Ephesians 1:16
in Ephesians 1I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
KJV
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
⋯
This verse in Ephesians 1
Commentary
11 notes on this verseCease 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.
This site's exposition
after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus
on Ephesians 1:15-16
Wherefore ties the thanksgiving to everything just rehearsed, the report Paul had heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints. Faith and love named together are the pair he looks for in every church's report, faith reaching toward Christ and love reaching outward to every saint rather than a narrower circle. Cease not to give thanks turns the report into unbroken intercession, making mention of you in my prayers a discipline rather than an occasional impulse.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Every prayer that we offer up to God is made either in thanks for what we have received or in petition to receive something else. We are encouraged to pray both for ourselves and for those we love. So Paul says, "I make mention of …
Never was anything equal to the yearnings of the Apostle, never anything like the sympathy and the affectionateness of the blessed Paul, who made his every prayer in behalf of whole cities and peoples, and writes the same to all, "I thank my God for you, making mention of you in my prayers." Think how many he had in his mind, whom it were a labor so much as to remember; how many he made mention of in his prayers, giving thanks to God for them all as though he himself had received the greatest blessing. "Wherefore," he says, i.e., because of what is to come, because of the good things that are laid up in store for them who rightly believe and live. And it is meet then to give thanks to God both for all the things which mankind have received at His hands, both heretofore and hereafter; and meet to give Him thanks also for the faith of them that believe. "Having heard," saith he, "of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and which ye show toward all the saints." He on all occasions knits together and combines faith and love, a glorious pair; nor does he mention the saints of that country only, but all. "I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers."
The Medieval Church2 voices
Next (1:16a), the Apostle gives thanks for these goods and blessings he has heard about, saying I cease not to give thanks for you. On the contrary, however, he could not have continually offered thanks for them. I reply. In saying I do not cease, …
"For this reason." Why then? Because you, having believed, received the seal of the Spirit and obtained the pledge of future blessings and perfect redemption, and are to receive what has been prepared for those who rightly believe and live piously — "I unceasingly give …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Cease not to give thanks for you,....
He calls them the faithful in Christ Jesus, believers in him, and firm and constant in their adherence to him and to his truths and ways. Those are not saints who are not faithful, believing in Christ, firmly adhering to him, and true to the profession they make of relation to their Lord.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
(Col 1:9). of you--omitted in the oldest manuscripts. Then the translation may be as English Version still, or as ALFORD, "making mention of them" (your "faith and love").
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Cease not to give thanks for you - In the prosperity of the church at Ephesus he could not but feel the deepest interest, and their welfare he never forgot. Making mention of you in my prayers - Paul was far distant from them, and expected to see them no more. But he had faith in prayer, and he sought that they might advance in knowledge and in grace. What was the particular subject of his prayers, he mentions in the following verses.
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| παύομαι | pauomai | do cease | G3973 → | |
| εὐχαριστῶν | euchariston | giving thanks | G2168 → | |
| ὑπὲρ | huper | for | G5228 → | 155 times |
| ὑμῶν | humon | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| μνείαν | mneian | mention | G3417 → | |
| ποιούμενος | poioumenos | making | G4160 → | 569 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | in | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| προσευχῶν | proseuchon | prayers | G4335 → | |
| μου | mou | of mine | G3165 → | 1936 times |
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
παύομαιdo cease
pauomaiG3973 →
εὐχαριστῶνgiving thanks
eucharistonG2168 →
ὑπὲρfor
huperG5228 →155 times
ὑμῶνyou
humonG4771 →2973 times
μνείανmention
mneianG3417 →
ποιούμενοςmaking
poioumenosG4160 →569 times
ἐπὶin
epiG1909 →883 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
προσευχῶνprayers
proseuchonG4335 →
μουof mine
mouG3165 →1936 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 12:23As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. And I will continue to teach you the good and right way.
it leads to
- Colossians 1:9
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Timothy 1:3
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, as I constantly remember you night and day in my prayers.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 1:9
God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
- Colossians 1:9
Through
Colossians 1:9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and…
it leads to
- James 3:17
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.
- Philippians 1:9–11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Ephesians 1:15–20
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
- Colossians 4:5
Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
- James 3:17
Where this verse is studied
About Ephesians
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gaius Marius Victorinus, EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 1.1.16; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Ephesians 3; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Ephesians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Ephesians.