The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 48

• I saw thee eye the gen'ral Drlrth With boundless love." We can only do this w~en ~ tur°; to God in t~anksgivings for all men (1 Tim. ii. 1), The &~le had ~uliar delight. m th~ Eph~1ans; an~ !'8 their fuitb was genuine, and mi.s e'"8r reoe1nng new manifestations, his thanksgiving for them was unceasing. 2. Ir~furthem. "Making mention of you in my prayers." He was in the ha.bit of praying for the Churches by name, as a parent prays for his children by name. 'l'bey were among the number prayed for, from the time of their becoming a Church. Be had special points of interest connected with them. He had been long resident there, and he had ,not forgotten the affectionate leave-taking at Miletus. • And having kept up his information regarding their affairs, he was supplied with matter for intercession. Observe the twofoul we of information. It is important to circulate missionary information, that we may be supplied with subjects for thanksgiving. " Daily shall he be praised" as the result of praying for Ohrist continually (in an unsaved world) and giving of the gold of Sheba; but how shall we praise unless we have the means of bearing? It is important also to know the condition of Churches and of individuals, that our prayer for them may be more intelligent, and may not, from vagueness a.nd indirectness, miss the mark. • III. IN WHAT CHARACTER Gon IS ADDRESSED IN PBAYEB. "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory." As is not unusual in prayer, God receives a name from what is to be prayed for. The prayer is to relate to glory; and so God is styled sublimely the "Father of glory." The glory in store for us is not from ourselves; it is from God. To him all glory essentially belongs, and by him as Father it must be produced in U& The first part of the designation is striking; it cannot be said to be startling. That God should be called"' the God of our Lord Jesus Christ" is in keeping Tith the la.ngoa.ge of human dependence on the cross; "My God, my God," and also Tith the la.°'=-unage of identity with bis own before his ascension: "I ascend unto my Fs.ther a.nd your Father, and· my God and your God." Using this language, we identify o=elves with Jesus Christ as our Lord. Ta.ken along with the other part of the de~"1lation, the meaning is that God is the First Ca.use (Father) of that glo1y which Jesus Christ has obtained for us, and which it belongs to him as our Lord to bestow. IV. IT IBA PBAYEB GENERALLY TO KNOW ABOUT GoD. "May give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him." Than the thorough knowledge of God which is here implied, there is nothing more worthy of attainment. "Every one's elevation is to be measured first and chiefly by his conception of this great Being; and to attain a jost and briaht and quickening knowledge of him is the highest aim of thought. In truth, the gr~t end of the universe, of revelation, of life, is to develop in 111! the idea of God. Much earnest, patient, laborious thought is' required to see the infinite Being as he is; to rise above the low, gross notions of the' divinity, which_ rush in upon ns from our passions, from our selfish partialities, and from th? low-m1~ded world around us." A spirit of wisdom is that in which we rightly estimate tbmgs, vain things as vain, worthy things as worthy, and all things according to their relative vanity or worth. As applied to God, it is the spirit in which we_ learn·~ appreciate bis iniinit.e worth. It is also a spirit of revel4tion. It is the dawnmg of his beauty upon our minds. It is the reception of much about God that we could never have found out by our reason. Canditwn. "Having the eyes of yoor heart enlightened." There is a noticeable change from "understanding" to" h~rt" in the translation here.· I~ is true that Goo is an object for the heart more than for the rntellect. The Church says m the Song of Solomon, "I Bleep but my heart waketh." It was the heart that detected the voice of the Beloved. Tb~ eyes of our heart, more than of our intellect, have been filmed over by sin. We cannot naturally appreciate the Divine unselfishness, what in self- forgetfulness he h1111 it in his heart to do for us. For this there is necessary the cleansing and quickening of our spiritual vision by the revelation without us and through the inward operation of the Spirit. To God, then, we must look for the presence of this condition of Divine knowledge. V. IT IS A PB.AYER SPECIFICALLY TO KNOW ABOUT GOD TIIE GLOUY WHICH HE HAS DE6TINED FOB us. "That ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints." There is a hope which his calling (lll, I, 1-23.] THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 45