---
title: "Clarke"
description: "Verse Ephesians 3:1. For this cause — Because he maintained that the Gentiles were admitted to all the privileges of the Jews, and all the blessings of th"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/ephesians/3"
---

Verse [Ephesians 3:1](../../../kjv/ephesians/3/1). ***For this cause*** — Because he maintained that the Gentiles were admitted to all the privileges of the Jews, and all the blessings of the new covenant, without being obliged to submit to circumcision, the Jews persecuted him, and caused him to be imprisoned, first at *Caesarea*, where he was obliged to appeal to the Roman emperor, in consequence of which he was sent prisoner to Rome. See [Acts 21:21-28](../../../kjv/acts/21/21-28), c.
***The prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles*** — For preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, and showing that they were not bound by the law of Moses, and yet were called to be fellow citizens with the saints for this very cause the Jews persecuted him unto bonds, and conspired his death.

Verse [Ephesians 3:2](../../../kjv/ephesians/3/2). ***If ye have heard of the dispensation*** — The compound particle ειγε, which is commonly translated *if indeed*, in several places means *since indeed, seeing that*, and should be translated so in this verse, and in several other places of the New Testament. *Seeing ye have heard of the dispensation of God, which* *is given me to you-ward*: this they had amply learned from the apostle during his stay at Ephesus, for *he had not shunned to* *declare unto them the whole counsel of God*, [Acts 20:27](../../../kjv/acts/20/27), and *kept nothing back that was profitable to them*, [Acts 20:20](../../../kjv/acts/20/20). And this was certainly among those things that were *most profitable*, and most necessary to be known.
By the *dispensation of the grace of God* we may understand, either the *apostolic office* and *gifts* granted to St. Paul, for the purpose of preaching the Gospel among the Gentiles, see [Romans 1:5](../../../kjv/romans/1/5); or the *knowledge* which God gave him of that gracious and Divine *plan* which he had formed for the conversion of the Gentiles. For the meaning of the word *economy*, [Ephesians 1:10](../../../kjv/ephesians/1/10); [Ephesians 1:10](../../../kjv/ephesians/1/10).

Verse [Ephesians 3:3](../../../kjv/ephesians/3/3). ***By revelation he made known unto me*** — Instead of εγνωρισε, *he made known*, εγνωρισθη, *was made known*, is the reading of ABCD*FG, several others, both the *Syriac, Coptic,* *Slavonic, Vulgate*, and *Itala*, with *Clemens, Cyril, Chrysostom,* *Theodoret, Damascenus*, and others: it is doubtless the *true* reading.
The apostle wishes the Ephesians to understand that it was not an opinion of his own, or a doctrine which he was taught by others, or which he had gathered from the ancient prophets; but one that came to him by immediate revelation from God, as he had informed them before *in a few words*, referring to what he had said [Ephesians 1:9-12](../../../kjv/ephesians/1/9-12).

Verse [Ephesians 3:4](../../../kjv/ephesians/3/4). ***Whereby, when ye read*** — When ye refer back to them.
***Ye may understand my knowledge*** — Ye may see what God has given me to know concerning what has been hitherto a *mystery*-the calling of the Gentiles, and the breaking down the *middle wall* between them and the Jews, so as to make *both one spiritual body*, and on the same conditions.

Verse [Ephesians 3:5](../../../kjv/ephesians/3/5). ***Which in other ages was not made known*** — That the calling of the Gentiles was made known by the prophets in different ages of the Jewish Church is exceedingly clear; but it certainly was not made known in that *clear and precise manner* in which it was now revealed by the Spirit unto the ministers of the New Testament: nor was it made known unto them at all, that the Gentiles should find salvation *without coming under the yoke of* *the Mosaic law*, and that the *Jews* themselves should be *freed from* *that yoke of bondage*; these were *discoveries* totally *new*, and now revealed for the first time by the Spirit of God.

Verse [Ephesians 3:6](../../../kjv/ephesians/3/6). ***That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs*** — This is the *substance* of that mystery which had been hidden from all ages, and which was now made known to the New Testament apostles and prophets, and more particularly to St. Paul.
***His promise in Christ*** — That the promise made to Abraham extended to the *Gentiles*, the apostle has largely proved in his Epistle to the Romans; and that it was to be fulfilled to them *by* and *through Christ*, he proves there also; and particularly in his Epistle to the Galatians, see [Galatians 3:14](../../../kjv/galatians/3/14). And that these blessings were to be announced in the preaching of the Gospel, and received on believing it, he every where declares, but more especially in *this* epistle.

Verse 7. ***Whereof I was made a minister*** — διακονος. A *deacon*, a *servant* acting *under* and by the *direction* of the *great* *Master*, Jesus Christ; from whom, by an especial call and revelation, I received the apostolic gifts and office, and by την ενεργειαντηςδυναμεωςαυτου, the *energy*, the *in-working of his* *power*, this Gospel which I preached was made effectual to the salvation of vast multitudes of Jews and Gentiles.

Verse 8. ***Less than the least of all saints*** — ελαχιστοτερω παντων αγιων. As the design of the apostle was to *magnify* the grace of Christ in the salvation of the world, he uses every precaution to prevent the eyes of the people from being turned to *any thing but Christ crucified*; and although he was obliged to speak of *himself* as the particular instrument which God had chosen to bring the Gentile world to the knowledge of the truth, yet he does it in such a manner as to show that the excellency of the power was of God, and not of him; and that, highly as he and his follow apostles were honoured; they had the *heavenly treasure* in *earthen vessels*. To lay himself as *low* as possible, consistently with his being in the number of Divinely commissioned men, he calls himself *less than the least*; and is obliged to make a *new* *word*, by strangely forming a *comparative* degree, not from the *positive*, which would have been a regular grammatical procedure, but from the *superlative*. The adjective ελαχυς signifies *little*, ελασσων or ελαττων, *less*, and ελαχιστος, *least*. On this latter, which is the *superlative* of ελαχυς, *little*, St. Paul forms his *comparative*, ελαχιστοτερος, *less than the least*, a word of which it would be vain to attempt a better translation than that given in our own version. It most strongly marks the unparalleled *humility* of the apostle; and the amazing condescension of God, in favouring him, who had been before a persecutor and blasphemer, with the knowledge of this glorious scheme of human redemption, and the power to preach it so successfully among the Gentiles.
***The unsearchable riches of Christ*** — The word ανεξιχνιαστος, from α, *privative*, and εξιχνιαζω, *to trace out*, from ιχνος, a *step*, is exceedingly well chosen here: it refers to the *footsteps* of God, the *plans* he had formed, the *dispensations* which he had published, and the innumerable *providences* which he had combined, to prepare, mature, and bring to full effect and view his gracious designs in the salvation of a ruined world, by the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of his Son. There were in these schemes and providences such *riches*-such an abundance, such a variety, as could not be comprehended even by the naturally vast, and, through the Divine inspiration, unparalleledly capacious mind of the apostle.
Yet he was to proclaim among the Gentiles these astonishing wonders and mysteries of grace; and as he proceeds in this great and glorious work, the Holy Spirit that dwelt in him opens to his mind more and more of those *riches*-leads him into those *footsteps* of the Almighty which could not be *investigated* by man nor angel, so that his preaching and epistles, taken all in their chronological order, will prove that his views brighten, and his discoveries become more numerous and more distinct in proportion as he advances. And had he lived, preached, and written to the present day, he had not *exhausted* the subject, nor fully declared to the Gentiles the *unsearchable riches of Christ*-the endless depths of wisdom and knowledge treasured up in him, and the infinity of saving acts and saving power displayed by him.

Verse 9. ***And to make all men see*** — και φωτισαι παντας. *And to* *illuminate all*; to give *information* both to Jews and Gentiles; to afford them a *sufficiency of light*, so that they might be able distinctly to discern the great objects exhibited in this Gospel.
***What*****is*****the fellowship of the mystery*** — The word κοινωνια, which we properly translate *fellowship*, was used among the Greeks to signify their *religious communities*; here it may intimate the *association* of Jews and Gentiles in *one Church* or *body*, and their *agreement* in that glorious mystery which was now so fully opened relative to the salvation of both. But instead of κοινωνια, *fellowship*, οικονομια, *dispensation* or *economy*, is the reading of ABCDEFG, and more than fifty others; both the *Syriac,* *Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian, Slavonian, Vulgate* and *Itala*, with the chief of the *Greek fathers*. Some of the best *printed editions* of the Greek text have the same reading, and that in our common text has very little authority to support it. *Dispensation* or *economy* is far more congenial to the scope of the apostle's declaration in this place; he wished to show them the *economy* of that *mystery* of bringing Jews and Gentiles to salvation by faith in Christ Jesus, which God from the beginning of the world had kept hidden in his own infinite mind, and did not think proper to reveal even when he projected the creation of the world, which had respect to the economy of human redemption. And although the *world was made by Jesus Christ*, the great Redeemer, yet at that period this revelation of the *power* of God, the design of saving men, whose fall infinite wisdom had foreseen, was not then revealed. This reading *Griesbach* has received into the text.
***Who created all things by Jesus Christ*** — Some very judicious critics are of opinion that this does not refer to the *material* *creation*; and that we should understand the whole as referring to the *formation of all God's dispensations of grace, mercy*, and *truth*, which have been *planned, managed*, and *executed* by Christ, from the foundation of the world to the present time. But the words δια ιησου χριστου, *by Jesus Christ*, are wanting in ABCD*FG, and several others; also in the *Syriac, Arabic* of Erpen, *Coptic,* *AEthiopic, Vulgate*, and *Itala*; as also in several of the *fathers*. Griesbach has thrown the words out of the text; and *Professor* *White* says, "certissime delenda," *they are indisputably spurious*. The text, therefore, should be read: *which from the beginning of* *the world had been hidden in God who created all things*. No *inferiority* of Christ can be argued from a clause of whose spuriousness there is the strongest evidence.

Verse 10. ***That now unto the principalities and powers in**********heavenly places*** — *Who* are these principalities and powers? Some think *evil angels* are intended, because they are thus denominated, [Ephesians 6:12](../../../kjv/ephesians/6/12). Others think *good angels* are meant; for as these heavenly beings are curious to investigate the wondrous economy of the Gospel, though they are not its *immediate objects*, see [1 Peter 1:12](../../../kjv/1-peter/1/12), it is quite consistent with the goodness of God to give them that satisfaction which they require. And in this discovery of the Gospel plan of salvation, which *reconciles things in heaven and* *things on earth*-both men and angels, these pure spirits are greatly interested, and their praises to the Divine Being rendered much more abundant. Others imagine the *Jewish rulers* and *rabbins* are intended, particularly those of them who were converted to Christianity, and who had now learned from the preaching of the Gospel what, as *Jews*, they could never have known. I have had several opportunities of showing that this sort of phraseology is frequent among the Jews, and indeed not seldom used in the New Testament. Dr. Macknight, whose mode of arguing against this opinion is not well chosen, supposes that "the different orders of angels in heaven are intended, whose knowledge of God's dispensations must be as gradual as the dispensations themselves; consequently their knowledge of the manifold wisdom of God must have been greatly increased by the constitution of the Christian Church." Of this there can be no doubt, whether the terms in the text refer to them or not.
***By the Church*** — That is, by the *Christians* and by the wonderful things done in the Church; and by the apostles, who were its pastors.
***The manifold wisdom of God*** — Ἡ πολυποικιλος σοφια· *That* *multifarious and greatly diversified wisdom of God*; laying great and infinite plans, and accomplishing them by endless means, through the whole lapse of ages; making every occurrence subservient to the purposes of his infinite mercy and goodness. God's gracious design to save a lost world by Jesus Christ, could not be defeated by any cunning skill or malice of man or devils: whatever hinderances are thrown in the way, his wisdom and power can remove; and his infinite wisdom can never want *ways* or *means* to effect its gracious designs.

Verse 11. ***According to the eternal purpose*** — κατα προθεσιν των αιωνων. *According to the purpose concerning the periods*. This seems to refer to the *complete round* of the *Jewish system*, and to that of the *Gospel*. I have often observed, that though the proper grammatical meaning of the word is *ever-during* or *endless* *duration*, yet it is often applied to those *systems, periods,* *governments*, c., which have a *complete duration*, taking in the whole of them, from their *commencement* to their *termination*, leaving nothing of their duration unembraced. So, here, God purposed that the Jewish dispensation should commence at such a time, and terminate at such a time that the Gospel dispensation should commence when the Jewish ended, and terminate only with life itself; and that the *results* of both should be *endless*. This is probably what is meant by the above phrase.
***Which he purposed in Christ Jesus*** — ην εποιησεν. *Which he made* or *constituted in* or *for Christ Jesus*. The manifestation of Christ, and the glory which should follow, were the grand objects which God kept in view in all his dispensations.

Verse 12. ***In whom we have boldness*** — *By whom we*, Gentiles, *have* την παρρησιαν, *this liberty of speech*; so that we may *say* any thing by *prayer* and supplication, and την προσαγωγην, *this* *introduction*, into the Divine presence by faith in Christ. It is only in *his name* we can *pray* to God, and it is only *by him* that we can *come* to God; none can give us an *introduction* but Christ Jesus, and it is only for his sake that God will either *hear* or *save* us. It is on the ground of such scriptures as these that we conclude all our prayers *in the name, and for the sake, of Jesus* *Christ our Lord*.

Verse 13. ***I desire that ye faint not*** — In those primitive times, when there was much persecution, people were in continual danger of falling away from the faith who were not well grounded in it. This the apostle deprecates, and advances a strong reason why they should be *firm*: "I suffer my present imprisonment on account of demonstrating your privileges, of which the Jews are envious: I bear my afflictions patiently, knowing that what I have advanced is of God, and thus I give ample proof of the sincerity of my own conviction. The sufferings, therefore, of your apostles are *honourable* to you and to your cause; and far from being any cause why you should *faint*, or *draw back* like *cowards*, in the day of distress, they should be an additional argument to induce you to persevere."

Verse 14. ***For this cause I bow my knees*** — That you may not faint, but persevere, I frequently pray to God, who is our God and the Father of our Lord Jesus. Some very ancient and excellent MSS. and *versions* omit the words του Κυριου ἡμων Ιησου Χριστου, *of* *our Lord Jesus Christ*. And in them the passage reads: *I bow my* *knees unto the Father*. The apostle prays to God the Father, that they may not *faint*; and he bows his knees in this praying. What can any man think of himself, who, in his addresses to God, can either *sit* on his seat or *stand* in the presence of the *Maker* and *Judge* of all men? Would they *sit* while addressing any person of ordinary respectability? If they did so they would be reckoned very *rude* indeed. Would they *sit* in the presence of the *king* of their own land? They would not be permitted so to do. Is God then to be treated with less respect than a *fellow mortal? Paul* kneeled in praying, [Acts 20:36](../../../kjv/acts/20/36); [Acts 21:5](../../../kjv/acts/21/5). *Stephen* kneeled when he was stoned, [Acts 7:60](../../../kjv/acts/7/60). And *Peter* kneeled when he raised Tabitha, [Acts 9:40](../../../kjv/acts/9/40).
Many parts of this prayer bear a strict resemblance to that offered up by Solomon, [2 Chronicles 6:1](../../../kjv/2-chronicles/6/1), c., when dedicating the temple: *He kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of* *Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven* [2 Chronicles 6:13](../../../kjv/2-chronicles/6/13). The apostle was now dedicating the Christian Church, that then was and that ever should be, to God; and praying for those blessings which should ever rest on and distinguish it; and he kneels down after the example of Solomon, and invokes him to whom the first temple was dedicated, and who had made it a type of the Gospel Church.

Verse 15. ***Of whom the whole family*** — *Believers* in the Lord Jesus Christ on *earth*, the *spirits* of *just men made perfect* in a *separate state*, and all the holy *angels* in heaven, make but *one* *family*, of which God is the Father and Head. St. Paul does not say, of whom the *families*, as if each order formed a *distinct* *household*; but he says *family*, because they are all *one*, and of *one*. And all this family is *named*-derives its *origin* and *being*, from God, as children derive their name from him who is the father of the family: holy persons in heaven and earth derive their being and their holiness from God, and therefore his name is called upon them. *Christ* gives the name of *Christians* to all the real members of his Church upon earth; and to all the spirits of just men (saved since his advent, and through his blood) in heaven. They are all the *sons and daughters* of God Almighty.

Verse 16. ***That he would grant you*** — This prayer of the apostle is one of the most grand and sublime in the whole oracles of God. The riches of the grace of the Gospel, and the extent to which the soul of man may be saved here below, are most emphatically pointed out here. Every word seems to have come immediately from heaven; labouring to convey ideas of infinite importance to mankind. No paraphrase can do it justice, and few commentators seem to have entered into its spirit; perhaps deterred by its unparalleled sublimity. I shall only attempt a few observations upon the *terms*, to show their force and meaning; and leave all the rest to that Spirit by which these most important words were dictated. In the mean time referring the reader to the discourse lately published on this prayer of the apostle, entitled, *The Family of* *God and its Privileges*.
*That he would grant you*-You can expect nothing from him but as a *free gift* through Christ Jesus; let this be a ruling sentiment of your hearts when you pray to God.
***According to the riches of his glory*** — According to the measure of his own eternal *fulness*; God's infinite mercy and goodness being the *measure* according to which we are to be saved. In giving alms it is a maxim that every one should act according to his *ability*. It would be a disgrace to a *king* or a *noble-man* to give no more than a *tradesman* or a *peasant*. God acts up to the dignity of his infinite perfections; he gives *according* to the *riches* of his *glory*.
***To be strengthened with might*** — Ye have *many enemies*, cunning and *strong; many trials*, too great for your *natural strength*; many *temptations*, which no *human power* is able successfully to *resist*; many *duties* to *perform*, which cannot be accomplished by the *strength* of *man*; therefore you need *Divine strength*; ye must have might; and ye must be *strengthened every where*, and *every way* *fortified* by that might; *mightily* and most *effectually* *strengthened*.
***By his Spirit*** — By the sovereign energy of the Holy Ghost. This fountain of spiritual *energy* can alone supply the *spiritual* *strength* which is necessary for this *spiritual work* and *conflict.*
***In the inner man*** — In the *soul*. Every man is a *compound* being; he has a *body* and a *soul*. The *outward man* is that alone which is *seen* and *considered* by men; the *inward man* is that which stands particularly in reference to God and eternity. The outward man is strengthened by *earthly food*, c. the inward man, by *spiritual* and *heavenly influences*. Knowledge, love, peace, and holiness, are the food of the inward man; or rather Jesus Christ, that bread of life which came down from heaven: he that eateth this bread shall live and be strengthened by it. The soul must be as truly fed and nourished by Divine food as the body by natural food.

Verse 17. ***That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith*** — In this as well as in many other passages, and particularly that in [Ephesians 2:21](../../../kjv/ephesians/2/21), (where see the note,) the apostle compares the *body* or *Church* of true believers to a *temple*, which, like that of Solomon, is built up to be a *habitation of God* through the Spirit. Here, as Solomon did at the dedication of the temple at Jerusalem, [2 Chronicles 6:1](../../../kjv/2-chronicles/6/1), c., Paul, having considered the Church at Ephesus *completely formed*, as to every external thing, prays that God may come down and *dwell in* *it*. And as there could be no indwelling of God but by *Christ*, and no indwelling of Christ but by *faith*, he prays that they may have such *faith* in Christ, as shall keep them in constant possession of his love and presence. God, at the beginning, formed man to be his *temple*, and while in a state of purity he inhabited this temple when the temple became defiled, God left it. In the order of his eternal mercy, Christ, the repairer of the breach, comes to purify the temple, that it may again become a fit habitation for the blessed God. This is what the apostle points out to the believing Ephesians, in praying that Christ κατοικησαι, might *intensely* and *constantly dwell in their hearts by faith*: for the man's heart, which is not God's house, must be a hold of every foul and unclean spirit; as Satan and his angels will endeavour to *fill* what God does not.
***That ye, being rooted and grounded in love*** — Here is a *double* metaphor; one taken from *agriculture*, the other, from *architecture*. As *trees*, they are to be *rooted in love*-this is the *soil* in which their souls are to *grow*; into the infinite love of God their souls by faith are to strike their *roots*, and from this love derive all that nourishment which is essential for their full growth, till they have the mind in them that was in Jesus, or, as it is afterwards said, till they are *filled with all the* *fulness of God*. As a *building*, their *foundation* is to be laid in *this love. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten* *Son*, c. Here is the *ground* on which alone the soul, and all its hopes and expectations, can be safely *founded*. This is a *foundation* that cannot be shaken and it is from this alone that the doctrine of redemption flows to man, and from this alone has the soul its form and comeliness. IN this, as its proper *soil*, it *grows*. ON this, as its only *foundation*, it *rests*.

Verse 18. ***May be able to comprehend with all saints*** — ινα εξισχυσητε καταλαβεσθαι. These words are so exceedingly nervous and full of meaning, that it is almost impossible to translate them. The first word, εξισχυσητε, from εξ, *intensive*, and ισχυω, *to be strong*, signifies that they might be *thoroughly able,* by having been *strengthened with might*, by God's *power*. The second word καταλαβεσθαι, from κατα, *intensive*, and λαμβανω, to *take, catch*, or *seize on*, may be translated, *that ye may fully* *catch, take in*, and *comprehend this wonderful mystery of God*. The mind must be rendered apt, and the soul invigorated, to take in and *comprehend* these mysteries.
***What*****is*****the breadth, and length, and depth, and height*** — Here the apostle still keeps up the metaphor, comparing the Church of God to a building; and as, in order to rear a proper building, formed on scientific principles, a *ground plan* and *specification* must be previously made, according to which the building is to be constructed, the apostle refers to this; for this must be thoroughly understood, without which the building could not be formed. They were to be builded up a *heavenly house*, a *habitation* *of God through the Spirit*; and this must have its *latitude* or *breadth*, its *longitude* or *length*, its *altitude* or *height*, and its *profundity* or *depth*.
It is supposed by some that the apostle is here alluding to the famous *temple of Diana* at Ephesus, which, as I have already had occasion to remark, was reputed one of the *wonders of the world*, being in length 425 feet, in breadth 220; it was supported by 127 pillars, each 60 feet high; was builded at the expense of all Asia; and was 220 years in being completed. I cannot, however, allow of this allusion while the apostle had a *nobler model* at hand, and one every way more worthy of being brought into the comparison. The temple at Jerusalem was that alone which he had in view; that alone could be fitly compared here; for that was built to be a habitation of God; that was his house, and that the place of his rest: so the Christian temple, and the believing heart, are to be the constant, the endless residence of God; and how august must that edifice be in which the eternal Trinity dwells!
But what can the apostle mean by the *breadth, length, depth*, and *height*, of *the love of God*? Imagination can scarcely frame any satisfactory answer to this question. It takes in the *eternity* of God. GOD is LOVE; and in that, an infinity of *breadth, length,* *depth*, and *height*, is included; or rather all *breadth, length,* *depth*, and *height*, are lost in this *immensity*. It comprehends all that is *above*, all that is *below*, all that is *past*, and all that is to *come*. In reference to human beings, the love of God, in its BREADTH, is a girdle that encompasses the globe; its LENGTH reaches from the *eternal* purpose of the mission of Christ, to the *eternity* of blessedness which is to be spent in his ineffable glories; its DEPTH reaches to the *lowest fallen* of the sons of Adam, and to the *deepest* depravity of the human heart; and its HEIGHT to the infinite dignities of the throne of Christ. *He that* *overcometh will I give to sit dawn with me upon my throne, as I* *have overcome and sat down with the Father upon his throne*. Thus we see that the *Father*, the *Son*, and all true believers in him, are to be seated on the *same throne*! This is the *height* of the love of God, and the *height* to which that love raises the souls that believe in Christ Jesus!

Verse 19. ***To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge*** — It is only by the *love of Christ* that we can know the *love of God*: the love of God to man induced him to give Christ for his redemption; Christ's love to man induced him to give his life's blood for his salvation. The gift of Christ *to* man is the *measure* of God's love; the *death* of Christ *for* man is the *measure* of Christ's love. *God so loved the world*, c. *Christ loved us*, and *gave himself for us*.
But how can the love of Christ, *which passeth knowledge*, be *known*? Many have laboured to *reconcile* this seeming *contradiction*. If we take the verb γνωναι in a sense in which it is frequently used in the New Testament, to *approve, acknowledge*, or *acknowledge with approbation*, and γνωσις to signify *comprehension*, then the difficulty will be partly removed: "That ye may *acknowledge, approve*, and *publicly acknowledge*, that love of God which surpasseth knowledge." We can *acknowledge* and *approve* of that which *surpasses* our *comprehension*. We cannot comprehend GOD yet we can *know* that he is; *approve* of, *love,* *adore*, and *serve* him. In like manner, though we cannot *comprehend*, the immensity of the *love of Christ*, yet we *know* that he *has loved us, and washed us from our sins* in his *own blood*; and we *approve* of, and *acknowledge*, him as our only Lord and Saviour. In this sense we may be said to *know* the love of Christ that passeth *knowledge*.
But it is more likely that the word γνωσις, which we translate *knowledge*, signifies here *science* in general, and particularly that *science* of which the *rabbins* boasted, and that in which the Greeks greatly exulted. The former professed to have the *key of* *knowledge*; the *secret* of all Divine mysteries; the latter considered their *philosophers*, and their *systems of philosophy*, superior to every thing that had ever been known among men, and reputed on this account all other nations as *barbarians*. When the apostle prays that they *may know the love of Christ which passeth* *knowledge*, he may refer to all the boasted knowledge of the Jewish doctors, and to all the greatly extolled science of the Greek philosophers. To know the love of Christ, infinitely surpasseth all other science. This gives a clear and satisfactory sense.
***That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.*** — Among all the great sayings in this prayer, this is the greatest. To be FILLED *with God* is a great thing; to be *filled with the* FULNESS *of* *God* is still greater; but to be *filled with* ALL *the fulness of* *God*, παν το πληρωμα του θεου, utterly bewilders the sense and confounds the understanding.
Most people, in quoting these words, endeavour to *correct* or *explain* the apostle, by adding the word *communicable*; but this is as idle as it is useless and impertinent. The apostle *means what* *he says*, and would be *understood in his own meaning*. By the *fulness of God*, we are to understand all those gifts and graces which he has promised to bestow on man, and which he dispenses to the Church. To be *filled with all the fulness of God*, is to have the whole soul filled with meekness, gentleness, goodness, love, justice, holiness, mercy, and truth. And as what God *fills*, neither sin nor Satan can fill; consequently, it implies that the soul shall be emptied of sin, that sin shall neither have dominion *over* it, nor a being *in* it. It is impossible for us to understand these words in a *lower* sense than this. But *how much more* they imply, (for more they do imply,) I cannot tell. As there is no end to the merits of *Christ*, no bounds to the mercy and love of God, no limits to the improvability of the human soul, so there can be no bounds set to the saving influence which God will dispense to the heart of every believer. We may *ask*, and we shall *receive*, and our joy shall be *full*.

Verse 20. ***Now unto him*** — Having finished his short, but most wonderfully comprehensive and energetic *prayer*, the apostle brings in his *doxology*, giving praise to Him from whom all blessings come, and to whom all thanks are due.
***That is able to do exceeding abundantly*** — It is impossible to express the full meaning of these words, God is *omnipotent*, therefore he is able to do all things, and able to do υπερ εκ περισσου, *superabundantly above the greatest abundance*. And who can doubt this, who has any rational or Scriptural views of his power or his love?
***All that we ask or think*** — We can *ask* every good of which we have heard, every good which God has promised in his word; and we can *think* of, or *imagine*, goods and blessings beyond all that we have either *read* of or *seen*: yea, we can *imagine* good things to which it is impossible for us to give a *name*; we can go beyond the limits of all human descriptions; we can imagine more than even God has specified in his word; and can feel no *bounds* to our imagination of good, but *impossibility* and *eternity*: and after all, *God is able to do more for us than we can ask or think*; and his *ability* here is so necessarily connected with his *willingness*, that the one indisputably implies the other; for, of what consequence would it be to tell the Church of God that he had *power to do* so and so, if there were not implied an assurance that he *will* do what his power *can*, and what the soul of man needs to have done?
***According to the power that worketh in us*** — All that he can do, and all that he has promised to do, will be done *according* to what he has done, by that *power* of the holy Ghost την ενεργουμενην, *which worketh strongly in us*-acts with *energy* in our hearts, expelling evil, purifying and refining the affections and desires, and implanting good.

Verse [Ephesians 3:21](../../../kjv/ephesians/3/21). ***Unto him*** — Thus possessed of power and goodness, *be* *glory in the Church*-be unceasing praises ascribed in all the *assemblies* of the people of God, wherever these glad tidings are preached, and wherever this glorious doctrine shall be credited.
***By Christ Jesus*** — Through whom, and *for* whom, all these miracles of mercy and power are wrought.
***Throughout all ages*** — εις πασας τας γενεας. *Through all* *succeeding generations*-while the race of human beings continues to exist on the face of the earth.
***World without end.*** — του αιωνος των αιωνων. *Throughout* *eternity*-in the *coming world* as well as in *this*. The song of praise, begun upon *earth*, and protracted through all the generations of men, shall be continued in *heaven*, by all that are redeemed from the earth, where eras, limits, and periods are no more for ever.
***Amen.*** — So be it. So let it be! and so it will be; for all the counsels of God are faithfulness and truth; and not one jot or tittle of his promise has failed, from the foundation of the world to the present day; nor can fail, till mortality is swallowed up of life.
Therefore, to the Father, Son, and holy Ghost, be glory, dominion, power, and thanksgiving, now, henceforth, and for ever. - Amen and Amen.
1. FOR the great importance of the *matter* contained in this chapter, and the sublimity of the *language* and *conceptions*, there is no portion of the New Testament equal to this. The apostle was now shut up in prison, but the word of the Lord was not bound; and the kingdom of God seems to have been opened to him in a most astonishing manner. There seems to have been exhibited to him a *plan of the Divine counsels and conduct* relative to the salvation of man, before and from the foundation of the world to the end of time; and while, with the eye of his mind, he contemplates this plan, he describes it in language at once the most elevated that can be conceived, and every where dignified and appropriate to the subject; so that he may with safety be compared with the finest of the Grecian writers. In the notes I have already observed how hard it is to give any literal translation of the many *compound* *epithets* which the apostle uses. Indeed his own nervous language seems to bend and tremble under the weight of the Divine ideas which it endeavours to express. This is most observable in the *prayer* and *doxology* which are contained in [Ephesians 3:14-21](../../../kjv/ephesians/3/14-21). A passage in Thucydides, lib. vii. cap. lxxxvii, *in fine*, where he gives an account of the total overthrow of the Athenian general, Nicias, and his whole army, by the Sicilians, has been compared with this of the apostle; it is truly a grand piece, and no reader can be displeased with its introduction here: ξυνεβη τε εργον τουτο Ἑλληνικον των κατα τον πολεμον τονδε μεγιστον γενεσθαι - και τοις τε κρατησασι λαμπροτατον, και τοις διαφθαρεισι δυστυχεστατον· κατα παντα γαρ παντως νικηθεντες, και ουδεν ολιγον ες ουδεν κακοπαθησαντες, πανωλεθριᾳ δη, το λεγομενον, και πεζος και νηες, και ουδεν ὁ, τι ουκ απωλετο· και ολιγοι απο πολλων επ' οικου απενοστησαν· "This was the greatest discomfiture which the Greeks sustained during the whole war, and was as brilliant to the conquerors as it was calamitous to the vanquished. In *every* *respect they were totally defeated*; and they *suffered no small* *evil* in *every particular*: the *destruction was universal*, both of army and navy; there was *nothing that did not perish*; and scarcely any, out of vast multitudes, returned to their own homes.
The learned may compare the two passages; and while due credit is given to the splendid Greek historian, no critic will deny the palm to the inspired writer.
2. With such portions of the word of God before us, how is it that we can he said conscientiously to credit the doctrines of Christianity, and live satisfied with such *slender attainments* in the divine life? Can any man that pleads for the *necessary* and *degrading continuance* of *indwelling sin*, believe what the apostle has written? Can we, who profess to believe it, be excusable, and live under the influence of any temper or passion that does not belong to the mind of Christ? Will it be said in answer, that "this is only a *prayer* of the apostle, and contains his *wish* from the overflowings of his heart for the spiritual prosperity of the Ephesians?" Was the apostle *inspired* or *not* when he penned this prayer? If he were *not* inspired, the prayer makes no part of Divine *revelation*; if he *were* inspired, every *petition* is tantamount to a positive *promise*; for what God inspires the heart to pray for, that God purposes to bestow. Then it is his *will* that all these blessings should be enjoyed by his true followers, that Christ should inhabit their hearts, and that they should be filled with all the fulness of God; yea, and that God should do for them more abundantly than they can ask or think. This necessarily implies that they should be *saved from all sin, inward* and *outward*, in *this life*; that the thoughts of their hearts should be cleansed by the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, that they might perfectly love him, and worthily magnify his holy name.
As *sin* is the cause of the ruin of mankind, the Gospel system, which is its *cure*, is called *good news*, or *glad tidings*; and it is *good news* because it proclaims *him* who saves his people from their sins. It would be dishonourable to the *grace* of Christ to suppose that sin had made *wounds* which that could not heal.

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