“Salvation,” says Flavel, “is revealed by Christ as a Prophet, procured by Him as a Priest, applied by Him as a King. In vain it is revealed, if not purchased; in vain revealed and purchased, if not applied.”
Flavel’s treatment of the subject is polemical when necessary and painstakingly detailed when he believes the truth is at stake. It is an act of adoration, of meditations upon “the transcendent excellency of Jesus Christ.”
This treatment of the Mediator and His threefold office is extracted and abridged from Flavel’s classic, The Fountain of Life.
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.