even though it had been preserved in fome, they could have no authority; because the omiffion of the words, in Ephesus, would make this a general epistle; contrary to chap. i. 15. which fhews, that it was addreffed to fome particular church, of whose faith and love the apostle had heard good accounts, and whom he begged not to faint at his afflictions for them, chap. iii. 13. Contrary alfo to chap. vi. 21, 22. which fhews, that the members of this particular church were well acquainted with the writer, and took such an interest in him, as to be comforted by the knowledge of his affairs: Nay, contrary to ver. 23, 24. of the fame chapter, where the benediction is given, first to the brethren of a particular church, and then to all who loved our Lord Jefus Chrift in fincerity.

For

5. To the paffages in this epiftle, quoted to prove that it could not be written to the Ephefians, Lardner oppofes a variety of other paffages, which agree better to the Ephefians than to any other people; particularly those which fhew, that the apostle was well acquainted with the perfons to whom he wrote. example, chap. i. 13. where he says, By whom, (Chrift) after ye believed, ye were fealed with the Spirit of promife.—Alfo in the end of chap. i. having spoken of Christ as filling all his members with his gifts and graces, he adds, chap. ii. 1. Even you who were dead in trefpaffes and fins.-Chap. iv. 20. But ye have not fo learned Chrift. 21. Seeing ye have heard him, and have been taught concerning him, as the truth is in Jefus. Now could the apostle say these things, unless he had been well acquainted with the perfons to whom he wrote: or rather, unless they had been inftructed, and endowed with the spiritual gifts, by himfelf?-Farther, if the apostle had not been well acquainted with the persons to whom he was writing, and if they had not been his own converts, would they have taken fuch an interest in him, as to make it proper for him to fend Tychicus, to make known all things to them concerning himself? chap. vi. 21, 22.—To all the former, add chap. ii. 20, 21, 22. iii. 18. in which there are evident allufions to the temple of Diana; which fhews ftill more plainly, that the epiftle under confideration, was written to the inhabitants of Ephefus.

6. The paffages in this epistle, which are quoted to prove that it could not be written to the Ephefians, may cafily be inter

preted,

preted, confiftently with the fuppofition that it was infcribed to the Ephefians; as fhall be fhewn in the notes on the paffages themfelves, chap. i. 15. iii. 2.-4.

7. The falutation fent to the brethren in Laodicea, Col. iv. 15. is a strong prefumption, that the epiftle in the canon, infcribed to the Ephefians, was not directed to the Laodiceans. For the epistle to the Coloffians, being written at the fame time with the fuppofed epiftle to the Laodiceans, and fent by the fame meffenger, Tychicus, Ephef. vi. 21. Col. iv. 7, 8. is it probable, that in the epiftle to the Coloffians, the apostle would think it needful to falute the brethren in Laodicea, to whom he had written a particular letter, in which he had given them his apoftolical benediction?

To conclude, the arguments on the one fide, and on the other of this question, being fairly weighed, every impartial perfon, I should think, must be fenfible, that Mill's opinion ftands on no folid foundation. And therefore, I fcruple not to affirm, with Dr. Lardner, that the epistle under confideration was not written to the Laodiceans, but to the Ephefians; as the inscription, which is undoubtedly genuine, exprefsly bears.-If any reader is of a different opinion, he may be indulged in it, because as Chandler obferves, "It is not material to whom the epiftle was "inscribed, whether to the Ephefians or Laodiceans, fince the "authority of the epistle doth not depend on the persons to "whom it was written, but on the perfon who indited it; who "was St. Paul, as the letter itself teftifies, and all genuine antiquity confirms.”

SECT. III. Of the Occafion of Writing the Epiftle to the
Ephefians.

During the apostle's imprisonment at Rome, among others who were fent to enqnire after his welfare, Epaphroditus came to him from the Philippians, and Epaphras from the Colof fians. In return, for the kindness of these churches, the apoftle wrote to them the letters in the Canon of the New Teftament, which bear their names. Now, as was observed in the last pa

ragraph

ragraph but one of the preceding fection, seeing he fent his let ter to the Ephefians, by Tychicus the bearer of his epiftle to the Coloffians, and left it to him to give the Ephefians an account of his state, (Eph. vi. 21.) And seeing Epaphroditus, (Philip. iv. 18.) and Epaphras, (Col. i. 7, 8.) came from their respective churches, to give the apostle an account of their affairs, and to enquire how matters went with him, may we not suppose, that Tychicus alfo came on the fame errand from Ephefus? Efpecially as we have reason to think he was an Ephefian, from his being appointed by the churches of Afia, of which Ephesus was the metropolis, their meffenger, along with Trophimus an Ephefian, (Acts xxi. 29.) to accompany Paul to Jerufalem with the collections, Acts xx. 4. Befides, it appears, that about the time the epistle to the Ephefians was written, fome perfon had given the apostle an account of their affairs: for he tells them, chap. i. 15. That he had heard of their faith and love. This person I suppose was Tychicus, who may have told him: likewise of the infidious arts, used by the Judaizing teachers, for perfuading the Ephefians to join the law of Mofes with the gospel. But whoever the perfon was, who gave the information, he at the fame time affured the apostle, that their arts had not fucceeded. The Ephefians maintained the faith of Christ in purity, and lived fuitably to their Christian profession.

This good news filled the apoftle with joy. Nevertheless, knowing how indefatigable the falfe teachers were in spreading their errors, he wrote to the Ephefians, the letter which bears their name: not to cenfure them for any irregularity of conduct, as he did the Corinthians; nor for any deviation from the doctrine of the gospel, as he did the Galatians; but merely to prevent them from being impreffed with the plausible arguments which the Judaizers used, to persuade them to embrace the law of Mofes, of these arguments indeed, the apostle hath given us no particular account. But from the things which he hath written, to establish the Ephefians in the faith and profeffion of the gospel, we may conjecture, that at Ephesus, as in all other places, the false teachers suited their arguments to the paffions and prejudices of the perfons they addreffed. And therefore, because the Ephefians, before their converfion, had been captivated with an high admiration of the heathen mysteries, and

with the magnificence of the temple of Diana, and with the splendor of her worship; and took great honour to themselves, as keepers of the temple of that idol; and boafted of the privileges which her priests and votaries enjoyed: The Judaizers talked to them in the most pompous manner, of the law of Moses, and of its wonderful discoveries concerning the being and attributes of God, the origin of things, the deluge, the general judgment, &c. as far exceeding the discoveries made in the most celebrated of the heathen myfteries. They defcribed likewise, the magnificence of the temple at Jerufalem, and the splendor of the worship performed there, according to a ritual of God's own appointment: They praifed the efficacy of the atonements made by the Levitical facrifices, and the advantages which the Jews derived from the oracles of the true God, contained in their facred books: Withal they extolled the Jews, as the most honourable people on earth, because they were the keepers of the only temple the true God had on earth, and worshipped him in that temple, and had among them an order of men, made priests by God himself, to offer facrifices for fin, and to perform all the other parts of the worship of God.

Thefe difcourfes I have faid, are not formally stated by the apostle. Nevertheless, as was juft now observed, the things which he hath written in this epistle, imply, that the Judaizing teachers had amused the Ephefians with speeches of that fort. For, left the admiration of the heathen mysteries might have made them fond of the law of Mofes, whose discoveries they were told exceeded the difcoveries in the mysteries; and left their paffion for a pompous worship, might have inclined them to embrace the shewy rites of Judaism, or perhaps to relapse into heathenifm, the apoftle gave them fuch a fublime view of the Christian doctrine and worship, as could not fail to raise their admiration. Only in giving it, he did not follow the didactic method; but filled his letter with rapturous thanksgivings to God, for the great difcoveries made to the Ephefians in the gofpel. And having mentioned fome of these discoveries, he called them The mystery of God's will, chap. i. 9.—and the mys tery, by way of eminence, chap. iii. 3.—and the mystery of Chrift, ver. 4.—and the mystery of the gospel, chap. vi. 19. and observed that that mystery was made known to the holy apostles and prophets,

phets, by the Spirit, Ephef. iii. 5. not to be concealed, like the heathen mysteries, but to be published; that Jews and Gentiles receiving it, might be gathered together into one church, ver. 10. or fellowship; which he called a heavenly place, on account of the discoveries of heavenly things that were made in it, chap. ii. 6. Next the apostle prayed that God would enlighten their understanding, that they might know the greatness and extent of the bleffings promised to believers in the mystery of God's will, ver. 18. 19. Then spake of the dignity of Chrift, whom God hath made head over all things to the church, and of his power to fill all the members of his church with fpiritual gifts, ver. 20.-23. And among the reft, even the idolatrous Gentiles themselves, who notwithstanding the difcoveries made in the heathen myfteries, were living in deplorable ignorance and wickedness, chap. ii. 1.-3.

Next, with respect to the law of Mofes, and the pompous worship performed in the temple of Jerufalem, the apostle told the Ephefians, that they and the reft of the Gentiles, while idolaters, had indeed been excluded from that worship, and of course were strangers to the covenants of promife, and without hope. But the want of these privileges, was not to be regretted by them under the gospel; because Christ by his death had abolished the whole ordinances of the law of Mofes, as of no farther ufe. And by joining Jews and Gentiles into one new society, or church, the Gentiles were become joint partakers with the Jews in all spiritual privileges, chap. ii. 11.-18: And were no longer ftrangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the believing Jews, ver. 19: And were built with them on the foundation of the prophets and apoftles, into a great temple for an habitation of God, chap. ii. 22.-By reprefenting the Christian church under the idea of a temple, the apostle, if I mistake not, infinuated among other things, that it was intended to be the repofitory of the mystery of God's will, as the heathen temples were the repofitories of the mysteries of the gods to whom they were confecrated.

Farther, the apostle affured the Ephefians, that the mystery of Chrift had been made known to him and his brethren apostles, more fully than in former ages to the Jewish prophets; namely,

that