For there is one God
This does not so much regard the unity of God, with respect to
himself, or his divine essence, though that is a truth; but does
not carry in it any apparent and forcible reason why all men
should be prayed for, for which it is produced; but the unity of
God with respect to men, as that there is but one God, who is the
Creator of all men, and who, in a providential way, is the
Saviour of all men; and in a way of special grace is the one God,
the one covenant God of all sorts of men, of Jews and Gentiles;
for he has taken of the latter into the covenant of his grace, as
well as the former, and has loved them with a special and
distinguishing love, has chosen them in Christ to salvation, and
has sent his Son to redeem them; and of these he calls by his
grace, regenerates, sanctifies, adopts, pardons, and justifies;
see ( Romans
3:29 Romans 3:30 ) and
therefore all sorts of men, Gentiles as well as Jews, are to be
prayed for: another argument follows,
and one Mediator between God and men;
a Mediator is of more than one, and has to do with two parties;
and these at variance among themselves, between whom he stands as
a middle person; his business is to bring them together, and make
peace between them; and such an one is Christ: the two parties
are God and his elect, who in their natural state are at a
distance from God, and at enmity to him, and who have broken his
law, and affronted his justice; Christ stands as a middle person,
a daysman between them, and lays his hands upon them both; has to
do with things pertaining to the glory of God, and makes
reconciliation for the sins of the people; brings them that were
afar off nigh to God, and makes peace for them by the blood of
his cross, by fulfilling the law, and satisfying justice for
them; in consequence of this he appears for them in the court of
heaven, intercedes and pleads for them, is their advocate, and
sees that all covenant blessings, of which he is the Mediator,
are applied unto them, and preserves their persons, which are
committed to his care and charge, safe to everlasting happiness;
and this Mediator is
the man Christ Jesus;
not that he is a mere man, for he is truly and properly God; or
that he is a Mediator only according to the human nature: it was
proper indeed that he should be man, that he might have something
to offer, and that he might be capable of obeying, suffering, and
dying, and so of making satisfaction in the nature that had
sinned; but then, had he not been God, he could not have drawn
nigh to God on the behalf of men, and undertook for them, and
much less have performed; nor would his blood, righteousness, and
sacrifice, have been available to cleanse from sin, to procure
the pardon of it, justify from it, make atonement for it, or make
peace with God: the reason why he is particularly mentioned as
man, is, with a view to the argument in hand, praying for all
men; since he who is the Mediator between God and man, has
assumed a nature which is common to them all: and this Mediator
is said to be one, not so much in opposition to other mediators,
angels or saints departed, though it is a truth, and stands full
against them, but with respect to men; there is but one Mediator
between God and all sorts of men, through whom both Jews and
Gentiles have an access to God, and peace with him; and therefore
prayer through this Mediator should be made for all. So the Jews
say of the Messiah F21, that he is (yeuma la) , "a Mediator, God", a middle person
between God and men. And they call him (atyeumad adwme) , "the Pillar of mediation"
F23 or the middle Pillar; that is, the
Mediator or Reconciler. And Philo F24 the Jew speaks of the
word, as (mesov) , a
"middle" person, and standing in the middle between the dead and
the living, and between God and men. The Ethiopic version here
renders it, "there is one elect of God"; which is one of the
characters of the Messiah, ( Isaiah 42:1 ) .