1. SALUTATION, 1:1-2

Ver. 1. Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.

Paul is the author of this letter written about A. D. 62, during his first imprisonment at Rome. The Apostle was absolutely definite concerning his call to the Apostleship. He heard the voice of the Master on the way to Damascus (Acts 9:5), and he was as sure of his call and that it was through the voice of Jesus as were the Apostles of the Jews who were called during the time that Christ was upon the earth. He believed that it was by the will of God and thus his call excluded all human choice and self-will. He represented himself as one born out of due time (1 Cor. 15:8), and that, while a Jew, he had a similar relation to the Gentile world as the twelve Apostles had to the Jewish (Gal. 2:9). In the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles he is always represented as one delegated by the Master for some special and specific work in building His Church, the Body of Christ.

This letter is written to the church already existing. It is addressed here to the saints which are at Ephesus. The Apostle Paul had spent about three years in building up the Church to which this letter is now addressed (Acts 19:10). It would be very natural for the Apostle to want to write a letter to a church to which he had given so many years of his ministry, especially one which he had built up under such tremendous opposition as he had met in the church at Ephesus. It seems strange, however, that no more of that personal relationship is brought out in this letter, if the letter were intended especially for this Church at Ephesus. There has been considerable controversy concerning the title “Ephesus”� as it appears here in this verse. Ephesus is omitted in a number of the very best manuscripts.

The Apostle has heard of the faith which prevails amongst his readers, not only that they had heard about Christ, but also that they had accepted Christ and were taught in Christ according as the truth is in Jesus. The Apostle hopes that by reading this Epistle they will be able to understand something concerning the mystery of Christ (3 : 2-4). The Apostle had addressed the Ephesian elders at Melitus (Acts 20:17-18) a number of years before writing this Epistle at which time he called attention to personal feelings and sympathy that he had with the individual members of the Ephesian Church. Now in this letter, that sympathy and fellowship is not brought out as fully as one would expect from one writing to an individual church of which he was the pastor and builder. We called attention to the fact that some of the manuscripts in the fourth century omit the word “Ephesus.”� Some of the church fathers, by their writings, also show that they believed the letter was to be a general letter to all the churches and not to the individual church at Ephesus. It is supposed, upon very good authority, the letter was destined for a number of churches in Asia Minor which Tychicus was directed to visit in the course of the journey which took him to Colossae. When taking the other letters he was intrusted with this more general Epistle intended for the Christian community in Asia as well as “to all the saints in Jesus Christ.”� The Apostle in closing the Colossian letter directed the Colossian church to procure from Laodicea a letter in exchange for the letter he was sending them (4:16). It may be possible that the Laodicean document, thought to be lost, is the general epistle we are now studying. It has been suggested that the place was left blank for the name and that when different copies were made of this letter, the name of the church to which the letter was sent was inserted. It might be well then to insert in the first verse of the letter these words, “The General Epistle of Paul to the Churches in Asia.”�

This letter is written to Christian believers as men consecrated to God in Christ. The Apostle, therefore, wishes to be understood that when he speaks of the saints, he means those who were true and steadfast members of the Body of Christ. The first verse then tells us that we are not sinners but saints; that we are not faithless but faithful unto Christ Jesus. If this be true as we open this wonderful letter brought to us by the Holy Spirit, then the wonderful things of God will be unveiled unto us. His plans concerning his purposes as the Head of the church, over all, and concerning the building up and completing of the Body of Christ—the faithful saints in the Lord— will be revealed.

Ver. 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The opening words in this book are like the opening words in Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians, and Philemon. In these salutations grace is the free and unmerited favor of God in its Spiritual efficacy. This is what the Apostle wishes to have unveiled and experienced by the readers of this letter. Peace is especially the complacency and reconciliation with which He regards His people through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ that we are brought into that binding peace with God our Father.

“The message of Ephesians is initially in the Will of God, inclusively to those in the Son of God, instrumentally by Paul the Servant of God, and ultimately to all the Saints of God.”�

QUESTIONS

• Who is the author of this Epistle?

• When and under what circumstances was it written?

• What Epistle must we study before we can understand the advanced lessons in this book?

• For whom is this letter written?

• Give meaning of grace and peace as presented in the second verse.

• What is the source of grace and peace?

2. GOD'S PART IN SECURING OUR STANDING IN CHRIST THE HEAD, 1: 3-14

The Apostle Paul is showing to us, his readers, God's purpose concerning Himself in the establishment of the Head over all, which is Christ. This is the mystery of God concerning Himself which was in His mind before the foundation of the world. Much of this letter is occupied with doctrine. One-half of this letter emphasizes two great purposes that God had from before the foundation of the world. The first great purpose is that God might establish a Head for Himself over all, which is Christ. The second great purpose is that God might, through Christ, make from individuals of all nations, a mysterious body (one new man) known as the Church of Christ.

Ver. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

This verse is the key of the whole Epistle. If you understand fully how to use the key you will be able to unlock the doors opening into the rooms that contain the treasures of God. The Apostle tells us that the sphere of these blessings, therefore, is heavenly, for they are in Christ. The Apostle said that when Christ was here on the earth, they knew Him after the flesh. but now since His death, resurrection and ascension, He has entered into heavenly places and we who have our standing in the Head are there in Him. We learn in the study of the Scripture that God, when we were dead in sins, quickened us together with Christ and hath raised us up together and made us to sit down together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus (2: 5-6).

Christ came from the Heavenlies according to the purpose of God. He laid aside His royal robe of glory, came down, humbled Himself and took upon Himself the form of man, and after thirty years of absence, going about in the flesh of man, he paid for us the price of redemption on the Cross, arose and ascended into the Heavenlies.

“Blessed be God.”� This is the perpetual statement of the Old Testament from Melchizedek down to David, of Daniel in his triumph and Job in his misery, but never before could man say, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”� “The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”� surpasses and outshines them all.

“Who hath blessed us.”� This gives us to understand that the foundation of all blessings is in the purpose of God Himself. We come in possession of Spiritual blessings. God transfers these rich things to us who are faithful to His Son. These blessings of God surround and overflow the faithful in Christ Jesus. There are no blessings that you can name which God has not in some way or another bestowed upon us. We are looking at God's part in our salvation. God is the source of all our blessings and no sinfulness on our part hinders this outflow, and no merit on our part calls it forth. Notice, readers, that the Will of God is the source of all our blessings. There is but one channel through which these blessings come and that is through a crucified Redeemer.

The agent through which the Apostle Paul and all the early saints came in possession of these blessings was through the infilling power of the Holy Spirit. These specific blessings enumerated here and bestowed by God Himself can only be secured and enjoyed by those who are in His Son through death, burial, and resurrection and seated with Him in the Heavenlies. It will be of utmost value to every student, to allow the Holy Spirit to bring him into the truth and enjoyment of the blessings that come by dwelling in the Heavenlies with Christ. The child of God dwells in a physical body, but must speak and act, walk and talk as a member and citizen of the Heavenlies.

Ver. 4. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish (blame) before him in love.

The Apostle is about to present seven great elements or truths concerning God's part in our salvation. This verse gives the believer to understand that he was chosen by God in Christ before the foundation of the world. Paul means to say to us, that God, in laying His plans for the world, had then in His mind, the purpose of redeeming grace. The different dispensations presented to us in the Word of God were developed in different periods of the history of the world, but all of these had their purposes and plans before the foundation of the world. The Head of the Church, salvation through grace, the Church, the Body of Christ, and the believer, lie as deep as the creation itself. The provisions for these were eternal and the secret of them hidden and much of it never revealed unto this age of grace. There is nothing unprepared, nothing unforeseen in God's dealings with mankind. His wisdom and knowledge are as deep as His grace is wide.

The Apostle Paul tells us that he was but an agent in the hands of God to set out and make some of these plans plain to the human race: “It pleased God to set me apart from my mother's womb to reveal His Son in me”� (Gal. 1:15). The world is a system. It has a method and plan, therefore a foundation. Before the foundation there is a Founder whose purpose for all creation was that man might have a home. God had in his mind to redeem fallen humanity through the death of His own Son. He chose us that we might, through the call of His Son, be without blame before Him in love, just as a sacrifice would be without blemish.

We are told in this verse that we are chosen—chosen of God, chosen in His Son. If we want to prove to the world that God has chosen us, we must be willing to be brought under His redemptive blood, die unto the world and rise with Christ.

Ver. 5. Having foreordained (predestinated) us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

The previous verse tells us that we are blameless before Him in love. Now in this love he predestinated us and even all this was before the foundation of the world. This is the effective exercise of the will of God by which things before determined by Him are brought to pass. He does not only predestinate, but He does bring to pass the very thing He plans and foreknows.

Paul, in writing to the Romans, says (8: 30), “Whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”� He predestinated us that we might secure His sonship. It is through God's own choice and by the determination of His mighty will, that this choice is put into operation and takes effect. He has determined seasons and appointed bounds to human habitation. God foresees everything and allows for everything. As God's ways justify themselves in part, so they do universally. Our little spark of intelligence glances upon one spot in a boundless ocean of unmeasurable depth.

God's sons must be holy and holy men are His sons. For this end we were elected of God before the beginning. With this very end in view the world was founded and the human race came into being. Now in the age of grace, the Church is being formed, and is to be presented at last faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. In the fourth verse we were chosen by God; in the fifth verse we were adopted. We belong to His immediate family. This was all in the mind of God before the foundation of the world.

Ver. 6. To the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

The object of the praise in this verse is the glory, but not glory in Himself or God's glory, but in His grace that through this grace, praise may accrue unto His free manifestation of the glorious nature of this grace of adoption, which He freely bestowed upon us, as set forth in the previous verse. Think of it, we are accepted as His beloved ones. We must indeed be loved or we would not be known as adopted children. We could not be adopted into the family of God if our relationship was not right with the First-born (Heb. 12:23), and so we must acknowledge that in His call we are called, and in His own beloved Son, we through Him become beloved. Our acceptance is through His acceptance.

The Apostle in the last three verses has been using the pronoun “us.”� The Apostle must be thinking of individuals who are included in the term “us”� as recipients of saving grace. It may refer to individuals who have been in the mind of Christ from before the foundation of the world, but more likely the “us”� refers to the collective family of God as the object of his loving ordination, the Body of Christians who are called out and made one new Man.

Ver. 7. In whom we have our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.

The redemption that is in Christ Jesus, the Apostle Paul declares to the Church at Rome to be the means by which we are acquitted in the judgment of God, from the guilt of all past transgressions, and this redemption has been brought about through the shedding of the blood of the Son of God, the sacrifice wherein we are included and accepted through faith. The Apostle shows us clearly here how our redemption is secured. There are not many ways, but only one way. Christ says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”� All the writers of the New Testament point to that one way which is faith in a person who has set us free by His own sacrifice.

In the time of Christ the Jews were trying to find some other way and when Christ did show them the way they would not receive Him. In every period of the Church, there are leaders who are not satisfied to take the way of Christ, the Apostle, and the teaching of the Word of God, but try to find some way more suitable to the human race. Some say we must have a new religion, we must have a new Bible. Leaders of this new method have selected from the Bible the parts that would be more in harmony with their new religion. The shorter Old Testament and the shorter New Testament, if now adopted, would in a hundred years have to be revised again, and in the course of time, the Bible would be eliminated entirely from the religion wanted by the human race. The claim is that we must suit the Bible to our times instead of suiting the times to the Bible.

The Apostle Paul teaches us that there is no redemption except through the blood of Christ. There is no forgiveness of our transgressions except through the blood of Christ. All this, the Apostle says, is according to the riches of His grace. Are we ready to accept God's riches, and to enjoy His favor by accepting His Son as our Saviour and be washed in His blood ?

The belief in the world today is that God is too merciful to deal with humanity in harmony with His Holy Word, but we must learn that we have not a God who is more merciful than the God of our fathers, nor a God who is less righteous. He is a God who is righteous and He does hate sin and transgression. If He did not, He would have never given His Son to die that we might be free from sin and transgression and come into peace with Him through His Son. Why should we not, in this age of civilization and education, believe in the inspired Word of God ? We are living in an age of great unrest and great awakening, but all this can only be settled and satisfied by a knowledge of Him and obedience to Him who rules and overrules all. Think of a God that would allow His Son to go to the Cross to save the souls of men from sin and death, and not in some way revenge himself upon those who crucified Him and now still live in opposition to the things that God has done to save them.

Ver. 8. Which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

These two words, “wisdom and prudence,”� breathe the highest intellectual and moral wisdom. Both are elsewhere in the Scripture predicated of God with reference to the creation. His grace to flow abundantly in us is the gift of all wisdom and prudence. Our safeguard against intellectual perils, lies not in ignorance, but in deep heart knowledge.

Ver. 9. Making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him.

The Apostle expresses the same thought used in some of the former verses. He speaks not only of himself but of all who had received the adoption in Christ. He says, “Having made known unto us.”� Through wisdom or prudence we are permitted to know the mystery of His will. All whom God has called in his Son can be exalted into fellowship with God in His future purposes. Wisdom and prudence must lie in the knowledge of God's will, which He declared to be a mystery. It is this secret which is revealed unto the Apostle Paul, henceforth no longer a secret to the regenerated and redeemed. God has kept in Christ the secret, until the proper time for its revelation which he purposes in Himself. God's plan is clearly worked out in His own mind. Just as the building to be erected is clear in the mind of the architect before the building is begun, so this entire plan of God was clear to Him before it was made known and revealed in the different dispensations represented in the Word of God.

“Which He purposed in Him:”� that is, in His Son. The purpose of the Father was in the Son, to make Him the Head over all, and the mystery is concerning the Body that was to be formed out of Jews and Gentiles and made one new man— these are the great purposes of God. It is a great privilege and blessing to be granted the opportunity of fellowship with God through His Son in the great things that He has to accomplish to complete His purposes. All the regenerated who have their standing in the Head are numbered among those who are enjoying this special fellowship with God and His Son concerning the future purposes.

Ver. 10. Unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him.

The Apostle means to say that in harmony with the Divine plan, God has purposed in Himself to gather together into One (that is, in His own Son) all things. Those who are acquainted with the human family know how scattered mankind is and that it has no head under which its members may organize themselves. We are informed here by Scripture that God has a purpose and a plan that in the course of time, known to Himself, He will have one Head to be known as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Saviour is the one to appear in the fulness of time and His Body will then be gathered together.

Heaven and earth have become places of sin (6:12). Heaven is known to be the first place of rebellion. Part of the angels on account of disobedience, fell from Heaven and the presence of God (2 Pet. 2:4). Then these fallen beings began to do their work of sin and death. This opposition against God continued in the Heavenlies. Satan has had his way in the human family since man began to disobey God, which has resulted in sin and death. We are working towards a New Heaven and a New Earth wherein dwells righteousness. In the purpose and mind of God, this is the age of grace in which there is forming a new society, a new Head, and a new Body, to dwell in this New Heaven and New Earth.

Ver. 11. In whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will.

In this verse we have the conclusion of what was said in the former verse regarding the gathering together of all things in Heaven and upon the earth in Christ, in whom we obtain our inheritance. This inheritance is according to the purpose of God, “who worketh all things after the council of His own will.”� We have been chosen by God, predestinated, accepted, adopted, received into fellowship with Him, and here, participate in an inheritance bought through the sacrifice and death of the Son of God. Christ is Himself the believer's wealth, both in possession and hope. This inheritance is incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for us (1 Pet. 1:4),

We are told here that it is after the council of His will and that the purposes of God's will were before the foundation of the world. After the creation of the world there was a council no doubt by the members of the Trinity, when it was said, “Let us make man in our image.”�

The Apostle having spoken of the inheritance in the eleventh verse, is now trying to bring us across the border that separates the present and the future that we might dwell upon the gifts which God will bestow upon those who are faithful to Him and thus present to us the greatest possible incentive to Christian service.

Ver. 12. To the end that we should be unto the praise of His glory, we who had before hoped in Christ.

This is the final purpose with which believers in Christ are permitted to hope and receive the earnest of the sacred inheritance. “That we should be unto the praise of His glory,”� both we who have long since this hoped in Christ, and those who became believers as soon as they heard of the Word of Truth. The good news of our salvation and the sealing with that Holy Spirit of promise was made known, which is the “earnest of our inheritance.”�

Paul in these verses offers a subject of supreme interest to himself and the Gentiles, who are by faith in Jesus, united with Spiritual Israel. The thought of the heirship of believers and of God's previous council respecting it, brought before his mind the distinction between Jew and Gentile and the part assigned to each in the Divine plan, therefore, he says, “That we might be to the praise of His glory. The Messianic hope, in its fulfilment is yours (Gentiles) as much as ours.”�

Ver. 13. In whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the Gospel of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

“In whom ye also (as Gentiles)”� as contrasted with “we,”� Paul's Jewish brethren. It may be possible that he refers first to “we,”� the Jewish nation, which by faith looked forward for this hope in Christ, and the “ye”� who are afterwards brought in. These are the old and new believers, or the Jews and the Gentiles. The Word of Truth, the Gospel of salvation was proclaimed to these people. They accepted it and were saved. They are the people who believed God's Word, had faith in Jesus Christ, and as such have Heaven's seal, the seal given by the Holy Spirit.

When Christ was on the way to Transfiguration He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”� After hearing the opinion of others, Christ asked His disciples to give the answer. Peter gave the answer that satisfied the Master, who then said, “Upon this truth will I build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”� He also said unto Peter, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto you, but my Father which is in Heaven.”� He means to say to Peter, “If you are so in communion with the Father and receive such revelation, it will be safe for me to give unto you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.”�

It was on the day of Pentecost that the first opportunity presented itself to use the keys that Christ had given him. He used these keys to open to his own nation the door of hope. Three thousand were added unto the believers when the Holy Spirit came from Heaven on the day of Pentecost to possess, guide, and give power to the disciples of Christ. Peter again had opportunity to use the key to open the door of hope unto the Gentiles at Caesarea when Cornelius and his household were admitted into the church on the same terms with the Jews.

In this verse, all who are regenerated are sealed with the Holy Spirit. This means that Jews and Gentiles who have believed through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and have been received into fellowship with Christ, are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise and have Heavenly authority for their protection. Those who are sealed are under one guide and are of one mind and Spirit with Christ.

Ver. 14. Which is an earnest (pledge) of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of His glory.

Believers receive the certainty that they are heirs and have an inheritance in eternity, not through an assurance from without, but through the teaching of this Holy Spirit by whom they are sealed. The earnest is the seal and something more. This seal by the Holy Spirit is contrasted with the natural seal of circumcision in the flesh which marked the children of the old covenant from Abraham downward, previous to the fulfilment of the promise (Gal. 2:12-14). We bear this in the inmost part of our nature where we are nearest to God. V/e are sealed by the Spirit as sons. A seal is a token of proprietorship put by the owner upon his property.

“Unto the redemption.”� The saints already have a redemption, in the radical sense of acceptance—rescued from condemnation through sonship—but they still look forward to a redemption that will take away the limits that are now upon them through the physical body when they shall come in possession of the glorified body.

“The purchased possession.”� This is God's own possession. We become God's own personal property. This is the Church, the New Man, the Israel of God. It is the property of God for His eternal use and purpose. We who are God's wealth and God's purchased possession do not wait in ignorance as to what the Father purposed in us as to our future state, because through the Holy Spirit, life and immortality has been brought to light. It is indeed a great privilege to know what God has done for us in making us His wealth and His inheritance.

This verse contains some of the most profound truths for minds to think upon and hearts to ponder: (1) God has chosen us, (2) Predestinated us, (3) Accepted us, (4) Redeemed us— made us His Sons, (5) Brought us into fellowship with Him, (6) Gave us an inheritance, (7) Sealed us by the Holy Spirit of promisfe. These are the seven great signs of the believers' present possession received from God through Christ.

QUESTIONS

• What is the key verse of this Epistle?

• Where was Paul when he wrote this Epistle?

• Why is it necessary for the Christian to dwell in the Heavenlies?

• In what sense are we moved into an advanced class as we take up the study of this Epistle?

• From whom do we get redemption?

• What privilege does the Christian enjoy as to the mystery? (Ver. 9.)

• What was it that God purposed in Himself?

• Explain the unity presented in Ver. 10.

• Why do Church members not have the conviction enjoyed by the early Christians? (Ver. 13.)

• If the inheritance is as expressed here, why are Christians not more concerned about it?

3. PRAYER FOR THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF BELIEVERS RESPECTING GOD'S PART OF OUR SALVATION, 1:15-23

There are two great purposes of God set out by the Holy Spirit in this important Church letter. We have learned (1:3) that the will of God is the source of all our blessings, and that the foundation of all blessings is in the purpose of God Himself. The work of Christ is the channel through which these blessings come to us. The witness of the Holy Spirit is the power of its manifestations. It is through this inexhaustible grace of God that we come into these privileges and blessings enumerated by the Apostle Paul. Now the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ is the mystery or secret of His will (1:9), which is here made known. It is made known as far as possible by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul, taking us unto a Throne of grace and there pleading with God that this secret or revelation might be made clear unto all believers. The prayer here will have very little meaning to the believer in whose interest it is offered unless he enters into the study through the Holy Spirit of God's special purpose for him.

We have before stated that in this book there are two great purposes and each of these purposes is followed with a prayer. The first purpose and prayer is as we have it in this chapter, and the second purpose of God in Christ Jesus concerning His Son (3:1-12), is followed by the prayer of 3:14-19.

The purpose of God was two-fold as presented in the first and third chapters. God's great purpose from the beginning was concerning Himself personally and, therefore, He made Christ the Head over all things. All things in Heaven and earth are ultimately to be under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ver. 10). Now in the third chapter we have presented the secret of the purpose of God which is revealed in this age of grace concerning the Church as the spiritual Body of Christ and the members of that Body made one in Him. Let the student realize that there are great blessings in store for all who can enter into communion with God through this prayer, and God is ready to answer the things asked for by all who are worthy of His confidence and trust.

Ver. 15. For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and which ye shew toward all the saints.

This verse shows that Paul had confidence in those to whom he was writing. This he also shows in the former verse when he says, “Ye believe.”� Because of this interest in their salvation and in order to further comprehend the beauties and glories that God has for all who are willing to pay the price, he goes through the channel of prayer to the source where these can be obtained. The Holy Spirit has already led the Apostle into the great truths that we have studied, and now, all who are members of the Body of Christ, are to be led more fully into that union by the comprehension of the blessings enumerated before.

God before the foundation of the world chose us, predestinated us, accepted us, redeemed us, unveiled the mystery unto us, and made us partakers in the inheritance, and sealed us by Heaven's authority. These are the great needs for all believers in Christ and, therefore, the Apostle and all true members of the body of Christ, pray for wisdom and enlightenment.

Ver. 16. Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.

Paul gives thanks to God for all who come in possession of and study this great letter of his on Church doctrine. It is this company of believers whose faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. In this way Paul's love goes from church to church to unite the bonds of faith between land and land. This is a general church letter that is passed from church to church and through a careful study of such purposes of God and prayers that are offered, religious belief will be harmonized, the power of God will be manifested and souls will be won into the Body of Christ.

As we continue to study this prayer we discover that the great subject is power—that surpassing power of God in carrying out His purposes in sending Christ to be the Head of the Body and over all things for the Body.

Ver. 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father (Rom. 6:4). Here the Apostle is speaking of the Incarnate One, the God Man, to whom God is God, the Father full of glory. We are in Christ, we have our standing in Christ, our possession is secured in the Head, and this is really the subject of this first prayer. We are united with Paul that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, might enable us to see what has been set out in the former paragraph by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. We already know in part something concerning our privileges in the Head, but we want to get a little deeper experience and this still clearer vision concerning the special blessings and privileges that are ours in this age of grace concerning a full knowledge (Epegnosis) of Him. In coming in possession of the gifts asked for in this prayer, we will be able to advance from truth to truth and from knowledge to knowledge. This is all beyond what man himself can reason and think out. The things that Paul asks for here can only be received by those who have accepted Jesus Christ through faith and stand justified, therefore, before God to become worthy of further wisdom and revelation.

We know Christ as our Saviour who saves us, however we realize that we are not as fully and completely abiding in His personality as we should be, and, therefore, we long for a - fuller knowledge of Him that we may enter more fully into this mystery and purpose of God in order to enjoy these higher blessings offered us here through this prayer.

Ver. 18. Having the eyes of your heart (understanding) enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

He prays that through this revealed knowledge his hearers may have their eyes enlightened to see the grandeur and wealth of their religion. It is a vision disclosed not to the physical eyes, but to the eye of the heart, which is the true discerner. There may be two men seated side by side in the same house of prayer and at the same gate of Heaven. The one sees Heaven opened. He has the pleasure of hearing the eternal song in the Spirit and the temple is filled with the glory of God. The other hears the same praise, but in a different aspect of the first worshiper. He may hear the music of the organ, and hear the voice of the preacher, but as to anything beyond, he feels no music and drawing from another world. It is no more to him than mere exercise of worship and the music appealing to the outside of life.

Those who obey God's will will have their hearts opened and God daily manifests His love and greatness and the heart responds and breathes out the same attributes received from God. Other hearts do not respond. By not responding to the influences of the eternal they become hardened, their life is of less value and the world is no better for their having passed through it.

“That ye may know what is the hope of His calling.”� This is a very important petition in this prayer. We have asked for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. We are all the time in need of this wisdom and revelation in which things of God and the eternal things of interest to the heart are made more clear, and they are not withheld from any who will each day come into greater possession of the knowledge of Him. Then, with all these blessings, we must be able to know and to comprehend something concerning the hope of His calling. It is knowledge in Him, it is knowledge in His calling, it is knowledge in His inheritance in the saints, and we need knowledge of His power to usward who believe.

What is the hope of His calling? This calling was before the foundation of the world and we are here, not so much concerned about our calling as His calling, because in His calling is our calling. He was called according to the eternal purpose of God from before the foundation of the world and, therefore, while we live in this age of grace, yet our calling is before the foundation of the world, because in His calling we are included. Think of it! We have hope in our Redeemer's calling. If we follow the hope of His calling we are always praying that we may know something of the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. His calling included our calling; His inheritance included our inheritance; His wealth in the saints made our spiritual wealth secure before the foundation of the world. God's inheritance in the saints here is that which makes Him rich. Christ's death gave Him a right to the inheritance. Our death in Him gives us a right to share His inheritance. This inheritance is God's habitation. He is building for Himself through the Head, Christ, and the Body, a dwelling place. God sets great store by us, His children, and counts Himself rich in our affections and our service. How deeply it ought to effect us to know that God's inheritance is in the saints and His possession in believing men. It is true that God spared not His own Son for our salvation, and now He has sealed us with the Holy Spirit. He did all this before the foundation of the world that we might be His saints, and He must set upon these saints an infinite value. The saints that were and are in the earth are earth's riches.

Ver. 19. And what the exceeding (surpassing) greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to that working (energy) of the strength of his might.

The exceeding greatness of this power is a worthy object of a profound insight to those who believe. It is only those who admit and consent to these conditions set out by the Apostle in the Scripture who can be counted of real value to God and numbered with His inheritance.

Paul is praying here concerning this mighty power of God and that the saints might have great knowledge concerning God as to eternal life, future inheritance and specifically and definitely about God's power. This no doubt refers to the power that God manifested in raising Christ from the dead. The same or similar power, according to the teaching of the Word (2: 5), He exercised upon us in raising us up who were dead in trespasses and sin.

Ver. 20. Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places.

Christ was raised; we were raised. This ought to give us a new insight into the value of our standing in Jesus. You are not in Christ Jesus through that which is natural, but supernatural. Just as God's mighty power was required to lift the body that was put to death on the cross out of the tomb that was sealed by the Roman Government, so God's mighty power was exercised when we were dead in trespasses and sins in lifting us out of sin and death. If Christ's rising from the dead was miraculous, our rising from the dead was miraculous and thus through our union with Christ we have eternal life.

God not only used His power in raising His Son from the dead and in raising all the members of the Body from the dead, but He also set His Son at His own right hand in the Heavenlies, and since Christ our Redeemer has gone back unto the Father and is a citizen of the Heavenlies, then we who are in Christ, raised from the dead, are also, by the power of God, seated with His Son in the Heavenlies (2:6).

Ver. 21. Far above all rule (principality), and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world (age), but also in that which is to come.

Two thoughts are conveyed: First, subordinate^, the existence of orders and authorities in the angelic (as well as the human) world. Then primarily, the imperial and absolute headship of the Son over them all. The additional thought is given (as by Col. 1:16) that He was also, in His preexistent glory, their Creator, but this is not in definite view here where He appears altogether as the exalted Son of Man after death. He was exalted above all the Heavenly beings and there seated by God at His own right hand. Our Risen One now abides in the Heavenlies. Christ was seen of His Apostles forty days after He had risen, and when He ascended they stood gazing up into Heaven and were told by Heavenly messenger that he would return again (Acts 1:11). Paul's faith saw the risen Christ as passing through and beyond successive ranks of angelic powers until there was in Heaven no grandeur which He had not left behind. Christ is the founder of this new creation, this new society of which He is the Head, and as He rules, all are interested in Him as the ruler of the Body with thrones and princedoms beneath His feet. Christ is given to the Church, the Head over all things, the Lord of the created universe, therefore He is no longer subject to any rule, or any principality, or any power or might, being supreme over all powers that be. In the closing up of this age and the age to come, all authority will be in His hand.

Ver. 22. And he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church.

We have the Christ exalted to universal authority. God made Him Head over all things as He is of the Church.

Ver. 23. Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

The prayer invites us to participate and enjoy the fellowship in the heights of His glory. He is the Head of the Church, His Body. No matter where Christ is, we are in Him and He in us. Christ prayed on the night before He was crucified, “O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was”� (John 17 : 5).

We have studied this prayer. We can only get from the prayer our own needs by allowing the Holy Spirit to pray this prayer for us. In this way we come into possession of the knowledge of Him and fully understand the greatness of His power to usward who believe. Our Saviour's brow, once crowned with thorns, now wears the diadem of universal sovereignty and that hand once nailed to the cross now holds the scepter of unlimited power. He who once was bleeding on the cross and lay in the tomb, has ascended to His Father's throne. He is to be above all and to have all His enemies put under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25). He whom the world crucified—the second Adam—has become worthy through death, resurrection, ascension, and dominion to receive from His Father's hand the seal which no one can break. Adam, through sin and death, lost the inheritance of the world and Christ, through death, resurrection, ascension, and dominion is made worthy and receives from His Father's hand the inheritance forfeited by the first Adam. All who are in Christ are made worthy to participate in this inheritance because of His sacrifice and our faith in Him.

QUESTIONS

• What reason had Paul for giving thanks? (Ver. 15.)

• What did Paul think these Christians needed? (Ver. 17.)

• What gifts may be obtained through prayer? (Ver. 17.)

• If we have wisdom and revelation, whom may we know better?

• Why do we need to be enlightened?

• Whose calling is referred to in Ver. 18?

• What was God's real inheritance?

• Who raised Christ from the dead?

• Are you alive in Christ through God's power?

• Where is Christ since His ascension?

• Over what has He dominion?

• Of what is He the head?