"Fourthly; Christ is not in the law; he is not proposed in it, not communicated by it, - we are not made partakers of him thereby. This is the work of grace, of the gospel. In it is Christ revealed, by it he is proposed and exhibited unto us; thereby are we made partakers of him and all the benefits of his mediation. And he it is alone who came to, and can, destroy this work of the devil.... This "the Son of God was manifested to destroy." He alone ruins the kingdom of Satan, whose power is acted in the rule of sin. Wherefore, hereunto our assurance of this comfortable truth is principally resolved. And what Christ hath done, and doth, for this end, is a great part of the subject of gospel revelation."John Owen - A Treatise of the Dominion of Sin and Grace
More from John Owen on sanctification and the grace of the gospel in this post!
Of course, by law Owen means the covenant of works, "The law is taken two ways...for the covenant rule of perfect obedience; 'Do this and live'" (14:451).
ReplyDeleteThe grace of the gospel realized in the person of Christ indeed isn't found in the law as the covenant of works or the law as a rule of life for the believer. For the believer the law has now become his friend, "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." But the law still only directs or points the moral way for us to live. It doesn't supply any power to mortify sin or to live unto righteousness. That power is found alone in the grace of the gospel. See Owen quote in previous post.
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