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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E P H E S I A N S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have,
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I. The introduction to the whole epistle, which is much the same as in
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others,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. The apostle's thanksgivings and praises to God for his inestimable
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blessings bestowed on the believing Ephesians,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:3-14">ver. 3-14</A>.
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III. His earnest prayers to God in their behalf,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:15-23">ver. 15-23</A>.
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This great apostle was wont to abound in prayers and in thanksgivings
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to almighty God, which he generally so disposes and orders that at the
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same time they carry with them and convey the great and important
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doctrines of the Christian religion, and the most weighty instructions
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to all those who seriously peruse them.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Eph1_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Introduction.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 61.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the
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saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
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2 Grace <I>be</I> to you, and peace, from God our Father, and <I>from</I>
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the Lord Jesus Christ.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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1. The title St. Paul takes to himself, as belonging to him--<I>Paul,
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an apostle of Jesus Christ,</I> &c. He reckoned it a great honour to be
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employed by Christ, as one of his messengers to the sons of men. The
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apostles were prime officers in the Christian church, being
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extraordinary ministers appointed for a time only. They were furnished
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by their great Lord with extraordinary gifts and the immediate
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assistance of the Spirit, that they might be fitted for publishing and
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spreading the gospel and for governing the church in its infant state.
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Such a one Paul was, and that not <I>by the will</I> of man conferring
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that office upon him, nor by his own intrusion into it; but <I>by the
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will of God,</I> very expressly and plainly intimated to him, he being
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immediately called (as the other apostles were) by Christ himself to
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the work. Every faithful minister of Christ (though his call and office
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are not of so extraordinary a nature) may, with our apostle, reflect on
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it as an honour and comfort to himself that he is what he is <I>by the
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will of God.</I>
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2. The persons to whom this epistle is sent: <I>To the saints who are
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at Ephesus,</I> that is, to the Christians who were members of the
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church at Ephesus, the metropolis of Asia. He calls them saints, for
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such they were in profession, such they were bound to be in truth and
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reality, and many of them were such. All Christians must be saints;
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and, if they come not under that character on earth, they will never be
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saints in glory. He calls them <I>the faithful in Christ Jesus,</I>
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believers in him, and firm and constant in their adherence to him and
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to his truths and ways. Those are not saints who are not faithful,
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believing in Christ, firmly adhering to him, and true to the profession
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they make of relation to their Lord. Note, It is the honour not only of
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ministers, but of private Christians too, to have obtained mercy of the
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Lord to be faithful.--<I>In Christ Jesus,</I> from whom they derive all
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their grace and spiritual strength, and in whom their persons, and all
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that they perform, are made accepted.
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3. The apostolical benediction: <I>Grace be to you,</I> &c. This is the
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token in every epistle; and it expresses the apostle's good-will to his
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friends, and a real desire of their welfare. By <I>grace</I> we are to
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understand the free and undeserved love and favour of God, and those
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graces of the Spirit which proceed from it; by <I>peace</I> all other
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blessings, spiritual and temporal, the fruits and product of the
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former. No peace without grace. No peace, nor grace, but <I>from God
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the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.</I> These peculiar
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blessings proceed from God, not as a Creator, but as a Father by
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special relation: and they come from our Lord Jesus Christ, who, having
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purchased them for his people, has a right to bestow them upon them.
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Indeed the saints, and the faithful in Christ Jesus, had already
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received grace and peace; but the increase of these is very desirable,
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and the best saints stand in need of fresh supplies of the graces of
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the Spirit, and cannot but desire to improve and grow: and therefore
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they should pray, each one for himself and all for one another, that
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such blessings may still abound unto them.</P>
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<P>
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After this short introduction he comes to the matter and body of the
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epistle; and, though it may seem somewhat peculiar in a letter, yet the
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Spirit of God saw fit that his discourse of divine things in this
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chapter should be cast into prayers and praises, which, as they are
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solemn addresses to God, so they convey weighty instructions to others.
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Prayer may preach; and praise may do so too.</P>
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<A NAME="Eph1_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eph1_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Praise for Spiritual Blessings.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 61.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>3 Blessed <I>be</I> the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
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hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly <I>places</I>
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in Christ:
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4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
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of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him
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in love:
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5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by
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Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his
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will,
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6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
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us accepted in the beloved.
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7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
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of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
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8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and
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prudence;
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9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according
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to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
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10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might
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gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
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heaven, and which are on earth; <I>even</I> in him:
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11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
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predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all
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things after the counsel of his own will:
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12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first
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trusted in Christ.
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13 In whom ye also <I>trusted,</I> after that ye heard the word of
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truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye
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believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
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14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
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of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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He begins with thanksgivings and praise, and enlarges with a great deal
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of fluency and copiousness of affection upon the exceedingly great and
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precious benefits which we enjoy by Jesus Christ. For the great
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privileges of our religion are very aptly recounted and enlarged upon
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in our praises to God.</P>
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<P>
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I. In general he blesses God for <I>spiritual blessings,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>,
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where he styles him <I>the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;</I>
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for, as Mediator, the Father was his God; as God, and the second person
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in the blessed Trinity, God was his Father. It bespeaks the mystical
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union between Christ and believers, that the God and Father of our Lord
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Jesus Christ is their God and Father, and that in and through him. All
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blessings come from God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. No good
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can be expected from a righteous and holy God to sinful creatures, but
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by his mediation. <I>He hath blessed us with all spiritual
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blessings.</I> Note, Spiritual blessings are the best blessings with
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which God blesses us, and for which we are to bless him. He blesses us
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by bestowing such things upon us as make us really blessed. We cannot
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thus bless God again; but must do it by praising, and magnifying, and
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speaking well of him on that account. Those whom God blesses with some
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he blesses with all spiritual blessings; to whom he gives Christ, he
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freely gives all these things. It is not so with temporal blessings;
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some are favoured with health, and not with riches; some with riches,
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and not with health, &c. But, where God blesses with spiritual
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blessings, he blesses with all. They are <I>spiritual blessings in
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heavenly places;</I> that is, say some, in the church, distinguished
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from the world, and called out of it. Or it may be read, <I>in heavenly
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things,</I> such as come from heaven, and are designed to prepare men
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for it, and to secure their reception into it. We should hence learn to
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mind spiritual and heavenly things as the principal things, spiritual
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and heavenly blessings as the best blessings, with which we cannot be
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miserable and without which we cannot but be so. <I>Set not your
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affections on things on the earth, but on those things which are
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above.</I> These we are blessed with in Christ; for, as all our
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services ascend to God through Christ, so all our blessings are
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conveyed to us in the same way, he being the Mediator between God and
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us.</P>
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<P>
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II. The particular spiritual blessings with which we are blessed in
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Christ, and for which we ought to bless God, are (many of them) here
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enumerated and enlarged upon.
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1. Election and predestination, which are the secret springs whence the
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others flow,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:4,5,11"><I>v.</I> 4, 5, 11</A>.
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<I>Election,</I> or choice, respects that lump or mass of mankind out
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of which some are chosen, from which they are separated and
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distinguished. Predestination has respect to the blessings they are
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designed for; particularly <I>the adoption of children,</I> it being
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the purpose of God that in due time we should become his adopted
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children, and so have a right to all the privileges and to the
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inheritance of children. We have here the date of this act of love: it
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was <I>before the foundation of the world;</I> not only before God's
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people had a being, but before the world had a beginning; for they were
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chosen in the counsel of God from all eternity. It magnifies these
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blessings to a high degree that they are the products of eternal
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counsel. The alms which you give to beggars at your doors proceed from
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a sudden resolve; but the provision which a parent makes for his
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children is the result of many thoughts, and is put into his last will
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and testament with a great deal of solemnity. And, as this magnifies
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divine love, so it secures the blessings to God's elect; for <I>the
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purpose of God according to election shall stand.</I> He acts in
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pursuance of his eternal purpose in bestowing spiritual blessings upon
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his people. <I>He hath blessed us</I>--<I>according as he hath chosen us
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in him,</I> in Christ the great head of the election, who is
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emphatically called <I>God's elect, his chosen;</I> and in the chosen
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Redeemer an eye of favour was cast upon them. Observe here one great
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end and design of this choice: <I>chosen--that we should be holy;</I>
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not because he foresaw they would be holy, but because he determined to
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make them so. All who are chosen to happiness as the end are chosen to
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holiness as the means. Their sanctification, as well as their
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salvation, is the result of the counsels of divine love.--<I>And without
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blame before him</I>--that their holiness might not be merely external
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and in outward appearance, so as to prevent blame from men, but
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internal and real, and what God himself, who <I>looketh at the
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heart,</I> will account such, such holiness as proceeds from love to
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God and to our fellow-creatures, this charity being the principle of
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all true holiness. The original word signifies such an innocence as no
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man can carp at; and therefore some understand it of that perfect
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holiness which the saints shall attain in the life to come, which will
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be eminently before God, they being in his immediate presence for ever.
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Here is also the rule and the fontal cause of God's election: it is
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<I>according to the good pleasure of his will</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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not for the sake of any thing in them foreseen, but because it was his
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sovereign will, and a thing highly pleasing to him. It is <I>according
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to the purpose,</I> the fixed and unalterable will, <I>of him who
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worketh all things after the counsel of his own will</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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who powerfully accomplishes whatever concerns his elect, as he has
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wisely and freely fore-ordained and decreed, the last and great end and
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design of all which is his own glory: <I>To the praise of the glory of
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his grace
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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that we should be to the praise of his glory</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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that is, that we should live and behave ourselves in such a manner that
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his rich grace might be magnified, and appear glorious, and worthy of
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the highest praise. <I>All is of God, and from him, and through
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him,</I> and therefore all must be to him, and centre in his praise.
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Note, The glory of God is his own end, and it should be ours in all
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that we do. This passage has been understood by some in a very
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different sense, and with a special reference to the conversion of
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these Ephesians to Christianity. Those who have a mind to see what is
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said to this purpose may consult Mr. Locke, and other well-known
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writers, on the place.
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2. The next spiritual blessing the apostle takes notice of is
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acceptance with God through Jesus Christ: <I>Wherein,</I> or by which
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grace, <I>he hath made us accepted in the beloved,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Jesus Christ is the beloved of his Father
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:17">Matt. iii. 17</A>),
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as well as of angels and saints. It is our great privilege to be
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accepted of God, which implies his love to us and his taking us under
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his care and into his family. We cannot be thus accepted of God, but in
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and through Jesus Christ. He loves his people for the sake of the
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beloved.
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3. Remission of sins, and redemption through the blood of Jesus,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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No remission without redemption. It was by reason of sin that we were
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captivated, and we cannot be released from our captivity but by the
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remission of our sins. This redemption we have in Christ, and this
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remission through his blood. The guilt and the stain of sin could be no
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otherwise removed than by the blood of Jesus. All our spiritual
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blessings flow down to us in that stream. This great benefit, which
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comes freely to us, was dearly bought and paid for by our blessed Lord;
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and yet it is according to the riches of God's grace. Christ's
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satisfaction and God's rich grace are very consistent in the great
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affair of man's redemption. God was satisfied by Christ as our
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substitute and surety; but it was rich grace that would accept of a
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surety, when he might have executed the severity of the law upon the
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transgressor, and it was rich grace to provide such a surety as his own
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Son, and freely to deliver him up, when nothing of that nature could
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have entered into our thoughts, nor have been any otherwise found out
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for us. In this instance he has not only manifested riches of grace,
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but <I>has abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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wisdom in contriving the dispensation, and prudence in executing the
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counsel of his will, as he has done. How illustrious have the divine
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wisdom and prudence rendered themselves, in so happily adjusting the
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matter between justice and mercy in this grand affair, in securing the
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honour of God and his law, at the same time that the recovery of
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sinners and their salvation are ascertained and made sure!
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4. Another privilege which the apostle here blesses God for is divine
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revelation--that God hath <I>made known to us the mystery of his
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will</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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that is, so much of his good-will to men, which had been concealed for
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a long time, and is still concealed from so great a part of the world:
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this we owe to Christ, who, having lain in the bosom of the Father from
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eternity, came to declare his will to the children of men. <I>According
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to his good pleasure,</I> his secret counsels concerning man's
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redemption, <I>which he had purposed,</I> or resolved upon, merely in
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and from himself, and not for any thing in them. In this revelation,
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and in his <I>making known unto us the mystery of his will,</I> the
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wisdom and the prudence of God do abundantly shine forth. It is
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described
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>)
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<I>as the word of truth, and the gospel of our salvation.</I> Every
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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>
|
|
|
|
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. D.</FONT> 61.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>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.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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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