I. Author. PAUL. 1. So stated in the Ep. (i. 1; ii. 1). 2. External test., abundant (Irenæus, Clem. Alex., Polycarp, Tertullian, Ignatius). 3. This authorship never questioned till later times (esp. by De Wette; see Alford's reply in Proleg. 9). II. Place and Time. ROME, during P.'s first imprisonment (iii. 1; iv. 1; vi. 20), A.D. 61 (Ellicott, Pinnock); A.D. 62 (Alford, Cony. and How.); betw. A.D. 61-63 (Wordsworth). III. For what Readers. Considerable dif. of opinion. Three principal hypotheses. 1. EPHESIANS. (Wordsworth, Ellicott, Alford, Braune, Witsius, Lardner, Calvin, etc.) The words iv 'Epéoy (i. 1, q. v.) are not found in the most an. MSS. (This is confirmed by Basil, Jerome, Epiphanius, Tertullian). [For Ephesus, see note on i. 1.] 2. LAODICEANS. (Marcion, Grotius, Hammond, Mill, Wetstein, Paley, Cony. and How). "But this idea has not even trad. to stand on" (Alford). "We now come to yet another Ep., wh. we entitle the Ep. to Ephesians, but the heretics entitled it to the Laodiceans." (Tertull. adv. Mar. v. 11). "That it was ENCYCLICAL: i.e., that it was meant to circulate among a number of Churches, and to be read out in their assemblies." (Olshausen; this hypothesis was orig. by Abp. Usher. Ann. Mundi, ad ann. 64, p. 686, and is now adopted by many eminent critics, as Hug, etc.) It has been supp., and is not improb., that P. sent the Ephesians word by Tychicus, who carried their letter, to send a copy of it to the Laodiceans, with an order to them to communicate it to the Colossians (see Blunt, Lec. on Early Fathers, p. 438; Bp. Middleton on Gk. Art, note on Ep. i. 1; Macknight; cf. Col. iv. 16). IV. Design. "To set forth the orig. and devel. of the Ch. of Christ; and to display to the Christian dweller under the shadow of the gt. temp. of Diana the unity and beauty of that transcendently more glorious spiritual tem. (ii. 20) of which Christ Himself was the chief cornerstone; and the saints, portions of the superstructure" (Ellicott). V. Style, "It abounds in the sublimest thought, the most pious exhortation, and most affectionate admonition; and for variety and depth of doctrine, exalted metaphor, and animated fervour of style, it stands unrivalled " (Paley). "In this Ep., the divinest composition of man, we have contained every doctrine of Christianity: first, those doctrines peculiar to Christianity, and then those precepts common to it with natural religion" (Coleridge). CHAPTER THE FIRST. a [which.. CIR. A.D. 61. tion 1, 2. Paul.. Christ, the one sent out, dependent on, and inscription has authority fr., the sender. by.. God, not only an Ap., but and salutaan example of the mercy that saves sinners.b Ephesus, these words not found in the oldest MSS. faithful, having a true faith in Christ. grace, God's love to man. peace, blessedness resulting fr. that love. d Ac. xix. 17-20; a Ac. xxvi. 15— 18; 1 Ti.i.11-14. b Stier. c C. Sinaiticus, Vaticanus. c. but The highest things in the world.-I. The highest office-" an Apostle of Jesus Christ: " 1. A messenger of Christ; 2. A messenger of Christ by the will of God. II. The highest characters Hence they are -"To the saints," etc.: 1. Their designation; 2. Their resi- rejected by Aldence "Ephesus," the centre and stronghold of Paganism, and Mill, etc.; ford, Ellicott, yet Christians were there. This shows that (1) Man is not ne- retained by cessarily the creature of circumstances; (2) A religious life in the Wordsworth, Macpresence of Christianity is practicable everywhere. III. The knight, etc. Tertullian accuses highest blessings: 1. Divine favour; 2. Spiritual peace.-Dr. Marcion of inT'homas. serting ad LaodiJerome cenos. Lange's Alford's Prolegomena, etc. Ephesus.-A city which bore successively the names of Samornia, Trachea, Ortygia, and Ptelea. It was one of the twelve Ionian cities in A. Minor in mythic times; and said to have been MSS. founded by Amazons, but later inhab. by Carians and Leleges, and taken posses. of by Ionians under Androclus, the son of Codrus. Sit. in a fertile plain, S. of the river Cayster, near to the Icarian Sea, and betw. Miletus and Smyrna, from which city it was distant nearly forty miles. It became the great emporium for Asia; and, consequently, the inhab. became luxurious and dissolute. e i. d1 Ti. vi. 2; 2 Pe. 1; Re. ii. 10. Zec. vi. 13; Phi. e2 Pe.i.2; Ro.v.1. iv. 7; Jo. xiv. 26. general a Chrysostom, Theodoret, Luther, ly nature."-Ols 3, 4. with.. Christ, sig. doubtful. Some a say "in heavenly things;" some, simply "in heaven." chosen.. world, election of eternal mercy. "Chose us out for Himself."d that 2 Co. i. 3; 1 Pe. i. 3. .. love, object contemplated by God in this election. Spiritual blessings.-Gospel blessings characterised by-I. Their quality-" spiritual." II. Their plenitude-"all spiritual Baumgarten. blessings." III. Their residence-"in heavenly places.' IV. b Jerome, Beza, Their relations-" in Christ." -All spiritual blessings.-We have Rengel, Harless, a part and interest in-I. The election of Christ. II. The eternal De Wette, Meyer, Stier. "The covenant. III. The everlasting settlements of predestinating spiritual blessing wisdom. IV. The great betrothal of the Prince of Glory. V. wh. is in heaven, The marvellous incarnation of the God of heaven, with all the and so carries amazing condescension and humiliation which attended it. VI. in it a heavenAll the blissful consequences which flow from perfect obedience, finished atonement, resurrection, ascension, or intercession.s Doctrines of grace.-The late Lord Bolingbroke, the celebrated infidel, was one day reading in Calvin's Institutes, when a clergyman of his lordship's acquaintance came on a visit to him. Lord B. said to him, "You have caught me reading John Calvin; he Pe. i. 2; ii. 9; was indeed a man of great parts, profound sense, and vast learn- Ma. xxv. 34; Re. ing. He handles the doctrines of grace in a very masterly xvii. 8. manner. "Doctrines of grace!" replied the clergyman; "the d Ellicott. doctrines of grace have set all mankind together by the ears." lected,"—Alford. "I am surprised to hear you say so," replied Lord B., "you who profess to believe and to preach Christianity. Those doctrines are certainly the doctrines of the Bible, and if I believe the Bible, hausen. "Here heavenly places means the ChrisMacknight. tian Church.". c 2 Th. ii. 13; 1 "Se Ep. ii. 10; 2 Ti. 1.9 Col. iii. 12; iii. 13, 14; Ep. v.2. Phi. ii. 15; 2 Pe. f W. W. Wythe. g Spurgeon. predestination "Predestinate, to determine be I must believe them; and let me tell you seriously, that the greatest miracle in the world is the subsistence of Christianity, and its continued preservation as a religion, when the preaching of it is committed to the care of such unchristian wretches as you." 5, 6. predestinated,a fore-ordained. The determination existed bef. the person predestined. adoption, not a natural, but a constituted relationship, sonship acquired by adoption. by. Christ, by means of His mediation. according.. will,d not will only, but pleasure, and good pleasure. glory.. grace,e i.e., its fulness, freeness, condescension. accepted, His grace making us gracious. beloved, Jesus the object of the Father's tensive, and root eternal, boundless, immutable love. forehand. L.præ, before, and destine, to make to stand, or set fast; destino de, in stand. a Ro. viii. 29, 30. b Jo. i. 12; Ro. viii. 15; 2 Co. vi. 18; Ga. iv. 5:1 Jo. iii. 1; Re. xxi. 7. c Jo. xx. 17; Ga. iii. 26. d Lu. xii. 32; Ma. stano, allied to Gospel predestination.-Paul teaches that-I. Predestination is Gk. histano, his-a Divine fact. Look at-1. Its inevitableness; 2. Its universality; temi, to make to 3. Its sequence. II. The adoption of children is its immediate object. The blessing it is intended to secure is-1. A superadded; 2. A paternal; 3. A present blessing. III. Jesus Christ is its appointed Medium: 1. The adoption of children is the grand end and design of Christ's work; 2. This work is mediatorial. IV. The good pleasure of God's will is its regulatin: motive: 1. God's will is love; 2. Our adoption is a source of highest pleasure to God. V. Believers are its chosen objects. The idea is favoured by-1. Scripture; 2. Reason; 3. Man's mo al agency. VI. The praise of the glory of God's grace is its u'timate end. The glory of-1. God is the highest good of the universe; 2. God's grace is the highest and fullest development of_His_glory. Adoption.-I. The magnitude of this privilege: 1. The glory of the Being by whom we are adopted; 2. The cost at which it was procured; 3. Of what this inheritance consists; 4. The manner in which it is conferred. II. The benefits and comforts that flow from it-1. The spirit of adoption; 2. The care and protection of God; 3. His compassion for our infirmities; 4. His designs for our eternal good by means of affliction. III. The evidences by which its possession may be known: 1. The image of the Father; 2. Filial affection, not slavish terror, in His service; 3. Love to the brethren. IV. The duties which this relation imposes: 1. Walk worthy of your high vocation; 2. Be subject to the Father's will, both in doing and suffering; 3. Be mindful of your relative duties to your spiritual kindred; 4. Let your hearts be at home.* See God's Chief End in Creation, by Jon. Edwards. g1 Pe. ii. 4, 5; Ro. iii. 21-25; 2 Co. v. 21. h Ma. iii. 17. i B. Preece. k D. Katterns. "Life at the greatest and best is but a froward child, that must be humoured and coaxed a little till it falls asleep, and then all the care is over." Goldsmith. redemption a Stier. b Eadie. 2 e Ro. iii. 24; Ga. iii. 13; Tit. ii. 14. d He. ix. 12; 1 Pe. i. 18, 19; 1 Jo. i. 7,9; Re. v. 9; Ac. XX. 28. e Ro. v. 20. Sayings of dying men.-Mr. Matthew Henry, a little before his death, said to a friend, "You have been used to take notice of the sayings of dying men: this is mine, That a life spent in the service of God, and communion with Him, is the most comfortable and pleasant life that any one can live in this world." d 7-9. have, even now." Ever needing, ever having. redemption, ransom fr. the curse, fr. sin, fr. hell. blood, His life. Himself. The ransom-price. the.. sins, as the fruit in us, and for us, of this redemption. according.. grace, not acc. to the number or nature of our sins. The abundance of His grace secures the completeness of our pardon. wherein.. us, wh. (grace) He made to abound. in.. prudence, revealing the wisdom and prudence of God, and working w. and p. in us. having.. us, by His word and through our experience. mys tery.. will, hidden things relating to. acc... pleasure, wh. measures the knowledge imparted, and fixes the time. which.. himself,” fr. all eternity. Christianity the great.-I. The crisis of the universe," the fulness of times." II. The scene of redemption. III. The preeminence of Christ. He is the Sun, the centre, the circumference, the beginning, and the ending of this majestic congress. IV. The wonderful gathering: 1. All things which are in heaven; 2. The Jewish Church; 3. The Gentile Church. ƒ Ro. iii. 25, 26. constrains him." g Ep. iii. 4-6, 9, 10; Col. i. 26, 27; Justification. The first time the Rev. Andrew Fuller passed through Oxford, he was conducted by a friend to see the principal | 1 Ti. iii. 16. buildings of the University. He viewed them with little emotion; h 2 Ti. i. 9, 10; and on being requested to notice one object of peculiar interest, Job xxxiii. 13; he said, "Brother, I think there is one question, which, after all Ro. xi. 33, 34. that has been written on it, has not yet been well answered." His friend desiring he would name the subject, he said, "The question is, What is justification?" It was immediately proposed to return to the fireside and discuss the subject, to which Mr. F. gladly acceded, saying, "that inquiry is far more to me than all these fine buildings." a i Douglas Alport. "Live virtuous ly, my lord, and you cannot die too soon, nor live too long."— Lady Russell. the destiny of the creature a Ge. xlix. 10; 10–12. dispensation, Divine government. of.. times, the complete outcome of previous dispensations. The period for wh. all other times prepared. he.. one, into one system, or one kingdom. all.. Christ, for His glory, under His rule. both.. earth, i.e., His sway is universal. even.. him, em- Ga. iv. 4. phatic re-asseveration. in.. inheritance, in whom we were 6 He. i. 1, 2; Ep. also chosen as His inheritance. who.. things, moulds and iii. 15; Ph. ii. 9, guides all to this end. counsel, advice, determination. who 10; Col. iii. 10, 11; .. Christ, who have bef. hoped; i.e., the Jews, who pointed the He. xii. 22-24. way to the Gentiles. d c See The Destiny What of the Creature, by Shall Ellicott. Who worketh all things.—God works in-I. Creation. would creation have been without His design? II. Grace. the new creation have the fickle genius of free-will to presided Ro. viii. 17; over it, when Divine counsel rules the old creation? III. Provi-Tit. iii. 7; Ja. ii. dence. There is a God in providence, and this very fact may 5; Ac. xx. 32; 1 Pe. i. 4; Col. i.12; prove that there must be a God in grace. iii. 24. Predestination.-Toplady relates the following anecdote of King William III. and Bishop Burnet. The Arminian prelate affected e Ellicott. to wonder, "how a person of his Majesty's piety and good sense could so rootedly believe the doctrine of absolute predestination." Is. xlvi. 10. The royal Calvinist replied, "Did I not believe absolute predesti-g Ac. xix. 1-3 nation, I could not believe a Providence. For it would be most Ro. ii. 10. absurd to suppose, that a Being of infinite wisdom would work h Spurgeon. without a plan; for which plan, predestination is only another word." a C inheritance 18. 13, 14. ye, Gentiles. after.. truth, wh. you discovered earnest of the was addressed to all men. the . . salvation, the good news revealing the plan and possibility of your salvation. after.. a Ro. x. 17; Ja. i. believed, faith the condition. sealed, God the sealer, the Spirit the seal, we the sealed. with.. promise, the promised Ro. i. 16; 2 Ti. iii. Spirit, the Holy One. earnest Liv. 112], all. to handgelt, or earnest money given by master on hiring a servant. until possession, final handing over of that eternal blessedness in heaven, of wh. we even now have the foretaste and pledge in the earnest. 15. c Joel ii. 28; Lu. xi. 13; Jo. xiv. 16, 17. d 2 Co. i. 22; Ep. iv. 30; 2 Co. v. 1, 4, 5; Ro. viii. 15 -17, 23. an make all the citi The sealed believer the fullest development of God's glory, and a source of highest good to the universe.-A few preliminary thoughts will introduce us to our subject:-(1) The glory of God is the "For the law is agreement, highest good of the universe; (2) Its development has been proand, as Lyco-gressive; (3) The sealing of the believer with the Holy Spirit of phron says, a promise is its last and highest development; (4) The subject of pledge given that citizens will do our text-This sealing of the believer is a source of highest good justice to each to all the moral universe. Let us inquire in what way.-I. In other; but yet the the new character which he exhibits in the moral and spiritual law is not able to world: 1. As a forgiven sinner he is the monument of God's love zens good and and pity; 2. As a redeemed soul, a monument of the inflexibility just."-Aristotle. of God's justice; 3. As a redeemed spirit, a monument of the purity and holiness of God's character and nature; 4. As an heir of Heaven, a monument of the infallibility of God's nature. II. "What need he In the new spirit which he cherishes in relation to God. A spirit fear who is sure of-1. Attention to God's Word; 2. Obedience to His commands; his short conflict 3. Acquiescence in His will; 4. Zeal and activity in His work. tory? Do but III. In the new principles by which he regulates his life and love, and that conduct: 1. Benevolence amidst selfishness; 2. Truth amidst will banish all deception; 3. Honesty amidst dishonesty; 4. Justice amidst patience; do but injustice; 5. Temperance amidst intemperance. e B. Preece. fJ. Bate. will end in vic fear and all im believe, and that tory that cometh First-fruits of the Spirit.-There are the first-fruits of the will ensure a Spirit in a believer, as there are the first-fruits of the agricultriumph; for this is the vic-turalist from the ground of his possession. The first conviction over- of sin; the first repentance for sin; the first prayer for mercy; the the first exercise of saving faith in Jesus; the first comfort world, even our through believing; the first sense of the Divine favour; the first faith.' Faith gives us arms hope of heaven; the first victory over temptation and sin; the and conquest first realisation of the fulfilment of a Divine promise; the first too; love cross taken up and borne for Christ's sake; the first word for the spires with courSaviour; the first sermon preached for the truth; the first tract age, and bestows the crown."- or book published for instruction in righteousness. How valuable Wogan. are these first-fruits! thanksgiving and prayer a Phi. i. 3, 4; Th. i. 2. 3; Ro. in 1 i. 9; 2 Ti. i. 3; 1 S. xii. 23. b Jo. xx. 17; 1 Ch. xxix. 11. e Col. i. 9; Jo. xi. 27; 1 Co. ii. "All places are 15-17. heard.. Jesus, the best thing one man can hear of another. love.. saints, the fruit of that faith. cease .. you, to God, for giving that faith wh. works by love. making. prayers,a that their faith might increase, and love abound. Father.. glory, glorious Father; the centre and source of glory. wisdom, gen. understanding of mind of God. revelation, single glances into truth, into God's will in rela. to circumstances, etc. in.. him, His purposes concern. us. Spiritual illumination.-I. The grounds of the Apostle's thanks: 1. Their faith in Christ; 2. Their love to the saints. II. The subjects of the Apostle's supplications. The Divine Being in-1. His blessed character; 2. His saving operations.d-The prayers of the Church needed for her ministry.-I. While exposed, like ourselves, to all the common temptations of the depraved heart and follies of youth, there are found, in his very studies, perils of formidable character:-1. The loss of sympathy with ordinary and uneducated minds; 2. The love of fame; 3. The blind worship of genius, as an object of admiration for its own sake, and apart from the moral uses to which it is devoted; 4. Oppositions of "God is inca- science, falsely so called; 5. The studying of the truth merely as pable of doing an exercise of the understanding, without securing its due inanything which is unworthy of a fluence on the heart. II. Hence, from the future influence, as pure and happy well as from the present employments of the rising ministry, we God, for it is the mind which prays to God." Menander. |
