mh_parser/vol_split/49 - Ephesians/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="Eph.ii" n="ii" next="Eph.iii" prev="Eph.i" progress="58.01%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="Eph.ii-p0.1">E P H E S I A N S.</h2>
<h3 id="Eph.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Eph.ii-p1">In this chapter we have, I. The introduction to
the whole epistle, which is much the same as in others, <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.1-Eph.1.2" parsed="|Eph|1|1|1|2" passage="Eph 1:1,2">ver. 1, 2</scripRef>. II. The apostle's
thanksgivings and praises to God for his inestimable blessings
bestowed on the believing Ephesians, <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.3-Eph.1.14" parsed="|Eph|1|3|1|14" passage="Eph 1:3-14">ver. 3-14</scripRef>. III. His earnest prayers to God
in their behalf, <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.15-Eph.1.23" parsed="|Eph|1|15|1|23" passage="Eph 1:15-23">ver.
15-23</scripRef>. 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>
<scripCom id="Eph.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1" parsed="|Eph|1|0|0|0" passage="Eph 1" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Eph.ii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.1-Eph.1.2" parsed="|Eph|1|1|1|2" passage="Eph 1:1-2" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eph.1.1-Eph.1.2">
<h4 id="Eph.ii-p1.6">Introduction. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Eph.ii-p1.7">a.
d.</span> 61.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Eph.ii-p2">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:   2 Grace <i>be</i> to you, and peace, from God
our Father, and <i>from</i> the Lord Jesus Christ.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p3">Here is, 1. The title St. Paul takes to
himself, as belonging to him—<i>Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ,</i> &amp;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> &amp;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 class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p4">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>
</div><scripCom id="Eph.ii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.3-Eph.1.14" parsed="|Eph|1|3|1|14" passage="Eph 1:3-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eph.1.3-Eph.1.14">
<h4 id="Eph.ii-p4.2">Praise for Spiritual
Blessings. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Eph.ii-p4.3">a.
d.</span> 61.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Eph.ii-p5">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:   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:   5 Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,   6 To
the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us
accepted in the beloved.   7 In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace;   8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all
wisdom and prudence;   9 Having made known unto us the mystery
of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed
in himself:   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:
  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:   12 That we should
be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.  
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,  
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of
the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p6">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 class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p7">I. In general he blesses God for
<i>spiritual blessings,</i> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.3" parsed="|Eph|1|3|0|0" passage="Eph 1:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>, 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, &amp;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 class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p8">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, <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.4-Eph.1.5 Bible:Eph.1.11" parsed="|Eph|1|4|1|5;|Eph|1|11|0|0" passage="Eph 1:4,5,11"><i>v.</i> 4, 5,
11</scripRef>. <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> (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.5" parsed="|Eph|1|5|0|0" passage="Eph 1:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), 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> (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.11" parsed="|Eph|1|11|0|0" passage="Eph 1:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), 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 (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.6" parsed="|Eph|1|6|0|0" passage="Eph 1:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), that we
should be to the praise of his glory</i> (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.12" parsed="|Eph|1|12|0|0" passage="Eph 1:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), 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>
<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.6" parsed="|Eph|1|6|0|0" passage="Eph 1:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. Jesus Christ is
the beloved of his Father (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:Matt.3.17" parsed="|Matt|3|17|0|0" passage="Mt 3:17">Matt. iii.
17</scripRef>), 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, <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.8" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.7" parsed="|Eph|1|7|0|0" passage="Eph 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. 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> (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.9" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.8" parsed="|Eph|1|8|0|0" passage="Eph 1:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>),
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> (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.10" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.9" parsed="|Eph|1|9|0|0" passage="Eph 1:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>), 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
(<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.11" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.13" parsed="|Eph|1|13|0|0" passage="Eph 1:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>) <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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.12" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.10" parsed="|Eph|1|10|0|0" passage="Eph 1:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. 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>
<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.13" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.11" parsed="|Eph|1|11|0|0" passage="Eph 1:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.14" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.13" parsed="|Eph|1|13|0|0" passage="Eph 1:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p8.15" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.14" parsed="|Eph|1|14|0|0" passage="Eph 1:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p9">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 (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Rom.16.7" parsed="|Rom|16|7|0|0" passage="Ro 16:7">Rom. xvi. 7</scripRef>); 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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.14" parsed="|Eph|1|14|0|0" passage="Eph 1:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. 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>
</div><scripCom id="Eph.ii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.15-Eph.1.23" parsed="|Eph|1|15|1|23" passage="Eph 1:15-23" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Eph.1.15-Eph.1.23">
<h4 id="Eph.ii-p9.4">The Apostle's Prayer. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Eph.ii-p9.5">a.
d.</span> 61.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Eph.ii-p10">15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith
in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,   16 Cease
not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
  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:   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,
  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,   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>   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:   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,   23
Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p11">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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.15" parsed="|Eph|1|15|0|0" passage="Eph 1:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>.
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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.16" parsed="|Eph|1|16|0|0" passage="Eph 1:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. While he blesses God for giving
them the Spirit, he ceases not to pray that he would give unto them
the Spirit (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.17" parsed="|Eph|1|17|0|0" passage="Eph 1:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>),
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 class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p12">I. Whence this knowledge must come from
<i>the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,</i> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.17" parsed="|Eph|1|17|0|0" passage="Eph 1:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. 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 <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.3" parsed="|Eph|1|3|0|0" passage="Eph 1:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>) <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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.18" parsed="|Eph|1|18|0|0" passage="Eph 1:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p13">II. What it is that he more particularly
desire they should grow in the knowledge of. 1. <i>The hope of his
calling,</i> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.18" parsed="|Eph|1|18|0|0" passage="Eph 1:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>.
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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.19" parsed="|Eph|1|19|0|0" passage="Eph 1:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.20" parsed="|Eph|1|20|0|0" passage="Eph 1:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>. 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> &amp;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 class="indent" id="Eph.ii-p14">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> &amp;c., <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.20-Eph.1.21" parsed="|Eph|1|20|1|21" passage="Eph 1:20,21"><i>v.</i> 20, 21</scripRef>. 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> (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.22" parsed="|Eph|1|22|0|0" passage="Eph 1:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>), according to the promise,
<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.1" parsed="|Ps|110|1|0|0" passage="Ps 110:1">Ps. cx. 1</scripRef>. 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 <span class="smallcaps" id="Eph.ii-p14.4">gave</span> <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> <span class="smallcaps" id="Eph.ii-p14.5">all</span> <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> (<scripRef id="Eph.ii-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Eph.1.23" parsed="|Eph|1|23|0|0" passage="Eph 1:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>), 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> <scripRef id="Eph.ii-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Eph.3.19" parsed="|Eph|3|19|0|0" passage="Eph 3:19"><i>ch.</i> iii. 19</scripRef>. 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>
</div></div2>