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). Thus, by close romruunion with Christ iu faith, submission, and obedience, the very life of Christ will fto~ through us, so that we can say," Not I, but Christ liveth in me." 3. Christ 1,rmtks over the Church. He is the Head of the body. The Church is not a republic; it is a kin.,,o-dom, and Christ is its King. His thought teaches, his will commands, his Spirit gives grace and order to all the movements of the body. 4. The Church is one in Christ. The head has but one body. Through Christ a common sympathy should spring up among Christia.us, just as, through their connection with the head, the various organs of the body co-operate harmoniously. When the influence of the head is lost, convulsions or confused movements are the consequence.. So sectarian enmity is a proof of severance from Christ. N evcrtheless, variety is possible and even necessary in a. highly organized body. 'l'here are many members, and all the members have not the same office. The essential unity consists in the subordination of all the parts to the one head. 5. Severance from Ghrist is death to the Church. A Christless Church is a headless trunk. We may retain the doctrine and ethic of the New Testa- ment., but, nevertheless, amputation of the Head means death. Even a partial severance of connection involves pa.raysis-loss of spiritual power and loss of spiritual feeling. II. h."TXB...'-.!LLY, THE CmracB IB THE FULNESS OF CHRIST. It is filled with Christ. He is not only the Head abo¥e it; he is the life within it. He does not only teach, ~ command, and lead from without; he inspires his people and lives in his Church. Christ fills "all in all;" i.e. the Spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth is in the Thole uni.erse, inspiring all creation and all providence with wisdom and goodness, purity and grace. The same Spirit is in the Church. .As yet, unhappily, the Church is not filled ~th Christ. Though Christ is received into the heart of Christians, every dror within is not yet flung open to the gracious Guest. But in the perfect time, when his authority is everywhere established, his presence will be universally immanent. In the ideal Church, Christ fills the affections with holy love, the thoughts with higher troths, the imagination with heavenly visions, the will with -0bedient actions. He fills all and his graces are seen in all. .Already he begins the blessed indwelling. .We look forward to his great triumph, when he will as fully fill his people as he will absolutely conquer his foes.-W. F. A. '
EXPOSITION. of God was exerled o~ Christ .and on the CHAPTER Il. Ephesians, 1t was exerted to very different Vera. 1-10.--SPIRITUAL HlsToBY OP THE effects: in the case of Christ, raising him EPHEsu:5's. Thie passage corresponds t.o literally from the dead and exalting him to Gen. i. It is a history of creation, and we heavenly glory; in the case of the Ephe• note the same great et.ages. 1. Chaos (vers. sians, raisi.ng them from spiritual death and 1-3). 2. The dawn-the Spirit of God exalting them t.o high spiritual privileges. moving on the face of the waters (ver. 4). We may observe the change from the second 3. The work of creation-in BUccessive stage& to the first person, and vice t1eraa, in this (vera. 4-10). chapter es in eh. i. Second person (vers. 1, Ver. L-You also, who were dead in your 8, 11); first (vers. 3, 10, 14); and the two trelpa811811 and your Bins, The apostle re- streams brought together (ver. 18).. The tnms from his digression, in which he had chapter closes beautifully with an emblem shown the marvellous working of the Di vine of the Church as the one temple of which power on Christ, to show ~he working of the all believers are parts. The death ascribed same power on the Epbeo1.an converts them- to the Ephesinns in their natural state is selves. The vµ.&.s is not governed by any evidently spiritual death, and" trespasses and verb going before; it manifestly depends sins," being in the dative c~•Kpous -ro,s ,ra- on the ,ruv,(w01rol11u•v of ver. 5, but it is pa,r-rtI,µ,a,n Kai .-air i.µ,a,,...la,s ), _seems to indi- separated from it by a new digression (vera. cate the causo of death-" dead through 2, 3), on which the apostle immediately your trespasses and your sins" (R.V.); Btarts. While the Sllllle quickening power " dead of your trespasses," etc., is suggested OB. II, 1-22.] THE EPISTLE Tu THE EPHESIANS. 61