Review of Sibbes Ch 11 – 14
Before beginning Sibbes Ch 15, let us review what Sibbes terms his last section, which begins his Ch 11: “We come now to the last part of our text” (Sibbes Ch 11, first sentence).
Recall Sibbes began, as the book’s title gives us, with the realization that we are “Bruised Reeds and Smoking Flax” and that being so is evidence that God has implanted His life in us, by Grace, from Jesus Christ our Mediator, implanted by the Holy Spirit. And, further, that such beginning, even in its nascent feebleness, like a new born, is not where God’s Grace and Work ends. No, rather, God continues that beginning in this life and will sustain it to the end of this life and into the eternal state yet to be our experience. Such continuing work of God is not necessarily in the form, degree, or pace that we might have expected from our viewing things within our human nature. Hence, the importance of Ch 11 -14, and the concluding two chapter, Ch 15 -16.
This final section of Sibbes, beginning in Ch 11 and continuing through Ch 12-16, is concerning this growing / sustaining Work of God in our present spacetime experience, and final era of God’s great plan of the ages, leading inevitably to Christ’s ultimate triumph, and the elect’s eternal salvation.
Before we begin these final two chapters in Sibbes, starting with Ch 15 below, it will help us to grasp the build up from Ch 11 through Ch 14 by reviewing selected highlight statements made by Sibbes.
In the pdf attached below is an overview of the operative text–Bruised Reed, Smoking Flax–and the directly quoted highlights from Sibbes with certain additions I’ve provided in brackets for reading clarity. The reader can locate each such highlight by doing a word search in a pdf of Sibbes’s book.
As noted on p. 1 of the above pdf, the word “reed” occurs three times in Matthew’s Gospel after the reference citation (Bruised Reed, Smoking Flax) in Matt 12. All three such occurrences are associated with the Crucifixion of Jesus: first a reed is used by the Roman soldiers to mock Jesus’s claim that He is “King of the Jews” (as Pilate wrote on the inscription attached to the Cross), as a pitiful representative of a king’s scepter as the emblem of authority and sovereignty. Next a reed, likely the very same ‘scepter,’ is used to beat Christ upon his heat, as a further humiliation and taunt. Finally, on the Cross, Jesus is offered “sour wine” via an upraised reed.
This final human action of offering “sour wine” is recorded in all four Gospels (Matt 27:48, Mark 15:36, Luke 23:36, and John 19:29), one of the few events so repeated in all four, and echoes Psalm 69:21 which gives prophetic testimony of that very event. Such “sour wine” was the very poorest quality, available only to the people of lowest economic condition unable to afford what was “wine” as we would know the term; it was a ‘step’ above vinegar as used in a seasoning in that it was wine suitable for drinking, barely so because of its strongly bitter taste.
The sour wine was used as further mocking of Jesus, as no king would be drinking such lowest grade fruit of the vine:
35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
Luke 23:35-38 (ESV)
Such event was further evidence of the true human sacrifice of Jesus both God and man, and His utter humility by the sour wine given in a soaked sponge at the end of an upraised reed, through which He then gave His claim of finished Work:
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:28-30 (ESV)
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son[ of God!”
Matt 27:51-54 (ESV); [Mark’s Gospel closely parallels the above from Matthew]
And, so, the humility of the reed and the sour wine that man mocked the King became at that moment the final enablement to pronounce the victory of Jesus Christ, the Second Adam who took on the curse of the First Adam on our behalf:
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass.
For if many died through one man’s trespass, [Adam]
much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin.
For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, [Adam]
but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.
17 For if, because of one man’s trespass,
death reigned through that one man, [Adam]
much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, [Adam]
Romans 5:12-21 (ESV) [Added reference to “Adam” in brackets, and highlights mine: the bold font designating the Fall of Adam, and the bold underlined font, the Work of Christ]
so one act of righteousnessleads to justification and life for all men.
19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, [Adam]
so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, [Adam]
grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The above passage from Ch 5 of the Epistle to the Romans is the rightly the subject of deep commentary and analysis, beyond our scope here. In short, all humans “fell” under Adam, who was our “father” in both human / genetic life and fallen nature; in a parallel way, we who are in Christ, derive from Him eternal life contained within the propitiation of God (full satisfaction for the consequence of Adam’s sin and our own, plus the favor of God beyond ‘only’ judicial satisfaction, as adopted sons).
Ch 15: Christ’s Public Triumph
Sibbes begins the chapter with three key observations re Christ’s work:
- It (Christ’s work) present and active.
- It is not in full view, nor fully complete / finished.
- It will one day be so: fully complete and fully viewed.
What, then, of the deniers of the above, even the opposers of those who hold to the above? Sibbes in a few sentences gives poignant observation as to the fate of horror of any condemned to God’s ultimate wrath, despite such persons believing even to a state of internal certainty that none of the above is real, and they have no accountability before God.
The wicked that now shut their eyes to this shall see it to their torment.
Sibbes Ch 15, introductory paragraphs. Highlights mine.
It shall not be in the power of subtle men to see or not see what they wish.
Christ will have power over their hearts; and as his wrath shall immediately seize upon their souls against their wills, so will he have power over the eyes of their souls, that they may see and know what will increase their misery.
Grief shall be fastened to all their senses, and their senses to grief.
Then all the false glosses which they put upon things shall be wiped off.
…the time will come when they shall be driven out of this fools’ paradise….
Sibbes uses the phrase “subtle men,” which does not have Sibbes’s meaning in our present use of the word “subtle.” It’s meaning in Sibbes’s time was more weighted to “clever, crafty” as person who has a scheme to avoid being caught / called-out by an authority or, if caught, has a plan for avoiding consequences. Such is the nature of a defense attorney’s argument in court on behalf of an all-too-guilty defendant. More importantly, “subtle” was the word in the Bible used to introduce the Serpent in Gen 3:1 from which arose the temptation and the rationale for choosing life in non-recognition of God’s claim, to which first Eve, then Adam, submitted. The Hebrew word of the Serpent–fitting all those believing they can avoid God–is arum (Strongs H6165), deriving from the verb form arom (H6191):
- H6175. עָרוּם arum; from 6191; crafty, shrewd, sensible:—crafty(2), prudent(2), prudent man(3), sensible(2), sensible man(1), shrewd(1).
- H6191. עָרֹם arom; a prim. root; to be shrewd or crafty:—become shrewd(1), make shrewd(1), sensible(1), very cunning(1).
- Thomas, R. L. (1998). In New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : updated edition. Foundation Publications, Inc.
The particular distinctive of arum (crafty) is that it ‘works’ because it appears, is ‘dressed up,’ to be the opposite of what it is in reality. It is a deception, and such was its effect on Eve: And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (1 Tim 2:14, NKJV).
In addition to the idea of “subtle” as “shrewd / crafty” meaning active misrepresentation of true / ultimate reality there is a teleology hidden as well. With the act of “subtlety” is the ultimate aim of enticement. The Serpent was not being shrewd and crafty to show off but to achieve his sought-after end: ruining God’s creation, shaming God, gaining (as it were) adherents for most ancient category “those who chose evil in the face of True Good.” But even Eve’s choice was not the ultimate goal; rather it was Adam’s knowing choice. Thus this two-step process of leading Adam to be our Fallen-Condemned-to-Death-and-Judgment forefather, and inbreeding of all the human race, is a further, deeper demonstration of the subtle / shrewd / crafty nature of evil. And, further, the ongoing poison of such craftiness is that the deceived fail to grasp that such is their condition. Rather, they are naturally inclined to believe that it is they, the deceived, who are enlightened and wise, and it is those ‘others’ who are the deceived.
Being made aware of one deceived condition is a blessing. We would all curse a medical doctor who gave us and to everyone his / her happy diagnosis that we will live pain-free and pass away in our sleep well into our 90s, when he / she knew, or should have known, that we had some curable condition that would soon lead to our painful demise.
Two more important points on the idea behind the word “subtle” (“crafty”). First is that it is frequently used in the OT for one truly, Spiritually wise, as in Proverbs where it is contrasted with “the fool.” See, for instance: Proverbs 12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, 15, 18; 22:3; 27:12.
Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly (13:16). The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving (14:8)
Proverbs 13:16 and 14:8, where “prudent” translated Hebrew arum (H6175)
Here the subtle / shrewd man, translated as “prudent,” is contrasted with a “fool” in the sense of “stupid” (which is connected to the idea of “stupefied”–dumb, unknowing, clueless, a simpleton). So subtle / prudent is used in a generically positive sense standing opposite to the idea of being oblivious, or more nuanced, a simpleton.
The second additional point is about the origins of such craftiness. The NT gives us clarity on the base-case answer. Jesus has encounters with the leaders of the Jewish Religion (The Religion Industry, TRI, of its time and place). Initially, these encounters were investigatory: who are You? what are You up to? Then these investigations evolved to be particularized on certain fundamental tenets of TRI, specifically the righteousness its adherents derive from their adherence to the Mosaic Law (as as they misunderstood / misapplied it). Ultimately then the encounters descended in to trick question, and deception: Shall be pay taxes to Caesar? Is it permitted to divorce a wife for any reason? This woman was caught in the act of adultery, what should you do? A woman marries a man who dies, and this same is repeated six more times, in what way can heaven work this out? And, so forth. None of these were questions seeking explanation. Finally, TRI proceeded with the final deception of a false trial, a flawed judgment, and deceit upon the Roman ruler, Pontus Pilate who solely had the authority to order crucifixion. The overarching summary of Jesus’s interaction with TRI is that of facing deceptive questions and acts. All such bookends how Jesus began His public ministry with his 40 day fast, followed by being tempted by The Diabolos (G1228, translated as The Devil): “diabolos” is one who falsely accuses and divides, a slanderer…which describes an all-around misrepresenting person. Diabolos is a two-part compound word which components mean literally “down” (dia) to “throw / cast” (bolos). Clearly it applied at such three-part temptation (Matt Ch 4) with the goal to cast down Jesus’s sinless, substitutionary Being to become as just another fallen ‘son of Adam.’ And the TRI was exactly aligned with such purpose of The Diabolos by casting down Jesus as Messiah and the Son Who had been sent by the Father to reclaim the Father’s Vineyard.
Sec. 15.1: The Open Glory of Christ in His Members
Beginning in this first section of Ch 15, and continuing with the subsequent sections below, SIbbes recounts the principle that our present experience in a fallen world is being corrected and ultimately will be fully disclosed, judged, and separated eternally.
Then shall judgment and truth have their victory. Then Christ will plead his own cause. Truth shall no longer be called heresy and schism, nor heresy catholic doctrine. Wickedness shall no longer go masked and disguised. Goodness shall appear in its own luster, and shine in its own beams.
Sibbes, Sec 15.1
Sec. 15.2: Follow Sincerity and Truth
As above, the admonition to us to follow “Sincerity and Truth” is in the context that such will prevail, and those presently opposed, will be judged:
those that have been ruled by their own deceitful hearts and a spirit of error shall be brought forth to disgrace….joined sin and shame together at last.
Ibid.
…those [will] be laden with curses another day who abuse the judgment of others by sophistry and flattery//
Ibid.
The souls of most men are drowned in their senses, and carried away with weak opinions, raised from vulgar mistakes and shadows of things….men, trusting in vanity, vanquish themselves in their own apprehensions.
Ibid,
One of the subtle forms of deception is seeing the “good” of this present world in higher terms that is rightly so. Sibbes puts it this way:
the vain heart of man has been enlarged to conceive a greater good in the things of this world than there is…this is the vanity of our natures, that though we shun above all things to be deceived and mistaken in present things, yet in the greatest matters of all we are willingly ignorant and misled.
Ibid.
Sibbes, as he frequently does, inserts a sentence conveying a deep idea, worthy of introspection. Such is the following (also from Sec. 15.2): “It is one of the highest points of wisdom to consider on what grounds we venture our souls.” The fulcrum of such deeper idea is the word I have highlighted “venture.” The root meaning is “to go” somewhere, from which we get common English usage like “adventure” (which can result in a “misadventure”), and such a person is thought of as “adventurous,” and in the business world creating a “joint venture.” Here, Sibbes connects the idea of a “venture” with the way, the path, the life-direction to which we commit our soul-life.
A powerful question to ask of anyone, especially oneself, is this: What do you want? And then the followup: What are doing, what is your thinking, as to how you will get what you want? Each of us, at every age and stage of life, have these questions with some form of answers lurking deep within us. Of course the clutter of life is that there are so many things we could enumerate as our “wants” and even more answers as to the “why’s” and “way’s” of each of them. But peeling back the veneer of answers, as with an onion, beneath the ‘many’ there underlies a simpler, important, core, “want.” Almost all of us have held to such want as this: we want to shape the world, and us in it, to meet our needs both physical and for significance, in some connectedness with other people who ‘fit in’ to such pursuit. Sibbes says, as do the Scriptures, that such is a deeply flawed soul-life purpose, and doomed to fail if that’s the essence of one’s being.
Sec. 15.3: Christ Alone Advances this Government
Sibbes continues here with again contrasting what this world, nature, can provide by its allure contrasted with that which is spiritual.
Nature, simply considered, cannot raise itself above itself to actions which are spiritual and of a higher order and nature. Therefore the divine power of Christ is necessary to carry us above all our own strength,
Sibbes 15.3
Sec. 15.4: We Must Not Look to Ourselves
The spiritual, God-honoring life is not achievable by even super-human deliberations and effort. Such life is an entirely new domain and must be lived within the envelop of the power of Christ. Again, we have Sibbes:
it is dangerous to look for that from ourselves which we must have from Christ….dependent spirits are the wisest and the ablest. Nothing is stronger than humility, which goes out of itself, or weaker than pride, which rests on its own foundation. Frustra nititur qui non innititur (He strives in vain who is not dependent). And this should be particularly observed because naturally we aspire to a kind of divinity, in setting about actions in the strength of our own abilities…Therefore in all, especially difficult encounters, let us lift up our hearts to Christ, who has Spirit enough for us all, in all our exigencies…
Ibid.
Sibbes caution-reminder is this: “that which is begun in self confidence ends in shame.”
Sec. 15.5: Christ Makes Us Feel Our Dependence
To know true grace and comfort we must truly see the “necessity of dependence” on Christ “that we may know the spread head” of such is “outside ourselves.” (Sibbes, 15.5)
Often, perhaps always, we learn this lesson only by experiencing “defeat:” “we are stronger after defeats, because hidden corruption, undiscerned before, is now discovered, and thence we are brought to make use of mercy pardoning and power supporting.” (Sibbes 15:4)
From this Sibbes says that we “often fail in lesser conflicts and stand firm in greater” because it is in latter circumstance where know lesser temptations to act out of self’s-abilities.
Sec. 15:6: The Triumph of Grace
Sibbes closes this chapter with a reminder of points made earlier in the book. The context is that “defeats” and “failures” can a power of discouragement which we have all experienced in the world’s ways of things that lead to irreconcilable conditions, irreversible situations, permanent alienation. This is how the world in its lesser condition acts upon us, as we do in such condition all too readily upon others.
We can, by extension, think that God must be exactly so, even more so, because of His Greatness, Holiness, and intolerance for sin. But in concluding such we would be missing a higher truth and that is what God did on our behalf, as Mediator / Redeemer, even when we were His most-extreme enemies as was and is the world, He saved us, adopted us, and made us co-heirs with Christ. Now, having done so, God also continues such mediatorial role in preserving us. Sibbes closes this chapter with the following:
Since the fall, God will not trust us with our own salvation, but it is both purchased and kept by Christ for us, and we for it through faith, wrought by the power of God, which we lay hold of.
Sec. 15.6