Part 14
Now it is true that Jesus Christ not only shed his blood, even in his death, but also experienced the fears and terrors which ought to have rested upon us. But St. Paul here under one particular comprehends the whole, in the manner common to holy Scripture. In short, let us learn to find all our righteousness in God's showing of himself merciful towards us of his own free goodness, and let us not presume to put before him any virtue of our own to put him in our debt, but let it be sufficient for us that he receives us freely into his love without any worthiness on our part, but only because the remembrance of our sins is buried out of his sight. And again, let us understand that the same cannot be done but by the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that is where we must wholly rest.
Next, St. Paul adds that 'all is done according to the riches of God's grace.' Not without reason does he here magnify God's mercy which he displays in receiving us to favour. For we see on the one hand how men wilfully deceive themselves through their foolish selfconceit. For most men have always imagined that they might make their own atonement with God by their own satisfactions, and I know
not what subterfuges besides. Seeing, then, that men are so far deceived in their own imaginations, St. Paul, to exclude all that, says that we must be ravished by the riches of God's grace. He could have said simply that God does all according to his grace, but he sets down here great treasures so that men should not be so foolish as to bring, as it were, only a farthing when their needs run to a million crowns. And, in fact, when the papists speak about their satisfactions, they say, not that they are able to do it sufficiently in all points, but that they are of the opinion that with the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ they will also bring something of their own, and will do so much by bits and pieces that God will be satisfied and appeased. Thus you see what a devilish opinion reigns in papistry, for they rest upon masses, they babble many prayers, they gad about on pilgrimage, they keep this feast and that feast, they perform I know not what devotions, they wear hair-shirts according to requirements —all this to supplement the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, as if it were not all-sufficient.
But St. Paul tells us that God's goodness, as it is shown us in Jesus Christ, is so great a treasure that all other things must give place and be thrust under foot. And seeing that God displays such great bounty that we ought to be wholly ravished by it, is it not outrageous presumption when we would bring our own paltry trash, as though our going on pilgrimage and our performance of some other devotions were of any value or good? Is it not as though the blood of Jesus Christ were not a sufficient price, I say, a sufficient price and ransom for our salvation? You see then, on the one hand, how St. Paul here meant to cut off all occasions of the vain imaginations that men conceive in supposing themselves able to appease God's wrath by their satisfactions and payments, and, on the other hand, how he purposed to succour our weakness. For although we are inclined to believe wonders about our own virtues and to
make ourselves believe that God is greatly under obligation to us, nevertheless, when it comes to calling upon God in real earnest and to putting our trust in him, then if Satan urge us to despair and we are tossed about with troubles and temptations, we are so dismayed that all the promises of the holy Scripture and all that is said to us about the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ cannot give us any hope. St. Paul. therefore, to remedy this vice of unbelief which is too deeply rooted in us, here sets before us the great treasures of God's goodness, so that all the self-conceit we can conceive may be, as it were, swallowed up, seeing that God vouchsafes to show such great abundance of kindness towards us.
And, on this account, he adds that 'he hath made the same grace to abound towards us in all wisdom and understanding.' By these words he gives us to understand by what means we come to possess that which he specified before. Behold, all our happiness and all our sovereign welfare consists in being reconciled to God, so that he may acknowledge us as his children, and that it may be lawful for us to call upon him as our Father with full liberty. But how shall we obtain that from which we are so far removed? It is said that although we are worth nothing, indeed can do nothing, yet we shall find in Jesus Christ all things which are lacking in ourselves, and that his death and passion will be a sufficient sacrifice to put away the remembrance of all our misdeeds.
However, does it therefore follow that all men are partakers of this benefit purchased for us by our Lord Jesus Christ? No, for unbelievers have neither part nor lot in it. It is, then, a special privilege for those whom God gathers to himself. St. Paul also shows us that faith is essential or Christ will profit us nothing [Gal. 5:4]. Although, then, Christ is in a general view the Redeemer of the world, yet his death and passion are of no advantage to any but such
as receive that which St. Paul shows here. And so we see that when we once know the benefits brought to us by Christ, and which he daily offers us by his gospel, we must also be joined to him by faith. For the Jews, Turks and Papists, and all such like, are cut off and estranged from Christ and rot away in their own corruption, because they presume to work wonders of themselves. For it is a common principle among the Papists, Jews, Turks and all the heathen that ever were, that they must appease God's wrath. And how? By a great variety of means of their own devising, and of every man's imagining in his own brain. Such men, therefore, have no part in Christ. Wherefore, if faith is the key that opens the door to enjoy the treasure of which St. Paul has just spoken, then that is how we shall be made as rich as is necessary for our salvation, so that we shall not lack anything if we are joined to Christ by faith.
Nevertheless, it is not without cause that St. Paul has here set down these two words, 'wisdom' and 'understanding'. For they show us that the learning of the gospel is enough to bring us to all perfection, and that whatever is added over and above that, is but dung, filth, and rottenness. In brief, St. Paul's designation of the gospel by those two honourable terms is in order that every man should quietly give ear to that which God teaches him by means of his only Son, and that we should be so teachable that we do not presume to know anything but that which comes out of his mouth, but that in all simplicity we receive whatever he says and persevere in the same though the whole world despise us and all men set themselves against us. Let us not prize the world's subtleties, as many men do who have itching ears and are always wanting to hear some new thing. Therefore, in order that we may not be thus lightheaded, or possessed by the foolish desire of knowing more than is lawful, let us note carefully how St. Paul says here that if we have once profited by the gospel, we shall find there all the fulness of
wisdom, so that we may reject all other things, not only as needless, but also as harmful, because by them we shall be turned from the pure doctrine by which it is God's will to have us joined to him. To sum up, St. Paul meant to show here that God does us an inestimable favour when he vouchsafes to call us to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, his only Son, and that when we have him, we must despise all other things and not be troubled with a foolish desire to know this and that, because (as I have already said) the full perfection of all our knowledge is to know our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now you see also why it was said to the Colossians that he (Paul) had been a faithful teacher, even to bring men to the perfection of wisdom. [Col. 1:25] He confesses indeed that he was rough and homely in speech [2 Cor. 11:6], and that he had neither the wisdom nor the eloquence that was highly commended in the world; but still, he declares that if his doctrine were received, it would be found full of substance for the full nourishment of men's souls, and that nothing more needs to be added to it. When we hear these things nowadays, we must take warning to restrain ourselves and to repress the vast and foolish curiosity that is rooted too deeply in us, so that we may cling to the pure doctrine of the gospel and rest wholly on it. Thus you see, in effect, what we have to gather from this passage.
Furthermore, let us note that which I have touched on already, namely, that as often as the gospel is preached, so often is God's grace poured out upon us. If we acknowledge his goodness and generosity which he causes us to discern by his watering of the earth that it should yield us fruits for the nourishment of our bodies, much more may we understand that when God sends us the word of salvation, he not only waters us for the health of our souls, but also causes us to drink so deeply that we can be completely satisfied. For
St. Paul does not think it enough to say that, being unfruitful, we have some refreshment by the gospel but he says that it is as if God should pour down abundance of water upon us, and that we might be so watered and refreshed with it that we might thereby gather sustenance and vigour to endure to the end. And so you see how much we ought to value God's goodness when he vouchsafes to draw us to himself by means of his gospel, and that also by this means we should enter into possession of the benefits purchased for us by our Lord Jesus Christ, as he offers them to us by his Word and will have us also to receive them by faith.
Now, for a larger exposition of the matter, he immediately adds that God's so doing is 'because he has manifested the secret of his will to us, even according to his own good pleasure which he purposed before in himself.' Here is another thing which ought to amplify the worth of the gospel even more, namely, that in it we have the secrets that were hidden previously in God. And it is not here only that St. Paul speaks after this manner, but we shall see an even fuller treatment of it in the second chapter. And not only in this Epistle, but also everywhere else, he shows how we ought to be, as it were, ravished when the gospel is preached, because God there opens the things that were incomprehensible to all men before, and which no man would ever have believed or conceived. For he seemed to have chosen only the line of Abraham in such a way as if he had rejected all the rest of the world. Therefore it was a wonderful thing when he poured out his grace upon all men in common. [Rom. 16:25; 1Cor. 2:7; 4:1; Eph. 6:19; Col. 1:29] Yet we know that when Jesus Christ came into the world these very same people were wholly degenerate, and God's doctrine was so corrupted that there was nothing but superstition among the Jews. It seemed then that all was past hope of recovery when suddenly, beyond the expectation of all men, salvation was offered to all nations. Behold, Christ who had
before been hidden in deep obscurity, and even in such deep obscurity that there was no hope that he should ever come out of it, rose up as the sun of righteousness to give light to the world. [Mal. 4:2]
For this reason therefore St. Paul says that in the gospel we know the secret of God's will. It is true that at first sight there seemed to be nothing but simplicity in the gospel. And that is the reason also why many scoffers think that the things which are contained in the gospel are only for idiots, and they pride themselves that they are able to devise many more subtle things in their own dreams than in all the doctrine of Jesus Christ. But such people are unworthy to taste of that which is shown us here, for their pride utterly blinds them and makes them complete fools. Be that as it may, however, the faithful quite clearly perceive that there is a divine majesty in the doctrine of the gospel. And for that reason, St. Paul gives us to understand in this same passage that our coming to it must not be to learn any common thing, but to be raised above the world. For we shall never be teachable before God, nor ever be prepared to benefit in his school, unless we rise above the world and reverence the things that God speaks with his own holy mouth. In short, the beginning and door of our faith is humility. But how can men really humble themselves, unless they know that the things which God tells them far surpass their own intelligence and capacity. You see then that the thing at which St. Paul aimed is that we should reverence the gospel, assuring ourselves that it is not for us to judge whether God has spoken well or ill. For we must be fully persuaded that all that ever comes from him is infinite wisdom, even such wisdom as is utterly faultless. Therefore, so that all boasting in our selves may be beaten down, and that we learn to reverence soberly and modestly the doctrine preached to using God's name, St. Paul has purposely set down this secret.
Now, in order that we should know how much we are indebted to God, he repeats this expression, 'according to his good pleasure', which he had set down before. And that is done to put away and to shut out all opinion which men might conceive of their own worthiness. For God's good pleasure can have no place unless men are barred from all deserving and come to him utterly empty. For as soon as we presume to bring anything at all to God, surely it is a putting forward of ourselves to the obscuring of God's grace so that it no longer has its beauty and pre-eminence as it ought. Therefore, in order that men should refrain from all vain confidence, St. Paul sends us back again to God's good pleasure, as if he should say that there was no other cause of the preaching of the gospel to the world than the generous and free goodness of God. However, to repress all the audacity of men, he adds that 'God had purposed the said decree and the said high incomprehensible counsel of his will, beforehand in himself.' For what is the reason why many men take such great liberty in questioning, disputing, and pleading against God, but because, as it seems to them, they are dealing with matters which ought to be open and well-known to them. So then, perceiving us to be so foolish and rash as to presume to enquire into God's counsel, St. Paul says that it is a sealed letter, that God has his counsel in himself, and that it is not lawful for creatures to rise so high. If they do so, it is the surest way to ruin themselves and to break their necks.
It is true that we may well apply all our endeavour to know God's will, but we must proceed no further than he has revealed in his Word, for his Word is our light. But where God holds his peace, he will have us rein ourselves in and, as it were, be captives, and not go on any further, for if we would try to know more than is granted us, that is to say, more than we ought to know and more than is imparted to us by his Word, it would be only entering further and further into a labyrinth, or rather, into the bottom of hell. Therefore
let us note well that St. Paul's meaning in this text is that whenever God keeps his purpose to himself, it becomes us to bow our heads and keep ourselves content to be ignorant of it. For it is a cursed wisdom and such a wisdom as sends us to the pit of hell when we presume to know more than God has taught us. And, on the contrary, we are wiser in our ignorance than all the wise men of the world, when we do not take it upon ourselves to know anything beyond where God's Word guides and governs us.
It is true that there is only one single and simple will in God. But he declares it to us according to our capacity and so far as it is expedient and profitable for us. As we have seen, the forgiveness of sins is a matter that we cannot pass over, and therefore Zacharias calls it the knowledge of salvation. Again, it is necessary for us to know where the forgiveness of our sins is to be looked for. For if we do not have Jesus Christ, we still remain enemies of God [Luke 1:77], we have no atonement, neither have we rest in ourselves, and God's judgment must trouble us; but Jesus Christ is our peace. Furthermore, when we know the things witnessed to us by God's Word, we must at the same time reverence the mysteries that are hidden from us, as has been said already and must be said again when we come to deal with God's election. And St. Paul once again sets down here the word 'foreordaining', to show that God has predestinated us before the creation of the world, and yet the same was hidden. Yes, verily, but it is now declared to us, he says. Thus you see, in effect, that what we have to bear in mind is that we are not called to the knowledge of the gospel through our own skill, nor by putting ourselves forward, nor by making God indebted to us by any virtue; but God of his own infinite goodness has been pleased to enlighten us. And he has not done it because it suddenly came into his mind to do it, like men who make resolves on the spur of the
moment, but because he had thus determined it in his own counsel, even before all time.
And if our spirits fidget and provoke us to be inquisitive and to say, How so? Has God elected us beforehand? And why then did he not show it to us sooner? How is it that it was not perceived before now ?—so that we should not be so rash, St. Paul says that this purpose was, so to speak, locked up in God, till it was disclosed to us. And so, to be brief, it is not lawful for us to know any more than is announced to us in the gospel; and, furthermore, we are required to reverence it. And for this reason, it is added that this was done in order to the dispensing of the truth in the fulness of time.
Now by this St. Paul shows that men may well torment themselves, but they shall fall short of their purpose, and all their thoughts and imaginations shall fail them if they go on seeking to know more than God has given them permission to know. For if any man demands why God has not been in much greater haste in the matter, he shows that he would be wiser than God. And is not that a devilish pride? Is the creature worthy to be supported by the earth when he raises himself so high? For this reason St. Paul says that the ordering of things belongs to God. For if a man in his own house may say, I will have my people to be provided for thus, I will have them drink such a beverage, I will have them eat a certain kind of bread, I will have them to sleep after this manner; how much more ought we to let God do so, for why should he have less privilege than worms of the earth? Therefore, let us give God leave to dispose of his church and of the salvation of his elect as seems good to him. And so for the time, let us receive as fully sufficient that which it shall please him to show us. For it is not for us to be judges or umpires in this case, to measure the times, years, months, or days, but it ought to content us that God desires to have it so.
Some man will argue the case and say, 'What! four thousand years passed between the fall of Adam and the coming of Christ, and could not God have put the matter right by sending the Redeemer of the world sooner? Look what a number of wretched people wandered away in darkness; look at the destruction of mankind by a deluge that engulfed all things, and yet, in the meanwhile, Jesus Christ was hidden. Besides this, a small number of men tasted of him only by types and shadows. For there were none but the Jews, who waited for the Redeemer, who obtained salvation through him, and yet even they had to use calves and sheep and other brute beasts to assure themselves of the forgiveness of their sins and that God was propitious to them'.
If a man asks how this comes to pass, let us have recourse to that which is said here in a word, namely, that the time was not yet fully come. And why? Because God had so ordained it. And this is exactly the same thing that we have seen already in the Epistle to the Galatians, where St. Paul put down all the foolish speculations by which men go astray in wanting to raise themselves higher than is lawful for them [4:3]. Therefore, let us conclude that it is God's peculiar office to appoint times and seasons, and that we must not regard any other to be the appointed time than that which he ordains. For even though winter and summer are usually with us every year, yet if summer arrives rather late, we must check ourselves and not murmur against God. We may well say, Alas, if it pleased God to send us heat it would be most welcome. But yet, in the meanwhile, we must be fully persuaded thus—it is for God to govern, and all sovereignty and authority belong to him.
If we ought to behave ourselves so modestly in respect of the order of nature which is common among us, and in which God shows himself to us in a familiar way, what ought we to do when we come to
the question of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, the eternal salvation of our souls and this high mystery that the Son of God has come to restore things which were lost and perished. Does it not become us to abase ourselves in that case, and humbly to receive whatever God tells us, and to know what he approves.
Thus you see why St. Paul spoke here expressly of the fulness of time, as if he should say that we can never profit in the gospel till we yield God so much honour as to content ourselves with his will alone, so that we do not come forward to reply against him, nor face him with our wrangling, but glorify him by acknowledging his counsel to be the rule of all wisdom, of all right, and of all equity.
And to show this the better, St. Paul adds immediately that it was 'to gather all things together both in heaven and in earth, by Jesus Christ, in himself'. As for this word 'gather', St. Paul meant to show us thereby how we are all of us in a state of dreadful dissipation, till such time as our Lord Jesus Christ restores us. And this has reference not only to us, but also to all other creatures. In brief, it is as though he had said that the whole order of nature is as good as defaced, and all things decayed and disordered by the sin of Adam till we are restored in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. For although we see God's wonderful wisdom, power, goodness, justice, and righteousness in all creatures, nevertheless there are marks of sin both high and low, and all creatures are subject to corruption, and all is disordered because God hates and rejects us [Rom. 8:22]. The restoration has therefore to be made by Jesus Christ. And that is what is meant by the gathering together of which St. Paul speaks here, in order that we should learn to hate ourselves and to be ashamed of the confusion that is in ourselves and with which the whole world is filled through our sinful life; and, moreover, learn also to magnify God's goodness so much the more. On the one hand,
then, the Holy Ghost warns us in this text not only that we ourselves are in a state of dissipation, but also that we have brought the whole world to the same state and keep it there daily by our sins, and that there is no other remedy but for Jesus Christ to repair everything and make such a gathering and union that we may be joined again to our God.
That then is the first point we have to note in this passage. It is true that this thing is said in few words, but it needs to be pondered at greater length. For it is the thing about which we ought to be employed both early and late, that when we look at ourselves we might think in this way—Who are you, O wretched creature? For you see you are separated from your God even from your birth. Look, you are his enemy and inheritor of his wrath, and furthermore, there is nothing in yourself which does not tend to evil and perverseness. You ought not only to feel this disorder in your own person, but also to perceive that everything else is out of order throughout the whole world because of your perverseness.
Therefore, let us abase ourselves and be ashamed, and at the same time confess how much we are indebted to God for his vouchsafing to gather us together in the person of his only Son— even us who have so torn to pieces the things he had set in such good order.
And for the same reason, St. Paul speaks here not only of men, who were estranged from God before by reason of sin, but also of 'all things that are in heaven and earth', in which he includes even the very angels [Col. 1:20]. For although God's glory shines forth in them and they were never separated from him, nevertheless they needed to be gathered together by our Lord Jesus Christ, and that for two reasons. For although they never strayed, nor fell from what they
were in their origin, and God's righteousness always shows itself in them, so much so that they are, as it were, mirrors and patterns of it, nevertheless if God had willed to look upon them with severity, they would have found themselves far short of the perfection of righteousness that is in him, as it is said in the book of Job [4:18].
Furthermore, there is still one other reason to be linked with this, which is, that the angels should not have had such constancy and steadiness as was requisite, unless Jesus Christ had so established them that they might never fall. Thus you see one way in which they were gathered together. But this gathering of which St. Paul speaks here is with regard to their being united again with us. For we know that since we were banished out of God's kingdom, we were cut off from all hope of salvation, so that the angels were immediately obliged to become our enemies, and would be so still, were it not for the conjunction we have with them by means of the Head who is common to us both.
And here you see also why in the ladder that was shown to Jacob, it is said that God stood upon the top of it and touched both heaven and earth, and that the angels went up and down on it [Gen. 28:12]. Now our Lord Jesus Christ is the true living and eternal God who touches both heaven and earth, because in his person God has joined his own divine essence and the nature of man together. Thus, therefore, you see that heaven is open so that the angels begin to acquaint themselves with us, and even to become our servants, as is said in the Epistle to the Hebrews [1:14], because the care of our souls is committed to them and (as is said in the thirty-fourth Psalm) they encamp about us and watch, and are our guardians. You see then how we are united again to the angels of paradise by our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is the reason also why he said 'From henceforth you shall see the heavens open and the Son of Man
coming down in his majesty with his angels' [John 1:51]. By which he gives us to understand that heaven was shut against us and that we also were unworthy to find any favour at God's hand, but that now he is come to be our Head and has made the atonement between his Father and us, and taken upon him the office of mediator and is become the Head not only of the faithful, but also of the angels, and has gathered all together again in such a way that, whereas the devils make war against us and cease not to plot our destruction, the angels are armed with infinite power to uphold us [Col. 2:10]. And although we do not see them with our eyes, yet we must certainly believe that they watch for our salvation.
Otherwise, what would happen? For we know that the devil is as a roaring lion and seeks nothing else but to devour us [1Pet. 5:8]. We see what a number of wiles he has with which to surround us. The angels, then, have need of an infinite power to defend us. It is also necessary that we be kept under the protection of our Lord Jesus Christ who is both their Head and ours. Thus you see briefly that the thing which St. Paul meant to tell us in this text where he says we are gathered together again, is that we were scattered beforehand, and that we are not only reconciled to God by the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also we are now joined once again to the angels, so that they have become our brethren and companions, and God has given them charge to guide and uphold us in all our ways and to watch over us and to be in continual battle for the withstanding of all the enemies that make war against us till we are gathered all together into the rest of heaven [Psa. 91:13].
Now let us cast ourselves down before the majesty of our good God with acknowledgement of our faults, praying him so to make us feel them that it may draw us to true repentance and make us to continue the same all the time of our life, and that at the same time
we may not cease to trust in him and to offer ourselves boldly in his fight, since our sins are blotted out by the blood that was shed for the washing of them, and that we may so conform ourselves to this doctrine that we may all the time of our life acknowledge that seeing he has purchased us at such a price, we ought to give ourselves wholly to his service; and since he has shown himself so good a Redeemer towards us, we may not doubt that he will continue his goodness from day to day to the final completion of the thing he has begun, and strengthen us in all assaults till he has delivered us from the cruelty of Satan and of all his supporters, yes and clean taken us out of the world to make us partakers of the happy blessedness unto which he calls us.
And may it please him to grant this grace not only to us, but also to all people and nations.
The Fifth Sermon
on the First Chapter
You also trust in Christ upon the hearing of the word of truth, that is to say, of the glad tidings of your salvation, by believing in which you are also sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, unto the redeeming of the purchased possession, to the praise of his glory - Ephesians 1:13-14
We have seen so far how St. Paul has declared that there is no other ground of our salvation than God's free goodness, and that we must not look anywhere else for the reason why he chooses the one person and forsakes the other. For it becomes us to hold ourselves contented with his pure will, purpose, and unchangeable decree. And whoever goes any further must inevitably stumble into such an abyss through his own rashness, that he shall feel that such as cannot honour God's majesty and his secret counsel with all lowliness and reverence must all (I say) remain in confusion. Therefore whenever we come to search for the cause of our salvation, let us learn to attribute it altogether to God.
It is true that to be God's children and heirs we must be of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which thing is brought about by faith, but yet we cannot believe the gospel except God draw us by his Holy Spirit. Now we see that he does not deal alike with all men. For he could very well enlighten all the world and bring it to pass that there should be no unbelievers at all, but we see the contrary. Therefore let
us assure ourselves that he chooses whom he pleases. For if a man should ask the reason why he does it, it would be to lift ourselves up far too high; and that is the very reason why so many presumptuous people break their own necks, for they cannot find in their hearts to grant that God governs men according to his own will, as he has a perfect right to do. Furthermore, St. Paul has also, so far, set the Jews and Gentiles on equal footing, and that is a matter which requires still longer treatment. For seeing that God had chosen Abraham's offspring, it might have been thought that there had been some natural worthiness in them. It is true, if we consider the grace that God showed to the Jews, that they are much to be preferred above all the rest of the world. But if a man take them as they are in themselves, he shall find them empty of all righteousness. For we must always come back to this point, that God is not bound or obliged to any man at all, and his reception of the Jews by free adoption is not because they were more worthy than other men, or in order that they might boast in themselves on account of it. Therefore you see why St. Paul says expressly that they which believed in Jesus Christ in times past are comprehended under God's election as well as the others, and that the others cannot boast themselves to be more worthy, or to have deserved more than they, but that all must come to this point, that both of the Jews and of the Gentiles God chose whom he pleased, so that nothing should be considered in relation to this but only his mercy, and so that all mouths might be stopped and no man be able to allege that he contributed anything of his own.
Now, when St. Paul enters into this comparison between the Jews and the Gentiles, he says that if a man has regard to God's accepting of the Jews for his own heritage, they were a holy lineage and he had given them his law and his promises by means of which they were in more excellent and high degree than all the rest whom he had rejected and forsaken. But if we have regard to God, all man's
boasting must be put down. But St. Paul in that place speaks only of the forgiveness of our sins and of our embracing of God's grace by faith, which things he shows cannot be attributed to any other cause than simply God's pitying us. Also we have seen before in the Epistle to the Galatians how St. Paul said to Peter, 'we are Jews by nature'. [Gal. 2:15] For since it was a common opinion that the Jews were a holy lineage because they were descended of Abraham's race, very well (he says), be that as it may, we have no other refuge or assurance of salvation but to believe in Jesus Christ, for he knew that men are utterly ruined and lost in themselves, because they bring nothing with them but God's wrath and curse. Therefore, just as in those passages, St. Paul has shown that men deceive themselves if they imagine that they have any merit or worthiness in them, so now, for the better confirmation of the same doctrine and to take away all disputing and to beat back all contradictions, he brings us to this source, namely, that God not only gives faith to whom he pleases, but also has elected and chosen us before the creation of the world. You see then that what we have to observe, in effect, is that all men, from the greatest to the least, are indebted to God, and there is none so holy or excellent that can claim exemption from that general state of men.
Now, in the next place, St. Paul magnifies God's goodness in that the Ephesians were gathered together and made one with those that were held and counted before as God's people and the household of his church. Before the Ephesians believed the gospel, there was great diversity among them, as will be shown at greater length in the second chapter. But, in spite of the fact that the believing Jews who had already been converted to our Lord Jesus Christ were as brethren to the angels of heaven, since they were members of the Head that was common to them both, whereas, in the meanwhile, the Ephesians were poor wretches, shut out from all hope of
salvation, enemies of God, and devoted to destruction, God nevertheless took away that diversity and set them all in one company. God's goodness, therefore, was so much the more manifest in that he thus rescued them who were plunged into the bottom of hell, to join them with his own children and to make them fellows and heirs of his heavenly kingdom. That, therefore, is the reason why St. Paul, having spoken of such as had believed in Jesus Christ before, tells us expressly that God has gathered and established his church in such a way that it clearly appears that the greatest depend wholly upon him and have no other thing to rest on than his pure mercy; and that those who were, so to speak, cast away, even hated, have reason to glorify him, seeing he has delivered them from the confusion they were in.
And, furthermore, St. Paul shows that what he had said before is proved true to us by the effects of God's grace. For (as I have said before) our election is a secret thing, and even incomprehensible. When men have enquired into it as much as possible, they must surely quail in all their own thoughts, if they attempt to enter into the eternal counsel of God. And therefore it is not lawful for us to seek any further than the Scripture guides us and shows us the way. You see then that God's choosing of us is hidden in himself, but yet he gives us evidence of it by the gifts of grace bestowed upon us, such as faith, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit. So much for one point.
Now, although it were only such a gift as when he makes his sun to shine both upon the good and the bad, or as when he causes the earth to bring forth fruit for all men without exception, it nevertheless ought also to be counted among God's gifts and benefits. But faith is a special gift which is not bestowed upon all men in common, but is reserved by God as a treasure to be given just as he pleases. And what is the reason for it? We are all of us the
children of Adam, and we are all of the same stock. Why then does he enlighten some and leave the others alone in their blindness? There is no other reason but his election. So then, although we cannot conceive either by argument or reason how God has elected us before the creation of the world, yet we know it by his declaring it to us; and experience itself vouches for it sufficiently when we are enlightened in the faith. What is the reason why I receive the gospel and cleave to it, and, meanwhile, others remain in their beast-like stupidity, or are even embittered against the doctrine of salvation? If I imagine that it is due to my own skill, I am guilty of sacrilege. For we must always come back to that which we have seen already and say, 'Who is he that has made you more excellent than others?' [1Cor. 4:7]
St. Paul, then, in that saying pulls down all man's pride, in order that no man should put himself forward or affirm that he has anything of his own. We must not think (he says) that we have any worthiness of ourselves, but that all comes and proceeds from God. Therefore, in this text, St. Paul shows from experience how the Ephesians had been elected by God and that it behoved them to have their whole faith grounded upon that, that is to say, upon God's free goodness. And you have the proof of it (he says) in that you have heard the doctrine of the gospel and believed it. But how did that come to pass? He shows that they had to be sealed by the Holy Spirit. Now, if they were sealed, it was indeed necessary for the Holy Spirit to work beforehand. And so it is useless to enter into so deep a labyrinth as God's eternal counsel. For he shows us, as it were with his finger, how he has elected us, at least if we are not ungrateful to him, but acknowledge the good he has done us and are fully persuaded and resolved in ourselves that there is no other reason for it than that he has set his seal upon us from all eternity; in other words, that he has reserved us for himself as his own children. We see, then, St. Paul's meaning, and, therefore, let us learn not to make
long preambles, when it is a question simply of confessing that we have all only through the pure mercy of God. For the faith that we have shows it well enough, because (as I have said before) it does not come from our own mother wit, but as a gift from above, and such a one as God communicates not to all indifferently, but only to such as he pleases.
Furthermore, here are many words well worth weighing. For, on the one hand, St. Paul intends to magnify the grace of the Holy Spirit by showing that we can have no part or lot in our Lord Jesus Christ, or in any of all the benefits he has purchased for us, except God put us in possession of our salvation by his Holy Spirit. That, therefore, is one point. And yet, St. Paul does not fail to show as well the inestimable benefit that we have by the gospel in that he terms it 'the word of truth' and 'the gospel of salvation'. For, first of all, he meant to assure us, in order that we might have an infallible warrant to call upon God without doubting or scruple of conscience. For so long as we are in doubt whether God loves or hates us, it is impossible for us to pray truly to him, and so by that means you see how our salvation is utterly defeated, according to what is said by the prophet Joel. [Joel 2:32] And it is a common doctrine in the holy Scripture that we cannot obtain salvation, except by seeking refuge in God by prayers and supplications. But we should be shut out from that if we did not have the assurance spoken of, as we shall see more fully in the third chapter.
Therefore it is necessary for us to be fully assured that God is our Father, and that he accepts us for his children. And how shall we be sure of that unless the doctrine of the gospel is so certain in all points that it is not lawful for us to call it into question? That, therefore, is the reason why St. Paul says that it is the word of truth. No doubt, there are other truths also, for even when God threatens
us, he does not do it in pretence, or yet in vain, for both his promises and his threatenings have their sure and certain fulfilment. But, since the present case concerns the correcting of all unbelief in us, to which we are so much inclined, St. Paul has termed the gospel, the doctrine of truth; as if he should say, My friends, God is a faithful witness to you of his own will, for the gospel is as much as if he showed his heart to you. Therefore, rest yourselves upon it. Moreover, he says also that our salvation lies enfolded in the gospel, and that is to make us love it and prize it. For would we be so senseless or so stark mad as to pour scorn upon our own welfare But yet, he says that all this comes from God's pure mercy and eternal election, which is remote and unknown to us, but we have knowledge of it by the gospel which is its means and its instrument. For what would be the purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ offering himself in sacrifice to reconcile the world to God his Father, unless we are made partakers of it by faith Now faith is not an opinion conceived by man in his own brain, but a settled belief that God cannot lie or deceive us, and that it is not to be feared that our hope shall not finally be well satisfied, if we wait upon him. So then, in short, St. Paul's intention was to show that if we know how to profit by the doctrine of the gospel, we shall no longer be disquieted and perplexed, but shall be able to call upon God wholeheartedly, acknowledging ourselves so bound and wholly indebted to him in all things that we have no fear that he owns us for his children, that we are accepted by him, and that he hears us in all the prayers we offer to him. So much for the first point.
Therefore, in accordance with St. Paul's exhortation, let us learn to rest in such a way upon the doctrine of the gospel, that it may be as if God showed himself visibly to us, and that the heavens were opened to us. And let us always bear in mind how it is pronounced by the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ himself that, whenever sins are
forgiven men by the preaching of the gospel, the same is there and then ratified in heaven. [Matt. 16:19; Jn. 20:23] Thus you see what certainty we ought to have, so that we are no more doubtful whether God will hear us or not. But just as the gospel teaches us to believe, so also St. Paul shows us that we ought to prize it as an incomparable treasure, since it is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe, as he says in the first chapter to the Romans. [Rom. 1:16] Seeing then that we are lost and undone of ourselves, and there is no other means to call us back again to God but by the gospel, let us greatly value that treasure and see to it that we profit by it. And in so doing, let us fearlessly despise both the devil himself and all his temptations which he practises against us, seeing that God has called us and given us sufficient evidence of his fatherly love and good will towards us.
But let us come to the second matter I referred to. For St. Paul shows that besides God's consenting to have the gospel preached to us, it behoves him also to work by his Holy Spirit and by a special grace. And, in fact, we shall find many that will grant freely enough that God was not moved to send us his gospel by any other motive than his own free grace; but, at the same time, they surmise that the reason why some receive it and some do not, is because their own free wills hold sway, and so, by that means, God's grace is diminished. For God does not offer us his grace, as a man might offer an apple to little children, so that the best runner should come and have it. If God should thus toss it out, it is certain that the greatest part of our salvation would be the product of our own power and skill, and the praise of it would redound to ourselves.
Now, after St. Paul has shown that God has called and daily calls us to the inheritance of his heavenly kingdom, and that his so doing proceeds from his own pure, free grace, he further adds that we must
be under the influence of his Holy Spirit. It is true he here sets down only one part of the grace of the Holy Spirit, but that is because he has set down the other part before, for he has not, in this passage, forgotten anything that belonged to his argument, but he began with God's free goodness with which we are all filled, and showed that faith springs out of that fountain of free election. But now, for the second part, he adds that God's enlightening of us by his Holy Spirit so that, whereas we were blind, he has imprinted his grace in our hearts and bowed and bent them to his obedience, is not enough for us, but, in addition, he must establish us and strengthen our faith by giving us an invincible perseverance to hold out to the end.
You see then where St. Paul is bringing us. Besides our receiving of faith at the hand of the Holy Spirit and besides his enlightening of us by his grace, of which I have spoken already, God also secures us in such a way that we do not fall away. To understand this better, we must first call to mind what has already been dealt with at greater length, that is to say, that so long as God leaves us alone in our own state and plight, we are blind wretches wandering in darkness, and no matter what is preached or said to us, we remain unmoved in our brutishness. For the carnal man shall never understand anything that pertains to God, or to his own salvation. [1Cor. 2 :14] You see then how we are utterly barred and excluded from heavenly light till God pities us and gives us the spirit of light and understanding. So much for the first point. And since that point has been discussed before, it is sufficient to do no more than to remind you of it.
Now there is yet another point, which is that when we have once embraced God's grace by faith, so that we know that our Lord Jesus Christ is he in whom we find all that is required to make us perfectly happy, it is very necessary for us to be established in this truth. And why Let us notice how volatile men are. He that is best disposed to
follow God will soon fall, for we are so frail that the devil will overcome us every minute of time, if God does not hold us up with a strong hand. And for that reason it is said that God manifests his power in upholding us when he has elected us and given us to our Lord Jesus Christ. For if he did not fight for us, alas, what would become of us We should be absolutely confounded, and not by reason of one stroke only, but there would be an infinite number of falls, as I said before. As soon as we were in the way of salvation, we should at once be turned out of it by our own frailty, lightness and inconstancy, if we were not restrained and if God did not so work in us that we might, by his Holy Spirit, overcome all the assaults of the devil and the world. Thus God's Spirit does a two-fold work in us with respect to faith. For he enlightens us to make us understand things which otherwise would be hidden from us, and to receive God's promises with all obedience. That is the first part of his work. The second is that the same Spirit is pleased to abide in us and to give us perseverance, that we do not draw back in the midst of our way. That, then, is what St. Paul is handling now.
It is as if he should say, My friends, you have known God's grace and you have had experience of it, and he has drawn you to obey his gospel. For you would never have come to it, if he had not shown himself merciful to you. But be sure of this also, that he increases his grace in that he gives you power to persevere in it. For had you continued only three days, or three years, or even more, God must needs have helped you in that, or else you would always have been tossed about like poor wretches at your wits' end, without any certainty at all, unless God had promised to take care of you and to guide you continually till you have come to the end of your way and have finished your course. That, therefore, is the reason why he says here that they were sealed by the Holy Spirit. Now we should carefully note the figure of speech St. Paul uses. For we know that
deeds are endorsed by seals, and that has applied at all times. It is true that men did not write things down in the same way as they do nowadays. Nevertheless, instead of signing them with their own hands, they delivered their seal or ring. And that was the way they published wills, and other documents, and all covenants.
In this respect St. Paul says that we must be sealed in our hearts. It is true that, to speak properly, he should have said that the gospel was sealed. However, to make us understand that the fault comes and springs from ourselves and that the gospel is a doctrine of sufficient authority in itself, he meant to show us that God's sealing of his truth is because of our hard-heartedness and inconstancy, since we are shaken with every wind like wavering reeds until such time as he has strengthened us. But, be that as it may, let us observe that the Holy Spirit is, as it were, the seal with which he ratifies his truth to us.
Now I have told you already how greatly we stand in need of this. For, although we grant that God's Word deserves to be accepted without contradiction or reply, yet we do not cease to doubt it. And we discover that well enough by conviction. For whenever any trouble or annoyance comes, we are as people distracted, whereas, if we were thoroughly persuaded of God's goodness in such ways as he assures us of it, it is certain that we should not be in any such fear. All the trials, then, which shake us show clearly enough that we do not profit as we ought to do by the gospel. And, therefore, God on his part is pleased to empower it by his Holy Spirit, and to print it so certainly in our hearts that we may be steadfast and that the same steadfastness may not be beaten down by all that the devil can ever do or devise to overthrow our faith.
But we shall understand this thing even better by making such a continual examination of our own weakness as I have spoken of before. For we can take up all the reasons of this world and yet we shall never be assured as fully and perfectly as we ought to be that God will be merciful to us and defend us in the midst of all the dangers of this world. For we are here, as it were, in a sea. The winds and storms assail us every minute, and we are always in danger of being swallowed up. How then may we defy Satan, being like poor sheep not furnished with either armour or weapon or any other means of help? How can we rejoice both in life and death, knowing that Satan might do anything against us, if we are not well sealed in an authentic manner? So then, besides being warned, in this text, to rid ourselves of all presumption and pride, so that God alone may be praised and magnified, we may also gather from St. Paul's words that we have weapons with which to meet the foe and strive well, and that although our enemy is mighty and sturdy, yet he will never overcome us, so long as we take advantage of what is said here, namely, that God's Spirit seals the truth and the certainty of the promises of the gospel in us.
Now St. Paul adds yet one figure of speech more, saying that God's Spirit is like a deposit. And let us not think it strange that St. Paul has so confirmed this doctrine, since the devil has never ceased from the beginning of the world to keep men puffed up with some foolish opinion of their own wisdom and strength. The reason for Adam's fall was that he wanted to rise higher than was lawful for him, and be wiser than God, which God gave him no permission to do. The case stands the same with us, and the devil still pursues his attack. See how he overthrew mankind with guile, and his whole endeavour even yet is to make us believe that we are able to do this and that. St. Paul, therefore, had to rid men of that false and cursed opinion of their own free-will and self-righteousness, and to show
them that they are indebted to the Holy Spirit for all things. So much for that.
Secondly, we are so stupid and earthly that the doctrine had to be made easy [mâcher (Fr.) (To chew, to masticate)] to us, and we cannot conceive more of God's gracious gifts, which are invisible, than we see with our eyes and touch with our hands. It was therefore necessary for St. Paul to show by figures of speech that it is God's Holy Spirit who puts us in possession of the gospel and of all the benefits it contains, and who supports us in them to the end.
Now we know that contracts are confirmed by giving a deposit, which men commonly call the earnest-money. [Denier á Dieu (Fr.) (The mite for God)] Since, then, in buying lands, houses, inheritances or goods, although a man bare word ought to be sufficient, men are so wicked that if they perceive any hurt to themselves in a matter, they will not be ashamed to go back on their word. Therefore this ceremony of making a deposit was added, and it is just as though the payment were fully discharged, so that the contract cannot be rendered void. St. Paul, then, means here that God's Spirit serves fully to guarantee our salvation. And for what purpose 'For your inheritance, he says, 'to the day of your redemption'. It is true that we are already God's heirs, being his children. But we must note how it is said in the eighth chapter to the Romans [v. 24] that our salvation is shut up in hope. So then, we cannot see it or enjoy it now, according to the third chapter of Colossians [v. 3], where it is said that we are like dead men departed from this world, and that our life is hidden with God in Jesus Christ. Therefore, although we are God's children, yet we do not have the full enjoyment of it at present.
All this agrees well with what St. John says in his Epistle. 'We know', he says. By this he shows that our faith is not in doubt, yet he adds that it is not yet seen, but we must wait for the day when we shall be like God, and then we shall have light to see in full perfection that which now we only believe. [1 Jn. 3:2] Again, we have seen how St. Paul said in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, that as long as we are in this earthly pilgrimage, we are, so to speak, absent from God. [2 Cor. 5:6] And why? We walk (he says) in hope, and we do not see the thing as if it were present, but we see it by faith. In short, although we are passed from death to life (as is said in the fifth chapter of John [v. 24]), yet we fight against an infinite number of deaths, because we are besieged by them.
And St. Paul links both together well in this passage. For, on the one hand, he says we are not yet come to our redemption and heritage, and yet, at the same time, he shows that we are sure of it for all that, and that nothing but our own ingratitude prevents us from glorying to the full in God and from saying with all our hearts that we do not doubt we shall reach the heavenly life, since we have a pledge of it by the Holy Spirit and are so united to our Lord Jesus Christ that all his possessions belong to us, for they appertain to us and are communicated to us by faith.
Therefore, let us carefully observe what is contained in these words of St. Paul. He says that the Holy Spirit is our pledge. Seeing this is so we must needs be sure of our redemption, of which we shall have full possession at the last day. And this the facts of the matter themselves show well enough. For we are but poor worms of the earth, surrounded by rottenness and corruption. We are beset with as many miseries as it is pitiful to see. The world curses us, and mocks us and our simplicity. We have to endure hunger and thirst. It often seems that God has forsaken us and, as it were, cut us off, and
that he does not even deign to pity us. We appear to be the most contemptible creatures in the world. That is how we stand to all outward appearance. And therefore it is imperative for us to have a remedy with which to assure ourselves in the midst of so many perplexities and heartaches. That is the reason why St. Paul purposely says that the Holy Spirit is our pledge. Although, then, the world gives itself liberty to trample us under foot, as they say; although our Lord keeps us tried with many temptations; although he humbles us in such a way that it may seem we are as sheep appointed to the slaughter, so that we are continually at death's door, [nous avons toujours Ia mon entre les dents (Fr.) (death between the teeth)] yet we are not destitute of a good remedy. And why Seeing that the Holy Spirit reigns in our hearts, we have something for which to give praise even in the midst of all our temptations, in accordance with what is said in the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans [v. 15], that being once assured that God takes us for his children, we may not only call upon him, but also, though we are afflicted and tormented, yet we do not cease to be always and infallibly persuaded that he is our Father to lead us to the glory of heaven; for even that also is a way by which our hope is tried.
Furthermore, we are also warned to walk in patience, and, seeing God has given us his Holy Spirit as a pledge, we must not be so hasty and impatient as we have been accustomed to be. For if God handles us roughly, immediately we begin to complain, and we are very loath to suffer anything, for we see how tender and sensitive we are by nature. But we must endure patiently, because God will not have us come to his kingdom with, so to speak, one leap, but will have us negotiate this world through thorns and briars, so that we shall have much trouble in getting through and we shall be in great distress. Seeing that he will have us led by such a way, and yet nevertheless gives us so good a remedy as ought to be sufficient for
us—which is that he strengthens us with invincible constancy by his Holy Spirit—let us stand ready to fight till the time of victory is fully come.
It is true that our faith gets the upper hand even now, but we do not yet receive the full fruit of it, nor do we fully enjoy it. Therefore we must determine with ourselves to fight and groan continually and yet, at the same time, to rejoice also. And why? To rejoice in our hearts and yet to cry with St. Paul, 'Alas, wretched creature that I am, who shall deliver me from this prison of my body?,' are not incompatible things. Therefore let each one of us mourn and even be grieved at heart, because we are still so much given to our wicked lusts and the numerous vices that are in us. Nevertheless let us not cease also to say that we thank God, and to be contented with his giving of such provision to us as ought well to suffice us, and to wait until he accomplishes and perfects what he has begun, seeing we have his Holy Spirit thus dwelling in us with a promise that we shall never be destitute of him right up to the end. Thus you see how we are here encouraged to take the bit between our teeth and to walk with such steadfastness that all the miseries of the world may not stop us pursuing our course till we come to our goal.
And that is the reason why St. Paul speaks purposely of redemption. It is true that we are redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and he is given to us for our redemption, as is said in other passages, [I Cor. 1:30; I Tim. 2:6] but we do not have the effect and full fruition of it as yet. There is, then, a double redemption— one which was accomplished in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, and another which we wait for and which shall be shown to us at his coming again. Accordingly, St. Paul says in the eighth chapter to the Romans [v. 23] that, although we groan and are held down in anguish, yet we must not be dismayed by it, nor think it strange, because all
creatures (he says) keep us company, and are even as a woman that travails with child. For we see that all the world is subject to corruption through the sin of Adam. Seeing then it is so, let us not falter in our groanings, but let us moderate our affections so that we are content that our redemption has been purchased for us in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, and let us trust in him that he will accomplish the same thing in us and our persons that he has accomplished for us in his own. That which St. Paul meant, then, is that God's Spirit is our pledge during the time that we wait to be taken out of this transitory life and to be set free from all miseries, especially from the bondage of sin, which is the heaviest burden of all. Until such time, then, as we are delivered from all those things, we must rest on this, that God's Spirit dwells in us.
And with regard to the 'redemption of purchase', it may well be taken for purchased redemption, since it is a very common way of speaking; just as by the expression 'the Spirit of promise' is meant the Spirit who satisfies all the promises; or 'the Spirit of the fear of God,' because it is he that makes us obedient to his righteousness. In the same way, when he speaks of the redemption of purchase, it may well be said that it is the redemption which was purchased for us, to show that if we feel the effect of it in ourselves, so that we are not in any doubt about the things Jesus Christ has done for us, we must not fear that he has suffered in vain. For surely his suffering would be to no purpose at all towards us, if it did not reach us so that it might result in our profit, and that we might enjoy it. That, therefore, is what is purchased in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.