,st4 ,paul's ,epistle to the ,ephesians ,a ,practical ,exposition ,,by ,,the ,,right ,,rev4 ,,charles ,,gore1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,,lord ,,bishop ,,of ,,worcester ,,fifth ,,impression ,,twelfth ,,thousand ,,london ,,john ,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street #aijb ,a ,series of ,simple ,expositions of ,portions of the ,new ,testament ,,by ,,the ,,right ,,rev4 ,,dr4 ,,gore4 ,,the ,,sermon ,,on ,,the ,,mount4 ,crown #hvo1 #c_/f4 ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,ephesians4 ,crown #hvo1 #c_/f4 ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,romans4 #b ,vols41 ,crown #hvo1 #c_/f each4 ,oxford ,,horace ,,hart1 ,,printer ,,to ,,the ,,university ,,to ,,james ,l4 ,,houghteling ,,of ,,chicago ,,the ,,founder ,,and ,,president ,,of ,,the ,,brotherhood ,,of ,,st4 ,,andrew ,,and ,,to ,,all ,,the ,,brotherhood ,,which ,,in ,,more ,,senses ,,than ,,one ,,he ,,represents vi ,,preface ,the favourable reception accorded to an exposition of the ,sermon on the ,mount has encouraged me to attempt another practical explanation of a portion of the ,new ,testament1 in the interest of such readers as are intelligent indeed1 but neither are nor hope to become critical scholars4 ,an immense deal has been done of late to assist ,new ,testament scholarship1 but while the studies of the scholar make progress1 the ordinary ,christian 'reading of the ,bible' is1 ,i fear1 at best at a standstill4 ,this little book then is intended to make one of ,st4 ,paul's epistles as intelligible as may be to the ordinary reader1 and so to enable him to make a practical religious use of it1 'to read1 mark1 learn and inwardly digest' it4 viii ,the method pursued1 in the main1 has been to let each section of the epistle be preceded by an analysis or paraphrase of the teaching it contains1 in which it is hoped that no element in the teaching is left unnoticed1 and followed by such further explanations of particular phrases1 or practical reflections1 as seem to be needed4 ,i have avoided as far as possible all discussion of rival views1 and given simply what are1 in my judgement1 the best explanations4 ,i have ventured to dedicate this book to the ,president of the ,brotherhood of ,st4 ,andrew1 because 7see app4 note ,d1 p4 #bfd7 that society represents surely a brave attempt to realize some of the chief practical lessons which this epistle is intended to enforce4 ,,charles ,,gore4 ,,westminster ,,abbey1 ,christmas1 #ahig4 ix ,,table ,,of ,,contents ,,page ,,introduction 4 4 4 ,study of the ,new ,testament 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #a ,the gospel of the ,catholic ,church 4 4 4 4 4 4 #f ,the ,roman ,empire 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bj ,ephesus and the ,ephesians 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #cd ,the letter--to whom written 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #dc ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,ephesians4 ,,salutation 7i4 #a-b7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #dh ,,division ,i 7i4 #c-;iv4 #ag7 #a 7i4 #c-ad7 ,st4 ,paul's leading thoughts3 life in ,christ 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #ed predestination 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #fc the elect 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #fi the divine secret disclosed 4 4 4 4 4 4 #gb grace not merit 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #gd #b 7i4 #ae-bc7 ,st4 ,paul's prayer 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #gh #c 7ii4 #a-aj7 ,sin and redemption 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #hi #d 7ii4 #aa-bb7 ,salvation in the ,church 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #ajb #e 7iii7 ,paul the apostle of catholicity 4 4 4 4 4 #aba his second prayer 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #acc #f 7iv4 #a-af7 ,the unity of the ,church 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #adj x ,,division ,,ii 7iv4 #ag-vi4 #bd73 ,doctrine and conduct 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #agb #a 7iv4 #ag-bd7 ,christianity a new life 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #agh #b 7iv4 #be-cb7 ,the new life a corporate life 4 4 4 4 4 4 #ahd #c 7v4 #a-ad7 ,the new life an imitation of ,god 4 4 4 4 #aib and a life in the light 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #aid #d 7v4 #ae-ba7 ,the new life a buying up of an opportunity 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bjd #e 7v4 #bb-vi4 #i7 ,the law of subordination and authority 4 #baa husbands and wives 7v4 #bb-cc7 4 4 4 4 4 #bab parents and children 7vi4 #a-d7 4 4 4 4 #bbh masters and slaves 7vi4 #e-i7 4 4 4 4 4 #bcc #f 7vi4 #aj-bj7 ,the personal spiritual struggle 4 4 4 4 4 #bcg ,,conclusion 7vi4 #ba-bd7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bdh ,,appended ,,notes3-- ,a4 ,the ,roman ,empire recognized by ,christians as a ,divine ,preparation for the ,spread of the ,gospel 4 4 4 4 4 #bea ,b4 ,the 7so-called7 ',letters of ,heracleitus' 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bec ,c4 ,the ,jewish ,doctrine of ,works in ,the ,apocalypse of ,baruch #beg ,d4 ,the ,brotherhood of ,st4 ,andrew 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bfd ,e4 ,the ,conception of the ,church ,catholic in ,st4 ,paul in its ,relation to ,local ,churches 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bfg ,f4 ,the ,ethics of ,catholicism 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bga ,g4 ,the ,lambeth ,conference and ,industrial ,problems 4 4 4 4 4 4 #bgd #a ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,ephesians ,introduction4 i4 ,sidenote3 ,introduction ,there are two great rivers of ,europe which1 in their course1 offer a not uninstructive analogy to the ,church of ,god4 ,the ,rhine and the ,rhone both take their rise from mountain glaciers1 and for the first hundred or hundred and fifty miles from their sources they run turbid as glacier streams always are1 and for the most part turbulent as mountain torrents4 ,then they enter the great lakes of ,constance and ,geneva4 ,there1 as in vast settling-vats1 they deposit all the discolouring elements which have hitherto defiled their waters1 so that when they re-emerge from the western ends of the lakes to run their courses in central and southern ,europe their #b waters have a translucent purity altogether delightful to contemplate4 ,after this the two rivers have very different destinies1 but either from fouler affluents or from the commercial activity upon their surfaces or along their banks they lose the purity which characterized their second birth1 and become as foul as ever they were among their earlier mountain fastnesses2 till after all vicissitudes they lose themselves to north or south in the vast and cleansing sea4 ,the history of these rivers offers1 ,i say1 a remarkable parallel to the history of the ,church of ,god4 ,for that too takes its rude and rough beginnings high up in wild and remote fastnesses of our human history4 ,such books of the ,old ,testament as those of ,judges and ,samuel and ,kings represent the turbid and turbulent running of this human nature of ours1 divinely directed indeed1 but still unpurified and unregenerate4 ,but in the great lake of the humanity of ,jesus all its acquired pollution is cut off4 ,in ,him1 virgin-born1 our manhood is seen as indeed the pure mirror of the divine glory2 and when at ,pentecost the ,church of ,god issues anew1 by a second birth of that glorified manhood1 for its second course in this world1 it issues unmixed with alien influences1 substantially #c pure and unsullied4 ,after a time its history gains in complexity but its character loses in purity1 so that there are epochs of the history of the ,church when its moral level is possibly not higher than that which is represented in the roughest books of the ,old ,testament3 and through the whole of its later history the ,church is strangely fused with the world again1 until they issue both together into eternity4 ,men from all parts of the world visit ,constance and ,geneva1 and delight to look at the two famous rivers issuing pure and abundant from the quiet lakes4 ,an analogous pleasure belongs to the study of such books of the ,new ,testament as the ,acts of the ,apostles and ,st4 ,paul's ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 which give us respectively the fortunes and the theory of the ,church at its origin4 ,later epochs of ,church history have possibly more richly diversified interests--such as the period of the ,councils1 or the ,middle ,ages1 or the ,reformation4 ,but the interest of the earliest ,church unmixed with the world1 its principles fresh1 its inspirations strong1 its native hue free from discolouring elements1 preoccupies us with a fascination which is unrivalled4 ,the divine society is young and inexperienced1 but what it is and is meant #d to be we can see there better than anywhere else4 ,we return1 when our minds are aching and our eyes are dim with the complexity and obscurity of our latter-day problem1 to learn insight and simplicity again at those pure sources4 ,and to the ,christian believer these books are not only documents of great historical importance as illustrative of a unique period3 they also represent to us in different forms the highest level of that action of the divine ,spirit upon the mind of man which we call inspiration4 ,st4 ,paul for instance1 in this ,epistle to the ,ephesians claims1 as we shall find1 to be an 'inspired' man1 a recipient of divine revelation1 and makes a similar claim for the apostles and prophets generally4 ',by revelation1' he says1 ',god made known unto me the mystery 7or divine secret71 as ,i wrote afore in few words1 whereby1 when ye read1 ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of ,christ2 which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men1 as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the ,spirit4' ,inspiration is a term not easily susceptible of definition4 ,we are inclined in our generation to recognize its limits more frankly than has been done in the past1 and #e its compatibility even with positive error on subjects which are matter of ordinary human inquiry and not of divine revelation#a2 but its positive meaning in the region of divine revelation--in what concerns ,god's moral will1 purpose1 character and being1 and the consequent moral and spiritual significance of our human life--ought not to be less apparent to us than formerly4 ,thus when we call a writer of the ,new ,testament 'inspired' we must mean at least this3 that the same divine ,spirit who put the message of ,god in the hearts of the prophets of old1 and who worked ,his perfect work without let and hindrance in the manhood of ,christ1 is here so working upon the will and imagination1 the memory and intelligence1 of one of ,christ's commissioned witnesses as that he shall interpret and not misinterpret the mind and person of his ,master4 ,practically1 an inspired writer of the ,new ,testament means a writer under whom we can put ourselves to school to 'learn ,christ' with #f whole-hearted confidence and faith4 ,this1 of course1 gives an additional reason of the most cogent force why we should continually recur to the sacred books of the ,new ,testament4 ,if ,christianity is to be deterred from a fatal return to nature--that is to the religious or irreligious tendencies of mankind when left to itself--or if it is to be recalled when it has lapsed1 this can only be by an appeal to ,scripture constantly reiterated and pressed home4 ,there is for ever the testing-ground alike of doctrine1 of moral character1 and of ecclesiastical tendency2 there is the only perfect image of the mind of ,christ4 ii4 ,the ,epistle to the ,ephesians gives us ,st4 ,paul's gospel of the ,catholic ,church4 ,so far from being a man of one idea1 ,st4 ,paul fascinates and sometimes bewilders us by the intricacy and variety of his thoughts2 but like the innumerable leaves and twigs of some finely-grown tree which emerge1 all of them1 through branches and boughs1 out of one great trunk1 strong and straight1 and one deep and firmly-set root1 so it is with the infinitely various topics and suggestions of ,st4 ,paul4 ,they run back #g into a few dominant thoughts1 which in their turn have one trunk-line of developement and one root4 ,the root is the conviction1 finally smitten into the soul of ,st4 ,paul at the moment of his conversion on the road to ,damascus1 that ,jesus is the ,christ2 and the trunk-line of development is that which is involved in ,st4 ,paul's special commission to preach the gospel to the ,gentiles1 that is to say1 the principle that the ,christ is the saviour of ,gentiles as of ,jews and on an equal basis--or in other words1 that the ,christian church is catholic4 ,when ,st4 ,paul acknowledged that ,jesus of ,nazareth was the ,christ1 this of course meant that he remained no less than formerly an adherent of the ,jewish faith1 and that he 'worshipped' without any breach of continuity1 'the ,god of his fathers4' ,so he is fond of insisting#b4 ,thus to him the ,church of ,christ is still 'the commonwealth of ,israel1' ,god's ancient church1 though reconstructed#c4 ,for the religion of ,israel had had for its main motive the hope of the ,christ4 ,all that ,st4 ,paul now believed was that this hope had been realized1 and realized to the shame of ,israel in ,one whom they had rejected #h and crucified4 ,but if to believe that ,jesus was the ,christ involved no breach with the religion of ,israel1 yet it did involve the recognition that it had been reconstituted on a new basis1 and in a way that suggested to existing ,israelites nothing less than a revolution4 ,the church of ,god had1 in ,st4 ,paul's present belief1 widened out from being the church of one nation into being a catholic society1 a society for all mankind4 ,if ,st4 ,paul's epistles are taken in those groups into which they naturally divide themselves1 we find that in the first group1 that of the two epistles to the ,thessalonians1 all his favourite topics are present as it were in the germ1 but nothing that is specially characteristic of him is yet developed4 ,the free admission of the ,gentiles into the ,church is1 with the accompanying hostility of the ,jews1 assumed#d1 but not much insisted upon2 but in the interval between these epistles and that to the ,galatians the subject had gained fresh and poignant interest4 ,a party of ,christians having their centre at ,jerusalem had been trying--in spite of the decision of the apostolic council at ,jerusalem--to reimpose upon the consciences of #i ,gentile ,christians1 and with especial success in the ,galatian province1 the obligation of circumcision2 or in other words had been trying to make it evident that the ,church of ,god was as much as ever the people of the ,jews1 and that ,gentiles could only become ,christians by becoming also ,jewish proselytes pledged to keep the law of ,moses4 ,in view of this attempt ,st4 ,paul re-embarks upon his great campaign for the catholicity of the ,church1 and in his epistles of the second group#e 7especially those to the ,galatians and the ,romans7 the catholicity of ,christianity is vindicated controversially upon the basis of the principle of justification by faith1 not by works of the law4 ,the meaning and real importance of this doctrine ought not to be hard for us to understand4 ,to be justified means to be accepted or acquitted by ,god4 ,the ,judaizers--that is the ,christian representatives of the narrower religious spirit of ,israel--held that1 as ,god's covenant was with the ,jews only1 so men could obtain acceptance simply by the observance of that ,mosaic law which was to the ,jew at once the expression of the divine selection of his race1 and the grounds of his arrogant #aj contempt for all who had not ',abraham to their father#f4' ,but ,st4 ,paul had made trial of that theory1 and had found it wanting4 ,the observance of the law and the glorying in ,jewish privileges had brought him no peace with ,god3 had in fact served only to produce and deepen a sense of inner alienation from ,god and conviction of sin4 ,thus in acknowledging the messiahship of that ,jesus whom the chosen people had rejected and surrendered to be crucified1 he was abandoning utterly and for ever the standing-ground of ,jewish pride3 he was acknowledging that the only divine function of the law was to convince men of sin1 and of their need of pardon and salvation3 he was taking his stand as a sinner among the ,gentiles1 and humbly welcoming the unmerited boon of pardon and acceptance from the hand of the divine mercy in ,christ ,jesus4 ,when ,st4 ,paul in familiar arguments1 from the witness of the ,old ,testament itself1 and from the moral experience of men1 convicts the law of inadequacy as an instrument of justification1 his reasoning is full of a strong feeling and conviction bred of his own experiences4 ,the true means of justification1 he has come to perceive1 is faith1 that is1 #aa the simple acceptance of the divine favour freely offered1 and this is something that belongs to no special race1 but to all men as such4 ,for all men everywhere1 to whom the light comes1 can know that they are sinners in the sight of ,god1 and can accept simply from the hand of the divine bounty the unmerited boon of forgiveness and acceptance in ,christ4 ,thus1 if faith and faith alone is that whereby men are justified or commended to ,god1 then at once the catholic basis of the reconstituted ,church is secured4 ,all men can belong to it who can feel their need and hear the ,gospel and take ,god at ,his word4 ,this is the great principle vindicated in the compressed and fiery arguments of the ,epistle to the ,galatians1 and then subsequently developed in the calmer and orderly procedure of the ,epistle to the ,romans4 ,but in the next group of epistles1 written out of that captivity at ,rome the record of which closes the ,acts of the ,apostles1 the same doctrine of the catholicity of the ,church is developed from a different point of view4 ,now it is the thought of the person of ,christ which has come to occupy the foreground4 ,all along ,st4 ,paul had believed that ,christ was the ,son of ,god1 the divine mediator of creation1 who in these #ab latter days had for our sakes humbled ,himself to be made man#g4 ,but this thought of ,christ's person is elaborated and brought into prominence in the third group of epistles#h1 especially in the ,epistle to the ,colossians4 ,a tendency derived from ,jewish sources was manifesting itself among some of the ,asiatic ,christians to exalt angelic beings1 conceived probably as representing divine attributes and powers1 into objects of religious worship#i4 ,there is a certain spurious humility which has in many ages1 and not least in the ,christian ,church1 led men to shrink from direct approach to the high and holy ,god and to resort to lower mediators1 as more suitable to their defiled condition and weakness4 ,this sort of spurious humility was already detected by ,st4 ,paul1 in company with other ,judaizing and falsely ascetic tendencies1 as a peril of the ,asiatic churches1 and especially of the ,colossians4 ,but he will make no terms with it4 ,christ he teaches is the only and the universal mediator1 the one and only reconciler of all things to the ,father4 ,and ,he is this because of the #ac position that belongs to ,his person in the universe as a whole4 ,he1 as the ,father's image or counterpart1 is ,his unique agent in all the work of creation4 ,all created things whatever1 from the lowest to the highest1 seen or unseen1 be they thrones or dominions or principalities or powers1 are the work of ,his hand4 ,all were created through ,him and have ,him for their end or goal1 and ,he is the sustaining life of the whole universe in all its parts4 ',in ,him all things consist' or have their unity in a system4 ,and because ,he occupies this position in the whole universe1 therefore a similar position and sovereignty belong to ,him in the spiritual kingdom of redemption4 ,there too ,he is1 through ,his manhood and ,his sacrificial death upon the cross1 the unique author of the reconciliation with ,god4 ,he is by ,his spirit the inherent life of the redeemed1 and the goal of all their perfecting4 ,there is1 in fact1 no divine quality1 or attribute1 or activity of ,god towards ,his creatures which is not ,his4 ,in ,him it pleased the ,father that all the fulness of divine attributes and offices should dwell1 and in ,him as ,son of ,god made man dwells all this fulness bodily4 ,the divine attributes1 that is1 are not committed to a number of different mediators4 #ad ,they exist and are exercised in ,him and in ,him alone4 ,it follows therefore as a matter of course from this position of ,christ in the universe and in the church that the redemption effected by ,him must be universal in range and must extend equally and impartially to all4 ,there 'cannot be ,greek and ,jew1 circumcision and uncircumcision1 barbarian and ,scythian1 bond and free1 but ,christ is all and in all4' ,thus in the ,epistle to the ,colossians#aj the doctrine of the catholicity of ,christianity is again vindicated controversially1 and logically based upon the catholic character of ,christ and upon ,his universal function in creation and redemption2 and in the contemporary ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 without note of controversy1 the doctrine of the catholic church1 the brotherhood of all men in ,christ1 the doctrine which is1 we may truly say1 the culmination of all ,st4 ,paul's teaching1 is allowed to develope itself in all its glory on the assumed basis of that teaching about ,christ's person which had made any narrower idea of the church already seem incongruous and impossible4 ,in the earlier dispensation in which the covenant of ,god was with one people1 ,st4 ,paul can see only a preparatory process through #ae which the eternal purpose of ,god could at last be realized1 and out of which ,his eternal secret could at last be disclosed4 ,that purpose so long kept secret1 and now revealed1 is to gather together all nations and classes of men into the one ,church of ,god1 one organized body1 one brotherhood in which all men are to find their salvation1 and through which is to be realized an even wider purpose for the whole universe4 ,in this doctrine of the catholic church ,st4 ,paul finds the expression of all the length and breadth and height and depth of the divine love4 ,its length1 for it represents an age-long purpose slowly worked out2 its breadth1 for it is a society of all men and for the whole universe2 its depth1 for ,god has reached a hand of mercy down to the lowest gulfs of sin and alienation from ,god2 its height1 for in this society men are carried up into nothing less than union with ,god1 to no lower seat than the heavenly places in ,christ4 ,i have spoken of ,st4 ,paul's great arguments for the catholicity of the ,gospel as two4 ,the first appears mainly as a polemic against the idea of justification by works of the law4 ,the second as a positive argument about the person of ,christ and the results which flow from the right appreciation of it4 ,but in fact there is #af a necessary connexion between the two4 ,the narrow ,judaism of the ,galatian reactionaries did in fact logically involve a narrow and therefore a false conception of the person of ,christ4 ,as ,dr4 ,hort expresses it#aa1 'to accept ,jesus as the ,christ without any adequate enlargement of what was included in the ,messiahship could hardly fail to involve either limitation of ,his nature to the human sphere1 or at most a counting ,him among the angels4' ,this logical connexion was in fact verified in history4 ,the ,judaizers of the earliest period of ,christian history who insisted on circumcision for all ,christians pass into the ,ebionites of the second century who rejected the ,church's doctrine of the person of ,christ1 as the eternal ,son of ,god4 ,and conversely it would be scarcely possible to accept the doctrine of the universal ,christ1 both divine and human1 as ,st4 ,paul developes it1 without perceiving that men must be made acceptable to ,him and to ,his ,father by something deeper and wider than any particular set of observances or 'works4' ,the relation therefore between the argument of ,st4 ,paul's epistles to the ,galatians and the ,romans on the one side1 and that of his epistles to the ,colossians and #ag the ,ephesians on the other is one of unity rather than of contrast4 ,the relation of these two groups of epistles may be expressed also in another way4 ,the argument of the earlier epistles is directed towards the ,judaizers4 ,its purpose is to vindicate the right of the ,gentiles to an equal place and position with the ,jews in the kingdom of ,god4 ,but at the time of the later group this right had been secured4 ,on the basis of their acknowledged title the ingress of ,gentiles into the churches of ,asia had been even alarmingly rapid4 ,now it is time for ,st4 ,paul to address himself to these emancipated ,gentiles and to exhort them in their turn not to relapse into unworthy and narrow conceptions of their redeemer1 or into conduct unworthy of their new position3 they must 'walk worthily of the vocation wherewith they are called4' ,our present political situation in ,england offers an analogy which may bring home to us the position of the ,gentile ,christians and the function of the ,epistle to the ,ephesians4 ,the time is past for us when there is any necessity to contend that a vote should be given to all responsible men4 ,so far at least as the male population is concerned1 the title of the citizen #ah to the vote has been substantially acknowledged2 but the time is by no means past when the newly enfranchised citizens need to be stimulated to realize what their enfranchisement carries with it of privilege and responsibility4 ,and we may express this by saying that if our ,english political ,epistle to the ,galatians has been written and has done its work1 our ,epistle to the ,ephesians is still surely very much needed4 ,it is very strange1 or at least would be strange if we were not acquainted with the historical circumstances that have accounted for it1 that ,st4 ,paul has been1 out of all proportion to the facts of the case1 identified in popular estimation with only the earlier of the two great arguments described above1 with that which has given the basis to ,protestantism1 and not that which is1 in fact1 the charter of the ,catholic ,church4 ,we are all familiar with the fact that ,st4 ,paul taught the doctrine of justification by faith1 and insisted therefore on the necessity and privilege of personal acceptance on the part of each individual of the promises of ,god in ,christ4 ,we all know how1 when this aspect of things has been ignored and over-ridden--when an almost ,jewish doctrine of the merit of good works#ab #ai has been current in ,christendom--it has afforded a pretext for a ,protestant reaction of the most individualistic kind1 of the kind which pays no regard to outward unity or catholic authority4 ,but certainly in ,st4 ,paul's own teaching there is nothing individualistic in justifying faith4 ,it is that by which man wins admittance into the body of ,christ2 and the body of ,christ is an organized society1 a catholic brotherhood4 ,salvation1 as we shall see1 is as much social or ecclesiastical as it is individual2 and perhaps there is nothing more wanted to correct our ideas of what ,st4 ,paul understood by justifying faith than an impartial study of the ,epistle to the ,ephesians4 ,it is true that this great epistle only freely developes thoughts which were already unmistakably in ,st4 ,paul's mind when he wrote his epistles to the ,corinthians1 and even those to the ,thessalonians4 ,already the social organization of the ,church is a prominent topic1 and the ethics of ,christianity are social ethics4 ,but now1 in the ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 the idea of the ,church has become the dominant idea1 and the ethical teaching can be justly characterized in no other way than as a ,christian socialism4 #bj iii4 ,but it is time to examine somewhat more closely the circumstances under which ,st4 ,paul wrote this epistle and their bearing upon its contents4 ,it was written by him during that imprisonment at ,rome#ac the record of which brings to an end the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,he can therefore put into his appeals all the force which naturally belongs to one who has sacrificed himself for his principles4 ',i1 ,paul1' he writes1 'the prisoner of ,jesus ,christ1 on behalf of you ,gentiles4' ,he speaks of himself as 'an ambassador in a chain' bound1 as he was no doubt1 to the soldier which kept him4 ,but the fact that he is a prisoner does not occupy a great place in his mind4 ,in part this is because his imprisonment was not of a highly restrictive character4 ,the ,acts conclude by telling us that he was allowed to dwell in his own hired dwelling and to receive all that came to him without let or hindrance to his preaching4 ,and the tone of the 'epistles of the first captivity' is cheerful as to the present and hopeful for the future#ad4 ,but it is more important to notice that #ba the thought of being in prison is apparently swallowed up in ,st4 ,paul's imagination by other considerations4 ,for1 in the first place1 ,st4 ,paul was1 under whatever restraints1 at ,rome4 ,he had reached his goal--a new centre of evangelization which was also the centre of the world4 ,step by step the centre of ,christian evangelization had passed toward ,rome as its goal4 ,from ,jerusalem1 which told unmistakably that 'the salvation was of the ,jews1' it had moved to ,antioch1 where in a ,greek city ,jew met ,gentile on equal terms4 ,from ,antioch1 under ,st4 ,paul's leadership1 it had passed to ,corinth and ,ephesus4 ,these were indeed thoroughly ,gentile cities1 and leading cities of the ,empire1 but they were provincial4 ,no imperial movement could rest satisfied till it established itself at the centre of the great imperial organization--till it had got to ,rome4 ,if we are to understand at all adequately the world in which ,st4 ,paul wrote1 the thought of the ,roman ,empire and of the unity which it was giving the world must be clearly before our minds3 and it will not be a digression if we pause to dwell upon it at this point when we are considering the significance of ,st4 ,paul's situation as at once a prisoner and an evangelist in the great capital4 #bb ,the ,roman ,empire brought the world1 that is the whole of the known world which was thought worth considering1 into a great unity of government4 ,what had once been independent kingdoms had now become provinces of the empire1 and the whole of the ,roman policy was directed towards drawing closer the unity1 and educating the provinces in ,roman ideas#ae4 ,if we seek to define ,roman unity a little more closely the following elements will be found perhaps the most important for our purpose4 7#a7 ,it was a unity of government strongly centralized at ,rome in the person of the emperor4 ,the letters of a provincial governor like ,pliny to his master ,trajan at ,rome reveal to us how even trivial matters1 such as the formation of a guild of firemen in ,pliny's province of ,bithynia1 were referred up to the emperor4 ,roman government was in fact personal and centralized in a very complete sense1 and had the uniformity which accompanies such a condition4 7#b7 ,this centralized personal government is1 of course1 only possible where there is a well-organized system of inter-communication between the widely-separated parts of a great #bc empire4 ,and there was this to an amazing extent in the ,roman empire4 ,we find evidence of it in the great roads representing a highly developed system of travelling4 ',it is not too much to say that travelling was more highly developed and the dividing power of distance was weaker under the ,empire than at any time before or since until we come down to the present century4' ,this is what gives such a modern and cosmopolitan flavour to the lives of men of the ,empire as unlike one another in other respects as ,strabo and ,jerome4 ,we find the evidence of such a system of inter-communication also1 and not less impressively1 in the multiplied proofs afforded to us that every movement of thought in the ,empire must needs pass to ,rome and establish itself there4 ,the rapid arrival of all oriental tendencies or beliefs at ,rome was1 of course1 what from the point of view of conservative ,romans meant the destruction of all that they valued in character and ideals4 ',the ,orontes had poured itself into the ,tiber4' ,but it was none the less a fact of the utmost significance for the world's progress4 7#c7 ,the unity of the ,empire depended largely on the use which was made of ,greek civilization and ,greek language4 ,the ,empire #bd may be rightly described1 if we are considering its eastern half1 as ,greek no less than ,roman from the first4 ,everywhere it was the ,greek language which was the instrument of ,roman government1 and ,greek civilization1 tempered by somewhat barbarous ,roman 'games1' which was put into competition with local customs whether social or religious#af4 7#d7 ,lastly1 to a very real extent the ,empire was aiming at the establishment of a universal religion4 ,independent local gods and local cults suited well enough a number of independent little tribes and kingdoms1 but it was felt instinctively that the one empire involved also one religion1 and with more or less of deliberate intention the one religion was provided in the worship of the emperor1 or1 perhaps we should say1 of the ,empire4 ,this worship of the emperor has been among us a very byword for what is monstrous and unintelligible4 ,it bewilders us when we hear of something like it in our own ,indian empire4 ,and yet a little imagination ought to show us that where a pure monotheism has not taught men the moral purity and personal character of ,god--where religion is either pantheism1 the deification of the one life1 or idolatry1 the deification #be of separate forms of life--the worship of the imperial authority is intelligible enough4 ,here was a vast power1 universal in its range1 mostly beneficent1 and yet awful in its limitless and arbitrary power of chastisement2 what should it be but divine1 like nature1 and an object to be appealed to1 propitiated1 worshipped8 ,at any rate the cultus of the emperor spread in the ,roman world1 and particularly in the ,asiatic provinces4 ,it could ally itself with the current pantheistic philosophy and also with popular local cults3 for it was tolerant of all and could embrace them all1 or in some cases it could identify itself with them--the emperor being regarded as a special manifestation of the local god4 ,and it made itself popular through games--wild beast shows and gladiatorial contests--which it was the business of its high priests or presidents to provide or to organize4 ,thus it was that the ,roman world came to be organized by provinces for the purposes of the imperial religion1 and the provincial presidents1 whom we hear of in the ,acts as ',asiarchs' or 'chiefs of ,asia1' and from other sources as existing in the other provinces--,galatarchs1 ,bithyniarchs1 ,syriarchs1 and so on--were also the high priests of the worship of the ,caesars1 by which it was sought #bf to make religion1 like everything else1 contribute to cement imperial unity#ag4 ,now there can be no doubt at all1 if we look back from the fourth or fifth centuries of our era1 to how vast an extent this ,roman unity had been made an engine for the propagation of the ,church4 ,and the ,christians--the ,spanish poet ,prudentius1 for instance1 or ,pope ,leo the ,great#ah--;betray a strong consciousness of the place held by the empire in the divine preparation for ,christ4 ,for long periods the ,roman authority was tolerant of ,christianity and suffered its propagation to go on in peace2 and at the times when it became alarmed at its subversive tendencies1 and turned to become its persecutor1 still the ,church could not be prevented from using the imperial organization1 its roads and its means of communication4 ,again1 every step in the progress of the ,greek language facilitated the spread of the new religion1 the propagation of which was through ,greek2 and conversely ,christianity became an instrument for spreading the use of this language which previously was making but a poor struggle against the languages #bg of ,asia ,minor2 for it is apparently a simple mistake to suppose that even the apostles were miraculously dispensed from the difficulties of acquiring new languages1 and were enabled to speak all languages as it were by instinct4 ,even the imperial religion provided a framework to facilitate the organization of that still more imperial religion which it found indeed absolutely incompatible with its prerogatives1 but in which it might have found an efficient substitute to accomplish its own best ends4 ,thus the early ,christian apologist ,tatian pleads that ,christianity alone could supply what was manifestly needed for a united world1 a universal moral law and a universal gratuitous education or philosophy1 open to rich and poor1 men and women1 alike#ai4 ,so strong in fact was in many respects the affinity of the ,empire and the ,church that the apologists are not infrequently able to claim1 and that plausibly1 that if the ,roman authorities were ready to recognize it1 they would find in the ,church their most efficient ally4 ,and there is no doubt that all this tendency to use the empire as the ally and instrument of the ,church began with ,st4 ,paul4 ,the closer ,st4 ,paul's evangelistic travels are examined the #bh more apparent does it become that he1 the apostle who was also the ,roman citizen1 was by the very force of circumstances1 but also probably deliberately1 working the ,church on the lines of the empire4 ',the classification adopted in ,paul's own letters of the churches which he founded1 is according to provinces--,achaia1 ,macedonia1 ,asia1 and ,galatia2 the same fact is clearly visible in the narrative of ,acts4 ,it guides and inspires the expressions from the time when the apostle landed at ,perga4 ,at every step any one who knows the country recognizes that the ,roman division is implied#bj4' ,nor can we fail to be struck with the regularity with which ,st4 ,paul1 wherever he mentions the ,empire1 takes it on its best side and represents it as a divine institution whose officers are ,god's ministers for justice and order and peace#ba4 ,it is from this point of view alone that he will have ,christians think of it and pray for it#bb4 ,there is the confidence of the true son of the empire in his ',i appeal unto ,caesar#bc4' ,further than this1 when ,st4 ,paul is addressing himself to ,gentiles who had received no leavening of ,jewish monotheism1 it is most striking #bi how he throws himself back on those common philosophical and religious ideas which were permeating the thought of the ,empire4 ',the popular philosophy inclined towards pantheism1 the popular religion was polytheistic1 but ,paul starts from the simplest platform common to both4 ,there exists something in the way of a divine nature which the religious try to please and the philosophers try to understand#bd4' ,close parallels to ,st4 ,paul's language in his two recorded speeches at ,lystra and at ,athens1 can be found in the writings of the contemporary ,stoic philosopher ,seneca#be1 and in the so-called ',letters of ,heracleitus' written by some philosophic student nearly contemporary with ,st4 ,paul at ,ephesus#bf4 ,in exposing the folly of idolaters he was only doing what a contemporary philosopher was doing also1 and repeating ideas which he might have learnt almost as readily in the schools of his native city ,tarsus--which ,strabo speaks of as the most philosophical place in the world1 and the place where philosophy was most of all an indigenous plant#bg--;as at the #cj feet of ,gamaliel in ,jerusalem4 ,certainly ,paul the apostle to the ,gentiles was also ,saul of ,tarsus and the citizen of the ,roman ,empire in whose mind the idea and sentiment of the empire lay already side by side with the idea of the catholic church4 ,such a statement as has just been given of the relation of the ,roman organization to the ,church is undoubtedly true4 ,and it is also indisputable that ,st4 ,paul was in fact the pioneer in using the empire for the purposes of the ,church4 ,but it is more questionable to what extent the idea of the empire as the handmaid of the ,church was consciously and deliberately1 or only unconsciously or instinctively1 present to his mind2 and in particular it is questionable how far the peculiar exaltation of the epistles of the first captivity is due to ,st4 ,paul's realization that in getting to ,rome1 the capital and centre of the ,empire1 he had reached a goal which was #ca also a fresh and unique starting-point for the evangelization of the world4 ,to some extent this must certainly have been the case#bh4 ,while he is at ,ephesus#bi preaching1 he already has ,rome in view1 and a sense of unaccomplished purpose till he has visited it1 ',i must also see ,rome4' ,when a little later he writes to the ,romans1 the name of ,rome is a name both of attraction and of awe4 ,he is eager to go to ,rome1 but he seems to fear it at the same time4 ,so much as in him lies1 he is ready to preach the gospel to them also that are at ,rome4 ,even in face of all that that imperial name means1 he is not ashamed of the ,gospel#cj4 ,later the divine vision at ,jerusalem assures him that1 as he has borne witness concerning ,christ at ,jerusalem1 so he must bear witness also at ,rome#ca4 ,the confidence of this divine purpose mingles with and reinforces the confidence of the ,roman citizen in his appeal to ,caesar4 ,the sense of the divine hand upon him to take him to ,rome is strengthened by another vision amid the terrors of the sea voyage#cb4 ,at his first contact with the ,roman #cb brethren 'he thanked ,god and took courage#cc4' ,this sense of thankfulness and encouragement pervades the whole of the first captivity so far as it is represented in his letters4 ,he had reached the goal of his labours and a fresh starting-point for a wide-spreading activity4 ,certainly no one can mistake the glow of enthusiasm which pervades the epistles of the first captivity generally1 but especially the ,epistle to the ,ephesians4 ,it is conspicuously1 and beyond all the other epistles1 rapturous and uplifted4 ,and this is not due--as is the cheerful thankfulness of the ,epistle to the ,philippians1 at least in part--to the specially intimate relations of ,st4 ,paul to the congregations he was addressing1 or to the specially satisfactory character of their ,christian life4 ,on the contrary1 ,st4 ,paul perceived that the ,asiatic churches1 and especially ,ephesus1 were threatened by very ominous perils4 ',very grievous wolves were entering in1 not sparing the flock2 and among themselves men were arising1 speaking perverse things1 to draw away the disciples after them#cd4' ,st4 ,paul's rapturous tone must be accounted for by causes independent of the ,ephesian or ,asiatic ,christians in particular4 #cc ,among these causes1 as we have just seen1 must be reckoned the fact1 the significance of which we have been dwelling upon1 that ,st4 ,paul had now reached ,rome1 the centre of the ,gentile world4 ,but it must also be remembered that ,st4 ,paul had seen a great conflict fought out and won for the catholicity of ,christianity1 and that now for the first time there was a pause and freedom to take advantage of it4 ,a great conflict had been fought and won4 ,the backbone of the earlier ,jewish opposition to the preaching of the gospel to the ,gentiles on equal terms had been broken4 ,they had in fact swept into the ,church in increasing numbers4 ,their rights were recognized and their position uncontested4 ,there is now1 in the comparative quiet of the 'hired house' where ,st4 ,paul was confined1 a period of pause in which he can fitly sum up the results which have been won1 and let the full meaning of the catholic brotherhood be freely unfolded4 ,it is time to pass from the rudiments of the ,christian gospel1 the vindication of its most elementary principles and liberties1 the 'milk for babes1' to expound the spiritual wisdom of the full-grown ,christian manhood1 the 'solid meat for them of riper years4' #cd ,it is this sense of pause in conflict and free expansion in view of a vast opportunity1 which in great part at least interprets the glow and glory of ,st4 ,paul's epistle4 iv4 ,the ,epistle to the ,ephesians might1 so far as its contents are concerned1 have been addressed to any of the predominantly ,gentile churches2 but to none more fitly than to ,ephesus and to the churches of ,asia1 where the progress of ,gentile ,christianity had been so rapid1 and where ,st4 ,paul's ministry had been so unusually prolonged4 ,let us attempt to answer the questions--what was ,ephesus8 what was the history1 and what were the circumstances of the ,ephesian church8 ,ephesus had a double importance as a ,greek and as an ,asiatic city4 ,a colony of ,ionians from ,athens had early settled on some hills which rose out of a fertile plain near the mouth of the ,cayster4 ,this was the origin of the ,greek city of ,ephesus4 ,its position gave it admirable commercial advantages4 ,it became the greatest mart of exchange#ce between ,east #ce and ,west in ,asia ,minor1 and though its commerce was threatened by the filling up of its harbour1 it had not decayed in ,st4 ,paul's time4 ,among ,greek cities it also occupied a not inconspicuous place in the history of art1 and at an earlier period of philosophy also4 ,here was one of the chief homes of the ,homeric tradition2 hence in the person of ,callinus the ,greek elegy is reputed to have had its origin1 and in the person of ,hipponax the satire4 ,it was the home of ,heracleitus1 one of the greatest of the early philosophers1 and of ,apelles and ,parrhasius1 the masters of painting#cf4 ,and the greatest artists in sculpture--,phidias and ,polycletus1 ,scopas and ,praxiteles--had adorned with their works the temple of ,artemis1 which1 in itself one of the wonders of the world1 the masterpiece of ,ionic architecture1 became also1 like some great ,christian cathedral1 a very museum of sculpture and painting4 ,if ,greek artists built and decorated the temple of ,artemis1 they attempted no doubt to represent the goddess under the form which her ,greek name suggested1 the beautiful huntress-goddess2 but the ,greeks never in fact succeeded in #cf affecting the thoroughly ,asiatic and oriental character of a worship which had nothing ,greek about it except the name4 ,the interest of ,ephesus as an ,asiatic city centred about that ancient worship which had its home in the plain below the ,greek settlement4 ,it was there before the ,greeks came1 it held its own throughout and in spite of all ,greek and ,roman influences2 all through the history of ,ephesus it gave its main character to the city--the noted home of superstition and sorcery4 ,the ,artemis of ,ephesus was1 as ,jerome remarks#cg1 not the huntress-goddess with her bow1 but the many-breasted symbol of the productive and nutritive powers of nature1 the mother of all life1 free and untamed like the wild beasts who accompanied her4 ,the grotesque and archaic idol believed to have fallen down from heaven was a stiff1 erect mummy covered with many breasts and symbols of wild beasts4 ,her worship was organized by a hierarchy of eunuch priests--called by a ,persian name ,megabyzi--and 'consecrated' virgins4 ,it was associated1 like other worships of the same divinity called indifferently ,artemis or ,cybele or ,ma1 with ideals of life which from the point #cg of view of any fixed moral order1 ,roman or ,greek no less than ,jewish or ,christian1 was lawless and immoral4 ,it is very well known how the ,asiatic nature-worships flooded the ,roman empire1 and even at ,rome itself became by far more popular than the traditional state religion4 ,and among these ,asiatic worships none was more popular than the worship of ,artemis of ,ephesus1 whose temple was the wonder of the world1 and who not only was worshipped publicly at ,ephesus1 but was the object of a cult both public and private in widely-separated parts of the empire4 ,such a temple and such a worship would naturally collect a base and corrupt population2 but what would in any case have been bad was rendered worse by the fact that the area round the temple was an asylum of refuge from the law1 and that1 as the area of 'sanctuary' was extended at different times1 the collection of criminals became greater and greater4 ,it had reached a point where it threatened the safety of the city1 and not long before ,st4 ,paul's time the ,emperor ,augustus had found it necessary to curtail the area4 ,the history of our own ,westminster is enough to assure us that a religious asylum brings social degradation in its train4 #ch ,such was the commercial and religious importance of the beautiful1 wealthy1 effeminate1 superstitious1 and most immoral city which became for three years the centre of ,st4 ,paul's ministry4 ,on his second missionary journey ,st4 ,paul was making his way to ,asia1 and no doubt to ,ephesus1 when he with his companions were hindered by the ,holy ,ghost and turned across the ,hellespont to ,macedonia#ch4 ,on his return to ,syria1 he could not be satisfied without at least setting foot in ,ephesus and making a beginning of preaching there in the synagogue#ci2 but he was hastening back to ,jerusalem1 and1 with a promise of return1 left his work there to ,priscilla and ,aquila4 ,on his third missionary journey ,ephesus was the centre of his prolonged work4 ,it was accordingly the only city of the first rank which1 so far as any trustworthy evidence goes1 had as the founder of its ,church in the strictest sense--that is1 as the first gatherer of converts as well as organizer of institutions--either ,st4 ,paul or any other apostle#dj4 ,st4 ,paul's first activity on arriving at ,ephesus illustrates the stress he laid on the gift of the ,holy ,ghost as the central characteristic of #ci ,christianity4 ,he was brought in contact with the twelve imperfect disciples who had been baptized only with ,john the ,baptist's baptism1 and had not so much as heard whether the ,holy ,ghost was given4 ,st4 ,paul baptized them anew with ,christian baptism1 and bestowed upon them the gift of the ,holy ,ghost by the laying on of his hands#da4 ,then it is recorded how he began his preaching as usual with the ,jews in the synagogue4 ,the ,jews of ,asia ,minor were regarded by the ,jews of ,jerusalem as corrupted and ,hellenized#db4 ,but at any rate they exhibited the same antagonism to the preaching of ,christianity as their stricter brethren4 ,thus ,st4 ,paul1 when he had given them their chance1 abandoned their synagogue and established himself in the lecture-room of ,tyrannus1 where he taught for two years and more#dc4 ,and this became the centre of an evangelization which1 even if ,st4 ,paul himself did not visit other ,asiatic towns1 yet spread by the agency of his companions over the whole of the ,roman #dj province of ,asia--to the churches of the ,lycus1 ,colossae1 ,laodicea1 ,hierapolis1 and probably to the rest of the 'seven churches' to which ,st4 ,john wrote in his ,apocalypse4 ,ephesus was full of superstitions of all sorts as would be expected1 and ,st4 ,paul's miracles were such as would not unnaturally have led the magicians to regard him as a greater master in their own craft4 ,so among others the ,jewish chief priest ,sceva's seven sons began to use the central name of ,paul's preaching as a new and most efficient formula for exorcism4 ',we adjure thee by ,jesus whom ,paul preaches4' ,but it is frequently noticeable that ,st4 ,paul refused to allow himself to use superstition as a handmaid of religion4 ,the providential disaster which befell these exorcists gave ,st4 ,paul an opportunity of striking an effective blow where it was most needed against exorcism and magic4 ,the ,christian converts came and confessed their participation in the black arts1 and burnt their books of incantations1 in spite of their value4 ,the whole transaction must have impressed vividly in the minds of the ,ephesians the contrast between ,christianity and superstition4 ,st4 ,paul had already encountered opposition as well as success at ,ephesus1 for when1 writing #da from ,ephesus1 he speaks to the ,corinthians#dd of having 'fought with beasts' there1 the reference is probably to what had befallen him in the earlier part of his residence through the plots of the ,jews2 that long ,epistle to the ,corinthians can hardly have been written after the famous tumult recorded in the ,acts4 ,but that tumult1 raised by the manufacturers of the silver shrines of ,artemis1 was of course the most important persecution which befell ,st4 ,paul at ,ephesus4 ,the narrative of it#de is exceedingly instructive4 ,we notice the friendliness of the ,asiarchs1 i4e4 the presidents of the provincial 'union' and priests of the imperial worship1 and the opinion of the town clerk1 that ,st4 ,paul must be acquitted of any insults to the religious beliefs of the ,ephesians#df4 ,christianity had not1 it appears1 yet excited the antipathy of the religious or civil authorities of the ,empire1 but it had begun to threaten the pockets of those who were concerned in supplying the needs of the worshippers who thronged to the great #db temple at ,ephesus4 ,we need not inquire exactly how the little silver shrines of ,artemis were used2 but they were much sought after1 and their production gave occupation to an important trade4 ,the trade was threatened by the spread of ,christianity4 ,the philosophers despised indeed the idolatrous rites1 but they despised also the people who practised them1 and had no hope or idea of converting them#dg4 ,st4 ,paul was the first teacher at ,ephesus who touched the fears of the idol makers by bringing a pure religion to the hearts of the ordinary people4 ,hence the tumult against the teachers of the new religion1 raised not by the civil or religious authorities of ,ephesus1 but simply by the trade interest4 ,as soon as it was over ,st4 ,paul left ,ephesus not to return there again4 ,but on his way back to ,jerusalem he came not to ,ephesus but to ,miletus1 and sending for the ,ephesian presbyters thither1 he made them a farewell speech#dh1 which is in conspicuous harmony with the features of his later ,epistle to the ,ephesians4 ,already the doctrines of a divine purpose or #dc counsel now revealed1 of the ,church in general as the object of the divine self-sacrifice and love1 and of the ,holy ,ghost as accomplishing her sanctification and developing her structure1 appear to be prominent in his mind1 and to have become familiar topics with the ,ephesian ,christians4 ',i shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of ,god4 ,take heed unto yourselves and to all the flock1 in the which the ,holy ,ghost hath made you bishops1 to feed the church of ,god1 which he purchased with his own blood4444 ,and now ,i commend you to ,god1 and to the word of his grace1 which is able to build you up1 and to give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified4' ,these words from ,st4 ,paul's speech to the ,ephesian presbyters are in remarkable affinity with the teaching of our epistle4 v4 ,we have been assuming that this epistle was addressed to ,ephesus1 but there are reasons to believe that it was not addressed to ,ephesus only1 but rather generally to the churches of the ,roman province of ,asia1 of which ,ephesus was the chief4 ,the reasons for thinking this are #dd partly internal to the epistle4 ,st4 ,paul's personal relations to individual ,ephesian ,christians must have been many and close1 and we know his habit of introducing personal allusions and greetings into his epistles2 but the so-called ,epistle to the ,ephesians is destitute of them altogether1 contrasting in this respect even with the ,epistle to the ,colossians1 written at the same time to a church which ,st4 ,paul himself never visited4 ,this would be a most inexplicable fact if the ,epistle to the ,ephesians were really a letter to this one particular church4 ,more than this1 ,st4 ,paul speaks in several passages in a way which implies that he and those he wrote to were dependent on what they had heard for mutual knowledge--'having heard of the faith in the ,lord ,jesus that is among you'--'if so be ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of ,god which was given me to youward4' ,such language is much more natural if he is writing to others besides the ,ephesians4 ,and this evidence internal to the substance of the epistle coincides with evidence of the manuscripts4 ,very early manuscripts1 some of those which remain to us and some which are reported to us by primitive scholars1 omit the words 'in ,ephesus' from ,st4 ,paul's opening greeting ',to the saints #de and faithful brethren which are in ,ephesus4' ,this fact1 coupled with the absence of personal reminiscences in the epistle1 has suggested the idea that it was in fact a circular letter to the saints and faithful brethren at a number of churches of the ,roman province of ,asia1 and that where the words 'in ,ephesus' stand in our text1 there was perhaps a blank left in the epistle as ,st4 ,paul dictated it1 which was intended to be filled up in each church where it was read4 ,this is a view which has to a certain extent a special interest for us in ,westminster because1 if it was first suggested by the ,genevan commentator ,beza1 it was elaborated by ,archbishop ,ussher1 who is identified with our ,abbey by residence and by the memorable record of his entombment in our abbey church with ,anglican rites by the command of ,cromwell4 ,it follows naturally from such a view that when ,st4 ,paul writes to the ,colossians and bids them send their letter to ,laodicea1 and read that which comes from ,laodicea#di1 the letter which they should expect from ,laodicea would be none other than the so-called ,epistle to the ,ephesians which was to be read by them as well as the other ,asiatic ,christians4 #df vi4 ,enough perhaps has now been said to give a general idea of the conditions under which this great epistle was written2 and the topics of the epistle have been already indicated4 ,its central theme is that of the great catholic society1 the renovated ,israel1 the ,church of ,god4 ,in this catholic brotherhood ,st4 ,paul sees the realization of an age-long purpose of ,god1 the fulfilment of a long-secret counsel1 now at last disclosed to ,his chosen prophets4 ,he sees nothing incongruous in finding in the yet young and limited societies of ,christian disciples the consummation of the divine purpose for the world1 for these societies represent the breaking down of all barriers and the bringing of all men to unity with one another through a recovered unity with ,god1 through ,christ and in ,his ,spirit4 ,therefore the work which the ,church is to accomplish is nothing less than a universal work1 a work not even limited to humanity2 it is the bringing back of all things visible or invisible into that unity which lies in ,god's original purpose of creation4 ,st4 ,paul long ago had spoken to the ,corinthians of a spiritual wisdom which they were not yet ready to listen #dg to4 ,but now ,st4 ,paul seems to feel--for reasons which we have tried in part to interpret--that the time has come when all the depth and richness of the divine secret may be spoken out4 ,no wonder that the subject stirs his imagination and gives to his whole tone an uplifting and a glory without parallel in his other writings4 ,and yet it would be altogether false to attach to this epistle any associations such as are commonly connected with flights of imagination or the language of rhapsody4 ,for the epistle has the most direct bearing on matters of practical life4 ,if ,st4 ,paul glorifies the ,christian ideal it is in order that all that weight of glory may be brought to bear upon the ,asiatic ,christians to force them to see that their personal and social conduct must have a purity1 a liberality1 a wisdom1 a love1 a power1 commensurate with the greatness of those motives which are acting upon them in their new ,christian state4 #a ,the ,committee of the ,conference of ,bishops at ,lambeth1 #ahig1 in a report commended by the bishops as a body to the 'consideration of all ,christian people1' write3 ',your committee do not hold that a true view of ,holy ,scripture forecloses any legitimate question about the literary character or literal accuracy of different parts or statements of the ,old ,testament4' #b ,acts xxiv #ad2 xxvi4 #f1 #g1 #bb1 #bc2 #b ,tim i4 #c4 #c ,eph4 ii4 #ab-ai4 #d #a ,thess4 ii4 #ad-af4 #e ,galatians1 #a and #b ,corinthians1 ,romans4 #f ,see app4 note ,c1 p4 #beg4 #g ,acts ix4 #bj2 #a ,cor4 viii4 #f2 ,rom4 ix4 #e2 #b ,cor4 viii4 #i2 ,gal4 iv4 #d4 #h ,colossians1 ,ephesians1 ,philippians1 ,philemon4 #i ,col4 ii4 #ah3 'by a voluntary humility 7or 'taking delight in humility'7 and worshipping of the angels4' #aj ,see i4 #ac-bj2 ii4 #b1 #c1 #i-bc2 iii4 #aa4 ,cf4 i4 #bg-bh4 #aa ,hort1 ,judaistic ,christianity 7,macmillan1 #ahid71 p4 #abe4 #ab ,cf4 app4 note ,c1 p4 #beg4 #ac ,cf4 ,hort1 ,prolegomena to ,romans and ,ephesians 7,macmillan1 #ahie71 p4 #ajj4 #ad ,col4 iv4 #b-d2 ,philemon #bb2 ,phil4 i4 #ab-ad4 #ae ,ramsay1 ,paul the ,traveller 7,hodder and ,stoughton1 #ahie71 pp4 #acj ff4 #af ,ramsay1 l4c4 p4 #acb4 #ag ,see ,mommsen1 ,provinces of ,roman ,empire 7,eng4 trans471 i4 #cdd ff42 ,lightfoot1 ,ign4 and ,polyc4 iii4 pp4 #djd ff4 #ah ,app4 note ,a1 p4 #bea4 #ai ,tatian1 ,ad ,graecos1 #bh1 #cb4 #bj ,ramsay1 l4c4 p4 #ace4 #ba ,rom4 xiii4 #a-g2 cf4 ii4 ,thess4 ii4 #f4 #bb #a ,tim4 ii4 #a1 #b4 #bc ,acts xxv4 #ab4 #bd ,ramsay1 l4c4 p4 #adg4 #be ,lightfoot1 ,galatians1 ',st4 ,paul and ,seneca1' pp4 #bhg ff4 #bf ,see app4 note ,b1 p4 #bec4 #bg ',the zeal of its inhabitants for philosophy and general culture is such that they have surpassed even ,athens and ,alexandria and all other cities where schools of philosophy can be mentioned4 ,and its pre-eminence in this respect is so great because there the students are all townspeople1 and strangers do not readily settle there4' ,strabo1 xiv4 v4 #ac4 ,i do not suppose that ,st4 ,paul received any formal education in ,greek schools at ,tarsus4 ,but ,i think we must assume that at some period ,st4 ,paul had sufficient contact with ,gentile educated opinion1 whether at ,tarsus or elsewhere1 to be acquainted with widely-spread religious and philosophical tendencies4 #bh ,cf4 ,hort1 ,christian ,ecclesia1 p4 #adc4 #bi ,acts xix4 #ba4 #cj ,rom4 i4 #ae1 #af4 #ca ,acts xxiii4 #aa4 #cb ,acts xxvii4 #bd4 #cc ,acts xxviii4 #ae4 #cd ,acts xx4 #bi1 #cj4 #ce ,among other articles of commerce1 tents made in ,ephesus had a special reputation1 and ,st4 ,paul and ,aquila had special opportunities there for the exercise of their trade4 ,acts xx4 #cd4 #cf ,strabo4 xiv4 #a1 #be4 #cg ,migne1 ,p4 ,l4 xxvi4 #dda4 #ch ,acts xvi4 #f-aj4 #ci ,acts xviii4 #ai4 #dj ,hort1 ,prolegomena1 p4 #hc4 #da ,acts xix4 #a-g4 #db ,ramsay1 l4c4 p4 #adc4 #dc ',from the fifth to the tenth hour' 7#aa a4m4 to #d p4m471 an early addition to the text of the ,acts tells us2 i4 e4 after work hours1 when the school would naturally be vacant and ,st4 ,paul would have finished his manual labour at tent-making4 ,ramsay1 l4c4 p4 #bgf4 #dd #a ,cor4 xv4 #cb4 #de ,acts xix4 #bc ff4 #df ,prof4 ,ramsay asserts that instead of 'robbers of temples' 7,acts xix4 #cg71 we should translate 'disloyal to the established government4' l4c4 p4 #bhb4 ,but the word is used in the former sense in special connexion with ,ephesus by ,strabo1 xiv4 #a1 #bb1 and ,pseudo-,heracleitus1 ,ep4 #g1 p4 #fd 7,bernays74 #dg ,see app4 note ,b1 p4 #bec1 on the contemporary 'letters of ,heracleitus4' #dh ,acts xx4 #ag ff4 #di ,col4 iv4 #af4 #dh ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,ephesians ,,chapter ,i4 #a-b4 ,salutation4 ,sidenote3 ,salutation ,st4 ,paul begins this1 in common with his other epistles1 with a brief salutation to a particular church or group of churches1 in which is expressed in summary the authority he has for writing to them1 the light in which he regards them1 and the central wish for them which he has in his heart4 ,paul1 an apostle of ,christ ,jesus through the will of ,god1 to the saints which are at ,ephesus1 and the faithful in ,christ ,jesus3 ,grace to you and peace from ,god our ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,here1 then1 we have three compressed thoughts4 #a4 ,the particular person ,paul writes this letter because he is not only a believer in ,christ but also an 'apostle of ,christ ,jesus through the will of ,god4' ,the word apostle is a more or less general word for a delegate1 as when ,st4 ,paul #di speaks of the 'apostles 7or messengers7 of the churches#a2' but by an apostle in its highest sense1 'an apostle of ,jesus ,christ1' ,st4 ,paul meant one of those1 originally twelve in number1 who had received personally from the risen ,christ a particular commission to represent ,him to the world4 ,this particular and personal commission he claimed to have received1 in common with the twelve1 though later than they--at the time of his conversion4 ',am ,i not an apostle8' he cries4 ',have ,i not seen ,jesus our ,lord#b8' ',he appeared to me also as unto one born out of due time#c4' ',in nothing was ,i behind the very chiefest apostles#d4' ,and as his claim to the apostolate was challenged by his ,judaizing opponents he had to insist upon it1 to insist that it is not a commission from or through ,peter and the other apostles1 or dependent upon them for its exercise1 but a direct commission1 like theirs1 from the ,head of the ,church ,himself4 ,he is1 he writes to the ,galatians1 ',paul1 an apostle1 not from men1 nor 7like those subsequently ordained by himself or the other apostles1 like a ,timothy1 or a ,titus1 or like the later clergy7 through man1' but directly through1 #ej as well as from1 the risen ,jesus whom his eyes had seen1 and ,his eternal ,father#e4 ,it is surely a consolation to us of the ,church of ,england1 who belong to a church subject to constant attack on the score of apostolic character1 to remember that ,st4 ,paul's apostolate was attacked with some excuse1 and that he had to spend a great deal of effort in vindicating it1 and was in no way ashamed of doing so1 because he perceived that a certain aspect of the life and truth of the ,church was bound up with its recognition4 #b4 ,and he writes to the ,asiatic ,christians as 'saints' and 'faithful in ,christ ,jesus4' ',saint' does not mean primarily what we understand by it--one pre-eminent in moral excellence2 but rather one consecrated or dedicated to the service and use of ,god4 ,the idea of consecration was common in all religions1 and frequently1 as in the ,asiatic worships at ,ephesus and elsewhere1 carried with it associations quite the opposite of those which we assign to holiness4 ,but the special characteristic of the ,old ,testament religion had been the righteous and holy character which it ascribed to ,jehovah4 ,consecration to ,him1 therefore1 is seen to require #ea personal holiness1 and this requirement is only deepened in meaning under the ,gospel4 ,but still 'the saints' means primarily the 'consecrated ones'2 and all ,christians are therefore saints--'called as saints' rather than 'called to be saints1' in virtue of their belonging to the consecrated body into which they were baptized2 saints who because of their consecration are therefore bound to live holily#f4 ',the saints' in the ,acts of the ,apostles#g is simply a synonym for the ,church4 ,st4 ,paul then writes to the ,asiatic ,christians as 'consecrated' and 'faithful in ,christ ,jesus1' i4 e4 believing members incorporated by baptism2 and he writes to them for no other purpose than to make them understand what is implied in their common consecration and common faith4 #c4 ,and his good wishes for them he sums up in the terms ',grace and peace in ,god our ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4' ,grace is that free and unmerited favour or good-will of ,god towards man which takes shape in a continuous outflow of the very riches of ,god's #eb inmost being and spirit into the life of man through ,christ2 and peace of heart1 ,godward and manward1 'central peace subsisting at the heart of endless agitation' is that by the possession and bestowal of which ,christianity best gives assurance of its divine origin4 ,we notice that these divine gifts are ascribed to ',god our ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4' ,st4 ,paul does not generally call ,christ by the title ,god1 partly1 no doubt1 from long engrained habit of language1 but partly also because nothing was more important than that no language should be used in the first propagation of ,christianity which could give excuse for confusing the ,christian belief in the threefold ,name with the worship of many gods4 ,but1 from the first1 ,christ1 in ,st4 ,paul's language1 is exalted as ,lord into a simply divine supremacy1 and associated most intimately with all the most exclusively divine operations in the world without1 and in the heart of man within4 ,moreover1 ,st4 ,paul refuses absolutely to tolerate any association of other1 however exalted1 beings with ,christ in lordship or mediatorship1 all created beings whatever being simply the work of ,his hands#h4 ,there remains1 therefore1 no room to #ec question that ,st4 ,paul believed ,christ to be strictly divine3 to be ,himself no creature1 no highest archangel1 but one who1 with the ,holy ,spirit alone1 is truly proper and essential to the divine being2 and it affords us1 therefore1 no manner of surprise that from time to time ,st4 ,paul actually calls ,christ ,god1 as in the ,epistle to the ,romans 'who is over all1 ,god blessed for ever#i1' and probably in the ,epistle to ,titus 'our great ,god and saviour ,jesus ,christ#aj4' #a #b ,cor4 viii4 #bc4 #b #a ,cor4 ix4 #a4 #c #a ,cor4 xv4 #h4 #d #b ,cor4 xii4 #aa4 #e ,gal4 i4 #a4 #f ,tertullian1 de ,an4 #ci1 rightly interprets #a ,cor4 vii4 #ad1 'now are they the children of whose parents one was a ,christian holy1' as meaning1 now are they already consecrated and marked out for baptismal sanctification by the prerogative of their birth4 #g ,acts ix4 #ac1 #cc4 #h ,cf4 #a ,cor4 viii4 #f2 ,col4 i4 #af4 #i ,rom4 ix4 #e4 #aj ,tit4 ii4 #ac4 #ed ,,division ,i4 ,,chapters ,i4 #c-;,,iv4 #ag4 ,i4 ,,chapter i4 #c-ad4 ,st4 ,paul's leading thoughts4 ,sidenote3 ,st4 ,paul's leading thoughts ,before we read the opening paragraph of ,st4 ,paul's letter we had better review the great thoughts which are prominent in his mind as he writes4 ,my ambition is to make my readers feel that ideas which1 because they have become ,christian commonplaces or because they have been blackened by controversy1 have by this time a ring of unreality about them1 or of theological remoteness1 or of controversial bitterness1 are in fact1 if we will 'consider them anew1' ideas the most important1 the most practical1 and the most closely adapted to the moral needs of the plain man4 i4 ,st4 ,paul writes to the ,christians as 'in ,christ1' 'in the beloved1' 'blessed with all spiritual benediction in the heavenly places in ,christ1' 'adopted #ee as sons through ,jesus ,christ4' ,we are all of us perfectly familiar with the idea of ,christ as1 so to speak1 a personal and individual redeemer1 as the holy and righteous one1 the beloved and accepted ,son1 who is risen from the dead and exalted to supreme sovereignty in heaven4 ,but popular theology has not been quite so familiar with the idea that ,christ was and is all this in our manhood1 not simply because ,he was ,god as well as man 7true as this is72 but because as man ,he was anointed with the ,holy ,spirit of ,god3 that it was in the power of that ,spirit that ,he lived ,his life of holiness and wrought ,his miracles of power3 that it was in the power of that ,spirit that ,he taught and suffered and died and was glorified4 ,nor has popular ,christianity been familiar with the resulting truth3 that by that divine ,spirit which possessed ,him as man1 the life of ,christ is extended beyond ,himself to take in those who believe in ,him1 and make them members of 'the church which is his body4' ,yet1 in fact1 this extension is implied even in the name ,christ4 ,the king ,messiah1 the ,christ of the ,old ,testament1 is but the central figure of a whole kingdom associated with ,him1 and all the characteristic phrases for ,christ in the ,new ,testament #ef express the same idea4 ,he is the 'first-born among many brethren#a'2 ,he is the 'first fruits#b' of a great harvest2 ,he is the 'head of the body#c'2 ,he is the 'bridegroom' inseparable from 'the bride#d'2 ,he is the second ,adam1 that is1 head of a new humanity#e4 ,thus if the heavens closed around the ascending ,christ1 and hid ,him from view1 they opened again around the descending ,spirit1 descending into the heart of the ,christian society to perpetuate ,christ's life and presence there4 ,this historical ascent and descent only embody in unmistakable facts the truth that the life-giving ,spirit1 who made the manhood of ,christ so satisfying to our moral aspirations1 is also and with the same reality1 though not with the same perfection or freedom1 living and working in that great society which ,he founded to represent ,him on earth4 ,because this society is possessed by the ,spirit1 therefore it lives in the same life as ,christ1 it and all its individual members are 'in ,christ4' ,in one place1 indeed1 ,st4 ,paul includes the ,church1 the body1 with its head under the one name 'the ,christ#f4' ,sidenote3 ,life in ,christ ,it is because the ,church thus shares ,christ's #eg life that it is already spoken of as sharing ,his exaltation4 ,we 'sit together in the heavenly places with ,christ' for no other reason than because1 though we are on earth1 our life is bound up invisibly but in living reality with the life of the glorified ,christ1 and we have in ,him free access into the courts of heaven4 ,for this reason again1 as the fulness of the divine attributes dwells in the glorified ,christ--all the fulness of the ,godhead bodily1 so the same fulness is attributed1 ideally at least1 to the ,church too4 ,it too is 'the fulness of him that filleth all in all4' ,to ,st4 ,paul's mind there is one true human life in which men are one with one another because they are at one with ,god4 ,that true human life is ,christ's life1 which ,he once lived on earth1 and which ,he is at present living in the glory of ,god1 and which is fulfilled with all the completeness of the divine life itself4 ,but that true human life is also shared by each and every member of ,his ,church1 without exception1 without reference to race or learning1 or wealth1 or sex1 or age4 ,i have said that this is ideally the case4 ,this identification of ,christ with the ,church1 that is to say1 is not yet fully realized4 ,the ,church is not yet glorified1 not yet morally perfected nor #eh full grown in the divine attributes4 ,its particular members may be living deceitful and dishonourable lives4 ,this is to say in other words that ,god's work in 'redemption of his own possession1' ,his acquirement of a people to ,himself1 is not yet complete4 ,the purchase-money is paid1 but it has not yet taken full effect4 ,but redemption is an accomplished fact in the sense that all the conditions of the final success are already there4 ,the ideal may be freely realized in every ,christian because he has received the 'earnest' or pledge of the ,spirit1 the pledge1 that is1 of all that is to be accomplished in him4 ,and this ,spirit was received by each ,christian at a particular and assignable moment4 ,we know what stress ,st4 ,paul laid at ,ephesus on proper ,christian baptism and the laying on of hands which followed it#g4 ,by baptism men were spoken of as incorporated into ,christ4 ,with the laying on of hands was associated the bestowal of the ,spirit4 ,henceforth a ,christian had no need to ask for the ,spirit as if ,he were not already bestowed upon him2 he had only to bring into practical use spiritual forces and powers which the divine bounty had already put at his disposal4 #ei ,if we compare this set of ideas with those that have been current in our popular theology1 we shall find that the main difference lies in this1 that here the stress is laid on the work of ,christ in man by ,his ,spirit1 while the theology which has been popular among us has laid the stress rather on the 'vicarious' work of ,christ outside us and for us1 by making a propitiation for our sins4 ,now in fact this latter doctrine is an unmistakable part of ,st4 ,paul's teaching in this epistle and elsewhere4 ,and all the mistakes to which it has led are due to its not having been kept in proper relation to the set of ideas which ,i have just been endeavouring to expound4 ',christ for us1' the sacrifice of propitiation has been separated from ',christ in us1' our new life2 whereas really the sacrifice was but a necessary removal of an obstacle1 preliminary to the new life4 ,it was a necessary preliminary that ,christ should put us on a fresh basis1 should enable us to break from our past and make a fresh start in the divine acceptance4 ,this ,he did by making atonement for our sins1 offering as a propitiatory sacrifice ,his life1 even to the shedding of ,his blood1 that the ,father might be enabled to forgive our sins4 ,this transaction is always #fj represented in the ,new ,testament as being the act of the ,father as well as of the ,son1 for the divine persons are not separable--neither an act by which the ,son forces the unwilling hand of the ,father1 nor an act in which the ,father lays an undeserved burden upon an unwilling ,son--and the idea of propitiation seems to ,st4 ,paul1 as indeed it has seemed to men generally1 a thoroughly natural idea4 ,only in one place does he make any suggestion as to why such a preliminary sacrifice of propitiation was necessary4 ,there#h he seems to find the moral necessity for it in the fact that through long ages ,god's 'forbearance' had left men to work through their own resources and so to find out their need of ,him4 ',he suffered all nations to walk in their own ways4' ,he 'winked at' or 'overlooked times of ignorance4' ,he 'passed over sins#i4' ,this was part of ,his educative process4 ,one result of it1 however1 was a lowering of the moral ideas entertained of the divine character4 ,thus ,god's righteousness1 which means holiness and compassion combined1 needed to be declared especially at that crisis of the divine dealings when ,god was coming out towards #fa men1 whom ,he had educated by ,his seeming absence to feel their need of ,him1 with the offer of ,his love4 ,the free bounty of ,his mercy must not be misunderstood as if it were indifference or laxity about moral wickedness4 ,thus the proclamation of ,his compassion must be associated with something which would make unmistakable the severity of ,his holiness and ,his moral claim4 ,this twofold end is what ,christ accomplishes4 ,thus if ,he is the revealer of the compassion of the ,father1 ,he also vindicates the divine character by a great act of moral reparation1 made in man's name and on man's behalf1 to the divine holiness which our sins have ignored and outraged4 ,this great act of reparation is consummated in the bloodshedding of the ,christ4 ,the sacrifice of consummate obedience is carried to its extreme point and accepted in its perfection4 ,god in ,christ receives from man1 and that publicly1 a perfect reparation3 an acknowledgement without fault or drawback3 a perfect sacrifice4 ,now ,god can forgive the sins of men freely and without moral risk1 if they come to ,him in the name of ,christ4 ,to come to ,god in the name of ,christ means1 of course1 to come in conscious moral identification of one's self with ,christ1 with #fb ,his ,spirit and ,his motives4 ,the faith which simply accepts the bounty of forgiveness through ,christ's sacrifice1 must pass necessarily into the faith which corresponds obediently with the divine love4 ,thus the purpose of the atonement is never expressed as being that we should be let off punishment1 or simply that we should be forgiven1 but rather that1 being forgiven1 we should be united to ,christ in ,his life#aj4 ,the propitiation which ,christ offered is only the removal of a preliminary obstacle to our fellowship with ,him in the life of ,god4 ,the work of ,christ 'for us' has no meaning or efficacy till it has begun to pass into the work of ,christ 'in us' by ,his assimilating ,spirit4 ,it was only as baptized into ,christ and sharing ,his ,spirit that ,christians could accept the forgiveness of their sins through the shedding of ,christ's blood4 ,the sacrament of new life is also the sacrament of absolution1 and the washing away of sins4 ,nothing in fact can be plainer in this ,epistle to the ,ephesians than that 'the redemption through ,christ's blood1 even the forgiveness of trespasses#aa' was only a preliminary removal of #fc obstacles to that fellowship with ,god in ,christ by ,his ,spirit which is the secret of the ,church4 ii4 ,sidenote3 ,predestination ,st4 ,paul's mind is full of the idea of predestination4 ,he delights to contemplate the eternal purpose of ,god as lying behind what seems to us the painfully slow method by which divine results are actually won4 ,what age-long processes have been necessary both among the ,jews and among the ,gentiles before this young church1 this divine society of man with ,god has become possible6 ,what slow working through 'times of ignorance1' what infinite delay in the divine forbearance--as we should now say1 what age-long processes of developement6 ,but ,st4 ,paul is quite certain that the result is no afterthought1 no accident of the moment2 but that from end to end of the universe there reaches a method of the divine wisdom1 and that here in the catholic church it has arrived at an issue4 ',god chose us in ,christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blemish 7as spotless victims7 before him in love3 having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through ,jesus ,christ unto himself4' ',fore-ordained #fd to be a heritage according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will4' ,so he asseverates and repeats and insists4 ,there are1 we may say1 two ideas commonly associated with predestination which ,st4 ,paul gives us no warrant for asserting4 ,the one is the predestination of individuals to eternal loss or destruction4 ,that ,god should create any single individual with the intention of eternally destroying or punishing him is a horrible idea1 and1 without prying into mysteries1 we may say boldly that there is no warrant for it in the ,old or ,new ,testaments4 ,god is indeed represented as predestinating men1 like ,jacob and ,esau1 to a higher or lower place in the order of the world or the church4 ,there are 'vessels' made by the divine potter to purposes of 'honour1' and 'vessels' made to purposes 7comparatively7 of 'dishonour#ab'3 there are more honourable and less honourable limbs of the body#ac4 ,but this does not prejudice the eternal prospects of those who in this world hold the less advantageous posts4 ,with ,god is no respect of persons4 ,again ,god is represented as predestinating men to moral hardness of heart where such hardness is a judgement on previous wilfulness4 ,thus #fe men may be predestined to temporary rejection of ,god1 as in ,st4 ,paul's mind the majority of the contemporary ,jews were4 ,that was their judgement1 and their punishment#ad4 ,it was however not ,god's first intention for them nor ,his last4 ,those chapters of ,st4 ,paul#ae which contain the most terrible things about the present reprobation of the ,jews contain also the most emphatic repudiation of the idea that moral reprobation was ,god's first idea for them1 or ,his last4 ',the gifts and calling of ,god1' that is1 ,his good gifts and calling1 says ,st4 ,paul1 speaking of the now 'reprobate' ,jews1 are 'without repentance#af4' ,god's present reprobation of them is only a process towards a fresh opportunity4 ',god hath shut up all into disobedience that he might have mercy upon all#ag4' ,men may baffle the original divine purpose1 and that1 so far as their own blessedness is concerned1 even finally3 they may become finally 'reprobate'3 but the divine purpose for them at its root remains a purpose for good4 ',god will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth#ah4' #ff ,and once again1 the idea of a predestination for good1 taking effect necessarily and irrespective of men's co-operation1 is an idea which has been intruded unjustifiably into ,st4 ,paul's thought4 ,it exalts his whole being to consider that he is co-operating with ,god1 and that the conditions under which he lives represent a divine purpose with which he is called to work4 ,it is this which makes him feel it is worth while working3 it is this which nerves and sustains him in all sufferings1 and enlarges his horizon in all restraints3 but he never suggests that it does not lie within the mysterious power of his own will to withdraw himself from co-operation with ,god4 ,it is at least conceivable to him that he should himself be rejected#ai4 ,in that famous list of external forces which he feels are unable to tear him from the grasp of the divine love1 his own will is not included#bj1 nor could be included without gross inconsistency4 ,beyond all question there is here one problem which remains for all time unsolved and insoluble--the relation of divine fore-knowledge#ba #fg to human freedom4 ,if we men are free to choose1 how can it be1 or can it really be the case at all1 that ,god knows beforehand actually how each individual will behave in each particular case8 ,this is a problem which we cannot fathom any more than we can fathom any of the problems which require for their solution an experience of what an absolute and eternal consciousness can mean4 ,but the problem belongs to metaphysics4 ,it inheres in the idea of eternity and ,god4 ,the ,bible neither creates it nor solves it4 ,we may say it does not touch it4 ,certainly when ,st4 ,paul dwells upon the thought of divine predestination he dwells upon it in order to emphasize that1 through all the vicissitudes of the world's history1 a divine purpose runs2 and especially that ,god works out ,his universal purposes through specially selected agents 'his elect1' on whom ,his choice rests for special ends in accordance with an eternal design and intention4 ,and the sense of co-operating with an eternal purpose of ,god inspires and strengthens him4 ,for ,god will not drop ,his work by the way4 ,whom ,he did foreknow or mark out beforehand for ,his divine purposes1 them ,he also foreordained or predestinated to sonship1 and in due time called into the number #fh of ,his elect1 and justified them1 that is1 pardoned their sins and gave them a new standing-ground in ,christ1 and glorified or will glorify them by the gradual operation of ,his grace#bb4 ,the steps or moments of the divine action recognized in the ,epistle to the ,romans are practically the same as those alluded to in the ,epistle to the ,ephesians4 ,there also is the eternal choice1 and the predestination to sonship1 and at a particular time the call into the ,church1 and the justification or remission of sins through the blood of ,christ1 and the gradual promotion through sanctification to glory4 ,and the moral fruit of contemplating ,god's eternal purpose for ,his elect1 and the stages of ,his work upon them1 is to be cheerful confidence of a right sort4 ,god will not drop them by the way1 nor the work which they are 'called' to accomplish4 ',god who hath begun a good work will perfect it until the day of ,jesus ,christ#bc4' ,wherever ,st4 ,paul recognizes a movement towards good in the single soul or in the world1 he knows that it is no accidental or passing phase3 it has its roots in the eternal will1 and unless we resist it in wilful obstinacy1 the eternal will shall at last #fi carry it on to perfection4 ',there shall never be one lost good4' ,it is not out of place to notice in this connexion how closely akin is ,st4 ,paul's thought to the modern philosophy of evolution4 ,only to ,st4 ,paul the slow process of cosmic or human evolution is in no kind of opposition to the idea of divine design4 iii4 ,sidenote3 ,the elect ,this predestinated body1 the ,church1 is what in another word ,st4 ,paul calls the 'elect' or 'chosen4' ,the idea of election has had a very false turn given to it1 partly through mistakes which have been already alluded to1 partly because the idea of election has been separated from another idea with which in the ,bible it is most closely associated1 the idea of a universal purpose to which the elect minister4 ,no thought can be more prominent in the ,old ,testament than the thought that some men out of multitudes have been chosen by ,god to be in a special relation of intimacy with ,him4 ',you only have ,i known1 ,o ,israel1 of all the families of the earth4' ,but this election to special knowledge of ,god1 and special spiritual opportunity1 #gj carries with it a corresponding responsibility4 ,it is no piece of favouritism on ,god's part4 ,the greater our opportunity the more is required of us4 ',you only have ,i known of all the families of the earth2 therefore will ,i visit upon you all your iniquities#bd4' ,the fact is that the principle of inequality in capacity and opportunity runs through the whole world both in individuals and in societies4 ,a great genius or a great nation has special privileges and opportunities1 but also1 in the sight of ,god who judges men according to their opportunities1 special responsibilities4 ,but also 7and this is by far the most important point7 the special vocation of every elect individual or body is for the sake of others#be4 ,it is ,god's method to work through the few upon the many4 ,that is the law of ministry which binds all the world of strong and weak1 of rich and poor1 of learned and ignorant1 into one4 ,thus ,abraham had been chosen alone1 but it was that1 through his seed1 all the nations of the earth should be blessed4 ,israel was exclusively the people of ,god1 but it was in order that all nations should learn from them at last the word of ,god4 ,the apostles were #ga the first 'elect' in ,christ with a little ,jewish company4 ',we'--so ,st4 ,paul speaks of the ,jewish ,christians--'we who had before hoped in ,christ4' ,but it was to show the way to all the ,gentiles 7'ye also1 who have heard the word of the truth1 the gospel of your salvation1'7 who were also to constitute ',god's own possession' and ,his 'heritage4' ,the purpose to be realized is a universal one3 it is the re-union of man with man1 as such1 by being all together reunited to ,god in one body4 ,and this idea is to have application even beyond the bounds of humanity4 ,unity is the principle of all things as ,god created the world4 ',in ,christ1' ,st4 ,paul writes to the ,colossians1 'all things consist' or 'hold together in one system#bf4' ,it is only sin1 whether in man or in the dimly-known spiritual world which lies beyond1 which has spoiled this unity1 and in separating the creatures from ,god has separated them from one another4 ,and the ,church of the reconciliation is ,god's elect body to represent a divine purpose of restoration far wider than itself--extending in fact to all creation4 ,it is the divine purpose1 with a view to 'a dispensation of the fulness of the times1 to sum up' or 'bring together again in unity' all things in #gb ,christ2 the things in the heaven1 the dim spiritual forces of which we have only glimpses1 and the things upon the earth which we know so much better4 ,this great and rich idea of the election of the ,church as a special body to fulfil a universal purpose of recovery1 cannot be expressed better than in the very ancient prayer which forms part of the paschal ceremonies of the ,latin liturgy4 ',o ,god of unchangeable power and eternal light1 look favourably on ,thy whole ,church1 that wonderful and sacred mystery1 and by the tranquil operation of ,thy perpetual providence1 carry out the work of man's salvation2 and let the whole world feel and see that things which were cast down are being raised up1 and things which had grown old are being made new1 and all things are returning to perfection through ,him1 from whom they took their origin1 even through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4' iv4 ,sidenote3 ,the divine secret disclosed ,this universal reconciliation through a catholic church was ,god's eternal purpose1 but it was kept secret from the ages and the generations1 only at last to be disclosed to ,his #gc apostles and prophets4 ,the word 'mystery' in the ,new ,testament means mostly a divine secret which has now been disclosed4 ,just as the secret of ,nebuchadnezzar's dream1 i4e4 the purpose of ,god in the then order of the world1 was imparted to ,daniel1 so now the great disclosure of the divine mystery or secret has been made1 primarily indeed to apostles and prophets1 but through them to the whole body of the faithful4 ,the faithful must of course begin by receiving that simplest spiritual nourishment which is milk for babes4 ,they are to welcome the divine forgiveness of their sins in ,christ1 and the gift of new life through ,him in their baptism and the laying-on of hands4 ,they are to be taught the rudimentary truths and moral lessons which are the first principles of the oracles of ,christ4 ,but they are not to stop with this4 ,they are1 and they are all of them without exception#bg1 intended to grow up to the full apprehension of the wisdom of the 'perfect' or perfectly initiated4 ,they are to dwell upon the divine secret1 now revealed1 of ,god's purpose for the universe through the church till their whole heart and intellect and imagination is enlightened and enriched by it4 #gd v4 ,sidenote3 ,it is all of grace ,and is the greatness of this exaltation and knowledge vouchsafed to the ,church to be a renewed occasion of pride--that spiritual pride1 the fatal results of which had already become apparent through the rejection of the ,jews8 ,no3 unless through a complete mistake1 the very opposite must be the result4 ,the strength of human pride1 as ,st4 ,paul had seen long ago1 lay in the idea that man could have merit of his own1 face to face with ,god3 could have good works which were his own and not ,god's1 and which gave him a claim upon ,god4 ,that ,jewish doctrine of merit#bh had been convicted of utter falsity in ,st4 ,paul's own spiritual experience4 ,he had found himself brought to acknowledge1 like any sinner of the ,gentiles1 his simple dependence upon the divine compassion for forgiveness and acceptance4 ,this spiritual experience of ,st4 ,paul was only the realizing through one channel of what is1 in fact1 an elementary truth about human nature4 ,the idea of human independence is demonstrably a false idea4 ,as a matter of fact1 man draws his life1 physical and spiritual1 from #ge sources beyond himself--from the one source1 ,god4 ,in constant dependence on ,god he lives necessarily from moment to moment1 whether to breathe1 or think1 or will4 ,the freedom of will which he has is not really originative or creative power1 but a capacity of voluntary correspondence with what is given him from beyond himself4 ,in that power of correspondence1 or refusal to correspond1 man's liberty begins and ends4 ,he creates nothing4 ,it is not that man does something and then ,god does the rest4 ,the truth is that when we track man's good action to its root in his will1 we find for certain that ,god has been beforehand with him4 ,the good he does is in correspondence with moral and physical laws and forces of the universe1 or1 in other words1 with divine powers and purposes lent and suggested to him4 ,to attempt independence of ,god1 to have schemes and plans absolutely one's own1 is to work arbitrarily and ignorantly1 and ultimately to fail and to know that one has failed4 ,thus men1 when they realize the facts of their condition1 must depend1 and rejoice to depend1 wholly upon ,god as for forgiveness where they have done wrong1 so also for suggestion and power that they may do anything aright4 ,there is #gf then no room for human pride4 ,it is a mistake4 ,we come back to recognize1 what ,st4 ,paul realized in his own deep spiritual experience and taught the ,church at the beginning4 ,whatever is good in the world is all of divine initiation and of divine grace4 ,it is all1 not to our glory1 but 7as ,st4 ,paul three times repeats in the opening paragraphs of our epistle7 'to the praise of his glory1' or 'to the praise of the glory of his grace which he freely bestows on us' out of ,his pure love and goodwill4 ,sidenote3 ,st4 ,paul's leading thoughts ,these are the great leading thoughts which are in ,st4 ,paul's mind as he begins to write to the ,asiatic ,christians4 ,his heart1 his imagination1 his intellect is full of the thought of the catholic society as it exists in ,christ1 the extension of ,his life2 of this society as the outcome of an eternal and slow-working purpose of ,god2 of this society1 as serving universal divine ends for humanity and for the universe2 of this society1 as affording a sphere in which all men's faculties may be enlightened and delighted with the depth and largeness of the divine purpose2 while his whole being is kept1 safe from all the delusions of pride1 in continual and conscious dependence upon divine grace4 #gg ,with these thoughts reflected in our minds we shall find that we have the main clue to the whole of the ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 and more particularly to all the words of the opening chapter1 which ,st4 ,paul begins with a great ascription of praise to ,god for the blessing of the ,church4 ,blessed be the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in ,christ3 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world1 that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love3 having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through ,jesus ,christ unto himself1 according to the good pleasure of his will1 to the praise of the glory of his grace1 which he freely bestowed on us in the ,beloved3 in whom we have our redemption through his blood1 the forgiveness of our trespasses1 according to the riches of his grace1 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence1 having made known unto us the mystery of his will1 according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times1 to sum up all things in ,christ1 the things in the heavens1 and the things upon the earth2 in him1 ,i say1 in whom also we were made a heritage1 having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will2 to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory1 we who had before hoped in ,christ3 in whom ye also1 having heard the word of the truth1 the gospel of your salvation1--in whom1 having also believed1 ye were sealed with the ,holy ,spirit of promise1 which is an earnest of our inheritance1 unto the redemption of ,god's own possession1 unto the praise of his glory4 #a ,rom4 viii4 #bi4 #b #a ,cor4 xv4 #bc4 #c ,eph4 iv4 #ae1 #af4 #d ,eph4 v4 #cb2 ,rev4 xxi4 #i4 #e #a ,cor4 xv4 #de2 ,rom4 v4 #ab-ai4 #f #a ,cor4 xii4 #ab4 #g ,acts xix4 #a-g4 #h ,rom4 iii4 #bd-bf4 ,i have tried to develope ,st4 ,paul's hint4 #i ,rom4 iii4 #be2 ,acts xiv4 #af2 ,acts xvii4 #cj4 #aj ,the earliest and simplest expression of the matter is that in ,st4 ,paul's earliest epistle 7#a ,thess4 v4 #aj71 ,christ 'died for us 444 that we should live together with him4' #aa ,eph4 i4 #g2 cf4 ii4 #ac ff4 #ab ,rom4 ix4 #ba4 #ac #a ,cor4 xii4 #bb ff4 #ad ,cf4 ,st4 ,matt4 xiii4 #ac-ae2 ,st4 ,john xii4 #ci1 #dj4 ,we are not 7,rom4 ix4 #ag7 told why ,pharaoh was brought out on the stage of history as an example of ,god's hardening judgement4 ,but no doubt there was a moral reason4 #ae ,rom4 ix-xi4 #af ,rom4 xi4 #bi4 #ag ,rom4 xi4 #cc4 #ah #a ,tim4 ii4 #d4 #ai #a ,cor4 ix4 #bg4 #bj ,rom4 viii4 #ch1 #ci #ba ,i am using the word here not in its ,bible sense1 for in the ,bible ,god is said to 'know' men in the sense of fixing ,his choice or approval upon them2 and to 'foreknow' is therefore to approve or choose beforehand1 as suitable instruments for a divine purpose4 ,i am using the word in its ordinary sense4 #bb ,rom4 viii4 #bh-cj4 #bc ,phil4 i4 #f4 #bd ,amos iii4 #b4 #be ,on the ,jewish idea of election1 cf4 app4 note ,c1 p4 #bfa4 #bf ,col4 i4 #a4 #bg ,col4 i4 #bh4 #bh ,see app4 note ,c1 p4 #beg4 #gh ,,division ,i4 #b4 ,,chapter ,i4 #ae-bc4 ,st4 ,paul's ,prayer4 ,st4 ,paul follows up this first expression of the great thoughts that fill his mind with a deep and comprehensive thanksgiving for that large measure of correspondence with the divine purpose which is reported from the ,asiatic churches1 and with a prayer for their full enlightenment in heart and intellect4 ,he prays that they may rise to the true science of what their ,christian calling1 as fellow-inheritors with the saints of the divine blessing1 really means2 and to an adequate expectation of what ,god intends to do in them1 on the analogy of what ,he has already done in ,christ their head4 ,for this cause ,i also1 having heard of the faith in the ,lord ,jesus which is among you1 and which ye shew toward all the saints1 cease not to give thanks for you1 making mention of you in my prayers2 that the ,god of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the ,father of glory1 may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him2 having the eyes of your heart enlightened1 that ye may know what is the hope of his calling1 what the riches #gi of the glory of his inheritance in the saints1 and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe1 according to that working of the strength of his might which he wrought in ,christ1 when he raised him from the dead1 and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places1 far above all rule1 and authority1 and power1 and dominion1 and every name that is named1 not only in this world1 but also in that which is to come3 and he put all things in subjection under his feet1 and gave him to be head over all things to the church1 which is his body1 the fulness of him that filleth all in all4 ,there is very little further explanation needed for this passage4 ,but three phrases may be noted3-- 7#a7 ,st4 ,paul calls the ,father 'the ,god of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1' as our ,lord ,himself calls ,him 'my ,god' 7,john xx4 #ag7 in ,his resurrection state4 ,it is no doubt of ,christ as man that the ,father is ,god2 but this relation of the ,son as man to the ,father depends upon an eternal subordination in which the ,son1 even as ,god1 stands to the ,father from whom ,he derives ,his divine life4 ,the essential subordination of the ,son 7and ,spirit7 to the ,father as the one fount of ,godhead1 is continually suggested in the ,new ,testament2 but it involves no inferiority in ,godhead1 or subsequence in time--'nothing before or after1 nothing greater or less1' as the ,quicunque vult says4 ,and it conveys to us the moral lesson that a subordinate position is not to be resented as if it were a dishonour4 7#b7 ,the spirit of 'wisdom and revelation' vouchsafed to us is to enable us to apprehend in a measure the divine 'wisdom and prudence#a' manifested in ,god's work of creation and redemption4 ,the humility which is content to correspond patiently and teachably with the method of ,god is1 as ,francis ,bacon was at pains to teach1 of the essence of all fruitful human science4 7#c7 ,the expression 'the fulness' or 'the fulness of the ,godhead#b' means the sum total of the divine attributes1 which1 instead of being spread over different angelic mediators1 as the ,colossians were disposed to imagine1 are1 by the divine will1 all concentrated and combined in the glorified ,christ4 ,and here ,st4 ,paul teaches the ,ephesian ,christians that all that belongs to the glorified ,christ is to belong also to the ,church1 which is ,his body4 ,it is ,christ who gives to all creatures whatever various gifts of life they have4 ,he 'filleth all in all'2 that is1 ',he filleth the whole universe with all variety of #ha gifts4' ,but something much more than various gifts--the sum total of all ,he is--,he pours1 or intends to pour1 into the ,church1 so that the ,church as well as the ,christ shall embody1 and thus be identified with1 the fulness of the divine attributes4 ,at present the ,church is this only ideally1 or in the divine intention3 the actually existing ,church has still much need of growth that her members 'may be filled 7as they are not at present7 up to the measure of the divine fulness'2 or1 in other words1 up to 'the measure of the stature of the fulness of the ,christ#c4' ,the fulness1 according to ,st4 ,paul's doctrine1 is to be sought first in the eternal ,god2 then in the glorified ,christ2 then1 through ,him1 in the fully developed ,church2 and1 finally1 through the ,church1 in a sense in the universe as a whole1 when the work of redemption is done and ,god is at last 'all in all' throughout ,his creation4 ,it may be noticed that ,st4 ,paul1 in this doctrine of 'the fulness1' is thinking rather of the divine attributes as manifested1 than as they are in themselves3 and of ,christ1 not as the eternal #hb ,son of ,god1 but1 more particularly1 as incarnate and glorified4 ,it was the 'good pleasure' of the ,father to fill the exalted ,christ1 the first-begotten from the dead1 with the fulness of divine glory and power as the reward of the humility and love which ,he showed when ,he 'emptied himself in taking the form of a servant#d4' ,this bestowal was no doubt a giving anew to ,him1 as man and as head of the ,church1 what was eternally ,his as ,son of the ,father4 ,there is another interpretation adopted by ,chrysostom in ancient times1 and by ,dr4 ,hort among moderns1 of the phrase 'the church which is his body1 the fulness of him who filleth all in all4' ,according to them the ,church is regarded as making the ,christ complete4 ,it is in this sense the 'fulfilment' of ,christ1 because without the ,church ,he would be a head without its members3 and then the rest of the sentence should be translated differently--'the church which is his body1 the fulfilment of him who is fulfilled in all ways with all things4' ,but this is decidedly less agreeable to the general use of the expression 'the fulness' in the epistles to the ,colossians and ,ephesians#e4 #hc ,sidenote3 ,some practical lessons ,we may also pause to recognize one or two ways in which ,st4 ,paul's view of the ,christian religion1 as exhibited in the opening of this epistle1 suggests special deficiencies among ourselves4 7#a7 ,st4 ,paul's ,christianity is a religion of thankfulness4 ,this epistle is a burst of exuberant praise4 ,yet he was himself a prisoner1 and the church of ,ephesus1 with the other ,asiatic churches1 was sorely threatened with moral and spiritual perils of all kinds4 ,the secret of this thankfulness is that he looks straight away from himself and his surroundings up to ,god4 ,he measures the value of human life and work not by what immediate experience suggests1 but by what he knows of the purpose of ,god4 ,in spite of all the obstacles opposed by human wilfulness and weakness and sin1 he knows that ,his purpose will effect itself3 therefore he 'rejoices in the ,lord always1' and no discouraging circumstances can quench the springs of his rejoicing4 ,our ,christianity is apt to be of a very 'dutiful' kind4 ,we mean to do our duty1 we attend church and go to our communions4 ,but our hearts are full of the difficulties1 the hardships1 #hd the obstacles which the situation presents1 and we go on our way sadly1 downhearted and despondent4 ,we need to learn or learn anew from ,st4 ,paul that true ,christianity is inseparable from deep joy2 and the secret of that joy lies in a continual looking away from all else--away from sin and its ways1 and from the manifold hindrances to the good we would do--up to ,god1 ,his love1 ,his purpose1 ,his will4 ,in proportion as we do look up to ,him we shall rejoice1 and in proportion as we rejoice in the ,lord will our religion have tone and power and attractiveness4 7#b7 ,st4 ,paul appeals to the ,asiatic ,christians not to become something they are not1 or to acquire some spiritual gift that they have not received1 but simply to realize what they already are1 and to claim the privileges of their baptized state4 ,they are already 'adopted as sons#f4' ,they have1 like the ,galatians1 received 'the ,spirit of adoption4' ,the point now is that they should realize and put into practice what already belongs to them4 ,this mode of appeal is based on the doctrine--in spite of its many perversions the most valuable doctrine--of baptismal #he regeneration4 ,the false method of appeal--as if careless ,christians needed to become sons of ,god--which involves a false idea of 'regeneration1' has been so much identified with popular ,protestantism1 that ,i cannot do better than quote some very apposite remarks by the late ,congregationalist teacher1 ,dr4 ,dale1 of blessed memory1 from his noble commentary on this very epistle to the ,ephesians3-- ',this adoption of which ,paul speaks is something more than a mere legal and formal act1 conveying certain high prerogatives4 ,we are called the sons of ,god because we are really made ,his sons by a new and supernatural birth4 ,regeneration is sometimes described as though it were merely a change in a man's principles of conduct in his character1 his tastes1 his habits4 ,the description is theologically false1 and practically most pernicious and misleading4 ,if regeneration were nothing more than this1 we should have to speak of a man as being more or less regenerate1 according to the extent of his moral reformation2 but this would be contrary to the idiom of ,new ,testament thought4 ,that a great change in the moral region of a man's nature will certainly follow regeneration is true2 this change1 however1 is not regeneration itself1 but the effect of regeneration2 and the moral change which regeneration produces varies in many ways in different men4 ,in some the change is immediate1 decisive1 and apparently complete4 ,in others it is extremely gradual1 and may be for a long time hardly discernible4 ,in some regenerate men grave sins remain for a time unforsaken1 perhaps unrecognized4 ,look at these ,ephesian ,christians4 #hf ,the ,apostle has to tell them that they must put away falsehood and speak the truth2 that they must give up thieving1 and foul talk1 and covetousness1 and gross sensual sin4 ',he addresses them as saints4 ,he describes them as having been chosen in ,christ before the foundation of the world1 and foreordained by ,god unto adoption as sons unto ,himself2 and yet he knows that they are in danger of committing these base and flagrant offences4 ,it was hard for them to escape from the vices of heathenism4 ,they were regenerate2 but as yet1 in some of them1 the moral effects of regeneration were very incomplete1 the change which regeneration was ultimately certain to produce in their moral life had only begun1 and it was checked and hindered by a thousand hostile influences4 ',the simplest and most obvious account of regeneration is the truest4 ,when a man is regenerated he receives a new life and receives it from ,god4 ,in itself regeneration is not a change in his old life1 but the beginning of a new life which is conferred by the immediate and supernatural act of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the man is really born again4 ,a higher nature comes to him than that which he inherited from his human parents2 he is begotten of ,god1 born of the ,spirit4' ,this passage1 especially as coming from ,dr4 ,dale1 supplies a very valuable corrective to still current religious mistakes4 ,but surely we have no ground for saying that the moral effects 'certainly' follow regeneration1 or follow it in all cases4 ,it is not 'ultimately certain to produce' them in all persons1 but only in those who #hg exhibit1 sooner or later1 the moral correspondence of a converted will4 7#c7 ,most ,christians who have reacted from ,calvinism and its false doctrine of predestination have ceased to think about the truth which it represents4 ,but we need to make a right instead of a wrong use of these great ideas of predestination and election1 and thus to get rid of all the miserable narrowness and hopelessness which settles down upon us when we allow ourselves to think of religion as mainly a process of saving our own souls1 and when we live only in our present feelings4 ,what can be more inspiring and strengthening than to believe that there is an eternal purpose of ,god working itself out in the universe through all its stages and parts2 that this eternal purpose includes us1 and has fastened upon us individually and brought us into ,christ and ,his ,church1 to make true men of us2 and that it has done all this not for our own sakes only1 but to disclose something more of ,god's glory and for the fulfilment of great and universal purposes1 which are to radiate out even from us8 ,wherever ,st4 ,paul sees the hand of ,god in present experience1 at once his mind works back to an eternal will and therefore also #hh forward to an eternal and adequate result4 ,and this backward and forward look transfigures the present with a new glory and a fresh hope4 ,so will it be with us if this same characteristically ,christian way of looking at any apparent movement of ,god in the present1 in our own souls or in the world outside us1 becomes habitually and instinctively ours4 ,god never acts on a sudden impulse or without purpose of continuance4 ,certainly ,he can be trusted not to stop and leave things unfinished4 ,when ,he hath begun any good work ,he will assuredly perfect it1 if we will let ,him4 #a i4 #h4 #b ,see ,col4 i4 #ai2 ii4 #i2 cf4 ii4 #c1 'in ,christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden4' #c ,eph4 iii4 #ai2 iv4 #ac4 ,it is not certain that by ,him 'who filleth all in all' ,st4 ,paul does not mean the ,father rather than the ,son4 ,but iv4 #aj supports the interpretation given above4 #d ,col4 i4 #ai2 ,phil4 ii4 #i-aa4 #e ,and the word rendered 'filleth' may have a middle and not a passive sense1 the idea being perhaps suggested that ,god 'fills all things for his own purpose4' #f ,that is1 they were 'predestined to an adoption' 7,eph4 i4 #e7 which it is implied they have already received4 #hi ,,division ,i4 #c4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 #a-aj4 ,sin and redemption4 ,sidenote3 ,the depth of sin ,in the first chapter of the epistle1 ,st4 ,paul has had before his eyes the glory of ,god's redemptive work--the wonder of ,his purpose of pure love for the universe through the ,church4 ,his imagination has kindled at the thought of the length1 the breadth1 the height of the divine operation3--the length1 for it is an eternal purpose slowly worked out through the ages2 the breadth1 for it is to extend over the whole universe2 the height1 for it is to carry men up to no lower point than the throne of ,christ in the heavenly places4 ,but now he stops to call the attention of his converts to what we may call a 'fourth dimension' of the divine operation--its depth4 ,how wonderfully low ,god had stooped1 in order to reach the point to which man had sunk6 ,the ,asiatic ,christians are bidden to ponder anew1 and by #ij contrast to their present experience1 the life which they had once lived before they knew ,christ or were found in ,him4 ,let us read the apostle's words1 and then consider them in detail3-- ,and you did he quicken1 when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins1 wherein aforetime ye walked according to the course of this world1 according to the prince of the power of the air1 of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience2 among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh1 doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind1 and were by nature children of wrath1 even as the rest4 ,we naturally put as a parallel to these and other verses of this epistle 7iv4 #ag-ai7 the terrible passage in ,romans i1 where ,st4 ,paul describes the developement of sin in the ,gentile world2 how it had its origin in the refusal of the human will to recognize ,god1 how out of the perversion of will it spread to the blinding of the understanding1 and then to giving an overmastering power and an unnatural distortion to the passions1 so that a state of moral lawlessness was produced and maintained4 ,what are we to say as to the truth of these accounts of the moral condition of the heathen world8 ,no doubt there is a good deal to be #ia said on the other side4 ,roman simplicity and virtue1 and the sanctity of domestic life1 had not1 as contemporary inscriptions and historical records make perfectly evident1 faded out of the ,roman ,empire1 and philanthropy and love of the poor were recognized excellences4 ,nor had philosophic virtue vanished from the schools#a4 ,and all this ,st4 ,paul would not be slow to recognize4 ,in the ,epistle to the ,romans#b itself he speaks in language1 such as a ,stoic might have used1 of those who1 uninstructed by any special divine law1 were a law unto themselves1 in that they showed the practical effect of the law written in their hearts4 ,we must therefore recognize that ,st4 ,paul is1 in the passage we are now considering1 speaking ideally2 that is to say1 he is speaking of the general tendency of the heathen life1 just as he speaks ideally of the ,christian church in view of its general tendency2 and he is speaking of it as he mostly knew it himself in the notoriously corrupt cities of the east1 ,antioch and ,ephesus4 ,ephesus1 in particular1 had an extraordinarily bad character for vice as much as for superstition2 and what #ib ,st4 ,paul says of the heathen life does not in fact make up a stronger indictment or present a blacker picture than what is said by a ,stoic philosopher1 perhaps his contemporary1 who wrote at ,ephesus1 under the shelter of the name of the great ,ephesian of ancient days1 ,heracleitus#c4 ,moreover1 ,st4 ,paul appeals unhesitatingly to the actual experience of these ,asiatic ,christians1 and there is no reason to doubt that their consciences would have responded to what he said to them about the old life out of which they had been brought4 ,let us now analyze a little more exactly this account ,st4 ,paul gives of the state of sin which he saw around him in contemporary society4 7#a7 ',ye walked according to the course of this world4' ,by 'this world' ,st4 ,paul1 like the other ,new ,testament writers1 means practically human society as it organizes itself for its own purposes of pleasure or profit without thought of ,god1 or at least without thought of ,god as ,he truly is4 ,these ,asiatic ,christians1 then1 had formerly ordered their life and conduct according to the demands and expectations of the worldly world1 obeying its motives1 governed #ic by its fashions and its laws1 and indifferent to those considerations which it repudiated or ignored4 7#b7 ,but to belong to the world in this sense is1 in ,st4 ,paul's mind1 to belong to the kingdom of ,satan4 ,the worldly world had its origin from a false desire of independence on man's part4 ,he did not want to be controlled by ,god2 he wanted to live his own life for himself4 ,but in liberating himself according to his wishes from the control of ,god he fell1 according to ,st4 ,paul's belief1 under another control4 ,rebellion had been in the universe before man4 ,there are invisible rebel spirits1 of whose real existence and influence ,st4 ,paul had no more doubt than any other ,jew who was not a ,sadducee4 ,and1 indeed1 our ,lord had so spoken of good and evil spirits as to assure ,his disciples of their existence and influence4 ,these rebel wills are unseen by us and in most respects unknown1 but they organize and give a certain coherence and continuity to evil in the world4 ,there thus arises a sort of kingdom of evil over against the kingdom of ,god1 and those who will not surrender themselves to ,god and ,his kingdom1 become perforce servants of ,satan and his kingdom4 ,it is in view of this truth that ,st4 ,paul #id tells these ,asiatic ,christians that they used to walk according 'to the prince of the power of the air1 the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience4' 7,these evil spirits were1 by a natural way of thinking1 located in the air1 according to the contemporary ,jewish ideas2 and the idea is1 if nothing more1 a convenient metaphor for a subtle and pervading influence47 ,this view of their old life1 as a bondage to evil spirits1 is one which would be as easily realized by inhabitants of ,asiatic cities1 where men were largely occupied in finding charms against bad spirits1 as by modern ,indian converts from devil-worship4 ,christianity recognizes a basis of reality in the superstition from which at the same time it delivers men4 7#c7 ,the main characteristic of this old godless life had been lawlessness1 but ,st4 ,paul here1 as in his ,epistle to the ,romans1 associates ,jews with ,gentiles1 'we' with 'you1' in the same condemnation4 ,the spirits1 or real selves of the ,christians1 had been1 in their former state1 dominated by their appetites or their imaginations4 ,they were occupied in doing what their flesh or their thoughts suggested4 ,it is noticeable that ,st4 ,paul puts 'the mind' side by side with 'the flesh' as a cause of sin1 the intellectual #ie side by side with the sensual and emotional nature4 ,we often in fact1 in our age1 have experience of people who are not 'sensual' in the ordinary sense1 but who live lives which have no goodness1 no perseverance1 no order1 no fruitfulness in them1 because they are the slaves of the ideas of their own mind as they present themselves1 now one1 now another2 unregulated ideas being in fact1 just as much as unregulated passions1 fluctuating1 arbitrary1 and tyrannous4 ,nothing is more truly needed to-day than the discipline of the imagination4 7#d7 ,men living such a life of bondage are described further as 'dead through their trespasses and sins4' ,st4 ,paul means by death to describe any state of intellectual and moral insensibility4 ,he would have the ,christian 'dead' to the motives and voices of the worldly and sensual world4 ,so in the same way he reminds the ,asiatic ,christians that to all that life of ,god in which they were now fruitfully living1 they had at one time been insensible or dead--that is1 blind to those things which now seemed most apparent1 unterrified at what would now seem most horrible1 unmoved by what now seemed most fascinating4 ,and if this was their state viewed in itself1 in their relation to ,god #if they were1 like the ,jews also1 'children of wrath4' ,this expression is used in our catechism to describe 'original sin1' that is to say1 that moral disorder or weakness which belongs to our nature as we inherit it1 before we have had the opportunity of personal wrong doing4 ,but the application of the phrase by ,st4 ,paul is to describe rather the state of actual sin in which ,jew and ,gentile alike 'naturally' lived4 ,it implies not that ,god hated them1 for in the whole context ,st4 ,paul is emphasizing 'the great love wherewith he loved them'2 but that there was a necessary moral incompatibility between them as they then were1 and ,god as ,he essentially and permanently is4 ,god is so necessarily holy that ,his being is1 and must be1 intolerable to the unholy4 ,it must be the case that at the bare idea of the divine coming1 'sinners in ,zion' should be 'afraid1' and should say one to another1 'who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire1 who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings#d8' ,god necessarily presents ,himself as a terror to the godless2 and from the point of view of ,god that means that our sinful nature is the subject of ,his necessary wrath4 ,he resents the #ig perversion1 the spoiling1 of ,his own handiwork in us4 ,he cannot tolerate uncleanness1 rebellion1 unbelief4 ,this wrath of ,god1 in the case of those whose wills are set to 'hate the light1' is directed against men's persons4 ,but so far as sin is only in our natures1 and is something of which we are the unwilling subjects1 it appeals only to ,god's compassion to lead ,him to apply effective remedies4 ,his wrath is so far against sin1 not against sinners2 and none could know better than these ,asiatic ,christians what lengths of resourcefulness and self-sacrifice the divine compassion had gone in order to redeem men from its tyranny4 ,thus ,st4 ,paul continues3-- ,but ,god1 being rich in mercy1 for his great love wherewith he loved us1 even when we were dead through our trespasses1 quickened us together with ,christ 7by grace have ye been saved71 and raised us up with him1 and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places1 in ,christ ,jesus3 that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in ,christ ,jesus3 for by grace have ye been saved through faith2 and that not of yourselves3 it is the gift of ,god3 not of works1 that no man should glory4 ,for we are his workmanship1 created in ,christ ,jesus for good works1 which ,god afore prepared that we should walk in them4 ,sidenote3 ,the method of redemption ,here is ,st4 ,paul's description of the method of ,god in dealing with men when they were in #ih that state of sin1 the conditions of which he has just summarised4 ,we take note of the chief points in the method4 7#a7 ,st4 ,paul has in mind here1 as always1 the divine predestination4 ,there was an eternal purpose in the divine mind to make ,st4 ,paul and those to whom he wrote such as they were now on the way to become2 it was a purpose not merely general1 but extending to details4 ,it belongs1 in fact1 to the divine perfection1 that ,god does nothing1 and purposes nothing1 in mere vague generality4 ,the universal range and scope of the divine activity as over all creatures whatsoever1 hinders not at all its perfect application to detail4 ,thus ,god had 'predestined1' or held in ,his eternal purpose1 not merely the state of ,christians as a whole or even of the ,asiatic ,christians in particular1 but the details of conduct which ,he willed them individually to exhibit4 ,it is the particular 'good works' which ,god 'prepared beforehand in order that they should walk in them#e4' 7#b7 ,what ,god predestined ,he accomplished first in summary 'in ,christ ,jesus4' ,in ,him all that ,god meant to do for man was exhibited #ii and accomplished as ,god's own and perfect handiwork1 as an effective and final disclosure4 ,men are to look for everything1 for every kind of development and progress1 in ,christ1 but for nothing outside or beyond ,him4 ,all is there--'all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge1' all 'the fulness of the ,godhead1' all the perfections of mankind1 the reconciliation of all seeming opposites4 ,all is brought to the highest possible level of attainment1 'the heavenly place4' 7#c7 ,what had been summarily realized in ,christ is progressively realized in those who are 'in ,him4' ,undeterred by their condition of moral and spiritual death1 ,god1 out of the heart of ,his rich mercy1 simply because of the great love ,he bore to men1 has brought them1 by one act of regeneration1 into the new life of ,his ,son2 has 'quickened them together with ,christ1' that is1 has introduced them1 at a definite moment of initiation1 into the life which has once for all triumphed over death1 and been glorified in the heavenly places2 and has introduced them into this life in order that1 by the gradual assimilation of its forces1 future ages might witness in them all the wealth of the goodness which had lain hid in the original act #ajj of incorporation4 ,meanwhile1 while their growth is yet imperfect1 ,god sees those who are ,christ's as 'in ,christ'3 imputes ,his merits to them1 so we may legitimately say3 that is1 sees them and deals with them in view of the fact that ,christ's ,spirit is at work in them2 sees them and deals with them 'not as they are1 but as they are becoming4' ,this doctrine of imputation1 instead of being full of moral unreality1 is in accordance with all that is deepest in the philosophy of evolution4 ,for are we not continually being taught that in order to take a true view of the value of any single thing1 we must view it not as it is at a particular moment1 but in the light of its tendency8 ,we must ask not merely 'what1' but 'whence' and 'whither4' 7#d7 ,it is all pure grace--the free outpouring of unmerited love4 ,the ,christians are ',god's workmanship1' ,his new creation4 ,he1 in ,christ1 had wrought the work all by ,himself4 ,they1 the subjects of it1 had contributed nothing4 ,it remained for them only to welcome and to correspond4 ,this is the summing up of man's legitimate attitude towards ,god4 ,this is faith4 ,it is at its first stage simply the acceptance of a divine mercy in all its undeserved and unconditional largeness2 but it passes at once1 as #aja soon as ever the nature of the divine gift is realized1 into a glad co-operation with the divine purpose4 ,this then is1 in outline1 the method of the great salvation1 of which the ,asiatic ,christians had been and were the subjects4 #a ,on the virtuous aspect of the contemporary empire1 see ,renan1 ,les ,aptres1 pp4 #cjf ff4 #b ,rom4 ii4 #ad4 #c ,see app4 note ,b1 p4 #bee4 #d ,is4 xxxiii4 #ad1 #ae4 #e ,cf4 app4 note ,c1 p4 #bfc1 for a similar thought in a contemporary ,jewish book4 #ajb ,,division ,i4 #d4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 #aa-bb4 ,salvation in the church4 ,sidenote3 ,the salvation social ,god's deliverance or 'salvation' of mankind is a deliverance of individuals indeed1 but of individuals in and through a society2 not of isolated individuals1 but of members of a body4 ,it is and has been a popular religious idea that the primary aim of the gospel is to produce saved individuals2 and that it is a matter of secondary importance that the saved individuals should afterwards combine to form churches for their mutual spiritual profit1 and for promoting the work of preaching the gospel4 ,but this way of conceiving the matter is a reversal of the order of ideas in the ,bible4 ',the salvation' in the ,bible is supposed usually 'to reach the individual through the community#a4' ,god's dealings with us in redemption thus follow the lines of ,his dealings with us in our natural developement4 ,for man stands #ajc out in history as a 'social animal4' ,his individual developement1 by a divine law of his constitution1 is only rendered possible because he is first of all a member of some society1 tribe1 or nation1 or state4 ,through membership in such a society alone1 and through the submissions and limitations on his personal liberty which such membership involves1 does he become capable of any degree of free or high developement as an individual4 ,this law1 then1 of man's nature appears equally in the method of his redemption4 ,under the old covenant it was to members of the 'commonwealth of ,israel' that the blessings of the covenant belonged4 ,under the new covenant ,st4 ,paul still conceives of the same commonwealth as subsisting 7as we shall see directly71 and as fulfilling no less than formerly the same religious functions4 ,true1 it has been fundamentally reconstituted and enlarged to include the believers of all nations1 and not merely one nation2 but it is still the same commonwealth1 or polity1 or church2 and it is still through the church that ,god's 'covenant' dealings reach the individual4 ,it is for this reason that ,st4 ,paul goes on to describe the state of the ,asiatic ,christians1 #ajd before their conversion1 as a state of alienation from the 'commonwealth of ,israel4' ,they were ',gentiles in the flesh1' that is by the physical fact that they were not ,jews2 and were contemptuously described as the uncircumcised by those who1 as ,jews1 were circumcised by human hands4 ,and he conceives this to be only another way of describing alienation from ,god and ,his manifold covenants of promise1 and from the ,messiah1 the hope of ,israel and of mankind4 ,they were without the ,church of ,god1 and therefore presumably without ,god and without hope4 ,wherefore remember1 that aforetime ye1 the ,gentiles in the flesh1 who are called ,uncircumcision by that which is called ,circumcision1 in the flesh1 made by hands2 that ye were at that time separate from ,christ1 alienated from the commonwealth of ,israel1 and strangers from the covenants of the promise1 having no hope and without ,god in the world4 ,but now in ,christ ,jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of ,christ4 ,this alienation of ,gentiles from the divine covenant was represented in the structure of the temple at ,jerusalem by a beautifully-worked marble balustrade1 separating the outer from the inner court1 upon which stood columns at regular intervals1 bearing inscriptions1 some in ,greek and some in ,latin characters1 to warn #aje aliens not to enter the holy place4 ,one of the ,greek inscriptions was discovered a few years ago1 and is now to be read in the ,museum of ,constantinople4 ,it runs thus3 ',no alien to pass within the balustrade round the temple and the enclosure4 ,whosoever shall be caught so doing must blame himself for the penalty of death which he will incur4' ,this 'middle wall of partition' was vividly in ,st4 ,paul's memory4 ,he was in prison at ,rome at the time of his writing this epistle1 in part at least because he was believed to have brought ,trophimus1 an ,ephesian1 within the sacred enclosure at ,jerusalem4 ',he brought ,greeks also into the temple1 and hath defiled the holy place4' ,it was this 'middle wall of partition1' representing the exclusiveness of ,jewish ordinances1 which ,st4 ,paul rejoiced to believe ,christ had abolished4 ,he had made ,jew and ,gentile one by bringing both alike to ,god in one body and on a new basis4 ,there were in fact two partitions in the ,jewish temple of great symbolical importance4 ,there was the veil which hid the holy of holies1 and symbolized the alienation of man from ,god#b2 and there was 'the middle wall of partition' #ajf already described1 representing the exclusion of the world from the privileges of the people of ,god4 ,the ,pharisaic ,jews ignored the spiritual lessons of the first partition1 and devoutly believed in the permanence of the second4 ,but ,saul1 while yet a ,pharisee1 had felt the reality of the first1 and had found in his own experience that the abolition of this first barrier by ,christ involved also the annihilation of the second4 ,sidenote3 ,the breaking down of partitions ,it is in the ,epistle to the ,colossians that he lays stress upon the abolition in ,christ of the enmity between man and ,god4 ',it was the good pleasure of the ,father 444 through him to reconcile all things unto himself1 having made peace through the blood of his cross4' ',you1 being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh 444 did he quicken together with ,christ1 having forgiven us all our trespasses2 having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us1 which was contrary to us3 and he hath taken it out of the way1 nailing it to the cross4' ,so with the help of various metaphors does ,st4 ,paul strive to express the mighty truth that1 by the shedding of ,christ's blood1 that is to say by ,his sacrifice of perfected obedience1 the way had been opened for the forgiveness of our sins and our #ajg reconciliation to ,god in one life1 one ,spirit4 ,but the symbols and instruments of that former alienation from ,god which ,st4 ,paul had experienced so bitterly1 were to his mind the 'ordinances' of the ,jewish law4 ,these1 he had come to feel1 had no other function than to awaken and deepen the sense of sin which they were powerless to overcome4 ,they were nothing but 'a bond written against us'2 a continual record of condemnation4 ,to trust in the observance of ordinances was to remain an unreconciled sinner1 alienated in mind and unpurified in heart4 ,on the other hand1 to have faith in ,jesus and receive from ,him the unmerited gift of the divine pardon and the ,spirit of sonship was1 for a ,jew1 to cast away all that trust in the observance of the ordinances of his nation which was so dear to his heart4 ,it was at once to place himself among the sinners of the ,gentiles4 ,for in ,jesus ,christ all men were indeed brought near to ,god1 but not as meritorious ,jews2 rather as common men and common sinners1 needing and accepting all alike the undeserved mercy of a heavenly ,father4 ,thus it was that ,christ1 in breaking down one partition1 had broken down the other also4 ,in opening the way to ,god by a simple human trust in a #ajh heavenly ,father1 and not by the complicated arrangements of a special law1 ,he had put all men on the same level of need and of acceptance4 ,he had not indeed abolished the covenant or the covenant people1 but ,he had enlarged its area and altered its basis3 there was still to be one visible body or people of the covenant1 but membership in it was to be open to all1 ,jew and ,gentile alike1 who would feel their need of and put their trust in ,jesus4 ,this is what ,st4 ,paul proceeds to express1 and little more need be added to explain his words4 ,in the 'blood' or 'blood-shedding' of ,jesus--that is1 ,his self-sacrifice for men1 ,his obedience carried to the point of the surrender of ,his life--a way had been opened to the ,father that was purely human1 that belonged to the ,gentiles who had been 'far off' as well as to ,jews who were already 'nigh' in the divine covenant4 ,and in being brought near to ,god by faith1 and not by ,jewish ordinances1 ,jew and ,gentile had been reconciled on a common basis--the two had been made one in 'the flesh1' that is1 the manhood of ,christ1 for no other reason than because the 'law of commandments contained in 7special ,jewish7 ordinances1' which had hitherto been the basis of separation1 was now once for all #aji 'abolished4' ,henceforth there was one new man1 or new manhood1 in ,christ1 in which all men were1 potentially at least1 reconciled to ,god and to one another by ,his self-sacrifice upon the cross4 ,and to the knowledge of this new manhood all men were being gradually brought by the 'preaching of peace' or of the gospel1 which had its origin from ,jesus crucified and risen1 and which1 even now that ,jesus was invisibly acting through ,his apostolic and other ministers1 ,st4 ,paul attributes directly to ,him4 ,sidenote3 ,the admission of ,gentiles ,but now in ,christ ,jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of ,christ4 ,for he is our peace1 who made both one1 and brake down the middle wall of partition1 having abolished in his flesh the enmity1 even the law of commandments contained in ordinances2 that he might create in himself of the twain one new man1 so making peace2 and might reconcile them both in one body unto ,god through the cross1 having slain the enmity thereby3 and he came and preached peace to you that were far off1 and peace to them that were nigh3 for through him we both have our access in one ,spirit unto the ,father4 ,now we can turn from the negative to the positive statement1 and observe what ,st4 ,paul says of the new privileges of the once heathen converts4 ,he pictures them under four metaphors1 each describing a social state4 #aaj 7#a7 ,they are citizens in the holy state1 the commonwealth of the people consecrated to ,god--citizens with full rights1 and no longer strangers or unenfranchised residents 7sojourners74 7#b7 ,more intimately still1 they belong to the family or household of ,god4 7#c7 ,they are being built all together into a sanctuary for ,god to dwell in--a holy structure of which the foundation stones are the apostles1 and the ,christian prophets who were their companions2 and of which the corner-stone1 determining the lines of the building and compacting it into one1 is ,jesus ,christ1 according to the word of ,god by ,isaiah1 ',behold ,i lay in ,zion for a foundation stone1 a tried stone1 a precious corner stone of sure foundation4' 7#d7 ,but the metaphor of the building passes into the metaphor of the growing plant4 ,christ is1 as ,st4 ,peter says1 'a living stone#c4' ,he not only determines the lines of the spiritual structure1 but ,he pervades the whole of it as a presence and spirit1 so that every other human 'stone' is also alive and growing with ,his life4 ,so then ye are no more strangers and sojourners1 but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints1 and of the #aaa household of ,god1 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets1 ,christ ,jesus himself being the chief corner stone2 in whom each several building1 fitly framed together1 groweth into a holy temple in the ,lord2 in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of ,god in the ,spirit4 ,these are indeed metaphors expressive of glorious realities1 which have no doubt become dulled in meaning through a conventional ,christianity1 which involves no sacrifice and therefore attains no sense of blessedness1 but which a little meditation may easily restore to something of their original freshness4 7#a7 ,the idea of the chosen people all through the ,old ,testament is that they are as a whole consecrated to ,god4 ,priests and kings appointed by ,god to their several offices may indeed fulfil special functions in the national life1 yet the fundamental idea is never lost that the entire nation is holy1 'a kingdom of priests4' ,it is because this is true that the prophets can appeal as they do to the people in general1 as well as to priests and rulers1 as sharing altogether the responsibility of the national life4 ,now the whole of this idea is transferred1 only deepened and intensified1 to the ,christian ,church4 ,that too has its divinely-ordained ministers1 its differentiation of functions in the one body1 but the whole #aab body is priestly1 and all are citizens--not merely residents but citizens1 that is1 intelligent participators in a common corporate life consecrated to ,god4 ,how truly realized this idea was in the early ,christian communities1 ,st4 ,paul's letters are our best witnesses4 ,they are really--except the pastoral epistles--letters to the churches and not to the clergy4 ,it is the whole body which is at ,thessalonica and ,corinth to concern itself with the exercise of moral discipline#d--the whole body in the ,galatian churches and at ,colossae who are to concern themselves with the apprehension and protection of the full ,christian truth4 ,they are all to be 'perfectly initiated' in ,christ ,jesus1 full participators in the affairs of the divine society#e4 ,whatever needs to be said afterwards about the special functions of special officers1 this is the first thing to be said and recognized2 and it gives us a profound sense of the distance we have fallen from our ideal4 ,the laity1 it is generally understood among us1 are to come to church and perhaps to communion1 are to accept the ministries of religion at marriages and funerals1 and are to subscribe a little money to religious objects2 but they may leave it to the clergy1 as a matter of course1 to carry on #aac the business of religion--that is1 worship and doctrine1 for discipline has been dropped out--and confine themselves to a certain amount of irresponsible criticism of the sermons of the clergy and their proceedings generally4 ,sidenote3 ,the catholic church ,for this state of things--this very false sacerdotalism--the responsibility is generally laid at the door of 'clerical arrogance4' ,it is not necessary to consider how large a factor in the result clerical arrogance has really been1 for certainly what alone has given the clergy the opportunity to put themselves in false isolation1 and what has been an immensely more powerful factor in the general result1 has been the spiritual apathy of the mass of church members1 an apathy which began as soon as the ,christian profession began to cost men little or nothing4 ,are we to set to work to revive ,st4 ,paul's ideal of the life of a ,church8 ,if so1 what we need is not more ,christians1 but better ,christians4 ,we want to make the moral meaning of church membership understood and its conditions appreciated4 ,we want to make men understand that it costs something to be a ,christian2 that to be a ,christian1 that is a ,churchman1 is to be an intelligent participator in a corporate life consecrated to ,god1 and to concern #aad oneself therefore1 as a matter of course1 in all that touches the corporate life--its external as well as its spiritual conditions4 ,for the houses people live in1 their wages1 their social and commercial relations to one another1 their amusements1 the education they receive1 the literature they read1 these1 no less truly than religious forces strictly so called1 affect intimately the health and well-being of any society of men4 ,we ,christians are fellow-citizens together in the commonwealth that is consecrated to ,god1 a commonwealth of mortal men with bodies as well as souls4 7#b7 ,but ,st4 ,paul also describes the ,church as the 'household of ,god4' ,when our ,lord was speaking to ,st4 ,peter about the ministry which was being entrusted to the apostles1 ,he said to him1 ',who then is the faithful and wise steward whom his ,lord shall set over his household to give them their portion of food in due season#f8' ,this description opens to us part of the meaning of the divine household4 ,a household is a place where a family is provided for1 where there is a regular and orderly supply of ordinary needs4 ,and the ,church is the divine household in which ,god has provided stewards to make #aae regular spiritual provision for men1 so that they shall feel and know themselves members of a family1 understood1 sympathized with1 helped1 encouraged1 disciplined1 fed4 ,what in fact are the sacraments and sacramental rites1 what are baptism1 confirmation and communion1 marriage and ordination1 the administration of the word of ,god1 the dealings with the penitent1 the sick1 the dead1 but the 'portions of food in due season1' the orderly distribution of the bread of life in the family or household of ,god8 ,but there is another idea which1 in ,st4 ,paul's mind1 attaches itself strongly to the idea of the 'divine family4' ,it is that in this household we are sons and not servants--that is intelligent co-operators with ,god1 and not merely submissive slaves4 ,it is noticeable how often he speaks with horror of ,christians allowing themselves again to be 'subject to ordinances1' or to 'the weak and beggarly rudiments1' the alphabet of that earlier education when even children are treated as slaves under mere obedience4 ',ye observe days1 and months1 and seasons1 and years1 ,i am afraid of you#g4' ',why do ye subject yourselves to ordinances1 handle not1 taste not1 touch not#h4' ,it is perfectly true to say that what #aaf ,st4 ,paul is deprecating is a return to ,jewish or pagan observances4 ,but this is not all4 ,he demands not a change of observance only1 but a change of spirit4 ,their attitude towards observances as such is to be different4 ,not that ,st4 ,paul does not insist on that readiness to obey reasonable authority which is a condition of corporate life1 or would hesitate to lay stress upon corporate religious acts in the ,christian body4 ,the truth is very far from that4 ',we have no such custom1 neither the churches of ,god1' is an argument which ought to be sufficient to suppress eccentricity4 ,to 'keep the traditions' is a mark of a good ,christian#i4 ',a man that is heretical' 7or rather 'factious'7 after the first and second admonition is to be 'refused'#aj4 ,government is to be a constant element in the ,christian life4 ,but the character of authority and of obedience is to be changed4 ,the authority is to be reasonable authority1 and the obedience intelligent obedience4 ,passive obedience to an authority which does not explain itself1 whether in a spiritual director or in the ,church as a whole1 ,st4 ,paul would have thought of meanly as a ,christian virtue4 ,and the multiplication of authoritative observances he would have dreaded as a #aag bondage4 ,our ,lord was very unwilling to give ,his disciples1 when ,he was on earth1 much direction4 ,and ,st4 ,paul is true to his ,master's spirit4 ,our life should be ordered by principles1 rather than directed in detail4 ,for to rely upon direction from outside dwarfs our sense of personal responsibility1 and personal relationship to the divine ,spirit4 ,a certain amount of confusion1 hesitation1 difference1 due to men feeling their way1 due to their different individualities having free scope1 ,st4 ,paul would apparently have thought preferable to that sort of order which is the product of a very strong and exacting external government1 and to an undue exaltation of the virtue of passive obedience4 7#c7 ,st4 ,paul describes the ,church as a sanctuary which is gradually to be built for ,god to dwell in4 ,we remember how our ,lord had said of the temple at ,jerusalem1 ',destroy this temple1 and in three days ,i will raise it up4' ',he spake1' ,st4 ,john explains1 'of the temple of his body#aa4' ,that--,his own humanity proved triumphant over death--was to be henceforth the tabernacle of ,god's presence among men4 ,where that is ,god is1 and the true worship of the ,father in spirit and in truth4 ,but that body1 raised again #aah the third day and become 'quickening ,spirit' as the body of the risen ,christ1 takes within its influence the whole circle of believers4 ,the 'body of ,christ1' which is ,god's temple1 comes to mean the ,church which lives in ,christ's life1 and worships in ,christ's ,spirit4 ,this is still the ,church of the fathers of the old covenant1 but fundamentally reconstituted4 ,god1 as ,st4 ,james perceived#ab1 was fulfilling ,his promise to 'build again the tabernacle of ,david which had fallen4' ,it was being built anew upon the apostles and their companions the prophets1 the immediate ambassadors of ,christ1 as foundation-stones of the renewed building1 who themselves have their positions determined and secured by ,christ ,jesus as chief corner-stone4 ,it was a spiritual fabric combining1 like a ,gothic cathedral1 various parts or 'several buildings1' with their distinctive characteristics1 all however united in one construction1 one great sanctuary of a redeemed humanity in which ,god dwells4 ,the metaphor suggests the combination of national and individual differences in real unity4 ,it encourages us to pay due regard to the free developement of our own characters and capacities1 but also to develope ourselves as parts of #aai a greater whole1 always remembering that the work of a ,christian individual or a local church is in ,god's sight measured1 not by its isolated result1 but by the contribution it makes to the life of the whole body4 ,an eccentric individuality1 a schismatic developement is1 even in proportion to its strength1 a source of weakness to the whole4 ,by its relation to the whole life of the ,church all ,christian effort must be both invigorated and restrained4 ,the metaphor suggests further that the social organization of the ,church is an organization for worship4 ,it is a house and a citizenship1 because it is also a sanctuary4 ,the strength of corporate ,christianity is to be measured by the vitality of corporate worship4 ,a church life in which the eucharist is not the centre1 for all the vigour which it may show in learning1 or preaching1 or philanthropy1 is after all but a maimed life4 7#d7 ,but the ,church1 as a visible organization of men1 can be what it is--the city of ,god1 ,his household and ,his sanctuary--only because it is pervaded by ,christ's life and spirit4 ,the 'stones of the building' are not merely placed side by side of one another1 or held together by any external agency of government2 they #abj are as branches of a living tree1 limbs of a living body4 ,in this recurrent thought1 which will be presented to us in another form when ,st4 ,paul comes to speak of the head and the body1 is the interpretation of all his theory of the ,church4 ,it is verily and indeed the extension of the life of ,christ4 ,how are we to receive this great and manifold ideal of what the ,church means#ac8 ,it is by meditating upon it till ,st4 ,paul's conceptions--and not any lower or narrower ones1 ,roman or ,anglican or ,nonconformist--become vivid to our minds4 ,then1 knowing what we aim at restoring1 we shall seek1 in each parish and ecclesiastical centre1 to concentrate almost more than to extend the ,church1 to give it spiritual1 moral1 and social reality1 rather than to multiply a membership which means little4 ,for if men can understand the meaning of the ,church1 as the city of ,god1 the family of ,god1 the sanctuary of ,god1 in the world1 there is little fear that whatever is good in humanity will fail of allegiance to her4 ,the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into her1 and the nations of the earth shall walk in her light4 #a ,sanday and ,headlam's ,romans1 pp4 #abb-abd4 #b ,hebr4 ix4 #h4 #c #a ,peter ii4 #d4 #d #a ,thess4 v4 #ad2 #a ,cor4 v4-vi4 #aa4 #e ,col4 i4 #bh4 #f ,luke xii4 #db4 #g ,gal4 iv4 #aa2 v4 #a4 #h ,col4 ii4 #bj-bb4 #i ,cor4 xi4 #b1 #af4 #aj ,tit4 iii4 #aj4 #aa ,john ii4 #ai-ba4 #ab ,acts xv4 #af4 #ac ,see app4 note ,d1 p4 #bfd1 on the ,brotherhood of ,st4 ,andrew4 #aba ,,division ,i4 #e4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,paul the apostle of catholicity4 ,sidenote3 ,paul the apostle of catholicity ,st4 ,paul has unfolded the dimensions of the revelation of ,god given in the catholic church4 ,the interests of the whole of mankind and of the whole universe which it is to subserve--that is its breadth3 the eternal and slowly realized intention of ,god of which it is the expression--that is its length3 the spiritual elevation up to which it takes men--that is its height3 the gulf of sin and misery from which it rescues them--that is its depth4 ,and now he is about to press upon the ,asiatic ,christians the moral obligations which this great catholic brotherhood involves4 ,he begins his exhortation and enforces it by reminding them of what he was enduring as a prisoner for ,christ's sake--',for this cause 7i4e4 seeing that all this is true71 ,i1 ,paul1 the prisoner of ,christ ,jesus in behalf of you1 the ,gentiles4' ,but when he has thus made a beginning1 he pauses to add weight #abb to his appeal by emphasizing a personal but very important consideration4 ,the particular truth of the catholicity of the ,church had been in quite a special sense entrusted to him1 ,paul1 personally1 as apostle of the ,gentiles4 ,he assumes that they have heard of this1 his special commission1 and that it was the subject of a special revelation to himself#a4 ,indeed the fact must have formed part of his teaching at ,ephesus and throughout ,asia1 for his mind was full of it2 he had contended for it against strong opposition in his epistle to the ,galatians#b2 he had asserted it in his speech on the occasion of his being made a prisoner at ,jerusalem3 and he had quite recently explained it 'in brief compass' in the letter to the ,colossians which was intended to have1 in part at least1 the same readers as his present epistle#c4 ,this special revelation then and accompanying commission justifies him in particular1 and more than any of #abc the other apostles1 in pressing upon his converts the doctrine which forms the special topic of this epistle4 ,but to think of his special office as apostle of a catholic society1 is to think also of its extraordinary difficulty4 ,sidenote3 ,the difficulty of catholicity ,when we set ourselves in our own later age to rehabilitate the sense of church membership1 we feel at once the strength of the forces against us2 we realize how much the feeling of blood-kinship in the family counts for1 or the wider kinship of national life1 or the common interests of our professions or our classes1 compared to the feeble sense of fellowship which comes from a church membership which is so largely conventional4 ,most assuredly we feel the difficulty of what we have in hand4 ,but we cannot feel it more intensely than ,st4 ,paul felt the difficulty involved in the very idea of a human brotherhood in which national distinctions were obliterated4 ,after all1 the degree of unity impressed by the ,roman ,empire upon the different nations it embraced was superficial4 ,on the whole it left men to walk in their own ways4 ,in particular it did not succeed in breaking down the barriers of ,jewish isolation4 ,a society in which men should be neither ,jews nor #abd ,gentiles1 ,greeks nor barbarians1 bond nor free1 but all should be welded into one manhood by the pressure of a common and constraining bond of brotherhood--a society in which even the savage and brutal ,scythian should have equal fellowship with ,greeks and ,jews#d--represented what had never yet been accomplished1 and what the most sanguine might reasonably have thought impossible4 ,the history of the ,church1 though not yet much more than thirty years old1 had served already to emphasize the difficulty of the undertaking4 ,we read the record of the first ,jerusalem ,church with its communism of love and sympathy1 and it seems the perfect realization of the ,christian spirit of brotherhood4 ,so it was1 but under comparatively easy conditions4 ,for all that community were ,jews with common traditions1 sympathies1 habits1 ways of looking at things4 ,they could behave as brethren1 in the glow of their fresh enthusiasm at finding that the long-expected kingdom of ,christ was now an actual fact1 and its triumph to be immediately expected1 without any real bridging of the gulfs which yawn between different sorts of men4 ,that these gulfs still remained to be bridged soon appeared4 ,it became manifest that #abe ,gentiles1 'sinners of the ,gentiles1' had to be received into ,christian brotherhood upon equal terms1 and without their accepting the ,jewish law and customs4 ,the ,council at ,jerusalem attempted a compromise by requiring of the ,gentile converts certain accommodations to ,jewish manners4 ,but the compromise did not avail to overcome the difficulty4 ,st4 ,paul found the centre of opposition to the equal admission of the ,gentiles in that very ,church of ,jerusalem which had been previously foremost in the race of love4 ,in fact1 the true difficulty of the law of brotherhood only then appeared when the obligation to fuse inveterate national distinctions began to be enforced4 ,then indeed flesh and blood rebelled4 ,without going any further than this single piece of ,christian experience1 there is every reason why ,st4 ,john should warn ,christians that the old commandment1 'ye shall love one another1' is constantly1 with every change of circumstance1 becoming 'a new commandment1' involving new difficulties1 and challenging afresh the efforts of the human will#e4 ,the same difficulty1 only in a less acute form1 is in ,st4 ,paul's mind1 and makes him measure and weigh his words1 when he writes to ,philemon #abf to beg him to receive his former runaway slave1 'no longer as a slave1 but as a brother beloved#f4' ,and we cannot but pause and ask1 in view of all the moral discipline for men of various kinds which ,st4 ,paul sees to be involved in the simple obligation to belong to one ,christian body#g1--what would have been his feelings if he had heard of the doctrine which cuts at the root of all this discipline by declaring that religion is only concerned with the relation of the soul to ,god1 and that ,christians may combine as they please in as many religious bodies as suits their varying tastes8 ,this difficulty in the very idea of a catholic brotherhood of men explains the extraordinary earnestness with which ,st4 ,paul proceeds to emphasize that indeed this1 and nothing less than this1 is the divine mystery 7or 'secret'71 which1 held back from all eternity in the mind of ,god1 was only now being disclosed through ,christ's consecrated messengers1 and specially through ,st4 ,paul himself1 the apostle of the ,gentiles4 ,the incredible nature of the idea clogs ,st4 ,paul's language1 and almost makes shipwreck of his grammar4 ,all the depth of ,christian doctrine is necessary as background #abg to recommend and justify this otherwise entirely 'supernatural' ideal--this marvellous climax of the workings and revelations of ,god4 ,the spectacle of a catholic brotherhood1 with all that it promises of universal unity beyond itself1 is a lesson even to the angels of what the manifold wisdom of ,god can conceive and accomplish4 ,we have got into a habit of talking about the 'brotherhood of man' as if it was an easy and obvious truth4 ,all our experience of our ,english relations with races of a different colour to our own1 nay1 all our experience of class divisions at home1 might have served to check this easy-going sort of language4 ,if we will consent to pause and reflect on the actual difficulty of behaving or feeling as brethren should behave and feel towards men of other races and of other educations and habits than our own1 we may be more inclined to believe that it is only through some fundamental eradication of selfishness and inherent narrowness that it can be made possible2 only when we begin to live from some centre greater than ourselves4 ,and that is the moral meaning of the constant doctrine of the ,new ,testament1 that only through being reconciled to ,god can we be reconciled to one #abh another--only in ,christ that men can permanently and satisfactorily learn to love one another1 when racial and educational and personal antipathies make for separation and not for unity4 ,now perhaps we are in a position to read with greater intelligence what ,st4 ,paul wrote about 'the dispensation of the divine mystery1' i4e4 'the stewardship of the divine secret1' of the brotherhood of all men in ,christ or the catholicity of the ,church1 which had been committed to him by the 'revelation' which followed his conversion to ,christ#h4 ,the doctrine of the brotherhood of men is in fact as much a peculiarly ,christian doctrine as that of divine sonship1 and both alike are1 in the ,new ,testament language1 represented as realized only within the community of the baptized4 ,the facts of ,new ,testament language compel us to say and to recognize this#i4 ,but #abi we are bound to recognize also that they are truths which1 when they are heard1 are welcomed by the natural conscience everywhere4 ,for as all men are ',god's offspring#aj1' by the very fact of their creation as men1 so they are fitted to receive the privilege of sonship3 and as they are 'made of one#aa1' so they are fitted to realize the privilege of brotherhood4 ,it is but to say the same thing in other words1 if we insist that ,christians are the elect body1 to realize and express among men an idea of human nature which is the only true idea1 and which1 overlaid and forgotten as it may have been1 has never ceased to stir in man's heart and conscience everywhere4 ,the elect are elected for no other purpose than to make manifest what all men are capable of becoming1 and1 if they will obey ,god1 are destined to become4 ,for this cause ,i ,paul1 the prisoner of ,christ ,jesus in behalf of you ,gentiles1--if so be that ye have heard of the dispensation of that grace of ,god which was given me to you-ward2 how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery1 as ,i wrote afore in few words1 whereby1 when ye read1 ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of ,christ2 which in other #acj generations was not made known unto the sons of men1 as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the ,spirit2 to wit1 that the ,gentiles are fellow-heirs1 and fellow-members of the body1 and fellow-partakers of the promise in ,christ ,jesus through the gospel1 whereof ,i was made a minister1 according to the gift of that grace of ,god which was given me according to the working of his power4 ,unto me1 who am less than the least of all saints1 was this grace given1 to preach unto the ,gentiles the unsearchable riches of ,christ2 and to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which from all ages hath been hid in ,god who created all things2 to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of ,god1 according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord3 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him4 ,wherefore ,i ask that ye faint not at my tribulations for you1 which are your glory4 ,there are a few points in this passage which still require explanation4 ,sidenote3 ,paul the apostle of catholicity #a4 ,what is ,st4 ,paul referring to when he says ',as ,i wrote afore in few words whereby1 when ye read#ab1 ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of ,christ' or 7if ,i may venture to retranslate it7 'as ,i wrote before in brief1 by #aca comparison with which1 as ye read1 ye can perceive my understanding in the secret of the ,christ'8 ,it is generally supposed that he is referring to the verses in the first chapter of this epistle 7i4 #i1 #aj1 c471 in which he speaks of the 'mystery' or 'secret' of the divine will now disclosed4 ,but his point appears to be rather that he had elsewhere written in brief about his own special commission to preach the ,gentile gospel2 and the more probable reference seems to be to the ,epistle to the ,colossians which was written almost simultaneously with this epistle1 probably just previously1 and was intended to be read at some at least1 if not all1 of the same churches as this circular epistle1 that is to say at ,laodicea and ,colossae at least1 and probabfxly more widely4 ,in that epistle 7i4 #be ff47 he had really dwelt on his special commission in almost the same terms as here1 and comparison with what he said there would indeed assist those he was now addressing to understand his knowledge in the 'revealed secret of the ,christ4' #b4 ,how can ,st4 ,paul1 who insists continually that he is one of the apostles1 call them1 without self-complacency1 ,god's holy apostles8 ,the answer to this is that 'holiness' means 'consecration4' ,any one is 'holy' or a 'saint' 7the #acb same word7 who is consecrated to ,god in any special way4 ,such consecration lays upon him an obligation to moral goodness1 which is what we mean by holiness1 but it precedes the fulfilment of the obligation4 ,all ,christians are holy 7or 'saints'7 because they are ,christians1 all apostles because they are apostles4 ,as for ,st4 ,paul's personal estimate of himself as an individual1 we have it just below4 ,in view of his past sins1 when he was 'kicking against the pricks1' and1 albeit in ignorance1 persecuting the ,church1 he calls himself 'less than the least of all the holy4' #c4 ,st4 ,paul conceives his function to be to 'make men see1' or 'bring into the light' a long hidden secret of ,god now in part disclosed to the apostles1 and to be by them disclosed to the world--in part1 for its contents are still 'unsearchable' in their depth and in the 'manifoldness' of divine wisdom which they imply4 ,but what is disclosed is no afterthought of ,god4 ,it is an eternal purpose2 and it is all of a piece with the original idea of creation3 it is a 'secret 444 hidden in ,god who created all things4' ,redemption in fact interprets to angels and men what ,god's purpose in creation originally was4 ,to minister to this disclosure is enough for any #acc man4 ,it makes all ,st4 ,paul's tribulations only such as it is worth while to bear2 and the ,gentiles1 in their turn1 should find their glory in his tribulations as an evidence of how much he thought it worth while to suffer in what is their cause no less truly than his4 ,sidenote3 ,st4 ,paul's second prayer ,here1 as in the first chapter1 the consideration of the glory1 and consequently the difficulty1 of the gospel which ,st4 ,paul has to deliver leads him off--just at the point where he seems to be resuming the uncompleted sentence with which he began--into a prayer that the ,asiatic ,christians may have strength given them to apprehend the wealth of their spiritual position and opportunity4 ,he invokes ,god as the universal 'father 7pater7 from whom every family 7patria7--every company of men knit together by common relation to one father--is named1' because this has direct reference to his purpose4 ,all men recognize family1 or blood relations and obligations4 ,st4 ,paul reminds them that every conceivable society on earth or in heaven which is bound by the ties of a common fatherhood1 derives its 'name' and therefore its significance from a larger relationship1 an all-embracing relationship of which these lower ones are but shadows--the relationship to the one ,father3 #acd and he calls upon the one ,father to strengthen men to transcend all narrownesses of family or blood1 and rise to realize their position in the great family1 the great brotherhood under the one ,father4 ,to do this a strengthening of the inner man1 or inner life1 by the divine ,spirit is indeed needed4 ,christ must be not only possessed by ,christians1 but realized4 ,he must dwell in their hearts by the realizing power of an active personal faith4 ,where this is so--where faith is vigorous--there life must be rooted and founded on love4 ,christian faith involves love4 ,for it is faith in a ,father and ,his ,son and ,his ,spirit2 and love1 and nothing but love1 is the gift of the ,father in the ,son by the ,spirit4 ,this love then will strengthen them1 in the fellowship of the saints or consecrated ones altogether1 to apprehend ,god's work and purpose in all its dimensions--breadth and length and depth and height--and to know ,christ's love 7which yet passes knowledge and remains unknowable71 and to find their whole being1 not as separate individuals1 but as one body praying and working and thinking together1 expanded to take in the fulness of what ,god is1 the full complement of the divine life4 ,to be thus enlightened and enlarged is what ,st4 ,paul #ace understands by being a 'good catholic'3 that is what he prays all these ,asiatic ,christians may become4 ,and his prayer passes into a doxology--an ascription of glory to ,god because ,he is able to realize even what passes our power to conceive or to ask for2 and that without doing more for us than ,he has already pledged ,himself to do and actually begun to accomplish in us4 ,and this glory he would have eternally ascribed to ,god in the ,church which lives by ,his life2 and also 7where alone ,god can never fail of ,his full rights7 in ,him in whom alone ,god's life is perfectly realized1 and worship perfectly rendered ,him under conditions of manhood1 in ,jesus the ,christ4 ,for this cause ,i bow my knees unto the ,father1 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named1 that he would grant you1 according to the riches of his glory1 that ye may be strengthened with power through his ,spirit in the inward man2 that ,christ may dwell in your hearts through faith2 to the end that ye1 being rooted and grounded in love1 may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth1 and to know the love of ,christ which passeth knowledge1 that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of ,god4 ,now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think1 according to the power that worketh in us1 unto him be the glory in the #acf church and in ,christ ,jesus unto all generations for ever and ever4 ,amen4 ,st4 ,augustine1 with his eye on the imperfections of the ,church1 speaks#ac of 'the glory of love 444 alive but yet frost-bound4 ,the root is alive1 but the branches are almost dry4 ,there is a heart alive within1 and within are leaves and fruits2 but they are waiting for a summer4' ,that is surely what we feel4 ,the world cries out for brotherhood4 ,we are perpetually explaining that brotherhood can only become actual1 in the long run1 where men know themselves to be1 and in fact are1 sons of ,god4 ,we are continually pointing out that external legislative social reforms can only effect good where there exists1 to respond to them and to use them1 some strength and purity of inward character3 that outward reforms without moral redemption would effect evil rather than good4 ,all this is true and it is necessary to explain it4 ,but the convincing demonstration begins at that point where ,christianity makes man feel1 and see in fact1 that it contains in itself the remedy for social evils1 because it has the spirit of love3 where the ,church is so actually presented as that men should feel and know that this is a true human #acg brotherhood4 ,it is the social1 human1 brotherly power of the ,church which is what is at the present moment best calculated to win the consciences and convince the intellects of men4 ,but this actual living spirit of self-sacrificing love--this spirit of real brotherhood--how 'frost-bound' it is6 ,how large the area of the ,church1 how many its institutions1 where it is not 7to say the least7 the most obvious thing represented6 ,in fact1 social reform1 and that the most thorough and the most permanent1 requires nothing more than that professing ,christians should be better ,christians1 ,christians who really believe what ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,john say about the love of the brethren4 ,come then1 ,o breath of the divine ,spirit1 and breathe upon these bones of the ,christian ,church1 that they may live6 ,and outside the area of nominal ,christianity how 'frost-bound' our evangelizing love4 ,surely the ,church of ,england1 as part of the expansive ,british nation1 has an apostleship to the nations comparable to ,st4 ,paul's4 ,yet missionary zeal1 as directed towards the natives of ,india1 or ,japan1 or ,africa1 is a very restricted thing2 noticeably restricted it must be confessed among those who most love the name of ,catholic3 and almost non-existent in the great majority of those who are #ach yet members of the national ,church4 ,but it cannot be too deeply felt that to ,st4 ,paul the reconciliation of men with ,god is inseparable from the reconciliation of man with man4 ,the atonement with ,god that is not an atonement among men he would not own4 ,a peace with ,god that leaves us content that ,hindoos and ,japanese and ,africans should not be of our religion is a false peace4 ,a ,christian who is not really in heart and will a missionary is not a ,christian at all4 ,missionary effort is not a speciality of a few ,christians1 though1 like every other part of ,christian life1 it has its special organs4 ,it is an essential1 never to be forgotten1 part of all true ,christian living1 and thinking1 and praying4 ,the missionary obligation of the ,church depends1 no doubt1 chiefly on the command of ,christ1 ',go ye and make disciples of all the nations4' ,but it is made intelligible when we realize that ,christianity is really a catholic religion1 and that only in proportion as its catholicity becomes a reality is its true power and richness exhibited4 ,each new race which is introduced into the ,church not only itself receives the blessings of our religion1 but reacts upon it to bring out new and unsuspected aspects and #aci beauties of its truth and influence4 ,it has been so when ,greeks1 and ,latins1 and ,teutons1 and ,kelts1 and ,slavs have each in turn been brought into the growing circle of believers4 ,how impoverished was the exhibition of ,christianity which the ,jewish ,christians were capable of giving by themselves6 ,how much of the treasures of wisdom and power which lie hid in ,christ awaited the ,greek intellect1 and the ,roman spirit of government1 and the ,teutonic individuality1 and the temper and character of the ,kelt and the ,slav1 before they could leap into light6 ,and can we doubt that now again not only would ,indians1 and ,japanese1 and ,africans1 and ,chinamen be the better for ,christianity1 but that ,christianity would be unspeakably also the richer for their adhesion--for the gifts which the subtlety of ,india1 and the grace of ,japan1 and the silent patience of ,china are capable of bringing into the city of ,god4 ,come1 then1 ,o breath of the divine ,spirit1 and breathe upon the dead bones of the ,christian churches that forget that they are evangelists of the nations1 that they may live and stand upon their feet1 an exceeding great army1 an army with banners4 #a ,acts xxii4 #ag-ba4 ',while ,i prayed in the temple1 ,i fell into a trance1 and saw him saying unto me1 ,make haste1 and get thee quickly out of ,jerusalem4444 ,depart3 for ,i will send thee forth far hence unto the ,gentiles4' #b ,gal4 i4 #ae4 ',it was the good pleasure of ,god1 who separated me1 even from my mother's womb1 and called me through his grace1 to reveal his ,son in me1 that ,i might preach him among the ,gentiles4' #c ,col4 i4 #bd-bi2 iv4 #c1 #d4 #d ,col4 iii4 #aa4 #e #a ,john ii4 #g1 #h4 #f ,phil4 #af4 #g ,eph4 iv4 #a-c4 #h ,acts xxii4 #ba2 xxvi4 #ag1 #ah4 #i ,thus the limitation of the term 'brotherhood' to ,christians is implied in #a ,pet4 ii4 #ag1 ',honour all men4 ,love the brotherhood2' and in #b ,pet4 i4 #g1 ',in your love of the brethren supply love' 7i4e4 in the narrower and closer circle of believers1 learn the wider and all embracing attitude towards men as men72 and in #a ,cor4 v4 #aa1 ',any man that is named a brother4' ,the word brother is throughout the ,new ,testament used of ,christians only1 except where1 in the ,acts1 it is used by ,jews of ,jews4 ,our ,lord's language about brotherhood applies to the circle of the disciples1 except ,matt4 xxv4 #dj1 ',one of these my brethren1' i4e4 the wretched4 #aj ,acts xvii4 #bh4 #aa ,acts xvii4 #bf4 #ab ,dr4 ,hort thinks 'read' is a technical word for reading the ,scriptures1 and that this reading of the ,old ,testament ,scriptures is to enable them to appreciate ,st4 ,paul's 'understanding in the secret of the ,christ4' ,but ,i doubt if so technical a use of 'read' can be made out4 #ac ,in ,epist4 ,joan1 ad ,parth4 v4 #aj4 #adj ,,division ,i4 #f4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 #a-af4 ,the unity of the church4 ,sidenote3 ,connexion of thought ,this ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 viewed as a whole and from the point of view of a sympathetic intelligence1 has a remarkable unity1 and a unity progressively developed4 ,thus1 first of all1 the apostle opened the imagination of his hearers or readers to consider the place which the catholic church holds in the divine counsels for the universe1 in the realization of the human ideal1 and in the work of redemption from sin 7chap4 i and ii74 ,then he proceeded to justify and explain his own activity in the cause of catholicity1 and made them feel at once the glory and the profound difficulty of the ideal of unity in diversity which it involves 7chap4 iii74 ,it follows naturally and logically that he should set the ,church before them as an actually existing organization1 and bid them study it exactly and note the grounds of its unity and the common end to which its different elements or members #ada are meant to minister2 and this is what he actually does in the fourth chapter 7#a-af74 ,viewed1 however1 as a matter of grammatical structure1 it is probable that this passage forms another digression--the real necessity of the argument acting as an overmastering motive which pulls contrary to the immediate grammatical purpose of the writer4 ,thus he had begun1 at the beginning of chapter iii1 to pass from the doctrinal exposition which is involved in his opening chapters to practical exhortation4 ,the ,asiatic members of the catholic church are to be exhorted to live up to their calling3 to turn their backs deliberately on their old heathen habits1 and to conform themselves entirely to the principles of their new state4 ,to this exhortation he actually and finally attains at chapter iv4 #ag4 ,the intervening passage 7a chapter and a half7 is occupied1 first1 with the digression which we have just considered at length1 about ,st4 ,paul's mission to the ,gentiles and the difficulty of its realization1 and with the great prayer which that topic suggests 7chap4 iii72 secondly1 with another digression on the character of the unity of the ,church4 ,this is1 ,i say1 probably the case grammatically4 ,for ',i1 ,paul1 the prisoner of ,jesus ,christ for you ,gentiles' 7iii4 #a7 is almost #adb unmistakably intended to introduce a moral appeal to which his imprisonment for the sake of those to whom he writes adds weight and force#a4 ,it is taken up1 after a digression1 in iv4 i1 ',i1 therefore1 the prisoner of the ,lord1 beseech you to walk worthily'2 but the appeal there begun yields anew to the necessity of further exposition1 and only reaches its free expression in iv4 #ag1 ',this therefore ,i say and testify in the ,lord'2 after which point we have moral exhortation and little else4 ,now1 therefore1 we are to occupy ourselves with what is grammatically a second digression1 but logically and really a most necessary step in the exposition of ,st4 ,paul's thoughts--the subject of the unity of the church catholic1 its nature and obligations4 ,conscious of the profound difficulty of welding naturally antagonistic elements1 such as ,jews and ,gentiles1 slaves and free men1 into one catholic fellowship1 ,st4 ,paul appeals to the ,asiatic churches with all the force which he can command as a prisoner on their account1 to 'walk' as their catholic calling #adc involves2 that is1 to exhibit all those moral qualities which are necessary to maintain peace under difficult circumstance--a modest estimate of oneself 7humility or 'lowliness'71 a mildness in mutual relations 7'meekness'71 an habitual refusal to pass quick judgements on what one cannot but condemn or dislike 7'longsuffering'71 a deliberate forbearance one of another based on love4 ,they are to accept one another as brethren1 with the rights of brethren4 ,and the reason why they should exhibit these qualities is not far to seek3 they actually share one common supernatural life--the imparted life of the ,spirit--and they are1 therefore1 to make it their deliberate object to preserve this actual spiritual unity in its appropriate outward expression1 that is in harmonious fellowship1--'giving diligence to keep the unity of the ,spirit in the bond of peace4' ,sidenote3 ,the unity of the church ,but at this point the idea of the unity of the ,church is felt to need fuller exposition4 ,in what sense are ,christians one8 ,they are one as one body or organization1 made up no doubt of a multitude of differing individual members1 but all bound into one1 under ,christ for their head1 by the fact that the one ,spirit1 which is ,christ's supreme gift1 is imparted to the whole #add organization and every member of it3 and this common corporate life1 where the elements are so different1 is made possible by the one hope reaching forward into an eternal world1 which was set before them all when they received their call into the body of ,christ4 ,this should be enough to annihilate lower and shorter-lived differences4 ',there is one body#b and one spirit even as ye are called in one hope of your calling4' ,it follows from this that there is another threefold unity4 ,for the existence of the common head involves a common allegiance to ,him as ,lord1 an allegiance which is justified by what ,he is believed to be by all ,christians2 an allegiance1 further1 which is more than an outward fealty1 being cemented by an actual incorporation into ,his life which takes place through the speaking symbol of the laver of regeneration#c4 ',one ,lord1 one faith1 one baptism4' ,but once more4 ,this common union with and under ,christ in the ,spirit1 is not anything less than union with the one and only ,god and ,father1 who is over all as the one head 7even 'the head of ,christ is ,god'71 through all as the pervading presence1 in all as the active #ade life1 'one ,god and ,father of all1 who is over all and through all and in all things4' ,thus their unity is the deepest and most ultimate conceivable3 it has a width and range from which no one can be excluded3 while it has a closeness and cogency like the unity of blood4 ,to realize what this unity is and may be1 involves on our part a continual looking out of ourselves1 out of all individual1 social and national differences1 up to the common source of all the gifts of all ,christians4 ,whatever each one possesses is simply the gift of the divine bounty or grace1 given to him by a definite act of bestowal1 varying merely in kind and degree according to the sovereign will of ,christ the ,lord1 the only giver2 and it is therefore to be used in ,his service and for ,his ends4 ,the ,psalmist had sung of the divine king of ,israel mounting as an earthly conqueror unto his sanctuary throne in ,zion after making captives and receiving gifts from among his enemies without exception4 ',thou hast gone up into the heights1 ,thou hast led captives captive2 ,thou hast received gifts among men1 yea from the rebellious also#d4' ,it stands to reason that to ,st4 ,paul's mind this #adf conception is realized nowhere but in ,christ4 ,its application to ,christ is in fact assumed--'therefore1' i4e4 with a view to ,christ1 'he' or rather 'it1' the ,scripture 'saith'--and the passage is given free interpretation1 and1 more than this1 free modification1 on the basis of this assumption4 ,for 7#a7 the ascension of the conquering king is spoken of as the result of a previous descent to the 'lower regions of this earth of ours#e4' ,no man1 as ,st4 ,john says1 hath ascended up to heaven but ,he that came down from heaven4 ,the person who 'beggared himself' to come down to our earth and who subsequently mounted into the divine glory is one and the same person1 ,christ the incarnate ,son2 and ,he thus descended and re-ascended in order that ,he might1 through the atonement wrought by ,him in the flesh and through the exaltation which rewarded it1 restore to the universe that unity of which sin and rebellion had robbed it1 and 'fill all things' once again with the divine bounty and presence#f4 #adg 7#b7 ,the sense of the psalm is--possibly not without ,jewish precedent#g--;altered in expression so that1 instead of the conqueror receiving gifts from men1 his conquered enemies1 we have him represented as 'giving gifts to men4' ,this modification1 whether original in ,st4 ,paul or accepted by him1 is no doubt due to the fact that his mind is full of the idea of ,christ as conquering only to bless1 receiving homage only to be enabled to bestow on them who offer it the fulness of the divine bounty4 ,and the 'captives' of ,christ1 to ,st4 ,paul's mind1 are no doubt not men1 but the hosts of ,satan reduced to impotence4 ,the exalted ,christ1 then1 is the source of all gifts in ,his ,church1 and ,he bestows on men various endowments in such a way as to maintain among them a necessary relation4 ',no member of the body of ,christ is endued with such perfection as to be able1 without the assistance of others1 to supply his own necessities4 ,a certain proportion is allotted to each1 and it is only by communicating with others that all enjoy what is sufficient for maintaining their respective places in the body#h4' ,this is the principle of mutual dependence1 the fundamental principle of corporate life4 ,thus ',he gave #adh some as apostles1 some prophets1' others in other varying capacities to fulfil varying functions2 the principle of the bestowal being the same throughout4 ,each 'gifted' individual becomes himself a gift to the ,church4 ,he is 'gifted' not for his own sake but for the ,church's sake--'with a view to the perfecting of the saints1' or 'the complete equipment of the consecrated body1' for the manifold 'work of ministry' entrusted to it2 or to look at the matter from a rather different point of view1 'for the purpose of completing the structure of the body of ,christ'--that living company of men in whom ,christ expresses ,himself and through whom ,he acts upon the world4 ,and that structure is not complete till all together attain what is impossible to any isolated ,christian individual1 the unity not only of a common faith1 but also of a common knowledge of what is revealed in the ,son of ,god2 or1 in other words1 to the full-grown manhood2 which1 once again1 means that complete developement in which the fulness of the ,christ--all the complete array of ,his attributes and qualities--finds harmonious exhibition over again in ,his people1 ,his body4 ,but the possibility of this completeness on the part of the ,church as a whole1 depends on the #adi stability of the individual members in the common faith4 ,thus it is ,christ's purpose that ,his members should cease to be as children1 stirred up like the waves of the sea1 or carried about like feathers1 by every wind of false teaching4 ,there is1 it must be remembered1 a kingdom of deception1 an organized attempt to seduce souls1 of which wicked men make themselves the instruments4 ,in view of this hostile kingdom of error1 the ,christians must abide in the truth revealed to them in love1 and so grow up into the completed life of ,christ4 ,for ,he is the head1 and in ,him they are the body4 ,and the body is a unit of many parts fitted and held together in one life by a supply from the head1 which circulates through every joint1 and for the full and unimpeded communication of which each several limb must do its proper work1 so that the whole body may grow into completed life in that mutual coherence which is ,christian love4 ,this prolonged paraphrase may serve to bring out the innumerable points of interest in that rich passage in which ,st4 ,paul as it were gives the reins to his imagination and his feelings in order to describe the glory of the unity of the ,church4 #aej ,i therefore1 the prisoner in the ,lord1 beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called1 with all lowliness and meekness1 with longsuffering1 forbearing one another in love2 giving diligence to keep the unity of the ,spirit in the bond of peace4 ,there is one body1 and one ,spirit1 even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling2 one ,lord1 one faith1 one baptism1 one ,god and ,father of all1 who is over all1 and through all1 and in all4 ,but unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of ,christ4 ,wherefore he saith1 ,when he ascended on high1 he led captivity captive1 ,and gave gifts unto men4 7,now this1 ,he ascended1 what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth8 ,he that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens1 that he might fill all things47 ,and he gave some to be apostles2 and some1 prophets2 and some evangelists2 and some1 pastors and teachers2 for the perfecting of the saints1 unto the work of ministering1 unto the building up of the body of ,christ3 till we all attain unto the unity of the faith1 and of the knowledge of the ,son of ,god1 unto a fullgrown man1 unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ3 that we may be no longer children1 tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine1 by the sleight of men1 in craftiness1 after the wiles of error2 but speaking truth in love1 may grow up in all things into him1 which is the head1 even ,christ2 from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth1 according to the working in due measure of each several part1 maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love4 #aea ,in this great conception of church unity there are several points to which special attention must be given4 i4 ,the ,church is one1 first of all1 because a common inward life1 the ,spirit1 from a common source1 ,christ1 flows in her veins and makes her to be one body4 ,what is this 'unity of ,spirit8' says ,chrysostom4 ',as in a body it is spirit which holds all together1 and makes that to be a unity which consists of different limbs1 so it is in the ,church4 ,for the ,spirit was given for this purpose that ,he might unify those who differ in race and variety of habits4' ,this inward life is no doubt1 as we shall see1 imparted1 maintained and perfected through outward means or institutions--baptism1 the eucharist1 human offices and ministries2 but none the less it is the inward life which makes the ,church one4 ,so that her unity is like the unity of a family or a race1 a unity of blood and life which exists in spite of all outward differences3 and not like such a unity as is produced by outward government1 as1 for example1 ,armenians1 ,syrians1 ,kurds1 and ,turks make up the unity of the ,turkish empire1 or ,englishmen and ,frenchmen the ,dominion of #aeb ,canada4 ,the unity of the ,christian ,church is thus a unity which ought to express itself in 'the bond of peace1' but which does not consist in that1 any more than the unity of a family consists in the affection and sympathy which yet brothers ought to have one to another4 ,this ,pauline idea of church unity--which is the idea also of the ,new ,testament as a whole--constantly finds expression in early ,christian writings1 but one particular expression of it may be cited4 ,hilary of ,poitiers1 in argument with the ,arians1 is confronted with the position that the phrase ',i and my ,father are one' means only one in will1 not one in nature1 like the phrase used of the ,church1 'one heart and soul4' ,he refutes the argument by urging that1 in the latter case also1 what is referred to is not a unity of wills but of nature3 believers are 'one thing through a new birth into the same 7new7 nature4' ',ye are all one1' says ,st4 ,paul1 'in ,christ ,jesus4' ',the apostle teaches that this unity of the faithful comes from the nature of the sacraments4444 ,what then can concord of minds have to do with a case where men are already made one by being clothed with one ,christ through the nature of one baptism8#i' ,this passage gives #aec a striking view of what ultimately constitutes church unity4 ,it is necessary to call attention to this position because the great ,roman church1 which occupies so large a space in the whole area of the church1 and impresses its ideas so powerfully upon men's imagination1 has perverted this idea of church unity by a one-sided emphasis on unity of government4 ,i find a typical modern ,roman statement in ,dr4 ,hunter's ,outlines of ,dogmatic ,theology#aj3 ',the ,church has a principle of oneness which joins the members together1 and distinguishes the society from a mere aggregate of unconnected units4 ,the members are associated in order that1 believing the revelation that ,god has given1 and using the means of grace which ,he has provided1 under the direction of the governors who have their authority from ,him1 they may attain the end of their being1 the salvation of their souls4 ,in other words1 the unity which the ,church must have includes the unity of faith1 unity of worship1 and unity of government4' ,here we have church unity described as an outward association of individuals to attain a certain end by submitting to a common authority in matters of belief and worship4 ,the #aed unity of spiritual life which ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,hilary put distinctly first1 becomes secondary or subordinate4 ,it is not even specified among the three chief elements of unity4 ,but it makes the greatest possible difference whether you say 'the ,church is one because all baptized persons share a common life in ,christ1 and ought therefore to behave as one body1' or 'the ,church is one by submitting to a common authority in belief1 worship1 and government4' ,the second is the ,roman1 the first is the apostolic statement4 ii4 ,once more1 ,st4 ,paul's idea of the unity of the ,church forbids us to conceive of it as complete in this world4 ,each particular church with its own organization has a certain relative completeness1 but it gains all its meaning and life through fellowship in the body of ,christ--the whole society of men who1 having ,christ for their head1 live in the unity of a life derived from ,him4 ,the head of the body is out of sight4 ,so also are the members of the body who 'are fallen asleep' but are still 'in ,jesus#aa4' ,it is1 so to speak--and increasingly as history goes #aee on--only the lower limbs of the body who are on the earth at any particular moment4 ,and they find their centre of unity at no lower point than ,christ1 the unseen head4 ,this idea is vigorously expressed by ,st4 ,augustine#ab3 ',since the whole ,church is made up of the head and the body1 the head is our ,saviour ,himself1 who suffered under ,pontius ,pilate1 who now1 after ,he has risen from the dead1 sits at the right hand of ,god2 but the body is the ,church--not this church or that1 but the ,church scattered over all the world2 nor is it that only which exists among men now living2 but they also belong to it who were before us and are to be after us to the end of the world4 ,for the whole ,church1 made up of all the faithful1 because all the faithful are members of ,christ1 has its head situate in the heavens which governs this body3 though it is separated from their sight1 yet it is bound to them by love4 ,now it is obvious that this ,pauline and ,augustinian idea of church unity excludes1 instead of suggesting1 the ,roman method of arguing for the papacy from the necessity that a body must have a head4 ,an association of men in this world1 such as the ,church on earth #aef is--a 'body of men' in this sense--may be governed in any of the various ways in which human societies are governed1 not by any means necessarily by a monarch#ac4 ,in this sense a body need not have a single head2 or it can be ruled by a president in a council of equals4 ,but in ,st4 ,paul's sense1 the ,church as a body must have a head1 and that head can be none other than ,christ1 because1 according to his spiritual physiology1 from its head the ,church receives its continually inflowing life2 and because the body is not completely1 but only partially1 in this world1 and the head must be over all the members1 and not only over some4 iii4 ,but if the unity of the ,church1 as ,st4 ,paul expounds it1 is before all else a unity of life1 it is as well a unity in the truth4 ,it is a unity based on belief in a divine revelation1 given in the person of ,christ--based on the common confession that ,jesus crucified and risen is ,christ and ,lord#ad4 ,to say that ',jesus is the ,lord' #aeg involves further--what is implied in this passage of the ,epistle to the ,ephesians--the confession of the threefold name--the 'one ,god and ,father1' the 'one ,lord' ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 the 'one ,spirit' which is ,his gift2 and there can be no real question that ,st4 ,paul's language constantly involves that the ,son and ,spirit are with the ,father really personal1 and really divine1 included1 so to speak1 in the one only eternal ,godhead4 ,a creed then is at the basis of the ,christian life--a creed which finds its best expression and safeguard in the formulated doctrines of the ,trinity and the ,incarnation4 ,there is no reason to think that ,st4 ,paul1 if the situation of the later ,church could have been made plain to him1 would have shrunk from these dogmatic safeguards of the ,church's central faith4 ,but if we grant--what cannot really with any show of reason be denied--that the ,church is a visible organization based on a certain revealed truth1 which must be accepted by its members1 and which admits of being formulated in order to be preserved2 still this truth may be advanced and defended mainly by one of two methods--that of external regulative authority1 or that of appeal to principles1 discussion1 controversy1 #aeh exhortation4 ,and it can hardly be denied that ,st4 ,paul prefers the latter4 ,sharp appeals to authority are indeed to be found in ,st4 ,paul#ae1 but they are very rare4 ,for example1 in none of his epistles against the ,judaizers is the authority of the apostolic decision1 as to what might and what might not be required of the ,gentile ,christians 'in ,antioch1 ,syria1 and ,cilicia#af1' brought into requisition2 though that decision 'settled the question4' ,he prefers to prove that 'circumcision is nothing4' ,this may be in part accounted for by ,st4 ,paul's refusal to admit that his own apostolic authority needed the support of the twelve1 and by the limited area to which the decision was addressed2 but there is another reason as well4 ,for he plainly1 as all his epistles show1 prefers to appeal not to authority at all but to the spiritual reason2 to expound principles1 to argue1 to awaken the heart1 conscience1 and mind of ,christians4 ,it must be admitted that there is very little in ,st4 ,paul's epistles about differences of doctrinal views among ,christians as distinct from differences in practices4 ,yet there is enough--as in the vigorous passage about the 'regarding of one #aei day above another#ag'--to justify the belief that he would not have viewed with any disapproval the existence in the ,church of tolerated differences of opinion where they did not touch the basis of the ,church's life4 ,such differences of view are hardly separable from what ,st4 ,paul glories in--a unity which is consistent with great variety of gifts and character1 and great freedom4 ,it is unity in variety which he has as his ideal1 such a unity as is always characteristic of a unity of life1 like that of nature or of a free people2 or a unity1 again1 like that of a great ,gothic ,church1 or of the ,bible4 ,it is quite certain that ,st4 ,paul would have deprecated that 'short and easy' method of promoting unity which has constant recourse to the external pressure of dogma and authority4 iv4 ,it follows naturally from what has been just said1 that ,st4 ,paul should look not so much to ecclesiastical enactments as to a right ,christian temper for preserving outward unity4 ',making it your moral effort1' so we may paraphrase his exhortation to the ,asiatic ,christians1 'by means #afj of the virtues which ,i have just specified of humility1 meekness1 long-suffering1 and forbearance1 to maintain the unity of the ,spirit in the bond of ,christian peace4' ,the ,new ,testament view of heresy 7a self-willed separatism71 or schism1 is that it is a violation of charity and peace in the interests of pride and impatience and self-will4 ,it is men like ',diotrephes who loveth to have the pre-eminence1' who violate it4 ,in fact it is written in history that the ecclesiastical schisms of the past have been due mainly either to the impatience and wilfulness of would-be reformers1 from ,tertullian downwards1 or to the arrogance and love of domination in rival individuals or rival sees4 ',nothing1' says ,chrysostom on this passage1 'will have power to divide the ,church so much as the love of authority1 and nothing provokes ,god so much as that the ,church should be divided4 ,we may have done ten thousand good actions1 but if we rend the fulness of the ,church1 we shall suffer punishment with those who rent ,his body4' ,from this point of view we may find an interesting parallel to this exhortation of ,st4 ,paul in a passage of ,plato's ,laws1 which is1 ,i believe1 one of the few passages in pre-,christian writings where the virtue of humility is recognized4 #afa ',god1 as the old tradition declares1 holding in ,his hand the beginning1 middle1 and end of all that is1 moves according to ,his nature in a straight line towards the accomplishment of ,his end4 ,justice always follows ,him1 and is the punisher of those who fall short of the divine law4 ,to that law he who would be happy holds fast1 and follows it in all humility and order2 but he who is lifted up with pride1 or money1 or honour1 or beauty1 who has a soul hot with folly and guilt and insolence1 and thinks that he has no need of a guide and ruler1 but is able himself to be the guide of others1 he1 ,i say1 is left deserted of ,god2 and being thus deserted1 he takes to him others who are like himself1 and dances about in wild confusion2 and many think that he is a great man1 but in a short time he pays a penalty which justice cannot but approve1 and is utterly destroyed1 and his family and city with him4' ,from the point of view of the moral duty of preserving ecclesiastical unity1 it is quite clear that the guilt of ,christians has been exceedingly great1 and also that it has been very widely diffused4 ,the amount of ambition1 insolence1 and impatience in the ,church has1 in fact1 been so vast that it remains no longer a matter #afb for astonishment that it should have made the havoc that it has made in the divine household1 and should have thwarted1 as it has thwarted1 the divine intention4 ,but the recognition of this fact lays on us the duty of meditating continually on the divine intention1 and by all that lies in our power1 by prayer and by every other means1 to restore the recognition of the divine principle of unity whether in the narrower or the wider circle of church life4 ,it is not too much to say that the now popular principle of the free voluntary association of ,christians in societies organized to suit varying phases of taste1 is destructive of the moral discipline intended for us4 ,it was the obligation to belong to one body which was intended as the restraint on the prejudices and eccentricities of race1 classes and individuals4 ,if ,greeks1 ,italians1 and ,englishmen are to be content to belong to different churches2 if among ourselves we are to have one church for the well-to-do1 and another for 'labour'2 if any individual who is offended in one church is to be free to go off to another where he or she likes the minister better--where does the need come in for the forbearance and long-suffering and humility on which ,st4 ,paul #afc insists as the necessary virtues of the one body8 ,we1 ,christians but not in one brotherhood1 may not be able to agree at present among ourselves as to the proper basis of ecclesiastical unity1 but we ought to be able to agree that1 somehow or other1 ,christians are intended by ,christ and by the apostle to be one body1 and that the wilful violation of outward unity is truly a refusal of the yoke of ,christ4 ,and a great step would have been taken towards rendering the recovery of ecclesiastical unity more easy if those who recognize the obligation of the principle could be brought to perceive that true ,catholicism really requires a large measure of toleration and a deliberate reasonableness4 ,at present it is not too much to say that the idea of the obligation of ecclesiastical unity is widely associated with an emphasis on ecclesiastical and dogmatic authority such as is utterly alien to the mind of the apostle of ,catholicism4 v4 ,in what has been said above we have been attending chiefly to the restraints which ,st4 ,paul's idea of church unity appears to set upon what are commonly known as 'ecclesiastical tendencies4' #afd ,now it is time to emphasize the other side of the representation4 ,for without a strongly engrained prejudice1 there is not1 it seems to the present writer1 any possibility of doubting that ,st4 ,paul meant by 'the ,church' in general1 a society visible and organized1 represented by a number of visible and organized local societies or churches#ah4 ,the ,church is in fact ideal in its spiritual character1 but not one bit the less an association of human beings1 a society with quite definite limits1 ties1 and obligations4 ,for1 to begin with1 the 'one baptism' which conveyed the spiritual gift of incorporation into ,christ was also the initiation into an actual brotherhood1 with its rules of conduct1 worship1 and belief3 'we were all baptized into one body#ai4' ,the 'one ,spirit' was normally bestowed by the 'laying on of' apostolic 'hands'--that is1 the hands of the chief governors of the ,christian corporation4 ,this rite followed upon and completed baptism1 and its administration had #afe been one of ,st4 ,paul's first ministerial acts after he began his preaching at ,ephesus#bj4 ,again1 'the breaking of the bread' or eucharist1 according to ,st4 ,paul's teaching1 both nourished the life of ,christ in the ,church1 as being the communion of ,his body and blood1 and also1 in the 'one loaf1' symbolized its outward corporate unity#ba4 ,thus the bestowal of gifts of grace through outward rites1 which belonged to the corporate life of a society1 insured that a ,christian should be no isolated and independent individual4 ,more than this1 the necessary dependence of each individual ,christian upon the one organized society is made further evident by the existence of spiritually endowed officers of the society who were as 'the more honourable limbs of the body'--'some apostles1 some prophets1 some evangelists1 some pastors and teachers'--without whom the body would have lacked its divinely-given equipment for ministry and edification4 ,these were not merely more or less gifted or 7as we say7 talented individuals who undertook particular sorts of work on their own initiative1 or by the invitation of any group of ,christian individuals4 ,we find that the apostles at least were a definite #aff body of men who had received special commission from ,christ ,himself to govern ,his ,church#bb4 ,the ,christian 'prophets' were men of special supernatural endowment1 to know and declare ,god's will1 and foretell ,his purposes4 ,they ranked after the apostles in virtue of their prophetic gift#bc4 ,but even they were to be restrained by the exigencies of church order4 ',the spirits of the prophets are subject unto the prophets2 for ,god is not a ,god of confusion but of peace1 as in all the churches of the saints4' ,next to the prophets1 ,st4 ,paul specifies the 'evangelists4' ,they were no doubt1 as their name implies1 officers engaged with the apostles in the general work of spreading the gospel1 that is of founding and organizing churches4 ,timothy1 who is exhorted to 'do the work of an evangelist#bd1' would probably have ranked amongst them2 and if so1 ,titus and other similar companions and delegates of apostles4 ,at any rate1 by whatever name they were called1 such men belonged to #afg the specially 'gifted' class1 if we may judge by the case of ,timothy4 ,but he1 though marked out by prophecy1 received his 'gift1' as a church officer1 with the laying on of the hands of a whole presbytery1 while the hands of the apostle himself were the divine instruments for imparting the gift to him#be4 ,the 'pastors and teachers'--one class of men and not two--are1 we may say certainly1 identical with the presbyters or 'bishops' as they were called by ,st4 ,paul at ,ephesus2 and these again were men of spiritual endowment1 but also local church officers who had received a definite apostolic appointment#bf1 and there is no reason to doubt by laying on of hands4 ,thus the ,church1 as ,st4 ,paul conceives it1 is a body differentiated by varieties of spiritual endowments imparted to definite officers1 for the fulfilment of functions necessary to the life and development of the whole body4 ,thus the outward unity of the #afh society at any particular moment1 and the necessary connexion of each individual ,christian with it1 is secured both by the existence of social sacraments or means of grace1 and by the existence of a ministry spiritually endowed and commissioned1 to whom individual ,christians owed allegiance1 and who ranked as the more honourable limbs of that body to which they must belong if they would belong to ,christ4 vi4 ,st4 ,paul is not here thinking of the unity of the ,church otherwise than at a particular moment4 ,but if one turns one's attention to its continuous unity down the ages1 again it must be recognized that one main link of unity has been in fact the apostolic succession of the ministry2 that is the permanence in the ,church of a spiritually-endowed 'stewardship of divine mysteries' received continually by the original method of the laying on of hands in succession from apostolic men4 ,the necessity for each individual ,christian to remain in relation to these commissioned stewards if he wishes to continue to be of the divine household1 has kept men together in one body4 ,and any one who looks at ,st4 ,paul's method of imparting spiritual authority #afi and office to ,timothy and ,titus1 and directing them in their turn to hand it on by ordaining others1 can scarcely doubt that he contemplated the institution in the ,church of a permanent ministry deriving its authority from above4 ,how1 in fact1 did the later church ministry connect itself with that which we find existing in the apostolic age8 ,the apostolic ministry divides itself broadly into the general and the local4 ,there are 'ministers' or 'stewards' who are officers of the church catholic and have a general commission4 ,such general commission belonged1 of course1 to the apostles1 though mutual delimitations were arranged among themselves and though ,st4 ,james1 who ranked with the apostles1 was settled at ,jerusalem4 ,it belonged also1 more or less1 to 'evangelists' and other 'apostolic men1' who1 however1 might be temporarily located in particular churches and districts1 like ,timothy in ,ephesus1 and ,titus in ,crete4 ,it belonged also to the prophets1 who would have been recognized as men inspired of ,god in all the churches1 and who in the subapostolic age are found in some districts exercising functions like those of the apostles in the first age4 ,the local officers1 on the other hand1 were the presbyters1 who are called also bishops1 and the #agj deacons4 ,with this earliest state of things in our mind1 we shall perceive that where an apostle or apostolic man was permanently resident in one particular church1 a threefold ministry1 like that of later church history already existed4 ,so it was at ,jerusalem where the presbyters and deacons were presided over by ,st4 ,james4 ,so it was in ,crete under ,titus1 and in ,ephesus under ,timothy4 ,so it was a few decades later in all the churches of ,asia as organized by ,st4 ,john4 ,in other parts of the world the exact method by which the ministry developed is a matter of much dispute4 ,but it seems to the present writer most probable that everywhere the threefold ministry came into existence by 7#a7 a change of arrangement1 and 7#b7 a change of name4 7#a7 ,the change of arrangement was the establishment in each local church of a prophet1 or one1 like ,timothy or ,titus1 who had been ordained to quasi-apostolic office by an apostle or man of apostolic rank2 such a change taking place first at the greatest centres1 and then in lesser cities4 7#b7 ,the change of name was the appropriation to this now localized ruler of the title of bishop or 'overseer' which had hitherto appertained more or less to the presbyters generally4 #aga ,but in any case it is certain that the developement of the ministry occurred on the principle of the apostolic succession4 ,those who were to be ministers were the elect of the church in which they were to minister3 but they were authoritatively ordained to their office from above1 and by succession from the apostolic men4 ,and such a principle of ministerial authority appears to be not only historical1 but also most rational4 ,for a continuous corporate unity was to be maintained in a society which1 as being catholic1 must lack all such natural links of connexion as are afforded by a common language or common race4 ,and how could such continuous corporate unity have been so well secured as by a succession of persons whose function should be to maintain a tradition1 and whose ministerial authority should make them necessary centres of the unity8 #a ,and not as ,dr4 ,robertson 7,smith's ,dict4 of ,bible1 ed4 ii4 vol4 i4 pt4 ii4 p4 #iea7 suggests1 to introduce a prayer to ,god1 which is resumed in iii4 #ad4 ,the ',for this cause' which is repeated in iii4 #ad is not nearly so significant as 'the prisoner of ,jesus ,christ for you ,gentiles1' which is taken up again in iv4 #a4 #b ,i have interpreted this word in the light of what is said in verse #af4 #c ,tit4 iii4 #e4 #d ,ps4 lxviii4 #ah 7,delitzsch74 #e ,i do not think ,st4 ,paul need refer to the descent into ,hades4 ',the lower parts of the earth1' ,is4 xliv4 #bc1 may also refer not to ,hades 7see ,delitzsch in loco7 but to 'the earth beneath4' #f ,the 'filling all things' is1 in the epistles to the ,ephesians and ,colossians1 the characteristic action of the exalted ,christ and the result of the reconciliation and atonement won4 ,cf4 #a ,cor4 xv4 #bd-bh1 ',that ,god may be all in all4' #g ,see ,delitzsch's and ,perowne's notes4 #h ,calvin1 in loc4 #i ,hil4 de ,trin4 viii4 #g-i4 ,the last sentence is condensed4 #aj ,vol4 i4 p4 #cag 7,longmans1 #ahie74 #aa #a ,thess4 iv4 #ad4 #ab ,in ,ps4 lvi4 i4 #ac ,it is one very noticeable feature of the recent ,encyclical of ,leo ,,xiii on the ,unity of the ,church 7'satis cognitum'7 that it assumes that 'only a despotic monarch can secure to any society unity and strength4' #ad ,romans x4 #i4 #ae ,for example1 see ,gal4 i4 #f-i4 #af ,acts xv4 #bc-bi4 #ag ,romans xiv4 #ef2 cf4 ,phil4 iii4 #ae-af4 #ah ,cf4 ,hort1 ,ecclesia1 p4 #afi1 who brings out that all members of the local churches1 better and worse1 are regarded as members of the universal ,church4 ',there is no evidence that ,st4 ,paul regarded membership of the universal ,church as invisible and exclusively spiritual1 and shared by only a limited number of the members of the external ,ecclesiae4' ,see also app4 note ,e1 p4 #bfg4 #ai #a ,cor4 xii4 #ac4 #bj ,acts xix4 #a-g4 #ba #a ,cor4 x4 #af1 #ag4 #bb ,see app4 note ,e1 p4 #bfi4 #bc ,in ii4 #bj and iii4 #e1 ',apostles and prophets' are spoken of together almost as one class included under one definite article4 ,and of course the apostle ,paul remained also1 what he is first called1 a prophet 7,acts xiii4 i74 ,apostles were also prophets2 but not all prophets were apostles4 ,they can be1 therefore1 grouped apart as they are here 7iv4 #aa74 #bd #b ,tim4 iv4 #e4 #be #a ,tim4 iv4 #ad2 #b ,tim4 i4 #f4 #bf ,acts xiv4 #bc4 ,this is interpreted by the phrase 7,acts xx4 #bh7 ',the ,holy ,ghost made you bishops4' ,cf4 ,titus i4 #e1 ',i left thee 444 to appoint elders in every city4444 ,for the bishop must be blameless4' ,i assume here the practical identity of bishops and presbyters1 as ,acts xx4 #bh1 ,tit4 i4 #e-g1 ,acts xiv4 #bc 7with ,phil4 i4 #a7 seem to require4 ,but 'the presbyters' or the 'presbyterate' was the more general name for the governing body of a church1 and an apostle can therefore call himself a presbyter or include himself in the presbyterate 7#a ,peter v4 #a2 #a ,tim4 iv4 #ad71 whereas he would hardly call himself a 'bishop4' #agb ,,division ,,ii4 ,,chapters ,,iv4 #ag-,,vi4 #bd4 ,doctrine and conduct4 ,sidenote3 ,doctrine and conduct ,here the apostle1 with a final 'therefore1' resuming the 'therefore' of ,,iv4 i1 passes without further delay to the entirely practical portion of the epistle4 ,these 'therefores' are characteristic of ,st4 ,paul4 ,they indicate his deep sense of the vital and necessary connexion between the ,christian mode of living and the doctrines of ,christian belief4 ,christian belief is a mould fashioning human conduct by a constant and uniform pressure into a characteristic type1 or a set of forces urging it along certain lines of movement4 ,thus when some point of ,christian belief has been expounded there follows a 'therefore' indicating the inevitable moral consequence of such belief where it is intelligently and voluntarily held4 ,of course the consequence does not follow of mechanical necessity4 ,the doctrine acts by an appeal to the will4 ',i beseech you #agc therefore1 brethren1 by the mercies of ,god'--so ,st4 ,paul makes his appeal to the ,romans1 when he had given them his great exposition of the doctrines of grace and justification#a4 ,when he has expounded the doctrine of the resurrection to the ,corinthians#b1 he concludes--',therefore1 my beloved brethren1 be ye stedfast1' c4 ,the doctrine of the ,epistle to the ,colossians leads to two conclusions3 'mortify therefore' and 'put on therefore1 as ,god's elect1 holy and beloved1 a heart of compassion#c4' ,the ,epistle to the ,hebrews contains similar moral appeals based on dogmatic statements4 ',therefore let us give the more earnest heed4' ',having therefore1 brethren1 boldness by the blood of ,jesus1 let us draw near with a true heart4' ',therefore let us lay aside every weight#d4' ,these 'therefores1' ,i say1 indicate a fundamental characteristic of ,christianity3 it is a manner of living based upon a disclosure of divine truth about ,god and ,his will1 about man's nature and his sin1 about ,god's redemptive action and its methods and intentions4 ,among ourselves to-day we hear frequently enough disparaging reference to theological #agd doctrine whether as a subject for study or for definite instruction4 ,theological dogmas are alluded to as things remote from the ordinary concerns of men and associated with the jarring interests of different religious bodies or of their clergy1 with 'denominationalism' or 'sacerdotalism#e4' ,this idea has been due in great measure no doubt to faults in theologians and priests4 ,but it is none the less absurd1 when it is seriously considered4 ,if those whose lives have given the most shining examples of practical ,christianity in all ages were cross-questioned1 it would be found that the overwhelming majority would1 in all simplicity1 attribute what was good in their life to their definite beliefs4 ,indeed1 it is self evident that it must have a practically vast effect on a man's conduct whether1 for instance1 he really believes that his own and other men's lives1 after some seventy years of probation in this world1 pass under divine judgement1 only to enter into new and eternal conditions where they will inevitably reap the fruits of their previous careers4 #age ,it must make a vital difference whether he believes that the world is the expression of blind force or of the will of a living1 loving1 ,god2 whether or no he believes that ,god personally cares for each individual3 whether or no he believes that ,god's interest in the world was such as to move ,him to redeem it1 by the sacrifice of ,himself1 from the tyranny of sin3 whether he believes in divine forgiveness and ,god's indwelling by ,his ,spirit3 whether he believes in a divine brotherhood and divine means of grace in a household of ,god in the world4 ,in fact1 if the practical ethics of ,india and ,china1 or the ,turkish ,empire and ,morocco1 are considered side by side with those of ,christian ,europe1 it is impossible to resist the conviction that men's behaviour depends in the long run on what they believe about ,god4 ,this obvious conclusion is1 in part1 veiled from our eyes by two facts4 ,one is that logic works slowly in human life4 ,take a transverse section of humanity at any particular moment1 and it appears a mass of inconsistencies4 ,it might almost suggest that there is no connexion at all between belief and practice4 ,but the same appearance is not presented by human life in its long reaches4 ,there you see how1 in the #agf slow result1 an alteration of belief involves an alteration of practice4 ,thus to take an example3 at present our social conscience about the obligations of marriage1 or about personal purity1 or about suicide1 unsatisfactory as it may appear to be to an earnest ,christian1 is still saturated with ,christian sentiment which is the result of a prolonged impression left by ,christian doctrine4 ,if the doctrine were to pass out of the minds of ,englishmen in general1 after a generation or two there would be a weakening or destruction of the corresponding sentiment1 and an abolition of what is at present an obstacle to the reign of sensual or selfish desires4 ,but it takes some generations for the effect of any weakening of belief to make itself felt4 ,there is another fact which veils from the eyes of people in general the real connexion between morals and doctrine4 ,it is that it is largely mediate or indirect4 ,the moral standard of the 'average man' is1 unconsciously1 kept up by the morals of the best men and women4 ,for social opinion is with the majority the force which mainly influences their practice1 and social opinion depends largely on leaders4 ',it is when the best men cease trying that the world sinks back like lead4' ,let anything #agg happen which should silence the moral effort of the best individuals1 and disaster would be imminent4 ,but this is exactly what would be the result if the best men and women were to cease to be ,christian believers4 ,it is the highest level of our common life that would be depressed4 ,the result all round would be indirect1 but it would be widespread and disastrous4 ,i do not mean1 or think1 that this weakening of religious belief in the best men and women is occurring4 ,i only instance its morally certain results to make apparent how the general bearing of religious beliefs on social practice is1 in one way1 veiled by its indirectness4 ,but to ,st4 ,paul all this is self-evident4 ,he sees quite clearly that ,christianity is to be a new life1 a new social and ethical manifestation in the world1 because ,christians believe that ,god has made plain to them in ,jesus ,christ ,his character1 nature1 and redemptive purposes1 and has given1 by ,his ,spirit1 a practical power to their wills to correspond with the truth revealed to their intelligences and hearts4 ,so he proceeds from his exposition of the great doctrines of the ,church of the ,redemption to its practical moral consequences4 #a ,rom4 xii4 #a4 #b #a ,cor4 xv4 #eh4 #c ,col4 iii4 #e1 #ab4 #d ,heb4 ii4 #a2 x4 #ai2 xii4 #a4 #e ,an interesting expression of this sort of feeling is to be found in ,george ,crabbe's poem1 ,the ,library4 ,on the whole we must have improved since his day in our perception of the connexion of ,christian doctrine with ,christian practice4 #agh ,,division ,,ii4 #a4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 #ag-bd4 ,christianity a new life4 ,sidenote3 ,new life in ,christ ,the characteristic words of ,st4 ,paul's gospel--grace1 forgiveness1 mercy1 liberty1 justification by faith not by works--may naturally1 when taken by themselves and isolated from their context1 lead to a false thought of ,god as morally 'easy going1' and to a corrupt laxity of conduct4 ,such a result has shown itself within the area of modern history in the antinomianism of some ,protestant bodies4 ,but long before the ,reformation ,st4 ,paul's words were 'wrested by the ignorant and unstedfast to their own destruction#a4' ,it was probably a misunderstanding of ,st4 ,paul's doctrine of justification by faith which called forth the protest of ,st4 ,james' epistle4 ,and indeed the traces of this tendency to pervert the gospel are apparent enough in #agi ,st4 ,paul's own epistles4 ,divine grace1 it was even argued1 can better show its largeness if we afford it an opportunity by the abundance of our sin4 ',let us continue in sin that grace may abound4' ,to this monstrous suggestion ,st4 ,paul replies1 in his epistle to the ,romans#b1 that it rests on a complete misconception4 ,christian faith is an introduction into ,christ4 ,believing we are baptized into ,him4 ,this means that we are to live as ,he lived towards the world of sin and towards ,god4 ,it means that we surrender ourselves in a spirit of glad obedience to be moulded after ,his pattern4 ,if our believing does not lead to this new living1 beyond all question it is a spurious thing1 and none of the ,christian privileges attach to it4 ,with a similar purpose ,st4 ,paul writes here to the ,asiatics--newly-made ,christians1 who lived in the midst of an appallingly corrupt society1 and whose inherited traditions of conduct were altogether lacking in self-restraint--to warn them against possible abuses of their ,christian privileges and ,christian liberty4 ,to be a ,christian is to be committed to a new life different utterly from the old life4 ,what was the old life8 ,in writing to the #ahj ,romans ,st4 ,paul describes the life of the contemporary heathen world as having its origin in a refusal of the will to acknowledge ,god4 ',they glorified ,him not as ,god4' ',they refused to have ,god in their knowledge4' ,hence a darkening of the understanding4 ',they became vain in their reasonings2 their senseless hearts were darkened2 professing themselves to be wise they became fools4' ,this explains the origin and possibility of so foolish a worship as that of men and beasts4 ,further1 with the obscuring of the intelligence there was a perversion and emancipation of the passions1 resulting in all forms of lawlessness and unnatural vice4 ,a similar description of the 'old life' ,st4 ,paul gives here4 ,the root of evil here also appears to be in the 'heart' 7or will7--'the hardening of the heart'2 hence arises 'vanity of the mind1' an aimlessness or loss of all true and fixed point of view1 a 'darkening of the understanding1' an inherent 'ignorance'2 and accompanying this loss of real intelligence has been a loss of what is the true goal of human life1 fellowship in 'the life of ,god4' ,instead of that a life of uncleanness has prevailed1 made into a regular business#c1 and pursued with 'greediness1' i4e4 an entire disregard #aha for others' rights--such a life as is only possible where all true human feeling and good taste has been quenched4 ,men have become 'past feeling4' ,as regards the relation of this black picture to the actual facts1 enough has perhaps been said above4 ,at least ,st4 ,paul's picture is given as a direct challenge to the experience of those to whom he writes2 and it is not blacker1 at any rate1 than the picture given by a philosophic contemporary at ,ephesus1 who calls himself ,heracleitus4 ,and on the black background of this 'former manner of life1' this 'old man' or old manhood--a life ruled by lusts which are not only morally evil but deceive and mock those who yield to them1 leading1 in fact1 to nothing but corruption and death1 a 'waxing corrupt after the lusts of deceit'--,st4 ,paul sketches in the new life in ,christ4 ,to become a believer is to submit one's intelligence to learn a new lesson1 to study ,christ2 it is to yield one's self to a 'form of teaching#d' in order to have one's life refashioned in marked contrast to old and abandoned ways of life2 it is to imbibe a new principle in the heart of one's rational being1 'to be renewed in the spirit of one's mind'2 it is to put on deliberately1 as a man puts on clothing1 #ahb a new manhood1 ,christ's manhood1 which is 'according to ,god#e1' that is1 is based on ,his own life1 and is ,his 'new creation' in righteousness and holiness4 ,and this righteousness and holiness can never deceive us by false promises1 because they are rooted in 'truth' or reality4 ,this ,i say therefore1 and testify in the ,lord1 that ye no longer walk as the ,gentiles also walk1 in the vanity of their mind1 being darkened in their understanding1 alienated from the life of ,god because of the ignorance that is in them1 because of the hardening of their heart2 who being past feeling gave themselves up to lasciviousness1 to work all uncleanness with greediness4 ,but ye did not so learn ,christ2 if so be that ye heard him1 and were taught in him1 even as truth is in ,jesus3 that ye put away1 as concerning your former manner of life1 the old man1 which waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit2 and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind1 and put on the new man1 which after ,god hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth4 ,there is one phrase in this passage which may need some further comment--',the life of ,god4' ,into ,god's own eternal life1 as ,he lives it in ,himself1 we are given but glimpses4 ,but ,god is also living in the world as its inherent life1 and each form of creation participates in its measure1 even if unconsciously1 in the life #ahc of ,god4 ,consciously and intelligently man was intended to participate in it1 but he 'alienated' himself from it by sin2 and1 while he was physically sustained in life by ,god1 morally and mentally he was an exile4 ,but ,christ embodies the divine life anew in human form1 and by ,his ,spirit imparts it as a new life to men4 ,once more in ,christ men live both 'in ,god' and 'according to ,god4' ,this thought of our relation to the life of ,god is1 in part1 expressed in the ,latin original of the ,collect for the ninth ,sunday after ,trinity1 in which we pray 'that we who cannot exist without ,thee1 may be enabled to live according to ,thee4' #a #b ,pet4 iii4 #af4 #b ,rom4 vi4 #a ff4 #c ',to work all uncleanness4' ,marg4 'to make a trade of4' #d ,rom4 vi4 #ag4 #e ,eph4 iv4 #bd1 ,r4 ,v4 ,marg4 'the new man which is after ,god1 created1' c4 #ahd ,,division ,,ii4 #b4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 #be-cb4 ,the new life a corporate life4 ,sidenote3 ,corporate duties ,the first characteristic of the new life dwelt upon is its corporate character1 as a life lived by those who are 'members one of another1' and have therefore a common aim4 ,in a body of people working with a common aim there may be a healthy rivalry and competition in doing good work1 a manifold spirit of initiation and inventiveness1 and there may be rewards of labour1 proportioned not merely to needs but to these personal excellences4 ,but what there cannot be is a competition which runs to the point of mutual destructiveness1 or such accumulation of the fruits of skill and labour in a few hands as maims or starves the life of the majority4 ,the common interest prevents this4 ',the members must have the same care one of another1' so that 'when one member suffers all the members suffer with it#a4' ,the life is the life #ahe of a body1 and the general well-being is therefore the common interest of all the members1 for the weakening or decay of one is the weakening and decay of a more or less valuable part of a connected life4 ,this is the general principle on which the ,church is based4 ,this is the moral meaning of churchmanship4 ',ye are members one of another4' ,various specific obligations follow from this general principle4 7a7 ,truthfulness and openness2 for falsehood and concealment belong to a life of separated and conflicting interests4 ,the prophetic ideal for the restored ,israel is to be realized among ,christians4 ',speak ye every man truth with his neighbour3 execute the judgement of truth and peace in your gates3 and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour3 and love no false oath#b4' 7b7 ,self-restraint in temper4 ,we must not injure one another in life and limb1 or wound one another in feelings4 ,therefore we must watch the first beginnings of anger1 as the ,psalmist#c warns us1 lest they lead to sin and give #ahf the devil1 i4e4 the slanderer of his brethren1 the inspirer of all mutual recriminations1 room and scope to work in4 7c7 ,labour for the purpose of mutual beneficence4 ,under the old covenant ,god had contented ,himself with forbidding stealing4 ,under the new covenant the prohibition of what is wrong passes into the injunction of what is right4 ,labour of whatever kind1 labour directed to produce something good1 is required of all4 ',if any man will not work1 neither let him eat#d4' ,the idle man in fact violates the fundamental conditions of the ,christian covenant as truly as if he were denying the rudiments of the ,christian faith4 ,now the object of labouring is to acquire 'property1' which is in one sense 'private1' and in another sense is not4 ,the labourer may have1 under his own free administration1 the fruits of his labour1 but he is to administer his property with the motive1 not only of supporting himself1 but of helping his weaker and more needy brethren4 7d7 ,profitable speech4 ,here again the ,christian is not to be content with avoiding noxious conversation4 ,his talk is to be1 not indeed 'edifying' in the narrowest sense1 but such as #ahg 'builds up what is lacking' in life1 or supplies a need1 whether by counselling1 or informing1 or refreshing1 or cheering2 so that it may 'give grace#e1' that is1 afford pleasure and1 in the widest sense1 bring a blessing to the hearers4 ,in all their conduct ,christians are to have two masterful thoughts4 7#a7 ,they are to think of the divine purpose of the ,holy ,ghost who has entered into the ,church to 'seal' or mark it as an elect body destined for full redemption from all evil1 in body and soul1 at the climax of ,god's dealings1 the last day4 ,the ,holy ,ghost1 with all ,his personal love1 will be grieved if we thwart ,his rich purpose for the whole body by anything which is contrary to brotherhood in the thoughts of our hearts1 or the words of our lips1 or our outward conduct4 7#b7 ,they are to remember the divine pattern of life4 ,god has shown ,his own heart to us in the free forgiveness which ,he has given us in ,christ4 ,being in constant receipt of that forgiveness1 we must not prove ourselves hard and unforgiving towards one another4 #ahh ,wherefore1 putting away falsehood1 speak ye truth each one with his neighbour3 for we are members one of another4 ,be ye angry1 and sin not3 let not the sun go down upon your wrath3 neither give place to the devil4 ,let him that stole steal no more3 but rather let him labour1 working with his hands the thing that is good1 that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need4 ,let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth1 but such as is good for edifying as the need may be1 that it may give grace to them that hear4 ,and grieve not the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption4 ,let all bitterness1 and wrath1 and anger1 and clamour1 and railing1 be put away from you1 with all malice3 and be ye kind one to another1 tenderhearted1 forgiving each other1 even as ,god also in ,christ forgave you4 ,here1 then1 ,st4 ,paul sketches catholicity in practice4 ,the very idea of the ,church is that of a fellowship of naturally unlike individuals1 harmonized into unity by the new 'truth and grace' of ,god1 which has been made theirs in their regenerate life4 ,it is this endowment of the regenerate life that is to enable them to transcend1 and overstep1 and defeat natural incompatibilities of temper1 and to be one body in ,christ4 ,the practical meaning of catholicity is brotherhood4 ,it is love1 as ,st4 ,augustine says1 grown as wide as the world#f4 ,why has the world lost this sense of the #ahi moral meaning of catholic churchmanship8 ,why has 'ecclesiastical' come to mean something quite different to 'brotherly'8 ,or it is a more profitable question to ask1 ,how shall we make it mean the same thing again8 ,there are many who would give up the very effort after recovering the church principle1 the obligation of the 'one body4' ,but this1 as has been said1 is to abandon the ultimate catholic principle of ,christianity4 ,for the very purpose of the one church for all the men of faith in ,jesus1 is that the necessity for belonging to one body--a necessity grounded on divine appointment--shall force together into a unity men of all sorts and different kinds2 and the forces of the new life which they share in common are to overcome their natural repugnance and antipathies1 and to make the forbearance and love and mutual helpfulness which corporate life requires1 if not easy1 at least possible for them4 ,this is the principle which must not be abandoned4 ,we must assert the theological principle of the ,church because it is that and that alone which can impress on men practically the obligation and possibility of a catholic brotherhood4 ,but it is folly to assert the theological truth of #aij churchmanship1 and neglect its moral meaning4 ,quite recently the bishops of the ,lambeth ,conference have striven to impress anew the ethics of churchmanship upon the conscience of the faithful#g4 ,the principle of brotherhood must act as a constant counterpoise to the instinct of competition4 ,the principle of labour shows that the idle and selfish are 'out of place' in a ,christian community4 ,the principle of justice forces us to recognize that the true interest of each member of the body politic must be consulted4 ,the principle of public responsibility reminds us that each one is his brother's keeper4 ,once more the ,church has been aroused to its prophetic task of 'binding' and 'loosing' the consciences of men in regard specially to those matters which concern the corporate life and the relations of classes to one another4 ,and we pray ,god that the work of our bishops may not be in vain4 ,what we want is not more ,christians1 but1 much rather1 better ,christians--that is to say1 ,christians who have more perception of what the moral effort required for membership in the catholic brotherhood really is4 #aia ,no doubt the needed social reformation is of vast difficulty4 ,for instance1 one who contemplates our commercial relations in the world may indeed be tempted to despair of the possibility of recovering the practical application to 'business' of the law of truthfulness2 and many a one who is practically engaged in commerce1 in higher or lower station1 finds that to act upon the law may involve something like martyrdom4 ,but the very meaning of divine faith is that we do1 in spite of all discouragements1 hold that to be practicable which is the will of ,god2 and it is nothing new in the history of ,christianity if at a crisis we need 'the blood of martyrs'--or something morally equivalent to their blood--for 'a seed1' the seed of a fresh growth of ,christian corporate life4 ,no fresh start worth making is possible without personal sacrifices2 and to recover anything resembling ,st4 ,paul's ethical standard for ,christian society we need indeed a fresh start4 ,but the few ,tractarians of sixty years ago by industry1 patience and prayer effected a kind of revolution in the ,church as a whole2 and reformers of ,christian social relations may with the same weapons--and with no other--do the like4 #a #a ,cor4 xii4 #be1 #bf4 #b ,zech4 viii4 #af1 #ag4 #c ,ps4 iv4 #d1 according to the ,,lxx4 ,but the ,english version ',stand in awe and sin not' is probably correct4 #d #b ,thess4 iii4 #aj4 #e ,cf4 ,col4 iv4 #f3 ',let your speech be always with grace' or 'graciousness'2 ,luke iv4 #bb3 'gracious words'2 ,ps4 xlv4 #b3 ',grace is poured into thy lips'2 ,eccles4 x4 #ab3 ',the words of a wise man's mouth are gracious'2 ,ecclus4 xxi4 #af3 ',grace shall be found in the lips of the wise4' #f ,see app4 note ,f1 p4 #bga1 ,the ,ethics of ,catholicism4 #g ,see ,report of ,lambeth ,conference1 #ahig4 ,s4,p4,c4,k41 pp4 #acf ff42 and app4 note ,g1 p4 #bgd4 #aib ,,division ,,ii4 #c4 ,,chapter ,v4 #a-ad4 ,the ,christian life an imitation of ,god and a life in the light4 ,sidenote3 ,the imitation of ,god ,st4 ,paul has just suggested the thought of imitating ,god by ready forgiveness4 ,and in fact here--in the imitation of ,god--is one of the greatest of the new ideas and motives which ,christianity supplies4 ,god has manifested ,himself in ,christ under human conditions4 ,he has translated the unimaginable ,godhead into terms of our own well-known human nature4 ,for ,christ is very man1 yet ,he is the ,son of ,god1 truly ,god1 and ,his character is ,god's character4 ,for the ,christian henceforth in a quite new sense ,god is imitable3 ,he can become a pattern for actual human life4 ,as children partly consciously and partly unconsciously imitate their parents1 so we ,christians as 'beloved children' are to 'become imitators of ,god4' ,and it is quite plain what the character of #aic ,god as manifested in ,christ is4 ,it is love2 and to imitate ,god is therefore to 'walk in love1' that is1 to conduct one's life with love as its conscious motive and atmosphere4 ,moreover1 the love of ,christ is a love which shows itself in self-sacrifice4 ',he offered himself as an offering and sacrifice to ,god on our behalf2 and ,god1 who had of old made it plain by ,his prophets that ,he could find no satisfaction in animal victims1 accepted 'as a sweet savour' this free-will offering of self-sacrificing love4 ,in the self-sacrifice of ,christ1 therefore1 we have the clear disclosure both of what ,god is and of what ,god will accept from man4 ,but this ideal of life as lying in love and in the deliberate self-sacrifice of one for another is the plain negation of some maxims for life generally accepted in heathen society4 ,it is the plain negation of sensual self-indulgence at the expense of others1 or at the expense of our spiritual nature1 of 'fornication and uncleanness of all kinds1' of filthy conduct1 of the sort of jesting or wit which ignores all moral restraints4 ,it is the plain negation again of selfish greed or the unlimited desire to get--'covetousness4' ,these things are out of the question for a body of saints1 that is1 men dedicated to a holy ,god4 #aid ,sidenote3 ,life in the light ,the tone and language which befits such a dedicated life is the tone and language of thanksgiving4 ,but clearly ,asiatic ,christians were only too ready to forget the essential incompatibility of their new profession with the old sinful habits around them4 ,so ,st4 ,paul emphasizes ',this ye know for certain that fornication or unclean living on the one hand1 or the turning of gain into a god on the other1 surely excludes a man from the kingdom of ,christ and ,god#a4' ,and he reiterates 'let no man deceive you with empty words4' ,such vices1 being in plain contradiction to the divine will1 make men subjects of the divine wrath1 and for you this should be startlingly plain4 ,you have been brought out of the realm of darkness of which once you formed a part1 into the realm of light1 of which you now form a part1 the realm whose light is ,christ4 ,there is no fellowship between the light and the darkness#b4 ,to live in the light means to bring forth fruit of goodness and righteousness and truth1 the fruit of a character like ,christ's4 ,for you have in ,christ a definite standard by which you can test what is well pleasing to the #aie ,lord4 ,it is your business1 therefore1 to keep yourselves altogether separate from the works of darkness which bear no fruit4 ,not only so1 but it is your business to 'reprove' or convict the dark world of sin2 not1 of course1 by making the works of darkness the subjects of your curiosity and conversation--that indeed must not be--but simply by the contrast which your own lives present4 ,in the light of your lives the secret shame of the heathen life will be unmasked4 ,and in being unmasked even the works of darkness will themselves become part of the light4 ,to make such ways of living attractive they must be cloaked up in a deceitful glamour4 ,once stripped bare and shown in their true character they teach their true lesson4 ,thus1 the one duty of a man is to awake from the old sleep of death2 to separate himself from the morally dead world and stand clear in the light of ,christ4 ,and that is what the early ,christian hymn1 which ,st4 ,paul cites1 was continually impressing upon the ,christian conscience4 ,we may attempt to reproduce it in something like its original rhythm thus3-- ',be awakened1 thou that sleepest2 ,rise alive from out the dead world2 ,christ1 the ,light1 shall shine upon thee4' #aif ,be ye therefore imitators of ,god1 as beloved children2 and walk in love1 even as ,christ also loved you1 and gave himself up for us1 an offering and a sacrifice to ,god for an odour of a sweet smell4 ,but fornication1 and all uncleanness1 or covetousness1 let it not even be named among you1 as becometh saints2 nor filthiness1 nor foolish talking1 or jesting1 which are not befitting3 but rather giving of thanks4 ,for this ye know of a surety1 that no fornicator1 nor unclean person1 nor covetous man1 which is an idolater1 hath any inheritance in the kingdom of ,christ and ,god4 ,let no man deceive you with empty words3 for because of these things cometh the wrath of ,god upon the sons of disobedience4 ,be not ye therefore partakers with them2 for ye were once darkness1 but are now light in the ,lord3 walk as children of light 7for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth71 proving what is well-pleasing unto the ,lord2 and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness1 but rather even reprove them2 for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of4 ,but all things when they are reproved are made manifest by the light3 for everything that is made manifest is light4 ,wherefore he saith1 ,awake1 thou that sleepest1 and arise from the dead1 and ,christ shall shine upon thee4 ,three points may be noticed in this characteristic exhortation3-- #a4 ,the strife of light and darkness4 ,the victory of the rising sun and its surrender at evening to the darkness2 the obscuring of the light through eclipse or mist and its recovery--these #aig universal appearances present themselves naturally to human consciences everywhere as being experiences analogous to the moral strife within between good and evil4 ,light is thus the universal symbol of good1 and darkness of evil4 ,the symbolism passes out of early native myths into the spiritual phraseology of many religions2 but especially into those of the ,persians and the ,jews4 ',in thy light shall we see light' is the cry of the devout heart towards ,god4 ,and the whole of ,christian language is possessed by the symbolism4 ,christ is 'the light of the world'3 ,his disciples are 'the children of light1' they are to be clothed in 'the armour of light1' bathed in 'the light of the glorious ,gospel'3 they are the children of the ,god who 'dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto'3 who 'is light and in whom is no darkness at all4' ,st4 ,paul1 like ,st4 ,john1 specially loves the metaphor of light4 ,and it is somewhat startling to notice how different is his conception of enlightenment from that common in modern times1 or indeed1 from that held in the schools of philosophy of his own day or by the ,gnostics just after him4 ,this latter class of men1 who can be taken as typical of many others at very #aih different epochs1 meant by 'the enlightened' a select few who had a special capacity for intellectual abstraction and contemplation1 and who by such qualities of the intellect were believed to attain to a knowledge of ,god which was beyond the reach of the ordinary men of faith4 ,but ,st4 ,paul1 following his ,master1 is quite certain that the root of true enlightenment lies in the will and heart4 ,the love of the light is first of all simply the pure desire for goodness2 and anything that is not this first of all is a counterfeit and a sham4 ,and the true enlightenment is thus not the privilege of a few1 but is open to all who will come to ,christ4 ',where is the wise8 where is the scribe8 where is the disputer of this world8 ,hath not ,god made foolish the wisdom of this world8 ,for seeing that in the wisdom of ,god the world through its wisdom knew not ,god1 it was ,god's good pleasure1 through the foolishness of the preaching1 to save them that believe4' ',if any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this world1 let him become a fool that he may become wise4 ,for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with ,god#c4' ,this language sounds violent2 but ,i doubt if many thinking men could now be found #aii to doubt that the way opened by the 'foolishness of the gospel preaching' was a way of light for the world compared to which the way of the contemporary philosophers was darkness and delusion4 ,the arrogant wisdom of the contemporary ',heracleitus' would have provided no real light at all for the ,ephesians whom he denounced4 ,a fresh start was wanted for man1 and the fresh start was primarily in the life of the conscience and heart4 ,on the other hand neither ,st4 ,paul1 nor any of the ,new ,testament writers1 can be accused of the sort of obscurantism to which the later ,church has often fallen a victim4 ,one cannot even conceive ,st4 ,paul denouncing free inquiry1 or cloaking up from free investigation the title-deeds of ,christianity4 ,his love of the light--even with all the dangers that the light has--like his love of freedom1 is frank and real4 ,if we come down to our own time1 there is no doubt a great deal of contemporary 'enlightenment' that ,st4 ,paul would have pronounced spurious4 ,he would never surely have disparaged intellectual inquiry or free scientific research3 but he would have continually emphasized that no one was really enlightened whose will and heart was not right with ,god4 #bjj ,to have a scientific knowledge of facts is by comparison superficial2 and worse than superficial is the sharpness and worldly cleverness which continually boasts of being 'wide awake' and 'up to date4' ,it is possible to be awake and enlightened in the speculative and practical intelligence3 to be awake and enlightened in the region of the senses3 and yet to be asleep and in the dark in the region of the will and conscience towards ,god4 ,and there lies the true heart of manhood4 ,it is possible even to be enlightened about evil and in the dark as regards goodness4 ,but ,st4 ,paul hates curiosity about the ways and methods of sin4 ',i would1' he says1 'have you wise unto that which is good1 and simple unto that which is evil#d4' ,take heed that the light that is in thee be not darkness4 ,this curiosity about sin is a delusion which has sometimes a strange hold on some who would serve ,god4 ,but they must recognize that the only ,christian method of 'convicting the world of sin' is by 'convicting it of righteousness4' ,innocence has a power which sometimes is strangely underrated4 ,we may pause for a moment longer to dwell on the beauty of ,st4 ,paul's ideal of ,christianity #bja as a life in the light4 ,it has everything to gain and nothing to lose by disclosure4 ,it has no need to cloak itself4 ,it can be frank with itself and the world4 ,and1 on the other hand1 sin is a great fraud and delusion as well as a great disobedience4 ,it dwells in a region of lies and excuses and concealments2 it hides from itself and from the world its true character and true issues4 ,for1 in fact1 it is not only in itself foul and rebellious1 but it is in its issues fruitless4 ,it leads to nothing3 it produces nothing3 it tends only to decay or corruption of mind and body1 while goodness is only another term for life and fruitfulness4 ,life1 and the production of life1 is the good1 and it belongs to the light2 on the contrary1 what hinders or destroys life goes against ,god and belongs to the darkness4 ,this is a judgement which mis-called disciples of ,malthus in our day would do well to remember4 ,it is not from too much life that the world is suffering1 but from corrupt and perverted life4 ,what we want to secure is not a limit to the population1 but the bringing up of children in health and simple living1 in the nurture and admonition of the ,lord4 #b4 ,st4 ,paul1 in some passages of his epistles1 uses very strongly 'universalist' phrases4 ,he #bjb has spoken to the ,ephesians of bringing all things in heaven and earth again into a divine unity in ,christ4 ,and to the ,corinthians he spoke of a time when ,god should be 'all things in all4' ,it is1 therefore1 all the more noticeable that when he comes to speak of the destiny of evil men he does not offer them any hope if they persist in their evil1 but warns them that moral evil utterly and wholly excludes from the kingdom of ,god3 and he appears to be not at all anxious to reconcile this warning as to the eternal consequences of wilful evil with what he has said in other connexions as to the final inclusion of all things in a great unity4 ,his example would teach us to aim at being true to the whole truth rather than at attaining a premature completeness or consistency of knowledge about a world in regard to which we only 'know in part4' ',yea1 the more part of ,god's works are hid#e4' #c4 ,we cannot fail to notice how constantly ,st4 ,paul associates lawless lust with lawless grasping at money or the goods of other men--greediness or avarice4 ,this has led some to suppose that the ,greek word for greediness is really intended to mean lust in its grasping #bjc character4 ,but this is a mistake4 ,the words are associated partly1 no doubt1 because lust so often involves an 'overreaching and wronging our brothers#f' of their just rights2 but much more because the lawless grasping after gain and the lawless grasping after pleasure are the two great perversions of the human soul4 ,pleasure and mammon are the two typical idols4 #a ,possibly this expression means 'the kingdom of ,him who is at once ,christ and ,god4' #b #b ,cor4 vi4 #ad4 #c #a ,cor4 i4 #bj1 #ba2 iii4 #ah4 #d ,rom4 xvi4 #ai4 #e ,ecclus4 xvi4 #ba4 #f #a ,thess4 iv4 #f4 #bjd ,,division ,,ii4 #d4 ,,chapter ,v4 #ae-ba4 ,the ,christian life a zealous and deliberate seizing of the opportunity afforded by surrounding moral evils4 ,sidenote3 ,buying up the opportunity ,the ,christian stands awake and in the light4 ,he has a vantage-ground of spiritual knowledge1 and the opportunity afforded by this vantage-ground he is to use4 ,he is not to live at random but is to fashion his life with deliberate circumspection and prudence in order to make the best of the spiritual opportunity1 just as the merchant cleverly seizes and uses to his own advantage a particular commercial situation4 ,what gives the ,christian his spiritual opportunity is the corruption which surrounds him4 ,of that corruption ,st4 ,paul has already said enough4 ,the result of it was to leave whatever was good in man disconsolate and ill at ease4 ,the exhibition of the ,christian light amidst such surroundings could not but arrest men's attention and attract #bje their hearts4 ,and if we want to be informed1 in greater detail1 how to buy up the opportunity1 ,st4 ,paul's answer is threefold4 ,first1 there must be a positive apprehension of the divine will in particular cases such as qualifies for decisive action4 ',be not foolish1 but understand what the will of the ,lord is4' ,this is the sort of wisdom which enables a man to do what our ,lord expects of spiritual leaders1 to 'discern the time4' ,it is a rare quality but1 according to the measure of the gift of ,christ to each1 it is attained by spiritual thoughtfulness1 singlemindedness1 and prayer4 ,secondly1 there is to be a strong and sociable enthusiasm1 expressing itself in uninterrupted joy1 and based upon deep draughts of the divine ,spirit4 ,in ,st4 ,paul's day1 as in our own1 men would seek escape from the dullness of life and its sense of isolation in the excitement and fellowship which comes of intoxicating drink4 ,other forms of mental intoxication were provided at ,ephesus by a sensual religious enthusiasm4 ,st4 ,paul would have the ,christians confront such lawless excitement not merely with the spectacle of discipline and self-restraint1 but also with a counter-enthusiasm1 purer but not less strong4 ,christians are to find an #bjf excitement as strong as drunkenness1 and a fellowship as warm as is to be found in any band of revellers1 in deep draughts of the wine of the ,holy ,ghost4 ',be not drunken with wine wherein is riot1 but be filled with the ,spirit1 speaking one to another in psalms#a and hymns and spiritual songs 7such as the one he has just quoted71 singing and making melody with your hearts to the ,lord4' ,lastly1 there is to be a spirit of submission1 mutual accommodation and order4 ,the disciples are to 'subject themselves one to another in the fear of ,christ4' ,they are1 as ,st4 ,peter says#b1 to be girt each one with the apron of service to minister to one another's needs1 knowing their responsibility to ,christ1 and how ,he looks for obedience and service in all men4 ,enthusiasm is apt to be lawless1 but the enthusiasm of the ,christians is to be the enthusiasm of an organized body4 ,it was said of old of the men of ,issachar1 who gathered round the standard of ,david#c1 that they had 'understanding of the times to know what ,israel ought #bjg to do2 the heads of them were two hundred1 and all their brethren were at their commandment4' ,a similar spirit of practical religious understanding1 with a similar readiness to obey their leaders1 is what ,st4 ,paul desires in the new ,israel to do the work of the true ,son of ,david4 ,a temper then of clear positive understanding as to what ,god wills to be done in the immediate future1 fired by an ardent and sociable enthusiasm1 and associated with a disinterested readiness to obey one another in practical affairs--this is what ,st4 ,paul means by 'looking carefully how we walk'2 and it is worth while noticing that ,st4 ,paul's conception of carefulness leads in a direction quite opposed to mere timorous and negative prudence4 ,exhortations not to be rash1 but to 'look before you leap1' are very commonly given by the wise4 ,but it does not seem to be generally remembered that1 at least in the service of ,god1 most men err by excess not of rashness but of caution1 and 'look' so long that they never 'leap4' ,truly if rashness has slain its thousands1 irresolution has slain its ten thousands4 ,the spirit ,st4 ,paul would have us cultivate is not this cowardly mis-called wisdom1 but rather the spirit of the ideal soldier1 of the 'happy warrior4' ,nothing1 #bjh in fact1 could be more fascinating than the picture ,st4 ,paul here draws of the ,christian community4 ,he has a vision of a pure brotherly enthusiastic society1 fulfilled with a divine life1 and attracting into its warm and comfortable fellowship the isolated1 weary1 hopeless1 and sin-stained from the cold dark world outside4 ,look therefore carefully how ye walk1 not as unwise1 but as wise2 redeeming the time1 because the days are evil4 ,wherefore be ye not foolish1 but understand what the will of the ,lord is4 ,and be not drunken with wine1 wherein is riot1 but be filled with the ,spirit2 speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs1 singing and making melody with your heart to the ,lord2 giving thanks always for all things in the name of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ to ,god1 even the ,father2 subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of ,christ4 ,st4 ,paul's exhortation to 'buy up the opportunity because the days are evil' finds fresh application in every generation4 ,for each generation the 'days are evil1' and good men always feel them to be so4 ,not necessarily that they are evil by comparison with other days1 for the 'good old times' certainly never existed1 and it is not often possible to balance the evils of one age against those of another4 ,it is enough #bji for us to understand 'the ills we have4' ,what they are in our own generation is conspicuous enough4 ,in part they are the normal evils of selfishness1 and sensuality1 and pride1 and weakness2 of divisions of races and classes1 and personal uncharity4 ,in part they are special3 ,i will not make any general attempt to characterize them here4 ,but it is probably true to say that1 among other characteristics which our generation exhibits1 is a lack of great enthusiasms and strong convictions and inspiring leaders4 ,literature1 philosophy1 and politics are alike lacking in a clear moral impulse4 ',causes' are at a discount4 ,men are disillusionized4 ,it is a 'fin de sicle' by some better title than a chronological mistake4 ,it is this characteristic of the moment that ought to give the ,church its opportunity4 ,at present she largely fails to take it because she lacks concentration within her own body4 ,the true disciples1 the faithful remnant1 exist in every place1 but they are lost in the crowd4 ,they need to be drawn together if they are to make an impression4 ,a vigorous faith1 and the confident hope for humanity which a vigorous faith begets1 were never better calculated than they are to-day to produce a right moral impression on the world1 owing to the #baj mere absence of rival enthusiasms4 ,we can supply what is wanted if only everywhere we will cultivate sincerity and enthusiasm rather than numbers1 and aim at forming strong centres of spiritual life1 rather than a weak uniform diffusion of it4 #a ,st4 ,paul is in part referring to the habit of responsive or antiphonal chanting1 which ,pliny1 the governor of ,bithynia1 reports as characteristic of the ,christians half a century later--'to sing responsively 7secum invicem7 a hymn to ,christ as a ,god4' #b #a ,pet4 v4 #e4 #c #a ,chron4 xii4 #cb4 #baa ,,division ,,ii4 #e4 ,,chapters ,v4 #bb-,,vi4 #i4 ,the relation of husbands and wives3 parents and children3 masters and servants4 ,sidenote3 ,the law of subordination ,st4 ,paul mentions submission as required1 in a sense1 from all ,christians towards all others--'submitting yourselves one to another4' ,but it is plain that in any community1 and most of all in a ,christian community where order is a divine principle1 some will be specially 'under authority'3 and accordingly ,st4 ,paul applies his general maxim to three classes in particular--wives towards their husbands1 children towards their parents1 slaves towards their masters4 ,but in making these applications of the law of obedience1 he enlarges his subject by including the counter-balancing principle of the duty of self-sacrificing love on the part of those in authority2 so that he treats not one side of the relation only but both4 #bab ,a4 ,,husbands ,,and ,,wives4 7,v4 #bb-cc47 ,sidenote3 ,husbands and wives ,wives are to be subordinate to their husbands as to the ,lord4 ,just as the divine fatherhood is the ground of all lower fatherhood1 so the authority of the one great ,head is the ground in all lower headships1 and each in its place is to be accepted as the shadow of ,his4 ,thus the husband's headship over his wife is the shadow of ,christ's headship over the church1 and that explains of what sort the husband's authority should be4 ,for ,christ's rule is a rule for the advantage of the ruled4 ,he rules the church as ,himself its saviour or deliverer from bondage1 and the word 'saviour' is full of associations of self-sacrificing love4 ,so must it be with a ,christian husband4 ,but ,christ is not merely a head to the church4 ,he too is a husband4 ,this idea of ,god as the husband of ,his people--an idea which expressed both ,his choice of them1 ,his love for them1 and ,his jealous claim upon them--is familiar in the ,old ,testament4 ',thy ,maker is thy husband4' ',i am a husband unto you1 saith the ,lord#a4' ,and it is probable1 as ,dr4 ,cheyne suggests1 'that the so-called ,song of ,solomon was admitted into the canon #bac on the ground that the bride of the poem symbolized the chosen people#b4' ,but in a ,christian sense the idea gains a fresh meaning4 ',we that are joined unto the ,lord are of one spirit' with ,him#c4 ,we are the 'members of his body'2 and1 as drawing our life from ,his manhood1 we may be even said to be1 like ,eve from ,adam1 'of his flesh and of his bones#d4' ,christ then is1 in this richness of meaning1 the husband of the church4 ,st4 ,paul seems further to describe this relation of ,christ to the church under the figure of three marriage customs4 ,the husband first acquires the object of his affection as his bride by a dowry3 then by a bath of purification the bride is prepared for the husband3 finally she is presented to him in bridal beauty4 ,accordingly ,christ1 because ,he loved the church1 first 'gave himself for her'2 and we may interpret this phrase in the light of another used by ,st4 ,paul in his speech to the ,ephesian elders1 where the church is spoken of as 'purchased' or #bad 'acquired#e' by ,christ's blood4 ,having thus acquired the ,church for ,his bride1 ,he secondly 'cleansed her in the laver#f of water with the word'3 and that1 in order that ,he might 'sanctify her' and so finally 'present the church to himself a glorious church1 not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing2 but that it should be holy and without blemish4' ,this threefold statement has great theological interest which we will consider shortly4 ,here we will simply let it stand1 as ,st4 ,paul uses it1 to exhibit ,christ as the ideal husband1 the pattern for every husband4 ,love for his bride2 self-sacrifice in order to win her2 and the deliberate aiming at moral perfection for her through the bridal union--that is the law for him4 ,the wife1 according to the original divine principle1 is to be part of the man's self--one flesh with him4 ,he must love her truly and care for her as his own flesh4 ,this 'mystery1' or divine secret revealed1 is great1 ,st4 ,paul says2 'but in saying this ,i am thinking of ,christ and his church4' ,this seems to be the exact force of verse #cb4 ,in other words--this divine disclosure of the relation of ,god to man1 as realized in the marriage of ,christ and ,his church1 is indeed great and lofty4 #bae ,but1 ,st4 ,paul continues in effect1 great and lofty as it is1 it is a practical pattern for us4 ,do ye also1 as ,christ the church1 severally love each one his own wife even as himself1 and let the wife see that she fear 7i4e4 reverence and fear to displease7 her husband1 even as the church stands in holy awe of ,christ4 ,wives1 be in subjection unto your own husbands1 as unto the ,lord4 ,for the husband is the head of the wife1 as ,christ also is the head of the church1 being himself the saviour of the body4 ,but as the church is subject to ,christ1 so let the wives also be to their husbands in everything4 ,husbands1 love your wives1 even as ,christ also loved the church1 and gave himself up for it2 that he might sanctify it1 having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word1 that he might present the church to himself a glorious church1 not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing2 but that it should be holy and without blemish4 ,even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies4 ,he that loveth his own wife loveth himself3 for no man ever hated his own flesh2 but nourisheth and cherisheth it1 even as ,christ also the church2 because we are members of his body4 ,for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother1 and shall cleave to his wife2 and the twain shall become one flesh4 ,this mystery is great3 but ,i speak in regard of ,christ and of the church4 ,nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself2 and let the wife see that she fear her husband4 ,there are several points here which need consideration4 #baf #a4 ,there is a rich theology in ,st4 ,paul's brief description of the relation of ,christ to the church4 ,first1 there is ,christ's love for the church which involves a purpose of entire sanctification for her2 then there is sacrifice1 the sacrifice of ,himself1 for her2 then there is the baptismal purification of the church to fit her for ,christ1 which is in fact nothing else than the baptismal purification of all the individual members of the ,christian body2 and this is also1 as ,st4 ,paul elsewhere teaches1 the means to them of new life by union with ,himself4 ,it is their cleansing bath because therein they are 'baptized into ,christ4' 7,here1 we notice1 the analogy of the marriage custom breaks down3 what is in the marriage ceremonies only a washing preparatory to union1 is in the spiritual counterpart also the act of union4 ,baptism is both the abandonment of the old and union with the new47 ,lastly1 there is the final presentation by ,christ of the church to ,himself in sinless1 stainless perfection4 ,we observe that ,christ's sacrifice is regarded by ,st4 ,paul as preparatory and relative4 ,he bought the church by the sacrifice of ,himself to obtain unimpeded rights over her1 because ,he loved her and in order to make her morally #bag perfect4 ,the atonement has its value because it is the removal of the obstacles to ,christ working ,his positive moral work in her4 ,we observe again that the sacrifice of ,christ is spoken of as offered for the church1 not for the world4 ,christ does indeed 'will that all men shall be saved'3 ,he did indeed 'take away1' or take up and expiate1 'the sin of the world' in its totality#g4 ,but the divine method is that men shall attain their salvation as 'members of ,christ's body4' ,thus1 if ,christ's ultimate object in the divine sacrifice is the world3 ,his immediate object is the church through which ,he acts upon the world and into which ,he calls every man4 ',i pray1' ,he said1 'not for the world1 but for them whom thou hast given me4' ',he gave himself for us that he might redeem us 444 and purify unto himself a people for his own possession#h4' ,once more we notice in this passage a significant hint as to ,st4 ,paul's conception of baptism4 ,there is no doubt of the spiritual efficacy which he assigns to it4 ,and we observe in germ a doctrine of 'matter' and 'form' in connexion with the sacraments4 ,baptism is a 'washing of water' accompanied by a 'word4' ,the word #bah or utterance which ,st4 ,paul refers to may be the formula of baptism 'into the name of the ,father and of the ,son and of the ,holy ,ghost1' or the 'word of faith' of which confession is made by the person to be baptized--the confession that ',jesus is the ,lord#i'2 but in either case the word gives the rational interpretation to the act4 ,it sets apart what would be otherwise like any other act of washing1 and stamps it for a spiritual and holy purpose4 ',take away the word1 and what is the water but mere water8 ,the word is superadded to the natural element and it becomes a sacrament4' ,so says ,st4 ,augustine#aj1 in the spirit of ,st4 ,paul4 ,this is what is meant by the later theological term 'form#aa1' the 'form' being that which differentiates or determines shapeless 'matter' and makes it have a certain significance or gives it a certain character4 ,thus the form of a sacrament is the word of divine appointment which gives it spiritual significance2 and the form and matter together are essential to its validity4 ,the matter of baptism is the washing by water3 the form is the defining phrase ',i #bai baptize 7or wash7 thee into the name of the ,father and of the ,son and of the ,holy ,ghost4' ,lastly1 we notice that the spiritual union of ,christ and ,his church1 though it is perfect in the divine intention from the first1 is in fact only consummated at the point where the church is freed from the imperfection of sin and has become the stainless counterpart of ,christ ,himself4 ,the love of ,christ--the removal of obstacles to ,his love by atoning sacrifice--the act of spiritual purification--the gradual sanctification--the consummated union in glory3 these are the moments of the divine process of redemption1 viewed from the side of ,christ1 which ,st4 ,paul specifies4 #b4 ,we come back to ,st4 ,paul's conception of marriage to dissipate misconceptions4 ,it is indeed absurd to speak as if ,st4 ,paul were1 in this passage1 mainly emphasizing the subjection of the woman1 whether this be done from the conservative side 'to keep women in their place'3 or from the point of view of those who desire her emancipation1 in order to represent ,st4 ,paul1 and so ,christianity as a whole1 as giving to women a servile position4 ,over against the subjection of women1 he sets1 and indeed gives more space to emphasize1 the self-sacrifice #bbj and service which is due to her from the man4 ,you cannot tear the one from the other4 ,like ,st4 ,peter so ,st4 ,paul would have the husband 'give honour to the wife--as to the weaker vessel' indeed1 but also as 'joint heir of the grace of life#ab4' ,in essential spiritual value men and women are equal4 ',in ,christ is neither male nor female4' ,st4 ,chrysostom rightly bases on this passage a powerful appeal to husbands to overcome their selfishness in their relation to their wives4 ,there is nothing servile in the subordination required of the woman#ac4 ,if 'the husband is the head of the wife1 the head of the husband is ,christ1 and the head of ,christ is ,god4' ,christ even is subordinate4 ,and the character of the headship of the husband #bba altogether excludes the idea that women are to be married in order to serve men's selfish interests or gratify their passions4 ,then we must notice that ,st4 ,paul is impressing upon us a moral ideal of which the two parts are inseparable4 ,st4 ,paul says nothing to indicate that where the relations are not ideal--where the husband is selfish or brutal--law should not step in to protect the interests of the wife and secure her against the insults or cruelties or frauds of the husband4 ,he is expressing a moral ideal#ad2 while law must be largely content with preventing outrage and securing a background on which ideals can become possible4 ,and just as ,st4 ,paul tells ,christians that they are to obey magistrates as ,god's ministers--leaving it to be understood that when they command what is contrary to ,god's will1 'we ought to obey ,god rather than men'2 so in the same way he speaks of the wife's 7or child's or slave's7 duty of subjection1 leaving a similar reservation likewise to be tacitly understood4 ,obedience is to be 'in the ,lord4' #c4 ,but no doubt ,st4 ,paul does emphasize the subordination of women to men4 ,he will #bbb not ordinarily#ae permit the woman 'to teach 7in the public assembly7 nor to have dominion over a man#af4' ,he clearly does not think the difference of male and female is merely physical1 but perceives that the characteristic moral perils of the sexes#ag are different3 he assigns to man the governing and authoritative position1 and to woman the more retired and 'quieter#ah' functions4 ,it may indeed be argued that in certain details ,st4 ,paul's injunctions are for his time only1 and no more of perpetual obligation than his prohibition of second marriages to the clergy is assumed to be1 or his quasi-recognition of slavery4 ,but this argument carries us but a little way4 ,the most of what ,st4 ,paul says of men and women is based on a principle which he conceives to be divine1 and which all history and experience confirms4 ,the position of women in ,christendom has often fallen far short of what is truly ,christian3 but no attempted rectification will be found otherwise than disastrous which ignores the fundamental principle4 ,all through the animal kingdom mental differences accompany the physiological difference between the sexes4 ,experience teaches #bbc that women1 as a whole1 are superior to men in certain moral qualities--in self-sacrifice1 sympathy1 purity1 and compassion1 and in religious feeling1 reverence and devotion3 but inferior to them in the moral qualities which are concerned with government--in justice1 love of truth and judgement1 in stability and reasonableness4 ,intellectually women have very often greater quickness of apprehension and memory1 greater power in learning languages1 greater artistic sensibility4 ,but they are conspicuously inferior in the constructive imagination1 in creative genius1 in philosophy and science4 ,it is sometimes said that if women had been as well educated as men--and assuredly on ,christian principles they ought to be1 if differently1 yet equally well educated--they would have created as much4 ,why1 then1 have almost no women been poets of the first order1 or musical composers1 or painters8 ,for in these artistic walks of life their education has been in many countries better and more continuous4 ,to maintain that men and women are only physiologically different is to run one's head against the brick wall of fact and science1 no less than against ,st4 ,paul's and ,st4 ,peter's principles#ai4 #bbd ,it remains true that 'women is not undevelopt man ,but diverse 444 seeing either sex alone ,is half itself1 and in true marriage lies ,nor equal1 nor unequal#bj4' #d4 ,it is necessary to add something about the position assigned by ,st4 ,paul1 in other epistles1 to unmarried women2 and to notice the relation of his 'theory of women' to earlier ,jewish ideas and those current in general society4 ,nothing could well exceed the influence or nobility of the position of the ,jewish wife and mistress of the household1 as it is given1 for example1 in the ,book of ,proverbs#ba4 ,that position ,st4 ,paul can perpetuate and deepen1 but hardly augment4 ,and the ,old ,testament recognized an altogether exceptional position in certain women endowed with the gift of prophecy1 like ,miriam and ,deborah and ,huldah1 who in virtue of their gift exercised a public and #bbe quasi-political ministry4 ,thus in the ,christian community also there were prophetesses1 and ,st4 ,paul1 in the same epistle in which he forbids women in general to teach in public1 seems to leave room for such exceptional women to 'pray or prophecy' in the ,christian congregation with their heads covered#bb4 ,thus in fact all down ,christian history there have been at intervals exceptional women with unmistakable gifts for guiding souls in private and directing public policy1 like ,st4 ,catherine of ,siena1 or with gifts of government like ,st4 ,hilda1 whom the ,church has rightly accepted as divinely endowed4 ,where ,christianity appears to have made a fresh departure in regard to women was in the organized consecration of the gift of female ministry4 ,the deaconesses like ,phoebe1 and women like ,lydia and ,priscilla1 are most characteristic ,christian figures2 and they have a long line of successors in later deaconesses and 'widows1' and sisters of mercy1 and nurses and teachers4 ,it was the ignominy of the ,church of ,england that for so long she narrowed down the functions of women to those which belong to wives and daughters at home4 ,multitudes of #bbf women need other than domestic spheres and are happier away from home2 and we may thank ,god that--apart from the specially political and judicial functions which are proper to men--the widest sphere of influence and service is now again being thrown open to women4 ,how pitiable it was that1 in face of all ,christian experience and of the authoritative language of the ,new ,testament1 unmarried women should have no prospect opened to them but such as was drearily summed up in the phrase 'old maids4' ,st4 ,paul1 if in this epistle he is glorifying the married state1 certainly also glorifies both for men and women the freedom of the celibate life consecrated to the service of ,god--the consecration of those who in a special sense are the virgin-brides of ,christ4 ,we may be thankful indeed that now1 if somewhat tardily1 it has received from the largest assembly of ,anglican bishops ever gathered together an altogether ungrudging recognition#bc4 ,it has been very frequently observed that1 especially in ,asia ,minor1 women in ,st4 ,paul's day were attaining in non-,christian society positions of great influence and dignity4 ,we find them #bbg very commonly holding priesthoods and public offices and magistracies4 ,it would appear1 however1 that too much may be made of this4 ,the populations of the ,asiatic towns loved to be entertained with expensive games and largesses of money and grain1 and to have temples built and endowed for them4 ,wealthy women of noble families were elected to priesthoods and offices where they could exercise their acceptable liberality in these ways4 ,but the offices were rather of dignity than of practical government1 and were closely associated with priesthoods4 ,there is no evidence that women in ,asiatic cities could assist at assemblies1 or give votes1 or speak in public1 or serve on legations1 or enter into political relations with the ,roman authorities4 ,there were women among the ,asiarchs1 but probably only when they were associated in an honorary manner with their husbands4 ,in the early ,christian church the influence of women was put to far nobler uses than in ,asiatic cities2 but their position relatively to men was not far different from what would have been recognized in the general society of that region#bd4 ,in other parts of the empire the #bbh women of the ,christian church were conspicuously in advance of those outside4 ,in somewhat later days of the ,church there was some resentment at the high and free position assigned to women in the ,new ,testament documents4 ,thus one celebrated ,,ms4 of the ,new ,testament#be--the ,codex ,bezae--changes 'not a few of the honourable ,greek women and of men' 7,acts xvii4 #ab7 into 'of the ,greeks and the honourable1 many men and women4' ,in xvii4 #cd it cuts out ,damaris4 ,and in xvii4 #d it changes the 'leading women' into 'wives of the leading men4' ,the spirit which prompted these changes in an early ,christian scribe and reviser1 has not been wanting in much later ages1 though it had not a chance of tampering with our sacred texts4 ,b4 ,,parents ,,and ,,children4 ,,vi4 #a-d4 ,sidenote3 ,parents and children ,after laying down the principles which determined the relation of wives to their husbands1 ,st4 ,paul turns to the relation of children to their parents4 ,the wives are to be subordinate to their husbands4 ,children are to be obedient to their parents as part of their duty 'in the #bbi ,lord1' as members of ,his body4 ,they are to show honour to their parents as directed by the commandment which we call the fifth1 but which ,st4 ,paul here probably calls 'a commandment standing first accompanied with promise4' ,it stands first among those which refer to our neighbour grouped apart--as our ,lord also says ',thou knowest the commandments1' and then specifies those six alone#bf4 ,and it is accompanied with a promise implied in the words 'that it may be well with thee and that thou mayest live long in the land#bg'--;a promise that the prosperity and permanence of the nation shall be bound up with the observance of the natural law of obedience to those from whom we derive our life4 ,i say the prosperity of the nation1 and so no doubt secondly of the individual2 but all through the ,ten ,commandments the individual is regarded only as part of the nation4 ,the other translation of these words--'which is the first commandment with promise'--is one to which the original ,greek does not seem to give any preference1 and which does not give a good sense1 for the fifth commandment has neither #bcj more nor less of promise than the second1 and in what we now call 'the second table' it stands alone as having a promise implied4 ,here again in dealing with children ,st4 ,paul passes from the duty of the subject to that of the authority4 ,fathers are exhorted not to irritate their children1 as in the ,epistle to the ,colossians they are not to provoke them1 or1 as the word may perhaps mean1 overstimulate them so as to lead to their losing heart#bh4 ,a broken spirit and a sullen spirit are alike bad signs in youth4 ,but this does not mean that they are not to be disciplined2 discipline is ,god's purpose for us all through life1 and in childhood and youth parents are the ministers of ,god to discipline their children and put them in mind to obey ,god4 ,children1 obey your parents in the ,lord3 for this is right4 ,honour thy father and mother 7which is the first commandment with promise71 that it may be well with thee1 and thou mayest live long on the earth4 ,and1 ye fathers1 provoke not your children to wrath3 but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the ,lord4 ,we may notice in this passage the implication of infant baptism4 ,the children are addressed 'in the ,lord1' that is as already members of the #bca body of ,christ4 ,the children of any one ,christian parent are1 in #a ,cor4 vii4 #ad1 described as 'holy'--that is consecrated or dedicated by the circumstances of their birth and the opportunity which it supplies for ,christian education--and thus fit subjects for baptism4 ,in fact it is probable that ,christianity took from the ,jews the practice of infant baptism4 ,within their own race indeed there was no need of a ceremony of incorporation4 ,for the son of ,jewish parents was born a member of the chosen people4 ,but a proselyte was--certainly before our ,lord's time--made a ,jew with a baptism#bi which was regarded as his new birth1 his naturalization into a new and higher race4 ,and if the proselyte had children they were baptized with him as 'little proselytes#cj4' ,with a new depth of meaning this practice of infant baptism was taken over by the ,christian church in the case of those already dedicated to ,god by the spiritual opportunities of their birth and education1 so that the beginnings of growth might be sanctified1 like our ,lord's childhood1 in the ,spirit4 #bcb ,we must also take to heart in our day the lesson of the fifth commandment1 as re-enforced by ,st4 ,paul1 with its converse in the duty of parents4 ,domestic obedience is somewhat at a discount1 it is to be feared1 in this generation in most classes of society2 and this is a very grave peril4 ,parents1 wealthy as well as poor1 are very commonly disposed to make schoolmasters and schoolmistresses do the work of discipline for them1 while they retain for themselves the privilege of spoiling their children4 ,there are1 however1 of course1 very many exceptions4 ,there are multitudes of homes where discipline is exercised wisely and lovingly1 and children find obedience always a duty and mostly a joy4 ,this is certainly the only divinely appointed method by which we are to be prepared for the obedience and self-discipline required of us when we grow to be what is falsely described as 'our own masters4' ,and ,st4 ,paul's twofold admonition to parents is full of wisdom3 they are not to provoke their children so that they become bad-tempered1 and they are not to over-stimulate them1 by competition or otherwise1 so that they become disheartened4 ,but to nourish them by appropriate food1 mental and spiritual as well as physical1 so that they may grow to the full #bcc stature and strength which ,god intends for them4 ,c4 ,,masters ,,and ,,slaves4 ,,vi4 #e-i4 ,sidenote3 ,masters and slaves ,st4 ,paul's method in dealing with slavery is well known4 ,the slave is in a position really1 at bottom1 inconsistent with human individuality and liberty1 as ,christianity insists upon it4 ,thus1 to go no further1 the male slave and his wife are liable 7in all systems of slavery7 to be sold apart from one another4 ,this puts in its plainest form the inconsistency of slavery with ,christianity4 ,the slave is a living rational tool of another man1 and not his brother with fundamentally the same spiritual right to 'save his life' or make the best of his faculties4 ,thus where a slave can obtain liberty ,st4 ,paul exhorts him to prefer it#ca4 ,and when he is dealing with the ,christian master ,philemon1 whose runaway slave1 ,onesimus1 has become ,christian under ,st4 ,paul's influence1 he exhorts him to receive him back1 no longer as a slave1 but as a brother beloved#cb4 ,but ,christianity enlisted in no premature crusade against slavery as an institution--premature1 because ,christianity was not yet in the position to fashion a civilization of #bcd her own4 ,it left it to be undermined by the ,christian spirit4 ,thus ,st4 ,paul exhorts slaves to obey1 and that in more forcible language than he has applied even to children1 'with fear and trembling'2 that is with an intense anxiety to do their duty4 ,they are to perform their work as in ,god's sight1 thoroughly--,he being the inspector of it who can infallibly tell good work from bad--and 'from the heart1' that is1 putting their will and mind into it4 ,they are to do it as to the ,lord1 knowing that no good work1 however menial or uninteresting1 is wasted1 but shall be received back1 in its product or legitimate fruit1 as 'its own reward' from ,christ's hand4 ,in the ,epistle to ,timothy1 this additional reason for diligent service is given1 that if ,christian slaves get a reputation for slackness they will bring discredit upon the ,christian name#cc4 ,and in the same passage a touch is added which shows what1 even in its possible perversions1 the spirit of brotherhood really meant1 ',they that have believing masters1 let them not despise them because they are brethren2 but let them serve them the rather1 because they that partake of the benefit are believers and beloved4' #bce ,and the masters are exhorted to remember that true principle of human equality--that 'with ,god is no respect of persons1' that in ,god's sight each man counts for one1 and no one counts for more than one2 each having an equal claim and duty in the sight of the one ,master under whom all are servants4 ,thus they are to deal with their slaves in the same spirit of duty as their slaves should have toward them1 and they are to treat them with the respect due to brother men 'forbearing threatenings4' ,servants1 be obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your masters1 with fear and trembling1 in singleness of your heart1 as unto ,christ2 not in the way of eye-service1 as men-pleasers2 but as servants of ,christ1 doing the will of ,god from the heart2 with good will doing service1 as unto the ,lord1 and not unto men3 knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth1 the same shall he receive again from the ,lord1 whether he be bond or free4 ,and1 ye masters1 do the same things unto them1 and forbear threatening3 knowing that both their ,master and yours is in heaven1 and there is no respect of persons with him4 ,christianity has long abolished slavery so far as the legal status of the slave is concerned4 ,but the principles of mastership and service are still to be learned in this brief section of ,st ,paul's writing2 and if we really believed that 'with #bcf ,god is no respect of persons' there would be neither scamping of work and defrauding of employers1 nor on the other hand the 'sweating' of the employed and treating of men and women as if they were tools for the profit of others1 instead of spiritual beings1 with each his own divine end to realize4 #a ,is4 liv4 #e2 ,jer4 iii4 #ad4 #b ,prophecies of ,isaiah1 vol4 ii1 p4 #ahh4 #c #a ,cor4 vi4 #ag4 #d ,this1 it is well known1 was read in the ,old ,version4 ,it has vanished 7in submission to the verdict of the best ,,mss47 from the ,r4 ,v4 ,but there seems to me to be some force in ,alford's plea for the originality of the words1 as they stand in ',western' and later texts4 #e ,acts xx4 #bh4 #f ',washing4' ,marg4 'laver4' #g ,john i4 #bi4 #h ,john xvii4 #i2 ,tit4 ii4 #ad4 #i ,rom4 x4 #i2 cp4 ,acts xxii4 #af4 #aj ,in ,joan1 tract4 #hj4 ,cf4 ,irenaeus c4 haer4 v4 #b1 #c4 #aa ,see ,st4 ,thom4 ,aq41 ,summa1 ,pars iii4 ,qu4 lxx4 art4 #f ad #c4 #ab #a ,pet4 iii4 #g4 #ac ,it is noticeable that ,st4 ,paul does not 7according to the ,revised ,version which represents the original7 exactly enjoin obedience upon wives 7as upon children and slaves7 but subjection3 cf4 ,col4 iii4 #ah2 #a ,cor4 xiv4 #cd2 #a ,tim4 ii4 #aa1 #ab2 #a ,pet4 iii4 #a4 ,if however in the use of the 'obey' in the vow of the wife our marriage service goes an almost imperceptible stage beyond ,st4 ,paul1 its general tone preserves ,st4 ,paul's balance admirably4 ,the husband 'worships' the wife and endows her with all his worldly goods4 ,the only other ecclesiastical formula of ours in which the word worship is used of a purely human relation1 is the peer's oath of allegiance to the sovereign at the coronation1 ',i do become your liegeman of life and limb and of earthly worship3 and faith and troth ,i will bear unto you to live and to die against all manner of folks4' #ad ,how many husbands are capable of 'teaching their wives at home' about religion8 see #a ,cor4 xiv4 #ce4 #ae ,see however below1 p4 #bbe4 #af #a ,tim4 ii4 #ab2 #a ,cor4 xiv4 #cd1 #ce4 #ag #a ,tim4 ii4 #h1 #i4 #ah #a ,tim4 ii4 #aa1 #ab2 cf4 #a ,pet4 iii4 #d4 #ai ,all this has been admirably stated by ,george ,romanes1 whom no one could accuse of misogyny1 in his essay on 'the mental differences between men and women4' ,see ,essays 7,longmans1 #ahig71 pp4 #aac ff4 ,and the statements of the text are supported by ,mr4 ,havelock ,ellis' ,man and ,woman 7,contemp4 ,science ,series74 ,mr4 ,ellis is sometimes less decisive than ,mr4 ,romanes4 ,but see capp4 xiii1 xiv4 #bj ,tennyson's ,princess2 cp4 his ,memoir by ,hallam ,tennyson1 7,macmillan1 #ahig71 i4 #bdi4 #ba ,prov4 xxxi4 #aj ff4 #bb #a ,cor4 xi4 #e4 #bc ,lambeth ,conference1 #ahig4 ,report on ,religious ,communities1 pp4 #eg ff4 #bd ,see ,paris1 ,quatenus foeminae res publicas in ,asia ,minore ,romanis inperantibus attigerint 7,paris1 #ahia74 #be ,ramsay1 ,paul the ,traveller1 p4 #bfh4 #bf ,mark x4 #ai2 cf4 ,matt xix4 #ah1 #ai2 ,luke xviii4 #bj4 #bg ,cited from ,exod4 xx4 #ab according to the ,,lxx1 which assimilates the passage to ,deut4 v4 #af4 #bh ,col4 iii4 #ba4 ,in #b ,cor4 ix4 #b1 the only other place where the word is used by ,st4 ,paul or in the ,new ,testament1 it means to stimulate by emulation4 #bi ,accompanied with circumcision and sacrifice4 #cj ,see ,dr4 ,taylor1 ,the ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles1 pp4 #ee-eh1 and ,sabatier1 ,la ,didach1 pp4 #hd-hh1 both very suggestive passages4 ,cf4 ,edersheim1 ,life and ,times of ,jesus1 ,app4 xii1 and ,schrer1 ,jewish ,people1 ,div4 ii4 vol4 ii4 pp4 #cai ff4 #ca #a ,cor4 vii4 #ba1 #bc4 #cb ,philem4 #af4 #cc #a ,tim4 vi4 #a4 #bcg ,,division ,,ii4 #f4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 #aj-bj4 ,the personal spiritual struggle4 ,sidenote3 ,the spiritual struggle ,the ethics of ,christianity are1 as has appeared1 social ethics1 the ethics of a society organized in mutual relationships3 and ,christianity is concerned with the whole life of man1 body as well as soul1 his commerce and his politics as well as his religion4 ,but because this requires to be made emphatic1 does it follow that we are to neglect or depreciate the inward1 personal1 spiritual struggle8 ,are we to give a reduced1 because we give a better balanced1 importance to 'saving one's own soul1' that is preserving or recovering into its full power and supremacy one's own spiritual personality8 ,of course not3 because social health depends on personal character4 ,the more a good man throws himself into social1 including ecclesiastical1 duties the more he feels the need of character in himself and others4 ,and the more serious a man is #bch about his character1 the more deeply he feels the attention and self-discipline that character needs4 ,certainly the most ascetic words of our ,lord--those in which ,he speaks of the necessity for cutting off or plucking out hand or eye if hand or eye cause us to stumble1 and warns us that we must be strong at the spiritual centre of our being1 before we can be free in exterior action--are likely to come home to no one with more force than to one who would do his duty in ,church or state4 ,christ cannot redeem the world without ,himself passing through the temptation and the agony in the garden4 ,and thus ,st4 ,paul1 after he has been dwelling on the fraternal and corporate character of the ,christian life1 comes back at the last to emphasize the personal spiritual struggle4 ,to be a good member of the body1 he says in effect1 you must be in personal character a strong man1 strong enough in ,christ's might to win the victory in a fearful struggle4 ,against what is our spiritual struggle8 ,it is against the weakness and lawlessness of our own flesh4 ',the spirit is willing1 but the flesh is weak4' ',our eye and hand and foot cause us to stumble4' ,or again it is the world which is too much for us4 ',we seek honour one of another #bci and not the glory that cometh from the only ,god4' ,quite true4 ,but behind the manifest disorder of our nature and the insistence of worldly motives there are other less apparent forces2 and these1 in ,st4 ,paul's mind1 so overshadow the more visible and tangible ones that1 in the ,biblical manner of speech1 he denies for the moment the reality of the latter4 ',we wrestle not against flesh and blood1' not against our own flesh or a visibly corrupt public1 but against an unseen spiritual host organized for evil4 ,it was noticed above that ,st4 ,paul has no doubt at all that moral evil has its origin and spring in the dark background behind human nature--in the rebel wills of devils4 ,it has become customary to regard belief in devils or angels as fanciful and perhaps superstitious4 ,now no doubt theological and popular fancy has intruded itself into the things it has not seen1 and1 instead of the studiously vague#a language of ,st4 ,paul1 has developed a sort of geography and ethnology for spirits good and bad which is mythological and allied to superstition4 ,but it has acted in the same way1 and shown the same resentment of the discipline of ignorance1 in the case of even more central spiritual realities4 ,no #bdj doubt again the belief in the devil has sometimes become1 in practical force1 belief in a rival ,god4 ,but this sort of ,manichaeism or dualism represents a very permanent tendency in the untrained religious instincts of men1 which the ,bible is occupied in restraining4 ,in the ,bible certainly ,satan and his hosts are rebel angels and not rival ,gods4 ,once more undoubtedly demonology has been a source of much misery and many degrading practices4 ,but demonology represents a natural religious instinct4 ,it is older than the ,bible4 ,and what our religion has done1 where it has been true to itself1 is to purge away the noxious and non-moral superstitions4 ,st4 ,paul is representative of true ,christianity in his stern refusal to use the services of contemporary soothsaying and magic and sorcery#b4 ,one has only to compare the exorcisms of our ,lord with contemporary ,jewish exorcism to note the moral difference4 ,and every truth has its exaggeration and its abuse4 ,the question still remains2 are there no spiritual beings but men8 ,is there no moral evil1 but in the human heart8 ,our ,lord gives the most emphatic negative answer4 ,his teaching about evil 7and good7 spirits is unmistakable and #bda constant4 ,if ,he is an absolutely trustworthy teacher in the spiritual concerns of life1 then temptation from evil spirits is a reality1 and a reality to be held constantly in view4 ,and our ,lord's authority is confirmed by our own experiences4 ,sometimes experience irresistibly suggests to us the presence of unseen bad companions who can make vivid suggestions to our minds4 ,or we are impressed like ,st4 ,paul with the delusive1 lying character of evil1 which makes the belief in a malevolent will almost inevitable4 ,or the continuity in evil influences1 social or personal1 seems to disclose to us an organized plan or 'method#c' a kingdom of evil4 ,it is then in view of unseen but personal spiritual adversaries organized against us as armies1 under leaders who have at their control wide-reaching social forces of evil1 and who intrude themselves into the highest spiritual regions 'the heavenly places' to which in their own nature they belong1 that ,st4 ,paul would have us equip ourselves for fighting in 'the armour of light#d4' ,if there is a spiritual battle1 armour defensive and offensive becomes a natural metaphor which #bdb ,st4 ,paul frequently uses#e4 ,but in his imprisonment he must have become specially habituated to the armour of ,roman soldiers1 and here1 as it were1 he makes a spiritual meditation on the pieces of the 'panoply' which were continually under his observation4 ,we are1 then1 to 'take up' or 'put on' the panoply or whole armour of ,god4 ,this means more than the armour which ,god supplies4 ,it is probably like 'the righteousness of ,god1' something which is not only a gift of ,god1 but a gift of ,his own self4 ,our righteousness is ,christ1 and ,he is our armour4 ,christ1 the 'stronger man1' who overthrew 'the strong man armed' in ,his own person#f1 and 'took away from him his panoply in which he trusted1' is to be our defence4 ,and by no external protection2 we are to clothe ourselves in ,his nature1 to put ,him on as our armour4 ,his is the strength in which we are1 like ,him1 to come triumphant through the hour of darkness4 ,now the parts of the armour1 the elements of ,christ's unconquerable moral strength1 what are they8 #bdc ,the belt which keeps all else in its place is for the ,christian1 truth--that is1 singleness of eye or perfect sincerity--the pure and simple desire of the light4 ',unless the vessel be clean 7or sincere7' said the old ,roman proverb1 'whatever you put into it turns sour4' ,a lack of sincerity at the heart of the spiritual life will destroy it all4 ,then the breastplate which covers vital organs is1 for the ,christian1 righteousness--the specific righteousness of ,christ1 ,st4 ,paul seems to imply#g1 in which in its indivisible unity he is to enwrap himself4 ,and1 as the feet of the soldier must be well shod not only for protection but also to facilitate free movement on all sorts of ground1 the ,christian too is to be so possessed with the good tidings of peace that he is 'prepared' to move and act under all circumstances--all hesitations1 and delays1 and uncertainties which hinder movement gone--his feet shod with the preparedness which belongs to those who have peace at the heart4 7',how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings1 that publisheth peace4'7 ,in these three fundamental dispositions--single-mindedness1 whole-hearted #bdd following of ,christ1 readiness such as belongs to a believer in the good tidings--lies the ,christian's strength4 ,but the armour is not yet complete4 ,the attacks of the enemy upon the thoughts will be frequent and fiery4 ,a constant and rapid action of the will will be necessary to protect ourselves from evil suggestions lest they obtain a lodgement4 ,and the method of self-protection is to look continually and deliberately out of ourselves up to ,christ--to appeal to ,him1 to invoke ,his name1 to draw upon ,his strength by acts of our will4 ,thus faith1 continually at every fresh assault looking instinctively to ,christ and drawing upon ,his help1 is to be our shield1 off which the enemy's darts will glance harmless1 their hurtful fire quenched4 ,and in thus defending ourselves we must have continually in mind that ,god has delivered man by a great redemption#h4 ,it is the sense of this great salvation1 the conviction of each ,christian that he is among those who have been saved and are tasting this salvation1 which is to cover his head from attack like a helmet#i4 ,and ,god's #bde word--,god's specific and particular utterances1 through inspired prophets and psalmists--is to equip his mouth with a sword of power2 as in ,his temptation and on the cross1 ,christ 'put off from ,himself the principalities and powers1 and made a show of them1 triumphing over them openly' by the words of ,holy ,scripture2 as ,bunyan's ,christian1 when ',apollyon was fetching him his last blow1 nimbly stretched out his hand and caught' for his 'sword' the word of ,micah1 'when ,i fall ,i shall arise4' ,this is one fruit of constant meditation on the words of ,holy ,scripture1 that they recur to our minds when we most need them4 ,and then ,st4 ,paul passes from metaphor to simple speech1 and for the last weapon bids the ,christians use 'always' that most powerful of all spiritual weapons for themselves and others1 'prayer and supplication' of all kinds and 'in all seasons4' ,but it is not to be ignorant and blind prayer2 it is to be prayer 'in the spirit1' 'who helpeth our infirmities1 for we know not of ourselves how to pray as we ought4' ',the things of ,god none knoweth1 save the ,spirit of ,god'#aj2 and it is to be the sort of prayer about which trouble is taken1 and which is persevering2 and it is to be #bdf prayer for others as well as for themselves1 'for all the saints4' ,and ,st4 ,paul uses the pastor's privilege1 and asks for himself the support of his converts' prayers1 that he may have both power of speech and courage to proclaim the good tidings of the divine secret disclosed1 for which he is already suffering as a prisoner4 ,finally1 be strong in the ,lord1 and in the strength of his might4 ,put on the whole armour of ,god1 that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil4 ,for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood1 but against the principalities1 against the powers1 against the world-rulers of this darkness1 against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places4 ,wherefore take up the whole armour of ,god1 that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day1 and1 having done all1 to stand4 ,stand therefore1 having girded your loins with truth1 and having put on the breastplate of righteousness1 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace2 withal taking up the shield of faith1 wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one4 ,and take the helmet of salvation1 and the sword of the ,spirit1 which is the word of ,god3 with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the ,spirit1 and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints1 and on my behalf1 that utterance may be given unto me in opening my mouth1 to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel1 for which ,i am an ambassador in chains2 that in it ,i may speak boldly1 as ,i ought to speak4 #bdg ,st4 ,paul does not only exhort ,christians to pray1 but he gives them abundant examples4 ,in this epistle there are two specimens#aa of prayer for the spiritual progress of his converts1 mingled with thanksgivings and praise4 ,we habitually pray for others that they may be delivered from temporal evils1 or that they may be converted from flagrant sin or unbelief4 ,but surely we very seldom pray rich prayers1 like those of ,st4 ,paul's1 for others' progress in spiritual apprehension4 #a ,col4 i4 #af4 #b ,acts xiii4 #f-ab2 xvi4 #af-ah2 xix4 #ac-bj4 #c ,this is akin to ,st4 ,paul's word in the ,greek1 iv4 #ad2 vi4 #aa4 #d ,rom4 xiii4 #ab4 #e ,rom4 vi4 #ac2 xiii4 #ab2 #b ,cor4 vi4 #g2 x4 #d2 #a ,thess4 v4 #h4 ,cf4 ,isa4 xi4 #d1 #e1 and ,wisd4 v4 #ai4 #f ,luke xi4 #ba1 #bb4 #g ,by the use of the articles4 ,contrast ,is4 lix4 #ag which he is quoting4 #h ,isa4 lix4 #ag4 #i ',salvation' is sometimes viewed as already accomplished1 i4e4 in the victory of ,christ3 sometimes as still to be realized at 'the redemption of our bodies'3 so in #a ,thess4 v4 #h the helmet is 'the hope of salvation' yet to be attained4 #aj ,rom4 viii4 #bf2 #a ,cor4 ii4 #aa4 #aa ,eph4 i4 #ae ff42 iii4 #ad ff4 #bdh ,,conclusion4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 #ba-bd4 ,sidenote3 ,conclusion ,but that ye also may know my affairs1 how ,i do1 ,tychicus1 the beloved brother and faithful minister in the ,lord1 shall make known to you all things3 whom ,i have sent unto you for this very purpose1 that ye may know our state1 and that he may comfort your hearts4 ,peace be to the brethren1 and love with faith1 from ,god the ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,grace be with all them that love our ,lord ,jesus ,christ in uncorruptness4 ,tychicus was a native of ,asia ,minor#a1 a companion and delegate of ,st4 ,paul1 like ,timothy and others#b4 ,he was entrusted with the task presumably of conveying this letter to the churches of ,asia ,minor1 and certainly of informing them as to the apostle's state in his ,roman imprisonment--information which could not fail to comfort and encourage them4 ,st4 ,paul brings this wonderful letter to a conclusion with a brief benediction to the brethren--an invocation upon them of divine peace1 and love with faith--an invocation of divine favour upon all that 'love our ,lord ,jesus ,christ in #bdi uncorruptness4' ,corruption is the fruit of sin1 the condition of the 'old man#c4' ,incorruption is the state of the risen ,christ1 and in ,him the members of ,his body are to be preserved1 and at last raised 'incorruptible#d' in body4 ,but there is a prior 'incorruptibleness' of spirit in which all ,christians are to live from the first#e1 a freedom from all such doublemindedness or uncleanness as can corrupt the central life of the man4 ,and to love ,christ with this incorruptibility is the condition of the permanent enjoyment of all that ,his good favour would bestow upon us4 #a ,acts xx4 #d4 #b #b ,tim4 iv4 #ab4 #c ,eph4 iv4 #bb #d ,cor4 xv4 #eb4 #e #a ,pet4 iii4 #d4 #bea ,,appended ,,notes4 ,,note ,a4 ,see p4 #bf4 ,,the ,,roman ,,empire ,,recognized ,,by ,,christian ,,writers ,,as ,a ,,divine ,,preparation ,,for ,,the ,,spread ,,of ,,the ,,gospel4 7#a7 ,the ,spanish poet ,prudentius 7c4 ,a4,d4 #djj7 fully appreciates the influence of the ,roman ,empire in welding together the world into a unity of government1 laws1 language1 customs1 and religious rites1 to prepare the way for the universal ,church4 ,the stanzas are remarkable and worth quoting4 ,they are put as a prayer into the mouth of the ,roman deacon ,laurence during his martyrdom4 ,he recognizes what the ,roman ,empire has done1 and prays that ,rome may follow the example of the rest of the world in becoming ,christian4 ,o ,christe1 numen unicum ut discrepantum gentium ,o splendor1 ,o virtus ,patris1 mores et observantiam1 ,o factor orbis et poli1 linguas et ingenia et sacra1 atque auctor horum moenium6 unis domares legibus4 ,qui sceptra ,romae in vertice ,en omne sub regnum ,remi rerum locasti1 sanciens mortale concessit genus3 mundum quirinali togae idem loquuntur dissoni servire et armis cedere3 ritus1 id ipsum sentiunt4 #beb ,hoc destinatum1 quo magis ,confoederantur omnia ius ,christiani nominis hinc inde membra in symbolum3 quodcunque terrarum iacet mansuescit orbis subditus3 uno illigaret vinculo4 mansuescat et summum caput4 ,da1 ,christe1 ,romanis tuis ,peristephanon1 ii4 #dac ff4 sit ,christiana ut civitas3 per quam dedisti ut caeteris mens una sacrorum foret4 7#b7 ,the ,pope1 ,leo the ,great 7c4 ,a4,d4 #dej71 speaks thus 7,serm4 lxxxii4 #b73 ',that the result of this unspeakable grace 7the ,incarnation7 might be spread abroad throughout the world1 ,god's providence made ready the ,roman ,empire1 whose growth has reached so far that the whole multitude of nations have been brought into neighbourhood and connexion4 ,for it particularly suited the divinely planned work that many kingdoms should be leagued together in one empire1 so that the universal preaching might make its way quickly through nations already united under the government of one state4 ,and yet that state1 in ignorance of the author of its aggrandisement1 though it ruled almost all races1 was enthralled by the errors of them all2 and seemed to itself to have received a great religion1 because it had rejected no falsehood4 ,and for this very reason its emancipation through ,christ was the more wondrous that it had been so fast bound by ,satan4' ,leo further recognizes that the ,popes are entering into the position of the ,caesars 7c4 #a71 that ,rome1 'made the head of the world by being the holy see of blessed ,peter1 should rule more widely by means of the divine religion than of earthly sovereignty4' ,but his statement of the relation of ,peter to ,paul in the evangelization of the world 7c4 #e7 is remarkably unhistorical4 #bec ,,note ,b4 ,see p4 #bi4 ,,the 7,,so-,,called7 ',,letters ,,of ,,heracleitus4' ,nine letters under the name of the great philosopher of ,ephesus remain to us4 ,in one of them 7iv7 ,heracleitus is represented as saying to some ,ephesian adversaries1 ',if you had been able to live again by a new birth #ejj years hence1 you would have discovered ,heracleitus yet alive i4e4 in the memory of men but not so much as a trace of your name4' ,this probably indicates that the author is writing #ejj years after ,heracleitus' supposed age4 ,his age was differently estimated4 ,but '#ejj years after ,heracleitus' would mean1 according to all reckonings1 about the first half of the first century ,a4,d4 ,all the other indications of age in the letters agree with this4 7,see ,jacob ,bernays' ,heraclitischen ,briefe1 ,berlin1 #ahfi1 p4 #aab47 ,they were written presumably at ,ephesus1 and all or most of them by a ,stoic philosopher4 ,i do not think that it is necessary to assume traces of ,jewish influence in these letters1 any more than in the writings of ,seneca4 ,and the bulk of the letters is so thoroughly ,stoic and contrary to ,jewish feeling1 that a ,jew is hardly likely to have interpolated them4 ,they illustrate therefore the current philosophic ideas which were at work in the world in which ,st4 ,paul lived and taught1 when he was outside ,judaea4 ,that ,st4 ,paul was familiar with these ideas1 however his familiarity may have been gained1 is shown beyond possibility of mistake by his speeches--supposing them substantially genuine--at ,lystra and ,athens4 ,the following passages in these letters are interesting3 7#a7 7,from ,heracleitus' defence of himself against #bed a charge of impiety in letter iv7 ',where is ,god8 ,is he shut up in the temples8 ,you forsooth are pious who set up the ,god in a dark place4 ,a man takes it for an insult if he is said to be made of stone3 and is ,god truly described as born of the rocks8 ,ignorant men1 do ye not know that ,god is not fashioned with hands1 nor can you make him a sufficient pedestal1 nor shut him into one enclosure1 but the whole world is his temple1 decorated with animals and planets and stars8 ,i inscribed my altar to ,heracles the ,ephesian ,greek3 ,,eraklei ,,toi ,,ephesioi making the ,god your citizen1 not--he continues--to myself ,heracleitus an ,ephesian the same letters differently divided1 as ,i am accused of doing by you in your ignorance4 ,yet ,heracles was a man deified by his goodness and noble deeds2 and were his virtues and labours greater than mine8 ,i have conquered money and ambition3 ,i have mastered fear and flattery1' c4 ,then after a passage about the certainty of his own immortal renown1 he returns to ridicule idolatry4 ',if an altar of a god be not set up1 is there no god8 or if an altar be set up to what is not a god1 is it a god--so that stones become the evidences 7witnesses7 of ,gods8 ,nay it is his works which shall bear witness to ,god1 as the sun1 the day and night1 the seasons1 the whole fruitful earth1 and the circle of the moon1 his work and witness in the heavens4' ,the whole of this letter 7iv71 which can be paralleled in all its ideas from ,stoic and ,platonic sources1 may compare and contrast with ,acts xiv4 #ae-ah2 xvii4 #bb-bi4 7#b7 ,letter v is written by ,heracleitus in sickness4 ,he gives a theory of disease as an excess of some element in the body2 and describes his soul as a divine thing reproducing in his body the healing activity of ,god in the world as a whole1--'imitating ,god' by knowledge of the method of nature4 ,even if his body prove unmanageable and succumb to fate1 yet his soul will rise #bee to heaven and ',i shall have my citizenship 7,greek3 politesouai7 not among men but among ,gods4' ',perhaps my soul is giving prophetic intimation of its release even now from its prison house' so short lived and worthless4 ,letter vi is a continuation of v1 containing a denunciation of contemporary medicine on the ground of its lack of science1 and a further explanation of the ,stoic doctrine of the immanence of ,god in all nature--forming1 ordering1 dissolving1 transforming1 healing everywhere4 ',him will ,i imitate in myself and dismiss all others4' ,we should compare and 7even more7 contrast ,st4 ,paul's assertions of independence of bodily circumstances2 his belief in the higher sense of 'nature' 7,rom4 ii4 #ad71 and such phrases as ,phil4 ii4 #bj1 'our citizenship is in heaven1' ,eph4 v4 #a1 ',be ye imitators of ,god4' 7#c7 ,letter vii is addressed to ,hermodorus in exile4 ,heracleitus is to be exiled also 'for misanthropy and refusal to smile' by a law directed against him alone4 ,after an interesting condemnation of privilegia1 the letter explains his misanthropy4 ,he does not hate men1 but their vices4 ,the law should run ',if any man hates vice let him leave the city4' ,then he will go willingly4 ,in fact he is already an exile while in the city1 for he cannot share its vices4 ,then he describes ,ephesian life in terms of fierce contempt1 their lusts natural and unnatural1 their frauds1 their wars of words1 their legal contentiousness1 their faithlessness and perjuries1 their robberies of temples4 ,he denounces their vices in connexion with the worship of ,cybele 7beating the kettle-drum7 and ,dionysus 7the eating of live flesh71 and with religious vigils and banquets1 and alludes to details of sensuality associated with these meetings4 ,he condemns the submission of great principles to the verdicts of the crowd at their theatres1 and passes to a further vivid onslaught on their quarrels and murders 7they are no longer men #bef but beasts71 on their use of music to excite their bloodthirsty passions1 and on war altogether as contrary to 'the law of nature1' and involving the pursuit of all sorts of vice4 ,all this impeachment may be compared with ,st4 ,paul1 who speaks however by comparison with marked reserve1 in ,rom4 i4 #bd-ca1 ,eph4 iv4 #ag-ai1 and elsewhere4 7#d7 ,the eighth letter is again written to ,hermodorus now on his way to ,italy to assist the ,decemvirs with the ,ten ,tables4 ,it contains a somewhat remarkable 'judgement on wealthy ,ephesus' and statement of the judicial function of wealth4 ',god does not punish by taking wealth away1 but rather gives it to the wicked1 that through having opportunity to sin they may be convicted1 and by the very abundance of their resources may exhibit their corruption on a wider stage4' ,cf4 #a ,tim4 vi4 #i4 7#e7 ,the banishment of ,hermodorus had been on account of a proposed law to grant equal citizenship to freed men1 and the right of public office to their children4 ,this instance of ,ephesian intolerance gives occasion for an enunciation of the ,stoic doctrine that the only real freedom is moral freedom1 and moral freedom constitutes a man a citizen of the world4 ',the good ,ephesian is a citizen of the world4 ,for this is the common home of all1 and its law is no written document but ,god 7,greek3 ou grmma alla thes71 and he who transgresses his duty shall be impious2 or rather he will not dare to transgress1 for he will not escape justice4' ',let the ,ephesians cease to be the sort of men they are1 and they will love all men in an equality of virtue4' ',virtue1 not the chance of birth1 makes men equal4' ',only vice enslaves1 only virtue liberates4' ,for men to enslave their fellow men is to fall below the beasts2 so also to mutilate them as the ,ephesians do their ,megabyzi--the eunuch-priests of the wooden image of ,artemis4 ,there must be inequality of function in the world1 but not refusal of fellowship1 as the #beg higher parts of nature do not despise the lower1 or the soul think scorn to dwell with the body1 or the head despise the entrails1 or ,god refuse to give the gifts of nature1 such as the light of the sun1 to all equally4 ,here again we have what is both like and unlike ,st4 ,paul's doctrine of true human liberty and 'fellowship in the body4' ,on the whole ,i think these letters are worth more notice than they have received1 both in themselves and as a good example of the sort of religious and moral doctrine current in the better heathen circles of the ,asiatic cities1 while ,st4 ,paul was teaching4 ,it presents many points of connexion with ,st4 ,paul's teaching1 and co-operated with the influence of the ,jewish synagogue to prepare men's minds for it4 ,but perhaps what chiefly strikes us is the contrast which the fierce and arrogant contempt of the ,stoic presents to the loving hopefulness of the ,christian messenger of the gospel4 ,,note ,c4 ,see p4 #gd4 ,,the ,,jewish ,,doctrine ,,of ,,works ,,in ,,the ,,apocalypse ,,of ,,baruch4 ,mr4 ,r4 ,h4 ,charles gives us the following statement#a3-- ',the ,talmudic doctrine of works may be shortly summarized as follows3 ,every good work--whether the fulfilment of a command or an act of mercy--established a certain degree of merit with ,god1 while every evil work entailed a corresponding demerit4 ,a man's position with ,god depended on the relation existing between his merits and demerits1 and his salvation on the preponderance of the former over the latter4 ,the relation between his #beh merits and demerits was determined daily by the weighing of his deeds4 ,but as the results of such judgements were necessarily unknown1 there could not fail to be much uneasiness2 and1 to allay this1 the doctrine of the vicarious righteousness of the patriarchs and saints of ,israel was developed not later than the beginning of the ,christian era 7cf4 ,matt4 iii4 #i74 ,a man could thereby summon to his aid the merits of the fathers1 and so counterbalance his demerits4 ',it is obvious that such a system does not admit of forgiveness in any spiritual sense of the term4 ,it can only mean in such a connexion a remission of penalty to the offender1 on the ground that compensation is furnished1 either through his own merit or through that of the righteous fathers4 ,thus1 as ,weber vigorously puts it3 ,vergebung ohne ,bezahlung gibt es nicht4 ,thus1 according to popular ,pharisaism1 ,god never remitted a debt until ,he was paid in full1 and so long as it was paid it mattered not by whom4 ',it will be observed that with the ,pharisees forgiveness was an external thing2 it was concerned not with the man himself but with his works--with these indeed as affecting him1 but yet as existing independently without him4 ,this was not the view taken by the best thought in the ,old ,testament4 ,there forgiveness dealt first and chiefly with the direct relation between man's spirit and ,god2 it was essentially a restoration of man to communion with ,god4 ,when1 therefore1 ,christianity had to deal with these problems1 it could not accept the ,pharisaic solutions1 but had in some measure to return to the ,old ,testament to authenticate and develope the highest therein taught1 and in the person and life of ,christ to give it a world-wide power and comprehensiveness4' ,the doctrine called ,talmudic in the above extract receives remarkable illustration in a ,jewish work1 ,the #bei ,apocalypse of ,baruch1 which dates from the same period as the writings of the ,new ,testament 7,a4,d4 #ej-ajj2 or if the work be regarded as composite1 we should say that its component elements are of that date71 and represents to us in a very vivid and touching form the hopes and beliefs of a pious orthodox ,jew4 ,thus-- #a4 ,the doctrine of the merit of good works1 ii4 #b words spoken to ,jeremiah by ,god1 ',your works are to this city as a firm pillar4' xiv4 #e3 ',what have they profited who confessed before ,thee1 and have not walked in vanity as the rest of the nations 444 but always feared ,thee1 and have not left ,thy ways8 ,and1 lo1 they have been carried off1 nor on their account hast ,thou had mercy on ,zion4 ,and if others did evil1 it was due to ,zion that on account of the works of those who wrought good works she should be forgiven1 and should not be overwhelmed on account of the works of those who wrought unrighteousness4' lxiii4 #c3 ',hezekiah trusted in his works1 and had hope in his righteousness1 and spake with the ,mighty ,one 444 and the ,mighty ,one heard him4' lxxxv4 #a3 ',in the generations of old those our fathers had helpers1 righteous men and holy prophets 444 and they helped us when we sinned1 and they prayed for us to ,him who made us1 because they trusted in their works1 and the ,mighty ,one heard their prayer and was gracious unto us4' li4 #g3 ',but those who have been saved by their works1 and to whom the law has been now a hope1 and understanding an expectation1 and wisdom a confidence1 to them wonders will appear in their time4' ,it is very noticeable in the above quotations that it is the works of the righteous rather than their persons 7as in ,genesis xviii4 #bc-cc7 that are put forward as the grounds of confidence with ,god4 ,the claim of righteousness in the second quotation 7xiv4 #e7 may be paralleled in the somewhat earlier work called ,the ,assumption #bfj of ,moses#b3 ',observe and know that neither did our fathers nor their forefathers tempt ,god so as to transgress ,his commandments4' #b4 ,the doctrine of the treasury of merits4 ,the good works of the righteous are laid up as in a treasury to avail for themselves and for others4 ,thus 7xiv4 #ab73 ',the righteous justly hope for the end1 and without fear depart from this habitation1 because they have with ,thee a store of works preserved in treasuries4' xxiv4 #a3 ',behold the days come when the books will be opened in which are written the sins of all those that have sinned1 and again also the treasuries in which the righteousness of all those who have been righteous in creation is gathered4' ,the connexion of the mediaeval doctrine of the treasury of merits with the similar ,jewish doctrine needs to be traced out4 #c4 ,righteousness identified with the keeping of the law4 ,for the ,pharisaic ,jew righteousness meant simply the keeping of the law4 ,thus xv4 #e3 ',man would not have rightly understood ,my judgement if he had not accepted the law4' ,again1 lxvii4 #f3 ',so far as ,zion is delivered up and ,jerusalem laid waste 444 the vapour of the smoke of the incense of righteousness which is by the law is extinguished in ,zion4' ,thus the merits of ,abraham are attributed to his having kept the law before it was written4 lvii4 #b3 ',at that time the unwritten law was named among them1 and the works of the commandments were then fulfilled4' ,of course it must be said that 'the ,law' may mean the ceremonial law1 as in the lower form of ,jewish thought1 or special stress may be laid on its moral precepts1 as is the case in ,baruch1 and in the higher ,jewish teaching generally4 #bfa #d4 ,the ,gentiles are therefore incapable of righteousness4 lxii4 #g3 ',but regarding the ,gentiles it were tedious to tell how they always wrought impiety and wickedness1 and never wrought righteousness4' ,thus the best hope of the ,gentiles is that in the ,messianic kingdom they should become servants to ,israel4 ,this will be their lot if they have never vexed the holy people2 see lxxii4 #b-f4 #e4 ,the world created on account of ,israel1 xiv4 #ah3 ',thou didst say that ,thou wouldst make for ,thy world man as the administrator of ,thy works1 that it might be known that he was by no means made on account of the world but the world on account of him4 ,but man is at once interpreted as the ,jewish race4 ,and now ,i see that as for the world which was made on account of us1 lo6 it abides1 but we on account of whom it was made depart' i4e4 into captivity1 xv4 #g3 ',as regards what thou didst say touching the righteous1 that on account of them has this world come into being1 nay more1 even that world which is to come is on their account4' xxi4 #bc3 ',reprove therefore the angel of death 444 and let the treasuries of souls restore them that are enclosed in them1 for there have been many years like those that are desolate1 from the days of ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob1 and of all those who are like them1 who sleep in the earth1 on whose account ,thou didst say that ,thou hadst created the world4' 7,this idea of the treasury of the souls of the righteous recurs in xxx4 #b47 ,in ,the ,assumption of ,moses 7i4 #ab7 it is said1 ',god hath created the world on behalf of ,his people4 ,but ,he was not pleased to manifest this purpose of creation from the foundation of the world1 in order that the ,gentiles might thereby be convicted i4e4 of ignorance1 yea to their own humiliation might by their arguments convict one another4' ,the above teaching shows us exactly what it was to which ,st4 ,paul opposed his doctrine of ,justification by #bfb ,faith4 ,we see it here on its own ground4 ,its close association with 'boasting' is apparent even in its better form2 and its view of election contrasts1 by its selfish narrowness1 with the view of election put forward by ,st4 ,paul1 viz4 that ,god's election of a chosen people or society1 together with ,his apparent reprobation of others left outside1 both alike subserve a purpose of infinite width1 the ultimate divine purpose to 'have mercy upon all4' ,see ,romans ix-xi1 especially xi4 #cb1 and cf4 ,eph4 i4 #i-aj3 'the secret of ,his will with a view to the dispensation of the fulness of the times1 to bring together all things in the ,christ1 things in heaven and things in earth4' ,the marked contrast between the doctrine of ,baruch and the doctrine of ,st4 ,paul must of course be admitted in general2 but it has been asked whether the doctrine of the ,atonement is not a fragment of the abandoned ,jewish doctrine of merit1 borrowed inconsistently by ,st4 ,paul1 or inconsistently tolerated by him4 ,to this the reply is surely in the negative4 ,the ,jews undoubtedly held that ,enoch1 ,moses1 ,jeremiah1 and others were1 on account of their righteousness1 the accepted mediators with ,god on behalf of the chosen people1 and propitiators of ,his wrath 7see especially ,assumption of ,moses1 xi1 and passages from ,baruch cited above74 ,but the doctrine of the ,atonement1 when it is examined1 proves to have one feature which puts it into marked opposition with the ,judaic doctrine of human merit4 ,according to the ,christian doctrine of the ,atonement1 ,christ is purely and simply ,god's gift to man4 ,he is the ,son of ,god1 given to man by the ,father1 in order that1 taking our nature upon ,him1 living the perfect human life1 and dying the death of perfect obedience1 ,he might satisfy the divine requirement1 which we could not satisfy1 and procure for us what we could not procure for ourselves1 no1 not the best of us4 ,therefore this doctrine #bfc puts all men1 the best and worst alike1 in the common attitude of simply receiving from ,god1 as an unmerited boon1 the gift of forgiveness and reconciliation in ,christ4 ,it is in fact the strongest possible negation of the ,jewish idea of human merit1 personal or vicarious4 ,in other respects the doctrine of ,the ,apocalypse of ,baruch affords at once interesting contrasts and parallels to ,st4 ,paul's doctrine4 ,thus-- 7a7 ,in ,baruch as in ,st4 ,paul1 we have a combination of the doctrine of divine predestination with the insistence on human free will and responsibility4 lxix4 #d3 ',of the good works of the righteous which should be accomplished before ,him1 ,he foresaw six kinds' should be compared with ,eph4 ii4 #aj3 ',good works which ,god prepared beforehand that we should walk in them4' 7b7 ,the eschatology of the ,new ,testament1 including ,st4 ,paul's1 is of course especially ,jewish4 ,it does not however concern us much in the ,epistle to the ,ephesians2 but we notice that in ,the ,apocalypse of ,baruch the idea of 'the consummation of the times' 7cf4 ,eph4 i4 #aj1 'the fulness of the times'7 appears and reappears constantly4 ,see xiii4 #c2 xxi4 #h1 #ag2 xxx4 #c2 xlii4 #f2 liv4 #ba2 lvi4 #b2 lix4 #d2 lxix4 #d1 #e2 cf4 ,the ,assumption of ,moses1 i4 #ah3 ',the consummation of the end of the days4' 7c7 ,the connexion of ,st4 ,paul's doctrine with the ,jewish doctrine is also illustrated in ,the ,apocalypse of ,baruch on the following points4 ,that the ,gentiles had the opportunity of the knowledge of ,god through ,his works in nature1 but refused it4 ,see ,baruch1 liv4 #ah1 and cf4 ,romans1 i4 #bj3 ,the pre-existence of the ,messiah4 ,this is suggested but not very clearly stated in xxx4 #a1 cf4 ,charles's note and ,the ,assumption of ,moses1 i4 #ad1 where the pre-existence of ,moses seems to be asserted4 ,again1 the ,fall of ,adam and its effect in introducing death 7or premature death7 into the world4 ,see xxiii4 #d2 xlviii4 #db2 liv4 #ae2 lvi4 #f1 and #bfd ,charles's notes4 ,once more ,the ,resurrection of the ,body4 ,see ,baruch1 l2 li4 ,on all these points we see what was the material in existing ,jewish thought or1 in other words1 what were the existing developements of ,old ,testament belief1 which the ,christian inspiration had to work upon4 ,the effect of the specifically ,christian inspiration is chiefly seen 7#a7 in selection among existing beliefs--taking some and utterly rejecting others2 7#b7 in giving a definite and fixed form to current ,messianic and other ideas which were continually shifting and incoherent2 and 7#c7 in spiritualizing and moralizing what it appropriated4 ,of course it is in the ,revelation or ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,john that we have the most signal instance of the ,new ,testament use of contemporary ,jewish material4 ,but such material holds a very large place in the whole of the ,new ,testament1 and there is no more important assistance to the study of the ,new ,testament than is afforded by contemporary ,jewish literature1 especially that of an ,apocalyptic character4 #a ,the ,apoc4 of ,baruch 7,a4 and ,c4 ,black1 #ahif71 p4 lxxxii4 ,the statement is compiled from ,weber1 ,lehre des ,talmuds4 #b ,edited also by ,r4 ,h4 ,charles 7,a4 and ,c4 ,black1 #ahig71 p4 #cg4 ,,note ,d4 ,see p4 #abj4 ,,the ,,brotherhood ,,of ,,st4 ,,andrew ,after the above passage was written1 as to the need amongst us of a deeper idea of the obligations of church membership1 it fell to my lot to go to the ,united ,states1 to make acquaintance with the work of the ,brotherhood of ,st4 ,andrew in that country1 and to assist at its general convention in ,buffalo4 ,it seemed to me that nothing could be better calculated to revive the true spirit of laymanship than that society1 'formed in recognition of #bfe the fact that every ,christian man is pledged to devote his life to the spread of the kingdom of ,christ on earth4' ,it was started among a small band of young men1 of the number of the apostles1 nearly fifteen years ago1 in ,st4 ,james's parish1 ,chicago1 and has spread till to-day it numbers more than #a1bjj parochial chapters in the ,united ,states alone1 and has taken firm root in ,canada and other parts of the world4 ,it has a double rule of ,prayer and of ,service4 ,the point of the service required is that it should have the character especially of witness among a man's equals4 ,so much 'church work' is directed towards raising those who are in some ways our inferiors1 that we forget that the real test of a man is the witness he bears for ,christ among his equals4 ,there is many a man who1 especially in his youth1 fails to confess ,christ in his own society1 and then1 if ,i may so express it1 sneaks round the corner to do something to raise the degraded or takes orders and preaches the gospel4 ,nobody can possibly disparage these efforts of love1 but a certain character of cowardice continues to attach to them1 if they are not based on a frank witness for ,christ in a man's own walk of life1 where it is hardest4 ,it is this witness which the ,brotherhood requires4 ,the particular rule is 'to make an earnest effort each week to bring some one young man within hearing of the ,gospel of ,christ as set forth in the services of the ,church and in men's ,bible classes4' ,this rule is no doubt open to criticism4 ,but it is interpreted in the spirit rather than in the letter1 and for its definite requirement it is successfully pleaded that it keeps the members from vagueness and slackness4 ,certainly the result appears to be excellent4 ,the brethren are pervaded by a spirit of frank religious profession and devotion4 ,there appears to be a general #bff tone among them of reality and good sense4 ,their missionary zeal does not degenerate into an intrusive prying into other men's souls4 ,the ,brotherhood was developed in the atmosphere of the ,united ,states1 and it remains a question whether it will flourish in ,england4 ,the more sharply defined distinctions of classes among us2 our exaggerated parochialism2 the shyness and reserve in religious matters which characterizes many really religious ,englishmen and degenerates into a sort of 'hypocrisy reversed1' or pretence of being less religious than one is--these things will constitute grave obstacles4 ,but the need is at least as crying among us1 as on the other side of the ,atlantic1 to emphasize among professing ,christians and churchmen the duty of witness4 ,at least we may trust the ,brotherhood will be given a good trial4 ,but if it is to have a fair chance among us1 the greatest care must be taken that it should develope as a properly lay movement2 and while it receives all encouragement from the clergy1 should not be taken up by them to be turned into a guild of 'church workers1' useful for purposes of parochial organization4 ,one of the most striking facts about the ,brotherhood in the ,states is that1 while the church spirit is unmistakable--as no one who was present at the corporate ,communion of #a1cjj delegates in ,october of this year at half-past six in the morning in a great church at ,buffalo could possibly doubt--it has successfully avoided becoming either a party society or a society rent by factions4 ,it is because ,i believe the witness of this ,brotherhood to the true church spirit has already proved invaluable that ,i venture to dedicate this little exposition of the great book of brotherhood--though without leave granted or asked--to its founder and president4 #bfg ,,note ,e4 ,see pp4 #afd1 #aff4 ,,the ,,conception ,,of ,,the ,,church 7,,catholic7 ,,in ,,st4 ,,paul ,,in ,,its ,,relation ,,to ,,local ,,churches4 ,by far the most frequent use of the word 'church' or 'churches' in the ,new ,testament is to designate a local society of ,christians or a number of such societies taken together1 'the church at ,jerusalem1' 'the church at ,antioch1' 'the churches of ,galatia1' 'the seven churches which are in ,asia1' 'all the churches4' ,but it is used also for the church as a whole4 ,in fact1 before ,christ's coming the word in the ,greek of the ,old ,testament had passed from meaning an assembly of the people1 as in classical ,greek1 to meaning the sacred people as a whole#a1 as ,st4 ,stephen uses it in his speech ',the church in the wilderness' 7,acts vii4 #ch74 ,and it is exactly in this sense that it is used by our ,lord in ,st4 ,matthew1 xvi4 #ah4 ',the church' which our ,lord there promises to 'build' is the ,church of the ,new ,covenant as a whole4 ,we might paraphrase ,his words 7as ,dr4 ,hort suggests#b7 'on this rock ,i will build my ,israel4' ,thus there is throughout the ,acts and ,st4 ,paul's earlier epistles1 a tendency to pass from the use of 'church' as a local society to its use as designating the whole body of the faithful4 ,this was but natural seeing that each local society did but represent the one divine society1 the church of the ,old ,covenant1 refounded by ,christ4 ,see ,acts ix4 #ca3 ',the church throughout all ,judaea and ,galilee and ,samaria4' #bfh xii4 #a3 ',herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church4' xx4 #bh3 ',the church of ,god which he purchased with his own blood4' ,gal4 i4 #ac3 ',i persecuted the church of ,god4' #a ,cor4 xii4 #bh3 ',god hath set some in the church1 first apostles1' c4 ,in this last passage and in ,st4 ,paul's speech to the ,ephesian elders this general use of the term is unmistakable4 ,in the ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 in which alone among his epistles ,st4 ,paul is writing not about the difficulties or needs of a particular congregation1 but about the church in its general conception1 this larger use of the term becomes dominant4 ,and the point to be noticed is that the church in general1 or catholic church1 is conceived of1 not as made up of local churches1 but as made up of individual members4 ,the local church would be regarded by ,st4 ,paul not as one element of a catholic confederacy#c1 but as the local representative of the one divine and catholic society#d4 ,but the local church is not1 according to ,st4 ,paul1 a completely independent representative of the church as a whole4 ,the apostles1 as commissioned witnesses and representatives of ,christ1 are over all the churches4 ,they1 or their recognized associates and delegates1 like ,barnabas1 ,timothy and ,titus1 represent the general church which every local church must1 so to speak1 reproduce4 ,the apostles therefore1 or their representatives1 give to each church when it is first founded 'the tradition' of truth and morals which is permanently to mould it2 and they maintain the tradition by a more or less constant supervision4 ,thus they are #bfi the force which holds all 'the churches' together on a common basis4 ',so ordain ,i1' says ,st4 ,paul1 'in all the churches#e4' ',hold fast the traditions even as ,i delivered them to you#f4' ,the apostle has1 he teaches1 an 'authority' commensurate with his 'stewardship#g1' an authority 'which the ,lord gave for the edification and not the destruction#h' of the ,christians1 but which at times must take the form of a 'rod' of chastisement#i4 ,the complete doctrinal and moral independence of particular ,churches is strongly denied by ,st4 ,paul in such phrases as ',came the word of ,god unto you alone8' or1 ',if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received1 let him be anathema#aj4' ,dr4 ,hort's work on ,the ,christian ,ecclesia1 in many respects1 as would be expected1 most admirable1 seems to me to minimize quite extraordinarily the apostolic authority4 ,the apostles1 he says1 were only witnesses of ,christ4 ',there is no trace in ,scripture of a formal commission of authority for government from ,christ ,himself4' ,this surprising conclusion is reached by omitting many considerations4 ,thus in ,st4 ,matthew xvi4 #ai a definite grant of official authority--as appears in the passage1 ,is4 xxii4 #bb1 on which it is based--is promised to ,st4 ,peter1 and he is on this occasion1 as ,dr4 ,hort himself maintains1 the representative of the apostles generally4 ,this stewardship granted to the apostles1 to shepherd the flock and feed the household of ,god1 is implied again in ,st4 ,luke xii4 #db1 ,st4 ,john xxi4 #ae-ag2 and it seems to be quite unreasonable to dissociate the authoritative commission to 'absolve and retain1' ,st4 ,john xx4 #bj-bc1 from the apostolic office4 ,dr4 ,hort would apparently #bgj dissociate such passages as those last referred to from the apostolic office1 and assign them to the church as a whole4 ,but how then does he account for the authority inherent in the apostolic office1 as it is represented by ,st4 ,paul1 and in the ,acts8 ,st4 ,paul's conception of the authority of the apostles is barely considered by him2 and the authority of the apostolate in the ,acts is strangely minimized4 ,nothing is said of ,simon's impression--surely a true one--that the apostles had the 'authority' to convey the gift of the ,holy ,ghost by the laying on of hands 7viii4 #ai74 ,certainly the phrases used toward the churches of ,antioch1 ,syria1 and ,cilicia1 'to whom we gave no commandment1' 'it seemed good to the ,holy ,ghost and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things1' imply a governmental authority1 which1 if it is shared by the presbyters1 is substantially that of the apostles 7,acts xv4 #bd-bh74 ,dr4 ,hort also minimizes greatly the element of official authority which appears almost at once in the church by apostolic appointment and delegation4 ,no doubt there was at first an authority allowed--as must always be allowed--to the acknowledged possessors of extraordinary divine gifts1 especially to the 'prophets4' ,but in the period of ,st4 ,paul's later activity1 when he is facing the future of the church and has apparently ceased to expect an immediate return of ,christ1 these special gifts retire into the background1 while the ordinary functions of government1 and administration of the word and sacraments1 remain in the position which they are permanently to occupy in the hands of regularly ordained officers4 ,dr4 ,hort deals1 as it seems to me1 most unreasonably with the pastoral epistles4 ,it is surely arbitrary to dissociate 'the gift which was in ,timothy by the laying on of ,st4 ,paul's hands1' the gift of power1 and love1 and discipline2 which ,timothy is to 'stir up' 7#b ,tim4 i4 #f71 from #bga that mentioned in the first epistle 7iv4 #ad71 'the gift that is in thee1 which was given thee by prophecy1 with the laying on of the hands of the presbyters'2 and to make the former a 'gift' of merely personal piety4 ,and 7even if the 'lay hands suddenly on no man' be interpreted1 as ,ellicott and ,hort would interpret it1 of the reception of a penitent7 it seems absurd to doubt1 in view of what is said about the laying on of hands in ordination of 'the seven' and of the 'evangelist' ,timothy1 and in view of the place it held generally for conveying spiritual gifts in the ,christian ,church1 that this was the accepted method of ordination in all cases2 there being in fact no evidence to the contrary4 ,once more1 ,dr4 ,hort is surely maintaining an impossible position when1 even in face of the salutation to the ,philippians1 he denies that the term 'episcopus' is used in the ,new ,testament as a regular title of an ecclesiastical office4 ,not even ,dr4 ,hort's reputation for soundness of judgement could stand against many posthumous publications such as ,the ,christian ,ecclesia4 #a ,not1 as ,dr4 ,hort points out 7,christian ,ecclesia1 p4 #e71 'the elect 7called-out7 people4' ,the word has in fact no such association attached to it4 #b pp4 #aj1 #aa4 #c ,unless indeed1 in ,eph4 iii4 #ba1 we should understand 'every building' as meaning every local church which1 fitted together with every other1 grows into a holy temple1 i4e4 into that which only a really catholic church can be4 #d ,the same statement would be true of ,st4 ,ignatius of ,antioch4 #e #a ,cor4 vii4 #ag4 #f #a ,cor4 xi4 #b1 xv4 #b4 #g #a ,cor4 ix4 #ag4 #h #b ,cor4 x4 #h4 #i #a ,cor4 iv1 #ba4 #aj #a ,cor4 xiv4 #cf2 ,gal4 i4 #h4 ,,note ,f4 ,see p4 #ahh4 ,,the ,,ethics ,,of ,,catholicism4 ,the world at large is fully aware of the claim of ',catholicism1' i4e4 the claim of the one visible church for all sorts of men4 ,but the ethical meaning of the claim has been strangely subordinated to its theological and sacerdotal aspects4 ,its ethical meaning seems to me to require developing under heads such as these3-- #a4 ,the requirement of mutual forbearance if men of all races and classes and idiosyncrasies are to be bound #bgb to belong to one organization and to worship in common1 'breaking the one bread4' ,herein lies the moral discipline of ,catholicism3 see above1 pp4 #abc foll4 #b4 ,the consequent obligation of toleration in theology1 ritual1 c41 on all matters which do not touch the actual basis of the ,christian faith4 ,st4 ,cyprian1 though he believed that those baptized outside the church were not baptized at all1 yet deliberately remained in communion with those bishops who thought differently1 trusting to the mercy of ,god to supply the supposed deficiency in those who1 outside his jurisdiction1 were admitted into the church1 as he believed1 without baptism4 ,and ,st4 ,augustine1 who1 most of ancient writers1 understands the moral meaning of ,catholicism1 repeatedly holds up this toleration of ,cyprian as an example to the ,donatist separatists of his own day3 ',if you seek advice from the blessed ,cyprian1 hear how much he anticipates from the mere advantage of unity3 so much so that he did not separate himself from those who held different opinions3 and1 though he thought that those who are baptized outside the communion of the church do not receive baptism at all1 yet he believed that those who had thus been simply admitted into the church could on no other ground than the bond of unity come under the divine pardon4' ,then he quotes ,cyprian's words3 ',but some one will say3 what will happen to those who in the past1 when coming from heresy to the church1 have been admitted without baptism8 7,i reply73 ,god is powerful to grant them forgiveness by ,his mercy1 and not to separate from the gifts of ,his church those who1 after being thus simply admitted into her1 have fallen asleep4' ,and again3 'judging no man and separating no man from the rights of communion because he thinks differently4' ,and ,st4 ,augustine continues3 ',all these catholic #bgc unity embraces in her motherly bosom1 bearing one another's burdens in turn and endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace1 until1 in whatever respect they disagreed1 the ,lord should reveal 7the truth7 to one or the other of them#a4' ,not to ,st4 ,paul then1 only1 but to ,st4 ,cyprian and ,st4 ,augustine1 doctrinal toleration is an essential of ,catholicism4 ,would to ,god the claim of the one church had not come to be associated so generally with the opposite tendency6 ,see above1 pp4 #aeh f4 #c4 ,catholicism1 as meaning a church of all races and sorts of people1 postulates a constant missionary enthusiasm in all the members of the church till this ideal be realized4 ',to do the work of an evangelist1' to have the 'feet shod with the preparation of the ,gospel of peace1' to be content to leave nothing but evil outside the church--that is to be a real catholic4 #d4 ,to ,st4 ,paul's mind the ,catholicism of the church is to lead the way to an even wider 'reconciliation4' ,through the catholic union of men in the church the whole universe is to come back into unity4 ,the kingdom of ,god is to be something wider than the church which exists to prepare for it4 ,this principle once recognized secures that the church shall feel and exhibit a constant interest in all departments of knowledge and progress4 ,the universe is one1 and redemption is for the whole4 #e4 ,catholicism is the antithesis of esotericism4 ,all--men and women1 slave or free1 ,greek or ,scythian--are capable of full initiation into ,christianity4 ,all--not apostles and presbyter-bishops and deacons only--but all ,christians make up the high priestly body and have on their foreheads the anointing oil3 see above1 pp4 #aaa ff4 ,forbearance between divergent classes and races and individuals--doctrinal toleration--missionary #bgd enthusiasm--universal sympathy--recognition of a universal priesthood of ,christianity--these constitute the moral content of ,pauline ,catholicism4 #a ,s4 ,aug4 de ,baptismo1 ii4 xiii4 #ah1 xiv4 #bj4 ,,note ,g4 ,see p4 #aij4 ,,the ,,lambeth ,,conference ,,and ,,industrial ,,problems4 ,the ',report of the ,committee of the ,lambeth ,conference appointed to consider and report upon the office of the ,church with respect to industrial problems--7a7 the unemployed2 7b7 industrial co-operation1' is so much to the point as a statement of ,christian social duty that ,i venture to reproduce the first part of it here4 ',the ,committee desire to begin their ,report with words of thankful recognition that throughout the ,church of ,christ1 and not least in the ,churches of our own ,communion1 there has been a marked increase of solicitude about the problems of industrial and social life1 and of sympathy with the struggles1 sufferings1 responsibilities1 and anxieties1 which those problems involve4 ',they hope that they rightly discern in this some increasing reflection in modern shape of the likeness of the ,lord1 in whose blessed life zeal for the souls1 and sympathy for the bodily needs of men were undivided fruits of a single love4 ',the ,committee1 before proceeding to touch upon two specific parts of the subject1 desire to record briefly what they deem to be certain principles of ,christian duty in such matters4 ',the primary duty of the ,church1 as such1 and1 within her1 of the ,clergy1 is that of ministry to men in the things of character1 conscience1 and faith4 ,in doing this1 she also does her greatest social duty4 ,character in the #bge citizen is the first social need2 character1 with its securities in a candid1 enlightened1 and vigorous conscience1 and a strong faith in goodness and in ,god4 ,the ,church owes this duty to all classes alike4 ,nothing must be allowed to distract her from it1 or needlessly to impede or prejudice her in its discharge2 and this requires of the ,clergy1 as spiritual officers1 the exercise of great discretion in any attempt to bring within their sphere work of a more distinctively social kind4 ',but while this cannot be too strongly said1 it is not the whole truth4 ,character is influenced at every point by social conditions2 and active conscience1 in an industrial society1 will look for moral guidance on industrial matters4 ',economic science does not claim to give this1 its task being to inform but not to determine the conscience and judgement4 ,but we believe that ,christ our ,master does give such guidance by ,his example and teachings1 and by the present workings of ,his ,spirit2 and therefore under ,him ,christian authority must in a measure do the same1 the authority1 that is1 of the whole ,christian body1 and of an enlightened ,christian opinion4 ,this is part of the duty of the ,christian ,society1 as witnessing for ,christ and representing ,him in this present world1 occupied with ,his work of setting up the ,kingdom of ,god1 under and amidst the natural conditions of human life4 ,in this work the clergy1 whose special duty it is to ponder the bearings of ,christian principles1 have their part2 but the ,christian laity1 who deal directly with the social and economic facts1 can do even more4 ',the ,committee believe that it would be wholly wrong for ,christian authority to attempt to interfere with the legitimate evolution of economic and social thought and life by taking a side corporately in the debates between rival social theories or systems4 ,it will not 7for example71 #bgf at the present day1 attempt to identify ,christian duty with the acceptance of systems based respectively on collective or individual ownership of the means of production4 ',but they submit that ,christian social duty will operate in two directions3-- '#a4 ,the recognition1 inculcation1 and application of certain ,christian principles4 ,they offer the following as examples3-- 7a7 ,the principle of ,brotherhood4 ,this principle of ,brotherhood1 or ,fellowship in ,christ1 proclaiming1 as it does1 that men are members one of another1 should act in all the relations of life as a constant counterpoise to the instinct of competition4 7b7 ,the principle of ,labour4 ,that every man is bound to service--the service of ,god and man4 ,labour and service are to be here understood in their widest and most inclusive sense2 but in some sense they are obligatory on all4 ,the wilfully idle man1 and the man who lives only for himself1 are out of place in a ,christian community4 ,work1 accordingly1 is not to be looked upon as an irksome necessity for some1 but as the honourable task and privilege of all4 7c7 ,the principle of ,justice4 ,god is no respecter of persons4 ,inequalities1 indeed1 of every kind are inwoven with the whole providential order of human life1 and are recognized emphatically in our ,lord's words4 ,but the social order cannot ignore the interests of any of its parts1 and must1 moreover1 be tested by the degree in which it secures for each freedom for happy1 useful1 and untrammelled life1 and distributes1 as widely and equitably as may be1 social advantages and opportunities4 7d7 ,the principle of ,public ,responsibility4 ,a ,christian community1 as a whole1 is morally responsible for #bgg the character of its own economic and social order1 and for deciding to what extent matters affecting that order are to be left to individual initiative1 and to the unregulated play of economic forces4 ,factory and sanitary legislation1 the institution of ,government labour departments and the influence of ,government1 or of public opinion and the press1 or of eminent citizens1 in helping to avoid or reconcile industrial conflicts1 are instances in point4 '#b4 ,christian opinion should be awake to repudiate and condemn either open breaches of social justice and duty1 or maxims and principles of an un-,christian character4 ,it ought to condemn the belief that economic conditions are to be left to the action of material causes and mechanical laws1 uncontrolled by any moral responsibility4 ,it can pronounce certain conditions of labour to be intolerable4 ,it can insist that the employer's personal responsibility1 as such1 is not lost by his membership in a commercial or industrial ,company4 ,it can press upon retail purchasers the obligation to consider not only the cheapness of the goods supplied to them1 but also the probable conditions of their production4 ,it can speak plainly of evils which attach to the economic system under which we live1 such as certain forms of luxurious extravagance1 the widespread pursuit of money by financial gambling1 the dishonesties of trade into which men are driven by feverish competition1 and the violences and reprisals of industrial warfare4 ',it is plain that in these matters disapproval must take every different shade1 from plain condemnation of undoubted wrong to tentative opinions about better and worse4 ,accordingly any organic action of the ,church1 or any action of the ,church's officers1 as such1 should be very carefully restricted to cases where the rule of right is practically clear1 and much the larger part of the matter #bgh should be left to the free and flexible agency of the awakened ,christian conscience of the community at large1 and of its individual members4 ',if the ,christian conscience be thus awakened and active1 it will secure the best administration of particular systems1 while they exist1 and the modification or change of them1 when this is required by the progress of knowledge1 thought1 and life4 ',it appears to follow from what precedes that the great need of the ,church1 in this connexion1 is the growth and extension of a serious1 intelligent1 and sympathetic opinion on these subjects1 to which numberless ,christians have as yet never thought of applying ,christian principles4 ,there has been of late no little improvement in this respect1 but much remains to be done1 and with this view the ,committee desire to make the following definite recommendation4 ',they suggest that1 wherever possible1 there should be formed1 as a part of local ,church organization1 ,committees consisting chiefly of laymen1 whose work should be to study social and industrial problems from the ,christian point of view1 and to assist in creating and strengthening an enlightened public opinion in regard to such problems1 and promoting a more active spirit of social service1 as a part of ,christian duty4 ',such ,committees1 or bodies of ,church workers in the way of social service1 while representing no one class of society1 and abstaining from taking sides in any disputes between classes1 should fearlessly draw attention to the various causes in our economic1 industrial1 and social system1 which call for remedial measures on ,christian principles4' ,abundant illustration of the kind of matters with which such ,committees might deal will be found in the report4 ,,oxford3 ,,horace ,,hart ,,printer ,,to ,,the ,,university