The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 66

seems to condemn men for the sins of others, pbatio the free and sovereign mercy of God, we remark (1) that in actual life we con- Though sin is the abominable thing which stantly find individuals suffering for the sin be hates, loathsome to him in the lost of the corporation, domestio, social, or na- degree, he did not turn from us when we tional, with which they are identified; (2) were immersed in it; nor did he wait till that spa.rt from this altogether, our indi- we bego.n to move towards him: be began vidual offences would expose us to God's to influence us even when we were dead. wrath; and (3) that the moral and legal Made us alive together with Christ (111111•• relations of the individual to the corporation ("'°w-ol71cr• "TfP Xeurrrp). Mnde us alive with is a subject of difficulty, and in this case the life which IS in Christ and wbioh flows makes a strong demand on onr faith. We from Christ. A parallel is rnn between the should acoept the teaching of the Word of way in "hich God's power operated on the G-c--.d upon it, and leave onr righteous Judge body of Christ, and the way in which it w ,indicate himself. •• Wrath," as applied operates on the soul.s of believe~ in him in to God, must be re,,~ed as essentially respect of (1) the qu:iokening; (2) the different fro::n the same word when used of raising up from the grave; (3) the senting man. In the latter case it usual.Iv indicates of them in heavenly places. The Father, a disorderly, excited, pa..••sions.te "feeling, as having "given to the Son t.o have life in of one "ho has lost self-control; when used himself," and "the Son quickening whom of God. it denotes the holy, calm, deep oppo- he will" (John vi. 21, 26), by God's decree sition of his nature t.o Bin. compe_lling him we were first quickened by him, made par- to inflict the appropriate punishment. takers of Christ's life (John :ri. 25; comp. Ver. 4.-:Bnt God, being rich il,. mercy. John :xiv. 19; xv. 5; Col. iii. 4; Gal. ii. 20, The preceding verses convey the idea of a etc.). All the life we had lost was restored- rosb.ing t.owards inevitable ruin-towards the life forfeited by transgression, the lifl! of some frightful cataract, when all help from a calm and well-ordered heart, the sublime man is hopeless. Man's extremity becomea life of fellowship with God. :By grace have God's opportunity. The "but" is very em- ye, been saved. This is a parenthetical phatic, lllld wonderfally reverses the picture. olanse, more fully dwelt on in ver. 8, thrown The sovereignty of God is very apparent, on in here nbrnptly by the npostle in the fnl- its gracious side. It interposes t.o rescue ness of bis heart, to throw light on this those who would otherwise plunge into great wonder-that Christ should import i.i:retrievable ruin. We have here the filling his own life to souls dead in sin. Grace up of that ,Divine saying, "0 Isre.el, thou in opposition to human merit is at the ha.st destroyed thyself, bnt in me is thine root of the whole arrangement; free, unde- help." The genesis of salvation is declared served mercy. -It is not anything that God t.o be in two of God's attributes, of which is bound to by the necessity of his nature. the first is mercy, or compassion. God has It is the resnl t of his will, not of his nature. a tender, yearning feeling towards men Had it not been for his good pleasure, sal- brought t.o misery by their own sins. .And vation had never been. "Saved" is the this feeling is not shallow or spare-be is past participle (crecrc,,cr,.l1101), denoting, not rich in mercy. It is an exuberant, fnll-fiow- the act of being 8aved, but the fact of having ing feeling i.u God (" Thy mercy . . . is in been saved. Salvation in a real sense is a the heavens," Ps. mvi. 5), and may there- present poBBession. When we are one with fore be appealtd to trustfully. For his great Christ we are justifled freely by God's grace, love wherewith b.e loved us. The other our trespasses are all forgiven. The spirit attribute from which the plan of salvation of new moral life bas been given to us ; sprang is God's love. Love is more than we are made olive to God. But while salva- compassion. Compassion may be con.fined tion is a present attainment in a real sense, t.o the breast, but love goes forth in active its full realization is future, for thnt includes beneficence. It makes common cause with perfect bolineBB, and elso the glorification its object. It cannot rest till ite object is of the body. In this sense se.lvation is to put right. Two expressions are used in- come (Rom. viii. 24; xiii. 11). ttnsifying this Divine love: (1) bis great Ver. 6.-And b.ath raised us np with him lo\'e ; (2) love tJJitJ. which he looed u,; the (comp. Phil. iii. 10): so thnt we no longer verb of love goyerniIJg the noun of love walk "according to the course of tb.ie makes t.Le idea rich and strong. This view world," but according to the life of Christ; of the exuberance of the Divine attributes we walk " in newneBI of life." And ■eated from which ai.lvation bas its rise is in har- us with him in the heavenly places in Christ lIIODY with the whole characten,f the Epistle. lem1. .AB God placed Je8U8 at hie right Yer. 5.-Even when we were dead in our hand in heaven, so he has placed bis people llinll. .ReJ)(-ated from ver. I, in order t.o set with him in l1ea.\'enly places; i.e. places in its true light the declaration that follows where the privileges of heaven are dis- of what God did for us to make more em- pensed, where the nir of heaven is bree.thed. OH, II, 1-22,) THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 63