The whole world is ranged under two heads, the Truth, and the Lie. Christ stands at

the head of one, Satan at the other. Truth makes the weakest invincible. Truth will

prevent the ship from being carried by the winds and waves. Truth will deliver from the

sleight of men and reveal the systematic deceit of the wicked one.

We shall see presently the close connection between the "old man" and "the lie", and

the "new man" and "the truth"; let us here, while the passage is before us, remember the

close association that must ever be between "the perfect man" and "the truth" also.

(Mystery15, pp.26-30).

In our previous studies we have seen that the opening of the practical section of this

epistle (chapter 4:) sums up all true practice in the exhortation, "walk worthy of your

calling". Practice is the fruit of doctrine and cannot be disassociated from it. It would be

useless, for example, to exhort wives and husbands to comply with the practical

exhortations of chapter 5: if they did not heartily accept the doctrinal basis upon which

those exhortations rest. Consequently while it is true that we are now studying the

practical section of this epistle, there is no arbitrary exclusion of doctrine, and we shall

find much doctrine interwoven with the practical teaching of this section.

The disposition of subject matter must be observed. The positive exhortation of

Eph. 4: 1 is followed by a negative testimony as to how not to walk. Between these two

phases of truth there is a glorious parenthesis dealing with the one Body (verses 3-16),

and following the negative testimony (and placed in correspondence) is the teaching

concerning the new man.

The epistle to the Ephesians reveals a twofold Gentile alienation:--