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given, that I should preach, among the gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ;

9 And to make all men see, what is the fellowship of the mystery, which, from the beginning of the world, hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

PARAPHRASE.

me, I say, who am less than the least of all saints, is this favour given, that I should preach among the gentiles the 9 unsearchable riches of Christ": And make all mena perceive, how this mystery comes now to be communicated to the world, which has been concealed from all past ages, lying hid in the secret purpose of God, who frames and manages this whole new creation, by Jesus Christ":

NOTES.

"was with me:" a passage very suitable to what he says, in this and the next

verse.

gmi. e. That abundant treasure of mercy, grace and favour, laid up in Jesus Christ, not only to the jews, but to the whole heathen world, which was beyond the reach of human sagacity to discover, and could be known, only by reve lation.

9 "All men," i.e. men of all sorts and nations, gentiles as well as jews. • Tis noraria, "what is the communication," .e. that they may have a light from me, to see and look into the reason and ground of the discovery, or communication of this mystery to them now by Jesus Christ, who is now exhibited to the world, into whose hands God has put the management of this whole dispensation.

• Το open our way to a right sense of these words, τῷ τὰ πάλα κλίσαι δια Ino, it will be necessary, in the first place, to consider the terms of it, and how they are used by St. Paul.

1. As to lica,"created," it is to be acknowledged, that it is the word used, in sacred scripture, to express creation, in the scriptural sense of creation, i.e. making out of nothing; yet that it is not always used in that sense, by St. Paul, is visible from the 15th verse of the foregoing chapter, where our translators have rightly rendered xlion, "make," and it would contain a manifest ab. surdity to render it there, create, in the theological sense of the word, create.

2. It is to be observed, that St. Paul often chooses to speak of the work of redemption by Christ as a creation. Whether it were, because this was the chief end of the creation, or whether it were because there was no less seen of the wisdom, power and goodness of God, in this, than in the first creation, and the change of lost and revolted man, from being dead in sins, to newness of life, was as great, and by as great a power as at first making out of nothing; or whe ther it was because the araxe pahaiwos, under Jesus Christ the head, mentioned chap. i. 10, was a restitution of the creation to its primitive state and order, which, Acts iii. 21, is called aronalaráσews wálav," the restitution of all "things," which was begun with the preaching of St. John the baptist, (who was the Elias that restored all things, Matt. xvii. 11, i. e. opened the kingdom of heaven to believers of all nations, Luke xvi. 16) and is completed in Christ's

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10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers, in heavenly places, might be kuown by the church, the manifold wisdom of God,

11 According to the eternal purpose, which he purposed, in Christ Jesus our Lord:

PARAPHRASE.

10 To the intent that now, under the gospel, the manifold wisdom of God, in the ordering and management of his heavenly kingdom, might be made known to principa11 lities and powers by the church', According to that pre

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coming with his saints, in the glory of his father, at the last day. But, whether some, or all, of these conjectures, which I have mentioned, be the reason of it, this is certain, that St. Paul speaks of the work of redemption, under the name of creation. So 2 Cor. v. 17, " If any one be in Christ, (xain alios,) he is a new creature, or it is a new creation." And Gal, vi. 15, "In Christ Jesus, "neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but xaír xlioiça "the new creation."

It is then to be considered, of which creation rà wala ulioanlı, “who cre"ated all things," is here to be understood. The business St. Paul is upon, in this place, is to show that God's purpose, of taking in the gentiles to be his people under the gospel, was a mystery, unknown in former ages, and now, under the kingdom of the Messiah, committed to him, to be preached to the world.

This is so manifestly the design of St. Paul here, that no-body can mistake it. Now, if the creation of the material world, of this visible frame, of sun, moon, and stars, and heavenly bodies that are over us, and of the earth we inhabit, hath no immediate relation, as certainly it hath not, to this mystery, this design of God's, to call the gentiles into the kingdom of his Son, it is to make St. Paul a very loose writer and weaker arguer, in the middle of a discourse, which he seems to lay much stress on, and to press earnestly on the ephesians (for he urges it more than once) to bring in things not at all to his purpose, and of no use to the business in hand. We cannot, therefore, avoid taking the creation, and things created here, to be those of the new creation, viz. those, of which the kingdom of Christ, which was this new creation, was to be made up, and in that sense τὰ πάλλα κλίσαντι διὰ Ιησέ Χρισέ, " who created all things by Jesus "Christ," is a reason to show, why God kept his purpose, of making the gentiles meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints, or, as he expresseth it, chap. ii. 10, that they "should be his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus "unto good works," concealed from former ages, viz. because this new creation was in Christ Jesus, and so proper to be preached and published, when he was come, which is strongly confirmed by the words of the following verse, viz. "that now, in its due time, by this new piece of workmanship of his, viz. the "church, might be made known the manifold wisdom of God." This taking in the gentiles, into the kingdom of his Son, and after that, the re-assuming again of the jews, who had been rejected, St. Paul looks on, as so great an instance, and display of the wisdom of God, that it makes him cry out, Rom. xi. 33, "O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how "unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"

10 There be two things, in this verse, that to me make it hard to determine

NOTE.

the precise sense of it; the first is, what is meant by axis and iĝusías, terms, that sometimes, in sacred scripture, signify temporal magistrates, and so our Saviour uses them, Luke xii. 11, and St. Paul, Tit. iii. 1. Sometimes for those, who are vested with any power, whether men or angels, so 1 Cor. xv. 24. Sometimes for evil angels; so they are understood, chap. vi. 12. Sometimes they are understood of good angels, so Col. i. 16. Now, to which of these to determine the sense here, I confess myself not sufficiently enlightened. Indeed in roîę iπupavíosę, in the things of his heavenly kingdom, would do something towards it, were it undoubtedly certain, whether those words were, in construc tion, to be joined to apxas and iucías, or to copía; i.e. whether we are to understand it of principalities and powers, in the kingdom of heaven, or of the wisdom of God, in the ordering of that kingdom; if the first of these, then it is evident, they would signify the heavenly host, of good angels, employed in the guard and promotion of the kingdom of Christ. But, the knowledge, spoken of here, as communicated to these principalities and powers, being only in consequence of St. Paul's preaching, it is not easy to conceive, that the revelation and commission given to St. Paul, for the declaring the mystery, of God's purpose to take the gentiles into the church, was to the intent the angels, either good or bad, should be instructed in this great and important truth, wherein the wisdom of God so much showed itself, and that they should have no knowledge of it, before, nor otherwise. This is so great a difficulty, that it seems strongly to persuade, that the principalities and powers here mentioned, are of this world; but, against this, there lies this obvious objection, that the magistrates of the heathen world did not much concern themselves in what St. Paul preached, nor, upon his declaring that the gentiles, under the Messiah, were to be taken in, to be the people of God, did in effect gather from the church, thus constituted, any arguments of the wisdom of God. If, therefore, I may venture my conjecture, for I dare not be positive, in a place, that I confess myself not fully to understand, 【 should take this to be the meaning of it. The high priests, scribes, and pharisees, who are the rulers of the jewish nation, and alone pretend to any authority in these matters, deny the converted heathens to be the people of God, because they neglect the law and circumcision, and those other rites, whereby God has ap pointed those, who are his people, to be separated from the rest of the world, and made holy to himself. And so far most of the converted jews agree with them, that they will not allow the converted gentiles to be members and subjects of the kingdom of the Messiah, without being circumcised, and submitting to the laws and ceremonies of the jews, as the only religion and way of worship, wherein they can be allowed to be God's people, or be accepted by him. Now, says St. Paul, God, of his special grace, has commissioned me to preach to the world, that his hidden purpose, of taking the gentiles into the kingdom of his Son, that so, by the church, consisting of members, who are God's people, without being circumcised, or observing the other mosaical rites, might, which the jews could by no means conceive, now be made known and declared, to the leaders and chief of that nation, the manifold wisdom of God, which is not, as the jews imagine, tied up to their own way, but can bring about his purposes, by sundry manners, and in ways, that they thought not of. This seems suitable to the apostle's meaning here; for though the jews were not hereby converted, yet, when urged by the converted gentiles, it served to stop their mouths, and thereby to confirm the gentiles, in the liberty of the gospel. And thus by the church, to whom St. Paul says, Col. i. 24, and ii. 2, God would now have made it manifest, by his preaching, is this mystery made known to principalities and powers, i. e. the rulers and teachers of the jewish nation, the saints, who were apprized of it, by St. Paul's preaching, urging, and manifesting it to them. And to this sense of this passage, these two words, vuv, "now," and woλvreixia, "manifold," scem wholly accommodated, i.e. now, that the uncircumcised gentiles believe

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12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence, by the faith of him.

13 Wherefore, I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

14 For this cause, I bow my knees unto the father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

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disposition of the ages, or several dispensations, which 12 he made in Christ Jesus our Lord; By whom we have boldness and access to God the father, with confidence, 13 by faith in him. Wherefore my desire is, that ye be not dismayed by my present affliction, which I suffer for your sake, and is in truth a glory to you, that ought to raise your hearts, and strengthen your resolutions. 14 Upon this account, I bend my knees, in prayer to the 15 father of our Lord Jesus Christ', From whom the whole

NOTES.

in Christ, and are, by baptism, admitted into the church, the wisdom of God is made known to the jews, not to be tied up to one invariable way and form, as they persuade themselves; but displays itself in sundry manners, as he thinks fit.

11 Whether by aves," ages," here, the several dispensations, mankind was under, from first to last, or whether the two great dispensations of the law and the gospel (for that dives are used, in the sacred scripture, to denote these, I think an attentive reader cannot doubt) be here meant, this seems visibly the sense of the place, that all these dispensations, in the several ages of the church, were ail, by the pre-ordination of God's purpose, regulated and constituted in Christ Jesus our Lord; that is, with regard to Christ, who was designed and appointed Lord and head over all; which seems to me to answer rà wáila xlioail dià Incũ Xpisẽ, “who created all things by Jesus Christ," ver. 9.

12 • Пliçıç autê, “ Faith of him,” the genitive case of the object, as well as of the agent, is so frequent, in sacred scripture, that there needs nothing to be said of it.

14 "The father of our Lord Jesus Christ, set down, as it is in the begin ning of this verse, joined to the design of the apostle, in this place, makes me think, that the sense of it is, so plainly, that which I have given of it, that I do not see any difficulty can be made about it. In the foregoing chapter, ver. 19, he tells the convert gentiles of Ephesus, that now they believe in Christ, they are "no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of "the houshold of God" here he goes on, and tells them, they are of the family and lineage of God, being jointly with Jesus Christ, who is already in heaven, the sons of God: what could be of greater force to continue them stedfast in the doctrine he had preached to them, and which he makes it his whole business, here, to confirm them in, viz. that they need not be circumcised and submit to the law of Moses, they being already, by faith in Christ, the sons of God, and of

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16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might, by his spirit, in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 May be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

PARAPHRASE.

family, or lineage, both in heaven and earth have their denomination, viz. Jesus Christ, that is already in heaven, and believers that are still on earth, have all God 16 for their father, are all the sons of God. That he would grant you, according to the great glory he designed to you, gentiles, who should receive the gospel under the Messiah", to be strengthened with might, by his spirit, 17 in the inward man"; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being settled and established in the sense of the love of God to you, in Jesus Christ, 18 May be able, together with all christians, to comprehend the length, and breadth, and height, and depth, of this mystery, of God's purpose of calling and taking in the gentiles, to be his people, in the kingdom of his Son*: 19 And to understand the exceeding love of God, in bring

1

NOTES.

the same lineage and family with Christ himself, who was already, by that title, possessed of his inheritance and glory?

16" See this sense of this passage as given, Col. i. 27, and not much differ ent, chap. i. 17, &c.

What "the inward man" signifies, see Rom. vii. 22, 2 Cor. iv. 16.

18 This mystery, being the subject St. Paul is here upon, and which he endeavours to magnify to them, and establish in their minds, the height and breadth, &c., which he mentions in these words, being not applied to any thing else, cannot, in good sense, be understood of any thing else.

19 Y vægbáλoar, "exceeding," seems to be here a comparative term, joined to the love of God, in communicating the knowledge of Christ, and declaring it superiour to some other thing; if you desire to know what he himself tells you, on the same occasion, Phil. iii. 8, viz. to circumcision, and the other ritual institutions of the law, which the jews looked on, as the marks of the highest degree of God's love to them, whereby they were sanctified and separated to him, from the rest of the world, and secured of his favour. To which, if any one will add what St. Paul says, on the same subject, Col. ii. 2, &c. (for his business is the very same in these three epistles) he will not want light to guide him, in the sense of this place here.

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