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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Ephesians I].</TITLE>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E P H E S I A N S.</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In this chapter we have,
I. The introduction to the whole epistle, which is much the same as in
others,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
II. The apostle's thanksgivings and praises to God for his inestimable
blessings bestowed on the believing Ephesians,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:3-14">ver. 3-14</A>.
III. His earnest prayers to God in their behalf,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:15-23">ver. 15-23</A>.
This great apostle was wont to abound in prayers and in thanksgivings
to almighty God, which he generally so disposes and orders that at the
same time they carry with them and convey the great and important
doctrines of the Christian religion, and the most weighty instructions
to all those who seriously peruse them.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Eph1_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Introduction.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A.&nbsp;D.</FONT>&nbsp;61.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the
saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
&nbsp; 2 Grace <I>be</I> to you, and peace, from God our Father, and <I>from</I>
the Lord Jesus Christ.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here is,
1. The title St. Paul takes to himself, as belonging to him--<I>Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ,</I> &c. 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> &c. 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>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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>
<A NAME="Eph1_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Praise for Spiritual Blessings.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A.&nbsp;D.</FONT>&nbsp;61.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>3 Blessed <I>be</I> the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly <I>places</I>
in Christ:
&nbsp; 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him
in love:
&nbsp; 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his
will,
&nbsp; 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved.
&nbsp; 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
&nbsp; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and
prudence;
&nbsp; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according
to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
&nbsp; 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven, and which are on earth; <I>even</I> in him:
&nbsp; 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will:
&nbsp; 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first
trusted in Christ.
&nbsp; 13 In whom ye also <I>trusted,</I> after that ye heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
&nbsp; 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
He begins with thanksgivings and praise, and enlarges with a great deal
of fluency and copiousness of affection upon the exceedingly great and
precious benefits which we enjoy by Jesus Christ. For the great
privileges of our religion are very aptly recounted and enlarged upon
in our praises to God.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. In general he blesses God for <I>spiritual blessings,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>,
where he styles him <I>the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;</I>
for, as Mediator, the Father was his God; as God, and the second person
in the blessed Trinity, God was his Father. It bespeaks the mystical
union between Christ and believers, that the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ is their God and Father, and that in and through him. All
blessings come from God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. No good
can be expected from a righteous and holy God to sinful creatures, but
by his mediation. <I>He hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings.</I> Note, Spiritual blessings are the best blessings with
which God blesses us, and for which we are to bless him. He blesses us
by bestowing such things upon us as make us really blessed. We cannot
thus bless God again; but must do it by praising, and magnifying, and
speaking well of him on that account. Those whom God blesses with some
he blesses with all spiritual blessings; to whom he gives Christ, he
freely gives all these things. It is not so with temporal blessings;
some are favoured with health, and not with riches; some with riches,
and not with health, &c. But, where God blesses with spiritual
blessings, he blesses with all. They are <I>spiritual blessings in
heavenly places;</I> that is, say some, in the church, distinguished
from the world, and called out of it. Or it may be read, <I>in heavenly
things,</I> such as come from heaven, and are designed to prepare men
for it, and to secure their reception into it. We should hence learn to
mind spiritual and heavenly things as the principal things, spiritual
and heavenly blessings as the best blessings, with which we cannot be
miserable and without which we cannot but be so. <I>Set not your
affections on things on the earth, but on those things which are
above.</I> These we are blessed with in Christ; for, as all our
services ascend to God through Christ, so all our blessings are
conveyed to us in the same way, he being the Mediator between God and
us.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. The particular spiritual blessings with which we are blessed in
Christ, and for which we ought to bless God, are (many of them) here
enumerated and enlarged upon.
1. Election and predestination, which are the secret springs whence the
others flow,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:4,5,11"><I>v.</I> 4, 5, 11</A>.
<I>Election,</I> or choice, respects that lump or mass of mankind out
of which some are chosen, from which they are separated and
distinguished. Predestination has respect to the blessings they are
designed for; particularly <I>the adoption of children,</I> it being
the purpose of God that in due time we should become his adopted
children, and so have a right to all the privileges and to the
inheritance of children. We have here the date of this act of love: it
was <I>before the foundation of the world;</I> not only before God's
people had a being, but before the world had a beginning; for they were
chosen in the counsel of God from all eternity. It magnifies these
blessings to a high degree that they are the products of eternal
counsel. The alms which you give to beggars at your doors proceed from
a sudden resolve; but the provision which a parent makes for his
children is the result of many thoughts, and is put into his last will
and testament with a great deal of solemnity. And, as this magnifies
divine love, so it secures the blessings to God's elect; for <I>the
purpose of God according to election shall stand.</I> He acts in
pursuance of his eternal purpose in bestowing spiritual blessings upon
his people. <I>He hath blessed us</I>--<I>according as he hath chosen us
in him,</I> in Christ the great head of the election, who is
emphatically called <I>God's elect, his chosen;</I> and in the chosen
Redeemer an eye of favour was cast upon them. Observe here one great
end and design of this choice: <I>chosen--that we should be holy;</I>
not because he foresaw they would be holy, but because he determined to
make them so. All who are chosen to happiness as the end are chosen to
holiness as the means. Their sanctification, as well as their
salvation, is the result of the counsels of divine love.--<I>And without
blame before him</I>--that their holiness might not be merely external
and in outward appearance, so as to prevent blame from men, but
internal and real, and what God himself, who <I>looketh at the
heart,</I> will account such, such holiness as proceeds from love to
God and to our fellow-creatures, this charity being the principle of
all true holiness. The original word signifies such an innocence as no
man can carp at; and therefore some understand it of that perfect
holiness which the saints shall attain in the life to come, which will
be eminently before God, they being in his immediate presence for ever.
Here is also the rule and the fontal cause of God's election: it is
<I>according to the good pleasure of his will</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
not for the sake of any thing in them foreseen, but because it was his
sovereign will, and a thing highly pleasing to him. It is <I>according
to the purpose,</I> the fixed and unalterable will, <I>of him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
who powerfully accomplishes whatever concerns his elect, as he has
wisely and freely fore-ordained and decreed, the last and great end and
design of all which is his own glory: <I>To the praise of the glory of
his grace
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
that we should be to the praise of his glory</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
that is, that we should live and behave ourselves in such a manner that
his rich grace might be magnified, and appear glorious, and worthy of
the highest praise. <I>All is of God, and from him, and through
him,</I> and therefore all must be to him, and centre in his praise.
Note, The glory of God is his own end, and it should be ours in all
that we do. This passage has been understood by some in a very
different sense, and with a special reference to the conversion of
these Ephesians to Christianity. Those who have a mind to see what is
said to this purpose may consult Mr. Locke, and other well-known
writers, on the place.
2. The next spiritual blessing the apostle takes notice of is
acceptance with God through Jesus Christ: <I>Wherein,</I> or by which
grace, <I>he hath made us accepted in the beloved,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
Jesus Christ is the beloved of his Father
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:17">Matt. iii. 17</A>),
as well as of angels and saints. It is our great privilege to be
accepted of God, which implies his love to us and his taking us under
his care and into his family. We cannot be thus accepted of God, but in
and through Jesus Christ. He loves his people for the sake of the
beloved.
3. Remission of sins, and redemption through the blood of Jesus,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
No remission without redemption. It was by reason of sin that we were
captivated, and we cannot be released from our captivity but by the
remission of our sins. This redemption we have in Christ, and this
remission through his blood. The guilt and the stain of sin could be no
otherwise removed than by the blood of Jesus. All our spiritual
blessings flow down to us in that stream. This great benefit, which
comes freely to us, was dearly bought and paid for by our blessed Lord;
and yet it is according to the riches of God's grace. Christ's
satisfaction and God's rich grace are very consistent in the great
affair of man's redemption. God was satisfied by Christ as our
substitute and surety; but it was rich grace that would accept of a
surety, when he might have executed the severity of the law upon the
transgressor, and it was rich grace to provide such a surety as his own
Son, and freely to deliver him up, when nothing of that nature could
have entered into our thoughts, nor have been any otherwise found out
for us. In this instance he has not only manifested riches of grace,
but <I>has abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
wisdom in contriving the dispensation, and prudence in executing the
counsel of his will, as he has done. How illustrious have the divine
wisdom and prudence rendered themselves, in so happily adjusting the
matter between justice and mercy in this grand affair, in securing the
honour of God and his law, at the same time that the recovery of
sinners and their salvation are ascertained and made sure!
4. Another privilege which the apostle here blesses God for is divine
revelation--that God hath <I>made known to us the mystery of his
will</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
that is, so much of his good-will to men, which had been concealed for
a long time, and is still concealed from so great a part of the world:
this we owe to Christ, who, having lain in the bosom of the Father from
eternity, came to declare his will to the children of men. <I>According
to his good pleasure,</I> his secret counsels concerning man's
redemption, <I>which he had purposed,</I> or resolved upon, merely in
and from himself, and not for any thing in them. In this revelation,
and in his <I>making known unto us the mystery of his will,</I> the
wisdom and the prudence of God do abundantly shine forth. It is
described
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>)
<I>as the word of truth, and the gospel of our salvation.</I> Every
word of it is true. It contains and instructs us in the most weighty
and important truths, and it is confirmed and sealed by the very oath
of God, whence we should learn to <I>betake ourselves to it in all our
searches after divine truth.</I> It is the gospel of our salvation: it
publishes the glad tidings of salvation, and contains the offer of it:
it points out the way that leads to it; and the blessed Spirit renders
the reading and the ministration of it effectual to the salvation of
souls. O, how ought we to prize this glorious gospel and to bless God
for it! This is the light shining in a dark place, for which we have
reason to be thankful, and to which we should take heed.
5. Union in and with Christ is a great privilege, a spiritual blessing,
and the foundation of many others. <I>He gathers together in one all
things in Christ,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
All the lines of divine revelation meet in Christ; all religion centres
in him. Jews and Gentiles were united to each other by being both
united to Christ. <I>Things in heaven and things on earth</I> are
gathered together in him; peace made, correspondence settled, between
heaven and earth, through him. The innumerable company of angels become
one with the church through Christ: this God <I>purposed in
himself,</I> and it was his design in that dispensation which was to be
accomplished by his sending Christ in the fulness of time, at the exact
time that God had prefixed and settled.
6. The eternal inheritance is the great blessing with which we are
blessed in Christ: <I>In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
Heaven is the inheritance, the happiness of which is a sufficient
portion for a soul: it is conveyed in the way of an inheritance, being
the gift of a Father to his children. <I>If children, then heirs.</I>
All the blessings that we have in hand are but small if compared with
the inheritance. What is laid out upon an heir in his minority is
nothing to what is reserved for him when he comes to age. Christians
are said to have obtained this inheritance, as they have a present
right to it, and even actual possession of it, in Christ their head and
representative.
7. The seal and earnest of the Spirit are of the number of these
blessings. We are said to be <I>sealed with that Holy Spirit of
promise,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
The blessed Spirit is holy himself, and he makes us holy. He is called
<I>the Spirit of promise,</I> as he is the promised Spirit. By him
believers are sealed; that is, separated and set apart for God, and
distinguished and marked as belonging to him. The Spirit <I>is the
earnest of our inheritance,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
The earnest is part of payment, and it secures the full sum: so is the
gift of the Holy Ghost; all his influences and operations, both as a
sanctifier and a comforter, are heaven begun, glory in the seed and
bud. The Spirit's illumination is an earnest of everlasting light;
sanctification is an earnest of perfect holiness; and his comforts are
earnests of everlasting joys. He is said to be the earnest, <I>until
the redemption of the purchased possession.</I> It may be called here
the possession, because this earnest makes it as sure to the heirs as
though they were already possessed of it; and it is purchased for them
by the blood of Christ. The redemption of it is mentioned because it
was mortgaged and forfeited by sin; and Christ restores it to us, and
so is said to redeem it, in allusion to the law of redemption. Observe,
from all this, what a gracious promise that is which secures the gift
of the Holy Ghost to those who ask him.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
The apostle mentions the great end and design of God in bestowing all
these spiritual privileges, <I>that we should be to the praise of his
glory who first trusted in Christ</I>--we to whom the gospel was first
preached, and who were first converted to the faith of Christ, and to
the placing of our hope and trust in him. Note, Seniority in grace is a
preferment: <I>Who were in Christ before me,</I> says the apostle
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+16:7">Rom. xvi. 7</A>);
those who have for a longer time experienced the grace of Christ are
under more special obligations to glorify God. They should be strong in
faith, and more eminently glorify him; but this should be the common
end of all. For this we were made, and for this we were redeemed; this
is the great design of our Christianity, and of God in all that he has
done for us: <I>unto the praise of his glory,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
He intends that his grace and power and other perfection should by this
means become conspicuous and illustrious, and that the sons of men
should magnify him.</P>
<A NAME="Eph1_15"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_16"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_17"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_20"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Eph1_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Apostle's Prayer.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A.&nbsp;D.</FONT>&nbsp;61.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
&nbsp; 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in
my prayers;
&nbsp; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him:
&nbsp; 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye
may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of
the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
&nbsp; 19 And what <I>is</I> the exceeding greatness of his power to
us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty
power,
&nbsp; 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the
dead, and set <I>him</I> at his own right hand in the heavenly
<I>places,</I>
&nbsp; 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world,
but also in that which is to come:
&nbsp; 22 And hath put all <I>things</I> under his feet, and gave him <I>to
be</I> the head over all <I>things</I> to the church,
&nbsp; 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in
all.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
We have come to the last part of this chapter, which consists of Paul's
earnest prayer to God in behalf of these Ephesians. We should pray for
the persons for whom we give thanks. Our apostle blesses God for what
he had done for them, and then he prays that he would do more for them.
He gives thanks for spiritual blessings, and prays for further supplies
of them; for God <I>will for this be enquired of by the house of
Israel, to do it for them.</I> He has laid up these spiritual blessings
for us in the hands of his Son, the Lord Jesus; but then he has
appointed us to draw them out, and fetch them in, by prayer. We have no
part nor lot in the matter, any further than we claim it by faith and
prayer. One inducement to pray for them was the good account he had of
them, <I>of their faith in the Lord Jesus and love to all the
saints,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
Faith in Christ, and love to the saints, will be attended with all
other graces. Love to the saints, as such, and because they are such,
must include love to God. Those who love saints, as such, love all
saints, how weak in grace, how mean in the world, how fretful and
peevish soever, some of them may be. Another inducement to pray for
them was because they had received the earnest of the inheritance: this
we may observe from the words being connected with the preceding ones
by the particle <I>wherefore.</I> "Perhaps you will think that, having
received the earnest, it should follow, therefore you are happy enough,
and need take no further care: you need not pray for yourselves, nor I
for you." No, quite the contrary. <I>Wherefore--I cease not to give
thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
While he blesses God for giving them the Spirit, he ceases not to pray
that he would give unto them the Spirit
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
that he would give greater measures of the Spirit. Observe, Even the
best of Christians need to be prayed for: and, while we hear well of
our Christian friends, we should think ourselves obliged to intercede
with God for them, that they may abound and increase yet more and more.
Now what is it that Paul prays for in behalf of the Ephesians? Not that
they might be freed from persecution; nor that they might possess the
riches, honours, or pleasures of the world; but the great thing he
prays for is the illumination of their understandings, and that their
knowledge might increase and abound: he means it of a practical and
experimental knowledge. The graces and comforts of the Spirit are
communicated to the soul by the enlightening of the understanding. In
this way he gains and keeps possession. Satan takes a contrary way: he
gets possession by the senses and passions, Christ by the
understanding. Observe,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. Whence this knowledge must come from <I>the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
The Lord <I>is a God of knowledge,</I> and there is no sound saving
knowledge but what comes from him; and therefore to him we must look
for it, who is <I>the God of our Lord Jesus Christ</I> (see
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>)
<I>and the Father of glory.</I> It is a Hebraism. God is infinitely
glorious in himself all glory is due to him from his creatures, and he
is the author of all that glory with which his saints are or shall be
invested. Now he gives knowledge by giving the Spirit of knowledge; for
the Spirit of God is the teacher of the saints, <I>the Spirit of wisdom
and revelation.</I> We have the revelation of the Spirit in the word:
but will that avail us, if we have not the wisdom of the Spirit in the
heart? If the same Spirit who indited the sacred scriptures do not take
the veil from off our hearts, and enable us to understand and improve
them, we shall be never the better.--<I>In the knowledge of him,</I> or
for the acknowledgment of him; not only a speculative knowledge of
Christ, and of what relates to him, but an acknowledgment of Christ's
authority by an obedient conformity to him, which must be by the help
of <I>the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.</I> This knowledge is first
in the understanding. He prays that <I>the eyes of their understanding
may be enlightened,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
Observe, Those who have their eyes opened, and have some understanding
in the things of God, have need to be more and more enlightened, and to
have their knowledge more clear, and distinct, and experimental.
Christians should not think it enough to have warm affections, but they
should labour to have clear understandings; they should be ambitious of
being knowing Christians, and judicious Christians.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. What it is that he more particularly desire they should grow in the
knowledge of.
1. <I>The hope of his calling,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
Christianity is our calling. God has called us to it, and on that
account it is said to be his calling. There is a hope in this calling;
for those who deal with God deal upon trust. And it is a desirable
thing to know what this hope of our calling is, to have such an
acquaintance with the immense privileges of God's people, and the
expectations they have from God, and with respect to the heavenly
world, as to be quickened thereby to the utmost diligence and patience
in the Christian course. We ought to labour after, and pray earnestly
for, a clearer insight into, and a fuller acquaintance with, the great
objects of a Christian's hopes.
2. <I>The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.</I>
Besides the heavenly inheritance prepared for the saints, there is a
present inheritance in the saints; for grace is glory begun, and
holiness is happiness in the bud. There is a glory in this inheritance,
riches of glory, rendering the Christian more excellent and more truly
honourable than all about him: and it is desirable to know this
experimentally, to be acquainted with the principles, pleasures, and
powers, of the spiritual and divine life. It may be understood of the
glorious inheritance in or among the saints in heaven, where God does,
as it were, lay forth all his riches, to make them happy and glorious,
and where all that the saints are in possession of is transcendently
glorious, as the knowledge that can be attained of this upon earth is
very desirable, and must be exceedingly entertaining and delightful.
Let us endeavour then, by reading, contemplation, and prayer, to know
as much of heaven as we can, that we may be desiring and longing to be
there.
3. <I>The exceeding greatness of God's power towards those who
believe,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
The practical belief of the all-sufficiency of God, and of the
omnipotence of divine grace, is absolutely necessary to a close and
steady walking with him. It is a desirable thing to know
experimentally the mighty power of that grace beginning and carrying on
the work of faith in our souls. It is a difficult thing to bring a soul
to believe in Christ, and to venture its all upon his righteousness,
and upon the hope of eternal life. It is nothing less than an almighty
power that will work this in us. The apostle speaks here with a mighty
fluency and copiousness of expression, and yet, at the same time, as if
he wanted words to express the <I>exceeding greatness of God's almighty
power,</I> that power which God exerts towards his people, and by which
<I>he raised Christ from the dead,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
That indeed was the great proof of the truth of the gospel to the
world: but the transcript of that in ourselves (our sanctification, and
rising from the death of sin, in conformity to Christ's resurrection)
is the great proof to us. Though this cannot prove the truth of the
gospel to another who knows nothing of the matter (there the
resurrection of Christ is the proof), yet to be able to speak
experimentally, as the Samaritans, "<I>We have heard him ourselves,</I>
we have felt a mighty change in our hearts," will make us able to say,
with the fullest satisfaction, <I>Now we believe, and are sure, that
this is the Christ, the Son of God.</I> Many understand the apostle
here as speaking of that <I>exceeding greatness of power</I> which God
will exert for raising the bodies of believers to eternal life, even
the same <I>mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised
him,</I> &c. And how desirable a thing must it be to become at length
acquainted with that power, by being raised out of the grave thereby
unto eternal life!</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Having said something of Christ and his resurrection, the apostle
digresses a little from the subject he is upon to make some further
honourable mention of the Lord Jesus and his exaltation. He sits at the
Father's <I>right hand in the heavenly places,</I> &c.,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:20,21"><I>v.</I> 20, 21</A>.
Jesus Christ is advanced above all, and he is set in authority over
all, they being made subject to him. All the glory of the upper world,
and all the powers of both worlds, are entirely devoted to him. The
Father <I>hath put all things under his feet</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
according to the promise,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+110:1">Ps. cx. 1</A>.
All creatures whatsoever are in subjection to him; they must either
yield him sincere obedience or fall under the weight of his sceptre,
and receive their doom from him. God <FONT SIZE=-1>GAVE</FONT> <I>him
to be head over all things.</I> It was a gift to Christ, considered as
a Mediator, to be advanced to such dominion and headship, and to have
such a mystical body prepared for him: and it was a gift to the church,
to be provided with a head endued with so much power and authority. God
<I>gave him to be the head over all things.</I> He gave him all power
both in heaven and in earth. <I>The Father loves the Son, and hath
given</I> <FONT SIZE=-1>ALL</FONT> <I>things into his hands.</I> But
that which completes the comfort of this is that he is the head over
all things to the church; he is entrusted with all power, that is, that
he may dispose of all the affairs of the providential kingdom in
subserviency to the designs of his grace concerning his church. With
this therefore we may answer the messengers of the nations, that the
Lord hath founded Zion. The same power that supports the world support
the church; and we are sure he loves his church, for it <I>is his
body</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
his mystical body, and he will care for it. It is <I>the fulness of him
that filleth all in all.</I> Jesus Christ filleth all in all; he
supplies all defects in all his members, filling them with his Spirit,
and even with <I>the fulness of God,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+3:19"><I>ch.</I> iii. 19</A>.
And yet the church is said to be his fulness, because Christ as
Mediator would not be complete if he had not a church. How could he be
a king if he had not a kingdom? This therefore comes in to the honour
of Christ, <I>as Mediator, that the church is his fulness.</I></P>
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