The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace

(3.) Where a sin is inherently and personally, there is no need of imputation, which is a free Act of God, had Christ been inherently ⟨p. 235⟩and personally the sinner, God needed not make him, or impute our sins to him: as Isai. 53.6, 2 Cor. 5.21. and if we had been intrinsically sinners in Adam, his sin had been ours as intrinsically as it was Adams; and as Adam was not the first who sinned by imputation, but personally and intrinsically, so neither should Adams sin have been our sin by imputation, but intrinsically and personally, now the Scripture saith, Rom. 5.19. By one mans disobedience, many were made sinners, [Greek or Hebrew], then they were not intrinsically sinners, before they were made, that is, before they were reputed sinners in Adam, or before Adams sin was imputed to them: as we are not intrinsically righteous in Christ, before we be justified, and made or reputed righteous in Christ: When therefore our Divines say, we are as guilty of eating the forbidden fruit, as if our hands were there and our teeth, and we did eat in him,¹ the speech cannot be taken physically, personally (for we were not then born) but morally and legally: but our nature was legally there. But when the Elect does sin, Christ is not said to have been in our loins legally, but he was made sin, he was punished so as if he had been the sinner; though there was in Christ no formal guiltiness, no reatus culpae, but reatus paenae.

(3.) Where a sin is inherently and personally, there is no need of imputation, which is a free Act of God, had Christ been inherently ⟨p. 235⟩and personally the sinner, God needed not make him, or impute our sins to him: as Isai. 53.6, 2 Cor. 5.21