Ephesianschapter 1
23 verses · Paul, by tradition · AD 60 to 62 · Paul's letters
And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
Introduction
Paul, by tradition, Paul's letters, Ephesians Overview.
Paul wrote this letter from custody to believers in the province of Asia, most of them Gentiles who had come out of a city of shrines, charms and fear of unseen powers. The chapter opens the letter as a prayer opens a service, with praise before any instruction. It moves from what God planned before the world began to what He has already done and will yet complete. Listen for a short phrase that keeps returning and for the words in Him, which hold the whole opening together. Read it as the ground on which every command later in the letter stands.
Context
- Who
- Believers in the province of Asia, possibly a circular letter, since the words "in Ephesus" are missing from the earliest manuscripts.
- What
- A long blessing of God for the gifts given in Christ, followed by Paul's prayer that the readers may know them.
- Where
- Written from Paul's custody, traditionally at Rome, to the believers at Ephesus and very likely the other churches of Asia.
- When
- About AD 60 to 62 on the traditional dating, during Paul's first Roman imprisonment.
- Why
- To give believers a settled view of what God has done for them in Christ, so that their faith rests on His purpose and power.
Historical context
The manuscript detail is worth stating plainly: the oldest copies we have lack a place name in the opening line, which has long suggested this was written to be carried around a circuit of churches with the destination filled in locally. That would explain the absence of personal greetings in a city where Paul had spent three years.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The opening section follows the shape of a Jewish berakah, a blessing prayer that begins "Blessed be God" and then recounts what he has done. Synagogue prayers used the form daily, and the whole passage runs as a single sentence in Greek.
Two commercial images anchor it. A seal was a wax or clay impression from a signet ring, stamped on cargo and documents to mark ownership and guarantee that nothing had been tampered with in transit. And the Spirit as a down payment uses the term for the deposit that legally bound a purchase.
"In the heavenly places" recurs through this letter. Asia was thick with astrology, magic, and a sense of unseen powers governing daily fortunes; the phrase stakes out where the real authority sits.
Significance
For believers surrounded by shrines to fate and fortune, the message was that they had been chosen before the foundation of the world, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, and sealed, none of it their achievement, all of it to the praise of his glory.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The prayer that follows asks for exactly what such a congregation needed: eyes of the heart enlightened to know the hope of his calling, and the greatness of the power that raised Christ and seated him far above every rule and authority and power and dominion.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Chosen Before the Foundation of the World
Ephesians 1:1-2
an apostle of Christ Jesus: The words in Ephesus are missing from the earliest manuscripts. Many therefore read the letter as a circular sent to several churches of Asia, and the traditional destination is also held.
Ephesians 1:1
“He gives the name of saints to those whom he afterwards denominates faithful in Christ Jesus. No man, therefore, is a believer who is not also a saint; and, on the other hand, no man is a saint who is not a believer. Most of the Greek copies want the word all; but I was unwilling to strike it out, because it must, at all events, be understood.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Ephesians 1:1
“By the will of God - Not by any merit of my own. To the saints who are at Ephesus - And in all the adjacent places. For this epistle is not directed to the Ephesians only, but likewise to all the other churches of Asia.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Grace and peace to you: Jerome asks how the two gifts divide between the persons. Both could come from Father and Son alike, or grace could come from the Father and peace from Christ. Jerome prefers the second reading, pointing to the praise of God's glorious grace in the words that follow.
Ephesians 1:2
“It could be argued that both should be referred to both, that is, both grace and peace apply no less to God the Father than to our Lord Jesus Christ. Or it could be argued that each should be referred to each, so that grace is referred to God the Father and peace to Christ. It is more likely the latter, since the words immediately following are to the praise of the glory of God's grace.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:2patristic
Blessed be the God and Father: The blessing opens one long sentence, verses 3 to 14 running unbroken in the Greek, every clause hung on being in Christ. The paragraph keeps this shape to its close, God the giver, Christ the location, and the Spirit the seal.
Ephesians 1:3
“Now the phrase "blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" is to be read in a double sense. It first means that God is blessed as the maker of all things, this being the main clause. To this is then added "who is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." It means that both God and Father are to be referred in common to our Lord. Blessed is the God of the man who has been assumed and the father of him who was the Word of God with God in the beginning!”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:3patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:3
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - This commences a sentence which continues to the close of Eph 1:12. The length of the periods in the writings of Paul, is one cause of the obscurity of his style, and renders an explanation often difficult. The meaning of this phrase is, that God has laid a foundation for gratitude for what he has done. The ground or reason of the praise here referred to, is that which is stated in the following verses.”
Ephesians 1:3
“The design of the apostle, therefore, in asserting the riches of divine grace toward the Ephesians, was to protect them against having their faith shaken by the false apostles, as if their calling were doubtful, or salvation were to be sought in some other way.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
Ephesians 1:4-5
He chose us in Him: before the foundation of the world, and the words in Him set the choice in Christ from its first clause. The goal named is a character, to be holy and blameless in His presence.
Ephesians 1:4
“According as he hath chosen us in him - As he has decreed from the beginning of the world, and has kept in view from the commencement of the religious system of the Jews, (which the phrase sometimes means), to bring us Gentiles to the knowledge of this glorious state of salvation by Christ Jesus. The Jews considered themselves an elect or chosen people, and wished to monopolize the whole of the Divine love and beneficence.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:4
“Between saintly and unblemished there is this difference, that one who is saintly is ipso facto understood also to be unblemished, but one who is at some point unblemished is not by that fact itself saintly. Infants, after all, are spotless because their bodies are pure and they have committed no sin; and yet they are not saintly, because sanctity is not acquired without will and effort. Moreover, he who has done no sin can be called unblemished, but the saintly person is the one who is full of virtues.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:4patristic
Ephesians 1:4
“According as he hath chosen us in him,.... This choice cannot be understood of a national one, as Israel of old were chosen by the Lord; for the persons the apostle writes to were not a nation; nor does he address all the inhabitants of Ephesus, only the saints and faithful in Christ that resided there; nor are they all intended here, if any of them.”
for adoption as His sons: Proorizo joins pro, before, to horizo, to fix a boundary, and Clarke calls it at root a geographical term. He reads the bounds drawn here as God's purpose to give the Gentiles the adoption Israel already held, with no Mosaic rite required. Chrysostom hears good pleasure as earnest desire.
Ephesians 1:5
“Having predestinated us to the adoption of sons - Having foreordained that all who afterwards believed should enjoy the dignity of being sons of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. According to the good pleasure of his will - According to his free, fixed, unalterable purpose to confer this blessing on all those who should believe in Christ, and those only.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 1:5
“Having predestinated us - On the meaning of the word here used, see the notes at Rom 1:4; Rom 8:29, note. The word used πρωρίζω prōrizō means properly “to set bounds before;” and then to “pre-determine.” There is the essential idea of setting bounds or limits, and of doing this beforehand. It is not that God determined to do it when it was actually done, but that he intended to do it beforehand. No language could express this more clearly, and I suppose this interpretation is generally admitted.”
Ephesians 1:6-7
to the praise of His glorious grace: The verb behind freely given us in the Beloved One is charitoo, built on the root of grace itself. So grace makes us the objects of grace.
Ephesians 1:6
“To the praise of the glory of his grace - Δοξης της χαριτος αὑτου· The glory of his grace, for χαρις ενδοξος, his glorious or illustrious grace, according to the Hebrew idiom. But the grace or mercy of God is peculiarly illustrated and glorified in the plan of redemption by Christ Jesus. By the giving of the Law, God’s justice and holiness were rendered most glorious; by the giving of the Gospel, his grace and mercy are made equally conspicuous.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Redeemed, Let In on the Mystery, Sealed With the Spirit
redemption through His blood: Origen fixes the order of the two gifts. Redemption comes first and frees the captive from his oppressor, and the forgiveness of sins follows once he is out of that enemy's hands. Jerome names the captors as the principalities and powers.
Ephesians 1:7
“All our spiritual blessings flow down to us in that stream. This great benefit, which comes freely to us, was dearly bought and paid for by our blessed Lord; and yet it is according to the riches of God's grace. Christ's satisfaction and God's rich grace are very consistent in the great affair of man's redemption.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
3 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:7
“In whom we have redemption - On the meaning of the word here rendered “redemption” - (ἀπολύτρωσις apolutrōsis) - see the notes at Rom 3:24. The word here, as there, denotes that deliverance from sin and from the evil consequences of sin, which has been procured by the atonement made by the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 1:7
“The one who is yet to be redeemed is a captive. He has ceased to be free by coming under the power of the enemy. So we are captives in this world and bound by the yoke of slavery to the principalities and powers, unable to release our hands from our chains. So we raise our eyes upward until the Redeemer arrives.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:7patristic
Ephesians 1:7
“In whom--"the Beloved" (Eph 1:6; Ro 3:24). we have--as a present possession. redemption--Greek, "our (literally, 'the') redemption"; THE redemption which is the grand subject of all revelation, and especially of the New Testament (Ro 3:24), namely, from the power, guilt, and penal consequences of sin (Mt 1:21).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Ephesians 1:8-9
with all wisdom and understanding: He has made known to us the mystery of His will opens the letter's mystery thread. Musterion is a secret once hidden and now published, and it returns at 3:3, 3:9, 5:32 and 6:19.
Ephesians 1:8
“Wherein he hath abounded - That is, in the dispensation of mercy and goodness by Christ Jesus. In all wisdom and prudence - Giving us apostles the most complete instructions in heavenly things by the inspiration of his Spirit; and at the same time prudence, that we might know when and where to preach the Gospel so that it might be effectual to the salvation of those who heard it.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 1:8
“Paul attributes to the Gospel of God's grace "all" possible "wisdom and prudence," in opposition to the boasts of wisdom and prudence which the unbelieving Jews and heathen philosophers and false apostles arrogated for their teachings. Christ crucified, though esteemed "foolishness" by the world, is "the wisdom of God" (1Co 1:18-30).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the mystery of His will: Clarke names the secret as the reception of the Gentiles into the church with the full privileges of the Jews, apart from circumcision. The pagan mysteries were shown to a chosen few, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe that every Christian is initiated into this one.
Ephesians 1:9
“Having made known to us the mystery of his will - The word “mystery” (μυστήριον mustērion) means literally something into which one must be “initiated” before it is fully known (from μυέω mueō, to initiate, to instruct); and then anything which is concealed or hidden. We commonly use the word to denote that which is above our comprehension or unintelligible. But this is never the meaning of the word in the New Testament.”
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:9
“Having made known to us - By his word and by his Spirit. The mystery of his will - The gracious scheme of salvation by faith, which depends on his own sovereign will alone. This was but darkly discovered under the law; is now totally hid from unbelievers; and has heights and depths which surpass all the knowledge even of true believers.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Ephesians 1:9
“Some attentive reader might object: "If Paul knows in part and prophesies in part and now sees as through a glass darkly, how is the mystery of God revealed either to him or to the Ephesians "in all wisdom and insight?" … It is not that they by themselves have learned this mystery "in all wisdom and insight," but God "in all wisdom and insight" has revealed the mystery to us, so far as we are able to grasp it.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:9patristic
bring all things in heaven and on earth: To bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ translates anakephalaiosasthai, to sum up under one head. It is the root Paul uses of Christ as head at 1:22 and 4:15.
Ephesians 1:10
“There is therefore, as I have pointed out, one God the Father, and one Christ Jesus, who came by means of the whole dispensational arrangements [connected with Him], and gathered together all things in Himself.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book IIIpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:10
“God the Father, according to His own good pleasure and purpose, is the Dispenser both of the Gospel benefits and of their several fitting times (Ac 1:7). gather together in one--Greek, "sum up under one head"; "recapitulate." The "good pleasure which He purposed," was "to sum up all things (Greek, 'THE whole range of things') in Christ (Greek, 'the Christ,' that is, His Christ)" [ALFORD].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Ephesians 1:10
“The innumerable company of angels become one with the church through Christ: this God purposed in himself, and it was his design in that dispensation which was to be accomplished by his sending Christ in the fulness of time, at the exact time that God had prefixed and settled.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ephesians 1:11-12
having been predestined according to the plan: The we of verse 12, who were the first to hope in Christ, renders hoi proelpikotes. Verse 13 turns to you, a shift many read as Jewish believers and Gentile readers.
Ephesians 1:11
“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance - We who are Christians. Most commentators suppose that by the word “we” the Jews particularly are intended, and that it stands in contradistinction from “ye,” as referring to the Gentiles, in Eph 1:13. This construction, they suppose is demanded by the nature of the passage. The meaning may then be, that the Jews who were believers had “first” obtained a part in the plan of redemption, as the offer was first made to them, and then that the same favor was conferred also on the Gentiles.”
the first to hope in Christ: Proelpizo means to hope beforehand, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown apply it to Jews who looked for the Messiah before his coming. Tertullian agrees, since only Israel had Christ announced from the beginning. Barnes offers a second reading, Paul and his fellow workers, who believed first.
Ephesians 1:12
“But then how can opposites be gathered together into him by whom they are in short destroyed? Again, what Christ do the following words announce, when the apostle says: "That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ? " Now who could have first trusted-i.e. previously trusted -in God, before His advent, except the Jews to whom Christ was previously announced, from the beginning? He who was thus foretold, was also foretrusted.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:12
“IT appears from the preceding verse that the predestinating purpose of God deals not only with salvation as a whole, but with the details of it—it includes faith as well as salvation which comes of faith. "Being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ." The trust is appointed as well as the justification—the means as well as the end.”
Ephesians 1:12
“Who first believed - Before the gentiles. So did some of them in every place. Here is another branch of the true gospel predestination: he that believes is not only elected to salvation, (if he endures to the end,) but is fore-appointed of God to walk in holiness, to the praise of his glory.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Ephesians 1:13-14
The Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance, arrabon, a legal down payment guaranteeing the balance. The redemption waits ahead, so the Spirit now is security for what is still to come.
Ephesians 1:13
“Likewise believed, after ye had heard the gospel - Which God made the means of your salvation; in whom after ye had believed - Probably some time after their first believing. Ye were sealed by that Holy Spirit of promise - Holy both in his nature and in his operations, and promised to all the children of God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:13
“In whom ye also trusted - This stands in contrast with those who had “first” embraced the gospel. Heard the word of truth - The gospel; called the “word” or message of truth, the word of God, etc. See Rom 10:17. The phrase “the word of truth” means “the true word or message.” It was a message unmixed with Jewish traditions or Gentile philosophy. The gospel of your salvation - The gospel bringing salvation to you. In whom also - In the Lord Jesus.”
Ephesians 1:13
“It is no small praise for the Ephesians that they have heard not preaching as such but "the word of truth." Remember that we read in another letter that there is a great distance between preaching and the word of truth.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:13patristic
Ephesians 1:13
“The blessed Spirit is holy himself, and he makes us holy. He is called the Spirit of promise, as he is the promised Spirit. By him believers are sealed; that is, separated and set apart for God, and distinguished and marked as belonging to him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the pledge of our inheritance: Jerome separates two kinds of security. A pledge is returned to the debtor when the debt is repaid, and the arrabon is a bond given toward a purchase still to come. Irenaeus calls it a portion of the Spirit that accustoms believers, little by little, to receive and bear God.
Ephesians 1:14
But we do now receive a certain portion of His Spirit, tending towards perfection, and preparing us for incorruption, being little by little accustomed to receive and bear God; which also the apostle terms "an earnest," that is, a part of the honour which has been promised us by God, where he says in the Epistle to the Ephesians, "In which ye also, having heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, believing in which we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance."
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 5patristic
4 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:14
“Which is the earnest of our inheritance - This Holy Spirit, sealing the soul with truth and righteousness, is the earnest, foretaste, and pledge of the heavenly inheritance. And he who can produce this earnest - this witness of the Spirit, in the day of judgment, shall have an abundant entrance into the holiest. On the αρῥαβων, or earnest, see the notes on Gen 38:17 (note), etc., and on 2Co 1:22 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ephesians 1:14
“The earnest is part of payment, and it secures the full sum: so is the gift of the Holy Ghost; all his influences and operations, both as a sanctifier and a comforter, are heaven begun, glory in the seed and bud. The Spirit's illumination is an earnest of everlasting light; sanctification is an earnest of perfect holiness; and his comforts are earnests of everlasting joys.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ephesians 1:14
“A guarantee (arrabōn, "earnest") is not the same as a token or pledge. For a guarantee is given as an affidavit and bond for a future purchase. But a pledge … is an expression of a present reciprocal transaction. Thus when the money is returned the pledge is restored by the creditor to the one who has repaid the debt.… So from the guarantee the majestic scope of the future inheritance may be grasped.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:14patristic
Ephesians 1:14
“The deliverance of the creature (the body, and the whole visible creation) from the bondage of corruption, and from the usurping prince of this world, into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Ro 8:21-23; 2Pe 3:13). of the purchased possession--God's people purchased ("acquired," Greek) as His peculiar (Greek) possession by the blood of Christ (Ac 20:28).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Paul Prays You Would See the Power That Raised Him
Ephesians 1:15-16
your faith in the Lord Jesus: For this reason ties the thanksgiving to everything just rehearsed. Paul has heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and love for all the saints, the pair he looks for in a church.
Ephesians 1:15
“Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus - This is one of the passages usually relied on by those who suppose that this Epistle was not written to the Ephesians. The argument is, that he writes to them as if they were strangers to him, and that it is not language such as would be used in addressing a people among whom he had spent three years; see the introduction, section 5. But this inference is not conclusive. Paul had been some years absent from Ephesus when this Epistle was written.”
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:15
“Faith in Christ, and love to the saints, will be attended with all other graces. Love to the saints, as such, and because they are such, must include love to God. Those who love saints, as such, love all saints, how weak in grace, how mean in the world, how fretful and peevish soever, some of them may be.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ephesians 1:15
“So in the case of Philemon, his "beloved fellow laborer" (Phm 1), he uses the same words (Phm 4, 5). your faith--rather, as Greek, "the faith among you," that is, which many (not all) of you have. love unto all the saints--of whatever name, simply because they are saints. A distinguishing characteristic of true Christianity (Eph 6:24).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
remembering you in my prayers: Clarke says Paul named the Ephesians before God. Barnes adds that Paul was far from them and trusted prayer to carry his care for their growth. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown report that the oldest manuscripts omit the second you, so the line may speak of mentioning their faith and love.
Ephesians 1:16
“Cease not to give thanks - The apostle intimates, so fully satisfied was he of the genuineness of their conversion, and of their steadiness since their conversion, that it was to him a continual cause of thanksgiving to God, who had brought them into that state of salvation; and of prayer, that they might be preserved blameless to the end. Making mention of you - While praying for the prosperity of the Christian cause generally, he was led, from his particular affection for them, to mention them by name before God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 1:16
“That the Father of that infinite glory which shines in the face of Christ, from whom also we receive the glorious inheritance, ver. 18, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and Revelation - The same who is the Spirit of promise is also, in the progress of the faithful, the Spirit of wisdom and Revelation; making them wise unto salvation, and revealing to them the deep things of God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Ephesians 1:17-19
a spirit of wisdom and revelation: The prayer asks that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. The three things they are to see echo the doxology just sung, so enlightened eyes perceive what grace has already given.
Ephesians 1:17
It is this God of the incarnate man who is the Father of glory, wisdom and truth, who gives the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to those who believe in his Son so that they may become wise and contemplate the glory of the Lord with unveiled face. When this wisdom and revelation have made them wise and opened to them the mysteries that were hidden, it follows at once that they have "the eyes of their heart enlightened."
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:15-17patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 1:17
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ - The God who has sent the Lord Jesus into the world, and appointed him as the Mediator between himself and man. The particular reason why Paul here speaks of him as “the God of the Lord Jesus” is, that he prays that they might be further acquainted with the Redeemer, and be enlightened in regard to the great work which he came to do. The Father of glory - The glorious Father, that is, the Father who is worthy to be praised and honored.”
the eyes of your heart: Heart in Scripture covers mind and inclination, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown compare this light to the first light of Genesis 1:3. Clarke cites an ancient saying that the understanding is to the soul what the eye is to the body. The eye needs light, and the Spirit supplies it.
Ephesians 1:18
“It is not without effort that we come to "know the hope of our calling and the riches of God's inheritance in the saints." This effort in fact comes in response to that renewing gift which God himself gives in the glorious resurrection of his own Son. This gift he gives not once but continually.… Every day Christ rises from the dead. Every day he is raised in the penitent.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:18-20patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 1:18
“We ought to labour after, and pray earnestly for, a clearer insight into, and a fuller acquaintance with, the great objects of a Christian's hopes. The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Besides the heavenly inheritance prepared for the saints, there is a present inheritance in the saints; for grace is glory begun, and holiness is happiness in the bud.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the surpassing greatness of His power: Chrysostom holds that bringing a soul to faith takes more power than raising a corpse. Lazarus rose at one word, while Jerusalem refused to be gathered. Clarke reads kratos as might in action and energeia as the force with which that power is applied.
Ephesians 1:19
The same superhuman power was needed and exerted to make us believe, as was needed and exerted to raise Christ from the dead (Eph 1:20). Compare Php 3:10, "the power of His resurrection" (Col 2:12; 1Pe 1:3-5). of his mighty power--Greek, "of the strength of His might."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:19
“It is a desirable thing to know experimentally the mighty power of that grace beginning and carrying on the work of faith in our souls. It is a difficult thing to bring a soul to believe in Christ, and to venture its all upon his righteousness, and upon the hope of eternal life. It is nothing less than an almighty power that will work this in us.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ephesians 1:19
“It was He who "wrought in Christ His mighty power, by raising Him from the dead, and setting Him at His own right hand, and putting all things under His feet" -even the same who said: "Sit Thou on my right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
Ephesians 1:20-21
raised Him from the dead: God seated Him at His right hand, words drawn from Psalm 110:1, the LORD's oracle to David's Lord. Paul reads the oracle of Jesus enthroned, and 2:6 names the same place for believers.
Ephesians 1:20
“Set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places - Gave him, as mediator between God and man, the highest honors and dignities, Php 2:9; in which state of exaltation he transacts all the affairs of his Church, and rules the universe. The right hand is the place of friendship, honor, confidence, and authority.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:20
“He demonstrates the power of God through a human image. It is not that a material throne is set up and God the Father is physically seated on it and has the Son seated above with him.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 1:21patristic
Ephesians 1:20
“That indeed was the great proof of the truth of the gospel to the world: but the transcript of that in ourselves (our sanctification, and rising from the death of sin, in conformity to Christ's resurrection) is the great proof to us.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
every name that is named: Wesley compares a king whose officers a subject cannot list, though he knows the king stands over all of them. Jerome asks where Paul found the four titles and suggests Hebrew tradition or the ranks of princes and captains in Numbers and Kings. Chrysostom weighs the word far.
Ephesians 1:21
“Paul shows that the truest wisdom is to know Christ as reigning above them all. every name--every being whatever. "Any other creature" (Ro 8:39). in this world--Greek, "age," that is, the present order of things.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:21
“Jesus Christ is advanced above all, and he is set in authority over all, they being made subject to him. All the glory of the upper world, and all the powers of both worlds, are entirely devoted to him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ephesians 1:21
“Far above all principality - The general sense in this verse is, that the Lord Jesus was exalted to the highest conceivable dignity and honor; compare Php 2:9; Col 2:10. In this beautiful and most important passage, the apostle labors for words to convey the greatness of his conceptions, and uses those which denote the highest conceivable dignity and glory. The “main” idea is, that God had manifested great “power” in thus exalting the Lord Jesus, and that similar power was exhibited in raising up the sinner from the death of sin to the life and honor of believing.”
Ephesians 1:22-23
God put everything under His feet: quotes Psalm 8:6, the psalm's words for mankind's dominion here read of Christ. Hebrews 2:6-9 reads the psalm the same way.
Ephesians 1:22
“And hath put all things under his feet - All beings and things are subject to him, whether they be thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers, Col 1:16-18; Col 2:10; for he, God the Father, has given him to be head - chief, and supreme, over all, to the Church, the Church having no ruler but Jesus Christ; others may be officers in his Church, but he alone is head and supreme.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 1:22
“The Father loves the Son, and hath given ALL things into his hands. But that which completes the comfort of this is that he is the head over all things to the church; he is entrusted with all power, that is, that he may dispose of all the affairs of the providential kingdom in subserviency to the designs of his grace concerning his church.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the fullness of Him who fills: Pleroma, Barnes explains, means that with which a thing is filled, its contents. Chrysostom presses the body image: the head is filled up by the body, and Christ is pictured as needing each single member. Henry asks how a king could reign without a kingdom.
Ephesians 1:23
“Which is his body - This comparison of the church with “a person” or body, of which the Lord Jesus is the head, is not uncommon in the New Testament; compare the notes at 1Co 11:3; 1Co 12:27, note; Eph 4:15-16, notes. The fulness of him - The word rendered here as “fulness” - πλήρωμα plērōma - means properly, that with which anything is filled; the filling up; the contents; notes, Rom 11:12. The exact idea here, however, is not very clear, and interpreters have been by no means united in their opinions of the meaning.”
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 1:23
“The fulness of him that filleth all in all - It is hard to say in what sense this can be spoken of the church; but the sense is easy and natural, if we refer it to Christ, who is the fulness of the Father.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Ephesians 1:23
“And yet the church is said to be his fulness, because Christ as Mediator would not be complete if he had not a church. How could he be a king if he had not a kingdom? This therefore comes in to the honour of Christ, as Mediator, that the church is his fulness.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
How this psalm is built
The form: A setting out of the riches of God's grace, written so that the readers' faith would not be shaken or their calling doubted, as Calvin classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| To the praise of His glory, three times | The phrase to the praise of His glory, or of His glorious grace, closes verses 6, 12 and 14 in the Berean text. The site's published exposition of verses 6 and 7 reads the three as marking off the work of the Father, the Son and the Spirit in turn.This site's published exposition of Ephesians 1:6 to 7, The exposition_notes row on Ephesians 1:6 to 7, citing Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament, and Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible. | Ephesians 1:6, Ephesians 1:12, Ephesians 1:14 |
| In Christ, in Him, in the Beloved | The words in Christ, in Him and in the Beloved stand eleven times in the Berean text of the chapter, at verses 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 20. The site's published exposition of verse 3 records that verses 3 to 14 run as one sentence in the Greek, with every clause hung on being in Christ.This site's published exposition of Ephesians 1:3, The exposition_notes row on Ephesians 1:3, citing Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. | Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 1:13 |
| The gifts listed one after another | Verses 4 to 14 name the gifts in a row: chosen, predestined for adoption, redeemed and forgiven, told the mystery of His will, made God's own, and sealed with the Spirit. Chrysostom reads them as riches that were poured out in a measure no words can represent.John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on Ephesians, on Ephesians 1:7. | Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 1:11, Ephesians 1:13 |
The structure
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
The chapter has two parts. Verses 3 to 14 are one blessing of God, and the site's published exposition of verse 3 records that the Greek runs as a single sentence from verse 3 to verse 14. Verses 15 to 23 are a prayer, opened by the words For this reason, which ties the prayer to the blessing before it. The refrain to the praise of His glory closes verses 6, 12 and 14.
The debate: the choosing of verses 4 and 5
The site's published exposition of verses 4 and 5 records two readings of the choosing, citing John Calvin, Commentary on Ephesians, and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament. The Reformed line after Calvin reads it as God's choice of particular persons to salvation. Wesley reads it as God's decree that all who afterwards believed should be sons of God, and those only (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on Ephesians 1:5). Both readings place the choice in Christ, and the page settles neither.
The address
John Wesley holds that the letter was directed to all the churches of Asia as well as to Ephesus (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on Ephesians 1:1). The site's published exposition of verses 1 and 2 records that the earliest manuscripts lack the place name, and that both the traditional destination and the wider reading are held.
Where the chapter reaches
Verse 20 draws on Psalm 110:1, where the LORD tells the king to sit at His right hand, and Tertullian sets the two side by side (Against Marcion, Book V, on Ephesians 1:19 to 20). Verse 22 draws on Psalm 8:6, where all things are put under the feet of man. The chapter hands to chapter 2 the same power that raised Christ, now at work in those who were dead.
Keep studying
Studies13
Places1
Words12
Subjects3
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
Charles Hodge; J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Michael Heiser, The Unseen Realm.
The form and classifications
John Calvin, Commentaries, on Ephesians 1:3; John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on Ephesians, on Ephesians 1:7 and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on Ephesians 1:1.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Irenaeus, Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome; John Calvin, Commentary on Ephesians; John Chrysostom; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS and Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V.