William Perkins on Revelation 1:18

Verse. 18. And Am he that liueth; but I was dead, and behold I am aliue for euermore, Amen: And I haue the keyes of hell and of death.

These words conteine the second reason to confirme Iohn. And it may thus be framed by way of a distinction, Although I was dead, yet I am he that liueth (for so the words are) and behold I am aliue for euermore, Amen: Yea I haue power ouer death and hell. This distinction containeth three parts. First, Though I was once dead, yet I am he that liueth. Secondly, Though I was once dead, yet I liue for euermore. Thirdly, Though I was once dead, yet I haue the keyes of death and of hell. Of these in order.

I. part. And Am he that liueth, though I was dead. Here life is ascribed to Christ in a speciall manner: For Christ liueth in a peculiar sort differēt frō the life of other creatures. For first hee hath sufficient life in himselfe and from himselfe: Secondly, he giueth life to others. For the first: that wee may better conceiue it, wee must know that life is twofold, vncreated, and created. Vncreated life is the life of God whereby God liueth: This life is eternall and infinit in it selfe, & from it selfe. Now as Christ is God he liueth this vncreated life: which is all one with the godhead. Againe, created is twofold. The first is naturall preserued by means of meat and drinke. The second is spirituall, both begunne and continued by meanes of the immediat operation of Gods spirit, whereby wee haue fellowship with God. And this spirituall life is more perfect than the naturall. Now Christ liueth not the naturall life but as he is God liueth the vncreated life, & as he is man he liueth the spirituall life, his body and soule hauing al their subsisting and sustentation in the second person in Trinitie: and therefore he hath in himselfe most absolut and perfect life, and so liueth of himselfe.

Secondly, Christ is here said to liue, because, he giueth life vnto men: & that two wayes: First, as he is God; and so he giueth life to all good and bad: For in him euery thing liueth, moueth, and hath his beeing, Act. 17.28. Secondly, as he is mediator God and man: and so he giueth spiritual life vnto his church and people. Hence he saith to his Disciples, Because I liue, yee shall liue also, Iohn. 14.19. For looke as Christ died not for himselfe, but for vs, that we might not die eternally: So hee liueth now in heauen the spirituall life, not for himselfe alone, but for vs, that we might liue that spirituall life in and by him eternally. And therefore our life is sayd, To be hid with God in Christ. And for this cause in the Sacrament▪ we doe eate the body and drinke the bloud of Christ really by the mouth of faith, that wee might know that our life is to be fetched from him. For as we receiue grace from his grace; so wee receiue life from his life.

Hereby wee are taught to seeke for this spirituall life at Christ hands: The Vse. that we may say with Paul, I liue not now, but Christ li[illegible: 1 letter]eth in me, Gal. [illegible: 1 letter].21. and that Our life [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 letter]id in Christ, as in a head and roote. For he liueth in heauen that wee might liue by him: our care must not be so much for our temporall life, which is but a vapour and like a fleeting shadow, as for this spirituall life which is eternall. But the practise of this duty is rare to bee found, though the omission of it bee a grieuous sinne. Mens whole care is for temporall life: few thinke on this, how to procure to themselues this spirituall life by Christ; though he haue said, I liue that you may liue in me. This appeareth by their common practise: They will goe ten, twenty, yea an hundred miles to prouide means for their bodily preseruation; and yet will scarce go one or two miles for the meanes of their saluation for euer. The cause thereof is, the hardnesse of mens hearts, which are not touched for their sinnes, nor feele the smart & weight thereof. This we may see plainly in the woman of Samariah: For when Christ sate at the well of Iacob talking with her,Ioh[illegible: 1 letter] 4. and telling her that he was the well of life, of whose water whosoeuer dranke should neuer thirst: She did nothing but cauill with him. But when he layd to her heart her principall sinnes, then she left off cauelling, and in reuerence, and some beginning of faith, Acknowledged him to be the Messias. Euen so let the minister say vnto his people, hee can bring them to the water of life; they will nothing regard, but cauill at the doctrine of the Gospell, till their sinnes bee touched, and their soules humbled by the sight thereof. Wherefore if wee would haue our hearts fit to receiue spirituall life by Christ; we must first labor to haue a sense of our sinnes, and to feare Gods wrath due vnto vs for the same. Hereby we shal be weined from the dangerous loue of earthly things, and our soules shall bee rauished with desire of Christ Iesus. He is the well of life; and if once we could feele a parching heat in our soules by reason of our sinnes, then would we thirst & neuer be at rest till we had drunke our fill, and dined our selues in his sauing merits. This naturall life is but vanishing, and therefore we must labour for this spirituall life by Christ which is eternall. This will comfort vs in all distresse: and take from vs the feare of death, of hell, and all danger.

The second part of the distinction: Though I was dead, yet behold I liue for euermore, Amen. This part is vttered and propounded by two notes to bee obserued. First, by a note of certaintie, Amen. Secondly, by a note of attention, Behold. The note of certaintie (Amen) serueth to assure vs that this is an infallible truth which Christ affirmeth of himselfe: saying, I liue for euermore. The note of attention which is prefixed, Behold, serueth to stirre vp Iohns mind, and the mind of euery one of vs to a serious consideration of this which Christ saith, I liue for euermore. And because it pleaseth Christ to propound this point in this manner, let vs a little stand thereon, and herein consider two points. First, in respect of what nature Christ is sayd to liue for euer. Secondly, for what end he liueth for euer. For the first, No doubt as Christ as the mediator of the church, He liueth for euer ▪ and therefore this must bee vnderstood of Christ, in regard of both his natures, godhead and manhood. In respect of his godhead, he is coeternall with the father and with the holy Ghost, liuing of himselfe that vncreated and essentiall life, which is all one with the godhead, being eternall, without beginning or ending. Secondly, hee liueth for euer as hee is man: for after his death hee ascended vp to heauen, where in full glorie he inioyeth immediat fellowshippe with the godhead: for in him dwelleth the fulnes of the godhead bodily; his manhood being wholly and immediatly susteined by his godhead.

II. Point. The end for which Christ liueth for euer, is to giue eternall life to his church, and to euerie true member thereof. So Saint Iohn saith, This is 1. Io. 5 11 the testimonie of God, euen the father, that hee hath giuen vs life euerlasting, and this life is in that his sonne. And here Christ must bee considered of vs, as the head of his church, as the roote and ground of our saluation, and the fountaine of all our happinesse. For as the roote of a tree liueth not for it selfe, but for the body and for all the branches: euen so Christ Iesus, he hath eternal life in him, not for himselfe alone, but that he may conuey the same to al his members. Yea, wee must consider Christ as the common treasurie & storehouse of all true felicitie: wherein life eternall is laid vp for al the members of his church. For which cause hee saith,Ioh. 6.54, 55. His flesh is meate indeed: and whosoeuer eateth his flesh and drinketh his bloud shall liue for euer, To giue vs to vnderstand, that his manhood hath quickning vertue in it: Yet not of it selfe or by it self, but as it is the māhood of the sonne of God; For from the godhead it receiueth this quickning power, to giue eternall life vnto the church: And here the meanes must be considered, by which Christ giueth life vnto his church: namely, by vertue of that misticall vnion which is betweene him and euery member of his church. Which vnion is thus caused: God the father giueth Christ vnto his church, and to euery one that is to be saued by Christ; and that really and truly according to the terror of the couenant, in which he hath promised to giue Christ with all his benefits to euery one that beleeueth. The manner and order of this gift is this: Whole Christ God & man is giuen to euery beleeuer; euen as he is mediator. And yet the godhead of Christ is not giuen with the manhood, but only the vertue & operation of the godhead in the manhood; by which the manhod is made able to merit for the beleeuer. But the manhood of Christ is giuen both for substance, and in regard of all benefits that are conueyed to man by it, as iustification and redemption; as truly as lands and goods are giuen of man to man. And when God giueth Christ to any, he doth withall giue vnto the same partie the spirit of Christ: for hee that hath part in Christ, hath part in his spirit: and this spirit createth in his heart the instrument of faith, by which Christ giuen of the father, is receiued and apprehended; both his body and bloud, and the efficacie and the benefites thereof. Christ is not receiued in imagination, as men receiue things by conceit in the braine: but as hee is giuen of the father; namely in the word and sacraments really and truly, though spiritually. And the same spirit that worketh this faith, doth knit the beleeuer vnto Christ really, though mystically, making him one with Christ, so as Christ is the head, and the beleeuer a member. And thus is this mysticall coniunction wrought, from whence proceedeth this eternall life.

The benefites that come from this mysticall coniunction are these.

I. Hereby a beleeuer begins in this world to liue eternall life: for by the worke of his spirit, Christ maketh that man that is thus vnited vnto him, to begin to die vnto all sinne, and to liue vnto him spiritually, as himselfe liueth.

II. Hence commeth the resurrection of the body: for this coniunction being once begun, remaineth eternall, and is neuer wholly broken off, no not from the body, while it is consumed to dust and ashes. Looke as in the Winter season the sap returneth to the root of the tree, and then all the branches seeme as they were dead: but when Spring time commeth, by vertue of the sunne the sap ascendeth and maketh them fresh and greene againe: euen so, the bodies of Gods children haue their Winter season, while they lie dead and rotten: but yet by vertue of their vnion and coniunction with Christ, at the last day shall life bee conveyed from Christ Iesus vnto them, whereby they shall be raised to life.

III. Hence commeth eternall life to euery beleeuer: that is, glory and blisse in body and soule in heauen for euer and euer: for being once begun (as it is in this world) it is neuer dissolued. And thus we see how Christ conueyeth eternall life vnto his members.

The Vse. The words bearing this sence, do containe in them the foundation of two maine articles of our beleefe, namely, the resurrection of the body, and life euerlasting: for both these are effected to vs, by vertue of our vnion with Christ: for he liueth for euer to giue life to vs. And this is the ground of all true ioy: as wee may see in Iob, who in the middest of his miserie stayed himselfe on this, That hee knew his Redeemer liued, and that hee should rise againe, and behold him with those same eyes, wherewith he saw other creatures, Iob. 19.25, 26.

2. Againe, if Christ liue in heauen to giue vnto vs eternall life, then must wee learne to haue our conuersation in heauen with Christ: for where our life is, there should our conuersation bee. Now that our conuersation may be with him, wee must often seriously consider with our selues of this euerlasting life which Christ there keepeth in store for vs: and for this cause principally doth Christ here say, Behold, I liue for euer.

3. This also must mooue vs to put all our affiance in him, and to place all our ioy and reioicing in him. Men haue most regard to that part of their bodie, by which the whole body and euery member liueth. Well, wee professe our selues to bee members of Christ, and in him is hid our spirituall life: wee therefore must set our hearts and affections on him especially.

The third part of the distinction is this: Though I was dead, ye[illegible: 1 letter] I haue the keyes of death and of hell. Here we must not imagine that hell is a bodily place kept with locke and key, and dores, as mens dwelling houses are: that cannot bee proued by any place of Gods word. Neither yet that the torments thereof are bodily, such as bee inflicted in this world: but rather they are spirituall, being the apprehension and feeling of Gods wrath and vengeance, whose iealousie burnes like fire. But Christ in this phrase borroweth a comparison from stewards of great houses, who at their installing into their stewardships, haue the keyes of all things giuen vnto them. Which giuing of the keyes is a token of regiment and authoritie bestowed vpon them And the meaning is this, That Iesus Christ thogh he once died, yet by his death did vanquish hell and death, and hath obtained full power & dominion ouer them both for euermore.

Hence arise sundry instructions: first, that power and authoritie to forgiue sinnes properly, belongeth onely vnto Christ. No meere creature hath this power; for hee that can forgiue sinnes, must bee able to take away the punishments of sinne, namely, hell and death, which none can doe but Christ alone, who onely hath the keyes thereof. And to say that a man can properly forgiue sinnes, is to say, that a man hath power in himselfe ouer hell and death. And therefore the priesthood of the church of Rome is full of blasphemie, who take vpon them properly to pronounce vnto men the pardon of their sinnes of themselues: and they deride the custome of reformed churches, who from God pronounce the pardon of sinnes vnto them that repent.

Secondly, hereby wee are taught to reuerence Christ, and to performe vnto him all due honor and loyall obedience. If wee neuer haue done this heretofore, wee must now begin; and if wee haue done it, we must endeuour to do it more. For Christ hath the keyes of hell and death, hee can open the gates thereof at his pleasure, and cast thither whom hee will. Many deceiue themselues through their false conceit of Christ, they thinke not of him as of a Iudge, but as a Sauior onely: they make him all of mercie and pitie, and thereby they take occasion to goe on in sinne. But wee must consider, that Christ is likewise a righteous iudge, who hath the power of hell and death in his hands, and therefore we must not flatter our selues in our euill wayes, but striue to please him continually with fear and trembling, least by our sinnes we stir vp his wrath against vs, and cause him to cast vs into hell, whence is no redemption.

Thirdly, this is a matter of great comfort vnto all those in Gods church, that in this life vnfainedly cleaue vnto Christ: and especially in time of affliction and temptation, and at the houre of death, for Christ hauing the keyes of hell & death is able to keepe them from hell, and from the sting of death. And this hee will doe because they trust in him, for he hath promised it. If this were alwayes sounding in our eares, it would minister endlesse ioy vnto our soules against the seruile feare of hell and death.