The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 133

to us (as to the including of the Gentiles) was mystery to them also, being hidden to both in God. They were at a loss to understand what the development of things under the gospel was to be. Du~ they ~ere taught by the events. Now through the Chu\"ch was made known the mamfold WISdom of God. The Church was not to be instructress but rather material for instruction by God in the subject of his· manifold wisdom'. The:e was !Daterial to be found elsewhere, in which the angels delighted to study tho mamfold wisdom _of God. It was when the worlds were brought forth into space that they shouted for Joy. What a field was that opened up for their contemplation I "o Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom bast thou made them all." 'l'be simple idea of a house is that which has walls, and door, and windows, and roof· but into what manifoldness, what richness of structure, may that be drawn out by th; creative mind ,,f the architect! An arc~itect's wor~ is manif?ld in propo1tion ~o th~ multiplicity of the parts, and to the variety be can mtroduce mto these; and his skill is seen in his combining thei;e p.nts, in all their multiplicity and variety, into a. unity. What r:iultiplicity of parts has God to deal with in the material structure of thincrs ! and what nuiety he introduces, so that no leaf is exactly like another! and how thert are not only adaptations which can be made a study of by themselves (as a column, or bit of tracery on it, may be made a study of), but these are comprehended in wider adaptations and so all-oomprehensive is the Divine thought that there is in the result no confusio~ but the highest simplicity! Thnt is one sphere for the display of manifold wisdom. Wo may expect greater manifoldness as we rise higher. What a manifoldness in the life of rational beings! "And God," says Leibnitz, "has the qualities of a. good Governor as well as of a great Architect." It may be supposed that the angels will :first con- template the manifold wisdom of God in themselves, in their high and varied endow- rnents, in the way in which their eternal well-being has been secured to them without their having to pass through the experience of sin, and in the part assigned to each and to all in the great plan. Is he not called the Lord of hosts, as marshalling the innumer- able army of angels? They have a. manifoldness far beyond our conception, and yet he can dispose of them as easily as an officer can do with a small section of an army. He calls them, as he calls the stars, by their names; not one is overlooked, not one out of place. The manifold wisdom of God is also to be seen in the way in which the twelve hundred millions of men on the earth a.re dealt with at one moment. The problem here has been complicated by the entrance of sin. Manifold a.re the phases of sin, and =riifold are the methods by which he seeks to dislodge men out of their sm. But ~his r::i.a:cifo!d problem of the world of mankind is mastered by him more easily than the ?:c·biem of a single household is mastered by us. But it is in the Church that !here is to be seen conspicuously the manifold wisdom of.God. And, in the :first place, it is to be seen in that general point regarding the Chnrch which the apostle has been coilSidering, viz. the including of the Gentiles after they had been so long excluded. It may seem that the exclusion of any from the privileges of the Church was a reflection on the Divine wisdom. Was it not sacrificing their int.crests that an effort was not made for their salvation a.long with that of others? But the problem was far more manifold than that. If there had been a. comprehension of all nations all along, the result would probably have been the extinction of religion. We a.re not to think that Christ could have come, and his gospel be promulgated, at any time. If the gospel dispensation had been introduced at the time of ·the efoction of Abraham, we may suppose it would have been thrown a.way. He with whom a. thousand years are as one day had to look to, not the greatest good of men then, but to the greatest good of men to all time. And so he ordained a. long period of preparation, both negative in bringing out what men could not do, and positive in the way of te:iching by type and providential dealing. .And he did not bring Christ into the world until he saw how his truth could ,,et a. firm hold, and be proclaimed wide to the nations. .And though the gosI,el has y~t much to do, it is in such a. position that it cannot now be lost. , But this was onlv part of a. wider purpose. "According to the eteraal purpose which he purposed in ·Christ Jesus our Lord." We have to bring in the whole purpose of God regarding the Church. '!'his purpose he purposed in eternity. It was a. purpose running through the ages. In Chri~t he saw the Church in the completeness of its idea., in the wL0k uf its <!e\'e'.<Jj,:neut. And, witi, tliis clear before his mind, he could patiently v.ait t,,r<Ju;;i1 tu,, a;.;<:; for the fuller uufulu.iug of his purpose. As Christ is ea.lied tl,o  OH. lil. 1-21,] THE EPIS'l'LE TO THE EPHESIANS. 131