Commentary on Ephesians 1-3
by Dave Brown
Ephesians Introduction Page
Ephesians 1
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[The general word "apostle" means someone who carries a message, and certainly Paul did that. However, in the New Testament the word sometimes also refers to a more official name or position that Jesus gave to those who were specially chosen to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and preach the word (see Luke 6:13; Acts 1 and 2). It is in this sense that Paul asserts his being specially chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ, a fact that he spends the first two chapters of the letter to the Galatians affirming and proving. And here stating that he was an apostle “through the will of God” further reinforces this assertion. “The saints” refers to all Christians. “And the faithful” is not a contrast to “the saints” but is rather just a second description of this same group of called out people, i.e., the church at Ephesus. The salutation should not be trivialized – the reception of God’s grace is not just referring to their salvation but to the current blessings that it bestows, including the commands of the gospel, according to Titus 2:11-12: “For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; …” And so this is compatible with his second blessing – that being the peace that can only come from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The following verses are an extremely long sentence that is best discussed in parts.]
3 Blessed (be) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly in Christ:
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
[The objective here is for Paul to inspire us to praise God (both the Father and the Son) – this is the sense of God being blessed … that He is praised and pleased by those who are worshipping Him with their lives. A play on words here (“blessed be God … who hath blessed us) – our efforts in pleasing God can hardly be compared to the great blessing that He has given to us in Christ. His blessings toward us are not just adequate, they are overwhelming: “every spiritual blessing.”]
[Heavenly. The word “places” has been inserted in many versions, but we feel that it erroneously conveys a physical sense when in fact, the idea is to communicate a purely spiritual sense. The spiritual blessings are both “in the heavenly” and “in Christ.” This is the only book of the New Testament that uses the term “in the heavenly,” and its meaning varies slightly with the context. We will have occasion to elaborate upon it in 1:20, 2:6, 3:10 and 6:12, and it will only be in putting all of these together that we can get the full sense of its meaning. At this point let us just say that it seems the intent to emphasize the non-physical nature of these blessings. They are not only spiritual and “in Christ” but also “in the heavenly.” In essence, not bound by the things that we see on this earth. In heaven? Yes, but not restricted to heaven in that they abound to us on earth today. But note also that these blessings are “in Christ” (see Romans 6:3 and 1 John 2:3-6), which is another term that we will have occasion to discuss another dozen times in this letter. For now let us emphasize the meaning that if all spiritual blessing are in Christ, then there can be none outside of Christ, and we will see that the body of Christ on the earth today is his church.
... in Christ:
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
[Who is the us? Go back to the beginning. This is certainly referring to the faithful Christians at Ephesus as well as those everywhere (see Heb. 12:22-24). This choosing could be interpreted either as individuals or as a group. Total predestination would insist that every saved person was chosen as such before the foundation of the world and thus the doctrine of “irresistible grace” must apply to them. That would seem to be a great blessing to them; but what about the “irresistible damnation” to the rest? No one seems to want to talk about those poor wretched people who have no choice but to live out their lives and spend eternity in hell. This makes no sense either in God’s love or God’s justice – it is an insult to both. Clearly salvation is not totally taken out of our hands – we all have choices, and we all know that we have choices. That we are judged by these choices is something taught from Genesis 3 to the last verses of the book of Revelation. To say that we have no free will in light of all that the bible teaches to the contrary is inexcusable. Thus, we have no choice but to conclude that the choosing was not of specific individuals but of a group of people, and that each human has the freedom to either become a part of this group or not. Rev 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that hears, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.” Why was it that he chose us before the foundation of the world? “… that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love …” Surely while we must see this holy perfection as being unattainable on our own, this should not prevent us from giving all that we have to strive for it. Jesus will make up the difference.]
… even as he chose us …
5 having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
[Those who are saved are foreordained unto adoption by God through Jesus Christ, to be regarded as His children. So, who are the sons of God? The peacemakers (Mt. 5:9); those who are saved eternally in heaven (Lk. 20:35-36); as many as are led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14); and those who have been baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27). We recognize that these are different ways of describing the same group of called out people. This is totally according to God’s good pleasure, and it results in those who are saved giving praise to God and glorifying Him for the grace that he freely bestowed on us in Jesus. We discussed grace in verse 2 and there determined that we only learn the gospel through grace – it is certainly not something that we could possibly discover outside of God’s word.]
… in the Beloved [Jesus Christ] …
7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
[In whom? Go back to the previous verse – in the Beloved, which is referring to Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be in Jesus? When we are following Jesus’ teaching, that is called being in or on “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22), and that Way is Jesus (John 14:6) – so when we are in Jesus we are on the Way. And being on the Way provides us with redemption through his blood. How do we get into Jesus? – we are baptized into him (Romans 6:3, Galatians 3:27). How can we tell that we are in Jesus? 1 John 2:3-5: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” If we are not making an attempt to keep the commandments of Jesus then saying “I know him” (or correspondingly, “I am saved”) is a lie. The test is whether our lives are oriented toward keeping the commandments of Jesus or not. This is an easy test to perform, and certainly we know right now if the answer is yes or no to the question: “are you keeping the commandments of Jesus?”]
[This great ultimate gift of God – redemption and forgiveness – is according to the riches of God’s grace. Review the use of the word “grace” in verses 2 and 6, and recall that what God’s grace delivers to us are those things that we need to take action on to accept the free gift of God. So here it indicates that it produces wisdom and prudence in us, which is consistent with its previous use, and for that matter, all of its uses in the New Testament. Grace is unmerited favor, but this does not leave the Christian out of the picture. God does his part, but part of the free gift is the great blessing and privilege that we have to accept and use what he gives to us through His wonderful grace. This is essential to our accepting his free gift.]
… according to the riches of his grace that he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9 making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
10 unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, (I say,)
[This is what the riches of his grace accomplished. It made known to Paul and the Ephesians (and by extension, to all Christians) the mystery of his will. We will not elaborate in detail on what this mystery was since that will be more fully revealed to us when we get to the third chapter. But Paul is hinting at it now and indicating certain things about this revelation: (1) it is a revelation of God’s will; (2) it is being revealed according to God’s good pleasure; (3) It was purposed “in him,” which refers back to Christ in verse 5 and forward to Christ in the next clause; (4) this revelation was waiting until the perfectly right time – the “fullness of the times;” (5) this revelation will sum up ALL things in Christ – referring to all truthful spiritual things, for there is no spiritual truth outside of Jesus; (6) “all things” here is elaborated upon – the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth. All things are totally under his control, rule and authority – “All authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth.” We can rest in the fact that our Lord and Master who we served and make every effort to please rules the universe. Revelation 5:9-10: “And they sing a new song, saying, ‘Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood (men) of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them (to be) unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon earth.’” AMEN]
in him, (I say,) [that is, in Jesus]
11 in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;
12 to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before trusted in Christ:
[We – those who were and those who now are Christians, for these are the only ones who are “in him.” Faithful believers were made a heritage – the Greek here indicates “we have obtained an inheritance” (past tense). See the discussion of the meaning of “foreordained” in verse 5. This is talking about the sum total of all believers; it is not indicating whether any particular individual will be part of this group – that is determined by the exercise of the free will that was given to us when we were made in God’s image. However, those things that were predestined were done so in accordance with God’s eternal purpose, and according to Jesus Christ who is totally obedient to every aspect of God’s will. The end result of our receiving salvation should result in our giving all praise and glory to God. The “we” ultimately refers to all Christians, but Paul seems to be making a distinction between those who had first trusted (other translations “hoped”) in Christ, and those who came as a result of hearing the preaching of those who were first converted. One Greek word is translated “before trusted” or “first trusted,” and this word carries with it the meaning “to hope in advance of further confirmation.” See the next verse for the contrast.]
Christ:
13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, — in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
[The previous verse talks of we – perhaps the apostles or those who were first converted (e.g., the Jews on Pentecost), or perhaps all Jewish Christians at that point. This verse talks about you – those converted and serving the Lord at Ephesus; but, because God is no respecter of persons, would flow to all Christians today. They had heard the word of truth (Romans 10:17 – faith comes through hearing) – that word of truth being the gospel – the good news of your salvation. So there are three things stated to have taken place “in Christ.” Recall verses 7 and 8 regarding the discussion as to what all it means to be “in Christ.” The Ephesians were in Christ: (1) when they heard the full elaboration of the gospel; (2) when they accepted it as the truth and obeyed it, and then they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (see Acts 2:38). We will elaborate on the “seal” figure in the next verse. For now let us consider what the “of promise” phrase means and the reason it is there. Jesus promised his disciples/apostles the guidance of the Holy Spirit several times and in several ways. This is one of them: John 14:26: “But the Comforter, (even) the Holy Spirit , whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.” This is a promise made to the apostles, but it is also fulfilled in us as we partake of these spiritual blessing through the written word, the Bible, which is totally sufficient for all spiritual needs.]
the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of (God's) own possession, unto the praise of his glory.
[This coupled with the previous verse states two things that the Holy Spirit is: (1) a seal, and (2) an earnest. Both are metaphors, and since they are referring to the same entity (the Holy Spirit), they must be closely intertwined. This same figures were used together in 2 Corinthians 1:22. We will copy that discussion here for your convenience.]
2 Cor 1:21-22
21 Now he that establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God;
22 who also sealed us, and gave (us) the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
[From 2 Cor. 1:22. We note the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in this sentence. The roles that they play: (1) Jesus is who they are "in" -- in the sense of being in total harmony with and obedience to him; (2) God the Father is the one who established them in Christ, anointed them and sealed them up as a package is protected with the seal of God's royalty; and (3) the Holly Spirit was a gift to all believers (Acts 5:32) from God ("gave (us) the earnest of the Spirit"). An earnest is a payment (or gift in this case) that assures a larger payment (gift) in the future. The Holy Spirit was given to them in miraculous measure to the point where they had spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12, 13, 14); but this applies to all of the Christians at Corinth, not just those who had spiritual gifts through the laying on of the apostle's hands. And hence it applies to all Christians today in the sense that we have in the scriptures a glimpse of heaven, and with it the assurance that it is ours to possess.]
[But Eph. 1:14 also elaborates what these aspects lead unto: (1) the redemption of God’s own possession – salvation; and (2) the praise of his glory (see Revelation 4 and 5, a quote of which was given above). The figure of “redemption of God’s own possession” is an interesting one. The idea seems to be that God owned us at one time, we were in some way lost, and He has now bought us back from this lost condition. This has both spiritual and physical counterparts. We can understand being born without sin and in a perfect condition, then sinning and being lost, and then coming back to God being born again by faith in Christ and being motivated to keep all of his commandments and partake of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). The physical counterpart is the decay of the body that was initiated when God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden and cursed the ground. This too will be redeemed in the resurrection (Romans 8:23). Note that this concludes the exceedingly long sentence that was initiated in verse 3 with the clause: “Blessed (be) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and all further clauses are qualifiers of either God the Father, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. Please go back and put it all together by reading verses 3-14 holistically. We are about to embark on another long sentence that will cover the rest of the chapter, and we will subdivide it as we did the one above.]
15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which (ye show) toward all the saints,
16 cease not to give thanks for you, making mention (of you) in my prayers;
[For what cause? Well if we read this passage we see that he is about to give thanks for them and pray for them, a prayer that will continue almost to the end of the chapter. Going back to verses 13 and 14, the cause would seem to be their salvation. The simple sentence itself reads: “For this cause I also cease not to give thanks for you.” Christians should give thanks for their fellow Christians – where would we be? and what would we have spiritually without them? They were a great inspiration to Paul, who we saw in 2 Corinthians was quite prone to being discouraged when so often the truth that he preached fell on deaf ears. Now there are two things that further strengthened this cause: (1) their faith – “the faith that is among you” and (2) the love that they had for him and for all Christians everywhere, whether Jew or Greek, bond or free, i.e., without respect of persons. Paul heard of their faith. But how did those telling Paul of their faith know that it was real? James 2:18: “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” There had to be tangible evidence of their faith for them to report it to Paul. Similarly with love – it is an emotion and a motivator – it cannot be displayed without evidence. 1 John 3:18 “(My) Little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.” We can then see why Paul would cease not to give thanks for them and continually pray for them.]
… making mention (of you) in my prayers;
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
[This prayer will continue through verse 19, after which the narrative will be descriptive of Christ. The prayer is for God to given them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, which would include the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The latter portion of the clause is impossible to parse definitively. Most versions use the article "the spirit" rather than "a spirit," inferring that there is only one spirit of wisdom. Nothing necessitates that this is the Holy Spirit. Rather it would seem that Paul is praying that their spirits would be inclined toward obtaining wisdom and the revelation of God, some of which might be obtained from their spiritual gifts, but some from Paul’s writings, and for that matter, the Old Testament scriptures (2 Tim. 3). This points out how important Paul regarded it was to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Relate this back to verse 13 where it says that their knowledge of the gospel came from hearing it being taught to them (not by direct revelation of the Holy Spirit). James taught that wisdom comes from God (James 1:5), and that those who lack it should pray for it. It is fitting that Paul states that he prays that they will have a spirit or attitude that will enable them to obtain wisdom. Revelation without wisdom is about as worthless as faith without works.]
18 having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
[Continuing his prayer for them. The “eyes of your heart” is a metaphor within a metaphor. Literally the heart does not have eyes, the heart in scripture usually referring to the emotions or feelings, which we feel centered in our intestines. Eyes are figurative of perception or understanding – “seeing” a concept means that the concept it understood, when in fact there is nothing in a concept that is tangible and can be seen. Several translations have “eyes of your understanding” as opposed to heart, reflecting a subtle difference in the underlying Greek manuscripts. This puts much more of an intellectual (rather than an emotional) slant on what Paul is praying for. We feel this is justified in looking at the remainder of the verse. Paul did not want them to just feel good. He wanted them to KNOW – to thoroughly understand – the hope of the calling of God and the riches of the glory of what we know we will inherit.]
19 and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
[This is the end of the prayer; the remaining verses describe in more detail the “working of the strength of God’s might. Paul here is praying that they may know the greatness of his power toward believers. Do we need such a prayer? Do we understand that power of God? It is going to be explained in the rest of the chapter – what Paul is praying for is that they come to a proper understanding of it.
… the strength of his might
20 that he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly (places),
21 far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
[The first aspect of it that we should understand is that it was demonstrated in the resurrection of Christ – a miracle much as marvelous as the creation of man itself, bringing life to a decaying body that had no organs, bones or blood capable of supporting life, and thereby proving that He can do the same things with our dead bodies no matter how long they have been in the grave (or anywhere else). From verse 19, we are talking about power, strength beyond all measure – infinite strength to call an infinite universe of countless stars, planets, moons and things that mankind has yet to discover, into being with the words of His command. Not only did he restore physical life to Jesus, but he made him to sit at His right hand "in the heavenly." The insertion of the word "places" tends to put a physical interpretation on this idea that we feel destroys its sublimity. The point being made is that not only did he do a physical thing, but he also did a spiritual thing. He raised him to sit on his right hand in heaven. Is this some physical place that we can take a rocket ship to? Of course not. The outer space above us is an allegory of the place spoken of here, if it can even be called a place. But our limited minds have no other way of perceiving of it – we can call it a spiritual place, but since we have never been to such a place it is not possible for us to describe it. Paul said he had been there (2 Corinthians 12), but he did not really know if he had been there in the body or not, and it was impossible for him to describe it in words.]
[Verse 21 does not give us that explanation either since it is talking about Jesus. He is far above all rule – we know he has all authority in heaven and on earth from the great commission (Mt. 28:18). All of these words are talking about authority – power, dominion, even the names since doing something in someone’s name means by that person’s authority. This repetition is for emphasis. Further, this infinite power also transcends time. What is the world to come? We get a glimpse of it in Revelation 21 and 22, and we have the bodies described in 1 Cor. 15. We can say this – it is different – way different – from what you see looking around us. If it were not then Paul would not be able to distinguish between this world and the world which is to come. They are different; this world and all the sin that is in it is going to be burned up (2 Peter 3:10). Can we not see the futility in placing our hope in this world, or of contriving of fables that have some type of world to come on this earth?]
22 and he put all things in subjection under his [Jesus Christ’s] feet, and gave him to be head over all things [and] to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.
[Items in brackets inserted for clarity. Recall Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came to them and spoke unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Jesus sent the apostles out under this general authority over ALL THINGS that he had been given by the Father. They were to teach their hearers all things that Jesus had commanded them, including the great commission itself. That means that we are under the command of the great commission, since it was one of the commands that Jesus gave to them and they were commanded to teach us to observe it.]
[The construct of “and gave him [to be] head over all things to the church” is strange and subject to a number of interpretations. The various translations of this clause are considerably varied and read more like commentaries than translations. The Greek ordering of the words is maintained, and we certainly do not object to that – those who change the ordering or replace the literal translations are taking liberties with God’s word that should not be taken. The ASV translation of verse 22 is a literal translation with the exception of the addition of the words “to be.” If they are removed perhaps the word “headship” would be more appropriate, reading “and gave him headship over all things …” This is consistent with the Great Commission as explained in the paragraph above. So the problem seems to be the “to the church” phrase. Some translators and certainly some commentators will make all kinds of hay out of this, going to the extent of making the church head over all things. That is NOT what it says, and if we break it down into subject and predicate the meaning becomes quite obvious. The subject is God, and it is talking about several things that God did starting back in verse 17. If we take in one phrase at a time, verse 22 is analyzed as follows: (1) God put all things in subjection under the feet of Jesus Christ; (2) God gave Jesus Christ to be head over all things … a repetition of the positive aspects of item 1; and finally (3) God gave Jesus Christ to the church. Since Jesus Christ is head of the church according to many other scriptures (Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18), and since the church is certainly part of all things, then we can conclude from this verse that Jesus is the head of the church. But that is not the main point that the verse is trying to make, and that conclusion can only be obtained by logical inference (nothing wrong with that, and the conclusion is valid). But in drawing this as the main conclusion the their point is our analysis above is often lost: that God gave Jesus Christ to the church. We might argue that the fact that he was given headship over all things is rather incidental to the second clause, and redundant with the first clause. It seems to us that the major point is that Jesus Christ has been given as a gift to the church. This is not a unique statement – after all, there is John 3:16 that says that God gave his son so that all who believe on him may have everlasting life. But who are all those who believe on him if they are not members of the Lord’s church? So while Jesus was certainly a gift offered to the whole world, only those of the church take advantage of it and accept the gift. He is a gift rejected by the rest of the world.]
[Verse 23, referring to the church, states that the church is his body. It is the physical presence of Jesus Christ in the world today. Do you know of any other physical presence of Jesus? Colossians 1:18: “And he is the head of the body, the church : who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” The term “body of Christ” referring to the church appears about a dozen times throughout the New Testament. It is figurative and often likened to the human body with Christ as the head. We believe it is used to indicate the physical presence of Jesus by the church when we are doing his will, i.e., it is the same thing as Jesus doing it. Just as when your hand picks something up, that is the same thing as you picking it up.]
[Finally, “the fullness of him that fills all in all.” The entire clause is made up of two phases. The first phrase “the fullness of him” is referring to the body of Christ, the church. Stated in a sentence: the church is the fullness of Jesus Christ. This is perfectly true when it is doing his will. But, of course, we know that this is not always the case – see First Corinthians and the letters to the churches of Asia in the Book of Revelation for clear exceptions. But the assumption here is that the church consists only of those who are faithful, i.e., who are at least giving it their all to obey Jesus and follow his every lead. So we can conclude that when a faithful church is functioning as Jesus intends it to, that it is the fullness of Jesus and thus reflects upon the fact that the church is the body of Christ. The final phrase, however, is NOT referring to the church – it is referring to “him” or Jesus. It is Jesus that “fills all in all.” “All in all” is a strange Hebrew or Greek idiom – we have tried to run it down with little success. The parallel verse in Colossians 1:18 replaces this phrase with “that in all things he might have the preeminence,” and we feel that this hits the nail right on the head as far as what Paul is trying to get across here. But why express it in terms of filling all in all? Perhaps 1 Cor. 15:28 might help: “And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.” If we see that what is being filled is a spiritual necessity, then Jesus filling all of this need in all Christians.]
Ephesians 2
[Chapter 2 should flow right on from the end of Chapter 1; recall:]
Eph. 1:22-23
22 and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.
2:1 And you (did he make alive,) when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins,
2 wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience;
3 among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest: —
[The “he” must refer back to Jesus in verse 1:23. God’s gift of Jesus to the church is further explained. We were dead and without hope in this world, totally engulfed in our sins and trespasses. And, while we were still in sin, Jesus Christ died for us (Romans 5:8), enabling us to be alive in him (Romans 6) as we subject ourselves to His righteousness (Romans 10:3). The remaining clauses describe us prior to this rebirth, which Jesus introduced in John 3: 3, 5, and 7. Specifically described are: (1) our walking according to the course of this world – the course of least resistance going along with whatever sin might be the popular thing to engage in according to our subculture – which could range anywhere from elitist pride and satanism to gang violence; (2) walking according to the dictates of Satan, for he is the prince of this world; (3) walking according the spirit that continues to work in the unconverted, which he calls the “sons of disobedience” – in the sense that all humans are created by God and in that physical sense, His children; and (4) that we ourselves were once sons of disobedience, which resulted in the following: (a) we lived in the lust of our flesh; (b) we indulged in the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and (c) we thus had the same evil nature as the children of wrath. Nature here is not implying that this state is something that we acquire from our genetic make-up; it is an acquired behavior and mindset learned from the ever-present sons of disobedience that encompass us. The air would be the logical habitation for evil spirits – where else would they be? So he refers to Satan as the “prince of the powers of the air,” with his evil forces constantly tempting us to rebel against our Lord. Contrast powers of the air here with the heavenly in 1:3, which speaks of the holy spiritual realm.]
4 but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved),
6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly, in Christ Jesus:
[Mercy is the withholding of righteous and legitimate punishment. God had mercy on us by providing a way out of this terrible sinful state that is described in the previous verses. It is important that this be borne in mind. Nothing that we have done, nor that we can possibly do in the future, could possibly justify our salvation. This does not mean that God does not place conditions on our salvation that we must comply with. But our compliance is not what justifies us – that justification could only obtained by the righteousness of God (Rom. 1:16-17), i.e., by the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ. This is what it means to be saved by grace, as opposed to something meritorious that we do that makes us just before God. So God’s love for us moved Him to be merciful to us even when were totally undeserving and dead through our trespasses. The Christians at Ephesus, along with Paul and all other Christians, were made alive together with Christ, raised up, and made to sit in place that was fitting for a righteous person (thus made a though we were righteous). The result of this process is given, but the process is not. For a more detailed explanation of the process of dying and being made alive with Christ, see Romans Chapter 6.]
[Note again the phrase “in the heavenly” – we prefer to drop the added “places” since it is clear that this is not talking about some physical places, so the word "places" added by the translator in most versions is not needed and could be quite misleading. See the discussion in 1:3, where it is stated that every spiritual blessing is in the heavenly. And again, in 1:20 we saw that Jesus was raised from the dead to sit at the right hand of God in the heavenly. This should give us a feel for what "the heavenly" is. Now we see that once we are made alive and justified that we can sit with Jesus Christ in the heavenly. There are certain aspects of heaven that we do not need to wait for, and this is one of them. Let us enjoy our place of residence with Jesus, not in heaven, but "in the heavenly.”
7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:
[The former verse was talking about blessings in the present tense, this one talks about “in the ages to come.” What Jesus has done for us in the past was not just for the present, but for something even greater in the future. God’s grace, mercy and kindness will exceed all possible expectations.]
8 for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, (it is) the gift of God;
9 not of works, that no man should glory.
[The word “for” indicates an explanation of what was stated in the verses that preceded. It is a restatement and a summary, for all of this has already be stated above, namely: (1) that we are saved by grace through faith; (2) that neither the grace nor the faith was of ourselves; (3) that in contrast to it being of ourselves, it is the free gift of God; (4) that it is not of any work that we have done, and (5) this was accomplished so that all of the glory for it will go to God. If we claim any merit for it ourselves, we are pridefully stealing from God’s rightful glory. This is difficult for mankind to accept for, in our pride we tend to want to credit ourselves with as much as we can. Our part is mentioned in item 1 – it is through faith on our part. Paul here is alluding to a system of faith as opposed to works, that system given by the gospel, which is God’s power unto salvation (see Romans 1:16-17).
[The ultimate result of our faith in Jesus Christ is far greater works and a greater degree of righteousness than were ever accomplished under the Old Testament laws, or certainly under any system of works invented by man. The reason for this is that the motivation is not of our own making, but is given to us by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thus, to believe is to be motivated to humbly and lovingly do all that Jesus has said for us to do, not to merit our salvation or to buy us a better seat in heaven, but just because we love him for what he did for us. “Through faith,” then, includes all that the system of faith described by the gospel entails. It is not just some mental exercise. Evidence of this fact is given in the following verse.]
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God before prepared that we should walk in them.
[This is God’s plan for those who are born again (Jn. 3:3, 5, 7) – the plan is not for us to die again. There are many die-again Christians who believe that, because they were "mentally born again," that is all they need to do. That system would be fine had it been invented by God. But what is God’s plan in forming us and creating us as born-again spirits in Christ Jesus? We were created for good works. If these good works do not follow, that is ample evidence that we were not "created in Christ Jesus," i.e., we were not born again.
[The contrast between verse 9 and 10 is between our works and the works of God. The works we do now are not of our own doing, but they originate from the fact that God created us for no other purpose. Not to die-again, but to continue to live in Jesus Christ for the purpose of doing His works of His righteousness. This was not some hatched together scheme that God trumped up at the last moment – “God before prepared” the good works that we are to engage in. If we fail to engage in them, it is simply because we have not accepted the free gift of God through faith. As Jesus questioned the faith of Nicodemus in John 3 – it is not a matter of misunderstanding, it is a matter of lack of faith. If you believe Jesus, you will do what he commands; and if you do not do what he commands, it is because you do not have faith in him and his way (you would rather do it your own way). So we can know that we are “created in Christ Jesus” as it says in this verse by observing 1 John 2:3-5: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” This is a very simple test by which we can be assured of our salvation – there is no other way that we can be assured that we are in Christ Jesus than this. It is very possible for a person to believe that they are saved and not be – what better examples than the Jihadists – need we say more? But recognize that there are many people trusting in their own faith-only that are in a similar delusional state.]
11 Wherefore remember, that once ye, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands;
12 that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
[Paul specifically turns his attention to the Gentile Christians among them. The term “uncircumcision” had become a common name by which Gentiles were referred to in Jewish circles. Prior to their conversion to Jesus they were aliens not only to Christ, but also to God’s chosen people, the Israelites. They knew nothing about any of God’s covenants, the promise God made to Abraham, or any other of God’s promises (e.g., of Jesus). And thus, they were without hope and without God.]
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ.
[Far off spiritually, not physically. How were they now in a covenant relationship with God? In the blood of Christ – as Jesus said in Luke 22:20: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, (even) that which is poured out for you.” The blood of the new covenant applies to all people everywhere if they will but accept it (Rev. 22:17).
14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition,
15 having abolished in the flesh the enmity, (even) the law of commandments (contained) in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, (so) making peace;
[Animosity (enmity) between Jew and Gentile was promoted under the Old Testament law in order to keep the Children of Israel from losing their identity until the Messiah came. At this point there was no longer a need for that and the promise to Abraham that “through thy seed all the nations of the world will be blessed” was now in effect under Christ, who was the seed of Abraham in that promise (Gal. 3:7-16). It was God’s desire that the two would now become as one new man in the body of Christ, his church.]
16 and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
[They were both reconciled in exactly the same way – there was not a separate law for the Jew and the Gentile. All of the Old Testament was set aside in favor of the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25) – the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16-17). Thus, there should be no more enmity, although Satan was still stoking the fire (and still is). It is an easy fire to stoke -- men are motivated by hatred so much easier than by love.]
17 and he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh:
18 for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father.
[The very same gospel was preached to Jew and Gentile alike, hopefully uniting them together as one nation, one race, one royal priesthood in Jesus Christ. This was always the intent of God. Access to God is in this one spirit, whether this be the Holy Spirit or the unified “spirits of just men made perfect” (Heb. 12:23) – unified in God’s will that there be no longer a schism between Jew and Gentile.]
19 So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
[Still speaking to the Gentiles with the strong desire that they see themselves not as second class, but as fellow citizens with all the saints and in the same family – the household of God. What beautiful figures applied to those who were once enemies now coming together in peace.]
20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone;
[The foundation of the apostles and prophets was not of the apostles and prophets own making – it was the foundation of Jesus Christ, as exemplified by the confession of Peter in Matt 16:16-18: “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” The household of God, the church, is built up the foundation of faith that Jesus Christ is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
21 in whom each several building, fitly framed together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord;
22 in whom ye also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
[Along with the Old Testament, the temple was done away with, and ultimately destroyed in AD 70. The analogous temple in the gospel age is the church. Each several building being its members – described as buildings themselves since we are all works in progress. These components framed together grow into a spiritual habitation of God. This is another figurative representation of the church corresponding to the Old Testament temple, which was viewed as the place where God dwelt, or at least came in closer spiritual contact or communion with the priesthood. Compare 1 Cor. 3:16-17: “Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and (that) the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye.”
Ephesians 3
[Recall from the second half of Chapter 2 the major subject was that the Gentiles could now come to Jesus as they were (without the ordeal of circumcision), and that the Jew and the Gentile were now ONE in Jesus Christ – first from a spiritual point of view, but this was intended to have the effect of there no longer being the physical barriers between them, e.g., not only circumcision but the laws against physical relationships between Jews and Gentiles (e.g., see Acts 10:28). In this chapter Paul continues to make the case for Jew and Gentile to be one in Christ.]
3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles, —
[The cause here is the union of Jew and Gentile in the body of Christ. Paul wants to express something for this cause, which we will have to wait until verse 14 to discover in detail just what he was going to do “for this cause.” We will get to that shortly, but to keep you from having to jump ahead, Paul was praying for this cause, i.e., that there might be better relationships between Jew and Gentile, and other blessings to be discussed with regard to the verses that follow verse 14. Paul’s prayer gets delayed by a number of thoughts, the first being to further describe himself to them as a prisoner. Some have been tempted to reword this verse so as to bring closure to it thus: “For this cause I Paul was made a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles.” We cannot argue with the validity of the statement, nor that this was the meaning that Paul was trying to get across in the second clause, i.e., that the reconciliation of the Gentiles was the root cause of Paul now being in prison (the evidence being that he was referring to his imprisonment in Rome that took place as described in Acts 28). But the Greek does not bear out this fairly gross realignment of God’s word. It glosses over the anxiousness of Paul to tell them of some other things before he tells them of his intent to pray “for this cause.”]
[The fact that Paul’s imprisonment was caused by the gospel’s being open freely to Gentiles is not in question. Paul was first persecuted by his own countrymen seemingly a matter of a few days after his conversion when he immediately began preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:17-25). Perhaps nothing illustrates this point as well as Paul’s speech to his own countrymen in Jerusalem in Acts 22. Christianity was generally tolerated by the Jews as a sect of Judaism, along with the other sects (Pharisees, Sadducees, etc.). And when Paul addressed his fellow Jews in Hebrew they gave him patient attention as he went through the history of his becoming a Christian, beginning from his experience on the road to Damascus right on through his conversion and his later vision in Jerusalem. It was not until he mentioned the gentiles that they (in today’s slang) “went ballistic.” Let’s listen in as the first mention of Gentiles comes from Paul relating what Jesus commanded him … Acts 22:21-23: “And he [Jesus] said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles. And they gave him audience unto this word; and they lifted up their voice, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. And as they cried out, and threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air, …” Can there be any doubt but that Paul’s imprisonment was all about the Gentiles being part of the gospel? He well may have been set free had he just buried the fact that he was the apostle to the Gentiles. So, Paul rightly describes himself as a prisoner not of Herod or Caesar but of Christ Jesus (who held ultimate power over Caesar), and that his imprisonment was for the sake of the Gentiles.]
2 if so be that ye have heard of the dispensation of that grace of God which was given me to you-ward;
[This dispensation was given to Paul, described in the context of Acts 22 (22:17-21), at some point when Paul went to Jerusalem after his conversion in Damascus. The system of faith involved in their salvation, here called the “grace of God,” was discussed in detail in Chapter 2.]
3 how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words,
4 whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;
[The specific details of the mystery will be given in verse 6. For now, let us just say of this word mystery – it does not infer something that is difficult to understand, only something that has not yet been revealed. So, for example, if I were standing before you it might be a mystery to you what is in my pocket, but once I reach in and pull out a pen, it is not at all difficult to understand and know. So here Paul wrote this mystery to them in a few words – in fact, that was done in Chapter 2. Could he have been talking about another letter that we do not have access to? Of course, but it is hard to see what he could have said in such a letter that he did not say in Chapter 2, nor why he would have had to repeat himself.]
[The final clause is a very definitive and profound statement. We can have the very same understanding that the apostles had just by reading their writings. There is probably no more definitive statement as to the sufficiency of the scriptures in this day and age, since the apostles had “all things that pertained unto life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3; Jude 3) in the first century. What latter day revelation can tell us any more truth than that which has already been revealed by the New Testament? Ask any latter-day false teacher what he has to offer that is not found in the Bible and it will stump him for sure (perhaps because he does not know what is in the Bible). We have continuously asked this question of those who claim to have current day revelation, but we have never gotten a clear answer.]
5 which in other generation was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
[It had been made known in a rather shrouded way. Even God’s promise to Abraham indicated that at some point in time ALL the nations of the earth would be blessed. And the prophets often referred to a time when the Gentiles would come in. But conventional wisdom was that this would be some opening up of the Mosaic law. The nailing of this law to the cross not only brought the Gentiles into and among God’s people, but it also freed the Jews from this yoke of bondage. This was now revealed to the apostles and the prophets by the Holy Spirit. The prophets were those upon who the apostles laid their hands, and who thus received a miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 8:14-17). This verse limits this particular gift to those who had miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit – the apostles and the prophets. It is not something that all Christians have – they do not have it now and they did not have it in the first century. The reason for this is obvious -- think about how confusing it would be if everyone could claim such inspiration, true and false teacher alike. This was the reason that the revelation had to be confirmed by miracles in the first century (see Hebrews 2:1-4). Now for the revealing of just what this mystery was …]
6 that is, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
[Can the words of the promise first made to Abraham, “all nations shall be blessed,” have any greater fulfillment than this? Of course, this is not to say that this is the ONLY mystery that has been revealed in the breadth, height and width of the gospel. But, by synecdoche, what greater example can be given to illustrate the glory of the entire of the gospel?
7 whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.
[This completes the sentence, and we urge you to go back and read it as a unit. Paul’s thought that he was about to pray “for this cause” (that of the unity of the Jews and the Gentiles) was interrupted by a description of himself and how he had come to be able to reveal such a thing. We know from his letter to the Galatian Christians the degree that the Jews went to discredit him, and not only so, but also some within the church who were hungry for power and domination, and who would stop at nothing to minimize his influence. Thus, this assertion of his authority on his part is not a matter of pride but one of necessity. His humility is demonstrated in the next verse.]
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
[The fact that God and God alone can make the "less of the least" become the greatest has throughout ages been a basis of His glory. That which is exalted by men is rarely in favor of God. So we especially need to be wary of those among us who engage in self-exaltation. No matter what our accomplishments might be, we need to retain the attitude of Paul as expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:10: “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” God’s grace enables us to accomplish things for the Lord. It is not just a free ticket to heaven as many suppose. Paul regarded it as a great gift of God that he would suffer all of the things that he did in preaching to the gentiles. This certainly brings a whole new meaning to the phrase: “by grace you were saved’ (Ephesians 2:5, 8).]
9 and to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God who created all things;
[This is a positive statement that all men CAN see and understand the gospel. Those who do not are unable to see because of their own self-imposed blindness. This further tells us that the gospel was not some quickly hatched solution to overcome the failures of Jesus to accomplish what God set out for him to accomplish. It was planned for ages and even before the foundation of the world (e.g., Mt. 13:35 and many other passages).]
10 to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God,
[These things will not be made known to those principalities and powers who refuse to hear. Paul preached the gospel directly to a number of them and it did not become known to them because they were not in the spiritual frame of mind to understand it – they just did not want to understand it. Festus asserted that the preaching of the gospel were the words of a mad man (Acts 26:24). The very same words that turn some to the Lord turn others away, both in the lowest and in the highest of life’s stations. No, it is unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly that this gospel is made known. Here is this phrase again that is unique to the letter to the Ephesians. What is the Holy Spirit trying to convey by the phrase? We saw that it is where all spiritual blessing are obtained (Eph. 1:3), that it is where Jesus Christ exists right now (Eph. 1:20), and it is where we are exalted to sit when we render ourselves subject to Jesus Christ in this life. Here we see it as a qualifier – he is not talking about all of the principalities and powers, but only those that are in the heavenly, i.e., only those who have the desire to learn about God’s way. An example is Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue (Acts 18:8). Is the manifold wisdom being made known now to all principalities and powers? It is being preached to them as best that it can be by those who are obeying the Great Commission of our Lord (Mt. 28:18-20). But if it falls upon deaf ears that refuse to hear the truth, the communication is impossible. Thus, while this verse proclaims that it is "to the intent" that all know and understand the truth, it does not state that this will ever be the case until Jesus comes again and makes it a reality (Romans 14:11).]
[The last clause indicates that it is through the church that the manifold wisdom of God is made known. This obviously is talking about those who are in Christ indeed – the saved. It is not referring to religious organizations who claim to be acting in the name of Jesus but show little regard for His commands and teachings (2 John 9). Further, this indicates that this communication is taking place now to the extent that there are willing listeners to the truth. It is not talking about the final judgment.]
11 according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him.
[Again, none of this came about without God’s eternal purpose and wisdom from the foundations of the worlds. The eternal purpose is seen early in the history of mankind (e.g., “he shall bruise your head”) and throughout the Old Testament. This purpose was in Christ, and it is in Christ that we have boldness and access to salvation. Two additional things are asserted: (1) that this access can and should be with boldness and in confidence – recognizing that such confidence can only come by knowing in our own hearts that we are striving to please the lord (1 John 2:3-5); and (2) that this boldness and access is through our faith in Jesus – not just "believing in believing" and convincing ourselves we are saved because we believe we are saved – but having faith in the truthfulness of every single word that Jesus has given us (both while on this earth and via sending the Holy Spirit – John 14:26). This leads to a process of God's remaking our lives in the image of Jesus (2 Cor. 4:5-6), and this is what he commanded must be initiated when he said “ye must be born again” (Jn. 3:3, 5, 7).]
13 Wherefore I ask that ye may not faint at my tribulations for you, which are your glory.
[How would they faint at Paul’s tribulations for them? Perhaps seeing what Paul had to go through they might not be willing to pay that price. Faint here means to lose courage. Rather than lose courage, they should see Paul’s suffering as their glory. Paul (and Jesus) thought enough of them that they were willing to even suffer death if that was what it took to save them. Do we not see that in the sufferings of Jesus, the apostles, and indeed, in the many suffering hardship for preaching the gospel today are all to our glory. They all think we are worth it. They all think that our souls are worth their suffering for. Are we? What should be our response to such glorification? Cowardice?
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man;
[This is what Paul had in mind when he started this chapter. He wanted to pray for the cause of the Jews and the Gentiles being one in the body of Jesus. He had firsthand knowledge of the difficulties that this would cause, and thus he knew that if he and others were going to be successful in this endeavor, they would need extensive help from God. It is fitting that he describe the Father as the one who has issued all of the saved a name; “and they shall see his face; and his name (shall be) on their foreheads” (Rev. 22:4).]
[The prayer itself starts in the middle of the verse and continues to the end of the chapter. The first thing he prays for is that they will be strengthen with power through the Holy Spirit in the inward man. All Christians are partakers of and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which IS the Holy Spirit Himself (Acts 2:38; 5:32). The mention of the Holy Spirit should not bring a knee-jerk reaction from us that it must be talking about something miraculous (by this we mean something that is obviously and indisputably supernatural). The Holy Spirit is a supernatural being (along with the Father and the Son) so it could be argued that all that He does is supernatural. Please put such quibbling aside and recognize that God sees the sparrow fall and is totally involved in every aspect of our lives – but clearly what He is doing to help us is through the natural forces, of which He has total control. Just reading and meditating upon the words of the Holy Spirit that Paul wrote down and sent to them produces great power for them in understanding the full extent of the power of God unto salvation, which is the gospel (Rom. 1:16).
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
[Paul’s second request is that the love of Christ will dwell in their hearts through faith, and that this will enable them to strengthen and to be strengthened by each other as they continue to deal with the many challenges that were before them. Without such love and unity they would spend the vast majority of their time fighting with each other over silly trivialities (as we see in so many religious organizations today). This thought is continued in the next two verses …]
18 [that ye] may be able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God.
[Ability implies the power to accomplish something – in this case the understanding of the great magnitude of God’s love, since this is clearly the central subject of this passage, and anything other than this would be a distraction. He prays that they are able to apprehend (or comprehend) it, and then states that it “passes knowledge.” So, it must be comprehended in a different way than just by raw knowledge. So his final prayer in this sentence is that they may be filled unto all of the fullness of God. Knowledge is part of our being filled, but it is not the end of it. Can we know love without practicing love? Can we read about it and understand it without engaging in it ourselves? Love and faith have much in common here. We can no more have faith only than we can have love only. If we are going to understand what these words really mean in their true spiritual sense, it is essential that they become so much a part of our lives as to guide our every thought and action. Otherwise the only word that can describe them is vanity.]
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 unto him (be) the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen.
[Paul concludes his prayer for them by asserting that all must accrue to the glory of God. He starts by asserting the omnipotence of God and that God will not withhold this power from us. God will provide above all that we ask or even think to ask, and that will be accomplished by the power of the gospel, for that is the power that works in all Christians. This will glorify God both in the church and in Christ Jesus, and it will resound to all generations beyond the limits of what we perceive to be time. Amen, indicating that perhaps Paul had closed the letter at this point but later added to it, or perhaps just the ending of his prayer.]
Ephesians 4-6
by Dave Brown
Ephesians Introduction Page
Ephesians 1
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[The general word "apostle" means someone who carries a message, and certainly Paul did that. However, in the New Testament the word sometimes also refers to a more official name or position that Jesus gave to those who were specially chosen to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and preach the word (see Luke 6:13; Acts 1 and 2). It is in this sense that Paul asserts his being specially chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ, a fact that he spends the first two chapters of the letter to the Galatians affirming and proving. And here stating that he was an apostle “through the will of God” further reinforces this assertion. “The saints” refers to all Christians. “And the faithful” is not a contrast to “the saints” but is rather just a second description of this same group of called out people, i.e., the church at Ephesus. The salutation should not be trivialized – the reception of God’s grace is not just referring to their salvation but to the current blessings that it bestows, including the commands of the gospel, according to Titus 2:11-12: “For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; …” And so this is compatible with his second blessing – that being the peace that can only come from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The following verses are an extremely long sentence that is best discussed in parts.]
3 Blessed (be) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly in Christ:
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
[The objective here is for Paul to inspire us to praise God (both the Father and the Son) – this is the sense of God being blessed … that He is praised and pleased by those who are worshipping Him with their lives. A play on words here (“blessed be God … who hath blessed us) – our efforts in pleasing God can hardly be compared to the great blessing that He has given to us in Christ. His blessings toward us are not just adequate, they are overwhelming: “every spiritual blessing.”]
[Heavenly. The word “places” has been inserted in many versions, but we feel that it erroneously conveys a physical sense when in fact, the idea is to communicate a purely spiritual sense. The spiritual blessings are both “in the heavenly” and “in Christ.” This is the only book of the New Testament that uses the term “in the heavenly,” and its meaning varies slightly with the context. We will have occasion to elaborate upon it in 1:20, 2:6, 3:10 and 6:12, and it will only be in putting all of these together that we can get the full sense of its meaning. At this point let us just say that it seems the intent to emphasize the non-physical nature of these blessings. They are not only spiritual and “in Christ” but also “in the heavenly.” In essence, not bound by the things that we see on this earth. In heaven? Yes, but not restricted to heaven in that they abound to us on earth today. But note also that these blessings are “in Christ” (see Romans 6:3 and 1 John 2:3-6), which is another term that we will have occasion to discuss another dozen times in this letter. For now let us emphasize the meaning that if all spiritual blessing are in Christ, then there can be none outside of Christ, and we will see that the body of Christ on the earth today is his church.
... in Christ:
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
[Who is the us? Go back to the beginning. This is certainly referring to the faithful Christians at Ephesus as well as those everywhere (see Heb. 12:22-24). This choosing could be interpreted either as individuals or as a group. Total predestination would insist that every saved person was chosen as such before the foundation of the world and thus the doctrine of “irresistible grace” must apply to them. That would seem to be a great blessing to them; but what about the “irresistible damnation” to the rest? No one seems to want to talk about those poor wretched people who have no choice but to live out their lives and spend eternity in hell. This makes no sense either in God’s love or God’s justice – it is an insult to both. Clearly salvation is not totally taken out of our hands – we all have choices, and we all know that we have choices. That we are judged by these choices is something taught from Genesis 3 to the last verses of the book of Revelation. To say that we have no free will in light of all that the bible teaches to the contrary is inexcusable. Thus, we have no choice but to conclude that the choosing was not of specific individuals but of a group of people, and that each human has the freedom to either become a part of this group or not. Rev 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that hears, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.” Why was it that he chose us before the foundation of the world? “… that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love …” Surely while we must see this holy perfection as being unattainable on our own, this should not prevent us from giving all that we have to strive for it. Jesus will make up the difference.]
… even as he chose us …
5 having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
[Those who are saved are foreordained unto adoption by God through Jesus Christ, to be regarded as His children. So, who are the sons of God? The peacemakers (Mt. 5:9); those who are saved eternally in heaven (Lk. 20:35-36); as many as are led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14); and those who have been baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27). We recognize that these are different ways of describing the same group of called out people. This is totally according to God’s good pleasure, and it results in those who are saved giving praise to God and glorifying Him for the grace that he freely bestowed on us in Jesus. We discussed grace in verse 2 and there determined that we only learn the gospel through grace – it is certainly not something that we could possibly discover outside of God’s word.]
… in the Beloved [Jesus Christ] …
7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
[In whom? Go back to the previous verse – in the Beloved, which is referring to Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be in Jesus? When we are following Jesus’ teaching, that is called being in or on “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22), and that Way is Jesus (John 14:6) – so when we are in Jesus we are on the Way. And being on the Way provides us with redemption through his blood. How do we get into Jesus? – we are baptized into him (Romans 6:3, Galatians 3:27). How can we tell that we are in Jesus? 1 John 2:3-5: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” If we are not making an attempt to keep the commandments of Jesus then saying “I know him” (or correspondingly, “I am saved”) is a lie. The test is whether our lives are oriented toward keeping the commandments of Jesus or not. This is an easy test to perform, and certainly we know right now if the answer is yes or no to the question: “are you keeping the commandments of Jesus?”]
[This great ultimate gift of God – redemption and forgiveness – is according to the riches of God’s grace. Review the use of the word “grace” in verses 2 and 6, and recall that what God’s grace delivers to us are those things that we need to take action on to accept the free gift of God. So here it indicates that it produces wisdom and prudence in us, which is consistent with its previous use, and for that matter, all of its uses in the New Testament. Grace is unmerited favor, but this does not leave the Christian out of the picture. God does his part, but part of the free gift is the great blessing and privilege that we have to accept and use what he gives to us through His wonderful grace. This is essential to our accepting his free gift.]
… according to the riches of his grace that he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9 making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
10 unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, (I say,)
[This is what the riches of his grace accomplished. It made known to Paul and the Ephesians (and by extension, to all Christians) the mystery of his will. We will not elaborate in detail on what this mystery was since that will be more fully revealed to us when we get to the third chapter. But Paul is hinting at it now and indicating certain things about this revelation: (1) it is a revelation of God’s will; (2) it is being revealed according to God’s good pleasure; (3) It was purposed “in him,” which refers back to Christ in verse 5 and forward to Christ in the next clause; (4) this revelation was waiting until the perfectly right time – the “fullness of the times;” (5) this revelation will sum up ALL things in Christ – referring to all truthful spiritual things, for there is no spiritual truth outside of Jesus; (6) “all things” here is elaborated upon – the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth. All things are totally under his control, rule and authority – “All authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth.” We can rest in the fact that our Lord and Master who we served and make every effort to please rules the universe. Revelation 5:9-10: “And they sing a new song, saying, ‘Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood (men) of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them (to be) unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon earth.’” AMEN]
in him, (I say,) [that is, in Jesus]
11 in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;
12 to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before trusted in Christ:
[We – those who were and those who now are Christians, for these are the only ones who are “in him.” Faithful believers were made a heritage – the Greek here indicates “we have obtained an inheritance” (past tense). See the discussion of the meaning of “foreordained” in verse 5. This is talking about the sum total of all believers; it is not indicating whether any particular individual will be part of this group – that is determined by the exercise of the free will that was given to us when we were made in God’s image. However, those things that were predestined were done so in accordance with God’s eternal purpose, and according to Jesus Christ who is totally obedient to every aspect of God’s will. The end result of our receiving salvation should result in our giving all praise and glory to God. The “we” ultimately refers to all Christians, but Paul seems to be making a distinction between those who had first trusted (other translations “hoped”) in Christ, and those who came as a result of hearing the preaching of those who were first converted. One Greek word is translated “before trusted” or “first trusted,” and this word carries with it the meaning “to hope in advance of further confirmation.” See the next verse for the contrast.]
Christ:
13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, — in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
[The previous verse talks of we – perhaps the apostles or those who were first converted (e.g., the Jews on Pentecost), or perhaps all Jewish Christians at that point. This verse talks about you – those converted and serving the Lord at Ephesus; but, because God is no respecter of persons, would flow to all Christians today. They had heard the word of truth (Romans 10:17 – faith comes through hearing) – that word of truth being the gospel – the good news of your salvation. So there are three things stated to have taken place “in Christ.” Recall verses 7 and 8 regarding the discussion as to what all it means to be “in Christ.” The Ephesians were in Christ: (1) when they heard the full elaboration of the gospel; (2) when they accepted it as the truth and obeyed it, and then they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (see Acts 2:38). We will elaborate on the “seal” figure in the next verse. For now let us consider what the “of promise” phrase means and the reason it is there. Jesus promised his disciples/apostles the guidance of the Holy Spirit several times and in several ways. This is one of them: John 14:26: “But the Comforter, (even) the Holy Spirit , whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.” This is a promise made to the apostles, but it is also fulfilled in us as we partake of these spiritual blessing through the written word, the Bible, which is totally sufficient for all spiritual needs.]
the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of (God's) own possession, unto the praise of his glory.
[This coupled with the previous verse states two things that the Holy Spirit is: (1) a seal, and (2) an earnest. Both are metaphors, and since they are referring to the same entity (the Holy Spirit), they must be closely intertwined. This same figures were used together in 2 Corinthians 1:22. We will copy that discussion here for your convenience.]
2 Cor 1:21-22
21 Now he that establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God;
22 who also sealed us, and gave (us) the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
[From 2 Cor. 1:22. We note the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in this sentence. The roles that they play: (1) Jesus is who they are "in" -- in the sense of being in total harmony with and obedience to him; (2) God the Father is the one who established them in Christ, anointed them and sealed them up as a package is protected with the seal of God's royalty; and (3) the Holly Spirit was a gift to all believers (Acts 5:32) from God ("gave (us) the earnest of the Spirit"). An earnest is a payment (or gift in this case) that assures a larger payment (gift) in the future. The Holy Spirit was given to them in miraculous measure to the point where they had spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12, 13, 14); but this applies to all of the Christians at Corinth, not just those who had spiritual gifts through the laying on of the apostle's hands. And hence it applies to all Christians today in the sense that we have in the scriptures a glimpse of heaven, and with it the assurance that it is ours to possess.]
[But Eph. 1:14 also elaborates what these aspects lead unto: (1) the redemption of God’s own possession – salvation; and (2) the praise of his glory (see Revelation 4 and 5, a quote of which was given above). The figure of “redemption of God’s own possession” is an interesting one. The idea seems to be that God owned us at one time, we were in some way lost, and He has now bought us back from this lost condition. This has both spiritual and physical counterparts. We can understand being born without sin and in a perfect condition, then sinning and being lost, and then coming back to God being born again by faith in Christ and being motivated to keep all of his commandments and partake of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). The physical counterpart is the decay of the body that was initiated when God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden and cursed the ground. This too will be redeemed in the resurrection (Romans 8:23). Note that this concludes the exceedingly long sentence that was initiated in verse 3 with the clause: “Blessed (be) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and all further clauses are qualifiers of either God the Father, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. Please go back and put it all together by reading verses 3-14 holistically. We are about to embark on another long sentence that will cover the rest of the chapter, and we will subdivide it as we did the one above.]
15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which (ye show) toward all the saints,
16 cease not to give thanks for you, making mention (of you) in my prayers;
[For what cause? Well if we read this passage we see that he is about to give thanks for them and pray for them, a prayer that will continue almost to the end of the chapter. Going back to verses 13 and 14, the cause would seem to be their salvation. The simple sentence itself reads: “For this cause I also cease not to give thanks for you.” Christians should give thanks for their fellow Christians – where would we be? and what would we have spiritually without them? They were a great inspiration to Paul, who we saw in 2 Corinthians was quite prone to being discouraged when so often the truth that he preached fell on deaf ears. Now there are two things that further strengthened this cause: (1) their faith – “the faith that is among you” and (2) the love that they had for him and for all Christians everywhere, whether Jew or Greek, bond or free, i.e., without respect of persons. Paul heard of their faith. But how did those telling Paul of their faith know that it was real? James 2:18: “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” There had to be tangible evidence of their faith for them to report it to Paul. Similarly with love – it is an emotion and a motivator – it cannot be displayed without evidence. 1 John 3:18 “(My) Little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.” We can then see why Paul would cease not to give thanks for them and continually pray for them.]
… making mention (of you) in my prayers;
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
[This prayer will continue through verse 19, after which the narrative will be descriptive of Christ. The prayer is for God to given them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, which would include the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The latter portion of the clause is impossible to parse definitively. Most versions use the article "the spirit" rather than "a spirit," inferring that there is only one spirit of wisdom. Nothing necessitates that this is the Holy Spirit. Rather it would seem that Paul is praying that their spirits would be inclined toward obtaining wisdom and the revelation of God, some of which might be obtained from their spiritual gifts, but some from Paul’s writings, and for that matter, the Old Testament scriptures (2 Tim. 3). This points out how important Paul regarded it was to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Relate this back to verse 13 where it says that their knowledge of the gospel came from hearing it being taught to them (not by direct revelation of the Holy Spirit). James taught that wisdom comes from God (James 1:5), and that those who lack it should pray for it. It is fitting that Paul states that he prays that they will have a spirit or attitude that will enable them to obtain wisdom. Revelation without wisdom is about as worthless as faith without works.]
18 having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
[Continuing his prayer for them. The “eyes of your heart” is a metaphor within a metaphor. Literally the heart does not have eyes, the heart in scripture usually referring to the emotions or feelings, which we feel centered in our intestines. Eyes are figurative of perception or understanding – “seeing” a concept means that the concept it understood, when in fact there is nothing in a concept that is tangible and can be seen. Several translations have “eyes of your understanding” as opposed to heart, reflecting a subtle difference in the underlying Greek manuscripts. This puts much more of an intellectual (rather than an emotional) slant on what Paul is praying for. We feel this is justified in looking at the remainder of the verse. Paul did not want them to just feel good. He wanted them to KNOW – to thoroughly understand – the hope of the calling of God and the riches of the glory of what we know we will inherit.]
19 and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
[This is the end of the prayer; the remaining verses describe in more detail the “working of the strength of God’s might. Paul here is praying that they may know the greatness of his power toward believers. Do we need such a prayer? Do we understand that power of God? It is going to be explained in the rest of the chapter – what Paul is praying for is that they come to a proper understanding of it.
… the strength of his might
20 that he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly (places),
21 far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
[The first aspect of it that we should understand is that it was demonstrated in the resurrection of Christ – a miracle much as marvelous as the creation of man itself, bringing life to a decaying body that had no organs, bones or blood capable of supporting life, and thereby proving that He can do the same things with our dead bodies no matter how long they have been in the grave (or anywhere else). From verse 19, we are talking about power, strength beyond all measure – infinite strength to call an infinite universe of countless stars, planets, moons and things that mankind has yet to discover, into being with the words of His command. Not only did he restore physical life to Jesus, but he made him to sit at His right hand "in the heavenly." The insertion of the word "places" tends to put a physical interpretation on this idea that we feel destroys its sublimity. The point being made is that not only did he do a physical thing, but he also did a spiritual thing. He raised him to sit on his right hand in heaven. Is this some physical place that we can take a rocket ship to? Of course not. The outer space above us is an allegory of the place spoken of here, if it can even be called a place. But our limited minds have no other way of perceiving of it – we can call it a spiritual place, but since we have never been to such a place it is not possible for us to describe it. Paul said he had been there (2 Corinthians 12), but he did not really know if he had been there in the body or not, and it was impossible for him to describe it in words.]
[Verse 21 does not give us that explanation either since it is talking about Jesus. He is far above all rule – we know he has all authority in heaven and on earth from the great commission (Mt. 28:18). All of these words are talking about authority – power, dominion, even the names since doing something in someone’s name means by that person’s authority. This repetition is for emphasis. Further, this infinite power also transcends time. What is the world to come? We get a glimpse of it in Revelation 21 and 22, and we have the bodies described in 1 Cor. 15. We can say this – it is different – way different – from what you see looking around us. If it were not then Paul would not be able to distinguish between this world and the world which is to come. They are different; this world and all the sin that is in it is going to be burned up (2 Peter 3:10). Can we not see the futility in placing our hope in this world, or of contriving of fables that have some type of world to come on this earth?]
22 and he put all things in subjection under his [Jesus Christ’s] feet, and gave him to be head over all things [and] to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.
[Items in brackets inserted for clarity. Recall Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came to them and spoke unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Jesus sent the apostles out under this general authority over ALL THINGS that he had been given by the Father. They were to teach their hearers all things that Jesus had commanded them, including the great commission itself. That means that we are under the command of the great commission, since it was one of the commands that Jesus gave to them and they were commanded to teach us to observe it.]
[The construct of “and gave him [to be] head over all things to the church” is strange and subject to a number of interpretations. The various translations of this clause are considerably varied and read more like commentaries than translations. The Greek ordering of the words is maintained, and we certainly do not object to that – those who change the ordering or replace the literal translations are taking liberties with God’s word that should not be taken. The ASV translation of verse 22 is a literal translation with the exception of the addition of the words “to be.” If they are removed perhaps the word “headship” would be more appropriate, reading “and gave him headship over all things …” This is consistent with the Great Commission as explained in the paragraph above. So the problem seems to be the “to the church” phrase. Some translators and certainly some commentators will make all kinds of hay out of this, going to the extent of making the church head over all things. That is NOT what it says, and if we break it down into subject and predicate the meaning becomes quite obvious. The subject is God, and it is talking about several things that God did starting back in verse 17. If we take in one phrase at a time, verse 22 is analyzed as follows: (1) God put all things in subjection under the feet of Jesus Christ; (2) God gave Jesus Christ to be head over all things … a repetition of the positive aspects of item 1; and finally (3) God gave Jesus Christ to the church. Since Jesus Christ is head of the church according to many other scriptures (Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18), and since the church is certainly part of all things, then we can conclude from this verse that Jesus is the head of the church. But that is not the main point that the verse is trying to make, and that conclusion can only be obtained by logical inference (nothing wrong with that, and the conclusion is valid). But in drawing this as the main conclusion the their point is our analysis above is often lost: that God gave Jesus Christ to the church. We might argue that the fact that he was given headship over all things is rather incidental to the second clause, and redundant with the first clause. It seems to us that the major point is that Jesus Christ has been given as a gift to the church. This is not a unique statement – after all, there is John 3:16 that says that God gave his son so that all who believe on him may have everlasting life. But who are all those who believe on him if they are not members of the Lord’s church? So while Jesus was certainly a gift offered to the whole world, only those of the church take advantage of it and accept the gift. He is a gift rejected by the rest of the world.]
[Verse 23, referring to the church, states that the church is his body. It is the physical presence of Jesus Christ in the world today. Do you know of any other physical presence of Jesus? Colossians 1:18: “And he is the head of the body, the church : who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” The term “body of Christ” referring to the church appears about a dozen times throughout the New Testament. It is figurative and often likened to the human body with Christ as the head. We believe it is used to indicate the physical presence of Jesus by the church when we are doing his will, i.e., it is the same thing as Jesus doing it. Just as when your hand picks something up, that is the same thing as you picking it up.]
[Finally, “the fullness of him that fills all in all.” The entire clause is made up of two phases. The first phrase “the fullness of him” is referring to the body of Christ, the church. Stated in a sentence: the church is the fullness of Jesus Christ. This is perfectly true when it is doing his will. But, of course, we know that this is not always the case – see First Corinthians and the letters to the churches of Asia in the Book of Revelation for clear exceptions. But the assumption here is that the church consists only of those who are faithful, i.e., who are at least giving it their all to obey Jesus and follow his every lead. So we can conclude that when a faithful church is functioning as Jesus intends it to, that it is the fullness of Jesus and thus reflects upon the fact that the church is the body of Christ. The final phrase, however, is NOT referring to the church – it is referring to “him” or Jesus. It is Jesus that “fills all in all.” “All in all” is a strange Hebrew or Greek idiom – we have tried to run it down with little success. The parallel verse in Colossians 1:18 replaces this phrase with “that in all things he might have the preeminence,” and we feel that this hits the nail right on the head as far as what Paul is trying to get across here. But why express it in terms of filling all in all? Perhaps 1 Cor. 15:28 might help: “And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.” If we see that what is being filled is a spiritual necessity, then Jesus filling all of this need in all Christians.]
Ephesians 2
[Chapter 2 should flow right on from the end of Chapter 1; recall:]
Eph. 1:22-23
22 and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.
2:1 And you (did he make alive,) when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins,
2 wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience;
3 among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest: —
[The “he” must refer back to Jesus in verse 1:23. God’s gift of Jesus to the church is further explained. We were dead and without hope in this world, totally engulfed in our sins and trespasses. And, while we were still in sin, Jesus Christ died for us (Romans 5:8), enabling us to be alive in him (Romans 6) as we subject ourselves to His righteousness (Romans 10:3). The remaining clauses describe us prior to this rebirth, which Jesus introduced in John 3: 3, 5, and 7. Specifically described are: (1) our walking according to the course of this world – the course of least resistance going along with whatever sin might be the popular thing to engage in according to our subculture – which could range anywhere from elitist pride and satanism to gang violence; (2) walking according to the dictates of Satan, for he is the prince of this world; (3) walking according the spirit that continues to work in the unconverted, which he calls the “sons of disobedience” – in the sense that all humans are created by God and in that physical sense, His children; and (4) that we ourselves were once sons of disobedience, which resulted in the following: (a) we lived in the lust of our flesh; (b) we indulged in the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and (c) we thus had the same evil nature as the children of wrath. Nature here is not implying that this state is something that we acquire from our genetic make-up; it is an acquired behavior and mindset learned from the ever-present sons of disobedience that encompass us. The air would be the logical habitation for evil spirits – where else would they be? So he refers to Satan as the “prince of the powers of the air,” with his evil forces constantly tempting us to rebel against our Lord. Contrast powers of the air here with the heavenly in 1:3, which speaks of the holy spiritual realm.]
4 but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved),
6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly, in Christ Jesus:
[Mercy is the withholding of righteous and legitimate punishment. God had mercy on us by providing a way out of this terrible sinful state that is described in the previous verses. It is important that this be borne in mind. Nothing that we have done, nor that we can possibly do in the future, could possibly justify our salvation. This does not mean that God does not place conditions on our salvation that we must comply with. But our compliance is not what justifies us – that justification could only obtained by the righteousness of God (Rom. 1:16-17), i.e., by the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ. This is what it means to be saved by grace, as opposed to something meritorious that we do that makes us just before God. So God’s love for us moved Him to be merciful to us even when were totally undeserving and dead through our trespasses. The Christians at Ephesus, along with Paul and all other Christians, were made alive together with Christ, raised up, and made to sit in place that was fitting for a righteous person (thus made a though we were righteous). The result of this process is given, but the process is not. For a more detailed explanation of the process of dying and being made alive with Christ, see Romans Chapter 6.]
[Note again the phrase “in the heavenly” – we prefer to drop the added “places” since it is clear that this is not talking about some physical places, so the word "places" added by the translator in most versions is not needed and could be quite misleading. See the discussion in 1:3, where it is stated that every spiritual blessing is in the heavenly. And again, in 1:20 we saw that Jesus was raised from the dead to sit at the right hand of God in the heavenly. This should give us a feel for what "the heavenly" is. Now we see that once we are made alive and justified that we can sit with Jesus Christ in the heavenly. There are certain aspects of heaven that we do not need to wait for, and this is one of them. Let us enjoy our place of residence with Jesus, not in heaven, but "in the heavenly.”
7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:
[The former verse was talking about blessings in the present tense, this one talks about “in the ages to come.” What Jesus has done for us in the past was not just for the present, but for something even greater in the future. God’s grace, mercy and kindness will exceed all possible expectations.]
8 for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, (it is) the gift of God;
9 not of works, that no man should glory.
[The word “for” indicates an explanation of what was stated in the verses that preceded. It is a restatement and a summary, for all of this has already be stated above, namely: (1) that we are saved by grace through faith; (2) that neither the grace nor the faith was of ourselves; (3) that in contrast to it being of ourselves, it is the free gift of God; (4) that it is not of any work that we have done, and (5) this was accomplished so that all of the glory for it will go to God. If we claim any merit for it ourselves, we are pridefully stealing from God’s rightful glory. This is difficult for mankind to accept for, in our pride we tend to want to credit ourselves with as much as we can. Our part is mentioned in item 1 – it is through faith on our part. Paul here is alluding to a system of faith as opposed to works, that system given by the gospel, which is God’s power unto salvation (see Romans 1:16-17).
[The ultimate result of our faith in Jesus Christ is far greater works and a greater degree of righteousness than were ever accomplished under the Old Testament laws, or certainly under any system of works invented by man. The reason for this is that the motivation is not of our own making, but is given to us by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thus, to believe is to be motivated to humbly and lovingly do all that Jesus has said for us to do, not to merit our salvation or to buy us a better seat in heaven, but just because we love him for what he did for us. “Through faith,” then, includes all that the system of faith described by the gospel entails. It is not just some mental exercise. Evidence of this fact is given in the following verse.]
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God before prepared that we should walk in them.
[This is God’s plan for those who are born again (Jn. 3:3, 5, 7) – the plan is not for us to die again. There are many die-again Christians who believe that, because they were "mentally born again," that is all they need to do. That system would be fine had it been invented by God. But what is God’s plan in forming us and creating us as born-again spirits in Christ Jesus? We were created for good works. If these good works do not follow, that is ample evidence that we were not "created in Christ Jesus," i.e., we were not born again.
[The contrast between verse 9 and 10 is between our works and the works of God. The works we do now are not of our own doing, but they originate from the fact that God created us for no other purpose. Not to die-again, but to continue to live in Jesus Christ for the purpose of doing His works of His righteousness. This was not some hatched together scheme that God trumped up at the last moment – “God before prepared” the good works that we are to engage in. If we fail to engage in them, it is simply because we have not accepted the free gift of God through faith. As Jesus questioned the faith of Nicodemus in John 3 – it is not a matter of misunderstanding, it is a matter of lack of faith. If you believe Jesus, you will do what he commands; and if you do not do what he commands, it is because you do not have faith in him and his way (you would rather do it your own way). So we can know that we are “created in Christ Jesus” as it says in this verse by observing 1 John 2:3-5: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” This is a very simple test by which we can be assured of our salvation – there is no other way that we can be assured that we are in Christ Jesus than this. It is very possible for a person to believe that they are saved and not be – what better examples than the Jihadists – need we say more? But recognize that there are many people trusting in their own faith-only that are in a similar delusional state.]
11 Wherefore remember, that once ye, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands;
12 that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
[Paul specifically turns his attention to the Gentile Christians among them. The term “uncircumcision” had become a common name by which Gentiles were referred to in Jewish circles. Prior to their conversion to Jesus they were aliens not only to Christ, but also to God’s chosen people, the Israelites. They knew nothing about any of God’s covenants, the promise God made to Abraham, or any other of God’s promises (e.g., of Jesus). And thus, they were without hope and without God.]
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ.
[Far off spiritually, not physically. How were they now in a covenant relationship with God? In the blood of Christ – as Jesus said in Luke 22:20: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, (even) that which is poured out for you.” The blood of the new covenant applies to all people everywhere if they will but accept it (Rev. 22:17).
14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition,
15 having abolished in the flesh the enmity, (even) the law of commandments (contained) in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, (so) making peace;
[Animosity (enmity) between Jew and Gentile was promoted under the Old Testament law in order to keep the Children of Israel from losing their identity until the Messiah came. At this point there was no longer a need for that and the promise to Abraham that “through thy seed all the nations of the world will be blessed” was now in effect under Christ, who was the seed of Abraham in that promise (Gal. 3:7-16). It was God’s desire that the two would now become as one new man in the body of Christ, his church.]
16 and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
[They were both reconciled in exactly the same way – there was not a separate law for the Jew and the Gentile. All of the Old Testament was set aside in favor of the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25) – the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16-17). Thus, there should be no more enmity, although Satan was still stoking the fire (and still is). It is an easy fire to stoke -- men are motivated by hatred so much easier than by love.]
17 and he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh:
18 for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father.
[The very same gospel was preached to Jew and Gentile alike, hopefully uniting them together as one nation, one race, one royal priesthood in Jesus Christ. This was always the intent of God. Access to God is in this one spirit, whether this be the Holy Spirit or the unified “spirits of just men made perfect” (Heb. 12:23) – unified in God’s will that there be no longer a schism between Jew and Gentile.]
19 So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
[Still speaking to the Gentiles with the strong desire that they see themselves not as second class, but as fellow citizens with all the saints and in the same family – the household of God. What beautiful figures applied to those who were once enemies now coming together in peace.]
20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone;
[The foundation of the apostles and prophets was not of the apostles and prophets own making – it was the foundation of Jesus Christ, as exemplified by the confession of Peter in Matt 16:16-18: “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” The household of God, the church, is built up the foundation of faith that Jesus Christ is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
21 in whom each several building, fitly framed together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord;
22 in whom ye also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
[Along with the Old Testament, the temple was done away with, and ultimately destroyed in AD 70. The analogous temple in the gospel age is the church. Each several building being its members – described as buildings themselves since we are all works in progress. These components framed together grow into a spiritual habitation of God. This is another figurative representation of the church corresponding to the Old Testament temple, which was viewed as the place where God dwelt, or at least came in closer spiritual contact or communion with the priesthood. Compare 1 Cor. 3:16-17: “Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and (that) the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye.”
Ephesians 3
[Recall from the second half of Chapter 2 the major subject was that the Gentiles could now come to Jesus as they were (without the ordeal of circumcision), and that the Jew and the Gentile were now ONE in Jesus Christ – first from a spiritual point of view, but this was intended to have the effect of there no longer being the physical barriers between them, e.g., not only circumcision but the laws against physical relationships between Jews and Gentiles (e.g., see Acts 10:28). In this chapter Paul continues to make the case for Jew and Gentile to be one in Christ.]
3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles, —
[The cause here is the union of Jew and Gentile in the body of Christ. Paul wants to express something for this cause, which we will have to wait until verse 14 to discover in detail just what he was going to do “for this cause.” We will get to that shortly, but to keep you from having to jump ahead, Paul was praying for this cause, i.e., that there might be better relationships between Jew and Gentile, and other blessings to be discussed with regard to the verses that follow verse 14. Paul’s prayer gets delayed by a number of thoughts, the first being to further describe himself to them as a prisoner. Some have been tempted to reword this verse so as to bring closure to it thus: “For this cause I Paul was made a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles.” We cannot argue with the validity of the statement, nor that this was the meaning that Paul was trying to get across in the second clause, i.e., that the reconciliation of the Gentiles was the root cause of Paul now being in prison (the evidence being that he was referring to his imprisonment in Rome that took place as described in Acts 28). But the Greek does not bear out this fairly gross realignment of God’s word. It glosses over the anxiousness of Paul to tell them of some other things before he tells them of his intent to pray “for this cause.”]
[The fact that Paul’s imprisonment was caused by the gospel’s being open freely to Gentiles is not in question. Paul was first persecuted by his own countrymen seemingly a matter of a few days after his conversion when he immediately began preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:17-25). Perhaps nothing illustrates this point as well as Paul’s speech to his own countrymen in Jerusalem in Acts 22. Christianity was generally tolerated by the Jews as a sect of Judaism, along with the other sects (Pharisees, Sadducees, etc.). And when Paul addressed his fellow Jews in Hebrew they gave him patient attention as he went through the history of his becoming a Christian, beginning from his experience on the road to Damascus right on through his conversion and his later vision in Jerusalem. It was not until he mentioned the gentiles that they (in today’s slang) “went ballistic.” Let’s listen in as the first mention of Gentiles comes from Paul relating what Jesus commanded him … Acts 22:21-23: “And he [Jesus] said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles. And they gave him audience unto this word; and they lifted up their voice, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. And as they cried out, and threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air, …” Can there be any doubt but that Paul’s imprisonment was all about the Gentiles being part of the gospel? He well may have been set free had he just buried the fact that he was the apostle to the Gentiles. So, Paul rightly describes himself as a prisoner not of Herod or Caesar but of Christ Jesus (who held ultimate power over Caesar), and that his imprisonment was for the sake of the Gentiles.]
2 if so be that ye have heard of the dispensation of that grace of God which was given me to you-ward;
[This dispensation was given to Paul, described in the context of Acts 22 (22:17-21), at some point when Paul went to Jerusalem after his conversion in Damascus. The system of faith involved in their salvation, here called the “grace of God,” was discussed in detail in Chapter 2.]
3 how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words,
4 whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;
[The specific details of the mystery will be given in verse 6. For now, let us just say of this word mystery – it does not infer something that is difficult to understand, only something that has not yet been revealed. So, for example, if I were standing before you it might be a mystery to you what is in my pocket, but once I reach in and pull out a pen, it is not at all difficult to understand and know. So here Paul wrote this mystery to them in a few words – in fact, that was done in Chapter 2. Could he have been talking about another letter that we do not have access to? Of course, but it is hard to see what he could have said in such a letter that he did not say in Chapter 2, nor why he would have had to repeat himself.]
[The final clause is a very definitive and profound statement. We can have the very same understanding that the apostles had just by reading their writings. There is probably no more definitive statement as to the sufficiency of the scriptures in this day and age, since the apostles had “all things that pertained unto life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3; Jude 3) in the first century. What latter day revelation can tell us any more truth than that which has already been revealed by the New Testament? Ask any latter-day false teacher what he has to offer that is not found in the Bible and it will stump him for sure (perhaps because he does not know what is in the Bible). We have continuously asked this question of those who claim to have current day revelation, but we have never gotten a clear answer.]
5 which in other generation was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
[It had been made known in a rather shrouded way. Even God’s promise to Abraham indicated that at some point in time ALL the nations of the earth would be blessed. And the prophets often referred to a time when the Gentiles would come in. But conventional wisdom was that this would be some opening up of the Mosaic law. The nailing of this law to the cross not only brought the Gentiles into and among God’s people, but it also freed the Jews from this yoke of bondage. This was now revealed to the apostles and the prophets by the Holy Spirit. The prophets were those upon who the apostles laid their hands, and who thus received a miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 8:14-17). This verse limits this particular gift to those who had miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit – the apostles and the prophets. It is not something that all Christians have – they do not have it now and they did not have it in the first century. The reason for this is obvious -- think about how confusing it would be if everyone could claim such inspiration, true and false teacher alike. This was the reason that the revelation had to be confirmed by miracles in the first century (see Hebrews 2:1-4). Now for the revealing of just what this mystery was …]
6 that is, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
[Can the words of the promise first made to Abraham, “all nations shall be blessed,” have any greater fulfillment than this? Of course, this is not to say that this is the ONLY mystery that has been revealed in the breadth, height and width of the gospel. But, by synecdoche, what greater example can be given to illustrate the glory of the entire of the gospel?
7 whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.
[This completes the sentence, and we urge you to go back and read it as a unit. Paul’s thought that he was about to pray “for this cause” (that of the unity of the Jews and the Gentiles) was interrupted by a description of himself and how he had come to be able to reveal such a thing. We know from his letter to the Galatian Christians the degree that the Jews went to discredit him, and not only so, but also some within the church who were hungry for power and domination, and who would stop at nothing to minimize his influence. Thus, this assertion of his authority on his part is not a matter of pride but one of necessity. His humility is demonstrated in the next verse.]
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
[The fact that God and God alone can make the "less of the least" become the greatest has throughout ages been a basis of His glory. That which is exalted by men is rarely in favor of God. So we especially need to be wary of those among us who engage in self-exaltation. No matter what our accomplishments might be, we need to retain the attitude of Paul as expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:10: “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” God’s grace enables us to accomplish things for the Lord. It is not just a free ticket to heaven as many suppose. Paul regarded it as a great gift of God that he would suffer all of the things that he did in preaching to the gentiles. This certainly brings a whole new meaning to the phrase: “by grace you were saved’ (Ephesians 2:5, 8).]
9 and to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God who created all things;
[This is a positive statement that all men CAN see and understand the gospel. Those who do not are unable to see because of their own self-imposed blindness. This further tells us that the gospel was not some quickly hatched solution to overcome the failures of Jesus to accomplish what God set out for him to accomplish. It was planned for ages and even before the foundation of the world (e.g., Mt. 13:35 and many other passages).]
10 to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God,
[These things will not be made known to those principalities and powers who refuse to hear. Paul preached the gospel directly to a number of them and it did not become known to them because they were not in the spiritual frame of mind to understand it – they just did not want to understand it. Festus asserted that the preaching of the gospel were the words of a mad man (Acts 26:24). The very same words that turn some to the Lord turn others away, both in the lowest and in the highest of life’s stations. No, it is unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly that this gospel is made known. Here is this phrase again that is unique to the letter to the Ephesians. What is the Holy Spirit trying to convey by the phrase? We saw that it is where all spiritual blessing are obtained (Eph. 1:3), that it is where Jesus Christ exists right now (Eph. 1:20), and it is where we are exalted to sit when we render ourselves subject to Jesus Christ in this life. Here we see it as a qualifier – he is not talking about all of the principalities and powers, but only those that are in the heavenly, i.e., only those who have the desire to learn about God’s way. An example is Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue (Acts 18:8). Is the manifold wisdom being made known now to all principalities and powers? It is being preached to them as best that it can be by those who are obeying the Great Commission of our Lord (Mt. 28:18-20). But if it falls upon deaf ears that refuse to hear the truth, the communication is impossible. Thus, while this verse proclaims that it is "to the intent" that all know and understand the truth, it does not state that this will ever be the case until Jesus comes again and makes it a reality (Romans 14:11).]
[The last clause indicates that it is through the church that the manifold wisdom of God is made known. This obviously is talking about those who are in Christ indeed – the saved. It is not referring to religious organizations who claim to be acting in the name of Jesus but show little regard for His commands and teachings (2 John 9). Further, this indicates that this communication is taking place now to the extent that there are willing listeners to the truth. It is not talking about the final judgment.]
11 according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him.
[Again, none of this came about without God’s eternal purpose and wisdom from the foundations of the worlds. The eternal purpose is seen early in the history of mankind (e.g., “he shall bruise your head”) and throughout the Old Testament. This purpose was in Christ, and it is in Christ that we have boldness and access to salvation. Two additional things are asserted: (1) that this access can and should be with boldness and in confidence – recognizing that such confidence can only come by knowing in our own hearts that we are striving to please the lord (1 John 2:3-5); and (2) that this boldness and access is through our faith in Jesus – not just "believing in believing" and convincing ourselves we are saved because we believe we are saved – but having faith in the truthfulness of every single word that Jesus has given us (both while on this earth and via sending the Holy Spirit – John 14:26). This leads to a process of God's remaking our lives in the image of Jesus (2 Cor. 4:5-6), and this is what he commanded must be initiated when he said “ye must be born again” (Jn. 3:3, 5, 7).]
13 Wherefore I ask that ye may not faint at my tribulations for you, which are your glory.
[How would they faint at Paul’s tribulations for them? Perhaps seeing what Paul had to go through they might not be willing to pay that price. Faint here means to lose courage. Rather than lose courage, they should see Paul’s suffering as their glory. Paul (and Jesus) thought enough of them that they were willing to even suffer death if that was what it took to save them. Do we not see that in the sufferings of Jesus, the apostles, and indeed, in the many suffering hardship for preaching the gospel today are all to our glory. They all think we are worth it. They all think that our souls are worth their suffering for. Are we? What should be our response to such glorification? Cowardice?
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man;
[This is what Paul had in mind when he started this chapter. He wanted to pray for the cause of the Jews and the Gentiles being one in the body of Jesus. He had firsthand knowledge of the difficulties that this would cause, and thus he knew that if he and others were going to be successful in this endeavor, they would need extensive help from God. It is fitting that he describe the Father as the one who has issued all of the saved a name; “and they shall see his face; and his name (shall be) on their foreheads” (Rev. 22:4).]
[The prayer itself starts in the middle of the verse and continues to the end of the chapter. The first thing he prays for is that they will be strengthen with power through the Holy Spirit in the inward man. All Christians are partakers of and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which IS the Holy Spirit Himself (Acts 2:38; 5:32). The mention of the Holy Spirit should not bring a knee-jerk reaction from us that it must be talking about something miraculous (by this we mean something that is obviously and indisputably supernatural). The Holy Spirit is a supernatural being (along with the Father and the Son) so it could be argued that all that He does is supernatural. Please put such quibbling aside and recognize that God sees the sparrow fall and is totally involved in every aspect of our lives – but clearly what He is doing to help us is through the natural forces, of which He has total control. Just reading and meditating upon the words of the Holy Spirit that Paul wrote down and sent to them produces great power for them in understanding the full extent of the power of God unto salvation, which is the gospel (Rom. 1:16).
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
[Paul’s second request is that the love of Christ will dwell in their hearts through faith, and that this will enable them to strengthen and to be strengthened by each other as they continue to deal with the many challenges that were before them. Without such love and unity they would spend the vast majority of their time fighting with each other over silly trivialities (as we see in so many religious organizations today). This thought is continued in the next two verses …]
18 [that ye] may be able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God.
[Ability implies the power to accomplish something – in this case the understanding of the great magnitude of God’s love, since this is clearly the central subject of this passage, and anything other than this would be a distraction. He prays that they are able to apprehend (or comprehend) it, and then states that it “passes knowledge.” So, it must be comprehended in a different way than just by raw knowledge. So his final prayer in this sentence is that they may be filled unto all of the fullness of God. Knowledge is part of our being filled, but it is not the end of it. Can we know love without practicing love? Can we read about it and understand it without engaging in it ourselves? Love and faith have much in common here. We can no more have faith only than we can have love only. If we are going to understand what these words really mean in their true spiritual sense, it is essential that they become so much a part of our lives as to guide our every thought and action. Otherwise the only word that can describe them is vanity.]
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 unto him (be) the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen.
[Paul concludes his prayer for them by asserting that all must accrue to the glory of God. He starts by asserting the omnipotence of God and that God will not withhold this power from us. God will provide above all that we ask or even think to ask, and that will be accomplished by the power of the gospel, for that is the power that works in all Christians. This will glorify God both in the church and in Christ Jesus, and it will resound to all generations beyond the limits of what we perceive to be time. Amen, indicating that perhaps Paul had closed the letter at this point but later added to it, or perhaps just the ending of his prayer.]
Ephesians 4-6