The Works of John Bunyan, vol 1 by John Bunyan (books to read to improve english .TXT) 📕

2. This word, shall come, maketh thy coming not only the fruit of the gift of the Father, but also of the purpose of the Son; for these words are a Divine purpose; they show us the heavenly determination of the Son. “The Father hath given them to me, and they shall; yea, they shall come to me.” Christ is as full in his resolution to save those given to him as is the Father in giving of them. Christ prizeth the gift of his Father; he will lose nothing of it; he is resolved to save it every whit by his blood, and to raise it up again at the last day; and thus he fulfills his Father’s will, and accomplisheth his own desires (John 6:39).

3. These words, shall come, make thy coming to be also the effect of an absolute promise; coming sinner, thou art concluded in a promise; thy coming is the fruit of the faithfulness of an absolute promise. It was this promise, by the virtue of which thou at first receivedst strength to come; and this is the promise, by the virtue of which thou shalt be effectually brought to him. It was said to Abraham, “At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.”

This son was Isaac. Mark! “Sarah shall have a son;” there is the promise. And Sarah had a son; there was the fulfilling of the promise; and, therefore, was Isaac called the child of the promise (Gen 17:19; 18:10; Rom 9:9).

Sarah shall have a son. But how, if Sarah be past age? Why, still the promise continues to say, Sarah shall have a son. But how, if Sarah be barren? Why, still the promise says, Sarah shall have a son. But Abraham’s body is now dead? Why, the promise is still the same, Sarah shall have a son. Thus, you see what virtue there is in an absolute promise; it carrieth enough in its own bowels to accomplish the thing promised, whether there be means or no in us to effect it. Wherefore, this promise in the text, being an absolute promise, by virtue of it, not by virtue of ourselves, or by our own inducements, do we come to Jesus Christ: for so are the words of the text: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me.”

Therefore is every sincere comer to Jesus Christ called also a child of the promise. “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise,” (Gal 4:28); that is, we are the children that God hath promised to Jesus Christ, and given to him; yea, the children that Jesus Christ hath promised shall come to him. “All that the Father giveth me shall come.”

4. This word, shall come, engageth Christ to communicate all manner of grace to those thus given him to make them effectually to come to him. “They shall come;” that is, not if they will, but if grace, all grace, if power, wisdom, a new heart, and the Holy Spirit, and all joining together, can make them come. I say, this word, shall come, being absolute, hath no dependence upon our own will, or power, or goodness; but it engageth for us even God himself, Christ himself, the Spirit himself. When God had made that absolute promise to Abraham, that Sarah “should have a son,” Abraham did not at all look at any qualification in himself, because the promise looked at none; but as God had, by the promise, absolutely promised him a son; so he considered now not his own body now dead, nor yet the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform” (Rom 4:20,21). He had promised, and had promised absolutely, Sarah shall have a son. Therefore, Abraham looks that he, to wit, God, must fulfil the condition of it. Neither is this expectation of Abraham disapproved by the Holy Ghost, but accounted good and laudable; it being that by which he gave glory to God.

The Father, also, hath given to Christ a certain number of souls for him to save; and he himself hath said, “They shall come to him.” Let the church of God then live in a joyful expectation of the utmost accomplishment of this promise; for assuredly it shall be fulfilled, and not one thousandth part of a tittle thereof shall fail. “They SHALL come to me.”

[Second, In particular.] And now, before I go any further, I will more particularly inquire into the nature of an absolute promise.

1. We call that an absolute promise that is made without any condition; or more fully thus: That is an absolute promise of God, or of Christ, which maketh over to this or that man any saving, spiritual blessing, without a condition to be done on our part for the obtaining thereof. And this we have in hand is such an one. Let the best Master of Arts on earth show me, if he can, any condition in this text depending upon any qualification in us, which is not by the same promise concluded, shall be by the Lord Jesus effected in us.

2. An absolute promise therefore is, as we say, without if or and; that is, it requireth nothing of us, that itself might be accomplished.

It saith not, They shall, if they will; but they shall: not, they shall, if they use the means; but, they shall. You may say, that a will and the use of the means is supposed, though not expressed.

But I answer, No, by no means; that is, as a condition of this promise. If they be at all included in the promise, they are included there as the fruit of the absolute promise, not as if it expected the qualification to arise from us. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power” (Psa 110:3). That is another absolute promise. But doth that promise suppose a willingness in us, as a condition of God’s making us willing? They shall be willing, if they are willing; or, they shall be willing, if they will be willing.

This is ridiculous; there is nothing of this supposed. The promise is absolute as to us; all that it engageth for its own accomplishment is, the mighty power of Christ and his faithfulness to accomplish.

3. The difference, therefore, betwixt the absolute and conditional promise is this:

(1.) They differ in their terms. The absolute promises say, I will, and you shall: the other, I will, if you will; or, Do this, and thou shalt live (Jer 4:1; 31:31-33; Eze 18:30-32; 36:24-34; Heb 8:7-13; Matt 19:21).

(2.) They differ in their way of communicating of good things to men; the absolute ones communicate things freely, only of grace; the other, if there be that qualification in us, that the promise calls for, not else.

(3.) The absolute promises therefore engage God, the other engage us: I mean, God only, us only.

(4.) Absolute promises must be fulfilled; conditional may, or may not be fulfilled. The absolute ones must be fulfilled, because of the faithfulness of God; the other may not, because of the unfaithfulness of men.

(5.) Absolute promises have therefore a sufficiency in themselves to bring about their own fulfilling; the conditional have not so.

The absolute promise is therefore a big-bellied promise, because it hath in itself a fullness of all desired things for us; and will, when the time of that promise is come, yield to us mortals that which will verily save us; yea, and make us capable of answering of the demands of the promise that is conditional.

4. Wherefore, though there be a real, yea, an eternal difference, in these things, with others, betwixt the conditional and absolute promise; yet again, in other respects, there is a blessed harmony betwixt them; as may be seen in these particulars. The conditional promise calls for repentance, the absolute promise gives it (Acts 5:31). The conditional promise calls for faith, the absolute promise gives it (Zeph 3:12; Rom 15:12). The conditional promise calls for a new heart, the absolute promise gives it (Eze 36:25,26). The conditional promise calleth for holy obedience, the absolute promise giveth it, or causeth it (Eze 36:27).

5. And as they harmoniously agree in this, so again the conditional promise blesseth the man, who by the absolute promise is endued with its fruit. As, for instance, the absolute promise maketh men upright; and then the conditional follows, saying, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord” (Psa 119:1). The absolute promise giveth to this man the fear of the Lord; and then the conditional followeth, saying, “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord” (Psa 128:1). The absolute promise giveth faith, and then this conditional follows, saying, “Blessed is she that believed” (Zeph 3:12; Luke 1:45). The absolute promise brings free forgiveness of sins; and then says the condition, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered”

(Rom 4:7). The absolute promise says, that God’s elect shall hold out to the end; then the conditional follows with his blessings, “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (1

Peter 1:4-6; Matt 24:13).

Thus do the promises gloriously serve one another and us, in this their harmonious agreement.

Now, the promise under consideration is an absolute promise. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me.”

This promise therefore is, as is said, a big-bellied promise, and hath in itself all those things to bestow upon us that the conditional calleth for at our hands. They shall come! Shall they come? Yes, they shall come. But how, if they want those things, those graces, power, and heart, without which they cannot come? Why, Shall-come answereth all this, and all things else that may in this manner be objected. And here I will take the liberty to amplify things.

[Objections to the absoluteness of this promise (the force of SHALL-COME) answered.]

Object. 1. But they are dead, dead in trespasses and sins, how shall they then come?

Answ. Why, Shall-come can raise them from this death. “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.” Thus, therefore, is this impediment by Shall-come removed out of the way. They shall heal, they shall live.

Object. 2. But they are Satan’s captives; he takes them captive at his will, and he is stronger than they: how then can they come?

Answ. Why, Shall-come hath also provided an help for this. Satan had bound that daughter of Abraham so, that she could by no means lift up herself; but yet Shall-come set her free both in body and soul. Christ will have them turned from the power of Satan to God.

But what! Must it be, if they turn themselves, or do something to merit of him to turn them? No, he will do it freely, of his own good will. Alas! Man, whose soul is possessed by the devil, is turned whithersoever that governor listeth, is taken captive by him, notwithstanding its natural powers, at his will; but what will he do? Will he hold him when Shall-come puts forth itself, will he then let12 him, for coming to Jesus Christ? No, that cannot be!

His power is