Flavel shows this twofold act (humiliation and exaltation) is the foundation of our joy because through them Christ has removed our debt and secured our inheritance. “The believer knows,” says Flavel, “that however sweet his communion with Christ is in this world, yet that communion he will have with Christ in heaven will far excel it.”
John Flavel (1628–1691) was an English Puritan who became a nonconformist after the Great Ejection of 1662. He waited ten years before being licensed to preach again, and then only in his own home. When collected in the nineteenth century, his writings filled six volumes. Flavel’s writings are known for their practical nature. He was instrumental in promoting the happy union of Presbyterians and Congregationalists.
Stephen Yuille is director of Puritan publishing at Reformation Heritage Books. He also serves as a pastor at Fairview Covenant Church in Granbury, Texas, and as a professor of church history at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.