CHAP. IV. VER. 3. 201

detaching ἐν ἀγάπῃ from this clause and connecting it with the following one, so as to read ἐν ἀγάπῃ σπου- dafovres. The participle σπουδάζοντες is of course con- nected with what precedes. They were to walk worthy of their vocation, forbearing one another, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit. Of the phrase unity of the spirit, there are three interpretations. 1. Eccle- siastical unity, so Grotius: unitatem ecclesiae, quod est corpus spirituale. Instead of that discordance man- ifested in the church of Corinth, for example, not only in their division into parties, but in the conflict of “ spirits,” or contentions among those endowed with spiritual gifts, the apostle would have the Ephesians manifest in the church that they were animated by one spirit. But this is foreign not only to the simple mean- ing of the terms, but also to the context. 2. The word spirit is assumed to refer to the human spirit, and the unity of the spirit to mean, concordia animorum, or harmony. 3. The only interpretation in accordance with the ordinary usage of the words and with the con- text, is that which makes the phrase in question mean that unity of which the Spirit is the author. Every where the indwelling of the Holy Ghost is said to be the principle of unity in the body of Christ. This unity may be promoted or disturbed. The exhortation is that the greatest zeal should be exercised in its pre- servation ; and the means by which it is to be pre- served is the bond of peace. That is, that bond which is peace. The peace which results from love, humility, meekness, and mutual forbearance, is essential to the