Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 4:6
One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.
6. one God and Father of all ] The ultimate Source of spiritual unity. Baptism seals faith, faith unites to the Lord Christ, Christ reveals the Father as “the only true God” (Joh 17:3), with Whom He, one with His Church, is eternally one. “ Of all ” : here, obviously, all believers. Other aspects of Divine Fatherhood are not here in question. See above on Eph 1:2. And cp. on this Ephesians 4: 1Co 8:6.
above all, &c.] The thought in these clauses progresses downwards and inwards. The Eternal Father, in His Son, supremely presides “ over all” His regenerate children, carries out action “ through ” them, and dwells “ in ” them. On the last word see Eph 2:22; 2Co 6:16-18 ; 1Jn 4:12; 1Jn 4:16. “ In you all ” : there is clear evidence for the omission of “you”; considerable evidence for the reading “us”; but a preponderance, chiefly of patristic quotations, against any pronoun. The context however is clear for the special reference to the Church. The power and immanence of God in the Universe would be only a remote plea for Christian union.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
One God – The same God; therefore there should be unity. Were there many gods to be worshipped, there could be no more hope of unity than there is among the worshippers of Mammon and Bacchus, and the various other idols that people set up. People who have different pursuits, and different objects of supreme affection, can be expected to have no union. People who worship many gods, cannot hope to be united. Their affections are directed to different objects, and there is no harmony or sympathy of feeling. But where there is one supreme object of attachment there may be expected to be unity. The children of a family that are devoted to a parent, will be united among themselves; and the fact that all Christians have the same great object of worship, should constitute a strong bond of union among themselves – a chain always kept bright.
And Father of all – One God who is the Father of all; that is, who is a common Father to all who believe. That this refers to the Father, in contradistinction from the Son and the Holy Spirit, seems evident. The Spirit and the Son are mentioned in the previous verses. But the fact that the Father of all is mentioned as God, does not prove that the Spirit and the Son are not also endowed with divine attributes. That question is to be determined by the attributes ascribed to the Son and the Holy Spirit in other places. All sincere Christians worship one God, and but one. But they suppose that this one God subsists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, united in a mysterious manner, and constituting the one God, and that there is no other God. That the Father is divine, they all hold, as Paul affirms here; that the Son and the Holy Spirit are also divine, they also hold; see the John 1 note; Heb. 1 note; Phi 2:6 note; Rom 9:5 note. The meaning here is, that God is the common Father of all his people – of the rich and the poor; the bond and the free; the learned and the unlearned. He is no respecter of persons. Nothing would tend more to overcome the prejudices of color, rank, and wealth, than to feel that we all have one Father; and that we are all equally the objects of his favor; compare notes on Act 17:26.
Who is above all – Who is supreme; who presides over all things.
And through all – He pervades universal nature, and his agency is seen everywhere.
And in you all – There is no one in whose heart he does not dwell. You are his temple, and he abides in you; see Eph 2:22; notes, 1Co 6:19. The argument here is, that as the same God dwelt in every heart, they ought to be one. See this argument beautifully expressed in the Saviours prayer, Joh 17:21; compare Joh 14:23.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Eph 4:6
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
The universal Fatherhood of believers
I. A truth proclaimed by the gospel.
II. A truth manifoldly confirmed by Christian experience.
1. The Divine Father is over all His children. Fatherhood the ultimate truth concerning God on which all others rest, and out of which they grow. Expressive of
(1) supreme authority;
(2) protective care;
(3) the grace of God as an administrative principle.
2. The Divine Father is through all His children. This preposition suggests movement and instrumentality.
(1) The energy of the Father working through His children;
(2) the distribution of spiritual gifts;
(3) the revelation of the Father through believers.
3. The Divine Father is in all His children.
(1) In the consciousness of their relationship to Him (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6);
(2) in real union with Him (Joh 17:22-23). (A. F. Muir, M. A.)
One God and Father
The ideas connected with God and Father are here joined beautifully in the same person–power and love. Majesty is softened with tenderness, and the splendours of the Divinity tempered by the condescensions of paternal love. This principle is indeed wonderfully exemplified in all Gods dealings with the human race since the beginning of the world. The entire Jewish theocracy was the clothing the splendours of the present Ruler under the forms of a carnal ritualism. Whenever, in the old Testament, the glory of the Lord appears, two things take place–the sinful creature is laid in the dust, and then a word of comfort comes from the excellent glory: power is tempered with grace; the majesty of Jehovah with the human heartedness of the Father. Thus it was with Isaiah (Isa 6:5-9); Ezekiel fell prostrate (Eze 3:23); and Daniel fainted and was sick certain days (Dan 8:17-27); John, the beloved, fell down as dead before the glory of his Master (Rev 1:17); and even the fierce murderer of the saints (Act 9:4-5) was overwhelmed by the manifested glory. It is a source of comfort to remark that in these and all such cases there is ever some word or act of kindness on the part of God to raise up and strengthen His trembling creatures. It is the realizing of the name, God and Father. This is, indeed, the principle of Incarnation. The awful glory of the incorruptible God is tempered, softened, humanized in the person of Christ. (W. Graham, D. D.)
The Fatherhood of God
There are degrees of Fathership; or rather, there are such different degrees of the development of a Fathers love as make new orders in the relationship. He is the Father of the inanimate creation. Job calls Him the Father of the rain. In a higher sense and measure, He is the Father of the whole human race. All are the creatures of His hand; all are the subjects of His special providence; for all Jesus died. But the believer says it as a heathen or man of the world never says it. Or, see it again in this way. God has only one begotten Son, Jesus Christ. As many as believe are united to Jesus Christ; they become members of that mystical body. So they become sons by a double process, and by virtue of their union with Christ they are sons indeed. Therefore to them in a further degree God is Father. I do not say He is a reconciled Father to them, that He did not need (that is not in the Bible), but they are reconciled children to Him. There are two persons who best know what it is to say Father. One is a little, simple, trusting child, of the womb of the morning, who has not yet unlearnt the faith of his infancy. The other is a penitent, rising up from his sin, going back to his home–I will arise, and go to my Father, and will say unto Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. I believe the remedy of all sorrow and almost all sin will be to think of God more as a Father. But this is not the line of thought along which I wish to take you now, but it is this, that God is the common Father of us all. Surely it would be a great thing if we could have it always before us–One God and Father of all. There is a great deal of harshness of opinion in the world just now, and men are very busy unchurching and un-Christianizing one another. The rich speak of the poor as the lower orders, and the poor–partly in consequence because they think the rich look down upon them–the poor dislike the rich much more than the rich dislike the poor. But ought this to be where all are one family? Do we call brothers and sisters lower orders? At this moment, have you any disagreement with any living man? have you any quarrel? Now think–That person has the same Father that I have; how patient that Father has been with that man; how very patient God has been with me; and is this the way, as a child of God, I should act to another child of the same God? There are deep mysteries in Gods providence–why some are heathen and some are Christian, some know nothing and some know much, some have so many advantages and some have so exceedingly few. But let us never forget the Word, and all it tells, and all it teaches us to do–One God and Father of us all. I know nothing which brings heaven so near. Here are we on earth trying to say, and we ought to say, every day, Our Father. And up there, just inside the blue veil, the hundred forty-and-four thousand have the Fathers name on their foreheads. Was this the reason why Christ taught us to say, Our Father? (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
God the Father of all
The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide worlds joy. The lowly pine on the mountain top waves its sombre boughs, and cries, Thou art my sun. And the little meadow violet lifts its cup of blue, and whispers with its perfumed breath, Thou art my sun. And the grain in a thousand fields rustles in the wind, and makes answer, Thou art my sun. So God sits effulgent in heaven, not for a favoured few, but for the universe of life; and there is no creature so poor or so low that he may not look up with childlike confidence and say, My Father, Thou art mine. (H. W. Beecher.)
God is above all
When Bulstrode Whitelock was embarking, in the year 1653, as ambassador for Sweden, he was much disturbed in his mind, as he rested at Harwich on the preceding night, which was stormy, while he reflected on the distracted state of the nation. It happened that a good and confidential servant slept in an adjacent bed, who, finding that his master could not sleep, at length said, Pray, sir, will you give me leave to ask you a question? Certainly. Pray, sir, dont you think that God governed the world very well before you came into it? Undoubtedly. And pray, sir, dont you think that He will govern it quite as well when you are gone out of it? Certainly. Then, sir, dont you think you may trust Him to govern it properly as long as you live? To this last question Whitelock had nothing to reply, but, turning himself about, soon fell fast asleep, till he was aroused and called to embark.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. One God] The fountain of all being, self-existent and eternal; and Father of all, both Jews and Gentiles, because he is the Father of the spirits of all flesh.
Who is above all] . Who is over all; as the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
And through all] Pervading every thing; being present with every thing; providing for all creatures; and by his energy supporting all things.
And in you all.] By the energy of his Spirit, enlightening, quickening, purifying, and comforting; in a word, making your hearts the temples of the Holy Ghost. Some think the mystery of the blessed Trinity is contained in this verse: God is over all, as Father; through all, by the Logos or Word; and in all, by the Holy Spirit.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
One God; God is here taken personally for the Father, the other two Persons being before mentioned, Eph 4:4,5.
And Father of all; of all believers.
Who is above all; not only in the excellencies of his nature, but especially in his sovereign dominion over the church.
And through all; by his special providence, through all the members of the church.
And in you all; by inhabitation, and the conjunction of believers with him. Though the former two may be applied to Gods universal dominion and providence over all the creatures, yet, the apostle speaking of the conjunction of believers in one Father, they are both to be restrained according to this last clause.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. above“overall.” The “one God over all” (in His sovereignty andby His grace) is the grand source and crowning apex of unity (Eph2:19, end).
through allby means ofChrist “who filleth all things” (Eph 4:10;Eph 2:20; Eph 2:21),and is “a propitiation” for all men (1Jo2:2).
in you allThe oldestmanuscripts omit “you.” Many of the oldest versions andFathers and old manuscripts read, “in us all.”Whether the pronoun be read or not, it must be understood (eitherfrom the “ye,” Eph 4:4,or from the “us,” Eph4:7); for other parts of Scripture prove that the Spirit is not”in all” men, but only in believers (Rom 8:9;Rom 8:14). God is “Father”both by generation (as Creator) and regeneration (Eph 2:10;Jas 1:17; Jas 1:18;1Jn 5:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
One God and Father of all,…. That there is but one God is the voice of nature and of revelation; and may be concluded from the perfections of deity, for there can be but one eternal, infinite, immense, omnipotent, all-sufficient, perfect, and independent Being; and from one first cause of all things, and the relations he stands in to his creatures: there is but one God, who is truly, and really, and properly God, in opposition to all nominal and figurative deities, and which are not gods by nature, and to the fictitious deities and idols of the nations; and there is but one God of Jews and Gentiles; nor is the unity of the Godhead inconsistent with a trinity of persons in it: and this one God is the Father of all; the Father of all mercies, and of all spirits, both angels and souls of men; and he is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of all the elect in him: and seeing that they have all one covenant God and Father, who has predestinated them to the adoption of children, and who has put them among the children, and adopted them into his family, and stand in the same relation to him, and enjoy the same privileges, they ought to love as brethren:
who is above all; which may denote the superior excellency of his nature, not above his Son and Spirit, who are of the same nature with him, but above angels and men; and the extensiveness of his government, over all creatures in general, and over his church and people in particular:
and through all; the Arabic version renders it, “taking care of all”; which may have respect to his providence, which is either universal, and reaches to all creatures his hands have made; or special, and concerns his own chosen people, who belong to his family, and to whom he stands in the relation of a covenant God and Father: or this clause may refer to the perfections of his nature, which appear through the whole of the salvation of all the chosen ones; as his wisdom, love, grace, mercy, justice, holiness, truth, and faithfulness:
and in you all; which is to be understood, not of his being in his creatures, by his powerful presence, which is everywhere supporting them; but of the gracious union there is between him and his people, and of his gracious inhabitation in them by his Spirit. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, the Complutensian edition, and some copies, read, “in us all”; and the Alexandrian copy, and the Ethiopic version, read only, “in all”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
One God and Father of all ( ). Not a separate God for each nation or religion. One God for all men. See here the Trinity again (Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit).
Who is over all ( ),
and through all ( ),
and in all ( ). Thus by three prepositions (, , ) Paul has endeavoured to express the universal sweep and power of God in men’s lives. The pronouns (, , ) can be all masculine, all neuter, or part one or the other. The last “in all” is certainly masculine and probably all are.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
One God and Father. The fundamental ground of unity. Note the climax : One Church, one Christ, one God.
Above all [ ] . Rev, over : as ruler.
Through – in [ – ] . Through, pervading : in, indwelling. Compare ch. Eph 2:22; Eph 3:17.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “One God and Father of all” (eis theos kai pater panton) “One g) God, even Father of all.” The seventh bond of unity to be guarded in this body of church and Christian truth is that there exists but one true God. Any other or admission of such a possibility is a breach of the bond of unity, Exo 20:1-3; 1Co 8:5-6.
2) “Who is above all” (ho epi panton) “The one (God) who is or exists over all.” Other “gods” and lords” are dumb, deaf, lifeless, etc., Psa 115:1-9. He is transcendent over, supreme over, and sovereign over all that are called “gods” and “lords.” All die or have died, but He is life.
3) “And through alI” (kai dia panton) “And through all.” Second, the one true God is imminent or always present, animating, giving sustaining physical and spiritual life to His saints, Act 17:26.
4) “And in you all” (kai en pasin) “And in (you) all.” Third, this speaks of the one God, our heavenly Father, who dwells in us in the person of the Holy Spirit, 1Jn 4:13; Rom 5:5; Joh 14:16-17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. One God and Father of all. This is the main argument, from which all the rest flow. How comes it that we are united by faith, by baptism, or even by the government of Christ, but because God the Father, extending to each of us his gracious presence, employs these means for gathering us to himself? The two phrases, ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων, may either mean, above all and through all Things, or above all and through all Men. Either meaning will apply sufficiently well, or rather, in both cases, the meaning will be the same. Although God by his power upholds, and maintains, and rules, all things, yet Paul is not now speaking of the universal, but of the spiritual government which belongs to the church. By the Spirit of sanctification, God spreads himself through all the members of the church, embraces all in his government, and dwells in all; but God is not inconsistent with himself, and therefore we cannot but be united to him into one body.
This spiritual unity is mentioned by our Lord.
“
Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast, given me, that they may be one as we are.” (Joh 17:11)
This is true indeed, in a general sense, not only of all men but of all creatures. “In him we live, and move, and have our being.” (Act 17:28.) And again, “Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?” (Jer 23:24.) But we must attend to the connection in which this passage stands. Paul is now illustrating the mutual relation of believers, which has nothing in common either with wicked men or with inferior animals. To this relation we must limit what is said about God’s government and presence. It is for this reason, also, that the apostle uses the word Father, which applies only to the members of Christ.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) One God and Father of all.Necessarily, through the Son, we pass to the Father (as the Lord Himself invariably teaches us to do), since He is (to use the old Greek expression) the fount of Deity. He is said to be the Father of all. We cannot limit this universal Fatherhood; although, undoubtedly, the context shows that the immediate reference is to those who are His children by adoption in Jesus Christ. The Church is essentially Catholic, inheriting by special gift what is the birthright of all humanity; incapable of perfection till all be drawn into that closer sonship, yet having neither right nor desire to deny that outside her pale at any moment the wider Fatherhood of God extends.
Who is above all, and through all, and in you all.The word you has little authority; many MSS. and commentaries have us. But the best MSS. and authorities omit both, as probably early glosses of explanation which have crept into the text. Accordingly, the word all throughout must be taken, as above, as applying to all Gods rational creatures, made in His image (and indeed, in a lower sense, even to all His creatures), but especially and properly to the members of Christs Church. In the three-fold sentence many ancient and modern interpreters trace a reference to the Holy Trinity. But, strictly speaking, this cannot be, as the passage expressly points to the Father; although, in virtue of the eternal unity of the Godhead, it may be true that in the expression through all and in all we trace those manifestations of the Father which are especially made through the Son and by the Holy Spirit. Hence we must refer all properly to the ultimate conception of God the Father; as above all in the sovereignty of His will, since to work out His pleasure they are and were created, and His will becomes to them the law eternal; as through all in the diffusive power of the forcesphysical, moral, and spiritualby which the world of nature, still more the world of man, most of all the society of Christians, are swayed as wholes; and in all by the indwelling of God in the individual for creation, sustentation, regeneration, which is the breath of lifeboth the physical and spiritual life. (This individuality, and the especial reference to Christians, are marked by the very natural gloss us, or you, in this clause.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. One God Again St. Paul takes care to fasten our salvation to Him who is above all heavens. He is dealing with late worshippers of Diana or Jupiter. This salvation hangs not from these idols. Nor is it a mere earthly system with no heaven-connected cord. It is bound to the throne of the Infinite.
And Father of all One of the traces of the fatherhood of God, which Gentilism had lost, is the idea that the name Jupiter is in origin Zeus-pater, God-father, or, rather, Sky-father, or Heaven-father. St. Paul restores the true fatherhood to his converted Gentiles, pointing them to the supreme Zeus-pater, whom no image could represent, and no temple hold.
Above through in The threefold members are unquestionably based in the Trinitarian thought. Beginning with the baptismal form, (Mat 28:19,) thence taking that of the benediction (2Co 13:14) and the trisagion, (Rev 4:8,) we have models according to which Paul’s trinal clauses should certainly be interpreted. See our note on the Sacred Three, vol. ii, p. 77. The accordance of the prepositions here with the Trinitarian Persons is obvious. The Father, as original creator, is above all; the Son, as agent, or manifest God, is through all; the Spirit, as Sanctifier, is indwelling. Yet while these trinal attributes may thus symbolize the tri-personality, they may still accordantly be considered in pure reference to the one God as Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Immanent. As the Omnipotent, he is the essential force; as Omnipresent, he fills all space; as Immanent, he is the inmost basis of all substance and all existence. But we must never convert this Omnipresence, or Immanence in things, into an identity with things. For this identity with things is pantheism. It makes all things God. Pope’s lines
“All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body nature is, and God the soul,” etc.,
do truly express this divine Immanence, with great poetic beauty. They should never be charged with pantheism; they declare that God is in all things, but not that he is all things. But Emerson’s language
“He is the axis of the star;
He is the sparkle of the spar,
He is the heart of every creature;
He is the meaning of each feature;”
identifies God with things, the Creator with the creature. It identifies God with our own persons, and thence becomes self-deification. It identifies God with stocks and stones, and thence becomes fetichism.
In you all The you is rejected by the best readings.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eph 4:6. One God and Father of all, &c. Though God may be stiled the Father of all things universally, who is above, through, and in them all, as he created and upholds them, and has supreme dominion over them: and as in him we live, and move, and have our being; yet the father of all, &c. in this place, evidently means something more peculiar and distinguishing, withspecial relation to all his believing people, and to his gracious operation in them: for this best suits the design of the Apostle’s argument, and is most agreeable to all the other instances of union before recited, which, undoubtedly, have a particular and restrained reference to the church; and the all here intended, admits of a very easy construction, as answering to the one body, Eph 4:4 and to you all in the close of this verse. But when the Father of all true believers is said to be one God, this no more excludes the Son and Spirit from being God, together with the Father, than Christ’s being called one Lord, and the Holy Ghost one Spirit, Eph 4:4-5 excludes the Father from being Lord and Spirit together with them: and what is here said of God the Father as over or above all, ( ), is said of Christ, as over all, ( ) God blessed for ever (Rom 9:5.) and as the Father is through and in all believers, and all things that refer to them as believers; so it is said of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all things are by him, or through him, ( ), 1Co 8:6 and that he fills all in all, Eph 1:23 and believers are the temples of the Holy Ghost, in whom the Spirit of God dwells, (1Co 3:16.) Therefore one God and Father of all may be considered either as a personal character, and so the meaning is, that there is but one God the Father, in distinction from one God the Son and Spirit; or as an essential character, and so there is but one true God, inclusive of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to whom we are devoted in our baptism, Eph 4:5 in opposition to all false Gods; and with just the same propriety it may be said, there is one God the Son, and one God the Spirit, to distinguish them personally from the Father, and essentially from all false gods.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eph 4:6 . Observe the climactic advance in Eph 4:4-6 : the Church, Christ, God; and at the same time the climax in the divine Triad: Spirit, Lord, Father . Only the dominion of the Father is the absolute one, that of the Son is the derived, conferred, obtained (Phi 2:9 ; 1Co 15:24 ff; 1Co 3:23 , al. ; comp. Ernesti, Ursprung d. Snde , I. p. 194 ff.), in which He also disposes of the Spirit (2Co 3:18 ). See also Gess, von der Person Christi , p. 158 ff.
] i.e. of all believers , as those who have the (Eph 1:5 ; Rom 8:15 ; Gal 3:26 ; Gal 4:5 ), so that God is their God and Father . Holzhausen erroneously (seeing that the context treats of the Christian ) thinks that all men are intended. Not even the spiritually dead members of the church are included (in opposition to Mnchmeyer), as results from the sequel indicated by and , since they have not the Spirit and belong not to Christ (Rom 8:9 ), but are aloof from connection with Him and stand outside of grace (Gal 5:4 f.; Joh 15:2 ; Joh 15:6 ), consequently have no share in the body of Christ (Eph 1:23 ) and in the living temple of God (Eph 2:22 f.).
. . .] The relation of the to the in threefold manner. Comp. Rom 11:36 , where, however, the prepositions define the subject, not, as here, the object. , , and are equally to be taken as masculine , because the preceding was masculine, and because the discourse continues in Eph 4:7 with , wherein the are individualized. Wrongly, therefore, many (including Erasmus, Michaelis, Morus, Rckert, Baumgarten-Crusius) have taken the first two as neuter , while the Vulgate, Zachariae, Koppe, et al. , give the second point alone as neuter, and Matthies, on the other hand, explains all three elements of the relation of God to the world and mankind, consequently as neuter.
] , Chrysostom; , Theodoret. Comp. Rom 9:5 . See Wessel, ad Diodor. xiii. 14; Lobeck, ad Phryn p. 474; Winer, p. 335 [E. T. 521]. After this relation of transcendence there follows, in , that of immanence .
] cannot, since the are the Christians and the relation of God to what is Christian is characterized, apply either to the creation (Estius, Wolf, and others), so that we should have to think of the all-penetrating creative power of God, or to providence (Chrysostom and his successors; Beza, Grotius: “per omnes diffundit providam suam gubernationem”); but the charismatic presence of God by means of the Holy Spirit, pervading and ruling all Christians , is meant. See also Eph 4:7 , and comp. 1Co 12:6 . The distinction from the following lies not in the thing itself , since both elements denote the immanent ruling of God by virtue of His Spirit, but in the form of conception , since with the relation is conceived of as operative indwelling , and with as operative movement throughout all Christian hearts (“Deus enim Spiritu sanctificationis diffusus est per omnia ecclesiae membra,” Calvin). According to Harless, the thought expressed in is, that God as head works through the members . But of the conception of the head and the members there is absolutely nothing in the context; further, though mention is made of God as Father , it is not the Father, but Christ , that is Head of the members; lastly, in place of the simple , which is to be mentally supplied, there would be insensibly introduced a wholly different supplement, namely, , or a similar verb. [202] At the bottom of this explanation there lies, indeed, the presupposition, that the relation of the Trinity is expressed in the three prepositions, as Jerome, Thomas, and many of the older expositors would have it. Against this altogether arbitrary supposition, however, Theophylact already rightly declared himself. See also Hofmann, Schriftbew . I. p. 201. Olshausen, too, finds here, as at Rom 11:36 , the Trinity; holding that God is described in His various relations to the creature [rather to the Christians ] as Lord over all things, as instrument by which they are (this being held to apply to the Son), and as the element in which they are. Thus, moreover, the prepositional relation of the last two clauses is exactly reversed , inasmuch as not . . . is explained, but . . .! According to Beyschlag, Christol. d. N.T. p. 250, there is expressed, at least in the form of hint, the threefold mode of existence of God (“self-preservation, self-disclosure, self-communication”). But apart from the fact that such a threefold form of existence is not the expression of the New Testament triad, the self-communication, in fact, is implied not only in , but necessarily already in . Lastly, Koppe is wrong in an opposite way: “Sententia videtur una , tantum variis formulis synonymis (!) expressa haec: cui vos omnes debetis omnia .”
Observe, further, that the great fundamental elements of unity, Eph 4:4-6 , are matters of fact , historically given with Christianity itself, and as such are not affected by differences of doctrine ; hence without reason there have been found here traces of the later age, when “upon the basis of the Pauline thought a Catholic church was built,” of which the centralization in doctrine and constitution was not derived from the adherents of Paul, but was a Petrine thought (Schwegler). The Catholic idea in our passage is just the Pauline one (1Co 12 ), cherished by Christ Himself (Joh 17:20 f.).
[202] This also in opposition to Winzer: “qui per omnes operatur, quasi unoquoque utitur ad declarandam suam majestatem, ad consilia sua exsequenda.” So, in the main, de Wette (comp. Bengel): it applies to the operation brought about by means of all ; and Reiche: “ omnibus utitur quasi instrumentis , quibus res Christiana stabilitur, augetur, consummatur.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ver. 6. One God and Father of all ] Have we not all one Father? saith Malachi. Mal 2:10 Why then dissent and jar we? How is it that these many ones here instanced unite us not? “My dove, mine undefiled is but one,” Son 6:9 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6 .] one God (the unity is here consummated in its central Object: ‘hoc est prcipuum, quia inde manant reliqua omnia,’ Calv. But we must not miss the distinct witness to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in these verses: going upwards, we have 1st, the One Spirit dwelling in the one body: 2nd, the One Lord appropriated by faith and professed in baptism: 3rd, One God and Father supreme, in whom all find their end and object) and Father of all (masculine: ‘of all within the Church,’ for so is clearly the primary meaning, where he is speaking distinctly of the Church: of all (Mey.) who have the . But it can hardly be doubted, that there is a further reference to the universal Father-ship of all men which indeed the Church only inherits in its fulness, others having fallen out of it by sin, but which nevertheless is just as absolutely true), who is over all (men, primarily; and from the following, men only, in this place. He is over all, in his sovereignty as the FATHER), and through all (men: in the co-extensiveness of Redemption by the Son with the whole nature of man: see on Eph 4:10 below, and ch. Eph 2:20-21 ) and in all (men: by the indwelling of the Spirit, see ch. Eph 2:22 . So that I cannot but recognize, in these three carefully chosen expressions, a distinct allusion again to the Three Persons of the blessed Trinity. All these are the work of the Father: it is He who in direct sovereignty is over all He who is glorified in the filling of all things by the Son: He who is revealed by the witness of the indwelling Spirit. Many Commentators deny such a reference. Almost all agree in representing the indwelling of the Spirit: the has been the principal stumbling-block: and is variously interpreted: by some, of God’s Providence, , , Chrys., al.: by others, of His pervading presence by the Spirit, ‘spiritu sanctificationis diffusus est per omnia ecclesi membra,’ Calv.: by others, to the creation by the Son, ‘per quem omnia facta sunt’ (Aquin. in Ellic.): but this seems to be a conversion of into , as indeed Olsh. expressly does, ‘ als Werfzeug durch das die sind .’ Irenus, v. 18. 2, p. 315, gives the meaning thus, adopting the Trinitarian reference, but taking the both times as neuter , and reading : ‘super omnia quidem Pater, et ipse est caput Christi: per omnia autem verbum, et ipse est caput ecclesi: in omnibus autem nobis Spiritus, et ipse est aqua viva,’ &c.).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Eph 4:6 . : one God and Father of all . This supreme name, or , is used both absolutely (1Co 15:24 ; Eph 5:20 ; Jas 1:27 ), and with defining terms, e.g. , , Eph 1:10 (Rom 15:6 ; Eph 1:3 ; 2Co 1:3 ; 1Pe 1:3 ), (Gal 1:4 ; Phi 4:20 ; 1Th 3:11 ; 1Th 3:13 ; 2Th 2:16 ), (here; cf. the longer designation , 1Co 8:6 ). Christian unity being here in view, the name applies to the special Fatherhood of God in grace, not (with Holz., Abb.) to the universal Fatherhood of God and His relation to all men. Attention is rightly called by Mey. and others to the advance in the thought in these verses from Church to Christ , and from Christ to God who is One in the highest and most absolute sense the One source of life and good in all His people, the one to whom both Christ and the Spirit are related. , : who is over all, and through all, and in [ you ] all . The of the TR (following some cursives and Fathers), and the variant (in [359] [360] [361] [362] , Lat., Syr., Goth., etc.) must be omitted (with LTTrWHRV) as having no support from [363] [364] [365] [366] , 17, Copt., Eth., etc. The and the are most naturally taken as masculines here, in harmony with the previous . The clause, therefore, expresses a three-fold relation of the One God and Father to the all who are His: first , the relation of transcendence (Mey.) or sovereignty (= , over or above ) expressing the supremacy of absolute Godhead and Fatherhood; second , that of immanence (= through ) expressing the pervading, animating, controlling presence of that One God and Father; and third , that of indwelling the expressing the constant abode of the One God and Father in His people by His Spirit. Neither the creative action of God (Est.), nor His providential rule (Chrys., Grot.), is in view, but what He is to the Christian people in His dominion over them and His gracious operative presence in them.
[359] Codex Claromontanus (sc. vi.), a Grco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.
[360] Codex Augiensis (sc. ix.), a Grco-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.
[361] Codex Mosquensis (sc. ix.), edited by Matthi in 1782.
[362] Codex Angelicus (sc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.
[363] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[364] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[365] Codex Alexandrinus (sc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).
[366] Codex Ephraemi (sc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
God. App-98.
Father. App-98. Note the seven occurances of “one”; body, Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism. God and Father; three on either side of the Lord Jesus Christ.
through. App-104. Eph 4:1.
you. The texts omit.
all. The indwelling of God in the members of the body by pneuma theou. See Rom 8:9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6.] one God (the unity is here consummated in its central Object: hoc est prcipuum, quia inde manant reliqua omnia, Calv. But we must not miss the distinct witness to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in these verses:-going upwards, we have 1st, the One Spirit dwelling in the one body:-2nd, the One Lord appropriated by faith and professed in baptism:-3rd, One God and Father supreme, in whom all find their end and object) and Father of all (masculine: of all within the Church, for so is clearly the primary meaning, where he is speaking distinctly of the Church:-of all (Mey.) who have the . But it can hardly be doubted, that there is a further reference-to the universal Father-ship of all men-which indeed the Church only inherits in its fulness, others having fallen out of it by sin,-but which nevertheless is just as absolutely true), who is over all (men, primarily; and from the following,-men only, in this place. He is over all, in his sovereignty as the FATHER), and through all (men: in the co-extensiveness of Redemption by the Son with the whole nature of man: see on Eph 4:10 below, and ch. Eph 2:20-21) and in all (men: by the indwelling of the Spirit, see ch. Eph 2:22. So that I cannot but recognize, in these three carefully chosen expressions, a distinct allusion again to the Three Persons of the blessed Trinity. All these are the work of the Father:-it is He who in direct sovereignty is over all-He who is glorified in the filling of all things by the Son:-He who is revealed by the witness of the indwelling Spirit. Many Commentators deny such a reference. Almost all agree in representing the indwelling of the Spirit: the has been the principal stumbling-block: and is variously interpreted:-by some, of Gods Providence,-, , Chrys., al.: by others, of His pervading presence by the Spirit,-spiritu sanctificationis diffusus est per omnia ecclesi membra, Calv.: by others, to the creation by the Son, per quem omnia facta sunt (Aquin. in Ellic.): but this seems to be a conversion of into , as indeed Olsh. expressly does, als Werfzeug durch das die sind. Irenus, v. 18. 2, p. 315, gives the meaning thus, adopting the Trinitarian reference, but taking the both times as neuter, and reading : super omnia quidem Pater, et ipse est caput Christi: per omnia autem verbum, et ipse est caput ecclesi: in omnibus autem nobis Spiritus, et ipse est aqua viva, &c.).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Eph 4:6. , of all) This word occurring thrice, and presently after, both are masculine; for all are reduced to unity [are brought together as one, under the one God and Father].-) high above all with His grace.- ) Working throughout all, through [by means of] Christ.- ,[56]) in all dwelling, in (i.e., by) the Holy Spirit.
[56] ABC Memph. read only. DGfg Vulg., both Syr. Versions, Iren., Firmilian ad Cypr. 150, Hilary, add . Rec. Text, with no very old authority, reads .-ED.
The larger Ed. had preferred the omission of the pronoun, whether or ; but the Germ. Vers., following the decision of the 2d Ed., received the pronoun .-E. B.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Eph 4:6
Eph 4:6
one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.-The Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor of all things, who overrules in, through the universe, and dwells and works in every obedient heart both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. (Php 2:13). This perfect and complete unity in the creation, preservation, and direction of the universe and of all the loyal and true subjects of God is given as the strong and irresistible appeal for unity among the children of God, in his body, guided by his Spirit. It is not a plea for denominational union. There were no denominations in the days of Paul. It is an earnest plea for unity and oneness in the congregation of believers in Christ in a given locality in doing the work of God on earth. It is a grievous sin against God for men to destroy the unity of the body of Christ by personal ambition and strife and bickering.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
God: Eph 6:23, Num 16:22, Isa 63:16, Mal 2:10, Mat 6:9, Joh 20:17, 1Co 8:6, 1Co 12:6, Gal 3:26-28, Gal 4:3-7, 1Jo 3:1-3
who: Eph 1:21, Gen 14:19, 1Ch 29:11, 1Ch 29:12, Psa 95:3, Isa 40:11-17, Isa 40:21-23, Jer 10:10-13, Dan 4:34, Dan 4:35, Dan 5:18-23, Mat 6:13, Rom 11:36, Rev 4:8-11
and in: Eph 2:22, Eph 3:17, Joh 14:23, Joh 17:26, 2Co 6:16, 1Jo 3:24, 1Jo 4:12-15
Reciprocal: Psa 86:10 – God Zec 14:9 – one Lord 1Co 8:4 – there is Col 1:12 – the Father 1Ti 2:5 – one God Jam 2:19 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Eph 4:6.) -One God and Father of all-ultimate, highest, and truest unity. Seven times does he use the epithet One. The church is one body, having one Spirit in it, and one Lord over it; then its inner relations and outer ordinances are one too; its calling has attached to it one hope; its means of union to Him is one faith; its dedication is one baptism: and all this unity is but the impress of the great primal unity-one God. His unity stamps an image of itself on that scheme which originated in Him, and issues in His glory. Christians serve one God, are not distracted by a multiplicity of divinities, and need not fear the revenge of one while they are doing homage to his rival. Oneness of spirit ought to characterize their worship. One God and Father of all, that is, all Christians, for the reference is not to the wide universe, or to all men, as Holzhausen, with Musculus and Matthies, argue-but to the church. Jew and Gentile forming the one church have one God and father. (An illustration of the filial relationship of believers to God will be found under Eph 1:5.) The three following clauses mark a peculiarity of the apostle’s style, viz. his manner of indicating different relations of the same word by connecting it with various prepositions. Gal 1:1; Rom 3:22; Rom 11:36; Col 1:16; Winer, 50, 6. It is altogether a vicious and feeble exegesis on the part of Koppe to say that these three clauses are synonymous-sententia videtur una, tantum variis formulis synonymis expressa. A triple relationship of the one God to the all is now pointed out, and the first is thus expressed-
-who is over all. These adjectives, and , are clearly to be taken in the masculine gender, as the epithet would also suggest. Erasmus, Michaelis, Morus, and Baumgarten-Crusius take them in and as neuter, while the Vulgate, Zachariae, and Koppe accept the neuter only in the second phrase. is rendered by Chrysostom- . The great God is high over all, robed in unsurpassable glory. There is, and can be, no superior-no co-ordinate sovereignty. The universe, no less than the church, lies beneath, and far beneath, His throne, and the jurisdiction of that throne, high and lifted up, is paramount and unchallenged.
-and through all. The strange interpretation of Thomas Aquinas has found some supporters. He explains the first clause of God the Father, who is over all-fontale principium divinitatis; and the clause before us he refers to the Son-per quem omnia facta sunt. But this exegesis, which is adopted by Estius and Olshausen, reverses the idea of the apostle. It is one thing to say, All things are through God, and quite another to say, God is through all things. The latter, and not the former, is the express thought of the inspired writer. Jerome also refers the phrase to the Son-quia per filium creata sunt omnia; while Calvin understands by it the third Person of the Trinity-Deus Spiritu sanctificationis diffusus per omnia ecclesiae membra. Meyer holds a similar view. Chrysostom and his patristic followers, along with Beza, Zanchius, Crocius, and Grotius, refer it to God providing for all, and ordering all- . Bengel, Flatt, and Winer understand it as signifying through all acting. Winer, 50, 6. Harless explains it as meaning works through all, as the head through the members. It is plain that some of these views do not make any real distinction between the of this clause and the of the following. The idea of simple diffusion through all, is not far from the idea of in all. But the notion of providence, if taken in a general sense, comes nearer the truth. The thought seems to be that of a pervading, and thus a sustaining and working presence. Though He is over all, yet He lives not in remote splendour and indifference, for He is through all; His influence being everywhere felt in its upholding energies.
-and in all. The Elzevir Text adds , as Chrysostom does in his commentary. Others have adopted , on the authority of D, E, F, G, K, L, the Syriac and Vulgate, Theodoret, Pelagius, and Ambrosiaster-a reading admitted by Griesbach, Knapp, Scholz, and Hahn. But the higher witness of A, B, C, the Coptic and AEthiopic, and the text of Ignatius, Eusebius, Cyril, Epiphanius, Gregory, Chrysostom, and Jerome, exclude such a pronoun altogether, and leave us simply . Accordingly, Lachmann and Tischendorf strike out the word as an evident gloss. The pronoun would modify the universality predicated in the two preceding clauses. He is in all, dwelling in them, filling them with the light and love of His gracious presence. The idea conveyed by is more external and general in its nature-acting through or sustaining; while that expressed by is intimate and special union and inhabitation. Very different is such a conception from either ancient or modern pantheism; from that of Zeno or that of Hegel, or the poetical mysticism of Pope-
All are but parts of one stupendous whole-
Whose body nature is, and God the soul.
Whether there be any reference to the Trinity in this remarkable declaration, it is impossible to affirm with certainty. While Theophylact seems to deny it, because heretical notions were based upon it, Jerome on the other hand maintains it, and it was held by Irenaeus and Hippolytus, the former of whom explains the first clause of the Father-caput Christi; the second of the Son-caput ecclesiae; and the third of the Holy Spirit in us-aqua viva. Harless, Olshausen, Stier, de Wette, von Gerlach, Ellicott, and Alford are of the same opinion. It has been said in proof, that most certainly in the third clause-in all-the reference is to the Holy Ghost, by whom alone God dwells in believers; so that in the second clause, and in the words through all, there may be an allusion to Him who is now on the throne of the universe, and by whom all things consist; and in the first clause to the Eternal Father. In previous portions of the Epistle, triune relation has been distinctly brought out; only here the representation is different, for unity is the idea dwelt on, and it is the One God and Father Himself who works through all and dwells in all.
All these elements of oneness enumerated in Eph 4:4-6, are really inducements for Christians to be forward to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It is plainly of the one holy catholic church that the apostle has been speaking; not of the visible church, which has in it a mixed company, many whom Augustine characterizes as being in fellowship cum ecclesia-with the church, but who are not in ecclesia-in the church. All are not Israel who are of Israel. But the real spiritual church of the Redeemer is one body. All the members of that church partake of the same grace, adhere to the same faith, are washed in the same blood, are filled with the same hopes, and shall dwell at length in the same blessed inheritance. Heretics and ungodly men may find their way into the church, but they remain really separated from its invisible conjunction of charity. There may be variations in lesser matters of ceremony or discipline, and yet this essential unity is preserved. Clement of Alexandria compares the church so constituted to the various chords of a musical instrument, for in the midst of apparent schisms there is substantial unity. Barrow again remarks, that the apostle says-one Lord, one faith, one baptism; not one monarch, or one senate or sanhedrim. He does not insist on unity under one singular, visible government or polity. How sad to think that the passions of even sanctified men have often pro duced feuds and alienations, and led them to forget the apostolic mandate! Christ’s claim for the preservation of unity is upon all the churches-a unity of present connection and actual enjoyment-not a truce, but an alliance, with one livery and cognizance-not a compromise, but a veritable incorporation among all who in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their Lord and ours. I will give them one heart and one way-a promise the realization of which is surely not to be deferred till the whole church assemble in that world where there can be no misunderstanding. The great father of the western church tersely says-Contra rationem, nemo sobrius; contra Scripturas nemo Christianus; contra Ecclesiam nemo pacificus senserit.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Eph 4:6. God and the Father are actually the same person, and hence give only one item of the “units” referred to at verse 4. The first term refers to Him as a deity, a fact applying to him regardless of all other persons in the universe. The second states His relation to other individuals as the Heavenly Parent. The words above, through and in are used for the purpose of emphasis. Paul wishes us to think of God as the one supreme Being who is superior to all others in existence.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eph 4:6. One God. The deepest ground of unity is found the existence of one God, who has revealed Himself in the redemption of His people
And Father of all. This is not equivalent to Creator, but refers to the special paternal relation sustained to all believers by the Father. The context is decisive against any weakening of it into All-Father. Alford thinks there is a reference to Gods Fathership of all men as a lost possession, but the argument of the Apostle is not helped by such a view. He urges Christians to preserve unity (Eph 4:3), and he then contrasts the relation of God to all with the gift of Christ to each (Eph 4:7). The reference to Christians alone in all strengthens both positions. After the mention of one Spirit (Eph 4:4) and one Lord (Eph 4:5), it is natural to refer this verse to the Father alone, who is further described: Who is over all (believers), as Ruler and Guide, and through all; since the individuals are instruments used by Him, and in all. The best authorities omit you, an explanatory insertion to confine the application to Christians. God the Father dwells in all believers, not in a pantheistic sense, but as set forth in the gospel; comp. chap. Eph 2:22, Since baptism was mentioned in Eph 4:5, and its formula points to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, many find in this verse a reference to these three Persons of the Trinity. The prepositions over and in would agree with this view, but through is not fairly applicable to the Son. Moreover, the verse loses much of its force, if applied to the Trinity, since unity is the idea dwelt upon. The reference to God the Father is not only more grammatical, but much safer. On the entire paragraph, Hodge well remarks: There are many passages to which the doctrine of the Trinity gives a sacred rhythm, though the doctrine itself is not directly asserted. It is so here; there is one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father. The unity of the Church is founded on this doctrine. It is one, because there is to us one God the Father, one Lord, one Spirit. It is a truly mystical union: not a mere union of opinion, of interest, or of feeling; but something supernatural, arising from a common principle of life. This life is not the natural life which belongs to us as creatures; nor intellectual, which belongs to us as rational beings; but it is spiritual life, called elsewhere the life of God in the soul. And as this life is common on the one hand to Christ and all His members, and on the other to Christ and God, this anion of the Church is not only with Christy but with the Triune God.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
4:6 One God and Father of all, who [is] {c} above all, and {d} through all, and {e} in you all.
(c) Who alone has the chief authority over the Church.
(d) Who alone pours forth his providence, through all the members of the Church.
(e) Who alone is joined together with us in Christ.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
"All" refers to all believers. God is the Father of all believers, who are His children. He is over them in the sense of being their sovereign. He lives through them and manifests Himself in them.
Evidently Paul began this list of seven elements of unity with the Spirit’s work because he had been speaking of the unity of the Spirit (Eph 4:3). He then proceeded to discuss the gifts of the Spirit (Eph 4:7-13; cf. 1Co 12:4-6).
"The unity of the church is due to charis, God’s grace having reconciled us to himself; but the diversity of the church is due to charismata, God’s gifts distributed to church members." [Note: Stott, pp. 155-56.]