Ephesians 4:2

μετἀ πάσης ταπεινοφροσύνης καὶ πραὔτητος. Cf. Colossians 3:12. The combination irresistibly recalls Matthew 11:29, and is perhaps a conscious echo of it. ταπεινοφροσύνη in Acts 20:19; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 5:5 describes an attitude of mind towards our fellow men. St Paul is here thinking primarily of the conditions of peace among men. But humility has also a God-ward side closely connected with the Divine indwelling, Isaiah 57:15, which need not be excluded. The two sides pass easily into each other as the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican shows.

πραὔτητος. ‘Meekness.’ This connotes the opposite of self-assertion. It is humility in action, cf. 2 Corinthians 10:1.

μετὰ μακροθυμίας. Galatians 5:22; 1 Corinthians 13:4. ‘Patience’ under provocation further defined in the next clause.

ἀνεχόμενοι�. ‘Putting up with one another,’ cf. Colossians 3:13; Romans 2:4.

ἐν�. Cf. on Ephesians 1:4. Here love provides the condition in which alone true humility, meekness and long-suffering can be developed. Cf. Pro Christo et Ecclesia (p. 65) ‘Except as the expression of love, meekness and humility are not virtues.’