Does the reader happen to be familiar with Paul's epistle to the Ephesians? If so, he will know what great and grand truths are unfolded there. Some of our fellow believers dwell largely on what they term the heavenly side of Christianity and speak much of the Ephesian epistle..They could not do better, for a richer field it would be hard to find in the whole realm of Revelation.
It is well, however, to remember that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable. There is danger in confining our thoughts to one particular portion of the sacred Word. Sheep must have change of pasture if they are to thrive. But in Ephesians the saints are seen in the highest circles of blessing. Their blessing, too, is presented not so much in connection with the meeting of their need as with the opening out of God's gracious purposes formed in the council chamber of eternity before time began. This is plainly shown in its earliest verses. Before the foundations of the earth were laid, before the universe was framed by the command of the Almighty, before the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy, the saints were chosen in Christ that they should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph. 1:44According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Ephesians 1:4)).
I emphasize those words "in Christ." They show us that the first man, Adam, set up in Eden, was not the center of God's counsels. He was not the pivot on which the whole revolved. "The second Man" was that. In Him we were chosen; in Him we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Moreover, a son's place before the Father is what divine love designed for us. The saints are nearer than the angels. They stand in a relationship unknown to those unselfish, sinless beings who in these gracious ways of God behold His manifold wisdom, and rejoice. Accepted in the Beloved, they are heirs, too, with Him who is the Heir, destined to share His glory in the day of glory that is coming; and meanwhile the Holy Spirit is given as the earnest of what they shall inherit when Christ takes possession of that which is His. Ah, how easy it is to speak of these things! But how feeble is our grasp of them, and how little do we apprehend that eternal weight of glory which they reveal!
As far as the first chapter of the epistle is concerned, there is nothing to show the condition of those on whom such immeasurable blessing is conferred. The 7th verse does indeed speak of redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins; but apart from that there is not a word to indicate whether the beings thus blessed are fallen or unfallen. In the 2nd chapter the truth is disclosed. They were dead in trespasses and sins-children of wrath. In those deep dark depths God has sought and found the objects of His mercy. These He quickens together with Christ, raises up, and makes to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Thus He makes known the exceeding riches of His grace now, even as this grace shall be still more gloriously displayed in ages to come, when the saints appear in the same glory with Christ. Who could work in this dark sphere where death held sway save God alone? Therefore it is said, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." v. 10. And if the believer has been taken out of such an abyss, it is all of pure, free grace; for how can we speak of meritorious works, or any goodness whatsoever, in connection with men dead in sins?
But it was not to dwell on this side of Ephesian truth that we took up our pen to write. Other and abler hands have dealt with these exalted themes, and what they have written is within the reach of all. A word of caution, however, we would utter against the tendency to overlook those parts of this epistle in which the Spirit of God warns against positive sins. How rarely are these warnings the subject of discourse. One might almost ask whether "the flesh" no longer exists in the Christian, and whether sin, the world, and the devil have changed their character so that the plain words of the Apostle are no longer needed.
There is a disposition to suppose that the ministration of heavenly truth is all that is required to preserve the saints from evil. Were this so, the epistle might have ended in the middle of chapter 4. But it did not end there. That such a ministry is to be cherished, we own with all our heart. Possibly no servant of Christ exercised it more than the Apostle Paul. Yet in this epistle where heavenly things have so large a place, he speaks of sins with a bluntness that might offend fastidious ears. A plain-speaking man was Paul. When he had anything to say, he said it, and did not hide his meaning in a multitude of words. He loved the saints, the honor of Christ was dear to him, and he was not ignorant of Satan's devices. He saw the possibility of being occupied with deep things in a mere mental way, to the neglect even of common morality-heavenly truth on the lips, and the feet in mire and dirt. Therefore he exhorts them not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God whereby they were sealed unto the day of redemption; and he affectionately entreats them to be imitators of God as dear children, and to walk in love. Moreover, he bids them give no place to the devil, and to shun everything of the nature of a lie, both in word and in way. Nor does he withhold the most solemn warnings against the committal of sins, the mention of which among the saints would be to their deep disgrace.
We want a little more of this practical Christianity nowadays-a working into the warp and woof of everyday life the holy precepts which in the Ephesian epistle follow hard on the heels of heavenly doctrine. The devil will divorce them if he can in the thoughts and lives of the saints. "High talk and low walk" is likely, alas! to pass into a proverb. It is the outcome of intellectualism in the things of God. If truth is to profit, it must reach us through the avenue of the conscience, as we have often been told; and when it does, the whole man is laid under the power of it. Nothing is easier than to gain an intellectual acquaintance with the profoundest doctrines of Scripture, and to acquire the habit of talking about them with the greatest fluency; but from beginning to end it shall be a mere mental exercise, and nothing more. The individual most proficient in this fatal art is not necessarily a hypocrite; but what he has learned has either not been learned with God, or it is not held in faith.
Something more than intelligence is needed, dear Christian reader. We need piety, the unworldly walk, the fear of God, the abhorrence of evil, the scorning to do a mean act, the tender and uncondemning conscience, the guarded lip that will refuse to utter what is false. What is this but the precious fruit of the Spirit and of that divine charity without which we are nothing, though we understand all mysteries? Let this be lacking and, though we speak with the tongues of men and of angels, we are but as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
By all means study the deep things of God; but beware of intellectualism, and keep your imagination well in check. Think soberly. Search into the things which "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him," and which are now revealed unto us in the Holy Scriptures. Untold blessing may flow into your soul in the doing of it. Only see that your Christianity consists not in high-blown theories. Let it be practical. Read Eph. 1; 2, and 3 as often as you like; but also read chapters 4, 5, and 6. And remember that Paul, who certainly was no theorist, and who lived in the power of what he taught, exercised himself "to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men." Acts 24:1616And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. (Acts 24:16). May we be followers of Him even as he was of Christ.