Breathing the Air of Heaven: Sabbath-Keeping and the Importance of Observing the Ordinary Means of Grace in Richard Sibbes

  **The following was originally published in Covenant Conversations Vol. 2, Issue No. 3 (June 2024)

Philippians 3:20 - “For our citizenship is in heaven…” [1]

One sobering aspect of the Christian’s life is that he is, in this life, a pilgrim. A pilgrim by definition is a wayfarer, someone journeying to another country. By implication, during his pilgrimage, he is often threatened or harassed by various enemies, trials, and defeats, but he is also a man of great longing. The greatest of his longings concerns his desire to be home: to be back in his own country, to breathe the air of his homeland. Thus, as a pilgrim, the Christian is faced with numerous difficulties along the path to his native land in heaven (cf., Hebrews 11). [2] However, the Christian is not left without hope during his journey. The promises of the gospel work to strengthen the weary traveler’s faith and hope to be with Jesus Christ. One such promise, and therefore assurance, is the reality of what the apostle Paul wrote about in Philippians 3:20: “For our citizenship is in heaven…”. Presently, all who are in union with Christ are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, and all who belong to that land are sustained by it. In the gracious mercy of the Triune God, Christians on earth are given moments in which they can breathe the air of heaven for renewed strength and perseverance. To help articulate the beauty of this heavenly reality, the following will consist of lengthy quotes from the Puritan Richard Sibbes, [3] but they are certainly well worth your time to read in full. 

Sibbes eloquently and charmingly explained the profound blessing of beginning to partake in heaven on earth. Since Christians are already considered citizens of heaven, the question arises as to how they currently participate in their heavenly status. Sibbes addresses this by emphasizing the link between participating in heaven and Sabbath observance:

“The most comfortable way whereby God’s people know the things of heaven, and of the life to come, is in regard of some taste; for there is nothing in heaven but God’s children have a taste of it before they come there in some measure. They have a taste of the communion that is in heaven, in the communion they have on earth: they have a taste of that eternal Sabbath, by some relish they have of holy exercises in these Christian Sabbaths. A Christian is as much in heaven as he can be, when he sanctifies the holy Sabbath, speaking to God in the congregation by prayer, and hearing God speak to him in the preaching of the word.” [4]

During sabbath gatherings of the church, a unique event occurs: the people really commune with the Triune God. In the service of worship, the Triune God speaks and His covenant people respond by prayer and listening. This engagement takes on the form of a dialogue (cf., Psalms 96, 96, 100, etc.). This blessed communion with God does not happen the same way in other aspects of our earthly lives. The significance of the worship service is that it takes place in the presence of the Triune God Who is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth (WSC Q&A 4). The psalmist was most certainly correct when he described the reality of this communion: “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). In meeting with the Triune God, weary pilgrims find rest, and for a time, they breathe in the air of heaven.

However, another question arises: while in communion with God, what are the means by which God’s people “breathe the air of heaven”? Scripture emphasizes what the church refers to as the "ordinary means of grace." These are the "outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to his church the benefits of his mediation…which are made effectual to the elect for their salvation" by the work of the Holy Spirit. [5]  In other words, the Spirit of Christ nourishes the saints through the reading and preaching of God's Word, the administration and reception of the sacraments, and prayer. Again, Sibbes offers significant insight: 

“For a preparation, hear the word of God; for by this we are in heaven in part already. For where the word is preached, there is the presence of the blessed Trinity, and the holy angels bringing down heaven itself to us, teaching us in the laws of that kingdom. Use reading also; for even thereby we talk with the saints who wrote those things for our instruction, and that Spirit that guided them in writing will also guide thee in reading. Receive the sacraments often, for these ordinances are the heavenly manna to us, and strengthen us in our way to the spiritual Canaan.” [6]

Furthermore:

“In the last place…use daily a set prayer; for thereby we ascend into heaven, and are fitted thereby to be more and more heavenly. It is the trade of citizens that make them rich. This is our trade, to trade by prayer with that heavenly city, where our treasure is, and by it we shall grow daily in riches. Thus is our soul strengthened and our affections stirred up to converse with God, and thus come we to set our faith in heaven, together with our love, where our Father is, where angels and saints, our city and eternal happiness, is. Thus is our hope strengthened, which carries us through all afflictions undauntedly, and so is a heaven to us before heaven; and thus are our desires in heaven, to be at rest, to be with Christ, which is best of all.” [7]

Indeed, these are blessed truths worth our deep meditation. Sibbes is fundamentally implying two principles that are true for the Christian when in communion with the Triune God. Primarily, there is a real engagement with heaven, and it comes through the mediation of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. The grace administered by God’s Spirit is real grace and it is communicated by the outward, ordinary means. Second, using the ordinary means of grace is the means by which the Christian breathes the air of heaven, and breathing the air of heaven nourishes the soul. Together, these principles detail the necessity of God’s people gathering on the Christian Sabbath. As pilgrims are weary travelers, so, too, are Christian pilgrims often depleted from their journey; they too need to breathe the air of their native country. 

Thus, if it is true that the Christian is a pilgrim, and if it is true that he has his citizenship in heaven, it stands to reason that he is sustained from that country. The exhortation is clear: do not forsake the Sabbath gatherings of the church; do not neglect to observe the ordinary means of grace. For the Christian, these are means by which he participates in his heavenly status and is renewed by breathing the air of heaven.

Footnotes:

[1] - All Scripture references are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible (NKJV) unless otherwise noted.

[2] - It is almost a moral necessity for Christians to read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. If you have not done so, I encourage you to begin at once!

[3] - Richard Sibbes was a 17th-century Puritan preacher famous for classic works such as “The Bruised Reed”.

[4] - Richard Sibbes, “A Glance of Heaven or, a Precious Taste of a Glorious Feast,” in The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart, vol. 4 (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; W. Robertson, 1863), 167.

[5] - Westminster Larger Catechism Q&A 154-155.

[6] - Richard Sibbes, “Exposition of Philippians Chapter 3,” in The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart, vol. 5 (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; W. Robertson, 1863), 137–138.

[7] - Ibid., 138.