Christ's Merit
God's love for us is rooted in Christ's merit and obedience to the Father.
Thomas Manton preaches about the perfect unity believers have with God through Christ, emphasizing that God's love for us is rooted in His love for Christ. Believers are accepted by God through Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to Him and makes us pleasing in His sight. The love God has for us is ultimately because of Christ's obedience and merit, as shown in John 3:16 where God gave His Son out of love for the world.
Text
"I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me" (John 17:23).
He loveth us because he loved Christ. Therefore it is said: Eph. 1:6, 'He hath made us accepted in the beloved.' The elect are made lovely, and fit to be accepted by God, only by Jesus Christ; accepted both in our state and actions as we are reconciled to him; and all that we do is taken in good part for Christ's sake, who was sent and intrusted bv the Father to procure this favour for us, and did all which was necessary to obtain it. The ground of all that love God beareth to us is for Christ's sake.
There is indeed an antecedent love showed in giving us to Christ, and Christ to us: John 3:16, 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son--That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' The first cause of Christ's love to us was obedience to the Father; the Son loved us, because the Father required it; though afterwards God loved us because Christ merited it. All consequent benefits are procured by the merit of Christ.
Sermon Outline
- The Ground of God's Love
- Christ's Merit
- The Elect Made Lovely
- All Benefits Procured by Christ's Merit
Key Quotes
“He loveth us because he loved Christ.” — Thomas Manton
“The ground of all that love God beareth to us is for Christ's sake.” — Thomas Manton
Application Points
- We are accepted by God only through Jesus Christ and His merit.
- All our actions are taken in good part by God for Christ's sake.
- We should recognize the role of Christ in our salvation and give Him the glory.