So anxious is the apostle to prevent our supposing that we can receive grace independently of Christ, that he here specially describes the grace to which he refers as that in which, or by which, God "has graciously favoured us in Christ;" for such is the proper rendering of the Greek word which in the Authorized Version is translated, "hath made us accepted." All the blessings of the Gospel are in the strictest sense gratuitously conferred upon us in Christ, who is preeminently and emphatically "the beloved." But these blessings were not obtained gratuitously by Christ. Though they are free to us, they were not free to him. They are conferred as the result of a ransom price, which He paid when He shed His precious blood upon the cross for our redemption, and in order to procure for us all spiritual blessings, of which the leading and the most comprehensive is the present enjoyment of a sense of His mercy in the forgiveness of our sins. But though the blessings of redemption were purchased at so vast a price, this does not detract from the riches of Divine grace. On the other hand, the grace of God is to be estimated by reference to the infinite preciousness of that blood which was shed in order that grace might be displayed towards us.

Thus where sin abounded, grace does much more abound. But this is not the only attribute of God which thus abounds towards us in the Gospel. In the very communication of that grace, "He hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence." Wisdom refers to the arrangement, prudence to the execution, of the plan which God has devised for the salvation of sinners. That plan has been admirably contrived and carried out, so as to meet the requirements of God's character, to satisfy the demands of His justice, to vindicate His holiness, to establish His truth, to magnify His law, as well as to develope and display His mercy and His love.

Some commentators explain the 8th verse, as referring to the communication of wisdom and prudence to the believer; and look upon the next verse, which speaks of God "having made known unto us the mystery of His will," as intended to illustrate this view of the passage. Under the old dispensation, knowledge was imparted through types and shadows, and much of the purposes of God was concealed from man; but under the new dispensation there is a full and copious revelation of His character; life and immortality are brought to light, and He has abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence. He has given us in the Gospel an abundance of material to enable us to increase in wisdom, and in all spiritual understanding.

9. Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself :

10. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

11. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

12. That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ,

In the 9th and 10th verses we may understand the apostle as giving an illustration of God's abounding towards us in all wisdom and prudence. He has condescended to make known to us what is the grand and ultimate object of His redeeming mercy through Christ-the sublimest mystery that has ever been revealed to man, and such as no human or even angelic intelligence could ever have discovered. And as it could only be known by revelation from God Himself, so was it entirely of His own suggestion. He held no consultation with any of His creatures regarding it; nor did He resolve upon it in answer to our prayers. It was the result of His own free and independent determination. This is stated in three forms in the 9th verse: it was the mystery of His will; it was according to His good pleasure; it was a design which He purposed in Himself; and in the 11th verse He speaks of believers being predestinated to a participation in the blessings connected with this mystery, according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.

But what is this mystery? We are informed of this in the 10th verse. It is, "that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him." By the "dispensation of the fulness of times," we are to understand that perfect system that shall be arranged and established by God in the day of the consummation of all things, referred to in Acts iii. 19-that final and eternal dispensation, to which all previous dispensations in time are subordinate and preparatory, and in which they all converge. During these previous dispensations, the whole creation connected with our world is in a state of physical and moral disorder. All things are like scattered limbs and dissevered members of the human frame. But it is the purpose of God to bring all things together into one body, of which Christ shall be the living head-unto a perfect man, "" unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (chap. iv. 13); for in the everlasting world of glory, Christ shall be the head, the bond of union, the central object of attraction to all creation. Several explanations have been given by commentators of "things in heaven and things in earth," which we need not here enumeWe understand simply, by this description, all the con

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tents of heaven and all the contents of earth. Between these two classes of existences there is now a disagreement and a contrast; but after the day of the consummation of all things, there shall be a correspondence, a symmetry, and a complete moral conformity established between things in heaven and things on earth, as the result of the interposition of Christ, who is the head of the creation of God.

The apostle next states, in the 11th verse, that believers in Christ have been included in the purpose of God to which he had just referred; for the words "in whom" might have been rendered "in which," as if he had said, " in which mystery of his will we have an interest, as heirs of the blessedness to which it refers." Not only is the whole creation waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, as the critical event which is to be the signal for its deliverance from the bondage of the curse; but those also who have received the firstfruits of the Spirit in their justification now, are waiting for their final adoption into the privileges to which they shall be admitted at the time of the restitution of all things. A participation in these privileges is our inheritance as children; "for if children, then are we heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." In his present state, the believer is in his minority; but being a child of God, he has been endowed with an inheritance which shall be conferred upon him when the time appointed by his Heavenly Father has arrived. The first clause in ver. 11 might also be rendered "in whom," or "in which we have been constituted God's heritage." (1 Pet. v. 3.)

Those who are spoken of in the 12th verse as having "first trusted in Christ," or as having placed their hopes in Christ, which includes trusting in Him, are the apostles and Jewish converts who believed the Gospel and became members of the Church before the Gentiles. Those who are saved by trusting in Christ "should be to the praise of His glory." Not only should the glory of God's grace be manifested in and through them, but they also should show forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness into His marvellous light.

13. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.

In the 12th verse the apostle had spoken of Jewish converts to whom the Gospel was first preached; for the command of Christ was to begin at Jerusalem, and consequently the first members of the Church were Jews, for they "first trusted in Christ," or had hope in Christ. Here he addresses himself to Gentile converts-" in whom ye also trusted." The Gospel is

not exclusive. It is good news for every creature; and, although the Jew has a priority, it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him. Christ is a light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as the glory of His people Israel. There is mention made here of the testimony regarding Christ which the members of the Church in Ephesus believed. The apostle gives it two expressive designations-"the word of truth"-"the gospel of your salvation." It is in itself the word of truth, whether the sinner embraces it or not; it is the gospel of salvation to every one that believeth. It comes from the God of Truth, who alone is, and who alone could be, its author. From first to last its subject matter is truth, and it speaks of Him who is not only the way and the life, but also the truth. Every system of religion which has had man for its author contains more or less of error; but the Gospel magnifies, by asserting, the truth of God, because it exhibits a method of rescuing the guilty from the consequences of sin, which, while it dispenses mercy, is in perfect consistency with what His truth, as well as His holiness and His justice, demand. The apostle likewise calls the testimony about Christ which the Ephesian converts heard, "the gospel of their salvation," because it reveals and proclaims to the sinner the glad tidings of redemption through the finished work of Him who was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities -who suffered the just for the unjust, that He might bring us back to God-who is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth-who is our life, our peace, our hope, and in whom alone we have salvation, for there is no other name given under Heaven amongst men whereby we can be saved.

But there is mention made here of how the Ephesians received this testimony: "ye heard"-"ye believed"—" ye trusted," or rested your hope in Christ, to whom this testimony referred. The first step towards a reception of the Gospel is to "hear" it, or to give it a fair, a candid, and deliberate attention, and to endeavour to understand it. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." God has ordained that by the foolishness of preaching He would save them that believe. In this case it was from Paul himself that the Ephesians had heard the Gospel, and he now writes this Epistle to confirm and build them up in their most holy faith. Let ministers of the Gospel learn here that they should be careful that what they preach is "the word of truth," "the gospel of salvation." And let those to whom they preach reflect upon the responsibility that is connected with hearing; for if the Gospel is a savour of life unto life to them that are saved, it is,

on the other hand, a savour of death unto death to them that perish. And for one that hears and is saved, how many receive the grace of God in vain, how many hear and yet are lost? But the Ephesian Christians not only heard, but believed. Unless faith follows after hearing, the Gospel is a testimony against us. He that hears and does not believe, is a greater sinner than if he had not heard at all; for he spurns the mercy, and sins against the love of God; he tramples underfoot the Son of God, and does despite to the Spirit of grace. And what is faith? It is the intelligent assent with which the sinner embraces the record which God hath given of His Son in the Gospel. And because the Gospel speaks of Jesus as the Saviour of sinful man, the sinner who believes its statements must necessarily and immediately repose confidence in Him of whom it speaks. Hence faith and trust must coexist; but they should not be identified or confounded. They are quite distinct. Faith refers to the Gospel which we hear it is the belief of the truth. Trust refers to the person whom the Gospel reveals as a Saviour: it is the confidence which we place in Jesus. But in order that faith, or a belief of the Gospel, should produce trust in Christ, it is necessary that He should be revealed as a Saviour for us and to us. The devils believe what the Gospel tells of a Saviour, but because He is not held forth as a Saviour for them, "the devils believe and tremble." Their faith allows and leads them to say, "I know Thee, who Thou art, the Holy One of God;" but because they can have no interest in His mercy, they look upon Him as a judge and an executioner of merited vengeance, instead of as a Saviour; and whilst the language of confidence which the humble believer employs is this, "I know whom I have believed," and "the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me,' the language of devils can only be such as this-“ What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time ?"

Again, there is mention made here of the consequences flowing from a saving belief of the Gospel on the part of these Gentile Christians:" In whom, also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." Some commentators explain this sealing as having a reference to the miraculous gifts which were conferred upon the Ephesian converts, an account of which we read in the 19th chapter of the Acts :-" While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus; and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they