This precious portion of the inspired word, which gives the most exalted view of the Christian calling, emphasizes the fact that we are indebted to the grace of God, and the blood of Christ, for this marvelous position, of which we could not even have thought. "God, who is rich in mercy," thought of this. "By grace ye are saved." "Ye who sometimes," or formerly, " were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ." And how nigh are we thus brought ? " Made to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus;" or, as it is expressed in the first chapter, "blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Israel was blessed with all temporal blessings in earthly places on condition of keeping the law. Those who believe in Jesus are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places as the gift of grace through His precious blood.

It must be by grace that we have this calling on high. Even if Adam and Eve, while in their state of innocence, had been given a place in heaven, it would have been a matter of pure grace. By their obedience they could only keep their first estate. They could not earn a higher one. If so, it must indeed be grace which gives us a place there, – us who were away from God, lost and undone through sin ; lying, as a Christian poet expresses it, " at hell's dark door." But while grace alone might have been sufficient to give our unfallen parents a place in heaven, it required more than grace to give us a place there; that is, it required grace to lay a basis on which God could righteously pick us up, and give us a place in His holy presence. Justice required that sin be atoned for; as, without it – " without shedding of blood-is no remission." Hence it is said in our passage that we are "made nigh by the blood of Christ."

The first three verses tell us of the condition in which grace found us, namely, "dead in trespasses and sins," etc. But God who is rich in mercy, loved us in this condition, and sent the Son of His love to meet our deep need. He came where we were. Yes, while " a certain priest," and "likewise a Levite," could look on, but bring no relief – in other words, while Judaism could really do nothing for either Jew or Gentile, He who was rich in glory, and for our sake became poor, proved Himself to be the good Samaritan, -He came where we were! He did this in the fullest sense, – He put Himself in our place, died as our precious substitute on Calvary's cross, as an atonement for the trespasses and sins in which we were dead; thus, to meet our sad condition, He became, in a sense, dead with us. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, that we by His stripes might be healed. And then, as a proof of finished atonement, God, as is stated in the previous chapter, '' raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come."And as the exceeding greatness of the power which wrought this in Christ is to us-ward who believe, therefore in the next chapter – the portion we are dwelling upon-it is said that "God, for His great love, wherewith He has loved us … hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us," Jewish and Gentile believers, "sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Of course, the value of Christ's atoning death is not divinely appropriated to us till we receive Him in a true faith. But as soon as we do receive Him, the value of His death is ours, and therefore we are at once in God's eye seen as dead with Him – a truth taught in other epistles of Paul, -that is, we are seen as having died with our Substitute when He gave His life for us on Calvary; and, as a consequence, we are, as stated in the passage before us, quickened with Him, raised up with Him, and seated in the heavenly places in Him. In short, we are at once identified with Christ in His death, resurrection, and ascension, which took place more than eighteen hundred years ago. Yea more, we are identified with Him as now seated in the heavenlies. We are seated there in Him. As sure as He lives before the face of God, we live also. Such is the present exalted position or standing of all true believers in Jesus, however poorly they may be taught in these precious, truths. Of course, the work of Christ is perfect. If so, the standing of believers before God is perfect. It being in Christ, it must be perfect. Thus we start with perfection. God must have perfection, – He must have it for us; and therefore, in His great love, He provided it at His own cost. Hence we can in deep lowliness bring Him perfection by pleading Christ, by trusting in Him whom He delivered to death for us, and who is now in His presence in cloudless acceptance as our representative. Praise our God for this gracious and perfect provision! He has given us One on whom we can rest our .weary souls with the fullest confidence- One in whom the pure light of heaven cannot discover a spot or a flaw ; and as He is, so are we in God's thoughts.

"We praise, then, our God ; how rich is His grace ! We were far from Him once-estranged from his face; By blood we are purchased, are cleansed and made nigh, And blest in His presence, in Jesus, on high ! "

We have next, verse 7, God's purpose in giving us this perfect standing in His presence, namely, " That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."Thus, while we have even now this exalted position in Christ, and thereby a present object for the heart, we have a bright and sure hope of being with Him where He is,-the position and the hope being inseparably connected. "If children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." The hope, our verse tells us, is to be realized "in the ages to come." The saints who depart this life before the Lord comes are now with Him; but the apostle here passes over that, and fixes the eye on ,the great hope, when the whole family, in redeemed bodies, will be at home-

" Far from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in."

This world has had its ages. This age is called '' the present evil world" or age. Satan is designated " the god of this world"-of this age. No wonder, then, that though God can and does work in this scene, He cannot rest in it. His holiness cannot rest where sin is, and His love cannot rest where misery is. If, then, our fellowship is with Him, we, entering into His thoughts, walking with Him, we cannot rest here. But '' in the ages to come " when all things will be brought in accordance with His mind, He will rest, and when He rests, His children can rest. They enter into His rest-a rest which will be forever.

"There we shall bathe our weary souls
In seas of heavenly rest,
And not a wave of trouble roll
Across our peaceful breast."

God can then freely "show" all that is now in His heart-freely and fully "show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." God is exercising the riches of His grace toward us even now, blessed be His name ; but we walk by faith, then by sight; all will be fully manifested forever. Beside, all will be absent which here vexes and annoys, and everything present which can minister to our perfect and ever-enduring blessedness. And the brightest thought of all is, that we who were undone and defiled by sin, shall "be holy and without blame before Him in love " forever-in spirit and body suited to His holiness and love.

"Yes, in that light unstained,
Our sinless souls shall live;
Our heart's deep longings more than gained
When God His rest shall give.

" His presence there, my soul,
Its rest, its joy untold
Shall find, when endless ages roll;-
And time shall ne'er grow old."

" Our God the center is-
His presence fills that land,
And countless myriads, owned as His,
Round Him adoring stand."

And all this "through Christ Jesus." We shall need Him in glory as well as now.

And we now are to walk according to all this, and in the sense and power of it. The apostle mentions this in verse 10, and exhorts thereto throughout the epistle. Though the apostle teaches in verses 8 and 9 that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works, yet in the next verse he says, " For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good. works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."Thus, though we are not saved by works, but simply on the principle of faith,. yet, being saved, we are to walk as saved persons. When we are"created in Christ Jesus," in other words, when we are quickened with Christ, raised up with Him, and seated in heaven in Him, surely we are saved, justified, born again, and good works must come in here, not to get this place in Christ, but because we are in it. The subsequent exhortations in this epistle accord with this. Says the apostle, "I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.""Be followers," or imitators, "of God, as dear children, and walk in love as Christ hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us." Thus we are to imitate the One to whom we are brought, and the love which brought us there. "For ye were sometimes," or formerly, "darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light." Further, we are exhorted to "put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." He is ever busy seeking to get us down from a sense of our heavenly calling, for if he can do even that, our walk, though it may to the eye of the natural man be correct, yet it will not be a heavenly walk, and we cease, till restored, to be a real testimony for Christ. Whereas, if we, in spite of all the powers of evil, maintain a true sense of the place which grace has given us, and of the consequent hope, and walk in the power which is for us, others may notice that, our eye is on the unseen-that our backs arc toward this poor world from which, through the cross, we have been delivered, and that our faces are set toward that into which, through grace, we are brought, with its bright outcome.

In closing, it may be well for us to be reminded that the apostle prayed that these Ephesian Christians might have "the eyes of their understanding enlightened," or, rather, the eyes of the heart, as the original word means, enlightened, that they might really know the calling of God, and its blessed hope. And surely we no less need prayer for this end. Oh, let us see that we have much more than an intellectual knowledge of these things. Let us be more before our God, asking that the eyes of our hearts may be more and more opened-that we may see with growing clearness our calling on high, and the sure hope it gives; so that the eyes of the heart seeing all this, the poor heart, prone to be untrue, may be taken captive in view of abounding grace, which has done, and will do, all this for us; and then out of the heart the mouth will speak; yea, more, the feet and the bands; that is, we shall have a word for Christ, also we shall run with alacrity in the path of obedience, and be glad to serve in any way, and this to "the glory of our God and Saviour. God is our sufficiency for this. R. H.