7. The calling, qualifying, and sending the apostle
Paul. This was begun in his conversion as he was
going to Damascus, and was one of the greatest
means of the success of Christ's redemption that fol-
lowed : for this success was more by the labours,
preaching, and writings of this apostle, than all the
others put together. For, as he says, he ' laboured
more abundantly than they all ; ' so also his success
was more abundant. 1 Cor. xv. 10. As he was the
apostle of the Gentiles, so it was principally by his
ministry that the Gentiles were called, and the gos-
pel spread throughout the world. The nations of
Europe have the gospel among them chiefly through
his means, and he was more employed by the Holy
Ghost in revealing its glorious doctrines in his wri-
tings, for the use of the church in all ages, than all
the other apostles.
8. The next thing I would observe is, the institu-
tion of ecclesiatical Councils, for deciding controver-
* It is generally allowed by inquirers into these subjects, that in the
primitive church there were also Deaconesses, or pious women, whose
particular business it was to assist in the entertainment and care of
the itinerant preachers ; visit the sick and imprisoned, instruct female
catechumens, and assist at their baptism ; then more particularly ne-
cessary from the peculiar customs of those countries, the persecuted
state of the church, and the speedier spreading of the gospel.— Such a
one it is reasonable to think Phebe was, mentioned in Rom xvi. 1, and
who is expressly called a deaconess, or stated servant, as Dr. Dod-
dridge renders it. They were usually widows, and to prevent scandal,
generally in years. 1 Tim. v. 9. But as the primitive christians seem
to be led to this practice from the peculiarity of their circumstances,
and the scripture is entirely silent as to any appointment to tliis sup-
posed office, or any rules about it, it is very justly laid aside, at least
as an office.
IN THE APOSTOLIC AGE. 241
sies, and ordering the affairs of the church of Christ,
of which we have an account in the fifteenth chapter
of the Acts.*
9. The last thing I shall mention under this head
is, the committing the New Testament to writing.
This was all written after the resurrection of Christ;
and all written, either by the apostles, or by the
evangelists Mark and Luke, who were companions
of the apostles. The gospel of Mark is supposed to
be written by that Mark whose mother was Mary,
in whose house they were praying for Peter, when
he, (brought out of prison by the angel,) came and
knocked at the door. Acts xii. 12. ' And when he
had considered the thing, he came to the house of
the mother of John, whose surname was Mark,
where many were gathered together praying.' He
was the companion of the apostles Barnabas and
Saul. Acts XV. 37. ' And Barnabas determined to
take with them John, whose surname was Mark.'
He was Barnabas's sister's son, and seems sometime
to have been a companion of the apostle Paul. Col.
iv. 10. ' Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, saluteth
you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas ; touching
whom yc received commandment : if he come unto
you, receive him.' The apostles seem to have made
great account of him, as appears by those places,
and also by Acts xii. 25. ' And Barnabas and Saul
returned from Jerusalem, and took with them John,
whose surname was Mark.' Also Acts xii. 5. ' When
* Who can help admiring tlie primitive institution of councils, and
at the same time deploring the abuse of them in after ages '. While
*hey were assemblies of excellent and apostolic men, who met to con-
sult and advise with one another on the common interests of Christi-
anity, we venerate and esteem them ; but when they degenerated to
be tools of state, and were composed of men heated by a spirit of party,
and warped by secular interests, who showed their piety only in aspir-
ing to seats of temporal power, and their zeal in excommunicating and
persecuting each other ;— then they became objects only of pity and
contempt. Yet, such is the course of human affairs, as they sunk in
value, they rose in authoritv ; and when they grew carnal and vicious,
were judged infallible and divine ! It was a departing from the scrip-
tures, as the only rule of faith and practice, and setting up an exor-
bitant power in the church, and the pastors of it, that led on the great
apostasy, and helped up antichrist to his throne.
2 I
242 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.
they were at Salamis, they preached the word of
God in the synagoges of the Jews ; and they had
also John to their minister.' Again 2 Tim. iv. 11.
* Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring
him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the
ministry.'
Luke, who wrote the gospel of Luke and the book
of Acts, was a companion of the apostle Paul. He
is spoken of as being with him in the last-mentioned
place, and speaks of himself as accompanying him in
his travels, in the history of the Acts ; and therefore
he speaks in the first person plural, ' We' went to
such and such a place. He was greatly beloved by
the apostle Paul : he is that beloved physician
spoken of, Col. iv. 14. The apostle ranks Mark and
Luke among his fellow labourers. Philemon 24
' Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow la-
bourers.'
The rest of the books were all written by the
apostles themselves. The books of the New Testa-
ment are either historical, doctrinal, or prophetical.
The historical books are the writings of the four
evangelists, giving us the history of Christ, and his
purchase of redemption, with his resurrection and
ascension : and the Acts of the Apostles, giving an
account of the great things by which the christian
church was first established and propagated. The
doctrinal books are the epistles. These, most of
them, we have from the great apostle Paul. And
we have one prophetic book, which takes place after
the end of the history of the whole bible, and gives
an account of the great events by which the work
of redemption was to be carried on till the end of
the world.
All these books are supposed to have been written
before the destruction of Jerusalem, excepting those
of John, who lived the longest of all the apostles,
and wrote, as is supposed, after the destruction of
Jerusalem. To this beloved disciple it was that
Christ revealed those wonderful things which were
to come to pass in his church to the end of time;
N THE APOSTOLIC "AGE,
243
and he put the finishing hand to the canon of scrip-
ture, and sealed up the whole. So that now that
great and standing- written rule, which was begun
about Moses's time, was completed and settled, and
a curse denounced against him that adds any thing
to it, or diminishes any thing from it. All the
stated means of grace were finished in the apostolic
age, and are to remain unaltered to the day of judg-
ment.*— Thus far we have considered those things
by which the means of grace were given and esta-
blished in the christian church.
III. The success of Christ's redemption during
the suffering state of the church.
* The following is a view of the order in which the New Testament
was written, with the authors and dates of each book.
The Gospels— according to Dr. Owen.
Matthew's
at Jerusalem
about A. D
. 38.
Luke's
at Corinth
_
_
53.
Mark's -
at Rome
_
_
_
63.
John's
at Ephesus
The Acts.
-
-
-
69.
By Luke -
at Rome or Alexandria -
-
63.
Paul's Epistles— according to
Dr
Lar
dner.
1 Thessalonians
at Corinth
_
-
-
52.
2 Thessalonians
Ditto
_
_
_
52.
Galatians
at Corinth -
-
.
_
52.
1 Corinthians -
at Ephesus -
-
-
-
56.
1 Timothy
at Macedonia
_
_
_
56.
Titus
Ditto
-
_
_
56.
2 Corintliians
Ditto
_
-
-
57.
Romans
at Corinth -
-
-
-
58.
Ephesians
at Rome
-
-
_
61.
2 Timothy
Ditto
-
-
-
61.
Philippians
Ditto
-
-
-
62.
Colossians -
Ditto
_
_
_
62.
Philemon -
Ditto
_
_
_
62.
Hebrews -
at Rome or in Italy
-
-
63.
General epistles — according
to
Lardner.
James
at Judea
-
-
61 or 62.
1 Peter
at Rome
_
_
.
64.
2 Peter
Ditto
_
_
.
64.
Jude
Unknown
-
.
64 or 65.
1, 2, 3 John
at Ephesus -
between 80 & 90.
Revelation.
By John -
at Patmos or Ephesus -
i)5 or f>o.
•244 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.
We now come to consider the success of Christ's
redemption during the church's suffering persecuted
state, from the resurrection of Christ to the fall of
antichrist. This space of time, for the most part, is
a state of the church's sufferings, and is so repre-
sented in scripture. Indeed God is pleased, out of
love and pity to his elect, to grant many intermis-
sions during this time, whereby the days of tribula
tion are as it were shortened. But from Christ's
resurrection till the fall of antichrist is the appointed
day of Zion's troubles. For the first three hundred
years after Christ, the church was for the most part
in a state of great affliction, the object of reproach
and persecution ; first by the Jews, and then by the
heathen. After this, from the beginning of Constan-
tine's time, the church had rest and prosperity for a
short season; which is represented by the angel's
holding the four winds for a little while. Rev. vii. 1.
But presently after, the church again suffered perse-
cution from the Arians ; then antichrist rose, and the
church was driven away into the wilderness, and
was kept down in obscurity, contempt and suffering,
for a long time, before the reformation by Luther
and others. Since the reformation, the church's per-
secutions have been in some respects beyond all
that ever were before. And though some parts of
God's church have had rest, yet to this day it is very
much kept under by its enemies, and so we may
expect it will continue till the fall of antichrist.
Then will come the appointed day of the church's
prosperity on earth, the set time in which God will
favour Zion, the time when the saints shall not be
kept under by wicked men as hitherto ; but they
shall be uppermost, and shall reign on earth, for
* the kingdom shall be given to the people of the
saints of the Most High.' Dan. vii. 27.
This suffering state is in scripture represented as
a time of the church's travail, to bring forth that
glory and prosperity of the church which shall be
after the fall of antichrist. Rev. xii. 1,2. This is a
TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 245
long time, though it be spoken of as being but for a
little season, in comparison of the eternal prosperity
of the church. Hence the church, under the long
continuance of this affliction, cries out, ' How long,
oh Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and
avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? '
ilev. vi. 10. And we are told, that * white robes
were given unto every one of them ; and it was said
unto them, that they should rest yet for a little sea-
son, until their fellow servants also, and their
brethren, that should be killed as they were, should
be fulfilled.' So Daniel also asks, ' How long shall
it be to the end of these wonders ? '
It is to be observed, that during this time the
main instrument of the church's sufferings has been
the Roman government. Rome is therefore in the
New Testan>ent, Rev. xvii. 5, called Babylon, be-
cause, as of old the troubles of Jerusalem were
chiefly from that adverse city, so the troubles of
the christian church, the spiritual Jerusalem, are
principally from Rome. Before the time of Con-
stantine, the troubles of the christian church were
from heathen Rome ; since that time, from anti-
christian Rome. And as of old, the captivity of the
Jews ceased on the destruction of Babylon, so the
time of the trouble of the christian church will cease
with the destruction of the church of Rome, that
spiritual Babylon.
In considering the success of Christ's redemption
during this time of the church's tribulation, I would
show, — (1) How it was carried on till the destruction
of Jerusalem — (2) From thence to the destruction
of the heathen empire in the time of Constantine—
and (3) From that time to the destruction of anti-
christ, with which the days of the church's tribula-
tion and travail end.
1 . I would show how the success of Christ's re-
demption was carried on from his resurrection to the
destruction of Jerusalem. In speaking of this, I
shall take notice of the success itself — the opposi-
246 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.
tion made against its enemies — and the terrible
judgments of God on those enemies.
(1) Observe the success itself. Soon after Christ
had finished the purchase of redemption, and had
entered into the holy of holies above w^ith his own
blood, there began a glorious success of what he had
done and suffered. Having undermined the foun-
dation of Satan's kingdom, it began to fall apace.
Swiftly did it hasten to ruin ; and Satan m.ight now
well be said to fall like lightning from heaven.
Satan before had exalted his throne very high, even
to the stars of heaven, reigning with great glory in
his heathen Roman empire ; but never before had
he such a downfal as he had soon after Christ's
ascension. We may suppose him to have been very
lately triumphing in having brought about the death
of Christ, as the greatest victory that ever he had ;
and possibly imagined he had gained God's design
by him. But he was quickly made sensible, that
he had only been ruining his own kingdom, when
he saw it falling so fast soon after. For Christ
having ascended and received the Holy Spirit, pour-
ed it forth abundantly for the conversion of thousands
and millions of souls.
Never had Christ's kingdom been so advanced in
the world before. There probably were more souls
converted in the age of the apostles than had been
from the beginning of the world. Thus God so soon
began gloriously to accomplish his promise to his
Son, that he should ' see his seed, and that the
pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hand, if
he would make his soul an offering for sin.' Isai
liii. 10.
[i] Here is to observed the success which the
gospel had among the Jews ; for God first began
with them. He being about to reject the main
body of that people, first calls in his elect from
among them. It was so in former great and dread
ful judgments of God on that nation ; the bulk of
them were destroyed, and only a remnant saved or
reformed. In the rejection of the ten tribes, the
TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 247
bulk of them were cast off, when they left the true
worship of God in Jeroboam's time, and afterwards
more fully in Ahab's ; but yet God had reserved a
remnant. Many left their possessions in these tribes,
and went and settled in those of Judah and Benja-
min. And afterwards there were seven thousand in
Ahab's time, who had not bowed the knee to Baal.
In the captivity into Babylon, only a remnant of
them ever returned to their own land. So now far
the greater part of the people were rejected entirely,
but some few were saved. Therefore the Holy
Ghost compares this reservation of a number that
were converted by the preaching of the apostles,
to those former remnants. Rom. xi. 27. * Esaias
also crieth concerning Israel, though the number of
the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a
remnant shall be saved.' Isai. x. 22.
The glorious success of the gospel among the
Jews after Christ's ascension, began by the pouring
out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. So won-
derful was this pouring out of the Spirit, and so
remarkable and swift the effect of it, that we read of
three thousand who were converted to the christian
faith in one day, and probably the greater part of
them were savingly converted. Acts ii. 41. The
Lord also added to the church such as should be
saved. Soon after this we are told, that the number
of them was about five thousand. Not only was
there a multitude converted, but the church was
then eminent in piety, as appears by Acts ii. 46, 47.
iv. 32.
Thus the christian church was first formed of the
nation of Israel ; and therefore, when the Gentiles
were called, they were only as it were ' added ' to
Israel, to the seed of Abraham. They were added
to the christian church of Israel, as the proselytes of
old were to the Mosaic church ; and so were grafted
on the stock of Abraham, and not a distinct tree.
They are still the seed of Abraham and of Israel,
as Ruth the Moabitess, and Uriah the Hittite, and
248 HISTORY OF REDEMPTION.
other proselytes of old, were the same people, and
ranked as the seed of Israel.
The christian church at first began at Jerusalem,
and from thence was propagated to all nations ; so
that this church at Jerusalem was as it were the
mother of all other churches in the world, agreeable
to the prophecy, Isai. ii. 3, 4. ' Out of Zion shall go
forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jeru-
salem ; and he shall judge among the nations, and
rebuke many people.' So that the whole church is
still spiritually God's Jerusalem.
After this, we read of many thousands of Jews that
believed, in Jerusalem, Acts xxi. 20, in other cities
of Judea, and in different parts of the world. For
wherever the apostles went, if they found any Jews,
their manner was, first to go into the synagogues
and preach the gospel to them, and many in one
place and another believed ; as in Damascus, An-
tioch, &c.
In this outpouring of the Spirit began that first
great dispensation, which is called Christ's coming
in his kingdom. Christ's coming thus in a spiritual
manner for the glorious erection of his kingdom in
the world, is represented as his coming down from
heaven, whither he had ascended. John xiv. 18. ' I
will not leave you comfortless ; I will come unto
you,' speaking of his coming by the Comforter, the
Spirit of truth. And ver. 28 : Ye have heard how
I say unto you, I go away, and come again unto
you.' Thus the apostles began to see the kingdom
of heaven come with power, as he had promised.
Mark ix. 1 .
[2] After the success of the gospel had been so
gloriously begun among the Jews, the Spirit of God
was next wonderfully poured out on the Samaritans,
who were not Jews by nation, but the posterity of
those whom the king of Assyria removed from dif-
ferent parts of his dominions, and settled in the land
that was inhabited by the ten tribes, whom he car-
ried captive. Yet they had received the five books
TO THE DESTRUCTION" OF JERUSALEM. 249
of Moses, and practised most of the rites of the law,
and so were a sort of mongrel Jews. We do not
find them reckoned as Gentiles in the New Testa-
ment : for the calling of the Gentiles is spoken of as
a new thing after this, beginning- with the conversion
of Cornelius. But it was an instance of making
that a people which were no people : for they had
corrupted the religion which Moses commanded,
and did not go up to Jerusalem to worship, but
had another temple of their own in Mount Gerizzim.
This is the mountain of which the woman of Sama-
ria speaks, when she says, ' Our fathers worshipped
in this mountain.' John iv, 20. Christ there does
not approve of their separation from the Jews, but
tells the woman of Samaria that they worshipped
they knew not what, and that salvation is of the
Jews. But now salvation is brought from the Jews
to them by the preaching of Philip, (excepting that
before, Christ had some success among them,) with
whose preaching there was a glorious effusion of the
Spirit of God in the city of* Samaria ; where we are
told, that ' the people believed Philip preaching
the things concerning the kingdom of Christ, and
were baptized, both men and women ; and that
there was great joy in that city.' Acts viii. 8—12.
Thus Christ had a glorious harvest in Samaria ;
which is what he seems to have respect to, in what
he said to his disciples at Jacob's well three or four
years before, on occasion of the people of Samaria's
appearing at a distance in the fields coming to the
place where he was, at the instigation of the woman
of Samaria. On that occasion he bids his disci-
ples lift up their eyes to the fields, for that they
were white to the harvest. John iv. 35, 36. The
disposition which the people of Samaria showed
towards Christ and his gospel, evinced that they
were ripe for the harvest ; and now the harvest is
come by Philip's preaching. There used to be a
most bitter enmity between the Jews and Samari-
tans ; but now, by their conversion, the Christian,
Jews and Samaritans, are all happily united ; for in
2 K
250 HISTORY OF REDEMPTIOX.
Christ Jesus is neither Jew, nor Samaritan, but
Christ is all in all. This was a glorious instance
of the wolf's dwelling with the Lamb, and the leo-
pard's lying down with the kid. Isai. xi. 6.
[3] The next thing to be observed is the calling
of the Gentiles. This was a great and glorious dis-
pensation much spoken of in the Old Testament,
and by the apostles time after time, as a most glo-
rious event of Christ's redemption. This was begun
in the conversion of Cornelius and his family, greatly
to the admiration of Peter, and of those who were
with him or were informed of it. Acts x. xi. The
next instance that we have any account of, was in
the conversion of great numbers of Gentiles in
Cyprus, and Cyrene, and Antioch, by the disciples
that were scattered abroad through the persecution
which arose about Stephen ; and presently upon this
the disciples began to be called Christians first at
Antioch. Acts xi. 19—26.
After this, vast multitudes of Gentiles were con-
verted in many different parts of the world, chiefly
by the ministry of the Apostle Paul, the Spirit won-
derfully accompanying his preaching in one place
and another. Multitudes flocked into the church
of Christ, in a great number of cities where the
apostle came. So the number of the members of
the christian church that were Gentiles soon far ex-
ceeded the number of its Jewish members ; inso-
much that in less than ten years time after Paul was
sent forth from Antioch to preach to the Gentiles, it
was said of him and his companions, that they had
turned the world upside down. Acts xvii. 16.
* These that have turned the world upside down
are come hither also.' But the most remarkable
outpouring of the Spirit in a particular city that we
have an account of in the New Testament, seems to
be that in the great city of Ephesus. Acts xix.
There was also a very extraordinary in-gathering of
souls at Corinth, one of the greatest cities of Greece.
After this many were converted in Rome, then the
chief city of the known world, and the gospel was
TO TilE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 251
propagated into all parts of the Roman empire.
Thus the gospel sun, which had lately risen on the
Jews, now rose upon and began to enlighten the
heathen world, after they had continued in gross
darkness for so many ages.
This was a great thing, and such as never had
been before. All nations but the Jews, and a few
who had at one time and another joined with them,
had been rejected from about Moses's time. The
Gentile world had been covered over with the thick
darkness of idolatry : but now, at the joyful sound
of the gospel, they began in all parts to forsake
their old idols, to abhor and cast them to the moles
and to the bats, and to learn to worship the true
God, and trust in his Son Jesus Christ; and God
owned for his people those who had so long been
afar off, and made them nigh by the blood of Christ.
Men were changed from being heathenish and
brutish, to be the children of God ; were called out
of Satan's kingdom of darkness, and brought into
God's marvellous light. In almost all countries
throughout the known world there were assemblies
of the people of God ; joyful praises were sung to
the true God, and Jesus Christ the Redeemer.
Now that great building which God began soon after
the fall of man, rises gloriously, not as it had done
in former ages, but in quite a new manner ; now
Daniel's prophecies concerning the last kingdom,
which should succeed the four heathenish monar-
chies, begin to be fulfilled ; now the stone cut out
of the mountains without hands, began to smite the
image on its feet, to break it in pieces, to grow
great, and to make great advances towards filling
the earth ; and now God gathers together the elect
from the four winds of heaven, by the preaching of