EPHESIANS

597

PARAPHRASE.

t* T Therefore, who am in bonds, upon account ofthe Gospel, beseech you to walk worthy of the

2. calling, wherewith ye are called, With lowliness andmeekness, with long-suffering, bearing with oneano-

3. ther in love ; Taking care to preserve the unity of

4. the spirit, in the bond of peace; Considering your-selves as being one body, enlivened and acted by one

5. spirit, as also was your calling, in one hope: There

6. is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God andfather of yon all, who is above all, in 1 the midst

7. amongst you all, and in every one of you. And toevery one of us is made a free donation, according tothat proportion of gifts, which Christ has allotted to

8. every one. Wherefore the Psalmist faith, “ * When" he ascended up on high, he led captivity capti.ve,

9. " and gave gifts unto men.” (Now that he ascend-ed, what is it, but that he descended first, into the

10. lower parts of the earth? He, that descended* isthe fame,also, that ascended above all heavens, thatthere, receiving the fulness of power, he might be

3x. able to fill all his members\) And therefore, healone, framing the constitution of his new govern-ment, by his own power, and according to such amodel, and such rules as he'thought'best, makingsome. apostles, others evangelists, and others pastors

TEXT.

An. Ch. 63

NER.0NIS9.

e—--

I Therefore, the prisoner of Chap. IV.

the Lord, beseech you, that 1ye walk worthy of the vocation,wherewith ye are called,

With all lowliness and meek- 2ness, with long-suffering, for-bearing one another in love ;

Endeavouring to keep the 3unity of the spirit, in the bond ofpeace.

There is one body, and one 4spirit, even as ye are called in onehope of your calling ;

One Lord, one faith, one bap- 5tifm.

One God and father of all, 6who is above all, and throughall, and in you all.

But unto every one of us is 7given grace, according to themeasure of the gift of Christ.

Wherefore he faith, when he 8ascended up on high, he led cap-tivity captive, and gave gifts untomen.

(Now that he ascended, what 9is it, but that he also descendedfirst, into the lower parts of theearth ?

He that descended, is the 10 .>fame also, that ascended up, farabove all heavens, that he mightfill all things.)

And he gave some, apostles : it;and some, prophets: and someevangelists : and some, pastors. ,and teachers;

NOTE 8.

S a Pfal. lxviii. 18. »

9, 10 b St. Paul’s argumentation, in these two verses, is skilfully adapted to the main design of~hisepistle. The convert Gentiles were attacked by the unconverted Jews, who were declared enemiesto the thoughts of a Messiah that died St. Paul, to enervate that objection of theirs, proves by thepassage out of the Psalms, ver. 8,'that he must die and be buried. Besides the unbelieving Jews, seve-ral of them, that were converted to the Gospel, or at least professed to be so, attacked the .Gentileconverts, on another side, persuading them, that they could not be admitted to be the people ofGod, into the kingdom os the Messiah, nor receive any advantage by him, unless they werecircumcised, and put themselves wholly under the Jewish constitution. He had said a great deal, inthe three first chapters, to free them from this perplexity^ .but yet takes occasion here to offerthem a new argument, by telling them, that Christ, the fame Jesus that died, and was laid inhis grave, was exalted to the right hand of God, above all the.heavens, in. the. highest state ofdignity and power, that he himself, being filled with the fulness of God, believers, who wereall his members, might receive immediately from him, their head, a fulness of gifts and graces,upon no other terms, but barely as they were his members. .