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The elect are to receive under our preaching, if we are ministers of Christ, the special gift of the Father, in bestowing his Christ and Salvation on them; yea, and all that accompanies the Salvation of God with Christ.
Whereas, if ministers in their errand stand proffering the Grace of God to poor sinners, they do not preach in and through Christ, but only hold forth something in a general way concerning Christ. And so bring no more Salvation ministerially to the elect, than they bring or show to the non-elect, and what a gross abuse of the elect is this by them who seem to profess election! The non-elect have the common notion of Salvation already concerning Christ; that is, they have the common doctrine of the Gospel, that Jesus Christ died for sinners, that they are sinners, and the like. Therefore the common salvation concerning Christ in the Doctrine is theirs, that is, convenient, appointed number of the non-elect believe with a temporary faith, a rational faith, an external faith concerning Christ, which is faith made providentially serviceable, as a sort of barrier or external defence placed round about the inward glory of the Sanctuary, as to what is effectual through Christ, in the converted number of the absolute elect of God.
What is taught concerning Christ in externals is made of great use towards that which is taught through Christ in internals. Thus in all ages, especially since the times of Constantine the first Christian Emperor, God hath made use of men who have had but a name to live, Rev.3:1, and have been but ly and externally converted to the Faith, and to but some of it neither concerning Christ, to be a sort of earth to help the woman, Rev.12:16, and do a kindness to the Church, that hath been converted through him unto Himself. As for the Church, so far as made up of the true elect of God, {I mean such as were chosen in Christ to everlasting life before the foundation of the world, Eph.1:4, and not chosen merely to common faith and privileges, as the son of perdition, Jn.17:2, Judas was,} have comparatively in all ages been but a handful. Now such a small number could no ways have visibly subsisted by the common methods of Providence, if the Lord had not made use of others to help them, and render the external interest of the Gospel in the world in things concerning Christ, some ways capable of resisting the spiteful opposition of Jew and Pagan. Hence, the first preaching of the Gospel was attended with miracles, which were as a suitable means to work a common belief of the Gospel concerning Christ, upon the non-elect, as to work the same common belief upon the elect of God themselves. And most certainly this method was taken, next to the good pleasure of God, that there might be brought into the outworks a great company of outer-court people to believe the Gospel with a general faith concerning Christ, and such a faith as common education and general instruction hath kept up in the world ever since. Nevertheless at that day formally, the Spirit of God in a common way did make the general preaching of the Gospel concerning Christ, a means to work a general faith upon Jew and Pagan; and by a common work of the Spirit in all ages since, men have sprung up into the same common faith, partly by education and precept of men, partly by example and interest of the world, &c. For all the first prejudices to the Gospel concerning Christ in the lump are clean gone out of these parts of the world, which yet were strong prejudices in that former day by a contrary education, example, preposition, &c., and so there was a greater common work of the Spirit upon men in that day as necessary to bring them up to the common faith in Christianity. This common and general faith and reception of the Gospel in the general lump concerning Christ was needful in all nations to carry on God's work more covertly under the fair show of the out-works, and more particularly within and under this general entertainment of the Gospel by Jew and Pagan. So that hereby Conversion Power in the glory of the Gospel, hid itself as under a veil, to another end, while the souls of the elect were so secretly discriminated, as that all the world should not be capable of judging about the mystery, since the elect of God as to their natural condition and external character were close fastened to all this lump and cluster of mankind, in matters concerning Christ. And hence the first preaching of the Gospel was answerable to the state of the Jewish and Pagan world, for both were set against the very notion of the Gospel.
