I. It is +a mystery+ it should be so long hid; a mystery, because
when it was plainly revealed it was not understood by those to whom
it was manifested; a mystery, for God was pleased to raise up a
special apostle to explain and reveal, to make an epiphany of this
great truth--the will of God that all men should be saved, that His
Gospel should be universally known, should be open to all for
acceptance.
II. +Our share and fellowship in the work of the Gospel is to make
all men see their interest in it,+ to make them understand its true
catholicity, to make all men see that it is from the first the will
of God that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs. By the Church is to
be made known the manifold wisdom of God. Every member of the Church
is to have his or her part in doing this work. We are all to take
part in it by our lives, our conversation, our example, our good
works and words. By availing ourselves of opportunities we are to
help to make known this manifold wisdom of God.
III. Think for a moment +what is the state of those men who do not
know what is their fellowship with this mystery.+--I am not speaking
of the entirely ignorant. Even religious people do not half
understand or appreciate the deep meaning of such words as these.
Christianity means expansion, comprehension; it embraces all, and all
men must see in it what is the fellowship of the mystery that we have
received and that has been made known to us. We must be a light that
cannot be hid.--_Bishop Claughton._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 10-13.
_The Manifold Wisdom of God_--
+I. Seen in the development of a long-cherished plan.+--1. _This plan
was carried out by Christ._ "According to the eternal purpose which
He purposed in Christ" (ver. 11). The plan is here called the
"eternal purpose," and that purpose was the redemption of man, and
the personage selected for its accomplishment was the Lord Jesus
Christ. This was the unchanging theme of "the Gospel of which the
apostle was made a minister," this the Divinely freighted argosy of
"the unsearchable riches of Christ," the veiled and sacred repository
of all heavenly mysteries. The plan is significantly called the
"manifold wisdom of God"--as manifold as mysterious, for there is
variety in the mystery and mystery in every part of the variety. The
wisdom is seen, not so much in one act as in the masterly combination
of a multitude of acts, all marshalled and disposed with consummate
skill to the attainment of one grand end; just as the light that
fills and irradiates the valley, penetrating every nook and crevice
and clothing every object with beauty, is produced, not by a solitary
ray, but by manifold rays poured from the central sun, and all
uniting in one harmonious illumination. The crowning wisdom of the
plan was in God appointing His only Son as the agent in carrying it
out. He, the sinless One, must suffer for sin; the Innocent die for
the guilty, and by dying conquer sin. Only thus could the righteous
claims of the violated law be fully satisfied, the offence of the
sinning one condoned, the authority of the Divine government
maintained, and the character of the Holy One vindicated to the whole
universe.
2. _That the plan has been accomplished is evident from the attitude
assumed towards man and towards God by believers_ (ver. 13).--As
regards the attitude of the believer towards man, he has now
"boldness" in declaring the whole truth, and towards God he has
"access with confidence by the faith of Him"--he has confidential
fellowship with God. Both these experiences are the result of the
redeeming plan, and would have been impossible without it.
+II. Seen in the indifference to suffering its revelations
inspire.+--"I desire that ye faint not [do not lose heart] at my
tribulations for you, which is your glory" (ver. 13). Paul had no
anxiety for himself. He almost playfully alludes to his imprisoned
state: "The prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles" (ver. 1). His
soul was too full of heavenly visions and of the practical bearing of
the Gospel on the destiny of the race to be harassed about his
personal suffering. When he thought about it at all it was to rejoice
in the honour of being allowed to suffer for such a cause, and in the
opportunities afforded of spreading the Gospel in quarters that might
otherwise have been closed to him. But the Church feared for their
champion's life, and was troubled about his prolonged sufferings and
imprisonment. The apostle assures his friends there was more reason
for joyous boasting than for pity and dread. The sufferings and
misfortunes of the Church have been overruled in promoting her
enlargement. The flames of the martyrs have illumined the truth, and
the captivity of its professors has prepared the throne of its
universal empire. Personal religion has grown stronger by opposition
and suffering, and the Church has multiplied by the very means which
were intended to destroy her.
+III. Seen in making the Church of the redeemed the means of
instructing the heavenly intelligences+ (ver. 10).--These lofty
beings, with their vast knowledge and gigantic powers, learn
something from the Divine treatment of sinful, rebellious men. They
gain new light, fresher and more expansive views, regarding the
character and perfections of God; and perhaps the chief point on
which their angelic knowledge will be increased is in the glorious
revelations the Gospel unfolds of the infinite love of God. The
Church on earth, with all its contradictions and imperfections,
presents a magnificent picture of self-denial, devotion, and praise;
but this is only a faint representation of the splendour of the
Church above in its more completed state. The Church above is a
society organised; the church below is a society organising. The
heavenly intelligences are watching both processes, and their
wondering adoration is being continually excited as they observe the
building up and ever-advancing completion of the redeemed community.
If there is one thing more than another that amazes "the
principalities and powers"--amazes them more than the manifold wisdom
of God unfolded to them by the Church--it must surely be the apathy
and indifference of men on earth to their redemptive blessings!--that
so much has been done to make man wise, and he remains willingly and
contentedly ignorant; that God has been so prodigal of His wealth,
and man is so slow to appreciate and seize the proffered enrichment;
that God offers the abundant bread of eternal life, and man prefers
to starve in lean and comfortless poverty, and grumbles against
heaven that he is so poor; that salvation is pressed on his
acceptance, and man persists in perishing; that "heaven lies about
him in his infancy," and the celestial gate opens before him in every
subsequent stage of life, and yet man resists the alluring glory, and
stumbles at last into the bottomless chasm of eternal darkness.
+Lessons.+--1. _The wisdom of God is continually presenting new
illustrations of its manifoldness._ 2. _The most signal display of
Divine wisdom is seen in the redemption of the race._ 3. _The future
history of the Church will reveal new features in the manifold wisdom
of God._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._