The Word of God preached in Ephesus

To Ephesus, the flourishing metropolis of Ionia, the capital and commercial center of the great and wealthy Roman province of proconsular Asia, in Western Asia Minor, the seat of Greek learning and science, the home of the heathen cult of the goddess Diana and of witchcraft and superstition as well, St. Paul had come on his second journey, Acts 18:19-21. Finding it impossible to remain for the length of time that he himself desired and that the few Christians of the city pleaded for, he returned to Ephesus on his third journey, at the end of the year 52 or somewhat later, Acts 19:1, remaining there for almost three years, and preaching the Gospel with remarkable success, “so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the Word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks,” Acts 19:10. The congregation at Ephesus, although begun with a nucleus of Jewish Christians, consisted chiefly of Gentile Christians, Acts 20:21; Ephesians 3:1, and, by reason of its size and growth in knowledge soon held the position of chief church in that region of Asia, Acts 20:17-38. After the end of the first Roman captivity, Paul visited the congregation once more, leaving Timothy in charge of the work, 1 Timothy 1:3; 1 Timothy 3:14; 1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 1:18. Still later the Apostle John lived in Ephesus. One of the messages which the Lord gave to John on the isle of Patmos for the seven churches in Asia Minor was addressed to the congregation at Ephesus, Revelation 2:1-7.

Purpose

There was no immediate, urgent reason which caused Paul to write this epistle, as, for instance, in the case of those addressed to the Corinthians and to the Galatians. His object was merely the desire to strengthen and establish the congregation at Ephesus and with it the daughter congregations in the entire region, to remind the Asiatic Christians of the great mercy and honor which they owed to Christ and of which they should be conscious at all times, and to urge them to fulfil their calling as followers of Christ with all earnest endeavor. The one holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, is the central, the fundamental thought of the entire epistle ^■812 . Incidentally, all those that were in danger of being led astray by false doctrine were called upon to remember that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the true wisdom and therefore inseparably connected with the idea of true sanctification. Luther writes: “In this epistle St. Paul teaches, in the first place, what the Gospel is, how it was ordained by God alone in eternity and merited and caused to go forth through Christ, in order that all that believe in it might become just, pious, quickened, saved, and free from Law, sin, and death. … Moreover, he teaches us to avoid the false doctrines and precepts of men, in order that we may remain with the one Head, become certain, justified, and perfect in Christ alone, in whom we have everything, needing nothing outside of Him. … Finally, he teaches us to exercise and prove our faith in good works, to avoid sin, and to battle with spiritual weapons against the devil, in order that through cross we may be confirmed in hope.” ^■813 .

Date

As to the time and place of the epistle’s composition, it is evident that Paul wrote while he was a prisoner, Ephesians 3:1; Ephesians 4:1; Ephesians 6:20. The note below the text (which is not a part of the letter, but was added by some copyist as an explanation) in this case states a fact, namely, that the letter was “written from Rome unto the Ephesians by Tychicus.” Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, during which it was composed, began in A.D. 61 and ended in 63. The date of this letter, therefore, is probably A.D. 62.

A rich text

The character of this letter is such as to endear it to every Christian. Unlike the letter to the Galatians, which was obviously written in great agitation, its atmosphere is that of quiet meditation. “The diction and style assume an exaltation such as is hardly found in any other of Paul’s letters. ‘It is one of the richest and most valuable of the epistles, having a singular fulness of matter, depth of doctrine, solemnity of style, and warmth of emotion, which render it precious to the Christians of every land.’ ” ^■814 .

Contents

The letter naturally falls into two parts, the doctrinal section, chapters 1-3, and the hortatory section, chapters 4-6. After the salutation Paul breaks forth in a wonderful paean of thanksgiving for God’s eternal election in Christ Jesus, for the salvation in time, and for the regenerative power of the Spirit, followed by a prayer that the Ephesian Christians might come to the proper knowledge of this work of redemption and of the position of Jesus as the Head of the Church. He shows his readers how God had quickened them out of the death of sin and united Jews and Gentiles in the Church, the holy temple of the Lord. This glorious message is entrusted to him especially as the apostle of the Gentiles, for which reason he inserts a fervent prayer for the strengthening of their faith. In the second part Paul admonishes his readers to walk worthy of their calling, in true unity, in contrast to their former heathen condition of uncleanness in holiness, purity, and love, as true children and disciples of the Lord. There follows a table of duties for the various stations and finally an urgent admonition to wage the war of the Spirit without ceasing, and to be untiring in the proper intercession. The letter closes with a recommendation of the bearer and with greetings ^■815 .

Overview

In this Epistle, St. Paul teaches, first, what the Gospel is, telling how it was provided by God alone in eternity and earned and sent forth through Christ, so that all who believe on it become righteous, godly, living, saved men, and free from the Law and sin and death. This he does in the first three chapters.

Then he teaches that different doctrines and the commandments of men are to be avoided, so that we may remain true to one Head and become sure and genuine and complete in Christ alone, in whom we have everything, so that we need nothing beside Him. This he does in chapter 4.

Then he goes on to teach that we are to practice and prove our faith with good works, avoid sin, and fight with spiritual weapons against the devil, so that, through the Cross, we may be steadfast in hope.

Verses 1-23

Salutation, praise for the blessings of eternal election, and prayer for spiritual enlightenment

Address and salutation:

Paul opens this epistle in his usual manner. As an apostle of Christ Jesus, of the exalted Lord, whose Messiahship was prophesied and manifested, he did not choose the office himself, but he was called thereto by the express will of God; he received his apostleship without his own merit and worthiness. But having received it, he was fully conscious of the dignity with which he had been invested, and did not propose to have any one call this in question. He addresses himself to the saints and believers in Christ Jesus that were in Ephesus. The members of that congregation that were members in truth believed in Christ Jesus as the Redeemer that had atoned for all their sins, and by this faith they were consecrated and sanctified to God. They were thus connected with Christ in the most intimate fellowship and union. In his customary salutation Paul expresses a wish that this happy condition might continue. The grace and peace desired for the Ephesian Christians by the apostle are blessings which come only from God the Father and from Christ, the Lord. The Son has secured for all men the grace and mercy of His heavenly Father, the complete forgiveness of all sins, and thereby also peace with God, the enmity between sinful mankind and the holy God having been removed by the perfect satisfaction which His vicarious work has wrought. But Christ, the Mediator, is here incidentally represented, like the Father, as the Source and Originator of grace and peace; He is true God and Savior, with the Father, from eternity.

Doxology to God for the blessings of His love and grace:

Few passages in the Bible surpass these verses in lofty and sustained solemnity. The apostle’s words are arrayed in stately grandeur: Blessed the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. That is the attitude of the believers at all times, that God is to be praised, that He is worthy of all praise and honor for the manifold manifestations of His redeeming love in Jesus Christ. For it is of God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that we and all believers think. Cp. Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 11:31 ^■816 ; 1 Peter 1:3. Through Jesus Christ, the God-man and Redeemer of mankind, God has entered into the relation of Father to us and to all believers; in Jesus, who was born from eternity out of the essence of the Father, who Himself is therefore true God, we have free access to the heart of the Father. We praise and bless God because He has blessed us, His blessings, however, not consisting in words of good, but in deeds of grace, not in a mere pious wish, but in a transmission of heavenly benefits. With every spiritual blessing God has remembered us, with blessing that agrees in kind with the Spirit of God, that is divine and heavenly. The spiritual blessings of the Christians are in the heavens, have their origin in heaven, as the dwelling-place of God. The blessings of the higher, of the perfect, of the future world are ours in Christ; Christ, as the Mediator between God and the lost world, has brought us the benefits and gifts which the Father intended for us in Him, through Him, on His account, by reason of His perfect merit. “In Him lay the cause that God blessed us with every spiritual blessing, since His act of redemption is the meritorious cause of this divine bestowal of blessing.” (Meyer.)

Of the wonderful blessings of God in Christ Jesus the apostle now enumerates those of the eternal election of grace: Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. God chose us, He picked us out, He selected us, He set us aside for Himself; it was a free act on His part. It was, however, not an act of God’s absolute power, but He chose us in Christ. The spiritual blessings have been appropriated to us on the basis of Christ’s work, but the election took place before the foundation of the world ^■817 . It was an act which was done before the beginning of time, before the world was called into existence. “Before we were in existence, even before the foundation of the world was laid, God thought of us in grace; in His thoughts, in His counsel and determination He took us out of the lost and condemned generation of men (out of the total mass of men for whom the redemption of Christ was made); … He firmly decided that we should be His own forever and live with Him in eternity.” For the object of his choosing was: That we should be holy and without reproach before Him in love. By virtue of our relation to God, into which we have entered in consequence of His call, we should be found in the state of sanctification before Him, pure and blameless, set aside from all impurity. Holiness, moral purity, and love are the fundamental characteristics of the Christian life. That is the interest which God has in us, that is the object for which He set us apart.

This aim of God includes still more: By determining us in advance for sonship through Jesus Christ toward Himself. The counsel and determination of God existed before the persons were created that were to become the recipients of His bounty. The counsel of election includes the predetermination to the relation of children to God by adoption, Romans 8:15-16. This sonship was actually brought about by Jesus Christ, whose work of atonement changed us from children of wrath to children of grace and mercy. This is our new relation to God, by virtue of which we have something of the manner, of the mind of the heavenly Father in ourselves, God’s holiness and love being reflected in our lives. And God’s only motive in this predetermination unto the sonship was: According to the good pleasure of His will. It was a resolution of God’s gracious will. “God’s foreordination of us unto adoption is not due to any desert in us or anything outside God Himself, but is an act of His own pure goodness, originating only and wholly in the freedom of His own thoughts and loving counsel.” ^■654 . And its final end is: To the praise of the glory of His grace. Cp. Ephesians 1:12 and Ephesians 1:14. In the blessedness of His elect the blessedness of God is enhanced. As His wonderful design is manifested to the astonished eyes of the Christians, they recognize His grace with grateful adoration, and they laud and magnify His name because of this revelation of His grace.

The manifestation of God’s grace according to His counsel:

The apostle here resumes the thought of Ephesians 1:3, concerning the blessings which have been given to us in Christ: With which He has graced us in the Beloved. That is the historic unfolding of the grace of God in time: He has freely bestowed upon us His grace. All merit and worthiness on our part is excluded; the bestowal of God’s grace and favor is a measure of His merciful goodness alone, in His Beloved, in and with Christ Himself, Colossians 1:13; Matthew 3:17. Through the grace of God in Jesus, whose entire work is an expression of the love of God toward us, we become both the objects and the recipients of His love.

How the eternal decree was put into execution, Paul explains: In whom we have the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. In Christ we have that redemption which had long been promised and expected. He paid the ransom for the sins of all men, and the believers have accepted His vicarious activity; they know that His blood paid the guilt of all men’s sins, that it has expiated the guilt, that it has borne the punishment. The result is a permanent possession of the Christians, the forgiveness of sins. In Christ, once and for always, there is complete redemption, perfect forgiveness of sins, for all men; in Him their trespasses are no longer charged to their account. In Christ all believers have forgiveness and therefore salvation, and that not in small measure, leaving a doubt as to the sufficiency of the substitute ransom, but according to the wealth of His grace. The entire fulness of His gracious riches has been poured down upon us. “Plenteous grace with Thee is found.” ^■818 .

Lest any one still have misgivings as to the limitless wealth of God’s loving favor, the apostle adds: Which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and discernment. When God dispenses spiritual gifts, He does not observe an anxious restriction, but furnishes them in such rich abundance that there is much more than enough. Upon us and into us His grace flows in a superabundant stream, teaching us the right wisdom and understanding, enabling us to find that path, to follow that course which is in accordance with the will of God. Such enlightened intelligence to know the will of God is found where the grace of God has been active in the heart of a man. The sequence of thought, therefore, is the following. The possession of the redemption through the blood of Christ is coincident with our adoption into the sonship of God. Our sins and trespasses, which separated between us and God, have been forgiven, the Lord will remember them no more. As children of God we cheerfully and confidently lift up our eyes to our heavenly Father and expect from Him all the spiritual gifts for a life according to His good pleasure. And the wisdom and discernment given to us by God make us ready and perfect for a holy, blameless conduct in love. All these gifts, everything that we are and possess in spiritual matters, we owe entirely and alone to the free grace of God, to the election of grace.

The apostle now takes up the thought of Ephesians 1:5, thus adding a new moment to the entire preceding section: In that He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He determined in Himself for the dispensation of the fulness of the times, to place everything under one head in Christ, that in the heavens and also that on the earth, in Him. God revealed to all Christians, all believers, the secret to show us why He bestowed on us the full riches of spiritual gifts. It is a secret concerning His will, His good pleasure, for in the matter of His choice God had in no manner been influenced by anything outside of Himself. God determined upon His course in and by Himself; His own free determination originated in His own gracious mind. And what He thus planned, His course of action, looked forward to the dispensation of the fulness of the times, all the periods of the earth’s existence and history being taken together in the figure of a vessel which is filled. When God sent His Son, born of a woman, then the last period had begun, the period which is to perfect and fulfil the times of the world. The eternal counsel of God, therefore, although ever present in prophecy and type, is brought out in its glorious beauty in God’s management in the time of the New Testament, the time in which we now live. It is now that the intention of God is being carried out to bring together under one heading, under one Head, all things in Christ, heavenly as well as earthly, to sum up the aggregate of heavenly and earthly things. The totality of the children of God, all those that have been chosen unto the adoption of sons, God brings together in Christ, to form His body, with all its members and organs. That was God’s eternal loving thought: a holy family of His children, united in Christ, the first-born Son, in whom He, the Father, might be well pleased — the one holy Christian Church, the communion of saints. Cp. Colossians 1:18-20.

How the plan of God is carried out in the individual cases is next shown by the apostle:

In Christ God has brought together the sum total of all believers, united them under the one Head. And now the apostle continues: In Him, in whom we have been allotted (chosen), having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him who effectively works all things after the counsel of His will. In Christ, according to the Greek word here used, an allotment was made by God, and since the special idea of determining by lot does not accord with the context, we may use “choose” or “elect” as a synonym. Incidentally, the thought that we were chosen for God’s inheritance, that we are heirs of eternal life, cannot be said to be foreign to the connection. We are chosen in being foreordained according to the purpose or previous determination of God; in God, in His design, in His will, our election unto faith and eternal life rests, not in any merit in ourselves. And God’s designs do not fail, His purpose is operative in all things after the counsel of His will. In all things, in the history of nations as well as in the life of individuals, His power directs and shapes all affairs, not according to arbitrary fancies, but according to a well-planned counsel; the determination to carry out the plan was preceded by mature deliberation.

The object of God in making this choice was: To the end that we should be unto the praise of His glory. The whole life of the Christians should serve for the praise of the glory of God. God wanted to be glorified in us, primarily through His grace and mercy, but then also through His might and power. Cp. Isaiah 43:21. This purpose of God was realized first in the believing Jews, represented by Paul and the Jewish Christians in general: We who have aforetime (before this) put our hope in Christ. The true Israelites in the Jewish nation put their trust in the Messiah even before He appeared in the flesh, and many Jews accepted Him as their Savior before He gave the command to bring the Gospel-message to the Gentiles. In these people God actually carried out His eternal counsel, or election.

But God’s plan is not confined to the Jews: In whom also you, having heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. In the case of the Gentiles also, as Paul here shows in addressing the Ephesian congregation, which consisted largely of Gentile Christians, God’s eternal purpose was realized. They have been brought to faith in Christ by accepting the Word of Truth, the message which testifies of the divine truth, the Gospel which tells them of the salvation gained by the Savior. In this way they have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. When working faith, the Holy Ghost comes into the heart of man, dwells in him, becomes a seal of his faith, gives him the divine certainty that he belongs to God and will remain His own in time and eternity. Preservation in the true faith is a work of the Holy Ghost, who, as Luther has it, called us by the Gospel, enlightened us with His gifts, sanctified and kept us in the true faith.

The result therefore is: Who is the earnest of our inheritance for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory. In Christ we have the redemption in His blood, the forgiveness of sins. This fact the Holy Spirit has impressed upon us by faith. And therefore He Himself is our earnest-money, our guarantee and assurance, that our final redemption from all evils of body and soul, of property and honor, will come, that we, the redeemed of the Lord, His own peculiar people, shall enter upon the possession and enjoyment of our inheritance in heaven. And with this consummation of our hopes the praise of the glory of God will also reach the state of perfection; then we shall exalt Him and all that He has done for us, world without end. Note: The election of grace always refers to the entire plan of God with reference to the chosen. It is not an absolute decree, but was made in Christ and is founded in the divine promises. Its acceptance is done by the certainty of faith.

Paul’s exhortation and supplication for the Church as the body of Christ:

A long and remarkable sentence, presenting the loftiest conception, both of Christ’s own supremacy and of the grandeur of that Church of His, of which the Ephesians have been made members. The distinction between Jews and Gentiles is no longer mentioned; Paul addresses his readers as a body: For this reason I, too, having heard of the faith among you in the Lord Jesus and of the love toward all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. For this cause, by reason of all the wonderful blessings which he had enumerated in the preceding section, because all these benefits have come upon us Christians in such rich measure, the apostle is constrained to give thanks. For he knew that his readers were believers, having had abundant evidence to satisfy himself upon that point when he was present with them, and having received additional information to the same effect since. They were in a state of faith, of which fact they also gave proof by their love toward all the saints. That was the first and immediate manifestation of their faith: they were united with all the believers, both Jews and Gentiles, by the bond of true brotherly love. This encouraging circumstance caused Paul to continue his practise of making continual grateful mention of them in his prayers. On their behalf he sent up ceaseless prayers of thanksgiving to the throne of grace; he never failed to remember them in his prayers. The reports which were reaching Paul concerning the gratifying prosperity of the Ephesian congregation in spiritual matters were such a source of cheer to him that he was constrained to continue his intercession for them.

The content of Paul’s intercessory prayer was: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full understanding of Him. With all the progress which Christians make in this world they do not reach the state of perfection which is held out before them as the desirable goal. It is God that must continue the work of sanctification and bring it to the point agreeable to His will. This God is the God of Jesus Christ, the singular state of Godhood and Fatherhood being combined in His essence. But Jesus Christ is our Lord, and so the God of Jesus Christ, through Christ, is also our Father, of whom we may confidently expect everything that pertains to our salvation and sanctification. He is the Father of glory, for glory is His essential attribute, Acts 7:2; 1 Corinthians 2:8. Perfection, magnificence, divine majesty and excellence is found in Him. The God thus characterized can give to the believers of all times the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. The Holy Ghost, who comes into the hearts of men when they come to faith, teaches them to understand the heavenly, divine things, He reveals to them the mysteries which would otherwise be hidden from them, the chief part of His work in this respect consisting in this, that the Christians obtain an ever clearer and sharper understanding of God. They advance from truth to truth, from knowledge to knowledge.

The apostle continues in his description of his prayer: (That God may give you) the eyes of your heart as enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what is the wealth of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. The heart, in Biblical language, is the center, not only of feeling, but also of thinking, willing, and understanding. Through His Holy Spirit God must enlighten the understanding of the Christians; for then only will they know what the hope of God’s calling is. Not only faith and love are wrought in the heart by God in conversion, but also hope. This hope, planted into the heart of the Christian by the call of the Lord, grows and becomes more fervent with his increase in spiritual life. The believers always have before the eyes of their mind the wonderful blessing which has been promised to them, the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance among the saints. The apostle piles up the nouns in order to bring home to the Christians, in some measure at least, the glory which is awaiting them by the promise of God. The perfected blessedness which shall be ours in heaven is a rich and magnificent inheritance; it is heavenly joy, bliss, and salvation, the reflection of the divine majesty and glory. We Christians are all too apt, while sojourning in this world, to have our attention distracted by the fool’s gold of this world, and therefore it is necessary to be trained to think of the inheritance of the saints in light.

Christians must furthermore learn to understand, as Paul here prays: And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us, namely, to those that believe according to the operation of the strength of His might. Stronger expressions could hardly be found in human language to bring out the absolute inability of man to do anything toward his conversion and salvation. Our conversion was made possible by the surpassing greatness of God’s power alone, as it was manifested toward us, exerted itself in our hearts and minds. That we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior was made possible only by the operative power which expressed His almighty strength, by which the Lord overcame the resistance of natural man, made us obedient to the Gospel, and now keeps us in the state of faith.

There is only one adequate measure of the exceeding greatness of God’s power, namely, the resurrection of Christ, as Paul writes: Which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His right hand in the heavens. Christ, in His state of exaltation, is the Mediator of the effective power of God, as it is shown in our conversion. By His resurrection and subsequent ascension to the right hand of power Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power, of the same degree of might and honor with the Father. Our state of faith is a work of power, a miracle of the Triune God. Note: The same Christ who as a true human being died, and through His blood earned the forgiveness of sins for all men, has been raised from the dead by God and placed at His right hand in the heavenly places. We therefore confess that Christ, through His resurrection and ascension, entered into the full possession and use of the divine majesty also according to the human nature which He adopted, a majesty which, however, he possessed during the entire state of humiliation ^■819 .

This reference to Christ’s state of exaltation now causes the apostle to expand this thought, almost in doxological form: Far above all rule, and authority, and power, and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the coming one, and has placed all things under His feet. So much the exaltation of the despised Son of Man comprises. By setting Christ at His right hand in the heavens, God has put all things under His feet, has given Him, also according to His human nature, the free and unbounded dominion, not only over all power and authority in the physical world, but also over all the spirits of heaven, over the angels with their superhuman strength and power. No matter what the name and importance of any created being in this world and in the world to come may be, the power and authority of Christ, being that of omnipotence, is greater. Christ is the supreme Lord, to whom all creatures must yield obedience, Psalm 8.

But far more important than this supreme position in the Kingdom of Power is Christ’s position in the Kingdom of Grace, of which Paul says: And (God) gave Him the Head over all to the Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that fills all in all. In His capacity as Head over all things God has given Christ as a present to the Church, which is His body. All the believers, whether of Jews or of Gentiles, are here expressly placed together and designated with the collective name “Church,” which is the fellowship of all saints, of the elect children of God on earth. God has now made this arrangement, that Christ is the Head of this Church, and the Church is His body. Not the entire creation, but the Church, the communion of the believing, chosen children of God, is the body of Christ. Cp. Colossians 1:18. It is a wonderful and most intimate union which thus obtains between Christ and the believers, for it results in making the Church like a vessel which is filled to the top, brimful with blessings. “The conception is that, the plenitude of the divine powers and qualities in Christ having been imparted by Him to His Church, the latter is now pervaded by His presence, animated with His life, filled with His gifts and energies and graces — a true vessel of His mercy.” ^■820 . All in all He fills, — the Head of the universe is also the Head of the Church.

Summary

After opening his letter with an inspiring doxology in praise of the eternal election of grace and its blessings, the apostle states the content of his prayer for the Ephesians to be that they might come to the knowledge of the glory of their future inheritance, of the power of God in working and preserving saving faith in their hearts, and of the position of the exalted Christ as the Head of the Church.

Verses 1-22

The Church as the sum total of men saved by grace

The natural condition of man:

This is really only a part of a long and involved period, the verb having been supplied by the translators from the next section; but the thought is clear and may be followed without difficulty. Addressing himself principally to the Gentiles, or speaking of his readers from the standpoint of the majority, Paul writes: And you, when you were dead by reason of your trespasses and sins (God has made alive with Christ). The Ephesians, like all men by nature, had been in a state or condition of death. All attempts to weaken the force of the statement by translating “dying,” or “mortal,” or “condemned to death,” or by assuming that Paul meant to say that his readers had earned eternal death by their sins, come to naught in view of the uncompromising plainness of the text. They were spiritually dead, they had nothing of the life in and with Christ. Cp. Ephesians 2:5 ^■821 ; John 5:25; Romans 6:13; Revelation 3:1. They were in this state of spiritual death through, by reason of, their trespasses and sins. The natural proneness to sin, in itself under the sentence of condemnation, found its expression in evil works of the flesh. The death in sins gives evidences of its power in the various and manifold trespasses and sins. Natural man, dead as he is to everything that is morally good, performs only that which is evil, such deeds as result in guilt.

This state of spiritual death is further described: In which formerly you walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now operative in the children of unbelief. At one time, formerly, the Ephesians were actively engaged in sins and trespasses; that was their occupation before their conversion, to serve sin, to commit trespasses against God’s holy Law. In this they followed the way of the world, the fallen, apostate humanity. In this world, men in the state of opposition to God impress their stamp upon everything, determining the character, view, and mode of life; and all men before their conversion are engaged with them in this opposition to God. Therefore their conduct is also in accordance with the will of the ruler of the domain of power of the atmosphere, namely, of the spirit which is now active in the children of disobedience. That is the devil’s sphere of activity, that is his domain: the mind of sinful man. The atmosphere of the spirit which actuates the unbelievers is created by the devil as a spirit of disobedience. Men by nature refuse to heed and obey the will of God, the Law which is written into their heart and conscience by nature. The spirit of evil, the principle of opposition, is governing their lives; that is the atmosphere in which they live, and move, and have their being: sin, disobedience, unrighteousness. It is an atmosphere created by Satan for his purposes, full of poison and the fumes of hell. Thus natural man is under the influence, in the power of the devil, bound to oppose God in everything that He does.

But the moral depravity of the Jews was just as bad as that of the Gentiles by nature: In the midst of whom we also all had our life and walk formerly, in the desires of our flesh, performing the wishes of the flesh and of the thoughts. Paul includes himself and all Jewish Christians in the category of the children of disobedience by nature. Their whole conduct and behavior, whatever they turned to, whatever they were engaged in, was concerned with the lusts and desires of the flesh, of the old Adam. And thus they performed the wishes, the expressions of the will of the flesh and also of the intellectual faculties. Natural man, whether Gentile or Jew, is not only inclined to the low, sensual impulses, indecency, lewdness, immorality, but his spiritual, intellectual abilities and powers are corrupt and at variance with God’s will. Thousands of books and articles in our days, most of them showing the use of a high grade of intellect, are charged with sentiments opposed to God and to His holy will and Word. Therefore it is true of all classes of people that are included in the category of natural man: We were by nature children of wrath, just as also the others. By nature, by birth, by reason of the fact that we are flesh born of flesh, we are subject to the condemning wrath of God; our inherited evil nature has made us children of wrath. Inherited sin is a fact, and it is a fact which makes us subject to wrath and damnation. We know from the Scriptures “that this hereditary evil is a guilt, that we all, on account of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, are under God’s displeasure and children of wrath by nature.” ^■822 . And this fact, that we all have this deep, evil, terrible, indescribable, inexpressible, unspeakable vileness in ourselves by nature, serves all the more to set forth before us the boundless mercy of God toward man.

God’s grace manifested toward the sinners:

Paul now introduces the subject of the sentence begun in Ephesians 2:1. His thought is: God gave to us, who are now Christians, while we were still dead with reference to our trespasses, spiritual life. The reason for this is given: God, however, being rich in mercy, on account of the great love wherewith He loved us. In the entire passage there is not a word of merit on the part of man, the entire process of regeneration or conversion is ascribed to God alone. Because He was rich, is rich to this day, rich beyond all human understanding, in mercy, in free favor and benevolence toward fallen mankind, and by reason of the great love, a love entirely unmerited on our part, with which He loved us, therefore He showed us mercy. The same God who is angry, who must be angry with sin, is the God of grace, of a mercy that is so rich as to be exhaustless, John 3:16.

Now comes the great contrast: Even when we were dead by reason of transgressions, He made us alive with Christ, — by grace you are saved. When we were in that terrible condition of spiritual death, as shown in our transgression of God’s holy Law, when we were without the faintest bit of saving knowledge of God, without fear, love, and trust in Him, when there was in us nothing but a total inability with regard to the things which pertain to our salvation, then God gave us life together with Christ. As Christ, by the life which He received in the grave, did not return to the former mode of living on earth, but entered into a new manner of existence, as He is now in a new, transfigured, spiritual, state and life, so we were made partakers of this life according to our spirit, when God quickened us from our spiritual death. The new life of regeneration is life out of the life of Christ. By this act of God salvation has been given to us, by the free grace in Christ, as Paul is careful to remark by way of parenthesis. Note the sharp and absolute contrast between death and life: one moment a person is dead, without the slightest evidence of life in any form, the next moment he is alive, with at least some show of life, even if that be expressed merely as a desire for salvation. One thing is clear: there is no intermediate stage, no neutral ground; the change from spiritual death to spiritual life is one step, and that step is the work of God alone.

So wonderful is this process that the apostle expatiates upon it: And He has raised us with Him and placed us with Him in the heavenly regions in Christ Jesus. Just as Christ, as true man, was raised from the dead and placed at the right hand of God, where He now leads a heavenly mode of existence, 1 Corinthians 15:48, so we, by our conversion, have become partakers of the same essence. Our mind is now set, inclined, toward heavenly things. The exalted Christ has elevated our spirit into the spiritual, divine, heavenly life, all by means of the Gospel of our salvation, Ephesians 1:13.

God’s purpose in working regeneration in us in this manner is finally stated: That He might show in the ages that are coming the superabundant wealth of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Our salvation here in time is an advance payment, earnest-money, assuring us of the last and most perfect manifestation of God’s grace, which lies beyond the present age and world. When the ages of this world come to an end and the period of eternity dawns upon us, then we, who were by nature children of wrath, but now partakers of God’s grace in Christ, shall experience the full riches of the grace of God. In Christ Jesus, our Redeemer and Mediator, we shall then receive the full benevolence and kindness of God in all eternity, we shall see the face of our heavenly Father and taste and see the beauty of the Lord, world without end.

All these wonderful blessings are gifts of God’s free grace: For by the grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, God’s is the gift, not of works, that no one should glory. By and in our regeneration and conversion we have been made partakers of the salvation gained by Christ; by being awakened from spiritual death and given the life in and with Christ, we have become justified before God. All this is a work of God’s free grace, transmitted to us through the hand of faith; we are thus regenerated, justified, by faith. In our heart, which was spiritually dead, God has enkindled the flame of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And this flame, just as soon as it sent up the first spark and began to glow, spread life throughout the formerly dead and cold members. Thus faith is the beginning of the new spiritual life. In this work of spiritual regeneration, of quickening to new life, all cooperation on the part of man is expressly and emphatically excluded. God’s free gift and gracious present it is, not a reward for works performed by man by which he might have made himself worthy of being regenerated in the sight of God; no merit in us was considered, even had there been anything to point to in this respect, all boasting on the part of man is cut off absolutely. On our part we have not contributed even the slightest part toward our conversion, neither was it occasioned by any doing or conduct on our part. “That the glory of that salvation belongs wholly to God and in no degree to man, and that it has been so planned and so effected as to take from us all ground for boasting, is enforced on Paul’s hearers again and again, in different connections, with anxious concern and utmost plainness of expression, Romans 3:17; 1 Corinthians 1:29; 1 Corinthians 4:7; Galatians 6:14; Philippians 3:3.” ^■823 .

And another fact is adduced by Paul to show that we Christians have no reason to make the advantages which we enjoy before others a matter of boasting: For His handiwork we are, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we should walk in them. The emphasis again is on the side of God; it is God who gave us the position which we hold as Christians. It is God, also, who performed the work of the new creation in us, so that we are in the fullest sense of the word the work of His hands, fashioned by Him in Christ Jesus, through whose redemption and life we have received the new spiritual life. By virtue of this new life, which is here again, in its totality, ascribed to the creative power of God, we are prepared for good works, we are able and ready to perform such deeds as are pleasing to our heavenly Father. These good works, which are the evidence of the new creature in us, by which our Christianity is tested and approved, have been made ready and set forth by God before we ever thought of performing them. God is the unseen Source from which the good works spring, His creative power is their final explanation. And by and through our fellowship with Christ these good works are performed in us; Christ, in whom we live and move and have our being, makes us partakers of His gifts and virtues, is expressed in our life and conduct; Christ’s holiness, purity, humility, meekness, benevolence, and kindness appear in the lives of the Christians. And so all glorying on the part of the believers is excluded, as a matter of fact is never indulged in. A true Christian does not even boast of the good works which it is his privilege to perform, knowing that it is the power of Christ and God in him that enables him to follow the example of Christ.

A special reminder to the Gentile Christians:

The apostle here addresses himself specifically to the Gentile Christians, who constituted the majority in the Ephesian congregation: Wherefore, remember that formerly you, Gentiles in the flesh, called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision in the flesh, made by hand. He refers to the entire preceding section: All these things being so, namely, that you were quickened by God into a new, spiritual life, therefore remember. They should keep in mind and in view not merely the riches obtained, but also the poverty and misery from which they were released. They had in their former state been Gentiles in the flesh, by birth, Gentiles in the full sense of the term, representatives of the heathen world. The name uncircumcision, a name of contempt, was flung at them; they were regarded as unclean by the Jews. The apostle intimates, at the same time, that the latter had little reason for proud boasting, for he himself refers with some show of contempt to the “so-called circumcision which is made in the flesh by hand,” for a mere incision in the flesh cannot be made the foundation of a real advantage, has no moral or religious value. All the Jews, therefore, that make this mere external rite a matter of boasting, the apostle means to say, are foolish.

Aside from this fact, however, it remains true: That you were at that time, apart from Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and being without God in the world. At the time when the Gentiles were without Christ, outside of Christ, when they as yet did not know, did not have, Christ, they were excluded from citizenship in the kingdom of Christ, they were strangers to the fellowship with Him. They likewise had no share in the covenants of the great Messianic promise which God gave to Abraham and the patriarchs, Genesis 13:15; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 17:8. To this covenant of grace the Gentiles were strangers, because they were strangers to God’s own people, to the children of Israel. As a result, they were without hope; being ignorant of the salvation promised in the Messiah and realized in Christ, they had nothing to hope for beyond this world. Moreover, the last element, the climax of the darkness and misery of their former life, was the fact that the Gentiles were without God in the world. In this world, in this miserable, vain, and transitory world, they were God-less, without knowledge, without worship of the true God, and therefore without a support, like a mastless and rudderless wreck in the midst of a typhoon. That is painting their old heathen condition in the darkest colors.

Their present condition stands out all the more cheerful by contrast: Now, however, in Christ Jesus, you, who were formerly at a great distance, have come near in the blood of Christ. At the present time, at the time that Paul is writing, those very people that formerly stood afar off, as strangers to the citizenship of Christ, have now come near to the people of God, have been brought into the Church of Christ. Cp. Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7; Mark 1:15; Luke 10:9,11. This wonderful change has been brought about in Christ Jesus. Now they are in Him, united with Him, in living, present, personal fellowship with the Savior. By the blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed for their deliverance from sin, death, and damnation, they have been added to the number of the believers joined in the communion of saints. The blood of Christ was the means which brought about the wonderful effect, just as it does to-day.

The reconciliation effected by Christ:

The thought of the passage is that God, by the redemption of Christ, has gathered His Church out of Jews and Gentiles. So far as the present relation between Jews and Gentiles in the congregation is concerned, Paul writes: For He Himself is our Peace, who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of separation, the enmity, in His flesh. Jesus Christ is our Peace, He established peace between the two parties that seemed irreconcilable, between Jews and Gentiles. This great object of His life he brought about by uniting the two contending parties in one perfect unit. This He did by removing completely the wall, or partition, which separated Jews and Gentiles and caused constant enmity. The Mosaic Law, with all its precepts, institutions, and ceremonies, was a fence, or wall, which shut off the people of Israel from the Gentiles, which shut out the heathen from the privileges of the Jews. Christ abolished the Ceremonial Law and fulfilled the Moral Law.

This the apostle explains: (He removed the wall) by abolishing the enmity in His flesh, the law of commandments in ordinances. In His flesh, by the sufferings of His body, by going into death for the sins of the world, Christ has put the Law out of commission, He has abrogated the divine Law as a master of men. The curse, the guilt, the punishment lay upon Him, and so the Law has expended its might and power in His case. Cp. Romans 7:6. Incidentally, Christ removed the enmity between Jews and Gentiles. The separation between the two could not exist without hostility, especially since the Ceremonial Law was a law of precepts in ordinances, and as such challenged opposition and enmity. The Gentiles were deterred from joining the people of God by the prospect of being kept in bondage by the countless and detailed instructions of the Law which governed the minutest acts of daily life, even as to-day people are not brought into church by the preaching of the Law. So Christ’s purpose in abrogating the Law was: That He might create the two in Himself to one new man, making peace. By making peace between the two estranged parties in the manner described, Christ brought about a union of the Jews and Gentiles to a unit, a gathering of the Christian Church from the Israel according to the flesh as well as from the Gentile nations. The holy Christian Church thus formed is the one body of Christ, and Christ’s work in bringing about this union is an evidence of His creative power.

In the same way and with the same object Jesus effected still more: And (that He) reconcile both in one body to God, having through the Cross killed the enmity in Himself. The word “reconciliation” in this connection does not refer to the removal of the hostile relation between God and man as much as to the abrogation of man’s hostile position and conduct over against God. It was Christ’s intention to bring both Jews and Gentiles before God as a unit people, as a single body, thus establishing perfect communion with God. This plan seemed destined for success from the start because Christ in Himself, by giving Himself into death, killed and removed the enmity between Jews and Gentiles. By sacrificing Himself and becoming obedient even to the death on the cross, He removed the obstacle that stood in the way of peace, the Law, which engendered hostility, thus making way for the union of Jews and Gentiles in one body, thus bringing about the perfect harmony of an evenly balanced and developed organic whole.

How this intention of Christ was realized and is being realized, Paul states: And thus He came and preached peace to you that were afar off and peace to those that were near. Having obtained a perfect redemption for all men, having removed the cause of disharmony and hostility, Jesus now comes in and through the Spirit, John 14:18; Acts 26:23, in the Gospel. Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is personally present in and with the message of grace as it is preached throughout the world, and through this Word speaks to the hearts of men. It is a good, a joyful news, and its content is peace with God, the salvation earned by Christ on the cross with His suffering and death. This peace is now freely proclaimed to those that formerly were strange and distant, far from the chosen people of God and unacquainted with the evangelical promises, but also to those to whom the preaching of the Kingdom was entrusted of old: to Gentiles and to Jews Christ has proclaimed one and the same peace and thus restored peace between them. All believers in Christ are now united by the bond of this common knowledge and faith. Of them all together it holds true: For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. To this the experience of both Jews and Gentiles will cause them to agree. Christ is the Way; through Him the way to the Father is opened, through Him all have become partakers of the one Spirit. This unity of the Spirit, the unity of the sonship of God, the same right as children toward the Father of Jesus Christ, that is the bond which unites Jews and Gentiles, all the members of the Church of Christ. They all address Him: Abba, Father, with the same certainty of being heard, for all hindrances have been removed.

The Christians God’s living temple:

The apostle here draws the conclusion from the foregoing statements, offering a summary of all that has been said: Accordingly, then, no more are you strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow-citizens of the saints and members of the household of God. Since all the points which the apostle has brought forward in the preceding section are so well established, it now follows that the Gentile Christians, who formerly occupied a station far from the citizenship of Israel, who were strangers or, at best, sojourners among the Jews, being suffered or tolerated rather than regarded as equals, are now citizens in the commonwealth of the Christian Church, with full participation and enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the Kingdom. Or, by changing the figure to some extent, the Christian Church is a large, holy family, in which God is the Housefather, the Head of the house, and all believers members of the family, with free access to the use of all the goods which are freely dispensed by the Father. There is no difference here: the Gentile Christians belong to the household of God like all other believers, they have the right of children, the right of inheritance.

Again the apostle changes the figure and the picture: Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the corner-stone being Christ Jesus Himself. The believers are not only members of God’s family, but they themselves constitute the house, the temple, of God; they are the lively stones in the sacred edifice of the Church. They rest upon by faith, they are built up upon, the foundation of the apostles. The apostles, as the teachers of the Church for all times, are the foundation course of this wonderful building, whose capstone will not be laid till the last day. Though they have died long ago, they still teach and preach through their writings. And the same thing holds true of the Old Testament prophets, for their writings are fundamental for the Church of all times, the apostles themselves continually referring to them, Romans 16:26. The books of the apostles in the New Testament and of the prophets in the Old Testament are the Word of God, written by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the unshaken and unshakable foundation of the Church of Christ. Upon this foundation the Gentile Christians and all believers are built up; in it they rest, through it they receive the strength to stand in the face of all storms. This is all the surer, since Jesus Christ Himself is the Corner-stone, 1 Peter 2:6. In the building of the Church foundation and corner-stone are not two separate things, but the one includes the other. Christ Jesus is the content of the prophetic and apostolic writings; Christ is found in and with His Word, and nowhere else. The invisible foundation of the Church and the visible and audible medium which establishes the connection between the believers and Christ are named together, in order to maintain the figure of the house that is in the course of erection. Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinful mankind, of whom the Word of the prophets and apostles bears witness, is the Foundation of faith and of the congregation of saints which is being gathered out of the world of sinners.

The edifice as such is now described: In whom the whole building, fitly joined together, grows to a holy temple in the Lord. Not every building, but the entire building, which is only one, for the apostle is speaking of the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, not of individual churches or congregations. The one great building of the Church, by the addition of the individual members, who are properly joined or fitted together with those that were members before, gradually grows; it goes forward toward completion, the end coming with the conversion of the last elect member. Thus the building of Christ’s Church everywhere shows symmetry and harmony. The members of the Church, by love which is grounded in faith, preserve harmony; they submit to one another; they accommodate themselves to one another. Though of different nationalities and temperaments, Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish, they are at peace among one another, and that in Christ. The common faith in Christ brings about this effect. On the last day the holy temple in the Lord will stand before our astonished eyes in the beauty of its perfection.

Then, also, the purpose of the building will appear: In whom you also are being built together for an habitation of God in the Spirit. The direct address serves to emphasize the personal interest of every believer in this building, the construction of which is being carried forward day after day, sometimes with signal success, sometimes with great difficulties. Wherever and whenever the Word of the prophets and apostles is being proclaimed, there believers are gained for the growth of the Church. And so the end will present the complete, the perfect Church, the habitation of God, the place in which God elects to live, in the Spirit; for it is by the Spirit’s power that souls are gained for Christ, that new stones are added to this wonderful temple. Thus the Christian Church is a temple of the Triune God. The great God of heaven, who has revealed Himself in three persons, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, has his home in the midst of sinful mankind, in the Church of Christ. This wonderful glory and dignity of the Church is at present still hidden from the eyes of men. But on the last day the Church will appear before the eyes of an astonished world as a temple of beauty and magnificence, and the splendor and glory of the Lord will shine forth from this singular structure. “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God,” Revelation 21:3.

Summary

The apostle reminds the Christians that, when they were dead in sins, God quickened them and gave them the strength of a new spiritual, heavenly life in Christ Jesus; he calls to the remembrance of the Gentile Christians especially that they, who formerly were strange and distant, have now been brought into the kingdom of Christ and been made members of the Church of Christ.

Verses 1-21

The ministry of Paul for the edification of the Church

The revelation of knowledge to Paul:

In connection with the call of the Gentiles, Paul here discusses his apostolic vocation: For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles. It is a very emphatic expression with which Paul opens this chapter. Because his readers, the majority of whom had been Gentiles, had now been brought near, had been made members of the household of God, therefore they should earnestly consider what he urges on them and what he does for them. Paul was at that time bound, a prisoner in Rome, waiting for the disposal of his case before the imperial court. He calls himself the prisoner of Christ in behalf of the Gentiles, because he was suffering this imprisonment for work done in his capacity as minister of Christ, and because it had been principally his proclamation of the Gospel among the Gentiles that had caused his arrest. Both the enmity of the Jews and the suspicion of the Roman government had been drawn down upon Paul because he preached Christ Crucified so fearlessly.

The thought of his apostolic ministry now causes Paul to digress with the purpose of bringing home to the Ephesians the scope and the glory of this ministry: If, indeed, you did hear of the administration of the grace of God given me toward you. Here is a tactful, gentle appeal: If so be that I may assume, if my trust in you was not misplaced; conveying the hope that his words had not been quite forgotten. God’s special gift of grace to Paul was his apostleship among the Gentiles. Of this fact the Ephesian Christians had received information from the mouth of Paul himself; they had witnessed also how he had administered his office in their midst; they had heard, finally, how he was performing the work of his calling in other heathen countries.

The term “gift of God’s grace” is now further explained: That by way of revelation was made known unto me the mystery. Even at the time of his conversion, when the Lord appeared to him on the way to Damascus, He had informed him of his call as apostle to the Gentiles, thereby revealing to him the mystery of his vocation. Paul had received neither the information concerning his call nor the subject matter of his proclamation from men, all this being imparted to him by the immediate action of Christ, Galatians 1:12. To this he had referred briefly above, Ephesians 2:11-22, and he reminds his readers: By which, in accordance with which, when you read it, you get an idea of my understanding in the mystery of Christ. The paragraph concerning the gathering of the Church of Christ, the building of the holy temple of God, might serve as a criterion or standard, according to which, by means of which, the Ephesians would be enabled to judge, to get some idea of Paul’s insight, of his critical understanding in the mystery relating to Christ, in the message of salvation and grace in Christ, especially as it concerned the Gentiles, Colossians 1:27; Colossians 4:3.

Of this mystery or message Paul writes: Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men as now it was revealed to His holy apostles and prophets through the Spirit. The mystery relating to Christ as the Savior of mankind was indeed revealed to the patriarchs and prophets of old in type and prophecy. But in the times of the Old Testament generations the message was not generally known, nor was it so clear and unmistakable as in the time of the present fulfilment. To His holy apostles, who were incidentally prophets foretelling the future, God revealed the glorious facts concerning salvation in Christ through His Holy Spirit. By the teaching of the Spirit these men gained a full understanding of the relation between prophecy and fulfilment, of the ministry of Christ, Luke 24:44-48, of the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15, and many other facts connected with the life and work of the Redeemer.

The content of the mystery as it specifically concerned the Gentiles, was: That the Gentiles are fellow-heirs and fellow-members and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. The apostle piles up the terms in order to emphasize as strongly as possible the full equality of the Gentile Christians with those of Jewish descent. The Gentiles are heirs with the members of believing Israel, Romans 8:17, of all the blessings held out to the children; they belong jointly to the same body as the Jewish Christians, to the body of Christ; the same promise of eternal salvation in Christ Jesus is extended to them through the preaching of the Gospel. “The three terms describe the Gentiles, therefore, first generally as heirs together with the believing Jews in all things, and then more particularly as belonging equally with them to the same corporate body and sharing equally with them in the Messianic promise.” ^■824 .

Paul is careful to avoid even the suggestion of smug self-congratulation in the matter of his office: Of which (Gospel) I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given me according to the operation of His power. Even the remotest form of supercilious bearing was unbearable to the apostle, excelling, as he did, in meekness. He became a minister of the Gospel, a servant, not because of any personal merit, but by reason of the free gift of God’s grace. He considered his office a gift of which he was not worthy. And it was not his own wisdom, personal magnetism, or any other talent that was effective in his work, but the power of God. The transcendent greatness of God’s gracious power is efficacious as well in those that preach the Gospel as in those that hear and believe it. Mark: This fact, that the gift of teaching is bestowed, “not according to the receptivity of the recipient, but according to the efficiency of the Giver,” should be kept in mind by all members of the Church that are engaged in the work of teaching the Gospel.

The humility of the apostle and the greatness of his mission:

The apostle here takes up once more the thought of Ephesians 3:2, joining it in a very skilful manner with the preceding verse: To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, was given this grace, to preach to the Gentiles the incomprehensible wealth of Christ. As Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:9, calls himself the least of the apostles, and, 1 Timothy 1:15, chief of sinners, so he here, by the formation of a comparative of a superlative, tries to express his feeling of unworthiness for the glorious office of the ministry. This is by no means false modesty, as liberal critics are carpingly saying, for Paul was well able to defend his office upon occasion, but it was true humility, such as should cause every pastor and every worker in the Church to make this verse his motto. It was the thought of the supreme dignity of the office which he had received at the cost of such boundless grace which could not fail to evoke Paul’s sense of his own utter unworthiness. That fact, that he was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, that he was to proclaim to them the unsearchable riches of Christ, overwhelmed him as an evidence of God’s unmerited grace. Unsearchable, incomprehensible riches he calls them, such as are unfathomable, past finding out, to which no footsteps lead that might enable men to find out the fulness of the divine salvation for themselves, to understand the spiritual, heavenly blessings in Christ by their own power of comprehension.

There is also another purpose connected with the ministry: And to enlighten all men as to what is the administration of the mystery which from all ages has been hidden in God, who creates all things. All men by nature are in the dark concerning the Gospel and its wonderful message of free grace. Therefore it is necessary that they be enlightened, that they be shown, that they be turned from darkness to light, 2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Peter 1:19; Acts 26:18. They must be told that the mystery concerning the salvation of all men, including the Gentiles, is now openly proclaimed and applied to all men. This news was hidden since the world began; no man can conceive of it, can grasp it by nature. But now it has been revealed and realized in God, the Creator of all things. As such the almighty Lord creates and arranges the ages of the world; He puts into execution at His time what He has long kept hidden. Thus the Church of Christ owes her existence to the creative power of God. The Church is a new creation in that very form that it consists of Gentiles as well as Jews. So the greatness of the gift of grace entrusted to Paul, the beauty and power of the Gospel-ministry, is again brought out; for the Christian Church, which is thereby perfected, is, in its ultimate form, the spiritual part of mankind, whose principal thought is to give all honor to Him that created all things.

Since, moreover, the call of Paul made him a minister of the Gospel to the Gentiles, the aim of his work was: In order that there might be made known now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. The purpose of Paul’s preaching was the gathering of the Church, which is synonymous with the revelation or administration of the mystery which had been hidden in God. Through the Church, therefore, according to God’s intention, even the principalities and powers of heaven should be acquainted with the many-sided wisdom of God, with the wisdom which has so many different forms, which manifests itself in so many different ways. The angels of God, who have a decided interest in the redemption of mankind, 1 Peter 1:12 ^■825, are eager to learn ever more of the wisdom of the almighty Lord, who makes use of so many different ways and means to build His Church and thus to realize the purpose of creation. Through the Church, in the Church, the interest of the angels is satisfied; they receive an insight into its workings, into the gracious purposes of God, into the splendid results which are bound to attend His efforts; and they raise their voices in songs of praise and adoration to Him whose wisdom and mercy are from everlasting.

The apostle now elaborates his thought, that he has been given this ministry for the purpose of realizing God’s merciful aims among men, by adding: According to the purpose of the ages, which was made in Christ Jesus, our Lord. This eternal purpose or intention is no other than that which Paul has discussed in the first part of this letter, the purpose which resulted in the election of grace. Upon this purpose of God is based also the apostleship of Paul, since its object is to collect the chosen children of God out of all nations of the world, to bring them together into one body, under the headship of Christ. God chose His own in Jesus Christ; the knowledge of this election had to be transmitted through the Gospel; the ministry of the Gospel was entrusted to the apostle. Therefore he can say of the time in which he was writing: In whom we have our boldness and access in confidence through our faith in Him. He includes his own person with that of his readers, thus speaking for all believers. Since these facts are known to us, therefore we Christians have freedom of spirit, cheerful boldness, the courageous mood of those that are reconciled to God. For we have access to God, the way to the Throne of Grace is open, Ephesians 2:18. We approach, then, with confidence, not with any reliance upon our own works and merits, but through our faith in Him, Christ being the ground of our cheerful confidence. We may now enter into the presence of God without misgivings, with all boldness and confidence, as dear children come to their dear father.

In concluding this section, Paul adds an appeal to the Ephesian Christians: Wherefore I beseech you that you do not grow faint in my tribulations in your behalf, which are your glory. There was some danger that the disciples at Ephesus, hearing of the imprisonment of Paul, might be tempted to grow weak and faint-hearted, to lose courage, to believe the cause of Christianity doomed. But Paul wants them to put thoughts of this nature far from them. Because they, the former Gentiles, had, through the labor of the apostle, received the wealth of Christ and become members of the Church of Christ, therefore they were not to permit their joy over this blessing to be embittered by the remembrance of his sufferings, not to yield to the spirit of discouragement; for these tribulations were a necessary part of his office, they belonged to the cross which the minister of Christ must expect to bear, and before God they redounded, not to their shame, but to their glory. The Ephesians knew that their leader was not despondent in the trials which he must undergo, and therefore they should profit by his example and persevere in their Christian conviction.

The apostle’s petition for the Church, which includes an exhortation:

The apostle now resumes the thread of his discourse, which he interrupted after Ephesians 3:1 to speak of the ministry of his apostleship: For this reason I bend my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, after whom every family in heaven and earth is named. Because the Ephesian Christians have, by the labor of Paul, been added to the Church of Christ, because he is their teacher, their apostle, therefore he feels it his duty to bend his knees in prayer for these souls entrusted to his care. Luther expresses Paul’s thoughts as follows: “I must lie here a prisoner and cannot be with you nor help you in any other way, only that I can bend my knees, that is, with all humility and seriousness pray to God that He might give you, and work in you, what neither I nor any other person can do, even if I had my liberty and were with you always.” The God to whom Paul addresses his urgent intercession is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore the true Father of every believer. Particularly, however, is He the Father after whom every generation, or family, of God’s children, all people who through Christ Jesus have been reborn to a new spiritual life, is named. All the assemblies of the children of God, whether here on earth or in heaven, in the midst of the holy angels, bear their name from the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; they all stand in the same, in the equal relation of children to Him; they all form one great family, every member of which may ask and expect only the highest and richest of blessings from the Parent above.

In this sense Paul introduces the subject of his prayer: That He would grant you according to the wealth of His glory to be strengthened in might through His Spirit into the inner man. God has a wealth, a great amount, of excellence, majesty, and perfection; from His fulness we can always receive, and grace for grace, John 1:16. Paul boldly asks the measure of the gift of God’s perfection which will bring into full play this inexhaustible wealth. For only thus can the Christians grow mightily in strength, in spiritual power, only thus, namely, through the working of His Spirit, can the new inner man, the regenerated self of the Christians, make progress in faith and in holiness. God’s strengthening grace must be poured into the inner man day after day, the gift of His power must be directed toward this object without ceasing, otherwise the new spiritual life will soon become extinguished.

This idea is developed still further: That Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts. Not only the gifts and virtues of Christ, but the exalted Christ personally lives in the hearts of His believers, Galatians 2:20. There is the most intimate, the most happy communion between Christ and the Christians, begun in conversion, but in need of daily growth and strengthening, for it is through faith that Christ dwells in the heart, and the loss of faith in the forgiveness of sins means the loss of Christ Himself. If Christ does not live in us, grow in us, day after day, His power will soon diminish and His picture fade away. But with Christ in the heart, there is steady progress: That you, firmly rooted and grounded in love, be fully able to comprehend with all the saints what the breadth and the length and the depth and the height is. Love is the proof and test of faith. If Christ lives in the heart by faith, then love toward God and love toward one’s neighbor will follow as a matter of course. And with the growth of faith in the form of firm confidence, love will also take a firmer hold on the Christian; it will be set as solidly as a root takes hold of the ground from which it derives strength and life. Thus the condition is obtained which enables the believer fully to understand, to get a mental grasp of, what is the breadth and length and height and depth. All the saints should have this understanding, all the believers should grow in Christian knowledge. And in the connection in which the apostle here writes, he undoubtedly has in mind the Church with its immense dimensions. This building extends over the entire world from North to South, from East to West, through all periods of time until the last day; it includes the believers that are now sleeping in their graves, and reaches to the heavens, where its exalted Ruler sits at the right hand of God. The Church embraces the fulness of the elect, not only of Israel, but also of the Gentile world — a poor, small crew in the sight of men, but a mighty assembly before the omniscient eye of God.

And finally, Paul prays for the Christians that they might be strengthened: To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God. It is an incomprehensible, indescribable, immeasurable love by which Christ has founded the Church, by which He builds and extends it, a love which overcomes the hardest hearts, which influences even the greatest criminals, and always with the aim of building up the Church. This love is beyond the capacity of the human mind and intelligence, but the enlightened Christian will be able to get at least some idea of its extent and power, of its miraculous power in gaining lost sinners for Christ and the Church. And with the growth in this knowledge the hope and prayer of the apostle will finally be fulfilled, namely, that the Christians will be filled unto all the fulness of God, that this goal may be reached in them. It is a fulness of grace possessed and bestowed by God, the full measure of His gracious gifts to which the apostle has reference. Upon this measureless source the believers draw, increasing daily in virtues and blessings, as vessels of God’s mercy; themselves the possessors of boundless love and expending freely therefrom to the praise and honor of God. Though this ideal fail of full realization in this life, it is worth striving for with untiring energy.

Concluding doxology:

As in other instances, Romans 11:33-36; Galatians 1:5; 1 Timothy 1:17, the apostle closes this section of his letter with a doxology. He addresses himself to God, who is able to do beyond all, exceeding abundantly above what we ask or think. The program which Paul has outlined is of a nature to make the average Christian hesitate, so much does it embrace. But his reference to the almighty power of the gracious God quiets all doubts. He is able, according to the power which is active in us, of whose greatness we have indisputable evidence, to do and perform in our behalf far more than we can even think of asking for, far more than our feeble understanding can grasp. “I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me,” Philippians 4:13. The miracles which we have experienced in our own hearts and lives in our state of being Christians, since our conversion, are a guarantee to us that God will be able to carry out all His plans and intentions with regard to our salvation and sanctification. The apostle’s prayer will therefore surely not be in vain. And so we join with him in saying: Unto Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations of the eternity of eternities. In the Church His glory shall be proclaimed; the entire Church should confess that the praise is not due to men, neither to the apostles and preachers nor to the individual members, but to God alone; therefore His glory shall be forever extolled. And our prayer of thanksgiving rises to the throne of God in Christ Jesus, our Redeemer and Mediator, forever and ever. Here we make but a feeble beginning with our psalms and hymns of praise; the real chorus will sound forth in a mighty, never-ending anthem when we shall join the choirs of the blessed angels and sing His praises, world without end. Amen, that is, yea, yea, it shall be so ^■826 .

Summary

The apostle praises the grace which was given him in his ministry to the Gentiles, since its object was to collect the chosen children of God in a Church which was to be the pride and delight of God and the holy angels; he prays that the Christians may grow in faith and love and understand ever better the general character and wide extent of the Church of Christ.

Verses 1-32

Apostolic admonitions to unity, to perfection in knowledge, to holiness, and to peace

Paul exhorts to unity:

Having brought the doctrinal section of his letter to a close, the apostle bases his admonitions to holiness of life upon the foundation of Christian knowledge thus laid. He opens the second part of his letter just as he did Romans 12:1: I beseech you, therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to live your life worthy of the calling wherewith you were called. As the apostle of the Gentiles he was very much concerned about his charges’ remaining in faith and leading a holy life. Emphatically he speaks of himself as the prisoner in the Lord, thus reminding them of the reason for his present state. He was a prisoner because of his connection with Christ, the Lord, in behalf of the Gentiles. As such he exhorts or entreats his readers to conduct themselves at all times so, to lead their entire life in such a manner, as to be worthy of their calling as Christians, to prove themselves true members of the Christian congregation. It was God that had called them to the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ; as children of God they could not afford to bring disgrace upon the name of their heavenly Father.

They should walk and conduct themselves, therefore: With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing one another in love. These Christian virtues, according to God’s will, are to attend the Christians, to be their constant companions and associates. All possible lowliness they should use in their fellowship toward one another, as fellow-members of the same body of the Church. That very disposition of mind which was despised by the heathen as unworthy of a man, the deep sense of one’s own smallness in insignificance, the Christians are to cultivate. And this is to be accompanied by gentleness, loving submissiveness, patient yielding to others even under provocation, willingness to serve and share rather than to demand. The apostle, moreover, expects from the Christians long-suffering, in this connection not so much the endurance of tribulations from without as patience under provocations on the part of friends and brethren, as Paul himself adds, in explanation, that we should forbear one another in love, that we should endure even the unpleasant peculiarities of our Christian brethren without a hint of impatience. The apostle here paints an ideal of the relation that should obtain among the members of the Christian Church, which may well provoke all Christians to eager emulation.

With these virtues as a basis, the next admonition expands the idea of the relation among Christians: Giving diligence to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. While the believers strive after the virtues indicated above, they should incidentally make use of all energy, work with all zeal, to hold fast with watchful care the glorious possession of the oneness of the Spirit, the unity in feeling, interest, and purpose which accompanies the unity in doctrine. It is the unity of the Spirit, wrought by the Spirit of God, the unity in the truth. This splendid gift and possession is to be kept in the bond of peace, this being the tie that binds the hearts together. By striving after the virtues named by the apostle: love, peace, meekness, humility, long-suffering, patience, the Christians maintain the unity of the Spirit given to them in the Word. As soon as these virtues are disregarded, the result is dissension and disagreement, division and sectarianism.

That the apostle, however, by no means advocates or sanctions the modern perversion of his words which the spirit of unionism, now rampant, shows, he indicates in the next words: One body and one Spirit, just as you also are called in one hope of your calling. This is not an admonition referring to the future, but one which calls upon the Christians to hold fast that which they have. They are one body, as closely connected and joined together as the members of one body. They are united and kept in the union of Christ’s body by the one Spirit who lives in them, the Holy Ghost being, as it were, the soul of this body, of the Christian Church, who directs and governs the entire body. They are all looking forward to the same goal, for they are all called in or with the one hope of their calling. When the call of the Lord was realized in them, the hope of eternal salvation was held before them all, and this hope holds them together, emphasizes their unity.

The Christians, moreover, have in common: One Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all. The Lord of the Christians to whom they belong, who has redeemed them with His holy, precious blood, is Christ. In Him they believe, Him they recognize and acknowledge as their Lord; for Him they have put on in Baptism. So they all have the same faith, which united them with their one Lord by means of the same Sacrament. But the climax is reached in the words: One God and Father of us all. Through Christ’s vicarious work God is our Father, the Father of all Christians without exception. He is over them all, He rules over them, He exercises His gracious parental authority over them as His dear children, He is their Guardian and Guide. He is through them all, through them, as through the instruments of His mercy, He carries out many of His intentions; all the good works which the Christians perform, especially such as serve the Church, they do by the power of God which works in them. He is in them all, He has deigned to dwell in them; they are His temple, His constant abode. Thus the Christians, in and through the Triune God, in whom they live, and move, and have their being, are most intimately connected with one another; they are bound together by the strongest ties that can be conceived of.

Note: This passage describes, in a wonderfully clear and brief way, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints. “Here St. Paul says and teaches what the true Christian Church is and by what signs one can recognize it, namely, that there is no more than one single Church or people of God on earth, that has one faith, Baptism, one confession of God the Father and of Christ, etc., and therein holds and remains together in complete harmony. In this Church every one that wants to be saved and come to God, must be found and be embodied, and outside of her no one is saved. Therefore this unity of the Church does not consist in various forms of outside government, law, and precept, nor in having and observing church customs, … but is found where this harmony of the one faith, Baptism, etc., is. Therefore it is called one holy Catholic or Christian Church.” ^■827 .

Christ’s gifts to the individual Christians:

This bit of information very properly follows the instruction concerning the union of all believers in the holy Christian Church, for it throws the responsibility upon the individual as a member of the whole: But to every single one of us is given the grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. The union of all believers in Christ does not exclude the fact of their having received various and distinctive gifts of grace. With emphasis the apostle states that every single Christian has received special gifts or some special gift from God, which he should apply in the interest of the Church, for the benefit of the brethren. He is speaking of gifts of grace, evidence of which is to be seen in the various talents of preaching, teaching, organizing, governing, mission-work, tact in charity, etc. Every Christian, by reason of the grace which he has received, through the special spiritual talent which Christ distributes from His boundless hoard, is pledged to do his part toward the maintenance of unity and peace, as well as toward the further growth of the Church.

For the fact that Christ bestows such gifts of grace in the measure which He considers best, the apostle quotes a passage of the Old Testament, Psalm 68:18, calling upon the witness of God for the truth of his statement: Ascending up on high, He led captivity captive, He gave gifts to men. Psalm 68, in spite of all its references to the history of the Jews, is a Messianic psalm and speaks of the triumph of the Lord Jehovah, the promised Messiah, which was fully realized by His ascension to heaven, by His entering into the unlimited use of the authority and power which was transmitted to his human nature at the time of His incarnation. Of this exalted Christ Paul now says, no longer in the form of a direct quotation, but in a free use of the passage in the quoted psalm, that He bestows gifts upon men, various gifts of His grace, of which the apostle speaks also in other places, Romans 12:6.

Paul now adds an explanation of the passage quoted by him: But this, “He ascended,” what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? The apostle does not mean to say that these two events are always correlated, but refers to the case of Jesus in particular. To His ascension to the right hand of Power in the heavenly places corresponds His descent and victorious entrance into the kingdom of Satan. Christ, having been made alive in the grave, as transfigured God-man, according to body and soul, descended into hell; and the same God-man then, before the eyes of His astounded disciples, ascended up into heaven bodily. Cp. 1 Peter 3:19-20. Thus Christ, by returning to life in the grave, had actually destroyed the power of death and of the prince of death, and His ascension was the triumphant entry of the Victor into the palace of heaven. In order to bring home this thought, Paul repeats it: He that descended, He it is that also ascended above all heavens, that He might fill all things. The greatest height is here contrasted with the greatest depth. Above all created heavens Christ ascended, the height which He reached is the sitting at the right hand of His heavenly Father. And the object of the ascension was that He might fill all things. The exalted Christ now fills the universe with His almighty omnipresence, which fact assures us also of His gracious presence in His Church, to whose members He gives the gifts of His grace and mercy. Although the enemies of the Church, the devil and his angels, are not definitely and everlastingly bound and confined in their kingdom of darkness as yet, they are conquered, they are in Christ’s power, they cannot hinder the growth of the Church. And the final triumph of the Church with Christ, made possible by the victory of Christ, is merely a matter of time. With the conversion of the last of God’s elect the day of salvation in the endless joy of heaven will dawn.

The organization and work of the ministry of the Church:

The thought here expressed is connected with that of Ephesians 4:7, but Paul now speaks in detail of the gifts of God to the Church: He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. The ministers of the Church at all times are gifts of the exalted Christ. “The apostles were and are the infallible teachers of all Christendom, their doctrine is authoritative for the doctrine of the Christian teachers of all times. Prophets and evangelists were special gifts of the primitive Church. The prophets, in this connection the New Testament prophets, received special revelations for special purposes, which they then in inspired speech declaimed to the Christian assembly. Cp. Romans 12:6. The evangelists, to whom, for example, Philip, Acts 21:8, belonged, proclaimed the Gospel in missionary activity, … spread the apostolic word in places where the apostles themselves had not come; to their calling corresponds probably the service of our present missionaries. With ‘pastors and teachers’ the apostle describes the regular ministry of the Word, which in all periods of the Church has been and remained the same, the public office of preaching. The expression ‘teachers’ probably refers chiefly to the public activity as preachers, the other, ‘pastors,’ to the pastoral activity which applies the Word to the individual members of the congregation.” ^■828 . In speaking of all these ministers as gifts of Christ, the apostle does not exclude specific preparation for the ministerial office. But it is the exalted Christ that makes these persons willing, that works in their hearts the resolution to serve the Church, that blesses their study, that adds spiritual enlightenment to intellectual gifts, that distributes gifts for individual stations and special circumstances.

Of the immediate aim of the ministerial activity St. Paul writes: With a view to the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministration, for the edification of the body of Christ. All the servants of the Church in their various offices have been given by Christ to be active in ministering to the spiritual needs of the congregation; through their work the Church is to be built up, edified. The apostle uses the figure of the growth of a healthy body, which must be supplied with proper food in sufficient quantity. In this way the ultimate object of Christ is gained, the full equipment, the final perfection of the saints. Whatever is still incomplete in their spiritual condition and makeup, due to the attacks of the enemy and their own natural weakness, is to be supplied by the ministers of the Gospel through the preaching of sin and grace.

This goal of all ministerial work must be held before our eyes as the ideal: Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the understanding of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. The apostle here has in mind the congregation of the elect in heaven, and he refers to the time at which the great end in view is to be realized. At the present time many of these chosen children of Christ are still without the knowledge of their Savior. But when these all, through the preaching of the Gospel, have become one with the present believers, one in faith and in the knowledge of their Savior, the Son of God, then the object of the ministry of the Word will have been realized, then the assembly of the believers will stand there as a mature, full-grown man. Then the Church will have entered upon its majority, will have reached the age and the maturity of Christ, the First-born of the Father; the perfection of His graces and virtues will rest upon the believers. This aim will indeed never be realized fully in the present temporal life, but only in that to come. For all that, however, the teachers of the Church will ever be mindful of the external and internal growth of the Church and, in particular, of their own congregations; they will not cease to add new members to the flock entrusted to them, and to strengthen their people in faith and in all Christian virtues.

The results of such faithful labor cannot fail to materialize, first of all in overcoming defects: To the end that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of teaching, in the sleight of men, in craftiness tending toward the system of error. The work of perfecting the saints, carried on through the Word of the Gospel, should effect so much that the believers are no longer infants, minors, immature, and untaught in the knowledge of sin and grace, of the holy will of God. As children in spiritual knowledge they enter the Church; but the Lord wants spiritual growth and progress, He wants them to reach the maturity and stature of Christ. So long as a person is weak in Christian knowledge, having no thorough understanding of Christian doctrine, so long he is apt to be tossed to and fro, driven back and forth, like a rudderless ship in a storm. Every new temptation from within, every new attack from without, makes some new inroad upon such a person’s firmness. Every new wind of false doctrine takes such a person along, because the ship of his faith is not anchored firmly enough in the knowledge of Christ. The false teachers that attack the weak Christians deal with the Scriptures and with the truth and with the men whom they try to beguile with their oily voice, just as gamblers play with dice. One never knows what new trick is coming next, what new doctrine will be invented to deceive the souls of men. Their entire behavior tends to treacherous tricks, they practise carefully planned deceitful devices. The Christian, therefore, that is not yet firmly grounded in all the doctrines of the Bible as they pertain to man’s salvation, is apt to stray from the way, to wander hither and yonder, and thus to be lost forever. Thus the deceitful schemes of the false teachers and seducers lead to the false way of life that strays fatally from the truth. Note: It belongs to the business of the pastors and teachers whom Christ has given to His Church that they point out the dangers threatening on the part of false teachers, that they refute their arguments, that they expose the tricks and the jugglery which false prophets practise upon the Word of Grace, that they continue the instruction of all the church-members by means of doctrinal sermons and discussions, so that all the Christians in their care are furthered in the knowledge of truth and learn to distinguish between falsehood and truth and to try the spirits.

This point is brought out by the apostle in the next verse: But (that we) holding fast the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ. For that purpose Christ has given teachers to His Church, that they might enable the believers themselves to confess and defend the truth of the Scriptures, and not only for the purpose of upholding the truth, but in love, that their testimony of the truth may be of service to others; for that is always the sphere of the true Christian’s activity. The result will be that we Christians will grow up into Christ, the Head of the Church, in all things. It is not intellectual growth, but spiritual growth that is of the greatest value in the Church. By growing in the knowledge of Christ, by understanding the truth more perfectly day by day, by gaining in Christian faith and life, we enter into ever more intimate fellowship with Christ. Our spiritual growth is always directed to Him, to the perfection of His stature. In all things that belong to our growth this will be true, all the circumstances of our growth will be controlled by it.

The apostle now concludes his sentence: From whom the whole body, being firmly connected and compactly joined together by means of every joint of the supply, in keeping with the efficiency in the measure of each individual part, effects the growth of the body to its building up in love. The entire body, of which St. Paul here speaks, brings about, causes, the growth of the body itself. The directing and effecting power for this growth goes forth from Christ, the Head. The growth is expressed by the fact that the joints and ligaments are connected ever more firmly, framed together more fitly, put together more compactly. This is done by means of the cords of the ligaments and the sinews of the muscles. The whole body, when it acts and moves, is served by the muscles and sinews, as they are contracted; every individual cord thus performing its duty, the members of the body are enabled to act and operate conjointly. Each individual member and part supplies its measure of energy and working force, and the better they all act together, the better will be the opportunity for even development and steady growth. The application of the figure does not offer unusual difficulties. If every Christian uses the special gift of grace which he has received of the Lord in the right way, the entire congregation and Church will thereby be benefited, since there will be a closer connection between the various organs. Just as soon as every Christian performs the service for which the grace of Christ has fitted him, the consciousness of union in the Christians will be strengthened, all the members will be joined in a closer union and will further the work of the Lord with their combined strength. The growth of the entire body of the Church takes place in proportion to the energy and willingness with which each member exercises Christ’s gift of grace. Thus the Church, internally and externally, grows toward perfection. Note that the apostle makes the growth of the Church dependent upon the willing cooperation of each individual member of the Church, that He ascribes to every one some gift of grace. But mark also that the determining and directing power is that of Christ alone.

An admonition to spiritual renewal:

The apostle here takes up the thought of Ephesians 4:1 again, which contains the fundamental admonition for the entire second part of the letter, namely, that the Christians should lead a life worthy of the calling wherewith they were called. He here brings out the contrast between the moral purity of the Christians and the social impurity of the Gentiles: This, then, I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer lead your lives just as the Gentiles live theirs, in the vanity of their minds. It is a solemn protest and warning that Paul here issues in the Lord, for his exhortation was made in the interest of Christ and the Church, an earnest declaration and injunction in the nature of an appeal to God. As members of Christ’s body the Ephesian Christians should no longer have anything in common with their former companions, the members of their own race and nationality. For that is the characteristic of the unbelievers, the heathen of all times, that they walk in, that their entire conduct reveals, the vanity of their minds. The inner life of natural man, his thinking, willing, desiring, is vain, useless, purposeless, altogether without reality and worth before God. No unbeliever can have a conception of real moral values, for his mind is centered in nothingness.

This idea is now unfolded more completely: Being darkened in their understanding, estranged from the life of God by reason of the ignorance that is in them, by reason of the hardening of their hearts. The terms used by Paul presuppose a former, more enlightened condition of man. As God created man, his reason and mind were highly enlightened, especially also in their understanding of God and of things divine. Moreover, man, as created by God, had a blessed knowledge of God as of the heavenly Father. All this has been changed by sin. It is true of the Gentiles, as of natural man in general, that their minds, their thinking, their judgments, are darkened. Their understanding, their feeling, their desiring, is in such a condition as to make the distinction between good and evil impossible to them. And as far as their will is concerned, they have become alienated, estranged, from the life in God. They have no idea of the life which is from God, in and with God. Not a spark of fear, love, and trust in God is found in natural man. This condition is due to the inherited depravity of mankind; it is found in men because of the ignorance which is in them by birth and nature, because of the hardening of their hearts. They have been mentally and morally hardened against every influence for good, they have become blind, callous, insensible to everything that is truly noble and divine. This depraved condition of mind becomes evident in the lives of the Gentiles: Who, as men past feeling, have given themselves to lasciviousness, to the working of all uncleanness with greediness. They are no longer sensible to any higher moral influence, they have become abandoned to a state of heart without conscience. They have willingly yielded themselves, by their own guilty choice, to wantonness, to shameless, outrageous sensuality, to a reckless, unbridled behavior. So completely have they surrendered themselves in this respect that they make it their business to indulge in every form of uncleanness, together with greed or covetousness; for both vices are self-seeking. Paul purposely paints a picture from which the converted Gentile will turn with horror.

With this fact in mind the apostle now turns again to his readers: You, however, have not so learned Christ, if indeed you heard Him and in Him were instructed, as the truth is in Jesus, that you should put off, as regards your former way of life, the old man. There is a clear-cut, irreconcilable difference between the unregenerate and the regenerate person. The Ephesian Christians did not study the glorious news of their salvation through Christ in such a way as to suppose that they could continue in the sins which characterized the Gentiles. With delicate tact the apostle adds: If, as I assume it to be the case, as I take it to be a fact, Christ was indeed the subject, the sum and substance, of the preaching which you heard. As a matter of fact, they not only had heard Christ in the preaching of the Gospel, but had also been instructed in Him; as they received the instruction and progressed in the knowledge of their Savior, their union with Christ became ever more intimate, in their fellowship with Christ their knowledge of Him increased, as the truth, sound morality, and righteousness is in Christ. Jesus, holy and righteous in His person, gives to His disciples both the example and the proper instruction in holy life. He that has entered into the sphere of Jesus as His disciple is thereby under obligation to conduct himself in his entire life as Jesus walked.

The apostle now specifies a few points in the instruction which the Ephesians received: That you put off, as regards your former way of life, the old man, which becomes corrupt according to the lusts of deceit. The Ephesian Christians, at the time of their conversion, had renounced the devil and all his works and all his pomp. Still, the admonition is necessary that they, so far as their former manner of living is concerned, in order that their old heathenish conduct might definitely be put behind them, should put off the old man, the natural sinful corruption, the inherited evil inclination. As man is born into this world, not only are there a few objectionable traits in him, but his whole nature is absolutely and entirely perverted and corrupt, all his thoughts, imaginations, desires being directed against God and upon the vain things of this world. This old evil nature is found even in the regenerated Christians, for which reason it is necessary to exert eternal vigilance and to put off the old man, like a filthy garment, whenever he attempts to perform evil. The sinful words which rise to the tongue, the evil thoughts and intentions that desire to break forth out of the corrupt heart, must be brought into subjection and crucified before they find gratification. This is all the more a matter of necessity, since, if the old evil nature continues to rule in the heart of a person, the entire man, with body and soul, will share the fate of the old Adam, that of eternal damnation. For the lusts and desires of the old man are deceitful; they seem to promise happiness, joy, life, while in reality they ruin a person that follows their guidance, both in body and spirit, until he is lost forever.

The other side of the picture drawn by the apostle is more cheerful: That, on the other hand, you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, who after God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. The putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new is done at the same time; the two events are simultaneous. In and by his conversion a person begins an entirely new life; he enters into a new existence so far as his spirit and mind are concerned. This regeneration must be continuous and steady, lest the old sinful nature once more gain the ascendency. It is a necessary part of Christian sanctification for a Christian always to begin anew, always to renew his spiritual youth, with every new day to withdraw with his heart and mind from the vain matters of this world. At the same time, therefore, he is also daily clothed anew with the new man, that state of mind, that moral habit which accords with the will of God. The new man is the sum total of all Christian virtues, the entire number of God’s moral demands in realization. To put on this summary of virtues, like a new, splendid garment, to be clothed and decorated with it at all times, to follow at all times the best thoughts and impulses of the new man, that must be the aim of every Christian. And this is possible for him, because the new man, in conversion, is created after God, in the image of God, Colossians 3:10, in the righteousness and holiness which are characteristic of true morality. In the same proportion as the Christian puts on the new man, gives evidence of his power in his entire life, in that measure the image of Christ, the image of God, makes its appearance in him ^■829 .

An instruction regarding individual sins:

It is true indeed that a Christian, by virtue of his conversion, has his thoughts and interests directed to the virtues which are well-pleasing to God. But it is equally true that the old evil nature is still present with him, causing him to wage incessant warfare against its attempts to lead him into sin, as the apostle pictures it in Romans 7. It is for that reason that Paul here mentions individual sins by name, as among those that are most dangerous for a Christian: Wherefore, having put away falsehood, speak truth every one with his neighbor, because we are members one of another. A Christian’s life of sanctification, which appears in righteousness and holiness, places this obligation upon him. With the old man the Christians have put away lying; they no longer have pleasure in lying, they are no longer under the rule of falsehood. But the spirit of falsehood is continually endeavoring to regain lost ground, and, unfortunately, it will happen even in the case of Christians that they are overcome by the weakness of their flesh and become guilty of lying and deceit. Hence the admonition: Speak truth every one with his neighbor. Every Christian should diligently strive to make use of veracity over against all men at all times, over against friend and foe, unbeliever and believer. But this condition should obtain especially among Christians in their outward conduct toward one another, seeing we are members one of another. As members together of the body of Christ, under the headship of the Lord, this fellowship is more intimate than that of any physical organism. Nothing can be more disgraceful, therefore, than that Christians deliberately, maliciously, lie to one another. If they want to be true to their calling, they will walk in the truth, above all over against those that are of the household of faith.

A second admonition concerns an evil which is just as widely distributed: Be angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your provocation. The apostle makes use of Psalm 4:4, according to the Greek translation. It is a warning against the sin of anger. The emphasis being on the second part of the command, the meaning can best be given by the rendering: When you become angry, do not sin. The apostle is considering the fact that even Christians, being obliged still to contend with their old Adam, are harassed with angry thoughts. There are two things which the Christian will keep in mind: First, that he does not permit angry desires to break forth in words and deeds; and secondly, that he does not cherish anger in his heart. Should your heart be agitated by anger, Paul means to say, do not permit the desire to be realized, flee from the sin of anger in terror; and at any rate do not permit anger to take root in your heart overnight, let the provocation be what it may, lest the irritation become a steady feeling of resentment and hatred. To this the warning is attached: Neither give place to the devil. The Christians should always remember that, in letting anger control them, take possession of their heart and mind, they are giving opportunity to the devil to sow dissension and many other forms of mischief in the Church.

In explanation of the Seventh Commandment, the apostle writes: Let the stealer steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his own hands that which is good, that he may have to give to him that has need. It is not only thieving that is here condemned, but every form of appropriating one’s neighbor’s money or goods by methods that do not conform to the law of love, all cheating and profiteering, all the methods which are considered smart by the God-forsaken business men of the world. There is always danger that these methods make an impression upon Christian business men, causing them to ignore the warnings of conscience. But Paul’s call is to quit all shady methods entirely and to go to work in earnest. In this way every person will be able to obtain an honest return for his work. And he should always remember that the profit of such work is not to be kept in selfish greed, but should be shared freely with such as are really in need. The poor we always have with us, and charity need never be idle for want of suitable subjects. Cp. Acts 20:34-35; 2 Thessalonians 3:11-13 ^■830 .

Of sins against Christian fellowship:

The apostle here again, as in Ephesians 4:25, mentions sins of the tongue: Every corrupt speech, out of your mouth let it not proceed; but such as is good for the building up of the need, that it may give grace to the hearers. Christians should not be guilty of such speech, such utterance, such talk as is worthless, bad, rotten, putrid, foul. The inclination to this sin is present also in the Christian, as the Lord says in Matthew 15:19. But the believers must not permit this inclination to express itself in language of this nature. All their speech should rather have the object of serving their neighbor for good, for the edification applied to his need. As our neighbor stands in need, we should come to his aid with instruction, admonition, consolation, in order that he may be confirmed and furthered in faith and in every good thing. In this way we bring him a benefit, show him a kindness, impart a blessing to him. On the other hand, the apostle warns: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption. With great solemnity he gives the full name of the third person of the Godhead, for the sin which he is discussing is a very serious matter. The Holy Spirit lives in the hearts of the believers as in His temple, and therefore the Christians should fear to offer Him an insult and thus to drive Him away. Foul talk of every kind is not to be thought of lightly, as a breath that the wind takes away, but it is heard by the Holy Spirit of God, who feels deeply grieved and insulted over such behavior. For in and by the Spirit we are sealed, made certain, of our salvation, and it is His intention that we reach our destination, the redemption of our souls. How can it be possible, then, for us to be so ungrateful as to inflict any insult or sorrow upon this Spirit of our salvation!

St. Paul now goes to the root of the matter when he writes: All bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and blasphemy, let it be put away from you, with all malice. It is this condition of the heart that brings out the foul and foolish talk: bitterness, resentfulness, harshness, when a person always walks around with a chip on his shoulder, ready to break forth at the slightest provocation; wrath, the sudden burst of fury, as well as anger, the steady, continued feeling of displeasure toward one’s neighbor which plans vengeance; blasphemy, scolding, maledictions. All these things should be removed from the Christian’s heart, together with all malice, all wickedness, all ill will in general. Paul does not name the climax of the sin whose first steps he describes, he does not speak of actual blows; for he is writing to Christians, who surely will not forget their position as children of God to such an extent as deliberately to indulge in fisticuffs. They will rather, as Paul writes, make it a practise to be kind to one another, show themselves benignant at all times; also tender-hearted, full of fellow-feeling and hearty compassion; forgiving one another, not unwillingly or grudgingly, but graciously and willingly, each one dealing with his neighbor as with himself. And all this with the great love of God and the inexpressible sacrifice of Christ before his eyes: Even as also God in Christ has graciously forgiven you. God’s grace and mercy was manifested in Christ, proved itself in Christ, who by His death accomplished the reconciliation of the world. Just as God in Christ showed us such immeasurable love, so we should show love toward our neighbor; the incomparable love of Christ toward us should be the motive and the strength of our love.

Summary

The apostle admonishes the Christians to keep the unity of the Spirit in peace, to serve one another with the gifts received from God, and thus to assist the growth of the Church, with special reference to the gifts of the ministry; he warns them to abstain from the vices of the Gentiles; he exhorts them to put down the old Adam, and to put on the new man with all Christian virtues, all for the promotion of Christian fellowship.

Verses 1-21

A warning, principally against the sins of uncleanness

The imitation of God excludes uncleanness:

The first verses of this chapter really conclude the thought at the close of the previous chapter. Paul had there admonished the Christians to be forgiving, in remembrance of the mercy which had been shown them in Christ Jesus. He here adds: Become, therefore, imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God for a savor of sweet smell. The Christians are children of God through Christ and as such the objects of the love of God. Where the proper relation obtains, however, between a father and his children, there the children will, both unconsciously and consciously, imitate their father; they will pattern their lives after his. And so the Christians have their heavenly Father as their type and example of love. God’s love toward us unworthy creatures puts us under the obligation of showing a similar love in our lives. As Luther has it: “The entire outward life of the Christians should be nothing but love.” But as God is an example of unselfish love, so also is Christ; He is, with the Father, the great motive and pattern of our love. So great was His love for us that He delivered Himself for us, in our stead, for our benefit; He became an offering, a sacrifice, for us. By offering up His own life and body on the altar of the cross He has succeeded in turning the good-pleasure of God to our account. For His sacrifice was fully acceptable to God, it rose to the nostrils of God as a sweet smell, or odor. In remembrance of this love the apostle wants the Christians to exercise love toward one another; the love of Christ is to be both pattern and spur to every disciple.

With the love that is shown in the lives of the Christians should be combined holiness and purity: Fornication, however, and uncleanness, every form of it, and greediness, let it not even be mentioned among you, as it is fitting for saints, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not proper, but rather giving of thanks. The sins which the apostle here enumerates are such as were prevalent among the Gentiles and would therefore tend to dull the edge of sensitive consciences by the very fact of their being so common. There was fornication, the indulging in forbidden sexual intercourse, uncleanness, obscenity, nastiness of every description, all the forms of immorality indulged in by the heathen with such an air of self-evident custom. There was the sin of greed, of avarice, of covetousness, in which all the thoughts of a man’s heart are directed upon the acquisition of vain possessions, of filthy lucre. So utterly incompatible are these vices with the character of the followers of God and imitators of Christ that no Christian should in any way be associated with them, not one of them should be charged to him with even the remotest show of justice. So earnestly should believers guard their honor, their reputation in this respect that all evil talk will die for want of fuel. So pure should Christian congregations be in this regard that not even rumor will dare to lift its head; that is fitting for saints, for such as are consecrated to the Lord in their entire lives. But even the sins of impurity in their finer forms, where the fault is not so open and glaring, are not proper for a Christian congregation and should never be found in the midst of the assembly of believers. There is filthiness, indecent, shameful behavior in general; there is insipid, silly talk, loose discourse, which moves just on the boundary of the outright indecent and lewd; there is jesting, frivolity, scurrility, wittiness which is characterized by broad suggestiveness rather than by aptness. Instead of these things there should be found among the Christians giving of thanks. As beloved children of the heavenly Father they should be kept so busy in praising the goodness and mercy of God that they have absolutely no time left for such impure forms of pastime.

But lest the Christians underestimate the seriousness of the situation, the apostle adds: For this you are sure of, being aware that every adulterer and unclean person and covetous man, who is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. This knowledge belongs to the fundamentals of Christian teaching, that sinners of this kind, flagrant violators of the Sixth and Seventh Commandments, are excluded from the riches of God’s grace by their own fault. And the miser, the covetous person, who makes money his god, is incidentally an idolater, violating also the First Commandment. They have no part, no inheritance, in the kingdom of God’s grace, which is at the same time that of Christ: for God has chosen His own, His children, that they should be holy and unblamable before Him in love. Thus we have here a direct reference to the final certain damnation of all adulterers, all unclean persons, all avaricious men, if they continue in these sins to their end. Note that also in this passage Christ is placed on an absolute level with God the Father; the true, eternal Godhead belongs to Him.

The children of light avoid the works of darkness:

The Ephesian Christians, like those of every city since, were in the minority in the city, a few in the midst of many heathen. Not only did they have the constant example of the Gentiles before them, but they were also continually subject to temptations. The sins which the apostle, for instance, had just mentioned as vices to be abhorred, they regarded as innocent joys and pastimes in which any one might indulge for a time in order to sow his wild oats. But the apostle warns the Ephesians, as he does the Christians of to-day: Let no one deceive you, seduce you, with vain words, with empty, foolish talk. The people that indulge in such talk are chiefly such as have come in contact with the Christian religion, but refused to be persuaded. Their smooth words are dangerous arguments, and the Christians must not listen to them; for because of these sins, as the apostle once more emphatically says, the wrath of God descends upon the children of unbelief. This is not only the wrath of the final Judgment, but the decree of punishment which strikes the sinners even in this world. Sons of disobedience the wilful sinners are called, for disobedience is their sphere of activity, they practise it unceasingly and thus challenge the temporal punishments and the eternal damnation which comes upon them. The apostle holds up, as it were, a warning finger: Do not, then, become partakers with them; do not allow yourselves to fall back into ways which you have forsaken through the grace of God. For these vices are not only subject to punishment, as outlined above, but they deprive of the grace of God given in regeneration. If the Christians become partakers with the unbelievers of their sins, they will become companions of them also in their damnation. Being in the midst of unbelievers, being engaged in business with them, the Christians must be doubly careful lest they be drawn into the prevalent immorality and profiteering business methods.

The apostle brings a strong argument to support his admonition: For you were formerly darkness, now, however, a light in the Lord. Darkness is the spiritual condition of the unconverted, the unbelievers; their sphere was sin, godlessness, transgression of God’s holy Law. But that time, that condition, is wholly past and gone in the case of the Ephesians. As Christians they were no longer darkness (which implies more than merely being darkened), but they had now, through the power of God, become enlightened to such an extent as to make them a light in the Lord. By being converted or regenerated, the former Gentiles had not only been removed from the perdition of the world and brought to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, their Savior, they had not only been filled with the light of the Gospel, but they had themselves become a light in the Lord, Romans 2:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:4. They could now not only walk worthy of the light, but they were able to serve as a light for others, lead others into the way of sanctification. And Paul immediately enumerates some of the virtues which the Christians should show in their sphere of activity, in their walk as children of light: For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. The character of the believers as the children of light cannot but express itself in this manner, they must show the fruit of the light in their lives. Three virtues are named by the apostle as giving the soundest evidence of the Spirit of light in a person’s life: goodness in all its forms, moral soundness and propriety, combined with active beneficence; righteousness, moral rectitude, which takes care that nothing and nobody receives any injury; truth, moral purity, sincerity and integrity as opposed to hypocrisy and falsehood. Thus Christian morality is described as being good, just, and true. And in thus giving expression to the light that is in them, in thus walking as the children of light, the Christians are so careful against the deception of unbelief and enmity against God that their attitude always is: Proving what is well-pleasing to the Lord. To all things, to all customs, to all forms approved by society, to everything that they come in contact with in life, the Christians apply the standard of God’s holy will. For often the difference between right and wrong is not immediately obvious, and therefore the spiritual man is very careful about judging, 1 Corinthians 2:15. The Christian’s aim in this life is to find out what pleases the Lord, and then to abide by His will.

If the Christians, moreover, walk as the children of light, the apostle’s words will be heeded: And do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but, on the other hand, rather reprove them. Light, as wrought by the Spirit, brings forth fruit, fruit which must be acknowledged as such everywhere. But the darkness, the unconverted state, the condition of unbelief, can bring forth real fruit as little as weeds are able to: the works of darkness are unfruitful, they are destructive, wicked, dead, Hebrews 6:1; Hebrews 9:14; Colossians 1:21. The Christians will, therefore, have nothing in common with them, they will shun and avoid them at all times. And not satisfied with a mere attitude of refusal, they will, on their part, go forward to attack the evil in an aggressive manner, reprove them, show their sinfulness. “The idea, therefore, is that these Christians were not at liberty to deal lightly with such sins, or connive at them, or be silent about them, but had to speak out against them and hold them up to rebuke, with the view of bringing their heathen neighbors to apprehend their turpitude and forsake them.” ^■831 .

This attitude of the Christians is demanded all the more by the fact: What is secretly done of them is indeed a shame even to speak of; yet all things, when they are reproved, are manifested by the light, for everything which is made manifest is light. The secret sins which are practised by the children of darkness are indeed of such a nature that they can hardly be mentioned without blushing; in the time when the apostle lived, the most unnatural vices were taken as a matter of course. Yet their naming under circumstances becomes a duty, as we see in the case of the apostle in Romans 1. Thus the secrecy of the vices here referred to is the reason why they require to be reproved openly; and the very fact of their being so abominable makes it all the more incumbent to administer open rebukes instead of silently overlooking, or conniving at, their presence. All the sins and vices of the heathen, of the unbelievers, both those that are done in public and such as are done in secret, are manifested, exposed, brought to light when they are reproved by the light, that is, by the children of light, by the Christians. The direct reproof, indeed, strikes only the known sins, but the testimony of the truth in the mouth of the Christians penetrates also into the hidden depths of the human heart and convicts the sinners of secret sins and vices. In support of this course Paul refers to an axiom: Everything that is made manifest is light. Things that were hidden and secret are illuminated by being placed into the light. And thus a person that becomes conscious of his misery, of his guilt, thereby reaches the point that he, by the gracious influence of God, turns away from sin, learns to know the mercy of the Savior, and then conducts his life in accordance with God’s will and becomes a light in the Lord. This will unfortunately not always be the result of the Christian’s testimony against sin, since many hardened sinners refuse to heed the warning of the Law; but there will always be some that are enlightened by the Spirit of God through the Word, and this fact should serve as a stimulus to the believers to rebuke sin and try to work knowledge of sin whenever an opportunity presents itself.

The apostle concludes this section with a reference to a well-known verse: Therefore it is said, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee. This quotation is not taken from Scriptures, but may have been a verse adapted from the synagog or Christian liturgy of Paul’s days, or Paul applied a common greeting of the Jewish New Year to the situation ^■832 . At God’s call the Christian should open his eyes and, in turn, call out to his unbelieving, godless neighbor: With your sins you are lying in spiritual sleep, death, and destruction. Therefore arise from sleep, arise from the dead; repent, be converted! If this call works the knowledge of sin, then Christ will give the knowledge of salvation. Christ is here pictured as a beautiful, shining, flashing light. The sinner, having arisen from the sleep of sin and death, is surrounded and flooded with Christ, the Sun of Salvation, and thus becomes blessed and happy in this illumination. The quotation which Paul here makes use of, therefore, comes in very relevantly to show both the need for the reproof and the good effects of such a reproof by the grace of God.

Things demanded by the correctness of the Christian walk:

The apostle continues his admonition to the Christians to walk as the children of light, since such behavior on their part will always serve to impress the unbelievers: Take heed, then, carefully how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise. Christians should exercise all diligence, watch over their entire life with great diligence. Every step of their way through life must be taken with deliberate carefulness, lest in, showing themselves wise in the sense of Scriptures, in using the proper means for right ends, they forget the caution demanded by the situation and thus become unwise. For this reason they should also make proper use of their time, literally, take advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. It may sometimes cost the believers something in self-denial to speak to unbelievers of God and Christ, to rebuke their evil ways, and to show them the one way of salvation, especially since the days are evil, and therefore do not seem appropriate for such works of love. The general opposition of the world against the Gospel of Christ is a hindering factor. Opportune moments are rare and should be grasped immediately. For this cause also the Christians should not become foolish, devoid of understanding. They are wise in the knowledge of the will of God and should therefore shun everything that tends to take away the understanding which they possess. Discerning they should be; they should learn to distinguish very carefully, mark with Christian jealousy, just what at this time, in this place, under the present conditions, is the will of the Lord. This is true in general, in the entire life of the Christians, as well as in particular, in the conduct of the Christians toward their environment. Note: It is this admonition which should be heeded with far greater diligence in our day, when people that claim to be believers are accommodating themselves to the ways of the world instead of observing the boundary line with the strictness demanded by the Lord. The will of the Lord must decide in any situation, not questions of expediency.

In order that Christians may retain the sane composure necessary for their calling in this world, the following is necessary, of course: And be not inebriated with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. People that are addicted to wine, that are given to an excess of strong drink, cannot make use of sane judgment; for intemperance results in dissoluteness, in an abandoned, debauched life, in a condition where the calm use of the enlightened reason is out of the question. Believers will rather at all times strive to be filled with the Spirit of God, in whose power they are able to walk in the light, to avoid the works of darkness, to inquire in all things for the will of God. The inspiration and enlightenment of the Spirit should govern the entire life of the Christian.

As an excellent aid toward attaining to this state and remaining in it, Paul mentions: Speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. In the Old Testament Psalms, as they were used in the services of the Christians from earliest times, in the hymns or chorals which were intended for use in public services, in spiritual songs of a more general tone and nature, but quite distinct from the worldly lyrics and odes, the Christians should edify one another. Would that this admonition were heeded more by the Christians of our days, in order that the great mass of incredibly vapid and unspeakably silly ragtime and jazz pieces would disappear and remain absent from all Christian homes! For true disciples of Jesus should edify and teach one another also by means of the songs which they sing, not only in public worship, but also in their homes. Both in public hymns of praise and thanksgiving and in the jubilant exulting of the believing heart which continues without interruption, all glory should be given to the Lord for His boundless mercy and goodness. By such singing, praying, confessing, heart and mind are lifted up as on mighty wings of joy, and the spiritual life is refreshed and steadied. For surely there is reason enough: Giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father. The constant mercy and goodness of God makes thanksgiving a constant duty. There is never a time when a Christian has no occasion to give thanks to God, his heavenly Father, in Jesus Christ, his Lord, with heart and hand and voice, for His fatherly care, also on the days that seem dark. And where this thanksgiving arises from the believing heart, there is joy in the Spirit, joy in the Lord, power for every good work. This relation to God will, in turn, determine the relation of the Christians toward one another: Subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ. The love toward God and Christ which rules in the hearts of believers naturally finds its expression in a life of service toward their neighbor. The interests of the other are considered on the same level as one’s own, one believer endeavoring to prefer the other in honor, and all out of reverence for Christ, who did not come to be ministered unto, but to minister. Cp. Romans 12:10; Galatians 5:13.

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Verses 22-33

The duties of husbands and wives as shown by the relation of Christ to the Church

The exhortation with its basis:

Of this entire section it has been stated that “it gives the Christian ideal of the marriage-relation. It is the loftiest conception of that relation that has ever come from human pen, and one than which no higher can be imagined.” ^■654 . Expanding the thought of the last admonition, the apostle writes: Wives, to your own husbands be subject as to the Lord. To their own husbands, to the men with whom they have entered into the relationship of holy wedlock, Christian wives give subjection. This they do, not unwillingly, as in the obedience of a forced submission, but by virtue of their willing consent at the time of the betrothal; for they are not subject to the husband as their lord and master, but “as to the Lord,” that is, as to Christ. Just as Christian women are, by virtue of faith, in a state of submission to Christ, so the obedience which they render to their husbands is one rendered to Christ, the Christian husband being the head of the wife and typifying to her Christ, the Head of the entire Christian Church: For the husband is the head of the wife, just as also Christ is the Head of the Church, Himself being the Savior of the body. In the case of Christ it is a matter both of superiority and of headship, for He is both God and the Savior of the body; His Church, the Christians, having accepted Him by faith, they have individually and collectively become the members of His body, the communion of saints, united in one great organism. In the case of the husband not all points of comparison can be stressed. It may not be a question of superiority, but it is always very distinctly a question of headship. It is God’s will that the husband be the head of the wife; the provision made at the time of creation is thus confirmed for the time of the New Testament.

Just how far this relation will extend in the sense as here given, is stated by the apostle: Nevertheless, as the Church is subject to Christ, so also the wives to the husbands in everything. The apostle makes no concessions to modern overemancipation, neither does he give to the husband unlimited latitude. The meaning of the apostle is this: The fact that Christ is the Savior of the Church in no way affects the fact that He is also the Head of the Church; now, though the husband is not the savior of the body, the question of obedience for all that is not affected thereby; as the Church is subject to Christ, so, too, are wives subject to their husbands. It is expressly stated that this is to be in all things, the wife thus not being given permission to make arbitrary exceptions. But it is self-evident that the headship of man is confined to the matters of this life only. So far as the sphere of Christianity is concerned, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus, Galatians 3:28.

On the part of the women it is a matter of voluntary submission in a relation to their husbands which is compared to that of the Church to Christ. Being coheirs with the men of the hope of salvation, they might be inclined to demand equality in the marital relation and life; in answer to such thoughts the headship of the husbands was emphasized. On the part of the men the danger consisted in assuming an overbearing lordship, in deeming themselves authorized to make use of severity. To them St. Paul says: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and offered Himself up for it. The apostle wants the husbands to show their love for their wives in their actions at all times; it should be an active, willing love. The apostle does not introduce a reason for this love, since its presence is assumed on the basis of the order of creation, but he offers the highest example and comparison that could be conceived of. The chief proof of the love of Christ for the congregation consisted in this, that He offered up Himself, that He sacrificed His own life for the Church, in the interest of the Church, for the expiation of sins. The redemption was merited for the whole world, but only in the case of the believers is it actually realized; and so the vicarious work of Christ, the supreme proof of His love, is here represented as having taken place in the interest of the Church. And the result of this work, as it actually appears in the life of the believers, is: That He might sanctify it, cleansing it by the washing of the water in the word. It is not only justification that the apostle speaks of here, he is referring not merely to the righteousness and perfection which was imputed to every believer at the time of His conversion, but he is speaking of the sanctification which is going on in the Church, having been begun in the believers in their baptism to be perfected on the last day. Christ consecrated His Church, set it apart for Himself. And this He did by cleansing each member of the Church by the miraculous washing of water, by the sacrament of Holy Baptism. For this water is not simple water only, as Luther very correctly writes, but the water comprehended in God’s command and connected with God’s word. The water of Baptism cleanses from the corruption of inherited sin, it has the power to regenerate, to renew heart and mind, the nature of man. Cp. Romans 6:3; Colossians 2:12; Titus 3:5.

The final object of the sanctifying done by Christ is given in the second dependent clause: That He Himself might present to Himself the Church, glorious, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any of such things, but that it should be holy and unblamable. Christ, as the Bridegroom, having purchased the Bride with His blood and having cleansed all believers, the members of the Church, by the water of Baptism, now presents or sets forth His Bride. The sanctification of this present time will reach its climax in the final glorification, when the Kingdom of Grace will become the Kingdom of Glory, when the Church Militant will become the Church Triumphant. “Christ presents the Church to Himself, He and no other, to Himself. He does it. He gave Himself for it. He sanctifies it. He, before the assembled universe, places by His side the Bride purchased with His blood. He presents it to Himself a glorious Church. That is glorious which excites admiration. The Church is to be an object of admiration to all intelligent beings, because of its freedom from all defects and because of its absolute perfection. It is to be conformed to the glorified humanity of the Son of God, in the presence of which the disciples on the mount became as dead men, and from the clear manifestation of which, when Christ comes the second time, the heavens and the earth are to flee away. God has predestined His people to be conformed to the image of His Son. And when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is, 1 John 3:2. The figure is preserved in the description here given of the glory of the consummated Church. It is to be as a faultless bride; perfect in beauty and splendidly adorned. She is to be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, i.e., without anything to mar her beauty, free from every indication of age, faultless and immortal. What is thus expressed figuratively is expressed literally in the last clause of the verse, that it should be holy and without blame.” (Hodge.)

Further application of the comparison:

The apostle here returns to his comparison: Even so ought husbands to love their own wives as their own bodies. It is not a matter of choice, but of obligation, of duty. It is true indeed that mere human beings cannot love their spouses with the same measure of love which Christ showed in His solicitude for the Church. But every Christian husband can and should have the love of Christ for the Church as an example before His eyes always; he should be willing to make sacrifices for the sake of his wife; he should always be ready to strengthen his wife, as the weaker vessel, in all good things. But Paul here expressly states that men have the duty of loving their wives, because a man’s wife is his flesh by virtue of the marital relationship. It is thus a self-evident duty which Paul is trying to inculcate: He that loves his wife loves himself. It follows, therefore: For no one ever hated his own flesh, but every one nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also the Church. What Paul implies is that there surely is no need of reminding a man of the duty which he owes to his own flesh and blood, to his very own body. He takes the very best care of it, he covers and protects it. So the Christian husband will comport himself toward his wife in providing for her needs, both as to food and shelter, physical and moral. And here again the apostle brings out the example of Christ, whose nourishing and cherishing love toward the believers is so abundantly substantiated in Scripture and in personal experience. By way of explanation Paul here adds: For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. We Christians owe our existence, especially in spiritual matters, to Christ; by and through our conversion we became His members, we have His Spirit, His life, within us, we are connected with Him by the most intimate bonds of fellowship. As the wife in marriage becomes one flesh with her husband, so we, the members of the Church, the Bride of Christ, are united with our Bridegroom, deriving from Him our spiritual life and power at all times.

Returning now to the thought of Ephesians 5:28, Paul refers to the order of God in creating the estate of holy matrimony: For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Cp. Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5. Here the fact that the wife is one flesh with her husband is supported by Scriptural proof. That is the plan, the design, of God. Marriage having been entered upon, former relations and considerations are altered, are placed secondary to this new relation between husband and wife. The wife is thereafter the man’s own body, and upon him devolves the duty which the apostle has set forth in such a convincing manner.

The apostle is now ready to draw a double conclusion from the discussion. So far as the example of Christ and the Church is concerned which he has adduced, he writes: This mystery is great; — I speak, however, with reference to Christ and the Church. That marriage is here not called a sacrament, as the Romish Church teaches, is shown by the very words of Paul, who declares that He is speaking of Christ and the Church, and not of the estate of holy matrimony. But that is a mystery, a secret of faith, that Paul should use the relation obtaining between Christ and the Church as a type of the relation as it should obtain in holy wedlock, as he has set it forth in the preceding verses. No one but an inspired writer could have made the comparison in that way and attached to the comparison such solemn admonitions. But Paul has now said enough of that, so he concludes: Nevertheless (not to say more of that higher union), see that you, every one of you for his own person, so love his own wife as himself; the wife, on the other hand, reverence the man. There is no evading the issue here, and no excuses are acceptable. Each and every husband is under the express obligation to love his wife, no matter whether he encounter the difficulty of a temper or of some other unpleasantness. And so far as the wife is concerned, her position requires her to be obedient to the husband in reverent fear, which, on her side, also proceeds from love and is willing to overlook human frailties. It is mutual love, mutual understanding which will solve all the problems of married life, if both husband and wife are actuated and governed by the fear of the Lord.

Summary

The apostle warns the Ephesians against walking in the impure lusts of the Gentiles, their calling obligating them to walk as the children of light, with all circumspection; he admonishes both husbands and wives to be diligent in their duties toward each other by holding before them the comparison of Christ’s love toward the Church, His Bride.

Verses 1-9

The duties of children, of parents, of servants

A word to children and parents:

The relation between husband and wife naturally suggests that between parents and children. St. Paul addresses himself to the children first: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. The apostle does not make it a matter of choice or of disposition, but of duty: it is the right thing, it is in accordance with the Law of God, with His order from the beginning, that children yield obedience to their parents. It is also not a matter following upon a mutual agreement, but it is a state into which the children are born; by the fact of their birth God places them into subjection to their parents. The duty of obedience on the part of children is one from which God Himself does not dispense, except in cases where His will is higher, Acts 5:29. Neither can the state dispense from this duty, nor, in fact, the parents themselves, for they are God’s representatives and will commit a grievous sin if they do not maintain the honor of their position. Christian children will therefore be obedient to their parents, not merely on the basis of natural right, but in the Lord, to give evidence of their relation to God in this manner. In support of his position Paul quotes the Fourth Commandment: Honor thy father and mother, Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16. The honor due to parents includes two points: that the children recognize and acknowledge their parents as their superiors, as the representatives of God, and that they, by this token, gladly submit themselves to the will of the parents. The apostle adds, further to stress the importance of the commandment: Which is the first commandment with promise, That well it may be to thee and thou mayest be long-living on the earth. Because the Fourth Commandment is a precept of the first degree, because it belongs to the principal and most important commandments, and because a special promise is attached to it, therefore it demands unequivocal consideration and unhesitating obedience. Note that the apostle omits that part of the promise which was intended specifically for the Jewish people, thus making the commandment read for all nations. If children desire to have the good will of God resting upon them, which shows itself in granting welfare and long life according to His gracious will, then they should live a life of obedience to their parents. Note: This promise is the promise of the heavenly Father and is fulfilled even in cases where good fortune and length of life are not given according to the standard of this world. Mark also that the commandment is emphatically addressed to every individual child, with the word “honor” occupying the position of greatest stress.

The precept to the parents is brief, but comprehensive: And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. Although the parental duty is set forth in terms of the father’s obligation, yet the mother’s rule and responsibility, being included in that of the husband, is just as strongly enjoined. Parents will, first of all, avoid all things which are apt to embitter, irritate, and exasperate their children, injustice, unreasonable severity, a senseless goading and teasing, and the like, all of which is likely to make the children indisposed to render the honor and obedience which is their duty. To some extent, at least, the blame will be on the side of the parents in that case; even Christian parents offend more often on the side of the Law than on that of the Gospel. Parents should nurture their children, take care of their entire physical, mental, moral, and religious training; their discipline in such education, their admonition by reproof, remonstrance, and blame should be that of Christ, such training as proceeds from Him and is prescribed by Him. The Lord’s entire manner of educating is one calculated to win people for Himself, so that they willingly follow His leadership, and His example should always stand before the eyes of all parents as an ideal after which they may strive. A whole volume of sound pedagogy is contained in this one verse.

The duties of servants and masters:

This admonition is not confined to domestic slaves and their masters, but includes all relations of subordination. Owing to the conditions of his time, of course, St. Paul addresses himself especially to the servants in bondage: Servants, obey those who, according to the flesh, are your masters. Obedience to their earthly, bodily masters was the duty of slaves. Whether Christian slaves had a heathen or a Christian master, their submission was demanded with equal force, Colossians 3:22-4:1; 1 Peter 2:18-25. The institution of slavery is not intrinsically wrong, the Christian abolitionist, therefore, holding his ground on the basis of social and economic reasons only. The obedience of the servants was to be rendered: With fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ. It was thus to be of such a nature as to shrink from the slightest neglect of duty; it was to be concerned strictly and entirely with the one aim of performing every service satisfactorily, whether or not a special reward would be forthcoming; it was to be performed in the consciousness that, in the final analysis, it was done to Christ. Solicitous zeal, absence of all pretense and insincerity, and the feeling of serving Christ: these factors characterize true service.

The apostle explains his meaning more fully: Not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. It may have been the custom then, as it is a common practise now, that servants seek only to gain the approval of their masters so long as they are under the eyes of the masters, and that their obedience extends only as far as the eyes of the masters reach. Christian servants and workmen, on the other hand, look upon themselves as the servants of Christ in their own station, for which reason they attempt to fulfil the will of God in the work which they are performing for their masters. They are fully aware that the omniscient eye of God sees all the hidden things, and they thus do the will of God from their heart, with all sincerity and faithfulness, doing service with good will as to the Lord and not to men. They do not consider their station in life as a burden which may be borne only with groaning, but their attitude toward their work and toward their master indicates that they wish their master well in his enterprises, and desire to render him all the assistance in their power. Thus they bring out in their whole life the conviction of their hearts that they are performing their service, their work, to the Lord Himself, and not merely to men. This attitude influences and controls their entire outlook upon life, making careless, shabby work on their part impossible and excluding the thought of boycotts and strikes, so far as they personally are concerned. And finally: Knowing that each one, if he does anything good, this he will receive of the Lord, whether slave or free. Christian servants and workmen, at the present time no longer in slavery, but all of them free, know that the Lord keeps the record of their work, and that His reward will come in time. They may not receive the recognition to which their faithful service entitles them here in time, but the Lord knows what every single one has done, in love and obedience to Him. And the day is coming when they will receive the reward of grace from the hands of their heavenly Father; they will be given credit in the values of eternity for the work done here in time.

But the masters are not excluded from the exhortation: And you masters, do the same things toward them, omitting threatening, knowing that their Lord and yours is in heaven, and respect of persons is not with Him. The same thing, the same good will, should be shown by the masters as that enjoined upon the servants, for they also have duties to their subordinates; it is a condition of mutual give and take. For one thing, the masters should not attempt to maintain discipline through the terror of threats. In singling out this one instance of bad feeling on the part of a master, St. Paul includes every form of harshness, all habitual browbeating. For after all, God above is the Master of both the servants and the human masters, and His throne is in the heaven above, and not merely on earth. Before this mighty Lord all men are alike, He shows special favor to none; He will judge the masters as well as the servants, the employers as well as the employees. If this section would only be heeded more generally in the world, there would be no difficulty between labor and capital, for all such questions as now agitate men’s minds are answered here completely. Both parties considering their work as a service to Christ and God, they will exercise humility and kindness at all times.

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Verses 10-20

The Christian’s spiritual armor and its use

The enemies:

This closing admonition of the letter to the Ephesians has rightly been called the Lord’s great call to arms. The apostle here summarizes and concentrates everything that he still would like to write to the brethren: Finally, as for the rest, be strengthened in the Lord and in the might of His strength. No matter what else may come to their attention and engage their consideration, his readers should be strengthened, should be given the ability, the power, to wage battle for the Lord. Such strengthening is possible only in the Lord, in fellowship with His mighty power and strength. It is true, of course, that a regenerate person has the new spiritual life in his heart; but it is equally true that this life, unless renewed and supported by Christ day by day, will soon be lost. It is necessary that the Christian remain in intimate communion with Christ in His Word and Sacrament, otherwise he will soon join the ranks of such as are unqualified for the great warfare which is the lot of the Christians. This consciousness the Christians must impress upon themselves unceasingly, lest they become guilty of the self-confidence of Peter and deny their Savior.

But it is not enough for soldiers to summon all their strength for the encounter and to remain in constant touch with their general, they must also have the right armor: Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The Christians must be careful to be supplied with the panoply, with the full armor, which is provided by God, the complete battle equipment, which alone will enable us to meet the hosts of our spiritual foes. A Christian must be encased in the armor of God from his head to his feet, in order not to offer a single gap which may give the enemy an opening for successful attack. But as the warriors of God, provided with His full armor, we are able to withstand the crafty assaults of the devil. The old Evil Foe has many and various methods by which he hopes to overcome us, both stratagem and open attack, false doctrine and sinful life; it is impossible to foretell from day to day just where and how he will make his next assault. Constant, untiring vigilance is demanded by our Christian calling.

How necessary this is the apostle shows in his description of the mass of the enemies: For not is our wrestling against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness. We Christians have no mere men to battle with, whom we might be able to overcome with external, physical weapons. But our wrestling, our hand-to-hand encounter, is with forces of evil that are present in all the enemies of the Word and the Church, powers of spirits. There are rulers, chiefs, and heads of the battalions of evil spirits; there are demonic authorities; there are the world-ruling powers of the evil angels with Satan, the prince of this world, at their head; there are entire hosts, large forces, bands, armies of spirits, all spirits of wickedness and malice. The devils are world rulers of darkness, they rule through the darkness of sin. In sin Satan has established his kingdom in this world, he has succeeded in leading men away from God, the Father of Light, into the rule of darkness and sin, where the knowledge of God cannot enlighten them. St. Paul calls all the enemies spirits of wickedness in high places, for they belong to the supranatural, transcendental world. For that very reason, because the evil spirits as spirits cannot be attacked with physical weapons, they are stronger and more dangerous than the visible creatures.

No wonder that the apostle repeats and amplifies his urgent call: Wherefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having overcome, to stand (as victors). To meet this mighty array of spiritual forces is beyond the power of any mere man, but with the full armor of God in our possession and every piece in its proper place, we can go forth into battle. This last world period is an evil day, an evil time; there is no peace, no armistice; only in yonder life will there be perfect peace and quietness for the children of God. But not for a moment dare we falter: we must overcome, we must conquer our enemies; in the power of the Lord we must remain victors on the field of battle. No matter how numerous and powerful our enemies, no matter how hard and hot the battle, “for us fights the Valiant One, whom God Himself elected” ^■833 ; we have the almighty God and His power on our side, and so the final victory must be ours.

The individual pieces of the armor and their use:

The battle of the Christians is not only a matter of having all the pieces of the divine panoply on and in their proper place, but also of making the proper use of them for defense and offense. The apostle addresses the warriors of the Lord: Stand, then, having girded your loins with truth. As soldiers that are ready to meet the onslaught of the enemy they shall stand upright, firm. Just as the ancient soldier held his clothes together about his loins with a girdle, in order to prevent their hindering his free use of his limbs, so the Christian, the soldier of God, puts on the girdle of truth, of moral purity, of the righteousness of life. Only he that is a Christian in deed and in truth will engage in the battle with all seriousness; only he will gather up the matters of every-day life and hold them together without hypocrisy, lest he be hindered in the great battle. As the soldiers of old wore a heavy breastplate to secure the chest with its vital organs against any disabling wound, so the Christians wear the breastplate of the righteousness of life, that they may do no one any wrong, but rather may be desirous of serving all and doing good, lest some one accuse their conscience that they have not lived righteously ^■834 . Truth, righteousness, the free and open confession of the Gospel, these three things make a Christian ready for the warfare against the spirits of darkness. And another necessary point is not forgotten: And having shod your feet with the preparedness of the Gospel of peace. As the military sandal protected the feet of the ancient soldier against the rough spots in the road, and made it possible for him to move forward with a quick and certain step, so the Christians should always be ready and prepared to proclaim the Gospel of salvation in Christ. Cp. Isaiah 52:7. In the midst of the fierce battle in which he is engaged, the Christian has peace with God, and is able to impart this peace to others as well, Romans 5:1. And this very message with which they have been entrusted gives to the Christians all the more cheerful courage for the continuation of the fight which Satan is waging for the possession of his soul.

The parts of the panoply mentioned till now are those of the protective armor, which here come into consideration only as they shelter the person of the individual Christian. But God’s armor includes also weapons of defense and of offense: In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you are able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the Evil One. Just as the warrior of old used a large shield to cover his whole person, to render him safe especially against the arrows and darts which the enemies might shoot, so saving faith in Christ Jesus as the Savior of the world renders the believer secure against all the fiery darts of the devil. The ancients sometimes made use of arrows and small spears that were impregnated with pitch or some other inflammatory material, set on fire before they were discharged, and inflicting ugly wounds. Thus the temptations of Satan will greatly harm the Christian in his faith and spiritual life, unless he meets them with the calm assurance of the forgiveness of sins through the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Against this certainty all the ammunition of the devil is unable to make any headway.

And finally the apostle writes: And the helmet of salvation take, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. With the helmet the ancient soldier protected his head against cuts and strokes from above, while he, in turn, made use of a sword to thrust at the enemy and conquer him. The Christian has received from God the helmet of salvation, the certainty of final deliverance, the hope and expectation of the future life which is above in heaven, for whose sake we believe in Christ and suffer everything, without which we could not endure the strokes which are aimed at our head and are intended to take away our life ^■835 . And with the sword of the Holy Spirit, with the Word of God, the Christians can overcome and definitely conquer all the spirits of evil. As Luther writes: “Here it is not enough that we defend ourselves against the devil with faith and hope as our shield and helmet, but we must also draw the sword and go for him with such insistence that he must fall back and flee, and we thus obtain the victory over him.” Since the Word of God is this weapon, it behooves us to make use of it at all times and to this end become acquainted with it both by means of public preaching and by earnest Bible study at home. Cursory reading must be supplemented by careful memorizing of proof-texts and strong passages. Only in this way shall we be able to make the proper use of the Word of God as a true weapon of offense at all times ^■836 .

The apostle now adds a few words of prayer and intercession, with special reference to his own case: With all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the Spirit, and watching thereto in all perseverance and supplication, for all saints. Prayer also belongs to the armor of the Christians as a very essential part, since it accompanies all their doings. They are in constant communication with God, in petition, praise, giving of thanks. They have not only their own needs in mind, but make supplication for others as well. They pray not only in times of great crises in their lives, but at all times, being always in the fellowship of prayer with the Lord. In the Spirit they pray, for He it is that gives them power and guides their unlearned tongue to utter such words as will express their needs. Therefore the Christians are also constantly alert and vigilant; they do not permit a single opportunity to go by which might be a special hint to them to bring matters to the attention of the heavenly Father. Their supplication thus becomes an intercession as a matter of fact; they pray for all the saints, they remember all the believers in their daily prayer, especially in the Lord’s Prayer. They are persevering in their supplications, importuning the Lord with their ceaseless crying, as Jesus Himself taught them, Luke 11:5-13; Luke 18:1-8. Prayer and supplication may not be a lost art in many parts of the Christian Church, but it certainly seems to be lacking in fervor and in confident trust, to judge by the results.

Paul asks the prayers of the Ephesian Christians also for himself: And for me, that to me may be given utterance in opening my mouth, in boldness to make known the mystery of the Gospel, in behalf of which I am an ambassador in a chain, that in it I may speak boldly, as it is my duty to speak. Paul wanted the Christians to intercede for him that he might be given the right word at the right time, Matthew 10:19, that he might open his mouth with all frankness, without fear of unpleasant consequences. For his one object was to make known the mystery of the Gospel, whose frank proclamation indeed calls for courage such as man cannot give to himself. In the interest, in the service of this Gospel he was a prisoner; but even in prison or as a prisoner he wished for opportunity to preach the Gospel committed to him, since he felt that obligation resting upon him, 1 Corinthians 9:16. It was not only the fact that he must speak, but especially the manner how he was to speak that concerned the apostle. Although he was an ambassador in chains, yet he felt the need of representing his Lord worthily: surely a shining example for all ministers of the Gospel.

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Verses 21-24

Concluding remarks and greeting

The epistle to the Ephesians is notable for the fact that it contains no personal discussions. That fact is here explained: But that you also may know my affairs and how I fare, all will Tychicus make known to you, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord. The first Roman imprisonment of Paul was not so severe but that he could freely communicate with his friends and receive their ministrations, Acts 28:30-31. And so Tychicus, one of Paul’s younger helpers and valued very highly by him, had spent some time in Rome. This man, undoubtedly also the bearer of the letter, was to give the Ephesian Christians such information of a personal nature as they might be anxious to get. For, as Paul writes, he sent him for that very purpose that they might know all about the affairs of the apostle and his companions. The result of such information would naturally be that the hearts of the Christians in Ephesus might be comforted. They would see that the case of their beloved teacher was not so hopeless as might have seemed to them from reports received before, and thus they would be cheered and encouraged.

The closing benediction differs somewhat from that usually employed by the apostle, but its contents are the same. He wishes peace to the brethren, that peace of God which is in Christ Jesus and which passes all understanding; and love with faith, faith making the Christian, but love being the inevitable companion of faith. Both faith and love are also here represented as having their source in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Cp. 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4. Both of them together, equal in divine essence, bestow all spiritual blessings. And so the apostle concludes: Grace with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ, with incorruption. The highest gift is the grace of God in Christ Jesus, and that grace is found in the possession of all those that love the Lord Jesus, and will bring with it eternal, immutable, incorruptible love. Up in heaven, in eternal glory, the love which knows neither change, diminution, nor decay will find its full and glorious expression.

Summary

The apostle states the duties of children and parents, of servants and masters; he describes the Christian’s spiritual enemies, his armor, and its use; he adds an admonition to prayer and intercession, and closes with a recommendation of Tychicus and with an apostolic blessing ^■837 .