PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians
William Garden Blaikie [1820-1899] · 272,936 words · 299 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 61
condition, not bece.use we have not the seal, but because we are too blinded with fears to ree.d it, or because we are looking for a different kind of seal. 3. They are preserved by God. The seal is a security. All the authority of its owner accompanies it. Christians being once owned will never be deserted by God. II…
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from giving them their due by jealousy, We might better encourage one another if we were more ready t.o anticipate the great Master's generous" Well done good and faithful servant." At the same time, it must be remembered that the glory is due to God, as the grace came only from him. Thus our congratulations should pa…
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between us nnd it. Till we understand somewhat of the power of God, the hope will seem to he unattainable. But this we may understand in so far as we are enlightened rightly to appreciate the manifestation of it in the resurrection and triumph of Christ- the pledges and grounds of our future blessedness.-W. F. A. Vers…
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which he can have imme.liate contact with individual souls. 2. There is ooe life in Christ and the Church. The same blood pulsates through the head and through the members of the body. The blood of Christ must not only be "applied to" Christians, as rome pt'Ople say, but in them, drunk a.swine of life (John vi. 66). Th…
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by Alford. It is not easy to assign a denote a prophetic rather than o.n act no.I con• different mooning to the two nouns here; dition. This spirit energizes in the " sons some suggest acts of tmnsgreesion for the of disobedience." This designation is strik- one, o.nd sinful tendencies or principles for ing; it denotes…
1,022 wordsSECTION 66The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 66
seems to condemn men for the sins of others, pbatio the free and sovereign mercy of God, we remark (1) that in actual life we con- Though sin is the abominable thing which stantly find individuals suffering for the sin be hates, loathsome to him in the lost of the corporation, domestio, social, or na- degree, he did no…
1,058 wordsSECTION 67The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 67
where the fellowship ond the enjoyment of as to understand a.bout it, there muet be a heaven are known, where e.n elevation of personal reception of salvation by us, and spirit is experienced as if heaven were that is by faith. Faith at once believes begun. Buch wos the case of the three the good news of e. free salvat…
1,059 wordsSECTION 68The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 68
We have to be fashioned anew by God Rom. ii. 28, 29; Phil. iii. S; Col. ii. 11), before we oan do anything aright (see were called Circumcision; they had o name 2 C:or. v. 17). Anything right in us is not which denoted the very opposite of that the cause of grace, but its fruit. There given to God's people-snotlier ill…
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got the blessing in, i.e. by vital union and the absence of any specific allusion, it is follow ship with, him. The "without Christ" best to nnder3tand the words generally, of ver. 12 contrasts powerfully with "in "broke down that which served as a middle Cllrist Jesus" of this verse; and the addi- wo.ll of partition "…
1,049 wordsSECTION 70The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 70
So making peaoe; that is, between Jew and after the resurrection the.t peace oould be Gentile. The peacemaking with God, M proclaimed on the footing of faith in a we ba ve seen, is referred to in the first words Sa1·iour who had died and wee alive. And of the verse; this at the end is the sub- ouly in the sense of havi…
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ye are come unto Mount Zion," etc.). "Their before tho apostles. In other passngrs of names are engraven on the same civic roll this Epistle" o.postles and prophets" ,lcnote with all whom 'the Lord shall count when New 'l'estament officers (eh. iii. 5; iv. 11), he reckoneth up the people.' It is as if they and i! is m…
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Diana at Ephesus may have been in the Jews and other believers in the Church were apostle's mind-its symmetry, its glory, the not accidental; they were " buildod to- relation of each several pa.rt to the rest and gether," compacted into each other, and to the whole, BI! a suitable external emblem ought to work toget…
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more glorious. It is not that we a.re called to work, but rather to allow God to work- to have a.11 within us open and unobstructed for the full and free exercise of God's almighty renewing power. Vere. 11-13.-0ontrast between the past and the present. The Ephesians are here called to look back, to remember what they …
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name given under heaven whereby we must be saved; ho the tried and sure Founda- 1-ion-stone, elect, precious. Are we resting on him? 2. He is the chief Oorner-sto'll6, determines the lie and direction of other stones. We must be in harmony with Christ, our wills, notions, taste, habits. There may be secondary corner…
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themselves into spiritual life. The inability is not natural, but moral, and therefore sinners are responsible for it. They cannot, because they will not. "Ye will not come unto me, that ye may have life" (John v. 40). 8. The dead are cold to the touch. The living body retains its heat very much in the same manner as …
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n-a.l., yet " deRd while they live,•• and unconscious of their death. The term "walking• implies the habitual course and tendenoy of life. Men were dead in sin just as they lived in sin, for the apostle says of the same sins," In the which ye also walked some time, "hen ye lived in them" (Col. iii. 7). The direction…
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things. An evil me.nor e.n evil woman ce.n inject e.n evil thought and suggestion into the nature of another, either by word or by glance. If God, who is a Spirit, can have access to our minds so e.q to influence us supremely for good, why may not Satan, as e.n evil spirit, he.ve e. similar e.ccess for evil? Accordi…
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of the doctrine is the starting-point of the doctrines -of special revelation of redemp- ~ion _through Christ's blood, of regeneration through the Holy Spirit. This pnssnge implies- I. THAT WE NEED REDEIIII'TION FROM THE MOMENT OF OUR BIRTH, The sacrament of baptism is meaningless on any other theory. " The wicked are…
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are buried with him by baptism into death: that like a.s Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." These words indicate o. bond of connection between the spiritual life of the believer and the resurrection of Christ. The new life is, in fact, a parti…
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, er. 'i.-Thi <ksign <I Uie di.spe,isation of mercy. The salvation of these Ephesians vras t.o stand out as a remarkable wonument of " the exceedina riches of God's irrace" to all succeeding generations. It was in this sense that the iq>ostle regarded himself "as a pattern to them which .mould hereafter believe on h…
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pardon through the blood of Christ, let them still more rejoice that Jesus " saves them from their sins" by a continuous supply of his living grace. IL POWER FOR GOOD WORKS IS INCLUDED IN SALVATION. "We are God's workman- ship, creited in Christ ,Jesus unto good works.n We are saved because we are thus created. Thi…
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GREAT:s-Ess A?\"D FREENESS OF DIVINE LOVE. Where sin did much II.bound, we have found t.lrnt i;;rnce did much more abound. Ill. IT TENDS TO INSPIRE US WITH A STONGER LOVE FOR CHRIST, WHO HAS PLACED US so mGH n, HEAVE?\'LY PLACES. The woman in the gospel loved much when she remembered how much was forgiven her. "The…
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IV. 'l'HEY WERE STRANGERS TO THE COVENANTS OF PROMISE. 1. The plural reference is to the successive renewals of the covenant with the patriarchs. It was but the one covenant of promise-" the promise made to the fathers " which God fulfilled in "raising up Jesus" (Acts xiii. 32). The word "covenant" occurs two hundred a…
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li.ing: Gro." The Gentiles were far from Christ, from the Churoh, from the covenant, fn~m hope, ff'l'lll Goo. There is no divider like sin. II. THE GE~""TILES HADE NIGH IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. Just as Israel at Sinai was by the sprinkl_ing of blood made to be the pe~ple of God, brought near to him, kept year by year m…
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RB being condemned in Christ's flesh (Rom. viii. 3), so here our Lord is regarded as having in his flesh ta.ken upon him the sins of his people, as the great cause of enmity and disunion, aud having exhausted at once the sin of man and the wrath of God on the cross, he thus at once abolished the law of ceremonies and a…
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Ver. 18.-0ur access to tllll Fa/her. "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." If the enmity had not been slain there could not have been access to the Divine presence. Both Jews and Gentiles enjoy' this access on a footing of grace and mercy to the throne of God. L THE APPROACH IS TO THE …
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equality with all the other members, as to privilege, protection, and government. They are thus brought into relation, not with the Jews either of the present or the past, but with saints of e.11 dispensations e.nd all times; for the Church of God which Jesus II purchased with his own blood" does not date from the da.y…
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Goo., not in Rome, but- in heaven. Therefore it is an indestructible buildincr. Jesus Christ is called "the chief Corner-stone," which has its true supporting-pla~e in the foundstion. because it is the binding-stone of the building, holding two walls because it is built into both. Perhaps there is a. reference to th…
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apostle represents our souls as by nature dead like Christ's body in the tomb. They are not sick through sin, but dead. And the death of the soul is manifested in the corruption of the nature, so that we live as the world lives, according to the devil's desires, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and …
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Vers. ll-22.-77ie spiritual temple. In the apostle's prayer for the· Ephesians the power of God to us-ward who believe was illustrated first in the experience of our risen and reigning Head, and secondly in the experience of us as risen a.nd reigning members of his mystical body. The unity of the members, however, bas …
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Vers. l-10.-.Association with <Jhrist. The concluding thought of t.he first chapter was the resurrection and exaltation of Christ. In order now to bring out bow they were benefiterl thereby, he ca!ls up to them their original condition. He suows them the pit out of which they have been dug, the rock out of which they h…
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imaginations that never find expression in words or acts have a deadening effect on the soul. They ma.y indicate daring rebellion against God ; and, even though they are only vain thoughts that lodge in the mind, they are not there without the spreading of a baneful influence over the life. 3. TMg were only causes o…
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spring from the flesh ; ~ut in order to be gratified they require the consent of the mind, and s~ they become desires, not only of the flesh, but of the mind. And were 1Yy nature the children of wrath, ev!"" as the rest. "By nature n is a qualifying clause. The Jews could not be spoken of in the same terms as the Ge…
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to after ages on earth. There ,is encouragement to us, even now, in the fact that such kindness was shown to Ephemans who had been dC!l,d thro~h trespasses and sins. Dut the language is also applicable t.o the ieons or whioh the Scripture speaks beyond this life. For if there is nC1t room there tor sinners being encou…
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he is not to bo regarded as rellectin;: on the distinction, or on the names founded on it. He is simply exercising a little caution. 'l'lio~e who called themselves Circumcision, as superior to those whom they called Unc.ircumcision, shoulu have answered to the name. But he will not say that circumcision in the tlesh wa…
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ha'ring given his Son for them I .And yet, of those who have the opportunity how few enter int-0 the felicity of the enjoyment of God's love I ' IV. THEIR ALTERED POSITION. "But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far oft are made nigh in the blood of Christ." God had his earthly dwelling-place in the te:mple at …
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e.nd there we.s no need for two Churches-the Jewish Church continuin"', and a Gentile Church forming a separate community. But there was the clearest case"for one Church, viz. the Christian Church, containing both. 2. Jn their having the same gospel of peace 21reached to them. " And he came and preached peace to you th…
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si:iirit hn.s the theocratic power at bis back-has, it may be said, ten legions of angels at l11S ;;orn~imd, as the_ Mast~r ~ad. ". ,vhoso toucheth :t'ou toucbeth the apple of mine eye. 'l here was this protection enJoyed by the Israelites very remarkably in connec- tion wit.h their going up to their feasts. And, in…
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if we think of the time when these buildings were going up together, extending in all directions, different sets of builders being employed at different points, would there not have been appropriateness i1;1 saying that the buildings were growing into, or toward, a holy templ_e? These Eph_es1ans knew what a massive imp…
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his purpose. (4) They are wickedly associated. "Among whom also we all bad our conversation in times past." Their social natures are so perverted that they a.re linked with the corrupt; all their social alliance1 i,.re false and impure. (6) They are carnally ~eba..•ed. . "In the !us~ of the flesh, fulfill1ng the des…
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ture, contrary also to the constitution of the soul and the nature of the work. Man is so constituted that no moral change can he effected in him irre.•pective of his own efforts. He must work. All that the expression means is that man's works are not the cause. "By grace are ye saved through faith." But if faith is re…
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the mo_ral blood that _ci~ulates through all his activities. What is Lhe gov.erning spirit of Christ? Sclf-sacnfic1ng love. "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," eto. It is by that self-sacrificing spirit of his in teaching, working, praying, and dying, that he does the work of the world's reconciliation. Lo…
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truth fa.des from the darkened vision, the ee.r of conscience grows deaf to the voices of heaven ; (3) an unconsciousness of its own mournful condition-the spiritually dead give no more evidence of realizing their condition than we can see in the mute, immo~ bile countenance of a corpse; (4) the commencement of corrupt…
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of wrnth." We must look for the motive in the love of God alone. But that love is so great that it is a very treasure-house of mercy. God is "rich in meroy." Then our very helplessness appeals to his compassion. 'l'he more dead we are the more will God desire to quicken us. ll. Tm; MEA::S-S THROUGH WHIOH THE GRACE …
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while grace is lik? th~ electric current which waits, but only waits, such a connection to hasten to us with hght and fire and life. III. FAITH COMES FROlll GRACE. Even faith itself is" the gift of God." Faith is a spiritue.l act e.nd habit, and therefore it would be impossible in a soul quite deaci spiritually. But h…
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all who are outside the pa.le of the gospel. Let us go through the descending and darkening series and observe the several woeful characteristics. I. CHRISTLESS. The Gentile world had no :Messiah. Worldly interests'--buslness, pleasure, culture-have their advantages; but they bring no·Saviour, no Physician of sick …
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revived, simply because the two races have been blended together. So Christ would blend Jew and Gentile, and establish a common family union between Christians and also between the whole Christian brotherhood and our one Father in heaven. Ill, CHIIIST'S PEACE DEPENDS ON THE DESTRUCTION OP THE CAUSES OF DISCORD. Jt doe…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER m ward. The gmce or fh.vour meant is that whereby Paul was constituted the apostle Vers.1-18.-DIGRESSIONONTHEADlllISSJON of the Gentiles. Deeply though he felt OF THE GEYTILES TO THE KINGDOll OF GOD. his being sent away from preaching to his Ver. 1.-For this cause. The reference is countrymen (…
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Ver. 5.-Which was not made known to part, who had been II persecutor and in- the aona of men in other generations, Though Jurious, but flowing from the free grace not a new purpose, the knowledge of it is of God, his sovereign, unmerited mercy. new. Abraham, David, and the prophets, Which wu given me BOCording to the w…
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fomiing power, all without limit, and capable could no\ have been me.de for one pbor of satisfying every ~t, cmving, a'tld p\nnet ; in its indirect bearings we do not ~-enrning of the heart, now and evermore. know what other orders of beings havo 'I'he thought of his having -such riches to rlerived most vital lesson…
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Jesus," is perfectly e.pplice.ble to the eteme.l as good o. right to the good things of the forme.tion of the purpose; it is the con- covenant ;-I take the steps now to be speci- sie.ntly returning indice.tion of the element fied for enabling them actually to possess in which the whole scheme of gr11co had its these go…
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ceeds to intercede for the portion still on This to be secured by their faith, opening ea.rth. As the whole family is named after the door, receiving Christ in nil his fulness 1 the same Father, is conspicuous before the resting and living on him, believing his eyes of all as God's, so it may well be ex- promises, a…
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in but poorly with the context, in which the conferred on him by the gospel, than that tenor of the e.poetle'e pre.yer ie the.t e. profusion he ie susceptible of such conformity to Goel. of Divine blessing might be enjoyed by the Who can conceive that man should have Ephesio.ns. If a genitive must be supplied, attaine…
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whole career, the secret of his wonderful zeal. Why was he a prisoner? Generally, for the Gentiles. Why for them? Because the Divine purpose regarding them bad been revealed to him, and through him to the world, a.nd the enmity of the Jews to that puri=e had brought Paul into captivity. Looking at the passage as a w…
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I. INTRODUCTION, 1. The altitude: "I bow my knees;" humility, earnestness. 2. 'l'he designation of God: "the Father;" the character in which Christ taught us to approach God in prayer, and wbiqh gives us most encouragement. 3. 'l'he name of the family is derived from God, constituting an additional plea. That which bea…
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Romans' prisoner, the Gentiles1 prisoner: Christ's prisoner, as suffering for his gospel ; the Jews' prisoner, as suffering by their accusation; the Romans' p1isoner, as suffering ~y t~eir s~nt_ence_; the Gentiles' prisoner,. as suffering for his l~bours unto their salva.- t1on. ' His 1mpr1sonment was thus a higher hon…
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citizens of the saints. Christ is the Mystery or godliness, as he is God manifest in the flesh, but he is emphatically so as " Christ the Hope of glory" for the Gentiles (Col. i. 27). 2. It was hidden fur ages from the sons of men, both Jew and Gentile. A mystery is either something which bas been concealed, perhaps fo…
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Vers. 8, 9.-The apost'le's high privilege. Very often does he refer, with·a sori of grate- ful humility, to the Divine favour in attaching him to the senice of the gospel . . J. MARK THE OONTRAST BETWEEN HIS CALL AND HIS SENSE OF PERSONAL NOTHINGNESS. "Less than the least of a.11 saints." The expression is exceedingly…
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draw. The fountain of supply is full as it is free, and free as it is full. 3. 007lsider his larger message to the whole world of man. "And to make all men see the dispen- sation of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world bath been hid in God." 'l'ho apostle's object was to enlighten the Jew as well a.s the …
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Ver. 12.-The mw spirit of approach to God. As the effect of the work of redemp- t-ion, we stand tn a new relation to God, which entitles us to a continuous access to him, free, unrestricted, and confiding. ~- WE ~AVE BOLDNE~ AND .-'-CCE8:1 ~ Goo. There ~s an open, intrepid speaking which sprmgs from a mmd confident…
821 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.