Ephesians 3:7

οὗ ἐγενόμην διάκονος κατὰ τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ : of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God. The TR reads ἐγενόμην (with [239] [240] [241] [242], etc.). The less usual form ἐγενήθην, however, is given by [243] [244] [245] [246], 17, etc., and is to be preferred. There is no difference, however, in the sense; ἐγενήθην being simply the Doric equivalent to ἐγενόμην, which reappeared in the LXX and in later Greek generally. διάκονος is a servant, attendant of any kind; also a deacon in particular (Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:8; 1 Timothy 3:12), or a deaconess (Romans 16:1), and perhaps a waiter, one who serves at table (John 2:5; John 2:9). Here it has the general sense of minister, as Paul designates himself again in 2 Corinthians 3:6; Colossians 1:23. Once he calls himself ὑπηρέτης (1 Corinthians 4:1); but with no tangible difference in idea, except that ὑπηρέτης may suggest a still greater degree of subordination than διάκονος. The distinction drawn by some (Harless) between the two terms, as if διάκονος expressed activity in relation to the service and ὑπηρέτης activity in relation to the master, cannot be made good. τῆς χάριτος is probably the ger. of apposition or identity (as the χάρις in Ephesians 3:8 indicates), = the gift consisting in the grace; and the particular “grace” in view is the office of the apostleship or the ministry to the Gentiles (as Ephesians 3:2; Ephesians 3:8 suggest), not the gift of tongues (Grot.) or the gift of the Holy Ghost (Flatt, etc.). That “grace,” too, was God's gift (τοῦ Θεοῦ). τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ : which was given to me according to the working of His power. F r the τὴν δοθεῖσαν, qualifying the δωρεάν, of the TR (with [247] [248] [249] [250], etc.) the better reading is τῆς δοθείσης, qualifying the χάριτος (with [251] [252] [253] [254] [255], 17, etc.; so LTTrWHRV). As the former sentence affirmed the gift of the grace, this one states the manner of the bestowal. The standard or proportion of the giving was the efficiency, the efficacious working (ἐνέργειαν) of God's own power. The change in Paul when God made him an Apostle of Christ to the Gentiles was so great that he saw in it nothing less than the result of the Divine omnipotence.

[239] Codex Ephraemi (sæc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.

[240] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[241] Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.

[242] Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.

[243] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

[244] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

[245] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[246] Codex Augiensis (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Trinity College, Cambridge, edited by Scrivener in 1859. Its Greek text is almost identical with that of G, and it is therefore not cited save where it differs from that MS. Its Latin version, f, presents the Vulgate text with some modifications.

[247] Codex Ephraemi (sæc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.

[248] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[249] Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.

[250] Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.

[251] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

[252] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

[253] Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).

[254] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[255] Codex Augiensis (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Trinity College, Cambridge, edited by Scrivener in 1859. Its Greek text is almost identical with that of G, and it is therefore not cited save where it differs from that MS. Its Latin version, f, presents the Vulgate text with some modifications.