Ephesians 1:1
Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς οὖσιν [ἐν Ἐφέσῳ] καὶ πιστοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ·
Ephesians 1:2
χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Ephesians 1:3
Εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ,
Ephesians 1:4
καθὼς ἐξελέξατο ἡμᾶς ἐν αὐτῷ πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ,
Paraphrase:
Comments:
See a fuller exegesis of this here.
Ephesians 1:5
προορίσας ἡμᾶς εἰς υἱοθεσίαν διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς αὐτόν, κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ,
Ephesians 1:6
εἰς ἔπαινον δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἧς ἐχαρίτωσεν ἡμᾶς ἐν τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ,
Ephesians 1:7
ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ, τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν παραπτωμάτων, κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ
Ephesians 1:8
ἧς ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει
Ephesians 1:9
γνωρίσας ἡμῖν τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ, κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν αὐτοῦ ἣν προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ
Ephesians 1:10
εἰς οἰκονομίαν τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν καιρῶν, ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ, τὰ ἐπὶ τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· ἐν αὐτῷ,
Ephesians 1:11
ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἐκληρώθημεν προορισθέντες κατὰ πρόθεσιν τοῦ τὰ πάντα ἐνεργοῦντος κατὰ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ,
In whom, also we received an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of the One who is working all things according to plan of His desiring.
Paraphrase: In Christ, we receive all the blessings of salvation. Yes, our salvation is our inheritance. Just as no one earns an inheritance, so we never earned our salvation; it was a gift of pure grace. Now this was God’s plan all along. He chose us to receive this inheritance long before the creation of the world, and now He is working out every detail of history consistent with His perfect plan.
Comments:
ἐκληρώθημεν has several options for translation:
- First, it could mean that we are the inheritance of God as in the ASV: “…in whom also we were made a heritage...”; NET: “In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession…”; and the LSB: “In Him, we also have been made an inheritance…”
- Second, it could mean simply that God has chosen as in the NIV: “In him we were also chosen…”
- Third, the most common choice of translators is that we are the heirs and that we receive an inheritance. In Jeremiah 10:16, we both ideas, God is Israel’s inheritance and Israel is God’s inheritance.
Ephesians 1:12
εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς εἰς ἔπαινον δόξης αὐτοῦ τοὺς προηλπικότας ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ·
In order that we might be for the praise of His glory who having before hoped in Christ.
Paraphrase: Yes, this was God’s perfect plan, that He would have a people who would live to praise and lift up His inexpressible glory. First, it was the Jews who put their hope in Christ;
Comments:
Ephesians 1:13
ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀκούσαντες τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς σωτηρίας ὑμῶν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ πιστεύσαντες ἐσφραγίσθητε τῷ πνεύματι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῷ ἁγίῳ,
In whom, even you, hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom, even believing, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Paraphrase: then it was you, who are gentiles, who heard the preaching of the gospel. You understood that this preaching was truly good news and that it would result in your salvation. You came to Jesus and put your full trust in Him. You were brought into a saving union with Jesus Christ just like we were when we first believed. Yes, you were also sealed with the Holy Spirit and thereby marked as a disciple of Jesus. Now by this seal, you can be sure that God’s promise is for you and your children and for as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:39) You are entitled to all the rights and privileges of all who are in union with Christ.
Comments:
Note the position of both ἐν ᾧ. The emphasis is clearly on the “in whom” or the union with Christ. What are each of these phrases modifying?
- The first ἐν ᾧ could be modifying ἐσφραγίσθητε which is governed by ὑμεῖς. We were sealed “in Christ” or we received the Holy Spirit and His ministry which marks us as those who are in Christ.
- The second could be modifying πιστεύσαντες.
The “you” ὑμεῖς here is the subject of “sealed.” It is modified by both participles hearing and believing. Both are temporal participles.
What kind of dative is τῷ πνεύματι? Almost everyone understands the Spirit Himself to be the seal; and hence, the translation “with the Spirit.” Owen writes (p400):
In the first place, it is expressly said that we are sealed with the Spirit; whereby the Spirit Himself is expressed as this seal, and not any of His especial operations, as He is also directly said Himself to be the “earnest of our inheritance.” In the latter, the words are, Ἐν ᾧ ἐσφραγίσθητε, “In whom,” in and by the receiving of whom, “ye are sealed.” Wherefore, no especial act of the Spirit, but only an especial effect of His communication unto us, seems to be intended hereby.
Ephesians 1:14
ὅ ἐστιν ἀρραβὼν τῆς κληρονομίας ἡμῶν, εἰς ἀπολύτρωσιν τῆς περιποιήσεως, εἰς ἔπαινον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ.
Who is the down payment of our inheritance for redemption of His property for the praise of His glory.
Paraphrase: Yes, the Holy Spirit from God is our guarantee that He will surely give us the inheritance He promised us. You can think of the Holy Spirit as a down payment; God has promised us salvation and He sends us His Spirit so that we can be sure that He will be true to His word. Yes, God will not lose what He purchased. He paid the price for us, and now we belong to Him in body and soul. He wants us to sing His praises and to extol the glory of His Holy Name.
Comments:
Ephesians 1:15
Διὰ τοῦτο κἀγώ, ἀκούσας τὴν καθ’ ὑμᾶς πίστιν ἐν τῷ κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην τὴν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους,
Ephesians 1:16
οὐ παύομαι εὐχαριστῶν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν μνείαν ποιούμενος ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου,
Ephesians 1:17
ἵνα ὁ θεὸς τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ πατὴρ τῆς δόξης, δώῃ ὑμῖν πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως ἐν ἐπιγνώσει αὐτοῦ,
Ephesians 1:18
πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν εἰς τὸ εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς τίς ἐστιν ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ, τίς ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις,
Ephesians 1:19 καὶ τί τὸ ὑπερβάλλον μέγεθος τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ εἰς ἡμᾶς τοὺς πιστεύοντας κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ κράτους τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ
Ephesians 1:20 ἣν ἐνήργηκεν ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐγείρας αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν, καὶ καθίσας ἐν δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις
Ephesians 1:21 ὑπεράνω πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ κυριότητος καὶ παντὸς ὀνόματος ὀνομαζομένου οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι·
Ephesians 1:22 καὶ πάντα ὑπέταξεν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸν ἔδωκεν κεφαλὴν ὑπὲρ πάντα τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ,
Ephesians 1:23 ἥτις ἐστὶν τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ, τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν πληρουμένου.