Otis Q. Sellers - SEED & BREAD - Number 58

SEED & BREAD

Number 58

EPHESIANS CHAPTER ONE

THE RESULTANT VERSION - TRUE TO THE GREEK AND TRUE TO THE TRUTH

Paul, a commissioned one of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to all the saints, the ones being and believing in Christ Jesus:
Grace be to you, even peace, from God our Father, even the Lord Jesus Christ.
Exalted be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who exalts us in every spiritual exaltation among the most elevated in Christ;
According as He chooses us in Him before founding His order, we to be holy and flawless in His sight,
In love designating us beforehand for the place of a son for Himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the good pleasure of His will,
For the extolling of the glories of His grace, which graces us in the Beloved One,
In Whom we have the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins in accord with the outflowing wealth of His grace;
Which He lavishes toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
Making known unto us the secret of His intention, in accord with His good pleasure which He purposes in Him,
In connection with an administration when the times are ripe for it, to head up all these in Christ, those among the heavens and those on the earth,
In Him, in Whom also our lot is cast, being designated beforehand according to the purpose of Him Who is executing all this according to the counsel of His will,
To the end that we should be for the extolling of His glory, the ones who have hoped in advance in the Christ,
In Whom you also have hoped in advance, upon hearing this word of the truth, the good message of your salvation, in Whom even upon believing, you were sealed with the Spirit of the promise, the Holy One,
Who is the earnest of our full portion, in relation to the redemption of that which has been purchased for the extolling of His glory.
Therefore, I also, on hearing of this faith of yours in the Lord Jesus, and that in respect to all the saints,
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention in my prayers,
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of Him,
The eyes of your heart having been enlightened, so that you perceive what is the expectation of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His portion among the saints,
And what the transcendent greatness of His power for us who are believing, in accord with the working of the might of His strength,
Which is wrought in the Christ, raising Him from among the dead, and seating Him in His right among the most elevated,
Up over every sovereignty and authority and power and lordship, even every name that is named, not only in this eon, but also in that to come,
And subordinates all under His feet, and constitutes Him head over all to the outcalled,
Which is His body, the complement of the One filling all these in all ways;

THE RESULTANT VERSION - TRUE TO THE GREEK AND TRUE TO THE TRUTH

VERSE 1. Paul, [A] a commissioned one [B] of Christ Jesus [C] through the will of God, [D] to all [E] the saints, [F] the ones being [G] and believing [H] in Christ Jesus:

He had two names, Paul and Saul. No evidence that his name was ever changed. See Acts 13:9.

The Gk. is apostolos. See Issue No. 5 for a study of the verb from which this word is derived.

"Not of men, neither by man." See Gal. 1:1. This was a special commission which had to do solely with the writing of this letter.

He writes by direct divine appointment.

The word "all" (pasin) has sufficient manuscript support to justify its place in the text.

"Saints" is hagios, translated "holy" 161 times, and "saint" 61 times. It means separation, and is always related to service. Every believer in Christ Jesus is a saint.

In Greek grammar when an article is followed by a verbal adjective (participle), it becomes a substantive. The article here is plural and is expressed as a substantive by adding the word "ones."

A believing man is one who trusts another. A faithful man is one whom another trusts. This letter is addressed to believers in Christ Jesus.

VERSE 2. Grace [A] be to you, even [B] peace, [C] from God our Father, even [D] the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace is favor conferred freely, without any cause whatsoever so far as the recipient is concerned, with no expectation of any return, and finding its only motive in the free-heartedness of the giver. The subject of this epistle is grace.

The Greeks used the word kai (and) to emphasize identity and to establish apposition. This was a favorite literary device of Paul. The grace he desires for them is peace.

The word here is eirEnE, a noun from which we get the name Irene, from the verb eirO, which means to join. A noun derived from a verb cannot mean something different from its parent word. Peace is a perfect union, not a good feeling.

There cannot be two sources of divine grace, as the K.J.V. seems to suggest. Source and channel must not be separated.

VERSE 3. Exalted [A] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who exalts [B] us in every spiritual [C] exaltation among [D] the most elevated [E] in Christ;

"Exalted" much better expresses the meaning of eulogEtos, from eulogeO, made up of legO (to speak) and eu (good), thus, to speak well of. Our word eulogize comes from this.

The aorist tense here denotes an act that happened in one point of time, the effects of which continue.

The word spiritual designates those things of which God is the author, and that come to us wihout any intervening agency or process. See "spiritual drink" and "spiritual meat" in 1 Cor. 10:2, 3.

When used in a plural setting, en means "among."

Since both eulogEtos and ouranos are used as descriptive titles of God (Mark 14:61 and Luke 20:4) it is evident that these words have relationship. This connection is preserved by translating en tois epouraniois by "among the most elevated." See Prov. 25:3.

VERSE 4. According as He chooses [A] us in Him before founding His order, [B] we to be holy and flawless in His sight, [C]

This is eklegomai, which means to elect, to pick out, to choose, but is always used in the technical sense meaning to choose one for an office or to perform a service. Note this in Luke 6:13.

"Before . . . order" is pro katabolEs kosmou. "His" is supplied since it is God’s order (world) that is in view here.

This is what God elected us to be. This election or choice took place in our lifetime, before God’s founding of His order which is still future, that we might perform a special service in His order.

VERSE 5. In love designating us beforehand [A] for the place of a son [B] for Himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the good pleasure of His will,

These three words translate proorisas, aorist, active, participle of proorizO, which means to determine or designate beforehand. Our future position, character, and service are determined by God in advance of His establishment of His order upon the earth.

These five words are used to translate huiothesia, a compound word from huios (a son), and tithEmi (to place). This is somewhat like our word antithesis, which means to place one thing against another.

VERSE 6. For the extolling [A] of the glories of His grace, which graces [B] us in the Beloved One, [C]

Gk. is epainOs which suggests praise that exalts.

A form of the verb charitoO, found only here and in Luke 1:28 where it is translated "highly favored." God will "grace" us for our future service.

A new designation for Christ Jesus our Lord.

VERSE 7. In Whom we have the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins in accord with the outflowing [A] wealth of His grace;

God’s maintenance and support of our redemption and forgiveness are according to the outflowing wealth of His grace.

VERSE 8. Which He lavishes toward us in all wisdom and prudence,[A]

He is not an over-indulgent Father, even in spite of His present grace toward all.

VERSE 9. Making known unto us the secret[A] of His intention, in accord with His good pleasure which He purposes in Him,

"Secret" is what musterion means. The word mystery does not belong in the New Testament, and should have no place in the vocabulary of truth.

VERSE 10. In connection with an administration when the times are ripe for it, to head up [A] all these [B] in Christ, those among the heavens and those on the earth,

This is anakephalioO which most certainly means to head up.

"All these" is ta panta, an idiom, the meaning of which must be found in its usage. See Col. 3:8 where it is translated "all these," and points to things mentioned in the context. Here it has reference to all who will be placed as sons when God governs the earth.

VERSE 11. In Him, in Whom also our lot is cast, being designated beforehand according to the purpose of Him Who is executing all this [A] according to the counsel of His will,

This is also ta panta, and it refers collectively to the workings of God that have already been set forth.

VERSE 12. To the end that we should be for the extolling of His glory, the ones who have hoped in advance [A] in the Christ,

"Hoped in advance" is proelpizO, a simple and honest rendering of this word. Thayer says this word means, "to repose hope in a person or thing before the event confirms it."

VERSE 13. In Whom you [A] also have hoped in advance, [B] upon [C] hearing this word of the truth, the good message of your salvation, in Whom even upon [D] believing, you were sealed with the Spirit of the promise, the Holy One,

Note the change from "we" to "you," both plural. Paul is now going to ascribe to this company a unique faith which he cannot ascribe to himself.

These words are supplied to fill the ellipsis. They bring forward the thought expressed in the immediate context.

They believed "upon hearing." Paul could not say this of himself.

The word pisteusantes expresses a fact that can be best set forth by supplying the word upon.

VERSE 14. Who is the earnest [A] of our full portion, in relation to the redemption of that which has been purchased for the extolling of His glory. [B]

The Gk. here is arabon, which means anything given by one party to another as a pledge that an agreement will be kept.

The long sentence ends here.

VERSE 15. Therefore, I also, on hearing [A] of this faith of yours [B] in the Lord Jesus, and that in respect to all the saints, [C]

These are not Paul’s converts. He knows of their faith only by hearing. They cannot be the Ephesians whom he knew so well and loved so dearly.

The Greek here is tEn kath humas pistin, which literally reads "the according to you belief," and means "the faith that accords with you. This is a new and different company of believers.

This is what the Greek says, and any honest interpretation must begin with these words.

VERSE 16. Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention in my prayers,

VERSE 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom [A] and revelation [B] in the realization [C] of Him, [D]

This would be the capacity to receive revealed truth that would be beyond the grasp of all human minds.

This is the capacity to uncover truth. See Prov. 25:2.

This is not gnOsis (knowledge); it is epignOsis, which means full knowledge, accurate knowledge.

Don’t miss this important point.

VERSE 18. The eyes of your heart having been enlightened, [A] so that you perceive what is the expectation of His calling, [B] and what the riches [C] of the glory of His portion among the saints,

He has already given eyes to their hearts so that out of the darkness, they have found their way to Him. Their commitment to Christ was not one of blind emotion. These believers were divine miracles.

This refers to the present position (klEsis) of Jesus Christ. Every believer should know fully and enter into the enjoyment of our safety, security, and certainty that comes from His present position. He is the Rock, and we are founded on Him.

When ploutos (wealth) is used with the genitive, it indicates outflowing wealth of whatever is stated, that is, wealth that enriches others. Note this construction in 1:7; 1:18; 2:7; 3:8, 16.

VERSE 19. And what the transcendent greatness of His power for us who are believing, [A] in accord with the working of the might of His strength,

The believer has three things operating for his benefit and in his behalf: the present position of Christ, the portion God has given to Christ, the power of God that belongs to Christ. We are not powerless. We are not alone.

VERSE 20. Which is wrought in the Christ, raising Him from among the dead, and seating Him in His right [A] among the most elevated, [B]

This is what the Greek says, and it should not be rewritten.

This is the second occurrence of en tois epouraniois. See note on 1:3.

VERSE 21. Up over [A] every sovereignty [B] and authority [C] and power [D] and lordship, [E] even every name that is named, not only in this eon, [F] but also in that to come, [G]

The word huperanO can mean "up over" or "over above," but not "far above." This word is found in Heb. 9:5 where it is used of the position of the cherubim in relation to the mercy seat.

This is archE which means a first one, a leader.

This is exousia which means literally, delegated authority.

This is dunamis, from which we get our word dynamite.

This is kuriotes, from kurios, meaning lord. These words refer to the most exalted ones among the angelic hosts; yet, Christ is now seated "over above" every one of them.

The present evil eon. Gal. 1:4.

This is the kingdom of God.

VERSE 22. And subordinates all under His feet, and constitutes [A] Him head [B] over all to the outcalled, [C]

The Greek here means "give," but is translated "constitutes" here since this is what takes place when one is given an office.

A "head" is an outflowing source.

All who have a position out of Christ are "outcalled," (ekklEsia).

VERSE 23. Which is His body, [A] the complement [B] of the One filling all these [C] in all ways; [D]

He, the Head, flows into the outcalled and they become His substance or essence.

The Gk. is plErOma, a word used of the officers and men who made up the personnel of a ship.

The Greek here is ta panta. It is the outcalled who are filled.

This is not the end of the sentence. A bad chapter break occurs here.

INDEX

Issue no. 058