First, Adoption is a very glorious thing; it redounds to the glory of Free-grace, and puts a lustre upon the Believer; it redounds to the glory of Free-grace: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed ⟨p. 243⟩upon us, that we should be called the Sons of God, 1 Joh. 3.1. That the indefectible God, who hath a Son of his own lying in his bosom as an eternal joy, should Adopt; that the great Creator, who as such hath all possible right to his Creature, should Adopt; that the Immortal One, to whom by reason of his Immortality there can be no succession, should yet Adopt; that such a Majesty as he is should Adopt such as we are, worms and sinful dust, and Adopt us to such an Inheritance as Heaven is; and by putting a new nature into us, make us meet for the same, is stupendous and wonderful beyond expression. Such Considerations as these made the great School-man Durandus (as Medina relates) affirm, That God did not Adopt properly, but Secundum Translationem, in a Metaphorical way. But to pass that, these things signally demonstrate, that Divine Adoption is full of rich Grace, and in a transcendent manner above Humane. Moreover, Adoption puts a lustre upon the Believer, such as is not to be found upon the Princes and Potentates of the Earth.1 The proud Sultan Achmet used in his Letters to arrogate these high Titles to himself; I Achmet head of Prophets, Emperor of Emperors, Lord of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Lord of the White, Black, and Red Seas, subjoining a long Enumeration of all the Provinces under him: But to be a Son of God is incomparably more than all these. All that train of Titles whereby Potentates spread out their Glory, is fumus seculi, the smoke of this lower World, and glitters only in the eyes of ⟨p. 244⟩flesh and blood; but Adoption is radius Caeli, a ray of Heavenly Glory, and makes the Believer shine to the eyes of Angels; who, as they rejoice over a repenting Sinner, cannot but wonder to see such an one transfigured into a Son of God: Nay, Adoption puts such a glory upon the Believer as was not upon Adam in Paradise. Adam was a Son of God only by Creation, but the Believer is one by Mystical Union and Communion with Christ the Natural Son; hence Christ calls him Brother, Heb. 2.11. a Compellation not used to Angels; and he is one of the first-born, Heb. 12.23. a title in an eminent way given to Christ.
First, Adoption is a very glorious thing; it redounds to the glory of Free-grace, and puts a lustre upon the Believer; it redounds to the glory of Free-grace: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed ⟨p. 243⟩upon us, that we should be called the Sons of God, 1 Joh. 3.1. That the indefectible God, who hath a Son of his own lying in his bosom as an eternal joy, should Adopt; that the great Creator, who as such hath all possible right to his Creature, should Adopt; that the Immortal One, to whom by reason of his Immortality there can be no succession, should yet Adopt; that such a Majesty as he is should Adopt such as we are, worms and sinful dust, and Adopt us to such an Inheritance as Heaven is; and by putting a new nature into us, make us meet for the same, is stupendious and wonderful beyond expression. Such Considerations as these made the great School-man Durandus (as Medina relates) affirm, That God did not Adopt properly, but Secundum Translationem, in a Metaphorical way. But to pass that, these things signally demonstrate, that Divine Adoption is full of rich Grace, and in a transcendent manner above Humane. Moreover, Adoption puts a lustre upon the Believer, such as is not to be found upon the Princes and Potentates of the Earth.1 The proud Sultan Achmet used in his Letters to arrogate these high Titles to himself; I Achmet head of Prophets, Emperour of Emperours, Lord of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Lord of the White, Black, and Red Seas, subjoining a long Enumeration of all the Provinces under him: But to be a Son of God is incomparably more than all these. All that train of Titles whereby Potentates spread out their Glory, is fumus seculi, the smoke of this lower World, and glitters only in the eyes of ⟨p. 244⟩flesh and blood; but Adoption is radius Caeli, a ray of Heavenly Glory, and makes the Believer shine to the eyes of Angels; who, as they rejoice over a repenting Sinner, cannot but wonder to see such an one transfigured into a Son of God: Nay, Adoption puts such a glory upon the Believer as was not upon Adam in Paradise. Adam was a Son of God only by Creation, but the Believer is one by Mystical Union and Communion with Christ the Natural Son; hence Christ calls him Brother, Heb. 2.11. a Compellation not used to Angels; and he is one of the first-born, Heb. 12.23. a title in an eminent way given to Christ.
- 1Par. Medulla hist.
