draw. The fountain of supply is full as it is free, and free as it is full. 3. 007lsider his larger message to the whole world of man. "And to make all men see the dispen- sation of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world bath been hid in God." 'l'ho apostle's object was to enlighten the Jew as well a.s the Gentile upon the true nature of the dispensation which displaced so much that was dear to the Jewish heart in order that the true glory of the Lord might shine forth, not as a. mere minister of the circumcision, but as the uniter of Jew and Gentile, bond and free, male and female, in his own body. The mystery was hid for ages, but was now ma.de known by apostles and prophets. We see how revelation was an historical movement, subject to the usual laws of historical development; for the redemptive purpose, "hid for ages," was evolved by a gradual process of growth, till in Christianity it became a full-grown fact. It was pa.rt of the discipline of man to go through all these stages of imperfect knowledge till "the perfect day" dawned upon the world. Bot it was through all the ages " the mystery of redemption," going back to the ages that date from creation- " creation building the platform on. which the strange mystery of redemption was al.isclosed."-'l'. C. Vers. 10, 11.--The Church the means of angelic enlightenment. The Divine purpose in. the dispensation already described was to make known to the angels the manifold wisdom of God. I. THE ANGELS BEOEIVE INSTRUCTION THROUGH THE CHtJRcH. This implies: 1. That the angels are not omniscient, for they have something still to learn. 2. That the angels a.re in. co=unication with the Church on earth as well as in heaven. They rejoice over the conversion of sinners; they minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb. i. 14); they stand in immediate relation to the individual man (Matt. xviil. 10; Luke xv. 10; xvi. 22). The apostles regard themselves as " specto.cles to angels" as well as men, in the insults heaped ll.pon them by an ungrateful world (1 Cor. iv. 9). The Apostle Peter was liberated from prison by an IIIlgel. Angels a.re present in the assembly of the saint.s (1 Cor. xi. 10). They are associated with the redeemed in. heaven (Heb. xii. 22), so as to derive much information concerning the kingdom of God. 3. The angels desire increased knowledge of the ways of God with man. This might be inferred from the fact that. they come specially into the foreground at great turning-points in. the history of the kingdom of God, such as the founding of the old and new covenants, and the humiliation and exaltation of Christ. But they a.re expressly represented as desiring "to look into" the great realities of redemption (1 Pet. i. 12), and here they are instructed in. the manifold wisdom of God by means of the Church. II. THE INSTRUCTION CONVEYED BY THE CHURCH IS "THE GREATLY DIVERSD'IED WIBDO)[ OF, Goo." It is a curious fact that tbe interest of the angels is not in the power or the goodness of God, but in. bis wisdom, as if to imply that the work of redemption represents the highest order of intelligence. It is also a high honour to man that he should first receive the knowledge which the angels are to receive through man. But the angels, by their great age-for they may be thousands of years old- have advantages that short-lived man does not possess ,for comparing the wisdom o( God as manifest in widely distant ages. But the wisdom here referred to centres in the Church-the spiritual body constituted in Christ, and its variety is manifest in. the original plan of salvation, in the selection of a Redeemer, in the incarnation, in. the atonement, in the application of salvation to Gentile and Jew, in. the spread of the Greek language, in the triumph of the Homan law, and in. all the dispensa- tions by which the Church has been. led on.ward to her final destiny. Thus our earth, though a mere speck in. space, becomes, in the eyes of angels, the brightest of stars; for it is the platform of that Church which mirrors forth "the manifold wisdom of God." III. IT IS THE CHURCH WHICH IS THE MEDIUM OF ANGELIC INSTRUCTION. Not specifi- cally the preaching of apostles, nor human preaching, but the Church as the exhibition in its long and checkered history of the wisdom of God. IV. THIS EXHIBITION OF THE MANIFOLD WISDOM WAS INVOLVED IN THE ORIGINAL PLAN 0l!' SALVATION. "According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." The scheme was fixed in the counsel of peace; it was executed in all its l'art.s iu and through Jesus Uhrist, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom 116 THE EPISTLE TO THE EPBESIA1TS. [OB. m. 1-21,
ll.lld knowle<lge; ll.lld it found historical realization in the progress and kingdom of God, a.pa.rt from all dispensational limitations.-'!'. C.