YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE GEORGE PARMLY DAY FUND COMMENTARY EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. BY CHAELES HODGE, D. D., PKOPESSOE IN* THE THEOLOGICAL SBMINAKT, PEINOBTON, N, J. NEW YORK : ROBERT CARTER AND BROTHERS, BROADWAY. I860. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, Bt EOBEET CAETEE & BEOTHEES, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern YALE District of New York. HUV/5 John F. Tbow, Printer, Storeotyper, and Electrotyper, 317 & 319 Broadway, Cor. White Street, New York. COMMENTARY EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. INTRODUCTION. § I. The Ciiy of Ephesus. The city of Ephesus, under the Romans, the capital of Proconsular Asia, was situated on a plain near the mouth of the river Cayster. It was originally a Greek colony, hut be came in no small degree orientalized by the influences which surrounded it. Being a free city, it enjoyed under the Romans to a great extent the right of self-government. Its constitu tion was essentially democratic. The municipal authority was vested in a Senate, and in the Assembly of the people. The •ypa/i/tai-eus, "Town Clerk," or, Recorder, was an officer in charge of the archives of the city, the promulgator of the laws, and was clothed with great authority. It was by his remon strance the tumultuous assembly of which mention is made in Acts 19, 24r-40, was induced to disperse. The city was principally celebrated for its temple of Diana. From the earliest period of its history, Ephesus was regarded as sacred to that goddess. The attributes belonging to the Grecian Diana, however, seem to have been combined with those which belonged to the Phoenician Astarte. Her image, as revered in Ephesus, was not a product of Grecian Art, but a many-breasted, mummy-Hke figure of oriental symbolism. Her famous Temple was, however, a Greek building of the Ionic order. It had b'ecome so celebrated, that its destruction three hundred and fifty-six years before the birth of Christ has VI INTRODUCTION. conferred immortality on the author of the deed. All Greece and Western Asia contributed to its restoration, which was a work of centuries. Its vast dimensions, its costly materials, its extended colonnades, the numerous statues and paintings with which it was adorned, its long accumulated wealth, the sacred effigies of the goddess, made it one of the wonders of the world. It was this temple which gave unity to the city, and to the character of its inhabitants. Oxford in England is not more Oxford on account of its University, than Ephesus was Ephesus on account of the Temple of Diana. The highest title the city could have assumed, and that which was impressed on its coins, was NcuKopos, Temple-sweeper, — servant of the great goddess. One of the most lucrative occupations of the people was the manufacture of miniature representations of the temple, wrought in silver, which being carried about by travellers, or reverenced at home, found an extensive sale, both foreign and domestic. With the worship of Diana the practice of sorcery was from the earliest times connected. The " Ephesian letters," mysti cal monograms, used as charms or amulets, are spoken of fre quently by heathen writers. Ephesus was, therefore, the chief seat of necromancy, exorcism, and all forms of magic arts for all Asia. The site of this once famous city is now occupied by an inconsiderable village called Ajaloluk, supposed by some to be a corruption of ayios £cdAoyos, (pronounced Seologos by the Greeks), the title of the apostle John, as the great teacher of the divinity of Christ. If this is so, it is a singular con firmation of the tradition which makes Ephesus the seat of St. John's labours. Others explain the name from the Turkish, in which language the word is said to mean, Ciiy of the Moon; and then the connection is with Ephesus as the worshipper of Diana. § II. PauVs labours in Ephesus. In this city, the capital of Asia, renowned through the world for the temple of Diana, and for skill in sorcery and INTRODUCTION. Vll magic, the place of concourse for people from all the surround ing countries, Paul laboured for nearly three years. After remaining eighteen months in Corinth, at the con clusion of his second missionary tour, he sailed thence to Eph esus in company with Priscilla and Aquila. He left his companions there, but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they desired him to tarry longer with them he consented not : but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem ; but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. After his departure, Apollos, " an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Eph esus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord ; and being fervent in the Spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue; whom, when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly." Acts 18, 18-26. Paul, agreeably to his promise, returned to Ephesus, pro bably in the fall of the year 54. Here he found certain disciples who had received only John's baptism, to whom Paul said : " John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied." Acts 19, 3-6. It seems from the narrative that there was in the apostolic period a class of persons who had renounced Judaism, and professed their faith in the person and doctrines of Christ, (for Apollos, it is said, was instructed in the way of the Lord,) and yet passed for John's disciples, in distinction from the other followers of Christ. They were Christians, for they are. called " disciples," and yet had not received Christian Baptism. That is, they had been baptized with water, but not with the Holy Vlll INTRODUCTION. Ghost. They may have received the inward saving influences of the Spirit, but they had not been made partakers of those extraordinary gifts, the power of speaking with tongues and of prophesying, which those converted and baptized by the apos tles had received. They were Christians through the instruc tions and testimony of John the Baptist, as distinguished from those made Christians by the preaching of the apostles. Their knowledge of the Gospel was, therefore, necessarily imperfect. This, at least, is one answer to the question concerning the disciples of John spoken of in Acts. After this the apostle continued for three months to attend the synagogue, " disputing and persuading the things concern ing the kingdom of God." Meeting with opposition from the Jews, he withdrew " and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyranmis. And this continued by the space of two years, so that all they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs, or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." Acts 19, 8-12. It appears from this, and from the subsequent account given by the sacred historian, that the effects of Paul's preach ing in Ephesus, were : 1. The conversion of a great number of the Jews and Greeks. 2. The diffusion of the knowledge of the Gospel throughout proconsular Asia. 3. Such an in fluence on the popular mind, that certain exorcists attempted to work miracles in the name of that Jesus, whom Paul's preaching had proved to be so powerful ; and that other magi cians, convinced of the folly and wickedness of their arts, made public confession, and burnt their books of divination and mys tic charms. 4. Such a marked diminution of the zeal and numbers of the worshippers of Diana, as to excite general alarm that her temple would be despised. 5. A large and flourishing church was there established. This is proved from the facts recorded in the twentieth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Having spent a few months in visiting the INTRODUCTION. IX churches in Macedonia and Greece, Paul, when he arrived at Miletus on his way to Jerusalem, sent for the elders of Ephe sus, and addressed them in terms which show that they had an important church committed to their care. In this address the apostle predicted that false teachers would soon rise up among them, not sparing the flock. From the epistle to this church, in the Book of Revelation, it appears that this predic tion was soon fulfilled. The church is there commended for its faith and patience, and especially for its resistance to the inroads of heresy. § III. The date of this Epistle and ihe place whence it was sent. As the apostle speaks of himself in this epistle as being in bonds, it is plain it was written either during his imprison ment at Rome or at Csesarea. Every thing conspires to favour the assumption that it was written at Rome, which until a recent period has been the universally received opinion. In the first place, it is clear that the Epistles to the Ephesians, to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Philippians, all be long to the same period. As to the first three, it is expressly stated that they were sent together by Tychicus and Onesimus. Comp. Eph. 6, 21. Col. 4, 7-9. Philem. v. 12. And that the fourth belongs to the same period is plain, 1. Because Timothy is mentioned as being with Paul when he wrote to the Phi lippians, and he was with him when he wrote to the Colossians and to Philemon. 2. Because he enjoyed great liberty of preaching at the time when the Epistle to the Philippians was written, Phil. 1, 13 ; and so he did when that to the Ephesians was written. Eph. 6, 20. 3. Because he expresses both to the Philippians and to Philemon the expectation of being soon set d,t liberty. Phil. 2, 11. Philem. v. 22. If, therefore, one of these letters was written from Rome, they all were. But it is almost certain that the Epistle to the Philippians at least, was written during his imprisonment at Rome. In ch. 1, 12, 13, he says, " The things which happened unto me have fallen out 1* X INTRODTICTION. rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; so that my bonds are manifest in all the palace and in all other places." Even admit ting that the word 7rpai.Tpiov here used, does not necessarily re fer either to the well known pretorian camp at Rome, or to the imperial palace, yet, when taken in connection with what is said in ch. 4, 22, there is little doubt that the reference is to the place of abode of the pretorian guard in immediate attend ance on the Emperor. The phrase oi ek 1-775 Kaio-apos oua'as, can only mean, those of Coesar's household ; and as they sent their salutations to the Philippians, there is no reasonable doubt that the Epistle to the church in Philippi was written at Rome. If, therefore, it was during the same imprisonment that he wrote the four epistles above mentioned, then it follows that the Epistle to the Ephesians was written from Rome. In the second place, every thing contained in the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, and to Philemon, which are admitted to belong to the same period, agrees with this assumption. 1. The persons mentioned in these epistles are known to have been with the apostle at Rome, but are not known to have been with him at Csesarea. 2. Paul, according to Acts 28, 30, 31, enjoyed liberty to preach the gospel at Rome, but it is not known that he had that liberty in Csesarea. 3. He had at Rome the prospect of being soon set at liberty, which he did not enjoy during his imprisonment under Felix and Festus. 4. The reasons assigned by the few modern critics who refer these epistles to the time of his confinement at Csesarea, have very little weight. It is said that Onesimus, a fugitive slave, would more probably seek refuge in Csesarea than in a place so distant as Rome ; that it is to be inferred from Eph. 6, 21, that Paul expected the Epis tle to the Colossians to reach its destination before the letter to the Ephesians came into their hands. This would be the case if Tychicus travelled from Csesarea, not if Rome was his point of departure. Besides, it is said, that Paul cherished the purpose to visit Spain as soon as he obtained his liberty at Rome ; whereas he wrote to Philemon that he hoped to see him soon at Colosse; whence it is inferred that he could not have been in Rome when he wrote that letter. The two formei INTRODUCTION. X] of these reasons have no force. If the third proves any thing with regard to the date of the Epistle to Philemon, it proves the same respecting that to the Philippians, because in that also he expresses the hope of being soon at Philippi. These expressions only prove that the apostle had been led to postpone the execu tion of the purpose which he had formed long before of visiting Spain. There seems, therefore, to be no reason to depart from the commonly received opinion that the Epistle to the Ephe sians was written from Rome. § IV. The persons to whom this Epistle was addressed. As to this point there are three opinions. 1. That it was addressed to the Ephesians. 2. That it was addressed to the Laodiceans. 3. That it was a circular letter designed for all the churches in that part of Asia Minor. In favour of the first of these opinions it is m'ged, 1. That the epistle is directed tois ova-w iv E<£e' to those who are in Ephesus. If this is the true reading, it settles the question, at least so far as this, that whatever may have been its further destination, it was primarily designed for the church in Ephe sus. That the reading above given is the true one, is proved because it is found in all extant MSS., in all the ancient ver sions, and in all the Fathers. This array of external evidence is decisive. No critic would venture to alter the text against these authorities. The only opposing evidence of a critical nature is, that it appears from the comment of Basil that the words iv E<£eo-cj were not in the copy which he used, and that in the MS. B. they stand in the margin and not in the text, and in MS. 67, they are inserted as a correction. This is alto gether insufficient to outweigh the concurrent testimony above mentioned. On all critical principles, therefore, the reading iv E<£«ni> must be pronounced genuine. 2. That this epistle was addressed to the Ephesians is proved by the concurrent testimony of the ancient church. This Basil does not question ; he only explains toIs ovcnv in such a way as to show that they were not followed in his copy by the words ev ~Eicrio. These two considerations would seem to Xll INTRODUCTION. be decisive. How came the epistle to be addressed to the Ephesians, if not designed for them ? How came the whole ancient church to regard it as addressed to the church in Eph esus, if such were not the fact ? It is a fundamental principle in historical criticism to allow greater weight to historical testi mony than to conjectures drawn from circumstantial evidence. The objections to this view are : 1. That there is evidence that in some of the ancient MSS. no longer extant, the words iv E$ecra> were not in the text. 2. That although Paul was personally so well acquainted with the Ephesian Christians, he speaks as though he were a stranger to them and they to him. The passages, however, cited in proof of this point, admit of an interpretation perfectly consistent with the common hypo thesis. When Paul speaks in ch. 1, 15, of having heard of their faith and love, he may refer to the intelligence which had reached him at Rome. And the expression in ch. 3, 2, etye ii.Kovo-o.T_ does not necessarily express doubt of their knowledge of him or of his being an apostle. 3. It is objected that the epistle contains no reference to the peculiar circumstances of the Ephesians. It is so general, that it might as well be ad dressed to one church as another. 4. It contains no salutations from Paul or from his companions to any one in Ephesus. 5. It contemplates exclusively heathen Christians, whereas the church in Ephesus was composed of both Jewish and Gentile converts. The facts on which these last three arguments are founded are undoubtedly true and very remarkable, and cer tainly distinguish this epistle from all others addressed by Paul to particular churches. They prove, however, nothing more than that the apostle's object in writing this epistle was peculiar. They cannot be allowed to outweigh the direct criti cal and historical testimony in support of the fact that it was addressed to the Ephesians. In favour of the hypothesis that this epistle was written to the church in Laodicea, it is urged : 1. That Marcion so en titled it. But Marcion was a notorious falsifier of Scripture. 2. That in Col. 4, 16, it is said, " When this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the INTRODUCTION. xiii t Laodiceans, and that ye also read the epistle from Laodicea." It cannot, however, be inferred that " the epistle from Laodi cea" was an epistle which Paul wrote to Laodicea ; much less that the epistle intended was the one addressed to the Ephe sians. Paul may have written to the Laodiceans a letter which is no longer extant. 3. It is urged that on this hypothesis all the peculiarities of the epistle can be readily explained. But those peculiarities can be explained without resorting to a hy pothesis destitute of all historical foundation. The assumption that this epistle was not designed specially for any one church, but intended equally for all the churches in that part of Asia Minor, has met with more favour. This view, first suggested by Archbishop Usher, has been adopted, variously modified, by Bengel, Benson, Michselis, Eichhorn, Koppe, Hug, Flatt, Guericke, Neander, Olshausen and many others. The great objection to it is the overwhelming authority in favour of the reading iv E«ra> in the salutation, and the unanimous testimony of the early church. Perhaps the most probable solution of the problem is, that the epistle was written to the Ephesians and addressed to them, but being intended specially for the Gentile Christians as a class, rather than for the Ephe sians as a church, it was designedly thrown into such a form as to suit it to all such Christians in the neighbouring churches, to whom no doubt the apostle wished it to be communicated. This would account for the absence of any reference to the peculiar circumstances of the saints in Ephesus. This seems to have been substantially the opinion of Beza, who says : Suspicor non tam ad Ephesios ipsos proprie missam epistolam, quam ad Ephesum, ut ad cseteras Asiaticas ecclesias transmitteretur. § V. The relation between this Epistle and that to the Colossians. This relation is, in the first place, one of remarkable simi larity. This similarity is observable, 1. In the occurrence in both epistles of the same words and forms of expressions. 2. In passages which are identical in thought and language. 3. XIV INTRODUCTION. In passages in which the thought is the same and the expression is varied. 4. In others where the same topic is more fully handled in the one epistle than in the other. 5. In passages in which different topics follow each other in the same order. In the second place, although there are these striking points of resemblance between the two epistles, there are no less striking points of difference. 1. While the Epistle to the Colossians has every indication of having been written to a particular congregation and in reference to their peculiar circumstances, the absence of these features is the most marked characteristic of the Epistle to the Ephesians. 2. In the Epistle to the Ephe sians the doctrinal element prevails over the practical ; in the Epistle to the Colossians it is just the reverse. 3. The main object of the Epistle to the Colossians is to warn the church against " philosophy falsely so called." Of this there is no indication in the Epistle to the Ephesians ; the great design of which is to unfold the glories of the plan of redemption as em bracing both Jews and Gentiles, and designed to be the great medium for the manifestation of the grace and wisdom of God to all intelligent creatures. 4. There are, therefore, topics discussed in the one epistle, to which there is nothing to cor respond in the other. 5. The order of sequence, or the con catenation of subjects, except in the ease of some particular exhortations, is entirely different in the two epistles. 6. The Epistle to the Ephesians has much greater unity than that to the Colossians. This evidently arose from the different pur poses with which they are written. In the third place, the two epistles are evidently indepen dent the one of the other. Each is a complete whole. In each one topic flows naturally from another, the association of ideas in every case being clearly indicated. Neither is a patchwork, but both are a closely woven web. All these characteristics of similarity, dissimilarity, and mutual independence, are naturally accounted for on the as sumption that the two epistles were written at the same time, the one for a particular congregation, the other for a particu lar class of readers. INTRODUCTION. XV § VI. The Genuineness of the Epistle. 1. The epistle announces itself as written by Paul the Apostle. 2. There is nothing in its contents inconsistent with the assumption of his being its author. 3. All the incidental references which it contains to the office, character and circum stances of the writer, agree with what is known to be true con cerning Paul. The writer was an apostle, an apostle of the Gentiles, a prisoner, one to whom Tychicus stood in the rela tion of a companion and fellow-labourer. 4. The style, the doctrines, the sentiments, the spirit, the character revealed, are those of Paul. 5. The whole ancient church received it as genuine. As to this point the judgment of the early ages is unanimous. Even Marcion, though he dissented from the common opinion as to its destination, admitted its Pauline origin. 6. Finally and mainly, the epistle reveals itself as the work of the Holy Ghost, as clearly as the stars declare their maker to be God. In no portion of the Sacred Scriptures are the self-evidencing light and power of divine truth more con centrated than they are here. Had it been first discovered in the nineteenth century, in a forsaken monastery, it would com mand the faith of the whole church. The genuineness of this epistle, therefore, has never been doubted, except by a few modern critics to whom nothing is sacred. These critics object: 1. That Paul was familiarly acquainted with the Ephesians, whereas the writer of this epis tle had only heard of their conversion and of their faith and love. This objection is fully met by showing that the ex pressions referred to, may be understood of information received by Paul, during his long imprisonment, first at Csesarea, and afterwards at Rome; or, on the assumption that the epistle, though addressed to the Ephesians, was designed for a large class of readers, with many of whom Paul had no personal acquaintance. 2. They object that this epistle is merely a verbose imitation of the Epistle to the Colossians. Nothing can be more inconsistent with the fact. The relation between the two epistles, instead of being a ground of objection XVI INTRODUCTION. against either, is a strong proof of the genuineness of both. Of this any reader may satisfy himself by a careful compari son of the two. 3. It is objected that the epistle contains no reference to the peculiar circumstances of the Ephesians, so that the address and contents are irreconcilable. This ab sence of specific reference, as before remarked, is accounted for from the design of the epistle as addressed to Gentile believers, as Christians, not as Ephesians. Reuss remarks in reference to such objections, " If Paul wrote friendly letters, these critics say they are spurious, because they are not doctrinal ; and if he wrote doctrinal epistles, they say they are spurious, because not friendly." 4. It is objected that the style is not that of Paul. The very reverse, in the judgment of the vast majority of competent readers, is the fact. There is the same fervour and force of expression, the same length and complication in his sentences, clause linked with clause, till he is forced to stop, and begin the sentence anew. Idem in epistola, says Erasmus, Pauli fervor, eadem profunditas, idem omnino spiritus ac pectus. De Wette, the originator of these and similar ob jections, admits that they do not justify the rejection of the epistle, which, he says, contains much that is worthy of the apostle, and which all antiquity acknowledged as genuine. Unfortunately, however, he afterwards retracted this admission. It is to the honour of the German critics, for whom in general, novelty is every thing, the last opinion always being the best, that with the exception of the destructive school of Tubingen, few, if any, of their number attach any weight to the arguments against the apostolic origin of this epistle. 5. The principal objection urged by Baur of Tubingen, in addition to those sug gested by De Wette, is that the Epistle to the Ephesians con tains allusions to Gnostic opinions, which did not prevail until after the apostolic age. But, in the first place, the great ma jority of scholars deny that this epistle contains any reference to Gnostic sentiments; and, in the second place, even if it did, the Epistle to the Colossians affords abundant evidence that principles afterwards developed into Gnosticism, had manifest ed themselves in the age of the apostles. If it be said that the INTRODUCTION. XVU allusions in 'the Epistle to the Colossians to those principles proved that it also is spurious ; that would be only a dictum in the face of all evidence, and utterly subversive of all history. There is no portion of the New Testament the genuineness of which the church has from the beginning, with more cordial unanimity, acknowledged, than that of this epistle. § VII. Contents of the Epistle. The apostle addresses himself principally to Gentile Chris tians. His object was, 1. To bring them to a just apprecia tion of the plan of redemption, as a scheme devised from eter nity by God, for the manifestation of the glory of his grace. 2. To make them sensible of the greatness of the blessing which they enjoyed in being partakers of its benefits. 3. To lead them to enter into the spirit of the gospel as a system which ignored the distinction between Jews and Gentiles, and united all the members of the church in one living body des tined to be brought into full conformity to the image of Christ. 4. To induce them to live as it became a religion which had delivered them from the degradation of their condition as heathen, and exalted them to the dignity of the sons of God. He begins, therefore, with the primal fountain of all spirit ual blessings. He refers them to their predestination to son- ihip, and their consequent election to holiness, before the foun- lation of the world. From this flowed their actual redemption >y the blood of Christ ; and the revelation of the divine pur- >ose to unite all the subjects of redemption in one body in Jhrist ; in whom first the Jews, and then the Gentiles, had ieen made the heirs of eternal life. Ch. 1, 1-14. He next earnestly prays that God would enable them to ippreciate the hope which they were thus entitled to cherish ; the glory of the inheritance in reserve for them; and the ex ceeding greatness of that power which had already wrought in them a change analogous to that effected in the resurrection and exaltation of Christ. For as Christ was dead and deposited in the tomb, -so they were spiritually dead; and as Christ was 2 XV111 INTRODUCTION. raised and exalted above all creatures, so they alsd were quick ened and exalted to a heavenly state in Him. Ch. 1, 15. 2, 10. He therefore calls upon them to contrast their former con dition as heathen, with their present state. Formerly they were without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, without God, and without hope. But by the blood of Christ a two-fold reconciliation had been effected. The Jews and Gentiles are united as one body, and both are reconciled to God, and have equally free access to his presence. The Gen tiles, therefore, are now fellow-citizens of the saints, members of the family of God, and living stones in that temple in which God dwells by his Spirit. Ch. 2, 11-22. This great mystery of the union of Jews and Gentiles, had been partially revealed under the Old Dispensation, but it was not then made known so clearly as it had since been re vealed to the apostles and prophets of the New Dispensation; whose great vocation it was to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men understand the plan of redemp tion, hid for ages in God, but now revealed, that through the church might be made known to principalities and powers the manifold wisdom of God. Ch. 3, 1-13. The apostle, therefore, bows his knees before the common Father of the redeemed, and prays that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith ; that they being rooted and grounded in love, might be able to apprehend the infinite love of Christ, and be filled with the fulness of God, who is able to do for us far more than we are able either to ask or to think. Ch. 3, 14- 21. The Gentiles, therefore, are bound to enter into the spirit of this great scheme — to remember that the chureh, composed of Jews and Gentiles, bond and free, wise and unwise, is one body, filled by one Spirit, subject to the same Lord, having one faith, one hope, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is in, through, and over all. They should also bear in mind that diversity in gifts and office was not inconsistent with this unity of the church, but essential to its edification. For the ascended Saviour had constituted some apostles, some prophets, INTRODUCTION. XIX some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the very pur pose of building up the church, and through them as the chan nels of the truth and grace of Christ, the church was to be brought to the end of its high calling. Ch. 4, 1-16. They should not, therefore, live as did the other Gentiles, who, being in a state of darkness and alienation from God, gave themselves up to uncleanness and avarice. On the contrary, having been taught by Christ, they should put off the old man, and be renewed after the image of God. Avoiding all false hood, all undue anger, all dishonesty, all improper language, all malice, all impurity and covetousness, they should walk as children of the light, reproving evil, striving to do good, and expressing their joy by singing hymns to Christ, and giving thanks to God. Ch. 4, 17. 5, 20. He impresses upon his readers reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ as the great principle of Christian obedience. He applies this principle especially to the domestic obligations of men. The marriage relation is illustrated by a reference to the union between Christ and the church. The former is an obscure adumbration of the latter. Marriage is shown to be not merely a civil contract, not simply a voluntary compact between the parties, but a vital union producing a sacred iden tity. The violation of the marriage relation is, therefore, pre sented as one of the greatest of crimes and one of the greatest of evils. Parents and children are bound together not only by natural ties, but also by spiritual bands ; and, therefore, the obedience on the part of the child, and nurture on the part of the parent, should be religious. Masters and slaves, however different their condition before men, stand on the same level before God ; a consideration which exalts the slave, and hum bles and restrains the master. Finally, the apostle teaches his readers the nature of that great spiritual conflict on which they have entered ; a conflict, not with men but with the powers of darkness. He tells them what armour they need, how it is to be used, and whence strength is to be obtained to bring them off victorious. Ch. 5, 21. 6, 1-20. XX INTRODUCTION. § VIII. Commentaries. The most important modern commentaries on this epistle are the following : Koppe, in the sixth vol. of his Annotations on the epistles of the N. T. Flatt, in a distinct volume. J. A. Eolzhausen, 1833, pp. 195. L. J. Buckert, 1833, pp. 306. This is a valuable work, though the author prides himself on his independence not only of theological system, but also of the Scriptures, and writes with a certain air of supe riority over the apostle. F. H. Meier, 1834, pp. 231, less im portant. G. C. A. Harless, 1834, pp. 574. This is the most elaborate commentary on this epistle which has yet been pub lished. It is orthodox and devout, but is wearisome from its diffuseness and lack of force. De Wette, in the second volume of his Exegetisches Handbuch — very condensed, but evinces little regard to the authority of the sacred writers. Olshau- sen, in the fourth volume of his Commentar uber das N. T., devout, able, and mystical. H. A. W. Meyer, Achte Abthei- lung of his Kritisch Exegetischer Commentar liber das N. T. Meyer is, perhaps, the ablest commentator on the New Testa ment of modern times. His theological stand-point is that of high Arianism. He evinces deference to authority of Scrip ture, but does not hesitate to impute error or false reason ing to the apostles. John Eadie, D.D., Professor of Bib. Literature to the United Presbyterian Church, 1854, pp. 466. This is a work of great research, and contains a fuU'exhibition of the views of all preceding commentators. It is an impor tant and valuable addition to our exegetical literature. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. CHAPTEE I. THE SALUTATION, VS. 1. 2. THANKSGIVING FOK THE BLESSINGS OP RE DEMPTION, VS. 3-14. PEAYEB THAT THE EPHESIANS MIGHT INCREASE IN THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE OF THOSE BLESSINGS, VS. 15- 21. THE SAXUTATION. 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus : 2. grace te to you, and peace from God onr Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. COMMENTARY. V. 1. An apostle of Jesus Christ. — The word apostle is used in three senses in the New Testament. 1. In its primary sense of messenger, John 13, 16 (the mes senger), he that is sent is not greater than he that sent him. Phil. 2, 25, your messenger. 2 Cor. 8, 23, mes sengers of the churches. 'Attoo-toXoi eicitkvcniov ; rov- reo-Tiv, says Chrysostom, viro eKK\r}_no>v 7re/*.$0eVre?. Theophylact adds ical ^etpoTovrjOevre^. 2. In the sense 22 EPHESIANS, of missionaries, men sent by the church to preach the Gospel. — In this sense Paul and Barnabas are called apostles, Acts 14, 4. 14 ; and probably Andronicus and Junias, Eom. 16, 7. 3. In the sense of plenipotentia ries of Christ ; men whom he personally selected and sent forth invested with full authority to teach and rule in his name. In this sense it is always used when " the apostles," " the twelve," or " the apostles ofthe Lord," are spoken of as a well-known, definite class. They were appointed as witnesses of Christ's miracles, doctrines, resurrection ; and therefore it was necessary that they should not only have seen him after his resur rection, but that their knowledge of the Gospel should be immediately from Christ, John 15, 26. Acts 1, 22. 2, 32. 3, 15. 13, 31. 26, 16. 1 Cor. 9, 1. Gal. 1, 12. They were not confined to any one field but had a general jurisdiction over the churches, as is manifest from their epistles. — To qualify them for this office of authoritatively teaching, organizing, and governing the church, they were rendered infallible by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and their divine mission was con firmed by miraculous powers. — Their authority there fore rested first on their commission, and secondly on their inspiration. Hence it is evident that none can have the authority of an apostle who has not apostolic gifts. In this respect Eomanists are consistent, for they claim infallibility for those whom they regard as the official successors of the apostles. They are, how ever, inconsistent with their own theory, and at vari ance with the Scripture, in making this infallibility the CHAP. I. VER. 1. 23 prerogative of the prelates in their collective capacity, instead of claiming it for each individual bishop. Aia, ^ekruiaroi Qeov, hy the will of God. There are two ideas included in this phrase. 1. That the apostieship was a gift, or grace from God, Eom. 1, 5. Eph. 3, 1. 8. 2. That the commission or authority of the apostles was immediately from God. Paul in Gal. 1, 1, as well as in other passages, asserts that apostie ship was neither derived from men nor conveyed through the instrumentality of men, but conferred directly by God through Christ. To ihe saints which ewe at Ephesus. The Israelites, under the old dispensation, were called saints, because separated from other nations and consecrated to God. In the New Testament the word is applied to believers, not merely as externally consecrated, but as reconciled to God and inwardly purified. The word dyid^eiv sig nifies to cleanse, either from guilt by a propitiatory sacrifice, as in Heb. 2, 11. 10, 10. 14, or from inward pollution, and also to consecrate. Hence the ayiot, saints, are those who are cleansed by the blood of Christ, and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, and thus separated from the world and consecrated to God. On the words, which are at Ephesus, see the Intro duction. And to the faithful m Christ Jesus. The word 7t.ot6?, faithful, may mean preserving faith, worthy of faith, or exercising faith. In the last sense, which is its meaning here, it is equivalent to believing. The faithful, therefore, are believers. In Christ, belongs 24 EPHESIANS, equally to the two preceding clauses : roll ayt'ots — kcu irt,a-Toipovri_rei. These words admit of a threefold connection CHAP. I. VER. 8. 43 and explanation. 1. They may be connected with the preceding verb and qualify the action of God therein expressed. God, in the exercise of wisdom and pru dence, has abounded in grace towards us. 2. They may be connected with the following clause : ' In all wisdom and prudence making known, &c.' 3. They may be connected with the preceding relative pronoun. ' Which (grace) in connection with, or together with, all wisdom and prudence he has caused to abound.' That is, the grace manifested by God and received by us, is received in connection with the divine wisdom or knowledge of which the subsequent clause goes on to speak. This last explanation seems decidedly prefer able because the terms here used, particularly the word <\>p6vr](n_- prudence, is not in its ordinary sense properly referable to God. Cicero de Off. 1. 43. Prudentia enim, quam Graeci p6vr}aiv dicunt, est rerum expetendarum fugiendarumque scientia. And because the sense af forded by the third mentioned interpretation is so appro priate to the context and so agreeable to other passages of Scripture. The apostle often celebrates the good ness of God in communicating to men the true wisdom ; not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, but the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world to our glory. See 1 Cor. 1, 17 to the end, and the whole second chapter of that epistle. — Similar modes of ex pression are common with the apostle. As here he speaks of grace being given (iv) in connection with wisdom, so in v. 17 he prays that the Ephesians may 44 EPHESIANS, receive wisdom (iv) in connection with the knowledge of himself. The wisdom then which the apostle says God has communicated to us, is the divine wisdom in the Gos pel, the mystery of redemption, wliich had been hid for ages in God, but which he has now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the . Spirit. See the glorious doxology for this revelation contained in Eom. 16, 25-27. Indeed this whole Epistle to the Ephesians is a thanksgiving to God for the communication of this mysterious wisdom. Mysterious, not so much in the sense of incomprehensible, as in that of undiscoverable by human reason, and a matter of divine revelation. With wisdom the apostle connects ^w-j«., which is here used much in the same sense as o-vveai<; in Col. 1,9,' That ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.' The verb cfrpoveto is used for any mental exercise or state whether of the understanding or of the feelings. In the New Testament it is commonly employed to express a state of the affections, or rather, of the whole soul, as in Mark 8, 33, " Thou savourest not the things which be of God." Eom. 8, 5, " To mind the things of the flesh." Col. 3, 2, " Set your affections on things above," &c. &c. Hence its derivative ^povrjpa is used not only for thought, but more generally for a state of mind, what is in the mind or soul, including the affections as well as the understanding. Hence we have such expres sions as povr)p,a ttj? o-ap/co? a carnal state of mind ; and (ppovTipa rov Trveuparos- a state of mind produced CHAP. I. VER. 9. 45 by the Spirit. The word p6vr)_r_<; is equally compre hensive. It is not confined to strictly intellectual exercises, but expresses also those of the affections. In other words, when used in reference to spiritual things, it includes all that is meant by spiritual dis cernment. It is the apprehension of the spiritual excellence of the things of God, and the answering affection towards them. It is not therefore a mere outward revelation of which the apostle here speaks. The wisdom and understanding which God has so abundantly communicated, includes both the objective revelation and the subjective apprehension of it. This is the third great blessing of which the context treats. The first is election ; the second redemption ; the third is this revelation both outward and inward. The first is the work of God, the everlasting Father ; the second the work of the Son ; and the third the work of the Holy Spirit, who thus applies to believers the redemp tion purchased by Christ. Y. 9. God has caused this wisdom to abound, or has communicated it, having made Tcnown unto us the mystery of his will, yvcoplaa^ rjplv rb p,varrjpiov rov \_-eXrip,aro_- avrov. In other words, by the revelation of the Gospel. The word p,varr\piov, mystery, means a secret, something into which we must be initiated ; something, which being undiscoverable by us, can be known only as it is revealed. In this sense the Gospel is a mystery ; and any fact or truth, however simple in itself, in the New Testament sense of the word, is a mys tery, if it lies beyond the reach of our powers. Comp. 46 EPHESIANS, Eom. 16, 25. 1 Cor. 2, 7-10. Eph. 3, 9. Col. 1, 26. For the same reason any doctrine imperfectly revealed is a mystery. It remains in a measure secret. Thus in the fifth chapter of this epistle Paul calls the union of Christ and believers a great mystery ; and in 1 Tim. 3, 16 he calls the manifestation of God in the flesn, the great mystery of godliness. In the present case the mystery of his will means his secret purpose ; that purpose of redemption, which having been hid for ages, he has now graciously re vealed. According to his good pleaswre, Kara rr\v evSoKiav avrov, r/v irpoedero iv avrS. There are three interpre tations of this clause. The first is to make it qualify the word will. ' His will which was according to his good pleasure ; ' i. e. his kind and sovereign will. But this is forbidden by the absence of the connecting arti cle in the Greek, and also by the following clause. The second interpretation connects this clause with the beginning of the verse, ' Having, according to his good pleasure, made known the mystery of his will.' The sense in this case is good, but this interpretation sup poses the relative which, in the following clause, to refer to the mystery of his will, which its grammatical form in the Greek forbids. Which (r)v) must refer to good pleasure (evSoKia). The third explanation, which alone seems consistent with the context, supposes evSo- tcla to mean here not benevolence, but kind intention, or, sovereign purpose. The sense then is : ' Having made known the mystery of his will, according to his CHAP. I. VER. 10. 47 Idnd intention or purpose (viz. of redemption) which he had purposed in himself.' Instead of in himself, many commentators read in him, referring to Christ. But this would introduce tautology into the passage. The apostle would then say : ' Which he purposed in Christ, to bring together in Christ.' Y. 10. This verse is beset with difficulties. The general sense seems to be this : The purpose spoken of in the preceding verse had reference to the scheme of redemption ; the design of which is to unite all the subjects of redemption, as one harmonious body, under Jesus Christ. Et? oiKovop,iav rov irXrjpcbparos raiv Kaipcov, dva- KecfraXaicoa-acrdai,, ktX. The first question relates to the connection with what precedes. This is indicated by the preposition et?, which does not here mean in, as though the sense were, He purposed in, or during, the dispensation, &c. ; much less until ; but as to, im, refer ence to. The purpose which God has revealed relates to the economy here spoken of. The second question is, what is here the meaning of the word olKovop,la . The word has two general senses in the New Testament. When used in reference to one in authority, it means plan, scheme, or economy. When spoken of one un der authority, it means an office, stewardship, or ad ministration of such office. In this latter sense Paul speaks of an oiKovopia as having been committed unto him. As the business of a steward is to administer, or dispense, so the apostle was a steward of the mysteries of God. It was his office to dispense to others the 48 EPHESIANS, truths which God had revealed to him. Many take the word in the latter sense here. The meaning would then be : 'In reference to the administration of the fulness of times, i. e. the last times, or Messianic period; the times which yet remain.' The foi'mer sense of the word however is much better suited to the context. The apostle is speaking of God's purpose, of what He intended to do. It was a purpose having reference to a plan or economy of his own ; an economy here desig nated as that of the fulness of times. This phrase does not indicate a protracted period — the times which re main — but the termination of the times ; the end of the preceding and commencement of the new dispensation. The prophets being ignorant of the time of the Mes siah's advent, predicted his coming when the time determined by God should be accomplished. Hence the expressions, " end of the ages," 1 Cor. 10, 11 ; " end of days," Heb. 1, 1 ; " fulness of the time," Gal. 4, 4 ; and here, " the fulness of times," are all used to designate the time of Christ's advent. By the economy of the fulness of times is therefore to be understood, that economy which was to be clearly revealed and carried out when the fulness of time had come. The infinitive dvaKe^aXaicoaaadai,, to bring together in one, may be referred either to the immediately pre ceding clause : ' The plan of the fulness of times to bring together in one;' or to the preceding verse: ' The purpose which he purposed (in reference to the economy of the fulness of times), to gather together in one.' The sense is substantially the same. The verb CHAP. I. VER. 10. 49 Kecf>a\ai6co means summation oolligere, dvaKefaXaiow, summatim recolUgere. In the New Testament it means either : 1. To reduce to one sum, i. e. to sum up, to recapitulate. Eom. 13, 9 : ' All the commands are summed up in, or under, one precept.' 2, To unite under one head ; or, 3. To renew. Many of the Fa thers adopt the last signification in this place, and con sider this passage as parallel with Eom. 8, 19-22. Through Christ God purposes to restore or renovate all things ; to effect a iraXtyyeveala or regeneration of the universe, i. e. of the whole creation which now groans under the burden of corruption. This sense of the word however is remote. The first and second mean ings just mentioned differ but little. They both include the idea expressed in our version, that of regathering together in one, the force of dvd, iterum, being retained. Beza explains the word : partes disjectas et dwulsas m unum corpus conjungere. — The purpose of God, which he has been pleased to reveal, and which was hidden for ages, is his intention to reunite all things as one harmonious whole under Jesus Christ. The words rd irdvra, all things, are explained by the following clause : rd iv rot? ovpavol<; Kai rd irrl t?5? Xpiarm, those who first hoped im Christ. That is, who hoped in him of old, or before his advent ; or, who hoped in him before others, mentioned in v. 13, had heard of him. In either case it designates not the first converts to Christianity, but the Jews who, before the Gentiles, had the Messiah as the object of their hopes. The form of expression here used (iXiri^eiv iv), does not mean simply to expect, but to place one's hope or con fidence in any one. Comp. 1 Cor. 15, 19. It is not, therefore, the Jews as such, but the believing Jews, who are here spoken of as in Christ the partakers of the inheritance which he has purchased. The construction of these several clauses adopted in the foregoing exposition is that which takes them in their natural order, and gives a sense consistent with the usage of the words and agreeable to the analogy of Scripture. The first clause of this verse is made to depend upon the last clause of v. 11 : ' Having pre destinated us to be the praise of his glory ; ' and the last clause, ' Who first hoped in Christ,' is merely explanatory of the class of persons spoken of. The whole then hangs naturally together : ' We have ob tained an inheritance, having been predestinated to be the praise of his glory, we, who first hoped in Christ' There are, however, two other modes of construction possible. The one connects the beginning of v. 12 with the first clause of v. 11, and renders iKXi)pa>0r]p,ev, we have attained. The sense would then be, ' We have 60 EPHESIANS, attained, or, it has happened unto us to be to the praise of his glory.' This however not only unnaturally dis severs contiguous clauses, but assigns to iKXrjpcodrjpev a weakened sense inconsistent with the Scripture usage of that and its cognate words. A second method con nects the last clause of the 12th verse with the second clause of the 11th. — ' Having predestinated us to be the first who hoped in Christ.' But this also rends the clauses apart, and does not express a sense so suitable to the context. It is saying much more, and much more in the way of an explanation of the fact affirmed in the first clause of v. 11, to say, ' We were predes tinated to be the praise of God's glory ; ' than to say, ' We were predestinated to be the first who hoped iu Christ.' The majority of commentators therefore take the clauses as they stand, and as they are concatenated in our version. Y. 13. The apostle having in v. 10 declared that the purpose of God is to bring all the subjects of re demption into one harmonious body, says in v. 11 that this purpose is realized in the conversion of the Jewish Christians, and he here adds that another class, viz. the Gentile Christians, to whom his epistle is specially addressed, are comprehended in the same purpose. The first clause, iv eS Kai vp,_l<;, ktX., is elliptical. In whom ye also, after that ye heard, &c. There are there fore several modes- of construction possible. 1. Our translators borrow the verb r)XirUare from the imme diately preceding clause. — ' We, who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted? But the preceding CHAP. I. VER. 13. 61 clause is merely subordinate and explanatory, and does not express the main idea of the, context. This 'con struction also overlooks the obvious antithesis between the we of the 11th verse and the you of this clause. 2. Others supply simply the verb are. ' In whom you also are.' This is better, but it is liable to the latter objection just mentioned. 3. Others make you the nominative to the verb were sealed in the following clause. — ' In whom you also (having heard, &c.) were sealed.' But this requires the clauses to be broken by a parenthesis. It supposes also the construction to be irregular, for the words in whom also are repeated before the verb ye were sealed. The passage according to this construction would read, ' In whom ye also — , in whom also ye were sealed.' Besides, the sealing is not the first benefit the Gentile Cliristians received. They were first brought into union with Christ and made partakers of his inheritance and then sealed. 4. It is therefore more consistent not only with the drift ofthe whole passage, and with the relation be tween this verse and verse 11, but also with the con struction of this and the following verse to supply the word iKXrjpcodtjre, have obtained an inheritance. Every thing is thus natural. In v. 11, the apostle says, ' In whom we have obtained an inheritance ; ' and here, ' In whom ye also have obtained an inheritance.' Both Jews and Gentiles are by the mediation of Christ, and in union with him, brought to be partakers of the benefits of that plan of mercy which God had purposed in himself, and which he has now revealed for the salvation of men. 62 The clause that follows expresses the means by which the Gentile Christians were brought to be par takers of this inheritance. — ' In whom ye also have obtained an inheritance, dKovcravrei rov Xoyov rrjs dXi]deia<;, rb evayy. i-iy?