hate therefore made an arrangement to have the whole printed, and so” placed at the disposal of the approaching Convention, that as many copies may be laid on their table, as they shall think proper to or~ der. I am, gentlemen, very respectfully, your most obedient, and hum- ble servant, ' SAMUEL. F. JARVIS, To Stephen Codman, Samuel Lowder, and > Committee. Walter M‘Farlan, Esquires, SHRMON, ST. JOHN Ill. 8. HOW CAN THESE THINGS BE ? MY BRETHREN, Ws niione of the Jewish sanhedrim, the great council of the nation—a member also of the powerful and learned sect of the pharisees— came to visit our Saviour by night. “ Rabbi,” said he, “we,” the great council of the nation, the men of understanding, intelligence, power, and influence, “know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these mira- cles that thou doest, except’ God be with him.” It was a settled principle, in the Jewish theology, that miraculous agency was the sure test of a divine commission; and the rulers and the phari- sees knew, in their hearts, that our Lord was a teacher come from God, though, from corrupt motives, they endeavoured to persuade themselves and the people to the contrary.* Nicodemus was * See Note A, “ei 3 more sincere and honest than the great body of his associates, but still he was afraid of a pub- lick disclosure of his sentiments with regard to the characte? of Jesus. He therefore sought to save his popularity on the one hand, and te sooth and satisfy his conscience on the other, by coming to visit our Lord at mght, and thus making a se- cret acknowledgment of belief in his divine mis- sion. ‘There is a very peculiar characteristick of the conversations of our Saviour, which will oc- cur, I am persuaded, with great force to your ~ minds; I mean, his addressing his reply to the secret thoughts of men, rather than to their words. Omniscience was an attribute of Jesus. “He knew,” says the evangelist, “ what was in man :”’* and he declares of himself, that he “searcheth the reins and _ hearts.” When he was asked by a young man, eminent for his wealth, and a strict observer of the moral law, what he should do to obtain eternal life, his answer was “Sell what thou hast and give to the poor.” His all-seeing eye detected the weak spot inthe character of this youth, expos- ed his mordinate attachment to wealth, and subjected his sincerity to the only test by which * John ii. 25. } Rey. ii. 23. Compare this text with Jer. xvii. 10, to which itis, to say the least, a manifest allusion. In the latter, it is spoken by Jehovah; in the former, by our Saviour. The conclusion appears to be inevitable, that Christ is Jehovah. 3 it could be effectually tried. In like manner, did he answer this ruler of the Jews; not by ex- pressions of pleasure that one so high in rank and influence should make so unexpected and so gra- tifying an acknowledgment; not by commending him for his profession, and conferring with him on the best means of inducing the men in authori- ty to follow his example; but by going directly to his heart, and touching that weakness which made him come, in private, and by night, to pro- fess his belief in the Son of God. « Verily, veri- ly, lsay unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” It was customary among the Jews, when they admitted proselytes from heathenism into the Mosaick covenant, to wash or baptize them with water; and it was expressly required, that this should not be done in the nght, that there might be nothing hidden or secret in the profession.— The proselytes then laid aside them former gar- ments, and put on others which were entirely new, changed their names, renounced all the ties of natural affinity, and were called and considered as new born.* But this baptism was adminis- tered only to proselytes, or those born in a heathen state, but never to Jews, or those born under the Mbosaick covenant.t Hence it was that Nicodemus did not understand the scope of our Sayiour’s expression. He naturally * See Note B. {See Note C. 6 supposed that it had some reference to hiniself; but, as the figurative sense of a new birth was in common language applied only to heathens, it did not occur to him ‘that he, who was born a Jew, and was, moreover, advanced m years, and eminent for his learning and authority, could in any figura- tive sense be required to be born again. In this perplexity, he asked, “How ‘can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” ‘To this, our Saviour replied im the same authoritative manner, but with the addition ‘of a few words, which were sufficient to show that it was the figurative sense of the new birth which he m- tended to convey, and that under the gospel dispensation it was as applicable to a Jew as toa heathen, and to an old person as toa child. “ Ver ly, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter imto the kingdom of God.” The expression “ kingdom of heaven,” or «kingdom of God,” is used in the seripturés to denote the Christian church, or the ‘great society of the faithful; and it is used in two Sen- ses according to the two states of being in — which the church exists. Sometimes, it denotes the kmgdom of God on earth, the chureh mili- tant; at others, the kingdom of God in heaven, the church triumphant. The admission into these two states of ‘being of the same society, is ex- pressed in the new testament by the same term, 7 “regeneration,” or new: birth. Thus in the, 19th chapter of St, Matthew, our Saviour says to his apostles, “ Verily I say. unto you, That ye which haye followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne. of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” The expression “ in the regeneration” is here somewhat ambiguous. The ancient commentators, almost without, exception, understand it to mean the admission into the kingdom of glory, or the church triumphant ; and hence they explain “in the regeneration,” meaning “in the resurrection, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones,” &c. Among mod- ern commentators, there is a greater diversity of sentiment; for, while some have sided with the ancients, others have understood the regeneration in this place as referring to the new state of things under the gospel, or, in other words, the kingdom of Christ on earth—the Christian church. All are agreed, however, that “the regeneration” re- fers to the Christian church; they differ only in explaining the manner of the apostolick authority ; the one understanding it of their authority in the church triumphant; the other of their authority in the church militant. ’ There is but one other passage in which the word “regeneration” occurs, and there it undoubtedly signifies admission into the kingdom of God, or the Christian church, on earth. “ After that the kinc- 8 ness and love of God our Saviour toward man ap- peared,” says St. Paul, “not by works of righteous ness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regenera- tion, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.”* "The washing or laver of regeneration, is baptism—that act by which we are brought into the state of regeneration, into the Christian church, or kingdom of God, on earth; the renew- ing of the Holy Ghost, is the constant influence of that Holy Spirit by which our inner man is* renewed day by day, and we are prepared, by the purification of our bodiesand our souls, for that higher state of regeneration which will commence at the resurrection—the church trium- phant, the kingdom of rest and glory. If, then, we bear in mind the extensive sense in which the term regeneration is used in the scriptures, as denoting admission into the Christian church, in its earthly and in its heavenly state of being, we shall be enabled clearly to understand the meaning of our Savicur, in his remarkable declaration to Nicodemus: “ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he camot enter into the kingdom of God.” As if he had said, “ Thou art come to acknowledge thy belief in my divine mission, but thou art come secretly, and by night. In thy heart thou believest me to be the Messiah ; * Tit, ili, 4—6. 3 but thou art afraid of the consequences of an open profession of thy belief. This is not the — disposition which qualifies thee to be my disciple. If thou wilt enter into my kingdom of grace on earth, thou must make the same publick profession, which a proselyte from heathenism does, when he becomesa Jew. Thou must be baptized; baptized in the day time and in publick ; bormagain of water. Thou must give up all thy worldly connexions, if they are opposed to me, and renounce every thing which is inconsistent with thy faith. Thow must be content to be considered as a new-born child, admitted into a new state of being, subject to new laws, and connected with me as thy Head and Master. But my kingdom extends beyond the present, to another world; and if thou wilt enter into the kingdom of glory in heaven, thou must not only be born of water, butof the Spirit.” When a heathen was born again as asa Jew, he was washed with water, but his baptism con- veyed no promise of any spiritual influences, on his heart. In this respect it differed entirely from the Christian baptism; for that conveys an express, though a conditional promise, of the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Repent,” said St. Peter to the converted Jews, on the day of pentecost, “repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy © Ghost. For the promise (namely, ‘the promise 2 10 of the Holy Ghost) is unto: you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.’"* Hence our Saviour added, “ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” That new birth of a heathen proselyte, which consists in the mere external ceremony of washing the body, is a carnal ordi nance, but that new birth of the Spirit, which is conditionally promised in the Christian baptism, -and which must be effected if you wish to enter the kingdom of glory, consists in the purification of thesoul.t “ Marvel not’ therefore “that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.” The new birth of the Christian dispensation, being that of the Spirit as well as of water, “ marvel not that I said unto thee, ye” Jews by nature “must be born again,” as well as the heathens, if you wish to enter my kingdom. This purification of the body and soul, which the members of my king- dom are bound and empowered to accomplish, is as necessary for youas for them. Our Saviour saw that Nicodemus was in doubt and perplexity; and still addressing himself to what he knew to be his thoughts, he proceeded'to obviate, by an apt similitude, an objection which — he perceived had arisen in his mind. “ The wind,” said he, “ bloweth where it listeth, and thou hear- est the sound thereol, but canst not tell whence it * Acts ii. 38. + Note D. il cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” In our language, the illustration loses much of that beauty and force, which it has in the original, where the same word denotes both wind and spirit. The wind is invisible, and superiour to our control. We know nothing of its existence and its operations but by its effects. We see the clouds driven by its force; we hear it sighing among the leaves of the forest ; we feel its refreshing coolness. Some- times it seems to be suspended, and we should almost doubt of its existence, if we did not per- ceive the thistle’s down to be floating gently along its current. It is so with the operations of the Spirit of God upon the soul of man. We know its presence by its effects. We are told that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek- ness, temperance.”* When we feel these holy motions, we may be sure that the Spirit of God is breathing upon our hearts. And even when the corrupting pleasures and occupations of the world have deadened its influence, and all that is holy seems to be expiring in the soul, there may still be some gentle, undulating motion, some solitary and some slight act of goodness, which will show that the divine principle of life is not wholly spent, that the sinner may yet revive, and be saved from everlasting death. Such was the illustration which our Saviour * Galiy.) 22) 9c: 12 gave of his doctrine concerning that new birth of the Spirit which must be accomplished in the hearts of his disciples before they can enter inte the kingdom of glory. But the mind of the Jew- ish ruler still remained in doubt. It was a doc- trine of which he had not been aceustomed to think. It required a complete revulsion in the current of opinion. It put to flight his lofty notions of pre-eminence. It placed him on a leyel with the humble gentile proselyte. It made him feel that admission into the kingdom of God was a privilege for which he must sue as a penitent. And amid the struggles of pride, and the conflict of anxious uncertainty, he exclaimed, “How can these things be?” To this our Saviour replied, by a reproof which was fitted to humble him still more. “Art thou a master of - Israel, and knowest not these things?” It has been well observed by Dr. Campbell, that the expression in the original is still more pointed than in our translation. “Art thou the teacher of Israel, and knowest not these things ?” It is probable that the Jews had given the appella- tion of “the teacher of Israel” to Nicodemus, as a title of honour and distinction. What a shame was it for the teacher of Israel, not to have informed himself on these subjects! But whatever might be the extent of knowledge or of ignorance, in this teacher of Israel, our Saviour affirmed that he himself spoke from the most 13 certain knowledges “ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we haye seen; and ye receive not our witness.” You acknowledge me to be a teacher come from God, and yet what I speak from my actual know- ledge, as an eye witness, you refuse to believe. “If I have told you earthly things, and ye be- lieve not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” If, when I have told you of be- mg born again of water and of the Spirit,—things which are earthly, the subjects of the senses and of mental experience,—ye are still unbeliev- ing, how can ye believe me, when! speak to you of the nature of God, of things heavenly, things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive ? Yet I am the only being who am competent to do this; for “no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven.” That principle of unbelief which leads you to doubt even those plainer subjects which you cannot perfectly understand, will of course lead you to reject what is utterly beyond your com- prehension, even though it be asserted by him who came down from heaven, and who has shown by his miracles that his commission is divine. I have thus, my brethren, given you a com- ment and paraphrase upon the interesting but 14 difficult passage, which forms the gospel for Trinity Sunday. And though I would not pre- sume to say that it is entirely accurate, yet I think you will perceive a harmony and consisten- cy in its several parts, which afford some evi- dence of its truth. I shall make a few a upon it, and then conclude. i _ Inthe first place, you will perceive how strictly conformable to the language of scripture, as well as of the primitive Christians, is the baptismal office of our church. A certain ill-defined and mysterious use of the term regeneration, which separates it entirely from all the means of grace, and, by fancied analogies to the natural birth, converts it into a source of the wildest en- thusiasm, has become popular through our coun- try. This has led to a misrepresentation of the doctrine we profess, and has perhaps been the strongest obstacle with which we have had to contend. . We have seen that the term “ regenera- tion,” in the only two places in which it occurs, - means a translation from one state of being ‘to another ; the admission into the Christian church, the kingdom of Christ, existing in a two-fold state— onearth andin heaven. The Christian church on earth is a state of preparation and discipline ; the Christian church in heaven, is a state of re- ward and consummation. Into this first state of regeneration, on earth, we are are admitted by 15 baptism, which is a covenant graciously » made between God and us, involving, as every cove- nant must, certain conditions. On our side, we promise certain duties—repentance, faith, obedi- ence; in other words, adeath unto_sin, and a new birth unto righteousness. Our heavenly Father, on his part, promises certain blessmgs—the for- giveness of our sins, the assistance of the Holy Spirit to enable us to perform our duty, and a life of eternal happimess in heaven. What he hath promised, he will most surely keep and perform ; let us, then, be but careful to do our part, and we shall most certainly be admitted to the high- est state of rezeneration—the church in heaven, the state of reward, the kingdom of rest and glory. ; The question has been asked and discussed with considerable warmth, whether the Holy Spirit always accompanies the outward act of baptism with water. But it is one of those unprofitable questions, my brethren, which the apostle cautions us to avoid, “ knowing that they do gender strifes.” Is it not enough for us to know that in receiving the “ outwardand visible sign” we receive the promise of the “ inward and spiritual grace,” and that nothing will make void that promise if we are not wanting on our part? Our Saviour has told us that “the wind bloweth where it listeth;”” can we not be content then to let the Holy Spirit operate in his own way, and 16: at his own times, but must we undertake to de- termine the mode, and the extent, and the period of that, concerning which we know nothing but by its effects? Christians! let us rather comply with his ordmances and endeavour to do our duty, and trust with unlimited confidence in his: holy pro- mises. Of this we may rest assured that no um righteous person will be admitted into the kingdom of Christ and of God; and the declaration of our Saviour ought to make every one tremble, “ Not every one that;saith unto me, Lord, Lond,—not every member of my: church on earth—shall enter into the kingdom of heaven—the kingdom of glory—but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” . The conduct of Nicodemus affords us, in the second place, a subject for much useful reflection. How many are there, who, like him, do just enough, to quiet their consciences, and forthe sake of retain- ing their popularity, or averting some temporal evil, abstain from an open profession of that faith which they believe in their hearts! The rebuke of our Saviour appears to have had its proper in- ioe. for he was oftepenbds one of those wile took down the body of his crucified Master; thus pro- claiming, in the moment of shame, contempt and ignominy, his attachment to the person of his Saviour. Let those, who, like Nicodemus, have hitherto “come by night,” be ready to imitate i7 his better example, by confessing their Lord and Master, even in the face of obloquy and derision. We have seen that he acknowledged our Sa- viour to be a Teacher come from God. As such therefore he was bound to receive his testimony, and implicitly to believe all that he said whether his own knowledge was or was not sufficient to perceive its truth. Yet we find him exclaiming in the language of doubt and hesitation, * How can these things be?” And our Saviour rebukes him for his unbelief by saying, * We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.” It is the characteristick, my brethren, of our infirm reason, that it becomes delighted with its own operations ; and, waxing bold and confident in the plenitude of its own powers, it presumes to deny what it is unable to comprehend. But it deserves to be seriously considered whether this is the disposition which will fit us for the enjoyment of heavenly bliss; whether God does not purposely vail some truths in an awful ob- scurity, that he may exercise our faith in his word; and whether he does not address us, in the language of our Saviour to Nicodemus, « If I have told you of earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heayen- ly things?” Let us then, rely with implicit be- lief on the testimony of God, as contained in his hely word. Let us remember that in this life, we see through a glass darkly. If the glass 3 18 be imperfect, the rays of light may be dis- torted, and the most beautiful object may wear the semblance of deformity. But in that pure and celestial atmosphere in which we hope to dwell, that state. of regeneration to which our soul aspires, there will be no imperfect medium to mar our vision; we shall there see face to face, and eye to eye ; we shall there know even as. we are known. In concluding this discourse, my brethren of the clergy will permit me to address a few words to them; and though it would ill become one who is comparatively a stranger in the dio- cese, and so much the inferiour of some of them in years and standing in the ministry, to say any thing which would seem like an attempt to give them instruction, yet as they haye honoured him with the character of their preacher, they will “suffer,” he trusts, “the word of exhortation.” It has been. very strikingly observed, that “as man consists of two distinct, yet essential parts, so the vices, to which we are prone, respect both these parts of our constitution. For we may be very free from the vices peculiar to the body, and yet extremely addicted to those of the mind. The former are more peculiar to the vulgar, the latter to the learned and philosophick part of our race. By subjection to the one, we resemble the brute creation; by obedience to 19 the other, the apostate spirits. We ought there- fore to be serious, and lay aside all pride and con- ceitedness in our understanding, as well as super- fluity of naughtiness in our passions, and attend with humility and prayer to the things which God has revealed concerning himself.”* _ We have been called, my reverend brethren, too often, to mourn over the examples of those unhappy men who have profaned our sacred office, by the vices of the body; but let us always remember that those of the mind are still more insidious in their operations, and are productive of more injurious consequences, because they are of wider extension. The vices of the body, affect only the unhappy indi- vidual; the vices of the mind, may poison the whole church. From the mental vices have arisen all the heresies and schisms which have deformed and defaced Christianity. That pride and self-sufficiency ; that exaltation of our private judgment above the common sense of the church universal ; that irregular desire of knowledge, which leads us to overleap the barriers of re-’ velation, and substitute for the plain testimony of God, the speculations of human reason ; have been the prolifick sources of enthusiasm on the one hand, and of unbelief on the other. Let us be careful, then, to avoid all those high and ab- * Simpson’s Plea for the Deity of Jesus, edited by Parsons, Lond. 1812. p. 15. 20 struse subjects, in the pursuit of which our minds can find “no end, in wandering mazes lost.” : These remarks, my brethren of the laity, will not, I presume, appear inapplicable or uninterest- ing to yourselves. ‘The repose which we enjoy, arises, as I conceive, from the perfect system of the worship and ministry of our church, and the singular moderation with which our reformers avoided the extremes of party. When the minds of men are unsettled upon the great doctrines of Christianity, there is nothing but confusion and every evil work. The fountains of the great deep are broken up, and in this deluge of war- ring opinions, the ark which is borne tranquilly along upon the face of the waters, is the only resting place for the soul. “The ingenuity of men,” to use the language of the late lamented bishop of South Carolina, “the ingenuity of men may form new theories, and divers schemes of salvation. In the proud exercise of their reason, they may think to change principles and rectify revelation; or in ages of lukewarmness they may suffer fashion to become an arbitress of ' opinions, and subject to her capricious influence, religious truth. But the counsels and declarations of God are unchangeable. They ‘are the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.’ What was the only true faith, in the first ages of Christianity, is the only true faith now. Human reason can- / 21 not have added any thing to the revelations of God. Whenever it attempts to mend the work of the Almighty, it can only manifest its own pre- sumption and feebleness, and must leave those, whom it undertakes to guide, in the dangerous state of perplexity and disputation. In forming our religious opinions, whether with regard to doctrinal points, or to the constitution and disci- pline of the church, or to the application of prac- tical rules, we should have recourse to the sacred volume. Here we may drink at the source of truth; may derive instruction from the fountain head of knowledge. If doubts arise, respecting the coincidence, or interpretation of any parts of scripture, they should be discussed by the light which the primitive church affords. It should be a recommendation of a religious opinion that it wants novelty; that it is not the offspring of mod- ern discovery; for we may be assured, that there is but one scheme of salvation, but one gospel of truth, and that this scheme was fully received; that this gospel was correctly understood, by those inspired men to whom the establishment and care of the church was first committed. Venerable antiquity is, therefore, a characteristick of religious truth. In every case, the oldest ~ opinion in the Christian church is the best. Had this principle been adhered to, the existence of the holy trinity; the interest of all men in the mediation of Christ; the divine origin and distinct 22 order of the Christian priesthood, and the final administration of a retribution to every man, ac- cording to his deeds, would never have been called in question. But the human mind is never at rest. It has been prone, from the beginning, to leave the ways and word of God, and ‘to seek out’ for itself ‘many inventions.’ ‘ Be not’ ye, brethren, ‘carried about with divers and strange doctrines.’ ‘Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.’ Recur for your opinions to the sacred writings, and to the interpretations and practice of the primitive church. These means, together with the aid of the Holy Spirit, are the only sure means of coming at ‘the faith, once deliver- ed to the saints.’ ”* ¥ *Bishop Dehon’s Sermons. Vol. ii. Serm. 53, p. 91,92. NOTES. We “O.dumev,—“ It may be a question,” says Lightfoot, ‘‘ whe- ther Nicodemus, using the plural number, (we know,) does by ~ that seem to own that the whole sanhedrin (of which himself was a member) acknowledge the same thing. I am apt to think, the fathers of the sanhedrin could not well tell how indeed to deny it. But ¢:damev may either be the plural for the singular, or else we know may signifie as much as, tt as commonly owned and acknowledged.’ Lampe expresses his surprise that Lightfoot, who is else- where sufficiently adventurous in his conjectures, should be diffident of his opinion, on no other ground than that the plural often signifies what is commonly acknowledged ; for he observes that when this conversation took place, the subject of our Saviour’s ministry could not have been generally known. He therefore thinks that we know did not mean that this had become the common opinion, but only that the sanhedrim had become convinced in.their own minds. s¢ Scrmus. Ita non tantum se, sed etiam alios, seu primores seu phariseos de hac veritate convictos esse testatur. Sczre id sane poterant ex verbo prophetico, ex testimonio Joannis baptiste ; ex ipsis Jesu verbis et factis in conspectu eorum prolatis. Et vix dubitandum est, publicas jam instituisse synedrium de Christo, an Messias aut verus propheta esset, nec ne, consultationes, quibus cum interesset Nicodemus, fa- cile sentire potuit, multos ex collegis in conscientia de veritate muneris fuisse nihilque stringens in contrarium prolatum fuisse.”” Lampe, Comment. Anal. Exeget. Evang. sec. Johan. Tom, 1- 24 p- 555. There is no intention, however, in the writer of this discourse to attach any importance to this comprehensive in- terpretation of the word @:demer, though the sentiment here advanced, respecting the corrupt rulers of the Jews, is believed to be true. In the 11th verse, our Saviour uses the term sidan of himselfalone, but he may have done this with re- ference to the expression of Nicodemus, in verse 2, contrast- ing thereby more forcibly his knowledge with that of the teacher of Israel. B. The learned, of every name and nation, so generally agree in admitting the fact that the practice of baptizing proselytes, as a solemn rite of initiation, was common among the Jews before the time of our Saviour’s ministry, that to those who have access to the writings of Grotius, Selden, Lightfoot, Spencer, Wet- stein, Rosenmuller, and others, a simple reference to those authors would be sufficient. But, as the whole exposition, in the sermon, of ourSaviour’s conversation, rests upon this fact, it may be interesting to those who cannot refer to these authorities, to see a short summary of the evidence. The excellent dis- sertation by Spencer, De purificatione vel baptismo ad initia- tionem, in the second volume of his great work, De Legibus Hebrzorum, lib. iv. cap. xiii. sec. 1, will give the reader a more extended and satisfactory view of the whole question, I. As to the fact that such baptism was administered. The Jewish expositors of the law assert as with one mouth that the whole congregation of Israel were baptized just be- fore the law was given upon mount Sinai. ‘This they consi- der as commanded by God, in Exodus xix. “ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people and sanctify them to day and tomorrow, and Jet them wash their clothes.” Sanctify them : DONW Ip kiddashtem, ixx. zal ayuroy aires purify them. Comp. Lev. xiv. 8. 9. xvii. 16, &c. Numb. viii. 7, 2 Kings v. 14. The sanctification or purification here, and wherever else it is used in connexion with the washing of their clothes, is 28) invariably understood by the Jews as denoting the baptism or washing of their bodies, From Exod. xix. 10. connected with Numb. xv. 15. they inferred the necessity of baptizing pro- selytes. In the latter passage itis said, one ordinance shal! be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your genera- tions. As ye are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord— As therefore the nation of Israel were all washed or baptized with water, toprepare them for the reception of the law, so the stranger sojourning with them was to be subject to the same ordinance. ‘* By three things,” says Maimonides, ‘‘ did Israel enter into covenant, by circumcision, and baptism, and sacrifice. Circumcision was in Egypt, as it is written, No uncircumcised person shalleat thereof, &c. (Exod. xii. 48.) Baptism was in the wilderness just before the giving of the Jaw; asitis written, Sanctify them to-day and tomorrow, &c. (Exod. xix. 10.) and sacrifice ; as it is said, And he sent young men of the sons of Israel which offered burnt-offerings, &c. (Exod. xxiv. 5.) And so in all ages, when a gentile is willing to enter into the covenant and gather himself under the wings ot the majesty of God, and take upon him the yoke of the law, he must be circumcised, and baptized, and bring a sacrifice ; or if it be a woman, be baptized and bring a sacrifice. As it is written, As you are, so shall the stranger be. How are you ? By circumcision, and baptism, and bringing ofa sacrifice. So likewise the stranger (or proselyte) through all generations ; by circumcision, and baptism, and bringing of a sacrifice.” See Wall. Inf. Bap. Introd. Lightfoot. Hor. Heb. et Talmud. Matt. iii. 6. II. This baptism of proselytes was required to be in the day time, that nothing might be done in secret. For this fact the following testimony is adduced by Lightfoot, on Matt. iii. 6. and Wetstein, on John iii, 2.—* Megilla ii. 4, © They neither circumcise nor baptize till the sun has risen.’—Mai- mon. Issure bia. c. 13. ‘It is not customary to baptize in the night. If any one should be baptized secretly, he would no 4 26 be accounted a proselyte.’ Pesachim. f. 90. 2. Traditio. * Whoever have need of baptism, must be baptized in the day time.’-—Jevamoth. fol. 46. 2. ‘ They do not baptize a proselyte by night.’ ” . III. They were considered as new born.—*‘ Jalkut Ruben- ts. fol. 70, 4.‘ Rabbi Jose said : If any one be made a prose- lyte, he is like a child new born,’—J evamoth fol. 62. 1. and 92. 1. ‘Ifany one become a proselyte, he is like a child new born.’ Maimon. Issurei Biah. Cap. 14.—‘ The gentile that is made a proselyte, and the servant that is made free, behold he is like a child new born. And all those relations he had whiles either gentile or servant, they now cease from being so. By the law it is lawful tor a gentile to marry his mother, or the sister of his mother, if they are proselyted to the Jewish re- ligion. But the wise men have forbidden this, lest it should be said, we go downward, from a greater degree of sanctity to a less; and that which was lorbidden yesterday, is allow- able to day.’ ”—Wetsten and Lightfoot, on J ohn iii. 3. C. I. Baptism was administered to the children of proselytes who were born before the parents became proselytes, and generally at the same time with their parents.—Bab. Cherubd. fol. 11. 1. *** They baptize a little proselyte according to the judgment of the sanbedrin’; that is, as the gloss renders it, ‘If he be deprived of his father, and his mother brings him to be made a proselyte, they baptize him (because none becomes a proselyte without circumcision and baptism) ae- cording to the judgment,’ or rite, ‘ of the sanhedrin, that is, that three men be present at the baptism, who are now instead of a father to him.’* And the Gemara a little after, ‘If with a proselyte .his sons and his daughters are made proselytes also, that which is done by their father redounds to their * It is worthy of remark in passing, that the practice of having God- fathers in the Christian church, is derived from the Jewish. 27 good. R. Joseph saith, when they grow into years they may retract.’ Where the gloss writes thus, ‘ This is to be under- stood of little children, who are made proselytes together with their father.” II. But though baptism was administered to the children born before their parents became proselytes, it was not to the children born after that event ; because the parents and their future offspring were considered as Israelites, clean from their birth and therefore were brought into covenant by circumci- sion alone. “‘ Jevam. fol. 78.1. ‘ A heathen woman, ifshe is made a proselytess, when she is now big with child, the child needs not baptism, for the baptism of his mother serves him for baptism.’ ”’—Lightfoot on Matt. iii. 6. and Wall, on Inf. Bap. Introd. D. That exposition of this difficult verse has here been adopted which appears to be most consistent with the context and the scope of our Saviour’s conversation. The difficulty in this passage arises from the various sensesin which the words cupz flesh and wvevpa spirit are used in the new testament. Zapz when contrasted with ayvevme signifies, 1. Sometimes the body—in opposition to the soul ; 2./Sometimes the human nature or man—in opposition to the divine nature or God ; 3. Sometimes the unrenewed or corrupt nature of man—in opposition to that purified or renewed nature which is effected by the operation of the Holy Spirit on our hearts; and 4, Sometimes, by a bold metonymy, the Mosaick dispensa- tion, on account of its numerous external observances, and its containing no provision of pardon or grace,—in opposition to the Christian or gospel dispensation, the observances of which relate principally to the state of the soul, and which conveys - to all who embrace its offers and observe its conditions, that spiritual strength which is adequate to the saving of the soul. Schleusner understands the passage in question, as refer- 28 ring to the inquiry of Nicodemus (y. 4.) ** How can a man be born-when he is old ? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born ?”” In allusion to this, our Sa- viour, he thinks, answers thus: That which is born of man is man, or is endowed with the human nature and condition on- ly. ‘* Quicunque enim natus est ex hominibus, homo est, seu natura et conditione humana quoque preeditus est.” Schleus. v. cpg T. ii. p. 837. But when this writer’s exposition of the last member of the sentence is examined, it will be found that the antithesis is not preserved. ‘* To be born of the Spirit,” he says, ‘‘ is to be changed for the better, or thoroughly amended by the aid ofthe Christian religion : ope religionis Christiane in melius mutari et prorsus emendari.” v. xvevye. 17.) T. ii. p. 603. So again—‘‘ro yeyewapeévev tx TOO mvevmares meoue est QUI est per religionem Christianam emendatus is etiam ita sentit, vult, et agit, ut postulat religio Christiana, seu est avevpearix’s.”” He thinks, wills, and acts as the Christian religion demands, or is a spiritual man. Ib, 22,) p. 606. The first member of the sentence, he interprets in the second of the above senses ; the last member in the fourth sense. According to his interpreta- tion of the first member, if the proper antithesis be preserved, our Saviour would be made to say, That which is born of man is man—that which is born of God is God ; which can be said only of Christ in his divine nature. According to his in- terpretation of the last member, the antithesis is to be pre- served, only by understanding the first, of the Mosaick dispen- sation. The new birth, under the Mosaick dispensation, is flesh, that is, only an outward or carnal ordinance. Thenew birth of the gospel, is spirit, or contains an inward and spiri- tual grace. This agrees in substance with the third sense of the words cup and mvevua, the unrenewed nature of man contrasted with his renewed nature, or the natural life contrasted with the spiritual life. Lampe, who interprets the pas- sage in this sense, and rejects the meaning adopted by Schleusner, of the first member of the sentence, admits that they who understand the term flesh, as referring to the Mosaick dispensation, do not differ in substance from 29 those who like himself adopt the third sense. His words are these: “ quidam etiam involvi posse putant 2lam notionem carnis qua Judaismum denotatin lege carnali occupatum car- nisque bonis adherentem.’’ After mentioning the passages of scripture which support this interpretation (Isai. xl. 6, Heb. vii. 16. ix. 10. Gal. iii. 3.) he adds ‘‘ Hoc cum precedents (that is, the third sense, the carnal or unrenewed—and spiri- tual or renewed nature) conjungere nulla absurditate laborat, cum salvator alloqueretur Phariseum in carne illa impense glo- riari adsuetum. Utrumque etiam proculdubio caro preputii per circumcisionem tollenda adumbravit.”? Lampe Comment, vol. 1. p. 570. THE author having been desirous to render the following dissertation as extensively useful as possible, and at the same time to guard against the impression that it was designed only for a particular class of readers, has, in most of the quotations, inserted his own translation in the text, and placed the origi- nal words of the author in the margin. For the sake of the unlearned reader, it seemed better to err in explaining too much, than too little; and to the learned, it will doubtless be more satisfactory to examine the original, than to rely on the fidelity or accuracy of the translator. APPENDIX. THE nature of regeneration and the mode of its connexion with baptism, have for some time been made the occasion of mtemperate, and even of acrimonious contention. Such a state of things is extremely unfavourable to the influence of re- ligion either upon the affections or the under- standing. When the passions of menare excited, there 1s great danger that amid their wild u roar the voice and the form of truth will be unheeded; that a more diligent search will be made for variations, than for coincidences of sen- timent; that differences which affect not the main points of Christianity will be magnified; that the opinions of the several opponents will be distorted; and that they, who commenced the discussion as friends, will terminate it as enemies. But moderation is the characteristick of the Protestant Episcopal church; and, as in all her offices and expositions of scripture she has drunk at the well-spring of pure and primitive antiquity, it becomes her sons to pursue the same conduct with regard to the subject in question, and in the unity of spirit and the bond of peace, to search for truth above the turbid stream of modern con- troversy. The great source of disagreement a pears to have been the want of a proper definition of terms. ‘The same word has been used to desig- nate a different connexion of ideas. The several 32 combatants haye taken for granted that their own expositions of scripture language are strictly correct; that no modifications of expression could harmonize apparent differences ; and, assuming such premises, they have argued against the con- clusions of their adversaries, on the ground of their absurdity. To avoid this prolifick occasion of discord, the first step then is to define our terms; and since it would be but lost labour to use any words in a different sense from that in which they were em- ployed by the sacred writers, our greatest care in this definition must be to learn what they meant by the word regeneration. This is to be done according to the obvious rules of interpretation. First. By determining, if we can, what was the ordinary sense affixed to it in the age and country in which the sacred writers lived. ~ Secondly. By examining the passages of the new testament in which it occurs, in connexion with the author’s train of thought or argumentation. And Thirdly. By comparing at the same time, the several ancient and modern versions and com- mentators, to see whether any, and if any, what diversities of interpretation have existed in the Christian church. I. We have but few’helps to determine the ordinary sense in which the term was used by the Jews in the time of our Saviour and his apostles. The noun xadnyyesciz, regeneration, 1s not to be found either in the septuagint version of the old testament, or in the apocrypha. The verb xaaw yivoust, however, occurs in that remarka- ble passage of the book of Job, (chap. xiy. v. 14,) in which the patriarch expresses his confidence, that he shall rise from the dead. “Ifa mandie, 33 shall he live again? All the days of my ap- pointed time will I wait till my change come.— v. 15. Thou shalt call and I will answer thee : thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.” The Hebrew word *xay ¢seba-7, which is rendered in our translation, “ my appointed time,” signifies literally “my warfare, military service or station.” It is thus rendered in the targum °° hheli, my warfare; and in the Vul- gate, diebus quibus milito, all the days in which I war, my malitant state. ,'The question at the be- ginning of the verse is an expression, not of doubt, but of joyful admiration. Shall man live though he die ? Then, says the patriarch, will I pa- tiently wait, or firmly hope,* during my mortal life, my state of warfare, until my change, reno- vation, or renewed existence come.t The change or renovation of which Job speaks, is that hap- py change of state or condition which would be is at his resurrection from the dead. This passage is thus expressed in the version of the ixx. or although a man die shall he live when he hath accomplished the days of his hfe? I wiil patiently endure, UNTIL 1 SHALL BE BORN AGAIN.— Then thou wilt call, and I will give heed to thee.t The context shows that by the regeneration or new birth, the translators meant that happy *Heb. 31S aya-hhel from Pih. OM firmiter speravit. t Heb. MEO NII gnad-bo hhalé-pha-thé. Until my renovation or renewed existence come; a revivification like the sprouting of a tree which had been cut down to the root. See y. 7th, where the verb occurs, and Parkhurst and Simon inv. »5n. [Ea yop amodayy evSpamos myts Cnrerat, rwvTeAcras imepees Te Bis adTy; “Yromea tas av rary yerauat, Vi 15. Eire naaerelss sya Of Tol Umunovromct. D 34 change of state or condition which would take lace at the resurrection of the body.* ee ‘Philo, the Alexandrian Jew, who was contem- porary with our Saviour, calls the new state of the world, after the deluge, a regeneration— Speaking of the family of Noah, he says, “ Not only they themselves and their race were pre- served, having escaped from the greatest perils, but they became also the rulers of the regenera- tion 5 WaAalyysvertas eyevovTo 1 VEOVES. Philo de vita Mosis.. L. u. T. 2. p. 144, 31, apud Wetstem, vol. 1, p- 452.t - In another treatise, he asks the ques- tion, “ Where will the soul dwell after death ?’”” To which he replies: “ We shall not be such as when united to our bodies, but shall depart info the regeneration, («5 mertyyeveriev) being united with incorporeal substances. De cherubim, T. 1. p. 139, 40. ap. Wetst. ubi. sup. Philo here evi- dently considers the future life, the life after death, as the state of regeneration; and when he uses the same expression to denote the state of the world atter the deluge, it is only in that metaphorical sense by which we often apply the term resurrection to the renovation or renewed existence of an empire. * The translation of Aquila and Theodotion is more like the Vulgate and English translation: eas tas av cAdy to wrruyna 28,1 will hope until my change come. The transla- tion of Symmachus is very remarkable; és a» eadn 9 dyie Qorig ws. Until my holy nature come. That resurrection which the xx. express by the figure of being born again, is called by Symmachus, the coming of man’s holy nature, when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality. + Clemens Rom, uses the word waaryyeveore in the same sense. Epist. i. ad. Cor. cap. ix. Ed. Wotton, p. 42,—Cote- ler. Patr, Apost. Ed. Clerici. vol. 1. p, 153. 35 Josephus in like manner speaks of the future state in his second book against Apion. “To those,” says he, “ who keep the law, and, if necessity re- quire, willingly die for it, God hath granted to be born again and receive in return a_ better life’”** "The same author speaks of the Jews after their return from the Babylonish captivity, as celebrating by a feast their political regenera- tion. “They continued their rejoicings forseyen days celebrating the renewed possession and _ re- generation of their country by a feast.”t In this mstance, as well as in that quoted from Philo, the expression is evidently metaphorical, derived from the primary idea of a future state of exis- tence. The opinions of the Greeks with regard to the state of the soul after death appear to have been very unsettled; but it is worthy of remark, that, according to the Pythagorean system of transmigration, the same soul was supposed to animate the same body, after the revolution of a certainnumber of years; and that this new forma- tion and re-union was denominated the regenera- tion. Such is the account which St. Augustin _ gives from Marcus Varro. After mentioning the opinions of Plato and Porphyry respecting the state of the soul after death he adds the follow- ing words of that author. “Certain astrologers, says Varro, have written that when men are born again, that takes place which the Greeks call manyyeeria, regeneration ; namely that in 440 years, the same body and soul which had been formerly * eDanevo Seog yever Sct Te HAW, wack Blov meena AzGewv ex wepirpo= ag. Joseph. cont. ApionemsII. 30. Opera ed. Oberthur, Tae. pa) 276. | marryyevertov Tg morpides copracevtss. Antiq. xi 3. 9, Opera. ut sup. vo}. ii. p. 22. 36 united in a man, return to the same conjunction.” Hence St. Augustin infers, that if the opinions of Plato, Porphyry and Varro were put together, and so modified, by accepting the truth, and rejecting the errour, of each, as to make them harmonize, the result would be, the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the body, and its re-union with the soul. We have nothing more to do with St. Augustin’s argument, than to notice the assertion ~ from Varro, that the re-union of the same soul and the same body after death, was considered © by the Greeks as a new birth, and that the usual appellation to denote this renewal of existence, Was raayyeeriz, regeneration. If, then, the Greeks usually meant by the term zaauyyereciaty regeneration, this re-union of soul and body after death, itis easy to perceive, that when adopted by the Jews, its meaning would naturally be so modified, as to de- note the resurrection of the bedy and its re-union with the soul, according to the scriptures. Hence, in the primary and proper sense of the term, as- used by the Jews in the time of our Saviour and his apostles, saryyeecta, regeneration, and avararisy resurrection, were considered as synonymous; or if any shade of difference existed in their meaning, mamyyeccia, regeneration, denoted that state of be- ing, of which acess, resurrection, was the inci- pient period. It was used in a metaphorical sense only whenit was applied to denote any very great change or improvement of state or condi- tion in this world. II. When we come to the New Testament, we find but two passages in which the word is em- ployed: St. Matt. xix. 28. and Titus im. 5. tGenethliaci quidam scripserunt, inquit, esse in renascen- dis hominibus quam appellant rxa:yyeveotav Graeci: hance scrip- serunt confici in annis numero quadringentis quadraginta, ut idem corpus et eadem anima que fuerint conjuncta in ho- mine aliquando eandem rursus redeant in conjunctionem, Aug. de Ciy. Dei. Lib. xxii. c. 28, 37 In the passage from the epistle to Titus, it is evident from the context that the regeneration is to be understood in the metaphorical sense. St. Paul, after describing in the first chapter the profligacy of the Cretans, exhorts Titus in the second, to see that he himself, and all the mem- bers of the church under his care, according to their several relations and oflices, should in every respect adorn the doctrine of our Saviour God by the purity of their lives. (Titus 11. 1—10.) He then clearly distinguishes two appearances or manifestations (cava); the first, the appear- ance, or manifestation of the grace of God (exeQavy 4 Mepis Tov Oeov vn cwryptos Waciy cevSparais ) ; the second, the appearance or manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, (ea- Davein tug dokys Tov meyers Ses nat cwTypes Amway In7e Xpiss.) The mantfestation of grace offers salvation to all men, teaching them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present life, age, state, or world: (# 7» wy aia.) ‘This the apostle itimates, is the great object for which the manifestation of grace was made; since our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ gave himself for us for no other purpose, than to redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. If we accomplish this object, by leading such a holy life, we may then expect the blessed object of our hope, the second manifesta- tion, namely that of the glory of our great God and Saviour, (Titus 1. 11—15.) The apostle continues, in the third chapter, to require Titus to put the Christians under his charge in mind of the various virtues of the Christian life; and he enforces especially the duty of quietness, for- bearance, and meekness towards all men, from the humbling consideration, that before their con- version to Christianity, they were of the same 38 profligate character with their heathen and Jew- ish neighbours, (chap. iii. 1—3.) It was not therefore on account of any works of righteous- ness which they had done, but a gratuitous act of mercy, that when the kindness and _philan- thropy of our Saviour God appeared, or was manifested, (exedar) ; in other words, when the first manifestation of grace offering salvation to all men was made, he saved us by the fountain or laver of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost* which he poured forth upon us rich- ly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being justified by his grace, we should be made or born (yewue9x) heirs according to the hope of everlast- ing life. In chap. i. 13. those who under the first manifestation, that of grace, live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present life, are said to be expecting, or waiting for the blessed hope, namely, the manifestation of the glory of Christ. Inthe present verse, those who have been saved by the fountain of the regeneration, and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, and are justified by grace, are born heirs according to the hope of everlasting life. The hope of everlast- ing life, and the hope of the manifestation of the glory of Christ, appear to be convertible terms; and as they who are thus born, are only in a state of hope of the mamfestation of glory, it follows that the regeneration here spoken of is not to be understood inits primary and proper signification, of a resurrection to eternal life, but in the secondary or metaphorical signification, of a change of state or condition in the present life, (cv rw vv eww.) It is connected with the manifes- tation of grace, not the manifestation of glory. * The great bible of 1539, or what is usually called arch- bishop Cranmer’s bible,.renders this passage thus: ‘ by the fountayne of the new byrth, and with the renuynge of the Holy Gost ” 39 The expression in St. Matthew xix. 28, is not so clear as it is in Titus iii. 5; for it is somewhat uncertain whether the term regeneration refers to the state of grace or the state of glory. That it refers to one or the other of these, will be evident from the context. Our Saviour had put a rich but covetous young man to the severe test of selling his estate on earth and becoming his follower, on the faith of his promise, that he should have a future treasure in heayen. And upon his not abiding this test, Jesus was led to reflect upon the difficulty with which a rich man, or, as it is explained in the parallel passage, St. Mark x. 24, one who trusted or confided in his riches, would enter into the kingdom of heaven. The disciples, greatly as- tonished, exclaimed, Who then can be saved? With men, said our Saviour, it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. ‘This led St. Peter to ask the question with regard to the twelve disciples, who had forsaken all their worldly goods and temporal occupations, and fol- lowed him, what should be their portion. To this our Saviour replied, “ Verily I say unto you, that as for you my followers, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging, or ruling over, the twelve tribes of Israel.”* It is evident, from the context, that the regeneration must here be connected with the kingdom of heaven or king- dom of God, mentioned in yy. 23 and 24. It is difficult, said our Saviour, for a rich man, for one who, like this youth, puts so much trust in his riches, as to be unwilling to relinquish them for ; ee < = Auny rey Ue, OTk Upels ob AnonouSucavres rol, EY TH Wartyyeveria Cray xasizn o uses Tou avSpwmou ems Spoyou doknc avrou, xadiverSe nas vyts et dadexa Spovous, xpivevres ras dadena guaas rou Iopana. 40 my sake, to enter into the kingdom of God.— What then, asked St. Peter, shall be our case? Oe 6 le is : fe! ike “nt (+ apa eorat iu); we have given up all for thy sake. How then will it be with regard to our entrance into the kingdom of God? In the regeneration, replied our Saviour, ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, &c. The answer would not meet the question, if the regeneration were not connected with the kingdom of God. It must either signify the icipient act of admission into the kingdom of God, or the state of being itself. In thelatter case it is evident that it would be a conyertible term. A A corroboration of this inference may be de- rived from the twenty-ninth verse compared with the parallel passages, St. Mark x. 29, 30, and St. Luke xvin. 29, 30. “Every one,” says our Saviour, “ that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or chil- dren, or lands, for my name’s sake, (St. Mark, for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, St. Luke, for the sake of the kingdom of God,) shall receive an hundred fold (St. Mark and St. Luke, how in this present time, « te xaipw zxrw) and shall inherit everlasting life: (St. Mark and St. Luke, and in the world to come, av Te ctlays Te Epropeeren eternal or everlasting life.) Our Saviour here speaks of a two-fold reward, to those who give up worldly advantages for his sake, or the sake of the kingdom of God, first, in this present time, and secondly, in the world to come—the future age, state, or life. If this be compared with the passage from the epistle to Titus, it will be seen to correspond exactly with the two manifesta itons of which the apostle there speaks, the first of grace, and the second of glory.. The kingdom of God on earth,-the gospel dispensation, the state, or manifestation of grace, the church mili- 41 tant, are all convertible terms to signify the same state of being, of which our Saviour speaks, as offering an hundred fold for all the worldly priva- tions of its members. The kingdom of God in heaven, the state or manifestation of glory, the church triumphant, are also terms to express that everlasting life, that future state, the re- wards of which cannot, like those of the present time, be counted. The first of these states of being, the church or kingdom of God on earth, commenced from the resurrection of our Sa- viour, who was the first begotten from the dead. The second, will begin at the final resurrection of the righteous.* If, then, the regeneration, men- tioned in St. Matthew xix. 28, be understood in the metaphorical sense, as meaning a great change of state or condition in the present world, it must have relation to the church militant, or the state of grace; but if it be understood in its proper sense, as meaning that change which will take place at the resurrection of the righteous, it must have respect to the church triumphant, or the state of glory. Accordingly, in the one -or the other of these two senses, has it been interpreted by all commentators, ancient and modern. Those who have understood the pre- ceding expressions of our Saviour as denoting the difficulty with which rich men were led to embrace the gospel, and become the fol- lowers of Jesus, on account of the prive ‘ions and hardships which attended its first pro- *T have here purposely avoided the question respecting the intermediate state, from a wish not to encumber the sub- ject and distract the attention of the reader. Properly speak- ing, the members of the church or kingdom of God are in three states of being: 1. Onearth. 2. While the soul and bod are separated. 3. The final consummation of bliss, both in body and soul, in the everlasting kingdom. 42 mulgation, have interpreted the regeneration as meaning the commencement, or the continued existence, of the Christian state, the gospel dis- pensation, the church on earth, or other equiva+ lent expressions. ‘Those, on the contrary, who have understood the language of our Saviour as implymg the peculiar dangers of the rich with regard to their eternal salyation, have mterpreted the word regeneration in the sense of a resurrec- tion to eternal lile.* *T have been inclined to consider ‘ the regeneration,” spoken of in Matthew xix. 28, as a synonyme of * the king- dom of God ;”’ and as denoting therefore, not merely the re- surrection, but the state of being which will follow it. My reason for it is this, that the reward promised by our Saviour - to his disciples ‘‘ in the regeneration, when he should sit upon the throne of his glory,” would be but of short duration, if confined merely to the final resurrection, and the solemnities of the last judgment. This.would, as it seems to me, be inconsistent with the antithesis in the parallel passages of St. Mark and St. Luke, in which their reward in the future state is represented as infinitely transcending that of the present. But how could the reward be considered in this light, if it is to consist merely in being assessors with Christ at the day of judgment, for the purpose of judg-. ing, or convicting and condemning the nation of Israel. _The expression ‘‘ judging Israel,”’ is often used in the old testament to denote the government of the nation for a series of years. Tola judged (Heb. ODw%) xx. expwe) Israel twenty three years ; Jair, twenty two; Samson and Eli, twenty ; Samuel, all the days of his life. See Judges passim and 1 Sam. iv. 18. vii. 6, 15, 16. vili. 6. The same word ((2)') is used to denote the regal authority (1 Sam. viii. 6.) which was used in the preceding period to denote the authority of the Judges ; and this word is generally rendered in the Greek, by the word xpww, and sometimes by its synonyme dixelo— if, then, the term “* regeneration’’ mean in this place the king- dom of glory ; and if the expression ‘sitting upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel,’? mean the apos- tolick pre-eminence in that kingdom; then our Saviour’s promise would be, that the disciples, who had in the present state for- saken all worldly advantages to become his followers, ‘should, 43 * III. Among the ancient translations, the Vul- gate, being strictly literal, affords no proof of the sense in which the term was understood by the translator. We learn, however, from St. Jerom’s commentary on St. Matthew, how he understood it; for he explains the passage thus: “ When from corruption, the dead shall arise incorrup- tible, then shall ye also sit as judges, con- demning the twelve tribes of Israel, because though you believed, they would not believe.”* -All the antehieronymian versions, as they are exhibited by Sabatier and Blanchini, have the same or nearly the same translation as the yul- asa reward, in the kingdom of glory bear sway over the spiritual Israel. It will be readily admitted tbat this is not the primary sig- nification of the word “ regeneration ;” but any one accustom- ed to mark the fluctuations of meaning in words, will not be suprised at a metonymy by which the same’ word is made to denote not only the entrance into a state of being, but the state of being itself.t This appears to be the sense in.which the word waaryyeverra, regeneration, isused by Philo in the passages above cited. Traces of the same meaning will, I think, be perceived by the reader in some of the authorities which will hereafter be quoted. In like manner, the word xaawroxe, which is evidently a synonyme with eveyewaeis and waavyye- verte, is used by Isidore of Pelusium to denote the Christian church. [eas 0 pimporepos ev 7H Pariasice Twv ovpavav, TouTESty, Ev- TN ware Kplsoy WaAlToxkee KEICWY ESIY TOD EV VoKew OlnaiwDeVvTos, EmEIOy ovdev erersinzev a vous. Every one who is less in the kingdom of heaven, THAT IS, IN THE CHRISTIAN REGENERATION, is greater than he who is justified by the law, because the law hath made nothing perfect. Lib. i. epist. Ixviii. p. 21. Suiceri Thes. p. 554, **« Quando ex mortuis de corruptione resurgent incorrupti, sedebitis et vos in soliis judicantium, condemnantes duodecim tribus Israel quia yobis credentibus, illi credere noluerunt.” Opera. ed. Bened. Tom. iv, col. 90. , SS t Castalio has the following remark on the use of the word “ resurrec= tion” in Luke xiv. 14. “Ut ambulatio, ccenatio, gestatio non actionem semper significant, sed locum ubi ambuletur, ccenetur, &c. sic hoc Juco, et alibi, resurreclio non resurgendi aclionem declarat, sed eum vite slatum qui fulurus est cum resurrexerint boni.” - ; 44 gate, excepting the codex Brixiensis, which in- stead of in regeneratione, reads in resurrectione, — The Syriack version (Peshito) translates # Gn Rarvyyeveria by i y) we Pots Be-gnalmo hhadtho, ‘ which is literally, “in the new age, state, life, or world;” (%\v gnolmo, the emphatick state of the noun SoX gnolam, having all the varied senses of the Hebrew odny gnolam, and therefore corres- hex uke exactly with the Greek am, age, state, ife, or world. According to the Jewish rabbini- cal phraseology, the expressions mim Dyn Ha- gnolam Haz-zeh and xan Onyn Ha-gnolam Hab- ba, “the present world, age, or life,” and “the world, age, or life to come,” denoted the present state, of trial, and the future state of reward.* Corresponding with these expressions, are those which so often occur in the new testament, of IBY GUTOS, CLIGIV EVES WS, © VOY EIV—mANC celmy pEAAWV, 0 cLOY 6 EPYORLEVOS, &c. See Matt. xii. 32. xii. 40. Mark x. 40. 1 Cor. 1. 20. i. 6, 7, 8. 11. 18. Gal. 1. 4. Eph. i. 21. ii. 7. Heb. vi.5. If, then, the Syriack translators meant by the new world or age, the world to come, the glorified state of the gospel dispensation, they agree with the ancient commentators in general, that the zearyevers « or regeneration, is that change which takes place at the manifestation of glory, or, as Is generally believed, at the final resurrec- tion. Ii they did not mean this, they could have *I have avoided, for the same reason that was given ina pre- ceding noie, the consideration of the questions raised about the precise meaning of a:wy as applied to the time of the Messiah’s reign. Schleusner has cautiously done the same, though he ap- ears in general to have adopted the sentiments of Koppe who allows that the age to come, the daysef the Messiah, and theking - dom of heaven, are synonymes, but maintains that they refer, not to the invisible reign of Christ, as it now exists, but to a future visible reign, upon earth, of great splendour and majesty, preceded by the resurrection of some of the dead, but prior, to the resurrection of al] men at the day of judg- ment, 45 meant no other than the new state or age, the kingdom of Christ on earth, compared with the old state or age, the Mosaick dispensation. In either sense, therefore, their expression shows that they considered the regeneration, and the Christian church, either militant or triumphant, as convertible terms. Origen explains the xaayyeeor, regeneration, as meaning here the resurrection from the dead. “They who are followers of the Saviour shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And this power they shall receive at the resurrection of the dead; tor this is the re- generation, being a kind of new birth, when a new heaven and anew earth will be created, and a new covenant with its cup delivered to those who have renewed themselves. But to this re- generation, that is preparatory, which is called by Paul the laver of regeneration, (‘Titus i. 5.) and to this renovation, that is also preparatory, which is annexed to thelaver of regeneration by the ‘renewing of the Spirit.’ For as it re- spects our birth, perhaps no cne 1s pure from de- filement, not even if his life be but for a single day, on account of the mystery respecting our generation ; with regard to which every one who is born may say what was said by David in the fiftieth psalm: ‘Behold I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.* But as it respects the regeneration by the laver, (xara de THY Ex AovTpov marly'yeverseey, ) every one is purified from defilement, who is born again of water and of the Spirit; purified, if 1 may sc speak, ‘through a glass darkly,’ (1 Cor. xi. 12.) As it respects the other regeneration, when the *In the version of the xxx. the 9th and 10th psalmsas they stand in the Hebrew, are united and reckoned as the 9th. Hence the 50th psalm, in that version and in the Vulgate, is the 51st psalm, in the Hebrew, and in the English translation. 46 Son of man shall sit wpon the throne of his glory, every one who attains to that regeneration in Christ shall be entirely purified from defilement, “face te face, when by the laver of the regene- ration, heshall have attained to that other re- generation. If you wish to know what that laver is, attend to what John, who baptized with water unto repentance, says concerning the Sa- viour: namely, ‘ He shall baptize you with the | Holy Ghost and with fire. (Matt. uz 11.) In the regeneration, therefore, which is by the layer, we are buried with Christ; for we are buried with him, according to the apostle, by baptism; but im the regeneration of that laver which is by the fire and Spirit, we become ‘ fashioned, like unto the glorious body’ of Christ, (Phil. mi. 21.) as he sits on the throne of hisglory. And we also shall sit upon twelve thrones, if, forsaking all things, we have, in every way, but especially by the laver, followed thee.”* * Of roiuv cxorovSnruvres Tw CHTnpt uaSedovvTat emt Owoexe Spovovs, xpivovtes Tas 16 Duaas te Irpana, ua Tavtav Amlovrat Tp eZouriay ev Th avasarel TV vexpan’ @UTH Yup Es H maAryyeveria wolvn TIS YEVETIG ovT&, OTE oUpcves melvOs, nal m yn Kalin Tols avtous avanawarart xTiCeT ol, noet nocivy Oinbnuy WeepLowor eet, root TO Wornptoy avr7zs. exelng O€ TUS moallyevertas Wpootetoy est, To xaerovsvoy Mapa Tay Tlavaw AovT pov waarrlryever tees. wal exelyns THS ualVOTUHTOS To e7rbDe porevov TH rovt pw Tug waArlyeveTing ev Tw aVALaMTEWS mVEvmTOS. Tee Of nal nate mev THY yeveriv ovdels tsk uaSapos cero pumrov, oud’. es mse auespe ey i Con cevtov, dia Fo wept THs ‘yeverews vsyplov, ED H TO imo Tov Aabsd ev mevtyxosm Parmer AcAcypevo Exasos Mevray e1g YEVER ow EAnAVIoTAY Agvet, EXoY CUTMS’ OT EV civopesels CuVEAnOSyv, oes EV cemnprinis exirrnre Me UnTA2 Mov naTH De THY ex AovTPOY M®aAly- YVEVETlCLV, Tees EV HeeDcepr%G como pumoD, a yewyels aevatev *& Udatos nat BVevpeTos, ive TANT as EImar. nxDcPos Ob EWomTpoU, wet EV cLIVEY LATE” nate Oe Tyy LhANVY WAMY'YEVErIaV, OTAY REMITNS Uieg Tov avSpamov emt Spovov dons AUTOV, TUS O E15 THY Ev Xplis@ marry yeverioan Exesyny D3 a- ous, nxSapwtares tel amo purrou Tprsramov Tpos Wporwwov, nett LvT Os Otc AdVT pou Wary ever bas D3 avey x EXELVyY TYVY WAALYVEVETLAY. Ey de Bovass To AouTpov Exeiwvo vonras, cuvss mas laaveng a Y ddaTs Bam 47 Origen here clearly distinguishes between the two regenerations; the one, commencing when we are admitted into the church militant by bap- tism; the other, when, at the resurrection, we shall enter into glory; the one, imperfect, like seeing in a glass darkly; the other, perfect, like seeing face to face ; the one, preparatory, consist- ing in purifying our souls and bodies from the de-" filements of sin; the other, final, when sin and death are destroyed. . St. Augustin, in like manner, speaking of the last judgment, in his book, De civitate Dei, says of our Saviour’s expression, “ in the regeneration,” * Without doubt our Saviour meant that the re- surrection of the dead should be understood by the term regeneration; for, as our soul is re- generated by faith, so shall our flesh be regene- rated by incorruption.”* In the following chap- ter, which is entitled, concerning the first and second resurrection, he says that the first re- surrection is of the soul in this life, the second, of the body at the lastday. The*death of the soul consists in impiety and sins, and it must rise in this world, from the state of sin, which is the first resurrection, or it will be condemned to the second death after the resurrection of TiCav Ele UsTaVoIa Aces MEG TE THTypes To* avTOs duns Pumwricel ev MVEVULATS aryl nab Tvpl. ev meV ovv TH due AovT ps war [Yyevrerte CuveT a> QOnesv Te Ypisw* cuvetadnuev yop avTw, nate Tov AmosoAsy, die tov Bumwricuxtos 2 ds TH Tov die wupos mats mvevmxtes AovTpov marl yevirin, CvemopPor yrvoesIe Te Twmatt THs dokxs Tov Xpisov, nadeCoptvn emt Seovov dokys cevtov, nat autos xabeComevos ems io Spovous* ct recs ePevres mavTce cmoTEpa'sovv, AAA Of naTH To AoUT POY, georovSyrapev cor. Origen. Comm. in Matth. ‘Tom. xv.—Opera Ed. Bened. Tom. iii. p. 685, 6. * Proculdubio mortuorum resurrectionem nomine voluit re- generationis intelligi. Sic enim caro nostra regenerabitur per incorruptionem, quemadmodum est anima nostra regene- rata per fidem. S. Aug. de Civ. Dei. Lib. xx. c. v. § 3. 48 the body. He then proceeds: “ As, therefie, there are two regenerations, of which I have be- fore spoken, one in respect to the faith, which is now effected by baptism; the other with respect to the flesh, which will hereafter be effected, by its incorruption and immortality, as the great and final judgment : so there are also two resur- ‘ rections, the first in the present life, of the soul, which prevents it from coming to the second death, the second, which is not of the present life, but will take place at the end of the world; which is not of the soul but of the body; and whichat the last judgment will consign some to death, and others to that life which is immor- tal.?’* , St. Augustin evidently makes the same dis- tinction as Origen had before made in the pas- sage above quoted. There are two states of regencration, the one, commencing at baptism, the other, at the resurrection of the body. St. Hilary, bishop of Poictiers, who flourished according to Cave, A. D. 354, supposed that the rich to whom an entrance into the kingdom of heaven was so difficult, meant the Jews who con- fided in the law. But what is impossible to men is possible with God, who can save by faith, re- generate by water, conquer by the cross, adopt by the gospel and restore to life by the resurrec- tion from the dead. He therefore explains, “ Ye * Sicut ergo due sunt regenerationes, de quibus jam supra locutus sum, una secundum fidem, que nunc fit per baptismum ; alia secundum -carnem, que fiet in ejus incorruptione atque im- mortalitate per judicium magnum atque novissimum: ita sunt et resurrectiones due, una prima, que et nunc est, et animarum est, que venire non permiltit in mortem secundam; alia secunda, que nunc non est, sed in seculi fine futura est, nec animarum, sed corporum est, que per ultimum judicium alios mittet insecundam mortem, alios in eam vitam que non habet mortem. De Civitate Dei Lib. xx. Cap. 6. § 2. 49 who have followed me,” &c. thus: “They fol- lowed in the regencration, by the laver of ba tism, by the sanctification of the faith, by the adoption of inheritance, by the resurrection from the dead. For this is that regeneration which the apostles sought for, and which the law could not grant, which associated them in glory with, the twelve patriarchs upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”* In this passage, St. Hilary appears to have used the term regeneration as referring to the church in both states, militant and triumphant, united in one body. In another place, however,t he evi- dently interprets this passage according to the sense in which it was commonly understood, as referring to the state after the resurrection, which he calls “ spiritalis nativitatis generatio ex mortuis.” I know of but one ancient commentator. who clearly and explicitly interprets the regeneration m this place as referring to the church on earth; *<« Secuti in regeneratione sunt, in lavacro baptismi, in fidei sanclificatione, in adoptione hereditatis, in resurrectione ex mortuis. Hee enim illa regeneratio est quam apostoli sunt seculi, quam lex indulgere non potuit, que eos super duo- decim thronos, in judicandis duodecim tribubus Israel, in duo- decim patriarcharum gloria copulavit.” St. Hil, Com, in Matt. Op. Ed. Bened. col. 707, B. - {** Sed cum tradiderit regnum Deo patri conregnabit his ipse qui reges sunt, etc.—Ut tempus illud, quo eum regnare donec ponat inimicos suos sub pedibus suis oportet, a generatione usque in generationem sit comprehensum ; guia generationein hanc spiritalis nativitates generatio ex mortuis consequatur: wter- nitatis autem sug exceptio, dum in eternum in conspectu Dei est, predicetur.. Est autem ipse primogenitus ex mortuis.— Sed hujus regenerationis Dominus ad apostolos ita meminit : Amen dico vobis, quod vos quisequuti estis me, in regenera- tione clim sederit filius hominis in sede majestatis sux, et vos sedebitis super duodecim thronos judicantes duocecim tribus Israe].’’ Tractatus in Psal. Ix, Opera. col. 144. b,.c. 7 50 and that is the anonymous author of the imper- fect work upon St. Matthew, annexed to the writings of St. Chrysostom, and placed by Mont- faucon among the productions of uncertain date, but written before the close of the sixth century. This author takes the rich to mean the Jews who relied upon their privileges, the law, the ea ie the scriptures, the temple, priests, evites, sacrifices, &c. which inflated them with pride, and prevented their becoming the disci- ples of Christ, and thus entering into the king- dom of heaven, the Christian church. Accord- ingly he interprets dhe regeneration as meaning that future time of Christianity which would fol- low our Saviour’s ascension. “'The time of re- generation is when men_ being regenerated by baptism, are, from being the sons of men, made the sons of God. And observe, that our Sa- viour speaks not of the time of the future judg- ment, but of the calling of all nations. For he did not say, when the Son of man shall come silting upon the throne of his glory, but thus, when he shall sit upon the throne of his glory. Now he began to sit upon the throne of his glory, when the nations began to believe in him.”* It is to be observed that this is a Latin com- mentator, and as such is not entitled to as much weight as the Greeks, when he differs fypm ‘them upon questions which relate to the mean- ing of Greek phraseology. *<«< Tilud est enim tempus regenerationis quando homines re~ generati per baptismum facti sunt ex filiis hominum, filii Dei. Et vide quia non de tempore futuri judicii dicit, sed de voca- tione gentium universarum. Non enim dixit cum venerit ‘filius hominis sedens super sedem majestatis sue; sed ita, cum sederit in sede majestatis sue. In sede autem majestatis sue ex eo cwepit sedere ex quo gentes credere cceperunt in eum.” Opus Imperf. in Matt. int. Opera, S. Chrysost. Ed. Bened, Tom. vi. App. p. cxlii. 51 When we come to the moderns, we find a greater diversity of interpretation; some with the ancients taking the term regeneration, St. Matt. xix. 28, in its proper sense, as meaning the resurrection of the body and the consequent state of glory; others understanding it in the metaphorical sense alone, as relating solely to a change in this life; and a third class, considering it in its most comprehensive sense, as meaning both states, and including the Christian life in all its stages, from its commencement in grace, to its consummation in glory. 1. Among those who imterpret with the an- cients, Erasmus deserves to be mentioned in*the first place, not only on account of his eminetice in learning, but because his paraphrase upon the gospel was ordered by the injunctions of Edward - VI. to be provided in every parish in England, and publickly kept in churches for the general instruction of the people. The following is his paraphrase upon the pas- sage in question: “ This I warraunte you, that ye whiche have forsaken nothyng for my sake, but your boates and your nettes, but yet with suche a will that ye would have forsaken very greate richesse for my sake, and hitherto you beeynge bare and poore have folowed me lyke- wyse bare and poore, if ye persever and continue, in the worlde to cum, when the dead shall ryse, and everye man shall receyve rewarde alter his desertes, and whan that the Senne of man (his humilite that ye now see, set aparte) shal sitte in the seate of his majestie, ye fysshers than beyng partakers of honor, whiche are nowe partakers of affliccion, shall sit in twelve seates, and shall judge the twelve trybes of Israel: because they cumming of the same stocke, havyng knowledge of the same lawe, provoked with the same mira- cles, and benefytes, yet by no meanes could be 52 brought to beleve ; whereas ye meane persones, and unlerned, by and by at my simple bidding, have lefte, yea those thinges whereby ye sus- teyned your life. And this rewarde shai not be yours onelye, but whosoever for the profession of my name, forsaketh his house, his brothers, or sisters, his father or mother, his wyle or chyl- dren, his landes, or anye other possession: he shall not lose that whiche he lefte for my sake, insomuche, that he shall have a greate gayne therby. For in this worlde he shall receyve an hundred folde for the thinges that he hath lefte, and in the tyme of resurreccion he shal possesse everlastyng life. For in the stede of the thinges that he hath lefte, the whiche bee casuall and vyle possessions, he shall possesse here in the meane tyme that precious margaryte of the evangelicall mynde, whiche is to be es+ temed and compared with no marchandise of this worlde :”—* Unto this great rewarde, that shal be added also, whiche is the greatest of all, that for thynges whiche shortely shal perishe, ye shal possesse everlastyng life.” The paraphrase of Erasmus, printed by Nicholas Udall. Fol. 97. Of the same opinion are Munster, Sir Norton Knatchbull, Mangey in his note to Philo de Che- rubim ; and Biel, in his Lexicon to the txx. &e. vy. wea yieuet Schleusner is of opinion that in the passage in question, radrvyserx, regeneration, re~ lates either to Christ personally, in which case, it must mean his resurrection, and his consequent restoration to his pristine glory; or to the apos- tles personally, in which case it is to be under- stood of the resurrection of the dead, and the state of increased happiness after death.* * «© Theawyyeverie Vel ad Christum relatum, reditum in vitam, et gue hance secuta est, recuperationem et instaurationem 53 2. Those who understand the word im its metaphorical sense only, are by far the most numerous. “Some commentators,” says Calvin, “ refer the term regeneration to the subsequent context ; in which case it would mean no other than that newness which will follow our renewed existence when our mortality shall be swallowed up of life, and our vile body shall be changed into the heavenly glory of Christ. But I rather refer the regeneration to the first advent of Christ; be- cause then the world began to be renewed, and the church emerged from the darkness of death into the light of life.”* Grotius explains the term to mean “ that king- dom of the Messiah itself which commenced after the resurrection of Christ, of which St. Paul spake when he said, ‘ Behold all things are be- come new.’ “That the world is to be renewed,” says Lightfoot, “at the coming of the Messias, and the preaching of the gospel, the scriptures assert, and the Jews believe ; but in a grosser sense, pristine glorie, vel, ad apostolos relatum, resurrectionem mortuorum, ct statum feliciorem post mortem significare mibi quidem yidetur.” Schleus. Lex. Tom. ii. p. 380. *« In regeneratione. Quidam hance particalam ad sequentem contextum rejiciunt. Ita regeneratio nihil aliud esset quam novitas que instaurationem nostri sequetar, dum absorbebitur quod mortale est a vita, et corpus nostrum humile in celestem Christi gloriam transfigarabitur. Sed ego regenerationem po- tius ad priorem Christi adventum refero: quia tunc ceepit re-_ novari mundus, et ex mortis tenebris ecclesia in lucem vite emersit.”” Calv. Comm..ja Harmon. Evang. Inter Opera Tom. vi. p. 224. < 1 “ Ipsum Messiz regnum inchoandum ‘post resurrectionem Christi, de quo agens Paulus inquit, idov yeyore xave ta wavte 2 Cor. vy. 17.” Grotius in loc. 54 which we observe at chap. 24. Our Saviour, therefore, by the word xaavyexcw, regeneration, calls back the minds of the disciples to a might apprehension of the thing; implymg that reno- vation, concerning which the scripture speaks, is not of the body or substance of the world; but that it consists in the renewing of the man- ners, doctrine, and a dispensation conducing thereunto: Jen are to be renewed, regenerated, not the fadrick of the world. This very thing he teaches Nicodemus, treating concerning the nature of the kingdom of heaven. John ui.” Hor. Heb. et Talmud. Works, Vol. ii. p. 220. “ By regeneration,” says bishop Pearce, “ here seems meant that new state of things, which the kingdom of heaven or the gospel introduces ; for in that state (as Paul says, 2 Cor. v.17.) men are new creatures; old things are passed away, and all things are become new. The word is but once more used in the new testament, viz. in Titus iu. 5, where Paul speaks of men’s being saved Ota AouTps WaAryyEveting xual avanalwwTEWS Tov arvuxres dvix, by the washing (i. e. baptism) of re- generation, (1. e. of what is required in the new state under the gospel,) and by the renewal of the Holy Ghost. Both of these conditions, Jesus, in John i. 5, pronounced to be necessary for every one who would enter into the kingdom of God.— Agreeably to this interpretation, I find Josephus in Antiq. x 3, 9, calling that xzryyeeoe which in the preceding section he had called amouxzrasazig @ _ restoration.” Pearce, Comm. Vol. i. p. 133. v. 28, and note I. Wetstein considers the regeneration here as_ well as in Titus 1. 5. as meaning “that mighty change of the world for the better which took place when the gentiles embraced the Christian 55 faith.”* In like manner the future expected accession of the Jews to the Christian faith is cal- led, Rom. xi. 15, life from the dead. Rosen- muller ,adopts the same ideas, and even copies the language of Wetstein, word for word. Whitby inclines to Dr. Lightfoot’s opinion, that the regeneration began with the resurrection of our Saviour, and that the apostles judged the twelve tribes by their doctrme in thew cpistles. _ He grants, however, that the zxeayyeerm, here mentioned may be referred to the consummation of the world, but then he adds, this new birth is only that of the church of Christ, that new life, or life from the dead she shall receive when all Israel shall be saved, and the fulness of the gen- tiles shall flow into them. The return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity having been a waaryyeeoiaz> Why, he asks, may not their final con- version be here represented by our Saviour under the same metaphor ? 3. In all this diversity of expression, it is easy to perceive that one current of thought runs through the whole of these writers. ‘They take the term, as used by our Saviour, in its metaphorical sense only, as indicating the renewed state of the Christian church. Dr. Hammond, while he in- clines to admit this construction of our Sayiour’s ‘words, thinks that his, promise to the apostles includes both states of existence. In his excel- lent note on this subject, he says that the word wanyyeeriz properly signifies a new or second state, which he supports by reference to the definitions of the Greek grammarians, and the use of the term by the Pythagoreans. “In sacred writers *Ingens illa orbis in melius conversio, que accessione genti- um ad fidem Christi contigit, waaryyeverte Vocatur Tit. iii, 5. Et accessio sperata Judeorum Cun vexpav. Rom. xi. 15. 56— it is used,” he observes, “for the resurreetion, whether that of the future being of body and soul, or that which Christ is pleased to make preparative to it, the spiritual proselytism ex- pressed by that phrase, ‘Titus. ii. 5, the change and renovation of the soul and affections in this. life, and as a token and sign of that work of Christ’s, it is used for baptism, that being born of water and the Holy Ghost, John i. And so hath Phavormus observed waaryyeecia, to gyio Barricne Asyeres, tis set to signify holy baptism, ‘(see note on Matt. im. a. and John i. a.) Farther yet, and by the same analogy, it may. signify that second or new state, that peaasv «iv in Isaiah, that age to come, that is the state of the church under Christ or his spiritual kingdom, beginning at the resurrection of Christ, and this either im respect of the begining of it, Christ’s resurrection, which is fitly styled the rzavvyercoie, the new birth of Christ, or else in regard that all other things (that is, the general disposal of all things m the church) are become new, 2 Cor. v. 27, the gentiles received into the church, the Jewish priesthood, and cere- monies abolished, &c.” If the passage in question be taken in this last sense, the regeneration must mean the time after Christ’s ascension, when all ower in the church was solemnly instated in liu and the apostles’ sitting upon thrones must mean that power in the church which is else-’ where denominated the power of the keys, the judicature in the church of Christ. Yet, because St. Paul says that the saints shall judge the world, 1 Cor. vi. 2; because in St. Luke, chap. xxii. v.29, 30, together with the promise of sittmg on thrones and judging the twelve tribes of Israel, is connected that of eating and drinking at the table of Christ in his kingdom; and because in Mark x. 30. beside the reward in this time (this 57 world) there is mention also of the world to come, and everlasting life ; “therefore it will be most safe to interpret this judging here, of the apos- tle’s power in the church of Christ, yet so as may not exclude that future dignity also.” In other words, our Saviour’s expression, “in the regenera- tion,” refers, in the opinion of that learned com- mentator, to both states of being—the kingdom of grace, and the kingdom of glory. Dr. Campbell takes the same view of the sub- ject. Commenting on the 23d verse, respecting the entrance of the rich into the kmgdom of heaven, he observes: “ By the kingdom of heaven is some- times understood, in this history, the Christian church, thensoon to be erected, and sometimes the state of the blessed in heaven after the re- surrection. In regard to thisdeclaration of our Lord, I take it to hold true, in which way soever the kingdom be understood. When it was only by means of persuasion that men were brought into a society, hated and persecuted by all the ruling powers of the earth, Jewish and pagan ; we may rest assured, that the opulent and the voluptuous, (characters which, ina dissolute age, commonly go together,) who hadso much to lose, and so much to fear, would not, among the hear- ers of the gospel, be the most easily persuaded.” See James u. 5, 6. “ As little can there be any doubt of the just- ness of the sentiment, in relation to the state of the blessed hereafter, when the deceitfulness of riches, and the snare into which it so often in- veigles men, are duly considered. So close an analogy runs through all the divine dispensations, that, in more instances than this, it may be affirm- ed with truth, that the declarations of scripture are susceptible of either interpretation.” In like manner, commenting on the 28th verse, 8 D8 he observes : “what was said on verse 23, holds equally in regard to the promise we have here. The principal completion will be at the general resurrection, when there will be, in the most im- pale sense, a renovation, or regeneration, of eayen and earth, when all things shall become new ; yctin a subordinate sense, it may be said to have been accomplished when God came to visit in judgment that guilty land; when the old dispensation was utterly abolished, and succeeded by the Christian dispensation, into which the gentiles from every quarter, as well as Jews, were called and admitted.” Campbell’s Trans. and Notes on the Four Gospels, vol. im. p. 122. Ed. 4. Edinb. 1812, 3 vol. 8vo. ened ———__ We have now examined the meaning of the term waryyseria, regeneration, as used by the sa- cred writers, accordmg to the three rules of interpretation mentioned at the beginning of this dissertation. We _ have seen that as a term of Grecian philosophy it denoted in its proper sense the re-union or state of re-union of the same soul and the same body, after they had been separat- ed by death; that in like manner it was employ- ed by the Grecian Jews, according to their juster sentiments concerning the future state, to denote the final resurrection of the body, and its re-union with the soul; that ma metaphorical sense it was used by them to denote the renewed exis- tence of things in this world, such as the state of the world after the deluge, or the state of the Jewish nation after they had been restored, as a body politick, at the termination of the Babylo- nish captivity. We have seen that there are two passages only in which the term occurs in 59 the new testament; that in one of these, it ap- pears, from the -scope and design of ‘the author, to be used in the metaphorical sense; that in the other, judging also from the context, it is some- what doubtful whether it is in the metaphorical or the proper sense; but that in both, its general meaning is obviously the same as that in which it was understood by the Jews in general. And by an examination of many eminent commentators, an- cient and modern, the learned of different nations, different ages, and different communions, we find that such has been the generally received inter- pretation of the universal church. We may therefore confidently affirm that xaaryyeveria, re- generation, as used by the sacred writers, is either synonymous with aeszes resurrection ; or differs from it only as a continued state of existence dif- fers from the incipient moment of existence. In its proper sense, it can relate only to the eternal being. of the future world; in its metaphorical sense, alone, isit applicable to the present life.— The question then is, what is the precise meta- phorical sense in which we may a“ the term so as to adhere most strictly to the language and doctrine of the scriptures. Lf we consider the terms regeneration and _ re- surrection as synonymous, then the mode in which ‘the word resurrection is used inthe new. testa- ment, will throw light upon the proper applica- tion of the word regeneration. St. Luke xx. 34, 35, 36. ‘‘ The children of this world, (rev aioves tevtov,) marry and are given in mar- riage: but they which shall be accounted worth to obtain that world (Tov atavos ¢celvou, the other world,) and the resurrection from the dead, nei- ther marry nor are given in marriage: neither 60 can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” . “Our Lord,” as Campbell observes, “ agreeably to the Jewish style of that period, calls that only the resurrection which is a resurrection to glory.” The two states of being, the present life, and the life to come, are contrasted. The children of this world, are men in the present life or state— mankind in general. Into the world to come, the state of glory, they only of the children of this world shall be admitted, who shall be accounted worthy; and these are called the children of the resurrection. Therefore, being the children of the resurrection, or in other words being count- ed worthy of admission into the state of glory, they are equal to the angels and are the sons of God. The word resurrection bemg here used not in the metaphorical but im the proper sense, from this passage we may infer, that, properly speaking, they only are the sons of God, who will be admitted into the state of glory. Acts xii. 32, 33. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begot- ten thee. ' Rom. 1. 1,3, 4. The gospel of God—concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord—declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.* * Christ was first declared to be the Son of God at his baptism. ‘Tt came to pass that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, like a dove, upon him ; and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased.” Luke iii. 21, 22. Christ was secondly declared to be the Son of God during 61 These two passages throw light upon each other. In the former, St. Paul affirms that the prophecy “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee,” was fulfilled at our Lord’s.re- surrection; in the latter, that Christ was demon- strated or defined (sa:79a7es) to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead. In confor- mity with the same mode of expression, the apostle in another place, (Col. i. 18.) calls our Saviour “the first born from the dead; ob- the whole course of his life on earth, by the mighty works which he did, by which he manifested forth his glory, and led his disciples to believe on him as the promised Messiah. John ii. 11. Christ was lastly declared to be the Son of God with pow- er, through the same Spirit of holiness which descended upon him at his baptism, by the resurrection from the dead: this operation being expressly ascribed to the Spirit. Rom. viii. 11. 1. Peter. iii. 18. So we his members are first declared to be the sons of God at our baptism. In a higher sense we are in this life declar- ed to be the sons of God by the fruits of the Spirit in our lives. Gal. v.22. Rom. viii. 13, 14. In the highest sense, we shall be declared to be the sons of God when we shall become the children of the resurrection. It is perhaps worthy of observation, that in the account of our Saviour’s baptism, Luke iii. 22, instead of ‘* Thou art my be- Joved Son ; in thee J am well pleased,” the celebrated codex Cantabrigiensis, (D. Wetst. and Griesb.) reads “* Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” This which is now a singular reading of that Greek manuscript is found in all the Latin MSS. of the antehieronymian version, excepting the cedex Brixianus and Forojulien. It was also in the copies of this gospel read by Clemens Alexandrinus, Metho- dius and Justin Martyr. he latter, speaking of our Saviour’s baptism, and this quotation from the second psalm, which he says was then uttered from heaven, explains the being that day begotten, as. meaning that he was then made known, or as St. Paul says, (Rom. i. 4.) declared, to be the Son of God. Tote Yeveriy avTov Azyay yiveT Sat Tols aS pwr7rols eSorouy YwaTls avTtev eusrre yverSat. Dial. c. Tryph. p. ii. Ed. Thirlb. p. 333. and Thirlby’s note. 62 viously implying, that to rise from the dead and to be born or begotten, are convertible terms.* » In the passages last quoted, the word “ resur- rection” is used in its primary and proper mean- ing, to denote the re-union of the soul and body of man after death. There are others in which it is applied in the metaphorical sense. . Col. 1. 12, Buried with him (Christ) in bap- tism, wherein also ye are risen with him. Col. ui. 1. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. Rom. vi. 2—6. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. So again, verses 8 to 11, Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more do- minion over him. For in that he died, he died un- to (or byt) sin once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto (or by) God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto (or by) sin, but alive unto (or by) God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. / The apostle affirms that we are risen with _* See also Heb. i. 6. "+See Macknight's Com. on the Epistles. Vol. i. in loc. 63 Christ in baptism, and that, being buried with him by baptism, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory or power of God, so we, by the same glory or power, (sce Rom. viii. 2.) should also walk in newness of life. It is appa- rent then that the resurrection of Christians, in the: metaphorical sense in which it is here used by St. Paul, is a complex term. It is applied by him to the outward and visible sign in baptism, as well as to the inward and spiritual grace. We are risen, says the the apostle, in a Does the resurrection, m this metaphorical sense, mean only the rising of the soul from the death of sin to. the life of righteousness? ‘This would make the apostle affirm that the mward and _ spiritual grace always accompanies the outward and visi- ble sign: in which case, all dispute upon the subject of the efficacy of baptism would be at an end. But the great body of Christians will ad- mit the expressions in our twenty-fifth article to be correct, that the sacraments “ haye a whole- some effect or operation in such only as worthily receive the same.” And if this be admitted, then it must also be admitted that the baptismal re- surrection is a complex term, involving the out- ward and visible sign, as. well as the ward and spiritual grace. In the largest acceptation of the word, all baptized persons are risen with Christ. They are made members of his body, the church. They have risen from an uncoyenanted, to a covenanted state. They are translated into God’s kingdom. From being aliens and foreigners, they are admitted to be fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. They are allowed to partake of all the means of grace, and if they have come with right motives, all the hopes of glory. In a less extensive sense, or rather in the most 64 complete acceptation of the metaphor, they only are risen with Christ who are risen from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness. This spiritual resurrection of our nature, through the powerful assistances, afforded us under the new covenant, must take place in this life, or we shall never attain unto that final and proper resurrection,in which our souls shall be for ever -united to bodies fashioned like unto the glorious body of our Redeemer. If, therefore, the words “resurrection” and “regeneration,” though not conveying precisely the same idea, are to be considered as converti- ble terms, then it will follow that “regeneration” is properly used to denote baptism; for the apos- tle expressly calls baptism a resurrection; and in whatever sense it be a resurrection, in the same sense it is a regeneration.* And again, if the complex term “resurrection” be metaphorically used to signify not only the “ outward and visible sign,” but also the “inward and spiritual grace” in baptism—the death unto sin, and the new life unto righteousness ; then may the term regenera- tion be used in the same sense. But it is not to be exclusively uscd in this sense, because that would be to prescribe narrower limits to our phraseology than what are prescribed in the scriptures. If we proceed to examine the other expres- sions in the new testament, which have an allinity with the word regeneration, we shall * The result is very much the same if the term ‘“ regen- eration” be considered as denoting that continued state of existence of which ‘resurrection’ is the incipient period. In whatever sense baptism is a resurrection, in that same sense it is the beginning of the regenerate state in this life. During this first state, we are required to rise to a continued life of righteousness through the power(ul operation of the same Spirit which raised up Jesus from the dead. 65 find that they have an equal affinity with the word “ resurrection,” and consequently strength- en the conclusion just drawn. St. John i. 5. Except a man be born (yewa3») of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. To be born of water, is equivalent to the outward and visible resurrec- tion, in baptism, by which men are admitted into the kingdom of God on earth, the visible church; to be born of the Spirit, is equivalent to that in- ward and spiritual resurrection, which is effected in our souls by the Spirit of God, and without which we cannot enter into the kingdom of God in heaven. Ib. 1. 11, 12, 13. He (Christ) came unto his own (his peculiar people the Jews) and his own received him not ; but as many as received him (by repentance, faith, and baptism,) to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on hisname. Who were born (evenn9neav) not of blood, (literally bloods—not by their illustrious descent from Abraham, and re- ceiving the bloody rite of circumcision) nor of the will of the flesh, (by natural descent from their parents) nor of the will of man, (by the adoption of an heir for want of natural issue,) but of God, (by the sanctification of his Holy Spirit.) As many as receive Christ according to the way of his appointment, or being properly qualified, are by baptism made members of his church, to them the privilege of adoption is given, whereby we cry abba, father. They are enabled torise from the death of sin, to the life of righteousness, and if they continue in well doing, through the grace given them, will be admitted to the resurrection of the just. ; 1 John 11. 29. Every one that doeth righ- 9 66 teousness is born (yeyemra, hath been begotten,) of him (God.) * 1 John ii. 2, 3. Now we are the sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every one who hath this hope in him, puri- fieth himself, even as he is pure. 1 John it. 9,10. Whosoever is born (yeyenuenes, hath been begotten) of God, doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him, and he can- pot sin because he is born (yeyewre hath been begotten) of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil; who- soever doth not righteousness is not (begotten) of Gcd, neither he that loveth not his brother. 1 Johny. 1. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born (y«vera:, hath been begotten,) of God: and every one that loveth him that be= gat, loveth him also that is begotten (yeyemevor) of him. Every one who loveth God loveth all who bear his image.—4. Whatsoever is born (yeyerex) Of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith—18. Whosoever is born (begot- ten) of God sinneth not: but he that is begotten of God, keepeth (or guardeth) himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” In these remarkable expressions, the aposile evidently uses the term sons of God, to denote those who are so in the highest sense in which it can be applicd to men in this world. His language amounts, in fact, to a description of the Christian character. He affirms that the true Christian doth righteousness; doth not commit sin; believeth that Jesus is the Christ, loveth God and all mankind, but more especially all ‘ 67 who partake of the same renewed nature; over- cometh the world by his faith; and guardeth himself from the temptations and assaults of his spiritual adversary. Ina word, he who is re- generate in this world, in the most complete sense of the metaphor, is risen from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness. Any one who examines with attention the language of the apostolick epistles will perceive that regenzralion and resurrection conveyed so nearly the same idea, that the thought of one {igure naturall suggested the other. Thus, 1 John i. 14. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth indeath. Compare this with 1 John iv. 7. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born, or begotten, of God, and knoweth God. Inchap. ii. ver. 2,3, there is an evident allusion to the final resurrection, or the entrance int& the kingdom of glory. “We are now,” says the apostle, “ the sons of God; but at doth not yet ap- pear what we shall be.” The iull import of the title “ sons of God” cannot be known till we be- come sons of the resurrection, (St. Luke xx. 36.) “ We know that when he shall appear we shall be hike him.” When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we shall also appear with him in glory, (Col. i. 4.) “Every one who hath this hope purifieth himself even as he is_ pure.” They who expect to be made like him here- alter, must first resemble him here in purity and holiness. In chap. iii. ver. 9. it is said, “« Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed re- 68 maineth in him.” The word of God, St. Peter assures us, 1s that incorruptible seed. 1 Pet. 1. 23. Being born again, (azyevenmust) not of cor- ruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.* The sced of God’s word, when sown in good ground— in honest and good hearts—(Luke viii. 15,) springs up, and brings forth fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred fold. The holy nature which this incorruptible seed pro- duces, is not like the frail and perishing produc- tions of our mortal life, for it will grow up to immortal happiness. If we are planted in the likeness of the death of Christ, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Rom. vi. 2 Cor. v. 17. “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, (x0 x75 a NeW ercation;) old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” The connexion is ob- vious betweena new creation—the renovation of. all things—and a resurrection. In the fifteenth verse, the apostle had said, that Christ died for all, (all being dead, vy. 14,) that they which live, should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. “ Therefore,” he subjoins, “if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. 2 Cor. iv. 14. “ Knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus v.16. For which cause we faint not but though our outward man (c¢%o juorevSperes, OUr *In the 21st verse the apostle speaks of the same persons who are here said to be born again, as believing in God who raised up Jesus from the dead, and gave him glory. ‘This is mentioned to show that the apostle’s current of thought natural- ly flowed from the idea of the resurrection of Christ, to that of the spiritual resurrection or regeneration of his members. For a further illustration of the same remark, See | Peter i. 3. 69 body, perish,) yet the inward man (4 «#3, our soul,) is renewed (avanzinovrat) Gay by day. The same train of thought is here observable. The hope of the final resurrection to glory animates the Christian under the pressure of every ditficul- ty, and his soul becomes every day more and more holy, until at length it comes unto the ever- lasting kingdom of his Lord. Ephes. 1. 10. “For we are his workmanship, - (weimex) created (xrz3evre) in Christ Jesus unto good works.” The apostle had just before spok- en of both Jews and gentiles as dead in tres- passes and sins, (ver. I, 3.) and the children of wrath. But God being rich in mercy, had made both alive, in Christ, and had raised up both together, and made them sit together in the heavenly places (ver. 5, 6.) that is, had brought them both by the baptismal resurrection into the Christian church—the kingdom of heaven. Being thus brought into the church they are said here to be the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works for a continuance in which God had belore prepared them, by the know- ledge of the gospel and the influences of his Spirit. The same idea is continued in the 15th verse of the same chapter. Christ, by his death, hath abolished the enmity between the Jews and gen- tiles, that he might create (xs:27) the two in him- sell’ into one new man (e1s Eve xasvor eevSpwmrev.) Vv. 16, And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body; that is in the one church, which, in the last verse of the Ist chapter, is called the body of Christ. Ephes. iv. 22. That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man (zo raazt oy av9pwxev) which is corrupt according to the deceit- ful lusts ; 23. and be renewed (cv aveourSer) in 70 the spirit of your mind; ver. 24. and that ye put on the new man (re xzue a3;e7v) which alter God is created in righteousness and true holiness. In the first part of this chapter, the apostle exhorts the Ephesians to walk worthy of their Christian calling; and he urges it by the consides ration of their being united in that one body the church; a body animated by one spirit, serving one Lord, professing one faith, and having one baptism. The very object for which they were brought into this church, was that they might grow up from the state of children, or new born babes, to the full stature of perfect manhood— He commands them, therefore, as they had re- nounced their impure heathen and Jewish cha- racter, by entering into the Christian church, to put off, as an unclean garment, their unrenewed nature, to become new men in their understand- ing, will, and affections, and to put on, as a pure and spotless robe, that new nature which, af- ter the image of God, is created in righteous- ness and true holiness. He 1s supposed to allude to the practice which prevailed in the Christian church, and is thought to have been derived from the Jewish, of baptized persons laying aside at their baptism the garments they had former- ly worn, and assuming others which were new. and white and perfectly clean. Their very pros fession in baptism was to follow the example of our Saviour Christ, and to be made like unto him; that as he died and rose again for them, so should they die from sin, and rise again unto righteousness. f mt Nearly the same expressions occur in the epis- tle to the Colossians, and the context shows still more clearly the constant affinity of these vari- ous metaphors. In the second chapter, as we have seen, St. 71 Paul speaks of baptism as a resurrection; and m the beginning of the third chapter he exhorts them, since they had been thus raised with Christ, to set their affections upon heavenly things, and to put away the several vices to which they had been formerly prone. ver. 9. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed (zyaxa:evmery) IN knowledge, after the image of him that created him. I have now, I believe, brought into view al- most every passage in the new testament which is considered as having any relation to this impor- tant and difficult subject; and I have, if I mis- take not, fully shown that the terms resurrection and regeneration may be considered as syhonymes. In their proper meaning, they cannot apply to this life. It is only their metaphorical meaning with which in our present state we have an concern. In the metaphorical sense, the apostle expressly affirms that we are risen in baptism ; it must therefore be admitted by every candid mind that in whatever sense baptism is a resur- rection, it is, in the same sense, a regeneration. Consequently the language of our church, in her baptismal service, is as consistent with the scrip- tures, as it is with the sentiments and expressions of the church universal for sixteen hundred years. That narrow use of the phrase which would exclude its application to baptism was un- known at the period of the reformation. Hence there is a remarkable uniformity with the lan- guage of the English liturgy and articles, in all the symbols and confessions of faith which were framed at that period, by the continental re- 72 formers ; a uniformity which is still preserved in our own country in the formularies of. those who, in their modes of speech, have departed most widely from the language of our church. When this circumscribed use of the term regeneration first became current, it may be difficult to deter- mine. It is not unlikely that it grew out of the” contenticns on the subject of election and grace which in the year 1618, agitated the synod of Dort ; and Dr. Nichols, in his commentary on the baptismal office, traces it no higher than to the beginning of the civil wars in England; that is to the year 1641. If this be correct, it is not diffi- cult to account for its prevalence in America. But on the other hand, it has been shown that the word resurrection, and consequently its syno- nyme regeneration, is a complex term ; that it denotes not only the outward and visible resur- rection frem an uncovenantcd to a covenant state, but also that process of spiritual renovation, by which our nature is figuratively said to die unto sin and live again unto righteousness. A distinction has of late years been made by many able divines between the terms regenera- tion and renovation; but it deserves to be serious- ly considered whether this distinction is well founded; and whether it is net likely to produce the same confusion of thoughts, and the same in- terminable disputes, which have arisen from the opposite limitation of the new birth, to the mei pient sanctification ef the soul. If resurrection and regeneration are synonymous, will it not also be apparent that resurrection and renoyation are so in an equal degree, and consequently that the renovation of our nature is equivalent to spiritual regeneration ? etl ii we turn to the ancient grammarians and ecclesiastical writers, we shall find that raamwyyereoue, 73 regeneration, and avexayors, renovation, with the synonymes of each, are used as convertible terms. Hesychius explains waaryyereciz, regeneration, as meaning To tx deurepay ceveryeyinyvet 4 avancincInva, to be born again, or renewed. Clemens Alexandrinus evidently uses the term regeneration in the sense which is now affixed to renovation. ‘Thus near the end of the second book of his Stromata, he says, “ The adultress when she lives to sin, is dead to the command- ments ; but when she has repented, or is born again by a change of life, she has the regenera- tion (waauyyereciay,) of life. The former adultress being dead, she hath come again to life, being born by repentance.* So also Gregory, Nyssen, Orat. Catechet. T. iil. p. 108. “ That we receive a salutary birth (ry cwrnpiey yerm w,) by the renovation and change of our nature, is manifest to all. See Suicer’s Thes. sub. VOC. cayenctylojeos: On the other hand, nothing is more common among the fathers than to apply the term reno- vation to baptism. Thus Athanasius says, com- menting upon Heb. vi. 4, 5,6, “ What is said in the epistle to the Hebrews does not exclude sin- ners from repentance, but only shows that there is but one baptism of the catholick church, and not asecond. Therefore he exhorts to repentance, but shows that there is only one, and not a second renovation by baptism. For he does not say, it is impossible to repent, but that it is impossible for us fo renew, («vaxemfew,) any persons on profession of repentance. There is, between these, a great difference ; for he, who repents, ceases indeed “H yap Tot ropvsurart, Cn sy TH daptia, aredazvey deTaic evrorcuce i de psrtvoncac2, olov avayevvnbace xxre tay erispcony Tov Riou, manvyyeverizy exer Conc’ rebvnxvias prey tue Topync Tus marrtac, ete Bioy ds wapsrSourns audic tHe nate Try meTayotay yevvnSeone. S. Clem. Alex. Opera. Kd. Potter. Tom.i p. 507. Strom, Lib. ii. 425. t 10 74 {rom sinning, but retains the scars of his wounds, whereas he who is baptized, puts off the old man, and is renewed, being born again by the grace of the Spirit 2 ode BamriCousyos, Tov peY warcov cemendrdvonsTas, evdpumoy , vances Cera de, ws ava Ser yenndels, 71.78 wieueeTos yoepiTt> Homil. in Matt. xii. 31, as quoted by Suicer, sub. Ve. avancalyitic. . My limits will not permit me to dwell longer upon this part of the subject, and I must there- fore refer the learned reader to Suicer’s Thesau- rus, under the words, Avaryevnrls, ceveencetviar, CLV OLIVITIG, CEVCLHMIVIT LOG, CLVCLVEWTIC, CLVERTITIC, eYLOUmTITIC, ccvecCcw, eveEruriey and xaayyever, where he will find full proof that the words, resurrection, renovation, and regenera- tion, were, in a metaphorical sense, used ancient- ly as convertible terms. It will be found upon examination that such is the language of the oldest and best divines of the church of England: and it is a remarkable and somewhat amusing evidence of this, that in the keen and acrimonious contest which within the last few years has taken place in England on the subject of baptismal regeneration, botia sides have appealed to the same authors. It is of great importance not to narrow the phraseology of the scriptures by improper. dis- tinctions and limitations. When applied to the essential doctrines of the gospel, they are sure to exert a most pernicious influence. Into the language of Christian expositors they mtroduce inextricable confusion; sometimes change the whole current of thought and render that turbid which before was clear; often produce a misun- derstanding where there is no real difference; and terminate not unfrequently in producing schisms, and heresies, and every evil work. If the renovation of our nature be but another term to express its resurrection or regeneration V5 from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, then it will be seen that our spiritual regeneration is the process of our whole mortal life. Itis begun when the Holy Spirit begins to operate upon our minds. It is promoted by the use of-all the means of grace, by the preaching and reading of the word of God, by prayer, by the administra- tion of the sacraments, by our very trials and af- flictions. While the seeds of sin remain in our nature, our inner man must be renewed {rom day to day. We must be for ever engaged in purity- ing our bodies and our souls, and continually be- coming more and more perfect until this mortali- ty shall be swallowed up of life. In the covenant of baptism, we receive the promise of the Holy Spirit tostrengthen us with might in the inner man. What Christ hath promised, he, for his part, will most surely keep and perform. Nothing but our own sinfulness will make that promise void. Who, then, will not hasten to receive the privileges of baptism by in- curring its holy obligations! Ye mothers! will ye suffer your children to continue destitute of this precious promise ? or will ye not rather, from the moment of their birth, say in the language of your Saviour, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am | straitened ’till it be accom- plished!” The case of those who receive baptism in their riper years must of course be uncertain. When your sons and your daughters have grown to man’s estate, you cannot know their hearts. They have committed many sins and may be insensible of their enormity. You cannot, there- fore, know certainly whether they have werthi- ly and with faith received that holy sacrament. But with regard to your mfants there can be no such apprehension. ‘They have never com- mitted sin, and having therefore no need of re- Diy> Ss 76 entance, they have done or omitted nothing sae can Sai the grace of God. Put them then as early as'possible under the care and gui ance of that heavenly Comforter who presides invisibly over the kingdom of Christ, and dwells in the hearts of Christians. Bring themas earl as possible to your Saviour that he should tou them; and “doubt ye not that he will favoura- bly receive them; that he will embrace them with the arms of his mercy; that he will give unto them the blessing of eternal life, and make them partakers of his everlasting kingdom.” —_ THE END. A! G55