Ephesians 3:10-11 To the intent that now to the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,… I. TO CREATE A SOCIETY IN WHICH HIS WISDOM SHOULD BE ILLUSTRATED AND REELECTED. 1. By the manner in which the Church was called into existence. The self-exclusion of the Jew bringing about a universal comprehension of all who believe. The production and discovery of a motive power to which "all sorts and conditions of men" would respond, viz., the gospel. The foolishness of preaching contrasted with the mighty results achieved (comp. the whole passage — 1 Corinthians 1:18-25). "By the triumph of the Divine love over the divisions, the sorrows, and the sins of mankind." 2. By the relation of the Church to preceding ages. II. THROUGH THE CHURCH TO DISPLAY HIS WISDOM TO THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE. It is a manifestation to the highest intelligences — the angels. They are represented as having a special interest in the spiritual history of mankind. That which from its complexity and the vastness of the space and time in which it realized itself might be for the most part inscrutable to men, these great beings, with clearer insight and vaster spiritual range, would be able to trace and appreciate. Their greater moral refinement would also fit them the better for this review. (A. F. Muir, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, |
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