A renowned Puritan shows the transforming liberty which comes from seeing Christ in the gospel. This is an exposition of 2 Corinthians 3:17-18.
The original title of this study was The Excellency of the Gospel above the Law . In it Sibbes described the fuller self-revelation of God in the coming of Christ and its greater effect in those who behold that glory by the Spirit. The vitality of the new covenant results in spiritual liberty and likeness to Christ.
Thomas Goodwin and Philip Nye supervised the first edition of this work which was first published in 1639, four years after Sibbes' death. They described it as showing 'the liberty of the sons of God… the image of their graces here and glory hereafter' and as providing 'much comfort and great encouragement to all (who) begin timely and continue constantly in the ways of God'.
The text of the original treatise is reproduced here with the minimum of editing.
Richard Sibbes was born at Tostock, Suffolk, in 1577 and went to school in Bury St Edmunds. His father, 'a good sound-hearted Christian', at first intended that Richard should follow his own trade as a wheelwright, but the boy s 'strong inclination to his books, and well-profiting therein' led to his going up to St John's College, Cambridge in 1595. He was converted around 1602-3 through the powerful ministry of Paul Bayne, the successor of William Perkins in the pulpit of Great St Andrew's Church.
After earning his B.D. in 1610, Sibbes was appointed a lecturer at Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge. Later, through the influence of friends, he was chosen to be the preacher at Gray's Inn, London, and he remained there until 1626. In that year he returned to Cambridge as Master of St Catherine's Hall, and later returned to Holy Trinity, this time as its vicar. He was granted a Doctorate in Divinity in 1627, and was thereafter frequently referred to as 'the heavenly Doctor Sibbes'. He continued to exercise his ministry at Gray's Inn, London, and Holy Trinity, Cambridge, until his death on 6 July 1635 at the age of 58.
This. This is why I love the Puritans. A beautifully written, insightful book that is as relevant to 21st-century Christians as it was to Sibbes's 17th-century Christian readers. Do you want to know what the gospel, God's grace, and the Holy Spirit mean for your Christian life right now? Then please read this book! Its title says it all: we have a glorious freedom in the gospel, a freedom not only to overcome sin but also to live like Jesus Christ. The veil has been removed, allowing us to gaze upon Him and become more and more transformed into His image as we gaze. Sibbes perfectly understands that the gospel is our greatest treasure and our greatest motivator to sanctification. And he also wonderfully demonstrates the link between sanctification and glorification: if God has started a work of grace in us, He will finish it! That should bring hope beyond hope to us as we move through this journey called life. We have the Holy Spirit within us, empowering us to be like Jesus and walk worthy of our calling.
I am so glad I read this book! It's certainly worth a first read, and many re-reads thereafter.
Incredible dissection of 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 — opened my eyes to better see the depths of the realities of future grace in these two verses!!!
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
FREEDOM: “Liberty implies two things: a freedom from ill, from a cursed condition, and likewise a liberty to better - a liberty from ill, and to good. We must understand the breadth of Christ's benefits, because they are complete, not only to free us from ill, but to confer all good to us, as much as our nature is capable of. As much as these souls of ours are capable of, they shall be made free and glorious and happy in heaven. God will leave no part of the soul unfilled, no corner of the soul empty. Little by little he does it, as we shall see in the next verse…Let us strive more and more every day to have thi spiritual liberty in our consciences, to be assured by the Spirit that our sins are forgiven, and to feel a power te subdue the sin that has tyrannized us before. Let us labour more and more every day to find this spiritual liberty, and daily prize more the ordinances of God, sanctified to set us at liberty.“
BEHOLDING: “We must fix the eye of the soul; fix our meditation upon the glory of God and the excellency of Christ. A moving, rolling eye sees nothing. We must set some time apart to fix our meditations upon the excellent things in the gospel… Let us labour every day more and more to study Christ, so that by beholding him we may be transformed into his likeness. The sight of Christ is a transforming sight. Let us look into his disposition and his conduct as they are set forth in the Gospels; and look to his privileges, so that we may receive 'grace for grace', grace suitable to his grace, and disposition, privilege and prerogative suitable to his, that we may be like him in every way.”
“Since Christ is the image to which we are changed, let us learn, if we would see anything excellent in ourselves, to see it in Christ first. There is nothing excellent in man that is not in Christ first, as the first image, the first receiver of all.“
GLORY TO GLORY: “Let no one in whom grace has begun be discouraged God will go on with his own grace. When he has begun good work, he will finish it to the day of the Lord (Phi 1:6). Though grace is little at first, it shall not stay there. How it grows we do not know, but at last it is glorious indeed… So, though they are short of many that are before them, let those who are growing not be discouraged with their over-little beginnings. It is God's way in this world to bring his children by little and little, through many stations. As they were led in the wilderness from place to place, so God brings his children by many places to heaven. It is one part of a Christian's meekness to subject to God's wisdom in this respect, and not complain that they are not as perfect as they would like to be or as they shall be. Rather they should magnify the mercy of God that there is any change in such defiled and polluted souls; that he has granted any spiritual light of understanding, any love of good things; that the bent of their affections is contrary to what it was; that God has granted any beginnings. Magnify his mercy, rather than quarrel with his dispensation, that he does not do all this at once. And, indeed, if we enter into our own hearts, we find it is our fault that we are not more perfect. But let us labour to be meek, and say, Lord, since thou hast ordained that I shall grow from glory to glory, from one degree of grace to another, let me have grace to magnify thy mercy that thou hast given me any goodness, rather than to complain that I have no more.' And let us be content in the use of means and make efforts to grow further, though we do not have as much as others have. No, we may not be discouraged, because of the weakness of grace.”
BY THE SPIRIT: “So the phrase implies those two things: first, that change is brought by the power of the Spirit, that we may know it is done by the Spirit of the Lord; and then, as by him and no further, for we shine no further than he enlightens us. You see here the doctrine is clear, that all that I have spoken of before comes from the Spirit of the Lord, and from no other cause. The beholding, the transforming, the degrees of transforming from glory to glory, the taking away of the veil - all is from the Spirit of the Lord. The Holy Ghost opens our eyes to behold the glory of the Lord, and therefore he is called the Spirit of illumination. The Holy Ghost takes away the veil of ignorance and unbelief and so is called the Spirit of revelation.”
I especially enjoyed his meditations on liberty. One can see how the ancient view of liberty (from vice) was transmuted to the modern (from coercion) in this time period.
The first and last chapter are gold. If need to skim, focus on the last couple pages, what the church must here clearly in these uncertain days.
Who should read this: you know how to read the Puritans and this is not your first book by a Puritan.
Also, it’s helpful if you’re wondering what is the role of the Holy Spirit or what is the relation between Grace, glory, perfection and our Father’s view of us in Christ.
Why may want to skip it: if you have not read Gentle and Lowly and are unfamiliar with the Puritans. Go read Ortlund’s book first, it’s accessible and pulls rom this book
Sibbes is awesome. A favorite Puritan author of mine.
This book is a study of 2 Corinthians 3:17-18.
Chapter 1: Discusses the nature and ministry of the Spirit Chapter 2: Discusses the liberty the Spirit gives especially in calling Chapter 3: Discusses the glory of Christ in justification Chapter 4: Discusses the glory of Christ in sanctification Chapter 5: Reviews the Spirit's ministry
Glorious Freedom: The Excellency of the Gospel Above the Law (Puritan Paperbacks) ~ Richard Sibbes
⭐⭐⭐✨ 3.5/5
This book was written by Richard Sibbes in 1639 and is based on 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The book is all about our transformation as we behold the Glory of Christ. This of course is the work on the Holy Spirit who transforms us into the image of Christ. Richard Sibbes says that the Holy Spirits first work is to bring freedom to us, freedom from dominion to satan, the person upon conversion is freed from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light, Sibbes argues that true freedom is not to do not good and evil but real freedom is to do good. Sibbes then shows us that the glass that we see Jesus is the gospel and this is glass where we see the unchangeable Jesus and by that the Spirit of God changes us Internally.
“[2 Corinthians 3:17-18] refers many times to glory. All is glorious in it. There is the glorious mercy of God in Christ, who is the Lord of glory; the gospel in which we see the grace of God and of Christ, ‘The glorious gospel’ (1 Tim 1:11); the change by which we are changed, a glorious change ‘from glory to glory’, and by a glorious power, by ‘the Spirit of the Lord’; all here is glorious. Therefore blessed be God, and blessed be Christ, and blessed be the Spirit, and blessed be the gospel, and we are blessed that live in these blessed and glorious times!” (p. 71)
I marked up this whole book! It is so full of rich quotes. And it's just an exposition on two verses, (2 Corinthians 3:17 & 18). As is the Puritan way, Richard Sibbes draws as much as he can out of every word! Stay the course with this work, and you will be rewarded.
Good book, with some excellent thoughts and writing. At times Sibbes' progress is a bit circular and repetitive, but he makes up for it with his insights.