This is indeed a long sentence--the longest, I think, in all Paul's writings. Clause is linked to clause. In the old days when we parsed, and analyzed, and diagrammed sentences, it would have been interesting to see what the student of grammar (or even the teacher) would have done with it. But this apostle is often heedless of literary form and rhetorical and grammatical rules. His message rushes forth like a mighty flood which disdains all confinement and overflows all the banks and channels. It seems he must tell us everything at once. But every uttered clause and phrase and word is fraught with deep and wonderful meaning. This is perhaps the most difficult part of the epistle; but we shall not shirk it, for it was given by the Holy Spirit for our blessing--for teaching, for enlightenment, for encouragement, for our spiritual upbuilding. No--we can not fathom it, for here we are entering upon "the unsearchable riches of Christ"; but by the help of God we shall take what we can get; and it will be worth all our while and effort.

      1. Let us begin with the first statement:

      "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."

      When God's people bless God it is always the response to His blessing which He first bestowed upon us. If David cries out, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name"--it is because he realizes anew what God has done for us--"who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy desire with good things . . ." (Psalm 103.) So, here, Paul's heart overflows with thanksgiving and praise in view of all that God has bestowed upon us. Let every soul that has tasted the mercy and goodness of the Lord break forth in praise and thanksgiving, to bless His Name for evermore. We do far too little of that. We are too prone to forget all His benefits. Yet this is the only return we can make to Him for His goodness to us, and He looks for it.

      But what called forth this outbreak of praise upon God? Because He has "blessed us with every spiritual blessing . . . in Christ." If He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing there never has been nor ever can be any spiritual blessing which is not ours in Christ. It may well be that we have not appropriated them. Most Christians are like men who have a million dollars in the bank, and try to get along pauper's fare. Will the day come when "the house of Jacob shall [5] possess their possessions" (Obad. 17) and the church of the Lord will avail herself of all that is now hers?

      The expression "in the heavenly places" (lit. in "the heavenlies") is found five times in this letter to the Ephesians (1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12) and nowhere else in the Bible. We will defer the discussion of that term until later.

      2. Now let us go on chopping up our long sentence into shorter pieces. The next statement we find (v. 4) is made to depend on the first one by the words "even as"--or, rather, the wonderful declaration of v. 3 finds its explanation in v. 4. The spiritual blessings God bestowed upon us in Christ (v. 3) are given us because before the foundation of the world He chose us in Christ; and this is in line with the purpose of that eternal choice--namely, "that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love." For this end He chose us; and to make this possible He "blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ."

      Some one may be troubled at this, and ask, "Isn't that Calvinism?" Well--we are not interested in "Calvinism," or any other sort of "ism," either to prove it or disprove it. All we are after now is the word of God. Whatever it says, and all that it says, on any subject, is to the simple Christian acceptable and welcome. Only take heed that no unwarranted conclusions be drawn. Note here that it is "in Christ" that God so blessed us and chose us. Just as in choosing Abraham He chose and blessed Abraham's seed after him--so it is in Christ (never as separate from Christ) that God chose us before the world was, and accordingly blessed us. But the offer of the privilege of being "in Christ" stands open today to every man wherever the gospel is preached. (Gal. 3:26, 27.)

      3. We move on to the next statement. (V. 5.) God also "foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself." The word "adoption" has certainly been misunderstood and misused by many. How often we hear it stated that we are "children of God by adoption." That is simply impossible. No man can adopt his own child. And Christians are, "begotten of God" and "born of God." We are children of God by birth, by the "new birth." (John 1:12, 13.) In every instance where it is used in the New Testament the word "adoption" (huiothesia) has reference to promotion to fuller privileges and higher standing. In Rom. 8:18, 19, 23 (and here also) he speaks of our promotion to the glory of perfect sonship. (In Gal. 4:1-6 the apostle uses the term relatively, with regard to those who, under the Law, were as children and minors, but have now, by faith in Christ, become sons.) Thus we, who are now in lowly state and sore trouble by manifold trials and temptations, shall some day [6] stand perfect before Him, in His likeness, and enter in upon all the inheritance and high privilege as God's sons. That is adoption. To this He fore-ordained us "according to the good pleasure of his will." (Comp. Rom. 8:28-30; 1 John 3:1-3.)

      4. Verses 6 to 9 turn about the grace of God. Now grace is God's free lovingkindness to those who have no claim, and pretend to no merit, but come to Jesus just as they are "without one plea." It overtops all our sin (Rom. 5:20). By grace have ye been saved (Eph. 2:8); by grace we are freely justified (Rom. 3:24); and in grace God's justified ones stand (Rom. 5:1, 2). And all that God has done for us, of which we read in verses 3-5, was done "to the praise of the glory of his grace"--that is, that God's glorious grace to sinners may come in for due praise. With this grace He freely be-graced us (this is the literal rendering)--He freely bestowed it on us "in the Beloved" (and we cannot fail to understand who "the Beloved" is.) In Him we also have our adoption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. And further, He made that grace to abound to us in giving us heavenly wisdom and understanding, by making known to us His secret counsels ("the mystery of his will")--first to the apostles, and then to us all through them.

      5. All this, Paul tells us, was in accordance with His good pleasure which He purposed in Christ. Now what is that great purpose and design which God planned to carry out through Christ? It is stated in verse 10, to be "a dispensation of the fullness of the times," when God will sum up, gather up, head up, everything--things in heaven and things on earth--in Christ. To that end He is steadily working. The day will come when His every enemy shall have been made the footstool of His feet and Christ shall be all in all. Then will He surrender the kingdom to God, even the Father, that He may be all in all. (1 Cor. 15:28.)

      6. In verses 12 and 13 the apostle distinguishes between believers from the Jews and believers of the Gentiles (as he does also in other parts of this epistle) but always carefully showing that their standing and privileges in Christ are precisely the same.

      Of the Jewish Christians he says that in Christ they were made a heritage (having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His will); and this to the end that in the Jewish believers, who before hoped in Christ (for to Him the devout Israelite had ever looked forward) should be for the praise of His glory. [7]

      Of the Gentile Christians he says that they also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of their salvation, and having received it by faith ("having also believed") were "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise."

      7. But in v. 14 he speaks without distinction, of all who are in Christ. Speaking of the Holy Spirit (which both Jew and Gentile alike received in Christ) he says that the Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession." And again he reiterates that all this is unto the praise of God's glory.

      Here a new theme is touched upon--the Holy Spirit, as bestowed on the Christian. He is "the Holy Spirit of promise"--i. e., the promised Holy Spirit. He is the seal of God's children by which His ownership of them is established. (Rom. 8:9.) He is the "earnest"--the foretaste, the first installment, the "first-fruits" of our inheritance--for the meanwhile, as we look forward to the day of the complete redemption of God's own possession. (See Eph. 4:30; Rom. 8:23.)

[LOE 5-8]