The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 06 (of 32)

by John Wesley

For this wonderful process of Christ, which is the whole mystery opened in the gospel, is about quite another kind of life in the soul, than that which consists in its bare immortality. For immortality, considered in itself, may as well be a curse as a blessing. But this is not the life and immortality that the gospel boasts of. It leaves such natural immortality, which belongs as well to devils as men, as wholly untouched, as it does the original of the alphabet. And for this reason, because the one knowledge which the former world wanted, and the Christian world got, is by all the evangelists and apostles confined to that, which Christ, as God and man, was, did, suffered, purchased, and obtained, in and through the efficacy and merits of his process, till as a second Adam, he was placed at the right hand of God.

It is the living knowledge, the real participation of all these parts of our Saviour’s process, as a God incarnate, that contains all that life and immortality, all the glad tidings of salvation, and light out of darkness, made known to the world by Christ and his apostles. Nor do they ever call the attention of mankind to any other new light or knowledge, but that of seeing and knowing, how every part of Christ’s process had its particular and joint efficacy, to destroy the works of the devil, and the power of hell in fallen man.

This was the good news of life and immortality brought to light by a glorious gospel, which shewed the whole counsel of God towards fallen men; how they were before the foundation of the world seen in Christ, predestinated to be made conformable to his image, who by all that he was, did and suffered, from his first coming down, to his ascension into heaven, was the one, only possible means of their partaking again of the divine nature.

Every step of our Saviour’s process from first to last, was only so many necessary steps of our progress out of the eternal death of sin and misery, into a participation of an heavenly life in Christ Jesus. And in this process is contained all that Christian theology, which makes up the whole doctrine of Christ and his apostles.

No power of reasoning, no art of criticism, can force one single text of the New Testament to speak, or so much as hint at any other life or immortality but this, as first made known to the world by the gospel.—The natural immortality of the soul, is no part of its redemption, but belongs to it as it belongs to all angels, whether in heaven or in hell, and is an immortality no more purchased by the incarnation of the Son of God, than the immortality which belongs to Lucifer and his angels.—Therefore this cannot be that immortality, which is the gift of God through Jesus Christ. And therefore nothing that is said of that immortality, which comes to fallen man only by Jesus Christ, can be the least proof, that the belief of the soul’s perpetual existence in a future state came first, or only by him, and was not always held by every age, from the beginning of the world.

Natural immortality has its full nature in the fallen angels; but the one immortality that comes by Jesus Christ, is the glory of the Holy Trinity, dwelling and manifesting itself in the immortal nature of the soul.

For this is a certain truth, that all that is divine and God-like in any creature, dwells as a supernatural gift or operation of God in it; which may be lost, as it was in angels, and Adam; and can be kept by no other power but that of faith; nor regained, when lost, but by the return of that same faith, and full resignation to God. So that the natural immortality of angels or men, is only their capacity to receive the never-ending, but always increasing manifestation of divine glory in, and thro’ all the natural powers. And this is the one immortality made known, and purchased for us through the blessed Jesus, being and doing what he was and did, in our poor immortal nature, that had lost its God.

But to consider now the texts of the New Testament, on which this author has endeavoured to establish Bishop Warburton’s opinion. The first and chief of these is that of St. Paul; “God hath saved us, according to his own purpose, and his grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began: but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

Now every word in this passage excludes all regard to the natural immortality of the soul, and necessarily leads and confines us to that one life and immortality, to a life and immortality of the heavenly nature brought forth in our souls.—For the life and immortality here granted to us, is expressly affirmed to be effected by Christ’s abolishment of death. Therefore as is the death here abolished, such must be the life that is brought forth in the stead of it.

The death here abolished is not the natural mortality of body or soul, but that death, whose destruction is declared in these words of the apostle, Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil: and from that destruction comes forth the one true life and immortality, which is an eternal union of righteousness in and with Christ, as a principle of a divine life eternally dwelling in us.