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Ephesians 3:1For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,Ephesians 3:1-13. These verses make a paragraph by themselves. Their main subject is the call of the Gentiles and Paul’s Apostolic vocation in relation thereto. He reminds his readers of the mystery of that call, its revelation to the Apostles and prophets, his own destination to the ministry of preaching among the Gentiles, and the grace given him to make known the Divine dispensation that opened the Church to those who were not of Israel. This with the view that they should not misunderstand his present position or be discouraged by it.Ephesians 3:1. τούτου χάριν ἐγὼ Παῦλος ὁ δέσμιος τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ: for this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus. The τούτου χάριν is referred by some (Mey., etc.) to the immediately preceding sentence; the fact that they are destined to make a habitation of God, and are being built together with a view to that end, being Paul’s reason for pleading with them and praying for them. It is best referred, however, to the purport of the whole statement just brought to its conclusion; the fact that they are now what God’s grace has made them and are meant by Him to form a spiritual habitation for Himself, being His reason for what He urges on them and what He does for them. ἐγὼ Παῦλος, a solemn and emphatic designation of the writer by himself, expressive rather of his personal interest in them than the consciousness of his authority (Mey.). For similar occurrences of the emphatic personal designation, with different shades of meaning, see 2 Corinthians 10:1; Galatians 5:2; Colossians 1:23; Philemon 1:19. The article with the δέσμιος expresses simply the character in which Paul appears at present or the class to which he belongs (cf. Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφός, Philemon 1:1); not his pre-eminence among the Lord’s prisoners, as if it = the prisoner par excellence (Mey.)—a claim surely which would neither be like Paul nor in harmony with the thought of the paragraph. The gen. Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ is probably that of originating cause—one who has been made a prisoner by Christ; cf. 2 Timothy 1:8; Philemon 1:9, as also Ephesians 4:1. The Ἰησοῦ is omitted by Tisch. on the authority of such MSS. as [198] [199] [200]*[201]; but it is rightly retained by most as found in [202] [203]-corr. [204] [205] [206]2, 3, Vulg., etc.—ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν τῶν ἔθνων: on behalf of you the Gentiles. Paul was called specially to be a minister of Christ to the Gentiles (Acts 21:21; Acts 21:28; Acts 22:21), and his preaching Christ as for the Gentiles equally with the Jews provoked that enmity of the Jews which led to his imprisonment. It was thus for the Gentiles that he was a prisoner; and there is probably also the further thought in the ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν that Paul’s imprisonment was to be for their good, helpful to their Christian life. For the idea with which the paragraph closes is that his afflictions were their glory (Ephesians 3:13). But what of the construction and connection here? The simplest adjustment is to insert εἰμί after ὁ δέσμιος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ: “I Paul am the prisoner,” etc. So the Syr., Chrys., Mey. and others. But this takes the point from the ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν and makes Paul assert and exalt himself as a sufferer in a way unlike him. It is best to take it as a broken construction, the statement with which Paul begins being, as in so many other cases, diverted into a different channel by the introduction of some subsidiary remark. Here he is turned off from what he meant to say by the polite reference in the εἴγε clause. Where then have we the resumption? Not at chap. Ephesians 4:1 (with the AV, Mich., Winer, etc.), for chap. 3. is not part of a parenthesis, but a paragraph complete within itself; nor at Ephesians 3:13, which is of too limited scope and fails to meet the full force of the τούτου χάριν; but at Ephesians 3:14, where the τούτου χάριν is repeated.[198] Autograph of the original scribe of א.[199] Autograph of the original scribe of א.[200] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.[201] Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Dresden, edited by Matthæi in 1791. Written by an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the same volume as Codex Sangallensis (δ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is based on the O.L. translation.[202] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.[203] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.[204] Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).[205] Codex Ephraemi (sæc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.[206] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.
Ephesians 3:2If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:Ephesians 3:2. εἴγε ἠκούσατε τὴν οἰκονομίαν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς δοθείσης μοι εἰς ἡμᾶς: if so be that ye did hear of the dispensation of the grace of God that was given me to you-ward. The comp. particle εἴγε, or εἴ γε (according to LTrWH), makes a supposition which is taken for granted, = “if, indeed, as I may assume”. Whether the certainty of the assumption is in the particle itself or is derived from the context is still debated among grammarians. Some hold that in this case as in others the γέ simply strengthens the force of the simple particle, while others think that this is its significance, if not in every instance, at least in a considerable number of occurrences; cf. Mey. and Ell., in loc.; Win.-Moult., p. 561; Bâumlein, Partikeln, p. 64. Here it introduces a polite reminder of what these Ephesians certainly had heard—“a gentle appeal, expressed in a hypothetical form, and conveying the hope that his words had not been quite forgotten” (Ell.). On οἰκονομίαν, which means the dispensation, the arrangement made in the matter of something, not “the apostolic office” (Wiesel.), see under Ephesians 1:10. The τῆς χάριτος is the gen. objecti or that of “the point of view” (Ell.) = the arrangement or disposition in respect of the grace of God. The χάρις itself is not the apostolic office (Est.), but the gift of grace that selected Paul and qualified him for that office; and so it (not the οἰκονομία, but the χάρις) is described as δοθείσης, given. The εἰς ὑμᾶς, admirably rendered by the AV “to you-ward,” denotes the “ethical direction” (Ell.) of the gift of grace—the fact that it was bestowed on Paul not for his own sake, but with a view to their position.
Ephesians 3:3How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,Ephesians 3:3. ὅτι κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν ἐγνώρισέ μοι τὸ μυστήριον: how that by way of revelation he made known (was made known) to me the mystery. The ὅτι is omitted by [207] [208]-lat., Ambros., etc., and is bracketed by [209] and WH, but is retained by most. The ἐγνώρισε of the TR (supported by [210] [211] [212], etc.) must give place to ἐγνωρίσθη, which is the reading of [213] [214] [215] [216] [217] [218] 17, Lat., Syr., Copt., etc., and is adopted by LTTrWHRV. On μυστήριον see under Ephesians 1:9. Here it is the particular μυστήριον or “secret” of the admission of the Gentiles on equal terms with the chosen people—a disclosure of the Divine purpose which so often calls forth Paul’s adoring wonder. The sentence explains and develops the preceding statement, giving what they heard (ἠκούσατε) of the peculiar dispensation made by God with Paul; and the prominent thing here, as indicated by the emphatic position of κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν, is the way in which the “mystery” was made known to him, viz., the way of revelation.—καθὼς προέγραψα ἐν ὀλίγῳ: as I wrote afore in few words. The ἐν ὀλίγῳ is wrongly taken by some as = πρὸ ὀλίγου, “a short time before”. It is equivalent to the διʼ ὀλίγων or the ἐν βραχεῖ, ἐν βραχέσι, of classical Greek and means briefly (cf. Acts 26:28 and the συντόμως in Acts 24:4). But what is the writing referred to? It might be a previous letter now lost (Chrys., Calv., etc.). The aor. might so far favour this, and the ἀναγινώσκοντες of Ephesians 3:4, which Meyer thinks excludes it, is not necessarily inconsistent with it. The δύνασθε ἀναγινώσκοντες νοῆσαι need not be limited to the reading of the present Epistle, but might equally well apply to the act of reading any other letter, and the terms might suggest indeed a fuller statement of the “mystery” in question than is given anywhere in the first part of this Epistle. The reference, however, might also be to something already said in the present letter, in which case the προέγραψο would have the force of “I have written already above”. This is the generally accepted interpretation, the particular statement in view being that in chap. Ephesians 1:9-10, or rather (so Mey., etc.) that in chap. Ephesians 2:11-22, in which the inclusion of the Gentiles is the special topic.[207] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.[208] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.[209] Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.[210] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.[211] Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.[212] Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.[213] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.[214] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.[215] Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).[216] Codex Ephraemi (sæc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.[217] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.[218] Codex Augiensis (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Trinity College, Cambridge, edited by Scrivener in 1859. Its Greek text is almost identical with that of G, and it is therefore not cited save where it differs from that MS. Its Latin version, f, presents the Vulgate text with some modifications.