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M
ST PAUL’S
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS
A RE VISED TEXT AND TRANSLATION
EXPOSITION AND NOTES
J. ARMITAGE ROBINSON D.D.
DEAN OF WESTMINSTER
SECOND ED IT ION
MA CMIL L A N A ND CO.,L IMITED
ST. MA RT IN’S STREET, L ONDON
AMPL ISS IMO THEOLOGORVM HALLENS IVM ORD INI
QVORVM EX DECRETO
AD GRADVM DOCTORIS IN SACRA THEOLOG IA
ANTE NOVEM ANNOS PROVECTVS SVM
HAS CHARTAS TANDEM
HAVD IMMEMOR
DED ICO
192626
PREFACE.
QN English commentator on the Epistle to the Ephesians
finds a portion of the detai l of his work already done
by the master-hand of Bishop L ightfoot in his edition of the
companion Epistle to the Colossians. For the discussion of
particular words I have accordingly referred again and again
to L ightfoot’s notes. Where I have felt obliged to differ from
some of his interpretations , it has seemed due to himthat
I should state the ground of the difference with considerable
fulness , as for example inmore than one of the detached notes
for we may not lightly set aside a judgment which he hasgiven.
L ightfoot had himself made preparations for an edition of
Ep hesi ans ; b ut only an introductory Essay and notes on the
first fourteen verses have seen the li ght (Bi bli cal Essays,pp. 375—396 ; Notes on Ep i stles of St P aul, pp. 307
Amore solid contribution to the study of the epistle is to b e
found in Hort’s Introductory Lectures (P rolegomena to Romans
and Ep hesi ans , pp. 63 I have nothing to add to the
discuss ion of the authorshi p of this epistle which these lectures
contain.
My object has been to expound the epistle, which is the
crown of St Paul’s writings. I have separated the exposi tion
from the philological commentary, in order to give myselfgreater freedominmy attempt to draw out St Paul
’smeaning
and I have prefixed to each section of the exposition a trans
lation of the Greek text. In this translation I have only
vi i i PREFACE.
departed from the Authorised Version where that version
appeared to me to fai l to bring out correctly and intelligibly
themeamng of the original. The justification of the renderings
which I retain, as well as of those which I modify or reject,must b e sought in the notes to the Greek text.
In order to retain some measure of independence I have
refrained fromconsulting the English expositors of the epi stle,b ut I have constantly avai ledmyself of Dr T. K. Abbott’s work
in the International Cri ti ca l Commentary,since i t i s as he
says primarily phi lological.’
I Offer the fruit of a study which has extended over the
past ten years as a small contribution to the interpretation of
St Paul. The truth of the corporate li fe which was revealed
to himwas nevermore needed than i t is to-day. Our fai lure
to understand his life and message has been largely due to our
acquiescence in di sunion. As we rouse ourselves to enquire
after the meaning of unity,we may hope that he wi ll speak
to us afresh.
Several fri ends have helpedme in seeing this book through
the press : I wish to thank in particular the Reverend
J. O. F. Murray and the Reverend R. B. Rackham.
WESTMINSTER ABBEY,
CONTENTS.
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
TRANSLA TION AND EXP OSITION
TEXT AND NOTES
‘ The B eloved’as a Messi an ic ti tle
On themeani ng of p vcmip cov i n the New Testament
On flaipwms' and wrjp om'
ts
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
INTRODUCTION.
T PAUL was in Rome : not, as he had once hoped, on a St Paul inRome :
fr i endly V i sIt of encouragement to the Roman Chrlsti ans ,resting w i th themfor a few weeks before he passed on to
preach to new cities of the further West ; not in the midstof hismissionary career, b ut at i ts close. His active work was
practically done : a brief interval of release might permit himto turn eastwards once again ; b ut to all intents and purposes
his career was ended. He was a prisoner in Rome.
To know what had brought himthere, and to comprehend theclimax of
1118 speci al mi ss10n,of whi ch thls was i n truth no unfittlng Iri s mi s
climax, W8 must pas s in brief review the beginnings of the
sum
Christian story.
1. Our Lord’s earthly life began and ended among a people 1 Our
0 L d ,
themost exclusw e and the most hated of all the races under 1351218ithe universal Roman rule. But i t was a people who had an un gfif
d t°
paralleled past to look back upon,and who through centuri es of
Oppression had cherished an undying hope of sovereignty over
all other races in the world. Our Lord’s life was essentially a
Jewi sh life in i ts outward conditions. In every vi tal point He
conformed to the tradi tions of Judaism. Scarcely ever did
He set foot outside the narrow limits of the Holy Land,the
area of which was not much larger than that of the county of
Yorkshire or the principality ofWales. With hardly an excep
tion He confined His teaching and Hi s miracles to Jews. He
was not sent,He said
,b ut unto the lost sheep of the house of
EPHE&2
2 . The
Church
EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS.
Israel. It is true that He gave hints of a larger mission, of
founding a universal kingdom,of becoming in His own person
the centre of the human race. But the exclusive character of
His personal ministry stood’
in sharp contrast to those Wider
hopes and prophecies. He incessantly claimed for His teachingthat i t was the filling out and perfecting of the sacred lessons
of the lawgivers and prophets of the past. He seemed contentto identify Himself wi th Hebrew interests and Hebrew aspira
tions. So i t was fromfirst to last. He was born into a Jewish
family, of royal lineage, though in humble circumstances ; andi t was as a Jewish pretender that the Romans nailed Himto
a cross.
2 . The little brotherhood which was formed in Jerusalemto carry on His work after Hi s As cension was as strictly limitedin the sphere of i ts efforts as He Himself had been. It was
composed entirely of Jews, who in no way out themselves off
fromthe national unity, and who were zealous worshippers in
the national temple . It was a kind of Reformation movementwithin the Jewish Church. It sought for converts only amongJews
,and i t probably retained i ts members for the most part
at the national centre in the expectation of the speedy return
of Jesus as the recognized national Mess iah,who should break
the Roman power and rule a conquered world fromthe throne
of David in Jerusalem.
We cannot say how long this lasted : perhaps about five
years. But we know that during thi s period— a long one in
the chi ldhood of a new society—the Apostles and the other
brethren enjoyed the esteemand good w ill of all except the
governi ng class in Jerusalem,and that their numbers grew
wi th as toni shing rapidity. The movement was characteristi
cally a popular one. Whi le the Sadducai c high-pri estly party
dreaded i t, and opposed i t when they dared, the leader of the
Phari sees openly befriended i t,and ‘
a great multitude of the
priests’
(who must b e distinguished fromtheir ari stocratic
rulers)‘ became obedi ent to the faith
’
(Acts vi. This
statement indicates the hi gh-water mark of the movement in
INTRODUCTION. 3
i ts earliest stage. It shews too that there was as yet no breach loyal to
at all w ith Judai sm,and that the specifically Christian gather
“ dam
ings for exhortation, prayers and eucharists were not regarded
as displacing or discrediting the divinely sanctioned sacrificial
worship of the temple.
3. But the Apostles had received a. wider commiss ion, 3. A cri sis
although hitherto they had strictly adhered to the order of thefiff‘m
A crisis cameat last. A stormsuddenly broke upon their prosperous calmLord
’s command by ‘ beginning at Jerusalem.
a stormwhich seemed in amoment to wreck the whole structurewhich they had been bui lding, and to dash their fair hope of
the national conversion in irretri evable ru in.
The Jews of Alexandria had been w idened by contact with b y St
Greek phi losophy and culture. They had striven to presentafi
fifli‘en
’s
their faith in a dress which would make it less deterrent to teamingthe Genti le mind. If we cannot say for certain that St Stephen
was an A lexandrian ,we know at any rate that he was a repre
sentative of the Hellenistic element in the Church at Jerusalem.
A. large study of the Old Testament scriptures had prepared
himto see in the teaching of Chri st a wider purpose than others
saw . He felt that the Christian Church could not always
remain shut up within the walls of Jerusalem,or even limited
to Jewish believers . What he sai d to suggest innovation and
to arouse Opposition we do not know . We only know that the What lyewas sa i d
pomts on whi ch he was condemned were false charges,not to have
unlike some which had been brought against the Lord Himself. said ‘
He was accused of disloyalty to Moses and the temple— the
sacred law and the d ivine sanctuary. Hi s defence was drawn
fromthe very writings which he was charged with di screditing.The poli ti
cal p artiesBut it was not heard to the end. He was pleading a cause unite to
condemnh im.
already condemned ; and the two great political parties were
at one in stamping out the heresy of the uni versality of
the Gospel. For it i s important to note the change in the
Phari saic party. Convinced that after all the new movementwas fatal to their narrow tradi tionalism,
they and the commonpeople, whose accepted leaders they had always been
, swung
1— 2
Persson
tion scat
ters the
Church,
which i s
thus involved in
the conse
quences of
thewi derteach ing,w ithoutb eingasked to
sanction
it.
4. The
b egin
nings of
extensionto the
Genti les .
NotPhi li p ,
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
round into deadly opposition. The wi tnesses, who by the law
must needs cast the first stones at the condemned ,threw off their
upper garments at the feet of a young di sciple of Gamaliel.Themurder of St Stephen was followed by a general perse
cution ,and in a few days the Apostles were the only Chri stians
left in Jerusalem. We may fairly doubt whether the Churchas a whole would have been prepared to sanction St Stephen
’s
line of teaching. Had they been called to pronounce upon i t,theymight perhaps have censured i t as rash and premature, ifnot indeed essentially unsound. But they were never asked
the question. They were at once involved in the consequences
of what he had taught, w ith no opportunity of disclaiming it.Providence had pushed themforward a step, and there was
no possibi lity of a return.
4. The scattered believers carri ed theirmessage w ith them;and they soon found themselves proclaiming i t to a wideningcircle of hearers . St Philip preaches to the unorthodox and
half-heathen Samari tans ; later he bapti ses an Ethiopian,no
Jew ,though a God-fearing man. St Peter himself formally
declares to a Roman centurion at Caesarea that now at length
he is learning themeaning of the Old saying of his Jewi sh Bible,
that ‘
God is no respecter of persons’. A t Antioch a Church
Springs up , which consists largely of Gentile converts .
But we must go back to Jerusalemto get a sight of the
man on whomSt Stephen’s propheticmantle has fallen. He
was w i th himwhen he was taken up ,and a double portion
of hi s spiri t i s to rest upon him. The fiery enthusiasmof the
persecuting Saul,themost conspicuous di sciple of the greatest
Phari see of the age, was a terrible proof that Christianity
had forfeited the esteemand favour of her earliest years in
Jerusalem. The tide of persecution was stemmed indeed by
his conversion to the persecuted side : b ut for some time hisown life was in constant danger, and he retired into obscurity.
He came out of his retirement as the Apostle,not of a
Chri stianized Judaism,b ut of St Stephen’s wider Gospel for
the world.
may wasnatural.
The ren
deringChri st
di sguisesfromus
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
language of the scriptures and the prayers of the synagogue
all spoke to themof the peculiar pri vileges and the exceptional
destiny of the Hebrew people. Was all thi s to go for nothing ?
Were outside Genti les, strangers to the covenant w ith Moses,
to rise at a bound to equal heights of pri vi lege wi th the
circumcised people of God ?
We are ap t to pass too harsh a judgment on themain bodyof the Jewish believers, b ecause we do not readi ly understand
the dismay which filled theirminds at the proposed inclusion ofGentiles in the Chri stian society, the nucleus of the Messianic
kingdom,wi th no stipulation whatever of conformity to Jewish
institutions . Day by day, as the Jewi sh believer went to his
temple-prayers,i t was his proud right to pas s the barrier
which separated Jew fromGenti le in the house of God . What
was this intolerable confusion which was breaking down the
divinely,
constituted middle-wall of partition be tween them?His dearest hope , which the words of Chri st had only seemedfor a moment to defer, was the restoration of the kingdomto Israel. What had become of that
,i f the new society was to
include the Gentile on the same footing as the Jew ? Was not
Christ emphatically and by His very name the Messiah of the
Jewish nation ? Could any b e a good Chri stian, unless he
were first a good Jew ?
It is essential to an understanding of St Paul’s special
mission,and of the whole view of Christiani ty which he was
led to take during the progress of thatmission,that we should
the Jewi sh appreciate thi s problemas it presented i tself to the mind ofMess“
the Jew who had believed in Christ. The very fact that
throughout the Apostoli c wri tings the Greek translationXpw'rbs
takes the place of the Hebrew Mess iah di sgui ses fromus the
deep signi ficance which everymention of the name must havehad for the Palestini an Chri stian. The Syriac versions of the
New Testament, in which the old word naturally comes backagain
,help us to recover this special point of view . How
strangely—to take a few pas sages at randoml—do these words1I Cor. vi ii I I , ix 1 2 , xi i 2 7.
INTRODUCTION. 7
sound to us : himwho i s weak,for whomthe Messiah died
’
;
the Gospel of the Messiah ‘
ye are the body of the Messiah’.
Yet nothing less than this could St Paul’s words have meantto every Jew that heard them.
Again, St Paul’s own championship of Genti le liberty i s St Paul’s
so prominent in his wri tings, that we are tempted to overlookgiv
ihs
e
ense
those passages which shew how keenly he himself realisedSi tuation
the pathos of the situation. A Hebrew of purest Hebrew
blood ,a Pharisee as his father was before him
,he saw to his
bitter sorrow,what every Jewish Christianmust have seen
,that
his doctrine of Genti le freedomwas erecting a fresh barrier
against the conversion of the Jewish nation : that the very
universality of the Gospel was i ssuing in the self-exclusion of
the Jew . The mental anguish which he suffered is w itnessed
to by the three great chapters of the Epistle to the Romans(ix—xi), in which he struggles towards a solution of the
problem.
‘ A disobedi ent and gai nsaying people it i s, as the
prophet had foretold . And yet the gi fts and the calling of
God are never revoked ; God hath not cast off His people,whomHe foreknew The futuremust contain somewhere thejustification of the present : then, though i t cannot b e now
,
‘all Israel shall b e saved ’
. It is the largeness of hi s hope The1
that stead i es him. HIS work i s not for the souls of men so f ag“
much as for the Purpose of God in Christ. The individual Whi chsustained
counts b ut little in compari son. The wider issues are always h im
before him. Not Jews and Gentiles merely, b ut Jew and
Genti le, are the Objects of his solicitude. Not the rescue of
some out of the ru in of all is the hope w ith which the Gospel
has inspired him, b ut the summing up of all persons and all
things in Christ.
6. The feeling, then, whi ch rose in theminds of the Chris 6. The
tian portion of the Jew ish people on hearing of the proposed 3211
311
1
1
3;indiscriminate admission of Genti les into the Church of Christ
is sue
might have found its expression in the cry, The Jewish Messiah The
for the Jews Genti les might indeed b e allowed a place in viewthe kingdomof God. The old prophets had foretold as much
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
as this. Nor was it contrary to the established practice of
later Judai sm,after i t had been forced into contact with the
Greek world. The Genti le who submitted to circumcision and
other recogni sed conditions might share the privi leges of the
chosen people. But admission on any lower terms amountedto a revolution ; the very proposition was a revolt agai nst
divinely sanctioned institutions.
We are not to suppose that the Apostles themselves, or
even the majori ty of the Jewish believers, took so extremea view : the conference at Jerusalemi s a proof that they did
not. But even they may well have been perplexed at the
swiftness wi th which a change was coming over the whole face
of themovement in consequence of St Paul’smissionary action :
and they must have perceived that this change would b e
deeply obnoxious in particular to those earnest Pharisees whomthey had led to believe in Jesus as the nation’s Messiah.
Some of the more ardent of these found their way to
Antioch,where they proclaimed to the Genti le believers :
Except ye b e circumcised after the customof Moses, ye cannot
b e saved Happi ly St Paul was there to champion the Gentilecause. We need b ut sketch the mai n features of the struggle
that ensued.
A conference with the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalemwas the first step. Here after much discuss ion St Peter rises
and recalls the occas ion on which he himself had been di vinelyguided to action like St Paul’s. Then comes the narrative of
facts from the miss ionaries themselves. Finally St Jamesformulates the decis ion which i s reached
,to lay on them
no other burden ’than certain simple precepts, which must of
necess ity b e observed i f there were to b e any fellowship at all
between Jewish and Gentile believers.
So the first battle was fought and won. The Divineattestation given to St Paul’s work among the Genti les was a
proof that God had opened to .themalso the door of faith.
They were pressing in : who could withstand God by trying to
shut the door ? But when the novelty of the wonder wore
INTRODUCTION. 9
away, the old questionings revived, and i t seemed as though
the Church must b e split into two divisions—Jewi sh and
Genti le Christians.
To St Paul’s vi ew such a partition was fatal to the very Two con
mission of Chri stianity, which was to b e the healer of the2325128
581
world’s d ivi sions . The best years of his life were accordi ngly
devoted to reconci liation . Two great epistles witness to this
endeavour : the Epistle to the Galatians, in which he mighti lydefends Genti le liberty ; and the Epistle to the Romans
,in
which,wri ting to the central city of the world
,the seat of i ts
empire and the symbol of i ts outward unity, he holds an even
balance between Jew and Genti le, and claims themboth as
necessary to the Purpose of God.
One practical method of reconci liation was much in his Gentile
thoughts. Poverty had oppressed the believers in Judaca . Hereli berali tytomeet
was a rare chance for Genti le liberality to shew that St Paul533221
;was right in saying that Jew and Gentile were one man in
Christ. Hence the stress which he laid on the collection of
alms,
‘the mini stry unto the saints ’ (2 Cor. ix The alms
collected,he himself must journey to Jerusalem to present
themin person. He knows that he does so at the risk of his
life : b ut i f he dies, he dies in the cause for which he has lived.
His one anxi ety i s lest by any means his mission to Jerusalemshould fail of its end ; and he bids the Roman Chri stianswrestle in prayer, not only that his li fe may b e spared, b ut also
that‘the ministry which he has for Jerusalem’
,or
,to use an
earlier phrase,‘the offering of the Genti les’
,may b e ‘
acceptable
to the sa ints (Rom. xv 16,
His journey was successful fromthis point of vi ew ; b ut i t St Paul’s
led to an attack upon himby the unbeli eving Jews, and a long
imprisonment in Caesarea followed. Yet even thi s, disastrousmen”
as i t seemed, furthered the cause of peace and unity w ithin
the Christian Church. St Paul was removed fromthe scene of
conflict. Bitter feelings against his person naturally subsided
when he was in pri son for his Master’s sake. His teachings
and his letters gained in importance and authority. Before he
IO EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
was taken to hi s trial at Rome the controversy was practically
dead. Genti le liberty had cost himhis freedom, b ut i t was an
accomplished fact. He was‘the prisoner of Jesus Chri st on
behalf of the Genti les b ut his cause had triumphed,and the
equal position of privi lege of the Gentile converts was never
again to b e seriously challenged.
7 . Thus St Paul had been strangely brought to the place
where he had so often longed to find himself. At las t he was
in Rome : a prisoner indeed, b ut free to teach and free to write .
And fromhis seclusion came three epistles— to the Philippians ,to the Colossians , and to the Ephes ians
The circumcision question was dead. Other questions were
being raised ; and to these the Epistle to the Colossians in
particular is controversially addressed . This done,his mind is
free for one supreme exposi tion, non-controvers ial,positive
,
fundamental,of the great doctrine of hi s life—that doctrine
into which he had been advancing year by year under the
discipline of his unique circumstances— the doctrine of the
uni ty ofmankind in Chri st and of the purpose of God for the
world through the Church.
The foregoing sketch has enabled us in some meas ure tosee how St Paul was specially trained by the provi dence that
ruled his li fe to b e the exponent of a teaching which transcends
all other declarations of the purpose ofGod forman. The best
years of his Apostoli c labour had been expended in the effort to
preserve in uni ty the two confli cting elements of the Christian
Church. And now,when signal success has crowned his
labours,we find himin confinement at the great centre of the
world’s activi ty wri ting to expound to the Gentile Christians of
As ia Minor what is his final conception of the meaning and
aimof the Christian revelation. He is a prisoner indeed, b ut
not in a dungeon : he i s in hi s own hired lodging. He is not
crushed by bodi ly suffering. He can thi nk and teach and
write. Only he cannot go away. At Rome he is on a kind of
watch-tower, like a lonely sentinel wi th a wide field of vi ew
INTRODUCTION. I I
b ut forced to abide at h is post. His mind i s free,and ranges
over the world— past , present and future. Wi th a large liberty
Of thought he commences hi s great argument ‘ before the
foundation of the world’
,and carries i t on to ‘
the fulness of the
times ’, embracing in its compass ‘all things in heaven and on
the earth
8. If the wri ter’s history and circumstances help us to 8 The
understand the meaning Of his epistle,so too w i ll a considera fii
’
i’fi?
tion of the readers for whomit was intended. But here weep ism”
meet with a di fficulty at the very outset. The words ‘ in Omi ssionEphesus ’ (i I) are absent fromsome of our oldest and best in
MSS. , and several of the Greek Fathersmake i t clear that they Ephesus ’
did not find themin all Oopies . Indeed i t is almost certain
that they do not come fromSt Paul himself 1.There are good reasons for beli eving that the epistle was A circular
letter.
i ntended as a Ci rcular letter, an encycli cal,to go the round of
many Churches in Asia Minor. We have parallels to this in
I St Peter and the Apocalypse, in both of which however the
Churches in question are mentioned by their names.The capi tal of the Roman province Of As ia was Ephesus. Naturally
TO Ephesus such a letter would naturally go first of all : and
when in later times a title was sought for it, to correspond Ephesus '
with the titles of other epistles, no name would Offer itself so
readi ly and so reas onably as the name of Ephesus. Accordingly 53206 its
the title ‘TO THE EPHESIANS
’was prefixed to it. And i f
,as
seems not improbable, the Opening sentence contained a space
into which the name of each Church in turn might b e read
‘to the saints which are and the faithful in Christ
Jesus — it was certai n that in many copies the words ‘ in
Ephesus ’ would come to b e filled in.
The internal evidence of the epistle i tself is in harmony Thereaders
with the view that i t was not specially intended for the Ephe in large
sian Church. For inmore than one place the Apostle appears fifizt
w
’zn
goto bewri ting to Christians whomhe has never seen, of whose 815P3 111
fai th he knew only by report,and who in turn knew Of his
1 See the detached note on év
12 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
teachings only through the medi umof his disciples (i 15, i i i 2 ,iv
St Paul’s Moreover the encyclical nature of the epi stle removes whatspeci al
relation would otherwi se b e a most seri ous ob j eeti on to i ts authenti ci ty.
Ephesus .
If we read the notices of St Paul’s relations w ith Ephesus, as
they are given by St Luke in the Acts, we Observe that for a
long whi le he appears to have been specially checked in his
efforts to reach and to settle in that important centre. At one
time ‘ he was forbidden by the Holy Ghost to preach the word
in Asia’
(xvi Other’
work must take precedence. Not
only were the Galatian Churches founded first,b ut also the
European Churches—Philippi , Thessalonica, Corinth. Then
on his way back fromCorinth he touches at the city of his
desire, b ut only to hurry away, though with a promise to
return,i f God so w i ll (xvi i i At last he comes to remain
,
and he makes it a centre,so that ‘
all they which dwelt in
Asia heard the word of the Lord (xix As he tells the
Ephesian elders at Mi letus, when he believes that he is sayinghis last words to them,
For three years night and day I ceased
not to warn every one of you wi th tears’
(xx
Yet thi s To judge by the other letters Of St Paul,we should expect
to find a letter to the Ephesians unusually full Of personalsalutations of
viduals .
detai ls,reminiscences of hi s long labours
,warnings as to special
dangers , kindly greetings to individuals by name . We are
struck by the very opposite of all this . NO epistle is so general,
so little addressed to the peculiar needs Of one Church morethan another. As for personal references and greetings, there
are none. Even Timothy’s name i s not joined w ith St Paul’s
at the outset, as i t is in the Epistle to the Coloss ians,wri tten
at the same time and carri ed by the samemessenger : not oneproper name is found in the rest of the epistle, except that of
Tychicus i ts bearer.
‘ Peace to the brethren’, is i ts close ;‘grace b e w ith all that love our Lord
’.
The inoon The apparent inconsistency disappears themoment we strikesi stencydi sap . out the words ‘ in Ephesus NO one Church is addressed : the
pears’If letter w i ll go the round of the Churches w i th the broad lessons
I4 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
v zz—vi 9.
vi 10—2 0 .
vi 2 1— 24.
The topic of the Epistle to the Ephesians is of pre-eminent
interest in the present day . At no former peri od has there
been so w idespread a recogni tion in all departments of humanlife of the need of comb ination and cooperation : and never,perhaps, has more anxious thought been expended on the
problem of the ultimate destiny Of mank ind. Whi lst i t is
true that everywhere and always questions have been asked
about the future, yet i t is not too much to say that we, who
have begun to feel after the truth Of a corporate life as higher
than an individual life,aremore eager than any pas t generation
has been to learn,and perhaps are more capable of learning,
what i s the goal for which Man as a whole i s making, or,in
other words,what is God
’s Purpose for the Human Race.
Among the perpetual marvels of the Apostolic wri tings is
the fact that they contain answers to enquiries which have
long wai ted to b e made : that,while the formof the wri tten
record remains the same for all ages,its interpretation
grows in clearness as each age asks i ts own questions in
its own way.
Duties interpreted b y relation to Chri st
wives and husbands (2 2
chi ldren and parents (vi 1—4)slaves andmasters (5
The sp iri tual warri or clad in God’s armour.
Clos ing words.
WE SPEAK THE WISDOM OF GOD IN A MYSTERY,THE WISDOM THAT HATE BEEN HIDDEN
,
WHICH GOD FOREORDAINED BEFORE THE WORLDUNTO OUR GLORY.
element,And one far-of d ivine event
,
To which the whole creation nwves.
[TO THE ' EPHESIAN Sl
AUL , an apostle Of Chri st Jesus by the w i ll of God, to the i I . 2
saints whi ch are [at Ep hesus] and the faithful in Christ
Jesus : “
Grace to you and peace fromGod our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
The tw o points whi ch di stinguish thi s salutation have b een
noti ced already in the Introduction . NO other name i s joined w i thSt Paul’s
,although the salutation Of the Ep istle to the Coloss ians ,
wri tten at the same time,links w i th him‘ Timothy the brother ’.
N0 one Church i s addressed,b ut a blank is left, that each Church
in turn may find i ts own name inserted by the Apostle’s messenger.
Paul the A postle, and no other Wi th him, addresses himself not tothe requirements of a single commun ity of Chri stians, b ut to a
universal need—the need of a larger knowledge of the purposesOf God.
3 BLESSED b e the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ,who hath blessed us w ith all spiri tual bless ing in the heavenly
p laces in Christ : according as He hath chosen us in Himbeforethe foundation of the world,
that we should b e holy and
blameless before Himin love ; 5 havi ng foreordained us to the
adoption of sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself, accordingto the good pleasure of His w i ll,
6to the praise of the glory
of Hi s grace,which He hath freely bestowed on us in the
Beloved ; 7 in whomwe have redemption through Hi s blood, theforgiveness Of trespasses
,according to the riches of Hi s grace
,
8which He hathmade to abound toward us in all w isdomand
prudence, 9 havingmade known unto us themystery ofHis wi ll,
according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in
Him,for dispensation in the fulness of the times, to gather
EPHES.2 2
EXPOSITION OF THE [I 3
up in one all things in Chri st, both which are in the heavens
and which are on earth ; in Him,in whomalso w e have been
chosen as God’3 portion, having been foreordain ed according to
the purpose of Himwho worketh all things according to the
counsel Of His wi ll,‘ 2
that we should b e to the praise of His
glory,who have been the first to hOpe in Chri st ;
” in whomyealso
,having heard the word of the truth
,the gospel Of your
salvation,— in whomalso having believed, ye have been sealed
with the holy Spiri t Of promise, " which is the earnest of our
inheritance, unto the redemption Of God’s own possession, to
the praise ofHis glory.
Fromthe outset the elimi nation Of t he p ersonal element seemsto affect the composition. Compare the introductory words of someof the ep i stles
I Thess. ‘We thank God always concerni ng you all
2 Thess. We are bound to thank God always for youGal. I marvel that ye are so soon
Col. We thank God always concerning you
Here, however, no personal consideration enters. Hi s greattheme possesses himat once :
‘ B lessed be hath b lessed
us The customary note of thanksgi ving and p rayer i s indeedsounded (s o. 1 5 b ut not unti l the great doxology has run i ts full
course.
There i s one parallel to this Opening. The Second Ep i stle to
the Corinthi ans was wri tten in a moment of reli ef from intensestrain. The A postle had b een anxiously waiting to learn the effectOf hi s former letter. A t length good news reaches him:
‘ God’,
as he says later on,which comforteth themthat are low
,com
forted us by the coming of Titus’. In the full j oy Of hi s heart hebegins hi s ep i stle wi th a burst Of thanksgi ving to the DivineConsoler : ‘ Blessed b e the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Chr ist, the Father of mercies and God Of all comfort,who com
forteth us in all our trouble, that w e may b e ab le to comfort themthat are in any trouble, by means Of the comfort wi th whi chw e ourselves are comforted Of God
The bless ing there ascribed to God i s for a parti cular mercyBlessed b e comforteth us
’. But here no special boon is
in his mind. The suprememercy Of God toman fills hi s thoughts‘B lessed be ha th b lessed us
’.
I 3] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 19
The twelve verses whi ch follow ba ffle our analysi s. They are a 3—14
kaleidoscope Of dazzling lights and shifting colours’
: at first w e fai l
to find a trace of order or method . They are like the p reliminaryflight Of the eagle, ri sing and Wheeling round, as though for a
While uncerta in what d i rection in hi s b oundless freedomhe shalltake. SO the A postle
’s thought li fts i tself b eyond the limits Of
time and above thematerial concep tions that confine ord inarymen,and ranges thi s w ay and that in a regi on of sp irit, a heavenlysphere, wi th no course as yet marked out,merely exulting in the
attributes and purposes Of God.
A t first w e marvel at the wealth of hi s language : b ut soon wedi scover
,b y the very repeti tion of the phrases whi ch have arrested
us,the poverty of all language when i t comes to deal wi th such
top i cs as he has chosen. He seems to b e swept along b y hi s theme,hardly knowing whi ther i t is taking him. He begins wi th God,the blessing whi ch comes fromGod to men
,the etern i ty of Hi s
purpose of good , the glory of i ts consummation. But he cannotorder h i s conceptions, or close hi s sentences. One thought presseshard upon another
,and wi ll not be refused. And so thi s great
doxology runs on and on :‘ in whom i n Him i n Him, in
in Whom i n
But as w e read it again and again w e begin to perceive certaingreat words recurring and revolv ing round a central point
‘ The w ill ’Of God : vv. 5, 9, 1 1 .
‘ TO the p rai se of His glory’: cv. 6, 1 2
,14.
‘ In Chri st ’: vv. 3, 4, 6, 7 , 9, 10 b i s,1 1 , 1 2
,13 b is.
The wi ll Of God working itself out to some glorious i ssue inChri st— that i s hi s theme. A single phrase of the ninth verse sumsi t up : i t i s themystery of His wi ll’.
In p roceeding to examine the passage clause b y clause w e shallnot here dwell on individual exp ressions, excep t in so far as their
di scussion i s ind i sp ensab le for the understanding Of the maindrift of the ep i stle. But at the outset there are certain words and
p hrases whi ch challenge attention ; and our hope of grasp ing the
A postle’s meaning depends upon our gaining a true conception
of the standpoint whi ch they imply. They must accordi ngly b etreated with whatmight otherwi se seema d i sproportionate fulness .
The third verse contains three such phrases. The first i s : ‘w i th i 3
a ll sp i ri tua l b lessing’. It has been suggested that the A postle
inserts the ep i thet‘ sp iri tual
’b ecause the mention of two Persons
of the Blessed Trini ty naturally leads himto introduce a reference
2— 2
20
Phil. Ii
EXPOSITION OF THE [I 3
to the thi rd. A ccordingly w e are asked to render the words‘every b lessing of the Sp i ri t
’.
But a little consideration wi ll shew that the ep i thet marks an
important contrast. The b lessing Of God p romi sed in the Old
Testament w as p rimari ly a materi al p rosp eri ty. Hence in some of
its nob lest literature the Hebrew mi nd struggled so inefl'
ectually
wi th the p rob lemp resented by the affliction Of the righteous and
the prosperi ty of the wi cked. In the Book of Genesi s the words‘ in b lessing I wi ll bless thee ’ are interp reted b y in mul ti plying Iwi llmultiply thy seed as the stars Of the heaven In Deuteronomythe b lessing of God i s exp ressed b y the fami liar words : Blessedshalt thou b e in the city, and blessed shalt thou b e in the fieldBlessed shall b e thy basket and thy store
The blessing Of the New Covenant i s in another region : the
region not of the body,b ut of the sp i ri t; It i s sp i ri tual blessing
’,
not carnal, temporal blessing. The reference then i s not primari ly
to the Holy Sp iri t, though‘ sp i ri tual blessing
’ cannot b e thoughtof apart fromHim. The adjective occurs again in the phrase‘ sp i ri tual songs
’: and also in the remarkable passage : ‘
our wrestling i s against the sp iri tual (things)of wi ckedness in the heavenly
It is confirmatory of thi s view that in the latter passageit occurs in close connexi on wi th the di fficult phras e whi ch wemustnext d i scuss.
The exp ression‘ in the heavenly (p laces)
’occurs five times in thi s
ep i stle (i 3, 2 0 ; i i 6 ; i i i 10 ; v i and i s found nowhere else.
The adjective (e’vrovpoimog) is not new : w e find i t in Homer and
Plato,as well as in the New Testament, including other ep i stles of
St Paul. The nearest parallel i s in an earli er letter of the sameRoman captivi ty : every knee shall bow Of things in heaven and
things on earth and thi ngs under the earthIt might b e rendered among the heavenly things
’, or in the
heavenly p laces’
or,to use a more modern term,
‘ in the heavenlysphere
’. It is a regi on Of i deas , rather than a locali ty, whi ch i s
suggested b y the vagueness of the exp ression . TO understand whatit meant to St Paul’s mind w e must look at the contexts in whi chhe uses it.
Leaving the present passage to the last, w e begin w ith i 2 0 : after
theResurrection God seated Chri st at Hi s right hand i n the heavenlysp here, above every p rincipali ty and authori ty and power and
dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world b ut
also in that whi ch i s to come Thus the heavenly sphere i s
regarded as the Sphere of all the ruling forces of the universe . The
22
z 00r
EXPOSITION OF THE [I 3
We may call to our aid one other passage to i llustrate all thi s.‘ The things in the heavens as well as the things on earth ’
,are
to b e summed up— to b e gathered up in one— i h the Chri st
(i Or,as the parallel passage, Col. i 2 0 , puts i t :
‘ It p leasedGod to reconci le all things through Chri st unto Himself, settingthemat peace by the b lood Of the cross
,whether they b e the things
on earth or the things in the heavens That i s as much as to say,‘The things in the heavens were out of gear, as well as the thingson earth ’
. And so St Paul’s Gosp el wi dens out into a Gospel Of theUn iverse : the heavens as well as the earth are in some mysteriousmanner brought wi thi n i ts scope .
It i s important that w e Should understand thi s point of view.
Heaven to us has come to mean a future state of perfect b li ss .But
, to St Paul’s mind
,in the heavenly Sphere
’the very same
struggle i s going on whi ch vexes us on earth. Only wi th thi sdi fference there Chri st i s already enthroned , and w e b y . representation are enthroned with Him.
In other words,St Paul warns us from the beginni ng that he
takes a sup ra sensual v iew of human life . He cannot rest in the‘ things seen
’: they are not the eternal, the real things : they are
b ut things as they seem,not things as they are : they are thi ngs
‘ for a time (r p éo-Ka tpa), not things ‘ for ever’(a ioima
The thi rd important phrase whi ch meets us on the threshold of
the ep i stle i s the phrase‘ i n Chri st
’. It i s characteri sti cally Pauline .
It is not,Of course, confined to thi s ep i stle, b ut i t i s sp ecially
frequent here.
A word must first of all b e sa id as to the tw o forms in whi chSt Paul uses the name ‘ Chri st ’. It i s found sometimes wi th and
sometimes W ithout the defini te arti cle. The d i stinction whi ch i s
thus introduced cannot always b e p ressed : b ut, speaking generally ,w e may say that in the first case w e have a title, in the second a
p roper name : in other words, the first formlays emphasi s on the
Office held, the second on the Person who holds i t.In the p resent p assage, in speaking Of the b lessing wherewi th
God has b lessed us, St Paul points to Chri st as the Person in whomw e have that blessing in Chri st ’. Below
,in speaking more
broadly Of the purpose of God for the universe,he lays the stress
upon the Office of the Messiah— ‘to gather up in one all things in
the Chri st ’. But i t i s possib le that in many cases the choi ce b etween the tw o forms was determined simply b y the consideration Of
euphony.
The Messiah w as the hope Of the Jewi sh nation. Their expecta
I 3] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 23
tion for the future was summed up in Him. He was the Chosen,
the Beloved, the Anointed Of God ; the ideal King in whomthe
nation’s destiny w as to b e fulfilled .
The L ife and Death of Jesus were in strange contrast to the
general Messiani c expectation . The Resurrection and A scensionrestored the failing hope of Hi s immediate followers
,and at the
same time helped to translate i t to a more Sp iri tual region. Theyrevealed the earthly Jesus as the heavenly Chri st.
To St Paul ‘ Jesus was preeminently the Chri st Very rarelydoes he use the name ‘ Jesus ’ Wi thout linking i t with the name or
the ti tle ‘Chri st ’: perhap s, indeed, only Where some special referencei s intended to the earthly L i fe. SO
,for examp le, he speaks Of the 2 Cor. iv IO
dying Of Jesus and , in contrasting the earthly humi li ation wi ththe heavenly exaltation whi ch followed it
,he says : that in the Ph i ld u o f
name Of Jesus every knee should every tongue confessthat Jesus Chri st i s LORD
If the p rimary thought of the Messiah is a hope for the Jewi sh
peop le, St Paul’s Gosp el further proclaims Himto b e the hope Of
the world Of men,the hope even Of the entire universe. That the
Chri st w as the Christ Of the Gentile, as well as of the Jew,w as the
specialmessage whi ch he had been called to announce— ‘ to bri ng as i i i 8
a gospel to the Genti les the unexplorab le wealth of the Chri st ’.Thi s w as themystery, or secret of God
,long hi dden
,now r evealed
as he says to the Colossians : ‘ God wi lled to make known what is Col . i 2 7the wealth of the glory of thi smystery among the Genti les ; whi chi s Chri st in you —you Genti les the hope of glory
That the Chri st to so large an extent takes the place of ‘Jesus’
in St Paul’s thought i s highly signi ficant, and expla ins much thatseems to call for explanation . It explains the fact that St Pauldwells SO little on the earthly L ife and the spoken Words Of the
Lord . He cannot have b een ignorant of or indi fferent to the greatstory whi ch for us i s recorded in the Gospels. Yet he scarcelytouches any part Of i t
,save the facts that Jesus w as cruci fied , that
He d ied and was b uri ed,that He rose and ascended . Of the
miracles whi ch He wrought w e hear nothi ng of themiracle whi chattended His birth into the world w e hear nothing. Of the struggleswi th the Phari sees, Of the tra in ing Of the Twelve, of the di scoursesto themand to themultitudes
,he tells us nothing. It is a soli tary
exception when,as i t were incidentally
,he i s led b y a parti cular
necessity to relate the insti tution Of the Euchari st.
It cannot have b een that these things were of small moment inhi s eyes. He must have known at least most of them,
and have
valued them. But he had a message peculiarly his own : and that
24 EXPOSITION OF THE [I 3
message dealt not wi th the earthly Jesus,so much as with the
heavenly Chri st. In the heavenly sphere’hi smessage lies. Hence
2 Cor. v 16 forth’,he says
,
‘ know w e no man after the flesh : yea, i f w e have
known Chri st after the flesh, yet now henceforth know w e Him(so)nomore ’. The Death, the Resurrection
,the A scension— these are
to himthe important moments Of the life of Chri st ; they are the
ladder that leads upwards from‘ Chri st after the flesh’to ‘ Chri st
in the heavenly sphere — the exalted, the glorified, the reigningChri st ; the Chri st yet to b eman ifested as the consummation Of the
purpose of God . And if St Paul looked beyond the earthly life of
the Lo rd in one d irection,he looked beyond i t also in another. To
hi s thought the Chri st ’does not b egin with the hi stori cal‘ Jesus ’.
The Christ i s eternal in the past as well as in the future. The
earthly life of Jesus i s a kind Ofmiddle point, a stage Of humi liation2 C0r.vi i i 9 for a time.
‘ Being ri ch,He became poor
’
;‘ being in the formof
Ph i l. 11 6 f. humb led Himself, taking the formOf a servant,coming
to b e in the likeness of men ’. That stage Of humiliation i s past :
‘God hath highly exalted Him’: w e fix our gaze now on
‘ Jesus
Chr i st ascended and enthroned.
We may not,indeed
,think that ‘ Jesus ’ and the Chri st ’ can
ever in any w ay b e separated : St Paul’s frequent comb ination Of
the two names i s a wi tness against such a separation . Yet thereare two aspects : and i t is the heavenly asp ect that p redomi natesin the thought of St Paul.
It i s instructive in thi s connexion to compare the narrative Of
St Paul’s conversion with the account that immediately follows Ofhis first p reaching. It was ‘ Jesus ’ who appeared to himin the
Acts ix 5 w ay :‘Who art thou, Lord amJesus He had always looked
for the Mess iah : he was to b e taught that in Jesus the MessiahActs ix 2 2 had come. The lesson was learned ; and w e read : Saul waxed
strong the more,and confounded the Jews that dwelt in Damascus
,
proving that thi s w as the Chri st ’. He had seen Jesus, ri sen and
exalted : he knew Himhenceforth as the Chri st.We Observe
,then
,that the conception which the phra se in
Cit/li st imp li es b elongs to the same supra-sensual region Of ideas to
whi ch the tw o p receding phrases testify. The mysti cal uni on or
identification whi ch i t asserts i s asserted as a relation,not to
‘ Jesus —the namemore di stinctive of the earthly L ife—b ut to the
Chri st as ri sen and exalted .
The s ignificance Of the relation to Chri st, as ind i cated b y the
preposition‘ in
’,and the i ssues Of that relation
,are matters on
whi ch light wi ll b e thrown as w e p roceed wi th the study of the
ep i stle. But i t i s important to note at the outset how much i s
I 4] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
summed up in thi s brief phrase, and how p rominent a position i t
holds in St Paul’s thought.In Chri st, the eternal Chri st
,w ho suffered
, rose, ascended, whoi s seated now at God
’s right hand sup reme over all the forces of theuni verse : in Chri st, in the heavenly Sphere wherein He now abides
,
in the region of sp iri tual activi ties, all sp i ritual blessing i s ours : inChri st God has blessed us blessed b e God .
In the verses whi ch follow (4— 14)w e have an amplification Of vv. 4—14
the thoughts Of v. 3 , and especially Of the phrase‘ in Chr i st Thi s
amplification i s introduced by the words according as’.
A nd first St Paul declares that the blessing wherewith God hathb lessed us i s no new departure in the Divine counsels. It i s in
harmony with an eternal design whi ch has marked us out as the
reci p ients Of thi s b lessing accordi ng as He ha th chosen a s i n Himi 4
before thefoundation of the world’.
‘He ha th chosen a s or elected us’. Election i s a termwhi ch
suggests at once somuch Of controversy, that i tmay b e well to layemphasi s on its p rimary sense by substituting
,for the moment
,a
word of the same meaning, b ut less trammelled b y associations
the word selection
The thought that God in Hi s dealings wi thmen p roceeds by themethod Of selection was not new to St Paul . The whole of the
Old Testament w as an affirmation of thi s p rincip le. He himselffromhi s earliest days had lea rned to cheri sh as hi s p roudest possess ion the fact that he w as included in the Divine Selection. He
w as a member of the Peop le whomGod had in A brahamselectedfor peculi ar b lessing.
The Div ine Selection of the Heb rew People to hold a p rivi leged
position, thei r ready recogni tion Of that posi tion and thei r selfishab use of i t
,the persistent assertion Of i t by the Prophets as the
ground Of national amendment— thi s i s the very theme of the Old
Testament scri p tures . . It i s on account of thi s, above all,that the
Chri stian Church can never afford to part with them. Only as we
hold the Old Testament in our hands can w e hope to interp ret theNew Testament, and especially the wri tings Of St Paul. Only the
hi story of the ancient Israel can teach us the meaning Of the new Gal. vi 16
Israel Of God’.NO new departure in p rinci p le was made b y Chri stianity . Its
v ery name of the New Covenant declares that God’smethod i s sti llthe same. Only the app li cation Of i t has been extended : the area
Of selection has been enlarged. A new People has been founded, aPeop le not limited by geographi cal or b y racial boundari es : b ut
26 EXPOSITION OF THE [I 4
sti ll a Peop le , a Selected Peop le— even as tod ay w e teach the
Chri stian child to say : The Holy Ghost, whi ch sanctifleth me and
all the Elect People of God’
God,then
,says St Paul, selected us to b e the recip ients of the
di stinctive Sp i ri tual blessing of the New Covenant . It i s in accordance wi th thi s Selection that He has b lessed us .
The Selection was made ‘ in Chri st before the founda ti on ofthe world ’. That i s to say, in eterni ty i t i s not new ; though intime i t app ears as new . In time i t appears as later than the
Selection of the Hebrew Peop le, and as an extension and development of that Selection. But it is an eternal Selection
,indepen
dent Of time ; or, as St Paul puts i t, before the foundation of the
world ’.Here w e must ask : Whomdoes St Paul regard as the Objects
Of the Divine Selection ? He says :‘ Blessed b e hath
blessed as He hath selected us . .before the foundationof the world ’. What does hemean by the word us
The natural and Obvious interp retation i s that he means toinclude at least himself and those to whomhe wri tes. He has
spoken so far Of no others. L ater on he wi ll d i stingui sh tw o greatclasses
,both included in the Selection , of whomhe has certain
special things to say. But at p resent he has no divi sion or di s
tinction. Hemay mean to include more : he can scarcelymean to
include less than himself and the readers whomhe addresses .It has been said that in the word ‘ us ’w e have ‘ the language
Of chari ty ’,whi ch includes certai n individuals Whoma stri cter use
Of terms would have excluded. That i s to say, not all themembersof all the Churches to whom the letter was to go were in fact
included in the Divine Selection.
TO this we may reply : (I)Nowhere in the ep i stle does St Paulsuggest that any individual among those whomhe addresses either
i s ormay b e excluded fromthis Selection .
(2) Unworthy individuals there undoubtedly were : b ut his
appeal to themi s based on the very fact of their Selection b y God‘ I beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the calli ng wherewi th yehave been called
The Old Testament help s us again here. Among the SelectedPeople were many unworthy indi viduals. Thi s unworthiness didnot exclude themfrom’
the Divine Selection. On the contrary, theProphetsmade their privi leged posi tion the ground of an appeal to
them.
Moreover, just as the Prophets looked more to the Whole than
to the parts, so St Paul i s dominated by the thought of the whole,
1 4, 5] EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS. 27
and Of God’s purpose wi th the whole. It i s a new Israel that
Chri st has founded— a People of p rivi lege. We are ap t so far to
forget thi s, as to regard St Paul mainly as the A postle of ind ividu
ali ty. But in the destiny Of the individual as an indivi dual he shewsstrangely li ttle interest— strangely, I say, in compari son with the
p revai ling thought of later times ; though not strangely, in the
light Of hi s own past hi story as a member of a Selected People.
We take it, then,that b y the word ‘ us ’ St Paul means to
include all those Chri stians to whomhe intended hi s letter to come .
It i s reasonable to suppose further that he would have allowed h i slanguage to cover all members Of the Chri stian Church everywhere.
The one doubt whi ch may fai rly b e ra i sed i s whether the later
phrase Of v. 1 2,
‘ w e who have b een the first to hope in Chri st ’,
Should b e taken as limiting the meani ng of ‘ us ’ in the earlier
verses. Thi s phrase w emust di scuss p resently : b utmeanwhi le i t isenough to point out that the parallel passage in the Ep i stle to theColossian s
,where some of the same statements are made (compare
especially Eph . i 6, 7 with Col. i 13, has no such limitation,and quite clearly includes the Gentiles to whomhe was writing.
We may therefore b elieve that here too the Genti le Chri stians are
included,up to the point at whi ch the A postle defini tely makes
statements specially belonging to the Chri stian Jew .
The a imof the D ivi ne Selection i s p la inly stated in theWords,
‘ that we shou ld be holy and b lameless b efore Himi n love’. The i a
phrase‘ in love must b e joined wi th the p receding words, not wi th
those that follow ; although the latter collocation has some anci ent
interp reters in i ts favour . For (I) the same phrase occurs fivetimes more in the ep istle (i i i 1 7 , i v 2 , 1 5, 16, v and always inthe sense Of the Chri stian vi rtue of love— not of the D iv ine love
towards man : and (2)here i t stands as the climax Of the Divine
intention. L ove i s the response for whi ch the D iv ine grace looks ;and the p roof that i t i s not bestowed in vain. On our side the
result a imed at i s ‘ love’ just as on God’s side i t i s ‘ the p rai se Of
the glory Of His grace
Havi ng fore-orda ined us unto the adop ti on of sons through i 5\
Jesu s Chri st unto Himself ”. The sonship Of Man to God i s imp lied ,
b ut not exp ressed, in the Old Testament. In the light of the laterrevelation it i s seen to b e involved in the creation of Man in the Gen . i 26 f
D ivine image, b y whi ch a relationshi p i s established to whi ch appeal Gen. ix 6
can b emade even after the Fall. In a more Special sense God i s a Jer. xxxi
Father to Israel,and Israel i s the son of God. But sonship in the Ex. iv 2 2
28
vv. 3—6
EXPOSITION or THE [I 5, 6
comp letest sense could not b e p rocla imed b efore the mani festationof the Divine Son in the flesh. He i s at once the ideal Man and
the Image of God. In Himthe sonship of Man to God finds i tsreali sation. Those who have been ‘ selected in Him’
are p ossessed
of thi s sonshi p , not as of natural right, b ut as by adop tion. Hence‘the adop tion of sons ’ i s the di stinctive privi lege of the New
Covenant in Chri st.The doctrine of A dop tion i s not antagoni sti c to the doctrine of
the universal sonship of Man to God. It i s on the contrary in the
closest relation to i t. It i s the Divine method of i ts actuali sation.
The sonshi p of creation i s through Chri st, no less truly than the
sonship of adop tion . Man i s created in Chri st : b ut the SelectedPeop le are broughtmore immedi ately than others into relation wi thChri st
,and through Chri st w i th the Father.
‘ According to the good p leasure (f Hi s w i ll’. Ultimately, the
power that rules the universe i s the wi ll of God .
‘ It pleased His
w i ll ’ w e cannot, and w e need not, get behind that .
To the p ra ise of the glory of Hi s grace’. Thi s i s the ordained
i ssue : God’s free favour to Man i s to b e gloriouslymani fested, thati tmay b e eternally p rai sed .
‘ Grace ’i s too great a word wi th St Paul to b e mentioned and
allowed to pass. It wi ll,as w e shall see, carry his thought fur ther.
But first he wi ll emphasi se the channel b y whi ch i t reaches us
‘Hi s grace, whi ch He hath freely bestowed on u s i n the Beloved’.
If the Beloved i s a Messiani c ti tle, yet i t i s not used here wi thouta reference to i ts li teral meaning. In the p arallel passage in
Col. i 13 w e have ‘ the Son of Hi s love ’. Just as in the Son,who
i s Son in a peculiar sense, w e have the adop tion of sons : so in theBeloved, w ho i s loved with a p eculiar love, the grace of God i s
graciously bestowed on us .
To sumup vv. 3— 6 : The blessing, for whi ch w e bless God
,i s
of a sp iri tual nature, in the heavenly sphere, in the exalted Christ.It i s in accordance wi th an eternal choi ce
,whereb y God has
selected us in Christ. Its goal, so far as w e are concerned,i s the
fulness of all vi rtues, love. It includes an adoption through JesusChri st to a D iv ine sonship . Its motive li es far b ack in the wi ll ofGod. Its contemplated i ssue in the Divine counsel is that God’s
grace, freely bestowed on us in HisWell-beloved, should b e glori ouslymanifested and eternally prai sed .
It i s noteworthy that up to thi s point there has b een no
reference of any kind to sin : nor, wi th the exception of a passingnoti ce of the fact that it has been put out of the w ay, i s there any
30 EXPOSITION or THE [1
Redemption i s through the blood of Chri st, and i t includes ‘ the
forgiveness of tresp asses‘ Accordi ng to the r iches of Hi s grace
’. Themention of ‘
grace’
had led to the thought of i ts triumph over sin : and thi s in turnleads b ack to a further and fullermention of grace
’.
‘Hi s grace whi ch He ha th made to abound towards us i n a ll
wi sdomand p rudence’. The last words help to define the grace
in another w ay : among i ts consequences for us are‘wi sdomand
prudence’. W i sdom i s the knowledge which sees into the heart
of things, whi ch knows them as they really are. Prudence i sthe understand ing whi ch leads to right action . Wi sdom,
a s i t i s
set b efore us in the Sap i ential books of the Old Testament, includesb oth these ideas : b ut with St Paul W i sdombelongs specially tothe regi on of the Mystery and i ts Revelation .
The great stress laid b y St Paul on Wi sdomin hi s later letterscalls for some noti ce. In wri ting to the Corinthi ans at an earlier
period he had found i t necessary to check their enthusiasmaboutwhat they called W i sdom— an intellectual sub tlety whi ch b redconceit in indi viduals and
,a s a consequence
,di vi sions in the
Chri stian Society. He had refused tomini ster to their appeti te for
thi s kind ofmental entertainment. He contrasted thei r anxi ety forW i sdomwi th the p lainness of hi s p reaching. He w as forced intoan extreme position : he would not communi cate to themin theircarnal state of d ivi sion and stri fe hi s own knowledge of the deeperthings of God . But at the same time he declared that he had
a W isdom whi ch belonged not to babes,b ut to grown men’.
An d it is thi s W i sdomwhi ch w e have in the p resent Ep i stle . It
1 Cor. n 7 deals as St Paul had sa id wi th ‘a mystery ’: i t i s a W i sdomlong
hidden b ut now revealed .
‘Havi ng made known to u s the mystery of Hi s w i ll’. Thi s
together with what follows, to the end of v. 10,i s exp lanatory of
the p receding statement. God hath made grace to ab ound towardus in all wisdomand p rudence, in that He hath made known to usthemystery of His wi ll
Themystery’or
‘ secret ’. It i s temp ting to regard St Paul’s
emp loyment of the word mystery as one of the instances in whichhe has borrowed a termfrompopular Greek phraseology and has
lifted i t into the highest region of thought. The word was everywhere current in the Greek religious world . When the old national
1 Contrast 1 Cor. n 1, 2 wi th i b . th is sub ject (P rolegg. to Romans and
u 6, 7 : and see Dr Hort’s words on Ep hes i ans , 180
I 9] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
sp i ri t died out in Greece,the national religious life d ied with i t, and
the anci ent national cults lost thei r hold on the people. A bout thesame time there came into p rominence all over the Greek worldanother formof religi ous worship , not so much pub li c and national
as p rivate and ind iv iduali sti c. It had many shapes, and borrowedmuch fromEastern sources. Its aimw as the puri fication of indi
vidual lives ; and i ts methods were (1)the promi se of a future life,
and (2)the institution of rites of purification followed b y ini tiationinto a secret religious lore. W i th some of themysteri esmuch thatwas ab ominable was connected : b ut the ideals whi ch some at leastof themproclaimed were lofty . The true secret of divine thingscould only b e revealed to those who passed through long stages of
purification, and who pledged themselves never to di sclose the
mysteries which they had b een taught.The ‘mystery ’
,of whi ch St Paul speaks, i s the secret of God’s
dealing with the world and it i s a secret whi ch i s revealed to suchas have b een specially p repared to receive i t. But here— so far at
any rate as St Paul’s wri tings are concerned l— the parallel withthe Greek mysteries ends. For the Secret of God has been publi shed in Chri st. There i s now no b ar to its declaration . St Paulhas been appointed a steward of it
,to expound it as containing the
interp retation of all human li fe.
A s amatter of fact the word has come to St Paul froma whollydifferent source. We now know that it w as used of secrets whichb elong to God and are revealed by Himto men
,not only in the
Book of Daniel, b ut also in a book whi ch p resentsmany parallels tothe Book of Daniel
,and whi ch just failed
,when that b ook just
succeeded,in obta ini ng a p lace wi thin the Jewi sh canon . Portions
of the long lost Greek of the Book of Enoch have recently beenrestored to us
,and w e find that the word ‘mystery ’
i s used in
i t again and again of divine secrets whi ch have rightly or wronglycome to the knowledge of men . And even apart fromthis partienlar book, w e have amp le ev idence for th i s usage in the Greek-speaking c ircles of Judai sm. The word, wi th i ts correlative revelation
’,
w as at hand in the region of the A postle’s own Jewi sh train ing,
and w e need not seek a heathen origin for his use of it2.
According to Hi s good p leasure whi ch He ha th p wrp osed in Him,
for d i sp ensa tion i n the fu lness of the times,to gather up in one all
1 With later parallels to the Greek 2 See the detached note on the
mysteri es in the ri tes of the Christian meaning of uverfipcov.
Church we are not here concerned.
32 EXPOSITION or THE [I 10
things i n Chri st.’Thi s i s a descrip tion in the broadest terms of
the scope and contents of the Divine Secret .
For disp ensa ti on i n the fu lness of the times ’. The simi larlanguage of i ii 9 i s the best comment on this passage. The A postledeclares there that i t i s hi smission to shew ‘what i s the d i spensationof the mystery wh ich hath been h idden frometernity in God who
created all things’. The Creator of the uni verse has a Purp ose in
regard to i t an eternal purpose whi ch He hath purposed in ChristJesus our Lord ’. The secret of i t has been hi dden in God until
now . The ‘ di spensation’or
‘ working out’of that secret Purpose
i s a matter on whi ch St Paul cla ims to sp eak by revelation.
D isp ensati on i s here used in its wider sense,not of household
management, whi ch i s i ts p rimary meaning, b ut of carrying intoeffect a design . The wordmust b e taken with the foregoing phrasethemystery of Hi s wi ll ’ and w emay paraphrase, to carry i t outin the fulness of the times The thought i s not of
‘a D i spensation
as though one of several D isp ensations : b ut s imply of the carryingout
’of the secret Purpose of God.
That secret Purpose i s summari sed in the word s,
‘ to gather up
in one a ll things i n Chr ist’.
To ga ther up in one’. As the total i s the result of the
addi tion of all the separate factors, as the summary presents inone vi ew the details of a compli cated argument— these are the
metaphors suggested by the A postle’s word—so in the Divine
counsels Chri st i s the Sumof all things.
All things The defini te article of the Greek cannot b e
represented in English : b ut i t helps to give the idea that ‘all
thi ngs ’ are regarded as a whole,
as when w e speak of ‘ the
universe ’ compare Col. i 1 7 and Heb . i 3.
‘ In Chri st’. The Greek has the definite art i cle here also : for
the stress is laid not on the ind iv idual p ersonali ty, b ut rather on the
Messian i c office. The Messiah summed up the A ncient Peop leSt Paul p roclaims that He sums up the Universe.
The contrast between ‘ the one’
and ‘ the many ’ w as the
foundation of most of the early Greek phi losophi cal systems .‘ The many - the vari ety of obj ects of sense— was the result of
a breaking up of the primal ‘one
’. The many ’ constituted im
perfection :‘ the one
’was the ideal p erfection. The phi losopher
could look b eyond the many to the one — the ab solute and alone
existent one
There is somethi ng akin to this here. The vari ety of the
universe,wi th its di scordances and confusions
,has a pri nci p le
of unity. In Chri st says St Paul in Col. i 1 7, all things consi st
I 10] EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS. 33
in Him, that i s, they have thei r p rinciple of cohesion and unityeven as
‘ through Himand unto Him they have been created ’. 001. i 16If confusion has entered , i t i s not of the nature of things, and i t i s
not to b e eternal. In the i ssue the true unity wi ll b e asserted and
mani fested .
‘ The mystery of the wi ll of God’i s the Divine
determination ‘ to gather Up in one all things in Chri st ’.
St Paul has thus been led on p ast the method of God’s working
to the i ssue of God’s working. He has told us the purpose of the
Div ine Selection . It i s not simply, or mainly, the blessing of the
Selected People. It i s the b lessing of the Universe.
It i s worth while to note how enti rely thi s i s in harmony withthe lesson of the Old Testament, though i t far transcends thatearlier teaching. A b rahamw as chosen for p eculi ar b lessing : b ut
at the moment of hi s call i t was sai d to him ‘ in thee shall all Gen. xi i 3
famil ies of the earth b e blessed And to take b ut tw o of the laterutterances, we may recall the warn ing of Ezekiel : ‘ I do not thi s Ezek.
for your sakes, 0 house of Israel,b ut for Mine holy name’s “ mi 2 2 f'
and the heathen shall know that I amthe L ord and the fami liarwords of the Psalm:
‘0 let the nations rejoi ce and b e glad : for Ps. lxv11
Thou shalt judge the folk [the chosen peop le] righteously, and 4: 7
govern the nations upon shall bless us : and all the
ends of the earth shall fear HimIt w as the fa i lure to recogn i se thi s mi ssion to b less the whole.
world that was the ‘
great refusal ’ of Judai sm. A like fa i lure tograsp the truth that i t i s the mi ssion of Chri stian i ty to sanctify thewhole of human experi ence has b lighted the Church of Chri st again
and again . Out of that fai lure i t i s the purpose of St Paul’s greatestep i stle to lift us to—day .
For the Chri stian hope i s an unb ounded hope of un iversal good .
It has two stages of i ts reali sation,an intermed iate and a final
stage : the intermedi ate stage i s the hop e of b lessing for the Selected
People ; the final stage i s the hop e of b lessing for the Universe‘ the gathering up in one of all things in Chri st, things in heavenand thi ngs up on the earth
W i thout attempting to analyse thi s b urst of living p rai se, we vv. 3— 10
yet may noti ce that there i s a certain orderliness in the A postle’s
enthusiasm. The fulness of sp i ri tual blessing of v. 3 i s expounded
under five great heads : Election, v. 4 ; A doption, v. 5 ; Redemption
,v. 7 W i sdom,
v. 8 ; Consummation ,v. I O.
We might have exp ected himat last to stay hi s pen. He has
reached forward and upward to the sub limest exposition ever framedEPHEs.
’
34 EXPOSITION or THE [1 11,12
of the ultimate Purpose of God. Hi s doxologymight seemto have
gained its fitting close. But St Paul i s always intensely p racti cal,and at once he i s back wi th hi s readers in the actual world . Jew
and Gentile are among the obstinate facts of his day. May i t not
b e thought b y some that he has been painting all along the glowingp i cture of the Jew
’s hope in his Jewish Messiah ?
It i s p lain, at any rate, that he desi res at once to recogni se the
p lace of Jew and Genti le alike in the new economy . So wi thout ai l l—I 3 break he p roceeds :
‘ i n Him, i n whomalso we have been chosen as
God’s p ortion,
havi ng been w e shou ld be to the
p rai se of Hi s glory , who have been the first to hop e i n Chri st; i n
We have been chosen as God’s p ortion
’; that i s, assigned b y God
to Himself as His own lot and portion . Underneath the phraseli es the thought of Israel’s peculiar posi tion among the nations.
Compare the words of the great song in Deut. xxxn 8 til :When the Most High gave to the nations thei r inheri tance,When He separated the chi ldren ofmen,He set the bounds of the peop lesA ccordi ng to the number of the children of Israel.
For the Lord’s portion is His peop le ;
Jacob is the lot of His inheri tan ce.
He found himin a desert land ,And in the waste howling wi lderness ;He compassed himabout, He cared for him,
He kep t h imas the app le of His eye.
The p rophet Zechariah foresaw the reali sation of thi s oncemore inZech . u 1 2 the future : ‘The Lord shall inheri t Judah as Hi s portion in the
holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem’.
To St Paul the fulfilment has come. In the d i spensation of
the mystery of God’s w i ll
,he says, thi s p eculiar position i s ours
‘ we have been chosen as God’s p ortion, having been foreorda ined
accordi ng to the purp ose of Himwho w orketh a ll things according
to the counsel of His w i ll’
Thus far no word of limi tation has occurred : b ut now at once
the first of two classes i s marked out :‘ tha t w e should be to the
p ra i se of Hi s glory— w e
,
‘ who have been the first to hop e i n
Chri st’.
The limi ting phrase i s capab le of tw o exp lanations. It seemsmost natural to interp ret i t of the Chri stian Jew s, - those membersof the Jewi sh people who have recogni sed Jesus as their Messiah.
Elsewhere the Apostle lays stress on the fact that Chri st was first
r 13] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 35
preached to and accepted b y Jews . The Jewi sh Chri stian had a
distinct p riori ty in time : indeed the first stage of the Chri stianChurch w as a stri ctly Jewi sh stage. St Paul recogni ses thi s
,
though he hastens at once to emphas i se the inclusion of the Gentile
Christians. It is ‘to the Jew first
’ —b ut only‘first
’:
‘ to the Jew Rom. u 10
first, and to the Greek ; for there i s no respect of persons wi th God’.
But i t i s also possi b le to render,
‘who aforetime hoped in the
Chri st’, and to refer the words to the Jew i sh p eop le as such. Thi swould b e in harmony wi th such an exp ression as
‘For the hope of Actsxxvi i iIsrael I ambound wi th thi s chain’. 2°
In either case, i f for a moment he points to the Jewi sh pri ori ty,it is only as a p riori ty in time ; and h is very object inmentioni ng iti s to place b eyond all question the fact that the Gentiles are no
less certa inly chosen of God.
‘In whomye a lso’. The main verb of thi s sentence i s not easy i 13
to find . It can hardly b e ‘
ye have been chosen as (God’s)portion
’,
supplied out of the former sentence : for the assignment to God isa part of the eternal purp ose in Chri st, and not a consequence of‘ hearing
’and ‘ believing
’. It might b e ‘
ye hOpe’,supplied out of
the p recedi ng parti ciple. But i t is s imp ler to regard the sentenceas broken
,and taken up again wi th the words
‘ in whomalso’.‘In whomye also
,having heard the word of the tru th
,the gosp el
of your salva ti on ,— in whomalso havi ng beli eved
, ye have been
sea led w i th the holy Sp ir i t of p romise’. To the Jew came the
message first : b ut to you it came as well. You too heard ‘ the
word of the truth’, the good news of a salvation whi ch was yoursas well as thei rs . You heard
, you b elieved ; and,as if to remove all
question and uncertainty, God set Hi s seal on you. The order of
the words in the original i s striking :‘Ye were sealed wi th the
Sp i ri t of the p romi se, the Holy (Sp iri t) Here again we have the
expansion of an Old Testament thought .
‘ To A brahamand his Gal. i i i 16
seed were the promi ses made’: b ut the ultimate purpose of God
w as‘that upon the Genti les should come the b lessing of A b rahamGal. i i i 14
in Jesus Christ,that w e might receive the p romi se of the Sp irit
through fai th’. ‘To you i s the p romi se (of the Holy says Acts 11 39St Peter on the Day of Pentecost, ‘
and to your chi ldren, and to all
that are afar off,as many as the Lord our God shall call ’. And
when the Holy Sp i ri t fell on the Genti les at Caesarea he cried :Can any forbid the water
,that these should not b e baptized, Acts x 47
seeing that they have received the Holy Sp i rit, even as we?’
The gift of the Spiri t of the Promi se was not only God’s
authenti cation of the Genti le converts at the time, b ut their foretasteand thei r securi ty of the fulness of blessing in the future. Thi s i s
EXPOSITION or THE [1
expressed in tw o ways. Fi rst,b y a metaphor frommercantile life.
The Holy Sp i ri t thus given is‘ the earnest of ou r i nheri tance
’. The
word arrhabb'
n means, not a ‘
p ledge deposited for a time and ulti
mately to b e cla imed b ack, b ut an earnest an instalment paid at
once as a p roof of the bona fides of the b argain . It i s an actual
portion of the whole whi ch i s hereafter to b e paid in full. Secondly,‘
ye have been sea led’,says the A postle,
‘un to the redemp ti on of
God’s own p ossessi on So later on, speaking of the Holy Sp iri t,
he says : ‘ in whomye have been scaled unto the day of redemption’.
The full emancipation of the People of God i s sti ll in the future .
‘ The redemp ti on of God’s own p ossessi on
’i s that ultimate
emancipation b y whi ch God shall claimus finally a s Hi s ‘
peculi ar
treasure .
’So the Sep tuagint rendered Mal. i i i 1 7
‘ They shall b eto me for a possession, sa ith the Lord of Hosts
,in that day wh i ch
Imake comp . 1 Pet. i i 9, a people for God’s own possession
’.
It i s noteworthy that St Paul is careful to emp loy in regard to
the Genti les the very terms promi se ‘ inheri tance eman cipation
’, possession -whi ch were the fami liar descri ptions of the
peculiar privi lege of Israel. Moreover in the phrase‘our inheri t
ance ’he has suddenly changed b ack aga in fromthe second person
to the first ; thereb y intimating that Jews and Genti les are, to
use a phrase whi ch occurs later on ,co-hei rs and concorp orate and
co-p artakers of the p romi seA t last the great doxology comes to i ts close wi th the rep etition
for the thi rd time of the refrain,
‘to the p ra ise of Hi s glory
’—wordsJer. xi i i 1 1 whi ch recall to us the unfulfilled destiny of Israel, that theymi ght
i 15—23
b e unto Me for a peop le, and for a name, and for a p rai se, and for
a glory : b ut they would not hear’.
‘ 5WHEREFORE I also, having heard of your faith in the
Lord Jesus,and love unto all the saints
,
‘ 6cease not to
gi ve thanks for you,making mention of you in my prayers ;
‘ 7 that the God of our L ord Jesus Chri st, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the Spiri t of wi sdom and revelation
in the knowledge of Him; ‘8the eyes of your heart being
enlightened,that yemay know what is the hope of His calling
,
what the riches of the glory of His inheri tance in the saints,
‘ 9and what the exceeding greatness of Hi s power to us-ward
who believe , according to the working of the might of His
strength,
”which He hath wrought in Chri st, in that He
hath raised Himfromthe dead and seated Himat His right
8 EXPOSITION or THE [I 16— 18
and I thanked the gods’. And the language ofmany other letters
bears thi s out l . A frequently occurring phrase i s, for example,thi s : I make thy reverence to our lord Serap i s St Paul
,then ,
instead of p raying to‘our lord Serap i s
’,makes hi s request to ‘ the
God of our Lord Jesus Chri st’: instead of a conventional p rayerfor their health and welfare, he p rays for thei r sp i ri tual enlightenment : and so what to others might have b een a mere formula of
correspondence becomes wi th hima vehi cle of the highest thoughtof hi s ep i stle .
i ry, 18 His p rayer i s thi s :‘tha t the God of our Lord Jesu s Chri s t, the
Fa ther of glory , may give unto you the Sp i ri t of ye
It i s to b e noted that for the sake of emphasis the Apostle hasresolved the combined title of v. 3,
‘ the God and Father of our
L ord Jesus Chri st’. His p rayer i s d irected to Himwho i s not onlythe Father of our L ord
,b ut also our Father in the heavenly glory.
W i th the title ‘the Fa ther of glory
’w e may compare on the one
2 Cor i 3 ; hand‘ the Father of mercies’; and on the other, ‘the God of
3:glory’,
‘ the Lord of glory’,
and the remarkable expression of
Jas. i i 1 St James ‘our Lord Jesus Christ of glory
’. Moreover, when after
a long b reak the Ap ostle takes up his p rayer again in i i i 14,
w e find another emphati c exp ress ion :‘ I bow my knees to the
Father, of whomall fatherhood in heaven and on earth i s named’
an expression whi ch may help to interp ret‘ the Father of glory
’in
this place.
The p rayer takes the formof a single definite request for a
defin i te end : that ‘the gi ve unto you the Sp i ri t of
w i sdom. . that ye may know ’. The words are closely p arallel to
Luke z i 13 our Lord’s p romi se as given by St Luke : ‘ The give
the Holy Sp i ri t to themthat ask Him’.
For note that i t is a Sp iri t, that St Paul p rays for. It i s not
an attitude of mind,as when w e speak of a teachable spiri t
’. In
the New Testament the word ‘ sp irit’ i s used in i ts stri ctest sense.
All true wi sdomcomes from3. Spiri t, who dwells in us and teachesus. It i s a teaching Sp iri t, rather than a teachab le sp i rit, whi chthe
.A postle asks that theymay have.
In St John’s Gospel the personali ty of the Divine Teacher isJohn xiv strongly emphasised The Holy Sp iri t, whomthe Father wi ll send26’x“ 13 in My name, He wi ll teach you all things
’;
‘When He,the Sp iri t
of truth, is come, He wi ll guide you into all truth ’. There in the
Greek w e have the defini te arti cle w efiuo. rv’
y’
s here itis absent (r vefiua (rad ius). To attemp t to make a distinction by
1 See the detached note on current ep i stolary phrases.
1 17 , 1s] EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS.
inserting the indefinite arti cle in Engli sh would p erhap s b e to gofurther than i s warranted. There i s, after all
,b ut one Sp i ri t of
wi sdom that can teach us.
But a di stinction may often b e rightly drawn in the New
Testament b etween the usage of the word with the defini te arti cleand i ts usage without i t. W i th the article, very generally, theword indi cates the p ersonal Holy Sp i ri t ; while wi thout i t somespecial mani festation or bestowal of the Holy Sp i rit i s signified.
And thi s latter i s clearlymeant here. A special gift of the Sp iritfor a speci al purpose is the subject of St Paul’s request.The Sp iri t thus specially gi ven wi ll make themw i se : He wi ll
come a s the ‘ Sp irit of wi sdom’. Yet more
,a s the ‘ Sp i rit of
revelation ’He wi ll lift the veil, and shew themthe secret of God.
‘Revelation’
or‘ unvei ling
’— is a word whi ch isnaturally used where any
‘mystery’or
‘secret ’ is in question.
The D ivine Secret needs a Divi ne Unveiling. So St Paul declaresof himself : ‘ b y apocalyp se w as the mystery —b y revelation was i i i 3
the secret made known unto me ’. He prays that i tmay b e so
for those to whomhe wri tes. In one sense i t i s true that a secretonce pub lished i s thereafter b ut an open secret ’. But i t i s no less
true that the Chri stian ‘mystery ’ demands for i ts unvei ling the
perp etual intervention of the ‘ Sp iri t of apocalyp se’.
‘In the know ledge of Him’ i .e. of ‘ the God of our Lord Jesus i 17Chri st, the Father of glory
’: as such must He b e recogni sed and
known . And to thi s end ‘the eyes of thei r heart
’must b e opened i 18
and filled w i th light. The D ivine i llumination i s nomere intellectual p rocess : i t begins wi th the heart
,the seat of the afi
'
ections
and the will
39
1 A striking i llustration of the lan
guage of St Paul in thi s p assage i s tob e found in 2 (4)Esdras xiv 2 2 , 25‘ If I have found grace b efore thee
,
send the Holy Ghost (or,‘a holy
Sp irit’) into me, and I shall wri te all
that hath b een done in the worldsince the he answered
shall light a candle of understanding i h thine heart
,which shall
not b e put out, till the things b e per
formed which thou shalt b egin to
In thi s b ook, which i s perhap s almost contemp orarywi th St Paul, thereare two or three other verb al parallelswhi ch are worth noticing here : wi th
‘thefulness of the times’compare 2 (4)Esdr. iv. 37 ,
‘ By measure hath Hemeasured the times, and b y numb erhath He numb ered the times ; and Hedoth not move nor stir them, unti lthe sai d measure b e fulfilled ’: wi th‘the mystery ’compare xi i 36, Thou
only hast been made meet to knowthis secret of the Highest
’(comp .
v. 38, x 38, xiv 5‘ the secrets of the
wi th ‘
ye were sealed’com
pare perhap s vi 5 ,‘ Before they were
sealed that have gathered faith for
a treasure,’ and x 2 3,‘ And, whi ch
is the greatest [sorrow] of all, the sealof Sion hath now lost her honour ’.See also b elow, 48.
40 EXPOSITION or THE [I 18— 20
‘Tha t ye may know’. A threefold knowledge, embracing all
eterni ty— the past, the future, and not least the p resent.
(I) What i s the hop e of Hi s calli ng’. Note that St Paul does
not say‘ the hope of your calling
’,i .e. Hi s calling of you : though
that is included . The exp ression i s wider : i t i s universal. We are
taken back, as in the earlier verses of the chapter, to the great pastof eterni ty, before the foundations of the world were laid. It i s
Hi s calling’,in the fullest sense, that w e need to understand.
That calli ng ’ involves a hope’,
and w e must learn to knowwhat that hope i s. It i s a certain hOpe : for i t rests on the veryfact that the calling is God
’s calling, and no weak wi sh of oursI TheBoVM for b etter thi ngs .
‘ Fai thful i s He that calleth you ,who also wi ll
Deut.
i 19, 20
do it’.
(2) What the ri ches of the glory of Hi s i nheri tance i n the
saints’. Thi s too theymust know : the
‘
glory of the eternal future.
Again, i t i s not ‘of your inheri tance —b ut something grander far.
It i s ‘Hi s inheri tance’; of whi ch they are b ut a tiny,though a
necessary, part.‘ The Lord
’s portion i s Hi s peop le : Jacob i s thelot of Hi s inheri tance’.
(3)‘ And wha t the exceeding greatness of His p ower to us-ward
who beli eve’. Not merely God
’s calling in the past, and God’s
inheritance in the future ; b ut also God’s power in the p resent. Of
the first two he has said much already : on the third he will now
enlarge. And so he i s led on, as i t were by a word, to a vast
expansion of hi s thought.
Thi s power i s an extraord inary, a supernatural power. It i s the
very power that has ra ised Chri st fromthe dead and seated Himat
God’s ri ght hand, and thatmakes Himnow sup reme over the uni
verse. Thi s is the power that goes forth to us-ward who believe’.‘ Accordi ng to the worki ng of the might of His s trength, which
He ha th wrought i n Ch/rist’. We have no words that fully represent
the original of the phrase, the He hath wrought’.
Both the noun and the verb are emphati c in themselves, and
St Paul seldomemploys them,excep t where he i s speaking of some
Divine activi ty '. ‘Might’, again, i s an emphati c word, never used
of mere human power in the New Testament. St Paul heap s wordupon word (Si vauts, e
’ve’
pyeta, Kpofrog, texts)in his determination to
emphasi se the power of God that is at w ork in the li ves of them
In that He ha th ra i sed Himfromthe dead’. Compare Rom.
vi i i 1 1,‘ If the Sp i ri t of Himthat rai sed Jesus from the dead
dwelleth in you1 See the detached note on évep
’
yeiv and i ts cognates .
1 20— 23] EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS. 41
‘And set Hima t Hi s right hand in the heaven ly p laces’. The
resurrection is a step in the p ath of exaltation.
‘Above every p ri ncip a li ty and au thori ty and p ow er and domin i on’. i 2 1These titles St Paul uses as denoting fami liar di stinctions of sp i ri tualforces. We have another li st in Col. i 16 : ‘Whether thrones or
domini ons or pri nci paliti es or authorities ’. Originally terms of
Jewi sh sp eculation, they came in after times to p lay a large part inChri stian thought. The A postle
’s purpose in mention ing them,both here and in the Ep i stle to the Colossians , is to emphasise theexaltation of Chri st ab ove themall. He closes the li st wi th ‘
every
name tha t i s named ’, i .e. every title or di gni ty that has been or can
b e given as a designation of majesty. Compare Phi l. i i 9,‘ the
Name wh ich i s ab ove every name’.That sp iri tual potenci es are in the A postle
’s mind i s clear from
the phrase‘ in the heavenly sphere
’
,as w e have already seen (ab ove,
on v . 3) and also fromthe added words ‘not on ly i n this world
(or age), bu t a lso in tha t which i s to come’.A b ove all that anywhere is
,anywhere can be—above all
grades of dignity, real or imagined , good or evi l, p resent or to
come—the mighty power of God has exalted and enthroned the
Chri st.
‘And He hath p u t all things under His f eet Thus Chri st has i 2 2
fulfilled in His own person the destiny of man :‘ Let themhave Gen. i 26
domini on The actual words are derived fromthe eighth Psalm‘What i s man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man Ps .vi i i 4, 6
that Thou vi sitest hast put all things under hi s feet’.
The best comment i s Heb . i i 6— 9.
‘And Himha th He gi ven to b e head over a ll thi ngs to the church, i 2 2 , 23
which is His body’. When St Paul comb ats the sp iri t of jealousy
and d ivi sion in the Corinthi an Church, he works out in deta i l themetaphor of the Body and its several parts. But he does not there
speak of Chri st as the Head . For not only does he point out theab surdi ty of the head’s saying to the feet, I have no need of you ;
b ut he also refers to the seeing, the hearing and the smelling, towh i ch he could not well have alluded as separate functions, had hebeen thinking of Chri st as the head. Indeed in that great passageChri st has, i f p ossi b le, a more imp ressive position sti ll : He i s no
part, b ut rather the whole of whi ch the variousmembers are parts‘ for as the body i s one and b ath manymembers, and all the mem 1 Cor. xi i
bers of the body b eing many are one body ; so also i s the Chri st ’. 12
Thi s i s in exact correspondence wi th the image emp loyed by our
Lord Himself : I amthe Vine, ye are the b ranches ’. That i s to John xv 5
say, not I amthe trunk of the vine,and ye the branches growing
42 EXPOSITION or THE [1 2 3
out of the trunk ’; b ut rather,
‘ I amthe living whole, ye are the
parts whose life i s a life dependent on the whole’.
Here however the A postle app roaches the consideration of
Chri st’s relation to the Church froma di fferent side,and hi s lan
guage di ffers accord ingly. He has begun with the exalted Chri st ;and he has been led on to declare that the relation of the exalted
Chri st to Hi s Church i s that of the head to the body.
It i s interesting to observe that later on , when he comes to ex
pound the deta i ls of human relationshi p as b ased on eternal truths,v 2 2 ff, he says in the first p lace, ‘L et wives b e sub ject to their own hus
bands as to the L ord ; because the husb and i s head of the wife,as
also Chri st i s head of the Church, Himself being savi our of the
body’: b ut then, turning to the husb ands,he drop s the metaphor
of headship , and b ids themlove their wives as their own bodies,following again the example of Chri st in relation to Hi s Church ;and he ci tes the ideal of marri age as p rocla imed at the creation of
Gen . 11 24 ;man,
‘ the twa in shall b ecome one fiesh’. Not headshi p here, b ut
ga’t' X’x 5 identi ty, is the relation in vi ew.
‘ This mystery he adds,
‘ i s a
ph v 32 mi ghty one : b ut I speak (i t)W i th reference to Chri st and to the
Church ’
Thus the two concep tions involve to St Paul’smind no inherent
contrad iction. He passes easily fromone to the other. Each in
turn serves to b ring out some side of the truth.
Nor may w e say that the headship of Chri st i s a new concep
tion,belonging only to the Ep i stles to the Ephesians and to the
Colossians l . For in the same Ep istle to the Corinthian s in whichhe regards Chri st as the whole Body of whi ch Chri stians are the
1 Car. xi 3 parts, he also says,‘ I would have you know that the head of every
man i s Christ,and the head of the woman i s the man (i .e. her
husband), and the head of Chri st i s God ’. Thi s i s not qui te the.
same thought as w e have here ; b ut i t i s closely parallel.
We now come to what i s perhap s the most remarkable expression in the whole ep i stle. It i s the phrase in whi ch St Paulfurther descri bes the Church
,whi ch he has just declared to b e
Christ’s Body, as‘ the fu lness of Him who a ll i n a ll is being
fulfilled’
When the Apostle thus Speaks of the Church as the p leromaor fulness 2 of the Chri st, and in the same breath speaks of the
Chri st as‘being fulfilled
’
,he would appea r to mean that in some
mysterious sense the Church i s that wi thout which the Chri st is
1 Eph . i 2 2 , iv 15, v 2 3 ; Col. i 18, i i 10, 19.
2 See the detached note on r hfipwna .
1 23] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 43
not comp lete, b ut wi th whi ch He i s or will b e complete. Thati s to say, he looks upon the Chri st as in a sense wai ting for
comp leteness, and destined in the purpose of God to find comp leteness in the Church .
Thi s i s a somewhat startling thought. A re w e justified in
thus giving to St Paul’s language what appears to b e i ts obviousmeani ng ?
1 . Fi rst, let us pay attention to the metaphor whi ch has justbeen emp loyed, and whi ch leads d irectly up to this statement.Chri st i s the Head of the Church, whi ch i s Hi s Body. Now
, i s
it not true that in a certa in sense the body i s the p leroma or
fulness of the head ? Is the head complete w i thout the body ?Can w e even think of a head as p erforming i ts functions wi thouta body ? In the sense then in whi ch the body i s the fulnessor comp letion of the head
,i t i s clear that St Paul can speak
of the Church as the fulness or comp letion of the Chri st.Even now ,
in the imperfect stage of the Church, w e can see
that this i s true. The Church is that through whi ch Chri st liveson and works on here below on earth . Jesus
,the Chri st incar
nate, is no longer on earth as He was . Hi s feet and hands no
longer move and work in our midst, as onde they moved and
wrought in Palestine. But St Paul affirms that He i s not wi thoutfeet and hands on earth : the Church i s Hi s Body. Through theChurch, whi ch St Paul refuses to think of as something separate
fromHim,He sti ll lives and moves among men 1
.
2 . But,further, although he may make havoc of his meta
phors, St Paul wi ll never let us forget that the relation of the
Church to Chri st i s something even closer than that of a b odyto i ts head . In the p resent passage he has been descri b ing the
exalted Chri st ; and he asks,How does He in Hi s sup reme posi
tion of authority stand to the Church ? He stands as Head to
the Body. But this i s never all the truth ; and if we bearmind St Paul’s further concep ti on, in accordance wi th whi ch the
whole—Head and Body together— i s the Chri st, w e get yet furtherhelp in our interp retation of the statement that the Church i s the 1 Cor. xu
p leroma of the Chri st . For i t i s p la iner than ever that without 1 2
the Church the Chri st i s incomplete : and as the Church growstowards completion, the Chri st grows towards completion ; theChri st, who in the Divine purposemust b e ‘
all in all’,
‘ the Chri st’001. i i i 1 1- if w e may so use the language of our own great poet that
i s to b e’.
3 . Again ,thi s concep tion i lluminates and in turn receives
1 See the quotation fromClement of Alexandria on p . 140.
EXPOSITION or THE [1 23
light froma remarkable passage in the Ep istle to the Colossians .
St Paul i s there Speaking of hi s own sufferings : he can even re
joi ce in them,he tells us. If the Church and the Chri st are
one, the suffering of the Church and the suffering of the Chri st
are also one. The Chri st, then,has not suffered all that He i s
destined to suffer ; for He goes on suffering in the sufferings of
the Church. These sufferings of the Church have fallen wi thspecial heavi ness on St Paul. He i s filling up something of whatis sti ll to b e filled up , i f the sufferings are to b e complete. So
he says : Now I rejoi ce in my sufferings on your behalf, and fillup in your stead the rema inder (li terally, the deficits of the
sufferings of the Chri st in my flesh, on behalf of His Body,
whi ch i s the Church Thus then the Church,the comp letion of
the Chri st,i s destined to comp lete His sufferings ; and St Paul
rejoi ces that as a member of the Church he is allowed by Godto do a large share of thi s in hi s own person on the Church’sbehalf. The thought i s astonishi ng ; i t could never have occurredto a less generous sp i ri t than St Paul’s . It is of value to us
here, as help ing to show in one special direction how to St Paul’smind the Chri st in a true sense still wa ited for completion, and
would find that completion only in the Church .
St Paul, then, thinks of the Christ as in some sense sti ll ih
complete, and as moving towards completeness . The concep tion i s
difli cult and mysteri ous no doubt ; b ut the A postle has given us
abundant wa rn ing earlier in the epi stle that he i s dealing wi thno ordinary themes . He has already told us that the purpose
of God i s ‘ to gather up in one all things in the Chri st’. Unti l
that great purpose i s ful ly achieved,the Chri st i s not yet all
that the Divine wi sdomhas determined that He shall b e. He
sti ll wai ts for Hi s comp leteness, Hi s fulfilment. A s that is
being gradually worked out,the Chri st is being comp leted, ‘ bei ng
fulfilled .
’
By way of enhancing thi s ultimate completeness St Paul inserts the adverbial phrase ‘
all i n a ll’,or
,more literally
,
‘all
(things) in all We feel i ts force the more when we
read the whole conte xt, and observe that i t comes as a climaxafter two previous decla rations of sup remacy over all things
’
‘He hath put all things under Hi s feet ; and Him ha th He
given to b e head over a ll things to the Church, whi ch is HisBody, the fulness of Himwho all i n a ll is b eing fulfilled
’. A nd
indeed immediately before thi s we read,
‘above every principality
every name’. A ll conceivable fulness,a completeness whi ch
i s—i i i 2 1
i rs—23
EXPOSITION or THE [1-
2 3, 11 1
The beginni ng of c. 11 cannot b e separated fromthe close of
c. i . The A postle has been led away to expound the mysteryof the exalted Chri st : b ut he comes qui ckly back to the actual
persons to whomhe i s wri ting, and deals at some length withthei r relation to the exalted Chri st. The transi tion i s exactly
parallel to that in v. 1 1 , where from‘ the gathering up in one of
the universe in the Chri st’he turn s at once to Speak of the relationof himself and of his readers to Chri st in whomalso w e i n whom
It wi ll b e useful at this point to note the general construction of
the first part of the ep i stle
(1) . A Doxology— lead ing to ever-expanding thoughts of the
purpose of God in Chris t, and describing the relation of Jew and
Gentile to that purp ose (i 3(2) A Prayer— leading to a p reliminary exp os i tion of the
mystery of the exalted Chri st (i 15 and then to a fuller
di scussion of the relation of Jew and Gentile to Him(i i 1— 2
(3) In i ii 1 the Apostle recurs to the thought of hi s Prayer ;b ut at once breaks off to saymore of the mystery
,and of hi s own
work in p rocla iming i t ; and then (i i i 14)returns to his Prayer, andcloses it at last wi th a b ri ef Doxology (i i i 2 0 ,We may now gather up the leading thoughts of i 15
— 2 3, in
order to grasp the connexion of this passage wi th what follows‘ I have heard of your fa ith I thank God
,and I p ray (16)
that you may have the true knowledge the light whi ch fallson the Op ened eye of the heart ; that you may know the hope
of God’s calling, the glory of God
’s inheri tance the great
ness of God’s power : above all
,the last of these as i t bears
upon ourselves Judge what i t i s by looking at the exalted
Chri st : there you see i t at work God has raised Him,and
exalted Him ab ove every conceivable digni ty of thi s world or
the next Thus sup reme, He has further made HimHead
of a Body whi ch in turn fulfils and comp letes Him; for toan ab solute completeness He i s still movi ng on (2 3)
The grammati cal cons truction w as broken in v. 2 2 : fromthat point independent sentences follow one another
, no longer
sub si diary to the words ‘according to the of
cv. 19, 2 0 .
The verb of our next sentence,whi ch i s s imp ly added b y a
conjunction to those whi ch precede, i s long in coming ; for once
of the glory of the inheri tance ? Do p ower towards themthat b eli eve? Do
you see the exceeding greatness of the you see the h ope of the calling ?
II 1] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
more the construction i s broken, to b e p icked up again in v. 5.
We find the verb at last in He hath qui ckened us together w i thChrist ’.
So that the line of thought i s thi s : The powerwh ich the Apostlespecially prays that they may know i s the very power by whi chGod has rai sed Chri st from the dead and seated Him in the
heavenly region (i and also has qui ckened them(both Gentilesand Jews
,as he b reaks off to exp lain), and rai sed them, and
seated them in the heavenly region in Chri st (11 5, In the
original the sequence i s brought out clearly by the repeti tion of
the verb s of 1 2 0 m a compound formin i i 6.
AND you,who were dead in your trespasses and sins
, 11
2wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air,of the
spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience ; 3wherein
we also all had our conversation in time past in the lusts of ourflesh,
doing the desires of our flesh and of ourminds, and wereby nature children of wrath
,even as the rest — 4b ut God
,being
rich in mercy,for Hi s great love wherew ith He hath loved us,
5 even though we were dead in trespasses hath quickened us
together wi th Chri st,— b y grace ye are saved,— 6
and hath
raised us together and seated us together in the heavenly
p laces in Chri st Jesus : 7 that in the ages to come He mightshew forth the exceeding riches of His grace in Hi s kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.
8For by grace are ye saved through
faith ; and that not of yourselves : i t i s the gift of God : 9not of
works,lest anyman should boast. IoFor we are His workman
ship, created in Chri st Jesus unto good works , which God hath
afore prepared that we should walk in them.
The grammatical construction i s often broken in St Paul’swri tings froma desi re to clear up obscuri ties at once and to fore
stall possible mi sconcep tions. His style reminds us of the freedomand rap idi ty of conversation : i t hurries eagerly on, regardless of
formal rules, inserting full explanations in a parenthesis, trustingto repeti tions to restore the ori ginal connexion, and ab ove all
depending on emphasi s to drive the meaning home. We have the
less cause to b e surp ri sed at thi s freedomof composi tion, when we
47
Esdr.
Matt.x1132
Rom. X11 2
EXPOSITION or THE [11 I, 2
remember that several of hi s ep i stles conta in the clearest indications that the A postle
’s p ractice w as to d i ctate hi s letters to an
amanuensi s A ccordingly in many cases the force of a passagewillmost readi ly b e felt when w e read i t rap idly or read i t aloud.
In the p resent instance the A postle desires to work out a simpleparallel. The mi ghty power of God, he would say, whi ch rai sed
Chri st fromthe dead and seated Himin the heavenly region, has
been at work in you as well. For you too were dead, and you tooi t has raised fromthe dead and seated wi th Chri st in the heavenlyp laces. But he breaks off in the middle to explain (1) in whatsense he could speak of themas dead, and (2)that not only they
,
the Gentiles, were dead, b ut the Jews likewi se. Quite simi larly ini 13 he had broken off to say that not the Jews only had b een takenas God
’s portion,b ut they, the Gentiles, likewi se.
‘ Dead in your tresp asses and s ins’. tha t i s to say , you were
dead,not wi th a physi cal death as Chri st was
, b ut wi th the death of
sin ; dead whi le you li ved, b ecause you lived in sin . Thi s state of
death was the inevi table condition of those who had no life b eyond
the life of thi s world,wh i ch i s dominated b y death and the lords of
death 2.
‘According to the cowrse of thi s world’. The exp ression of the
original is pleonasti c. The A postle might have said ei ther ‘ thi sage
’,or
‘ thi s world ’. But for the sake of emphasi s he says, in a
phrase whi ch we cannot use in Engli sh w i thout ambigui ty, ‘ the
age of thi s world ’. ‘ Thi s age’and ‘ thi s world rep resent a single
Heb rew phrase, whi ch i s often found in the Rab bini c wri tings,where it stands in contrast to the age (or
‘ world to come ’,that
i s to say , the age introduced by the advent of the Messiah . The
contrast i s not found in the canoni cal b ooks of the Old Testament ;b ut i t occurs frequently in 2 (4)Esdras . Thus w e read :
‘ The
Most High hathmade thi s world for many, but the world to comefor a few
’. The same contrast i s found in St Matthew’s Gospel,
and w e have had i t already in thi s ep i stle3
.
St Paul is in agreement wi th contemporary Jewi sh thought inregarding
‘ thi s age’a s ev i l and as transi tory (see Gal. i 4, 1 Cor.
vii Instead of being‘ conformed ’ to i t
,Chri stians are to be
‘ transfigured’even now
‘ b y the renewing of theirmind’. For them
1 Compare e.g. Rom. xvi 2 2 , 1 Cor.3 See Eph . i 2 1, and the com
xvi 2 1 , Col. iv 18, 2 Thess. i i i 17. mentary on that verse. Compare also2 On ‘ li fe’and ‘ death ’in a Sp iri tual 2 (4)Esdr. vi 9,
‘For Esau i s the end
sense see the strikingwords of DrHort of thi s world , and Jacob i s the b egin
(Hulsean L ectures, App . pp . 189 ning of it that followeth
11 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 49
th is world i s already dead , hav ing b een i tself ‘ crucified ’ in the Gal» Vi 14'
crucifixion of Chri st.
‘ According to the p rince of the p ower of the a i r ’. Here again
the A postle adop ts the language of hi s contemporaries. It w as the
general beli ef of hi s time that through the Fall the whole world hadbecome sub ject to evi l spi ri ts, who had their dwelling in the air
,
and were under the control of Satan as their p rince. So in the
New Testament itself w e read of the power of darkness ’,in Col-i 13
.
contrast wi th the kingdomof Chri st ; of the power of Satan and fi
8
0ts
Hill .even the kingdomof Satan ’
; and Beelzeb ub i s named as the xi i:
p rince of the devi ls ’. Later on in this ep i stle w e have a further Markm”
descri ption of ‘ the spiri tual hosts of wi ckedness’, who are called vi m
in a strange phrase‘ the world-rulers of this darkness ’.
Thi s ‘
power (or authori ty of the a ir is further descri b ed b ya collective termas
‘the sp i ri t tha t now worketh i n the sons of u 2
d isobedi ence The phrase i s carefully chosen so as to suggest that
the world-p ower as a whole stands in sharp contrast to God. It i s‘a sp i ri t and it worketh -the same forci b le word whi ch has been 1 1 1 , 20used twi ce already of the D iv ine working.
‘ The sons of disobedience’is a Hebrai sm. It recurs in v 6 .
Compare also Luke xvi 8, xx 34, the sons of thi s world (or age
and contrast 1 Thess. v 5,‘sons of light
’and sons of day
’. In
rendering i t into Greek the word ‘chi ldren ’ i s sometimes used
instead of sons as in 11 3 chi ldren of wrath and v 8 chi ldrenof the light
’b ut themeaning i s p reci sely the same.
Lest the Gentiles should seemfor amoment to b e p laced in a
worse position than the Jews, St Paul breaks off to insert a guarding clause. We were all alike, he says, in thi s evi l case. Wherein i i 3w e a lso a ll had ow conversa tion in time p ast in the lasts of oa rflesh,doi ng the desi res of ourflesh and of ourmindsWhether in Gentile or in Jew this lower li fe w as hateful to
God : i t w as a life of d i sobed ience, and as such i t incurred the
D ivine wrath. We‘were by nature chi ldren of wrath, even as the
rest’.
‘ Chi ldren of wra th i s, as w e have seen, an expression parallel
to sons of disobed ience That the ‘ wrath ’here spoken of mustb e the Divine wrath
,and not human passion i s made clear by a
later passage, in whi ch simi lar phraseology recurs ‘on account v
of these things the wrath of God cometh upon the sons of dis
ob edience ’. Moreover,to interpret
‘ wrath ’ in th is p lace as
‘
passion would destroy the contrast which immediately followsbetween ‘ wrath ’and mercy ’. The phrase p lainly signi fies
‘objects
EPHEs.
’
EXPOSITION or THE [11 3
of the Divine wrath ’ compare Rom. i 18, 11 5, 8, where‘ the wrath
of God i s shewn to attend Genti les and Jews alike w ho do amiss.
Thus far the exp ression involves no d ifii culty. Thi s i s whatSt Paul has always taught Jew and Genti le are in the same casethey have alike lived in s in : they are al ike sons of d i sobedience ’
and children of wrath ’.But into the latter phrase he inserts the words by na tu re
chi ldren b y nature of wrath ’ i s the order of the original. In
interp reting these words i t i s important to remember that w e are
accustomed to use the word nature muchmore freely than i t w as
used in St Paul’s day. We speak, for instance, of an evi l nature
b ut there i s no such termto b e found in the New Testament’. So
too w e often use the word ‘natural ’ in a dep reciatory sense,
when w e render 1 Cor. i i 14,‘ The natural man receiveth not the
things of the Sp i ri t of God But in the Greek the word i s rlfvxmés,‘ the man of soul ’, as opposed to w ev/Aan xo
'
s, the man of sp irit’.
The Greek word for nature ’ i s a neutral word. It simply meansthe natural constitution of a thing
,or the thing in i tself ap art from
anything that may come to i t fromoutsi de. As a rule i t has a
good meaning rather than a b ad : thus according to na ture i s
good,‘ contrary to nature ’ i s b ad ; compare Rom. xi 2 1 ff , and
Rom. i 26.
An important example of St Paul’s use of the phrase ‘ byRom. i i 14 nature i s found in the words, When the Gentiles
,whi ch have
not Law ,by nature do the things of the Law i .e. without the
Gal. 11 15 intervention of a d irect revelation . Other examples are,We are
Gal. iv 8
by nature Jews ’ i .s. w e have not become such w e are such and,
those whi ch by nature are not god s though theymay b e thoughtsuch and called such.
The sense of the p resent passage i s We were in ourselves children of wrath, even as the rest : b ut God in His mercy did not
leave us to ourselves— as the A postle hurries on to say, breaking hi ssentence again in order to p oint the contrast. We must b e careful
,
then,whi le reta in ing the rendering by na ture
’,not to introduce
later meanings and a ssociations of the word ‘nature ’ nor to
make St Paul throw the blame upon a defect of constitution whichnecessari ly led to sin and wrath. That i s not the teachi ng of thi s
passage. By nature’,as St Paul used the words
,men were not
necessari ly led to do wrong : they could not shift the blame on to
their nature ’.1 In 2 Pet. i 4 we read of a ‘ Divine in contrast to a
‘ nature of b easts’
nature’
(oela (No-rs); and
'
in Jas. i i i 7 (956m: duplwv).of a human nature (dvfipw
‘m'vn (priors)
II 3—6] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Much of the confusion whi ch has shrouded the meaning of
the passage i s p robably due to the word ‘ chi ldren ’. Thi s sug
gests to many minds the i dea of infancy : so that St Paul i staken to mean that by our bi rth as chi ldren w e came under the
D ivine wrath . But thi s i s qui te foreign to h is meaning here. He
i s not thi nking, as in Rom. v,of the sin and death in whi ch w e are
involved through A dam’s di sobed ience. He i s speaking of actual
transgressions, of a conversation in the lusts of the flesh.
tion to the tw o p arts of the phrase has shewn us ( 1)that‘chi ldren
of wrath’i s a Hebraismfor ‘
objects of wrath ’,and (2)that by
na ture’means simp ly ‘ in ourselves as ap art fromthe D ivine
p urpose of mercy. So that the common mis interpretation whi chmakes the phrase mean ‘ deserving of wrath fromthe moment of
birth ’ i s due to a neglect first of a Heb rew,and then of a
i diom.
St Paul hastens on, as so often,fromsin to grace, onlymention
ing s in in order to shew how grace more than meets i t : compareR om. i ii 2 3 f., v 1 2— 2 1 . Here sin and wrath lead on to a wealth 11 4
of mercy ’,as in the p revious chapter sin led on to ‘
a wealth of i 7
grace‘ Even though w e were dead i n tresp asses W i th these words he 11 5
takes up the b roken sentence of v. 1 only now the Jew has beenlinked wi th the Genti le in the disobedi ence and the ‘ wrath and
therefore must b e kep t wi th the Genti le in the ‘mercy ’. Hencenot ‘
you,’b ut w e
’.
‘He hath quickened us together wi th Clw'i st,—by grace ye ar e
saved’. St Paul’s affection for the word ‘ grace the word whi ch to
h imsums up h is own special p roclamation’, the word whi ch i s hi ssign-manual ‘ in every ep i stle leads himto break off again to insert 2 Thess.
it ; and the insertion i tself wi ll p resently b e repeated and expanded,17 f’
causing a yet further digression (v.
Ye are saved’
not ‘
ye are b eing saved ’ (present)—sa1vation
regarded as in p rocess2
nor ye were saved (aori st)—salvation as
a s ingle D iv ine act’: b ut ye are saved ’
,or
‘
ye have been saved
(perfect)—salvation as a Divine act completed indeed , b ut regardedas continuous and permanent in i ts issues.
And hath ra i sed us together (wi th Him)and seated us together i i 6
(with Him)i n the heavenly p laces in Chri st Jesus The compound1 See the detached note on the thatwere b eing savedmeanings of xdpts. 3 As in Rom. V111 24, for by hOp e
2 As in 1 Cor. i 18, xv 2 2 Cor. 11 were we saved ’.1 5 ; and especially Acts 11 47,
‘ them
11 10
EXPOSITION OF THE [II 6— 10
verb s (o-vvn
'
yecp ev and m ck a’dmey)are intended to recall the simple
verb s (e’
yet’
pa s and Kaet'
o a s)of i 2 0 . Chri st w as dead,and w as rai sed
fromthe dead. We too,in a true sense, were dead, and as truly
were ra ised from the dead inHi s Resurrection : aye, and wereseated
,even as He w as seated
,in the heavenly sphere
’.
A ll thi s i s spoken of as a Divi ne act contemporaneous wi th theResurrection and A scension of Chri st. It i s wholly indep endent ofany human action . It i s the free grace of God
,whi ch has li fted us
into a new world in Chri st. A s i ts motive the A postle canb utsuggest the glorification of grace. A s he had said before that theElection and the A dop tion were to the p raise of the glory of Hi s
grace ’ so here he says,‘that i n the ages to come He might shew
forth the exceed ing ri ches of Hi s g race i n Hi s kindness toward us in
Christ Jesus
For by grace’,he rep eats,
‘are ye saved through fa i th
’and
lest b y any means the possibi li ty of meri t should seemto creep inwi th themention of the fai th whi ch reali ses thi s great salvation ,
he adds at once ‘and that not of yourselves : i t i s the gift of God
not of works, les t any mamshould boast’: or, if w e may slightly
paraphrase the words to force out the meaning of the original‘aye, and not of yourselves : the gift, for such i t i s, i s God
’s gift
not of works, tha t nonemay have ground to boast’.
For w e are His workman ship ’: more closely, ‘ for Hi s making
w e are — words whi ch recall P S . 0 3‘ it is He that hathmade us
,
and not w e ourselves But the words whi ch here follow shew that
it is not of the first Creation that St Paul i s speaking. There hasb een a new Making of Man in Chri st. We have been created i n
Chris t Jesus
Thi s i s that New Creation of whi ch St Paul speaks in Gal.
vi 1 5, as having done away wi th the d i stinction between those who
were within the Jewi sh covenant and those who were outside i t‘ for neither i s circumci sion anything, nor unci rcumci sion ; b ut(there i s)a new creation ’
. S imi larly in 2 Cor. v 16 f. he declaresthat di stinctions of the flesh are done away We fromhenceforthknow no man after the that i f any man b e in Chri st
,
(there i s) a new creation : the old things have passed away : 10,
they have b ecome new’.
Mankind had started as One in the original Creation . But in
the course of the world’s hi story, through sin on the one hand,and
on the other hand through the revelation of God to a selectedPeop le, a d ivi sion had c ome in . Mank ind was now Tw o and not
1 See ab ove p p . 20 ff.
54
Col. i i i 1 ff.
Rom. vi 1 1
11 I 1—2 2
EXPOSITION OF THE [11 10,1 1
present age or world and sets them ‘ in the heavenly sphere
’.
It li fts themab ove the control of the world-forces whi ch rule hereb elow
,and seats themwhere Chri st i s seated ab ove all the p owers
that are or can b e. It lifts themout of death—the death of s in
and makes them truly alive. It annihilates the old d i stinction
between Gentile and Jew,and inaugurates a New Creation of man
kind : for Gentile and Jew alike were dead, and alike have beenqui ckened and exalted in Chri st Jesus . And all thi s i s the free
gift of God, Hi s sovereign grace.
The same teaching, couched to some extent in the same words,may b e gathered out of vari ous parts of the Ep istle to the Colossians
(see especially i 2 1,i i 1 2 , 13, and there i t i s p ressed to the
logi cal conclusion, whi ch i s only hinted at in the good works’of
our passage. For there the A postle urges : If therefore ye
have been rai sed together wi th Chri st, seek the things that are
above, where Chri st i s, seated at the right hand of God : set yourthought on the things that are ab ove
,not on the things that are on
the earth. For ye have d ied, and your li fe is hi dden wi th Chri stin God
Nor i s the teaching by anymeans confined to these two ep i stles.
We need b ut recall the sixth chap ter of the Epistle to the Romans,where again the logi cal conclusion i s v igorously p ressed :
‘ In like
manner do ye also reckon yourselves dead to s in,b ut li ving to God
in Chri st JesusIn our p resent passage the practi cal i ssue i s not insi sted on
,b ut
merely hinted at in p assing. The A postle’s main thought i s the
uni ty whi ch has thus been b rought ab out,and the new hope whi ch
accordingly i s opened up formankind as a whole. Hence he passeson at once to expound the wealth of p rivi lege to whi ch, as the resultof thi s new un i ty
,h i s Genti le readers have been introduced .
WHEREFORE remember that in time past ye, the Genti lesin the flesh ,
who are called the Uncircumci sion by that which18 called the Circumci sion, in the flesh,made by hands, that
at that time without Christ ye were aliens fromthe commonwealth of Israel and strangers fromthe covenants of promise,having no hope and w ithout God in the world.
‘ 3 But now in
Christ Jesus ye who in time past were far off have beenmadenigh by the blood of Chri st.
‘ 4For He is our peace, who hath
made both one,and hath broken down the middle wall of the
partition,
‘ 5 having abolished in His flesh the enmi ty, the law
II 1 1] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 55
of commandments contained in ordinances ; that He mightcreate in Himself of the twain one newman
,somaking peace ;
‘ 5and that He might reconci le both unto God in one body by
the cross, having slain the enmi ty thereby : ‘ 7 and He came and
preached peace to you which were afar off, and peace to them
that were nigh ‘ 3 for through Himwe both have our access in
one Spirit unto the Father.
‘9 So then ye are nomore strangersand sojourners, b ut ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, andof the household of God
,
” being built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being thecorner-stone ;
”
in whomall the building fitly framed togethergroweth into an holy temple in the Lord ; “2 in Whomye also
are being bui lded together for an habitation of God in the
Wherefore remember ’. It is hard for us to reali se the vital 11 1 1interest of thi s teaching to St Paul
’s readers. To us the di stinction
of Jew and Gentile i s not the most important fact in human life.
The b attle for our p ri vi lege as Genti le Chri stians— for our part
and p lace in Chri st—w as fought and w on eighteen hundred yearsago. We have forgotten the struggle and the v i ctory altogether.
We do not recognise that this was a deci sive b attle of the world’shistory .
But for the Gentiles to whomSt Paul wrote the abolition of this
great d i stinction was everythi ng. For five and twenty years theconfli ct had b een raging. A t one moment the i ssue had dependedon a single man . A little p lace the Chri stian Jew was p repared toallow to the Chri stian Genti le. He might b e like ‘ the stranger inthe gates b ut he could not b e as the true born child of p rivilege,unless indeed he were prepared to abandon his Gentile position, and
by circumci sion i denti fy himself wi th the Jew .
A t one cri ti cal moment even St Peter wi thdrew himself, and Galau rfi .
would not s it at the same table with the Genti le Chri stians. St
Barnabas at thatmoment was likew ise carried away. St Paul stood
alone. He saw that everything depended on ab solute equalitywi thin the Church of Chri st. He withstood St Peter to the face,and b rought himto hi s true self again. That scene and a score of
others,when in di fferent ways the same struggle was b eing waged,
left a deep mark on St Paul’smind. Two Churches or one— that to
his mind was the question at i ssue. One Church, in the p rov idence
of God,and through the work of St Paul, i t w as destined to b e.
11 I I
EXPOSITION OF THE [II 1 1, 12
The struggle was over— b ut only just over—when he wrote thi sletter. It w as the morrow of the vi ctory . Can w e marvel thatwhi le i t was vi vid in hi s memory, and in the memories of all
, he
should delight again and again to remind the Genti les of what hadb een gained ? Wherefore remember
‘ Remember tha t i n time p ast ye, the Gentiles i n the flesh The
connexion appears to b e thi s. We—b oth Gentiles and Jews, withno distinction now— are God
’s New Creation in Chri st ; created
wi th an end to fulfil, a path marked out to tread . Whereforeremember what you were, and what you are. You were the
despised, outside, alien Genti les,whi le these fleshly di stinctions
2 Cor. v 16 lasted . But now that w e know no man after the flesh now that
i i 12
the New Creation has made the Tw o no longer Tw o, b ut One, all i syours : you have equal rights of ci tizenship , an equal p lace in the
family of God ; you go tomake up the Temple in which i t p leasesGod to dwell.
Remember tha t i n time p ast ye, the Genti les i n theflesh -whi le‘ the flesh was the ground of d i stinction,
as i t w as whi le the signof God’s covenant was a mark made by a man’s hand on a man’sflesh who ar e called the Unci rcumcisi on by tha t which i s called
the Ci rcumci sion,i n the flesh, made w i th hands There i s no
necessary trace of contempt, as has been sometimes thought, in theexp ressions, who are called the Uncircumci sion and whi ch i scalled the Circumci sion ’
. These were fami liar names on Jewi shlip s, even i f St Paul himself wi ll not lend themh is sanction. Thereis no ground for the interp retation, the so-called as if the A postlemeant that the di stinctions were ab surd or unreal. They were veryreal and very tremendous ; b ut they were done away in the New
Creation. So far as there i s any dep reciation of ci rcumci sion in thepassage, i t i s found in the last words, which are intended to suggestthat i t belongs to an order that i smaterial and transient.The emphasi s whi ch the A p ostle wi shes to lay on the words ‘ the
Gentiles has led himaga in to expand, and so the sentence i s broken .
Thi s i s the thi rd time in the ep istle that he has broken hi s sentenceto emphasise the posi tion of the Jew and the Genti le compare i 13and i i 3. Nothing couldmore clearly shew the p lace this questionheld in hi s thought.
That a t that time w i thout Chri st ye were ali ensfromthe commonwea lth qf Israel and strangers fromthe covenan ts of p romi se A
contrast i s here drawn between their old position,‘at that time
wi thout Chri st and their new position, now in Chri st Jesus(v. Thi s contrast i s somewhat obscured i f w e render
,as in the
11 12] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 57
Authori sed Version ,
‘ that at that time ye were wi thout Chri st,
b eing aliens (Si c. They are called upon to remember not simplythat they were wi thout Chri st, b ut wha t they were without Chri st.
It i s interesting to compare wi th this statement of di sabilitiesthe Apostle
’s catalogue in an earlier epistle of the p riv ileges of those
whomhe terms ‘ hi s brethren, hi s kinsfolk after the flesh ’: they Rom. ix
‘are Israelites ’ theirs ‘
are the adoption, and the glory, and the 3 5
covenants,and the giving of the law
,and the worship , and the
p romi ses ’; theirs ‘are the fathers that i s
,the patriarchs and
prOphets, the heroes of the past ; and of them is the Chri st according to the flesh These were their distinctive privi leges, whichmarked themas the Elect People. It was these things that theGenti les had lacked .
In Christ ’,indeed
,as they now were
,all was theirs ; b ut
‘without Chri st as they had been
,they were unenfranchi sed outlanders
aliens and foreigners, w i th no rights of citizenship in the sacred Gen. xv11 7
commonwealth,w i th no share in the covenants whi ch guaranteed
Ex‘ XX” 8
Luke ithe promisemade to Abrahamand his seed for ever
’. 72 f.
55
Havi ng no hop e The Jew had a hope : the Gentile had none.
The golden age of the Gentile w as in the past : hi s poets told himof i t, and how i t was gone. The Jew’
s golden age was in the
future : his prophets told himto look forward to i ts coming.
And w i thou t God Though there were ‘ gods many and lords I 0013 Vi i i
many ’, yet in the true sense they had no God . It had not yet
5
been revealed,as it was revealed through Christ, that
‘ the God of 3 0mi ii
the Jews was the God of the Genti les also29
Thi s i s the only place in the New Testament where the word«ideas occurs. It i s in no contemptuous sense that the A postlespeaks of themas hav ing been athei sts or
‘
godless’. It was the
simple and sad descrip tion of their actual state, not indeed fromtheir own
,b ut fromthe only true point of view.
The charge of athei sm w as hurled again and again by theheathen at the Chri stians of the early days. Justin Martyr com
p lains that Chri stians were persecuted as i dea ,and reminds the
persecutors that Socrates had been put to death as 59509. On a
memorable occasion the phrase w as turned back on those who used
i t. The Martyrdomof P olycarp tells (c. 9)how the p roconsul bade
the aged bi shop , in words whi ch i t was customary to employ,‘ Swear b y the geni us of the emperor ; repent ; say, Away withthe athei sts ’ (A ipe rots dfléovs—mean ing the Christians)
.
Then
Polycarp , looking towards the peop le and wav ing wi th 1118 hand,
groaned and looked up to heaven and said, Aipe rots dde’ovs
’. It
was they and not the Chri stians, who had no God.
58 EXPOSITION OF THE [II 12— 14
In the w orld’. These words are the posi tive descrip tion of the
state whi ch the A postle has hitherto b een describing entirely b ynegatives. Coming at the close
,they stand in sharp contrast to
what immediately follows ‘ b ut now in Chri st JesusThey are not however to b e taken by themselves, b ut in close
connexion with the two preceding phrases. The world, to St Paul,is the present outward order of things not of necessi ty to b e
characteri sed as evi l ; b ut evil, when considered as apart fromGod,or as in Opposition to God . Wi thout a hope, and wi thout a Godthis was to b e in the world and limited to the world, with nothingto lift themabove thematerial and the transient. It was to b e
,in
St John’s language, not only in the world b ut of the world
‘Bu t now in Chri st J esus ye who in time p ast w ere f ar of havebeen made nigh by the b lood of Chri st
’. In the remainder of thi s
section the A postle reverses the p icture. They were ‘ withoutthe world ’: they are
‘ in Chri st Jesus ’. The d i stancebetween the unp rivi leged and the p rivi leged i s annihi lated :
‘ the
18a, 1v u 19 far’ has become ‘
near ’. These are Old Testament terms : theallusion i s more expli citly made b elow in v. 1 7.
‘By the b lood of Chri st’, or (more literally)‘ in the blood of the
Chri st ’. So in i 7 we had‘ through Hi s blood
’, when the A postle
was speaking of the Emanci pation,before he had d i stingui shed the
two classes of Jew and Genti le, and when he w as descri b ing theblessi ngs of the new Election in the imagery of the old covenant.We may reserve to a later point the consideration of his p resentuse of the words.
For He i s our p eace The pronoun i s emphati c in the original.Wemight render : ‘ For He Himself i s our p eace
’,or For i t i s He
who i s our peaceNote that the A postle, having taken tw o words fromthe passage
in Isaiah, now takes a thi rd. In fact i t i s thus that the wordIsa.M 1 19 peace i s suggested to him for the old p romise ran Peace
, peaceto himthat i s far off
,and to himthat i s nigh
’.
‘ It i s He’,says
St Paul , who i s our p eace Note also the change in the p ronounsfrom‘
ye’to ‘
our’. To you and to us the peace has come. We
were strangers to one another ; nay, w e were enemies ‘ i t i s He
who i s our p eaceHe
,
‘who hathmade both one — b oth the parts one whole. The
neuter of the origin al cannot well b e exp ressed b y an Engli shtranslation. Lower down, instead of the neuter he w i ll use the
masculine : that Hemight create the two (men)into one new man,(so)making peace ’.
II 14] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Thi s is the most perfect peace : not the armed p eace of rival
p owers, not even the p eace of the most friendly alliance ; b ut the
peace whi ch comes fromab solute uni ty. There can b e no more a
quarrel, when there are nomore two, b ut only one.
‘And hath broken down themi dd le wall of the p arti ti on ’; that i s ,the intervening wall whi ch formed the b arrier.
To understand -the metaphor we must know something of the
construction of the Temp le in St Paul’s day. The area whi ch had
been enclosed by Herod the Great w as very large. It consi sted of
court w i thin court, and innermost of all the Holy Place and theHolyof Holi es. There were varying degrees of sancti ty in these sacred
places. Into the Holy of Holies only the High Priest could enter,and that once in the year. The Holy Place was entered daily and
incense was burned by a priest on the golden altar at themomentof the sacrifice of themorn ing and even ing lamb. Thi s sacrifice took
place outside in the Court of the Priests,where was the great A ltar
of Burnt-offerings. Outsi de thi s again were two further courts -the
Court of the Sons of Israel immediately adjacent,and beyond thi s
on the east the Court of the Women. The whole of the localitiesthus farmentioned formed a rai sed p lateau : fromi t you descendedat various points down five step s and through gates in a lofty wall
, to
find yourself not yet outside the temp le-p recincts, b ut on a narrow
platformoverlooking another large court— the outer court to whi chGentiles who desired to see something of the glori es of the Temple,or to offer gifts and sacri fices to the God of the Jews, were freelyadmi tted. Further in than thi s court they were forbidden on painof death to go. The actual boundary line whi ch the Genti lemightnot cross was not the high wall wi th i ts gates, b ut a low stone
barrier about five feet in height whi ch ran round at the bottomof
fourteenmore step s’.
In the year 187 1 , during the excavations wh ich were b eingmade on the s ite of the Temp le on behalf of the Committee of the
Palestine Exp loration Fund,M. Clermont Canneau found one of
the very p illars whi ch Josephus describes as hav ing been set up on
the barrier to whi ch St Paul here refers. It i s now preserved in
1 Th is account i s derived from most b eautifully worked ; on i t thereJosephus Anti qq. xv 1 1 , B . J . v 5. In were set up at equal d i stances p i llarsthe latter p assage he says :
‘ As you setting forth the law of sancti ty , somewent on through thi s first court to the in Greek and some in Roman characsecond there was a stone fence run ters, how that noman of another racen ing all round, three cub i ts h igh and might pass wi thin the sanctuary
’.
59
i i 1 1—14
EXPOSITION OF THE [II 14
the Museumat Constantinople, and i t b ears the following inscription in Greek letters ’
NO MAN OF ANOTHER NATION TO ENTERWITHIN THE FENCE AND ENCLOSURE
ROUND THE TEMPLE. AND WHOEVER IS
CAUGHT WILL HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME
THAT 1118 DEATH ENSUES.
That barrier, wi th i ts series of inscri b ed stones threateni ngdeath to the intruder, was sti ll standing in the Temple courts at themoment when St Paul b oldly p roclaimed that Chri st had broken i tdown . It sti ll stood : b ut i t was already antiquated, obsolete, out
of date, so far as i ts sp i ritual meaning went. The sign sti ll stood
b ut the thing signi fied was broken down. The thing signified was
the separationbetween Gentile and Jew . That w as done away in
the person of Jesus Chri st. A few years later the sign i tself was
dashed down in a literal ruin. Out of that ruin a fragment of i thas b een dug, after exactly eighteen hundred years, to enforce
St Paul’s words, and by a striking object lesson to b id us,the
Gentiles,
‘rememb er ’ that in Chri st Jesus w e who were ‘ far off
"
have been ‘made nigh’.
A t this point we may pause to draw out in greater fulness theteachi ng of the A postle in thi s passage. He has called on the
Gentiles, who have newly been admi tted into a position of absoluteequality of p rivi lege with the Jew ,
to rememb er what they wereand what they now are. They were the Gentiles, according to a
di stinction whi ch he describes by the words ‘ in the flesh ’ that i sto say, they were the Unci rcumci sion , as they were called by thosewho on their part were called the Ci rcumcis ion . The di stinction
was an external one : i t wasmade ‘ in the flesh i t was made by a
man’s hand. The very terms suggest— and are chosen to suggestthat it was temporary, not eternal. But i t w as not therefore un
real ; nor w as i t wrong : i t was part of the Divine method for theeducation of the world. It i s done away now b ut i t w as d ivinelyordained
,and tremendous in i ts reali ty whi le i t lasted.
This i s what they were. There w as a d ivi ding line, and theywere on the wrong side of i t. And consequently, as he goes on to
say, they were not only wi thout the sign of p ri vilege, b ut wi thoutthe p rivi lege i tself. For they were not members of the ChosenPeople : they were aliens, they were strangers : they knew nothingof a Divine fellowship , a sacred p olity, in whi ch men were linkedto one another and to God, in whi ch God had entered into covenant
1 For the Greek text see the commentary ad loc.
62
Ps . u 8
EXPOSITION OF THE [II 14
w as infini telymore p recious a priv i lege, to b e outside w as farmoregri evous a disabi li ty, than ever i t could have seemed before.
Hence the deep pathos of hi s language as he describes the hop elessmi sery of the Genti le world. Hence too hi s sup reme delight in p roclaiming, not that the Divine fellowship w as suddenly at an end
,b ut
that the old limits b y which i t had been confined to a single race weredone away that the world w as no longer tw o p arts —one p rivi leged,the other unprivi leged —b ut one whole, all p rivi leged alike ; that the
partition wall whi ch had kep t the Gentile at a d istance w as simp lybroken down ,
and that Jew and Gentilemight enter hand in hand
into the One Father’s house, the house of p rayer for all nationsIt was the fulfilment of the Jewi sh hope— not i ts d i sappointment
— whi ch had brought about thi s glorious i ssue. It w as the Messiahwho had done it. The Jew lost nothing : he gained everythinggained new brothers
, gained the whole Genti le world. In Chri st
God had given himthe heathen for his inheri tance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for hi s possession
The Gentile too had gained all. He indeed had nothing to lose,and could only gain . He had gained b rotherhood wi th the Jew , a
place in the Divine fami ly, the franchi se of the sacred p olity, hi s
passage across the partition whi ch had divided himfromthe Jew
and thereby had d ivided himfromGod . He was brought nighnigh to the Jew ,
and n igh to God.
A ll thi s i s in St Paul’s thought when he says : ‘Ye were far off,
b ut ye have beenmade n ighWe have not yet considered the important words whi ch he adds
to this statement : ‘ in’or by the blood of the Chri st The
reconci liation b y whi ch‘ the far off
”and ‘ the near
’are brought
together— b y whi ch Genti le i s made nigh to Jew and thereby nighHeb . ix 18 to God— i s not w i thout b lood ’. For neither was the Jew’s own
covenant wi thout bloodWe need to remind ourselves that fromthe earliest days every
treaty between man and man,as well as every covenant between
man and God,was ratified andmade sure b y the b lood of a sacrifice.
A ll that i s done away now ,and w e find i t hard to do full justi ce to
a conception so foreign to our ways of thinking. But w emust bearthi s fact inmind i f w e would understand St Paul. The covenantb etween a nation and i ts dei ty w as a covenant of blood the p ea
cebetween a nation and a nation w as ratified b y a vi ctim’s blood’.
1 The hi story of th i s i dea , which by the late Professor W. Rob ertson
p layed so large a part in human li fe Smi th (p art I.
‘ Fundamental Institub efore the Chri stian era
,is elab orately tions
treated in The Religi on of the Semi tes
11 14, 15] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 63
That the Mess iah had been ki lled was at first sight the defeatand fai lure of all the expectation of whi ch He had been the centre.
Hi s resurrection di spelled the gloom, and shewed that He had
triumphed in sp ite of death— even through death, for He had shewn
Himself the conqueror of death. Hi s death w as p resently seen tohave b een a necessary stage of Hi s work. It partook of the natureof a sacrifice. It was the blood of a covenant so He Himself hadsolemnly descri b ed i t on the eve of Hi s crucifixion—J This i s My Mark xiv
Blood of the Covenant .
’St Paul gives us here an interp retation of if
"L idia
’
sHis words. The ‘ b lood of the Chri st ’had made a new treaty of
E
p eace b etween the two opposing sections of humani ty : i t hadmadethe two into one. The b lood of the Chri st hadmade the far off
"
to b e ‘near
’: i t had widened out the old Covenant, so as to embrace
those who had been outside it had become the fulfilment of all the
sacrificial blood-shedding of the old Covenant, whi ch i t supersededonly by including i t in a new Covenant, in whi ch Jew and Gentile
a like had access to the one and only God . His life-blood poured out
as the ratification of the new Covenant, says St Paul, hasmade the
far off near for He Himself i s our peace ; He Himself hasmadethe two p arts one whole He Himself has broken down the parti tionwall that shut off the one fromthe p rivileges of the other.
Up to this p oint the Apostle’s meani ng i s clear
,when once w e
have grasped the concep tions whi ch lie behind his thought. But he
i s conscious that he has b een using the language of metaphor, andhe p roceeds to elaborate and to interp ret what he has b een saying.
The p articip ial clause whi ch follows is a re—statement in other termsof what has immediately p receded.
‘Having abolished in Hi s flesh the enmi ty , the law of command 11
ments contained in ordi nances’. This recasts and p resents afresh
the s tatements He Himself i s our peace’and He hath b roken
down themi ddle wall of the partition In Hisflesh correspondsto the emphati c p ronoun He Himself the ab oli tion of ‘ the
enmi ty’i s a new description of ‘
our peace A s the divi sion was
symbolised and exp ressed in the barri er of the Temple, so‘ the
enmi ty w as exp ressed in ‘ the law of commandments contained inordinances A ccordingly the breaking down of the Temp le b arri eri s one and the same thing wi th the aboli tion of the enmity as i t hadtaken outward shape in the enactments of the ri tual law .
But these phrases deserve to b e considered one b y one.
‘ In
Hi sflesh Hi s flesh i s the scrip tural termfor what w e speak of
a s Hi s humani ty,Hi s human nature. He took upon Himflesh ’
was an early Chri stian mode of speaking of the mystery of the
64 EXPOSITION OF THE
Incarnation . It i s the same in mean ing wi th the great phrase of
the Te Deum,Tu ad li berandumsuscep i sti hominem,
Thou tookestupon T
heeman, to deliver him’. The flesh of Chri st i s our common
humani ty, whi ch He deigned to make His ow n . So that in Himall flesh that i s, all human i ty, finds i tsmeeting point. And thus
He i s Himself our p eace in Hi s own person He has aboli shed our
enmity.
The law of commandments contained in ordinances was aboli shed
b y Christ. The fulness of this expression i s no doubt intentional.
Matt. V 17 Chri st came ‘not to destroy ’ the law ,
‘ b ut to fulfil ’ i t : not to
b reak i t down,b ut to fill i t wi th i ts ful l meaning. Yet thi s w as to
do away wi th it in so far as i t was a
'
limi ted ‘ code of commands .
All its commandments were swallowed up in the new commandmentof love. In so far as i t was petrified in enactments, and esp eciallyin those external ord inances whi ch guided all the deta ils of the
Jew’s dai ly life and were meant above all thi ngs to keep him
distinct fromthe outside Genti le,— just in that sense and in thatmeasure i t was annulled in Christ. Thi s i s made clearer by theguarding phrase
‘ in ordinances The law,so far as i t was a
‘ law
of commandments ’ and wa s identified with external ord inances ’,
was aboli shed b y Chri st.
The A postle uses parallel language in the Ep i stle to the Colos
Col. 11 14 sians.
‘He hath cancelled the bond that stood aga inst us, (that
consisted)in ordinances : He hath taken i t out of the w ay, havingnai led i t to Hi s cross ’. And he asks
,lower down,
of those whoseemed to wi sh to return to a modi fied systemof external p rohi b i
Col. 11. 2 0, tions : Why are ye sti ll ordinance—ridden And at the same time2’
he exp lains hi s meaning by examples of such ordinances : ‘ Touchnot
,taste not
,handle not To re-enact these w as to ab andon the
Gospel and to return to the commandments and doctrines ofmenThe law of commandments in ord inances ’ had an imp ortant
use whi le the distinction in the flesh b etween Jew and Genti le
had to b e clearlymarked . The touch of certain things defiled, the
taste of certainmeats made aman unclean . To touch even in the
commerce of themarket what a Genti le had touched , to eat at the
same tab le at whi ch a Genti le ate—these things were defil ing then.
The ordi nances were framed to p revent such pollution, such s ins
agains t the Divine covenant whi ch marked off the Jews as a
peculiar peop le. It was just these di stinctions that were done awaynow ; and wi th them the ordinances whi ch enforced themwereannulled.
‘ The law of commandments in ordinances ’ w as ab oli shed, and
aboli shed by the Messiah Himself. ‘ In Hi s flesh ’He had un ited
11 15—17] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
those whomthese di stinctions had held apart ;‘ in Hi s blood ’He
hadmade a new Covenant whi ch included themb oth.
That He might crea te i n Himself of the twa in one new man,so 11 15
making p eace Thi s i s the New Creation,the New Man
,of whi ch
w e have spoken already. Henceforth God deals wi th man as a
whole,as a single individual
,in Christ. Not as Two Men
,the
p riv i leged and the unp rivi leged— Tw o, parted one fromthe other b ya b arri er in themost sa cred of all the relations of li fe b ut as One
Man,united in a peace, whi ch i s no mere alliance of elements
naturally d istinct,b ut a concorporation, the common li fe of a single
organi sm.
‘ And that He might reconci le both unto God i n one body by the n 16
cross, ha/ving sla in the enmi ty thereby’. Here the A postle exp resses
what has all along been implied in hi s thought, namely, that thep eace b y whi ch the Gentile w as reconciled to the Jew w as at the
same time a peace wi th God . In the new Covenant whi ch was
made in the blood of the Chri st not only were the two sections ofhumani ty b rought nigh to one another
,b ut both of themin the
samemoment were brought n igh to God .
‘ In one body’. Thi s i s the one body ’ whi ch has resul ted from
the union of the two sections . It i s the ‘one body to which the
one Sp iri t of v. 18 corresponds. It i s not the human body of theLord Jesus ; that w as referred to ab ove in v. 1 5 by the exp ression‘ in Hi s flesh Here St Paul i s speak ing of that larger Body of
the exalted Chri st, of whi ch he has already declared that i t i s His i 2 3fulness or completion,
and of which he wi ll p resently declare that iv 4there i s one body and one Sp i ri t, even as ye are called in one hop e
of your callingHaving sla in the enmi ty thereby
’,that i s
,by the Cross. An
alternative rendering i s ha vi ng sla i n the enmi ty i n Himself’. The
meani ng i s the same in ei ther case : and the exp ression i s a boldone. Chri st in Hi s death w as slain : b ut the slain was a slayer
‘ And He came and p reached (or pub li shed good ti dings of’
)11 17
p eace to you which were afar/r ofl,and p eace to themtha t were n igh’.
In these words St Paul comb ines with the p assage of Isaiah whi chhe has already used in vv . 1 3, 14 another passage of the same book.
Peace, peace to himthat is far off and to himthat i s near, sai th Isa. lvu 1
the Lord i s combined wi th How beautiful upon the mountains Isa. 111 7
are the feet of him that b ringeth good tidi ngs, that pub li sheth
peace The verb to publi sh good tid ings i s drawn b y the A postlefromthe Sep tuagint version of the latter passage.
EXPOSITION or THE [11
In the words He came and p reached w e have a reference not
to the work of the Lord Jesus on earth before the Crucifixi on , b ut
to the work of the exalted Chri st in announcing the p eace whi ch
Hi s death hadmade.
‘ For through Himw e b oth have our access i n one Sp i ri t u n to the
Fa ther The new Covenant w as henceforward the ground of the
Jew ’s app
roach to God, as well as of the Genti le’s. For the old
Covenant w as swallowed up in the new . Jew and Gentile now
rested alike on the new Covenant, and so a ll d istinction b etween
themw as at an end .
It i s noteworthy that, a s the A postle p roceeds, the hostilityb etween Jew and Genti le has been gradually falling into the back
ground. The reconci liation of whi ch he speaks i s the reconciliation
of both to God,even more than of each to the other ; and the
climax of all i s found in the access of both to the common Father.For the sup reme b lessing whi ch the new Covenant has secured i s-freedomof app roach to Himwho i s to b e known henceforth by Hisnew Name
,not as Jehovah the God of Israel, b ut as the Father.
In one Sp i rit Thi s phrase i s the counterp art of the phrasein one b ody of v. 16. In one b ody w e both were reconci led to
God :‘ in one Spi ri t we b oth have our access to the Father. The
one body’i s an imated b y one Spi ri t
’. So, later on,
the A p ostle
declares : There i s one b ody and one Sp iri t, even as ye have beencalled in one hOpe of your ca lling Even i f the reference i s not
p rimari ly to the Holy Sp iri t, yet the thought of Himas the Sp i ri tof fellowship i s necessari ly p resent where the ‘
one Sp i ri t’of the
‘one b ody ’ i s spoken of. The Body of the Chri st has a Spiri t thatdwells in i t. That Sp i ri t is the Sp iri t of the Christ, the Holy Sp iri t.When w e grasp thi s correlation of the Body of Chri st and the Sp i ri tof Chri st, w e can understand w hy in the A postoli c Creed the clauseThe Holy Catholi c Church forms the first subd ivi s ion of the
section whi ch begins, I believe i n the Holy Ghost’.
‘ So then ye are no more strangers and soj ourners, bu t ye are
fellow -ci ti zens w i th the sa ints The A postle return s to hi s p oli ti calmetaphor, and uses a termwhi ch w as well understood in the Greekcities. The sojourners ’were a class of residents who were recogn ised by law and were allowed certain defin i te p rivi leges : b uttheir very name suggested that thei r posi tion was not a permanentone : they resided on sufferance only, and had no rights of citizenship . The Genti les, says St Paul, are no longer in this posi tion of
exclusion fromthe franchi se of the sacred commonwealth. Theyare
‘
fellow ci ti zens w i th the sa ints The saints was a des ignation
II 19, 20] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
p reper to the members of the ancient Peop le of God. They werea holy nation
’they were sa ints ’ b y vi rtue of their national
consecration to Jehovah . The designation was naturally retained
b y St Paul, when the Chosen Peop le was wi dened into the Catholi cChurch. To quote B i shop L ightfoot
’s words’ “ The Chri stianChurch, having taken the p lace of the Jewi sh race
,has inheri ted
all‘
i ts titles and privileges ; i t is‘a chosen generation
,a royal
p riesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar peop le (1 P et . 11 A ll who
have entered into the Chri stian covenant b y bapti smare‘saints
’in
the language of the A postles. Even the i rregularities and p rofli
gacies of the Cori nthian Church do not forfeit it thi s ti tleThe Genti les
,then, had been admi tted to full rights in the
polity of ‘ the sa ints they were now no less truly a part of the
consecrated peop le than were the Jews. But the A postle adds a
furthermetaphor. He has just spoken of God as the Father’, to
whomthey had been given access . In harmony wi th this he nowdeclares that the Genti les are members of God’s fami ly
,or house
hold they have all the privi leges of the sons of the house they are
‘of the household of God
’. In this phrase he uses an adj ective i i 19
(oixei‘
og)whi ch impli es the word house in the non-material sense inwhi ch w e often use it ourselves : comp . 1 Tim. i i i. 4 and 1 5. But
we can scarcely doubt that it is the feeling of the radi calmeaningof the word that leads himon to the new metaphor which he at
once developes, and whi ch would seemexcessively ab rupt i f i t werenot for this half-hidden connex ion. They are not merelymembersof the household , b ut actual ly a part of the house of God .
‘ Being bu ilt up on the foundation of the ap ostles and p rop hets, 11 20
Chr ist J esus Himself bei ng the corner -stone They are not the first
stones la id in the b ui lding they are built up on others whi ch werethere before them. The foundation stones are the apostles and
prOphets, the chief stone of all b eing Christ Jesus Himself, who is the Isa , xxvi i i
‘corner-stone as the Old Testament wri ters had called the Messiah.
16 ; P s .
cxvm2 2In an earli er ep i stle St Paul had emphati cally declared Other
1001 . i i i 1 1
foundation can noman lay than that is laid, whi ch i s Jesus Chri stBut there he is emp loying hi smetaphor in a di fferent way. He i s
not speaking of persons who are bui lded in,b ut of persons who
b ui ld . He himself, for example, i s not a stone of the bui lding, b uta wi semaster-bui lder those of whomhe speaks are bui lders also
,
and their work wi ll come to the testing. The foundation he hashimself laid in the p roclamation of Chri st Jesus : it i s not possiblethat any of themshould lay any other foundation b ut it is onlytoo possible that the superstructure whi ch they rai se should b e
1 Note on Ph i lipp ians i 1.
68 EXPOSITION or THE [11 20
worthless, and that instead’
of wages for good work done theyshould come in for the fine whi ch attached to careless or fraudulentworkmanship . Here the appli cation of the metaphor i s di fferent.The stones are persons : the foundation stones are the apostles
and prophets, the most important stone of all b eing Chri st J esus
HimselfThis last phrase i s emphati c. Chri st, the Messiah who had
b een spoken of beforehand as the corner-stone Jesus, the humanmani festation of the Christ in time : Chri st Jesus Himself He
is part of the Body whi ch He brings into being, for He i s i ts Head
He i s part of the House whi ch He founds, for He i s i ts Cornerstone. The pa
ssage in St Paul’smind at this point i s Isa . xxvi i i 16,
as it was rendered b y the Septuagi nt :‘ Behold, I lay for the
foundations of Sion a stone costly and chosen, a precious cornerstone for the foundations thereof ’. A nd just because he wi ll sp eakof Chri st in the old p rophet
’s terms as a corner-stone, he cann ot
here speak of Hima s the whole foundation .
We are naturally reminded by thi s p assage of the saying of our
Lord to St Peter : I say unto thee,Thou art Peter and
upon thi s rock (n e’rpa)I wi ll b ui ld My Church, and the gates of hell
shall not preva i l against i t : I wi ll give to thee the keys of the
kingdomof heaven Here w e have the same metaphor, and again
i ts app li cation is slightly vari ed . In Engli sh the play upon wordsis wholly lost in the Greek i t i s somewhat ob scured b y the changefromHe
'
rp os to n e'
rpa . The femini ne Wol ‘d (n e'
rp a)could not well b ethe name of aman
,and accordingly the Greek name of Cep ha w as
He’rpos, which signifies a stone rather than a rock. But in the
Aramai c, in whi ch our Lord almost certainly spoke, there w as no
such difficulty. Cep ha was equally a stone or a rock. So that thewords must have run
,jus t as we now read them in the Syriac
versions : ‘ Thou art Cep ha , and upon this cepha I wi ll b uild MyChurch ’.
It i s worth our whi le to noti ce how the metaphor of a house i sthere app lied to the Church . It i s the Divine House whi ch Chri stwill b uild (He i s nei ther the foundation nor the corner- stone
,b ut
the Builder), and the keys of i t He wi ll p lace in the A postle’s
hands. Thus b y a rap id transi tion the A postle’s own relation to
the house i s exp ressed by a new metaphor ; he i s now the steward
{1251111 2 2 of the house : compare the p rophet
’s words : ‘ I wi ll give the
key of the house of Dav1d Thus the Church— the Ecclesi acorresponds to
‘ the kingdomof heaven ’,which the Messiah has
come to establi sh : each of the designations being drawn fromthe
past hi story of the sacred commonwealth,whi ch was at once ‘ the
70 EXPOSITION or THE [11 2 1
W10L 1F.- 1380 . In whomeche b i ldynge made : w exeth in to
an holi temple in the lord.
TYNDALE.—I 534. In whomevery b ildynge coup led togedder,
groweth vuto an holy temple in the lorde.
CRANMER.— 1 539. In whomwhat b uyldyng soever i s coupled
together, i t groweth vnto an holy temp le in the L orde.
GENEVA.— 1557 . In whomall the b uyldying coup led together,
groweth vuto an holy temp le in the L ord .
RHEIMS. —1582 . In whomal bui lding framed together, growethinto an holy temple in our Lord.
A UTHORISED.— 161 1 . In whomall the b uilding fitly framed
together, groweth vnto an holy temple in the L ord .
REvrsan.—1881 . In whoml
each several bui lding, fitly framedtogether, groweth into a holy 2temple in the Lord.
1 Gr. every bui lding.1 Or
,sanctuary .
We need not at thi s point enter into the causes of so greatvariety of rendering. Thi s would b e to di scuss the influence of the
Latin Vulgate, and of the variants in the Greek text. Our studyof the context should by thi s time havemad e i t perfectly clear thatSt Paul contemplates a single structure and no more. Such a
rendering then as‘every b uildi ng ’ (that i s to say,
‘all the b ui ld
ings’)i s out of harmony wi th the general thought of the passage.
If the A postle has in any way referred to parts whi ch go to makeup a whole, i t has always b een to two parts, and only two, v iz. the
Jew and the Genti le. To introduce the idea of many churchesgoing tomake up one Church i s to do violence to the sp iri t of thi swhole section. The rendering ‘
each several b ui ldi ng, fitly framedtogether, groweth into a holy temp le offends themost consp i cuouslyagainst the A postle
’s thought. For i t must logi cally imply that
the ‘ several buildings’grow into
‘ several temples’
and thi s i s at
once inconsi stent with the single habitation or dwell ing-
p lace of
God,whi ch the A postlementions in the next verse.
In Engli sh the word ‘ bui lding’has various shades of mean ing,each of whi ch i s found equally in i ts counterpart in the Greek . It
may mean ‘ the process of bui lding’i t may mean ‘ the bui lding
itself when complete Or i tmay have a sense intermed iate betweenthese two
,and mean ‘ the bui lding regarded as in p rocess
’. The
Apostle’s meaning i s saved by the rendering of the Rheims B ib le
al building’ b ut this i s somewhat harsh
,and limits us too strictly
to the p rocess, as contrasted w i th the work in p rocess. All thatis bui lded ’
,or
‘all b ui lding that i s done
’might express the sensewith sufficient accuracy b ut thi s hardly differs from all the bui ld
II 2 1] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 7 !
ing when w e keep before our minds the thought of the b ui ldingin p rocess, as Opposed to the comp leted edifice. We may accordingly retain the fami liar rendering, although i t i s not free fromambigu ity i f the context b e neglected, and although i t w as originally intended as the translation of a read ing in the Greek whi chthe textual evidence p recludes us fromaccepting.
A ll work done on thi s House of God,all fitting of stone to
stone, as the bui ldi ng ri ses coup led and morti ced b y clamp and
dowel,—all thi s work i s a growth, as though the b uilding were a
liv ing organi sm. St Paul has no hesi tation in mixing ‘
his metaphors, i f thereb y he can the more forci b ly exp ress hi s mean ing.
We have the exact converse of thi s transi tion in the fourth chap terif here the b ui lding grows
’like a body
,there the b ody i s b uilded i v 12
,16:
‘ An holy temp le’. The word ‘ temple
’in our English B ible i s
used to render two Greek words,naos and hi eron . The first of
these—which i s used in thi s place—denotes the shri ne, the actualHouse of God
,whi ch in the Jewi sh temp le consi sted of the Holy
Place and the Holy of Holies. The second,on the other hand
,has
the w ider meaning of the temp le—p recincts— the courts and colonnades
,in whi ch the peop le gathered for worsh ip . Thi s d i stinction
i s observed alike b y Josephus and b y the wri ters of the New Testament. Thus the hieron was the temple into whi ch the Phari see Luke xvi i iand the publi can went up to p ray i t was there that our Lord usedto teach : i t was thence that He drove out the traders. But i t $535; , 5was in the naos that the angel app eared to Zacharias the p riest Luke i 9i t w as between the naos and the altar that Zacharias
,
‘the son of Matt. xxi i i
Barachias ’,w as sla in : i t was the vei l of the naos that w as rent at 35
Markxv 8the Crucrfixron
’.
3
A passage whi ch i s sometimes ci ted to justify a false interp retation of our p resent verse i s Matt. xx iv 1
,the b ui ldi ngs of the
temp le’. But note the word there used A nd Jesus went out and
was departing fromthe hieron, and Hi s di sciples drew near to point
out to Himthe bui ldings of the hieron The p lural could b e usedof the temp le-p recinct through whi ch they were passing, adorned as
i t w as with the splendid structures of Herod . It could not b e
used of the naos,whi ch w as a single b ui lding, d iv ided only by the
parti tion of a vei l. A ccord ingly i t seems impossible to assign
any meaning to the phrase ‘every bui lding groweth into a holy
naos’,excep t it b e such a meaning as i s d i rectly opposed, as w e
1 Th e only p assage where there xxvi i 5 : Judas cast the price of the
could b e a reason forwi sh ing to give L ord’s b etrayal into the naos.
to the naos a wi dermeaning i s Matt.
72 EXPOSITION OF THE [II 2 1, 2 2
have seen, to the whole teaching on whi ch St Paul i s laying such
evi dent stress.
‘ In the L ord’. Th is i s the first time in the ep i stle that thi s
title has stood b y i tself. It may not b e wi se always to insist on a
conscious motive for the choi ce of the phrase‘ in the Lord ’, in
preference to the phrase
‘ in Chri st Yet i t can hardly b e amerecoincidence that where the A postle describes the transcendentalrelation of b elievers to Chri st as the ground of their accep tance
wi th God he uses the expression‘ in Chri st ’, or one of the fuller
expressions into whi ch this ti tle enters ; whereas, when he i s
speaking of the i ssues of that relation as manifested in life and
conduct here below, he uses the phrase‘ in the Lord Contrast,
11 10 for example, the words ‘ created in Chri st Jesus ’ wi th the words‘ Be strong in the Lord
’. The Chr i st of the p rivi leged position i s
the Lord of the holy li fe : if in Chri st w e are in heaven, in the Lord
wemust live on earth. Chri st is the comer-stone of the foundation ;the bui lding grows to an holy temple in the Lord.
11 2 2 In whomye also’. These words have b y thi s time a fami liar
sound. The A postle insi sts afresh upon the inclusion of the Gen
tiles : and he i s thus led into what might seema mere repetition of
what he has already sa id,b ut that the two fresh expressions which
he adds produce the effect of a climax.
‘ Are bu i lded together for an habi tati on of God in the Sp i ri t’.
Once more he takes hi s word from the Old Testament. The
Exod . xv‘ habi tation ’
or dwelling-p lace of God’w as a consecrated phrase.
17 ; It was the proudest boast of the Jew that the Lord hi s God,who
éé’
gggs
etc.
dwelt in heaven, dwelt also in Sion . To the new Peop le the samezooms 15 high p ri vi lege is granted in a yetmore intimatemanner. For w e
L ev. xxvi are the temple of the living God as God hath said,I wi ll dwell in
1 1 f'them,
and walk in them; and I wi ll b e their God , and they shall b eMy people
‘ In the Sp i ri t Here, as so often, the A postle does notmakei t plain whether he i s speaking d i rectly of the Divine Sp i rit or not.But i t is to b e observed that thi s section
,which b egan wi th the
words in the flesh (twi ce repeated), ends wi th the words ‘ in
the sp iri t’. No doub t the thought that the habi tation of God i s
sp iri tual, in contrast to the material temp le, is p resent to the
Apostle’s mind
,even if i t does not exhaust the meaning of hi s
words. And we may p erhap s regard the expression of 1 P et. i i 5,‘a sp iri tual house as the earliest commentary on this passage.
Thus St Paul closes thi s great section b y declaring that the
Gentiles had full rights of citizenship in the sacred commonwealth,
II 2 2 , III I] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
that they were true sons of the household of God,nay that they were
a part of His Holy House, bui lded upon i ts foundation ,secured by
i ts corner-stone, that corner-stone whi ch gave un ity to all b ui ldingthat w as reared upon i t ; so that all such b ui lding
,duly welded into
one,was growing into a holy shrine
,to b e the sp iri tual dwelling
place of God .
Such was‘ the mystery of the will of God ’. It w as that they
might grasp thi smystery that he had begun to p ray for the Sp iri tof w i sdomand apocalyp se
’on their b ehalf. A nd now that he has
so far expounded i t, in b ri ef language compared with i ts mightymagnitude, i t becomes again the b as is of his p rayer. Or rather
,the
p rayer whi ch he had essayed to utter,and the first words of whi ch
had carri ed himso far that the p rayer had lost i tself in the wonderof the b lessing p rayed for,—that prayer he once more desi res totake up and at length to utter in i ts fulness.
This he attempts to do in the words For this cause I P aul, the
p risoner of Chri st Jesus for you ,the Genti les
’b ut
,as w e shall see
,
new thoughts again press in ,and in v. 14 hemakes another and at
last a successful attemp t to declare the fulness of hi s petition‘ For this cause I bow my lmees
’.
FOR t his cause I Paul, the pri soner of Christ Jesus for you,
the Genti les— “ if so b e that ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which was given unto me to you-ward
3how that by revelation was made known untome themystery,
as I have written afore in few words,4whereby
,when ye read
,
ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ ;5which in other generations was notmade known unto the sons
of men ,as it hath now been revealed unto His holy apostles
d prophets in the Spiri t ;6to wi t, that the Genti les are fellow
heirs , and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of
the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7whereof I wasmade a mini ster according to the gift of the grace of God which
was given unto me according to the working of Hi s power,
8unto me ,
who amless than the least of all saints, was this
grace given, - to preach unto the Genti les the unsearchable
riches of Chri st,9and to bring to light what i s the di spensation
of themystery which fromthe ages hath been hid in God who
created all things ; to the intent that now unto the princi
73
1 9
i n
111 1
1—13
74 EXPOSITION OF THE [I II 1
palities and powers in the heavenly p laces might b e madeknown through the church the manifold w isdom of God
,
according to the purpose of the ages whi ch He purposed in
Chri st Jesus our Lord, in whomwe have our boldness and
access w i th confidence by the fai th ofHim.
“Wherefore I ask
you. that ye faint not at my tribulations for you ,
whi ch are
your glory.
The construction i s at once broken at the end of v. I . There i ssomething even in those few words whi ch has suggested a new train
of thought, and the A postle cannot check himself until he hasexpressed what i s in hi s soul . What i s the starting-
point of this
new departure ?Hitherto St Paul ha s b een strangely unlik e himself in one
parti cular. He has been marvellously impersonal. Hi s onlyreference to himself since the salutation has been in the words
,
‘ I cease not to give thanks and to p ray’. He has said nothing
of hi s own peculiar office as the chosen herald of these new revela
tions of the wi ll and w ay of God and of all that he had personallyendured ,
whether in long journeyi ngs and constant lab ours to b ringthis message to the Genti les, or in persecutions and impri sonmentdirectly due to hi s insi stence on the wideness of the Gospel. The
reason for thi s unwonted reserve i s, as w e have partly seen already,that he i s not wri ting to thememb ers of a single Church of hi s own
Acts xx 3 1 foundation, whomhe had ‘admoni shed night and day wi th tears ’
,
who knew himwell and to whomhe could wri te as he would havespoken face to face. He i s wri ting to many who had never seenhim
,though theymust have heard much of himand p rob ab ly had
learned the Gospel fromhi s fellow-workers . He i s wri ting not a
personal word of encouragement, b ut an exposi tion of the DivinePurpose as he had come to know i t— a word of large import formultitudes who needed what he knew i t w as hi s to give them. He
has heard how the great work has b een going forward far beyondthe limi ts of hi s own personal evangeli sation . He thank s God for
it. It i s part of the fulfilment of the Purpose. He i s fully takenup wi th declaring what the Purpose has brought to the Gentiles asa whole. It i s only as he reaches a resting
-
place in hi s thought,that he hears as i t were the clink of his chain
,and remembers
where he i s and why he is there : I P au l,the p ri son er of Chri st
Jesus for you ,the Genti les
But the words are too full to b e left without a comment or a
justification . You may never have seen my face, he seems to say,
III 2 ] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 7 5
b ut surely you have heard how God has been usingme to help youyoumay even have been di scouraged b y learning to whatmy efforts
on your behalf have broughtme.
The fresh points whi ch are to b e emphasised in the remainder of 2—13
thi s section,which i s one long parenthesi s, are these : I)St Paul
’s
peculiarmi ssion as the exponent of the mystery of the inclusion of
the Gentiles, as the pub lisher of the great secret, as the herald of
the Gosp el of grace (2)the newness of the revelation, hid in God
till now , b ut made known at last to the apostles and p rophets of
the Chri stian Church ; (3)the sufferings which hi s mi ssion has
entailed upon him,and whi ch yet must not d i shearten those for
whomhe suffers .
The section i s full of echoes of the earlier part of the ep i stle.
A lmost every great phrase has its counterpart in the first twochapters —the mystery made known by revelation ; revealed b ythe Sp iri t to the apostles and p rophets the inheri tance
,the body,
the p romi se , in whi ch the Gentiles have their share in Chri st the
grace of God,and the work ing of Hi s power ; the d ispensation of
the grace, and of the mystery ; the heavenly regi on ; the purposeof etern i ty ; the free access to God.
‘
If so be tha t ye have heard of the d isp ensati on qf the grace qf i i i 2
God whi ch was given untome to you -ward The formof the sentencei s conditional, just as in iv 2 1 b ut i t can scarcelymean anything
less than For surely you have heard The exp ression as a whole,
however,confirms the conclusion that among those to whomthe
ep i stle was addressed a considerable numb er,i f not the majori ty
,
had never come into personal contact with the writer : had he beenwri ting solely or even p rimari ly to hi s own Ephesian converts, hecould never have exp ressed h imself so.
The grace of God whi ch was given untome i s a favourite phraseof St Paul. The context usually makes i t qui te clear that ‘ the
grace given himw as not a sp i ritual endowment for hi s own p ersonalli fe
,b ut the Gospel of God
’smercy to the Gentile world. Thus
,in
descri b ing hi s vi sit to the A postles at Jerusalem,St Paul says,
When they saw that I had b een entrusted wi th the Gosp el of the Gal. 11when they knew the grace whi ch was given
untome,
.they gave right hands of fellowship tome and to Barnabas,that w e should go unto the Genti les
,and they unto the Circum
ci sion A n equally striking example i s found where St Pauljustifies hi s action in addressing a letter to the Roman Chri stians : Rom. xv.
I have written themore boldly he says, ‘ b y reason of the grace15 f'
001. i 2 5
EXPOSITION or THE [111 2 , 3
whi ch was givenunto me fromGod, that I should b e a mini ster
of Chri st Jesus unto the Genti les A s we have seen in part already,
grace w as the signi ficant word whi ch summed up for St Paul hi s
ownspecial message—the merciful inclusion of the Gentile in the
purpose of God1
In a parallel passage of the Ep istle to the Coloss i ans w e find the
words, according to the di spensation of God whi ch w as given unto
me to you-ward ’; and an Engli sh reader might b e led to supposethat in our present passage the construction likewi se must b e, the
was given The ambigui ty, whi ch does not
exi st in the Greek, mi ght b e avoided by the renderi ng that grace
of God whi ch was given untome (so the Revi sed Version renders)b ut this expedi ent has the disadvantage of partially obscuring the
i dentity of a phrase whi ch recurs again and again in St Paul’s
ep istles”.
Both here and in Col. i 2 5 the dispensation’spoken of i s a
di spensation inwhi ch God i s the D ispenser, and not the admini s
tration, or stewardshi p , of any human agent. Thi s i s made clearby the parallel use of the word in i I O, and again below in ii i 9.
How tha t by revelati on was made known unto me themysteryWe have already noted 3
the signification of the word mystery or
secret and of its natural correlative apocalypse or revelation
By Divine di sclosure, St Paul declares, the D ivine secret had b eenmade known to him. The recognition of the wideness of God
’s
purpose was neither a conclusion of hi s own mind nor a tradi tion
passed on to himb y the earlier A postles. A special prov i dence had
prepared him, and a special call had claimed him,to b e the depos i tary
Gal. i 15 f. of a special revelation . It w as the good pleasure of God he says
Gal. u 2
elsewhere, in words that remind us of an ancient prophet‘
,who
separatedme, even frommymother’s womb , and called me through
His grace, to reveal His Son inme, that Imight p reach Himamongthe Gentiles And of hi s vi si t to the A postles in Jerusalemhe
says emphatically, I went up b y revelation, and I lai d beforethemthe Gospel whi ch I preach among the Genti les Themessage
1 See ab ove p . 5 1 ; and, for the 3
pp . 30 f. , 39.
detai led examination , see the detached Comp . Jer. i 5 ,‘Before I formed
note on xdpts. The use of theword in thee in the b elly I knew thee, and
the Acts i s in stri king harmony wi th b efore thou camest forth out of the
the usage of St Paul : see esp . xi . 2 3, womb I sanctified thee ; I have apxv n . pointed thee a prophet unto the2 The same amb igui ty meets us nations
’.
below in v. 7.
n zo f.
EXPOSITION or THE [111
in any other sense than hitherto. It i s no personal holiness to whi chthe A postle refers it i s the hallowing whi ch was thei rs in commonwi th the whole of the hallowed People. Here i s the answer tothe suggested d ifficulty, that whi le St Paul must certainly haveincluded himself among the ‘
apostles to whomthe revelati on came,
he would hardly have called himself ‘ holy ’, even in thi s indi rectfashion . There is no real incongrui ty. Not hi s holiness, b ut God
’s
hallowing i s in question—the hallowing whi ch extended to all the
memb ers of the hallowed People, even,as he would tell us, to
himself, though he w as‘ less than the least of themall.
Themention of the apostles and prophets, as those to whomthenew revelation wasmade, recalls and helps to explai n the posi tion of
the apostles and p rophets as the foundation of the holy temp le’
of God’s b uilding. Wi th the reference to the Sp iri t as themedium
of the revelation we may compare the p rayer for the Sp iri t of
revelation ’to b e the gui de of hi s readers into the knowledge of
God’s purpose. Here, as in some other places, the A postle
’s languagei s so vague that we cannot tell wi th enti re certainty whether herefers d i rectly to the personal Divine Spiri t, or rather desires tosuggest that the recep tion of the revelation i s a sp iri tual p rocess.
The actual phrase‘ in (the)Spiri t
’does not preclude either vi ew.
What, then, is the sub stance of thi s secret—old as eterni ty, yetnew in its disclosure tomankind ? The A postle has told us already
,
as he says,in bri ef : b ut now to remove all possi b le mi sconcep tion
he wi ll tell us once again, repeating in fresh words the imageswhi ch he has already so frui tfully employed. It is ‘ that the Genti les
arefellow -hei rs,andfellowmembers of the body , a/nd fellow-
p artakers
of the p romi se in Chri st Jesus through the gosp el ’.Themiddle termof thi s threefold descrip tion (aura
-mum)cann otb e rendered by any current Engli sh word. Concorporate a loan
fromthe Latin,and analogous to ‘ incorporate
’,i s the word we
want ; b ut, though i t has b een used in this connexion,i t i s not
sufficiently fami li ar to take i ts p lace in a rendering of the p assage.
In relation to the Body the members are‘ incorporate in relation
to one another they are concorporate’, that i s, sharers in the one
Body . The unusual Engli sh word mi ght indeed exp ress the factthat St Paul himself, in order to emphasize hi s meani ng, has hadrecourse to the formation of a new Greek compound 1.
1 The rendering of the L atin Vul fends the unusual Latin on the groundgate i s
‘cohaeredes et concorp orales et that i t was imp ortant to rep resent the
comparticip es ’(Amb rosiaster actually force of the rep eated compounds. ‘ I
has St Jerome de know’,he says,
‘that in L atin i t
111 6—9] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 79
Through the gosp el, whereof I was made a min i ster accordi ng i i i 6 if.
to the gift of the grace of God which was gi ven un to p reach
unto the There i s a close parallel in the Ep i stle to 001 424 if .
the Colossians : the Church, whereof I was made a mini ster ao
cording to the d i spensation of God whi ch was gi ven unto me toyou
-ward,to fulfil the word of God, (even)the mystery that hath
been hid &c. In b oth p assages the A postle emphasi ses the greatness of hi s p eculiarmi ssion,
whi ch corresponded to the widemercy ofGod to the Gentiles. Here he adds according to themight (or working
’
)of His p ower’ words whi ch remind us of Gal. i i 8, He that
wrought (or worked mighti ly for Peter unto the apostleship of
the Ci rcumcis ion, wrought forme also unto the Genti les
Oncemore he b reaks his sentence, lest, whi le as A postle of the Rom. xi
Genti les he glorified hi s min istry, he should for one moment seem‘ 3
to b e glorifying himself. Never d id a man more stoutly p ress hi sclaims : never w as a man more conscious of p ersonal unworthiness.
He w as not a whi t b ehind the very chiefest of the apostles yet 2 Cor. xi 5
he felt that he w as the least of the apostles and ‘not worthy to b e 1 Cor. xv 9
called an apostle’. He was less than the least of a ll sa i nts that is
,i i i 8
of all the holy Peop le of God : b ut yet the fact rema ined that tohimthi smarvellous grace of God had been given .
To preach unto the Genti les the unsearcha b le riches of Chri st’.
Hi smi ssion w as to b ring as the gospel- the verb of the original
takes up aga in the gospel’of v . 6— to the Genti les the inexplorab le
wealth of the Chri st. He can never sufii ciently admire the marvelof the D ivine inclusion of the Gentiles, or b e sufficiently thankfulthat i t i s hi s p rivi lege tomake it known to them.
‘ And to bri ng to light wha t is the disp ensation of the mystery i i i 9whichfromthe ages ha th been hid in God who crea ted a ll thi ngs S0
in the parallel already quoted he continues themystery that hath Col. 1 26been h id fromthe ages and fromthe generations, —b ut now it hathbeenman ifested to Hi s saints ’. The purpose of God i s an eternal
purpose a purpose of the ages’,as he says below in v. I O . It has
remained concealed since the b eginning of thi ngs ; b ut i t was the
very purpose of Creation i tself.A s the Creation includes other intelli gences b eside Man
,so the
makes an ugly sentence. But b ecause Version,
‘ fellow-heirs, and of the sameit so stands in the Greek , and b ecause b ody , and partakers &c.
,fails to re
every word and syllab le and stroke produce the reiterated compound (own)and p oint in the Divine Scrip tures i s of the original ; and I have therefore
full of mean ing, I prefer the ri sks of adopted the necessari ly p araphrastic
verbal mal formation to the ri sk of rendering of the Revi sed Version.
mi ssing the sense’. The Engli sh
80
i ii xo
Comp . i zz
i i i 2 1
v 23—32
i i i n
i i i 13
COL i . 2 4
EXPOSITION or THE [111 110—13
secret of the Divine purp ose in Creation i s pub li shed now to the
whole universe, as the justification of the Div ine dealing‘to the
i ntent tha t now unto the p r incip ali ti es and p ow ers i n the heavenly
placesmight bemade known through the chur ch theman ifold w i sdomof God
’. The A postle has found a perfectly sati sfying philosophy
of hi story he b elieves that i t i s ab le to ‘ justify the ways of God to
men ’; and not to men only, b ut also to those enqui ring sp i ri tual
powers of the heavenly sphere, who have va inly sought to explore
the design and themethods of the Creator and Ruler of the world .
Through the chu rch Thi s i s only the second time that theword Church ’ has been used in the ep i stle. We shall have i t
aga in at the end of the chapter in an equally emphati c posi tion‘ to Himb e glory in the Church and in Chri st Jesus ’. It recurss ix times in the important p assage whi ch closes chap . v. St Paulnever uses the word in thi s ep i stle in the sense of a local Chri stiansociety, though he does in two out of the four times in which i toccurs in the Ep i stle to the Colossians .
Through the Church‘ the very-varied wi sdomof God ismade
known to the universe. The metaphor i s taken fromthe intri cateb eauty of an embroidered pattern We have an echo of i t in I Pet.
iv 10 ,‘ themani fold (or varied grace of God
According to the p urp ose of the ages whichHe p urp osed in Chri st
Jesus our L ord’. The purp ose of the ages i s a Hebrai sti c phrase
for ‘ the eternal purpose’ just as w e say the rock of ages
’for
the everlasting rock fromthe Heb rew of Isa iah xxvi 4 .
‘ In whomwe have ou r boldness and access w i th confidence by the
fa i th of Him These words are an echo of i i 18, and forma simi larclimax. The i ssue of all is that w e are brought near to God Himself through faith in Chri st.
Wherefore I ask you tha t yefa int not a tmy tri bu la ti ons for you,whi ch ar e your glory
’. The meaning i s : I ask you not to lose
heart,when you hear of my suffering as the p ri soner of Chri st on
your behalf’. It might seem to some as though the A postle
’s
sufferings and imprisonment augured ill for the cause whi ch he
rep resented . Thi s was not the view that he himself took of
them.
‘ I rejoi ce in my sufferings on your behalf’,he says to the
Colossians,in a remarkable passage to whi ch w e have already had
occasion to refer at some length’. Never for a moment did he
himself lose heart. He saw a deep meani ng in h i s sufferings : theywere the glory of those for whomhe suffered . He commends thi sreason to hi s readers with a logi c whi ch we can hardly analyse.
1 See p 4+
III 13] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Perhap s he could scarcely have exp la ined i t to them. It is the
language of the heart .
81
The section whi ch we have b een considering forms,stri ctly i i i 1—13
speaking, a mere parenthesi s. It i s a personal explanation
occa sioned by the words, ‘ I Paul,the pri soner of Chri st Jesus
on behalf of you, the Genti les ’. But,though in form i t i s a
digression,whi ch sti ll further postpones the utterance of the
A postle’s Prayer, yet in the general movement of the thought of
the ep i stle i t p lays an essential part . Though he speaks fromh i s own p ersonal standpoint, the A postle
’s thought ranges before
and after, and he i s led to give us such a complete phi losophyof hi story as had never been attemp ted before. He i s confident
that he is in possession of the secret of the Creator Himself —‘ b yapocalyp se themystery has been known tomeHitherto he had been consideringmainly the effect of the work
of Chri st,in the reconciliation of the two Opposed sections of
humanity,in the recep tion of the Gentiles into the sacred common
wealth,and in the nearer approach of Jew and Gentile alike to the
one Father. But now he i s bold to trace the whole course of the
D ivine dealing wi th man ; to declare tha t through the ages one
increasing Purpose runs ’ and even to suggest that human hi storyi s intended to read a lesson to the universe.
The Purpose whi ch i s now made clear to himw as included in
the design of Creation i tself. But i t w as a hidden purpose, a Divinesecret, amystery of which the apocalyp se could not b e as yet.
‘The
sons ofmen ’had lived and d ied in ignorance of the secret of theirown lives and of the universe. Generation followed generation untilthe time was ripe for the di sclosure of ‘ the mystery of the Christ ’.A t last to the apostles and prophets of a new age the revelation was
given . Indeed to the less than the least of themall themessagehad b een p rimarily entrusted. His part i t had been to flash the
torch of li ght across the darkness ; to i lluminate past, p resent and
future at once,by shewing what is the d ispensation of themystery
that hath been hidden frometerni ty in God who created all things’.
It w as a glorious task through incessant toil and suffering hehad accomp li shed i t hi s imp ri sonment at Rome could only remindhimthat for hi s part the work w as done. Yet in a wider sense i twas only begun . The p rocess whi ch had been revealed to himwas
to move steadily on,in p resence of all the sp i ri tual forces of the
universe,who keenly watch the drama of thi s earthly theatre. For
they too through the Church are to learn ‘ the very-vari ed wi sdomi i i Io
of God,according to the purp ose of the ages whi ch He formed in
EPHES.9 6
i i i 5
i i i . 9
ill I4—2 1
i i i 14
ii i r
EXPOSITION or THE [III 14
the Chri st,even Jesus our Lord ’. A nd i t i s b ecause the p rocess
must go forward, and not slacken for anything that may occur to
him,that the pri soner in Chri st Jesus
’b ows hi s knees and li fts hi s
heart in p rayer to God .
“ For this cause I how my knees unto the Father,
I 5of
whomall fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named, I 6thatHe would grant you according to the riches of Hi s glory to
b e strengthened with power by His Spirit in the inner man,
1 7 that Chri stmay dwell through faith in your hearts in love ; yebeing rooted and founded, 18that yemay b e able to comprehendw ith all the saints what i s the breadth and length and height
and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which passeth
knowledge, that ye may b e filled unto all the fulness of God.
Now unto Himthat is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh
in us,
2 ‘ to Himb e glory in the church and in Christ Jesus,throughout all ages, world w ithout end. Amen.
Aftermany digressions, into whi ch he has been led by hi s desireto make plain not only what he p rays for, b ut on whose b ehalf he
prays, and what i s hi s relation to themwhi ch leads himso to p ray,the A postle succeeds at last in uttering the fulness of hi s Prayer.
The Prayer is in i ts final express ion, as i t w as at the outset,a
prayer for knowledge. That knowledge i s indeed declared to passman’s comp rehension ; b ut the brief doxology wi th whi ch the
peti tion closes recogni ses a Divine power to whi ch nothing i s
impossi b le.
‘For thi s cause’. These words are resumptive of the opening
words of the chapter, For thi s cause I Paul , the p ri soner of Chri stJesus for you, the Genti les
’. A ccord ingly they carry us back to
the great mercy of God to the Genti les (expounded in c. 11)as the
ground of the A postle’s Prayer. But the Prayer needed a s i ts
further p reface a reference to hi s own peculiar mission a s the
publi sher of the new declarati on of thatmercy, and to the sufferingsby whi ch he rejoi ced to seal hi s mi ssion. After thi s reference hasb een made and fully exp lained, he kni ts up the connexi on b yrepeating the words For thi s cause
I bow my knees to the Father ’. We shallmiss the solemni ty of
this introduction unless we ob serve how seldom the attitude of
kneeling in p rayer i s mentioned in the New Testament. Standing
111 EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS. 83
to p ray w as the rule comp . Matt. vi 5, Luke xvi ii 1 1 , 13. Kneeling
w as exp ressive of unusual emotion comp . L uke xxn 4 1 , A cts xxi 5.
Indeed when w e compare Luke xxn 41‘ kneeling down with Mark
x iv 35 He fell upon the ground and Matt . xxvi 39 He fell upon
Hi s face’, the p arallels point us to the fact that what there i smeant i s not our
‘ kneeling ’ in an up ri ght position, b ut kneelingwith the head touching the ground— the Eastern prostration. Thisw as and i s the sign of the deepest reverence and humi liation and
,
a s i s well known,the p osture w as forbidden in the early Church on
the Lord’s day .
But the significance of St Paul’s phrase becomes sti ll clearer,when we note that i t i s
,in i ts parti cular wording, deri ved froma
p assage of Isaiah (whi ch he quotes in Rom. xiv 1 1 and alludes to in
Phi l. i i I O) I have sworn b y unto Me every knee Isa. xlv
shall b ow ’. In that reverence, whi ch i s due only to the Supreme, 2 3
to whomit must needs one day b e rendered b y all,he bends low
b efore the Father.
‘The Fa ther, of whoma ll fatherhood i n heaven amt on earth i s i i i 14, 15
named’. A t the first commencement of hi s p rayer the Apostle hadspoken of God as
‘ the Father of glory’. In thi s we have one of i 1 7
several notab le parallels between the prayer as essayed in the first
chapter and the p rayer as comp leted in the thi rd chapter.It will b e instructive to b ring together here the various refer
ences whi ch St Paulmakes in thi s ep i stle to the fatherhood of God.
In hi s opening salutation w e find the words fromGod our Father i 2
and the L ord Jesus Chri st’ and similar words occur at the close vi 2 3
of the ep i stle. His great doxology Op ens w i th the words,Blessed i 3
b e the God and Father of our L ord Jesus Chri st and thi s title isresolved and emphasi sed, as w e have seen, in the form the God of i 1 7
our Lord Jesus Chri st, the Father of glory’. Presently he uses the
name ab solutely, in Speaking of ‘our access to the Father ’; and i i 18 f.
he follows i t by the sign ifi cant phrase, of the household of God’.
Then w e have our p resent descrip tion ,whi ch expands and interp rets
the ti tle ‘ the Father of glory and shortly afterwards w e find theab soluteness and uni versali ty of the fatherhood yet further de
clared in the words,
one God and Father of all,who i s over all iv 6
and through all and in all’. Then
,lastly, Chri stian duty is summed
up in the ob ligation to ‘
gi ve thanks always for all things in the v 2 0
name of our Lord Jesus Chri st to Himw ho i s God and Father’.
This surveymay help to shew us wi th what fulness of app reciationthe Apostle recogni ses the various aspects of the new truth of the
D ivine fatherhood as revealed toman in Jesus Chri st.‘The Fa ther
,of whoma ll fatherhood in heaven and on earth i s i i i 14. 15
001. i 20
Ph il. i i 10
Eph . i 17
EXPOSITION OF THE [III 15, 16
named ’. The li teral translation of the words rendered all fatherhood is every fami ly
’. But thi s translation entirely obscures to
an Engli sh reader the point of the A postle’s phrase. In Greek the
word for ‘ fami ly (warpwi)i s derived fromthe word for ‘ father’
(mi-nip). But in Engli sh the ‘ fami ly i s not named from the
father ’. So that to rep roduce the p lay upon words, whi ch lendsall i ts force to the original, w e must necessari ly resort to a p ara
phrase, and say‘the Father, of whomall fatherhood i s named ”
.
The addition of the words ‘ in heaven and on earth’reminds usof the large inclusiveness of the Divine purp ose as declared to us b ySt Paul . We have had this collocation already, where the A postlesp oke of the summing up of all things in Chri st,
‘ b oth whi ch are in
the heavens and whi ch are on earth’. Simi larly he tells us elsewherethat the reconciliation in Chri st includes ‘
all things, whether thingson the earth or things in the heavens
’. A nd i f in one p lace he adds
‘ things whi ch are under the earth as well,i t i s to declare that
there i s nothing anywhere whi ch shall not ultimately b e subject toChri st. In the p resent passage i t would b e i rrelevant to enqui rewhat fami lies in heaven ’
the A postle had in hi smind Hi s whole
point i s that the Father’—whomhe has before called the Fatherof glory — i s the source of all conceivable fatherhood , whether earthlyor heavenly.
A ccording to thi s notab le utterance of St Paul,God i s not only
the universal Father, b ut the archetypal Father, the Father of
whomall other fathers are deri vatives and types. So far fromregarding the Divine fatherhood as a mode of speech in referenceto the Godhead
,derived b y analogy fromour concep tion of human
fatherhood,the A postle maintains that the very idea of fatherhood
exi sts p rimari ly in the Divine nature,and only b y deri vation in
every other formof fatherhood,whether earthly or heavenly. The
All-Father i s the source of fatherhood wherever i t is found. Thi smay help us to understand something further of the meaning whi chis wrapped up in the ti tle
‘ the Father of glory’.
‘Tha tHe w ou ld grant you accord ing to the r i ches qf His glory tobe strengthened w i th p ower by H i s Sp i ri t in the inner man ’
. We
have already pointed to the close p arallel b etween the language of thep rayer as i t i s at first enunciated in chap . i and that of i ts fullerexp ression whi ch w e have now reached. In each case the p rayer i sdi rected to the Father the Father of glory (i the Father,of whomall fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named ’(i i i 14In each case p eti tion i s made for a gift of the Holy Sp iri t—
‘ that1 The L atin and Syriac versions , as in the same difficulty and escaped i t
wi ll b e seen in the commentary , were by a like p araphrase.
86
Isa. lv 8
COL i 'z6f.
EXPOSITION OF THE [111 117— 19
which has previ ously b eenmentioned . It i s only as they have thei r
roots struck deep and thei r foundation firmly la id in the fai th as
St Paul p rocla ims i t to them,that they can hope to advance to the
full knowledge for whi ch he p rays.‘Tha t ye may be ab le to comp rehend w i th a ll the sa i n ts wha t i s
the bread th and length and height and dep th’. In the original the
expression i s yetmore forcible that ye may have the strength tocomprehend
’. The clause dep ends on the p arti ci p les
‘ rooted and
founded ’; b ut it has a further reference to the words ‘ to b e
strengthened wi th p ower by Hi s Sp i ri t in the innermanThe Object of the knowledge for whi ch the A postle p rays was
stated with some fulness in i 18 f. ‘ that ye may know what i s thehope of Hi s calling, what the ri ches of the glory of Hi s inh eri tancein the saints and what the exceedingmight of His power to us—wardwho believe Here i t i s indi cated under vague terms chosen to
express i ts immensity. For the D ivi ne measures exceed humancomprehension : as i t i s wri tten, My thoughts are not your thoughts
’.
A nd yet in thi s boldest of p rayers the A postle ask s that theymayb e comprehended. The uttermost extent of the Divine purp ose i sthe goal, however unattainab le, of the knowledge for whi ch the
Apostle p rays.
‘ To comp rehend w i th all the sa ints’. The knowledge of the
Divine purpose i s the privi lege of ‘ the sa ints ’. So the A postlespeaks to the Colossians of ‘ the mystery whi ch w as
now it hath been made mani fest to His sa ints, to whomGod hathwi lled to make known ’
,(to. A s ye, says the A postle in effect
,are
now fellow-citizens of the saints’,and as your love goes out
‘towardsall the saints’, in verification of your oneness wi th them; so youmayshare "wi th all the saints’that knowledge whi ch i s God’s wi ll for them.
We need not exclude a further thought, whi ch, if i t i s not
expressed in these words, at least i s in full harmony wi th St Paul’sconception of the unity of the saints in God
’s One Man . The
measures of the Div ine purpose are indeed b eyond the comprehensionof any individual intelligence : b ut in union ‘wi th all the saints’w emay b e able to comp rehend them. Each saint may grasp someportion the whole of the saints— when ‘
w e all come to the perfectman’—may know,
as a whole, what must for ever transcend the
knowledge of the i solated ind ividual.‘And to know the love of Chr ist whi ch p asseth knowledge
’. These
words are a re statement of the aim,wi th a recogn ition that it i s
indeed b eyond attainment. The Father’s purpose i s coincident withthe Son
’s love both alike are inconceivab le
,unknowab le— and yet
the ultimate goal of knowledge.
111 19] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 87
‘That ye may be fi lled unto a ll the f ulness qf God’. The climax i i i
of the Apostle’s p rayer po ints to an i ssue even beyond knowledge.
He has p rayed for a superhuman strength , in order to the atta in
ment of an inconceivab le knowledge, which i s to result in what hecan only call fulness al l the fulness of God
’. What i s thi s
fulness for whi ch St Paul p rays, as the crowni ng b lessing of the
Genti les for whomhe has lab oured and suffered ?Fulness
, or fulfilment, i s a conception whi ch plays a p rominentpart in St Paul
’s thought both in thi s epi stle and in that whi ch hesent at the same time to the Colossian Church. It i s predi cated
sometimes of Chri st and sometimes of the Church . It i s spoken of
now as though already atta ined,and now as the ultimate goal of a
long process .
A gain and again, in these tw o ep i stles, w e find the thought of
the comp lete restoration of the universe to i ts true order, of the
ultimate correspondence of all things, earthly and heavenly, to theD iv ine ideal. Thi s i ssue i s to b e attai ned ‘ in Chri st’
,and at the
same time in and ‘through the Church’.
Thus,to recall some of the main passages , i t i s the purp ose of
God ‘ to gather up in one all things in Chri st,both that are in the i 10
heavens and that are on earth and again ,
‘ It hath pleased 001. i i g i .
through Himto reconcile all things unto theyb e things on earth or things in the heavens Under the figure of
the un iversal headship of Christ we have the same thought Who Col. 11 10is the head of every p rincipality and authority He set Himat Eph .i zo ff.
Hi s ri ght hand in the heavenly p laces above every p rincipali ty and
gave Him to b e head over all thi ngs to the
Church And the Church’s part in the great p rocess by whichthe result i s to b e a ttained i s further indi cated in the words that i i i 10theremi ght now b e made known to the p rincipalities and authori tiesin the heavenly p laces, through the Church, themani fold wi sdomof
God to whom’,as the A postle says later on,
b e the glory in the i i i 2 1Church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world wi thout
end’.
To exp ress thi s comp lete attainment of the end of all things in
Chri st and through the Church, the word fulness or fulfilmentwi th i ts verb ‘ to b e filled or
‘ fulfilled ’, is used in very variousways . Chri st Himself i s spoken of not only as
‘ filling or ful iv 10
filling all things b ut also as b eing‘all in all filled or fulfilled i 2 3
In close connexion both wi th Chri st’s headship of the Church, andalso wi th the reconci liation of all things, the A postle speaks of all Col. i
the fulness as residing in Chri st : ‘ for i t hath p leased God thatin Himshould all the fulness dwell
,and through Himto reconcile
88 EXPOSITION OF THE [111 19
all things unto Himself’. The Church i s exp ressly sa id to b e the
fulness ’of Chri st,fulfilling Himas the body fulfils the head. A ll
the members of the Church are to meet at last in a perfect Man,
and so to atta in to themeasure of the stature of the fulness of the
Chri st And for the saints the A postle here p rays that they‘may
be filled unto all the fulness of God’.
One remarkable passage rema ins, in whi ch fulnes s’i s p redi catedCol. 11 9 at once of Chri st and of the sa ints : ‘ for in Himdwelleth all the
fulness of the Deity in a bodi ly way, and ye are fi lled (or,‘ fulfil led
in 'Him’. It is usual to limi t the reference of thi s passage to theincarnation of Chri st in Hi s indi vidual human body, and to take i tas meaning that in that b ody resides the Godhead in all i ts completeness. But this i s to neglect St Paul
’s special use of the termsfulness and ‘ body as they recur again and aga in in these
ep i stles. For w e have already had in the p revious chap ter theCol. i 19 expression that in Himshould all the fulness dwell’ and w e have
Eph . i i i 19 also to reckon wi th the phrase that ye may b e filled unto all the
fulness of God’. Moreover, when St Paul refers to the individual
human body of Chri st in these ep i stles, he does so in unmi stakeab lei i 14 terms, speaking either of His flesh ’ or of the body of Hi s flesh001° i 7 2 But the body of the Chri st’to St Paul i s the Church .
When w e bear thi s in mind,w e at once understand the appro
priateness of the second clause of thi s passage : and ye are filled
(or‘fulfilled ’) in Him
’. The relation of Chri st to the Church i s
such that Hi s fulness i s of necessity also i ts fulness. A nd,
further, the whole passage thus interp reted ha rmoni zes wi th its001. 11 8 th context. ‘ Take heed
’,says the Apostle, if w e may paraphrase
his words, ‘ lest there b e any who in h i s dealings wi th you i s a
despoi ler through hi s philosophy (so-called)or emp ty deceit (as i tis in truth). Emptiness i s all that he has to offer you : for heexchanges the tradi tion of the Christ
,whi ch you have received
(v. for the tradition of men : he gives you the world-elementsin place of the heavenly Chri st. For in Chri st dwells all thefulness (as I have already sa id), yea, all the fulness of the Dei ty
,
expressing itself through a b ody a body,in whi ch you are incor
porated, so that in Himthe fulness i s yours for He who i s yourhead i s indeed uni versal head of all that stands for rule andauthority in the universe’.
Thus St Paul looks forward to the ultimate i ssue of the D ivinepurpose for the un iverse. The p resent stage i s a stage of imperfection : the final stage wi ll b e perfection . A ll i s now incomplete inthe i ssue all wi ll b e complete. And thi s comp leteness, thi s fulfilment
, thi s attainment of purpose and realisation of i deal,i s found
2—13
i i i 2 1
EXPOSITION OF THE [IV 1
another in love ; 3giving di ligence to keep the uni ty of the
Spirit in the bond of peace.4There i s one body and one Spiri t,
even as also ye are called in one hope of your calling : 5one
Lord , one faith,one baptism 6
one God and Father of all, who
i s above all and through all and in all.
I therefore, the p ri soner i n the Lord, beseech you’. He repeats the
title ‘
pri soner’ by whi ch he has already described himself ; and
thereb y he links this section to the long parenthesis in whi ch he has
interp reted hi s use of i t. He seems to say : I ama p risoner now,
and no longer an active messenger of Jesus Chri st. I can indeed
wri te to you,and I can pray for you . But with yourselves hence
forward rests the p racti cal reali sation of the i deal whi ch i t has been
mymi ssion to p roclaimto you.
We have already had occasion to draw attention to the Special
usage of St Paul in regard to the names ‘Chri st’and ‘the Lord ”.
It i s in full harmony wi th thi s usage that he has p revi ously calledhimself ‘ the p ri soner of Chri st Jesus
’
,emphasi sing his sp ecialmi ssion
to declare the new position of the Genti les ‘ in Chri st’ whereas nowhe says, ‘ the p ri soner in the Lord’
,as he begins to speak of the
outcome of the new position, the corporate life ruled b y the Lo rd ’.‘Tha t ye wa lk worthy of the calling wherewi th ye are ca lled
’. The
great human unity, whi ch the A postle regards as the goal of the
Divine purpose, has been created and already exi sts in Chri st. It
is being p rogressively reali sed as a fact in the world ofmen by theChurch, which i s ‘ the body of the Chri st
’and Hi s ‘ fulfilment ’.
Through the Church ’,
as fulfilli ng the Chri st,the very-varied
wi sdomof the Divine purpose is b eing taught to the intelligences ofthe sp i ritual sphere.
‘ In the Church and in Chri st Jesus the
Divine purp ose i s to find i ts consummation to the eternal gloryof God.
It i s the respons ibili ty of the members of the Church for the
preservation and mani festation of thi s uni ty,whi ch the Apostle
now seeks to enforce. You, he says, have been called into the
unity, whi ch God has created in Chri st you have been chosen intothis commonwealth of p rivi lege, thi s household of God : you are
stones in thi s Temp le, members of thi s Body. Thi s i s your highvocation ; and, if you would b e true to i t, youmust ever b emindfulof the whole of whi ch you are parts,mak ing your conduct worthy ofyour incorporation into God
’s New Man .
Wi th all lowliness and meekness,w i th long
-sufi ri ng, forbearimg1 See ab ove
, p . 72 .
IV 2 ] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 9 I
one another in love’. It i s the mental di sposi tions whi ch p romote
the ri ght relation of the parts to the whole and to each other in the
whole, that the Apostle first demands of them. His experience hadtaught himthat these di spositions were indi spensab ly necessary forthemaintenance of unity.
This emphati c appeal for‘ lowliness of mind’, as the first of
v i rtues to whi ch thei r new posi tion p ledged them,must have beenp eculiarly imp ressive to converts fromheatheni sm. To the Greekmind humi lity w as little else than a vi ce of nature. It was weakand mean-sp iri ted ; i t was the temper of the slave ; it was incon
si stent wi th that self-respect which every trueman owed to himself.The fulness of life
,as i t was then conceived, left no roomfor
humi lity. It was reserved for Chri stianity to unfold a di fferentconcep tion of the fuln ess of li fe
,in whi ch servi ce and self-sacrifice
were shewn to b e the highest mani festations of power, whetherhuman or Divine . The largest li fe w as seen to claimfor i tself the
right of humb lest servi ce. The Jew had indeed b een taughthumi lity in the Old Testament, on the ground of the relation of
man to God . The high and lofty One that inhab i teth eternity’Isa. lvu 15
would only dwell ‘with himthat i s of a contri te and humble sp i ri t’.
But the Gosp el went far further and p roclaimed that humility was
not the vi rtue of weakness only. The h ighest life, in the fullest
consciousness of i ts power, exp resses i tself in acts of the deep est
humi li ty .
‘ Jesus,knowing that the Father had given all things John xi i i
into His hands,and that He w as come fromGod
,and went to God ; 4
f‘
He ri seth from supper, and laid aside Hi s garments, and took a
towel and gi rded Himself. A fter that he poureth water into a
b ason,and b egan to wash the d i scip les
’feet
,and to wipe themwi th
the towel wherewith He was gi rded’. It is in harmony wi th thi s
that St Paul,in a great theologi cal passage, treats humi li ty as the
characteri sti c lesson of the Incarnation i tself. In lowliness of Phil. u 3
mind he pleads,‘ let each esteemother better than themselves
L et thi s mind be in you,whi ch was also in Chri st J
humb led HimselfIn our p resent passage the A postle enforces humi lity on the
ground of the relation ofman to man in the great human unity. A
larger life than that of the indi vidual has b een revealed to him. Its
law i s that of mutual servi ce : and i ts fir st requi si te i s the sp irit Ofsubordination,
lowliness ofmind andmeekness’.Wi th long-suf ering, forbearing one another ’. The patient sp iri t
b y whi ch each makes allowance for the fai lures of the other, isclosely related to the lowliness ofmind’
,b y whi ch each esteems the
other better than himself.
92
ii i s fi .
EXPOSITION OF THE [IV 2 , 3
‘In love’. Here
,as so often in thi s ep i stle, love i s introduced as
the climax,the comp rehensive v i rtue of the new li fe whi ch includes
all the rest’. In the Ep i stle to the Colossians the same thought i sevenmore emphati cally exp ressed Put ye ofmind
,
meekness, long-suffering forbearing one over and
above all these,love
,whi ch i s the b ond of p erfectness
‘Gi ving d i ligence to keep the wh i ty of the Sp i ri t i n the bond of
p eace’. The word ‘
endeavouring’,whi ch the A uthori sed Version
employs in thi s p lace, has come to suggest in our modern usage toomuch of the possib i li ty of fai lure to b e strong enough to give theApostle
’smeaning. The word whi ch he uses has an eagerness aboutit,whi ch i s d ifficult to rep resent in Engli sh
? The Church to himwas the embodiment of the D ivine purpose for the world : i t was
the witness tomen of the unity of mankind . What would becomeof thi s witness
,how should the purpose i tself b e reali sed , i f the
un i ty of the Church were not p reserved Wellmight he urge uponhis readers eagerly and earnestly to ma inta in their oneness. Theymustmake a point of p reserving i t they must take care to keep i t.
To keep the uni ty’. The unity i s spoken of as a thing whi ch
already exi sts. It i s a reality of the sp i ri tual world . It i s a gift of
God whi ch is committed tomen to keep intact. A t the same time,
as St Paul wi ll p resently shew,i t i s a unity which i s ever enlarging
i ts range and contents until we all come to the unity’. The unitymust b e maintained in the process, i f i t is to b e atta ined in the
result.The uni ty of the Sp i ri t
’. Hi therto St Paul has avo ided the
ab stract word,and has used concrete terms to exp ress the thought
of uni ty :‘one man i n one one Sp iri t
’. Indeed the
characteri stically Chri stian word to exp ress the idea i s not ‘ unity’
or oneness (évé-nj e), b ut the more liv ing and frui tful term ‘com
munion ’or
‘ fellowshi p’
(Kowuwia): a term implying not a metaphysi cal conception b ut an active relationshi p see
,for examp le,
A cts i i 42 , 2 Cor. xi i i 14, Phil. i i 1 . Yet the more abstract termhas its value : the oneness of the Sp i ri t underlies the fellowshipof the Holy Sp i rit
’
, whi chmani fests and interp rets i t.
By a mi schievous carelessness of exp ression, un i ty of sp i ri t i s
commonly spoken of in contrast to corporate uni ty’,and as though
1 Compare for the emphatic posi whi ch are used to render the corretion of the phrase
‘ in love’, i 4, i i i 17, Sp onding sub stantive (mouse)in 2 Cor.
iv 15, 16. vi i 1 1 f.,vi i i 7 f. , 16 :
‘carefulness ’
,9 The range of the word and the ‘
care’,
‘ diligence’,
‘ forwardness ’,
di fficulty of adequately translating i t earnest care ’.may b e illustrated b y the five synonyms
'
94
Col. i i i 1 1
iv 7— 16
EXPOSITION OF THE (IV . 6, 7
interpretation ; b ut they cannot in themselves comp el us to abandon
the widermeani ng.
The Apostle i s indeed p rimari ly thinking of the Body of Chri st
and all i tsmembers . The unity of that Body i s the truth whi ch heseeks to enforce. But when he has ri sen at length to find the source
of human unity in the uni ty of the Divine fatherhood , hi s thoughtwidens i ts scope. The words Father of all’cannot b e less inclusive
than the earlier words, The Father of whom all fatherhood inheaven and on earth i s named ’. A nd the fin al clause,
‘Who i s
ab ove all and through all and in all’,i s true not only of all intelli
gentbeings whi ch can cla imthe Div ine fatherhood, b ut of the total
range of things, over whi ch God i s sup reme, through whi ch He
moves and acts, andmwhi ch He dwells.
It w as a startling experiment in human life whi ch the A postle
was striving to reali se. Looked at fromwi thout,his new un ity w as
a somewhat b izarre combination . Greek and Jew, circumci sion
and uncircumci sion, b arb ari an, Scythian, b ondman, freeman —all
these are nomore, he b oldly p roclaims to the Colossians, b ut all in
all i s Chri st’. The putting on of the New Man’,he goes on to tell
them,involved the weldi ng into one of all these heterogeneous
elements ; or rather the p ersi stent di sregard of these d i stinctions,in
p resence of the true human element, whi ch should so far dominateas p racti cally to efface them. In every-day life thi smade a heavy demand upon the new virtues of self-efl
'
acement andmutual forb earance.
A ccord ingly he declares, in language closely parallel to that whi chhe uses in thi s ep i stle, that to put on the New Man is to put on
the heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness ofmind,meekness, longsufl
'
ering ; b earing one with another,and forgiving each other
,if
any have a complaint against any’. Over and above all these
things theymust put on‘ love
,whi ch i s the bond of perfectness
’.
A nd the paramount consideration whi ch must decide all i ssues isthe peace of the Chri st unto whi ch they have been called
‘ in one
7BUT unto every one of us i s given grace, according to the
measure of the gi ft of Christ. 8Wherefore it saith
When He ascended up on high,He led a captivi ty captive,
And gave gifts untomen.
9Now that,He ascended, what i s it b ut that He also
descended into the lower parts of the earth ? He that
descended, He it i s that also ascended above all heavens,that
IV 7] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Hemight fill all things. And He gave some,apostles ; and
some,prophets ; and some
,evangelists ; and some
,pastors and
teachers ;M for the perfecting of the saints for the work of
mini stry,for the bui lding of the body of Chri st
,
I 3ti ll we all
come to the unity of the fai th and of the knowledge of the Son
of God,to a perfectman , to themeasure of the stature of the
fulness of Chri st : 14 that we b e no longer chi ldren, tossed to
and fro and carried about w ith every w ind of doctrine,by the
sleight of men, by craftiness according to the wiles of error ;
1 5b ut maintaining the truth in love,may grow up into Himinall things ; which i s the head , even Chr i st,
16fromwhomthe
whole body,fitly framed together and compacted by every joint
of i ts supply,according to the effectual working in themeasure
of each several part, maketh the increase of the body, unto
the bui lding thereof, in love.
‘Bu t un to every one of u s i s given grace, accord ing to themeasure iv 7of the gift of Chri st
’. The recognition of the whole i s to St Paul
the starting-point for the consi deration of the position of the indi
vidual parts. For the uni ty of whi ch he speaks i s no b arrenuni formity it i s a uni ty in di versity. It secures to the indi vidual
hi s true p lace of respons i b i li ty and of honour.
In order to app reciate the language of thi s passage we mustrecall the phraseology whi ch the A postle has used aga in and again
in the earlier part of chap . ii i . He has there spoken of the grace i i i 2Of God whi ch was given’to himon b ehalf of the Genti les. He w as
mademini ster of the Gosp el whi ch included the Gentiles according i i i 7to the gi ft of that grace of God whi ch w as given ’to him to himfor he will repeat i t the thi rd time— though less than the least of
the holy peop le— ‘ thi s grace w as given, to p reach to the Genti les i i i 8
the unexplorab le wealth of the Christ’. Thi s reiterated identificat ion of hi s special mi ss ion wi th the gift of grace i llustrates the
passage b efore us. To each indi vi dual,if not to all in likemeasure,
the same grace has b een given. The Divinemercy in i ts world-wideinclusiveness i s committed to each member of the holy peop le, not
as a privi lege only, b ut also as a responsi b ili ty1.
‘According to the measure of the gift of Chri st’. The gra ce is
1 Compare Ph il. i 7, where St Paul nexi on wi th ‘ the defence and con
Speaks of the Phi li pp ians as ‘ fellow firmati on of the Gospel’.
p artakers with himof grace’,in con
EXPOSITION OF THE [IV
the same ; b ut Chri st gives i t in d i fferent measures, as the A postlep roceeds to explain .
A t this point w emay usefully compare wi th the p resent contextas a whole a parallel passage in the Ep i stle to the Romans, inwhi ch
,after the A postle has closed hi s di scussion of the wi de inclu
siveness of the Divi ne mercy, he calls for a fitting response in the
conduct of those to whomi t has come. The language of the two
passages offers several similari ties . The openi ng phrase, wi th whi chhe passes fromdoxology to exhortation, i s in each case the same :‘ I b eseech you therefore
’. There
,a s here
,the grace whi ch i s given
tome ’leads the way to‘ the grace whi ch i s given to us There
too w e find an app eal for humi li ty on the ground of the one Bodyand the di strib ution of functions among i ts members, ‘
as God hathdealt to every man the measure of fai th ‘Having gifts
’
,the
A postle continues,‘whi ch are d iverse according to the grace whi ch
i s given to us ’ and he adds a catalogue of these gi fts, whi ch w e
shall p resently have to compare wi th that whi ch follows in thi s
ep istle. These various functions, d iverse according to the di stribution of the grace— such is the Apostle
’s teaching in both placesare indisp ensable elements of a vi tal uni ty.
Wherefore i t sa i th : When He a scended up on high, He led a
cap ti vi ty cap tive, and gave gifts tomen’. The A postle has already
connected the exaltation of Chri st wi th the power that i s at workin themembers of Hi s Church . The vari ed gi fts b estowed by theexalted Chri st now recall to hi s mind the ancient p i cture of the
vi ctori ous king, who mounts the heights of the sacred citadel of
Zion, with hi s cap tives in hi s train, and di stri b utes his largess from
the spoi ls of war. It i s the connexion between the ascension and
the gi fts, whi ch the A postle desi res to emphasi se ; and the onlywords of the quotation on whi ch he comments are ‘He ascended ’
and ‘He gave’.
‘Now tha t,He ascended
, what i s i t bu t tha t He also descended
into the lower p arts of the earth Desiring to shew that the p owerof Chri st ranges throughout the uni verse, St Paul first notes thatHi s ascent implies a p revi ous descent. Thi s descent was below theearth, as the ascent i s above the heavens.
‘He tha t descended,He i t i s tha t also ascended above all heavens
,
thatHemightfil l a ll thi ngs’. Fromi ts depths to i ts heights He has
compassed the universe. He has left nothing unvi sited b y Hi sp resence . For He i s the Divine Fulfiller
, to whomi t appertains inthe purpose of God to fill all things wi th their app rop riate fulnessto
.
bring the uni verse to i ts destined goal, i ts final correspondenceWi th the Divine ideal. Compare what has b een said above on i ii 19.
EXPOSITION OF THE
Thi s i s not the p lace to di scuss the development of the ofli cial
mini stry : b ut i t may b e p ointed out that i t ri ses in importance as
the first generation of apostoli c and p ropheti c teachers passes away ,
as the very designations of ‘apostle
’and ‘
p rophet’gradually d is
appear, and as all that i s p ermanently essential to the Church of the
apostoli c and pr0phetic functions i s gathered up and secured in the
officialmini stry i tself.The recovery of the Didaché, or Teaching of the A postles, has
thrown fresh light on the hi story of the first tw o terms of St Paul’slist l . It shews us a later generation of apostles
’,who are what w e
should rather term‘mi ss ionari es ’. They pa ss fromp lace to p lace,asking only for a ni ght
’s lodging and a day’s rati ons. They would
seemto correspond to the evangeli sts of St Paul’s catalog ue,who
carried the Gospel to regions hi therto unevangeli sed ; Thi smentionof themestabli shes b eyond further question that w i der use of the
name ‘apostle
’,for the recogn i tion of wh i ch B ishop L ightfoot had
already v igorously pleaded’.
Yetmore interesting i s the p i cture whi ch the D ida ché draws forus of the Chri stian p rophets. It shews us the p rophets as pre
eminent in the communi ty whi ch they may v i sit, or in whi ch theymay choose to settle . They appear to celeb rate the Euchari st, andthat wi th a sp ecial liturgi cal freedom. They are to b e regarded as
beyond cri tici sm,i f their genuineness as p rophets has once been
estab li shed . They are the p roper recip ients of the ti thes and firstfrui ts of the communi ty, and thi s for a noteworthy reason :
‘ for
they are your high-p ri ests’. A nd when at the close of the book
‘ b ishop s and deacons’are for the first time mentioned , honour i s
claimed for themin these signi ficant terms For they alsomini sterunto you the mini stration of the p rophets and tea chers : thereforedesp i se themnot ; for they are your honourab le ones together wi ththe prophets and teachers
’. In this p rimi tive p i cture i t i s instruc
tive to Ob serve that the mini stry of ofli ce i s in the b ackground,overshadowed at p resent b y a mini stry of enthusiasm,
b ut destinedto ab sorb i ts functions and to survi ve i ts fall.
‘For the p erfecti ng of the sa in ts for the w ork of min i stry’. The
1 The D i daché was pub li shed b y regard i t as rep resentative of the
Archb p Bryennius in 1883. In i ts general condi ti on of the Church at so
present formi t i s a compos ite work, late a p eriod : i t would appear ratherwhi ch has emb odied a very early (pos to b elong to some i solated communi ty ,s ib ly Jewi sh)manual of conduct. Its in wh ich there lingered a cond iti on of
locali ty i s uncertain , and i t cannot life and organi sation wh ich had else
b e dated with p rudence earli er than where p assed away.
ab out 130 It i s imp ossib le to 2 L ightfoot, Ga la ti ans , p . 95.
IV 12,13] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 99
second of these clausesmust b e taken as dep endent on the first,and
not (as in the A uthori sed Version) a s coordinate wi th i t. The
equipment of themembers of the Body for their function of servi ceto the whole i s the end for whi ch Chri st has gi ven these gi fts toHi s Church . If the li fe and growth of the Body i s to b e secured
,
everymemb er of i t,and not only those w ho are techni cally called
‘mini sters must b e taught to serve. More eminent servi ce indeedi s rendered b y those memb ers to whomthe A postle has exp li ci tlyreferred ; b ut thei r serv i ce i s specially designed to p romote theserv i ce in due measure of the rest : for, as he tells us elsewhere,‘ thosememb ers of the body whi ch seemto b e feeb ler are necessary’. 1 Cor. x11
Thus ‘ the work of mini stry ’ here sp oken of corresponds to the 2 2
‘
grace given to every one of us’
,whi ch i s the subject of thi s iv 7
section .
A n i llustrative examp le of thi s mini stry of sa ints to saints i s tob e found in St Paul’s reference to an interesting group of Corinthi anChri stians : ‘ I beseech you, brethren ,
-
ye know the house of Ste I Cor. xvi
phanas, that i t i s the firstfru its of A cha ia,and that they have
’5 ff’
add icted themselves to themini stry of the sa ints 1,— that ye submi t
yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth wi th us and
laboureth . I amglad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatusand A chai cus : for that whi ch w as lacking on your part they havesupp lied : for they have refreshed my sp i ri t and yours : thereforeacknowledge ye themthat are such ’
. Fromword s lik e these wemay see that every kind ofmutual servi ce is included in the earlyand unofficial sense of thi s word mini stry’.
Ifmini stry such as thi s i s characteri sti c of eachmember of theBody
,i t w as p reeminently characteri sti c of the Head Himself
‘The Son of Man came not to b emini stered unto, b ut tomi ni ster Mark x
‘ I amamong you as he that min i stereth’. mi l
For the bu i ld ing of the body of Chri st’. Thi s i s the p rocess to iv 13
the forwardi ng of which all that has been spoken of i s d i rected .
In descri b ing i t St Paul combines, as he has done before, h is tw ofavouri temetaphors of the temple and the b ody. He has p rev iously 11 2 1
sa id that the b ui lding of the Temp le grows : here, conversely, heSpeaks of the Body as being b ui lded.
T i ll w e all come to the un i ty of thefa i th a nd of the know ledge ofthe Son of God Uni ty has been sp oken of
,first of all, as a gift to
b e kept it i s now regarded as a goal to b e attained. Un ity, as i texi sts already and i s to b e eagerly guarded, i s a sp i ri tual ratherthan an intellectual oneness ; the v i tal uni ty of the one Sp i ri t in
1 L i terally ,‘ they have app ointed themselves untomi ni stry to the saints
IOO EXPOSITION or THE [IV 13
the one body.Unity
,as i t i s ultimately to b e reached by all the
saints together, wi ll b e a consciously reali sed oneness, p roduced b y
fai th in and knowledge of the Son of God. We are one now : in
the end w e all shall know ourselves to b e one.
The Son of God St Paul i s so careful in h i s use of the vari ous
des ignations of our L ord, that w e may b e confident that he has
some reason here for inserting betw een tw omentions of the Chri st ’
thi s ti tle, ‘ the Son of God’,whi ch does not occur elsewhere in the
epi stle. It i s i nstructive to compare a passage in the Ep istle to the
11 20 Galatians, where a simi lar change of titles i s made. I have b een
crucified wi th Chri st ’, says the A p ostle, and I no longer live, b ut
inme Chri st lives and the li fe whi ch now I live in the flesh,I li ve
by the faith of the Son of God, who lovedme and delivered Himselfup for me
’. He with whomhe has been crucified
,He who now
lives in him,i s ‘ Chri st ’: He whose love brought Him down to
suffer is ‘ the Son of God’. The title i s changed to one whi ch
John xvi i 5 recalls the glory whi ch Christ had wi th the Father before the worldwas
,in order to heighten the thought of Hi s condescending love.
And so in our present passage, when he i s treating of the relation of
our Lord to Hi s Church, he speaks of Himas‘ the Chri st ’ (for the
article i s used in b oth places in the original): b ut when he woulddescribe Himas the object of that fai th and knowledge, in whi ch our
uni ty will ultimately b e reali sed,he uses the words the fa ith and the
knowledge of the Son of God 3 thereby suggesting, as i t would seem,
the thought of Hi s eternal exi stence in relation to the Divine Father.
Ti ll we a ll a p erfect man’that i s, all of us together
(for thi s i s implied b y the Greek) to God’s New Man
,grown at
length to full manhood . Not ‘ to perfect men’: for the A postle
uses the plural of the lower stage only : that w e b e no longer
children ’i s hi s own contrast. We are to grow out of our indi
vidualisminto the corporate oneness of the full-grown Man.
To themeas'wre of the stature of thefu lness of Chri st (or, of the
that i s, to the full measure of the complete stature, or
maturity, of the fulfi lled Chri st. We cannot forget that St Paulhas already called the Church the fulness of Himwho all in all i s
being fulfilled’. But in using the exp ression ‘ the fulness of the
Chri st ’ in this place, he i s thinking of more than ‘ the Church,
whi ch i s His Body’. For here w e get once more to the b ackground
of St Paul’s thought, in whi ch the Body and the Head together are
ultimately the one Chri st the Chri st that is to b eIn the New Man
, grown to perfect manhood , St Paul finds theconsummation of human life. He thus takes us on to the i ssue of
the new creation whi ch he spoke of in chap . 11. There the one new
102 EXPOSITION OF THE [IV 14, 15
2 Cor. 2 of teaching. Ours i s not, he had once said to the Corinthians, theversati lity of the adep t, whi ch plays tri cks wi th the D iv inemessage.
So here he warns us that sub tleti es and over-refinements end in
error. Wemust keep to the simple w ay of truth and love.
‘ Bu t ma inta i ni ng the tru th i n love In thi s ep i stle St Paul i snot controversial. He attacks no formof false doctrine, b ut onlygives a general warning against themi schievous refinements of oversub tle teachers . W i th the
‘error’ to whi ch these things lead he
b ri efly contrasts the duty of mainta ini ng the truth in love’
and
then at once he returns to the central truth of the harmony and
growth of God’s one Man .
‘May grow up into Himi n a ll things’. The next words
,whi ch
i s the head seemat first sight to suggest that the A postle’smeani ng
is ‘may grow up into Himas the head’. But although the limb s ofthe b ody are p resently spoken of as deriv ing their growth fromthehead— the head b eing regarded as the source of that harmony of thevarious parts which i s essential to healthy development— i t wouldb e di fficult to give a meaning to the exp ression
‘ to grow up into
the head’. A ccordingly i t i s b etter to regard the words may grow
up into Him in all thi ngs as complete in themselves. WhatSt Paul desires to say i s that the children are to grow up , not
each into a separateman, b ut all into One,the perfectman
’,who
is none other than the Chri st.The law of growth for the individual i s thi s : that he should
learn more and more to live as a part of a great whole ; that heshould consciously reali se the life ofmembership , and contri b ute hisappropriate share towards the completeness of the corporate uni tyand that thus his exp anding facul ties should find their full p lay inthe large and ever enlarging li fe of the One Man . It i s to this thatSt Paul points when he says,
‘ that w e b e no longer chi ldren,b ut
grow up into Himevery whit’.In one of the most remarkab le poems of the In Memori am
Tennyson suggests that the attainment of a defini te self-consciousnessmay b e a p rimary purpose of the indivi dual
’s earthly life l
Thi s use may lie in b lood and b reath ,
Which else were frui tless of their due,Had man to learn himself anew
Beyond the second b irth of Death .
We gather fromSt Paul that there i s a further lesson whi ch w e are
called to learn— the consci ousness of a larger life, in whi ch in a
sense w e lose ourselves, to find ourselves again,no longer i solated ,
1 In Memori am, xlv.
IV 15] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
b ut related and coordinated in the Body of the Chri st. That the
poet, too, knew something of the mystery of thi s surrender of theind ividual li femay b e seen fromhi s Prologue
Thou seemest human and di vine,
The highest, holiestmanhood, thouOur wi lls are ours
,we know not how ;
Our wi lls are ours , to make themthi ne.
Which i s the head,even Chr i st Backwards and forwards the
A postlemoves , wi th no concern for logi cal consi stency, between theconception of Chri st as the Whole and the concep tion of Chri st as
the Head of the Body . The newness of the thought which he i sendeavouring to develope
— the thought of human uni ty real isedthrough and in the Chri st— i s doub tless responsible for theseoscillations. We feel that the conception is being worked out
for the first time,and w e watch the struggle of language in face of
the d ifficul ties whi ch p resent themselves. The initial d ifficulty i sto conceive of a numb er of persons as forming in a real sense one
body’. In common parlance thi s d i fficulty i s not recogn i sed ,b ecause the word ‘body’ i s used merely to s igni fy an aggregationof persons more or less loosely held in relation to one another, andits proper meani ng of a structural uni ty is not seriously p ressed.
But just in p roportion as‘a body’i s felt tomean a li ving organi sm,
the d ifii culty remains. An d St Paulmakes i t abundantly clear thatit i s a liv ing organi sm— a human frame with all i ts mani fold struc
ture i nsp ired by a single life—wh i ch offers to himthe true concep
tion of humani ty as God wil l have i t to b e.
A further difii culty enters when the relation of Chri st to thisBody comes to b e defined . It i s natural at once to think of Himas
i ts Head : for that i s the seat of the brain whi ch controls and unifiesthe organi sm. But thi s concep tion does not always suffice. For
103
Chri st i s more than the Head. The whole Body, in St Paul’s Bom. x11 5
language, i s‘ in Him’
; the several pa rts‘
grow up into Him’.
Even more than thi s,the whole i s identified with Him:
‘ for as 1 Cor.mlthe b ody i s one and hath many members, and all the memb ers of 1 2
the body being many are one b ody ; so also is the Chri st ’. In the
New Man‘ Chri st i s all and in all ’. Identified wi th the whole 001. i i i 1 1
Body, He grows wi th i ts growth and wi ll find Hi s own fulfilmentonly in i ts complete maturi ty .
We are not therefore to b e surp ri sed at the rap id i ty of the trans iti on
“
b y whi ch the A postle here p asses fromthe thought of Chri stas the Whole, into whi ch w e are growing up , to the thought of Himas the Head
,upon which the Body
’s harmony and growth depends .
104
1I Z I
Col. 11 19
Col. iv 14
i115, i i i 4f1‘
.
EXPOSITION or THE [Iv
Fromwhomthe whole body ,fi tly framed together and comp actedby every j oi nt of its supp ly
’. The expression fitly framed together
i s repeated fromthe descrip tion of the building p rocess whi ch has
already furni shed a figure of structural, though not organ i c, uni ty.
The remainder of the passage i s found again , with slight verbal
variations, in the Ep istle to the Coloss ians‘ fromwhomthe whole
body,furni shed out and compacted b y the joints and bands,
increaseth wi th the increase of God’. The A postle i s using the
physiologi cal terms of the Greek med ical writers . We can almost
see himturn to the b eloved physi cian’,of whose presence he tells
us in the companion ep istle, b efore venturing to Speak in technical
language of every ligament of the whole apparatus of the humanframe. There i s no reference either here or in the Ep istle to the
Colossians to a supply of nourishment, b ut rather to the completesystemof nerves andmuscles by whi ch the limbs are kn i t together
and are connected with the head.
‘According to the eflectual worki ng i n themeasure of each several
pmt’that is
,as each several part in i ts due measure performs its
app ropriate function. Uni ty in vari ety i s the A postle’8 theme :
uni ty of structure in the whole, and variety of function in the
several component parts : these are the conditions of growth upon
whi ch he insists.Maketh the i ncrease of the body, wnto the bui lding thereof; in
love’. This recurrence to the compani on metaphor of bui lding
reminds us that the reality whi ch St Paul is endeavouring to
i llustrate is more than a physiologi cal structure. The languagederi ved fromthe body’s growth needs to b e supp lemented b y the
language derived fromthe building of the sacred shrine of God.
The mingling of the metaphors helps us to ri se above them,and
thus prepares us for the phrase, w ith whi ch the A postle at once
interprets hi smeaning and reaches hi s climax,
in love
We have thus concluded a further stage in St Paul’s exposition.
To b egin wi th w e had the eternal purpose of God,to make Christ
the summing into one of all thi ngs that are. Then we had the
mystery of Chri st, consummated on the cross,by whi ch Jew and
Genti le passed into one new Man. Lastly w e have had the uni tyof the Spi ri t, a uni ty in vari ety
, conta ining a p rinciple of growth,by whi ch the Body of the Chri st i smoving towardsmaturi ty.
17THIS I say therefore and testi fy in the Lord ,that ye no
longer walk as do the Gentiles walk,in the vanity of their
mind, 18darkened in thei r understanding, being ali enated from
106
iv 24 f.
EXPOSITION or THE [IV
b red of recklessness. In the Opening chap ter of the Ep i stle to the
Romans the same sequence i s found :‘ they became vain. in their
imaginations, and thei r fooli sh heart w as darkened . .wherefore Godalso gave themup to thi s cause God gave themupunto v i le as they did not like to retain God
in thei r knowledge, God gave themup to a rep rob ate mind, todo those things whi ch are not convenient ’. There i t i s thri cesa id that ‘ God gave them up
’: here i t i s said that, ‘ having
become reckless, they gave themselves up’. The emphasi s whi ch
in ei ther case St Paul lays on want of knowledge correspondswi th the stress whi ch, as w e have already seen, he lays upon
true wi sdom‘.
‘ But ye have not so lea/rned Chri st’,or
,as i t i s in the original,
‘the Chri st
’. That i s to say, You are no longer in thi s darkness and
ignorance : you have learned the Chri st and the lesson involves a
wholly d i fferent life.
If so be that ye have heard Him,and have been taught in Him,
as the tru th i s i n Jesus’. The conditional formof the sentence i s
used for the sak e of emphasi s, and does not imp ly a doubt. We
may paraphrase i t thus :‘ i f indeed i t b e He whomye have heard
and in whomye have been taught’. The phrases to learn Chri st,
to hear Him,and to b e taught in Him,
are exp lanatory of each
other. The A p ostle’s readers had not indeed heard Chri st
,in the
sense of hearing Himspeak . But Chri st was the message whi chhad b een brought to them,
He w as the school in whi ch they hadb een taught, He w as the lesson whi ch they had learnt.
The exp ression to learn Chri st ’ has become fami li ar to our
ears,and we do not at once reali se how strangely i t must have
sounded when i t was used for the first time. But the A postlew as well aware that hi s language w as new
,and he adds a clause
whi ch help s to interp ret i t :‘even as the truth i s in Jesus ’
,or
more li terally, ‘even as truth i s in Jesus He lays much stress
on truth throughout the whole context. He has already calledfor the maintenance of the truth in opposi tion to the subtletiesof error : he wi ll p resently speak of the new man as
‘ createdaccording to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth’;and
,led on b y the word
,he wi ll requi re hi s readers as the first
practical duty of the new li fe to put away falsehood and speaktruth each to his nei ghb our. But truth i s embodied in Jesus
,who
is the Chri st. Hence, instead of saying‘
ye have learned the truth,ye have heard the truth, ye have been taught in the truth he says
1 See ab ove , p . 30 .
IV 2 1— 24] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 107
with a far more imp ressive emphasi s, ‘ It i s Chri st whomye havelearned
,Himye have heard , in Himye have been taught, even as
the truth'
i s in JesusNowhere else in thi s ep i stle does St Paul use the name ‘ Jesus ’
by i tself. Nor does he so use i t aga in in any of the ep istles of
his Roman cap tivi ty, if w e excep t the one passage in which b e
specially refers to the new honour whi ch has accrued to the name Phil. i i 10of Jesus ’. Even in his earli er ep i stles i t rarely occurs alone and
,
when it does,there i s generally an express reference to the death
or resurrection of our Lord’. We have already sa id somethingof the signi ficance of St Paul’s usage in thi s respect
? He usesthe name ‘ Jesus ’ by i tself when he wi shes emphatically to point
to the hi stori c personality of the Christ. A nd thi s i s p la inly hisintention in the p resent passage. The message whi ch he p ro
claimed w as thi s : The Chri st has come : in the person of Jcsus
the crucified , ri sen and ascended Jcsus—He has come,not only
as the Messiah of the Jew,b ut as the hOpe of all mankind. In
thi s Jesus i s embodi ed the truth : and so the truth has come toyou . You have learned the Chri st ; Himyou have heard , in Himyou have been taught, even as the truth is in Jesus.
‘ That ye p u t of as concern i ng yowr former manner of life iv 2 2 if.
the old man ,whi ch is corrup t according to the lusts of decei t;
and be renewed in the sp i ri t of your mind, and p u t on the new
which after God i s created i n r ighteou sness a/nd holiness ofthe tru th
’. The injunctions whi ch St Paul has hitherto laid upon
hi s readers have been gentle admoni tions,ari sing di rectly out of
the great thoughts whi ch he has b een expoundi ng to them. His
first injunction w as : Remember what you were and what you are. i i 1 1 f.
The next w as Cultivate that humble and forb earing temper, whi ch iv 2 fi’
.
naturally belongs to what you are,which tends to keep the uni ty .
But now h i s demand takes a severer tone I p rotest in the L ord, hesays, that you b e not what you were.
The kn i fe goes deep . A s regards your former life, he declares,youmust stri p off the old man’, a mi serable decaying thing, rottedwi th the passions of the old life of error. You must b emade newin your sp i ri ts. Y oumust array yourselves in the new man’
,who
has been created as God would have himto b e,in that righteousness
and holiness to whi ch the truth leads.
1 So,
in 1 Thess. i 10 ,iv 14, Rom. Jude. But in Heb rews i t occurs alone
vi i i 1 1 , 2 Cor. iv 10 , 1 1,14. The re eight times ; and thi s i s , of course, the
maining passages are Gal. vi 1 7, Born. regular use in the Gospels.
i i i 26, 2 Cor. iv 5. The name i s not 2 See ab ove, pp . 2 3 f.
used alone in James, 1 and 2 Peter, or
108 EXPOSITION or THE [IV 2 2— 34
What is ‘ the old man ’who i s here spoken of ? St Paul has
Rom. vi 6 used the termin an earlier ep i stle. Our old man he had written
to the Romans, ‘ was crucified with Chri st ’. Fromthe context of
that passage w e may interp ret his mean ing as follows : I sa id that
b y your bap ti smyou were un ited wi th Chri st in Hi s death, youwere b uried wi th Him. What w as i t that then di ed ? I answer
The former you . A certain man w as liv ing a life of sin : he w as
the slave of sin,living in a body dominated b y sin. That man ,
who lived that life, died. He was crucified wi th Chri st. That iswhat I call your old man
’.
To the Romans , then, he has declared that their ‘oldman’ is
dead . Thi s,he says, is the true vi ew of your life. It i s God
’s
Rom. vi 7 vi ew of i t,in v i rtue of whi ch you are justified in , Hi s sight. And
fi‘
this vi ew,the only true vi ew, you are b ound yourselves to take, and
make i t the ruling p rincip le of all your conduct.Gal. 11 20 Elsewhere he says Thi s i s my own case. I have b een crucified
wi th Chri st I no longer live. Yet you seeme living. What does
i t mean ? Chri st i s living in me. So great w as the revolution
whi ch St Paul recogni sed as having taken place in his own moralexperience, that he does not hesi tate to speak of i t as a changeof personality. I am dead
,he says, crucified on Chri st’s cross.
Another has come to live in me : and He has di sp laced me inmyself.What was true for him w as true for hi s -readers likewi se.
Chri st, he says, has come and claimed you . You have admi ttedHis claimb y your b aptism. You are no longer yourselves. The
old you then died Another came to live in you .
In our p resent passage, and in the closely parallel passage of the
Ep istle to the Colossians , St Paul urges hi s readers to bring theirlives into correspondence wi th their true position, b y putting off
the old man ’and ‘
putting on the new man ’. That they had done
thi s already i n thei r bapti smw as not, to his mind, inconsi stent wi th
001. i i 12 , such an admoni tion. Indeed he exp ressly reminds the Colossians1“ I
that they had thus d ied and been b uried wi th Chri st,and had b een
raised with Himto a new li fe. None the less he urges themto
a fresh act of wi ll,whi ch shall reali se thei r bapti smal position :
Col. iii 9 ff.‘
putting off the old man wi th hi s deeds,and putting on the new
,
who i s ever b eing renewed unto knowledge according to the imageof Him that created him; where there i s no Greek and Jew ,
circumci sion and unci rcumci sion,barbari an
,Scythian ,
bondman,freeman ; b ut Chri st i s all and in all
’.
The metaphor here emp loyed i s a favouri te one wi th St Paul.They are to stri p off the old self they are to clothe themselves wi th
EXPOSITION OF THE [IV 2 5
itself in human experience :‘ the oldman i s corrup t accord ing to
the lusts of deceit ’, and a fresh creation after the original patte
has been necessi tated i t i s found in ‘the n ew man whi ch af ter God
is crea ted i n r ighteousness and holiness whi ch are (in contrast wi th‘ deceit of the tru th
’.
2SWHEREFORE putting away lying, speak every man truth
with his neighbour : for w e aremembers one of another.
26Be
ye’
angry, and s in not : let not the sun go down upon your
wrath ;2 7neither give place to the devi l. 2 8Let himthat stole
steal no more : b ut rather let him labour, working w i th hi s
hands the thing which i s good, that he may have to give to
him that needeth.
2 c9L et no corrupt communication proceedout of your mouth, b ut that which i s good ,
for bui lding up as
need may b e, that i t may give grace unto the hearers : 3°and
grieve not the holy Spiri t of God, whereby ye are sealed unto
the day of redemption.3 I L et all bitterness and wrath and
anger and clamour and evi l-speaking b e put away fromyou,
w ith allmalice : 32 and b e ye kind one to another,tenderhearted
,
forgiving one another,even as God in Chri st hath forgiven you.
V.
IBe ye therefore followers of God, as Hi s beloved children ;2and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved you,
and hath
given Himself for you,an offeri ng and a sacrifice to God for a
sweetsmelling savour.
The A postle p roceeds to interp ret in a seri es of p racti cal p receptshi s general injunction to put off the oldman and put on the new
,to
turn fromthe life of error to the li fe whi ch belongs to the truth .
He appeals throughout to the large interests of thei r common lifeit i s the Sp i ri t of fellowshi p whi ch suppli es themotive for thismoralrevolution . Six sin s are struck at lying, resentment, stealing, b adlanguage, b ad .
temp er, lust.Lying i s to b e exchanged for truthfulness, for the Body
’s sake.
Resentment is to give w ay to reconci liation , lest Satan get a footingin theirmidst. Stealingmust make p lace for honest work, to helpothers b ad language for gracious sp eech, ‘unto b uilding up
’,and lest
the one holy Sp irit b e gri eved . Bad tempermust yi eld to kindlinessand forgivingness, for God has forgi ven themall yea , to love, the
love of self-giving, shewn in Chri st’s sacrifice . Lastly lust, and all
the unfrui tful works of the dark,must b e b an i shed b y the light.
IV 2 5, 2 6] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. I I I
Thus the A postle bids themd isp lace the old man by the new,
the false li fe b y the‘ri ghteousness and holiness of the truth
’
Ring out the old , ring in the new
Ring out the false,ri ng in the true ;
Ring in the Chri st that i s to be .
‘Wherefore p u tting away lyi ng,sp eak every man tru th w i th hi s i v 2 5
ghbour for w e aremembers one of another’. In the original the
connexi on wi th what has immediately p receded i s very clearlymarked . For the word rendered putting away i s the same as that
whi ch has been used for ‘
putting off"the old man
,though the
metaphor of the garment i s now dr0pped : and ‘ lying’,or
‘ false
hood’a s i t could b e more generally rendered
,i s d irectly suggested
by the word ‘ truth ’wi th whi ch the last sentence closes. Truthfulness of Sp eech i s an ob v ious necessity, i f they are to live the life of‘ the truthThe A postle enforces h i s command b y a quotation from the
p rophet Zechari ah :‘ These are the things that ye shall do : Speak Zech vi i i
ye every man the truth with hi s neighb our : truth and the judgeI6
ment of p eace judge ye in your gates But he gives a character of
his own to the p recep t in the reason which he adds : ‘ for we are
memb ers one of another ’. These words remind us how p racti cal heis in all his mysti cism. The mysti cal concep tion that indi vidualmen are b ut limb s of the b ody of a greaterMan i s at oncemade thebasi s of an app eal for truthfulness in our dealings one wi th another.Falsehood
,a modern morali st would say , i s a s in against themutual
trust on wh i ch all civi li sed society rests . St Paul sa id i t long ago,
and sti ll more forci b ly . It i s ab surd, he say s, that you shoulddeceive one another : just as i t would b e absurd for the limb s of ab ody to play each other false. The habit of lying w as congen ial to
the G reek,as i t w as to hi s Oriental neighbours . St Paul strikes at
the root of the s in b y shewing i ts inconsi stency wi th the realisationof the corporate life.
‘ Be ye angry , and si n n ot : let not the sun go down up on your iv 26 f.
wra th ; nei ther gi ve p lace to the devi l’. The first words of thi s
passage are another quotation fromthe Old Testament. They are
taken fromthe Greek version of the fourth Psalm,and are p erhap s Ps . iv 4
a nearer rep resentation of the original than i s given b y our English
rendering, Stand in aw e,and s in not
’. That there i s a righteous
anger i s thus allowed b y the A postle : b ut he warns us that, i fcheri shed
,i t qui ckly passes into s in. A ccord ing to the Mosai c law
the sun w as not to set on a cloke held as a surety, or the unpaid wage Deut. xxivof the needy and again ,
the sun w as not to set on amalefactor put 13 , 15
I IZ EXPOSITION OF THE [IV 2 7— 29
to death and left unb uri ed. Th i s phraseology furni shes the A postlewi th the formof hi s injunction. Its mean ing i s, as an old commentator ob serves, ‘ Let the day of your anger b e the day of yourreconci liation 1
.
The phrase to give p lace to the devi l’mean s to give himroom
or scope for action . A nger, whi ch suspends as i t were the harmon ious relation b etween one memb er and another in the Body
,
gives an immedi ate opportuni ty for the entry of the evi l sp irit’
L et himthat stole s tea l nomore bu t ra ther let himlabour,work
i ng wi th his hands the thing whi ch i s good, tha t he may have to giveto himthat needeth
’. This is indeed to put off the old
,and to put
on the new . It is a comp lete reversal of themoral attitude. Instead
of taking what i s another’s,seek wi th the sweat of your b row to b e
in a position to gi ve to another what you have honestly made your
L et no corrup t commun ica ti on p roceed ou t of your mouth The
word here rendered corrup t i s used in the Gosp els of the worthlesstree, and of the worthless fish i t i s opposed to good in the sense
of b eing‘
good-for-nothing
’. But the ‘ corrup t
’ speech here con
demned is foul talk, and not merely idle talk. It i s p rob ab le thatSt Paul in hi s choi ce of the word had in mind i ts original meaningof ‘ rotten ’ or ‘ corrup ted
’: for in a parallel pa ssage of the com
001. iv 6 panion ep i stle he says :‘ L et your speech b e alway wi th grace,
seasoned with salt ’ the use of sa lt being not only to flavour,b ut to
preserve.
‘But that whi ch i s good, for bu i lding up as need may be’. The
words ‘edify’ and ‘
edi fication’have b ecome so hackneyed
,that i t
is almost necessary to avoid themin translation,i f the A postle
’s
language i s to reta in i ts original force . How viv i dly he realised the
metaphor whi ch he employed may b e seen from a p assage in the
Epi stle to the Romans,where he says, i f w e render hi s words
literally : Let us follow after the things that belong to p eace and to1 It i s worth while to repeat Fuller
’s
comment quoted fromEadi e b y Dr
Ab b ott (ad loc. p .
‘L et us take
the Ap ostle’smeaning rather than hi s
words—wi th all possi b lespeed to deposeour passion ; not understanding himso literally that wemay take leave tob e angry ti ll sunset, then might our
wrath lengthen wi th the days andmenin Greenland , where days last above a
quarter of a year, have p lenti ful scopeof revenge
2 TheD i dache’
, in a list ofwarni ngsdirected against certain sins on the
ground of what they‘ lead to’
, says
(c. i i i):‘Be not angry ; for anger leads
to murder : nor jealous , nor quarrelsome, nor passionate ; for of all these
thi ngsmurders are b red’. In the same
chap ter comes another p recep t whi chi t i s interesting to compare wi th thesequence of St Paul
’s injunctions in
thi s p lace :‘My chi ld , b e not a liar ;
since lying leads to thi eving’.
I I4 EXPOSITION OF THE [IV 3 1—V 2
when the opportunity of bui lding it up b ecomes an occasion for i ts
defilement and ruin.
iv 31 f.‘ L et a ll b i tterness and wrath and anger and Glamour and evi l
sp eaking be p ut away f romyou, w i th a ll mali ce : and be ye kind one
to another, tenderhearted,forgivi ng one another, even as God in Christ
ha thforgiven you The fifth injunction,to put away bitter feelings,
and the quarrelling and evi l-speaki ng to whi ch they give ri se,i s
enforced b y an app eal to the character and action of God Himself.You must forgive each other, says the A postle, because God inChri st has forgiven you all.
Be ye therefore followers (or imi tators of God, as Hi s belovedchi ldren
’. These wordsmust b e taken closely wi th what precedes,
as well as wi th what follows. The imi tation of God in Hi smercifulness is the characteri sti c of sonship .
‘ Love your enemies, and do
themgood, and lend hop ing for nothing again ; and your rewardshall b e great, and ye shall b e sons of the Most High ; for He i s
kind to the unthankful and evil. Bemerciful, even as your Father
i smercifulAnd walk in love, as Chri st a lso hath loved you ,
and hath gi ven
Himself for you ,an ofi
’
ering an d a sacrifice to God for a sweet
smelling savour The A postle has invoked the Divine examplefirst of all in regard to forgiveness. He now extends i ts referencebymaking i t the bas i s of the wider command to walk in love ’.Take, he says
,God as your p attern : copy Him; for you are Hi s
chi ldren whomHe loves. Walk therefore in love— such love as
Christ has shewn to you.
For us,the love of God i s sup remely mani fested in the love of
Chri st, who gave Himself up on our b ehalf,‘an offering and a
sacrifice to God for an odour of a sweet smell ’. We then are to love
even as Chri st loved us that i s,with the love that gives i tself for
others,the love of sacrifice. St Paul thus points to Chri st
’s sacri ficeas an example of the love whi ch Chri stians are to shew to one
another. Your acts of love to one another, he implies, wi ll b etruly a sacrifice acceptab le to God ; even as the supreme act of
Chri st’s love to you i s the supremely acceptable Sacrifice.
Two passages may help to i llustrate thi s teaching and the
phraseology in whi ch i t is conveyed . One of these i s found lateron in thi s chapter, where the A postle charges husbands to love
thei r wi ves ‘even as Chri st loved the church and gave Himself
up for i t’. The other oders us another example of the appli cation
of the sacrificial phraseology of the Old Testament to actionswhi ch manifest love. The language in whi ch St Paul d ignifiesthe kindness shewn to himself b y the Phi lipp ian Church i s strikingly
lr
V 3] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 1 15
simi lar to that of our p resent passage :‘Hav ing received of Phil . iv 18
Epaphroditus the things whi ch were sent fromyou, an odour of
a sweet smell, a sacrifice accep tab le, well p leasing to God
3BUT fornication and all uncleanness , or covetousness,let i t V 3— 14
not even b e named among you,as becometh saints ; 4neither
filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting, which are not befitting ;b ut rather giving of thanks. 5For this ye know of a surety
,
that no fornicator nor unclean person, nor covetousman,which
is an idolater,hath any inheri tance in the kingdomof Christ
and of God.
6Let no man deceive you with vain words ; for
because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the
chi ldren of disobedience.7Be not ye therefore partakers with
them.
8For ye were in time past darkness, b ut now are ye
light in the Lord : walk as chi ldren of light : 9for the fruit of
light i s in all goodness and righteousness and truth ; Itoproving
what is acceptable unto the Lord.
1 1.An d have no fellowship
wi th the unfruitful works of darkness , b ut rather expose them:
I ”for of the things whi ch are done of themin secret i t is a
shame even to speak ; I 3but all things when they are exposed
b y the light aremademani fest ; for whatsoever ismademanifesti s light. I4Wherefore it saith
Awake, thou that sleepest,And arise fromthe dead,
And Chri st shall shine upon thee.
‘Bu t forni cati on and all uncleanness, or covetousness,let i t not v 3
even be named among you ,as becometh sa ints The five prohibitions
whi ch have p receded stand side b y side wi th no connecting parti clesto link themto each other. This
,as a point of style, i s far more
unusual in Greek than i t i s in Engli sh. A ccordingly the adversative
parti cle wi th whi ch the final p rohi bition i s introduced deserves the‘more attention . The A postle has called upon hi s readers to put.away falsehood, irri tation, theft
,corrup t speech, bitter feelings .
.But,he seems to say, there i s another class of sins whi ch I do not
even b id you put away : I say that you may not so much as name.themone to another.
‘A s becometh sa ints’. He appeals to a new Chri stian decorum. i i 19
Ye are fellow-citizens with the saints noblesse oblige.
1 16
V IS ff.
EXPOSIT—ION or THE [17 4, 5
‘Nei ther fi lthiness nor fooli sh ta lking nor j esting, whi ch are not
befitting but rather gi ving ef'
thanks’. The first of these nomina
tives might b e taken wi th the p receding verb,
‘ let i t not even b e
named ’; b ut not the other tw o. The mean ing however i s p lain‘neither let there b e among you
’these things which degrade
conversation,or at least relax i ts tone. Havi ng summari ly di smi ssed
the grosser forms of s in , the A postle forbids the app roaches to themin unseemly talk, in fooli shness of sp eech, even in mere frivolousjesting. The seemingly abrup t introduction of ‘ thanksgiving
’in
contrast to ‘ jesting’i s due to a play upon the tw o words in the
Greek whi ch cannot b e rep roduced in translation . Instead of the
lightness of wi tty talk, whi ch p layed too often on the b order-line of
improp ri ety, thei rs should b e the true ‘
grace’of sp eech, the utter
ance of a‘
grace’or thanksgiv ing to God’. He develop es the
thought at greater length below, when he contrasts the merrimentof wine wi th the sober gladness of sacred p salmody.
‘ For thi s ye know qf a sur ety, tha t no f orn i cator nor unclean
p erson, nor covetous man,whi ch i s an i dola ter
,ha th any i nheri tance
in the kingdomQf Chri st and of God St Paul has spoken of the
Gentile Chri stians as havi ng received ‘ the earnest of the inh eri tance and as b eing fellow-heirs wi th the Jews . Here however hedeclares that those who commi t the sins of whi ch he has beensp eaking are thereby excluded fromsuch inheri tance. They haveindeed p racti cally returned to i dolatry
,and renounced Chri st and
God. They have di sinh eri ted themselves.Thi s extension of the metaphor of ‘ inheri tance ’ i s a Heb rew
formof sp eech whi ch has passed over into the Greek of the New
Testament. Thus we have in the Gospel the phrase ‘ to inheriteternal li fe The connexi on of ‘ inh eri tance ’wi th ‘ the kingdom
’
i s found in Matt. xxv 34, ‘ inheri t the kingdomp repared for youand in James i i 5, ‘ Hath not God chosen the p oor of thi s world
,
ri ch in fai th, and heirs of the kingdom’
,etc . In St Paul w e find
only the negative formof the phrase, as in 1 Cor. xv 50,‘ flesh
and blood shall not inherit the kingdomof God ’. The two otherpassages in whi ch i t occurs p resent close parallels to our p resentpassage.
‘Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inheri tthe kingdomof God ? Be not deceived : neither forni cators
,nor
idolaters,nor adulterers, nor efl
'
eminate, nor ab users of themselveswi thmankind, nor thi eves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor rev i lers,
1 For a simi lar p lay on the word 1 2 5 : comp . Ti t. i i i 7. The phrase‘grace
’, see ab ove p . 1 13 .
‘ to inheri t life ’ i s found in P salms2 Mark x 17 and p arallels, Luke of Solomon xiv 6.
1 18 EXPOSITION or THE [v 8— 13
Walk as chi ldren of light’.
"
We may compare St Paul’s words
to the Thessalonians : But ye, brethren, are not in
ye are all chi ldren of light and chi ldren of the day While speakingof thei r position and p rivi lege the A postle has called them
‘ light
i tself : now that he comes to speak of their conduct, he returns to
truth’. Wi th ‘ the frui t of light
’in this passage w e may compare
2 2 the frui t of the Sp iri t’in the Ep istle to the Galatians. Indeed
y u fi .
somemanuscri pts have transferred the latter phrase to th is place,where i t i s found in our A uthorised Version.
‘ P roving what i s accep table unto the L ord’. These words belong
in construction to the command ‘Walk as chi ldren of light the
intervening verse being a parenthesi s. The light wi ll enab le themto test and di scern the Lord’s will’. So below he b ids them under
stand what the wi ll of the Lord i s‘And have no fellowship w i th the unfru i tfu l w orks of darkness
Just as in the Ep i stle to the Galatians the A postle contrasted the
fru i t of the Spiri t wi th the works of the flesh so here, while hespeaks of ‘ the frui t of light ’, he w i ll not speak of ‘ the frui t of
darkness b ut of its ‘ fruitless worksBut rather exp ose them for qf the things which are done Qf them
in secret i t is a shame even to sp eak ; but a ll thi ngs when they are
exp osed by the light ar e made manifest ; for wha tsoever i s mademanifest i s light’. The A postle i s not content wi th the negative
p recept whi ch bids hi s readers ab sta in fromassociation w i th theworks of darkness. Being themselves of the nature of light, theymust rememb er that i t i s the p roperty of light to dispel darkness, toexpose what i s hidden and secret. Nay more, in the moral and
sp i ri tual world, the A postle seems to say, light has a further power :it can actually transformthe darkness. The hi dden i s darkness ;themani fested i s light ; b y the action of light darkness i tself can b eturned into light.
Ye were darkness ’, he has said,b ut now ye are light and
thi s i s only the beginning of a great series of recurring transformations. You ,
the new light, have your part to p lay in the conversionof darkness into light. Right p roduces right : i t ri ghts wrong.
Or, as St Paul p refers to say, light p roduces light : i t lightensdarkness .
1 On the use of the title ‘ the L ord ’ in these p laces, see what has beensaid ab ove pp . 7 2 , 90 .
V I4, 15] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Wherefore i t sa i th, Awake,than tha t sleep est, and ari se fromthe
dead,and Chri st sha ll shine up on thee
’. Thi s quotation i s not to
b e found in any book that w e know. It is probably a fragment ofan early Chri stian hymn : possibly a baptismal hymn ; or possiblyagain a hymn commemorating the descent of Chri st into the underworld ’. We may compare w ith i t another fragment of earlyhymnology in 1 Tim. i i i 16.
ISTAKE therefore careful heed how ye walk, not as unwise V 15—33
b ut as wise,
16redeeming the time
,because the days are evil.
I 7Wherefore b e ye not fools, b ut understand what the w i ll of
the Lord is .
18And b e not drunk with wine, wherein i s excess
b ut b e filled w ith the Spiri t, I ‘J sp eaking to yourselves in psalmsand hymns and spiri tual songs, singing and making melodywith your heart to the Lord ; ” giving thanks always for all
things in the name of our Lord Jesus Chri st unto our God and
Father ;2 1submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of
Chri st. ” Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands
,
1 Two early suggesti ons are of sufficient interest to b e noted here. One
i s found as a note on the p assage in
John Damaso. (quoted by Ti schendorf):‘We have received by tradi ti on thatthis i s the voice to b e sounded by thearchangel
’s trump to those who have
fallen asleep since the world b egan ’.
The other i s a story told by St Jerome(ad
‘I rememb er once hearing a
preacher d i scourse on this passage in
church. He wi shed to please the
peop le b y a startling novelty ; so he
said : Th i s quotation i s an utteranceaddressed to Adam,whowas b uri ed onCalvary (the place of a skull), wherethe L ord was crucified . It was calledthe place of a skull, b ecause there thehead of the first man was buri ed.
Accordingly at the time when the
L ord was hanging on the cross overAdam’s sepulchre thi s p rophecy was
fulfilled which says : Awake, thou
Adamthat sleep est, and ari se fromthedead
, and,not as we read i t Chri st
sha ll shine up on thee but
Chri st shall touch thee [émx/xatcm]because forsooth by the touch of Hi s
b lood and Hi s b ody that hung therehe should b e b rought to life and
shoul d ari se ; and so that type also
should b e fulfilled of the dead Eli sha
raising the dead. Whether all thi sis true or not, I leave to the
reader’s judgment. There is no doub t
that the saying of i t delighted the
congregation ; they app lauded and
stamp ed wi th their feet. All that I
know i s that such a meaning doesnot harmoni sewi th the context of thep assage
’. There are other traces of
the legend that Adamwas b uried on
Calvary , which was regarded as the
centre of the world. The skull oftendep icted at the foot of the crucifix i sAdam’s skull. It i s not impossib lethat the strange p reacher was goingon tradi tion in connecting the wordswith the release of AdamfromHadesat the time of the L ord’s Descent.
120 EXPOSITION OF THE [V 15, 16
as unto the Lord : 2 3for the husband i s the head of the wife,
even as Chri st i s the head of the church, being Himself thesaviour of the body.
24But as the church i s subject unto
Chri st, so let the wives be to their husbands in every thing.
2SHusb ands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church,and gave Himself for it ; 2 ‘Sthat He might sanctify
it, cleansing i t by the washing of water w ith the word ;2 7 that
He might present the church to Himself all-glorious, not
having spot or wrinkle or any such thing ; but that i t should
b e holy and without blemish.
2 3So ought the husbands also to
love their w ives as their own bodies : he that loveth his wife
loveth himself ; 29for no man ever yet hated his own flesh, b ut
nourisheth and cheri sheth it, even as Christ the church ; 3
°for
we are members of His body.S‘Eor this cause shall a man
leave his father and mother, and shall b e joined unto his Wife,
and they two shall b e one flesh.32This mystery i s great ; b ut
I speak i t concerning Christ and the church.33Nevertheless let
every one of you in particular so love his wi fe even as himself ;and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Take therefore carefu l heed how ye walk, not as unw i se bu t as
w i se,redeeming the time, because the days are evi l In hi s desi re to
pursue hismetaphor of the confli ct between light and darkness theA postle has been led away fromhi s p racti cal precepts of conduct.
To these he now returns, and he marks hi s return by once moreusing the verb to walk ’. Four times already he has used i t wi th a
special emphasis in thi s and the p recedi ng Chapter : I beseech youthat ye walk worthy of the calling wherewi th ye are called I
protest that ye no longer walk as do the Genti les walk ‘ Be
followers of God, as Hi s beloved chi ldren, and walk in love,as
Chri st also hath loved you’
Once ye were darkness, now ye are
light ; walk as chi ldren of light’. And now he sums up what he
has just been saying, and p repares the w ay for further injun ctions,in the emphati c words, Take therefore carefu l heed how ye w alk "
The contrast between the darkness and the li ght finds p racti calexpression in the phrase
‘not as unwi se
,b ut as wi se The power
of the light to transformthe darkness suggests that the wi se have a
1 The rendering of the Authorised Spectly’, i s b ased on a slightly di f
Version ,‘ See that ye walk circum ferent reading of the original.
V 'ZO
Exrosrmou or THE [v 19, 20
second ep i stle to the Corinthian Church . Fromsuch a wri ter insuch an age we can understand the combination of the p recep ts toset free the emotion of a perp etual thankfulness in outb ursts of
hearty song, and at the same time to p reserve the orderliness of
social relations under the influence of an overmastering awe : sp eak
i ng to yourselves i n p sa lms and hymns and sp i r i tual songs, s inging
and making melody wi th your heart to the L ord ; giving thanks
always for all things i n the name of our L ord Jesus Chri st unto
our God and Father ; submi tting yowrselves one to another i n thefi ar
of Chri stThe implied contrast wi th the revelry of drunkenness makes i t
p lain that in speaking of Chri stian p salmody the A postle i s not
primari ly referring to pub li c worship , b ut to social gatherings inwhi ch a common meal was accompanied by sacred song. For the
early Chri stians these gatherings took the place of the manypubli c feasts in the Greek cities fromwhich they found themselvesnecessari ly excluded
,b y reason of the idolatrous ri tes with whi ch
such banquets were associated. The agap ae, or charity-suppers,afforded an opportun ity by whi ch the ri cher members of the communi ty could gather thei r poorer b rethren in hosp itable fellowship .
In the earliest times these supp ers were hallowed b y the solemn‘ breaking of the bread ’, followed by singing, exhortations and
p rayers. A nd even when the Euchari st of the Church had ceasedto b e connected wi th a common supper, these banquets reta ined a
semi -euchari sti c character,and the element of p ra i se and thanks
giving sti ll held an important p lace in them.
Gi vi ng thanks a lways for a ll things i n the name of owr L ord
Jesus Chri st unto our God and Father’. The parallel passage in
the companion epi stle enforces the duty of thanksgiving no lessforcibly. After urging upon the Colossians gentleness , forgiveness
Col . i i i 15 and p eace, he p roceeds : ‘ A nd b e ye thankful. Let the word of
Chri st dwell in you ri chly in all wi sdom teaching and admoni shi ngone another in p salms and hymns and sp i ri tual songs with grace,singing in your hearts to God : and whatsoever ye do in word or in
deed,do all in the name of the Lord Jesus
, gi ving thank s unto Godthe Father through Him
The exp ression, whi ch occurs in both these passages,‘ i n the
name of ’, corresponds to the rei terated exp ressions‘ in Chri st ’and
‘ i n the Lord Beli evers are i n Him theymust speak and act in
His name.
Unto our God and Father ’. The rendering in the A uthori sed
Version, unto God and the Father does not satisfactori ly rep resentthe original, whi ch means ‘ to Himwho i s at once God and the
V 2 1, 2 2] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 123
Father’. We are to give thanks to God,who in Chri st has now
b een revealed to us as the Father‘ Submi tti ng you rselves one to another in thef ear of Christ The v 2 1
enthusiasmof whi ch the Apostle has spoken i s far removed fromfanati ci sm. The glad life of the Chri stian community i s a life of
duly constituted order. The A postle of liberty i s the Apostle of
order and sub ordination. Thi s i s strikingly i llustrated by the factthat the verb to submit oneself’ (often rendered to b e subject ’)isused twenty-three times by St Paul. If w e except 1 St Peter, whi chi s not independent of St Paul
’s ep i stles, i t occurs b ut nine times in
the rest of the New Testament. We may recall a few passages‘ Let every soul b e sub ject to the higher powers
’;
‘ The sp iri ts of Rom.xiii rthe p rophets are subject to the pmphets
’ ‘Then shall even the $30
22,Son Himself be subject to Him that hath subjected all thingsunto Him’
.
Recogni se, says the A postle, that in the Divine ordering of
human li fe one i s subject to another. We must not p ress thi s to
mean that even the highest i s in some sense sub ject to those whoare beneath him. St Jerome indeed takes thi s view,
and p roceedsto commend the passage to bi shop s, wi th whomhe sometimes foundhimself in colli sion . But the A postle i s careful in what follows tomake hi smeaning abundantly clear
,and does not stultify his p recept
by telling husbands to b e subject to their wi ves, b ut to love them;nor parents to b e subject to thei r children, b ut to nurture theminthe d iscipline of the Lord .
The motive of due subordination i s given in the remarkab lephrase
‘ the fear of Chri st ’. In the Old Testament the guidingp rinciple of human life i s again and again declared to b e
‘ the fearof the L ord ’
, or‘ the fear of God
’. Thi s i s ‘ the b eginning of
wi sdom’,and the whole duty of man ’. St Paul b oldly recasts
the p rinciple for the Chri stian society in the unique exp ression‘ the
fear of Chri st ’. He wi ll interp ret hi s meaning as he shews byrepeated i llustrations that the authori ty whi ch corresponds to
natural relationship s finds i ts p attern and i ts sanction in the
authori ty of Chri st over Hi s Church.
Wi ves, submit yourselves un to your own husbands,as unto the v 2 2
L ord’. Having struck the key-note of sub ordination— the recogni
tion of the sacred p rincip les of authori ty and obedience— the A postle
p roceeds to give a seri es of positive p recep ts for the regulation of
social life, whi ch is divinely founded on the unchanging institutionof the family. He deals in turn wi th the duties of wives and
husbands,
of chi ldren and parents, of servants and masters ;beginni ng in each case wi th the responsibi lity of ob edience
,and
124
i i i 14 f.
EXPOSITION OF THE [V 2 3— 25
passing from that to the responsibili ty whi ch rests . on those to
whomobedi ence is due. Those who obey must obey as thoughthey were ob eying Chri st : those who are obeyed must find the
pattern of their conduct in the love and care of Chri st, and must
rememb er that they themselves ow e ob edience in their turn to
Chri st.The thought of the parallel b etween earthly and heavenly
relationshi ps has alread y found exp ression at an early point inthe ep istle, where the A postle speaks of the Father fromwhomall fatherhood in heaven and on earth i s named In the present
passage i t leads himback to h is special top i c of the relation of
Chri st to the Church as a whole. It enab les h im to link the
simplest p recepts of social morali ty wi th the most transcendentdoctrines of the Chri stian fai th . The common life of the home i sdiscovered to b e fraught wi th a far-reachingmystery. The naturalrelationship s are hallowed by their heavenly patterns.
For the husband i s the head of the w ife, even as Chr i st i s the head
of the chur ch, b eing Himself the savi our of the body’. This last
clause i s added to interp ret the special sense in whi ch Christ i s herecalled ‘ the head of the church ’. We have already had occasion to
observe that thi s metaphor of headshi p does not to St Paul’s mindexhaustively express the relation of Chri st to Hi s For, in
fact, Chri st i s more than the Head : He is the Whole of whi chHi s memb ers are parts.
‘ For as the b ody i s one and hath manymembers
,and all the members - including the head are one
body : so also i s the Chri st ’. To this more intimate relation,not
of headshi p , b ut of identification, the A postle wi ll point us a littlelater on in thi s passage. For the moment he contents himself wi thexplaini ng the special thought whi ch he has here in v iew. Chri st
i s the head of the church,as beingHimself the saviour of the body
It is the function of the head to p lan the safety of the body, tosecure it fromdanger and to prov ide for i ts welfare. In the highestsense thi s function i s fulfilled b y Chri st for the Church in a lowersense i t i s fulfilled b y the husb and for the w ife. In ei ther case theresponsib ility to protect i s inseparab ly linked wi th the right to rulethe head i s obeyed b y the body. Thi s is the A postle
’s point ; and
accordi ngly he checks himself, as it were, froma fuller exposition of
the thoughts towards whi ch he i s being led : bu t —for thi s is the
matter in hand as the church is subj ect unto Chri st, so let the
wi ves b e to thei r husbands i n every thi ng‘Husbands
,love your w i ves
, even as Chri st also loved the church,and gaveHimself for i t Subordinationmust b emet b y love. The
1 See ab ove pp . 41 f. , 103.
126 EXPOSITION or THE [17 28—32
Such is the love of the D ivine Husband to His Bride, of Chri sttheHead to Hi s own Body the Church. So ought thehusbands a lso
to love thei r w ives as their own bodi es’. The conclusion follows at
once,i f indeed i t b e true that the husband is the head, and the wife
the body. Nay, the relation i s i f p ossi b le more intimate sti ll : theman i s in fact loving himself. ‘He that loveth hi s w ife loveth himself:For noman ever yet ha ted hi s ownflesh, bu t nour i sheth and cheri sheth
i t,even as Chri st the church f or w e aremembers of Hi s body
’. The
A postle i s gradually passing away fromthe thought of headshi p to
themoremysterious thought of comp lete oneness. Thi s thought hewill not expand : he will only point to i t as the sp iri tual s ignificance
of the fundamental princi p le enunciated fromthe beginni ng in theGen . 11 2 4
words ‘ they two shall b e one flesh ’. Some manuscri p ts anti cipate
hi s reference to the book of Genesis b y inserting at this place‘of
His flesh and of His bones ’. But the words appear to b e a gloss,
and the passage i s complete wi thout them.
‘For thi s cause sha ll aman leave hi sfather and mother,and shall
be j oined unto hi s w ife, and they two sha ll be oneflesh ’. To these
words our Lord appeals in the Gospel, when He i s confronted b y thecomparative laxity of the Mosai c legi slation in regard to d ivorce.
‘They are no more twain ’, i s the conclusion He draws,
‘ b ut one
flesh : what therefore God hath joined together let not man putasunder ’. St Paul makes hi s appeal to the same words wi th a
di fferent purpose. He i s justi fying hi s statement that ‘ he thatloveth hi s wife loveth himself’. Thi smust b e so
,he declares
,for i t
is wri tten, ‘ they two shall b e one flesh ’. But if i t b e true in thenatural sphere, i t i s true also of the heavenly pattern. Hence headds : Thi s mystery i s great ; bu t I sp eak i t concern ing Chri st and
the church’. The A postle does not mean that the complete union
of husband and wife as‘one flesh ’
,whi ch i s declared in the words
whi ch he has cited, i s a verymysterious thing, hard to b e understood .
In Engli sh w e can speak of a greatmystery in this sense,using the
ep i thet great’ simply to emphas i se or heighten the word to whi ch
it i s attached as in the fami liar phrases a great inconvenience’,‘a great p ity But the corresponding word in Greek i s not so
used it retains i ts propermeaning ofmagni tude or importance : sothat a greatmystery means an important or far-reachingmystery’.Here the word mystery ’ p robably signi fies either somethi ng whi chcontains a secret meaning not ob vi ous to all
, or the secret meaningi tself. A ccordingly the A postle
’s wordsmean ei ther that the statement whi ch he has quoted i s a symboli cal statement of w ide import,or that the secretmeaning therein contained i s of wide import. In
either case he i s p racti cally saying : There i smore here than appears
v 33—v1 1] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 127
on the surface ; there i s an inner mean ing of high importanceI speak it
—or,I use the words—of Christ and the Church.
In conclusion he returns to the p ractical lesson whi ch i t is theduty of hi s readers to draw for themselves in dai ly life. Neverthe v 33
less let every one of you i n p ar ti cu lar so love his w ife even as himseif;and the w ife see that she reverence her husban d The word translated‘reverence would b e more literally rendered ‘ fear
’. A t the close
of the section the A postle strikes again the key-note w i th whi ch he
began .
‘ The fear of Chri st -the fear of the Church for Chri st V 2 1
whi ch i s the p attern of the fear of the wife for her husb and— is noslavi sh fear, b ut a fear of reverence. Just as the word i s often
applied in the Old Testament to the reverence due to God, so i t i s
used of the reverence due to parents : Ye shall fear everyman his L ev. xix 3
mother, and his father ’. Moreover, of Joshua i t i s sa id,‘ they Josh . iv 14
feared him,as they feared Moses, all the days of hi s life
’: and in
P roverbs we read,My son, fear thou the Lord and the king
ICHILDREN,obey your parents in the Lord : for this i s VI
r ight. 2Honour thy father and mother ; which i s the first
commandment wi th promise ; 3that i tmay b e well w i th thee,and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4And, ye fathers,
provoke not your children to wrath : b ut bring themup in
the discipline and admonition of the Lord.
5Servants,b e obedient to your masters according to the
flesh,w ith fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart ,
a s to Christ ;6not wi th eyeservice as menpleasers , b ut as
s ervants of Chri st, 7doing the w i ll of God ; doing service
heartily with good-wi ll, as to the Lord,and not to men
8knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth,the
same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he b e bond or
free.9And
, ye masters, do the same things unto them,for
bearing threatening ; knowing that both their Master and
yours is in heaven ; neither is there respect of persons with
him.
Chi ldren ,obey your p arents in the L ord : for thi s i s right
’
, or vi 1
‘ righteous’. The p recept accords at once with natural right, and
with the righteousness enforced b y the D ivine law . That the latter
p oint of V iew i s not excluded is shewn by the ci tation fromthe
.Decalogue.
128 EXPOSITION OF THE [VI 2— 5
vi 2 f. ‘Honour thy father and mother ; whi ch i s the fi rst commandment w i th p romi se ; tha t i t may be w ell wi th thee, an d thou mayestlive long on the ear th
’. The importance of thi s ob ligation in the
Mosai c legi slation may b e seen by the p rominent p lace whi ch i tholds in the following p assage of the Book of L ev i ti cus : ‘ Speakunto all the congregation of the chi ldren of Israel, and say unto
them: Ye shall b e holy, for I the Lord your God amholy. Ye
shall fear every man his mother, and hi s father, and keep Mysab b aths : I amthe L ord your God ’.
In characteri sing the Gentiles of whom he thri ce says that
‘ God gave themup’,the A postle notes among other signs of thei r
Born. 1 30 dep rav ity that they were‘ d isobed ient to parents
’. Similarly the
2 Tim. i i i 2 evi lmen of the last days are descri b ed as di sobedi ent to parentsand without natural affection
Obedience i s to b e rendered ‘ i n the L ord ’. A lthough the
A postle does not expand the thought, he returns in thi s exp ressionV 2 1 to the key
-note whi ch w as first struck in the phrase‘ in the fear
of Chri st‘And
, yefathers, p rovoke not your chi ldren to wra th ; bu t bri ng
themup in the discip line a/nd admon i tion of the L ord’. A fter
ins isting on obed ience,the A postle enforces the right exerci se of
authori ty. His demand i s not only negative— the avoidance of
a capri cious exercise of authori ty,whi ch i rri tates and d i shearte
the child (compare 001. i i i 2 1 ,‘ lest they b e b ut i t
is also positive. For parents are as much b ound to ins i st on
obedi ence as children are to render i t. There is a‘ di sci p li ne of
the Lord whi ch i s the responsibi li ty of the parent, just as ob edi ence‘ in the Lord i s the duty of the child.
‘ Servants (slaves), be obed ient to your masters (lords)accordi ngto theflesh
’. Thi s passage gains in force when w e observe that
in several instances the same Greek word i s repeated where inEngli sh a variety of renderings i s almost unavoidable. Thus theword whi ch in v. 1 has been rendered ob ey ’must here b e rendered‘ b e obedient to ’
,in order to bring out the parallel (obedi ent)to
your to Chri st’. A gain, the Greek has throughout thesame word for ‘master ’ and for Lord
’; and in like manner the
same word for ‘ servant ’and for ‘ bond ’. This latter word mightequally well b e rendered ‘ slave ’: for it i s bondservi ce that i sprimari ly intended.
Wi th flaar and tremb ling, i n s ingleness of your heart, as to
Chri st’. The relation of slaves to their masters offered a p rob lemwhich could not b e overlooked in the new Christian society. The
Gal. i i i 28 Sp iritual li b erty and equali ty p rocla imed b y St Paul— ‘ there can
130 EXPOSITION or THE [v1 10
Philem. 16 is to treat Onesimus as‘more than a slave, a b rother beloved
vi 10— 20
b ut Onesimus must go b ack to Phi lemon. A postoli c Chri stian i tydi d not p resent i tself to the world wi th a social p rogramme of
reform. It undertook to create a new human un ity under p resentconditions, teaching master and slave that they were memb ers of
the same b ody, sharers in a common life,both alike related to
one Lord. It strove to make thi s human uni ty— the one new
Man— a vi si b le reality in the Chri stian Church . It"
dealt wi ththe conditions whi ch i t found, and shewed how they might b eturned b y master and slave alike into Opportuni ties for
‘ doing
good whi ch would b e rewarded b y the common Master of themb oth. A t the same time i t planted a seed which w as to grow in
secret to a d i stant and glorious harvest.
FINAL LY, b e strong in the Lord,and in the might of
Hi s strength.
I IPut on the armour of God , that ye may b eable to stand against the w i les of the devil. 1 2For we wrestle
not against flesh and blood, b ut against the principalities,
against the powers,against the rulers of the darkness of this
world,against the spiri tual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
p laces.
I 3Wherefore take unto you the armour of God,that
yemay b e able to w ithstand in the evi l day ,and having done
all to stand.
I 4Stand therefore,having your loins girt about
w ith truth,and having on the breastplate of righteousness,
15and your feet shod w ith the preparation of the gospel of
p eace ;I‘5withal taking the shield of faith, wherewi th ye shall
b e able to quench all the fiery darts of the w icked one.
1 7And take the helmet of salvation,and the sword of the
Spiri t,which i s the word of God ,
18wi th all prayer and sup
plication praying always in the Spii i t, and watching thereunto
wi th all perseverance and supplication for all the saints ; I9 and
for me, that utterance may b e gi ven unto me, in the opening
of mymouth tomake known w ith boldness the mystery of the
gospel, 20 for which I aman ambassador in bonds ; that thereinImay speak boldly
, as I ought to speak.
A s we approach the close of the ep i stle it i s well that w e
should look b ack and try to realise i ts ma in drift. The A postleb egan wi th a di sclosure of the great purp ose of God for the world
VI 10] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 13 1
the gathering into one of all thi ngs in the Chri st. He prayed that i 10hi s readersmight have the eyes of thei r hearts opened to see and i 18
understand thi s purpose and thei r own share in the reali sation of
i t. He shewed that while hi therto they, as Genti les,had stood 11 1 1 it.
outside the sphere of the special development of the purp ose, theywere now no longer outside i t
,b ut within . For a new beginn ing
had been made : Jew and Gentile had been welded together in
Chri st to formGod’s New Man . The p roclamati on of this oneness i i i 1 ff.
of mankind in Chri st w as themi ssion whi ch w as specially entrustedto St Paul
,and for whi ch he was in bonds. That they should
know and understand all thi s w as hi s earnest p rayer, as their
knowledge of it was an essential preliminary of i ts reali sation.
Hav ing been gi ven thi s unity, theymust keep i t. They had been iv 3called to b e parts of the One Man
,to b e limbs of the Body through
whi ch Chri st w as fulfilli ng Himself ; and thi s consideration mustrule thei r life in every detaiL Here was the ground of the di stino
tion of functions in the various memb ers of the Body : some were iv 1 1 if.
given by Chri st to b e apostles, others to b e p rophets, and so forth,
to fit the saints as a whole for the serv i ce whi ch they were calledto render, and to forward the build ing of the Body of the Chri st ;till all should meet in one grown Man
,who should at length have
reached the comp lete stature of the fulness of the Chri st. Heretoo was the ground of the commonest of obligations : the reason,
for examp le, why they should not lie,
to one another w as that they iv 2 5
were memb ers one of another. The posi tive duties of social lifefound thei r sanction in the same doctri ne of un ity in the Chri stthe reason why wi ves should b e subject to their husbands, and why v 2 2
husbands should love thei r wives,w as that husb and and wife stand
to each other even as Chri st and the Church ; in a relation of
authori ty and obed ience, and yet in a relation of perfect oneness
not twa in,b ut one. Chi ldren and parents, slaves andmasters, were vi 1 if.
in like manner to exemplify the ordered harmony of the new life
in Chri st.A t last he draws to a close. He comes b ack fromthese special
injunctions whi ch deal wi th parti cular relationship s to a generalexhortation whi ch concerns the whole. For there i s one thingmore to b e said . It i s not enough to remember that harmonyand mutual helpfulness are the conditions of the Body
’s growth
and health. If all b e well within,there i s yet an outside foe to
b e continually faced. A struggle i s to b e ma inta ined wi th no
v i si b le human enemy, b ut wi th superhuman and invi sible forcesof evi l. And for this confli ct a divine strength is needed. God
’s
New Man must b e clad i n the very armour of God.
132
vi Io f.
Col. 1 16
EXPOSITION OF THE [V I 10— 12
Finally , be strong in the L ord, and i n themight of Hi s strength.
Put on the armour of Cod’. Thi s note of strength was sounded
at the outset. The A postle p rayed that theymight know‘ the ex
w eding greatness of Hi s power to us-ward who believe, according tothe working of the might of Hi s strength, whi ch He hath wroughtin Christ as the Resurrection and A scension have testified. There
the triumph of Chri st occupied the A postle’s mind : Chri st’s exalta
tion in the heavenly sphere above all forces, good or evi l
, of the
sp i ri tual world. Here he has in view the need of the samemightystrength, in order that the Church may reali se and consummatethat tri umph. A compari son of the
“
tw o passages w i ll shew how
much of the earli er language is repeated in thi s final charge.
‘P u t on the armour of God, tha t ye may be ab le to stand aga inst
the w i les of the devi l’. The word ‘ whole
,
’whi ch i s inserted in the
A uthori sed Version i s redundant,and tends to ob scure the A postle
’s
meani ng. It i s God’s panop ly, or armour
,whi ch must b e put on .
The di vineness, rather than the comp leteness, of the outfit i s emphasi sed : and this becomes clear when the phrase is repeated and
explained later on . The contrast here is b etween ‘ the armour of
God’and ‘ the wi les of the devil
’: and the A postle i s led b y thi s
latter phrase to definemore expressly the nature of the conflict’.‘For we wrestle not aga inst flesh and b lood ’: literally, ‘ for to
us the wrestling i s not against b lood and flesh The emphasis fallson the personal p ronoun we have not to wrestle with a humanfoe not on the metaphor of wrestling, which is only introducedby the way , and i s not further alluded to.
‘But aga inst the p rincip ali ties , aga i nst the p ow ers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this w orld,aga inst the sp i ri tua l hosts of
wi ckedness in the heaven ly p laces’. We have seen already that
St Paul speaks in the language of hi s time when he descri bes theworld as subject to sp i ri tual powers who have fallen from their
first estate and are in rebelli on against God . In hi s firstmentionof themhe left i t open to us to regard themas not necessari ly evi l
powers : hi s one point w as that whatever they might b e Chri stw as exalted ab ove them all in the heavenly sphere . In a later
passage he spoke of themaga in in neutral language, as watchingthe development of God
’s eternal purpose for man,and learning
through the Church the very-vari ed wisdomof God’. Simi larly
in the compani on ep is tle he declares that they have all beencreated in Christ ; and some of them at least appear to b e not
1 So Wi cli f renders rightly , Clothe you wi th the armure of God ’; and
Tyndale,‘Put on the armour of God ’.
134
Isa. Xi 4 f.
EXPOSITION or THE [v1 14
Judgment i s turned away backward,A nd righteousness standeth afar off
For truth i s fallen in the street,And uprightness cannot enter.Yea, truth i s lacking ;A nd he that departeth fromevi l maketh h imself a preyAnd the Lord saw i t
,and it di sp leased Himthat there was
no judgment.
Then the D ivine warrior step s forth to do battle wi th ini quity
He saw that there w as no man,A nd wondered that there was none to interposeTherefore Hi s own armbrought salvation to Him;And His righteousness, i t upheld Him.
And He p u t on righteousness as a b reastp late,
And an helmet of salvation upon Hi s head ;A nd He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,And was clad wi th zeal as a cloke.
An earli er p rophecy had p ictured the Divine King of the futureas anointed wi th the sevenfold Sp i ri t, and going forth tomake firstw ar
,and then peace, in the earth :
He shall smi te the earth wi th the word of His mouth 1 ;A nd w i th the Sp i ri t through Hi s lip s shall He slay the
wi cked :And He shall have Hi s loi ns gi rt about wi th ri ghteousness,And His reins gi rdled w i th tru th.
A notable p assage in the Book of W i sdom shews how thesedescri p tions of ‘ the armour of God
’had imp ressed themselves on
themind of another Jew besides St Paul :
He shall take Hi s jealousy as a panop ly,A nd shallmake the whole creation His weapons for vengeance
on His enemiesHe shall put on ri ghteousness a s a b reastp late,And shall array Himself wi th judgment unfeigned as wi th
a helmet ;He shall take holiness as an i nv inci b le shield,And He shall sharpen stern wrath as a sword .
The Apostle does not hesitate,then,
to take the words of
ancient p rophecy and transfer them fromGod and the D ivinerepresentative King to the New Man in Chri st
,whomhe arms
1 So the Greek Bi b le renders i t.
VI 14— 17] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 135
for the same confli ct with the very ‘armour of God
’. In so doing
he was in harmony wi th the sp iri t of the p rophet of old. For the
v01ce whi ch cri ed , ‘ Awake,awake, put on strength, 0 armof the H9 ;
Lord cried also, Awake,awake, put on thy strength, 0 Sion
111 I
‘ And you rfeet shod w i th the p rep ara tion (or, read iness’
)of the vi 15
gosp el qf p eace’p repared , as it were, fromthe outset to announce
peace as the outcome of vi ctory. The read iness of the messengerof p eace i s a thought derived fromanother passage of the Book
of Isa iah How b eautiful upon themounta in s are the feet of himIsa . li i 7
that bringeth good tidings, that pub li sheth p eace ; that bringethgood tidings of good
,that publisheth salvation ; that sai th unto
Zion,Thy God reignethWi tha l taki ng the shield 'of fa i th, wherew i th ye shall be able to vi 16 f.
quench a ll the fiery darts Qf the wi cked one and take the helmetof salva tion and the sword of the Sp i r i t
’. G i rded
, guarded, and
shod , wi th truth, with righteousness,and w i th readiness to pub lish
the good tidings of peace : while all that the foe can see i s the
great oblong shield,the crested helm,
and the po inted tw o-edged
b lade—the shield of fa i th,the helmet of salvation
,and the sword
of the Sp i ri t.
The sw ord of the Sp i ri t, whi ch is the word of God’. The
compari son of speech to a sword is frequent in the Old Testament‘ whose teeth are spears and arrows
,and their tongue a sharp Ps , lvu 4
sword ‘ who have whet their tongue like a sword,and shoot out 1111" 3
their arrows,even bitter words He hath made my mouth like Isa. xlix 2
a sharp sword ’. A nd in the A pocalyp se Chri st i s rep resented as Ap oc. i 16 ;
having a sword p roceeding out of Hi s mouth. The passage whi ch 11111 IS
i s immediately in the A postle’s mind i s one whi ch w e have already
quoted : He shall smite the earth w i th the word of Hi s mouth, Isa . xi 4
and w i th the Sp i ri t (or, breath) through His li ps shall He slaythe wi cked St Paul gathers up these words into a new combination
,the sword of the Sp i ri t, whi ch is the word (or, utterance)
of God’.
The word of God , as uttered through Hi s prophets, i s sp okenof as an instrument of vengeance Therefore have I hewed themHos. vi 5
by the p rophets : I have slain themby the words of MymouthBut fromsuch a thought as thi s the Apostle rap idly passed to themention of p rayer as the natural utterance of Chri stian li ps, and
the effective instrument of success in the confli ct wi th evi l. We
may note the repetition‘ the sword of the p raying in the
Sp iri t’. It i s almost as though the A postle had sa i d, For the
Div ine warri or the sword of the Sp i rit i s Hi s own utterance which
puts Hi s enemies to fl ight : for you i t is the utterance of p rayer
I 36 EXPOSITION OF THE [VI 17- 20
in the Sp irit. If thi s i s not clearly exp ressed ,“
yet i t seems to b eimplied by the close connexi on whi ch binds the whole p assage together sword of theSp i ri t, which i s the word of God, w i th
all p rayer a/nd supp li cati on p rayi ng a lways i n the Sp i ri t’. Prayer i s
Rom. vi i i indeed the utterance of the Sp i rit in us, crying A b ba, Father, and
15’26" making intercession for us accord ing to the will of God .
‘ And watching thereunto w i th a ll p erseverance an d sup p li cation
for a ll the sa ints’. If the mi li tary metaphor i s not di stinctly
carri ed on by the word watching ’, the injunction i s at any rate
pecul iarly app rop riate at thi s point. God’s warrior
,fully armed,
must b e wakeful and alert,or all hi s p reparation wi ll b e vain.
‘And for me, tha t utterance may b e gi ven unto me,i n the
op eni ng ef my mou th to make known w i th boldness the mysteryof the gosp el, for which I aman ambassador i n bonds that therein
I may sp eak boldly, as I ought to sp eak’. A t thi s point the
Ap ostle’s language again runs parallel wi th that whi ch he uses
in the Ep i stle to the Coloss ians . For there the exhortation to
001. iv 2 fi . slaves and their masters i s followed at once by the words : Persevere in p rayer, watchi ng therein wi th thanksgiving, praying w i thalfor us also
,that God would Open unto us a door of utterance, to
speak the mystery of the Chri st, for whi ch also I amin b onds,
that Imay make i t mani fest, as I ought to speak Thi s paralleldetermines the meaning of the phrase
‘ the opening of my mouth’.
It i s not,as our A uthori sed Version renders i t
,
‘that I may open
my mouth’; b ut rather ‘ that God may open my mouth ’. He i s
the giver of the utterance. The A postle is Hi s spokesman, Hi sambassador, though, by a strange paradox, he wears a chain.
vi 2 1—24 BUT that ye also may know my affairs,and how I do,
Tychicus , the beloved brother and faithful mini ster in the
Lord,shall make known unto you all things : 2 2whomI have
sent unto you for the same purpose,that ye might know our
affairs,and that hemight comfort your hearts.
2 3Peace b e to the brethren,and love w ith fai th, fromGod
the Father and the Lord Jesus Chri st.24Grace b e w ith all themthat love our Lord Jesus Chri st
in incorruptibili ty.
The words whi ch concern themi ssion of Tychi cus are found also001. iv 7 in the Ep istle to the Colossians
,wi th hardly a d i fference, except
that there Onesimus i s joined wi th him. Tychi cus is mentionedActs XX 4 in the A cts together with Trophimus as a native of p roconsular
138 EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [VI 24
2 Tim. i 10 ruptib lemust put on i ncorrup ti on’,dzc.
‘Our Savi our Jesus Chri st,w ho hath ab oli shed death
,and hath b rought life and immortali ty
to light through the Gospel’. It signi fies that imperishableness
whi ch i s an attri b ute of God Himself, and whi ch belongs to the
unchanging order of the eternal world. Imperishab leness i s the
characteri sti c of our new li fe in Chri st and of our love to Him.
That life and that love are in truth immortal ; they belong to a
region whi ch i s b eyond the touch of decay and death.
So the ep i stle whi ch opened wi th a b old glance into the eternal
past closes wi th the outlook of an immortal hope.
A 3 A'
Qa rrep 8th rov a cip a'
ros d O'
cc'
nyp e’hahez Ka t taro, ovrws Kai npo
'
repov
p év 8131 7 6311 npogbgrcfiu, V171! de‘
8131 rcfw (i rrom'
cihcov xal 7 03V b tdaa xdhwu. 7;s I c a a a I a I Jr I 8exxhqma yap vmyp erec 17] rov KUPLOU evepyerg . Kat TOTG a vdp amova or a a a t a I a I I
ave’AaBev wa Bl. avrov vmyp efi fay re) Helm/ran rov rrarp os, Ka t rravrore
’I6
t I6
3
BI
6 zaa
I I Ian p amf ou o (b ihav pumas ev vera z 609 e 9 my av pam'
cov O'
comp tav, np or epovI A 3 l
p er rous‘
npocbqra g, vvu b e 7 77V exxhqma v.
Even as through the body the Savi our used to sp eak and heal,so afore
time through the p rop hets and now through the ap ostles and teachers.
For the Church subserves themighty working of the L ord . Whence both
at that time He took up on Himman,that through h imHemight sub
serve the Father’s w i ll; and at all times in His love toman God clothes
Himself w i th man for the sa lvati on of men,aforetime w i th the p rop hets,
now w i th the Church.
CLEMENT or A LEXANDRIA,Eclog. P rOp h . 2 3.
142 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
33 t
0Q A
Euhoyn7 09 0 609 Ka t 7ra 7 np 7 ou KUp lOU 17wn a s I c A o I 1 I
In0 0v Xp lO‘
T OU, 0 euh07 n0 a 9 1171019 61/ n a 0 g w h oa/taA f
n uevp a 7 ucg éu 7 019 én ovpamow éV Xp lO’
T cp,4Ka0w9 656
3— 10.
‘ I b egin by b lessing Godwho has b lessed us, not with an
earthly b lessing of the b asket and thestore, b ut wi th all sp iritual b lessingin the heavenly region in Christ.
Such was the design of His eternal
selection of us to walk b efore Himin h’oliness and love. Fromthe firstHe marked us out to b e made Hissons b y adop tion through Jesus Christ.The good -
p leasure ofHiswi llwas thesole ground of this selection ; as thep raise of the glory ofHis grace was i tscontemplated end Hi s grace, I say ;forHe has showeredgrace on us inHimwho is the Beloved
,the Bringer of the
great Emancipation, which is wroughtb y His death and whi ch delivers usfromsin : such is the wealth of His
grace. The ab undance of grace too
b rings wisdomand p ractical understanding : for He has allowed us to
know Hi s secret,the hidden purpose
which underlies all and interp rets all.Long agoHis good-p leasurewas determined : now
,as the times are ri peni ng,
He i sworki ng out His p lan. And the
issue of all is thi s—the summing up ,the focussing, the gathering into one
,
of thewhole Universe,heavenly things
and earthly things alike, in Christ’.3. EJAo-yqrés] This word i s used
only of God in the New Testament.It recurs in the p resent phrase, 2 Cor.
i 3, 1 Pet. i 3 ; and in the phrasea h a
-yards s i s rob s a ic
'
ivas, Rom. i 2 5,ix 5, 2 Cor. xi 31. The only otherinstances are Mark xiv 61, Luke i 68.
Of men, on the other hand
,efihq
p e’
vos‘ is used
,e.g. Matt. xxv 34, Luke
i 42 . Efihq rds implies that b lessingis due ; schemat a ,
that b lessing hasb een received. The b lessing ofmanb y God confers material or sp iritualb enefits : the b lessing of God b ymanis a return of gratitude and p raise.
Here St Paul comb ines the two s ignifications : etihoyrj0 a s finds.
15debs Kai i ra '
njp ] The first, as wellas the second of these titles, i s to b etaken with the following genitive. A
sufficientwarrant for this i s found inv. 17, d debs 7 013 xvp iov
’Ir)0 oi}
c crroi},d nariyp rhs 8660s (comp . also
John xx Some early interp retershowever take the geni tive wi th 7ra
'
njpalone. Thus Theodore allows thislatter construction
,and Theodoret
insists upon it. Moreover the Peshitorenders : ‘
Blessed b e God, the Fatherof our Lord Jesus Christ’; and theearlier Syriac vers ion, as witnessed tob yEphraim’s commentary (extant onlyin an Armenian translation), seems tohave had :
‘Blessed b e our Father
,
the Father of our Lord’, etc. On
the other hand B stands alone (forHilary, in P 8. la vi , quotes onlyB ened i ctus dens, qui bened i a
'i t nos,
etc.)in omi tting Ka i na ‘
nip .
c’v mic?) edhoy iq mevuar i xfi]
‘wi th
a ll sp i ri tual b less ing’. It might b e
rendered ‘wi th every sp i ri tua l b less
i ng’; b ut it is b etter to regard
esxoyza as ab stract : compare v. 8 e’u
7160 3) 0 o¢ ia.i n 7 029 e
’n
‘
ovp aviocs] The interpre
tation of this phrase, which occursagain in i 20, i i 6, i i i 10, vi 12
, and
not elsewhere, i s discussed at lengthin the exposition. The Latin renderingi s
‘ in caelestibus’. The Peshito hasm (= e
’v 7 029 odpavo
’
i s) in all
instances except the last. It i s inte
resting to note that in i 20 B and a
few other authorities read i n roi s
odp avo'
i s.
4. sarcasm ] Wemay render thisei ther ‘He ha th chosen
’or
‘He chose’;
and so wi th the aorists throughoutthe passage. In Greek the aorist isthe natural tense to use ; but it does
1 EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS. 143
A, t A 3 A
[8 A
A c h
e§a 7 0 11111019 611 a v7 eo 7rpo 1ca 7 a 0 119 Ko0 p 0v, ewa i
e I s I f a a s a I
a a a 6 (on to a5
a y/
tovs K
.
t
h
p ic/(toy
s 1c
7“
V
,
V 117 011 61! ay amy, grp’oop t0 a s njua s a s v10960 ta 1/ 31a ln0 0v Xp lG
'
T OU 619 a v7 ou,3 2!1
8I n
0I 1 a 5
Ka 7 a T I7V 611 7 011 ehmua 7 09 a u7 0u, a s errawov
not of necessity confine our attention
to themoment of action.
n pd Kara/Sohijs x60uov] Here onlyin St Paul : b ut see John xvu 24,
I Pet. 1 20. The phrase (ia-b kara
Bohijs xo’o-uov is several times used in
the New Testament, b ut not b y StPaul.dyiovs Ka i dp c
i
uovs] These adj ectives are again comb ined in v 2 7 ; and,With the add ition of dve
’
yxhn'
ros, in
Col. i 2 2 . In the Lxx i s
almost exclusively found as a ren
dering of man,which occurs very
frequently of sacrificial animals, inthe sense of ‘without b lemish ’. But
mm“
) is also freely used of moralrectitude, and has other renderings,such as réhetos, dp emrros, Kadap cis,
dxaxos, limo s. Accordingly a sacrificial metaphor is not necessarilyimplied in the use of the word inthis place.
e’v saw ] This has b een interp reted
(1) of God’s love
, (2) of our love,
whether (a) to God or (b) to eachother. Origen adOpts the first view ;he connects e
’
v dycin'
y With npoop i0 as
(‘ i n love having f oreordainedb ut he al lows as a p ossib le alternativethe connexion with e
’
gexéga-ro. Thi salternative (He hath chosen usm i n
love)i s the view taken b y Ephraimandb y Pelagius . The connexion withflpoop lO
'
a s, however, i s more usual :it is accep ted b y Theodore and
Chrysostom: the Peshito p recludesany other view b y rendering
‘and in
loveHe &c. ; b ut Ephraim’s commentshews that the conj unction cannothave b een p resent in the Old Syriacversion.
In Latin the rendering ‘ in cari tate
p raedesti nans (d2g3)left the questionOp en. V ictorinus has this rendering,
b ut Offers no interp retation of‘i n
car i tate’: Amb rosiaster has i t
,and
explains the words of our love to Godwhich p roduces holiness Jerome alsohas it, and gives as alternatives theconnexion with what immedi atelyprecedes, and Origen
’s view which
connects the words with npoop i0 as.
The Vulgate rendering (found also in
f )‘ in cari tate qu i p raedestinaui t
’
precludes the connexion wi th a p o
op i0 as.
The simplest interp retation is thatwhich i s ind icated b y the punctuationgiven in the text. It i s supported b ythe rhythmof the sentence
, and alsob y the frequent recurrence in thisep istle (i i i 17, iv 2
,15, 16, v 2)of the
phrase c’v dycirmin reference to the
lovewhich Christians should have oneto another.
5. eis v iodem’av] St Paul uses theword vzoew za five times ; Rom. vi ii15, 23, ix 4, Gal. iv 5, and here. It is
found in no other Bib lical writer.Although the word does not seemtooccur in the earli er li terary Greek, itis frequent in inscriptions. In addi
tion to the ordinary references,see
Deissmann Neue B i belstud ien (1897)p . 66. He cites frompre
-Christianinscriptions the formulae xad
’v iodea iav
be’
and Karl: dv‘
yarpon'
oclav 85, occurringin contrast to Ka i
-d
In Rom. ix 4 St Paul uses the termin enumerating the p rivi leges of theancient Israel, (511 ri viodem
’a Ka i. rj dbga
Kal. a tBaadr’
ixa i Here thereforeit falls into linewith the other exp ressions which he transfers to the NewPeop le : such as dyaoc, a
’n
'
ohzi-rpcoms,e’xhqp cidnuev, nepm'
o iqms.eddoxiav 7 03 dehrjp aros] Comp . v. 9 ;
and for the emphatic reiteration comp .
v. 1 1 Kard T ip! 6011t 7 05 dehfip aros
144 EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS. [1 7— 10
7 179 xdp17 09 01157 017, 119 exap i7 w0 6 1/ 75111229 611 7 47
n’f
yan ny éuw ,
76V (1) 696011611 7 7511 d 7ro7x157 pw0 w 3101 7 017
a'
qua 7 09 a v7 017,7 11V c
’
ccj)60 11/ 7 amn apa 7r7 w jua 7 wu, Ka 7 a
7 0 7r7\o177 os 7 119 xap 17 09 119 6’
71'
6p i0 0 6v0 61/ 6 is
njua s GV 7ra 0 g 0 0¢ ia Ka 1 (140011110 619y p 10 a s 1711211 7 0
uv0 7 np101/ 7 011 967 w'
11a 7 09 a v7 017, xa 7 a 7 11V GU’
COKLCIV
a u’
7 017 i111 61! 01117 117I °eis oucovow
'
a v 7 ou n hnpw
a137 017. Fritzsche (on Rom. x 1)discusses eddoxe'
iv and eddoxia. He Shewsthat the verb i s freely used b y thelater Greek wri ters
,and especially
Polyb ius, where earlier wri ters wouldhave said stage” and the like. The
noun appears to b e A lexandrian. The
translators of the Greek Psalter, whouniformly employ eddoxei v for 3131
,
render 3131 b y eddoxia ‘
(7 times)andb y 1967117110 (6 times). Apart fromthisei com'a i s found twice only, excep t inEcclesiasticus where it occurs 16
times. In Enoch i 8 we have Kal rip ;
eddoxiav 8160 6 1 av’ro2s Kai min -
a s 61910
yrjcm. L ike it is used largelyof the Divine ‘
good-
p leasure’(comp .
PS. 0111111 4 31-1. 613801162 Kup tos 611
hag? a i roi‘
i), b ut also of the‘
good
pleasure’
,satisfaction or happ iness of
men.
6. i s e’
xap i'r co0 ev 1511129] The Apostle
is emphasising hi s ownword xdp ts. It
i s instructive to compare certain otherphrases in whi ch a sub stanti ve is
followed b y its cognate verb : as in
v. 19 Kard e’wfp ‘
yqxev,
i i 4 di d nohh iyv dydmv a137 017
rj'ycin'
170 ev i juds, iv I 7 179 Oh io-ems 779
ea ten“ . Themeaning i s His gracewherewith He hath endued us withgrace
’; which i s amore emphatic way
of saying‘His grace which He hath
shewn toward us or‘hath b estowed
upon us’. So that the phrase does
not greatly differ fromthat of v. 8‘His grace which He hath made toab ound toward us
’. For other uses
Of xap crofiv, and for the early inter
p retations of the word in this p lace,see the detached note on xcip cc.
The relati ve 59 has b een attractedinto the case of its antecedent. It is
simplest to regard i t as standing for35. N°D2G3KL , with the Latin version(i n read £115 b ut this is prob ab lythe grammatical change of a scri be.
31: h am/1161119] The reasons forregarding 6 ri-yawqp e
’uog as a current
Messianic designation are given in a
detached note. In the parallelpassage,001. i 13 f., St Paul wri tes : Ka i p om-é0 17 70 611 629 7 1711 Baa-(Af fa ir 7 017 115017 7 179ci-ya
'my9 0137 017, 811 exonev In
that p assage the desire to emphasisethe Divine Sonship of Christ mayaccount for his paraphrase of the
ti tle.
7. 31) E’
XOp euSo in Col i 14. For the meaning of
al
v -
pcoaw see note on v. 14.
8. 779 Prob ab ly b yattraction for 13V comp .
2 Cor. ix 8 Sw an ? 86’
6 19609 m’
i o av
xcipw wep 10'
0 6f/0'
a 1 629
9. 7 6 p va-m’pwv] Comp . 111 3, 4, 9,
v 32 , vi 19 : and see the detachednote on p vrrnipw u.
wpoe’
éero]‘He ha th p urp osed
’.
The preposition in this word has thesignification not of time, b ut of p lace :‘He set b efore H imself’. Sowe have7rp61960
'
19,‘
p urp ose’
,in 0. I I .
10. 629 o ixovop fau] The word oz1mvop.1
'
ameans p rimarily either ‘the officeof a steward’or ‘household management’. The latter meaning howeverreceived a large extension, so that
146
7 "611 w
l
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [I 1 1—13
9 I I I
19011 6xknpw9n/16V 19017 01 7rp0I
960-111 7 017 7 01 77 01117 01 6V6p7 0v117 09 1ca 7 a 7 1111 [3o11a 7 011
I 3 AGehnp a v
'
os 01117 011,3 A I 9 A
a v7 011 7 0119 7 p0n7\7r11<07 a 9 611 XP‘O'
T ‘P
1 23 t A 3 a, I
619 7 0 6111011 1111019 619 6 77 01111011 305119A 13
(0 mu4
t A 9 l fl 3 I 3
11116 19 a xovo'
a V7 69 7 011 Ko'
you 7 119 aAn061a 9, 7 0 611017
yours asmuch as ours. You too haveb elieved in Chri st, and have b eensealed with the Sp iri t, the HolySp irit p romised to the holy People,who i s at once the p ledge and the
first instalment of our common heritage ; sealed, I say, for the full andfinal emancipation, that you, no lessthan we,may contribute to the p raiseof the glory of God
’.
I I . 611 w xa1 6701q 01711611 7rpoop 10'
66117 69] This is practically a restatement in the passive voice of zgexégaro
1511619 (vv. 4, So
Chrysostomcomments : 6669 ‘
ydp 6
6’Kh6fép 6v09 Kai. xhqpcomipi vos‘. KM)p ofmis
‘to choose b y lot
’or
‘to
appoint b y lot’. In the passive it is
‘to b e chosen (or ‘
appointed b ylot
’. But the image of the lot tends
to disapp ear ; so that the wordmeans‘to assign
’,or (mid ) ‘
to assign to
oneself’,‘to choose’; and in the
passive‘to b e assigned
’or
‘ chosen’.The passive, however, could be us ed
wi th a following accusative in the
sense of ‘ to b e assigned a thing’,and
so‘to acquire as a portion Thus in
the Berlin Papyri (II 405)we read ,in a contract of the year 348 A.B. :
317 181)NH011 o croxomv xal 0 17 ah67 1191’111
p qxamfv, 7ra7 pq7a 15111311 b'
w a, 6’klh7po5
61111611, This is the meaninggiven in the present passage b y theA .V . (
‘ inwhomalsowe have ob tainedan inheritance b ut there appears tob e no justification for it, except whenthe accusative of the object assignedi s exp ressed.
A ccordingly the meaning must b e‘we have been chosen as God
’s p or
tion’: and the word is perhaps se
lected b ecause Israel was called ‘the
7 dmix/7 a 6’116pyo17117 09] who w orketh
all th ings’: see the detached note on
6’V6py 6fv.
12 . 7 0179 np oqhmxora s‘]‘who have
been the fi rst to hop e’. For thi s use
of 1rp o’in composition (‘b efore ah
other’)comp are I Cor. xi 2 1 6 1100 7 09
yap 7 0 131011 86 177 11011 up ohayflciva 6 11 7 07
(tay ew . So far as the word in itselfi s concerned it might b e rendered‘who aforetime hop ed
’but the
meaning thus given i s questionab le :see the exp osition.
I3. 611 Kat It is simplestto take 1511629 as the nominative to
20¢ pay i0 19177 6, regarding the secondc’v as p icking up the sentence, whi chhas been b roken to insert the emphatic phrase
‘ the good tidings of a
salvation whi ch was yours as well as
ours ’. A somewhat similar rep etitioni s found in i i 07 1 17 07 3 15116 19 "
57 1. 777 67 17
11 76 7 011 7 779 dhqeefa s] The teaching which told you the truth of things
lot’or
‘the portion
’of God : as, e.g.
,
in Deut. ix 29 017
7 01 ha ck 0 011 mlKhfipds' a
'
ou (comp . Esth. iv I7 , an
addition in the Lxx). The renderingof the R.V .
,
‘we were made a heri
tage ismore correct than that of theA.V ., but it introduces the idea of
inheritance (xknpovop ia), which i s notnecessari ly imp lied b y the word. We
might perhaps b e content to renderéfehé£a7 o (17. 5)and gxhnp aifiqp ev b y‘chose’and ‘
ehosen’, as was done in
the Geneva Bib le of 1557 : an ancientprecedent for this i s found in the
Peshito, which employs the sameverb in b oth verses R and
I 14] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 147
I I A af
yeh ou 7 119 0'
w7 11p 1019 15710111, fi ll 01 Kml
7 0) 77 1161111117 1 7 119 6 7ra v
yf
yeh 1a 9 7 07 017 101,40 a
’
ppafiwv 7 179 Khnp0V0/1 1a 9 17710711, 619
7 pw0'
1u 7 119 7 7 6P17701110'
6w9,619 6 77 01111011 7 179 305119 11117 017.
14. 89 60-7 111
(comp . iv to wi t, that you wereincluded in the Divine purpose—thegood tidings of your salvation. In
Col. i 5 we have the same thought :‘the hope laid up for you in the
heavens, whereof ye heard aforetime
in the word of the truth of the gospelwhich came unto you’, 810. Comparealso 2 Cor. Vi 7 611 héycp 1i7\1)961
'
a9 and
James i 18My?6 0 ¢ pay100177 6
O
K. Compare lv 307 0 1rV617p a 7 0 7 011 66017
,6 11 07
6 0 ¢ p ay1'
0'9177 6 619 np épav a 7ro7tv7 p050
'
6019,
and 2 Cor. i 2 1 f. (quoted b elow).I4. dppaBaiv] L ightfoot has treated
this word fully in the last of his noteson this ep istle (Notes on Epp . p .
It is the Heb rew word 112W (from2 117
, to entwine’,and so to
It i s found in classical Greek writers ;so that it was p rob ab ly b rought toGreece b y the Phoenician traders,and not b y the Heb rews, who knewlittle of the Greeks in early days. It
came also into Latin, and is found ina clipped formin the law books asarra . In usage i tmeans stri ctly nota pledge
’but ‘
an earnest’
(though in the only place in the Lxx
where it occurs,Gen. xxxvi i i 17 111, it
has the former sense). That is to say,i t is a part given in advance as a
securi ty that the whole wi ll b e paidhereafter—a first instalment.Jerome ad loo. points out that the
L atin version had p ignus in thi s
p lace instead of arrabo. Yet in his
V ulgate he left p ignus here and in
2 Cor. i 22, v 5. The explanationp rob ab ly is that in his Commentaryh e was practically translating fromOrigen, and found a careful note on
a’
ppafiaiu, which would have b een
I 0—2
meaningless as a note on p ignusthus his attention was drawn to theinadequacy of the Latin version : b utnevertheless in revising that version(i f indeed to any serious extent he d idrevise it in the Ep istles)he forgot, ordid not care, to insist on the properdistinction.
With the whole context compare2 Cor. i 2 1 f. 6 86 BGBGLCSV 771159 017111511211 629 Xpurrov Ka i xp 1
'
0'
a 9 1511319 9669,6 K0). 0 ¢ pwy1ad116vo9 151139 Ka i 30179 7011cippa/Bcfiva 7 06 1rv61
'
111a 7 09 7 079 Kap81
'
a 19 15111311 (for the technical termBe/Sacofiv, see Deissmann B z
'
belstud ien
p p . 100 3 . and Gradenwitz Einfizhrung in d ieP ap yruskunde, 1900,p .
Gradenwitz (i b i d. pp . 81 shewsthat the dppaficdv, as it appears in thepapyri , was a large p roportion of the
payment : if the transaction was notcompleted the defaulter, i f the seller,repaid the a
’
ppafiaiv twofold with interest if the b uyer, he lost the
cippc dv.
15111311] Note the return to the firstperson. It is
‘our inheritance’: we
and you are O'
v q ovdpm, comp .
i i i. 6.
629 dwohv'7 pw0
'
w] The verb Rv‘rpo i
'
z
0 6mis used of the redemptionof IsraelfromEgyp t in Exod. vi 6, xv 13 (5M),and six times in DeuteronomyIn the Psalms it represents b othHeb rew words ; in Isaiah generallythe first of them: and it is frequentlyfound in other parts of the Old Testament. TheRedemp tion fromEgypti s the ground of the concep tionthroughout ; and ‘
emancipation’ i sperhaps theword which expresses themeaning most clearly. In Englishthe word redemption’almost inevit
148 EPISTLE TO T
ab ly suggests a p rice paid : but thereis no such necessary suggestion whereAw pofio dac i s used of the Peop le,even i f occasionally the p rimary senseis felt and p layed upon. In elm-0M7 pw0
'
19 (and even Mrpcomg in the
New Testament)the i dea of emancip atiou i s dominant, and that of payment seems wholly to have disap
p eared. In the Old Testament theformdflohérpwow i s only found inDan. iv 30
° (Lxx), ofNeb uchadnezzar’s
recovery (6 xp6v09 7 69 dflohvrp aicrmis‘See furtherWestcott Hebrews
p p . 295 fit, and T. K. Ab b ott Ep he
si ans pp . 1 1 if.
7 779 fl6p 171'
01170'
6co9] The verb 71'
6p 171'
01
ei o €a1 is found in two senses in theOld Testament : (1)‘ to p reserve alive
’
(nearly always for (2)‘to ac
quire’. Corresp onding to the former
sense we have the noun mpmm’
qms,‘
p reservation of life’ (who), in 2
Chron. xiv 13 (12) corresponding tothe latter we have Mal. ii i 17
‘
c'
c-om-af
.619 np épav 17V 67 10 W016 , 629 7r6p 1
mzqaw (men “ MN nr‘p. .
15 umn‘azo),
‘they shall b e to the
day that I do make, a peculiar treasure these are the only p laces (exe.Hag. 11 9,m only)where the noun isused.
In the New Testament the verb isfound, p rob ab ly in the sense of ‘
pre
serving alive’,in Luke xvi i 33 (mp 1
wonia ao fiac BL ; b ut NA etc. have(re-70m, and D { woyovfiam} where inthe second memb er of the verse wehave ( 1007 0111517 61. In the sense Of‘acquiring’it i s found in A cts xx 28
(3711 71'6p 161ro1151m7 0 8181 7 05 a i'
naro9 7 017
235011) and in I Tim. i i i 13 (60911611xakév). The noun is found in Heb .
X 39 629 7r6p 111'
01'
770 1v 4119079, I Thess.v 9 629 nepmofqo'
w crco‘mp 1'a9, and
2 Thess. 11 I4 629 nepmoiqaw 861979 ineach of these p laces the meaning isdeb ated ; see L ightfoot on the twolast (Notes on Epp . pp .
The p assage inMalachi i s speciallyimportant for the determination of
150 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [I 19—2 1
I Q A I a t 3 A I y A7 0 615611111 v
,ua 9 7 19 EO
'
T LV 17 67\7r19 7 179 117\170'
6w9 11117 011,I I A
7 19 15 7r?\o117 o9 7 179 305179 7 179 11A17p01107u1119 1z157 ou 611 7 019
Q I 19I c I I
0A8
I
017 1019, 11111 7 1 7 0 [167 6 09 7 179 111111711613 9A 3 A I i I
c1157 ou 619 1771 119 7 ou9 7 7 10'
7 6v0117 119 , 11117 11 7 1711 6 116707 611111
A l A 3 I n t\ I A7 011 11pa 7 0v9 7 179 tO
'
XUOS‘
a v7 011, 6
’
1117p7 1711611 611 7 91a a I 1 a I a A
Xp10'
7 1p 617 6171119 11117 011
611 VEp V,
[
11111 111
1910 119 611 3651113 f “ A 9 C A
01117 011 611 7 019 67rovpa 1110192 1
v7r6701111111 c17ox179 11111
20. é111§p7 170611
1571211 we should have expected 7r6¢ 13 He hath w rought’: see
7 117 71611011 : b ut the sense i s p lain. detached note on e’vepy eiv and i ts cog
There i s an allus ion to this passageinClem. Rom. 36, 311i 7 0157 0v (so.
’I170
'
01'
5
Xp 10'
7 01'
5)15116 175x19170'
a11 15711311 o i 6¢ 6a>1710i7 779 11ap81
'
a 9' d1ci 7 0157 0v 1; 60151167 09 Kai
80 1107 107161117 81d1101a 15711311 dvaddhha7 15 the former of these sentencesconfirms the reading 11ap81
'
as in thisplace ; the latter recalls at once Rom. i
2 1 and Eph. iv 18.
19—23. Themeasure of themight
of His strength youmay see first ofall in what He has wrought in Chri stHimself. He has rai sed Himfromthe dead ; He has seated Himat Hisown righthand in the heavenly regionHe has made Himsupreme above
all conceivab le rivals,—principali ties,
authorities, powers, lordship s, b e theywhat theymay, in this world or the
next. And,thus supreme, He has
made Himthe Head of a Body—the
Church, which thus supp lements andcompletes Him; that so the Christmay have no p art lacking, butmayb e wholly comp leted and fulfilled’.19. 1517 6d 7\7\011 The
participle comes again in i i 7 7 13 1517 17»Bdhhov and in i i i 19 7 1711 t57repBdkhovo av 7 179 7 11160 6109 dyémyv. Otherwise it is only found in 2 Cor. i i i 10
(With ix 14 (Wi th We
have the adverb in2 Cor. xi 2 3. The noun 1517 1p7807115occurs seven times in St Paul’s ep istles,b ut not elsewhere in the New Testament.
6’111
'
py61a11. " 15
711 gvripyqxev] thework
7 03 xpd7 0v9 7 179 2070509 0 157 013] The
same comb ination i s found in vi 10
6’118v110710i317 196 111v 19 611 7 173 Kp CiTGL
7 39 Zox1509 0 157 03. Comp . also Col. i I 171
'
d v dp el. 8v1107101571 61101 1107 31 7 13
xpd7 09 7 59 365779 015
7 03. With perhap sb ut one exception (Heb . i i 14) theword 117167 09 in the New Testament i sonly used of the Divinemight.20. 6
’1rovp 0111
'
o19] On thi s exp ression see the note on v. 3.
2 1 . 1577 6pdx110]‘above
’. The only
other places in the New Testamentinwhich the word occurs are iv 10 13
11110609 1577611d 17 1317 13 11 7 1311 015110 111311,and Heb . ix 5 1517 6p 1i1111) 36
‘
0 15
1739 (SC. 7 6911173017 03)X6povfieix1 365179. The latter
passage shews that the dup licatedformis not intensive ; as neither isits counterpart (compareHeb . i i S= Ps. vii i 7 157701167 111 7 1311 770
131311 0 157 06 with 11. 2 2 of this chap ter).We have a striking parallel to the
language of this passage in Phi lo de8077171. i 2 5 (M. p .
’E7.11§11v6 86 7 6
1’1'
110p (Gen. xxvi i i I3)6’0
'
7 17p 1yp 6'
11011 em7 779 t ha1<o9 7 011
”
0px0-y-yehox1 K15p 1011 .
15716p0111o yap 1159 0p7107 09 17111'
oxo11 f) 1159
1161139 111178671v 151ro7\r7717 6’011 107 00 60 1
7 6 311 6111 0 13 71157 13 11, 4111x1311,de
'
p 09, o15p01103, 0206177 1311 Burd
71613 11, dopdmw (111517 61011, 30017 6p9607 81 1101 60607 0. 7 011 yap 11617 71011
517 0117 0 356410 9 60117 03 6110117 170 097 1711 7 00 0157 1711 151110X6
'
1
'
77 1507 79 dpxfi9‘every p rima
I 2 2] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 151
I I I
650110 10 9 110 1 3v110 716w9 110 1 11vp 107 177 09 110 1 77 0 117 39 3110'
3 I I A 3 A I a710 7 09 011 711011011 6 11 7 1171 01101111 7 0117 151 11A7\0
A I n c c 1 1
11111 611 71167\7\0V7 1’
YUG’TAZGN vno TOYC noAac
p ali ty’
,&c. The correspond ing li st
in Col. i 16, where the words are inthe p lural 970151101 xvp 167 177 6 9
677 6 cipxa i 677 6 shews thatthese are concrete terms. Otherwisewemight render ‘
all rule’810. We
have the p lurals dpxa i andb elow in i i i 10 and vi 12 . On theseterms see L ightfoot Colossians, loo.
ci t. Although the Apostle inwri tingto the Colossians treats themwithsomething like scorn, yet his references to themin this ep istle shewthat he regarded themas actuallyexistent and intelligent forces, i f in
part at any rate opposed to theDivinewi ll. In the present passage, however
,they arementioned only to em
phasise the exaltation of Christ.770117 39 151167107 09 3110710 { 0116
'
110v] For
3110710 in the sense of a‘title of rank’
or‘ digni ty
’, see L ightfoot on Phil. i i
9 : and compare I Clem. 43, 7 93 6181551931115110 7 1 (so. 7 179 Imam-1511179) 11611007117
7161117, and 44, oZci7760‘
7 0ho1 15111311 67 111116p 19 60 7 0 1 6771 7 03 31167107 09
7 179 677 10 11077139. Among the OxyrhynChas P ap yri (Grenfell and Hunt,p t I no. 58)is a complaint 288)of the needless multiplication of of
ficials : Bovh0'
1161101 7 619 7 0711011619
31167107 0 600 7079 6S6v
p 15117 69, 02 X6 1p 117 7 1311, of. 36 ypap p a
o i 36 ¢ p0117 10 7 1311, closingWith the order : 7 61 36 1311157107 0
770150 177 0 1.
7 13 0213111 The same con
trast i s found in Matt. xi i 32 013
7 15 611
7 0157 171 7 13 0213111 611 7 13 7167010117 1.It i s the familiar Rab b inic contrastb etween 71mD511), the present ag e,
and 111mBS1”, the age to come. Dal
man,who fully d iscusses these terms
(D ie Worte J ean 1 120 i ii), declaresthat there is no trace of themin preChri stian Jewish literature.
In the New Testamentmm13511113represented b y 15 a ia
‘
w 0157 09 again in
Luke xvi 8,xx 34, Rom. xi i 2 , I Cor.
i 20, i i 6, 8, i i i 18, 2 Cor. iv 4 ; b y 15
021311 15 3111 17 7 169 in Gal. i 4 ; b y 15 11311
in the Pastoral Ep istles, I Tim.
vi 17, 2 Tim. iv 10,Tit. i i 12 : and
also b y 15 1115171109 015
7 09 in I Cor. 111 19,v 10, vn 3 1, and in the Johannine
writings, inwhi ch aZaS
v only occurs inthe phrases 129 7 1511 0213110
,311 7 013 02131109
(or in the p lural, as in In
the same sense we often have 15 0211511
I
or 0 11017 1109, just as D311? i s used for71171051V. We may compare also 15
110 1p 159 015
7 09, Mark X 30 (= Lul1e XVIIILuke xi i 56 ; 15 111711 110 1p 159, Rom.
i i i 26,vi i i 18
,Xi 5 ; and 15 110 1p39 (5e
’ve
07 17111159, Heb . ix 9.
On the other hand the words 1115
171109 and 1101p 159 cannot enter into therepresentation of NJ ?!13519. For thiswe have 150212111 151117011011 again in Heb .
Vi 5 (3v111511119 1117010117 09
021311 15 e’
pxéy evo9 inMark X 30 and theparallel Luke xvii i 30 ; 15020
5
11 13
11631109 in
Luke xx 35. Wemay note however1117130110011 in Heb .
i i 5.
We have b elow in this ep istle theremarkab le phrases 15 021511 7 013 1115011011
7 0157 0v in i i 2 , and of 0213111 9 05 éflepxé
1111101 in i i 7 .
2 2 . 1101 770117 0 11.7 .7L] An allusionto PS. V111 7 770117 0 151767 0509 1577011157 10
7 1311 77031311 0157 03, Which i s quoted so
fromthemmin Heb . i i 8. A simi larallusion i smade in I Cor. xv 27 7115117 1:
yc‘
zp 157767 0133111 157715 7 0159 77 1530 9 0157 017.
With the whole context compareI Pet. i i i 2 2 39 317 7 111 31! 3651121 61013
770p ev€el9 1529 ofipavbv 157707 0ye’
117 13 11 0157 13677 1
'
k 1101 3501117 11311 1107. 3111161111011,
which is plainly dependent on this
passage.
152 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [I 23—II I
3 A j , Q
an on 1102 0 157 011 63111116 11 1161150t u7rep 7 7 0 117 0 7 11‘
61111MI A
0 10,
23557 19 60 7 211 7 0 a v7 ou, 7 0 71'7\17pa1,00 7 ou 7 0
A 1/
770 117 0 611 7 7 0 0 111 77Anpov/uevov . II .
IK0 1 15110 9 0117 0 9
1577€p 7715117 0] repeats the 7715117 0 of
the quotation,which itself points b ackto in 17. 2 1.
23. 7 15 nhripwp a‘ the f i ll
ness (or fulfilment) of Himwho
a ll i n all i s being fi lled (or f ulOn themeaning of arkripwpa,
see the detached note.
7 0 77 15117 0 311 77130 111] The phras e i sused adverb ially. It i smore emphaticthan the classical adverb 770117 077 00 01,which does not occur in the NewTestament. It is found, though not
adverb ially, in I Cor. x11 6 0 0117 09
91159, 0 3111117 1311 7 0 770117 0 811 77 130 111
(where however 7100 111 may mean‘ in all and as a predi cate inI Cor. xv 28 7110 35 15 91159 7715117 0 611
77210 111, and wi th a slight variation inCol. i i i I I dhhé 7715117 0 1105 77310 111
Xp 101'
159. In each of the last twocases there is some evi dence for
reading 7 81 77 15117 0 : b ut the ab sence of
the article is natural in the predicate .
This use of the phrase as applied toGod and to Chri stmakes it themoreappropriate here. St Paul uses
7715117 0 adverb ially in 1 Cor. ix 2 5,x 33(7715117 0 77 30 111 Xi 2 , Phil. iv13 ; and likewise 7 8: 77 12117 111 in thi sep istle iv 15 629 0 157 1511
707715117 0,an important p arallel.
t povp e'
uov] There i s no j ustification for the rendering that filleth allin all’ The onlyancient versionwhich gives this interpretation i s theSyriac Vulgate. In English it ap
pears first in Tyndale’s translation
The chief instances cited for777\n00606a 1 as middle are those in
which a cap tain i s said to man hisship (11a 77h17p060901), i .e.
‘to get it
filled ’. But this i diomatic use of themiddle (comp . 770 130 313150 1110001)affords no justification for taking i there in what is really the active
sense. St Paul does indeed speak of
Christ as ascend ing‘that He might
fill all things’; b ut then he uses the
active voice,7110 whqpoio
-
y; 7 d
(iv Had hi smeaning b een thesame here, we can hardly doub t thathe would have said whypofiw-
oc.
The passive sense is supp orted b ythe early versions. (1) The L atin.
Cod. Claromont. has sup p lementumqui omn ia et i n omni bus imp letur.
The usual Latin is p len i tudo ei ua quiomnia i n omni bus ad imp letur : so
Victorinus, Amb rosiaster and the
Vulgate. (2) The Syriac. The
Peshito indeed gives an activemeaning : b ut we have evidence that theearlier Syriac version, of whi ch thePeshito was a revision, took the wordas passive ; for it is so taken in
Ephraim’s commentary, which is p reserved in an Armenian translation.
(3)The Egyp tian. Both the Bohairicand the Sahi dic take the verb in thepassive sense.
Origen and Chrysostomgave a passive sense to the particip le (see the
citations in the footnote to the expositiou). So di d Theodore, though hisinterpretation i s involved : he says
(Cramer Galena, p . 129)01311 6377 611 57 1
770117 0 777\17po'
i, 0703 37 1 0 137 69 611 77 1320 1
77)\ 17p oi37 0 1°
7 00 7607 111, 611 7760 1 77h17'
p 179
The L atin commentatorshad adimp letur, and could not give
any other than a passivemeaning.
II. I , 2 . Next, you may see that
power as it has b een atwork in yourselves. You also it has raised fromthe dead. For you were dead—not
with a physical death such as was the
death of Chri st, b ut dead in your sins.Your former l ife was a death ratherthan a life. You shap ed your con
duct after the fashion of the p resentworld
, after the wi ll of the power
154 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [II 2
a n A Q A A 9
n ixed/10 7 09 7 011 VUV G’
VEP'
YOUVT OQ éV 7 0 19 w ow 7 7 19 0 77 61
Bovhqv 7 ov 901771107 09 0v7 ov,19 Kara
7 17V e’ve’
p‘
yecav 7 ou kparou9 7 179 loxvo9
0v7 ov, i v 2 3 7 153 vrvevp an 7 ou v009 vp a w.
K07 a TOV apxozrra] The Ap ostle
takes term after term from the
current phraseology, and adds themtogether to b ring out his meaning.
Comp are wi th the whole of thi s
p assage, b oth for style and for
sub j ectmatter, vi 12 7rpo9 7 09 apxas’
,
7rpo9 7 09 e’
fovcn'
09, 7rp o9 7 0v9 Koap o
Kpa7 opa 9 TOU U'
KOT'
OUS‘TOUTOI), “ p 09 Ta
nvevp an xa 7 179 wompz’a9 e’v 7 029 e
’7rov
pam'
ow. There he represents his
readers as struggling against the
world-forces, ln accordancewithwhichtheir former li fe, as here descri b ed ,had b een lived.
With the term6 11,3m comp are Mark i i i 2 2 (Matt. ix 34)£11 7 933pxov7 c 7 6 V 8011101111011, and Matt. X11 24
(Luke Xi 15)311 7 03 BeefeBouh dpxovn7 03V 8041011i also John Xi i 3 1 6
c’
ic ov 7 017 koa'
p ov 7 0157 0v, xiv 30,xvi 1 1. The p lural o i d ovrn 7 013
aZa‘
Svoc rov’rov i s found in 1 Cor. i i 6
,8,
apparently in a similar sense. In
2 Cor. iv 4 we read of (i 9609 7 013 02631109
7 0157 0v.
7 69 e’
govo fa s' 7 013 ci e'
p09] Compare001. i 13 39 31160 07 0 e
’x 7 fi9 e
’
govcn'
a s‘
7 013 0 x67 ov9, and Acts xxvi 18 7 06
e’mmp e
'
xlra t (irto 01057 0119 629 (13139 1102
7 59 e’
fovm’
a9 7 017 2 07 0110 7 01! H66Valso our Lord’s words to those whoarrested Him
,Luke xxii 53 (3708
0 117 1) 307 21} 1416511 7) (Spa Kai n c’
foum'
a
rov 0 x07 0v9.
In the Testaments of the Twelve
P atriarchs (Benj . 3)we have 1571-6 7 017dep iov 17116151107 09 7 05 Bel tdp b ut we
cannot b e sure that this language isindep endent of the p resent passage.The same mus t b e said of the con
ception of the firmament in theA scension of Isaiah, as a regionb etween the earth and the firstheaven, filled wi th contending sp irits
of evil : c. 7 ,‘We ascended into the
firmament and there I b eheld Sammael [who elsewhere 1s i dentifiedwith Malki ra
,
‘the prince of evi l’]
and his powers ,810. There can b e
no doub t, however, that the air was
regarded b y the Jews, as well as b yothers
,as peop led b y sp irits , and
more especially b y evi l sp irits. Compare Philo de gigant. 2 (Mangey,
p . 039 M m¢ 1h60 0¢ 01 8017101109,dy
‘
ye’how v w
'
i9 67016611 ovopd§e1r
xlrvxa i. 36’£ 20 1 Ka7 21 7 0V a épa 7167 01161101
andmore esp eciallymhi s expositionof Jacob ’s Dream (de somn. i 2 2 ,
p . t af 7 01'
vvv 31! 11W 7 13
xo'
apxp 0 v oh11<139 he'
ye7 01 6 mp , ou
1300 19 307 1 7 17, Kopvcpq 35 ovp0v09
0110 yap 7 179 0 630711101019 . axp 1
769 e’a
'
xci‘
rm6 anp 770117 77 7 09629 e¢ 901<evov7 09 £0 7 1 xl/vxa
'
iu 00 10116e oucos,
For the Palestinian doctrineof evi l sp iri ts referencemay b emadeto the instructive chapter Di e Si indeund d i e d onen in Web er A ltsyn.
T heol. pp . 242 i ii ; see also Thackeray,as referred to in the note on p . 133ab ove. In a curious passage in
Athanas ius, de i ncarn. 25, our Lord’s
crucifixion i s regarded as purifyingthe air : ydp 81} 05m. 7 19
C
0 a7 uv 7 ehe1015p ev09'
810 1102 6311157 019 7 0177 011 1517416 111611 0Kup 1o9
‘
0137 0) ydp { Alrcoéei s 7 01! 113V cis'
pa
e’xaficip 1fev 0776 7 6 7 139 310/307t1kfi9 1101
1760 779 7 1811 801116v c’mfiovkfig
7 013 7711613110 7 09] We should haveexpected rather 7 0mefip a , in apposi
tion Wi th 7 0» dpxow a. It may b ethat this was the Apostle
’smeaning,and that the genitive is due to an unconscious assimilation to thegenitiveswhich immediately p recede. If thisexp lanation be not accepted ,wemustregard 7 017 17116151107 09 as in appositionwi th 7 69 350110 109 and governed b y7 011 a
’
pxow a. In 1 Cor. i i 12 we find
7 0mefipa 7 017 11da op posed to 7 0
11 3] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 155
l A f 3
910 9 ‘ 3év 019 K0 1 1511619 77 0 117 69 0 V60'
7 pa'
cpn/uéu 7 7 07 6 6311A I Q A
7 0 19 697 15011110 19 7 179 0'
apK69 17110111, WOlOUV’TGQ 7 0206M§110 7 0
A 3/ I7 119 110 1 7 1011 310 11010114 K0 1 7 6111071 051501 51
77 11617110 7 0 3K 7 017 9eai}. But we haveno parallel to the expression r c
‘
w
dpxow a " .rovmevp 07 09 K.
"7.7L
7 ou vvv e’vepyovvr09] SO
‘thisworld’
is spoken of as 0mm021611 in 1 Tim. vi
17, 2 Tim. W 10, Tit. 11 12 . Theword
like the word 77 11617110, seemspurposely chosen in order to suggesta rivalry with the Divine Sp irit : seethe detached note on e
’vepye
'
iv.
3—7 .
‘Not that we Jews were inany better case. We also lived in
sin,following the d ictates of our
lower desires. We,no less than the
Gentiles, were ob jects in ourselves ofthe Divine wrath. In ourselves, Isay : b ut the merciful God has not
left us to ourselves. Dead as we
were, Gentiles and Jews alike, Hehas qui ckened uswith Christ,—Grace,freegrace,has saved you —and raiseduswi th Him, and seated us with Himin the heavenly sphere : and all this,in Chri st Jesus. For His purpose hasb een to di sp lay to the ages that areyet to come the surpassing wealth of
His grace, in the goodness shewntoward us in Christ Jesus’.3. 81! 079 Kai 7511679]
‘wherein we
also’: so the Latin
‘ i n qui bus’as in
v. 2 , not‘ inter quos
’. At first sight
it seems as though e’u 0179 must b e
rendered as‘0mong whom’
, i .e.
‘among the sons of disob edience ’.But the parallel which the A postle i sdrawing i s b rought outmore forcib lyb y the rendering wherein
’. Thus
we have v1109 0117 0 9 Ve au9 7 019
770pa77 7 o$1100 1v Kal 7 0 19 ap 0p 7 1
'
a19 vp ciiv,
£11 019 7707 5 7rep 1e7ra7 170'
07 e . . 3)cv 019
K02 1711619 770117 69 dueo rpacpqp e'
u 77 07 s "
(0. 5)Kat 3117 09 151159 ve ov9 7rapa
17 7 051100 111. That the relative i s in thefirst instance in the feminine ismerelydue to the proximity of
After the sentence which has inter
vened the neuter i s more natural ;and that the word wapamaip aaw was
p rincipally p resent to the Apostle’s
mind is shown b y the omission of Kai
0110117 5019 When the phrase is
repeated. The change from7rep 177 0
7 e'
1
'
u to dvaorp e'
cpea'eac (on these symonyms see the note on v. 2)does nothelp to justify the supposed changein themeaningof the preposition : forcivcurrp e
'
cpeafiac and duampocb i) are
frequently followed b y £1: to denotecondition or circumstances.
For theworking out of the parallel,compare i 1 1 , 138110
3
1101e’
t paq p ev
311 Ka i. 1511679, and i i 2 1 2 2 311 ‘t’?
7760 0
(13 K0). 1511679 0
‘
vv01K08011
In the present instance theparallel is yet further develop ed bythe correspondence of 31! 7 029 v ic
‘
i 9 17791377 619109 (77. 2)and 611690 7 éK1/a 95150 6 1
rim/139 (v.
c’v The p reposition
here has the same sense as in the
phrase e’u o i9 so that the latter
of the two phrases is to be regardedas an exp ansion of the former.
Gehrip ara] The p lural i s foundin Acts xi ii 2 2 , and as a variant inMark i i i 35.
7 1511 81011010311]‘ourminds’. Wi th
thisandwith 7 139 0 0pK69wemust supp ly15111311, which was used wi th 7 69 0 0pK69at its firstmention and therefore isnot rep eated. For the rendering‘thoughts
’no parallel is to b e found
in the New Testament. In Luke i 5161011010 K0p31
'
09 0137 0311 means strictlythe mind of their heart’; comp .
1 Chron. xxix 18. In the Lxx we
usually find xas’a as the rendering
of but 38 times we have31011010,which is onlyveryexceptionallyused to represent any other word.
That the p lural is used only in the
case of 31011010311 is due to the impos
156
IA c
o’
pf
yns 019 110 1 01 ham-01°EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [II 4—8
9 IL 3 I40 36 9609 7ro 0 1os 0111 611
A8
9 I a A d 3 I c5
10 7 1111 7roa 0 7 0 77 1111 a v7 ou 1111 177 0 77 110 611 71110 9 , 160 1
)I A A I I
0117 0 9 vexpovs 7 019 0 v116§w077 01110 611I I 7 I
7 01 60 7 6 0 60 0107 161101I6
11011 0 1111117 640611I 3 A I A R
160 1 O'
UVSKaOLO'
GV 6 11 7 019 6’
77 0vp0 111019 Xp 10 7 01 1170 011,( I711101 6
’ A 3 A A I
8615117 611 611 7 019 0 1010 111 7 019 6’
77 6pX011611019 7 0
t I a A I a h a I
vn epfiaM ov 7 7o 7 09 7 119 xap 17 09 0 117 011 611 xpn0 7 07 177 1
écj)’
Xp10 7 1§ 1110 00.
8 A I 3
7 11«
yap Xap 17 1'
60 7 6 0 60 01
I I A Q t A A0 1161101 3101 7 7 10 7 6019
'
110 1 7 ov7 0 OUK GEujamu, 96011 7 0
sib ility of saying 7 1311 0 apK13v in such acontext.
InHeb raistic phrasesof this kind 7 6mmand ufot are usedindi fferently as rep resentatives of incompare i i 2 , v 8.
41150 6 1]‘by nature
’, in the sense of
‘ in ourselves’. Other exammes of
this adverb ial use are Rom. i i 1437 011 ydp 7 d 7 017 vdp ov
7701030 111, Gal. 11 15 1511629 (13150 61’Iov
50701, iv 8 7 029 (15150 61 111)0130 111 96029.
5. 0vV6fam7701'
170 6v] The word oc
curs only here and in Col. i i 13,0 v116 (w07701
'
q0 611 151169 0 1311 0137 03. The
thought there expressed makes it
plain that 7 155 xp 107 125 i s the rightreading here, and not 611 ”3107 123,as i s found in B and some otherauthorities. Themistake has arisenfroma dittography of 6 11 .
Xépm] In pointed or p roverb ialexp ressions the article i s b y preferenceomitted. When the phrase, whi ch ishere suddenly interj ected , is taken upagain and dwelt upon in 0. 8,we have75}yap Xdp17 16. 0 v11157 6 1p 611 Kai 0v116Kci910 6 11] i .e.,
‘together with Christ
’,as in the case
of 0 v116 { o>07701'
170 611 j ust b efore. So in
Col. i i 12, 0v1
17 0 (;b6'
117 6 9
8777 6. The compound verb s echo the6"y61
'
p09 and Ka91'
0a9 of i 20.
6’17 0vp0111
'
o19] Compare i 3,20 . This completes the parallel withthe exaltation of Christ. ’
E11 Xp 10 7 1§1110 01? is added, as 611 Xp 10 7 q§ in i 3,
although 0 1511 Xp 10 7 c£5 i s imp lied b y thepreceding verb s : for Xp 10 7 1§
’I170 0f1
states the relation in the comp letestform
, and accordingly the Apostle
repeats it again and again (00. 7,
7 . 61186 12177 01]‘shewf orth
’. The
word is similarly used in Rom. ix 2 2
63 36 96710111 6 96219 7 1)v611317511, where i t is suggested b y a.
citation in 17. 17 of Ex. ix 16 377019
6118655011101 611 0 02 d1ir1ai p ov.
q 0 7 67 177 1]‘ lcindness
’,or
‘
good
ness’. Theword is used of the Divine
kindness in Rom. i i 4 7 013 7r)\0157 0v 7 139
xp 170 7 67 1)7 09 0 13
7 013, and in Rom. Xi 2 2,
where i t is contrasted with dnorop c’a
also in Tit. i i i 4, where i t i s linkedwi th ¢ 1>101119p 0mia z compare also Lukevi 35 37 1 0 137 69 q 07 69 607 111
8—10.
‘Grace, I say, free grace hassaved you, grace responded to b yfai th. It i s not fromyourselves thatthi s salvation comes : i t is a gift, and
the gift is God’s. Merit has no p art
in it : boas ting is excluded. It i s Hethathathmadeus,andnotweourselves :He has created us afresh in ChristJesus
,that we may do good works
which He has made ready for our
doing. Not ofworks , b ut untoworks,is the Divine order of our salvation’.8. Ka i. 7 0177 0]
‘and that
’,as in
Rom. xi i i 1 1 Kai 7 017 7 0 62667 69 7 511
11001611. It is a resump tive exp ression,independent of the construction. It
may be p leaded that, as 810 7750-7 60 9
i s an important element, added to the
158 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [11 12
I 9 I A I
o i keg/011161101 0 Kp0,0v0 7 10 157 7 0 7 179 Nay/0111611119
I ( I(9 fl Q I
611 X61p077 0 1n7 011, 117 6 7 01 160 11101 616611115)I I a
p 1‘
9 Xp 10 7 011 077 11M 07 p 1w1161101 7 119 7 7 0>x17 6 10 9 7 011
until after A lexander. It was whenHellenismpushed on eastward, andthe policy of Alexander and his successors founded cities as outposts of
trade and civilization, that the con
trast was felt and expressed b etween11671611 and Helleni c life foundits normal type in the milk“ ,
and
b arb arians who lived Kard 1105110 9 or in
some less organised formwere 26111)He refers to Droysen Helleni smusi i i 1
, p p . 31 f. for i llustrations, and
mentions among others Polyb ius vi i 9,where 176x619 and 20111; are repeatedlycontrasted . The word 261117 was thusready to hand when the LXX came toexpress the invi dious sense of non
,
which is found so commonly in Deuteronomy, the Psalms and the Pro
phots. It i s curious that, while StPaul freely emp loys 391117, he neveruses the contrasted term71069, excep twhere he i s d irectly referring to a
p assage of the Old Testament.0 apuj The addition of these
words suggests the external and temp orary nature of the di stinction. For
their position after 7 81 36111; see the
note on i 15. Here i t was perhapsunavoidab le : for 7 0 0 ap 1<i 301117 or
7 036111; 7 0 o apm’would suggest the
existence of another class of 361117whereas the meaning i s ‘
those whoare the Gentiles accord ing to a dis
tinction which i s in the fiesh’. Similarly we have 7 69 hey/011611119 77 6p 17 011fi96 11 0 apx1
'
.
o i hey/01161101]‘which are ca lled
’.
The phrase is not depreciatory, as‘the so-called
’would b e in English.
The Jews called themselves 15and called the Gentiles 15 (i kpo
Bv07 1'
a. St Paul does not here use
the latter name, which'
was one of
contempt ; b ut he cites it as usedb y others .
7 139 keg/0111511179] Thi s i s directlysuggested b y ofh6y61161101. TheApostlemay have intended to suggest thathe himself repudiated b oth termsalike. In Rom. i i 28 f. he refuses torecogni se the mere outward sign of
circumcision : 01186 17 6 11 7 13 (pavepa) 6 11
0 ap 1<1 77 6p17 01117‘
a’hha n .77 6p 17 01117Kapd1
'
09
611 77116111107 1, 011 711014107 1. He thusclaims the word, as itwere, for higheruses ; as he says of the Gentiles themselves in Co]. i i I I , 77 6p 167 111§0177 6 7rep 1
0X61po7701q'
7 19 7 33flé p tTO/Lfi 7 017
X61p07701rfrov] This is the only p lacewhere this word occurs in St Paul’sep istles. Butwe have a
’
xe1p o7701'
177 09 in
2 Cor. v I o im'av 0X6 1p 07701'
177 011 a lcdmov7 079 odpavo
'
1
'
9, and in Col. i i I I
(quoted ab ove). It serves to empharsise the transience of the d istinction,though it casts no doub t on thevalidi tyof it while i t lasted.
12 . xmpu]‘wi thout or
‘ap art
f rom’. St Paul does not use 611611,
which is found only in Matt. x 2931161) 7 017 7707 1109 15111311, in an inter
polation intoMark xi i i 2 c’
z’uev X6 1pa
‘
w,
and twice in 1 Peter,whereml: i s
not used. It is usual to take xcop lgXpurrm
‘
)as a p redicate and to p lace a
comma after it. This is p erfectlypermissib le : b ut the parallel b etween7 33 «mpg? xwp i 9Xp 10 7 01
'
3and vvvl
51? Xpw'
nzo’In0 ot7makes i tpreferab le
to regard the words as the conditionwhich leads up to the predicateswhichfollow.
dq korp rmp e’vm] TheApostle seems
to have inmind Ps. lxvi i i (lxix)98111>xo7 p 1w115v09 6
,
7 61" ;q (”fi lmd i iD) 7 079
ddehcbo’
k 11011, 1601 563109 v io'
1
'
9 7 179
11171-
1169 p oo . This wi ll account for hischoice ofawordwhich does not appearto b e a termof Greek ci vic life. Its
ordinary use is either of the alienation
II 13] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 159
I0p an7\ 160 1 56 1101 7 1011 310011w 7 119 6 77 0 7 7 67110 9, 6A77 180
1111 6x0117 e9 160 1 00601 611 7 01 1600 1101.
of p roperty, or of alienation offeelingthe latter sense prevails inCol. i 2 1, 1601151109 7707 6
’
3117 09 Kai
6x0p01’19 7 37
where estrangement fromGod is in
question. The particip ial sense is
not to b e pressed : strictly speakingthe Gentiles could nothave b een alienated fromthe sacred commonwealthofwhich theyhad never b eenmemb ers.The word is used almost as a noun,
asmay b e seen fromits constructionwi th 3117 69 in iv 18 and in Col. i 2 1.
So too here we have 37 1ho7 p 101716
'
1101. " 601561101. It thus scarcelydifiers fromdhh07 p 109 : comp . Clem.
Rom. 7 , of the Ninevi tes, 671a 0 107 1)
p iar, 1ca 1'
1rep dhh07 p 101 7 013 06017 3117 69.
7707\17 61f09]‘commonwealth or
‘
p oli ty’. In the only other p lace
where the word occurs in the New
Testament, Acts xxi i 28, it is used ofthe Roman citi zenship . In later
Greek i t was commonly used for‘manner of life
’: compare 110x0 61?
6 0001, and see the note on 77 6p 11707 6'
1
'
11
in i i 2 . In this sense it 18 taken hereb y the Latin version, which rendersi t b y
‘conuersatio
’. But the contrast
in o. 19 (0v111707\17 a1)i s decisive againstthis vi ew.
561101] The use of 561109 with a
genitive is not common : Soph. Oed.
Rex 2 19 f. and Plato Ap ol. 1
6x6111)are cited. Here the construc
tion i s no doub t suggested b y the
genitive after In
Clem. Rom. 1 we have a dative,7 179
7 6 070107 p 1'
09 160 1 5611179 7 019 6 167\6i<7 0197 05 0606, 111apds Ka i 01100 1
'
0v 0 700 6 109 :
on which L ightfoot cites Clem. Hom.
vi I4 1159 13 170610 9 190107 111011 030 0 11 110i
56111111. In the papyrus of 348 a n ,
cited ab ove on i 1 1, the sister whohas taken the M009 0 17 016617 7 179 as her
share of the inheritance declares thatshe has no claimwhatever on the
p qxavq'
:‘ hereb y I admit
I 311v111 36 Kp10 7 m
that I have no share i n the aforesaidgrinding-machine, but ama strangerand alien therefrom(110111 5611011 116622101. Kai dhhd'rp tov
7 6311 1310611161311] The p lural is foundalso in Rom. ix 4 (Su n ni 610013160 1.For the covenant with Ab raham, seeGen. xvi i “ 7 ; for the covenant withthe Peop le under Moses, see Exod.xxiv 8.
7 179 Comp . i I3 and
i i i 6,where the Genti les are declared
to share in the Promi se throughChrist.
61 77580 111}610117 69] The same phrase,in a more restricted sense, occurs inI Thess. iv. I3 1100159 Kai o i h01770
’1 of111)
3310117 69 6’711n
'
oa . Christ as ‘the hope
’
of the Genti les was foretold b y thep rophets (Isa. xi 10
, xli i 4 ; comp .
Rom. xv 12 and Matt. xi i and was
the‘secret’ or ‘mystery’ entrusted
to St Paul (Col. iThe word does not occur
elsewhere in the whole of the GreekBib le. It is used here not as a termof reproach, b ut as marking the
mournful climax of Gentile d isab ility.
611 7 113 16001101] These words are notto b e taken as a separate i temin thedescription : b ut yet they are not
otiose. They b elong to the two p receding terms. The Gentiles were inthe world wi thout a hop e and with noGod : in the world, that is, with no
thing to li ft themab ove i tsmaterialising influences.St Paul uses the word 1660-1109 with
various shades ofmeaning. The fun
damental conception is that of the
outward order of things, consideredmore especially in relation to man.
It is rarely found wi thout anymoralreference, as in phrases of time, Rom.
i 20, Eph. i 4, or of place, Rom. i 8,
Col. i 6. But themoral reference isoften quite a general one, with no
suggestion of evil : as in 1 Cor. vi i 31
160 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [II 14
A A c/ r’In0
'
0v 1571619 0 1 OV'TGS
‘
M A KPA N 67 6 11179117 6 e rrvc 61}t/
7 710 0 1710 7 1
‘TOU Xp lO
'
T OU .
157111511, 0 7 01150 0 9 7 0
xp aSp svm7 0V 110071 011, 2 Cor. i 12 cive
mpdcbqp ev 7 1? 110071 19, 77 6p 10'
0'
o7 6'
p co9
86 711109 15p09. In the phrase 010501109057 0: there i s however a suggestionof opp osition to the true order : seethe note on i 2 1. Again, 10501109 is
used of the whole world of men incontrast with the elect peop le of
Israel,Rom. iv 13, xi 12
,15. The
world, as in opp osition to God, fallsunder the Divine judgment, Rom. i i i
6,19, 1 Cor. xi 32 :
‘the saints shall
judge the world’
,1 Cor. vi 2 . Yet
the world finds reconci liation withGod in Chri st, 2 Cor. v 19. In threepassages St Paul uses the remarkab leexp ression 7 0 07 01x1570 7 06 Ko
'
a p ov, of
world-forces which heldmen in b ondage until they were delivered b yChrist, Gal. iv 3, Col. ii 8, 20. In
the last of these passages the expression i s followed b y a phrase which isparallel to that of our text
, 7 1’169
611 16001119 do'
yp arff6006 ; L imitation to the world was the hopelessand godless lot of the Genti les apartfromChri st.13. These words,
and eipémy in the next verse, are fromIsa. lvi i 19 : see b elow, 17 .
61! 071107 1] Comp are Col. i 20
6q uo7ro11§0 09 3107 09 071107 09 7 017
poi)067 013.
14. 0 157 69] He, in His own p erson ;compare azi-rcgi , 17. 15.
7 0 ciq d7 6p0 311] Below we have7 0139 3110 0110110177 011 (11. I and7 0139011¢ 07 6p ov9 (27. Comp . I Cor.
i i i 8 6 ¢ v7 61510v 11ai. 0 7ro7 1'
{ a1v 311 620 111and
, on the other hand, Gal. i i i 28
710117 6 9 ydp 1511 679 639 60 7 6 Xp 10‘
7 13
At first the Apostle is coritent to speak of Jew and Gentile as
the two parts which are comb inedinto one whole : in the sequel hep refers to regard themas two men
,
Cf a 1
0 157 09 60 7 111 11 G IPHN H
0 6V 110 1 7-0 p 60 07 01X0V 7
'
ou
made b y a fresh act of creation intoone newman.
7 8p 6007 01xov] The only parallel tothis word appears to b e 6 p ea érmxosin a pas sage of Eratosthenes (ap udA then. vi i 14, p . 2 81 D), in which hesays of Aristo the Stoic, 86
’
7107 6
1107. 7 0137 011 17 6¢ 05p01<0 7 6V 7 139 1580117791107. cip e
‘
rfis: p 6007 01xov 810p 157 7 0v7 0, Kai.
dvagbmvép evov 71'0p07 33 15801137.7 05} (bpaynofl ‘
the fence’
,or
‘the
p arti ti on’. The allusion is to the
81115430 117 09 or b alustrade inthe Temple,which marked the limit to which a
Gentile might advance. CompareJoseph. B . J . V 5 2 810 7 0157 01) 7rpo1
0117 0111 6771 7 8 86157 6p ov iep c‘
w 8p15<l>0 1<7 097rep 1Be
'
t 7 o 7t1'
011109,7 p 1
'
7mxv9 11611mi l/v 86 x0p 16
'
117 109 8161p'
yacr116'
1109' 61)
0137 113 86 620 7 151160011 65 low 81007 15110 7 090 7 fih01 7 8V 7 139 ci‘yV6 1
'
09 7rp00 17110 1'
v0v0'
0 1
11011011, 0211611‘
Ehknmxo’
k 0 7. 86‘
Pwp aucok
ypdp p aa'
w , 11 7186110 0kh0¢ vhov 6117 69 7 01707 1
'
0v 71'
ap 16'
va 1'7 8 ydp 86137 611011 1
'
6p811
0'
w éxakeiro. One of these inscriptions was di scovered b y M. ClermontGanneau in May 187 1. Owing to thetroub les in Paris he announced his
discovery in a letter to the A the
naeum, and afterwards pub lished a
full d iscuss ion, accompanied b y a facsimi le
,in the Revue A rcheologz
'
gue
1872 , vol. xxi ii pp . 2 14 ft , 290 iiiThe inscrip tion, which i s now at Con
stantinop le, runs as follows
MHOENAAAAOFENHEIZTTOPEYEZOAIENTOZTOYTTEP ITOIEPONTPY¢ AKTOYKAITTEPIBOAOYOZAANAH¢ OHEAYTQ IAIT IOZEZTAIA IATOEEAKOAOYOEINOANATON
Further references to this b arri erare found in Joseph. A ntt. xv 1 1 5(6px1
'
011 h101'
1/0v 8pv§b01<7 00 yp acpf; K0)
62 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [II 17— 19
A A 1,
0601 810 7 011 0 7 0vp0v, 07 0167 61110 9 7 1111 6x0p 0 113 A A
1 71606 6
’
7\0wu eYH rre A l c a r o G IPH N H N T O I C
s a 1 cl 7
11 11 16 13 0 11 KA I G IP I-( N HN T O I C e rrvc
1807 1 1
’
0 157 011 exo6 I I
11611 7 1111 7 7p00 0 7 w1
ynv 01 dMCPOT GPO l 611 6111 7 7 116v110 7 1 7rpcsI 191! 1 I y I I
7 011 7ra 7 epa . apa 01111 0111667 1 60 7 6 EEVOL 160 1 77 0p011601,
611 0 137 123] This may b e renderedeither ‘
thereby’,i .e. b y the cross, or
in Himself” . The latter i s the interpretation of the Latin, in semetip soJerome
,who is prob ab ly following an
interpretation of Origen’s,says (Val
lars. vi i‘In ea : non ut in
Latinis cod ici b us hab etur i n semeti p so, prop ter Graeci pronominis amb iguitatem: 611 0 137 03 enim et in
semetip so et in ea, id est cruce,intelligi potest, quia crux, id est
0 7 0vp09, iuxta Graecos generi s masculini est’.The interpretation
‘thereby
’wouldb e impossib le if, as some suppose, 81817 017 0 7 011p0f1 is to b e taken With 077 0
b ut that this is not the
natural construction is shewn b y theparallel in 001. i 2 2 11v11i 8607701607 0)
7 013 001107 011 comp .
Col. i 20. Either interp retation is
accordingly admissib le. In favour of
the secondmay b e urged the 0157 09 of
11. 14 and the 611 aah-655 of 11. 15. On
the suggested parallel with 611 7 330 ap 16i 0 137 09 see the note on 11. 15.
I7 . 61317y'
y6h1'
0 0 7 0 TheApostleillustrates and enforces his argumentb y selectingwords fromtwo p ropheticp assages, to one of which he has
already alluded in passing : Isa. lii 7 ,159 63p a G
’n
' i 7 1311 o’
p e’
wv, 059 770869
y eh1§op 6110v eip 15v179, 659
(01161109 07 000: lvi i 19, 6 ip 1§111711eipq
'myv p axpdv 16a i 7 029 6y y1‘
19
080 111. The first of these is quoted(somewhat differently)in Rom. x 15,and alluded to again in this ep istle,vi 15. The second is alluded to b ySt Peter on the day of Pentecost
,
A cts i i 39.
18. 7 6111 77 p00 0ycoy17'
11]‘our access
so in Rom. V 2,81’05 77po0 0
‘
ywyfiv 60x1716011611 [7 77 7710 7 61] 6 19 7 6711
xapw 7 0 151-1711 : and, ab solutely,mEphi i i 12 611 19 6X0/.1611 7 1111 77 0pp170 10 11 160 1
77p 00 0'
yw'
y1711 6 11 77 677 010170 61. The last
passage is decisive against the alternative rendering
‘introduction ’, not
withstand ing the p arallel in 1 Pet. i ii
18 7110 151109 77po0 0y0‘
y37 66623.6v 611i 77 116 151110 7 1] The close paral
lelismbetween 7 0v9 00¢ 07 6p0v9 611 61110 60110 7 1 7 13 0601 (11. 16)and 01 011¢ 07 6p01611 6111 77 11611110 7 1 77po9 7 011 770 7 6p0 shewsthat the 611 77 116111141 i s that which cor
responds to the 611 0 03110 1 as in iv 4.
That the ‘one sp irit
’ i s ultimatelyindistinguishab le fromthe p ersonalHoly Sp irit i s true, just in the sameway that the ‘
one b ody’i s ind istin
guishab le fromthe Body of Chri stb ut we could not in ei ther case sub
stitute one termfor the other wi thout ob scuring the A postle
’smeaning.
19— 2 2 .
‘You are,then
,no longer
foreigners resident on sufferance only.
You are full citizens of the sacredcommonwealth : you are God
’s own,
the sons of Hi s house. Nay, you are
constituent p arts of the house that isin b uilding, of which Christ
’s apostlesand p rophets are the foundation, andHimself the p redicted corner-stone.
In Himall that is b ui lded is fittedandmorticed into unity, and is growing into a holy temp le in the L ord .
In Himyou too are b eing b uilded inwith us
, to forma dwellingp lace of
God in the Sp irit’.
19.1177d 11601] The technical distino
tion b etween the £61109 and the
KOS‘ is that the latter has acquired b y
the payment of a tax certain limitedrights. But b oth alike are non-ci ti—\i
II 20] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 163
3 3 A A Q l A H fl
0170x111 60 7 6 7 10 11 0 7 110 11 160 1 01166 101 7 011 060v,
l a A I A 1206 7 701160807111106 117 69 6 7 7 1 067167u 1p 7 1011 0 77 00 7 0v 160 1
‘
fl 9, f A
7 7p0q5117 w 11, 0117 09 dxpoy wwaw v a 117 ou Kp 10 7 o11 1170 011,
s ens , which is St Paul’s point here.
So the Christians themselves, in
relation to the world, are spoken of in1 Pet. i i 1 1
,fromP 8. xxxvi i i (xxxix)
I 3, as 770p011601 160 1 770p 677 18171101 : and
this language was widely adopted,
see L ightfoot on Clem.Rom.p ref . For
770p011609 and its equivalent 1167 011609
see E . L . Hicks in Class. Rev. i 5 f.,Deissmann Neue B i belst. pp . 54 f.
0 1111770117 0 1] The word was obj ectedto b y the Atticists : comp . Pollux i i i
51 o yap 0 v117707\17 179 013 8016111011, 6 1 160 1
E13p 177 18179 0137 10 166q 7 0 1 611 Hpaxha
8019 7 6 1601 9 170 61 (Heraclei d . 826, in
the sp eech of the It is
found in Josephus (A nti . xix 2
and in inscrip tions and papyri (B erl.P ap . 11 632 , 9, 2nd cent.
7 0311 dy iwv] See the note on i I .
The thought here i s specially, if notexclusively, of the holy Peop le whoseprivi leges they have come to share.
02116201] 021 620: i s the formal opposite of 070607 71106
"one s own ’
in con
trast to‘another’s’: comp . Ari st. Rhet.
i 5 7 7 011 86 01166 10 6 1110 1 17 (0p0907 0 11 60) 0117 13 1]
The word has various meanings, allderived from 01110: in the sense of‘ household ’or ‘
family’. When usedof p ersons i t means of one
’s fami ly’,stri ctly of kinsmen ,
sometimes loosely of familiar friends : then moregenerally
‘ devoted to’
,or even
‘ac
quainted wi th’
,e.g. ¢ 1ho0 oqbta9. In
St Paul the word has a strong sensesee Gal. vi 10 11121 10 7 0 86 7Tp615
‘
7 0219
0216660119 7 fi9 7760 7 6 609, and 1 Tim. V 8
7 1311 6861011 160 i p dhurra 02166w (comp .
11. 4 7 811 781011 0616011
20. 6770116080117706117 6 9] Theword 019
1101 underlying 02116201 at once suggeststo the Apostle one of his favouritemetaphors. Fromthe 06106, p layingon its doub le meaning, he passes to
I I
the 02K080PJ7’. Apart fromthis sug
gestion the ab ruptness of the introduction of the metaphor, which isconsiderab ly elab orated
,would b e
very strange.
6111 7 135 19611 61119] This corresp ondswi th the e
’m’ of the verb,which itself
signifies ‘to build up on
’: compare
I Cor. 111 10 (59 0 00159 cipx17 6'
167 1011
0611 61 1011 6817160, c'
iMx09 86 60 01160801167.
In that passage Jesus Christ i s sai dto b e the 661161106. Here the metaphor is differently handled ; and theChristian teachers are not the b uilders, b ut themselves the foundation of
the b uilding.
1rpo¢ qr£ w] that is, prophets of theChristian Church. There can b e no
doub t that this is the Apostle’smean
ing. Not only does the order apostlesand p rophets
’p oint in this direction ;
b ut a few verses lower down (i i i 5)thephrase i s repeated, and in iv 1 1 we
have 7 0119 11611 ci7ro0 7 6hov9, 86
wpo¢ 1§7 0 9, 86 way/31671107 09,where Old Testament p rophets are
ob viously out of the question. ThatOrigen and Chrysostomsuppose thatthe latter are here intended is a p roofof the ob livion into which the activityof the prophets in the early Churchhad already fallen.
dxpoycoma iov] The Word is takenfromthe Lxx of Isa. xxvi i i 16, whereit comes in connexion wi th 66116110 .
The Heb rew of thi s passage i s“
ID”
"
10113 mp1 ms in: 13 16
311113“min.
‘ I lay as a foundation in Siona stone, a stone of p roof, a preciouscorner stone of a founded foundationThe Lxx rendering is 18011 63103 6p.
Bcikl w 7 61 GGp G’Ata 2 6 10311 MOO11
6’167\6167 ox1 cixpoymma
'
iov 6117 111011,
629 7 61 661167 00 0 157 139. It i s p lain thatdxp o
'
ywma'
iov corresponds to 1135,
whether we regard it as masculine2
164
6 11 0)l
(sc. or as a neuter sub stantive ;see Hort’s note on 1 Pet. i i 6, wherethe passage i s quoted. In Job
xxxvi i i 6 11009 7 011110209 stands forme in Jer. xvi i i (li)26 11006629 7 01112011 for 11151813 11 : and in PS.
cxvi i (c vi i i)2 2 629 7 0111209 for
7115 11111 In the last of these p lacesSymmachus had dkpo
‘
ymv10209, as he
had also for mm,
‘ chap iter’, in
2 Kings xxv 17. In Ps. cxli i i (cxliv)12 Aqui la had (59 677 171661 10 for 11
1113,
as corners or corner-stones’AKp0
‘
ya1v1a?o9 i s not found again
apart fromallusions to the b ib licalp assages. The Attic word is ymmai os,which i s found in a series of inscriptions containing contracts for stonesfor the temple b ui ldings at Eleusis(CIA iv 1054 6 if): e.g. 67 e
'
p ou9
01290119) 7 01111a2ov 9 65xci ] 8150 (10540, 1. also
,in an
order for 7 d 67721010110 7 6311 1616116011 7 6311
629 7 8 77 p o07 1£5011 7 8 it is
stip ulated that 12 are to b e of certaindimensions
,7 21 86 7 611111020 8150 are to
b e of the same height, b ut of greaterlength and b readth (comp . Herm.
Sim. ix 2 3 86 769 77 1571179 60 7 15166 10 011 77011661101 86686160
'
0201311 8
’02 629
7 619 7 61111209 607 17161120 1 6v8o£67 6p02 1101
60110111 621101 : they are spoken of in
I 5. I as 20xvp67 6p 0 1). In Dion. Hal .i i i 2 2 the P 210 Horati a in the Forumis spoken of as 75 7 01111020 OT vA29.
But, of course, in none of these instances have we the corner-stonep rop er, whi ch is an Eastern conception. That even for a late Chri stianwri ter 7 011110709 was themore naturalword may b e gathered froma comment of Theodore of Heraclea (Corderius P salm. cxvi i 2 2
, p .
1607 61 7 811 ywma'
i ov 7 8 éKéT é p OV
0v-y16po7 6311 7 62Xo9.The earlier Latin rendering was
‘0ngularz
’
s lap z’
s’(62293 Amb rst.
, andso Jerome in some p laces) the later
,‘summus 0 7191110 7 753 lap is
’,which
has b een followed in the A .V . (‘ chief
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [II 2 1
A 1/
7 7 0 0 0 02160801117 0 vV0p/110Ao'
yov1161117 0 11 61 6 19 11010 11
corner-stone ’) b oth here and in
1 Pet. i i 6 ; though in Isa. xxvi i i 16wehave ‘ corner stone
’. Nei ther the
Heb rew nor the Greek affords any
j ustification for the rendering ‘ chiefcorner-stone’. 1 11107 0 111020: stands to
7 01111a 9 as 677" c’i16pa 9 7 011120 9 stands to
67727 0111209 : the first part of the compoundmerely heightens the second.
2 1; 77610 0 O iKa p tfl‘all (the)bu i ld
i ng’,not
‘each several b uilding
’. The
d ifficulty whi ch i s presented b y theab sence of the article (see the note
on various read ings)is removed whenwe b ear in mind that St Paul i sSpeaking not of the b ui lding as comp leted, i .e.
‘the ed ifice ’, b ut of the
b uildi ng as still ‘
growing’towards
completion. The whole edifice couldnot be said to
‘
grow’: b ut such an
expression i s legitimate enough i f
used of the work in p rocess. This i sthe p roper sense of 0211080116, which i sin its earlier usage an ab stract noun,b ut like other ab stract nouns has a
tendency to b ecome concrete, and issometimes found, as here, in a kind
of transitional sense. Our own wordb uilding
’has just the same range of
meaning : and we might almostrender 77220 0 02160801115as all b uildingthat i s carried on
The word i s condemned b y Phrynichus (Lob eck, p . 42 1 ; comp . p p .
487 ff.) as non-A ttic : 0216080117) 012
Aéyera v (i i/T,
0127 017 86 0216086117700.
The second part of thi s j udgmentp roves that b y the middle of the
second century A.D. 0216080117; was
familiar in a concrete sense. The
earliest instances of i ts use are how
ever ab stract. In the TabulaeHeracl.
(CISI 645, i 146)we have 6: 86 7 81
677021610 q'
0 0117 0 1 fékow 69 7 6111 02160
8011011. A L aconian p roverb quotedb y Buidas (3. 71.
"
177 7709)ran : 0216080110
0 6 M1501,‘May you take to
b uilding’ —as one of the wasteful
166
6/ I
0 7 10 11 611 Kvpup, l
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [11 2 2 —III 1
A A 3
6 11 611 160 1 0 v110116080,u61006 619
I f “
160 7 0116117 77p1ov 7 ou 96011 611 7 7 11611110 7 1.
III .
0 vv0pp oho'
yov116'
1117 OZKOGOp Gi Ta t 629 0 113110
7 671 6 1011 611 1611p269 : this would b e
fairly rendered as‘in whomall the
growth i s b ui lded’,etc. ; nor should
we exp ect in such a case 71210 0 15a1’
1’é170 19.
Thi s compoundi s not found again apart fromSt Paul.In iv 16 he app li es it to the structureof the b ody. There i s some authori tyin other writers for cipp okoyetv. For
themeaning see the detached note.
0 17
56 1] Compare Col. i i 197 6711 0 1
7
5170 111 7 021 66017. Both 0 17
5611 and0 13501101 are Attic forms of the p resent.The intransitive use of the active isnot found b efore Aristotle. It pre
vails in the New Testament,though
we have the transitive use in 1 Cor.
i i i 6 f.,2 Cor. ix 10.
2 2 . 160 7 0111177 rjp 1011] In the NewTestament this word comes again
only in Ap oc. xvi i i 2 1607 0116177 15p 101180 11101126011 (comp . Jer. ix I I 629 1607 01161)
7 17'
p 1or1 8p0166117 61111). It i s found in theLXX
,together with 1607 011620
,1607 0216170 19
and 1607 01166020,for a hab itation of any
sort : but in a considerab le group of
passages i t i s used of the Divinedwelling-
p lace, whether that is con
ceived of as on earth or in heaven.
Thus the phrase 67 0111011 160 7 0116177 1§p 16110 011 comes in Exod. xv 17 , and threetimes in Solomon’s p rayer (1 Kingsvi i i
,2 Chron. vi): comp Ps. xxxi i
(xxxi i i) 14. These Old Testamentassociations fitted it to stand as the
climax of the p resent passage.
611 77 11612
110 7 1] TheGentiles are b ui ldedalong with the Jews to forma dwelling
-
p lace for God ‘i h (the)Sp i r i t
’.
This stands in contrast with theirseparation one fromthe other(the)flesh
’
, on which stress is laid at
the outset of this passage, 7 0
601117 6 11 0 ap 162. . .7 119 hey/011611179 776p 17 011179
611 0 ap 162.
I 3 aIT011
'
7 011 Xapw 67 01 Ha vh os 0C I86071 109 7 011
III. 1 —7 .
‘A ll thi s imp elsmeafresh to p ray for you. And who amI ,that I should so pray ? Paul, thep risoner of the Christ, His p risonerfor you
—you Gentiles. You must
have heard ofmy p eculiar task, of thedispensation of that grace of God
which has b een givenme to b ring toyou. The Secret has b een d isclosedtome b y the great Revealer. I havealready sai d something of it—enoughto let you see that I have knowledgeof the Secret of the Christ. Of old
men knew it not : now it has b een
unvei led to the ap ostles and prophetsof the holy p eop le. The Sp iri t hasrevealed to their sp iri t the new ex
tension of p ri vilege. The Gentiles areco-heirs, concorp orate, co-partakers ofthe Promise. This new position hasb ecome theirs inChrist Jesus throughthe Gospel which I was ap pointed to
serve, in accordance with the gift ofthat grace, of which I have spoken,which has b een given tome in all the
fulness of God’s p ower.’
I . To157 011xcipw ] The actual phraseoccurs again only in 71. 14, where i tmarks the resumption of this sentence,and in Tit. i 5. We have 01
3
xdpw in
Luke vii 47 , and xcipw 7 21109 in I Johni ii 12 . In the Old Testament wefind 7 o157 0v (ydp) xa
'
pw in Prov.
xvi i 17 , 1 Mace. xi i 45, xi i i 4.
67 621 11081109] For the emphaticintroduction of the p ersonal namecompare 1 Thess. i i 18, 2 Cor. x 1
,
Col. i 2 3 ; and especially Gal. v 2 . In
the first three instances other nameshave b een j oined wi th St Paul
’s inthe opening salutation of the ep istle :b ut this i s not the case in the Ep istleto the Galatians or in the presentep istle.
6 860 71 109 7 013 xp 10 7 01'
3’In0 of1] In
Philem. 1 and 9 we have 86011 109
Xp 107 02’
12
1170 021, and in 2 Tim. i 8 7 811
III 2—4] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 167
A A n y 9
Xp 10 7 011 1 110 011 1577 60 15061111 7 11111 69110111, 7 6 11160150 0 7 6
I I A A A
7 1711 01160110010 11 7 179 X0p 17 09 7 011 9eou 7 119 809620 119 001( I3 Q I N
3619 1100 9 , 07 1I 9
160 7 01 0277 0160 7\11\t111 67 11111020 911 001 7 8I I a 3 c.
0n0 7 17p 10u, 1609019 wpoef
ypa xlxa 6 11 8 81511010 96
86001011 0 127 017 (so. 7 01? 1611p2ov
Below,in iv 1
, the expression i s
d i fferent,6y0
’1 5 8600109 611 16071269.
157767) 1501311 7 6511 69116311] So in i i I I ,150629 7 61 6191117. The exp ression is
intentionally emphatic. His champ ionship of the equal position of the
Genti les was the true cause of hi s
impri sonment. Compare 71.‘
13 611
7 029 0ou 15776p 1506311, 60 7 211
86550 1501311.
2 . 7 6 15160150 07 6] The p racti caleffect of this clause is to throw new
emphasis on the words immedi atelyp receding.
‘It i s on your b ehalf
(151re‘
p 1500311)that I ama pri soner—as
you must know, if indeed you haveheard of my special mission to you
(629 We have a close p arallelin iv 2 1 62 716 0 127 6111 15160150 0 7 6The Apostle
’s language does not
imp ly a doub t as to whether they hadheard of hi s mission : it does implythat some at least among themhad
only heard, and had no p ersonal
acquaintance with himself.0216011001
’a11] See the note on i 10 ;
and compare 1502160110020 7 021 000 7 17p20v,b elow in 71. 9. In Col. i 2 5 we have1607 61 7 6711 02160110020 11 7 02) 96021 7 6711 80962
0 6211 001 629 150219, 777\17p 630 0 1 7 6111 hé'yov
7 021 96 021, 7 61 0110 7 15p 1011 In all
these passages God i s 15 0216011001511 : so
that they are not parallel to 1 Cor.
ix 17 02160110020 11 77 677207 6000 1, wherethe Ap ostle himself is the 021601165009
(comp . 1 Cor. iv 1,
xcip 17 o9] For the us e of this wordin connexion with St Paul’s missionto the Gentiles, and in p articular forthe comb ination 1}X62p 19 15809620 62001
(1 Cor. i ii 10, Gal. i i 9, Rom. x11 3,xv 15,Eph. i i i see the detached noteon xdp 19.
3. Karh 12770166ih11111 111] Compare
Gal. 11 2,
and the more strikingp arallel in Rom. xvi 2 5 1601
-0 627701612
)w‘lrw 000 7 1702011
is the natural correlative of 0110 1 15111011,on which see the detached note.
6'y1101p20 917] Compare 071. 5, 10. The
word comes, in connexion with 7 61
0v0 7 15p 1011, in Rom. Xvi 26, Eph. i 9,vi 19, CoL i 27.
77p06'
yp01210] This is the ep i stolaryaorist’, which in English is rep re
sented b y the p erfect. For the
temporal force of the preposition inthis verb , compare Rom. xv 4 30 a
yc‘
zp wpoeypégbq. Here,however, the
meaning i s scarcelymore than that ofgypadra : I have written already(not The technicalsense of 77poyp ci¢ 6 111 found in Gal. i i i 1does not seemsuitab le to this context.611 611 13101] a few w ords
’: more
exactly,‘ in b rief compass ’, or, as we
say,‘ in b rief’. The only other New
Testament passage in which the
phrase occurs i s A cts xxvi 28f. The
phrase i s p erhap s most frequentlyused of time ; as in Wisd. iv 137 671616119629 611 69127101 6719050600 6 xpdvov900 16p0156. Aristotle
,however
,Rhet.
i i i 1 1 (p . 1412 b , in discussingp ithy sayings, says that their virtueconsists in b revity and antithesis, andadds 150629170 19 8161 0611 7 61 5117 116620 901
8161 86 7 61 611 67127 6? 0227 7 01!-y1'
116m1. A useful i llustration i s citedb y Wetstein fromEustathius l l.
i i, p . 339, 18, 0257 611 0611 15’0017p 1161
’
; 611
o’li fiycp 20 7 0020
:
7 61 86
1607 61 06009 0 127 139 7 010177 0 .
4. « pa 3] that i s,‘ looki ng to
which ’, ‘ having regard whereunto’;
and so‘ judging whereb y
’: b ut the
expression i s unusual. The force ofthep reposition receives some i llustrationfrom2 Cor. v 10 2110 160020 177 0 1 616007 09
168 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [III 5, 6
I I a I
0110 7 111020 160117 69 110110 0 1 7 1111 0 111160 111 0011 EV p u0 7 11p1a1fl I A 9 I
7 011 xp10 7 011,50 é7 ep0 19 7 61160 19 01116 6 17 111110 0 911 7 0 19
c A a A a I c Iv1019 7 0111 0 1190027e 059 111111 7 0 19 0 7 1019
A I I 6 3‘
0 157 011 160 1 7 0041117 0 19 GV 77 1161100 7 1, 61110 1
a 6 3
70 810 7 0v 0 15007 09 77039 a 6 7rp 0§6v,The participle civa '
y1vai0 160w e9
seems to be thrown in ep exegetically.Judging b y what he has alreadywritten, they can, as they read, p er
ceive that he has a true grasp of
the Divine purpose, and accordingly,as he hints, a true claimto inter
pret it.The Latin rendering ‘
p routp otestz'
s
legentes i ntelligere’, i .e.
‘so far as ye
are understand’,has much
in i ts favour. This i s also the interpretation ofmost, if not all, of the
Greek commentators : ovvep e-rpria aro
81800 160A2011 7rp89 g7rep 6’
Xaip ov11
(Severian, eaten. ad loo). -But it
makes away/11100 160117 69 somewhatmoredifficult, unless we press it to mean‘ b y reading only
’.
The suggestion that 121107 111020 160117 6 9may refer to the reading of the p ro
phetic parts of the Old Testament inthe light of 3)what the Apostlehas written (Hort, Romans andEp hesi ans, pp . 150 f.) i s b eset withd ifficulties : for (1) where 01107 111050 166111 i s used of the Old Testamentscriptures, the reference ismade clearb y the context, and not left to b e
gathered fromthe word itself ; 1 Tim.
iv. I3 7rp <50 exe 61107111020 6 1 cannot b eproved to refer solely to the pub licreading of the Old Testament : (2)the same verb i s quite naturally usedof the reading of A p ostolic wri tings,Acts xv 3 1, 1 Thess. v 2 7, Col. iv 16
,
Apoc. i 3 : (3)the close p roximity ofwpoéypmpa suggests that what theyare spoken of as readi ng i s what hehas written (4)in the whole contextOld Testament revelation falls for themoment out of sight (see especially11. and the newness of themessage18 insisted on.
7 2111 0 151160 211 0ov A closeparallel is found in 1 (3)Esdr. i 3 1 7 1390 111150 6019 0137 021 6 1 7 121 116019 Kup2cu.
In the Lxx 0 111115110 1 31 is a frequentconstruction : b ut it i s amere reproduction of a Heb rew idiom
,and we
need not look to it for the explanation of our p resent phrase. For the
omission of the article b efore 6110v0 r17p2tp, see the note on i 15.
5. 57 6300 19 “
yet/6029]‘ i n other gene
rati ons",the dative of time ; compare
Rom. xvi 25 xpdvow 0210112019. Fez/68
is used as a sub division of 020511, and
the two words are sometimes b roughtinto comb ination for the sake of
emphasis, as in i i i 2 1 and 001. i 26.
The rendering to other generationsi s excluded b y the fact that zympzaeqis followed b y 7 029 112029 7 1311 civ9pai7rcov.
7 029 112029 7 1311 0119111577010] It i s
remarkab le that this well-known Heb raism
,frequent in the m , occurs
again b ut once in theNew Testament,viz. in Mark ii i 28 (in Matt. xi i 3 1
this b ecomes simply 7 029
The special and restri cted use of thephrase 8 11289 7 013 0
’v9p ai 7rov may
account for the general avoidance of
the i diom, which however i s regularlyrecalled b y the Syriac versions in
their rendering of 22119p a17ro1 (Matt.
v. 19, atp assim).7 029 077 007 191019 In
the parallel p assage, 001. i 26,we
have 11811 86’
134101160 1591) 7 029
0 157 013,
029 15961 110 611 8 9689 yvcop20 a 1,The difference i s in p art at
least accounted for b y the p rominentmention of apostles and prophets
’in
the immediately preceding section(i i
77 11612007 1] See 11 2 2,V 18 and Vi
18, and the notes in these places.
170 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [III 10
3 I I A 3 I 3
01160110010‘
T OU HUO'
T nPLOU T OU aWOKGv p p é l/OU 0 77 0 7 11111
0 260'
v 611 7 60 9601 7 0 7 7 0 117 0 167 10 0 117 1,
10 2,
1110 7 1160A A A a A I a A
p 10 911 111111 7 0 19 0’
pX0 19 160 1 7 0 19 650v0 10 19 611 7 019 677 011l A a I
700 112019 810 7 179
Paul’s writings. On the other hand,his figurative use of the word has noparallel in the restof the Greek Bib le.
Of fourteen instances of it, five occurin this ep istle. In the uses of the
derivates 7r)\ozi0 1a9 , 777\ov02109, 777\ov
7 6211, 777\0v7 2{ 6 111, the same rule wi ll b efound to hold, though there are someinteresting exceptions.9. 95107 20 01 7 29 15
‘to bring
to light what i s the d i sp ensati on’.
Compare Col. i 27 yuwp iam 7 1’
7 8
77110137 09 where the whole con
text is parallel to the p resent p assage.
is a natural word for the
pub lic d isclosure of What has b eenkept secret : see Polyh. xxx 8 1
677 617 0 86 7 1311 yp a00érwv 602001687 1011 1602
77 6611017 1006116011 : also Suidas629 (21139 22716 111, éfay
‘
yéhhew,
followed b y a quotation in whichoccur the words ¢ w7 2§6 111 7 8 1607 21 7 13116117 0212711 1i77 1ipp 177 011. Compare I Cor.
iv 5 (11607 20 61 7 8 16pu7r7 d 7 017 0 1687 0v9,and 2 Tim. i 10 (21107 200 117 09 86 ( 1027111602cicb9ap0 2011 (with the context).There i s considerab le authority (see
the note on various readings)for theaddition of 7712117 0 9 after 43107 20 0 1.The construction thus gained i s likethat in Judg. xi i i 8 (A text), (11607 10 627 1015069 7 2 7701120 100611 7 133 7ra18up21p (B has
But the sense given toto instruct ’instead of ‘
to
pub li sh — is less appropriate to the
present context ; moreover the insertion of 176117 09 lessens the force of theemphatic 7 029 6191160 111. The changewasprob ab ly a grammatical one, due tothe desire for an expressed accusative :John i 9, 7 8 95107 216 . 7712117 0 2211600 77011, is no true parallel, but i tmayhave influenced the reading here.
‘
12778 7 1311 0265111011] Compare Col. i 267 0 01107 15p 1o11 7 8 1i 77016616p 11006
'
11011 12778
C I
17 0 011520 7 ou
7 12111 0205116011 16ai 62778 7 6311 7 6116 12111 Rom.
xvi 25 0v0 7 17p2011 xp611019 0210112019
0 60 1‘
y1706'
110v : I Cor. i i 7 96017 0 o¢ 2011
0v07 17p2cp, 1i 17 0166 16p 11006'
111711, 131177p 060
'
p 10 6 11 8 9689 77p8 7 1311 0205111011. The
phrase 12778 7 6311 0215111011 is the converseof the more frequent 629 7 0219 02131109
comp . 1577’
02131109, Luke i 70, Actsi i i 2 1
,xv 18 ; 12778 7 021 02631109 1602. 629
7 811 02621110,P S . X] (xli) 14, etc. The
meaning is that ‘ frometernity untilnow
’themystery has b een hidden.
167 20 0 117 1] The add ition in the laterhi ss of 8161
’I170 o17 Xp 107 01
'
} p oints to afai lure to understand the prop riety ofthe simp lemention of creation in thiscontext. The true text hints that thepurpose of God was involved in cre
ation itself.10. 2110 ympw dfi] Compare i 9
yump20 a9 150211 7 8 0v0 7 17'
p 1011, i i i “
36-y1101p20917 001, 5 6
'
re'
pa19 7 6116029 09K
év p209r7, vi 19 770pp 170 20 yump20 a 17 8 0110 7 15p 1oz1. The rejection of the
gloss 7762117 0 9 (see on 11. 9)leaves us themore free to take this clause closelywith 111107 20 01 : to pub lish what frometernity has b een hidden, in orderthat now what has hitherto b een
impossib le of comprehension may b emade known throughout the wi destsphere.
’
See the noteson i 2 1 and the exp osition pp . 20 f.
818 7 139 61619117020 9] Compare 611 7 77616101170 20 b elow,
11. 2 1.
The word i s foundin Greek p oetry in the literal sense of‘ very-varied ’; Eur. Ip h . i n Taur.
1 149, of robes ; Eub ulus 0p . A then.
xv 24, p . 67962 0 7 6111011011 770)\ 1177 02161J\o11
1311661011 : also,figuratively, in the
Orphic hymns vi 1 1 lxi 4In Iren. 1 iv 1 (Mass. p . 19)
we have 77 1290119 770)\v06p o219 1602
111 11] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS . 17 1
f 3 l f 3 I “
160 7 0 71300960 111 7 11111 0 160110111 7111 éTI'
OUIG'
GV EV 7 111
7TO)\U7TOLKD\OU vwdpxow og An echo of
the word i s heard in 1 Pet. iv 10
WOtKQUS‘
xdp 17 o9 9603.
1 1. 1101-07rp6660 111] Th is exp ression
occurs adverb ially in Rom. vi i i 28
7 019 1607 0 77p 096 67 1.
v ov0'
111 . It
there signifies ‘i n accordance with
delib erate purpose on the part, thatis,of Himwho has called : themean
ing ismade clear b y the words whichfollow (07 1 ov9 771106vb y the sub sequent phrase of i x 1 1
1) 1607 7rp o¢960 19 7 ov 960v,‘the
purpose of God which works b y election
’.
In A ri stotle 77p0060'
19 is a technicaltermfor the setting out of the top icof a treatise or sp eech : thus we havethe four d ivisions (Rhet. i i i 13, p .
1414 b , 8) 7711001111011, 77p61960 19,6’
77 1'
7\o ‘
p relude, p roposition, p roof,p eroration
’. In Polyb ius 7rp 0
’1960 19 is
of frequent occurrence in the sense ofa delib erate p lan or scheme ; and thissense i s found in 2 and 3 Maccab ees ;comp . Symm.,
Ps. ix 38 (x i h
terp r. 0L, Ps. cxlv (cxlvi)4. In Polyb .
xii 11 6 we have the actual adverb ialphrase, of lying delib erately
’,160 7 8
7711159667 111 611/eveni ng). In no writerp revious to St Paul does i t app ear tob e used of the Divine purp ose or p lan.
7 1311 0213111011] The addition of the
defining genitive destroys only to a
certain extent the adverb ial characterof the exp ression. The result is d itficult to exp ress in English : neither‘accord ing to the purp ose of the ages
’
(which would strictly p resup pose 1607 81
7811 77p0960'
1v 7 1311 nor‘accord
ing to 0 purp ose of the ages’
, givesthe exact shade of meaning, which israther ‘ in accordance with deli beratepurp ose, and that purpose not new
,
b ut running through the whole of
eternity’. This construction i s frequent
in St Paul’s writings. Thus we haveK0?
"
6’116
'
py61011 (iv 16)and 1607’6’116
'
p'
ye10 11
7 06 207 0 110 (2 Thess . i i onwhich seeb elow in the detached note on éuepye
’
i v.
Again, we have 1607’67r1ray1§11 (1 Cor.
vi i 6,2 Cor. vi i i 8)and 1607
’677 17 031811
7 03 0210111fov 9603 (Rom. xvi also
160 7,
6’167x07 17
'
11 (Rom. ix I I) and 1607’
xdp 17 09 (Rom. xi Comparefurther Rom. 11 7, xvi 5, 2 5, Phil . i i i6 : also in this ep istle, i 1 1 77poop 1
17 96117 69 1607 8 71'
p696 67 111 7 03 7 8 770117 0
6’116p
'
yo3117 09
7711 611-0217616 11] These words involve aserious d ifficulty. If they are takenas equivalent to 71710666 7 0 (comp . i
we supp ose a b reach of the ruleb y which the resolution of such verb si s made With 77 0163090 1
,not With
77016211. N0 other instance of this canb e found in St Paul
,while we have
on the contrary in this ep istle, forexamp le, 1111621111 77 016217 9a 1 (i 16)and0256170 111 77 01620 901 (iv A phraselike 9671171110 77 016211
,Which i s sometimes
ci ted,i s ob viously not parallel, as i t is
not a resolution of 66716111.
Itwas p rob ab lythis d i fficulty,ratherthan the omission of the article b efore77p o
'
960'
111,that led early interp reters
to regard 1607 077p6960'
111 7 1311 0263116011 as
a semi -adverb ial phrase p arentheti
cally introduced, and to take 131 67701170 611 as referring to 0 06220. Jeromeso interp rets, though hementions thepossib ility of a reference ei ther to616162070209 or to 77p6960
'
111. It i s p ro
b ab le that here,as so often
,he i s
rep roducing the view of Origen. But
the Old Latin version, which he
follows in the text, also interp retedso:
‘secundump rop osi tumseculorum,
quamfeci t’: a rendering which rulesout the connexion So
too the translator of Theodore (MSS,71071 ed), b ut of Theodore
’s ow nviewwe have no evidence. Theophylact
and Euthymius Zigab enus exp resslyrefer 1311 to 67 0662011. Chrysostom’s textat this point is in some confusion :
but he suggests, if he d id not actuallyread , 0 121151161111 1311 (comp . Heb .
i 2 81’03 1602
The Vulgate (so too V ictorinus)sub
17 2 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [III 12
fl A I e A 1/
1 110 011 7 111 1611101111 111111111, EV
,
1p exogey 7 1111 7 7 010
pn0 1'
0 11 160 2 7 7100 0 7 017 311 611 7 7 677 019170 61 810 7 119 7 7 167 7 e
stitutes p raefini tionemfor p rep osi
10711,and thus restores the amb iguity
of the original, which the simp lerchange of quod for quamwould haveavoided. It is noticeab le that Jeromehad suggested p rop osi ti o as an alternative rendering of 771161960 19 . The
ab sence of quamfeci t fromAmb rosiaster’s text p oints to another attemp tto get rid of the d ifficul ty.
This construction, however, i s ex
ceedinglyharsh,and i t presents uswiththe phrase 0 09520 11 77016311, Which seemsto have no parallel. Another wayout of the difficulty hasmetwithmorefavour in recent times ; namely, totake 61102170 611 in the sense of
‘wroughtout
’. But itmay b e doub tedwhether
77p6960 111 77016211 could b ear such a
meaning : we should certainly haveexpected a stronger verb such as
677 17 6k6'
211 or This view,
indeed, seems at first sight to b e
favoured b y the full title given to
Christ,and the relative clause which
follows it. But a closer examinationshews that the ti tle i tself i s an almostunique comb ination. In Rom. vi 23,vi ii 39, 1 Cor. xv 31, (Phil. ii i 8)wehave Xp 107 89
’I170 039 8 1615p 109 15111311
(y ou), in i tself an uncommon orderb ut no article is prefixed to Xp 1o-1-69.Only in Col. i i 6 have we an exactparallel, 139 0311 7 7 0p 67\d186 7 6 7 811 xp 10 7 811’1170o311 7 811 1615111011, where L ightfoot punctuates after xpw
-réu and
renders ‘the Chri st
,even Jesus the
Lord ’. Accordingly, in the p resentpassage, even i f we are unwilling topress the d istinction in an Englishrendering, wemay feel that an exactob servation of the Greek weakens theforce of the argument derived fromthe fulness of the ti tle
,and leaves us
free to accept an interp retationwhichregards 671021711 611 as referring to theformation of the eternal purpose inthe Chri st.
On the whole i t is preferab le tosup pose that the Ap ostle is referringto the original formation of the pur
p ose, and not to i ts sub sequentworkingout in hi story. We may even doub twhether here he would have used thep ast tense, if he had been speaking ofits realisation.
Instances may b e found in the
Lxx and in New Testament wri tersother than St Paul
,in which 77 016211 is
used where we should exp ect 77016?
0 90 1 : comp . Isa. xxix 15, xxx 1, 301111711
77 016211,and see Blass JV. T.Gram. § 53 ,
3 and Jannari s H i st. Gr. Gram.
1484. Further, we may rememb erthat 77016211 in b ib lical literature often
has a strong sense, derived fromtheHeb rew,
in reference to creative actsof God (comp . i i The framingof the Purpose in the Christmay b eregarded as the initial act of creation,and the word 67702170 611may b e not inapp ropriately applied to it. In otherwords 77pd960 111 677 02170 611 is a strongerform of expression than 77p6960 111
67701150 07 0,which is themere equivalentof 7rp06
’
667 0 : and i t suggests that ‘the
purpose of the ages,’like the ages
themselves (Heb . i has b een calledinto existence b y a Divine creativeact.
With this pas sage, and indeed withthe whole of thi s section
,should b e
compared 2 Tim. i 8— 12 ,where thereare striking parallels of language andof thought,which are themore noticeab le in the ab sence '
of any exp licitreference to the Gentiles.
12 . 7 811 770pp110 i011 Compare11 18. For themeanings of wappnm'
a
see L ightfoot on Col. i i 15. Ord inari lyit i s used of ‘ b oldness’ in relation to
men : here it is of the attitude ofmanto God : there seems to b e no otherexamp le of this use in St Paul ; butsee Heb . i i i 6
,iv 16
,x 19, 35, 1 John
i i 28,i i i 2 1
,iv 17, v 14.
174 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
“
[III 15
A A A
77 0 7 6p0 , av 7 0 0 0 611 160 1 677 1 7 179
of thi s phrase marks the close con
nexion of 011. I and 14, and shews thatwhat has intervened is a digression.
110111717 111 The usual phrase for‘kneeling ln the New Testament is6629 7 8 7 61107 0 . The present phrase i sfound again only in a quotation from1 Kings xix 18 in Rom. xi 4 ; in a
quotation fromIsa xlv 23, 87 1 61102
KtipAI/Gl 77811 ydvv, in Rom. xiv I I ; and
in Phil. 11 10, 2110 7 03 63116007 1’Iq0o3
77611 7 61111 an allusion to the
same passage of Isaiah.
77 0 7 6p0] The insertion after thisword of 7 03 16vp 1
'
0v 15111311’Ir)0 03Xp 107 03
is amischievous gloss,which ob scuresthe intimate connexion b etween the
ab solute 7707 15p and 7730 0 7ra7 p 1é. It
is ab sent fromN*ABCP .
15. 7780 0 7ra7 p 1é] Ha7 p 1d denotes
a group of p ersons united b y descentfroma common father or,more generally, a common ancestor. It has thusthe narrower meaning of
‘ family’orthe wider meaning of
‘trib e’. It i s
exceed ingly common in the genea
logical passages of the Lxx,where it
often stands in connexion with 021109
and (tului. St Paul plays on the derivation of the word : 770 7 p 18 is derivedfrom7707 1ip every 770 1-1016, in the visib leor the invisib le world , is ultimatelynamed fromthe one tr ue Father (6
the source of all fatherhood.
The literal rendering i s ‘every
family’; b ut the p oint of the passagecannot b e given in English withouta paraphrase. The Latin rendering‘omni s patern itas
’seems to b e a b oldeffort in this d irection ; for p aternitas
,like ‘
fatherhood’ in English, i san ab stract termand does not appearto b e used in the sense of ‘
a family’.It i s true that Jerome (ad Zoe. and616211. Helvi a. in order to b ringout a parallel, renders 7ra-rp 1a 1
’of the
Lxx b y p aterni tates : b ut in hi s own
version (Numb . i 2, etc.)he does not
1ntroduce the word,nor does i t occur
as a rendering of 770 7 p 16i in the Latin
version of the Lxx. P atri a i s occasionally so used , and is found also ina quotation of our p resent passagein the metri cal treatise [Tert ] adv.
fifarcionemiv 35.Similarly the rendering of the
Peshito 4 8mm < l a mustmean ‘
all fatherhood’: comp .
{ hom é n‘the name of father
hood ’ in Aphrahat (Wright 472
The Latin and Syriac versions therefore warrant us in rendering the passage in English as
‘the F ather of
whomallf atherhood . . i s named ’.On the teaching of the passage i t
is worth while to compare AthanasiusOrat. contra A r ian. i 23 013ydp 15 6689
8119p 011 p 1p 6'
27 0 1‘
12708 p dkkov 02
6’1'
119p017701 818 7 811 966511,16vp 1
'
609 160211611011
821179139 3117 0 770 7 6p0 7 03 600 7 03 v io3, 1602
037 02 7707 6p 69 13110080 9170 0 11 7 6311 2811011
7 6161111111' 65 0127 03 7780 0 770 7 p 18
03p 0 11029 1602 6772 7139 dvop dffl au and
Severian ad loo. (CramerOaten. vi 159)7 8 8110110 7 03 7707 p89 0316 dd)
’75111311
62113219611 62k 8111096 11 629
80801167 1 139 ¢ 30 6 1 811 1602 0316 811651107 1
p dvov.
The d ifficulty supposed to exist inSt Paul’s sp eaking of ‘ fami lies ’ inheavenmay have led to themi stranslation
.
of the A .V .
‘ the whole family.
’
The same d ifficulty led Theodore toadopt (perhap s to invent)the reading¢ arpta (so the Paris codex : the formi s found b oth in Inscrr. and MSS for¢ pa 7 p20, seeDieteri chB yzant.A rchi e.
i on the curious ground that thisword denoted not a 0 vyy6
'
11610 b ut
merely a 0 1507 17710 . The insertion of
the gloss referred to ab ove had p ro;b ab ly b linded himto the connexion,
-
p 1ci , uponwhi ch thewholesense dep ends.The difficulty is not a serious one
for the addi tion 611 mipavo’
i s 1102 6772
7 179, like the similar phrase in i 2 1,dvop afoptévov 012 11611011 611 7 13 0263111.
7 037 69 627018 1602 611 7 113 p e'
hhovn ,is
III 16, 17] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 17 5
5 I 6 QI A A
011071060 0 1, 1110 8111 1211111 160 7 0 7 0 7 7 7\ov7 09 7 1793 A I A A A
0 117 011 8v i1a f1e1 16p0 7 0 1w911V0 1 810 7 011 7 7 11615110 7 09 0 v7 ov
1I 1!
619 7 011 617 111 0 119pw77 0u,1 7160 7 0116110 0 1 7 0 11 90010 7 811 810
2
A I a I t A 3 a I a7 119 77 10 7 61119 6 11 7 0 19 k a p81a 1s v/q 6 11 0 7 0 7771 6pp1§01~
perhap s only made for the sake of
emphasis. Wemay,however,note theRab b inic use of 965735 (fami liay—‘
the
fami ly ab ove and the family b elow’:
see Taylor Say ings of Jew ish Fathersed 2
, p . 12 5, and Thackeray St P aul
and Contemp . Jew i sh Thought p .
149.
8vop 6if67 0 1]‘i s named ’
,i .e. derives
i ts name : for the construction with£11 comp are Soph. 0. T . 1036 1317 7
’
631101100 9179 616 7 15x179 7 0 157 179 89 62 (so.
and Xenoph. Memorab . iv5 12 6¢ q 86
’
1602 7 8 81a7\6'
y6090 1 8110110
09151101. 616 7 0316. 7 811 60 60 8119p 1077011] This phrase
finds i ts full exp lanation in 2 Cor.
iv 16 818 0316 G’
VKGKODFGV, dhh’62 1602
8 6510 15116311 8119p 09 8106/396 1'
p 6 7 a 1,
1270? 8 60 111 15111311 83 06 0 111037 0 1 rip e'
pq1602fip e
’
p g . Our outward man ’is in
the Apostle’s sub sequent phrase 15
677 27 6109 15111311 021620 7 03 0 1675110v9, Whichis subj ect to dissolution our inwardman i s that part of our nature whichhas fellowship with the eternal, whichlooks ‘
not at the things which are
seen, b ut at the things whi ch are notseen.
’There i s no reason to seek for
a philosophical p recedent for the
phrase : at any rate Plato Rep . 589A,which is p ersistently quoted , offers noparallel for there 6 6117-89 6
’
1’1119p 1077 09,
the man who i s wi thi n him i s onlyone of three contend ing constituents(the others b eing a multi formb east
and a lion)which the Platoni c parab lesupposes to b e united under what i soutwardly a human form.
In St Paul the phrase occurs againinRom. vi i 2 2 . And in 1 Pet. i i i 3 f.we
have a contrast b etween 62007 261111 16801109 and 8 kpv77 7 89 7 39160p81
'
a 9 62119p 09 611 7 13 d¢ edp f cp 7 03
fia vxiov 1602 77 p 0 6’
609 77 116151107 09.
I7 . 1607 011630 0 1] K0 7 01166'
211 i s rarein St Paul, whomore frequently uses02166211 or It occurs again onlyin Col. i 19, 11 9, and we have 1607 011617
7 17'
p 1o11 in Eph. i i 2 2 . When used incontrast to WGPOLKGIV the word imp liesa permanent as Opposed to a temporary residence (see L ightfoot
’s noteon Clem. Rom.p ref ); where it occursby i tself it suggests as much of
p ermanence as 03166211 necessari ly does,b ut no more.
611 aiyciwg] Reasons for joiningthese words with what precedes haveb een given in the exposition. In
favour of this collocation itmay alsob e ob served (1)that 611 dyein g formsthe emphatic close of a sentenceseveral times in this ep istle see i 4and note, iv 2
,16 : and (2)that the
anacoluthon which follows ap p ears tob e more natural i f the fresh start i smade b y the particip les and not by anadverb ial phrase ; compare, e.g., iv 2
(iVEXd/J GVOL dhhn’hwu dydny and Col.
11 2 0v 1Ba096'
117-69 611 6
2
318779.
6’
pp 1fcop 6'
1101] St Paul is fond of
passing suddenly to the nominativeof a particip le, as in the two passageslast quoted, to whichmay b e added
Col. i i i 16 8 611
81880 160117 69 : see L ightfoot’s note on
that passage. There is therefore no
reason for supposing that 2110 is b elated, as was suggested b y Origen,and as i s imp lied in the rendering ofthe A .V .
,
‘that ye, b eing rooted
’,&c.
On the contrary, 2110 dep ends d irectlyon the p articip les which precede it.For the metaphors compare (1)
Col. ii 7 6’
pp 1f10716'
1101 1602 6770111080003
[.LGVOL 611 0 157 113 1602 363010806 1101 7 3777 10 7 6 1, and (2)Col. i 23 6 1 7 6 6 77 11161167 6
7 17 77 10 7 61 7 69611621 1006 1101 1602 68p a 1o1,
and 1 Pet. v 10,where 9606211100 61 i s
176
f I16111 T eeep e /ueum,
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
1 8
[III 18—20
i va éElO'
XUG'
nT G Ka T aAaBeA
0 9011 0011 7 7 010 111 7 019 157 1019 7 1 7 0 Wh om-09 mu 11111609 16011
xix/1 09 16011 611009,19y uan/011 7 6: 7 71V 7 119
1
7 1/100 e a’f
ya'
zrnu 7 011 90010 7 011, 11101 7 7Anpw0n7 6 619 7 7 011/
7 0 7 7An'
pw/ua 7 011
A 3 f
7 701110 011 tivrepemrep 10 0'
ov mv 11117 0v 001 7)
found in NKLP , though not in AB.
For the comb ination of themetaphorsWetstein cites Lucian de Saltat. 34(30 77 6p fiffa Kai. 66p éh1a 7 1796px750 6m9 130 0 11.
18. 6510x150 7yre] A lateword, foundbut once elsewhere in the GreekBib le, Ecclus. vi i 6 (B : b ut NAG
have the simp le verb ). It suggeststhe di fficulty of the task, which callsfor all their strength.
KarahaBéo fia L] Themiddle i s foundthrice (Acts iv 13, x 34, xxv and,as here, in the sense of ‘ to perceivewhdros‘ Theodore’s comment
is admirab le and sufficient : i’ua 6711-377 779 Xcipu
-os 7 0 p G
’
YGGOS‘
(in?) 7 1311 nap’
15116311 duop drmv. St Paul i s not thinking of the measures of the
‘ holytemple ’, as some of the modemssuggest ; nor of the shap e of the cross,as many of the ancients p retti lyfancied. He i s speaking in vagueterms of themagnitude of that whichi t wi ll take themall their strengthto apprehend — the Divine mercy,especially as now manifested in theinclusion of the Gentiles, the Divinesecret, the Divine purpose for mankind in Christ. To supply ciyémyc7 06 xp 10 7 017 out of the followingsentence i s at once needless and
unjustifiab le. With the intentionalvagueness of the phrase wemay comp are D i dacfie c. 12 0 vv60 1v yap 6567 666§1av Ka 1 ap 10 7 6pav.
°
Ywepfidhh6w isused with either an accusative or a
genitive (Aesch. Plat. A rist.)of theobj ect surpassed. So too tiflep e
'
xetv :comp . Phil. i i 3 vvrep exow a s
'
6av7 03vWi th Phi l.W 7 r)w rep e
'
xov0 a ravu.
°7 w 36 Suva p evw vvrep 77 0 1x7 01
l t
a
voov/uev 16617 6!
629 up to the measure of
comp - iv I3 629 p67 p01/ fihuu'
a s 7 05
flhnp aip aros 7 017 xp 10 7 01'
3. The Ap ostle’s
p rayer finds its climax in the requestthat theymay attain to the comp leteness towards which God is workingand in whi ch God will b e all in all.
Ideally this position i s theirs alreadyin Chri st, as he says to the Colossians(i i min ? 16a 7 011<62 1761) 7 0 whifpmp a 7 fis
‘ 0667 777 09 0 01110 7 116030, Ka‘
1 6’07 e
‘
min? 7r6vrhnpwp 6'
vo1, Its reali
sation is the Divine purpose and,
accord ingly, the Apostle’s highest
p rayer. On the sense of 7 6 wképmna7 08 6606 see the exp osition. Wemayusefully comp are wi th the wholephrase Col. ii 19, where St Pauldescri b es the intermediate stage of
the process, saying of the Body :
afiga afi§q0w 7 017 196017 .
The reading of B and a few cursives , iua whq afy 772111 7 0whrfpwp a 7 013
9608,offers an easier construction
,b ut
an inferior sense.20
,2 1.
‘ Have I asked a hardthing ? I have asked it of Himwho
can do farmore than this ; who can
vastly transcend our p etition, even
our imagining : ofHimwhosemightyworking i s actually at work in us.
Glory b e to Him! Glory in the
Church and in Chri st Jcsus—glory inthe Body alike and in the Headthrough all the ages of eternity
’.
20. 7 01 86 Suvap e'
vco] Compare thedoxology ln Rom. xvi 2 5,m
”
) 86‘
duva
1161101 v1.16: 0 7 771112301, 161577 6p 6x17 6p 10 0 01
'
3] This word occurstwice in St Paul’s earliest ep istle, b utnot elsewhere : I Thess. i i i 10 yum-osKai rip e
'
p as 1517 6p 61<77 6p 10 0 0i3 Bé dp GI/Ol , V
I78 EPISTLE TO‘
THE EPHESIANS. [IV 3— 6
9 I I I
Gu/n'
a s, a V6x0p 6V01 a’
M nAwV 6’
V 017 0177 11,30 77 0v3a §0V7 69
A I I A I
7 np 61V 7 11V éV07 n7 01 7 ou 7 7 V6v/ua 7 09 6V 7 00 0 11V360 111p 7 119
t. A t‘ I
61p 17'
V179'
0 101101 16011 6V 7 7 V6v/ua ,16019109 16011 éV
A A I t A I I I a
11161 7 119 167tn0'
6w9 up wV' 5
619 16140109, 111101 7 7 10 7 19, 6V
I I I
160177 7 101101:
66 19 0609 16011 77 017 11p 7ra V7 wV 0 677 1 7 7 11V7 00V
and for the p lace of‘ humility’in the
moral code of Chri stianity, see L ight;foot
’s note on Phi l. i i 3 : and for
7rp0177 179 and p axp oevp ia, see his note
on Co]. i i i 12 .
dVexép eVm] For the transition to
the nominative participle see the noteon i i i I7.
3. movddfow es‘] givi ng d i li
gence’ ‘
sati s agentes’Cypr.
,
‘3olli
ci ti Vulg. For the eagerness whi chthe word imp lies, see the exposition.
63
1167 777 0] Considering that St Paullays so much stress on unity, it i sremarkab le that he uses the ab stractword ‘
oneness ’ only here and in 0.
13. In each case he quickly pas sesto i ts concrete emb odiment—here 3110 1311a , in 0. I3 629 dudpa TG
’
AGLOV. In
b oth p laces it is followed b y defininggenitives—mv 77V6vp a7
’
os' and
17
29 7TLO
'
TG0 9 Ka t 7 729
Gflt‘v a f fl)? TOU
v1ov 7 ou 6eou. It is p ossib le to take7 01? “ Vevp aroc here of the Holy Sp iri t,as the p roducer and maintainer of
unity : comp . 15 1601V10m'a 7 013 dy iov
WVevp aros‘
,2 Cor. Xi i i I3 ; and so
perhap s 1601V10V1'
a 17 11615113 7 09, Phil. 11 I .
But i t is equally p ossib le to regard‘the sp irit
’as the one sp iri t
’of the
one b ody’
see the next verse.
0'd 6
'
01169] Peace i s here the b ondof oneness. In Col. i i i 14 f.
‘love’
is ‘the b ond of perfectness ’, while
‘
peace’is the ruling consideration
which decides all such controversiesas might threaten the uni ty of the
Body : see L ightfoot’s notes on that
passage4. 60 Having already b roken
his construction b y the introductionof the nominative particip les, St Pauladds a series of nominatives
, ofwhich
the first two may b e regarded as in
apposition to the p articip les b eing,as ye are
, one b ody and one sp irit’.
The others are then loosely attachedwi th no defini te construction. In
translation, however, i t i s convenientto p refix the words ‘
there is ’to thewhole seri es.311 7711617110] For the
‘one sp 1r1t
’
which corresponds to the one b odysee the note on i i 18 £11 £11277 116151107 1.
61 77 501 Comp . i 18 157 69 167\11
'
0 6w9 0 13
7 05. God’s calling is
the general ground of hope : ‘
yourcalling
’
,i. e. His calling of you,makes
you sharers in the one common hop e.
5. 6 19 1cup 1o9] Comp . I1
00“ Vi i i 6
6 19 9609 o vamp , ef ou 7 0 77 0V7 0
1601 17116 19 6 19 uvrou, 1601 6 19 16vp 1o9 Iv0 ov9
Xp 10 7 09, 01 av 7 0 770 117 0 160 1 17116 19 01,
0137 06 : also 1 Tim. i i 5 639 y0p 9609,639mi 1160 17 179
-19] One faith in the one
Lord united all b elievers comp .
Rom. i ii 30 6 i9 0 9609, 09 011601160 6 1
1607. dxpoBv0 7 1'
0V
010 7 179 77 10 7 6 109.
311 130777 10110 ] Bap ti sm‘ in the nameof the Lord Jesus ’was the act whi chgave definiteness to faith in Him. It
was at the same time,for all alike
,
the instrument of emb od iment in the‘one b ody
’: I Cor. xii 13 160 i. ye
‘
zp 6’
V
6’Vi 77V6151107 1 1511629 771iV7 6 9 EV
6’
130777 1'
0917116V, 677 6’Iov0a
'
i o1 677 6”
E1717;V6 9, dovh01 6
’7\61i96p o1.
6. 6’77 i 770117 10V Comp .Rom. ix5
013V 770V7 10V 9609 6 13K0‘
y177 09 629 7 009
021300 9. Supreme over all, He movesthrough all, and rests in all. With c
’
v
77 130 111 we may compare I Cor. xv 28
1110 I) 0 9609 770117 0 6V 7700 111, though
there the emphasis falls on
IV 7, 8] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. I79
I a160 1 010 77 0 V7 10V 160 1 6V 77 010 1V.
715111 06 6160 0 7 111 177q
600917 17n xap 19 160 7 0 7 0 71167 p0V 7 179 010706119 7 ou 70010 7 011.8010 hen/61
’A N a 80
‘
. c e i c Yty o c ma Ac e y c e N a iXM AMo c i A N,16111 € A CO K€ N 21 0 11111 7 0. T O IC 0116 73 60 710 10.
The text of NABCP (e’v 7700 1V)i s
undoub tedly right. D2G3KL ,wi th theSyriac and Latin
, add 1771111 : and a
few cursives have 071111,which IS represented in the A.V . When we haverestored the reading, we have to askwhat is the gender of and
77610 111. The Latin translators werecompelled to face thi s question whenrendering 6
’77 i 7rdm and 010 770117 10»
A ll p ossib le variations are found, b utthemost usual rendering seems to b ethat of the Vulgate, ‘
sup er omnes et
p er omm’
a’,whi ch also has good early
authority. The fact that 770 7 7’7p 770V7 10V
p recedesmight suggest that themasculine is intended throughout : b ut6772 71011e at once admits of the
wider reference, see Rom. ix 5 quotedab ove ; and we shall p robab ly b eright in refusing to limit the A p ostle’smeaning.
7— 13.
‘Not indeed that this oneness imp lies uniformity of endowmentor of function. On the contrary, toeach individual in varying measuresb y the gift of Christ has b een en
trusted the gracewhich I have alreadyspoken of as entrusted to me. The
distrib ution of gifts is involved in thevery fact of the Ascension. WhenHe ascended , we read , He gave
g ifts. He, the A ll-fulfiller, descendedto ascend : and He it is that gaveapostles, prophets, evangelists, pastorsand teachers— a rich variety, b ut allfor unity : to fit the memb ers of theholy peop le to fulfil their app rop riateservice, for the b ui lding of the b odyof the Chri st, until we all reach thegoal of the consciously realised unity,which cannot b e reached while anyare left b ehind—the full-grown Man,
the comp letematurity of the fulfilledChrist’.7 . 17 xap 19] ED2 wi th some others
omit the article : b ut i t has p rob ab lyfallen out after £80617.7167 p 0V] Comp . Rom. xl1 3 61600 7 10
109 09609 The
word,which 18 found in only one otherpassage of St Paul
, 2 Cor. x I3,occurs thrice in this context? see vv.
I3, 16. This repeti tion of an un
accustomed word,when it has b een
once used,i s i llustrated b y the re
currence of 61167 179, vv. 3, 13.
8. 310 7te'
ye1] The exact phraserecurs in v 14. We find 7r1ik1u
Ref-ya , following yé'
yp 0777 01, in Rom.
xv IO ; comp . also 2 Cor. vi 2 , Gal. i i i
16. We may supp ly 15yp acpri, as inRom. x 1 1 and elsewhere
, if a nominative is required.
ciV081i 9] In the 10616 of Ps. lxvu
(lxvi i i)19 the words are :’Ava,81
‘
19 629
17
11109 fixp ah167 6v0 0 9 a ixp ahcom'
aV,3 0
B69 007107 0 6’V 0V9p 1577019 (dv9p a
'
177 1p E*h).
‘ The Psalmist p ictures to himself a.triumphal procession, winding up thenewly-conquered hill of Zion, the
figure b eing that of a victor, takingpossession of the enemy’s citadel, andwi th his train of cap tives and sp oi lfollowing himin the the
words following, Hast recei ved gif ts
amongmen, the Psalmist alludes tothe tri bute offered either b ythe vanquished foes themselves, or b y otherswho come forward spontaneously toown the victor, and secure his favour
’
(Driver, Sermons on the 0. T ,1892 ,
pp 194f.)St Paul makes two alterations in
the text of the Lxx : (1)he changesthe verb s fromthe second person to
1 2—2
180 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [IV 9, 10
3 1 a cl I a97 0 06
'
ANG BH 7 1'
60 7 1V 61 7117 07 1 16011 160 7 6617 619 7 01
16017 107 6700 716'
p 17 7 179 0
7 179 ;Q
10 c 3 I
0 160 7 090 9 01117 09 60 7 1V 16011
a I I A f “ ( I I
0 a Vafia s 11'
77 6pa vw 77 0 V7 10 V 7 10V ovpa V, 1V01 77A17pw0 77
9 16074877] 7771137 011
the third , (2)he reads gBCOKGV 00710 7 07 079 0V9p 6077019 for 007107 0 6
’V
0119711617011. Accordingly of the two
Words which he selects to commenton
,0V07309 and g001e , the second is
entirely ab sent fromthe original ofthe text. The exp lanation is thusgiven b y Dr Driver (ib i d . pp . 197 f.)‘ St Paul is not here following the
genuine text of the Psalm, b ut is inall p rob ab ility guided b y an old
Jewish interp retation with whi ch hewas familiar, and which, instead of
received gifts among men, p ara
phrased gave gifts to The
Targum on the Psalms renders :Thou ascendedst up to the firmament, O p rophet Moses, thou tookestcap tives cap tive, thou d idst teach thewords of the law, thou gavest themas
gifts to the children of men ” The
Peshito Syriac likewi se has : ‘ Thoudidst ascend on high and lead cap tivity cap tive, and didst give gi fts tothe sons of men’. For other ex
amp les of the influence of trad itionalJewish interp retations in St Paul’swri tings, see Dr Driver
’s art. in theExp osi tor, 1889, vol. ix, p p . 20 3.
9. 1607 67317] For the add ition of
77p 137 0v, see the note on various read
ings.Ka7 01
'
7 6p0] So far as the Greekalone is concerned
,itmight b e allow
ab le to explain thi s as meaning ‘this
lower earth’. But the contrast tiflep0V60 7 13V mip aVa
'
iv i s against such an
interpretation. And the phrase i s
Heb raistic, and closely parallel tothat of Ps. lxii (lxi i i)IO 620 6h6 1i0 ov7 01629 7 0 1607 107 0 7 0 7 179 7 579, i.s . Sheol, orHades ; and of Ps. cxxxvi i i (cxxxix)15 6
’
V 7 029 1607 10707 019 (B 1607 107 07 10)7 13g7 579. Whetherwe interpret the phraseas signi fying
‘the lower parts of the
earth or‘the parts b elow the earth’
is a matter of indifference, as in
either case the underworld is the
region in question. The descent is tothe lowest, as the ascent i s to thehighest, that nothingmay remain nuvisi ted.
10. 0 13709 607 111‘He i t is
that also ascended’: so in v. I Ia
av7 09 6 (DKGV.
Cwrepdvcoj above
’, not
‘ far ab ove ’see the note on i 2 1.
776117 1011 7 1311 ov’
pava'
iu]‘all heavens
’,
or‘all the heavens
’. The p lural 013
pavo 1'
, which, though not classical, isfrequent in the New Testament
,i s
generally to b e accounted for b y thefact that the Heb rewword for heaven’i s only used inthe p lural. But certainpassages, such as the p resent and
2 Cor. xi i 2 3109 7 1157 011 ofip avoi} (comp ;also Heb . iv imp ly the Jewishdoctrine of a seven-fold series of
heavens,ri sing one ab ove the other.
For this doctrine, and for its historyin the Christian Church
,see art.
Heaven’b y Dr S. D. F . Salmond inHastings
’ B i ble Dicti ona/ry . The
descent and ascent of ‘the Beloved ’
through the Seven Heavens are de
picted at length in the A scensi on ofIsa iah (on which see my art. in the
same d ictionary).t p aic y] The context, which de
scri b es the descent to the lowest andthe ascent to the highest regions,suggests the literalmeaning of ‘fillingthe universe ’ wi th His p resence :comp. Jer. XXIII 24 111)mix} 7 611 ofipavbu Ka i. yfiv e
’
ya‘
) 1r7lqpa'
5 Ré'yel.
Képw s. But in view of the use of the
verb and its sub stantive in this ep i stlein the sense of ‘ fulfilment’, it wouldb e unwi se to limit the meaning here.
He who i sHimself all in all fulfilled ’
182 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [IV 13
A
629 épf
you 310K01/i0 9 , 6 i9 oucoBowqu 7 011 0 0 110 7 09I t I a
7 011 xp10'
7 ov,131167411 160 7 0 10 1717 p 11 01 77 0 117 69 619 7 11V
v 10 1017 0717 10 61, mp ifet, 096110517 61
(2) literal ly, Mark i 19, of puttingnets in order ; metaphorically, of
restoration of an offender, Gal. vi I
Karaprffere and of the rectifi
cation of short-comings, 1 Thess. i i i 10Ka7 ap 7 1
'
0'
01 7 d tio'
repfinara 7 779The senseof restoration p revai ls
in 2 Cor. xi i i 9 7 0177 0 Ka i 6 13
xd11690, 7 r)uKardpn o
'
w,which i s followed b y
Ka7 0p 7 1'
{ 60'96 in 17. I I : in I Cor. i 10
Kamprw ne'voz 63
11 a 137 tp 11014.
L
followsthemention Of oxiana
'
ra.
For the formsee Clem. Strom. iv
26 (P. 638)7 155 0 10761109 K07 0p7 10p t§and comp . Aristeas
,
Swete Introd . to LXX 544, 77pci-ym
’w Kai. 7 p677<0v e
’
gaprw‘
p dv.
In this passage xa-raprw nés sug
gests the b ringing of the saints to a
condi tion of fitness for the dischargeof their functions in the Body,wi thoutimp lying restoration from a disor
dered state .
629 3p‘
yov 810K0v1'
09] The nearestparallel is 2 Tim. iv 5 gpyov 7701970 011
eday‘
yehw'
rofi (for 3p'
yov 11't e in
2 Thess. i 1 1 i s ‘activi ty insp ired b y
faith’,comp . 1 Thess. i but the
sense here ismuchmore general thanif we had 629 3p
'
yov di axdveov.
A taxom'a i s the action of a servant
(Btdxov09) who waits at tab le,etc.
comp . Luke x 40, xvi i 8, xxii 26 f.,Acts vi I f. But i t has the sameextension as our word ‘
service ’, and
it was at once applied to all forms ofChristian ministration. Thus 1)o1uxovi
'
a hdyov i s contrasted wi th 1)Kadqp epwf) Sta k ozn
'
a in Acts Vi I, 4.
And i t i s used with a wide range
extending fromthework ofthe apostolate (Acts i 17, 25, Rom. xi 13)to theinformal ‘ service to the saints’ towhich the household of Stephanashad appointed themselves (1529 81amvial! dy1
'
019 37 05011 6'
0v7 0139 I Cor.xvi Here we may interpret it
of any service which the saints renderto one another
,or to the Body of
whi ch they arememb ers, or (which i sthe same thing)to the Lord who i stheir Head.The phrase GZS‘ gp
'
yov 810K0111f09 is
most naturally taken as dependent on
xaraprw-
név. The change of p rep ositions p oints in thi s d irecti on
,but i s not in itself conclusive :
the ab sence of the definite articleshowever, with the consequent compactness of the phrase, i s stronglyconfirmatory of thi s view. Themeaning accordingly i s
‘ for the‘
completeequipment of the saints for the workof service ’.
olxodonrfv]‘bu’lld ing
’rather than
‘edification
’for the p icturesque
ness of the metaphor must b e preserved Comp . i i 2 1 7760 0 oixodow)
and the note there. The
phrase 629 olxodop r’
w 10 7 31. gives thegeneral result of all that has hi thertob een spoken of ; as in v. 16, where i t
I3. K0 7 0V7fiawnev] Thi s verb is usednine times in the Acts
, of travellersreaching a p lace ofdestination. Otherwi se it i s confined in the New Testament to St Paul . In 1 Cor. xiv 36 i t
is contrasted with { gekdeiv z 13
) dgb’
1501311 6 Ni‘
yo9 7 017 66017 35177160 ,17 629
p 6vov9 K07 11'
vr170 6v ; (‘were you
its starting-
point, orwere you its onlysee also I Cor. x 1 1
75711311, 629 7 81 7 67V) 7 0311 0205116011 1<arr)'
u
7 1)1<6v, Phi l. i i i 1 1 77 109 K07 0v7 150'
w 629
7 1)v 350 1160 7 00 111 Unity is our
journey’s end
,our destination.
ofmix/7 69] i .e.
‘all of us together’.
A s often in the phrase 7 81 770117 0 ,when itmeans the universe of thingsthe definite article gathers all the
particulars under one vi ew : comp .
Rom. Xi 32 O'
vve'
xketa ev ydp d 0669
77dv7 09 GlS‘ ci17 6 191'
0u 7 0139 776117 0 9
1 Cor. x 17 37 1. 639 dp 7 09, 311
IV 14] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 183
Q A I A I A A A6 1107 117 0 7 119 77 10 7 6109 110 1 7 119 éWl ‘v O
'
GwQ 7 011 viov 7 ouA 9, I I t06011,619 0 V3p0 7 6A610V
,619 MG
'TPOV n7\1xfa 9 7 ou nhnpa
i
( I I 5“ I
110 7 09 7 ou xp 10 7 011' I4
1110 1111x67 1 1071611 111177 101, Kkvdwm
0 1300 of. of ydp 776117 697 013 63169 dp 7 ov nw éxop ev.
The three clauses areco-ord inate. In accordance with thegeneral rule xarav-rav is followed b y 629
to ind icate destination.
61161-177 0] See ab ove, on v. 3.
77 107 6 109] Comp . v. 5.Both 77 107 6 1119 and envy/11050 6 109 are to
b e taken with the following genitive7 06 115013 7 013 960i): comp . Gal. i i 20
17107 6 1 ( 13 7 013 v ioi) 7 013 96013. The
unity springs froma. common faith in,and a common knowledge of
, Christas the Son of God.
377 170050 6109] knowledge’,not ‘ full
’
or‘ further knowledge ’: see the de
tached note on 15771v 0 19.
7 013 v iofz 7 013 6606] St Paul’s firstpreaching at Damascus i s thus describ ed in A cts ix 20
,éxfipv0 0 eu 7 61!
’Ir)0 013v 37 1 0137 69 30 7 111 6 v io9 7 013 06013.
In hi s earliest ep istle we have theDivine sonship mentioned in con
nexion wi th the resurrection 1
Thess. i 10 duap e’vew 7 611 1115611 0137 05
7 0311 013710110311, 311 fiya p ev c’1c 7 1311 11611731311,
1170 01311, and this connexion isemphasised in Rom. i 3 7 06 dp 10 66
’
v
7 09 112013 66013 $11 dvvdnec 1<a7 h
dy1a>0 13vn9 6’
g dva0 7 d0 6 109 vexpa'
iv. On
the special p oint of the title in the
present context see the exposition.
auapa] The new human unity i s inSt Paul
’s language s is 10 111169 1’1’1/19pco
7709 (i i Here, however, he usesdufip 7 6711 109, b ecause his point is thematuri ty of the full-grown organism.
Man as d istinguished fromangels or
the lower animals i s c’z’vdpmnog. He is
aimip as distinguished either (a)fromwoman, or (b)fromb oy. It is in vi ewof thi s last distinction that dwip ishere used, to signify
‘a human b eing
grown to manhood ’. Comp . 1 Cor.
xi i i I I 37 6 17111711 7 67 0110
a’zmjp : so here, in the next verse, wehave b y way of contrast 7110 nqxe
’
n
1311611 111577 101.It is sp ecially to b e ob served that
St Paul does not say 629 duop a g 7 67161
ou9, though even Origen incidentallyso interprets him(Cramer Catena ,ad loc.
, p . Out of the immaturi ty of individualism we
are to reach the predestined unity ofthe one full-grown Man (629 suapa
TG’
AflOV).
ne’rpov]
‘themeasure’in the sense
of ‘the full measure ’; as in the
phrases 06'
7 p011 173179 Hom. Il. xi 2 2 5,
)16'
7 p o11, Solon iv 52 . Top e’rpov
7 179 157111009 i s quoted b y Wetstein
fromLucian Imag. 6 and Philostra
tus, Vi t. Sop h. i 2 5, 26, p . 543.
15110 009] A stage ofgrowth,whethermeasured b y age or stature. It i s
used for maturity in the phrase15711111011 é
’
xew (John ix 2 1, as also in
classical Greek).777wpaina7
-09] We cannot separate
‘the fulness of the Chri st’ in thi spassage fromthe statement in i 23that the Christ i s ‘ b eing fulfilled ’and finds His fulness in the Church.
When all the saints have come to theunity which i s their destined goal, or,in other words
,to the full-grown
Man,the Christ will have b een ful
filled. Thus they Wi ll have togetherreached ‘
the fullmeasure of thematurity of the fulness of the Christ
14—16. So shall we b e b ab es no
longer, like little b oats tossed and
swung round b y shifting winds, thesp ort of clever and unscrupulous instructors ; b utwe shall hold the truthin love, and so grow up into the
Christ. He i s the Head : fromHimthe Whole Body, an organic unityarticulated and compacted b y all thejoints of its system, active in all the
184 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS..[IV 14
I I Q I
83I
{ 01161101 160 1 77 6p 1<j>6p0116 1101 77 0 117 1 0 11610151 7 119 1
7 h I a I 9 I
611 7 11 xvfi10 7 1011 0 11011017 10 11 611 77 0 110vp'
y10 77p09 7 1111 11600
functions of its several parts, growswith its prop er growth and bui ldsitself in love’.14. 111377 101] In addition to I Cor.
xi i i 1 1, quoted above, compare 1 Cor.
i ii 1 f. 01316 hal fwat 13v 1139
0 116000 7 11602} (DOV 1139 0up1c1'
11o19, 1139
1117771019 Xp 107 q3'
ydha 1311139
013 01377 10 yapComp . Luke vi ii
24 7 116 131163111) 16017 153 1671131310111 7 06 13
807 09,James i 6 13 yap 81016pw131161
109 30116611
10113810111 dahdo o'
qs‘ duep 1§onévq1 1601
p 17r1§op 61110. When used metaphorically 1011581011 is
"storm rather than
‘wave’ comp . Demosth. de fals. leg.
p . 442 1603. p aviav 7 31 16006
0 7 1716137 0 npdynara Phi lo decongr. erad . grat. 12 (M. 528)0 101011160i 167t13810110 6776 7 09 0 1131107 09
Plut. Cortol. 32 16061317 6p
X61p a3111 160i 7 139776716109. So we find the verb used inJosephus Ant. ix 1 1 3, 6 861109 7 apa0
0 131161109 160i. Khvdcomfdnevoa776p 1¢ 6p6n6 1101] i .e. swung round. It
occurs, b ut only as an ill-attested
variant for 7rapagb6'
p 60 da1‘to be carried
asi de, out of course
’, b oth in Heb . xiii
9 (8130x079 77 0116171019 160115631019 111)770110and in Jude 12
1’
1'
11v3p01 13771) dvépmvTraw i dve
’
p qo] Thi s is to b e takenwith b oth p articip les : the 16711581011 is
due to the c’z’venos, as in Luke vi i i 2 3 f.
7 139 81300 160311'
091‘0f doctri ne
’: the
articlemarks the ab stract use of the
word.‘
playing with dice‘
gaming’, and so, metaphori cally,‘tri ckery .
’Ev i s instrumental .
‘ bythe sleight ofmen Kv136136 111 is usedin the sense of ‘
to cheat’in Art ianEp ictet. i i 19 28. Ep iphanius Haer.
xxxi v 1 describ es Marcus as “07 1.qwrapxcov 61177 61p67 07 09, and i b id .
2 1 says that no 16v196v7 1161) can
stand against the light of truth.
Origen ad loc. uses the exp ression818130 166111
,for the meaning
of whi ch wemay comp are 0. Gels. i i i
39 0138311 11139011 1601 ml 77 61601 0 011013717 011 6343117 1011 (of
the Evangelists).7 1311 1316110377 101] A simi lar depre
ciatory use of at du0p107701 is found inCol. i i 8
,2 2, the latter of which
passages is b ased on Isa. xxix 13.
wavovpy iq] In classical Greek 77011
017117 09, which originallymeans ‘ readyto do anything
’,has a b etter and a
worse meaning, like our word ‘cun
ning’in b ib lical English. The b etter
meaning i s found e.g. in Plato Rep .
409 0 77011013py 139 7 6 1601 0 0<f1<39. It
prevails in the Lxx,where the word isused to rendermay, of which ¢ pé111~p 09 is another equivalent : comp .
Prov. xi ii 1 v i09 77011080709 1377 13160090 a7 p 1
'
. The only place where the ad
j ective occurs in the New Testamenti s 2 Cor. xi i 16, where St Paul playfully uses it Of himself, 130 d 1011 770 11
013p'
y09 81331 19 131169 31 018011. St Lukeuses 770110vp
'
y1'
a of the‘ craftiness ’ of
our Lord’s questioners in reference to
the tri b ute-money, thus hinting at thecleverness with which the trap was
laid,whereas StMark and StMatthewemp loy harsher words (137r131cp 10 t9,7701117p 1
’a). In his quotation fromJob
v 13 in 1 Cor. i i i 19 St Paul rendersADDWJ b y 311 7 g 770110vp
‘
y1'
0 0 137 1311,Where the LXX has 6 11 ¢ p011170 610137-1311. In 2 Cor. xi 3 he says 0 31111965177707 00 6 11Evav 611 7 1) 7ravovp
‘
y1a 0 137 013,referring to Gen. i ii 1, wheremanisrepresented in the LXX b y (111101110137 07 09. Lastly, we find the word in 2
Cor. iv 2 , 711) 77 6p 17707 0i3117 69 770110vp
807tof1117 6 9 7 1311 711331011 7 00 96013.
There it i s the context which determines that a b ad cleverness ismeant.In our p resent passage Origen linksthe word with anotherword for ‘ hcleverness But the clever
186 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [IV 16
I 0 7 I I
116 11011 3101 77 0117 119 12111119 7 179 e’
77 1xopnf
y1a 9 , 16a 7’
e’
vep'
ya a u
to its having b een used in the metaphor of the b uilding in i i 2 1. See
the detached note on O'
vvapp oho‘
yei v.
0 111131/3af6p 611011] In Col. i i 2 0'
v11
B1Ba0 66'
w es p rob ab lymeans instructed
’, as it does in the Lxx. But here
and in 001. i i 19 itmeans ‘ united ’.In classical Greek i t is commonly usedof b ringing together
"or
‘reconciling
’
persons. It is possib le that in its
p resent context i t is a termb orrowedfromthemed icalwri ters.81115771] The word aid») has very
various meanings. Besides i ts common use (1) for
‘touching
’,
‘touch’and ‘
a point of contact’,from1
'
1'
77 7 op a 1,i t also signifies (2) ‘kindling
’, from
in a special sense, 3)‘sand’
,as
a technica l termof the arena (seemynote on P assi o P erp et. (4)
‘a
p lague’,often in the Lxx. None of
these senses suits the present contextor the parallel in 001. i i 19 776111 7 6o é p a 81& 7 1311 dgbcfiv 17v 6
'
0'
111011
6’77 1x0p1)y015)1611011 16a
’1
For in b oth p laces the functionas signed to the 611ml is that of holding the b ody together in the unitywhich is necessary to growth.
But the word has another sensewhich connects itwith 5777 10
,
‘ I fastenor
‘tie
’. The wrestler fastens on his
opponentwith a rid»)fi t/111167 09 : comp .
Plut. A nton. 2 7 dcbhv 8,
629
x611 1)M y .
31111167 011,moral. 86 F 62Bl aBepog 1311 l6a
’1 8v0p 6 7 aX6 1
'
p 10'
7 09
611100716517 1” dcfifiv Dion.
H. deDem. 18 1i19K1)7 a'
1
'
9 7 179 67179111179 ioxvp&s
~ d¢&9 77p 00‘ 6'
1
‘
110 1
862mi d¢ 15167 0v9 hafida Theword,together with some kindred wrestling terms, was used of the union oftheDemocri tean atoms : Plut.Moral.
769 F 7 a i 9 1607’ ’E77 1
'
160vpov d¢ al9 Kai77 6p 177ko1ca
‘
1
‘
9, comp . Damoxenus ap .
A then. 1OZ E Ka i ouxi
gvpmwvoimdd)c'9. We find dyp a usedmo
the same sense of the wrestler’sgri p , Plut. Fab . 23 dnp a7 a 16al haBd9,
and even of his gripp ing arms, Id.
A lcib . 2 .
That «id»;mthe sense of a b and orligament may have b een a. termof
ancient physiology is suggested b y anentry in Ga len
’s lexicon of words used
b y H ippocrates (Gal. xix p . éqSér
7& ap p ara nap& 7 6 54101, i .e. b ands,
At any ratefromtheverb ‘ to b ind’.
i t seems clear that the word could beused in the general sense of a b and
or fastening (from377 1 and that
we need not in our exp lanation of
St Paul’s language start fromcigbq’in
the sense of ‘touch’.
L ightfoot indeed, in his note on
001. i i 19, adopts the latter course,and seeks to b ridge the gulf b ymeansof certain p assages of A ristotle. But
Ari stotle again and again contrastsas.)
‘ contact’ with o ép ctvmg‘ cohe
sion’; and in the most important ofthe passages cited he is not speak ingof living bodies, b ut of certain diaphanous sub stances
,which some
suppose to b e diaphanous b y reasonof certain pores ; de gen. et corr . i 8
(p . 326) ydp 16a7& dd)&9 (i .e.
‘at the points of Contact’) 6
,
1136'
x67 a 1
3116'
11a1 81&7 1311 81a¢ az11511, Oil‘l' é' 81&7 1311
17 0'
pcov. In fact in Aristotleappears to mean touching wi thout
j oining : hence e .g. in de caelo i 12
(p . 280)he argues that contact can
cease to b e contact wi thout (Mopé.‘
Acfifithenmay be interp reted as a
general termfor a b and or fastening,which possib ly may have b een usedin the technical sense of a ligament,and which in COL i i 19 is elucidatedthrough b eing linked by the c inculamof a common definite article with0 15118601109, a recognised physiologi calterm.
6’77 1xopqy1
'
ag] Theword occurs againin PhiL i 19 31d 7 179 15111311 861517 6 109 Ka i.
€n1x0pw la9 7 06 1711615110 7 09’I1)17 0f1Xp ur
‘ through your prayer and the7 0v,
supp ly of the Sp irit of Jesus Christ’.
IV 16] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Commentators are wont to exp lain itasmeaning ‘
an abundant supp ly’
,thus
d ifferentiating it fromxopqy ia,‘a
supp ly’. But this interp retation of
the preposition in this word, as in
871131110 0 19, does not appear to b e substantiated b y usage.
The xopnyds‘ supplied themeans of
putting a p lay on the Athenian stage.
The verb xop rrye‘
iv soon came tomean‘to furni sh or supp ly
’in the widest
sense. A little later the compoundverb 6
’77 1xop 1ry6f11 was similarly used .
There is a tendency in later Greek toprefer comp ound to simp le verb s,prob ab ly for no other cause than thegreater fulness of sound. The forceof the p reposition, b efore i t ceased tob e felt, was prob ab ly that of d irection,‘to supply to
’: compare the Latin
compounds with sub, such as sup
p lere, subministrare : and see 2 Cor.
ix 10 6 86’
6’77 1Xop 1ry1311 o n e
’
pp a 7 1530
'
17 6 1'
p 0117 1, Gal. i i i 5 15 01311 6
’17 1X0p177 1311
ugly 171161711a . Even if 6’17 1xopqy1511a 7 a
means ‘add itional allowances ’ in
Athen.Deip nosogph. iv 8 (p . 140 c), thi sdoes not p rove a corresponding use
for the other compounds : and in anycase an
‘addi tional supp ly
’ is something quite difi
'
erent froman ab undant supply
’.
The p resent passage must b e read
in close connexi on with 001. ii 19,where offers ause of the passive (for the p erson‘ supplied which is also commonlyfound With X0p 1rye
'
109a 1. But in Whatsense i s the body
‘ supp lied’b ymeans
of its b ands and li gaments ? It is
usual to suppose that a supply of
nutriment is intended, and the mention of
‘
growth’in the context appears
to b ear this out. But we cannot
imagine that the Greek physiciansheld that nutriment was conveyed b ythe b ands and ligaments, whose function i s to keep the limb s in p ositionand check the p lay of the muscles(Galen iv pp . Nor is there anyreference to nutriment in the contextof either passage : order and unity
are the conditions of growth onwhichthe Apostle 1s insisting.
Aristotle, who does not employ thecompound forms
,frequently uses
xopq'
yew and xop 1)‘
y1a in contrastWi thn6<f>v16611a1 and (tu n a In P ol. iv 1
(p . 1288)he says that education hastwo pre requi sites, natural gifts and
fortunate circumstances, 115150 19 and
xop rna'
a 7 vx1)p 1i (a p rovision or equipment which depends on fortune).The b est physical training will b ethat which is adap ted to the b odybest framed by nature and b est provided or equipped (16070110 7 016a
i
Kexopq p e'
vcp): comp . iv 11 (p .
So again, vi i 4 (p . 132 5)013
7&p 03611 7 6 7707117 6 i011 316 116019111
1ip 1'
o'
7 1)11 ovup e'
Tpov x0p rry1'
a9, I 3
(p . 133 1)3617 111 7&p 16ai x0p1n11'
a9 7 111697 1)
{ 611 16a7\139, E th. Ni c. X 8 (p . 1 178)8’311 [1)7 017 11017 50676]
160 i 7 696 167 09 xopqy 1a 9 617 1 p 116p 011 1) 6 77 6 a7 7 011
36 117 19a1 7 179 01911669, 1 1 I (p . I 10 1)7 1ovu1 1071116 1 héyew
a
61113a 1'
)1011a 7 011m7 ap 6 7 1’
)11
7 6716 1a11’6 116pyov117 a 16a 1 7 019 6167 09 67 0 19019
516011139 andmanymore instancesmight b e quoted. The
limitation to a supp ly of food, whereit occurs, comes fromthe context, anddoes not b elong to the word itself,which is almost synonymous with
and d iffers fromi tmainlyb y suggesting that the provision or
equipment i s afi'
orded fromoutsideand not self-originated.This general meaning of p rovision
or equipment is in p lace here. The
b ody may properly b e said to b e
equi pp ed or furnished,as well as held
together, b ymeans of i ts b ands and
ligaments ; and accord ingly we mayspeak of
‘every b and or ligament of
its equipment or furniture ’. The
rendering of the Geneva Bib lei f a little clumsy, gives the truesense : ‘bg euer ie i oynt,f or thefurniture thereof’. But as the word‘equip
’does not b elong to b i b lical
Engli sh, wemust perhaps b e contentwith the rendering,
‘ by every j oint ofi ts supp ly
’. The Latin renders, ‘
p er
188 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [IV 17
cl .1/ A I
111 6517091 6 1189 éxa
’mrov p epovs 7 11V 011/Sno w 7 ou own/1017 09A 3 1
77 01617 011 629 021603011111! a v7 0v 61! a y a'zrg.
6‘ I l a l II 7
'
1‘
0117 0 OUV Aeyw 16011 p ap 7 up0/1a 1 eu Kvpup, 11111667 1A A
1ipm 7 7 6p 177 a 7 ew Ka0w9 16011 7 01 77 6p 17ra 7 e1 EV 11017 011
omnemz’
uneturam[some O.L . autho
ri ties have taetum]subministrationi s’
,
which adequately represents the ori
ginal.
K0?"
These words are tob e taken closely with $11 p e
’rp cp 6
'
v1‘
19
516617 7 011 p e'
pov9. For the further definition of an anarthrous sub stantiveby a prepositional clause, comp . 17. 14
wavovpy ig 7 1‘
)v p 60061'
av 7 139wh
ims. It i s j ust p ossib le that weare here again in p resence of a technical term of Greek physiology.
Galen (de faeult. natural. i . 2, 4, 5)distinguishes b etween gpyov,
‘workdone ‘ result ’, and 6
’116
'
p-ye1a,
‘the
working process’,
‘ function’: the
impulse that p roduces the 6’1/6
'
p7 61a
b eing The meaning wouldaccordingly b e ‘ in accordance wi thfunction in the fullmeasure of eachseveral part
’,
‘as each part duly fulfils
i ts prop er function’. At the sametime we must not lose sight of thestrongmeaning of éue’pya a in St Paul :see the detached note on éuepye
’
iv andits cognates.
a 1’1'
5170'
w 16.7 .7L ]‘maketh the
i ncrease of the body’. The distance
of the nominative,way 7 0a a
’
ip a, is the
cause of the redundant 7 013 17 05110 7 09.A ll that was required was a 1
’51f61, b ut
the resolved phrase lends a furtherimpressiveness comp . 001. i i 19 aw
’5
5617 1)v 0557 0 111 7 017 96013.
( 29 o ixodom‘pf a 1i7 o1'3] ‘unto the bu i ldi ng thereof He recurs to themetaphor which he has already so used inv. 12 (629 oixodopfiu 7 09 o aip a 7 09), andhas again touched upon in (rm/app oRoyoup evov.
6’v dyéwy] Once again this phrase
closes a sentence : see the notes on
1 4, 1i i 17.
17— 24. This then ismymeaning
and my solemn protestation. Yourconduct must no longer b e that of
the Genti leworld. Theydriftwi thouta purpose in the darkness, strangersto the Divine life ; for they are ignorant, b ecause their heart is b lind and
dead : they have ceased to care whatthey do, and so have surrenderedthemselves to outrageous living, defiling their own b od ies and wrongingothers withal. How d ifferent i s the
lesson you have learned : Imean, theChrist : for is notHe themessag e youhave listened to
,the school of your
instruction ? In the person of Jesusyou have truth embodi ed. And the
purport of your lesson i s that youmustab andon the old li fe once and for all ;
youmust stri p off the old man, thatoutworn and perishinggarment fouledb y the passions of decei t : youmustrenew your youth in the sp iritualcentre of your b eing youmust clotheyourselves wi th the new man, God’sfresh creation in His own image,fashioned in righteousness and holiness which spring fromtruth’.I7. p apfl ipop at]
‘I testzjf'
y’or
‘
p ro
test’. See L ightfoot on Gal. v 3 and
I Thess. i i 1 1 (Notes on Epp . p .
Map 7 vp 6'
iv to bear Witness’and p aprvp e
‘
i crdac to b e b orne wi tness to are
to b e distinguished in the New Testament, as in classical Greek, fromp ap7 155160 1901, whichmeans first to call towi tness ’and then ab solutely
‘to p ro
test’or ‘asseverate’.
£11 xvp icp] See the exposition on v. 1.
151169] emphatic, as 1511629 in 11. 20.
77 6p 11ra 7 6'
iu] See the note on i i 2 .
7 21 The alternative read ing,7 21 Rom-21 30m), has b ut a weak attestaf
tion : see the note on vari ous read ings.
190 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [IV 20—2 2
A 9 cl 1 I
6f
21 .v/ 1
v,ue19 36 ovx 0117 1119 67 6 7 011 Xp 10
'
7 011, 61 7 6 a v7 011
3 I a a A 1
88I
0 61! 1 [
611160110 017 6 16111 611 6 1 ax 117 6 , no: 1119 617 7 111 a /\ 1) 61a
fl Hs a 22a6/
6c A I
6 11 7 19 1170 011, 1177 0 60'
111 1111619 16117 01 7 1711 7 7p07 6pa 11
widened to mean the p roducing of
any result bymeans of lab our.’Ep~ya
is used in A cts xvi 16, 19, xix 24f.
in the sense of b usiness or the gains
of business ; and stillmore generallyin Luke xi i 58 869 6
’
p1
ya1r1'
av ( z daop eram)1i77 1)7\7\1ix9a1 a
’77’ati7 of1.
In the New Testamentlike E
’
pyov, i s transferred to moralaction (as 3pyé§609a1 1
7 1)dyadév Rom.
i i 10, 1<a1<611 xi i i Here 629
77120179 cika9ap0 1'
a9 is a resolved exp ression used for convenience of construction instead of 6
’
p'
ycif60'9a1 77617 1111 dxa
9ap0'
1'
a 11. It means no more than‘
performance’or ‘
practice’:‘ in op era
ti onemomnia immund i tiae’.wheoueffq]
‘w i th greediness
’, or
‘rapacity
’; i .e.
‘with entire disregardof the rights of others ’, as L ightfootexp lains it in hi s note on 001. ii i 5.
111601 6611: often means more than‘ covetousness’: i s used
in the sense of‘to defraud ’ in the
special matter of adultery77p ciy11a7 1) in 1 Thess. iv 6. Commenting on 77h60116f1
'
aOrigen (Cramer
,ad loo.)says 7 017 77h601161<7 6711
°
31?
(fora. 1311 ydp ov91109615011611, and b elow dxa9ap0 1
’av 86
nheovefig no1x61'
a11 oi'
onm6 lva1. Seefurther the notes on v 3, 5 b elow.
20. 511151967 6] The exp ression p av96116 111 7 611 xp 10
’7 611 has no exact paral
lel ; for 110 1196116111 is not used wi th an
accusative of the person who i s theobj ect of knowledge. But i tmay b ecompared with other Pauline expres~sions
,such as 7 611 xp 1a
'
7 011 77apa)\
36 11 (Col. i i 6’1181517 a0'9a1 (Gal. i ii
7 111311a1 (Phil. i i i and indeed dkoziewin the next verse
,which does not
refer to hearing wi th the b odily ear.
The aorists at this point are not tob e pressed to point to themoment ofconversion : they ind icate the p ast
without further definition ; and, as thecontext does not fix a particularmoment
,theymay b e rendered in Eng
lish either b y the simple past tenseor, perhaps more naturally, b y the
perfect.2 1. 67 y e afirov fixatio n-re] See the
note on i i i 2 . E7 7 6 does not implya doub t, b ut gives emphasis. It is
closely connected wi th a zi-rév,which
i tself is in an emphatic position : ‘ if
indeed i t i s Hewhomye have heard’.év aah-153] i n H im’
as the sphere of
instruction ; not‘ b y Him’ (A. V.)as
the instructor.k adai s This clause is ex
p lanatory of the unfami liar phraseology which has b een used. For n)»dhq
’
da av p avddvew,dxofiew, 7 5} db ;
atadam eaz, would p resent no
d ifficulty. Truth i s found in the person of Jesus, who i s the Chri st : He
i s H imself the truth (John xiv 6)hence we can b e said to ‘ learn Him’.dAfiHa a] In the older MSS no d is
tinction was made b etweenmeg aand q oa
’
q : so that i t i s possib le toread Kadais‘ 30-7 11: q det
'
q, 311 7 126’Iq¢roi3,
‘as He is in truth, in Jesus ’. Or re
taining the nominative curfew ,and
stillmaking 6xpurros‘ the subj ect, wemay render ‘
as He i s truth in Jesus’.Of these two constructions the formeri s preferab le ; b ut neither sui ts thecontext sowell as thatwhich has b eengiven ab ove.
2 2 . 67 09605111] The clause introduced b y the infinitive is epexegeticalof the general thought of the p receding sentence :
‘thi s is the lesson that
ye have b een taught—that yep utofetc. standing in contrastwith guaéa aaeaa i s equivalent to thean exaaa aa ea ‘ of the p arallel passage,001. i i i 9 f., a
’fl
'
exdvodp evoc rov wahatov
dvfipamov m’mra i : wpdfeo w 11137 06
,Ka i
IV 23, 24] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 191
9
7 011 1111971017 011 7 011 (PGGL‘OOMGVOV11117 11 7 119 677 1911111019 7 179 1177 117 179 ,
2311110111150110 9111 36 7 111
77 116 1171117 1 7 011 11009 vy wv,“411111 611360 110 9111 7 011 1111111011
1’
1119pw 7 7011 7 011 11117 11 960 11 117 10 96117 11 311111100 151117 111111
00 107 177 1 7 179 11347961119 .
£113v0 1'
17111101 7 611 1115011. The metaphori s that of strip p ing off one garmentto put on another. Compare also
Rom. xi i i 12 67709157119a 01311 7 31 gpya
7 017 0 1167 0119, e’vdv0 aip e9a Be
’7 11 307m7 01?
(pan-09.
ava07 po<j>r711] Comp . a vempdcbqp e'
u
7707 6 in i i 3 ; and for dva07 p e¢ 609a cas a synonymOf wepm'
a'
rew see the
note on i i 2 .
77a7\a 1o11 Comp . Rom.
Vi 6 6 flahau‘
w 15711511 dv9pw7ro9 GUI/6'
0‘
7 avpai917. Hakau’
s stands in contrastalike to Ka11169 (11. new in the senseoff resh, and to (001. i i i new
in the sense of young. The ‘oldman’
i s here spoken of as (paa p ép euog, in
p rocess of decay, as well as morallycorrupt ; we need in exchange a p er
p etual renewal of youth (dvaveof109a 1),as well as a fresh moral personality(11011169 The interchangeof tenses deserves attention : smeg0 9111 .gb9e1p6711 11011. .duaveof10 9a1. £ 11815
0 a09at . Viewed as a change of garments the process i s momentary ;viewed as an altered li fe it i s con
tinuous.
2 3. 7111115710 7 1 7 013 11069] The mindhad been devoid of true purpose1107 11167 177 1 7 06 110159, 17. for the
heart had b een dull and dead (812171
'
16p a10 111 7 179 Kapdfa s, 11. The sp i
ritual p rincip le of the mind mustacquire a new youth, susceptib le of
Sp iritual impressions. The addition
of 7 013 11009 15711311 indicates that theApostle i s sp eaking of the spirit inthe individual : in itself dvavsofi0 9a17 15 17 11115710 11. would have b een amb iguous in meaning. We may compare his use Of 7 0 0 c311a 7 fi9 0 ap 111
’19
0137 013 in sp eaking of the earthly
b ody of our Lord, 001. i 2 2 , 11 I I.24. 110 1
-21 61611]‘afler God
’: God
Himself i s the 7 151709 after which thenewman is created. The allusion is toGen. i 2 7 1107
’s ik o
'
ua 9soi} 37705170 111
azi 'rdv, the language of which ismore
closely followed in 001. i i i 10 7 611 116011
T5V dvaxawodp evov 629 977 13111100 01 Kar’
eixdva 7 08 11r1'
0 a 117 o9 a137 611.
60 161-177 1] For the usual distinctionb etween 60 167 179 and as
representing respectivelydutytowardsGod and duty towards men (Plato,Phi lo), see L ightfoot
’s note on 1 Thess.i i 10 Kai 811101109 (Notes on Ep p .
p . 2 7 The comb ination was a
familiar one ; comp . Wisd. ix 3, Luke1 75.
1111171111119] to b e taken with b oth thepreceding sub stantives,
‘z’
n righteous
ness and holiness which are of the
truth not as A V .
‘ in righteousnessand true holiness ’. There i s an immedi ate contrast with ‘
the lusts of
deceit’,1107 81 377 1911115“ 7 179 a
’1rd'
n79
11. 22 ; just as in 15 a’h1796150117 69
stands in contrast with 7 69 17161179.
Truth as app li ed to conduct (see also11. 2 1) is a lead ing thought of thi ssection, and gives the starting
-
point
for the next.2 5—V. 2 .
‘ I have said that youmust stri p off the old and put on the
new, renounce the passions of decei tand li ve the li fe of truth. Begin
then b y putting away lying : it is contrary to the truth of the Body thatone limb should p lay another false.
See that anger lead not to sin ; if
youharb our it, the devil will find a
p lace among you. Instead of steal
ing, let a man do honest work, thathe may have the means of n mg to
192 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [IV 2 5—27
A a
25 13 10 dWOQéMGVOL 7 0 41 611809 A a A e ur e A A HOG IA N
cf A i a A t, 7 Ie xa c r o c M 6 7 0 T O Y TTAH C l O N A YT O Y, 0 7 1 6071611 11W
26 1
Ra w fi e/
Ar] . o p r l'
z e c e e Ka i M l-i dM A PT A’N e T e
e/
(i n7\to93 9
fl A111i 677 181167 01 677 1
’77 011007 10111? 15110111,
2771111786
others. Corrupt talkmust give wayto good words, which may b ui ld up
your corporate life, words of grace inthe truest sense . otherwi se you wi ll
pain the Holy Sp irit, the seal of yourp resent unity and your future re
demp tion. The b i tter temper mustb e exchanged for the sweet—for kindness and tenderheartedness and forgivingness. God in Chri st has forgiven you all
,and you must copy
Him,for you are His chi ldren whom
He loves. In love you toomust live,such love as Christ’s, which is thelove of sacrifice25. 0770967161101] rep eated fromci 7r
0060601, 0. 2 2 ; but the metaphorof the garment i s dropped, and thesense i s nowmore general, not ‘
put
ting off but‘
p u tting away’. So in
Col. ii i 8 w vi 86 077096096 110i. 1571679 7 81
770117 0, 6117 1511, b efore the metaphor has b een introduced b y 8177 118006716 1101 (11. We cannot with prop riety give the same rendering hereand in 0. 2 2, as
‘
putting away a gar
ment does not in Engli sh signify putting i t off.
7 8 111 66809] The word is suggestedb y 7 139 111177911119 in the preced ingverse ;b ut it is used not in itsmore generalsense of
‘falsehood ’
,b ut in the nar
rower sense of ‘ ly ing’, as i s shewn
by the next words. Comp . John vii i44 37 011 hal f)7 8 11166809,Rake?“ An exact quotation
fromZech. vi i i 16, excep t that therewe have 77p89 7 811 for 7 05. In
Col . i i i 9 the p recep t 11161586096 629
021711510119 occurs, but wi thout the
reason here given, which is speciallysuggested b y the thought of thisep istle.
26. 0py 1g°
6096 PS. lv 4, LR ;where we render ‘Stand in awe and
sin not’(but R. V.marg. has
‘ Be ye
The Heb rewmeans literally‘tremb le . so Aqui la but
it 18 al so us ed of anger.6 {771109 1 .7 .x] Grotius and others
cite the remarkab le parallel fromPlut. de amore f ratr . 488 B 637 0
7117167090 1 Hv9ayop 1110159, oi. 7 61161.
71179611 77p 00 171<0117 69 1i\7\d 11011100 hdyov
7167 6XO117 69, 6 17707 6 77p oax96 1611 6 19 110180
p 1a9 1177 0p7 179, 77v 17 7 011 77h1011 8111101
7 0 9 865109 671780kk0117 69 a’hhq
’how 1102
0077000061101 8167\vov7 0. For the formof the precept compare Deut. xxiv15 0691771611811 67708030 6 6
”
7 811 7110 9811
0157 013 (sc. 7 013 01311 677 18150 67 01
5 77h109 677’0137 155 : and Evang. P etn
'
2 , 5, and the passages quoted b yDr Swete 0d loo.
770p 0p7 10p o3] The word does not
appear to b e found outside b ib licalGreek, although 7rap 0p
‘
yf{ 0710 1 (pass)sometimes occurs. In the LXX. it
always (with the excep tion of a
variant in A)has an active meaning,‘
provocation’,whereas 77 0710500 7189
i s used in the passive sense,‘ indigna
tion’: wapopyifew and 7707005611601 are
of common occurrence and often ren
der the same Heb rew words. Here770p0p
‘
yw'
1189 is the state of feeling
provocation,‘wmth’. Hap opyffew OC
curs b elow, vi 4.
2 7. 7 677011] InRom. x11 19867 6
7 677011 7 57tip-7157the context (
‘Vengeancei s Mine’)shews that the meaning is‘make way for the Divine wrath’.The phrase occurs in Ecclus. iv 58139 7 077 011 11119p 107np x07 apa0 a0901
'
0 6,
xix 17 809 7 077011 1107110 Yxl1 1'
07 0v (giveroomfor it to work), xxxvi i i 12 miZarp éi 889 7 677011 (allow himscope). It
i s found mthe later Greek writers,as in Plutarch, Moral. 462 B 8s? 8s
(so. 7 5 dpyfi)81
194 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [IV 30—32
I A Aa’
zcovovo w Ka i ,un Arm-ew e T O wvevp a To a
irway 7 0v
Geou, e’
u w e’
O'
qbpaf
yiaa-e eis muepa v
37ra0
'
a 7rucp ia Ka t 914109 Ka t 6mmKa t Kpa vf
yn Ka t 187mo
'
cjmp c'
a dpGnT w dgb’
vywu mmwa d Kaxiqz,37 t
l
l/60'66
speech compare Col. iv 6 0 A67 0:
vymv ”din-ore e’v xap vn ,
(flan nprvp e’vos
‘
(seasoned with the true ‘ salt’ of
speech), and 001. i i i 16 (seats mamaTtKa tS
'e’v xapm x.r . .7\ Compare also
the contrast between ev-rpand u
’a and
svxapw n'
a below i n V 4 ; and see thed etached note on xa
’zp cs. We cannot
reproduce in English the play' upon
the two meanings of xap ts in thisp assage30. P"? h im-s ire] Compare Isa. lxii i .
IO wapai‘fvvav 7 6m/efma To (1w a ti ‘rofz.
On our present passage is foundedthe remarkable injunction of theShepherd of Hermas in regard toh im; (Mand . x). The interpretationthere given is capricious and purelyindividualistic : dpmi 01
311 ( in?) 0 60117 05
l imp, Ka i p b HMBG r b 77 1/69mTo
dywv rt c’v d o}. yti p
mfeiip a 7 013 6608 f t 80061: s i s n)umip xaTari'nyu h im”!mix i nocfie
'
p ec 01338 (Trevo
xcop iav. E'
vova'
ac 7 151} Rapdnrra,xxx
-A. To St Paul on the contrary theSpirit is the bond of the corporatelife
,and that ‘grieves ’ Himwhich
d oes not tend to the ‘bui lding-up’of
the Christian society. We may compare Rom. xiv 15 ct? yap (Sui fipéip a(i dBehclxis o ov kvfl'
e'
irac,01
3
x61 1. kard
dycimyv wepma'
re'
i s : and Jerome on
Ezek. xviii 7 (Vail. v‘ in euan
gelio quod iuxta Heb raeos Nazaraeilegere consueuerunt inter maximaponitur crimina, qui f ratr is sui sp i
r i tumcontri staueri t’. That which
tends not to bui ld b ut to cast down,
thatwhich grieves the brother, grieves cip éq'm] Compare
the Spirit whi ch is alike in himand dpéfi Ex p éo ov zip cfw 6
in you. wpéfa s‘ . St Paul usesThe whole clause 18 only in I Cor. vi I
an echo of i I3 f. e’a cbpa
‘
yc'
a eqre 7 03 I4.
w vevp a'
rc 7 179 { way-
yeh t'
a g To) ci‘yt'm" .ew Kam'g]
dwohri‘rpcoo'w Tfis
'
r epm'
oufo ems‘ . The
Spirit was the seal of the completeincorporation of the Gentiles. Compare further 1 Cor. xii 13 Ka i yc
‘
zp e’
v
e'
vi mi stip an rip of f: miw es‘s is 311 o cSp a
«E’
Bamfoeqp eu, s ire’Iov8a?o ¢ sire
"
Ekhqyes,
31. mxp i’a] The three other pas
sages in whi ch thi s word occurs ‘1
borrow their phraseology directly orind irectly from the Old Testament(Acts vii i 23, Rom. i i i 14, Heb. xi i
Here the usage is genuinely Greek,
andmay be compared with COL i i i 19p t) 71
'
t d 60'66 a
'
pos' min is. Aristotle
in d iscussing various forms of angersays (Eth. Nic. iv o i y e
‘
u 031;
6p‘
yz'
hoc Taxe'
ws‘ p 31! 6p‘
yt'
fow ac,« at of:
013 367, Ka i. e
’Cf)’
ou’def
,Ka i. pahhov fi
Bei 7ra tiom-ac Be‘ Taxe’wc o i 82mxpo i
duafitdkv'mt, Ka i 17 0t Xpouov dpy t'
fovTar Karéxovm ydp Top Itappears, then, that 7ru<p ia is an embittered and resentful spirit whichrefuses reconciliation.
61416: ma ] Compare Col. 111 8
IV 32] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 195
66 629 a’
M n'
o s Xpncrfro i
,eii
a wh a v
yxum, Xap1§61161101e
cam-019 xaGws Ka t
comp. Tit. iii 3 £11 xam’q xal ¢ 06vcp61ayom'
eg.
32 . q o-rol The parallel
passage, Col. iii 12 , has :awkd‘yxva o ixfl pp ov, q o
'
r6rq-ra
,Ta
1re1vo¢ po<rvmyv, npavrrrra, p axpofivp iav,duex6p evo1 dhhnhwv, Ka t xap 1§6p evo1eav
'
row,e’av 7 19 7rp6s
'rwa ex” 1.101“a
Kaeoi
s' Ka i 6mipw s e
’
xapfcra'
ro 1511711, 017
1-10
xa i zip ei g. In our epistle the demandfor humility and forbearance has beenmade before (iv kindness
,tender
ness, forgivingness are now enforced.
eflmha-yxum] The word occursagain only in 1 Pet. iii 8. It is notfound in the Lxx
,b ut occurs in the
Prayer of Manasses (v. 7)which is oneof the Canticles appended to theGreek Psalter. It is also found
,with
its substantive ev’mrha '
yxvfa, in theTestam. xi i p atr i arch. Hippocratesuses it in a literal sense of a healthycondition of the ovrhci'yxva , as he alsouses p eyahciom'hayxvos of their enlargement by disease. Euripides
,Rhea
192 , has efio flha‘
yxm'
a metaphoricallyfor
‘a stout heart ’. The use of the
word for tenderness of heart wouldthus seemto be not classical, butJewish in origin, as Lightfoot suggestsin regard to mrhayxvigea da t in hisnote on Phi l. i 8. Holuimrhayxvos‘occurs in Jas. v 11, with a variantwohvedovrkayxvog : see Harnack
’s noteon Herm. Vi s . i 3 2 .
éavro’
i g] For the variation of thepronoun after the preceding s is (in fihave see Lightfoot’s note on 001. i i i 13avex6p ev01 cihhnhcov Ka t.xap 1f6p evo1 cav
ro‘
i s. To the instances there citedshould be added Luke xxi ii 12 e
’
yé
vow o 86 . lue'r cihhqha w 71
'
pov
mpxov yap c’v exdpa
”ow es 1rp6s
'
au'
rous‘
,
where the change i smade for variety’ssake (Blass Gram. N T.
The same reason suffices to explainthe variation here. If e
'
av'
ro'
i c is the
more appropriate in the second place,
96’
63V XA
os p to'
v'
tp exap to'
a'ro
it is so on account of the clause whichfollows : they among themselvesmustdofor themselves what God has donefor them.
Origen, who noted the variation,was led by it to interpret xap 1§6p euo1in the sense of ‘giving’ as God has‘given’to us
,as in Rom. viii 32 mi n
ov’
xi Kat (TW av'
rdi r a 7rc'
w'ra 1711111 xap f
(rera1 ; The kindness and tenderheartedness which we shew s is (Whihovg, he says, is in fact shewn ratherto ourselves
,d1a 7 6 o va a aip ovs 171189
e1va1. . .Tavra 86 Gummy 00 a
xai 6 0669 7711 111 611 Xpw'
ra'
i e’
xap io a'ro.
But the parallel in Col. i i i 13, where361! 7 19 7rp6s
‘ ‘rwa exy 1101143171! is added,
is in itself decisive agai nst this view.
The Latin renderingdoma i t
’lends it no support,as may
be seen at once fromCol. ii 13 ‘a’o
nantes uobi s omn ia deli cta’, a use of
dorm/re which is Ciceronian.
e’u Xp tO
‘
Téi ]‘ in Christ
’,not
‘forChrist’s sake as in A .V. The expression is intentionally brief and pregnant. Compare 2 Cor. v 19 sea fill31! Xpurrc‘f) K60'
p ou Karahha'
o o wv
where the omission of the definitearticles, frequent in pointed or proverb ial sayings, has the effect of presenting this as a concise summary ofthe truth (6 k6yos‘ 1779 xarahka ‘
yfis).In 001. iii 13 we have simply 6 16pm(or 6 Xp 1m'69). Here however themention of 6Ha ir enables the Apostleto expand hi s precept and to say 7 1
’
veo fie 01311mam-a i 7 08 0606 ltd
-A .
e’
xap io aro]‘ hath f orgi ven
’.
‘ For
gave ’(Col. iii 13 A .V .)is an equallypermissible rendering. It is an errorto suppose that either ismore faithfulthan the other to the sense of theaorist
,which
,unless the context
decides otherwise, represents an in
definite past.1511211] On the variants here and inv 2 see the note on various readings.
13-2
196 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. W I, 2
V OUV 11111117 111 T OU 1119 7 616110! (17 61777 17 6;11011 7T€p t7ra T €LT € eu a
’f
yaw'
n, 111101119 11011 6 xp10'
7'69 117 01
vp a s 11011 7 011166111e éa v7 6v 117 e v11131/ n p o c
cho pan KA I OYC IA N Ta) 9613
V . I . 11111qra 1'
] Again and againwe find in St Paul’s epistles suchexpressions asmp qral 1511131»( 1 Thess.i 111,1q p ov (1 Cor. iv 16, xi
111116 109a1 (2 Thess. iii 7,Here he boldly bids his readers‘ follow God’s example ’, ‘
copy God ’.Comp. Ign. Ep h. I 11111177 61 3127 69 96017,Trai l. I etipa
’w 151169 169 gym)» 11111177 69
6w a9 66017.
re'
k va dyamrrci]‘as His beloved chil
dren’. The epithet leads the way to
the further precept xc ‘
1 mpmar e‘
ire e’u
dydwy.
2 . 7rap e'
6w1cev] The closest parallelsare in v. 2 5 1<a19<69 Kai 6 Xpw r69 67 611170 611 7 611 e
’xxhqa lav Ka i e
'
avr6v wap e'
Bco
Kev 1571'6p azi
rfi9, and Gal. 11 20 7 017 v ioii
mi)06017 7 013 6yam§a avr69 Kai. napa
6607 09 eav'
r6v vrrep 611017. But wemayalso compare Gal. i 4 7 0v eav1
'6v
i rrep 7 12511 ap ap'n cov 0111311, and in the
Pastoral Ep istles é 6ou9 cav7'6u aVT t
Xvi -pow vrrep wdw cov (I Tim. ii 69
331011611 e'
av‘
r6v 1511-81) 6111311 (Tit. iiIn Rom. viii 32 the action is ascribedto the Father
, 61re‘
p 15116511mivrmv wap é6coe a 1i‘r6u, and in Rom. iv 2 5 we
have the verb in the passive,69 7rap e
6631) 616. 7 6 wap awraip ara 15111311. Inthe last two passages, as in the froquent occurrences of the word in theGospels, there is probably a referenceto Isa. liii 9, 12 . It is to be notedthat in none of these passages is anyallusion to the idea of sacrifice added,as there is in the present case.6111311] For the variant 15111311 see the
note on various readings.7rp00
'
d)0p c’w Kai 5v0'
1'
av] These wordsare found in combination in Ps. xxxix(x1)7 19vo 1
'
ay Ka i 7rpoa¢ 0p6v 013K wide/Vi0
'
a9 (quoted in Heb. x 5, Hpoo
(topc'
z is very rare in the LXX (apartfrom whereas 9v0'
1'
a is ex
€ IC OC M H N e vw a i a c.
ceedingly common. St Paul uses 7rp00'
(bopa again only i n speaking of ‘the
offering of the Gentiles ’,Rom. xv. 16 :
e wza he employs again four timesonly (once of heathen sacrifices). It istherefore probable that here he b orrows the words
,half-consciously at
leas t, fromthe Psalm.
629 6071611 e1ico81'
a 9] 18 foundin the literal sense in John xi i 3.
Otherwise it occurs only in St Pauland in every case in connexion with613108121, which again is confined to hisepistles. The passages are 2 Cor. ii14— 16 7 611 60-1161: 7 179 3111160 61119 (167 06
gbavepo iivn 81’15111511 311 7raw
‘
1 r67rtp° 67 1
Xpw'roii eti fa 3011611 7 153 6563 81} 7 029
amfoae'
vow 11a1 1511 7 029 aflohhvp e'
vow '
039 1161! 60717) e’K Gavdrov and
Phil. iv. 18 fl efl'hfipwp a t 86561161109 vrapa
7 6 nap’6111311, 6071611
61'
a 9, dva fav Ben-nip , ezidp ea '
rov 7 055 96133,where the word ing is closely parallelto that of the present passage. TheApostle is still employing Old Testament language : 60111)ass et“ ,
or c1’c
6071611 6 131031119, occurs about forty timesin the Pentateuch and four times inEzekiel. The fact that he uses themetaphor with equal freedomof thepreaching of the Gospel and of thegifts of the Phi lippians to himselfshould warn us against pressing i t toostrongly to a doctrinal use in the
present passage.Jerome
,doubtless reproducing Ori
gen, comments as follows : ‘
Qui p roaliorumsalute usque ad sanguinemcontra peccatumd imicat
,ita ut et
animamsuam tradat pro eis, isteamb ulat in caritate, imitans Christumqui nos in tantumd ilexit ut crucempro salute omniumsustineret. quo
modo enimille se tradidi t pro nobis,\
sic et iste pro quibus potest lib enter
198
1151701011 efixap to' fria .
of youth. Although this quick-wittedraillery might eas ily be as sociatedwith impropriety of conversationand this d anger is doubtless in theApostle’s mind— yet the word itselfappears to remain free fromtaint.Thismay be seen
,for example, by i ts
frequent association with Kap a and
its derivatives comp.Josephus A ntiq.
xi i 4 3 150-0629 66 6772 r?) XCip LT l. Ka i
667 pa77 6h1'
a 7 017 116av1'
0'
K0v : PlutarchMar . 52 1) (of Alcib iades)[16 7 6 667 pa
7r6>\ 1'
a9 { 13V Ka i. x6p 17 09.
a’vfiKev] Comp. 001. i i i 18 169 611610511Kvp 1
'
cp, and see Lightfoot’s note
,in
which he illustrates the use of theimperfect in thi s word and in wpoav
'
jKevand Kafifixev (Acts xxii 2 2)by our ownpast tense ‘ ought ’
St Jerome’s expositiondeserves to be given in full
, as itthrows light not only on the interpretation of the passage b ut also on thehistory of biblical commentary. ‘Upto this point,
’he says,
‘ the Apostleseems to have introduced nothingforeign to his purpose or alien tothe context. But in regard to whatfollows, some onemay raise the question, What has
“ giving of thanks ” todo immediately after the prohibitionof fornication and uncleanness andlasciviousness and shamefulness and
foolish speaking and jesting ? If hewas at liberty to name some one
virtue, he might have mentioned“ justice or
“truth
”
,or
“ love” thoughthese also would have been somewhatinconsequent at this point. Perhapsthen by “ giving of thanks (gratiammacti o)
” ismeant in this place not thatby which we give thanks to God
, b utthat on account of whichwe are cal ledgrateful or ingratiating (grati si ue
gratiosi)and witty (salsi)amongmen.
For a Christianmust not be a fool ishspeaker and a jester : b ut his speechmust be seasoned with salt
,that it
may have grace with themthat heari t. And since it i s not usual
,except
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [V 5
A 3/ cl57 0117 0 «
yap ywwo'
Koz/T es 0 7 1
with certain learned persons amongthe Greeks, to use the word 61ixap 1
'r1
'
a
[the editions give 66xap 10'
7 1'
a] as di stingui shed fromeuchar i sti a
,i .e. to
distinguish between grati osum ease
and agere grati as, I suppose that theApostle, a Hebrew of the Hebrews
,
used the current word and intendedto hint at his own meaning in thesignification of the other word : andthis the rather
,because with the
Hebrews gratiosus and gratias agensare expressed
,as they tell us
,by one
and the same word. Hence in Proverbs (Xi I6): yum) 66xc
'
1p 10'
7'
09 6'y6 1'
p 6 1
1i i/6p}. assay, muli er grata sasci tat
u i ro glor iam,where it stands for
gratiosa. We should appear to bedoing violence to the Scripture inthus daring to interpret muliergratias agens as muli er gratiosa,were it not that the other edi tionsagree with us : for Aquila and Theodotion and Symmachus have so rendered it
, viz. your) xcip 17 09, muliergratiosa, and not 613x6p 10
-7 09
,which
refers to the “
giving of thanksThus far St Jerome. But whence
this subtle feeling for Greek,this apt
quotation fromthe Greek bible,this
appeal to various translators insteadof to the Hebrew verity’ We havethe answer in an extract fromOrigen’sCommentary
,happily preserved in
Cramer’s Catena : 013K 61113116 66‘
7 029
634019 0666mi n ; [80. 667 pa 7r6h1'
a],ma
p dhhov 15611 7760-1 7rp69 6G6V 6 13xap 10‘1'
1'
w
fiyovv 66xap 10'
7 1fa Ka i711 66xap 1'
0'
7 0v9
Kai xap 1'
61/7 69 p wp0h6‘
yov
116V 06V Kai 6137 p67r67\0v 06 66? efva1,
66xdp 10'
7 0v 66 Ka i xap 1'
6v7 a. Kai 6’71
'
6 i
6015117 369 60 7 1 7 6 6217 6211‘dhha pa lm)
66xap 17 1'
a’(sic legendum: 6d . 66xap 1
7 6Xa 6117 17 0151'
ov 6xp 150'
a 7 0 7 33 671"
670t0v K61116'
vy R65“ Ka i
pa lm! Ka i. 11 757107 6 690960-7 2 7 153 6116110 7 1 7 69 66xap 10
'
7 1'
a 9 Kai
7 017 66xap 1'
0'
7 0v 7 069 6716‘
EBpafa w
xp ija 190 1 6117 1 1779 613xap 17 1'
a 9 (ed. 66xa
p 10'
7 1'
a 9)Kal 613
Xap 1'
7 0v, He then
V 5]
9 II
77 119 7rop1/09 11
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. I99
e,aKaGap 7 09 11 0 66 7 11} ei6m7\o
A027 9 0611 6 61 K7\ 0110 7x’
pn X np 11 7 17 110-1 6 191 7 0v s
proceeds to cite the xxx and otherversions of Prov. xi 16. St Jerome’scomment is thus fully accounted for,and we are able to see how closely hefollowed Origen, his indebtedness towhomhe expresses in his preface.Since this note was writtenmy friendMr J. A. F. Gregg has examined theParis MS of the Catena, and foundthat in both places it gives the word66xap 17 1
'
a. This word indeed appearsto have no substantial existence andto be a mere conjecture on the partof Origen.
We cannot suppose that St Paulmeant anything b ut ‘
thanksgiving’byezixapw
-r fa. But he was led to his
choice of the word by the doublemeaning which certainly belongs tothe adjective etixdpw ros
‘ (comp ,for
example, Xenoph. Cyrop . i i 2 1 613
Xap 10'
7 67 a7 01 h6'y01). See the note oniv 29 iva 61g)Xcipw 7 029 6Ko1iov0'1v.
5. y tvaia KovT 69] This appearsto be a Hebrai smfor ‘ye know of a
surety ’. The reduplication with theinfini tive absolute (111
-my‘ l: and thel ike) occurs 14 times in the OldTestament. The Lxx generally renderit by 71116117 6 9 7 11160 6096, etC. Sometimes the reduplication is simplyneglected. In 1 Sam. xx 3, however,we find 7 111050 v 036611, and in Jer.xlix (xli i) 2 2 the actual phrase i’a re
yi n/160 110117 6 9 87 1 occurs in several MSSsub aster i sco
,being a Hexaplaric
readingwhich in themargin of CodexMarchalianus is assigned to Symmachus.
See the notes on 77. 3and iv 19 ; and compare Col. i i i. 5nopua
'
av,dKaOapm
'
au,776909, 67r10v11 1
'
av
KaKrjv, Kai 76V nheovegiav 177 19In the New Testament
the verb 77 7\60116K7 6'
i v is confined totwo of St Paul’s epistles : it regularlymeans ‘
to defraud’, 2 Cor. ii. 1 I (i’va
ptt) 15776 7 05 2a7 av6),
V11 2,x11 17 f. In 1 Thess. iv 6 i t i s
used in connexion with the sin of
impurity, 7 6 111)617 6p/3a1'
116w Ka i 77h60
V6K7 6'
iv 611 7 133 qrpd'
yp an 7 611 66eR1p6va 137 oi3. Certain forms of impurityinvolve an offence against the rightsof others (
‘ thou shalt not covet thyneighbour’s Accordingly r heovegza occurs in close proximity to sinsof impurity in several passages. Thecontext in such cases gives a colourto the word ; b ut it does not appearthatmeowgza can be independentlyused in the sense of fleshly concu
p iscence. The chief passages, besidesthose which have been cited above
,
are 1 Cor. v 9 ff. é’
ypaxlf a c’v
111} a vvavapZ-yvvaam 776pv019,
06 7 019 776pv019 7 017 K60'
110v
7 o67 au 13 7 019 nh60V6K7 a19 Kai 6p 1ra§1v626coh0h67 pa 19 , e
’rr6i 15<p6 1
’7\67 6 6pa 6K
7 05 1160-1100 656A96’
1
’
11. 111311 66 gypadra
111)a vvavap fyvvaem 7 19 d6el\gh69
6rop a§6p 6v09 5 7r6pv09 i)117\60V6’K7 1)9 13
626wh0h67 p 179 i) h01'
60p09 f] 1160v0'
09 i)ap 7ra5, 7 153 7 010157 19 [11766 a vu60 91
'
6w :
vi 9 f. 013K 0180 7 6 67 1 661K01 96017
fiaa thelav 013t p ov0p60 0v0'
w ; 111}777mv1
'
i 1706 7r6pv01 067 6 6Z6w7\0)\67 p a1
067 6 1101x0’1 p ahaKoi 067 6 6p0
'
6v0
Ko'
ira1 1016777 01 017
7 6 777\60V6'
K7 a1, 06
p 69v0'
01,01
3
7\01'
60p01, 06x6p1ray69 Bam7t61
'
a1z 66013 t povop rjo'
ovaw. In the
former passage 77h60v6K7 at9 comes insomewhat suddenlywhen 776pv019 alonehas been the starting-point of thediscussion ; b ut the addition Kal 6p
wa ifw shews that the ground of thediscussion is being extended. Thelatter passage recurs largely to thelanguage of the former. For a furtherinvestigation of wkeoveffa , and for itsconnexion with 636mh0ha1'p 1fa, seeLightfoot’s notes on 001. i ii 5.
7 017 xp10'
7 01'
i Ka i. 6606] The articleis sometimes prefixed to the first onlyof a series of nearly related terms :compare ii 20 617 i 7 15V
200
0 7 011 1ca 1‘
06017 .
1!
0111 7 au7 a yap 6px67 a 1A f
7 119 a 7ret61a s .
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
11 15117 1} 7 01771111 ou11 G
'
UVflGT oXOt a 1i 7 m11
[V 6—1 I
6 C A
[1718619 v,ua 9 a 77 a 7 a 7 w 116 11019 A07 019 ,
A t
860V 677 ! T OUQ UlOUS’
8717 6
«
yap 77 07 6 0 1107 09 , 111111 06 (pws 611 11vp 1w 019 7 61111a 115107 09
776p177 a 7 6 17 6° 9
0 f
yap Kapfl’OQ 7 011 (pan
-09 é11 7ra c
'
z1 ay aflw
0'
v11n 11a 1 0111a 100'
v1111 Ka t dknda a'
n1ca 1 1111 0
'
v11110111wve17 6 6117 019GUa‘OGO
'
T OV T l}. KU
‘t r
8I l s
0K1p a §0117 69 7 1 60 7 111
7 079 a’
d 7ro1s 7 011 07 107 0119, p aM ov 06 Ka t eke -0667 6 ,
677007 6v 1101 77p0¢ 177 1311, i i i 12 7011napp 170
'
1'
a11 1cd’1 a poaaym'yrfv, iii 18 7 1
'
7 0
Kai 11171109 1111154109 110166009.
6. 11611029 Myow] The only parallelis a close one ; 001. ii 811776-7 179. K61169 when used of speechis practically equivalent to 416118159 :comp. D idaché 2 01311 15 007109
17 011 1116v0159, 013 1161169, dhha 1161160 7 10
1161109 “ page“ also Arist. E111. N10. 11
7 I 11611167 6p01 as Opposed todhq9111167 6p01 : Galen dc d ifi:111118. iii 6(Kiihn viii 672) 0137 1119 01
311 1101 7 0139
hdyovs'
\I’€v8629 (311011650110 1 116110159 .
7. ovvp e'
roxm] This compound and0
‘
v11110111a1116'
i 1'6 in 11. I I may be contrasted with the three compoundsovvxhqpovop a, 17 1511010110 , O
'
v émxa , bywhich the Apostle emphasised theirentry into the new fellowship (iii9. éyaGmov
'my] Comp .Rom. xv. 14,Ga]. v 2 2
,2 Thess. i 1 1. It repre
sents the kindl ier,as 81110 10013117] repre
sents the sterner element in the idealcharacter : comp. Rom. v 7.IO. 0011111d§0117 69 Comp. Rom.
xi i 2 629 70doxtpdfa v 151169 7 57 0Héhqp a7 017 0605, 7 067 09011 11a}. 6136p 60
'
7 011 Kai
and 001. iii 20 7 0177 0 yap
clearly out of place . I Cor. xiv 246011 06 771i117 69 77p0¢ q7 6v101n v, 6 10161 6” 067 19 0 77 117 7 09 17 101107 179, 11170
770117 1011, avaxpw 67 a1 W 0 7 a
11pv177 0 7 179 k ap01'
a 9 a137 0v (pavep am1
,where the verb 6
’7\6"yX6w seems to
suggest the explanatory sentence‘
y1'
1167 a 1. So in our
present passage is immediately followed by 7 0 yap v cbfi 7 1110
new , and subsequently we have 7 81
06’17am emeyxdp eva 13170 7 013 ¢ w7 09
(bauepofira t. Accordingly it i s best tointerpret the word in the sense of ‘
to
expose ameaning which it likewisehas in John iii 20 1110
-62 7 0 ¢ 1I>9 mi
01311 3pX6 7 at 77p09 7 0(11139, in p f; el eyxdfi7 0 gp
‘
ya 0 137 013 (contrast Zva ¢ a 116po19f1in the next verse). This significationis illustrated by Wetstein fromArtemidorus i i 36 fih109 61700130 6109 6
’
favav60k 7 0111111177 0 7 1311K6h1766
'
11a1
301106117 1011,and also fromthe lexico
graphers.
With thi s interpretation we giveunity to the whole passage. Thecontrast throughout is between li ghtand darkness. First we have, as theresult of the light, that testing which
613611617 7 611 £0 7 111 e’u 111v 19. For theuse of i ssues in the approval of the good
6136111617 7 09 and its adverb in inscriptionssee Deissmann NeueB i belst. p. 42 .
I I . The ordinarymeaning of in the New Testamentis ‘
to reprove ’,in the sense of ‘ to
rebuke ’. But in the only other p assage in which the word occurs inSt Paul’s writings (apart fromthePastoral Epistles)reproof in words i s
(00111111if6 111); secondly, as the resultof the meeting of the l ight with thedarkness
,that testing which issues in
the exposure of the evilAnd then
,since 6
’7te
'
yx6091u and ¢ aV6
p 0v0'9a1 are appropriate respectively
to the evi l and the good (as in Johniii 20
,quoted above), the transforma
tion of the one into the other i s
202 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [V 15, 16
h h
I5B7\e"r1' 67 e ov11 0211111131119 7 019 WGPLW d T GL‘
T G, pmwe
r, I
010 0q u’
M’
1159 0'
q 01,
Bride by a sacramental cleansing, topresent her to Himself in the gloryof a perfect beauty, with no spot ofdisfigurement
,no wrinkle of age. But
Christ’s Bride is also Christ’s Body :and the husband must love his wifeas being his own body . Who hateshis own flesh ? Who does not feedand tend it 7 So is i t with Christ andthe Church : for we are the limbs ofHis Body. Is it not written of
marriage,that t he two shall be one
flesh ? Great is the hiddenmeaningof those words. I declare themto betrue of Christ and the Church : yourpart is to realise their truth in yourrespective spheres : as the fear of
Christ is met by Christ’s love, so letthe wife fear
,and the husband love
I5. BA6'
77 67 6] St Paul frequentlyuses Bke
’mw in the sense of ‘ to takeheed’: (I)with the accusative, as inCol. iv. I7 BA6
'
77 6 7 r)11 (look to,consider), Phil. iii 2 1115110 9 11.7 .7t.
(beware of) (2)with 7110 or p 15, frequently ; (3) with 71139, here and inI Cor. i ii 10 31100 7 09 36‘ Bhefl'
e’n o 77 139
3770111080116 . Here only we have theaddition of cixp 1Ba
‘
39,—‘ take carefu l
heed On the variant 77139 0’11p 118139
see the note on various readings.716p 17ra7 627 6] The repetition Of this
word takes us b aCk to 11. 8 159 7 611110
¢ w709 77 6p 11707 627 6. The particle 01311
is resumptive. Themetaphor of darkness and light is dropped
, and thecontrast is now between Ez'croctmanda ocbof.I6. éfayopafo
'
p wm] Comp. iv5 311 crogb iq 77 6110707 677 6 7rp09
7 011 110t 11 éfiayopafép w ou’Ay0pd§6111
is used of persons by St Paul only inthe phrase fiyopdq -
re 7 111131, I Cor. vi20
, vi i 2 3, in each cas e themetaphorbeing of purchase into servitude. Sowe have in 2 Pet. ii I 7 611 dyop cia aw a
0 137 0159 8601767 1711. It is used Of theredeemed in the Apocalypse
,v 9,
166, 1
a opa §6p 6V01 7 1311 Ka lpOV,
xiv 3 f.’E$u-yop é { e111 is only used by
St Paul,and in the two other places
in which it occurs it has themeaningof
‘ buying out’or ‘away from’ Gal.
iii I3 Xp 107 09 751189 ééqyopaa ev 7 739Kardpa9, iv. 5 7110 1571011611011 6
3
50310
prion. This meaning of‘ ransoming,
redeeming ’is found in other writers.There
'
seems to be no authori ty forinterpreting the word, like o vvayopci
{ 6111 and o vvmue'i o ém,as
‘ to b uy up’
(coemere). Polyh. iii 42 2 is cited as
an example, éfry‘yépaa'
e 770p’0177 1311 7 15
7 6 p ovdévha whoia 77 15117 0 (Hannibalbought all the boats of the natives inorder to cross the Rhone); b ut thesense of ‘ buying up
’is given by the
addi tion of 7111117 0, and the verb itselfboth there and in Plut. Grass. 2 needmean no more than ‘ to b uy
’. In
Mart. P olye. 2 we have the middlevoice as here
,b ut in the sense of
‘ buying ofi” (comp. the use of 8501111217 1901 and 8131 11 189 13pa 9
0216111011 éfayop afdp w ou
A close verbal parallel is Dan. n 8
0230 57 1 1101p011 1511 629 égayopdfa e,
‘I
know ofa certainty that ye would gainthe time’(Aram. P2911111115 N33); W),b ut thi smeaning is not applicable toour passage. The Apostle appears tobe urging his readers to claimthepresent for the best uses. It has got
,
so to speak, into wrong hands the
days are evi l days — they must purchase it out of themfor themselves.Accordingly the most literal translation would seemto be the best, ‘
re
deeming the time’ b ut not in thesense ofmaking up for lost time, asin the words Redeemthy misspenttime that’s past ’.
7 011 1101p611] A. distinction is Oftento be clearlymarked between xp61109as
‘ time ’generally, and 11a1p61‘the
fitting period or moment for a p ar
ticular action’. But Ka tpog i s by nomeans limited to this latter sense .
V 17 , 18] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. . 203
( I C t I I 3
0 7 1 011 maep ea 77 01117p011 610 111.
1 7810 7 0117 0 1111 7 11160 66a cppoves, 0 70m0 1111167 6 7 1 7 0 tic-{Any a 7 ou 11140100
811011
M H M € 6 YC K € C GG 611 (p é0 7 111 00 017 10,aAAa 77 7m
ThusmSt Paul we have a 11611 110 1p 09,Rom. i i i 26, viii 18 (7 0 77 06111107 0 7 0v
W V l1a1p ot1), Xi 5 : and oo 1cu1p o9 alone,
for the time that now i s,or that sti ll
is left, Rom. xiii I I 62807 6 9 7 011 11a 1p o11,07 1 mp0 vyas
‘
v77 110v 6y6p017v01,I Cor. vi i 29 0 110 1p09 0 1111607 07\p.6
'
1109
See also Gal. vi l o 159 1101p011
3Xop ez1, which Lightfoot takes tomean‘as we have opportunity ’; b ut heallows that ‘ there is no objection torendering it “
wh i le we haveand compares Ignat. Smym. 9 159 27 1
1101p o11 6xo116 11, and [2 Clem] 8, 9.
Compare vi I3 5117 10 7 13110 16 11 77116110 7701117pd, and Gal. i 4611 7 ou 0 1131109 7 0v 6 1160 7 137 09 7701117poi .
Though ‘ the days are evil ’,they are
capable in some degree at least of
transformation : the time may b e
rescued. So Origen interprets theWhole passage . 0101161 60v7 o
'
i 9 7 011 1101
pov c1i11ov o1, GXOVTG. 109 77p 09 7 011
0110p0577 111011 7fa11r7pa 9 17116'
p0 9. 07 6
ou11 6 19 7 1 86011 7 011 110 1p011
116 11, 1511170 011660 av7 o11 110 i dw q‘
yopa0 a11611
6'
0v7 o'
i 9 15077 6p 6l 77 6 77p0116'
11011 7 5 7 1311
Gp aifl'
cov 36 7 011
1101p011 5117 0 75116'
p0 19 7rov17p0'
i 9, o io116 i
067 00 010011 3 1 77 011q 9 fine’
p0 9 629
ewes ,xxi
-A . Severian’s comment(also in Cramer’s Catena)i s simi lar zo6§0yop a (
’
0116 1109 7 011 a7\7\07 p 1011 dovhov
6§ayop a { 6 7 0 1 110 1 117 0 7 0 1 av7 011. 6 77 6 1 ou11
o 110 1p 09 0 77 0p co11 dovhw a 7 019 7701111po19,
éfayop ci0 a0 196 0 137 1511
,130 7 6 Ka 7 axp 1§0 a~
0 601 77p 1’19 6 130 6661011.
17. (Tut/{ 67 6 Comp. IO
30111p ci§o117 69 For the variant0 111116117 11 see the note on variousreadings.18. 1166150 116096 So Prov.
xxi i i 31 (L111: only), according to thereadi ng of A . B has N
We might hesitate to accept the
read ing of A ,regarding it as an
assimilation to the text of ourpassage,b ut that Origen confirms it (Tisch.
Not. Cod. S1I71. p . As the wordsoccur in the preceding verse
,
the change in B is probably due to a
desire for uniformity.00 107 10] Comp. Tit. i 6 7 611110 6xw11
77 107 0,
6 11 110 7 17-y0p 1f0 d0 co7 1
'
09 1) 0 11
v77 07 0117 0, I Pet. iv 4 111) 0v117 p exo117 101115111311 629 a1
’1r i)z1 7 39 1i0 co7 1
'
09 dvciXv0 111.The adverb i s used in Luke xv 133160 116p 77 10 611 0177 013 { 131160 167 1119 (comp. 11. 30 6 Karacpayaiv 0 ou
7 611 31011 1167 0 77 0p 111311).whnp ova
'fle 611 77 116v110 7 1] Thesequenceof thought appears to b e this . Be
not drunk with wi ne,b ut find your
fulness through a higher instrumentality, or in a higher sphere. If the
prepositionmarks the instrumentality,
then 77 11613110 signifies the Holy Spiriti f itmarks the sphere
,77 1116110 might
sti ll mean the Holy Spirit,but it
would b e more natural to explain i tof spirit generally (as opposed to
flesh)or of the human spirit. In the
three other places inwhich we find e’11
7711115
1107 1 in this epistle there is a likeambiguity : i i 22 0 vv01K080p 6I0€6 629
1107 0111177 1§p 1o11 7 013 0603 77 116 151107 1, 111 50 77 6110A1
5
1p617 7 019 ayio19 av
7 ou 110 1 77po<f>177 019 6 11 77116151107 1, vi 18
7rp o0 6vx011 6 1101 6 11 77 0117 1 l1a1p 13 6 11 77 11615
1107 1. In every case i t appears on thewhole best to interpret the phrase asreferring to the Holy Spirit : and theinterpretation is confirmed when weobserve the freedomwith which theApostle uses the preposition in ihstances which are free fromamb iguity ; as I Cor. xi i 3 6 11 77 116151107 1 06017
hahcfw, I3 6 11 6 111 77 11615110 7 1 6800 7 10900611,Rom. xv I6 6 11
77 1111511107 1. a‘
yfco : compare also Rom. xiv
17, where there i s a contrast somewhat resembling that of our text, 011
204 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [V 19—2 2
A A Q A
pOUO'06 7 7 11615110 7 1,
’9 7\a 7\011117 69 60 117 019 41 0 701019 11011
A A O,
{5
1111019 110 1’
0380 19 080117 69 110 1 xlf aM ow es‘
I t A A I 203 I
9 77 0 7 07 67 11 1101p810 v u
701 11up11p , 6
11xap 10
’
7 0
11117 6
A
11
15776‘
p 77 05117 11111 61 15110110 7 1 7 ou 1111p 1011 1)w 1110 011 Xp 10'
7 011
A A I7 111 0601 11011 77 0 7 p 1,
Xp 10 7 017 .
‘
ycip i) 1300016 10 7 013 19603 Bp 130 19
1107. 7700 19, 11117181 8111010015111] eip rjwy110 i xapd 77 116 151107 1 dy icp.
If then we adopt the interpretation,‘Let your fulness be that which comesthrough the Holy Spirit’, how are weto render the words in English ? Thefamil iar rendering ‘B efi lled w i th theSp i ri t
’suggests at first sight that theinjunctionmeans Become full of theHoly Spiri t’. Such an injunctionhowever has no parallel : had thisbeen the Apostle’smeaning he wouldalmost certainly have used the genitive (comp. e.g. Acts ii 13 yh6 15110v9
and he wouldprobably have cast his precept intothe formof an exhortation to praythat such fulness might be granted.
Nevertheless this rendering,thoug h
not strictly accurate,suffices to bring
out the general sense of the passage,
inasmuch as it is difli cult to di stinguish between the fulness whichcomes through the Spirit, and thefulness which consists in being full ofthe Spirit : the Holy Spirit being at
once the Inspirer and the Inspiration.
We may therefore retain it in viewof the harshness of such substitutesas Be filled in the Spirit’or ‘ by theSpirit’.19. h0h03117 6 9 Comp. 001. i i i
16 81800 110117 69 1101vovéerovvr 69 { aw o im81111019, 1138029 77V6v1107 1xa i9
x0p 17 1, 7 029 110p81'
019 15111311 7 1366133. See Lightfoot’s notes on thatpassage : ‘
whi le the leading idea of
wakp o'
e is a mus ical accompaniment,
and that of {5111109 praise to God,i s the general word for a song ’.
I I Ia’
M nM w (PofigoI I AA 1 f
yvva uces, 7 0 19 i81019 a’
118pa 0 111 169
Accordi ngly the defini ng epithet 77 116 11110 7 111029 is reserved for this last wordin both places . On the variants inthis verse see the note on various
20. evxap 107 017117 69 80 inCoL 111 I7 1101 7717 11 8 7 1 770167 6 611
h iya) i; 611 776117 0 8116110 7 1
Kvp iov’Iq0 of1, 613Xap10 7 0i
'
1117 6 9
770 7 p i 81’0 177 017. Compare I Thess. V
16 WdVTOT f xaip 67 6 , 1i810}\ 6 1'
777 109 77po0 615
X60 96, 611 770 117 2613x0p 10 7 6'
1
'
7 6 .
2 2 . AI7 1111021169 As amatterof construction this clause depends onthe preceding participle : ‘ submittingyourselves one to another in the fearof Christ : wives, unto your own husbands
,as unto the Lord ’. AI7 1111021169
accordingly stands for the vocative,as in Col. iii 18, 05 yv110
'
1
'
1169, 1777 07 510
0 6006 7 059 d118pd0 111, 1159 Kvp icpcompare the vocatives o i 31181169, 7 0
7 15
11110,etc. lower down in the present
passage,vi 1, 4 f., 9. When this
section was read independently of thepreceding verses
,it became necessary
to introduce a verb ; and thi s i sprobably the cause of the insertionof 157707 60 0 6006 or 157707 00 0609010 011 in
most of the texts : see the note on
various readings.The parallel in COLm18
shews that this wordmay be insertedor omi tted with indifference wherethe contextmakes themeaning clear.So we find with Xep0 1
'
11 in I Cor.iv 12 ; b ut not according to thebest text
,in Eph. iv 28, 1 Thess.
iv 1 1. It was often added b y scribes,in accordance with the later preference for fulness of expression.
206 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [V 27
3 f l 271! 3 1 A , l
811 0 7 09 611 p 77,110 7 1, 1110 71'
0p00'
7 770'
77 0 117 09 60 v7 1p 6 11 05011
(of sheep coming up ‘ fromthe washand occurs in Sir. xxxi (xxxiv)
30 Ban-7 1057161109 8778 116 11po17 a dhw
8777 8716 1109 0137 017, 7 1'
1511167070 611 7 123.
h0117 p 15'
1
av’7 o1
’
3; In Ps. lix (lx) 10, cvi i (cvi i i)10 W’D ‘my washpot’1s renderedby Aqui la ke'q ‘ 7\0117 pov y ou (the LXXhas Refit” 7 179 61 77 1809 The Latinversions mai ntain the di stinction bythe use of labrumfor
‘ laver’(in thePentateuch : 0110, etc. elsewhere), andof [011007 11711 for ‘washing’in Canticles.In Ps. lix (1x)10 Jerome’s version hasolla 100007 75: in Sirach Cyprian and
the Vulgate have laua tio, b ut Augustine thrice gives lauacrum.
For patristic references confirmingthemeaning of ‘ washing’for Aow p év,see Clem. A lex. P aed . iii 9 46, Dion.
Alex. ep . xiii ad fin.,Epiph . 01117103 .
fid . 2 1,Dind. III 583 ; and contrast
Hippo] . [2] ed . Bonwetsch-Achelis Ipt 2
,p. 262 7167 8 7 1711 7 139 110Kvp/3176pa9
dvaye’vmyaw .
The only other passage in the NewTestament where hov'
rpév occurs isTit. i i i 5 30 1017 611 177159 818 hov‘
rpofi
a ah1v7 61160 1'
a9 k ai 8110110111050 11119 77 111 13
710 7 01 éylov. Both there and here theAuthorised Version correctly rendersit ‘the washing’: ‘ the bath’would notb e incorrect
, though somewhat amb iguous :
‘ the laver’ is incorrect,
and has probably been suggested bythe Latin ‘
lauacro’, whi ch has been
misunderstood.
811 815710 7 1] In the New Testamentpqp a represents the various uses of
the Hebrew ( I)A spoken wordof any kind, as in Matt. xi i 36 pap adpyév. (2)A matter, as in Luke i 3701311 88111107 170 11 7rap87 071 66017 77811 p ap a ,‘ nothing shall b e too hard for God’
(where 7rap8 7 06 reproduces a Hebrewidiom
, the pas sage being based on
Gen. xviii I4 717} 1i8v110 7 17'
17 11 7rapa 7 05
Geou [the true reading, supported bythe Old Latin , not wapa 7 13 6113]pup a , and Luke ii 15 7 0 p rmd 7 0 117 0
7 0 7 67 01181. (3) In a solemn sense, as
when ‘ the word of God’comes to a
prophet,Luke i i i 2 1
37 151117 0 pap a 06017
3171’Ia11i z11711 : comp. 813710 61013 in this
epistle,vi 17 . It is also used more
specially (4)of the Christian teaching,as in 1 Pet. i 2 5 (fromIsa. xl 8)7 881
1cup 1'
o11 7151161 129 7 811 a icfiva ’7 0137 0
86’807 111 7 8 7813710 7 8 1 13077 1h10
‘ 61’v 629
1371169, and Heb. Vi 5 7 evo'
a711'
110119
19106 7557710. The most remarkablepassage is Rom. x 8 iii , where, afterquoting Dent. xxx 14 877
159 7 8
pfip a 1507 111,6 11 7 13 07 07107 1
'
17 011 1101 6 11
7 77 xap8c’
a 17 011, the Apostle continuesA 3 01
7 ov7 6 17 7 111 7 0 pupa 7 179 77 117 7 6 109 0
1117p 150'
0 071111. 07 1 1 8 11 7 0
877110 311 7 173 07 15710 7 1f a ou 37 1 KYPIOE
IHEOYZ,
1101 77 117 7 1150 779 Here7 6 stands on the one hand forthe Christian teaching (comp. 11. 178121 7517710 7 0: Xp 10
'
7 0f1), and on the otherfor the Christian confession whichleads to salvation . With this mustbe compared 1 Cor. xii. 3, where thesame confession appears as a kind offormula, and is sharply contrastedwith a counter-formula ANAeEMA
IHEOYE. Compare, too, Phil. ii 11
7K130'
0'
a é§0p ok07 7§m77 0 1 37 1 KYPIOE IHEOYE XPIETOE.
In the present passage it is clearthat the phrase 811 877713 7 1 indicatessome solemn utterance by the accompaniment of which ‘ the washing of
water’ is made to be no ordi narybath
,b ut the sacrament of baptism.
Comp. Aug. tract. 80 7371 J oan. 3‘De
trahe uerbum, et quid est aqua nisiaqua? accedit uerb umad elementum,et fit sacramentum; etiamipsumtamquamuisib ile uerbumWhat then was this pap a ? Chry
sostomasks and answers the questionthus : ’
E11 75157107 1, 71'
01'
1p ; 311 8118
710 7 1 7ra rp89 Kai v im? Ka i dy t'
ov 7711615
71117 09 : that is to say, the tripleformula of baptism. In the earliesttime
,however
,baptism appears to
have been administered ‘ in the nameof Jesus Christ ’ (Acts ii 38, x 48,
V 28]
3 I 1? I7 7711 71177 6x0v0 0 11 0 77 17\0V
1/ a
7 010117 11111, 070C 1110 77
comp. viii 12) or‘ the Lord Jesus’
(A cts viii 16, xix and on the useof the single formula St Paul’s argument in 1 Cor. i 13 seems to be based(at)Hafihos' 1
’0 7 0vp 16677 157787) 15111315 13 629
7 8 8110710 Haéhov Thespecial 75177111 above referred to pointsthe same way. The confession 57 1
KYPIOE IHEOYE was the shortest andsimplest statement of Christian faith(comp. Acts xvi 31 fi
'
. 7rt'
0 rev0011 3771
7 811 1115p 1011 11010 1110150 7) 08 1101 8
031189 13
73077 7 10917 a 1ir89 1107. of
0137 017 377 0117 6 9 napaxpfip a). That someconfession was required before b aptismis seen fromthe early glossesupon the baptismof the eunuch
,Acts
viii 37, and that this soon took theformof question and answer (817 171167 17710) is suggested by 1 Pet. iii 2 1where the context contains phras eswhich correspond with the seconddivision of the baptismal creed of
the second century. Indeed the originof the creed is probably to be traced,not in the first instance to the tripleformula, b ut to the statement of themain facts about ‘
the Lord Jesus ’asa prelude to baptism‘ in His name ’.When under the influence of Matt.xxviii 19 the triple formula sooncame to be universally employed, thestructure of the baptismal creedwould receive a corresponding ela
beration.It is prob ab le, .then
,that the 77 777111
here referred to is the solemnmentionof the name of the Lord Jesus Christin connexion with the rite of baptism,
either as the confession made by thecandidate or as the formula employedby theministrant. Wemay thereforerender the passage : ‘
that He mightsanctify i t,cleansing i tby thewashingof water w i th the word
For the use of the prepositionwe may compare vi 2 e
’v
The absence of the definite article
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
1/
057 10 110 1 0 711111711109 .
207
3\ 1 [
817 p117 1 0 77 7 1 7 11111
cf“80 117 1119 0
’
61'
presents no difficulty ; themeaning is‘with a word which is appropriateto this washing’
,the M710 being
sufficiently defined by the context.There appears to be no ground for
supposing that theApostle heremakesany allusion to a ceremonial bathtaken by the bride before marriage.There is no evidence for such a ri tein the Old Testament
,the passages
sometimes cited being qui te irrelevant(Ruth i i i 3, Ezek. xxi ii In thelegend of ‘Joseph and Asenath’thereis no such ceremony
,though it is true
that after her long fast Asenathwashes her face and hands before sheputs on her bridal costume. Nor
does it appear as a Christian ceremony, though it probably would havebeen retained if St Paul had beenregarded as alluding to it here. St
Paul’s thought is of the hallowing ofthe Church, and thus he is at onceled to speak of the sacrament ofbaptism.
27. napam-
fiay] Comp. 2 Cor. xi 215p7100 1i7u711 7ap 157189 15111 1i118p i 71
'
ap 91'
11011
87 111311 napa0r i70 a1 ”110 7 153. HereChrist Himself (a137 89, not a137 77
’v,see
the note on various readi ngs)presentsthe Church all-glorious to Himself.”Evb
‘
ogov is the predicate : the wordoccurs again in I Cor. iv 10 1571179
31180501, 1571629 88 37 17101, and twice inSt Luke’s Gospel, vii 2 5 (of gloriousapparel), xiii 17 (of glorious works).
0'
7T0\OV i) pu7 t'
8a]‘ spot Of d isfigure
ment or wrinkle of age’. Neither
word is found in the Lxx. Comp.
2 Pet. ii I3 0 77001. Kai 71137101 : Plut.MOT . 789 D 039 if 7 67\10p.1
'
1117 1107.
807 29 ép nu pfa g 7111717 111 30 116051167 0 1
Diosc. i 39 (de oleo amygdal ino)a’
t’
p a
88 Kai 0 7711 0119 311 777100 0511011 11a}. 121117R151: (freckles)kai fiw i8a9.
8711117109] Comp. i 4 131101
777169 07 10119 1101 a’
p aip ovs‘
1107 111181e
11137 013 e’v 87 67177, and see the note there.
208 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. W 29—32
C 1, A t f “
110 1‘
01 a 118pe9 07 0 77011 7 0 9 60 117 11111 7 11110 1110 9 1159Q
7 0 80 117 11711 0 1157110 7 0'
0 07 0 77 11711 7 7711 éa v7 0v 7 11110 1110
150 117 811 027 0 77 122,“90178629 7 0p 77 07 6 7 7711 150 117 017 00p110
aiM ai 6’
117 p6'
qbe1 110 1‘Gdhwa 0 137 7711, 1109189 110 1
‘
8
xp10 7 89 7 7711 6‘
1111A770 1'
0 11, é0 7116‘
11 7 017 0 187110 7 09
0 157 017 .3‘1’
1 N T'
1 T O Y’T O Y KA T A A G I
'
WG I KN e pmn o c T d N
n a r é p a Ka i T i-i N M HT é PA Ka i U PO C Ko A A H eHc e Tmn p d c T H
‘
N rYN a i Ka a f r o i Ka i 81 0 11 7 11 1 o i Af o e i c
c a’
p 11 a M ia N.
327 8 p v0 7 rip1011 7 0117 0 711157 0 88
28. 017
7 1111] This i s not to b e takenas the antecedent to 151 7 8 150 117 1311
17 1671117 0, whichmeans ‘as being their
own bodies ’. It refers to the generaldrift of what has gone before : thus’,‘ in thi s same manner’. This is themeaning of 01
7
7 1119 in Matt. v 16
hand/07 111 7 8 (111179 15711311, that isto say,
‘as the lamp shineth’(0.
not‘in such a they may
see’etc.
29. o dpxa] The change from17 137111
to maps gives a fresh emphasis to thethought, and at the same time prepares the way for the quotation in17. 31.
3117 71511161. 11cl 00817 61] Each Of thesewords i s once used b y the Apostleelsewhere
, b ut in reference to the
nurture of children : below, vi 4 £117 p 6
'
qb67 6 0 137 8 1101 V0v960 1'
aKvp t
'
ov : I Thess. i i 7 059 7 p0¢ 89019m?) 7 8 6
'
0v7 1'
79 7 671110.
30. 711707] The relation of the
parts to the whole is here emphasised, as i s the relation of the partsof the whole to one another in iv 2 587 1 dhhfihmv With the
latter compare Rom. xi i 5 01 non o‘
t
211 0 11771063
0 716 11 Xp 107 07, 7 8 1100’679
19007k 716117 : with the former I Cor.
vi 15 7 8 0 05710 7 0 15711511 Xp 10 7 0i}X11 2 7 1571679 86
'
607 6 0 13710 Xp 10 7 0f11101716707 p épov9.
For the addition 769 0 ap 1c89 0137 0171102 £11 7 11711 80 7 60111 0 137 017 see the noteon vari ous read ings.
31. dw t. 7 0157 011] Comp.
2 Thess. ii 10,and four times in St
Luke’s writings, I thasbeen suggestedthat 8117 1' heremeans ‘ instead of
’
, thecontrast being with the idea of a
man’s hating his own flesh (11.and the mention of maps in bothverses is pleaded in favour of thisinterpretation. In the few passagesin which St Paul uses 8117 1, however,it does not suggest opp osi ti on , butcorresp ondence : 11011811 ciuri. 110 11017,
Rom. xii 17, 1 Thess. v 15 ; 1167117 0117 1
nep tfiohaiov, I Cor. Xi 15. This Ofcourse is in no way decisive of his useof the word in the present passage :b ut it seems on the whole morenatural to suppose that 81 7 2 7 0157 011
i s intended as equivalent to 31161 611
7 0157 011 by which 73-51; is represented
in the LXX of Gen. 11 24. Comp.
Jerome ad 100 :‘apostolus p ro eo
quod ib i habetur gVGKGV 7 0157 0v, id est
p rop ter hoe, posuit 8117 1 7 0157 011, quodlatine ali is nerbi s dici non potest’.The only other variant fromthe Lxxin our text is the omission of 0137 06
after nare'
pa and 71177 6'
pa : see, hOW
ever,the note on various readings.
32 . 7 8 p vmfipw v Themeaning of 711107 17p 1011 is discussed in a
separate note. In St Paul's use of
the word we must d istinguish ( 1)itsemployment to designate the eternalsecret of God’s purpose formankind,hidden fromthe past b ut revealed in
2 10 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [VI 1—4
Q A AVI.
ITo? vvraxove're 7 019 7 0V€UCT¢V 15w 63!
I I I
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yap e’
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’
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FG NH T A l
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4Ka t 01 77 a 7 epes, m1 7rap0p7 1§e7 e
obey : with a trembling fear and a
whole-hearted devotion,looking to
their mas ters as to Christ Himself.They are Christ’s slaves, doing God
’swill in their daily tasks not renderinga superficial service to please an
earthly lord ; but with their soul intheir work
, serving the Lord in heaven,not men on earth : for the Lordaccepts and rewards all good work,whether of the slave or of the free.And the masters must catch thesame spirit : the threatening tonemust be heard no more : they and
their slaves have the same heavenlyLord
,before whomthese earthly dis
tinctions disappear’.I . Té 7 6mm] Comp. Col. iii 20 7 81
7 61110,
151mx015€7 € 7 079 7 0116170 111 Kurdmiw a
,7 067 0 ydp efidp ea
'
rév e’o-rw c
’v
Kvp r'
rp.
2 . 177 19 150 7 11)‘wh ich is the
fi rst commandment wi th p romise’.The obvious interpretation of thesewords appears to be the best. Ithas been objected 1)that a kind of
promise is attached to the secondcommandment of the Decalogue, and(2)that no other commandment hasa promise attached to it after thefifth. Itmay he replied (1)that theappeal to the character of God in thesecond commandment is not properlyspeaking a promise at all
,and (2)
thatmany commandments, not of theDecalogue
,have promises attached to
them,so that the Apostle may be
thought of as regarding these as thesubsequent commandments whi ch hisexpression implies. ’
Ev7 07\r}is not ofnecessity to be confined to one of the £171 7 179] The omission of the‘ Ten Words ’. When our Lord was words which follow in the Lxx givesasked £0 7 111 ew e»)7711057 1; 77617 0 11 ; a different turn to this phrase : so
He did not in His reply go to theDecalogue either for the first’or for‘ the second
,like unto it ’ (Mark xi i
28 iii).It is possible to understand 1rpa$7 17
here, as in the Gospel, in the senseof the first in rank ; or, again , as thefirst to be enforced on a child : b utneither interpretation gives a satisfactorymeaning to the clause £117 eMg,unless these words be separatedfromarpaimand connected closely withwhat follows with a promise that itshall be well with thee etc. Thishowever is exceedingly harsh, and itbreaks up the original constructionof the quoted passage, where i
'
va
depends on T ina3. 7110 15 1
3 The quotationdoes not correspond to the Hebrewtext either of Ex. xx 12
,
‘ that thydays may be long upon the landwhich the Lord thy God giveth theeor of Deut. v 16
,that thy days may
be long,and that i tmay go well with
thee,upon the land which the Lord
thyGod giveth thee ’. St Paul quoteswith freedomfromone of the Lxx
texts,which have themselves under
gone some change,due in part to
assimilation : Ex. XX 12 fva £ 13
0 01.
ye’mrrat (these four words are omittedin A and obelised in ‘ the s1ehexaplar)Kai. Tva p axp oxémos' ye
'
vy £712
7 69 7 559 7 739 137 019139 759 Kép cos 0 015690 01) Deut. V 16 TM
ye'mrrac Ka i 7m p axpoxp c
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vg
(A ; gay F -01 137 6 Bab
sup . ras.)£772
7 179 59 Képw s 6 0 0v 818030 11:
VI 5—9] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 2 1 1
g a 3 a I a 1 a1
7 0 7 611110 v u, aM a e117 pe<j>e7 e 0 117 0 611 11 0 1A e 10 110 1I p Q A
N o Yo6 C 10 KYp 10 v.
5 01 30v7\01, 15770 1101567 6 7 o te 110 7 02
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,we
A I I ( I c
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vOpw'zroze, 07 1 e
'
110 0'
7 oe,éa’u
I a I I
7 1 77 01110 11 0 7 019011, 7 0117 0 1101110 67 011 n apa Kvp t'
ou,
8067109 677 6 éh ev’depoe.
that it may be rendered ‘on the
earth’ instead of
‘ in the land ’.4. of 7 0 7 61119] Comp. Col. iii 2 1
at warép ee, p f)e'
pedc'
fen 70 7 611110 15111611,7110 w)561111060 111.napopyffere] See the note on
wapopyw pq'
S, iv 26.
77018110] Comp. 2 Tim. iii 16
771109 1rpoe A sy7rpoe e
’fl
'
auop dwcrw , npoe 110 181 101)
7 171! 311 The word is notused elsewhere by St Paul
,though he
used the verb 770 181 1501,‘to discipline’
or in a severer sense ‘to chastise
Although the substantivemay signifysimply education or training, yet‘ nurture ’ is too weak a wordfor it in this place. It is better torender it ‘ discipline ’. Comp. Heb.
xi i I I 17600 p e’v 170181 10 upoe 11211 7 6
wapou 015801112xapae M5171”.
11011510 10] Comp. I Cor. X I I , Tit.i i i 10. It is less wide in meaningthan 77018110, and suggests a warningadmonition. With this injunctioncompare Di daché 4 01511 dp e
‘
i g 7 611
xe'
ipd (7 01) (i7ro 7 06 vio6 0 011 6 151707 739
M arpoe cikkd 6170 11167 177 09 3136
5119 7 011 56613011 7 06 9106.
5. 306K01] Comp. Col. iii 22
of 806h01, 151701101517 6 11070 176117 0 7 029
1107 31 17d 0 xvp r'
oce, 111} 311 6¢ 00X~
0060117111119, 159 dudpwmipecrxoc, 670V
811 1171167 177 1 Kapdt'
ae, (to/301511111101 7 011
1115p 10v.
411113011 mi 7 13151106 ] Comp. I Cor. 113 (of St Paul
’s preaching), 2 Cor. vii
9Ke I y
a t 01 111140101, 7 01 01157 01 7701617 6
15 (of the reception of Titus), Phil. 1112 ; and, for the corresponding verbs,Mark v 33 ¢ q €ei o a 1107. 7 p ép ovo a.
The combination occurs several timesin the Lxx.
ciflkérqn ] In I Chron. xxix 17 £11
15777167 07 1 110p81'
0e renders ”325:For this word and eeoexeoeevxze see
Lightfoot’s notes on Col. i i i 2 2 .
6. dvepwmip ea xoc] Comp. PS. ll l
[liii] 6 d 9669 81150 11d 10 611 60 7 6 dvdpw
1701160 111011, P 8. Sol. iv 8 f. 6111911057 e a’v
Gpwn'
ap e'
a xwv. haho6v
7 a p o’vov ddhov. See also GaL i
10,1 Thess. 11 4.
31 115 101179] Comp. Col. i i i 23 6
3011 770167 1, 311 dt vxfie aie
Kvp t'
cp 1107. 01511 a’vdpain
'
oce. The parallelsuggests that the phrase should herealso be taken with what follows, andnot
,as in A .V . , with what precedes.
Moreover the preceding sentence ismore forcible if ‘doing the wi ll ofGodstands by itself as the interpretationof as servants of Christ7 .
’E11 \lf vxfie is opposed
to listlessness : 017’11511010: suggests
the ready good-will, which does notwait to be compelled.
8: 123157 1 9 Comp. Col. iii 2462367 19 37 1. 6170 111v 06 civrokrip dt eoae7611 6117 0 776800 01 769 xhqpovop fae
' 7 03
Kvp t'
cp Xpw'
rq'
i dovkeflerv 6 ydp 681111311
110111017 01. 6 15861170 111, 110i 0 1511 317 7 111
wp oo wn'
ohq u'
a.
9. 11150101] Comp. Col. iv. 1 of.I I a I A
xvpcoc, 7 0 611101011 110) 7 1711 10 07 117 0 7 019
14—2
2 12 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [VI 10, 1 1
7 I 7 I 1
AI 7
8I g,
a67 3iWpOQ a u7 0ve, a VlGV
’T
'
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QA11011 15w
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'
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2, 3 fl
Nun/1 501 01511 GG'
T tV n ap a v7 w.
A h A f f “ II °Tov Aom'
ov évovvap ovo fie e’
V Kvp tw11011 EV
A I A7 119 a i57 ov.
601571019 nap éxeo ee, 12807 1 9 37 1 1101 1511 679
exere 1115p 1011 e’v 015pav03.
7 0 0157 15] i .e.
‘ deal in likemannerwith them’. The phrase is not to bepressed too literally : it signifies ingeneral
,
‘act by them,
as they are
b ound to act by you01116117 1 1] There is no parallel to
thi s use of the verb in the Greekbible : b ut in classical Greek it is usedeither with the genitive or with theaccusative in the sense of ‘giving up
’,
desisting fromWith this passage Wetstein com
pares Seneca Thyest. 607 ‘Vos
,quibus
rector maris atque terrae Ius deditmagnumnecis atque uitae, Ponite inflatos tumidosque uoltus . Quicquid auob is minor extimesci t, Maior hocnobis dominus minatur. Omne sub
regno grauiore regnumest1101 0157 1611 15111311] See the note
on various readings.wp oownol q ria] Comp. Acts x 34.
See also Lightfoot’s note on Col. iii2 5. With the whole passage compareDidaché 4 01511 37117 05119 30157119 crov
77 7 019 1377 1 7 011 0157 011 01011
1117 150110 111, 13
11 7r111p 1'
0 O'
OU
: prrn
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re 015
p r) 006176170 07 7 0 7 011 ap ¢ 07 €p01991011 015 yap epxera l. 1107 0 771160 1071011
11051617 01, (5701 £11) 069 7 0 771166110 177 015
1100 111 v1.1e1e 86 01 806X01 157707 07100 1096l1up 1
'
o1e 15111611, 159 7 1577 19 0106,020x617) 1101 (116319.
10—20.
‘My final injunction con
cerns you all. You need power, and
you must find i t in the Lord. You
need God’s armour,if you are to
stand against the devil. We have towrestle wi th no human foe
,but with
the powers which have themastery ofthis dark world . they are not flesh
I A6113150 010 96 7 1111 7ra 1107r7\10111 7 ou Geou
and blood, but spirit ; and they wagetheir conflict in the heavenly Sphere.Youmust be armed therefore withGod’s armour. Truth and righteousness
,as you know, are His girdle and
breastplate ; and mthese Hi s representativemust be clad. In the confidence of victory you must be shodwith the readiness of themessengerof peace. With faith for your shield,the flaming arrows of Satan wi ll notd iscomfit you. Salvation is God’s helmet, and He smites with the swordof His lips. Your lipsmust breatheperpetual prayer. Prayer
,too, is your
watch, and it will test your endurance. Pray for the whole body of
the saints : and pray forme, that mymouth may be Opened to give myown message boldly
,prisoner though
I be10. T01
'
311011106] Thi s is equivalentto 7 0 11017 611, With Which St Paulfrequently introduces his concludinginjunctions : see Lightfoot’s note on
Phil. iii I . For the variant 70 710177 1511in thi s passage see the note on variousreadings .
e’
vdvvap o60'01] This verb is confined
in the New Testament to the Paulineepistles and one passage in the Acts,2065109 8111515171011 311680100067 0 (ixit appears in the Lxx rarely
,and never '
without a variant. (from8118151101109) is scarcely distingui shablefrom6111101101711 (Col. i 1 1, Heb. xi
which is found as a variant in thisplace.
1 1. 770 7071111011]‘A rmour ’
, as con
trasted with the several pieces of thearmour 80 it is rightly rendered in Luke xi 2 2 77011017711
’01r
0157 06 afp ec 35 e’
7re7ro1'
611. Comp.
2 14 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [VI 13, 14
O“ A f A
[10:7 d 7 119 7 01/"p iers 631 7 019 en ovpamozs .
1 3 3101 7 0117 0
A ( I Aduahdfie'
re 7 11V r a yon-Ma y 7 ou deou, ma 81111116117 6
1 I A cl IA A
a o’
a0
'
7 71c 611 7 11 1111610134 7 11Ka t a n a l/7 0: Ka 7 epiy
Mel/O i 0 7 11t .
“0 7 117 6 OUV n e p | s A M e N 0 | T H N o c qnvm
p 1'
0v 75116311mi. 7 06 xpurroi)a137 0i3(Ap00xi God, on the other hand, 18addressed as x15p te 7 06 odpavo ii not
fi g (Matt. xi 2 5, Luke xThe second of the twomeanings i s
alone appropriate here. It is not ofworld-wide rule, b ut of the rule of thisworld
,that the Apostle Speaks ; and
this is made clear by the addition of7 013 0x67 0vr 7 0157 011. The expressionas a whole is not easy to render intoanother language. We find mand itenens in Tert. adv. Mare. v 18, adv.
Valent. 2 2 , de fuga 12 ; and mundip otens in de anima 23, and in Hilaryin p s. cxviii. But the ordinary Latinrendering is aduersus (huius)mund irectores tenebrarum ha rum. ThePeshito boldly paraphrases : ‘ therulers of this dark world ’. Thisfairly represents the Apostle’s meaning : it is with the powers which rulethis world
,their realmof darkness
,
that we have to contend. In English‘ the world-rulers of this darkness ’ishardly intelli gible. The familiar rendering (though suggested by a faultyten
,which added 7 06 a idivos) suffi
ciently gives the sense : ‘the rulers
of the darkness of th is wor ld’.
7 21 nvevp armci]‘the sp i ri tual hosts ’
or‘ forces ’. The phrase 7 8: mevp arm
‘
z
7 519 nomp l'a s' d iffers from7 81meup ararc
‘
znovqpci in layingmore stress Uponthe nature of the foe. The rendering‘ hosts ’ is preferable to elements’
,
because i t suggests personal adversaries :
‘ forces’,in the biblical sense
,
would b e equally suitable,b ut to
modern ears it has the same impersonalmeaning as elements’.
1311 éwovpam'
ow] Comp. i 20,11 6
,
i ii 10. The Peshito has ‘and with the
evi l Spirits which are beneath the hea
wompd] Comp. V. 16 31 1 a i fip e’
p a t
wompa i ( law : also.
Ps. X1 (xi i) I e’u
fip e’
pq 770m Ullfl)fifian a t a1i 7 by
6 xi ip tos‘
.
xa7 epya0cip ev0t] This verb is veryfrequently used by St Paul , and
always in the sense of ‘ producing’or‘accomplishing ’. It occurs 18 timesin the Epistles to the Romans and theCorinthians ; b ut in the later epistlesonly in Phil. ii 12 7 1311 { 007 1311 awmp c'avxa7 epyd§eada Here therefore it ismost naturally interpreted as ‘ havingaccomplished all that your duty re
quires’. There is no reason to desertthe ordinary usage of the New Testament for the rarer sense of
‘ overcoming’, which occasionally occurs inthe classical writers. The Latin rendering ‘
in omni bus p erfecti ’(om. in
if not a corruption of ‘omni
bus p erfectz'
s’,must be regarded as
a loose paraphrase : Jerome in hiscommentary has uni uersa op erati
’.
I4 wep tfwadp evm Withthe description which follows compare I Thess. V 8 e
’vdvcrdp evmdoipaxa
m'
a recos Kai ci-ydmys' Ka i wep txecbahafave’hn'
t'
da o wmp c’a s. Both passages are
eens’,implying a variant w rovpam
'
ow.
The same rendering is found in theArmenian version
,so that it goes
back to the Old Syriac, as is furthershewn by its occurrence in Ephraim’scommentary. Theodore knew of thisinterpretation (prob.fromthe Peshito),b ut condemned it.
13. avaXaBe‘re] Comp. Judith XiV 3avahafiow es our oc 7 a s navon
'h t'
as'
av7 a w:
Joseph. Ant. iv 5 2 7 a : 1rav01r7u'
a 9 ava
Rel/30117 69 evde'
ws e’
xoipovv £ 29 7 0 epyov,
XX 5 3 xehevet 7 0 o rpar evya 7rav 7 as
wamhia s a vahafiovnxew 629 7 17V’Av7 a>
mav.
VI 15—17] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 2 15
e A x 1 a 1
up wV é N a A He e l q, Ka t GN AYC A
'
M G N O I T oN ew PA Ke. T fi c1 1
A IKA IO C YN H C, Ka t fir odno'
a p eumT ove n o Aa c e’
u (57 01I a a 1 n 3
11110 191 T O T e va rre A l o Y T H C e l P t-lN H C 7rt l) 011/a
A BI
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6 77 11117 01
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”Ka i
based on Isa. lix I7 3mmomimv 059 Haipaxa , Kai 7rep 1€067 0 trep 1
Ketfiahafav o wmp fov 317 i 7 69 “ (bahfiaIn our present passage the Apostlehas also drawn upon Isa. xi 4 3
1-07 65?
7 1111 h iya) 7 011 0 7 61107 09 0117 00,
cu
mfevp an d1a xu he’mv w i cks? a1rq m1
ew m duca tomivy (Two-
1161109 7 7111 0041011( 1137 013, Kai dhqda
’
q eihnp e’vm nheu
p69. On these passages is also foundedthe description of the Divine warriorin Wisd. V 18 : Nimlfw at navonh t
'
cw 7 611
{ fihov 11177 09,xal (inho‘
rronia u x7 1'
0'
111
dp vvau e’
xdpa'
iv '6’u8150 67 a 1 dé p axa
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15v11v, Ka i 77 6111960 17 0 1 xépvda
Kp 1'
0'w dv111761<p 17 0w hfipd era t dam-{8a
dxarap afxm-ov 60 167 117 0.
15. éroqmm’
q] The word is usedin the for a stand or base : b utit is also found in the following passages
,PS. ix 38 (x 17)n
‘
7v e'
rocp am’av
7 519 xap81'
09 0177 6311 ”poo 7 91 059
0 011 (Heb.
‘ Thou wilt prepare (orestablish)their heart, Thou wilt causeThine ear to lxiv 10 (lxv 9)67 01
'
11a0'
a 9 7 7)v 7 p0¢ fiv ( 1157 6311, 37 1 0137 109
1; e'
7 01p am'
a a'
ou (comp. Wisd. xiii 12£ 39 e
'
7 01p a0'
1'
av Na. 11 4 31!
mue'pa e7 01p a0 1'
a9 av7 0v. The Apostlemeans to express the readiness whichbelongs to the bearer of good tidings.He has in his mind Isa. Hi 7 mipeq u
059 03pa e’rrl 7 65v o
’
p e’wu
,159 176869 617117
y eh fop e’
vov dxm‘w 62101111779, Which inRom. x 15 he quotes in a formnearerto the Hebrew
,159 aipafmof 776869 7 13V
d ay-yeMCOp e
'
vmv ci 'yaeci.
16. e’v 1780 111] For the variant e’n-l
araaw see the note on various readings.’E7rl m‘
un occurs in the description oftheRoman armour by Polybius (vi6171 de
‘
7780 1 7 0157 019 npoa emk oap ofivrmmep iwp 0 7 64161119 Themeaning
is,in any case, ‘ in add ition to all
’:
comp. Luke xvi 26 xal £11 1760 1 7 0157 019
11mg.»75111311 where there is thesame variant e’m’.dupeo
'
v] Comp. Polyh. vi 23 307 1
3’75 7rav01rh1
'
a 1rpo'
37 ou
dup eds, 05 11811 17>\ 1i7 09 307 2 7 519 mp7 69 3m¢ avefa 9 7 6 313
11171109 77031311 rew dp o w' 6 Be‘
1161221111, 37 1xal w hom—7 111201. The scutumconSisted, as he tells us
,of two layers
of wood glued together and coveredfirst with linen and then with hide :it was bound with iron above and
below, and had an iron boss afli xedto it. The a
’om’
s, or 011/p ens, was a
round Shield,smaller and lighter.
nmpwp e’va afiéa ac] Wetstein gives
many examples of the use of flamingmissiles : they were often employedto destroy Siege-works
,as well as to
wound or discomfit individual soldiers.ThuC. ii 75 vrpoxahup p ara a
’
xe déppew
Kai B1¢ 9€pa9, (go re e’
p‘
yafoy e'
vow
ml 7 81 ffiha 11157 6 rrvpclxip ow
Bdhheo dme’v do cbaha
'
q 7 6 6311111. Liv.
xxi 8‘Phalarica erat Saguntinis mis
sile telumhastili ab iegno et caetero
tereti p raeterquam ad extremumunde ferrumexstab at : id, S
'
icut inpilo
,quadratumstuppa circumliga
bant lineb antque maxime,etiamsi haesisset in scuto nec penetrasset in corpus, pauoremfaciebat,quod cummediumaccensummitteretur conceptumque ipso motumulto maioremignemferret, armaomi tti cogeb at nudumque militemad insequentes ictus praeb eb at
’. The
exact expression occurs in Apollodor.s l. ii 5 de Hercule : rr
‘
pr 178111111
Baha’w Be
’
hemwenvpmp e’vow rivé‘yxamsv
For the absence fromsome
2 16 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [VI 18—20
I A I
T H N n e pme cb a Aa na n T O T c oo T l o Y 865610 66 , 11011 T l—l NI A 1 Q, c a A
M AXA IPA N 7 0 1 TTN GYM A T O C, 0 60 7 111 p uma 6 6 0 1,183101
I I I
77 a0 719 771000 6117019 10 11 36110 6019, 7rp00 evxo1161/01 6 11 77 01117 1
A 3 Imap? 611 77 11615110 7 1, 11012 eis 0 117 0 a’f
ypvn'
vovu7 69 611 7 7 010 11I I I e I
7rpo0 1cap 7 ep110 61 x0 1 36110 61 7 01117 0111 7 0111 017 10111,19
c a A ( I
8 0A I a 3 I A I
Ka t u7rep 611011, 11101 1101 0 11 h og/09 EV 0 1101561 7 011 0 7 0
11017 09 11011, 611 7rapp110 1'
a 7 v 1'
0 011 7 0 [1110 7 11111011 7 011
efla f
y'
yehw v2°1577 610 011 713060 3611111 611 a hv0 61, wa 611 01117 13
n appn0 1a 0 w110 1 1119 361 116 Aa a t.
texts of the article before 7re7ti 1psee the note on various readings.
I7. See I Thess.v 8 and Isa. lix 17, quoted above. Tb
0 1117 75p 101/ i s found in Luke i i 30, iii 6,and in St Paul’s speech in Acts xxviii28 in each cas e it comes di rectly orindirectly fromthe Lxx.
3151117 111] is here equivalent to Rd1367 6 : comp. Luke ii 28, xvi 6 f., xxii 17(66 15151161109 0 07 1
'
7p 10v).
p dx01pav 7 06 77 11515110 7 09] Thephrase is accounted for by Isa. xi 4
(quoted above), though the actualwords do not there occur.156110 06017] For 156110 see the note
on v 26. Comp. Isa. xi 4 R670)
7 06 07 61107 09 0 137 06, and Heb. iv 12
{ 1311 yap 6 hc’ry09 7 017 06017 1107. £vepy1
‘
19
Ka i 7 011057 6p09 1i7re’
p 7730011 p dxmpav8107 011011,I8. 7rp00 e11xi
‘
19] For the connexionof this with the 1517110 61m
“
) compareI Tim. iv. 5 d‘yuifermyap 8121 71157 011
9609 1107. 6117 615561119.86150 61119] This word is joined With
rrpoa evxri, for the sake of fulness of
expression : see Phil. iv. 6,1 Tim. ii 1,
v 5.EV 77 116151107 1]
‘ in the see thenote on v 18.
129 067 6] Comp. Rom. xiii 6 62:
0137 6 7 057 0 7rp00K0p 7 6p01'
31/7 69.
dypvmofiw w ]’A and ypn
yop eiv are both used in the Lxx to
render we,‘ to keep awake ’
,
‘to
Watch’. Comp. Mark xm33 Bke’m-
re
35 yprryop6'
1
'
7 6 01311, xiv 38
ypqyop e'
i ‘re Kai 77p00 615x60'66 : Luke
xxi 36 dypvnue'
ire 7ra 117‘
1 1100003 866
1161101 : and the parallel passage Col.iv 2 7 g wpoo evxy 7rpocrxap 7 6p 6 17 6, ypq‘
yop ov117 6s‘ £11 611 6vxap 107 1q.
The verb i s common
,b ut no independent reference
for the noun is given.
19. mi 157re‘
p 61108] The changefromv71
'
6p 1f to 157re'
p helps to mark theintroduction of the special request :b ut there i s no real difference of
meaning,as may be seen fromthe
parallel, Col. iv 3, wp oa evxop evoc 51101101Wf p l. 15111311,K67 0: Comp. 001. i v 3 7110
6606 dz1an 1511711 fiépav 7 06 7167 011,and Ps. 1 (li) I7 7 81 x61
'
7\17 p ov (ix/01'
7 0 0 7 6110 p ov a’uayyeke?
a'
ou.
p vo'rrjpwv] Comp. 001. iv 3 f. Rakfi
001. 7 6 p vcrrfipwv 7 013 xp 10'
7 017,81’3 ml
8686110 1, 7110 ¢ a116p050 01 a 137 0 (59 36?
kakfiom. For p vo fi ipwv see i 9, and
the references there given. For the
absence fromsome texts of 7 01? d ay
yeMov see the note on various readings.20. ”p ea
-361501] Comp. 2 Cor. v 20157 6p Xpw
‘
rofi 013
11 7rp 60/36150116 11.
e’u c
‘
zkzia a ] Comp. Acts xxvm20
GZV€K€V ydp 7fis' 371711809 7 013
a vow 7 0 157 1711 77 6p 1'
1<6 111111, 2 Tim. i. 16
7 1311 511110 131 0131:
2 1— 24.
‘ Tychicus Will tell you
2 18 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
9603 116110 19 1577 6yp<i¢ 17)117196v 7 39a’
¢ 9ap0 1'
a9 dkkérpwv 11157 6 7 179 paxapui
7 177 09 dv01'
11610v a1irt§ 7711300777 6: 771
'
iv
36 7 3 ¢ v7lé7 7 61v 0 157 03 311va116v0v 73v
1167 3 11a 1<ap 167 177 a 7rep‘
1 c 157 3v
365012 : and Plutarch, A r i sti des 6, 7 3
96'
1
'
ov 7 p 10 i 30116? 31a¢ 6p 61v, d¢ 9ap0 faKai 3vv1i1161 Kai (ip 67fi. They are likewise used b y the Stoics of the 11601109 ;Chrysippus ap . Plut. Moral. 42 5 D,mix 1711101 0 7 0177 0v (sc. the 7 677 09
in Which the 11301109 is situated)011v6 1'
p-ye09a1 7rp3s 7 311 310110111
‘
7v Ka i c iovei
3¢ 60p0 £av z and b y the Epicureans oftheir atoms. [Comp thetitle ofPhilo’streatise, I
'
Iep l 1i¢ 9ap0 ia9 Kd011ou.]In the Greek Old Testament 21'
(1190117 09 occurs twice : Wisd. xi i 1 7 3
y3p d¢ 9ap7 6v 0 011 60 7 1v 611
77 30 111, xviii 4 7 3 d¢ 9aprov v6110v (11189 .
The same writer in two notable passages connects the a¢ aapoza grantedto men with the d¢ 6ap 0 ia of God’sown nature : i i 23 f. 57 1 3 9639 6117 10 6117 3v 1
’1'
v9p 01770v d¢ 9ap 0 1'
11, Ka i 6ZK3va
7 739 i31'
a9 23137 117 09 (17. l. 6131157 777 09)67701
'
170 6v a157 6v °
(119151119 36 6111361011961107 09 620fik9ev 619 7 3v x60 110v,Vi 18 f. 3767717 36 7 17
'
p 170 19 v311111v 0157 39
(se. 7 139 77po0oxr‘
1 36 vo'
1m1vBeBa i010 19 1i¢ 9ap0 ia 9, 1i¢ 9ap0 ia 366
’
yy39
6Zva1. 77016? 96017. The only other examples are found in 4 Mace. (ofmenwho pass to an immortal life), ix 22
130 77 6p 7711pl. 1167 00xr1110 7 1g’15116vo9 629
1i¢ 9ap 0 1fav, xvn 12 15930967 6 1 y3p 7 67 6cip67 1
i1 31
’1577011011179 30x1p d§ov0 a 7 3 v
'
1'
1<09
6’v d¢ 9ap0 ia 6
’v (an?) 7705111xpov1
'
c‘o. Sym
machus used the word in the title of
Ps. lxxiv (lxxv), 677 111131109 77 6p i d¢ 9ap~0 1
'
a9 41031169 (LXX 111)So far then themeaning of21’c90117 09
i s clear, and there i s no
tendency to confuse it with 1111114001The latter adjective occurs
once in the LXX: Esther i i 2 { 177 176157 07 155 Ba0 1516
'
i Kopci0 1a 3¢ 90pa 11033 7 125(comp 17. 3 110p 1i0 ta 77ap96v11<3 Kakc
‘
z
In the New Testament we find5111190117 09 used of God, Rom. i 23filflafav 7 3v 33§av 7 013 dq59dp7 011 9601?
[VI 24
3001161107 1 611161109 ¢ 90p 7 017 dv9p ai7rov,
I Tim. i 17 1i¢ 91ip 7 1p ciop07 1p 1115110) 96153and of the dead after resurrection,I Cor. XV 52 6
’
y6p917'
0 0117 01 c’1'
qb90p 7 01.
It is also used as an epithet of0 7 611101109 (1 Cor. ix xhqpovoiu
'
a
(I Pet. i and 0 7rop 1i (i b . 23 comp.
iii The substantive occurs inI Cor. XV 42 0 716 1
'
p 67 01 ¢ 90p1§,67 611167 0 1 611 d¢ 9ap 0 fg, 50 01336 1; ¢ 90p3
d¢ 9ap0 1'
a11 xhqpow p d , 53 362 y3p7 3 ¢ 90p 7 311 7 0137 0 6113150 0090 1 d¢ 9ap~
1101 7 3 911177 311 7 087 0 6113150 0090 1
It occurs again in Rom.
ii 7 7 079 1109’1511011011311 6pyon 6109017
3641011 110i 7 11113
111 11011i¢ 90p0 i011 ( 177 0170 111,{ 10311 0216111011, 2 Tim. i Io 1107 0p
‘
y150 0117 09
11611 7 311 961107 011, (3107 10 0117 09 36 { 10311
1101d¢ 90p0 fav 313 7 06 6v’0yy67 u
'
0v. (InTit. u 7 it has been interpolated afterd¢ 90p f011, 0 6111167 117 0,
—having comein probably as a marginal gloss on
In all these passages there can be nodoubt as to themeaning of a
’cbaapm
’a.
If { on} 021611109 is the life-principlewhich is already at work, dosap aza isthe condi tion of immortality whichwill crown it in the future.The use of the word in the epistles
of Ignatius deserves a special con
sideration, if only because we find inRom. 7 the expression ci'yc
im)swap-ms.
In Ep h. 15 f. Ignatius is speaking of
false teaching and false living as destructive of the ‘ temples’ofGod
,with
an allusion to 1 Cor. iii 17 ci’7 11 7 311
110311 7 013 96017 ¢ 961p 6 1, He declares that of 02x0¢ 96p01, those whoviolate God’s house, forfeit the kingdomof God. If this b e so for thebodily temple, stillmore does it holdof those who ‘ violate the
faith of God by evil teaching ’. Theyand their hearers are defiled and shallgo into the unquenchable fire. Heproceeds : A L3 7 067 0 p 15p011 61 043611 6e
7 139 1161303 179 0137 017 3 1115p 109, 7110 711163;6xk7ln0 1
'
0d¢ 90p0 1'
011. He is playingupon the two senses of 1111961
’
p 6w,
physical destruction and moral corruption : but that the sense of in
VI 24] EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
corruptibility or immortality prodominates when the word 1i¢ 0ap0 £a isintroduced is shewn by the contrasted
7 39 of the devil,
who would carry us away ‘ fromtheli fe which i s the goal set before us’
7 01? 77p 0116 1116'
1100 The phrasehas a noteworthy parallel in Iren. iiiI I 8waw ax39611 77 1160117 0 9 7 311 1i¢ 90p0 1
'
011
a’vafamvpoiiwm7 039 3119pai17 0v9 (of
the four Gospels): comp. i 4 I and i 6 I ;the metaphor being perhaps derivedfromthe Xp 10 7 01
'
3 61310310 and the 30113611 { 1039 629 { 10311 of 2 Cor. ii 15 f.In Magn. 6 we have 629 7 1577011
3130x311 3¢ 9ap0 f09, but the contextdoes not throw fresh light on themean ing of the word. P hi lad . 9 7 3
36 613079161 1011 a
’
771ip 7 10p 1i 313900recalls 2 Tim. i 10. In Trall. I I
311 311 3 110p1739 037 1311 3¢ 90p7 09 standsin contrast with 110p 77311
In Rom. 7 we have 03x 7 130133¢ 90p39 followed by 773110 961 10 7 3 0310037 03
, 3 607 111 dyém; 3¢ 90p7 09. Inthis pas sage we have a combinationof the ideas which ap
pear separam
in T7 011. 8 6 11 0 130 011
Kp 107 ou, andEp h. 20 6110 3117 011 10113117 69,0 6 0 7 111 (Pap/1 011011 0901100 10 9, 0 117 13 07 09
7 011 113 317 090116 111 0333 { 311 611 130011
Kp 10 7 c§ 313 770117 39. [Comp. Clem.
AleX. P aed . i 47 3 1i¢ 9apBoth the and
the 1id>9ap0 fa of Ignatius are liftedout of themerely physical region bythe newmeaning given to ‘ life’by theGospel : b ut the words retain theirpr0per signification in the highersphere, and still mean freedomfromdeath and fromdissolution.
is not confused with aaoopza or
1i3ta¢ 90pfa , so as to denote freedomfrommoral corruptness.I cannot point to any passage in
the writers of the second century inwhich 3¢ 90p 7 09 and d¢ 9ap 0 ia are usedof moral incorruptness, though thewords are common enough in theusual sense of immortality (see Athenag. do Res. passim). On the otherhand asoop o. occurs in a well-known
2 19
passage of Justin (A10. i 15, comp.1i
311iq590p 01 i b id .
Since, however, 1366 1711111 and gbGopéexpress the physical andmoral ideaswhich are negatived in 3¢ Gap0 £a andsasopza respectively, it was quitepossible that cigbeapm
’a should come
to be regarded as denoting not onlythe indi ssolubility of eternal life
, butalso thepuritywhich Christian thoughtnecessarily connected with eternal life.And thismay explain the uncertaintywhich attends Origen’s use of the
word in some passages. Thus in histreatise on Prayer, 2 1
,we read 7 3
316¢ 90pp 6'
110 3p‘
y0 3 33‘yov9 3 1103110 7 0,7 077 61113 m‘
yxa'vovra 110 i. 67700777 7 0, 7 39
1i <j>90p0 ia9 190137 1110 7 017 11np 1'
au. Heseems again to play on two possiblesenses of d¢ 60p0 £a in 0. Gels. iii 60
,
where our present passage is referredtO : 36 1101 3 Xdp 19 7 017 96017
1167 3 773117 1011 7 1311 1311 1i¢ 9ap 0 f0 37107715117 1011 7 311 31330 1107\0v 7 3311 7 39 1i 9a v0 0 1
'
a 9
110931137 1011, 307 19 37 1139’01311311011
‘ci7r3
flaw-39 111500119
’(the words of Celsus),
33713 1101 7 1311 330 7 7 3111011 6310 1 1101/afodp apmp drcov 90pp 1311 11116109111,In his Commentary (on this
verse) Origen combats an extremeview which interpreted a
’
qssapaza as
implying stri ct virginity. He doesnot reply, as he might have replied,that in Scripture d¢ 90p0 1
’a is always
used of immortality ; but he suggeststhat is predicable of any sin,80 that d¢ 9ap0 ia might be implyingabsolute freedom from sin of anykind : 1307 6 7 039 7 311 1115p 1011
31111311’I1)001
'
311 Xp 107 311 d¢ 90p0 fg7 039 7730 179 (iy ap7 1
'
a 9 377 6xo116'
110v9. The
later Greek commentators also interpret d¢ 9ap0 1
’a in this place of
incorruptness of life. The Latincommentators, who had i n incorrupti one to interpret, sometimes preferredto explain it of soundness of doctrine,b ut with equally little justificationfromthe earlier literature.How then are the words to be
understood ? It has been proposedto connect themwith 3X1ip 19, so that
2 20 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [VI 24
the Apostle’s final prayer should bean invocation ofX1ip 19 d¢ 90p010, i .e.
of grace together with that blessedimmortality which is the crowninggift of grace. But thi s cannot beregarded as a natural expansion ofhis accustomed formula, even if thedi sposition of the sentence be not
fatal to this interpretation. It isbetter to keep the words 611 dq690p0 1
'
0closely With 7 1311 0y0 77 10117 1011 7 311 11v 11
3111311 11700011 Xp 107 311, to render them‘in incorrup tz
’
bi lz’
ty’and to explain
them as meaning ‘i n that endless
and unbroken li fe in which love hastriM phed overdeath and dissolution
2 2 2 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Favor. The distinctivemeaning then ofxépu as representing if} in the historicalab le esti books of the Old Testament is the favour which an inferior finds in the eyesmati onby a
of hi s superi or. It 18 to be noted that 80mmxapw i s here correlati ve tosup erior. eép e
'
iv xcipw . It does notmean ‘to favour ’, b ut to cause to be favoured’
by another. It thus differs altogether fromthe true Greek phrase 508m;xcipw ,
to grant a favour’.In the Psalms the word occurs twice only : xliv (xlv)2 e
’
gexéa; [15]xdpw c
’v xez
’heo w G ov, lxxxiii (lxxxiv)I I xdpw xal 866m! 6150-6 1. In each case
it renders l”, which has acquired a certain extension ofmeaning.
Proverbs In Proverbs we find it 2 1 times,the plural being occasionally used.
Thrice it renders hi t), whi ch is commonly represented by a idom’a . The
accep ta generalmeaning is favour or acceptance in a wide sense,as the condition
b il i ty With of a happy and successful life. Such xalp cs is as a rule the accompanimentSigma of wealth and high station : b ut God gives it as a reward of humility, iii 34
rarrewoi c 86°
813 100 111 xdpwl.
In Ecclesiastes xa'
zpw is used twice for It}, and again the sense is wide.It is remarkable that in Isaiah, Jeremiah and (wi th few exceptions)
the Prophets generally xdpu‘ is not found at all. The exceptions are
three passages in Zechariah (always for 1D), iv 7 , vi 14 and xii IOfi vefip a xdpvros
'
Ka i o ixrzpp ofi) Dan. i 9 Kai xa'
pw (DU?)guana t op Kal oixrecpp ov and Ezek. X11 24, the
adverbial phrase “ p69 xdpw.
Wi sdom In the Wisdombooks we find, as we might expect, a more extendedliterature : use of the word : and the sense which corresponds with it} appears side
by side with various Greek usages . It is specially noteworthy that twice‘mercy ’. we have the combination xcipcc Ka i a eos
‘ [e’v] Toff e
’xhexra
’
i g afiroi’
) (Wisd.
iii 9, ivEnoch With this last expression we may compare Enoch v 7, 8 Ka i. 7 o 301111
Wlfih ro'
i g 2'
o 11x39 Kai xcip cs Ka i 8019150 17 111. ro'
is‘ e’xhsxro
'
i s‘
96135“
‘ hght’and
(i 1.‘
peace’ Ka t x p 9.
The N. T . It appears fromthe foregoing investigation that the New Testament25323; 11 writers inherited a wealth ofmeanings for the word xa
’
n
both (a) the purely Greek signi fications, which were familiar to all who usedGreek the Greek language, b ut which to some extent fell into the background, in$1
55? consequence of the appropriation of the word to a specially Chri stian useuses (6) the significations which the word had acquired through its use by
$13.
‘
,
the the Greek translators of the O ld Testament to representessmg
come,Of the latter significations the most important was that which we find
quent on in the latest books, namely, the favour of God, or rather the blessed condiDiVine
,tion of human life which resulted fromthe Divine favour—a sense in which
favour the word came,as we have seen, to range with such spiritual blessings as
31 109, (Ixa3s and elp riw).
1 Thi s phrase needs to be cons idered allowancemust be made for themorein the light of what has been said of independentuse ofxdptswithouta term601711111 xdpw évaw c
’
ov (see Gataker of relation in the later Old TestamentCi nnas, ed. Lond. 1651 , p . go b ut li terature.
ON XAP lZ AND XAPITOYN. 2 23
Turning now to the New Testament, we observe that the word is not Distri bufound in the Gospels of St Matthew and St Mark ; but that it occurs in “011 111 1119every other book, with the exception of the First and Third Epistles ofgag
es.
St John1. We may consider first those writers whose phraseology is ingeneral most remote fromthat of St Paul.In St John’s Gospel xcip ts‘ is found only in the Prologue : i 14 1716a St John’s
Xdp i ros Ka i 3K 7 01? wkqpaip a‘roc ad'
roii wdw es c’hdfiop ev mi Gospel :
xdpw dw i r; xdp ts Ka i 15 dkrfdeta dtd'
Ir)1roi)Xpw'
ro i}
These verses are closely connected and ofi‘
er a single emphatic presenta mogue.
tion of xdp ts'
as a blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ. Grace and
truth together stand in contrast to the law as given through Moses.A fulness of grace and truth pertains to ‘ the Word made flesh ’. Out
of that fulness we all have received : we have received ‘ grace for gracethat the gift in usmay correspond ’
wi th the source of the gift in Him.
The only other occurrences of the word in the Johannine writings do Othernot help us to interpret the words of the Prologue. In 2 John 3 we have Johanninemerely the greeting xdp ts, 27mg, eZprjw; (comp. the Pastoral Epistles). In b °°ks°
the Apocalypse we have the salutation xép i s Ka i elpfiw; 611-6 6 1311
, and
the closing benediction, 15xdp i s f or? Kvp i'
ov 1170 06 Xp i o'
rofi 1111-21 7 6» dy icov,
in each case Pauline phrases with a peculiarmodification.The Epistle of St James contains the word only (iv 6)in an allusion to St James.
and a quotation fromProv. i i i 34 (see above).In Jude 4 we read rfiv 7 05 6606 xdpvra p erartde
'
vres 129 do e'
ityei av. This St Jude.
formof the accusative is not found elsewhere in the New Testament,except in Acts xxiv 27. Kcip a does not occur in the opening salutationof the epistle (21 109 1511211 Kai eipq
'm; Kai dydm) nhqevvda'
q). It is observablethat the whole of the phrase above quoted, with the exception of the worddeal-yam, is absent fromthe parallel passage, 2 Pet. ii I ff. In 2 Peter, 2 St Peter.however
,we have the salutation xcip cs‘ Ka i eiprfm) ”Knew/96137, and in
iii 18 the injunction afigduer e 86311 xdp tn Ka i 7 11160 11. 7 06 Kvp i'
ov 75111311.We now come to the Lucan books, in the latter of which at any rate St Luke
’s
we shal l be prepared to find tokens of the direct influence of St Paul. In G051391
Luke i 30 the angelic salutation Xaipe, Kexap trwp e'
vq is followed by 16pmOpening19 a urel Hebrai stic ex ression. In ii 0 we read Chap tef s’
.
yap xapw napa " 9 “1” p y p.
4 Hebrai sti cof the Child Jesus, Xdpw 9ec i)fin 371
3adrd : and In 11 52
’Iq1rovs wpoeKom'
evuse.
Tfi a odu'
a Kai fihtm’
a Ka i xdp i n 1rap 1i 91123 Ka i duapain‘
ors (comp. I Sam. 11 26
To wa iddp i ou Zap ovr‘
fll e’n
'
opei ie'
ro p eyahvvdp euov Kai dyadév, Kai nerd Kvp t'
ov
Kai nerd dvepaSn-mv). The phraseology of the first two chapters of St Luke
’sGospel is largely derived fromthe historical books of the Old Testamentand these uses of xdp ts‘ are characteristically Old Testament uses. In iv 22 ,édadp afov 37ri 1
'o hdyocs‘rfis xdpvros
‘
,we have another obvious Later on ,
Hebraism. But the remaining examples of the word give us purely23ggs
1 No account i s here taken of ex the Vulgate and the Boha iric. For a
amp les of xdpw used adverbially with confusion between the same words seea geni tive. In 3 John 4 p ecforépav Tobit vi i I7 xctpw a wl ‘
rfis Mi a-ms a ov
f atie 015K é‘xw xapdv, i t seems im 7 1161 119 [xapdv Ecclus. xxx 16xdpw
poss ible to accep t the reading xdpw , N1, xapdv NzABC.
whi ch i s found in B, a few cursives ,
2 24
The Acts
EPISTLE TO -THE EPHESIANS.
Greek usages : 1r01'a 15v Xdp ts'
e’or
ri'
v; (vi 32 , 33, in)3X“ Xdpw 7 153 806A?37 1 31701970 1 11 rd Btaraxee
'
w a ; (XVIIIn the A cts we find in the earlier chapters clear instances of the Old
Hebrai stic Testament use of xcip tg : ii 47 3Xow es xdpw 1rpos 37lov“
rev hadv, vii IO
USES.
The new
Chri stianmeaning
in con
nexion
with therecep ti onof the
Genti les.
St Paul
developes
the term
to express
the freenessand uni
versalityof the
Gospel.
Hi sappropria
tion of theword in
33101161! aura? xdpw Ka i o o¢ iav évaw iov (Papaai, vii 46 efip ev Xdpw 31115711 011
7 017 0106. Perhaps we should add to these iv 33 xdp ts re p sych ” 7711 c’1ri
wdw as a i r and vi 8 Er€¢ avos 13s nhrjp rys‘ xdp tros Kai dvvdp ecog 311
Te'pa '
ra, b ut it is possible that we have here a distinctively Christianuse of the word. Of purely Greek usages we have xdp t'ra Karaee
’
aeac inxxiv 2 7, and xdpw Karade
'
a'daz. in xxv 9 ; also a irozip evoc xdpw Ka'
r’mire?) in
xxv 3 (comp. the use ofXap lfeaeac in xxv 1 1,
But there is another clas s of passages in the Acts in which Xtip ts‘ isfound in a new and Christian sense. The first of these is xi 23, wherewe read of St Barnabas at Antioch, 28151: Tip; xdpw rip ; 7 08 06017 e
’
xa'
p q.
The emphatic formof the expression helps tomark the introduction of thenew phrase : and itmay be observed that, wherever throughout the bookthe word occurs in this sense
,it is (with the single exception of xviii 2 7)
followed by a defining genitive. The passages are the followingxiii 43 wpoo p e
'
vew 177 xdp tfl 7 017 6108,
xiv 3 Kvp t'
tp p aprvpoiivn 7 155 Roy ? 1779 xdp vros'
adrofi,26 5061) rjcrav napadedone
’
voz f f] xdp in rai) 96017,
xv I I 81a 7 739 xdp rros‘rof: Kvp iov
’Iq1roi3mow M eij i/at KaO
’
rpon'
ov 115115 001,
40 flapadofiei s f f) xa'
pm 7 06 Kvp iov,
xviii 2 7 ovveBcikero wok?) 7 029 nemared o'
w 8131 f t}: Xap vros‘
,
XX 24 Btap aprdpaadac To efiay'
ye'
htov ‘rfis xdp tros TOD 6108
,
32 napar iflep at Kvp c'
cp Kai 7 123 ho‘
ycp Ti): xa'
p t'ros aurofz.
It is noteworthy that this use of xcip ts belongs to the narratives whichdeal with the extension of the Gospel to the Gentiles : see especially xv I I .The surprisingmercy of God, by which those who had been wholly outsidethe privileged circlewere now the recipients of the Divine favour, seemsto have called for a new and impressive name whichmight be the watchword of the larger dispensation.Although it is not probable that the introduction of Xdp tf into the
Christian vocabulary was due to St Paul, yet there can be li ttle doubtthat the new and special use of it which we have just noted was closelyconnected with his missionary efforts
,and that he did more than any one
to develope the meaning of xépcg as a theological term. To him, forexample, we owe the emphasis on the f reeness of the Divine favourwhi ch is marked by the contrast of xdp ts with dghet p a,
‘ debt’, and
with gp‘
yov in the sense of meritorious ‘work ’; and the emphasis on
the universali ty of the Divine favour,which included Genti les as well as
Jews, in contrast to the law’which was the discipline of Israel.Moreover he seems in some sense to have appropriated the word, as
though he had a peculiar claimand ti tle to its use. The first of his epistlesopens and closes with an invocation of xcip ts
‘ upon his readers : and everyconnexi on subsequent epistle follows the precedent thus set. In 2 Thess. iii 17 f. b ewi th hi s declares that thismay be regarded as his sign-manual, authenticating as it
2 26 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Christians was a signal witness to the fellowship into which the Gentileshad been brought by grace. It was a proof that grace was being con
tinually given to those who made this return of grace. St Paul playson the senses of the word with great delight in this connexion : v. 4 n
‘
w
xdpw Kai rip ! Kowcom'
av rfis 810K0m'
as Tfis 629 7 08: dy iovs : 77. 6 629
151169 Ka i rdu xdpw 7 01511711 : v. 7 iva Ka i radry rjj xdp i-r i 7r6p 10
'
o'
615111'
6
27. 9 yw ai
a Kere ydp rip ! xdpw 7 017 Kvp iov 1511131! v. 19 631
177 xdpvn ra iny f f} 81aK0vovp 6'
vy 15111311 : ix. 8 80110s 86‘
0 0609 vrdaav
xdpw 7r6p 10'
0'
680'
a 1 629 17. 14 671 1710001511e 15nd: 81d r ip ; 1511-6d h
hova av xdpw To?) 9106 e’m’ The play on words was a truly Greek
one : comp. Soph. Aj ax 52 2 xdp ts xdpw ydp 607 111 15n'
K'rova’1i61
'
.
Gal. i 6 p 67 a7 1'
061r06 Lind 7 08 Kaite'
aavros‘151169 61; xdp vrc Xpurroi} et
’s
grepov GGGWG’ALOV.
Gal. v 4 Kampyrj01rr6 61rd Xpw 'roii 071-w eg 61! izow 81K0101
’
30’06,‘rfis Xcip i ros
éfa réaare. You have separated yourselves fromthat which was yourone ground of hope.Col. i 6 dd)
’77: rip e
'
pas 15K0151ra 'r6 Kai 61767 11107 6 rip) xdpw 7 017 06013 61;
1211791113. Thi s is again in connexion with the declaration of the uni
versal scope and fruitfulness of the Gospel.See al so Eph. ii 5—9, and the exposition.
The ed A review of these passages makes it impossible to doubt that St Paul’s1111381011 use of xdp ts
‘ is dominated by the thought of the admission of the Gentiles(
Gf
edizl
iies to the privileges which had been peculiar to Israel Grace was given todominates the Gentiles through his ministry : grace was given to himfor hisministryhi s use of to them. The flexibility of the word enables himto use it in this twofoldthe WOTd manner. The Divine favour had included the Gentiles in the circle of
privilege : the Divine favour had commissioned himto be i ts herald forthe proclamation of that inclus ion.
Th is i s in This being so,we recognise the fitness with which St Luke
,the com
harmony panion of St Paul and the historian of his mission, uses the new name121
1511
21,t rtwith peculiar reference to the proclamation and the reception of the
oftheActS.universal Gospel among the Gentiles .
Later It is unnecessary to follow the history of the word into the Pastoralh i story of Epistles
,where it is somewhatmore widely used (comp. 2 Tim. ii I , Tit. iii
the word . though its specially Pauline usage may be illustrated by Tit. ii 1 1 ; orinto the Epistle to the Hebrews
,where the reference is quite general ;
or into 1 Peter, which adopts so much of the phraseology of St Paul’sepistles. As the first great controversy of Christianity passed out of
sight,terminology which had been framed with peculiar reference to it
became widened and generalised ; and the word‘ grace ’in particular lost
its early association, while it remai ned in the new Christian vocabularyand was destined,more especially in its Latin equivalent grati a, to be thewatchword of a very difl
'
erent and scarcely less tremendous struggle.
2 . XAPITOYN
Variously 2 . Closely connected with St Paul’s use of xap tg is his incidental useexp lained. on one occas ion only of the word xupu-oov (Eph. i Its meaning both
there and in Luke i 28,the only other occurrence of the word in the New
Testament,has been variously
’
exp lained.
ON XAP IZ AND XAPITOYN. 227
The verb xap c-roiiv properly signi fies ‘to endue with xépw
’: and its Itsmean
meaning accordingly varies wi th the meaning of xdp ts‘
. Thus fromXtipts' variesin the sense of
‘ gracefulness of form’(compare Horn. 0d. ii 12 060'
7r60' i17v
W
i
l thd
that
8’
0
1’ipa r 1§ ye xdpw Kare
'
xevev we have the meaning ‘ to endueWIth beauty ’: Niceph. P rogymn. ii 2 (ed. Wall . 1 429)Mdppav (0150 19 11611 usages6’
Xd p ir100'
6v eis p oq riuz comp. Ecclus. ix 8, in the formin which it is t to endue
quoted by Clem. Alex. P aed . iii 1 1 83 dndo rpq lrov 81°
f ew 1211-6 With‘
yvva i s Kexap trwp e'mys‘ (Lxx. ezip d bov). Again, fromthe sense of
‘ grar beauty,’
ciousness ofmanner ’we have the meaning ‘to endue with graciousness’: or
‘
WithEcclus. xviii 17 , LO, is not a word better than a gift? And both are 5223
19118
with a gracious man (n d pd 1l’u8p i Kexap trwp évm): a fool will upbraid
ungraciously (exapzmmy.
The above are Greek usages. A Hebraistic use, of
‘ being caused to Hebrai sticfind favour’in the eyes ofmen
,is seen in Ps.
-Aristeas Ep . ad P hi iocr.
1189
(cd. Hody, Oxf. 1705, p. xxv ; Swete’s Introd . to LXX p. 558 l. 4 in
answer to the question,How one may despise enemies—Homes s pa
mivra s‘ 1i i/0p 107r0vs‘651mm» Kai Karepyaadp evos
' (Midas, hdyov 013067109 dv 6'
xo i sn
rd 86 Kexap 1r130'0ac 7rp89 n dvras civ0p co
'
rrovs‘
,Kai Kahdv eihq¢ 6va t 7rapd
06017 ro17r’607 1 Kpdrw
'
rovl.
In Luke i 28 the salutation Xa '
i pe, Kexap trwp e'm), 15 K15p 109 an d 0 017 St Luke
gives rise to the unuttered inqui ry noran‘ds 6297 5 sw a g-pas 05mg and the
angel proceeds : Mr) ¢ oBO17, Map i da, edpes‘
ydp xdpw napd r 1§ (comp.
Gen. vi Thus Kexap trwp e'
vq is explained in an Old Testament sense as 11 11 0 T
7; 66p01717 a Xdpw n apd rd"
) 0613 : and the meaning of xap 1r017v accordingly is11 1v1ne y
to endue Wlth grace ’ in the sense of the Divme favourz. Th i s was favoured 1,
doubtless the meaning intended to be conveyed by the Latin renderinggratia p lena, though it has proved as amatter of hi story to be somewhatambiguous3. Similarly the Peshito has { hoa al
vdub . Unfortunately
the Old Syriac (sin and cu)fails us at this point. Aphrahat (Wright 180, 2)and Ephraim00mm. i n B iatess. (Moes. 49)both omit the word in question,and read Peace to thee, blessed among women "1.
The Latin Version (practically the
same in both i ts forms)has : ‘ dedits is in omni opere gratiamEp i phanius (Haer. lxix 15 86
Memo-i3s a'
vvéa'
ei 611 0601? Kexa p i r w
ué vo s fipufira 013
rafrra , dlthoi Ka i roer ;
1 A few further examp les ofxaptroiivmay here be noted :In Test. P atri arch. Joseph 1 , we
have 611 daeevela 13am! 6 fixpto'
ros
ér eaxé¢ ar6 ,u.6
° eu qtvhaxfi mi 8awrhp éxap irwa
'é [16. Thi s is of coursean allusion to Matt. xxv 36, and exaplrware i s probably borrowed directlyfromEph . i 6 ; the word being used
simp ly in the sense of ‘ bestowed graceupon me’: it i s paralleled in the context by indmyae, éqtéhafe, dvfi‘
ya‘
ye,
fihevdépwae, 61901501706, 8160pe1/16 , r ape
t eae, a w e, ovum/6117706 , éppuo'
aro,
ii i /woe, as well as by é1rea'
Ké1I/aro.
Hermas Sim. ix 24 3 6 05V Kuptos
113d r iyv dnhornr a aur c'
bv Ka i r ad ar
vnr zérm'
a , enhfidvuev mired: év ro'
is
K61r01s ré‘
wxetpt'
bv a t’rrc
'
bv, Kai éxa p lr w
0'
6 v eu r acy ,r pdfet 11137 6311.
dmérepov,2 In the Ap oca lyp se of the Virgin
(James Ap ocr. Anecd. I, 1 15 ii .) the
Blessed Virgin is constantly spoken ofand even addressed as i] Kexap irwpém.
3 Ambiguity almost necessari ly arosewhen grati a came to have as its predominantmeaning a sp iritual power
of help towards right living.
4 Not unconnected with thi s mayb e the confused reading of the Latinof Codex Bezae : ‘ habe benedi cta dfi
—s
tecum benedicta tu intermulieres.’
15— 2
2 28
St Paul
i s emphasising h isown word
xdpts
‘enduedus withgrace
Versions.Peshito.
Latin.
A various
Chrysoatom’s ihterp reta
tion
p lays
on the
various
senses ofxdpts andi ts deri
vatives,
EPISTLE TO “
THE EPHESIANS.
In interpreting St Paul’s meaning in Eph. i 6,623 gn aw ov 86509 7 739
xdp tros adr017 59 6xap 1'
r100'
611 finds rq'
i fiyarrqnéwp, it is important to bearlnmind that he is emphasising hi s own word xcip ts. And wemust comparecertain other places in which a substantive is followed by its cognate verb :Eph. i 19 Kard rr)r1 évfipynKev (where he is thus led to a somewhat unusual use of e
’vepye
’
iv : see the detached note on that word): ii 481d r1)v nokhr
‘
w dyd'n
'
qv adr017 7311 75710917 70 6 11 winds : iv 1 rijs Khrja ews 896’K7lrl
'
017r 6 : 2 Cor. i 4 81d rfis napaKltria ews'
179 n apaKahmin60a adro i. Thesense appears to be
,His grace whereby He hath endued us with grace ’.
This is amore emphatic way of saying, His grace which He hath bestowedon us
’: it does not differ materially fromthe subsequent phrase of v. 8
,
His grace which He hathmade to abound toward us ’.The Peshito version seems to recognise thismeaning of the passage in
its rendering m 4 : om,
‘which He poured on us’. The Lati nversion
,however
,renders : ‘
grati ae suae in qua gratificaui t nos’. The
verb ‘
gratifico’appears to have been coined for this occasion. The com
ment of Pelagius on the verse gives the meaning which was probablypresent to the translator’s mind : In qua gratia gratos fecit nos sibiin Christo ’. The interpretation was perhaps the natural issue of thecorruption of 159 into 811 5, which is found in D2 G3 and later authoritiesand is probably a scribe’s grammatical emendation. The relative i s is tobe explained by attraction to the case of its antecedent
, as in 2 Cor. i 4,quoted above. It is simplest to suppose that it stands for 17 there appearsto be no warrant for a cognate accusative, i1x1 éxap i
’ma ev.
Chrysostom’s interpretation of 6xap 1'
r100'
611 is marked by a determination to compass every meaning of the word. In the first instancehe notes quite briefly (Field p. 1 10 F): 013K0i311 ei eis' ro17ro 6
’
Xd p ir100'
611, 629
611-away 806179 7 59 xdp tros afirofi,Kai iva Gi ff” 19711 xdpw aJr017, n6
'
1110nev
atirf}. Here it would seemas though he took 6xap1'
r100'
ev rjn175 as simplymeaning ‘ endued us with grace ’; in that grace, he urges
,we ought
to abide. But presently it occurs to him(111 B) to contras t e’
xap frwo ev
with 6xap iaar0. Thus he says : O13K eirreu ‘
fis’ a‘6’
xap ir100'
611
finds “ rovre'
arw ,013 n011011 dnaprqndrmv a
’mjl ilafev d Ka i 67rep da r 0v 9
e’r o c
’
qo e. He gives as an illustration the restoration of an aged and
diseased beggar to youth, strength and beauty (the old Greek idea of
xdp i s) 013mm6&150'
K170'
611 rjndiv rr)11 di vxfiu, Kai 11076711 Kai Kai e’1re
'
p a 0'
r 0 11 finds: én txdp i r a s 671015717 6 Ka i av’rcji 710061110159.
He then quotes ‘ The king shall desire thy beauty ’(Ps . xlv He isthen led off by the phrase Kexapmone
’va firina—ra to speak of the ‘ gracious
ness of speech ’which marks the Christian : odxi xa p i ev 6Kei r10 rd 1ra18i011
eivac'
(banev, 37r6p . d11 nerd rfis r017 c oinarog 13pmmi 77071t 5X!) r iyv c’v
r o i s‘ princ e-1 xdp w ; r01017roi GZO'
LV o i xa p te'
orr ep o v rcfwnqnér 1011 1311 d7rora1r1ro
'
ne0a rq7 8101301 19, 1511 a vvraa a dne0a rd; xpw réi ;b utmi sses rfig anohoy ias
‘
G’KGIW] ? rfis‘ rrp ?) rox7 hovrp017, rfis nerd rd hovrpdv; But
St Paul’s
meaning.
in all this he is wilfuny going back fromSt Paul’s use of xcip ts, and
introducing the sense of charmof formor of speech which belonged toxap tr01711 in non-bibli cal writers.
2 30 EPISTLE TO T HE EPHESIANS.
comp. Zech. x11 10 K w at £11" ad'rov Kori-Grey air e
’1r’
ci-yam)AQ] 1.
3. In the New Testament we find 6 ri'yafmp e'vos in Eph. i 6, the passagewhich has given occasion for thi s investigation.
‘
0 dya'n
'
rrrds' is used, both di rectly and indirectly
,of our Lord in the
Gospels.
(1) At the Baptism:
Mark i 1 1 S i; 62d utos‘ y ou 0 dy amrrog, £11 0 01evdomya a.
Matt. 1ii 17 o5rds earw o v ios you 0 ayamrros‘ , i v (5 608010700 .
Luke i ii 2 2 as in St Mark, b ut with a notable Western’
variant2.
(2) At the TransfigurationMark ix 7 057 69 3011 1} 6 vids you (i a
’
yamrrds‘.Matt. xvii 5 051-69 5 UltiS‘ you (i dyamyrdc, i v (5 6 13861010 0.
Luke ix 35 017
7 69 301 11! 6 vitis you (i A l fi e
Comp. 2 Pet. i 17‘
0 v io'
s'
y ou 6 dyamyros 057 69
(3) Indirectly, in the Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen.
Mark xi i 6 gmgua e GV, viov ci ‘yamrrov.
Luke xx I3 we'mlrco roll v idv y ou 7 011 ci ‘yamyrdv.
St Matthew has no parallel to this clause.If the third of these examples stood alone, it would be natural to
interpret it in accordance with the Greek idiomreferred to above : anda close parallel might be found in Tobit iii 10 (N text), 1110 inrfipxev
du-ya’myp But it is difficult to separate its interpretation from
that of 6 v i i : you 6 dyamyrég, which is twice applied directly to our Lord.
Of this three renderings are possible
(1) Thou art My only Son ’,
(2) Thou art My beloved Son ’,
(3)‘ Thou art My Son
,the beloved ’.
The first of these renderings is vigorously championed by Daniel Heins ius,Exerci tt. ad N. T. p. 94 (ed. Cantab r. 1640)on Mark i 1 1. The second isfami liar to us in our English Bible
,and in St Mark at least it suggests
out (Two Dissert. p. 49 n .)that fromhi s comment we can see that he foundthe Word y oVO‘
yGVfi in hi s text.
The usage belongs to classical Greekfromthe time of Homer : see 0d . i i
365, iv 72 7, 817, and comp . I l. vi
400 f. Fromprose wri ters we mayci te Demosth . Mi d ias p . 567 06
,un
‘
yr
Ntmfipa ‘
ros oih'ws 6 7 00 Na dou 6 dya
wmos r ats, and Xenoph. Cyrop . iv
6 2 .dpn yevewiaKox/Ta 7 0v ti pw'
rov
1ra'
i6a rev dyamrrov. Aristotle shewsan interesting extension of the usage,when in referring to the lea: ta li oni s
he points out (Rhet. i 7) that thepenalty of ‘
an eye for an eye’ b e
comes unfair when a man has lost
one eye already ; for then he is deprived of hi s only organ of vi sion(dvawmév d¢ zipnmt
1 Wemay note that in Prov. iv 3"
NJ: is represented by dyambw os.
Thi s word i s used of Chri st in Just.D i a l. 93 dw ehov éKe
'
ivov 7 6V oi‘yamb,uevov 611
"
ad‘
rofi f or? Kvplov Kai 0608
b ut there i t stands for themore usualfiy amp évov.
2 Ti6sy ou £1015, c3'mofip epov y e
'
yéw nxci
o'
e (D a b c fromP s. i i 7 .
3 Thi s is the reading of xBLE syrs in
armsah b oh a. It i s undoubtedly tob e preferred to that of ACD syr
‘ml>ellh
b c vg, which have 6 ai'yamrrés wi th StMark.
THE BELOVED. 231
itself as the most obvious translation. Yet there is some reason for supposing that the third interpretation was that which presented itself to theminds both of St Matthew and of St Luke.
St Matthew assimilates the utterances at the Baptismand the Trans b ut s. d isfiguration , writing in each case 067 6: e
’a rw 6 ui6s‘ you 6 631077177 69, 31: (6 tinct ti tle,
6 1366K170'
a. It is possible that the right punctuation of this sentence is3StMat'
that which is suggested in the margin of the text of Westcott and Hortew’
at Matt. iii 17 : 067 69 6 uids‘ y ou, 6 a’
yamyrc’n‘ i v (6 £ 1366q
'
a. For inMatt. xi i 18 we find a remarkable change introduced in a quotation fromIsa. xlii I . The Hebrew and the Lxx of thi s passage are as follows :
"
131 2025”199 in
any: w e
A a
IaKoBB 6flats y ou, dw chrflf oya c ad'
rou'
Iapank 6 3101610169 y ou, ”p oo 0137 61! 15 1111005you.
But St Matthew has1601) 6 flai r y ou 611 fip e
’rw a
'
6 (b an-177 69 y ou 6u 6 13861070 611 6druxri you.
There is no justification for rendering ”TU? otherwise than as‘My
Elect’l
. It would seemtherefore that St Matthew,in substituting ‘ My
Beloved,’has been influenced by the twice repeated phrase of his Gospel
6 dyan e’
v cf) e686xqo a : and it follows that he regarded 6 6yam;r6s~asa distinct title and not as an epithet of 6 ui6s y ou.
St Luke, by his substitution of 6 e’Kkeke-yye
’
vos for 6 dyamrr69 (ix and to
appears likewise to indicate that the latter was regarded as a title by itself, St Lukefor which the former was practically an equivalent.It is worthy of note that the Old Syriac version, in every instance and in the
(except one)in which i ts testimony is preserved to us,renders 6 vi69 y ou old !
Syri&0
6 67 0 17 717 6: by p . u zmo My Son and My Beloved’: the conju nction ver81°n °
being inserted tomake it clear that the titles are distinct2.It is further to be urged on behalf of this interpretation that the words The twocl 6 u26s~y ou of the Voice at the Baptismaccording to St Mark di rectly fi ll
fiio
fis,m at 1
I I .
1 Thi s passage, Isa. xln 1 , i s ex mentators. Thus in Harnack’s notep licitly referred to the Messiah in theTargum, which renders it thus : NHunnmfi ’nl nmnwpx isn’t/73 “my“ 10 0H”: BeholdMy servantMessiahI wi ll uphold himMine elect, in whomMy Word i s well-pleased
Curi ously enough the Latin translation of this which i s given in the
Polyglots of L e Jay and Walton hasd i lectasmeus as the rendering of ”Tn:The mi stake i s perhap s due to a te
memb rance of the Vulgate in Matt.xi i 18. However i tmay have originated, it i s time that i t was correctedfor i t has mi sled a series of com
on 7 45 fiyarnye‘uq) in E1). Barn. i i i 6
we read : ‘Nomen erat Messiae apud
Iudaeos ex Ies. 42 , r repeti tum’
,with
references to L ii cke, E inl. in d i e Ap ok.
edi t. 11 p. 281 n. 2 , and Langen, Das
Judenthum i n P aléist. Z . Chri sti
p . 162 , 42 7 . Hilgenfeld in h is edi tionof Ep . Barn. carri es on the tradi tion.
2 So in Matt. i i i 17 (sin cu), Lukei ii 2 2 (sin : cu vocat), Matt. xvii 5(cu : sin vaca t), Luke ix 35 (cu : sin
( a=\“ 1: =6 For
Mark i 1 1 we have no evidence. The
one excep tion i s Mark ix 7 (sincu uacat).
232 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
reproduce the language of Ps. 11 7, The Lord hath said untome,Thou ar t
My Son’. If therefore wemay suppose that ‘ the Beloved’and ‘ the Elect’
were interchangeable titles in the religious phraseology of the time,we
have in the Voice a combination of Ps. i i 7 with Isa. xlii I , and‘ the Son’
who is set as King upon the holy hi ll of Sion i s identified with ‘ the Servantof Jehovah’; so that in the Divine intimation of the Messiahshi p the ideasof triumph and suffering are fromthe outset linked together.4. In the early Christian literature outside the New Testament we
“wri ts?” frequently find 6 riyamlye
’uos used absolutely of Christ ; and also 6 7i3la
ye'
uos r ats, a combinati on whi ch recalls Isa. xliv 2 . The former occursW “ ab thrice in the Epistle of Barnabas : iii 6 6 ha6s‘ 61! firoiyaa eu 31! t3j/am)solutely : yc
'
ucp 0137 06, iv 3 6 deo auw e‘ryq u 7 069 Kazp o6s Ka i 7 69 wiy e
'
pas, iva
7 0x61!” 6 ri'yarmy éuos a ti ‘rofi Ka l i nt 7 611 t p ouoy iav iffy, iv 8 auuerp iBr) 067 1311
6 iva 15 7 017 fiyamyy e'
uou 1170 08 €VKaraa ¢ payw 0fj 629 Kap61'
av
See also Ignat. S ing/m inscr. e’Kt a ia 06017 narp6s Kai 7 017 fiyamj
ye'
vou Iqaou Xpurroii : A cta Theclae I nau‘
ra rd 716-ytu rou Kup c'
ou. . .Kal TfisKa t 7 779 G VGO
'
TGO'
GG H‘ TO'
U qyamyeo
vov GYX'
UKGU’GV CUTOUC, KC “. 7 0
yeyahe'
ia
Tou xpw'rou
1 ' Cleth. P aedag. i 6 2 5 avr iKa ‘
youvBamKoy e’um
'
7 155 Kup i cp (in oupava'
iu e’n-qxno
'
eu <1)q yap'
rus qyavrqy euou Yio'
s you er. 06
(i ‘yamyrcis, £ 7 16 0'
17'
y epou‘
ye‘
ye’uq a o
'
s.
‘
0 67 amr6g is used throughout the apocryphal A scensi on of Isa iah, as“ WWW“ though it were a recognised appellation of the Messiah : and although it
is there due to a Christian hand, it not improbably represents a traditional
We find the combination 6 fiyaq y e’uoc r a i : in Clem. Rom. lix 2
, 3 : and
6 67 am6s nut: in Ep . ad D iogn. 8, and, as a liturgical formula, in .Mart.P olyo. l 4, A cta Theolae 24. In Herm. S im. ix 12 5 we have rou uiou
a1irou rov qyamyyéuov 1571 a 17'rou : comp. S im. v 2 6 7 611 v i6u aurou 7 61!
67 0717 77 611.
A number of references to ri'yamyy e'
uos‘ and a
’
yaqmréc in the Ap ostoli cConsti tuti ons are brought together by Harnack in his note on Ep . Barn.
iii 6. Specially to be observed are v 19 (Lag. p. 152 , l. 14)wire 611/aura ;7 611 ciyamyr6u 7 017 66017, 6u éfieKe
'
vma'
au, whi ch shews that the 67 011-777 69 OfZech. xi i 10 was interpreted of Christ : and v 20 (Lag. p. 153, l. wherethe title of Ps. xliv (xlv)936i; zine
‘
p rai} dyamrrof) is similarly explained(comp. Jerome Commentar ioli in P ss.
, Anecd. Mareds. iii pt. 1,and
Corderius Catena in P ss. ad
Summary. The case then for regarding ‘ the Beloved’as a Messianic title in use
among the Jews in New Testament timesmay be stated thus.I . ‘ The Beloved ’ (6 q
’
yan-
qye’
uos Lxx)is used in the Old Testamentas a title of Israel. It is easy to suppose that, just as the titles ‘
the
Servant ’and ‘ the Elect ’were transferred fromIsrael to the Messiah as
Israel’s representative,so also the title the Beloved would become a title
of the Messiah .
1 In Iren . i 10 1 (Mass .)we read : Kat contain a reference to Eph . i 10
“riyvt’voapxov cl: robs ofipavocs dudkmbw duaxegbakaau
'
io'
aodac To it i s pro
7 08 h amyévou Xpw rofi’In0
’oii 7 017 bable that 6 fiyan‘
ny évos was directlyKvptov 75111311 : b ut, as the next words suggested by Eph . i 6.
234
Hi story of
the word.
1. Its deri
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
On the meaning of yua'
wip tov in the New Testament.
The history of the word yuo -nip cov is curious and instructive. Startingwith a technical signi fication in pagan religion, the word passes througha neutral phase in which the original metaphor has ceased to be felt
,and
in the end is adopted as a technical termof the Christian religion. Thefact that it ends as it began in signifying a religious rite readily suggeststhat it was borrowed by Christianity directly frompaganism. With certainlimitations thismay be true. That the Chri stian Sacraments of Baptismand the Eucharist were called yuo~n§p 1a is probably due, in part at least,to the fact that the word was in common use for rites to which theseSacraments seemed to present some parallels. But
,if so
,it is certain
that the borrowing process was considerably facilitated by the use of
yvm‘
vfp tou which is found in the New Testament ; and that use, as weshall see
,has no direct connexion with the original technical sense of
the word.
1. We find in the classical Greek writers a group of words—yuc'
ca,
vation and1160
-1779, yuo
-n ipwu—all of which are technical terms : ‘ to initiate ’,
‘one
classi caluse.
Later use.
2 . Usageofthe Greek0. T.
Lxx of
Daniel.
who is initiated’,‘ that into which he is initiated ’. Of the derivation of
yuc’ca nothing certain can be sai d. It has often been stated that the root
is to be found in y6w. But y tia as‘means with the eyes shut’; and though
the word is sometimes used by transference also of shutting the mouth,it is always necessary that the word mouth ’ should be expressly addedin order to give this meaning. We cannot be certai n therefore—thoughin itself it is not improbable—that the first meaning of the word is oneof secrecy. Wemust be content to say that in usage yuorép cou signifiesa religious rite which it i s profanity to reveal.In later Greek the word was used metaphorically of that which may
not be revealed, a secret of any kind l . Thus we have a line of Menander(insert. yuafl
'
yp tdu 0'
ou y r)Karec'
n'
ys 60119 :‘ tell not thy secret to
a friend2 . The word is not used by the Lxx in translating any Hebrew word of
the canonical books of the O ld Testament. But in the Greek of Dan. ii,where the original is Aramaic
,it i s used eight times 2 to render N11, a word
borrowed fromPersian and found in Syriac as 4 114 -1. It is here usedin reference to Neb uchadnezzar’s dreamand its interpretation by Daniel :
1 In Plato Theaet. I56A the word has a passage whi ch has fallen out of
not lost i ts originalmeaning at all, as the LXX by homoeoteleuton, b ut i s preis shewn b y dy énros in the context. served in Theodotion’s version.
2 We may add to these Dan. iv 6
THE MEANING OF MYZTHP ION. 2 3”
the ‘mystery ’ was revealed to Daniel by the God who alone reveals‘mysteries ’. The word ‘ secret’seems fully to represent the meaning.
In the remaining books of the Greek Old Testament we have the 0. T.
following examples of the use of the word1PTOb it xi i 7 yuan ip tou Bamhe
’
cos Kah6u Kp 151[/at, 7 6 66 gpya To?) deoust ernum .»6118650 9 (repeated in c. 1
Judith ii 2 3967 0 y er’0137 6311 7 6 yua
‘
nip tou Ti): Boukfis adro i) (whenNeb uchadnezzar summons his servants and chiefmen).
2 Mace. xiii 2 1 wpoariy‘
yetheu 6e’7 6 yum-
75pm(of Rhodocus, who ‘ disclosed the secrets to the enemy).Wisd. ii 2 2 Kai 013K é
'
v o'
au yum-75pm 6606, 01566 11 10 661! 73717710 011
60 161-777 09 (of those who put the righteous to torture and deaththeirmalice blinded
Wisd. vi 22 66 301W 0 0¢ ia mi 77639 dnayyeha'
i,
Kai 013K 671-01:p uy'
iu yua‘rfip ta .
Wisd. xiv 15 yuo‘
rrip ta Kai reke'rci c (Of heathen mysteries : comp.y 150
'
ras‘ 0t60'
0u in x11
Wisd. xiv 23 i)yap rmuoctduovs 7 67167 69 6 si
cfna yum-6pm(again ofheathenmysteries).Ecclus. iii 18 1rpcie0
'
w dWOKalhin'
ret 7 6 yu0'
1'
7ip 1a 0137 013 [Rmz not inN*ABC}
Ecclus. xxii 22 yuo'
rnp iou cinomhti xlf ecos Kai nhnyfis 60711'
as (of thethings which break friendship).
CEcclus. xxvii 16 o dWOKahun'
rwv yum-
6pm 677 167160 611 m'
o'
rw (andsimilarly with the same verb in on. 17,
In the other Greek translators of the Old Testament we have occa Othersioual exammes of the use of the word. fre
e
s;Job xv s
‘Hast thou heard the secret of God ?’ So A .V . : Heb.9"
"HDJTI.
R.V . Hast thou heard the secret counsel of God mary. Or,‘Dost thou hearken in the council ?’
Lxx i) 0'
15ura '
yy a Kup z'
ov ciKrfiKoa s‘ ; Symm. Theod. yuo'
rq'
p tou.
Ps. xxiv (xxv) I4 Lxx Kparac'
wy a Kup tos 1 1311 (poBouy e'
uwu adv-611.
Theod. Quint. yuo'
fi fp tou.
Prov. xi 13‘a talebearer revealeth secrets’; Lxx cit/6p 613171610009
drroxahum-ct Bounds e
’u 0
'
uve6p 1'
c9. Symm. yuo'
rripcou.Prov. xx 19 (not in Lxx): the same words. Theod. yuo
‘nip tov.Isa. xxiv 16 b is (not in LXX): 7 6 y uan ip t6u y ou e
’
yot b is. A .V .
‘Myleanness !my leanness !’
We see fromthese examples (I)that the word yum-ripwuwas the natural The wordword to use in speaking of any secret, whether of the secret plan of a cam2
3
11
118
823
13;paign or of a secret between a man and his friend. It is but sparingly y e
used of a Divine secret : it may be that the earlier translators of the Oldand found
Testament purposely avoided the word on account of its heathen associawi th tin-o
tions. We seemoreover (2)that its natural counterpart is found in words Kareem” .
1 Of cognate words we may note : yuan s yep 601-12 7 73: 1 017 06017 emu-7 7511179,
y vor 3 Mace. ii i 10‘she i s privy to the mysteries of the
yuo-n s, of Wi sdom, in Wi sd. vi i i 4 knowledge of God
’.
236 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
like (inoxakuwrew and sw amps ,words which are equally applicable to all
senses of yum-15pm».3 Later
3. An important link between the usage of the Greek Old TestamentApocry and the usage of the New Testament is found in the later Jewish Apo
cryphal li terature. Thus, wemay note the followi ng examples fromtheBook of Enoch :
viii 3 (ap ud Syncell.)of Azazel and hi s companions : n th/reg 067 01
fipgaw o duaxakdn‘
r ew rd y um-15pmrat
’
s yumufiu 067 6311.
ix 6 (Gizeh fragm.) 366kw0’5u 7 6 yuo
'
rfip ta 7 017 ai o'
iuos 7 6.
espeue: so in x 7, xvi 3 ter, of the same matters l .4. In the New Testament, apart fromthe Pauline Epistles, the word is
only found in one passage of the Synoptic Gospels (with its parallels)andfour times in the Apocalypse.Mark iv 1 1 6y i
'
u T6 yum‘
rip cou 66607 01. 7 69 Ba a theias 7 017 0601? (Matt. Luke{ zy
'
iu 666mm7 1113110 1 7 6 yum-vipw Tfis Bamkd a s 7 017 6601? [Matt 7 1311 oupauciivJ).
‘ The secret ’ of the kingdomwas revealed to the di sciples,while the
multitudes heard only the parables which contained b ut at the same timcconcealed it.Ap OC. i 20 T6 y uav rip tou 7 6311 6717 6 do répwu
In this place the word yua‘
rrip tov follows immediately after the words6 y e
’hha y iveo fiac ysrd 7 0 17-m. These words and yua'nip tou itself are printed
in small uncials in the text of Westcott and Hort, with a reference toDan. ii 29. Whether a direct allusion to the Book of Daniel was intendedby the writermay be doubted. The sense of yuornip tou in Dan . ii appearsto be quite general ; whereas here we seemto have an instance of the
use of the word in a somewhat special sense,as either the meaning
underlying an external symbol, or even the symbol itself. See below on
Apoc. xvii 5, 7.Apoc. x 7 Kal. 37 .715q T6 MYC
‘
n—‘lPION To? 169 a iqw éhw ev T0"{ C
éay'
ro? Aoy’AoYC TO?C n pocb r
’rrac.
With thi s wemust compare Amos iii 7 (Lxx)£611 y r) waccec'
av
7rp6s 7 069 606710119 067 01? 7 069 wpoqhi‘
ras (l'
llD “53 DN Here W6 find thatyuo
-nip zov, which apparently had been avoided by the Lxx, has now becomethe natural word for the Divine secret ’.Apoc. xvii 5, 7 Ka i i n). 7 6 ye
'
rcun'
ou ati‘rfis 6uoya ye'
ypayy e'
vov, y um‘
vip tou,BA -
y(6 e’
pa'
i 7 6 yua'nipw u 7 179 ‘
yuua tK6s Kai To?) a fou. Thename Babylon is itself a yuo
-n ip tov, that is, a symbol contai ning a secret
meaning. In the second place the yuo-nip tov is rather themeaning of thesymbol
,as in i 20.
Pauline 5. We now come to the Pauli ne Epistles. The earliest example weEPISfleS° meet with is an isolated one. The word is used in describing the opera
LeThe
o
r
f
nys tions of the Antichrist in 2 Thess. ii 7 . The Man of Iniquity is to be
inifiui ty ’ revealed (dwoxakucpdj), v. At present however there is 1-6 Kare
’
xou—eis
eas emee: '
aa’
11'
u qva t aurou eu f tp curou Katpcp To yap y vmp tou r) cuep‘
yevrtu
1 The Greek fragments of the Book Aethi op ic text, see Amri ch Mysteri enof Enoch are reprinted in the last wesen, p . 144, notes : i t occurs severalvolume of Dr Swete
’s manual edi ti on times in connexion with ‘ the Tablets
of the Sep tuagint (ed. 2 , For of Heaven ’.references to theword ‘mystery’in the
2 38 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
One more example is found in the same epistle (1 Cor. xv of the
change at the Second Coming : i 606 yuan ip tou uy iu hiy a). This maybe compared wi th the use of the word in the latter part of the Bookof Enoch .
‘ Thi s In Rom. xi 2 5 the problemof the unbelief of Israel,which accords
mystery ’. with ancient prophecy and in some strange way is bound up with‘mercy’
to the Gentiles,i s spoken of as a Divine secret : es yep uya s
d66h¢ 01'
,7 6 yumfip tou n oip ooms y e
'
pouc
‘ Themys In Rom. xvi 2 5, 26 we have agai n the characteristically Paul ine use
1913”p ar Of the word : Ka '
rd a t mlf w yum-
np c'
ov xp o'
uow ai
wm'ots a ea t'
yryy éuou,excellence.
66‘
111711,616 7 6 ypacpo
'
iu 7rp0<bq7 iKo7u Kar’677 17 01
761! 7 06 aiwm'ou0601} 629 énaKofiu 629 ndw a 7 6 yuwpw de
’
w o s. Thi s i s thesecret of secrets
,the eternal secret now at last revealed in the Christian
Church.This last passage shews that the use of the word which we find in the
Epistles to the Colossians and the Ephesians is no new one. The Mysteryp ar excellence has a special reference to the Gentiles. In fact it is nothingless than the inclusion of the Gentiles as well as the Jews in a commonhuman hOpe in Christ. So in Col i 26, 2 7 we read : 7 6 yuon ip cou 7 6
6170K6v yy 6'
uou 6176 7 131! ai aiuwu Kai 6776 7 651! ya wnin g— 11171: 66 6
’cpavep05617
7 079 67 5019 0137 06,06: 77961 170 611 6 9669 yuwp io
'
ac 7 1'
7 6 77710177 03 7 179 6651797 06 yuo
‘mp iou 7 0157 0u 611 7 079 601160 111, 6’607 111 Xp107 69 e
’u 1iy
'
iv, 6 61 7129 7 779
665179.‘Christ in you Gentiles —that is the great surprise. None could
have foreseen or imagined it. It was God’s secret. He has disclosedit to us.
In 001. 11 2 the same thought is carried on in the words,eZs 677 1
’
v c
7 017 yu0'
7 17p 1'
ou 7 017 196017,Xp 10
'
7 017, 31: eio iv 776117 “ o i 6770'
aupol 7 579 a ocpiasKai yuaia etos 67ro
'
xpucpoc. Here ‘ the mystery of God ’ is Christ as the
treasury of the hidden wisdomwhich it is granted themto know.
In Col. iv 3 the Apostle bids thempray that he may have OpportunityXahfio a t 7 6 yua
'nip tou 7 017 c o'
ro i},61’6ml 6666yat, iua (pavepa
i
o'
co a1i7 6 (69
66? y e hahfiaat.In the Epistle to the Ephesians the word occurs five times in this same
sense. We need b ut cite the passages here.i. 9, 10 yvcop laas fiy iu 7 6 yumfipwv 7 017 66hg§y a7 os 0137 017
,Ka7 d 61360K1
'
au
0137 06 7rp06'
667 0 611 067 173 629 oc’Kouoy iau 7 08 nkqpa
i
ya‘ros 7 0711 Kcupé
’
w,duaKe
ha taia aa éa t 7 6 776u7 a 611 xpw'
np.iii 3—6 Kara cin-omikmlrw 6
’
yuwp 1'
0'017 yoz 7 6 yu0
'
7 15p10v, Kaflai s n poéypaxjrae’u o
’h iycp, 1rp6s 6 66110006 dua ‘
yw oia koures 1106001 761: 0'
15u60'
1'
v you 61»
yump icp 7 06 xpcm'
ofz, 6 6'
7 6’
p a19 013K 6711p q 7 02; v ic’
i s 7 0711 (iv
Hpain'
wu (69 111711 677 6160669567; 7 079 67 5019 cinoa rcikocs a 137 013 Ka i np odni‘rats 6’u
m'euyan ,eiuat 7 6 aux/1010710116710 Ka i 0'
15u0'
wy a Ka i 0'
uuy 6'
7 oxa 7 779 gnawe
N'
as G’V
’Ir)0
'
017 616 7 017 6 1ia-y‘
y6h i0u.
i i i 9 Kai (pa nic-a t 7 1
'
s 17¢
o iKovoy c'
a 7 017 yuo'mp iou 7 01) 6770K6Kpuyy 6
'
v0u 6776
7 071! aiaiuwu 611 6662; 7 6mix/7 0 K7 1'
0'
au7 1.
vi 19 n appno'
t'
q yucup t'
o'
at 7 6 yuo'
n ip tou 7 017 66ayy 67u'
0u 677 6p 06 7rp 6
056150) 6’u (3 150-6 1.
The Mystery,then
,on which St Paul delights to dwell is the unification
THE MEANING OF MYZTHPION. 239
of humanity in the Christ, the new human hope, a hope for allmen of allcondi tions, a hope not formen only b ut even for the universe .The word nvafi ipwu occurs once more in the Epistle to the Ephesians
,‘ Thi s
and in a sense somewhat different fromany which we have hithertomystery’.considered. In Eph. V 32 we read 7 6 p.uonfpwv 7 067 0 p e
'
ya e’on
'
v, e
’
ya‘)
36 66340 629 c cr7 6p Kai £29 e’xxhqcn
'
av. St Paul has cited the primaevalordinance of Marriage, which closes with the enigmatic words Kat é’crow ac
o i 6150 d ; mipxa This saying is true,he seems to say, of earthlymarriage ; b ut it has a yet higher signification. The ancient ordinance
is not merely a divinely constituted law of human life ; it has a secretmeaning. It is a nwm'pwu, and the p vcmipwv is amighty one.
I declareit in reference to Christ and to the Church. I say no more of it now :b ut I bid you see to it that in common life each one of you is true to itsfirst and plainest meaning, for the sake of the deeper meaning that lieshid in Christ.The sense in which the word here occursmay be illustrated fromlater A symbol,
writers . Justin Martyr, for example, uses it somewhat in the same way 01’ i ts
.
when he speaks for instance (Tryp ho 44)of certain commands of themeamng.
Mosaic law as being given eZs p vmrip tov 7 06 Xp t0'
7 0i3 : or,again
,when he
says of the Paschal lamb Tryp ho 40) 7 6 p vonfip zov O5V 7 05 771101367 01)7 157707 6p 7 08 Xpun oi). The Paschal rite contained a secret
,not to be
revealed till Christ came. Thus 7 6 p va rripwv i s practically a symbol ora type, with stress laid upon the secrecy of itsmeaning until it comes tobe fulfilled.We have still to consider two passages in the Pastoral Epistles. In Themys
1 Tim. iii 9 we read that a deacon is to hold 7 6 p va'
n ip tov 7 179 m'
ov ecos138W?f the
c’v Kafiap ij 0
‘
vvez6150'
ec. It is not required of him, as of the bishop, that he
fal th
should be Bcoaxn xés. Hence no secret lore can hemeant : he is not thedepositary of a secret tradi tion, as the words might have seemed to implyhad they been spoken of the bishop. The phrase in its context can onlyrefer to such elementary and fundamental knowledge as any servant of theChurchmust necessarily have.In the same chapter (6 . 16)we read : Kai (inohoyovp e
'
vws p e’
ya 30 7 21» 7 6‘ Themys
etia eBet'
as p vcrm'pwv : and the words are followed by what appears to “317,
Of
be a quotation froma Christian hymn. The epithet ‘ great ’,which i s here goalmess
applied to ‘ the mystery of godliness ’, is the same as in Eph. v 32 . Itrefers to the importance, not to the obscurity, of themystery (see the noteon that passage). But the use of this epithet is the only point of contactin the expression with the phraseology of St Paul : for the word a icre
’
Beza
belongs to the peculiar vocabulary of these as compared with the otherPauline epistles.In both these instances the word p vcmipcov appears to have a more Amore
general meaning than it has elsewhere in St Paul’s writings. The sumof 891181231
the Chri stian faith seems to be referred to under this term. It is perhapsmeamng.
a natural expansion of what we have seen to be the characteristicallyPauline use of the word, when the special thought of the inclusion of theGentile world in the Purpose of God has ceased to be a novel and en
grossing truth. But whether such an expansion can be thought of as
240 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
directly due to the Apostle himself i s a part of the di fficult problemof
the literary history of these epistles.We have found, then, no connexion between the New Testament use
of the word ‘mystery’and its popular rel igious signification as a sacredrite
,which the initiated are pledged to preserve inviolably secret. Not
until the word has passed into common parlance as‘a secret’of any kind
does it find a place in biblical phraseology. The New Testament writersfind the word in ordinary use in this colourless sense, and they start itupon a new career by appropriating it to the great truths of the Christianreligion
,whi ch could not have become known to men except by Divine
disclosure or revelation. A mystery in this sense is not a thing whichmust be kept secret. On the contrary, it is a secret whi ch God wills tomake known and has charged His Apostles to declare to those who haveears to hear it.
242
Galen .
St Paul.
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
phor Of the ‘Open door’compare 2 Cor. n 12, CO1. iv 3. In Philem. 6, Smog
1; Kowrow'
a 7 179 17 t'
0'
7 6059 (rov 6’V6p
‘
yr’
19 yévqn u , it means ‘ productive of dueresult’
,and in Heb. iv 12
, { 73v ydp 6 ko'
yos 7 06 0605 Kai e’uep
-yr)s
Kai 7 0p ai7 6p09 ti17 6’
p 1760-0» pdxatpav dimop ov, it again seems tomean ‘efi
’ec
tive b ut perhaps the word was chosen with a special reference to (efor e
’uepy6g and e
’vepye
'
iv are used of activi ty as the characteristic s ign of
life1 alive and active’.
2 . The substantive éue’p-ya a is employed by Aristotle in a technicalsense in his famous contrast between ‘ potentially’ and ‘
actually ’
We have it too in the N icomachean Ethi cs in the definition Of7 6 dvdp aimvou 67 00611, Which is declared to,
be 4610039 G’Vép
‘
ye‘
ta Ka7’dp 67 7
’
1v
e’u Big) " i s ? (i 6 15, p. 1098, and in thi s connexion a contrast isdrawn between éve’pya a and
It is interesting to compare with this the definition of the terminphysiology as given by Galen
,de natural. facultt. i 2 , 4, 5. He distin
guishes carefully 6p ‘
yov‘ result’
,évépya a
‘action productive Of é’py ov
’
, and‘force productive of
In the Greek Old Testament the word occurs only in Wisdomand
in 2 and 3 Maccabees. It is used twice Of the Operations of nature,Wisd. vii I7, xiii 4 ; once in the phrase 06x 6
’v6p7 6 1
'
a,‘ not by force
of arms’(xviii and again in the notable description OfWisdomas the60017 7 p0v ciq iOcorov 7 739 7 053 960i} évepyefa s (vii It is used in 2 Macc. iii29, 3 Macc. iv 2 1
,v 12
,28
, Of amiraculous interposition Of Divine power.The instances last quoted suggest that already the way was being
prepared for that limitation of the word to a superhuman activity whichwe noted at the outset as characterising its use in the New Testament.St Paul
,who alone uses the word, has it five times expressly Of the
exercise of Divine power (Eph. i 19, iii 7 ; Phil. iii 2 1 ; COL i 29, iiIn Eph. iv 16 it is used in the phrase xa7
’évépyetav, without an express
reference indeed to God, b ut Of the building Of the Body Of the Christ ;
so that thi s can hardly be regarded as an excepti on.
On the other hand it occurs twice of an evi l acti vity. In the description of the incarnation Of iniquity
,which is to parody the work of Christ
and to claimDivine honours,we have the expression, of} 307 11: 15wapovo l
’a
xar’6’V6
'
p'
yetav 7 06 Sarava. Alread y the Apostle has said, 7 6 ydp yum-15pm)!
1767; e’w pye
’
irat dvop t'
as z and lower down he adds,Of those who are to
be deceived by the signs and wonders Of this false Chri st (amn io n ml7 6
'
paaw a ti7 0'
i 9 6 9669 6’v6py6cau wh iz/779 629 7 6 77 10 7 660 0;
(1737 669 t assel. This‘working Of error ’
,which makes men believe the
1 In Xenophon Memorab . i 4 4 we
have { 63a 6,143d 7 8 Kai évepy d, in
Wi sd . xv 1 1 we read87 c fryvéna
'
ev 7 6V arkdaaw a
contrast wi th the e“ld c
’
iqipova'
. 7 6 mxldrama of sculp tors or painters. Compare also Athan . de incam. 30 62 yap
vexpés y evcp evos oni Oév évepy ei‘
v
driven -a t 7? 11639, et
’7rep 061: 607 W
évep‘
yd‘
w [80. 6Xpw 'rés] , vexpof) 15L6v
607 ; 7 067 0, «167 69 7 069 évep yofiw as xal
{ Gyms 7 739 évep‘
yelas 1mm,In
rea l 7 bai ép w eéaavra 0177 93 tpvxhu évemofiaar
[ca l éaqfivmia'
aw a 117 60110.mum.
The passage which underlies thi s is,of course, Gen. i i 7 arseni c
-ne
'
er 619 7 6
r pccwr ov «167 06 17W £20739, xal é'yévero
6 dwfipww'
os etc 3011t { 60am
ENEN"
EIN AND ITS COGNATES. 243
false pretender (who is‘ the lie’, as Christ is ‘
the is itself a
judgment Of God. We may compare the lying spirit’ sent forth fromGod to deceive Ahab
,1 Kings xxii 2 1— 2 3.
3. The verb éuepye’
iv,after the general analogy Of denomi natives in -60
, 3. The
means primarily ‘ to be at work ’,‘ to work’(intrans ), and is accordingly vefb “ 6P
the opposite of dpye‘
i v. So Aristotle freely employs the word in connexion gm“
ntranspWi th hi s spec1al sense of evep
'
yeta . Polybius,whose use Of the word 18 for tive.
the most part somewhat peculi ar, has this first and most natural meaningin a passage in which he prophesies the filling up Of inland seas : iv 40 4,“6 110607 79 7 6 61)7 139 067 139 7 d£eco9 716pl 7 069 7 677009, Kal. 7 631) a in
'
cov 7 139 6’
yxai
(7 6019 éuepyoévmv Ka7 d 7 6 o-vvexe
’
g. We may compare also Philo,de leg.
alley . iii 28 (Mangey,p . 104)67 av flap ofia a [80. 15xapd] dp aamp la w
But indeed the usage is too common to need illustration.
A further stage Ofmeaning i s used when the verb is followed by an Transiaccusative which defines the result of the activity. Then fromthe in tive.
transitive use Of ‘ to work ’we get a transitive use. There appears to beno example Of this in Aristotle : b ut instances are ci ted fromDiodorus
Siculus and Plutarch, and it i s common in later Greek. In Philo, de
ui t. contemp l. (M. p. the meaning is scarcely different fromthat of7rp67 7 6w : 6 yap c fi ow es
'
0'
7 061'
0t9 6’V O
'
Kd’rcpand this is Often the case in other writers. So far as I am
aware,the accusative always expresses that which is worked ’, and never
‘ that which is made to work ’. That is to say, e’vepyeiv does not seemever
to mean ‘ to render e’vepy éu
’,in the sense Of ‘
to bring into activity ’.Thus
,though Polybius uses again and again such expressions as évepyfiPolybius.
77 0t015p 6v0t 76V 6gb060v (xi 23 and 6’
V6p-y60
'
7 6'
pav dflocfia t'
vova'
t flav
;Laxt'
av (xvi I4 he does not use 6’
v6p7 6'
iv as equivalent to 6’1/6p
'
y6v
wocei adaz. In the one place where this might seemat first sight to behis meaning (xxv n I 12 6
’v6py6
'
iv 6’77 6
'
7 a5av 7 029 6pxovm. O'
vp p axt'
av)thi s interpretation cannot be accepted in view Of the strong meaning(‘assiduous energetic’
,
‘ vigorous which e’vepyés (459) invariably has in
this writer. We must therefore render the words, to effect the alliance ’.
We come now to the Greek Old Testament. In the intransitive sense Greek6’v6p7 6
'
i v is found in Num. vii i 24 in B,as the substitute for a somewhat O'T
troublesome phrase Of the original, which AF attempt to represent byRetmvpye
'
iv h6t7 ovp'
yt'
av e’u 6pyot9. It occurs again in Wisd. xv I I (quoted
already) and xvi 17 61) 7 c§ 176117 0 afievmivn 17601 1 71667011 éwip-yet 7 6 m7p .
The transitive sense is found in Isa. xli 4, 7 a’s émipyqo-e Kat 677 0670 6 7 a i37 a ;
in Prov. xxi 6 6 6’V6p
‘
yc5v a avp fap ara yhaia a y xlr6v66'
i,and m i 12 6
’V6p7 6?
‘
yc’zp 7 ai cit/Opt dyaeci.
In the New Testament éuepy ei v comes,apart fromSt Paul’s epistles, Gosp els:
only in Mark vi 14 (Matt. xiv 2)616 7 067 0 e’vepyofiaw a i Ovvdmw 0137 65, Intramu
where the connexion Of the word withmiraculous powers is to be noted.
me‘
In St Paul we find the intransitive use in three passages. The first St Paulis Gal. ii 8, 6 ydp 6v6py150
'
09 He'
rpcp 629 617 007 076111 7 179 wep t7 0p 779 6111587 170 61! iiirt
e
mnm.
Kai e’
p ol 629 7 6 69W), He that wrought for Peter’
, etc. The connexmn Ofe’vepyei u
with miraculous interpositions, which we have already observed,and which will be further illustrated below,may justify us in interpreting
16— 2
244 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
this passage, in which St Paul is defending his apostolic position,in the
light of 2 Cor. xi i 1 1 f.,06661: y6p 60 7 6
'
p 710'
a 7 6311 617 6p7u'
0v 62
1602 06661: elp w 7 6 7 06 61700-7 6600 K07 6 1p7 60'617 611 611 176077
O'
qp et'
ow [7 6] Kai 7 6'
p00'w Ka i BUVCi O
'
LV. Compare also [Mark]xvi 20 7 06 l6v ov avvepyofiv7 09 ml 7 61: 667 01; 6630 10 17117 09 616 7 65V 61rax0
Kovéoév mv myp ec’cov
,Acts xiv 3, xv 12
, Heb. 11 4. In any case wemustavoid the mistake of the Authorised Version, which renders ‘ He thatwrought effectually in same was mighty in me ’. We cannotattribute to St Paul the construction G
'
VGPYGIV 7 w f in the sense of ei
vep
7 621; é’u 7m,
though i t may have come in at a later period through a
confusion,with 6 6717 6050 60 1, which is a compound verb l . In Eph. ii 2
we have the intrans itive use again in 7 06 771166007 0: 7 06 m'iv 6’vep
'
y06w o9
i n 7 079 02029 7 179 In Phil. ii 13 we have 7 6 66660: 1607. 7 6 6’Vep
where the word is exceptionally used Of human activity, as we havealready noted, and is introduced as a kind Of echo Of the preceding 6
The transitive sense occurs in the passage just cited,Phil. 11 13 6
0666 111 also in Gal. iii 5 6 6’1/6p
-yc5v 6vv6p et9 61} and
in a specially instructive passage, 1 Cor. x11 6—11,6tatp e
'
0'
a 9 e’uepyqndmv
GiO‘ iV,ml 6 067 69 6669, 6 6
’1z6p
‘
yc3v 7 6 776127 0 66 évep'
yq'
p a7 0
66 7 067 0 «Every/61~7 6 61) Ka i 7 6 067 6 711166110 . Here again
the reference is to miraculous powers. In Eph. i 1 1 we have K07 6 7rp6
960 0! 7 06 7 6 Exam/0617 09 K0 7 6 7611 1300661! 7 06 6666110 7 09 067 06,where
we must render ‘who worketh all things ’: for we are not justified in
supposing that it can mean ‘who setteth all things in operation
’: the
thought Of ‘moving the universe ’, expressed in Heb. i 3 by cpép cov 7 6
7 63 firip an 7 739 067 06,must not be introduced here. Simi
larly in Eph. i 19, Ka7 6 éve'
pyetav 7 06 Kp67 0v9 7 139 2070509 067 06 61!évripyqxev £11 7 65 xp ta
‘
rq'
i e’
ya’
p ac 067 6» 16 7 k , we must render ‘according to
the He hath wrought ’. If the original ismore emphaticthan such a rendering may seemto imply, this is due chiefly to St Paul’sgeneral attribution Of e’vepy ei u and e
’uépy eca to Divine operation.
4. We now come to the point Of chief di fficulty, the use andmeaningof 6
’1/6p7 62060 1.
Fromthe meaning Of‘ e’vepyeiu c. accus .
,
‘ to work,effect
,do we
readily get a passive use,
e’vepye
‘
i oreat,
‘to be wrought
,effected
,done ’.
Thus Polybius uses it of a war‘ being waged ’: in i 13 5 he says that,
contemporaneously with certain wars between the Romans and theCarthaginians, n0p6 7 029
"
E667 0 “! 0 0 60116110669 110606116 110 ; e’yqp
-ye
‘
imcomp. Joseph. A ntt. xv 5 3. Again
,in ix 12 3 he uses 7 63V
61: xatpq'
i e’vepyovp e
’vwv as a variant upon his previous phrase 7 6311
66600 Kat 06V 16m 77p07 7 0p 6'
vwv : and in ix 13 9 he lays stress on a,
1 In Athenag. Supp li c. 10 we have is adequately exp lained as dativus
an app arent, b ut perhap s only ap commodi . A more doubtful looki ngp arent, instance Of such a construction instance is Clement. Ham. vi i 1 1 x02
116 57 01 1011 067 6 7 6 évep‘
yoiiv 7 o?s éx 7 067 0 6p ap7 61'ovat véa'
ovs évep‘
ye'
c’
v
¢ wv00m7rpo¢n7 ucc39 67 101, 17 1169110 661107 04 .
pom? eluat (pa/t en 7 06 0606. The dative
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
(4) 2 Cor. iv 12 630-7 6 6 66110 7 09 611 75i 61161171677 0 1, 1; 66 { an}611 1511711.
(5) Gal. V 6 6666 61’
6V6py0vp 6m.
(6) Rom. Vi i 5 f. 7 6 7706751107 0 7 03V dp apn cfiv 7 6 616 7 08 11611011 6mp-y6'i7 o611 7 079 116660 111 75116311 629 7 6 160p770<j>0p 770 01 601167 69
:
vvvl. 66
Kamp ‘
yfi6rmev(7) 001. i 29 629 6 160
i
. 16077 103 dymm§6p 6v09 1607 6 7 1311 6’116
'
p7 6 10v 0137 06 7 1511
6v6pyovp e'
q 611 61101611 BUVép GL
(8) Eph. iii 20 1607 6 T1)” 6151101111) 7 611 6’V6pyovp 6
'
vqu 611 1511211.
In approaching the consideration of these passages we aremet by thedictum
,which has received the sanction of L ightfoot
l,that e
’vepy 620 601 is
alwaysmiddle, ‘ never passive in St Paul’. It is difficult to reconcile thisjudgment with the observed fact that h em/£ 0 60 1 is never used by St Paulof persons
,while e
’vepyeiv is always so used. If the words be respectively
passive and acti ve,this distinction is perfectly natural : b ut there seems
no reason why the middle should be specially applicable to things incontrast to personsz. Moreover
,so far as I amaware
,there is no trace
of a middle in any other writer. The aorist where we find i t is alwaysThe one passage of Polybius which appeared to offer an
example to the contrary,ii 6 7 1607 677617501 1607. (1363011 6
’u6py170
'6116v01 7 079
7 219 770p061'
09 0216060 1,is now emended with certainty by the substitution
of 6V6p'
y00 6116v01, which at once restores the proper construction of thedative and gives back a well recognised idi om.
If then we decide that in St Paul as elsewhere 6vepy6'
1
'
0'6a 1 i s passive, we
have to ask whether that sense of the passive of which we have alreadyfound examples, ‘
to be carried out,effected
,done ’
,will give a satisfactory
sense in the passages before us.
The very first of themrefuses this interpretation. The D ivinemessageof the Gospel (6 7 013 6ec i?)6116117 677 01 611 77 10 7 660110 01. St Paul’smeaning here appears to be ‘ is made operative ’, ‘ is made to produce itsappropriate result ’: another writer would probably have given us e
’uepye
’
i,
‘ is operative ’; b ut St Paul prefers the passive, the agent implied beingGod 6 6vepy03v. The Gospel is not allowed to lie idle and unproductive :it is transmuted into action : the Thessalonians share the sufferings whichare everywhere its characteristic accompaniment.Similarly in the 770p ci166710
'
19 ismade effective only by fellowshi p inthe sufferings of the Gospel : and the thought in (4)is closely allied.
In whereas the evil spirit may be said e’vepyei u (Eph. i i the
p v0'
7 17'
p 10v 7 779 61101150 9, the counterpart of the p vo'
nfpw v 7 06 xp 10'
7 0i'
1,i s said
to be set in operation ’.In (5)the sense appears to be : ‘ faith ismade operative through love’,
without which i t fai ls of its action (aim/603. With a like interpretation (6)presents no special difficulty.In (7)and especially when compared with Eph. i 19 1601
-21 n‘
pz e’ve’
p
1 See hi s note on Gal. v 6. 7 014161177 here as pass ive, though unli ke2 Compare Greg. Naz . Or. 31 B (i St Paul he thinks of a human agency :
559 D) 1602 cl 6116117 610, évep'
yn6fio'
e7'
01 Strom. i 4 (p . 318)77 1139 01516 6119601 617 0
57760147 4, 015K 6116117 750 61, 16012 61100 7 13 66167 601,61160 b 7 6111 71107 111 616 7 739
évep‘
yn6fix101 77 015067 0 1. 676777793 Clement of Alexandria took évep
ENEPI’
EIN AND ITS COGNATES. 247
yam/ " fix: évripyqxev mot , we again find the passive appropriately used.
St Paul says 15 éve'
p'
yeta e’vepye
'
ira t, not because he regards Godas 6 e
’vepy é v.
It is to b e observed that in actual meaning e’vepy e
'
iv and guepye'
ioeat
come nearly to the same thing. Only the passive serves to remind us thatthe Operation i s not self-originated . The powers ‘ work’indeed ; but theyaremad e to work ’.The passage in St James’s Epistle (V 16 1m“ ; Zaxéa 86370 19 ducafov James v
e’uepyovp e
’m)is notoriously d ifficult. We must not hasti ly transfer to this 16~
writer a usage which so far as we know is peculiar to St Paul. Yet itis at least possible that here too e
’vepyovp e
’uq means ‘
set in Operation ’byDivine agency.
In later times e’uepy e
'
i v was used in the sense of ‘ to inspire’,whether the Later use
inspiration was Divine or Satanic. But this usage has no d irect bearing fo’E‘ i
t
r'
l
on themeaning of the word in the New Testament. SP1“ 10“
248 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
On the meaning of éwtrv o-te.
1. The word e’fl
'fv ms i s not found in Greek writers before the timeof Alexander the Great. ’
Emywa$crxew,however
,is used occasionally by
almost all writers . Thus in Homer, 0d . xxiv 2 16 when Odysseusproposes to reveal himself to hi s father, he says
adrc‘
xp e’
ycb flarpos‘
fretp rfa oy a t fip er e’
pow ,
a? Re,
pf e’myuaiy Ka i gbpcio v erac d Gakp o
'
i O'
w,
Kev dyvozficn wokbv xpovou dp cb i s‘ e’év'
ra.
If he discern me and read me with his eyes,
Or know me not,so long I amaway.
Again,in 0d. xviii 30 beggar Irus challenges Odysseus to fight
himin the presence of the sui tors :{ Go at W V
,7m ”dz/r es: e
’m'
yvoiwm Ka l 0736
p ap vap e'
vovr 11739 3'
31V 015 vearre’
p cp a’vdp l p dxoco ;
‘ that these may know us,how we fight ’: that they may discern which is
the betterman of the two.
In A esch. Ag. 1596 if. it i s used of Thyestes at the banquetmink, (i 'yvoc
'
q RaBa‘
w
30 6mBopdv c’
z'
Bpw-rov
,ais‘ 6p€l s3 ye
’ua .
Kan-ea"
e’myvobs gpyov or} xara c
'
owov
c‘gpwfev, mu)»
Here,as in 0d . xxiv 2 16 i ii
,it i s used in contrast with swam
,
‘ not recognising ’
,
‘ not d iscerning’.In Soph. Aj . 18 f. we have
Ka i Vfiv éwéyvcos'
63 p’811" (ix/3p) OUO
'
y'fl/Gz
Bdo w xvxhofim"
,Afar/n o axea cbdp cp.
‘And now thou hast discerned aright that I amhunting to and fro on
the trail of a foeman ’ so Jeb b,who says in a note : e
’7re
’
yvcos with p artic.
(xvxkofiw’
)of the act observed , as Xen. Cyr. 8. 1. 33 e’m’
v g 8’am ofiagm
oz’z’re 6p7 tg
’6p evov” .oiz'
re Xa t'
p ov'
ra
Soph. El. 1296 f.8’
37m): wimp (re p r)’myvo§o em¢
¢m8pc§ Wpoo aifrcp.
And look that ourmother read not thy secret in thy radi ant face’ Jeb b,
Iwith a note : detect’: the dative i s instrumental ”.
In Thucydides there are two distinct usages of the word. The firstis the same as that which we have already noticed : e.g. i 132 : 7rapa7rmqo dp evos tram p ?) e
’myucp"
, i.e. that the receiver
2 50 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
which we have Hebrew originals.D’tlbgs11333 (Prov. ii 5, Hos. iv 1, vi 6, the only places where thision seems to occur). The fourth occurrence of the noun i s again(iv where in the same verse np a i s rendered first by «
ymscn s'
byBesides these passages we have only 2 Macc. ix 1 1
,etc e
’n-{yvmew
0.6e 6q p riafl'
yt,‘ to come to knowledge under the scourge of God’.
Symmachus used the word in Ps. lxxi i (lxxiii)1 1, Is there knowledge in theMost where the Hebrew i s h im, and the Lxx have 7 11650 19.It may b e worth whi le to add that in Wisdomwe have vya
‘
So-w 06 06
twice,but ém’yvcomc does not occur at al l. —In Ecclesiasticus also we have
7 11650 19 Rup t'
au,but i s not found.
Thus we learn from the Greek O. T. nothing more than that theword was coming into use
,and that it was employed in a familiar passage
of Hosea, the first part of which i s cited in the N. T. ;‘ I desiredmercy, and
not sacrifice ; and the knowledge of God more than burnt ofi'
erings’(Hos.
vi
3. In Schweighauser’s index to Polybius e
’mywé e xew appears as
occurring eight times. It regularly means ‘ to di scover’ or ‘di scern ’:
once it i s coupled With p (19s (i i i 32 8, e’m-ywfivat Kai naes
'
iu); three timesit is strengthened by a cquii s. The noun e
’m’yvcomg occurs twice (i ii 7 6,31 In each case the historian is defending the study of general historyas contrasted wi thmore narratives of particular wars. In the latter placehe speaks of ‘
the knowledge of past events ’, n
‘
yu ra’
iv wap eq veémv 3111'
v aw, using in the context two parallel phrases, n)” rcfiv Wp oye
'
yovdrwv
e’wzmfip qv and rfis 7 03V wp oyeyovo
'
r cov tin-Op iny'
a ecos. In iii 7 6 he says thata statesman cannot d ispense with ‘ knowledge’of this kind
,m?»wpoa pq
p e’msu e
’m-yvoie ews. There i s no indication whatever that any strongmeaning,
such as full or advanced knowledge,was attached to the word.
4. We now come to the New Testament. In the Gospels and Actse’myvaicrxew i s found in the sense of ‘ perceiving’
,
‘di scerning’
,
‘recogni sing’,
just as in class ical authors. It is interesting to compare Matt. xi 2 7,e’myw aia xet rev v iov, punk , With the parallel in Luke x. 2 2
,01381529 yw aimcec 1 1's
e’crrw 6 v ids‘ , In Luke i 4, iva e
’myvcfi s' wep i <5” xamxédr): how-w r iyv
do c/xikecau, we have the word used with good effect to ind icate the discernment of a particular point in regard to thi ngs already known.In St Paul’s Epistles we find both the verb and the noun. In Rom. i 32
we have : 071-we; To Scxap a f or? 6606 Which is to be comparedwith v. 2 1
, as . yvém-eg res é eév. The d ifference
,if there b e one, is that
e’myvévreg i s more naturally used of knowledge of a particular point. InI Cor. xiv 37, e
’mywmo xe’
rw a ypddxo up ?» 31 1. xvp c'
ov e’o-r iv Ezra-07V}, and
2 Cor. xii i 5, amixmwaio xe're éavrobg 31 1’Ir; <roi39 Xpw
'
ros e’v uni t} ; it is
again used of discerning or recognising a special quality. It i s used ofthe recognition of persons in 1 Cor. xvi 18
, e’myw aie xe-re 05V rots row érovs,
and in 2 Cor. Vi 9, (59 ci‘yvoozip evot Kai. e’mywwo xdp evoc (comp. the passages
1 In 1 Kings vi i i 4 er tv a g stands in Esther [xvi 6] i t i s a variant of R“
for 11173 in AB,b ut B has 7 7 6303 ,
and for ez’rv yoeuvnv.
THE MEANING OF ETTIFNQCIC. 2 51
cited above,Hom. 0d. xxiv 2 16 ff. Aesch. A g. 1596 i ii). In 001. i 6 f., i5sfip e
’
pa s fixation “ Kai e’néyvmre my xdpw 05 017 e
’v dhqdd d medi c e
’
p dGere there may b e a suggestion of discriminating and recognisingas true : we have ‘
ywaimcew ” i” xdpw in 2 Cor. vi i i 9, Gal. i i 9. So too inI Tim. iv 3, e
’n
'
e'
yvcoxom (ihq'
eetav.
There remain two remarkable passages in which St Paul plays on Plays onywaicrxew and its compounds. 2 Cor. i I3, 013 yup 370mypdcjmp ev 15v
the word.(DOV i) 3 dvaywaicrxere 13 mi. e
’mywaicrxe‘re, amigo) 83 31 1. 3009 re’
hovs‘ e’m
yuaio ea'de
,xaGa
‘
Jc Ka i éné-yucore dm‘
) ne'
p ovs‘
, 31 1. Kav'
xmua e’o-
p e‘
y
mess ep Ka i 15114311. The last part of this is plain enough : ‘
ye haverecognised us, in part at any rate, as being a glory to you, as you are
to us ’. With the former part we may compare i i i 2 ‘
ye are our epistle,
ywwoxop e’mKai the full-sounding word being placed
second. 80 here the sound of the words has no doubt influenced theselection : ‘
ye read and recognise’. But we cannot say that e’mywaie xew
refers to a full knowledge of any kind,especially as it is subsequently
joined with cim‘
) p e'
povs‘
.
In 1 Cor. xiii the Apostle compares wate rs, as a spiritual gift,with 11} 00311
dydn-
q. I‘
vcfims is after all in our present condition but partial ; e’x p e
‘
povs‘ b l
'
I
iiitmn
yep yweie xouev : the partial is transient, and di sappears on the arrival offla k
yww'
the perfect. 80 the child gives way to the man. We now see mirroredimages which suggest the truth of things : we shall then see
‘face to
face ’. The words recall the promise of God that He would speakto Moses ‘mouth to mouth ’ and not a imyp c
'
zrwv (Num. xi i alsoDeut. xxxiv IO
,Mcocrfis
‘
,by 75
'
v Krip tos'azirov 1rp60 co170v Karc
‘
z 1rp60'
co1rov
and Ex. xxxiii 1 1,
‘ The Lord spake unto Moses face to face,as a man
speaketh unto his friend ’. St Paul continues : 5pmywm’a xw e
’x p épovs
‘
,
83 e’myvaio op at xada
‘
i s‘
Ka i évre-yvaicrdnv. The thought of fuller knowledgewhich is here given i s expressed, not by the change fromywaimca) to itscompound
,but by the contrast with p e
‘povs and by the defining clause
introduced by xadaSs l . We see thi s at once if we try to cut the sentenceshort
,and read only : dpfl ‘
ywai
crxms’ic p e
'
povs‘
,175
7 6 86‘
e’m'
yvaicroya z: thi swould b e unmeaning for there is no ground for supposing that it couldmean by itself
,
‘ then shall I fully know ’. It is probable that e
’fltyvaio op a t
is introduced because évreyuaie eqv (of knowledge of a person)is to follow.
At the same time wemay admi t that the full-sounding word is purposelychosen to heighten the effect at the close. That no higher kind of knowledge is implied in the compound word is seen when we compare Gal. IV 9,yvdvr es
' 96017, 11670101; 83 7 11010 65117 69 15176 6608.
The only remaining instance of the verb in the N. T. is in 2 Pet. 11 2 1 In 1 Peter.
xp eirrov yc‘
zp fix: mimi c p r)éneyuwxe’va t rip : 686V 1739 OLKaLOO
'
liWIS‘ i)e
’myvofzawliflOO‘
Tpé'
tll ‘a tThe noun e
’n
'
t'
yvcocn s is freely used by St Paul. It is generally followed ,£7
5333as wemight expect
,by a genitive of the object : thus, asse
s s, Rom. i i i 20
: wi th gemof God or Christ, Eph. i 17, iv 13, 001. i 10 (cf. 2 Pet. 1 2, 3,
8, T
o” i ti ya of the
Gehfip aros‘ adrofi, 001. i 9 ; 7 013 p vampfov rail 6 COL 11 2 ; chuda as‘
,Ob j eCt ;
1 So quite correctly Euthymius Ziga at’m‘
w(se. 1 6V 0e6v)r xéov'
yap‘xab’c
‘
os
benus ad Zoc ‘1'61'
e dé ér cyvafi
cop ac’
Ka i ér ey y cbafinv’Te1r>séov dnkoz.
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
1 Tim. 11 4, 2 Tim. 11 2 5, iii 7, Tit. i 1 (cf. Heb . x s aw s. assess,
Phi lem. 6. We do indeed find 7 11130 1; similarly used of God and of Christ
(2 Cor. x 5, Phil. i i i but e’m’yvmms had the advantage of avoiding the
ambigui ty as to whether the following genitive was objective or subjective(asmRom. xi 33, a) 30909 “ .yvaie ewg aces). Accordi ngly as a rule 7 11130 1: isused where knowledgemthe abstract 18 spoken of, but
’Gfli ‘yVQ O
'
u‘ where the
special object of the knowledge 1s to b e expressed .
Rom. i 28, 013K e’
Boxfp aO'
av f or 66611 gxew $11 émyvaio a , i s no exceptionto this rule. In Rom. x 2
, { fihov 66013 3Xov0'w
,cikh
’013 xar
’e’fli ‘v cn v
,the
wordmay perhaps suggest the idea of discernment : as also in Phi l. i 9,‘ that
your love may abound more and more e’v é
’myvaia a 1<a‘
1 vi'
d aZc q'
e a ,
etc 16 Bomp éfew and in 001. i ii 10 f.
,
‘putting on the new man,which is renewed GZS‘ swiv aw Km"
eixdva xr ia'
aw os:
a131'6v,311011 O13K
2111”
Emmi; 1c. where there is no contrast with any imperfect knowledge,but the knowledge referred to may perhaps b e specially the d iscernmentand recognition of the abolition of the old distinctions of race and condition . But perhaps it is unnecessary to search for any particular subtiltyofmeaning in the word.
5. This long investigation has been necessitated by the determinationof commentators to interpret én iv cm as a fuller and more perfect kindof 7 11130 19. Thus Grotius on Eph. i 17 says : e
’
v iv mg proprie estmai orexacti orque cogni ti o a remark which he repeats on 001. i 9. In dealinghowever with e
’
7r1'v a s cip aprtas in Rom. i i i 20 he is more cautious,
and says . idemquod 31111317 19, aut paulo amp lius’. Among themodems Fritzsche (on Rom. i Alford
,Elli cott and Lightfoot take the
same view. Lightfoot comments on the word twice (Phi l. i 9 and 001. iAt the latter place he says : The compound e
’m’v ms is an advance upon7 11180 13, denoting a larger and more thorough knowledge ’. He cites infavour of this view Justin Martyr Tryp h. 3 (p. 2 2 1 30 1 111
17 wap éxova a avréiv 11311 a vdpam'fucov Kc 1 ra w defray 7 11130 1111,6 11
-a ra 1 179 rovrcov
06167 777 09 Kc 1 (Sumac-1511775: emyvcomv ; The context of this passage requires tob e carefully cons idered. In the preced ing sentences Justin has been di scussing the nature of philosophy : it is, he says, the science of the existentand the knowledge of the true ’ (13111 0 1151117 30 7 1 7 05 3117 09 Ka i dhqdofis
Hi s interlocutor objects that 311-101-6111; has di fferentmeaningsit means one kind of thing when applied to generalship
,seamanship or
medicine ; another in regard to things human and divine. And then heasks (in the words already cited):
‘Is there an 311-101 which affords
a knowledge (7 11130 19) of the actual things human and divine,and after
that a knowledge (e’vriyvmms) of the divineness and righteousness of
these same things ?’ Here the di stinction (i f we are to press for one)i s between a knowledge which reveals to us the things themselves
, anda knowledge which discerns certain quali ties of those things.
1 Justin i s here emp loying a current Wendland’s edi tion i i i 88. Comp .
defini tion of 00115111 . See Phi lo de con also 4 Mace. i 16, e oqbfa. rolvvv
gressa (Mangey i 530)d ocpia as é1r1a'
rfi éarly 7 1165019 015l ml dvdpwr'lvwv 7rpa7
111711 Below Ka i dv0pw1rlvwv Ka i 7 61V 7 01511011 min or.
air lwv, and the references given in
2 54 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
C
e’w t
'
yvcocn s' mi ro i) Kat oZKeiwmc Kat n wp bs a iir c
‘
w ci‘yciwq Kat 35011010)c
1161117 ( tori. 7 081-011 0131: wp c
'
iirov e’w1 ‘
yvc3va 1 1153 { no-01161119 b
'm'
cos‘ (anti:
wapaxehetierat, by ov’bets‘ e
’wuyw ai a xe c 62 117)6 11569 Kat 3
5
(i v 6 v i i): dwoxa
hiw'
‘
e'
we11'
a To p e’
yedos‘
ow'rfipos‘ p 61
"
e’xei vov xat r ip ) Ka wd'rqra 7 139
xdpu'
os‘
11 1196 311. It i s noticeable that e’wi ‘v ms comes in for the first
time in contrast to typ e s The first requirement for the true life ise’mv
‘
uaa It is quite clear therefore that e’wfyucocm here is not a fuller
ormore advanced knowledge.
Eus. H. E . vi 11 6,a passage in a letter of Alexander of Jerusalemto
the Antiochenes, which was brought to themby Clement of Alexandria.
Alexander speaks of Clement as 111/8s évap e’rov Kat b oxip ov, 3p i
’crre xat
mi e’myvaie ee ée. This is rendered by Rufinus u i rumi n omni bus
uirtuti bus p robatissimum, quemnosti s eti amuos et eo amp li as cognos
cetis l . This no doubt gives the general sense well enough. But the
contrast in the Greek is between elfie'
vmand and not,b e it
noted, between 7 111150 e and e’mywaie xew . The meaning appears to b e
‘
ye know himby name, and ye shall now get to know himin person ’: ‘
ye
have heard of h im,and ye shall nowmake his acquaintance ’. There is no
reason for supposing that the Antiochenes had ever seen Clement up tothis time : otherwise we might seek to explain e
’m-yvaie ee ée as
‘
ye shallrecognise himas such as I have described him
So far then as we are to distinguish between W6 0 1: and e’wi-v cn s,
we may say that 7 11130 19 is the wider word and expresses ‘ knowledge’inthe fullest sense : éw iyvcoms is knowledge directed towards a particularobject, perceivi ng, discerning, recogni singzz but it is not knowledge in theabstract : that is 7 11130 11. It follows that the genitive after 7 11630 1: may b eeither subjective or objective : but the genitive after denotes theobject of the knowledge.
1 So Jerome (de ni ri s i ll. 38)11i di d not suggest a fuller or furtheri llustremci p robatum, quem quoque knowledge El yap p i; raérbv éefl.
sci tis ci mine p lenius recognoscetis . wen s Gem? [cal éwl-v o'
w 0606 dM’6
2 Origen’s comment on Eph . i 17 éwwwu’wxwv oiovel drawwpli
’
ec 6 wdkcu.
(Cramer, p . 130)presses the sense of £1620; éwehéhna'
ro, 8001‘ év éwvyvh
i
aa’
‘ recognition’, in accordance with a 7 1110111 1111 06017 wdhmfideaav 1161-61 " 61
favourite View of hi s. It i s worth te bwfp‘wnafiflcovrau xa l éwwrpagtfiaow ai
cording, i f only as shewi ng that to wpbs K6p1ov wi w a. r t). wépara T its
himat any rate the word 611-17 1111101:
THE MEANING or HAHPQMA. 255
On the meaning of wkojpwp a .
The precise meaning of the word wkfipmp a has been amatter ofmuch Thecontroversy among biblical critics. It was discussed at great length by “19017 Of
C. F. A Fritzsche in his commentary on Romans vol. ii pp. 469Frl tZSChe
and to himsub sequent writers are in the main indebted for their illustrations fromGreek literature. Fritzsche’s long note was drawn fromhimby the statement of Storr and writers who followed him
,that whry
’
p copa
always has an acti ve sense in the New Testament. He, on the contrary, nouns instarts with the assertion that substanti ves in -
p.a have a p assive sense.
“
it“ have aHe admits a few cases in which wkvipwp a has an active sense : such as
pass”?sense,
Eurlp . Tread. 823
Aaop ebdv'
n e wa i,
v os‘ gXGLS‘
KuMKa wwhrjpwp a, Kathie-ray harpa
'
av'
and Phi lo de A br. 46 (Mangey, 11 where faith toward God is calledwapnydpqp a Biov, whfipwp a q ov
'
a
'
iv e’hm’bmv. But he insists that in such
cases wkfipmp a means ‘the filling ’or ‘ fulfilling’
,and not ‘ that which fills ’
(comp lendi acti onem,non i d quad comp let). He then proceeds to show
that the fundamental sense of whfipwp a is a p assi ve sense.
But we must note carefully what he means when he thus speaks of ‘ i d quo
a ‘
p assi ve sense ’. In ordinary parlance we understand by the p assivesense of whripwpta,
‘ that which i s filled’ (i d quod comp letamest); but of p6 ur
this Fritzsche has only one plausible example to offer, viz. wkqp eip a-ra,
as used in naval warfare as an equivalent of ‘ ships’(to this we shall returnpresently). He himself
,however, uses the expression ‘
p assive sense’tocover instances in which whfipwp a means that with which a thing is filled
’
(id quo res comp letar s. comp leta est). Thi s extension of phraseologyenables him
,wi th a little straining, to find an underlying p assi ve significa
tion in all instances of the use of wilq'
pmp a, apart fromthose which he hasalready noted as exceptions.Lightfoot
,in his commentary on Colossians (pp. 2 57 discusses Light
the word wkvjp cep a afresh, and deals (1)with its fundamental significa iiitt
igi smtion ; (2)with its use in the New Testament ; (3)with its employmentas a technical term by heretical sects. At the outset he recognisesthe confusion which Fritzsche produced by his unjustifiable use of the
expression ‘
p assi ve sense ’. Thus he says : He apparently cons1ders thathe has surmounted the di fficulties involved in Storr’s view, for he speaksof this last [i d quo res imp letur] as a passive sense, though in fact 1t ls
nothingmore than i d quod imp let expressed in other words’.
2 56 EPISTLE TO' THE EPHESIANS.
Lightfoot, accordi ngly, starting with the same postulate of the p assivesignification of all verbal substantives in -
p.a , undertakes to find a genuinep assi ve sense underlying those instances in which Fritzsche had interpretedwkfipwp a as id quo res imp letur.
‘ Substantives in he says,
‘ formedthe result fromthe perfect passive
,appear always to have a passive sense. They
Of the may denote an abstract notion or a concrete thing ; they may signify the
$3
31? action itself regarded as complete, or the product of the action ; but inverb : any case they give the result of the agency involved in the correspondi ng
verb ’.Lightfoot appears to have correctly diagnosed the formations in 1111,
when he says,
‘they give the result of the agency involved in the correSponding verb
’. It is, however, unfortunate that, in hi s desire to b e loyal
to what he speaks of as a ‘ lexical rule’,he insists that ‘ in all cases
the word i s strictly passive ’. For the maintenance of this positioninvolves again an extension of the term‘ passive ’
,not indeed so violent
as Fri tzsche’s,but yet unfami liar and easily leading to misconceptions.
Thus,to take one instance, wemay allow that Kaihv/La i s in the first place
the result of‘ hindering ’, i e.
‘ hindrance ’. But when the ‘ hindrance ’ i sthought of not merely as an abstract idea
,but as a concrete thing, it has
come to mean ‘ that which hinders ’; that is to say, it has acqui red inusage what we should naturally call an acti ve s ignification. And yet the
theory in question demands that Kaihvp a , the result of the agency of theverb w h i ch
,shall b e strictly p assi ve
’.
Di ffi culty The strai ts to which Lightfoot is put by this theorymay b e illustratedOf this
,fromhis interpretation of the word wképcopa in Mark ii 2 1, the saying
{gsazel
i about the new patch on the old garment. The true text of St Mark atthis point is somewhat rough, but not really obscure : N0 man sewetha piece of new (or undressed) cloth on an old garment ; a? 86 1115, a
’1’
pe1
whvfp coua dw’0131 013
,To Kawov waha toi}. Our old translators rendered
whfipwy a ,‘the piece that filled i t up ’; taking whépwp a in the sense of
‘the supplement ’. It cannot b e denied that this gives an admirablemeaning in this place. Perhaps a stricter writer would have said ciuawhrfpa p a , for a
’vawkqpofiv seems to difier fromwhnpofiv in the same way as
‘ tofill up ’d iffers from‘
to fill ’ it suggests the supply of a deficiency, ratherthan the fill ing of what is qui te empty to start with Apart fromthis
,
which is perhaps somewhat of a refinement, we might render the wordsliterally : ‘
the supplement taketh therefrom,to w i t
,the newfromthe old
But Lightfoot boldly refuses the obvi ous explanation,and
,insisting on hi s
theory, interprets Tswhfipmp a as‘the completeness which results fromthe
patch ’ ‘the completeness takes away fromthe garment, the new com
p leteness of the old garment ’. We must hesitate long before we dissentfromthe interpretations of so great an exposi tor : but we are sorely temptedto ask if there is not a nearer way to the truth than this.
The.
To return : if we are to have a theory to cover all these formationsPM?“ ve in -
p a, i t seems wisest to abandon altogether the traditional rule ‘ that
$211
5; if}.
substantives in q i a have a p assi ve sense’
,and adopt in i ts place the wi der
si sted on .rule ‘ that they give the result of the agency of the corresponding verb
’.
Thi s result may b e thought of as primari ly an abstract idea. But it is
a common phenomenon in language that words denoting abstract i deas have
2 58
p assive,
andactive.
UsagesometImeswavers.
Forms inalso
vary inmeaning.
The use of
whfipwua,
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
result of ‘ breaking’,
‘ a fragment’. But it is qui te possible that thisresult should b e followed by a substantive in the genitive case
, so as toexpress the same relation as would b e expressed i f the correspondingverb were followed by that substantive in the accus ative case. Thusornamentumdomus would express the same relation as ornare domum:
and Kaihvp a“rfis e
’wtxa p iio ecos, as xmhziew e
’wtxeipqaw . When this is
the case,the word may fairly b e said to have an active sense. In Latin
we have such instances as solamen, leuamen, nutr imen,momen (=mouimen), and many others ; most of themhaving fuller forms, perhaps as arule later, in -mentum.
Wemay conveniently classify the Greek words of thi s formation in -
p.a1'
under three heads(1) Where the verb i s intransitive, and accordingly there i s nothing
transitive about the corresponding substantive : as dy aimcrp a, a’1’v1yp a ,
dhafovevp a ,dhp a, dp dpmp a, Bi drevua, ye’haa p a , Katixqp a.
(2) Where the verb i s transitive, and the substantive corresponds tothe object of the verb, and thus may rightly b e said to have a p assi vesense : as dw ehpa , dydp aa
'
p a , dyvpp a, air-
qua , drove-
p a, dp apa, ye’w qp a.
(3) Where the verb i s transitive, and the substantive is no longer theobject of the verb, but the object can b e expressed as a genitive followingthe substantive : as dykci
'
iop a , dv'
p a, dyp evp a , ddp ow'
pa, a iaipqp a ,M ala ya ,dym,
ci p vyp a, civcicrew '
p a , E'
V85 1'yua , fidvo p a , p ip qp a , axiop a. Why shouldnot these b e called active ?
It is important to notice that in distingui shing between classes (2)and(3)usage is our only guide : there i s nothing whatever in the nature of the
formation which points us in one di rection rather than in another. A s
amatter of factmany words osci llate between the twomeanings .
”
Ayakp a,
for example, may b e the object ‘ honoured ’ (as dydkp ara or that‘which gives honour ’to the object (as dyahp a 861mm): c spa may b e thefood eaten ’or the canker that eats : fiéemua , the cattle that are fed, orthe food that feeds them: but it is seldomthat bothmeanings are thusretained together.If the forms in -
p ar perplex us by their apparent inconsistency, theforms in -e 1 are scarcely less unsteady. They ought properly to remainin the abstract region to whi ch they certainly belong ; but they are veryunwilling inmany cases to b e so limited. They choose to descend into theconcrete, and in doing so they often coincide with the corresponding formsin -
p ar Thus in practice we find that rags and rdyp a can both mean‘ a rank ’; s pas ; and wpayp a ,
‘ a deed ’; 3118611519 and E’v8e1yp a ,
‘ a proof’;e’
paimms‘ and e’
paimp a, ‘ a question ’. The starting-points of the two setsof words are different : the forms in -0 1 denote the action in p rocess ; theforms in -
p.a 1' the action in result. In the first instance always
,in the
second sometimes, the primarymeaning is an abstract one ; and so long asthe abstract meaning is retained the d istinction between the two sets of
words is clear enough. When however the abstract gives way to theconcrete
,the distinction often disappears.
We have said enough on these two formations in general to clearthe way for a consideration of the word wkq
'
p cop a , which has sufferedhitherto fromthe loyalty of its expositors to a grammatical canon against
THE MEANING or TTAHPQMA. 2 59
which it was determined to rebel. We may first examine some of the as a nauexamples ordinari ly cited . We begin with two nautical usages of the 11031191111 ;word.
‘Na imwhqpofiv, or wkqp otcrdm, i s ‘to man a ship ’
,or ‘ to get itmanned ’ and the result of such action in either case is wképmp a, which
has the concrete meaning of ‘ a crew’. That whfipwp a sometimesmeans
the ship’, as being ‘the thing filled ’with men
,i s not a strictly accurate
statement. For in the passages cited (Lucian, Ver. Hi st. ii 37, 38, andPolyb . i 49) the literal meaning is ‘ crews ’; though ‘ to fight with twocrews ’(dwo 8150 wkq udmv pdxea
'dai) i s only another way of saying,‘to
fight with two ships ’. The other nautical use of wkfip e p a for a ship’s‘
lading’or ‘ cargo ’ i s again a perfectly natural use of the word when it
is concrete. To say that in these two instances wh ipwua does notmean‘
that with whi ch the ship is filled’ is to make a statement difficult tomaintain : and it is not easy to see what is gained bymaintaining it.There is a whole class of instances in which the word whtipwua has as a
‘ fulla somewhat stronger sense, viz. that of ‘
the full complement ’. Thus in comp leAristid' 07' Xi v P° 353 (B ind )we have wif e adrdpxets
' 30 60601. whrjp cop a £1169ment
o ixeiov or p arei ip aros wapaaxe'
o da i,i .e. enough to put it at full strength. So
whripwp a 8p ax6s‘ (Eccles . iv 6)means ‘ a handful ’; whripwp a O
‘
v idos‘ ,‘ a
basketful ’1. In these cases the ‘ fulness ’ spoken of is a complement’inthe sense of entirety : it is strictly a fulness in exchange for emptiness’.Another shade ofmeaningmay b e i llustrated by the well-known passage as
‘ thatof Aristotle, in which he is cri ticising Plato’s Rep ub lic (A rist. P oli t. iv Wl tll out
The simlest conceivable formof a cit S tes had said must contain sixp 37? Gem
1 th1ng 15kinds of artisans or labourers—weaver
,husbandman
,shoemaker
,bui lder, incom
smith, herdsman ; and in addition to these, to make up a city, youmust Flete’
have amerchant and a retail dealer. These together —to use Ari stotle’swords formthe p leroma of a city in its simplest stage ’ rafim wail/Ta
y iverac whrjpwna rfis wpaims wdhews‘ . If you have all these elements present,then your extremely simple city i s complete. They are i ts p leroma. Withthemyou can have a ci ty, without themyou cannot. Nothing less thanthese canmake a city, qud city, complete.
Thi s last example is of special interest in view of St Paul’s use of Eph
wkrjpwp a in Eph . i 23, where the Church i s spoken of as that withoutwhich in a certain sense the Christ Himself is incomplete. For thetheological import of the word, however, reference must b e made to theexposi tion, pp. 42 87 100 f. The present note is confined to its
p hilological signification.
1 Comp . Mark vi i i 20 : wbawv c ¢ vp£~ we can b ut say that on no theory of
31011 whnpcbuara Khacud'
rwv ijpare ;‘How the meaning of whnpcbuara could i t
many b asketfuls of fragments took ye ever have been tolerab le to a Greekup ?
’ ‘Basketful s’ i s a harsh p lural ; ear. If St Mark wrote i t so, the
b ut St Mark’s Greek i s certainly not other Evangeli sts were fully justifiedless harsh. As to Mark vi 43,ml fipav in altering i t, even though the laterxhdcuara addexa Kogblvwv whnpcbuara, copyi sts were not.
1 7—2
260 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
On the word a vvapuok oyeiv.
The history of this word i s of sufficient interest to deserve a specialnote ; and its investigation wi ll incidentally throw some fresh light onone of St Paul’s favouritemetaphors .
The materials for our knowledge of the methods of construction of
large public bui ldings in Greece have been greatly increased of late bythe publication of a series of inscriptions. The most important of theseare the contracts for the quarrying and preparing of stones for sacredbuildings at Eleus is in the fourth century n o. (CIA iv 1054 b if), and thecontracts for the construction of an immense temple of Zeus at Leb adeiain Boeotia, a work which was never brought to completion1. The latterare printed in CIG,
GS i 3073, and also with amost instructive commentaryin E. Fabricius de archi tazt. Graeca they appear to belong to thesecond century B.c.The Leb adean inscription opens with a di rection to the contractor to
have the whole of the contract carved on tablets whi ch were to b e set upin the sacred enclosure”. It proceeds to state that, if the contractor b eguilty of fraudulently putting in bad work or of any breachof the regulations, he shall be fined and later on we finda similar penalty attached to negligence on the part of the workmen. The
payment is to b e made by instalments,a portion being reserved until the
work has been finally passed after careful examination by the vaowow i and
the dpxcre'
xrmv : Kat crvw ehe'
a'
a s‘ aka» gpyau, bray damp aa dfi, Kama
Tb e’wLGe
'
xarov nwohercpeév.
We cannot fail to b e reminded of St Paul’s words in 1 Cor. iii 10 i ii : his
d octor a pxu'
e'm'
co v 617 16t 69mm, 517010: Be e'
wo1xodop e1. 3xacrros 38 filtswe
'
rco wc e’womobop ev 661101 101: yap 570101) ovdets dw arac fieivmwapct r im
Ke i p evo v, 59 801 111 fine-0139 Xp ro
'
rés °62 Be
’7 1: e
’woutodop ei e
’wt dep éhw v
xpvmov,cipyvp tov, kidovs
‘
1 11110119, k a, xop rov, xahdp qv, e
'
xcim'
ov To gp y a u
(pavepov y ema erm,7) yap que
'
pa dqhaia ev 31 1 311 v t dwoxahuw‘
reral, Kat
smimou 1'
o ep°
yov owow v 301 111 7 0 mp av1'
o BOKLp G O’GL. 67 1 11109 T?) gpyov
p s i/6 1 o e’womoBop qa ev, 71 10 00 1! hnp df er a v 6 1 1 11109 7 0 epyov Karaxan
'
a erar,
{ wruoflrfo e'r a u
1 Compare Pansan . ix 39 4 7 087 011
d1a 7 6 [167 6903 1?Kat 7 13V wohéuwvTb dhhewdhhnhov dcpeixaaw 131116117 011.
2 Fab ri cius estimates that theremust have b een at least 16 of thesetab lets, and that theymust have contained altogether not less thanletters ; and these dealt only wi th a
small fraction of the whole building.The payment was reckoned at the rateof a stater drachmas) and threeobols for the cutting of a thousandletters. Thi s p reliminary work was
to b e done within ten days fromthe
first advance of money to the con
tractor.
2 62
The ter
mination
used widely b y falseanalogy.
Varioussenses ofapubs.
Used bySextusEmp iricus,
and in anep i gram.
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
with the xavm’v,was uniformly red. With this compare Euri p . H.F. 945
d p a l (poivu u xavo'mKat 7 1511019 ripp oap e
’va. The names given in the ln
scrip tions to the processes of polishing and of testing respectively wererp tp p arohoy eiv and p 17lrv
-ye
‘
i v. These terms are not found in literature :no doubt they were simply masons’words ; and it i s possible that thetermination -7\oy e211)was due to a false analogy with the familiar A160
It i s clear at any rate that the originalmeaning of the terminationhas completely d isappeared in these compounds. An other word of thesame order is atqcpokoy eiv, of working in mosaic : see Tobit xii i 17 a t
whareiat q uhlup Kat dvdpaxi Kat “019 i n Eovdxtp c oho
7 176150 0111 “ If this were shewn to b e an early word,we should incline
to give the termination its full meaning in the first instance,and then to
suppose the whole word transferred fromthe selecting of the pieces of
mosaic to their setting : but it may quite well b e regarded as formedmerely by analogy
,like 1
'
p 1p p a1'
oho'
yei v and pmrohoy eiv.
It i s reasonable to believe that in dpp ohoy eiv we have yet another ofthese formations due to analogy : for the termination cannot in this casehave ever had its proper force. If this b e so, the exact technicalmeaning of épp és ceases to b e of moment for the understanding of the
verb. Probably cipp ég meant first a ‘ fitting’,then the joint or juncture
where one stone was fitted to another,and then, in the sense in which
we have already had it, the side of the stone whi ch i s worked so as to
fit wi th the corresponding side of another stone. In CIA iv 1o54f it
appears to b e the juncture of two drums of a column : for there eachépp és is to have two 81171671111 (dowel-holes)and one bronze w67109 (dowel):so that it seems that the 81171-67111: must b e one in the lower drumand
one in the upper. Compare Ecclus. xxvn 2 as cipp a‘
Su M1910»
wayrja era t wda a ahos.‘
App okoyeiv, then, represents the whole of the elaborate process bywhich stones are fitted together : the preparation of the surfaces
,i h
cluding the cutting, rubbing and testing ; the preparation of the dowelsand dowel-holes, and finally the fixing of the dowels with molten lead.
The word is a rare one ; but the two examples of it which are cited are
both of interest1. Sextus Emp iricus, speaking of the weakness of divination fromthe signs of the Zodiac
,says (M. v To83min -
a w xvp 1ai1'
a 1'
011,
gnam'
ou 1 1311 { whitey 013 avvexe’
s' 301 1 0138
’die-wep fip p oh oynp e
’vo v
1123 wpo s'
curc i} Kat p ed’ mire O
'
vvfiw'
rar, 11178671169 w aft w1w1'o150779 dumwie emc, xxx
-A. The other example is a beautiful epigram of Philip ofThessalonica in the Anthology (Anth. P al. vi i on a monument raisedto a stonemason’s b oy by h is own father’s hands.
Aa1‘ 15wos’Aya61ivop 1 wa18t davdm'
t
xep o tv di fvpa‘
i s ripp otto'
yqa e 1'
a'
chou.aia
'
i we'
rp ov 3116111011, 311 013K e’xo
'
ha ilre a idqpos,(DOV 151-6107 wvx1
'
vo1s' d pvmrey yop evos.A I p 0 a 0
(pew (r'
rrfltq ¢ 61p evcp rem/(pr; p ew ,Kewos 111 e11ry
°
”0117 10 a1
' 61] R'
ds w p cpr) xa p ewe K6 1 011.
1 The word occurs , b ut p erhap s not Comm. in Ap oca l. c. 65 11177 77 51 1)newindependently of St Paul, in Andreas dpuohoy e
’
irau
THE MEANING OF CYNAPMOAOI‘
EIN. 263
In dear remembrance of a son
A father cut and set this stoneNo chisel-mark the marble bears,Its surface yielded to his tears.L ie on himlightly
, stone, and heWill know hi s father’s masonry.
The compound o'vvapp ohoyei v is not found apart fromSt Paul. He The com
uses it both in this passage and in iv 16, where he applies it to the p oundstructure of the body. Such an application was easy
,as cipp ég was also
verb onlyused of the joints of the body (4Mace. x 5, Hebr. iv but the word
mStp aul '
was probably only chosen because it had been previously used in itspr0per sense, and because the Apostle delighted in combining the architectural and physiological metaphors, as when in the context he twicespeaks of ‘ the building of the body’(on. 13, In the parallel passagein Colossians (ii 19) his language is different, as there has been noemployment of themetaphor of building.
264 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
I I
On wwpwa te and wnpwa ce.
In Eph. iv 18 the word mipaxn c has been uniformly interpreted as
blindness ’in the Latin, Syriac and Armenian versions , and, with perhapsbut one exception (Geneva 1557, in the English versions, unti lthe revision of 1881, in which it is rendered
‘hardening’. The word and itscognate verbmopoou deserve a fuller investigation than they have hi thertoreceived. We shall consider 1)their derivation and history, (2)their usein the New Testament, (3)their interpretation in early versions and commentaries, (4)the confusion ofmopoiiv, naip cocn s With wqpofiv,mjpwms, (5)theuse ofmpas and its derivates to denote ‘ blindness’.
1;Deriva I . Il é pos (in MSS frequently 7r6por)or M00: n
'
aipwoc (flopwor)i s a kind
iiizl
ioand
ofmarble, top hus. Theophras tus L ap . 7 thus describes it : 7ropas~6 M609,ry .
gnome “up"
Xp oip ar t Ka i. f f} rt? IIap icp, rr‘
yv 83 Kov¢onrra pox/oww v
7 05 vro'
pov. Aristotle speaks of stalactites as atmipmo i e’v rots mmha c'ozg
Hopos (Meteor . 4, In themedical writersmiipoc is used for (a)a node or b onyin
,
medical formation on the joints, (b)a callus, or ossification which serves as amortarwn ters' to unite the portions of a fractured bone. But it is not used, apparently,
in the wider sense of the Latin callumormllus,for a callosity or hardening
of the flesh : that in Greek is rv'
h ). p oov accordingly signifies (a)topetrify ; as in a quotation fromP isis in Suidas, rc‘zs liquioa s armp ofim-a Kai
o ¢ iyyow a Ndaida rp émp : (b)to cover Wi th a callus ; Diosc. i 112 mi ra ‘
yp a
mopo'
i,to. 86 rd dvmipw'
ramopo'
i in this technical sense mopoiiv and 3711 1110p ofiv and their derivatives are common in themedical writers : otherwisemopofmis exceedingly rare.
There i s a further development ofmeaning to deaden or dull, ofwhich I have only been able to find one independent example outsidebiblical Greek. Athenaeus (xi i 549)cites a passage ofNymphi s of Heraclea,in which mopooodac is used to express the insensibility of the flesh byreason of excessive fat. Dionysius the tyrant of Heraclea 15m)mocha: xa i‘rfis‘ Rae
,
rjpi e'
pav ddq¢ ayfas amen, 61repa apmjo-a s. He would fall into a coma
tose condition, and his physicians could only rouse himby pricking himWith long needles : p e
'
xpc p e‘
v adv rwog timl 7 139 n emapwy e'mys‘ 31: mi) O
'
Te’
a‘
rog
o apxos 06x e’ven
'
o iel. rrju ai'
o dqaw'
( Z 82 1rpos‘
Toy xadapov 7 61701, vj Bel ow;dteheofio a E
'
Huye, Tore Buryet'
pero. Aelian, V. H ix I3, tells the same story,paraphrasing as follows : 13»8
’dpa f ofi'
ro e’mp ehér c
're'p ate 3p c'
iv,301 3 61) 3M; dad
7 739 wrencop cop e'mjc Kai rpoarov f wd cihhorp ia s 0 137 08 a apxog dceipn
'
ev rj Behdwy,6708 e
’xe
‘
ivés ‘
ye é’xa ro new 8m¢ ép cov It is clear that the likeness to a
stone,which Aslian introduces to explain what was probably an unfamili ar
use of mopoi‘
zcreac,refers not in the least to the hardness of the flesh—for
the needlecould pass through i t but to its deadness or insensibi lity.
266 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Let their eyes b e darkened that theymay not see’. It is here to b e notedthat the one thought which i s common to the two passages used to illustratethe waipwms is the ‘
eyes that see not ’. Thus again the meaning is,
‘ theywere rendered obtuse or intellectually blind ’: and they were blinded’i sa more appropriate translation than ‘ they were hardened ’. In 2 5 the
context throws no light on themeaning. ThemSpmcn s e’x ne
’
paug reproducesthe thought of 7 : part of Israel suffers fromit : ‘ the election ’ i s againreferred to in v. 28.
(4) Eph. iv 18 Bad r r‘
yv 7raip cocrw rag xapdiae adra'
iv.
The Gentiles are described as‘darkened in their understanding (c
’c-xo
mp e’
voz rfj Bmvoiq), being aliens fromthe - life of God because of theignorance that is in themby reason of the mSpwo-w of their heart
’
,071-wag
cimykynxéres: e'
avrods‘ 1rap e’
8coxav r?) da ekyeigz The whole thought ofthe passage is parallel with that of Rom. i 2 1 and there are severalcoincidences of language. The ‘ darkening of the understanding’and the‘fl
'
aip ooms of the heart ’may b e compared with the words e’o xon
’o dq 75
cimiverog av’rcfiu xapBZa. Here the deadness or insensibility of the heart
stands between the darkening of the understand ing and the loss of feelingormoral sense which produces despair or recklessness. Moral blindness,not contumacy
,i s meant. ‘ Hardness ’might perhaps b e allowed as a
rendering, if we could secure that it should not b e misunderstood in thesense of o xhnpoxapdt
'
a,
‘stubbornness ’. Hardening’ is a specially mi s
leading translation : it is not the process, but the result, which i s inquestion— intellectual obtuseness
,not the steeling of the w ill .
(5) Mark 1i i 5 orvvhv'n'
ovp evog 6 77 i rf] wwpda'
ecm9 Kapdiae .anro w.
Before healing theman with the withered hand, our Lord asks, ‘ Is itlawful on the sabbath day to do good
,or to do evil ?’ When the Pharisees
were si lent,‘He looked round on themwith anger, being grieved at the
mépwmg of their heart’. The context is not decisive as between themean
ings moral obtuseness or blindness and wi lful hardness. Nor do thesynoptic parallels help us : Luke (vi 10)simply drops the clause ; Matt.(xi i 10)drops rathermore, and inserts newmattet'.
(6) Mark vi 52 6703 a» 15xapdc'
a adv-(By wmwpcop e’
w).
When our Lord had come to the di sciples walking on the water,
‘ theywere exceedingly amazed in themselves ; for they understood not concerning (or in the matter of)the loaves ; but their heart wasHere the interpretation hardened’seems needlessly severe : the point isthat they could not understand. Luke omits the incident : Matt. (xiv 33)substitutes ‘And they that were in the boat worshi pped himsaying
,Truly
thou art the Son of God ’.(7) Mark viii I7 wewmpwy e
'mv 3x61 ? r ip) Kapdt'av tip d'
w
When the d isciples had forgotten to take bread andmi sunderstood our
Lord’s reference to the leaven, Jesus said,‘Why reason ye because ye have
no bread ? Do ye not yet perceive nor understand ? Have ye your heartHaving eyes see ye not, and having ears hear ye not ? and
do ye not remember . 7’ Here the close connexion with ‘
the unseeingeye
’ favours the interpretation ‘moral blindness ’. Indeed ‘ hardness ’
suggests a wilful obstinacy, which could scarcely b emplace either here or
in vi 52 . Luke has not the incident : Matt. (xvi 9)drops the clause.
Eph . iv 18.
ON TTQ PQ CIC AND lTHPQC IC.
(8) John X11 40 rerfidflwxev adrcSv rots (ictdahp oii s' Ka i { naip coa ev adréiu St John.
r iyv xapdt'
av. John xi i
For this cause they could not believe,because that Esaias sai th again
He hath blinded their eyes, and e’vraip coa ev their heart, that theymay not
see with their eyes and perceive (vorja coow)with their heart’
,etc. This is
a loose citation of Isa. vi 10, according neither with the Lxx nor with the
Hebrew. LXX { flaxdvdq ydp 17'
Kapdc'
a rai) kaoii rodr ov, Ka i. roi s‘ ai rriv 0137 651!
Bap éws‘ fixovo av, Kai rods: d¢ 6ahp ods e
’xcip p vo av, p 75wore i
'
dcoow roi s' dctdahp o'
i g
Ka i roi g eic' iu dxoda cocrw Kai rjj Kandig O'
vvéiow Heb . Make the heartof this people fat ’, etc.
Wemust note the parallelsrer iidbhmxev Zva p i)78mm!
e’n
‘
aipwo ev Zita p i) p atio-wowHmp oov here denotes the obscuration of the intellect as e Shoi
'mdenotesthe obscuration of the sight. If e’fl'
aip coo ev is intended in any way to reproduce the verb ‘
to make fat ’, then ‘ dulness ’ or ‘ deadness ’rather than‘ hardness ’ is the idea which would b e suggested
,and we have a close
parallel with the passage quoted above fromNymphis ap . A tlwnaeum.
The above examination of the contexts in which waip coms‘ i s spoken of Contextsappears to shew that o b tuseness
,or a dulling of the faculty of perception s
u
ggest
equivalent tomoral blindness,always gives an apprOpriate sense. On the 0 use“
ness ’orother hand the context never deci sively favours the meani ng ‘ hardness’,moraland thismeaning seems sometimes quite out of place. b lindness.
3. We pass on to consider the meaning assigned by early translators 3.Versionsand commentators $
1
51$338(1) 2 Cor. 111. 14.
(a)VerLatin,sed ob tusa
’
sunt seiwus eorum. sions.Syriac
4 m m o‘mx dw-fi ‘they were blinded in their
minds ’1 (the same verb renders e’rzicjiawa ev in iv
Armenian 2,
‘but theirminds were blinded (cf. ivSo too Ephr.
,adding ‘
and they were not able to look upon themysterieswhich were in their law ’
.
(2) Rom. xi 7 .
Latin,excaeca ti aunt.
Syriac che s t ‘were blinded ’.
Armenian, ‘were blinded So Ephr.
‘with b lindness they were blindedfor a time etc.
(3) Rom. xi 2 5.Latin
,obtusz
'
o Amb rst. Hi lar.Amb r. Aug.
Syriac (pesh dm’h ax .
‘ blindness of heart’.
Armenian, blindness1 According to another reading Syri ac (see Euthaliana ,
Texts and
(ed. L ee)‘ their mnds were b linded’ Studies, i i i 3 72
.
For the same
tary , written in Syriac, b ut p reserved3 I note the Armenian version b eqto us only 1n Armeni an.
cause i t often afford evidence of Old
268 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
(4) Eph. iv 18.
Latin,caecz
’
tas.
Syriac.gmzal molde d ; ‘ blindness of their heart ’
Armenian,blindness ’(‘ of their
Ephr.,‘blindness (‘ of theirminds
(5) Mark iii 5.Latin
,ccwcz
'
tas a b e f q vg.
cmortua corda c (d)fi'
i r.
Syriac omz al di ed-us : deadness of their heart ’.M
(pesh. d mfl mom ‘ hardness of their heart ’.Armenian, ‘ blindness(6) Mark vi 52 .
Latin, obcaecatumf vg.
obtusuma b c d i r (if contusum).Syriac (sin), i n;
‘ blind’.
g m (used for e’mzxziveq Matt. xiii 15, Acts xxvi ii 2 7)
fattened’, and so‘stupid
Armenian, stupefied as with deep sleep .
(7) Mark vii i 17.Latin
,caecatumf vg.
obtusum-a)a b c d if i.Syriac (sin), am ‘ blinded ’.
( a n‘ hard ’.
Armenian, stupefied’as with amazement.
(8) John xi i 40.
Latin,indurau i t a b e f if q vg.
D rervctkwxev avra wmy Kapdtav omitting the interd excaecauit corumcor vening words.
hebetaui t Vig. Taps.Syriac cam-4 ‘they have darkened ’(=o
-xon
’
fmelsewhere).
(sin cu defective.)Armenian, stup efied
’as w i th amazement.
In the greatmajority of cases the Latin interpretation i s either caeci tasor ob tusio. On the second of these words something needs to b e said.
Obtunderemeans to beat and so to blunt (e.g. the edge of a sword). Theni t is applied metaphorically : ‘
aciemoculorumob tundi t’Plin. ;
‘ob tundit
auditum’Flin. ;‘multa quae acuant mentem,multa quae ob tundant’Cic.
‘ob tundat eneruetque aegritudinem Oic. Obtusus is similarly usedmihi autemnonmodo ad sap ientiamcacci ui demur, sed ad ea ipsa
,quae
aliqua ex parte cerni uideantur, heb etes et ob tusi Cic. ; so often of sight :and also of hearing,
‘ob tusae aures ’: and of the mind
,
‘sensus oculorum
atque auriumheb etes, uigor animi obtusus So again the adverb : crocodili in aqua ob tusius uident
,in termacutissime ’ Solin. Amb rosiaster’s
comment on 2 Cor. i ii 14 well illustrates the force of ob tusi : ‘ quae ob tus ioinfidelitatis causa ob uenit : ideo conuersis ad fidemacui tur aciesmentis, utui deant diuini luminis splendorem’. Ob tusus i s the Opposite of acutus.
There i s no idea of ‘ hardness ’in the word. Obtusz'
o therefore was admir
270 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
discutere a semetipso caecitatemcordi s, et eleuatis coulis suis Christumuerumlumen aspicere
’, etc.
In Gen. hem. vii 6 (Ru. 11 commenting on Gen. xxi 19,‘ God
opened her eyes ’,he quotes Rom. xi 2 5 and says
,
‘ i sta est ergo caecz'
tas
asp e n-19] in Agar, quae secundumcarnemgeuni t z quae tamdiu in ea
permanet, donec uelamen literae auferatur p er euangeliumdei et uideat
aquamuiuam. nunc enimiacent Iudaei circa ipsumputeum, sed oculicorumclausi sunt aperti ergo sunt oculi nostri
,et d e litera legis
uelamen ab latumest’.
In L evi t. hem. i I (Ru. 11 after quoting 2 Cor. i i i 16,he says
,‘ ipse igitur nobis dominus, ipse sanctus spiri tus dep recandus est, ut omnemnebulamomnemque caliginem, quae peccatorumsordib us concreta uisumnostri cordis ob scurat, auferre d ignetur
’
, etc.
In all these passages it would seemthat not only the translator,but
also Origen himself, interpreted n aipwms in the sense of‘ blindness ’. I can
find but one passage that looks in another direction ; but it does not
disprove our view of his ord inary use of the word.
In Exod . hem. vi 9 (Ru. ii 149 commenting on Ex. xv. 16 chi-oxi da
Gfirwa av, 3a): dv nap e’
kdy 6 had: 0'
ov, he says (quoting Rom. xi 2 5)‘caecitas
enimex p arte contigi t i n Israel secundumcarnem,donec
p leni tudo genti umsub introz'
ret : cumenimplenitudo gentiumsub intra
uerit, tunc etiamomnis Israel, qui per incredulitatis duritiamfactus fueratsieut Iapis, saluab itur
’.
This comment shows that Origen recognised the derivation of mipwmsfrommSp og, a kind of stone
,and that upon occas ion he was prepared to
play upon it ; but it does not prove that he would ordinari ly have taken ittomean hardness’.
Chrysostom. Cramer ca tena i n J o. xi l 40 mix 6 as; e’mipma ev adré
‘
w
rip) Kapdi'
av rods de’ dvarpdfzrovs rvcthwde'
vras zind roi)dcafidhov.
Hem. vl l in 2 Cor. (ed. Ben. x 483 f.) 15 ydp naipmaw yvaip qs‘
e’a r iv
r a I 3 a A w z a r
avaw finrov Ka t av p ovos'
emu Ka t ev ry v a sa s:ov dza v a ea
gKGtTO [80. rd Kcikvp p a] dkhd di d r r’
)v rodra wwaxi irqra Ka i o'
apKzKr’
pf yuaip qv.
Hem. xii i i n Ep hes. (xi 96)dn d rou'rou r; naipwmg, (ind rmirov rj O'
Korop rjm;rfis di avo ias. da r t ydp (b a rds: Mimi/aura :
e’aKor iada i , drav o i dctdahnoi da deve
'
i s'
(do-w : (i a-9611679 dé ‘
yivoura t i)xvp a'
iv e’mppofi nompcfiv fiedp a ros‘ nhnp p zipa.
care) Kai e’vra iida, drau ii n ohhr
’
] dim) ra'iuBiwrtKa'Sv npayp drwu rd dwpart v
31110 1507) rfig dravoias, e’u O
'
Korcda'
a y ivera t. Ka i Kaddn'
ep 31! 58amKard3600119 Kelp evmrdu filmy 013K dv dvmdeiqp ev dpdv, did -mp rwds' 8¢a¢ pdyp aros
a n t ] 3 I t! or a a a h A
rov nohhov avwdev GWtKGLp é llOU vdaros 'ovrco Ka t w row ogbeahp ow 7 779
dtavoias‘ y ivera t naipwms Kapdia s‘ , rovre'
a'
rw a’vaw dnm
'
a,drau p qdeis rw
’
yy xlrvxrjvI I I I I Q l
Karaa eiy (poBos‘ mopmms de ovdap odev yw era t ant 7) mmavaw dvymas
"
rofiro dta¢ pdrra rods 1r6povs‘ drau ydp fiefip a n emryds s is gua a vvdyqrat rdrrov,
ve dv y ivera i rd p e’
kos‘ Kai. civac'
crdrrrov.
Here he is trying to get at the meaning of a word which puzzles him.
He fancies that it is derived frommSpos, and denotes an obstruction of
the pores,producing insensibility. We shall see in a moment that the
word was often writtenmip cocm: indeed in Cramer’s Catena, which quotesan earlier part of Chrysostom’s comment at this place, it is so spelt.
ON nn pnc lc AND TTHPQCIC. 27 1
On the other hand it is to b e noted that in commenting on Heb . i i i 12he says (xl i 63 fin d ydp omhnpdrqros rj time
-r ia y iverav Kai Kadd‘n’ep rd
n ewmpwne’
va ra'
iv awpdrmv Kai O'
t pd O13K ei'
Ka ra i : ra'iz/ iarpcfw xep a i'
v,odra
Ka i. a i xlf vxai a i O'
t pvvdei a a t 013K eiKov re? hd'
yq) ro i)6606.
Among later Greek commentators we find occasional references to Later(T
O
KMPOKQPMG in oonnexion with the passages in which waip cocn s‘ is men commen
tioned : but the i nterpretation ‘ insensibi lity’or ‘moral blindness’is gene tators.
rallymaintained.
4 Instead Of mop oi'
w and mip cocm we have the variants mypofiv and 4. Con
mjpwcn s in the following lass 1 fusion in
Mark i i i 5.
MSS'
viii 17. D (nenij’
pmp evq 82°
C).John xl i 40. R [ I p
ew “ (Did. de tr in. i 19)[11 had at first G’flqposmo é vP.
59 (these three have n e'mjmev).
Rom. xi 7 .
This confusionmay b e taken as corroborative evidence of the fact whichwe have already learned fromthe versions that rraip coaw was very commouly regarded as equivalent to ‘ blindness ameaning at which mipwmralso had arrived froma very d ifferent starting-point3.
5. a ds and n ewnpwp e’
uos signi fy ‘maimed ’ or ‘ defective ’ in some 5° 1177969,
member of the body, eye or ear,hand or foot. Frequently the member 25
013
522?is defined
,asmthe epigram, Anthol. Palat. ix 11 1 7177d 6 pet! ym
’ow, 6 8
’.fi imed »
ap op p aa t.
Butmypds and i ts derivatives, when used absolutely in the later Greek but usedliterature, very frequently denote
‘ blindness ’. This was fully recogni sed $189 fof
by the Old lexicographers (e.g. Suidae myp és 6 flax/7 697 00 1, p ?) but it“ma
1 Forms in r op or 7ropp are alsofound : Mark i i i 5 in P hu rl ”
; vi 52 in
XI‘ al ; vi i i 1 7 in P ; Rom. xi 2 5 in L
a l p auc ; Eph . iv 18 in P 1 7 Cramerw kSo too in Job xvi i 7 (referred to ab ove),whi le ti c-“A have r enfipwvrac, somecursives have n ewdpwura t .
2 In connexion wi th cod. R it shouldb e noted that the Shep herd of Hermashas two allusions to these Gospelp assages, Mand. iv 2 1 , xi i 4 4 ; in the
former of these N reads n ernpw‘
rat for
wei raipwra t, at the latter i t i s not ex
tant. [Of the Latin versions of the
S hep herd the Vulgata or Old Latinhas obturatumest
,the Palatine cacae
ca tamest, in Maud. iv 2 1 ; in Maud .
x i i 4 4 the Vulgata has ob tusumest,
whi le the Palatine i s defective.]I insert at thi s point two curiosities
( I)in Acts v 3 R" reads di c rl émjpwaev
d aaravds rrjv Kapdlav aov ; and there
may b e some connexion b etween thi svariant and themore widesp read one
ér elpaaev, tentaui t : (2)at John xvi 6(7)h im; ner hfip e
—V i}; i rnr Kapdlau)
Ti schendorf notes ‘go 7re1ru
'
1p ev
(Obduravi t, ut xi i I owe to DrSkeat the following information : the
Gothic in b oth p laces has gadaub i da ,
‘ hath deafened’ (Goth. daub-s=Eng.
in Mark i i i 5, vii i 17 (vi 52vacat) the same root i s used :
‘ the
root-sense of “ deaf”
seems to b e
“stopped up —well expressed in Eng.
by dumb or dummy, and in Gk b y
which is radically the sameword as deaf and dumb3 The two words are b rought to
gether in the comment of EuthymiusZigab enus on Eph. iv 18 mr
'
ipwa i s a:Q
Kat duaw dnata Kapdlas n‘mipwa i s rob
di oparmoi) rfis ¢ vx69, 6 r npo’
c‘
émppor’
)
7ra0c3u Kat r hhmwpa fidovcfiv.
2 72 EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS.
'
appears to have somewhat fallen out of sight in recent times. It may b ewell therefore to give some passages by way of establishing this usage.
Plutarch Timol. 37 $817 wp eafidrep or (Bu dwqpfihdvdn1-7)v eira rehe
'
cos'
c’
n‘
rjp aidq p er" dM‘
yov (and, lower down,mjp coo-i s‘ and nempwy évos).Id. Isi s 55 he
'
yovaw dr i ro i)a'
o u Vi v p e’
v gndrafe Vi i” d’e’
fieha’wKare
’mev
d Tvcjxdv rdu o’
dJGahp dv, eira T l?) rjh i'
tp 71'd 719077 611 p e
’v a imrrdp evor
Ka rd nijva p ei'ma'w rfic a ekrjmyc,mjpwaw de
’
rr)»gKkenlrw,
Philo de somnus i 5 013 navrcin'
aaw cit efs Kai mjp ol yeydvap ev, (DOVgxop ev s in (
i
n
Lucian ck dome 28,29
”Hi nes Zara ; n)»mjp coaw of Orion who i s
Justin Martyr Tryp h. 12 a. yap rd Jan m’
ctp axra i , o i 6¢ Gakp oin emjpwura i , Kai n emixvra i ri Kapdi
'
a .
Ibi d. 33 rd dé ai ra 15110311 7re
'
9i)paKra i Kai a i Kapdi'
ai nemjpcovra i [in marg.
codicis nenoipwvra i ].Id. Ap ol. i 2 2 xwhodg Ka i nap ahvrmodg Ka i e
’K yeverfis dy i ei s
'
nmot e'
va i adrdu Kai ve Ods dveyeipa i . Here wemust obviously readmypcriswith the Older editors. Compare Tryp h. 69 rods: e
’K yeverfig Kai Kard T7711
06pmmypozis‘ , where the context requires themeaning ‘ blind’. SO too we
have in the Clementine Homilies xix 2 2 nep i ro i} c’K yeverfis mp0?) Ka i
duafihedmp e’
vov, and in A post. Const. v 7, I7 (Lagarde 137, 1 1) rc§ e’K
yew-m)cmp4): The expression comes ultimately fromJohn ix 1 rvgbkdu e
’x
‘
yeverfir.The ancient homily
,.called the Second Epistle of Clement
,c. 1
,offers
an example of the same confusion between mypo's‘ and wompds. q oi dures'
n“
; di avm’
q is the readi ng of cod. A ,and is supported by the Syri ac rendering
‘ blind ’: but cod. C has 1rou77poi . Lightfoot renders,‘maimed in our
understanding’,and cites Arist. E th. Nic. i 10 roi s w)n empwp e'uow npdg
cipmiv (where, however, wemypwp e'
uos may quite well mean ‘ blinded and
Ptolemaeus ad F lor. (in Ep iphan. Haer. xxxiii 3, p. 2 17) [1 7)pdvov 7 6 r ijs‘
druxijs 5mm(ihkd Kai rd ro ii a aip arog nempmp e'vwv. The context,however
,
in the Homily appears decisive in favour of ‘blinded ’: for the nextsentence proceeds : cip arip coaw 01
3V wep t/( s inew ; Kai rora tirrj s
‘
(ixktios' ‘
yép ovreg
c’v rjj dpda et, dueBAéJ/ap ev Compare Acts of SS. Nereus andAchi lles (Wirth, Leipsic, 1890) c. 2 1 7117d div di d arpocrevxfis Ti}: Acne
rM as‘ dve
’
Bheflrev.
Clem. Alex. P rotrep t. c. 10 124 dp p cira w p e’v O13V 6mjpwa'
w Kai T i): 3mm):rj Kaicpwa
'
ts.
Celsus ap . Orig. c. Gels. iii 77 a ir i da'da i rods 65d Bke'
n'
ovras‘
air wean/i co
p évovs‘
.
Id. i b i d. vi 66 Kohdfea dai r7’
7v (3'
t Ka i Bhdn'
rea dai Kai vop i'
fewmp ofia da t.Euseb . II. E . ix 8 I Ka rd c v d¢ 9akp t3v di acbepdvrwg e
’n
' i nhei a'
rov ywdp evov
(rd ro'
anna)p vp iovs' da ovs‘ dvdpa s
‘ dp a yvvaufi Kai 7raw 'i rmp ods a’n
'
eipycifer o
i b id . ix 10 15mlpdu adrdv cidu'
qa'
w .
Chrys. Hem. vi i n Ep h. (on Eph. i i i 2 : Of St Paul’s conversion)ml 7 6A R flmpma a i rep (been eKew cp rcp arroppqrcp.
Thi s0
Certain words or special usages of words are sometimes found in themeamng early literature of a language, and more particularly in its poetry, and are
274 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
mrd O'
O‘
U Kai dp eraudqrov Kapdi'
av dqa avp i'
fets‘ a eavrq'
i dp‘
ywjv : compare Actsxix 9 ais de
’ rmss‘ e’mchqp i ivovro Kai rjrrei'
dovvl .
If hardness does not always suggest to an English ear unbendingnessor obstinacy
,its other meaning of unfeelingness or cruelty (for we com
monly regard the heart as the seat of the emotions?)i s equally removedfromthe sense of n aip coms.
‘ hardness’ For these reasons ‘ hardness ’cannot, I think, b e regarded as other thani smis amisleading rendering of r aipmms z and
‘ hardening’ is Open to thel eadmg : further objection that i t lays a quite unnecessary stress on the process,
whereas the result is really in question.‘ b lind ‘ Blindness of heart’ comes nearer to the meaning than ‘ hardness ofDess
’sives heart ’; and
‘ their minds were blinded ’ is far more intelligible in i tsthe sense
, context than ‘ their minds were hardened ’. The objection to it is thatb ut varies it introduces an ali en metaphor. ‘Deadness’
,however, is open to a like
‘
themeta objection ; and ‘ dullness ’is too weak. ‘Numbness’and ‘ b enumbed ’arephor' not for us biblical words
,nor would they quite suit some of the contexts
,
but they might b e useful marginal alternatives. On the whole, therefore,it would seembest to adopt ‘ blindness ’and ‘ bli nded’as being the leastmisleading renderings and in John xii 40 to say,
‘He hath blinded theireyes and darkened their hearts
Ancient The length of this discussion may perhaps b e jus tified by a referenceint? rp re to the unproved statements which are found in Grimm’s Lexi con (ed.
$3251
301: Thayer), such as mopdm (rapes, hard skin, a hardening, induration)b e lightly to cover wi th a thi ck ski n
,to harden by coveri ng w i th a callus
’,
‘7rai
rejected. p'
l-S‘
Kapdi’a s [hardening of heart], of stubbornness, obduracy’. The
note in Sanday and Headlam, Romans, p. 314, is more careful, but yetcontains the explanation that ‘ a covering has grown over the heart ’
,and
throws doubt on the usage of mp6: to which I have called attention(‘ perhaps occasionally used of My object has been to investigate a very rare word, the ancient interpretation of which appears tome to have been too lightly thrown aside.
1 It is interesting to note in our
Li tany the peti tions for deliverance(1)
‘ from all b li ndness of heart ’,(2)
‘ fromhardness of heart, and con
tempt of thy word and commandment ’: the latter i s shewn by the
context to rep resent o'
KAnpoxapdta,whi le the former doubtless corresponds
to n cipwa i s rns Kapdlas.2 Compare Burus’a lines in h i s
‘Ep istle to a Young Friend’
I waive the quantumof the sin ,
The hazard of concealin’:
But och,it hardens a
’wi thin,
And petrifies the feelin’.
EPISTOLARY PHRASES. 275
On some current ep istolary p hrases.
During the last ten years immense accessions have beenmade to our Recentknowledge of the life and language of the Greek-speaking inhabitants of dimmer? "Egypt in the centuries immediately preceding and following the Christian Of Papyn '
era. The publication of the Berlin series of papyri began in 1895 and hasbeen steadi ly continued ever since1. Simultaneously scholars in our own
country and elsewhere have been busy in discovery and transcription. N0 Privatepart of thi s rich material has a greater human interest than the private corresp‘m'
letters which pas sed betweenmaster and servant,parent and child
,friend
dence
and friend, in those far off days. The dry soi l of Egypt has preserved themfromthe fate which everywhere else overtakes correspondence intended toserve but amomentary purpose and wholly destitute of literarymerit. To importantthe historian who desires to give a picture of the life of a people these to. the.
simple documents are of unparalleled interest. To the palaeographer theyhl swmm’
offer specimens of handwriting, often precisely dated and generally assignt
t fi‘
lieoi
able with certainty to a limited period, which bid fair to efl'
ect a revolutiongr
in his study. To the student of the New Testament they Open a new store and the
house of illustrativematerial : they shew himto what an extent the writers b i b licalof
‘the Epistles’stood half-way between the literary and non-literary styles
of their day ; and, together with the mass of similar documents—leases,receipts, wills, petitions, and so forth—which the great papyrus-finds haveplaced at our d isposal
,they forman unexpected andmost welcome source
fromwhich hemay draw illustrations of the biblical vocabulary ".I have called attention in the exposition (pp. 37 f.)to a phrase which The i llus
frequently occurs in St Paul’s letters and which receives illustration from113 11011 Ofthis epistolary correspondence ; and, although the Epistle to the Ephesians
NJ "
0 0 p hrasesfromi ts excepti onally 1mpersonal character offers few p omts of contact fromwith the documents in question, I take this Opportunity to drawtogether p apyrussome interesting phrases which they offer to us
,in the hope that other letters“
workers may b e induced to labour more systematically in a new andfruitful field.
1 Aegyp tt’
sche Urkunden aus den
honi glz‘
chen Museen zu Berlin,Grie
chi sche Urkunden (three volumes):transcrib ed b yWi lcken ,Kreb s, Viereck,etc. These are cited b elow as B .P .
Berli n Papyri). The other collectionsp rincipally drawn upon are : GreekP ap yri chi efly P tolema i c, edited byB . P .Grenfell TheOxyrhynchusP ap yri (two volumes), edi ted by B . P .
18— 2
Grenfell and A . S. Hunt (1898Fag/12mtowns and thei r P ap yri , edi tedby Grenfell, Hunt and D. G. Hogarth
2 Professor G. Adolf Dei ssmann ledthe way in h i s B i belstudi en (1895)andNeue B i belstudi en b ut new
material i s b eing rap idly added to thestores upon which he drew.
276 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
I shall begin by givi ng one or two specimens of letters,more or less
complete ; and I shall then confinemy attention to particular phrases.’A 1ri
'
cov’E 7ri 6 co r " r a
’ '
a) nkeia'
ra a i'
ei v
i
p x‘ Q fla p t x
tkvp“
I a
Hp o p er naw a y edxop a i a'
e vy i awe i v Kai di a navr os‘epwpi e
'
vov evrvxei u
nerd rfis ddehctfis‘ p ov Ka i rfis‘ Gvyarpds‘
am’ “
9 Ka i ro i’
; ddehdmii you. edxap i aréi
r t? Kvp i'
tp Eep cimdi dr i p ov Ki vdvvei ia'
avros'
s i s: ddhaa a au 301 00 6 . 61306009 dreA 7 I I I A a A
ei aqhdov Gi g Mqanvovg, ghafia Bi ar i Kov n apa Ka i a ap og xpva ovs TpGi S‘
,Ka i Kahcos
not s’
a'rw . s
’
pa ra'
i a s 0311,Kri p te
'
p ov n arrjp , yp ci ilzov [.i Ol. e’mar o'h i ov, np a
’
irov ne’v
nep i rds‘ a cornp i'
as‘a ou
,dedrep ou nep i rijs r cSv ddskcfié v p ov, rp i
'
rov iva 0 01:
A
rrpoaKwnia c-i rr’
yv Xe’
p av, dr i pi e e’rra i
'
deva as‘ Kakw s, Kai e’K rourou e
’hrri
'
fw raxd
7rpOKdiJ/a i 7 631! 066511 dehdurcov. dim-ac ai Kam’rawa wohhd Ka i rode ddehcjmds‘ p ov
Kai Eepnvi'
hhav Ka i rods (pihovs' y ou. 37“ d 0 01. rd 696m»you did EtiKr ijp ovos.A A
sa r i de' you dvoi i a Avra wi s Mdrfi p os‘ . e’
ppwa da i 0'
s eiixop ai .
Keurvp i'
a’AdqvoviK17.
There 1s a postscript written sideways to the left :’A <n rc
i
§e-ra i
’a e Eep ijuos
‘
d r017’A'
yadoi3 Tod wv d rai)I‘alOta wi'
ov
This i s a letter to his father froma young soldier who has had a roughpassage
l. It was written in the second century A.D.,
and is exceptionallyfree frommistakes of grammar and spelling. The b oy has had a goodeducation and i s duly grateful to his father. He seems to have taken anew name on entering uponmi litary service.
’Av-rit>mi~ i s an abbreviation
for ’Avraimos*, as ddd is for ddd v. I have read i rpomixlf a i z in place of
Viereck’s the papyrus has 7rp0K00'
a i (probably intended for7rp0Kdmrai). Compare Ga l . i 14 7rp oe
'
K07rrov e’u r ip Iovda i apq
'
i tin e’
p noM ods
ovvqh i Ki aSra g 31» re? ye’ve i [.i ov : Luke 11 52
’Ina oi39 7rp oe
’
K01rrev rfi a octi'
aKai
nki xi'
q.
”E i remlra is the epistolary aorist ; ‘ I amsending’.
3 l l A A AAvra wi os' Mafi i i og EaBi
'
vy r” ddehd)” nAei ara xa i'
p ew .
I'
Ip o 11611 71611e ei’
ixop a i'
(re dy i a i'
vew ,Ka i
’
ya’> ydp adrds dyi a i
'
vw, pm'
av
a ou irow i ip evos'
i rapd role e’vddde 96073 3. e
’Kopua cipiqv 311 e
’ma rdlt i ov napd’Ae vei
'
1/ov roii avmrohei'rov 15116311 Kai e’m‘
yvozis‘
O'
e e’
ppwp e’mv Ma il e
’
Xa'
pqu’
KaiA a A A
"yin di d dgbopm’yv mix d a) O
'
OL yp cixlra i nep i rt] : a corqp i'
as y ou Ka i ra wA -'I R I f I
sp e w. a 0'
1ra0‘
ai Maéip ov nohha Ka i Ko'n'
pqv rov K v p ov. a an'
afera i (re 1)
avpfii dg you Adcti di'
a Kai Mdfinos (re edxona i .
This i s written by the same hand as the preceding4. The soldier b oywrites his new name. He has apparentlymarried and settled down.
I I A r A r
Taa ovxap iw Nether)”
r ip adeh¢ qit
rroldta xai p ei ir.
l I f
IIpd p e’v n arro w GUXOPLG L O
'
a l. vy i a i vei v, Ka i r o rrpoaKw/np a (rov 110m) napaan I I
r ip Kvp i'
cp Eapdmdi . y i'
v'
Ke dr i dedwKa Hrohep a i'
ov Kahapi ea'
i ra aovrak i a'
p araa a 7 2 v s a a r orm9 oiKia s eis‘ rd q qrp i ov. ev ow 77 0070779 yp adrov p Oi n ep i mc mum“
on
A A r 1 I 3 Ar i'
E'
rrpafac. Kai rdu cipc ova rov Eap am'
a wos‘
napaKAos' dedcoKa avrcp. Ka i
A A A A n
ypévlf ov p 01. nep ims drrai
ypaqbns. e i WOLGLS‘ rr’
w dvroyp acbrlv e’
no Kahws ‘fl'
O lGLS‘
1 B . P . 42 3. I have omitted the 2 I have since found thatDei ssmannb rackets b y which the Berlin editors has also suggested thi s reading.
indi cate letters supp lied where the 3 Kreb s b egins the new sentence withpapyrus i s i llegi b le, and I have slightly ,
uy iav and p uts no stop after Oeofs.vari ed the punctuati on.
4 B . P . 632 .
278
2 . Op eningsentence.
cal form.
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
nhe'
i
’
or a xa i'
p ei v with vari ous additions. St Paul has a modification of the
usual Hebrew formula : see the note on Eph. i 1 .
Another introductory formoccasionally occurs, in which the imperativeis used. Thus in B .P . 435 we have : Xa
'
ip s , Odahep i ave'
,7rapd rod cidehcboi:
and in B .P . 82 1 Xa'
ip e, Ktip i é y oumi
rep’
d i O'
Kos'O
'
e’
dandfoyail. Compare
with these Origen’s letter to Gregory, preserved in the P hi local i'
a (c. xiii),Kalp e c
’v Kiip i é y ou a rrovda i drare Kai aidea'
iyai
rare v ie I‘
pnydp i e, n apd
and Ep . B arn. 1 Ku i'
p ers, uioi Ka i Guyare'
pes, i v dvdyar i Kup i'
ou rai)
ci-yamja avros' rip as‘ e’v eiprjvy
2.
2 . Three of the letters which we have given above begin after theaddress with the words rrpd y dv 7rdvrcov edxoyai 0
'
s dy i a i'
vei v. With this wemay compare 3 John 2 dyamyre
'
,n ep i ndvrwv edxoya i O
'
e edodoiia da i Ka i
dymivew,Kadds etiodoi ira i O'
ou rj druxrf. Although no variant is recorded, it isd ifficult at first to resist the suspicion that rrpd ndvrcov was what the writerintended to say3 : but on further examination of the passage it would seemthat wept mivrcov i s required to give the proper balance to the clauseintroduced by Kadc
i
g. We have here at any rate an example of theappropriation of a well-known formula, with a particular modification ofit in a Spiritual d irection.The commonest formula of this kind in the second and third centuries A.D.
runs as follows
d (ye’v)1rdvrwv edxoya i
'
0'
s u'yi a i'
vei v, (Ka i)rd i rpoc i ivnyd 0
'
ou 770665 (Kado
{ Kdarnv rjy e'
pav)rrapd rd) KUp i'
cp Sapc'm'
i di : B .P . 333, 384, 601, 62 5, 7 14, 775,843 ; and, wi th the addi tion of yerd c v a
'
cbv mivrcov after i i‘yi a i'
vei v, 276 ;with the addition of mi
7 029 cruvvaoi s deoi s4, 385, 845. The first clausestands alone in 602 , 815 and, with y erd ra
’
Sv a a3v ndvrwv, in 814.
Other variations are : i rpd i ravrds‘ ei’
ixoya i'
ire dy i a i'
ve i v, in 38; Kai
didmivrco[v] edxoy ai'
a'
a i dyei a i'
ve i v, in 846 : rrpd c v dha v e
’
pp dia da i'
o'
e
a’ixoya i yerd ra
'
Sv a d v rrdvrcov Kai did rravrds ire etiruxe'
i
'
v in 164.A d ifferent formula occurs in 811 (between 98 and 103 A D ), ne
‘
v
vrcivrcov i ivayKai ov di’e’ma
'
rohfis'
0'
s dando ea'dai Ka i rd a’
BdO'
Kavra do iiva i : andin 824 (dated 55/56 A.D. by Zeretelé), 7rpd y e
’
v mivrcov civayKa i'
wv rj‘yna dyqvdid 0
'
s da nda aa da i .
1 Add to these FayfimP ap . 129,Xa
'
i‘
pe, Kupi e r i y i ir’n
'
are : P . 1 12 ,
Xa lpow, Kupla. you Zepqvla r apd.
Heroaelp i os.2 Prob ab ly not independent of thi s
i s the Opening of the ao-called ‘Apostoli c Church Order ’ (the ’
E7ri roy 2’
7
dpwv): Xaiper e, vloi Ka i dwarépes, év
dvbyar i Kvplou’Incofi Xpiaroi).
3 It i s however to b e noted thatin B . P . 885 Schub art restores the
text thus : Oéoxrwflosrqfi (parting xa lpeiv.] IIepi r dvrw[vefixoyal 0
'
s fryi alvei vJThi s i s a p apyrus of cent. 11 fromtheFayum. Now in nos. 884, 886 we
have letters fromTheocti stus to the
same Apollonius (app arently): b ut ineach the instructions b egin immedi ately after the word xalpew . Thi s i sthe case also in B . P . 48 wri tten toApollonius b y Cylindra s and addressedon th e verso Geomia'
rov :
comp . letters written to him byChaeremon B . P . 248, 249, 531 . It i sp rob ab le therefore that Schub art i s notjustified in offering the supp lementefixop al 0
'
s frycatvew .
4 In B . P . 82 7we have 7 6wpoaxévnud0
'
ou 7rapd A2 7 43 Kaalcp : comp . 38
7rapé. 1rda'
t 7 029 0602‘
s.
5 Perhap sma r avrés was intended .
EPISTOLARY PHRASES. 279
It is curious to find the phrase 1rp o‘
y év mi vrwv at the end of a letterl ,as we do in 0x. P . 294 : 7rpd y éu mi l/raw a eavrof) e
’my e’kou elv
’flycaz'
vng.
e’rrwmmrofiz Anyqrpouv Kai Acop c
'
a wa rdu 7rare'pa . 3ppwa o. This letter isdated 2 2 A. D. Simi larly ia P . 292 (A .D. 2 5)quoted above, 7rpd ee
mix/rear frycac'
vew (re eiixoyaz cifiaa'
Kdvrws rd d'
pw ra 7rpcirrcov. E'
ppwo-o.
As we go back to an earlier period we find a difference in formula. An earlierThus Grenfell gives us a letter of the second century fromthe Thebaid typ ewhich Opens thus : [62] 3ppcoo
'
a t e’
ppaiyeda dé Ka i auroi. Kal Kal’Aqbpodun
'
aml.15Guyci
‘mp Ka i. 75wac O'
Kr)Ka i. r; dvycirnp aurfis‘ (Greek P ap yri A papyrusof the Ptolemaic period published by Mahafi
'
y has, xcip ts‘ ro'
i s' Gea’
i s 7mm)sluytac
'
vezr frycac'
vet Be‘
Ka i Am ds' : and another, Kaha'
ic florets ci zi‘yca t'
vets'
uyzac'
va) Ka i aurés‘ . I assume that another which he cites as deciphered byMr Sayce is of the same date : here we read, Kaka
'
Ss wozei s eZzppcoo ac Kal rd
Rom-d omKard yvaiyqv e’a rr
’w e
’
ppaiy eda 86‘
Kai riy e'
i s‘ (F linders P etr i eP ap yri ,
CunninghamMemoirs of Roy. Irish Acad. viii pp. 78 So in a lettercited by Deissmann (B i belstudi en pp. 209, 2 10)fromL and . P ap . 42, datedJuly 24, 172 B .C. : el e
’
ppwy e’vq) rdhha Kard Miyou fina l/rd, ei
'
qv dv air ro'
i s' 6601
'
s
a ixoy ém) dtareha'
i . Kai min)8’dyiawov Kal rd wacdc
'
ov Kat of. 311 07a mix/res,O
'
oi) dw wavrds yvefav nocouy evoc.
3.Thi s last formula, y va’av woceio dac, is of special interest, inasmuch as 3
‘Mfl king
it occurs several times in St Paul’s epistles. I have already cited anmentmn"
example of its use in a letter of the second century A.D., written by an
educated hand (B . P . The passages in St Paul are as follows
9a?) fi dvrore wept mi l/ra w uya'
iv yuec’av 1 Thess.
A A a, 1 2 .
riy cfw1770 08Xpw'
rouzyflpoadeu roii 9606 Kai. war-
pd: fiy a w, eZdor es'
,
Lightfoot in commenting on thi s passage3 (Notes on Ep i stles of St
P aul, pp. 9 f.)decides to punctuate afterWestcott and Hort
punctuatebefor
eit
.
Another uncertai nty 18 the constructlon of syn-
poo dev
roz‘
)secswhich Lightfoot joins with the words immediately preceding
and notwi thyvqy oveuovreg.
It would seemthat St Paul first used a phrasewhich was fami liar in epistolary correspondence, and that then out
of
yua’av wowéy evoz, in its ordinary se
nse of makingmention’in prayer, grewthe fuller clause r017 660i}, whether th emeans‘remembering your work,’etc., or
‘ remembering before God your work,’etc.,
in the sense ofmaking it the subject of d irectintercession or thanksglvmg.
Rom. i 9 f. Mc'
zp-rvg
‘
ycip y o i e’arw (i ddtahefmms‘ yvec
’av
'
ziy a'
iv Rom. i 9 f.
frowfiyac 7rdvror e e’rri r c'iv wpoa euxéiv y ou deéy evos ei
’mos 531)nore‘
euodwdna oyat
e’v rd} dehfiy ar t roi}06017 610621! 7rpds ziy c
'
i s‘ .
Here again the punctuation i s uncertain. Lightfoot places thestop
afterwocoi
‘
zya t,Westcott and Hort after y ou. Wemay note the additi on o
f
spay after yveiav (comp. yvet'
av am; in Philem. it is added in the i nferi or
texts of 1 Thess. i 2 and Eph. i 16.
3 To the few illustrations of elia
mu collected by Lightfootmay nowb e addedmany others fromthe papyri :e.g. B .P . 423 (ci ted above).
1 Comp .James v 12 7rpd r dvrwv
ddeh¢ oi y ou, y 7‘
7 dymi
ere.
2 Comp . Ox. P . 293 (a n. em.
O'
Ko'
rrofi as 15d KaZ r dvra s rob s év ol’
c .
280 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Phi lem.4f. Philem. 4f. Eti
xapw ra'
i rq'
i 9643 y oumivror e y 1:6 t'
au 0 ou wowuy evog ra'
iv
0 po0 6vxc3v you, dKoucou 0 ou 17 Kow com'a rfis mf0r6c69 0 ou
évepyfis ye’
vqrar,
A s Lightfoot points out, the mention’ here 1nvolves the idea of
intercession on behalf of Phi lemon, and so introduces the 30 0 9 KJ'JL
’
Eph . i 16. Eph. i 16 013 wauoy a t a ixapw rciiv ufl'
e’
p ziy éiu y veiav 7rozouy 6vos~
rciiv
0 po0 6uxa'
iv y ou, 7110 (i 6669Phfl 1 3~ In Phil. i 3 the same phrase i s in the Apostle’s mind, but he varies hi s
expression : Euxapw ra'
i rd"
) 966 you 601 f f}yuet'
a uyo'
ivmirrore 6’u 0 601)
86170 61. you uvrep.
wdvrwu vy o w y erd xapas‘ rnv 36770 0: 1roto15y 6vos K.r .h.
2 Tim i 3 In 2 Tim. 1 3 the variation of phraseology 1s very noteworthy : Xdp6X0) rq
’
i Geq'
i,(5 harpeuco (in-d 77007 6 q 61; Kadapg
'
i 0vv618750 6c, air cidcahez'm'
cos
6x00 rdu wep l 0 013 y vet'
av e’u ra '
i s‘ 86750 60 131 y ou, v rdg Kal. fiy e’
pas 6’0mot903u 0 6
y 6ywyy 6'
vos'
0 ou ra'
iv daKpua w, K.r .h. The word y vez'
ameets us but oncemore in the New Testament l z I Thess. iii 6 3m6X6r6 yvec
'
au fiy o’
iv
mix/rare 6’m1rodoi3vr69 riyds 286211, Kafié‘n
'
ep Kai fiy 6'
i s‘ uy ds‘
.
As no clear examme appears to have been cited hitherto for the use ofy vet
’au wozeio daz in reference to prayer, itmay b e interesting to quote the
account of the prayer of Tantalus preserved in Athenaeus vi i 14 (p . 281 b):C
O 7 0131) rr)u rciiv’Arp 6¢8(3v 0 01150“ Kcidodov rig t éy a /ov aurdv he
'
ya vi'
d rods960i}? Kal 0vv8carp c
'
Bom-a éfioumfas rvxe'
i v wapd rou And: a i fi i0 a09al. drou6’7rc9uy 6
'
i°rdu 7rpds
‘
rd: dflohau0 6w 6711150 e BtaKet'
y 6vov, un'
e‘
p a tircfw re
rourwv y vec'
av 7rou§0 a0 t9a t Ka i roi) ( 771: rdu aurdv rp ci'n
'
ov mi : 96029 :
o is‘
dyavaK117'
0avra rdu A c’a rdu y e
‘
v euxfiv ci rror ehe'
0 a1. Bcd rdu
II . Closing II . We pass now fromthe Openi ng of the letter to its close.
1. Themost striking parallel with the Pauline epistles is found in theexchange of salutations. There are three formulae : (1) ‘ I greetA
3
; (2)ci0 1rd0 at,‘ I ask you to greet A. onmy behalf’; (3)h arem,
‘B.
sends a greeting to A throughmeOf the first we have but a single example in the New Testament
,and
this does not proceed fromthe author of the epistle, but fromhis
amanuensis. In Rom. xvi 2 1 in the midst of a series of salutations, of
-OVTa t), we read :’A07rd{ oya¢ uyas dya
d
Te'
prcos‘ 6 ypdxlf as
‘
r1‘
7v 6m0rokr’
1u 61:
Kup t'
q).
After the Epistle to the Romans the richest in salutations is the Epistleto the Colossians : Col. iv. l o th uy ii s
'’Ap ¢
'
0rapxo9 6 w umxydl wrdsyou, Ka i Md os
‘ 6 (i i/du ds: Bapucifia, (0 6p l 05 6’hcifier6 610 0d 6311! 61 637 Wpds
uyfis 8650096 aur tiv)Ka i’Iq0 o
'
us 6h6-y6y 6vos uyds‘’E1ra<j>p ds
5 uyfis Acud (i Zarpds‘ 5 dyamgrds' Ka i Aqyfi s :
(10 7160 00 96
rous e’u Aaodtm'a ddehcpoug Kai. Nuy cbav Ka i rr)v Kar
’ofxov aurfir
Many parallels to this listmight b e offered fromthe papyri, but sufficienthave been already given in the letters above cited.
1 Mvfiy '
q i s found only in 2 Pet. i 15 variant rat‘s y vela ts for rai : xpeiacs in
01rov6c'
w'
w 66 ml éKciO'
rore exew 15d Rom. x11 13, see Sanday and Headlamy erd rfiv éyfiv 65060? rv
‘
p' rourwv yvfiymr Romans, ad loo.r ocewb’ou. For the curious Western
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
(the same phrase i s repeated at the end of the letter). It occurs also inB . P . 348, 596 829 830, 844 b i s (a n. 848. The
construction with the participle is by far themost common.In a similar sense 68 woujo ew is used : B . P . 248, 597 P .
113, 294 (a n. but this i s less common .
We have an example of this formula in 3 John 6, ode Kal e: 0 01750 6197rp00 6
'
y \lras dficos rob 6606. The past tense occurs to express gratitude inPhil. iv 14, 71't Kahdi s 60 0050 01 6 0 uVKowawr§0 avr69 y ou rji HMxpet : comp. ActsX 33 0 15r6 Kahc
'
i s' 60 0670“ wapayevdyevos.
2 . A similar formula i s wapaxako‘
i 0 6 , of which itmay sufii ce to quotetwo examples inwhich 816precedes : B . P . 164 8rdwapaxako
‘
i 0131! ohm-re z
P . 292 (C. A .D. 2 5)dtd wap aKaha'
i 0 6 y 6rd 0 60 179 dumiy ems' 6X6“) adrdu
0uv60ray 6'
vov. In B . P . 814 we have similarly 051-09 e’
pmra‘
i 0 6 adv,
y rirqp , 0 6min : wpds' 6y6' and in P . 294 (A D. 2 2)sp an de’
0 6 K0).
In 2 Cor. 11 8 we have : dtd 7rapaKa7tc3 ziw Kup <30 at 62: d u’rdy dycirmv
comp. Acts xxvii 34 asnap axaAcBdyas y erakafieiv rp octfis. A glance at theconcordance will shew how common is the phrase wapaKaha
'
i 031! spas inthe epistles of the New Testament. ’
Epcor&v is also used, though less froquently, in similar cases : e.g. 2 John 5 Kat vii i: 6
’
p a rdi 0 6, Kup t'
a. Both verbsoccur in Phil. iv 2 f. Edodt'av napaKahcb Kai Euvruxqv nap aKat rd adrd
(ppovefu Kup t'
q). val 6’
parra'
5 mi ymiaw 0uvfu‘
y6, 0uvhad vou adra'
is‘,As in the papyri
,we find sometimes the interjectional use of the
phrase,and sometimes the construction with the infinitive.
3. Just as Kaho'
i s and napaKahc'
S 0 6 are circumlocutions whichsoften the introduction of an order or help to urge a requestl , so the wayis prepared for a piece of news by the prefixes ‘
ywaia Kew 0 6 667k.» or
yz'morxe. The former i s by far themore frequent. Its regular use is to opena letter, after the introductory greeting : B . P . 261 I‘ 6waSO K6w 0 6 967m)
,6’
ycd
Kai Ozi
ahep t'
a,
6’du
r
Hp oi s r6'
Ky, euxdy eda 61 9621; wp ds 0 6 (here it standsoutside the construction): 385 1
‘6wai0 K6w 0 6 667m) 31 1. ydw; Zy
‘
t 602
Fl t/050 K“! 0 6 967m) 37 1. emfihude wpdg 6’
y 6’Eouxds, he
'
yc w dr t’Ay6p a0dv y ou rd
y e’
p os‘
roi) 61 6651109 : 815 I‘6tv60 Ktv 0 6 (96700
,rdu 61n 0rokriv 0 ou ghafia (again
outside the construction). In 822 it is curiously disconnected : I‘waimcw967m), y r)y 67\170drco 0 01. 77 6p
’t rdiv 0 tr t 3v °
65pm! yeopydu, For furtherexamples see B . P . 815, 816, 824, 827, 843, 844, 845, 846.
On the other hand, y ivwo xe generally occurs in the body of the letter,
though sometimes it comes at the beginning, as in B . P . 625 I‘
a'
vcomce,
cidehcbé, 6Khnpa$971v 629 rd Boumilua : and in Oz . P . 295 (A.D. 35)I‘
t'
vw0K6 drt
2 67“:v A dd»; (586 wécbeuye. We find it in the Ptolemai c peri od in the twopapyri published by Mahafi'
y (CunninghamMemoirs vi i i pp. 78,
y iuw0K6 de’Kai. dr t and (with a participle) y t
'
vm0 K6 de’ y e 6Xovra
For further examples see B . P . 164, 814 b is, 845, Fay. P . 1 17 bis
(A D.
To the former phrase we have a parallel in Phi l. i 12 , which practicallybegins the letter, though a long thanksgiving precedes it : l‘waicncew 86
‘
sp as
1 In Modern Greek r apamxe corresponds to our word ‘
p lease’.
EPISTOLARY PHRASES. 283
Bou'
hoyat, dBeMpoZ, an rd Kar’6’
y é K.r .h. Wemay also compare Rom.i 13
mi 667W) de’ dy ii s‘ (i ddupoc'
,dr t 71
'o t 7rp0606yqu 6’M96
'
iu 7rpds° dyds ,
this expression is a favourite with St Paul, and it opens, after a
doxology,"
hi s second letter to the Corinthians (i comp.also 661 0) 86
‘
(ydp)uyds‘ 65861102 in I Cor. xi 3, Col. ii 1.The latter phrase i s well represented in Heb . xii i 23 Pwoia xere raw
cideMfidv riya'
iu T tydeeov dwohfi uy e’vov. Other examples might b e given,
but they are of a didactic character and not statements of ordinary
4. Satisfaction finds expression in the terms 6’
xcipnv and May e’
xcipqv : 4, Ex.
as in B . P . 332 6Xdpqu Koy t0 ay 6'm; ‘
ypa'
yyara dr t Kal eb : 8260 056177 6 632 (given 1319?sabove)Ka i 671230 0159 0 6 6
’
ppmy 6'
v17v Maxi 6xdpqv. We may also compare azatl sfac
fragment of a letter (2nd cent. quoted by Deissmann (B i belstud i enmn'
p. L and . P . 43 mvdavoyémyavflciva v 0 6 A2y157rr ta yp ciyyara ow exdpqv
0 02 Kal 6’
y aurf] dr tIn Phil. iv 10 we read : i
Exdpnv de’61! Kup t
'
cp y e‘
ydhms' grt 77817 7ror6
dveddhe-re rd tin-Ep 6’
yo1'
3 ¢ p ov62u And we have the strengthened phrase in2 John 4
’Excipqv May dr t edq a 6
’K rcfwr6
'
Kva w0ou 7r6p t7rarouvrwu 61»(22019629,and in 3 John 3
’Excip17u ydp Mar 6pxoy 6
'
va w ddehcpé v Kai yaprupouvrcou 0 ou
777 dhqdetq.
5. Another formof expressing satisfaction is the use of the phrase 5. Ex
xcip ts ro'
i s' 66029 or the like. Thus in B .P . 843 we have, P tvai0 K6w 0 6 667W.) 1119881118
drt xdp ts 7 029 06079 i yqv 62s Fay. P . 124 ciMd roi s 0601's 6’0r iv
xdp tg drt odd6y t'
a 6’0r iv npdhqydrts‘ fiy e
’
i v y67 6v17y 6'
w). A letter of the
Ptolemaic period (CunninghamMem. vi i i p. 78)begins : xdp tr rots: 9602971
'
o 62uyta t'
vew . In P . 1 13 we have : Xcipw 6xco 06029 7130 0! 7 21/050 v
dr t K.r .k .
Xé
p ts rcp"
6643 is frequent in St Paul’s letters : xc
i
pw é’
xm7 43 6643 is foundonly in 2 Tim. i 3 ; comp. 1 Tim. i 12 Xcipw 6350 f t?) 6rdvuay ai0aur i y 6 Xp’Ir;0 o ii.
ness.
IV . In conclus ion, a few phrases may be noted, which, though not IY. Va
specially connected with the epistolary style of writing, are of interest as 11 0“ N-T~hr i l
illustrating the language of the New Testament. imiiiid.
1. Td Kar’6’
y6. P . 120 (4th century) d’
xp ts dv 0 03: rd Kar’1. Té. xar
’
a lyal cin-or t
'
da tra t, et inf ra rd Kara 06 dtoc’KrI0 ov 059 7rp 6
'
7rou 6’0rc
'
u, y r) re
'
heov 5116’
dvarpan'
a'
iyw : W en-f: P . (Ptolemaic) 15 rd Kafl'
fiydg dtegdyayeiv].
Comp. A cts xxiv 2 2 dta-yvco'
00ya t rd Kad’dyds
‘
, Eph. vi 1 1 2m86
Kai dy ei s rd Kar’e’
y e'
,Phi l. i 12 rd Kar
’6’
y6’
ydhhov 629 7rp0Ko7rr’
w roii 6da-yy6ht'
ou
ab ihudev, Col. iv 7 rd Kar’6’
y6mix/ra yywp20 6t tiy i'
v TuXtKos‘
.
2 .
”Hdv) 7ror 6
'
. B . P . 164 dtd 7rapaKa>xc5 O5V (fifhrare, fida 7ror6 0 620 02 2 .
”
Hon
adrdv rod 417 dwdhhafiov adv 0 6aurdv tin'd wax/rd: y 6r6ai
pou, 2m6877 7 01-g.
7ror6 ciy e'
p ty vog Kai rd e’
yd y 6r6cop t'
dta 7787) 710 7 6 ruxdv 0X5 : P:237
vi i 1 1 (a petition)6’7rt
'
0x6w r6 adrdv 17877 0 0rd 604010 6 yoz, 7rp6r6pov y ev cos
a a r I 9 7 a l 1civdyou Karoxqs
'
xdpw ,vuv de
’7rp0<j>a0 6¢ voyou ovdeu aurgo 7rpo0 77Kovros
‘
1 On the techni cal terms y eréwpos Grenfell and Hunt, Ox. P . u p p . 18o fi
and Kan-ox?) in these extracts see 142 ff.
284 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Comp. Rom. i 10 866y 6v05‘ 62 710 9 77817 7ror6 613080 6150 oy at 6’v rq
’
i Behriy ar t
rob 9606 61 961) 77pd9 dy ds, Phil. iv 10 6X¢ipqv 86 6’v Kup t
'
qo y e'
ycikms~drt 7787] worddv69¢i>x6r6 rduzre
’
p 6y oi3 60’
Kat 6¢ p ov6i r6 fiKatp 62006
3. 2uva2p 6tv Rd'
yov. B . P . 775 6'
q 9 dv ye’
voy e 6’K
'
2Ka i 0uvcipwy 6v ltd-you
P . 113 dr t 680mmadrq’
i dfihmmiv yoc, i'
va 0 uvdp coyat adrq'
i hd'yov Fay. P .
109 dr t 0 uvfipya t 7\6~yov ra’
i 7rarp’t Ka i h6ho¢woypd¢ 17K6 y 6 Kai dnoxdv 067m
Rafié‘
v.
Comp . Matt. xvi ii 23 dvdpaimp Ba0 th6i ds‘ 15067070 6v 0uvdpa tMi‘
you y 6rd rciiv
douhwv a tirob °(ipgay e
'
vou 86 adrou ouvaipetv 7rp o01§x017 6 is‘ adrq'
i d¢ 6t7léfi 1$
yvp t'
wv rahdvrwv,xxv 19 0uva t
'
p 6t hdyov yer’adro
'
iv.
4. Kéyxlrcos' 6X6w . P ar . P ap . 18 Kdyufwc 6x0 Kai rd ”577t y ou Kai.
Me‘has l . The same phrase is ci ted fromArrian 17497302. d i es. i i i 10 13, drau
o 2arpd$ Kdyxlrwg 6X6 t9 (comp. i i 18Comp. John iv 52 6
’7rudero adv rdv a
i
pav 7rap’adréiv e
’u f] Koydrdrepov
5. NvKrds 5. NUKrds Ka i riy e'
pa s. B . P . 246 (2/3 cent. A D.)dr t v rds‘ Kai. viyépa s” 12 7
c
72141004 3 : évru‘
yxcivw N? 96623 u7re‘
p dy éivz.
Comp. 1 Thess. i i i 10 W KTdS‘ Kai riy e'
pas 60 6p 6K77 6p t00 ou 866y 6vOt 629 rd
286'
iv uyc'
iv rd 7rp60a>7rov, 1 Tim. v 5 7rpo0y 6'
v61. ra i : 86150 60 tv Kai. rai : 7rpo0 6uxa'
i s
w a s. Ka i. fiy e’
pa s, andmany other passages.q .1 The letter i s given by Dei ssmann , 771" ad dlKatov 7 dp abrfiv hu7r200al. 7repl
B i belst. p . 2 15, who has noted the obdevbs' fixow a 7 dp 67 1 hum Comp .
parallel . He however cites i t thus 1 Cor. xvi 10 saw 56 th ey Tty bb eos,Ka i rdv 771-r ov (sic)y ou. The emendation fihér er e fva. dcpéflws y évnra t 7rpds
is fairly obvious. y ?) 7 19 obv aurdv éfoudevfiom. In Phil.2 In the same letter we read : Kat i i 28 we have the word dkvvrbrepos.
7rep2'
Epy ¢6vns yehnadrw uyZv 0 6379 dhwros
286 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
iv 16 aurou] 6curou, with considerable support.23 n?)mm
S
ya-n ] pr. W B alone (except for the uncertain testimony of
a version).24 6
’v860 a09at] 6v8v0 a096 B*
,with Nand some others ; but probably
it i s an itacism.
32 7 21160 66 86] om. 86 B, with considerable support : moreover DQ‘G3read ouv.
any] qyw B : see the Special note.
v 17 rob Kup t'
ou] + q B alone.19 enacts] pr. W B.
7rv6uya rtKai s‘ ] om. B . On this and the preceding variant see the
special note.
20’1170 oii Xpw rou] RT) 717 B alone.
23 60rtv Kayak ; 607 W B.
24 M d air] om. a): B.
31 rdu nare’
pa Kai rdu yqrépa] 7ra repa Kat yqr6pa B, With D2*G3 .32 629 rdu 6
’KKixq0 iav] om. a s B.
Vi I 6’v Kup t
'
tp] om. B, with DZ*O3 .
2 e’o-r‘
w] om. B, wi th 46.
7 civ9pai7row] av9pwmo B, with slight support.
10 6’v8uvayob096] 8uvayou096 B, with 17 and Origen, cat. in commentary.
12 fiy i v] uy tv B,wi th D
2*G3 etc.
16 rd 71'
67rupmy 6'
va] om. ra B,with D2*G3 .
I9 rod om. B, with G3 V ictoria.
20 6’vmin i ] auro B alone.
2. The divergences fromR are as followsi 1 Xp t0 roi33 170 05385 Yr? N see the special note.
[e’v 1 06047] om. N" : see Special note.
3 rod Kup t'
ou fiy o‘
iv] rov 5 Kat 0 0 117pOs'
nymv hi " alone.
5 edito‘
yfi0 as‘riyds] om. qyas
' N alone.
7 2xoyev] 60xoy 6 v N", with G3* and some support fromversions.
14 d 6’0r tv] 09 60 rtv N, With D2 etc.
rbs om.ms" N,with 17 35.
15 dydflqv] om. R see the special note.
18 rbs' 865179 rfis q povoy t
'
a s‘] 1179 Khnpovoy i a s‘ 7 179 N alone.
20 6’vfip ‘
yqK6v] empyqo-ev N, withmost authorities against AB.
11 4 6p e’xe’ct] om. w as" alone.
7 N*(alone)omits this verse through komoeoteleuton.
10 adrob] 917 N" alone.
18 82’ad'
s-ob ] + 01. ay ¢ 0r 6p02 W 6 14 N" alone
, p er errorem, 82’c urou
having ended the column and page. It would seemthereforethat the length of the line in the archetype is represented byexomeNTHa ocare N, which was at firstmissed.
20 adroii Xp t0 rou1b
111005] rou i f}K"
.
1 rod Xpw'
r ob’Ir)0 oi3] om. Iu0 ou R
",with D2
*G3 etc.
9 «Eu 7 43 0643] rco 96 N"
. This was Marcion’s readi ng (Tert. 0. Marc.
v
NOTE ON VARIOUS READINGS. 287
6’v 7 93 Xp t0rc§ 7 770 061om. rep N
*,with D
2 etc.
iii/109mi 66909] 30909 Kat udro9 N, with A etc.
e’u Kup t
'
tp] w xc) R, with aeth.Kai 680 K6v] om. Ka t N"
, withmany authorities.6v860 a09at] 6v8u0a0 96 95, with B* and others.8tKato0 15vy Kai d0 td‘nyr t] o0 tor7rrt Ka t 8tKato0uv1; N
" alone : butAmb rst has i n ueri tate et i ustz
‘
tia.
dit696 tav 6Ka0 ro9] 6Ka0 ro9 aiuy96tav N" alone.
y erd rod 7190701011] 7rpo9 rov 0 7t770 t0vN" alone : Lucifer has ad p roximum.
x6p 0 iv] pr t8ta t9 N*, wi th AD2G3 etc. : see the special note.
6x77] exqrat 15" alone : comp. Clem371 i'va 6'e 6.
2 eas y] 17w R : see the special note.
7rp o0¢ 0pdv Ka i 9u0 £av] 9u0 tav Ka t 7rpo0 cpopav N alone.
Kai ywpohoy t'
a] 7)ympohoy ta N" , with AD,*G3 etc.dtd ra fzra ydp ] om. yap g
-Xalone.
96’
hnya] (pp ovqy a N" alone.
rod Kup t'
ou riy c'
iv] om. qywv it alone.
a i yuva’
iK69] + u7rora00 609to0av N see the special note.
adrd9 0wr1’
7p] aur09 o 0 0 1-
up N", with A 17 etc.
adrds 6aurqi] auro9 aura) g i t alone.
r t rc'
Sv rocodr cov] om. 17 rt N" alone.
d¢ 60\0u0 tv Ka i o i d'
v8p 69] om. Kat a etc.
0 05ya ra] reKva N" alone.
rdv 6'
auroi3 0d a] r17v 0 apKa aurou N" alone.
7rpd9 rdv ‘
yuva'
i Ka adrob] 7 7)yuva t N" : see the Special note.
i t a—7 779] b is som'
p tumN" alone.
(in-Adm” r?)9 Kap8t'
a9] om.m9 N etc.
37 1 n O‘
TOS‘ div r t 71005017] or t 6av 0 0070 7) 6Kd O
‘
TOS‘ N alone.
Ka i adrdiv] Ka t 6aurc0v N" alone : see the Special note.
Otipavot9] oupavms , wi th some others.6’v Kup t
'
cp] 6v r co E ; N" , wi th 91 .
iva yO t 80913] wa 8097) y ot N‘X' alone.
6’vmin?) 7rappq0 td0wy at] 7rapp170 ta0 a>yat 6v aura) N alone.
628?)r6 Kai dy ei S‘] Kat uy et9 t81rr6 N, wi thmany others.
7rt0 rd9 8tdKov09] om. 8taKovo9 N" alone.
3. If the combination sB represents a line of textual tradition whichaThe
i s of great importance here as elsewhere in the New Testament, on the L iiie
xio
ground that i ts readings are usually justified by internal considerations, codices.scarcely less interest attaches to another line of tradition commonly Spokenof as the Western text
,
’because it ismainly attested for us by two GraccoLatin codices D, and G3 . D2 is Codex Claromontanus (cent. vi), and isthus indicated to di stingui sh it fromD,
Codex Bezae of the Gospels andActs. G3 i s Codex B oerneri anus (cent. ix), and was once part of the samecodex as A (Sangallenst
'
s)of the Gospels1.
1 E2 is a copy of D2 , and F2 i s pro text i s concerned. Accordingly I have
b ab ly a copy of G3 SO far as its Greek not ci ted th e evidence of En .
288
Variants‘
mD2orG
3.
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
At the beginning of the history of each of these codices a Greek textand an Old Latin text have been brought together in the same volume
,and
a process of assimi lation has begun, partly of the Greek to the Latin andpartly also of the Latin to the Greek. If we had the immed iate parent ofeither of these codi ces we should probably find corrections of thi s natureintroduced in themargin or in the text itself. Thus it may have been inthe immediate ancestor of G3 that in Eph. iv 15 q OeJom-eg 86‘ was changedinto a’xfieemv 86wowfivres, because the correspondi ng Latin was ueri ta temautemfacz
’
entes. The like process had already been taking place in thecodex fromwhich D2
and G3 are ultimately descended . For most of theobvious Latinisations are common to themboth . Thus in 11 1 1 tin'd T i)?heyoy e
'
vmwep troyfis‘6’v 0 apKi xetpon
'
ouirou was rightly rendered ab ea quae
diei tur ci rcumci sio i n came manafacta : but an ignorant scribe tookmanufacta as the ablative agreeing with came
, and accordingly we find inD2G3 the strange reading 6
’v 0 apKi xetpowotrirqi . Another example i s ii 20,
where the true read ing is dxpoywma iov. The Latin rendering for ‘ cornerstone ’was angulam
’
e lap is (summus angular is lap is, Jerome): hence wefind in D2G3 that M901; i s added after d o
‘
ywvta t'
ou.
Besides this process, by which the Greek texts of these codi ces havebeen considerably affected in detail, wemay distinguish another element ofmodi fication whichmay b e called the interpretative element. Thus in ii 5,in the parenthetical sentence Xdp t-n
'
6’o~re 0 60m0y 6
'
v0t,we find prefixed to
xcip tr t the relative pronoun mi
,which brings it into the construction of the
main sentence : 05 r?)Xdp tfl. D2, 05 Xtip tr t G3 . As cuius i s found at thispoint in the Old Latin
,it i s possible that the inserted pronoun i s due to
the Latin translator, and has subsequently passed over'
to the Greek text.The simi lar clause in i i 8
,rfi ydp xdp tr t
'
e’0re 0 60 w0y6v0t, i s changed in D2
into ri) ydp adroi}Xtip tr t 0 60w0y6'
v0t 6’0y 6
'
v. The change to the first personis due to the e
’
ct’
ayes of the previous verse,and to the e
’crye
‘
v of u. 10 : the
65eas t of u. 8 had also passed into 65 fiyo’
iv,probably at an earlier stage
,
for it has a wider attestation. Another interesting example is the completion of the broken sentence in iii 1 by the ad dition in D,
of 7rp 60B€15co afterra
’
Sv 6’9vc3v : a small group of cursives add Kexavxfiyat froma simi larmotive.
More serious is the change in i i i 2 1,where in the true text glory is ascribed
to God 6’v rf} Kai e
’uXp to
'
rq'
i’Ir)0 ob . Thewords in this order appeared
so startling that in one group of MSS (KLP)Ka i was dropped, so as to givethe sense ‘ in the Church by Christ Jesus ’ In D
," G3 the order is
boldly reversed (e’u 723 E} Ka
i
f f; e’KxMo iq); and they are supported by Am
b rosiaster and Victorinus. It is probable that to thi s classwe should assignthe addi tion of vicgi aemaafter 61: fiyamyy e
’
vcp in i 6 : but it is to b e notedthat this reading has a wide attestation and is undoubtedly very early
8D° vg"Odd V ictorin Amb rst Pelag etc. ; also Ephraimin his com
mentary, preserved in Armenian, has ‘ in Hi s Son
Other interesting readi ngs belonging to one or both of these codices areii 15 Karap-yri0 a9] Karapr t0 a 9 DQ
" alone.
iii 12 6’v 77 677 029750 64 6v rm6h6u96pw9qvat D2
*alone (not unconnected with
the rendering of 7rapp170 t'
av by li bertatemVictorin Amb rst).20 amp miura wotfio at] om. 071
-6p D2G3, with vg Amb rst etc.
290 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
Wemay note at the outset that Lucifer’s text at this point i s foundword for word in Codex Claromontanus (dz), the only difference being thatthere we have the order sanguinemet carnem’
, which i s probably theresult of correction by the Greek of the codex.
nobis . Cyprian and the Vulgate give the true reading. But nobis i sread by g3m(the Sp eculum,
a Spanish text), Prisci llian and Amb ros iaster.Tertullian, however, Hi lary and Ambrose have ‘nobis’. The Greek evi
dence i s remarkable fromthe fact that B deserts its usual company. ‘
Hy’
i v
i s found in NAc KLP 17 etc., supported by Clement and Origen and theGreek writers generally also by b ob armsyr(hkl).
‘
Yy iv is found in BD,*
G,and some cursives : besides the Latin support already cited
,it is sup
ported by the Gothic and the Aethiop ic versions, and by the Syriac Peshi to,which doubtless gives us here the Old Syriac reading, as we gather fromEphraim’s Commentary.
It is quite possible that the variation has ari sen independently indifferent quarters, for in Greek it i s among the commonest confus ions. Itserves however admirably as an illustration of the grouping of our Lati nauthorities.Sed aduersus (or contra)p otestates. A single clause seems in the oldest
Latin to have represented 7rpd9 rds tipxc'
ts, 7rpd9 rd9 6’
50u0 t'
a9 (or Ka i 6’
50u0 t'
a 9)of the Greek text. Itmay b e that p ri ncip es was being consciously reservedto b e used in the following clause (0pd9 rod9 Ko0yOKp tirop a9): for there i s noGreek evidence for the omission of s pa. rd9 t
i
pxti s‘
. Yet dzmLucif Hil(ed. Vienn. p. 489)have the single clause although they use
‘ rectores’(Hilmund i p otentes)in the later clause. It is noteworthy that d2 i s not in thiscase brought into conformity with the Greek (11-pa. rd9 cipxds Kai igovm
'
as)of D2.
On the renderings of Ko0y0Kpdrop a9 see further in the commentary ad
LUCIFER COD . AMIATINUS
propter hoc indui te p rOp terea accip ite ar propterea accip i te ar
tota arma, ut possi tis ma dei , ut possitis resi s ma dei , ut possi tis resi eresistere in di e nequi s tere in die malo
, in tere in di emalo et omnisimo , a t cumomnia p er omni bus perfecti stare, b us perfecti stare. state
feceri tis stetis adcincti praecincti lumbos ues ergo succincti lumboslumbos uestros in ueri tros in ueritate. uestros in ueri tate.
tate.
Lucifer agrees with dz, except that the latter has omnibus Open s inplace of ‘ in omnibus perfecti and stetis for stare’.indu i te. Som induite uos ’.tota arma. The omission of
‘ dei’by the best MSS of the Testimonia
i s confirmed by Q9. lviii 8. It is interesting to note in connexion with‘ tota arma ’ that Jerome ad loo. says ‘
omnia hoc enimsonat
r ayon-Ma,non ut in Latino Simpliciter arma translata sunt ’. Yet Cod.
Amiat. gives us ‘ arma ’, and the Clementine Vulgate armaturamnequ i ssimo. In 0. 16 ‘
nequi ssimi ’retains its place in the later recenS1ons.
cumomnia p erfeceri tis. It is strange that this excellent rendering wasnotmaintained : see the commentary ad loo.
NOTE ON VARIOUS READINGS.
accincti . This corresponds to the reading of D,*G3 0rfir6for a f fix/av o
-rfire adv. In mwe find ‘
estote’, or
according to some MSS
stare, estote’. The Vulgate shews correction by a better Greek text.
CYPRIAN
induentes lori camiustiti ae et calciati p edes inpraep aratione euangeli i
p aci s, in omni bus adsu
mentes scutumfidei , in
quo p ossiti s omnia igni tai acula nequi ssimi extinguere, et galeamsaluti s
et gladiamsp iri tus, quiest sermo dei .
LUCIFER
induentes lori camiustitiae et calciati pedes inp raeparati one euangeli i
p aci s, in omni bus adsumentes scutumfidei
,in
quo possi ti s omnia iacula.nequi ssimi candenti a exstinguere, et galeamsa
luti s etgladiumsp iritus,quod est uerbumdei .
con. AM ATINUS
et induti lori ca ius
ti tias et calciati p edes inp raeparatione euangelii
pacis , in omni bus sumentes scutumfidei
, in quo
p ossiti s omnia tela ne
qui ssimi ignea extin
guere ; et galeamsaluti s
adsumi te et gladiumSp i
ritus, quod est uerbum
dei .
Lucifer agrees with d,, except that the latter has salutarls for ‘Salutis’
(comp. Tert. 0. Marc. iiiigni ta. Tertul lian in an allusion (ut sup ra)has
‘ omnia diaboli ignita.tela’ candentia
’is found inm.
adsumi te : supplied in the Vulgate,to correspond with aégaaee whi ch
is omitted by D2*G3 .sermo characteristic of the Cyprianic text : comp. Tert. u i sup ra .
The text ofVigilius Tap sensis (Africa, 0. 484)is of sufficient interest tob e given in full (de tr in. xii
, Chifflet, 1664, p. 313)‘Propterea suscip ite tota arma dei
,ut possitis resistere in diemaligno
et cumomnia p erfeceri tis state cincti lumbos in ueritate, et cal ciate calciati)pedes in praeparatione euangeli i pacis : sup er iza omnia accip i entes
scutumfidei,et galeamsalutari s accip i te, et gladiumspiritus
,quod est
uerb umdeiComp. 0. Var imadumi i i 24, p. 457 :
‘ In omni bus adsumentes scutumfidei
,in quo possitis omnia iacula nequissimi candentia exstinguere,
.
et
galcamsaluti s et gladiumspiritus, quod est uerb umdei This agrees Wi thLucifer. The variety of text is worth noting in connexion with the question of the authorship of these treatisesl .
291
The following readings deserve attention either for their own importance Specialor as throwing light on the history of the text. The authorities cited are
selected as a rule fromthe app aratus of Tischendorf or Tregelles, and thecitations have been to a large extent verified, and sometimes corrected andamplified.
i 1 xpucro? iHco?.
Amb rst Pel°°d z i 1Xp117m BD P 17 syr (t )b oh vg (am)Or‘mt0 roi3 NAG3K
2
L etc. syr (pesh)armvg (rural)Eph (arma)t orm1mm
1 On the authorshi p of the de trini Athanasius extant only in thi s Latmrate see Journ. of Th. St. i 126 ff., version See also the note on the
592 ff : it i s suggested that ‘Book xi i text of vi 16, b elow, I). 303
i s p rob ab ly a genuine work of St
19— 2
readingsof interest.
292 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
It is not easy to decide between these readings. The full title ‘Our
Lord Jesus Christ’would help to stereotype the order ‘Jesus Christ’. Thisorder in itself is perhaps themore natural, especially in Syriac, ‘Jesus theMessiah’: the Peshito has it even in the last words of this verse. A Oopyistwould b e more likely to change Xp t0rd9
’Ir)0 oi39 into
’Iq0oi39 Xp tor ds than
vi ce uersd.
B persistently has Xp tm-oi}’1qo oi) in the openings of the Ep istles : it is
Often deserted by N, and once by all uncials. This factmay suggest thepossibi lity of a revision on principle. In this particular place it appears asif the scribe of B began to writeWW, but corrected himself in time. Yet
the support which B here has makes it hazardous to depart fromit. Itis otherwise in u. 5, where B stands alone in giving the same reversalof order.
i 1 TOTO ci rfO IC TOTO OYC IN [éN
i 1 [év The case for the omission of i v’E¢ e
’
o cp has been SO clearly stated by1398 093} recent critics 1, that it will suffice to present the main evidence in the
briefest form, to call attention to a recent addition to it, and to set asidesome supposed evidence which breaks down upon examination.
1 . Not in 1. The words were not in the text used by Origen [1 A D. This isOri gen’s conclusively shewn by his endeavour to explain r0
'
i 9 ov as an independenttex" phrase. In Cramer’s Catena ad loc. we read
86'
(ppm:’E7ri yd v
’E¢ 60 t
'
wv edp oy ev Ket'
y 6vov rd TOTC drTO IC
TOTO C i e l : Ka i (prodyw ,62 yd 7rp o0K6 iy 6vov r t
’TOTC drlO IC TOTC
0?C l2,r i ddvarat 0 77ya t
'
v61v. dpa adv 63 y ri, (307 7 6p 6’v rq
'
i T 5689 dvoyd (pqa tv'
h ic A t I d t I A I
6aurov o q yar tfwv M0 0 6 1 ro QN,ourw9 O t y6r6xovr6 9 rou duro9 y tvovra t
x I 3 A ‘9 9
OVTGS‘
,KahouyevOt o iov6i 6K rov y r)ewat 629 rd 6 tva t KJ
'JL S
Evi dence This comment is no doubt referred to by St Basil [1 A.D. 379] in theOf following extract, at the close of which he declares that the words c
’v
were wanting in the older copies in his own day :’A7\7\d Kai ro
'
i 9 677 t0 r6M 0 v, 059 30 17010 9 rjvmy e'
vow rq‘
i dvr t dt’
6myvoi0 60 9, dura s adrod9 idtafdvrws' aivdya0 6v, 6 i7raiv'
ToTC drfO IC ToTC
o?c | Kai mOToTO éN XPICTQ’
IHOO?. Odrmyc‘
zp Ka i of s pafiyé v napa
86805Ka0 t, Ka i rjy ei s 6’v ro'
i s nahatoi s' rdv a’vr typdcpcov edp i ay 6v (Basil. contra
B anom. ii
2 . Evi 2 . The words e’v were originally absent fromx and B ; and
dence Of they are marked for omission by the corrector of the cursive 67 in theMSS “1367 ° Imperial Library at V ienna (cod. gr. theol.Fresh An interesting addition to the documentary evidence for the omission518313
1
1
1
521? has been made by E. von der Goltz,who has published an account of
Athos.1 See Lightfoot B i b li cal E ssays ri riw c rd TOTO oi c l.
PP 377 fi n Westcott and Hort Intro 3 Origen’s comment i s reproduced .
duction to N.Tn Notes 011 8616017 read in an Ob scure way by St Jerome, whoings’ad .loc., Hort P rolegg. to Romans p rob ab ly was unaware of any omi ssionand Ep hesi ans PP. 8611 , T . K. Ab b ott in the text, and therefore fai led toEp hmamPP i ff understand the dri ft of the exp lana
3 Perhap s we should read TOTO tion.
294 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
861186
and as
down,we may well conclude
the process of transcription. Even if we conjecturally substitute fi delesfor fideli bus, and render,
‘ to the saints who are faithful in Ephesus’, wecannot say that V ictorinus is giving us a direct citation as contrasted withamere allusion. For 1za in the sentence before us does not refer to thewords sanctis
, etc., but to the preceding phrase P aulus ap ostolas IesuChri sti p er voluntatemdei , whi ch V ictorinus has just told us were alsoused in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. So that the passage runs :‘But when he says these (same)words to the sai nts who are fai thful atEphesus
,what is added ? In Chri stJesus ’. The position of Ep hesi is thus
accounted for by the emphas is thrown upon it for the purpose of contrastwith the Corinthian Church. It seems clear then that no evidence of avariation of reading can b e drawn fromVictorinus.ii. Lightfoot suggests that AMBROSIASTEBmay not have had Ep hesi in
hi s text : (I)because ‘the commentary ignores the word Ep hesi altogether’:
(2)because his note suggests that he, or an earlier writer whose note headopts, had in hismind rai : dyiats
‘
rai : 0170 131 Kaimo rals, Which he regardedasmeaning the sai nts who are also fai thful’.But
, in regard to (I), a similar omission of the locali ty occurs in thecorresponding notes on the Epistles to the Galatians and to the Colossians :and generally the author’s comments on corresponding phrases are di rectedto bringing out themeaning of the word ‘
saints ’and its connexion withChrist Jesus ’. Moreover the text, as given in the Vetas Ed i ti o of Ambrose,after citing a. 1 runs thus
Solita more scri b it : Apostolamenimse esse Chri sti Jesu dei uoluntatetestatur : Sanctis et fideli bus in Chri sta Jesu qui sunt Ep hesi . Non solumfidelibus scri b i t : sed et sanctis : ut tune uere fideles sint si fuerint sancti inChrista Jesu. Bona enimui ta tunc p rodest ac credi tur sancta si sub nomineChri sti habeatur : ali oquin contaminatio cri t z quia ad ini uriamprofici t creatoris.
The Benedictine edition (and hence Migne, fromwhich Lightfootquotes) omits the words Sancti s et fideli bus in Christa J esu qui sunt
Ep hesi . In the quoted text of a. I as given in both edi tions the
corresponding words are as follows : Sancti s omni bus gui sunt Ep hesi ,et fideli bus in Christa Jesu. The variation is noteworthy. On internalgrounds it would seemto belong to the commentator ; but in that case hedoes not ignore the word Ep hesi .With regard to we should b e more ready to admi t the cogency
of the argument if the comment ran : non solumsanctis scr ib i t,sed
et fideli bus.
iii. SEDULIUS SCOTUS, a. compiler of the eighth or ni nth century, wri tes(Migne, P . L . ci ii
Sancti s. Non omni busEphesus, sed hi s qui credunt in Chri sta. E tfideli bus .
Omnes sancti fideles sunt, non omnes fideles sancti Qui sunt in ChristaIesu. Plures fideles sunt, sed non in Christa, etc.
NOTE ON VARIOUS READINGS. 295
Lightfoot lays no stress on the omission ofEp hesi . ‘But’, he says,
‘the
position of qui sunt i s striking. It would seemas though some transcriber,finding the reading sancti s qui sunt etfi deli bus in Chri sta Jesu in hiscopy and stumbling at the order, had transposed the words so as to readsanctis ci fidelibus qui sunt in Chri sta Jesu. This altered readingmayhave been before Sedulius, or some earlier writer whomhe copies’.Fortunately we have some information as to the source which Sedulius A parallel
was drawing fromat this point. The Commentary on the Pauline Epistles, i t}‘ Iirima
‘
which i s falsely attributed to Primasius,may or may not b e earlier thanSlug
the work of Sedulius. At any rate the following passage fromit is worthquoting as a parallel1
Saneti s omni bus qui sunt Ep hesi . Omni s sanctus fideli s, non omnis fideli ssanctus . Bap tizati s fideli b us sine fideliter seruanti bus sanctitatem: catechumeni s qui b eb ent fidem, quia credunt, sed non b eb ent sanctitatem. E tfideli busin Chri sta Iesu. Qui lici tis utuntur. Grati a etc.
The Commentary of Pelagius, printed in Vallarsi’s edi tion of St Jerome The(xi, pars iii), seems to lie behind both the preceding extracts. It runs source
rob ab lythus i)
s PelaOmni bus sane ti s. Omnes sancti fideles, non omnes fideles sancti . Quia gins,
possunt etiamcatechumeni ex ea quad Chri sta credunt fideles dici non tamensancti sunt, quia non per b apti smumsanctificati . Siue sic intelli gendum, quad
scri b at fideliter semanti bus gratiamsanctitati s. Qui sunt Ep hesi , etfideli bus who readi n Chri sta Iesu. Non omni bus Ephesi i s, sed hi s qui credunt in Chri sta.
‘Ephesi’.
Gratia etc.
i l s Kai "
rim e ic rrtiNTAO TO?C ci rfoyc.
We mus t consider this passage in connexion wi th the parallels to i 15 xazT i)»b e found in the two other epistles which were carried by the same [th i r ty]messenger.i.Eph. i 15 ciKoéa a 9 rhu Kad
’zip c
'
i9 m'
a rw 63} Kvp c'
tp’Iqa
'
ai) Kai rhu
[ch/6171711] 629 mim'
a 9 ayiou9.
ii. Col. i 4 ciKoua'
ax/res'r ip!m
'
a'rw fip é v e
’u Xp ta
'
rcp Eva-oi)Ka i riyv dycivmv
[hr 3x67 6] 639mix/7 a 9 rob s: dy i
'
ov9.
iii . Philem. 5 ciKoria w a ov d‘ydnnv Ka i rip} m'
aT w 3X6¢ 9 629 [17. l.
1rpO9] rOv Klip tov’Iqa o§vmi 629mix/7 a9 7 0139 (57 10119.
In (i)we have the following readingsEph . i 15 .
(1) mi r ip 629 miw a9 7 069 67 50119 W‘ABP I7 Or
‘mm9 Cyrm“ 603Aug
(dep raed. ss. xix
(2) Ka i rfiv dyci rrqv 629 77 . (i . D2*G3.
(3) mi rfiv dydmv rip! 629 7r. ( i . N°D2°KL al p ler Chrys Thdrt
Damal.
The Latin, Syriac, Bohairic and Gothic Versionsmay b e claimed
1 In the edi ti o p rincep s ( 1537)p . 333. ascrib e i t to a Gallic wri ter : i t i s
On thi s Commentary see Haussleiter closely related to the Commentary of
in Zahn’s Forschungen zur Geschi chte Remigius.d .NTli chenKanans iv 24 if. He would
296 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
either for (2)or for and so also V ictorinb is Amb rst Aug (E10.ccxvii 28)al.
(4) mi 629mivra9 7 013 9 ayious‘ ci'ycimv 6 cursives,the Catena text
and Cyri°h 833.
001. i 4. In (11)B stands alone in omitting i311 fixer-e without giving any substitute.It thus presents a reading difficult at first sight fromthe grammarian’spoint of Vi ew,
but qui te in accord with Pauline usage. The position of e’v
xpmcgs 3 170 06 after fl ia ‘rw in the same verse is a parallel ; and other
examples are given in the note on Eph. i 15. As the article was likelyto b e inserted by scribes, we may claimthe reading of D2
°KL (n‘
wdydvmvn ip)as indirectly supporting B ; and the insertion of in; gxere may b eregarded as another way ofmeeting the difficulty, and as perhaps suggestedby 131! 3X6 t9 in iii.
Phi lem. 5. In (i i i)scribes who took 51: E'
Xm as exclus ively referring to T ip! m'
a‘
rw
found a difficulty in the phrase 771011 1! 3x60) 629 mix/7 a 9 7 013
9 ci ‘yiovi‘
, andaccordi ngly D2 with many cursives, the Syriac, Armenian and AethiOp icVersions, invert the order and read n)»m
'
a‘
rw Kai 7 731! dyémv. But the
difficulty is really non-existent for 7 131! (i‘ycin'
qv Kai n‘
w flie r-w are alikeincluded in i,» 23 3 19, and the order offers an example of the grammaticalfigure called chiasmus : see Lightfoot ad lac.
Internal We now return to consider the readings of If external authority beevi dence alone considered, we cannot refuse to accept But internal evidence is
strongly adverse to it. We cannot give m'
a mthemeaning of ‘ loyalty ’or7 72 ‘ trustworthiness’
,in view of the parallels in the other epistles : and we
have no example of such an expression as faith towards all the sai nts’;for
,as we have seen, Philem. 5 cannot be regarded as sach. Moreover
we expect fromthe two parallels that we should find amention of love atthi s point in the Epistle to the Ephesians.
The argu. It has been urged that the fact that St Paul writes 7 73” K06’lipaf
ment,
frpminstead of n‘
wm'
a'rw prepares us for an unusual collocation ; and that
”d o,UM “ the contrast involved is between 7 131! Kae
’ and 17311 629 1rdvra 9 r013
9
ay iav9 (Hort). But Dr T. K Abbott has shewn (ad lac.)that Kad’
in such a connexion is by no means unusual in late r Greek. He citesAelian, V. II. ii 12 r} Kc-r
’a i n
‘
w ap es, Diod. Sic. i 65 15 Ka ram‘v dpxfiv6716015 0 19 (laying down the government); and, in the New Testament,Acts XVII 28 7 631) m9’ xvi ii 15 rayon 7 017 my 15p 1
'
i 9, xxvi 3ramKara ’
Iav8a iov9 301311. Accordingly me’ aria—n u i n Ta? Kvp i'
cpis not appreciably d ifferent fromTip! 15114311 TC? Kvp i
'
cpwhich would closely correspond with Co]. i 4.
The con If in spite of the authorities which support it we reject there canStmffion be no doubt that (2)must b e the reading of our choice. For we then haveI ?" “7
132; a close parallel to Col. i 4, when that passage has been purged of accrechglgges ,
tions. Moreover the same phrase has in each epistle given occasion forthe alterations of scribes ; and (3) and (4)are seen to b e alternativemethods of escaping fromthe construction r ip : ci-ycimyu GZS‘ mix/7 a9 7 01
3
9
c‘
ryc'
ovs. Thi s construction is, however, as we have seen,frequent in
St Paul’s writings. Accordi ngly we may claimthe evidence of (3)and
(4)as practically supporting of whi ch they are Obvious modifications :
298 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
iii 18 y'
xyoc KAl Bi eoc.
Themain evidence is as followsmi 56609 BCD2G3P 17 and other cursives, together with all
versions (exc.186609 Kai NAKL andmany cursives, Orig Eus Chrys etc.
The exception of the Harklean Syriac i s due to the correction byGreek MSS of the earlier Syriac reading. The Peshito had the curiousorder Kai 136909 Kai pfiKa9 Kai whé‘
ros,and Ephraim’s commentary
attests this for the Old Syriac .
Origen in his commentary undoubtedly accepted the readi ng 661909Kai although incidentally he speaks of the Cross as having both511m9 and 315009. We find also 56609 Kai i t “ in Ham. i n Jerem. xviii 2(Ru. iii The text of von der Goltz’s Athos MS has 36609 Kai
But a note in themargin says that Kai 186609 was read in the text ofthe Oopy of Origen’s commentary
,though he himself in his comment had
,861909 mi 5 09.
The interpretation of such evidence is uncertain. If, as in the reading
las t discussed , we suppose that B has admitted a Western element, theclaimof the reading of SA Orig (66609 ml is very strong. I havehowever printed mi 66009 in deference to the judgment of Westcottand Hart.
iv '
9 KATéBH.
This is the readi ng of N*AC*D2G3 17But wpa
‘
Sq-ou is added in N°BC°KLP andmost cursives. The versionsare divided : d2g3 agree with their Greek, and there i s no addition in sahb oh neth. On the other hand wpé rov is attested by f vg (though not, apparrently, by the original scribe of Codex Amiatinus): also by syr goth arm.
Ephraim’s comment is a strange one,and it leaves us uncertain whether
the Old Syriac had the addition or not ‘Now that which ascended whatis it (saith he)but the body, which descended by means of death intoHades ? for that i s the lower region of the earth ’.The Latin translator of Irenaeus has no addition (M. p. but it
must b e remembered that this is the case with the Latins generally withthe exception of Amb rosiaster.
Clement (exc. Theod .,P. 979)has no addi tion. It is noteworthy that he
ends the sentence with Ka rt/8:7, and continues thus : 6 KaraBd9 0 137 69 e’a rw
629 rd Karai'rara rfi9 yi n Kai duaBa9 1571-6d 7 1311 odpaucfw.
Origen,though he does not make this transposition, recogni ses the
same connexion of thought : i n Joann. xix 2 1m21-6 E29 re Karairara 769
7 179 a KaraBd9, 051-69 607 1 Kai duafici9 : comp. xix 20 mi ‘
yap 629 rd Karair 6pa
(sic)p e’
pq 1439 769 6 KaraBa'
9, K.f .h. These passages throw no light on Origen’sreading in regard to 7rpc3r0v : nor does the passage cited fromthe Latin ofhis commentary on Ezekiel (Ru. iii nor agai n the incidental citation inCatena p. 162 . Jerome’s commentary however in its text has no addition,and thismay perhaps b e an indi cation of Origen’s text at this point.The strangest point about thi s read ing is the company in which B
finds itself.
NOTE ON VARIOUS READINGS. 299
iv 17 medi a KAl T3. éeNH.
A small group of uncials wi th many cursives read mesa Kai 7 d how-aiv 17 Ta30m; so also syr goth arm; but not the Old Syriac as
attested by Ephraim’s commentary.
The addition is of an interpretative character.
iv 28 TATC xePClN TO drasow.
This i s the reading ofNcB . Other read ings are
7 6 a’
yaeaa 7 029 X6pa'
t'
u L,many cursives, and the text of the CatenaOrig).7 ai 9 idiaw X6pa iv 7 6 dyado
’v N*AD2G3 and some cursives.
7 6 dyadi w ra'
i 9 idiaw xep a'
i'
v K and some cursives.rd a
’
yadév P 17 cod Laur 184 (v. der Goltz, p. This is supported bymand by Clem. Al ex. (P. 308, The comment of Origenwould not require any other reading than this.
The versions do not give usmuch help in a reading of this kind.
iv 29 n pdc OlKoAOM i‘
i N Tfic xpefac.
We find the remarkable substitution of 1710 7 60 9 for xpa’a9 in D,*G3 46. iv 29 7 739
A d aed ificati onemfidei i s the almost universal reading in Latin codices 70061“and fathers. Jerome ad lac. says
,Pro eo autemquad nos posuimus ad
aed ificati onemop p ortuni tati s, hoc est quod dicitur Greece 1779 xp ei’a9, in
Latinis cod icibus propter euphoniammutauit interpres et p osui t ad aedificationemfid ei ’. Jerome’s rendering i s found in Codd. Amiatinus andFuldensis (the latter having op p ortuni tati s fidei), but it has not succeededin displac ing the older Latin rendering in the ordinary Vulgate MSS .The only Greek patristic evidence cited for 1110-rem is Greg. Nyss. i n Clement
’s
Ecclesi ast. Vii 6 (Migne p . Basi l Regg. pp . alibi. It is how readi ne
ever to be noted that, although in Clem. Alex. Strom. i 18 90 (P. 37 1)we have 7rpO9 oiKOO
‘
ap r‘
W 7 69 xpei'
a9, yet in the opening sentence of theP aedagogus we have the expression 929 olxocop r
‘
yvm'
a'
7 6c09.
It has been suggested to me that the reading of D2* and Iren. Haer. Comp .
(p raef. ad init.)in 1 Tim. i 4 should b e borne in mind in the consideration 1 Timi 4.
Of this variant : p dhhav i)aiKadapfiu 96017 Tip! 1ri'
a'
r 6 i (D2° has oiKodap iav
the true reading being olKOvop iav).
1571-6‘
15 (311. Nhas 15 -c3v.
[
Thi
sreading in ii; 32may b e considered by i tself. B has the support ofD2 (but not dz)KL : but the same combination reads fip i
‘
v alsomtheparallel
passage, Col. i i i . 13, where B goes with the other uncrals in readmg an d .
The context would admit of iniu, but i p iv is themore natural : and i t i s
supported by SAGaP (the cursives and the versions are dmded).
300
of a letter,emu/ance“
Furtherchange,émy/aua'
a s
7 06
xpwmfi.
v 15 d i
Bibs Tries.
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
The readings in v 2must b e considered together. We can hardly allowa change of the pronoun in the two clauses coupled by Ka i . The evidence
spas N*ABP , i t s: s
oD2G3xL
spa B, i v sAD2G3KLP .
In Modern Greek 6p e’
i 9 and 1571659 are indistinguishable in sound, andthis was probably the case when our MSS were written, for the scribesperpetually confuse them. The context usually settles the question : butwhere either willmake good sense, it i s difficult to come to a decision. On
the whole wemay b e satisfied to read the pronoun of the second personthroughout this passage.
t Iv 14 émcbay'
ce l CO ! 0 XPICTOC .
By the change of a. single letter we get the reading e’mqf azia a 0 01. 15
xp ta'fl is. I have already given (p. 1 19)a passage fromJerome ad loc. , in
which he tells of a preacher who quoted the text as follows : ‘Surge Adamqui dormi s, ci exsurge amorta is, et non ut legimus e
’mcpa iia a 0 01 Kpm-rés,id est orietur ti b i Chri stus, sed e
’malza i a a ,id est cominget te Chri stus ’.
There seems to b e no Greek evidence to corroborate this. For thoughCramer’s Catena ad loc.
,p. 196, l. 31, has 6
’11
'
11Ira1ia'
6t 0 0; 6 Xp 107 69, thisappears to b e but a copyist’s error : the extract is fromChrysostomad loc.
,
and Field’s ap p ara tus (p. 2 79) shews that several scribes have writtene’mxlra iia a for e
’mgba ii
a a . In Latin however we find continget te Christus inthe old Roman edition of Amb rosiaster ad loc.
,and in Augustine on Ps. iii
6 (ed . Ben. iv ii b).If this reading is due to ameremistake, there is another which involves
conscious al teration,viz. 6
’1mlra150'
6 t9 7 017 xpco-roi}. It i s found in Cod . Clara
montanus (D2), the Latin side of which has continges Chri stum. It wasknown to Chrysostom: indeed it probably stood in the MS which he wasusing for his commentary. For though
,according to Field’s text and
app aratus , in the first place in which he quotes the verse he gives us
e’mcpa i o' ec 0 01 6xp taT ds‘ , yet a few lines lower down hi s comment runs thus :Kai (baa
-i, 7 06 xpw
'
rofi o i 36 (paa'w c at 6 xp i a
'
rdr
M op Be‘
7 067 6 6’0
'
7 L. This comment i s farmore natural if the text of theCatena be right
,which gives in the first place 6
’1rnll a150 6 19 7 05 xpw
‘rofi.
Continges Chri stumis found in V ictorinus ad loc.,and in some MSS of
Amb rosiaster : also in the Latin translator of Origen (Ru. ii 400, i i iRuricius, ep p . li b. ii 1 1, gives alternative readings :
‘et continges Chri stum
siue i nluminab i t te Chri stus ’. Moreover Paul inus of Nola, ep . xxxii 20,
has : ‘Surge inquit qui dermis, et erigere amortuis, ci adtinges Chri stum’
comp. ep . ix 2,
‘
quamuis iamdudumci di xeritis : Erige te a morta is,at
v 15 BAén eTe O?N i KPIBQO n d‘
ac n epmaveTTe.
This is the reading of W‘B,17 and other cursives , Or” : and the order
is supported by the Bohairic version, which however reads a’dehdmi after
d t 39.
302 EPISTLE To THE EPHESIANS.
v 2 7 TNA TTAPACT T—ic l-j ay
’
TOO écvrcfi.
V 2 7 913b For 0137 69 we find a rin‘
pz in D2°K andmany cursives : also in Chrysostom.
“mi" But here again the sense is obvious ly weakened by the change.
v 30 67 1 MéAH éOM éN To? Odi M ATOO Afro?.
SO the words stand without addition in N*AB 17 and in van derGoltz’s Athos 118. This last piece of evidence confirms the View thatOrigen knew of no addi tion (Ru. i i i We have further evidence fromthe Bohairi c and Aethi Op ic versions, and fromMethod ius (Symp os . 54,Jahn p.
But the greatmass of authorities add the words e’x 7 139 a
'
apKO9 0 137 013 Ka i
e’K 7 0311 607 60 11 0 131-06, Irenaeus read themand commented on them(Mass.
v. 2 3, p. They are derived fromGen. ii 23, T087 0 111311 607 0811 e’x 7 1311
007 61011 p ov Kai 6’K 7 fi9 0 0pK69 11011, the verse which immediately precedes
that which St Paul goes on to quote,For this cause shal l aman leave,’etc.
It is not impossible that St Paul should himself havemade this adaptationas a preliminary to his quotation : but the strength of the evidence againstthe words justifies us in regarding themas an early gloss
v 3 1 n pOO T i‘
i N rYNaTKc. ay’
7 07.
In Gen. 11 24 the evidence for the Lxx is as follows
71p69 yvvaixa 0131-017, DE andmost cursives, supported by Origen inhi s comment on Eph. v 31.
7 3}yvva 1Ki a 1i'
roi'
1,A and some cursives.
Unfortunately the evidence of SB i s wanting.
The passage is thrice quoted in the New Testament.In Matth. xix 5 the reading i s 7 5 yvmuxi 0 137 013 in almost all authorities
In Mark X 7 the whole clause Ka i wpoaKohhq0rj0 67 a1 1rp09 rr)11 yvva'
iKa 0137 06
is wanting in NB. For the MSS which have this clause the evidence i s7rp69 yvvaiKa 0 137 06
,DXI‘II
7 5 yvvatKi a 1i7 08, ACLN
In Eph. V 31 themain evidence i s17p09
‘
yvva'
iKa 0137 017, R°BD2
¢KL
7 5)yvva i Ki a 137 01'
3 N" (om. a 137 013)AD2*G3 I7
Origen (Cat. ad loc.)expressly states that St Paul omitted the clause of
the LXX 77p00 K0hh170150 67 01 rrpO9 yvva'
iKa a137 01'
3. In a. Cels. iv 49 hequotes
,as from St Paul
, ye’
ypama l. yap 37 1 6'
116K6 11 7 0157 011
511011011709 7 611 77a7 6'
pa Kai 11i77 6'
pa Ka i wpoaKohhn0r§0 6Ta t 77p69 yw aiKa
0137 013,Kai 6001170 1 of 8150 629 0 6Kpa TOp va
'
rrip tov 7 087 0 p éya
Here however he i s quoting loosely frommemory,as i s shewn by his giving
gueu p 7 ov'
7 0v for St Paul’s 6117 i 7 0157 0v. Again in Comm. in Matth. t. xviic. 34 he first quotes, as it seems, fromthe Lxx
,and then adds St Paul’s
words : but he does not give a continuous quotation fromSt Paul. Thesetwo passag es therefore are not really inconsistent with his statement as tothe omission of the clause by St Paul.
NOTE ON VARIOUS READINGS. 303
It appears that fromMarcion’s text of the epistle the clause was alsoabsent. For Tertullian 0. Marc. v 18 cites the passage thus : Propter hanc(a l. hoc)relinquet homo patremetmatrem, et crunt duo in carne una.
sacramentumhoemagnumest’ hanc’would seemto refer to
comp . 0. Marc. iii 5 Suggerens Ephesi is quod in primordio de hominepraedicatumest reli cturo patremet matrem
, et futuris duob us in unamcarnem, id se in Chri stumet ecclesiamagnoscere
’. Ep iphanius in a con
fused note (a. haer. xlii, schol. 3 in Ephes , p. 373) corroborates this
It is remarkable that the only evidence of Greek MSS for omission of
the clause is that which we have already noticed in Mark x 7.
vi 9 KAl afrd mKa i y'
MQ N.
This i s the best reading in itself,and it has the strongest authority
,being vi 9 Ka i
supported by N* (6av7 .)ABD2*P 17 vg. g
fitfiv Ka i
The Latin of Clarom. (dz)has et uestrumip sorum,and ‘ in consequence W‘W ‘
of this the second Ka i of the Greek is dropped by the corrector : so that weget the reading Ka i 0177 0311 D2
0, which is also found in G3.
Cyprian, Testim. iii 73, has ci uestrumet ip sorum(om. et 2°
cod. Monac.)t his corresponds to Kai 15111311 Kai min-311 N" (6mm)L.
The reading of the Textus Recep tus Kai 15111311 0131-1311 has but very slight
support.
vi 10 To? Aomo?.
This is read by R*AB 17, and is supported by the true text of Cramer’s vi 10 T OG
Catena ad loc.,which at this point almost certai nly represents Origen (see homo??
J ourn. of 7 71. St. iiiA s 7 6 hourdv, or hoard» alone, is frequent in St Paul
’s epistles, we are
not surprised to find the variant 7 6 710171611 in N°D2G3 and many otherauthorities.
vi 16 nacm.
The preposition 611 is given by sBP Cramer’s Catena ad.
loe. supports2
16this reading in its text, although ChrysostomfromwhomIt
.
Is quoti ng at N
it”
this point has e’m’. The Latin rendering is in omni bus, wrth the rarest b rl mum'
exceptions.
On the other hand 1760 111 i s found in AD2G3KL and many otherauthori ties. Amb rosiaster has sup er hi s omni bus. In Book xii of the
de trini tate, ascribed to V igi lius of Thapsus, we find the renderi ng sup er
haec omni a (Chifiiet p. This Book, however, accord ing to a recenttheory i s a Latin translation of a Greek treatise (see references in the not
e
on p. 291 above, see also p. 269 In 0. Varimad . 111 24Vigi lius has the
usual rendering i n omni bus .
304 EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.
vi 16 TA n enYPwM e'
Ne .
The definite article is omitted in BD2*G3 . The combination is interesting, but it may be merely accidental. Origen has the article in hiscomment in the Catena, and In his comm. in Exod .
, Ru. ii 126. In hiscomm. i n Joann. xxxi i 2 (R1I. iv 406)the article is present, but a littlelower down (p. though Delarue has it. Huet and Brooke omit it. Inthe passages cited by Tregelles (Ru. i 266 and i n P rov. Mai 12)we haveonly allusions fromwhich no argument can b e drawn.
vi 19 TO MYOTri PION To? ev’
arreAfoy.
vi 19 7 0 The omission of by BG3 is supported by V ictorinus. In
11007 75111011 Tert. 0.Marc. v 18 we have the phrase constanti ammanifestand i sacrafyifif
r menti in ap ertione or is, which points to the same omission.
306 INDEX OF
07 0110607 7 6 17 , ii i 507 01106113019, i 17, i i i 301 01107 0660006111
, i i 16
01 0117 617 610, 11 16
0656116111, ii 2 1,iv 15
065770 19, iv 16067 69 (cmp h ), i i 14, iv 10 f.
, v 23 , 2 7
50009, i i i 18
0017 7 10110, iv 5fi0016610 7 00 xp 107 01
’
1‘
1101 0600, v 506609, vi 16
1860011111010, iv 3 1
fl6611'6111' 1 139, v 15,801166) (7 06 066751107 09
7 611606
, i ii 5, 2 1
7 110111136111, i 9, i i i 3 , 5 , 10, vi 19, 2 1
7 1113019, i i i 197 61107 0 110110 7 6111, i i i 147 011623, Vi 1
6677019, vi 18
66011109, i ii 1, iv 1
6éxe0001 (11 vi 1 761030609, iv 2 7, vi 1 1
6100731101 (7 69 11 12
6101101110 , iv 1 2
6101101109, ii i 7, vi 2 161011010 , i i 3, iv 1861600110610 , iv 1461660110601, iv 1 1
616001160001 (67 iv 2 1
61110109, Vi 16111010061117, iv 24, v 9, vi 14616, i i 1 1 , i ii 13, iv 8, 2 5, v 14667 1107 0 , ii 15
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS. 307
607011 iv 1 2 ; 6070 n 9 f. , v 1 1
66 7 11160001, vi 3
6 1507 1661011, i 13 , i ii 6, vi 15, 19
66607 60 , i 3
6611010 , vi 7
66011607x1109, iv 32 1107 01
66x0p107 6'
1‘
11, i 16, v 20
{ 1015 (7 06 iv 18
13611160, iv 13
776109, iv 26
finépa' 011-0607 111606109, iv 30 ; r ovnpof,
v 16, vi 13
00617 6111, v 2906611110 (06017 , xvplov), i 1 ,
v 1 7 , vi 6 ; 7 0 06615007 0 ,
061166109, i i 20
0611661060001, i i i 17
i i i 13
0111169, iv 31
0upe6s, vi : 6
011010 , v 2
0161102, vi 14
t6109, [iv v 2 2
’In0069
° 061606 10 611 7 121’I1)006, iv 2 1
’I0pa7i6, i i 12
10x69, i 19, vi 10
K000p£§6111, v 26
1100131111, i 20
11011169 61101111177 09, 11 15, iv 24 0011710011060 ,iv 2
i 10 , 11 12 , v 16, vi 18 p axpoxpémos, VI 3
1101160 , iv 311101100116111 7 611 xp107 611, IV 20
1106670001, iv 1, 4110717 6116000“
N 17
11011117 6111 7 61 7 61107 0 , i ii 14W I7
xap610 , i 18, 111 17 , iv 18, v i 9, vi 5, 2 2
xapr bs 7 06 95107 61, v 91607 6: i) xa0
’7 107 11, i 15 ; 7 31 xar
’
£116, vi 2 1 ; at xa0’8110
, v 33
xa7 afia£ve1v, iv 9 f.
11117 06064) i 4.
xa7 a6apfldve00a1, i i i 18
1107 06617 6111, v 3 1
11117 11117 611, iv 13
xa7 ap‘
ye1v, 11 15
1107 0717 10061, iv 12
1107 9 1167 1011, i 4
xa7 ep‘
ydf'
ea0a1, vi 13
KGTOLKGW , 111 17
KWfiP‘OV’ ll 2 1
xavx000a1, 11 9xcvol 667 01, v 6
1 22 , iv 15 , v 23
x6v6wvl§ea0a 1, iv 14
xouli'
ew , vi 8
1107 1611, iv 28
xoauoxpdmpes, vi 12
xdapws, i 4, i i 2 , 12
xpa7 a1ofiat0a1, 111 16
xpdros (7 fis laxvos i 19, vi 10
xpav-y'é, iv 31
xpvqbfy, v 12
117 111111, i i 10, 15, 111 9, iv 24
kuflla , iv 14
x6p1os" év xvpfqa, i i 2 1, iv 1, 17 , v 8,
vi 1, 10, 2 1 ; £11 xvpfq.’7 17000, i 15
xvp167 ns, i 2 1
667 05, vi 19 ; rfis 0617011113, i 13 ; 011 111161,
iv 29 ; xevoi‘
: 667 019, v 6
6011761" 02 6017 01, i i 3 ; [7 11 6011 6. 801117,
iv 7 006017 06, Vi 10
6ovrp6u, v 26
666111, 11 14.
6vr ei‘
v, iv 30
308 INDEX OF GREEK WORDS.
110x0 1p0 , vi 17
0000510 , iv 14, vi 1 1
116060 1160001, v 18
141603, iv 25, v 30
Mpos, iv 16 ; 7 0 1107 167 6110
116067 01x0v, 11 14
1167 061661101, iv 28
W P” : iv 7: I3, 16
lu l‘flfl i‘, V I
11106211, v 29
11116100 7 01620001, i 16. C
11va e1t1, 11 1 1
11007 15701011, i 9, i ii 3 f., 9, v 32 , VI 19
W POM‘
Y‘G: v 4
0063, n 2 1
rexp61, i 20, 11 1, 5, v 14
10511103 , iv 14
rocfv, ii i 4, 20
7 6110: (7 630 67 7 061311 60 11 15
V0v06010 , vi 47 003, iv 17, 23
féras, 11 12 , 19
01116201 (7 017 11 1901110501115, i i 2 1, iv 1 2 , 16, 290111000010, i 10, i i i 2 , 902003, v 18
67 6617 01, i ii 3611000 , i 2 1, v 20
6110110360001, i 2 1, i i i 15, v 36M , i i 3, iv 31, v 6
6707 1360001, iv 26
00167 113, iv 24
617105603, v 2
60¢ 6s, vi 14
ofipavol, i 10, i i i 15 , iv 10 , Vi 9v 28
“006110600610 , vi 6
7 733 110116101, i 18
1 0 16610, vi 47 060101 00070101705 , iv 2 2
1 0617, vi 12
17 011027660 , vi 1 1 , I3r avovpy la , iv 14
11'
0p06166v0 1, iv 19, v 2 , 2 5
17 0p0 11066211, iv 1 , vi 2 2
i 7 , 11 I , 517 011107 01101, v 2 7170p011103, 11 1917 0110117 8610, vi 4
iv 26
0 0717177001 , i i i 12 , vi 19wappn0 10g
’
60001,vi 20
7 03’ 7 000 02110001115, i i 2 1 ; 1707 1110,i i i 15 ; at 170117 63, iv 13 ; 7 0 170117 0 ,
i 10 f., 23, m9, i v 10 , 15 , v 13 ;
611 1700111, i 23, iv 6, vi 16
17 0-79771 i 2 f. , 17, i i 18, 111 14,
iv 6, v 20, vi 2317 07 1110, 111 151100603, i 1 , m 1
0 0660001, i 16
17 67 010170 13, 111 12
111-6051
6
11000001, vi 14
7 601160506010, vi 177 67011707 6211, i i 2 , 10, iv 1 , 17 , v 2 ,
8,15
1 61110 0171013, i 14
77 6p100666111, i 80 .
17 67017 01113, 11 1 1
17 6p1¢ ép60001, iv 14
17 111pla , iv 3 1
7 107 666111, i 13 , 1917107 13, i 15, i i 8, 111 12 , 1 7, iv 5, 13,vi 16, 2 3
7710 7 63, i 1, vi 2 1
17661117, iv 14
17660116117 03, v 51766006560 , iv 19, v 3
1r677p01’
1‘
r, i 2 3, i ii 19, iv 10, v 18
1761570111110 , i 10, 23, i ii 19, iv 13
1761701011, 0, iv 2 5
176060103, ii 4
176007 03, i 7; 18, 11 7, 111 8, 16
17 1161700'
7 733 617 07 7 66103 7 007 1011, i 13 ;
7 007 1011 7 017 0609, iv 30 ; 007 06 (sc.
111 16 ; 0011110 3 1102
i 17 ; 7 0011003 15111311, iv 2 3 ; 611 W GGM ,
11 18, iv 4 ; 61167 713 7 00 112166110 7 03,
iv 3 ; 611 17 11615110 7 1, 11 2 2 , 111 5, v 18,
vi 18 ; 110x01p0 7 017 17 11615110 7 03, vi 1 7 ;
7 017 17 11615110 7 03 7 06 11011 61160706117 03 611
7 023 111023 7 733 017 610603, i i 2
1 116 000 7 11163, i 3, v 19 ; 7 0, 17116 01107 010,
vi 12
310 INDEX OF GREEK WORDS.
x0p13‘
60001,iv 32
xdpw , 7 0117 00, i i i I , 14.
x0p13, i 2 , 6 f. , ii 5 , 7 f., vi (6006200 ,
i i i 2 , 7 f., iv 7 ; 110. xdp w
0110150110111, iv 29
7507117 001 , i 6
xe1p , iv 28 1111666111, v 19
x61p01701‘m'
o3, 11 1 1 30061163 , v 19
331610 , iv 28 ; 0111060111111 7 133 xp6103 , 11166603, iv 2 5iv 29 31111741? 611 t/zvxfis, vi 6
m07 63 , iv 32
3501707 67 173, i i 7 (135751 V 19
Xp107 63’ év 7 43 70010743, i IO , 1 2 ,
611 7 03 90110 7 431 0009 7 03 111/p1171
i i i 1 1 ; Xpq'
i , i 3 , iv
Kpm-réi 1 17006, i 1, 11 6 f.,
i i i 6, 2 1 ; xwpl3 Xp wroii , 11
INDEX OF
Adoption, 2 7‘
f. , 143
agapae, 12 2Amb rosiaster, 143, 172 , 268, 30 1
Roman edition of, 294, 300
Anthology , ep igramof Philip of Thessalonica, 262 f.
Anti och, Church in , 5, 55aori st,meaning and rendering of, 142 ,
190, 195, 205 ep istolary , 167, 2 17 ,2 76
ap ostles and p rophets, 69, 77 f., 97 f.,
Aristotle, on 00517, 186 ; 7401117716211, 187 ;
6 1’17 p017 6610 , 197 ; 611607610 , 242 fi . ;
176177110110 , 259Armenian version , evi dence for Old
Syriac, 2 14, 267 11.arti cle : qualifying phrase added without art. , i 15 n.
, 11 1 1 , ij i 4 n. , iV I ;
anarthrous sub st. with further definition
,ii i 1 1 n.,
iv 14, 16 n. art.
with first only of related terms,v 5 n . art. wi th the second of twonouns, v 2 3 n.
Ascension of Isaiah , on evi l sp irits,154 seven heavens, 180 ; the Be
loved , 2 32Ascension of our Lord, 24, 96, 1 79 f.atonement redemption through b lood,
29 ; b lood of a covenant, 62 f.reconciliation, 65 f.
Bap ti sm, 178, 206 f. ; confession at,
1 2 5, 206 f. ; origin of b aptismalcreed , 207 ; Voice at the Baptism,2 30 f.
Beloved, th e, 28 ; detached note on,
2 29 fi .
SUBJECTS.
Body, of Chri st, the Church, 41 fl.
fulfilling Him, 43 f., 87 i , 100 f. ;
quotationsfromClement, 140 Origenand Chrysostom, 45 ; one b ody , 65 f.,93 f. ; fellow-members of concor
porate 78 ; growth of, 102 131,
183, 188 ; bui lding of, 99, 182 , 188 ;Chri st theHead of, 41 fi ., 103, 1243
the Saviour of, 124 f. ; lying i s a sinagainst, .1 10 f. ‘ in a b odily way ’,88 the b ody ofHisflesh 88, 161
bui lding,metaphor derived from, 67fi .
1 12 f. bui lding and growth, 71 , 99,1 13, 182 , 188 ; rooted and founded,85 f. of Greek temp les, 260 fi.
Calvary , legend of, 1 19 n.
Chri st the rendering of Messiah 6;
with and wi thout the article, 2 2 , 32 ;the titles ‘Christ ’and Jesus’, 2 3 f.,107 ;
‘ Christ’and ‘ the Lord ’, 72 ,90 ; Chri st’and ‘ the Son of God
’,
100 ;‘ in Chri st’, 2 2 fi . , 32 f., 5 7 f. ;
‘without Christ ’, 56 f. , 158 ; Chri stin us, 85 ; to
‘ learn Chri st ’, 106,
190 ; the kingdomof, 1 17 the fear
of, 123, 12 7, 209 ; see also Body ,Fulness, Mystery
Church , the, 80, 89, 124 its relati onto Chri st, see Body, Fulness : thehousehold of God, 67 ; God
’s house,
68 f. ; God’s temp le, 71 f. ; Christ
’s
ecclesi a , 68 f.
Clement of Alexandria, on the Church ,
Colossians, Ep istle to , p assagesdi scussed , (i 24) 44, (1 26 f.)2 38,
(i i 9)88, (11 13 f.) 153
3 12
Corinthians, FirstEp istle to passagesdi scussed, (i i 1 ff.)2 37, (11 6, 8)154,(i i i 9) 165, (i ii 10 fi .) 260 f. , (1111 6)152 , (xi i i) 251. Second Ep i stle to,12 2 ; i ts Opening , 18 passages discussed , (i 13)2 5 1, (i 2 1)147 , (i i i 14)265, (v 1) 165, (v 19) 195, (vi ii 1)2 25 f.
corner-stone,68 f., 163 f.
Dative, of defini tion, i i 1 n. ; of time,
Didache, date and value of, 98 n. on
apostles and prophets, 98 ; list ofwarnings, 112 n . parallels quotedfrom, 176, 200 , 2 1 1 f.
di spensati on , 32 , 144 f.
Elect , the : see detached note on‘The
Beloved’, 2 29 fi .
election : the p rincip le of selecti on,2 5 ff the ultimate purpose of, 33 3 .
English versions : early , i 1 1 , 2 3, iv
16 ; 70, 132 n. , 264. A. V 1 1 1, 23,
i i 9, 20, i i i 15, 2 1, iv 2 1 , 24, 32 ,
v 13, 26, vi 4, 6 ; 57 , 92 , 99, 1 18,120 n. , 132 , 136. R. V. , i 1 1 ; 76,
264Ephesians , Ep istle to : a circularletter, 1 1 omi ssion of ‘ in Ephesus ’,1 1 f. and note on variants, 292 EL ;ab sence of salutati ons, 12 ; analysisof, 13 f. ; summary of, 130 f.
EphraimSyrus,commentary preservedin Armenian, 142 f. , 145, 148, 152 ,2 14, 267 n. , 288, 290 , 293, 298 f.
ep i stolary phrases, 37 f. opening salutati ons , 141 detached note on
,
2 75 ff.
Esdras, Second (Fourth): parallelsquoted from, 39 n. , 48
Fatherhood of God , 2 7 f. , 38, 83 fi
93 f‘ : 174flesh : of Chri st, 63 f. ; ‘ the b ody of
His fiesh ’, 88, 161 ;‘ in the fiesh
’,
56, 72 ;‘one fiesh ’
, 1 26 ;‘ b lood
and flesh ’, 2 13Fritzsche notes on d aoxla , 144 ; emf.wow s, 2 52 ; arMpwaa, 2 55
fulness , 87 ff. ; of the times , 32 , 39n. ;
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
of Chri st, 42 ff. , 100 f. of God, of
the Dei ty , 88 f. ; detached note on
r hfipwp a , 2 55 fi .
Inscripti ons : temp le-b arrier, 60 , 160 ;
on b ui lding , 164, 260 fi .
Galatians, Ep i stle to : passages di scussed , (i i 7 , 9)75, (11 2 0)108, 183,
(i i 8)243 f., (v 6)246Galen : see Medical wri tersGenti les : use of the term, 157 f. , 189
p rob lemof their inclus ion , 5 f. , 35 f. ,55 f. ; former condi tion of
, 56 fi .,
6o i . , 105 f. ; new pos ition of, 58, 62 ,67 , 78 f.
grace : opening salutation, 141 closingformula, 137 , 2 17 St Paul’s use ofthe term
, 28, 5 1 f. , 75 f. , 95 ; to‘ give grace ’, 1 13, 193 f. ; grace of
speech, 1 16, 198 f. ; detached noteon xdpcs, 2 2 1 f.
Heb raisti c phrases sons of 49, 156,
168 ;‘
purpose of the ages ’, 80 ;inheri tance’, 1 16 ; walking’, 153 ;heavens’, 180 ; know of a suretyI99
Hippocrates : see Medical wri tershumi lity , a new virtue, 91
James , Ep i stle of : passages di scussed,(iv 6)2 23, (v 12)2 79 n., (v 16)247
Jerome his commentary onEphes iansmainly fromOrigen , 143, 147 , 162 ,
17 1 f., 173, 196, 198 f., 297 f. h is
revision of the Vulgate, 147, 289 ;
vari ous readings or renderings, 78
(concorporales), 147 (p ignus), 164and 288 (summus angulari s lap i s),17 1 f. (p roposi tum), 174 (paternitates), 177 (in ecclesia), 193 and 299
(opportunitatis), 208 (propter hoc),290 (tota arma); on a legend of
Calvary , 1 19 n. ; on b i shop s , 1 2 3 ;
on the Gospel acc. to the Heb rews,194 ; on Clement, 2 54 n on Jer.
vi 26 (dyamos), 2 29 n . ; on Job
xvi i 7 (r er ofipwvrat), 265 n .
Jerusalem,conference at, 8 ; see
3 14
heritance ’, 35 f. ; meaning of, 38 f. ,
49, 66, 72 , 78, 92 f‘uni ty of the
Sp i ri t ’, 92 f. the Sp iri t and th e
corporate li fe, 1 13 ; ‘ fi lled wi th theSp iri t ’, 12 1 f. ;
‘ the sword of the
Sp iri t ’, 135 f. ; see 717 166112
sp iritual powers, 41 , 49, 132 f.Stephen, teaching of St, 3 f.
Temp le, descrip tion of the, 59 ; in
scri b ed b arrier i h the, 60 , 160 ;
sub structures of the, 69 ; naos and
hieron, 7 1 bui lding of Greektemp les, 260 f.
Testaments of the xi i Patriarchs,quoted, 154, 195, 2 2 7 n .
Thessaloni ans , First Ep i stle to : pas
sages di scussed , (i 2 f.)2 79, (ii 13 f.)
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
246, Second Ep istle to : p assagesdi scussed, (i 1 1)182 , (i 1 2 , i i 16)2 2 5 ,
(i i 7) 209, (11 7 fi .)2 36f., 2 42 , 246,
(i i i 1 7)137Tychicus, 12 f. , 136 f.
Vi gi lius of Thap sus : authorship of de
trin. xi i , 269, 291 , 303
CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, IL A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
Unity, St Paul’s efforts on b ehalf of,7 it , 55 ;
‘ the one’and ‘ themany ’
of Greek phi losophy, 32 ; uni ty of
mankind in Chri st, 52 f., 65, 91,94 ab olition of di stinction b etweenGenti le and Jew
, 55 f. , 59 64 ;‘ the uni ty of the Spi ri t ’, 92 f. unityin diversity , 95 f. ; the uni ty of thefai th 99 : see also Body , Man