Ephesians 6:2

2. It would be tedious to collect out of all the passages in the Gospels the proofs by which the God of the law and of the Gospels is shown to be one and the same. Let us touch briefly upon the Acts of the Apostles, where Stephen and the other apostles address their prayers to that God who made heaven and earth, and who spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, calling Him the “God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob;” the God who “brought forth His people out of the land of Egypt.” Which expressions undoubtedly clearly direct our understandings to faith in the Creator, and implant an affection for Him in those who have learned piously and faithfully thus to think of Him; according to the words of the Saviour Himself, who, when He was asked which was the greatest commandment in the law, replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy m …

In the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians: “Children, be obedient to your parents: for this is right. Honour thy father and thy mother (which is the first command with promise), that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest be long-lived on the earth.”

2. And then forthwith to another who was silent, and said nothing, and promised nothing, He saith, “Follow Me!” As much evil as He saw in the other, so much good saw He in this man. “Follow Me,” Thou sayest to one who hath no wish for it. Lo, here is a man quite ready, “I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest;” and yet Thou sayest to another who hath no such wish, “Follow thou Me.” “The first,” saith He, “I decline, because I see in him holes, I see nests.” “But then why dost Thou press this other, whom Thou dost challenge to follow Thee, and he makes excuses? Lo, Thou dost even force him, and he doth not come; Thou dost exhort him, and he doth not follow. For what doth he say? ‘I will go first to bury my father.’” The faith of his heart showed itself to the Lord; but his dutiful affec tion made him delay. …

5. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Tell me, what kind of earth? Somesay a figurative earth, but it is not this, for nowhere in Scripture do we find any mention of an earth that is merely figurative. But what can the saying mean? He holds out a sensible prize; even as Paul also doth, in that when he had said, “Honor thy father and thy mother,”he added, “For so shalt thou live long upon the earth.” And He Himself unto the thief again, “Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”

And since this had no shade of contrariety to the law, to command men to wash their hands, He brings forward another tradition, which is opposed to the law. And what He saith is like this. “They taught the young, under the garb of piety, to despise their fathers.” How, and in what way? “If one of their parents said to his child, Give me this sheep that thou hast, or this calf, or any such thing, they used to say, ‘This is a gift to God, whereby thou wouldest be profited by me, and thou canst not have it.’ And two evils hence arose: on the one hand they did not bring them to God, on the other they defrauded their parents under the name of the offering, alike insulting their parents for God’s sake, and God for their parents’ sake.” But He doth not say this at once, but first rehearses the law, by which He signifies His earnest desire that parents should be honored. …

[6.] But I fear lest having assumed the dress, yet in their deeds some of our women should be found immodest and in other ways uncovered. For therefore also writing to Timothy Paul was not content with these things, but added others, saying, “that they adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold.” ( 1 Tim. ii. 9 .) For if one ought not to have the head bare, but everywhere to carry about the token of authority, much more is it becoming to exhibit the same in our deeds. Thus at any rate the former women also used both to call their husbands lords, ( 1 Pet. iii. 6 .) and to yield the precedence to them. “Because they for their part,” you say, “used to love their own wives.” I know that as well as you: I am not ignorant of it. But when we are exhorting thee concerning thine own duties, let not theirs take all thine attention. …

Ephesians vi. 1-3 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” As a man in forming a body, places the head first, after that the neck, then the feet, so does the blessed Paul proceed in his discourse. He has spoken of the husband, he has spoken of the wife, who is second in authority, he now goes on by gradual advances to the third rank, which is that of children. For the husband has authority over the wife, and the husband and the wife over the children. Now then mark what he is saying. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is the first commandment with promise.” Here he has not a word of discourse concerning Christ, not a word on high subjects, for he is as yet addressing his discourse to tender understandings. …

54. What of the laboriousness of his teaching? The manifold character of his ministry? His loving kindness? And on the other hand his strictness? And the combination and blending of the two; in such wise that his gentleness should not enervate, nor his severity exasperate? He gives laws for slaves and masters, rulers and ruled, husbands and wives, parents and children, marriage and celibacy, self-discipline and indulgence, wisdom and ignorance, circumcision and uncircumcision, Christ and the world, the flesh and the spirit. On behalf of some he gives thanks, others he upbraids. Some he names his joy and crown, others he charges with folly. Some who hold a straight course he accompanies, sharing in their zeal; others he checks, who are going wrong. …

And when his wife was hard and would not consent to him as he constantly persisted with entreaties of this kind, but said that as she was in the flower of her age she could not altogether do without the solace of her husband, and further that supposing she was deserted by him and fell into sin, the guilt would rather be his who had broken the bonds of wedlock: to this he, when he had for a long while urged the condition of human nature (which being so weak and uncertain, it would be dangerous for it to be any longer mixed up with carnal desires and works), added the assertion that it was not right for anyone to cut himself off from that virtue to which he had learnt that he ought by all means to cleave, and that it was more dangerous to disregard goodness when discovered, than to fail to love it before it was discovered; further that he was already involved in the guilt of a fall if when …