The apostle Paul teaches that God designed salvation in a way that leaves no room for human pride:
“So that no one may boast before Him... Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Human beings naturally want to find something in themselves to admire and rely upon. We take pride in our intelligence, morality, accomplishments, social standing, religious devotion, or spiritual experiences. But God's plan of salvation removes every possible ground for self-glory. He saves sinners in such a way that all praise belongs to Him alone.
The main truth Edwards draws from this passage is:
God is glorified when people recognize that they depend entirely upon Him for everything related to their salvation and eternal happiness.
God's purpose is not merely to save sinners but also to display His own glory. He does this by making it clear that every part of salvation comes from Him.
God's design in redemption is that His people would see and acknowledge that they are completely dependent upon Him.
The believer's dependence is not partial but total. We depend upon God:
For the plan of salvation.
For the accomplishment of salvation.
For the application of salvation.
For every benefit received through salvation.
In every respect, God is the beginning, the middle, and the end of our redemption.
The way of salvation was not discovered by human wisdom.
No philosopher, ruler, scholar, or religious leader could have invented God's plan to save sinners through the crucified Christ.
Human wisdom failed to find a way for sinful people to be reconciled to a holy God.
God alone conceived this plan before the foundation of the world.
The gospel is not the product of human imagination. It is the revelation of God's wisdom.
Therefore, no one can boast as though they contributed to the design of salvation.
Whenever we consider the gospel, we should marvel that God Himself provided the solution to a problem we could never solve.
Not only did God devise salvation, but He also accomplished it.
Human beings could not atone for their own sins.
No amount of good works, suffering, religious ceremonies, or moral improvement could satisfy divine justice.
Therefore God sent His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus lived the perfect life we failed to live and died the death we deserved to die. Through His obedience and sacrifice, redemption was secured.
Everything necessary for salvation was accomplished by Christ.
The sinner contributes nothing to the purchase of salvation.
The cross destroys all human boasting. We are saved not because of what we have done for God but because of what Christ has done for us.
Even after Christ accomplished redemption, sinners would never come to Him apart from God's grace.
Human beings are spiritually blind and resistant to God.
Left to ourselves, we would not repent, believe, or love God.
Therefore God sends His Spirit to awaken dead hearts.
The Holy Spirit:
Convicts of sin.
Reveals Christ.
Gives faith.
Produces repentance.
Creates new life.
Continues the work of sanctification.
Every step of spiritual transformation comes from divine grace.
A Christian cannot boast even in his faith, because faith itself is God's gift.
When we believe, we are responding to grace that first worked within us.
Paul says that Christ has become for us:
Wisdom
Righteousness
Sanctification
Redemption
These words summarize everything necessary for salvation.
By nature, we are ignorant of spiritual truth.
In Christ we come to know God, understand the gospel, and learn the way of salvation.
Without Him we remain in darkness.
We possess no righteousness capable of justifying us before God.
Christ's perfect righteousness is credited to believers.
Our acceptance before God rests entirely upon Him.
Holiness is not produced merely by human effort.
Christ, through His Spirit, works within believers to make them increasingly holy.
Even growth in godliness comes from Him.
Christ not only begins salvation but completes it.
One day believers will be fully delivered from sin, suffering, death, and corruption.
The final victory belongs entirely to Him.
From conversion to glorification, every blessing comes through Christ.
The Christian life is a continual dependence upon Him.
God could have designed salvation differently, but He chose a way that excludes all boasting.
Why?
Because God's glory is the highest purpose of all things.
If sinners could claim even part of the credit for their salvation, God's glory would be diminished in their eyes.
Instead, God designed redemption so that His wisdom, power, justice, mercy, and grace would be displayed in the clearest possible way.
The more helpless we recognize ourselves to be, the more magnificent God's grace appears.
There is no room for self-exaltation in Christianity.
We cannot boast in:
Our intelligence.
Our morality.
Our religious achievements.
Our spiritual experiences.
Our good works.
Everything we have comes from God.
A proper understanding of salvation produces humility.
Many people fear they are too sinful, weak, or unworthy to be saved.
But salvation does not depend on human strength.
It depends on God's grace.
The very fact that you have nothing to offer is not an obstacle to God's mercy. It is the reason you must look entirely to Christ.
Those who recognize their need are precisely the people the gospel invites.
If salvation is entirely of grace, then every blessing should lead us to thankfulness.
A Christian should view every spiritual good as an undeserved gift:
Forgiveness
Faith
Peace with God
Growth in holiness
Eternal life
All are gifts received, not rewards earned.
The ultimate response to God's grace is worship.
Believers should delight in giving God all the glory because He deserves it.
The gospel directs our eyes away from ourselves and toward Christ.
The mature Christian increasingly says:
"I am nothing; Christ is everything."
The great lesson of this passage is that God has intentionally made human beings completely dependent upon Him for salvation.
We depend on God:
For the plan of salvation.
For the accomplishment of salvation through Christ.
For the application of salvation by the Spirit.
For every blessing received in salvation.
As a result, no one can boast before God.
All glory belongs to Him alone.
Therefore, when we think of our salvation, our response should be the same as Paul's:
"Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
This is the heart of Edwards' message: God is most glorified when we recognize that everything we are, everything we have, and everything we hope for comes entirely from Him.