God all in all, or, The kingdom of the Son deliver'd up to God, even the Father, by the Son himself being a sermon on the kingdom of God all in all, leading into an exacter and clearer discovery of the kingdom of Christ, upon that great context, I Cor. 15. 24, 28 &c. / by T. Beverley.

A SERMON ON THE Kingdom of God All in All : Leading into a Clearer Knowledge of the Kingdom of Christ . 1 Cor . XV . 24.28 .

Then cometh the End , when He shall have Delivered up the Kingdom to God , even the Father . when he shall have put down All Rule , Authority and Power , er , &c. And when All Things shall be Subject unto Him , ( the Son , ) Then shall the Son also Himself be subject to Him that put All Things under Him , that God may be All in All.

THere are some Truths of Scripture ▪ that though they cannot but be acknowledg'd Great , and High , and most Divine ; yet have not been so Fully , and Particularly Inquir'd into , nor set in their own Light ; but the Greatness of them hath rather Dazled , and kept even the Servants of Christ , much more the common Professors of Christianity , from too near Approaches , and from a close consideration of Them . And this falls out especially when they are among ( as They may be styled ) The {αβγδ} , Points but once spoken of by way of Treaty of , or laying them down as Doctrine of Scripture . And such I esteem the Kingdom of God , All in All ; Which is very Fully in this Great Context set before us , and no where else so Distinctly in the whole Book of God : And therefore it calls for a more Exact Research into it , it having not been so Fully Explicated .

There are Three Great Points I Aim at in the Following Discourse hereof .

Point 1. To shew , That the Ultimate and Final Result of all the whole State of Creation , and Redemption , is into this Kingdom of God , All in All. Point 2. That the Absolutely Eternal Glory of Christ , the Mediator and his Saints , is in this Kingdom of God , All in All. Point . 3. That the Kingdom of Jesus Christ , the Kingdom of Redemption , is that Holy , most Wise , Prudent and Gracious Oeconomy , a Dispensation in the Fullness of Time , or of All Times , Preparatory to this Kingdom of God , All in All.

In every one of these Points , I will have due Regard to this so Grand Context of the Apostle , and endeavour therein to observe the Order and Scope of the Context in Every , Part of it .

But these are Points so Exceeding Great and High , that it may well be said in Relation to them , Who is sufficient for these things ! They are High , and Deep , Long , and Broad , who can search them out to Perfection ? What can we Do ? What can we Know ? The very Beholding Them a far off , may very well make him , that attempts to speak of them , cry out , Prov. 30. 2 , &c. as Solomon in his Contemplation of the Divine being ; Surely I am more Brutish than any Man , and have not the understanding of a Man ; I neither learn'd Wisdom , nor have the Understanding of the Holy . Thus he bewails Himself in that Sense of his own Weakness , and Ignorance , and Impurity , when he made but an Approach to the Excellency of , and Perfections of the Nature of God ; Who hath ascended into Heaven to view and behold him ; and descended , then to declare him ? Who can give Account of him , who gathers the Wind in his Fists ? Hath the most unaccountable Motions , or Phaenomens of Nature in his perfect Comprehension and Power ; what is his Name , or his Son's Name , If thou canst tell ? Who can speak of the Persons in the Divine Being , the Father , and the Son , and the Divine Spirit ? How necessary therefore is that Admonition , and the Caution that Follows , On Humble Enquires , much more on Bold Examiners , and Positive Assertors : Every Word of God is Pure , Purer than that the Quickest , Sharpest , most Refined Wit , or Spirit , or Reason can call it to Account ; Add not then unto his words , lest He Reprove thee , and shew thee the Folly , and Falshood of thy own Reasonings , and Arguings , and thou be found a Lyar . But that this may not Deter us from having to do with so Holy a God , and so Sublime a Knowledge , as of Him , He is a Sheild , to Protect , and Secure those who put their Trust in Him , who Vale their Understandings to his Infinite Understanding , and with Lowest Obeysance of Spirit to his words .

Oh how necessary is this to the Converse of our Souls with this so High Truth , the Kingdom of God All in All ! For if the Present State of Creation and Providence , much more of Redemption by Christ and the Kingdom of Redemption , are so Exalted above All Heights ; Oh how much more is God All in All in that Pure and Perfect Kingdom of Eternity ?

There is great Danger indeed of Adding in such a Point , as this , to his Word , lest I be Found a Lyar ; I shall therefore by his Grace , take heed to his Word , and to what I find in it , and keep close to it .

I Begin when with the First Point , to shew , That the Result of the whole State of Creation and Redemption , is into the Kingdom of God , All in All.

And herein I propose Three Things .

1. To enquire into the Sense of the Expression it self , God All in All. 2. To shew , in what Sense the Kingdom of God , and God in it is All in All , from Eternity to Eternity . 3. To Enquire , by the Word of God , In what Senses That Kingdom of the Father is not now All in All ; and therefore to shew , That is Senses opposite to those Senses , in which it is not now All in All , It shall be All in All , And God in it , All in All to Eternity , when the Kingdom shall be delivered up .

First , Then to consider strictly , and closely this Expression , God All in All , by comparing it with such in Scripture , as come near to it , and yet are not It : There are several Scripture Expressions , that Rise High toward this Sense , and yet do not come up to it , as Rom. 11. Last . Of Him , Through Him , to Him are All Things , to Him be Glory for Ever , 1 Cor . 8.6 . To us there is one God the Father , of whom are All Things , and we of Him ; And one Lord Jesus Christ , By whom are All Things , and we by Him , Eph. 4.6 . One God , and Father of All , who is above All , through All , In you All , Heb 2.10 . It became Him , by whom are All Things , and for whom are All Things . Now All these are Representations of the Supreme Dominion , and I● fluence of the Divine Being throughout the whole Creation ; and wi●h Particular Love , and Grace to His Redeemed in Christ ; and of All Returning , and Redounding to ●is Glory . But though these make mention of God above All , in All , through All ; All of Him , All by Him ; Yet none of Them come up to that Height , All in All.

There are two other Scripture Forms of speaking , that come nearer ; yet they do not Fully Amount to this , God All in All ; There is a Difference and I will endeavour to Find , wherein the Difference Lyes .

The First Scripture wherein we have a nearness , is , Colos . 3.11 . Where there is neither Greek , nor Jew , Circumcision , nor Uncircumcision , Barbarian , Scythian , Bond , nor Free , but Christ is All , and in All.

A Second Expression of Scripture that comes yet nearer , is , Eph. 1. v. 23. The Fullness of Him , that ( Filleth ) All in All.

But this Third Expression in the Text is , That God may ( Be ) All in All ; Now to Ballane these Scriptures , and to see , wherein they agree , and wherein they differ ; I begin with the First of Them , Christ is All and in All ; All outward distinctions are removed , and of no Value ; Christ is All : Christ , as a Saviour , as a Redeemer , Jehovah our Righteousness ; Christ by his Spirit in the Great work of Sanctifica●ion , Christ is All , plainly , and absolutely ●ll ; Chri●t is Made to u● of God , Wisdom , Righteousness , Sanct fication , R●d mption , So he is All : I desire , therefore ●aith the Apostle , to know nothing but Christ , and Him Cruc●si●d . All distinctions of an External Kind Avail Nothing , ●●rth , or Blood , Jew , Greek , Barbarian ; ●ignities , or Abasedness of Condition , Bond , Free ; Nothing of Ceremony , Circumcision , or Uncircumcision : Nay nothing of any Righteousness of our own ; I count all that , faith the Apostle , No other , then Dross , then Filth , then Loss ; ●he Supremacy of Knowledge is the Knowledge of Him : In Him are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom , and Knowledge , Viz . By way of Object , and Subject , every way ; He is the Head of Principality , and Power , All Dignity , and Dominion are in Him ; He is In Us , the Hope of Glory , He is our Life : Thus He is plainly All ; wholly , and fully All , All for Time , All for Eternity . But then the other Part of the Expression ; And in All ; That [ And ] Limits the Universality of the Proposition ; It is not , All in All , but All , [ And ] In ●ll . This is true , He is All , and He is In All ; that is ; In All , that are His ; There is a Communication of Himself ; But it does not Rise to Fill All in All ; He is , In All , tho not to perfection , yea , though with much Imperfection ; For though Christ be All , and in his Saints ; Yet still there is Great Reason of Complaint ; There is Darkness , Notwithstanding all the Light , and Knowledge , that he Gives them ; There is unbelief , Notwithstanding He is the Author of Faith ; There is Remaining Corruption , although He is a Holy Saviour ; And the Law of the Spirit of Life is in Him , and sets Free from the Law of Sin , and Death , as to the Guilt , and by way of Beginning , as to the Corruption , and Power : So that ●e is All , and in All : But He is not All in All ; Nor doth He Fill All in All , there is something , that is not His , or of Him , though , ●e pardons it , and purifies from it , and covers it . He Purifies from it , Yet there is something , that is not Christs ; The Apostle says ; Christ is in You , the Hope of Glory ; And yet there is Notwithstanding , a Great Darkness concerning that State of Glory , There are many Fears , and Horrours in the Souls of Believers concerning their Eternal condition , Notwithstanding Christ is in Them the Hope of Glory . So that though He is All , and in All , yet He is not All in All , because there is so much , that is not He , or of Him : So faith the Apostle , I desire to be found in Him , not having my own Righteousness ; I count All but Dross , and Dung for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Him ; I desire to know Him , and the Power of His Resurrection ; Thus Christ is All , and in All ; In the Apostle and yet not All in the Apostle ; For he goes on ; Not as though I had already attained , or were already perfect ; But I follow after , if I may apprehend that , for which I am apprehended of Christ Jesus ; Hereby it was plain Christ was All to the Apostle ; and in the Apostle ; but not All in the Apostle ; for then he would have Attain'd , and Apprehended ; Nor was All in the Apostle of Christ , for then he would not have said ; Evil is present with me ; and I find a Law in my Members , Rom. 7 , For this we know is not Christ .

This therefore is the Consolation of Humble self-abased Christians , when they find , they are compassed about with many Infirmities , and Imperfections ; when they have many Starts , Falls , and Failures , and are ready to conclude ; They have none of Christ , Christ is not in Them at All , because Christ is not All in Them ; Because he does not Fill All in Them . But He is in his Saints , He is in every one of Them , Though He do not fill Them to Perfection in the present State ; He is not to the Height , to the Fullness , to the Perfection of what He Hunself is ; Nor does He Fill All of Them ; There remains much of Themselves in Themselves : And if I apprehend aright , and I desire to wait upon Divine Illumination in it ; The very words do carry this Sense : He is said to be All indeed ; Wisdom , Righteousness , Sanctification , Redemption ; And in All , In All His , He is thus : But He is not said to be All in any of Them ; Because there is no Thing in Any one , that is to the Heighth , and Excellency , that is ●ou d in Jesus Christ ; And much that is not at all of Christ ; We have reason therefore of being Humbled , and Lying low in our selves continually , for though Christ be ( as He is ) All , and in All , yet He is not All in All , or in any One does He yet Fill All in All.

2. I come therefore to the Second Expression , which rises Higher then this ; And it is the State undoubtedly of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ , as the Apostle does by the Contexture of his Words signify , Eph. 1.20 , &c. H● Raised Christ , and set him at his Right Hand , far above all Principality ▪ and Power , and every Name , that is Named , not only in this World , but in that which is to Come ; and hath put all Things under His Feet , and gave Him to be Head over All Things to His Church , the fullness of Him , which filleth All in All. Now although , It is True , Christ is now Head of the Church , and The Church is His Body ; Yet there are some Expressions , that Lead us to the Kingdom of Christ , as what this Scripture is most properly Elevated for ; as that ; of the world to come , of which Christ is Called the Father , Esa . 9 ; and that of Head over All Things , and All Things put under His Feet ; But saith the Apostle ; we see not yet All Things put under his Feet , Nor is the Church yet , as It shall be , The Fullness of Him , and therefore He doth not yet , as He shall do in his Kingdom , Fill All in All , nor are All Things yet put under Him ; as they shall be in That world to Come , whereof We , with the Apostle speak , Heb . 26 , &c. Christ therefore knowing the certainty of the Divine Decree in Relation to it , Sits Expecting , till his Enemies be made his Footstool ; Therefore All Things are settled in the Decree , and Determination of God , yea , and in Regard of the Supreme Authority , with which Christ now Disposes All Events , and opens the Sealed Book to the very Last : He is set down on the Right of Majesty in the Heavens ; and All Power in Heaven , and Earth is given to Him ; But Notwithstanding the assurance beyond All possibility of doubt ; That all Things shall be visibly put under Him , He doth not Fill All in All yet , nor doth He yet in Saints Fill All in All ; But in His Kingdom , He shall Fill All in All ; Every Thing , that shall be in that Blessed State of that Kingdom , shall be as Full of Christ , as it can hold ; Every Saint shall be Full of Christ ; The Spirits of Saints shall be Full of Christ , yea , the very Bodys of Saints shall be Full of Christ , Made like to his Glorious Body by that Power , that subdues All Things to it self . There shall be nothing of Glory , Happyness , or Enjoyment , But it shall be Full of Christ ; Even the very Creation shall be Full of Christ at that Time , and All shall be Full of the Acknowledgments of Christ .

Now this I desire very Humbly to propose to those , I speak to , as to the Wise , that they would Judge what I say ; And I say , That the Spirit of God hath by this manner of Expression , shew'd a difference between the State of Saints , now , and the State They shall be in , in the Kingdom of Christ ; Though Christ be All , now , And in All , yet He doth not Fill All in All , till the State of his Kingdom ; Then every one of His shall be Pill'd with Him ; Every one of the Happy , and the Blessed : Only Sathan is Sealed up ; and the Wicked Rais'd , and yet Dead , because slain with the Sword of Christs Mouth , or Condemn'd by Him , are at the Four Corners of the Earth , and cannot stir beyond their Limits : Even they shall be Filled with the Indignation , and Power of Christ .

For God hath in his Infinite Wisdom , and Understanding , In his Wisdom and Prudence , wherein He hath abounded towards us , viz. Saints , as the Apostle speaks , Ephes . 1.10 . He hath prepared an Oeconomy , or Dispensation , wherein , as in the Fullness of Times , or of All Time He will Recapitulate , or bring under one Head , viz. Our Lord Jesus Christ , All Things in Heaven , and Earth ; In Him , even in Him . Whatever then is restored , or under the Restitution of his Kingdom shall be Full of Him , as the Redeemer , and as the Son of Man ; And All Things are put under His Feet , and nothing Excepted , but He , who did put All Things under Him . Again in another Scripture , the Apostle shows , how every thing shall be full of Christ , Phil . 2.9 , 10. As Christ humbled himself and became Obedient to Death , even to the Death of the Cross , So God hath Highly Exalted Him , and given him a Name above every Name ; That at the Name of Jesus every Knee should Bow , both of Things in Heaven , and Things on Earth , and of Things under the Earth , and that every Tongue should confess , that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father ; This is the Wise and Holy Oeconomy of the Father ; That as there was a withdrawing of the Divine Glory , that there might be Humiliation , and the Death of the Lord Jesus ; So there is an Oeconomy , or Dispensation , wherein the Divine Glory will withdraw it felf , so , that the Glory of the Mediator may be seen in his Humane Nature ; And this is Represented by the Rainbow so often made use of , when the Glory of Christ , as the Son of Man is display'd ; The Splendor , and Colours of which must be seen at the other End of Heaven from the Sun , and yet it is to the Glory of the Sun , from whose Beams , the Beauty Springs : Even as this Glory of Christ in Humane Nature , as its Highest Exaltation , as Lord , the Great Adonai , is to the Glory of God the Father , From whom this Glory Derives , So that He is still Excepted , who put All Things under Him ; In the Throne He is Above Him ; The Throne of God and of the Lamb , are in the New Jerusalem ; First of God , then of the Lamb .

Now in this State All is Full of Christ , full of His Name , In it every Knee Bows down , Things in Heaven , and Earth , and under the Earth , even to the Lowest Hell ; and every Tongue Confesses He is Lord ; There is an Absolute necessity Lying upon All , Even Devils , to Acknowledg Christ . But Angels and Saints , and even the Restored , Restituted Creation , are full of Christ and his Redemption ; And therefore in the Revelation , That Book of the Kingdom of Christ , we have this Vision of it , Cap. 5.11 . John Beheld , and heard the Voice of the Innumerable Company of Angels , saying with a Loud Voice , Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive Power , and Riches , and Wisdom , and Strength , and Power , and Glory , and Blessing ; and every Creature , which is in Heaven , and on the Earth , and under the Earth , and such as are in the Sea , and All that are in Them , heard I saying , Blessing , and Honour , and Power be unto Him that sitteth on the Throne ; observe , He is Excepted , that put All things under Him : In the Throne He is above Him : and unto the Lamb for ever and ever ; All is full of Christ ; And the four Living Creatures , and the Four and Twenty Elders fell Down , and Worshipped Him , that Liveth for ever , and ever , the Divine Being , both in Him that Sitteth on the Throne , and in the Lamb . And thus I am perswaded , the Divine Spirit hath Reveal'd to us that distinct Kingdom of the Glorified Son of Man , the Eternal Son of God in Humane Nature ; Although I know it is not generally understood , nor accepted , no not by Persons of very Great Intelligency , and Learning , and Holyness ; They do not see this distinct Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ : But yet filling is not so much as being All in All , as is to be further said .

And so I have opened the Second Expression of Scripture , coming nearest to that here before us , God All in All.

I come therefore to the very Expression it self before us , Gods being All in All , Or , That God may be All in All ; When therefore it is said , God is All in All , It plainly exceeds the Expression , Christ is All and in All , because that Limiting word , And , is left out , For God All , Immediately flows into All ; It exceeds the second Expression ; Fills All , because to Fill All in All is not so High , and Deep , as to be All in All , for Being is more Intimate , then Filling , and it is more permanent , and Immutable ; and therefore is most Admirably suited to the Eternal Kingdom of the Father , as Filling is most agreeable to that Kingdom of Christ , that is to be delivered up . The summ therefore is this , That when the Word of God tells us , God is All in All. It gives Assurance that the Divine Being it self , Communicates it self to the utmost , that Finite Beings are capable of , next to that of the Hypostatical Union of the Humane Nature of Christ to the Eternal Word , the Son of the Father .

I come therefore to the Second General Point ; To shew , in what sense the Kingdom of God , and God in it , is All in All , From Eternity to Eternity : And if by the Assistance of God , I shall be able in any measure to express to you , how God is thus All in All , which is the Highest Expression , Words can reach unto , I shall do it with All Humility , and without Daring to be too positive in Particulars ; But in General I look upon it to be the mind of Scripture ; To signify to us ; That it is the Essential Glory of the Divine Being Communicating Himself , Immediately by Himself , to those , whom he will make for ever Blessed with Himself ; That He not only Fills All in All ; But He is All in All.

1. In the First Place , I would desire it should be always understood ; That , when we speak of God All in All ; It is to be understood of the Eternal Father , the Eternal Word , the Eternal Spirit , who are One , Who are this One God All in All ; For if we were not thus to understand ; We should lose that Great Point of Scripture ; That it is the supreme Glory , Perfection , and Fullness of the Divine Being , that the Father , the Word , and the Spirit , are the One God .

Indeed , the Majesty of Scripture is seen in that very Manifestation of the Divine Being ; In the Majesty of the Father , as most Glorious , and Becoming the General way of speaking of the One God , and yet abundantly revealing the Eternal Son , and Spirit , one with Him : For it is the Majesty of the Father , Son , and Spirit , that is beheld in the Majesty of the Father ; And it is very observable , that in v. 24. of this Chapter : The Apostle speaks of the Kingdom delivered up to God , even the Father , wherein the Son , and the Spirit are not Excluded ; But it is the Glory of the Divine Being , that the Unity and Majesty of the Son , and of the Spirit , are beheld in the Father ; In the Delivering up of the Kingdom to God , even the Father , is beheld the Delivery of it up to the Son , and to the Spirit .

But because , This I know , no one is able to declare , I will leave it in this General Expression ; The Father , God All in All , necessarily Including , according to Scripture , the Son , and the Spirit ; Every where made known One with the Father , and in Relation to whom He is manifested and called the Father .

That therefore which is so Great a mystery now to us , and that we stand at a distance from , and Adore , and Humbly Admire , and are even Amaz'd at the Glory ; When we come into that Kingdom , that is deliver'd up , even the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ , which is , as is further to be shewn , to prepare for it , we shall understand the Glory of the Divine Father , Word , and Spirit ; and in the understanding of it , be by our Lord delivered up into it , and Enjoy it for ever , as Fully , as Finite Beings can Enjoy and Infinite .

2. That we may understand in what Sense , the Divine Being in the Father , the Word , and Spirit , the one God is All in All , and King from Eternity to Eternity , Essentially , and Eternally , It is this ; That , Being it self , and whatever Beings can be supposed , they are All in God ; and throughout the whole possibility of being , God is ; Because he himself is Being , and all Being it self ; And a supreme and absolute Soveraignty , Dominion , and Kingship is Essential to the Divine being ; His own being in the Father , Son and Spirit is an Eternal Soveraignty , in and with Himself ; And upon a supposition of a Creation , He cannot but be All in All in it , in one Absolute , Essential , Unchangeable Sense , and King over it ; And thus He is the only Happy , and Blessed Potentate , who only hath Immortality , and Dwels in the Light , to which none can approach ; Whom no Man hath seen , nor can see ; He is the King , Immortal , Invisible , the only wise God . 1 Tim . 6.15 . And in this supreme Sense , All Creatures are Reputed nothing , and less then nothing , and Vanity ; and All Princes , and Kingdoms , and even Angelick Beings , and Powers are Nothing , and less then nothing ; All can add nothing to Him , nor can they take any thing from Him by their Being , or by their not Being ; So he must be All in All.

3. When we therefore speak of God not All in All , or of the Kingdom delivered up , or the Kingdom not yet Delivered up ; All such Expressions are to be understood in a Sense Oeconomical , the Oeconomy of Things , as Scripture often speaks in that Language ; or the Dispensation ; that is ; the Free Dispensation , or ordination of God in a Variety of Representations , F●● 〈…〉 manifesting His Many-Folded Wisdom , and opening the unsearchable Riches of it , which else would be Eternally summ'd up in Himself ; And otherwise , that Absolute Essential Sense of God All in All can never be Removed , nor any way changed . So that whatever there is of Created Beings , either of Angels , or Men , or of the Creatures below them , and All the Government of God in Relation to them , yea , even their Eternal State , if we come to the strictest consideration thereof , and to a close compare with the absolute Perfections , and Glorys of the Divine Being in the Father , the Son , the Spirit , are but Oeconomy , Ephes . 1.11 . or Free Dispensation of God , Who worketh All Things after the Counsel of his own will : So that in summ , to understand God All in All , and the Kingdom of God All in All in Highest Sense , is to understand it in a purest Independency on any Creature ; God is All in All , and the only Potentate , the King Immortal , Invisible , of Himself , by Himself , within Himself , and to Himself , and hath not the least Dependence on any Created being to be so ; For though we are ready to think , there cannot be All in All without some other , viz. Created Beings ; So there cannot be a Potentate , or King without Subjects ; Yet in the Incomprehensibleness of the Divine Being , and Perfection this is so ; Eternal Royalty is His without any Creature to Rule over ; The Infinity of All in All , can be , and is , within Himself , without any Creature ; The Eternal Father , Son , Spirit , are all this , of , by and to themselves , to whom be Glory for ever .

So then we are come to this , as the proper Subject of Discourse , or State of the Question ; What Oeconomy or Dispensation is freely chosen by God , as that which comes nearest , and closest to God All in All , to the Absolute Essential State of God All in All , and to the Kingdom Delivered up to God , even the Father , That He with his Son , and Spirit , who are Himself , may be All in All : And so Inclusively to consider what Oeconomies , or Dispensations of God have been , and are in the World , that take most off from God being All in All ; and so to set out that Highest Oeconomy before the Kingdom delivered up , viz. the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ , which will fully prepare by what it shall have effected , and by the delivery up of it self , for the Kingdom of God All in All. All which I shall present in the following Propositions .

Propos . 1. Even Creation it self is a Condescension from the supreme Heighth of God ( All in All to Himself ) for the Manifestation , and Communication of Himself to , and in Intellectual Creatures , and in the whole Universe of Beings ; Which for his Pleasure are and were Created ; And yet it is an Humbling of Himself to behold , Rev. 4.11 and to give Regard to any thing out of Himself , As All Created Beings are , whether in Heaven , Ps. 113.6 . much more on Earth , and below Heaven ; and to take Care of Them , and to have Pleasure in Them ; And indeed such Creation , such Communication of Himself cannot be conceived aright of , but in Gods Foresight of the Union of the Created Humane Nature to the Eternal Word , Colos . 1.16 . By whom and for whom All things were made , and is therein in the Eye and Design of the Father , The First Born of the whole Creation ; For He Created All Things in Jesus Christ . Eph. 3.9 .

2. Though God was pleased to Create , yet He might so have Created , that the Eyes of All Intellectual Creatures should have been upon Himself Alone , and the sole dependence of the lower Creation been Alone on Himself , not One in another only , but Immediately on Himself , upon ●he Immediate ordinations of his Hand without the Intervening Cultivation of such a Hand , as Adams in Paradise ; This therefore is a Further Concession God was pleased to make , from Being All in All ; That one Creature should be managed by another .

3. Creation and the Government of the world might have been so Constituted ; That the whole , and sole Domination should have been pure , and perfect Th●ocracy , Or Divine Magistracy : But the several Kinds and Degrees of Government , that have been among Men , Colos . 1. we are generally sensible of ; And Scripture gives strong Intimations of Governments among Angels , Ephes . 6. both Good , and Bad ; when it speaks of Thrones , Dominions , Principalities , Powers in Heavenlyes ; and of Principalities , Powers , who are Spiritual Wickednesses in High places , viz. In the Ayery Regions ; And These of both Kinds have in a kind of Subjection the world that now is : But here on Earth , How many Princes of Great Names , and swelling Titles , and vast Empires , and Kingdoms , besides that Peculiar Immediate Government of God over Israel , till He settled a Kingdom among them , and in the House of David , by a most Particular Covenant ! But to shew how Difficult the consistency of Earthly Kingdoms with the Divine was , He first divided the Kingdom of Israel , and then put a full End to it , and settled in Judgment four successive Monarchies in the World , Till the very End of any time , but of a New Era , Or Account , which I hope is now beginning , But now , It is most evident ; All these have , though much through the Degeneracy of Humane Nature , Yet they have to us Eclipsed the Divine Glory , Soveraignty , and Dom●nion ; That , as is further to be shewn ; The putting down All Rule , and Authority is most necessary to prepare for the Kingdom of God , All in All.

4. It is much more yet ; That God is pleased ▪ to Veil His being All in All , and His Kingdom , as so : That He for the Manifestation of his own Glory at the last , hath permitted Sin , Sathan , and Death , as under the Power of Sathan , to have a Counter-Kingdom to his own in the World ; And , as the God and Prince of this World , He so Influences and Steeres the Princes of this World , that they are Enemies to , and Persecutors of the People , and Kingdom of God , and have been so Generally violent to drive the Knowledge , and Sense of Him , as much , as they can out of the World : So that the World by Wisdom knows not God , and Men are without God in the World ; God is not in All their Thoughts , Hereupon through the just Indignation of God , Sin , and Misery , and Death spread Themselves over All ; Which is so contrary to the Kingdom of God , All in All , That the Apostle assures , The last Enemy , that shall be subdued is Death ( As is after to be shewn ) and both Death , and He that hath the Power of Death , that is , The Devil and the Dead are Cast into the Lake .

5. The Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ , although it is to the Glory of God the Father , although the Throne of God be in it , although He is Excepted , who p●ts All Things under the Feet of Christ in that Kingdom ; He is Excepted ; That is , His Kingdom hath the Supremacy of Glory : And though one Great End of it is , to prepare for the Kingdom of God , All in All , yet because , It is the Kingdom of the Son of Man , of the Humane Nature of the Eternal Son of God , viz. Of the Man Christ Jesus ; Therefore it must be delivered up and the Son of Man must be Subject , that God may be All in All : For this Manifestation of the Divine Glory of the Father , although , It is so Glorious a one , yet is a Descent from the Glory of God All in All ; Because , It is the Glorious Kingdom of the Son of God , as Son of Man , and not so peculiarly , and properly , as Son of God .

And this , though it be a Kingdom in all the Essentials of it , the very same with the Kingdom of God , because the Throne of God , even as of the Lamb is in it ; Because , It is to the Glory of God the Father ; Because It is all Holiness , and Purity , nothing can Enter in it , that Desiles ; and because , It is an Everlasting Kingdom that cannot Come to an End , but can only be delivered up ; Yet because , It is not the Kingdom of God , even of the Father ; Because , It is on purpose for the Glory of the Lord Jesus , as Son of Man , and the Son is not yet Subject ; and because , It must in doing All , It is to do , be resign'd up , Therefore the Kingdom of God All in All cannot be , till This Kingdom be delivered up .

Having thus far shewn , In what Senses , the Kingdom , even of the Father , is not yet All in All , I come now to shew ; That in the opposite Senses , when the Son delivers up the Kingdom , and is Subject ; God shall be All in All ; And herein I would not speak with too great confidence , but with a Humble , and Lowly Apprehension of my own Weakness , ready to Darken Counsel by words without Knowledge ; But yet with a Holy preparedness to bring out of the Treasury of the Word of God , things New and Old. For nothing tends more to Corruption , and Apostasy , then a stagnation of Knowledg , and not Going on to Perfection in the Doctrine of Christ , as the Apostle Witnesses , Heb . C. 5. and C. 6.

1. The whole Glory of Creation in All , that hath been Created , or might have been , or might be Created , shall be All seen in the Eternally Wise , and All-Potent Being of God , in the Majesty of the Father : And therefore I look upon it , as most Agreeable to Scripture , That the Frame of Heaven and Earth , except onely , That Heaven , That shall be the Habitation of the Glorifyed Body of our Lord Jesus Christ , and of All His Saints in Glorifyed Bodys with Him , and the Mansion of Angels , and which the Divine Glory will by it self Illustrate ; shall Fly away , and their Place be no more Found . According to Rev. 20. Which by a close compare of the Visions of the 20 and 21 Chap. Appears to be the Flying away of the New Heavens , and New Earth ; For it was after the Thousand Years .

And indeed , seeing Intellectual Eyes shall see , and behold them All in God ; and that there can be no looking off from God to Them , and they themselves cannot look one upon another , Therefore there can be no Account of their Continuation in their Created State , but even those New ones shall so Fly away .

2. The Glorys and Beautys of Divine Providence , shall be seen in Him , who is the Eternal Spring , and Fountain , as wholly in , and from Himself without any Created Intermixtures , in the Perfection of All , of Him , through Him , to Him for Ever ; ( which had been in the State of Creation ) with All the possible Variegations of Events , and the Interweaves of All possibilities of them this way , or that way ; Far above and ●●●re clear , then they can be beheld in Creation , and Providence , as so obscur'd by Created Intermixtures .

From hence it appears , There shall be no New Acts of Creation , or Administrations of Providence , For besides ; All that hath been , or can be , shall be seen in God ; If they should be , they must , and ought to be beheld and consider'd , and God seen in them , For it is a Great Evil not to Behold the Works of the Lord , and the Operations of His Hands ; not to search and to take Pleasure in them ; But this is not suited to the State of God All in All , in which the Eyes of Angels , and Saints are for ever Inseparably united to the Divine Glory , and Perfection . And even the Glory of Angels , and Saints shall not be so much beheld by Themselves in one Another , as by beholding in that Insinite Mirror , All the Glorys Reflected from it on those Angels , and Saints , and enjoyed effectively in Themselves with unspeakable Fulness of Joy for Ever : This is most agreeing with God All in All.

3. The whole State of Authority , Rule and Dominion , whether of Angels or Men , shall be taken away , first by the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ ; and so delivered up with it to God the Father , and He with the Eternal Son , and Spirit , be the only King Eternal , Immortal , the only Wise God : All the Ends of Order , and Government being Paramount in Himself , and by Himself taken care for ; and the Crown , and Glory , the Honour , the Riches , and Strength , the Wisdom , Power , and Authority , for ever Encircling , and Sitting fast upon Himself to Eternity , 1 Tim . 1.17 . Chap. 6.15 .

4. The Condemnation , Ruine , and Misery of Lost Angels , and Men , with All the Impurity of Sin , and Death ; and their Dark , and Horrid Appearances and Wrath without mixture , shall be Removed at the utmost distance from God , and his Kingdom into the Lake , that Burneth with Fire , and Brimstone , where the Devil , and his Angels , and Wicked Men are ; and can offer no Resistance , nor Disturbance , nor so much , as Annoyance , or offence to the Divine Glory , nor to the Blessedness of those with Him ; and are only beheld in the Purity , Holyness , and in the Triumphs of the Justice of God to All Eternity , Rev. 20. ult . So that Salvation and Blessing Rise up to Him for Ever .

5. The Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ , and the Kingdom of Redemption shall be Eternally drawn up into the Divine Person of the Word , and Son of the Father united to , or in Union with the Humane Nature , or the Man Christ Jesus ; Through which the Divine Nature , Else Invisible , Communicates it self to Angels , according to their being made by , and for the Mediator , and Consisting in Him , Col. 1. And to Saints ; and through which , the Union with the Father is Held Inviolable to Eternity ; as our Lord Expresses , John 17. v. 21.23 . That they ●ll may be one , As Thou Father , art in Me , and I in Thee ; That they also may be made one in us , that the World may believe , that thou hast sent me ; And the Glory , that Thou hast given Me , I have given Them , that they may be one , as we Are ; I in Them , and Thou in Me , that they may be made perfect in one , that the World may know , that thou hast sent me and hast Loved Them , as thou hast Loved Me , and I have declared to them thy Name , and will declare it , that the Love , wherewith Thou hast Loved Me , may be in Them , and I in Them ; Now , All this shall be first ( as is after to be shewn ) made Gloriously Apparent in the Humane Nature of Christ in the Kingdom of Redemption , and then drawn up into the Divine Nature of the Son of God , and for ever perfected in the Kingdom of the Father , that thus in the Eternal Son the Father may be All in All ; And that Glory seen , and that Love , wherewith the Eternal Son was Loved by the Father , before the Foundation of the World , v. 22.

I have now Dispatch'd the First Point , I Aim at in this Discourse , Viz . That the ultimate Result of the whole State of Creation , and of Redemption is into the Kingdom of God All in All. I come now to the Second , Viz .

Point 2. The Absolute Eternal Glory of the Humane Nature of Christ , and of his Saints , yea , and of Angels , is in the Kingdom of God All in All.

Herein there are these two things I would make out .

1. That even the Supreme Glory of Christ in his Humane Nature , and therefore undenyably of Saints , and Angels must be in the Kingdom of God , All in All.

2. That All , that ever Hath been , shall Be , or can Be , is found in God All in All ; So that nothing can be wanted besides Him .

1. It is most evident , All the Happyness of Angels , Saints , and of Christ Himself , even in All Things of those Oeconomys , that have Been , and wherein God hath not been in that Highest , and Supreme Sense All in All , hath been in the nearest Approach to God All in All ; To have made it Their Meat , and Drink to do his Will ; To do always the Things pleasing in his Sight ; Not to be Alone , but to have the Father still with Them , as our Lord Jesus speaks of Himself ; and in every Dispensation of Creation , Providence , and of Redemption It self , to sind Him , Above , Over , In , and Through All , is the Highest and Purest Enjoyment ; and therefore it must needs be so , when He is , and shall be All in All to Eternity ! And indeed , The End of All Dispensation hath been to Manifest the Divine Being to us , and to Lead us to Him by nearest steps ; and the nearest of All , Redemption , and the Kingdom of Redemption is ; and on that very Account , Because God All in All is most beheld and enjoy'd in it .

It is the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Humane Nature , to be in the nearest , and closest Enjoyment of God All in All , that is ; When it is most swallowed up in the Divine Union , and Communion ; on Account of which our Lord Prays with Relation to His Humane Nature , to be Gloryfied with the Father Himself , with Him All in All , with the Glory , He had with H●m before the Foundation of the World , That is with the nearest Approach to it , and then with the Fullness of it ; For as the Lowest of the Humiliation of Christ in the Humane Nature was , when The Eternal Word Left It most to it self ; When the Man Christ Jesus Cryed out , My God , My God , why hast Thou forsaken Me ; So the Highest Exaltation of it is , when the Divine Person doth most draw up the Humane Nature into it self ; It shall therefore be more Glorious , when the Father with whom the Eternal Word is one , is All in All , then when the Son of Man comes and is in his Kingdom ; For though that be of , and to the Glory of the Father , yet because the Father is not All in All , Christ is not so Glorious then , as in that Kingdom delivered up , and God All in All.

If then Christ be not in his Highest Glory , Saints cannot be in Theirs , but in that Kingdom of the Father ; For their Glory is but the Reflexion of , and depends upon the Glory of Christ ; as hath been said ; The Glory Thou gavest Me , I have given Them , &c.

2. All that ever hath been , shall be , or can be , is found in God ; So that whatever hath been in All the whole Occonomy in Time , and the several and various Dispensations , shall be seen in this Infinite Mirror , with all the Glorious Attributes , and Perfections of Holyness , Wisdom , Justice , Power , clearly shining out in Them , which are Essential to the Divine Being ; Even Creation , Providence , Redemption , the Kingdom of Redemption it self , shall be for ever seen , and understood in the for ever Blessed Spring , and Fountain of All.

Now from these Grounds , I would shew , how Infinitely above All Heigth and Depth , Breadth and Length , The Divine Being Alone is sufficient to be All in All to Eternity , to All the Blessed Saints and Angels , and Christ the Head of All.

1. All the Perfections , that the Mind , and Understanding either of Angels , or of Men can , or ever shall be able possibly to have , but Any Apprehension , or the least Idea of , are All in the Divine Being ; even All the Excellency of Jesus Christ the Mediator , and much more in the Humane Nature of our Lord Jesus , shall be found in the Admirable Excellency , the Supreme and Adorable Excellency of the Divine Being it self ; This is that Great Truth , which our Lord Intended , ( I am fully assured ; and not to signify , That He Himself was not One with the Father ) John 17.3 . This is Life Eternal to know Thee , the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent . It is a secondary Thing to know Christ , whom He hath sent ; Though in our State it is , as Christ saith , in another Case , Like to the First ; we must have a Fundamental Knowledge of the One God , before we can know the One Mediator ; For a Mediator is not a Mediator of One ; but God is One , He is that Supreme One , with whom the Mediator is One ; but as we are in a State of distance from God , God in the Mediator brings us to Himself ; Therefore the Mediator Alone can bring us to that Supreme One ; and our First true saving Knowledge of Him is By , Through , and in the Mediator ; Till we come into this Kingdom of God All in All , of which I am now speaking , and even then our Union to God , and Communion with God , with God All in All is Through Him .

This then is that Transcendent Excellency of the Divine Being , That All Perfections are His ; You know , All Scripture is Full of the Expressions of the Perfections of God , the Holy , the only Holy ; The Wise , the only w se ; the Potentate , the only Blessed Potentate ; The True , the Good , the Gracious ; Great is the Lord , and Greatly to be Praised , and His Greatness is unsearchable : One Generation shall declare it to Another . It is a Subject worthy of All Ages , and of the Highest All Ages can attain to ; And none can reach so to it , no not in the very Kingdom of the Son of Man , though it be the Highest Preparation to it , can so reach to it , But that it must be Delivered up into this Kingdom of God All in All.

Now there is nothing gives so refreshing a Rain , or Dew in this present Time , as the Discourse of God ; When Moses was Publishing this Name of Jehovah , Deut . 32.1 , &c. He thus breaks out ; Hear Oh ye Heavens , and I will speak , Give Ear to the Words of my Mouth , My Doctrine shall drop , as the Rain , Distill as the Dew , as the small Rain on the Tender Herb , and as the Showers upon the Grass ; Because I will Publish the Name of the Lord : Ascribe ye Greatness to our God ; As for God , his Work is perfect ; for All His Ways are Judgment . A God without Iniquity , Just and Right is He : Indeed we cannot , you know , Look into Scripture , but we find the Glory of the Divine Being every where Filling it ; It is the very Spirit and Power of Scripture : and there is nothing gives that Refreshing Rain , as the Discourses of our God : If it be then so sweet , when we see but a Little of God , but a part of his ways , and but the Back-parts of Him ; Oh , how will the Fullest Manifestation of Him , our Finite Beings are capable on , overflow us with Happiness and Blessedness !

What can be necessary to our Happiness , or most Super abundant to it , but ●●mself In All ? Seeing He is All , in●●ll , w● ever Enjoy , All in Nature All in Grace , All in Cr●●tion and Providen e , All in Redemption are but Effulgencies from Himself ; Himself is All in the Fountain , the Spring , the ●un it self ; ●erfection of Infinite Delight and Satisfa●tion are in Him ; whatever hath therefore been Enj●y'd in Any , in All , in the most Excellent of Creatures , yea , in the Created Humane Nature of Christ , shall be more Highly , more Perfectly , and Fully Enjoy'd in God All in All ; All Oeconomies shall be drawn up into the Kingdom Essentially Divine , That from Eternity to Eternity is the same ; And nothing of Oeconomy shall Remain , but what is Indispensably necessary in Created Beings enjoying the Infinite Increated Being , which cannot be without somewhat of Dispensation .

2. I come to a Second Thing , shewing , How much the Happiness of all Created Beings is in the Kingdom of God All in All , Enjoyed , and Full of the most Gracious Communications from God to Them in it ; And It is this ; That God is Eternally the Same in All His Perfections ; Indeed He is so the Same from Eternity to Eternity ; that He says , I Am , what I Am ; I will Be , what I will Be ; and Absolutely , I am . God can never will to be Any Thing , but what He is ; nor can Any Supposeable Being make Any Impression upon Him to change Him , from what He is . But what is now especially to be Consider'd , is , That though it is most Adorably True , That God is thus , I am , from Eternity to Eternity in Himself , yet the Kingdom of God , All in All is , That Oeconomy , ( if in Regard of the Absolute Perfection of it , and the Unchangeableness of it , It may be call'd an Oeconomy ) wherein God is pleased to Communicate Himself in Regard of the Manifestations of Himself to Created Beings , according to that his Name , I Am ; or the Unchangeable , Eternal One , That Lofty One , who inhabits Eternity , without Any Variation , or Shadow of Turning ; All the Variations of Oeconomy , or Dispensation , being perfectly past ; Thus then , whatever is the Glory , Happiness , Blessedness of Absolute Eternity , Ever One , and the Same , That is It , which Saints enjoy in the Kingdom of God , All in All , Perfection of Glory , and Blessedness , in the Enjoyment of Infinite Perfections , and Glories , and Eternally One , and the Same . He is neither Greater , nor Better , nor Wiser , nor more Gracious , nor Good , nor Less ; Not only in Himself ; for so He is not Greater or Less from Eternity to Eternity ; But He is not More or Less , Greater or Lesser , in the Manifestation of Himself for ever . This seems to be Represented to us , Rev. 5. Last , when There had been Peculiar Acknowledgments of the Divine Being , upon the Throne ; and when Chere had been Peculiar Acknowledgments of the Lord Jesus Christ , The Lamb , It is said ; The Four and Twenty Elders fell down , and Worshipped Him , who Liveth for Ever , and Ever ; After There had been the Distinct Acknowledgment of the Father , who Put All Things under the Feet of Christ in his Kingdom , as Son of Man , and therefore the Father was excepted from All Things put under Him ; and after There had been the Peculiar Acknowledgment of the Lamb , Then there was the Acknowledgment of the Kingdom of God , All in All , signified in the Final Falling Down of the Twenty Four Elders , in Worshipping Him , who Liveth for Ever , and Ever .

3. The Third Thing I desire should be Consider'd , That we may more fully understand the Blessedness of Saints in the Enjoyment of God in his Kingdom , All in All , is ; That though the Divine Being is the only Enjoyment , and no Oeconomical Dispensatory Manifestation of Himself , that may look like a Variety , or Newness , yet there can be no Satiety , or Wearisomness in the Enjoyment of the One Being ; Because God is an Infinite Being , There is an Infinity of Glory , and Perfection , and we Finite Beings cannot Take in All at once , nor can we be Eternal , as He is , Comprehending All Duration in One Single ▪ Point , as He does in the Supreme Sense of Eternity . There are therefore as to us , Eternally New , and Fresh Glories , Breaking out from the Divine Being , into the whole State of Spirits , Angels , and Saints , waiting upon Him ; There must therefore of necessity be an Eternity of Newness , and Freshness of Enjoyment to us : But beyond this , Infinity hath in it Self an Indefailableness , Freshness , Beauty , Enjoyment in its own Essential Nature ; The Infinite Father , the Infinite Son , the Infinite Spirit , are to Themselves , In and With Themselves , Infinitely New , and Fresh Happiness , and Blessedness , How much more is This Apprehensible in relation to Finite Spirits ! To whom the Fountain of Life is a Fulness , and a Fountain of Life , of Joy , of Pleasures ; And because to Finites , It is a River of Life , of Joy , and Pleasures , Importing a Succession ; The same , and yet always New ; And therefore Pleasures , which Imply a Newness , and a Freshness ; And in this Kingdom of God All in All , These Glories of the Divine Being are thus All in All , and yet Eternally New ; because we in a Mystery of Blessedness have All so far , as Finite Beings can take in All , and yet Eternally New , Because we cannot take in All ; There can be no growing Old ( as I may say with Reverence ) upon our Hands ; For what Groweth Old , Decayeth , and Vanisheth away . But Psal . 16.11 . Thou wilt shew me the Path of Life , in thy Presence is Fullness of Joy , at thy Right Hand There are Pleasures for Evermore .

I come now to the Third Point of this Discourse ; To shew , That the Kingdom of Christ is That Holy , Wise , Gracious Oeconomy , or Dispensation in the Fulness of Time , or of All Times , which is of All most Preparatory for the Kingdom of God , All in All , and on which Deliver'd up , the Kingdom of the Father , God All in All succeeds ; and without which , so preparing , and Deliver'd up , This Kingdom of God All in All cannot succeed , according to that Scheme and Frame of God hath set ; as shall , by the Assistance of God , be made out from this Context , and summarily Represented in these ●ollowing Heads .

1. The Wise , and Holy Ordination of God in a Recompence of Justice , and Righteousness to Jesus Christ in his Humane Nature requires , if humbled ; Who humbled Himself , and Became Obedient unto Death , even to the Death of the Cross ; Phil . 2.8 , 9 , 10. wherefore God hath Highly Exalted Him , and Given Him a Name above every Name ; That in the Name of Jesus every Knee should Bow , Both of Things in Heaven , and Things in Earth , and Things under the Earth ; and every Tongue should confess , That Jesus Christ is Lord , to the Glory of God the Father ; He had that Promise from the Father on the Day of his Resurrection ; Ask of me , and I will give Thee the Heathen for thy Inheritance , Psal . 2.8 . and the uttermost Ends of the Earth for thy Possession , Acts 13.33 . but with this Provision ; That Christ should sit at the Right Hand of God , Till His Enemies are made His Footstool . Now we see Him thus Crown'd with Glory , and Honour ; But we see not All Things yet put under Him ; Psa . 110.1 . While He Sits , His Enemies are not put under Him ; When He Sits no longer , but comes , then They shall be put under Him ; Till then , He Expects , and His Expectation began at His Sitting Down , and from Thenceforth , {αβγδ} or for the Residue from His Sitting Down , He Expects until his Kingdom . Before therefore this Kingdom be Given to the Great Son of Man , The Kingdom of God All in All cannot be ; Because that Kingdom must be Deliver'd up , and the Son subject , which cannot consist with his Kingdom ; For the Son Reigning , and not Subject are here oppos'd to the Kingdom deliver'd up , and the Son Subject , and God All in All ; so that the One cannot be , while the Other is ; And therefore , seeing the Son must Have a Kingdom , and He cannot Have it , when the Kingdom of ●od is All in All , He must necessarily Have it before . It is therefore said , Then cometh the End ; That is , The End of All Time in the Fullest , and most Absolute Sense , when It shall Give Place to the Purest , and most Absolute Eternity ; But the Kingdom of Christ being the Kingdom of the Thousand Years , the Fullness and Perfection of Time as Appears by Scriptures Usage of Them . Ps. 90.4 . 2 Pet . 3.8 . and Rev. 20. The End Cannot be , till That Kingdom Have been , and so is most Immediately Preparatory in that very Regard to the Kingdom of God All in All ; Because It is the very Last of Time , and of the Oeconomies of it ; so that when It is Delivered up , All Time for Ever ends .

2. The Greatness of the Oeconomy of that Kingdom , as Drawing up into it Self , and Giving in Perfection All the Oeconomies , that Have Ever been before it , shew ; It must be the Glorious one ; The Oeconomy of the Blessed Angels , The Fallen , that Left Their First Estate ; The Oeconomy of the Pure , and Perfect Creation in Adam's Unsinning , and Unfallen Estate , The Oeconomy of the Fallen Creation , and the Government of it in the Various Kingdoms , Monarchies , and Empires , that have Been in the World ; the Grand Oeconomy of Redemption , and of the Various Administrations of it in the Old , and New-Testament ; and since the Resurrection of Christ , under the Pagan Persecution , and its Endeavours to have Devour'd the Manly Birth , Christ and his Kingdom , The Undermine of Antichristianism , or Counterfeit of Christ's Kingdom by it , and the Persecution of the True Servants of Christ , and the Judgment upon it : The Innumerable Company of Angels Worshipping Christ , and in Glory with Him ; The Glory of Christ , and of His Saints in His Kingdom , in the Humane Nature ; and then the New Creation , the New Heavens , the New Earth ; The New Jerusalem ; The Contemptible and Cursed Estate of the Devil , and his Angels ; of the Enemies , Tyrants , and Persecutors of Christ , and His Kingdom , and All the Wicked in General . All These shall be set in a Full , and a Clear Light ; That God having been understood in His Supreme Holiness , Wisdom , and Goodness , in and by Them , and in the Perfect Comprehension of Them , Saints may have nothing to do , but to Behold , and Contemplate the Divine Being it Self , and see All , they do see , in it Alone . But It is most Agreeable to the Divine Prudence , that All These should have been First Known , and Seen , by Saints , in a Humane Manner , in the Glorious Kingdom of the Son of Man .

3. The Putting down All Authority , and Power makes most necessary the Kingdom of Christ , in the Nature of the Thing ; That It should be done , is Absolutely necessary to the Kingdom of God All in All ; If then the Kingdom of Christ be to do it , It must be before it ; Now that Christ is by his Kingdom to do It , Appears , in that It is said , Christ delivers up the Kingdom to God , even the Father , when he shall have put down All Rule , Authority , Power ; That Variety of Words is used to shew the utter Remove , and even Extirpation of All Power whatever , but the Divine ; Now this is most Agreeable to the Divine Wisdom , and Glory , that It should be done by the Kingdom of the Son of God in Humane Nature , the Son of Man ; Rev. 19.12 . v. 16. that It might be First to the Glory , and Absoluteness of Christs own Kingdom , which can endure no other , because he hath Many Crowns , he is King of Kings , and Lord of Lords , to the height of Supremacy ; There can be no Other , so much as in Appearance : And when now the Kingdom of Christ is so Absolutely Supreme , It is the highest Glory that can be Given to the Father , that the Son should thus Deliver up the Kingdom to Him , All in All ; And It is the highest Act of Obedience , even parallel to that of his Humiliation , and Death , and worthy to be the Crowning Act of All Obedience .

5. The Kingdom of Christ must Prepare for the Kingdom of God All in All , because Death , as hath been shewn , as most contray to the Kingdom of God , All in All , must be Remov'd ; and No One , but the Redeemer , can do this , according to the Holiness , and Justice of God sat●sfied by him and according to the Glory due to him , and his Redemption ; Nor should It be done any Other way , but by his Kingdom , and Glorious Potentacy , as a Kingdom of Redemption ; And therefore the Bo●nds of his Kingdom , both as in its Beginning , and Period , are Illustrated by the Conquest over , and Subduing Death ; In the Beginning of It , is the Resurrection of the Saints , Zech . 14.5 . whom he Brings with him , as the Armies of Heaven ; The Lord our God comes , and all his Saints with him : and They come on white Horses , in Linnen white , and clean , Rev. 19.14 . 1 Cor . 15.51 . 1 Thess. 4. Rev. 20.6 . Rev. 22.2 . the Emblem of Bodies of Glory , in a most Resplendent Triumph over Death ; and the Living Saints are Changed , Partakers of the First Resurrection , who as Guarded with Life , cannot dye : For the Leaves of the Tree of Life are for their healing , so that they cannot die ; Now how Great is This Conquest over Death in Both the Instances of it , in the Saints of the First Resurrection , taken as a Prey out of the Jaws of Death , and the Grave , as the Belly of Hell ! In the Living Saints changed , on whom Death thought , as we may say , to have its usual Ravage ; Standing , as it were , in its Eye , under a seeming Possibility of dying for a Thousand Years , and yet It can never touch Them ; Adam's first State was a ●osse non Mori , Or He must die or a Possibility not to die , but a Possibility also to die ; on which Death so prevail'd , that he fell under a Non Posse non Mori , as the general Law ; But These in a Possibility to die , as not Actually in the Full State of the First Resurrection , yet as Partakers of it , cannot Eventually die , nor shall the Second Death have Power over Them , nor any Death touch Them ; but They are at the Last Caught up to the Highest Life , and therein Deliver'd up with the Kingdom to the Father , to be with him , and the Lord Jesus for ever , 1 Thess. 4. last .

In the mean time , Sathan , who had the Power of Death , is Chain'd down in his Abyss , Seal'd , and Imprison'd and All his Dead Feue●'d in the Four Corners of the Earth ; And when Let loose for a short space , are Immediately Cast with Death it self into the Lake , Rev. 20. last . that Burns with Fire and Brimstone , the Second Death ; and are there at the greatest Distance from God All in All. And thus as the Apostle says , The Last Enemy Subdued is Death , just before the Kingdom deliver'd up to God , and the Father , as in this Context .

5. The Kingdom of Christ must prepare for the Kingdom of God , and the Father , by preparing the Saints , both of the First Resurrection , and the Living Saints Changed for the Enjoyment of God All in All , First as Spirits ; Then as Spirits in Bodies ; having been in the highest Enjoyments of God , that in a State , wherein God is not in highest Sense , All in All Created Beings are Capable of ; and therefore of highest Preparation for that State ; They are therefore repeatedly said to be made King● , Rev. 1.6 . c . 5.10 . and Priests unto God and the Father ; and unto ●●r G●d ; and They are Priests of God , and of Christ , c . 20.6 . and Reign with him a Thousand Years .

I would only add with Relation to this Kingdom of the Son of Man , that , Before it shall come ●nto the Glory of the Thousand Years ; There shall be a Preparatory Opening of the Kingdom of Christ in the presen● State of the World ; Rev. 10.7 . For when the Seventh Trumpet shall be●in to sound , The Mystery of God shall be finished , as he ●a●●●ken in Gospel by his Servants the Prophets ; 〈◇〉 the very Account of the Sevenths Angels Sounding is ●●is , c . 11.15 . The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of the Lord , and of his Christ ; But this being not Properly of the present Discourse , I proceed no further in it ; but Summ up All in these Following Inferences , by way of Application .

Infer . 1. We have before us the great Object of Contemplation , and continual humble Approach unto , tho' in our Present State , at so great Distances , the Fountain , from whence All that we See , or Know by Sense ; or that our Minds can expatiate upon by Intellect , hath sprung , and into which All shall Re●und hemselves , as into their Infinite Fountain , and Ocean , and to Eternity ; All that hath been done by Him , in Creation , Providence , and even in Redemption , shall be seen in Him ; and all the Satisfaction and Enjoyment , that the Intellectual Creation have had in themselves , in one another , or in the whole Creation of God , or in the Government of it , shall be seen , and enjoyed in him All in All ; and in an Infinity in him beyond all that hat , or can be done ; and of Happiness in himself beyond All , that hath , or can be enjoy'd by Finite Beings And therefore Himself All in All , by Himself al●ne Gives All Holy Angels , and Saints an Eternity of Unexpressible , Inconceivable Happiness , Fuliness of Joy , Pleasures for ●vermore .

Oh therefore that we could , even now , while we are here ▪ continually meditate , and seek with our Hearts , and pursue with all our Might the Enjoyment of Him ; And that His Right Hand would Graciously uphold us , in Following hard after him ; And that we could argue with our Selves , what is the World , or the Things of it of Value , but as we find Him in them , and as they serve to support us by his Blessing , the Words that proceed out of his Mouth , in our Communion with him , in our present State ▪ and while we are here ! For if this Enjoyment be an whole Eternity of Happiness , what can we enjoy without it now ? Even to this doth Redemption lead ; It is every where set before us in Scripture , John 14.6 . 1 Pet . 3.18 . Ephes . 2.18 . We come to the Father 014 by Christ , He suffer'd to bring us to God , We have through him Access to the Father by one Spirit . Oh therefore , how should our Thoughts be upon the Divine Being it self !

Infer . 2. This makes known to us the Unsearchable Riches of Christ , and his Redemption , who alone h●th Redeemed us to God , and brings us by the several Steps of Redemption to God All in All ; And beyond All , The Eternal Son of God in our Nature is both the Band of our Eternal Union with the Father , The Father in him , He in us ; And He is the Conveyance of the Infinite Happiness , and Enjoyment of God All in All to us , as hath been made out .

Infer . 3. The Kingdom of God All in All shews us the Unspeakable Misery of Lost Angels , and Men , Remov'd into a Lake of Greatest Distance from God , and the Kingdom of God All in All ; and know nothing of it , but in the Wrath , and Condemnation , that falls upon them , streaming out from his Holy Presence in Anger , 2 Thess. 1.9 . and Displeasure , and the Glory of his Power , of which we may justly , even tremble to speak , or think of , and immediately Fly for Refuge to the Redeemer , The Deliverer f●●m the Wrath to come , and ever to come . 1 Thess. 1. ult . Heb . 12. ult . For oh how dreadful is it to think of God All in All , and He to us a Consuming Fire .

Infer . 4. This is the Great Assurance of the Truth of Christianity , and may satisfie all sincerely tender Spirits , on such Scruples , as Socintan , or Arrian Principles 〈◇〉 concerning the Glory of the Father One God . Seeing 〈◇〉 Gospel so constantly affirms the Glory of the Onely True , God in the Majesty of the ●ather ; John 17.3 . And as the Final Eternal Glory , and Happiness , The Kingdom of God , even the Father , All in All , to be our Absolute Eternal Life .

Infer . 5. The Kingdom of God All in All , and the Delivery of it up is one Great Argument of the Distinct Kingdom of the Medi●●or ; ●his is the Order in this Context , Christ does not Re●gn , till the Resurrection ; Christ the First Fruits , af●erwa●ds they who are Christ's at his Coming , at his ●ppearing , 2 Tim . 4.1 . and at his Kingdom together . Then it is immediately said , He Reigns , till he hath put all Enemies under his ●eet ; And the last Enemy to be subdued is Death ; And then the Kingdom is deliver'd up . Now from the Fi●st Resurre●tion to the Casting Sathan and the Dead into the ●ake , The Spirit of God hath Repeated , and Emphasiz'd This Thousand Years Kingdom .

Inf●r 6. How Earnest should we be for the First Opening the Kingd●m of Christ , in Preparation for its Full Glory , for the First Soundings of the Angel of the Seventh Trumpet ; That the Mystery should be Finished ; To Believe , and wait for Him , who Cometh Quickly , is the Truly Philadelphian Spirit . Let all such who have it hold it fast by Faith a 〈◇〉 Prayer , that no One may Ravish this their Crown from Them ; but that It may Remain for Th●m a Memorial laid up in the Temple of the Lord , Rev. 3.11 . Zech . 6.14 . and that Themselves may be as Pillars in that Temple , Going out no more .

FINIS .