Himself for it; in order that He might sanctify (hagiazo, "holy" is

hagios) and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, in order

that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or

wrinkle, or any such thing; but in order that it should be holy and

without blemish' (Eph. 5:25-27).

The words are exactly the same as those rendered `holy and without blame'

in Ephesians 1:4.  What fulness! what assurance!  The Father's object

accomplished by His Son, our Lord.  Oh that the Lord's people could rest here,

cease their vain strivings, and rest in the words of blessing -- it is finished.

Colossians 1:12-22 brings before us this same blessed truth.

There again

we find the Father and the Son in perfect accord:

`Giving thanks unto the Father, Who hath made us meet (sufficient) unto

the portion of the inheritance of the saints (or holy place, hagion) in

the light, Who hath delivered us from the authority of darkness, and hath

translated us into the kingdom of His beloved Son ... You that were

sometimes alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now

hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you

holy and unblameable (the same words as used in Eph. 1:4 and 5:27) and

unreproveable in His sight' (author's translation).

Meetness for the inheritance, the Father's object (Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:12), is the

result of the offering of His Son, our Lord (Eph. 5:25-27; Col. 1:22).

Positively holy, negatively without blame or blemish, made meet by the Father,

presented perfect by the Son, surely none can refrain from the words of praise,

`Blessed be God ... Who hath blessed us'.

The condition of `blamelessness' and `spotlessness' (Eph. 1 and 5) is that

which pertained to the Lord Jesus in the capacity of the great sacrifice for

`The precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish

(cf. Eph. 1:4) and without spot (Eph. 5:27): Who verily was foreordained

before the foundation (overthrow) of the world' (1 Pet. 1:19,20).

In this passage we learn that not only is the believer's state of

blemishlessness exactly the same as that of the Lord Jesus, but that the same

mark of time (before the overthrow) is spoken of them as it is of the Lord as

the foreordained Lamb.

Every additional verse we have read in this connection has strengthened

and deepened our knowledge and faith in the completeness and perfectness of our

standing `in Him'.  Ephesians 1:4 adds one more clause which is too important to

miss.  All this perfectness and holiness is `before Him'.  The expression

`before Him' is no vague term, but is the rendering of a very intense and

searching word, katenopion.  In 2 Corinthians 2:17 the apostle uses this strong

word (according to the Received Text) when seeking to show that he was not a

corrupter or trafficker of the word, but `as of sincerity (tested by sunlight),

as of God, ... speak we in Christ' (2 Cor. 2:17, cf. Jude 24).

Ephesians 1:4 renders katenopion autou `before Him'; Colossians 1:22 `in

His sight'.  The less emphatic word enopion occurs many times (see Rom. 12:17;

Rev. 4:5, etc.).  The qualification is stated positively, holy; negatively,