E
P H E S I A N S
CHAP. II.
This
chapter contains an account, I. Of the miserable condition of these Ephesians
by nature (ver. 1-3) and again, ver. 11, 12. II. Of the glorious change that
was wrought in them by converting grace (ver. 4-10) and again, ver. 13. III.
Of the great and mighty privileges that both converted Jews and Gentiles
receive from Christ, ver. 14-22. The apostle endeavours to affect them with a
due sense of the wonderful change which divine grace had wrought in them; and
this is very applicable to that great change which the same grace works in all
those who are brought into a state of grace. So that we have here a lively
picture both of the misery of unregenerate men and of the happy condition of
converted souls, enough to awaken and alarm those who are yet in their sins
and to put them upon hastening out of that state, and to comfort and delight
those whom God hath quickened, with a consideration of the mighty privileges
with which they are invested.
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State
of the Ephesians by Nature.
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A. D. 61.
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1 And you hath he quickened, who were
dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by
nature the children of wrath, even as others.
The miserable condition of the Ephesians by nature is here in part described.
Observed, 1. Unregenerate souls are dead in trespasses and sins. All those who
are in their sins, are dead in sins; yea, in trespasses and sins, which may
signify all sorts of sins, habitual and actual, sins of heart and of life. Sin
is the death of the soul. Wherever that prevails there is a privation of all
spiritual life. Sinners are dead in state, being destitute of the principles,
and powers of spiritual life; and cut off from God, the fountain of life: and
they are dead in law, as a condemned malefactor is said to be a dead man. 2. A
state of sin is a state of conformity to this world, v. 2. In the first
verse he speaks of their internal state, in this of their outward
conversation: Wherein, in which trespasses and sins, in time past
you walked, you lived and behaved yourselves in such a manner as the men
of the world are used to do. 3. We are by nature bond-slaves to sin and Satan.
Those who walk in trespasses and sins, and according to the course of this
world, walk according to the prince of the power of the air. The devil,
or the prince of devils, is thus described. See Matt. xii. 24, 26. The legions
of apostate angels are as one power united under one chief; and therefore what
is called the powers of darkness elsewhere is here spoken of in the
singular number. The air is represented as the seat of his kingdom: and it was
the opinion of both Jews and heathens that the air is full of spirits, and
that there they exercise and exert themselves. The devil seems to have some
power (by God's permission) in the lower region of the air; there he is at
hand to tempt men, and to do as much mischief to the world as he can: but it
is the comfort and joy of God's people that he who is head over all things
to the church has conquered the devil and has him in his chain. But wicked
men are slaves to Satan, for they walk according to him; they conform their
lives and actions to the will and pleasure of this great usurper. The course
and tenour of their lives are according to his suggestions, and in compliance
with his temptations; they are subject to him, and are led captive by him at
his will, whereupon he is called the god of this world, and the spirit that
now worketh in the children of disobedience. The children of disobedience
are such as choose to disobey God, and to serve the devil; in these he works
very powerfully and effectually. As the good Spirit works that which is good
in obedient souls, so this evil spirit works that which is evil in wicked men;
and he now works, not only heretofore, but even since the world has been
blessed with the light of the glorious gospel. The apostle adds, Among whom
also we all had our conversation in times past, which words refer to the
Jews, whom he signifies here to have been in the like sad and miserable
condition by nature, and to have been as vile and wicked as the unregenerate
Gentiles themselves, and whose natural state he further describes in the next
words. 4. We are by nature drudges to the flesh, and to our corrupt
affections, v. 3. By fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind, men contract that filthiness of flesh and spirit from which the
apostle exhorts Christians to cleanse themselves, 2 Cor. vii. 1. The
fulfilling of the desires of the flesh and of the mind includes all the sin
and wickedness that are acted in and by both the inferior and the higher or
nobler powers of the soul. We lived in the actual commission of all those sins
to which corrupt nature inclined us. The carnal mind makes a man a perfect
slave to his vicious appetite.--The fulfilling of the wills of the flesh,
so the words may be rendered, denoting the efficacy of these lusts, and what
power they have over those who yield themselves up unto them. 5. We are by
nature the children of wrath, even as others. The Jews were so, as well as
the Gentiles; and one man is as much so as another by nature, not only by
custom and imitation, but from the time when we began to exist, and by reason
of our natural inclinations and appetites. All men, being naturally children
of disobedience, are also by nature children of wrath: God is angry with the
wicked every day. Our state and course are such as deserve wrath, and would
end in eternal wrath, if divine grace did not interpose. What reason have
sinners then to be looking out for that grace that will make them, of children
of wrath, children of God and heirs of glory! Thus far the apostle has
described the misery of a natural state in these verses, which we shall find
him pursuing again in some following ones.
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The
Change Wrought in the Ephesians.
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A. D. 61.
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4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great
love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might
show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us
through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of
works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that
we should walk in them.
Here the apostle begins his account of the glorious change that was wrought in
them by converting grace, where observe,
I. By whom, and in what manner, it was brought about and effected. 1.
Negatively: Not of yourselves, v. 8. Our faith, our conversion,
and our eternal salvation, are not the mere product of any natural abilities,
nor of any merit of our own: Not of works, lest any man should boast, v.
9. These things are not brought to pass by any thing done by us, and therefore
all boasting is excluded; he who glories must not glory in himself, but in the
Lord. There is no room for any man's boasting of his own abilities and power;
or as though he had done any thing that might deserve such immense favours
from God. 2. Positively: But God, who is rich in mercy, &c., v.
4. God himself is the author of this great and happy change, and his great
love is the spring and fontal cause of it; hence he resolved to show mercy.
Love is his inclination to do us good considered simply as creatures; mercy
respects us as apostate and as miserable creatures. Observe, God's eternal
love or good-will towards his creatures is the fountain whence all his mercies
vouch-safed to us proceed; and that love of God is great love, and that mercy
of his is rich mercy, inexpressibly great and inexhaustibly rich. And then by
grace you are saved (v. 5), and by grace are you saved through
faith--it is the gift of God, v. 8. Note, Every converted sinner is
a saved sinner. Such are delivered from sin and wrath; they are brought into a
state of salvation, and have a right given them by grace to eternal happiness.
The grace that saves them is the free undeserved goodness and favour of God;
and he saves them, not by the works of the law, but through faith in
Christ Jesus, by means of which they come to partake of the great blessings of
the gospel; and both that faith and that salvation on which it has so great an
influence are the gift of God. The great objects of faith are made known by
divine revelation, and made credible by the testimony and evidence which God
hath given us; and that we believe to salvation and obtain salvation through
faith is entirely owing to divine assistance and grace; God has ordered all so
that the whole shall appear to be of grace. Observe,
II. Wherein this change consists, in several particulars, answering to the
misery of our natural state, some of which are enumerated in this section, and
others are mentioned below. 1. We who were dead are quickened (v. 5),
we are saved from the death of sin and have a principle of spiritual life
implanted in us. Grace in the soul is a new life in the soul. As death locks
up the senses, seals up all the powers and faculties, so does a state of sin,
as to any thing that is good. Grace unlocks and opens all, and enlarges the
soul. Observe, A regenerate sinner becomes a living soul: he lives a life of
sanctification, being born of God; and he lives in the sense of the law, being
delivered from the guilt of sin by pardoning and justifying grace. He hath
quickened us together with Christ. Our spiritual life results from our
union with Christ; it is in him that we live: Because I live, you shall
live also. 2. We who were buried are raised up, v. 6. What remains
yet to be done is here spoken of as though it were already past, though indeed
we are raised up in virtue of our union with him whom God hath raised from the
dead. When he raised Christ from the dead, he did in effect raise up all
believers together with him, he being their common head; and when he placed
him at his right hand in heavenly places, he advanced and glorified them in
and with him, their raised and exalted head and forerunner.--And made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This may be understood in
another sense. Sinners roll themselves in the dust; sanctified souls sit in
heavenly places, are raised above the world; the world is as nothing to them,
compared with what it has been, and compared with what the other world is.
Saints are not only Christ's freemen, but they are assessors with him; by the
assistance of his grace they have ascended with him above this world to
converse with another, and they live in the constant expectation of it. They
are not only servants to the best of masters in the best work, but they are
exalted to reign with him; they sit upon the throne with Christ, as he has
sat down with his Father on his throne.
III. Observe what is the great design and aim of God in producing and
effecting this change: And this, 1. With respect to others: That in the
ages to come he might show, &c. (v. 7), that he might give a
specimen and proof of his great goodness and mercy, for the encouragement of
sinners in future time. Observe, The goodness of God in converting and saving
sinners heretofore is a proper encouragement to others in after-time to hope
in his grace and mercy, and to apply themselves to these. God having this in
his design, poor sinners should take great encouragement from it. And what may
we not hope for from such grace and kindness, from riches of grace, to which
this change is owing? Through Christ Jesus, by and through whom God
conveys all his favour and blessings to us. 2. With respect to the regenerated
sinners themselves: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, &c., v. 10. It appears that all is of grace,
because all our spiritual advantages are from God. We are his workmanship;
he means in respect of the new creation; not only as men, but as saints. The
new man is a new creature; and God is its Creator. It is a new birth, and we
are born or begotten of his will. In Christ Jesus, that is, on the
account of what he has done and suffered, and by the influence and operation
of his blessed Spirit. Unto good works, &c. The apostle having
before ascribed this change to divine grace in exclusion of works, lest he
should seem thereby to discourage good works, he here observes that though the
change is to be ascribed to nothing of that nature (for we are the
workmanship of God), yet God, in his new creation, has designed and
prepared us for good works: Created unto good works, with a design that
we should be fruitful in them. Wherever God by his grace implants good
principles, they are intended to be for good works. Which God hath before
ordained, that is, decreed and appointed. Or, the words may be read, To
which God hath before prepared us, that is, by blessing us with the
knowledge of his will, and with the assistance of his Holy Spirit; and by
producing such a change in us. That we should walk in them, or glorify
God by an exemplary conversation and by our perseverance in holiness.
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The
Miserable Condition of the Ephesians by Nature.
A. D. 61.
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11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in
time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which
is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at
that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
In these verses the apostle proceeds in his account of the miserable condition
of these Ephesians by nature. Wherefore remember, &c., v.
11. As if he had said, "You should remember what you have been, and
compare it with what you now are, in order to humble yourselves and to excite
your love and thankfulness to God." Note, Converted sinners ought
frequently to reflect upon the sinfulness and misery of the state they were in
by nature. Gentiles in the flesh, that is, living in the corruption of
their natures, and being destitute of circumcision, the outward sign of an
interest in the covenant of grace. Who are called uncircumcision by that,
&c., that is, "You were reproached and upbraided for it by the formal
Jews, who made an external profession, and who looked no further than the
outward ordinance." Note, Hypocritical professors are wont to value
themselves chiefly on their external privileges, and to reproach and despise
others who are destitute of them. The apostle describes the misery of their
case in several particulars, v. 12. "At that time, while
you were Gentiles, and in an unconverted state, you were," 1. "In a
Christless condition, without the knowledge of the Messiah, and without any
saving interest in him or relation to him." It is true of all unconverted
sinners, all those who are destitute of faith, that they have no saving
interest in Christ; and it must be a sad and deplorable thing for a soul to be
without a Christ. Being without Christ, they were, 2. Aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel; they did not belong to Christ's church, and had no
communion with it, that being confined to the Israelitish nation. It is no
small privilege to be placed in the church of Christ, and to share with the
members of it in the advantages peculiar to it. 3. They are strangers from
the covenants of promise. The covenant of grace has ever been the same for
substance, though, having undergone various additions and improvements in the
several ages of the church, it is called covenants; and the covenants of
promise, because it is made up of promises, and particularly contains the
great promise of the Messiah, and of eternal life through him. Now the
Ephesians, in their gentilism, were strangers to this covenant, having never
had any information nor overture of it; and all unregenerate sinners are
strangers to it, as they have no interest in it. Those who are without Christ,
and so have no interest in the Mediator of the covenant, have none in the
promises of the covenant. 4. They had no hope, that is, beyond this life--no
well-grounded hope in God, no hope of spiritual and eternal blessings. Those
who are with out Christ, and strangers from the covenant, can have no good
hope; for Christ and the covenant are the ground and foundation of all the
Christian's hopes. They were in a state of distance and estrangement from God:
Without God in the world; not without some general knowledge of a
deity, for they worshipped idols, but living without any due regard to him,
any acknowledged dependence on him, and any special interest in him. The words
are, atheists in the world; for, though they worshipped many gods, yet
they were without the true God.
The apostle proceeds (v. 13) further to illustrate the happy change
that was made in their state: But now, in Christ Jesus, you who sometimes
were far off, &c. They were far off from Christ, from his church, from
the promises, from the Christian hope, and from God himself; and therefore
from all good, like the prodigal son in the far country: this had been
represented in the preceding verses. Unconverted sinners remove themselves at
a distance from God, and God puts them at a distance: He be holds the proud
afar off. "But now in Christ Jesus, &c., upon your conversion, by
virtue of union with Christ, and interest in him by faith, you are made
nigh." They were brought home to God, received into the church, taken
into the covenant, and possessed of all other privileges consequent upon
these. Note, The saints are a people near to God. Salvation is far from the
wicked; but God is a help at hand to his people; and this is by the
blood of Christ, by the merit of his sufferings and death. Every believing
sinner owes his nearness to God, and his interest in his favour, to the death
and sacrifice of Christ.
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The
Union of Jews and Gentiles.
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A. D. 61.
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14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one,
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of
commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain
one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might
reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity
thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar
off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have
access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no
more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the
household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple
in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for a
habitation of God through the Spirit.
We have now come to the last part of the chapter, which contains an account of
the great and mighty privileges that converted Jews and Gentiles both receive
from Christ. The apostle here shows that those who were in a state of enmity
are reconciled. Between the Jews and the Gentiles there had been a great
enmity; so there is between God and every unregenerate man. Now Jesus Christ
is our peace, v. 14. He made peace by the sacrifice of himself; and
came to reconcile, 1. Jews and Gentiles to each other. He made both one,
by reconciling these two divisions of men, who were wont to malign, to hate,
and to reproach each other before. He broke down the middle wall of
partition, the ceremonial law, that made the great feud, and was the badge
of the Jews' peculiarity, called the partition-wall by way of allusion
to the partition in the temple, which separated the court of the Gentiles from
that into which the Jews only had liberty to enter. Thus he abolished in
his flesh the enmity, v. 15. By his sufferings in the flesh, to
took away the binding power of the ceremonial law (so removing that cause of
enmity and distance between them), which is here called the law of
commandments contained in ordinances, because it enjoined a multitude of
external rites and ceremonies, and consisted of many institutions and
appointments about the outward parts of divine worship. The legal
ceremonies were abrogated by Christ, having their accomplishment in him.
By taking these out of the way, he formed one church of believers, whether
they had been Jews or Gentiles. Thus he made in himself of twain one new
man. He framed both these parties into one new society, or body of God's
people, uniting them to himself as their common head, they being renewed by
the Holy Ghost, and now concurring in a new way of gospel worship, so
making peace between these two parties, who were so much at variance
before. 2. There is an enmity between God and sinners, whether Jews and
Gentiles; and Christ came to slay that enmity, and to reconcile them both to
God, v. 16. Sin breeds a quarrel between God and men. Christ came to
take up the quarrel, and to bring it to an end, by reconciling both Jew and
Gentile, now collected and gathered into one body, to a provoked and an
offended God: and this by the cross, or by the sacrifice of himself
upon the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. He, being slain or
sacrificed, slew the enmity that there was between God and poor sinners. The
apostle proceeds to illustrate the great advantages which both parties gain by
the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ, v. 17. Christ, who purchased
peace on the cross, came, partly in his own person, as to the Jews, who are
here said to have been nigh, and partly in his apostles, whom he commissioned
to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, who are said to have been afar off, in
the sense that has been given before. And preached peace, or published
the terms of reconciliation with God and of eternal life. Note here, When the
messengers of Christ deliver his truths, it is in effect the same as if he did
it immediately himself. He is said to preach by them, insomuch that he who
receiveth them receiveth him, and he who despiseth them (acting by virtue of
his commission, and delivering his message) despiseth and rejecteth Christ
himself. Now the effect of this peace is the free access which both Jews and
Gentiles have unto God (v. 18): For through him, in his name and
by virtue of his mediation, we both have access or admission into the
presence of God, who has become the common reconciled Father of both: the
throne of grace is erected for us to come to, and liberty of approach to that
throne is allowed us. Our access is by the Holy Spirit. Christ purchased for
us leave to come to God, and the Spirit gives us a heart to come and strength
to come, even grace to serve God acceptably. Observe, We draw nigh to God,
through Jesus Christ, by the help of the Spirit. The Ephesians, upon their
conversion, having such an access to God, as well as the Jews, and by the same
Spirit, the apostle tells them, Now therefore you are no more strangers and
foreigners, v. 19. This he mentions by way of opposition to what he
had observed of them in their heathenism: they were now no longer aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel, and no longer what the Jews were wont to
account all the nations of the earth besides themselves (namely, strangers to
God), but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
that is, members of the church of Christ, and having a right to all the
privileges of it. Observe here, The church is compared to a city, and every
converted sinner is free of it. It is also compared to a house, and every
converted sinner is one of the domestics, one of the family, a servant and a
child in God's house. In v. 20 the church is compared to a building.
The apostles and prophets are the foundation of that building. They may
be so called in a secondary sense, Christ himself being the primary
foundation; but we are rather to understand it of the doctrine delivered by
the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New. It follows, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. In him both Jews and Gentiles
meet, and constitute one church; and Christ supports the building by his
strength: In whom all the building, fitly framed together, &c., v.
21. All believers, of whom it consists, being united to Christ by faith, and
among themselves by Christian charity, grow unto a holy temple, become
a sacred society, in which there is much communion between God and his people,
as in the temple, they worshipping and serving him, he manifesting himself
unto them, they offering up spiritual sacrifices to God and he dispensing his
blessings and favours to them. Thus the building, for the nature of it, is a
temple, a holy temple; for the church is the place which God hath chosen to
put his name there, and it becomes such a temple by grace and strength derived
from himself--in the Lord. The universal church being built upon Christ
as the foundation-stone, and united in Christ as the corner-stone, comes at
length to be glorified in him as the top-stone: In whom you also are built
together, &c., v. 22. Observe, Not only the universal church is
called the temple of God, but particular churches; and even every true
believer is a living temple, is a habitation of God through the Spirit.
God dwells in all believers now, they having become the temple of God through
the operations of the blessed Spirit, and his dwelling with them now is an
earnest of their dwelling together with him to eternity.
Contents
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Next
Section
