_I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord_ Imprisoned for his sake and
for yours; for the sake of the gospel which he had preached to them
and other Gentiles: see note on Ephesians 3:1: this was therefore a
powerful motive to them to comfort him under his sufferings by their
obedience; _beseech you tha... [ Continue Reading ]
_With all lowliness_ Or humility of mind, having mean thoughts of
yourselves because of your former sinfulness and guilt, depravity,
weakness, and misery, and your unworthiness of that mercy which God
hath exercised toward you; _and meekness_ Maintaining calmness,
serenity, and peace of mind, amid t... [ Continue Reading ]
The apostle proceeds to remind the believers at Ephesus of some of the
many very powerful considerations which had force enough, if attended
to and laid to heart, to induce them to cultivate and preserve the
unity to which he exhorts them. _There is one body_ One mystical body
of Christ, of which he... [ Continue Reading ]
_But_ Though there be so many, and those infinitely important
particulars, in which the true members of the church agree, and which
furnish such powerful motives to love and unity, yet there are some
things wherein they differ. For they occupy, by God's appointment,
different stations in the church,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_ Among other his free gifts; _he gave some, apostles_ His chief
ministers and special witnesses, as having seen him after his
resurrection, and received their commission immediately from him. The
office of an apostle was to declare, in an infallible manner, the
whole gospel doctrine: to qualify... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the perfecting_ Προς τον καταρτισμον των
αγιων; _in order to_, or, for the sake of; _completing of the
saints_ Both in number, and in the various branches of true
Christianity, namely, in the knowledge of all Christian doctrines, the
possession of all Christian graces, the enjoyment of all Chri... [ Continue Reading ]
_That we henceforth be no more children_ Mere babes in Christian
knowledge, experience, and practice; weak and unstable; _tossed _
Κλυδωνιζομενοι, _fluctuating_ from within, through
various restless lusts and passions working in our hearts, even when
there is nothing external to agitate or excite th... [ Continue Reading ]
_But speaking the truth_ Or, as αληθευοντες may be
rendered, _teaching_, or _maintaining the truth; in love_ To God and
one another, or in that charitable temper which the gospel enjoins,
and without which our clearest and most extensive knowledge will be
but of little use to us; _may grow up into h... [ Continue Reading ]
_This I say, therefore_ For your further instruction, how to walk
worthy of your calling; (he returns to the subject which he began,
Ephesians 4:1;) _and testify in the Lord_ In the name and by the
authority of the Lord Jesus, that ye, being now happily brought into
the Christian Church, and made pa... [ Continue Reading ]
_But ye_ Believers at Ephesus; _have not so learned Christ_ Or
Christianity; that is, ye cannot act thus, now ye are acquainted with
Christ and his gospel, which, you know, allows of no sin. _If so be_
Or rather, _seeing that_, as ει γε, it seems, should be here
rendered; _ye have heard him_ Teachin... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wherefore_ Since you have been thus taught what is your duty and
interest, let it appear in your tempers, words, and works, that there
is such a change wrought in them; and that, having received a new
nature, you live in a new manner. The apostle now proceeds to caution
them against particular sins... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let him that stole_ While he was in his heathen condition of
ignorance and vice; _steal no more_ Under a conviction that God is the
avenger of all such injuries, 1 Thessalonians 4:6. Stealing, as
Macknight justly observes, “is a vice most pernicious to the thief
himself. For finding it more easy to... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let no corrupt communication_ Or discourse, dictated by corruption in
the heart of the speaker, and tending to corrupt the minds or manners
of hearers; _proceed out of your mouth_ At any time, or on any
occasion. The original expression, λογος σαπρος, is
literally, _rotten_ or _putrid speech;_ that... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let all bitterness_ Of disposition or expression, or, as some render
the word, _all peevishness; and wrath_ Or indignation, as θυμος
seems here to signify; that is, anger mingled with contempt or
disgust; the next expression in the original, οργη, rather
signifying wrath, or lasting displeasure; _a... [ Continue Reading ]