Ephesians 1
IrwinI an apostle. See notes on Rom. i. 1.
saints. See note on Rom. i. 7. Those who are consecrated as “saints” are also described as being “faithful,” or endowed with faith, and so “in [union with] Christ.”
at Ephesus. These words are omitted in some of the best MSS. Nestle (Greek Test.) puts them in brackets. Scholars are very evenly divided as to their omission or inclusion. The view of expositors such as Ellicott, Lightfoot, Howson is that the words were not in the original, and that the Epistle, while including Ephesus, was for all the churches in Asia.
3 (the) heavenly [places]. Cp. ver. 20 and ii. 6. The meaning is “the spiritual sphere.” All the blessings of the Spirit bestowed on believers are given in connexion with that exalted state to which they are advanced by being “in Christ.” This happy state is more fully described in ii. 1-13.
4 in love. These words may be connected with the next verse, the pause following the words “before Him”: “in love having predestinated us,” etc. (see R.V. marg.).
5 having predestinated us unto the adoption, etc. Cp. Rom vii. 29, and notes. God’s “good pleasure” implies benevolence as well as sovereignty (cp. ver. 6).
6. His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted, etc. Lit., “His favour with which He favoured us,” i.e., as R.V., “which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” The Beloved is Christ: see Matt. iii. 17; John i. 12, 14; Col. i. 13, and notes.
7 redemption. Lit., “the (i.e., our) redemption”: see note on Rom. iii. 24. Here the primary idea is “remission of trespasses”; and this is obtained through the “blood,” the propitiatory offering of Christ.
8 wherein He hath abounded. Rather, “which He made to abound toward us”; “qu’il a répandue sur nous abondamment” (French version).
9 mystery. See note on Matt. xiii. 11. “The mystery” here indicated is developed in ver. 10 and iii. 1-12.
10 that in the dispensation, etc. Rather, “in order to a dispensation of the fulness of the seasons, to gather together,” or, “sum up.” God’s purpose with regard to the gospel dispensation was to reunite under the headship of Christ “all things,” which had been, as it were, dislocated and disjointed by sin. Compare the parallel passage, Col. i. 20: see also Rom. viii. 19-22, and notes.
12 we. The word “we” here is emphatic, and contrasted with “ye” (13). It probably means “we” Hebrew believers: “who before have hoped in the Christ”; i.e., we Jewish converts who hoped in Him “before” ye Gentiles “heard the word of truth.”
13 in whom ye also trusted, etc. “In whom ye also, having heard, also believed,” etc. The gifts of the Holy Spirit constituted the “seal” or evidence of their adoption, and “the earnest” (the pledge, or guarantee of the full possession) of their inheritance: see Acts xix. 1-6; 2 Cor. i. 22.
14 until. Or, “with a view to.” This is the end in reference to man. The Spirit is given as a pledge of full and final redemption. “Unto the praise of His glory” is the end in reference to God.
the purchased possession. Believers themselves (cp. Acts xx. 28; 1 Pet. ii. 9) are the “purchased possession,” being ransomed by Christ’s death; and the “redemption” here spoken of is their final and complete salvation, in body as well as in soul: see notes on Rom. viii. 18-23.
15 your faith. Properly, “the faith among you”; the faith which distinguished them as communities.
16 of you. Omitted by most authorities, but understood.
17 the Father of glory. Not simply, “the glorious Father”; but the Father to whom belongs the glory so often mentioned in the context (12, 14, 18).
knowledge. That is, “full knowledge”: “an experimental, living, practical knowledge” (Stier).
18 understanding. The best authorities read “of your heart.” Only the enlightened heart can appreciate the high and noble hope to which Christians are called: see 1 John iii. 2, 3.
the hope of His calling. That eternal life which is the object of your hope, and to which God has called you.
19 the working of His mighty power. Lit., “the energy of the power of His might”: the last word denoting inherent power; the second, power evinced in action; the first, the action itself.
- “The fulness” is by some regarded as an epithet of the Church, that which is filled, i.e., with His life and power. “The Church holds, or contains, the fulness of Christ. It is the filled-up receptacle of spiritual blessing from Him” (Eadie). Another rendering of the passage is, “And Him He gave to be the Head over all things to His body the Church—Him who is the fulness of that which filleth all in all” (Speaker’s Commentary). A strong case is made out for this rendering, the Greek word for “fulness” (πλήρωμα) being the same as that used in John i. 16.