1.68-69 Of Christ's Forbearing to Hate the Church

Section 1.68. Of Christ's Forbearing to Hate the Church.

Eph 5:29.—Even as the Lord the church.

This confirmation of the pattern of a man's self by a like pattern of the Lord, has relation to both the parts of the manifestation of a man's love to himself: both to the negative and so it shows, that—

The Lord hates not his church.

And to the affirmative, and so it shows, that—

The Lord nourishes and cherishes his church.

That difference which is made between Esau a type of the world (Esau have I hated [Rom 9:13]) and Jacob a type of the church (Jacob have I loved [Mal 1:2-3]) shows that the Lord is far from hating his church. The world, not the church, is the object of God's hatred.

Objection. The church herself, [Deut 1:27] and the enemies thereof often conceive by Christ's dealing with her, that he hates her. [Deut 9:28]

Answer. It is the flesh abiding in them that are of the church which makes them so to conceive, not the Spirit: and in the enemies of the church the flesh altogether reigns. But the things of God, and his mind and affection, nor can, nor may be judged by carnal eyes, eyes of flesh. The Spirit of God accounts such things evidences of God's love, [Heb 12:6] which flesh judges to be tokens of hatred; namely, corrections.

Reason. It is not, because there is no matter of hatred in the church, that Christ hates it not: for by nature all are of one and the same cursed stock, children of wrath: [Eph 2:3] and after our sanctification is begun, the flesh abiding in us, we daily give much occasion of hatred if Christ should take that advantage against us which he might: but it is that near union which Christ has made between himself and the church that keeps him from hating her: he has made her his spouse, and he will not hate his spouse: all the occasion of hatred that she gives, he will either wipe away or cover.

Comfort

Use 1. Admirable is the comfort which every true member of the catholic church may reap from hence: for so long as the wrath and hatred of the Lord is turned from us, nothing can make us miserable: we may in this respect rejoice not only in prosperity, but also in all manner of affliction. No calamity can move Christ to hate his church, but rather the more to pity it, as we do our bodies. Nay, though by sin he be provoked, and see it needful to correct his church, yet in love, not in hatred, in mercy, not in wrath will he correct it.

Encouragement

Use 2. What now if all the world hate us? Seeing Christ hates us not, we need not fear nor care. The subject which is sure of his king's favor, little regards the hatred of others. This therefore is to be thought of, both to comfort us under the cross, and to encourage us against the hatred of the world. That none may pervert this comfortable doctrine, let me add two caveats.

1. That men deceive not themselves with a naked name, thinking themselves to be of the church, when they are only in it, such may Christ hate. [Jer 12:8]

2. That being of the church they wax not insolent, and too much provoke Christ to anger: for though he hate not such, yet in wisdom he may so severely correct them as if he hated them: and make them repent their folly and insolency again and again.

Section 1.69. Of Christ's Nourishing and Cherishing His Church.

2. That the Lord nourishes and cherishes his church, is evident by his continual providence over her in all ages. When first he created man, he provided beforehand all things needful to nourish and cherish him. [Gen 1:28-29] When he was moved to destroy the earth and all living things thereon, he had care of his church, and provided an Ark to keep her out of the waters, and stored up in the Ark all things needful for her. [Gen 6:14,27] When he purposed to bring a famine on the world, he sent a man beforehand to lay up provision for his church. [Gen 45:7] When his church was in a barren and dry wilderness, he gave them bread from heaven, [Exod 16:15] water out of the rock, [Exod 17:6] and kept their raiment from waxing old, and their feet from swelling. [Deut 8:4] After this he brought his church into a land flowing with milk and honey: and so long as it remained faithful he preserved it in that pleasant and plentiful land. Thus he dealt with the church in her nonage: and thus also has he dealt with her in her riper age under the gospel, as experience of all ages may witness. Neither has he only nourished and cherished her with temporal blessings, but also with all needful spiritual blessings: his word and sacraments, his Spirit and the graces thereof has he in all ages given her for that purpose: yea with his own flesh and blood has he fed her, [John 6:55] and with his own righteousness has he clothed her. [Isa 61:10]

Ascribe All to Christ

Use 1. Learn we of whom we receive all needful things, both spiritual and temporal, for soul and body, that accordingly we may give him the praise of all. And let us not be like the ungrateful Israelites who regarded not the means of spiritual nourishment, [Ezek 20:11-12] and ascribed the means of their temporal nourishing and cherishing to their idols. [Jer 44:17] In this respect the prophet makes them worse than the ox, and the ass, two of the most brutish beast that be. [Isa 1:3] Oh take we heed that the like be not upbraided to us. The Lord has not sparingly, but most liberally and bountifully nourished and cherished us in this land, and that both with temporal and spiritual blessings, so as he may justly say, what could have been done more in my vineyard, that I have not done in it? [Isa 5:4]

Depend on Christ For All Things

Use 2. Learn we also to depend on Christ for all things that we want: we need not fear penury: though we have not that plenty which we could wish, yet we shall have sufficiency. Christ will not suffer his church to famish for want of food, nor starve for want of clothing, whether temporal for body, or spiritual for soul. He that can and will perform it has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. [Heb 13:5] Lazarus was not forsaken; witness the angels that carried his soul into Abraham's bosom. [Luke 16:22] If any of Christ's church do perish for want of outward means, it is because Christ by that means will advance them to that place where they shall stand in need of nothing: so as he does not forsake them.