Ephesians 1
SIBVer. 1, 2. Being, according to the sovereign will and mere favour of God, immediately authorised and qualified by Jesus Christ to publish his glorious gospel, I earnestly wish and announce to you—members of the church at Ephesus, who are by profession, and I hope many of you really, sanctified by the Holy Ghost, and to all the believers every where, who, through union to and fellowship with Christ, have obtained mercy to be faithful to their light and obligations in adhering to the truth as it is in him—all the riches of divine grace, in all its happy fruits, manifestations, and effects, from our Covenant God and Father in Christ as the fountain and moving cause, and from Jesus Christ as the purchaser, store-house, and dispenser, of them
Ephesians 1:3
May all possible glory, thanksgiving, and praise, be cheerfully ascribed to that ever-blessed God, whose ancient endearing character was, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but who now manifests himself as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son and mediatorial Servant;—that in and through him, as our new covenant Head and anointed Saviour, in the immense riches of his love and grace, he has freely and bountifully bestowed upon us all manner of spiritual and eternal blessings
Ephesians 1:4
According to, and in the execution of, his gracious and unchangeable decree, in which we were from all eternity freely and sovereignly chosen in him as our Head and Representative, not because of our foreseen holiness, but that, through the application of his blood to our conscience, and the Holy Ghost renewing our heart, we might be made truly holy, and enabled, as in his sight, and acceptably to him, to walk in love to God and to one another, in obedience to his law, and as the fruit of his having first loved us: 5. In which eternal purpose we were graciously separated from the rest of mankind, and fore-ordained to be his new covenant children, and joint heirs with Christ, of himself, and all his inestimable fulness and privileges;—that through the merits, and being united to the person, of Christ, and according to his free favour and sovereign will, we might be brought into the most intimate union to, and fellowship with, him, as his peculiar people, formed for, and consecrated to, his honour and service: 6, 7. All which is done by him, that there may be abundant and everlasting praises in the church on earth and in heaven, to the honour and glory of his free grace and mercy, which is so illustriously and endearingly displayed in the whole of our salvation, particularly in rendering us acceptable to himself in and through the person and mediation of his dearly-beloved and only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, —in whom we, who are chosen, predestinated, and accepted, have a complete and glorious deliverance from all evil, and recovery to all possible happiness, in time and eternity, through the inestimable price of his atonement so fully satisfying to divine justice, and his righteousness so magnifying to the holy law; having all our sins, however many and aggravated, freely, fully, and irrevocably, forgiven us, not on account of any worthiness in us, or our works, but merely from the inexhaustible fulness, excellency, liberality, and unbounded overflowings, of Jehovah’s free mercy and favour
Ephesians 1:8
In the breaking forth and plentiful effusions of which grace he has abundantly manifested to us the highest wisdom and counsel, both in contriving and executing his eternal scheme of redemption, to the united and highest honour of all his perfections; and in giving us the spirit of wisdom and knowledge, making us wise unto salvation, and to know and practise our duty with understanding, prudence, and discretion, 9. All which wisdom and prudence God hath discovered or conveyed to us by means of the gospel, in which, when attended by the almighty illumination of his Spirit, he opens before us his gracious scheme of redemption, which is so much hid from creatures, and so marvellous and incomprehensible in itself: and which, influenced by nothing but his own sovereign grace, he formed and fixed in his own breast, and for his own glory
Ephesians 1:10
That, in the last and most glorious period of his gracious transactions on earth, fixed in his eternal purpose, and marked in his ancient promises, and when the exceeding sinfulness of mankind had given his free grace the largest opportunity for magnifying its own power and glory, he might in, and by means of Christ incarnate, obeying, suffering, dying, interceding, and preached to the nations, gloriously reconcile Jews and Gentiles into one mystical body, bringing them into a new state of peace and friendship with himself, and with one another: and even angels and men into one delightful society and new state of peace and friendship; and, in fine, connect all things, in and under Christ, as Head over them to his church: 11. In whom also, for the accomplishment of this great design, we believing Jews have, in our effectual calling, received a title to, and some anticipation of, that inheritance of eternal life to which we were, as his children, predestinated in the free and unchangeable purpose of God, who, by an almighty influence, works all things exactly according to the direction of his infinite wisdom and the plan of his sovereign decree
Ephesians 1:12
That, we, the natural seed of Abraham, to whom the gospel was first preached, and who were first brought to believe and depend on and hope in Christ for all salvation, might, as distinguished monuments of his grace, for ever glorify him for his mercy in making, and for his truth, power, wisdom, and love, in fulfilling his promises
Ephesians 1:13
In whom also ye Gentiles, after he had heard the infallibly certain and infinitely important truths of the gospel, by which that eternal salvation is offered and applied to sinful men, believed; and, in consequence thereof, were, by virtue of your union with him, further sanctified and conformed to his image, and comfortably certified of your personal interest in him as your eternal inheritance, by the Holy Ghost, whom he so emphatically promised, and, who, with infinite light and power, applies all the promises to our souls: 14. Which Holy Spirit, as given to us, and working faith and love in us, is a security, pledge, and earnest, of our heavenly glory, and a joyful foretaste of it, till we, and they whom Christ hath redeemed, and for whom he purchased it, arrive at the full enjoyment of it, that, as monuments of his amazing grace, we may for ever praise him in the highest manner for the manifestation of it upon us. 15, 16. In reflection upon this grace of God, in choosing, redeeming, calling, and sanctifying, you, Gentiles as well as us Jews, and having received an account of your remarkable trust and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, and love to all them that bear his image, I have been thereby encouraged, in my frequent prayers, to bless and thank him for his favours bestowed on you, and to supplicate that he would still grant you more abundant mercies: 17. Particularly that he—who is the Covenant God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who chose and called him to his mediatorial work, qualified and rewarded him for it—and who, being infinitely glorious in himself, is the fountain, author, and bestower, of all the glory communicated to angels, men, or any other creature, and is the eternal Object of all admiration and worship—would, by his Spirit, give you still more bright, sweet, and assuring, manifestations of Christ, in his person, offices, righteousness, and love, and lead you into a still more clear and experimental acquaintance with the exercise of faith, love, and other graces
Ephesians 1:18
That, through his enlightening influence, by the word of God and daily experience, your minds may perceive with the utmost certainty and light what a sincere and genuine hope that is to which God has effectually called you by the gospel; what excellent objects it hath in view, and what solid and never-failing grounds ye have for it;—and that, by the realizing views of faith, by spiritual meditation, and by gracious foretastes, ye may know, in an animating and extensive manner, what is the true nature and transcendent excellency of the invaluable treasures of blessedness, which God, for his own glory, bestows on, and places in, his saints, whom he has taken for his inheritance and peculiar people; 19, 20. And that ye may further understand and experience what is the superabundant and all-conquering greatness of his power, which he exercises towards us who believe, Jews or Gentiles, in quickening our dead souls, working faith in us, subduing our inward corruptions, supporting and preserving us through all dangers, comforting us against all griefs, and raising us up to complete and eternal blessedness, and that in a manner like to the almighty exertion of it in the resurrection and high exaltation of Jesus Christ
Ephesians 1:21-23
In which the Father hath advanced him, as God-man Mediator, to the highest dignity and authority, inexpressibly bebeyond the reach of angels and men, and has invested him with uncontrollable dominion over all angels, good or bad, and all rulers in either church or state; and has placed all his enemies in a state of subjection to him, that he may dispose of them, subdue and destroy them at his pleasure; and has given him an absolute and universal dominion, in the kingdom of providence and grace, over all persons and things, that he may manage, overrule, restrain, and order, all events for the spiritual and eternal benefit of the Catholic church, to which he is the Head of direction and government, life and influence, tender care and protection; and which is his mystical body, receiving all life, activity, growth, and strength, from him; and in his relative fulness, comprehending all the members, given to him by his Father for the perfecting of his family and glory;—who, by means of his word, offices, and ordinances, attended with his presence, are filled by him with all gifts, graces, and fruits of righteousness. **
REFLECTIONS UPON CHAP. I.**—Abundant is the grace we receive from Christ. It is only in a state of union to him that we are rendered holy or faithful. And it is only in him that we are blessed with either spiritual or eternal blessings. Delightful is the influence, and sweet the character, of a gracious God. Marvellous is the sovereignty, the freedom, the antiquity, the rich abundance, and powerful efficacy, of his redeeming grace. To it we owe our election, our adoption, our justification, our spiritual knowledge, our eternal happiness, and our present assurance of and security for it. Influenced by it, how delightfully Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, co-operate in our eternal redemption! Actuated by the faith of it, cordially ought we to pour forth our praises and thanksgivings, and to admire his kindness in bringing us Gentiles into the fellowship of the gospel. And earnestly should we pray for further influences of the Holy Spirit, to enlighten our minds and quicken our souls. But, above all, let us admire the power, the grace, the wisdom, which have so exalted our Redeemer for the welfare of his body the church. And since God hath set him so high at his right hand, let him be for ever exalted in our hearts. **