The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 166

Ven,.. ~10.-~ Sowrm <f all UUJ gifts. It is Christ himself in virtue of his enltati.:on. l. THE AscJn.-sroN THE GROUND ALlKB OF THE FOUNDING, THE PRESERVATION, AND THE PERFECTIO~ OF THE CmnlCH. This historic circumstance is the sequel of our LC1~ci's rernrrection from the dead, and can only be rightly appreciated by markin11: its c,,nnection with the humiliation by which it was preceded. It was the Son of .God who descended, and therefore it was the Son of God who ascended up far above all heavens, and who, like a conqueror, is here represented as dividing the spoils of conquest. He is exalted to give the Holy Ghost with all his gifts and graces. It is a very touching as well as inspiring thought that the humanity of our ascended Lord has not been so transmuted as to change his relation to us. We cannot doubt the identity of his person. 'l'he same Lord who went about every day doing good upon earth, is now doing good every day in the fulness of spiritual blessings which. he is dispensing from the throne of his ascension-glory. II. Tm: GIF':'S OF THE ASCENSION. These stand in abiding connection with the peace, the sanctification, the hope, of believers. But the special reference is to the blessing of the Christian ministry. Ministers may be nothing in themselves, but as the gifts of Christ they ought to be highly esteemed. If we love Christ, we ought to set store by his servants, who shepherd the flock in the absence of the great Shepherd. III. Tm;: m."W'OBTHY RECIP!fil,"'TS OF THESE GIFTS. "Yea, for the rebellious· also" (Ps.. lxvia. 18). They were for men, as the apostle :1sserts ; for rebels, as the psalmist :::s.."'<'rts. It is not usual for conquerors to divide their spoils among rebels, yet our c,:;nq:i.ering Lord gives gifts even t-0 those who put him to death. The ministry is still the Lord's gift t-0 a wicked world, for he is still the Source of the inward life of tbe Church and of its authority.-T. C. Ver. 11.-The ro,riety of the gifts. The Lord himself gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Provision is thus me.de for three gr~t objects. I. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHlJRClL It needed a special order of inspired men to lay the foundations. Hence believers are said " to be built upon the foundation of apostles and pronhets" (eh. ii. 20). The foundation, however, had only to be laid once for all, and these apostles and prophets passed away in the first age of Christianity. There is no place, therefore, now in the Church for either class; for the "apostles" of the Jrvingite sect possess no single qualification of the original apostles of Christ, As the apostles wrote nearly the whole of the New Testament Scriptures, which supply the literary foundation of Christianity, they may thus be regarded as still identified with the progress of the gospel in all lands and all ages. JI. THE EXTEXBION OF THE CHURCH. Evangelists were specially designed to preach the gospel iI! districts where it had not been previously known. They are on this ground distinguished from pastors and teachers. They itinerated rrom place to place, carrying with them the wonderful story of the cross, and were qmte exempt, as such, from the labours of organization or discipline. Our missionaries in modern times de the work of evangelists. IIL Tm: cxn,"TThuANCE op THE Cm:racu. Pastors and teachers were stationary ministers appointed for the continuous edification of the flock. 'l'hey represent, not two classes of office-bearers, but two aspects of one and the same office. 'l'hey are dis- tinguished alike from prophets and from evangelists, and had to do with the permanent instruction and guidance of the flock. The existence of such an order of teachers proves that the Christian Church was not to be propagated or ':°aintained by _mere gifted persons. Why, in that case, should the Lord have appomted such ordinary officers at all? The pastors of Ephesus and Corinth were distinct from the pro- phetically gifted persons in both Churches (1 Cor. xiv.; eh. iv. 11). Private persons, no matter how gifted, were not allowed to take the place of apostles and prophets at Corinth, and therefore not of pastors and teachers. If they could not take tho place of the one, they could not take the place of the other. If all believers were to exercise the gift of ministry in the Christian dispensation, why should not the apostles 1-iave started with this arrangement from the first? Why should t~e Lord give p:,Ar,r:: and tt:a,t;;heni to one generation-and that a generation provided with at CH, IV, 1-32.] THE EPISTLE TO 'i'llE EPHESIANS. 1Gi3