READINGS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (3)
READINGS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (3)
JT It may perhaps help to point out that in the first ten verses of chapter 2 we have detailed the work of God in taking us out of a state of death in trespasses and sins and placing us in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus; and that in the remaining verses we have what has taken place here on earth historically, so that the end is not heaven but the habitation of God here. In regard to the latter, we are seen as once nations in the flesh and uncircumcised, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. That is what we were. Now we are fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of God. That is what has taken place here on earth; what we were previously, and what the assembly is in relation to the testimony on earth now. Our immediate calling, therefore, is our place in the house.
RSS Are the first ten verses true of us now?
JT We were pointing out this morning that from the beginning of verse 15 of the first chapter to the end of verse 10 of the second we have the whole work of God, both as to Christ and the assembly; the full result of His work, without any reference to the time it has taken to accomplish it, whereas in the second half of the second chapter it is what has come to pass on earth — Jews and Gentiles brought into unity, and having access to God by the one Spirit, and being made fellow citizens of the saints and of God’s household.
FL In accord with that, it is the temple and not the tabernacle. “Being built together increases to a holy temple in the Lord”. That has the earth in view.
JT [p. 181] Yes, so that in the first part of the second chapter the end in view as to position is that we should sit down together in the heavenlies; whereas in the second part the end in view is the house of God down here.
RSS The question is often asked, are we set down in the heavenlies now?
JT We are the habitation of God now actually, but we are not in the heavenlies actually but anticipatively. The first half refers to the work of God viewed abstractly. It is viewed as God’s work in its completeness, and is therefore anticipative.
RSS Would it be right to say that, while not there actually, we may be there in spirit?
JT We may be there in spirit surely, since our place is in heaven. The fact that we have a place there gives us our dignity, qualifying us for the house on earth. I think our every association is bound up with our place there, and it lends dignity and colour to our place in the house here. Therefore, the house is in that way a heavenly institution, composed of persons whose calling and place are in the heavenlies. The first half of the chapter lends dignity and character to the second.
FL I think that is supported in the opening of the epistle, where we get sonship, which is connected with the heavenly position and calling; then after the mention of access to the Father and our being of the household, we get, “Be imitators of God as dear children”. Our position here as children of God is influenced by the light of sonship.
RSS As to having been raised together and made to sit together, it is said as though it were so now; He hath raised us, hath made us sit together.
JT God speaks of things in that way, as though they were; things that be not as though they are. It is, as I apprehend, the whole work of God as to [p. 182] the assembly.
RSS You make that very clear. It is not a question of time, but you get a view of the whole work of God. It is delineated for us here.
JT So, as to the working out of the thing in detail, it includes every item of God’s work in the assembly from the coming of the Spirit to the rapture, but it is presented as already accomplished, so as to show us the fulness of God’s work on account of His great love wherewith He loved us. If God is to show what He can do, as the full result of His great love wherewith He loved us, you would expect Him to give it all. It is not a question of whether I am in it or whether you are. It is God showing the full effect of His work on account of His great love wherewith He loved us. In carrying it out He does it on the principle of association; that those who are the subjects of His work are set in relation to Christ and to each other. We are quickened together with Christ and then raised up together and made to sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ. You have the idea of association all the way through. That is how He carries it out, and we know in our experience that it is so. The work that He accomplishes in us is on that principle.
Rem In Ephesians it is God carrying on His work. The wilderness, and our side is ignored.
JT Yes. He carries out His work in us in relation to others on the principle of association. The wilderness typified the experimental side.
FL Unless we can really in our minds touch the assembly in that way, and see it complete, without reference to time, we must always be defective in our apprehension of it. We have to see it in its fulness in that way, and looked at as absolutely complete.
JT Yes, and then we come to what is taking place here on earth. We are reminded of what we were and where we were, the distance at which we were from God, and the apostle details how God has [p. 183] brought about reconciliation, that the enmity has been removed, and reconciliation has taken place in one body. He has reconciled both in one body by the cross. All this has taken place here on earth.
ARS Would the effect of our entering into this truth in chapter 1:1 - 10, be that we should act in the light of it as forming the house?
JT That is the idea; that in the house of God you act in the dignity of your heavenly position. You see you are in the house not simply as recovered, not simply on the ground of righteousness; you are in it as having a place in heaven, which gives you dignity.
ARS Viewing us as seated in the heavenlies, is that the reason it is said here, “By grace ye are saved”, because it is viewing the whole thing complete?
JT Yes, it is not only salvation from judgment, but from place. You have a new place in heaven, and so you are delivered from earth.
ARS What you say makes it plain to my mind, but is not the whole assembly brought before us, those that are gone, those that are here, and perhaps those to come? It is true of the whole assembly of God. So that you can say in one way you are there in spirit already, and you act in the full light of it?
JT I think we are entitled to take that ground as before God. That is our place. When together in assembly we are entitled to that place, because God has given it to us. It helps in the chapter to see that the terminus, so to speak, in the first half is heaven, whereas the terminus in the second half is the house of God on earth. It is the second half of the chapter that is alluded to in the beginning of chapter 4, where he exhorts the saints to walk worthy of the calling, because he immediately goes on to say: “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit”. That refers to what is here in the [p. 184] house.
FL And so in chapter 5, “Walk in love”. It all flows out of that point of view.
AAT Will the house come to an end in time?
JT I should scarcely like to say that, because the idea of the house goes on. The tabernacle of God is with men. It never ceases as viewed in that sense, but as we are now, we are the house of God on earth provisionally; that is what the Ephesian saints were; they were built together, that word is emphatic. They were built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. They were that on earth, and I think it is provisional. We do not continue to be that on earth.
AFM Would the thought of the house have a wider place in the kingdom?
JT It will have a place in the millennium. The idea of the house runs right through from the time God introduced it to Jacob in Genesis 28:17. It is never given up, but continues. Whether we form it or others, it continues, but one can easily see that the house now is superior to what it ever has been or ever will be, on account of the dignity of those who compose it.
CAM Would the thought of increase be in growing, continuing? Is it a present thing?
JT It “groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (chapter 2:21). The thing is growing in that way. There is growth. Growth is in the divine nature. It is growth unto a holy temple in the Lord. That, I suppose, is what we shall be in the future. All the light of God will be there. It is that in which men are to inquire in the future.
RSS Will not that be complete at the rapture?
JT I have no doubt it will be.
AFM The house is complete at the present time. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle when it was complete. And we are said to be indwelt now by the Spirit, “builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (verse 22). That is complete [p. 185] now.
JT Yes. There is that here in which God can dwell, “a habitation of God in the Spirit”. I think we have a broader presentation of the house in this passage than in any other. It is the full idea of the house of God, “a habitation of God in the Spirit”.
FL That necessarily involves reconciliation and one new man, or you could not have that presentation of the house down here.
JS Does this correspond to mount Zion? God said, “here will I dwell” (Psalm 132:14). God chose mount Zion for a dwelling place?
JT I think it does. Directly David has taken Jerusalem he brings up the ark and forms a place for it in mount Zion, and this runs parallel with Psalm 132 “here will I dwell, for I have desired it”. It is God’s desired place.
Ques Would you say the presentation of the house in this book is similar to that in Hebrews?
JT Hebrews states that the saints are God’s house and Christ is Son over it, but we have a broader thought here. In Hebrews the saints are said to be God’s house as a fact, and Christ is Son over it, as having built it, and Christ is a great Priest over it, so that we can come near to God; but you have fuller thoughts here. Look at the way it is presented, in verse 19; it is said, “ye are no longer strangers and foreigners, but ye are fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of God”. That is one thought. Then, “being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the corner-stone, in whom all the building fitted together increases to a holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit”. I think the idea of the house of God in Hebrews is more official, but here the word “habitation” is a somewhat stronger word. God is actually dwelling there. All that God is in His attributes [p. 186] rests there. There is nothing to mar or disturb the divine attributes in the house.
FL In Hebrews 3:6 it is conditional. It is: “If we hold fast”.
CHB Do we get the thought here as to the holy temple, “there will I commune with thee”?
JT The idea of the temple was, I think, that it was a place of light, of communications, a place to be inquired at.
RSS What are we taught in the Scriptures in connection with the house and the eternal state?
JT “The tabernacle of God is with men” (Revelation 21:3). The divine thought is that He should dwell with men. It does not seem to be mediatorial, as in the wilderness, the habitation is not surrounded by a court, and there is no veil. It is rather as seen in 1 Kings. God dwells immediately with men. In the house that Solomon reared up according to 1 Kings there is no veil. There are folding doors. It is figuratively the immediate presence of God without a veil.
FL You get the idea in Revelation 21; “tabernacle” expresses the idea that God dwells there immediately. That is the supreme eternal thought.
JT It corresponds with what the Lord was here. The tabernacle of God with men is parallel with the Word become flesh and dwelling among us. He was approachable. God was there dwelling among men; (John 1:14).
Ques You used the word provisional in connection with God dwelling. Is that because of the evil around now?
JT It is because conditions in Israel do not afford Him a dwelling. The dwelling place begins with Jacob, but Israel does not now afford conditions for the house, hence God has taken it up provisionally in the assembly, but it will revert to Israel. That God [p. 187] would have a house here shows what He is. He loves to be with men, hence He dwells with them.
FL One thought as to the temple is that the building itself has importance and attracts attention. The idea in the tent is simply that of a covering, so that the great point is who dwells there. Therefore the beauty of Revelation 21, that the final state is a tabernacle.
JT Quite so. The temple, I think, is mediatorial. It is here said to be “in the Lord”, and it scarcely goes on to the eternal state of things, because then there is no distance, no need of holiness outside in the eternal state of things. Here it grows to a holy temple in the Lord. Therefore, you can readily see the temple looks on to the millennium; it is mediatorial. A habitation conveys nearness and accessibility.
FL So in the eternal state holiness is the natural atmosphere, so to speak.
JT You do not need to assert it.
WB Did the apostle have in his mind the house as presented here when he wrote to Timothy: “These things I write to thee, hoping to come to thee more quickly; but if I delay, in order that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house” (1 Timothy 3:14,15)?
JT That epistle fits in with this passage. This is the presentation of the house in its highest form. 1 Timothy shows how you are to conduct yourself in it.
AFM You said something about the house as according to the attributes of God.
JT The facts presented in the Acts as to the work at Ephesus would show that conditions for the house as it is presented here were there. Of course we are all in the house, but the question is whether we are equal to it; whether there is that in which God can rest. That is a feature of the dwelling place.
[p. 188] TA Declension set in at the highest point, declension of affection in Ephesus. Thus the idea of the house there ceased.
FL There is a distinction between the assembly, His body, at the end of the first chapter, and the house.
JT In the end of the first chapter He is said to be “head over all things to the assembly, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all”. The thought conveyed there is that the reciprocal affections between Christ and the assembly are intended to influence all below. All in the entire realm of the dispensation of the fulness of times is to be influenced from the top by the affections that are reciprocated between Christ and the assembly. So that one can understand what a great conception it is that in the future, in the fulness of times, all the different families come under that influence, just as in any household where affections are mutual between the husband and wife the children come under the influence of them.
FL It is interesting in that connection to see that in the passage quoted in 1 Timothy, the house of God and the assembly are linked together, and then it goes on, “God has been manifested in flesh”.
RSS You mention the end of the first chapter only, but our brother raised a question as to the difference between the end of the first and the end of the second.
JT It is quite clear that the end of the first chapter has reference to the future, that which God has in His mind to head up, placing Christ as Head over all things to the assembly. Mark that it is said, to the assembly. It is not here Head of the assembly, but Head to it. In Colossians He is Head of it, but here He is Head to it.
RSS What is the distinction?
JT The distinction can be illustrated in the relation of the husband to the wife in regard of the [p. 189] household. When they are by themselves he is head of her, but in regard of the children, of the household, he is head to her. That is, she is not under him. She has part in the headship, only subject of course; she occupies a different place from any of the children however advanced. Christ is “head over all things to the assembly”. She is qualified, formed intelligently, so that there is intelligent communion between Christ and the assembly. Mark the change of word; He is Head to the assembly, which is His body. Assembly suggests the thought of counsel.
ANW The assembly is complete there; she is the fulness. She is the fulness of Him.
PHP Is this not the original thought in helpmate?
JT You go back to Genesis 2 for the primary thought.
PHP She is to help, and the word “help” suggests what you say.
JT The idea is that Adam was to have one his like, or his counterpart. Eve was capable of entering into Adam’s thoughts. She was capable, as it were, of taking counsel, entering into his counsels and thoughts. I do not know whether the word confidante is a legitimate word to use, but it conveys a thought of the assembly’s relation to Christ, as seen here. No other creature could have this place.
FL It is a primary thought. It was not to meet conditions occasioned by sin.
RSS Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). As a brother once remarked, “This is myself over again”.
JT Quite so. He says, “This time”, referring back to the other creatures brought to him.
RSS Quite so. So the end of Ephesians 1 is the body, and the end of chapter 2 is the temple. Is that your point?
JT Yes, the end of the second chapter is the assembly’s relation with God, what we are as regards God; whereas in the end of the first it is what we are as regards Christ. It is not the habitation of Christ, but the habitation of God by the Spirit.
FL When the question is of conduct in the house, the assembly is spoken of, not the body of Christ.
Rem So God has something and Christ has something. God has the house, and Christ has the body.
AFM It would encourage us to review the ways of God with us now, as being educational, in view of this wonderful position in association with Christ by-and-by.
JT Quite so. It is a wonderful position. Think of the influence, on all the other families, of the reciprocation of affection such as exists between Christ and the assembly!
Coming now to chapter 3, the apostle calls attention to his own place as a minister. He wishes the Ephesians to understand his knowledge of the mystery, and what I think should be observed is that the mystery comes within the bound of time. We were noting this morning that our proper calling is before the foundation of the world, but when you come to chapter 3 I think you will observe it is from the foundation of the world.
RSS Yes, it is said “which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God”.
JT Yes, it is “throughout the ages” here, or from eternity, which means the same thing.
Rem In Romans 16:25, it reads: “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith”.
JT The mystery has reference to time. I am [p. 191] not of course denying that it was in God’s mind before, but the working out of the mystery belongs to time. The third chapter runs right on to the assembly being the vessel of God’s glory throughout all ages.
FL We reach one climax in the previous chapter, and then at the end of the third chapter we reach another, that which has its origin in counsel from before the foundation of the world and continues to eternity. It serves a purpose in the ages, and the climax of that purpose is seen at the end of the third chapter, glory to God is there.
JT It is the vessel in which God’s glory is, a wonderful end in that way.
FL At this present time the principalities and powers in the heavenlies see in the assembly the all-various wisdom of God, by looking down. In the world to come the earth will see the all-various wisdom of God in the assembly by looking up.
JT Yes, quite so, but how great is the conception now, and how great the administration committed to Paul, that there should be brought about through his ministry that in which the all-various wisdom of God should be seen on earth! One can understand why he bowed his knees. The thing was so great, so magnificent, that he bowed his knees. He does not say he bowed his knees in the first chapter, in regard of his prayer. The weight of it is more upon him here.
WB What do the principalities and powers in the heavenlies refer to?
JT I think it refers to angelic beings, that God would work out before them something infinitely beyond anything they had previously witnessed. They had seen the foundation of the earth laid, and they had rejoiced in it. They had seen the birth of Christ, and they praised God in connection with that. They had also witnessed His wonderful work in Israel, in taking Israel out of Egypt, the formation [p. 192] of the tabernacle, etc., but in the mystery they would see the all-various wisdom of God.
RJC Do the principalities and powers discover things as they view the assembly?
JT I think they see how God will govern the universe in the future. It is to be governed through affection. They understand how the physical system is maintained, a wonderful thing it is surely! How the worlds were framed and are maintained is beyond us. The angels are witnesses of all this, but there is no affection or intelligence in the great physical bodies in the creation. These things are all inanimate, without consciences and without hearts. They are all by weight and measure, as we say. That is the principle in the physical creation, weight and measure. The angels are cognizant of all this. They could teach us astronomy, no doubt. There is wonderful wisdom seen in the material creation, but the all-various wisdom of God was reserved for the mystery. It works out in connection with family relationships and the affections that are suited to them. That is, I think, what the angels see. Therefore, they learn how things are to be accomplished in the future. The regulation of the moral system is in all-various wisdom.
FL Therefore the apostle bows his knees to the Father, of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named. He names according to moral worth every family in heaven and on earth. It emphasises His position as Father.
JT You see in the book of Job how God calls Job’s attention to the physical creation. There were wonders in it, wonders far beyond Job’s ken. He could not compass them. The book of Proverbs develops wisdom in connection with affections, for the speaker is a son. He was his father’s son, the only one of his mother, tender and beloved. Wisdom is worked out in connection with affections flowing [p. 193] from this relationship. When you come to this passage in Ephesians 3, Paul says. “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father”. He has created all things. He does not bow to the Creator exactly, but to the Father, of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named; not the naming of the sun, moon and stars, but of families.
WB In Genesis 8 we have a certain promise that God gave Noah, that while the earth lasted, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, should not cease. There is a physical order which God has promised will be maintained, but when you come to what is before us now we have the moral side, the affection side.
FL Every moral being that is left in this universe is brought under God as Father, and that is a wonderful end.
ANW In the physical scene a man like David was reminded of the bridegroom; (Psalm 19).
JT They are types. The invisible things are seen in the things made, even His eternal power and divinity, but not His love, nor the response to it. You do not get the paternal idea, the descending affection, in these things, but when you come to the Father of whom every family in heaven and on earth is named you have this.
AFM Is there any connection between what you were saying and the additional words in the first chapter? In the first chapter it is “Father of glory”, and here it is simply “the Father”.
JT I think the apostle has more the paternal side in mind here. In the first chapter it is “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory”. He is the Author or Source of glory, but here He is the Father of families. They are intelligent beings.
FL I suppose Christ dwelling in our hearts and our being rooted and grounded in love is the way in [p. 194] which we are in the appreciation of the relationships in which we are set.
JT Christ dwelling in the heart. It is “the Christ” here, which brings in another thought, namely, that He is now in our hearts as the One by whom God effects everything. The woman of Samaria said, when the Christ is come He will tell us all things. She had discerned that He was a prophet, but did not discern that He was the Christ, but she really understood that when the Christ should come He would tell her all things. We may add to that, that He accomplishes all things. It is such an One as that, that is in the hearts of the saints.
AAT Will you just distinguish between “Christ in you the hope of glory”, as presented in Colossians, and what we have here?
JT I do not think the article is there. Colossians 1:27, reads, “to whom God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you the hope of glory”. It is more the Person having a place in them, but here it is “the Christ”, showing that they had Him in their hearts as the accomplisher of things.
A.F.M. Officially?
JT More officially. That is to say, He is the Man who effects things. That is more the thought in Ephesians. That is the Man I have in my heart, the man who accomplishes things for God. In John 4 the connection is remarkable, because “the Christ” is the one who really brings in the worshippers. The Father had sought worshippers. Well, “the Christ” is the one who brings them in, and so here “the Christ”, I believe, gives character to every family. They all come under His touch. You take the group that encircled Him upon earth, He placed His imprint upon them; and so at Pentecost. Through Paul’s ministry, He places His imprint on the assembly [p. 195] in the full idea of it; and I believe the angels receive their character from Christ.
AFM To go on to the thought of Christ accomplishing things, is that what is before the soul in contemplation in the holiest according to Hebrews 10?
JT Pretty much. Entering the holiest you see the Man that is before God, and the Man by whom things are accomplished. That Man is dwelling in our hearts. If the work of God is to go on that Man must have a place in our hearts, and if He has a place in our hearts, He will accomplish things. Others will be affected. He carries on the work of God and accomplishes it.
WLP Is it on our behalf He is accomplishing it?
JT If you do not make room for the Christ things are not accomplished. If Sardis had had the Christ dwelling in the heart by faith, He would not have had to say to them “I have not found thy works complete before my God” (Revelation 3:2). If you give the Christ a place you will have things accomplished.
RJC And if you give Him a place your vision is enlarged.
JT We are to be strengthened by the Father’s Spirit. That makes room for the dwelling place of the Christ. It is a question of inward ability “that the Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts, being rooted and founded in love, in order that ye may be fully able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge; that ye may be filled even to all the fulness of God”. There is the position. The Father strengthens inwardly by the Spirit; the Christ has His place and dwells there; the saints are rooted and grounded in love, and hence are fully able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height. It seems [p. 196] to me that the Christ having His place in the heart we are at the divine centre of operations.
WHF In principle it is the heavenly city.
JT If you could get into the cabinet of any of those nations at war now you would understand the purpose and plans of the government. It seems to me that is the position here, that the Christ has a place in the heart and you see what He is doing.
RJC All His designs are before you. What is this the measurement of?
JT The measurement of the divine system, just as you look into space. Take the physical system, as you look into space there you have the scene of God’s physical operations. Well, who can measure it? We hear of tremendous distances which we cannot take in, but they are there undoubtedly. The same thing applies to the moral system. We are in the centre of it, in that the Christ is dwelling in our hearts. Now you get an idea of measurement. It begins with the breadth and the length, then the depth and height. Evidently you are in the centre. You look up and down and this way and that way, and you are to know it.
JS From this wonderful vantage point.
JT From the vantage point we have through the Christ dwelling in the heart by faith.
Rem Far beyond mount Nebo.
JT That is simply prospective, and you look into the land from the wilderness. But here you are in the divine centre.
ANW “Son, give me thine heart” (Proverbs 23:26). Do you think the end in view is that Christ might fill the heart?
JT Yes. In Proverbs it is: “My son give me thine heart”. Here it is not only filling but dwelling in it.
JS And you are able to look out on all that God has before Him?
JT Hence you are not occupied with what men [p. 197] are doing now. After the Holy Spirit came they spoke about the wonderful works of God.
WB Tell us why the length and breadth come first here.
JT I think you do not measure up to God until you love the brethren. It is a question of love. It is the horizontal first; the breadth and length first.
JS You must be adjusted down here before you can look up.
FL In Revelation 21 there are only the three dimensions. Here there is a fourth dimension given us, there is depth. It refers to the distance downward travelled by Christ, and the height is the distance upward.
RJC And what is the breadth?
Rem You get in the first chapter “love to all the saints”.
JT They understood something of the length and breadth in that way.
Ques In Galatians we get Christ formed in you. Does Christ dwelling in your heart by faith go beyond that?
JT Galatians is a maternal thought. It is the initial idea there. Here it is the full thought, and not only that, but the Man who accomplishes things, the anointed Man, dwells in the heart by faith.
WB Will you say a word about the power that works in us?
JT “To him that is able to do far exceedingly above all which we ask or think, according to the power which works in us”. What one is struck with in Ephesians is the excess. Things are always in excess in Ephesians. He does exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think, but it is in accord with the power that works in us.
FL Would you connect that with “strengthened with power by his spirit in the inner man”?
JT Yes, quite so.