Marrow of Modern Divinity - Fisher - VII - Chapter 2 concluded

Required reading
Marrow of Modern Divinity  by Edward Fisher (available from Amazon or free on the internet, here for example) - Conclude Chapter 2 by reading the four sections entitled 'Spiritual marriage with Jesus Christ'; 'Justification before faith, refuted'; Believers freed from the commanding and condemning'; 'Power of the covenant of works'.

My summary
Today we finish looking at the covenant of grace.

Fisher shows that being in the covenant of grace is a spiritual marriage to Christ: 'And as by means of corporeal marriage all things become common betwixt man and wife; even so, by means of this spiritual marriage, all things become common betwixt Christ and you; for when Christ hath married his spouse unto himself, he passeth over all his estate unto her; so that whatsoever Christ is or hath, you may boldly challenge as your own.'

Next Fisher explains precisely when justification occurs: when man believes.

Finally we are reminded that being in the covenant of grace sets us free from both the commanding and condemning power of the covenant of works: 'Consider, man, I pray you, that, as I said before, you are now under another covenant, viz: the covenant of grace; and you cannot be under two covenants at once, neither wholly nor partly; and, therefore, as, before you believed, you were wholly under the covenant of works, as Adam left both you and all his posterity after his fall; so now, since you have believed, you are wholly under the covenant of grace. '

What grabbed me
I liked the way Fisher dealt with the question of when a man is justified, particularly as we know that God has elected him before the world existed and that Christ paid for sin at one point in history: 'Indeed, God is from all eternity, and in respect of God's accepting of Christ's undertaking to fulfil the covenant of works, he fulfilled it from all eternity: and in respect of God's electing of him, he was Christ's from all eternity. And therefore it is true, in respect of God's decree, he was justified from all eternity; and he was justified meritoriously in the death and resurrection of Christ; but yet he was not justified actually, till he did actually believe in Christ; for, says the apostle, (Acts 13:39), "By him all that believe are justified."'

Yes, we are justified before the world exists and when Jesus died, but actual justification does not occur until that glorious day when we put our trust in him.

Next week's reading
Commence Chapter 3 by reading the five sections entitled 'The nature of the law of Christ'; 'The law of the ten commandments a rule of life to believers'; 'Antinomian objections answered'; 'The necessity of marks and signs of grace'; 'Antinomian objections answered'.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.