Brief Exposition of Galatians and Ephesians, Exposition 2 · Chapter 1 · Verse and explication 8
Vers. 9. Having made known unto us the mysterie of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself.
THe Apostle doth illustrate the former benefit of effectual calling, from the mean which God maketh use of for bringing of it about, to wit, His making known the doctrine of the Gospel, which is here called a Mysterie, (as elsewhere, See Eph. 6. 19. 1 Tim. 3. 16.) that is, according to the use of the word in Scripture, a religious and sacred secret; and this also he sheweth doth flow from the same good-pleasure and free-grace formerly spoken of, the manifesting whereof was firmly resolved upon by God in his eternal purpose, being moved by nothing so to do without himself. Doct. 1. The Gospel, or doctrine of salvation through free-grace, is a sacred secret, transcending the reach of ordinary knowledge, a very mysterie, even such, as nothing could be known of it either by Man or Angels, before it was revealed, Eph. 3. 10. and such, as was but sparingly revealed before Christ's incarnation, even to the Jews only, and to some few proselytes, Psal. 147. 19, 20. and such as remaineth a thing hid, even after it is revealed, unto natural men whose minds the god of this world hath blinded; So, as though they can discourse of, and preach the Gospel, Mat. 7. 22. yet, they do not believe it, 2 Cor. 4. 4. Yea, and it is a mysterie, even to Believers themselves, if their knowledge here be compared with what it shall be hereafter, 1 Cor. 13. 12. for, by the mysterie of his will, he understandeth the Gospel, and chiefly, as it was now clearly manifested both to Jew and Gentile, chap. 3. 6. Secondly, this mysterie of the Gospel now revealed, containeth and manifesteth God's will concerning the salvation of lost sinners: though not his secret will, or decree, concerning those whom in particular he intendeth to save, 2 Tim. 2. 19—Yet his revealed will, holding forth the way of our duty, and the course condescended upon, by which, and not otherwayes, sinners shall be saved: for, hence it is called the mysterie of his will. 3. The ordinary mean, whereby God doth call the Elect effectually, and convey the graces of his Spirit unto their gracelesse hearts, is the revelation of the Gospel, and his making of it known, chiefly by the publick preaching thereof, Rom. 10. 14, 15. for, the Apostle, having already spoken of God's bestowing all saving grace upon them, doth here condescend upon the mean made use of by him in that work; Having made known unto us the mysterie of his will. 4. There is nothing which moveth God to reveal his Gospel unto one people, and not to another, or more obscurely to one, and more clearly unto another, but only his own good will and pleasure so to do: neither doth the Lord any thing contrary to justice hereby, seing he is not obliged to send the Gospel unto any, Rom. 11. 35. and all have more knowledge of God by nature than they make good use of, Rom. 1. 21. for, this alone is here given as the reason of his making known the mysterie of his will even according to his good pleasure. 5. So carefull is God to maintain the interest of his free-grace in our salvation, as being the only supream and fountaincause thereof; that he thinketh it not sufficient once to assert, in the general, that salvation and all the means and steps tending towards it, do flow from his free-grace, but that this be again and again inculcated, and (all the particular steps which lead to salvation being condescended upon) that his free-grace, favour and good will be held out as the fountain of each step in particular: for, the Apostle doth so, and that by an heavenly and divine artifice, sliding down from one step to another, from Election to Redemption, and from Redemption to effectual calling, and from effectual calling unto God's bestowing the outward mean of salvation, the Gospel; not only ascribing all to God's free-grace, but making grace the mid-link of the chain, whereby he joyneth the several parts of his discourse together; so, ver. 8. Wherein he abounded; and here, According to the good pleasure of his will, and which he purposed in himself, as having no cause without himself to set him on work. 6. As the decrees of God are firm, fixed and unchangeable; So he doth nothing in the matter of man's salvation, even to the least circumstance, but what he hath decreed to do: which (as will appear from ver. 11.) doth hold in all other things which God doth: for, by God's purpose is meaned his eternal decree with respect had to its stability and unchangeablenesse, there being neither want of fore-sight, nor of power in God to occasion the alteration of his purpose, which are the causes why men are frequently necessitated to alter theirs; and this purpose and decree, is spoken of here as the rule according to which God of his good pleasure did make known the mysterie of his will unto those Ephesians, in order to their salvation; Which he had purposed in himself, saith he.