(Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-2115Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:15‑23)
14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14‑21).)
The whole question of sin, both as to the soul of the believer and the claims of God, being thus settled, the apostle is free to unfold the counsels of God concerning His Son. The saints are now in a fit condition to hear and enter into the truth. The one grand object of these counsels, is the honor and glory of His beloved Son. He hath purposed to glorify Him in the very scenes of His former humiliation. In due time it shall be brought to pass, and that in a way worthy of the Father’s love. Amen! so let it be, exclaim all heaven and the hearts of all the faithful. Thou, Lord Jesus — thou art worthy!
At the same time, Ο my soul, bear in mind, that as the Church is one with Christ, she will be glorified together with Him. True, most true — scripture affirms it — we must maintain it. So we read in tins very epistle: “This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.” Christ by Himself is not the mystery, neither is the Church by herself; but Christ and the Church together. She will share the honor and glory along with Christ, not because of anything which she has done, but because she belongs to Him. This explains everything as to her privileges and blessings — she belongs to Him.
Blessed Lord! what love! Who would not seek to form a part of thy Church — thy bride? Many, alas! are setting at naught these eternal honors, for the passing trifles of a moment. Deliver such, Ο Lord, in thy mercy, from the blinding power of Satan, and truly bring them to thyself. May they now hear thy voice and follow thee. The door still stands wide open, blessed be thy name — the door that leads to thy home, thy heart, thy bridal glories!
The word “mystery,” let the reader understand, affords no excuse for ignorance on this subject. In scripture, the word does not mean something that we cannot understand, or that is even difficult to understand, but something that has not been revealed before — something that God kept secret in His own mind until He was pleased to reveal it. A great deal is said, for example, in the Old Testament about the millennium, and about the blessings of Israel in a land flowing with milk and honey; but nothing is said about the position of the Church as one with Christ in heavenly places during that period. Neither is there anything said in the Old Testament about the Church’s present position in suffering and rejection, or her future position as reigning and glorified with Christ. It was a secret — a hidden mystery, until the days of the apostle Paul; but when revealed, it is plain enough. But there is more, much more, in the mystery revealed to the apostle. God has not only made known to us the secret of His heart concerning the Church, but also, we may say, that which lay deepest in His heart — even the glory of His dear Son. He has thus committed to our trust that which lay long a secret in His own mind. Surely this is treating us as friends. This, Ο most gracious God, is like thy love, but most unlike what we deserve. The grace and the glory are thine alone.
Tins then is the mystery of His will — His good pleasure concerning Christ and the Church, which He hath purposed in Himself: “That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance.” Clearly then, it is God’s purpose to unite all things in heaven and on earth, under Christ as Head. All things will be under His hand and dominion; the heavens and the earth, which are now so far apart, will be united together as by Jacob’s ladder; or, according to our Lord’s own words to Nathanael, “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” The heavens and the earth will form one united scene of glory under the headship of Christ, during the millennium.
But here pause for a moment, my soul, and inquire, how this vast scene of universal glory can be the inheritance of the saints. This is well, the inheritance of the saints is our present theme, still it is well to understand the whole counsel of God: it gives breadth of truth to the soul. Observe, then, that it is as “the Son of man,” that Christ is thus glorified. It is as such that we are associated with Him in the glory: “In whom we have also obtained an inheritance.” Nothing can be plainer than this. And this will be the peculiar glory of the millennium. All things are put under His authority as man. And the Church, as now risen in Him, will then be associated with Him in the glory. Dwell on this wondrous truth for a moment, Ο my soul. Think where humanity has been carried to in the Person of Christ, and in what state it will appear on that day of full millennial glory! What a thought! — the vast, boundless scene of heavenly and earthly glory under the headship of man. As man — as the Second Man — the Last Adam, He unites all things under His own hand, in peace, glory, and blessing. Then the Church will be seen, known, and acknowledged, as the second Eve of the heavenly man, the Last Adam. As the risen man He is heir of all things, and we are joint-heirs with Him. Tins is the inheritance of the saints; or, “the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints.” The heavens and the earth, thus filled with glory, belong to God; but He holds them in His heavenly saints. At the close of the millennium, when Christ shall have put down all rule and all authority and power, He shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, that God may be all in all. But still there is a sense in which we shall reign forever — “reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:24-2824Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:24‑28); Rom. 5:1717For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) (Romans 5:17).
Before passing on to the third part of the apostle’s prayer — “The exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe;” we will look at an expression in verse 10, which is of immense importance in the economical ways of God, and closely connected with our present subject—“The dispensation of the fullness of times.” The word “dispensation,” or rather “administration,” refers to the time when all things will be under the administration of Christ. This will be the millennium. Now Satan is permitted to reign as the god and prince of this world. Then he will be shut up in the bottomless pit. (Rev. 20:1-31And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:1‑3).) Christ reigning as the Prince of peace, and Satan bound in the bottomless pit, must produce a mighty change in the world. Then will be earth’s jubilee. But she can hold no jubilee till then. Satan must be entirely off the scene, and Christ must take the reins of government into His own hands, before this earth’s inhabitants can enjoy peace and quietness. But the promise is sure. “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” (Isa. 32) This will be the state of things on the earth; and of the heavenly saints it is said, “ And they shall live and reign with Christ a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:44And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4).) The millennium, or administration of Christ, comes in between the rapture of the saints and the eternal state. No change on earth for the better need be looked for until after the Church is gone, and the scene swept of its corrupters, and the reign of Christ fairly begun. But what a comfort for our hearts to know, that He may come at any moment, and take us out of it all, and up to be with Himself in the house of many mansions. He puts no event, no circumstance, not even a moment of time, between our hearts and His coming for us. We are not looking for a second advent merely, but for the Son from heaven: these were His last words, “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.” Would that they had their own place in our hearts! Then could we say in true affection, “Amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
“A little while” — Come, Savior, come! For thee thy bride has tarried long: Take thy poor waiting pilgrims home, To sing the new eternal song, To see thy glory, and to be In everything conformed to thee.”
Some have thought that the expression, “the fullness of times,” refers to the present time, and means the same thing as “the fullness of the time.” (Gal. 4) This is evidently a mistake. “The fullness of the time,” and “the fullness of times,” are widely different in their meaning. The one refers to the past, the incarnation; the other to the future, the administration. In Galatians the apostle is speaking of the time appointed in the divine counsels having fully come, when “God sent forth his Son.” In Ephesians he speaks of a time yet future, when all times or periods will meet and terminate in the reign of Christ. Many things now running their course must end then, and end forever. Hence it is called “the fullness of times.” For example —Creation’s long subjection to decay and death will then be brought to an end. “For the earnest expectation of the creature (or creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” (Rom. 8) Not, observe, for the manifestation of the Son of God, but the sons of God. He has been manifested; they, not yet. It is when the sons of God are manifested in the glory, that the groaning creation will be relieved: that will be the signal for its complete deliverance. Its time of bondage runs on till then. “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now:” and, alas, must continue to groan and travail until Christ, and God’s “many sons,” appear in glory. But then, Ο happy day, the whole creation will be delivered from the bondage of corruption—the winding sheet of death in which it has been swathed since the days of Adam shall then be removed — the trail of the serpent shall disappear before the rising beams of the Sun of Righteousness — the wild beasts of the field shall be shorn of their ferocity — the earth shall yield her increase, the wilderness shall rejoice and blossom as the rose — and men shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Thus shall end the long period of creation’s subjection to vanity. Hasten it, in thy good time, Ο most gracious Lord! Oh, how many voices from the depths of oppression are daily and hourly crying, Come, Lord Jesus, Ο come quickly!
“Then comes the final kingdom,
No bound, nor end possessing,
When heaven, and earth,
Entranced shall lie
In universal blessing;
No mourning tongue to sadden,
No breath of sin to wither,
In earth — on high —
Be naught but joy,
And blissful peace forever.”
But as it would be out of place here to enlarge on the many times or periods, which are now running their sorrowful course, we will merely name some of them, and leave them for the reader’s own meditation.
The time of God’s long-suffering with evil, which still goes on, will end at the appearing of Christ: and so will the time of Israel’s judicial blindness — the time of Gentile dominion — the time of universal misrule — the time of the enemy’s power to deceive — the time of the Church’s weakness and suffering — the time of Christ’s sitting at the right hand of God. These times, and more that might be named, are limited in their duration — limited to the time of the Lord’s coming — “The times of restitution (or restoring) of all things.” The times of evil, of distress, of sorrow, and of open wickedness, will end, run out — cease to be, in “the dispensation of the fullness of times.” Christ will then take up that which has failed in the hands of men from Adam downwards, and reign as the Lord’s Anointed for a thousand years. All things will be put under Him as Head. The Church, His bride, will then be with Him, as the joint-heir of the inheritance of glory. Then God will be perfectly glorified in the world’s government — His will done on earth as it is in heaven, and all His ways completely vindicated.
“Head of the Church, thy body,
Jesus, our great salvation!
Sweet to thy saints It is to think
Of all thine exaltation!
All power to thee’s committed,
All power in earth, and heaven;
To thee a name
Above all fame,
Above all glory’s given.”