Ephesians 3

Ver. 1. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,] Who am at this time a prisoner for the cause of Christ; see chap. iii. 1, from whence to this place seems to be one long parenthesis. Dr. Hammond.

Ephesians 3:2

2. (If ye have heard] That is, ‘forasmuch as,’ or ‘since ye have heard.’ The English word “if,” as well as the original particle in this place, is frequently used by way of a strong affirmation. Dr. Wells.

— of the dispensation of the grace of God] Of my Apostleship, and charge to preach unto you the tidings of grace and salvation: which is committed unto me for your behoof. Bp. Hall.

Ephesians 3:3

3. — the mystery:] Of the calling of the Gentiles, Gal. i. 16; Acts ix. 15; xxi. 22. Dr. Whitby.

Ephesians 3:4

4. — when ye read,] That is, if you read and consider. Dr. Hammond.

Ephesians 3:5

5. Which in other ages was not made known] It was indeed known long before that the Gentiles should be added to the church, but it was not known that they should be heirs of the same inheritance, and partakers of the promise of the Spirit. The Jews rather thought of their being slaves to them; and least of all did they imagine, that the middle wall of their ceremonies should be broken down, and the Gentiles be admitted to the full privileges of God’s people without circumcision and obedience to the Mosaick law; which the Christian converts among the Jews heard of at first with great amazement, Acts x. 45; xi. 18. Drs. Whitby and Doddridge.

— prophets] Those who in the first ages of the Christian church received the prophetical grace, and by it understood all mysteries, 1 Cor. xiii. 2. Dr. Whitby.

Ephesians 3:7

7. — according to the gift of the grace of God] Namely, the Apostolate. See the note on Rom. i. 5. Dr. Whitby.

Ephesians 3:8

8. — who am less than the least of all saints,] Because I formerly persecuted the church of Christ, 1 Cor. xv. 9. Dr. Whitby.

Ephesians 3:9

9. — what is the fellowship of the mystery,] Of the calling of the Gentiles to be thus fellowheirs with the Jews. Dr. Whitby. See the note on chap. i. 9.

— which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,] Or concealed in God’s secret purpose. Dr. Wells.

Ephesians 3:10

10. To the intent that now &c.] To the end that now the glorious angels of heaven, after that God had once uttered and declared that His good purpose to mankind, might see, in this wonderful redemption and blessed union of the church, a clear proof and demonstration of the manifold and infinite wisdom of God. Bp. Hall.

Though the angels, who “desire to look into” the types and figures of the law, 1 Pet. i. 12, may have had a general notion of the Divine purposes respecting mankind from the ancient revelations, yet the actual execution of God’s purposes in the coming of His Son, in His death and resurrection, and in the constitution of the Christian church by the union of the Jews and Gentiles therein through faith, must, as St. Paul here affirms, when explained in the preaching of the Apostles, have increased the knowledge of the heavenly powers, by affording them new proofs of the wisdom of God, which is infinitely various, and which hath illustriously displayed itself in bringing these great events to pass. Dr. Macknight.

Ephesians 3:12

12. — access with confidence] To God the Father, “by the faith of Him;” that is, the faith we have in Christ as our Mediator. Dr. Whitby.

Ephesians 3:13

13. — which is your glory.] The Apostle’s sufferings Paul prayeth that they may perceive the great love of Christ. Anno DOMINI 64.

Ephesians 3:14

14. For this cause I bow my knees] Thereby expressing the reverent frame of his heart in prayer. Burkitt.

Ephesians 3:15

15. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,] The angels in heaven, and saints on earth, being styled the sons of God. Dr. Whitby. Or, All the saints of earth, whether Jews or Gentiles, and all the glorified saints and angels in heaven, making the same family; namely, the one universal church of Christ. Bp. Hall, Burkitt.

Ephesians 3:16

16. That he would grant you, &c.] St. Paul here prays that the Holy Ghost would convey into the minds of the Ephesians such additions of Divine grace as might be a sufficient preservative against temptations and infirmities; that He would increase their abilities to resist and overcome, in proportion as their conflicts and their necessities increase, which he calls “strengthening with might;” and that this might be in such abundance as is answerable to the greatness of that power, which enables, and of that goodness, which disposes, God to liberality, in supplying all the exigencies of His faithful servants. For such exuberance of bounty appears to be meant by the strength of the Spirit being distributed “according to the riches of His glory.” Dean Stanhope.

Ephesians 3:17

17. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith,] See John xiv. 23; Eph. ii. 22. Hence it appears, that the communication of the grace of that Spirit, which is inseparable from the Father and the Son, is the manner of their dwelling in men’s hearts. This must be understood to take place when all our affections are subject and devoted to Christ; when our faith is firm and constant, and the only principle whereby we are governed; so as to value and desire nothing in comparison of what He would have us do, and what He hath promised to give us. Dean Stanhope.

— that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,] That is, so fervent a love of God, as (like a tree that is set deep and hath taken strong hold, or like a house whose foundation is broad, firm, and well-wrought) is not to be shaken by the most violent storms of adversity and persecution. Dean Stanhope.

Ephesians 3:18

18. — what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;] The Apostle by enumerating these dimensions only intends to signify the exceeding greatness of the love of Christ, “which passeth knowledge.” Thus Job speaks of the unsearchable wisdom of God, and His unfathomable perfections, Job xi. 7, 8. See also Ecclus. i. 3, and Rom. xi. 33. In this sense the passage imports,

what the Apostle styles, ver. 8, “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Dr. Whitby.

Ephesians 3:19

19. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,] The knowledge of which may be attained in some measure, so that it is our duty to seek after it and search into it, though after all we can never fully comprehend it. Burkitt.

— that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God,] That so ye may be endued with the highest measures of all spiritual graces, of which your present condition is capable. Dean Stanhope.

Ephesians 3:20

20. — according to the power that worketh in us,] Namely, the power of the Holy Spirit, confirming the Gospel by signs and wonders, and enabling believers to cast off their former sinful courage, and to live godly lives. Dr. Wells.

Ephesians 3:21

21. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus] Through whom we offer up all prayers and praises, Heb. xiii. 15; Eph. v. 20. Dr. Whitby.

The sublime doxology, or form of giving glory to God, is to be considered, not only as a strong expression of the Apostle’s admiration of God’s goodness to men, but also as a means of strengthening the faith of the Ephesians. For lest the great blessings which he had taught them to expect might seem too much for sinful creatures to receive, more than God would be willing to bestow, he ends the doctrinal part of his Epistle, in which these blessings are described, with a doxology to God, as both able and willing to bestow upon believers blessings far more and greater than they are able to ask, or even to conceive. Dr. Macknight.

As our Saviour bids us to “offer our prayers in His name,” John xiv. 13; xv. 16; xvi. 23, 24; that is, representing unto God His meritorious performance, in our behalf, as the ground of our access to God, of our hope to obtain from Him what we request: so also we are enjoined by His Apostle in this Epistle, chap. v. 20, to “give thanks in His name;” that is, with persuasion and acknowledgment, that only in respect to Him we become capable to receive or enjoy any good thing; that, in effect, all the blessings by Divine mercy vouchsafed us have been procured by Him for us, are through Him conveyed unto us. And thus also we should do all things in the name of Jesus, offering all our deeds to God, as sacrifices and services unworthy of acceptance, both in themselves, and as proceeding from us; but pleasing and acceptable to God only for His sake. Dr. Isaac Barrow.

All intercourse betwixt heaven and earth, God and man, is in and through Him. If any grace come from God to us, it is by Christ: if any glory come from us to God, it is by Christ too. “Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus.” Bp. Sanderson.