(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).)
Verse 4. “According 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.” This verse sets before us the blessings of God’s call as connected with the divine nature. The fifth, as connected with relationship. These are the two heads of blessing — nature and relationship. They are according to God, as God; and according to the Father, as the Father.
The fourth verse refers to the first. God could not have it otherwise. If we are to be brought into His presence in heaven, we must be there like Himself. Nothing less could satisfy God. He is holy, blameless, and love; and He has chosen us in Christ to be like Himself as to these moral qualities. As Father (ver. 5), He has predestinated us to the blessed intimacies and privileges of a positive relationship. Both characters of blessing — nature and sonship, are united in every Christian; blessed be the God of all grace! But, for the present moment, Ο my soul, dwell a little on the first. It claims thy closest study. Wouldst thou be without a perfect acquaintance with that which God has chosen thee to be? Thy new nature is thyself, the old will soon drop off. Thy divine nature is thy capacity for the enjoyment of heaven, and all that is to be found there. Now, in the capacities of this nature, we joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and have fellowship with the Father and the Son by the Holy Ghost. Better than this, we may truly say, can never be found, even in heaven itself; but we shall know it better and enjoy it more, when all hindrances are removed.
It is God Himself that has chosen us in Christ to be holy and without blame before Him in love. The thought— the choice — the love, are His own. His be all the praise and glory. Man had no voice in tins matter. It was before the foundation of the world. All is according to God, and worthy of Himself. It is the necessity of His nature and character, to have those that are near Him, like Himself. It must be so. The principle is universal. The man of letters chooses for his companions’ literary men; and we all choose to have with us and around us, those that are suitable to our nature and ways. God acts upon this principle in the fourth verse. He is holy and blameless and love, and those that are to be with Him forever must be suitable to Him. But on the other hand, it is equally the necessity of His being, to exclude all evil from His presence. Far, far from the God of holiness must all evil be removed. Solemn thought, when we think of many around us. But the day will come, when not only the evildoer, but all evil shall be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 21:88But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)), all must be banished from the presence of God. He could not suffer the least stain of sin, in the most distant part of His dominions, far less on those who are near Him. The following lines are sweet to the renewed mind:
“All taint of sin shall be removed,
All evil done away;
And I shall dwell with God’s beloved,
Through God’s eternal day.”
Oh! that the unbelieving, unpardoned, uncleansed sinner would think of this now. Then, it will be too late. Now the fountain is open for sin and for uncleanness, and whosoever will may come and wash and he clean. “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” Hear, hear, Ο sinner, hear these gracious words! They are placed by the very side of that awful verse about the lake of fire. God has thus placed, as it were, side by side, the fountain of living waters, and the lake of fire. And mark, He says, “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely” — gratis. It is all of grace — free grace. But those who despise the open fountain of living waters, must be cast, with all their evil, into the lake of fire. Awful, solemn warning! Oh! what shall I say unto thee, my fellow sinner? Do stoop, I beseech thee, and drink, and live forever. The waters are free — free to the poorest — free to the vilest — free to all — free to thee. Think of the difference between the lake of fire and the fountain of living waters. Carefully read Rev. 21:6, 86And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 21:6)
8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8).
The thought of banishment from God in the forsaken place is awful—it is overwhelming. To be banished from God and Christ, from all the good and the holy, from all the pure and the happy, and to be doomed to dwell with all evil, and with all evil doers, and that forever, is more than we can bear to think of now. Oh! that word — that terrible word, “forsaken.” Who can bear to be forsaken? It brought from the heart of the lowly Jesus, that mournful and pathetic cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” In richest love and grace, He took that place for us, that we might never have to take it for ourselves; but sin, unrepented of and unpardoned, must take the sinner there. How awful the thought! To be forsaken of God and all His goodness —forsaken of Jesus and His bleeding love — forsaken of the Holy Spirit and all His strivings — forsaken of all that can sympathize and love; the poor, desolate, friendless soul must sink into utter despair. May all, whose hearts assure them that they are not prepared for the presence of God, cease from rest until they are. May they never rest until they come to Jesus, and find rest in Him. Matchless is the love that says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” It is His blood, and His blood alone, that cleanseth us from all sin. But to all who trust in Him He plainly says, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.” Once washed in the blood of Jesus, we are clean, “clean every whit” and that forever. The blood can never lose its power; only the daily defilements need to be washed away, as with the basin and towel. See John 13 We now return to our beautiful fourth verse. We have only left “the ninety and nine” for a little, to look after a lost one in the desert. May the Good Shepherd lay him on His shoulder!
God is light, and God is love; and we are called to be like Him, and to enjoy Him as such. This is God’s calling; but we are the called — chosen in Christ, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. This is the description of God’s own character, though it is hero given as the character of His children. Surely this is grace in its highest form. It breathes a well-pleased and delighting love. Do think of this, Ο my soul. Hurry not over the wondrous thought. This is it: when God would tell us what He is Himself, He describes what His children are — a son is the same nature as his father. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” True, He is Love; but He is also Light; and He dwells in the pure unsullied light of His own absolute Deity. And there He has called us and fitted us to be, in the fitness and acceptance of the risen and exalted Man. This is what God Himself has made us in Christ; forever blessed be His name!
But pray, tell me this: How can Christians be in the presence of God as holy, blameless, and love; seeing there is so much in us that is the opposite of all this? This is a point of much importance, and of great practical difficulty with many souls. But the answer is: the apostle is speaking of what we are in Christ; not of what we are, or have been, in ourselves. Our old nature is not referred to here — it is passed by unnoticed. Of course the old nature is in us, and no better than it ever was, and we must take care and not let it show itself. But we are chosen and called in Christ — He is our life; and we are, before God, in the Beloved One. This is the explanation, and in this the heart finds rest — Christ is holy in His character — blameless in His ways — love in His nature. And we are in God’s sight as He is. If God is to find pleasure in His children, they must he like Himself. Christ is the object of God’s unqualified delight, and so will we, by and by. This is the hope of His calling. Oh! deep, divine, ineffable, unutterable, unfailing spring of happiness now — of unmingled blessedness hereafter! “We know that, when he shall appear, we shall he like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Therefore, God has chosen us in Christ, “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” We are brought thus into His presence and His love is satisfied. Oh! most wondrous, precious truth! All is done, Christ is risen and glorified. “In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” It is only there that perfect blessedness can be found. With what a hope the calling of God fills the heart! His name alone has all the praise.
But this is only the bright side of the answer to the question. The state, or practical ways of the saints, is not always a true reflection of their standing and privileges in Christ. We come far short of what becomes the children of God in many things. How feebly we answer to His love; and how many things we allow that are contrary to Him. Whence come pride, vanity, and worldliness? we may ask. Certainly not from the divine nature. These, and all other evil things, flow not from our new, but from our old nature. Although our standing is in Christ, the flesh is in us, and ought to be mortified. In it there is no good thing. How often we have reason to be ashamed and humbled on account of our many faults. But ere long we shall have done with the flesh entirely, and be perfectly holy and without blame before God in love. He has chosen us to this end, and will in due time accomplish it. This is our sure hope. But in the meantime, may we seek to suppress our old nature and watch against all its tendencies. We know that we are in Christ now, and have His life in us, notwithstanding all our failures. May we have grace to feed on Him day by day and hour by hour that we may be strengthened to do His will.
“Though our nature’s fall in Adam
Seemed to shut us out from God,
Thus it was His counsel brought us
Nearer still, through Jesu’s blood;
For in Him we found redemption,
Grace and glory in the Son,
Ο the height and depth of mercy!
‘Christ and we through grace are one.’”