Brief Exposition of Galatians and Ephesians, Exposition 2 · Chapter 5 · Verse and explication 30
Vers. 30. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
HE giveth here a reason why Christ doth so cherish His Church, where, in stead of naming the Church expresly, which the sequell of his discourse did require, he mentioneth himself and other true Believers among the Ephesians under the pronoun we; the Church here spoken of, for whom Christ did give Himself, being only made up of such: And the reason is taken from that neer and strict union, or that spirituall marriage, which is betwixt Christ and Believers, whereof that ancient marriage betwixt Adam and Eva was a kind of type and shadow, as appeareth from the words here used,, which are taken from Gen. 2. 23. and were uttered at first by Adam concerning himself and his wife, but are here, by allusion to that marriage of theirs, made use of, to set forth the spirituall marriage betwixt Christ and His Church, the tie and bond whereof is so near and strict, that as the Apostle sheweth, all Believers are members of His body; yea, not only of one nature with him, which is common to them with all mankind, but also as they are new creatures, they have their originall and nourishment from Him, even from His flesh and bones, in so far, as they owe the beginning, progresse and accomplishment of their spirituall life, to Christ His taking on of flash, and His suffering in the flesh, and by the vertue of those His sufferings, they are quickned and fed, and so are of His flesh, and of his bones. Doct. 1. Then do we speak, and hear to our comfort and edification, these truths, which expresse the tender and warm care of Christ unto His Church, when we make application of them to our selves, and by a lively faith do enter our selves among these for whom He doth so care: for, the Apostle, having in the preceeding verse spoken of Christs nourishing and cherishing of His Church, applyeth that to himself, and other true Believers among the Ephesians, while he saith, for we are members of his body. 2. Then may we upon good grounds apply these generall truths unto our selves, when, as members of Christs mysticall body, we draw our spirituall life and nourishment from that vertue and influence which Christ hath purchased by His sufferings in the flesh: for, upon this ground, Paul doth substitute himself, and other true Believers in stead of the Church, and claimeth interest in Christs tender and warm care, whereby He doth nourish and cherish His Church, while he saith, we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. 3. There is no relation, which Christ hath taken on toward His Church, but it bindeth him to, and accordingly he will perform all those, answerable duties which men under these relations are bound to perform toward those to whom they have them: for, he giveth a reason, why He did nourish and cherish His Church as a man doth his body, and a husband ought to cherish his wife, because he had taken on the relation of an head and husband to His Church, while he saith, we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. 4. As true Believers have a twofold being, one naturall, and another spirituall; so they have a twofold originall, answerable to each of these: In their naturall being they owe their originall under God unto their parents, as being bone of their bones, and flesh of their flesh, as Eva the first woman did owe it to her husband. But as they are renewed and born over again, they owe their spirituall being, not to the will of the flesh, or the will of man, Joh. 1. 13. but to the vertue of Christs obedience, and sufferings in His flesh, 1 Joh. 4. 9. for, he saith not, they are bone of His bones, and flesh of His flesh, as Adam saith of his wife, Gen. 2. 23. to point that she did owe her naturall being unto him, as being come and made of him, but that they were of His bone and flesh, to wit, in their spirituall being, as they were renewed and members of His body; for we are members of his body, of His bone and of His flesh.