Chap. 3:8–11. Unto Me, Who Am Less Than The Least Of All Saints, Is This Grace Given, That I Should Preach Among The Gen
HOMILY VII
CHAP. 3:8–11. UNTO ME, WHO AM LESS THAN THE LEAST OF ALL SAINTS, IS THIS GRACE GIVEN, THAT I SHOULD PREACH AMONG THE GENTILES THE UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST; AND TO MAKE ALL MEN SEE WHAT IS THE DISPENSATION OF THE MYSTERY, WHICH FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD HATH BEEN HID IN GOD, WHO CREATED ALL THINGS BY JESUS CHRIST: TO THE INTENT THAT NOW UNTO THE PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS IN HEAVENLY PLACES MIGHT BE KNOWN BY THE CHURCH THE MANIFOLD WISDOM OF GOD, ACCORDING TO THE ETERNAL PURPOSE, WHICH HE PURPOSED IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.
They who go to the physician’s have not merely to go here, and nothing further; they have to learn how to treat themselves, and to apply remedies. And so with us then who come here, we must not do this and nothing else, we must learn our lesson, the surpassing lowliness of Paul. What? when he was about to speak of the vastness of the grace of God, hear what he saith, To me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given. Lowliness indeed it was even to bewail his former sins, although blotted out, and to make mention of them, and to humble himself, as where he calls himself a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; yet was that nothing like this: for formerly, saith he, such was I; and again he calls himself, one born out of due time. But that after so many great and good deeds he should thus humble himself, and call himself less than the least of all, this is indeed great and surpassing humility. To one who am less than the least of all saints; he saith not, “than the Apostles.” So that that expression is less strong than this before us. There his words are, I am not fit to be called an Apostle. Here he says that he is even less than the least of all saints; to me, saith he, who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given. What grace? That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God. True, to man it was not revealed; but art thou enlightening Angels and Archangels and Principalities and Powers? I am, saith he. For it was hid in God, even in God who created all things by Jesus Christ. And dost thou venture to utter this? I do, saith he. But whence hath this been made manifest to the Angels? By the Church. Again he saith, not merely “the varied” wisdom, but the manifold, that is, “the multiplied and varied.” What then is this? Did not Angels know it? No, nothing of it; for if Principalities knew it not, much less could Angels ever have known it. What then? Did not even Archangels know it? No, nor even they. But whence were they even likely to know it? Who was to reveal it? When we were taught it, then were they also by us. For hear what the Angel saith to Joseph; Thou shalt call His Name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
Paul himself was sent to the Gentiles, the other Apostles to the Circumcision. So that the more marvellous and astonishing commission was given, saith he, to me, who am less than the least. And this too was of grace, that the least should have the greatest things entrusted to him; that he should be made the herald of these glad tidings. For he that is made a herald of the greater glad tidings, is in this respect great.
That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
If His riches are unsearchable, and that too after His appearing, much more is His essence. If it is still a mystery, much more was it before it was made known; for a mystery he calls it on this account, because neither did the Angels know it, nor was it manifest to any one else.
And to make all men see, saith he, what is the dispensation of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.
Angels knew only this, that The Lord’s portion was His people. And again it is said, The Prince of Persia withstood me. So that it is nothing to be wondered at that they were ignorant of this; for if they were ignorant of the circumstances of the return from the Captivity, much more would they be of these things. And the more so, for the glad tidings were these, Who shall save, it saith, His people Israel. Not a word about the Gentiles. But what concerns the Gentiles the Spirit revealeth. That they were called indeed, the Angels knew, but that it was to the same privileges as Israel, yea even to sit upon the throne of God, this, who would ever have expected? who would ever have believed?
Which hath been hid, saith he, in God.
This dispensation, however, he more clearly unfolds in the Epistle to the Romans. In God, he continues, who created all things by Jesus Christ. And he does well to mention the creation, adding, by Jesus Christ; forasmuch as He who created all things by Him, revealeth also this by Him; for He hath made nothing without Him: for without Him, it is said, was not any thing made.
In speaking of principalities and powers, he speaks both of those above and those beneath.
According to the eternal purpose. It hath been now, he means, brought to pass, but not now decreed, it had been planned beforehand from the very first. According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. That is, according to the eternal foreknowledge; he means, having foreknown the things to come, the ages to come: for He knew what was to be, and thus decreed it according to an eternal purpose, or predisposition of all ages, of all worlds: of those, perhaps, which He hath made by Christ Jesus, because too it was by Christ that every thing was made.
Ver. 12. In whom we hare, saith he, boldness, and access with confidence by the faith of Him.
Have access, not as prisoners, he says, nor yet as persons candidates for pardon, nor be as sinners; for, saith he, we have even boldness with confidence, that is, accompanied with cheerful trust; arising from what source? by the faith of Him.
Ver. 13. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
How is it for them? How is it their glory? It is because God so loved them, as to give even the Son for them, and to afflict His servants: for it was in order that they might attain so many blessings, that Paul was in prison. Surely this was from God’s exceeding love towards them: it is what God also saith concerning the Prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth. But how was it that they fainted, when another was afflicted? He means, they were troubled, were distressed. This also he says when writing to the Thessalonians, that no man should be moved by these afflictions. For not only ought we not to grieve, but we ought even to rejoice. If ye find consolation in the forewarning, we tell you beforehand that here we shall have tribulation.
Ver. 14, 15. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.
He here shews the spirit of his prayer for them. He does not say simply, “I pray,” but manifests the supplication to be heartfelt, by the bowing of the knees.
Of whom the whole family.
That is, no longer, he means, reckoned, according to the number of Angels, but according to Him who hath created the tribes both in heaven above and in earth beneath not as the Jewish.
Ver. 16, 17. That He would grant unto you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.
Mark with what insatiable earnestness he invokes these blessings upon them, that they may not be tossed about. But how shall this be effected? By the Holy Spirit in your inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. How again shall this be? by being
Ver. 18, 19. Rooted and grounded in love, that thus ye may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.
Thus is his prayer now again, the very same as it was when he began. For what were his words in the beginning? That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints; and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe. And now again he uses the same expression. That ye may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; i.e. to know perfectly the mystery which hath been providentially ordered in our behalf: (for this is what he calls the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;) that is, to know the immensity of the love of God, and how it extends every where. And he exemplifies it by the visible dimensions of solid bodies, pointing as it were to a man. He comprehends it, as it were, within an upper and under and sides. I have thus spoken indeed, he would say, yet is it not for any words of mine to teach you these things; that must be the work of the Holy Spirit. By His might, saith he, is it that ye must be strengthened against the trials that await you, and remain unshaken; so that there is no other way to be strengthened, but by the Holy Ghost, and by trials.
But how doth Christ dwell in the hearts? Hear what Christ Himself saith, I and my Father will come unto him, and make our abode with him. Yet dwelleth He not in all indifferently, but only in those hearts that are faithful, in those that are rooted in His love, those that remain firm and unshaken.
That ye may be thoroughly able, saith he; so that there is great strength needed: and to shew us where we require it, he adds, to understand with all saints what is the depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.
That we may he filled with all the fulness of God.
What he means is this. Although the love of Christ lies above the reach of all human knowledge, yet shall ye know it, if ye shall have Christ dwelling in you, yea, not only shall know from Him this, but shall even be filled with all the fulness of God; meaning by the fulness of God, either the knowledge that God is worshipped in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, or else urging them thus to use every effort, in order to be filled with all virtue, of which God is the fountain-head.
Ver. 20. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
Well doth he say, according to the power: for a work of power it is to grasp things which we never so much as hoped for. And that God hath done abundantly above all that we ask or think, is evident from what the Apostle himself hath written. For I indeed, saith he, pray, but He of Himself, even without any prayer of mine, will do works greater than all we ask, not simply greater, nor abundantly greater, but exceeding abundantly, thus vividly representing the vastness of the gift. And whence is this evident? from the power, saith he, that worketh in us: for neither did we ever ask these things, nor did we expect them.
Ver. 21. Unto Him be glory, he concludes, in the Church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Well does he close the discourse with prayer and doxology; for right were it that He, who hath bestowed upon us such vast gifts, should be glorified and blessed, so that this is even a proper part of our amazement at His mercies, to give glory for the things advanced to us at God’s hands through Jesus Christ.
His glory is in the Church. Well might he say this, forasmuch as that Church alone can last on to eternity; and since she standeth fast from age to age, therefore He willeth also to be glorified by us even until the end, for this he declares by saying, throughout all ages, world without end.
It seems necessary to state what are meant by families. Here on earth, indeed, families are the races sprung from one parent stock; but in heaven how can this be, where none is born of another? Surely then, by families, he means the assemblies and orders of heavenly beings; as also we find it written in Scripture, the family of Amattari: the system, moreover, from whence earthly fathers have their name.
However, he does not ask the whole of God, and nothing of them, but demands of them also faith and love, and not simply love, but love rooted and grounded, so that neither any blasts can shake it, nor any thing else overturn it. He had said, that tribulations are glory, and if mine are so to you, he would say, much more will your own be: so that to be afflicted is no token of men forsaken, for He who hath wrought so great things for us, never would do this.
Again, if in order to understand the love of God, Paul required prayer, and there was need of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who by following mere reasonings shall understand the nature of Christ? And yet what is there so difficult, thou mayest say, in understanding that God loveth us? Beloved, it is extremely difficult. For some know not even this; whence they even say, that numberless evils are produced in the world; and others know not the extent of this love. Nor, indeed, is Paul seeking to know its extent, nor with any view to measure it; for how could he? but only to understand this, that it is transcendent, and great. And this very thing, he says, he is able to shew, even from the knowledge which hath been vouchsafed to us.
However, what is higher than the being strengthened? the being strengthened with might, just as the having Christ within us is higher than the merely having Him. Vast are the things we ask, saith he, yet is He able to do above even them, so that not only doth He love us, but doth so intensely. Be it our care therefore, beloved, to understand the love of God. A great thing indeed is this; nothing is so beneficial to us, nothing so deeply touches us: more availing this to convince our souls than the fear of hell itself. Whence then shall we understand it? Both from the sources now mentioned, and from the things which happen every day. For from what motive have these things been done for us? from what necessity on His part? None whatever. Over and over again he lays down love as the motive. But in the highest degree is that love, when men receive a benefit, without any prior service on their part to call for it.
MORAL. And let us then be followers of Him; let us do good to our enemies, to them that hate us, let us draw near to those who turn their backs upon us. This renders us like unto God. For if thou shalt love thy friend, saith Christ, what profit is there? This even the heathen do. But what is the sure proof of love? To love him that hates thee. I wish to give you some example, and, (pardon me,) since I find it not among them that are spiritual, I shall quote an instance from them that are without. See ye not these lovers? How many insults are wreaked upon them by their beloved ones, how many artifices practised, how many injuries inflicted: yet they are rivetted to them, they burn for them, and love them better than their own souls, and pass whole nights before their thresholds. From them let us take our example, not indeed to love such as those, women, I mean, that are harlots; no, but thus to love our enemies. For tell me, do they not treat them with greater insolence than all the enemies in the world, and squander away their substance, and cast insult in their face, and impose upon them more servile tasks than upon their own menials? And yet still they desist not, though no one hath so great an enemy in any one, as the lover in his mistress. Yea, this beloved one disdains, and reviles, and oftentimes maltreats him, and the more she is loved, the more she scorns him. And what can be more brutal than a spirit like this? Yet notwithstanding he loves her still.
But possibly we shall find love like this in spiritual characters also, not in those of our day, (for it has waxed cold,) but in those great and glorious men of old. Moses, the blessed Moses, surpassed even those that love with human passion. How, and in what respect? First, in that he gave up the court, and the luxury, and the retinue, and the renown attending it, and chose rather to be with the Israelites. Yet is this not only what no one else would ever have done, but would have even been ashamed, were another to have discovered him, of being found to be a kinsman of men, who were not only slaves, but were looked upon as even execrable. Yet was he not only not ashamed of his kindred, but with all his spirit defended them, and exposed himself to perils for their sake. How? Seeing, it is said, one doing an injury to one of them, he defended him that suffered the wrong, and slew him that inflicted it. But this is not as yet for the sake of enemies. Great indeed is this act then of itself, but not so great as what comes afterwards. The next day, then, he saw the same thing taking place, and when he saw him whom he had defended doing his neighbour wrong, he admonished him to desist from his oppression. But he said, with great ingratitude, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Who would not have taken fire at these words? Had then the former act been that of passion and frenzy, then would he have smitten and killed this man also; for surely he on whose behalf it was done, never would have informed against him. But because they were brethren, it is said, he spoke thus. When he [the Hebrew] was being wronged, he uttered not a word like it, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Wherefore saidst thou not this yesterday? Thy injustice, and thy cruelty, he would say, this makes me a ruler and a judge.
But now, mark, how that some, in fact, say as much even to God Himself. Whenever they are wronged indeed, they would have Him a God of vengeance, and complain of His long suffering; but when themselves do wrong, not for a moment.
However, what could be more painful than words like these? And yet notwithstanding after this, when he was sent to that ungrateful, to that thankless race, he went, and shrunk not back. Yea, and after those miracles, and after the wonders wrought by his hand, oftentimes they sought to stone him, and he escaped out of their hands. They kept murmuring too incessantly, and yet still, notwithstanding, so passionately did he love them, as to say unto God, when they committed that heinous sin, Yet now if Thou wilt forgive, forgive their sin; and if not, blot even me also out of the book which Thou hast written. Fain would I perish, saith he, with them, rather than without them be saved. Here, verily, is love even to madness, verily, unbounded love. What sayest thou? Art thou regardless of Heaven? I am, saith he, for I love those who have wronged me. Prayest thou to be blotted out? Yea, saith he, what can I do? Yes, it is love commends it. And what again shall be said of what comes afterwards? Hear what the Scripture saith elsewhere; And it went ill with Moses for their sakes. How often did they wax wanton? How often did they reject both himself and his brother? How often did they seek to return back to Egypt? and yet after all these things did he burn, yea, was beside himself with love for them, and was ready to suffer for their sakes.
Thus ought a man to love his enemies; by strong lamentation, by unwearied endurance, by every method in his power, yea, even to being cut off, to aim at their salvation.
And what again, tell me, did Paul? did he not ask even to be accursed in their stead. But the great pattern we must of necessity derive from the Lord, for so doth He also Himself, where he saith, For He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good: adducing His Father as the exemplar, as we do Christ Himself. He came unto them, in His Incarnation, I mean, He became a servant for their sakes, He humbled Himself, He made Himself of no reputation. He took upon Him the form of a servant. And when He came unto them, He went not Himself aside into the way of the Gentiles, and gave the same charge to His disciples, and not only so, but He went about healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease. And what then? All the rest indeed were astonished, and marvelled, and said, Whence hath this man these things? Hut these, the objects of His beneficence, these said, He hath a devil, and blasphemeth, and is mad, and is a deceiver. Did He therefore cast them away? No, in no wise, yea, when He heard these sayings, He even yet more signally bestowed His benefits upon them, and went straightway to them that were about to crucify Him, to the intent that He might but only save them. And after He was crucified, what were His words? Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Both cruelly treated from the first, and cruelly treated to the last, even to the very latest breath, for them He did every thing, in their behalf He prayed. Yea, and after the Cross itself, what did He not do for their sakes? Did He not send Apostles? Did He not work miracles? Did He not shake the whole world?
Thus is it we ought to love our enemies, thus to imitate Christ. Thus did Paul. Stoned, suffering unnumbered cruelties, yet did he all things for their good. Hear his own words. My heart’s desire and prayer for them is that they may be saved. And again; For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God. And again; If thou being a wild olive tree wert graffed in, how much more shall these be graffed into their own olive tree? How tender, thinkest thou, must be the affection from which these expressions proceed, how vast the benevolence? it is impossible to express it, impossible.
Thus is it we ought to love our enemies. This is to love God, Who hath enjoined it, Who hath given it as His law. To imitate Him is to love our enemy. Consider it is not thine enemy only thou art benefiting, but thyself; thou art not only loving him, but art obeying God. Knowing therefore these things, let us confirm our love one to another, that we may perform this duty perfectly, and attain those good things that are promised in Christ Jesus our Lord, with Whom to the Father, together with the Holy Ghost, be glory, might, and honour, now, and for ever and ever. Amen.