Holy Bible

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Ephesians 4:1 Calling and conduct A. F. Muir, M. A. I. THE BEHAVIOUR OF CHRISTIANS SHOULD CORRESPOND WITH THEIR VOCATION. 1. From a sense of gratitude. 2. The Divine sentiment from which the vocation sprang should possess them. II. CERTAIN VIRTUES SPECIALLY BECOME THE CHRISTIAN VOCATION. 1. Because of what they are in themselves. 2. Because of the great end they promote — "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." This reveals the real grandeur of these virtues. ( A. F. Muir, M. A. )

Benson Commentary Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, Ephesians 4:1 . I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord — Imprisoned for his sake and for yours; for the sake of the gospel which he had preached to them and other Gentiles: see note on Ephesians 3:1 : this was therefore a powerful motive to them to comfort him under his sufferings by their obedience; beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation, &c. — That is, in a manner suitable to the privileges which you enjoy, and to the state of grace and favour with God into which you have been brought by hearing and believing the gospel. As if he had said, Let there be nothing in your spirit or conduct beneath the dignity to which you are raised, and the illustrious hopes which are set before you; but show that the crown of glory is ever in your eye, and that your hearts are duly impressed with it. Thus we see the great discoveries in the foregoing part of this epistle, to which the apostle has given the appellation of the mystery of God and of Christ, were set forth by him, not merely for the purpose of enlightening the Ephesian believers in the knowledge of these sublime truths, and fixing them in the belief and profession thereof; but also to give him an elevation of sentiment and affection becoming those to whose minds such glorious discoveries were made; and at the same time to lead them to a proper behaviour toward God, one another, and all men, and that in every circumstance and relation of life wherein they were placed; the various particulars of which are specified in the very excellent summary of practical religion contained in the remaining chapters of this epistle. Ephesians 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Ephesians 4:2-3 . With all lowliness — Or humility of mind, having mean thoughts of yourselves because of your former sinfulness and guilt, depravity, weakness, and misery, and your unworthiness of that mercy which God hath exercised toward you; and meekness — Maintaining calmness, serenity, and peace of mind, amid the infirmities and indiscretions of your Christian friends, and even amid the affronts and injuries of your enemies; with long-suffering — Toward all men, whether saints or sinners, always possessing your souls in patience, and whatever provocations you receive, never seeking revenge, or yielding to resentment or ill-will toward any. Forbearing — Greek, ?????????? , bearing with; one another in love — That is, out of a principle of love to God, your fellow-Christians, and all men; endeavouring, so far as in you lies, to keep the unity of the Spirit — That mutual union, concord, and harmony, which is the fruit of the Spirit; in the bond of peace — In a peaceable, kind, and affectionate disposition toward one another. Ephesians 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; Ephesians 4:4-6 . The apostle proceeds to remind the believers at Ephesus of some of the many very powerful considerations which had force enough, if attended to and laid to heart, to induce them to cultivate and preserve the unity to which he exhorts them. There is one body — One mystical body of Christ, of which he is the living head, and ye all are members; and as such should sympathize with, care for, and assist one another, as the members of the human body do. And in this one body there is one Divine Spirit — Which enlivens, actuates, and fills it, and under his influence it should be your constant concern to act; even as ye are called in one hope of your calling — To the expectation of one and the same common heaven, one and the same glorious abode in the eternal world. One Lord — And Master, of whom you are all servants; one Redeemer and Saviour, who hath assumed our frail nature, lived and died for us, that he might unite us in bonds of mutual, fervent, and everlasting love; one faith — In that one Lord, and in the truths of one and the same divine revelation, all which are designed and calculated to bind the disciples together in the pleasing bonds of love and unity; one outward baptism — Or seal of the covenant of grace, and emblem of the washing of regeneration. One God and Father of all — Whose real people, whose true worshippers, whose beloved children, whose living temples you are; who is above you all — Ruling you as his subjects, and presiding over you as his children; through you all — By his enlightening and directing word; and in you all — By his quickening, sanctifying, and comforting Spirit. Such are the reasons and motives obliging the true disciples of Christ to love and unity with one another; reasons and motives most powerful surely to bind them together in peace and harmony, and such as manifest discord, contention, strife, and division, to be unspeakably unreasonable. Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Ephesians 4:7-10 . But — Though there be so many, and those infinitely important particulars, in which the true members of the church agree, and which furnish such powerful motives to love and unity, yet there are some things wherein they differ. For they occupy, by God’s appointment, different stations in the church, and for these they are fitted by different gifts. These distinctions, however, ought to be regarded by them, not as matters of emulation, and causes of contention, but rather as additional obligations to love and union, considering the great source and design of them all. For unto every one is given grace — Or some particular endowment proceeding from grace; according to the measure of the gift of Christ — In such a measure as seems best to him, the great Head and Governor of the church, to bestow it; whose distributions, we know, are always guided by consummate wisdom and goodness; so that all his disciples have the highest reason to acquiesce entirely in what he does. Wherefore he saith — That is, in reference to which God saith by David, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive — He took captive those who had held mankind in captivity; he conquered and triumphed over all our spiritual enemies, especially Satan, sin, and death, which had before enslaved all the world. This is spoken in allusion to the custom of ancient conquerors, who led those they had conquered in chains after them. And as they also used to give donatives to the people at their return from victory, so Christ gave gifts unto men — Namely, both the ordinary and extraordinary gifts of the Spirit: of the propriety of applying these words of the psalmist to the ascension of Christ, see note on Psalm 68:18 . Now this expression, that he ascended, what is it? — What does it imply, but that he descended first? — Certainly it does, on the supposition of his pre- existence as the Son of God, who had glory with the Father before the world was, and who came forth from the Father, and came into the world: otherwise it would not imply that he descended first, since all the saints will ascend to heaven, though none of them descend thence. Into the lower parts of the earth — That is, into the womb of the virgin at his incarnation, and into the grave at his passion; including, however, all the other steps of his humiliation. Bishop Pearson (on the Creed, p. 229) hath shown how very precariously this text is urged as a proof of Christ’s descent into hell, this phrase, the lower parts of the earth, in some other passages of Scripture plainly signifying the womb, as Psalm 139:15 , and the grave, Psalm 63:9 ; Matthew 12:40 . He that descended — That thus amazingly humbled himself; is the same that ascended up — That was so highly exalted; far above all heavens — Above the aerial and starry heavens, into the heaven of heavens; or, as the meaning rather is, above all the inhabitants of the heavens, above all the angelical hosts; which is the meaning also of Hebrews 7:26 , where he is said to be made higher than the heavens: that he might fill all things — The whole church with his Spirit, presence, and operations. Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Ephesians 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? Ephesians 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Ephesians 4:11 . And — Among other his free gifts; he gave some, apostles — His chief ministers and special witnesses, as having seen him after his resurrection, and received their commission immediately from him. The office of an apostle was to declare, in an infallible manner, the whole gospel doctrine: to qualify them for which they were endowed with the plenary and most abundant inspiration of the Holy Spirit, imparting to them a perfect knowledge of all those truths and mysteries which they were to publish to the world. And some he gave to be prophets — Whose office it was to explain infallibly the true meaning of the ancient prophecies, and also themselves to predict future events, by virtue of the extraordinary revelations made to them. And some, evangelists — Who were to preach the gospel in different Gentile nations, either before or after the apostles, under whose direction they seem generally to have acted. To fit them for this office Christ gave them the gift of tongues, and such other miraculous endowments as were necessary for the exercise of their ministry, and the confirmation of their doctrine. All these were extraordinary officers: the ordinary were some, pastors, (called ?????????? , bishops, Acts 20:28 ,) watching over and feeding their several flocks. To fit them for which work, it appears from 1 Corinthians 12:28-31 ; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 ; 1 Corinthians 14:23-26 , that Christ bestowed, at least on some of them, the gifts of miracles and tongues, also the gift of prudence, to enable them to govern their particular churches in a proper manner. And teachers — Whether of the same or a lower order, to assist them as occasion might require. It is probable the peculiar office of those here termed teachers, as distinguished from those called pastors, was to instruct the young and ignorant in the first principles of the Christian religion. And they likewise were doubtless fitted for their work, by such gifts as were necessary to the right discharging thereof; and some infer from 1 Corinthians 12:28 , that supernatural gifts, such as those of miracles and tongues, were also conferred on some of them. Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Ephesians 4:12-13 . For the perfecting — ???? ??? ??????????? ??? ????? ; in order to, or, for the sake of; completing of the saints — Both in number, and in the various branches of true Christianity, namely, in the knowledge of all Christian doctrines, the possession of all Christian graces, the enjoyment of all Christian privileges, the performance of all Christian duties. Now in order to the attainment of these ends, and thereby the completing the Christian character of each individual member of the church, and of all in general, he appointed the sundry officers above named, whether ordinary or extraordinary, (several of the latter having left their writings for the instruction of the faithful in all ages,) for the work of the ministry — The serving of God and his church, in their various ministrations, especially in dispensing the word, administering the ordinances, maintaining Christian discipline, and performing all other ministerial duties. For the edifying of the body of Christ — The building up Christ’s mystical body, in faith, love, and universal holiness: or by ministering to the increase of the graces of such as were already converted, and by the addition of new members to the true church. Till we all come — Which gifts, offices, and ministrations, are to continue in the church, till every member thereof come to the unity of the faith, and knowledge of the Son of God — To both an exact agreement in the Christian doctrine, and an experimental, practical knowledge, or acknowledgment, of Christ as the Son of God; to a perfect man — To a state of spiritual manhood, both in understanding and strength, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ — Or, to the full measure of his stature, that is, to that maturity of age and spiritual stature, wherein we shall be possessed of his whole mind, and fully conformed to him. But the words ??? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? , &c., which we translate in the unity of the faith, &c., ought rather to be rendered, to the unity, or union, of the faith, or that union which is the fruit or consequence of the faith, namely, of perfect faith, even the faith spoken of by our Lord in his intercessory prayer, recorded John 17:20-23 , where he says, I pray for them which shall believe on me, that they all may be one, as thou Father art in me and I in thee, that they may be made perfect in one, that is, may be perfectly united in love to us and one another. The following verses lead us to this meaning of the passage. Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; Ephesians 4:14 . That we henceforth be no more children — Mere babes in Christian knowledge, experience, and practice; weak and unstable; tossed — ?????????????? , fluctuating from within, through various restless lusts and passions working in our hearts, even when there is nothing external to agitate or excite them; and carried about with every wind of doctrine — And temptation from without, when we are assaulted by others who are themselves unstable as the wind; by the sleight, or subtlety, of men — Greek, ?? ?? ?????? ??? ???????? , which words Chandler proposes rendering, by the dicing of men; the expression referring to the artifice of those infamous gamesters, who know how to cog the dice. So that the deceitful arts of false teachers and others, who endeavour to draw men from the belief and practice of the truth as it is in Jesus, by their insinuations and wiles, are here compared to the tricks of gamesters, who, by using false dice, and by various arts, cheat those with whom they play. And cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive — Greek, ?? ????????? ???? ??? ????????? ??? ?????? , a clause which Beza renders, “veteratoria ad insidiose fallendum versutia,” by the tricking of those long exercised in craftily deceiving others; Doddridge’s translation is, by their subtlety in every method of deceit; and Macknight’s, by craftiness formed into a subtle scheme of deceit. The former noun, ????????? , signifies the doing of things by trick and sleight of hand, and the latter, ???????? , (which, Ephesians 6:11 , is applied to the wiles and subtle contrivances of the devil, in order to deceive and ruin men,) properly signifies a regular plan of proceeding in any affair, and is here used for a regular plan of deceit, formed either for upholding people in their ignorance of, and opposition to the gospel, or for drawing them from their faith in, or obedience to, some article of it. “The men,” Macknight thinks, “whose base arts the apostle describes in this passage, were the unbelieving Jews and the heathen philosophers, who opposed the gospel by sophistry and calumny; also such false teachers as arose in the church itself, and corrupted the doctrines of the gospel for worldly purposes, while at the same time they assumed the appearance of great disinterestedness and piety.” Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Ephesians 4:15-16 . But speaking the truth — Or, as ??????????? may be rendered, teaching, or maintaining the truth; in love — To God and one another, or in that charitable temper which the gospel enjoins, and without which our clearest and most extensive knowledge will be but of little use to us; may grow up into him — Into his image and Spirit, and into a full union with him; who is the head of guidance, as well as of government, to all the members of his mystical body, the chief teacher and director, as well as ruler of his churches; from whom — That is, by wisdom and grace derived from him; the whole body — Of true Christians; fitly — Or orderly; joined together — Every one being put in his proper place and station: or all the parts of his mystical body being fitted for, and adapted to each other, and most exactly harmonizing with the whole; and compacted — Knitted and cemented together with the utmost firmness; that is, closely and firmly united to Christ and each other, by the Holy Spirit, in faith and love; by that which every joint, or part, supplieth — Through proper channels of communication; according to the effectual working in the measure of every part — According as every part, in its measure, effectually works for the support and growth of the whole; maketh increase of the body — Of the whole church, collectively considered, and of each particular member; to the edifying — Or building up; of itself in love — So that all the members may attain unto a greater measure of love to God, one another, and all men; or, by the exercise of love. For, as no animal body can either have health or growth, unless the members thereof continue in union with each other, each performing its office; so neither can Christ’s mystical body possess spiritual health or growth, unless its members cleave to each other in love. The passage, as the reader sees, is a beautiful allusion to our natural bodies, composed of different joints and members, knit together by various ligaments, and furnished with vessels of communication from the head and heart to every other part. And the apostle’s meaning, explained more at large, is, “That as the human body is formed by the union of all the members to each other under the head, and by the fitness of each member for its own office and place in the body, so the church is formed by the union of its members under Christ the head. Further, as the human body increases, till it arrives at maturity, by the energy of every part in performing its proper function, and by the sympathy of every part with the whole; so the body, or Church of Christ, grows to maturity by the proper exercise of the gifts and graces of individuals for the benefit of the whole. By comparing the church to the human body, the apostle teaches, that there ought to be no envy nor ill-will among Christians, on account of the gifts which individuals possess, Ephesians 4:3 . That every one should pay to others that respect and obedience which they owe to them on account of their station and office, Ephesians 4:11 . That no teacher should pervert the doctrine of the gospel, Ephesians 4:15 . And that each, by employing his gifts and graces properly, should extend the knowledge and influence of the Christian religion to the utmost of his power.” — Macknight. Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Ephesians 4:17-19 . This I say, therefore — For your further instruction, how to walk worthy of your calling; (he returns to the subject which he began, Ephesians 4:1 ;) and testify in the Lord — In the name and by the authority of the Lord Jesus, that ye, being now happily brought into the Christian Church, and made partakers of all the privileges and advantages belonging to its members; henceforth walk not as other Gentiles — That ye live no longer as the unconverted heathen; in the vanity of their mind — Amused with the empty trifles of this world, and enslaved to low and mean pursuits, utterly unworthy of their rational and immortal nature; having the understanding darkened — With respect to all spiritual and divine things, which is the source of all foolish desires and pursuits; see Romans 1:21 ; being alienated from the life of God — Being estranged in affection, as well as in practice, from the divine and spiritual life, from all union with, and conformity to, the living and true God; or, from that noble principle of all piety and virtue, the life of God in the soul of man, forming it to the love, imitation, and service of him by whom it is implanted; through the ignorance — Of God and his will, and of their duty and happiness; that is inherent in them — Or natural to them, as fallen and depraved creatures; because of the blindness — ??? ??????? , the callousness, or insensibility; of their hearts — This is explained by Chrysostom, Whitby, and some other commentators, as referring to their Gentile state; but though there is no doubt but it partly refers to that, yet there can be no sufficient reason to limit such a description to dark and ignorant heathen; it is but too just a representation of all unregenerate men. Who being past feeling — The original word, ??????????? , is peculiarly significant, properly meaning, past feeling pain, or void of distress — Pain urges the sick to seek a remedy, and distress, the distressed to endeavour, if possible, to procure relief; which remedy or relief is little thought of where pain and distress are not felt. Thus, those who are hardened against all impressions of grief on account of their former sins, are not excited to seek either for the pardon of them or deliverance from them. Some MSS. read ??????????? , hoping for nothing. These wicked men, disbelieving the resurrection of the body, and the immortality of the soul, have no hope of any happiness after this life, and therefore they have given themselves over — Have abandoned themselves freely, of their own accord; to lasciviousness — To wantonness, to unchaste imaginations and desires, words and actions; to work all uncleanness — Impurity of every kind; with greediness — The word ?? ????????? , thus rendered, is commonly used to denote covetousness; because the more the covetous man possesses, the more he desires. Hence the word is used ( 2 Peter 2:14 ) to denote inordinate desire in general. Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Ephesians 4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. Ephesians 4:20 But ye have not so learned Christ; Ephesians 4:20-24 . But ye — Believers at Ephesus; have not so learned Christ — Or Christianity; that is, ye cannot act thus, now ye are acquainted with Christ and his gospel, which, you know, allows of no sin. If so be — Or rather, seeing that, as ?? ?? , it seems, should be here rendered; ye have heard him — Teaching you inwardly by his Spirit, as well as outwardly by his word; and have been taught by him — Have been instructed in his religion; as the truth is in Jesus — According to his own gospel, and not in that imperfect and adulterated form, in which some presume to deliver what they call his doctrine: that ye put off — Entirely lay aside; concerning — Or with respect to; the former conversation — That is, those sinful habits and practices to which you were accustomed in your heathen state; the old man — Your old nature and character; or the whole body of sin: which old nature is corrupt — Depraved in every part, so that its dispositions and actions are directed, not by the rules of right reason, or by the word and will of God, but according to the deceitful lusts — Which generally prevail in the unregenerate, and once prevailed in you. Observe, reader, all sinful desires are deceitful, promising the happiness which they cannot give, and deceiving men. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind — That is, in all the faculties of your souls, by seeking and obtaining an enlightened understanding, a rectified will, and holy, well-regulated affections. And that ye put on the new man — That ye apply to God for, and receive from him, a new nature; which after God — That is, after a conformity to his image; is created — For it is his workmanship, see Ephesians 2:10 ; in righteousness — Toward your fellow-creatures; and true holiness — Toward God. He says true holiness, in opposition to that which is only ceremonial or external, and in appearance. The dispositions of the mind are in Scripture compared to clothes, for two reasons: 1st, Because they render persons beautiful or deformed, according to their nature: 2d, Because they may be put off or on, while we remain in a state of trial, according as we yield to and obey, or resist and reject, the truth and grace of God. Ephesians 4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; Ephesians 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; Ephesians 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Ephesians 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:25-27 . Wherefore — Since you have been thus taught what is your duty and interest, let it appear in your tempers, words, and works, that there is such a change wrought in them; and that, having received a new nature, you live in a new manner. The apostle now proceeds to caution them against particular sins, to which they had been habituated, and to urge them to the pursuit of particular graces, and the practice of particular virtues, which they had formerly neglected. Putting away lying — Which many of your philosophers have thought allowable, in certain cases; (so Whitby has shown in his note here;) speak every man truth with his neighbour — In your converse with your fellow-creatures; for we are members one of another — By virtue of our union with Christ our common head, to which intimate union, all deceit is quite repugnant. Be ye angry, and sin not — That is, if at any time ye are angry, take heed ye do not sin. We may be angry, as Christ was, and not sin; when he looked round about upon the people with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts; ( Mark 3:5 ;) that is, we may be displeased and grieved at the sin or folly of others, and not sin by being so. Indeed, if we should observe people to do or say what we know to be sinful, or should see them indulging evil tempers and vile affections, and should not be displeased and grieved, we would commit sin. For to be insensible, and without emotion, when we observe God to be dishonoured, his laws violated, his presence, power, and holiness disregarded, and his justice and wrath contemned, certainly manifests a state of soul devoid of all proper religious feeling. But in what sense we may be angry and not sin, see explained more at large in the note on the above-cited text. Let not the sun go down on your wrath — If at any time you be in such a sense angry as to sin — if your anger imply resentment of an injury or affront received, or ill-will and bitterness of spirit, look to God for grace to enable you to suppress this kind of anger or wrath speedily: reprove your brother for the offence he has given you, and be reconciled immediately: lose not one day. A clear, express command this; but, alas! how few observe it. Neither give place to the devil — By delaying to cast the fire out of your bosom; remembering how much that enemy of mankind labours to inflame the spirits of men with mutual animosity, malevolence, and hatred; and, in order thereto, induces them to give ear to slanderous reports and accusations, that he may make their state and character miserable and detestable, like his own. Ephesians 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Ephesians 4:27 Neither give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Ephesians 4:28 . Let him that stole — While he was in his heathen condition of ignorance and vice; steal no more — Under a conviction that God is the avenger of all such injuries, 1 Thessalonians 4:6 . Stealing, as Macknight justly observes, “is a vice most pernicious to the thief himself. For finding it more easy to supply his necessities by stealing than by working, he falls into a habit of idleness, which, among the lower classes of mankind, is an inlet to all manner of wickedness. Next, the ease with which the thief gets, disposes him to squander thoughtlessly his unjust gain in the gratification of his lusts. Hence such persons are commonly addicted to lewdness and drunkenness.” But rather let him labour — In some honest calling; working with his hands — Which he formerly employed in stealing; the thing which is good — And creditable. The same command the apostle gave to the Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 ; that he may have to give to him that needeth — May be able even to spare something out of what he gains by industry in his calling, for the relief of such as stand in need of it; and so may be no longer a burden and a nuisance, but a blessing to his neighbours. Thus every one who has sinned in any kind, ought the more zealously to practise the opposite virtue. Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Ephesians 4:29-30 . Let no corrupt communication — Or discourse, dictated by corruption in the heart of the speaker, and tending to corrupt the minds or manners of hearers; proceed out of your mouth — At any time, or on any occasion. The original expression, ????? ?????? , is literally, rotten or putrid speech; that is, speech offensive to the hearers, or calculated to infect them with sin; and is in direct opposition to that which is seasoned with salt, and is recommended ( Colossians 4:6 ) as tending to preserve persons from corruption. The apostle does not merely include in this expression obscene discourse of every kind, but also all flattery, calumny, railing, boasting, tale-bearing, backbiting, commendations of vice and impiety, profane jestings on religion, its ministers and professors, trifling conversation; and, indeed, all discourse that is not either about necessary business, or, as the next clause expresses it, is not good to the use of edifying — Calculated to instruct, direct, reprove, encourage, excite to duty, comfort, or in some way edify and minister grace to the hearers. And grieve not — By any act of disobedience, particularly by any kind of corrupt discourse, or by any of the following sins; the Holy Spirit of God — The original expression is very emphatical, ?? ?????? , ?? ????? , ??? ???? , the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, of God. Grief is ascribed to the Holy Spirit here metaphorically; for, strictly speaking, he is incapable of pain or disquiet of any kind. But he acts, on the occasion referred to, as men do who are grieved. And the purport of the caution is, Do not cause him, by any sinful temper, word, or work, to withdraw from you, as a friend does whom you grieve by unkind or improper behaviour. The expression conveys a strong idea of the love which the Holy Spirit bears to men in general, and to the disciples of Christ in particular; and of his desire to promote their salvation. Whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption — The time when you shall receive the redemption of your bodies from the grave; ( Romans 8:23 ;) shall be acquitted at the judgment-seat of Christ, fully delivered from all the consequences of sin, and made perfectly and unchangeably happy: the day when your rede

Expositor's Bible Commentary Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, Chapter 16 THE EXHORTATION ON CHURCH LIFE. CHAPTER 4:1-16 THE FUNDAMENTAL UNITIES Ephesians 4:1-6 This Encyclical of St. Paul to the Churches of Asia is the most formal and deliberate of his writings since the great epistle to the Romans. In entering upon its hortatory and practical part we are reminded of the transition from doctrine to exhortation in that epistle. Here, as in Romans 11:1-36 ; Romans 12:1-21 , the apostle’s theological teaching, brought with measured steps to its conclusion, has been followed by an act of worship expressing the profound and holy joy which fills his spirit as he views the purposes of God thus displayed in the gospel and the Church. In this exalted mood, as one sitting in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, St. Paul surveys the condition of his readers and addresses himself to their duties and necessities. His homily, like his argument, is inwoven with the golden thread of devotion; and the smooth flow of the epistle breaks ever and again into the music of thanksgiving. The apostle resumes the words of self-description dropped in Ephesians 3:1 . He appeals to his readers with pathetic dignity: "I the prisoner in the Lord"; and the expression gathers new solemnity from that which he has told us in the last chapter of the mystery and grandeur of his office. He is "the prisoner"-the one whose bonds were known through all the Churches and manifest even in the imperial palace. { Php 1:12-14 } It was "in the Lord" that he wore this heavy chain, brought upon him in Christ’s service and borne joyfully for His people’s sake. He is now a martyr apostle. If his confinement detained him from his Gentile flock, at least it should add sacred force to the message he was able to convey. The tone of the apostle’s letters at this time shows that he was sensible of the increased consideration which the afflictions of the last few years had given to him in the eyes of the Church. He is thankful for this influence, and makes good use of it. His first and main appeal to the Asian brethren, as we should expect from the previous tenor of the letter, is an exhortation to unity. It is an obvious conclusion from the doctrine of the Church that he has taught them. The "oneness of the Spirit" which they must "earnestly endeavour to preserve," is the unity which their possession of the Holy Spirit of itself implies. "Having access in one Spirit to the Father," the antipathetic Jewish and Gentile factors of the Church are reconciled; "in the Spirit" they "are builded together for a habitation of God". { Ephesians 2:18-22 } This unity when St. Paul wrote was an actual and visible fact, despite the violent efforts of the Judaisers to destroy it. The "right hands of fellowship" between himself and James, Peter, and John at the conference of Jerusalem were a witness thereto. { Galatians 2:7-10 } But it was a union that needed for its maintenance the efforts of right-thinking men and sons of peace everywhere. St. Paul bids all who read his letter help to keep Christ’s peace in the Churches. The conditions for such pursuing and preserving of peace in the fold of Christ are briefly indicated in Ephesians 4:1-2 . There must be- (1) A due sense of the dignity of our Christian calling: "Walk worthily" he says, "of the calling wherewith you were called." This exhortation, of course, includes much besides in its scope; it is the preface to all the exhortations of the three following chapters, the basis, in fact, of every worthy appeal to Christian men; but it bears in the first instance, and pointedly, upon Church unity. Levity of temper, low and poor conceptions of religion militate against the catholic spirit; they create an atmosphere rife with causes of contention. "Whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal and walk as men?" (2) Next to low-mindedness amongst the foes of unity comes ambition: "Walk with all lowliness of mind and meekness," he continues. Between the low-minded and the lowly-minded there is a total difference. The man of lowly mind habitually feels his dependence as a creature and his unworthiness as a sinner before God. This spirit nourishes in him a wholesome self-distrust, and watchfulness over his temper and motives.-The meek man thinks as little of his personal claims, as the humble man of his personal merits. He is willing to give place to others where higher interests will not suffer, content to take the lowest room and to be in men’s eyes of no account. How many seeds of strife and roots of bitterness would be destroyed, if this mind were in us all. Self-importance, the love of office and power, and the craving for applause must be put away, if we are to recover and keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (3) When St. Paul adds "with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love," he is opposing a cause of division quite different from the last, -to wit, impatience and resentfulness. A high Christian ideal and a strict self-judgment will render us more sensitive to wrong-doing in the world around us. Unless tempered with abundant charity, they may lead to harsh and one-sided censure. Gentle natures, reluctant to condemn, are sometimes slow and difficult in forgiveness. Humbleness and meekness are choice graces of the Spirit. But they are self-regarding virtues at the best, and may be found in a cold nature that has little of the patience which bears with men’s infirmities, of the sympathetic insight that discovers the good often lying close to their faults. "Above all things"-above kindness, meekness, long-suffering, forgivingness-"put on love, which is the bond of perfectness". { Colossians 3:14 } Love is the last word of St. Paul’s definition of the Christian temper in Ephesians 4:2 ; it is the sum and essence of all that makes for Christian unity. In it lies a charm which can overcome both the lighter provocations and the grave offences of human intercourse, -offences that must needs rise in the purest society composed of infirm and sinful men. "Bind thyself to thy brother. Those who are bound together in love, bear all burdens lightly. Bind thyself to him, and him to thee. Both are in thy power; for whomsoever I will, I may easily make my friend" (Chrysostom). Ephesians 4:1-3 exhibit the temper in which the unity of the Church is to be maintained. Ephesians 4:4-6 set forth the basis upon which it rests. This passage is a brief summary of Christian doctrine. It defines the "foundation of the apostles and prophets" asserted in Ephesians 2:20 , -the groundwork of "every building" in God’s holy temple, the foundation upon which Paul’s Gentile readers, along with the Jewish saints, were growing into one holy temple in the Lord. Seven elements of unity St. Paul enumerates: one body, Spirit, hope; one Lord, faith, and baptism; one God and Father of all. They form a chain stretching from the Church on earth to the throne and being of the universal Father in heaven. Closely considered, we find that the seven unities resolve themselves into three, centring in the names of the Divine Trinity-the Spirit, the Lord, and the Father. The Spirit and the Lord are each accompanied by two kindred uniting elements; while the one God and Father, placed alone, in Himself forms a threefold bond to His creatures-by His sovereign power, pervasive action, and immanent presence: "Who is over all, and through all, and in all". {comp. Ephesians 1:23 } The rhythm of expression in these verses suggests that they belonged to some apostolic Christian song. Other passages in Paul’s later epistles betray the same character; and we know from Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 that the Pauline Church was already rich in psalmody. This epistle shows that St. Paul was touched with the poetic as well as the prophetical afflatus. He expected his people to sing; and we see no reason why he should not, like Luther and the Wesleys afterwards, have taught them to do so by giving voice to the joy of the new-found faith in "hymns and spiritual songs." These lines, we could fancy, belonged to some chant sung in the Christian assemblies; they form a brief metrical creed, the confession of the Church then and in all ages. I. One body there is, and one Spirit. The former was a patent fact. Believers in Jesus Christ formed a single body, the same in all essentials of religion, sharply distinguished from their Jewish and their Pagan neighbours. Although the distinctions now existing amongst Christians are vastly greater and more numerous, and the boundaries between the Church and the world at many points are much less visible, yet there is a true unity that binds together those "who profess and call themselves Christians" throughout the world. As against the multitudes of heathen and idolaters; as against Jewish and Mohammedan rejectors of our Christ; as against atheists and agnostics and all deniers of the Lord, we are "one body," and should feel and act as one. In missionary fields, confronting the overwhelming forces and horrible evils of Paganism, the servants of Christ intensely realise their unity; they see how trifling in comparison are the things that separate the Churches, and how precious and deep are the things that Christians hold in common. It may need the pressure of some threatening outward force, the sense of a great peril hanging over Christendom to silence our contentions and compel the soldiers of Christ to fall into line and present to the enemy a united front. If the unity of believers in Christ-their oneness of worship and creed, of moral ideal and discipline-is hard to discern through the variety of human forms and systems and the confusion of ‘tongues that prevails, yet the unity is there to be discerned; and it grows clearer to us as we look for it. It is visible in the universal acceptance of Scripture and the primitive creeds, in the large measure of correspondence between the different Church standards of the Protestant communions, in our common Christian literature, in the numerous alliances and combinations, local and general, that exist for philanthropic and missionary objects, in the increasing and auspicious comity of the Churches. The nearer we get to the essentials of truth and to the experience of living Christian men, the more we realise the existence of one body in the scattered limbs and innumerable sects of Christendom. There is "one body and one Spirit"; one body because, and so far as, there is one Spirit. What is it constitutes the unity of our physical frame? Outward attachment, mechanical juxtaposition go for nothing. What I grasp in my hand or put between my lips is no part of me, any more than if it were in another planet. The clothes I wear take the body’s shape; they partake of its warmth and movement; they give its outward presentment. They are not of the body for all this. But the fingers that clasp, the lips that touch, the limbs that move and glow beneath the raiment, -these are the body itself; and everything belongs to it, however slight in substance, or uncomely or unserviceable, nay, however diseased and burdensome, that is vitally connected with it. The life that thrills through nerve and artery, the spirit that animates with one will and being the whole framework and governs its ten thousand delicate springs and interlacing cords, -it is this that makes one body of an otherwise inert and decaying heap of matter. Let the spirit depart, it is a body no more, but a corpse. So with the body of Christ, and its members in particular. Am I a living, integral part of the Church, quickened by its Spirit? or do I belong only to the raiment and the furniture that are about it? "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." He who has the Spirit of Christ, will find a place within His body. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is a communicative, sociable spirit. The child of God seeks out his brethren; like is drawn to like, bone to bone and sinew to its sinew in the building up of the risen body. By an instinct of its life, the new-born soul forms bonds of attachment for itself to the Christian souls nearest to it, to those amongst whom it is placed in God’s dispensation of grace. The ministry, the community through which it received spiritual life, and that travailed for its birth, claim it by a parental right that may not be disowned, nor at any time renounced without loss and peril. Where the Spirit of Christ dwells as a vitalising, formative principle, it finds or makes for itself a body. Let no man say: I have the spirit of religion; I can dispense with forms. I need no fellowship with men; I prefer to walk with God.-God will not walk with men who do not care to walk with His people. He "loved the world"; and we must love it, or we displease Him. "This commandment have we from Him, that he who loves God love his brother also." The oneness of communion amongst the people of Christ is governed by a unity of aim: "Even as also you were called in one hope of your calling." Our fellowship has an object to realise, our calling a prize to win. All Christian organisation is directed to a practical end. The old Pagan world fell to pieces because it was "without hope"; its golden age was in the past. No society can endure that lives upon its memories, or that contents itself with cherishing its privileges. Nothing holds men together like work and hope. This gives energy, purpose, progress to the fellowship of Christian believers. In this imperfect and unsatisfying world, with the majority of our race still in bondage to evil, it is idle for us to combine for any purpose that does not bear on human improvement and salvation. The Church of Christ is a society for the abolition of sin and death. That this will be accomplished, that God’s will shall be done on earth as in heaven, is the hope of our calling. To this hope we "were called" by the first summons of the gospel. "Repent," it cried, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" For ourselves, in our personal quality, Christianity holds out a splendid crown of life. It promises our complete restoration to the image of God, the redemption of the body with the spirit from death, and our entrance upon an eternal fellowship with Christ in heaven. This hope, shared by us in common and affecting all the interests and relationships of daily life, is the ground of our communion. The Christian hope supplies to men, more truly and constantly than Nature in her most exalted forms, "The anchor of their purest thoughts, the nurse, The guide, the guardian of their heart, and soul Of all their moral being." Happy are the wife and husband, happy the master and servants, happy the circle of friends who live and work together as "joint-heirs of the grace of life." Well says Calvin here: "If this thought were fixed in our minds, this law laid upon us, that the sons of God may no more quarrel than the kingdom of heaven can be divided, how much more careful we should be in cultivating brotherly good-will! What a dread we should have of dissensions, if we considered, as we ought to do, that those who separate from their brethren, exile themselves from the kingdom of God." But the hope of our calling is a hope for mankind, -nay, for the entire universe. We labour for the regeneration of humanity. "We look for a new heavens and earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness"; for the actual gathering into one in Christ of all things in all worlds, as they are already gathered in God’s eternal plan. Now if it were merely a personal salvation that we had to seek, Christian communion might appear to be an optional thing, and the Church no more than a society for mutual spiritual benefit. But seen in this larger light, Church membership is of the essence of our calling. As children of the household of faith, we are heirs to its duties with its possessions. We cannot escape the obligations of our spiritual any more than of our natural birth. One Spirit dwelling in each, one sublime ideal inspiring us and guiding all our efforts, how shall we not be one body in the fellowship of Christ? This hope of our calling it is our calling to breathe into the dead world. Its virtue alone can dispel the gloom and discord of the age. From the fountain of God’s love in Christ springing up in the heart of the Church, there shall pour forth "One common wave of thought and joy, Lifting mankind again!" II. The first group of unities leads us to the second. If one Spirit dwells within us, it is one Lord who reigns over us. We have one hope to work for; it is because we have one faith to live by. A common fellowship implies a common creed. Thus Christ Jesus the Lord takes His place fourth in this list of unities, between hope and faith, between the Spirit and the Father. He is the centre of centres, the Lamb in the midst of the throne, the Christ in the midst of the ages. United with Christ, we are at unity with God and with our fellowmen. We find in Him the fulcrum of the forces that are raising the world, the corner-stone of the temple of humanity. But let us mark that it is the one Lord in whom we find our unity. To think of Him as Saviour only is to treat Him as a means to an end. It is to make ourselves the centre, not Christ. This is the secret of much of the isolation and sectarianism of modern Churches. Individualism is the negation of Church life. Men value Christ for what they can get from Him for themselves. They do not follow Him and yield themselves up to Him, for the sake of what He is. "Come unto me, all ye that are burdened, and I will give you rest": they listen willingly so far. But when He goes on to say "Take my yoke upon you," their ears are deaf. There is a subtle self-seeking and self pleasing even in the way of salvation. From this springs the disloyalty, the want of affection for the Church, the indifference to all. Christian interests beyond the personal and local, which is worse than strife; for it is death to the body of Christ. The name of the "one Lord" silences party clamours and rebukes the voices that cry, "I am of Apollos, I of Cephas." It recalls loiterers and stragglers to the ranks. It bids each of us, in his own station of life and his own place in the Church, serve the common cause without sloth and without ambition. Christ’s Lordship over us for life and death is signified by our baptism in His name. We have received, most of us in infancy through our parents’ reverent care, the token of allegiance to the Lord Christ. The baptismal water that He bade all nations receive from His apostles, has been sprinkled upon you. Shall this be in vain? Or do you now, by the faith of your heart in Christ Jesus the Lord, endorse the faith your parents and the Church exercised on your behalf? If so, your faith saves you. Your obedience is at once accepted by the Lord to whom it is tendered; and the sign of God’s redemption of the race which greeted you at your entrance into life, assumes for you all its significance and worth. It is the seal upon your brow, now stamped upon your heart, of your eternal covenant with Christ. But it is the seal of a corporate life in Him. Christian baptism is no private transaction; it attests no mere secret vow passing between the soul and its Saviour. "For in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit". { 1 Corinthians 12:13 } Our baptism is the sign of a common faith and hope, and binds us at once to Christ and to His Church. One baptism there has been through all the ages since the ascending Lord said to His disciples: "Go, make disciples of all the nations, baptising them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The ordinance has been administered in different ways and under varying regulations: but with few exceptions, it has been observed from the beginning by every Christian community in fulfilment of the word of Christ, and in acknowledgment of His dominion. Those who insist on the sole validity of this or that mode or channel of administration, recognise at least the intention of Churches baptising otherwise than themselves to honour the one Lord in thus confessing His name; and so far admit that there is in truth "one baptism." Wherever Christ’s sacraments are observed with a true faith, they serve as visible tokens of His rule. In this rule lies the ultimate ground of union for men, and for all creatures. Our fellowship in the faith of Christ is deep as the nature of God; its blessedness rich as His love; its bonds strong and eternal as His power. III. The last and greatest of the unities still remains. Add to our fellowship in the one Spirit and confession of the one Lord, our adoption by the one God and Father of all. To the Gentile converts of the Asian cities this was a new and marvellous thought. "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians," they had been used to shout; or haply, "Great is Aphrodite of the Pergamenes," or "Bacchus of the Philadelphians." Great they knew was "Jupiter Best and Greatest" of conquering Rome; and great the numen of the Caesar, to which everywhere in this rich and servile province shrines were rising. Each city and tribe, each grove or fountain or sheltering hill had its local genius or daimon, requiring worship and sacrificial honours. Every office and occupation, every function in life-navigation, midwifery, even thieving-was under the patronage of its special deity. These petty godships by their numbers and rivalries distracted the pious heathen with continual fear lest one or other of them might not have received due observance. With what a grand simplicity the Christian conception of "the one God and Father" rose above this vulgar pantheon, this swarm of motley deities-some gay and wanton, some dark and cruel, some of supposed beneficence, all infected with human passion and baseness-which filled the imagination of the Graeco-Asiatic pagans. What rest there was for the mind, what peace and freedom for the spirit in turning from such deities to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Here is no jealous Monarch regarding men as tribute-payers, and needing to be served by human hands. He is the Father of men. pitying us as His children and giving us all things richly to enjoy. Our God is no local divinity, to be honoured here but not there, tied to His temple and images and priestly mediators; but the "one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all." This was the very God whom the logic of Greek thought and the practical instincts of Roman law and empire blindly sought. Through ages He had revealed Himself to the people of Israel, who were now dispersed amongst the nations to bear His light. At last He declared His full name and purpose to the world in Jesus Christ. So the gods many and lords many have had their day. By His manifestation the idols are utterly abolished. The proclamation of one God and Father signifies the gathering of men into one family of God. The one religion supplies the basis for one life in all the world. God is over all, gathering all worlds and beings under the shadow of His beneficent dominion. He is through all, and in all: an Omnipresence of love, righteousness, and wisdom, actuating the powers of nature and of grace, inhabiting the Church and the heart of men. You need not go far to seek Him; if you believe in Him, you are yourself His temple. Ephesians 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Chapter 17 THE MEASURE OF THE GIFT OF CHRIST Ephesians 4:7-12 In Ephesians 4:7 the apostle passes from the unities of the Church to its diversities, from the common foundation of the Christian life to the variety presented in its superstructure. "To each single one of us was the grace given." The great gift of God in Christ is manifold in its distribution. Its manifestations are as various and fresh as the idiosyncrasies of human personality. There is no capacity of our nature, no element of human society which the gospel of Christ cannot sanctify and turn to good account. All this the apostle keeps in view and allows for in his doctrine of the Church. He does not merge man in humanity, nor sacrifice the individual to the community. He claims for each believer direct fellowship with Christ and access to God. The earnestness with which in his earlier epistles St. Paul insisted on the responsibilities of conscience and on the personal experience of salvation, leads him now to press the claims of the Church with equal vigour. He understands well that the person has no existence apart from the community, that our moral nature is essentially social and the religious life essentially fraternal. Its vital element is "the communion of the Holy Spirit." Hence, to gather the real drift of this passage we must combine the first words of Ephesians 4:7 with the last of Ephesians 4:12 : "To each single one of us was the grace given-in order to build up the body of Christ." God’s grace is not bestowed on us to diffuse and lose itself in our separate individualities; but that it may minister to one life and work towards one end and build up one great body in us all. The diversity subserves a higher unity. Through ten thousand channels, in ten thousand varied forms of personal influence and action, the stream of the grace of God flows on to the accomplishment of the eternal purpose. Like a wise master in his household and sovereign in his kingdom, the Lord of the Church distributes His manifold gifts. His bestowments and appointments are made with an eye to the furtherance of the state and house that He has in charge. As God dispenses His wisdom, so Christ His gifts "according to plan". { Ephesians 3:11 } The purpose of the ages, God’s great plan for mankind, determines "the measure of the gift of Christ." Now, it is to illustrate this measure, to set forth the style and scale of Christ’s bestowments within His Church, that the apostle brings in evidence the words of Psalm 68:18 . He interprets this ancient verse as he cites it, and weaves it into the texture of his argument. In the original it reads thus: "Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led Thy captivity captive, Thou hast received gifts among men, -Yea, among the rebellious also that the LORD God might dwell with them." (R.V.) Let us go back for a moment to the occasion of the old Hebrew song. Psalm 68:1-35 , is, as Ewald says, "the greatest, most splendid and artistic of the temple-songs of Restored Jerusalem." It celebrates Jehovah’s entry into Zion. This culminating verse records, as the crowning event of Israel’s history, the capture of Zion from the rebel Jebusites and the Lord’s ascension in the person of His chosen to take His seat upon this holy hill. The previous verses, in which fragments of earlier songs are embedded, describe the course of the Divine Leader of Israel through former ages. In the beat and rhythm of the Hebrew lines one hears the footfall of the Conqueror’s march, as He "arises and His enemies are scattered" and "kings of armies flee apace," while nature trembles at His step and bends her wild powers to serve His congregation. The sojourn in the wilderness, the scenes of Sinai, the occupancy of Canaan, the wars of the Judges were so many stages in the progress of Jehovah, which had Zion always for its goal. To Zion, the new and more glorious sanctuary, Sinai must now give place. Bashan and all mountains towering in their pride in vain "look askance at the hill which God has desired for His abode," where "Jehovah will dwell forever." So the day of the Lord’s desire has come I From the Kidron valley David leads Jehovah’s triumph up the steep slopes of Mount Zion. A train of captives defiles before the Lord’s anointed, who sits down on the throne that God gives him and receives in His name the submission of the heathen. The vanquished chiefs cast their spoil at his feet; it is laid up in treasure to build the future temple; while, upon this happy day of peace, "the rebellious also" share in Jehovah’s grace and become His subjects. In this conquest David "gave to men" rather than "received"-gave even to his stubborn enemies (witness his subsequent transaction with Araunah the Jebusite for the site of the temple); for that which he took from them served to build amongst them God’s habitation: "that," as the Psalmist sings, "the Lord God might dwell with them." St. Paul’s adaptation of the verse is both bold and true. If he departs from the letter, he unfolds tire spirit of the prophetic words. That David’s giving signified a higher receiving, Jewish interpreters themselves seem to have felt, for this paraphrase was current also amongst them. The author of this Hebrew song has in no way exaggerated the importance of David’s victory. The summits of the elect nation’s history shine with a supernatural and prophetic light. The spirit of the Christ in the unknown singer "testified beforehand of the glory that should follow" His warfare and sufferings. From this victorious height, so hardly won, the Psalmist’s Verse flashes the light of promise across the space of a thousand years; and St. Paul has caught the light, and sends it on to us shining with a new and more spiritual brightness. David’s "going up on high" was, to the apostle’s mind, a picture of the ascent of Christ, his Son and Lord. David rose from deep humiliation to a high dominion; his exaltation brought blessing and enrichment to his people; and the spoil that he won with it went to build God’s house amongst rebellious men. All this was true in parable of the dispensation of grace to mankind through Jesus Christ; and His ascension disclosed the deeper import of the words of the ancient Scripture. "Wherefore God saith" (and St. Paul takes the liberty of putting in his own words what He saith)-"wherefore He saith: He ascended on high; He led captivity captive; He gave gifts to men." The three short clauses of the citation supply, in effect, a threefold measure of the gifts of Christ to His Church. They are gifts of the ascended. Saviour. They are gifts bestowed from the fruit of His victory. And they are gifts to men. Measure them, first, by the height to which He has risen - from what a depth! Measure them, again, by the spoils He has already won. Measure them, once more, by the wants of mankind, by the need He has undertaken to supply.- As He is, so He gives; as He has, so He gives; as He has given, so He will give till we are filled unto all the fulness of God. I. Think first, then, of Him. Think of what and where He is! Consider "what is the height" of His exaltation; and then say, if you can, "what is the breadth" of His munificence. We know well how He gave as a poor and suffering man upon earth-gave, with what affluence, pity, and delight, bread to the hungry-thousands, wine to the wedding-feast, health to the sick, sight to the blind, pardon to the sinful, sometimes life to the dead! Has His elevation altered Him? Too often it is so with vain and weak men like ourselves. Their wealth increases, but their hearts contract. The more they have to give, the less they love to give. They go up on high as men count it, and climb to places of power and eminence; and they forget the friends of youth and the ranks from which they sprang-low-minded men. Not so with our exalted Friend. "It is not one that went down, and another that went up." says Theodoret. "He that descended, it is He also that ascended up far above all the heavens!" ( Ephesians 4:10 ). Jesus of Nazareth is on the throne of God, -"the same yesterday and to-day!" But now the resources of the universe are at His disposal. Out of that treasure He can choose the best gifts for you and me. Mere authority, even Omnipotence, could not suffice to save and bless moral beings like ourselves; nor even the best will joined to Omnipotence. Christ gained by His humiliation, in some sense, a new fulness added to the fulness of the Godhead. This gain of His sufferings is implied in what the apostle writes in Colossians 1:19 concerning the risen and exalted Redeemer: "It was well-pleasing that all the fulness should make its dwelling in Him." His plenitude is that of the Ascended One who had descended. "If He ascended, what does it mean but that He also descended into the under regions of the earth?" ( Ephesians 4:9 ). If He went up, why then He had been down!-down to the Virgin’s womb and the manger cradle, wrapping His Godhead within the frame and the brain of a little child; down to the home and the bench of the village carpenter; down to the contradiction of si