Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 3:11
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
11. according to the eternal purpose ] Lit., and better, according to the purpose of the ages. I.e. the Church, as watched by the angels, presents to them the final result (final in kind) of the great Plan of Divine developments by which the glory of God was to be displayed in His dealings with Sin. The redeemed Church corresponds to this Plan; it is (in kind, in essence,) the realization of the Divine Idea. No other and better thing in that kind is to succeed it. The past “ages,” angelic, paradisaic, patriarchal, Mosaic, prophetic, have led up to the Universal Church, in its spiritual reality, as their goal.
in Christ Jesus our Lord ] Lit., in the Christ, Jesus our Lord. The “Purpose” was “purposed” (lit. “made”) “ in Him,” inasmuch as both Idea and Working were altogether bound up with Him. “In Christ” God was to “reconcile the world”; “in Christ” the saints were to “have redemption in His blood”; “in Him” to be “rooted and built up”; “complete in Him”; “abiding in Him”; “walking in Him”; “dying in Him” (Rev 14:13); “made alive in Him” (1Co 15:22). Thus “in the Christ,” the Eternal and Anointed Son and Word, the Idea stood forth formed; and in that Christ, as “Jesus our Lord,” incarnate, sacrificed, glorified, the Idea is carried into realization.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
According to the eternal purpose – see the note, Eph 1:4. Literally, the purpose of ages, or of eternity. Locke, Chandler, and Whitby render this, according to that disposition or arrangement of the ages which he made in Jesus Christ, or through him. The object of such an interpretation seems to be to avoid the doctrine that God had a purpose or plan in the salvation of people, and hence such expositors suppose it refers to the arrangement of the ages of the world by which the plan of redemption was introduced. On the word rendered here as purpose – prothesis – see the notes at Rom 8:28; compare Eph 1:11. It is rendered showbread – the bread of setting before, Mat 12:4; Mar 2:26; Luk 6:4; Heb 9:2; purpose, Act 11:23; Act 27:13; Rom 8:28; Rom 9:11; Eph 1:11; Eph 3:11; 2Ti 1:9; 2Ti 3:10. It does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. In most of these cases it refers to the purpose or intention of God; in not a single case does it mean arrangement or disposition in any sense like that of making an arrangement of ages or periods of the world; and the interpretation proposed by Whitby, Locke, Clarke, and others, is wholly at variance with the settled use of the word.
The word rendered eternal – aionon – may mean ages; but it also most usually means eternity; see Eph 3:9. Here it may mean the purpose of ages; i. e., the purpose formed in past ages; but the word is most commonly used in the New Testament in the sense of ever, and forever; compare the following places, where it is so rendered in our common version, and beyond a doubt correctly; Mat 6:13; Mat 21:19; Mar 3:29; Mar 11:14; Luk 1:33, Luk 1:55; Joh 4:14; Joh 6:51, Joh 6:58; Joh 8:35; Joh 14:16; Rom 1:25; Rom 9:5; Rom 11:36; Rom 16:27; 2Co 9:9; 2Co 11:31; Gal 1:5. The fair meaning of the passage here is, that God had formed a plan which was eternal in reference to the salvation of people; that that plan had reference to the Lord Jesus; and that it was now executed by the gospel. It is impossible to get away from the idea that God has a plan. It is too often affirmed in the Scriptures, and is too consonant with out reason to be disputed. It is as undesirable as it is impossible to escape from that idea. Who could respect or honor an intelligent being that had no plan, no purpose, no intention, and that did all things by caprice and hap-hazard? If God has any plan, it must he eternal. He has no new schemes; he has no intentions which he did not always have.
Which he purposed – Literally, which he made.
In Christ Jesus – With reference to him; or which were to be executed through him. The eternal plan had respect to him, and was to be executed by his coming and work.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 11. According to the eternal purpose] . 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] . 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
According to the eternal purpose: all that God doeth in the work of our redemption, whereby he sets forth his manifold wisdom, he doeth according to what he had from eternity purposed to do, and therein likewise shows his wisdom, to which it belongs to order and determine things before the doing of them, and then to do them as they have been ordered.
Which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; not only as the eternal Wisdom of the Father, but as designed in Gods decree to be the Head of the church, and he by whom God would in time execute his eternal purpose.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. which he purposedGreek,“made.” ELLICOTTtranslates, “wrought.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
According to the eternal purpose,…. The whole of salvation, in which is displayed the great wisdom of God, is according to a purpose of his; the scheme of it is fixed in the council of peace; the thing itself is effected in pursuance of it; Christ, the Redeemer, was set forth in it; his incarnation, the time of his coming into the world, his sufferings and death, with all their circumstances, were decreed by God; and the persons for whom Christ became incarnate, suffered, and died, were appointed unto salvation by him; and the application of it to them is according to his purpose; the time when, the place where, and the means whereby souls are converted, are all settled in the decrees of God; the Gospel itself, the preaching of it by such and such persons, its use to make men see the mysteries of grace, and the fellowship of them, and to make known these things to the angels of heaven, are all according to a divine purpose: and this purpose is eternal, or was in the mind of God from all eternity; for no new will can arise in him; no purpose, resolution, or decree can be made by him in time, which was not in his breast from everlasting; and his purpose concerning the salvation of men must be eternal, since a council of peace was held, a covenant of peace was made, a promise of life was given, persons were fixed upon to be saved, a Saviour was appointed for them, and grace, and the blessings of it were put into his hands before the world began.
Which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; the constitution of it was in him; God was in Christ contriving the scheme of salvation; eye was upon him, his thoughts centred in him, in him are all his promises, and blessings of grace designed and provided for his people; and the execution of this purpose is by him; though some refer this clause to the church in Eph 3:10 which he has made in Christ, or by Christ, has built upon him, and united to him; and others, to the manifold wisdom of God displayed in Christ, who is the wisdom of God, and in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
According to the eternal purpose ( ). “According to the purpose (1:11) of the ages.” God’s purpose runs on through the ages. “Through the ages one eternal purpose runs.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Eternal purpose [ ] . Lit., the purpose of the ages.
He wrought [] . Carried into effect. See on fulfilling, ch. 2 3.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “According to the eternal purpose” (kata prothesin ton aionon) “According to or based on (the) purpose of the ages.” Neither the provision for redemption of all men nor the establishment of the church was an afterthought of God, or correction of any weakness in His design to receive glory through the redeemed or the church.
2) “Which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (hen epoiesin en to christou to kurio hemon) Which he made or formed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Both salvation for believers from all races and the purchase of the church were in the eternal purpose of God and revealed or unveiled in their own time, Heb 1:2; Rom 16:25-26, 1Pe 1:20; Eph 5:25.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
11. According to the eternal purpose. How carefully does he guard against the objection, that the purpose of God has been changed! A third time, he repeats that the decree was eternal and unchangeable, but must be carried into effect by Christ Jesus our Lord, because in him it was made. Thus he declares, that the proper time for publishing this decree belongs to the kingdom of Christ. Literally the words run, “according to the eternal purpose ( ἣν ἐποίησοεν) which he made. ” But I consider the meaning to be, which he purposed; because the present discussion does not relate solely to the execution of the decree, but to the appointment itself, which, though it took place before all ages, was known to God only — till the manifestation of Christ.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) The eternal purpose.Properly, the purpose of the ages; but the sense clearly is, of the purpose of God (see Eph. 1:11), conceived before the ages of His dispensation, and fulfilled through them. Hence the rendering of our version is substantially correct.
Which he purposed.It should be, which He wrought, or made, for the word is quite distinct from the substantive purpose, and is in itself ambiguous, capable of meaning either ordained or worked out. Either sense will suit the passage; but the latter perhaps better, since the idea is throughout of the completion and manifestation of the mystery of Gods purpose in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. Eternal purpose Of reconciling the whole race in Christ, Eph 1:10; which purpose takes completion in the elect through faith. But the wisdom of God is manifold. As the ideal of God is not realized, so that that pure mercy is not fulfilled, thereupon he avails himself of that non-realization to unfold his attribute of justice in judgment upon sin, and thus reveals more completely his full-orbed nature.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eph 3:11. According to the eternal purpose Mr. Locke would render the Greek, According to that pre-disposition of the ages, or several dispensations which he made in Christ Jesus: which, by the pre-ordination of God’s purpose, were all regulated and constituted in him: and Dr. Whitby, taking it in the same sense, explains it of Christ’s being promised in the first age to Adam, typified in the second to the Jews, and in the last age preached to all the world.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eph 3:11 . ] belongs neither to (Holzhausen) nor to (Koppe, Baumgarten-Crusius), nor does it relate to Eph 3:9 (Michaelis), nor yet to all that precedes from Eph 3:3 or Eph 3:5 (Flatt, comp. Zanchius, Morus), but to . . ., giving information important in its bearing on this : in accordance with the purpose of the world-periods , i.e. in conformity with the purpose which God had during the world-periods (from the commencement of the ages up to the execution of the purpose); for already it was formed, Eph 1:3 , but from the beginning of the world-ages it was hidden in God, Eph 3:9 . On the genitive, comp. Jud 1:6 ; Psa 145:13 ; Winer, p. 169 [E. T. 234]. Others , incorrectly, take it as: the purpose concerning the different periods of the world , according to which, namely, God at first chose no people, then chose the Jews, and lastly called Jews and Gentiles to the Messianic kingdom (Schoettgen, comp. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Estius, Cornelius a Lapide, Baumgarten, Semler); for it is only the one purpose, accomplished in Christ, that is spoken of. See what follows. According to Baur, . means: according to what God ideally proposed to Himself in the aeons (that is, the subjects of the divine ideas, constituting as such the essence of God). According to the Gnostic view, this returns, after it has been accomplished in Christ, as the realized idea back into itself.
. .] applies not to (Jerome, Luther, Moldenhauer), but to , and means: which He has fulfilled in Christ Jesus . So Castalio, Vatablus, Grotius, Zachariae, Koppe, Rosenmller, Holzhausen, Matthies, Olshausen, de Wette, Bleek, and others. Comp. (Eph 2:3 ; Mat 21:31 ; Joh 6:38 ), (Act 17:17 ). Others : which He has formed in Christ Jesus. So Beza, Calvin, Estius, Michaelis, Morus, et al. , including Flatt, Rckert, Meier, Harless, Baumgarten-Crusius; also Hofmann, Schriftbew . I. p. 230. Linguistically admissible. Comp. Mar 3:6 ; Mar 15:1 ; Isa 29:15 ; Herod. i. 127. But the context tells in favour of the first-named interpretation, since what follows is the explanation assigning the ground of the purpose not as formed , but as carried into effect ; hence not merely is said, but (comp. Eph 1:5 ), since not the forming of that purpose, but its accomplishment , took place in the historically manifested Messiah, Jesus in Him, in His personal self-sacrifice is the realization of that divine purpose contained.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Ver. 11. According to the eternal purpose ] Of calling and saving the Gentiles by Christ; a secret that the angels themselves could not understand till the afore appointed time came.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
11 .] according to (depends on this imparting of the knowledge of God’s manifold wisdom was in accordance with, &c.) the (not, ‘ a :’ after a preposition, especially when a limiting genitive, as here, follows, the omission of the article can hardly be regarded as affecting the sense) purpose of ( the ) ages (the genitive is apparently one of time, as when we say, ‘it has been an opinion of years:’ the duration all that time giving the a kind of possession. If so, the sense is best given in English by ‘ eternal ’ as in E. V.), which ( ) He made (constituted, ordained. So Calv., Beza, Harl., Rck. On the other hand, Thdrt., Grot., Koppe, Olsh, Mey., De W., Stier, Ellic., would apply it to the carrying out, executing, in its historical realization . I can hardly think that so indefinite a word as would have been used to express so very definite an idea, now introduced for the first time, but believe the Apostle would have used some word like . Further, we should thus rather expect the perfect; whereas the aorist seems to refer back the act spoken of to the origination of the design. Both senses of are abundantly justified: see, for our sense, Mar 15:1 ; Isa 29:15 : for the other, ch. Eph 2:3 ; Mat 21:31 ; Joh 6:38 ; 1Th 5:24 al.) in Jesus our Lord the Christ (or, ‘ in the Christ , (namely) Jesus our Lord .’ The former is official, the latter personal. It was in his Christ that He made the purpose: and that Christ is Jesus our Lord. The words do not necessarily refer to the carrying out of the design. They bind together God’s eternal purpose and our present state of access to Him by redemption in Christ, and so close the train of thought of the last eleven verses, by bringing us again home to the sense of our own blessedness in Christ. That he says, . ., does not, as Olsh. and Stier, imply that the act spoken of must necessarily be subsequent to the Incarnation: see ch. Eph 1:3-4 : it is the complex personal appellation of the Son of God, taken from, and familiar to us by His incarnation, but applied to Him in His prexistence also),
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Eph 3:11 . : according to the eternal purpose . Literally, “according to the purpose of the ages” or “world-periods”; but represented with substantial accuracy by the “eternal” of the AV and the other old English Versions with exception of Wicl. and the Rhemish. The term must be taken here as elsewhere in the proper sense of purpose , not in that of foreknowledge (Chrys.); and the clause is to be connected neither with the nor with the in particular, but with the . The disclosure of the manifold wisdom of God to the angelic world, contemplated in the commission given by God’s grace to Paul, was of further-reaching moment than that. It was contemplated in God’s eternal purpose and took place in accordance with that. The gen. may be a gen. of time ( cf. Jud 1:6 ); Alf. compares our phrase “an opinion of years”; or it may rather be one of the many forms of the gen. of possession “the purpose pertaining to the ages ,” formed before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:3 ), long hidden in the Divine Mind (Eph 3:9 ), but existent and in God’s view from the beginning till now ( cf. 2Ti 1:9 ). : which he wrought in Christ Jesus our Lord . The subject of the is the , not the (Jer., Luth., etc.). The verb is rendered “purposed” by the RV; as it is also taken by many to mean formed, constituted (Calv., Harl., Hofm., De Wette, Alf., Abb., etc.). This use of the verb is somewhat like that in Mar 3:6 ; Mar 15:1 ( ), etc., and gives a good sense. On the other hand, the use of in such connections as (Mat 21:31 ; Joh 6:38 ; Eph 2:3 ), (Rev 17:17 ), etc., seems to be sufficient justification for giving it the sense of fulfilling, carrying out ; and the designation Christ Jesus (not Christ simply), pointing as it does to the historical Person, suggests that what is in view now is the realisation of the purpose rather than its formation . On the whole, therefore, it is perhaps best to render it “which He wrought , or carried into effect , in Him whom we preach as Christ Jesus our Lord” (Mey., Ell., etc.). The TR (with [291] 1 3 [292] 3 [293] [294] [295] , etc.) gives ; the best critics (LTTrWHRV), on the authority of [296] [297] [298] [299] [300] 17, etc., insert before . The designation is singular; cf. , however, the of Col 2:6 .
[291] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[292] Codex Ephraemi (sc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.
[293] Codex Claromontanus (sc. vi.), a Grco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.
[294] Codex Mosquensis (sc. ix.), edited by Matthi in 1782.
[295] Codex Angelicus (sc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.
[296] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[297] Autograph of the original scribe of .
[298] Autograph of the original scribe of .
[299] Codex Alexandrinus (sc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).
[300] Codex Ephraemi (sc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
eternal purpose = purpose (Greek. prothesis. See Eph 1:11) of the ages (App-151.)
which. i.e. which (purpose).
purposed = made. Greek. poieo.
Christ Jesus our Lord. App-98.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
11.] according to (depends on -this imparting of the knowledge of Gods manifold wisdom was in accordance with, &c.) the (not, a: after a preposition, especially when a limiting genitive, as here, follows, the omission of the article can hardly be regarded as affecting the sense) purpose of (the) ages (the genitive is apparently one of time, as when we say, it has been an opinion of years: the duration all that time giving the a kind of possession. If so, the sense is best given in English by eternal as in E. V.), which () He made (constituted, ordained. So Calv., Beza, Harl., Rck. On the other hand, Thdrt., Grot., Koppe, Olsh, Mey., De W., Stier, Ellic., would apply it to the carrying out, executing, in its historical realization. I can hardly think that so indefinite a word as would have been used to express so very definite an idea, now introduced for the first time, but believe the Apostle would have used some word like . Further, we should thus rather expect the perfect; whereas the aorist seems to refer back the act spoken of to the origination of the design. Both senses of are abundantly justified: see, for our sense, Mar 15:1; Isa 29:15 : for the other, ch. Eph 2:3; Mat 21:31; Joh 6:38; 1Th 5:24 al.) in Jesus our Lord the Christ (or, in the Christ, (namely) Jesus our Lord. The former is official, the latter personal. It was in his Christ that He made the purpose: and that Christ is Jesus our Lord. The words do not necessarily refer to the carrying out of the design. They bind together Gods eternal purpose and our present state of access to Him by redemption in Christ, and so close the train of thought of the last eleven verses, by bringing us again home to the sense of our own blessedness in Christ. That he says, . ., does not, as Olsh. and Stier, imply that the act spoken of must necessarily be subsequent to the Incarnation: see ch. Eph 1:3-4 : it is the complex personal appellation of the Son of God, taken from, and familiar to us by His incarnation, but applied to Him in His prexistence also),
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Eph 3:11. , the purpose of the ages [eternal purpose]) concerning the ages, and before the ages, 2Ti 1:9.-, which) This refers to , purpose.-, our, of us) viz. believers, who are the Church.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Eph 3:11
Eph 3:11
according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:-These things were all developed in the church, according to the purpose of God. He proposed to bring them about in and through Christ from the beginning of the world, when Christ was a lamb slain from the foundation of the world, but manifested in these last days.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Eph 1:4, Eph 1:9, Eph 1:11, Isa 14:24-27, Isa 46:10, Isa 46:11, Jer 51:29, Rom 8:28-30, Rom 9:11, 2Ti 1:9
Reciprocal: 2Sa 7:21 – according 1Ch 17:19 – according Job 10:13 – I know Ecc 3:14 – whatsoever Isa 23:9 – Lord Zec 6:1 – and the Mat 11:26 – for Joh 11:52 – the children Rom 16:25 – which Gal 1:15 – it Eph 1:6 – praise 1Pe 1:20 – verily
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Eph 3:11.) -according to the eternal purpose. The connection of these words is not with the adjective or substantive of the preceding clause: neither with , as is supposed by Anselm and Holzhausen, nor with , as Koppe conjectures; but with . This revelation of God’s multifarious wisdom now and by the church has happened according to His eternal purpose – the purpose of ages, or the purpose of those periods which are so distant, as to be to us identical with eternity. Theodoret thus explains it- . 1Co 2:7; 2Ti 1:9. On the other hand, Anselm, a-Lapide, Estius, Baumgarten, Schoettgen, and Holzhausen, take the genitive as that of object, and render the clause-purpose about the ages. Such is virtually the view of Chandler and Macknight, who make the word ages signify the religious dispensations, and regard as meaning fore-arrangement. The simplest view, and that most in accordance with grammatical usage, is, as we have said, to take the genitive as one of quality-as equivalent to its own adjective -or of possession, with Ellicott; and such is the opinion of Harless, Olshausen, and Meyer. Winer, 30, 2. So in Hebrew, -everlasting strength, Isa 26:4. See also Dan 9:24. It was a purpose-
-which He wrought in Christ Jesus our Lord. The article before is doubtful, though Tischendorf inserts it. The antecedent to is not , as Theophylact, Jerome, and Luther construe, but . Two classes of meanings have been attached to :-
1. According to Calvin, Beza, Estius, Bengel, Rckert, Meier, Harless, and Baumgarten-Crusius, its meaning is, Which He made, that is, formed in Christ. The verb is so used Mar 3:6; Mar 15:1, and the idea is scriptural. See Eph 1:3. See for one view of the relation of Christ to the Father in such an expression, Hofmann, Schriftb. vol. i. p. 230; and for another, Thomasius, Christi Person, vol. i. p. 453.
2. But in the view of Theodoret, Vatablus, Grotius, Koppe, Matthies, Olshausen, Scholz, Meyer, de Wette, Stier, and Conybeare, it denotes, Which He executed or fulfilled in Christ Jesus. This last interpretation is on the whole preferable, for may bear such a sense, as in Eph 2:3; Mat 21:31; Joh 6:38; 1Th 5:24. Olshausen suggests that Jesus Christ is the historical name, so that the verb refers to the realization of God’s decree in Him, and not to the inner act of the Divine will. The words signify not on account of, nor by, but in Christ Jesus, as the sphere or element in which the action of the verb takes effect. The meaning of the three names has been given under Eph 1:2, etc. The lessons of manifold wisdom given to principalities and powers, in connection with the introduction of the Gentiles into the church, are not an accidental denouement, nor an undesigned betrayal of a Divine secret on the part of the church. Nor was the disclosure of the mystery forced on God by the power of circumstances, or the pressure of unforeseen necessities, for, in its period and instruments, it was in unison with His own eternal plan, which has been wrought out in Christ-in His incarnation and death, His ascension and glorification. The lesson to the principalities was intended for them; they have not profanely intruded into the sacred precincts, and stolen away the guarded science. In all this procedure, which reveals to princedoms and powers God’s manifold wisdom, the Divine eternal plan is consistently and systematically developed in Christ. And, as their own experience tells them, He is the same Christ-
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Eph 3:11. Eternal is from AION, which means age or ages. Throughout the ages since the beginning of the world, God was planning for the complete plan of redemption for man, and that planning is here called the eternal purpose. It was to be perfected through Christ Jesus, who was promised to Abraham (Gen 12:3 Gen 22:18).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eph 3:11. According to the eternal purpose, lit., the purpose of the ages. The purpose belongs to the ages, will be retained during the ages, controlling them. This implies a purpose formed before these ages (comp. Eph 3:9), hence eternal gives the sense accurately.
Which he wrought in Christ Jesus our Lord. Wrought (lit., made) has been applied by many to the forming of the purpose (constituted, E. V., purposed). But it seems best to refer it to the execution of it, regarded as an accomplished fact. In favor of this is urged, (1.) that the historical Saviour is here described in full terms; (2.) that the next verse is an explanatory confirmation of the accomplished, not of the purposed, design (Meyer); (3.) that this sense of the verb is more common in the New Testament than that of constituted. At the same time wrought seems preferable to the more definite fulfilled. Comp. my note, Lange, Ephesians, p. 117. This purpose was wrought in Jesus of Nazareth, the personal Messiah, the Lord of His people. His work and Person are not to be sundered here.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Our apostle here shows,
1. That whatever the wisdom of God has done in the work of redemption, was from all eternity purposed to be done, and that our Lord Jesus Christ was the Person by whom God would in time execute his eternal purpose: According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus.
Next, he shows the great and gracious privileges which all believers are admitted to the participation of, by and through our Lord Jesus Christ; namely, boldness, access, and confidence: In whom we have boldness, and access, with confidence, through the faith of him.
Access’ that is, a liberty of approach to God as a Father:
Boldness; that is, a freedom of speech in delivering our heart, our whole mind and heart, to him, in the duty of prayer and thanksgiving:
Confidence; that is, a well-grounded persuasion that both our persons and performances shall find acceptance with God.
All which privileges are enjoyed by the exercise of faith in Christ: We have boldness, access, and confidence, through the faith of him.
Lastly, He exhorts them not to faint under or be discouraged at, his present sufferings, much less to backslide from christianity upon that account, seeing that his tribulations were both profitable, and also glorious and honourable: I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
Observe here, 1. That new converts to christianity are subject to faintings and drooping discouragements at the news of sufferings.
Observe, 2. That persecution for the gospel of Christ is a trial, not only to those who are under it, but to those that hear of it. St. Paul here was more afraid of the Ephesians fainting under his sufferings, than he was of his own fainting, and therefore he doth carefully guard against it: I desire you not to faint at my tribulations.
Observe, 3. That the persecutions and afflictions, the hardships and severities, which the ministers of Christ do for the most part endure and undergo, are for the sake of their people; they might shift off and shun the cross as well as other men, did not love to the souls of their people engage them to suffer the sharpest persecution for their sake: I desire you faint not at my tribulation for you; that is, for preaching the gospel to you.
Observe, 4. From those words, My tribulation, which is your glory: so honourable it is to suffer for Christ, that not only the ministers of Christ themselves, who suffer, are thereby honoured, but the people of their charge also are greatly honoured thereby; in testifying God’s high esteem of such a people in sending his ministers not only to teach and instruct them, but to suffer for them, yea, even to die for them. Which consideration ought not only to prevent our people’s fainting at our sufferings, but should make them glory in them, and take encouragement from them: My tribulation, saith St. Paul, is in your glory.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Here we see that which we mentioned in the previous verse, the decrees, the eternal purpose of God, that which He set in motion before the creation in eternity past.
“Purpose” is the Greek word “prothesis.” It means something that supports, or sets forth something. It would be as a table holding something. In our own language it is something that supports something else.
Everything He purposed, was tied up in Christ Jesus our Lord – Christ the Messiah, Jesus the perfect man, and Lord the object of our service.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
3:11 According to the {d} eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
(d) Which was before all things.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
This plan was part of God’s eternal purpose (Eph 1:11). God brought this part of His plan to fruition through our Lord’s earthly ministry. Specifically, the Jews’ rejection of their Messiah resulted in the postponement (from the human viewpoint) of the messianic (Davidic) kingdom and the beginning of the church.
"God’s program today is not ’the headship of Israel’ (Deu 28:1-13), but the headship of Christ over His church." [Note: Wiersbe, 2:29.]