《Eadie’s Commentary on Ephesians (Vol. )》(John Eadie) 04 Chapter Introduction Chapter 4



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Verse 21


(Ephesians 6:21.) ῞ινα δὲ εἰδῆτε καὶ ὑμεῖς τὰ κατ᾿ ἐμέ, τί πράσσω, πάντα ὑμῖν γνωρίσει τύχικος ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἀδελφὸς, καὶ πιστὸς διάκονος ἐν κυρίῳ—“But that ye also may know my state, how I fare, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful in the Lord, shall make known all things to you.” The reading, καὶ ὑμεῖς εἰδῆτε, is found in A, D1, E, F, G. This verse needs almost no exposition. The supposition that in καὶ ὑμεῖς there is a reference by contrast to the Colossians, has been already noticed in the Introduction. The particle δέ is one of transition to another subject-the conclusion of the epistle. The words τὰ κατ᾿ ἐμέ-res meae-are a very common Greek idiom (Philippians 1:12; Acts 24:22; Acts 25:14), and they are further explained by τί πράσσω, a phrase which means “how I fare”—“what” or “how I do”-not what I am employed about in prison, but with the same meaning as in the common salutation—“How do ye do.” The apostle was well aware of their anxiety to know many particulars as to his health, spirits, condition, facilities and prospects of labour; and not to burden an inspired composition with such minutiae, he charged Tychicus with an oral message. Little is known of Tychicus save what is contained in a few allusions, as in Acts 20:4; Colossians 4:7. In 2 Timothy 4:12 the apostle says, referring, as some suppose, to this mission—“Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.” There is no ground for supposing, with Estius, that διάκονος refers here to any office in the church. Tychicus, like Mark, was useful for general service. 2 Timothy 4:11. The words ἐν κυρίῳ show the spirit and sphere of the labours of Tychicus, that it was Christian service which he rendered to the apostle and their common Lord. We understand πιστός to deno te “trusty”—“trewe mynystre.” See under Ephesians 1:1. The previous epithet “brother” implies his profession of faith, but he was selected to this mission, out of many other believers, because of his trustiness, and he was commended to the Ephesians as one on whom they might rely with implicit confidence. And therefore Paul says of him-

Verse 22


(Ephesians 6:22.) ῝ον ἔπεμψα πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ἵνα γνῶτε τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν, καὶ παρακαλέσῃ τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν—“Whom I have sent unto you for this very reason, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.” The verb might bear the translation, “I send.” Philippians 2:28; Winer, § 40, 5, 2. The phrase τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν is a common idiom, and the apostle includes himself among others who were identified with him and his position in Rome. There is plain reference in the last clause to Ephesians 3:13. The different readings in these two verses principally refer to the position and order of some of the words. Now comes the farewell-

Verse 23


(Ephesians 6:23.) εἰρήνη τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, καὶ ἀγάπη μετὰ πίστεως—“Peace to the brethren, and love with faith.” εἰρήνη is not concord, as some suppose, and it cannot be so in a parting salutation. The word in such a relation has not a special theological sense, but means, in a Christian mouth, “all that was good for them here and hereafter.” See the term explained under Ephesians 1:2. “Peace be to the brethren”-the Christian brotherhood in Ephesus; and not, as Wieseler restricts it, to the Jewish portion of the church. Chronol. p. 444.

καὶ ἀγάπη μετὰ πίστεως—“and love with faith,” that is, love in union with faith. “Love” is not God's love to us, but our love to one another; or as the apostle has already called it, “love unto all the saints.” And that love is “with faith,” as its accompaniment, for “faith worketh by love.” The apostle wishes them a more fervent love along with a more powerful faith. He had heard that they possessed these already, but he wished them a larger inheritance of the twin graces. See under Ephesians 1:15. We could not say, with Robinson, that in this instance, and in some others, μετά is equivalent to καί, for close relation seems always to be indicated. ΄ετά indicates something which is to be regarded not as an addition, but as an accompaniment. ᾿αγάπη καὶ πίστις—“love and faith,” might mean love, then faith, as separate or in succession, and σὺν πίστει would have denoted coherence, but “love with faith” denotes love and faith in inseparable combination with it. The reading of Codex A, ἔλεος for ἀγάπη, is an emendation suggested to some old copyists for the very reasons which have led Rückert to adopt it. The concluding salutations in the other epistles are commonly brief, but the sympathy and elevation which reign in this letter stoop not to a curt and common formula. In his fulness of heart the apostle bestows an enlarged benediction on the Christian community at Ephesus-

ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ κυρίου ᾿ιησοῦ χριστοῦ—“from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” In the 2nd verse of the first chapter, the apostle says, “from God our Father,” and the Syriac reads here also אבא . Though ἡμῶν be not expressed, the meaning is the same, and the exposition will therefore be found under Ephesians 1:2.

Verse 24


(Ephesians 6:24.) ῾η χάρις μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἀγαπώντων τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν ᾿ιησοῦν χριστὸν ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ—“Grace be with all them who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption.” This is a second and more general benediction. The article is prefixed to χάρις in the valediction. See under Ephesians 1:2. The words “our Lord Jesus Christ,” occurring previously in Ephesians 1:3, have also been already explained.

The concluding difficulty of the expositor, and it is no slight one, lies in the concluding words of the epistle- ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ. Wyckliffe has “vncorrupcioun,” Tyndale “puernes,” the Genevan “to their immortalitie,” and Cranmer “vnfaynedly.”

The connection and meaning are alike matter of doubt.-1. Some, such as Drusius, Wilke, and Peile, connect ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ with χάρις, as if the meaning were—“grace with immortality,” or immortal grace. But this exegesis appears on the face of it contrary to the verbal order of the clause. Piscator, taking ἐν for σύν, regards grace and immortality as two separate gifts. Beza, Musculus, Bengel, Michaelis, Matthies, and Bloomfield (supplemental volume, in loc.), give the phrase another turn of meaning, and render—“grace to immortality,” or “grace for ever abide with you.” The opinion of Harless is similar - ἐν, he says, “marks the element in which this grace reveals itself, and ἀφθαρσία is its indestructible essence.” And this is also the view of Baumgarten-Crusius. Such a construction, however, has no philological foundation, for the two nouns are not so homogeneous in meaning as to be used in such a connection. Olshausen resorts to the desperate expedient of an ellipse, saying that the words mean- ἵνα ζωὴν ἔχωσιν ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ. This ellipse, as Meyer says, is a pure fiction. 2. As far removed from a natural exegesis is the opinion of Wetstein, Reiners, and Semler, who join ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ to ᾿ιησοῦν χριστόν, and give this interpretation - “who love the Lord Jesus Christ in His incorruptible or exalted state.” We should have expected a very different phraseology if that had been the apostle's meaning, and at least, with the present words, the repetition of the article - ᾿ιησοῦν χριστὸν τὸν ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ. 3. Whatever difficulty may be involved in the exegesis, we are obliged to take the ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ as qualifying ἀγαπώντων. This appears to be the natural connection. But as to the meaning-

1. Chrysostom and Theophylact give an alternative explanation—“on account of those things which are incorruptible.” These critics say- τὸ ἐν διά ἐστι, that is, ἐν stands for διά. But such violence to the words cannot be warranted.



2. Some give the meaning—“in sincerity.” Such is the view of Chrysostom and Theophylact in another of their interpretations, in which they explain ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ by ἐν κοσμιότητι; and they are followed by Pelagius, Erasmus, Calvin, a-Lapide, Estius, and Robinson. At the same time there is some difference of opinion among this class, some giving more prominence to sincerity as an element of the love itself, and others regarding this sincerity as proved by the result and accompaniment of a chaste and holy life.

3. Others give the phrase this meaning—“in perpetuity.” Among this party are OEcumenius, who employs as synonyms ἄφθαρτος καὶ ἀμείωτος, and Luther, Zegerus, Wolf, Meyer, Wahl, Bretschneider, and Meier. Rückert and de Wette are undecided, though the latter seems to incline to the first interpretation of the Greek expositors. The Gothic version reads ïn unriurein—“in incorruptibility.” It is somewhat difficult to decide. The noun means incorruption, and must define either the sphere or character of this love. If it refer to the sphere, there then may be an allusion to the heavenly places to which believers are elevated-a region of unchanging and undecaying love to Jesus (Romans 1:23; 1 Corinthians 9:25; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Timothy 1:17); or if, as Meyer says, it describe the character of this affection, then it signifies that it possesses an enduring freshness-that it glows for ever. A similar construction is found in Titus 3:15. We are inclined to believe that the word characterizes the nature of this love, perpetuity being a necessary element of this incorruption. The term points out that in this love there is no source of decay or change, that it does not contain within itself the seeds of dissolution, and that it is of such compactness, that its elements cannot one after another fall out and itself gradually perish. Incorruptness is immortality based upon simplicity of essence. And therefore this love to Jesus - filling the entire nature, burning with pure and quenchless fervour, proving itself a holy instinct, unmixed with baser motives and attachments, one and indivisible-is “in incorruption,”- ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ. AMEN.
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