State 3 -- The State of Grace, or Begun Recovery

Boston is going to look at two main points in his discussion of the state of grace: REGENERATION and UNION WITH CHRIST. By the former, our nature is changed; by the latter, our relationship to God is changed.

1. Of Regeneration

"Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God" – 1 Peter 1:23.

The teaching of the verse is simple: we were born sinners, and need to be born again that we may be made saints.

Definition (131): 'regeneration is a supernatural real change on the whole man'. All men in a state of grace are born again.

(1) The Nature Of Regeneration

'There are false conceptions in nature, so there are also in grace; by these many are deluded, mistaking some partial changes made upon them for this great and thorough change' (132).

• many call the Church their mother, who are not God's children. Cf Acts 8:13-23, 1 John 2:19.
• Good education is not regeneration. Education can chain up lusts, but can't change hearts. Cf. the influence of Jehoiada on Joash in 2 Chronicles 24:2-18.
• Reformation and outward change is not the same as the inward change of regeneration.
• Engaging in the outward duties of religion is not the same as being born again – 'all the external acts of religion are within the compass of natural abilities' (133)
• Strictness in religion is not the same as the new birth.
• Sharp soul-exercises and pangs can lead to spiritual still-birth.

The new birth can be marred in two ways even when there is the hope of a good beginning. Some like Zarah (Gen 38:28-29) are brought to birth but then go back; others like Ishmael (Gen 16:2) are born too soon, before the time of promise.

It is also possible to be moved under 'common operations of the divine Spirit' which affect a man but do not change him.

Regeneration, on the other hand, is throrough, making someone a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). This change is

1. a change of qualities and dispositions; it does not change the faculties or the substance of the soul, but changes its qualities; there is light instead of darkness.
2. It is a supernatural change; to be born again is the work of the Spirit (John 3:5).
3. It is a change into God's likeness – 2 Cor 3:18. Christ is the pattern after which God makes us new. Like begets like.
4. It is a universal change. 'Original sin infects the whole man; and regenerating grace, which is the salve, goes as far as the sore' (135).
5. It is a change in which no part of us is perfectly renewed. An infant has all the parts of a man, but it requires growth and development to produce the man. So regeneration must be followed by sanctification.
6. It is a lasting change which never goes off. The life given in regeneration will never be lost.

To look at particulars:

1. In regeneration, the kind is savingly enlightened.
   'the beams of the light of life make their way into the dark dungeon of the heart' (136).The mind is illuminated:
   • in the knowledge of God
   • in the knowledge of sin
   • in the knowledge of himself
   • in the knowledge of Jesus Christ
   • in the knowledge of the vanity of the world
   • in the knowledge of all spiritual things
2. In regeneration, the will is renewed. The stony heart of unbelief is taken away, and a heart of flesh is given.
   • the will is cured of its inability to will what is good
   • the will is given a fixed aversion to evil
   • the will is given an inclination and a propensity to good. In particular, 'the will is reconciled to the covenant of peace' (141), and is disposed to receive Christ Jesus the Lord.
     
     P141: 'the mind being savingly enlightened, and the will renewed, the sinner is thereby determined and enabled to answer the gospel call. So the chief work in regeneration is done; the fort of the heart is taken; there is room made for the Lord Jesus Christ in the inmost parts of the soul; the inner door of the will being now opened to him as well as the outer door of the understanding.'
3. In regeneration, there is a happy change made on the affections, which are rectified and regulated.
   
   Regeneration rectifies (puts right) the affection, setting them on suitable things (see 2 Thessalonians 3:5). The soul that once loved the world and saw no beauty in Christ, now acknowledges that there is one thing that he desires. He loves God, his ordinances and his law.
   
   Regeneration also regulates the affections – 'grace bridles these affections, clips their wings and keeps them within bounds that they overflow not all their banks' (143). Grace raises the affections when they are too low, and brings them down if they are too high.
4. In regeneration, the conscience is renewed.
   
   This is the candle of the Lord, and causes God's voice to be heard throughout the entire soul. Guilt for sin makes the conscience smart, driving the sinner to Jesus Christ.
5. In regeneration, the memory is improved.
   
   When a man is born again, he is ready to forget past injuries and resentments. 'Grace sanctifies the memory', makes it 'a sacred storehouse from whence a Christian is furnished in his way to Zion, for faith and hope are often supplied out of it in a dark hour. It is the storehouse of former experiences'.
6. In regeneration, the members of the body are consecrated to the Lord.
   
   The body is now for the Lord. The eye is under a covenant to serve the soul; the ear is turned to be the gate of life; the tongue is restored to its original office, as an instrument with which to glorify the Creator. 'The whole man is for God'.
7. The change of generation shines forth in the way of life. It will show itself particularly:
   
   • in the change of a man's company
   • in the different relationships of life
   • in the way a man goes about his worldly business
   • in the special concern a man has for the work and spread of the Gospel
   • in the use of our leisure time
   • in the way we perform our religious duties

(2) The Resemblance Between Natural and Spiritual Generation

Why is this saving change described as a 'regeneration', a being 'born' again? The reason is because it is like natural birth in the following ways:

1. natural generation is a mysterious thing
2. in both natural and spiritual birth, the person comes to a state of existence it did not have before
3. in both natural and spiritual birth, the person is passive, contributing nothing to his own generation
4. in both cases, a glorious work occurs; in natural generation, man's body is wonderfully made, and in spiritual generation, the new man is created in righteousness and true holiness
5. in both cases, birth follows from very small beginnings
6. both natural and spiritual birth advance by degrees, evidenced in growth
7. in both cases, new relations are forged
8. in both cases, there is a likeness between parent and child
9. both natural and spiritual generation see birth occur in pain.

(3) Application of the Doctrine of Regeneration

USE 1 – Christians can use this doctrine to test whether they are born again or not. 'Grace is light, and discovers itself'. Look to your mind – have you been taught of God? Has your will been renewed? Are your desires going out after God?

There is also love to the brethren as a sign of regeneration (1 John 3:14). We love the brothers as brothers, that is, as those who are one with us through Christ. This love is given to all who are born again. We love those who are most filled with grace.

We must set apart time to review our case – we must renew our repentance – we must exert the powers of the new nature.

But some people have particular difficulties when it comes to knowing whether they are born again.

Case #1 – 'I doubt if I am born again because I don't know the precise moment of my conversion'.

Answer – desirable as this is, it is not necessary to evidence the truth of grace. We can still find evidences of grace, 'though we know not how or when it was dropped into our hearts'.

Case #2 – 'If I were truly born again, sin would not have the mastery over me that it does.'

Answer – We can't excuse sin, and we must acknowledge the failings of God's people. But if we groan under the weight of this corruption, strive to mortify it, and flee daily to Christ for pardon, then we can have the assurance we seek. 'The new creature does not yet possess the house alone; it dwells by the side of an ill neighbour, namely, remaining corruption, the relics of the depraved nature' (155).

Case #3 – 'the movements of sin against me are more violent since the Lord began his work in my soul'.

Answer – This is to be expected. When the new principle which will cast out sin is brought into human experience, it is no wonder that the old principle of grace will fight against the restraints. Pharaoh never made such an assault on the Israelites as he did once they left Egypt.

Case #4 – 'sometimes I love creaturely things more than the Creator. How do I know that these flashes of affection aren't just momentary things?'

Answer – It is true that love of the world is the mark of the unregenerate (1 John 2:15). Sometimes our affections go 'violently' after things other than God. But 'the strength of our affections is to be measured by the firmness and fixedness of the root, not by the violence of their actings' (157). Even if we sometimes love worldly things, if we are truly born again, love to God will remain firm, and fixed at the root of our heart. Also, there are two kinds of love – sensible (felt) love, and rational love. We can't always have the former, but that is no reason to doubt that we are born again.

Case #5 – 'when I find marks of grace in my heart and life, I remember what hypocrites and apostates can experience. How do I know that that is not all I am?'

Answer – You can see the hypocrite's religion, but not his heart. There is not one shred of concern there. 'I would rather utter one of those groans which the apostle speaks of in Rom 8:26, than shed Esau's tears, have Balaam's prophetic spirit, or the joy of the stony-ground hearer' (158). True Christians go beyond hypocrites in two respects: in self-denial and in hatred of sin.

Case #6 – 'I seem so unlike the saints of Scripture, and the saints I know, that I can't believe I am in the same family as them'.

Answer – Weak Christian's should not make a rack for themselves on the attainments of strong Christians. 'there are saints of several sizes in Christ's family' (1 John 2:13,14), and we should press on eagerly.

Case #7 – 'I have never found, in Scripture or experience, anyone subject to temptation as much as I am; my case and situation are not those of someone who is born again'.

Answer – this objection arises through ignorance both of the Scriptures and of the experiences of mature saints. Many saints have not only been tempted, but have yielded. Nor should you expect to find in the Bible examples of all the circumstances in which Christians find themselves. Instead, we should make use of Christ, who is the remedy for every difficult and sad situation.

Case #8 – 'my afflictions are strange and unusual. No saint was ever tried in providence like I am.'

Answer – Again, not every case is recorded in Scripture. Just because we cannot see the footsteps of the flock does not mean we are first on this particular road. But someone has to be – 'learn to allow sovereignty a latitude; be at your duty; and let no affliction cast a veil over any evidences you otherwise have for your being in a state of grace' (162).

USE 2 – Non-Christians should use this doctrine to remind them of the necessity of the new birth.

(1) Regeneration is necessary to do anything good and acceptable to God.

Without regeneration there is no faith, and without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Without regeneration, all our works are dead works.

If you are not born again, all your reformation is nothing

Your prayers are an abomination to God (Proverbs 15:8)

All you may do for God in the world he will not accept

All struggles against sin in your life are nothing.

Is there any point in any religious duty? Inability does not excuse us from obeying the demands of God's law.

(2) There can be no communion with God apart from regeneration.

All God's people have their fellowship with the Father and with the Son (1 John 1:3). But the new birth is vital for that communion to take place.

(3) Regeneration is necessary to qualify us for Heaven.

The unregenerate man would not enjoy Heaven:

• it is a strange country to him. Heaven 'is the renewed man's native country' (165)
• there is nothing there to delight the carnal heart
• every corner of Heaven is filled with holiness, which, of all things, is most hated by unregenerate man
• the company of Heaven is not the company the unregenerate choose for themselves
• the employment of Heaven is not one the unregenerate would wish

Regeneration is necessary if we are to be admitted to Heaven

1. there is an exclusion in Scripture – unless we are born again, we cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven
2. there is no holiness without regeneration
3. all the unregenerate are without Christ, and cannot get into Heaven
4. there is a connection between a final, unregenerate state, and condemnation:
   • the heart of stone is a sinking weight
   • unfruitfulness fits us for the axe of God's judgement
   • a profane life will have a miserable end
   • to be dead in sin is to approach an eternal death
   • the darkness of a mind here is a fore-glimpse of eternal darkness
   • the chains of sin and bondage here prepare us for the eternal stte of misery.

The only remedy is to seek Christ through the means of grace:

1. receive the testimony of the Word of God
2. receive the testimony about who God is
3. examine your ways by it
4. see the corruption of your nature and seek regeneration

2. Mystical Union between Christ and Believers

"I am the vine, you are the branches" – John 15:5.

Regeneration is a change of nature, effected by God on all who will believe. There is another change, however, which alters the relationship in which believers stand to God. This is presented in Scripture as a union with Christ. This is represented in the image of the vine and the branches. Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. There are two kinds of branches: natural branches, which grow first out of the stock, and ingrafted branches, cut off from the tree which first gave them life, and put into another.

The doctrine here is that 'they who are in the state of grace, are ingrafted in, and united to, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are taken out of their natural stock, cut off from it; and are now ingrafted into Christ, as the new stock' (170).

A General View Of The Mystical Union

1. It is a spiritual union. As man and wife become one flesh, Christ and true believers become one spirit (2 Corinthians 6:17). Corporal union is made by contact, but this union is spiritual. Mary is united to Christ, not because she bore him in her body, but because she believed on him.
2. It is a real union. 'nothing is more real than what is spiritual' (171). We cannot see the union between our soul and our body, yet it is real. So we are members of Christ's body (Ephesians 5:30).
3. It is a close and intimate union. Believers have 'put on' Christ. They are the stones on the foundation which is Christ.
4. It is not a legal union, but it is a lawful one. That is, is it not done on the basis of our law-keeping, but the law recognises the reality and legality of it. 'Christ, as the surety, and Christians as the principal debtors, are one in the eye of the law' (171). What he did for them is reckoned in law as if they had done it themselves.
5. It is an indissoluble union. 'Once in Christ, ever in him' (172). God will not do it; the believer cannot do it; nothing in the whole world can untie the knot. So Boston explains Romans 8:38-39: 'Will not death do it? No; the apostle is persuaded that neither death, as terrible as it is, nor life, desirable as it is, nor devils, those evil angels, nor the devil's prosecuting agents, though they be principalities, nor powers, on earth; nor evil things present, already lying on us, nor evil things to come on us; nor the height of worldly felicity; nor depth of worldly misery; nor any other creature, good or evil, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
6. It is a mysterious union. 'The gospel is a doctrine of mysteries'. There is mystery in 'the substantial union of the three persons in one Godhead', in 'the hypostatical union of the divine and human natures in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ', and 'the mystical union between Christ and believers'.

The Natural and Supernatural Stocks, and the Branches Taken Out of the Former and Ingrafted in to the Latter

1. The natural stock, out of which the branches are taken
   
   The 'stocks' are Adam and Christ, of whom the Bible speaks as if no-one else but these two were in the world (1 Corinthians 15:45). The reason is that 'there never were any that were not branches of one of these two' (173). The first Adam is the natural stock; on this the branches first grow, then are cut off and ingrafted into Christ. Fallen angels had no relation to the first Adam, so have none to the second.
   
   There are four things to be remembered about our natural stock:
   1. All mankind, except Christ, are naturally branches of the first Adam.
   2. The bond that binds us to Adam is a covenant. In the covenant of works, Adam was both our natural and our moral root. Jesus was not of this stock, because he was not the product of natural marriage and union, ordained before the Fall, but came as the result of a special promise after the Fall.
   3. It is impossible for a branch to be in two stocks at the same time; so it is impossible for us to be in both Adams.
   4. All who are not ingrafted in Christ, are branches of the old stock.
   
   
   Regarding Adam, let us consider:
   1. What a stock he was originally: a vine of the Lord's planting, noble and wholly good, with no rottenness, but with 'sap and juice enough in it to have nourished all the branches to bring forth fruit unto God' (174).
   2. What the stock now is: a blast from hell has made it a degenerate, dead and killing stock:
      • it is degenerate, spoilt, and come to nothing. 'the whole man is in dreadful disorder'. Two sorts of fruit now grow on these branches: the wild grapes of wickedness (Isaiah 5:2) and 'fruit to themselves' (Hosea 10:1). Even the best fruits are not acceptable; Heaven finds five faults with them: their bitterness, their ill savour, their unripeness, their lightness and the fact that they are not all manner of pleasant fruits.
      • It is dead; the stroke has gone to the heart and the tree is withered. The consequence is that every branch in this stock is dead.
   Every branch is barren, bearing no fruit. The covenant of works is strong enough to command us to do certain things, but not strong enough to enable us to do them All labour is lost on the tree. The pains of the gardener are lost; the influences of Heaven are lost; Summer and winter alike are lost
   
   It is a killing stock. There are four things Adam conveys to all his branches: a corrupt nature, guilt, the curse, death.
2. The supernatural stock, into which the branches are ingrafted
   
   Jesus is called the Branch (Zechariah 3:8), in respect of his human nature. But he is also a root (Isaiah 11:10). He is the vine, because he is the God-Man, the Mediator. Faith receives the whole Christ, God and Man.
3. What branches are cut off the old stock and put into the new?
   
   The Elect, and only the Elect. Faith is the faith of God's elect (Titus 1:1). The Lord passes by many branches growing on the natural stock, and cuts off only here one, and there one, and grafts them into the true vine, according as free love has determined' (180).
   
   Thomas Boston HUMAN NATURE IN ITS FOURFOLD STATE – Handout 10
   
   This book deals with the Bible's teaching on the nature of man, in his state of innocence (as God created him), in a state of nature (as a result of the Fall), in a state of grace (when he comes to Christ), and in the eternal state (either in Heaven or Hell).
   
   This section continues the discussion of the State of Grace, the first point of which is the nature of regeneration. Boston is now discussing the second point, Union with Christ. Under the figure of the vine and the branches, he is now going to show how men are cut off their dead stock in Adam, and ingrafted into Christ.
4. How this cutting and ingrafting is done
   
   If it happens, it is thanks to the Husbandman, not to the branch. The sinner is passive, until almighty power does the work. 'The branches may be hacked by the preaching of the word; but the stroke will never go through till it be carried home by the omnipotent arm' (181). This is done by the pruning knife of the law, in the hands of the Spirit.
   • the Spirit shows man that he is lost – 'by the Spirit of the Lord acting as a Spirit of bondage, there is a criminal court erected in the man's breast'
   • the man would rather quit his former practices than ruin his soul, but the Spirit shows him that 'negative holiness is too scanty a covering from the storm of God's wrath'
   • the man turns to a holy course of living. Hypocrites may also; but the Lord's people are sensitive in their consciences to their own imperfections.
   • The man goes to God, having learned that outward religion is a vain show
   • He goes even further to 'inside religion', labouring to curb his passions, and to pray more fervently
   • God shows him that 'he sins in all he does, even when he does the best he can'
   • He finds he is unable to pay his debt, and realises that God requires perfect obedience
   • 'he falls a borrowing': he realises that he must go to Christ. Many think Christ makes up for their own deficiencies, but that is a fatal error: 'there is no mixing of the law and faith in his business; the sinner must hold by one of them and let the other go
   • he may make a covenant with God, promising to be better if Christ saves him; but the Spirit shows him that he is undone in this. This is the invention of man's heart – 'in that covenant men work for life; in God's covenant they come to Christ for life and work from life' (186)
   • he comes to Christ's door and knocks for mercy
   • he sees his own unworthiness to the point that he despairs that Christ can save him. Yet any thought that his unworthiness makes him fit for Christ must be taken away.
   • He can only, at last, come to Christ as he is; thus Christ knocks off the branch which has remained hanging to the old stock by the thread of a natural faith
   
   
   "I design not to rack or distress tender consciences ... I would not have this to be looked upon as the sovereign God's stinted method of breaking off sinners from the old stock. But this I assert as a certain truth, that all who are in Christ, have been broken off from all these several confidences, and that they who were never broken off from them, are yet in their natural stock" (190).
   
   So, the law is the instrument by which the branch is cut off. The gospel is the means by which the branch is ingrafted into Christ. In this ingrafting, three things happen:
   1. Christ apprehends the sinner by his Spirit, and draws the sinner to himself
   2. The sinner apprehends Christ by faith, and is one with him
      
      USES - the preaching of the law is most necessary
      • the gospel crowns the work
      • if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his
      • the union between Christ and believers is firm and indissoluble.
   3. Those who have not been apprehended by the Spirit have an unsure hold of Christ
      
      How do I know that I am apprehended by Christ?
      • I come away to Christ with my whole heart
      • My heart is disengaged from, and turns against, sin.
5. The benefits which flow from this union.
   
   Justification
   • sins pardoned and guilt removed
   • accepted as righteous in God's sight
   
   
   Peace
   
   Adoption
   
   Sanctification
   • mortification
   • vivification
   
   
   Growth in Grace
   
   Fruitfulness
   • make sure you are knit to the stock by faith; beware of hypocrisy
   • labour to be steadfast in the truth and ways of God
   • endeavour to cut off the suckers
   • improve the ordinances of God
   
   
   Acceptance
   
   Establishment
   
   Support
   • Christ supports under a weight of outward troubles
   • Christ supports under a weight of inward troubles and discouragements
   
   
   Care
   • Strive to obtain and keep up communion with Christ
   • Walk as becomes those that are united to Christ
   
   
   display the character of a wife
   
   be careful to bring forth much fruit
   
   be heavenly minded
   
   live and act dependently
   
   be of a meek disposition, and a uniting temper with the fellow members of Christ's body