And how is this? Not only is there this marvel, that He hath given His Son, but yet further
that He hath given Him in such a way, as that the Beloved One Himself should be slain!
Yea, and more transcendent still! He hath given the Beloved for them that were hated.
See, how high a price he sets upon us. If, when we hated Him and were enemies, He gave
the Beloved, what will He not do now, when we are reconciled by Him through grace?
Ver. 7. “The forgiveness,” saith he, “of our trespasses.”
Again he descends from high to low: first speaking of adoption, and sanctification, and
blamelessness, and then of the Passion, and in this not lowering his discourse and bringing
it down from greater things to lesser, no rather, he was heightening it, and raising it from
the lesser to the greater. For nothing is so great as that the blood of this Son should be shed
for us. Greater this than both the adoption, and all the other gifts of grace, that He spared
not even the Son. For great indeed is the forgiveness of sins, yet this is the far greater thing,
that it should be done by the Lord’s blood. For that this is far greater than all, look how here
again he exclaims,
Ver. 7, 8. “According to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us.”
The abovementioned gifts are riches, yet is this far more so. “Which,” saith he, “He
made to abound toward us.” They are both “riches” and “they have abounded,” that is to
say, were poured forth in ineffable measure. It is not possible to represent in words what
blessings we have in fact experienced. For riches indeed they are, abounding riches, and He
hath given in abundance riches not of man but of God, so that on all hands it is impossible
that they should be expressed. And to show us how He gave it to such abundance, he adds,
Ver. 8, 9. “In all wisdom and prudence,185 having made known unto us the mystery of
His will.”
That is to say, Making us wise and prudent, in that which is true wisdom, and that which
is true prudence. Strange! what friendship! For He telleth us His secrets; the mysteries, saith
he, of His will, as if one should say, He hath made known to us the things that are in His
heart. For here is indeed the mystery which is full of all wisdom and prudence. For what
will you mention equal to this wisdom! Those that were worth nothing, it hath discovered
a way of raising them to wealth and abundance. What can equal this wise contrivance? He
that was an enemy, he that was hated, he is in a moment lifted up on high. And not this
only,—but, yet more, that it should be done at this particular time, this again was the work
of wisdom; and that it should be done by means of the Cross. It were matter of long discourse
185 [“‘In all wisdom and prudence’ is not to be joined, as Chrysostom does, with ‘having made known’
(γνωρίσας), because it would thus denote the attribute of God operative in the γνωρίζειν, which on account of
the πάσῃ, ‘every,’ is not admissible. Paul in making known the mystery had to set forth not the display of ‘grace
in itself but as revealed.’ Hence some definition to the clause, ‘which he made to abound toward us,’ is necessary
and this is the ‘in all wisdom and prudence.’”—Meyer.—G.A.]
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Ephesians 1:1--2