The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 244

Churc-h, though cultured in intellect, chaste in feeling, and refined in manners, though an elCXJ_uent prl':icher of the go~pel of benevolence, he will find no admission into that world. He ~·ill be "without." With whom? Will he have a pince set apart for himself? No, with the common damned. JIJ. lT IS HERE CLASSED WITH THE WORST OF CRIMES REPUGNANT TO THE DIVINE '?sATTTRE. "For because of these things cometh the wrath of God." Paul so.ys, in his Jetter to the Romans, that " the wrath of God is revealed from heaven aaainst all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." His deep, settled, immutable n;taaonism to wrong of all kinds is clearly revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, But~ there any sin more repugnant to the Divine nature than covetousness, which is idolatry ? What sin has the Almighty denounced with greater frequency and force than that of idolatry? But why should covetousness be so abhorrent to the Almighty? 1. Becaw 6 it involves a mal-approprv1tion of the blessi11gs of Providence. God's will is that whatever a man, either by good fortune or by industry, obtains of this world's goods, should be ~ded for the advancement of truth and the general promotion of human happiness. But the covetous man appropriates all to pamper his own appetites, !!ratify his ov.n vanity, and promote his own sel.lish and ambitious ends. 2. Because it i;,volves a,1 vtw ~-.·an of his men spiritual nature. The powers of the soul are not given to amass material wealth, nor the affections to love it. On the contrary, they were gi,en to gather elements of the highest knowledge, and to love and serve the Infinite supremely in all The soul was made to have God, not money, as the dominant subject of thought and the dominant object of love. 3. Bemuse it inool'l1eS the pr011l-0tion of mi,f,ery in the unir,erse.. Nothing is more repugnant to the heart of the lovina God than miaery. The cause of universal happiness is his, but the covetous man is ;eces- sa.rily a promoter of misery in his own soul, misery in his circle, misery through the creation. God's order is that no man should live unto himself, that all should labour for the common weal ; in this way only the good •of the universe can be served, its blessedness advanced, and its order maintained. Every man who sets himself up as his own end in labour and life opposes all the arrangements of God. He does what he can to create discords in its harmonies, miasma in its atmosphere, poison in its streams. No wonder, then, that the "wrath of God'' is against " the covetous man."-D. T. Vers. 8-10.-l'hristian. life. "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all good- ness and righteousness and troth;) proving what is BCCeptable unto the Lord." These verses present to us the Christian life in its transformation, obligation, and demon- m-atwn.. L ToASSFOBXATIO!i. A true Christian is one who has been changed from darkness into light. The figurative language implies: 1. A change from immorality to lwliness. "Darkness" is the emblem of depravity. "They that be drunken are drunken in the night." The ghastly legions of hell win their most terrible victories in the gloom and silence of night. The "light" is a symbol of purity. 2. A change from ignorance to knowledge. Darkness clouds our vision, and hides from us the world in which we live. Man in an unregenerated state is in the moral world as a man in midnight. "Light" is a symbol of intelligence. 3. A_ chan~e fyom sadne88 "! jo'!/. Darkness is dep:e~sin~. Even the irrational creatures feel its deJectmg power. Sm 1B sadness ; true religion 1s joy. We are told that there is "no night in heaven." •It means that there is no immorality, no ignorance, no sorrow there. How great the change that has taken place in a true Christian man I II. OBLIGATION. Two duties are here indicated. 1. Walking in light. "Walk as children of light." Don't go back into darkness. ~ay, don't remain in the twilight of Christian experience, but step farther and farther mto the day. Leave the valleys, scale the hills, and come more directly under the broad beams of day. To walk in the light is to walk intelligently, safely, and joyously. 2. Pleasing God. The ninth verso being parenthetical, the last clause of the eighth verse should be read with the tenth, "Walk as childreo of light, proving what is BCCeptable [well-pleasing] un~ the Lord." "Bt: not conformt<l to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewmg of your mind, that ye may prove what i.s that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God " CH, V, 1-33.] THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 2-15