The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 234

that he can go on .n his sin without incurring the opprobrium of meu, and (pru-tly from the difficulty of drawing the exact line between the-'right nnd the wrong love of gain) without suspecting himself that it is getting a hold upon him, and thiµi (without such checks as the others have) getting hardened in his sin, we can understand how he should be called by pre-eminence the idolater. Warning. "Let no man deceive you with empty words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them." It would seem that there "·ere apologists for vice, who, by their representations, tried to entice the Ephesian Christians back to Gentile ways. One of their representations was that, besides being ple.'l.Sa.nt, it was safe to do these things. So apologists for vice are ready to say this and many other thlnf:S still. But" let no man deceive you with empty words." Such ,rnrds bave not as their contents eternal truth. "For because of these things cometh the wra.th of God upon the sons of disobedience." The sons of disobedience are those who (m tl:eir lo,e for sin) disobey the gospel of Christ., by which alone there is c.2.iverance from wrath. Refusing God's mercy, how can they escape God's wrath? They are not only lying under ordinary judgments or condemnation now, but they have yet to be dealt with for these very sins. "After their hardness and impenitent hearts they are treasuring up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous jndgment of God.." It is for those, then, who regard their safety (to bring in no higher consideration), whatever apologists may say, to refuse to be partakers with the disobedient. 4. The things that are dark. (1) 'l'hey are in their walk to "be separate from their former state. "Ye were once dark_ness, but are now light in the Lord : walk as children of light." They had been brought up in heathen darkness. It was that in which they lived and moved and had their being. And so, by appro.: priation, it was more or less embedded -in their nature. But now, living and moving and having their being in the Lord, that is, in light (as contrasted with heathen dark- ness), and being enlightened by him through his gospel and Spirit, they were light. And such being their state, there was a call to walk as children of light We are to walk under the incitement of the glorious fruit of Christian ill-uminatiM. "For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth." 'fhe philosophic triad is the true, the good, and the beautiful. The Christian triad as given here, and with which we ought to be familiar, is the good, the right, and the true. The good, or excellence of the heart, comes first; for that is first in God. Then follows the right, or regard to conscience, to eternal principle. And, lastly, there is the true, or rcgarcl to reality, not only in fact, but in thought (including the perfect in form). We are gooa in cherishing a spirit of love; we are righteous in doing our do,;y; we are true in con- form in a to Divine forms of thouaht. Having these three in us, then it may be said that th~ beauty of the Lord our God is upon us. We are to walk in the -uJay of proving what is wel,l-pleasi11g to Christ. "Proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord." It is not what the apoloo-ists for vice say; it is what Christ says. It is that which is to.be tested. It is impli;l that we have the means of testing all things in this light. '!'hero are many things which, put to the test by us, we must rejl!ct. _'l'hey are revealed in our Christian consciousness as wrong. There aro other things which we seo to be good, not merely in the convincing light of truth, but in our own blessed experience in tho doina of them we feel that we have the approval of tho Master, we c11n even now hear his .;ords "\Veil done, crood and faithful servant." Our position, then, must be separa- tion from' darlcness. "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness." The fruit of light is one, a gloiious indivisible cluster. 'l'he works of darkness aro many. The fruit of light is fitted ~o incite 1;1-s. The ~orks of darkness should de~r us. They are unfruitful. They yield nothmg that 1s worthy of the name of fruit, but only shame and death. (2) They are to take an aggressive position toward darl,- ness. "But rather even reprove them." 'l'hcy were not to pass them over in silence or find excuses for them but to hold them up to reprobation to the doers of them. As darkness was a~ive toward them, so were they as light (even for their own 1,afoty) to be awessive toward the darkness. 'fhey were to lift up the Gentiles to their own position. It is added, as showing the clamant need for reproof, "For the thiuns which are Jone by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of." It is added further, a~ ~huwin::; the use or enc!. of reproof, "But all things when they arc reproved a.re made.: n,a::i'.est by tlrn light." "All tho~e secret sins aro laid hare in their real Oll. V. 1-33.] 'l'Irn El'lS'l'LE 'l'O 'l'llE EPHESIANS. 235