Ephesians 4:15

ἀληθεύοντες δέ : but truthing it. A participial clause qualifying the following αὐξήσωμεν and introducing the positive side of the change in view as contrasted with the negative aspect of the same in the μηκέτι clause. The δέ has the force of “but rather” or “but on the other hand”. Opposition of one thing to another is usually expressed by ἀλλά; but the advers. δέ is also used at times with that force, with the difference, however, that δέ connects while it contrasts or opposes; cf. Win.-Moult., p. 551. The precise meaning of ἀληθεύοντες is disputed. The RV marg. makes it “dealing truly”; but that is a doubtful sense. Calvin takes it = veritati operam dare; Rückert, “holding fast the truth”; Ell., “holding the truth”; Olsh., “walking in truth”; Alf., “being followers of truth”. But in classical Greek the verb seems to mean to speak truth as opposed to ψεύδεσθαι (Plato, Rep., p. 589 c; Xen., Anab., i., 7, 18, iv., 4, 15, etc.), and that is its sense also in Galatians 4:16. It is best to take it here, too, as = “speaking truth”; or more definitely “confessing the truth”. The point of this brief, but significant clause, therefore, may be this these Ephesians had learned the saving truth (ἡ ἀληθεία; cf. Galatians 2:5; Galatians 2:14; 2Co 4:2; 1 Peter 1:22; Hebrews 10:26, etc.) of Christ. They had been exposed to the treacheries and risks of false teaching. Christ had given them Apostles, prophets, and evangelists to secure them against all teachers of craft, and they are here charged to continue to confess the truth in which they had been instructed and so grow to the maturity of the Christian life. ἐν ἀγάπῃ : in love. The question is to what is this to be attached? It is connected by many (Syr., Eth., Theophy., Oecum., Erasm., Calv., Rück., Bleek, de Wette, Alf., AV, RV, etc.) with the ἀληθεύοντες, and it is taken to express the idea that love is the element in which truth is to be spoken (or the truth confessed), if it is to conduce to unity and brotherliness. This construction is supported by the considerations that the simple ἀληθεύοντες δέ would be somewhat bald if it stood wholly by itself; that it is natural to associate love and truth; that the position of ἐν ἀγάπῃ after the ἀληθεύοντες and also the parallel structure of Ephesians 4:14 point to this connection; and that we thus get a contrast between πανουργία and ἀγάπη and again between πλάνη and ἀληθεύειν. The main argument for connecting the clause rather with the following αὐξήσωμεν (= “but speaking truth (or rather, confessing the truth) may in love grow up”) is the fact that in Ephesians 4:16, where the climax is reached, ἐν ἀγάπῃ qualifies the main thought that of the growth or the edification of Christ's body. This is a consideration of such weight as to throw the probability on the whole on the side of the second connection (Mey., Alf., Haupt, etc.). αὐξήσωμεν εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα : may grow up unto him in all things, αὐξήσωμεν, which is under the regimen of the ἵνα, has here, as in Ephesians 2:21 and in various other passages of the NT, the intr. sense of growing. In earlier classical Greek it meant to cause to grow. That sense it has in the LXX and also occasionally in the NT (1 Corinthians 3:6-7; 2 Corinthians 9:10), while the pass. is used to express growing. But from Arist. onwards it came also to have the intr. sense. Meyer takes εἰς αὐτόν to mean simply “ in reference to him”. The idea then would be that it is only by being in relation to Christ that we can grow. But while it is true that the growth which is set before us as our aim depends wholly on our remaining in living relation to Christ, the phrase εἰς αὐτόν can scarcely bear this out, but, as restricted by Meyer, would mean only “as regards him”. The εἰς αὐτόν must have a more definite sense. It might mean “into him” (AV, RV, Ell., etc.), in the sense of becoming wholly incorporated in Him, or made one with Him, or in the sense of growing till our life has “its centre in Him,” as Ell. would put it. But this is an idea difficult to grasp, and not quite in harmony with the conception of Christ as Head. For the members to grow into the head is not a congruous idea. It is best, therefore, to give εἰς the sense of “unto,” Christ the Head being the end and object of the growth of the members. This means more than that we are to grow into resemblance to Him, or that our growth is be according to His example. It means that as He is the source from which (ἐξ οὗ, Ephesians 4:16) the grace or power comes that makes it possible for us to grow, He is also the object and goal to which our growth in its every stage must look and is to be directed. This is more in harmony with the previous εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον and εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας, κ. τ. λ. The extent or scope of this growing into Christ is expressed by τὰ πάντα (the acc. of def. or acc. of quantitative object.; cf. Krüger, Sprachl., § 46, 5, 4), = in all that belongs to our growth; in all the power and circumstances of our growth. The simple πάντα is so used in 1Co 9:25; 1 Corinthians 10:33; 1 Corinthians 11:2. Here τὰ πάντα is in place, the idea being, as Meyer rightly observes, the definite idea of all the points in which we grow. ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλή, ὁ Χριστός : who is the head even Christ. With [410] [411] [412] [413], Chrys., etc., the TR reads ὁ Χριστός. The article is rightly omitted, however, by LTTrWHRV on the authority of the oldest and best MSS., [414] [415] [416] [417], with Bas., Cyr., etc. Instead of the ordinary form of direct apposition εἰς αὐτὸν, Χριστόν, the relative form is adopted, probably with a view both to emphasis, and to definiteness in the connection with ἐξ οὗ, κ. τ. λ. Such constructions were usual in Greek of all periods; cf. Win.-Moult., p. 665; also 2 Corinthians 10:13; Plato, Apol., p. 41 A; Eur., Hec., 764.

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

[411] Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Dresden, edited by Matthæi in 1791. Written by an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the same volume as Codex Sangallensis (δ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is based on the O.L. translation.

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

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

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

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

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

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