Jesus, the Father’s Servant – John Colquhoun

John Colquhoun of Leith preached a fascinating sermon on Jesus as God’s chosen servant. He summarised the service of Jesus as follows: ‘Now in the character of bondservant, Christ Jesus had the following parts of service to perform: he had the curse of the broken law to bear. He had the precepts of the law to obey. He had divine justice to satisfy, the glory of all the divine attributes to restore, and the prophecies and types respecting his humiliation to fulfil.’

Some of these details are common in Christian theology. But what did Colquhoun mean when saying that Jesus had to restore the glory of all the divine attributes? He observed this:

‘In the character of a bond servant, [Jesus] had to restore the glory of the Divine attributes, which was obscured and sullied by the sins of those in whose stead he served. Hence, in the prospect of his entering upon his service, his eternal Father addressed him thus: “Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (Isa. 49:3). Every sin is a direct insult offered to God, and an act of downright rebellion against his supreme authority, interposed in his law. It includes a contempt of his majesty, a contradiction of his holiness, which is his chief glory, a denial of his omniscience and omnipresence, a defiance of his power, a reflection on his wisdom, a disbelief of his faithfulness, and a disparagement of his goodness. Now, seeing every act of disobedience thus obscures the lustre of the Divine glory, and since it was from eternity foreseen that the elect of God would, times without number, commit sin, and so come short of his glory; it was proposed to Christ, and settled as an article in the everlasting covenant, that he should vail his glory by assuming their nature, and, in the low and obscure condition of a bondservant, restore the glory of all the Divine attributes in their stead, in order that it might be consistent with the highest honour of all those perfections, to re-admit them to favour. Accordingly, we read that “he restored that which he took not away” (Ps. 69:4) and that when his service was almost finished, he addressed his Father thus: “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4).’

Colquhoun did not limit the period of servanthood to Christ’s life on earth. He described the Saviour’s work on earth as that of a bondservant and his current and future activities in heaven as that of honorary service. This exalted role was promised to him by the Father in the everlasting covenant as a reward for fulfilling the requirements made of him as a bondservant. The details of this exalted role include these: 

‘He was to triumph over all the enemies of his people, as their Representative; he was to take possession of heaven in their name; he was to be the high Trustee of all the grace and glory which he had merited by his bond service; he was to be the sovereign Dispenser thereof to sinners; he was to judge angels and men at the end of time; and to be the only medium of communication and intercourse in heaven between God and glorified saints through eternity.’

The enemies of his people are sin, Satan, the world and death and he triumphed over them at his resurrection as the Representative of his people. Since his ascension, he has been from the place of exaltation providing his people with the blessings of the new covenant: ‘And Oh, what a distinguished honour must it be to the Lord Jesus, to have the eyes of all his saints in the Church militant fixed upon Him, for communications of grace to supply their innumerable wants ; every one, expecting his portion in due season! and how well qualified must Christ be for such an honourable office, who is most intimately acquainted with all their wants, and is possessed of the most tender sympathy, to prompt him to relieve them!’ 

After the Day of Judgement, he will as God’s honoured servant be ‘the illustrious medium of communication and intercourse between God and the saints in heaven, for ever and ever. Hence every blessing necessary to constitute the everlasting felicity of the redeemed in the heavenly world shall be conveyed to them, not only through the channel of his surety-righteousness, but by his own gracious hand.’

Colquhoun points out that Jesus is a righteous, faithful, wise, powerful, ready servant in all that he did and does. His activities as God’s servant should cause his people to humble ourselves, to realise the amazing love of God to sinners, to devote themselves to his service, to live by faith on his obedience, to be thankful to God and to oppose personal sin. 

Ten Reasons for Christ’s Incarnation

John Colquhoun (1748-1827) was a minister in Leith for almost forty-seven years. He authored several books. In an extract from a volume of sermons, he gives ten reasons as to why the Son of God became man.

The first reason that he gives is that the Son of God did so to fulfil the prophecies and types of the Old Testament. Colquhoun refers to several prophecies such as Isaiah’s announcement that the Saviour would be called Immanuel and Micah’s stating the place of the Messiah’s birth. None of those prophecies could have been fulfilled if the Son had not become a man. As far as typology is concerned, Colquhoun focuses on the practice of the kinsman redeemer and how it depicts what the Son did in order to recover the inheritance that we had lost in Eden, which he could not have done if he had not become incarnate.

The second reason why the Son became incarnate was so that he might be under the law and so capable of obeying and suffering in our place. He had agreed to become our Surety in the everlasting covenant, but he could not fulfil those responsibilities on behalf of his people until he added a human nature to his divine person. Those responsibilities were to live a perfect life and render satisfaction for their sins by his death. ‘He became man so that the sword of justice might have an opportunity of smiting him.’

The third reason why the Son became man was so that the honour of the divine law would be supported and the divine wisdom that devised the way of salvation would be ‘more illustriously displayed’ in the same nature that fell short of the glory of God.

The fourth reason for the Son becoming incarnate was to show his people the degree to which he loved them by becoming like them as much as was possible for him, apart from sin.

The fifth reason was so that the Son would overcome the devil in the nature in which he overcame Adam.

A sixth reason for the Son becoming a human was to provide a permanent union with his people that would ensure that they could never lose progress in holiness here and the prospect of perfect holiness hereafter.

The seventh reason for the Son becoming incarnate was to provide ‘a perfect pattern of holiness’ for his people. ‘His humanity, or our nature in him, was richly furnished with all those heavenly endowments and divinely adorned with all those spiritual graces’ that compose this pattern.

The eighth reason for the Son taking a human nature to himself was so ‘that in it he might be the heir of all things, and might secure the inheritance of his spiritual seed from a second forfeiture’.

The ninth reason why the Son of God became man was ‘so that he might have an experimental knowledge of his people’s infirmities’. ‘In consequence of his omniscience as a divine Person, his knowledge of the infirmities and trials of his people, even before his incarnation, was as exact and comprehensive as it was possible for it ever to be. But it was only in consequence of his incarnation and subjection to the sinless infirmities of human nature that it was rendered experimental, and that he could be properly said to sympathise with his people in such circumstances, from his own experience.’

The tenth reason why the Son assumed a ‘human nature was so that, in its exalted state at the right hand of God, it might be the pattern or model of that glory which will be conferred on the souls and bodies of his redeemed after the resurrection.’

Ten good reasons to think about.