3 lines
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3 lines
3.6 KiB
HTML
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<p>Here is, 1. The title St. Paul takes to himself, as belonging to him—<i>Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ</i>, etc. He reckoned it a great honour to be employed by Christ, as one of his messengers to the sons of men. The apostles were prime officers in the Christian church, being extraordinary ministers appointed for a time only. They were furnished by their great Lord with extraordinary gifts and the immediate assistance of the Spirit, that they might be fitted for publishing and spreading the gospel and for governing the church in its infant state. Such a one Paul was, and that not <i>by the will</i> of man conferring that office upon him, nor by his own intrusion into it; but <i>by the will of God</i>, very expressly and plainly intimated to him, he being immediately called (as the other apostles were) by Christ himself to the work. Every faithful minister of Christ (though his call and office are not of so extraordinary a nature) may, with our apostle, reflect on it as an honour and comfort to himself that he is what he is <i>by the will of God</i>. 2. The persons to whom this epistle is sent: <i>To the saints who are at Ephesus</i>, that is, to the Christians who were members of the church at Ephesus, the metropolis of Asia. He calls them saints, for such they were in profession, such they were bound to be in truth and reality, and many of them were such. All Christians must be saints; and, if they come not under that character on earth, they will never be saints in glory. He calls them <i>the faithful in Christ Jesus</i>, believers in him, and firm and constant in their adherence to him and to his truths and ways. Those are not saints who are not faithful, believing in Christ, firmly adhering to him, and true to the profession they make of relation to their Lord. Note, It is the honour not only of ministers, but of private Christians too, to have obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.—<i>In Christ Jesus</i>, from whom they derive all their grace and spiritual strength, and in whom their persons, and all that they perform, are made accepted. 3. The apostolical benediction: <i>Grace be to you</i>, etc. This is the token in every epistle; and it expresses the apostle’s good-will to his friends, and a real desire of their welfare. By <i>grace</i> we are to understand the free and undeserved love and favour of God, and those graces of the Spirit which proceed from it; by <i>peace</i> all other blessings, spiritual and temporal, the fruits and product of the former. No peace without grace. No peace, nor grace, but <i>from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ</i>. These peculiar blessings proceed from God, not as a Creator, but as a Father by special relation: and they come from our Lord Jesus Christ, who, having purchased them for his people, has a right to bestow them upon them. Indeed the saints, and the faithful in Christ Jesus, had already received grace and peace; but the increase of these is very desirable, and the best saints stand in need of fresh supplies of the graces of the Spirit, and cannot but desire to improve and grow: and therefore they should pray, each one for himself and all for one another, that such blessings may still abound unto them.</p>
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<p class="tab-1">After this short introduction he comes to the matter and body of the epistle; and, though it may seem somewhat peculiar in a letter, yet the Spirit of God saw fit that his discourse of divine things in this chapter should be cast into prayers and praises, which, as they are solemn addresses to God, so they convey weighty instructions to others. Prayer may preach; and praise may do so too.</p>
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