We frequently read this chapter and the whole of this Epistle because it has been well remarked that the Epistle to the Ephesians is a body of divinity in miniature. Here all the great doctrines of the gospel are discussed; here all the great precepts are laid down for the guidance of believers. He who would understand the theology of Christ Jesus should read the Epistle to the Ephesians with great care.
Ephesians 1:1-2. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father,
There must be «grace» first; «peace» comes afterwards. They seek heavenly blessings in the wrong order who try to gain peace first, and then grace. «There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked;» and he who has a peace which does not own grace for its parent has a false peace, a peace where there is no peace; but let us first have grace in our souls, then shall our peace be «as a river, and our righteousness as the waves of the sea.» Note here, as Luther has said on a corresponding verse in the Epistle to the Galatians, the apostle says, «Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father;» and lest that terrible name should affright us, he has joined therewith the name of God the Son, and sweetly put in
Ephesians 1:2. And from the Lord Jesus Christ.
We can have nothing to do with an absolute God. It is God in Christ whom we love, whom we adore, who alone is our Saviour.
Ephesians 1:3-4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
The apostle commences by laying down the great doctrine of predestinating love. There is little gospel preached where election is denied. We carvel that some of us should be regarded as in error because we preach the doctrine of God's divine sovereignty in giving grace to men; whereas, in former times, the opponents of that glorious system would have been reckoned as the heretics. Turn to all the great creeds that are preserved, and you shall find that truth mentioned. Above all, we can scarcely conceive that any person who is a member or a minister of the Established Church, and finding election in his own Church's articles, can, in the least degree, deny it. It is the glory of that Church that it has a Calvinistic creed, and so far it is in harmony with the Scriptures.
Ephesians 1:5-6. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Adoption follows predestination. We were chosen of God ere time began; and the result of that choice is, that he puts us into his family. In the fifth verse, the apostle declares that the only reason for our adoption, or for our election, rests in the good pleasure of God Almighty. There is nothing in man which can merit God's regard; and when we enter heaven, we shall even there sing,
«What was there in me that could merit esteem,
Or give the Creator delight ?
Twas even so, Father,' I ever must sing,
‘Because it seemed good in thy sight.»
Mark here the channel through which all God's mercies run. Jesus Christ is the channel through which grace flows to us; we are chosen in him; we are adopted by Jesus Christ to himself; and we are «accepted in the Beloved.» It is said of that eminently holy man, Harington Evans, that, when near death, he asked his friends to give this message to his church. «Tell them,» said he, «I am accepted in the Beloved.» Can we say, my brethren, that we are accepted in the Beloved? Can we put our hand upon our heart, and each one say, «I may not be accepted by my fellow-creatures, I may not be acknowledged by them; and, certainly, before my God, I can never be accepted in myself; but in the Beloved, clothed with his righteousness, and standing in his person, as a member of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones, I am ‘accepted in the Beloved'»?
Ephesians 1:7-10. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
The main purpose of the gospel is to exalt Christ and to glorify God. We forget God's great design if we look only to humanity. If we regard salvation as a means only of lifting up our race from its fall, and putting it among the princes, we have made a mistake. We should remember that God's glory is a greater object even than man's salvation. Not so much to save us, did God give his Son, as to honour himself, and to glorify that Son of his; and we should always remember that the gospel has for its chief aim the glory of all the attributes of the Divine Being. He has determined at last to gather together in Christ all things that are in heaven and in earth. Some foolish persons have wrested this text, to prove the absurd doctrine of the final restitution of the lost; they have said that even the fallen spirits in hell are to be restored. We find it not in this text; we have it particularly said, «things in heaven and things on earth.» But there is no mention made of those concerning whom it was long ago said, «He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.» I have often thought that these words of the angel are conclusive with regard to the eternity of future punishment. Once dead, immutability is stamped upon our state; once let us die, and our destiny can never be changed.
There are no acts of pardon passed
In the cold grave to which we haste;
But darkness, death, and long despair,
Reign in eternal silence there.
But «things which are in heaven, and which are on earth» are, «in the dispensation of the fullness of times,» to be gathered together in one, «even in him,»
Ephesians 1:11-14. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
I cannot help remarking how continually the apostle uses such expressions as «in Christ,» «in whom,» «in him.» He will not have a doctrine apart from Christ; he will not mention a single blessing, or a single mercy, without Christ. I believe there is no way of preaching gospel doctrines truly apart from the Master. In Christ's own days, if you had asked one of his followers what he believed, he would not have been long telling you; he would not have pointed to fifty doctrines, but he would have pointed to Christ, and said, «I believe in him.» You might have asked him, fifty times, «But what do you believe?» and he would have replied, «I believe in him; he is in himself the great embodiment of my faith; his person carries within it all the great doctrines which I receive from him; he is the Truth; I believe him, and I believe in him.» Let us learn, then, always to trace our mercies to Christ Jesus, to look upon every blessing as being the purchase of his blood, and never to ask any mercy, nor endeavor to obtain any blessing, except entirely in connection with him. Let us say to him,
Thou art the Way, the Truth, the Life:
Grant us that Way to know,
That Truth to keep, that Life to win,
Whose joys eternal flow.
Ephesians 1:15. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Whether they live at Ephesus or elsewhere, whether they exactly agree with your opinion or not,
Ephesians 1:16-23. Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what it the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him 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, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
Calvin has a striking remark upon this verse, «the Church is the fullness of Christ.» «This is the highest honour of the Church that, until Christ is united to us, the Son of God reckons himself in some measure imperfect;» and so he is, for what would a king be without his subjects? A mockery; yea, and all the members of Christ's mystical body the Church are necessary to make a whole Christ. If the very least believer shall be absent at last, Christ will not be complete. It is not possible that one of those whom his Father has given him should not at last be found at his right hand. All the sheep of the good Shepherd will be gathered into the heavenly fold. We rejoice to know that there is such a connection as this between ourselves and Christ; here is our glory and our boast; and here is our trust. We believe that
His honour is engaged to save
The meanest of his sheep;
All that his Heavenly Father gave
His hands securely keep.
Nor death, nor hell, shall e'er remove
His favourites from his breast;
In the dear bosom of his love
They must for ever rest.