basic, doctrinal prison epistles. They are Ephesians and Colossians (the two having many

parallels beside their own distinctive teaching), Philippians and II Timothy.

Now at the end of the Acts when the nation of Israel was laid aside, nobody living at

that time knew exactly what God was going to do next. How thrilled they must have

been when they had this first letter after this period, the Epistle to the Ephesians, possibly

a circular letter sent round to all the churches, revealing a new phase of God's purpose,

what He was going to do now when this nation was laid aside in unbelief. In it we find

glorious truth which He had never previously made known--the Apostle connects it with

a Divine `mystery' or `secret'; something that God had hidden in the past and at last

made known. In this letter we are going to see the first revelation of some of the

distinctive truth for this present age that God wants us to know. How many want to

listen? Surely we ought to be all attention when He has something wonderful to tell us!

These prison epistles contain untold riches, and this word `riches' occurs 8 times.

Let us glance at them and later on we shall be able to give them deeper consideration.

In chapter 1: of Ephesians we have a recurring phrase in the opening verses referring to

`grace' and `glory'. You will find it in verse 6--"To the praise of the glory of His grace,

wherein He hath made us accepted . . . . ." He, the Father, has made us accepted--

literally, `grace us' in the Beloved One, the Lord Jesus "In whom we have redemption

through His blood, the forgiveness of sins". And the measure is--"according to the

riches of His grace". We are not merely saved by grace, but saved and forgiven by the

riches of His grace. It would be good if we paused to get some understanding of what it

cost Him to provide them for us to begin with, and what it even cost this man in his

Roman prison.  He asked these Ephesian believers "not to faint", he said, "at my

tribulations for you". What did it cost the Apostle Paul so that the Ephesian believers--

and you and me today, might be reading these things?

With these riches of grace we have got to start, and if we have not started here, we

have not started at all! Do we appreciate for ourselves the glorious fact of redemption

and the forgiveness of sins? The companion letter, the Epistle to the Colossians, says

this: "Having forgiven you all trespasses" (2: 13). That just means what it says, all past

sins, present and future, all covered by that wonderful redemptive work of the Lord Jesus

on Calvary's Cross. He was made sin "for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made

the righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5: 21).

Let us pass on to the next occurrence. Later on in the first chapter of Ephesians the

Apostle begins to pray for these Ephesians saints (verses 16 and 17) and in verse 18 we

read: "That . . . . . the eyes of your understanding being enlightened" (or, having been

enlightened) "that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of

the glory of His inheritance in the saints". These things are so wonderful that they almost

defy explanation, His inheritance in His heavenly people, connected with the real holiest

of all in heaven's innermost shrine. If we want to receive this for ourselves we shall have

to use this prayer intelligently, humbly, simply and depend upon the only One who can

give us understanding--the Holy Spirit Himself--the Spirit of wisdom and unveiling and

revelation. First riches of grace, then riches of glory!