III. THE APOSTLE'S OFFICE AND PRAYER, IN VIEW OF THIS MYSTERY OF ONE UNIVERSAL CHURCH IN CHRIST. (1.) The Apostle, moved by the great thoughts of chap. 2, is about to offer his prayer for his readers, but mentioning his own condition he turns aside to speak of his own office as Apostle to the Gentil... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:1. FOR THIS CAUSE. A strong expression, occurring only here, in chap. Ephesians 3:14 and Titus 1:5. The reference is to what precedes (chap. Ephesians 2:19-22), especially the closing thought. I PAUL. The phrase occurs quite frequently: ‘He mentions his name, not for personal reasons ... [ Continue Reading ]
1. _Paul's Office as Apostle to the Gentiles._ In view of the great privilege detailed in chap. Ephesians 2:19-22, culminating in Ephesians 2:22, the Apostle begins to speak of his prayer on behalf of the Ephesians. But the mention of himself, as ‘the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentil... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:2. IF INDEED. The same phrase occurs in chap. Ephesians 4:21; it does not imply doubt, but rather assumes something to be true, challenging the reader to verify the assumption in his own case. YE HAVE HEARD; lit, ‘did hear,' but the proper force is expressed by ‘have heard.' ‘Not to ha... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:3. THAT BY (lit., ‘according to') REVELATION THE MYSTERY WAS MADE KNOWN TO ME. The best authorities support the passive form. This verse explains the substance of what they heard, hence of the ‘dispensation,' etc. The mode by which the mystery was made known to him is put first, for emph... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:4. IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHICH, _i.e._, what he had written was to be the measure, or standard, by which they could determine his knowledge. WHILE READING is better than ‘when ye read,' since it points to an action taking place at the same time with the perceiving. YE CAN PERCEIVE. ‘ Ca... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:5. WHICH. This refers to ‘the mystery of Christ' (Ephesians 3:4), the parenthesis being unnecessary. IN OTHER GENERATIONS; not ‘ages,' or, ‘periods,' though the phrase has a temporal sense, as in the Old Testament use of the word ‘generations.' WAS NOT MADE KNOWN. Less definite than... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:6. THAT THE GENTILES ARE; not ‘should be,' for ‘a mystery is not a secret design, but a secret fact' (Alford). The whole verse explains ‘mystery' (Ephesians 3:4). FELLOW-HEIRS, _i.e._, with the Jews, as saints, as belonging to the family of God. This is the most extended idea in the ve... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:7. WHEREOF, of this gospel, I BECAME A MINISTER. The word was applied to a ‘servant,' and is several times so translated in the E. V. The word usually rendered ‘servant' (comp. Romans 1:1, etc.) suggests the personal relation to the master; this one the obligation to service. (Our word ‘... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:8. UNTO ME, WHO AM LESS THAN THE LEAST. The transition is natural. The fact that a sentence begins here does not compel us to find the resumption of Ephesians 3:1 at this point (see note above). The Greek adjective is a comparative of a superlative, and need not be regarded as a hyperbol... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:9. AND TO MAKE ALL MEN SEE. Not simply to teach all men, but to enlighten all, which is to be accomplished by means of the gospel. ‘All,' which is not emphatic, refers to the ‘Gentiles' (Ephesians 3:8). WHAT IS THE DISPENSATION OF THE MYSTERY. ‘Fellowship' is poorly supported; ‘dispensa... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:10. TO THE INTENT THAT NOW. This verse sets forth the purpose of the ‘preaching' and ‘enlightening' of Ephesians 3:8-9, or of the giving of this grace to Paul; both views being substantially the same. The objection that thus too much is ascribed to Paul's own preaching is invalid, since... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:11. ACCORDING TO THE ETERNAL PURPOSE, lit., ‘the purpose of the ages.' The purpose belongs to the ages, will be retained during the ages, controlling them. This implies a purpose formed before these ages (comp. Ephesians 3:9), hence ‘eternal' gives the sense accurately. WHICH HE WROUGHT... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:12. IN WHOM WE HAVE. This explains and confirms what precedes. ‘We' refers to those who are really in Christ, since the privileges which follow are matters of experience. OUR BOLDNESS AND ACCESS. Lit., ‘the boldness and access,' but some authorities repeat the article, giving this sens... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:13. WHEREFORE. In view of my position as the minister of such a gospel, thus leading back to Ephesians 3:1, the thought of which is resumed in Ephesians 3:14. This is preferable to referring it merely to the subordinate thought in Ephesians 3:12. I DESIRE YOU NOT TO FAINT, or, ‘I pray G... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:14. FOR THIS CAUSE. On the resumption and connection, see last section. I BOW MY KNEES. So Philippians 2:10. The full form is rhetorical. The reference is not to the actual bending of the knees, but to his earnest prayer. UNTO THE FATHER. God the Father, so in chaps. Ephesians 2:18; E... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Apostles Prayer for the Church_, _and the concluding Doxology_. As stated in the last section, the thought begun in Ephesians 3:1 is here resumed, and the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of the Gentiles utters his prayer for these Gentile readers. The prayer is to the Father (Ephesians 3:14-... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:15. FROM WHOM EVERY FAMILY. This is the only grammatical rendering of the phrase, as the great mass of commentators hold. There is a play on words in the original, which Stier attempts to reproduce in this paraphrase: ‘the true Father over all that is named from fathers.' ‘Family' is not... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:16. THAT HE WOULD GRANT YOU. This is the purport of the petition, which some extend to the close of Ephesians 3:17 (but the latter verse is probably the result; see notes there). The word ‘that' means ‘in order that,' but after verbs of praying, etc., in the New Testament, it is used to... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:17. THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL, etc. This may be regarded as parallel with Ephesians 3:16: ‘to be strengthened,' etc., since the form is the same (in the infinitive); or, as an added clause of result: ‘so that Christ may dwell,' etc. Some have even taken it as expressing the design of the pra... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:18. MAY BE FULLY ABLE, or, ‘may be strong enough,' suggesting difficulty, and the need of exertion. TO COMPREHEND. PHILIPPIANS 3:12-13: ‘apprehend,' a rendering which is perhaps too weak, since, both here and there, more is meant than an intellectual apprehension, namely, a spiritual p... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:19. AND TO KNOW. The connective translated ‘and' is used to append a closely related thought; hence the object to be supplied in the previous clause is the same as that here expressed. ‘Know' here points to experimental knowledge. THE LOVE OF CHRIST; His love to us, since our love to Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:20. NOW TO HIM. This doxology, like that in Romans 11:33-36, closes the doctrinal part of the Epistle. That is able to do above all things. The ascription of glory is to God as the Almighty worker, because His power is specially manifest in the great matter which has been the theme of t... [ Continue Reading ]
Ephesians 3:21. TO HIM BE THE GLORY. ‘To Him' sums up emphatically all that has been said in Ephesians 3:20. ‘Be,' which is supplied, may mean ‘let it be,' or ‘may it be,' since the reference is to the glory which is due to Him, which will be given Him, not His essential glory, although this is the... [ Continue Reading ]