The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 46

the counsel of bis ~ill; ~o ~hjl end ~hat we ~h?uld be unto the praise of his.glory,, wo 'Who had before hoped m Christ.' Jewish Christians are described as those who had before hopw, in Christ. They dro. not vaguely hope, but they so grasped the promise of the Mcssillh thllt even from Abraham's day they glac.ly looked forward to hint,; and as the t:me drew near they waited for the consolation of Israel. There were a few of them who bad Etood in a. double relation to Christ, first as expect.ants of his comin"', and then as bles."8d with the object of their hope. They could say in a special sense,""" We who l~fo~" _etc. But the sa~e langu~ could be used by t~e others (Paul among them) as 1<;t•utll~'l.~g themselves with the pious of former generations. The hoping in him before 1,e came lDlplies the trusting in him as come, and it is as believers that they were m~ v:ssrs..C(lrs of the inlieriiance. It is a theocratic word that is used as suiting Jewish Christians. The theocratic life was S.'\turated with the idea of the inheritance all down th~ generations. ~reat import&nce was attached to the lot in each tribe and. family being preserved entire. And now, when the earthly Canaan as a type was fading into the r-st, were they the first to be put into pas.session of the enduring substance. Why were they thus the first in privilege? Why have we had only a few years, while others, sainted, have had hundreds of years of redeemed existence? Why are we blessed with the gospel while multitudes are placed after us still unblessed? There is an evident pointing to conditions of redemption as lying beyond our control, as determined by the Diviae sovereignty. And we can only say, as here, that it is foreordered •according· ·to the purpose of him, etc. He is absolutely free to assign some a more favoured" lot'' than others. He causes it to rain upon one city and causes it not to rain upon another city ( A.mos iv. 7). He causes it to rain, with the raias of his Spirit, earlier upOn some ·and later upon others. Their being put first was "to the praise of his glory." We are not to think of this priority under the Divine administration as though it were .not glorify- ing ta God. We must think of it, as of all else coanected with redemption, that there i.; that rich grace in it which is characterized by wisdom e.nd prudence (ver. 8). We must believe it to be the best method by which God can compass the end he has in ,iew. We who are to thank God for all men are to thank God especially for the earlier oom of the redeemed. They will thank God too; hut the glory that God has in t-hem is not merely their matter, it is ours as well, and oalls for our• song of praise. fupecia.lly sb.aJl we feel the reasonableness of such priestly service if we go oa to think of those who are brought to Christ through the instrumentality of the first bom. II. THE LATER BOBX. "In whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation." These were the Gentile Christians. Christ was the Desire u!all nations. The Gentile world in its we.nt and woe called for a Saviour. But it could not be said that they, Gentiles by extraction, bad in their generations ,hoped in Christ. When he came it was to " his own ; " and it was only :after the• Jews, even under the new dispensation, that they "heard." Every generation has a duty to per- form to the next. It is to tell what they themselves did hear (Ps. h:xviii.). , ·We in Christian lands have a. duty to perform to those placed behind us in Christian privileges. And "how shall they believe ia him of whom they have not heard?" (Rom. :x.). 'l'his duty of telling rises out of our possession of " truth," o.ur possession of" salvation." 'l',he truth which has a. saving power in it is not the private p~operty of any; but we, are bound, as soon as we know the value of it, to seek to make 1t the property of others. It cannot be too widely possessed; it is as fitted to bless all as it is to bless one. And this savia.,. troth we do not have in the varying element of our own thought. But we owe it to God that he has given the truth it11 proper form in tbe "word," salvation in "'tbe gospel.n And it is this gospel, this good word from God, which we have to make men u:, "hear." The Jewish Christians a.cted the part of the first born; for it was Jewish preache111 who went forth to the Gentiles. "That all the Gentiles might hear," 6aid the most heroic of them. And in Ephe8Us, in the face of difficulties (fighting with bea.sui), he made them to hear this word of trutb, tbis gospel, etc. Hearing does not bring the certainty, but it brings the opportunity and the responsibility, of believing. A.rul. their opportunity in that heathen city they solemnly embraced. Faith came by hearing, the faith which sinners need for salvation. It WaB the right attitude toward the Saviour, and, as it was not different from that of Jewish Christians, by that God with whow there is r.o difference, they, though later, were placed on the same level ol Lks~irJ&. OH, I. 1-~;3.J +HE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 43