impulse of compassion towards himf. Hence was it that the Son of God was sent into the world g: hence also were so many offers of mercy made to man; and to this alone is it owing that so much as one has ever found acceptance with God.]
But, to judge how great the love was wherewith he loved us, we must trace it,
II. In its operations —
The grace of God has been displayed towards us in ten thousand ways ; but we must confine our at- tention to its operations, as they are set forth in the text.
God has " quickened us even when we were dead in sins" —
[What is meant by " dead in sins," appears from the preceding verses. We were walking according to the course of this world ; we were the willing servants of Satan ; we were indulging all kinds of " filthiness, both of flesh and spirit ;" we were demonstrating ourselves to be " by nature" as well as practice, " children of wrath;" and we were utterly destitute of all power to help and save ourselves'1. Yet even then did God look upon us in tender compassion1: he quickened us by the same Spirit whereby he raised Christ from the deadk. In so doing, he united us " together with Christ," and ren- dered us conformable to him as our Head. What an astonish- ing instance of divine grace was this !]
He has also " raised us up, and enthroned us to- gether with Christ in heaven" —
[The Apostle had before expatiated on what God had wrought for Christ1: he now draws a parallel between be- lievers and Christ. What was done for Christ our head and representative, may be considered as done for all the members of his mystical body. In this view Christians may be considered figuratively as risen with Christ, and as already seated on his throne: their hearts, their conversation, their rest, is in heaven™. How has he thus verified the declaration of
f We may conceive of God as expressing himself in the language of the prophet. Hos. xi. 8, 9.
k John hi. 16. h Rom. v. 6.
1 This may be illustrated by Ezek. xvi. 4 — 6. k Compare 1 Pet. iii. 18. with Rom. viii. 11. 1 Eph. i. 19, 20. " quickened, raised, enthroned" '» Col. iii. 1, 2. Phil. iii. 20.