“The flaming sword” by Jonathan Edwards

“The Son of God himself was pleased to take our guilt upon Him, and in our name has suffered and so satisfied the justice and wrath of God. The eternal and infinitely dear Son of God, when He beheld us fallen, beheld us driven by justice from the blessings of paradise, and beheld us excluded from eternal life, He had a pity and love to us.

He was pleased to undertake for us and take our guilt upon Him and place Himself in our stead, and stand before the Father for us as being ready to bear what we deserved that we might be free. And He came and suffered our deserved wrath, so that wrath and justice was satisfied.

Christ undertook to lead us to the tree of life, and He went before us. Christ Himself was slain by that flaming sword. And this sword, having slain the Son of God appearing in our name, who was a person of infinite worthiness, that sword did full execution in that.

And when it had shed the blood of Christ, it had done all its work, and so after that was removed. And Christ arising from the dead, being a divine person Himself, went before us. And now the sword is removed, having done its execution, already having nothing more to do there, having slain Christ.

There is no sword now, and the way is open and clear to eternal life for those that are in Christ.”

–Jonathan Edwards, “East of Eden: A Sermon on Genesis 3:24,” in Sermons and Discourses 1730-1733, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 17, Ed. Mark Valeri (New Haven: Yale, 1999), 346. It may be read here in its entirety.