_Address and Salutation_. In the form of his Epistles, especially in the opening address and in the conclusion, Paul follows the methods of letter writing which were customary in the ancient world, in particular in Greece and Rome, in his own time. We now possess a considerable collection of ancient... [ Continue Reading ]
χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη : _Grace to you and peace_. Supply εἴη, on the analogy of other optatives, _e.g._, in 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:2; Jude 1:2. This is the Christian rendering of the greeting with which letters began. It combines the Greek form with the Hebrew, but translates the χαίρειν of the form... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐλογητός : _Blessed_. The LXX equivalent for the Hebrew בָּרוּךְ, Vulg. _Benedictus_. In the NT the idea of being _blessed_ is expressed both by εὐλογητός (Luke 1:68; Romans 1:25; Romans 9:5; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 11:31; 1 Peter 1:3), and by εὐλογημένος (Matthew 21:9; Matthew 23:39 [ Continue Reading ]
DOXOLOGY, OR ASCRIPTION OF PRAISE TO GOD FOR THE BLESSINGS OF HIS LOVE AND GRACE. This extends over six verses, in one magnificent sentence intricately yet skilfully constructed, throbbing in each clause with the adoring sense of the majesty of that Divine Counsel and the riches of that Divine Grace... [ Continue Reading ]
καθώς : _even as_. Not “because,” but “according as,” “in conformity with the fact that”. _Cf._ καθότι, which is used in the NT only by Luke and means both “according as” and “because”; and the Attic καθά, καθό, for which, indeed, καθώς is occasionally used in classical Greek, at least from Aristotl... [ Continue Reading ]
προορίσας ἡμᾶς : _having foreordained us_. Better, _in that He foreordained us_. Wycl. gives “hath bifore ordeyned us”; Tynd. and Cranmer, “ordeyned us”; and so the RV, “foreordained”. But the Genevan, the Rhemish and the AV, following the _praedestinavit_ of the Vulg., give “did predestinate us,” “... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰς ἔπαινον δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ : _to the praise of the glory of his grace_. Twice again in the same context we have the phrase “to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12; Ephesians 1:14). Here it is the glory specifically of God's grace, and the praise of that is now stated to be the ultimate... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν : _in whom we have the redemption_. Here and in the parallel passage in Colossians 1:14 the readings vary between ἔχομεν and ἔσχομεν. In the present sentence, though ἔσχομεν has the support of some good authorities ([26] [27], Copt., Eth., etc.), the weight of documentary... [ Continue Reading ]
ἦς ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς ἡμᾶς : _which he made to abound towards us_. Both in profane and Biblical Greek περισσεύειν is usually intrans. It is so used in the vast majority of cases in the Pauline Epistles (Romans 5:15; 1 Corinthians 14:12; 2Co 1:5; 2 Corinthians 8:2; 2 Corinthians 9:12; Philippians 1:26,... [ Continue Reading ]
γνωρίσας ἡμῖν : _having made known unto us_. Better, “in that He made known unto us”. As in Ephesians 1:5 the aor. part, is _modal_, not _temporal_, expressing an act not conceived as prior to that intimated by the definite tense, but coincident with it and stating the way in which it took effect. T... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰς οἰκονομίαν : _unto a dispensation_. This expresses the _end_ which God had in view in that which He purposed. Some (Erasm., Calv., etc.) give εἰς the _temporal_ sense of _usque ad._ But the idea is rather the more definite one of _design_. God had His reason for the long delay in the revelation... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν ᾧ καὶ : _in whom also we_. The ͅκαί does not qualify the _subjects_ (for there is no emphatic ἡμεῖς, nor is there any such contrast between ἡμεῖς and ὑμεῖς here as appears in Ephesians 1:12-13), but refers to what is expressed by the verb and presents that as something additional to what has been... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς εἰς ἔπαινον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ : _to the end that we should be unto the praise of His glory_. The art. τῆς is inserted by the TR before δόξης, but on slender authority. It is omitted by most of the primary uncials and other important documents. On the other hand, the αὐτοῦ after δόξης... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς : _in whom ye also_. The reading ἡμεῖς appears in certain manuscripts of importance ([68] [69] [70] [71] 3, _e, f, g_, etc.); but the weight of documenttary authority is greatly on the side of ὑμεῖς. Taking, therefore, the καὶ ὑμεῖς, as contrasted with the previous ἡμᾶς, to refer to t... [ Continue Reading ]
ὅς ἐστιν ἀρραβὼν τῆς κληρονομίας ἡμῶν : _which is an earnest of our inheritance_. So with the RV, rather than “who is the earnest,” etc., of the AV. The reading ὅ is preferred by Lachm., Alf., WH, etc., as supported by [72] [73] [74] [75], Athan., Cyr., Chrys., etc. The TR is the reading of [76] [77... [ Continue Reading ]
Διὰ τοῦτο κἀγώ : _For this cause I too_. διὰ τοῦτο might cover the contents of the entire preceding paragraph, pointing back to Ephesians 1:3 and indicating that in his thanksgiving to God, in behalf of these Ephesians, the Apostle had in his mind the whole counsel and eternal choice of God of which... [ Continue Reading ]
SECOND SECTION OF THE EPISTLE: in which the writer expresses his own feelings and desires towards the Ephesians, and in doing so leads them to the highest conception both of Christ's own supremacy and of the grandeur of that Church of His of which they had been made members. The wonders of the grace... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐ παύομαι εὐχαριστῶν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν : _cease not to give thanks for you_. The παύομαι is most naturally connected with the nearer participle. There is no reason why the remoter participle should be made the leading term, as some construe it, rendering it so “I cease not, while giving thanks for you, to... [ Continue Reading ]
ἵνα ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ : _that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ_. In the parallel passage in Colossians 1:9 the ἵνα is preceded immediately by αἰτούμενοι, and has the reduced or sub-telic force which it has after verbs of asking, expressing the content of the prayer, but that in th... [ Continue Reading ]
πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν : _the eyes of your understanding_ (heart) _being enlightened_. For the διανοίας of the TR, which is very poorly attested, καρδίας is to be read (with LTTrWHRV) on the authority of the best MSS., representing the different families ([96] [97] [98] [99]... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ τί τὸ ὑπερβάλλον μέγεθος τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ : _and what the exceeding greatness of his power_. The αὐτοῦ refers again to _God_, and the _power_ of God is introduced in respect of that surpassing greatness which belongs to it alone and which is the guarantee of the fulfilment of the Christian hop... [ Continue Reading ]
ἥν ἐνήργησεν ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐγείρας αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν : _which He wrought in the Christ when He raised Him from the dead_. The ἣν refers to the preceding ἐνέργειαν. The documentary authorities vary between the ἐνήργησεν of the TR (after [113] [114] [115] [116] [117], etc.) and ἐνήργηκεν which is the rea... [ Continue Reading ]
ὑπεράνω πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ κυριότητος : _over above all rule, and authority, and power, and lordship_. The intensive force “ _far_ above” is given to the ὑπεράνω by Chrys., Theoph., Stier, the AV, the RV, etc. But it can scarcely be sustained in face of the actual use of the w... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ πάντα ὑπέταξεν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ : _and He put all things under His feet_. The ὑπέταξεν is coordinate with the previous ἐνήργησε. These two things God did: He wrought His mighty power in raising and exalting Christ and He subjected all things to Him. The idea expressed by the ὑπέταξεν here is... [ Continue Reading ]
ἥτις ἐστὶν τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ : _which is His body_. The ἥτις (not ἥ) introduces a profound statement, the interpretation of which is much contested. It is supplementary to the preceding, and further defines the relation between Christ and the Church in respect of His Headship. The ἥτις, therefore, has s... [ Continue Reading ]