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

by John Wesley

Again, that typical representation does not necessarily imply, the throwing a thing into shade, and secreting it from vulgar knowledge, is plain from hence.—Baptism, and bread and wine in the sacrament, are merely corporeal types and figures of spiritual things; but if it was necessarily essential to typical representation, to throw things into shade, and secrete them from vulgar knowledge, it would follow, that these two sacraments could have no other end, but to cast the spiritual things of the gospel into shade, and secrete them from vulgar knowledge. Type, figure, and human language, with regard to spiritual things, have the same kind of imperfection, though not in the same degree; but yet teaching and informing, is the design of both of them.

Of the Mosaic types therefore it may justly be affirmed, that they were so far from designedly hiding, or covering any truths from man, that their whole intent was, to uncover, and make less hidden such things as at that time, could not be seen, or known as they were in themselves.—Nothing could possibly manifest the nature, power, and efficacy of Christ’s process (the one thing typified) but its own real nature, come into actual existence in all its parts.—Therefore through every age of the world, from the first promise made to Adam, of a seed of the woman to bruise the head of the serpent, to that time, all the religious goodness of mankind consisted in their walking before God in an implicit faith of a full redemption, made known to them under representation of a seed of the woman, overcoming the mischief that the serpent had done to them. And through this faith alone it was, that all the holy men of old had their righteousness, and peace, and union with God. And God was not ashamed to be called their God, inasmuch as having received the promises, and seen them afar off, and embraced them, they confessed they were strangers and pilgrims on earth, desired a heavenly country, and through faith, looked for a city whose builder and maker is God.

Hence are the following great truths undeniably evident, (1.) That faith in Christ, has always been, and always must be, the only ground of salvation possible to man, in any age of the world. (2.) That this faith itself, and all its power and efficacy, has always, as fully proceeded from Christ alone, as the faith of those who believed in him, when come in the flesh. For as then Christ truly said of himself, without me ye can do nothing, so it was equally true of the first promised seed of the woman, that without it, nothing good could have been done by fallen man.

Therefore, (3) the covenant of God with all mankind through Christ, is a living, operative covenant of life and immortality, not first begun, or first made known, when Christ was on earth, and died for us, but a covenant as antient as our first parents, as universal as their offspring. And what the apostle saith, that God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world unto himself, tells us a truth and goodness of God, that extends itself to every nation, people, and language, that ever hath been, or ever shall be upon the face of the earth.

* And as an implicit faith in a promised redemption was all the religion of the old world; all that could be done by the infinite wisdom of God, was according to the fitness of times, seasons and occasions (only known to himself) to give forth such typical and prophetic intimations of this redemption, as should more and more confirm their faith, and prepare them to see, that the whole process of Christ, when finished, was that very redemption first promised to all the world, in the promise made to the common Father of mankind, through succeeding ages kept constantly in view, by a train of types and prophecies.

* And as the history and ritual of Moses, could not possibly design to take away the knowledge of any divine truths from the people of God, so least of all could they designedly hide from them a belief of the natural immortality of the soul: a truth absolutely necessary and essential to any spiritual relation, or religious communion between God and man.

* And indeed, Moses, is as free from any such design, as the apostles themselves.

* For to say, that the types of the law have designedly hid, from the people of God, all sense of the immortality of the soul, is as false, as bold and extravagant, as to say the same thing of the gospel.

For in the New Testament, not a word is to be found, that expressly affirms the soul to be naturally immortal; in this respect the law and the gospel are equally silent; and yet neither of them secrete, or hide it from the people of God, but both fully prove, and with the same kind of proof, the absolute necessity of believing it.

For as in the gospel it is never expressly asserted, and yet is fully proved, because unavoidably supposed, and necessarily implied in and by the open, and plain doctrines of the gospel: so it is with the books of Moses; they never expressly affirm the natural immortality of the soul, and yet give one, and the same full proof of it, as the gospel doth. Because the express doctrines of every dispensation of God, from Adam to Christ, openly teach doctrines, which not by inference, but in the plain nature of the thing, unavoidably require, and necessarily imply, the immortality of the soul, and the common belief of it in all ages of the church before the coming of Christ.