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Eph. iii 8.

The unsearchable riches of Christ.

There is no passage, in the whole range of Scripture, in which the benefits and blessings of the gospel are more strikingly and fully represented, than by these few words: it is elsewhere described as the “pearl of great price,” as “the treasure that fadeth not away,” as “the true riches;” but here, as if in addition to the former descriptions, it is called, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, “the unsearchable riches of Christ:” impossible for men, impossible for angels to search out and discover its full excellency and value. The more it is examined, and the more it is experimentally known, the more is the believer convinced of the propriety and truth of this description; without a deep enquiry indeed, without a vital experience of its blessedness, it is not for any one to understand even the nature of its transcendent riches; to the world at large they are known only by name: but the sincere Christian, who makes them his own, is brought to admire their inexhaustible fulness; and to perceive, how utterly they extend beyond his comprehension, how highly they are removed above his loftiest thoughts and his most ardent imagination: “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” [21] They lie entirely out of the reach of the natural man; and even the spiritual man does but imperfectly understand them.

These unsearchable riches it was the province of St. Paul especially to declare unto the gentile world, that is, unto the world at large, when the offer of them had been rejected by the Jewish nation: in consequence of which blessed communication to the gentiles, the knowledge of them was conveyed, in process of time, to our favoured land.

Many learned persons have believed, that St. Paul himself preached in this island; of this, however, there is no certain evidence; it is enough for us to know, that we are partakers of the benefit of his preaching, that the sound of the gospel, which he sent “forth into all lands,” has long ago reached us; and that we are now in the full enjoyment of this inestimable privilege. He declares, in the chapter, before us, that Jesus Christ, by express revelation, made known to him the great mystery, the unfathomable purpose of His mercy; “which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto the holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.” Unto me, he says, “who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which, from the beginning of the world, hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” [23]

You perceive here the object of the Apostle’s preaching; it was, that all mankind, we among the number, might be brought acquainted with the glorious scheme of eternal redemption, and be made partakers of its unspeakable blessings. And is there a heart so cold, as not to beat with gratitude, in the remembrance of such mercy; as not to take an interest in such a testimony of divine love? If we knew no particulars respecting it, the very announcement and promise of an infinite treasure, of a treasure in the mansions of eternity, were sufficient to awaken our most profound attention: it often does so, when carried by the missionary to the heathen and the stranger; they, who never heard before the good tidings of salvation, are arrested by the voice of the messenger, and hang upon his lips with a longing anxiety, and receive his message to the comfort of their souls: and can we remain unmoved by such considerations; we, who know the purport of the heavenly message; we, who profess to believe that it is sent for our everlasting salvation from sin and death; to reconcile us to an offended God, to deliver us from the intolerable bondage of Satan, to make us happy while we live, happy when we die, happy for ever in another world, in the kingdom of heaven? Though the mercy is too great to be adequately understood, though “the love of Christ passeth knowledge,” shall this prevent us from contemplation and enquiry? shall we not rather, on this very account, entertain a more fervent desire to understand and know, of this mystery of goodness, all that is possible to be known? Whoever, indeed, has not this desire, cannot take any lively interest in the revelation which he professes to believe, cannot have sincerely embraced it; knowing, as he does, the subject and purpose of the gospel, he is in a worse situation than many an ignorant heathen; his heart more hard and unimpressible; his eyes more closed against the light; his affections more difficult to be roused and engaged. May the Lord touch the heart of all such heedless professors; or the very publicans and sinners, the darkest and most despised of the earth, will “enter into the kingdom of heaven before them.”

Hoping that we all are deeply concerned in this important matter, that we do place a most exalted value on the riches of Christ, and earnestly desire to partake of them, I beg that we may enter together, with humble minds and spiritual desires, into some examination of their nature and excellency; and enquire in what respects, and for what reasons, they are unsearchable.

1. In the first place, what is the foundation of all our blessedness and all our hope, as the redeemed and adopted children of God; as brought from a state of enmity and rebellion, into favour with Him; as having any claim upon His mercy; any prospect of recovering our lost happiness, of saving our souls alive? What, I say, is the foundation on which we expect these marvellous acts of grace? It is, that the everlasting Son of God left “the glory which he had with the Father before the world was,” [26a] and “took upon Him the form of a servant,” [26b] the nature of man: it is, that the “Word, who in the beginning was with God and was God,” “was made flesh” and came and “dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” [26c] Here then, in the very outset, is unsearchable mercy; the immensity of the divine Redeemer’s condescension and love! Who can search, who can understand it? “It is higher than heaven, what canst thou know” of it? Admire thou mayest, and adore and love; but it is beyond the stretch of thy created powers to conceive, beyond the capacity of any creature. The great truth is revealed and the work is accomplished; and here thou must leave it, in humble faith and overwhelming emotion.

2. We may consider, in the next place, the preciousness, the value, the efficacy of the incarnation and sufferings of our Redeemer. All the attributes of the Godhead are perfect and infinite; His holiness and justice, as well as His mercy. Man, by transgression, fell into a state of unholiness; his nature became corrupt; his understanding debased, his affections and passions and desires all sinful; as such he could not possibly be accepted or blest by the infinitely holy God, by Him “who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity:” he became, to borrow the language of men, vile and hateful in God’s sight; he resembled Satan and the wicked spirits, who fell, for their transgression, from the heavens. And so, with regard to justice; the infinitely just God could not, without some means of atonement or satisfaction, shew favour to a disobedient, offending, rebellious creature; it was contrary to His essential character and nature so to do: nor can we form any true idea of the value of that sacrifice, on the part of another, which could be held sufficient to reconcile the great Jehovah to a creature “laden with iniquity:” the displeasure being infinite, the distance and separation between God and His creatures infinite, the sacrifice must be infinite also, and exceeding the bounds of our comprehension. And yet, strange to say, though the means of the sinner’s re-admission, to the favour and blessing of a holy and just God, must of necessity be beyond our powers of conception, there are persons, who object to the Christian doctrine of the atonement, solely on the ground of its being incomprehensible. But we, my brethren, “have not so learned Christ;” we are ready to bow with thankfulness to the revelation of the great Jehovah, by whose unsearchable wisdom and mercy the plan of our redemption was formed: we are ready to acknowledge with reverence, that “great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh.” [29a]

3. Intimately connected with this consideration is the recollection of God’s exceeding love towards us, in that “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” [29b] In our very state of guilt and rebellion it was, that He came into the world; that He did and suffered so much, “to seek and to save that which was lost.” Suppose that man had never transgressed; and that God had sent an angel, to shew him the way to a happier and higher condition, than that in which he was created: this would have been an act of free and undeserved mercy; but that He should have sent His beloved Son, to “suffer for sins, the just for the unjust,” [29c] to be born and to tabernacle in a world of guilt and sorrow; to be exposed to rejection and scorn, to indignity and cruelty; to endure the conflicts of Satan and the bitterest agonies of death; this was indeed an act of love, surpassing the bounds of thought; a mystery of goodness “into which angels desire to look,” but cannot penetrate. Every believing soul must be overpowered by such a contemplation; must be lost in wonder, love, and praise.

4. Nor can we learn the manner or degree, in which our merciful Lord is at this moment bestowing blessings upon His Church, and upon every individual believer. When He ascended up to heaven, His work of mediation was not finished; He then took upon Him the office of interceding for His people in all ages: presenting their prayers, and desires, and all their services, for acceptance at the throne of grace; pleading His merits for them; observing all their necessities and wants; and sending His holy spirit and His holy angels, to minister to their infirmities: not a wounded spirit, but He is still ready to bind up and heal; not a sigh from a contrite heart, but He knows and answers; not a child of ignorance, but He is willing to instruct; not a returning prodigal, but He meets; not a prayer or thanksgiving, not a godly thought or wish, of a sincere worshipper and pious servant, but He accepts and blesses: He is ever with us, though unseen; with us by His providence and grace; “about our bed and about our path;” pouring his benefits upon us, temporal, and spiritual: yea upon all His people, at every moment of time, throughout the whole world. We are lost in this mystery of mercy—we can but believe, and gratefully apply the benefit to our souls.

5. And what are the privileges of Christ’s redeemed people? What their present state, what their glorious inheritance? How unsearchable both the one and the other! The humble believer, the repenting sinner, the sincere and faithful servant derives, from the fountain of mercy which is opened unto him, a perpetual stream of increasing satisfaction and delight; he finds, that “there is no end thereof;” that it is a fountain, which he never can fathom. The sense of pardon and reconciliation with God affords a comfort to his soul, which flows the more abundantly, the longer he dwells upon it; as he journies onward in the way of salvation, his hopes are more enlivened, and his fears more calmed; even when he began to walk with his God, he felt that all around him was joy, and deemed his recompence in this life amply sufficient; but, at every step he advances in communion with his God and Saviour, he perceives more and more that “His ways are ways of pleasantness and all His paths are peace;” [32] and this experience will be enlarged the longer he lives, even beyond his present anticipation. The word of God has fresh stores for him every day; of knowledge, of comfort, and of grace: the Spirit of God has fresh supplies; to succour his infirmities, to elevate him in prayer and meditation, to guide him in perplexity, to strengthen him in trial, to console him in trouble and affliction, to raise him above the world, and place his affections in heaven. Thus will his joy in the Lord increase, till he comes to the end of his pilgrimage: and, in the end, the riches of redeeming love will be infinitely enhanced: who shall number or declare them? Which of us can now understand the preciousness of a Christian’s hope, the comfort of a Christian’s peace, at that hour, when his soul is struggling for departure? Who can now enter, as the dying man does, into the vast difference between the bright hope of being saved, and the gloomy fear of being lost; between the prospect of being for ever with the Lord, and the dismal foreboding of the terrors of the evil one? We have now but a slight conception of the feelings and views, in that momentous hour; but we shall one day know: God grant that the knowledge may be peace!

And if we die in peace, then shall we be more than ever convinced of the truth of the text; we shall then perceive, how little we comprehended, in our mortal state, of the blessedness of the saints at rest, of “the rest that remaineth for the people of God.” And, at the resurrection, other scenes will follow, with more abundant tokens of confirmation: who can conceive the happiness of rising with the just; of hearing with joy the trumpet of the archangel; of beholding, with an eye of rapture, the beaming of that glorious morn; of meeting the smile of a compassionate Judge and Saviour; of being called to His right hand, “come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” [34a] what mind on earth is equal to these things?

And then will succeed the consummation of our felicity, “the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness;” [34b] the enjoyment of the presence of God and the Lamb; the personal sharing of the service, the honour, and the delight of angels and archangels, through all eternity. Of this we cannot pretend to form an estimate in our mortal condition; while the veil is hanging before our eyes; the holy Spirit, by many a sublime image, lifts our imagination as high as it can be carried; but still, the representation must be feeble, when compared with the glorious reality; after all that has been said, if we arrive at the heavenly city, the appearance will be new, the happiness new to us all. Unsearchable it is now, unsearchable it will be then; a wonder of love that will never be satisfied, a mansion of glory that will never be completely surveyed.

But we shall doubtless behold, on seeing “face to face,” more of the fulness of the riches of Christ; shall penetrate further into that mystery of divine love, which planned the merciful work of our redemption before the foundation of the world; shall see more of the meetness of the Saviour’s sufferings; of His mighty conquest over sin and death; of the greatness of His kingdom and the “majesty of His glory.” We shall then see and admire that now invisible bond, by which the whole company of the Lord’s servants and people, heavenly and earthly, have been sustained and kept together: how men below, and saints at rest, and angels in heaven, have been bound in spiritual union, through all the ages of time; how the vast multitude of holy creatures in the universe have felt a common interest and benefit in their blessed Lord. [36] When they are all assembled together in adoration round His throne, we shall know more of this endearing bond; it will then be manifest, and be perfected for ever.

I need not attempt to go further; certainly none of us will deny the unsearchableness of the riches of Christ. Certainly every one of us is ready to exclaim, O that I may be partaker of them; all this world, nay, a thousand worlds are nothing in comparison. These riches are now offered to you: they are waiting your acceptance; receive them with all your heart, and they are yours; you do not expect them to be forced upon you; you do not expect this happy portion without choosing it, without prayer and without striving for it; ask earnestly, seek diligently, and it shall be yours; your inexhaustible treasure, in time and to eternity.