THE EXPOSITION
THE SALUTATION (1: 1, 2)
In recent years there have been many discoveries in the lands of the Bible which have confirmed or illustrated the Word of God. From the rubbish heaps of Egypt papyri have been unearthed with writing on all kinds of subjects—personal letters, contracts, receipts, wills, petitions—preserved in the dry soil in a way impossible in damp climates. The letters contemporary with those of the New Testament show that Paul wrote in the ordinary style of the period. The introduction of a letter consisted of the writer's name and titles, followed by prayers for those addressed. But while Paul uses the language, he uses it sincerely and charges it with a fuller meaning.
As a result of the safer conditions established by the Roman government throughout the civilized world, travel was easy and people moved from place to place for business or pleasure. With travel comes the need for correspondence. Certain forms in the arrangement of letters would become general, just as today there are fixed conventional modes of address and for the concluding words. The New Testament writers used the mode current. Thus we have first of all the writer's salutation.
Paul describes himself as an apostle by the will of God: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God". This simple statement of fact is amplified in the letter to the Galatians, where, in the face of denial, he is defending his apostleship. In the first verse he says: "Paul, an apostle (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised him from the dead)", and in the fifteenth verse of the first chapter, "But when it pleased God, who separated me, even from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood . . . but I went away into Arabia". Paul says that from his birth there had been a divine over-ruling of his life, preparing and fitting him for the work he had to do in the service of God. Let us try to see how he was fitted for his work.
It is well known that at no time in its history was the world as prepared for the proclamation of the gospel as it was in the first century A.D. It was "the fulness of the time ", and the preparation was threefold. There was first a religious preparation, connected with the nation of Israel. For centuries the majority of the nation had lived outside the land of Palestine; and they were now scattered throughout the world. Pilgrimages were made to Palestine for the feasts, and thus it was that at Pentecost "Parthians and Medes, and Elamites, the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome" were gathered together in Jerusalem when the apostles—following the outpouring of the Spirit—began their ministry. Wherever numbers were settled synagogues were built, and they assembled every sabbath day for worship and to hear the Scriptures read. They were active in seeking to make proselytes, and many who did not become members were attracted to their teaching, which, in its lofty moral tone, contrasted with all other religions. As a result, a knowledge of the Old Testament became widespread. And thus it was that when the preachers of the gospel went out to the world, they were able to go to the synagogues where an audience was already assembled, and proclaim the glad tidings " to the Jew first".
There was, secondly, the preparation of a language, and this was connected with the Greek nation. Up to the time of Philip, the father of Alexander, Greece consisted of city states, each with a dialect of its own, in some cases not intelligible to an adjacent state. Philip brought all under one rule. Alexander recruited his army from all the cities of Greece, and this caused a fusion of the dialects and the formation-of a common speech. The conquests of Alexander were rapidly extended as far as India, and Greek usages and the knowledge of the Greek tongue were spread far and wide. Not only where Alexander had established Greek rule, but everywhere from Rome in the west to Persia in the east in the first century men and women spoke Greek, or understood Greek as well as their native tongue. Over two centuries before Christ was born a Greek translation of the Old Testament had been made in Egypt, and was widely used among the Jews of the Dispersion. The New Testament was written in this universal language of the time, even the letter to the Romans at the Metropolis of the empire being penned in Greek. Wherever the preachers went in the civilized world there was no barrier of language to be overcome.
Lastly there was a political preparation connected with Rome. The Cassars put an end to internecine strife, the statesmanship of Augustus establishing order throughout the Roman dominion. Brigandage and piracy were suppressed; good roads were made. "Free communication between different parts of the world was made possible by the new roads, the new postal system, and the complete suppression of war by land and by sea. "No passport problems hindered the free movement of the messengers of the gospel.
Here were the external conditions in the world, all ready for the preacher. The man who carried the message must have a preparation; and in Paul all the conditions met. He was a Jew, and while a member of the Dispersion could yet speak of himself as "a Hebrew of the Hebrews". Brought up in a city where Greek influence prevailed, he had a wider outlook than a Palestinian Jew, and from his earliest days he would express himself in Greek. He was also a free-born Roman citizen. His qualifications are brought together in his own words when he told the Roman officer who arrested him in Jerusalem, "I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city"; "I am a Roman born " (Acts 21 : 39 ; 22 : 28).
How little Paul thought during his boyhood days, as the three threads of his life were woven together in the texture of his mind, that he was being prepared for a work altogether different from the plans his father made! He was thoroughly grounded in the Jewish religion, and was trained at the feet of one of their greatest teachers to be a Rabbi. But at God's appointed time the "chosen vessel" was arrested in his mad course of persecution, and he found that he was really fighting against God while zealously trying to serve Him. The shame of that discovery never left him. "Last of all Christ was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time", he wrote to the Corinthians, and he added: "for I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the ecclesia of God" (1 Cor. 15 : 8, 9). But when the new course of his life was mapped out he could see that the hand of God, all unseen, had been directing his life, preparing him as an instrument for the new work of preaching the gospel throughout the world.
How unsuitable in comparison with Paul were the other apostles: Palestinian Jews, nearly all Galileans, without experience of the wider world, their native tongue the dialect of Palestine, none of them citizens of the empire—how much more difficult for them to be ambassadors to the Gentiles! But they perceived the grace of God given to Paul, and recognized that God had appointed to them different spheres of labour, and they agreed that Paul "should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision" (Gal. 2:9). As we see how clearly "the will of God" was operative in the separation of Paul from childhood, and as we think how unique his work was, and how necessary it was that a special instrument should be prepared for that work, we may conclude—since our lives are spent in everyday circumstances and our work has not that distinctiveness that Paul's had—that the will of God is not exercised in our cases. But this is not so. Paul says the adoption as sons in Christ Jesus is "according to the good pleasure of his will" (Eph. 1:5); and far back in the past God had His plan for those sons: "God hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (verse 4).
The Ephesian disciples are described as "the saints" and "the faithful in Christ Jesus" (verse 1). The word saint means "holy" and has to do with something set apart for God. It is altogether misused in Christendom in the application to New Testament writers, to canonized individuals, and to the imaginary souls of the dead. Israel as a nation was a "holy people", but this described their standing in God's sight, and not their ways. Yet, as Trench remarks concerning the word, "The fundamental idea . . . is separation, and so to speak, consecration and devotion to God . . . But the thought lies very near, that what is set apart from the world and to God, should separate itself from the world's defilements, and should share in God's purity; and in this way 'holy' speedily acquires a moral significance". Or in the words of another writer: "Though it does not assert moral qualifications as a fact in the persons so designated, it implies them as a duty". The sons and daughters of God, addressed as "saints", are thereby reminded of their high and honourable calling, and are exhorted to live "as becometh saints".
The word "faithful" provides a similar lesson. It hovers between two meanings: it describes not only those who have faith, but those who show fidelity. Such rely upon another, and are themselves to be relied upon: they are "trustful and trusty".
Paul extends to the Ephesians the best of good wishes: "Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ" (verse 2). "Grace" as used by Paul acquires a fulness of meaning not originally connected with it. Primarily something which gives joy, it indicates progressively that gracious attitude which produces joy; then a thing given—a favour; and the thanks for the favour as, for example, saying "grace" before partaking of food.
In the gospels where some form of the word occurs, we find it translated by "favour " (Luke 1 : 28, 30 ; 2 : 52), and "thanks" (Luke 6 : 32, 33, 34), as well as "grace" (Luke 2 : 40 ; 4 : 22). The word occurs four times in the first chapter of John (verses 14, 16, 77) in a very instructive connection. There was grace manifested in the law, but for this grace of the law another grace had been given, "grace for grace". The grace of the law was typical of that to come; in Jesus is manifested grace and truth—the true, real grace, in fulness; and of this the believer partakes.
From these verses we see that in its fuller meaning grace is the mercy of God in Jesus Christ for man's salvation. To a Jew the circle of privilege was limited to his own nation; and to him in particular the extension of salvation to the Gentiles was an act of "grace". Frequently the word is used in connection with the reception of the gospel by the Gentiles. At Antioch, when the word was preached to the Greeks, a great number believed and turned to the Lord. Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch, and "when he had seen the grace of God, was glad" (Acts 11: 23). At the council at Jerusalem Peter recounted his commission to go to Cornelius, and concluded by saying that Jew and Gentile would be saved "through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" (15: 11). It was through the grace of God that Paul was called to preach among the Gentiles (Gal. 1: 15). According to the grace given unto him, as a wise master-builder he laid the foundation in faithfully preaching the word about Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3: 10). In the recognition of the grace of God manifested towards himself, Paul found his greatest incentive to continuous, earnest labour for Christ (1 Cor. 15: 10). He gives thanks "for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus" (1:14), describing the matter further as a call to "the fellowship of Christ" (verse 9). After pointing out that Jesus "who knew no sin, God made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5: 21), he exhorts them to "receive not the grace of God in vain" (6: 1). It has been said that the idea in the word is "all that might be supposed to be expressed in the smile of a heavenly king looking down upon his people. It includes the coming down of the Most High with help to the helpless". In the words of Paul to Titus: "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly, in this present world" (2: 11). When the apostle would sum up all blessing he writes, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all".
With grace he conjoins "peace ". This word was used by the Jews in salutation as they met each other, and to them was "the most comprehensive term of well-being ". But it was often formal: peace was on their lips when not in their hearts. Jesus said, "My peace give I unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you”. The two terms together express a fulness of blessing impossible apart from the gospel of reconciliation. We may read them, and pass on. But since they have been written for us, if we are in a like position to the Ephesians, we may profitably stay awhile to think about and try to appreciate this invocation of "grace and peace". They stand for the highest good that can be enjoyed in this mortal life, for they come from "God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ".
PRAISE FOR GOD'S PURPOSE (1: 1-14)
It would be difficult to find anywhere else so many ideas compressed into the same number of verses as are to be found in the long sentence of twelve verses which follows the salutation of this epistle. They do not readily lend themselves to analysis: indeed, they have been likened to the "preliminary flight of the eagle, rising and wheeling round; as though for a while uncertain what direction in his boundless freedom he shall take". As the ideas circle round and return to their starting point, so certain phrases recur. God has blessed, foreordained, forgiven, and enlightened, "according as he has chosen us" (verse 4), "according to the good pleasure of his will" (verse 5), "according to the riches of his grace" (verse 7), "according to his good pleasure" (verse 9) "according to his purpose" (verse 11). The words "his will" occur three times; "the praise of his glory" three times; "in Christ" or its equivalent eleven times. All these repeated expressions define for us the subject of this section, and show how exalted is the theme we have to consider.
"Blessed be God . . . who hath blessed us", the apostle begins. In one other epistle only does Paul so begin. And the stress of emotion shown there may guide us to the thought that a similar feeling animated the apostle here. When he wrote his second letter to Corinth he had been through a very distressing period. Titus had been sent to Corinth to try to bring order out of the confusion prevailing there. Paul himself was compelled to leave Ephesus, and went to Troas to wait for Titus. Although a door was opened to him in this place he had no rest, but went over into Macedonia to meet Titus. He describes his experiences in Macedonia in the words: "Without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not by his coming only, but also by the comfort wherewith he was comforted in you, while he told us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced yet more " (2 Cor. 7: 5-7). It was with these feelings of relief and appreciation of the goodness of God that, at the opening of the letter, he breaks out: "Blessed be God . . . the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God." For five verses he dwells on this comfort which had come to him, for which he thanks God. So, when writing to the Ephesians, with his mind full of the greatness and wonder of the purpose of God, he opens with "Blessed be God".
How can we "bless" God? We cannot bless Him in the way that He has blessed us. We cannot give to Him as He has given to us. Even if we give to Him all that we have, we should still have to say, in the words of David, "all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee ". We can, however, give praise and thanks and show our appreciation of God's blessing—these are ours to give. "Our wills are ours . . . Our wills are ours, to make them Thine."
By the very fact of man's having received a will, and thus being able to choose, salvation is co-operative. It would be altogether impossible apart from what God has done, but man must receive the gift. There is no coercion with God. "They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, even Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:17). Christ is the great example: " Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God " (Heb. 10: 7). His will was to do his Father's will. In an appreciation that expresses itself in such co-operation, we give to God the blessing which alone is in our power to give Him.
God is described as "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". The difficulty felt by the Trinitarian in God's being called the God of Jesus does not exist for those who know the Truth. But we might note that in this description the channel of God's blessing is indicated: the purpose of grace and mercy is accomplished in His approach to man in His Son. God's blessing is defined as "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (verse 3). Under the law the blessing for faithfulness to it consisted of material prosperity, "in basket and store", "in fruit of the ground, increase of cattle and sheep" (Deut. 28: 4, 5 ; 7:13, 14), "and in all the work of thine hand which thou doest" (14: 29). The blessings contemplated by the apostle are not of this order: spiritual blessings are those which belong to the man who is reconciled to God, and are on another plane to the material. They may not be seen like temporal things, but they have to do with eternal realities. The nature of these blessings js unfolded at length in the verses following.
But what is the meaning of the heavenly places where these blessings are enjoyed? This precise phrase occurs five times in this epistle, and nowhere else. Literally "in the heavenlies"—a noun having to be supplied, whether "places", "things" or "sphere". As the passages are reviewed, the meaning comes out.
1: 20. God raised Jesus from the dead, and "set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion". The status of Jesus Christ is higher than all other rulers.
2: 6. "God hath raised us up together (with him), and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. In Christ the believer shares with him the exaltation expressed in 1: 20.
3: 10. Paul's ministry was "to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the ecclesia the manifold wisdom of God”. Here human rulers are before us, occupying "heavenlies" in human governments. To them, by the Ecclesia, was made known God's purpose, as e.g., Acts 13:7; 24 : 10 ; 25 : 26.
6:11, 12. "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places R.V.).". The devil in the case who exercised his wiles to seduce the brethren from their steadfastness consisted of the civil and religious rulers of the world, pagan in Paul's days, but in later ages professors of the name Christ. The "heavenlies" in this case, like the last reference, are those pertaining to human societies.
In Eureka brother Thomas several times comments on these passages, and brings out the meaning with his customary lucidity. The following are short extracts, with page references for those who wish to follow up the matter.
“The phrase 'in the heaven' is apocalyptically equivalent here to 'in the heavenlies in Christ' (Eph. 1:3). Paul tells the saints in Ephesus, that he, with them, was 'blessed with all spiritual blessings' in these heavenlies; in which they and Christ, though the latter is at the right hand of the Divine Majesty, and they in Ephesus and elsewhere, were regarded as sitting together (Eph, 1 : 20 ; 2:6). A heavenly is a constituted supernal status. It may be divinely constituted, or constituted by human authority. We have these two kinds of heavenlies in Paul's letter to the saints in Ephesus. In 6: 12 he alludes to the heavenlies constituted by human authority. The Common Version styles them 'High Places', but Paul used the same word to indicate them as that rendered 'heavenly places' in 1 : 3, 20 ; 2:6...”
"It is, however, to be remembered that Paul so expresses himself as not to be misunderstood by the enlightened. He defines the heavenlies in which they 'sit together with Christ' as being 'in Christ', but he omits the phrase 'in Christ' when he speaks of the heavenlies in which 'the spirituals of wickedness' are found. Hence the two kinds of supernal status are characterized by being 'in Christ', or outside; which is equivalent to being out of Christ—outside or not included in the things of which the manifestation of God in the flesh is the great and glorious centre.
"'Now the two places of the Mosaic tabernacle were the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, which were separated by the Vail. Even so it is with 'the holies, the true tabernacle which the Lord pitches, and not man' (Heb. 8: 2)-There are the Holy Heavenly State and the Most Holy Heavenly State divided by the Flesh. The Holy must be entered before the Most Holy can be reached;”
"How, then, does a sinner come to 'dwell in the heaven'? By being 'transformed in the renewing of his mind 'by knowledge' ("Rom. 12: 2) that he may discern and do 'that good and acceptable and perfect will of the Deity'. In other words, by believing the gospel of the Kingdom and the Name”
* In the 1953 edition, Vol. 3a, pages 250-253 ; cf. 3b, 80-81, 209 ; 1, 122 ; 11b, 14
“God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings 'according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him in love” (verse 4). To be chosen is to be elected, or, to use a word more free from doctrinal bias, selected. The doctrine of election has been so perverted that it is well to see what the Bible says about it. We notice first that Israel was a chosen people (Deut. 7:6; 14: 2; Jer. 33:24) for their fathers' sakes (Deut. 4: 37). But not every individual of the nation was acceptable to God. As Paul says, "Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded". This election was illustrated in Elijah's day by the seven thousand men who had not bowed die knee to Baal. It consisted of those who gave ear to the message of God's prophets, who "heard for the time to come" (Isa. 42: 23). The remnant is compared to the new wine in the cluster of grapes, for the sake of which the bunch was not destroyed, and from which a blessing would come. The individuals thus represented are "God's servants," "a seed out of Jacob", "the inheritors of my mountains", "my elect" or "my chosen" (R.V.) (Isa. 65: 9). The class who respond to God's word are addressed by Him as "Israel my servant; Jacob, whom I have chosen; the seed of Abraham, my friend" (Isa. 41: 8 ; 44 : 1, 2; 45: 4).
The term "chosen" or "elect" is used of God's people of this dispensation. The days of Jerusalem's overthrow were shortened for the elect's sake, whom God chose (Mark 13: 20). To the apostles Christ said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should abide . . . Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15: 16, 19). It might be expected that God's care for His people and His readiness "to avenge his elect" would cause them to hold fast to their faith, yet Christ sadly adds, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth ?" (Luke 18: 7, 8). The "chosen" consist for the most part of the foolish things, the weak things, of the world; the poor of this world, but who are rich in faith (1 Cor. 1 : 27; Jas. 2 : 5).
The chief one of God's chosen was rejected of men; but as Isaiah had predicted, he was the "chosen of God, and precious”. And God's elect follow this divine estimate of Jesus—"with God's elect he is precious". Such are themselves living stones in preparation for God's building, and fulfil in themselves the words first spoken to national Israel, "ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2: 3-9).
The present reception of the Truth does not of itself ensure being included in the final choice. All Israel did not "follow after righteousness". By "these things"—diligence, faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, love—"make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things ye shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1: 5-11).
When, in Paul's ministry, there was a transfer of the offer of salvation from Jew to Gentile, had it to be inferred that there had been failure on God's part? Or had He changed His plans? Many Jews would wonder if this were so. The answer is, No. In this dispensation God is working out a plan which was in His mind from the beginning. The "choice" of the Ephesians was not through an adjustment of the plan, for they were "chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world". The whole race of men and women would supply from Jew and Gentile the number God required. History is not chance; blind forces are not the guides of human affairs. If this exercise of choice on God's part, this direction of history, seems to raise again the old problem of human freewill and determinism, we must recognize that the problem has its solution in the infinite mind of God. We must notice for ourselves the practical fact that the choice has for its object "that we should be holy and blameless before him in love", by which is indicated human endeavour to conform to what is pleasing to God. The two sides of the matter are constantly before us in the Scriptures, the divine side being nowhere more insisted upon than in these verses in Ephesians.
Continuing his enumeration of the spiritual blessings wherewith God had blessed us, Paul adds in verse 5, "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will". The word translated "predestinated" occurs in Acts 4: 28 (determined before); Rom. 8: 29, 30; 1 Cor. 2: 7 (ordained); Eph. 1: 5, 11; in all of which the R.V. gives us "foreordain". The first passage might be considered as an illustration of what is involved in predestination. It has the advantage of being a description of something foreordained which has become history. It occurs in the united prayer of the company of disciples after the release of Peter and John. They recall the predicted opposition to the Messiah in the second Psalm, and also its incipient fulfilment in the crucifixion of Jesus. "For of a truth in this city against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass". Here were a number of individuals all working together, yet without collusion, in the accomplishment of what God had foreordained should come to pass in connection with His Servant. As Peter told the Jews, "Jesus, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands (the Romans) have crucified and slain" (Acts 2: 23). From these passages we see that the death of Jesus was determined and foreordained by God. But the carrying out of God's counsel did not set aside human volition, nor absolve the actors from responsibility. Herod and Pilate and the Jewish rulers were animated by very different motives, but they all acted according to their own choice. Herod, we are told, hoped to see some miracle done by Jesus, such as he had heard about, and he doubtless questioned Jesus with the object of attaining his desire. When Jesus made no answer, Herod mocked and derided him. Pilate considered that he had power to release Jesus, and indeed seemed disposed to do so, until he was intimidated by the threat that he was not Caesar's friend if he let Jesus go free. Whereupon he yielded to the clamour of the crowd, condemning Jesus contrary to his own expressed judgment of the innocence of the prisoner.
Israel's rulers were actuated by envy, as even Pilate discerned, while the crowd was swayed by the rulers. In the midst of these men we see the prisoner; he alone was calm; he alone knew what the issue would be. And that issue was his choice. At his disposal for the asking were twelve legions of angels; but if he used them for his deliverance, "How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" (Matt. 26: 54). How very human are the actions of the opponents of Jesus! All of them are quite unconscious that they are fulfilling a plan of God which was unfolded in the Scriptures, a plan well understood and endorsed by the prisoner, but of which the rulers, who were the custodians of the Oracles of God, were quite ignorant. Israel accepted the responsibility for the murder. "His blood be upon us and upon our children." Wrath to the uttermost fell upon them a generation later. From this consideration of the case of Jesus we see that human choice with the responsibility which it involves is not incompatible with divine foreordination or predestination. When God foreordained the believers to the adoption of sons, action on their part is by no means excluded. In fact, it is because of a decision on their part that they are recognized by God as His children.
The idea of adoption is an interesting one. It was unknown among the Jews, the perpetuation of the family being secured by the "levirate" law (Deut. 25: 5). The problem that the Sadducees put to Jesus in opposition to the doctrines of the resurrection was based upon this law (Matt. 22: 23). Sir Wm. M. Ramsay says that in the first century there were two forms of adoption—Roman and Greek. Similar in origin, they had diverged somewhat in development. The aim was to supply a son to prevent the extinction of the family and adoption originally carried with it heirship to the property. The Greek form preserved this, but among the Romans, heirship could be separated from sonship. But the broad principle supplies the illustration. "Any one made a son by adoption severed all his former ties. Even his debts appear to have been cancelled. 'The adopted person became in the eyes of the law a new creature. He was born again into a new family. By the aid of this figure, the Gentile convert was enabled to realize in a vivid manner the fatherhood of God, brotherhood of the faithful, the obliteration of past penalties, the right to the inheritance".
The figure teaches us that all men are not sons of God. It is necessary to be adopted into God's family. But the popular view today is that all by birth are children of God. There is a national adoption as well as an individual one. Israel was God's nation-son (Exod. 4: 22). Theirs is the adoption, as Paul says (Rom. 9:4). Adoption as the child of God also had both a present and a future aspect. The adopted children now are able to cry, Abba, Father (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5), while they are endeavouring to prepare themselves for "the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body", which will take place at the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. 8: 23). The aim God has in view in this adoption is "the praise of the glory of his grace" (verse 6). There is a glory pertaining to God's grace as there is to God Himself. When Moses requested that God would show to him His glory, God answered, "I will make all my goodness to pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious". "And Yahweh passed before him, and proclaimed, Yahweh, Yahweh Ail, merciful and gracious . . . forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" (Exod. 33: 18 ; 34: 6). Here is God's glory—the exercise of grace in the forgiveness of sins. The earth will be filled with His glory, when, through the operation of God's mercy, the sons of redemption attain to the final triumph, and praise will redound to God.
The grace is given through Christ: "His grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved". Greater definiteness is given to the word Beloved by the use of the capital in the R.V.: it becomes a title of the Messiah. As we follow up this suggestion we observe that the title is also used by Matthew in a quotation which he makes from Isaiah. The prophet's words are, "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles" (Isa. 42: 1). Matthew renders them, "Behold my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased" etc. (12: 18). As Matthew was guided by the spirit of truth into all truth (John 16: 13), we have here an inspired translation of the prophets' words. From it we learn that "my Beloved" is synonymous with "my Elect", and both are Messianic titles. This passage in Isaiah has also a connection with the announcement which God made at the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1: 11). Weymouth translates this as follows: "Thou art my Son, the Beloved: in thee is my delight", and adds the references Psa. 2:7; Isa. 42: 1. Others might be quoted in support of Weymouth's rendering. God's message to Jesus consists of two extracts from Old Testament predictions concerning the Messiah, and in the portion from Isaiah the same change from "my Chosen" to "my Beloved" is made as in Matthew's quotation just considered. Thus: Psa. 2:7: "Thou art my son"; Isa. 42: 1: "my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth" Does not this title of Beloved which is given to the Lord Jesus in these places in the New Testament throw light on those predictions in the Old Testament which speak of Israel in the age to come serving David their king? David means beloved. Five times we find the future king of Israel thus named. "They shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them" (Jer. 30: 9). This David is the Governor (verse 21), of whom God says, "I will cause him to draw near". As this denotes priesthood, the Governor, like Melchizedec, is both king and priest. It can only have reference to him of whom Zechariah speaks: "Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of Yahweh; even he shall build the temple of Yahweh; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both " (6: 12, 13). So also in Ezek. 37: 24, 25: "And David my servant shall be king over them: and they shall all have one shepherd; . . . and David my servant shall be their prince for ever". The One Shepherd whose rule is everlasting is the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep and then took it again (John 10: 11-18). The other references are Ezek. 34: 23 and Hosea 3: 5. The context precludes the idea that a mortal king called David will fulfil these predictions, as some have contended. But the meaning of the name David links up with the New Testament allusions to Jesus as The Beloved.
Returning to Ephesians: in verse 7, Paul continues: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." A note to this verse in the fourth edition of Weymouth's New Testament in Modern Speech says: "The Greek word, like its Latin equivalent 'redemption', signifies by derivation the buying off by payment of a ransom. But as the dominant O.T. usage of the noun and its cognate verb is in reference to the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, where there was no question of a ransom, it may be questioned whether, here and elsewhere in the N T. (where the word occurs ten times) the thought is not simply of emancipation, without reference to the means". While it is true that the Old Testament illustration of redemption is to be found in Israel's deliverance from Egypt, we must not reduce the meaning of the word to emancipation simply. Even Israel's deliverance was preceded by the offering of the Passover lamb, and the types of the Old Testament must be taken as a whole to form a complete picture. In one passage only is it certain that the meaning is deliverance without the thought of ransom; namely, Heb. 11: 35. In most of the others there is some expression in the context which shows that the primary meaning of the word must be kept in mind. In the present passage we have "redemption through his blood"; in Heb. 9: 15, Christ is the mediator of the new covenant "that by means of death, for the redemption of transgressions under the first covenant", etc.
"Redemption", says brother Thomas, "is release for a ransom"; and with this agrees the definition of Grimm-Thayer's Lexicon: "a releasing effected by payment of ransom; redemption, deliverance, liberation procured by the payment of a ransom". A closely related idea to ransom is that of purchase, involving the payment of a price. "Ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6: 19, 20). "He that was called in the Lord, being a bondservant, is the Lord's freedman: likewise he that was called, being free, is Christ's bondservant. Ye were bought with a price: become not bondservants of men" (7: 22, 23). "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us (didst purchase, R.V.) to God with thy blood" (Rev. 5:9). Peter foretold the rise of false teachers who would deny "the Lord that bought them" (2 Peter 2:1).
Redemption then is release effected by Christ, the present benefits being the forgiveness of sins (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1: 14; Rom. 3: 24; 1 Cor. 1: 30), the future results being a full release from sin and death (Heb. 9:15; Eph. 1: 14; 4: 30; Rom. 8: 23; Luke 21: 28). But while the word must not be emptied of its meaning, it must not be pressed to unwarranted lengths. It must not be forced into support of doctrines contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture. To interpret it in terms of a "commercial transaction" would logically involve that Christ would not be raised from the dead, and the remission of sins would be a matter of debt and not of grace. But the facts are just the opposite; Christ has been raised, and the forgiveness (it is still forgiveness) of sins is by grace. In the passage we are considering Paul practically defines "redemption through his blood" as "the forgiveness of sins". The key passage to the subject, in the writer's judgment, is Romans 3: 21-26.
The forgiveness of sins is "according to the riches of his grace". When we carefully reflect upon all that is involved in the forgiveness of sins we appreciate the appropriateness of the language used. For forgiveness carries with it an introduction to fellowship with God. There are conditions of forgiveness in human relationships. A father who passes by the wrongs done by a son as though nothing had happened, without the son turning his back upon his evil ways, demoralizes the son and dishonours and lowers his own standard of right. God requires repentance, change of mind, a resolute turning from the wrong on the part of the sinner; and besides and before this, He delivered up His own Son to a shameful and cruel death to provide a place of forgiveness. There is an "etiquette of Heaven" to be observed. God could not lightly pass by sin; His nature precluded it; but His grace is so rich that a way was found. The wonder of it grows as the knowledge of the word of God increases. God's grace also abounds "towards us in all wisdom and prudence" (verse 8), the R.V. removing the ambiguity of the A.V. and showing that it is not the wisdom and prudence of God of which Paul is thinking, but of that wisdom to which the saints attain through God's having made known the mystery of His will. A "mystery", in Biblical usage, is not something which cannot be understood, but something which is a secret. Generally the word is associated with some such term as "revelation". Here it is something which is "made known".
Attempts have been made in recent times to show that Paul borrowed from the mystery religions of the pagan world. But the word mystery was to hand in Jewish writings, being used in the Greek translation of the book of Daniel and in the Apocrypha. And there was one marked difference between the mystery of the gospel and the pagan mysteries. The latter were only for the initiated, and had not to be divulged. The former was proclaimed as widely as possible. In the proclamation of the gospel the apostles invited men to learn of the mystery, and to invite others also to share. This secret of God's will was made known, and His grace abounded unto forgiveness of sins "unto (with a view to) a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him" (verse 10). "Dispensation" translates a word which has given us the English word "economy". It means "the management of a household or family . . . also the public economy of states, administration, management, government" (Liddell and Scott). In the fullness of the times, or the Millennium, God will gather up under the headship of Christ "all things", whether rulers - “things in the heavens"; or the people—"the things upon the earth".
How is the present divine work performed with a view to this coming change? The answer is that God is at present preparing associate rulers for His son. God is visiting the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And the promise is given that those who overcome shall have authority over the nations, and shall sit down with Christ in his throne (Rev. 2: 26; 3:21). "All things" is a phrase quoted from (Psa. 8, where David, speaking of Christ, says "Thou hast put all things under his feet". In turn David's words are based upon Genesis. From this we learn that the divine purpose in creation will be accomplished when all things are subdued unto Christ. The eighth Psalm is the subject of exposition in Heb. 2, where Paul says that it is already partly accomplished in Christ's exaltation. And this is an assurance, although "we see not not yet all things put under him'', that at last all will be. A further reference in 1 Cor. 15: 24-28 explains that all things will be finally subdued unto Christ when death is abolished; "all things" in this place including even death itself; the only exception being God "who did put all things under him".
While in Ephesians the headship of Christ is considered in relation to human affairs, we may notice that the Lord Jesus has a supreme place in the Father's purpose. It is plainly stated in the letter to the Hebrews that in the day of Christ's return, the angels will surrender their present office of directing human affairs to Christ and "worship him". There are hints in other places also. Jesus has therefore a unique place in his relationship to the Father; "for unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee?"
It will have been noticed that in the Apostle's enumeration of the blessings of God he uses words which are to be found in the Old Testament in connection with Israel. Those things which pertained to Israel nationally, belong to the saints individually. Of such words as "election", "adoption", and "redemption", we have found the explanation and illustration in the teaching of the Old Testament. We meet another in the next verse we have to consider.
Preceding verses (3-10) Paul has been led on to speak of the consummation of God's purpose—the gathering of all things under the headship of Christ. He now turns back to the practical application of the plan of God in the present life of the believer. A difference between the translations of the A.V. and R.V. calls for comment. The A.V. reads, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance"; the R.V. "In whom also we were made a heritage". In the one case the saints receive an inheritance, in the other they themselves are the heritage. The word which occasions this diversity of translation only occurs in this verse. There are no other places to help us in determining its meaning. Grimm-Thayer's Lexicon thus defines the word: "1. to cast lots, determine by lot; 2, to choose by lot; .3, to allot, assign by lot; 4, once in the N.T., to make an heritage, private possession". The definitions of two cognate words are as follows: "1, to receive by lot; especially to receive part of an inheritance, receive as an inheritance, obtain by right an inheritance ; 2, to receive the portion assigned to one, receive an allotted portion . . . very frequently in O.T. of the occupation of the land of Canaan by Israelites, as Lev. 20 : 24 ; Deut. 4 : 22, 26 ; 6:1, etc."; "1, an inheritance, property received by inheritance ; 2, what is given to one as a possession. O.T. usage . . . of the portion of the Holy Land allotted to each of the several tribes (Joshua 13: 23, 28), and of the whole territory given to Israel for a possession." The idea in these words is an inheritance divided by lot. This was the method employed when Canaan was divided among the conquering tribes of Israel. "Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes" (Joshua 11: 23). This was done at Shiloh, after Joshua had sent out men to survey the land. "Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the Lord in Shiloh . . . And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Yahweh: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions" (18: 8-10). In reviewing the history of his nation, Paul says, "And when God had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided to them their land by lot" (Acts 13: 19).
The land which Israel received was God's land preeminently. Their entry into it was the token of God's blessing, and their inheritance of it under the law indicated their exclusive national relationship to God. Their privilege to worship, and the arrangements for their worship of God, taught them that their supreme inheritance was God Himself. God was "the Holy One of Israel". This is evident from many passages of Scripture. But we must first observe that the method of dividing the land among the tribes was also employed in determining individual portions. The land around a village, which belonged to the occupants of that village, appears to have been open common land. Annually it was apportioned among the villagers according to their resources for cultivating it. The method is described by James Neil in Everyday Life in the Holy Land. When the heavy winter rain came in November, the villagers who possessed oxen and could work the fields assembled under the presidency of the scribe. The farmers were formed into groups, each of which owned ten ploughs. A leader was chosen for each group, and the leaders met together to parcel out the land into as many divisions as there were groups. A token was given to the scribe and put into a bag, and a young child was employed to draw out the token as each division of the land was named. The land allotted to a group was then divided into ten with a "measuring line", generally a large stone being placed at each end of the strip of the individual farmer. This was the landmark, the removal of which was a heinous offence under the law. The "lot" and the "line" thus used for dividing the inheritance figure in many references, by metonomy the "lot" or the "line" being put for the inheritance thus divided. In the Psalm which is recorded in 1 Chron. 16 David speaks of the covenant which God made with Abraham, saying "Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot (margin, 'cord' or 'line') of your inheritance". Asaph recounts what God had done for the nation: "He drove out the nations also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line" (Psa. 78: 55). We have already seen how this was done at Shiloh.
David describes his prosperity and exaltation as the Lord's anointed as an inheritance assigned to him by God; not only so, but God was his inheritance: "Yahweh is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage" (Psa. 16: 5-6). Jeremiah, also, felt that his greatest blessing was God: "It is of Yahweh’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. Yahweh is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him" (Lam. 3: 22-24). While Asaph, who says he well nigh slipped in his envy at the prosperity of the wicked, at the end of his reflections says, "My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever" (Psa. 73: 26). But God was not only the portion of these individual men of faith, He was the God of the nation.
So Jeremiah, after speaking of the graven images made by brutish men, adds: "The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: Yahweh of hosts is his name" Jer. 10: 16). In this last passage the two ideas in the translation of Eph. 1: 11, from which we started, meet. God is the portion, the inheritance, of His people; but the people are also His inheritance. This latter thought was many times expressed by Moses. '”Yahweh hath taken you to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day" (Deut. 4: 20). "Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance" (9: 29). "'For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance" (32: 9).
In particular, the priests were to find their portion in God. They had no land allotted to them; but certain portions of the offerings were assigned to them, so that in a material sense they had their inheritance or portion in God, in that they received of that which was given to Him. Isaiah foretold the desolation of Edom and its occupation by the wild beasts. To them God had divided the land by lot and line (Isa. 34: 17). God's own people were punished in turn, and their land was divided by line, in being allotted to the Gentiles (Amos 7: 17). And when this evil which God had devised came upon them, they would say: "We be utterly spoiled; he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord (the line) by lot in the congregation of Yahweh" (Micah 2: 4, 5).
When Israel were cast off, and the offer of salvation was made to the Gentiles, then those who accepted it "in Christ have obtained an inheritance". When they turned to serve the living and true God, the Holy One of Israel has become their God. They can say, Yahweh is my portion. And God, who for the present has cast away His nation—"the people of his inheritance"—has accepted these Gentiles, who, "in Christ were made a heritage" for God.
Thus, whether we accept the A. V. or the R. V. rendering, we are led by the study of this verse to another blessing; God is our portion, and we are His heritage. What great things are affirmed of the believer in this catalogue of divine blessings! The cause assigned for the choosing of this heritage is "the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will". Purpose, counsel, will; three words which contain much ground of assurance and comfort. Amidst the evil there is a purpose which is being slowly but certainly worked out. That purpose is not arbitrary; there is counsel in it, as we should expect if we reflect upon the matter. Even when the counsel is not evident to our limited vision, when we have to stay our minds upon the fact that God wills, and that it is ours to obey, we do well to remember that there is counsel, wisdom and knowledge always associated with the will. When Jeremiah had to buy a field as an act of faith in God's purpose he thus expressed himself in prayer to God: "Ah, Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: thou showest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, Yahweh of hosts, is his name, great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give to every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. 32: 17-19).
The counsel of God is not like the purposes of men, either in character or uncertainty of accomplishment. Men contrive, and will to perform, and fail; it may be sometimes through human inability to realize all the difficulties, or lack of resources to accomplish that which is designed; it may be also because man's purpose is contrary to God's purpose. "Yahweh bringeth the counsel of the nations to nought: he maketh the thoughts of the peoples to be of none effect. The counsel of Yahweh standeth fast for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations" (Psa. 33: 10).
Up to this point Paul has used the words "us" and "we" as applying to all the saints. But in verse 12 he uses a limiting phrase. We were made a heritage "to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ". And then in contrast to those indicated by this latter "we" he immediately adds," in whom ye also trusted". What is the meaning of this limitation? Does it refer to the Jews who looked for Christ before his advent, the "ye also" having reference to New Testament saints? Or is it not a reference to Jewish Christians in contrast to Gentile Christians? This latter interpretation accords with the facts of the case.
The offer of salvation was made first to the Jews, and was accepted by some of them before the good news was proclaimed to the Gentiles. "To the Jew first, and also to the Gentile", is the divine order (Rom. 1:16; Acts 3:26; 13: 46). But the Gentiles became sharers equally with the Jews. The priority was only one of time; conditions and results were the same in both cases.
So Paul goes on, "In whom ye (Gentiles) also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise" (verse 13). This is the process in every case; "hearing", then "believing"; the subject matter being the "word of the truth", not humanly devised fables. The apostolic ministry is the model. "Many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed, and were baptized" (Acts 10: 8; see also 8: 6, 12, 37; 19: 5, 6).
Having heard and also believed, Paul says, "Ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise''. It has been remarked that "a seal is a mark of validity and genuineness, or of property, or of destination". Sometimes one, sometimes another aspect is the more prominent. Generally it indicates either authentication or marking out for possession. In Rev. 7: 3-8, where we read of the sealing of the servants of God in their forehead, the place of the sealing tells of the means employed. The forehead denotes intelligence; the mark of God upon it denotes an intelligent understanding of God's purpose; the sealing being performed by the preaching of the gospel. We may be assured that none are "sealed" who are ignorant of God's plan. "Man that understandeth not is like the beasts that perish."
In the gift of the Spirit to the Gentile then, there was a divine authentication of their acceptance by God. We must notice that the "sealing" did not precede the "hearing"; Paul is not speaking of the Holy Spirit's operating upon men and "saving them" in the way that revivalists believe. He is referring to a phenomenon which was in evidence in the first century, by which God endorsed the preaching of His messengers. At the first Pentecost Peter declared, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2: 38). The case of the Samaritans is an instructive one in this connection. Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ to them; they believed and were baptized. They had entered the way of salvation, but they had not received the Holy Spirit gifts. That the latter are not essential to salvation is evident. But further, when the apostles in Jerusalem heard of the work that Philip was doing, they sent Peter and John unto them, "who when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit: for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8: 15-17). Had Philip possessed the power of Peter and John, would he not have exercised it? It is reasonable so to think. But as Simon the sorcerer saw, "Through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given". Later at Ephesus, Paul found twelve men, knowing only John's baptism. He instructed them more fully, and "they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied" (Acts 19: 1-6). The gifts of the Spirit were not bestowed upon all, and could not be conferred by teachers. Not only so, but they served a temporary purpose, being given for only a limited time. Nothing could be clearer than Paul's teaching on this matter. He discusses the gifts of the Spirit in his first letter to the Corinthians (chapters 12 and 14). In the thirteenth chapter he shows them "a more excellent way"—the way of love. He first points out how worthless eloquence, knowledge, almsgiving and even martyrdom are without love. He then describes love (verses 4-7); and lastly shows the inferiority of Spirit gifts in that they were only temporary. "Love never faileth: but whether there be (gifts of) prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be (gifts of) tongues, they shall cease; whether there be (gifts of) knowledge, it shall vanish away" (verse 8). "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love" (verse 13). The age during which faith, hope and love abide is the present one; in the future, faith and hope will cease for the saints with the possession of those things which they hoped for. Love is the greatest of the three; and it will never cease. Contrasting with the continuance of this triad of graces throughout this age, the gifts of prophecy, speaking with tongues, and knowledge were to cease. Since the bestowal of them was through the laying-on of the apostles' hands, they would "vanish away" with the early years of the second century. The purpose that they served in ecclesial life was by that time fulfilled by the completed revelation of God in the writings of the New Testament.
Every individual was not thus "sealed"; not all received the gift. But the fact that upon the Gentiles God had poured the Holy Spirit was indisputable evidence that they were included in His purpose. The temporary nature of the gifts is further borne out by the further remark that the Holy Spirit is "the earnest of our inheritance". These words are introduced parenthetically, in explanation of what the gifts-were for, as the punctuation of the R.V. shows. They must not be read straight forward, as though Paul said that the Spirit was an earnest, continuing until the redemption of the possession. The proper connection is: "Ye were sealed . . . unto the redemption of God's own possession"; that is, they were marked out, with authentication, to that end. An "earnest" is a part-payment. The word is still in use in the Near East, and "means an instalment paid in advance as a guarantee of a further payment later. Thus Baedeker, giving businesslike directions for hiring horses in (pre-war) Palestine says: 'Before starting it is usual to give the owner an arabun, or earnest money, which is deducted from the final payment'." In Hebrews Paul says they had tasted of the powers of the age to come; while in Romans he compares the gifts to "firstfruits". This last analogy was taken from Israel's history. The spies brought the firstfruits of the land to Israel in the wilderness. Then intervened the years in the wilderness before they entered into the inheritance. So with the outpouring of the Spirit; the first generation of Christians had a "taste", received the "firstfruits" and the "part-payment" which guaranteed the full redemption. The "purchased possession" is "God's own possession". Here again a description is carried over from Israel after the flesh to Israel after the spirit. To Israel God said, "Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people" (Exod. 19: 5 ; Deut. 14: 2). "For Yahweh hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure" (Psa. 135: 4). But Malachi, speaking of a faithful remnant who feared God in days of apostasy, and who met together to encourage one another, declares, "And they shall be mine, saith Yahweh of hosts . . . even a peculiar treasure" (3: 17). The New Testament saints share the description with the faithful of old times. "Ye are ... a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
With this thought the long introductory expression of praise, so full of rich ideas, draws to a close. To be included in God's own possession, to attain to redemption—what more could mortal desire! The end is reached with the final repetition of the words, "to the praise of his glory". On man's side, redemption; on God's side, praise: that is the ultimate end of God's grace.
PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING (1: 15-19)
It has already been mentioned that the New Testament letters conform in arrangement to the correspondence of the time when they were written. In the letters discovered in Egypt many parallels have been observed. First the name of the sender, then that of the one addressed; afterwards prayer and thanksgiving. Here are illustrations: "Serapias to her children . . . heartiest greeting. Above all I pray that you may be in health, which is for me the most necessary of all things. I make my obeisance to the Lord Serapis, praying that I may receive word that you are in health, even as I pray for your general welfare." "Apion to Epimachus his father and lord, heartiest greeting. First of all I pray that you are in health and continually prosper and fare well with my sister ... I thank the Lord Serapis that when I was in danger at sea he saved me." "Antonius Longus to Nilous, his mother: Many greetings. I continually pray that you are in good health, and make supplication for you before our Lord Serapis."
The "Lord Serapis" of these letters was "the most widely worshipped god of the Egyptians"; and from them we see the intrusiveness of pagan religion into everyday affairs. Even the meal at a house-party was regarded as being at the table of the Lord Serapis. There were that were called "lords"; but the follower of Christ could not compromise his faith by worship of another lord. "Jesus is Lord." A faithful man kept himself apart even if he became unpopular by so doing. But if the Christian faith entailed losses of friendships and favour and social intercourse, these were more than balanced by the gains. The understanding of the gospel led a man "to turn from idols to serve the living and true God". Some counterpart of each loss was found in the society of the brethren, but the great gain was the knowledge of the true God, and the hope of salvation. And a letter from Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, was a message with divine authority. Though the form of the phrases resembled a letter one might receive from a pagan, the meaning was far greater. No longer mere conventional expressions, but sincere and full of genuine thought—they were the vehicle of the prayer of the messenger of the Lord Jesus, a prayer ascending to the throne of grace for them.
These prayers of Paul in the introductions of his letters are full of instruction for us. For what should we pray for others? For what do we pray? Let us observe for what Paul gave thanks on behalf of the ecclesias. In this letter he says, "'Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you" (1: 15-16). Faith and love are similarly mentioned in his second letter to Thessalonica (1: 3) and in his letter to Philemon (verse 5). In two letters he gives thanks for the faith, hope and love of the brethren (1 Thess. 1: 3 ; Col. 1: 3- 4). It is apostolically commanded to give thanks in everything; to be thankful; to abound in thanksgiving. The Psalmist was of the same mind: "O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good". What can be rendered to God for all His benefits? The least we can do is to give thanks. But where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. We reveal our hearts in our prayers. Are they confined to thanksgiving for temporal blessings? or is there a greater emphasis upon spiritual blessings? While the former must not be-overlooked or lightly esteemed, we must remember they belong to the present, and cease with life. They are shared also by all men. God sends His rain, with its fructifying power, upon just and unjust. But the spiritual blessings which follow belief of the gospel and obedience to it, though they may be less obvious to the eye of sense, are greater in value. To be rich toward God is greater wealth than worldly riches. So Paul thought "Having heard ... I cease not to give thanks", he wrote. What a picture these words call to mind. A prisoner at Rome, in communication with the ecclesias by means of his own letter carriers and assistants, Titus, Timothy, and others; his information augmented by brethren sent to him by the ecclesias; and as he hears of the faith and the hope and the love shown by his converts, his spirit overflows in thankfulness as his prayers ascend, daily, as incense to the throne of God. The things for which Paul gave thanks are those with abiding value; do we estimate them as he did?
Paul's thankfulness found expression in other places besides the conventional one at the opening of a letter. He gives thanks that his message was rightly received as the word of God (1 Thess. 2: 13). The position of the saints in God's sight, as chosen by Him, and their calling by Paul's preaching causes him to say, "We are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved in the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 2: 13). With what is evidently a full heart he exclaims, "For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God?" (1 Thess. 3:9). And he exhorts the Philippians, "In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus" (4: 6, 7). Here it might be noted that peace of mind is the effect of which prayer and supplication and thanksgiving are the cause.
If these are the things for which Paul gives thanks, for what does he pray? In the case of the Ephesians, he prays that they may have given to them the requisite aids to the knowledge of God, being spiritually enlightened, that they may know (1) what is the hope of His calling; (2) what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints; and, (3) what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe (verses 17-19).
The heart, which is the centre of bodily activity, and is responsive to emotional states, easily comes to represent the centre of spiritual life, the inner nature, the hidden springs of action in contrast to the outward acts. When David said, "I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in righteousness" (1 Chron. 29: 17), he meant that God observed moral character, as the second clause shows. The same meaning attaches to the word in other places: "I Yahweh search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. 17: 10). God said unto Samuel that "Yahweh seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Yahweh looketh on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). A circumcised heart is one from which have been cut away the inclinations of human nature in its contrariness to God (Lev. 26: 41; Deut. 10: 16).
The heart is used many times to express that within as against the external. It is contrasted with "flesh" (Psa. 73: 26); "eyes" (Num. 15:39); "mouth" (Deut. 30: 14); "hands" (Psa. 73: 13); "ears" (Ezek. 3: 10). An examination of these passages, and a little thought on the precise meaning in each place, well repays the time spent. A corresponding use of the word occurs in the New Testament. When we read that the mother of Jesus "kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2: 19), a greater emotional response to the sayings which had been told her is indicated than if it had been recorded that she kept them in her mind. When Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:21), the heart is regarded as the seat of affection. The word denotes moral discernment (Matt. 19: 8; Mark 3:5). The heart is the seat of doubt (Mark 11: 23), and "slowness to believe" (Luke 24: 25). Pureness in heart is emphasized as essential to receiving the blessing of God (Psa. 24: 4; Matt. 5: 8). "The end of the commandment is love", and this Scriptural virtue comes out of "a pure heart, and a good conscience, and faith unfeigned" (1 Tim. 1: 5).
The Gentile world, knowing God, "glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Rom. 1: 21). Israel was no better. Isaiah had to tell them in language which Christ and the apostles also used, "Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed" (Isa. 6:9-10; John 12: 40; Acts 28: 26).
There are some who are altogether unresponsive to the appeal of God's truth. Christ compared them to the ground of the "wayside", so trodden that the seed of the Kingdom could find no lodgment. The gospel is hid to such "in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them . . . For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4: 4, 6). This passage is very closely connected in thought with Eph. 1:17.
The unbelieving are not confined to the ignorant and brutish of the world. Many indeed are accounted wise in the world. A man may have perfect physical sight and a keen intellect, and yet not have the qualifications for the understanding of the truth. Affection, the desire to do right, veneration of God, are all as essential as the mental ability to understand the meaning of words. The eyes of the heart, as well as the eyes of the mind, must be enlightened. The Athenians were skilled debaters, and among the world's intellectuals, but they mocked at the gospel, or with polite disdain said they would hear Paul again on the matter. The unfitness of the wise and prudent in the world's esteem for divine things was recognized by Jesus when he prayed, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and for so it hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father as seemed good in thy sight" (Matt, 17: 25). Paul says that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2: 14). On which natural or "psychical man, the mere soul-man" it has been remarked: "He moves not in the sphere of divine light and truth, but in the world of sense. If he is intellectual he delights in a mental activity purely human and exerted on objects merely mundane, and is attracted by worldly philosophies that fail utterly to lead the mind up to the high truth of God". Jude describes the scoffers of the last days as natural, unspiritual men; "men of the world, wholly unspiritual" (verse 19, Weymouth).
The Higher Critics appear to illustrate the matter. They are intellectual men, who make a keen study of the text of Scripture, and who claim to be able to dissect it into parts and distinguish the different authorship of each part. Yet their writings are arid deserts which provide no food for the hungry soul. The meaning of the Scripture, its glorious promises, its heart-stirring hopes, are all missed by them. "Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." But whenever did these writers see the wonders of prophecy, or catch the fascination of the typical incidents and passages such as are expounded in the letter to the Hebrews? There must first be a revelation from God, and then the heart to receive it—a good and honest heart, such as Jesus said was the counterpart of the good soil of the parable. When these conditions are fulfilled the way is clear for knowing the three things for which Paul prayed on behalf of the Ephesians:—
(1) "That ye may know what is the hope of his calling." It is God who calls, and so gives man a hope. This hope is "the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers" (Acts 26: 6); "the hope of Israel" (28: 20). The promises to Abraham belong to the first principles of divine revelation, yet all matters of hope spring out of them. What simpler than the promise of the earth for an everlasting possession? Yet what more cheering than the prospect of everlasting life under the supernal conditions of the age to come, with a limitless age beyond of activity in fulness of strength of mind and of body, doing perfectly the will of God under perfected conditions? To this we are "called by the gospel"; "called to God's kingdom and glory"; "called unto his eternal glory". The hope of God's calling is a "hope of the glory of God"; "a hope laid up in heaven" with Christ, who is our life, and at whose appearing the saints shall be manifested in glory. It is a "hope of eternal life".
(2) "What the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. "The enlightened heart sees a wealth in God's gifts. God is never niggardly in the provision He makes for is creatures. There are "riches of grace", and "riches of Christ"; and there are riches of glory pertaining to His inheritance. It is His inheritance of which Paul is speaking, not ours. The saints are His inheritance, as we have seen before. "The Lord's portion is his people; Israel is the rod of his inheritance." And there is a wealth of glory arranged for them. "An eternal weight of glory", Paul calls it, with which the light, momentary affliction of the present cannot be compared. God's inheritance in the saints is an eternal fellowship—a divine unity. It was for this that Christ prayed: "I pray for them . . . which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them." "I pray . . . that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one" (John 17 : 9-10, 21-23).
(3) "What the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe." What cumulative expressions Paul uses! He is not content with glory, he must say "riches of glory". And "power" alone will not do. It is the greatness —the exceeding greatness—of the power that he would have us know. And it is power further defined as "according to the working of the strength of his might which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead". In other words, Paul prays that they may be raised up like Christ; that they may know him and the power of his resurrection. Towards that end God's power is exercised even now. Paul was made a minister, according to the gift of grace given unto him by the "effectual working of his power" (Eph. 3:7). So he preached Christ, warning every man and labouring, "striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily" (Col. 1: 29). The power is exhibited in all things needful for salvation. "His divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). Again Peter says the saints "are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation to be revealed in the last time". There is not much native power in us salvation-wards. The vessels are earthen, but some receive the "treasure" of the truth which God has made known. Such as are receptacles for the treasure understand this, and also the reason why it is so arranged, "that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves" (2 Cor. 4:7). But it is in resurrection that the greatness of the power will be fully shown. "God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power" (1 Cor. 6: 14). Power has been given to the Son for this work, and it is written that he "shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself" (Phil. 3: 21). Infinite power is with God. All power is of Him. If we know His promises; that we are His; that His power is "to usward"—if we know these things, happy are we.
CHRIST RAISED AND EXALTED (1: 20-23)
In verse 19 Paul has cited the case of Christ raised by the power of God as the illustration of the "exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe". And he is thus led on to speak of Christ's exaltation over all. God "raised him from the dead, and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places". In the words "sit at his right hand" there is a reference to Psa. 110. This Psalm is frequently quoted in the New Testament, and these quotations show how definitely opposed is the estimate of the apostles to the critical attitude of today towards the Old Testament. The Lord Jesus built an argument for his divine sonship from the fact that David addresses the Messiah, who he knew would be his descendant, as "My Lord" (Matt. 22: 41; Mark and Luke also record the incident). Now the critics are quite sure that David did not write the Psalm; therefore Christ's witness must be disposed of in one way or another. They assume that either Christ met his opponents on their own ground and argued from what they believed to be the authorship of the Psalm, or otherwise that he shared the popular beliefs "under the human limitations'' of his life. What a Christ the critics honour! But Jesus said: "How then doth David in spirit call him Lord?"; thereby indicating his belief that David wrote under the inspiration of God. And indeed how otherwise could one write so accurately of the future? David speaks of the exaltation of his Lord to Yahweh's right hand, there to await the time for his foes to be made his footstool, when he would rule in Zion. The miracle of prediction is here; why cavil about the human authorship? The larger covers the less. But it may be denied that there is prediction here. Against that we have the united voices of the writers of the New Testament, who all affirm their belief that David speaks of Christ and that his exaltation to heaven was in fulfilment of the opening words of the Psalm. Thus Mark records (16: 19), "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them; was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God". The apostles witnessed to Christ's exaltation, either citing the Psalm or using other expressions which recall it in support of their words (Acts 2: 33; 3:21). And these testimonies take us back to the words which Jesus spoke before the Jewish council: "From henceforth shall the Son of man be seated at the right hand of the power of God" (Luke 22: 69). In the epistles we find a similar use of the Psalm. It enters closely into the argument of the letter to the Hebrews. In the summary of the argument in the opening sentences we are told that when Jesus "had by himself purged our sins, (he) sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high". This is followed by a direct quotation in verse 13, as proof that an invitation has been extended to the Son which the angels do not share. When Paul has partly presented his case and would draw attention to the points already established, he writes, "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (8: 1). The "standing daily" of the priests in their service under the law is contrasted with Christ's sitting down at the right hand of God (10: 11); the standing in the one case showing that there was constant repetition of something which was ineffectual, never able to take away sins, while the sitting down in the other is evidence of his finished sacrificial work. Who would have ventured to draw such a conclusion from the words "sit down" apart from inspired guidance? Once more, the example of Christ who endured the cross, despising the shame, and who is now at the right hand of God, is put forward as the incentive to run with endurance the race, set before them (12: 2). Other references are to be found in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Colossians, 1 Peter and the Apocalypse. Christ has sat down at God's right hand in "heavenly places". This phrase has been considered already. Had it occurred only here it would naturally have been given a local meaning. But the other occurrences show that status and not place is in Paul's mind. And so he continues— Christ is exalted to this high position "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 '' (verse 21). Whom do these titles denote? The general answer today appears to be that they are titles of spiritual agencies, of orders of angelic hosts. Evidence is brought from writers outside the Scriptures to show that the words were used as names of supposed angels, good or bad, in the speculations of the day. While not denying that the names were so used, it is best to see if anything within the Scriptures helps us to ascertain the meaning as used by Paul. We then find that these titles are also used of human rulers. Such is clearly the case in the following: "And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates (rulers, R.V.) and powers, take no thought how or what thing ye shall answer" (Luke 12:11). "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work" (Titus 3:1). Twice in the Ephesian letter the titles are applied to human authorities. By the ecclesia the manifold wisdom of God was to be made known to "the principalities and powers in heavenly places" (3: 10). Again, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (6: 12). These in the aggregate were "the devil" against whose wiles they were to stand, equipped with the whole armour of God (verse 11). But as the devil is not the immortal rebel against God, borrowed by an apostate Christianity from paganism, but sin in individual or corporate manifestation, so the principalities and powers are not lesser fiends thronging the atmosphere, but earthly rulers, civic and religious. In a passage closely resembling the one we are considering in Ephesians, Peter says that Jesus Christ "is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him" (1 Peter 3: 22). All rulers, angelic and human, are subject to Christ. Had Peter thought of authorities and powers as differing orders of angels, he would hardly have expressed himself in the way he does. He distinguishes between the angels and the authorities and powers. In the epistle to Colosse, where Paul is dealing with angel worship and speculations concerning angels, there may be one allusion to these supposed angelic orders (Col. 1: 16). Christ is higher, he says, than any other, whether real or imaginary, angelic or human, in this way pushing aside the angelology of the Colossian false teachers. Yet it is not certain that even in this place it is necessary to introduce this idea.
Christ then is exalted over all, both in the present and the future. He is not only thus exalted, but, adds Paul, God "put all things in subjection under his feet" (Eph. 1: 22). This is quoted from Psa. 8: 6, as are the words "all things" of verse 10. It is interesting to observe that Psalms 8 and 110, brought so closely together here, are also quoted close together in 1 Cor. 15 :25, 27, and for a similar object. By his use of Psa. 8 Paul shows that the divine purpose in creation is at last realized in Christ; for this Psalm looks back to Gen. 1. The opening pages of the Bible are the foundation of all that comes after. Since all things are put in subjection to Christ, he is head over all, and in this capacity as head, as supreme, God has given him to the ecclesia, which is his body (verse 22). He holds a peculiar relationship to the ecclesia, more intimate than to those over whom he will be ruler during the Millennium, one that is expressed first by the figure that the ecclesia is the body of which he is the head. A similar metaphor is used in Romans and Corinthians, but not in exactly the same sense (Rom. 12: 3, 4; 1 Cor. 12:12). In these passages the emphasis is upon the fact that the believers are severally parts of an organism, each contributing its service, and each being necessary to the whole. "So also is Christ", Paul says, which suggests that the whole constitutes, in a sense, the Christ, an idea which will help us immediately in the next statement in Ephesians.
But in Ephesians and Colossians the figure is worked out to express the relationship between Christ and his ecclesia: he is the head; the ecclesia is the body. Thus, he is “the head . . . from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. 4: 16). "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the ecclesia: and he is the saviour of the body " (5: 23). "And he is the head of the body, the ecclesia" (Col. 1: 18). The result of the Colossian worshipping of angels is described as "not holding the Head, from whom all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God" (2: 19).
The ecclesia is not only considered as the body of Christ, but is further described as the "fulness of him (Christ) that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1: 23). A head is not complete without a body, and Christ personal is not complete without the ecclesia. As in Adam's case it was not good that he should be alone, so also the second Adam is to find completion in a bride who owes her existence to his sleep of death and pierced side. There is a unity and identity with Christ both now and in the future. It is remarked in The Ministry of the Prophets, in opposition to the critical theory that Isaiah personifies the Jewish nation in his prophecy of the suffering servant of God that yet "a certain substratum of truth underlies the idea that the sufferings of the nation and the body of the prophets are here before us. It is indicated by the apostolic allusions to 'the fellowship of his sufferings' (Phil. 3:10), ' the partaking of Christ's sufferings' (1 Peter 4:13). I ' now rejoice in my sufferings for you', says Paul, 'and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his body's sake, which is the ecclesia' (Col. 1: 24). 'The ecclesia 'being' in Christ', is considered as being 'crucified with Christ' (Gal. 2: 20), and in this sense is comprehended in Isa. 53."
Paul filled up the afflictions of Christ which were left over. In the believers' sufferings with Christ, the sufferings of Christ still continue. And the Lord identifies himself with the believer in his affliction, as when he said to Saul the persecutor, "Why persecutest thou me?”
Further, he who finds his "fulness" in the "ecclesia which is his body "is also the one "who filleth all in all". It is through him that redemption has come. Apart from him there would have been no salvation. "He filleth." Now the apostle John, who, it is thought, wrote his gospel at Ephesus for the Ephesians first, expresses the same thought in almost the same words. The verse has been before us more than once, but must be quoted again. "The word was made flesh and dwelt among us . . .full of grace and truth . . . And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace " (John 1: 14, 16). He was full of the divine attributes, exhibiting so completely God's character that he could say, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father". “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily, and in him ye are made full" (Col. 2: 10). To be in him, in living union with him, forming part of this mystical Christ with him, is to share all he has been and will be. It is to suffer with him; and also to be glorified with him. It is to overcome as he overcame; and also to sit with him in his throne as he has sat down with his Father in His throne. It is to die with Christ; and also to be raised with him: first symbolically in baptism, and at last actually from death. This is to receive of his fulness, "grace for grace", for "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ".
God has given this exalted Christ to the ecclesia, his body. As John records, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life ", But "whosoever'' is not all; very few believe. Those who do, see in Jesus "the bread of God which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world". He is the Father's gift; "My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven". And in turn, those who receive this bread from heaven, are given to Christ. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." These sayings, Christ given of the Father, and the believers given to Christ, express the same thought as Christ, the head, given to the ecclesia which is his body, and which is also the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
We mark lastly the completeness of the exaltation and of the work of Jesus Christ. He is exalted above all rule, and every name; all things are put under his feet; he is head over all; and he filleth all the saints with all things.
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