The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians
Eph 1:11 Paul
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 1:11 [1] This book speaks particularly of the church and unveils the church in its seven aspects as (1) the Body of Christ, the fullness, the expression, of the One who fills all in all (v. 23; 4:13); (2) the new man (2:15), a corporate man, having not only the life of Christ but also His person; (3) the kingdom of God (2:19), with the saints as citizens possessing its rights and bearing its responsibilities; (4) the household of God (2:19), a family full of life and enjoyment; (5) the dwelling place of God, in which He may live (2:21-22)—universally, a holy temple in the Lord, and locally, the dwelling place of God in our spirit; (6) the bride, the wife, of Christ (5:24-25) for Christ’s rest and satisfaction; and (7) the warrior (6:11-12), a corporate fighter, who deals with and defeats God’s enemy to accomplish God’s eternal purpose.
Eph 1:11 [2] A particular characteristic of this book is that it speaks from the viewpoint of God’s eternal purpose, from eternity, and from the heavenlies. It is positioned in the New Testament immediately after the revelation concerning Christ versus religion (Galatians). It is followed by a book on the practical experience of Christ (Philippians), and it leads to Christ, the Head (Colossians). Thus, these four books are the heart of the New Testament revelation concerning God’s eternal economy.
Eph 1:1a apostle 1 Cor. 1:1; Col. 1:1
Eph 1:12 will
Paul was made an apostle of Christ not by man but through the will of God, according to God’s economy. This standing gave him authority to put forth in this Epistle the revelation of God’s eternal purpose concerning the church. The church is built on this revelation (2:20).
Eph 1:13b saints Rom. 1:7; Phil. 1:1
The saints are those who are made holy, who are sanctified, separated unto God from everything that is common.
Eph 1:14 in
In Ephesus is not found in the earliest MSS.
Eph 1:1c Ephesus Acts 19:1; 20:17; Rev. 2:1
Eph 1:15d faithful Col. 1:2
The faithful are those who are faithful in the faith, which is referred to in 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:7; and Jude 3.
Eph 1:21a Grace Rom. 1:7
Grace is God as our enjoyment (John 1:17; 1 Cor. 15:10).
Eph 1:22 peace
Peace is a condition that issues from grace, from the enjoyment of God our Father.
Eph 1:23 God
We are God’s creatures and God’s sons. To us as God’s creatures, God is our God; to us as God’s sons, He is our Father.
Eph 1:2b Father Eph. 1:17; 2:18; 3:14; 4:6; 5:20; 6:23; Matt. 6:9
Eph 1:24c Lord Acts 2:36
We are also the Lord’s redeemed ones. As the Lord’s redeemed ones, we have Him as our Lord. Grace and peace come to us from God our Creator, from our Father, and from the Lord our Redeemer. Since we are His created ones, redeemed ones, and regenerated ones, we are positioned to receive grace and peace from Him.
Eph 1:31a Blessed 2 Cor. 1:3
Lit., well spoken of; i.e., praised with adoration. In this section the Triune God is well spoken of, praised with adoration: the Father in His selection and predestination for God’s eternal purpose (vv. 3-6), the Son in His redemption for the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose (vv. 7-12), and the Spirit in His sealing and pledging for the application of God’s accomplished purpose (vv. 13-14). Through all the virtues of the Divine Trinity, we, the fallen sinners, become the church, the Body of Christ, the fullness, the expression, of the One who fills all in all.
Eph 1:32b God Eph. 1:17; John 20:17; Rom. 15:6
God is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of Man, and God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. According to the Lord’s humanity, God is His God, and according to the Lord’s divinity, God is His Father.
Eph 1:33 our
Since the Lord Jesus is ours, whatever God is to Him also is ours. Lord refers to His lordship (Acts 2:36), Jesus to Him as a man (1 Tim. 2:5), and Christ to Him as God’s anointed One (John 20:31).
Eph 1:34 blessed
Lit., praised, or, spoken well of. When God blesses us, He praises us, speaks well of us.
Eph 1:35 with
Lit., in.
Eph 1:36 spiritual
All the blessings with which God has blessed us, being spiritual, are related to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is not only the channel but also the reality of God’s blessings. In this verse God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are all related to the blessings bestowed on us. God’s blessing us is actually His dispensing Himself into us.
Eph 1:37 blessing
Lit., good speech, or, utterance, well speaking, fair speech; implying bounty and benefit. God has blessed us with His good, fine, and fair speakings. Every such speaking is a blessing to us. Verses 4-14 are an account of such speakings, such blessings. All these blessings are spiritual, in the heavenlies, and in Christ.
Eph 1:38c heavenlies Eph. 1:20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12
Heavenlies here indicates not only the heavenly place but also the heavenly nature, state, characteristic, and atmosphere of the spiritual blessings with which God has blessed us. These blessings are from the heavens, having a heavenly nature, heavenly state, heavenly characteristic, and heavenly atmosphere. The believers in Christ are enjoying on earth these heavenly blessings, which are spiritual as well as heavenly. They are different from the blessings with which God blessed Israel. Those blessings were physical and earthly. The blessings bestowed on us are of God the Father, in God the Son, through God the Spirit, and in the heavenlies. They are the spiritual blessings bestowed by the Triune God on us, the believers in Christ. They are the blessings in the heavenlies, having a heavenly nature, state, character, and atmosphere.
Eph 1:39 in
Christ is the virtue, the instrument, and the sphere in which God has blessed us. Outside of Christ, apart from Christ, God has nothing to do with us; but in Christ He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.
Eph 1:41a chose 2 Thes. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2
After v. 3, vv. 4-14 present a list of all the spiritual blessings with which God has blessed us, beginning from His choosing us in eternity and reaching to the producing of the Body of Christ to express Himself for eternity. Hence, God’s choosing is the first blessing that He bestowed on us. His choosing is His selection. From among numberless people He selected us, and this He did in Christ. Christ was the sphere in which we were selected by God. Outside of Christ we are not God’s choice.
Eph 1:42b before 1 Pet. 1:20; cf. Rev. 13:8; 17:8; Matt. 25:34
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 1:42 [1] This was in eternity past. Before He created us, God chose us according to His infinite foresight. This implies that the world, which is the universe, was founded for man’s existence to fulfill God’s eternal purpose.
Eph 1:42 [2] The book of Romans begins with fallen men on earth; Ephesians begins with God’s chosen ones in the heavenlies.
Eph 1:43c holy Eph. 5:27; Col. 1:22; 1 Thes. 5:23
Holy means not only sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common. Only God is different, distinct, from all things. Hence, He is holy; holiness is His nature. He chose us that we should be holy. He makes us holy by imparting Himself, the Holy One, into our being, that our whole being may be permeated and saturated with His holy nature. For us, God’s chosen ones, to be holy is to partake of God’s divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and to have our whole being permeated with God Himself. This is different from mere sinless perfection or sinless purity. This makes our being holy in God’s nature and character, just like God Himself.
Eph 1:44 without
A blemish is like a foreign particle in a precious gem. God’s chosen ones should be saturated with only God Himself, having no foreign particles, such as the fallen natural human element, the flesh, the self, or worldly things. This is to be without blemish, without any mixture, without any element other than God’s holy nature. The church, after being thoroughly washed by the water in the word, will be sanctified in such a way (5:26-27).
Eph 1:45 before
Before Him indicates that we are holy and without blemish in the eyes of God according to His divine standard. This qualifies us to remain in and enjoy His presence.
Eph 1:46 in
In love could be joined with the first phrase of v. 5.
Eph 1:47d love Eph. 3:17; 4:2, 15, 16; 5:2
Love here refers to the love with which God loves His chosen ones and His chosen ones love Him. It is in this love, in such a love, that God’s chosen ones become holy and without blemish before Him. First, God loved us; then this divine love inspires us to love Him in return. In such a condition and atmosphere of love, we are saturated with God to be holy and without blemish, just as He is.
Eph 1:51a Predestinating Eph. 1:11; Rom. 8:29
Or, marking us out beforehand. Marking out beforehand is the process, whereas predestination is the purpose, which is to determine a destiny beforehand. God selected us before the foundation of the world, marking us out beforehand unto a certain destiny.
Eph 1:52b sonship Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5
God’s marking us out beforehand was to destine us unto sonship. We were predestinated to be sons of God even before we were created. Hence, as God’s creatures we need to be regenerated by Him that we may participate in His life to be His sons. Sonship implies having not only the life but also the position of a son. God’s marked-out ones have the life to be His sons and the position to inherit Him. To be made holy—to be sanctified by God by His putting Himself into us and then mingling His nature with us—is the process, the procedure, whereas to be sons of God is the aim, the goal, and is a matter of our being joined to the Son of God and conformed to a particular form or shape, the very image of the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:15), that our whole being, including our body (Rom. 8:23), may be “sonized” by God.
Eph 1:53 through
Through Jesus Christ means through the Son of God, the Redeemer. Through Him we were redeemed to be the sons of God, having the life and position of God’s sons.
Eph 1:54c good Eph. 1:9; Phil. 2:13
This reveals that God has a will, in which is His good pleasure. God predestinated us to be His sons according to His pleasure, according to His heart’s delight. Unlike the book of Romans, the book of Ephesians does not speak from the standpoint of man’s sinful condition; rather, it speaks from the standpoint of the good pleasure of God’s heart. Hence, Ephesians is deeper and higher.
Eph 1:5d will Eph. 1:9, 11; 5:17; Col. 1:9; Rom. 12:2; Rev. 4:11
Eph 1:61a praise Eph. 1:12, 14
The praise of the glory of God’s grace is the result, the issue, of sonship (v. 5). God’s predestinating us unto sonship is for the praise of His expression in His grace, that is, for the praise of the glory of His grace. Eventually, every positive thing in the universe will praise God for sonship (Rom. 8:19), thus fulfilling what is spoken in this verse.
Eph 1:62b glory Eph. 1:18; 3:21; Col. 1:27
Glory is God expressed (Exo. 40:34). The glory of His grace indicates that God’s grace, which is Himself as our enjoyment, expresses Him. As we receive grace and enjoy God, we have the sense of glory.
Eph 1:63 graced
This puts us into the position of grace that we may be the object of God’s grace and favor, that is, that we may enjoy all that God is to us.
Eph 1:64d Beloved Matt. 3:17
The Beloved is God’s beloved Son, in whom He delights (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). Hence, in gracing us God makes us an object in whom He delights. This is altogether a pleasure to God. In Christ we have been blessed by God with every blessing. In the Beloved we were graced, made the object of God’s favor and pleasure. As such an object we enjoy God, and God enjoys us in His grace in His Beloved, who is His delight. In His Beloved we too become His delight.
Eph 1:71a redemption Col. 1:14; Rom. 3:24
We were chosen and predestinated. But after being created, we became fallen. Hence, we need redemption, which God accomplished for us in Christ through His blood. This is another item of God’s blessings that He has bestowed on us.
Eph 1:7b blood Eph. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:18-19
Eph 1:72c forgiveness Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 10:43
The forgiveness of our offenses is the redemption through the blood of Christ. Apart from the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:22). Redemption is what Christ accomplished for our offenses; forgiveness is the application of Christ’s accomplishment to our offenses.
Eph 1:81 abound
God’s grace is not only rich (v. 7) but also abounding. Such grace makes us an inheritance to God (v. 11) and qualifies us to inherit all that God is (v. 14).
Eph 1:82a wisdom Eph. 3:10; Rom. 11:33
Wisdom is what is within God for planning and purposing a will concerning us; prudence is the application of God’s wisdom. First, God planned and purposed in His wisdom, and then He applied with prudence what He had planned and purposed for us. Wisdom was mainly for God’s plan in eternity, and prudence is mainly for God’s execution of His plan in time. What God planned in eternity in His wisdom, He is now executing in time in His prudence.
Eph 1:91 Making
To make known to us the mystery of His will is one item of God’s wisdom and prudence.
Eph 1:92a mystery Eph. 3:3, 4, 9; 5:32; 6:19; Col. 1:26, 27; 2:2; 4:3; Rom. 16:25
In eternity God planned a will. This will was hidden in Him; hence, it was a mystery. In His wisdom and prudence He has made this hidden mystery known to us through His revelation in Christ, that is, through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
Eph 1:93 according
It was the pleasure of God’s heart to make the mystery of His will known to us.
Eph 1:94d purposed Eph. 1:11; 3:11; Rom. 8:28
God’s good pleasure was what He purposed in Himself unto the economy of the fullness of the times (v. 10), indicating that God Himself is the initiation, the origination, and the sphere of His eternal purpose, which nothing can overthrow, for which everything is working, and regarding which He did not take counsel with anyone.
Eph 1:101a economy Eph. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:4
Or, plan. The Greek word, oikonomia, means house law, household management or administration, and derivatively, administrative dispensation, plan, economy (see note 43 in 1 Tim. 1). The economy that God, according to His desire, planned and purposed in Himself is to head up all things in Christ at the fullness of the times. This is accomplished through the dispensing of the abundant life supply of the Triune God as the life factor into all the members of the church that they may rise up from the death situation and be attached to the Body.
Eph 1:102 fullness
The times refers to the ages. The fullness of the times will be when the new heaven and new earth appear after all the dispensations of God in all the ages have been completed. Altogether there are four ages: the age of sin (Adam), the age of the law (Moses), the age of grace (Christ), and the age of the kingdom (the millennium).
Eph 1:103b head Eph. 1:22; cf. Col. 1:16-18
God made Christ the Head over all things (v. 22). Through all the dispensations of God in all the ages, all things will be headed up in Christ in the new heaven and new earth. That will be God’s eternal administration and economy. Thus, the heading up of all things is the issue of all the items covered in vv. 3-9. Verse 22 reveals further that this heading up is to the church so that the Body of Christ may share in all that is of Christ as the Head, having been rescued from the heap of the universal collapse in death and darkness, which was caused by the rebellion of the angels and the rebellion of man. The believers participate in this heading up by being willing to be headed up in the church life, by growing in life, and by living under Christ’s light (John 1:4; Rev. 21:23-25). When everything is headed up in Christ, there will be absolute peace and harmony (Isa. 2:4; 11:6; 55:12; Psa. 96:12-13), a full rescue out of the collapse. This will begin from the time of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21).
Eph 1:104 Christ
Lit., the Christ. Referring to the One mentioned in v. 1 and v. 3, the One in whom are the spiritual blessings of God and in whom are the faithful saints, who participate in the blessings. He is a particular One; hence, He is called “the Christ.” So also in vv. 12 and 20.
Eph 1:10c things Phil. 2:10
Eph 1:111 were
Or, have obtained an inheritance. The Greek verb means to choose or assign by lot. Hence, this clause literally means that in Christ we were designated as a chosen inheritance. We were designated as an inheritance to inherit God as our inheritance. On the one hand, we have become God’s inheritance (v. 18) for God’s enjoyment; on the other hand, we inherit God as our inheritance (v. 14) for our enjoyment.
Eph 1:11a inheritance Eph. 1:18
Eph 1:112b predestinated Eph. 1:5
Or, marked out beforehand. See note 51.
Eph 1:113c purpose Eph. 1:9; 3:11
I.e., plan.
Eph 1:114 counsel
God’s will is His intention; God’s counsel is His consideration of the way to accomplish His will or intention.
Eph 1:114d will Eph. 1:5
See note 114.
Eph 1:121a praise Eph. 1:6, 14
So much will be worked out by God’s abounding grace for and in the believers, the sons of God, who are the center of God’s work in the universe, that all the angels and positive things in the universe will praise God and appreciate God’s expression (glory). This will take place mainly in the millennium and ultimately in the new heaven and new earth.
Eph 1:122 first
Or, before. We, the New Testament believers, are those who have first hoped in Christ, that is, in this age. The Jews will have their hope in Christ in the next age. We have hoped in Christ before He comes back to set up His Messianic kingdom.
Eph 1:131b sealed Eph. 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:22
To be sealed with the Holy Spirit is to be marked with the Holy Spirit as a living seal. We have been designated as God’s inheritance (v. 11). At the time we were saved, God put His Holy Spirit into us as a seal to mark us out, indicating that we belong to God. The Holy Spirit, who is God Himself entering into us, causes us to bear God’s image, signified by the seal, thus making us like God.
Eph 1:13c Holy Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4; 2:33; Gal. 3:14
Eph 1:132 promise
Of the promise indicates that God planned according to His pleasure to seal us with His Spirit.
Eph 1:141a pledge 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5
Or, foretaste, guarantee. I.e., token payment; a partial payment in advance, guaranteeing the full payment. Since we are God’s inheritance, the Holy Spirit is a seal upon us. Since God is our inheritance, the Holy Spirit is a pledge to us of this inheritance. God gives His Holy Spirit to us not only as a guarantee of our inheritance, securing our heritage, but also as a foretaste of what we will inherit of God, affording us a taste beforehand of the full inheritance. In ancient times the Greek word for pledge was used in the purchasing of land. The seller gave the purchaser some soil as a sample from the land. Hence, a pledge, according to ancient Greek usage, is also a sample. The Holy Spirit is the sample of what we will inherit of God in full.
Eph 1:142b inheritance Acts 26:18; Col. 1:12; 1 Pet. 1:4
See note 323 in Acts 20. So also in v. 18.
Eph 1:143 unto
Unto the redemption of the acquired possession gives the purpose of the sealing in v. 13. The seal of the Holy Spirit is living, and it works within us to permeate and transform us with God’s divine element until we are mature in God’s life and eventually fully redeemed, even in our body.
Eph 1:144c redemption Rom. 8:23
Redemption here refers to the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23), that is, the transfiguration of our body of humiliation into a glorious body (Phil. 3:21). The Holy Spirit today is a guarantee, a foretaste, and a sample of our divine inheritance, until our body is transfigured in glory, at which time we will inherit God in full. The span of God’s blessings bestowed on us covers all the crucial points from God’s selection in eternity past (v. 4) to the redemption of our body for eternity future.
Eph 1:145 acquired
We, God’s redeemed ones, the church, are God’s possession, which He acquired with the precious blood of Christ (Acts 20:28). In God’s economy, God becomes our inheritance and we become God’s possession. How marvelous! We give nothing and we get everything! God acquired us at a cost, but we inherit God at no cost. This is to the praise of God’s glory.
Eph 1:14d possession 1 Pet. 2:9
Eph 1:146e praise Eph. 1:6, 12
This is the third time a phrase like this is used, this time as an ending to this section (vv. 3-14) concerning God’s blessings given to us. Verses 3-6 disclose what God the Father planned for us, that is, to choose us and predestinate us unto sonship to the praise of the glory of His grace. Verses 7-12 reveal how God the Son accomplished what God the Father planned, that is, to redeem us and make us God’s inheritance to the praise of His glory. Verses 13-14 tell us how God the Spirit applies to us what God the Son accomplished, that is, to seal us and be the guarantee and foretaste of our eternal, divine inheritance to the praise of God’s glory. In the blessings God bestows on us, the glory of the Triune God deserves the threefold praise.
Eph 1:151 the
Many ancient MSS read, the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and which you have toward all the saints.
Eph 1:171a God Eph. 1:3
In incarnation the Lord Jesus Christ, God Himself (Phil. 2:6), became a man. As a man He is related to God’s creation; therefore, God the Creator is His God. His incarnation brought God the Creator into man, God’s creature. He is a man in whom God is incarnated.
Eph 1:172 Father
The title Father implies regeneration, and glory is God expressed. Hence, the Father of glory is the regenerating God expressed through His many sons. We have already been regenerated (1 Pet. 1:3), and we will be glorified in the expression of God’s glory (Rom. 8:30).
Eph 1:173b spirit Eph. 2:22; 3:5; 4:23; 5:18; 6:18
The spirit here must be our regenerated spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God. Such a spirit is given to us by God that we may have wisdom and revelation to know Him and His economy.
Eph 1:174c wisdom Eph. 1:8; Col. 1:9
Wisdom is in our spirit that we may know the mystery of God, and revelation is of God’s Spirit that He may show us the vision by opening the veil. First, we have wisdom, the ability to understand, which enables us to know spiritual things; then the Spirit of God reveals the spiritual things to our spiritual understanding.
Eph 1:17d revelation Eph. 3:5; Gal. 1:15-16
Eph 1:17e full Eph. 4:13; Col. 1:9, 10; 2:2
Eph 1:181a eyes Acts 26:18
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 1:181 [1] Eyes to see the spiritual things. We have wisdom, the ability to know, and revelation, the revealing of spiritual things. However, we still need eyes, the spiritual faculty of sight (Acts 26:18; Rev. 3:18).
Eph 1:181 [2] To have the eyes of our heart enlightened requires that our conscience, mind, emotion, and will, which are the components of our heart, be thoroughly dealt with (cf. note 171 in ch. 3). First, we need an open spirit with a conscience purified by our confessing and dealing with our sins and by the sprinkling of the redeeming blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14; 10:22). Next, we need a sober mind (2 Tim. 1:7 and note 2), a loving emotion (John 14:21), and a submissive will (John 7:17) in order to have a pure heart. When we have such a spirit and heart, the eyes of our heart will be able to see.
Eph 1:182b enlightened 2 Cor. 4:6
We not only need wisdom, revelation, and eyes to see, but we also need light for the illumination of the things which are unveiled to us, that we may have a vision.
Eph 1:183c hope Eph. 4:4; Col. 1:27
The hope of God’s calling includes (1) Christ Himself and the salvation He will bring to us when He comes back (Col. 1:27; 1 Pet. 1:5, 9); (2) the rapturous transfer from the earthly and physical realm to the heavenly and spiritual sphere, plus glorification (Rom. 8:23-25, 30; Phil. 3:21); (3) the kingly enjoyment with Christ in the millennium (Rev. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:18); and (4) the consummate enjoyment of Christ in the New Jerusalem, with the universal and eternal blessings in the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1-7; 22:1-5).
Eph 1:184d calling Eph. 4:1, 4; Rom. 8:28; 1 Cor. 1:2, 9, 24
God’s calling is the sum total of all the blessings listed in vv. 3-14: God the Father’s selection and predestination, God the Son’s redemption, and God the Spirit’s sealing and pledging. When we were called, we participated in the Father’s selection and predestination, the Son’s redemption, and the Spirit’s sealing and pledging.
Eph 1:185e riches Eph. 3:8; Phil. 4:19
God’s glory has its riches, which are the many different items that constitute God’s divine attributes, such as light, life, power, love, righteousness, and holiness, expressed to different degrees.
Eph 1:186f inheritance Eph. 1:11
First, God made us His inheritance (v. 11a) as His acquired possession (v. 14b) and caused us to participate in all that He is, all that He has, and all that He has accomplished, as our inheritance (v. 14a). Ultimately, all these will become His inheritance in the saints for eternity. This will be His eternal expression, His glory with all His riches, which will express Him to the uttermost universally and eternally.
Eph 1:191a power Eph. 3:7, 16, 20; Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:11, 29; 2 Tim. 1:8
According to the apostle’s prayer, the third thing we need to know is the surpassing greatness of God’s power toward us. This is very subjective and experiential to us today. God’s power toward us is surpassingly great. We need to know it and experience it.
Eph 1:192 according
The surpassingly great power of God toward us is according to the operation of the might of His strength, which He caused to operate in Christ. God’s power toward us is the same as the power that He caused to operate in Christ. Christ is the Head and we are the Body. The Body participates in the power that operates in the Head.
Eph 1:19b operation Eph. 3:7; Col. 1:29; 1 Cor. 12:6
Eph 1:19c might Eph. 6:10; Col. 1:11
Eph 1:201a raising Acts 2:32
First, the power that God caused to operate in Christ raised Christ from the dead. This power has overcome death, the grave, and Hades, where the dead are held. Death and Hades could not hold Christ (Acts 2:24) because of God’s resurrection power.
Eph 1:202b seating Psa. 110:1; Mark 16:19; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3
Second, the power that God caused to operate in Christ seated Christ at God’s right hand in the heavenlies, far above all (v. 21).
Eph 1:203 right
God’s right hand, where Christ was seated by the surpassingly great power of God, is the most honorable place, the place with supreme authority.
Eph 1:204c heavenlies Eph. 1:3
The heavenlies refers not only to the third heaven, the highest place in the universe, where God dwells, but also to the state and atmosphere of the heavens, in which Christ was seated by God’s power.
Eph 1:211a rule Eph. 3:10; 6:12; Col. 1:16; 2:15
Rule refers to the highest office, authority to every kind of official power (Matt. 8:9), power to the mere might of authority, and lordship to the preeminence that power establishes. Subsequently, we see that what is listed here includes not only the angelic, heavenly authorities, whether good or evil, but also the human, earthly ones. The ascended Christ was seated by the great power of God far above all rule, authority, power, and lordship in the universe.
Eph 1:212 every
Every name that is named refers not only to titles of honor but also to every name. Christ was seated far above every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Eph 1:21c age Mark 10:30
Eph 1:221a subjected Psa. 8:6-8; 1 Cor. 15:27; Heb. 2:8
Third, the power that God caused to operate in Christ subjected all things under His feet. Christ’s being far above all is one thing; His having all things subjected under His feet is another. The former is Christ’s transcendency; the latter, the subjection of all things to Him.
Eph 1:222 gave
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Eph 1:222 [1] Fourth, God’s power that He caused to operate in Christ gave Christ to be Head over all things to the church. Christ’s headship over all things is a gift from God to Him. It was through God’s surpassingly great power that Christ received the headship in the universe.
Eph 1:222 [2] It was as a man, in His humanity with His divinity, that Christ was raised from the dead, was seated in the heavenlies, had all things subjected to Him, and was given to be Head over all things.
Eph 1:222 [3] Thus, there are four aspects of the power that operated in Christ: resurrection power (v. 20a), ascending power (v. 20b), subjecting power (v. 22a), and heading-up power (v. 22b). This fourfold power is transmitted to the church, the Body of the Head.
Eph 1:22b Head Eph. 1:10; 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18; 2:10, 19; 1 Cor. 11:3
Eph 1:223 to
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 1:223 [1] To the church implies a kind of transmission. Whatever Christ, the Head, has attained and obtained is transmitted to the church, His Body. In this transmission the church shares with Christ in all His attainments: the resurrection from the dead, His being seated in His transcendency, the subjection of all things under His feet, and the headship over all things.
Eph 1:223 [2] Toward us who believe (v. 19) and to the church indicate that the divine power, which includes all that the Triune God has passed through, has been installed into us once for all and is being transmitted into us continually, causing us to enjoy Christ richly and to have the proper church life as His Body, His fullness, the issue of God’s blessing mentioned previously.
Eph 1:224c church Eph. 3:10, 21; 5:23-27, 29, 32; Matt. 16:18; Acts 5:11; 8:1
Here this book uses the term church for the first time, pointing out the main subject of this book. The Greek word for church is ekklesia, meaning the called-out congregation. This indicates that the church is a gathering of those who have been called out of the world by God. As such, the church is composed of all the believers in Christ.
Eph 1:231a Body Eph. 4:12, 16; 5:30; Col. 1:18, 24; 2:19; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12
The Body of Christ is not an organization but an organism constituted of all the regenerated believers for the expression and activities of the Head. The Body of Christ is the issue of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ, who has come into the church. By means of the ascended Christ’s heavenly transmission, we are made one with Him, and thus His Body is produced.
Eph 1:232b fullness Eph. 4:13
The Body of Christ is His fullness. The fullness of Christ issues from the enjoyment of the riches of Christ (3:8). Through the enjoyment of Christ’s riches, we become His fullness to express Him.
Eph 1:233c fills Eph. 4:10; cf. 1 Cor. 15:28
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 1:233 [1] Christ, who is the infinite God without any limitation, is so great that He fills all things in all things. Such a great Christ needs the church to be His fullness for His complete expression.
Eph 1:233 [2] In this chapter there are seven crucial things requiring the same basic factor for their accomplishment: God’s selection that we should be made holy and without blemish (v. 4); God’s predestination that we may become His sons (v. 5); the sealing of the Holy Spirit that we may be fully redeemed (vv. 13-14); the hope of God’s calling; the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints (v. 18); God’s power that causes us to participate in Christ’s attainment (vv. 19-22); and the Body of Christ, the fullness of the all-filling Christ. All these are accomplished by the Triune God being dispensed and wrought into our being. The issue of such a divine dispensing into our humanity is the fullness of the One who fills all in all and the praise of God’s expressed glory. Actually, this chapter is a revelation of God’s marvelous and excellent economy, from His choosing of us in eternity to the producing of the Body of Christ to express Himself for eternity.
Eph 2:11 And
Grammatically, and indicates that the thought in the last sentence of ch. 1 is incomplete. The last verse of ch. 1 reveals that the church, the Body of Christ, was produced by Christ through His attainment. Now this chapter unveils to us the background—the realm of death—from which the church was brought forth. In ch. 1 the church is the issue of the transmission of the heavenly divinity into us. In this chapter the church comes out of the earthly humanity.
Eph 2:12a dead Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13
Dead refers to the deadness of our spirit, which pervaded our entire being and caused us to lose the function that enables us to contact God.
Eph 2:13 offenses
Offenses are acts that overstep the limit of one’s rights. Sins are evil doings. Before we were saved, we were dead in offenses and sins. It was from this background of death that we were saved to be the church, the Body of Christ. The dead have been made alive to be a living organism to express Christ.
Eph 2:21b age Rom. 12:2; Gal. 1:4
This world refers to the satanic system, which is composed of many ages. Hence, the age here refers to a part, a section, an aspect, the present and modern appearance, of the system of Satan, which is used by him to usurp and occupy people and keep them away from God and His purpose. When we were dead in offenses and sins, we walked according to the age, the modern appearance, the present course, of the world, the satanic system.
Eph 2:22c ruler Eph. 6:12
Referring to Satan, the prince of the rulers and authorities in the air mentioned in 6:12.
Eph 2:23 spirit
The spirit, in apposition to the authority of the air, refers to the aggregate power, the aggregate of all the evil angelic authorities, over which Satan is the ruler. This aggregate spirit is now operating in the sons of disobedience. When we were dead in offenses and sins, we walked not only according to the age of this world but also according to Satan, the ruler of the aerial authority, the evil spiritual power.
Eph 2:24d sons Eph. 5:6
We, the sons of disobedience, have been saved to be the church.
Eph 2:31 whom
Referring to the sons of disobedience in v. 2.
Eph 2:32 we
Referring to all believers, both Jewish and Gentile.
Eph 2:33a lusts Gal. 5:16
When we were dead in offenses and sins, we conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires not only of the flesh but also of the thoughts. Three evil things—the age of this world, which is outside of us; the ruler of the aerial authority, which is above and within us; and the lusts of our flesh in our fallen nature—dominated our lives. From these evil things we have been saved to be the Body of Christ.
Eph 2:34 children
As the sons of disobedience, we were also the children of wrath. In the realm of death we were under God’s wrath because of our disobedience. We have been saved from both our disobedience and God’s wrath.
Eph 2:41 But
But God points to the factor that changed our position.
Eph 2:42 mercy
The object of love should be in a lovable condition, but the object of mercy is always in a pitiful situation. Hence, God’s mercy reaches farther than His love. God loves us because we are the object of His selection. But because of our fall we became pitiful, even dead in our offenses and sins; therefore, we need God’s mercy. Because of His great love, God is rich in mercy to save us out of our wretched position into a condition that is suitable for His love.
Eph 2:43 great
Or, abundant love—abundantly great love.
Eph 2:4b love 1 John 4:10
Eph 2:51b alive Col. 2:13
In comparison with the book of Romans, the book of Ephesians does not consider us sinners; it considers us dead persons. As sinners, we need God’s forgiveness and justification, as revealed in the book of Romans. But as dead persons, we need to be made alive. Forgiveness and justification bring us back to God’s presence to enjoy His grace and participate in His life, whereas being made alive causes us, the living members of the Body of Christ, to express Him. God made us alive by imparting His eternal life, which is Christ Himself (Col. 3:4), into our dead spirit through His Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). He has enlivened us together with Christ.
Eph 2:52 together
God enlivened us together when He enlivened the crucified Jesus. Therefore, He made us alive together with Christ.
Eph 2:53 Christ
See note 104 in ch. 1.
Eph 2:54c grace Eph. 2:8
Grace is free. Here it denotes not only God freely dispensed into us for our enjoyment but also God’s action in freely saving us. By such grace we have been saved out of our wretched position of death into the marvelous realm of life.
Eph 2:55 saved
We were saved not only as sinners but also as dead persons, and not only by Christ’s death with its redemption but also by His resurrection with its resurrection life, and even by His ascension with its transcendency. This is the transcending salvation given to the dead sinners by the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ, the very embodiment of the processed Triune God. Such a salvation produces the church as the issue of the processed Divine Trinity for His expression.
Eph 2:61a raised Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12
To make us alive is the initial step of God’s salvation in life. After this, God raised us up from the position of death.
Eph 2:62 together
From our standpoint we have been raised up from our position of death one by one. But in God’s view we were all raised up together, just as all the Israelites were raised up together from the death waters of the Red Sea (Exo. 14).
Eph 2:63b seated Eph. 1:20
The third step of God’s salvation in life is to seat us together in the heavenlies. God not only raised us up from the position of death, but He also seated us in the highest place in the universe.
Eph 2:64c heavenlies Eph. 1:3
The heavenlies are the highest position, into which we have been saved in Christ. In the book of Romans, Christ as our righteousness brought us into a state in which we are acceptable to God. In the book of Ephesians, Christ as our life has saved us into a position in which we are above all God’s enemies. Here in the heavenly atmosphere, with a heavenly nature and a heavenly characteristic, we are a heavenly people.
Eph 2:65 in
It was in Christ that God seated us all together, once for all, in the heavenlies. This was accomplished when Christ ascended to the heavens, and it has been applied to us by the Spirit of Christ ever since we believed in Him. Today we realize and experience this reality in our spirit through faith in the accomplished fact.
Eph 2:71 display
I.e., exhibit to the whole universe publicly.
Eph 2:72 ages
The ages of the millennium and eternity future. These come after the present age, in which the church is produced.
Eph 2:73a riches Eph. 1:7
The riches of God’s grace surpass every limit. These are the riches of God Himself for our enjoyment. They will be publicly displayed for eternity.
Eph 2:74b kindness Rom. 2:4
Kindness is a benevolent goodness that issues out of mercy and love. It is in such kindness that the grace of God is given to us.
Eph 2:81 For
For introduces the reason that God displays His grace (v. 7). Because we have been saved by His grace, God can display it.
Eph 2:82a grace Eph. 2:5; Acts 15:11; Rom. 3:24
Grace is God dispensed into us. Therefore, to be saved by grace means to be saved by having the processed Triune God dispensed into us.
Eph 2:83b faith Rom. 5:1; 2 Pet. 1:1
Faith is the substantiation of invisible things (Heb. 11:1). It is by faith that we substantiate all the things Christ has accomplished for us. Through such a substantiating ability, we have been saved by grace. The free action of God’s grace saved us through our substantiating faith. This faith of ours is the faith by which we believe in Christ, and it is Christ in us as our faith (see note 221 in Rom. 3).
Eph 2:84 this
This does not refer to faith but to the matter that “by grace you have been saved through faith.”
Eph 2:8c gift cf. 1 Tim. 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:1
Eph 2:9a works cf. 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5
Eph 2:9b boast 1 Cor. 1:29; Rom. 3:27
Eph 2:101 masterpiece
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 2:101 [1] The Greek word, poiema, means something that has been made, a handiwork, or something that has been written or composed as a poem. Not only a poetic writing may be considered a poem, but also any work of art that expresses the maker’s wisdom and design. We, the church, the masterpiece of God’s work, are a poem expressing God’s infinite wisdom and divine design.
Eph 2:101 [2] The heavens, the earth, and man, created by God, are not God’s masterpiece; but the church, the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all (1:23), the corporate and universal new man (v. 15), is a masterpiece. We have been saved by grace to be God’s masterpiece that we may walk in the good works prepared beforehand by God.
Eph 2:102a created Eph. 2:15; 4:24; Col. 3:10; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15
We, the church, the masterpiece of God’s work, are an absolutely new item in the universe, a new invention of God. We were created by God in Christ through regeneration to be His new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
Eph 2:10b good Titus 2:14
Eph 2:103 beforehand
The good works for which God created us are not the good things that are according to our general concept but the definite good doings that God preplanned and preordained for us to walk in. These good things must be the doing of His will that we may live the church life and bear the testimony of Jesus, as revealed in the succeeding chapters of this book.
Eph 2:10c walk Eph. 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15
Eph 2:111b uncircumcision Acts 11:3
The man whom God created to fulfill His purpose was pure, without sin or any kind of negative mixture. However, sin, the evil nature of Satan, entered into man through the fall. First, it caused man’s body to become the flesh, full of lusts, and eventually, it made the whole being of man the flesh. Hence, man was damaged and was thus prevented from fulfilling God’s purpose. Then God came in to call a race—Abraham and his descendants—out of fallen mankind. For the accomplishing of His purpose, God commanded them to be circumcised, that is, to put away their flesh. This meant that they were separated from fallen mankind and delivered out of the fallen condition. Circumcision made a tremendous distinction between them and the rest of mankind. The circumcised people were called “the circumcision,” those who were separated from the fallen situation. The rest of mankind was called “the uncircumcision,” those who remained in the fallen state. These were the Gentiles in the flesh. We were in this category before we were in Christ.
Eph 2:11c circumcision Rom. 2:28; Phil. 3:5
Eph 2:121 apart
Christ, in whom all God’s blessings to His chosen people are embodied, came out of Israel, the circumcised people. Since we, the uncircumcised Gentiles, were separated from Israel, we were apart from Christ, having nothing to do with Christ.
Eph 2:122 commonwealth
That is, the citizenship, the civil rights, of God’s chosen people, such as God’s ruling, blessing, and presence. Through the fall, mankind lost all the rights that God intended for man in His creation. God called Abraham and through circumcision brought His chosen people back to all these rights. We, as uncircumcised Gentiles, remained alienated from such rights.
Eph 2:123c covenants Rom. 9:4
God’s covenants are His promises. His promise is His word that He will freely do certain things for His chosen people. When His promise is made into law by the necessary procedures, it becomes a binding covenant. All the words God spoke to His chosen people, from Abraham to Malachi, were His promises made into law to be His covenants. We, the Gentiles, not only are alienated from the commonwealth of Israel but also are strangers to the covenants of God’s promise.
Eph 2:124d no 1 Thes. 4:13; cf. Eph. 1:18; 4:4; Rom. 15:13
All God’s blessings are contained in Christ, all the civil rights are related to the nation of Israel, and all good things are promised in God’s covenants. Since we were apart from Christ, were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and were strangers to the covenants of God’s promise, we had no hope whatever.
Eph 2:125 without
God is in Christ; He rules and moves in the commonwealth of Israel; and He bestows His blessings according to His covenants. When we were apart from Christ, the commonwealth of Israel, and the covenants of God’s promise, we were without God; we did not have God as our enjoyment.
Eph 2:126 world
The world, which is the system of Satan, is in contrast to the commonwealth of Israel. The commonwealth of Israel was the kingdom of God, whereas the world is the kingdom of Satan. Before we were saved, we lived in the world, where we had no hope as our expectation and no God as our enjoyment; we were empty both in the present age and in relation to the coming age.
Eph 2:131 But
But now is a precious phrase, indicating that now in Christ we have hope and that we also have God.
Eph 2:132a far Eph. 2:17; Acts 2:39
I.e., far off from Christ, from the commonwealth of Israel, and from the covenants of God’s promise. This equals being far off from God and all His blessings.
Eph 2:133 near
I.e., near to Christ, to Israel, and to God’s promise. This equals being near to God and all His blessings.
Eph 2:134b blood Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:20
We were far off because we were fallen. But the redeeming blood of Christ brought us back. Hence, in this blood we have become near both to Israel and to God.
Eph 2:141 our
Our refers to the Jewish and the Gentile believers.
Eph 2:142a peace Col. 3:15
Christ, who accomplished full redemption for both the Jewish and the Gentile believers, is Himself our peace, our harmony, making both one. Because of the fall of mankind and the calling of the chosen race, there was a separation between Israel and the Gentiles. Through Christ’s redemption this separation has been removed. Now, in the redeeming Christ, who is the bond of oneness, both are one.
Eph 2:143 both
Both refers to the Jewish and the Gentile believers.
Eph 2:14b one Gal. 3:28; 1 Cor. 12:13
Eph 2:144 wall
The middle wall of partition is the law of the commandments in ordinances in v. 15, which was instituted because of man’s flesh. The first ordinance was circumcision, the cutting off of man’s flesh. This became the middle wall of partition between the circumcision and the uncircumcision.
Eph 2:145 enmity
The middle wall of partition, which is the distinction (made mainly by circumcision) between the circumcision and the uncircumcision, became the enmity between the Jews and the Gentiles.
Eph 2:151a Abolishing Col. 2:14
Christ broke down the middle wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles by abolishing the law of the commandments in ordinances. When He was crucified on the cross, all the ordinances were nailed there (Col. 2:14).
Eph 2:152 flesh
Because mankind became flesh (Gen. 6:3) and was therefore kept from God and His purpose, God ordained that His chosen people be circumcised, that they put away the flesh. The ordinance of circumcision was instituted because of man’s flesh. It was in the flesh that Christ was crucified. When He was crucified, His flesh, which was typified by the veil separating the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in the temple, was rent (Heb. 10:20).
Eph 2:153 law
This is not the law of the moral commandments but the law of the ritual commandments, composed principally of the practice of circumcision, the observance of dietary regulations, and the keeping of the Sabbath. These ordinances were the main “columns” of Judaism. The moral commandments will never be abolished, but the ritual commandments were in force only during a particular time dispensationally and are therefore not permanent.
Eph 2:154 ordinances
I.e., rituals, the forms or ways of living and worship, which create enmity and division. To practice the proper church life, all ordinances should be repudiated and dropped.
Eph 2:155 create
Christ created the one new man, the church, by working God’s divine nature into humanity. The working of the divine nature into humanity was something new. Hence, it was a creating. In the old creation God did not work His nature into any of His creatures, not even into man. In the creating of the one new man, however, God’s nature was wrought into man to make His divine nature one entity with humanity.
Eph 2:156 in
Christ is not only the Creator of the one new man, the church, but also the sphere in which and the means by which the one new man was created. He is the very element of the new man, making God’s divine nature one entity with humanity. The Greek word rendered in here can also have an elemental significance, meaning also with, implying that the new man was created with Christ as its divine essence.
Eph 2:157 into
The Jews and the Gentiles were separated to the uttermost by the separating ordinances. But both were created in Christ with the divine essence into one new entity, which is a corporate man, the church.
Eph 2:158 one
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 2:158 [1] The church is not only the church of God, the Body of Christ (the fullness, the expression, of the all-filling One—1:23), and the household or family, the house, the temple, and the dwelling place of God (2:19, 21-22); it is also the one new man, which is corporate and universal, created of two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles, and composed of all the believers, who, though they are many, are one new man in the universe.
Eph 2:158 [2] God created man as a collective entity (Gen. 1:26). The corporate man created by God was damaged through man’s fall; hence, there was the need for God to produce a new man. This was accomplished through Christ’s abolishing in His flesh the ordinances and through His creating of the new man in Himself.
Eph 2:15b new Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10
Eph 2:159c making Col. 1:20
By Christ’s abolishing in His flesh the separating ordinances, that is, His slaying the enmity, and by His creating the Jewish and the Gentile believers into one new man, peace was made between all believers.
Eph 2:16a reconcile Col. 1:20, 22; 2 Cor. 5:18; Rom. 5:10
Eph 2:161 both
Both refers to the Jews and the Gentiles. Not only the uncircumcised Gentiles but also the circumcised Jews needed to be reconciled to God through the redemption of Christ, accomplished on His cross.
Eph 2:162b one 1 Cor. 12:13; 10:17; Eph. 4:4
This one Body, the church (1:23), is the one new man mentioned in the previous verse. It was in this one Body that both the Jews and the Gentiles were reconciled to God through the cross. We, the believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, were reconciled not only for the Body of Christ but also in the Body of Christ. What a revelation here! We were reconciled to God; we were saved in the Body of Christ.
Eph 2:163 God
We were without God and we had lost God (v. 12). But through the cross, with the blood of Christ, we have been brought back to God in the one Body.
Eph 2:164 cross
On the one hand, the cross of Christ slew the enmity caused by the ordinances, which were instituted because of the flesh, and on the other hand, it redeemed us with the blood of Christ, which was shed upon it. It was through the cross that both the Jews and the Gentiles were reconciled in one Body to God.
Eph 2:165 slain
This is the breaking down of the middle wall of partition and the abolishing of the ordinances that bring in discord between the Jews and the Gentiles, as mentioned in vv. 14-15.
Eph 2:166 by
Or, in Him.
Eph 2:171 coming
This is the coming of Christ as the Spirit to preach peace as the gospel, which peace He made through His cross.
Eph 2:17a announced Acts 10:36
Eph 2:172c far Eph. 2:13; Isa. 57:19
Referring to the Gentiles, who were uncircumcised and were far off, separated by their flesh.
Eph 2:173d near Psa. 148:14
Referring to the Jews, who were circumcised and were near, made nigh by God’s choosing.
Eph 2:181 through
Both the Jewish and the Gentile believers have access to the Father through Christ, who abolished the law of the commandments in ordinances, broke down the middle wall of partition, slew the enmity to reconcile the Gentiles to the Jews, and shed His blood to redeem the Jews and the Gentiles to God.
Eph 2:182a access Eph. 3:12; Rom. 5:2
The access is constituted of Christ’s cross and His blood (Heb. 10:19).
Eph 2:183 in
First, both the Jewish and the Gentile believers were reconciled in one Body to God (v. 16). That was a positional matter. Then they both have access in one Spirit unto the Father. This is experiential. In order to enjoy experientially what we possess positionally, we need to be in the Spirit.
Eph 2:18b one Eph. 4:4; 1 Cor. 12:13
Eph 2:184c Father John 14:6
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 2:184 [1] Positionally, we were reconciled to God; experientially, we have access unto the Father. To be reconciled to God is to be saved; to have access unto the Father is to enjoy God, who, as the source of life, regenerated us to be His sons.
Eph 2:184 [2] Here the trinity of the Godhead is implied. Through God the Son, who is the Accomplisher, the means, and in God the Spirit, who is the Executor, the application, we have access unto God the Father, who is the Originator, the source of our enjoyment.
Eph 2:191 you
Referring to the Gentile believers.
Eph 2:192a strangers Eph. 2:12
Strangers are aliens, and sojourners are foreigners sojourning among Israel without rights of citizenship. Here both refer to the Gentiles.
Eph 2:193b fellow Phil. 3:20
Fellow citizens with the saints indicates the kingdom of God. All the believers, Jewish and Gentile, are citizens in God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is a sphere in which He exercises His authority.
Eph 2:194 members
Members of the household of God indicates the house of God. Both the Jewish and the Gentile believers are members of God’s house. God’s house is a matter of life and enjoyment; all believers are born of God into His house to enjoy His riches. God’s kingdom is a matter of right and responsibility; all believers born into the house of God have the civil rights of and obligations in the kingdom of God. The saints are individuals; the house of God is corporate and issues in the kingdom of God.
Eph 2:19c household Gal. 6:10; Heb. 3:6; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 2:5; 4:17
Eph 2:201a built Eph. 2:22; 4:12, 16; Col. 2:7; 1 Cor. 3:12
As the Body of Christ, the church has been regenerated and needs the growth in life; as the house of God, the church is being built. Growth and building are not separate things, for the growth of the Body is the building of the house.
Eph 2:202b foundation Rev. 21:14; cf. 1 Cor. 3:10-11
The foundation of the church is Christ (1 Cor. 3:11). Because the mystery of Christ was revealed to the apostles (3:5-6), the revelation they received is considered the foundation on which the church is built. This corresponds with the rock in Matt. 16:18, which is not only Christ but also the revelation concerning Christ, on which Christ will build His church. Therefore, the foundation of the apostles and prophets is the revelation they received for the building of the church.
Eph 2:203d cornerstone Psa. 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:6
Here, Christ is referred to not as the foundation (Isa. 28:16) but as the cornerstone, because the main concern here is not the foundation but the cornerstone that joins together the two walls, one wall being the Jewish believers, and the other, the Gentile believers. Here, not Christ but the apostles and prophets who received the revelation concerning Christ are stressed as the foundation. When the Jewish builders rejected Christ, they rejected Him as the cornerstone (Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7), the One who would join the Gentiles to them for the building of God’s house.
Eph 2:211 whom
In Christ, who is the cornerstone, all the building, including both the Jewish and the Gentile believers, is fitted together and is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.
Eph 2:212 all
Or, every building.
Eph 2:213a fitted Eph. 4:16
I.e., made suitable for the condition and situation of the building.
Eph 2:214b growing Eph. 4:15; Col. 2:19
Since the building is living (1 Pet. 2:5), it is growing. It grows into a holy temple. The actual building of the church as the house of God is by the believers’ growth in life.
Eph 2:215c temple 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16
Or, sanctuary; the inner part of the temple.
Eph 2:216 in
The entire building of God’s house, God’s sanctuary, is in Christ the Lord.
Eph 2:221 you
Referring to the local saints.
Eph 2:222 also
Also indicates that the building in v. 21 is universal and that the building in this verse is local. Universally, the church is uniquely one and is growing universally; locally, the church in a particular locality also is one, and the local saints are being built together in their particular locality.
Eph 2:223a dwelling 2 Cor. 6:16; Rev. 21:3
According to the context, in v. 21 the holy temple is universal; in this verse the dwelling place of God is local.
Eph 2:22b in Eph. 3:5; 4:23; 5:18; 6:18; John 4:24; Rom. 1:9; Rev. 1:10
Eph 2:224 spirit
The believers’ human spirit, which is indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is the Dweller, not the dwelling place. The dwelling place is the believers’ spirit. God’s Spirit dwells in our spirit. Therefore, the dwelling place of God is in our spirit. Verse 21 says that the holy temple is in the Lord, and this verse, that the dwelling place of God is in spirit. This indicates that for the building of God’s dwelling place, the Lord is one with our spirit, and our spirit is one with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17). Our spirit is where the building of the church, the dwelling place of God, takes place.
Eph 3:11 For
Chapters 1 and 2 cover the revelation of the church, and this chapter covers the constituting of the church. After unveiling in chs. 1 and 2 God’s blessings to the church and what the church is and how it is produced, the apostle began, from this chapter, to beseech the saints to walk according to his revelation in a way worthy of God’s calling. In order that the church might be constituted and realized in a practical, experiential way, he presented himself as a steward (v. 2), as one who had received grace (v. 2) and revelation (vv. 3, 5) and had become a minister of the high gospel, announcing the riches of Christ as the gospel for the producing of the church.
Eph 3:12a prisoner Eph. 4:1; 2 Tim. 1:8; Philem. 1, 9
The apostle Paul considered himself a prisoner of Christ. Apparently, he was confined in prison; actually, he was imprisoned in Christ. On the basis of such a status, the status in which he actually lived, he besought the saints. In releasing in chs. 1 and 2 the revelation of God’s mystery concerning the church, Paul assumed his status as an apostle of Christ through the will of God. That status was the basis of the authority of his revelation concerning the church. In beseeching the saints to walk worthily of God’s calling, he used his status as a prisoner of the Lord. His status as an apostle of Christ qualified him to release God’s revelation, whereas his status as a prisoner of the Lord spoke forth his walk in the Lord, by which he could inspire and beseech the saints to walk in the Lord as he did. If we enjoy Christ as our prison, we too will walk in the Lord for the constituting of the church.
Eph 3:21 If
Verses 2-21 are a parenthesis, and 4:1 is a continuation of 3:1. In this parenthetical, beseeching word, the apostle described to the Gentile believers his ministry for them, a ministry that he received in the stewardship of grace through the revelation of the mystery of Christ. Also, he prayed in this parenthesis that the church would experience Christ to the fullest extent.
Eph 3:22a stewardship Col. 1:25; 1 Cor. 9:17; 1 Pet. 4:10; cf. Luke 16:2, 3, 4
In Greek, the same word as economy in v. 9 and in 1:10. In relation to God, this word denotes God’s economy, God’s administration; in relation to the apostle, it denotes the stewardship (stewardship is used also in 1 Cor. 9:17). The stewardship of the grace is for the dispensing of the grace of God to His chosen people for the producing and building up of the church. Out of this stewardship comes the ministry of the apostle, who is a steward in God’s house, ministering Christ as God’s grace to God’s household.
Eph 3:23b grace Eph. 3:8; 4:7; Rom. 12:3
Grace refers to the riches of Christ (v. 8), which God has given to us in Christ for us to gain and enjoy. Paul’s ministry was to dispense the riches of Christ as grace to the believers for their enjoyment.
Eph 3:31a revelation Eph. 3:5; Rom. 16:25; Gal. 1:12
God’s hidden purpose is the mystery, and the unveiling of this mystery is revelation. The apostle’s ministry was to carry out this revelation for the producing of the church.
Eph 3:41a mystery Eph. 1:9; Col. 4:3
The mystery of God in Col. 2:2 is Christ; the mystery of Christ here is the church. God is a mystery, and Christ, as the embodiment of God to express Him, is the mystery of God. Christ also is a mystery, and the church, as the Body of Christ to express Him, is the mystery of Christ. This mystery is God’s economy, which is to dispense Christ, as the embodiment of God, into God’s chosen people in order to produce a Body to be the increase of God’s embodiment in Christ, that God may have a corporate expression.
Eph 3:51a not Col. 1:26
The mystery of Christ, the church, was hidden in other generations but has been revealed in the New Testament age.
Eph 3:52c apostles Eph. 2:20
Apostles in Greek means sent ones. The apostles are the ones sent by Christ, representing Him to carry out His commission in God’s New Testament economy. The prophets are God’s spokesmen, not primarily predicting the future but speaking for God and speaking forth God in the revelation of God’s eternal economy.
Eph 3:53 spirit
The human spirit of the apostles and prophets, a spirit regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. It can be considered the mingled spirit, the human spirit mingled with God’s Spirit. Such a mingled spirit is the means by which the New Testament revelation concerning Christ and the church is revealed to the apostles and prophets. We need the same kind of spirit to see such a revelation.
Eph 3:61a fellow Rom. 8:17; Gal. 3:29
In God’s New Testament economy the chosen, redeemed, and regenerated Gentiles and the believing Jews are fellow heirs of God, inheriting God.
Eph 3:62b fellow Eph. 2:16
The saved Gentiles and the saved Jews are fellow members of the one Body of Christ as His unique expression.
Eph 3:63c fellow Col. 1:12; Heb. 3:1; 6:4; 12:10; 2 Pet. 1:4
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 3:63 [1] The Gentile believers and the Jewish believers are fellow partakers of God’s promise given in the Old Testament, concerning all the blessings of God’s New Testament economy.
Eph 3:63 [2] Being fellow heirs is related to the blessing of the household of God; being fellow members of the Body, to the blessing of the Body of Christ; and being fellow partakers of the promise, to the blessing of the promise of God, such as in Gen. 3:15; 12:3; 22:18; 28:14; and Isa. 9:6. Both the blessing of God’s household and the blessing of Christ’s Body are particular, whereas the blessing of God’s promise is general, all-inclusive.
Eph 3:6d promise Gal. 3:29; 2 Pet. 1:4
Eph 3:71a minister Col. 1:23, 25
A minister is one who serves. A minister of the gospel serves the gospel to people.
Eph 3:72b gift Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:4
The grace of God is God Himself, especially as life, partaken of and enjoyed by us; the gift of grace is the ability and function produced out of the enjoyment of the grace of God. Grace implies life, and the gift is the ability that comes out of life.
Eph 3:7d operation Eph. 1:19; 3:20; Col. 1:29
Eph 3:73 power
The power of the resurrection life (Phil. 3:10), which operated within the apostle and operates within all the believers (1:19; 3:20). By such an inward, operating power of life the gift of grace was given to the apostle, that is, produced in him.
Eph 3:81 less
This indicates that all the saints can receive the same grace as that given to the apostle Paul. As to the person of Paul, he was the least among the apostles (1 Cor. 15:9); but as to his ministry, he was not behind the super-apostles (2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11). Yet, as to the grace he received, he was less than the least of all saints. This implies that all the saints can receive the grace that he received. This is similar to the receiving of the same lifeblood by all the members of our physical body, however small they may be. But the ability (gift) that comes out of the lifeblood differs among the members. All the members of the Body of Christ can have the same grace of life that Paul had, but their gifts are not the same as Paul’s.
Eph 3:8a least cf. 1 Cor. 15:9
Eph 3:8c Gentiles Acts 9:15; Rom. 15:16; 1 Tim. 2:7
Eph 3:82 unsearchable
Lit., untraceable.
Eph 3:83d riches Eph. 1:7; 2:7
The apostle announced not doctrines but the riches of Christ. The riches of Christ are what Christ is to us, such as light, life, righteousness, and holiness, what He has for us, and what He accomplished, attained, and obtained for us. These riches of Christ are unsearchable and untraceable.
Eph 3:91a economy Eph. 1:10; 1 Tim. 1:4
See notes 101 in ch. 1 and 43 in 1 Tim. 1.
Eph 3:92b mystery Eph. 1:9
God’s mystery is His hidden purpose, which is to dispense Himself into His chosen people. Hence, there is the economy of the mystery of God. This mystery was hidden in God throughout the ages, but now the New Testament believers, having been enlightened, are able to see it.
Eph 3:93 throughout
Lit., from.
Eph 3:9c hidden Col. 1:26; Rom. 16:25
Eph 3:101a rulers Eph. 2:2; 6:12; Col. 2:15
The angelic rulers and authorities, both good and evil. The passage here refers particularly to the evil ones—Satan and his angels.
Eph 3:102c wisdom Rom. 11:33; Col. 2:3; 1 Cor. 1:24; 2:6-8
Chapter 1 speaks of the power of God (1:19-20), ch. 2 of the grace of God (2:5-8), and this chapter of the wisdom of God.
Eph 3:103d church Eph. 1:22
As revealed in v. 8, the church is produced from the unsearchable riches of Christ. When God’s chosen people partake of and enjoy the riches of Christ, they are constituted with those riches to be the church, through which God’s multifarious wisdom is made known to the angelic rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. Hence, the church is God’s wise exhibition of all that Christ is.
Eph 3:111 eternal
Lit., the purpose of the ages. The eternal purpose is the eternal plan that God made in eternity past.
Eph 3:112 made
Or, carried out, fulfilled, accomplished.
Eph 3:113 Christ
Lit., the Christ, our Lord Jesus. For the Christ, see note 104 in ch. 1.
Eph 3:12a boldness Heb. 4:16; 10:19
Eph 3:121b access Eph. 2:18
In Christ we have access, entry, not only that we may approach God but also that we may partake of His New Testament economy. Through faith in Christ we have such access—with boldness and in confidence—that we may enjoy God and His eternal plan (economy).
Eph 3:122c faith Gal. 2:20
Or, the faith of Him. See note 221 in Rom. 3.
Eph 3:13a afflictions Col. 1:24; 2 Cor. 1:6
Eph 3:141a Father Eph. 4:6
Not God but the Father. Father is used here in a broad sense, signifying not only the Father of the household of the faith (Gal. 6:10) but also the Father of every family in the heavens and on earth (v. 15). The Father is the source not only of us, the regenerated believers, but also of the God-created mankind (Luke 3:38), the God-created Israel (Isa. 63:16; 64:8), and the God-created angels (Job 1:6). The Jews’ concept was that God was Father only to them. So the apostle, in keeping with his revelation, prayed to the Father of all the families in the heavens and on earth. In contrast, the Jews, in keeping with the Jewish concept, prayed only to the Father of Israel.
Eph 3:151 family
The Greek word means the lineage from a father, implying a family.
Eph 3:15a in Eph. 1:10; Phil. 2:10
Eph 3:152 named
As God is the source of the angelic family in the heavens and of all the human families on earth, so it is of Him that every family is named, just as producers give names to their products and fathers give names to their children.
Eph 3:161 That
In vv. 16-19 the word that is used four times in the apostle’s prayer: the apostle prayed that the Father would grant us to be strengthened; the result of such a strengthening is that Christ makes His home in our hearts; the result of Christ’s making His home in our hearts is that we are full of strength to apprehend the dimensions of Christ—the breadth, length, height, and depth—and to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ; and the result of this apprehending and this knowing is that we are filled unto all the fullness of God. These steps make up a metabolic process by which the Body of Christ is constituted with the riches of Christ through our enjoyment of those riches.
Eph 3:162a riches Eph. 1:18
Glory is the expression of God. All the families in the heavens and on earth express God to some extent. As they express God, there are the riches of His glory. The apostle prayed that the Gentile believers might experience the fullness of God according to the riches of His glory, that He might be expressed thereby.
Eph 3:163b strengthened Phil. 4:13; Col. 1:11
The apostle’s prayer in 1:15-23 was that the saints would receive revelation concerning the church. Here in vv. 14-21 his prayer is that the saints would experience Christ for the church. This requires us to be strengthened into our spirit.
Eph 3:164c power Eph. 3:20; 1:19
The power that is referred to in 1:19-22 and that raised Christ from the dead, seated Christ at the right hand of God in the heavenlies, subjected all things under Christ’s feet, and gave Christ to be Head over all things to the church. Such power operates in us (v. 20), and with such power God strengthens us for the church.
Eph 3:165 Spirit
The Father strengthens us from within through the indwelling Spirit, who has been with us and in us since our regeneration.
Eph 3:166 into
The inner man is our regenerated spirit, which has God’s life as its life. In order that we may experience Christ unto all the fullness of God, we need to be strengthened into our inner man. This implies that we need to be strengthened into our spirit through the Holy Spirit.
Eph 3:16d inner 2 Cor. 4:16
Eph 3:17a home John 14:23
Eph 3:171 hearts
Our heart is composed of all the parts of our soul—mind, emotion, and will—plus our conscience, the main part of our spirit. These parts are the inward parts of our being. Through regeneration Christ came into our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). After this, we should allow Him to spread into every part of our heart. Since our heart is the totality of all our inward parts and the center of our inward being, when Christ makes His home in our heart, He controls our entire inward being and supplies and strengthens every inward part with Himself.
Eph 3:172 faith
Faith is the substantiation of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). Christ’s indwelling is mysterious and abstract. We apprehend it not by our physical senses but by the sense of faith.
Eph 3:173b rooted Col. 2:7
We are God’s cultivated land and God’s building (1 Cor. 3:9). As God’s cultivated land, we need to be rooted for our growth, and as God’s building, we need to be grounded for our building up.
Eph 3:174c love Eph. 1:4
To experience Christ we need faith and love (1 Tim. 1:14). Faith enables us to apprehend Christ, and love enables us to enjoy Him. Neither faith nor love are ours; they are His. His faith becomes our faith, by which we believe in Him, and His love becomes our love, by which we love Him. When we are rooted and grounded in His love, we grow and are built up in His life.
Eph 3:181 apprehend
Or, grasp, lay hold of intensively.
Eph 3:182a all Eph. 1:15
To apprehend the dimensions of Christ, we need all the saints, not individually but corporately.
Eph 3:183 breadth
The breadth, length, height, and depth are the dimensions of Christ. In our experience of Christ, we first experience the breadth of what He is, and then the length. This is horizontal. When we advance in Christ, we experience the height and depth of His riches. This is vertical. Our experience of Christ must become three-dimensional, like a cube, and must not be one-dimensional, like a line. In our experience of Christ we must go back and forth and up and down, that eventually our experience of Him may be a solid “cube.” When our experience is like this, we cannot fall or be broken.
Eph 3:191 knowledge-surpassing
The love of Christ is Christ Himself. Just as Christ is immeasurable, so also is His love; hence, it is knowledge-surpassing. Yet, we can know it by experiencing it.
Eph 3:19a love Rom. 8:35, 39; 2 Cor. 5:14
Eph 3:192 unto
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 3:192 [1] When Christ makes His home in our hearts, and when we are full of strength to apprehend with all the saints the dimensions of Christ and to know by experience His knowledge-surpassing love, we will be filled unto all the fullness of God, which is the church, the corporate expression of God for the fulfillment of His intention.
Eph 3:192 [2] The fullness of God implies that the riches of all that God is have become His expression. When the riches of God are in God Himself, they are His riches. But when the riches of God are expressed, they become His fullness (John 1:16). All the fullness of God dwells in Christ (Col. 1:19; 2:9). Through His indwelling, Christ imparts the fullness of God into our being that we may be filled even unto the fullness of God to be the practical manifestation of the church, in which God may be glorified in His expression (v. 21).
Eph 3:193c fullness Col. 1:19; 2:9; John 1:16
In the New Testament the fullness is the expression through the completeness of the riches. This is the reason that in v. 8 Paul speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ and that in 1:23 and then in 4:13 he speaks of the fullness of Christ. The riches of Christ are all that Christ is and has and all that He has accomplished, attained, and obtained. The fullness of Christ is the result and issue of our enjoyment of these riches. When the riches of Christ are assimilated into our being metabolically, they constitute us to be the fullness of Christ, the Body of Christ, the church, as His expression. First, in 1:23 this expression is the fullness of Christ, and then in this verse it is the fullness of God, for the fullness of Christ, the embodiment of God, is the very fullness of the Triune God.
Eph 3:194 God
The Father (v. 14) answers and fulfills the apostle’s prayer through the Spirit (v. 16) that Christ, the Son (v. 17), may make His home in our hearts. Thus we are filled unto the fullness of God—the Triune God. This is the issue of the dispensing of the Triune God into our entire being.
Eph 3:201 But
Verses 16-19 are the apostle’s prayer. The word but makes vv. 20-21 a doxology. In his prayer the apostle prayed that the Father would strengthen the saints according to the riches of His glory. This implies that the glory of God can be wrought into the saints. In the doxology he said, “To Him be the glory” (v. 21), implying that the glory of God, which has been wrought into the saints, returns to God. First, the glory of God is wrought into us; then it returns to God for His glorification. Isaac’s wealth was first given to Rebekah for her beautification; then all the wealth came back to Isaac, with Rebekah, for his glorification (Gen. 24:47, 53, 61-67). The apostle prayed that God would strengthen the saints according to His glory, “but” eventually God’s glory, after being wrought into them, returns to Him along with the strengthened saints. This is the way in which God is glorified in the church.
Eph 3:20b able 2 Cor. 9:8
Eph 3:202 ask
Strictly, ask or think here is in regard to the spiritual things related to the church, not in regard to material things. Concerning these spiritual things, we need to think as well as to ask. We might think more than we ask. God fulfills not only what we ask for the church but also what we think concerning the church, and God is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that operates in us.
Eph 3:203c power Eph. 3:7; 1:19
The inward power, referred to in 1:19-20, is God’s resurrection power, not His creating power. God’s creating power produces the material things in our environment (Rom. 8:28), whereas God’s resurrection power accomplishes within our inward being the spiritual things for the church.
Eph 3:211 glory
See note 62 in ch. 1. We are being strengthened into our inner man according to the riches of God’s glory (v. 16). This glory comes to us with God and, after being worked into us, will return to God with us. By means of this two-way traffic the church, as the firstfruits in the universe (James 1:18), takes the lead to give glory to God. All the other families both in heaven and on earth will follow the church to glorify Him.
Eph 3:212b church Eph. 3:10
God’s glory is wrought into the church, and He is expressed in the church. Hence, to God is the glory in the church; that is, God is glorified in the church.
Eph 3:213 and
God is glorified not only in the church but also in Christ. The word and is used here to stress this point emphatically.
Eph 3:214 Christ
In the church the sphere of God’s glorification is narrow, being limited to the household of the faith. But in Christ the sphere is much broader because Christ is the Head of all the families in the heavens and on earth (1:22; 3:15). Hence, God’s glorification in Christ is in the realm of all the families created by God, not only on earth but also in the heavens. This is in accord with unto all the generations forever and ever, which means for eternity.
Eph 3:215 all
All the generations forever and ever constitute eternity. God’s glorification in the church is mainly in this age, whereas God’s glorification in Christ is for eternity.
Eph 4:11 I
This verse in part repeats 3:1, where the apostle’s exhortation in chs. 4—6 begins. This indicates that 3:2-21 is parenthetical. See note 21 in ch. 3.
Eph 4:12a prisoner Eph. 3:1
See note 12 in ch. 3. In 3:1 Paul speaks of himself as “the prisoner of Christ Jesus,” but here he says that he is “the prisoner in the Lord.” To be a prisoner in the Lord is deeper than to be a prisoner of the Lord. As such a prisoner, Paul is a pattern for those who would walk worthily of God’s calling.
Eph 4:1b in Eph. 4:17; 5:8; 6:1, 10, 21
Eph 4:13c walk Eph. 4:17; 5:2, 8; Col. 1:10; 1 Thes. 2:12
This book is divided into two main sections. The first, composed of chs. 1—3, reveals the blessings and the position the church has obtained in Christ in the heavenlies. The second, comprising chs. 4—6, charges us concerning the living and responsibility the church should have in the Spirit on the earth. The basic charge is that we should walk worthily of God’s calling, which is the totality of the blessings bestowed on the church, as revealed in 1:3-14. In the church, under the Triune God’s abundant blessing, the saints should walk worthily of the Father’s selection and predestination, the Son’s redemption, and the Spirit’s sealing and pledging. Hence, in chs. 4—6 we see, on the one hand, the living that the church should have, and, on the other hand, the responsibility that the church should bear.
Eph 4:1d calling Eph. 4:4; 1:18; 2 Tim. 1:9
Eph 4:1e called Rom. 8:28; Col. 3:15; 1 Cor. 1:2, 9, 24
Eph 4:21a lowliness Matt. 11:29
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 4:21 [1] To be lowly is to remain in a low estate, and to be meek is to not fight for oneself. We should exercise these two virtues in dealing with ourselves. To be long-suffering is to endure mistreatment. We should exercise this virtue in dealing with others. By these virtues we bear (not just tolerate) one another; that is, we do not forsake the troublesome ones but bear them in love. This is the expression of life.
Eph 4:21 [2] These virtues are not found in our natural humanity but are in the humanity of Jesus. The fact that the virtues are mentioned here, before the oneness of the Spirit in v. 3, indicates that we must have these virtues in order to keep the oneness of the Spirit. This implies that in the uniting Spirit there is the transformed humanity, the humanity transformed by the resurrection life of Christ.
Eph 4:2c long-suffering Col. 1:11
Eph 4:31 keep
Or, safeguard, preserve by guarding. The oneness of the Spirit is the Spirit Himself. To keep the oneness of the Spirit is to keep the life-giving Spirit. If we act apart from the Spirit, we are divisive and lose the oneness. If we stay in the life-giving Spirit, we keep the oneness of the Spirit.
Eph 4:32a oneness Eph. 4:13; John 17:11, 21, 22, 23
To walk worthily of God’s calling, to have the proper Body life, we first need to care for the oneness. This is crucial and vital to the Body of Christ. Strictly, oneness differs from unity. Unity is the state in which many people are united together, whereas oneness is the one entity of the Spirit within the believers, which makes them all one. This oneness is a person, Christ Himself, who is the Spirit dwelling within us. It is similar to the electricity flowing within many lamps, making them all one in the shining. In themselves, the lamps are separate, but in the electricity they are one.
Eph 4:33b bond cf. Col. 3:14
Christ abolished on the cross all the differences that were due to ordinances. In so doing He made peace for His Body. This peace should bind all believers together and should thus become the uniting bond. The uniting bond of peace is the issue of the working of the cross. When we remain on the cross, we have peace with others. This peace becomes the uniting bond in which we keep the oneness of the Spirit.
Eph 4:3c peace Eph. 2:14, 15, 17; Col. 3:15; Heb. 12:14; Rom. 12:18
Eph 4:41 One
In exhorting us to safeguard the oneness, the apostle pointed out seven things that form the base of our oneness: one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. These seven “ones” are of three groups. The first three form the first group, that of the Spirit with the Body as His expression. This Body, having been regenerated and being saturated with the Spirit as its essence, has the hope of being transfigured into the full likeness of Christ. The next three form the second group, that of the Lord with faith and baptism that we may be joined to Him. The last of the seven forms the third group, the one God and Father, who is the Originator and source of all. The Spirit as the Executor of the Body, the Son as the Creator of the Body, and God the Father as the Originator of the Body—all the three of the Triune God—are related to the Body. The Third of the Trinity is the first mentioned in vv. 4-6 because the main concern here is the Body, of which the Spirit is the essence and the life and life supply. The course is then traced back to the Son and to the Father.
Eph 4:4a Body Eph. 2:16; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12-13
Eph 4:42b hope Eph. 1:18; Col. 1:27; Rom. 8:23-25
The hope of glory (Col. 1:27), which is the transfiguration of our body (Phil. 3:21) and the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. 8:19, 23-25).
Eph 4:51a Lord 1 Cor. 8:6; 12:5
This verse does not say “one Son,” but “one Lord.” In the Gospel of John it is the Son into whom we believe (John 3:16), but in the Acts it is the Lord into whom we believe (Acts 16:31). In the Epistles of John, the Son is for the imparting of life (1 John 5:12), whereas in the Acts, the Lord, after His ascension, is for the exercising of authority (Acts 2:36), a matter which concerns His headship. Hence, our believing in Him is related to both life and authority, for He is both our life and our Head. As the Head of the Body (1:22), He is the Lord. Christians are divided because they neglect the Head; that is, they neglect the Lord’s headship and authority.
Eph 4:52b faith Eph. 4:13; Titus 1:4; 2 Tim. 4:7
Through faith we believe into the Lord (John 3:36), and through baptism we are baptized into Him (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3) and terminated in Adam (Rom. 6:4). Through faith and baptism we have been transferred out of Adam into Christ, thereby being joined to the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17). Immediately after believing in Christ, we should be baptized to complete the transfer.
Eph 4:5c baptism Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27-28; 1 Cor. 12:13
Eph 4:61a God Mal. 2:10; Rom. 3:30; 1 Cor. 8:4, 6; 12:6; Gal. 3:20; 1 Tim. 2:5
God is the Originator of all things, and the Father is the source of life for the Body of Christ.
Eph 4:62 all
Referring to all believers.
Eph 4:63 over
The Trinity is implied even here. Over all refers mainly to the Father, through all to the Son, and in all to the Spirit. The Triune God eventually enters into us all by reaching us as the Spirit. The oneness of the Body of Christ is constituted of the Trinity of the Godhead—the Father as the source and origin being the Originator, the Son as the Lord and Head being the Accomplisher, and the Spirit as the life-giving Spirit being the Executor. The Triune God Himself, when realized and experienced by us in our daily life, is the fundamental basis and very foundation of our oneness.
Eph 4:71 But
Concerning the Body of Christ, all the basic elements are one, but the gifts (the functions) are many and varied.
Eph 4:72a grace Eph. 3:8; cf. Rom. 12:6
Here grace was given according to the gift; in Rom. 12:6 the gifts differ according to grace. Grace actually is the divine life that produces and supplies the gifts. In Rom. 12 it is the grace that produces the gift. Hence, the gift is according to grace. Here the grace is according to the gift, according to the measure of the gift. This is similar to our blood supplying the members of our body according to their size.
Eph 4:73b measure Eph. 4:16
The measure of the gift of Christ is the size of a member of His Body.
Eph 4:8a ascended Psa. 68:18
Eph 4:81 height
Height in the quotation from Psa. 68:18 refers to Mount Zion (Psa. 68:15-16), which symbolizes the third heaven, where God dwells (1 Kings 8:30). Psalm 68 implies that it was in the Ark that God ascended to Mount Zion after the Ark had won the victory. Verse 1 of Psa. 68 is taken from Num. 10:35. This indicates that the background of Psa. 68 is God’s move in the tabernacle with the Ark as its center. Wherever the Ark, a type of Christ, went, the victory was won. Eventually, this Ark ascended triumphantly to the top of Mount Zion. This portrays how Christ won the victory and ascended triumphantly to the heavens.
Eph 4:82 those
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 4:82 [1] Those refers to the redeemed saints, who were taken captive by Satan before being saved by Christ’s death and resurrection. In His ascension Christ led them captive; that is, He rescued them from Satan’s captivity and took them to Himself. This indicates that He conquered and overcame Satan, who had captured them by sin and death.
Eph 4:82 [2] The Amplified New Testament renders “He led captive those taken captive” as “He led a train of vanquished foes.” Vanquished foes may refer to Satan, to his angels, and to us the sinners, again indicating Christ’s victory over Satan, sin, and death. In Christ’s ascension there was a procession of these vanquished foes, led as captives from a war, for a celebration of Christ’s victory.
Eph 4:83b gifts Eph. 4:7
Gifts here does not refer to the abilities or capacities for various services but to the gifted persons in v. 11—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. After conquering Satan and death and rescuing the sinners from Satan and death through His death and resurrection, Christ in His ascension made the rescued sinners themselves such gifts by means of His resurrection life and gave them to His Body for its building up.
Eph 4:9a ascended John 3:13; Heb. 4:14
Eph 4:91b lower Psa. 63:9; Isa. 44:23; Matt. 12:40; Phil. 2:10
Referring to Hades, which is under the earth. Christ went there after His death (Acts 2:27).
Eph 4:10a far Eph. 1:21; Heb. 7:26
Eph 4:101b fill Eph. 1:23
First, in His incarnation Christ descended from heaven to earth. Then, in His death He descended farther, from earth to Hades. Eventually, in His resurrection He ascended from Hades to earth, and in His ascension, from earth to heaven. Through such a journey He cut the way that He might fill all things.
Eph 4:111 some
Each one in v. 7 includes every member of the Body of Christ, each of whom has received a general gift; whereas the four kinds of gifted persons mentioned here are those who have been endued with a special gift.
Eph 4:11a apostles Eph. 2:20; 3:5; 1 Cor. 12:28
Eph 4:11b prophets Acts 11:27; 13:1
Eph 4:11c evangelists Acts 21:8; 2 Tim. 4:5
Eph 4:112 shepherds
According to the grammatical construction, shepherds and teachers refers to a single class of gifted persons. A shepherd should know how to teach, and a teacher should be able to shepherd.
Eph 4:11d teachers Acts 13:1; 1 Cor. 12:28
Eph 4:121a perfecting 2 Cor. 13:9
Or, equipping, supplying the functions.
Eph 4:122 unto
Unto here means resulting in, for the purpose of, or with a view to.
Eph 4:123b ministry 2 Cor. 4:1; 1 Tim. 1:12
The many gifted persons in the preceding verse have only one ministry, that is, to minister Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church. This is the unique ministry in the New Testament economy (2 Cor. 4:1; 1 Tim. 1:12).
Eph 4:124c building cf. Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:16; 1 Cor. 14:4, 12
According to the grammatical construction, the building up of the Body of Christ is the work of the ministry. Whatever the gifted persons in v. 11 do as the work of the ministry must be for the building up of the Body of Christ. However, this building up is not accomplished directly by the gifted ones but by the saints who have been perfected by the gifted ones.
Eph 4:12d Body Eph. 1:23; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 17
Eph 4:131 arrive
Or, attain to. This indicates that a process is required for us to attain to or arrive at the practical oneness.
Eph 4:132a oneness Eph. 4:3
In v. 3 the oneness of the Spirit is the oneness of the divine life in reality; in this verse the oneness is the oneness of our living in practicality. We already have the oneness of the divine life in reality. We need only to keep it. But we need to go on until we arrive at the oneness of our living in practicality. This aspect of oneness is of two things: the faith and the full knowledge of the Son of God. As revealed in Jude 3, 2 Tim. 4:7, and 1 Tim. 6:21, the faith does not refer to the act of our believing but to the things in which we believe, such as the divine person of Christ and His redemptive work accomplished for our salvation. The full knowledge of the Son of God is the apprehension of the revelation concerning the Son of God for our experience. The more we grow in life, the more we will cleave to the faith and to the apprehension of Christ, and the more we will drop all the minor and meaner doctrinal concepts that cause divisions. Then we will arrive at, or attain to, the practical oneness; that is, we will arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Eph 4:13c knowledge Matt. 11:27; Phil. 3:10
Eph 4:133d Son Matt. 16:16; John 20:31
The Son of God refers to the Lord’s person as life to us, whereas Christ refers to His commission to minister life to us that we, the members of His Body, may have gifts for functioning. See note 161 in Matt. 16.
Eph 4:134e full-grown Heb. 5:14; 1 Cor. 14:20; Col. 1:28
A full-grown man is a mature man. Maturity in life is needed for the practical oneness.
Eph 4:135f fullness Eph. 1:23
The fullness of Christ is the Body of Christ (1:23), which has a stature with a measure. To arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is necessary for the practical oneness. Hence, from the oneness in reality we need to proceed to the oneness in practicality until we arrive at the three things mentioned in this verse—the oneness, a full-grown man, and the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Eph 4:141a little 1 Cor. 3:1; 13:11
Lit., infants. The same Greek word as for child in Gal. 4:1, referring to those believers who are young in Christ, lacking maturity in life (1 Cor. 3:1).
Eph 4:142 waves
The waves stirred up by the winds of different teachings (1 Tim. 1:3-4), doctrines, concepts, and opinions are sent by Satan to entice the believers in order to carry them away from Christ and the church. It is difficult for the infants in Christ to discern these. The only way to escape from the waves that are stirred up by the winds is to grow in life, and the safe way to grow in life is to stay in the proper church life with Christ and the church as the safeguard.
Eph 4:143 wind
Any teaching, even a scriptural one, that distracts believers from Christ and the church is a wind that carries believers away from God’s central purpose.
Eph 4:14b teaching 1 Tim. 1:3; 6:3
Eph 4:144 sleight
The Greek word for sleight refers to the cheating of dice players. The word for craftiness denotes the trickery employed by gamblers. The teachings that become winds, carrying believers away from the central lane of Christ and the church, are deceptions instigated by Satan in his subtlety, with the sleight of men, in order to frustrate God’s eternal purpose, which is to build up the Body of Christ.
Eph 4:14c craftiness 2 Cor. 4:2; 11:3
Eph 4:145 system
The dividing teachings are organized and systematized by Satan to cause serious error and thus damage the practical oneness of the Body life. The sleight is of men, but the system of error is of Satan and is related to the deceitful teachings that are designed by the evil one to distract the saints from Christ and the church life.
Eph 4:151 holding
Or, truthing it. This is in contrast to the sleight and the error in v. 14. To be carried away by the winds of teaching in the sleight of men unto a system of error is to not hold to truth. Truth here means things that are true. According to the context, it must refer to Christ and His Body: both are true things. We should hold in love to these true things that we may grow up into Christ.
Eph 4:152a love Eph. 1:4
This is not our own love but the love of God in Christ, which becomes the love of Christ in us, by which we love Christ and the fellow members of His Body. It is in such a love that we hold to truth, that is, to Christ with His Body, and are kept from being influenced by the winds of teaching and from bringing in elements that are foreign to the Body.
Eph 4:153b grow Eph. 4:16; 2:21; Col. 2:19; 1 Cor. 3:6
To be no longer little children (v. 14), we need to grow up into Christ. This is to have Christ increase in us in all things until we attain to a full-grown man (v. 13).
Eph 4:154c Head Col. 1:18; 2:19
Head here indicates that our growth in life by the increase of Christ should be the growth of the members in the Body under the Head.
Eph 4:161 Out
To grow in life is to grow into the Head, Christ, but to operate in the Body of Christ is to operate out from Him. First, we grow up into the Head; then we have something that is out from the Head for the building up of the Body.
Eph 4:162b joined Eph. 2:21
Joined implies the thought of joining by fitting; knit implies the thought of interweaving.
Eph 4:163c joint Col. 2:19
Every joint of the rich supply refers to the specially gifted persons, such as those mentioned in v. 11.
Eph 4:164 the
In Greek the article here is emphatic. Hence, the rich supply must be the particular supply, the supply of Christ.
Eph 4:165 and
Most of the ancient MSS read, according to the operation.
Eph 4:166 operation
Or, functioning. The same Greek word as in 3:7 and Col. 1:29, and of the same origin as operations in 1 Cor. 12:6.
Eph 4:167 each
Each one part refers to each member of the Body. Through the growth in life and the development of gifts, each member of the Body of Christ has its own measure, which operates for the growth of the Body.
Eph 4:168 causes
The Body of Christ causes the growth of itself through the supplying joints and the operating parts.
Eph 4:169e growth Eph. 4:15
The growth of the Body of Christ is the increase of Christ in the church, which results in the building up of the Body by the Body itself.
Eph 4:16f building cf. Eph. 4:12; 2:20
Eph 4:1610g love Eph. 1:4
See note 152.
Eph 4:171 testify
The apostle’s word here was not only his exhortation but also his testimony. His exhortation was his living.
Eph 4:172b walk Eph. 4:1
Verses 1-16 deal with the living and the function of the Body of Christ. Now, in vv. 17-32 our daily life is touched. Verses 17-24 give us the principles of our daily walk, and vv. 25-32 give us the details.
Eph 4:17c Gentiles 1 Thes. 4:5; 1 Pet. 4:3
Eph 4:173e vanity Rom. 1:21; Col. 2:18; cf. 1 Pet. 1:18; 2 Pet. 2:18
The Gentiles are the fallen people, who become vain in their reasonings (Rom. 1:21). They walk without God in the vanity of their mind, being controlled and directed by their vain thoughts. Whatever they do according to their fallen mind is vanity, void of reality.
Eph 4:181a darkened Rom. 1:21
When the mind of fallen people is filled with vanity, their understanding is darkened regarding the things of God. Thus, they are alienated, separated, from the life of God.
Eph 4:182b life 1 John 5:12
This is the uncreated, eternal life of God, which man did not have at the time of creation. After being created, man with the created human life was placed before the tree of life (Gen. 2:8-9) that he might receive the uncreated divine life. But man fell into the vanity of his mind and became darkened in his understanding. Now, in such a fallen condition man is unable to touch the life of God until he repents (has his mind turned to God) and believes in the Lord Jesus to receive God’s eternal life (Acts 11:18; John 3:16).
Eph 4:183c ignorance Acts 3:17; 17:30; 1 Pet. 1:14
Ignorance denotes not only a lack of knowledge but also an unwillingness to know. Because of the hardness of his heart, fallen man does not approve of knowing the things of God (Rom. 1:28). Therefore, his understanding is darkened so that he does not know God.
Eph 4:184d hardness Mark 3:5; Rom. 11:7, 25; 2 Cor. 3:14
The hardness of fallen man’s heart is the source of the darkness in his understanding and the vanity of his mind.
Eph 4:191a being 1 Tim. 4:2
Feeling here refers mainly to the consciousness of one’s conscience. Hence, being past feeling means not caring for one’s conscience. After man fell, God ordained that man should be under the ruling of his conscience. But instead of regarding his conscience, fallen man gave himself over to lasciviousness and greedy lust.
Eph 4:201a learn Matt. 11:29
Christ is not only life to us but also an example (John 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:21). In His life on earth He set up a pattern, as revealed in the Gospels. Then He was crucified and resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit that He might enter into us to be our life. We learn from Him (Matt. 11:29) according to His example, not by our natural life but by Him as our life in resurrection. To learn Christ is simply to be molded into the pattern of Christ, that is, to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).
Eph 4:211b reality Eph. 4:15, 24, 25
The reality is in Jesus refers to the actual condition of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels. In the godless walk of the nations, the fallen people, there is vanity. But in the godly life of Jesus there is truth, reality. Jesus lived a life in which He did everything in God, with God, and for God. God was in His living, and He was one with God. This is what is meant by the reality is in Jesus. We, the believers, who are regenerated with Christ as our life and are taught in Him, learn from Him as the reality is in Jesus.
Eph 4:221 That
Verses 22 and 24 show us what we have been taught: that we put off the old man and put on the new man. Our putting off of the old man and putting on of the new man is a manifestation of our having learned Christ.
Eph 4:222a put Eph. 4:25; Col. 2:11; 3:8
In baptism we put off the old man. Our old man was crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6) and was buried in baptism (Rom. 6:4a).
Eph 4:223 former
The former manner of life is a walk in the vanity of the mind (v. 17).
Eph 4:224b old Rom. 6:6; Col. 3:9
The old man is of Adam, who was created by God but became fallen through sin.
Eph 4:225 the
The article here is emphatic, and the deceit is personified. Hence, the deceit refers to the deceiver, Satan, from whom come the lusts of the corrupted old man.
Eph 4:231a renewed Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:10; Titus 3:5
Our being renewed is for our transformation into the image of Christ (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18).
Eph 4:232b spirit cf. Rom. 8:6
This is the regenerated spirit of the believers, which is mingled with the indwelling Spirit of God. Such a mingled spirit spreads into our mind, thus becoming the spirit of our mind. It is in such a spirit that we are renewed for our transformation.
Eph 4:241a put Gal. 3:27; Rom. 13:14; Eph. 6:11
It was in baptism that we put on the new man (Rom. 6:4b).
Eph 4:242b new Col. 3:10; 2 Cor. 5:17; cf. Rom. 6:4
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 4:242 [1] The new man is of Christ. It is His Body, created in Him on the cross (2:15-16). It is not individual but corporate (Col. 3:10-11). In this corporate new man Christ is all and in all—He is all the people and in all the people. See note 119 in Col. 3.
Eph 4:242 [2] This book reveals first that the church is the Body of Christ (1:22-23), the kingdom of God, the household of God (2:19), and the temple, the dwelling place of God (2:21-22). Here it reveals in addition that the church is the new man. This is the highest aspect of the church. The church is an assembly of the called-out ones. This is the initial aspect of the church. From here, the apostle went on to mention the fellow citizens of the kingdom of God and the members of the household of God. These are higher than the initial aspect, but not as high as the church as the Body of Christ. Yet the new man is higher still than the Body of Christ. Thus, the church is not just an assembly of believers, a kingdom of heavenly citizens, a household of God’s children, or even a Body for Christ. It is in its ultimate, uttermost aspect a new man to accomplish God’s eternal purpose. As the Body of Christ, the church needs Christ as its life, whereas as the new man, the church needs Christ as its person. This new corporate person should live a life like that which Jesus lived on earth, that is, a life of reality that expresses God and causes God to be realized as the reality by man. Hence, the new man is the focus of the apostle’s exhortation in this section (vv. 17-32).
Eph 4:24c created Eph. 2:10, 15
Eph 4:243 God
The old man was created outwardly according to the image of God but without God’s life and nature (Gen. 1:26-27), whereas the new man was created inwardly according to God Himself and with God’s life and nature (Col. 3:10).
Eph 4:244d righteousness Eph. 5:9
Righteousness is to be right with God and with man according to God’s righteous way, while holiness is godliness and devoutness before God (see note 751 in Luke 1). Righteousness is mainly toward men, and holiness is mainly toward God.
Eph 4:244e holiness Titus 1:8
See note 244.
Eph 4:245 the
The article here is emphatic. As the deceit in v. 22, related to the old man, is the personification of Satan, so the reality here, related to the new man, is the personification of God. The deceit is the devil, and the reality is God. This reality was exhibited in the life of Jesus, as mentioned in v. 21. In the life of Jesus, righteousness and holiness of the reality were continuously manifested. It was in the righteousness and holiness of this reality, which is God realized and expressed, that the new man was created.
Eph 4:24f reality Eph. 4:15, 21, 25
Eph 4:251 Therefore
Verses 25-32 give a description of our practical daily living in learning Christ.
Eph 4:252b lie Col. 3:9
The lie refers to anything that is false in nature. Because we put off the old man, we also put off everything that is false in nature. Hence, we speak truth, that is, we speak the things that are true.
Eph 4:252c truth Zech. 8:16
See note 252.
Eph 4:261a angry Mark 3:5
To be angry is not a sin, but with it there is the possibility of committing sin. We should not continue in anger but should relinquish it before the sun sets.
Eph 4:26c sun Deut. 24:15
Eph 4:262d indignation Psa. 37:8
Or, vexation.
Eph 4:271 give
According to the context, to continue in anger is to give place to the devil. In nothing should we give any place to him.
Eph 4:27a devil James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-9
Eph 4:281a steal Exo. 20:15
Even in a book of such high revelation, the apostle still touched certain low, practical things, such as stealing and anger.
Eph 4:282b labor Acts 20:35; 2 Thes. 3:8
Stealing is due mainly to slothfulness and greed. Hence, the apostle charged him who steals to labor instead of being slothful, and to share with others what he gains instead of being greedy.
Eph 4:28c hands 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thes. 4:11
Eph 4:283 that
Or, that which is good. See Titus 3:8, 14.
Eph 4:282d share Luke 3:11
See note 282.
Eph 4:291a corrupt Eph. 5:4; Col. 3:8
Lit., rotten; signifying what is noxious, offensive, or worthless.
Eph 4:292b building Rom. 14:19
Our conversation should not corrupt others but should build them up.
Eph 4:293c grace Col. 4:6
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 4:293 [1] Grace is Christ as our enjoyment and supply. Our word should convey such grace to others. The word that builds up others always ministers Christ as grace to the hearer.
Eph 4:293 [2] The apostle’s exhortation in vv. 17-32 took grace and reality (vv. 21, 24, 29) as its basic elements. The apostle wanted us to live, as Jesus did, a life full of grace and reality (John 1:14, 17). Grace is God given to us for our enjoyment, and reality is God revealed to us as our reality. When we live and speak reality (vv. 21, 24), we express God as our reality, and others receive God as grace for their enjoyment (v. 29).
Eph 4:301a grieve Psa. 78:40; Isa. 63:10; cf. 1 Thes. 5:19
To grieve the Holy Spirit is to displease Him. The Holy Spirit abides in us forever (John 14:16-17), never leaving us. Hence, He is grieved when we do not walk according to Him (Rom. 8:4), that is, when we do not live according to the principle of reality with grace in the details of our daily walk.
Eph 4:302 Spirit
The apostle’s exhortation in vv. 17-32 not only takes grace and reality as the basic elements but also takes the life of God (v. 18) and the Spirit of God as the basic factors on the positive side, and the devil (v. 27) as a factor on the negative side. It is by the life of God in the Spirit of God, and by not giving place to the devil, that we can live a life full of grace and reality, as the Lord Jesus did.
Eph 4:303 in
I.e., in the Holy Spirit as the element. We were sealed in the element of the Holy Spirit. This shows that God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit as the sealing element.
Eph 4:304b sealed Eph. 1:13
See note 131 in ch. 1.
Eph 4:305 unto
From the time that we are saved, the Holy Spirit as the seal in us seals us continually with the element of God that we may be transformed in nature until our body is completely transfigured and redeemed. Hence, this verse says that we were sealed with the Holy Spirit unto the day of the redemption of our body.
Eph 4:306c redemption Eph. 1:14
See note 144 in ch. 1.
Eph 4:32a kind Col. 3:12; 1 Cor. 13:4
Eph 4:321b tenderhearted Phil. 1:8; 2:1
The Greek word has the same origin as moved with compassion in Matt. 9:36 and inward parts in Phil. 1:8. Only by enjoying Christ as grace and reality can we be tenderhearted and thus be able to forgive one another.
Eph 4:322c forgiving Matt. 6:14; Col. 3:13
Or, showing grace to.
Eph 4:323 God
In his exhortation in this section (vv. 17-32), the apostle presented God as the pattern of our daily life. In the Spirit and by His life, we can forgive as God forgives.
Eph 4:324 forgave
Or, showed grace to.
Eph 5:11a imitators Matt. 5:48
What a glorious fact that since we are God’s beloved children, we can be imitators of God! As the children of God, we have His life and nature. We imitate Him not by our natural life but by His divine life. It is by our Father’s divine life that we, His children, can be perfect, as He is (Matt. 5:48).
Eph 5:2a walk Eph. 4:1; Rom. 14:15
Eph 5:21b love Eph. 1:4
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 5:21 [1] As grace and reality (truth) are the basic elements in 4:17-32, so love and light (vv. 8-9, 13) are the basic elements in the apostle’s exhortation in 5:1-33. Grace is the expression of love, and love is the source of grace. Truth is the revelation of light, and light is the origin of truth. God is love and God is light (1 John 4:8; 1:5). When God is expressed and revealed in the Lord Jesus, His love becomes grace and His light becomes truth. After we have, in the Lord, received God as grace and realized Him as truth, we come to Him and enjoy His love and light. Love and light are deeper than grace and truth. Hence, the apostle first took grace and truth as the basic elements for his exhortation, and then love and light. This implies that he wanted our daily walk to grow deeper, to progress from the outward elements to the inward.
Eph 5:21 [2] Love is the inner substance of God, whereas light is the expressed element of God. The inward love of God is sensible, and the outward light of God is visible. Our walk in love should be constituted of both the loving substance and the shining element of God. These should be the inner source of our walk. They are deeper than grace and truth.
Eph 5:22 Christ
In 4:32 the apostle presented God as the pattern of our daily walk. Here he set forth Christ as the example of our living. In 4:32 God in Christ is our pattern, since in that section God’s grace and reality (truth) expressed in the life of Jesus are taken as the basic elements. But here Christ Himself is our example, since in this section love expressed by Christ to us (vv. 2, 25) and light shined by Christ upon us (v. 14) are taken as the basic elements.
Eph 5:2c loved Eph. 5:25; Gal. 2:20
Eph 5:23 us
Some ancient authorities read, you.
Eph 5:24 offering
An offering is for fellowship with God, whereas a sacrifice is for redemption from sin. Christ gave Himself up for us as both an offering, that we might have fellowship with God, and a sacrifice, that He might redeem us from sin.
Eph 5:24d sacrifice Heb. 7:27; 10:10-12
See note 24.
Eph 5:25e sweet-smelling Gen. 8:21; Exo. 29:18, 25; Lev. 1:9
In loving us, Christ gave Himself up for us. This was for us, but it was a sweet-smelling savor to God. In following His example, our walk in love should be not only something for others but also a sweet-smelling savor to God.
Eph 5:31a fornication Col. 3:5
Nothing is more damaging to mankind than fornication. It is especially damaging to God’s purpose and intention in creating man and to the believers’ church life in the Body of Christ. This is based on 1 Cor. 5.
Eph 5:32 saints
Persons who are separated unto God and saturated with God and who live a life according to God’s holy nature.
Eph 5:41b giving Eph. 5:20; 1 Thes. 5:18
To give thanks to God is to speak God as truth, whereas to talk foolishly or to jest filthily is to speak Satan as falsehood.
Eph 5:51 realize
The Greek word denotes subjective knowledge.
Eph 5:52 knowing
The Greek word denotes objective knowledge.
Eph 5:53a kingdom 1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:19-21
The kingdom of Christ is the millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6; Matt. 16:28) and also the kingdom of God (Matt. 13:41, 43 and notes). The believers have been regenerated into the kingdom of God (John 3:5), and they are in the church life, living in the kingdom of God today (Rom. 14:17). Not all believers, only the overcoming ones, will participate in the millennium. In the coming age the unclean, defeated ones will have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God, the millennium. See notes 203 in Matt. 5 and 281 in Heb. 12.
Eph 5:6a vain Col. 2:8; 1 Tim. 1:6
Eph 5:6b wrath Rom. 1:18; Col. 3:6
Eph 5:81b darkness Acts 26:18
We were once not only dark but darkness itself. Now we are not only the children of light but light itself (Matt. 5:14). As light is God, so darkness is Satan. We were darkness because we were one with Satan. Now we are light because we are one with God in the Lord.
Eph 5:81c light Matt. 5:14; Phil. 2:15
See note 81.
Eph 5:82e walk Eph. 4:1
Verse 2 tells us to walk in love, and this verse tells us to walk as children of light.
Eph 5:83f children Luke 16:8; John 12:36
As God is light, so we, the children of God, are the children of light.
Eph 5:91 goodness
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 5:91 [1] Goodness is the nature of the fruit of the light; righteousness is the way or the procedure by which the fruit of the light is produced; and truth is the reality, the real expression (God Himself), of the fruit of the light. The fruit of the light must be good in nature, righteous in procedure, and real in expression, that God may be expressed as the reality of our daily walk.
Eph 5:91 [2] The fruit of the light in goodness, righteousness, and truth is related to the Triune God. Goodness denotes God the Father, for the only one who is good is God (Matt. 19:17). Righteousness denotes God the Son, for Christ came to accomplish God’s purpose according to God’s righteous procedure (Rom. 5:17-18, 21). Truth denotes God the Spirit, for He is the Spirit of reality (John 14:17). Truth also denotes the expression of the fruit in the light.
Eph 5:9b righteousness Eph. 4:24; 6:14
Eph 5:10a Proving Rom. 12:2; 1 Thes. 5:21
Eph 5:11a participate Eph. 5:7
Eph 5:111 unfruitful
The unfruitful works of darkness are vanity, whereas the fruit of the light is truth, reality (v. 9).
Eph 5:11b works Rom. 13:12
Eph 5:112c reprove Eph. 5:13; 1 Tim. 5:20
Or, expose, uncover.
Eph 5:131a reproved Eph. 5:11; John 3:20
Or, exposed, uncovered.
Eph 5:14a Awake Rom. 13:11
Eph 5:141 sleeper
The sleeping one who needs the reproving mentioned in vv. 11 and 13 is also a dead one. He needs to awake from sleep and arise from the dead.
Eph 5:142 Christ
When we reprove or expose anyone who is sleeping and dead in darkness, Christ will shine on him. Our reproving or exposing in light is Christ’s shining.
Eph 5:151 Look
To live by being filled in spirit (vv. 15-21) is the fifth aspect of a walk that is worthy of God’s calling. The first four aspects of such a worthy walk are keeping the oneness, growing up into the Head, learning Christ, and living in love and light. The issue of having these four aspects of a worthy walk is that we are spontaneously filled in our spirit. Out of this inward filling will come submission, love, obedience, care, and all the other virtues of a proper Christian life, church life, family life, and community life. What a life we have when we demonstrate the five aspects of a walk that is worthy of God’s calling!
Eph 5:15b wise Matt. 25:2; Col. 4:5
Eph 5:161a Redeeming Col. 4:5
I.e., seizing every favorable opportunity. This is to be wise in our walk (v. 15).
Eph 5:162b days Eph. 6:13
In this evil age (Gal. 1:4) every day is an evil day full of pernicious things that cause our time to be used ineffectively, to be reduced, and to be taken away. Therefore, we must walk wisely that we may redeem the time, seizing every available opportunity.
Eph 5:171a understand Col. 1:9
To understand the will of the Lord is the best way to redeem our time (v. 16). Most of our time is wasted because we do not know the will of the Lord.
Eph 5:17b will Eph. 1:5; Rom. 12:2
Eph 5:181 drunk
To be drunk with wine is to be filled in the body, whereas to be filled in the spirit (our regenerated spirit, not God’s Spirit) is to be filled with Christ (1:23) unto the fullness of God (3:19). To be drunk with wine in our physical body causes us to become dissolute, but to be filled in our spirit with Christ, with the fullness of God, causes us to overflow with Christ in speaking, singing, psalming, and giving thanks to God (vv. 19-20) and also causes us to subject ourselves to one another (v. 21).
Eph 5:18a wine Prov. 20:1
Eph 5:181b filled Eph. 3:19
See note 181.
Eph 5:191 Speaking
Verses 19-21 modify be filled in spirit in v. 18. Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are not only for singing and psalming but also for speaking to one another. Such speaking, singing, psalming, giving of thanks to God (v. 20), and subjecting of ourselves to one another (v. 21) are not only the outflow of being filled in spirit but also the way to be filled in spirit.
Eph 5:192a psalms Col. 3:16
Psalms are long poems, hymns are shorter poems, and spiritual songs are poems that are shorter still. All are needed in order for us to be filled with the Lord and to overflow with Him in our Christian life.
Eph 5:20a Giving Eph. 5:4; Col. 3:17
Eph 5:201 at
We should give thanks to God the Father not only in good times but at all times, and not only for good things but for all things. Even in bad times we should give thanks to God our Father for the bad things.
Eph 5:202 in
The reality of the name of the Lord is His person. To be in the Lord’s name is to be in His person, in Himself. This implies that we should be one with the Lord in giving thanks to God.
Eph 5:211a subject 1 Pet. 5:5
Being subject to one another also is a way to be filled in spirit with the Lord (v. 18) and is the overflow of being filled. This is to live in the way of being filled in spirit with all the riches of Christ unto the fullness of God.
Eph 5:212 one
Our subjection should be to one another—the younger ones to the older ones, and also the older ones to the younger ones (1 Pet. 5:5).
Eph 5:213 fear
According to the context of the succeeding verses, to be in the fear of Christ is to fear offending Him as the Head. This is related to His headship (v. 23) and involves our being subject to one another. See note 332.
Eph 5:221a Wives vv. 22-23: Col. 3:18-19
The relationship between wives and husbands is connected to the matter of being filled in spirit. Only by being filled in our spirit can we have a proper married life, a figure of the relationship between Christ and the church.
Eph 5:22b subject Titus 2:5; 1 Pet. 3:1
Eph 5:222 to
This is one kind of subjection implied in v. 21. In his exhortation concerning married life, the apostle dealt first with wives, since wives, like Eve in Gen. 3, deviate from the right way more easily than husbands. First Peter 3:7 says that the wife is the weaker vessel. In his exhortations concerning wives and husbands, children and parents, and slaves and masters, Paul took care of first the weaker side and then the stronger side.
Eph 5:223 own
Most wives appreciate and respect others’ husbands; hence, the apostle exhorted wives to be subject to their own husbands as to the Lord, regardless of what kind of husbands they have. In the same principle, when Paul addressed husbands, he exhorted them to love their own wives (vv. 28, 33). If we desire to live according to reality, by grace, and in love and light, we must not compare our wife or husband with others’.
Eph 5:231a head 1 Cor. 11:3
The husband as the head of the wife typifies Christ as the Head of the church.
Eph 5:232 Savior
Christ is not only the Head of the church but also the Savior of the Body. His being the Head is a matter of authority, whereas His being the Savior is a matter of love. We must be subject to Him as our Head, and we must love Him as our Savior.
Eph 5:241 But
The thought here is this: although husbands are not the saviors of their wives in the way that Christ is the Savior of the church, wives still need to be subject to their husbands as the church is to Christ.
Eph 5:242 everything
According to the divine ordination, the subjection of wives to their husbands should be absolute, without any choice. This does not mean that they should obey their husbands in everything. Obeying is different from being subject. With obedience, the emphasis is on compliance, whereas with subjection, the emphasis is on subordination. In sinful things, things against God and the Lord, wives should not obey their husbands. However, they should still be in subjection to them. In a similar situation, Daniel’s three friends disobeyed the Babylonian king’s order to worship the idol, yet still subjected themselves to the king’s authority (Dan. 3:13-23).
Eph 5:251a love Eph. 5:28, 33
The opposite of being subject is to rule; however, the apostle did not exhort husbands to rule over their wives but to love them. In married life, the wife’s obligation is to be subject and the husband’s is to love. The wife’s subjection plus the husband’s love constitutes a proper married life and typifies the normal church life, in which the church is subject to Christ and Christ loves the church. Love is the very element, the inner substance, of God (1 John 4:8, 16). The goal of this book is to bring us into God’s inner substance that we may enjoy God as love and enjoy His presence in the sweetness of the divine love, and thereby love others as Christ did.
Eph 5:252 as
A husband’s love for his wife must be like Christ’s love for the church; he must be willing to pay a price, even to die for his wife.
Eph 5:261a sanctify Heb. 10:10, 14; 13:12; John 17:17
Christ’s purpose in giving Himself up for the church is to sanctify her, not only separating her to Himself from everything common but also saturating her with His element that she may be His counterpart. He accomplishes this by cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word.
Eph 5:262b washing 1 Cor. 6:11
Lit., laver. In Greek the definite article is used before this word, causing it to refer to the laver, the laver that was known to all the Jews. In the Old Testament the priests used the laver to wash away their earthly defilement (Exo. 30:18-21). Now the laver, the washing of the water, washes us from defilement.
Eph 5:263 water
According to the divine concept, water here refers to the flowing life of God, which is typified by flowing water (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 7:38-39; Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 17). The washing of the water here is different from the washing of the redeeming blood of Christ. The redeeming blood washes away our sins (1 John 1:7; Rev. 7:14), whereas the water of life washes away the blemishes of the natural life of our old man, such as the “spot or wrinkle or any such things” mentioned in v. 27. In separating and sanctifying the church, the Lord first washes away our sins with His blood (Heb. 13:12) and then washes away our natural blemishes with His life. We are now in such a washing process, that the church may be holy and without blemish (v. 27).
Eph 5:264c word John 15:3; 17:17
The Greek word denotes an instant word. The indwelling Christ as the life-giving Spirit is always speaking an instant, present, living word to metabolically cleanse away the old and replace it with the new, causing an inward transformation. The cleansing by the washing of the water of life is in the word of Christ. This indicates that in the word of Christ there is the water of life. This is typified by the laver situated between the altar and the tabernacle (Exo. 38:8; 40:7).
Eph 5:271a present 2 Cor. 11:2; Col. 1:22; cf. Gen. 2:22
In the past, Christ as the Redeemer gave Himself up for the church (v. 25) for redemption and the impartation of life (John 19:34); in the present, He as the life-giving Spirit is sanctifying the church through separation, saturation, transformation, growth, and building up; and in the future, He as the Bridegroom will present the church to Himself as His counterpart for His satisfaction. Therefore, Christ’s loving the church is to separate and sanctify her, and His separating and sanctifying the church are to present her to Himself.
Eph 5:272b church Matt. 16:18
In this section of exhortation the apostle presented another aspect of the church, that of the bride. This aspect reveals that the church comes out of Christ, as Eve came out of Adam (Gen. 2:21-22), that it has the same life and nature as Christ, and that it becomes one with Him as His counterpart, as Eve became one flesh with Adam (Gen. 2:24). The church as the new man is a matter of grace and reality, whereas the church as the bride of Christ is a matter of love and light. The apostle’s exhortation in ch. 4 is focused on the new man, which has grace and reality as its basic elements, whereas his exhortation in this chapter is focused on the bride of Christ, which has love and light as its basic substances. In grace and reality we should walk as the new man, and in love and light we should live as the bride of Christ.
Eph 5:273 glorious
Glory is God expressed. Hence, to be glorious is to be God-expressing. Eventually, the church presented to Christ will be a God-expressing church.
Eph 5:274 spot
The spot here signifies something of the natural life, and wrinkles are related to oldness. Only the water of life can metabolically wash away such defects by the transformation of life.
Eph 5:275c holy Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:22
To be holy is to be saturated with Christ and transformed by Christ, and to be without blemish is to be spotless and without wrinkle, having nothing of the natural life of our old man.
Eph 5:291a nourishes John 21:15, 17; 1 Cor. 3:2
To nourish is to feed us with the living word of the Lord. To cherish is to nurture us with tender love and foster us with tender care, outwardly softening us through tender warmth that we may have soothing, comfortable rest inwardly. This is the way Christ cares for the church, His Body.
Eph 5:29b cherishes 1 Thes. 2:7
Eph 5:30a members Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 18-20
Eph 5:30b Body Eph. 1:23; 1 Cor. 12:27
Eph 5:31a For Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5
Eph 5:311 leave
This is God’s ordination according to His economy (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5).
Eph 5:312b one 1 Cor. 6:16
Lit., into one flesh.
Eph 5:32a mystery Eph. 3:3; 1 Tim. 3:16
Eph 5:321 Christ
Christ and the church as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), typified by a husband and wife as one flesh, are the great mystery.
Eph 5:32b and 1 Cor. 6:17
Eph 5:331 your
Lit., his own wife as himself.
Eph 5:332b fear 1 Pet. 3:2
Because a wife should respect her husband as the head, the one who typifies Christ as the Head of the church, she should fear her husband in the fear of Christ (v. 21).
Eph 6:11a Children vv. 1-4: Col. 3:20-21
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 6:11 [1] In exhorting the children and the parents, the apostle dealt with the children first, since trouble comes mostly from the children.
Eph 6:11 [2] Verses 1-9, which deal with the relationship between children and fathers and between slaves and masters, are inserted between the section on the church as the bride (5:22-33) and the section on the church as the warrior (vv. 10-20). If we neglect the points dealt with in vv. 1-9, we cannot be a proper bride or a proper warrior. In the exhortations in these verses, Paul made one key point, which is a very important lesson for us to learn: for the sake of the church life, we need to have a proper human living in this present age.
Eph 6:12b in Eph. 4:1
In the Lord indicates that children need to obey their parents (1) by being one with the Lord, (2) not by themselves but by the Lord, and (3) not according to their natural concept but according to the Lord’s word.
Eph 6:13 right
Or, just, reasonable. For children to obey their parents is not only right but also just.
Eph 6:21a Honor Exo. 20:12; Deut. 5:16
Honoring is different from obeying. Obeying is an action, whereas honoring is an attitude. It is possible for children to obey their parents without honoring them. In order to honor their parents, children need an honoring attitude, an honoring spirit. All children need to learn to obey their parents and, at the same time, honor them.
Eph 6:22 first
This is not only the first commandment with a promise but also the first commandment concerning man’s relationship with man (Exo. 20:12).
Eph 6:3a That Deut. 5:16; Exo. 20:12
Eph 6:31 well
To have it well with ourselves is to be prosperous in material blessings, and to live long is to have longevity. Prosperity and longevity are God’s blessings in this life to those who honor their parents. If we wish to prolong our days and enjoy blessings, we must learn to obey and honor our parents. The commandment to honor our parents is the first commandment with a promise.
Eph 6:41 provoke
Provoking children to anger damages them by stirring up their flesh. Not to provoke his children to anger requires that a father deal with his anger by leaving it on the cross. In this way he is able to render suitable discipline to his children.
Eph 6:4a nurture cf. Gen. 18:19; 2 Tim. 3:15
Eph 6:42 admonition
Admonition includes instruction. Parents should instruct their children with the Word of God (Deut. 6:6-7), teaching them to know the Bible. However, how the children develop depends on God’s mercy.
Eph 6:51a Slaves vv. 5-9: Col. 3:22 4:1; 1 Tim. 6:1; Titus 2:9-10
Concerning the relationship between slaves and masters, the apostle exhorted the slaves first, because the source of trouble was mostly with them.
Eph 6:52 be
In the apostle’s time slaves were purchased by their masters, and the masters had the right over their lives. Some slaves and masters became brothers in the church. As brothers in the church, they were equal and without distinction (see Col. 3:11), but at home those who were slaves still were obligated to obey the brothers who were their masters according to flesh.
Eph 6:53b fear 1 Cor. 2:3; Phil. 2:12
Fear is the inward motive for service, and trembling the outward attitude.
Eph 6:54c singleness Acts 2:46
To be single is to be pure in motive, without a mixed purpose.
Eph 6:55d as Eph. 5:22
The relationship between slaves and masters also is a type of our relationship with Christ, who is our Master. We should be like slaves, obeying Him in singleness of heart.
Eph 6:6a men-pleasers Gal. 1:10
Eph 6:61 as
If a brother who is a slave stands in his position and obeys his master, he is in the eyes of the Lord a slave of Christ, doing the will of God, and he serves as serving the Lord and not men (v. 7).
Eph 6:6b slaves Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:10
Eph 6:62 from
From the soul here equals from the heart. This means to serve not only with the physical body but also with the heart.
Eph 6:6d soul Phil. 1:27; 2:2
Eph 6:7a serving Rom. 12:11
Eph 6:71b as Eph. 6:5
See note 61.
Eph 6:81 this
Whatever good thing we do, we will receive back the same from the Lord, and it will become a reward to us.
Eph 6:8a slave 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11
Eph 6:91a giving Lev. 25:43
The masters, who had the right over the lives of their purchased slaves, needed to give up their threatening, because the Lord in the heavens was the real Master of both them and the slaves.
Eph 6:9b no Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11
Eph 6:101 Finally
The passage from 1:1—6:9 completes the revelation on the positive side concerning the church’s fulfilling of God’s eternal purpose; yet on the negative side, concerning the church’s dealing with God’s enemy, there is more to be covered.
Eph 6:102 be
This implies that we need to exercise our will strongly.
Eph 6:103a empowered 1 Cor. 16:13; Phil. 4:13; 2 Tim. 2:1; cf. Josh. 1:6-7; Hag. 2:4
This word in Greek has the same root as the word for power in 1:19. To deal with God’s enemy, to fight against the evil forces of darkness, we need to be empowered with the greatness of the power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavens, far above all the evil spirits in the air.
Eph 6:104b in Eph. 4:1
In the spiritual warfare against Satan and his evil kingdom, we can fight only in the Lord, not in ourselves. Whenever we are in ourselves, we are defeated.
Eph 6:111a Put cf. Rom. 13:14; Eph. 4:24
On the positive side, in the first five chapters the church is portrayed in many ways for the fulfilling of God’s eternal purpose. On the negative side, the church is seen here as a warrior for the defeating of God’s enemy, the devil. To defeat God’s enemy, we need to put on the whole armor of God. “Put on” is an imperative, a command. God has provided the armor for us, but He does not put it on for us. Rather, we ourselves must put it on, exercising our will to cooperate with Him.
Eph 6:112 whole
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 6:112 [1] To fight the spiritual warfare, we need not only the power of the Lord but also the armor of God. Our weapons do not avail, but God’s armor, even the whole armor of God, does avail.
Eph 6:112 [2] The whole armor of God is for the entire Body of Christ, not for any individual member of the Body. The church is a corporate warrior, and the believers are parts of this unique warrior. Only the corporate warrior, not any individual believer, can wear the whole armor of God. We must fight the spiritual warfare in the Body, not as individuals.
Eph 6:11b armor Eph. 6:13; Rom. 13:12; 2 Cor. 6:7
Eph 6:113c stand Eph. 6:13, 14; Rom. 5:2; 11:20; 1 Cor. 15:1; 2 Cor. 1:24; Gal. 5:1; Col. 4:12; 1 Pet. 5:12
In ch. 2 we sit with Christ in the heavenlies (2:6), and in chs. 4 and 5 we walk (4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15) in His Body on the earth. Then in ch. 6 we stand in His power in the heavenlies. To sit with Christ is to participate in all His accomplishments; to walk in His Body is to fulfill God’s eternal purpose; and to stand in His power is to fight against God’s enemy.
Eph 6:114d stratagems 2 Cor. 2:11
The evil plan of the devil.
Eph 6:11e devil James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-9
Eph 6:121a blood Matt. 16:17; Gal. 1:16
Blood and flesh refers to men. Behind men of blood and flesh are the evil forces of the devil, which are against God’s purpose. Hence, our wrestling, our fighting, must not be against men but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.
Eph 6:122 the
The rulers, the authorities, and the world-rulers of this darkness are the rebellious angels, who followed Satan in his rebellion against God and who now rule in the heavenlies over the nations of the world—such as the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece in Dan. 10:20. This indicates that the devil, Satan, has his kingdom of darkness (Matt. 12:26; Col. 1:13), in which he occupies the highest position and in which the rebellious angels are under him.
Eph 6:12b rulers Eph. 1:21; 2:2; 3:10; Col. 1:16; 2:15
Eph 6:12c world-rulers John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11
Eph 6:123 this
This darkness refers to today’s world, which is fully under the dark ruling of the devil, who rules through his evil angels.
Eph 6:12d darkness Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13
Eph 6:124e heavenlies Eph. 1:3; 2:2
Heavenlies here refers to the air (2:2). Satan and his spiritual forces of evil are in the air. But we are seated in the third heaven above them (2:6). In fighting a battle, the position above the enemy is very important strategically. Satan and his evil forces are under us, and they are destined to be defeated by us.
Eph 6:131 take
It is the whole armor of God, not just a part or some parts of it, that we need for the spiritual warfare. To take up the whole armor, the Body of Christ is needed; individual believers are not sufficient for this.
Eph 6:132b withstand James 4:7
To withstand is to stand against. To stand is crucial in fighting.
Eph 6:133c evil Eph. 5:16
Verse 16 in ch. 5 says that the days are evil. In this evil age every day is an evil day because Satan, the evil one, is at work every day.
Eph 6:134d stand Eph. 6:11
In fighting we need to stand to the end. Having done all, we still must stand.
Eph 6:141 having
From this point to the end of v. 16 we are given a description of how to stand.
Eph 6:142a girded Luke 12:35; 1 Pet. 1:13; cf. Isa. 11:5
The girding of our loins is for the strengthening of our entire being.
Eph 6:143b truth John 8:32; 17:17
According to the usage of this word in ch. 4—see notes 151 (on truth), 211 (on reality), and 245 (on reality) in ch. 4—truth here refers to God in Christ as reality in our living, that is, God becoming our reality and experience in our living. This is actually Christ Himself lived out by us (John 14:6). Such truth, such reality, is the girdle that strengthens our whole being for the spiritual warfare.
Eph 6:144 put
To put on the breastplate of righteousness is to cover our conscience, signified by the breast. Satan is the one who accuses us. In fighting against him we need a conscience void of offense. Regardless of how clear we feel our conscience is, it needs to be covered with the breastplate of righteousness. To be righteous is to be right with both God and man. If we are just a little wrong with either God or man, Satan will accuse us, and there will be holes in our conscience through which all our faith and boldness will leak out. Hence, we need the covering of righteousness to protect us from the enemy’s accusation. Such righteousness is Christ (1 Cor. 1:30).
Eph 6:14c breastplate Isa. 59:17; cf. 1 Thes. 5:8
Eph 6:14d righteousness Eph. 4:24; 5:9
Eph 6:151 shod
We shoe our feet to strengthen our stand in the battle. It is not for walking a way or running a course but for fighting the battle.
Eph 6:15a feet Isa. 52:7; Rom. 10:15
Eph 6:152 firm
Firm foundation may also be rendered readiness. Here it means the establishing of the gospel of peace. Christ made peace for us, with both God and man, on the cross, and this peace has become our gospel (2:13-17). This gospel of peace has been established as a firm foundation, as a readiness with which our feet may be shod. Being thus shod, we will have a firm footing that we may stand to fight the spiritual warfare. The peace for such a firm foundation also is Christ (2:14).
Eph 6:161 taken
The shield of faith is taken up to protect ourselves against the attacks of the enemy.
Eph 6:16a shield cf. 1 Thes. 5:8
Eph 6:162 faith
We need to have our loins girded with truth, our conscience covered with righteousness, our feet shod with peace, and our entire being protected with the shield of faith. If we live by God as reality (truth), we have righteousness (4:24), and righteousness issues in peace (Heb. 12:11; Isa. 32:17). Having all these, we can easily have faith as a shield against the evil one’s flaming darts. Christ is the Author and Perfecter of such faith (Heb. 12:2). For us to stand firmly in the battle, we need to be equipped with all these four items of God’s armor.
Eph 6:163 darts
The flaming darts are Satan’s temptations, proposals, doubts, questions, lies, and attacks. Flaming darts were used by fighters in the apostle’s time. The apostle used this term to illustrate Satan’s attacks on us.
Eph 6:16b evil Matt. 5:37; 6:13; John 17:15; 1 John 5:19
Eph 6:171a helmet Isa. 59:17; 1 Thes. 5:8
Receiving the helmet of salvation is for covering our mind, our mentality, against the negative thoughts shot in by the evil one. Such a helmet, such a covering, is God’s salvation. Satan injects threats, worries, anxieties, and other weakening thoughts into our mind. God’s salvation is the covering that we take up against all these. Such a salvation is the saving Christ whom we experience in our daily life (John 16:33).
Eph 6:172b sword Heb. 4:12; cf. Rev. 1:16; 19:15
Among the six items of God’s armor, this is the only one that is used for attacking the enemy.
Eph 6:173 which
The antecedent of which is Spirit, not sword, indicating that the Spirit is the word of God. Both the Spirit and the word are Christ (2 Cor. 3:17; Rev. 19:13). Christ as the Spirit and the word furnishes us with a sword as an offensive weapon to defeat and slay the enemy.
Eph 6:174c word Eph. 5:26
The instant word spoken at the moment by the Spirit in any situation. The sword, the Spirit, and the word are one. When the constant word in the Bible becomes the instant word, that word is the Spirit as the sword that kills the enemy.
Eph 6:181 By
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 6:181 [1] This phrase modifies the verb receive in v. 17, which tells us to receive not only the helmet of salvation but also the word of God. This indicates that we need to receive the word of God by means of all prayer and petition. We need to pray to receive the word of God.
Eph 6:181 [2] The whole armor of God is composed of six items. Prayer may be considered the seventh. It is the unique, crucial, and vital means by which we apply the other items, making the armor available to us in a practical way.
Eph 6:182a prayer cf. Psa. 119:147
Prayer is general and petition is particular; both are needed that we might have a proper, overcoming church life.
Eph 6:18b every 1 Thes. 5:17; Luke 18:1; Col. 4:2
Eph 6:183c spirit Eph. 1:17
This is our regenerated spirit, indwelt by the Spirit of God. It may be considered the mingled spirit—the spirit that is our spirit mingled with God’s Spirit. In praying, the main faculty that we should use is this spirit.
Eph 6:184d watching Isa. 62:6; Matt. 26:41
We need to be watchful, on the alert, for the maintaining of this prayer life.
Eph 6:185 all
To maintain a life of prayer, we need all perseverance, a constant, persistent care.
Eph 6:186 petition
This indicates that we need to pray in a particular way for all the saints.
Eph 6:19a for Col. 4:3; 1 Thes. 5:25; 2 Thes. 3:1
Eph 6:191 utterance
Or, word, speech, expression.
Eph 6:19b boldness Phil. 1:20; 2 Cor. 3:12
Eph 6:192c mystery Eph. 1:9
The mystery of the gospel is Christ and the church for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose (5:32). See Rom. 16:25 and note 3.
Eph 6:201a ambassador 2 Cor. 5:20
An ambassador is one sent by a particular authority to contact certain people. Here this word implies that the apostle was one who was sent by God, the highest authority in the universe, to contact certain people.
Eph 6:202b chain Col. 4:3; Phil. 1:13; 2 Tim. 1:16; Acts 21:33; 26:29; 28:20
A coupling chain, a chain that bound the prisoner to his guard.
Eph 6:21b Tychicus Acts 20:4; Col. 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:12; Titus 3:12
Eph 6:211 minister
A ministering servant.
Eph 6:212 make
This kind of fellowship is necessary and beautiful. Today such a loving concern between the apostles and the churches needs to be restored.
Eph 6:231a Peace Eph. 1:2; Gal. 6:16; 2 Thes. 3:16; 1 Pet. 5:14
In the beginning of the book the apostle’s greeting is first with grace as the enjoyment and then with peace as the result of the enjoyment (1:2). But in the conclusion the elements are presented vice versa, progressing from the result, peace, to the enjoyment, grace. After we have come into peace, we still need grace, indicating that our experience is from grace to grace.
Eph 6:232b love Gal. 5:6
[ par. 1 2 ]
Eph 6:232 [1] The reason the apostle inserted love between peace and grace is that the only way we can be kept in a situation of peace is by continually enjoying the Lord in love. Paul realized that love is crucial. He spoke of love in relation to peace and grace, indicating thereby that love is needed to preserve us in a condition of peace.
Eph 6:232 [2] Love with faith is the means by which we partake of and experience Christ (1 Tim. 1:14). Faith is for receiving Him (John 1:12), and love is for enjoying Him (John 14:23). Here it is not faith and love nor love and faith, but love with faith. This indicates that we need faith as a match and support for our love. Love with faith is needed. This is the conclusion of the book on the church. The church needs to enjoy Christ in love with faith, which operates through love (Gal. 5:6). Love comes from God to us, and faith goes from us to God. By means of this traffic of love and faith, peace remains our portion. We are kept in peace by the coming of God’s love to us and by the going of our faith to Him. This traffic also keeps us in the continual supply of grace, in the enjoyment of the Lord (v. 24).
Eph 6:233 from
Love is from God; it originates with God, not with us. Eventually, however, God’s love becomes our love. God’s love for us becomes our love for Him.
Eph 6:241a Grace Eph. 1:2; 2:5
Grace is needed for us to live a church life that fulfills God’s eternal purpose and solves God’s problem with His enemy.
Eph 6:242b love cf. 1 Cor. 16:22
The enjoyment of the Lord as grace is with those who love Him. In this book the phrase in love, which is rich in feeling, is used repeatedly (1:4; 3:17; 4:2, 15-16; 5:2). Later, the church in Ephesus was rebuked by the Lord because she had lost her first love toward Him (Rev. 2:4). One of the main points revealed in this book is that the church, which is the Body of Christ, is also the bride of Christ, Christ’s wife. With the Body, the emphasis is on taking Christ as life; with the wife, the emphasis is on loving Christ. Therefore, this book emphasizes and also concludes with our love toward the Lord. The church in Ephesus, the recipient of this Epistle, failed in the matter of loving the Lord. Such a failure became the source of and main reason for the failure of the church throughout the ages (Rev. 2—3).
Eph 6:243c incorruptibility cf. 2 Tim. 1:10
For the proper church life we need to love the Lord in incorruptibility, that is, in and according to all the crucial things revealed and taught in the six chapters of this book, such as the church as the Body of Christ, the new man, the economy of God’s mystery, the oneness of the Spirit, reality and grace, light and love, and the items of God’s armor, all of which are incorruptible. For the sake of the church, our love toward the Lord must be in these incorruptible things.