29
Aug

Richard Vines (1600-1655/6) on the Death of Christ

   Posted by: CalvinandCalvinism   in For Whom did Christ Die?

Vines:

1) There is never a verse expresses it in so full words as that of Ephes. 1:19. speaking of the power of that he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, “This power wrought in you when you believed.” Read this verse, and consider it well, I think you will never hereafter look upon it with an easy thing to believe the exceeding greatness of power. Learned Divines observe there is an aggravation; the raising power, whereby Christ rose, was a great power; he lay under all the sins of mankind; the greatest stone lay upon his grace that ever a man had; every man lay dead to his own sins: Christ lay under all the sins of mankind in their full weight; that which went to raise Christ, and to roll away the stone, was a mighty power indeed; and the same is put out in you, whereby you are called out of darkness into light, and from a natural state to believe in Christ.

Richard Vines, God’s Drawing and Man’s Coming to Christ, Discovered in 32 Sermons on John 6.44, (London: Printed for Abel Roper, at the Sun Against St. Dunstans Church in Fleet Street, 1662), 30.

2) How certain those that are elected are of their believing and coming unto Christ, by reason of this drawing of God, this is a resurrection, (so it’s called,) and truly as certain as th resurrection of the body, and ordinarily we hold it it certain that there shall be a resurrection of the body, it’s as certain that there shall be a resurrection of those that God has chosen unto Christ, though they be for the present dead, and, as the Apostle says, “far off”, nay, ‘tis as certain as the resurrection of Christ, when he was dead in the grace, and lay under the sins of mankind, a terrible stone to lay under, yet he was certain to rise again the third day, and the power toward the raising of those that believe is according to the working of the mighty power that wrought in Christ, Ephes. 1.18. now it’s said, that God “loosed the cords of Christ’s death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it;” Acts 2.24. so shall the cords of thy spiritual death be loosed also, if you belong to the election on the grace, though you be as dead and inanimate as Christ himself was, this will set you free, knock off the fetters of bondage from you, and all because there is a drawing of God, whereby you shall be made able to come, for “all that the Father gives me shall come to me,” Joh. 6.37. and Christ professes that he has the power given him, “that he should give eternal life to as many as God has given him,” John 17.2.

Richard Vines, God’s Drawing and Man’s Coming to Christ, Discovered in 32 Sermons on John 6.44, (London: Printed for Abel Roper, at the Sun Against St. Dunstans Church in Fleet Street, 1662), 291-292.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at 10:08 am and is filed under For Whom did Christ Die?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One comment

Flynn
 1 

Updated Vines with another quotation

October 30th, 2007 at 2:34 am

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