EPHESIANS 1 (FIRST READING, PROBABLY AT TEIGNMOUTH)
EPHESIANS 1 (FIRST READING, PROBABLY AT TEIGNMOUTH)
CAC We have in this epistle the whole unfolding of what is for the divine pleasure. We all know that the epistles to the Romans and to the Ephesians are the two great presentations of positive truth: the one gives us the ministry of the gospel and the other the ministry of the assembly. The ministry of the gospel shows what there is for man and the ministry of the assembly shows what there is for divine Persons.
We get a setting forth here of what is for the divine pleasure; that company which is called to such peculiar privilege is the company of many sons which form the assembly. It is what God has proposed from all eternity; it has been a deliberate matter with God. The thought of choosing before the world’s foundation implies the deliberate choice of God, His purpose and His counsel. The word ‘counsel’ implies deliberation, it is not a thing done on the spur of the moment. It was the profound consideration of the blessed God as to what He was about to do for His own pleasure; we get here, “Holy and blameless before him”, and when it is a question of sonship, it is to Himself. It is a great thing for us to get hold of the fact that it is the blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ deliberating and considering in eternity what would be adequate to satisfy Himself, His own nature, in every way. In relation to God, counsel supposes a certain deliberation as to what is to be done; this thought is suggested on more than one occasion — He says to the [p. 2] children of Israel in the wilderness when they sinned, “Put off thine ornaments from thee, and I will know what I will do”, Exodus 33: 5. Think of God considering and deliberating, in the repose of eternity, what would satisfy His own mind and heart. It must be to have a people holy and blameless before Him in love, that is in the divine nature, morally suitable to Him. For the satisfaction of His heart relationship must be introduced; He must have sonship; He has marked us out beforehand for sonship. It is by Jesus Christ that God can bring everything to pass for His own pleasure. Jesus Christ is the One equal to bring it about; God has His own anointed Man who is able to bring it about. Think of a people in the conscious blessing of all this. God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ”. This is not in purpose. It is in purpose that He chose us in Christ, but when He blesses us it suggests a company in the conscious joy of it.
Rem That would not be till the Spirit had come down?
CAC Quite so, and not till that had come to pass which was the fruit of the Spirit’s coming down; the Spirit had His way with the saints in Ephesus. The fulness of all God was proposing could only be brought to a people who had a certain capacity to receive it. I do not think the epistle to Ephesus could have been sent to Corinth! There was a state of things at Ephesus which enabled the Lord through His servant to bring out this wonderful unfolding of the fulness of all that was in the mind and heart of God. It all depends on the presence of the Comforter, but at Ephesus things had taken such a course that there was a suitability for this to be unfolded to the saints there. Paul had laboured there and Timothy had been left there in order that the teaching and exhortations of Paul should take effect, and the first epistle to [p. 3] Timothy had taken effect so the house of God was seen in order at Ephesus. To an assembly in order the fullest blessing could be opened out, so it is a good thing for us to be orderly. If we read the epistles to the Corinthians, Galatians or even Colossians, there is something adverse or corrupting to be considered, but we do not get that in Ephesians; there is no adverse element present, so the fulness of all that is in the heart and mind of God can be brought out. The apostle turns to prayer on two occasions; it is only by prayer that we can get what he prays for. There are some things that can only be had by prayer; when things are put in the form of prayer, it suggests that is the way to arrive at them.
Ques Do heavenly blessings come through the burnt-offering aspect of the death of Christ? It is mentioned in chapter 5.
CAC The burnt-offering is connected with the walk of the saints there: “Walk in love, even as the Christ loved us, and delivered himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour” (chapter 5: 2). It stands in relation to what the saints are on earth for the pleasure of God — that is how it is presented in Scripture. It is the new ground of acceptance for a people on earth, and it was the supreme expression of love on the part of Christ as found here for the pleasure of God. The burnt-offering is to be perpetuated in the saints; they are to walk in the same character, a character of sacrificial love in which one is prepared to suffer and surrender for the benefit of our fellow saints. I should think the heavenly blessings are connected with the sin-offering, because its blood went into the holy place; the blood of the burnt-offering never did. The sin-offering meets the glory of God in such an absolute way as to leave the blessed God a perfectly free hand so that He can have a company for heavenly blessing or for earthly blessing.
[p. 4] He can do according to the good pleasure of His will because the sin-offering has so completely met His glory.
Ques Do we get the sin-offering in Ephesians? Would it be in verse 7?
CAC I think not. Of course redemption could not be apart from the sin-offering, but the apostle has developed the sin-offering in Romans, and it was not necessary to go over it again. He has set the blessedness of the sin-offering before us in Romans 3; Christ is there set forth, a mercy-seat on God’s behalf through faith in His blood — that is the sin-offering. The character of the sin-offering is world-wide; it has a universal bearing because the blood is on the gold — on the mercy-seat, the throne of God. The glory of God in all its fulness is met by the blood of the sin-offering — that is the blood on the gold. The blood brought such eternal satisfaction to God of every claim necessitated by the condition which has come in through sin, so that God can carry out the good pleasure of His will, can justify sinners, can bring Israel into earthly blessing in the world to come, can bless the nations and in the assembly have a company in heavenly blessing. The blood of the sin-offering has met the glory of God, and based on it God can show Himself rich in mercy. In verse 7 it is the Person who is emphasised and though the blood is mentioned, it is in the Person that we have redemption. In verse 3 the blessings are in Christ, in verse 4 we are chosen in Him, and it is through Jesus Christ we are marked out for sonship, it is in the Beloved we are taken into favour, and we have redemption in Him. It is the greatness of Christ brought before us as the One by whom God can fill His own heart with delight and His universe with blessing; He has a Person great enough to do that. In this chapter we get faith in Christ in that character; not only as the Saviour who died to save poor sinners, but faith in Christ as the One great [p. 5] enough to fill the universe with divine pleasure; if He can do that He can fill my heart. The greater includes the less.
It is not the doctrine of the saints’ acceptance in Christ here, but it is the Person of the Beloved that is before the heart, and the heart is consciously graced in Him. It is a great thing to get this Person before us.
God has chosen us in Christ to be holy and blameless before Him in love; that is what is suited to God as such. That corresponds with the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, but sonship corresponds with the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In John 20 the Lord says, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God”. There is a difference in the thought of His Father and God. If it is the thought of God everything must be morally suited to Him, there must be holiness and blamelessness, and the divine nature too. I think priesthood comes in in connection with “My God and your God”, and sonship in connection with “My Father and your Father”; not that John develops sonship, but Paul does.
Ques Are the two prayers in Ephesians on that line? The first is to the God of glory and the second to the Father.
CAC That is it exactly. The two things go together: moral suitability is one thing, holiness, blamelessness and the divine nature; and on the other hand there is the relationship of sons, marked out beforehand for sonship. It is according to the good pleasure of His will to have us intelligent in what is a delight and joy to His heart — to have sons before Him. It is a profound pleasure to Him, it satisfies Him to have sons. It is to the praise of the glory of His grace. The transcendent character of His grace comes out; He graces us in the Beloved. There is a glorious Person before the face of God and the Father, He is designated the Beloved. The delight and love of God [p. 6] and the Father centre in that glorious Man, and the saints are privileged to know what it is to be graced in Him.
Ques Is it like John 17?
CAC “The glory which thou hast given me I have given them” is sonship. The glory is that in manhood He takes the place of Son; the place is given to Him so He can give it to others. He could not give what belonged to Him in eternity in the Godhead, but having this glory given to Him in manhood, the place of sonship before the Father, He can give it to others. We never get right thoughts of sonship save as seeing the place Christ has as Man. He has come into manhood and has taken such a place with His God and Father as no other man could. We have to learn the place of sonship in Him; we are marked out for it. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the great Operator from eternity, and He has marked us out for it beforehand.
It is a wonderful thing that God should have a people set free to enter with wisdom and intelligence into all He has before Him; that is all connected with sonship. Redemption and forgiveness come in to make us perfectly free to enter into these great thoughts that God has before Him. “The mystery of his will” (verse 9) is that He is going to bring everything in heaven and earth to centre in Christ; He is going to head up everything in Christ. What a wonderful thought it is that we are set free by redemption and the knowledge of forgiveness so that we might enter with wisdom and intelligence into it all. Think of the greatness of Christ! There is a scene of confusion in heaven; Satan and his angels are there, and on earth there is lawlessness, so that both heaven and earth are in disorder. God is going to put it all in order by Christ, and is going to make everything centre in Christ for His satisfaction. What a glorious Person!
Ques Is it like Joseph’s blessing?
CAC Yes. “Unto the bounds of the everlasting hills”, Genesis 49: 26. You could not get beyond that, the blessings of heaven and earth. That is exactly what you do get here: a Man exalted at God’s right hand is great enough to put the universe in order. If a poor sinner is in distress about sins you point him to Christ. One great enough to put heaven and earth in accord and make them answer to God’s will is great enough to save me or any poor sinner.
Ques What are the riches of His grace? (verse 8).
CAC There is no expense too great for the wealth of His grace; that comes out in the blood. No price is too great for the blessed God to pay. The blood of this great Person has been shed; God gives any price to secure what He has set His heart on. That brings out the wealth of the grace of God; that is the riches of His grace. But the glory of His grace comes out in sonship. What a sight for the angels! They are sons of God, but they are not in sonship like the assembly. They are astonished and are waiting to see the assembly; they have heard a lot about it but they have not seen it. They will see it when it is presented a glorious assembly. There will be the presentation to Himself before the assembly is presented to the universe, before He displays the assembly to the universe and shows ‘to wondering eyes that we with Him are one’. Before that He is going to present her to Himself, and she will be glorious, without a spot or wrinkle, not a mark of decrepitude or decay, not a single trace of unsuitability will be left. It is not only the result of redemption but the result of the washing of water by the word, and the nourishing and cherishing — she is going to come out as a glorious assembly.
Ques What is the “fulness of times”?
CAC It takes in all that we speak of as the world to come. Everything in heaven and earth will be caused to [p. 8] centre in Christ, to take character from Christ — that is the mystery of His will. It has been hidden a long time. It looks as if the devil did what he liked with heaven and earth, but it is not so at all! All is going to centre in Christ. There is a people who have pre-trusted in Christ; they have trusted beforehand, before things come into display in a day of glory. The remnant of Israel has pre-trusted before Israel as a whole has trusted in Him. The time is coming when Israel will trust, and the gentiles will trust, but there is a special company who have pre-trusted; the saints on earth in the blessed secret of all Christ is going to be for the pleasure of God have trusted in this character. I think Paul links himself with the Jewish remnant who have trusted in Christ before the day of His glory while He is in reproach and rejection. It is that which gives a peculiar character to the present time; there is a people on earth in the time of His rejection who have trusted Him in regard to the place He is going to fill for the pleasure of God. We move through this world in the secret of Christ, God’s anointed Man, who is going to bring to pass everything in heaven and earth for the pleasure of God; that would deliver us completely from the present course of things. This applies more particularly to the Jews who trust in Him beforehand. But then He turns to the gentiles and says, You also have trusted in Him. So it applies to us, we have trusted beforehand, too, in the glory that has not come yet. This is the truth — that everything is to be headed up in Christ; He is great enough to put the whole universe into suitability to the pleasure of God; that is the One we have trusted in. If I have trusted Him as the One who is great enough to put the universe right, I have trusted Him as great enough to put me right, so it is “the glad tidings of your salvation”. The One who can save the universe can save me; it is the glad tidings of salvation. What a Saviour! The Person [p. 9] who can put heaven and earth into suitability for the pleasure of God can put me and all who trust Him into suitability to God now. So we anticipate that day; Christ is great enough to make me right now; He is great enough to make me “holy and blameless”, and great enough to introduce me and all saints into sonship in the presence of God. That is the Christ we trust; we cannot wonder that we are sealed. People with faith in Him are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is given on that line as an earnest of the inheritance. It is in Christ we have the inheritance; everything in heaven and earth is going to be acquired by the Lord Jesus Christ; that is the inheritance. He has acquired possession in title, but not yet by freeing it by power; it has not yet been redeemed. He owns the title deeds; He has acquired possession as far as title goes, but He is going to free the inheritance from every encumbrance that rests upon it. It is in that Person that we have the inheritance, so what He has the saints have — we see that in Romans 8. In the interval before its being acquired, the joint heirs are being called, and they are going through suffering; they suffer with Christ and by and by they will be glorified. While they suffer they have for their comfort the joy of the inheritance by having the earnest of the Spirit. Before the inheritance is possessed in an outward way the joy of it is in the hearts of the saints by the Spirit; He is a part of it, the earnest of it; He brings the joy and blessing of the inheritance into the hearts of the suffering saints while they are waiting for redemption of the inheritance. That is the aspect of the Spirit here, not a seal to make me sure I am going to heaven.