Christ Humbled yet Exalted
Those who conquer must follow the Lamb wherever He goes - in both humiliation and exaltation. In our justification, it is Christ’s righteousness imputed to us. In our sanctification, there is an increasing conformity to Christ. In our glorification, we are where Christ is. As Sinclair Ferguson says, “Nothing is received in salvation that is not first accomplished in and through Jesus Christ, everything accomplished in Christ is done so, not for his sake, but for ours.” Herein lies the thesis of John Flavel: all the comforts of believers are streams from this fountain, from the salvation accomplished by a Christ humbled yet exalted.
John Flavel begins with Christ’s incarnation, when the “Ancient of Days became as an infant of days.” That the Son of God would veil his glory in clay, born in such a destitute estate, marks the extent of the humiliation required to accomplish our salvation. Is this not a great consolation to believers, that Christ would expend so much for our salvation? Sin has driven men to an estate of misery, yet no misery was too great for Christ to bear on our behalf. This consolation is one of many refreshments found in this “fountain of life in Christ.”
Flavel’s work continues through Christ’s final words upon the Cross. However, for Flavel, Christ’s death is not our Savior’s final word. A believer’s assurance is made most sure in the exaltation of Christ. As he says, “While our Head is in heaven, we are safe in this world.” He is our pledge that we shall be with Him where he is, free from the sorrow and miseries of this life. Between here and heaven, our Savior is not complacent. As Esther prevented Haman’s evil by whispering in the ear of the king, so too Christ intercedes for us before the Father. No evil in heaven or on earth can separate us from the love of God in Christ as long as He reigns in heaven, praying for us. The Christ who humbled Himself to save us will not lose us now that He is exalted.
As Flavel says,
“Lord, the condemnation was Yours, that the justification might be mine. The agony was Yours, that the victory might be mine. The pain was Yours, and the ease mine. The stripes were Yours, and healing balm issuing from them mine. The vinegar and gall were Yours, that honey and sweet might be mine. The curse was Yours, that the blessing might be mine. The crown of thorns was Yours, that the crown of glory might be mine. The death was Yours, but the life purchased by it mine. You paid the price that I might enjoy the inheritance.”
We should all be thankful for the work of J. Stephen Yuille who has abridged this work into an accessible format. The twenty chapters all follow a similar format: a page of explaining the Scriptures, two pages of explaining the doctrine, and two pages of applying the truth. The short and orderly format facilitates a devotional reading by a wide assortment of Christians. Readers of this book will be able to trod the path of our Savior with increasing joy. Those interesting in purchasing this copy may find it here.
