Ephesians 1:12

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 is omitted by a few ancient authorities, especially [66] 1 [67]. This clause states the ultimate end which God had in view in foreordaining us to be made His κλῆρος. It was not for our own privilege (as the Jews with their limited and exclusive ideas had misinterpreted the object of God in His election of them), but that through us His glory might be set forth. Cf. the prophetic declaration, “the people which I formed for myself, that they might set forth my praise” (Isaiah 43:21); and such passages as Psalms 144:12; Sir 39:10; Philippians 1:11; 1 Peter 1:7. The sentence is best connected with the principal verb, not with the προορισθέντες which defines the ἐκληρώθημεν, but with the ἐκληρώθημεν itself. It is also to be taken as a whole, containing one idea, precisely as is the case with the other εἰς ἔπαινον sentences in Ephesians 1:6; Ephesians 1:14. To break up the clause so as to take the εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς to express the end or object, further defined by the τοὺς προηλπικότας, and to make εἰς ἔπαινον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ an incidental or parenthetical clause, is in the highest degree artificial and out of harmony with the other sentences. The question remains as to the persons included in the ἡμᾶς whether Christians generally, or Jews or Jewish Christians specially. In order to answer that question the force of the following clause must be determined. τοὺς προηλπικότας ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ : we who had (RV marg., “have”) before trusted in Christ. Better, we, to wit, who have aforetime hoped in the Christ. The article defining the προηλπικότας is most naturally taken as placing the προηλπικότας in apposition to the ἡμᾶς and as explaining the ἡμᾶς now in view to be a particular class, and not the subjects of God's grace generally. The attempt is made, indeed, in more than one way (e.g., by Hofm., Harl., Abb., Haupt, etc.) to construe τοὺς προηλπικότας as the predicate, so that the sense should be, “to the end that we should be those who have before hoped (or believed) in Christ”. But this is not a construction naturally suggested by the simple form of the sentence. It has also the disadvantage of not being in harmony with what is the prevalent, though not invariable, use of the article as distinguishing subject from predicate, and it turns the εἰς ἔπαινον κ. τ. λ. awkwardly into a parenthetical sentence “to the end that we, to the praise of His glory, should be those who have before hoped in Christ”. It is to be further noticed that the προ in προηλπικότας must have its proper force, expressing a hope cherished before the event. Some understand this differently, taking the προ to express the fact that Jewish Christians preceded Gentile Christians in hoping in Christ (Beza, Grot., Beng., etc.). Others (De Wette, etc.) would make the event in view as the object of hope the second Advent of Christ, the Parousia of the Epistles. But the point appears to be that there were those, namely, pious Jews of OT times, who cherished a hope in the Christ of promise and prophecy before the appearance of Christ in history. The words are entirely appropriate as a description of those who looked for Christ before He came. The prep. ἐν is most naturally understood as is the ἐν after the simple ἐλπίζειν, e.g., in 1 Corinthians 15:19, and the ἐλπίζειν itself must have the natural sense of hoping, not believing or trusting. Yet, again, the object of the hope is here not Χριστὸς, but ὁ Χριστός, “ the Christ,” “the Messiah”. The sense consequently is, “we, to wit, who have reposed our hope in the Christ before He appeared”. These things help us to answer the question Who are the persons referred to? They are, say some, Christians generally, as those who hope in the Christ who is to return, and of whom it may be said, speaking of them from the standpoint of the final fulfilment at Christ's second Advent, that they are those who have reposed their hope in the Christ who is to come. This is urged specially on the ground that, as all through the preceding paragraph Paul has spoken of things pertaining to Christians generally and has used the terms “we,” “us” of Christians without distinction, it is unreasonable to suppose that at this point he changes all and puts a restricted meaning on the ἡμᾶς. On this view the following ὑμεῖς must also be taken not as referring to a distinct class of Christians, but simply as applying to the Ephesian readers in particular what is said of all Christians as such. It must be allowed that much may be said in favour of this view. But on the other hand it is just at this point that Paul introduces a ὑμεῖς as well as a ἡμᾶς a fact that naturally suggests a distinction between two classes; as in chap. Ephesians 2:11-22 he draws out the distinction definitely and with a purpose between two classes who became believers in the Christ in different ways and at different times. Hence it appears simplest (with Mey., etc.) to regard Paul as speaking in this clause specially of those who like himself had once been Jews, who had the Messianic prophecies and looked for the Messiah, and by God's grace had been led to see that in Christ they had found the Messiah. In the following ὑμεῖς, therefore, he refers to those who had once been Gentiles and had come to be believers in Christ. This is supported by the explanatory nature of the clause introduced by τούς, by the proper sense of the προηλπικότας, and by the introduction of τῷ Χριστῷ in place of Χριστῷ.

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

[67] 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.