identity?  When we remember the deep prejudice of the Jew, and of the Jewish

Christians, and Paul's sensitiveness concerning them, and that he should give

none offence, neither to Jew, Gentile nor church of God, and that he was not

sent as an apostle to them, can we supply any adequate reason to account for

the withholding of the writer's name.  Sufficient, we trust, has been said on

this head.  Those who are not convinced will probably remain unconvinced though

we wrote a volume.

We turn now to another feature, the result of a comparison made between

the distinctive teaching of Hebrews with that of Ephesians.

Hebrews and Ephesians compared.

In The Berean Expositor, Volume 34, will be found a series entitled

`Comparing spiritual things with spiritual'.  A series of comparisons between

the epistles to the Hebrews and to the Ephesians in relation to their

respective spheres and callings.  We cannot afford the space to reprint this

series, but following the lead given by the apostle in Hebrews 8:1, we do give

the `sum' of the things we discovered and set out in those articles.

Comparison No. 1.  Ephesians, like the bulk of Paul's epistles, contains

in its salutation the name `Paul', and his apostolic office.  This indicates

that he writes with full apostolic authority.  It is not called a `word of

exhortation' which the readers are called upon `to suffer' as in Hebrews, but

is the revelation of a secret portion of the Divine plan presented to their

faith by an accredited apostle.  The absence of the name and office of Paul

from Hebrews indicates that he was writing in a private capacity to those whose

calling and sphere did not fall within the dispensation granted to him.  This

in no sense alters its inspiration, but it does call upon all who read it to

exercise discrimination, lest they confound things that differ.

Comparison No. 2.  Ephesians is most definitely and exclusively addressed

to `Gentiles'.  This word never appears in Hebrews, which uses instead, the

words `the fathers' and `the people', neither of which finds a place in the

epistle to the Ephesians, nor do these terms pertain to the dispensation of the

grace of God entrusted to Paul the prisoner `for you Gentiles'.

Comparison No. 3.  Hebrews is full of references to `angels': Ephesians

does not once mention them but stresses the exaltation of the Lord above

`principalities', a term not found in Hebrews.  Yet both epistles quote Psalm

8, in reference to the Lord's exaltation, speaking, in Hebrews, of the Lord's

relation to angels, and, in Ephesians of His relation to principalities and

powers, two different spheres in glory being thus indicated.

Comparison No. 4.  While both Ephesians and Hebrews quote Psalm 8, the

epistle to the Hebrews leaves us in no doubt that it speaks of the `habitable

world to come' (oikoumene), whereas the context of the quotation of Psalm 8 in

Ephesians goes beyond the habitable world, beyond the present heavens to that

place which is described as far above all principality and power, and speaks of

Christ as `Head' and His church as `the body, the fulness of Him that filleth

all in all'.

Comparison No. 5.  Redemption by

blood is found both in Ephesians and

Hebrews; so also is the forgiveness of

sins, but in Hebrews this redemption and

forgiveness is associated with the old

and new covenants.  So also `access' in

Hebrews is related to the new covenant

and a different Greek word from that