Depths and Heights
(No. 2635)
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, AUGUST 13, 1899.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, MAY
21, 1882.
"His Son, whom He has appointed Heir of all things, by whom also He
made the worlds; who being the brightness of His Glory, and the express
image of His Person and upholding all things by the word ofHispower,
when He had, by Himself, purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of
the Majesty on high." Hebrews 1:2.
I HAVE nothing to do tonight but to preach Jesus Christ. This was the
old subject of the first Christian ministers– "Daily in the Temple and
in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." When
Philip went down to the city of Samaria, he "preached Christ unto
them." When he sat with the Ethiopian eunuch in his chariot, he,
"preached unto him, Jesus." As soon as Paul was converted, "straightway
he preached Christ in the synagogues." For once we count the
venerableness of our subject well worthy of mentioning, we shall not be
ashamed to preach what the Apostles preached and what martyrs and
confessors preached! We hope to proclaim this glorious Gospel of the
blessed God as long as we live! And we hope that when this generation
of preachers shall have passed away, unless the Lord shall come, there
will always be found a succession of men who shall determine to preach
nothing "save Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
For, after all, this is the subject which men most of all need. They
may have cravings after other things, but nothing can satisfy the deep
real need of their nature but Jesus Christ and salvation by His
precious blood! He is the Bread of Life which came down from Heaven! He
is the Water of Life of which, if a man drinks, he shall never thirst
again! Hence, it becomes us to be often dwelling upon this theme, for
it is most necessary to the sons of men. This is the subject which God
the Holy Spirit delights to bless. I am sure that, other things being
equal, He honors preaching in proportion to the savor of Christ that is
in it! I may preach a great deal about the Church, but the Holy Spirit
does not take of the things of Christ to glorify the Church. I may
preach doctrine or practice apart from Christ–that would be giving the
husk without the kernel–but where Jesus Christ sweetens all and savors
all, there will the Holy Spirit delight to rest upon the ministry and
make it quick and powerful to the conversion of men! And I am sure,
dear Friends, that the preaching of Christ is always sweet in the ears
of His own people. "Your name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do
the virgins love You." And this theme is most pleasing to God the
Father, who loves to hear His Son extolled and exalted. He delights in
His Son–and those who delight in Him are friends of God. When Jesus
Christ is lifted up, it is as God the Father would have it! It is as
the Holy Spirit would have it and, where this is the case, we may
expect to have seals to our ministry and souls for our hire!
I want, at this time, as it were, to let Jesus Christ speak for
Himself. I cannot speak for Him as He can speak for Himself. Shall I
hold my candle to the sun, as if it needed it in order to reveal its
light? No, certainly not! And, therefore, I shall, with studied
plainness, try to set the text, itself, before you and so to speak of
it that you may not so much remember what I have said of it as that you
may remember the Subject, Himself. My theme is to be the Savior–the
only Savior–the Savior who must save you or else you must perish, "for
there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must
be saved." I am about to speak of Him and I think that all who are
aware of the necessity of being saved will only want to hear about
Him–and to know how they may get to Him and how He may be made their
Savior. And if they can but be told this, they will be only too glad to
listen!
So, first, I shall speak of who the Savior is. Let me read the text to
you again. "His Son"–God's Son–"whom He has appointed Heir of all
things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of
His Glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all
things by the word of His power." That is who Jesus is! Then, in the
second place, I shall speak of what Jesus did. "When He had by Himself
purged our sins." Then, thirdly, I want to tell you what He enjoys.
After He had finished His great work of salvation, He "sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high."
I. It is not possible that any language can fully express WHO JESUS IS.
Yet, by the Holy Spirit's gracious teaching, I must tell you what I
know of Him.
First, Jesus is God's own Son. What do I know about that wondrous Truth
of God? If I were to try to explain it and to talk about the Eternal
Sonship, I should but conduct you where I should soon be entirely out
of my depth and, very likely, I would drown all that I could tell you
in floods of words. Deity is not to be explained, but to be adored–and
the Sonship of Christ is to be accepted as a Truth of Revelation and to
be apprehended by faith, though it cannot be comprehended by the
understanding. There have been many attempts made by the fathers of the
Church to explain the relationship between the two Divine Persons, the
Father and the Son. But the explanations had better never have been
given, for the figures used are liable to lead into mistakes. Suffice
it for us to say that in the most appropriate language of the Ni-cene
Creed, Christ is "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God." He
is co-equal with the Father, though how that is, we know not. He stands
in the nearest possible relationship to the Father–a relationship of
intense love and delight, so that the Father says of Him, "This is My
beloved Son." Yes, He is One with the Father, so that there is no
separating them, as He, Himself, said, in reply to Philip's request,
"Show us the Father," "Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the
Father in Me."
Let me pause here and say to everyone who is seeking salvation–What a
comfort it should be to you that He, who is come to save men, is
Divine! Therefore, nothing can be impossible to Him. No, I do not say
merely that He is Divine–I will go further and say that He is the
Deity itself! Christ Jesus is God and, being God, there can be no
impossibilities or even difficulties with Him. He is able to save you,
whoever you may be! Though you have gone to the very verge of eternal
ruin, you cannot have gone beyond the range of Omnipotence–and
Omnipotence is inherent in the Godhead. O dear Friends, rejoice in this
wondrous Truth of God–He that was a Babe at Bethlehem, was God
Incarnate! He that, being weary, sat on the well at Sychar, was God
Incarnate! He that had no where to lay His head was God Incarnate. And
it is He who has undertaken the stupendous labor of the salvation of
men and, therefore, men may hope and trust in Him! We need not wonder
that when angels heard of Christ's coming to earth, they sang, "Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men," for
God had taken upon Himself human flesh that He might save the sons of
men. So, the first words in our text–"His Son"–are full of good
cheer!
Now notice, in the next place, that Jesus Christ is the "Heir of all
things." Of which Nature of Christ does the Apostle speak in this
sentence, "whom He has appointed Heir of all things"? I do not think
that Paul, here, separates the two Natures, so as to speak with
absolute reference to either one or the other, but he speaks of the
Person of Christ, and in that Person there is God, and in that same
Person there is most surely and most truly, Man. But we must take this
description of Jesus Christ as appointed "Heir of all things" in His
Person as Man and as God and Man combined, for, as God, alone, Christ
is necessarily, "Heir of all things" without any appointment. But in
His complex Person as God and Man conjoined, the Father has appointed
Him to be "Heir of all things."
Now, what does this mean but that Christ possesses all things as an
heir possesses his inheritance–that Christ is Lord of all things, as
an heir becomes lord and ruler among his brethren? This appointment is
to be fully carried into effect by-and-by, for, "now we see not yet all
things put under Him." Christ is Lord of all the angels–not a seraph
spreads his wings except at the bidding of the "Heir of all things."
There are no bright spirits, unknown to us, that are beyond the control
of the God-Man, Christ Jesus. And the fallen angels, too, are obliged
to bow before His Omnipotence. As for all things here below, material
substances, men regenerate or unregenerate, God has given Him power
over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as His
Father has given Him. He has put all things under His feet, "and the
government shall be upon His shoulders." He is Heir, or Master, and
Possessor of all things–let me say, of all sorts of blessings and all
forms of Grace, for, "it pleased the Father that in Him should all
fullness dwell." And, as surely as time revolves and you mark the
fleeting minutes upon the dial's face, the hour is coming when Christ
shall be universally acknowledged as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Already I seem to hear the shouts go up from every part of the
habitable globe and from all Heaven and all space, "Hallelujah! For the
Lord God, Omnipotent, reigns." All must willingly, or else unwillingly,
submit to His sway, for His Father has appointed Him "Heir of all
things."
To my mind, this is another wondrous encouragement to anyone who is
seeking salvation. Christ has everything in His hand that is needed in
order that He may save you, poor Sinner! Sometimes, when a physician
has a sick man before him–suppose it is on board ship–he may have to
say to him, "I think I could cure your disease if I could get
such-and-such a medicine, but, unfortunately, I have not the drug
within my reach." Or the doctor might have to say to the sufferer, "I
believe an operation would effect a cure, but I have not the
instruments necessary for it." Never will the great Physician of souls
have to talk like that, for the Father has committed all things into
His hand. Oh, have we not beheld Him as the Glory of the Father, full
of Grace and Truth? You great sinner, you black sinner, Christ is not
lacking in power to save you! And if you come and trust yourself in His
hands, He will never have to look about to find the balm for your
wounds, or the ointments or liniments with which to bind up those
putrefying sores of yours! No, He is "Heir of all things." So again I
say, "Hallelujah!" as I preach Him to you as the blessed Savior of
sinners, the Son of God, the "Heir of all things."
Notice, next, that Jesus Christ is the Creator "by whom also He made
the worlds." However many worlds there are, we know not. It may be true
that all those majestic orbs that stud the midnight sky are worlds
filled with intelligent beings. And it is much more easy to believe
that they are than that they are not, for, surely, God has not built
all those magnificent mansions and left them untenanted! It were
irrational to conceive of those myriads of stupendous worlds, vastly
bigger than this poor little speck in God's great universe, all left
without inhabitants. But it matters not how many worlds there are–God
made them all by Jesus Christ–"All things were made by Him; and
without Him was not anything made that was made."
I see Him standing, as it were, at the anvil of Omnipotence, hammering
out the worlds that fly off, like sparks, on every side at each stroke
of His majestic arm. It was Christ who was there–"the Wisdom of God
and the Power of God," as Paul calls Him–creating all things! I love
to think that He who created all things is also our Savior, for then He
can create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. And
if I need a complete new creation–as I certainly do– He is equal to
the task! Man cannot create the tiniest gnat that ever danced in the
summer evening's ray. Man cannot create even a single grain of dust,
but Christ created all worlds, so He can make us new creatures by the
wondrous power of His Grace. O Sinners, see what a mighty Savior has
been provided for you and never say that you cannot trust Him! I agree
with good Mr. Hyatt who, when he was asked on his deathbed, "Can you
trust Christ with your soul?" answered, "If I had a million souls, I
could trust them all with Him!" And so may you! If you had as many
souls as God has ever created and if you had heaped upon you all the
sins that men have ever committed, you might still trust in Him who is
the Son of God, "whom He has appointed Heir of all things, by whom also
He made the worlds."
Now go a little further and see what Christ is next called–the
brightness of His Father's Glory. Shade your eyes, for you cannot look
upon this wondrous sight without being dazzled by it! The Revised
Version renders it, "the effulgence of His Glory," but I do not see
much more in that expression than in the word, "brightness." Some
commentators say– and it is not a bad figure, yet we must not push any
figure too far–that, as light is to the sun, so is Jesus to the Glory
of God. He is the brightness of that Glory, that is to say, there is
not any Glory in God but what is also in Christ. And when that Glory
reaches its climax, when God the Ever-Glorious is most Glorious, that
greatest Glory is in Christ. Oh, this wondrous Word of God–the very
climax of the Godhead–the gathering up of every blessed Attribute in
all its infinity of Glory–you shall find all this in the Person of the
God-Man, Christ Jesus! There is a whole sermon in those words, "the
brightness of His Glory," but I cannot preach it tonight because then I
should not get through the rest of my text.
So let us pass on to the next clause. "And the express image of His
Person." I said, a minute ago, "Shade your eyes," but I might now say,
"Shut them," as I think of the excessive brilliance described by these
words–"the express image of His Person." Whatever God is, Christ
is–the very likeness of God, the very Godhead of Godhead, the very
Deity of Deity is in Christ Jesus–"the express image of His Person."
Dr. John Owen, who loves to explain the spiritual meaning in the
Epistle to the Hebrews by the types in the Old Testament, which is
evidently what Paul, himself, was doing, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit–explains the brightness of the Father's Glory by a reference to
the Shekinah over the Mercy Seat, which was the only visible token of
the Presence of God there. An extraordinary brightness is said to have
shone forth from between the cherubim.
Now, Christ is God manifesting Himself in His brightness. But, on his
forehead, the High Priest wore a golden plate, upon which was deeply
engraved in Hebrew letters, the inscription, "Holiness to [or, of,]
Jehovah." Dr. Owen thinks there is a reference in this "express image
of His Person"–this cut-out inscription of God, as it were–to that
which was on the forehead of the High Priest and which represented the
glorious wholeness or holiness of Jehovah, which is His great Glory.
Well, whether the Apostle referred to this or not, it is for you and me
to take off our shoes in the Presence of Christ, "the brightness of His
Father's Glory, and the express image of His Person." To me, these
words are like the bush in which God dwelt, yet which was not
consumed–they are all on fire–what more shall I say of them?
Now, Christ being all this that Paul describes, who will dare to turn
his back on Him? If this is the Shepherd who has come to seek the lost
sheep–O poor lost Sheep, will you not be found of Him? If this is
God's Ambassador who comes clothed in the crimson robe of His own blood
to redeem the sons of men–who will refuse the peace He brings?
Note yet, once again, what Christ is as I mention the sixth point in
the Apostle's description–"upholding all things by the word of His
power," Just think of it! This great world of ours is upheld by
Christ's word! If He did not speak it into continued existence, it
would go back into the nothingness from which it sprang. There exists
not a being who is independent of the Mediator, save only the
ever-blessed Father and the Spirit. "By Him all things consist," that
is, continue to hold together. Just as these pillars uphold these
galleries, or as the foundations uphold a house, so does Jesus Christ
"uphold all things by the word of His power." Only think of it! Those
innumerable worlds of light that make illimitable space to look as
though it were sprinkled over with golden dust would all die out like
so many expiring sparks, and cease to be if the Christ who died on
Calvary did not will that they should continue to exist! I cannot bring
out of my text all the wondrous Truths of God that it contains, I only
wish I could. But, surely, if Christ upholds all things, He can uphold
me. If the word of His power upholds earth and Heaven, surely, that
same word can uphold you, poor trembling Heart, if you will trust Him!
There need be no fear about that matter–come and prove it for
yourself. May His blessed Spirit enable you to do so even now!
Where there is so much room, I might well tarry, but I must hasten on
to the next point.
II. Follow me with all your ears and hearts while I now speak to you
about WHAT JESUS DID.
He who is all that I have tried to describe, did what? First, He
effectually purged our sins–"when He had, by Himself, purged our
sins." Listen to those wondrous words! There was never such a task as
that since time began. The old fable speaks of the Augean stable, foul
enough to have poisoned a nation, which Hercules cleansed, but our sins
were fouler than that! Dunghills are sweet compared with these
abominations! What a degrading task it seems for Christ to
undertake–the purging of our sins! The sweepers of the streets, the
dishwashers of the kitchen, the cleansers of the sewers have honorable
work compared with this of purging sin! Yet the holy Christ, incapable
of sin, stooped to purge our sins! I want you to meditate upon that
wondrous work and to remember that He did it before He went back to
Heaven. Is it not a wonderful thing that Christ purged our sins even
before we had committed them? There they stood, before the sight of
God, as already existent in all their hideousness–but Christ came, and
purged them. This, surely, ought to make us sing the song of songs!
Before I sinned, He purged my sins away–amazing and strange as it is,
yet it is so!
Then, further, the Apostle says that Christ purged our sins by Himself
That is, by offering Himself as our Substitute. There was no purging
away of sin except by Christ bearing the burden of it, and He did bear
it. He bore all that was due to guilty man on account of his violation
of the Law of God, and God accepted His Sacrifice as a full equivalent,
and so He purged our sins. He did not come to do something by which our
sins might be purged, but He purged them effectually, actually, really,
completely. How did He do it? By His preaching? By His Doctrine? By His
Spirit? No, "By Himself." Oh, that is a blessed word! The Revised
Version has left it out, but the doctrine is taught in the Bible over
and over again. "Who His own Self bore our sins in His own body on the
tree." "By His own blood He entered in once into the Holy Place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of
goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to
the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" He gave
Himself for us! Not only His blood, but all that constituted
Himself–His Godhead and His Manhood. All that He had and all that He
was, He gave as the ransom price for us! Can any of you estimate the
value of that price? The acts of One, Divine as He is, are Divine
actions, and there is a weight and force about them that there could
not be about the deeds of the best of men or even of all the holy
angels! "He by Himself purged our sins."
Now, let every Believer, if he wants to see his sins, stand on tiptoe
and look up–will he see them there? No. If he looks down, will he see
them there? No. If he looks around, will he see them there? No. If he
looks within, will he see them there? No. Where shall he look, then?
Where he likes, for he will never see them, again, according to that
ancient promise, "In those days, and in that time, says the Lord, the
iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none. And
the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found, for I will pardon them
whom I reserve." Shall I tell you where your sins are? Christ purged
them and God said, "I will cast all their sins behind My back." Where
is that? All things are before God. I do not know where behind God's
back can be! It is nowhere, for God is everywhere present, seeing
everything. So that is where my sins have gone–I speak with the utmost
reverence when I say that they have gone where Jehovah, Himself, can
never see them! Christ has so purged them that they have ceased to be!
The Messiah came to finish transgression and to make an end of sin–and
He has done it.
O Believer, if He has made an end of it, [sin] then there is an end to
it and what more can there be of it? Here is a blessed text for you. I
love to meditate on it often when I am alone–"As far as the east is
from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." This
He did on Calvary's Cross–there effectually, finally, totally,
completely, eternally, He purged all His people from their sin by
taking it upon Himself, bearing all its dreadful consequences,
cancelling and blotting it out, casting it into the depths of the sea
and putting it away forever! And all this He did, "by Himself." It was,
indeed, amazing love that made Him stoop to this purgation, this
expiation, this Atonement for sin! But, because He was who and what He
was, He did it thoroughly and perfectly! He said, "It is finished," and
I believe Him! I do not–I cannot–for a moment admit that there is
anything to be done by us to complete that work–or anything required
of us to make the annihilation of our sins complete! Those for whom
Christ died are cleansed from all their guilt–and they may go their
way in peace. He was made a curse for us, and there is nothing but
blessing left for us to enjoy!
III. Now, lastly, I have to speak of WHAT CHRIST NOW ENJOYS. "When He
had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high." Here again I shall have to say that I am quite out of
my depth. I have waters to swim in, but I am not a good swimmer in such
blessed deeps as these.
There is an allusion here, no doubt, to the High Priest who, on the
great Day of Atonement, when the sacrifice had been offered, presents
himself before God. Now Christ, our great High Priest, having, once and
for all, offered Himself as the Sacrifice for sin, has now gone into
the Most Holy Place and there He sits at the right hand of the Majesty
on high.
Notice, first, that this implies rest. When the High Priest went within
the veil, he did not sit down. He stood, with holy trembling, bearing
the sacrificial blood, before the blazing Mercy Seat. But our Savior
now sits at His Father's right hand. The High Priest of old had not
finished his work–the next year another atoning sacrifice would be
needed! But our Lord has completed His Atonement, and now, "there
remains no more sacrifice for sin," for there remains no more sin to be
purged. "But this Man, after He had offered one Sacrifice for sins
forever, sat down at the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting
till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering He has
perfected forever them that are sanctified." There He sits and I am
sure He would not be sitting if He had not finished the salvation of
His people! Isaiah long before had been Inspired to record what the
Messiah would say, "For Zion's sake will I not hold My peace, and for
Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until the righteousness thereof goes
forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burns."
But Christ is now resting! My eyes, by faith, can see Him sitting
there, so I know that–
"Love's redeeming work is done! Fought the fight, the battle won."
Notice, next, that Christ sits in the place of honor–"at the right
hand of the Majesty on high." Of course we are talking figuratively,
now, and you must not interpret this literally. Jesus sits at the right
hand of His Father, He dwells in the highest conceivable honor and
dignity. All the angels worship Him and all the blood-washed host adore
Him day without night. The Father delights to honor Him–
"The highest place that Heaven affords Is His, is His by right, The
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, And Heaven's eternal Light." Not only
does Jesus sit in the place of honor, but He occupies the place of
safety. None can hurt Him, now! None can stop His purposes, or defeat
His will. He is at the powerful right hand of God! In Heaven above and
on the earth beneath, and in the waters under the earth, and on every
star He is supreme Lord and Master. And they that will not yield to Him
shall be broken with a rod of iron! He shall dash them to pieces like a
potter's vessel. So His cause is safe, His kingdom is secure, for He is
at the right hand of Power.
And, last of all, Christ at the right hand of God signifies the eternal
certainty of His reward. It is not possible that He should be robbed of
the purchase of His blood. I tremble when I hear some people talk about
the disappointed Christ–or about His having died at a chance to
accomplish He knew not what–dying for something which the will of man
might give Him if it would, but it might possibly be denied Him! I buy
nothing on such terms as that! I expect to have what I purchase and
Christ will have what He bought with His own blood–especially as He
lives again to claim His purchase! He shall never be a defeated and
disappointed Savior! "He loved the Church and gave Himself for it." He
has redeemed His loved ones from among men and He shall have all those
whom He has purchased. "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and
shall be satisfied." Therefore, let us again say, "Hallelujah!" and
fall down and worship Him!
It does seem to me that there is no proof of men's natural blindness
that is so conclusive as this, that men will not go and trust in Jesus.
O Sinners, if sin had left you sane in heart, you would come at once
and fall down at His feet! There is all power laid up in Jesus and
there is all the Father's love concentrated in Jesus, so come and trust
Him! If you will but trust Him, you will prove that He has given
Himself for you! That simple trust is the secret mark that
distinguishes His people from all others. "My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me." To those who rejected Him when He was
upon the earth, our Lord said, "You believe not because you are not of
My sheep, as I said unto you." O poor Souls, do you mean to wear
forever the damning mark of unbelief? If you die with that brand upon
your soul, you will be lost forever! Oh, may you have, instead, that
blessed mark of faith which is the token of the Lord's people! May you
even now hang out the scarlet line as Rahab hung it out of her
window–the scarlet line of confidence in the crimson blood of Jesus!
And while Jericho falls–while all the earth shall crumble in one
common ruin–your house, though built upon the wall, shall stand
securely and not one who is within its shelter shall be touched by the
devouring sword, for all who are in Christ are in everlasting safety!
How can they be otherwise, since He has purged their sins? God give to
every one of you a part and lot among this blessed company, for His
dear name's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: EPHESIANS1.
We frequently read this chapter and the whole of this Epistle because
it has been well remarked that the Epistle to the Ephesians is a body
of divinity in miniature. Here all the great Doctrines of the Gospel
are discussed. Here all the great precepts are laid down for the
guidance of Believers. He who would understand the theology of Christ
Jesus should read the Epistle to the Ephesians with great care.
Verses 1, 2. Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to
the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father. There must be "Grace"
first. "Peace" comes afterwards. They seek heavenly blessings in the
wrong order who try to gain peace, first, and then Grace. "There is no
peace, says my God to the wicked." And he who has a peace which does
not acknowledge Grace for its parent has a false peace– a peace where
there is no peace! But let us first have Grace in our souls, then shall
our peace be "as a river, and our righteousness as the waves of the
sea." Note here, as Luther has said on a corresponding verse in the
Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle says, "Grace be to you, and
peace, from God our Father"–and lest that terrible name should
frighten us, he has joined there the name of God the Son and sweetly
put in–
2. And from the Lord Jesus Christ. We can have nothing to do with an
absolute God. It is God in Christwhom we love–whom we adore–who alone
is our Savior!
3, 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. The
Apostle commences by laying down the great Doctrine of predestinating
love. There is little Gospel preached where Election is denied. We
marvel that some of us should be regarded as in error because we preach
the Doctrine of God's Divine Sovereignty in giving Grace to men
whereas, in former times, the opponents of that glorious system would
have been reckoned as the heretics!
Turn to all the great creeds that are preserved and you shall find that
Truth of God mentioned. Above all, we can scarcely conceive that any
person who is a member or a minister of the Established Church and
finding Divine Election in his own Church's articles, can, in the least
degree, deny it! It is the glory of that Church [the Church of England]
that it has a Calvinistic creed and it is so far in harmony with the
Scriptures!
5, 6. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His Grace, wherein He has made us accepted in
the Beloved. Adoption follows predestination. We were chosen of God
before time began and the result of that choice is that He puts us into
His family. In the fifth verse, the Apostle declares that the only
reason for our adoption, or for our election, rests in the good
pleasure of God Almighty. There is nothing in man which can merit God's
regard and when we enter Heaven, we shall even there sing–
"What was there in me that could merit esteem, Or give the Creator
delight? 'Twas even so, Father,'I must always sing, 'Because it seemed
good in Your sight
Mark here the channel through which all God's mercies run! Jesus Christ
is the channel through which Grace flows to us. We are chosen in Him,
we are adopted by Jesus Christ to Himself and we are "accepted in the
Beloved." It is said of that eminently holy man, Harington Evans, that,
when near death, he asked his friends to give this message to his
church. "Tell them," he said, "I am accepted in the Beloved." Can we
say, my Brothers and Sisters, that we are accepted in the Beloved? Can
we put our hand upon our heart and, each one, say, "I may not be
accepted by my fellow creatures. I may not be acknowledged by them and,
certainly, before my God, I can never be accepted in myself. But in the
Beloved, clothed with His righteousness, and standing in His Person, as
a member of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, I am 'accepted in
the Beloved'"?
7-10. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of His Grace; wherein He has abounded
toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the
mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has
purposed in Himself that in the dispensation of the fullness 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. The main purpose of the
Gospel is to exalt Christ and to glorify God. We forget God's great
design if we look only to humanity. If we regard salvation as a means
of only lifting up our race from its fall and putting it among the
princes, we have made a mistake. We must remember that God's Glory is a
greater objective, even, than man's salvation! Not so much to save us
did God give His Son, as to honor Himself and to glorify that Son of
His! And we must always remember that the Gospel has for its chief aim
the glory of all the attributes of the Divine Being. He has determined
to gather together, at last, all things in Christ that are in Heaven
and in earth.
Some foolish persons have wrested this text to prove the absurd
doctrine of the final restitution of the lost. They have said that even
the fallen spirits in Hell are to be restored! We find it not in this
text–we have it particularly said, "things in Heaven and things on
earth." But there is no mention made of those concerning whom it was
long ago said, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he
which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let
him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." I
have often thought that these words of the angel are conclusive with
regard to the eternity of future punishment. Once dead, immutability is
stamped upon our state–once let us die and our destiny can never be
changed–
"There are no acts of pardon passed In the cold grave to which we
haste. But darkness, death, and long despair, Reign in eternal silence
there." But "things which are in Heaven, and which are on earth" are,
"in the dispensation of the fullness of times," to be gathered together
in one, "even in Him."
11-14. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things
after the counsel of His own will: that we should be to the praise of
His glory, who first trusted in Christ In whom you also trusted, after
that you heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation: in whom
also after that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of
promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory. I cannot
help remarking how continually the Apostle uses such expressions as,
"in Christ," "in whom," "in Him." He will not have a Doctrine apart
from Christ! He will not mention a single blessing, or a single mercy,
without Christ! I believe there is no way of preaching Gospel Doctrines
truly apart from the Master. In Christ's own days, if you had asked one
of His followers what he believed, he would not have been long telling
you! He would not have pointed to 50 Doctrines, but he would have
pointed to Christ and said, "I believe in Him." You might have asked
him, 50 times, "But what do you believe?" and he would have replied, "I
believe in Him! He is, in Himself, the great embodiment of my faith!
His Person carries within it all the great Doctrines which I receive
from Him. He is the Truth! I believe Him and I believe in Him." Let us
learn, then, always to trace our mercies to Christ Jesus, to look upon
every blessing as being the purchase of His blood and never to ask for
any mercy, nor endeavor to obtain any blessing, except entirely in
connection with Him. Let us say to Him–
"You are the Way, the Truth, the Life!
Grant us that Way to know,
That Truth to keep, that Life to win,
Whose joys eternal flow."
15. "Therefore I, also, after Iheard of your faith in the Lord Jesus,
andlove unto all the saints. "Whether they live at Ephesus or
elsewhere, whether they exactly agree with your opinion or not–
16-23. Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
ofHim: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may
know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory
of His inheritance in the saints, and what it the exceeding greatness
of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His mighty
power, which He worked in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and
set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all
principality, andpower, andmight, and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and
has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all
things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness ofHim that fills
all in all Calvin has a striking remark upon this verse, "the Church is
the fullness of Christ." "This is the highest honor of the Church that,
until Christ is united to us, the Son of God reckons Himself, in some
measure, imperfect." And so He is, for what would a king be without his
subjects? A mockery! Yes, and all the members of Christ's mystical
body–the Church–are necessary to make a whole Christ! If the very
least Believer shall be absent at the last, Christ will not be
complete. Even the Almighty Son of God will feel a lack within Himself,
or He would, if it were possible that one of those whom His Father had
given Him should not at last be found at His right hand! All the sheep
of the Good Shepherd will be gathered into the heavenly fold! We
rejoice to know that there is such a connection as this between
ourselves and Christ! Here is our glory and our boast–and here is our
trust! We believe that–
"His honor is engaged to save
The meanest of His sheep.
All that His Heavenly Father gave
His hands securely keep.
Not death, nor Hell, shall ever remove
His favorites from His breast!
In the dear bosom of His love
They must forever rest"