William Law · 8 of 14

Dialog 2 · Part 1

THE SECOND DIALOGUE BETWEEN

Theogenes, Eusebius, and Theophilus.

Eusebius. There is no Occasion to resume any Thing of our Yesterday’s Discourse. The following Propositions are sufficiently proved.

First, That God is an abyssal Infinity of Love, Wisdom, and Goodness; that He ever was, and ever will be one and the same unchangeable Will to all Goodness and Works of Love, as incapable of any Sensibility of Wrath, or acting under it, as of falling into Pain or Darkness, and acting under their Direction.

Secondly, That all Wrath, Strife, Discord, Hatred, Envy, or Pride, &c., all Heat and Cold, all Enmity in the Elements, all Thickness, Grossness, and Darkness are Things that have no Existence but in and from the Sphere of fallen Nature.

Thirdly, That all the Evils of Contrariety and Disorder in fallen Nature are only as so many Materials in the Hands of infinite Love and Wisdom, all made to work in their different Ways, as far as is possible, to one and the same End, viz., to turn temporal Evil into eternal Good.

So that whether you look at Light or Darkness, at Night or Day, at Fire or Water, at Heaven or Earth, at Life or Death, at Prosperity or Adversity, at blasting Winds or heavenly Dews, at Sickness or Health, you see nothing but such a State of Things, in and through which, the supernatural Deity wills and seeks the Restoration of fallen Nature and Creature to their first Perfection.

It now only remains, that the Doctrine of Scripture concerning the Atonement, necessary to be made by the Life, Sufferings, and Death of Christ be explained, or in other Words, the true Meaning of that Righteousness or Justice of God, that must have Satisfaction done to it, before Man can be reconciled to God.

For this Doctrine is thought by some to favour the Opinion of a Wrath and Resentment in the Deity itself.

Theophilus. This Doctrine, Eusebius, of the Atonement made by Christ, and the absolute Necessity and real Efficacy of it, to satisfy the Righteousness, or Justice of God, is the very Ground and Foundation of Christian Redemption, and the Life and Strength of every Part of it. But then, this very Doctrine is so far from favouring the Opinion of a Wrath in the Deity itself, that it is an absolute full Denial of it, and the strongest of Demonstrations, that the Wrath, or Resentment, that is to be pacified or atoned, cannot possibly be in the Deity itself.

For this Wrath that is to be atoned and pacified is, in its whole Nature, nothing else but Sin, or Disorder in the Creature. And when Sin is extinguished in the Creature, all the Wrath that is between God and the Creature is fully atoned. Search all the Bible, from one End to the other, and you will find, that the Atonement of that which is called the Divine Wrath or Justice, and the extinguishing of Sin in the Creature, are only different Expressions for one and the same individual Thing. And therefore, unless you will place Sin in God, that Wrath, that is to be atoned or pacified, cannot be placed in Him.

The whole Nature of our Redemption has no other End, but to remove or extinguish the Wrath that is between God and Man. When this is removed, Man is reconciled to God. Therefore, where the Wrath is, or where that is which wants to be atoned, there is that which is the blamable Cause of the Separation between God and Man; there is that which Christ came into the World to extinguish, to quench, or atone. If, therefore, this Wrath, which is the blamable Cause of the Separation between God and Man, is in God Himself, if Christ died to atone, or extinguish a Wrath that was got into the holy Deity itself, then it must be said, that Christ made an Atonement for God, and not for Man; that He died for the Good and Benefit of God, and not of Man; and that which is called our Redemption, ought rather to be called the Redemption of God, as saving and delivering Him, and not Man, from his own Wrath.

This Blasphemy is unavoidable, if you suppose that Wrath, for which Christ died, to be a Wrath in God Himself.

Again, The very Nature of Atonement absolutely shows, that that which is to be atoned cannot possibly be in God, nor even in any good Being. For Atonement implies the Alteration, or Removal of something that is not as it ought to be. And therefore, every Creature, so long as it is good, and has its proper State of Goodness, neither wants, nor can admit of any Atonement, because it has nothing in it that wants to be altered or taken out of it. And therefore, Atonement cannot possibly have any Place in God, because nothing in God either wants, or can receive Alteration; neither can it have Place in any Creature, but so far as it has lost, or altered that which it had from God, and is fallen into Disorder; and then, that which brings this Creature back to its first State, which alters that which is wrong in it, and takes its Evil out of it, is its true and proper Atonement.

Water is the proper Atonement of the Rage of Fire; and that which changes a Tempest into a Calm is its true Atonement. And, therefore, as sure as Christ is a Propitiation and Atonement, so sure is it, that that which he does, as a Propitiation and Atonement, can have no Place, but in altering that Evil and Disorder which, in the State and Life of the fallen Creature, wants to be altered.

Suppose the Creature not fallen, and then there is no Room nor Possibility for Atonement; a plain and full Proof, that the Work of Atonement is nothing else but the altering or quenching that which is Evil in the fallen Creature.

Hell, Wrath, Darkness, Misery, and eternal Death, mean the same Thing through all Scripture, and these are the only Things from which we want to be redeemed; and where there is nothing of Hell, there, there is nothing of Wrath, nor any Thing that wants, or can admit of the Benefits of the Atonement made by Christ.

Either, therefore, all Hell is in the Essence of the holy Deity, or nothing that wants to be atoned by the Merits and Death of Christ, can possibly be in the Deity itself.

The Apostle saith, that "we are by Nature Children of Wrath"; the same Thing as when the Psalmist saith, "I was shapen in Wickedness, and in Sin hath my Mother conceived me." And therefore, that Wrath which wants the Atonement of the Sufferings, Blood, and Death of Christ, is no other than that Sin, or sinful State, in which we are naturally born. But now, if this Wrath could be supposed to be in the Deity itself, then it would follow, that by being by Nature Children of Wrath, we should thereby be the true Children of God; we should not want any Atonement, or new Birth from above, to make us Partakers of the Divine Nature, because that Wrath that was in us would be our dwelling in God and he in us.

Again, All Scripture teaches us, That God wills and desires the Removal, or Extinction of that Wrath, which is betwixt God and the Creature; and therefore, all Scripture teaches, that the Wrath is not in God; for God cannot will the Removal, or Alteration of any Thing that is in Himself; this is as impossible, as for him to will the Extinction of his own Omnipotence. Nor can there be any Thing in God, contrary to, or against his own Will; and yet, if God wills the Extinction of a Wrath that is in Himself, it must be in Him, contrary to, or against his own Will.

This, I presume, is enough to show you, that the Atonement made by Christ is itself the greatest of all Proofs, that it was not to atone or extinguish any Wrath in the Deity itself; nor, indeed, any Way to affect, or alter any Quality, or Temper in the Divine Mind, but purely and solely to overcome and remove all that Death and Hell, and Wrath, and Darkness, that had opened itself in the Nature, Birth, and Life of fallen Man.

Eusebius. The Truth of all this is not to be denied. And yet it is as true, that all our Systems of Divinity give quite another Account of this most important Matter. The Satisfaction of Christ is represented as a Satisfaction made to a wrathful Deity; and the Merits of the Sufferings and Death of Christ, as that which could only avail with God, to give up his own Wrath, and think of Mercy toward Man. Nay, what is still worse, if possible, the Ground, and Nature, and Efficacy of this great Transaction between God and Man, is often explained by Debtor and Creditor: Man, as having contracted a Debt with God that he could not pay, and God, as having a Right to insist upon the Payment of it; and therefore, only to be satisfied by receiving the Death and Sacrifice of Christ, as a valuable Consideration, instead of the Debt that was due to Him from Man.

Theophilus. Hence you may see, Eusebius, how unreasonably Complaint has been sometimes made against the Appeal, the Spirit of Prayer, &c., as introducing a Philosophy into the Doctrines of the Gospel, not enough supported by the Letter of Scripture; though every Thing there asserted has been over and over shown to be well grounded on the Letter of Scripture, and necessarily included in the most fundamental Doctrines of the Gospel.

Yet they who make this Complaint, blindly swallow a Vanity of Philosophy, in the most important part of Gospel Religion, which not only has less Scripture for it than the Infallibility of the Pope, but is directly contrary to the plain Letter of every single Text of Scripture that relates to this Matter: as I will now show you.

First, The Apostle saith, "God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, that all who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting Life." What becomes now of the Philosophy of Debtor and Creditor, of a Satisfaction made by Christ to a Wrath in God? Is it not the grossest of all Fictions, and in full Contrariety to the plain written Word of God? "God so loved the World"; behold the Degree of it? But when did He so love it? Why, before it was redeemed, before He sent or gave his only Son to be the Redeemer of it. Here you see, that all Wrath in God, antecedent to our Redemption, or the Sacrifice of Christ for us, is utterly excluded; there is no Possibility for the Supposition of it, it is as absolutely denied as Words can do it. And therefore the infinite Love, Mercy, and Compassion of God toward fallen Man, are not purchased, or procured for us by the Death of Christ, but the Incarnation and Sufferings of Christ come from, and are given to us by the infinite antecedent Love of God for us, and are the gracious Effects of his own Love and Goodness toward us.

It is needless to show you, how constantly this same Doctrine is asserted and repeated by all the Apostles.

Thus says St. John again, "In this was manifested the Love of God toward us, because he sent his only begotten Son into the World, that we might live through him." Again, "this is the Record, that God hath given unto us eternal Life; and this Life is in his Son." Again, "God," saith St. Paul, "was in Christ, reconciling the World unto Himself, not imputing their Trespasses to them." Which is repeated, and further opened in these Words, "Giving Thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light, who hath delivered us from the Power of Darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son" (Col. 1:12-13). And again, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual Blessings in heavenly Places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3).

How great therefore, Eusebius, is the Error, how total the Disregard of Scripture, and how vain the Philosophy, which talks of a Wrath in God antecedent to our Redemption, or of a Debt which he could not forgive us, till he had received a Valuable Consideration for it, when all Scriptures from Page to Page tells us, that all the Mercy and Blessing and Benefits of Christ, as our Saviour, are the free antecedent Gift of God Himself to us, and bestowed upon us for no other Reason, from no other Motive, but the Infinity of his own Love toward us, agreeable to what the Evangelical Prophet saith of God, "I am He that blotteth out Transgressions for my own sake" (Isa. 43:25), that is, not for any Reason or Motive that can be laid before me but because I am Love itself, and my own Nature is my immutable Reason why nothing but Works of Love, Blessing, and Goodness, can come from me.

Look we now at the Scripture Account of the Nature of the Atonement and Satisfaction of Christ, and this will further show us, that it is not to atone, or alter any Quality or Temper in the Divine Mind, nor for the Sake of God, but purely and solely to atone, to quench, and overcome that Death, and Wrath, and Hell, under the Power of which Man was fallen.

"As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." This is the whole Work, the whole Nature, and the sole End of Christ’s Sacrifice of Himself; and there is not a Syllable in Scripture, that gives you any other account of it. It all consists, from the Beginning to the End, in carrying on the one Work of Regeneration; and therefore the Apostle saith, "The first Adam was made a living Soul, but the last or Second Adam was made a Quickening Spirit," because sent into the World by God to quicken and revive that Life from above which we lost in Adam. And he is called our Ransom, our Atonement, &c., for no other Reason, but because that which He did and suffered in our fallen Nature, was as truly an efficacious Means of our being born again to a new heavenly Life, of Him, and from Him, as that which Adam did, was the true and natural Cause of our being born in Sin, and the Impurity of bestial Flesh and Blood.

And as Adam, by what He did, may be truly said to have purchased our Misery and Corruption, to have bought Death for us, and to have sold us into a Slavery under the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, though all that we have from him, or suffer by him, is only the inward working of his own Nature and Life within us, so, according to the plain meaning of the Words, Christ may be said to be our Price, our Ransom, and Atonement; though all that He does for us, as Buying, Ransoming, and Redeeming us, is done wholly and solely by a Birth of his own Nature and Spirit brought to Life in us.

The apostle saith, "Christ died for our Sins." Thence it is, that He is the great Sacrifice for Sin and its true Atonement. But how and why is he so? The Apostle tells you in these Words, "The Sting of Death is Sin;— but Thanks be to God, who giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"; and therefore Christ is the Atonement of our Sins when, by and from Him, living in us, we have Victory over our sinful Nature.

The Scriptures frequently say, Christ gave himself for us. But what is the full Meaning, Effect, and Benefit, of his thus giving Himself for us? The Apostle puts this out of all Doubt, when he says, "Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all Iniquity, and purify to Himself a peculiar People;—that He might deliver us from this present World,—from the Curse of the Law,—from the Power of Satan,— from the Wrath to come"; or as the Apostle saith in other Words, "that He might be made unto us, Wisdom, Righteousness, and Sanctification."

The whole Truth therefore of the Matter is plainly this. Christ given for us, is neither more nor less, than Christ given into us. And he is in no other Sense, our full, perfect, and sufficient Atonement, than as his Nature and Spirit are born, and formed in us, which so purgeth us from our Sins, that we are thereby in Him, and by Him dwelling in us, become new Creatures, having our Conversation in Heaven.

As Adam is truly our Defilement and Impurity, by his Birth in us, so Christ is our Atonement and Purification, by our being born again of Him, and having thereby quickened and revived in us that first Divine Life, which was extinguished in Adam. And therefore, as Adam purchased Death for us, just so in the same Manner, in the same Degree, and in the same Sense, Christ purchases Life for us. And each of them only, and solely by their own inward Life within us.

This is the one Scripture Account of the whole Nature, the sole End, and full Efficacy of all that Christ did, and suffered for us. It is all comprehended in these two Texts of Scripture: (1) "That Christ was manifested to destroy the Works of the Devil; (2) That as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." From the Beginning to the End of Christ’s atoning Work, no other Power is ascribed to it, nothing else is intended by it, as an Appeaser of Wrath, but the destroying of all that in Man which comes from the Devil; no other Merits, or Value, or infinite Worth, than that of its infinite Ability, and Sufficiency to quicken again in all human Nature, that Heavenly Life that died in Adam.

Eusebius. Though all that is here said seems to have both the Letter and the Spirit of Scripture on its Side, yet I am afraid it will be thought not enough to assert the infinite Value and Merits of our Saviour’s Sufferings. For it is the common Opinion of Doctors that the Righteousness or Justice of God must have Satisfaction done to it; And that nothing could avail with God, as a Satisfaction, but the infinite Worth and Value of the Sufferings of Christ.

Theophilus. It is true, Eusebius, that this is often, and almost always thus asserted in human Writers, but it is neither the Language nor the Doctrine of Scripture.

Not a Word is there said of a Righteousness or Justice as an Attribute in God, that must be satisfied; or that the Sacrifice of Christ, is that which satisfies the Righteousness that is in God Himself.

It has been sufficiently proved to you, that God wanted not to be reconciled to fallen Man; that He never was anything else toward him but Love; and that his Love brought forth the whole Scheme of his Redemption. Thence it is, that the Scriptures do not say that Christ came into the World to procure us the Divine Favour and good Will, in order to put a Stop to antecedent righteous Wrath in God toward us. No, the Reverse of all this is the Truth, viz., that Christ and his whole mediatorial Office came purely and solely from God, already so reconciled to us, as to bestow an Infinity of Love upon us. "The God of all Grace," saith the Apostle, "who hath called us to his eternal Glory by Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 5:10). Here you see, Christ is not the Cause or Motive of God’s Mercy toward fallen Man, but God’s own Love for us, his own Desire of our eternal Glory and Happiness hath for that End given us Christ, that we may be made Partakers of it. The same as when it is again said, "God was in Christ reconciling the World to Himself," that is, calling, and raising it out of its ungodly and miserable State.

Thus all the Mystery of our Redemption proclaims nothing but a God of Love toward fallen Man. It was the Love of God, that could not behold the Misery of fallen Man, without demanding and calling for his Salvation. It was Love alone, that wanted to have full Satisfaction done to it, and such a Love as could not be satisfied, till all that Glory and Happiness that was lost by the Death of Adam, was fully restored and regained again by the Death of Christ.

Eusebius. But is there not some good Sense, in which Righteousness or Justice may be said to be satisfied by the Atonement and Sacrifice of Christ?

Theophilus. Yes, most certainly there is. But then it is only that Righteousness or Justice that belongs to Man, and ought to be in him. Now Righteousness, wherever it is to be, has no Mercy in itself; it makes no Condescensions; it is inflexibly rigid; its Demands are inexorable; Prayers, Offerings, and Entreaties have no Effect upon it; it will have nothing but itself, nor will it ever cease its Demands, or take any Thing in lieu of them, as a Satisfaction instead of itself. Thus, "Without Holiness," saith the Apostle, "no Man shall see the Lord." And again, "Nothing that is defiled, or impure, can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." And this is meant by Righteousness being rigid and having no Mercy; it cannot spare, or have Pity, or hear Entreaty, because all its Demands are righteous, and good, and therefore must be satisfied, or fulfilled.

Now Righteousness has its absolute Demands upon Man, because Man was created righteous, and has lost that original Righteousness, which he ought to have kept in its first Purity. And this is the one, only Righteousness, or Justice, which Christ came into the World to satisfy, not by giving some highly valuable Thing as a Satisfaction to it, but by bringing back, or raising up again in all human Nature, that Holiness or Righteousness, which originally belonged to it. For to satisfy Righteousness, means neither more nor less than to fulfill it. Nor can Righteousness want to have Satisfaction in any Being, but in that Being, which has fallen from it; nor can it be satisfied, but in restoring or fulfilling Righteousness in that Being, which had departed from it. And therefore the Apostle saith, that "we are created again unto Righteousness in Christ Jesus." And this is the one and only Way of Christ’s expiating, or taking away the Sins of the World, namely, by restoring to Man his lost Righteousness. For this End, saith the Scripture, "Christ gave Himself for the Church, that He might sanctify and cleanse it, that he might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having Spot, or Wrinkle, or any such Thing, but that it should be holy and without Blemish" (Eph. 5:25-27).

This is the one Righteousness, which Christ came into the World to satisfy, by fulfilling it himself, and enabling Man by a new Birth from him to fulfill it. And when all Unrighteousness is removed by Christ from the whole human Nature, then all that Righteousness is satisfied, for the doing of which, Christ poured out his most precious, availing, and meritorious Blood.

Eusebius. Oh Theophilus, the Ground on which you stand must certainly be true. It so easily, so fully solves all Difficulties and Objections, and enables you to give so plain and solid an Account of every Part of our Redemption. This great Point is so fully cleared up to me, that I do not desire another Word about it.

Theophilus. However, Eusebius, I will add a Word or two more upon it, that there may be no Room left, either for misunderstanding, or denying what has been just now said of the Nature of that Righteousness, which must have full Satisfaction done to it by the Atoning and Redeeming Work of Christ. And then you will be fully possessed of these two great Truths. First, That there is no righteous Wrath in the Deity itself, and therefore none to be atoned there. Secondly, That though God is in Himself a mere Infinity of Love, from whom nothing else but Works of Love and Blessing and Goodness can proceed, yet sinful Men are hereby not at all delivered from That which the Apostle calls the Terrors of the Lord, but that all the Threatenings of Woe, Misery, and Punishment, denounced in Scripture against Sin and Sinners, both in this World, and that which is to come, stand all of them in their full Force, and are not in the least Degree weakened, or less to be dreaded because God is all Love.

Every Thing that God hath created, is right and just and good in its Kind, and hath its own Righteousness within itself. The Rectitude of its Nature is its only Law; and it hath no other Righteousness, but that of continuing in its first State. No Creature is subject to any Pain, or Punishment, or Guilt of Sin, but because it has departed from its first right State, and only does, and can feel the painful Loss of its own first Perfection. And every intelligent Creature, that departs from the State of its Creation, is unrighteous, evil, and full of its own Misery. And there is no Possibility for any disordered, fallen Creature to be free from its own Misery and Pain, till it is again in its first State of Perfection. This is the certain and infallible Ground of the absolute Necessity, either of a perfect Holiness in this Life, or of a further Purification after Death, before Man can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now this Pain and Misery, which is inseparable from the Creature that is not in that State in which it ought to be, and in which it was created, is nothing else but the painful State of the Creature for Want of its own proper Righteousness, as Sickness is the painful State of the Creature for Want of its own proper Health.

No other Righteousness, or other Justice, no other severe Vengeance, demands Satisfaction, or torments the Sinner, but that very Righteousness, which once was in him, which still belongs to him, and therefore will not suffer him to have any Rest or Peace, till it is again in him as it was at the first. All, therefore, that Christ does as an Atonement for Sin, or as a Satisfaction to Righteousness, is all done in, and to, and for Man, and has no other Operation but that of renewing the fallen Nature of Man, and raising it up into its first State of original Righteousness. And if this Righteousness, which belongs solely to Man, and wants no Satisfaction, but that of being restored and fulfilled in the human Nature, is sometimes called the Righteousness of God, it is only so called, because it is a Righteousness which Man had originally from God, in and by his Creation; and, therefore, as it comes from God, has its whole Nature and Power of Working as it does from God, it may very justly be called God’s Righteousness.

Agreeably to this Way of ascribing that to God, which is only in the State and Condition of Man, the Psalmist saith of God, "Thine Arrows stick fast in me, and thy Hand presseth me sore." And yet nothing else, or more is meant by it, than when he saith, "My Sins have taken such Hold of me that I am not able to look up—My Iniquities are gone over my Head, and are like a sore Burden too heavy for me to bear."

Now, whether you call this State of Man the Burden of his Sins and Wickednesses, or the Arrows of the Almighty, and the Weight of God’s Hand, they mean but one and the same Thing, which can only be called by these different Names, for no other Reason but this, because Man’s own original Righteousness, which he had from God, makes his sinful State a Pain and Torment to him, and lies heavy upon him in every Commission of Sin. And when the Psalmist again saith, "Take thy Plague away from me, I am even consumed by means of thy heavy Hand," it is only praying to be delivered from his own Plague, and praying for the same Thing as when he saith, in other Words, "Make me a clean Heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me."

Now this Language of Scripture, which teaches us to call the Pains and Torments of our Sins, the Arrows, Darts, and Strokes of God’s Hand upon us, which calls us to own the Power, Presence, and Operation of God, in all that we feel and find in our own inward State, is the Language of the most exalted Piety, and highly suitable to that Scripture which tells us, "That in God we live, and move, and have our Being". For by teaching us to find, and own the Power and Operation of God in every Thing that passes within us, it keeps us continually turned to God for all that we want, and by all that we feel within ourselves, and brings us to this best of all Confessions, that Pain, as well as Peace of Mind, is the Effect and Manifestation of God’s infinite Love and Goodness toward us.