The document discusses Ephesians 4:1-16, where the apostle Paul urges believers to live in a manner worthy of their divine calling, emphasizing the significance of their privileges and the grace received from God. It elaborates on the various means by which individuals are called into God's kingdom, highlighting the role of preaching, providential events, conversation, reading, and internal reflections led by the Holy Spirit. The call to walk worthy entails living a life that aligns with Christian values and responsibilities, reflecting a deep commitment to faith in all aspects of life.

1. EPHESIA S 4 1-16 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
1
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live
a life worthy of the calling you have received.
BAR ES, "I, therefore - In view of the great and glorious truths which God has
revealed, and of the grace which he has manifested toward you who are Gentiles. See the
previous chapters. The sense of the word “therefore” - οᆗν oun - in this place, is, “Such
being your exalted privileges; since God has done so much for you; since he has revealed
for you such a glorious system; since he has bestowed on you the honor of calling you
into his kingdom, and making you partakers of his mercy, I entreat you to live in
accordance with these elevated privileges, and to show your sense of his goodness by
devoting your all to his service.” The force of the word “I,” they would all feel. It was the
appeal and exhortation of the founder of their church - of their spiritual father - of one
who had endured much for them, and who was now in bonds on account of his devotion
to the welfare of the Gentile world.
The prisoner of the Lord - Margin, “in.” It means, that he was now a prisoner, or
in confinement “in the cause” of the Lord; and he regarded himself as having been made
a prisoner because the Lord had so willed and ordered it. He did not feel particularly
that he was the prisoner of Nero; he was bound and kept because the “Lord” willed it,
and because it was in his service; see the notes on Eph_3:1.
Beseech you that ye walk worthy - That you live as becomes those who have been
called in this manner into the kingdom of God. The word “walk” is often used to denote
“life, conduct,” etc.; see Rom_4:12, note; Rom_6:4, note; 2Co_5:7, note.
Of the vocation - Of the “calling” - τᇿς κλήσεως tēs klēseōs. This word properly means
“a call,” or “an invitation” - as to a banquet. Hence, it means that divine invitation or
calling by which Christians are introduced into the privileges of the gospel. The word is
translated “calling” in Rom_11:29; 1Co_1:26; 1Co_7:20; Eph_1:18; Eph_4:1, Eph_4:4;
Phi_3:14; 2Th_1:11; 2Ti_1:9; Heb_3:1; 2Pe_1:10. It does not occur elsewhere. The sense
of the word, and the agency employed in calling us, are well expressed in the
Westminster Shorter Catechism. “Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby
convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ,
and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely
offered to us in the gospel.” This “calling or vocation” is through the agency of the Holy
Spirit, and is his appropriate work on the human heart.

2. It consists essentially in influencing the mind to turn to God, or to enter into his
kingdom. It is the exertion of “so much” influence on the mind as is necessary to secure
the turning of the sinner to God. In this all Christians are agreed, though there have been
almost endless disputes about the actual influence exerted, and the mode in which the
Spirit acts on the mind. Some suppose it is by “moral persuasion;” some by physical
power; some by an act of creation; some by inclining the mind to exert its proper powers
in a right way, and to turn to God. What is the precise agency employed perhaps we are
not to expect to be able to decide; see Joh_3:8. The great, the essential point is held, if it
be maintained that it is by the agency of the Holy Spirit that the result is secured - and
this I suppose to be held by all evangelical Christians. But though it is by the agency of
the Holy Spirit, we are not to suppose that it is without the employment of “means.” It is
not literally like the act of creation. It is preceded and attended with means adapted to
the end; means which are almost as various as the individuals who are “called” into the
kingdom of God. Among those means are the following:
(1) “Preaching.” Probably more are called into the kingdom by this means than any
other. It is “God’s great ordinance for the salvation of men.” It is eminently suited for it.
The “pulpit” has higher advantages for acting on the mind than any other means of
affecting people. The truths that are dispensed; the sacredness of the place; the peace
and quietness of the sanctuary; and the appeals to the reason, the conscience, and the
heart - all are suited to affect people, and to bring them to reflection. The Spirit makes
use of the word “preached,” but in a great variety of ways. Sometimes many are
impressed simultaneously; sometimes the same truth affects one mind while others are
unmoved; and sometimes truth reaches the heart of a sinner which he has heard a
hundred times before, without being interested. The Spirit acts with sovereign power,
and by laws which have never yet been traced out.
(2) The events of Providence are used to call people into his kingdom. God appeals to
people by laying them on a bed of pain, or by requiring them to follow a friend in the still
and mournful procession to the grave. They feel that they must die, and they are led to
ask the question whether they are prepared. Much fewer are affected in this way than we
should suppose would be the case; but still there are many, in the aggregate, who can
trace their hope of heaven to a fit of sickness, or to the death of a friend.
(3) Conversation is one of the means by which sinners are called into the kingdom of
God. In some states of mind, where the Spirit has prepared the soul like mellow ground
prepared for the seed, a few moments’ conversation, or a single remark, will do more to
arrest the attention than much preaching.
(4) Reading is often the means of calling people into the kingdom. The Bible is the
great means - and if we can get people to read that, we have very cheering indications
that they will be converted. The profligate Earl of Rochester was awakened and led to the
Saviour by reading a chapter in Isaiah. And who can estimate the number of those who
have been converted by reading Baxter’s Call to the Unconverted; Alleine’s Alarm; the
Dairyman’s Daughter; or the Shepherd of Salisbury Plain? He does “good” who places a
good book in the way of a sinner. That mother or sister is doing good, and making the
conversion of a son or brother probable, who puts a Bible in his chest when he goes to
sea, or in his trunk when he goes on a journey. Never should a son be allowed to go from
home without one. The time will come when, far away from home, he will read it. He will
read it when his mind is pensive and tender, and the Spirit may bear the truth to his
heart for his conversion.
(5) The Spirit calls people into the kingdom of Christ by presiding over, and directing
in some unseen manner their own reflections, or the operations of their own minds. In
some way unknown to us, he turns the thoughts to the past life; recalls forgotten deeds

3. and plans; makes long past sins rise to remembrance; and overwhelms the mind with
conscious guilt from the memory of crime. He holds this power over the soul; and it is
among the most mighty and mysterious of all the influences that he has on the heart.
“Sometimes” - a man can hardly tell how - the mind will be pensive, sad, melancholy;
then conscious of guilt; then alarmed at the future. Often, by sudden transitions, it will
be changed from the frivolous to the serious, and from the pleasant to the sad; and often,
unexpectedly to himself, and by associations which he cannot trace out, the sinner will
find himself reflecting on death. judgment, and eternity. It is the Spirit of God that leads
the mind along. It is not by force; not by the violation of its laws, but in accordance with
those laws, that the mind is thus led along to the eternal world. In such ways, and by
such means, are people “called” into the kingdom of God. To “walk worthy of that
calling,” is to live as becomes a Christian, an heir of glory; to live as Christ did. It is:
(1) To bear our religion with us to all places, companies, employments. Not merely to
be a Christian on the Sabbath, and at the communion table, and in our own land, but
every day, and everywhere, and in any land where we may be placed. We are to live
religion, and not merely to profess it. We are to be Christians in the counting-room, as
well as in the closet; on the farm as well as at the communion table; among strangers,
and in a foreign land, as well as in our own country and in the sanctuary.
(2) It is to do nothing inconsistent with the most elevated Christian character. In
temper, feeling, plan, we are to give expression to no emotion, and use no language, and
perform no deed, that shall be inconsistent with the most elevated Christian character.
(3) It is to do “right always:” to be just to all; to tell the simple truth; to defraud no
one; to maintain a correct standard of morals; to be known to be honest. There is a
correct standard of character and conduct; and a Christian should be a man so living,
that we may always know “exactly where to find him.” He should so live, that we shall
have no doubts that, however others may act, we shall find “him” to be the unflinching
advocate of temperance, chastity, honesty, and of every good work - of every plan that is
really suited to alleviate human woe, and benefit a dying world.
(4) It is to live as one should who expects soon to be “in heaven.” Such a man will feel
that the earth is not his home; that he is a stranger and a pilgrim here; that riches,
honors, and pleasures are of comparatively little importance; that he ought to watch and
pray, and that he ought to be holy. A man who feels that he may die at any moment, will
watch and pray. A man who realizes that “tomorrow” he may be in heaven, will feel that
he ought to be holy. He who begins a day on earth, feeling that at its close he may be
among the angels of God, and the spirits of just men made perfect; that before its close
he may have seen the Saviour glorified, and the burning throne of God, will feel the
importance of living a holy life, and of being wholly devoted to the service of God. Pure
should be the eyes that are soon to look on the throne of God; pure the hands that are
soon to strike the harps of praise in heaven; pure the feet that are to walk the “golden
streets above.”
CLARKE, "I therefore - Therefore, because God has provided for you such an
abundant salvation, and ye have his testimonies among you, and have full liberty to use
all the means of grace;
The prisoner of the Lord - Who am deprived of my liberty for the Lord’s sake.
Beseech you that ye walk - Ye have your liberty, and may walk; I am deprived of
mine, and cannot. This is a fine stroke, and wrought up into a strong argument. You who
are at large can show forth the virtues of him who called you into his marvellous light; I

4. am in bondage, and can only exhort others by my writing, and show my submission to
God by my patient suffering.
The vocation wherewith ye are called - The calling, κλησις, is the free invitation
they have had from God to receive the privileges of the Gospel, and become his sons and
daughters, without being obliged to observe Jewish rites and ceremonies. Their
vocation, or calling, took in their Christian profession, with all the doctrines, precepts,
privileges, duties, etc., of the Christian religion.
Among us, a man’s calling signifies his trade, or occupation in life; that at which he
works, and by which he gets his bread; and it is termed his calling, because it is
supposed that God, in the course of his providence, calls the person to be thus employed,
and thus to acquire his livelihood. Now, as it is a very poor calling by which a man
cannot live, so it is a poor religion by which a man cannot get his soul saved. If, however,
a man have an honest and useful trade, and employ himself diligently in labouring at it,
he will surely be able to maintain himself by it; but without care, attention, and industry,
he is not likely to get, even by this providential calling, the necessaries of life. In like
manner, if a man do not walk worthy of his heavenly calling, i.e. suitable to its
prescriptions, spirit, and design, he is not likely to get his soul saved unto eternal life.
The best trade, unpractised, will not support any man; the most pure and holy religion of
the Lord Jesus, unapplied, will save no soul. Many suppose, because they have a sound
faith, that all is safe and well: as well might the mechanic, who knows he has a good
trade, and that he understands the principles of it well, suppose it will maintain him,
though he brings none of its principles into action by honest, assiduous, and well-
directed labor.
Some suppose that the calling refers to the epithets usually given to the Christians;
such as children of Abraham, children of God, true Israel of God, heirs of God, saints,
fellow citizens with the saints, etc., etc.; and that these honorable appellations must be a
strong excitement to the Ephesians to walk worthy of these exalted characters But I do
not find that the word κλησις, calling, is taken in this sense any where in the New
Testament; but that it has the meaning which I have given it above is evident from 1Co_
7:20 : Εκαστος εν τη κλησει ᇌ εκληθη, εν ταυτᇽ µενετω· Let every man abide in the calling to
which he hath been called. The context shows that condition, employment, or business
of life, is that to which the apostle refers.
GILL, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you,.... Or "in the Lord";
that is, for the Lord's sake; See Gill on Eph_3:1. Some connect this phrase, "in the Lord",
with the following word, "beseech": as if the sense was, that the apostle entreated the
believing Ephesians, in the name of the Lord, and for his sake, to take heed to their walk
and conversation, that it be as became the calling by grace, and to glory, with which they
were called: and this exhortation he enforces from the consideration of the state and
condition in which he was, a prisoner, not for any wickedness he had been guilty of, but
for the Lord's sake, which seems to be the true sense of the word; and that, if they would
not add afflictions to his bonds, as some professors by their walk did, he beseeches them,
as an ambassador in bonds, that they would attend to what he was about to say; and the
rather, since such doctrines of grace had been made known to them, which have a
tendency to promote powerful godliness; and since they were made partakers of such
privileges as laid them under the greatest obligation to duty, which were made mention
of in the preceding chapters.

5. That ye walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called; by which is meant,
not that private and peculiar state and condition of life, that the saints are called to, and
in: but that calling, by the grace of God, which is common to them all; and is not a mere
outward call by the ministry of the word, with which men may be called, and not be
chosen, sanctified, and saved; but that which is internal, and is of special grace, and by
the Spirit of God; by whom they are called out of darkness into light, out of bondage into
liberty, out of the world, and from the company and conversation of the men of it, into
the fellowship of Christ, and his people, to the participation of the grace of Christ here,
and to his kingdom and glory hereafter; and which call is powerful, efficacious, yea,
irresistible; and being once made is unchangeable, and without repentance, and is holy,
high, and heavenly. Now to walk worthy of it, or suitable to it, is to walk as children of
the light; to walk in the liberty wherewith Christ and his Spirit make them free; to walk
by faith on Christ; and to walk in the ways of God, with Christ, the mark, in their view,
and with the staff of promises in their hands; and to walk on constantly, to go forwards
and hold out unto the end: for this walking, though it refers to a holy life and
conversation, a series of good works, yet it does not suppose that these merit calling;
rather the contrary, since these follow upon it; and that is used as an argument to excite
unto them: but the phrase is expressive of a fitness, suitableness, and agreeableness of a
walk and conversation to such rich grace, and so high an honour conferred on saints.
HE RY, "This is a general exhortation to walk as becomes our Christian profession.
Paul was now a prisoner at Rome; and he was the prisoner of the Lord, or in the Lord,
which signifies as much as for the Lord. See of this, Eph_3:1. He mentions this once and
again, to show that he was not ashamed of his bonds, well knowing that he suffered not
as an evil doer: and likewise to recommend what he wrote to them with the greater
tenderness and with some special advantage. It was a doctrine he thought worth
suffering for, and therefore surely they should think it worthy their serious regards and
their dutiful observance. We have here the petition of a poor prisoner, one of Christ's
prisoners: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you,” etc. Considering what
God has done for you, and to what a state and condition he has called you, as has been
discoursed before, I now come with an earnest request to you (not to send me relief, nor
to use your interest for the obtaining of my liberty, the first thing which poor prisoners
are wont to solicit from their friends, but) that you would approve yourselves good
Christians, and live up to your profession and calling; That you walk worthily,
agreeably, suitably, and congruously to those happy circumstances into which the grace
of God has brought you, whom he has converted from heathenism to Christianity.
Observe, Christians ought to accommodate themselves to the gospel by which they are
called, and to the glory to which they are called; both are their vocation. We are called
Christians; we must answer that name, and live like Christians. We are called to God's
kingdom and glory; that kingdom and glory therefore we must mind, and walk as
becomes the heirs of them.
JAMISO , "Eph_4:1-32. Exhortations to Christian duties resting on our Christian
privileges, as united in one body, though varying in the graces given to the several
members, that we may come unto a perfect man in Christ.
Translate, according to the Greek order, “I beseech you, therefore (seeing that such is
your calling of grace, the first through third chapters) I the prisoner in the Lord (that is,
imprisoned in the Lord’s cause).” What the world counted ignominy, he counts the

6. highest honor, and he glories in his bonds for Christ, more than a king in his diadem
[Theodoret]. His bonds, too, are an argument which should enforce his exhortation.
vocation — Translate, “calling” to accord, as the Greek does, with “called” (Eph_4:4;
Eph_1:18; Rom_8:28, Rom_8:30). Col_3:15 similarly grounds Christian duties on our
Christian “calling.” The exhortations of this part of the Epistle are built on the conscious
enjoyment of the privileges mentioned in the former part. Compare Eph_4:32, with
Eph_1:7; Eph_5:1 with Eph_1:5; Eph_4:30, with Eph_1:13; Eph_5:15, with Eph_1:8.
CALVI , "The three remaining chapters consist entirely of practical exhortations.
Mutual agreement is the first subject, in the course of which a discussion is
introduced respecting the government of the church, as having been framed by our
Lord for the purpose of maintaining unity among Christians.
1.I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord. His imprisonment, which might have been
supposed more likely to render him despised, is appealed to, as we have already
seen, for a confirmation of his authority. It was the seal of that embassy with which
he had been honored. Whatever belongs to Christ, though in the eyes of men it may
be attended by ignominy, ought to be viewed by us with the highest regard. The
apostle’ prison is more truly venerable than the splendid retinue or triumphal
chariot of kings.
That ye may walk worthy. This is a general sentiment, a sort of preface, on which all
the following statements are founded. He had formerly illustrated the calling with
which they were called, (138) and now reminds them that they must live in
obedience to God, in order that they may not be unworthy of such distinguished
grace.
(138) Τὢς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε “ Epict. page 122, 1. 3, says, καταισχύνειν τὴν
κλὢσιν ἣν κέκληκεν, ‘ disgrace the calling with which he has called thee.’ He is
speaking of a person, who, when summoned to give his testimony, utters what is
contrary to that which was demanded or expected from him.” — Raphelius.
ISBET, "VOCATIO
‘I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith ye are called.’
Eph_4:1
The vocation or calling here referred to was the name, the status, the dignity, the
privileges, flowing from admission to the Church of Christ.
If we are true citizens of the Kingdom of Christ Jesus we have assuredly our work to

7. do.
I. We have each of us to use our earthly citizenship, our civil rights to leaven public
and social life with the influence of the laws of Christ’s Kingdom.
(a) We have to discourage the rudeness and coarse frivolity, and clever impudence,
and unscrupulous exaggeration and distortion of the truth, which are far too much
tolerated and applauded in our day.
(b) We have to crush, by manly effort, the lawless licentiousness and fiendish lust
which seethe beneath the surface of society, and poison the fountains of national life.
(c) We have to rebuke the prurient indecency which publishes without reserve or
modesty the things of which it is a shame to speak.
(d) We have to foster the delicate reserve and sensitive shrinking from all whisper of
uncleanness which used to be the instinct and the law of chaste womanhood.
(e) We have to rescue our cities from worldliness and profligacy, our villages from
irreligion, and lethargy, and sloth.
II. We have by well-doing to put to silence the ignorance of those who speak foolish
things against the religion and the Church of Christ.
III. We have to deepen the religion of our homes by the silent suasion that proceeds
from hearts which are themselves filled with the love of Jesus.
IV. We have to discipline our own lives in growing conformity to the mind of Christ.
Thus, by making the most of our lives, we shall walk worthy of what God has
bestowed on us, and accomplish the vocation that He intends.
—
Bishop James Macarthur.
BURKITT, "As if he had said, "Seeing the riches of God's grace in Christ have so
abounded towards you, who were once Ephesian idolaters, but now converted
Gentiles, I Paul, who am a prisoner for preaching the gospel, and for declaring this
grace to you, do most affectionately exhort you, that ye live answerably to your
profession, and according to the great obligation of your high and holy vocation
from heathenism to Christianity."
Here note, 1. The person exhorting and beseeching, I Paul, the prisoner of the Lord,
beseech you; I that am in bonds for Christ, I that am imprisoned for preaching the

8. gospel to you, and for proselyting you by it to Christianity. othing can more oblige
a people to hearken to the exhortations of the ministers of Christ, than this
consideration, that the truths which they deliver to them, they stand ready both to
suffer for and to seal with their precious blood: I, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech
you.
ote, 2. The comprehensive duty exhorted to, That ye walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith ye are called; worthy, that is, beseeming and becoming your holy
profession, answerable to the dignity and obligation of your Christian name; or, as
he exhorteth the Philippians, Php_1:20, "walk as becometh the gospel of Jesus
Christ."
But when may we be said so to do:
Ans. When we walk according to the precepts and commands of the gospel;
answerable to the privileges and prerogatives of the gospel; answerable to that
grand pattern of holiness which the gospel sets before us, the example of Jesus
Christ; answerable to the helps and supplies of grace which the gospel affords.
Finally, to walk worthy or our vocation, is to walk answerable to those high and
glorious hopes which the gospel raises the Christian up to the expectation of.
SIMEO , "A CO SISTE T WALK E JOI ED
Eph_4:1-3. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of
the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-
suffering, forbearing one another in lore; endeavouring to keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace.
THE end of all true religion is practice: and the perfection of practice is a habit of
mind suited to the relations which we bear to God and man, and to the
circumstances in which from time to time we are placed. It is not by external acts
only that we are to serve God: the passive virtues of meekness, and patience, and
long-suffering, and forbearance, are quite as pleasing in his sight, as the most active
virtues in which we can be engaged. Hence St. Paul, in entering on the practical part
of this epistle, entreats the Ephesian converts to pay particular attention to these
graces, and to consider them as the clearest evidences of their sincerity, and the
brightest ornaments of their profession. He was at this time a prisoner at Rome: but
no personal considerations occupied his mind. He had no request to make for
himself; no wish for any exertions on their part to liberate him from his
confinement: he was willing to suffer for his Lord’s sake; and sought only to make
his sufferings a plea, whereby to enforce the more powerfully on their minds the
great subject which he had at heart, their progressive advancement in real piety.
With a similar view we would now draw your attention to,

9. I. His general exhortation—
First, let us get a distinct idea of what the Christian’s “vocation” is—
[It is a vocation from death to life, from sin to holiness, from hell to heaven.
Every Christian was once dead in trespasses and sins [ ote: Eph_2:1. Tit_3:3.] —
— — But he has heard the voice of the Son of God speaking to him in the Gospel
[ ote: Joh_5:24-25. 1Th_1:5.] — — — and, through the quickening influence of the
Holy Spirit, he “has passed from death unto life [ ote: 1Jn_3:14.];” so that, though
once he was dead, lie is now alive again; and though once lost, he is found [ ote:
Luk_15:24.] — — —
From the time-that he is so quickened, he rises to newness of life [ ote: Rom_6:4-5.].
Just as his Lord and Saviour “died unto sin once, but, in that he liveth, liveth unto
God,” so the Christian is conformed to Christ in this respect, “reckoning himself
dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ [ ote: Rom_6:9-11.].” By his
very calling he is “turned from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan
unto God [ ote: Act_26:18.];” and engages to be “holy, even as God himself is holy
[ ote: 1Pe_1:15-16.]” — — —
Once the believer was a “child of wrath, even as others [ ote: Eph_2:2.];” and, had
he died in his unconverted state, must have perished for ever. But through the blood
of Jesus he is delivered from the guilt of all his sins, and obtains a title to the
heavenly inheritance — — — Hence he is said to be “called to the kingdom and
glory of his God,” and “to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ [ ote:
1Th_2:12 and 2Th_2:13-14.].”
Thus is the Christian’s “a high,” “a holy,” and “a heavenly calling.”]
Such, believer, being thy vocation, thou mayest easily see what kind of a walk that is
which is suited to it—
[Dost thou profess to have experienced such a call? “Walk worthy of the” profession
which thou makest, the expectations thou hast formed, and the obligations which
are laid upon thee.
It is not any common measure of holiness that befits a person professing such things
as these. How unsuitable would it be for one who pretends to have been “born from
above,” to be setting his affections on any thing here below; or for one who is “a
partaker of the Divine nature,” to “walk in any other way than as Christ himself
walked!” — — —
And, seeing that you “look for a better country, that is, an heavenly,” should you not
aspire after it, and “press forward towards it, forgetting all the ground you have
passed over, and mindful only of the way that lies before you? — — — Should not
“your conversation be in heaven,” where your treasure now is, and where you hope

10. in a little time to be, in the immediate presence of your God?
If you have indeed been so highly distinguished, should you not “live no longer to
yourselves, but altogether unto Him who died for you and rose again?” Should any
thing short of absolute perfection satisfy you? Should you not labour to “stand
perfect and complete in all the will of God [ ote: Col_4:12.]?”
This then is what I would earnestly entreat you all to seek after, even to walk worthy
of your high calling, or rather, “worthy of the Lord himself,” who hath “called you
out of darkness into his marvellous light.”]
But that we may come more closely to the point, we will call your attention to,
II. The particular duties he inculcates—
In order to adorn our Christian profession, we must especially keep in view,
1. 1. The cultivation of holy tempers in ourselves—
[Without this, nothing can ever prosper in our souls. “Lowliness and meekness” are
unostentatious virtues; but they are of pre-eminent value in the sight of God [ ote:
1Pe_3:4.]. They constitute the brightest ornament of “the hidden man of the heart,”
which alone engages the regards of the heart-searching God. In the very first place,
therefore, get your souls deeply impressed with a sense of your own unworthiness,
and of your total destitution of wisdom, or righteousness, or strength, or any thing
that is good. o man is so truly rich as he who is “poor in spirit;” no man so
estimable in God’s eyes, as he who is most abased in his own. With humility must be
associated meekness. These two qualities particularly characterized our blessed
Lord [ ote: 2Co_10:1.]: of whom we are on that account encouraged to learn [ ote:
Mat_11:29.]; and whom in these respects we are bound to imitate, “having the same
mind as was in him [ ote: Php_2:5.].” Let these dispositions then be cultivated with
peculiar care, according as St. James has exhorted us; “Who is a wise man and
endued with knowledge amongst you? let him shew out of a good conversation his
works with meekness of wisdom [ ote: Jam_3:13.].”
And whilst we maintain in exercise these graces, let us also be long-suffering,
forbearing one another in love. However meek and lowly we are in ourselves, it
cannot fail but that we must occasionally meet with things painful from others. The
very graces which we manifest will often call forth the enmity of others, and cause
them to act an injurious part towards us. But, if this should be the case, we must be
long-suffering towards them, not retaliating the injury, nor harbouring resentment
in our hearts, but patiently submitting to it, as to a dispensation ordered by Infinite
Wisdom for our good. But, where this is not the case, there will still be occasions of
vexation, arising from the conduct of those around us: the ignorance of some, the
misapprehensions and mistakes of others, the perverseness of others, the want of
judgment in others, sometimes also pure accident, will place us in circumstances of
difficulty and embarrassment. But from whatever cause these trials arise, we should

11. shew forbearance towards the offender, from a principle of love; not being offended
with him, not imputing evil intention to him, not suffering our regards towards him
to be diminished; but bearing with his infirmities, as we desire that God should bear
with ours.
ow it is in preserving such a state of mind in ourselves, and manifesting it towards
others, that we shall particularly adorn the Gospel of Christ: and therefore, in our
endeavours to walk worthy of our high calling, we must particularly be on our
guard, that no temper contrary to these break forth into act, or be harboured in the
mind.]
2. The promotion of peace and unity in all around us—
[As belonging to the Church of Christ, we have duties towards all the members of
his mystical body. There ought to be perfect union amongst them all: they should, if
possible, be “all joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment [ ote:
1Co_1:10.].” But, constituted as men are, it is scarcely to be expected that all who
believe in Christ should have precisely the same views of every doctrine, or even of
every duty. But whatever points of difference there may be between them, there
should be a perfect unity of spirit: and to preserve this should be the constant
endeavour of them all. All should consider themselves as members of one family,
living under the same roof: if the house be on fire, they all exert themselves in
concert with each other, to extinguish the flames: they feel one common interest in
the welfare of the whole, and gladly unite for the promotion of it. Thus it should be
in the Church of Christ. Every thing tending to disunion should be avoided by all;
or if the bonds of peace be in any degree loosened, every possible effort should be
made to counteract the evil, and re-establish the harmony that has been interrupted.
A constant readiness to this good office is no low attainment; and, when joined with
the graces before spoken of, it constitutes a most useful and ornamental part of the
Christian character. Attend then to this with great care. Shew that you “do not
mind your own things only, but also, if not chiefly, the things of others.” Shew, that
the welfare of the Church, and the honour of your Lord, lie near your heart: and let
no effort be wanting on your part to promote so glorious an object. Be willing to
sacrifice any interest or wish of your own for the attainment of it; even as Paul
“became all things to all men,” and “sought not his own profit, but the profit of
many, that they might be saved.”]
And now, let me, like the Apostle, make this the subject of my most earnest and
affectionate entreaty. Consider, “I beseech you,”
1. Its aspect on your own happiness—
[It is the consistent Christian only that can be happy. If there be pride, anger, or any
hateful passion indulged, “it will eat as doth a canker,” and destroy all the comfort
of the soul; it will cause God to hide his face from us, and weaken the evidences of
our acceptance with him. If then you consult nothing but your own happiness, I
would say to you, “Walk worthy the vocation wherewith ye are called; and

12. especially in the constant exercise of humility and love.”]
2. Its aspect on the Church of which you are members—
[It is impossible to benefit the Church, if these graces be not cultivated with the
greatest care. In every Church there will be some, who, by unsubdued tempers, or
erroneous notions, or a party-spirit, will be introducing divisions, and disturbing the
harmony which ought to prevail. Against all such persons the humble Christian
should be on his guard, and oppose a barrier. And it is scarcely to be conceived how
much good one person of a humble and loving spirit may do. If “one sinner
destroyeth much good,” so verily one active and pious Christian effects much. Let
each of you then consider the good of the whole: consider yourselves as soldiers
fighting under one Head. Your regimental dress may differ from that of others; but
the end, and aim, and labour of all, must be the same; and all must have but one
object, the glory of their common Lord.]
3. Its aspect on the world around you—
[What will the world say, if they see Christians dishonouring their profession by
unholy tempers and mutual animosities? What opinion will they have of principles
which produce in their votaries no better effects? Will they not harden themselves
and one another in their sins, and justify themselves in their rejection of the Gospel,
which your inconsistencies have taught them to blaspheme? But if your deportment
be such that they can find no evil thing to say of you, they will be constrained to
acknowledge that God is with you of a truth, and to glorify him in your behalf.
Especially, if they see you to be one with each other, as God and Christ are one, they
will know that your principles are just, and will wish to have their portion with you
in a better world [ ote: Joh_17:21-23.].]
4. Its aspect on your eternal welfare—
[In all the most essential things, all the members of Christ’s mystical body are of
necessity united: there is “one body,” of which you are members: “one Spirit,” by
which you are animated; one inheritance, which is the “one hope of your calling;”
“one Lord,” Jesus Christ, who died for you; “one faith,” which you have all
received; “one baptism,” in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, of which you have all partaken; one God and Father of all, who “is above
all,” by his essential majesty, and “through all,” by his universal providence, “and
in you all” by his indwelling Spirit [ ote: ver. 4–6.]: and shall you, who are one in so
many things, be separated from each other so as not to be one in Christian love? It
cannot be: your love to each other is the most indispensable evidence of your union
with him: and, if you are not united together in the bonds of love in the Church
below, you never can be united in glory in the Church above. If ever then you would
join with that choir of saints and angels which are around the throne of God, be
consistent, be uniform, be humble; and let love have a complete and undisputed
sway over your hearts and lives.]

13. MACLARE ,"THE CALLI G A D THE KI GDOM
Eph_4:1; Rev_3:4
The estimate formed of a centurion by the elders of the Jews was, ‘He is worthy for
whom Thou shouldst do this’ and in contrast therewith the estimate formed by
himself was, ‘I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof.’ From these
two statements we deduce the thought that merit has no place in the Christian’s
salvation, but all is to be traced to undeserved, gracious love. But that principle, true
and all-important as it is, like every other great truth, may be exaggerated, and may
be so isolated as to become untrue and a source of much evil. And so I desire to turn
to the other side of the shield, and to emphasise the place that worthiness has in the
Christian life, and its personal results both here and hereafter. To say that
character has nothing to do with blessedness is untrue, both to conscience and to the
Christian revelation; and however we trace all things to grace, we must also
remember that we get what we have fitted ourselves for.
ow, my two texts bring out two aspects which have to be taken in conjunction. The
one of them speaks about the present life, and lays it as an imperative obligation on
all Christian people to be worthy of their Christianity, and the other carries us into
the future and shows us that there it is they who are ‘worthy’ who attain to the
Kingdom. So I think I shall best bring out what I desire to emphasise if I just take
these two points-the Christian calling and the life that is worthy of it, and the
Christian heaven and the life that is worthy of it.
I. The Christian calling and the life that is worthy of it.
‘I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.’ ow,
that thought recurs in other places in the Apostle’s writings, somewhat modified in
expression. For instance, in one passage he speaks of ‘walking worthily of the God
who has called us to His kingdom and glory,’ and in another of the Christian man’s
duty to ‘walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing.’ There is a certain vocation to
which a Christian man is bound to make his life correspond, and his conduct should
be in some measure worthy of the ideal that is set before it. ow, we shall best
understand what is involved in such worthiness if we make clear to ourselves what
the Apostle means by this ‘calling’ to which he appeals as containing in itself a

14. standard to which our lives are to be conformed.
Suppose we try to put away the technical word ‘calling’ and instead of ‘calling’ say
‘summons,’ which is nearer the idea, because it conveys the notions more fully of the
urgency of the voice, and of the authority of the voice, which speaks to us. And what
is that summons? How do we hear it? One of the other Apostles speaks of God as
calling us ‘by His own glory and virtue,’ that is to say, wherever God reveals
Himself in any fashion, and by any medium, to a man, the man fails to understand
the deepest meaning of the revelation unless his purged ear hears in it the great
voice saying, ‘Come up hither.’ For all God’s self-manifestation, in the creatures
around us, in the deep voice of our own souls, in the mysteries of our own personal
lives, and in the slow evolution of His purpose through the history of the world, all
these revelations of God bear in them the summons to us that hear and see them to
draw near to Him, and to mould ourselves into His likeness. And thus, just as the
sun by the effluence of its beams gathers all the ministering planets, as it were,
round its feet, and draws them to itself, so God, raying Himself out into the waste,
fills the waste with magnetic influences which are meant to draw men to nobleness,
goodness, God-pleasingness, and God-likeness.
But in another place in this Apostle’s writings we read of ‘the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus.’ Yes, there, as focussed into one strong voice, all the summonses are
concentrated and gathered. For in Jesus Christ we see the possibilities of humanity
realised, and we have the pattern of what we ought to be, and are called thereby to
be. And in Christ we get the great motives which make this summons, as it comes
mended from His lips, no longer the mere harsh voice of an authoritative legislator,
but the gentle invitation, ‘Come unto Me, ... and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’
The summons is honeyed, sweetened, and made infinitely mightier when we hear it
from His gracious lips. It is the blessed peculiarity of the Christian ideal, that the
manifestation of the ideal carries with it the power to realise it. And just as the
increasing strength of the spring sunshine summons the buds from out of their folds,
and the snowdrops hear the call and force themselves through the frozen soil, so
when Christ summons He inclines the ears that hear, and enables the men that own
them to obey the summons, and to be what they are commanded. And thus we have
‘the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’
ow, if that is the call, if the life of Christ is that to which we are summoned, and
the death of Christ is that by which we are inclined to obey the summons, and the
Spirit of Christ is that by which we are enabled to do so, what sort of a life will be
worthy of these? Well, the context supplies part of the answer. ‘I beseech you that ye
walk worthy of the vocation ... with all meekness and lowliness, with long-suffering,
forbearing one another in love.’ That is one side of the vocation, and the life that is

15. worthy of it will be a life emancipated from the meanness of selfishness, and
delivered from the tumidities of pride and arrogance, and changed into the
sweetness of gentleness and the royalties of love.
And then, on the other side, in one of the other texts where the same general set of
ideas is involved, we get a yet more wondrous exhibition of the life which the
Apostle considered to be worthy. I simply signalise its points of detail without
venturing to dwell upon them. ‘Unto all pleasing’; the first characteristic of life that
is ‘worthy of our calling’ and to which, therefore, every one of us Christian people is
imperatively bound, is that it shall, in all its parts, please God, and that is a large
demand. Then follow details: ‘Fruitful in every good work’-a many-sided
fruitfulness, an encyclopaediacal beneficent activity, covering all the ground of
possible excellence; and that is not all; ‘increasing in the knowledge of God,’-a life of
progressive acquaintance with Him; and that is not all:-’strengthened with all might
unto all patience and long-suffering’; nor is that all, for the crown of the whole is
‘giving thanks unto the Father.’ So, then, ‘ye see your calling, brethren.’ A life that
is ‘worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called’ is a life that conforms to the
divine will, that is ‘fruitful in all good,’ that is progressive in its acquaintance with
God, that is strengthened for all patience and long-suffering, and that in everything
is thankful to Him. That is what we are summoned to be, and unless we are in some
measure obeying the summons, and bringing out such a life in our conduct, then,
notwithstanding all that we have to say about unmerited mercy, and free grace, and
undeserved love, and salvation being not by works but by faith, we have no right to
claim the mercy to which we say we trust.
ow, this necessity of a worthy life is perfectly harmonious with the great truth that,
after all, every man owes all to the undeserved mercy of God. The more nearly we
come to realise the purpose of our calling, the more ‘worthy’ of it we are, the deeper
will be our consciousness of our unworthiness. The more we approximate to the
ideal, and come closer up to it, and so see its features the better, the more we shall
feel how unlike we are to it. The law for Christian progress is that the sense of
unworthiness increases in the precise degree in which the worthiness increases. The
same man that said, ‘Of whom {sinners} I am chief,’ said to the same reader, ‘I have
kept the faith, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.’ And so
the two things are not contradictory but complementary. On the one side ‘worthy’
has nothing to do with the outflow of Christ’s love to us; on the other side we are to
‘walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called.’
II. And now, let us turn to the other thought, the Christian heaven and the life that
is worthy of it.

16. Some of you, I have no doubt, would think that that was a tremendous heresy if
there were not Scriptural words to buttress it. Let us see what it means. My text out
of the Revelation says, ‘They shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.’ And
the same voice that spake these, to some of us, astounding, words, said, when He was
here on earth, ‘They which shall be counted worthy to attain to the life of the
resurrection from the dead,’ etc. The text brings out very clearly the continuity and
congruity between the life on earth and the life in heaven. Who is it of whom it is
said that ‘they are worthy’ to ‘walk in white’? It is the ‘few names even in Sardis
which have not defiled their garments.’ You see the connection; clean robes here
and shining robes hereafter; the two go together, and you cannot separate them.
And no belief that salvation, in its incipient germ here, and salvation in its fulness
hereafter, are the results ‘not of works of righteousness which we have done, but of
His mercy,’ is to be allowed to interfere with that other truth that they who are
worthy attain to the Kingdom.
I must not be diverted from my main purpose, tempting as the theme would be, to
say more than just a sentence about what is included in that great promise, ‘They
shall walk with Me in white’ And if I do touch upon it at all, it is only in order to
bring out more clearly that the very nature of the heavenly reward demands this
worthiness which the text lays down as the condition of possessing it. ‘They shall
walk’-activity on an external world. That opens a great door, but perhaps we had
better be contented just with looking in. ‘They shall walk’-progress; ‘with me’-
union with Jesus Christ; ‘in white’-resplendent purity of character. ow take these
four things-activity on an outward universe, progress, union with Christ,
resplendent purity of character, and you have almost all that we know of the future;
the rest is partly doubtful and is mostly symbolical or negative, and in any case
subordinate. ever mind about ‘physical theories of another life’; never mind about
all the questions-to some of us how torturing they sometimes are!-concerning that
future life. The more we keep ourselves within the broad limits of these promises
that are intertwined and folded up together in that one saying, ‘They shall walk
with Me in white,’ the better, I think, for the sanity and the spirituality of our
conception of a future life.
That being understood, the next thing clearly follows, that only those who in the
sense of the word as it is used here, are ‘worthy,’ can enter upon the possession of
such a heaven. From the nature of the gift it is clear that there must be a moral and
religious congruity between the gift and the recipient, or, to put it into plainer
words, you cannot get heaven unless your nature is capable of receiving these great
gifts which constitute heaven. People talk about the future state as being ‘a state of
retribution.’ Well! that is not altogether a satisfactory form of expression, for
retribution may convey the idea, such as is presented in earthly rewards and

17. punishments, of there being no natural correspondence between the crime and its
punishment, or the virtue and its reward. A bit of bronze shaped into the form of a
cross may be the retribution ‘For Valour,’ and a prison cell may be the retribution
by legal appointment for a certain crime. But that is not the way that God deals out
rewards and punishments in the life which is to come. It is not a case of retribution,
meaning thereby the arbitrary bestowment of a certain fixed gift in response to
certain virtues, but it is a case of outcome, and the old metaphor of sowing and
reaping is the true one. We sow here and we reap yonder. We pass into that future,
‘bringing our sheaves with us,’ and we have to grind the corn and make bread of it,
and we have to eat the work of our own hands. They drink as they have brewed.
‘Their works do follow them,’ or they go before them and ‘receive them into
everlasting habitations.’ Outcome, the necessary result, and not a mere arbitrary
retribution, is the relation which heaven bears to earth.
That is plain, too, from our own nature. We carry ourselves with us wherever we go.
The persistence of character, the continuity of personal being, the continuity of
memory, the unobliterable-if I may coin a word-results upon ourselves of our
actions, all these things make it certain that what looks to us a cleft, deep and broad,
between the present life and the next, is to those that have passed it, and see it from
the other side, but a little crack in the soil scarcely observable, and that we carry on
into another world the selves that we have made here. Whatever death does-and it
does a great deal that we do not know of-it does not alter, it only brings out, and, as
I suppose, intensifies, the main drift and set of a character. And so they who ‘have
not defiled their garments shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.’
Ah, brethren! how solemn that makes life; the fleeting moment carries Eternity in
its bosom. It passes, and the works pass, but nothing human ever dies, and we bear
with us the net results of all the yesterdays into that eternal to-day. You write upon
a thin film of paper and there is a black leaf below it. Yes, and below the black leaf
there is another sheet, and all that you write on the top one goes through the dark
interposed page, and is recorded on the third, and one day that will be taken out of
the book, and you will have to read it and say, ‘What I have written I have written.’
So, dear friends, whilst we begin with that unmerited love, and that same unmerited
love is the sole ground on which the gates of the kingdom of heaven are by the Death
and Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ opened to believers, their place
there depends not only on faith but on the work which is the fruit of faith. There is
such a thing as being ‘saved yet so as by fire,’ and there is such a thing as ‘having an
entrance ministered abundantly unto us’; we have to make the choice. There is such
a thing as the sore punishment of which they are thought worthy who have rejected
the Son of God, and counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing; and there is

18. such a thing as a man saying, ‘I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come unto me,’
and Christ answering, ‘He shall walk with Me in white, for he is worthy’ and we
have to make that choice also.
BIBILICAL ILLUSTRATOR
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith ye are called.
Calling and conduct
I. The behaviour of Christians should correspond with their vocation.
1. From a sense of gratitude.
2. The Divine sentiment from which the vocation sprang should possess them.
II. Certain virtues specially become the Christian vocation.
1. Because of what they are in themselves.
2. Because of the great end they promote--“the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace.” This reveals the real grandeur of these virtues. (A. F. Muir, M. A.)
The obligations of the Christian calling
I. The nature of the obligations resting on Christians.
1. They spring from the circumstances of the Divine call.
(1) It exhibited unparalleled condescension and mercy on the part of God.
(2) It witnessed to a Divine unity in mankind. Christ was no apostle of Judaism; no
national hero; but the Hope of Humanity.
2. They are determined by the fact of the Divine call Having been summoned by that

19. call into a spiritual separation from “the world,” the followers of Jesus were at the
same time constituted into a “calling” or profession by themselves.
(1) Its historic reputation had to be sustained.
(2) It was a “holy” and a “heavenly” calling (2Ti_1:9; Heb_3:1; Php_3:14).
(3) The spiritual unity it had called into existence should not be lost.
II. How these obligations of the Christian calling are to be satisfied.
1. By humility and gentleness.
2. The root and sustaining principle of these is love.
The lover of mankind will subordinate his own pleasure and advantage to the
welfare of others. (A. F. Muir, M. A.)
The nature and obligation of a Christian’s calling
I. The nature of a Christian’s calling.
1. It is a holy calling (2Ti_1:9).
2. It is an honourable calling (Php_3:14).
3. To serve an honourable Master (1Ti_1:17).
4. Hence it is a profitable calling (1Ti_4:8).
II. The obligation of the calling.
1. We must first study the principles of our calling (Eph_1:17).
2. We must be emulous to claim the privileges of the calling (Eph_3:16-19).
3. We must cultivate the spirit of the calling (Eph_4:2-3).
4. We must perform the duties of the calling (Joh_14:23).

20. (1) In civil life (Eph_4:25).
(2) In religious life (Eph_4:24).
(3) In domestic life (Eph_6:1-9).
III. The dignity of the calling (1Th_2:12).
IV. The object of the calling (1Pe_5:10). (T. B. Baker)
.
Walking worthy of our calling
How comes it to pass, that one half of this Epistle is made up of exhortation? Does
not this force itself on one’s conviction as its cause--that the saints of God need it?
They want not only to be comforted, they want not only to be taught, but they want
to be roused.
I. First as it regards their privilege. Beloved, it is one of the greatest that can be
communicated to a fallen sinner. My dear hearers, in one sense, there is not a
creature on earth, but what has a call of God to serve Him. There never could be a
state in which there could be no law, because the very law of creation puts a man
under obligation to serve God. But this is an especial calling; a call of a higher
order, a covenant calling, an effectual calling: secured by the certainty of the Divine
counsel, and never to be frustrated by man. We find in the fifth chapter of the
Epistle to the Galatians, that it is a call to liberty; “brethren, ye have been called
unto liberty.” Ah! man, with all his fond ideas of liberty, knows nothing of liberty,
till he is under the teaching of God the Holy Ghost; for man, by nature, is a bond
slave. Oh! the liberty of a free spirit; that can look death in the face, that can look
quietly from the troubles of life to the God that ordained them, and find peace and
rest in the midst of them! But observe, they are described as having been called into
the holy fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ (1Co_1:9)--“God is faithful, by whom
ye were called unto the fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ.” But they are also called
to glory, to His kingdom.
II. Let us now, secondly, speak of the exhortation that stands based on this glorious
privilege. “I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles”: “I therefore

21. beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” He does
not beseech them to be worthy of that vocation. But he beseeches them to walk
worthy of their vocation, their calling, because they have received such wondrous
mercy. And if you ask me how they could do it?--in proportion as you walk in holy
liberty, as you walk in the peace of the gospel, as you walk in the fellowship of
Christ, as you walk in the path of holy walking. But I would remark, beloved, by
way of concluding observation--see what place humility of soul occupies in this
passage before us. Observe, “Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
with all lowliness.” He did place it first; and it is its right place; it is the great place,
next to faith, hope, and love. The more a man knows of the crucified One, the lower
he lies; the more he knows of the depth of God’s grace, the more he abases himself.
Observe, too, what great stress is laid here upon what are the passive graces of the
spirit. We ought to contend for activity; we live in days in which activity is required;
not only activity of opposition, but activity of dispersion of God’s truth. But if you
ask, What ought to be in the front?--it is the passive graces of the Holy Ghost. “All
lowliness, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another in love, and
endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” But observe that
the basis of all is privilege. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)
On the Christian’s vocation
This exhortation takes in the whole circle of our duties. In effect, if we exhort a man
of noble birth, or of distinguished rank in life, not to do anything unworthy of
himself, disgraceful to his family, or unbecoming his high station, we say everything
that can be said.
1. There is not any truth more evidently expressed, nor more frequently repeated, in
the sacred Scriptures, than that the first object of our vocation to Christianity is to
disengage us from the world, to break the chains which bind our affections to
creatures. You are Christians: and therefore, when you appear among men, you are
to make yourselves distinguished by charity, purity, and every virtue.
2. It is therefore a most destructive illusion to reason as Christians are sometimes
heard to do: “I am a man of the world; I must live as the world does; I must
conform to its manners.” “I am a Christian; therefore I am not of this world;
therefore I cannot live as the world does, cannot conform to its manners.” Reason in
this manner, and your determination will be conformable to the spirit and to the
grace of your vocation. You must take notice that there are two kinds of separation
from the world: the one corporal and exterior; the other, a separation in heart and
in spirit. Withdraw yourselves from the world, before the world retires from you.
You must quit the world by choice, and by an effort of virtue, or be torn from it at
length by force and violence. Follow, therefore, now the sweet attractions of Divine
grace. (J. Archer.)

22. The Christian’s calling
What is the kle?sis, vocation, or calling, of which the Scripture speaks so often?
Take the following hints:
1. It is the calling of God (Rom_11:29; Php_3:14; comp. 2Th_1:11, 2Ti_1:9, Heb_
3:1, 2Pe_1:10, Eph_1:18), because it is God Himself who calls us from darkness to
light, and from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of His dear Son.
2. It is a high calling (Php_3:14), for the prize attached to it is eternal life.
3. It is a holy calling (2Ti_1:9), because the end and purpose of it (at least on earth)
is holiness.
4. It is a heavenly calling (Heb_3:1), for it comes from and draws us to heaven.
5. The hope of our calling (Eph_4:4) is the hope which those called by God to serve
Him may cherish. It belongs to the brethren alone, and proceeds entirely from God
(1Co_1:26). This is what our fathers termed effectual calling, and it occupies a
prominent place in all our systems of theology. The doctrine is based upon, or takes
for granted the following principles--
(1) That the human race is fallen, and needs to be restored to God.
(2) That even this fallen and redeemed race cannot of itself return to God, but needs
the assistance of a Divine call.
(3) That the election and the calling are co-extensive.
(4) That, therefore, the salvation of the Church is, in its origin, means, and end, to
be ascribed to the pure and sovereign will of God. Our walk should be worthy of
this vocation. There ought to be some relation between our conduct and our hopes,
between our character and the promised reward. If His love has opened up to us
glorious and immortal hopes, should not our service correspond to them? Worthy of
His calling? It is a great, high, noble principle. It is a rule of life which lifts us from
the dust, and gives us the position, hopes, and fears of immortal creatures. (W.
Graham, D. D.)
Christian consistency
A writer on Christian consistency, says: “History records that in the days of
Tiberius it was thought a crime to carry a ring stamped with the image of Augustus
into any mean or sordid place, where it might be polluted! How much may those
who profess to be a holy people learn even from a heathen!” (From “The Epworth

23. Bells.”)
Apostolic exhortation
I. Consider, in the first place, that “therefore” of his and what it implies. For there
are many reasons for not exhorting people to walk earnestly and carefully, and
worthily of their high name and knowledge. It is much pleasanter to dwell
exclusively upon the privileges and blessings of Christianity, and to leave its heavy
responsibilities and penalties out of sight. But this “therefore” was something that
moved the apostle, even from his prison, to fill half his Epistle with earnest,
importunate, and pointed admonitions. A very potent “therefore” it must have
been--but what was it? It does not appear to have been any one statement or fact in
particular, but rather all that has gone before; as if, pausing at the end of the third
chapter, he had been reading over what he had written, and had been so moved by
it that he felt compelled, constrained, to break off into this exhortation. It is this
strong feeling in his mind which finds expression in that word “therefore.” And
what was it that he had been writing about? Why, it was the marvellous grace and
loving kindness of God towards the Gentiles revealed to him, and preached by him;
their fellowship in Christ, their union with the remnant of Israel and with one
another in one divinely constituted body, their eternal predestination to this grace
and adoption in Christ.
II. Consider, in the second place, the title which St. Paul here assumes in order to
give force to his exhortation: “I, the prisoner of (or rather in) the Lord.” Himself a
prisoner, enduring a painful captivity for the Master’s sake, how properly might he
exhort them in liberty to be true to their colours and to the standard of Christ. And
this may lead us to reflect how universally true it is that Christianity needs example
in order to be believed and obeyed. It is too weighty to be accepted on its own
strength, too little favourable to the natural pride and indolence of men, too
tremendous in its promises, revelations, claims, and assumptions. Men are
beginning to perceive that the Christianity of Christ and His apostles was intended
to be a life--a supernatural life, indeed, because the life of Christ Himself, and yet a
life to be lived amongst men by ordinary people, and to be readily distinguished by
certain palpable differences from the natural life of men.
III. Consider, in the third place, what it was of which they were to walk worthy.
Their “calling,” or “vocation”--what was it? ot anything which we speak of now as
a “calling,” such as we follow for gain, or honour, or convenience, or even for duty:
this calling whereof the apostle speaks is of God. It is, in fact, His invitation, which

24. He has addressed to each one of us as inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. (R.
Winterbotham, M. A.)
The prison house
I. Let us think first of the place and manner of St. Paul’s imprisonment. The place
was Rome, the capital of the world. A city full of glorious memories of the past, and
famous in the present for art, and eloquence, and learning. Its soldiers could boast
that they had conquered the world, and could point out the tombs of Pompey and of
many another hero along the Appian Way. Its streets had been trodden by some of
the greatest of poets, and its Senate-House had echoed with the burning words of the
first orators of the world. Rome was full of contrasts, wealth and beggary, beauty
and squalor, the palace of Caesar, and the haunt of vice and shame, were close
together. The city was ruled over by a cruel tyrant, at once a hypocrite and a
monster of iniquity. It was in such a place, so glorious and so shameful, that St. Paul
was a prisoner. He was not, however, confined in a dungeon. By the favour of the
Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, whose duty it was to take charge of all prisoners
awaiting trial before the Emperor, the apostle was allowed to live in a hired house of
his own, to have free access to such friends as he had, and to preach the gospel freely
to those who would hear him. But still St. Paul was a prisoner. After the Roman
fashion, he was chained to a soldier, and at night probably two soldiers were linked
to him. Yet, although an exile, a prisoner, waiting for a trial where he would have
little chance of justice, knowing that the sword hung above his head ready to fall at
any moment, St. Paul utters no complaint, no murmur of discontent. On the
contrary, he bids his hearers rejoice in the Lord alway; he himself thanked God,
and took courage; he tells his disciples that he has learnt in whatsoever state he is, to
be content. He is poor, yet making many rich. The heathen tyrant can make him a
prisoner, but his chains cannot keep him from the glorious freedom of the sons of
God. And now what lesson can we learn from the prison house at Rome? We can
learn this, that this world in which we live is in one sense a prison house to all.
1. It is a prison house of hard work. In our great cities the roar of traffic, the rattle
of machinery, the shriek of the steam whistle, the eager crowds flocking to office and
bank and exchange all mean one thing--work. Every man’s talk is of business; he is
in the prison house, and he is chained to his work.
2. ext, this world is a prison house of sorrow and trial. Everyone who has lived any
time in the world can show you the marks of his chain. Everyone whom we meet is
wearing a crown of thorns. It is hidden under the scanty white locks of the old, and
the sunny tresses of youth. Specially is this world a prison house to those who strive
to do their duty, and help their fellow men. For them in all ages there have been
prison bars, and chains of persecution. If we would look on some of the greatest
teachers, philosophers, and benefactors of mankind, we must look for them in a

25. prison house. Socrates, when seventy-two years old, was a prisoner, and condemned
to drink poison, because he taught higher lessons than the mob could understand.
Bruno was burnt at Rome, because he exposed the false philosophy of the day.
When Galileo, an old man of seventy, taught the truth about the earth’s motion,
they cast him into the dungeons of the Inquisition, and after death the Pope refused
a tomb for his body. And so for many others who dared to do their duty and to
speak the truth. But the stonewalls could not confine the mind; the iron chain could
not bind the truth. Some of the most glorious works in literature were composed in
prison. The prison house at Rome has given us some of those Epistles of St. Paul
which have gone far to convert the world; and the finest allegory in the English
language was written in Bedford gaol. “If we suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy
are we.” There are prisoners who are not the Lord’s. There are some fast bound in
the misery and iron of bad habits, and habitual sin. These are lying in the
condemned cell, bound hand and foot with the devil’s chain. And I tell you that you
will often find this life a prison house, where you must give up your own will, deny
yourselves, learn to endure hardness, and to bear the chain which suffering, or
neglect, or ignorance put upon you. If you are indeed the prisoners of the Lord, the
iron of your chain will make you brave to suffer and be strong. (H. J. Wilmot-
Buxton, M. A.)
Freedom in bonds
This prisoner has more freedom than any emperor ever had. External freedom, with
internal bonds, is but an affectation, and a mockery of freedom. A man flattered
and deceived by an ostentation of bodily freedom, while his spirit is held in the
heavy chains of his own lusts and fears, is as melancholy a spectacle as any under
the sun. The evil spirit laughs to see his slave enjoying the fond delirious conceit that
he is a free man. The slavery is then perfect. Paul’s prison lies open to all heaven. In
spirit, he walks at large, in boundless light. The prisoner writing to those who are
worthy to know the secret, says: “I am surrounded by innumerable angels,” I walk
in paradise with “the spirits of just men made perfect,” I am entertained with
“unspeakable things.” Chrysostom says: “Were any to ask, whether he should place
me on high with the angels, or with Paul in his bonds, I would choose the prison.”
According to his own showing, he was less in peril in prison, than in the third
heavens. As a safeguard against his ecstasy, he must needs have some messenger of
Satan, to buffet him. In prison he found no such temptation. His bonds were a
precious means of grace to him. Finding an unspeakable peace in “lowliness of
mind,” he commends the same to his brethren in Christ. (J. Pulsford.)
The privilege and duty of the Christian calling

26. I. The privilege declared. Their “vocation,” i.e., calling. Men have callings in the
world--their business, profession, temporal office. The apostle speaks of “the calling
of God.” There are different callings spoken of. There is--
1. An external calling--the invitation to gospel privileges.
2. An official calling--the appointment to administration in the Church.
3. An internal and effectual calling by the Spirit of God. This is
(1) an enlightening calling.
(2) A sanctifying calling.
(3) A uniting calling. It binds to
(a) Christ (1Co_1:9).
(b) The Church (Eph_4:4; Eph_1:18-22).
(4) A saving calling (1Th_2:12).
II. The duty urged. How can anyone walk “worthy”? It means suitably, in a manner
somewhat becoming those who enjoy such privileges. As if the apostle would say:
Have you--
1. A call to knowledge? Walk wisely.
2. A call to holiness? Walk unblameably.
3. A call to fellowship? Walk lovingly.
4. A call to glory? Walk happily.
Conclusion: These things--
1. Should put us on examination.
2. Should move us to diligence. (H. Parr.)
The life worthy of the calling
I do not think that St. Paul would consider, or have a right to consider, that his

27. bondage was then his “vocation”; but an affliction, a sickness, an inability even to
move, may be as much a “vocation” as anything that may happen in life. But he
urges the Ephesians to use “worthily”--while they have it--their “vocation to walk.”
To “walk” ought to be used as the emblem of a Christian life; and for this reason,
because “walking” alone of all our actions places the whole man in motion, and that
motion is a progressive one. It was “a calling”! Then there must be a caller. Who
was the Caller? Was there not a Providence in the fact of your “calling”?
1. In the first place remember that “call” came from the Holy Trinity. The Father
willed it, the Son mediated to obtain it, the Holy Ghost applied it. Is it then a fact
that you have been thought worthy of the notice, the remembrance, the power, the
love of each Person in that holy blessed Trinity? What a sacred, what a solemn thing
that “call” must be!
2. Each Person in that mysterious Three is love, perfect love. That “call” then was
the call of infinite, unspeakable love. Have you been walking “worthy of the
vocation” of love? Could you say that your life is a life of love. Your walk, your
walk! does it drop love at every step? Remember what you were when you had a call
of love. You were unloving and unlovable.
3. But there is another particular characteristic of that love wherewith you were
called. It was a call of forgiveness. The whole Trinity had combined to make that
forgiveness. ow let me ask, Is there anyone at this moment in the whole world
whom you have not forgiven? If so, then you are not walking worthy of the vocation
wherewith you are called.
4. But there was another predominant characteristic in your call--it was a call to
holiness. “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” ow are you walking every day a holy walk?
Moreover, your call was a call to activity; also a call to a higher life. Are you
walking worthy of it? (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Calling and walk
1. I feel sure that I shall carry along with me the experience of every child of God,
when I say that his call, however it came to him, was very humbling. God has
thousands of methods by which He draws souls to Himself, but in one respect, there
is no difference between them all--He never calls a soul without humbling it. It is
very likely that the instrument which effected your call was not one that the world
would call great. It is very likely that the providences which attended it were very
humbling providences. But however this may be--however it may be in respect of
outward things, I am quite sure that as the grace of God began to take effect upon
your heart, your soul passed into very low places, down into the very dust. You
began to see yourself in a very different light from any in which you ever saw
yourself before. And let me say, that I believe one of the chief reasons why many
young Christians are happier than other Christians, is that in the first stages of

28. grace, there is a more realizing, deep sense of nothingness, and sin.
2. But if it was an humbling call, I am sure it was a very kind one. Perhaps in the
recollection of what took place then, now the thought is “Through what exercises of
mind you passed”; but at the time itself, the chief feeling with you was--“How very
kind this is of God! what wonderful patience God has been exercising towards a
poor, miserable sinner!”
3. And let me further remind you, brethren, that your call was a very personal
thing. It was characterized by individuality: each soul is singled out by itself by God.
As respects “walking,” the apostle uses the figure for two reasons: one because it is
distinctly a progressive motion, in all places progress; and secondly, it is the only
movement which engages and puts in action the whole man. But as was the
“calling,” so must be the “walk,”--humble, tender, earnest, holy, heavenly.
Whatever progress you have made, still remember, that whatever cause there was
for humility at the beginning, there is more cause now. For now, a wrong thought is
worse than once a wrong action, because you are more responsible. Walk in the
valley. That is an unworthy thought which ever lifts itself too high, either to God or
man. And was God very kind, very patient, very long suffering, to bear with you, to
choose you, to call you? Then be you just like that to every poor fellow sinner. And
never forget what a real, personal, earnest matter between your soul and God, your
“call” was. You have nothing to dread more than for religion to become a
generality. As many as have felt God’s callings, know the exceeding weight and
moment of every little thing. By little things you were made, by little things you were
called. Therefore, again, if you would not frustrate the grace of God, you must be
holy. “He hath called you, not to uncleanness, but to holiness.” (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Walking worthy of one’s vocation
I. The vocation wherewith a believer is called.
1. It is God’s speaking to the heart of a sinner in and by His word (2Co_4:6; Joh_
5:25).
2. It is to the enjoyment of the greatest privileges (Isa_61:1; 2Co_3:17; Gal_5:1;
Gal_5:13).
3. It is various, and yet the same, to all believers.
(1) Various--as to age, instruments, manner.
(2) Same--as to tendency.

29. 4. It is of the sovereign goodwill of God (Rom_9:19-24).
5. God never repents and revokes this calling (Rom_11:29).
6. It is the duty and privilege of professors to make it sure to themselves.
II. What it is to walk worthy of this vocation. In general: When there is a
suitableness in the walk to the nature of the calling. Particularly--
1. When it is such as has been exemplified in Christ and His Church.
2. When it tends to the edification of those about us--saints and sinners.
3. When such as God approves in His Word.
III. The manner in which the apostle enforces his exhortation. “I, the prisoner,” etc.
(H. Foster, M. A.)
Mission of the saints
Each of God’s saints is sent into the world to prove some part of the Divine
character. Perhaps I may be one of those who shall live in the valley of ease, having
much rest, and hearing sweet birds of promise singing in my ears. The air is calm
and balmy, the sheep are feeding round about me, and all is still and quiet. Well,
then I shall prove the love of God in sweet communings. Or perhaps I may be Called
to stand where the thunder clouds brew, where the lightnings play, and tempestuous
winds are howling on the mountain tops. Well, then I am born to prove the power
and majesty of our God: amid dangers He will inspire me with courage: amid toils
He will make me strong. Perhaps it shall be mine to preserve an unblemished
character, and so prove the power of sanctifying grace, in not being allowed to
backslide from my professed dedication to God. I shall then be a proof of the
omnipotent power of grace, which alone can save from the power, as well as from
the guilt of sin. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Worthy walkin
g:--There is a seemliness appertaining to each calling. So here. We must walk nobly,
as becometh the heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Luther counsels men to
answer all temptations of Satan with this word, “I am a Christian.” They were wont

30. to say of cowards in Rome, “There is nothing Roman in them.” Of many Christians
we may say, “There is nothing Christian in them.” It is not amiss before we serve
the world to put Alexander’s questions to his followers, that would have persuaded
him to run at the Olympic games. “Do kings use to run at the Olympics?” Every
believer is higher than the kings of the earth. He must therefore carry himself
accordingly. (J. Trapp.)
What are we called to
1. The knowledge of God (1Pe_4:9).
2. The faith of Christ (1Co_1:9; Gal_2:6).
3. Holiness of life (1Th_4:7; Rom_7:1).
4. Peace (1Co_7:15).
(1) With God (Rom_5:1).
(2) With our consciences (Act_24:16).
(3) With one another (Eph_4:2).
5. Eternal life (1Pe_3:9; 1Pe_5:10; 1Th_2:12). (Bishop Beveridge.)
What is it to walk worthy of our calling
1. Generally, to carry ourselves as becometh Christians (Php_1:27; Col_1:10; 1Th_
2:12).
2. Particularly--
(1) To believe what Christ asserts (1Jn_5:10).
(2) To trust in what He promiseth (2Co_1:20).
(3) To perform what He commands (Joh_14:15). (Bishop Beveridge.)
Why walk worthy of our calling
1. Otherwise we sham our profession (Heb_6:5).

31. 2. We lose the comfort of our calling (Psa_19:11).
3. We shall lose its end (Heb_12:14). (Bishop Beveridge.)
Our walk is watched
A gentleman in England said that he owed his conversion mainly to the marked
consistency of a merchant who lived not far from him. His neighbour was a
Christian, and professed to carry on his large business on strictly Christian
principles. This surprised him; but not being sure of its reality, he determined to
watch him for a year, and if at the end of that time he found that he was really what
he professed to be, he would become a Christian also. All the year he watched
without finding any flaw or inconsistency in his dealing. The result was a thorough
conviction that the merchant was a true man, and that religion was a reality.
BARCLAY 1-3, "With this chapter the second part of the letter begins. In Eph. 1-3
Paul has dealt with the great and eternal truths of the Christian faith, and with the
function of the Church in the plan of God. ow he begins to sketch what each
member of the Church must be if the Church is to carry out her part in that plan.
Before we begin this chapter, let us again remind ourselves that the central thought
of the letter is that Jesus has brought to a disunited world the way to unity. This
way is through faith in him and it is the Church's task to proclaim this message to
all the world. And now Paul turns to the character the Christian must have if the
Church is to fulfil her great task of being Christ's instrument of universal
reconciliation between man and man, and man and God within the world.
WORTHY OF OUR CALLI G
Eph. 4:1-10
So then, I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to behave yourselves in a way that is
worthy of the calling with which you are called. I urge you to behave with all
humility, and gentleness, and patience. I urge you to bear with one another in love. I
urge you eagerly to preserve that unity which the Holy Spirit can bring by binding
things together in peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been
called with one hope of your calling. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. one
God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all. To each one of
you grace has been given, as it has been measured out to you by the free gift of
Christ. Therefore scripture says, "He ascended into the height, and brought his
captive band of prisoners, and gave gifts to men." (When it says that "he ascended."
what else can it mean than that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?
He who descended is the same person as he who ascended above all the heavens,
that he might fill all things with his presence.)
THE CHRISTIA VIRTUES
Eph. 4:1-3
So then, I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to behave yourselves in a way that is

32. worthy of the calling with which you are called. I urge you to behave with all
humility, and gentleness, and patience. I urge you to bear with one another in love. I
urge you eagerly to preserve that unity which the Holy Spirit can bring by binding
things together in peace.
When a man enters into any society, he takes upon himself the obligation to live a
certain kind of life; and if he fails in that obligation, he hinders the aims of his
society and brings discredit on its name. Here Paul paints the picture of the kind of
life that a man must live when he enters the fellowship of the Christian Church.
The first three verses shine like jewels. Here we have five of the great basic words of
the Christian faith.
(i) First, and foremost, there is humility. The Greek is tapeinophrosune (GS 5012),
and this is actually a word which the Christian faith coined. In Greek there is no
word for humility which has not some suggestion of meanness attaching to it. Later
Basil was to describe it as "the gem casket of all the virtues"; but before
Christianity humility was not counted as a virtue at all. The ancient world looked on
humility as a thing to be despised.
The Greek had an adjective for humble, which is closely connected with this noun--
the adjective tapeinos (GS 5011). A word is always known by the company it keeps
and this word keeps ignoble company. It is used in company with the Greek
adjectives which mean slavish (andrapododes, doulikos, douloprepes), ignoble
(agennes), of no repute (adoxos), cringing (chamaizelos, which is the adjective which
describes a plant which trails along the ground). In the days before Jesus humility
was looked on as a cowering, cringing, servile, ignoble quality; and yet Christianity
sets it in the very forefront of the virtues. Whence then comes this Christian
humility, and what does it involves
(a) Christian humility comes from self-knowledge. Bernard said of it, "It is the
virtue by which a man becomes conscious of his own unworthiness. in consequence
of the truest knowledge of himself."
To face oneself is the most humiliating thing in the world. Most of us dramatize
ourselves. Somewhere there is a story of a man who before he went to sleep at night
dreamed his waking dreams. He would see himself as the hero of some thrilling
rescue from the sea or from the flames; he would see himself as an orator holding a
vast audience spell-bound; he would see himself walking to the wicket in a Test
Match at Lord's and scoring a century; he would see himself in some international
football match dazzling the crowd with his skill; always he was the centre of the
picture. Most of us are essentially like that. And true humility comes when we face
ourselves and see our weakness, our selfishness, our failure in work and in personal
relationships and in achievement.
(b) Christian humility comes from setting life beside the life of Christ and in the
light of the demands of God.
God is perfection and to satisfy perfection is impossible. So long as we compare
ourselves with second bests, we may come out of the comparison well. It is when we
compare ourselves with perfection that we see our failure. A girl may think herself a
very fine pianist until she hears one of the world's outstanding performers. A man
may think himself a good golfer until he sees one of the world's masters in action. A
man may think himself something of a scholar until he picks up one of the books of
the great old scholars of encylopaedic knowledge. A man may think himself a fine

33. preacher until he listens to one of the princes of the pulpit.
Self-satisfaction depends on the standard with which we compare ourselves. If we
compare ourselves with our neighbour, we may well emerge very satisfactorily from
the comparison. But the Christian standard is Jesus Christ and the demands of
God's perfection--and against that standard there is no room for pride.
(c) There is another way of putting this. R. C. Trench said that humility comes from
the constant sense of our own creatureliness. We are in absolute dependence on
God. As the hymn has it:
"`Tis Thou preservest me from death
And dangers every hour;
I cannot draw another breath
Unless Thou give me power.
My health, my friends, and parents dear
To me by God are given;
I have not any blessing here
But what is sent from heaven."
We are creatures, and for the creature there can be nothing but humility in the
presence of the creator.
Christian humility is based on the sight of self, the vision of Christ, and the
realization of God.
THE CHRISTIA GE TLEMA
Eph. 4:1-3 (continued)
(ii) The second of the great Christian virtues is what the King James Version calls
meekness and what we have translated gentleness. The Greek noun is praotes
(GS 4236), the adjective praus (GS 4239), and these are beyond translation by any
single English word. Praus has two main lines of meanings.
(a) Aristotle, the great Greek thinker and teacher, has much to say about praotes
(GS 4236). It was his custom to define every virtue as the mean between two
extremes. On one side there was excess of some quality, on the other defect; and in
between there was exactly its right proportion. Aristotle defines praotes (GS 4236)
as the mean between being too angry and never being angry at all. The man who is
praus (GS 4239) is the man who is always angry at the right time and never angry
at the wrong time. To put that in another way, the man who is praus (GS 4239) is
the man who is kindled by indignation at the wrongs and the sufferings of others,
but is never moved to anger by the wrongs and the insults he himself has to bear. So,
then, the man who is (as in the King James Version), meek is the man who is always
angry at the right time but never angry at the wrong time.
(b) There is another fact which will illumine the meaning of this word. Praus
(GS 4239) is the Greek for an animal which has been trained and domesticated
until it is completely under control. Therefore the man who is praus (GS 4239) is
the man who has every instinct and every passion under perfect control. It would
not be right to say that such a man is entirely self-controlled, for such self-control is
beyond human power, but it would be right to say that such a man is God-
controlled.
Here then is the second great characteristic of the true member of the Church. He is
the man who is so God-controlled that he is always angry at the right time but never
angry at the wrong time.

34. THE U DEFEATABLE PATIE CE
Eph. 4:1-3 (continued)
(iii) The third great quality of the Christian is what the King James Version calls
long-suffering. The Greek is makrothumia (GS 3115). This word has two main
directions of meaning.
(a) It describes the spirit which will never give in and which, because it endures to
the end, will reap the reward. Its meaning can best be seen from the fact that a
Jewish writer used it to describe what he called "the Roman persistency which
would never make peace under defeat." In their great days the Romans were
unconquerable; they might lose a battle, they might even lose a campaign, but they
could not conceive of losing a war. In the greatest disaster it never occurred to them
to admit defeat. Christian patience is the spirit which never admits defeat, which
will not be broken by any misfortune or suffering, by any disappointment or
discouragement, but which persists to the end.
(b) But makrothumia (GS 3115) has an even more characteristic meaning than
that. It is the characteristic Greek word for patience with men. Chrysostom defined
it as the spirit which has the power to take revenge but never does so. Lightfoot
defined it as the spirit which refuses to retaliate. To take a very imperfect analogy--
it is often possible to see a puppy and a very large dog together. The puppy yaps at
the big dog, worries him, bites him, and all the time the big dog, who could
annihilate the puppy with one snap of his teeth, bears the puppy's impertinence with
a forbearing dignity. Makrothumia (GS 3115) is the spirit which bears insult and
injury without bitterness and without complaint. It is the spirit which can suffer
unpleasant people with graciousness and fools without irritation.
The thing which best of all gives its meaning is that the ew Testament repeatedly
uses it of God. Paul asks the impenitent sinner if he despises the patience of God
(Rom.2:4). Paul speaks of the perfect patience of Jesus to him (1Tim.1:16). Peter
speaks of God's patience waiting in the days of oah (1Pet.3:20). He says that the
forbearance of our Lord is our salvation (2Pet.3:15). If God had been a man, he
would long since in sheer irritation have wiped the world out for its disobedience.
The Christian must have the patience towards his fellow men which God has shown
to him.
THE CHRISTIA LOVE
Eph. 4:1-3 (continued)
(iv) The fourth great Christian quality is love. Christian love was something so new
that the Christian writers had to invent a new word for it; or, at least, they had to
employ a very unusual Greek word--agape (GS 0026).
In Greek there are four words for love. There is eros (compare GS 2037), which is
the love between a man and a maid and which involves sexual passion. There is
philia (GS 5373) which is the warm affection which exists between those who are
very near and very dear to each other. There is storge (compare GS 0794) which is
characteristically the word for family affection. And there is agape (GS 0026),
which the King James Version translates sometimes love and sometimes charity.
The real meaning of agape (GS 0026) is unconquerable benevolence. If we regard a
person with agape (GS 0026), it means that nothing that he can do will make us
seek anything but his highest good. Though he injure us and insult us, we will never
feel anything but kindness towards him. That quite clearly means that this Christian

35. love is not an emotional thing. This agape (GS 0026) is a thing, not only of the
emotions, but also of the will. It is the ability to retain unconquerable good will to
the unlovely and the unlovable, towards those who do not love us, and even towards
those whom we do not like. Agape (GS 0026) is that quality of mind and heart
which compels a Christian never to feel any bitterness, never to feel any desire for
revenge, but always to seek the highest good of every man no matter what he may
be.
(v) These four great virtues of the Christian life--humility, gentleness, patience,
love--issue in a fifth, peace. It is Paul's advice and urgent request that the people to
whom he is writing should eagerly preserve "the sacred oneness" which should
characterize the true Church.
Peace may be defined as right relationships between man and man. This oneness,
this peace, these right relationships can be preserved only in one way. Every one of
the four great Christian virtues depends on the obliteration of self. So long as self is
at the centre of things, this oneness can never fully exist. In a society where self
predominates, men cannot be other than a disintegrated collection of individualistic
and warring units. But when self dies and Christ springs to life within our hearts.
then comes the peace, the oneness, which is the great hall-mark of the true Church.
2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient,
bearing with one another in love.
BAR ES, "With all lowliness - Humility; see the notes on Act_20:19, where the
same Greek word is used; compare also the following places, where the same Greek word
occurs: Phi_2:3, “in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves;”
Col_2:18, “in a voluntary humility;” Col_2:23; Col_3:12; 1Pe_5:5. The word does not
elsewhere occur in the New Testament. The idea is, that humility of mind becomes those
who are “called” Eph_4:1, and that we walk worthy of that calling when we evince it.
And meekness - see the notes on Mat_5:5. Meekness relates to the manner in which
we receive injuries. We are to bear them patiently, and not to retaliate, or seek revenge.
The meaning here is, that; we adorn the gospel when we show its power in enabling us to
bear injuries without anger or a desire of revenge, or with a mild and forgiving spirit; see
2Co_10:1; Gal_5:23; Gal_6:1; 2Ti_2:25; Tit_3:2; where the same Greek word occurs.
With longsuffering, ... - Bearing patiently with the foibles, faults, and infirmities of
others; see the notes on 1Co_13:4. The virtue here required is that which is to be

36. manifested in our manner of receiving the provocations which we meet with from our
brethren. No virtue, perhaps, is more frequently demanded in our contact with others.
We do not go far with any fellow-traveler on the journey of life, before we find there is
great occasion for its exercise. He has a temperament different from our own. He may be
sanguine, or choleric, or melancholy; while we may be just the reverse. He has
peculiarities of taste, and habits, and disposition, which differ much from ours. He has
his own plans and purposes of life, and his own way and time of doing things. He may be
naturally irritable, or he may have been so trained that his modes of speech and conduct
differ much from ours. Neighbors have occasion to remark this in their neighbors;
friends in their friends; kindred in their kindred; one church-member in another.
A husband and wife - such is the imperfection of human nature - can find enough in
each other to embitter life, if they choose to magnify imperfections, and to become
irritated at trifles; and there is no friendship that may not be marred in this way, if we
will allow it. Hence, if we would have life move on smoothly, we must learn to bear and
forbear. We must indulge the friend that we love in the little peculiarities of saying and
doing things which may be important to him, but which may be of little moment to us.
Like children, we must suffer each one to build his play-house in his own way, and not
quarrel with him because he does not think our way the best. All usefulness, and all
comfort, may be prevented by an unkind, a sour, a crabbed temper of mind - a mind that
can bear with no difference of opinion or temperament. A spirit of fault-finding; an
unsatisfied temper; a constant irritability; little inequalities in the look, the temper, or
the manner; a brow cloudy and dissatisfied - your husband or your wife cannot tell why -
will more than neutralize all the good you can do, and render life anything but a blessing.
It is in such gentle and quiet virtues as meekness and forbearance, that the happiness
and usefulness of life consist, far more than in brilliant eloquence, in splendid talent, or
illustrious deeds, that shall send the name to future times. It is the bubbling spring
which flows gently; the little rivulet which glides through the meadow, and which runs
along day and night by the farmhouse, that is useful, rather than the swollen flood or the
roaring cataract. Niagara excites our wonder; and we stand amazed at the power and
greatness of God there, as he “pours it from his hollow hand.” But one Niagara is enough
for a continent or a world; while that same world needs thousands and tens of thousands
of silver fountains, and gently flowing rivulets, that shall water every farm, and every
meadow, and every garden, and that shall flow on, every day and every night, with their
gentle and quiet beauty. So with the acts of our lives. It is not by great deeds only, like
those of Howard - not by great sufferings only, like those of the martyrs - that good is to
be done; it is by the daily and quiet virtues of life - the Christian temper, the meek
forbearance, the spirit of forgiveness in the husband, the wife, the father, the mother, the
brother, the sister, the friend, the neighbor - that good is to be done; and in this all may
be useful.
CLARKE, "With all lowliness - It is by acting as the apostle here directs that a
man walks worthy of this high vocation; ταπεινοφροσυνη signifies subjection or humility
of mind.
Meekness - The opposite to anger and irritability of disposition.
Long-suffering - Μακροθυµια· Long-mindedness - never permitting a trial or
provocation to get to the end of your patience.
Forbearing one another - Ανεχοµενοι αλληλων· Sustaining one another - helping to

37. support each other in all the miseries and trials of life: or, if the word be taken in the
sense of bearing with each other, it may mean that, through the love of God working in
our hearts, we should bear with each other’s infirmities, ignorance, etc., knowing how
much others have been or are still obliged to bear with us.
GILL, "With all lowliness and meekness,..... In the exercise of humility, which
shows itself in believers, in entertaining and expressing the meanest thoughts of
themselves, and the best of others; in not envying the gifts and graces of others, but
rejoicing at them, and at every increase of them; in a willingness to receive instruction
from the meanest saints; in submission to the will of God in all adverse dispensations of
Providence; and in ascribing all they have, and are, to the grace of God: and so to
behave, is to walk agreeably to their calling of God; and what the consideration of that
may engage them to, when they serve the low estate and condition out of which they are
called, in which they were before calling: and that in effectual calling they have nothing
but what they have received; and that others are called with the same calling that they
are: and to walk humbly before God and man, is to walk according to the will of God that
calls; and it is walking as Christ walked, who is meek, and lowly; and is agreeable to the
blessed Spirit, one of whose fruits is meekness; and is what is very ornamental to the
saints, and is well pleasing in the sight of God.
With longsuffering; bearing much and long with the infirmities of each other;
without being easily provoked to anger by any ill usage; and not immediately meditating
and seeking revenge for every affront given, or injury done; and so to walk, is to walk
worthy of the grace of calling, or agreeable to it, to God that calls by his grace, who is
longsuffering both with wicked men, and with his own people.
Forbearing one another in love; overlooking the infirmities of one another,
forgiving injuries done, sympathizing with, and assisting each other in distressed
circumstances, the spring of all which should be love; by that saints should be moved,
influenced, and engaged to such a conduct, and which should be so far attended to, as is
consistent with love; for so to forbear one another, as to suffer sin to be on each other,
without proper, gentle, and faithful rebukes for it, is not to act in love.
HE RY, "Here the apostle proceeds to more particular exhortations. Two he
enlarges upon in this chapter: - To unity an love, purity and holiness, which Christians
should very much study. We do not walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are
called if we be not faithful friends to all Christians, and sworn enemies to all sin.
This section contains the exhortation to mutual love, unity, and concord, with the
proper means and motives to promote them. Nothing is pressed upon us more earnestly
in the scriptures than this. Love is the law of Christ's kingdom, the lesson of his school,
the livery of his family. Observe,
I. The means of unity: Lowliness and meekness, long-suffering, and forbearing one
another in love, Eph_4:2. By lowliness we are to understand humility, entertaining
mean thoughts of ourselves, which is opposed to pride. By meekness, that excellent
disposition of soul which makes men unwilling to provoke others, and not easily to be
provoked or offended with their infirmities; and it is opposed to angry resentments and
peevishness. Long-suffering implies a patient bearing of injuries, without seeking
revenge. Forbearing one another in love signifies bearing their infirmities out of a
principle of love, and so as not to cease to love them on the account of these. The best

38. Christians have need to bear one with another, and to make the best one of another, to
provoke one another's graces and not their passions. We find much in ourselves which it
is hard to forgive ourselves; and therefore we must not think it much if we find that in
others which we think hard to forgive them, and yet we must forgive them as we forgive
ourselves. Now without these things unity cannot be preserved. The first step towards
unity is humility; without this there will be no meekness, no patience, or forbearance;
and without these no unity. Pride and passion break the peace, and make all the
mischief. Humility and meekness restore the peace, and keep it. Only by pride comes
contention; only by humility comes love. The more lowly-mindedness the more like-
mindedness. We do not walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called if we be not
meek and lowly of heart: for he by whom we are called, he to whom we are called, was
eminent for meekness and lowliness of heart, and has commanded us therein to learn of
him.
JAMISO , "lowliness — In classic Greek, the meaning is meanness of spirit: the
Gospel has elevated the word to express a Christian grace, namely, the esteeming of
ourselves small, inasmuch as we are so; the thinking truly, and because truly, therefore
lowlily, of ourselves [Trench].
meekness — that spirit in which we accept God’s dealings with us without disputing
and resisting; and also the accepting patiently of the injuries done us by men, out of the
thought that they are permitted by God for the chastening and purifying of His people
(2Sa_16:11; compare Gal_6:1; 2Ti_2:25; Tit_3:2). It is only the lowly, humble heart that
is also meek (Col_3:12). As “lowliness and meekness” answer to “forbearing one another
in love” (compare “love,” Eph_4:15, Eph_4:16), so “long-suffering” answers to (Eph_
4:4) “endeavoring (Greek, ‘earnestly’ or ‘zealously giving diligence’) to keep (maintain)
the unity of the Spirit (the unity between men of different tempers, which flows from the
presence of the Spirit, who is Himself ‘one,’ Eph_4:4) in (united in) the bond of peace”
(the “bond” by which “peace” is maintained, namely, “love,” Col_3:14, Col_3:15
[Bengel]; or, “peace” itself is the “bond” meant, uniting the members of the Church
[Alford]).
CALVI , "2.With all humility. He now descends to particulars, and first of all he
mentions humility The reason is, that he was about to enter on the subject of Unity,
to which humility is the first step. This again produces meekness, which disposes us
to bear with our brethren, and thus to preserve that unity which would otherwise be
broken a hundred times in a day. Let us remember, therefore, that, in cultivating
brotherly kindness, we must begin with humility. Whence come rudeness, pride, and
disdainful language towards brethren? Whence come quarrels, insults, and
reproaches? Come they not from this, that every one carries his love of himself, and
his regard to his own interests, to excess? By laying aside haughtiness and a desire
of pleasing ourselves, we shall become meek and gentle, and acquire that
moderation of temper which will overlook and forgive many things in the conduct of
our brethren. Let us carefully observe the order and arrangement of these
exhortations. It will be to no purpose that we inculcate forbearance till the natural
fierceness has been subdued, and mildness acquired; and it will be equally vain to
discourse of meekness, till we have begun with humility.
Forbearing one another in love. This agrees with what is elsewhere taught, that “

39. suffereth long and is kind.” (1Co_13:4.) Where love is strong and prevalent, we shall
perform many acts of mutual forbearance.
BURKETT, "Having exhorted them to the practice of their general duty, namely, to
walk worthy of their holy vocation, in the former verse; in these two verses he
presses upon them more special and particular duties, the chief of which is the duty
of Christian unity and concord; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit.
The word signifies a diligent, industrious, and united endeavour, to preserve and
keep, to support and maintain, to unity of the Spirit; that is, an union of heart and
spirit, an unity of faith and doctrine, and unity of judgment and affection, amongst
all the professors of Christianity.
Observe, 2. The means by which this duty may be performed, and the unity of the
Spirit maintained; namely, in or by the bond of peace: a peacable disposition and
temper, a peacable deportment and behaviour, is the bond or ligament which binds
Christians together; whereas discord and division cuts that bond asunder.
Observe, 3. The special graces which the apostle recommends unto us, as excellent
helps for preserving unity and peace; namely, humility, meekness, mutual
forbearance.
1. Humility; With all lowliness Eph_4:2; that is, with all submissiveness of mind,
and humble apprehensions of ourselves. What Tertullus said of Festus flatteringly,
we may say of humility truly, By thee, O humility, we enjoy great quietness. The
humble man is a peaceable man; only by pride cometh contention.
2. Meekness; which consists in a backwardness to provoke others, or to be provoked
by others; as lowliness stood in opposition to pride, so meekness here stands in
opposition to peevishness: With all lowliness and meekness.
3. Long-suffering and mutual forbearance; when Christians are so far from
resenting every wrong, and revenging every injury that is offered to them, that they
can bear with one another's weaknesses, cover each other's infirmities, pity one
another's failings, and pardon each other's provocations. And this duty of mutual
forbearance ought to proceed from a principle of love to each other; forbearing one
another in love.
BI, "
With all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in
love.
Exhortation to lowliness

40. These words, after all that has gone before, thrill us like the tones of a trumpet. If it
had been left to ourselves to expand the general exhortation into practical details,
we should have insisted, perhaps, on the duty of cultivating a magnanimity
corresponding to the greatness of our position and the greatness of our hopes. We
might have argued that those who have received such a “calling” should exhibit a
certain stateliness of character, a lofty indifference not only to the baser pleasures of
life but to power and fame. Or we might have urged that with such a “calling”
Christian men should be inspired with a passionate zeal for heroic tasks and
fortitude for martyrdom. This would be to walk worthily of the calling wherewith
we were called. But instead of appealing to us in this lofty tone, Paul exhorts us to
humility, to meekness, and to long suffering; and this suggests a principle of great
value in the discipline of the spiritual life. Religious excitement, originated by direct
contact with God, will always enlarge and exalt our conception of God’s greatness,
and will deepen our sense of dependence on Him. The heart may be flooded with a
shining sea of religious emotion; the imagination may be glowing like the heavens at
sunset with purple and golden splendour; but as emotion becomes more intense, and
as our conception of the Christian life becomes more and more glorious, the infinite
greatness of God’s righteousness and power and grace will inspire us with deeper
wonder and awe. We have received unmeasurable blessings, we have been raised to
wonderful honours, we are hoping to share with Christ Himself infinite blessedness
and glory; but all that we have has come from the eternal thought and purpose and
love of God; all that we hope for will be conferred by His grace and “the exceeding
greatness of His power.” The wealth is not ours; it is a Divine gift: the strength is
not ours; it is the inspiration of the Divine life: the dignity is not ours; it is conferred
on us by the free unpurchased love of God, because we are in Christ. We live in
palaces of eternal light and righteousness, and among the principalities and powers
of heaven; but our native home was in the dust, and this transfigured, eternal, and
glorified life was not achieved by our own strength, it has come to us from God. We
are nothing; God is all. Humility, lowliness, is disciplined by prayer, by communion
with God, by the vision of Divine and eternal things; by meditation on God’s
righteousness and our own sin, on the greatness of God and the limitations of all
created life, on the eternal fulness of God and our own dependence on Him; on the
blessings which God has made our inheritance in Christ, and the dark destiny which
would have been the natural and just result of our indifference to God’s authority
and love. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Lowliness and meekness go together
Where there is “lowliness” there will be “meekness,” the absense of the disposition
to assert personal rights, either in the presence of God or of men. Meekness submits
without a struggle to the losses, the sufferings, the dishonour which the providence
of God permits to come upon us. It may look with agitation and distress upon the
troubles of others, and the miseries of mankind may sometimes disturb the very
foundations of faith; but in its own sorrows it finds no reason for distrusting either
the Divine righteousness or the Divine goodness. It is conscious of possessing no

41. merit, and therefore in the worst and darkest hours is conscious of suffering no
injustice. The same temper will show itself in relation to men. It has no personal
claim to defend. It will, therefore, be slow to resent insult and injury. If it resents
them at all, the resentment will be a protest against the violation of Divine laws
rather than a protest against a refusal to acknowledge its personal rights. There will
be no eagerness for great place or high honour, or for the recognition of personal
merit; and therefore, if these are withheld, there will be no bitterness or
mortification. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Meekness an element of long suffering
Meekness is one of the elements of long suffering. Paul is thinking of the mutual
relations of those who are in Christ, and his words imply that there will be large
occasions for the exercise of this grace in the conduct and spirit of our Christian
brethren. We are not to assume that all those who are honestly loyal to Christ will
keep His precepts perfectly, or that in all those who have received the Divine life the
baser elements and passions of human nature have been extinguished. Our
Christian brethren will sometimes treat us unjustly. They will judge us ignorantly
and ungenerously. They will say harsh things about us. They will be inconsiderate
and discourteous. They will be wilful, wayward, selfish. They will make us suffer
from their arrogance, their ambition, their impatience, their stolid perversity. All
this we have to anticipate. Christ bears with their imperfections and their sins; we
too have to exercise forbearance. In forbearance, meekness and love are blended.
(R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Advantage of meekness
There is nothing lost by meekness and yielding. Abraham yields over his right of
choice: Lot taketh it. And, behold, Lot is crossed in that which he chose: Abraham
blessed, in that which was left him! As heaven is taken by violence, so is earth by
meekness. And God, “the true proprietor,” loves no tenants better, nor grants larger
leases to any, than the meek. (J. Trapp.)
Long suffering improved
Some years ago, I had in my garden a tree that never bore any fruit. One day, I took
my axe in my hand, determined to fell it. My wife met me in the pathway and
pleaded for it: “Why, the spring is now very close, stay and see whether there may
not be some change in it: and if not, then you can cut it down.” As I never repented
following her advice before I yielded to it now: and what was the consequence?
Why, in a few weeks the tree was covered with blossoms, and in a few more it was

42. bending under a load of fruit. “Ah,” said I, “this should teach me. I will learn a
lesson from hence not to cut down too soon: that is, not to consider persons
incorrigible or abandoned too soon, so as to give up hope for them, and the use of
the means of prayer on their behalf.” (W. Jay.)
Human forbearance
The Jews would not willingly tread upon the smallest piece of paper in their way;
but took it up, for possibly, said they, the name of God may be on it. Though there
was a little superstition in that, yet much good may be learnt from it, if we apply it
to men. Trample not on any, there may be some work of grace there going on, that
thou knowest not of. The name of God may be written upon that soul thou treadest
on it may be a soul that Christ thought so much of, as to shed His precious Blood for
it: therefore despise it not. (Archbishop Leighton.)
Lowliness is Christlike
The late Rev. Dr. R-- had a somewhat lofty manner of expressing himself. In the
course of visiting his parish he called at the cottage of an elderly female, who
familiarly invited him to “come in by and sit doun.” The Doctor, who expected a
more respectful salutation, said, in stately tones, intended to check any further
attempt at familiarity, “Woman, I am a servant of the Lord come to speak with you
on the concerns of your soul.” “Then ye’ll be humble like your Maister,” admirably
rejoined the cottager. The Doctor felt the reproof deeply, and never again sought to
magnify himself at the expense of his office. (C. Rogers, LL. D.)
The meek deflated
A missionary in Jamaica was once questioning the little black boys on the meaning
of Mat_5:5, and asked, “Who are the meek?” A boy answered, “Those who give soft
answers to rough questions.”
Meekness and forbearance
Anthony Blanc, one of Felix eff’s earlier converts, was very earnest in winning
souls to Christ. The enemies of the gospel were angry at his success, and used alike
scoffs and threats against him. One night, as he was returning home from a religious
meeting, he, was followed by a man in a rage, who struck him a violent blow on the
head. “May God forgive and bless you!” was Anthony’s quiet and Christian
rejoinder. “Ah!” replied his assailant, furiously, “if God does not kill you, I’ll do it
myself!” Some days afterwards Anthony met the same person in a narrow road,

43. where two persons could hardly pass. “ ow I shall be struck by him again,” he said
to himself. But he was surprised, on approaching, to see this man, once so bitter
towards him, reach out his hand and cry to him, in a tremulous voice, “Mr. Blanc,
will you forgive me, and let all be over?” Thus this disciple of Christ, by gentle and
peaceful words, had made a friend of an enemy. (Clerical Library.)
3
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace.
BAR ES, "The unity of the Spirit - A united spirit, or oneness of spirit. This does
not refer to the fact that there is one Holy Spirit; but it refers to unity of affection, of
confidence, of love. It means that Christians should be united in temper and affection,
and not be split up into factions and parties. It may be implied here, as is undoubtedly
true, that such a unity would be produced only by the Holy Spirit; and that, as there was
but one Spirit which had acted on their hearts to renew them, they ought to evince the
same feelings and views. There was occasion among the Ephesians for this exhortation;
for they were composed of Jews and Gentiles, and there might be danger of divisions
and strifes, as there had been in other churches. There is “always” occasion for such an
exhortation; for:
(1) “unity” of feeling is eminently desirable to honor the gospel (see the notes on Joh_
17:21); and,
(2) There is always danger of discord where people are brought together in one
society. There are so many different tastes and habits; there is such a variety of intellect
and feeling; the modes of education have been so various, and the temperament may be
so different, that there is constant danger of division. Hence, the subject is so often dwelt
on in the Scriptures (see the notes on 1 Cor. 2ff), and hence, there is so much need of
caution and of care in the churches.
In the bond of peace - This was to be by the cultivation of that peaceful temper
which binds all together. The American Indians usually spoke of peace as a “chain of
friendship” which was to be kept bright, The meaning here is, that they should be bound
or united together in the sentiments and affections of peace. It is not mere “external”
unity; it is not a mere unity of creed; it is not a mere unity in the forms of public
worship; it is such as the Holy Spirit produces in the hearts of Christians, when it fills
them all with the same love, and joy, and peace in believing. The following verses contain

44. the reasons for this.
CLARKE, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace - There can be no doubt that the Church at Ephesus was composed partly of
converted Jews, as well as Gentiles. Now, from the different manner in which they had
been brought up, there might be frequent causes of altercation. Indeed, the Jews, though
converted, might be envious that the Gentiles were admitted to the same glorious
privileges with themselves, without being initiated into them by bearing the yoke and
burden of the Mosaic law. The apostle guards them against this, and shows them that
they should intensely labor (for so the word σπουδαζειν implies) to promote and preserve
peace and unity. By the unity of the Spirit we are to understand, not only a spiritual
unity, but also a unity of sentiments, desires, and affections, such as is worthy of and
springs from the Spirit of God. By the bond of peace we are to understand a peace or
union, where the interests of all parties are concentrated, cemented, and sealed; the
Spirit of God being the seal upon this knot.
GILL, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit,.... That is, a spiritual union:
there is an union between God and his people, and between Christ and his members, and
between saints and saints, and the bond of each union is love; and that it is which knits
and cements them together; and it is the last of these which is here intended: the saints
are united under one head, and are members of one and the same body, and should be of
the same mind and judgment, and of one accord, heart, and affection: and this may be
called "the unity of the Spirit"; because it is an union of spirits, of the spirits or souls of
men; and that in spiritual affairs, in the spiritual exercises of religion; and it is effected
by the Spirit of God, by whom they are baptized into one body. Now to endeavour or
study to keep and preserve this, supposes that this union does already exist; that it is
very valuable, as making much for the glory of God, the mutual comfort and delight of
saints, and is worth taking some pains about; and that it is very difficult to secure, there
being so many things which frequently arise, and break in upon it, through the devices of
Satan, and the corruptions of men's hearts: but though it is difficult, and may sometimes
seem to be impossible, yet it becomes the saints to be diligent in the use of means to
keep it up, and continue it; and which they may be said to endeavour after, when they
abide with one another, and do not forsake each other upon every occasion; when they
perform all offices of love to one another, and stir up each other to the like: and the way
and manner in which this is to be kept, is
in the bond of peace: the Arabic version reads, "by the bond of love and peace": by
maintaining peace among themselves, and seeking those things which tend to, and make
for peace, and spiritual edification; and which is called a bond, in allusion to the Greek
word used, which comes from one that signifies to knit, join, and bind together, and
because it is of a knitting and uniting nature. Now so to act is to walk worthy of calling
grace, or agreeably to it: peace is what the saints are called unto in the effectual calling:
and what is suitable to God, who is the God of peace; and to Christ, who is the Prince of
peace; and to the Holy Spirit, whose fruit is peace; and to the Gospel, which is the Gospel
of peace; and to the character which the saints bear, which is that of sons of peace.
HE RY, "II. The nature of that unity which the apostle prescribes: it is the unity of

45. the Spirit, Eph_4:3. The seat of Christian unity is in the heart or spirit: it does not lie in
one set of thoughts, nor in one form and mode of worship, but in one heart and one soul.
This unity of heart and affection may be said to be of the Spirit of God; it is wrought by
him, and is one of the fruits of the Spirit. This we should endeavour to keep.
Endeavouring is a gospel word. We must do our utmost. If others will quarrel with us,
we must take all possible care not to quarrel with them. If others will despise and hate
us, we must not despise and hate them. In the bond of peace. Peace is a bond, as it unites
persons, and makes them live friendly one with another. A peaceable disposition and
conduct bind Christians together, whereas discord and quarrelling disband and disunite
their hearts and affections. Many slender twigs, bound together, become strong. The
bond of peace is the strength of society. Not that it can be imagined that all good people,
and all the members of societies, should be in every thing just of the same length, and
the same sentiments, and the same judgment: buy the bond of peace unites them all
together, with a non obstante to these. As in a bundle of rods, they may be of different
lengths and different strength; but, when they are tied together by one bond, they are
stronger than any, even than the thickest and strongest was of itself.
JAMISO , "lowliness — In classic Greek, the meaning is meanness of spirit: the
Gospel has elevated the word to express a Christian grace, namely, the esteeming of
ourselves small, inasmuch as we are so; the thinking truly, and because truly, therefore
lowlily, of ourselves [Trench].
meekness — that spirit in which we accept God’s dealings with us without disputing
and resisting; and also the accepting patiently of the injuries done us by men, out of the
thought that they are permitted by God for the chastening and purifying of His people
(2Sa_16:11; compare Gal_6:1; 2Ti_2:25; Tit_3:2). It is only the lowly, humble heart that
is also meek (Col_3:12). As “lowliness and meekness” answer to “forbearing one another
in love” (compare “love,” Eph_4:15, Eph_4:16), so “long-suffering” answers to (Eph_
4:4) “endeavoring (Greek, ‘earnestly’ or ‘zealously giving diligence’) to keep (maintain)
the unity of the Spirit (the unity between men of different tempers, which flows from the
presence of the Spirit, who is Himself ‘one,’ Eph_4:4) in (united in) the bond of peace”
(the “bond” by which “peace” is maintained, namely, “love,” Col_3:14, Col_3:15
[Bengel]; or, “peace” itself is the “bond” meant, uniting the members of the Church
[Alford]).
CALVI , "3.Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. With good reason does he
recommend forbearance, as tending to promote the unity of the Spirit. Innumerable
offenses arise daily, which might produce quarrels, particularly when we consider
the extreme bitterness of man’ natural temper. Some consider the unity of the Spirit
to mean that spiritual unity which is produced in us by the Spirit of God. There can
be no doubt that He alone makes us “ one accord, of one mind,” (Phi_2:2,) and thus
makes us one; but I think it more natural to understand the words as denoting
harmony of views. This unity, he tells us, is maintained by the bond of peace; for
disputes frequently give rise to hatred and resentment. We must live at peace, if we
would wish that brotherly kindness should be permanent amongst us.
ISBET, "CHRISTIA U ITY

46. ‘The unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’
Eph_4:3
‘Ye are one,’ the Apostle would say, ‘one in Christ Jesus, therefore live and walk as
one.’ Two points here suggest themselves for our consideration.
I. In what does true Christian unity consist?
(a) True unity admits of great variety in outward form.
(b) True unity admits of considerable independence of action.
(c) True unity depends upon the whole body being permeated by one spirit.
II. How can true unity be best attained?—The passage before us to a large extent
supplies the answer.
(a) First of all, by cherishing a spirit of ‘lowliness and meekness.’
(b) Another mode of attaining greater unity is the cultivation of a spirit of long-
suffering and forbearance. ‘With long-suffering,’ the Apostle says, ‘forbearing one
another in love.’ This applies, no doubt, chiefly and directly to our social
relationships one with another, but has it not also a wider application?
(c) But above and beyond all other things to promote unity, there must be the
drawing nearer to the source and centre of all unity, viz. a close personal abiding in
the Lord Jesus Himself.
III. Two remarks by way of caution.—In our longing desire for unity let us take
care to avoid two opposite extremes.
(b) First, that of thinking that by greater outer uniformity we shall gradually arrive
at unity.
(b) The other, that of sacrificing essential and fundamental truth in our desire to
meet objectors, and embrace a wider area within our circle.
Rev. John Barton.
BI, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The unity of the Spirit

47. By virtue of his having the Spirit, the believer is in union with every other spiritual
man, and this is the unity which he is to endeavour to keep.
1. This unity of the Spirit is manifested in love. A husband and wife may be, through
providence, cast hundreds of miles from one another, but there is a unity of spirit in
them because their hearts are one. We, brethren, are divided many thousands of
miles from the saints in Australia, America, and the South Sea, but, loving as
brethren, we feel the unity of the Spirit.
2. This unity of the Spirit is caused by a similarity of nature. Find a drop of water
glittering in the rainbow, leaping in the cataract, rippling in the rivulet, lying silent
in the stagnant pool, or dashing in spray against the vessel’s side, that water claims
kinship with every drop of water the wide world over, because it is the same in its
elements; and even so there is a unity of the Spirit which we cannot imitate, which
consists in our being “begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead,” bearing in us the Holy Ghost as our daily quickener, and
walking in the path of faith in the living God. Here is the unity of the Spirit, a unity
of life, nature working itself out in love. This is sustained daily by the Spirit of God.
He who makes us one, keeps us one. Every member of my body must have a
communion with every other member of my body.
3. The unity of the Spirit will discover itself in prayer.
4. There is also a unity of praise.
5. This unity will soon discover itself in co-working. It was a motto with Bucer, “To
love all in whom he could see anything of the Lord Jesus.” It is said of some men
that they appear to have been born upon the mountains of Berber, for they do
nothing but cause division; and baptized in the waters of Meribah, for they delight
in causing strife. This is not the case with the genuine Christian; he cares only for
the truth, for his Master, for the love of souls; and when these things are not
imperilled, his own private likes or dislikes never affect him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Exhortation to unity
Let us here inquire--
I. Into the state and character of those to whom the advice of the text is given. The
persons to whom the advice is given are all members of one body; they are members
of Christ and of one another. All inhabited by one Spirit. Called in one hope of their
calling. The property, the subjects, the servants of one Lord. Professing and
possessing one faith. This God is “above” them “all,” superintending and governing
them, although infinitely exalted: through them “all,” and they live and move and

48. exist in Him; and “in them all,” for they are “an habitation of God through the
Spirit.”
II. What this advice implies.
1. The “unity of the Spirit,” of which the apostle speaks, it should be observed, is an
internal unity, an unity between the spirits of men. It may subsist, therefore,
between persons of different nations, educations, conditions, etc.
2. It is an unity of affection--mutual love, viz., desire of, and delight in, each other--
mutual sympathy.
3. It is an unity of intention; one and all must have the same end in view, the glory of
God in our own salvation, and the salvation of others.
4. It is an unity of resolution to prosecute that end.
5. It is an unity of operation (1Co_3:9), their work in the field.
III. The reasonableness of this advice. Inhabited as they are by one Spirit, which can
no more set them at variance with each other, than the soul which resides in the
human body can set the members of it against each other. Called from similar
misery to a similar state of safety and happiness, in the same way and manner:
having one object of hope, and one hope, is it not reasonable they should be united?
(Anon.)
The unity of the Spirit
1. Christians should strive for unity in faith and opinion. Lowliness of mind and
patience will conduce to this; as pride, self-love, and impatience make men easily
dissent in affection and opinion. Satan is constantly trying to stir up strife in the
Church.
2. Means to be taken for the attainment of unity.
(1) Abandon a striving spirit.
(2) Renounce vainglory.
(3) Esteem others better than self.

49. 3. It is not enough for us to entertain peace; we must give diligent endeavour to
compass and maintain it.
(1) Because the wisdom from above is peaceable.
(2) A contentious nature is bred within us, and must be rooted out.
(3) The devil is always ready to sow discord.
(4) Unity is a comely thing, and a credit to religion.
(5) God takes to Himself the title of “the God of peace” (Rom_15:33; 1Co_13:11).
4. A peaceable disposition is an excellent means of concord. (Paul Bayne.)
How to get and maintain peace
1 Take heed of giving offence.
2. Avoid taking offence.
3. Guard against beginning any contention.
4. To keep peace, get pure hearts. (Paul Bayne.)
The unity of the Spirit: the bond of peace
I. What is to be kept. “The unity of the Spirit”--the unity of which the Holy Spirit is
the Author: that oneness of believing men in Christ which is the Spirit’s new
creation. It must be an unity corresponding in its nature and character to the nature
and character of Him who is its Author and Creator.
1. Look at its outward manifestation.
2. The real seat of this unity is within, in the heart.
II. The unity of the spirit is to be kept.
1. There must be an endeavour to keep it. And the endeavour must be most earnest

50. and most strenuous.
2. There is a bond provided for keeping this unity. The bond of peace. The
endeavour, strenuous and sustained as it must be, is not to be the endeavour of
violence or excitement. It is no desperate groping and struggling in the dark that is
required. The unity of the Spirit is to be sedulously kept. But the keeping of it is to
be quiet, calm, peaceful. The bond, the girdle, which is to be the means of keeping it,
is peace. (R. S. Candlish, D. D.)
The unity of the Church
I. Observe, in the first place, there is much said in the Word of God on this very
subject of the true unity of the children of God (Joh_17:20-23; Rom_14:19; Rom_
15:5; 1Co_1:10; 2Co_13:11; Php_3:1-3; Col_3:12-15). But there is an expression in
the text, that I would not pass over: the apostle speaks of it us “the unity of the
Spirit,” because He secretly inclines heart to heart in the children of God.
II. But, observe, secondly, some of those high motives that we have. The world
thinks that we are full of discrepancies; that our differences are unutterable, and
that we have no real unity. But we say that in the midst of it all there is a solid, real,
substantial, veritable unity.
1. It is the unity of a flock. Many folds; but one flock.
2. It is the unity of one body. There are many members in that body.
3. It is the unity of a temple.
4. The unity of a family.
III. Observe we now, beloved, the precept given to us in the words of the text--
“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” And here I
would desire to give tender counsel, that in order to bear with infirmities and to
avoid all needless separations, all causeless divisions, I must be effectually called and
renewed by the Holy Ghost. Observe, further, that the words imply difficulty.
“Endeavouring.” It is a hard thing; it is easy when the love of Christ constrains, but
in itself we find abundance of difficulty. How little can I understand my brother’s
position! How little can I see a secret principle of his spirit! How little can I
comprehend the prejudice that works through him; that he has been brought up in

51. from his infancy. Labour for it in all things possible. It is not the surrender of
principle; it is not the sacrifice of truth; it is not the giving up of conscience. o,
beloved; that is a sort of union the Spirit of God never would sanction. Do not
attempt that which is actually impossible. We may “endeavour to keep the unity of
the Spirit” in a way that never can be attained. It is the unity of a flock; various are
the grades in that flock. It is the unity of a temple; various are the stones in that
temple. It is the unity of a body; various are the members of that body. It is the
unity of a family; but all the family do not speak alike, all the family do not think
alike. To attempt it, is to attempt that which is unattainable; and we forget that,
although these things have their source in our sin and ignorance, yet the eternal God
overrules them for good, and brings good, and educes good out of evil. (J. H. Evans,
M. A.)
The unity of the Church of Christ
So long as imperfect men are gathered together in a Christian society--men of
different types of character sad different powers, and with a special fondness for
their own way; men liable to mistake excited feeling for intensity of conviction, and
to treat their own opinions with the reverence due to absolute truth--they will
require to be admonished to “endeavour,” etc.
I. The unity of the church. Spiritual--not formal.
1. Unity of life. Bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit; their affections set on things
above, etc.
2. Unity of service. Christians have one Lord, towards whom they cherish one faith.
He inspires the same loyalty; it is into His service they have been all baptized.
3. Unity of worship. We have not an unknown God; he that hath seen Christ hath
seen the Father. We know Him to be righteous in all His works, and holy in all His
ways. To worship is to perceive His excellence, and to love Him for it; to be
strengthened by communion with Him, calmed by submission to Him.
II. How to preserve the unity of the Spirit.
1. By recognizing it.
2. By cherishing a peaceful mind. (A. Mackennal, D. D.)

52. The promotion of unity among members of thy same Church
If we are to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in the
same Church, then we must avoid everything that would mar it. Gossip--gossip is a
very ready means of separating friends from one another. Let us endeavour to talk
of something better than each other’s characters. Dionysius went down to the
Academy to Plato. Plato asked what he came for. “Why,” said Dionysius, “I thought
that you, Plato, would be talking against me to your students.” Plato made this
answer: “Dost thou think, Dionysius, we are so destitute of matter to converse upon
that we talk of thee?” Truly we must be very short of subjects when we begin to talk
of one another. It is better far that we magnify Christ than detract from the honour
of His members. We must lay aside all envy. Multitudes of good people liked the
Reformation, but they said they did not like the idea of its being done by a poor
miserable monk, like Martin Luther; and so there are many who like to see good
things done, and good works carried on, but do not care to see it done by that
upstart young brother, or that poor man, or that woman who has no particular rank
or state. As a Church let us shake off envyings; let us all rejoice in God’s light; and
as for pride--if any of you have grown vainglorious of late, shake it off. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
Wherein the unity of the Church consists
This unity, whereof the apostle speaks, consists in submission to one single influence
or spirit. Wherein consists the unity of the body? Consists it not in this, that there is
one life uniting, making all the separate members one? Take away the life, and the
members fall to pieces; they are no longer one; decomposition begins, and every
element separates, no longer having any principle of cohesion or union with the rest.
There is not one of us who, at some time or other, has not been struck with the
power there is in a single living influence. Have we never, for instance, felt the
power wherewith the orator unites and holds together a thousand men as if they
were but one; with flashing eyes and throbbing hearts all attentive to his words, and
by the difference of their attitudes, by the variety of expressions of their
countenances, testifying to the unity of that single living feeling with which he had
inspired them? Whether it be indignation, whether it be compassion, or whether it
be enthusiasm, that one living influence made the thousand for the time one. Have
we not heard how, even in this century in which we live, the various and conflicting
feelings of the people of this country were concentrated into one, when the threat of
foreign invasion had fused down and broken the edges of conflict and variance, and
from shore to shore was heard one cry of terrible defiance, and the different classes
and orders of this manifold and mighty England were as one? Have we not heard
how the mighty winds hold together as if one the various atoms of the desert, so that
they rush like a living thing across the wilderness? And this, brethren, is the unity of
the Church of Christ, the subjection to the one uniting Spirit of its God. (F. W.
Robertson, M. A.)

53. Unity among dissimilarities
Unity, is that which subsists between things not similar and alike, but things
dissimilar and unlike. There is no unity in the separate atoms of a sand pit; they are
things similar; there is an aggregate or collection of them. Even if they be hardened
in a mass they are not one, they do not form a unity; they are simply a mass. There
is no unity in a flock of sheep; it is simply a repetition of a number of things similar
to each other. If you strike off from a thousand five hundred, or if you strike off
nine hundred, there is nothing lest of unity, because there never was unity. A flock
of one thousand or a flock of five is just as much a flock as any other number. On
the other hand, let us turn to the unity of peace which the apostle speaks of, and we
find it is something different; it is made up of dissimilar members, without which
dissimilarity there could be no unity. Each is imperfect in itself, each supplying what
it has in itself to the deficiencies and wants of the other members. So, if you strike
off from this body any one member, if you cut off an arm, or tear out an eye,
instantly the unity is destroyed; you have no longer an entire and perfect body,
there is nothing but a remnant of the whole, a part, a portion; no unity whatever.
This will help us to understand the unity of the Church of Christ. If the ages and the
centuries of the Church of Christ, if the different churches whereof it was
composed, if the different members of each Church were similar, one in this, that
they all held the same views, all spoke the same words, all viewed truth from the
same side, they would have no unity; but would simply be an aggregate of atoms, the
sand-pit over again. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Advantages of unity
Great is the force of unity, peace, and concord. One man serves to strengthen and
stablish another, like many staves bound together in one. Many sticks or staves
bound together in one bundle are not easily broken; but sever them and pull them
asunder, they are soon broken with little strength. Thus the case in all societies,
whether it be in the Church, or commonwealth, or in the private family. (W.
Attersol.)
How unity is to be attained
An apparent union may be produced by none thinking at all, as well as by all
thinking alike; but such a union, as Leighton observes, is not produced by the active
heat of the spirit, but is a confusion rather arising from the want of it; not a fusing
together, but a freezing together, as cold congregates all bodies how heterogeneous
soever, sticks, stones, and water: but heat makes first a separation of different

54. things, and then unites those that are of the same nature. (H. G. Salter.)
Real unity
1. ll real unity is manifold. Feelings in themselves identical find countless forms of
expression; for instance, sorrow is the same feeling throughout the human race; but
the Oriental prostrates himself upon the ground, throws dust upon his head, tears
his garments, is not ashamed to break out into the most violent lamentations. In the
north we rule our grief; suffer not even a quiver to be seen upon the lip or brow,
and consider calmness as the appropriate expression of manly grief. ay, two sisters
of different temperament will show their grief diversely; one will love to dwell upon
the theme of the qualities of the departed; the other feels it a sacred sorrow, on
which the lips are sealed forever. Yet would it not be idle to ask which of them has
the truest affection? Are they not both in their own way true? In the East, men take
off their sandals in devotion; we exactly reverse the procedure, and uncover the
head. The Oriental prostrates himself in the dust before his sovereign; even before
his God the Briton only kneels: yet would it not again be idle to ask which is the
essential and proper form of reverence? Is not true reverence in all cases modified
by the individualities of temperament and education? Should we not say in all these
forms worketh one and the same spirit of reverence?
2. All living unity is spiritual, not formal; not sameness but manifoldness. You may
have a unity shown in identity of form; but it is a lifeless unity. There is a sameness
on the sea beach--that unity which the ocean waves have produced by curling and
forcibly destroying the angularities of individual form, so that every stone presents
the same monotony of aspect, and you must fracture each again in order to,
distinguish whether you hold in your hand a mass of flint or a fragment of basalt.
There is no life in unity such as this. But as soon as you arrive at a unity that is
living, the form becomes more complex, and you search in vain for uniformity. In
the parts it must be found, if found at all, in the sameness of pervading life. The
illustration given by the apostle is that of the human body--a higher unity, he says,
by being composed of many members, than if every member were but a repetition of
a single type. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Spiritual unity
The union for which the Lord Jesus prayed was a union of spiritual men--a union
not of mere professors but of His true disciples--a union in the Lord. Any other
union is little worth. A union of professors with professors of one dead Church with
another dead Church is but a filling of the charnel house, a heaping of the compost
pile. A union of dead professors with living saints, this union of life and death is but
to pour the green and putrid water of the stagnant pool into the living spring. It is
not to graft new branches into the goodly vine, but to bandage on dead boughs that

55. will but deform it. It is not to gather new wheat into the garner, but to blend the
wheat and chaff again together. It is not to gather new sheep into the fold, but it is to
borrow the shepherd’s brand and imprint it on the dogs and wolves and call them
sheep. The identifying of christened pagans with the peculiar people has done much
dishonour to the Redeemer, has deluded many souls, and made it much more
difficult for the Church to convince the world. It was not this amalgamation of the
Church and the world which the Saviour contemplated when He prayed for His
people’s unity. It was a union of spiritual men--a holy unity springing from oneness
with Himself. Union with Christ is an indispensable preliminary to union with the
Church of Christ. An individual must be joined to Christ before he can be a true
member of the Church of Christ. And those individuals and those Churches which
are the most closely joined to Christ are the nearest to one another, and will be the
first to coalesce in the fulfilment of Christ’s prayer--“May they all be one!”
(Hamilton.)
eed of unity
“Ane stick’ll never burn! Put more wood on the fire, laddie; ane stick’ll never
burn!” my old Scotch grandfather used to say to his boys. Sometimes, when the fire
in the heart burns low, and love to the Saviour grows faint, it would grow warm and
bright again if it could only touch another stick. “Where two or three are gathered
together” the heart burns; love kindles to a fervent heat. “Ane stick’ll never burn”
as a great, generous fire will be sure to.
Si collidimur, frangimur
“If we clash, we are broken,” according to the old fable of the two earthen pots
swimming in the sea. “The daughter of dissension is dissolution,” said azianzen;
“and every subdivision in point of religion is a strong weapon in the hand of the
contrary party,” as he (the historian), upon the Council of Trent, wisely observed.
Castor and Pollux, if they appear not together it presageth a storm. (J. Trapp.)
Unity aids work
By union the pyramids of Egypt, the gates of Thebes, and the columns of the
Parthenon were reared, and oceans crossed, and valleys filled up. (Dr. Cumming.)
Strength of union
There was a small band of three hundred cavalry in the Theban army, who proved
a great terror to any enemy with whom they were called to fight. They were

56. companions, who had bound themselves together by a vow of perpetual friendship,
determined to stand together until the last drop of their blood was spilled upon the
ground. They were called “The Sacred Battalion, or the Band of Lovers,” and they
were bound alike by affection for the State and fidelity for each other, and thus
achieved marvels, some of which seem almost fabulous. What a name for a militant
Church, “The Sacred Battalion!” It is when she is thus animated by one spirit that
she is victorious.
Love of Christian unity
The attachment of the Rev. John Elliot, usually called “The Apostle to the Indians,”
to peace and union among Christians was exceedingly great. When he heard
ministers complain that some in their congregations were too difficult for them, the
substance of his advice would be, “Brother, compass them. Brother, learn the
meaning of those three little words--bear, forbear, forgive.” His love of peace,
indeed, almost led him to sacrifice right itself.
Unity is strength
Separate the atoms which make the hammer and each would fall on the stone as a
snow flake; but welded into one, and wielded by the firm arm of the quarryman, it
will break the massive rocks asunder. Divide the waters of iagara into distinct and
individual drops, and they would be no mere than the falling rain, but in their
united body they would quench the fires of Vesuvius, and have some to spare for the
volcanoes of other mountains. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
False unity
Divisions are bad things. Do not fancy that I have any sympathy with those who,
confounding charity with indifference, regard matters of religion as not worth
disputing about. Such a state of death is still worse than war. Give me the roaring
storm rather than the peace of the grave. Division is better than such union as the
frost produces, when with its cold and icy fingers it binds up into one dead,
congealed, heterogeneous mass, stones and straws, pearls and pebbles, gold and
silver, iron and clay, substances that have nothing in common. Yet divisions are bad
things. They give birth to bad passions. They cause Ephraim to envy Judah, and
Judah to vex Ephraim. Therefore, what we ought to aim at is to heal them, and
when we cannot heal them, to soften their asperities. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Unity in the bond of peace
Bind not thine hands, but bind thy heart and mind. Bind thyself to thy brother.
They bear all things lightly who are bound together by love. Bind thyself to him,

57. and him to thee. For to this end was the Spirit given, that He might unite those who
are separated by race and diversity of habits: old and young, rich and poor, child,
youth, and man, male and female, and every soul become in a manner one, and
more entirely so than if they were of one body. For this spiritual relation is far
higher than natural relation, and the perfectness of the union more entire; because
the conjunction of the soul, being simple and accordant, is more perfect. And how is
this unity preserved? “In the bond of peace.” It is not possible that unity should
exist in enmity and discord. St. Paul would have us linked and tied one to another;
not simply that we be at peace, not simply that we love one another, but that in all
there should be but one soul. A glorious bond is this: with this bond let us bind
ourselves together, alike to one another and to God. (Chrysostom.)
eed of harmony
The following incident in the life of Lord elson contains a lesson for Christians. On
the day before the battle of Trafalgar, elson took Collingwood and Rotherham,
who were at variance, to a spot where they could see the fleet opposed to them.
“Yonder,” said the Admiral, “are your enemies; shake hands and be friends like
good Englishmen.”
The fulness of the unity
Were all Churches and church members concerned to “keep the unity of His
Spirit,” a bond of peace, strong as the everlasting firmament, would encircle them.
But how is it possible that we should worthily conceive of the riches comprehended
in “the unity of the Spirit”? We have seen a company of a thousand musicians and
singers playing and singing one tune in harmony. The persons were distinct, the
instruments distinct, and the voices very distinct, and yet all were a composed unity.
An army of a hundred thousand men, in movement and operation, may be a perfect
unity. But in order to form an idea of the “unity of the Spirit,” we must imagine that
the whole universe, visible and invisible, with all its distinctions, elements, powers,
and virtues were dissolved in one sea of being. For all have sprung from such a sea,
and, in the Spirit, are such a sea of living, blissful unity. Even in the sphere of
striving, corrupt nature, we see enough to make us wonder at the variety which the
Spirit carries in the bosom of His unity. For all the variety, in earth and heaven, is
wrought “by One and the self-same Spirit.” The new growths, the joy and the glory,
which constitute our summer, are so much of the fulness of the Spirit opened to our
view. The creatures in different elements and latitudes are so distinct that they have
no communion with each other; but they are all One in the Spirit which animates
them. The sea and its contents, the innumerable tribes of the air, and all the species
found on our hills and in our plains and valleys, are but very partial manifestations
of the wealth and variety of the Spirit. The all things of the Father, and all things of
Creation, and the all things in Christ’s finished work are included in the Spirit’s
unity. Pause and contemplate “the river of God’s pleasures,” “the fulness of joy”
which the perfect know above. Whatever our understandings may hold as truth, is

58. but a mere division of this unity. “The unity of the Spirit” is “the law of the Spirit of
Life in Christ Jesus,” and can only be apprehended by the affections. (J. Pulsford.)
4
There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you
were called to one hope when you were called--
BAR ES, "There is one body - One church - for so the word “body” means here -
denoting the body of Christ; see the notes on Rom_12:5; compare notes on Eph_1:23.
The meaning here is, that as there is really but one church on earth, there ought to be
unity. The church is, at present, divided into many denominations. It has different forms
of worship, and different rites and ceremonies. It embraces those of different
complexions and ranks in life, and it cannot be denied that there are often unhappy
contentions and jealousies in different parts of that church. Still, there is but one - “one
holy, catholic (i. e., universal) church;” and that church should feel that it is one. Christ
did not come to redeem and save different churches, and to give them a different place in
heaven. He did not come to save the Episcopal communion merely or the Presbyterian
or the Methodist communions only; nor did he leave the world to fit up for them
different mansions in heaven. He did not come to save merely the black man, or the red,
or the white man; nor did he leave the world to set up for them separate mansions in the
skies. He came that he might collect into one community a multitude of every
complexion, and from every land, and unite them in one great brotherhood on earth, and
ultimately assemble them in the same heaven. The church is one. Every sincere Christian
is a brother in that church, and has an equal right with all others to its privileges. Being
one by the design of the Saviour they should be one in feeling; and every Christian, no
matter what his rank, should be ready to hail every other Christian as a fellow-heir of
heaven.
One Spirit - The Holy Spirit. There is one and the self-same Spirit that dwells in the
church The same Spirit has awakened all enlightened all; convicted all; converted all.
Wherever they may be, and whoever, yet there has been substantially the same work of
the Spirit on the heart of every Christian. There are circumstantial differences arising
from diversities of temperament, disposition, and education; there may be a difference
in the depth and power of his operations on the soul; there may be a difference in the
degree of conviction for sin and in the evidence of conversion, but still there are the
same operations on the heart essentially produced by the same Spirit; see the notes on
1Co_12:6-11. All the gifts of prayer, and of preaching; all the zeal, the ardor, the love, the

59. self-denial in the church, are produced by the same Spirit. There should be, therefore,
unity. The church is united in the agency by which it is saved; it should be united in the
feelings which influence its members.
Even as ye are called - see Eph_4:1. The sense is, “there is one body and one spirit,
in like manner as there is one hope resulting from your calling.” The same notion of
oneness is found in relation to each of these things.
In one hope of your calling - In one hope “resulting from” your being called into
his kingdom. On the meaning of the word “hope,” see notes on Eph_2:12. The meaning
here is, that Christians have the same hope, and they should therefore be one. They are
looking forward to the same heaven; they hope for the same happiness beyond the grave.
It is not as on earth among the people of the world, where, there is a variety of hopes -
where one hopes for pleasure, and another for honor, and another for gain; but there is
the prospect of the same inexhaustible joy. This “hope” is suited to promote union.
There is no rivalry - for there is enough for all. “Hope” on earth does not always produce
union and harmony. Two men hope to obtain the same office; two students hope to
obtain the same honor in college; two rivals hope to obtain the same hand in marriage -
and the consequence is jealousy, contention, and strife. The reason is, that but one can
obtain the object. Not so with the crown of life - with the rewards of heaven. All may
obtain “that” crown; all may share those rewards. How “can” Christians contend in an
angry manner with each other, when the hope of dwelling in the same heaven swells
their bosoms and animates their hearts?
CLARKE, "There is one body - Viz. of Christ, which is his Church.
One Spirit - The Holy Ghost, who animates this body.
One hope - Of everlasting glory, to which glory ye have been called by the preaching
of the Gospel; through which ye have become the body of Christ, instinct with the energy
of the Holy Ghost.
GILL, "There is one body,.... The church; in what sense that is a body, and compared
to one; see Gill on Eph_1:23. It is called "one" with relation to Jews and Gentiles, who
are of the same body, and are reconciled in one body by Christ, and are baptized into it
by the Spirit; and with respect to saints above and saints below, who make up one
general assembly; and with regard to separate societies; for though there are several
particular congregations, yet there is but one church of the firstborn, whose names are
written in heaven; and saints of different ages, places, states, and conditions, are all one
in Christ Jesus, who is the one, and only head of this body: and this is an argument to
excite the saints to unity of Spirit; since they are, as one natural body is, members one of
another, and therefore should not bite and devour one another; they are one political
body, one kingdom, over which Christ is sole King and lawgiver, and a kingdom divided
against itself cannot stand; they are one economical body, one family, they are all
brethren, and should not fall out by the way.
And one Spirit; the Holy Spirit of God, who animates, quickens, and actuates the
body: there is but one Spirit, who convinces of sin, enlightens, regenerates, and makes
alive; who incorporates into the body, the church; who comforts the saints; helps them
in their access to God through Christ; makes known the things of Christ to them, is a
spirit of adoption, and the seal and earnest of the heavenly glory; and the consideration

60. of this should engage to unity, because a contrary conduct must be grieving to the Spirit
of God, unsuitable to his genuine fruits, and very unlike the true spirit of a Christian:
and by one spirit may be meant the spirit of themselves, who, as the first Christians
were, should be of one heart, and of one soul, of the same mind, and having the same
affections for one another; which sense is favoured by the Syriac and Arabic versions;
the former rendering the words, "that ye may be one body and one spirit", making this to
be the issue and effect of their endeavours after union and peace; and the latter reads
them as an exhortation, "be ye one body and one spirit"; that is, be ye cordially and
heartily united in your affections to one another:
even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; that is, the glory hoped for, and
which is laid up in heaven, and will be enjoyed there, to which the saints are called in the
effectual calling, is one and the same: there are no degrees in it; it will be equally
possessed by them all; for they are all loved with the same love, chosen in the same head,
and secured in the same covenant; they are bought with the same price of Christ's blood,
and are justified by the same righteousness; they are all equally the sons of God, and so
heirs of the same heavenly inheritance; and are all made kings and priests unto God, and
there is but one kingdom, one crown, one inheritance for them all; and the holiness and
beatific vision of the saints in heaven will be alike; and therefore they should be heartily
affected to one another here on earth, who are to be partners together in glory to all
eternity. So the Jews say (p), that in the world of souls, all, small and great, stand before
the Lord; and they have a standing alike; for in the affairs of the soul, it is fit that they
should be all ‫,שוים‬ "equal", as it is said Exo_30:15, "the rich shall not give more".
HE RY, 4-6, "III. The motives proper to promote this Christian unity and concord.
The apostle urges several, to persuade us thereto.
1. Consider how many unities there are that are the joy and glory of our Christian
profession. There should be one heart; for there is one body, and one spirit, Eph_4:4.
Two hearts in one body would be monstrous. If there be but one body, all that belong to
that body should have one heart. The Catholic church is one mystical body of Christ, and
all good Christians make up but one body, incorporated by one charter, that of the
gospel, animated by one Spirit, the same Holy Spirit who by his gifts and graces
quickens, enlivens, and governs that body. If we belong to Christ, we are all actuated by
one and the same Spirit, and therefore should be one. Even as you are called in one hope
of your calling. Hope is here put for its object, the thing hoped for, the heavenly
inheritance, to the hope of which we are called. All Christians are called to the same hope
of eternal life. There is one Christ that they all hope in, and one heaven that they are all
hoping for; and therefore they should be of one heart. One Lord (Eph_4:5), that is,
Christ, the head of the church, to whom, by God's appointment, all Christians are
immediately subject. One faith, that is, the gospel, containing the doctrine of the
Christian faith: or, it is the same grace of faith (faith in Christ) whereby all Christians are
saved. One baptism, by which we profess our faith, being baptized in the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and so the same sacramental covenant, whereby we engage
ourselves to the Lord Christ. One God and Father of all, Eph_4:6. One God, who owns
all the true members of the church for his children; for he is the Father of all such by
special relation, as he is the Father of all men by creation: and he is above all, by his
essence, and with respect to the glorious perfections of his nature, and as he has
dominion over all creatures and especially over his church, and through all, by his
providence upholding and governing them: and in you all, in all believers, in whom he
dwells as in his holy temple, by his Spirit and special grace. If then there be so many

61. ones, it is a pity but there should be one more - one heart, or one soul.
JAMISO , "In the apostle’s creed, the article as to THE CHURCH properly follows
that as to THE HOLY GHOST. To the Trinity naturally is annexed the Church, as the
house to its tenant, to God His temple, the state to its founder [Augustine, Enchiridion,
c. 15]. There is yet to be a Church, not merely potentially, but actually catholic or world-
wide; then the Church and the world will be co-extensive. Rome falls into inextricable
error by setting up a mere man as a visible head, antedating that consummation which
Christ, the true visible Head, at His appearing shall first realize. As the “SPIRIT” is
mentioned here, so the “Lord” (Jesus), Eph_4:5, and “God the Father,” Eph_4:6. Thus
the Trinity is again set forth.
hope — here associated with “the Spirit,” which is the “earnest of our inheritance”
(Eph_1:13, Eph_1:14). As “faith” is mentioned, Eph_4:5, so “hope” here, and “love,”
Eph_4:2. The Holy Spirit, as the common higher principle of life (Eph_2:18, Eph_2:22),
gives to the Church its true unity. Outward uniformity is as yet unattainable; but
beginning by having one mind, we shall hereafter end by having “one body.” The true
“body” of Christ (all believers of every age) is already “one,” as joined to the one Head.
But its unity is as yet not visible, even as the Head is not visible; but it shall appear when
He shall appear (Joh_17:21-23; Col_3:4). Meanwhile the rule is, “In essentials, unity; in
doubtful questions, liberty; in all things, charity.” There is more real unity where both go
to heaven under different names than when with the same name one goes to heaven, the
other to hell. Truth is the first thing: those who reach it, will at last reach unity, because
truth is one; while those who seek unity as the first thing, may purchase it at the sacrifice
of truth, and so of the soul itself.
of your calling — the one “hope” flowing from our “calling,” is the element “IN”
which we are “called” to live. Instead of privileged classes, as the Jews under the law, a
unity of dispensation was henceforth to be the common privilege of Jew and Gentile
alike. Spirituality, universality, and unity, were designed to characterize the Church; and
it shall be so at last (Isa_2:2-4; Isa_11:9, Isa_11:13; Zep_3:9; Zec_14:9).
RWP, "One body (hen sōma). One mystical body of Christ (the spiritual church or
kingdom, cf. Eph_1:23; Eph_2:16).
One Spirit (hen pneuma). One Holy Spirit, grammatical neuter gender (not to be
referred to by “it,” but by “he”).
In one hope (en miāi elpidi). The same hope as a result of their calling for both Jew
and Greek as shown in chapter 2.
CALVI , "4.There is one body. (139) He proceeds to show more fully in how
complete a manner Christians ought to be united. The union ought to be such that
we shall form one body and one soul. These words denote the whole man. We ought
to be united, not in part only, but in body and soul. He supports this by a powerful
argument, as ye have been called in one hope of your calling. We are called to one
inheritance and one life; and hence it follows, that we cannot obtain eternal life
without living in mutual harmony in this world. One Divine invitation being
addressed to all, they ought to be united in the same profession of faith, and to

62. render every kind of assistance to each other. Oh, were this thought deeply
impressed upon our minds, that we are subject to a law which no more permits the
children of God to differ among themselves than the kingdom of heaven to be
divided, how earnestly should we cultivate brotherly kindness! How should we
dread every kind of animosity, if we duly reflected that all who separate us from
brethren, estrange us from the kingdom of God! And yet, strangely enough, while
we forget the duties which brethren owe to each other, we go on boasting that we
are the sons of God. Let us learn from Paul, that none are at all fit for that
inheritance who are not one body and one spirit.
(139) “ are ancient medals now extant, which have the figure of Diana on them, with
this inscription, κοινὸν τὢς ᾿Ασίας, denoting that the cities of Asia were one body or
commonwealth. Thus also were all Christians of all nations, Jews and Gentiles,
under Christ.” — Chandler.
SIMEO , "Eph_4:4-6. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in
one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of
all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
IT is often urged, as an objection against Christianity, that those who profess it are
not agreed respecting the doctrines which it inculcates: and we are triumphantly
urged to come to an agreement amongst ourselves, before we attempt to proselyte
others to our religion. That persons calling themselves Christians differ widely from
each other, is readily acknowledged. But it must be remembered, that Christianity is
not a mere theory, which leaves men at liberty in relation to their practice: it is a
religion which requires its votaries to have their whole souls brought into subjection
to it, and cast, as it were, into its very mould: and those who affect not a conformity
to its doctrines, will deny the doctrines themselves; having no alternative, but to set
aside the requirements, or to condemn themselves for their disobedience to them.
But between real Christians there is, on all the fundamental points of religion, a
surprising agreement, even such an unity as does not exist on any other subject
under heaven. Every true believer, whether learned or unlearned, feels himself to be
a sinner before God; dependent altogether on the blood of Christ to purge him from
his guilt, and on the Spirit of Christ to renew and sanctify his soul. The necessity of
universal holiness, too, is equally acknowledged by all; so that, whatever difference
there may appear to be between the different members of Christ’s mystical body, it
is only such as exists in the countenances of different men; the main features being
the same in all; and the diversity being discoverable only on a closer inspection.
That this truth may the more fully appear, I will take occasion, from the words
before us, to shew,
I. The foundation which the Gospel lays for unity—
The unity of the Gospel is carried to a great extent—

63. [The whole Christian Church is brought by the Gospel into “one body,” of which
Christ is the head, and all true believers are the members [ ote: 1Co_12:12.]. This
body is inhabited by “one Spirit,” even the Holy Ghost, who pervades the whole,
and animates it in every part. It is his presence only that gives life; and were he
withdrawn for a moment, the soul would be as incapable of all spiritual motion, as a
dead corpse is of all the functions of the animal life. To “one hope are we all called,
even to an inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for us.” The “one Lord” of all is the Lord Jesus Christ,
who “purchased the Church with his own blood,” and presides over it as “Lord of
all,” and will judge every member of it in the last day. To all of them there is but
“one faith;” to which all, without exception, must adhere, and by which alone they
can be saved. Into this new-covenant state they are all admitted by “one baptism,”
“in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” And of all there
is one God and Father, “who is above all,” by his almighty power; “and through
all,” by his superintending providence; “and in all,” by the constant operation of his
Spirit and grace.]
All this may well serve as a foundation for unity, amongst those who profess the
Gospel—
[The force of this observation is universally acknowledged, in reference to the
corporeal frame. The whole human frame proceeds from one source, is subject to
the same wants, nourished by the same supplies, and affected with the same lot. In
reference to that, it is judged reasonable that every part should have the same care
one for the other; and that every member should sympathize with the rest, whether
in a way of joy or sorrow, according as circumstances may require [ ote: 1Co_
12:25-26.]. All idea of a separate interest is quite excluded; and the happiness of
every individual part is bound up in the welfare of the whole. Much more, therefore,
may all disunion be proscribed in so sacred a body as the Church, where not merely
the prosperity of the different members is at stake, but the honour of Almighty God
also, and the interests of the whole world.]
Accordingly, we find universal harmony provided for, in,
II. The unity it enjoins—
It requires an unity,
1. Of sentiment—
[This is not to be expected in every thing: for, where the mind is so constituted as
ours is, and possesses such different measures of information, and beholds subjects
from such different points of view, it is not possible that there should be a perfect
agreement of sentiment upon every thing. But it may well be expected to prevail, so
far at least as to prevent dissension and division in the Church of God. This the
Apostle inculcated with all possible earnestness: “I beseech you, brethren, by the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be

64. no division among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind,
and in the same judgment [ ote: 1Co_1:10.].” A departure from this rule is
declared to be a proof of grievous carnality [ ote: 1Co_3:3.]: and, if fostered in the
soul, and promoted in the Church, it is judged a sufficient ground for the most
marked disapprobation from every child of God: “Mark them who cause divisions
and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them: for
they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly” and corrupt
appetites [ ote: Rom_16:17-18.].]
2. Of affection—
[Love is the grace which most adorns the true Christian: it is properly his distinctive
mark [ ote: Rom_12:10.]. It is not to be interrupted by party distinctions; which,
instead of justifying an alienation from each other, should themselves, as far as
possible, be buried in oblivion. In the body, no one member can say to another, “I
have no need of you:” the least and lowest has its appropriate office, as well as those
whose powers are of a superior order: nor does its difference of form or office cause
it to be overlooked, or its welfare to be despised. But herein the Christian world is
doubtless very defective. Minor differences and distinctions are magnified among
them into occasions of mutual aversion; insomuch, that a circumstantial difference,
in relation to the mere externals of religion, often sets persons as far asunder as they
are even from professed heathens. But let not Christianity be blamed for this. The
evil arises solely from that corruption of the human heart which Christianity is
intended to subdue and mortify. And I cannot but regard the change which has
taken place in this respect, through the influence of the Bible Society, as a blessing
of peculiar magnitude to the whole Church of God. The duty of all, to whatever
denomination of Christians they may happen to belong, is, to “love as brethren;”
yea, to “be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love, in honour
preferring one to another.” The true pattern is that which was set us on the day of
Pentecost [ ote: Act_4:32.] — — — To all, therefore, I would say, with the Apostle,
“If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded; having the
same love, being of one accord, of one mind [ ote: Php_2:1-2.].”]
3. Of conduct—
[As immortal beings, we all have one great pursuit, which we ought to follow with
our whole hearts, and in comparison of which all other things should be as dung
and dross. We should all resemble the twelve tribes of Israel, in their journey
through the wilderness. All kept their appointed places; those who led, not despising
those who followed; nor those who moved in the rear envying those who led the van.
All surrounded the tabernacle, as the first object of their unvaried solicitude; and
all looked forward to Canaan, as the crown and recompence of all their labours. So
should it be with us. To advance the cause of God in this world, and to reach the
promised land, should be the objects nearest to all our hearts. In this, then, let us all
unite: “forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things
which are before, let us press forward for the prize of the high calling of God in

65. Christ Jesus.” Let us, I say, as many as be perfect, “be thus minded [ ote: Php_
3:14-15.].”]
BURKITT, "The apostle having exhorted the Ephesians to a strict unity and
concord amongst themselves next proceeds to enforce his exhortation with several
arguments; and there are no fewer than seven summed up in the three verses now
before us.
1. Says the apostle, there is one body, that is, one universal church, whereof ye are
all members.
2. There is one Spirit, by which ye are all animated and enlivened, and therefore
keep the unity of the Spirit.
3. There is one hope of eternal life, by which we are all excited. Our inheritance in
heaven is the same; God doth not give one a double portion, or a parti-coloured coat
above another; but it is called an inheritance in light, because all alike are partakers
of it, and sharers in it: the saints have all one hope, therefore should have all but one
heart.
4. One Lord Jesus Christ, the head of his church, the Saviour of the body, one whom
we all profess to serve and obey: Be ye therefore one, for your Lord is one.
5. There is one faith: that is, either one grace of faith whereby we believe, or one
doctrine of faith which is believed; ye all believe in one and the same Saviour, and
are justified by him after one and the same manner; therefore be ye also one; one in
affection as well as one in belief.
6. There is one baptism, one door by which we all enter into the church; both Jew
and Gentile, bond and free, rich and poor, they are all one in Christ Jesus, and by
one Spirit baptized into one body.
7. One God and Father of all things. And of all persons in Christ, whom we all
expect one and the same salvation from. And this God is transcendently above all,
and over all: his eye penetrates and pierces through you all, and he is in and among
you all, as in his holy temple; therefore such as endeavour to divide you, do as much
as in them lies to divide God himself that dwells in you.
This then is the sum of the apostle's argument: Seeing ye are all members of one
body, partakers of one Spirit: expectants of one hope, having one Lord and common
Saviuor, one faith and belief, one and the same baptism in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, and one and the same God and Father in Christ; seeing you
are one in all these particulars, be one among yourselves, and endeavour to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
From the whole learn, That so many are the obligations, so strong the bonds and

66. ties, which lie upon all the members of the church to be at unity among themselves,
of one judgment, and of one heart; that such as violate these bonds, and culpably
divide and separate themselves from communion with their brethern, Christ looks
upon them no longer as members of his body, but as having rent and torn
themselves from it.
ISBET, "THE APPEAL FOR U ITY
‘There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your
calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, Who is over all,
and through all, and in all.’
Eph_4:4-6 (R. V.)
The great dangers we are in by reason of the existence of separated Christian bodies
lay beyond the horizon of the Apostles. But the seeds of these ‘unhappy divisions’
were already in the soil, though centuries had to elapse before they bore their bitter
fruit. The Apostles were familiar, sadly familiar, with cabals, estrangements,
divisions, the spirit of wilfulness and of partisanship, the spirit which postpones the
desire for the advantage and progress of the whole society to the desire for the
mastery and the pre-eminence of some section of the community. It is against this
spirit in its manifold forms that St. Paul in this Epistle makes his solemn protest,
over against which he sets his magnificent conception of Christian unity as a
supreme law of the Christian Church and a guiding principle of the Christian life.
Let us try to follow out his inspired thought.
I. One Spirit.—This unity is the unity of the Spirit; that is, it is the unity which the
Spirit inspires and confirms. There is one Spirit. ‘We have been all made to drink,’
as St. Paul says elsewhere, drawing his metaphor from the story of Israel in the
wilderness, ‘of one Spirit.’ ‘One body and one Spirit.’ The whole figure is taken
from human personality. The interpretation is at once clear. Each Christian man
and woman is a member in the one body of Christ. one may go his own ways or
seek his own ends. one is independent of his fellow Christians. But all (in the ideal)
work together and live one life, each taking that particular part in the one life which
God assigns to him. Here, in this later Epistle, St. Paul carries forward and explains
his earlier parable. What is the reason of the unity of the human body? Why do the
limbs co-operate? Because in every man the members are all ruled by one will. The
one spirit of the man controls the many members. ot otherwise is it with the Body
of Christ. The one Holy Spirit has been given to all. The one Spirit inspires all,
governs all, controls all, energises all. We are all one man, one personality, in Christ
Jesus.
II. One Lord.—And if there is but one Spirit, so also there is but one Lord, one
supreme Master of the lives of all Christian men. St. Paul’s mind, doubtless, is
reverting to what we learn from a a series of passages in his writings to have been
the earliest confession of Christian faith, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ ‘Jesus Christ is Lord.’ We

67. are His by right of purchase. ‘Ye are not your own; ye were bought with a price.’
There is one Lord—one supreme Master. That is the one faith which all Christian
men confess. That is the one baptism by which all Christian men are brought into a
vital relation to Him. The inference is clear and immediate. Servants who are loyal
to the one Lord and Master are bound together by their one allegiance. The
household is one: to divide the household is treason against the one Master.
III. One Father.—There remains one plea even higher than the constraining power
of the one allegiance to the Lord Christ. ‘One God and Father of all, Who is over all,
and through all, and in all.’ He Who is the primal source of all, Who transcends all,
and through the Word transfuses and permeates all, has revealed Himself through
Christ as the Father of all for whom Christ died. His fatherly love is the final cause
of redemption. He is the Father of all, specially of them that believe. All Christians
are His sons. Again the inference is clear and immediate. Sons who love the one
Father, and whom the one Father loves with so great a love that for their sakes He
spared not the Eternal Son of His love, are bound together by their one sonship. The
family is one. To divide the family is treason against the one Father.
One Spirit, one Master, one Father. By these great fundamental verities of the
Christian faith—not cold abstract truths, but each instinct with the love of
atonement—St. Paul conjures us to labour for peace, for love, for unity.
Bishop Chase.
BI, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your
calling.
The seven unities of spiritual life
1. One body.” ow the body is for our habitation, and it is for our action upon the
world around, and it is for our reception of influences that the world around exerts
upon ourselves. The body is for habitation, for activity, and for reception. If, then,
in our own personal body our spirit so dwells that all the various organs work
together for a common end, which end is good, then our body is what God designed
it to be. And if in a group of persons the common life actually resides in each
individual, so that each for the rest works willingly and earnestly towards procuring
a common good, then there is a “body.” So, if through our bodily frame we act well
upon the world, the use for which God designed the body is being fulfilled: and if
our various senses are inlets of wisdom and of happiness from the world without,
then again the use for which God designed the body is being fulfilled. And if a group
of men are acting upon the world by their various individualities, combining by one
thought to promote one good, they are a body--the use God designed in forming men
into societies is being fulfilled. So, too, if they are receiving from without the various
influences of knowledge and of happiness, they are as one body--the use that God
designed is being fulfilled. We notice then, again, with respect to the body, that some

68. of its members are more essential to existence than others, and yet they are all
essential to completeness of existence. And one last thing concerning the body we
may say, which is this--that though particular works require particular organs, or a
connection of such organs, these are always best done when the general health and
aptitude of the body are highest. Thus, if you have to work as a player upon
instruments of music, or work as a painter with colours and with the pencil, the
hand is requisite; but will it be merely the hand to which your excellence is due?
Certainly not. If there be no general fineness of your senses, there cannot be any
peculiar excellence in your specialty. Whatever be that specialty of a man which
requires a certain organ or group of organs, his work will always be of the best sort
according to the general health of his bodily sensibilities, the general harmony of his
bodily powers. And so it will be in the works of a spiritual society. Whatever we
require to be done, though it may, so to say, need only a part of our organism to
fulfil it, that will be best done when our general state is healthiest. If we be full of
bodily excellency, then any particular work will be most excellent.
2. There is “one Spirit.” Were there not one life in the root, the blade, and the ear,
there could be no progression from the root towards the full corn. Were there not
one life throughout the bodily frame, there could not be this union of activities to
promote common advantage. There is one life in each thing that lives; nay, it could
not be called living, were it not for this fact of internal unity. ow, speaking of
ourselves completely, and not of the animal man merely, we say that if there be a
disturbance in the spirit, the unity of life will show itself in the distress and groans
of experience; but we say also, that whatever we do spiritually aright, whether it be
to sing, to pray, to read, to give gifts, to discuss, to advise, to study--whatsoever we
do aright, the benefit of the part will produce a blessing for the whole. Especially is
the Spirit called the Holy Spirit. ow, the first thing required of us in preparing
what is holy is separation; and the next thing is conjunction. The soul disunites from
the world, and comes into conjunction with the Lord God.
3. “One hope.” “Ye are called in one hope of your calling.” A happy thought that is,
that we are called. We have not in uncertainty come and asked, Is there any heaven,
and which is the way there? Is there any God, and is He friendly? But there has
come a call to us, and it is a call upwards. That is the only call that is a sufficient one
for men. It is the call to glory and virtue that is a sufficing call for man. We are
called, then; and as replying to the Divine call, with our active feet and our ready
hands, we partake in a hope. ow, what is this hope? We hope for the redemption of
the body, and the full perfection of the spirit; and as we are already much interested
in one another, it is not simply the full redemption of our own flesh and blood, and
the full perfection of our own individual limited spirit, that satisfies us, but we hope
for a wise and happy world; we hope for a full and abiding joy. We are all called to
do good--all called to be good; and it is quite certain that we can never be satisfied
until individually there be a perfect spirit in a harmonious and healthful frame, and
socially, also, there be a perfect spirit in a harmonious and healthful frame. This is
our hope, and it is a hope of which we need not be ashamed.
4. “One Lord,”--the Lord Jesus Christ. One Lord; but men have not been at one in

69. their thoughts of Him; they have not been at one in their conduct, which they have
professed was governed by Him. This Lord has brought strife into the world. ow,
to reconcile opposed persons is very hard, but to reconcile opposed opinions much
easier; for truths have no animosity to each other; but persons, although their
interests may be identical, are often, and soon, and very, angry with one another.
ow, we must seek to reconcile truths in our own mind. Of course, as they are in the
Divine mind which contains all truths in eternal harmony, there is no reconciliation
required; but it will require much effort to make our little minds in some humble
manner a transcript of the bright Divine mind.
5. “One faith”: by which we adhere to the one Lord. Faith is at once an expression
of a weakness that we acknowledge, and of a strength which we trust and receive. It
is, then, our adherence to the one Lord, who in His humanity gives us all necessary
example and sympathy, and in His Divinity sustains us with a fund of strength that
can never be exhausted.
6. “One baptism.” The actions that pertain to baptism, like the opinions that pertain
to faith, are of comparatively little moment; but baptism itself is essential, because it
is the application of the purifying element to the soul. ow, there are two principal
elements, the water and the fire, that are applied for purification; and surely any
man who comes out of the water after baptism, or has used the water thoroughly in
any way for baptism, may say to himself, “This very water that cleanses me could
drown me; this very water, whose action is so gentle, could sweep me away, as with
a mighty rage.” In its gentle application, water removes impurities from us, as still
capable of being cleansed; but should we become utterly impure, instead of washing
in the wave to be made clean, we are washed away by it, that the earth may be
cleansed.
7. Then we may speak last of all of the “one God,”--the one God and Father of us all,
who is over all in His creative love, who is through all in the actions of His
multiform but harmonious providence, and who is in us all, making the body of the
spiritual Church to be the residence of His own love and truth. The Father of all: is
the great Fatherhood of God yet manifested to the world? o, Is even His unity as
the one Lord of creation manifest to the world? o. And are we approaching--for
this is surely a suitable thought to allow ourselves in the closing moments of this
discoarse--to a time truly catholic? Is society getting more catholic, or more
conglomerate; more of a Church, or more of a medley? Are things becoming more
in common; the spirit becoming more truly holy? (T. T. Lynch.)
Gospel unities
1. There is one body--the Church.
2. One Spirit--the Holy Ghost.

70. 3. One hope--the resurrection from the dead.
4. One Lord--Jesus Christ.
5. One faith--the Christian religion.
6. One baptism--Christian baptism.
7. One God and Father of us all--the Lord God Almighty.
(1) He is above all. Then He is supreme. And because of this--
(a) He is worthy of our worship.
(b) He is worthy of all reverence in our worship.
(2) He is through all. Then He permeates all.
(3) He is in you all. Then we may each realize Him. Conclusion: If all this be true--
then union should exist everywhere. (A. F. Barfield.)
The unity of the Church
The Church is one. When the apostle wrote this Epistle there were societies of
Christians--Churches--in Rome, in Corinth, in Thessalonica, in Philippi, in Colosse,
in Ephesus, in the cities and towns of Galatia, in the Syrian Antioch, and in
Jerusalem. There were less famous Churches in other cities. They stood apart from
each other; every separate Church had authority over its own affairs, maintained its
own discipline, elected its own bishops and deacons, organized its own worship. As
yet there was no confederation of these independent societies under any central
ecclesiastical authority. Their unity was not constituted by an external organization,
but by their common possession of the Spirit of God, and it is therefore called by the
apostle “the unity of the Spirit.” He has spoken of the unity of the Church in the
earlier part of the Epistle. The exclusion of the pagan races from “the
commonwealth of Israel” had ceased; “the middle wall of partition” which
separated them from the sacred court in which the elect nation had nearer access to
God had been broken down. There was now one city of the saints, of which all
Christian men of every nation were citizens; one household of God in which they
were all children; one holy temple “built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,” into the sacred walls of
which they were all built “for a habitation of God in the Spirit.” He has asserted this
unity in a still bolder form; for after speaking of the glory of Christ, who sits at the
right hand of God, “far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and
every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come,”
he described the Church as “the Body” of Christ, the organ of His life and thought

71. and will, “the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.” And now he returns to this great
conception. The “Body” of Christ, he says, is “one”; the “Spirit” of Goal who dwells
in it is “one”; and in harmony with this unity of the “Body” of Christ and this unity
of the “Spirit” who dwells in it, the great “hope” of all Christian men, of all who
have been called into the Divine kingdom and have obeyed the call, is “one.” There
is “one Lord,” only one--Christ Jesus the Prince and the Saviour of men; “one
faith”--not a common creed, but a common trust in Christ for eternal righteousness
and eternal glory; “one baptism,” and one only, the same rite by which Christ
visibly claims men as belonging to the race for which He died, and over which He
reigns, is administered to all. There is “one God and Father of all”; we all worship
before the same eternal throne, and in Christ we are all the children of the same
Divine Father; His sovereignty is absolute and supreme--He is “over all”; the power
of His life penetrates the whole Body of Christ--He is “through all”; and His home is
in all Christians--He is “in all.” (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
The communion of saints
Believers in Christ are bound together in the ties of a holy brotherhood. Let us look
a little at the nature of this communion.
I. With respect to the condition. “There is one Body and one Spirit”; and the
exercise of that Spirit and the execution of His office are the same in all--to show
them the things of Christ, that thus through Christ they may hold communion with
the Father. The whole Body of the faithful are joined together in communion with
the Father of spirits. They all meet at the same throne; they all unite in one common
feeling, and join in one common song of praise.
II. Their pursuits. The Church is dispersed throughout the world; it is separated by
difference of language, rank, age, circumstances; but being partakers off one Spirit
and one faith, they are of one heart and one mind in the gospel, and they unite in the
pursuit of God’s glory.
III. Their enjoyments. Here again their hearts are one. Christ Jesus is the centre of
their joy. (William Reeve, M. A.)
One Body and one Spirit

72. The Church or Body is one. There are not two rival communities. The Body, with its
many members and complex array of organs of very different position, function,
and honour, is yet one. The Church, no matter where it is situated, or in what age of
the world it exists--no matter of what race, blood, or colour are its members, or how
various the tongues in which its services are presented--is one, and remains so,
unaffected by distance or time, or physical, intellectual, and social distinctions. And
as in the Body there is only one Spirit, one living principle--no double consciousness,
no dualism of intelligence, motive, and action--so the one Spirit of God dwells in the
one Church, and there is, therefore, no rivalry of administration, and there are no
conflicting claims. And whatever the gifts and graces conferred, whatever variety of
aspect they may assume, all possess a delicate self-adaptation to times and
circumstances, for they are all from the “one Spirit,” having unity of origin and
oneness of design and result. (J. Eadie, D. D.)
The oneness of Christ’s Church
The real spiritual Church of the Redeemer is one Body. All the members of that
Church partake of the same grace, adhere to the same rule of faith, are washed in
the same Blood, are filled with the same hopes, and shall dwell at length in the same
blessed inheritance. Heretics and ungodly men may find their way into the Church,
but they remain really separated from its “invisible conjunction of charity.” There
may be variations in what Barrow calls “lesser matters of ceremony and discipline,”
and yet this essential unity is preserved. (J. Eadie, D. D.)
The Church is not a material Body
In contemplating this Body you must divest yourselves of a material idea. What we
call matter is by no means essential to living organisms. On the contrary, it is
essential to the reality, unity, and permanence of a body that it be not material.
“There are celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial.” But the celestial is much more
strictly a body than the terrestrial. For a celestial body is incapable of decay, but an
earthly body soon collapses, and falls into an inorganic mass. A body may be
material, or psychical, or spiritual. The material is the lowest, and least worthy of
being called a body. Strictly speaking, matter is an apparition. It is essentially
deficient of the higher qualities of being, and consequently cannot maintain its
integrity. It is a dense vapour that “appeareth for a little time, and then vanishes
away.” As our own material body is a veil hiding another body, in like manner, the
material universe is a covering upon a more glorious universe. The sanctuary, which
was so constructed as to be a figure of creation, had for its outmost covering rough
animal skins; but by lifting a series of coverings, you came to gold, and within all
was the Divine Presence. Peter, James, and John were permitted to see that our
Lord had, within His material body, a divinely luminous one, which was His true
body. We are called to become citizens of the kingdom which is the inner and true

73. body of the universe. This is the kingdom of heaven, which our Lord preached and
opened to men. Our souls live, move, and have their being in this inner sphere. We
are a part of it. (J. Pulsford.)
Sins against unity
All sins against unity are sins against the Holy Ghost. (Dr. Hedge.)
Union is strength
If you consider how it is that a hempen twine is made strong enough to draw a
loaded waggon, or to bear the immense strain of a ship as she rides at anchor, you
will see a significancy that perhaps did not occur to you before, in the use which
Holy Scripture makes of this work of human art as an emblem. It is formed of many
threads twisted together into one cord, and these cords are again combined into one
cable. Each thread is in itself so weak, that a child could break, or the slightest
weight would burst it; but when the threads are turned into one rope, their united
strength is such as would have seemed incredible. “A three-fold cord is not quickly
broken.” The truth is just before us that union is strength. They who are weak and
helpless singly are able to produce a vast result, when they combine their powers. It
was in order to restrain His sinful creatures from carrying out what they had
combined with the intention of doing, that God frustrated the building of the tower
of Babel, and scattered them over the face of the earth, and He gathers together
again His elect people in one body in Christ, that by uniting their various energies in
one work, and for one end, they may strengthen each other’s hands, and effectually
“bruise under foot” the powers of darkness. (Bishop Trower.)
Christian work promotes unity
Captain Moreton, to illustrate the concord that came from union in work, retailed
the following incident he had heard from Mr. Macgregor (Rob Roy). He was
walking one day on the southern English coast, and fell across some seafaring men
quarrelling about the way in which a button had been sewn on one of their coats.
They were on the point of coming to blows, when a cry was raised that there was a
ship on the Goodwin Sands, and that the lifeboat was needed. Instantly the
trumpery quarrel was at an end, and all were heartily at work doing their best to
save their shipwrecked brethren.
BARCLAY 4-6, "THE BASIS OF U ITY
Eph. 4:4-6

74. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called with one hope of your
calling. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is
above all, and through all, and in all.
Paul goes on to set down the basis on which Christian unity is founded.
(i) There is one body. Christ is the head and the Church is the body. o brain can
work through a body which is split into fragments. Unless there is a coordinated
oneness in the body, the designs of the head are frustrated. The oneness of the
Church is essential for the work of Christ. That does not need to be a mechanical
oneness of administration and of human organization; but it does need to be a
oneness founded on a common love of Christ and of every part for the other.
(ii) There is one Spirit. The word pneuma (GS 4151) in Greek means both spirit
and breath; it is in fact the usual word for breath. Unless the breath be in the body,
the body is dead; and the vitalizing breath of the body of the Church is the Spirit of
Christ. There can be no Church without the Spirit; and there can be no receiving of
the Spirit without prayerful waiting for him.
(iii) There is one hope in our calling. We are all proceeding towards the same goal.
This is the great secret of the unity of Christians. Our methods, our organization,
even some of our beliefs may be different; but we are all striving towards the one
goal of a world redeemed in Christ.
(iv) There is one Lord. The nearest approach to a creed which the early Church
possessed was the short sentence: "Jesus Christ is Lord" (Php.2:11). As Paul saw it,
it was God's dream that there should come a day when all men would make this
confession. The word used for Lord is kurios (GS 2962). Its two usages in ordinary
Greek show us something of what Paul meant. It was used for master in contra-
distinction to servant or slave; and it was the regular designation of the Roman
Emperor. Christians are joined together because they are all in the possession and
in the service of the one Master and King.
(v) There is one faith. Paul did not mean that there is one creed. Very seldom indeed
does the word faith mean a creed in the ew Testament. By faith the ew
Testament nearly always means the complete commitment of the Christian to Jesus
Christ. Paul means that all Christians are bound together because they have made a
common act of complete surrender to the love of Jesus Christ. They may describe
their act of surrender in different terms; but, however they describe it, that
surrender is the one thing common to all of them.
(vi) There is one baptism. In the early Church baptism was usually adult baptism,
because men and women were coming direct from heathenism into the Christian
faith. Therefore, before anything else, baptism was a public confession of faith.
There was only one way for a Roman soldier to join the army; he had to take the
oath that he would be true for ever to his emperor. Similarly, there was only one
way to enter the Christian Church--the way of public confession of Jesus Christ.
(vii) There is one God. See what Paul says about the God in whom we believe.
He is the Father of all; in that phrase is enshrined the love of God. The greatest
thing about the Christian God, is not that he is king, not that he is judge, but that he
is Father. The Christian idea of God begins in love.
He is above all; in that phrase is enshrined the control of God. o matter what
things may look like God is in control. There may be floods; but "The Lord sits
enthroned over the flood" (Ps.29:10).

75. He is through all; in that phrase is enshrined the providence of God. God did not
create the world and set it going as a man might wind up a clockwork toy and leave
it to run down. God is all through his world, guiding, sustaining, loving.
He is in all; in that phrase is enshrined the presence of God in all life. It may be that
Paul took the germ of this idea from, the Stoics. The Stoics believed that God was a
fire purer than any earthly fire; and they believed that what gave a man life was
that a spark of that fire which was God came and dwelt in his body. It was Paul's
belief that in everything there is God.
It is the Christian belief that we live in a God-created, God-controlled, God-
sustained, God-filled world.
5
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
BAR ES, "One Lord - This evidently refers to the Lord Jesus. The “Spirit” is
mentioned in the previous verse; the Father in the verse following. On the application of
the word “Lord” to the Saviour, see the notes on Act_1:24. The argument here is, that
there ought to be unity among Christians, because they have one Lord and Saviour. They
have not different Saviours adapted to different classes; not one for the Jew and another
for the Greek; not one for the rich and another for the poor; not one for the bond and
another for the free. There is but one. He belongs in common to all as their Saviour; and
he has a right to rule over one as much as over another. There is no better way of
promoting unity among Christians than by reminding them that they have the same
Saviour. And when jealousies and heart-burnings arise; or when they are disposed to
contend about trifles; when they magnify unimportant matters until they are in danger
of rending the church asunder, let them feel that they have one Lord and Saviour, and
they will lay aside their contentions and be one again. Let two men who have never seen
each other before, meet in a distant land, and feel that they have the same Redeemer,
and their hearts will mingle into one. They are not aliens, but friends. A cord of
sympathy is struck more tender than that which binds them to country or home and
though of different nations, complexions, or habits, they will feel that they are one. Why
should contentions ever arise between those who have the same Redeemer?
One faith - The same belief. That is, either the belief of the same doctrines, or faith of
the same nature in the heart. The word may be taken in either sense. I see no reason why
it should not include “both” here, or be used in the widest sense, If so used it means that

76. Christians should be united because they hold the same great doctrines; and also,
because they have the same confidence in the Redeemer in their hearts, They hold the
same system as distinguished from Judaism, Paganism, Mohammedanism, Deism; and
they should, therefore, be one. They have the same trust in Christ, as a living, practical
principle - and they should, therefore, be one. They may differ in other attachments; in
temperament; in pursuit; in professions in life - but they have a common faith - and they
should be one.
One baptism - This does not affirm that there is one mode of baptism, but it refers to
“the thing itself.” They are all baptized in the name of the same Father, Saviour,
Sanctifier. They have all in this manner been consecrated unto God, and devoted to his
service. Whether by immersion, or by pouring, or by sprinkling, they have all been
baptized with water; whether it is done in adult years, or in infancy, the same solemn act
has been performed on all - the act of consecration to the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. This passage cannot be adduced to prove that only one “mode” of baptism is
lawful, unless it can be shown that the thing referred to here was the “mode” and not
“the thing itself;” and unless it can be proved that Paul meant to build his argument for
the “unity” of Christians on the fact that the same “form” was used in their baptism. But
this is evidently not the point of his argument.
The argument is, that there was really but “one baptism” - not that there was but one
“mode” of baptism. I could not use this argument in this form, “Christians should be one
because they have been all baptized by ‘sprinkling;’” and yet the argument would be just
as forcible as to use it in this form, “Christians should be one because they have all been
baptized by ‘immersion.’” There is one baptism, not one “mode” of baptism; and no man
has a right to “assume” that there can be but one mode, and then apply this passage to
that. The “essential thing” in the argument before us is, that there has been a
consecration to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, by the application of water.
Thus, understood, the argument is one that will be “felt” by all who have been devoted to
God by baptism. They have taken the same vows upon them. They have consecrated
themselves to the same God. They have made the same solemn profession of religion.
Water has been applied to one and all as the emblem of the purifying influences of the
Holy Spirit; and having been thus initiated in a solemn manner into the same profession
of religion, they should be one. (See Mat_3:6 note and Mat_3:16 note.)
CLARKE, "One Lord - Jesus Christ, who is the governor of this Church.
One faith - One system of religion, proposing the same objects to the faith of all.
One baptism - Administered in the name of the holy Trinity; indicative of the
influences, privileges, and effects of the Christian religion.
GILL, "One Lord,.... The Lord Jesus Christ, who, by right of creation, is Lord of all;
and by right of marriage, and redemption, is the one and only Lord of his church and
people; he has betrothed them to himself, and is their husband, and so their Lord, whom
they are to worship and obey; he has redeemed them, he has bought them with the price
of his blood, and therefore they are not their own, but his, and should glorify him both
with their bodies and souls, which are his; he is the head of his body the church, the
King of saints, and Father and master of the family named of him, and therefore they
ought to agree among themselves, and not be many masters, and usurp a domination
over one another. The Ethiopic version reads, "one God", but that is expressed in the

77. following verse.
One faith; there is but one grace of faith; there are indeed different sorts of faith; there
is the faith of miracles, and an historical, temporary faith, but there is but one true grace
of faith; and which, though it is in different subjects, and its degrees and acts are
various, yet as to its nature, it is like precious faith in all; and has the same author and
object, Jesus Christ, and springs from the same cause, the free grace of God, and has
equally in all everlasting salvation connected with it, and consequent upon it: and there
is but one doctrine of faith; the Gospel is so called, because it consists of things to be
believed, is the means of implanting faith, it proposes the object to be believed in, and
requires the exercise of it upon it, and should be mixed with faith whenever heard. Now
this is but one, and is all of a piece, and consistent with itself, and so should the
professors of it be, and love one another in the faith.
One baptism, there were divers baptisms under the law, but there is but one baptism
under the Gospel; for John's and Christ's are the same: there are, besides, figurative or
metaphorical ones, which are so in an improper sense, as the baptism of the Spirit, and
the baptism of blood, or of sufferings; but there is but one baptism, literally and properly
so called, which is water baptism; and which is to be administered in one and the same
way, by immersion in water; and on one and the same subjects, believers in Christ; and
in one and the same name, the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and to
be performed but once, when rightly administered.
JAMISO , "Similarly “faith” and “baptism” (the sacramental seal of faith) are
connected (Mar_16:16; Col_2:12). Compare 1Co_12:13, “Faith” is not here that which
we believe, but the act of believing, the mean by which we apprehend the “one Lord.”
“Baptism” is specified, being the sacrament whereby we are incorporated into the “one
body.” Not the Lord’s Supper, which is an act of matured communion on the part of
those already incorporate, “a symbol of union, not of unity” [Ellicott]. In 1Co_10:17,
where a breach of union was in question, it forms the rallying point [Alford]. There is not
added, “One pope, one council, one form of government” [Cautions for Times]. The
Church is one in unity of faith (Eph_4:5; Jud_1:3); unity of origination (Eph_2:19-21):
unity of sacraments (Eph_4:5; 1Co_10:17; 1Co_12:13): unity of “hope” (Eph_4:4; Tit_
1:2); unity of charity (Eph_4:3): unity (not uniformity) of discipline and government:
for where there is no order, no ministry with Christ as the Head, there is no Church
[Pearson, Exposition of the Creed, Article IX].
RWP, "One Lord (heis Kurios). The Lord Jesus Christ and he alone (no series of
aeons).
One faith (mia pistis). One act of trust in Christ, the same for all (Jew or Gentile),
one way of being saved.
One baptism (hen baptisma). The result of baptizing (baptisma), while baptismos is
the act. Only in the N.T. (baptismos in Josephus) and ecclesiastical writers naturally. See
note on Mar_10:38. There is only one act of baptism for all (Jews and Gentiles) who
confess Christ by means of this symbol, not that they are made disciples by this one act,
but merely so profess him, put Christ on publicly by this ordinance.

78. CALVI , " 5.One Lord. In the first Epistle to the Corinthians, he employs the word
Lord, to denote simply the government of God.
“ are differences of administration, but the same Lord.”
(1Co_12:5)
In the present instance, as he shortly afterwards makes express mention of the
Father, he gives this appellation strictly to Christ, who has been appointed by the
Father to be our Lord, and to whose government we cannot be subject, unless we
are of one mind. The frequent repetition of the word one is emphatic. Christ cannot
be divided. Faith cannot be rent. There are not various baptisms, but one which is
common to all. God cannot cease to be one, and unchangeable. It cannot but be our
duty to cherish holy unity, which is bound by so many ties. Faith, and baptism, and
God the Father, and Christ, ought to unite us, so as almost to become one man. All
these arguments for unity deserve to be pondered, but cannot be fully explained. I
reckon it enough to take a rapid glance at the apostle’ meaning, leaving the full
illustration of it to the preachers of the gospel. The unity of faith, which is here
mentioned, depends on the one, eternal truth of God, on which it is founded.
One baptism, This does not mean that Christian baptism is not to be administered
more than once, but that one baptism is common to all; so that, by means of it, we
begin to form one body and one soul. But if that argument has any force, a much
stronger one will be founded on the truth, that the Father, and Son, and Spirit, are
one God; for it is one baptism, which is celebrated in the name of the Three Persons.
What reply will the Arians or Sabellians make to this argument? Baptism possesses
such force as to make us one; and in baptism, the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Spirit, is invoked. Will they deny that one Godhead is the foundation
of this holy and mysterious unity? We are compelled to acknowledge, that the
ordinance of baptism proves the existence of Three Persons in one Divine essence.
MACLARE , "THE THREEFOLD U ITY
Eph_4:5
The thought of the unity of the Church is very prominent in this epistle. It is
difficult for us, amidst our present divisions, to realise how strange and wonderful it
then was that a bond should have been found which drew together men of all
nations, ranks, and characters. Pharisee and philosopher, high-born women and
slaves, Roman patricians and gladiators, Asiatic Greeks and Syrian Jews forgot

79. their feuds and sat together as one in Christ. It is no wonder that Paul in this letter
dwells so long and earnestly on that strange fact. He is exhorting here to a unity of
spirit corresponding to it, and he names a seven-fold oneness-one body and one
spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. The
outward institution of the Church, as a manifest visible fact, comes first in the
catalogue. One Father is last, and between these there lie the mention of the one
Spirit and the one Lord. The ‘body’ is the Church. ‘Spirit, Lord, God,’ are the
triune divine personality. Hope and faith are human acts by which men are joined
to God; Baptism is the visible symbol of their incorporation into the one body. These
three clauses of our text may be considered as substantially including all the
members of the series. We deal with them quite simply now, and consider them in
the order in which they stand here.
I. The one Lord.
The deep foundation of Christian unity is laid in the divine Christ. Here, as
generally in the ew Testament, the name ‘Lord’ designates Christ in His authority
as ruler of men and in His divinity as Incarnation of God. It would not be going too
far to suggest that we have in the name, standing as it does, for the most part, in
majestic simplicity, a reference to the Old Testament name of Jehovah, which in the
Greek translation familiar to Paul is generally rendered by this same word. or can
we ignore the fact that in this great catalogue of the Christian unities the Lord
stands in the centre of the three personalities named, and is regarded as being at
once the source of the Spirit and the manifestation of the Father. The place which
this name occupies in relation to the Faith which is next named suggests that the
living personal Christ is the true uniting principle amongst men. The one body
realises its oneness in its common relation to the one Lord. It is one, not because of
identity in doctrine, not because of any of the bonds which hold men together in
human associations, precious and sacred as many of these are, but ‘we being many
are one bread, for we are all partakers of that one bread.’ The magnet draws all the
particles to itself and holds them in a mysterious unity.
II. One faith.
The former clause set forth in one great name all the objective elements of the
Church’s oneness; this clause sets forth, with equally all-comprehending simplicity,
the subjective element which makes a Christian. The one Lord, in the fulness of His
nature and the perfectness of His work, is the all-inclusive object of faith. He, in His
own living person, and not any dogmas about Him, is regarded as the strong

80. support round which the tendrils of faith cling and twine and grow. True, He is
made known to us as possessing certain attributes and as doing certain things
which, when stated in words, become doctrines, and a Christ without these will
never be the object of faith. The antithesis which is so often drawn between Christ’s
person and Christian doctrines is by no means sound, though the warning not to
substitute the latter for the former is only too necessary at all times.
The subjective act which lays hold of Christ is faith, which in our text has its usual
meaning of saving trust, and is entirely misconceived if it is taken, as it sometimes is,
to mean the whole body of beliefs which make up the Christian creed. That which
unites us to Jesus Christ is an infinitely deeper thing than the acceptance of any
creed. A man may believe thirty-nine or thirty-nine hundred articles without having
any real or vital connection with the one Lord. The faith which saves is the outgoing
of the whole self towards Christ. In it the understanding, the emotions, and the will
are all in action. The ew Testament faith is absolutely identical with the Old
Testament trust, and the prophet who exhorted Israel, ‘Trust ye in the Lord for
ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength,’ was preaching the very same
message as the Apostle who cried, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt
be saved.’
That ‘saving faith’ is the same in all Christians, however different they may be in
condition and character and general outlook and opinion upon many points of
Christian knowledge. The things on which they differ are on the surface, and
sometimes by reason of their divergencies Christians stand like frowning cliffs that
look threateningly at one another across a narrow gorge, but deep below ground
they are continuous and the rock is unbroken. In many and melancholy ways ‘the
unity of faith and knowledge’ is contradicted in the existing organisations of the
Church, and we are tempted to postpone its coming to the day of the new Jerusalem
which is compact together; but the clarion note of this great text may encourage us
to hope, and to labour in our measure for the fulfilment of the hope, that all, who by
one faith have been joined to the one Lord, may yet know themselves to be one in
Him, and present to the world the fair picture of one body animated by one spirit.
III. One baptism.
Obviously in Paul’s mind baptism here means, not the baptism with the Spirit, but
the rite, one and the same for all, by which believers in Christ enter into the
fellowship of the Church. It was then a perpetual rite administered as a matter of
course to all who professed to have been joined to the one Lord by their one faith.

81. The sequence in the three clauses of our text is perfectly clear. Baptism is the
expression and consequence of the faith which precedes it. Surely there is here a
most distinct implication that it is a declaration of personal faith. Without enlarging
on the subject, I venture to think that the order of the Apostle’s thought negatives
other conceptions of Christian baptism, such as, that it is a communication of Grace,
or an expression of the feelings and desires of parents, or a declaration of some truth
about redeemed humanity. Paul’s order is Christ’s when He said, ‘He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved.’
It is very remarkable and instructive that whilst thus our text shows that baptism
was a matter of course and universally practised, the references to it in the epistles
are so few. The inference is not that it was neglected, but that, as being a rite, it
could not be as important as were Christian truths and Christian character. May
we, in a word, suggest the contrast between the frequency and tone of the Apostolic
references to baptism and those which we find in many quarters to-day?
It is remarkable that here the Lord’s Supper is not mentioned, and all the more so,
that in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the passage which we have already quoted
does put emphasis upon it as a token of Christian unity. The explanation of the
omission may be found in the fact that, in these early days, the Lord’s Supper was
not a separate rite, but was combined with ordinary meals, or perhaps more
probably in the consideration that baptism was what the Lord’s Supper was not-an
initial rite which incorporated the possessors of one faith into the one body.
BI, "
One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
The Lord of the Church
From the beginning, the Church is constituted of all who call upon the name of
Jesus Christ our Lord.
I. How is the Lordship of Jesus constituted? ot by the suffrages of men; but by the
will of God. And it is the reward of His servantship.
II. What does this Lordship comprise? Master, Teacher, Leader, Captain, Prince. In

82. all things He is preeminent. In and over the Church He, and He only, has the right
to reign.
III. How is this Lordship essential to the Church? The saints who form the one
Body, and are actuated by the one Spirit, and are called in the hope of having one
Lord, are companions in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. They are servants under one
Master; disciples under one Teacher; soldiers under one Captain; subjects under
one Lord. He is preeminent and paramount. And it is His Lordship that gives tone
to their character, firmness to their testimony, steadfastness to their hues, and
direction in all things.
IV. The practical uses of this doctrine.
1. It stirs gratitude.
2. It requires obedience.
3. It promotes equity and fair play among Christians.
4. It binds together Christians in unity.
There are differences of service and ministration rendered, but the same Lord is the
rallying point of the whole kingdom. (J. Eadie, D. D.)
The five points of universal charity
I. One faith. This may be interpreted of the principle of faith as applied to revelation
in general, and to Christ, the great object of that revelation, in particular. This faith
is “precious.” It unites to a precious Saviour. It is precious, as the medium of
deriving the greatest benefits.
II. One baptism. We prefer to consider this as the baptism of the Spirit; the sign
being put for the thing signified.
III. One hope. This is termed, the one hope of their calling; namely, the one object to

83. which they are all called, and which, therefore, they all have in hope, This is heaven,
and is rather a state than a place, being two-fold, the one introductory, the other
future and permanent.
IV. One Lord. This is Jesus Christ, viewed as a Saviour by faith and hope, and
regarded as Lord by the principle of Christian submission and obedience. His
supremacy, all true Christians joyfully acknowledge.
V. One God, and father of all. Here the apostle leads Christians up to the source of
human redemption; and the ultimate object of all religious worship and homage.
With God the Father, the plan of our salvation originated. Our Saviour perpetually
refers His mediation to the will and appointment of His Father. “I came not to do
Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. The work that My Father giveth
Me to do,” I do it. And even now, He carries on the process of human redemption in
heaven, entirely in accordance with the will of the Father (Joh_5:19). Let us follow
this epitome with some reflections on the agreement of Christians in these several
particulars.
1. How great must be the work of their salvation! What great objects without are
concerned in it; what great dispositions are wrought within them in relation to these
objects to accomplish it! Here is God the Father intending it from eternity, Jesus
Christ procuring it in time by His mediation, and a glorious heaven in future for its
completion and enjoyment. Here is the Holy Spirit bringing their minds into contact
with these objects, so as to be deeply influenced by them, through the medium of
revealed truth, by the power of faith; which faith is expressly said to be of the
operation of the Spirit of God, and the effect of the exceeding greatness of His
power: and here is a supernatural principle of hope given them for the promotion of
the same object.
2. What provision is made by these objects for the promotion of Christians in
holiness? All the means and agencies requisite for that purpose are here at hand.
The principle of faith with which they are endowed renders every part of the Bible
that is favourable to holiness capable of being brought to bear on them. The
principle of hope also is a great help and incentive to holiness. It saves us from being
drawn to sin by the allurements of the world, presenting something infinitely more
captivating before us; and it saves us from being driven to sin by its terrors,
suggesting in such ease the affecting idea of the loss of its great object. Particularly
does it influence to holiness by leading the mind to converse with holy objects, which
must have a tendency to assimilate it to them.
3. What a foundation is laid, by the agreement of Christians in these particulars, for
a mutual affection! The points of agreement among Christians, compared with those
of disagreement, are much fewer in number but far greater in importance.

84. 4. What a fearful thought is the fact of Christ’s lordship to the ungodly! They who
neglect Him, little think of His present grandeur, and of His future glory. (J.
Leifchild.)
The Church of the future
I believe in the Church of the future. I think that there will come a day, at no distant
time, when from the watchtowers of Asia, once the land of many lords, there shall
roll out the exultant chorus, “One Lord!” When from the watchtowers of Europe,
distracted by divisions in the Faith, there shall roll up the great chorus, “One
Faith!” When from the watchtowers of America, torn by controversies respecting
the initiatory rite into the vestibule Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, there shall
burst forth the inspiring chorus, “One Baptism!” When from the watchtowers of
Africa, as though the God of all the human race were not her God, as if the Father
of the entire family were not her Father--when from the watchtowers of neglected
and despised Africa, there shall roll forth the chorus, “One God and Father of us
all!” When the sacramental host, scattered all over the face of this lower creation,
shall spring upon their feet, and, seizing the harp of thanksgiving, they shall join in
the chorus that shall be responded to by the angels, “One Lord, one Faith, one
Baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all, and through all, and in you
all; to whom be glory, dominion, and majesty, and blessing forever.” (A. Cookman.)
6
one God and Father of all, who is over all and
through all and in all.
BAR ES, "One God - The same God; therefore there should be unity. Were there
many gods to be worshipped, there could be no more hope of unity than there is among
the worshippers of Mammon and Bacchus, and the various other idols that people set
up. People who have different pursuits, and different objects of supreme affection, can
be expected to have no union. People who worship many gods, cannot hope to be united.

85. Their affections are directed to different objects, and there is no harmony or sympathy of
feeling. But where there is one supreme object of attachment there may be expected to
be unity. The children of a family that are devoted to a parent, will be united among
themselves; and the fact that all Christians have the same great object of worship, should
constitute a strong bond of union among themselves - a chain always kept bright.
And Father of all - One God who is the Father of all; that is, who is a common
Father to all who believe. That this refers to the Father, in contradistinction from the
Son and the Holy Spirit, seems evident. The Spirit and the Son are mentioned in the
previous verses. But the fact that the “Father of all” is mentioned as “God,” does not
prove that the Spirit and the Son are not also endowed with divine attributes. That
question is to be determined by the attributes ascribed to the Son and the Holy Spirit in
other places. All sincere Christians worship “one” God, and “but” one. But they suppose
that this one God subsists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, united in a mysterious
manner, and constituting the one God, and that there is no other God. That the Father is
divine, they all hold, as Paul affirms here; that the Son and the Holy Spirit are also
divine, they also hold; see the John 1 note; Heb. 1 note; Phi_2:6 note; Rom_9:5 note.
The meaning here is, that God is the common Father of “all” his people - of the rich and
the poor; the bond and the free; the learned and the unlearned. He is no respecter of
persons. Nothing would tend more to overcome the prejudices of color, rank, and
wealth, than to feel that we all have one Father; and that we are all equally the objects of
his favor; compare notes on Act_17:26.
Who is above all - Who is supreme; who presides over all things.
And through all - He pervades universal nature, and his agency is seen everywhere.
And in you all - There is no one in whose heart he does not dwell. You are his
temple, and he abides in you; see Eph_2:22; notes, 1Co_6:19. The argument here is, that
as the same God dwelt in every heart, they ought to be one. See this argument beautifully
expressed in the Saviour’s prayer, Joh_17:21; compare Joh_14:23.
CLARKE, "One God - The fountain of all being, self-existent and eternal; and
Father of all, both Jews and Gentiles, because he is the Father of the spirits of all flesh.
Who is above all - ᆍ επι παντων· Who is over all; as the King of kings, and Lord of
lords.
And through all - Pervading every thing; being present with every thing; providing
for all creatures; and by his energy supporting all things.
And in you all - By the energy of his Spirit, enlightening, quickening, purifying, and
comforting; in a word, making your hearts the temples of the Holy Ghost. Some think
the mystery of the blessed Trinity is contained in this verse: God is over all, as Father;
through all, by the Logos or Word; and in all, by the Holy Spirit.
GILL, "One God and Father of all,.... That there is but one God is the voice of
nature and of revelation; and may be concluded from the perfections of deity, for there
can be but one eternal, infinite, immense, omnipotent, all-sufficient, perfect, and
independent Being; and from one first cause of all things, and the relations he stands in
to his creatures: there is but one God, who is truly, and really, and properly God, in
opposition to all nominal and figurative deities, and which are not gods by nature, and to

86. the fictitious deities and idols of the nations; and there is but one God of Jews and
Gentiles; nor is the unity of the Godhead inconsistent with a trinity of persons in it: and
this one God is the Father of all; the Father of all mercies, and of all spirits, both angels
and souls of men; and he is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of all the elect in
him: and seeing that they have all one covenant God and Father, who has predestinated
them to the adoption of children, and who has put them among the children, and
adopted them into his family, and stand in the same relation to him, and enjoy the same
privileges, they ought to love as brethren:
who is above all; which may denote the superior excellency of his nature, not above
his Son and Spirit, who are of the same nature with him, but above angels and men; and
the extensiveness of his government, over all creatures in general, and over his church
and people in particular:
and through all; the Arabic version renders it, "taking care of all"; which may have
respect to his providence, which is either universal, and reaches to all creatures his
hands have made; or special, and concerns his own chosen people, who belong to his
family, and to whom he stands in the relation of a covenant God and Father: or this
clause may refer to the perfections of his nature, which appear through the whole of the
salvation of all the chosen ones; as his wisdom, love, grace, mercy, justice, holiness,
truth, and faithfulness:
and in you all; which is to be understood, not of his being in his creatures, by his
powerful presence, which is everywhere supporting them; but of the gracious union
there is between him and his people, and of his gracious inhabitation in them by his
Spirit. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, the Complutensian edition, and
some copies, read, "in us all"; and the Alexandrian copy, and the Ethiopic version, read
only, "in all".
JAMISO , "above — “over all.” The “one God over all” (in His sovereignty and by
His grace) is the grand source and crowning apex of unity (Eph_2:19, end).
through all — by means of Christ “who filleth all things” (Eph_4:10; Eph_2:20,
Eph_2:21), and is “a propitiation” for all men (1Jo_2:2).
in you all — The oldest manuscripts omit “you.” Many of the oldest versions and
Fathers and old manuscripts read, “in us all.” Whether the pronoun be read or not, it
must be understood (either from the “ye,” Eph_4:4, or from the “us,” Eph_4:7); for
other parts of Scripture prove that the Spirit is not “in all” men, but only in believers
(Rom_8:9, Rom_8:14). God is “Father” both by generation (as Creator) and
regeneration (Eph_2:10; Jam_1:17, Jam_1:18; 1Jo_5:1).
RWP, "One God and Father of all (heis theos kai patēr pantōn). Not a separate
God for each nation or religion. One God for all men. See here the Trinity again (Father,
Jesus, Holy Spirit).
Who is over all (ho epi pantōn), and through all (kai dia pantōn), and in all (kai
en pāsin). Thus by three prepositions (epi, dia, en) Paul has endeavoured to express the
universal sweep and power of God in men’s lives. The pronouns (pantōn, pantōn, pāsin)
can be all masculine, all neuter, or part one or the other. The last “in all” is certainly

87. masculine and probably all are.
CALVI , "6.One God and Father of all. This is the main argument, from which all
the rest flow. How comes it that we are united by faith, by baptism, or even by the
government of Christ, but because God the Father, extending to each of us his
gracious presence, employs these means for gathering us to himself? The two
phrases , ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων may either mean, above all and through all
Things, or above all and through all Men. Either meaning will apply sufficiently
well, or rather, in both cases, the meaning will be the same. Although God by his
power upholds, and maintains, and rules, all things, yet Paul is not now speaking of
the universal, but of the spiritual government which belongs to the church. By the
Spirit of sanctification, God spreads himself through all the members of the church,
embraces all in his government, and dwells in all; but God is not inconsistent with
himself, and therefore we cannot but be united to him into one body.
This spiritual unity is mentioned by our Lord.
“ Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast, given me, that they
may be one as we are.”
(Joh_17:11)
This is true indeed, in a general sense, not only of all men but of all creatures. “ him
we live, and move, and have our being.” (Act_17:28.) And again, “ not I fill heaven
and earth, saith the Lord?” (Jer_23:24.) But we must attend to the connection in
which this passage stands. Paul is now illustrating the mutual relation of believers,
which has nothing in common either with wicked men or with inferior animals. To
this relation we must limit what is said about God’ government and presence. It is
for this reason, also, that the apostle uses the word Father, which applies only to the
members of Christ.
BI, "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
The universal Fatherhood of believers
I. A truth proclaimed by the gospel.
II. A truth manifoldly confirmed by Christian experience.

88. 1. The Divine Father is over all His children. Fatherhood the ultimate truth
concerning God on which all others rest, and out of which they grow. Expressive of
(1) supreme authority;
(2) protective care;
(3) the grace of God as an administrative principle.
2. The Divine Father is through all His children. This preposition suggests
movement and instrumentality.
(1) The energy of the Father working through His children;
(2) the distribution of spiritual gifts;
(3) the revelation of the Father through believers.
3. The Divine Father is in all His children.
(1) In the consciousness of their relationship to Him (Rom_8:15; Gal_4:6);
(2) in real union with Him (Joh_17:22-23). (A. F. Muir, M. A.)
One God and Father
The ideas connected with God and Father are here joined beautifully in the same
person--power and love. Majesty is softened with tenderness, and the splendours of
the Divinity tempered by the condescensions of paternal love. This principle is
indeed wonderfully exemplified in all God’s dealings with the human race since the
beginning of the world. The entire Jewish theocracy was the clothing the splendours
of the present Ruler under the forms of a carnal ritualism. Whenever, in the old
Testament, the glory of the Lord appears, two things take place--the sinful creature
is laid in the dust, and then a word of comfort comes from the excellent glory: power
is tempered with grace; the majesty of Jehovah with the human heartedness of the
Father. Thus it was with Isaiah (Isa_6:5-9); Ezekiel fell prostrate (Eze_3:23); and
Daniel fainted and was sick certain days (Dan_8:17-27); John, the beloved, fell down
as dead before the glory of his Master (Rev_1:17); and even the fierce murderer of
the saints (Act_9:4-5) was overwhelmed by the manifested glory. It is a source of
comfort to remark that in these and all such cases there is ever some word or act of
kindness on the part of God to raise up and strengthen His trembling creatures. It is
the realizing of the name, “God and Father.” This is, indeed, the principle of
Incarnation. The awful glory of the incorruptible God is tempered, softened,
humanized in the person of Christ. (W. Graham, D. D.)

89. The Fatherhood of God
There are degrees of Fathership; or rather, there are such different degrees of the
development of a Father’s love as make new orders in the relationship. He is the
Father of the inanimate creation. Job calls Him the Father of the rain. In a higher
sense and measure, He is the Father of the whole human race. All are the creatures
of His hand; all are the subjects of His special providence; for all Jesus died. But the
believer says it as a heathen or man of the world never says it. Or, see it again in this
way. God has only one begotten Son, Jesus Christ. As many as believe are united to
Jesus Christ; they become members of that mystical body. So they become sons by a
double process, and by virtue of their union with Christ they are sons indeed.
Therefore to them in a further degree God is Father. I do not say He is a reconciled
Father to them, that He did not need (that is not in the Bible), but they are
reconciled children to Him. There are two persons who best know what it is to say
“Father.” One is a little, simple, trusting child, “of the womb of the morning,” who
has not yet unlearnt the faith of his infancy. The other is a penitent, rising up from
his sin, going back to his home--“I will arise, and go to my Father, and will say unto
Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee.” I believe the remedy of
all sorrow and almost all sin will be to think of God more as a Father. But this is not
the line of thought along which I wish to take you now, but it is this, that God is the
common Father of us all. Surely it would be a great thing if we could have it always
before us--“One God and Father of all.” There is a great deal of harshness of
opinion in the world just now, and men are very busy unchurching and un-
Christianizing one another. The rich speak of the poor as “the lower orders,” and
the poor--partly in consequence because they think the rich look down upon them--
the poor dislike the rich much more than the rich dislike the poor. But ought this to
be where all are one family? Do we call brothers and sisters “lower orders”? At this
moment, have you any disagreement with any living man? have you any quarrel?
ow think--That person has the same Father that I have; how patient that Father
has been with that man; how very patient God has been with me; and is this the
way, as a child of God, I should act to another child of the same God? There are
deep mysteries in God’s providence--why some are heathen and some are Christian,
some know nothing and some know much, some have so many advantages and some
have so exceedingly few. But let us never forget the Word, and all it tells, and all it
teaches us to do--“One God and Father of us all.” I know nothing which brings
heaven so near. Here are we on earth trying to say, and we ought to say, every day,
“Our Father.” And up there, just inside the blue veil, the hundred forty-and-four
thousand have “the Father’s name on their foreheads.” Was this the reason why
Christ taught us to say, “Our Father”? (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
God the Father of all
The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy. The

90. lowly pine on the mountain top waves its sombre boughs, and cries, “Thou art my
sun.” And the little meadow violet lifts its cup of blue, and whispers with its
perfumed breath, “Thou art my sun.” And the grain in a thousand fields rustles in
the wind, and makes answer, “Thou art my sun.” So God sits effulgent in heaven,
not for a favoured few, but for the universe of life; and there is no creature so poor
or so low that he may not look up with childlike confidence and say, “My Father,
Thou art mine.” (H. W. Beecher.)
God is above all
When Bulstrode Whitelock was embarking, in the year 1653, as ambassador for
Sweden, he was much disturbed in his mind, as he rested at Harwich on the
preceding night, which was stormy, while he reflected on the distracted state of the
nation. It happened that a good and confidential servant slept in an adjacent bed,
who, finding that his master could not sleep, at length said, “Pray, sir, will you give
me leave to ask you a question?” “Certainly.” “Pray, sir, don’t you think that God
governed the world very well before you came into it?” “Undoubtedly.” “And pray,
sir, don’t you think that He will govern it quite as well when you are gone out of it?”
“Certainly.” “Then, sir, don’t you think you may trust Him to govern it properly as
long as you live?” To this last question Whitelock had nothing to reply, but, turning
himself about, soon fell fast asleep, till he was aroused and called to embark.
7
But to each one of us grace has been given as
Christ apportioned it.
BAR ES, "But unto every one of us - Every Christian.
Is given grace - The favor of God; meaning here that God had bestowed upon each
sincere Christian the means of living as he ought to do, and had in his gospel made
ample provision that they might walk worthy of their vocation. What “are” the
endowments thus given, the apostle states in the following verses. The “grace” referred
to here, most probably means “the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit,” or his
operations on the heart in connection with the use of the means which God has
appointed.

91. According to the measure of the gift of Christ - Grace is bestowed upon all true
Christians, and all have enough to enable them to live a life of holiness. Yet we are taught
here:
(1) That it is a “gift.” It is “bestowed” on us. It is not what is originated by ourselves.
(2) It is by a certain “measure.” It is not unlimited, and without rule. There is a wise
adaptation; an imparting it by a certain rule. The same grace is not given to all, but to all
is given enough to enable them to live as they ought to live.
(3) That measure is the gift of Christ, or what is given in Christ. It comes through him.
It is what he has purchased; what he has obtained by his merits. All have enough for the
purposes for which God has called them into his kingdom, but there are not the same
endowments conferred on all. Some have grace given them to qualify them for the
ministry; some to be apostles; some to be martyrs; some to make them eminent as
public benefactors. All this has been obtained by Christ; and one Should not complain
that another has more distinguished endowments than he has; compare Rom_12:3 note;
Joh_1:16 note.
CLARKE, "Unto every one of us is given grace - Grace may here signify a
particular office; as if the apostle had said: Though we are all equal in the respects
already mentioned, yet we have all different offices and situations to fill up in the Church
and in the world; and we receive a free gift from Christ, according to the nature of the
office, that we may be able to discharge it according to his own mind. So the free gift,
which we receive from Christ, is according to the office or function which he has given us
to fulfill; and the office is according to that free gift, each suited to the other.
GILL, "But unto everyone of us is given grace,.... Which may refer to the saints in
common, and may be interpreted of justifying, pardoning, adopting, sanctifying, and
persevering grace, bestowed upon them all, freely and liberally, not grudgingly, nor
niggardly, and without motive and condition in them; or to the ministers of the Gospel,
and so design gifts fitting for the ministry, which every one has, though differing one
from another, and all of free grace:
according to the measure of the gift of Christ: either according to the gift of grace
to Christ before the world began, and the measure of it, which he communicates to them
in time, even grace for grace; or according to that measure of gifts which Christ received
from men at his ascension: it may be observed that every member of Christ, and minister
of his, receive more or less grace and gifts from him; and that what they receive is all of
free grace, and in measure; and though they may have gifts differing one from another,
yet all are useful; so that there is no room for pride, envy, and contempt, which would
break in upon the unity of the Spirit; for what is said from Eph_4:3 contains so many
arguments to stir up the saints to endeavour to preserve that
HE RY, 7-11, "2. Consider the variety of gifts that Christ has bestowed among
Christians: But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift
of Christ. Though the members of Christ's church agree in so many things, yet there are
some things wherein they differ: but this should breed no difference of affection among
them, since they are all derived from the same bountiful author and designed for the

92. same great ends. Unto every one of us Christians is given grace, some gift of grace, in
some kind or degree or other, for the mutual help of one another. Unto every one of us
ministers is given grace; to some a greater measure of gifts, to others a less measure. The
different gifts of Christ's ministers proved a great occasion of contention among the first
Christians: one was for Paul, and another for Apollos. The apostle shows that they had
no reason to quarrel about them, but all the reason in the world to agree in the joint use
of them, for common edification; because all was given according to the measure of the
gift of Christ, in such a measure as seemed best to Christ to bestow upon every one.
Observe, All the ministers, and all the members of Christ, owe all the gifts and graces
that they are possessed of to him; and this is a good reason why we should love one
another, because to every one of us is given grace. All to whom Christ has given grace,
and on whom he has bestowed his gifts (though they are of different sizes, different
names, and different sentiments, yet), ought to love one another. The apostle takes this
occasion to specify some of the gifts which Christ bestowed. And that they were
bestowed by Christ he makes appear by those words of David wherein he foretold this
concerning him (Psa_68:18), Wherefore he saith (Eph_4:8), that is, the Psalmist saith,
When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. David
prophesied of the ascension of Christ; and the apostle descants upon it here, and in the
three following verses. When he ascended up on high. We may understand the apostle
both of the place into which he ascended in his human nature, that is, the highest
heavens, and particularly of the state to which he was advanced, he being then highly
exalted, and eminently glorified, by his Father. Let us set ourselves to think of the
ascension of Jesus Christ: that our blessed Redeemer, having risen from the dead, in
gone to heaven, where he sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high, which completed
the proof of his being the Son of God. As great conquerors, when they rode in their
triumphal chariots, used to be attended with the most illustrious of their captives led in
chains, and were wont to scatter their largesses and bounty among the soldiers and other
spectators of their triumphs, so Christ, when he ascended into heaven, as a triumphant
conqueror, led captivity captive. It is a phrase used in the Old Testament to signify a
conquest over enemies, especially over such as formerly had led others captive; see Jdg_
5:12. Captivity is here put for captives, and signifies all our spiritual enemies, who
brought us into captivity before. He conquered those who had conquered us; such as sin,
the devil, and death. Indeed, he triumphed over these on the cross; but the triumph was
completed at his ascension, when he became Lord over all, and had the keys of death and
hades put into his hands. And he gave gifts unto men: in the psalm it is, He received
gifts for men. He received for them, that he might give to them, a large measure of gifts
and graces; particularly, he enriched his disciples with the gift of the Holy Ghost. The
apostle, thus speaking of the ascension of Christ, takes notice that he descended first,
Eph_4:9. As much as if he had said, “When David speaks of Christ's ascension, he
intimates the knowledge he had of Christ's humiliation on earth; for, when it is said that
he ascended, this implies that he first descended: for what is it but a proof or
demonstration of his having done so?” Into the lower parts of the earth; this may refer
either to his incarnation, according to that of David, Psa_139:15, My substance was not
hidden from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest
parts of the earth; or, to his burial, according to that of Psa_63:9, Those that seek my
soul to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the earth. He calls his death (say some
of the fathers) his descent into the lower parts of the earth. He descended to the earth in
his incarnation. He descended into the earth in his burial. As Jonas was three days and
three nights in the whale's belly, so was the Son of man in the heart of the earth. He
that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens (Eph_4:10), far
above the airy and starry (which are the visible) heavens, into the heaven of heavens;

93. that he might fill all things, all the members of his church, with gifts and graces suitable
to their several conditions and stations. Observe, Our Lord humbled himself first, and
then he was exalted. He descended first, and then ascended. The apostle next tells us
what were Christ's gifts at his ascension: He gave some apostles, etc., Eph_4:11. Indeed
he sent forth some of these before his ascension, Mat_10:1-5. But one was then added,
Act_1:26. And all of them were more solemnly installed, and publicly confirmed, in their
office, by his visibly pouring forth the Holy Ghost in an extraordinary manner and
measure upon them. Note, The great gift that Christ gave to the church at his ascension
was that of the ministry of peace and reconciliation. The gift of the ministry is the fruit of
Christ's ascension. And ministers have their various gifts, which are all given them by
the Lord Jesus. The officers which Christ gave to his church were of two sorts -
extraordinary ones advanced to a higher office in the church: such were apostles,
prophets, and evangelists. The apostles were chief. These Christ immediately called,
furnished them with extraordinary gifts and the power of working miracles, and with
infallibility in delivering his truth; and, they having been the witnesses of his miracles
and doctrine, he sent them forth to spread the gospel and to plant and govern churches.
The prophets seem to have been such as expounded the writings of the Old Testament,
and foretold things to come. The evangelists were ordained persons (2Ti_1:6), whom the
apostles took for their companions in travel (Gal_2:1), and sent them out to settle and
establish such churches as the apostles themselves had planted (Act_19:22), and, not
being fixed to any particular place, they were to continue till recalled, 2Ti_4:9. And then
there are ordinary ministers, employed in a lower and narrower sphere; as pastors and
teachers. Some take these two names to signify one office, implying the duties of ruling
and teaching belonging to it. Others think they design two distinct offices, both ordinary,
and of standing use in the church; and then pastors are such as are fixed at the head of
particular churches, with design to guide, instruct, and feed them in the manner
appointed by Christ; and they are frequently called bishops and elders: and the teachers
were those whose work it was also to preach the gospel and to instruct the people by way
of exhortation. We see here that it is Christ's prerogative to appoint what officers and
offices he pleases in his church. And how rich is the church, that had at first such a
variety of officers and has still such a variety of gifts! How kind is Christ to his church!
How careful of it and of its edification! When he ascended, he procured the gift of the
Holy Ghost; and the gifts of the Holy Ghost are various: some have greater, others have
less measures; but all for the good of the body, which brings us to the third argument,
JAMISO , "But — Though “one” in our common connection with “one Lord, one
faith, etc., one God,” yet “each one of us” has assigned to him his own particular gift, to
be used for the good of the whole: none is overlooked; none therefore can be dispensed
with for the edifying of the Church (Eph_4:12). A motive to unity (Eph_4:3). Translate,
“Unto each one of us was the grace (which was bestowed by Christ at His ascension,
Eph_4:8) given according to,” etc.
the measure — the amount “of the gift of Christ” (Rom_12:3, Rom_12:6).
CALVI , "7.But to every one. He now describes the manner in which God
establishes and preserves among us a mutual relation. o member of the body of
Christ is endowed with such perfection as to be able, without the assistance of
others, to supply his own necessities. A certain proportion is allotted to each; and it
is only by communicating with each other, that all enjoy what is sufficient for

94. maintaining their respective places in the body. The diversity of gifts is discussed in
another Epistle, and very nearly with the same object.
“ are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit”
(1Co_12:4.)
Such a diversity, we are there taught, is so far from injuring, that it tends to
promote and strengthen, the harmony of believers.
The meaning of this verse may be thus summed up. “ no one has God bestowed all
things. Each has received a certain measure. Being thus dependent on each other,
they find it necessary to throw their individual gifts into the common stock, and thus
to render mutual aid.” The words grace and gift remind us that, whatever may be
our attainments, we ought not to be proud of them, because they lay us under
deeper obligations to God. These blessings are said to be the gift of Christ; for, as
the apostle, first of all, mentioned the Father, so his aim, as we shall see, is to
represent all that we are, and all that we have, as gathered together in Christ.
SIMEO , "THE ASCE SIO OF CHRIST
Eph_4:7-8. Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift
of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men.
FROM the divisions which exist in the Christian Church, it has been said, by the
enemies of Christianity, “First agree amongst yourselves, before you attempt to
proselyte others to your religion.” That divisions do exist, is undeniable: and that
they are a disgrace to our holy religion, must be confessed. But still, whilst we
mourn over these differences, we believe that there is no society under heaven that is
more agreed in all essential points than the Church of Christ. In the great essential
points of repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and the
necessity of obedience to all the commands of God, there is no difference amongst
any true Christians, whether they be found amongst the most enlightened
philosophers or the most uncivilized barbarians. In our bodily frame there are
many members, which, though widely different from each other in their use and
structure, are in perfect harmony with each other, as being all actuated by the same
spirit, harmoniously employed for the good of the whole. And this is precisely what
exists in the Church of Christ: “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit:
and there are diversities of administrations, but the same Lord: and there are
diversities of operations; but it is the same God who worketh all in all. But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal: for to one is given,
by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to another, the word of knowledge, by the same
Spirit; to another, faith, by the same Spirit; to another, the gifts of healing, by the
same Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another,
discerning of spirits; to another, divers kinds of tongues; to another, the

95. interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit,
dividing to every man severally as he will [ ote: 1Co_12:4-11.].” This is exactly
what the Apostle affirms in the passage before us: whatever differences there be
amongst us, we should “forbear one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace:” for, amidst all those differences, “there is one
body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and
in all [ ote: ver. 2–6.].” Whatever differences are made, either in respect of gifts or
graces, they are all made by the Lord Jesus Christ himself, agreeably to what had
been foretold concerning him; as the Apostle says in our text: “Unto every one of us
is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ: wherefore he saith,
When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”
In discoursing on these words, we shall be led to consider,
I. The obligations we owe to Christ—
On the primitive Church there were many special and miraculous gifts bestowed: in
reference to which, the Apostle says of Christ, “He gave some, Apostles; and some,
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers [ ote: ver. 11.].”
But, whilst a distinction was made amongst the members of the Church in reference
to gifts, there were graces bestowed indiscriminately on all, though in different
degrees, according to the will and pleasure of the Giver of them all, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And thus it is at this time:
There is amongst men a great diversity both of gifts and graces—
[Some are endowed with richer talents than others originally, at their first coming
into the world. In early infancy, a distinction is visible, both in respect to corporeal
and mental endowments; weakness and imbecility being the lot of some, whilst
strength and energy are the happy portion of others. Wealth and poverty also place
men far asunder, in reference to their station in society; insomuch that, to one who
considers only the outward appearance, the most elevated and the most depressed of
men seem almost to belong to different orders of creation, rather than to different
ranks of the same order. Something of the same may be noticed in reference to the
graces of men. I say, something of the same: for, where any portion of real grace is,
there is such an elevation of character, that there is a far less distance between the
extremes of those who are born of God, than there is of those who are yet in their
natural and unregenerate state. But St. John speaks of “little children, young men,
and fathers,” in the Church; and consequently there must of necessity be so much of
disparity in real saints as will justify the use of these appropriate and characteristic
terms.]
But, whatever be the measure of any man’s gifts, he is altogether indebted to the
Lord Jesus Christ, as the true source and giver of them—
[We see the truth of this observation in reference to intellectual powers; which, even

96. before any means have been used for the improvement of them, are found much
stronger in some than in others. And, though I readily acknowledge that talent
depends, in some measure, on the cultivation of the human mind, yet I must say, it is
God alone who inclines or enables us to cultivate it with effect. In like manner it
must be confessed, that much also may depend on our use of the means of grace; but
still I must say, that it is “God alone who gives us either to will or to do;” and,
consequently, whatever flows from our willing and doing must be his gift also.
Remember then, I pray you, to whom you are indebted for every grace you possess.
Have you any measure of repentance? it is conferred on you by the Lord Jesus
Christ. Have you any measure of faith? “it has been given you by him to believe.”
Have you any measure of holiness? this also has come from Him, “who is wonderful
in counsel, and excellent in working.” Yet we must not suppose that no guilt
attaches to us for the want of these graces: we are bound to repent, and believe the
Gospel, and to obey the commands of God; and shall be justly doomed to
punishment, if we abide in impenitence or unbelief. Yet, for all these graces, so far
as we possess them, we must confess our obligation to the Lord Jesus Christ, who, in
the distribution of them, acts according to his own sovereign will: so that we have no
ground for glorying, if we possess a larger measure; nor for repining, if we possess a
less. We may “covet earnestly, indeed, the best gifts;” but, whatever be the measure
of them which has been conferred upon us, we must be thankful for them, and
improve them diligently, for the benefit of man, and the honour of our God.]
Whilst we acknowledge our obligations to Christ, it will be proper to inquire,
II. Whence it is that he is empowered to confer them—
Respecting this we are informed by David, who prophesied concerning our blessed
Lord, and foretold that he should be invested with the power which is here ascribed
to him.
Let us first understand the prophecy itself—
[The psalm, from whence it is taken, was written by David, on occasion of his
carrying up the ark to Mount Zion. David, having subdued all his enemies, desired
to honour God by bringing up the ark from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion, and
placing it in the tabernacle there, as its permanent abode. In celebrating this event,
he goes back to the days of Moses, when all the hosts of Egypt were destroyed in the
Red Sea; and the Hebrews, enriched with the spoils of Egypt, formed with them a
tabernacle for the service of their God. In both events, the triumphs of Israel’s God
were seen, and the work of their Messiah was prefigured: “Thou hast ascended on
high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the
rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them [ ote: Psa_68:18.].”]
ow let us see the application of it to the Lord Jesus—
[Our blessed Saviour had now vanquished all his enemies upon the cross: “by death
he had overcome death, and him that had the power of it, that is, the devil;” and

97. “having spoiled principalities and powers, he triumphed over them openly upon the
cross [ ote: Col_2:15.].” In his ascension, like a mighty conqueror, he “led them
captive,” as it were, at his chariot-wheels: and as conquerors, in their triumphs,
were wont to scatter gifts and largesses among the people, so he received from his
heavenly Father the Holy Spirit, and poured him forth upon the Church, in all his
gifts and graces, in order that “the most rebellious” of men might be converted to
the Lord, and “the Lord God might dwell among them.” The right to confer these
gifts was founded on his previous conflicts and victories: and, when they were
completed, the right was exercised, to the unspeakable benefit of the Church at that
day; and not at that day only, but in all subsequent ages, even to the present hour.]
ow, then, see,
1. What reason we have to bless God for the events which are this day [ ote:
Ascension Day.] commemorated amongst us—
[The Apostle tells us, in the words following my text, that “Jesus ascended up far
above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” This was the very end of his
ascension. He had come down from heaven, that he might procure for us these
blessings: and now he ascended up to heaven, that he might confer on us the fruits
of his victories. The sun arises on the earth, that he may diffuse his benefits through
the whole material creation: and in like manner the Sun of Righteousness is risen, to
scatter forth his blessings upon fallen man. Does any one feel his need of grace, or
mercy, or peace? let him remember, that the Lord Jesus Christ is ascended to
heaven on purpose to bestow them. Had he not ascended, the Holy Ghost would
never have been sent down to us: but now that Jesus “has received from the Father
the promise of the Holy Ghost,” no one needs to remain destitute of any spiritual
blessing whatever. If it be said, we have been rebellious; I answer, our past
rebellions will be no bar to the communication of his blessings to us, if only we be
willing to lay down the weapons of our warfare, and to implore mercy at his hands.
It is “for the rebellious” that he himself has received the gift; and on the rebellious
he is willing to confer it. Let all then, without exception, rejoice in the evidence they
have, that Christ has vanquished all their enemies; and in the certainty, that all who
look to him shall be enriched “out of his fulness, receiving grace” upon grace, and
grace corresponding with the grace which there was in him.]
2. What rich measures of grace we are authorized to aspire after—
[Though we all ought to be thankful for the smallest measure of grace, we should
never be satisfied till we have attained the largest. We are told by the Apostle, that
we should “grow up into Christ as our living Head,” even “unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ himself [ ote: ver. 13, 15.].” What
a glorious object for our ambition is here! O brethren, be not straitened in your own
bowels; for ye are not straitened in your God! The lord Jesus, who first descended
from heaven, and became incarnate for you, is now ascended to heaven in the very
nature that he assumed for you: and well does he know all your wants and
necessities, which he is as ready, as he is able, to supply. Open wide, therefore, your

98. mouth, in supplication to him; and be assured, that he will give you a more
abundant supply of his Spirit; nor will ever withhold his hand, till you are filled
with all the fulness of God.]
BURKITT, "Our apostle here in these verses supplies us with another weighty
argument to persuade us to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace;
namely, that it is one great and chief end which Christ aimed at, in instituting the
ministry of the word, in appointing the several officers in his church, of apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, and also in the several gifts which he
bestowed upon those officers; he assures us, it was Christ's great design, in and by
all; these, to bring his people, not only to faith and knowledge, but to unity in the
faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God.
And here, 1. Our apostle shows that the diversity of gifts and graces, and the
different measure and degrees of those gifts and graces, bestowed by Christ upon
the several members of the church, do all tend to preserve and to promote unity,
they all coming from one and the same author, and being all given for one and the
same end. Unto every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of
Christ.
Learn hence, 1. That there is a grace given by Christ to all his members, bearing
some proportion and similitude to that grace which was conferred upon Christ
himself.
Learn, 2. That the design of Christ, in dispensing his grace in different measures
and degrees, is the general good of his church, and particularly for preserving and
promoting unity and love amongst his members; for seeing every one has his several
graces from God, and no one has all, if one hath that grace which another wants,
and if one wants that grace which another has, it shows that we want the help of one
another: this is the apostle's argument.
ext he proceeds to prove that Christ has dispensed this diversity of gifts amongst
his members; affirming, that in the day of his ascension into the highest heavens, he
led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
In which expression there is a manifest allusion to the Roman conquerors, who in
the day of their triumphs scattered their munificence and bounty, their largesses
and donatives, among their soldiers and their subjects.
Thus Christ, after he had triumphed over his own and his church's enemies upon
the cross, rode in the triumphant chariot of his ascension into heaven , where he
received gifts as the purchase of his blood, and shed forth those gifts of his Spirit in
various kinds, upon his members in general, but upon his ministers in particular:
which gifts, in the first ages of Christianity, were extraordinary, as the gifts of
tongues and miracles; but now ordinary, and to continue to the end of the world.

99. ow from the apostle's scope and design in this argument, we learn, That though
diversity of gifts in the church, and divers measures of grace in and among the
members thereof, are too often a sad occasion of division and strife, through the
prevalency of envy and pride, and other dividing lusts; yet this great variety and
diversity of gifts and graces, rightly considered, would be found to be one of the
strongest ties and bonds of union, seeing we all stand in mutual need of the gifts and
graces of each other.
It is very evident, that our apostle's scope here is, to urge and enforce unity, from
the diversity of gifts and graces which are amongst the members of the church; God
forbid then that they should occasion envy and animosities, strife and contention,
rents and divisions.
Our apostle's next argument for unity, is in the 11th and 12th verses, where he
proves, that as the unity and edification of the church was the design of Christ in
dispensing divers gifts and graces amongst the members of the church, so was it
likewise his aim and end in instituting such variety of offices and officers in his
church: for this end it was that he gave to his church by qualification and mission,
first, Apostles, sent forth first by his own mouth, to be witnesses of his doctrine and
miracles, and then to preach the gospel throughout all the world, having received
the Holy Spirit in an extraordinary manner, at the feast of Pentecost, to fit them for
that sevice, Act_2:1-2.
ext, Prophets, who explained the mysteries of faith, foretold things to come, and
expounded the writings of the old prophets.
Then, Evangelists, who were sent out by the apostles, some to plant, others to water
the churches which they had planted, without being fixed to any particular place.
Lastly, Pastors and Teachers, called also Bishops and Elders, who were set over the
churches as guides and instructors.
Learn hence, 1. That it is Christ's special prerogative, as head of the church, to
institute and appoint such offices and officers in his church, as to his own wisdom
seems meet, for the edification and government of it.
Learn, 2. That the great end and design of Christ in instituting such variety of
offices and officers in his church, was, his church's unity, that by all ministerial
helps and endeavours his members might be compacted and knit together, and
made one entire body, by the increase of sanctity, concord, and unity. He gave some
apostles, some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, (not for
converting of sinners only,) and for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Observe lastly, The apostle declares how long the work of the ministry, appointed
by Christ for his church's edification and advantage, was to continue; namely, to the
end of the world, to the day of judgment; till all come, by means of the same faith in

100. Christ, and knowledge of him, unto a perfect man, and unto the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ; that is, till the church, which is Christ's mystical
body, shall be complete and perfect, and attain its full stature from infancy to full
manhood.
Learn hence, 1. That the church of Christ here on earth, is labouring for, and
endeavouring after, perfection in grace and knowledge, to come unto a perfect man,
and to attain to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
Learn, 2. That the ministry of the word is an ordinance of Christ's own
appointment, to continue to the end of the world, in order to that purpose and
design.
Learn 3. That none of the most eminent saints on earth (the most knowing and pious
ministers of the gospel not excepted) are above ordinances, above the ministry of the
word, above receiving benefit and advantage by the plain and practical preaching of
it; even St. Paul here puts himself in, and reckons himself among the number of
those who stood in need of the ministry of God's word, to bring him to a perfect
man, and to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; he says not till ye,
but till we all, come unto a perfect man.
Such people then as think themselves above ordinances, are above God himself;
none need ordinances so much as those that want them least. And such hearers as
turn their backs upon the preaching of the word, because they know more than the
minister can teach them, and can better instruct the preacher than be instructed by
him, they betray their own ignorance both of the intent and end of the ministry of
the word, and also of the state of their own hearts; for if their understandings want
no light, do their affections need no warmth? Have you no grace to be perfected, no
corruptions to be weakened, no good resolutions to be strengthened? If your
knowledge be imperfect, as sure it is, do not your affections want a fresh
excitement? Admit the despised preacher cannot be your instructor, yet sure he may
be your remembrancer, and excite you to that duty which you know already
perhaps better than you practise it.
MACLARE , "‘THE MEASURE OF GRACE’
Eph_4:7
The Apostle here makes a swift transition from the thought of the unity of the
Church to the variety of gifts to the individual. ‘Each’ is contrasted with ‘all.’ The
Father who stands in so blessed and gracious a relationship to the united whole also
sustains an equally gracious and blessed relationship to each individual in that

101. whole. It is because each receives His individual gift that God works in all. The
Christian community is the perfection of individualism and of collectivism, and this
rich variety of the gifts of grace is here urged as a reason additional to the unity of
the one body, for the exhortation to the endeavour to maintain the unity of the spirit
in the bond of peace.
I. Each Christian soul receives grace through Christ.
The more accurate rendering of the Revised Version reads ‘the grace,’ and the
definite article points to it as a definite and familiar fact in the Ephesian believers to
which the Apostle could point with the certainty that their own consciousness would
confirm his statement. The wording of the Greek further implies that the grace was
given at a definite point in the past, which is most naturally taken to have been the
moment in which each believer laid hold on Jesus by faith. It is further to be noted
that the content of the gift is the grace itself and not the graces which are its product
and manifestation in the Christian life. And this distinction, which is in accordance
with Paul’s habitual teaching, leads us to the conclusion, that the essential character
of the grace given through the act of our individual faith is that of a new vital force,
flowing into and transforming the individual life. From that unspeakable gift which
Paul supposed to be verifiable by the individual experience of every Christian, there
would follow the graces of Christian character in which would be included the
deepening and purifying of all the natural capacities of the individual self, and the
casting out from thence of all that was contrary to the transforming power of the
new life.
Such an utterance as this, so quietly and confidently taking for granted that the
experience of every believer verifies it in his own case, may well drive us all to look
more earnestly into our own hearts, to see whether in them are any traces of a
similar experience. If it be true, that to every one of us is given the grace, how comes
it that so many of us dare not profess to have any vivid remembrance of possessing
it, of having possessed it, or of any clear consciousness of possessing it now? There
may be gifts bestowed upon unconscious receivers, but surely this is not one of these.
If we do not know that we have it, it must at least remain very questionable whether
we do have it at all, and very certain that we have it in scant and shrivelled fashion.
The universality of the gift was a startling thing in a world which, as far as
cultivated heathenism was concerned, might rightly be called aristocratic, and by
the side of a religion of privilege into which Judaism had degenerated. The
supercilious sarcasm in the lips of Pharisees, ‘This people which knoweth not the

102. law are cursed,’ but too truly expresses the gulf between the Rabbis and the ‘folk of
the earth’ as the masses were commonly and contemptuously designated by the
former. Into the midst of a society in which such distinctions prevailed, the
proclamation that the greatest gift was bestowed upon all must have come with
revolutionary force, and been hailed as emancipation. Peter had penetrated to grasp
the full meaning and wondrous novelty of that universality, when on Pentecost he
pointed to ‘that which had been spoken by the prophet Joel’ as fulfilled on that day,
‘I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh ... Yea, and on my servants and
handmaidens ... will I pour forth of my Spirit.’ The rushing, mighty wind of that
day soon dropped. The fiery tongues ceased to quiver on the disciples’ heads, and
the many voices that spoke were silenced, but the gift was permanent, and is poured
out now as it was then, and now, as then, it is true that the whole company of
believers receive the Spirit, though alas! by their own faults it is not true that ‘they
are all filled with the Holy Spirit.’
Christ is the giver. He has ‘power over the Spirit of Holiness’ and as the Evangelist
has said in his comment on our Lord’s great words, when ‘He stood and cried,’ ‘If
any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink,’ ‘This spake He of the Spirit which
they that believed on Him were to receive.’ We cannot pierce into the depth of the
mutual relations of the three divine Persons mentioned in the context, but we can
discern that Christ is for us the self-revealing activity of the divine nature, the right
arm of the Father, or, to use another metaphor, the channel through which the else
‘closed sea’ of God flows into the world of creatures. Through that channel is
poured into believing hearts the river of the water of life, which proceeds out of the
one ‘throne of God and of the Lamb.’ This gift of the Spirit of Holiness to all
believers is the deepest and truest conception of Christ’s gifts to His Church. His
past work of sacrifice for the sins of the world was finished, as with a parting cry He
proclaimed on Calvary, and the power of that sacrifice will never be exhausted, but
the taking away of the sins of the world is but the initial stage of the work of Christ,
and its further stages are carried on through all the ages. He ‘worketh hitherto,’ and
His present work, in so far as believers are concerned, is not only the forthputting of
divine energy in regard to outward circumstances, but the imparting to them of the
Divine Spirit to be the very life of their lives and the Lord of their spirits. Christian
people are but too apt to give undue prominence to what Christ did for them when
He died, and to lose sight, in the overwhelming lustre of His unspeakable sacrifice,
of what He is doing for them whilst He lives. It would tend to restore the
proportions of Christian truth and to touch our hearts into a deeper and more
continuous love to Him, if we more habitually thought of Him, not only as the Christ
who died, but also as the Christ who rather is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
II. The gift of this grace is in itself unlimited.

103. Our text speaks of it as being according to the measure of the gift of Christ, and that
phrase may either mean the gift which Christ receives or that which He gives.
Probably the latter is the Apostle’s meaning here, as seems to be indicated by the
following words that ‘when He ascended on high, He gave gifts unto men,’ but what
He gives is what He possesses, and the Apostle goes on to point out that the ultimate
issue of His giving to the Church is that it attains to the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ.
It may cast some light on this point if we note the remarkable variety of expressions
in this epistle for the norm or standard or limit of the gift. In one place the Apostle
speaks of the gift bestowed upon believers as being according to the riches of the
Father’s glory; then it has no limit short of a participation in the divine fulness.
God’s glory is the transcendent lustre of His own infinite character in its self-
manifestation. The Apostle labours to flash through the dim medium of words the
glory of that light by blending incongruously, but effectively, the other metaphor of
riches, and the two together suggest a wonderful, though vague thought of the
infinite wealth and the exhaustless brightness which we call Abba, Father. The
humblest child may lift longing and confident eyes and believe that he has received
in very deed, through his faith in Jesus Christ, a gift which will increase in riches
and in light until it makes him perfect as his Father in heaven was perfect. It was an
old faith, based upon insight far inferior to ours, which proclaimed with triumph
over the frowns of death. ‘I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness.’
Would that those who have so much more for faith to build on, built as nobly as did
these!
The gift has in itself no limit short of participation in the likeness of Christ. In
another place in this letter the measure of that might which is the guarantee of
Christian hope is set forth with an abundance of expression which might almost
sound as an unmeaning accumulation of synonyms, as being ‘according to the
working of the strength of His might which He wrought in Christ’; and what is the
range of the working of that might is disclosed to our faith in the Resurrection of
Jesus, and the setting of Him high above all rule and authority and power and
lordship and every creature in the present or in any future. Paul’s continual
teaching is that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was wrought in Him, not as a mere
human individual but as our head and representative. Through Him we rise, not
only from an ethical death of sin and separation from God, but we shall rise from
physical death, and in Him the humblest believer possessing a vital union with the
Lord of life has a share in His dominion, and, as His own faithful word has
promised, sits with Him on His throne, even as He is set down with the Father on
His throne.

104. That gift has in itself no limit short of its own energy. In another part of this epistle
the Apostle indicates the measure up to which our being filled is to take effect, as
being ‘all the fulness of God’ and in such an overwhelming vision breaks forth into
fervent praise of Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
or think, and then supplies us with a measure which may widen and heighten our
petitions and expectations when He tells us that we are to find the measure of God’s
working for us, not in the impoverishment of our present possessions, but in the
exceeding riches of the power that worketh in us-that is to say, that we are to look
for the limit of the limitless gift in nothing short of the boundless energy of God
Himself. In the Epistle to the Colossians Paul uses the same illustration with an
individual reference to his own labours. In our text he associates with himself all
believers, as being conscious of a power working in them, which is really the
limitless power of God, and heartens them to anticipate that whatever limitless
power can effect in them will certainly be theirs. God does not leave off till He has
done and till He can look upon His completed work and pronounce it very good.
III. This boundless grace is in each individual case bounded for the time by our own
faith.
When I lived near the ew Forest I used to hear much of what they called ‘rolling
fences.’ A man received or took a little piece of Crown land on which he built a
house and put round it a fence which could be judiciously and silently pushed
outwards by slow degrees and enclosed, year by year, a wider area. We Christian
people have, as it were, our own small, cultivated plot on the boundless prairie, the
extent of which we measure for ourselves and which we can enlarge as we will. We
have been speaking of the various aspects under which the boundlessness of the gift
is presented by the Apostle, but there is another ‘according to’ in Christ’s own
words, ‘According to your faith be it unto you,’ and that statement lays down the
practical limits of our present possession of the boundless gift. We have as much as
we desire; we have as much as we take; we have as much as we use; we have as
much as we can hold. We are admitted into the treasure house, and all around us lie
ingots of gold and vessels full of coins; we ourselves determine how much of the
treasure should be ours, and if at any time we feel like empty-handed paupers
rather than like possible millionaires, the reason lies in our own slowness to take
that which is freely given to us of God. His word to us all is, ‘Ye are not straitened in
Me, ye are straitened in yourselves.’ It is well for us to keep ever before us the
boundlessness of the gift in itself and the working limit in ourselves which
conditions our actual possession of the riches. For so, on the one hand, should we be
encouraged to expect great things from God, and, on the other hand, be humbled by
the contrast between what we might be and what we are. The river that rushes full
of water from the throne can send but a narrow and shallow trickle through the

105. narrow channel choked with much rubbish, which we provide for it. It is of little
avail that the sun in the heavens pours down its flood of light and warmth if the
windows of our hearts are by our own faults so darkened that but a stray beam,
shorn of its brightness and warmth, can find its way into our darkness. The first
lesson which we have to draw from the contrast between the boundlessness of the
gift and the narrow limits of our individual possession and experience of it, is the
lesson of penitent recognition and confession of the unbelief which lurks in our
strongest faith. ‘Lord I believe, help Thou mine unbelief,’ should be the prayer of
every Christian soul.
ot less surely will the recognition that the form and amount of the grace of God,
which is possessed by each, is determined by the faith of each, lead to tolerance of
the diversity of gifts. We have received our own proper gift of God, that which the
strength and purity of our faith is capable of possessing, and it is not for us to carp
at our brethren, either at those in advance of us or at those behind us. We have to
remember that as it takes all sorts of people to make up a world, so it takes all
varieties of Christian character to make a church. It is the body and not the
individual members which represents Christ to the world. The firmest adherence to
our own form of the universal gift will combine with the widest toleration of the
gifts of others. The white light appears when red, green, and blue blend together,
not when each tries to be the other. ‘Every man hath his own proper gift of God, one
after this fashion and another after that,’ and we shall be true to the boundlessness
of the gift and to the limitations of our own possession of it, in the measure of which
we combine obedience to the light which shines in us, with thankful recognition of
that which is granted to others.
The contrast between these two must be kept vivid if we would live in the freedom of
the hope of the glory of God, for in the contrast lies the assurance of endless growth.
A process is begun in every Christian soul of which the only natural end is the full
possession of God in Christ, and that full possession can never be reached by a finite
creature, but that does not mean that the ideal mocks us and retreats before us like
the pot of gold, which the children fancy is at the end of the rainbow. Rather it
means a continuous succession of our realisations of the ideal in ever fuller and
more blessed reality. In this life we may, on condition of our growth in faith, grow in
the possession of the fulness of God, and yet at each moment that possession will be
greater, though at all moments we may be filled. In the Christian life to-morrow
may be safely reckoned as destined to be ‘as yesterday and much more abundant,’
and when we pass from the imperfections of the most perfect earthly life, there will
still remain ever before us the glory, which, according to the measure of our
capacity, is also in us, and we shall draw nearer and nearer to it, and be for ever
receiving into our expanding spirits more and more of the infinite fulness of God.

106. BI, "But unto every one of us is grace given according to the measure of the gift of
Christ.
Grace determining function
I. The function or office of any Christian in the church depends upon the gift which
he possesses.
II. This gift originates in the grace of Christ.
1. It is not merely by nature or education.
2. or is it the reward of desert.
3. Still less is it arbitrary or capricious.
III. Therefore the position and task determined by this grace should be accepted
with grateful unquestioning obedience.
1. Every Christian has received some gift fitting him for usefulness.
2. Loyalty and faith towards the Head of the Church demands that he should make
the utmost use of it.
3. By so doing he is the more certain to receive increase of grace for further and
higher service. “Every gift of the Spirit is a prophecy of greater gifts.” (A. F. Muir,
M. A.)
The gift of Christ
“The gift of Christ” is the gift which He confers. That gift is measured, and each
individual receives according to the sovereign will of the Supreme distributor. And
whether the measure be great or small, whether its contents be of more brilliant
endowment or of humbler and unnoticed talent--all is equally Christ’s gift, and of
Christ’s adjustment, and all is equally indispensable to the union and edification of
that Body in which there is “no schism.” The law of the Church is essential unity in
the midst of circumstantial variety. Differences of faculty or temperament,

107. education or susceptibility, are not superseded. Each gift in its own place completes
the unity. What one devises another may plead for, while a third may act out the
scheme; so that sagacity, eloquence, and enterprise form a “three-fold cord, not
easily broken.” It is so in the material creation--the little is as essential to symmetry
as the great--the star as well as the sun--the raindrop equally with the ocean, and the
hyssop no less than the cedar. The pebble has its place as fittingly as the mountain,
and colossal forms of life are surrounded with the tiny insect whose term of
existence is limited to the summer twilight, Why should the possession of this grace
lead to self-inflation? It is simply Christ’s gift. The amount and character of “grace”
possessed by others ought surely to create no uneasiness nor jealousy, for it is of
Christ’s measurement as well as of His bestowment, and every form and quantity of
it as it descends from the one source is indispensable to the harmony of the Church.
The one Lord will not bestow conflicting graces, nor mar nor disturb, by the
repulsive antipathy of His gifts, that unity which Himself creates and exemplifies. (J.
Eadie, D. D.)
Gifts differ--be natural
ow you that have lately been converted, do not go and learn all the pretty phrases
that we are accustomed to use. Strike out your own course. Be yourself. “But I
should be odd.” You need not mind that. All the trees that God makes are odd. The
Dutch chip them round, or make them into peacocks, but that style of gardening is
not to our mind. Some people say, “What a lovely tree.” I say, “What a horribly
ugly thing it is.” Why not let the tree grow as God would have it. Do not clip
yourselves round or square, but keep your freshness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Use your own gift
It is said that in Derby resides Mr. Thomas Eyre, a veteran in the temperance cause,
for forty years an abstainer and an earnest worker, but unable now to go out and
labour, being paralyzed. In his window is hung a small board, with the following
notice: “A temperance pledge kept here. All who are weary of drinking, come in and
sign.” “Yesterday,” said our aged friend, “one who has long been a slave to drink,
and in great distress, came in, and for the first time signed the pledge.” This
example is worthy of being imitated.
BARCLAY 7-10, "THE GIFTS OF GRACE
Eph. 4:7-10
To each one of you grace has been given, as it has been measured out to you by the
free gift of Christ. Therefore scripture says, "He ascended into the height and
brought his captive band of prisoners, and gave gifts to men." (When it says that
"he ascended," what else can it mean than that he also descended into the lower

108. parts of the earth? He who descended is the same person as he who ascended above
all the heavens, that he might fill all things with his presence.)
Paul turns to another aspect of his subject. He has been talking about the qualities
of the members of Christ's Church; now he is going to talk of their functions in the
Church. He begins by laying down what was for him an essential truth--that every
good thing a man has is the gift of the grace of Christ.
"And every virtue we possess,
And every victory won,
And every thought of holiness,
Are His alone."
To make his point about Christ the giver of gifts, Paul quotes, with a very significant
difference, from Ps.68:18. This Psalm describes a king's conquering return. He
ascends on high; that is to say, he climbs the steep road of Mount Zion into the
streets of the Holy City. He brings in his captive band of prisoners; that is to say, he
marches through the streets with his prisoners in chains behind him to demonstrate
his conquering power. ow comes the difference. The Psalm speaks next about the
conqueror receiving gifts. Paul changes it to read, "gave gifts to men."
In the Old Testament the conquering king demanded and received gifts from men:
in the ew Testament the conqueror Christ offers and gives gifts to men. That is the
essential difference between the two Testaments. In the Old Testament a jealous
God insists on tribute from men; in the ew Testament a loving God pours out his
love to men. That indeed is the good news.
Then, as so often, Paul's mind goes off at a word. He has used the word ascended,
and that makes him think of Jesus. And it makes him say a very wonderful thing.
Jesus descended into this world when he entered it as a man; Jesus ascended from
this world when he left it to return to his glory. Paul's great thought is that the
Christ who ascended and the Christ who descended are one and the same person.
What does that mean? It means that the Christ of glory is the same as the Jesus who
trod this earth; still he loves all men; still he seeks the sinner; still he heals the
sufferer; still he comforts the sorrowing; still he is the friend of outcast men and
women. As the Scottish paraphrase has it:
"Though now ascended up on high,
He bends on earth a brother's eye;
Partaker of the human name,
He knows the frailty of our frame.
Our fellow suff'rer yet retains
A fellow-feeling of our pains;
And still remembers in the skies
His tears, His agonies and cries.
In every pang that rends the heart
The Man of sorrows has a part:
He sympathizes with our grief,
And to the suff'rer sends relief."
The ascended Christ is still the lover of the souls of men.
Still another thought strikes Paul. Jesus ascended up on high. But he did not ascend
up on high to leave the world; he ascended up on high to fill the world with his
presence. When Jesus was here in the flesh, he could only be in one place at one

109. time; he was under all the limitations of the body; but when he laid this body aside
and returned to glory, he was liberated from the limitations of the body and was
able then to be everywhere in all the world through his Spirit. To Paul the ascension
of Jesus meant not a Christ-deserted but a Christ-filled world.
8
This is why it [9] says: "When he ascended on
high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to
men." [10]
BAR ES, "Wherefore he saith - The word “he” is not in the original; and it may
mean “the Scripture saith,” or “God saith.” The “point” of the argument here is, that
Christ, when he ascended to heaven, obtained certain “gifts” for people, and that those
gifts are bestowed upon his people in accordance with this. To “prove” that, he adduces
this passage from Psa_68:18. Much perplexity has been felt in regard to the “principle”
on which Paul quotes this Psalm, and applies it to the ascension of the Redeemer. The
Psalm seems to have been composed on the occasion of removing the ark of the covenant
from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion; 2Sa_6:1 ff it is a song of triumph, celebrating the
victories of Yahweh, and particularly the victories which had been achieved when the ark
was at the head of the army. It “appears” to have no relation to the Messiah; nor would it
probably occur to anyone upon reading it, that it referred to his ascension, unless it had
been so quoted by the apostle.
Great difficulty has been felt, therefore, in determining on what principle Paul applied
it to the ascension of the Redeemer. Some have supposed that the Psalm had a primary
reference to the Messiah; some that it referred to him in only a secondary sense; some
that it is applied to him by way of “accommodation;” and some that he merely uses the
words as adapted to express his idea, as a man adopts words which are familiar to him,
and which will express his thoughts, though not meaning to say that the words had any
such reference originally. Storr supposes that the words were used by the Ephesian
Christians in their “hymns,” and that Paul quoted them as containing a sentiment which
was admitted among them. This is “possible;” but it is mere conjecture. It has been also
supposed that the tabernacle was a type of Christ; and that the whole Psalm, therefore,

110. having original reference to the tabernacle, might be applied to Christ as the antitype.
But this is both conjectural and fanciful. On the various modes adopted to account for
the difficulty, the reader may consult Rosenmuller in loc. To me it seems plain that the
Psalm had original reference to the bringing up the ark to Mount Zion, and is a
triumphal song. In the song or Psalm, the poet shows why God was to be praised - on
account of his greatness and his benignity to people; Eph_4:1-6. He then recounts the
doings of God in former times - particularly his conducting his people through the
wilderness, and the fact that his enemies were discomfited before him; Eph_4:7-12. All
this refers to the God, the symbols of whose presence were on the tabernacle, and
accompanying the ark. He then speaks of the various fortunes that had befallen the ark
of the covenant. It had lain among the pots, Eph_4:13, yet it had formerly been white as
snow when God scattered kings by it; Eph_4:14.
He then speaks of the hill of God - the Mount Zion to which the ark was about to be
removed, and says that it is an “high hill” - “high as the hills of Bashan,” the hill where
God desired to dwell forever; Eph_4:16. God is then introduced as ascending that hill,
encompassed with thousands of angels, as in Mount Sinai; and the poet says that, in
doing it, he had triumphed over his enemies, and had led captivity captive; Eph_4:18.
The fact that the ark of God thus ascended the hill of Zion, the place of rest; that it was to
remain there as its permanent abode, no more to be carried about at the head of armies;
was the proof of its triumph. It had made everything captive. It had subdued every foe;
and its ascent there would be the means of obtaining invaluable gifts for people; Mercy
and truth would go forth from that mountain; and the true religion would spread
abroad, even to the rebellious, as the results of the triumph of God, whose symbol was
over the tabernacle and the ark.
The placing the ark there was the proof of permanent victory, and would he connected
with most important benefits to people. The “ascending on high,” therefore, in the
Psalm, refers, as it seems to me, to the ascent of the symbol of the Divine Presence
accompanying the ark on Mount Zion, or to the placing it “on high” above all its foes.
The remainder of the Psalm corresponds with this view. This ascent of the ark on Mount
Zion; this evidence of its triumph over all the foes of God; this permanent residence of
the ark there; and this fact, that its being established there would be followed with the
bestowment of invaluable gifts to people, might be regarded as a beautiful emblem of the
ascension of the Redeemer to heaven. There were strong points of resemblance. He also
ascended on high. His ascent was the proof of victory over his foes. He went there for a
permanent abode. And his ascension was connected with the bestowmerit of important
blessings to people.
It is as such emblematic language, I suppose, that the apostle makes the quotation. It
did not originally refer to this; but the events were so similar in many points, that the
one would suggest the other, and the same language would describe both. It was
language familiar to the apostle; language that would aptly express his thoughts, and
language that was not improbably applied to the ascension of the Redeemer by
Christians at that time. The phrase, therefore, “he saith “ - λέγει legei - or “it saith,” or
“the Scripture saith,” means, “it is said;” or, “this language will properly express the fact
under consideration, to wit, that there is grace given to each one of us, or that the means
are furnished by the Redeemer for us to lead holy lives.”
(For remarks on the subject of accommodation. in connection with quotations from
the Old Testament into the New Testament, see the supplementary notes, Heb_1:5, and
Heb_2:6, note. The principle of accommodation, if admitted at all, should be used with
great caution. Doubtless it is sanctioned by great names both in Europe and America.

111. Yet it must be allowed, that the apostles understood the mind of the Spirit, in the Old
Testament, that their inspiration preserved them from every error. When, therefore,
they tell us that certain passages have an ultimate reference to the Messiah and his
times, through we should never have discovered such reference without their aid,
nothing of the kind, it may be, “appearing” in the original places, yet we ate bound to
receive it “on their testimony.” It is alleged, indeed, that the apostles sometimes use the
ordinary forms of quotation, without intending to intimate thereby any prophetic
reference in the passages titus introduced, nay, when such reference is obviously
inadmissible. This, in the opinion of many, is a very hazardous statement, and
introduces into the apostolic writings, and especially into the argumentative part of
them, where so great use is made of the Old Testament, no small measure of uncertainty.
Let the reader examine the passages in question, keeping in view. at the same time, the
typical nature of the ancient economy, and he will have little difficulty in admitting the
prophetic reference in most, if not in all of them. See Haldane on Rom_1:17, for a very
masterly view of this subject, with remarks on Mat_2:16, and other passages supposed
to demand the accommodation theory.
“Nothing can be more dishonorable,” says that prince of English commentators, on
the Epistle to the Romans, “to the character of divine revelation, and injurious to the
edification of believers, than this method of explaining the quotations in the New
Testament from the Old, not as predictions or interpretations, but as mere illustrations,
by way of accommodation. In this way, many of the prophecies referred to in the Epistles
are set aside from their proper application, and Christians are taught that they do not
prove what the apostles adduced them to establish.” In reference to the quotation in this
place, there seems little difficulty in connection with the view, that though the primary
reference be to the bringing up of the ark to Mount Zion, the ultimate one is to the
glorious ascension of Jesus into the highest heavens. The Jews rightly interpret part of
this psalm Ps. 68 of the Messiah. Nor is it to he believed that the apostle would have
applied it to the ascension of Christ unless that application had been admitted by the
Jews in his time, and unless himself were persuaded of its propriety.
When he ascended up on high - To heaven. The Psalm is, “Thou hast ascended on
high;” compare Eph_1:22-23.
He led captivity captive - The meaning of this in the Psalm is, that he triumphed
over his foes. The margin is, “a multitude of captives.” But this, I think, is not quite the
idea. It is language derived from a conqueror, who not only makes captives, but who
makes captives of those who were then prisoners, and who conducts them as a part of
his triumphal procession. He not only subdues his enemy, but he leads his captives in
triumph. The allusion is to the public triumphs of conquerors, especially as celebrated
among the Romans, in which captives were led in chains (Tacitus, Ann. xii. 38), and to
the custom in such triumphs of distributing presents among the soldiers; compare also
Jdg_5:30, where it appears that this was also an early custom in other nations. Burder,
in Res. Alt u. neu Morgenland, in loc. When Christ ascended to heaven, he triumphed
ever all his foes. It was a complete victory over the malice of the great enemy of God, and
over those who had sought his life. But he did more. He rescued those who were the
captives of Satan, and led them in triumph. Man was held by Satan as a prisoner. His
chains were around him. Christ rescued the captive prisoner, and designed to make him
a part of his triumphal procession into heaven, that thus the victory might be complete -
triumphing not only over the great foe himself, but swelling his procession with the
attending hosts of those who “had been” the captives of Satan, now rescued and
redeemed.
And gave gifts unto men - Such as he specifies in Eph_4:11.

112. CLARKE, "Wherefore he saith - The reference seems to be to Psa_68:18, which,
however it may speak of the removal of the tabernacle, appears to have been intended to
point out the glorious ascension of Christ after his resurrection from the dead. The
expositions of various commentators have made the place extremely difficult. I shall not
trouble my reader with them; they may be seen in Rosenmuller.
When he ascended up on high - The whole of this verse, as it stands in the psalm,
seems to refer to a military triumph. Take the following paraphrase: Thou hast ascended
on high: the conqueror was placed in a very elevated chariot. Thou hast led captivity
captive: the conquered kings and generals were usually bound behind the chariot of the
conqueror, to grace the triumph. Thou host received gifts for (Paul, given gifts unto)
men: at such times the conqueror was wont to throw money among the crowd. Even to
the rebellious: those who had fought against him now submit unto him, and share his
munificence; for it is the property of a hero to be generous. That the Lord God might
dwell among them: the conqueror being now come to fix his abode in the conquered
provinces, and subdue the people to his laws.
All this the apostle applies to the resurrection, ascension, and glory of Christ; though
it has been doubted by some learned men whether the psalmist had this in view. I shall
not dispute about this; it is enough for me that the apostle, under the inspiration of God,
applied the verse in this way; and whatever David might intend, and of whatever event
he might have written, we see plainly that the sense in which the apostle uses it was the
sense of the Spirit of God; for the Spirit in the Old and New Testaments is the same. I
may venture a short criticism on a few words in the original: Thou hast received gifts for
men, ‫באדם‬ ‫מתנות‬ ‫לקחת‬ lakachta mattanoth baadam, thou hast taken gifts in man, in Adam.
The gifts which Jesus Christ distributes to man he has received in man, in and by virtue
of his incarnation; and it is in consequence of his being made man that it may be said,
The Lord God dwells among them; for Jesus was called Immanuel, God with us, in
consequence of his incarnation. This view of the subject is consistent with the whole
economy of grace, and suits well with the apostle’s application of the words of the
psalmist in this place.
GILL, "Wherefore he saith,.... God in the Scripture, Psa_68:18
when he ascended up on high; which is not to be understood of Moses's ascending
up to the firmament at the giving of the law, as some Jewish writers (q) interpret it; for
though Moses ascended to the top of Mount Sinai, yet it is never said that he went up to
the firmament of heaven; nor of David's going up to the high fortresses of his enemies,
as another of those writers (r) would have it; nor of God's ascent from Mount Sinai,
when he gave the law, of which there is no mention in Scripture; but of the Messiah's
ascension to heaven, which may very well be signified by this phrase, "on high"; see Psa_
102:19, and which ascension is to be taken not in a figurative, but literal sense, and as
real, local, and visible, as Christ's ascension to heaven was; being from Mount Olivet,
attended by angels, in the sight of his apostles, after he had conversed with them from
the time of his resurrection forty days; and which ascension of his was in order to fulfil
the type of the high priest entering into the most holy place; and to make intercession for
his people, and to send down the Spirit with his gifts and graces to them, and to make
way and prepare mansions of glory for them, and receive the glory promised and due to
him: in the Hebrew text it is, "thou hast ascended"; there the psalmist speaks to the

113. Messiah, here the apostle speaks of him; though the Arabic and Ethiopic read there, "he
ascended", as here:
he led captivity captive; which is expressive of Christ's conquests and triumph over
sin, Satan, the world, death, and the grave; and indeed, every spiritual enemy of his and
his people, especially the devil, who leads men captive at his will, and is therefore called
captivity, and his principalities and powers, whom Christ has spoiled and triumphed
over; the allusion is to the public triumphs of the Romans, in which captives were led in
chains, and exposed to open view (s):
and gave gifts unto men; meaning the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and particularly such
as qualify men for the work of the ministry; these he received ‫,באדם‬ "in man"; in human
nature, in that nature in which he ascended to heaven; ‫למעלה‬ ‫הידוע‬ ‫,באדם‬ "in the man that
is known above" (t), as say the Jews; and these he bestows on men, even rebellious ones,
that the Lord God might dwell among them, and make them useful to others: wherefore
the Jews have no reason to quarrel with the version of the apostle as they do (u); who,
instead of "received gifts for" men, renders it, "gave gifts to men"; since the Messiah
received in order to give, and gives in consequence of his having received them; and so
Jarchi interprets the words, ‫,לת־תאם‬ "to give them" to the children of men; and besides,
as a learned man has observed (w), one and the same Hebrew word signifies to give and
to receive; to which may be added that their own Targum renders it ‫,יהבתא‬ "and hast
given gifts to the children of men"; and in like manner the Syriac and Arabic versions of
Psa_68:18 render the words; very likely the apostle might use the Syriac version, which
is a very ancient one: it was customary at triumphs to give gifts to the soldiers (x), to
which there is an allusion here.
JAMISO , "Wherefore — “For which reason,” namely, in order to intimate that
Christ, the Head of the Church, is the author of all these different gifts, and that giving of
them is an act of His “grace” [Estius].
he saith — God, whose word the Scripture is (Psa_68:18).
When he ascended — God is meant in the Psalm, represented by the ark, which was
being brought up to Zion in triumph by David, after that “the Lord had given him rest
round about from all his enemies” (2 Samuel 6:1-7:1; 1Ch_15:1-29). Paul quotes it of
Christ ascending to heaven, who is therefore God.
captivity — that is, a band of captives. In the Psalm, the captive foes of David. In the
antitypical meaning, the foes of Christ the Son of David, the devil, death, the curse, and
sin (Col_2:15; 2Pe_2:4), led as it were in triumphal procession as a sign of the
destruction of the foe.
gave gifts unto men — in the Psalm, “received gifts for men,” Hebrew, “among
men,” that is, “thou hast received gifts” to distribute among men. As a conqueror
distributes in token of his triumph the spoils of foes as gifts among his people. The
impartation of the gifts and graces of the Spirit depended on Christ’s ascension (Joh_
7:39; Joh_14:12). Paul stops short in the middle of the verse, and does not quote “that
the Lord God might dwell among them.” This, it is true, is partly fulfilled in Christians
being an “habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph_2:22). But the Psalm (Psa_68:16)
refers to “the Lord dwelling in Zion for ever”; the ascension amidst attendant angels,
having as its counterpart the second advent amidst “thousands of angels” (Psa_68:17),

114. accompanied by the restoration of Israel (Psa_68:22), the destruction of God’s enemies
and the resurrection (Psa_68:20, Psa_68:21, Psa_68:23), the conversion of the
kingdoms of the world to the Lord at Jerusalem (Psa_68:29-34).
RWP, "Wherefore he saith (dio legei). As a confirmation of what Paul has said.
No subject is expressed in the Greek and commentators argue whether it should be ho
theos (God) or hē graphē (Scripture). But it comes to God after all. See note on Act_2:17.
The quotation is from Psa_68:18, a Messianic Psalm of victory which Paul adapts and
interprets for Christ’s triumph over death.
He led captivity captive (ēichmalōteusen aichmalōsian). Cognate accusative of
aichmalōsian, late word, in N.T. only here and Rev_13:10. The verb also (aichmalōteuō) is
from the old word aichmalōtos, captive in war (in N.T. only in Luk_4:18), in lxx and only
here in N.T.
CALVI , "8.Therefore he saith. To serve the purpose of his argument, Paul has
departed not a little from the true meaning of this quotation. Wicked men charge
him with having made an unfair use of Scripture. The Jews go still farther, and, for
the sake of giving to their accusations a greater air of plausibility, maliciously
pervert the natural meaning of this passage. What is said of God, is applied by them
to David or to the people. “ or the people,” they say, “ on high, when, in consequence
of many victories, they rose superior to their enemies.” But a careful examination of
the Psalm will convince any reader that the words, he ascended up on high, are
applied strictly to God alone.
The whole Psalm may be regarded as an ἐπίνικιον a song of triumph, which David
sings to God on account of the victories which he had obtained; but, taking occasion
from the narrative of his own exploits, he makes a passing survey of the astonishing
deliverances which the Lord had formerly wrought for his people. His object is to
shew, that we ought to contemplate in the history of the Church the glorious power
and goodness of God; and among other things he says, Thou hast ascended on high.
(Psa_68:18.) The flesh is apt to imagine that God remains idle and asleep, when he
does not openly execute his judgments. To the view of men, when the Church is
oppressed, God is in some manner humbled; but, when he stretches out his avenging
arm for her deliverance, he then appears to rouse himself, and to ascend his throne
of judgment.
“ the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by
reason of wine. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts; he put them to a
perpetual reproach.”
(Psa_78:65.)
This mode of expression is sufficiently common and familiar; and, in short, the

115. deliverance of the Church is here called the ascension of God.
Perceiving that it is a song of triumph, in which David celebrates all the victories
which God had wrought for the salvation of his Church, Paul very properly quoted
the account given of God’ ascension, and applied it to the person of Christ. The
noblest triumph which God ever gained was when Christ, after subduing sin,
conquering death, and putting Satan to flight, rose majestically to heaven, that he
might exercise his glorious reign over the Church. Hitherto there is no ground for
the objection, that Paul has applied this quotation in a manner inconsistent with the
design of the Psalmist. The continued existence of the Church is represented by
David to be a manifestation of the Divine glory. But no ascension of God more
triumphant or memorable will ever occur, than that which took place when Christ
was carried up to the right hand of the Father, that he might rule over all
authorities and powers, and might become the everlasting guardian and protector of
his people.
He led captivity captive. Captivity is a collective noun for captive enemies; and the
plain meaning is, that God reduced his enemies to subjection, which was more fully
accomplished in Christ than in any other way. He has not only gained a complete
victory over the devil, and sin, and death, and all the power of hell, — but out of
rebels he forms every day “ willing people,” (Psa_110:3,) when he subdues by his
word the obstinacy of our flesh. On the other hand, his enemies — to which class all
wicked men belong — are held bound by chains of iron, and are restrained by his
power from exerting their fury beyond the limits which he shall assign.
And gave gifts to men. There is rather more difficulty in this clause; for the words of
the Psalm are, “ hast received gifts for men,” while the apostle changes this
expression into gave gifts, and thus appears to exhibit an opposite meaning. Still
there is no absurdity here; for Paul does not always quote the exact words of
Scripture, but, after referring to the passage, satisfies himself with conveying the
substance of it in his own language. ow, it is clear that the gifts which David
mentions were not received by God for himself, but for his people; and accordingly
we are told, in an earlier part of the Psalm, that “ spoil” had been “” among the
families of Israel. (Psa_68:12.) Since therefore the intention of receiving was to give
gifts, Paul can hardly be said to have departed from the substance, whatever
alteration there may be in the words.
At the same time, I am inclined to a different opinion, that Paul purposely changed
the word, and employed it, not as taken out of the Psalm, but as an expression of his
own, adapted to the present occasion. Having quoted from the Psalm a few words
descriptive of Christ’ ascension, he adds, in his own language, and gave gifts, — for
the purpose of drawing a comparison between the greater and the less. Paul intends
to shew, that this ascension of God in the person of Christ was far more illustrious
than the ancient triumphs of the Church; because it is a more honorable distinction
for a conqueror to dispense his bounty largely to all classes, than to gather spoils
from the vanquished.

116. The interpretation given by some, that Christ received from the Father what he
would distribute to us, is forced, and utterly at variance with the apostle’ purpose.
o solution of the difficulty, in my opinion, is more natural than this. Having made
a brief quotation from the Psalm, Paul took the liberty of adding a statement, which,
though not contained in the Psalm, is true in reference to Christ — a statement, too,
by which the ascension of Christ is proved to be more illustrious, and more worthy
of admiration, than those ancient manifestations of the Divine glory which David
enumerates.
BI, "Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men.
The glory of the ascended Christ
I. The ascension of Christ secured and declared His triumph.
1. The glory of Christ was foreshadowed by the triumphal procession of Jehovah to
Zion.
(1) The captives of the Lord of salvation: the redeemed; sin; death; Satan.
(2) The riches of the Lord of salvation: gifts, not of gold, etc., but of spiritual life,
endowment, and reward.
2. The descent and ascension of Christ reveal the universal character of His
triumph. There is no sphere of the universe He did not enter, and there is nothing
that remains unaffected by His influence.
II. The gifts conferred upon Christians and exercised in the Church are a portion of
the glory of the ascended Lord. Instead of fretting at the manifold distinctions of the
Christian ministry, we ought to look upon these as showing forth the unspeakable
fulness and glory of Jesus Christ. The varied functions of the ministry, and the
private gifts of the membership, are signs not of weakness, but of all-conquering
power, and they all emanate from the one Lord. The rich variety of nature is
surpassed by the more significant and glorious variety of grace. (A. E. Muir, M. A.)
The ascension of Christ

117. I. The fact of Christ’s ascension.
1. It should afford us supreme joy to remember that He who descended into the
lower parts of the earth has now “ascended up far above all heavens.” Shame is
swallowed up in glory, pain is lost in bliss, death in immortality. Well deserves the
Warrior to receive glory, for He has dearly won it (Psa_6:8).
2. Reflect yet again that from the hour our Lord left it, this world has lost all charms
to us. If He were in it, there were no spot in the universe which would hold us with
stronger ties; but since He has gone up He draws us upward from it. The flower is
gone from the garden, the first ripe fruit is gathered. Earth’s crown has lost its
brightest jewel, the star is gone from the night, the dew is exhaled from the morning,
the sun is eclipsed at noon. Joseph is no more in Egypt, and it is time for Israel to be
gone. o, earth, my treasure is not here with thee, neither shall my heart be
detained by thee.
3. We must henceforth walk by faith, and not by sight. Jesus is no more seen of
human eyes; and it is well, for faith’s sight is saving, instructing, transforming, and
mere natural sight is not so.
4. Reflect how secure is our eternal inheritance now that Jesus has entered into the
heavenly places. Our heaven is secured to us, for it is in the actual possession of our
legal representative, who can never be dispossessed of it.
II. The triumph of the ascension (see Psa_24:1-10; Psa_68:1-35).
1. Our Lord’s Ascension was a triumph over the world, He had passed through it
unscathed by its temptations; He had been solicited on all hands to sin, but His
garments were without spot or blemish. He rises above all, for He is superior to all.
As the world could not injure His character by its temptations, so no longer could it
touch His person by its malice.
2. There, too, He led captive sin. Evil had assailed Him furiously, but it could not
defile Him.
3. Death also was led in triumph. Death had bound Him, but He snapped each
fetter, and bound death with his own cords. Our Saviour’s ascension in that same
body which descended into the lower parts of the earth is so complete a victory over
death, that every dying saint may be sure of immortality, and may leave his body
behind without fear that it shall forever abide in the vaults of the grave.
4. So, too, Satan was utterly defeated!

118. 5. Brethren in Christ, everything that makes up our captivity Christ has led captive.
Moral evil He has defeated, the difficulties and trials of this mortal life He has
virtually overcome.
III. We may now turn to consider the gifts of the ascension. The blessings which
come to us through the ascension are “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work
of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of
the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Observe next, that these filling
blessings of the ascension are given to all the saints. Does not the first verse of our
text say: “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of
Christ.” The Holy Spirit is the particular benediction of the ascension, and the Holy
Spirit is in measure given to all truly regenerated persons. Trace all gospel success
to the ascended Saviour. Look to Christ for more successful workers. As they come,
receive them from His hands; when they come, treat them kindly as His gifts, and
daily pray that the Lord will send to Zion mighty champions of the faith.
IV. We shall conclude by noticing the bearing of our Lord’s ascension unto sinners.
“He received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also.” When the Lord went back
to His throne He had thoughts of love towards rebels still. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The ascension of Christ
Having spoiled His enemies on the cross, He further makes a public triumphal show
of them in His own person, which is a second act; as the manner of the Roman
emperors was, in their great triumph, to ride through the city in the greatest state,
and have all the spoils carried before them, and the kings and nobles, whom they
had taken; and this did Christ at His ascension, plainly manifesting, by His open
show of them, that He had spoiled and fully subdued them. (T. Goodwin.)
Gifts for men
It was the custom of the Roman emperors at their triumphal entrance to cast new
coins among the multitudes; so doth Christ, in His triumphal ascension into heaven,
throw the greatest gifts for the good of men that were ever given. (T. Goodwin.)
Ascension of Christ

119. Must the sun need come to us, or else cannot his heat and light profit us? ay, it
doth us more good, because it is so far off: so this Sun is gone from as, that He may
give more light to us, which made Him say, “It is good for you that I go from you.”
Therefore, away with this carnal eating of spiritual things. (Henry Smith.)
Diversity of gifts
Everyone hath some excellency or other in him, can we but find and improve it. God
hath dispensed His gifts diversely, for the common benefit. And as, in the same
pasture, the ox can find fodder, the hound a hare, the stork a lizard, the fair maid
flowers; so there is none so worthless, but something may be made of him; some
good extracted out of the unlikeliest. Yea, wisdom is such an elixir, as by contraction
(if there be any disposition of goodness in the same metal) it will render it of the
property. (John Trapp.)
Captivity captured
Two things are referred to in these words, as following from the ascension of Christ
into heaven. One has reference to the manifest accomplishment of His work in the
fact of His ascension; the other is a statement of what He does in consequence of that
success--not resulting from it, but as the expression of His goodwill on the occasion
of His success.
I. Christ overcame those special foes which He came to earth to encounter.
II. Having overcome them, He still holds them in His power. He lives now; He has
taken His place before God; there He waits. He waited once before till the fulness of
time came; He waits now till the appointed season comes. He has not let His
prisoners free; He had not let them go out of His hand.
III. Christ bestows a special gift on men that they may share in His victory. He gave
gifts in the shape of apostles, pastors, teachers, and so on, for the definite purpose of
carrying on His work--the perfecting of the saints. He thus bestows, not spoils which
He has gained from His enemies, but the special gift of His own favour.

120. IV. But one more very important thought. Who shall thus not only share with Him.
The spoils, but enjoy the free gift of Christ? Why, those who follow Him. (H. W.
Butcher.)
Christ’s ascension
I. The exaltation of Christ. His work was done, and therefore He ascended up on
high in His official capacity.
II. The achievements of Christ. “When He ascended up on high, He led captivity
captive.” Look at the expression “captivity.” Then it seems that the souls for whom
He bled and suffered were “captives;” the prophet calls them “lawful captives, and
the prey of the terrible.” “What! lead them captives again?” Some may be inclined
to say, “Oh, it’s only being transferred from one captivity to another.” First, He
overcomes them by grace, and then He leads them “captive” into His blessed and
glorious captivity, and leads them to say, “We were in captivity to Satan’s malice
once; the old serpent held us fast once, but now we are in captivity to the Lord Jesus
Christ, to His love, to His sway, to His sovereignty; with His three-fold cord in our
hearts, fixed and twined completely round our affections.”
III. The treasures that Christ distributes. How grand and glorious is the catalogue
of the gifts He gives to believers! He has given all gifts. He never made a saving or
exception of any. There is no limit to His bounty. Everything in Christianity is the
free gift of God. “He gave gifts to men.” In order to condense here as much as I can,
I shall classify a little, and just observe, in the first place, the first gift bestowed after
His ascension. “If I go not away, the Comforter will not come; but if I go away, I will
send Him to you, and when He is come He shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance.” So that this is the first ascension gift. Oh, what an
amazing gift! There is another gift that we must mention. When He “ascended up on
high,” He gave the gift of imputed righteousness to those new-created souls of whom
the Holy Ghost became the Teacher. (J. Irons.)
The purpose of Christ’s gifts

121. I. Christ gave special gifts, in order that through an endless diversity of lives and
works and thoughts, we may be all united to one another in one Body, pervaded and
animated by one Spirit. The first grand object in our Lord’s mind was and is union
among men, union with God. As a rule we value ourselves on our diversities. And
that without ever asking ourselves, “Why am I different?” God makes nothing in
vain. If He has made me different from my friend in some point of character, it is
surely that I may supply something in him; that he and I together may effect
something for each other and for others which separately could not be
accomplished.
II. The gifts of Christ to us are directed to producing in us steadiness of character
through reality. We are to measure ourselves and our opportunities truly, and to get
rid of self-deceptions.
1. How common it is for earnest persons to fancy that a wide gulf exists between
their capacities for doing God’s service and the opportunities which He affords
them! Is not this in reality a very specious form of murmuring against God? We
need to use earnest prayer for nothing more than a true faculty of vision.
2. Another and very lowering habit of mind and life which interferes still more with
that “steadiness through reality” of which we are in quest, is what I may venture to
call “frivolity in the very discharge of earnest duty.” There are many most noble
occupations which ought to have an inspiring power, that are not glorified at all by
those who use them, and that seem to haw no elevating effect on them. ow, one
cause of this is to be found in secret impurities of the thought and imagination of the
heart. othing so protects a man--awful thought! from the influence of God’s Spirit;
nothing so certain to prevent his acquiring that steadiness which truth of knowledge
and truth of thought and of will bring with them. But second only to this in its
miserable blighting effect, is to approach earnest duties in a frivolous, light,
unprayerful spirit.
III. The third object of Christ in giving us gifts from heaven is, that we may grow in
spiritual strength by living lives of spiritual activity. (Archbishop Benson.)
The gifts of Christ to His Church
I. The nature of the gift. It was--
1. A gift of men. ot merely a record, but a living voice speaking to living men.

122. 2. A varied gift. Variety in unity, shown--
(1) By distinct offices.
(2) By individual characteristics.
II. The object of the gift. “For the perfecting of the saints,” etc., shown--
1. By enabling them better to discharge their ministry. Christ’s own life of service
our pattern (Mat_20:28).
2. By edifying Christ’s body.
III. The ultimate end. “Till we all come,” etc., The end is perfect conformity to
Christ, the “perfect Man.” The means--knowledge of the Son of God (Joh_17:3); full
knowledge hereafter (Eph_3:19; Php_3:10; 1Co_13:12). Practical application:
1. Consider the priceless blessing the Gospels have been. Charter of our faith (Luk_
1:1-4). Christ’s own gift by His Spirit (Joh_14:26).
2. Are we ourselves becoming like Christ our Pattern? This the practical object. A
Church of living stones--true disciples of the Master. (A. C. Hellicar, M. A.)
Jesus gives mercy
When the Duke of Argyll was taken before James II to receive sentence for the part
he had taken in the rebellion in Scotland, the king said to him, “You know that it is
in my power to pardon you.” The duke, who knew the king well, replied faithfully,
“It may be in your power, but it is not in your nature,” and he was led forth to
prison and death. It is not so with King Immanuel. He who says, “All power is given
unto Me both in heaven and in earth,” is the same who says, “Him that cometh to
Me I will in nowise cast out.” (R. Brewin.)
The Conqueror’s gifts
As in the Roman triumphs the victor ascended up to the capitol in a chariot of state,
(the prisoners following on foot with their hands bound behind) and threw certain
pieces of coin abroad to be picked up by the common people; so Christ in the day of

123. His solemn inauguration into His heavenly kingdom triumphed over sin, death, and
hell, and gave gifts unto men. (J. Trapp.)
Gifts for the rebellious
Mr. Moody tells us how his elder brother ran away from home soon after their
father’s death, and the absence of the beloved boy was the perpetual grief of his
mother’s heart. She waited years and years for a letter from the wanderer, but none
came. Long years had rolled away, and the mother’s hair had grown grey, when,
one summer’s afternoon, a sunburnt man was seen coming into the gate at
orthfield. He knocked at the door. The mother went and opened the door, and
invited the stranger in. He held back for a moment, until the tears started, and he
exclaimed, “ o, mother, I will not come in until you forgive me!” He did not stand
there long. Her big motherly heart rejoiced more over the returning prodigal than
over all of the boys that had never run away. Jesus keeps no sinner waiting outside
His open door. The forgiveness of a lifetime’s sin is the very first boon to the hungry
penitent. (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)
9
(What does "he ascended" mean except that he
also descended to the lower, earthly regions [11]?
BAR ES, "Now that he ascended - That is, it is affirmed in the Psalm that he
“ascended” - “Thou hast ascended on high.” This implies that there must have been a
previous “descent;” or, as applicable to the Messiah, “it is a truth that he previously
descended.” It is by no means certain that Paul meant to say that the “word” “ascended”
demonstrated that there must have been a previous descent; but he probably means that
in the case of Christ there was, “in fact,” a descent into the lower parts of the earth first.
The language used here will appropriately express his descent to earth.
Into the lower parts of the earth - To the lowest state of humiliation. This seems
to be the fair meaning of the words. Heaven stands opposed to earth. One is above; the
other is beneath. From the one Christ descended to the other; and he came not only to

124. the earth, but he stooped to the most humble condition of humanity here; see Phi_2:6-
8; compare notes on Isa_44:23. Some have understood this of the grave; others of the
region of departed spirits; but these interpretations do not seem to be necessary. It is the
“earth itself” that stands in contrast with the heavens; and the idea is, that the Redeemer
descended from his lofty eminence in heaven, and became a man of humble rank and
condition; compare Psa_139:15.
CLARKE, "But that he also descended - The meaning of the apostle appears to
be this: The person who ascended is the Messiah, and his ascension plainly intimates his
descension; that is, his incarnation, humiliation, death, and resurrection.
GILL, "Now that he ascended,.... These words are a conclusion of Christ's descent
from heaven, from his ascension thither; for had he not first descended from thence, it
could not have been said of him that he ascended; for no man hath ascended to heaven
but he that came down from heaven, Joh_3:13 and they are also an explanation of the
sense of the psalmist in the above citation, which takes in his humiliation as well as his
exaltation; which humiliation is signified by his descent into the earth:
what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
this the Papists understand of his decent into a place they call Limbus Patrum, which
they make to be contiguous to hell; and where they say the patriarchs were detained till
Christ's coming; and that he went thither to deliver them out of it; and that these are the
captivity he led captive; all which is fictitious and fabulous: for certain it is, that the
place where Abraham was with Lazarus in his bosom was not near to hell, but afar off,
and that there was a great gulf between them, Luk_16:23 and the spirits or souls of the
patriarchs returned to God that gave them, when separated from their bodies, as the
souls of men do now, Ecc_12:7 nor did Christ enter any such feigned place at his death,
but went to paradise, where the penitent thief was that day with him; nor were the
patriarchs, but the principalities and powers Christ spoiled, the captivity he led captive
and triumphed over: some interpret this of Christ's descent into hell, which must be
understood not locally, but of his enduring the wrath of God for sin, which was
equivalent to the torments of hell, and of his being in the state of the dead; but it may
rather design the whole of his humiliation, as his descent from heaven and incarnation
in the virgin's womb, where his human nature was curiously wrought in the lowest parts
of the earth; and his humbling himself and becoming obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross, when he was made sin and a curse for his people, and bore all the
punishment due to their transgressions; and his being in Hades, in the state of the dead,
in the grave, in the heart of the earth, as Jonah in the whale's belly: reference seems to
be had to Psa_139:15 where "the lower parts of the earth", is interpreted by the Targum
on the place of ‫דאמא‬ ‫,כריסא‬ "his mother's womb"; and so it is by Jarchi, Aben Ezra,
Kimchi, and Ben Melec. The Alexandrian copy and the Ethiopic version leave out the
word "first" in this clause.
JAMISO , "Paul reasons that (assuming Him to be God) His ascent implies a
previous descent; and that the language of the Psalm can only refer to Christ, who first
descended, then ascended. For God the Father does not ascend or descend. Yet the
Psalm plainly refers to God (Eph_4:8, Eph_4:17, Eph_4:18). It must therefore be GOD

125. THE SON (Joh_6:33, Joh_6:62). As He declares (Joh_3:13), “No man hath ascended up
to heaven, but He that came down from heaven.” Others, though they did not previously
descend, have ascended; but none save Christ can be referred to in the Psalm as having
done so; for it is of God it speaks.
lower parts of the earth — The antithesis or contrast to “far above all heavens,” is
the argument of Alford and others, to show that this phrase means more than simply the
earth, namely, the regions beneath it, even as He ascended not merely to the visible
heavens, but “far above” them. Moreover, His design “that He might fill all things”
(Eph_4:10, Greek, “the whole universe of things”) may imply the same. But see on Eph_
4:10 on those words. Also the leading “captive” of the “captive hand” (“captivity”) of
satanic powers, may imply that the warfare reached to their habitation itself (Psa_63:9).
Christ, as Lord of all, took possession first of the earth the unseen world beneath it
(some conjecture that the region of the lost is in the central parts of our globe), then of
heaven (Act_2:27, Act_2:28). However, all we surely know is, that His soul at death
descended to Hades, that is, underwent the ordinary condition of departed spirits of
men. The leading captive of satanic powers here, is not said to be at His descent, but at
His ascension; so that no argument can be drawn from it for a descent to the abodes of
Satan. Act_2:27, Act_2:28, and Rom_10:7, favor the view of the reference being simply
to His descent to Hades. So Pearson in Exposition of the Creed (Phi_2:10).
RWP, "Now this (to de). Paul picks out the verb anabas (second aorist active
participle of anabainō, to go up), changes its form to anebē (second aorist indicative), and
points the article (to) at it. Then he concludes that it implied a previous katabas (coming
down).
Into the lower parts of the earth (eis ta katōtera tēs gēs). If the anabas is the
Ascension of Christ, then the katabas would be the Descent (Incarnation) to earth and tēs
gēs would be the genitive of apposition. What follows in Eph_4:10 argues for this view.
Otherwise one must think of the death of Christ (the descent into Hades of Act_2:31).
CALVI , "9. ow that he ascended. Here again the slanderers exclaim, that Paul’
reasoning is trifling and childish. “ does he attempt to make those words apply to a
real ascension of Christ, which were figuratively spoken about a manifestation of
the Divine glory? Who does not know that the word ascend is metaphorical? The
conclusion, that he also descended first, has therefore no weight.”
I answer, Paul does not here reason in the manner of a logician, as to what
necessarily follows, or may be inferred, from the words of the prophet. He knew
that what David spake about God’ ascension was metaphorical. But neither can it
be denied, that the expression bears a reference to some kind of humiliation on the
part of God which had previously existed. It is this humiliation which Paul justly
infers from the declaration that God had ascended. And at what time did God
descend lower than when Christ emptied himself? ( ᾿Αλλ ᾿ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε Phi_2:7.)
If ever there was a time when, after appearing to lay aside the brightness of his
power, God ascended gloriously, it was when Christ was raised from our lowest
condition on earth, and received into heavenly glory.

126. Besides, it is not necessary to inquire very carefully into the literal exposition of the
Psalm, since Paul merely alludes to the prophet’ words, in the same manner as, on
another occasion, he accommodates to his own subject a passage taken from the
writings of Moses. “ righteousness which is of faith speaketh in this manner, Say not
in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from
above;) or, who shall descend into the deep (that is, to bring up Christ again from
the dead.” (Rom_10:6 Deu_30:12.) But the appropriateness of the application which
Paul makes of the passage to the person of Christ is not the only ground on which it
must be defended. Sufficient evidence is afforded by the Psalm itself, that this
ascription of praise relates to Christ’ kingdom. ot to mention other reasons which
might be urged, it contains a distinct prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles.
Into the lower parts of the earth. (140) These words mean nothing more than the
condition of the present life. To torture them so as to make them mean purgatory or
hell, is exceedingly foolish. The argument taken from the comparative degree, “
lower parts,” is quite untenable. A comparison is drawn, not between one part of the
earth and another, but between the whole earth and heaven; as if he had said, that
from that lofty habitation Christ descended into our deep gulf.
(140) For ‘ lower parts of the earth,’ they may possibly signify no more than the
place beneath; as when our Savior said, (Joh_8:23,) ‘ are from beneath, I am from
above; ye are of this world, I am not of this world;’ or as God spake by the prophet,
‘ will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath.’ ay, they may
well refer to his incarnation, according to that of David, (Psa_139:15,) or to his
burial. (Psa_63:9.)” — Pearson.
BI, " ow that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower
parts of the earth?
He that descended is the same also that ascended.
The eternal union in the person and work of the Redeemer
I. There was union between the greatness of Christ’s person and the greatness of His
obedience. He was so great that He could not be greater. There was no possibility of
His going higher. That is what Jesus Christ did in coming to the world--“He
descended.” He not only assumed human nature, body and soul, into union with His
Divine Person; but more than that--“He descended.” The Divine Person came
down--the Divine Person was in the manger--He, the whole of Him, was made under
the law.

127. II. There was union between the greatness of the obedience and the merits of the
sufferings. Here again there must be no dividing. The sufferings without the
obedience would not have been an atonement; and the sufferings and the obedience
would not have given satisfaction without the greatness of the Person. And though
He rendered perfect obedience in life, yet He could not be a Saviour without
suffering--without shedding His blood. In hell there is suffering, but no obedience;
in heaven there is obedience, but no suffering; but here, in one place, we behold
both obedience and suffering.
III. There is union between the merits of the sufferings and the height of the
exaltation (ascension). “He who descended is the same also that ascended up far
above all heavens.” He could not ascend without descending first, and descending
lower than the earth. All the riches of the Godhead as Creator would not pay our
debt. He must give Himself as our ransom.
IV. There is union again between the height of his exaltation and his work in filling
all things to the end of time: “that He might fill all things.” The Bible teaches us that
He could not fill the Church without ascending up far above all heavens. Whilst
here in poverty and bondage, working out our salvation, He was out of His poverty
enriching those who came into contact with Him; but now He is rich in mercy, and
from the throne He administers forgiveness. His great work on earth was to fill the
demands of heaven; and His great work in heaven is to fill the demands of earth.
From the earth He filled heaven with obedience; and from heaven He fills the earth
with forgiveness. From the earth He filled heaven with satisfaction; and from
heaven He fills the earth with peace. From the earth He filled heaven with
atonement; and from heaven He fills the earth with holiness. (Lewis Edwards, D. D.)
The contrasted humiliation and exaltation of Christ
I. The circumstances of the Saviour’s depression from His original state.
1. The incarnation of Christ may be thus expressed.
2. This form of language may denote the death of Christ.
3. This style may be intended to intimate that burial to which He yielded.
4. The separation of the Redeemer’s Body and Spirit may be described in these

128. words.
II. The glory of His subsequent exaltation.
1. It is in itself an absolute expression of love. To descend to all this humiliation and
suffering could not be agreeable to any other end, save an achievement of mercy.
2. It justifies an expectation of surpassing benefits. Whatever was the quality of the
act, it must answer to the act itself. othing little can it involve. If this be an errand
of mercy, how great must be that mercy!
3. The act regulates and secures its own efficiency. The Messiah did not send His
word to save us. From on high He did not direct the scheme of salvation. He
“descended to the lower parts of the earth.” This showed His infinite intentness,
4. This act is to be regarded as of incomparable worth and excellence. ever were so
combined, and never could so unite, the jealousy of the Infinite Honour and the
commiseration of human woe.
III. The reciprocal influence of these respective facts. “The same” was He who
bowed Himself to these indignities, and who seized these rewards. And this identity
is of the greatest value. Surely it is much to understand, much to be certified, that
He who was manifest in flesh--taking our very nature, seen in the relationships of
our life--full of tenderness and compassion--the comforter of mourners and the
friend of sinners--is none other than the Supreme over all things, guiding and
administering all his prerogatives and powers to the very end for which he was
incarnated and crucified. This is what the text affirms. (R. W. Hamilton, D. D.)
The ascension of Christ above all heavens, that He might fill all things
The ascension of Christ (His resurrection completed) sums up, according to Paul,
the whole gospel, and stamps it with the seal of heaven. Aristotle tells us of Plato’s
dialogues that they were but beautiful dreams without rational foundation or
conclusion, ingenious stories to embody his spiritual instincts rather than to furnish
a rational ground capable of sustaining the sublime hopes they seek to embody. How
different this from the gospel which furnishes us with facts that are not only capable
of sustaining the hopes of the world, but of inspiring hopes which infinitely
transcend the highest imaginations of man’s unaided powers to conceive, and which
daily in our midst prove their Divine source by quickening dead souls, cleansing
polluted hearts, and breaking the chains of evil habits!

129. I. The ascension of Christ looked at in the light of its previous and preparatory
history. That the Son of Man ascended from the deepest depth of human history and
experience, from the lower parts of the earth, up above all heavens, presupposes His
descent. “That He ascended, what does it imply but that He descended,” and that
His original home was above the heavens? He ascends to no height from which He
did not descend. In short, to use his own words, that “He came out from God and
came into the world” before He could again leave the world and enter upon His
inheritance of the Father’s glory. “He who was rich became poor, that we, through
His poverty, might be rich.”
II. We have now to look at this fact of our Lord’s ascension in the light of its
declared purpose--“That He might fill all things,” which will reveal its connection
with the vaster and ever-enlarging history of the world subsequent to His leaving
the earth and His being carried up above all heavens. Let us, however, briefly
consider it, first of all with respect to the new heavens and the new earth; then with
respect to our nature and history; and lastly, with respect to the providence and
government of God--as parts of the great whole to be filled from the fulness of the
ascended Son of Man.
1. With respect to the new heavens and the new earth, what may we not infer, from
the ascension of Christ in the full integrity of His nature, as to the conversion,
transformation, and ennobling of the material of our earthly sphere? The nature
and history of His person clearly reveal the relations between heaven and earth, the
material and the spiritual, God and man. We cannot for a moment look upon the
transformation and exaltation of Christ’s nature as an isolated fact, or as
dissociated from “the restitution of all things.” The gospel, therefore, contains a
gospel for nature as well as for man, the prediction of the day when the strife of
elements shall cease, when the powers of darkness shall be swallowed up of light,
when the lion shall lie down with the lamb, when the tares shall no longer grow with
the wheat, when creation, now so weary, shall lift up her head and rejoice in the
redemption for which she groans and travails.
2. Having seen what we are taught by the ascension of Christ with respect to the new
heavens and the new earth, let us now consider what we should learn from it with
respect to man. For if we cannot dissociate the history of Jesus from the history of
the earth, much less are we able to do so from the history of mankind. He almost
always speaks of Himself as “the Son of Man.” In Jesus Christ the headship of
mankind is at the right hand of God with full powers of deliverance and exaltation
for all men. By His ascension our nature is endowed with an exalted fulness, and
clothed with a glory becoming the Son of God. In Jesus our nature is filled with all
the fulness and clothed with all the glory of the Father. And, as such, He is exalted
above the heavens on our behalf, as the centre of a new kingdom--a human
kingdom--“the kingdom of God and of His Christ.” It is reserved for human nature

130. to constitute the home kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is to be set up in our
nature, and to unite the innermost powers of humanity with the innermost powers
of Deity. But this kingdom of God is also to be the temple of God, not merely a
Divine dominion lying round about and without the immediate presence of the King,
and only indirectly and mediately associated with Him, but the sphere of His
household presence--His home--the very life of which will be the enjoyment and
worship of Himself.
3. Having considered the ascension of Christ in its relation to the new heavens and
the new earth, and also with respect to the nature and history of man, let us now
look at it, briefly, in its relation to the government and providence of God. If nature
is gathered up and crowned in man, and mankind are gathered tip and represented
in the Son of Man, who is exalted to the throne of universal dominion, then it is clear
that all things are governed and caused to work together in the interests of His
kingdom, which centres in His body the Church, which is His Bride; that all things
are bent to one purpose, the end to which the whole creation moves. The history of
the world and man, of nature, providence, and grace, is thus seen to be one whole of
many parts, in which there has been nothing parenthetic or episodical--nothing in
vain, but which has been working together for the one foreseen and pre-determined
end. Tempest and storm have combined with sunshine and zephyr; anarchy and
rebellion have wrought with submission and order; war and peace, slavery and
liberty, sickness and health, death and life have all been made to cooperate in
bringing about the condition and prospects of the present hour which carries the
necessary preparations, and is charged with the necessary powers for the grand
consummation of the Divine purpose. The leaven works through all elements; the
tree grows through all seasons; the kingdom advances with every age.
III. In the last place, we can but very briefly glance at the method and means by
which this purpose, for which the Son of man; is exalted above all the heavens, is to
be carried out. It is being fulfilled in many ways; all means are subordinate to this
one end. That He might fill all things is the one purpose--“The one far off Divine
event to which the whole creation moves.” For this the heavens watch the earth
labours, the elements work, and the undesigned strife of human history is carried
on. Two things are ours--preaching and prayer, alike our duty and our privilege. By
these the Church of 120 very soon over ran the nations, and “turned the world
upside down.” By these now will the triumphs of the Church be carried on to her
final conquests. (W. Pulsford, D. D.)
Christ filling all things
I. Christ’s life was marked by changes the most unparalleled. He descended from

131. the highest circumstances to the lowest, and ascended from the lowest to the highest
again.
II. Amidst all these changes He preserved His identity: “the same.”
1. The same in being.
2. The same in sympathy.
3. The same in purpose.
III. The grand end of these changes was the spreading of the highest influence
through the universe. “That He might fill all things.” “Fill all” institutions, books,
intellect, hearts, with His system and Spirit. (David Thomas.)
Christ filling all things
I. How Christ fills all things. ot with His body--for as it has been well said,
“Christ’s body may be anywhere at any time; but Christ’s Spirit is everywhere at all
times.” Of that body of Christ--of spiritual body at all, still more of spiritual body
glorified--we know, and we can know, nothing; but, as far as our faculties can
reach, body must occupy definite space. How, then, does Christ fill all things”?
1. By His influence. We know that even here a person may occupy a much larger
sphere than he actually “fills” with his presence. Carry on that idea of the power of
extending influence infinitely, and we shall be arriving at some conception of the
way in which Christ can “fill all things.” The effect of such a life and death--the
beauty of that unparalleled character--the effect of that upon a world, who can
estimate? How it has moulded the mind--how it has raised the tone--how it has
determined the conduct of all mankind.
2. But there is more than influence, there is sovereignty and care. The queen fills her
realms, and we are always conscious of the power of our queen. How much more
does the royal, superintending power and love of Jesus fill the universe; There is
nothing so small, that it is below it; and there is nothing so great, that it is above it;
nothing independent of it; nothing despised by it.
3. By the presence of the Holy Ghost.

132. II. What does Christ fill? “All things.”
1. Heaven. Every spirit in heaven reflects Him. Every tongue tells of Him. Every joy
is full of Him. Every holiness glorifies Him.
2. And there is a solemn sense in which Christ “fills” hell. A rejected Saviour--
nothing else.
3. Christ “fills” all nature. You will miss the sweetness of nature, if you do not feel
this. Christ is in the leaf and flower--in the morning blush and the evening glow--in
the song of the little bird--in the loneliness of solitude--in the harmony of the
landscape.
4. And providence--i.e., the ordered course of human events--it is all Christ. What is
providence? The “working together” of all things for the sake of God’s people. Who
administers God’s great empire with the delegated power? Christ. “He hath put all
things in subjection under His feet.” Is it a sorrow? Christ “fills” that sorrow. Is it a
joy? Christ “fills” that joy. And this is the true meaning of life; an inner current of
Christ always running along parallel with the flow of events.
5. But, still more, the Church--“the Church, which is His fulness”--because He
“fills” it. All ordinances, all gifts, all communications of the Spirit, all prayer and
preaching, all our sweet worship, all our blessed sacraments, all our fellowships, all
our sympathies, all our diversities, all our oneness--it is all Christ. othing would be
real without Him. It is as He is there, that anything has power to teach, or to
comfort, or to bless.
III. Why does Christ fill all things?
1. That all honours should be to Him in every degree; that all should owe all always
to Him; that He should be the light and joy of the whole world.
2. That no man upon this earth should ever find any real satisfaction out of Christ.
If you do, the voids will be always greater than the comforts. Other things may
promise--but He is truth. Other things may trifle with you--but He loves you. Other
things may please--but He “fills.”
3. That there may be always, in Christ, a fulness suited to every man’s want. If we
only look high enough, there is the fountain “filled”:--a full pardon--a full Bible--a
full smile--a full rest--a full life--and a full heaven.
4. And so it comes at last to pass, that, in everything, it is not the thing, but the
Christ that is in it--for He so “fills,” that He becomes the thing He “fills”; and, little

133. by little, the crust drops off--like the shell horn the fruit; or, like the covering from
the blossom. The external ceases; the material falls away; the material passes; and
the Christ which it contains, stands out alone--the All in all of His servants’ souls: so
that we have, and desire to have, in either world, only Him! (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The humiliation and ascension of Christ
I. Christ’s humiliation and descension. Christ descended according to His Divine
nature, not indeed by a proper and local motion; but because it united itself to a
nature here below; in respect of which union to an earthly nature, it might
metaphorically be said to descend to the place where that nature did reside. And
thus much for the way and manner how Christ did descend. We are now to direct
our next inquiry to the place whither He descended; and for this we are to reflect an
eye upon the former verse of this chapter, which tells us that it was into “the lower
parts of the earth”; but what those “lower parts of the earth” are, here lies the
doubt, and here must be the explication. I conceive these words in the text to bear
the same sense with, and perhaps to have reference to, those in Psa_139:15, where
David, speaking of his conception in his mother’s womb, says, that “he was framed
and fashioned in the lowest parts of the earth.” In like manner, Christ’s descending
into the lowest parts of the earth, may very properly be taken for His incarnation
and conception in the womb of the blessed Virgin. I add, that these words, of
Christ’s descending and ascending, are so put together in the text, that they seem to
intend us a summary account of Christ’s whole transaction of that great work of
man’s redemption from first to last; which being begun in His conception, and
consummate in His ascension, by what better can His descending be explained, than
by His conception, the first part and instance of this great work, as His ascension
was the last? So that by this explication the apostle’s words are cast into this easy
and proper sense, that the same Christ, and eternal Son of God, who first
condescended and debased Himself so far as to be incarnate and conceived in the
flesh, was He who afterwards ascended into heaven, and was advanced to that pitch
of sublime honour and dignity, far above the principalities and powers of men and
angels.
II. Christ’s exaltation and ascension. As for the way and manner how He ascended,
I affirm that it was according to His human nature, properly and by local motion;
but according to His Divine, only by communication of properties, the action of one
nature being ascribed to both, by virtue of their union in the same person. As for the
place to which He advanced, it is, says the apostle, “far above all heavens.” But the
words of the text have something of figure, of hyperbole, and latitude in them; and
signify not, according to their literal niceness, a going above the heavens by a local
superiority; but an advance to the most eminent place of dignity and glory in the

134. highest heaven.
III. The qualification and state of Christ’s person. In reference to both these
conditions He was the same--“He that descended is the same also that ascended.”
Which to me seems a full argument to evince the unity of the two natures in the
same person; since two several actions are ascribed to the same person, both of
which, it is evident, could not be performed by the same nature.
IV. The end of Christ’s ascension “that He might fill all things.” ow, Christ may be
said thus to fill all things in a double respect.
1. In respect of the omnipresence of His nature and universal diffusion of His
Godhead. But yet this is not the “filling all things” directly intended in the text; for
that was to be consequent to His ascension; “He ascended that He might fill all
things”; it accrued to Him upon and after His ascension, not before; but His
omnipresential filling all things being an inseparable property of His Divine nature,
always agreed to Him, and was not then at length to be conferred on Him.
2. In the second place, therefore, Christ may be said to fill all things, in respect of
the universal rule and government of all things in heaven and earth committed to
Him as Mediator upon His ascension. All the elements the whole train and retinue of
nature, are subservient to His pleasure, and instruments of His purposes. The stars
fight in their courses under His banner, and subordinate their powers to the dictates
of His will. The heavens rule all below them by their influences, but themselves are
governed by His. He can command nature out of its course, and reverse the great
ordinances of the creation. The government, the stress and burden of all things, lies
upon His hands. The blind heathen have been told of an Atlas that shoulders up the
heavens; but we know that He who supports the heavens is not under them, but
above them. (R. South, D. D.)
The end and design of Christ’s ascension
1. In the first place, this term “all things” may refer to the whole series of prophecies
and predictions recorded of Christ in the Scriptures; which He might be said to fill,
or rather to fulfil by His ascension.
2. But, secondly, the term “all things” may refer to the Church; which sense I shall
most insist upon, as carrying in it the subject matter of this day’s commemoration.
ow, Christ, it seems, would not have the fabric of His Church inferior to that of the
universe: it being itself indeed a lesser world picked or rather sifted out of the
greater, where mankind is brought into a narrower compass, but refined to a

135. greater perfection. And, as in the constitution of the world, the old philosophy
strongly asserts that nature has with much care filled every little space and corner
of it with body, there being nothing that it so much abhors as a vacuity: so Christ, as
it were, following the methods of nature in the works of grace, has so
advantageously framed the whole system of the Church; first, by an infinite power
making in it capacities, and then by an equal goodness filling them. ow the Church
being a society of men combined together in profession of Christian religion, it has
unavoidably a double need or necessity emergent from its very nature and
constitution. That is, one of government, the other of instruction; the first agreeing
to it simply as a society, the second, as it is such a society. And it is Christ’s great
prerogative to fill it in both these respects.
I. As for the time in which it was conferred, this is remarkable in a double respect.
1. In respect of the Christian religion itself, it being about its first solemn
promulgation. The beginning of everything has a strange and potent influence upon
its duration. And the first appearances usually determine men either in their
acceptance or dislike. Had not Christ therefore ushered in His religion by miracle
and wonder, and arrested men’s first apprehensions of it by something grand and
supernatural; He had hindered its progress by a disadvantageous setting forth,
exposed it naked to infidelity, and so rendered it first disputable, and then despised.
It had been like the betraying a sublime and noble composition by a low and
creeping prologue, which blasts the reputation of the ensuing discourse, and shuts
up the auditors’ approbation with prejudice and contempt.
2. But, secondly, the time of Christ’s sending the Spirit is very remarkable in respect
of the apostles themselves. It was when they entered upon the full execution of their
apostolic office; and from followers of Christ became the great leaders of the world.
II. The manner how it was conferred (see Act_2:2-3). This action exhibits to the
world the great means chosen by God for the propagation of the kingdom of Christ.
10
He who descended is the very one who ascended
higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the

136. whole universe.)
BAR ES, "He that descended is the same also that ascended - The same
Redeemer came down from God, and returned to him. It was not a different being, but
the same.
Far above all heavens - see the notes on Eph_1:20-23; compare Heb_7:26. He is
gone above the visible heavens, and has ascended into the highest abodes of bliss; see
the notes on 2Co_12:2.
That he might fill all things - Margin, “fulfil.” The meaning is, “that he might fill
all things by his influence, and direct and overrule all by his wisdom and power.”
Doddridge. See the notes on Eph_1:23.
CLARKE, "He that descended - And he who descended so low is the same who
has ascended so high. He came to the lower parts of the earth - the very deepest
abasement; having emptied himself; taken upon him; the form of a servant, and
humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross; now he is ascended far above
all heavens - higher than all height; he has a name above every name. Here his
descending into the lower parts of the earth is put in opposition to his ascending far
above all heavens. His abasement was unparalleled; so also is his exaltation.
That he might fill all things - That he might be the fountain whence all blessings
might flow; dispensing all good things to all his creatures, according to their several
capacities and necessities; and, particularly, fill both converted Jews and Gentiles with
all the gifts and graces of his Holy Spirit. Hence it follows:
GILL, "He that descended is the same also that ascended,.... It was the same
divine Person, the Son of God, who assumed human nature, and suffered in it, which is
meant by his descent, who in that nature ascended up to heaven: this proves that Christ
existed before he took flesh of the virgin; and that though he has two natures, yet he is
but one person; and disproves the Popish notion of the descent of Christ's soul into
Limbus or hell, locally taken: and this ascension of his was,
up far above all heavens: the visible heavens, the airy and starry heavens; Christ
ascended far above these, and went into the third heaven, the holiest of all; and this is
expressive of the exaltation of Christ, who is made higher than the heavens; and the end
of his ascension was,
that he might fill all things, or "fulfil all things"; that were types of him, or predicted
concerning him; that as he had fulfilled many things already by his incarnation doctrine,
miracles, obedience, sufferings, death, and resurrection from the dead; so he ascended
on high that he might accomplish what was foretold concerning his ascension to heaven,

137. and session at the right hand of God, and answer to the type of the high priest's entering
once a year into the holiest of all: or that he might complete, perfect, and fill up all his
offices; as the remainder of his priestly office, his intercession for his people; and more
finally his prophetic office by the effusion of his Spirit; and more visibly his kingly office,
by sending forth the rod of his strength out of Zion, and subduing the people under him:
or that he might fill all places; as God he fills all places at once being infinite, immense,
and omnipresent; as man, one after another; at his incarnation he dwelt with men on
earth at his crucifixion he was lifted up between heaven and earth; at his death he
descended into the lower parts of the earth, into hell, "Hades", or the grave; and at his
resurrection stood upon the earth again, and had all power in heaven and in earth given
him; and at his ascension he went through the airy and starry heavens, into the highest
heaven; and so successively was in all places: or rather that he might fill all persons, all
his elect, both Jews and Gentiles; and so the Arabic version renders it, "that he might fill
all creatures"; as the Gentiles were called; particularly that he might fill each and
everyone of his people with his grace and righteousness, with his Spirit, and the fruits of
it, with spiritual knowledge and understanding, with food and gladness, with peace, joy
and comfort; and all his churches with his gracious presence, and with officers and
members, and all with gifts and graces suitable to their several stations and work.
JAMISO , "all heavens — Greek, “all the heavens” (Heb_7:26; Heb_4:14), Greek,
“passed through the heavens” to the throne of God itself.
might fill — In Greek, the action is continued to the present time, both “might” and
“may fill,” namely, with His divine presence and Spirit, not with His glorified body.
“Christ, as God, is present everywhere; as glorified man, He can be present anywhere”
[Ellicott].
RWP, "Is the same also (autos estin). Rather, “the one who came down (ho katabas,
the Incarnation) is himself also the one who ascended (ho anabas, the Ascension).”
Far above (huperanō). See note on Eph_1:21.
All the heavens (pantōn tōn ouranōn). Ablative case after huperanō. For the plural
used of Christ’s ascent see note on Heb_4:14 and note on Heb_7:27. Whether Paul has
in mind the Jewish notion of a graded heaven like the third heaven in 2Co_12:2 or the
seven heavens idea one does not know.
That he might fill all things (hina plērōsēi ta panta). This purpose we can
understand, the supremacy of Christ (Col_2:9.).
CALVI , "10.That ascended up far above all heavens; that is, beyond this created
world. When Christ is said to be in heaven, we must not view him as dwelling
among the spheres and numbering the stars. Heaven denotes a place higher than all
the spheres, which was assigned to the Son of God after his resurrection. (141) ot
that it is literally a place beyond the world, but we cannot speak of the kingdom of
God without using our ordinary language. Others, again, considering that the
expressions, above all heavens, and ascension into heaven, are of the same import,

138. conclude that Christ is not separated from us by distance of place. But one point
they have overlooked. When Christ is placed above the heavens, or in the heavens,
all that surrounds the earth — all that lies beneath the sun and stars, beneath the
whole frame of the visible world — is excluded.
That he might fill all things. To fill often signifies to Finish, and it might have that
meaning here; for, by his ascension into heaven, Christ entered into the possession
of the authority given to him by the Father, that he might rule and govern all things.
But a more beautiful view, in my opinion, will be obtained by connecting two
meanings which, though apparently contradictory, are perfectly consistent. When
we hear of the ascension of Christ, it instantly strikes our minds that he is removed
to a great distance from us; and so he actually is, with respect to his body and
human presence. But Paul reminds us, that, while he is removed from us in bodily
presence, he fills all things by the power of his Spirit. Wherever the right hand of
God, which embraces heaven and earth, is displayed, Christ is spiritually present by
his boundless power; although, as respects his body, the saying of Peter holds true,
that
“ heaven must receive him until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath
spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Act_3:21.)
By alluding to the seeming contradiction, the apostle has added not a little beauty to
his language. He ascended; but it was that he, who was formerly bounded by a little
space, might fill all things But did he not fill them before? In his divine nature, I
own, he did; but the power of his Spirit was not so exerted, nor his presence so
manifested, as after he had entered into the possession of his kingdom.
“ Holy Ghost was not yet given,
because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (Joh_7:39.)
And again,
“ is expedient for you that I go away; for, if I go not away, the Comforter will not
come to you.” (Joh_16:7.)
In a word, when he began to sit at the right hand of the Father, he began also to fill
all things. (142)
(141) “ was the place of which our Savior spake to his disciples, ‘ and if ye shall see
the Son of Man ascend up where he was before?’ Had he been there before in body,
it had been no such wonder that he should have ascended thither again; but that his
body should ascend unto that place where the majesty of God was most resplendent;
that the flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone, should be seated far above all
angels and archangels, all principalities and powers, even at the right hand of God;
this was that which Christ propounded as worthy of their greatest admiration.
Whatsoever heaven there is higher than all the rest that are called heavens;

139. whatsoever sanctuary is holier than all which are called holies; whatsoever place is
of greatest dignity in all those courts above, into that place did he ascend, where, in
the splendor of his Deity, he was before he took upon him our humanity.” —
Pearson.
(142) “ deepest humiliation is followed by the highest exaltation. From the highest
heaven, than which nothing can be higher, Christ descended to hell, than which
nothing can be lower. And on that account he deserved that he should be again
carried up beyond the boundaries of all the heavens, withdrawing from us the
presence of his body in such a manner, that from on high he might fill all things
with heavenly gifts, and, in a different manner, might now be present with us more
effectually than he was present while he dwelt with us on earth.” — Erasmus.
11
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be
prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be
pastors and teachers,
BAR ES, "And he gave some, apostles - He gave some to be apostles. The
“object” here is to show that he has made ample provision for the extension and
edification of his church On the meaning of the word “apostles,” and on their
appointment by the Saviour, see the notes on Mat_10:1.
And some, prophets - He appointed some to be prophets; see the Rom_12:7, note;
1Co_12:28, note; 1Co_14:1, notes.
And some, evangelists - see the notes on Act_21:8; compare 2Ti_4:5. The word
does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. What was the precise office of the
evangelist in the primitive church, it is now impossible to determine. The evangelist
“may” have been one whose main business was “preaching,” and who was not
particularly engaged in the “government” of the church. The word properly means “a
messenger of good tidings;” and Robinson (Lexicon) supposes that it denotes a minister
of the gospel who was not located in any place, but who traveled as a missionary to
preach the gospel, and to found churches. The word is so used now by many Christians;
but it cannot be proved that it is so used in the New Testament. An explanation of the
words which here occur may be found in Neander on the Primitive Church, in the

140. Biblical Repository, vol. iv. pp. 258ff The office was distinct from that of the “pastor,” the
teacher, and the “prophet:” and was manifestly an office in which “preaching” was the
main thing.
And some, pastors - Literally, “shepherds” - ποιµένας poimenas; compare Mat_
9:36; Mat_25:32; Mat_26:31; Mar_6:34; Mar_14:27; Luk_2:8, Luk_2:15, Luk_2:18,
Luk_2:20; Joh_10:2, Joh_10:11-12, Joh_10:14, Joh_10:16, where it is rendered
“shepherd and shepherds;” also Heb_13:20; 1Pe_2:25; in Mat_26:31; Mar_14:27; Heb_
13:20; 1Pe_2:25, it is applied to the Lord Jesus as the great shepherd of the flock - the
church. It is rendered “pastors” only in the place before us. The word is given to
ministers of the gospel with obvious propriety, and with great beauty. They are to
exercise the same watchfulness and care river the people of their charge which a
shepherd does over his flock; compare the notes on Joh_21:15-16. The meaning here is,
that Christ exercised a special care for his church by appointing “pastors” who would
watch over it as a shepherd does over his flock.
And teachers - see the notes on Rom_12:7.
CLARKE, "He gave some, apostles - He established several offices in his Church;
furnished these with the proper officers; and, to qualify them for their work, gave them
the proper gifts. For a full illustration of this verse, the reader is requested to refer to the
notes on 1Co_12:6-10 (note), 1Co_12:28-30 (note); and to the concluding observations
at the end of that chapter.
GILL, "And he gave some apostles,.... That is, he gave them gifts by which they
were qualified to be apostles; who were such as were immediately called by Christ, and
had their doctrine from him, and their commission to preach it; and were peculiarly and
infallibly guided by the Spirit of God, and had a power to work miracles for the
confirmation of their doctrine; and had authority to go everywhere and preach the
Gospel, and plant churches, and were not confined to anyone particular place or church;
this was the first and chief office in the church, and of an extraordinary kind, and is now
ceased; and though the apostles were before Christ's ascension, yet they had not received
till then the fulness of the Spirit, and his extraordinary gifts to fit them for their office;
nor did they enter upon the discharge of it in its large extent till that time; for they were
not only to bear witness of Christ in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, but in the
uttermost parts of the earth:
and some prophets; by whom are meant, not private members of churches, who may
all prophesy or teach in a private way; nor ordinary ministers of the word; but
extraordinary ones, who had a peculiar gift of interpreting the Scriptures, the prophecies
of the Old Testament, and of foretelling things to come; such were Agabus and others in
the church of Antioch, Act_11:27
and some evangelists; by whom are designed, not so much the writers of the Gospels,
as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, some of which were also apostles; as preachers of the
Gospel, and who yet were distinct from the ordinary ministers of it; they were below the
apostles, and yet above pastors and teachers; they were the companions of the apostles,
and assistants to them, and subserved them in their work; such were Philip, Luke, Titus,
Timothy, and others; these were not fixed and stated ministers in anyone place, as the

141. following officers be, but were sent here and there as the apostles thought fit:
and some pastors and teachers, or doctors; these may be thought to differ, but not
so much on account of the place where they perform their work, the one in the church,
the other in the school; nor on account of the different subject of their ministry, the one
attending to practical, the other to doctrinal points; but whereas the pastors are the
shepherds of the flock, the overseers of it, and the same with the bishops and elders, and
the teachers may be the gifted brethren in the church, assistants to the pastors, bare
ministers of the word; so the difference lies here, that the one has the oversight, and
care, and charge of the church, and the other not; the one can administer all ordinances,
the other not; the one is fixed and tied to some certain church, the other not: though I
rather think they intend one and the same office, and that the word "teachers" is only
explanative of the figurative word "pastors" or shepherds; and the rather because if the
apostle had designed distinct officers, he would have used the same form of speaking as
before; and have expressed himself thus, "and some pastors, and some teachers";
whereas he does not make such a distribution here as there; though the Syriac version
reads this clause distributively as the others; and among the Jews there were the
singular men or wise men, and the disciples of the wise men, who were their companions
and assistants; and it is asked (y),
"who is a singular man? and who is a disciple? a singular man is everyone that is fit to be
appointed a pastor or governor of a congregation; and a disciple is one, that when he is
questioned about any point in his doctrine, gives an answer:''
wherefore if these two, pastors and teachers, are different, it might be thought there is
some reference to this distinction, and that pastors answer to the wise men, and teachers
to their disciples or assistants; and so Kimchi in Jer_3:15 interprets the pastors there of
‫דישרעל‬ ‫,פרנסים‬ "the pastors of Israel", which shall be with the King Messiah, as is said in
Mic_5:5 and undoubtedly Gospel ministers are meant: from the whole it may be
observed, that as there have been various officers and offices in the Gospel dispensation,
various gifts have been bestowed; and these are the gifts of Christ, which he has received
for men, and gives unto them; and hence it appears that the work of the ministry is not
an human invention, but the appointment of Christ, for which he fits and qualifies, and
therefore to be regarded; and that they only are the ministers of Christ, whom he makes
ministers of the New Testament, and not whom men or themselves make and appoint.
JAMISO , "Greek, emphatical. “Himself” by His supreme power. “It is HE that
gave,” etc.
gave some, apostles — Translate, “some to be apostles, and some to be prophets,”
etc. The men who filled the office, no less than the office itself, were a divine gift [Eadie].
Ministers did not give themselves. Compare with the list here, 1Co_12:10, 1Co_12:28. As
the apostles, prophets, and evangelists were special and extraordinary ministers, so
“pastors and teachers” are the ordinary stated ministers of a particular flock, including,
probably, the bishops, presbyters, and deacons. Evangelists were itinerant preachers like
our missionaries, as Philip the deacon (Act_21:8); as contrasted with stationary “pastors
and teachers” (2Ti_4:5). The evangelist founded the Church; the teacher built it up in
the faith already received. The “pastor” had the outward rule and guidance of the
Church: the bishop. As to revelation, the “evangelist” testified infallibly of the past; the
“prophet,” infallibly of the future. The prophet derived all from the Spirit; the evangelist,

142. in the special case of the Four, recorded matter of fact, cognizable to the senses, under
the Spirit’s guidance. No one form of Church polity as permanently unalterable is laid
down in the New Testament though the apostolical order of bishops, or presbyters, and
deacons, superintended by higher overseers (called bishops after the apostolic times),
has the highest sanction of primitive usage. In the case of the Jews, a fixed model of
hierarchy and ceremonial unalterably bound the people, most minutely detailed in the
law. In the New Testament, the absence of minute directions for Church government and
ceremonies, shows that a fixed model was not designed; the general rule is obligatory as
to ceremonies, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (compare Article XXXIV,
Church of England); and that a succession of ministers be provided, not self-called, but
“called to the work by men who have public authority given unto them in the
congregation, to call and send ministers into the Lord’s vineyard” [Article XXIII]. That
the “pastors” here were the bishops and presbyters of the Church, is evident from Act_
20:28; 1Pe_5:1, 1Pe_5:2, where the bishops’ and presbyters’ office is said to be “to feed”
the flock. The term, “shepherd” or “pastor,” is used of guiding and governing and not
merely instructing, whence it is applied to kings, rather than prophets or priests (Eze_
34:23; Jer_23:4). Compare the names of princes compounded of “pharnas,” Hebrew,
“pastor,” Holophernes, Tis-saphernes (compare Isa_44:28).
RWP,"And he gave (kai autos edōken). First aorist active indicative of didōmi. In
1Co_12:28 Paul uses etheto (more common verb, appointed), but here repeats edōken
from the quotation in Eph_4:8. There are four groups (tous men, tous de three times, as
the direct object of edōken). The titles are in the predicate accusative (apostolous,
prophētas, poimenas kai didaskalous). Each of these words occurs in 1Co_12:28 (which see
note for discussion) except poimenas (shepherds). This word poimēn is from a root
meaning to protect. Jesus said the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (Joh_
10:11) and called himself the Good Shepherd. In Heb_13:20 Christ is the Great Shepherd
(cf. 1Pe_2:25). Only here are preachers termed shepherds (Latin pastores) in the N.T.
But the verb poimainō, to shepherd, is employed by Jesus to Peter (Joh_21:16), by Peter
to other ministers (1Pe_5:2), by Paul to the elders (bishops) of Ephesus (Act_20:28).
Here Paul groups “shepherds and teachers” together. All these gifts can be found in one
man, though not always. Some have only one.
CALVI , "He returns to explain the distribution of gifts, and illustrates at greater
length what he had slightly hinted, that out of this variety arises unity in the church,
as the various tones in music produce sweet melody. The meaning may be thus
summed up. “ external ministry of the word is also commended, on account of the
advantages which it yields. Certain men appointed to that office, are employed in
preaching the gospel. This is the arrangement by which the Lord is pleased to
govern his church, to maintain its existence, and ultimately to secure its highest
perfection.”
It may excite surprise, that, when the gifts of the Holy Spirit form the subject of
discussion, Paul should enumerate offices instead of gifts. I reply, when men are

143. called by God, gifts are necessarily connected with offices. God does not confer on
men the mere name of Apostles or Pastors, but also endows them with gifts, without
which they cannot properly discharge their office. He whom God has appointed to
be an apostle does not bear an empty and useless title; for the divine command, and
the ability to perform it, go together. Let us now examine the words in detail.
11.And he gave. The government of the church, by the preaching of the word, is first
of all declared to be no human contrivance, but a most sacred ordinance of Christ.
The apostles did not appoint themselves, but were chosen by Christ; and, at the
present day, true pastors do not rashly thrust themselves forward by their own
judgment, but are raised up by the Lord. In short, the government of the church, by
the ministry of the word, is not a contrivance of men, but an appointment made by
the Son of God. As his own unalterable law, it demands our assent. They who reject
or despise this ministry offer insult and rebellion to Christ its Author. It is himself
who gave them; for, if he does not raise them up, there will be none. Another
inference is, that no man will be fit or qualified for so distinguished an office who
has not been formed and moulded by the hand of Christ himself. To Christ we owe
it that we have ministers of the gospel, that they abound in necessary qualifications,
that they execute the trust committed to them. All, all is his gift.
Some, apostles. The different names and offices assigned to different persons take
their rise from that diversity of the members which goes to form the completeness of
the whole body, — every ground of emulation, and envy, and ambition, being thus
removed. If every person shall display a selfish character, shall strive to outshine his
neighbor, and shall disregard all concerns but his own, — or, if more eminent
persons shall be the object of envy to those who occupy a lower place, — in each,
and in all of these cases, gifts are not applied to their proper use. He therefore
reminds them, that the gifts bestowed on individuals are intended, not to be held for
their personal and separate interests, but to be employed for the benefit of the
whole. Of the offices which are here enumerated, we have already spoken at
considerable length, (143) and shall now say nothing more than the exposition of the
passage seems to demand. Five classes of office-bearers are mentioned, though on
this point, I am aware, there is a diversity of opinion; for some consider the two last
to make but one office. Leaving out of view the opinions of others, I shall proceed to
state my own.
I take the word apostles not in that general sense which the derivation of the term
might warrant, but in its own peculiar signification, for those highly favored
persons whom Christ exalted to the highest honor. Such were the twelve, to whose
number Paul was afterwards added. Their office was to spread the doctrine of the
gospel throughout the whole world, to plant churches, and to erect the kingdom of
Christ. They had not churches of their own committed to them; but the injunction
given to all of them was, to preach the gospel wherever they went.
ext to them come the Evangelists, who were closely allied in the nature of their
office, but held an inferior rank. To this class belonged Timothy and others; for,
while Paul mentions them along with himself in the salutations of his epistles, he

144. does not speak of them as his companions in the apostleship, but claims this name as
peculiarly his own. The services in which the Lord employed them were auxiliary to
those of the apostles, to whom they were next in rank.
To these two classes the apostle adds Prophets. By this name some understand those
persons who possessed the gift of predicting future events, among whom was
Agabus. (Act_11:28.) But, for my own part, as doctrine is the present subject, I
would rather define the word prophets, as on a former occasion, (144) to mean
distinguished interpreters of prophecies, who, by a remarkable gift of revelation,
applied them to the subjects which they had occasion to handle; not excluding,
however, the gift of prophecy, by which their doctrinal instruction was usually
accompanied.
Pastors and Teachers are supposed by some to denote one office, because the apostle
does not, as in the other parts of the verse, say, and some, pastors; and some,
teachers; but , τοὺς δὲ ποιµένας καὶ διδασκάλους and some, pastors and teachers
Chrysostom and Augustine are of this opinion; not to mention the commentaries of
Ambrose, whose observations on the subject are truly childish and unworthy of
himself. I partly agree with them, that Paul speaks indiscriminately of pastors and
teachers as belonging to one and the same class, and that the name teacher does, to
some extent, apply to all pastors. But this does not appear to me a sufficient reason
why two offices, which I find to differ from each other, should be confounded.
Teaching is, no doubt, the duty of all pastors; but to maintain sound doctrine
requires a talent for interpreting Scripture, and a man may be a teacher who is not
qualified to preach.
Pastors, in my opinion, are those who have the charge of a particular flock; though I
have no objection to their receiving the name of teachers, if it be understood that
there is a distinct class of teachers, who preside both in the education of pastors and
in the instruction of the whole church. It may sometimes happen, that the same
person is both a pastor and a teacher, but the duties to be performed are entirely
different.
It deserves attention, also, that, of the five offices which are here enumerated, not
more than the last two are intended to be perpetual. Apostles, Evangelists, and
Prophets were bestowed on the church for a limited time only, — except in those
cases where religion has fallen into decay, and evangelists are raised up in an
extraordinary manner, to restore the pure doctrine which had been lost. But
without Pastors and Teachers there can be no government of the church.
Papists have some reason to complain, that their primacy, of which they boast so
much, is openly insulted in this passage. The subject of discussion is the unity of the
church. Paul inquires into the means by which its continuance is secured, and the
outward expressions by which it is promoted, and comes at length to the
government of the church. If he knew a primacy which had a fixed residence, was it
not his duty, for the benefit of the whole church, to exhibit one ministerial head
placed over all the members, under whose government we are collected into one

145. body? We must either charge Paul with inexcusable neglect and foolishness, in
leaving out the most appropriate and powerful argument, or we must acknowledge
that this primacy is at variance with the appointment of Christ. In truth, he plainly
rejects it as without foundation, when he ascribes superiority to Christ alone, and
represents the apostles, and all the pastors, as indeed inferior to Him, but associated
on an equal level with each other. There is no passage of Scripture by which that
tyrannical hierarchy, regulated by one earthly head, is more completely overturned.
Paul has been followed by Cyprian, who gives a short and clear definition of what
forms the only lawful monarchy in the church. There is, he says, one bishoprick,
which unites the various parts into one whole. This bishoprick he claims for Christ
alone, leaving the administration of it to individuals, but in a united capacity, no one
being permitted to exalt himself above others.
SIMEO ,"THE USE OF A STATED MI ISTRY
Eph_4:11-16. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head,
even Christ; from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that
which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of
every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
IT is a truth never to be forgotten, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the fountain of life,
and that “all our fresh springs are in him,” Unless this be borne in mind, we shall
never be able to do the will of God aright; nor will Christ ever be glorified by us as
he ought to be. Hence the Apostle, after exhorting the Ephesian converts to walk
worthy the vocation wherewith they had been called, reminds them, that, so far as
they had been enabled to do this, they had done it through grace received from the
Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to the predictions concerning him, had ascended
up to heaven, and bestowed it upon them. One particular prediction to this effect he
specifies; and then, commenting upon it, declares, that Jesus, having triumphed
over all his enemies, had, after the manner of conquerors, who scattered gifts and
largesses amongst their followers, conferred these and other blessings upon them.
Of the other blessings he had bestowed upon his Church, the Apostle mentions some
which were extraordinary and temporary, as apostles, prophets, and evangelists;
and some which were ordinary and permanent, as pastors and teachers, whose
office was to be continued for the benefit of the Church in all succeeding
generations.
What the particular benefits were which the Church was to derive from these
pastors and teachers, he then proceeds to notice, and sets them forth under a variety

146. of most beautiful and instructive images. That we may enter more fully into the
subject, we shall endeavour to shew,
I. The ends for which a stated ministry was ordained—
These were,
1. The perpetuating of a succession of duly qualified instructors in the Church—
[This seems to be the import of those words which first occur in our text, and which
might perhaps have been more properly translated, “For the fitting of holy men for
the work of the ministry for the edification of the body of Christ.” Amongst the
Jews, especial care was taken that the knowledge of the true God should be
transmitted to the latest generations: as David says; “God established a testimony in
Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they
should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know
them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to
their children [ ote: Psa_78:5-6.].” So under the Christian dispensation, care is
taken, that there never shall be wanting a, succession of persons duly qualified and
authorized to transmit to every succeeding generation the knowledge of Christ, and
of his Gospel. St. Paul says to Timothy, “The things which thou hast heard of me
among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to
teach others also [ ote: 2Ti_2:2.].” Were the ministerial office to cease, the Church
itself would soon fall into decay: for though it is certain that the Scriptures are of
themselves, when applied by the Holy Spirit to the soul, able to make men wise unto
salvation, it is also certain, that the ministry of the word is, and ever has been, the
chief instrument which God makes use of for the conversion of the world. A vision
was given to Cornelius, and an angel sent to inform him where he might find an
authorized instructor; and repeated visions were given to Peter, and not only given,
but explained to him by the Holy Ghost, in order to remove his scruples, and prevail
upon him to go to Cornelius, for the express purpose of honouring God’s instituted
means of communicating the knowledge of his Gospel. For the very same end was
Philip directed, by the Holy Ghost, to go to the Ethiopian eunuch, and to open to
him the portion of Scripture which he was reading. The Spirit might as easily have
opened the eyes of the eunuch, without the intervention of Philip: but he chose to
put the honour on the means which he had instituted; and to effect that by his
minister, which he would not effect by the word alone.
In all ages shall such ministers be raised up, through the operation of the preached
word; nor shall the Church cease to be supplied with them, till there shall remain no
more members to be added to her, nor any further work to be wrought in those of
which she is composed.]
2. The edification of the Church itself—
[The Church of Christ is his body: those who believe in him are his members: and
every member has a measure of growth which it is destined to attain: and it is the

147. completeness of the members in number and proficiency, that constitutes the
perfection of the whole body. Towards this perfection the Church is gradually
advancing. To help forward this good work is the office of God’s servants, who are
continually labouring for the good of the Church, and striving to edify her in faith
and love. The ignorant they are to instruct; the weak they are to strengthen and
establish; the wandering they are to bring back; and over every member are they so
to watch, that all may be progressively fitted for the discharge of their respective
offices, and that God may be glorified in all.]
But as the ministry can be effectual only through the medium of our own exertions,
it will be proper to shew,
II. The use we should make of it—
It finds us sinners: it brings us to the state of saints: and when formed by it into one
great community, it leads us to a performance of the duties we owe to all the
members of that body. In each of these states we have duties to perform—
1. As sinners, we should seek that faith which alone will save us—
[There is but “one faith;” and one “knowledge of the Son of God,” in which we must
be all agreed. In matters of minor importance we may differ from each other: but
“the Head we must all hold:” we must simply look to the Lord Jesus Christ, as dying
for us, and as making reconciliation for us by the blood of his cross; our hope must
be in him, and in him alone: and, if we place the smallest dependence on any thing
of our own, we can have no part in his salvation. In relation to this matter, there
must be no diversity: perfect “unity” is required: and to bring you to this unity, is
the great scope of our labours. Brethren, consider this; and inquire whether our
ministry has had a proper influence upon you in this respect? Have you been made
to feel yourselves guilty and undone; and have you fled to Christ for refuge, as to the
one hope that is set before you? — — — Have you renounced all dependence
whatever on yourselves; and are you daily looking to him as “made of God unto you
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption?” — — — We say
again, that if our ministry be not effectual to bring you to this, it is not a savour of
life unto you, but a savour of death to your more aggravated condemnation.]
2. As believers, we should seek to “grow up into Christ in all things”—
[Whilst we are yet weak in the faith, we are in constant danger of being turned aside
from the truth of God. Both men and devils will labour incessantly to draw us from
the one foundation of a sinner’s hope. But we are to be “growing in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” We are not to continue “as
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine:” we are
to be aware of the devices of our enemies: we are to get a deeper insight into the
great mystery of godliness: we are to become daily more and more established in the
truth as it is in Jesus, so as to be proof against all “the sleight of men, and the
cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” On whatever side we are

148. assaulted, our enemies should find us armed. Are we attacked by the specious
reasonings of false philosophy, or the proud conceits of self-righteous moralists, we
should reject the dogmas both of the one and the other, and “determine to know
nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.” “To him we should cleave with full
purpose of heart,” making daily more and more use of him in all his offices. As our
Priest, we should confide more simply in the atonement he has offered for us, and in
his continual intercession for us at the right hand of God. As our Prophet, we should
rely on him more entirely to instruct us in the knowledge of God’s will, and to guide
us into all truth. As our King, we should look to him to put down all our enemies,
and to bring every thought of our hearts into captivity to his holy will. In a word, we
should live more simply and entirely by faith in him, receiving daily out of his
fulness all that we stand in need of, and improving it all for the glory of his name.
Thus to establish you in Christ, is a further intent of our ministry; even to bring you
to live in the same communion with him, as the members have with the head. You
must feel that you have nothing in yourselves, but all in him: and whatsoever
communications you receive from him, must be employed in executing his will, and
in promoting his glory.]
3. As members of Christ’s mystical body, we should seek to promote the welfare
of the whole—
[In the natural body, all the members consult and act for the good of the whole: no
one possesses any thing for itself only; but all being compacted together by joints
and ligaments, and every joint, from the largest to the smallest, supplying a measure
of unctuous and nutritious matter, each according to its ability, for the benefit of the
member that is in contact with it, and for the good of the whole body, all grow
together; and that from infancy to youth, from youth to manhood, till the whole has
attained that measure of perfection which God has designed for it. Thus it must be
in the mystical body of Christ’s Church. Believers are no more independent of each
other, than they are of Christ: as they are united unto him by faith, so are they to be
united to each other by love. one are to consider any thing which they possess as
private property, but as a trust to be improved for the good of the whole. or are
they to consider only that part of the body with which they are in more immediate
contact, but the whole without exception; assured, that the happiness of the whole is
bound up in the welfare of every part; and that all being connected by one common
interest, all must labour together for one common end.
When this is attained, the intent of our ministry is fully answered. A life of faith,
and a life of love, is that for which God has begotten us by his Gospel — — — But
let me ask, Is this end answered upon us? Do we regard the whole Church of God,
as well that part which is more remote, as that which is nearer to us, as members of
our own body, entitled to all possible care and love? O that it were thus in every
place under heaven! O that there were no schisms in this sacred body! But let there
be no want of effort, on our part, to advance the temporal and spiritual welfare of
all around us: let there be “an effectual working in the measure of every part, that
so the body may be increased, and the whole be edified in love [ ote: This may be

149. easily improved for any subject connected with the ministry.].”]
BI, "And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and
some, pastors and teachers.
The Christian ministry
I. From this passage we learn, that the institution of the Christian ministry--the
appointment of pastors and teachers--is from God, is of Divine authority. The object
which the Christian ministry is designed to effect is the conviction and conversion of
sinners, and the edification and consolation of saints; but these are effects which no
human, and, indeed, no created, power is able to produce. The office of the
Christian ministry--that is, the institution of a separate order of men to attend, more
peculiarly, to the religious instruction of others--is admirably adapted in its own
nature as a means to effect the object intended, and its adaptation is evident even to
the eye of human wisdom; but it was not devised by human wisdom, and it must not
be judged of, or regarded, solely from its extrinsic fitness.
II. Since, then, the text informs us, in the first place, that the appointment of pastors
and teachers is a Divine institution, intended to be instrumental in accomplishing
certain objects, and of course deriving all its efficacy from the blessing of Him who
appointed it, we shall now consider what objects it was designed to effect. For what
purpose did God give pastors and teachers? It was “for the perfecting of the saints,
for the edification of the Body of Christ.” The “perfecting of the saints” may here
mean the completion of their number. It may also mean, making them perfect in
holiness. We are further informed by the apostle, that God “gave pastors and
teachers for the edifying of the Body of Christ.” “The Body of Christ” is an
expression often used in Scripture to denote the Church of Christ. And the great
object of this figurative mode of speaking is to represent the absolute dependence of
believers upon their great living Head at all times for nourishment and strength,
and, indeed, for existence or vitality, as well as the close and intimate connection
that subsists between the Head and all the members--that is, between Christ and His
people--and between the members with each other. The word “edify” properly
means to build; and it is taken from another figurative idea, sometimes given us in
Scripture, of the Church of Christ, or of true Christians in their connection with
and dependence upon Christ, namely, that of a building or temple, of which Christ
is the foundation, and in which all His people are represented as stones. And in this
work of edification or sanctification, pastors and teachers whom God has appointed
are master builders, whose great duty and privilege it is to be employed as
instruments in edifying the Body of Christ--in building up the saints in their most

150. holy faith--in carrying on the great work of which our Saviour laid the foundation
while He lived upon the earth--in not only bringing men to the knowledge and belief
of the truth, but also in leading them to walk in the paths of holiness--to walk in
harmony and in love--and to contribute to one another’s spiritual progress.
III. We would now consider the statement which the text contains of the more
comprehensive and ultimate objects for which the Christian ministry was instituted,
and which the labours of pastors and teachers are intended to serve, namely, that
Christians may grow up in “all things unto Him who is the Head--that they may all
come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man--unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” And here we
would notice the description the apostle gives of the direct objects and effects of the
labours of pastors and teachers, namely, that Christians “speak the truth in love.”
“Speaking the truth” is contrasted with being tossed to and fro like children, or
carried about with every wind of doctrine; and as the appointment of pastors and
teachers, with their regular and faithful ministrations, are intended by God to
preserve the Church, or Body of Christ, from the latter of these, so they are also
fitted to produce and secure the former. “To speak the truth” means here to hold
and to maintain sound and correct views of Christian doctrine--of the great
principles of the oracles of God. And this is an acquisition of great importance, lying
at the very foundation of all true religion, which is built upon right views of the
Divine character, and of the Divine plans and purposes with regard to the human
race. But, besides this, it is also necessary that men “speak the truth in love”--that is,
that their assertion and maintenance of the truth, even against its opposers, should
never lead them into any violation of the great law of Christian charity and love. ot
that either ministers or private Christians are bound to speak or to think more
favourably of opposers of the truth than the fair and impartial examination of their
conduct may seem to warrant and to require. But when our opinion is really and
sincerely fair and impartial, it is no objection to it that it is unfavourable; for that
must just depend upon the grounds and merits of the case. Our opinions upon all
points should be exactly conformable to truth--to the intrinsic merits of the subject;
but the expression of these opinions, and the conduct which they may lead us to
adopt, should be at all times regulated by love. The great terminating object of the
Christian ministry--and indeed of all God’s dealings with His people--is stated by
the apostle in the eighteenth verse--“that we may all come in”--or rather into--“the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God--unto a perfect man--unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” This describes the state of the
Church in its collective capacity--when the objects of the Christian ministry, and
indeed of all other means of grace, shall have been accomplished. At present, there is
nothing like complete unity of faith and knowledge. There is reason, however, to
think that times are in reserve for the Church, even upon earth, when these evils
shall be greatly lessened, if not altogether removed--when the Church shall indeed
resemble a great and a holy Society, founded upon one rock, and that rock Christ:--
devoted to the one great purpose of manifesting the glory and making known the
manifold wisdom of God. But whatever degree of harmony and purity the Church

151. of Christ shall attain upon earth, when God shall pour out His Spirit upon all flesh,
and introduce the glory of the latter days, certain it is that there will be a time when
all His people shall come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, when there shall be nothing whatever to hurt or to offend, when His people
shall be all righteous--freed from everything that may pervert either the judgment
or the conduct--made perfect in holiness, and altogether restored to the lost image of
their great Creator and their living Head. (W. Cunningham, D. D.)
Ministers in the Church appointed by Christ
I. A remarkable instance of our exalted Lord’s liberty to His Church in bestowing
divers gifts upon her.
1. The gifts.
2. The Giver.
3. The act of donation.
4. The time to which it relates.
II. The end or design of this gift.
1. In respect of the saints, these who are in Christ already, the ministry is to perfect
them, ðñï̀ò ôï̀í êáôáñôéóìï̀í . The word signifies the restoring and setting dislocated
members again in their proper place. It signifies also, the perfecting and establishing
them in the restored state. So the Corinthians, who by their factions and divisions
were rent asunder, and as a disjointed body, are exhorted to be êáôçñôéóìǻíïé ,
perfectly joined together, as a joint well knit (1Co_1:10). The saints being, by reason
of remaining corruption, so ready to turn aside both from Christ the Head, and
from their brethren fellow members. God gave ministers to be spiritual surgeons to
set them right again, and to fix them in nearer union to Christ by faith, and to their
brethren in love.
2. In regard of themselves, for the work of the ministry. It is for work that they are
appointed. This work, for the kind of it, is äéáêïíé́á , a ministry or service, the first
excluding idleness, the second excluding a lordly dominion.
3. In respect of the Body of Christ; it is to edify, viz., the mystical Body of Christ. (T.
Boston, D. D.)

152. Service the purpose of the Church
The text is clouded by a wrong punctuation. If a single comma be dropped, so as to
make the text read, “He gave some, pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the
saints for the work of ministering,” it will clearly express what some expositors
believe is its meaning, and be in harmony with what is taught elsewhere in the ew
Testament as to the duty which is owed by the Church to the world. “The saints”
have a ministry if “the Body of Christ” is to be “edified.” The Church is not to be as
a lake without any outlet--a mere glass in which the sky is reflected--but a reservoir
that yields what it receives for the health of mankind. Every member has something
to do. Every Christian is to be a channel of blessing to others, “even as the Son of
Man came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom
for many.”
I. In the development of this theme let us consider, first, the disparity in
circumstance and condition between ourselves and the vast multitude of our fellow
men; the contrast between our and their moral experience. If there be anything
approaching the truth in our oft-repeated confessions, we have entered, through
Christ, upon an ample inheritance of privilege and honour and power. Our sins are
forgiven; a new life has been given us; we live in God’s fellowship. “All things are
yours,” says the apostle, “whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life,
or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours.” And what deed ever
conveyed riches like these? “Why am I, honest and industrious, harassed and
tormented, while dishonesty thrives, and has the world, cap in hand, at its feet?
Where is the evidence of the love, or the wisdom, you preach? Where even is justice?
It is a bad world; and the best thought about life is, that it will soon come to an
end.”
II. This brings us, second, to the principle which is expressed in the text, and on
which alone these inequalities can be justified. Every variety implies in some sense
superiority or inferiority. But who would wish for a mere uniformity, which would
be the destruction of all that is interesting, of all that is beautiful, of all emulation, of
all excellence? Who cannot see that to receive from one another and to impart to
each other what we mutually lack, is a far better thing than to be born to an exact
equality of advantages? Variety is essential to the proper development of society;
and whilst God alone can explain why the obvious advantage is with one man, or
with one class instead of another, still He takes from it all that is invidious by
associating with privilege the responsibility of service. Turn, for illustration of this,
to the account of the calling of Abraham. He was chosen out of the ranks of his
countrymen, and out of the world of his day, for special enlightenment; to hear a
Divine voice that was unheard by all others, and to realize a communion more

153. elevated and purer than theirs. And why? Did it denote that he monopolized the
Divine favour? that those who were left in the dark had no part in the thoughts and
the purposes of Jehovah? On the contrary, he was elected for their sakes; in him,
who was thus favoured and quickened, all the nations of the earth were to be
blessed. And this is always the end which God has in view in the appointment of any
to superior possession and privilege. Their endowment is to bring good to the many.
Every great movement in social or political life may be traced to some individual, or
to some company of men, who have been privileged to originate the high enterprise.
The diffusion of truth is not by the equal instruction of all men at the same moment,
but by circles and schools who have found out the truth, and through whom it
spreads out until it becomes the possession of all. The preference is shown to the few
in the interest of the many. And it is the same in respect of the Church. Those in its
fellowship are to serve; for it exists not for itself, but for man, for humanity at large;
because man is comprehended in the great love of the Father and in the scope of the
redemption which Christ came to accomplish. (Chas. De Witt Boardman, D. D.)
The Divine choice of ministers
For if no prince will send a mechanic from his loom or his shears in an honourable
embassage to some other foreign prince, shall we think that the Lord will send forth
stupid and unprepared instruments about so great a work as the perfecting of the
saints and perpetual dishonour of that wicked king Jeroboam, who made no other
use of any religion but as a secondary bye thing, to be the supplement of policy, that
“he made of the lowest of the people” those who were really such as the apostles
were falsely esteemed to be, the “scum and offscouring of men,” to be the priests
unto the Lord. (Bishop Reynolds.)
Pastors needed
In the church of San Zeno, at Verona, I saw the statue of that saint in a sitting
posture, and the artist has given him knees so short that he has no lap whatever; so
that he could not have been a nursing father. I fear there are many others who
labour under a similar disability: they cannot bring their minds to enter heartily
into the pastoral care. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Charles Kingsley as a pastor
On one occasion Kingsley was visiting a sick man suffering from fever. “The
atmosphere of the ground floor bedroom was horrible, but before the rector said a
word he ran upstairs, and, to the great astonishment of the people of the cottage,
bored with a large auger he had brought with him several holes above the bed’s

154. head for ventilation. And when diphtheria, then a new disease in England, made its
appearance at Eversley, he might have been seen running in and out of the cottages
with great bottles of gargle under his arm, and teaching the people to gargle their
throats as a preventive.” (Life of Charles Kingsley.)
A good pastor
Father Taylor said of a certain member of his flock who kept continually falling
back into drunken ways, “He is an expensive machine; I have to keep mending him
all the time; but I will never give him up.” (C. A. Barrel, D. D.)
Careless pastors
St. Francis, reflecting on a story he heard of a mountaineer in the Alps who had
risked his life to save a sheep, says, “O God, if such was the earnestness of this
shepherd in seeking for a mean animal, which had probably been frozen on the
glacier, how is it that I am so indifferent in seeking my sheep?” (W. Baxendale.)
BARCLAY 11-13, "THE OFFICE-BEARERS OF THE CHURCH
Eph. 4:11-13
And he gave to the Church some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as
evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. This he did that God's consecrated
people should be fully equipped, that the work of service might go on, and that the
body of Christ should be built up. And this is to go on until we all arrive at complete
unity in faith in and knowledge of God. until we reach perfect manhood, until we
reach a stature which can be measured by the fullness of Christ.
There is a special interest in this passage because it gives us a picture of the
organization and the administration of the early Church. In the early Church there
were three kinds of office-bearers. There were a few whose writ and authority ran
throughout the whole Church. There were many whose ministry was not confined to
one place but who carried out a wandering ministry, going wherever the Spirit
moved them. There were some whose ministry was a local ministry confined to the
one congregation and the one place.
(i) The apostles were those whose authority ran throughout the whole Church. The
apostles included more than the Twelve. Barnabas was an apostle (Ac.14:4,
Ac.14:14). James, the brother of our Lord, was an apostle (1Cor.15:7; Gal. 1:19).
Silvanus was an apostle (1Th.2:6). Andronicus and Junias were apostles (Rom.16:7).
For an apostle there were two great qualifications. First, he must have seen Jesus.
When Paul is claiming his own rights in face of the opposition of Corinth, he
demands: "Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?" (1Cor.9:1).
Second, an apostle had to be a witness of the Resurrection and of the Risen Lord.
When the eleven met to elect a successor to Judas the traitor, he had to be one who

155. had companied with them throughout the earthly life of Jesus and a witness of the
Resurrection (Ac.1:21-22).
In a sense the apostles were bound to die out, because before so very long those who
had actually seen Jesus and who had actually witnessed the Resurrection, would
pass from this world. But, in another and still greater sense, the qualification
remains. He who would teach Christ must know Christ; and he who would bring
the power of Christ to others must have experienced Christ's risen power.
(ii) There were the prophets. The prophets did not so much fore-tell the future as
forth-tell the will of God. In forth-telling the will of God, they necessarily to some
extent fore-told the future, because they announced the consequences which would
follow if men disobeyed that will.
The prophets were wanderers throughout the Church. Their message was held to be
not the result of thought and study but the direct result of the Holy Spirit. They had
no homes and no families and no means of support. They went from church to
church proclaiming the will of God as God had told it to them.
The prophets before long vanished from the Church. There were three reasons why
they did so. (a) In times of persecution the prophets were the first to suffer; They
had no means of concealment and were the first to die for the faith. (b) The prophets
became a problem. As the Church grew local organization developed. Each
congregation began to grow into an organization which had its permanent minister
and its local administration. Before long the settled ministry began to resent the
intrusion of these wandering prophets, who often disturbed their congregations. The
inevitable result was that bit by bit the prophets faded out. (c) The office of prophet
was singularly liable to abuse. These prophetic wanderers had considerable
prestige. Some of them abused their office and made it an excuse for living a very
comfortable life at the expense of the congregations whom they visited. The earliest
book of church administration is the Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,
which dates back to just after A.D. 100. In it both the prestige and the suspicion of
the prophets is clearly seen. The order for the sacrament is given and the prayers to
be used are set out; and then comes the instruction that the prophet is to be allowed
to celebrate the sacrament as he will. But there are certain other regulations. It is
laid down that a wandering prophet may stay one or two days with a congregation,
but if he wishes to stay three days he is a false prophet; it is laid down that if any
wandering prophet in a moment of alleged inspiration demands money or a meal, he
is a false prophet.
(iii) There were the evangelists. The evangelists, too, were wanderers. They
corresponded to what we would call missionaries. Paul writes to Timothy, "Do the
work of an evangelist" (2Tim.4:5). They were the bringers of the good news. They
had not the prestige and authority of the apostles who had seen the Lord; they had
not the influence of the Spirit-inspired prophets; they were the rank and file
missionaries of the Church who took the good news to a world which had never
heard it.
(iv) There were the pastors and teachers. It would seem that this double phrase
describes one set of people. In one sense they had the most important task in the
whole Church: They were not wanderers but were settled and permanent in the
work of one congregation. They had a triple function.
(a) They were teachers. In the early Church there were few books. Printing was not

156. to be invented for almost another fourteen hundred years. Every book had to be
written by hand and a book the size of the ew Testament would cost as much as a
whole year's wages for a working man. That meant that the story of Jesus had
mainly to be transmitted by word of mouth. The story of Jesus was told long before
it was written down; and these teachers had the tremendous responsibility of being
the respositories of the gospel story. It was their function to know and to pass on the
story of the life of Jesus.
(b) The people who came into the Church were coming straight from heathenism;
they knew literally nothing about Christianity, except that Jesus Christ had laid
hold upon their hearts. Therefore these teachers had to open out the Christian faith
to them. They had to explain the great doctrines of the Christian faith. It is to them
that we owe it that the Christian faith remained pure and was not distorted as it was
handed down.
(c) These teachers were also pastors. Pastor is the Latin word for a shepherd. At this
time the Christian Church was no more than a little island in a sea of paganism. The
people who came into it were only one remove from their heathen lives; they were in
constant danger of relapsing into heathenism; and the duty of the pastor was to
shepherd his flock and keep them safe.
The word is an ancient and an honourable one. As far back as Homeric times
Agamemnon the king was called the Shepherd of the People. Jesus had called
himself the Good Shepherd (Jn.10:11,14). The writer to the Hebrews called Jesus
the great shepherd of the sheep (Heb.13:20). Peter called Jesus the shepherd of
men's souls (1Pet.2:25). He called him the Chief Shepherd (1Pet.5:4). Jesus had
commanded Peter to tend his sheep (Jn.21:16). Paul had warned the elders of
Ephesus that they must guard the flock whom God had committed to their care
(Ac.20:28). Peter had exhorted the elders to tend the flock of God (1Pet.5:2).
The picture of the shepherd is indelibly written on the ew Testament. He was the
man who cared for the flock and led the sheep into safe places; he was the man who
sought the sheep when they wandered away and, if need be, died to save them. The
shepherd of the flock of God is the man who bears God's people on his heart, who
feeds them with the truth, who seeks them when they stray away, and who defends
them from all that would hurt their faith. And the duty is laid on every Christian
that he should be a shepherd to all his brethren.
THE AIM OF THE OFFICE-BEARER
Eph. 4:11-13 (continued)
After Paul has named the different kinds of office-bearers within the Church, he
goes on to speak of their aim and of what they must try to do.
Their aim is that the members of the Church should be fully equipped. The word
Paul uses for equipped is interesting. It is katartismos (GS 2677), which comes
from the verb katartizein (GS 2675). The word is used in surgery for setting a
broken limb or for putting a joint back into its place. In politics it is used for
bringing together opposing factions so that government can go on. In the ew
Testament it is used of mending nets (Mk.1:19), and of disciplining an offender until
he is fit to take his place again within the fellowship of the Church (Gal. 6:1). The
basic idea of the word is that of putting a thing into the condition in which it ought
to be. It is the function of the office-bearers of the Church to see that the members
of the Church are so educated, so guided, so cared for, so sought out when they go

157. astray, that they become what they ought to be.
Their aim is that the work of service may go on. The word used for service is
diakonia (GS 1248); and the main idea which lies behind this word is that of
practical service. The office-bearer is not to be a man who simply talks on matters of
theology and of Church law; he is in office to see that practical service of God's poor
and lonely people goes on.
Their aim is to see to it that the body of Christ is built up. Always the work of the
office-bearer is construction, not destruction. His aim is never to make trouble, but
always to see that trouble does not rear its head; always to strengthen, and never to
loosen, the fabric of the Church.
The office-bearer has even greater aims. These may be said to be his immediate
aims; but beyond them he has still greater aims.
His aim is that the members of the Church should arrive at perfect unity. He must
never allow parties to form in the Church nor do anything which would cause
differences in it. By precept and example he must seek to draw the members of the
Church into a closer unity every day.
His aim is that the members of the Church should reach perfect manhood. The
Church can never be content that her members should live decent. respectable lives;
her aim must be that they should be examples of perfect Christian manhood and
womanhood.
So Paul ends with an aim without peer. The aim of the Church is that her members
should reach a stature which can be measured by the fullness of Christ. The aim of
the Church is nothing less than to produce men and women who have in them the
reflection of Jesus Christ himself. During the Crimean War Florence ightingale
was passing one night down a hospital ward. She paused to bend over the bed of a
sorely wounded soldier. As she looked down, the wounded lad looked up and said:
"You're Christ to me." A saint has been defined as "someone in whom Christ lives
again." That is what the true Church member ought to be.
12
to prepare God's people for works of service, so
that the body of Christ may be built up

158. BAR ES, "For the perfecting of the saints - On the meaning of the word
rendered here as “perfecting” - καταρτισµᆵν katartismon - see the notes on 2Co_13:9. It
properly refers to “the restoring of anything to its place;” then putting in order, making
complete, etc. Here it means that these various officers were appointed in order that
everything in the church might be well arranged, or put into its proper place; or that the
church might be “complete.” It is that Christians may have every possible advantage for
becoming complete in love, and knowledge, and order.
For the work of the ministry - All these are engaged in the work of the ministry,
though in different departments. Together they constituted the “ministry” by which
Christ meant to establish and edify the church. All these offices had an existence at that
time, and all were proper; though it is clear that they were not all designed to be
permanent. The apostolic office was of course to cease with the death of those who were
“the witnesses” of the life and doctrines of Jesus (compare notes on 1Co_9:1); the office
of “prophets” was to cease with the cessation of inspiration; and in like manner it is
possible that the office of teacher or evangelist might be suspended, as circumstances
might demand. But is it not clear from this that Christ did not appoint “merely” three
orders of clergy to be permanent in the church? Here are “five” orders enumerated, and
in 1Co_12:28, there are “eight” mentioned; and how can it be demonstrated that the
Saviour intended that there should be “three” only, and that they should be permanent?
The presumption is rather that he meant that there should be but one permanent order
of ministers, though the departments of their labor might be varied according to
circumstances, and though there might be helpers, as occasion should demand. In
founding churches among the pagan, and in instructing and governing them there, there
is need of reviving nearly all the offices of teacher, helper, evangelist, etc., which Paul has
enumerated as actually existing in his time.
For the edifying - For building it up; that is, in the knowledge of the truth and in
piety; see the notes on Rom_14:19.
The body of Christ - The Church; see the notes on Eph_1:23.
CLARKE, "For the perfecting of the saints - For the complete instruction,
purification, and union of all who have believed in Christ Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles.
For the meaning of καταρτισµος, perfecting, see the note on 2Co_13:9.
For the work of the ministry - All these various officers, and the gifts and graces
conferred upon them, were judged necessary, by the great Head of the Church, for its full
instruction in the important doctrines of Christianity. The same officers and gifts are still
necessary, and God gives them; but they do not know their places. In most Christian
Churches there appears to be but one office, that of preacher; and one gift, that by which
he professes to preach. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, are all
compounded in the class preachers; and many, to whom God has given nothing but the
gift of exhortation, take texts to explain them; and thus lose their time, and mar their
ministry.
Edifying of the body - The body of Christ is his Church, see Eph_2:20, etc.; and its
edification consists in its thorough instruction in Divine things, and its being filled with
faith and holiness.

159. GILL, "For the perfecting of the saints, The chosen ones, whom God has
sanctified or set apart for himself in eternal election: the ministry of the word is designed
for the completing the number of these in the effectual calling; and for the perfecting of
the whole body of the church, by gathering in all that belong to it, and of every particular
saint, who is regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit of God: for the best of saints are
imperfect; for though there is a perfection in them, as that designs sincerity, in
opposition to hypocrisy, and as it may be taken comparatively with respect to what
others are, or they themselves were; and though there is a perfection of parts of the new
man in them, yet not of degrees; and though there is a complete perfection in Christ, yet
not in themselves, their sanctification is imperfect, as their faith, knowledge, love, &c.
sin is in them, and committed by them, and they continually want supplies of grace; and
the best of them are sensible of their imperfection, and own it: now the ministration of
the word is a means of carrying on the work of grace in them unto perfection, or "for the
restoring or joining in of the saints"; the elect of God were disjointed in Adam's fall, and
scattered abroad, who were representatively gathered together in one head, even in
Christ, in redemption; and the word is the means of the visible and open jointing of
them into Christ, and into his churches, and also of restoring them after backslidings:
for the work of the ministry; gifts are given unto men by Christ to qualify them for
it: the preaching of the Gospel is a work, and a laborious one, and what no man is
sufficient for of himself; it requires faithfulness, and is a good work, and when well
performed, those concerned in it are worthy of respect, esteem, and honour; and it is a
ministering work, a service and not dominion:
for the edifying the body of Christ; not his natural body the Father prepared for
him; nor his sacramental body in the supper; but his mystical body the church; and gifts
are bestowed to fit them for the preaching of the Gospel, that hereby the church, which
is compared to an edifice, might be built up; and that the several societies of Christians
and particular believers might have spiritual edification, and walk in the fear of the Lord,
and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and their numbers be increased, and their graces
be in lively exercise.
HE RY, 12-13, " Which is taken from Christ's great end and design in giving gifts unto
men. The gifts of Christ were intended for the good of his church, and in order to
advance his kingdom and interest among men. All these being designed for one common
end is a good reason why all Christians should agree in brotherly love, and not envy one
another's gifts. All are for the perfecting of the saints (Eph_4:12); that is, according to
the import of the original, to bring into an orderly spiritual state and frame those who
had been as it were dislocated and disjointed by sin, and then to strengthen, confirm,
and advance them therein, that so each, in his proper place and function, might
contribute to the good of the whole. - For the work of the ministry, or for the work of
dispensation; that is, that they might dispense the doctrines of the gospel, and
successfully discharge the several parts of their ministerial function. - For the edifying of
the body of Christ; that is, to build up the church, which is Christ's mystical body, by an
increase of their graces, and an addition of new members. All are designed to prepare us
for heaven: Till we all come, etc., Eph_4:13. The gifts and offices (some of them) which
have been spoken of are to continue in the church till the saints be perfected, which will
not be till they all come in the unity of the faith (till all true believers meet together, by
means of the same precious faith) and of the knowledge of the Son of God, by which we
are to understand, not a bare speculative knowledge, or the acknowledging of Christ to
be the Son of God and the great Mediator, but such as is attended with appropriation

160. and affection, with all due honour, trust, and obedience. - Unto a perfect man, to our full
growth of gifts and graces, free from those childish infirmities that we are subject to in
the present world. - Unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, so as to be
Christians of a full maturity and ripeness in all the graces derived from Christ's fulness:
or, according to the measure of that stature which is to make up the fulness of Christ,
which is to complete his mystical body. Now we shall never come to the perfect man, till
we come to the perfect world. There is a fulness in Christ, and a fulness to be derived
from him; and a certain stature of that fulness, and a measure of that stature, are
assigned in the counsel of God to every believer, and we never come to that measure till
we come to heaven. God's children, as long as they are in this world, are growing. Dr
Lightfoot understands the apostle as speaking here of Jews and Gentiles knit in the unity
of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, so making a perfect man, and the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. The apostle further shows, in the
following verses, what was God's design in his sacred institutions, and what effect they
ought to have upon us.
JAMISO , "For — with a view to; the ultimate aim. “Unto.”
perfecting — The Greek implies correcting in all that is deficient, instructing and
completing in number and all parts.
for — a different Greek word; the immediate object. Compare Rom_15:2, “Let every
one ... please his neighbor for his good unto edification.”
the ministry — Greek, “ministration”; without the article. The office of the ministry
is stated in this verse. The good aimed at in respect to the Church (Eph_4:13). The way
of growth (Eph_4:14-16).
edifying — that is, building up as the temple of the Holy Ghost.
RWP, "For the perfecting (pros ton katartismon). Late and rare word (in Galen in
medical sense, in papyri for house-furnishing), only here in N.T., though katartisis in
2Co_13:9, both from katartizō, to mend (Mat_4:21; Gal_6:1). “For the mending (repair)
of the saints.”
Unto the building up (eis oikodomēn). See note on Eph_2:21. This is the ultimate
goal in all these varied gifts, “building up.”
CALVI , "12.For the renewing of the saints. In this version I follow Erasmus, not
because I prefer his view, but to allow the reader an opportunity of comparing his
version with the Vulgate and with mine, and then choosing for himself. The old
translation was, (ad consummationem ) for the completeness. The Greek word
employed by Paul is καταρτισµός which signifies literally the adaptation of things
possessing symmetry and proportion; just as, in the human body, the members are
united in a proper and regular manner; so that the word comes to signify perfection.
But as Paul intended to express here a just and orderly arrangement, I prefer the
word (constitutio ) settlement or constitution, taking it in that sense in which a
commonwealth, or kingdom, or province, is said to be settled, when confusion gives
place to the regular administration of law.

161. For the work of the ministry. God might himself have performed this work, if he
had chosen; but he has committed it to theministry of men. This is intended to
anticipate an objection. “ the church be constituted and properly arranged, without
the instrumentality of men?” Paul asserts that a ministry is required, because such
is the will of God.
For the edifying of the body of Christ. This is the same thing with what he had
formerly denominated the settlement orperfecting of the saints. Our true
completeness and perfection consist in our being united in the one body of Christ.
o language more highly commendatory of the ministry of the word could have
been employed, than to ascribe to it this effect. What is more excellent than to
produce the true and complete perfection of the church? And yet this work, so
admirable and divine, is here declared by the apostle to be accomplished by the
external ministry of the word. That those who neglect this instrument should hope
to become perfect in Christ is utter madness. Yet such are the fanatics, on the one
hand, who pretend to be favored with secret revelations of the Spirit, — and proud
men, on the other, who imagine that to them the private reading of the Scriptures is
enough, and that they have no need of the ordinary ministry of the church.
If the edification of the church proceeds from Christ alone, he has surely a right to
prescribe in what manner it shall be edified. But Paul expressly states, that,
according to the command of Christ, no real union or perfection is attained, but by
the outward preaching. We must allow ourselves to be ruled and taught by men.
This is the universal rule, which extends equally to the highest and to the lowest.
The church is the common mother of all the godly, which bears, nourishes, and
brings up children to God, kings and peasants alike; and this is done by the
ministry. Those who neglect or despise this order choose to be wiser than Christ.
Woe to the pride of such men! It is, no doubt, a thing in itself possible that divine
influence alone should make us perfect without human assistance. But the present
inquiry is not what the power of God can accomplish, but what is the will of God
and the appointment of Christ. In employing human instruments for accomplishing
their salvation, God has conferred on men no ordinary favor. or can any exercise
be found better adapted to promote unity than to gather around the common
doctrine — the standard of our General.
BI,"For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ.
o perfection without pains
“However prodigious may be the gifts of nature to her elect, they can only be
developed and brought to their extreme perfection by labour and study.” Think of
Michael Angelo working for a week without taking off his clothes, and Handel
hollowing out every key of his harpsichord, like a spoon, by incessant practice.

162. Gentlemen, after this, never talk of difficulty Or weariness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The perfecting of believers
The invisible power of Christ, and His visible gifts in the Church, are in cooperation
“for the perfecting of the saints.” An endless variety of ministry is provided for this
end. Every Divine ministry is supplied with its measure of wisdom and of grace,
from the treasury of Christ. Diversities of gifts are necessary to meet a
corresponding diversity in the natures of men. Each disciple is susceptible of a
development peculiar to himself; nor can his perfection be confounded with that of
any other man. The perfection of a primrose is not that of a lily, nor the perfection
of a lily that of a rose. God’s idea of perfection is not to make lilies into fruit trees,
nor fruit trees into cedars. God will have His lily-like children to be perfect as lilies,
and His cedar children to be perfect as cedars, and so on. There will be endless
diversity among men, yet each perfect in his own order. The riches of Divine love
and wisdom, strength and beauty, will be mirrored in the variety. “The perfecting of
the saints” is not only very distinct from their conversion, or first faith in Christ;
but much more important than their comforting. The Divine method of comforting
is by perfecting. To comfort souls, and leave them unrenewed and disqualified for
life in heaven, would be delusive and cruel. To look to Christ as the Beginner of the
new life is absurd, unless we also look to Him as the Finisher. Finishing the life of
faith, and perfecting men, are the same work. “The perfecting of the saints” can
never be promoted by the ministry of a mere evangelist, or preacher of gospel facts.
The hodman is very useful, but not as an architect. A reiterator of common places is
not a teacher. The perfecting of your house must be given to other hands than the
men who dig out the foundation. The grand end of the Christian ministry, as it is
also the end of time, and the end of Christ’s whole work, is to perfect man, or rather
to perfect humanity. (J. Pulsford.)
The edifying of Christ’s body
I. The edifying of Christ’s body consists in enlarging your views of the polluted,
guilty, helpless state of fallen man.
II. Person, work, and relation of Christ to His people.
III. The freedom with which the Scriptures hold Him forth for our salvation.

163. IV. The privileges of believers.
V. The necessity of, and Scriptural arguments to enforce, an exemplary walk before
God, the Church, the world.
VI. The sovereignty of God in the disposal of His favours.
VII. The grounds of submission to Him.
VIII. In pointing out to them their particular sins. “It is reported commonly that
there is fornication among you,” etc. (1Co_5:1, etc.). Errors. Galatians. In putting
them in mind of their future glory. “Wherefore comfort one another with these
words” (1Th_4:10). (H. Foster, M. A.)
The Christian Church the body of Christ
Observe some points of importance connected with the Church as the body of the
Redeemer.
I. Its visibility.
II. It is a living body.
III. As the body--the Church just exhibit Christ’s mind and character.
The body of flesh Christ had was under the control and hallowed influence of the
Holy Spirit. It was the residence of the Deity. ow just so also His body the Church.
It is to receive celestial influences and impressions from Christ, and then to show

164. them forth.
1. Was Christ meek and lowly? So must be His Church.
2. Spiritual and holy? So must be His Church.
3. Self-denying and forbearing? So must be His Church.
4. Devoted and obedient? So must be His Church.
5. Compassionate and merciful? So must be His Church.
The mind, and spirit, and life of Christ, must be reflected by the Church, the body
of Christ.
IV. As the body of Christ, it must carry out the purposes and will of Christ.
1. The Church must be a teaching holy.
2. The Church must be a sympathizing body.
3. The Church must be an active body.
4. The Church must be a liberal and benevolent body.
5. It must be a heavenly body.
It is of heavenly formation. He had heaven in His spirit, and words and life, so must
the Church His body. (J. Burns, D. D.)
The Church Christ’s body
I. The Church is called Christ’s body.
1. All the senses are in the head for the guidance and protection of the body (Eph_
1:22; Col_1:19; Joh_1:16; 1Co_1:30).
2. The variety and respective usefulness of the members in it (1Co_12:15, etc.).
3. The infirmities to which the various members are liable.

165. 4. The concern of one member for another (1Co_12:26).
5. Its continual increase, etc. (Eph_4:12-13; Eph_4:16).
6. Christ, as its Head, has the preeminence, etc. (Col_1:18).
7. Without it, Christ would not be complete (Eph_1:23; Heb_2:13).
II. The edifying of the body in ministry of the word, consists--
1. In enlarging their views of gospel truths, in their importance, connection, and use.
2. In pointing out to them their sins and errors. “it is reported commonly that there
is fornication among you,” etc. (1Co_5:1, etc.). Galatians.
3. In getting before them their duty in their various connections in life. (H. Foster,
M. A.)
13
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of
Christ.
BAR ES, "Till we all come - Until all Christians arrive at a state of complete unity,
and to entire perfection.
In the unity of the faith - Margin, into. The meaning is, until we all hold the same
truths, and have the same confidence in the Son of God; see the notes on Joh_17:21-23.
And of the knowledge of the Son of God - That they might attain to the satire
practical acquaintance with the Son of God, and might thus come to the maturity of

166. Christian piety; see the notes on Eph_3:19.
Unto a perfect man - Unto a complete man. This figure is obvious. The apostle
compares their condition then to a state of childhood. The perfect man here refers to the
man “grown up,” the man of mature life. He says that Christ had appointed pastors and
teachers that the infant church might be conducted to “maturity;” or become strong -
like a man. He does not refer to the doctrine of “sinless perfection” - but to the state of
manhood as compared with that of childhood - a state of strength, vigor, wisdom, when
the full growth should be attained; see 1Co_14:20.
Unto the measure of the stature - Margin, or age. The word “stature” expresses
the idea. It refers to the growth of a man. The stature to be attained to was that of Christ.
He was the standard - not in size, not in age - but in moral character. The measure to be
reached was Christ; or we are to grow until we become like him.
Of the fulness of Christ - see the notes on Eph_1:23. The phrase “the measure of
the fulness,” means, probably, the “full measure” - by a form of construction that is
common in the Hebrew writings, where two nouns are so used that one is to be rendered
as an adjective - “as trees of greatness” - meaning great trees. Here it means, that they
should so advance in piety and knowledge as to become wholly like him.
CLARKE, "In the unity of the faith - Jews and Gentiles being all converted
according to the doctrines laid down in the faith - the Christian system.
The knowledge of the Son of God - A trite understanding of the mystery of the
incarnation; why God was manifest in the flesh, and why this was necessary in order to
human salvation.
Unto a perfect man - Εις ανδρα τελειον· One thoroughly instructed; the whole body
of the Church being fully taught, justified, sanctified, and sealed.
Measure of the stature - The full measure of knowledge, love, and holiness, which
the Gospel of Christ requires. Many preachers, and multitudes of professing people, are
studious to find out how many imperfections and infidelities, and how much inward
sinfulness, is consistent with a safe state in religion but how few, very few, are bringing
out the fair Gospel standard to try the height of the members of the Church; whether
they be fit for the heavenly army; whether their stature be such as qualifies them for the
ranks of the Church militant! The measure of the stature of the fullness is seldom seen;
the measure of the stature of littleness, dwarfishness, and emptiness, is often exhibited.
GILL, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith,.... These words regard the
continuance of the Gospel ministry in the church, until all the elect of God come in: or
"to the unity of the faith"; by which is meant, not the union between the saints, the
cement of which is love; nor that which is between Christ and his people, of which his
love, and not their faith, is the bond; but the same with the "one faith", Eph_4:5 and
designs either the doctrine of faith, which is uniform, and all of a piece; and the sense is,
that the ministration of the Gospel will continue until the saints entirely unite in their
sentiments about it, and both watchmen and churches see eye to eye: or else the grace of
faith, which as to its nature, object, author, spring, and cause, is the same; and it usually
comes by hearing; and all God's elect shall have it; and the work and office of the
ministry will remain until they are all brought to believe in Christ;

167. and of the knowledge of the Son of God; which is but another phrase for faith in
Christ, for faith is a spiritual knowledge of Christ; it is that grace by which a soul beholds
his glory and fulness, approves of him, trusts in him, and appropriates him to itself; and
such an approbatory, fiducial, appropriating, practical, and experimental knowledge of
Christ, is here intended; and which is imperfect in those that have it, and is not yet in
many who will have it; and inasmuch as the Gospel ministry is the means of it, this will
be continued until every elect soul partakes of it, and arrives to a greater perfection in it:
for it follows,
unto a perfect man; meaning either Christ, who is in every sense a perfect man; his
human nature is the greater and more perfect tabernacle, and he is perfectly free from
sin, and has been made perfect through sufferings in it; and coming to him may be
understood either of coming to him now by faith, which the Gospel ministry is the
means of, and encourages to; or of coming to him hereafter, for the saints will meet him,
and be ever with him, and till that time the Gospel will be preached: or else the church,
being a complete body with all its members, is designed; for when all the elect of God are
gathered in and joined together, they will be as one man; or it may respect every
individual believer, who though he is comparatively perfect, and with regard to parts,
but not degrees, and as in Christ Jesus, yet is in himself imperfect in holiness and
knowledge, though hereafter he will be perfect in both; when he comes
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: not of Christ's natural
body, but of his mystical body the church, which will be his fulness when all the elect are
gathered in; and when they are filled with his gifts and graces, and are grown up to their
proportion in it, they will be come to the measure and stature of it: or it may be
understood of every particular believer, who has Christ formed in him; who when the
work of grace is finished in him, will be a perfect man in Christ, and all this will be true
of him; till which time, and during this imperfect state, the Gospel ministry will be
maintained: the phrase is taken from the Jews, who among the forms and degrees of
prophecy which the prophets arrived to, and had in them the vision of God and angels,
make ‫קומה‬ ‫,שעור‬ "the measure of the stature" (z), a principal one; and is here used for the
perfection of the heavenly state in the vision, and enjoyment of God and Christ.
JAMISO , "come in — rather, “attain unto.” Alford expresses the Greek order,
“Until we arrive all of us at the unity,” etc.
faith and ... knowledge — Full unity of faith is then found, when all alike
thoroughly know Christ, the object of faith, and that in His highest dignity as “the Son of
God” [De Wette] (Eph_3:17, Eph_3:19; 2Pe_1:5). Not even Paul counted himself to have
fully “attained” (Phi_3:12-14). Amidst the variety of the gifts and the multitude of the
Church’s members, its “faith” is to be ONE: as contrasted with the state of “children
carried about with EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE.” (Eph_4:14).
perfect man — unto the full-grown man (1Co_2:6; Phi_3:15; Heb_5:14); the
maturity of an adult; contrasted with children (Eph_4:14). Not “perfect men”; for the
many members constitute but one Church joined to the one Christ.
stature, etc. — The standard of spiritual “stature” is “the fullness of Christ,” that is,
which Christ has (Eph_1:23; Eph_3:19; compare Gal_4:19); that the body should be
worthy of the Head, the perfect Christ.

168. RWP,"Till we all attain (mechri katantēsōmen hoi pantes). Temporal clause with
purpose idea with mechri and the first aorist active subjunctive of katantaō, late verb, to
come down to the goal (Phi_3:11). “The whole” including every individual. Hence the
need of so many gifts.
Unto the unity of the faith (eis tēn henotēta tēs pisteōs). “Unto oneness of faith” (of
trust) in Christ (Eph_4:3) which the Gnostics were disturbing.
And of the knowledge of the Son of God (kai tēs epignōseōs tou huiou tou theou).
Three genitives in a chain dependent also on tēn henotēta, “the oneness of full (epi)
knowledge of the Son of God,” in opposition to the Gnostic vagaries.
Unto a full-grown man (eis andra teleion). Same figure as in Eph_2:15 and teleios
in sense of adult as opposed to nēpioi (infants) in Eph_4:14.
Unto the measure of the stature (eis metron hēlikias). So apparently hēlikia here
as in Luk_2:52, not age (Joh_9:21). Boys rejoice in gaining the height of a man. But Paul
adds to this idea “the fulness of Christ” (tou plērōmatos tou Christou), like “the fulness of
God” in Eph_3:19. And yet some actually profess to be “perfect” with a standard like this
to measure by! No pastor has finished his work when the sheep fall so far short of the
goal.
CALVI , "13.Till we all come. Paul had already said, that by the ministry of men
the church is regulated and governed, so as to attain the highest perfection. But his
commendation of the ministry is now carried farther. The necessity for which he
had pleaded is not confined to a single day, but continues to the end. Or, to speak
more plainly, he reminds his readers that the use of the ministry is not temporal,
like that of a school for children, ( παιδαγωγία Gal_3:24,) but constant, so long as
we remain in the world. Enthusiasts dream that the use of the ministry ceases as
soon as we have been led to Christ. Proud men, who carry their desire of knowledge
beyond what is proper, look down with contempt on the elementary instruction of
childhood. But Paul maintains that we must persevere in this course till all our
deficiencies are supplied; that we must make progress till death, under the teaching
of Christ alone; and that we must not be ashamed to be the scholars of the church,
to which Christ has committed our education.
In the unity of the faith. But ought not the unity of the faith to reign among us from
the very commencement? It does reign, I acknowledge, among the sons of God, but
not so perfectly as to make them come together. Such is the weakness of our nature,
that it is enough if every day brings some nearer to others, and all nearer to Christ.
The expression, coming together, denotes that closest union to which we still aspire,
and which we shall never reach, until this garment of the flesh, which is always
accompanied by some remains of ignorance and weakness, shall have been laid
aside.
And of the knowledge of the Son of God. This clause appears to be added for the

169. sake of explanation. It was the apostle’ intention to explain what is the nature of
true faith, and in what it consists; that is, when the Son of God is known. To the Son
of God alone faith ought to look; on him it relies; in him it rests and terminates. If it
proceed farther, it will disappear, and will no longer be faith, but a delusion. Let us
remember, that true faith confines its view so entirely to Christ, that it neither
knows, nor desires to know, anything else.
Into a perfect man. This must be read in immediate connection with what goes
before; as if he had said, “ is the highest perfection of Christians? How is that
perfection attained?” Full manhood is found in Christ; for foolish men do not, in a
proper manner, seek their perfection in Christ. It ought to be held as a fixed
principle among us, that all that is out of Christ is hurtful and destructive. Whoever
is a man in Christ, is, in every respect, a perfect man.
The AGE of fullness means — full or mature age. o mention is made of old age, for
in the Christian progress no place for it is found. Whatever becomes old has a
tendency to decay; but the vigor of this spiritual life is continually advancing.
MACLARE ,"THE GOAL OF PROGRESS
Eph_4:13
The thought of the unity of the Church is much in the Apostle’s mind in this epistle.
It is set forth in many places by his two favourite metaphors of the body and the
temple, by the relation of husband and wife and by the family. It is contemplated in
its great historical realisation by the union of Jew and Gentile in one whole. In the
preceding context it is set forth as already existing, but also as lying far-off in the
future. The chapter begins with an earnest exhortation to preserve this unity and
with an exhibition of the oneness which does really exist in body, spirit, hope, lord,
faith, baptism. But the Apostle swiftly passes to the corresponding thought of
diversity. There are varieties in the gifts of the one Spirit; whilst each individual in
the one whole receives his due portion, there are broad differences in spiritual gifts.
These differences do not break the oneness, but they may tend to do so; they are not
causes of separation and do not necessarily interfere with unity, but they may be
made so. Their existence leaves room for brotherly helpfulness, and creates a
necessity for it. The wiser are to teach; the more advanced are to lead; the more
largely gifted are to encourage and stimulate the less richly endowed. Such outward
helps and brotherly impartations of gifts is, on the one hand, a result of the one gift
to the whole body, and is on the other a sign of, because a necessity arising from, the
imperfect degree in which each individual has received of Christ’s fulness; and these
helps of teaching and guidance have for their sole object to make Christian men able
to do without them, and are, as the text tells us, to cease when, and to last till, we all

170. attain to the fulness of Christ. To Paul, then, the manifest unity of the Church was
to be the end of its earthly course, but it also was real, though incomplete, in the
present, and the emphasis of our text is not so much laid on telling us when this
oneness was to be manifested as in showing us in what it consists. We have here a
threefold expression of the true unity, as consisting in a oneness of relation to
Christ, a consequent maturity of manhood and a perfect possession of all which is in
Christ.
I. The true unity is oneness of relation to Christ.
The Revised Version is here to be preferred, and its ‘attain unto’ brings out the idea
which the Authorised Version fails to express, that the text is intended to point to
the period at which Christ’s provision of helpful gifts to the growing Church is to
cease, when the individuals composing it have come to their destined unity and
maturity in Him. The three clauses of our text are each introduced by the same
preposition, and there is no reason why in the second and third it should be
rendered ‘unto’ and in the first should be watered down to ‘in.’
There are then two regions in which this unity is to be realised. These are expressed
by the great words, ‘the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God.’ These
words are open to a misunderstanding, as if they referred to a unity as between faith
and knowledge; but it is obvious to the slightest reflection that what is meant is the
unity of all believers in regard to their faith, and in regard to their knowledge. It is
to be noted that the Apostle has just said that there is one faith, now he points to the
realisation of that oneness as the very end and goal of all discipline and growth. I
suppose that we have to think here of the manifold and sad differences existing in
Christian men, in regard to the depth and constancy and formative power of their
faith. There are some who have it so strong and vigorous that it is a vision rather
than a faith, a trust, deep and firm and settled, to which the present is but the
fleeting shadow, and the unseen the eternal and only reality; but, alas! there are
others in whom the light of faith burns feebly and flickers. or are these differences
the attributes of different men, but the same man varies in the power of his faith,
and we all of us know what it is to have it sometimes dominant over our whole
selves, and sometimes weak and crushed under the weight of earthly passions. To-
day we may be all flame, to-morrow all ice. Our faith may seem to us to be strong
enough to move mountains, and before an hour is past we may find it, by
experience, to be less than a grain of mustard seed. ‘Action and reaction are always
equal and contrary,’ and that law is as true in reference to our present spiritual life
as it is true in regard to physical objects. We have, then, the encouragement of such
a word as that of our text for looking forward to and straining towards the reversal
of these sad alterations in a fixed and continuous faith which should grasp the whole

171. Christ and should always hold Him. There may still be diversities and degrees, but
each should have his measure always full. ‘Thy Sun shall no more go down’; there
will no longer be the contrast between the flashing waters of a flood-tide and the
dreary mud-banks disclosed at low water. We shall stand at different points, but the
faces of all will be turned to Him who is the Light of all, and every face will shine
with the likeness of His, when we see Him as He is.
But our text points us to another form of unity-the oneness of the knowledge of the
Son of God.
The Apostle uses an emphatic term which is very familiar on his lips to designate
this knowledge. It means not a mere intellectual apprehension, but a profound and
vital acquaintance, dependent indeed upon faith, and realised in experience. It is the
knowledge for which Paul was ready to ‘count all things but loss’ that he might
know Jesus, and winning which he would count himself to ‘have apprehended.’ The
unity in this deep and blessed knowledge has nothing to do with identity of opinion
on the points which have separated Christians. It is not to be sought by outward
unanimity, nor by aggregation in external communities. The Apostle’s great thought
is made small and the truth of it is falsified when it is over-hastily embodied in
institutions. It has been sought in a uniformity which resembles unity as much as a
bundle of faggots, all cut to the same length, and tied together with a rope, resemble
the tree from which they were chopped, waving in the wind and living one life to the
tips of its furthest branches. Men have made out of the Apostle’s divine vision of a
unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God ‘a staunch and solid piece of
framework as any January could freeze together,’ and few things have stood more
in the way of the realisation of his glowing anticipations than the formation of the
great Corporation, imposing from its bulk and antiquity, to part from which was
branded as breaking the unity of the spirit.
Paul gives no clear definition here of the time when the one body of Christian
believers should have attained to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of
God, and the question may not have presented itself to him. It may appear that in
view of the immediate context he regards the goal as one to be reached in our
present life, or it may be that he is thinking rather of the Future, when the Master
‘should bring together every joint and member and mould them into an immortal
feature of loveliness and perfection.’ But the time at which this great ideal should be
attained is altogether apart from the obligation pressing upon us all, at all times, to
work towards it. Whensoever it is reached it will only be by our drawing ‘nearer,
day by day, each to his brethren, all to God,’ or rather, each to God and so all to his
brethren. Take twenty points in a great circle and let each be advanced by one half
of its distance to the centre, how much nearer will each be to each? Christ is our

172. unity, not dogmas, not polities, not rituals: our oneness is a oneness of life. We need
for our centre no tower with a top reaching to heaven, we have a living Lord who is
with us, and in Him, we being many, are one.
II. Oneness in faith and knowledge knits all into a ‘perfect man.’
‘Perfect,’ the Apostle here uses in opposition to the immediately following
expression in the next verse, of ‘children.’ It therefore means not so much moral
perfection as maturity or fulness of growth. So long as we fall short of the state of
unity we are in the stage of immaturity. When we come to be one in faith and
knowledge we have reached full-grown manhood. The existence of differences
belongs to the infancy and boyhood of the Church, and as we grow one we are
putting away childish things. What a contrast there is between Paul’s vision here
and the tendency which has been too common among Christians to magnify their
differences, and to regard their obstinate adherence to these as being ‘steadfastness
in the faith’! How different would be the relations between the various communities
into which the one body has been severed, if they all fully believed that their
respective shibboleths were signs that they had not yet attained, neither were
already perfect! When we began to be ashamed of these instead of glorying in them
we should be beginning to grow into the maturity of our Christian life.
But the Apostle speaks of ‘a perfect man’ in the singular and not of ‘men’ in the
plural, as he has already described the result of the union of Jew and Gentile as
being the making ‘of twain one new man.’ This remarkable expression sets forth, in
the strongest terms, the vital unity which connects all members of the one body so
closely that there is but one life in them all. There are many members, but one body.
Their functions differ, but the life in them all is identical. The eye cannot say to the
hand, ‘I have no need of thee,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of
you.’ Each is necessary to the completeness of the whole, and all are necessary to
make up the one body of Christ. It is His life which manifests itself in every member
and which gives clearness of vision to the eye, strength and deftness to the hand. He
needs us all for His work on the world and for His revelation to the world of the
fulness of His life. In some parts of England there are bell-ringers who stand at a
table on which are set bells, each tuned to one note, and they can perform most
elaborate pieces of music by swiftly catching up and sounding each of these in the
right place. All Christian souls are needed for the Master’s hand to bring out the
note of each in its place. In the lowest forms of life all vital functions are performed
by one simple sac, and the higher the creature is in the scale the more are its organs
differentiated. In the highest form of all, ‘as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is
Christ.’

173. III. This perfect manhood is the possession of all who are in Christ.
The fulness of Christ is the fulness which belongs to Him, or that of which He is full.
All which He is and has is to be poured into His servants, and when all this is
communicated to them the goal will be reached. We shall be full-grown men, and
more wonderful still, we all shall make one perfect man, and individual
completenesses will blend into that which is more complete than any of these, the
one body, which corresponds to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
This is the goal of humanity in which, and in which alone, the dreams of thinkers
about perfectibility will become facts, and the longings that are deeply rooted in
every soul will find their fulfilment. By our personal union with Jesus Christ
through faith, our individual perfection, both in the sense of maturity and in that of
the realisation of ideal manhood, is assured, and in Him the race, as well as the
individual, is redeemed, and will one day be glorified. The Utopias of many thinkers
are but partial and distorted copies of the kingdom of Christ. The reality which He
brings and imparts is greater than all these, and when the ew Jerusalem comes
down out of heaven, and is planted on the common earth, it will outvie in lustre and
outlast in permanence all forms of human association. The city of wisdom which
was Athens, the city of power which was Rome, the city of commerce which is
London, the city of pleasure which is Paris, ‘pale their ineffectual fires’ before the
city in the light whereof the nations should walk.
The beginning of the process, of which the end is this inconceivable participation in
the glory of Jesus, is simple trust in Him. ‘He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit,’
and he who trusts in Him, loves Him, and obeys Him, is joined to Him, and thereby
is started on a course which never halts nor stays so long as the faith which started
him abides, till he ‘grows up into Him in all things which is the head, even Christ.’
The experience of the Christian life as God means it to be, and by the
communication of His grace makes it possible for it to become, is like that of men
embarked on some sun-lit ocean, sailing past shining headlands, and ever onwards,
over the boundless blue, beneath a calm sky and happy stars. The blissful voyagers
are in full possession at every moment of all which they need and of all of His
fulness which they can contain, but the full possession at every moment increases as
they, by it, become capable of fuller possession. Increasing capacity brings with it
increasing participation in the boundless fulness of Him who filleth all in all.

174. BI, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
Development
I. Christian unity.
1. Oneness of faith.
2. Oneness of knowledge. This signifies practical acquaintance, or what you
sometimes term a “saving knowledge of Christ.”
3. Oneness of aim or object. Seeking to become perfect men in Christ, full-grown
men, to attain to the loftiest standard of perfection, both in strength and beauty, in
the universe.
II. Christian stability. Christian men are not to be like children in weakness,
credulity, waywardness, changeableness, and much else peculiar to childhood; but
to be strong, robust, fixed, settled in their religious belief and manner of life,
showing that their faith had so inwrought itself with the very fibre of their spiritual
life as to impart moral stamina, enabling them to stand like men, and not be tossed
about like feeble children. But the apostle’s figures supply something more than the
thought of childish weakness. “Tossed about with every wind,” suggests the idea of a
drifting, unmanageable ship, dismasted, and without rudder or compass, driven
before every wind. A plight most pitiable. This suggests the thought of instability
and unrest. The vessel pursues no course but such as the wind dictates, and you
know how unsafe a ship master that is when it has sole command. ow Paul knew
the danger of this restlessness, not only to the individual possessed by it, but the
damage it might be to others. Hence he desires all Christians to be united in the
grand verities of the gospel, vigorous in faith, clear in personal acquaintance with
Christ, that they might have a life of uniform stability, be firm, fixed, and
unwavering in mind and heart, faith and life. The doctrine, then, that comes out
here is that of Christian stability, not obstinacy; steadfastness, not stupidity.
III. Christian growth.
1. Growth is gradual. Little by little is the principle on which it proceeds. A child
does not become a man at one bound, a picture is not painted by the magic of a
single stroke, a building is not reared by one single supreme effort, nor does the oak

175. tree mature in a single day. “Line upon line,” layer upon layer, “here a little and
there a little,” are the lines upon which all things move ere maturity and perfection
are reached. Continuity, progression, development, evolution--or whatever else you
may please to call it--this is the great governing law.
2. This growth is constant. Day and night, summer and winter, in storm and calm,
the principle is in operation. It may appear sometimes to the good man as if no
progress could be registered, he seems to himself to be putting forth no fresh
blossoms, and yielding little or no fruit. And yet, those very times, that seem so
unpropitious to him, may be the most successful periods of his life, his roots may be
striking deeper, and spreading wider in preparation of richer foliage and fruitage in
the future. Always growing--though not always giving the same outward indications
of growth--this is the law of the Saviour’s kingdom.
3. This growth is silent, and imperceptible. You can neither see nor hear its actual
operation. Growth is one of the most effective forces in nature, and yet the most
silent.
4. The growth spoken of in the text is upward. It is “growing up into Christ the
Head in all things.” Upward growth is a marked speciality of the Christian life.
Aspiration is the thought. Upward, heavenward, is the Christian’s watchword.
IV. Christian cohesion. The Church is likened to the human body. A few points of
comparison between the two will show the beauty and appropriateness of the figure.
1. Fitness of position and work. “Fitly joined.” So it is in the Church when it is
under the entire governance of the Master, every man occupies his own place and
does the work for which he is fitted by gifts and opportunity.
2. Here is compactness--“fitly joined and compacted together.” Heart, mind,
sympathy, principle, motive, aspiration, and wish, so closely blended as to become
one heart and one mind, “that there be no schism in the body,” but working
together with the greatest order for the one purpose, the well-being of the body, and
the glory of its Head.
3. Here is also mutual aid--“by that which every joint supplieth.” Helping together is
the thought, every joint contributing its share so as to promote the general good of
the whole body. You see the beauty of this comparison where the Church of Christ
is, in its best sense, a mutual aid society, where every joint is supplying its quota of
aid for the good of the whole. (J. T. Higgins.)
The reunion of Christendom

176. Augustus Hart’s superb description of the Rhine falls may well serve as an analogue
of the reunion of the Church. “The cross streams, which had been prancing along
sideways, arching their necks like war horses that hear the trumpet broke from the
main stream and forced their way into it. From the valley of thunder, where they
encountered, rose a towering misty column, behind which the river unites unseen, as
though unwilling that any should witness the awfully tender reconcilement.” That
“awfully tender reconcilement” of the long conflicting currents of Church life is
even now being solemnized behind the mist of our encounters. What a yearning for
unity pervades the Churches. This very desire is, in its intensity, a presage and
pledge of its own fulfilment; only the spirit of love could have inspired it. He is
brooding, moving on the cloudy chaos. What a perceptible giving there is in that ice
of exclusiveness! (B. Gregory, D. D.)
One faith
“Some think variety of religions as pleasing to God as variety of flowers. ow there
can be but one religion which is true, and the God of troth cannot be pleased with
falsehood for the sake of variety.” (Bp. Horns.)
The designs of the Christian ministry
1 To bring Christians to the unity of the faith.
2. To bring Christians to the knowledge of Christ.
3. To bring Christians to the perfection of Christian character.
4. To bring Christians to the enjoyment of the fulness of Christ. (G. Brooks.)
The Church a school for heaven
I. The teachers in this school.
1. God, the great and effectual instructor of the Church.
2. The human teachers--the ushers under God.
3. The Church collectively.

177. II. The manuals used;
1. Conscience.
2. The Scriptures.
3. God’s providence.
III. The learners.
1. The universal race of man.
2. The private members of the Church.
3. Pastors.
4. The angels. (Dr. W. R. Williams.)
The importance of preparatory instruction for the ministry
I. The relation subsisting between Christ and the Church. Christ the Head, the
Church the body.
II. The officers given by Christ for the service of the Church.
1. Apostles.
2. Prophets.
3. Evangelists.
4. Pastors and teachers.
III. The special ends for which these officers were given.

178. 1. To instruct men for the ministry.
2. To edify the Church. (W. Roby.)
Development of spiritual life
I. The progressive development of the spiritual life.
1. Intellectual.
2. Emotional.
3. Moral.
4. Harmonious.
II. The obstacles to this development.
1. They arise from the necessary limitations of our nature.
2. They arise from indwelling sin.
3. They arise from the influence of the world.
4. They arise from the power of temptation. (G. Brooks.)
The model Man
We all have a certain ideal of manly character before our minds, formed of the
elements we most admire and fain would imitate; and that ideal is very often
embodied in some actual hero, living or dead. But our ideals are not seldom
defective or false: our heroes fall short even of these. The poor copy we set before us
has a still poorer copy made from it, in our own characters and lives. Let us aim at
once at the highest mark. We may not reach it, but we shall obtain more than with
any lower one. Our blessed Saviour is the absolutely perfect type of the manly
character.

179. I. When we think of an ideal man, we think of a being with a body as the perfection
of beauty in form, and movement, healthy and strong, full of capacity to do and to
endure. There have been very noble minds in weak bodies; but being in such
tabernacles, they groaned, being burdened. The true ideal motto is that of the
Latins, mens sana in copore sano. There is every reason to believe that our Lord
Jesus Christ wore such a body. As the taint of hereditary depravity did not cleave to
His soul, neither did the curse of ancestral disease infect His body. He that was so
obedient to law of every kind, saying: “It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness,”--
would faithfully observe the laws of health, as to food, air, exercise and rest--never
guilty of any excess, never exposing Himself to needless injury. The purity and
peacefulness of His spirit were every way promotive of bodily health. Therefore we
say to those who would be like Jesus Christ,--be healthy and strong if you can be;
cultivate your physique religiously, and understand your bodily system, that you
may intelligently work out your Maker’s plans.
II. The second element in model manhood is strength of mind; we mean, at present,
of the intellectual powers, rather than of the will or the affections. Mind is necessary
to understand, to plan, to execute, to rule over ature, ourselves, and ether men. In
the case of our Saviour, goodness and knowledge were blended together.
III. The third element in manhood is strength of will The manliest man, to our
thinking, is the one who stands upright on his own feet, self-poised, not leaning on
anyone else, thinking out his own thoughts, making up his own mind, adhering to
his own purpose, master of himself, bending all his powers to his one aim,
undismayed by difficulty, conquering opposition, resolute in suffering as vigorous in
action, and so victorious in the end.
IV. One more constituent of manly character is strength of heart. (F. H. Marling.)
Christ the model of the Christian life
I purpose to inquire, What, from the ew Testament, was Christ’s own teaching
respecting His relations to man?
1. Christ confirmed and enlarged the ethical truths which existed in His age.
Whatever was just, and pure, and true, and good, from whatsoever quarter it may
have been derived, and whether it was held by the Jews or by the enlightened
heathen, was accepted at His hands. The moral precepts of the gospel were not
originated by the Saviour when He came upon the earth. They belong to a system of

180. natural ethics. They are the outworkings of natural laws which were made when
man was made, and when the world was made. They were partly found out, they
were imperfectly known, they shone dimly, before the coming of Christ; but they
were unveiled at the time of Christ’s advent more perfectly, and accepted more
fully, and carried back to their true source, and arranged so, with reference to their
real character, as that they should become transcendently more fruitful than ever
they had been in isolation and twilight under heathen civilization.
2. He delivered men from bondage to vehicles and forms of worship; not, however,
that He might destroy these things, not that He might detach them from these
things, but that He might deepen their sense of the truths and principles which these
things had been employed to express. He taught that, whenever there was any
conflict between the inward principle and any external law, or custom, or
ordinance, the law, or custom, or ordinance, must go down. He taught that the
physical must be subordinate to the spiritual, for whose sake it was originally
created. He taught that the spirit was to be master of the flesh.
3. Our Saviour cleansed and amplified the knowledge of spiritual truth, and carried
that truth far higher than it had ever gone before.
4. He added to the realm of spiritual truths most important elements which had
never before been clearly known. The nature of God; the certainty of immortality,
etc.
5. More important than all was the fact of the vital intercourse between God’s soul
and ours.
6. Christ came, by His sufferings and by His death, to open the way for the universal
forgiveness of sin, and for redemption from it.
7. The last point that I shall make in this category is that Christ taught Himself to be
Divine; and that His divinity is such a true divinity as makes it proper for men to
offer, and for Him to receive, all that it is possible for a human soul to give to its
God. (H. W. Beecher.)
The characteristic element of the Christian life
Love was the design of the Old Testament economy as much as it is of the ew. But,
while they contemplate the same thing, they do so from different points of view. The
economy employed by the Old Testament to bring men up spiritually into that
condition in which they should live by love, succeeded only in getting men to live by
conscience. Christ came under new conditions, and with new influences, and re-
asserted the grand truth that the economy of God in life began with the
manifestation, first, of the Divine nature. He taught men that God was love; that
love was the essential characteristic element of the Divine nature; not that there

181. were not justice, and reason, and intelligence, and many noble attributes; but that
these were all enfolded in love, and that they acted under the influence of love,
which was the characteristic element of divinity. Christ’s own character, also, and
His peculiar life work, were manifested round about this centre of love. For by love
God sent Him; and He executed the errand on which He was sent in the spirit of
self-sacrificing love.
1. A true Christian has, or may have, large elements of reason and knowledge; of
veneration and worship; of faith and aspiration; of activity and obedience; of
earnestness and zeal; and yet not one of these, nor all of them, will make him a
Christian, until the soul pours a whole summer of love round about them. Then the
presence of this love in the midst of these other qualities will determine that he is a
Christian. It is not knowledge that is evidence that you are a Christian; it is not a
sense of duty; it is not mere outward conduct of any sort; it is the benevolent
tendency of the heart; it is the soul’s sweetness and love power.
2. The peculiar Christian graces which are enjoined upon us in the Bible are all love
children. ot only are they to be known by their likeness to love, but they cannot be
born without love. And there is not a Christian grace that is not easy to those who
love enough. I have sometimes stood and marvelled at the vastness of the water
wheel that lay silent by the side of the mill, and wondered by what power it could be
turned. Meanwhile there was the trickling of water through a small pipe, which fell
on the far side of it, and did not stir it. At last the miller went to the gate further up,
and lifted it, and the flood poured down in larger measure; and the moment enough
water had flowed into it, the great slave wheel began instantly to toil and turn; and
all day, and all night, and so long as the water continued to pour upon it, it ground
out its treasure, singing and spilling its musical water as it rolled round. And so it is
with that wheel of the soul, in its revolutions of daily life. If the stream of love pours
on it abundantly, how, it revolves! How does it work out every interior fruit of the
heart and life, only so that the stream of love pours on it!
3. We can trace, in the light of this truth, the progress of Christian life, or growing
in grace. The test that you are growing in grace is that you are growing in more
perfect moral qualities in the direction of love.
4. And as it is in the individual, so it is collectively, or in Churches. The spread of
Christianity is to be measured by the spread of its distinctive spirit. As growth in
conscience, or reason, is no evidence of growth in grace with the individual, so
growth in these things is no evidence of growth in grace with the Church. Growth in
beneficence is the test in both cases. The Church is taking possession of the world,
not geographically, but in the degree in which it is able to stimulate and maintain
the summer of benevolence among men. The union of Christians--and of Churches,
for that matter--is to come from this characteristic spirit of love, or from nothing at
all. And the aggression of the Church on the world will be victorious only when a
whole Christianity brings the whole human soul to bear upon the world in the
power and plenitude of love. And we are talking about the Church owning the
world. Christian hearts will own the world, but Christian Churches never will. For,

182. when we take the world captive, it will be by the subduing power of Christian love.
(H. W. Beecher.)
The perfect Manhood
All Churches, all ordinances, all doctrines, all sorts of moral teachers, are ordained
for the sake of making perfect men; and Christianity may be said to be, in a general
way, the art of being whole men, in distinction from partial men, and make-believe
men. It is not enough to say that Christianity tends to make men better. Its aim is to
develop a perfect manhood. “Till we all come unto a perfect man.” And that
manhood can never be reached except in Christ Jesus. We hold a nature in common
with the Divine nature. When we can work out from it the accidental, the transient,
the local, that which is left is strictly Divine--it is like Christ. o man can be Divine
in scope and degree; but in kind he may. Every oak tree in the nursery is like the
oak tree of a hundred years. ot in size, but in nature, it is just as much an oak tree
as the biggest. We are not of the Divine magnitude, nor of the Divine scope, nor of
the Divine power; but we are of the Divine nature. There is no picture that was ever
painted, there is no statue that was ever carved, there was no work of art ever
conceived of, that was half so beautiful as is a living man, thoroughly developed
upon the pattern of Christ Jesus.
1. To live well for the life to come is the surest way of living well for this world. And
to live rightly for this world is the surest way of living rightly for the world to come.
The world is grandly constituted to develop manhood in those who know how to use
it. But how base and ignoble are they who squander their manhood in this world;
who pass through the most wondrously organized system of education--namely, the
natural, civil, and social world--and parcel out their noble nature, as it were, for
sale; who coin conscience; who suppress their spiritual nature; who dignify success
in worldly things; who live, not for manhood, but for selfishness, for pride, for
pitiful pelf! How does a tool or machine pass through the various shops in its
construction? It goes in a lump of pig-iron. Melted and rudely shaped it is at first. It
passes out from the first set of hands into the second. There something more is given
to it, not of fineness, not of polish, but of shape, adapting it to its final uses. The next
shop takes something from it, it may be, trimming away the clumsiness, reducing it
in bulk, that it may be finer in adaptation. And, still going on from shop to shop, it
passes through some twenty different sets of hands, and gains something from every
single man that touches it. And it is a perfect tool or machine when it issues from the
other side. This great world, my young friends, is God’s workshop. You are put in
on one side, and every single shop, every single experience, is to take from you
something that you are better without, or add something to you that shall fit you for
use. And blessed is the man, who gathers as he goes, symmetry, shapeliness, temper,
quality, adaptation, so that when he issues from the further side he is a perfect man.
But what a base thing for a man to be put into God’s workshop, which was set up on
purpose to make man, and come out on the other side without a single attribute of
manhood. Ah 1 such wastes as there are! For a man to walk through cities and

183. towns, and see what becomes of manhood, is enough to turn his head into a fountain
of tears. It is enough to see the wastes of antiquity--the battered statues; the toppled-
down columns; the fractured walls; the ruins of the Parthenon. But of all the
destructions that have gone on in this world, and that are now going on every day in
the great cities which are grinding and crushing out manhood, the destruction of
men is the saddest. And woe be to the man that is burned, or that is crushed, and
that comes out worthless, and goes into the rubbish heap of the universe!
2. I call you, young men, to a Christian life, not simply because it is the way of duty,
but because it is the only way in which you can find your own selves. There are
reasons springing from the eternal government of God, from the rightful authority
of God, from the issues of the eternal world, why you should be Christians; but
there are other reasons springing from the nature of your own soul--from your
makeup. I hold that no man can be a man who is not a Christian. I hold that the
true Christian is the noblest man, the strongest man, the freest man, the largest
man. He is like a harp, not subjected to rude and random, touches, but handled by a
skilful player. His soul is so organized and acted upon that there is melody produced
from every single chord, and from all of them matchless harmonies.
3. I call you to discriminate between God’s men and the Church’s men. I do not call
you to be men in the Church, or to be men according to the sects, whether they have
prevailed in times past, or do now prevail. As a vine, growing in a garden by the side
of the road, does not confine all its flowers and clusters to the garden side, but hangs
over the wall, and bears blossoms and clusters in the road; so a man, wherever he
grows, should be larger than the thing he grows in. Wherever you go, let your
manhood be bigger than any human institution. It is a shame for an institution to be
bigger than the man it has reared. God did not call you to be canary birds in a little
cage, and to hop up and down on three sticks, within a space no larger than the size
of the cage. God calls you to be eagles, and to fly from sun to sun, over continents.
4. I use this truth as a matter of criticism, to ask you to discern between the true
man and the current gentleman of life. In life man has occasion for pride of
gentlemanliness whose manhood has nothing in it of religion. A man must be a
Christian who would be a gentleman. Christianity, as I have said, is the science of
being a whole man.
5. Let me beseech you to take heed to the substitution of class character for
manhood. Beware of classes and “sets.” Be larger than any class will ever let its
members be.
6. Beware of the narrowness of professional character, which will be your
temptation. For no profession has so many claims upon a man as mankind has. o
man can afford to live for his profession, and in his profession. o man can afford,
by the side of the sounding sea, to build his but on a little rivulet that runs into it,
and never go down to wet his feet in the flood, or try its depths. Men need mixing.
Men need to feel a sympathy with the whole of human life, Therefore, remember
that you are not to be educated out from among your fellow men, but for them. (H.

184. W. Beecher.)
How perfection is attained
Everything in the universe comes to its perfection by drill and marching--the seed,
the insect, the animal, the man, the spiritual man. God created man at the lowest
point, and put him in a world where almost nothing would be done for him, and
almost everything should tempt him to do for himself. (H. W. Beecher.)
Christian perfection a lengthy process
The process of Christian perfection is like that which a portrait goes through under
the hand of the artist. When a man is converted, he is but the outline sketch of a
character which he is to fill up. He first lays in the dead colouring. Then comes the
work of laying in the colours; and he goes on day after day, week after week, month
after month, and year after year, blending them, and heightening the effect. It is a
life’s work; and when he dies he is still laying in and blending the colours, and
heightening the effect. (H. W. Beecher.)
Christian perfection is attainable
Christian perfection is attainable, from the fact that it is commanded. Does God
command us to be perfect, and still shall we say that it is an impossibility? Are we
not always to infer, when God commands a thing, that there is a natural possibility
of doing that which He commands? I recollect hearing an individual say he would
preach to sinners that they ought to repent, because God commands it; but he would
not preach that they could repent, because God has nowhere said that they can.
What consummate trifling! Suppose a man were to say he would preach to citizens
that they ought to obey the laws of the country because the government had enacted
them, but would not tell them that they could obey, because it is nowhere in the
statute book enacted that they have the ability. It is always to be understood, when
God requires anything of men, that they possess the requisite faculties to do it.
Otherwise God requires of us impossibilities, on pain of death, and sends sinners to
hell for not doing what they were in no sense able to do. (J. Finney.)
Difficulty of Christian perfection
There are things precious, not from the materials of which they are made, but from
the risk and difficulty of bringing them to perfection. The speculum of the largest

185. telescope foils the optician’s skill in casting. Too much or too little heat--the
interposition of a grain of sand, a slight alteration in the temperature of the weather,
and all goes to pieces--it must be recast. Therefore, when successfully finished, it is a
matter for almost the congratulation of a country. Rarer, and more difficult still
than the costliest part of the most delicate of instruments, is the completion of
Christian character. Only let there come the heat of persecution--or the cold of
human desertion--a little of the world’s dust--and the rare and costly thing is (liable)
to be cracked, and become a failure. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Ministers to continue tilt the Church be perfect
I. That the office and work of the ministry is to continue till all the elect of God be
fully perfected, and the Church arrive at its full growth.
1. That Christ’s presence is promised to the ministry always, even to the end of the
world (Mat_28:20); now this supposeth the existence of the ministry till then.
2. The sacraments are to continue till then, and consequently a ministry by which
they may be dispensed. As to baptism, it is plain from that (Mat_28:20). And as for
the sacrament of the supper, it must continue till the Lord come again.
3. The Scripture holds forth public ordinances, in which the Lord keeps communion
with His people, never to be laid aside till they come to glory. It is one of the
singularities of the upper house, that there is no temple there (Rev_21:22). Here they
look through the lattices of ordinances, till they come to see face to face in heaven.
Reasons of the doctrine. It must continue.
1. Because the ministry is a mean of the salvation of the elect. While there is a lost
sinner to seek, the Lord will not blow out the candle; and while the night remains,
and till the sun arise, these less lights are necessary to be continued in the Church.
2. The ministry is appointed of Christ, in some measure to supply the want of His
bodily presence in the world.
3. Because their work which they have to do, will continue till then. They are
ambassadors for Christ, and while He has a peace to negotiate with sinners, He will
still employ His ambassadors.
4. What society can be preserved without government and governors. Every society
hath its governors, and so the Church must have hers also.

186. II. The diversity of gifts bestowed on ministers hath a tendency to, and is designed
for advancing of unity among God’s elect people, for unity is the centre of all these
divers gifts. These are as the strings of a vial, some sounding higher, others lower;
yet altogether making a pleasing harmony. There are many things necessary to
make a compact building, such as the Church is. Some must procure the stones,
some lay them; some smooth and join the wood, and altogether make a compact
uniform house.
III. Whatever differences are now among the godly, yet a perfect unity is abiding
them, in which they shall all have the same apprehensions and views of spiritual
things. To confirm this, consider--
1. The perfect unity of the elect of God, is that which is purchased by the blood of
Christ, and therefore must needs take effect.
2. This unity is prayed for, by the great Mediator, whom the Father heareth always,
and whose intercession must needs be effectual (Joh_17:21-23).
3. The same Spirit dwells in the head and in all the members, though not in the same
measure. This Spirit hath begun that union, and is still at the uniting work; and it
consists not with the honour of God, not to perfect that which He hath begun.
4. The occasion of the discordant judgments that are among the people of God, will
at length be taken away. There is great darkness now, in those that have the greatest
share of light and knowledge.
IV. That the Church of Christ shall at length arrive at its full growth in glory, as a
man come to perfect age. Then shall it be perfect in parts, every member being
brought in, and in degrees every member being at its full growth. How does the heir
long till the time of his minority be overpast that he may get the inheritance in his
hands.
V. Then, and not till then, comes the Church to perfection, when every member
thereof is brought to a perfect conformity with Christ, bearing a just proportion to
Him, as members proportioned to the head.
VI. As is our faith and knowledge of Christ, so is our growth and perfection. It is the
knowledge of Christ, that introduces us to the blessed state of perfection. The more
we believe in, and know Christ, the nearer are we to perfection; and when these are

187. come to their perfection, then are we at our full growth. (T. Boston, D. D.)
The saints’ meeting; or, progress to glory
Obs. 1. Teacheth us, that God hath ordained the ministry of the gospel to last to the
end of the world. The ministration of the law had an end; but there is none to the
ministration of the gospel, before the end of the world. Here may be given a double
excellency to the gospel. It is more gracious and more glorious.
Obs. 2. This “until” gives matter of exhortation; instructing us to wait with patience
for this blessed time; to be content to stay for God’s “until.” It is a sweet mixture of
joy in trouble, the certain hope of future ease. We are got through the gate, let us
now enter the city; wherein we shall find five principal passages or streets.
1. What? There shall be a meeting.
2. Who? We, yea, we all: all the saints.
3. Wherein? In unity; that unity.
4. Whereof? Of the faith and knowledge of God’s Son.
5. Whereunto? To a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ.
I. What? “meet.” The meeting of friends is ever comfortable: “When the brethren
heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum; whom when Paul saw, he
thanked God and took courage” (Act_28:15).
II. Who? “We.” There is a time when the elect shall meet in one universality.
III. Wherein? “In the unity.” A perfect unity is not to be expected in this life; it is
enough to enjoy it in heaven. Though a kingdom have in it many shires, more cities,
and innumerable towns, yet is itself but one; because one king governs it, by one
law: so the Church, though universally dispersed, is one kingdom; because it is
ruled by one Christ, and professeth one faith. But that unity which is on earth may
be offended, in regard of the parts subjectual to it. What family hath not
complained of distraction? What fraternity not of dissension? What man hath ever
been at one with himself? I would our eyes could see what hurt the breach of unity

188. doth us. Scilurus’s arrows, taken singly out of the sheaf, are broken with the least
finger; the whole unsevered bundle fears no stress. We have made ourselves weaker
by dispersing our forces.
IV. Whereof? This unity hath a double reference: first, to faith; secondly, to
knowledge. And the object to both these is “the Son of God.”
1. “Of the faith.” Faith is taken two ways: either passively or actively. Either for
that whereby a man believes, or for that which a man believes. So it is used both for
the instrument that apprehends, and for the object that is apprehended.
(1) If we take it for the former, we may say there is also a unity of faith, but by
distinction. Faith is one--one in respect of the object on which it rests, not one in
respect of the subject in which it resides. Every man hath his own faith; every faith
resteth on Christ: “The just shall live by his own faith.”
(2) But if me rather take it--for Christ in whom we have believed--we Shall all meet
in the unity of those joys and comforts which we have faithfully expected.
2. “Of the knowledge.” That knowledge which we now have is shallow in all of us,
and dissonant in some of us. There is but one way to know God, that is by Jesus
Christ; and but one way to know Christ, and that is by the gospel. Yet there are
many that go about to know Him by other ways; they will know Him by traditions
images, revelations, miracles, deceivable fables. But the saints shall “meet in the
unity of the knowledge of the Son of God”; there shall be union and perfection in
their knowledge at that day.
V. Whereunto? “To a perfect man.” Before, he speaks in the plural number of a
multitude, “We shall all meet”; now by a sweet kind of solecism he compacts it into
the singular--all into one. “We shall all meet to a perfect man.” Here lie three notes,
not to be balked.
1. This shows what the unity of the saints shall be: one man. O sweet music, where
the symphony shall exceedingly delight us, without division, without frets!
2. The whole Church is compared to a man; we have often read it compared to a
body, here to a man.
3. Full perfection is only reserved for heaven, and not granted till we meet in glory;
then shall the Church be one “perfect man.” This implies a spiritual stature
whereunto every saint must grow.
Whence infer--

189. 1. That we must grow up so fast as we can in this life, joining to faith virtue, to
virtue knowledge,” etc., (2Pe_1:5). We must increase our talents, enlarge our graces,
shoot up in tallness, grow up to this stature. For God’s family admits no dwarfs:
stunted profession was never sound. If a tabe and consumption take our graces, they
had never good lungs, the true breath of God’s Spirit in them.
2. God will so ripen our Christian endeavours, that though we come short on earth,
we shall have a full measure in heaven. We have a great measure of comfort here,
but withal a large proportion of distress; there we shall have a full measure,
“heapen and shaken, and thrust together, and yet running over,” without the least
bitterness to distaste it. This is a high and a happy measure. Regard not what
measure of outward things thou hast, so thou get this measure. (T. Adams.)
Fulness of Christ
We know a little of Christ our Saviour, but, oh! how small a portion have we seen of
the fulness that is in Him! Like the Indians, when America was first discovered, we
are not aware of the amazing value of the gold and treasure in our hands. (Bishop
Ryle.)
14
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and
forth by the waves, and blown here and there by
every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
BAR ES, "That we henceforth be no more children - In some respects
Christians “are” to be like children. They are to be docile, gentle, mild, and free from
ambition, pride, and haughtiness; see the notes on Mat_18:2-3. But children have other
characteristics besides simplicity and docility. They are often changeable Mat_11:17;

190. they are credulous, and are influenced easily by others, and led astray, In these respects,
Paul exhorts the Ephesians to be no longer children but urges them to put on the
characteristics Of manhood; and especially to put on the firmness in religious opinion
which became maturity of life.
Tossed to and fro - κλυδωνιζόµενοι kludōnizomenoi. This word is taken from waves
or billows that are constantly tossed about - in all ages art image of instability of
character and purpose.
And carried about with every wind of doctrine - With no firmness; no settled
course; no helm. The idea is that of a vessel on the restless ocean, that is tossed about
with every varying wind, and that has no settled line of sailing. So many persons are in
regard to religious doctrines. They have no fixed views and principles. They hold no
doctrines that are settled in their minds by careful and patient examination, and the
consequence is, that they yield to every new opinion, and submit to the guidance of every
new teacher. The “doctrine” taught here is, that we should have settled religious
opinions. We should carefully examine what is truth, and having found it, should adhere
to it, and not yield on the coming of every new teacher. We should not, indeed, close our
minds against conviction. We should be open to argument, and be willing to follow “the
truth” wherever it will lead us. But this state of mind is not inconsistent with having
settled opinions, and with being firm in holding them until we are convinced that we are
wrong. No man can be useful who has not settled principles. No one who has not such
principles can inspire confidence or be happy, and the first aim of every young convert
should be to acquire settled views of the truth, and to become firmly grounded in the
doctrines of the gospel.
By the sleight of men - The cunning skill “trickery” of people. The word used here -
κυβεία kubeia - is from a word (κύβος kubos) meaning a cube or die, and properly means
a game at dice. Hence, it means game, gambling; and then anything that turns out by
mere chance or hap-hazard - as a game at dice does. It “may” possibly also denote the
trick or fraud that is sometimes used in such games; but it seems rather to denote a
man’s forming his religious opinions by “the throw of a die;” or, in other words, it
describes a man whose opinions seem to be the result of mere chance. Anything like
casting a die, or like opening the Bible at random to determine a point of duty or
doctrine, may come under the description of the apostle here, and would all be opposed
to the true mode, that by calm examination of the Bible, and by prayer A man who forms
his religious principles by chance, can un” form” them in the same way; and he who has
determined his faith by one cast of the die, will be likely to throw them into another form
by another. The phrase “the sleight of men” therefore I would render “by the mere
chance of people, or as you may happen to find people, one holding this opinion, and the
next that, and allowing yourself to be influenced by them without any settled principles.”
Cunning craftiness - Deceit, trick, art; see 2Co_12:16; Luk_20:23; 1Co_3:19; notes,
2Co_4:2; 2Co_11:3, note.
Whereby they lie in wait to deceive - Literally, “Unto the method of deceit;” that
is, in the usual way of deceit. Doddridge, “In every method of deceit.” This is the true
idea. The meaning is, that people would use plausible pretences, and would, if possible,
deceive the professed friends of Christ. Against such we should be on our guard; and not
by their arts should our opinion be formed, but by the word of God.
CLARKE, "Be no more children - Children, here, are opposed to the perfect man

191. in the preceding verse; and the state of both is well explained by the apostle’s allusions.
The man is grown up strong and healthy, and has attained such a measure or height as
qualifies him for the most respectable place in the ranks of his country.
The child is ignorant, weak, and unsteady, tossed about in the nurse’s arms, or whirled
round in the giddy sports or mazes of youth; this seems to be the apostle’s allusion.
Being tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, refers to some
kind of ancient play, but what I cannot absolutely determine; probably to something
similar to a top, or to our paper kite.
By the sleight of men - The words εν τη κυβειᇮ refer to the arts used by gamesters,
who employ false dice that will always throw up one kind of number, which is that by
which those who play with them cannot win.
Cunning craftiness - It is difficult to give a literal translation of the original words:
εν πανουργιᇮ προς την µεθοδειαν της πλανης· “By cunning, for the purpose of using the
various means of deception.” Πανουργια signifies craft and subtlety in general, cheating
and imposition: µεθοδεια, from which we have our term method, signifies a wile, a
particular sleight, mode of tricking and deceiving; it is applied to the arts which the devil
uses to deceive and destroy souls; see Eph_6:11, called there the Wiles of the devil. From
this it seems that various arts were used, both by the Greek sophists and the Judaizing
teachers, to render the Gospel of none effect, or to adulterate and corrupt it.
GILL, "That we henceforth be no more children,.... Meaning not children of
men, for grace does not destroy natural relations; nor children of God, which is a
privilege, and always continues; nor indeed children of disobedience, though the saints
cease to be such upon conversion; but in such sense children, as they were when first
converted, newborn babes, little children: there are some things in which they should be
children still, namely, with respect to an ardent and flaming love to God and Christ, and
to the saints; and with regard to their eager desire after the sincere milk of the word; and
as to pride, malice, envy, evil speakings, guile and hypocrisy; in these things it becomes
them to be children: but not in understanding; they should not always remain ignorant,
imprudent, or be always fed with milk, and not able to digest meat; nor be unable to go
unless led, and be tender and incapable of bearing hardships for Christ and his Gospel,
and of defending it, and his cause and interest; but should play the man, and quit
themselves as such and be strong, which the Gospel ministry is a means of, and
encourages to:
tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine; false
doctrine, which may be compared to wind for its lightness and emptiness, and for its
swelling and puffing nature, and for the noise and bluster it makes, and for its rapidity
and force, with which it sometimes comes and bears all before it, and for its
infectiousness, which is the nature of some winds; and to be tossed to and fro, and
carried about with it, is expressive of much ignorance and want of a discerning spirit,
and implies hesitation, and doubts and scruples, and shows credulity, fickleness, and
inconstancy: and which is brought on
by the sleight of men; either through the uncertain and changeable state of things in
life; the mind of man is fickle, the life of man is uncertain, and all the affairs of human
nature are subject to change, by reason of which men are easily imposed upon; or rather

192. through the tricking arts of false teachers; the word here used is adopted by the Jews
into their language, and with them ‫קוביא‬ signifies the game at dice (a); and ‫,קוביוסטוס‬ is a
gamester at that play, and is interpreted by them, one that steals souls (b), and deceives
and corrupts them; and may be filly applied to false teachers, who make use of such like
artifices and juggling tricks, to deceive the hearts of the simple, as the others do to cheat
men of their money: hence it follows,
and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; or "unto the
deceitful methods or wiles of the devil", as the Alexandrian copy reads; which not only
suggests that their principal end in view is to deceive, but their insidious, private, and
secret way of deceiving, and their expertness in it, which they have from the devil; and
now the ministration of the Gospel is the best and surest guard and antidote against
such fluctuations and deceptions.
HE RY, 14-16, " That we henceforth be no more children, etc. (Eph_4:14); that is,
that we may be no longer children in knowledge, weak in the faith, and inconstant in our
judgments, easily yielding to every temptation, readily complying with every one's
humour, and being at every one's back. Children are easily imposed upon. We must take
care of this, and of being tossed to and fro, like ships without ballast, and carried about,
like clouds in the air, with such doctrines as have no truth nor solidity in them, but
nevertheless spread themselves far and wide, and are therefore compared to wind. By
the sleight of men; this is a metaphor taken from gamesters, and signifies the
mischievous subtlety of seducers: and cunning craftiness, by which is meant their
skilfulness in finding ways to seduce and deceive; for it follows, whereby they lie in wait
to deceive, as in an ambush, in order to circumvent the weak, and draw them from the
truth. Note, Those must be very wicked and ungodly men who set themselves to seduce
and deceive others into false doctrines and errors. The apostle describes them here as
base men, using a great deal of devilish art and cunning, in order thereunto. The best
method we can take to fortify ourselves against such is to study the sacred oracles, and to
pray for the illumination and grace of the Spirit of Christ, that we may know the truth as
it is in Jesus, and be established in it. (2.) That we should speak the truth in love (Eph_
4:15), or follow the truth in love, or be sincere in love to our fellow-christians. While we
adhere to the doctrine of Christ, which is the truth, we should live in love one with
another. Love is an excellent thing; but we must be careful to preserve truth together
with it. Truth is an excellent thing; yet it is requisite that we speak it in love, and not in
contention. These two should go together - truth and peace. (3.) That we should grow up
into Christ in all things. Into Christ, so as to be more deeply rooted in him. In all things;
in knowledge, love, faith, and all the parts of the new man. We should grow up towards
maturity, which is opposed to being children. Those are improving Christians who grow
up into Christ. The more we grow into an acquaintance with Christ, faith in him, love to
him, dependence upon him, the more we shall flourish in every grace. He is the head;
and we should thus grow, that we may thereby honour our head. The Christian's growth
tends to the glory of Christ. (4.) We should be assisting and helpful one to another, as
members of the same body, Eph_4:16. Here the apostle makes a comparison between
the natural body and Christ's mystical body, that body of which Christ is the head: and
he observes that as there must be communion and mutual communications of the
members of the body among themselves, in order to their growth and improvement, so
there must be mutual love and unity, together with the proper fruits of these, among
Christians, in order to their spiritual improvement and growth in grace. From whom,

193. says he (that is, from Christ their head, who conveys influence and nourishment to every
particular member), the whole body of Christians, fitly joined together and compacted
(being orderly and firmly united among themselves, every one in his proper place and
station), by that which every joint supplies (by the assistance which every one of the
parts, thus united, gives to the whole, or by the Spirit, faith, love, sacraments, etc.,
which, like the veins and arteries in the body, serve to unite Christians to Christ their
head, and to one another as fellow-members), according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part (that is, say some, according to the power which the Holy Ghost
exerts to make God's appointed means effectual for this great end, in such a measure as
Christ judges to be sufficient and proper for every member, according to its respective
place and office in the body; or, as others, according to the power of Christ, who, as
head, influences and enlivens every member; or, according to the effectual working of
every member, in communicating to others of what it has received, nourishment is
conveyed to all in their proportions, and according to the state and exigence of every
part) makes increase of the body, such an increase as is convenient for the body.
Observe, Particular Christians receive their gifts and graces from Christ for the sake and
benefit of the whole body. Unto the edifying of itself in love. We may understand this
two ways: - Either that all the members of the church may attain a greater measure of
love to Christ and to one another; or that they are moved to act in the manner mentioned
from love to Christ and to one another. Observe, Mutual love among Christians is a great
friend to spiritual growth: it is in love that the body edifies itself; whereas a kingdom
divided against itself cannot stand.
JAMISO , "Translate, “To the end that”; the aim of the bestowal of gifts stated
negatively, as in Eph_4:13 it is stated positively.
tossed to and fro — inwardly, even without wind; like billows of the sea. So the
Greek. Compare Jam_1:6.
carried about — with every wind from without.
doctrine — “teaching.” The various teachings are the “winds” which keep them
tossed on a sea of doubts (Heb_13:9; compare Mat_11:7).
by — Greek, “in”; expressing “the evil atmosphere in which the varying currents of
doctrine exert their force” [Ellicott].
sleight — literally, “dice playing.” The player frames his throws of the dice so that the
numbers may turn up which best suit his purpose.
of men — contrasted with Christ (Eph_4:13).
and — Greek, “in.”
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive — Translate as Greek,
“craftiness tending to the methodized system of deceit” (“the schemes of error”)
[Alford]. Bengel takes “deceit,” or “error,” to stand for “the parent of error,” Satan
(compare Eph_6:11); referring to his concealed mode of acting.
RWP, "That we may be no longer children (hina mēketi ōmen nēpioi). Negative
final clause with present subjunctive. Some Christians are quite content to remain
“babes” in Christ and never cut their eye-teeth (Heb_5:11-14), the victims of every
charlatan who comes along.
Tossed to and fro (kludōnizomenoi). Present passive participle of kludōnizomai, late

194. verb from kludōn (wave, Jam_1:6), to be agitated by the waves, in lxx, only here in N.T.
One example in Vettius Valens.
Carried about (peripheromenoi). Present passive participle of peripherō, old verb, to
carry round, whirled round “by every wind (anemōi, instrumental case) of teaching.” In
some it is all wind, even like a hurricane or a tornado. If not anchored by full knowledge
of Christ, folks are at the mercy of these squalls.
By the sleight (en tēi kubiāi). “In the deceit,” “in the throw of the dice” (kubia, from
kubos, cube), sometimes cheating.
In craftiness (en panourgiāi). Old word from panourgos (pan, ergon, any deed, every
deed), cleverness, trickiness.
After the wiles of error (pros tēn methodian tēs planēs). Methodia is from
methodeuō (meta, hodos) to follow after or up, to practise deceit, and occurs nowhere else
(Eph_4:13; Eph_6:11) save in late papyri in the sense of method. The word planēs
(wandering like our “planet”) adds to the evil idea in the word. Paul has covered the
whole ground in this picture of Gnostic error.
CALVI , "14.That we may be no more children. Having spoken of that perfect
manhood, towards which we are proceeding throughout the whole course of our life,
he reminds us that, during such a progress, we ought not to resemble children. An
intervening period is thus pointed out between childhood and man’ estate. Those are
“” who have not yet advanced a step in the way of the Lord, but who still hesitate,
— who have not yet determined what road they ought to choose, but move
sometimes in one direction and sometimes in another, always doubtful, always
wavering. Those, again, who are thoroughly founded in the doctrine of Christ,
though not yet perfect, have so much wisdom and vigor as to choose properly, and
proceed steadily, in the right course. Thus we find that the life of believers, marked
by a constant desire and progress towards those attainments which they shall
ultimately reach, bears a resemblance to youth. At no period of this life are we men.
But let not such a statement be carried to the other extreme, as if there were no
progress beyond childhood. After being born to Christ, we ought to grow, so as “ to
be children in understanding.” (1Co_14:20.) Hence it appears what kind of
Christianity the Popish system must be, when the pastors labor, to the utmost of
their power, to keep the people in absolute infancy.
Tossed to and fro, and carried about. The distressing hesitation of those who do not
place absolute reliance on the word of the Lord, is illustrated by two striking
metaphors. The first is taken from small ships, exposed to the fury of the billows in
the open sea, holding no fixed course, guided neither by skill nor design, but hurried
along by the violence of the tempest. The next is taken from straws, or other light
substances, which are carried hither and thither as the wind drives them, and often
in opposite directions. Such must be the changeable and unsteady character of all
who do not rest on the foundation of God’ eternal truth. It is their just punishment

195. for looking, not to God, but to men. Paul declares, on the other hand, that faith,
which rests on the word of God, stands unshaken against all the attacks of Satan.
By every wind of doctrine. By a beautiful metaphor, all the doctrines of men, by
which we are drawn away from the simplicity of the gospel, are called winds God
gave us his word, by which we might have placed ourselves beyond the possibility of
being moved; but, giving way to the contrivances of men, we are carried about in all
directions.
By the cunning of men. There will always be impostors, who make insidious attacks
upon our faith; but, if we are fortified by the truth of God, their efforts will be
unavailing. Both parts of this statement deserve our careful attention. When new
sects, or wicked tenets, spring up, many persons become alarmed. But the attempts
of Satan to darken, by his falsehoods, the pure doctrine of Christ, are at no time
interrupted; and it is the will of God that these struggles should be the trial of our
faith. When we are informed, on the other hand, that the best and readiest defense
against every kind of error is to bring forward that doctrine which we have learned
from Christ and his apostles, this surely is no ordinary consolation.
With what awful wickedness, then, are Papists chargeable, who take away from the
word of God everything like certainty, and maintain that there is no steadiness of
faith, but what depends on the authority of men! If a man entertain any doubt, it is
in vain to bid him consult the word of God: he must abide by their decrees. But we
have embraced the law, the prophets, and the gospel. Let us therefore confidently
expect that we shall reap the advantage which is here promised, — that all the
impostures of men will do us no harm. They will attack us, indeed, but they will not
prevail. We are entitled, I acknowledge, to look for the dispensation of sound
doctrine from the church, for God has committed it to her charge; but when Papists
avail themselves of the disguise of the church for burying doctrine, they give
sufficient proof that they have a diabolical synagogue.
The Greek word κυβεία which I have translated cunning, is taken from players at
dice, who are accustomed to practice many arts of deception. The words , ἐν
πανουργίᾳ by craftiness, intimate that the ministers of Satan are deeply skilled in
imposture; and it is added, that they keep watch, in order to insnare, ( πρὸς τὴν
µεθοδείαν τὢς πλάνης) All this should rouse and sharpen our minds to profit by the
word of God. If we neglect to do so, we may fall into the snares of our enemies, and
endure the severe punishment of our sloth.
BURKITT, "St. Paul, in these words, declares one special end for which the
ministry of the word was instituted and appointed, namely, to preserve from error
and seduction, to prevent instability of mind, and unsettledness of judgment, and to
confirm persons in fundamental truths, that we henceforth be no more children,
tossed to and fro, & c.
Observe here, 1. The name which St. Paul gives to unstable persons and unsettled

196. professors: he calls them children, not in regard of age, but in respect of knowledge
and understanding: children, is a word that denotes imperfection and weakness,
instability and ungroundedness in knowledge.
Observe, 2. How the unsteadiness of these professors is expressed by a double
metaphor; the former is drawn from a wave of the sea, they are tossed to and fro;
the latter is drawn from a light cloud hovering in the air, carried about from place
to place: neither wave nor cloud have any constancy, but are both moving if the
least wind be stirring.
Observe, 3. The cause of this instability; every wind of doctrine; professors that
have no solid principles every wind of doctrine has power over them to drive them
to and fro, every teacher can cast them into what mould he pleases, and blow them,
like glasses, into this or that shape, at the pleasure of his breath. But why wind of
doctrine? Because there is no solidity in it, but being wind in the preacher, it breeds
but wind in the hearer, because of its variety and novelty, and because of its
prevalency over unstaid men. How suddenly sometimes is a family, a town, yea, a
whole country, leavened with a particular error!
Observe, 4. The characters of those imposters and seducers that do thus unsettle
and unhinge men, they use sleight; a metaphor taken from gamesters, who with art
and sleight of hand can cog the dice, and win the game. Seducers cheat with false
doctrines, as gamesters do with false dice. Cunning craftiness; the word signifies the
subtility and deep policy of the old serpent; implying that seducers are old and
cunning gamesters, skillful to deceive: they lie in wait to deceive; the word signifies
an ambushment, or stratagem of war, implying that all seducers' sleight and
craftiness is to this very end and purpose, that they may entrap and catch men
within the ambush of their impostures.
From the whole learn, That seducers and false teachers are craftsmasters of sleight
and subtilty, and stratagems of deceit; they have artifices, ways and methods, to
take men unawares, and to make merchandise of the people: they wrest and rack
the scriptures to make them speak what they please, not what the Holy Ghost
intended.
If all this art fails, their last advice is, to recommend their doctrines upon some
private pretended revelation and uncommon impulse of the Holy Spirit: by all
which methods they lie in wait to deceive.
BI, "
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with
every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they
lie in wait to deceive.

197. The mature Christian
The apostle here describes the perfect man, or mature Christian, both negatively
and positively.
I. The negative description.
1. Christians must not remain children. In understanding, constancy, and fortitude,
they should be men.
2. Christians must not be tossed to and fro, like a ship rolling on the waves. He who
embarks for the heavenly world must consider, that the ocean on which he sails is
subject to changing winds and perilous storms. He must not promise himself smooth
waters, soft gales, and clear skies; but go provided for all kinds of weather. The
word of truth must be his compass, and faith his pilot; hope must be his anchor, and
knowledge and good works his ballast; prudence must keep the watch, and sober
reason hold the helm. Thus he may sail with safety in all seasons.
3. Christians must not be carried about with every wind of doctrine. False doctrines,
like winds, are blustering and unsteady. They blow from no certain point, but in all
directions; and they frequently, and sometimes suddenly, shift their course. They
make great noise and bustle, disturb the atmosphere, and, by their violent motions,
they spread confusion and ruin. Light bodies are easily taken up and driven about
by every wind that blows. The gale which cleanses the wheat, disperses the chaff.
The deep-rooted oak stands firm in its place, while the dry leaves beneath it are
caught up, wafted around, and made the sport of every gust. So the sincere
Christian, rooted and grounded in the truth, and grown up to maturity in faith and
knowledge, is steadfast in his religion, whatever storms may assault him.
4. The apostle warns us that we are in danger from the sleight of men, and the
cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
II. The positive description.
1. We must “speak the truth in love”; or “be sincere in love.”
(1) We should acquire a good doctrinal knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus.
(2) We should be well established in the truth.
(3) We should see that our hearts are conformed to the truth.
(4) We must walk in the truth.

198. 2. As we must adhere to the truth, so we must “grow up in all things into Christ,
who is the Head.”
(1) Christ is the Head of believers.
(2) They must grow up into Him.
(3) They must grow in all things. A partial religion is worthless. (J. Lathrop, D. D.)
Christian education
In Christian character, it may be, relatively speaking, that the moral functions--
faith, hope, conscience, and love--stand higher on the scale than social affection,
taste, and the lower forms of human reason; but if Christian character is to be
complete, it must include them all. Suppose a painter, in painting a man’s face,
should omit the hair and the eyebrows, saying, “A man can live without hair, and I
paint only the important features,” and should represent simply the mouth, the eyes,
and the nose; what sort of a picture would he make? Absurd as such a thing would
be in art, how much more glaring would be the absurdity, in drawing the portrait of
the soul, of leaving out any part of it! Religious culture carries with it everything.
All the parts are required to make the whole on this ideal--Christ Jesus. I have
around my little cabin in the country a dozen or so of rhododendrons. Broad-leaved
fellows they are. I love them in blossom, and I love them out of blossom. They make
me think of many Christians. They are like some that are in this Church. Usually
they come up in the spring and blossom the first thing, just as many persons come
into Christian life. The whole growth of the plants is crowded into two or three
weeks, and they develop with wonderful rapidity; but after that they will not grow
another inch during the whole summer. What do they do? I do not know, exactly;
they never told me; but I suspect that they are organizing inwardly, and rendering
permanent that which they have gained. What they have added to growth in the
spring they take the rest of the season to solidify, to consolidate, to perfect, by
chemical evolutions; and when autumn comes, the year’s increase is so tough that,
when the tender plants that laughed at these, and chided them, and accused them of
being lazy, are laid low by the frost, there stand my rhododendrons, holding out
their green leaves, and saying to ovember and December, “I am here as well as
you.” And they are as green today as they were before the winter set in. ow, I like
Christians that grow fast this spring, and hold on through the summer, and next
spring grow again. I like Christians that, having grown for a time, stop and organize
what they have gained, and then start again. I like periodicity in Christian growth.
(H. W. Beecher.)
A young man’s responsibility

199. Into the life of every youth there comes an hour when an irresistible instinct
awakens in him the consciousness that he is no longer a child. When he realizes his
own separate personality, when he begins to think, to judge, to act for himself, and
when, because he has the ability, he has also the right to be self-controlled, in that
hour he becomes a young man. In that hour you might liken him to that young
prince of whom we read in English history, who was caught in the act of putting on
his father’s crown: only with this difference, that the young man is lifting to his
brow the crown that belongs to none other, but is the God-given crown of his own
manhood.
I. The fact that you are no longer children involves your personal responsibility.
1. You are responsible for your body.
(1) To take such physical exercises and recreative amusements as will develop it and
keep it in health and strength.
(2) ot to injure your body by carelessness or dissipation.
2. You are responsible for your mental and moral culture; for the development of
your faculties; for the wise use and the strong growth of all your powers.
3. You are responsible for your influence.
4. You are responsible, in view of the future that is before you. As yet you are but
spreading your canvas and sailing out of harbour. Out yonder is that great and wide
sea of life that is full of perils for them that navigate therein. There are sunken
rocks, there are shifting shoals, there are treacherous coasts, there are wreckers
with false lights, there are sirens with deceptive songs, there are straits narrow and
perilous with unimagined and tremendous difficulties; and you are responsible now
as you begin the voyage of your life to prepare yourself for the difficulties that are
ahead, to take chart and compass with you.
5. Remember, too, that you are responsible for your soul. You cannot ignore the fact
that you come to a world where men have fallen, but where men have been
redeemed.
II. The fact that you are no longer children demands a manly steadfastness of will.
The inconsistency, the fickleness, the shiftiness, natural in a child, because a sign of
immaturity, is out of place in those who are no longer children. The glory of young
men is their strength--strength of will--the energy that turns itself to that which is
good--the power to say “ o” with decision, and “Yes” with concentration.

200. III. Because you are no longer children you are expected to be men. What is a man?
What is manliness? Manliness is virtue--vir, a man; virtue, the quality of a man.
Truthfulness is a virtue, therefore it is manly. Justice is a virtue; therefore it is
manly. Good temper is a virtue; therefore it is manly. Whatever is virtuous is manly.
Whatever is manly is virtuous; and, vice versa, whatever is not virtuous is unmanly.
Talk that is not virtuous is unmanly talk; love that is not virtuous is unmanly love;
life that is not virtuous is unmanly life. Be men. Be virtuous. What is manliness? It is
godliness. “God created man in His own image. In His own image created He him.”
God is true, God is just, God is pure, God is gracious, God is swift to forgive, God is
tender to the fallen, God is the helper of the helpless. Be godly, and being godly you
will be manly. But how to become manly? How to be like God? Young men, once in
the history of the world God sent a man to teach us how to be men, and to be men
indeed! Jesus of azareth was His name: Son of God and Son of man. If you would
be manly, let Jesus teach you. (W. J. Woods, B. A.)
The case of deceivers and deceived considered
Here are two sorts of persons marked out by the apostle in the text, the deceivers
and the deceived; the one, subtle and crafty, and full of intrigue; the other, easy and
credulous, and unsuspecting; the one, supposed to have all the wiliness of the
serpent, without the innocency of the dove; the other, all the tameness and simplicity
of the dove, without the serpent’s wisdom. Both are blamable, though in different
respects, and not in the same degree; one for abusing and misemploying their
talents, and the other, for not employing them at all to discern between true and
false, between good and evil. Both are accountable to God as delinquents; one for
high contempt, and the other for great supineness and neglect.
I. I propose to consider the case of deceivers, or seducers, such as, by their flight and
cunning craftiness lie in wait to deceive. And here it will be proper to inquire, upon
what motives, or with what views, men are led thus to beguile and misguide others.
The particular motives in such cases may be many; but they are all reducible to
these three heads, pride, avarice, voluptuousness; that is to say, love of honour, or
profit, or pleasure.
II. To consider the case of the deceived, who suffer themselves to be tossed to and
fro with every wind of doctrine. They are supposed to be ignorantly, and in a
manner blindly, led on by others; otherwise, they would be rather confederates and
confidents in managing the deceit, and so would be more deceivers than deceived.

201. There are, I think, three cases which will take in all sorts of men who suffer
themselves to be deceived in things of this kind.
1. Those who have no opportunity, no moral possibility of informing themselves
better.
2. Those who might inform themselves better, but do not.
3. Those who might also be better informed, but will not.
III. To subjoin some advices proper to prevent our falling in with either. The best
preservative, in this case, is an honest and good heart, well disposed towards truth
and godliness, having no by-ends to serve, no favourite lust or passion to indulge.
The evidences of the true religion, and of its main doctrines, are so bright and
strong, when carefully attended to, that common sense and reason are sufficient to
lead us, when there is no bias to mislead us. (D. Waterland, D. D.)
Doctrinal preaching
But there were some rising up who objected to doctrinal preaching. It was not
necessary, they said, in these days; practice, and perhaps a little experience, but no
doctrine. But really if you take away the doctrine you have taken away the
backbone of the manhood of Christianity--its sinew, muscle, strength, and glory.
Those men reminded him of Philip when he wished to enslave the men of Athens,
and would have them to give up their orators. Demosthenes replied, “So said the
wolves--they desired to have peace with the shepherds, but the dogs must be first
given up--those pugnacious dogs that provoked quarrels. The wolves would lie down
peaceably with the lambs, and delight themselves with the sheep, if only those bad-
tempered dogs were hanged.” So perfect peace was promised among the sects if
doctrine were given up; but depend upon it, these were, after all, the preservation of
the Church, which without them, would soon cease to be … “Burn the charts; what
is the use of charts? What we want is a powerful engine, a good A-1 copper-
bottomed ship, an experienced captain, and strong, able-bodied mariners. Charts!
ridiculous nonsense--antiquated things--we want no charts, destroy every one of
them. Our fathers used to navigate the sea by them, but we are wiser than they
were. We have pilots who know every sand and sunken rock, who can smell them
beneath the water--or by some means find them out. Men know what’s o’clock now-
a-days, we don’t want chronometers.” So they put out to sea without charts; and,
looking across the waters, we may expect to witness the shipwreck of those who
thought themselves so wise, and fear sometimes lest we should hear their last gasp as
they sink and perish. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)

202. Shallow Christians
I was informed by the engineer who had charge of the survey of that great treasure
which Mr. Seward secured for us in Alaska, the eternal ice house of the globe, that
even where summer brings vegetation, if you take a staff and drive it down in many
parts two or three feet, you strike solid ice, because summer never goes lower than
that. And as it is there, so it is in men--only different men are very different in this
respect. In some men, if you go down six inches you strike ice; in some men you
strike ice if you go down a foot; and in some men you do not strike ice until you go
down two feet; but somewhere or other, in everyman, if you go down far enough you
will come to a solid foundation, where summer does not reach. What we want,
therefore, is tropical heat, that pierces to the very centre; and there are many in
whom only heat of a very searching nature is sufficient. (H. W. Beecher.)
Growth in knowledge
As when men stand and look into the heavens with the naked eye they see some
three thousand stars; as with a glass of a certain power they may see some ten or
twenty thousand, and as with a larger glass they may see still more, penetrating to
the infinite depths of space, so the human mind has been such that at first it could
see a little of the nature of God, then a little more, then a little more, and so on, with
a power of vision that has increased clear down to the present time. (H. W. Beecher.)
BARCLAY 14-16, "GROWI G I TO CHRIST
Eph. 4:14-16
All this must be done so that we should no longer be infants in the faith, wave-tossed
and blown hither and thither by every wind of teaching. by the clever trickery of
men, by cunning cleverness designed to make us take a wandering way. Instead of
that it is all designed to make us cherish the truth in love, and to make us grow in all
things into him who is the head--it is Christ I mean. It is from Christ that the whole
body is fitted and united together, by means of all the joints which supply its needs,
according as each part performs the share of the task allotted to it. It is from him
that the body grows and builds itself up in love.
In every Church there are certain members who must be protected. There are those
who are like children, they are dominated by a desire for novelty and the mercy of
the latest fashion in religion. It is the lesson of history that popular fashions in
religion come and go but the Church continues for ever. The solid food of religion is
always to be found within the Church.
In every Church there are certain people who have to be guarded against. Paul
speaks of the clever trickery of men; the word he uses (kubeia, GS 2940) means
skill in manipulating the dice. There are always those who by ingenious arguments
seek to lure people away from their faith. It is one of the characteristics of our age

203. that people talk about religion more than they have done for many years; and the
Christian, especially the young Christian, has often to meet the clever arguments of
those who are against the Church and against God.
There is only one way to avoid being blown about by the latest religious fashion and
to avoid being seduced by the specious arguments of clever men, and that is by
continual growth into Christ.
Paul uses still another picture. He says that a body is only healthy and efficient
when every part is thoroughly coordinated. Paul says that the Church is like that;
and the Church can be like that only when Christ is really the head and when every
member is moving under his control, just as every part of a healthy body is obedient
to the brain.
The only thing which can keep the individual Christian solid in the faith and secure
against seduction, the only thing which can keep the Church healthy and efficient, is
an intimate connection with Jesus Christ who is the head and the directing mind of
the body.
15
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all
things grow up into him who is the Head, that is,
Christ.
BAR ES, "But speaking the truth in love - Margin, “being sincere.” The
translation in the text is correct - literally, “truthing in love” - ᅊληθεύοντες alētheuontes.
Two things are here to be noted:
(1) The truth is “to be spoken” - the simple, unvarnished truth. This is the way to avoid
error, and this is the way to preserve others from error. In opposition to all trick, and
art, and cunning, and fraud, and deception, Christians are to speak the simple truth, and
nothing but the truth. Every statement which they make should be unvarnished truth;
every promise which they make should be true; every representation which they make of
the sentiments of others should he simple truth. “Truth is the representation of things as
they are;” and there is no virtue that is more valuable in a Christian than the love of
simple truth.
(2) The second thing is, that the truth should be spoken “in love.” There are other

204. ways of speaking truth. It is sometimes spoken in a harsh, crabby, sour manner, which
does nothing but disgust and offend When we state truth to others, it should he with
love to their souls, and with a sincere desire to do them good. When we admonish a
brother of his faults, it should not be in a harsh and unfeeling manner, but in love.
Where a minister pronounces the awful truth of God about depravity, death, the
judgment, and future woe, it should be in love. It should not be done in a harsh and
repulsive manner; it should not he done as if he rejoiced that people were in danger of
hell, or as if he would like to pass the final sentence; it should not be with indifference,
or in a tone of superiority. And in like manner, if we go to convince one who is in error,
we should approach him in love. We should not dogmatize, or denounce, or deal out
anathemas. Such things only repel. “He has done about half his work in convincing
another of error who has first convinced him that he loves him;” and if he does not do
that, he may argue to the hour of his death and make no progress in convincing him.
May grow up into him - Into Christ; that is, to the stature of a complete man in
him.
Which is the head - Eph_1:22 note; 1Co_11:3 note.
CLARKE, "But, speaking the truth in love - The truth recommended by the
apostle is the whole system of Gospel doctrine; this they are to teach and preach, and
this is opposed to the deceit mentioned above. This truth, as it is the doctrine of God’s
eternal love to mankind, must be preached in love. Scolding and abuse from the pulpit or
press, in matters of religion, are truly monstrous. He who has the truth of God has no
need of any means to defend or propagate it, but those which love to God and man
provides.
Grow up into him - This is a continuance of the metaphor taken from the members
of a human body receiving nourishment equally and growing up, each in its due
proportion to other parts, and to the body in general. The truth of God should be so
preached to all the members of the Church of God, that they may all receive an increase
of grace and life; so that each, in whatever state he may be, may get forward in the way of
truth and holiness. In the Church of Christ there are persons in various states: the
careless, the penitent, the lukewarm, the tempted, the diffident, the little child, the
young man, and the father. He who has got a talent for the edification of only one of
those classes should not stay long in a place, else the whole body cannot grow up in all
things under his ministry.
GILL, "But speaking the truth in love,.... Either Christ himself, who is the truth,
and is to be preached, and always spoken of with strong affection and love; or the
Gospel, the word of truth, so called in opposition to that which is false and fictitious; and
also to the law, which is shadowish; and on account of its author, the God of truth, and
its subject matter, Christ, and the several doctrines of grace; and because the spirit of
truth has dictated it, and does direct to it, and owns and blesses it: this, with respect to
the ministers of the Gospel, should be spoken openly, honestly, and sincerely, and in
love to the souls of men, and in a way consistent with love, in opposition to the secret,
ensnaring, and pernicious ways of false teachers; and with respect to private Christians,
as they are to receive it in love, so to speak of it to one another from a principle of love,
and an affectionate concern for each other's welfare, to the end that they

205. may grow up into him in all things which is the head, even "Christ": the work of
grace upon the soul is a gradual work, and an increase of this in the exercise of faith,
hope, love, and spiritual knowledge, is a growth; and this is a growth in all things, in all
grace, as in those mentioned, so in others, as humility, patience, self-denial, resignation
of the will to the will of God, and especially the knowledge of Christ; for it is a growing
into him, from whom souls receive all their grace and increase of it; for he is the head of
influence to supply them, as well as the head of eminence to protect them; see Eph_1:22
and now the preaching of the Gospel, or the sincere speaking of the truth, is the
instrumental means of such growth.
JAMISO , "speaking the truth — Translate, “holding the truth”; “following the
truth”; opposed to “error” or “deceit” (Eph_4:14).
in love — “Truth” is never to be sacrificed to so-called “charity”; yet it is to be
maintained in charity. Truth in word and act, love in manner and spirit, are the
Christian’s rule (compare Eph_4:21, Eph_4:24).
grow up — from the state of “children” to that of “full-grown men.” There is growth
only in the spiritually alive, not in the dead.
into him — so as to be more and more incorporated with Him, and become one with
Him.
the head — (Eph_1:22).
RWP, "In love (en agapēi). If truth were always spoken only in love!
May grow into him (auxēsōmen eis auton). Supply hina and then note the final
use of the first aorist active subjunctive. It is the metaphor of Eph_4:13 (the full-
grown man). We are the body and Christ is the Head. We are to grow up to his
stature.
CALVI , "15.But, speaking the truth. Having already said that we ought not to be
children, destitute of reason and judgment, he now enjoins us to grow up in the
truth. (145) Though we have not arrived at man’ estate, we ought at least, as we
have already said, to be advanced children. The truth of God ought to have such a
firm hold of us, that all the contrivances and attacks of Satan shall not draw us from
our course; and yet, as we have not hitherto attained full and complete strength, we
must make progress until death.
He points out the design of this progress, that Christ may be the head, “ in all things
he may have the pre-eminence,” (Col_1:18,) and that in him alone we may grow in
vigor or in stature. Again, we see that no man is excepted; all are enjoined to be
subject, and to take their own places in the body.
What aspect then does Popery present, but that of a crooked, deformed person? Is
not the whole symmetry of the church destroyed, when one man, acting in
opposition to the head, refuses to be reckoned one of the members? The Papists
deny this, and allege that the Pope is nothing more than a ministerial head. But such

206. cavils do them no service. The tyranny of their idol must be acknowledged to be
altogether inconsistent with that order which Paul here recommends. In a word, a
healthful condition of the church requires that Christ alone “ increase,” and all
others “ decrease.” (Joh_3:30.) Whatever increase we obtain must be regulated in
such a manner, that we shall remain in our own place, and contribute to exalt the
head.
When he bids us give heed to the truth in love, he uses the preposition in, ( ἐν) like
the corresponding Hebrew preposition ‫,ב‬ (beth,) as signifying with, — speaking the
truth With love (146) If each individual, instead of attending exclusively to his own
concerns, shall desire mutual intercourse, there will be agreeable and general
progress. Such, the Apostle assures us, must be the nature of this harmony, that men
shall not be suffered to forget the claims of truth, or, disregarding them, to frame an
agreement according to their own views. This proves the wickedness of the Papists,
who lay aside the word of God, and labor to force our compliance with their
decisions.
(145) “ ᾿‫כחטו‬ֱ◌ύ‫ןםפוע‬ does not seem properly to denote so much ‘ the truth,’ as ‘ and
adhering to it;’ and, to render the Christian perfect, he must add to this regard to
truth, love, or universal affection and benevolence. It was a noble saying of
Pythagoras, agreeable to this sentiment of our apostle, ‘ are the two loveliest gifts of
the gods to men, ‫פ‬ό ‫פו‬ ἀ‫כחטו‬ύ‫ךב‬ ‫וים‬ὶ ‫פ‬ὸ ‫ו‬ὐ‫וסדופו‬ῖ‫,ם‬ to embrace the truth, and be
beneficent.’ AElian. 1. 12, c. 58.)” — Chandler.
(146) “ ᾿‫כדטו‬ֱ◌ύ‫ןםפוע‬ ἐ‫ם‬ ἀ‫ד‬ά‫,נח‬ means much more than ‘speaking the truth in love;’ it
signifies thinking, feeling, acting under the influence of ‘ truth, which worketh by
love.’” — Brown.
BURKITT, "Our apostle had set forth the excellent end of the ministry, in the
foregoing verse, for furthering their stability and steadfastness in grace; here he
declares the admirable fitness of it, for helping forward their proficiency and
growth in grace. Speaking the truth in love: that is, cleaving to the truth of Christ's
doctrine, and living in love with one another, you may grow up in Christ by making
progress in all christian graces, being united to him as members to the head.
Here note, How the apostle draws a comparsion between the natural and mystical
members, and the increase of both: as there must be a fellowship betwixt the natural
head and members, so must there be a union betwixt Christ, the spiritual head, and
believers, his mystical members; and as there is further required a mutual
communion and fellowship of the members of the body within, and amongst
themselves, in order to growth and increase, so must there be concord, love, and
unity, amongst believers, if they expect to see grace growing in themselves, or in one
another.
Are the members of the natural body severally distinct from one another, some
principal, others ministerial; but all concurring to the service of the whole? So, in
order to spiritual growth, must all the members of Christ's mystical body keep their

207. rank and order, and act in their own sphere, with spiritual wisdom and humility;
the eye not doing the work of the hand, nor the hand the work of the foot; but
everyone in the calling wherein he is called, must there abide with God.
Again, is there a supply from head to members in the mystical body, and from one
mystical member to another: one is apt to teach, another ready to comfort, a third
able to convince, a fourth willing to exhort, a fifth to advise and counsel; and all
these, and every one of these, contributing all they can to the welfare and growth of
the whole. Happy is it both for the natural and mystical body, when the members of
both are subservient to each other, and contribute all they can to the mutual growth
and improvement of one another, and especially for the benefit and advantage of the
whole.
BI, "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ.
Lovingly real
Although ale?theuein has in usage the special force of “expressing truth,” yet here it
seems to be the expression by a whole life and conversation, and so to answer to the
recent phrase--too recent to find place in a great version; the phrase of “being real.”
It means the tone of true life answering to true conviction. For the apostle, with a
crash of images, bids us not be infantile, and not toss and twist as the waves of
opinion surge to the breath of every new system, system ever so fortuitous, ever so
scheming, ever so methodically misleading; but counter to all this, bids us form a
purpose of steady growth, a growth depending on our own will, a growing into Jesus
Christ. Of this mystic attainment, the moral intelligible meaning at this present is:
“To be real--in love”--reality in contrast to illusion, love in contrast to self-seeking.
Is not this the world’s problem of life? The very epigram of ethics--“Lovingly real.”
It is easy to be straightforwardly real, and show no tenderness for anyone but
yourself. It is easy to express devoted interest by voice and look, and to be a
dissembler. But to be real oneself and to be in love even with those that are not real
and not loving, requires such an ejection of self-pleasing and self-seeking, as must be
troublesome to the best, and intolerable to the most. There is an honesty of manner
which, as Cicero says, makes “a brow look not so much a brow as a pledge to
society, an austerity like that of an archaic bust, a massive simplicity on which an
age or a kingdom might lean; yet (says he) such a man may be a deceiver from his
boyhood, his spirit shrouded by his looks, and his doings by four wails.” Or the
selfish may wear no disguise at all. As in a vivid portrait lately exhibited to us--“the
motive of his talk was never an appeal for sympathy or compassion, things to which
he seemed indifferent, and of which he could make no use. The characteristic point
with him was the exclusiveness of his emotions. He never saw himself as part of a
whole, only as the clear-cut, sharp-edged, isolated individual … needing in any case
absolutely to affirm himself.” The feigning of the actor and the indifference of the

208. egotist are equal, though contrasted tributes to the world’s high honour of honesty.
But in neither of them is there a grain of love. Love has its tributes too. All the forms
of society are penetrated and saturated with the expression and exhibition of our
interest in each other. And these forms are hollow only if you choose to make them
so. Genuine courtesy fills every one of them with meaning.
I. Testimony for Christ. And here we have a first application of this antithetic unity
of reality and love:--Independence with considerateness, dignity with humility, self-
respect free from self-consciousness, and kindness without assumption. It is reality
which Christ seems to require as a first condition of our remaining within the circle
of His own influences present and to come. And how effective it is! Even the rudest
personal testimony, the forced-out declaration in clumsiest English of “what He
hath done for my soul,” seems to clench the holdfast of the speaker, and to pierce
like nails into the consciences of hearers.
II. A loving word of faithful warning to rich men.
III. Loving reality in worship. If the great antithesis of reality and lovingness is a
help in the guidance of our own heart, and has a bearing on the present fast-
changing relations between rich and poor, ought it not further to contribute
something to our view of the modern agitations of the Church? It cannot be without
significance even to an unconcerned looker-on (if the literature of the time can allow
us to imagine such a person), that these agitations centre upon worship. But has not
reality as much to do with the question as lovingness? For what is worship? Is it not
a recognition of the truth of things, how things are in the world? Was it not so
framed of old by God, has it not so been felt by man to be the most expressive, the
most solemn recognition of realities unseen, of veritable relations filling all the
region around man? (Archbishop Benson.)
Truth in love
Everyone here knows how much depends on the way in which a thing is done. You
may do a substantially kind thing in such an ungracious manner, that the person to
whom you do it will rather feel irritated, and wounded, and sorry that he needs to
take any favour from you, than grateful and obliged to you. And, unhappily, there
are in this world some really good and Christian people, who are so unsympathetic;
so devoid of the power of entering into the feelings of others, and so regardless of the
feelings of others, that when they do a kindness to anybody, and especially to a poor
person, they do it in much the way in which you would throw a bone to a hungry

209. dog. You will sometimes find a real desire to do good, alloyed with so much
fussiness, so much self-sufficiency, and such a tendency to faultfinding, that so far
from good being done, a great deal of mischief follows. Then, on the other side, you
may have known men and women who had so much Christian wisdom, and such a
gift of sympathy and tact, that even in doing a severe thing--even in finding serious
fault, or declining to grant some request--they were able to make a friend for life of
the person they were obliged to reprove or deny. ow, there are many ways in
which a man may “speak the truth.” You may speak the truth with the view of
insinuating falsehood. It was so, when the Pharisees said of our Blessed Lord, “This
man receiveth sinners.” Then you may speak the truth in envy. It was so, when the
Pharisees saw Christ going as a friend into the house of the publican Zaccheus; they
murmured, saying “That He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.” It
was quite true, what they said; but it was the truth spoken in envy that the poor
outsider was to be brought within the fold. Then you may speak truth in pure
malignity: from a desire to give pain, combined with certain coarseness of nature. It
is commonly so with that class of persons who make a boast of speaking their mind,
which usually consists in telling anybody something that he will not like to hear.
ow, St. Paul tells us in the text how Christian people are to speak the truth. “In
love.” Truth, spoken in love, has incomparably greater force to do good--to direct
people, to mend people--than truth spoken in severity, even though it be spoken with
good intentions. If a minister, in preaching the gospel, assume a severe, harsh,
overbearing manner, then, though what he speaks be God’s truth, his chance of
really doing good to those who hear him is greatly diminished. I daresay many now
present are aware of the curious way in which my text was written by St. Paul
himself in the language in which he wrote it. He put the things more forcibly than
we have it in our Bibles; using an idiom which cannot be rendered well in our
English tongue; at least in a single word. St. Paul referred to all conduct, as well as
to speech. And he meant more than the mere cultivating of a truthful spirit. If we
were literally, though awkwardly, to translate his words, they would be “truthing it
in love”; that is, thinking, speaking, and doing the truth in love. ow let us think a
little of our duty in regard to the first of the two things which are to be combined--
truth and love. Let us think of what is implied by speaking and living the truth. Of
course some things here are very plain. Every little child knows what is meant by
speaking the truth; and anything like trying to define that simple fact would only
perplex it. Yet how truly it has been said by a very thoughtful writer, that “each
man has to fight with his love of saying to himself and those around him pleasant
things, and things serviceable for today, rather than the things which are.” We come
to difficult matters, thinking of the believer’s duty of speaking the truth. At this
point of our meditation, we come to the question, To what degree is a Christian man
bound to speak the truth when it will be disagreeable, in the way of finding fault?
Here is a matter for that Christian prudence we must ask from the Holy Spirit. We
must avoid the extreme of cowardly appearing to acquiesce in wrong for fear of
giving offence: and we must avoid the other extreme of needlessly blurting out
whatever is in us, regardless of the pain this may cause. Disagreeable truths are
seldom in actual life spoken in love. They are sometimes spoken to the very end of
mortifying and wounding; and it is no justification of one who has spoken in that
spirit, that all he said is quite true. There has been such a thing as a professing

210. Christian of high pretension saying to a gay, thoughtless young person, “Your heart
is hardened: your conscience is asleep: I’ll pray for you:” saying all that (which was
all quite true) in so malignant a tone, that it was as bad to bear as a blow or a stab.
Ah, brethren, that is not the way to win souls to Christ and salvation!
II. Thus we are led back to the second great characteristic, which is to be in the
Christian’s heart, speech, and life. That is love. And if love be the fulfilling of the
Law: if faith, hope, and love be the three great Christian graces, but love the chiefest
of all; we need not wonder that our truth is to be leavened with love, like everything
else we do. Yes, let the two things always go together: Truth and Love. Truth,
without love, will fail to do what God meant it for: and love without truth, would
flatter the soul into a false peace, from which the waking would be in woe. Truth is
the stern hard thing, like the bare branches of winter: Love is the softener and
beautifier, like the green foliage on the summer tree. If you show that you love
people, you may tell them truths that condemn them, and vet awaken no bitterness:
you may show them how wrong they are, and only make them thankful to you for
setting them right. Do you ask how we are to reach this love, that ought to leaven all
our speaking, thinking, feeling, and being; how we are to cast out the poor enmities,
jealousies, irritations, and self-conceits, that often make people speak the truth in
anything but love, and hear the truth in anything but a loving spirit? The answer to
that question is ready: and one plain inspired declaration is as good as twenty.
Listen to St. Paul’s words: “The love of God” (and that, you know, brings along
with it love to man) “is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given
unto us.” (A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.)
Speaking the truth in love
The Spirit in which the truth is spoken is as important as the utterance of truth
itself.
I. A few illustrations of speaking the truth in love.
1. If I speak the truth in love, I shall delight in all, who exhibit that truth, even
though in many things they differ from me.
2. If I speak the truth in love I shall rejoice in the exhibition of truth, even by those
who are personally offensive or injurious to me. This thing Paul did (Php_1:15).
3. If I speak the truth in love I shall not seek to magnify myself by the utterance of
the truth, at the price of the degradation or disparagement of others.

211. 4. If I speak the truth in love I shall defend it in a loving spirit.
5. If I speak the truth in love, I shall be moved by a loving purpose in the utterance
of truth. My spirit will be benevolent and my aim will be within the sphere of love.
II. Some considerations by which we maybe moved to endeavour whenever we
speak the truth to speak in love.
1. Christian truth is revealed as a means of bringing us men back to love. The
apostasy of man is a wandering from love. The moral restoration of man is
restoration to perfect love. And Christian truth is revealed as a means of restoring
us to love.
2. Christian truth is best illustrated and enforced by the voice, and by the
countenance, and by the hands of love.
3. o aim or object, however important, can justify the transgression of the law
which demands perfect love. If it be right to be bitter and unloving in speaking the
truth, it would be right to steal or to kill for the truth’s sake.
4. Except as we speak the truth in love, we cannot expect to spread widely the
knowledge of the truth. The man who speaks the truth, but not in love, may succeed
in diffusing it; but he who speaks it in love will surely prosper. The one is like a man
sowing good seed while a rough wind is blowing, or when surrounded by fowls,
which devour it up--the other is like a man sowing when the atmosphere is calm,
and no creature is near to prevent the seed falling into the ground.
5. Unless we speak the truth in love we are liable to depart from the truth. Between
the state of our affections and our religious beliefs there is a close and abiding
connection. Departure from love, if it be more than temporary, will involve some
departure from the truth. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love.
6. There are temptations incident to speaking the truth, and manifold temptations
connected with much speaking, and these are best met and resisted by the power of
love. He who speaks the truth is in danger of making his advocacy of the truth a
personal matter--a means of exalting himself, and of serving himself, and he is in
jeopardy of enlisting for his service pride and vanity; but he who speaks the truth in
love, loses himself, and forgets himself, and becomes absorbed in the manifestation
of the truth. Thus speaking, the speaker is to the truth, as the easel is to a painting,
and as a candlestick is to a light.
7. Schism is promoted if the truth is not spoken in love.
8. We are servants of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in speaking the truth, only so
far as we speak in love. Failing here, we are the servants of some sinful lust or

212. passion. We wear the livery of truth as our professed Master, and do the work in
that livery of another master, who is opposed to him whom we profess to serve. We
admit that it is very difficult in some circumstances to speak in love. The anger
which is aroused by contradiction, the fear of being worsted which is called into
play by opposition, the desire for a creditable share of personal strength, which is
awakened, with its attendant pride and vanity, unite to render it difficult. But a true
and loyal Christian is not a man to put aside a duty because it is difficult. It was a
difficult matter to him to repent, but he has repented; difficult to believe, but he has
believed. He is the child of a Father who only doeth wondrous things. Truth needs
not the service of passion, yea nothing so dissevers it as passion when set to serve it.
The spirit of truth is withal the spirit of meekness. (S. Martin, D. D.)
Loyalty to truth and love to men issuing in likeness to Christ
The special object which the apostle has in view here is to warn the Ephesian
Christians against error and false doctrine, capricious winds blowing about them
the tricks of the theological conjuror, the craftiness of the cunning deceiver. The
best security against this, he seems to think, is in the cultivation of a truth-loving
spirit, and a truthful tongue. They who are themselves deceivers are, in their turn,
commonly deceived, for, however suspicious and cunning they may be, falseness so
twists and perverts the moral faculty, so distorts the vision, and blunts the touch,
that such men will often suspect where they ought to confide, and confide where
they ought to suspect. The most inveterate liars will sometimes be easily imposed
upon, and believe the lie of some mere clumsy charlatan, who is, after all, far less
cunning than themselves. So the blind lead the blind, and by a righteous retribution,
both fall into the ditch; while he who is once on the track of truth, if he will but
pursue her fair and gracious form, shall hold his steadfast course, falling neither
into ditch nor quagmire, till at length he come along the shining way to the door of
the Father’s house, where truth and righteousness dwell forever. A merchant, on a
railway journey, happened, by good fortune, to find himself in the same
compartment as Bishop Wilberforce. Turning his opportunity to account, he thus
addressed the worthy prelate: “I have often, my lord, wished to ask of such a person
as yourself which is the right way in religious matters; the sects are so conflicting,
the roads seem so diverse--Catholicism, Protestantism, Free Churchism, and what
not--that, to a plain man like me, it is difficult to know which road to take. Can you
tell me?” “ othing easier,” said the Bishop; “take the first turning to the right, and
then keep straight on.” It is much to be feared that there are many who know the
first turning to the right, but will not take it, or, if they take it, do not keep straight
on.
I. Loyalty to truth. What a changed world this would be, and what a glorious
Church, if there were no treasons, no rebellions, no wrongs against the truth.

213. 1. Truth in the commercial world.
2. Truth in social intercourse.
3. Religious truth.
II. Love to man, in conjunction with loyalty to truth.
III. Likeness to Christ. (J. W. Lance.)
The mission of the clergy; or, the faithful preacher
I. What is the duty of the faithful preacher? The text answers, “to preach the truth
in love.” What is truth? The first great truth of religion is the knowledge of God.
II. What constitutes a faithful preacher? ow some would say, preaching the truth
does so. ot exactly, my brethren. For it is possible to be convinced of a thing
without being very well pleased with it.
1. In the first place, whosoever will “speak the truth in love,” before all things it is
necessary that he be himself “of the truth.” Your lips to be truthful must be the
exponents of an indwelling Divine and deep seated love.
2. Furthermore it is necessary to truthfulness of speech, or faithful preaching, that
we preach the truth in love to men’s souls.
3. But with all his faithfulness the faithful preacher must take care “what manner of
spirit he is of.” True, he must “not shun to declare all the counsel of God”--true, he
must “nothing extenuate” nor allow the wicked to remain in their sins, and vainly
content themselves with a peace which does not belong to them. Still, on the other
hand, he “must not set down aught in malice,” or preach the truth, however
faithfully, with the spirit of bitterness, or sarcasm, or spiritual pride. Especially is it
laid upon us, reverend brethren, to “speak the truth in love” to those who dissent
from the character or convictions of our church. If we are lovers of the truth, the
truth will be spoken by us elsewhere than in the pulpit: the pulpit doubtless offers a
prominent opportunity of speaking the truth and enforcing its obligations with all
that fervour and faith which belong to a heart that is itself in the fear of God: but

214. true preachers of God will not rest here.
III. Why preachers should be faithful in the way I have pointed out. (W. Fisher, M.
A.)
Truthful dealing
1.The text assumes that if we are Christians our daily conversation will be mainly
with our fellow Christians. If our relations with our fellow Christians were only
occasional, it would be vain to think that our truthful discharge of those relations
could ensure growth in the whole spiritual life; but the true Christian cannot be
merely in occasional and accidental contact with those who are radically united with
him in Christ.
2. The blessed fruits of the fellowship into which we enter inwardly and spiritually
in our union with Christ, and visibly and outwardly in our public profession of faith
as members of the Christian Church, can only be manifested by truthfulness and
loyalty. We are to be truthful to our profession. A profession of obedience to Christ
is a profession of willingness to sacrifice ourselves for them that are His.
3. Where there is this honesty of purpose towards the brethren, we shall be sure to
find candour, simplicity, and plain truthfulness in every act of life. The man who is
seeking his own things, who associates with his neighbours only to make a profit of
them, requires to hide his purpose by untruthfulness; but the man who knows that
no Christian can venture to have an interest of his own apart from the interest of the
whole Church needs no concealment. Surely, when professing Christians deal with
one another in secresy and guile, they are either confessing that they have not felt
the power of grace in their own souls, or they have basely doubted the power of
grace in their neighbour.
4. If our actions were always pure in the sight of God and man, if our Christian life
were perfect, if we were not still under the power of sin, so often intent on selfish
ends, it would be easy for us to be candid and sincere to one another. The test of
Christian truthfulness is to be found in its power to assert itself as the rule of our
life in spite of the sins that disturb even Christian fellowship.
5. It is plain that truthful dealing in these and many other ways, is possible only if,
as the apostle says, it is truth speaking “in love,” not merely that we are to speak the
truth lovingly, not harshly. To live a life of open-hearted candour towards our
brethren, if we have no love to Christ in our hearts, is the greatest of all hypocrisies.
(W. R. Smith, M. A.)

215. Power of love in winning souls
A convict condemned to die was visited in his cell at different times by ministers and
Christian philanthropists, who tried to awaken him to a proper sense of his
condition, and to prepare him for his end; but none of them succeeded in making
any impression upon him. He seemed hopelessly hardened. At last a humble but
venerable preacher came, and sat down beside him, and talked so tenderly and so
directly to his heart, that he broke down, and conversed freely, and exhibited signs
of genuine repentance, The good man prayed with him, and left him in tears. “I
couldn’t stand that,” the convict said, telling the gaoler how his visitor had dealt
with him; “Why, he called himself a sinner--and said he needed a Saviour as much
as I did! That wasn’t the way the others talked.”
Helpfulness of love
A famous painter at Antwerp called Quentin Matsys was in early life a blacksmith.
He fell in love with a young woman, but her father refused to let her marry the
blacksmith unless he painted a great picture. He knew nothing about the easel, but
much about the anvil. He did not, however, give up his purpose. He studied and
painted early and late, and in six months he produced his famous picture, “The
Misers,” and won his wife. On his own portrait he wrote the words, “Love made me
a painter.” (G. Fleet.)
Speaking the truth in love
The manner of saying a thing is of as much importance as the thing said. Apples of
gold, when taken out of their pictures of silver, and hurled at your head, may
become the instruments of great pain, much harm, and even murder. So words that
are not fitly spoken. They may in themselves be good and true enough, but if uttered
in a rude, insolent, arrogant, and offensive manner, they will probably result in evil
rather than good. The question of manner is, therefore, something worth taking into
consideration, equally by him whose office it is to instruct, advise, rebuke, and
exhort his fellow men. For while not everyone can be like the shepherd of King
Admetus, whose--
“Words were simple words enough,
And yet he used them so,
That what in other mouths was rough,
In his seemed musical and low,”
there are yet very few who, by taking heed thereto, may not cultivate an agreeable,

216. gentle, winning manner, even though by nature they be rough and harsh. The heart
is the source of the manner of speech as much as of the words. Temper and soften
that; fill it with Christ’s charity. Let your words be winged by love, and their own
sweetness will heal the wound they strike. (Christian Age.)
Gentleness in reproving
A skilful physician having to heal an imposthume, and finding the person to be
afraid of lancing, privately wrapped up his knife in a sponge, with which, while he
gently smoothed the place, he lanced it. So, when we encounter an offending
brother, we must not openly carry the dagger in our hand, but with words of
sweetness administer our reproof, and so effect the cure.
How to proclaim the truth
When I was a very young student, perhaps about sixteen years of age, I breakfasted
with Caesar Malan, of Geneva, at Dr. John Brown’s. When the doctor told him that
I was a young student of divinity, he said to me, “Well, my young friend, see that
you hold up the lamp of truth to lot the people see. Hold it up, hold it up, and trim it
well. But remember this: you must not dash the lamp in people’s faces. That would
not help them to see.” How often have I remembered his words! They have often
been of use to me. (Dr. Morrison.)
Truth, in love
“The portrait is like me, but too good looking,” was the criticism once made to an
artist, which called forth the significant reply, “It is the truth, lovingly told.”
(Spencer Pearsall.)
The work of Christ’s living Body
I. The nature of the Christian church as a body. o one would ever draw from the
inspired pages the modern notion of the Church as composed of various self-
originated societies, with conflicting creeds, diverse government and discipline, with
changeful worship and ordinances, adapted to the taste or humour of their
capricious founders. o. The Church presented in the Bible is like Jerusalem, “a
city which is at unity in itself.” The Church is not only a society having common
interests, a city with a general charter, a kingdom having one Sovereign. These
comparisons do not sufficiently illustrate its unity; but it is one Body, under the

217. direction of one Head, animated by one vital Spirit.
II. The union and communion between the ministers and members of the Church
and its Divine Head.
III. The means by which the growth and extension of the Church are promoted.
Like the human body, to which it is compared, the Church of Christ does not attain
its growth at once, but passes through infancy and childhood to the full vigour and
maturity of manhood. The growth of the Church consists not only in the
advancement of its own members in faith, holiness, and love, but also in its
aggressive movements upon the world, the conversion of sinners through its
instrumentality, and the adding unto it of such as shall be saved. How then are we,
my brethren in the ministry, to effect our part in the edification of the Church and
the conversion of the world? All the duties of our high function have a tendency to
these glorious ends; but preeminent among them, as if including all others, and
giving to them all their efficacy, is that specially noticed in the text--“speaking the
truth in love.” The truth of God must ever be held in connection with the Church of
God. It is at once her support and her adornment. She is the tree of life, which bears
those leaves of truth that are for the healing of the nations. But truth in all its
beauty, integrity, and fair proportions, is found only in union with the Church. But
what is to be the spirit of our teaching? We must not only inculcate the truth as it is
in Jesus, but do it in the spirit of Jesus, which was the spirit of love. “Teaching the
truth in love.” (Bishop Henshaw.)
The Head and the Body
I. Our union to Christ--“The Head, even Christ.”
1. Essential to life.
2. Essential to growth.
3. Essential to perfection.
4. Essential to every member.
II. Our individuality--“Every joint; every part.” Each one must mind his own office.

218. 1. We must each one personally see to his own vital union with the Body, and chiefly
with the Head.
2. We must be careful to find and keep our fit position in the Body.
3. We must be careful of our personal health, for the sake of the whole Body; for one
ailing member injures the whole.
4. We must be careful of our growth, for the sake of the whole Body. The most
careful self-watch will not be a selfish measure, but a sanitary duty involved by our
relationship to the rest.
III. Our relationship to each other--“Joined together”; “that which every joint
supplieth.”
1. We should in desire and spirit be fitted to work with others. We are to have
joints. How could there be a Body without them?
2. We should supply the joint-oil of love when so doing; indeed, each one must yield
his own peculiar influence to the rest.
3. We should aid the compactness of the whole by our own solidity, and healthy
firmness in our place.
4. We should perform our service for all. We should guard, guide, support, nourish,
and comfort the rest of the members, as our function may be.
IV. Our compact unity as a Church.
1. There is but one Body of Christ, even as He is the one Head.
2. It is an actual, living union of a mere professed unity, but a Body quickened by
“the effectual working” of God’s Spirit in every part.
3. It is a growing corporation. It increases by mutual edification. ot by being
puffed up, but by being built up. It grows as the result of its own life, sustained by
suitable food.
4. An immortal Body. Because the Head lives, the Body must live also. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)

219. Head and members
There is a great fitness in the figure of the head and the members. The head is--
1. The highest part of the body, the most exalted.
2. The most sensitive part, the seat of nerve and sensation, of pleasure and pain.
3. The most honourable part, the glory of man, the part of man’s body that receives
the blessing, wears the crown, and is anointed with the oil of joy and of
consecration.
4. The most exposed part, especially assailed in battle, and liable to be injured, and
where injury would be most dangerous.
5. The most expressive part, the seat of expression, whether in the smile of approval,
the frown of displeasure, the tear of sympathy, the look of love. (G. S. Bowes.)
Oneness with Christ
The moment I make of myself and Christ two, I am all wrong. But when I see that
we are one, all is rest and peace. (Luther.)
Growing up into Christ
1. Of the things into which we are to “grow up,” I should place, first, assurance--an
assurance of our own forgiveness--an interest in Christ, and in all the promises.
Assurance, or, which is almost the same thing, peace, is entirely a matter of
“growth.” It develops like the harvest; and many seasons have to pass over it. It
begins in a little seed of trembling hope, which scarcely gives a sign, or sends out one
shoot. Then you go on to a feeling of faith, which comes and goes, as capricious as an
April day. Then you proceed to a trust, which begins to settle itself, and to spring
upward. Then that trust becomes firmer and firmer; while, in exact proportion, the
life rises visibly, but feebly, higher and higher, till you reach, through much
discipline, and after many pains, and perhaps only at the very last--to an
unquestioning faith, and entire confidence, and a belief that has not a shadow, that
He is yours and you are His--that you can lie, covenanted, undertaken for, safe
forever--sure as the everlasting hills--steadfast as the throne of God; while, all the
time, the richness of the fruit bears ample testimony to the depth of the root.
2. Another thing into which we “grow,” and a sure accompaniment of this increase
of faith, and without which you may very justly suspect whether it is faith at all, is

220. humility. ever think that humility belongs most to the young Christian, or to the
earlier stages of the Divine Life.
3. Side by side with a deepening humility will come the exquisite grace of simplicity.
Simple thoughts about truth, simple views of Christ, simple language about religion,
simple manners, simple dress, simple conduct. The fine, and the showy, and the
effective all belong to infancy.
4. Then another part of growth is, to “grow” out of self. They have got high up who
have escaped from themselves. First, from self-indulgence; then from self-exaltation;
self-consciousness. And, still higher, those who, scarcely looking into themselves at
all, never seek in self what is only to be found in Christ. It was the characteristic
feature of Christ Himself, that “He pleased not Himself.” Let me tell you one or two
of the great secrets of “growth.” You must be happy. You wilt never grow till you
are happy--happy in your own soul with God. othing will ever grow out of
sunshine; and the sunshine of the heart is the felt smile of God. Then you must have
communion with the holy, invisible things of another world. Growth is an influence
from above. The higher atmosphere draws up the plants. Place yourself where the
showers fall. Take in the virtue of strength through the drops of truth. And
remember we “grow” from within. The heart first, the life afterwards. And use well
what you have. Action is the key of growth. Therefore, the fierce winds blow over
the forest--that each tree, and bough, and little spray, being moved, and shaken, the
sap may the better run. Stirring things are to quicken us--that God’s grace may
operate, that we ourselves, not being stagnant, but active, and busy, and diffusive--
may “grow”; grow up to that great Worker, who so travailed for us all. And you
must yield yourselves to the Pruner’s hand. ow there would be very little to gather
in your gardens but for the dresser’s knife. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Christ the Head of the Church
Let us consider Christ--
I. As head of the body. From this union so complete, the meanest member derives
benefit: separate from the Saviour, the Church is nothing; united to Him, all her
members grow and thrive. But there is one very important point not to be
forgotten--the sympathy of the Head and of the Church (1Co_12:26-27).
II. As the covenant-heart of the Church (see Eph_1:20-22). Adam was the head of
the human race, and their welfare or ruin depended on his obedience or
disobedience to God. Christ was chosen to be the representative or federal Head of
the family of God; and “in Him they are all made alive.”

221. III. As Head of the Church in the exercise of his kingly authority.
IV. As the Head or fulness of divinity (see Col_2:9-10). What a glorious display does
this give us of our Immanuel! Possessed of the fulness of the Godhead, He is at the
head of creation as “Lord of all” (Col_1:15-18). (Essex Congregational
Remembrancer.)
Obeying the Head in all things
Patterns of the obedience which we should yield to Jesus Christ, the members
hesitate not to obey the head, even to their own loss and painful suffering. Take the
hand, for instance. Archbishop Cranmer stands chained to the stake. The fagots are
lighted. With forked tongues the flames rise through the smoke that opens, as the
wind blows it aside, to show that great old man standing up firm in the fiery trial.
Like a true penitent, he resolves that the hand which had signed his base recantation
shall burn first; and how bravely it abides the flame! In obedience to the head, the
hand lays itself down to suffer amputation; in obedience to the head, it flings away
the napkin, sign for the drop to fall; in obedience to the head, as was foreseen by
some of our fathers when they attached their names to the League and Covenant, it
firmly signed the bond that sealed their fate, and doomed them to a martyr’s grave.
Let the head forgive, and the hand at once opens to grasp an enemy’s, in pledge of
quarrel buried and estrangement gone. Would to God that Jesus Christ had such
authority over us! Make us, O Lord, thy willing subjects in the day of Thy power!
Ascend the throne of our hearts! Prince of Peace! take unto Thee thy great power,
and reign! The one body:-- ow let us, for a few moments, observe what the head
does in the natural body, and then see what that spiritual Head does for His
mystical body.
1. The head directs. The ends of all the nerves are gathered within that wonderful
arch, the skull, which might be called the electric telegraph room of the body,
communicating instantly by thought, through those fine white wires the nerves, with
every part, and the most distant extremity of the body. If the Christian acts rightly,
it is Christ who directs him: He “of God is made unto us wisdom”; and the
Christian, feeling his ignorance, and asking for wisdom, according to the promise,
“If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God,” is generally guided into all moral and
saving truth.
2. The head nourishes. If the nerves are once severed, all below the part severed
becomes dead, for the communication is stopped between the head and the
members; and if the communication were once stopped between Christ and a

222. member, that member would instantly become paralyzed, or die. As it is in the
natural body, the limb withers, the flesh shrinks, the muscles collapse, and the man
becomes a mass of bones and shrunken sinew; as I have myself for a long time
visited one who was dead from the head downwards, from some such accident as
this--whose hands were tied over his body, perfectly lifeless, perfectly motionless. So,
if the communication only be imperfect, though not stopped, nutrition and growth
are immediately impeded; the heart begins to palpitate, so that disease might be
supposed to exist there; and if the leading nerves do not work, if the nervous energy
be impaired, the health of the member at once becomes weakness. Christ is the Head
of the body; and all the spiritual nourishment which that body receives is as directly
received through its union with the Head, as the nourishment of the body is through
its union with the natural head.
3. The head unites. My hand and my wrist are next door neighbours; but, near as
they are, it is only through the head that they sympathize. Were the nerves
separated, they would have just as much sympathy as two corpses laid in the same
room. If my hand holds communion with the wrist, it is through the union of both
with the head. As one hand holds communion with the other at the opposite quarter
of the body, so does the nearest member, as well as the farthest. And so it is with
Christians. The nearest believers are united, not by neighbourhood--for we know in
this monstrous city that men may live next door to one another, and know nothing
whatever of each other, and care less--but by union with Christ, the Head, the
members sympathize with the nearest, as well as with the farthest, because they are
both one in Christ.
4. The growth of the body depends on the health of every part; and it is this which
the apostle directs our attention to, where he says, “According to the effectual
working in the measure of every part”; and in this way it is that the body “maketh
increase to the edifying of itself.” A healthy body is that in which each part is
healthy. o part can be disordered in the natural body, without affecting the whole,
more or less. The festered little finger will make “the whole head sick, and the whole
heart faint,” will communicate throbs through the whole body to the brain, spread
inflammation, break up sleep, take away appetite, impair digestion, bring on the
flushing of fever, or the paleness of atrophy in the cheek. Growth is the result of
every part of the body doing its work. ot only is the daily waste made up, and the
daily loss repaired, but the body is increased by the addition of fresh particles. The
food we take is incorporated, and becomes part of our wonderful body: the salts, the
alkalis, the different elements in food, are all carried by the arteries and veins to the
different parts, and the stream of life lands and deposits each cargo of supplies at
the wharfs along the shore. The very bulb at the root of the hair is fed, and without
that nourishment it would not grow. ow, this supply cannot be carried on except
the head is united to the members; but it is by each joint of the body receiving its
supply, and doing its work, that the body grows. The supply is received in order that
the work may be done; and as the work could not be done except the supply were
received, so neither will the supply be given if the work is not done. All parts have
not, indeed, the same office in the natural body, but all have their own; each part
has its own particular work; and the body will be healthy or not in proportion as

223. each part does its own work. o part of the body is idle. The hand, indeed, does not
support the body, like the foot; but it supplies the food, and helps it in many ways.
The eye does not feed the body, like the hand; but it enables the hand to do so
better. The little hidden arteries, that creep along those wonderful hollows, and
valleys, and trenches in the bones, and through the skin and the flesh, cannot be
seen like the veins; but they are all at work, conveying the stream of life safely and
carefully along. o part is idle; each is at work; and it is by each doing its work that
the body grows. “The whole body,” says the apostle, “fitly joined together, and
compacted by that which every joint” supplieth, according to the effectual working
in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body. So is it in Christ’s body
the Church. Every member has its work to do--its own place in the mystical body,
and its own work in that place. ow, this work is not only the work of the minister
of the gospel--not the work purely of the bishop, or the elder, or the deacon. How
fearful would be the witness against the nominal Christian, if this were the
testimony of a servant! ow, it is by each member bearing this in mind, and
endeavouring to act out his part, that the Church spreads, and grows, and acts on
the world. Think, beloved brethren, what would be the effect on the world at large,
if all those only who met together in this house of God every Sabbath day went forth
with Christian consistency of conduct, and simplicity of motive and dependence, to
exhibit the example of their Redeemer in the world on the weekdays. Think, if every
part did its work with energy, what that work would be. (W. W. Champneys, M. A.)
16
From him the whole body, joined and held
together by every supporting ligament, grows and
builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
BAR ES, "From whom the whole body - The church, compared with the human
body. The idea is, that as the head in the human frame conveys vital influence, rigor,
motion, etc., to every part of the body; so Christ is the source of life, and rigor, and
energy, and increase to the church. The sense is, “The whole human body is
admirably arranged for growth and rigor. Every member and joint contribute to its
healthful and harmonious action. One part lends vigor and beauty to another, so
that the whole is finely proportioned and admirably sustained. All depend on the
head with reference to the most important functions of life, and all derive their vigor
from that. So it is in the church. It is as well arranged for growth and vigor as the
body is. It is as beautifully organized in its various members and officers as the body

224. is. Everything is designed to he in its proper place, and nothing by the divine
arrangement is lacking in its organization, to its perfection. Its officers and its
members are, in their places, what the various parts of the body are with reference
to the human frame. The church depends on Christ, as the head, to sustain,
invigorate, and guide it, as the body is dependent on the head” See this figure
carried out to greater length in 1Co_12:12-26.
Fitly joined together - The body, whose members are properly united so as to
produce the most beauty and vigor. Each member is in the best place, and is
properly united to the other members. Let anyone read Paley’s atural Theology, or
any work on anatomy, and he will find innumerable instances of the truth of this
remark; not only in the proper adjustment and placing of the members, but in the
manner in which it is united to the other parts of the body. The foot, for instance, is
in its proper place. It should not be where the head or the hand is. The eye is in its
proper place. It should not be in the knee or the heel. The mouth, the tongue, the
teeth, the lungs, the heart, are in their proper places. o other places would answer
the purpose so well. The brain is in its proper place. Anywhere else in the body, it
would be subject to compressions and injuries which would soon destroy life. And
these parts are as admirably united to file other parts of the body, as they are
admirably located. Let anyone examine, for instance, the tendons, nerves, muscles,
and bones, by which the “foot” is secured to the body, and by which easy and
graceful motion is obtained, and he will be satisfied of the wisdom by which the
body is “joined together.” How far the “knowledge” of the apostle extended on this
point, we have not the means of ascertaining; but all the investigations of anatomists
only serve to give increased beauty and force to the general terms which he uses
here. All that he says here of the human frame is strictly accurate, and is such
language as may be used by an anatomist now, The word which is used here
(‫́ש‬‫ו‬‫ףץםבסלןכןד‬ sunarmologeō) means properly to sew together; to fit together; to
unite, to make one. It is applied often to musicians, who produce “harmony” of
various parts of music. “Passow.” The idea of harmony, or appropriate union, is
that in the word.
And compacted - ‫́לוםןם‬‫ן‬‫ףץלגיגבז‬ sumbibazomenon. Tyndale renders this, “knit
together in every joint.” The word properly means, to make to come together; to
join or knit together. It means here that the different parts of the body are “united”
and sustained in this manner.
By that which every joint supplieth - Literally, “through every joint of supply;”
that is, which affords or ministers mutual aid. The word “joint” hero - ́‫ח‬‫̔צ‬‫ב‬ haphē -
(from ‫͂נפש‬̔‫ב‬ haptō to fit) - means anything which binds, fastens, secures; find does
not refer to the joint in the sense in which we commonly use it, as denoting “the
articulation” of the limbs, or the joining of two or more bones; but rather that
which “unites or fastens” together the different parts of the frame - the blood
vessels, cords, tendons, and muscles. The meaning is, that every such “means of
connecting one part of the body with another” ministers nourishment, and that thus
the body is sustained. One part is dependent on another; one part derives
nourishment from another; and thus all become mutually useful as contributing to
the support and harmony of the whole. Thus, it furnishes an illustration of the
“connection” in the members of the church, and of the aid which one can render to

225. another.
According to the effectual working - Greek, “According to the energy in the
measure of each one part.” Tyndale, “According to the operation as every part has
its measure.” The meaning is, that each part contributes to the production of the
whole result, or “labors” for this. This is in proportion to the “measure” of each
part; that is, in proportion to its power. Every part labors to produce the great
result. o one is idle; none is useless. But, none are overtaxed or overworked. The
support demanded and furnished by every part is in exact proportion to its
strength. This is a beautiful account of the anatomy of the human frame.
(1) othing is useless. Every part contributes to the general result - the health, and
beauty, and vigor of the system. ot a muscle is useless; not a nerve, not an artery,
not a vein. All are employed, and all have an important place, and all contribute
“something” to the health and beauty of the whole. So numerous are the
bloodvessels, that you cannot perforate the skin anywhere without piercing one; so
numerous are the pores of the skin, that a grain of sand will cover thousands of
them; so minute the ramifications of the nerves, that wherever the point of a needle
penetrates, we feel it; and so numerous the absorbents, that million of them are
employed in taking up the chyme of the food, and conveying it to the veins. And yet
all are employed - all are useful - all minister life and strength to the whole.
(2) one are overtaxed. They all work according to the “measure” of their
strength. othing is required of the minutest nerve or blood-vessel which it is not
suited to perform; and it will work on for years without exhaustion or decay. So of
the church. There is no member so obscure and feeble that he may not contribute
something to the welfare of the whole; and no one is required to labor beyond his
strength in order to secure the great object. Each one in “his place,” and laboring as
he should there, will contribute to the general strength and welfare; “out of his
place” - like nerves and arteries out of their place, and crossing and recrossing
others - he will only embarrass the whole, and disarrange the harmony of the
system.
Maketh increase of the body - The body grows in this manner.
Unto the edifying of itself - To building itself up that is, it grows up to a complete
stature.
In love - In mutual harmony. This refers to the “body.” The meaning is that it
seems to be made on the principle of “love.” There is no jar, no collision, no
disturbance of one part with another. A great number of parts, composed of
different substances, and with different functions - bones, and nerves, and muscles,
and blood-vessels - are united in one, and live together without collision; and so it
should be in the church. Learn, hence:
(1) That no member of the church need be useless, anymore than a minute nerve
or blood-vessel in the body need be useless. o matter how obscure the individual
may be, he may contribute to the harmony and vigor of the whole,
(2) Every member of the church should contribute something to the prosperity of
the whole. He should no more be idle and unemployed than a nerve or a blood-
vessel should be in the human system. What would be the effect if the minutest
nerves and arteries of the body should refuse to perform their office?. Langour,

226. disease, and death. So it is in the church. The obscurest member may do
“something” to destroy the healthful action of the church, and to make its piety
languish and die.
(3) There should be union in the church. It is made up of materials which differ
much from each other, as the body is made up of bones, and nerves, and muscles.
Yet, in the body these are united; and so it should be in the church. There need be
no more jarring in the church than in the body; and a jar in the church produces
the same effect as would be produced in the body if the nerves and muscles should
resist the action of each other, or as if one should be out of its place, and impede the
healthful functions of the other.
(4) Every member in the church should keep his place, just as every bone, and
nerve, and muscle in the human frame should. Every member of the body should be
in its right position; the heart, the lungs, the eye, the tongue, should occupy their
right place; and every nerve in the system should be laid down just where it is
designed to be. If so, all is well If not so, all is deformity, or disorder; just as it, is
often in the church.
CLARKE, "From whom the whole body - Dr. Macknight has a just view of this
passage, and I cannot express my own in more suitable terms: “The apostle’s
meaning is, that, as the human body is formed by the union of all the members to
each other, under the head, and by the fitness of each member for its own office and
place in the body, so the Church is formed by the union of its members under
Christ, the head. Farther, as the human body increases till it arrives at maturity by
the energy of every part in performing its proper function, and by the sympathy of
every part with the whole, so the body or Church of Christ grows to maturity by the
proper exercise of the gifts and graces of individuals for the benefit of the whole.”
This verse is another proof of the wisdom and learning of the apostle. ot only the
general ideas here are anatomical, but the whole phraseology is the same. The
articulation of the bones, the composition and action of the muscles, the circulation
of the fluids, carrying nourishment to every part, and depositing some in every
place, the energy of the system in keeping up all the functions, being particularly
introduced, and the whole terminating in the general process of nutrition, increasing
the body, and supplying all the waste that had taken place in consequence of labor,
etc. Let any medical man, who understands the apostle’s language, take up this
verse, and he will be convinced that the apostle had all these things in view. I am
surprised that some of those who have looked for the discoveries of the moderns
among the ancients, have not brought in the apostle’s word ‫וניקןסחדיב‬ , supply, from
‫,וניקןסחדוש‬ to lead up, lead along, minister, supply, etc., as some proof that the
circulation of the blood was not unknown to St. Paul!
GILL, "From whom the whole body fitly joined gether,.... By which is meant, the
church; see Eph_1:23 sometimes it designs all the elect of God in heaven and in
earth, but here the church militant, which only can admit of an increase; this body

227. is from Christ, as an head, and the phrase denotes the rise and origin of the church
from Christ, her dependence upon him, and union to him, and of its members one to
another; she has her being and form, from him, and all her blessings, as her life and
light, righteousness and holiness, her grace and strength, her joy, peace, and
comfort, her fruitfulness and final perseverance; and her dependence is upon him
for subsistence, sustenance, protection and safety, and for grace and glory; and her
union to him is very near, strict and close, and indissoluble; and the union between
the several members is also very close, and both are very beautiful:
and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual
working in the measure of every part. The Alexandrian copy reads, "of every
member"; and so the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions; the author of the
union of the members of Christ's body to one another is the Spirit of God, by him
they are baptized into one body; the cement or bond of this union is the grace of love
wrought in their souls by him; and the means are the word and ordinances, and
these convey a supply from Christ the head to every member, suitable to the part it
bears in the body, according to the energy of the Spirit, who makes all effectual: and
so
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love; the increase of the
body the church, is either in numbers, when persons are converted and added to it;
or in the exercise of grace, under the influence of the Spirit, through the
ministration of the word and ordinances; and both these tend to the edifying or
building of it up; and nothing is of a more edifying nature to the church than love,
which bears the infirmities of the weak, and seeks for, and follows after those things
which make for peace and godly edification, 1Co_8:1.
JAMISO , "(Col_2:19).
fitly joined together — “being fitly framed together,” as in Eph_2:21; all the parts
being in their proper position, and in mutual relation.
compacted — implying firm consolidation.
by that which every joint supplieth — Greek, “by means of every joint of the
supply”; joined with “maketh increase of the body,” not with “compacted.” “By
every ministering (supplying) joint.” The joints are the points of union where the
supply passes to the different members, furnishing the body with the materials of its
growth.
effectual working — (Eph_1:19; Eph_3:7). According to the effectual working of
grace in each member (or else, rather, “according to each several member’s
working”), proportioned to the measure of its need of supply.
every part — Greek, “each one part”; each individual part.
maketh increase — Translate, as the Greek is the same as Eph_4:15, “maketh
(carrieth on) the growth of the body.”
RWP, "From which (ex hou). Out of which as the source of energy and
direction.

228. Fitly framed (sunarmologoumenon). See note on Eph_2:21 for this verb.
Through that which every joint supplieth (dia pasēs haphēs tēs epichorēgias).
Literally, “through every joint of the supply.” See note on Col_2:19 for haphē and
Phi_1:19 for the late word epichorēgia (only two examples in .T.) from
epichorēgeō, to supply (Col_2:19).
In due measure (en metrōi). Just “in measure” in the Greek, but the assumption
is that each part of the body functions properly in its own sphere.
Unto the building up of itself (eis oikodomēn heautou). Modern knowledge of cell
life in the human body greatly strengthens the force of Paul’s metaphor. This is the
way the body grows by cooperation under the control of the head and all “in love”
(en agapēi).
CALVI , "16.From whom the whole body. All our increase should tend to exalt
more highly the glory of Christ. This is now proved by the best possible reason. It is
he who supplies all our wants, and without whose protection we cannot be safe. As
the root conveys sap to the whole tree, so all the vigor which we possess must flow to
us from Christ. There are three things here which deserve our attention. The first is
what has now been stated. All the life or health which is diffused through the
members flows from the head; so that the members occupy a subordinate rank. The
second is, that, by the distribution made, the limited share of each renders the
communication between all the members absolutely necessary. The third is, that,
without mutual love, the health of the body cannot be maintained. Through the
members, as canals, is conveyed from the head all that is necessary for the
nourishment of the body. While this connection is upheld, the body is alive and
healthy. Each member, too, has its own proper share, — according to the effectual
working in the measure of every part.
Lastly, he shows that by love the church is edified, — to the edifying of itself in love.
This means that no increase is advantageous, which does not bear a just proportion
to the whole body. That man is mistaken who desires his own separate growth. If a
leg or arm should grow to a prodigious size, or the mouth be more fully distended,
would the undue enlargement of those parts be otherwise than injurious to the
whole frame? In like manner, if we wish to be considered members of Christ, let no
man be anything for himself, but let us all be whatever we are for the benefit of each
other. This is accomplished by love; and where it does not reign, there is no “” but
an absolute scattering of the church.
BI, "From whom the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted by that which
every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
The Church is one body of different parts

229. I. The Church is a unit body. It is not meant to convey the idea that the Church is in
any way a material and tangible body, presented to the senses like material
substance generally. It is not a body of any earthly form and figure. Our common
conception of a body is a combination of particles constituting certain qualities and
forces. We understand the spiritual through the analogies and symbols of the
material and earthly. The Church is a holy combination of all spiritual powers and
sympathies meeting in one centre and end, proceeding from the nature of Divine law
and order, the relation of moral beings to one another, and the relation in which all
stand to God, the spiritual Father and wise Ruler of the universe. This is the Church
in its highest and purest form; it is the Church in the body of its principles, and the
sympathies of its heart.
1. The unity of the Church consists in its design and service.
2. It is a unity of sympathy.
3. It is a unity of privilege.
4. It is one in relation. The Church stands related to its source and Head, to Divine
order, to all intelligent beings, to itself and all belonging to its laws and blessings, to
this world and the next. These are relations of privilege and responsibility, of
honour and duty.
5. It is one in life and spirit.
6. It is one in likeness. The Church, as the product of one mind, carries the same
Divine image everywhere, both in its laws and members. It is intended to mould the
human family into the Divine likeness.
II. The Church, as one body, possesses various parts and fit organs to perform its
work and conserve its existence. It is not one clumsy mechanical piece, without
either parts or joints, but a body of numerous organs for the accomplishment of
different services. In its spiritual constitution it is a body of various elements, for the
performance of high and gracious designs. In order that these various elements may
have mediums of expression to reach their intended and fit end, there must be a
befitting organization of parts and suitable quality.
1. The members of the body are intended to perform the required functions for the
service of the body itself. The body has to serve itself before it can be useful to
others. It is, in a sense, its own saviour or destroyer. The right use of its own
functions and resources is its salvation; the rejection of this is its sure death and
decay. There are some powers given for its protection, there are others for its
growth and vigour; there are others for its comfort and happiness, and others,

230. again, intended for its beauty and attraction. To have a perfect body, all these must
do their own work, and cooperate for a common end; and to have a healthy and
happy Church, all its functions must be active in doing their own work, and united
together for one holy and high end.
2. The body has relations and duties to things besides itself. The body stands related,
some way or other, to all the things of earth. All the works of this world depend
upon the fitness of the members of the human body to do them; so that if these were
to fail, all would stop. There could be no art without the mind and the senses;
neither would there be commerce, building of houses, cultivation of the field, or any
other work of any kind whatever. Such is the vast importance of the members of this
small body, that all in life and society depend upon their order and efficiency. So is
it in analogy with the Church; all in society morally depends upon the efficiency and
the right use of its means and organs. All have their work. Unity of likeness and
variety of work are the two things which demand and consume the service of the one
and the whole. The head, the heart, and the hand of all have work, and that as much
for their own sake as that of others; and all this diversity and force are for the
needful and common service of the whole. To make these different organs complete
and effective, you will see at once that there are other conditions required, which
may be suggested as worthy of your respect and belief.
(1) It is needful that these organs should be in their proper position.
(2) Each organ must have its particular and proper work assigned to it.
(3) It is required that they are all regularly and faithfully exercised. Exercise is the
soul of power; it is both the condition of health and usefulness.
(4) It is expected that there is a common sympathy between all the members of the
body. They are coupled together. Harmony of parts in a machine, of members in the
human body, of functions in society, of powers in the mind, and of graces in the soul,
are analogous one to another, and are equally necessary for happy working and
successful results. Sympathy in the members of the body is expressed by mutual
cooperation and assistance, by subordination to and respect for one another, and
constant assisting and forbearing with one another. As with the body corporeal, so
is it intended to be in the body spiritual. The strongest must sympathize with the
weak. Extremes are intended to meet, and do meet, in harmony here.
(5) The body must have elasticity, to act with ease, comfort, and effect. The body is
not made in one piece, but of different parts. Between these there is unity, and yet
there is elasticity, so that everyone can play its own part without inconvenience to
itself or encumbrance to its neighbour.
(6) All are governed by one will and intelligence. The members of the body, though
various and numerous, are governed by one rational will, hence their unity in
operation and subject. The Church, in all its members and functions, is governed by
one constant and unfailing will, and this is one source of its power and unity. Only

231. one will governing all, through all time and in all places, and that the one and the
whole! What a thought!--what a comfort!
(7) It is requisite that there should be life underlying the whole.
III. All the parts in the organization of the body abe subordinate, and intended for
the increase of the whole.
1. It is to be a general and complete increase of the whole body. In order to have a
well-developed and equally proportionate Church, all means must be used, all
functions must be exercised; thus every part is developed, so that it becomes a true
counterpart of real existence, and fit for all intended for it, and demanded of it.
2. It is a conditional increase, produced by the use of means. To secure the increase
of the whole body, the law of the conditions demands that all means should be used,
all powers exercised, the spirit one of faith and love, the motive true and unselfish,
and the activity constant and unyielding. God gives increase according to law and
order; and when these things are united, never does it fail. When our life unites with
Divine order, happy results always follow, and never disappoint us.
3. It is an indefinite increase. There is neither limit nor end prescribed to it. It runs
down through time and eternity; it pervades the universe of rational and
responsible existence.
4. The soil and quality of the increase is love. Increase in love is one towards
ourselves stud the object or objects of our desire and delight at the same time. As
love is the refining power of the soul, to increase in it is to advance in all that is
morally pure and beautiful. It is the sweet element of happiness, and he who grows
in it increases in the thing all wish and all seek. It is one of the chief elements in
which we become like God, for He is love.
IV. The Church, as a body of parts, is dependent upon its representative head for its
order and resources.
1. Its laws and resources are from Him. The laws given by the Head to the Church
are few and natural, proceeding from the unchangeable relations of man to man,
and man to God. Love to God and love to man are the great moral laws which
remain in the Church forever, without declension or change, because they are
essential to the relations of moral beings, and the moral universe could not exist
without them.
2. From Him it receives its symmetrical proportion and harmony. The symmetry of
the Church is the harmony of all its parts with themselves, with the Divine economy

232. of the universe, and with itself, in all times and places. This three-fold symmetry it
receives from its glorious Head, who is one and unchangeable.
3. From Him it receives its oneness. This gives the Church, through all times and
places, unity of purpose and character. Its oneness is not in its feet, but in its Head.
4. From Him it receives light and life. As life and light are elements in importance
and value above all others, so is Christ to the Church. As He is made by God the
representative Head, He is made its light and life.
5. From Him it receives its beauty and attraction. A deformed head would destroy
every possible beauty and attraction of the whole body. A noble head gives beauty
and nobility to the whole. We look first at the head; we form our opinion of the
whole from the character of the head. In its outward form the Church may appear
mean and unattractive in some of its members, but the Head makes up for the
whole. The Head is never out of sight; it is visible to all from all its members.
6. Its magnitude and universality are received from the Head. His greatness becomes
that of the Church, by virtue of the relation existing between them. Where the Head
is, the Church is represented. In the Head, the Church of earth and heaven are
united; the spirit of the Head unites the present with the future, and thus gives to
the Church universality in time and space.
7. The Church is indebted for its hope and high destiny to its Head. The Head lives
for the body. The exaltation of the Head will be that of the body also. The Head is
above all human reach; and, in connection with its Head, the body will triumph over
all foes and opposition. (T. Hughes.)
Mutual dependence
I. Observe, in the first place, that all the true members of Christ are entirely
dependent on Christ. Independence is the great principle of our corrupt nature--
that sinful independence, that would lead the creature not to acknowledge its entire
dependence on God. But let me say to such that hear me, be assured of this; the soul
in that state ever can enter the kingdom of heaven.
II. But observe now, that the members of Christ are not only dependent on Christ,
but they are dependent upon each other. Look at a tree; is it not so? I see the branch
dependent upon its stem, as the stem is dependent upon its root; but I see little
branches dependent upon the other branches, and still smaller fibres dependent
upon the smallest branches. And so is it in this figure before us: “from whom the

233. whole body,” in its parts “fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every
joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part.”
III. And now consider the great object and end, for which all this takes place. It
“maketh increase of the body.” That is, “the whole body” in its parts “maketh
increase of the body” as a whole. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)
Christian work and Christian life
Christian life in the truest sense is impossible apart from Christian activity. In other
words, in the Church everyone has something to do.
I. There must be a hearty conviction that because we can therefore we ought to do
so. Power, you know, is a talent down to its uttermost limit, and as long as there is
something which “every joint” can supply, alas for that joint’s health and life, if it
fails of its function. A Christian that does no Christian work, is an anomaly.
Analogy teaches this. ature is not receptive only: nature is a bountiful giver;
rendering back again, thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold, that which man entrusts to
her keeping. Social life teaches the same doctrine. We cannot, if we would, do
without one another.
II. All Christians have not the same work to do. Every joint is to supply something,
but every joint is not to supply the same thing. It is to be according to “the measure
of every part.” There is something to be done by all of us; but our work varies with
our position in life. (W. G. Barrett.)
An honourable vocation for all
Very little are some of the joints and fibres; but every little helps. Who shall despise
the day of small things? But for the accumulated atoms, the aggregated littles, where
were the body? As the author of “Felix Holt” says, we see human heroism broken
into units, and are apt to imagine, this unit did little--might as well not have been.
But in this way we might break up a great army into units; in this way we might
break the sunlight into fragments, and think that this and the other might be
cheaply parted with. There is a latter day apologue of a gimlet that grew exceedingly
discontented with its vocation, envying all the ether tools in the carpenter’s basket,
and thinking scorn of its own mean duty of perpetually boring and picking holes

234. everywhere. “The saw and the axe had grand work to do; and the plane got praise
always; so did the chisel for its carving; and the happy hammer was always ringing
merrily upon the clenching nail.” But for it, a wretched, poking, paltry, gimlet its
work was hidden away, and very little seemed its recognized use. But the gimlet is
assured, on the best authority, that nothing could compensate for its absence, and is
therefore bidden be content, nay happy; for though its work seems mean and secret,
it is indispensable. To its good offices, the workman is said to look chiefly for
coherence without splitting; and to its quiet influences, the neatness, the solidity, the
comfort of his structure may greatly be ascribed. The apologue has, of course, its
practical application. “Are there not many pining gimlets in society, ambitious of
the honour given to the greater-seeming tools of our Architect, but unconscious that
in His hands they are quite as useful? The loving little child, the gentle woman, the
patience of many a moral martyr, the diligence of many a duteous drudge, though
their works may be unseen and their virtues operate in obscurity, yet are these main
helpers to the very joints and bands of our body corporate, the quiet home
influences whereby the great edifice, Society, is so nicely wainscoted and floored
without split boards … ” John ewton said that if two angels came down from
heaven to execute a Divine command, and one was appointed to conduct an empire,
and the other to sweep street in it, they would feel no inclination to change
employments. So again, the same robust divine affirmed that a Christian should
never plead spirituality for being a sloven; “if he be but a shoe cleaner, he should be
the best in the parish.” As the old servant tells Ruth in Mrs. Gaskell’s story,
“There’s a right and a wrong way of setting about everything--and to my thinking,
the right way is to take a thing up heartily, if it is only making a bed. Why, dear, ah
me! making a bed may be done after a Christian fashion, I take it, or else what’s to
come of such as we in heaven, who’ve had little enough time on earth for clapping
ourselves down on our knees for set prayers?” This quaint speaker had laid to heart
the lesson once for all enforced upon her, to do her duty in that state of life to which
it had pleased God to call her; her station was that of a servant, and, looked at
aright, as honourable as a king’s: she was to help and serve others in one way, just
as a king is in another. Her parting counsel to Ruth runs thus: “Just try for a day to
think of all the odd jobs as to be done well and truly in God’s sight, not just slurred
over anyhow, and you’ll go through them twice as cheerfully,” besides doing them
more efficiently. John Brown, of Haddingten, being waited on by a lad of excitable
temperament, who informed him of his desire to become a preacher, and whom the
shrewd pastor saw to be as weak in intellect as he was strong in conceit, advised him
to continue in his present vocation. The young man said, “But I wish to preach and
glorify God.” The old commentator replied, “My young friend, a man may glorify
God making broom besoms; stick to your trade, and glorify God by your life and
conversation.” As it was said of Bossuet, in the seventeenth century, that he could
not walk, or sit down, or even pluck a currant, without your recognizing in him the
great bishop (so asserts a modern French divine, not of Bossuet’s Church), just so
the workman and the domestic servant who are animated by their Master’s spirit,
distinguish themselves among their fellows by a certain air of nobility; under their
blouse or their livery may be seen to shine the signal light of their aristocratic
spirituelle, the image of the Most High Himself. However mean their employment,
they go about it with neither disgust nor indifference; but with an intelligent

235. interest, because, in the sight of God, and indeed in their own eyes, their occupation
is on a level with that of king or emperor. (Francis Jacox.)
The Church edifying itself in love
I. The church of Christ is compared to a body.
1. The life of a body.
2. Its head.
3. The members.
4. Their unity.
5. Its nourishment.
6. The soul.
II. The imperfections of this body.
1. Its numbers.
2. Its graces.
III. The endeavours it should make for its own edifying.
IV. The fact that the more love abounds, the more will it be edified. Love--
1. Enlarges supplication.
2. Inclines to peace.
3. Produces condescension.
4. Promotes activity. ( . Vincent, M. A.)

236. The Church, Christ’s Body, a growing body
Concerning this growth, the apostle says--
I. It is from Christ. He is the causal source from which all life and power is derived.
II. It depends on the intimate union of all the parts of the body with the head, by
means of appropriate bands.
III. It is symmetrical.
IV. It is a growth in love. (Dr. Hodge.)
The Body of Christ
The figure in the mind of the apostle is that of a human body, in its unity, in its
symmetry, in its structural completeness, its framework of bones shielding the
brain, shielding the eye, sheathing the life marrow in the spinal column; in the legs
supporting the frame as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold, the whole
wrapped in an enswathement of closely-knit, cunningly-knit muscles, ramified with
countless nerves, furnished with eyes, ears, hands, feet, and all the rest:--“The whole
body fitly,” etc. This is the object before the eye of the apostle as he writes of the
body that grows out of Christ.
I. As a body the Church possesses visibility. For about thirty-three years, more or
less, God manifest in the flesh was visible to the eyes of the world. Indeed, for that
last twelvemonth of His life on earth it may be said that Palestine saw little else.
Tabor in its bold isolation, Hermon with his glittering crown of snow, even
Jerusalem itself, was hardly so obtrusively visible as this great, strange personage.
And louder, gladder doxology never rolled up from earth to heaven than that of the
whole orchestra of priests, Levites, scribes, and Pharisees, Sanhedrim, and
synagogue when the body of Jesus disappeared from human view. They never for a
moment questioned that this was the “end all” of the whole perplexity. Little did

237. they dream that the withdrawal of this body only made way for another a thousand
times more visible. It is time long ago that men understood and recognized this
truth. They suppose that Christ is a purely historic Christ, while in fact He is a
contemporary Christ. They fancy that the Body of the great azarene Reformer is
gone forever from sight and time; while, in fact, the Church is His Body now visible
to the eyes of millions. As a body, the Church of Christ is visible. Should the thought
arise that the Church as a whole includes vast numbers of members who are not
visible--that here and there in the world are members of the Body of whom the
world knows nothing--we answer, Yes, and only part of the human body is visible.
We do not see the lungs and the heart and the nerves and the blood, and yet the
body is visible, and so is the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
II. As a body, the Church consists of a great variety of component parts. The
constituents of a human body are very numerous, very various; and these
constituents find their way to the body from every quarter of the globe. The whole
round world has been laid under contribution to make up the body in which you
live, move, and have your being. And is not this true of the Church which is the
Body of Christ? ot a variety of temperament, not a grade of intellect, not a style of
social life but has contributed to the building up of this Body of Christ. In that Body
we find the learned professor, and by his side the child of illiteracy; the scientist
discoursing of the plants, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that groweth out
of the wall, of beasts, birds, and fishes, of meteors and stars, of Orion and Pleiades,
and by his side one who hardly knows that the earth is round, and is right sure of
very little else than that he is a poor lost sinner, and that Christ died to save him.
One member of this Body dwells among Greenland’s icy mountains, another on
India’s coral strand; one wears the black skin of the African, another the red skin of
the American Indian; one the yellow skin of the Chinese, and another the tawny
skin of the Malay; another still the white skin of the Caucasian; but all alike are
members of the Body of Christ.
III. As a body, the Church is also characterized by a compact organic unity. It is a
body “fitly framed together,” etc. This unity is a unity of Life and Spirit. The vital
force that gives life to, warms, propels, acts in each believer, issues from Christ.
“From whom,” etc. In a vine, however large, the same life is in every leaf and every
branch, every tendril and every grape. In the whole vine there is perfect unity of life,
and that life is the one vine life. This is seen in the similarity of fruit the vine
produces. On the same vine you do not find here the Malaga grape, there the
Catawba, and here the Isabella; but on every branch the same fruit; for they are all
the product of one life. But Jesus said, “I am the vine,” etc. If any leaf on the vine
can say “such a life dwells in me,” every other leaf can say the same.
1. The Church is the Body of Christ--it is His head, His brain--an organ of thought
to Him. Whatever is lofty, pure, noble in the conception of the Church, in the

238. conceptions of the believer, is due to the Spirit of Christ acting through the mind of
the Church.
2. The Church is the eyes of Christ (Mat_9:36). The Jews thought that on Calvary
those pitying eyes forever closed in death. Today, after so many centuries, Jesus
looks abroad through a hundred millions of compassionate eyes upon the children
of men scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd.
3. The Church is the feet of Jesus. How restless were those feet (Mat_9:35). And
today the Church, His Body, is going about “all the cities and villages,” etc.
4. And the Church is the hands of Jesus. How blessed the relation of membership in
this Body of Christ, His work employing our thought, our eyes, our hands, our feet,
our lips!
This being so, two consequences follow.
1. o member of this Body must do anything that Jesus would not have done when
He was on the earth.
2. Every member of this Body of Christ must be ready, willing, anxious to do what
Jesus would do in his, in her place. (William P. Breed, D. D.)
The vitality and development of the body
The figure is a striking one. The body derives its vitality and power of development
from the head. The Church has a living connection with its living Head, and were
such a union dissolved, spiritual death would be the immediate result. The body is
fitly framed together, and compacted by the functional assistance of the joints. Its
various members are not in isolation, like the several pieces of a marble statue. o
portion is superfluous; each is in its fittest place, and the position and relations of
none could be altered without positive injury. “Fearfully and wonderfully made,” it
has its hard framework of bone so formed as to protect its vital organs in the thorax
and skull, and yet so united by “curiously wrought” joints, as to possess freedom of
motion both in its vertebral column and limbs. But it is no ghastly and repulsive
skeleton, for it is clothed with flesh and fibre, which are fed from ubiquitous vessels,
and interpenetrated with nerves--the spirit’s own sensational agents and
messengers. It is a mechanism in which all is so finely adjusted, that every part helps
and is helped, strengthens and is strengthened, the invisible action of the pores
being as indispensable as the mass of the brain and the pulsations of the heart.
When the commissioned nerve moves the muscle, the hand and foot need the vision
to guide them, and the eye, therefore, occupies the elevated position of a sentinel.
How this figure is applicable to the Church may be seen under a different image at
2:21. The Church enjoys a similar compacted organization--all about her, in
doctrine, discipline, ordinance, and enterprize, possessing mutual adaptation, and

239. showing harmony of structure. (J. Eadie, D. D.)
The growth of the body
“The body maketh increase of itself” according to the energy which is distributed,
not only through it, but to “every part” in its own proportion. Corporeal growth is
not effected by additions from without. The body itself elaborates the materials of
its own development. Its stomach digests the food, and the numerous absorbents
extract and assimilate its nourishment. It grows, each part according to its nature
and uses. The head does not swell into the dimensions of the trunk, nor does the
“little finger” become “thicker than the loins.” Each has the size that adapts it to its
uses, and brings it into symmetry with the entire living organism. And every part
grows. The sculptor works upon a portion only of the block at a time, and, with
laborious efforts, brings out in slow succession the likeness of a feature or a limb, till
the statue assume its intended aspect and attitude. But the plastic energy of nature
presents no such graduated forms of operation, and needs no supplement of
previous defects. Even in embryo the organization is perfect, though it is in
miniature, and development only is required. For the “energy” is in every part at
once, but in every part in due apportionment. So the Church universal has in it a
Divine energy, and that in all its parts, by which its spiritual development is secured.
In pastors and people, in missionaries and catechists, in instructors of youth and in
the youth themselves, this Divine principle has diffused itself, and produces
everywhere proportionate advancement. And no member or ordinance is
superfluous. The widow’s mite was commended by Him who sat over against the
treasury. Solomon built a temple. Joseph provided a tomb. Mary the mother gave
birth to the Child, and the other Marys wrapt the Corpse in spices. Lydia
entertained the apostle, and Phoebe carried an Epistle. Of old the princes and
heroes went to the field, and “wise-hearted women did spin.” While Joshua fought,
Moses prayed. The snuffers and trays were as necessary as the magnificent lamp
stand. The rustic style of Amos, the herdsman, has its place in Scripture as well as
the graceful paragraphs of the royal preacher. A basket was as necessary for Paul’s
safety at one time as his burgess ticket, and a squadron of cavalry at another. And
the result is, that the Church is built up, for love is the element of spiritual progress.
That love fills the renewed nature, and possesses peculiar facilities of action in
“edifying” the mystical Body of Christ. And, lastly, the figure is intimately
connected with the leading idea of the preceding paragraph, and presents a final
argument on behalf of the unity of the Church. The apostle speaks of but one Body--
“the whole Body.” Whatever parts it may have, whatever their form, uses, and
position, whatever the amount of energy resident in them, still, from their
connection with the one living Head, and from their own compacted union and
mutual adjustment, they compose but one structure “in love.” (J. Eadie, D. D.)