Ephesians 1:11-14 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance… The connecting thought is the divulging of the purpose of redemption (ver. 9), in which there is development and a consummation (ver. 10). Under successive epochs or dispensations men must occupy different standpoints relative' to the purpose as more or less fully manifested. And there are those to whom it is earlier divulged than to others. The conspicuous instance is that of Jews and Gentiles. There is a special reference here to Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians; and as the entire community of believers are called children (ver. 5), we may indicate the point of priority by the earlier born and the later born. I. THE EARLIER BORN. "In him, I say, 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; to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ." Jewish Christians are described as those who had before hoped in Christ. They did not vaguely hope, but they so grasped the promise of the Messiah that even from Abraham's day they gladly looked forward to him; and as the time drew near they waited for the consolation of Israel. There were a few of them who had stood in a double relation to Christ, first as expectants of his coming, and then as blessed with the object of their hope. They could say in a special sense, "We who before," etc. But the same language could be used by the others (Paul among them) as identifying themselves with the pious of former generations. The hoping in him before he came implies the trusting in him as come, and it is as believers that they were made possessors of the inheritance. It is a theocratic word that is used as suiting Jewish Christians. The theocratic life was saturated with the idea of the inheritance all down the generations. Great importance was attached to the lot in each tribe and family being preserved entire. And now, when the earthly Canaan as a type was fading into the past, were they the first to be put into possession of the enduring substance. Why were they thus the first in privilege? Why have we had only a few years, while others, sainted, have had hundreds of years of redeemed existence? Why are we blessed with the gospel while multitudes are placed after us still unblessed? There is an evident pointing to conditions of redemption as lying beyond our control, as determined by the Divine sovereignty. And we can only say, as here, that it is foreordered according to the purpose of him, etc. He is absolutely free to assign some a more favored "lot" than others. He causes it to rain upon one city and causes it not to rain upon another city (Amos 4:7). He causes it to rain, with the rains of his Spirit, earlier upon some and later upon others. Their being put first was "to the praise of his glory." We are not to think of this priority under the Divine administration as though it were not glorifying to God. We must think of it, as of all else connected with redemption, that there is that rich grace in it which is characterized by wisdom and prudence (ver. 8). We must believe it to be the best method by which God can compass the end he has in view. We who are to thank God for all men are to thank God especially for the earlier born of the redeemed. They will thank God too; but the glory that God has in them is not merely their matter, it is ours as well, and calls for our song of praise. Especially shall we feel the reasonableness of such priestly service if we go on to think of those who are brought to Christ through the instrumentality of the first born. II. THE LATER BORN. "In whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation." These were the Gentile Christians. Christ was the Desire of all nations. The Gentile world in its want and woe called for a Savior. But it could not be said that they, Gentiles by extraction, had in their generations hoped in Christ. When he came it was to "his own ;" and it was only after the Jews, even under the new dispensation, that they "heard." Every generation has a duty to perform to the next. It is to tell what they themselves did hear (Psalm 78.). We in Christian lands have a duty to perform to those placed behind us in Christian privileges. And "how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" (Romans 10.). This duty of telling rises out of our possession of "truth," our possession of "salvation." The truth which has a saving power in it is not the private property of any; but we are bound, as soon as we know the value of it, to seek to make it the property of others. It cannot be too widely possessed; it is as fitted to bless all as it is to bless one. And this saving truth we do not have in the varying element of our own thought. But we owe it to God that he has given the truth its proper form in the "word," salvation in "the gospel." And it is this gospel, this good word from God, which we have to make men to "hear." The Jewish Christians acted the part of the first born; for it was Jewish preachers who went forth to the Gentiles. "That all the Gentiles might hear," said the most heroic of them. And in Ephesus, in the face of difficulties (fighting with beasts), be made them to hear this word of truth, this gospel, etc. Hearing does not bring the certainty, but it brings the opportunity and the responsibility, of believing. And their opportunity in that heathen city they solemnly embraced. Faith came by hearing, the faith which sinners need for salvation. It was the right attitude toward the Savior, and, as it was not different from that of Jewish Christians, by that God with whom there is no difference, they, though later, were placed on the same level of blessing. III. THE EARLIER BORN AND THE LATER BORN HAVE CERTAIN THINGS IN COMMON. "In whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory." 1. A common seal. (1) What the seal is - the Holy Spirit of promise. And what could be more equalizing to Gentile Christians (Acts 2:15-17)? This sealing with the Spirit implies a certain similarity of nature along with his power of working on us as the mighty Artificer. (2) What is sealed on us - the Divine image. That image is impressed on us in what is called character, as being something impressed. It is for us to be as wax under the working of the Spirit. It is the holiness of God that he who is the Holy Spirit seals on us. (3) What is sealed to us - that we are the sons of God (Romans 8:16). In what the Spirit works in us of conformity to the Divine image do we obtain the comforting assurance that we are born of God. 2. A common guarantee. (1) To what the guarantee pertains - our inheritance. "If sons, then heirs." It is the inheritance formerly referred to. And the equalizing further is this, that the later born share it with the earlier born. (2) How far the guarantee extends - until the redemption (full) of the purchased possession. The "purchased possession" are the possessors of the inheritance. It is a theocratic word that was well understood. It was used to describe ancient Israel as property which the Lord had acquired for himself. We Christians now answer to the ancient designation. We are the successors of Israel, and therefore the Lord claims us as a people for his peculiar possession (1 Peter 2:9). We are the peculiar property of God by right of redemption. The price was formerly mentioned - Christ's blood (ver. 7). And the redemption, which was there viewed as begun in the forgiveness of sins, is now viewed as carried forward to completion; and it is only as fully redeemed that, we come into the full enjoyment of the inheritance. (3) In what the guarantee consists - the earnest of the Spirit. The earnest money is small in comparison with the full payment; but it is part, and is to be taken as a token that the whole will in due time be forthcoming. And so in what we enjoy now of the Spirit we have the foretaste and pledge of what the full inheritance will be. 3. They can join in a common doxology: "Unto the praise of his glory." Gregory of Nyssa, referring to the close of the Psalter, pictures the time "when the creatures shall be harmoniously united for one choral dance, and the chorus of mankind concerting with the angelic chorus shall become one cymbal of Divine praise, and the final song of victory shall salute God the triumphant Conqueror with shouts of joy." In this song the first born shall join with the later born, parents and teachers shall blend their voices with those who have come after them to glory; with no feeling of self-exaltation or of envy because of priority, but all rejoicing in the marvelous grace that has given them a place and God the victory. - R.F. Parallel Verses KJV: 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: |
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