Ephesians 1:13

4. Into which predestination ye Ephesians have entered by faith, Ephesians 1:13-14.

13. Ye From the we of the general elect St. Paul now makes transition to the ye of the Ephesian elect, (which ye is mostly maintained through the epistle,) tracing the brief history of their hearing the gospel, believing, and being sealed over by the Spirit, to the final restitution of Ephesians 1:10. As founder of the Ephesian Church, St. Paul’s memory naturally recurs to the blessed process in which, by faith, they came into the glorious scheme of the divine election. He begins at these three verses the history of the inclusion of the Ephesians into the predestination unto the inheritance, but suspends it through Ephesians 1:16-23, and then he resumes it at Ephesians 2:1. That is, he veers from completing that history here, because at Ephesians 1:16-19 his mind is carried away by the thought of his prayer for their realizing their lot in Christ’s headship; and then, at Ephesians 1:20-23, his mind is borne upward by the thought of the glory of that headship. When these two successive raptures have passed, Paul resumes, in Ephesians 2:1, the thread of history commenced at Ephesians 1:13-15. Overlooking these two parenthetic digressions, the reader should tie this verse fast to Ephesians 2:1, as forming one narrative.

In whom ye Ephesians, parallel to in whom… we, Ephesians 1:11. We understand the two whoms of the present verse to be parallels, and the whole verse to be one sentence: In whom also ye, having heard, in whom also having believed: ye were sealed, etc. Faith came upon hearing; actual election came upon faith; and then sealing came upon their election. The first in whom, referring to Christ, implies that it is in him, as Lord and embodiment of the gospel, that men hear the gospel.

Sealed As heirs of your inheritance. In ordinary cases it is the title-deed that is sealed; but the regenerate nature, wrought by the Spirit, is the true title-deed of the elect.

Holy Spirit The impressive Greek phrase is, the Spirit of promise, the Holy. Why called the Spirit of promise? Meyer replies: “The term promise is a qualifying characteristic of the Holy Spirit, for it is promised in the Old Testament. Joel 2:28-29; Zechariah 12:10; Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 36:26, and onward; Ezekiel 39:29; compare Galatians 3:14.” And so the body of commentators. All this is good, and prepares us for the true point; but the point itself, as we are obliged to understand it, they fail to give. He is the Spirit of promise, not as promised, but as promising. He is the Spirit of promise because, being to us who are sealed an earnest, he promises to us our inheritance; that same inheritance which we have obtained in Ephesians 1:11, (where see note,) identical with the gather together of Ephesians 1:10, procured by the redemption both in Ephesians 1:14 and Ephesians 1:7, which are, in fact, identical. It is to this inheritance (identical with the gather together of Ephesians 1:10) that the predestination, not only of Ephesians 1:11 but of Ephesians 1:5, is made, and into that predestination the ye of Ephesians 1:13 entered by the faith named in Ephesians 1:15.