Ephesians 6:19

And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, FOR ME - a different Greek preposition [ huper (G5228): 'on my behalf' in particular] from that in Ephesians 6:18 [ peri (G4012): concerning]. THAT I MAY OPEN MY MOUTH BOLDLY, [ en (G1722) anoixei (G457) tou (G3588) stomatos (G4750) mou...

19._And for me. _For himself, in a particular manner, he enjoins the Ephesians to pray. Hence we infer that there is no man so richly endowed with gifts as not to need this kind of assistance from his brethren, so long as he remains in this world. Who will ever be better entitled to plead exemption from this necessity than Paul? Yet he entreats the prayers of his brethren, and not hypocritically, but from an earnest desire of their aid. And what does he wish that they should ask for him?_That utterance may be given to me. _What then? Was he habitually dumb, or did fear restrain him from making an open profession of the gospel? By no means; but there was reason to fear lest his splendid commencement should not be sustained by his future progress. Besides, his zeal for proclaiming the gospel was so ardent that he was never satisfied with his exertions. And indeed, if we consider the weight...

19-24 The gospel was a mystery till made known by Divine revelation; and it is the work of Christ's ministers to declare it. The best and most eminent ministers need the prayers of believers. Those particularly should be prayed for, who are exposed to great hardships and perils in their work. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith. By peace, understand all manner of peace; peace with God, peace of conscience, peace among themselves. And the grace of the Spirit, producing faith and love, and every grace. These he desires for those in whom they were already begun. And all grace and blessings come to the saints from God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Grace, that is, the favour of God; and all good, spiritual and temporal, which is from it, is and shall be with all those who thus love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and with them only....

Verse 19. _AND FOR ME, THAT UTTERANCE MAY BE GIVEN UNTO ME_] ινα μοι δοθειη λογος. Kypke has proved by many examples that λογον διδοναι signifies permission and power to defend one's self in a court of justice; and this sense of the phrase is perfectly applicable to the case of St. Paul, who was an ambassador in bonds, (Ephesians 6:20,) and expected to be called to a public hearing, in which he was not only to _defend himself_, but to prove the _truth_ and _excellency_ of the _Christian religion_. And we learn, from Philippians 1:12, that he had his desire in this respect; for _the things which happened to him fell out to the furtherance_ _of the Gospel, so that his bonds in Christ were manifest in all_ _the palace, and in all other places_. Thus God...

AND FOR ME - Paul was then a prisoner at Rome. He specially needed the prayers of Christians: (1) That he might be sustained in his afflictions; and, (2) That he might be able to manifest the spirit which he ought, and to do good as he had opportunity. Learn hence that we should pray for the prisoner, the captive, the man in chains, the slave. There are in this land (the United States) about ten thousand prisoners - husbands, fathers, sons, brothers; or wives, mothers, daughters. True, they are the children of “crime,” but they are also the children of sorrow; and in either case or both they need our prayers. There are in this land not far from three million of slaves - and they need our prayers. They are children of misfortune and of many wrongs; they are sunk in ignorance and want and we; they are subjected to trials, and exposed to temptations to the lowest vices. But ma

EXPOSITION EPHESIANS 6:1 CHILDREN, OBEY YOUR PARENTS IN THE LORD: FOR THIS IS RIGHT. The first duty of children is obedience, and "in the Lord," _i.e. _in Christ, this duty is confirmed. The ἐν Κυρίῳ qualifies, not "parents," but "obey," and indicates that the element or life which even children lead in fellowship with Christ makes such obedience more easy and more graceful. The duty itself rests on the first principles of morality—"for this is right." It is an obligation that rests on the very nature of things, and cannot change with the spirit of the age; it is in no degree modified by what is called the spirit of independence in children. EPHESIANS 6:2 Honor thy father and mother (which is the first c

AND FOR ME,.... This shows the great humility of the apostle, and the sense he had of the greatness of the work of the ministry; and that it is the duty of people to pray for their ministers; and that no man is perfect in this life; and that the more superior members need the assistance of the inferior ones; for this request is made by the apostle not in dissimulation, or as feigning humility and modesty; but in the sincerity of his heart, and from a real sense of his need of fresh supplies of gifts and grace, to fit him for the work and service of Christ: THAT UTTERANCE MAY BE GIVEN UNTO ME, or "that the word"; meaning not the subject matter of the ministry, the word of the Gospel, the word of faith, truth, and reconciliation, for that was committed to him; unless he should mean an increase of light and knowledge in it; but rather a faculty of speaking it freely and aptly, and what is...

Ephesians 6:10. _Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might._ Everything depends upon that. Whether you are called upon to work, or to wait, or to watch, or to suffer, you have need to be strong. If you are not yourself strong, the very armor that you wear will be a burden to you. It is of the utmost importance that Christians should be as strong in grace as they can possibly be. And the power that is to be in them is to be the power of God: «the power of his might.» What a wonderful power that is! The power of flesh is weakness, and the power of man is fading but the power of God is almighty and unchangeable; and if we can be girt about with this power there is scarcely any limit to what we may successfully attempt. «Finally,» as if this were a matter of the highest importance, to be considered first and last. «Finally, my brethren, be strong in

MYSTERY (_ See Scofield) - (Matthew 13:11). _...

EPHESIANS 6:19 tou/ euvaggeli,ou {A} Although it may appear noteworthy that B joins G itg, mon _al_ in supporting the shorter reading, in the Pauline corpus codex Vaticanus not infrequently displays a strand of Western contamination, and therefore the weight of its testimony, when united with Western witnesses, should not be overevaluated. Moreover, it is significant that besides tou/ euvaggeli,ou there is no other variation, such as tou/ Cristou/ or tou/ qeou/ (for which there are parallels in Ephesians 3:4;...