Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 5:27
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
27. that he ] In the Gr. “ He ” is emphatic; “He to Himself;” with stress on the Lord’s personal action.
present ] Cp. for similar use of the same Gr. word 2Co 4:14; 2Co 11:2; Col 1:22; Col 1:28. In Jude 24 a similar word is used. The thought is of the heavenly Bridegroom welcoming the glorified Bride at the Marriage Feast hereafter. True, she is now “His Spouse and His Body;” but the manifestation then will be such as to be, in a sense, the Marriage as the sequel to the Betrothal. The words “present to Himself” suggest that the Bride is not only to be welcomed then by her Lord, but welcomed as owing all her glory to His work, and as being now absolutely His own.
a glorious church ] Translate rather, the Church arrayed in glory. Cp. Rev 19:7-8. And see Son 4:7. She “shall be like Him, for she shall see Him as He is” (1Jn 3:2). He who gave Himself for her had also given Himself to her, and His nature shall now be manifested in her eternal state.
holy ] Absolutely, without qualification, and for ever, consecrated to Him.
without blemish ] The Gr. is cognate to that in Son 4:7 (“there is no blemish in thee”). The holy and perfect principle, perfect at length in all the conditions of its working, shall come out in actual perfection of spiritual beauty. Cp. for the same Gr. word, Eph 1:4 (side by side there also with “holy”); Php 2:15; Col 1:22; Heb 9:14; 1Pe 1:19; Jude 24; Rev 14:5.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
That he may present it to himself – In the last day, when he shall receive the church as his spouse to heaven; Rev 21:9. Perhaps the word prepare would better express the sense here than present – that he may prepare it for himself as a holy church. Tyndale renders it, to make it unto himself.
A glorious church – A church full of honor, splendor, beauty. The idea of shining, or of being bright, would convey the sense here. Probably there is still here an allusion to a bride adorned for her husband (Rev 21:2; compare Psa 45:9-14); and the ideal is, that the church will be worthy of the love of the bridegroom, to whom it will then be presented.
Not having spot – Not having a stain, a defect, or any impurity – still retaining the allusion to a bride, and to the care taken to remove every blemish.
Or wrinkle – In the vigor and beauty of youth like a bride in whom there is no wrinkle of age.
Or any such thing – Nothing to deform, disfigure, or offend. To this beautiful illustration of the final glory of the church, the apostle was led by the mention of the relation of the husband and the wife. It shows:
(1) The tendency of the thoughts of Paul. He delighted to allow the associations in his mind, no matter what the subject was, to draw him along to the Redeemer.
(2) The passage here shows us what the church will yet be. There will be a period in its history when there shall not be any imperfection; when there shall be neither spot, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing. In heaven all will be pure. On earth we are preparing for that world of purity; and it cannot be denied that here there is much that is imperfect and impure. But in that future world, where the church shall be presented to Christ, clothed in the robes of salvation, there shall not be one unholy member; one deceiver or hypocrite; one covetous or avaricious man; one that shall pain the hearts of the friends of purity by an unholy life. And in all the million that shall be gathered there out of every land, and people, and tongue, and age, there shall be no envy, malice, backbiting, pride, vanity, worldliness; there shall be no annoying and vexing conflict in the heart with evil passions, nor any such thing. How different from the church as it now is; and how we should pant for that blessed world!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. That he might present it to himself] It was usual to bring the royal bride to the king in the most sumptuous apparel; and is there not here an allusion to Ps 45:13; Ps 45:14: The king’s daughter (Pharaoh’s) is all glorious within, her clothing is of wrought gold; she shall be brought unto the king (Solomon) in raiment of needlework? This presentation here spoken of by the apostle will take place on the last day. 2Co 11:2.
A glorious Church] Every way splendid and honourable, because pure and holy.
Not having spot] . No blemish on the face; no spots upon the garment; the heart and life both holy.
Wrinkle] . No mark of superannuation or decay. The word is commonly applied to wrinkles on the face, indicative of sickness or decrepitude.
Holy and without blemish.] In every sense holy, pure, and perfect. Now it was for this purpose that Christ gave himself for the Church; and for this purpose he continues the different ordinances which he has appointed; and, particularly, the preaching of the word-the doctrine of reconciliation through faith in his blood. And it is in this life that all this purification is to take place; for none shall be presented at the day of judgment to him who has not here been sanctified, cleansed, washed, made glorious, having neither spot, wrinkle, blemish, nor any such thing. How vain is the pretension of multitudes to be members of the true Church while full of spots, wrinkles, blemishes, and MANY such things; fondly supposing that their holiness is in their surety, because not in themselves! Reader, lay thy hand on thy conscience and say, Dost thou believe that this is St. Paul’s meaning? See Clarke on Eph 3:14, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That he might present it to himself; hereafter in heaven; that the whole church of the elect may be present with him, 2Co 5:6,8; 1Th 4:17.
A glorious church; perfect in knowledge and holiness, shining with a heavenly glory, and fully conformed to himself, 1Jo 3:2.
Not having spot; spot of sin, in allusion to spots in garments.
Or wrinkle; any relic of old Adam, in allusion to wrinkles in the body, which are signs of old age, and imply deformity.
Or any such thing, viz. which is contrary to the beauty of the church, and might make her unpleasing to Christ her Husband.
Without blemish; without any fault to be found in her. He seems to allude to the sacrifices, which were to be without blemish, Lev 1:3; see Son 4:7.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. heThe oldest manuscriptsand authorities read, “That He might Himself present untoHimself the Church glorious,” namely, as a bride (2Co11:2). Holiness and glory are inseparable.”Cleansing” is the necessary preliminary to both. Holinessis glory internal; glory is holiness shiningforth outwardly. The laver of baptism is the vehicle, but theword is the nobler and true instrument of the cleansing[BENGEL]. It is Christthat prepares the Church with the necessary ornaments of grace, forpresentation to Himself, as the Bridegroom at His coming again(Mat 25:1; Rev 19:7;Rev 21:2).
not having spot (So4:7). The visible Church now contains clean and unclean together,like Noah’s ark; like the wedding room which contained some that had,and others that had not, the wedding garment (Mt22:10-14; compare 2Ti 2:20);or as the good and bad fish are taken in the same net because itcannot discern the bad from the good, the fishermen being unable toknow what kind of fish the nets have taken under the waves. Still theChurch is termed “holy” in the creed, in reference to herideal and ultimate destination. When the Bridegroom comes, the brideshall be presented to Him wholly without spot, the evil being cut offfrom the body for ever (Mt13:47-50). Not that there are two churches, one with bad and goodintermingled, another in which there are good alone; but one and thesame Church in relation to different times, now with good and eviltogether, hereafter with good alone [PEARSON].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
That he might present it to himself a glorious church,…. There is a presentation of the church by Christ to his Father at his death, when he gathered the elect together in one, brought them nigh, and reconciled them to God, and presented them to holy, unblamable, and unreproveable in his sight; and now in heaven, where he represents their persons, appears and makes intercession for them; and at the last day, when he will deliver the whole number of them complete and perfect, in consequence of his suretyship engagements: but this is a presentation of them to himself; and is either in this life, when they are brought to him in raiment of needlework, clothed with his righteousness, and washed in his blood, and he beholds them all fair, and without spot; or at the first resurrection, and during the thousand years’ reign; as well as in the ultimate glory, when the open marriage of the Lamb will be come, when his bride will be arrayed with line linen, clean and white; and have the glory of God upon her, and appear in glory with Christ, and will be a glorious church indeed:
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; the bodies of the saints will be like to Christ’s glorious body, and will shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father; and in their souls they will be completely conformed to the image of Christ, and enjoy uninterrupted communion with him, and have perfect knowledge of him; they will be always in his presence, and he will take unspeakable delight and complacency in them, which his presentation of them to himself is expressive of; the church will then be free from all spots and blemishes; from all hypocrites and formal professors; and all heresies and heretics; from all declensions and infirmities, and from all sin and iniquity: the allusion seems to be to the customs and practices of the Jews, in their espousals: if a man espoused a woman on condition that she had no spots in her, and afterwards spots were found in her, she was not espoused; for spots or blemishes, as in priests, so in women, render them unfit; as the one for service, so the other for marriage; and they reckon up eight several spots or blemishes, for which they may be rejected q: but Christ’s church has no spots or blemishes, nor anything like them; and will never be rejected by him, but will be always pleasing in his sight:
but that it should be holy and without blemish; as it is, being justified by his righteousness, washed in his blood, and sanctified by his Spirit.
q Misn. Cetubot, c. 7. sect. 7, 8. Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That he might present ( ). Final clause with and first aorist active subjunctive of (see Col 1:22 for parallel) as in 2Co 11:2 of presenting the bride to the bridegroom. Note both (himself) and (to himself).
Glorious (). Used of splendid clothing in Lu 7:25.
Spot (). Late word, in N.T. only here and 2Pe 2:13, but , to defile in Jas 3:6; Judg 1:23.
Wrinkle (). Old word from , to contract, only here in N.T.
But that it should be holy and without blemish (‘ ). Christ’s goal for the church, his bride and his body, both negative purity and positive.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
He might present it to Himself [ ] . As a bride. Compare 2Co 11:2. Notice the two pronouns in conjunction, He, to Himself. Christ Himself presents the bride.
Spot [] . Only here and 2Pe 2:13; The kindred verb spilow to defile, occurs Jas 3:6; Jude 1:23.
Wrinkle [] . Only here in the New Testament.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “That he might present it to himself” (hina parastese autos heauto) “In order that he might present it to himself or set before him.” This refers to the future position of the church, arrayed in white before Him, as His own, 2Co 11:1-2; Rev 19:7-9.
2) “A glorious church” (endokson ten ekklesian) The church (assembly) glorious.” This is the remote, ultimate object of Christ’s love for His church, Eph 3:21; Rev 21:9-11.
3) “Not having spot, or wrinkle” (me echousan spilon e hrutida) “No having, holding, or containing a spot or wrinkle,” void of uncleaned filth, moral wrong, or impurity, Son 4:7.
4) Or any such thing (e ti ton toiouton) “Or any (kind) of the such things,” that defiles, debases, or offends, Mat 5:48; Rom 12:1-2.
5) “But that it should be holy” (all’hina e hagia) “But in order that it might be holy,” sanctified or set apart from the world order of assemblies or organizational entities, as a peculiar people in nature and kind of ethical behavior, 1Pe 2:9-12.
6) “And without blemish” (kai amomos) “Even without a blemish,” as a bride desires to present herself before the Groom she loves, 2Co 11:1-2.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
27. That he might present it to himself. He declares what is the design of baptism and of our being washed. It is, that we may live in a holy and unblamable manner before God. We are washed by Christ, not that we may return to our pollution, but that we may retain through our life the purity which we have once received. This is described in metaphorical language appropriate to his argument.
Not having spot or wrinkle. As the beauty of the wife produces love in the husband, so Christ adorns the Church his bride with holiness as a proof of his regard. This metaphor contains an allusion to marriage; but he afterwards lays aside the figure, and says plainly, that Christ has reconciled the church, that it might be holy and without blemish. The true beauty of the church consists in this conjugal chastity, that is, in holiness and purity.
The word present ( παραστήσὟ) implies that the church ought to be holy, not only in the view of men, but in the eyes of the Lord; for Paul says, that he might present it to himself, not that he might shew it to others, though the fruits of that hidden purity become afterwards evident in outward works. Pelagians were wont to quote this passage in order to prove the perfection of righteousness in this life, but have been successfully answered by Augustine. Paul does not state what has been done, but for what purpose Christ has cleansed his church. Now, when a thing is said to be done that another may afterwards follow, it is idle to conclude that this latter thing, which ought to follow, has been already done. We do not deny that the holiness of the church is already begun; but, so long as there is daily progress, there cannot be perfection.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(27) That he might present it to himself.The original is more emphaticthat He might Himself present it to Himself. This presentation belonged usually to the paranymph, or friend of the bridegroom, to whom St. John Baptist compares himself in Joh. 3:29 (where see Note); St. Paul himself assumes that office in 2Co. 11:2, I have espoused (or rather, betrothed) you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. Here, however, all is of Christ. He, as Paranymph, comes down to seek and to save His Bride; He, as Bridegroom, receives her in His heavenly home.
A glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle . . .Properly, (that He might present) the Church as glorious, not having a spot (i.e., a stain on its purity), or a wrinkle (i.e., a defect in its beauty and freshness of life); but that it may be holy (not merely consecrated to holiness) and without blemish (as He is without blemish). On these last words see Note on Eph. 1:4. They are most commonly sacrificial, corresponding (see Col. 1:22) to the sacrificial use of the word present. Here, however, they are seen clearly to have reference to the nuptial metaphor by what goes before.
In all this we have a picture which properly belongs to the Church in glory, and which is fully drawn out under the same metaphor as Rev. 19:7-9; Rev. 21:2; Rev. 21:9-10; for only in it can the description be fully realised. In capacity and promise it belongs to the whole Church militant; in reality, but in imperfection, to the Church invisible on earth; in absolute perfection to the Church triumphant in heaven.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. Might Church Literally, might present himself, to himself, the Church, glorious. So, by Persian law, King Ahasuerus purified Esther, that he might present her to himself a royal bride.
Spot Contracted from external sources.
Wrinkle A blemish from internal decay. This Church, thus presented to himself as perfect and glorious, is the result attained through a progressive sanctification at the final reconciliation. For this was the atonement and the election through faith.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eph 5:27. That he might present it to himself The Alexandrian and other copies read, That he himself might present to himself the church, glorious, without spot, &c. The Apostle, to recommend to husbands love and tenderness toward their wives, in imitation of Christ’s affection to the church, shews, that whereas other brides take care to embellish and set off their persons, in order to recommend themselves to their bridegrooms, Christ himself, at the expence of his own pains and blood, purifies and prepares for himself his spouse (his faithful saints), that he might present it to himself without spot or wrinkle. How bright an idea does this verse give us of the grand plan and design of Christianity;to bring all the millions of the faithful to such a state of perfect virtue and glory, that when the penetrating eye of Christ, their great and holy Bridegroom, shall survey them, there shall not be one spot, or wrinkle, or any thing like it, in the least to impair their beauty, or offend his sight! Where is such a scheme of thought to be found in the world, but in the New Testament, and those who have been taught by it?
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eph 5:27 . Aim of the , and so final aim of the , to be realized at the Parousia . Comp. on 2Co 11:2 . is already rightly referred to the time of the consummatio saeculi by Augustine, Jerome, Primasius, Thomas, Beza, Estius, Calovius, and others, including Flatt, Rckert, de Wette, Schenkel, Bleek; while the Greek Fathers, Lyra, Cajetanus, Bucer, Wolf, Bengel, and others, including Harless and Hofmann, p. 136, think of an act of Christ in the , and many others do not at all declare their views with regard to the time. But if . . . . is not to apply to the time of the Parousia, it must either be taken as the design of the (Bengel), or as a parallel to (Harless). The former is not admissible, because , which itself belongs to (see on Eph 5:26 ), stands between; nor yet is the latter, because does not denote the same thing with (see on Eph 5:26 ), but the making holy through the word; and this making holy cannot from its nature be parallel to the momentary act of presenting of the church as a glorious and spotless one, but can only be antecedent, so that this presentation must be the final result of the sanctifying which has already taken place through the word.
] might set forth, present, coram sisteret , namely, as His bride. Comp. 2Co 11:2 . The view of Harless, that the church is conceived of not as bride, but as spotless offering (on . comp. Rom 12:1 ), is opposed to the context, and incorrect also on account of , by which, in fact, there would result the conception that Christ presents the offering to Himself . No, the union of Christ with His church at the Parousia, in order to confer upon it Messianic blessedness, is conceived of by Paul (as also by Christ Himself, Mat 25:1 ff., comp. Rev 19:7 ff.; see also Joh 3:29 ) under the figure of the bringing home of a bride, wherein Christ appears as the bridegroom and sets forth the bride, i.e. His church, as a spotless virgin (the bodily purity is a representa of the ethical) before Himself, after He has already in the cleansed it by the bath of baptism ( i.e. blotted out the pre-Christian guilt of the church) and sanctified it through His word. To deny the reference of . . . and of Eph 5:27 to the circumstances of a wedding, and particularly the allusion to the bath to be taken by the bride before the wedding-day (Harless, Baumgarten-Crusius, Hofmann, and others), is an over-refinement of taste at variance with the context. [279]
The presentation in our passage was referred by Kahnis ( Abendm . p. 144) to the Lord’s Supper , an application which is warranted neither by the context nor by the analogy of 2Co 11:2 and Mat 25
] so that what takes place is not therefore as in the case of the bringing home of actual brides by others, but Christ Himself , as He gave Himself to sanctify it, etc., presents the church as bride to Himself at His Parousia, and indeed as , in glorious beauty (Luk 7:25 ; Isa 22:18 , al. ), which is with emphasis placed before , and subsequently receives by means of . . . a detached, more precise negative definition specially to be brought into prominence. With regard to , comp. 2Co 1:9 ; Xen. Mem. iii. 5. 11; Thucyd. vi. 40. 3; Krger, 51. 2. 12.
] maculam , comp. 2Pe 2:13 , a word of the later age of Greek, instead of the Attic . See Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 28. In the figure is meant a corporeal blemish, but in the reality a moral defilement. The same is the case with , rugam , which occurs only here in the N.T., but often in the classical writers, not in the LXX. or Apocrypha. Special distinctions as to what is intended by the two figures are arbitrary. So e.g. Estius (after Augustine): . signifies deformitas operis , and . duplicitas intentionis ; Grotius: the former applies to the carere vitiis , the latter to the vegetos semper esse for good (because wrinkles are characteristic of age).
which belongs to the category of such things, of that which disfigures, like spots and wrinkles.
. . . ] change of the construction, instead of . . . , as if . . . had been said before. Versatility of the Greek mode of thought and expression. See, in general, Matthiae, p. 1527 f.; Winer, p. 509 [E. T. 722]; Buttmann, neutest. Gr. p. 208 [E. T. 241].
] the thing signified in place of the figure, which would be more congruously expressed by (2Co 11:2 ).
] Eph 1:4 . Comp. Son 4:7 . Grotius, at variance with the context, holds that Paul had in the case of both expressions thought of: “quales victimae esse debebant in V. T.”
[279] It is certainly obvious that this bathing in the case of an actual bride was not the business of the bridegroom (as Hofmann objects); but in the case of the church conceived as the bride the cleansing by the bath of baptism is the act of the bridegroom (who in fact does not cause the bride, cleansed and sanctified by him, to be presented by others, but presents her to himself), and thus Paul has drawn the figure itself in accordance with the state of matters in the reality delineated , as indeed frequently figures are modified in accordance with the thing to be represented (comp. on Mat 25:1 ; Gal 4:19 ). If we press the figures beyond the tertium comparationis , no one is any longer appropriate. On the (at which . here glances), comp. specially Bos, Exercitt . p. 185 f.; Hermann, Privatalterth . 31, 6; Becker, Charicles , ii. p. 460 ff., as also Buxtorf, Synag . p. 626.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Ver. 27. That he might present ] As Isaac did his Rebecca, adorned with his jewels. See Eze 16:14 . Tales nos amat Deus, quales futuri sumus ipsius done, non quales sumus nostro merito, saith an ancient Council.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
27 .] that (further purpose of . ) He might Himself present to Himself (as a bride, see reff. 2 Cor.: not as a sacrifice (Harl.), which is quite against the context. The expression sets forth that the preparation of the Church for her bridal with Christ is exclusively by His own agency) the church glorious (the prefixed adjective is emphatic, which we lose in translation), not having spot (a late word , Phryn. Lobeck 28, where see note. It is found in Dion. Hal., Plut., Lucian, &c. The proper accentuation seems to be as in text, not . In Anthol. vi. 252, we have , , beginning a hexameter) or wrinkle ( , , Etym. Mag.: from ( ) , see Palm and Rost, Lex. A classical word, see reff.), or any of such things, but that she may be holy (perfect in holiness) and blameless (see on both, note, ch. Eph 1:4 ). The presentation here spoken of is clearly, in its full sense, that future one at the Lord’s coming, so often treated under the image of a marriage (Mat 22:1 ff; Mat 25:1 ff.; Rev 19:7 ff; Rev 21:2 al. fr.), not any progress of sanctification here below, as Harl., Beng., al., maintain (and Calv., commonly quoted on the other side: for he says on , ‘finem baptismi et ablutionis nostr declarat: ut sancte et inculpate Deo vivamus’): however the progress towards this state of spotlessness in this life may sometimes be spoken of in its fulness and completion, or with reference to its proper qualities, not here found in their purity. Schttgen quotes a rabbinical comment on Son 1:5 : ‘Judi de synagoga intelligunt, et sic explicant: nigra sum in hoc sculo, sed decora in scuIo futuro.’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Eph 5:27 . [ ] : that He might Himself present to Himself the Church, glorious . Statement of the remote, ultimate object with which Christ “gave Himself up” to death; as the immediate object, which has that final purpose in view, is expressed by the . For of the TR, supported by [648] 3 [649] , most cursives, Syr.-P., etc., the reading is to be substituted on the authority of [650] [651] [652] [653] * [654] [655] , Syr.-Harc, Vulg., etc. It is Christ Himself who is to present the Church, and it is to Himself He is to present it. He is at once the Agent and the End or Object of the presentation. The is not to be taken here to mean the presenting of the Church as an offering . It is true that the verb is so used in Rom 12:1 ; but the case is different here, in respect both of the ruling idea of the paragraph and of the introduction of . It would be incongruous with Paul’s teaching to speak of Christ as presenting an offering to Himself. The idea, as the context suggests, is that of the bridegroom presenting or setting forth the bride; cf. 2Co 11:2 . The anarthrous is a case of tertiary predicate ( cf. Buttm., Gram. of N. T. Greek , p. 473). The rendering, therefore, is not “present a glorious Church,” but “present the Church, glorious,” i.e. , in the aspect, or character of gloriousness. The presentation in view, which is given here as the final object of Christ’s surrendering of Himself to death, and is exhibited (by use of the aor.) as a single def. act, cannot be anything done in the world that now is (as is supposed by Beng., Harl., Hofm., etc.), but must be referred (with Aug., Jer., Rck., De Wette, Bleek, Mey., Ell., Alf. and most) to the future consummation, the event of the Parousia . : not having spot . Explanation of what is implied on the negative side in the . The neg. is in place, as the clause refers to the purpose in the mind of Christ. The word = spot, moral blemish , takes the place of the Attic in later Greek writers (Dionys., Harl., Plut., Lucian, Joseph., etc.). It occurs only once again in the NT (2Pe 2:13 ). The “ ” being short in composition ( ), WH, Ell., Alf., etc., accentuate it ; Lach., Tisch., Lipsius, Mey., etc., retain . : or wrinkle . The word occurs only this once in the NT, and is not found in the Apocrypha or in the LXX, but is not infrequent in profane Greek, whether classical (Aristoph., Plato, etc.), or late (Diod., Plut., Lucian, etc.). Attempts have been made (by Aug., Grot., etc.) to establish a distinction between and here, but without success. ; or any such thing . The article gives this the force of anything belonging to the class of such things as deform and defile. : but that it should be holy and unblamable . The regular construction would have taken some such form as , etc. It is changed here, perhaps with a view to variety, as if the paragraph had begun with . Such oratio variata was common in Greek, and there are numerous examples of it in the NT generally ( e.g. , Mar 12:38 ; Joh 8:53 ; Act 20:34 ; Act 22:17 ; 1Pe 2:7 ), and especially in the Pauline writings (Rom 1:12 ; Rom 4:12 ; Rom 12:6 ; 1Co 7:13 ; 1Co 14:1 ; 2Co 11:23 ; Phi 2:22 ). See Jelf, Greek Gram. , 909; Win.-Moult., p. 722; Buttm., Gram, of N. T. Greek , p. 241. On see under Eph 1:4 above.
[648] Codex Claromontanus (sc. vi.), a Grco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.
[649] Codex Mosquensis (sc. ix.), edited by Matthi in 1782.
[650] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[651] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[652] Codex Alexandrinus (sc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).
[653] Codex Claromontanus (sc. vi.), a Grco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.
[654] Codex Boernerianus (sc. ix.), a Grco-Latin MS., at Dresden, edited by Matthi in 1791. Written by an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the same volume as Codex Sangallensis ( ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is based on the O.L. translation.
[655] Codex Angelicus (sc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
present. Greek. paristemi. See Rom 12:1.
it. The texts read Greek. autos = Himself.
glorious. Greek. endoxos. Elsewhere, Luk 7:25; Luk 13:17. 1Co 4:10.
spot = blemish. Greek. spilos; only here and 2Pe 2:13
wrinkle. Only here.
should = may.
without blemish = faultless. Greek. amomos. See Eph 1:4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
27.] that (further purpose of . ) He might Himself present to Himself (as a bride, see reff. 2 Cor.: not as a sacrifice (Harl.), which is quite against the context. The expression sets forth that the preparation of the Church for her bridal with Christ is exclusively by His own agency) the church glorious (the prefixed adjective is emphatic, which we lose in translation), not having spot (a late word- , -Phryn. Lobeck 28, where see note. It is found in Dion. Hal., Plut., Lucian, &c. The proper accentuation seems to be as in text, not . In Anthol. vi. 252, we have , , beginning a hexameter) or wrinkle (, , Etym. Mag.: from () , see Palm and Rost, Lex. A classical word, see reff.), or any of such things, but that she may be holy (perfect in holiness) and blameless (see on both, note, ch. Eph 1:4). The presentation here spoken of is clearly, in its full sense, that future one at the Lords coming, so often treated under the image of a marriage (Mat 22:1 ff; Mat 25:1 ff.; Rev 19:7 ff; Rev 21:2 al. fr.), not any progress of sanctification here below, as Harl., Beng., al., maintain (and Calv., commonly quoted on the other side: for he says on , finem baptismi et ablutionis nostr declarat: ut sancte et inculpate Deo vivamus): however the progress towards this state of spotlessness in this life may sometimes be spoken of in its fulness and completion, or with reference to its proper qualities, not here found in their purity. Schttgen quotes a rabbinical comment on Son 1:5 :-Judi de synagoga intelligunt, et sic explicant: nigra sum in hoc sculo, sed decora in scuIo futuro.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Eph 5:27. , that He might present) This holds good, in its own way, already of the present life; comp. ch. Eph 4:13.-, to Himself) as to a Husband betrothed.-, a glorious Church) We should derive [draw] our estimate of sanctification from the love of Christ: what bride despises the ornaments offered by her husband?-) that [the: emphatically] Church which answers to His own eternal idea.-) a spot, from any wicked disposition whatever.-) wrinkle, from old age [senile debility and decay].- ) that she may be.-, without blemish) Son 4:7.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Eph 5:27
Eph 5:27
that he might present the church to himself a glorious church,-The church having been washed in the members being baptized into Christ, the work of Christ is to perfect it, that he might present it to himself a glorious church.
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing;-Her glory consisted in her purity-without spot or stain upon her garments or character, as a pure and chaste woman, true to her husband. Spots indicated the indiscretions of youth, and wrinkles in the garments indicated carelessness or the decay of age, as wrinkles in the face. He was so perfecting the church that it would have neither the indiscretions of youth nor the feebleness and decay of age.
but that it should be holy and without blemish.-Christ died not only to redeem the church out of the world, but also to perfect it after it was separated from the world. [The design of Christs death as here expressed is to render the church perfectly holy, but there can be no doubt as to when this end is to be attained, for in this life neither scripture nor experience affords an example; still if one should attain this blessed state, it cannot be affirmed of the whole body of believers. It is then when the righteous dead shall be raised in the likeness of the Son of God, and those who shall be alive shall be changed. (1Th 4:1518). When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality-it is then that the church shall be made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. (Rev 21:2; Rev 19:6-8).]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
he: 2Co 4:14, 2Co 11:2, Col 1:22, Col 1:28, Jud 1:24
glorious: Psa 45:13, Psa 87:3, Isa 60:15-20, Isa 62:3, Jer 33:9, Heb 12:22-24, Rev 7:9-17, Rev 21:10-26
not: Son 4:7, Heb 9:14, 1Pe 1:19, 1Pe 1:19, 2Pe 3:14
but: Eph 1:4, 2Co 11:2, Col 1:22, Col 1:28, 1Th 5:23, Jud 1:21, Rev 21:27
Reciprocal: Gen 24:47 – I put Lev 1:3 – a male Lev 4:32 – without blemish Lev 8:22 – the ram of consecration Lev 14:7 – seven times Lev 14:11 – General Lev 22:19 – General Deu 23:11 – wash himself 2Sa 14:25 – from the sole 2Ki 5:13 – Wash 2Ch 29:5 – sanctify the house Job 16:8 – is a witness Psa 45:9 – queen Psa 45:11 – So shall Psa 51:7 – whiter Psa 68:13 – the wings Pro 31:29 – thou Son 1:8 – O thou Son 2:14 – thy countenance Son 6:4 – beautiful Son 6:10 – fair Eze 36:25 – filthiness Eze 37:23 – will cleanse Dan 1:4 – in whom Mal 3:3 – sit Joh 13:10 – needeth Act 3:26 – in Rom 8:4 – That 1Co 1:8 – blameless Phi 1:10 – that ye may be Phi 2:15 – blameless 1Th 3:13 – unblameable 1Th 4:3 – your 1Ti 6:14 – without Heb 12:10 – partakers 2Pe 2:13 – Spots Rev 7:14 – and have Rev 14:5 – without Rev 19:8 – to her Rev 22:11 – and he that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Eph 5:27.) -in order that He might present, Himself to Himself, the church glorious. , supported by the authority of A, B, D1, F, G, L, and many versions and Fathers, is decidedly to be preferred to the of the Textus Receptus. This verse declares the ultimate purpose of the love and death of Him who is both Ransom and Redeemer voluntary. Harless errs in regarding the two clauses beginning with as co-ordinate. The allusion is still to a nuptial ceremony, and to the presentation of the bride to her husband–. The august Bridegroom does not present His spouse to Himself till He can look upon her with complacency. Harless affirms that the presentation described is that of a sacrifice on the altar, because the epithets employed by the apostle are occasionally applied to victims and offerings; but such a view is in conflict with the entire language and imagery on to the end of the chapter. Nay, there is a peculiar beauty in applying sacrificial terms to the fair and immaculate bride, as she is fit, even according to legal prescription, to be presented to her Lord. So Meyer remarks would be out of place in the theory of Harless-Jesus presenting an oblation to Himself! The word occurs with a similar meaning in 2Co 11:2-that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. –He and none other presents the bride, and HE and none other receives her to HIMSELF. No inferior agency is permitted; a proof in itself, as well as His death, of His love to the church. -glorious; the epithet being a tertiary predicate and emphatic in position. Donaldson, 489. The same idea occurs in Rev 19:7-8. The term refers original ly to external appearance-the combined effect of person and dress. The illustrious epithet is explained by the succeeding clauses-first negative-
, , -having neither spot, or wrinkle, or any one of such things. , which ought to be spelled with a simple accent- ( forming a dactyle), is a stain or blemish, and is one of the words of the later Greeks. 2Pe 2:13. , as the older Attic term, says Phrynicus (p. 28). is a wrinkle or fold on the face, indicative of age or disease. Dioscorides, 1:39; Passow, sub voce. Not only are spots and wrinkles excluded, but every similar blemish. The terms are taken from physical beauty, health, and symmetry, to denote spiritual perfection. Son 4:7. The attempts made by some critics, such as Anselm, Estius, and Grotius, to distinguish nicely and formally between the virtues or graces described in these terms respectively, are needless. Thus Augustine takes the first term to mean deformitas operis, and the second duplicitas intentionis, and the last inclusive phrase to comprehend reliquiae peccatorum ut pravae inclinationis, motus involuntarii et multiplicis ignorantiae. Not only negatively but positively-
-but that she should be holy and without blemish. One might have expected , but it is as if had stood in the previous clause. The syntax is thus changed, no uncommon occurrence in Greek composition, as may be seen in Joh 8:53; Rom 12:1-2. On the oratio variata, compare Winer, 63, 2, 1. The syntactic change here, with the repetition of , gives special prominence to the idea which has been expressed, first negatively, but now in this clause with positive affirmation. The meaning of has been given already under Eph 1:1; Eph 1:4; and of under Eph 1:4, and needs not be repeated here. Such, then, is to be the ultimate perfection and destiny of the church. In her spotless purity the love of Christ finds its extreme and glorious design realized. That love which led Him to die, in order to bestow pardon and to secure holiness, is not contented till its object be robed in unsullied and unchanging purity.
But when is this perfection to be for the first time possessed, and when does this presentation take place? We have already said that the presentation is not contemporary with the consecration, but is posterior to it, and does not finally and formally take place on earth. The church we understand in its full significance, as the whole company of the redeemed, personified and represented as a spiritual Spouse. The presentation belongs therefore to the period of the second coming, when the human species shall have completed its cycle of existence on earth; and every one whom the Saviour’s all-seeing eye beheld as belonging to His church, and whom, therefore, He loved and died for, and cleansed, has shared in the final redemption. (The reader may turn to what is said upon the phrase-redemption of the purchased possession, Eph 1:14.) Augustine and Jerome among the Fathers, Primasius, Bernard, and Thomas Aquinas among scholastic divines, along with Estius, Calvin, and Beza, hold to this view as to the epoch of the presentation, in antagonism with Cajetan, Bucer, Wolf, Bengel, and Harless, who regard the glorification of the church as a species of present operation. The loose language of the Greek commentators seems to intimate that they held the same hypothesis. Augustine flagellates the Donatists and Pelagians, who believed in the present sinlessness of the church; for truly such a state can only be such a comparative perfection as John Wesley describes when he says, Christian perfection does not imply an exemption from ignorance or mistakes, infirmities or temptations. The church as it now is, and as it has always been, has many spots and wrinkles upon it. But perfection is secured by a process of continuous and successful operation, and shall be ultimately enjoyed. The bride, the Lamb’s wife, hath for centuries been making herself ready, and at length Christ, as He looks upon His church, will pr onounce her perfect without tinge of sin or trace of any corruption; she will appear holy and without blemish in His view whose eyes are a flame of fire. As He originally loved her in her impurity, how deep and ardent must be His attachment now to her when He sees in her the realization of His own gracious and eternal purpose! The nuptial union is at length consummated amidst the pealing halleluiahs of triumph and congratulation. So fervent, self-sacrificing, and successful is Christ’s love to His church; and now He rejoices over her with joy, and His toil and death being amply compensated, He will rest in His love.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Eph 5:27. Present it to himself. When a man looks upon a woman who is to become his bride, he delights in seeing her properly attired, with garments that are suitable for the occasion, being unsoiled and free from wrinkles. Jesus wished his bride (the church) to be thus qualified, and the phrase in italics first applies to the way the church appears to Him in this world if it is what it should be. But the actual marriage is to take place at the judgment day, and Christ desires that when the time comes, the bride will have adorned herself properly, in character and appearance (2Co 11:1-2; Rev 19:7-8). To enable her to be so adorned, He has provided her with garments that have been cleansed from all blemishes by his own blood. Spot or wrinkle. A wedding garment should be free from stains, and be smooth in its physical form. The figure means the church should be “unspotted from the world” (Jas 1:27), and free from such evil blemishes as wrinkles that may be caused by contact with the pressure of sin. To be holy denotes a life that is righteous according to the rules that have been left by the bridegroom.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eph 5:27. That he might himself present to himself. A slight change of reading gives this sense. This is the purpose of the sanctification (Eph 5:24), but also of the giving up of Himself (Eph 5:25). Present, as a bride, not as an offering, is presented. But Christ permits neither attendants nor handmaids to present the Bride He alone presents, He receives (Ellicott), as He has prepared her for the bridal presentation (Eph 5:24). That this is to take place at the Second Ad-vent is generally admitted, especially since that event is so frequently referred to as a marriage.
The church glorious. A glorious church is inexact. The Church (His Church) is to be presented as glorious, this word being in emphatic position, and explained by what follows.
Not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. The figures taken from the perfection of physical beauty express what is stated without a figure in the next clause.
That it might be holy and without blemish. The thought is still explanatory of glorious, notwithstanding the change of construction; might marks the purpose better than should. Holy and without blemish, as in chap. Eph 1:4, refer to the positive and negative sides of moral purity. Clearly enough the Church is not yet ready to be thus presented; but the Bridegroom is preparing her for it. Precisely this thought furnishes a strong motive for the duty under discussion.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
27. That he may present to himself a glorious Church, having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any of such things, but she may be holy and blameless.
Tis a glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle, washed in the blood of the Lamb! What a contrast this plain, simple, and unmistakable statement of the Holy Ghost affirming so positively and lucidly the purity of Gods Church, with the materialistic, skeptical, worldly, proud, pompous, money-loving ecclesiasticisms of the present day, not only utterly ignorant of the sweet and simple experience of heart-purity and the indwelling Comforter, but even waging an exterminating war in pulpit and pews against the very religion revealed throughout the New Testament as the blessed and happy experience of Gods children!
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, {o} not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
(o) The Church as it is considered in itself, will not be without wrinkle, before it come to the mark it aims at: for while it is in this life, it runs in a race. But if it is considered in Christ, it is clean and without wrinkle.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
What was Jesus Christ’s ultimate purpose in giving Himself for the church (Eph 5:25)? It was to present her to Himself in all her glory finally, namely, without any blemishes, effects of sin (wrinkles), or anything that would diminish her glory. Positively God will eventually present the church to His Son as exclusively His and spotless (cf. Eph 1:4). This will happen at the Rapture when all Christians will experience full sanctification (i.e., glorification) and will join our Lord forever (cf. 2Co 11:2).
"Spots are caused by defilement on the outside, while wrinkles are caused by decay on the inside." [Note: Wiersbe, 2:51.]
"Christ’s labor of love on behalf of the Church is threefold: past, present, and future: (1) for love He gave Himself to redeem the Church (Eph 5:25); (2) in love He is sanctifying the Church (Eph 5:26); and (3) for the reward of His sacrifice and labor of love He will present the Church to Himself in flawless perfection, ’one pearl of great price’ (Eph 5:27; Mat 13:46)." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 1277.]