(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).)
But here, before passing on to the next verse, pause a moment, Ο my soul, and drop a word—a tear, for those who are now rejecting Christ. Oh! what a day of disappointment and sorrow, to all such, will the day of His coming be! To those who now believe in Jesus, it will be a day of light and unmingled blessedness; but to those who now reject Him, it will be a day of darkness and everlasting despair. The awful sentence, “depart from me,” like deaths toll, will be “full of mourning, lamentation, and woe.” Oh! thoughtless, careless, worldly one, be warned now. Be turned in thy heart to Jesus now. To come to Jesus, now, is not only to escape the lake of fire—is not only to be admitted into heaven, but it is to be a sharer of the nuptial glories of the Lamb, and to enjoy the intimacies of His love forever.
The same day and hour that the soul draws near to Jesus by faith, it is graciously met by God with eternal life. Full, immediate salvation is God’s blessed answer to our faith in His Son. Love delights to bless; but what so sensitive of neglect? How indignant must injured love be on that solemn day of final reckoning! With what sore judgment it will visit those who have despised its offers of pardon and salvation! Eternal condemnation must be the awful sentence of God on every soul that despises Jesus. There is not the shadow of a line of middle ground. He who is not justified by faith, must be condemned for unbelief; and condemned forever. on! how one’s soul is thrilled with these words as the pen writes them down! Eternal condemnation! What an enemy to grapple with, but how helpless the soul! The very sound of thy name, Ο thou unpitying, undying foe, is terrible! But, pray, where dwellest thou? In the regions of dark despair. And what doest thou? I cut off all hope and shut up the soul to self-reproach. How dreadful thou art! But tell me, what is the number of thy years? My years are without number. I know nothing, as men count, of beginning and ending. I am an eternal now. When millions and millions of years are past as men now reckon, I shall be just the same. Countless millions have an effect on me. Eternal means Eternal.
Hearest thou this, Ο my fellow sinner? Be entreated—be persuaded—think on these things now. Why play the fool, and fall into the fearful, the unrelenting grasp of eternal condemnation? Why prefer a moment’s present gratification, to eternal happiness? “The devils,” it is said, “believe and tremble.” Is thy heart harder than theirs? Canst thou hear of these things and not tremble? Canst thou believe them with thy natural heart and not tremble? This is to be more insensible than Satan. How dreadful! Esau sold the land of Canaan for a mess of pottage; wilt thou sell heaven for less? Judas sold the Savior for thirty pieces of silver; and for what art thou now selling Christ, heaven and all? Say, for what? The hope—the barest hope of a worldly pleasure—and be that pleasure in whatever form it may, it will never realize thy hope. The pleasure of the worldling has a rapid wing, and soon passes away, but a sting remains. Thou canst not give wings to it. For a vanity—for a nothing, thou art setting aside all that is good both for time and eternity, and thereby exposing thy precious, immortal soul to eternal condemnation. Be wise, O be wise! Pause, think: let not Satan have thee. There is One that loves thee and seeks thy real good; and, comparatively speaking, only one; and wilt thou not think of thy only Friend? He died for thee. Hast thou ever sought an opportunity to thank Him for it? Thy conscience says No—never. Is this thy love to thy friend—thy only friend? Come to Him now. His love still lingers—He waits for thee. And His way is, to ask no questions, but to bless every new comer according to the love of His own heart.
He will not put thee to shame with perplexing questions, but He will allow thee to hide thy guilty blushes in His own bosom. Were He only to inquire, “Why hast thou been so long in thinking of me?” shame and confusion would cover thy face; but such a thing He never does. He will rebuke Satan, who is at thy right hand ready to resist thee. But to a poor guilty one like Joshua, in Zechariah 3, it is grace without rebuke. He stands up for the sinner that has fled to Him in the face of every foe. The Lord rebuke thee, Ο Satan; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? The enemy is rebuked, but the penitent is cleansed, clothed, and crowned, and thus brought into the presence of God, to go no more out. And did He not vindicate the poor woman at His feet in the house of Simon? “I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven.” How beautifully He stands up for her, and that in the very face of the nation’s pride and self-righteousness! and mark too, how He fills her heart with a plenary pardon, a present salvation, and perfect peace. Luke 7.
As thou art man, Ο my fellow sinner, come to Jesus. Be encouraged. Come now. Thou seest the manner of thy reception. Thou knowest what He will say to thee. Bead carefully, I pray thee, these two portions, and there learn the Lord’s ways in grace with every poor, guilty soul that comes to Him. Thou hast but to let go thy hold of the world, or rather get away from the world’s hold of thee. Think of Jesus. Learn to know Him. He will fill every aching void, and satisfy thy heart forever. It is impossible to know Him without the heart being filled with joy, whatever the circumstances may be. “Acquaint thyself with him and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto thee.” Job 22:2121Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. (Job 22:21).
“Haste thee on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith and winged by prayer,
Heaven’s eternal day’s before thee,
God’s right hand shall guide thee there;
Soon shall close thine earthly mission.
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.”
We now return to the apostle’s prayer. He has before his mind, not the rejecter of Christ, but those who now believe, and who will have a place of peculiar nearness to Him in the coming glory. He prays, “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. This is an entirely different line of truth from his prayer in the first chapter. There, it is a question of standing; here, it is of state. There, he prays that the saints might know more fully their place before God in Christ, and all the privileges of that position; here, it is a question of practical power by the Holy Spirit—of being “strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.”
Love is the Christian’s strength; or, Christ dwelling in the heart by faith. This is his strength. The trials of the wilderness now, and the boundless glories of the future day, can only be calmly contemplated or endured in the strength of His love. It is the power of inward affections that strengthens for outward circumstances. When the object of affection dwells in the heart—yes, really dwells there, what would that heart shrink from to gain its object? To one, naturally, the most timid and delicate, love gives new courage, new strength, new resolution, a new character. Nothing is seen but the one object who is far away. The broad tempestuous sea—the ship’s rough crew—the inhospitable foreign shore, presents no difficulties. All who are known and loved and dear to the heart by the tenderest ties of kindred and friendship are freely given up, and it may be given up forever, for the one object who dwells in the heart, in truest, tenderest love. We mention not the possibility of all this valor of love being disappointed, it would be too heartless to think of; but there is only One whose love commands unquestioning confidence. And this is the One that the apostle so earnestly desires may dwell in our hearts.
What wondrous, blessed truth this is, Ο my soul! Hast thou well thought it over? It is one of the sweetest thoughts of His love. What is it, pray? It is this, as I understand it. When associated with Him as the center of a glory which has no circle, what could sustain thy heart? What could strengthen thee as His many glories are displayed before thy wondering eyes? Nothing but His love. And this is the great truth, here revealed to our hearts. “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,” mark, “to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” It is enough, Ο my soul: He who fills the vast universe with His glory, fills thy heart with His love.