Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 3:21

Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

21. glory ] Lit., and better, the glory; the glory due to the Father of the Saviour, and of the saints in Him.

in the church by Christ Jesus ] Lit., in Christ Jesus. “The glory” is ascribed “ in Him” as the Father is manifested in Him, and “in Him reconciled the world to Himself.” But very strong evidence favours the reading in the Church and in Christ Jesus. If this is adopted, and it is nearly certain, the meaning is that the reasons of eternal praise to the Father lie both in the Church and in the Saviour; in the Church, as chosen and glorified by Him, in the Saviour as His supreme and all-including Gift.

throughout all ages, &c.] Lit., unto all the generations of the age of the ages. Such is the length of prospect revealed for the Church of Christ, as the “habitation of God” (Eph 2:22). The meaning manifestly is, “to all eternity,” whatever manifestations the eternal Future may bring. This is viewed as one vast “age” ( ain), the sum and circumference of ages, which ages again contain developments faintly imaged by the “generations” which make up the centuries of Time. The phrases “for ever,” or “for ever and ever,” of our A. V., usually represent the “unto the age,” or “unto the ages,” or “unto the ages of the ages,” of the Greek. The first Gr. phrase is almost confined to St John’s Gospel and Epistles; the last is distinctive of the Revelation, but it occurs also in St Paul and St Peter. St Peter (2 Eph 3:18) writes “ unto the day of the age,” the “Day” which shall usher in the Eternal State. On the word ain see further, last note on Eph 1:21.

Amen ] The word is properly a Hebrew adverb (“surely”), repeatedly used as here in O. T. See Psa 89:52; Jer 11:5 (marg. A. V.); &c.

On the great passage thus closed Monod remarks: “This doxology, which concludes at once the Apostle’s prayer and the first part of his epistle, would be remarkable anywhere, but it is doubly so here After the grandest promises which human language can express, the Holy Spirit here closes by declaring that all which can be expressed is infinitely below the reality which is in God. But nothing less could answer the vast and undefined need of the heart. All that the mind can clearly grasp and the mouth articulately utter is incapable of satisfying us. And thus this close, so astonishing and unexpected, is just what we needed But alas, if this language which is infinitely below the reality which is in God is infinitely above the reality which is in us! To pass from Scripture to our experience, seems like a fall from heaven to earth. The Lord teach us how to bring our experience into harmony with His promises.”

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Unto him be glory – see the notes, Rom 16:27.

In the church – Or, by the church; Eph 3:10. The church was to be the instrument by which the glory of God would be shown; and it was by the church that his praise would be celebrated.

Throughout all ages, world without end – There is a richness and amplification of language here which shows that his heart was full of the subject, and that it was difficult to find words to express his conceptions. It means, in the strongest sense, forever. It is one of the apostles self-invented phrases (Bloomfield); and Blackwall says that no version can fully express the meaning. It is literally, Unto all generations of the age of ages, or unto all the generations of the eternity of eternities, or the eternity of ages. It is the language of a heart full of the love of God, and desiring that he might be praised without ceasing forever and ever.

Remarks On Ephesians 3

1. It is a great and glorious truth that the offers of the gospel are made to us, who are by nature Gentiles; and that those offers are confined to no class or condition of people – to no nation or tribe; Eph 3:1-6. This truth had been concealed for ages. The Jews regarded themselves as a unique people, and as exclusively the favorites of Heaven. The great effort has been made everywhere to show that there was a favored class of people – a class whom God regarded with special affection, on account of their birth, or rank, or nation, or wealth, or complexion. In one nation, there has been a distinction of caste carefully kept up from age to age, and sustained by all the power of the priesthood and the laws; and it has been held that that one class was the favorite of Heaven, and that every other was overlooked or despised. In another nation, it has been held that the services of an illustrious ancestry made a difference among people, and that this fact was to he regarded, even in religion.

In another, complexion has made a difference; and the feeling has insensibly grown up that one class were the favorites of Heaven, because they had a skin not colored like others, and that those not thus favored might be doomed to hopeless toil and servitude. In another, the attempt is made to create such a distinction by wealth; and it is felt that the rich are the favorites of Heaven. In all these eases, there is the secret feeling that in virtue of rank, or blood, or property, one class are the objects of divine interest, more than others; and that the same plan of salvation is not needed for them which is required for the poor, for the ignorant, and for the slave. The gospel regards all people as on a level; offers the same salvation to all; and offers it on the same terms. This is one of its glories; and for this we should love it. It meets man as he is – as everywhere a fallen and a ruined being – and provides a plan adapted to raise all to the glories of the same heaven.

2. Humility becomes us Eph 3:8. Paul felt that he was the least of all saints. He remembered his former life. He recalled the time when he persecuted the church. He felt that he was not worthy to be enrolled in that society which he had so greatly injured. If Paul was humble, who should not be? Who, since his time, has equalled his ardor, his zeal, his attainments in the divine life? Yet the remembrance of his former life served always to keep him humble, and operated as a check on all the tendencies to pride in his bosom. So it should be with us – with all Christians. There has been enough in our past lives to make us humble, if we would recall it, and to make us feel that we are not worthy to be enrolled among the saints. One has been an infidel; one licentious; one intemperlate; one rash, revengeful, passionate; one has been proud and ambitious; one has been false, dishonest, faithless; all have had hearts opposed to God, alienated from good, and prone to evil; and there is not a Christian in the world who will not find enough in his past life to make him humble, if he will examine himself – enough to make him feel that he deserves not even the lowest place among the saints. So we shall feel if we look over our lives since we made a profession of religion. The painful conviction will come over our souls, that we have lived so far from God, and done so little in his cause, that we are not worthy of the lowest place among the blessed.

3. It is a privilege to preach the gospel; Eph 3:8. So Paul felt. It was an honor of which he felt that he was by no means worthy. It was proof of the favor of God toward him that he was permitted to do it. It is a privilege – an honor – to preach the gospel, anywhere arid to any class of people. It is an honor to be permitted to preach in Christian lands; it is an honor to preach among the pagan. It is an honor far above that of conquerors; and he who does it will win a brighter and more glorious crown than he who goes forth to obtain glory by dethroning kings, and laying nations waste. The warrior goes with the sword in one hand, and the torch in the other. His path is marked with blood, and with smouldering ruins. He treads among the slain; and the music of his march is made up of dying groans, and the shrieks of widows and orphans. Yet he is honored, and his name is blazoned abroad; he is crowned with the laurel, and triumphal arches are reared, and monuments are erected to perpetuate his fame. The man who carries the gospel goes for a different purpose. He is the minister of peace. He goes to tell of salvation. He fires no city; lays waste no field; robs no one of a home, no wife of a husband, no child of a father, no sister of a brother; – he goes to elevate the intellect, to mould the heart to virtue, to establish schools and colleges; to promote temperance, industry, and chastity; to wipe away tears, and to tell of heaven. His course is marked by intelligence and order; by peace and purity; by the joy of the domestic circle, and the happiness of a virtuous fire-side; by consolation on the bed of pain, and by the hope of heaven that cheers the dying. Who would not rather be a preacher of the gospel than a blood-stained warrior? Who would not rather have the wreath that shall encircle the brows of Paul, and Schwartz, and Martin, and Brainerd, than the laurels of Alexander and Caesar?

4. There is ample fullness in the plan of salvation by the Redeemer; Eph 3:8. In Christ there is unsearchable riches. None can understand the fulness that there is in him; none can exhaust it. Millions, and hundreds of million, have been saved by the fulness of his merits; and still those merits are as ample as ever. The sun in the heavens has shone for 6,000 years, and has shed light and comfort. on countless million; but his beams are not exhausted or diminished in splendor. Today, while I write – this beautiful, calm, sweet day – (June 24, 1840) his beams are as bright, as rich, as full, as they were when they were shed on Eden. So of the Sun of righteousness. Millions have been enlightened by his beams; but today they are as full, and rich, and glorious, as they were when the first ray from that sun reached the benighted mind of a penitent sinner. And that fulness is not to be exhausted. No matter how many partake of his abundance; no matter how many darkened minds are enlightened; no matter though nation after nation comes and partakes of his fulness, yet there is no approach to exhaustion. The sun in the heavens may waste his fires and burn out, and become a dark orb, diffusing horror over a cold and cheerless world; but not so with the Sun of righteousness. That will shine on in glory forever and ever; and the last penitent sinner on earth who comes to partake of the riches of the grace of Christ, shall find it as full and as free as did the first who sought pardon through his blood. Oh, the unsearchable riches of Christ! Who can understand this? Who can grow weary in its contemplation?

5. There is no good reason why any sinner should be lost; Eph 3:8. If the merits of the Saviour were limited; if his arm were a feeble human arm; if he died only for a part, and if his merit were already well-nigh exhausted, we might begin to despair. But it is not so. The riches of his grace are unbounded and inexhaustible. And why then does the sinner die? I can answer. He does like the man who expires of thirst while fountains bubble and streams flow all around him; like him who is starving amidst trees loaded with fruit; like him who is dying of fever in the midst of medicines that would at once restore him; like him who holds his breath and dies while the balmy air of heaven – pure, full, and free – floats all around him. If a man thus dies, who is to blame? If a man goes down to hell from lands where the gospel is preached, whose is the fault? It is not because the merits of Christ are limited; it is not because they are exhausted.

6. The church is designed to accomplish a most important purpose in the manifestation of the divine glory and perfections; Eph 3:10. It is by that that his great-wisdom is shown. It is by that entirely that his mercy is displayed; Eph 2:7. His power is shown in the creation and support of the worlds; his goodness in the works of creation and Providence; his truth in his promises and threatenings; his greatness and majesty are everywhere displayed in the universe which he has brought into being. His mercy is shown in the church; and there alone. Angels in heaven not having sinned, have had no occasion for its exercise; and angels that are fallen have had no offer of pardon. Throughout the wide universe there has been so far as we know, no exercise of mercy but in the church. Hence, the interest which the angelic beings feel in the work of redemption. Hence, they desire to look into these things, and to see more of the heighth and depth and length and breadth of the love of God evinced in the work of redemption. Hence the church is to be honored forever as the means of making known to distant worlds the way in which God shows mercy to rebellious creatures. It is honor enough for one world thus to be the sole means of making known to the universe one of the attributes of God; and while other worlds may contain more proofs of his power and greatness, it is enough for ours that it shows to distant worlds how he can exercise compassion.

7. All tribulation and affliction may be intended to do some good, and may benefit others; Eph 3:13. Paul felt that his sufferings were for the glory – the welfare and honor of the Gentiles, in whose cause he was suffering. He was then a prisoner at Rome. He was permitted no longer to go abroad from land to land to preach the gospel. How natural would it have been for him to be desponding, and to feel that he was leading a useless life. But he did not feel thus. He felt that in some Way he might be doing good. He was suffering in a good cause, and his trials had been brought on him by the appointment of God. He gave himself to writing letters; he talked with all who would come to him Act 28:30-31, and he expected to accomplish something by his example in his sufferings. The sick, the afflicted, and the imprisoned often feel that they are useless. They are laid aside from public and active life, and they feel that they are living in vain. But it is not so. The long imprisonment of John Bunyan – so mysterious to him and to his friends – was the means of producing the Pilgrims Progress, now translated into more than twenty languages, and already blessed to the salvation of thousands. The meekness, and patience, and kindness of a Christian on a bed of pain, may do more for the honor of religion than he could do in a life of health. It shows the sustaining power of the gospel; and this is much. It is worth much suffering to show to a world what the gospel can do in supporting the soul in times of trial; and he who is imprisoned or persecuted; he who lies month after month or year after year on a bed of languishing, may do more for the honor of religion than by many years of active life.

8. There is but one family among the friends of God; Eph 3:15. They all have one Father, and all are brethren. In heaven and on earth they belong to the same family, and worship the same God. Let Christians, therefore, first love one another. Let them lay aside all contention and strife. Let them feel that they are brethren – that though they belong to different denominations, and are called by different names, yet they belong to the same family, and are united under the same glorious head. Let them, secondly, realize how highly they are honored. They belong to the same family as the angels of light and the spirits of just men made perfect. It is an honor to belong to such a family; an honor to be a Christian. Oh, if we saw this in its true light, how much more honorable would it be to belong to this family than to belong to the families of the great on earth, and to have our names enrolled with nobles and with kings!

9. Let us seek to know more of the love of Christ in our redemption – to understand more of the extent of that love which he evinced for us; Eph 3:16-19. It is worth our study. It will reward our efforts. There are few Christians – if there are any – who understand the richness and fulness of the gospel of Christ; few who have such elevated views as they might have and should have of the glory of that gospel. It is wonderful that they who profess to love the Lord Jesus do not study that system more, and desire more to know the heighth, and depth, and length, and breadth of the love of Christ. True, it passes knowledge. We cannot hope fully to fathom it in this world. But we may know more of it than we do. We may aspire to being filled with all the fullness of God. We may long for it; pant for it; strive for it; pray for it – and we shall not strive in vain. Though we shall not attain all we wish; though there will be an infinity beyond what we can understand in this world, yet there will be enough attained to reward all our efforts, and to fill us with love and joy and peace. The love of God our Saviour is indeed an illimitable ocean; but we may see enough of it in this world to lead us to adore and praise God with overflowing hearts.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Eph 3:21

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.

Amen.

Gods all-sufficiency and glory

I. Consider the acknowledgment, which the apostle makes, of Gods all-sufficiency. Gods ability intends not merely His power, but all those perfections which render Him a suitable object of our faith in prayer. It imports an exact knowledge of what our wants are, a ready disposition to supply them, wisdom to discern the proper time and manner of granting supplies, as well as power to effect whatever His wisdom sees best to be done.

1. God often does for men those favours which they never thought of asking for themselves.

2. God answers prayer in ways that we think not of. He will not always bestow the particular things which we ask, for we often mistake our own interest; but He will grant us things more valuable in themselves, or better adapted to our condition. Or, if He gives us the blessings in substance, He will send them in a more suitable time and manner, than we had proposed. I remember to have heard, on good authority, a remarkable story of an African, which will illustrate this thought. The poor negro, in his own country, was led, by contemplation on the works of nature, to conceive that there must be, though invisible to him, a supreme, all-powerful, wise, just, and good Being, who made and governed the world. Impressed with this sentiment, he used daily to pray to this in, visible Being, that he might, by some means or other, be brought to a more distinct knowledge of Him, and of the service due to Him. While in this contemplative and devout state of mind, he, with a number of others, was treacherously and perfidiously taken by some of his own countrymen, and soon after was sold for a slave. Now his faith began to waver. For, thought he with himself, if there is such a just and good Being, as I have supposed, who governs the world, how is it possible that fraud and iniquity should be successful against innocence and integrity? Why are I and my fellow prisoners, who have acted with openness and simplicity, made to suffer, while our enemies are permitted to triumph in the success of their deceit and violence? The poor fellow, after several changes of masters, was finally sold into a pious family in New England, where he was carefully instructed in the Christian religion, which he embraced with great appearance of sincerity and joy, and obeyed with exemplary diligence and zeal. And, in the relation of his story, he often made this pious reflection, that while he was perplexed to see the triumph of fraud over innocence, God was really answering his fervent prayers, and bringing him to the enjoyment of the means of religious knowledge and eternal salvation; that what he had thought was an objection against the justice of Providence, was really a wonderful and merciful compliance with his daily supplication.

3. The mercies which God is pleased to grant us, often produce happy consequences far beyond what we asked or thought,

4. The worth of the blessings which we ask and God bestows infinitely exceeds all our thoughts.

II. Consider the ascription of glory which the apostle makes to this all-sufficient God.

1. God is glorified by the increase of the Church.

2. God is glorified in the Church, when a devout regard is paid to the ordinances which He has instituted.

3. God is glorified by the observance of good order in the Church, and by the decent attendance of the members on their respective duties.

4. That God may be glorified, there must be peace and unity in the Church.

5. That glory may be given to God in the Church, there must be exemplary holiness in its members. (J. Lathrop, D. D.)

Glory to God though Jesus Christ

I. Glory must be given to God. The apostle, as may be inferred from the connection of the words, has chiefly in view the signal benefits of redemption in this elevated ascription of praise.

II. Through whom glory is to be given. Through Jesus Christ. Of Him, through Him, to Him, are all things. He is appointed Head over all. He is the only Mediator between God and man, whether for supplication or intercession or thanksgiving. In Him God bestows all grace upon us, and in Him all our words and our works are sanctified. Whatever we do in the service of God, if it be not done in the name of Christ, and in dependence upon His mediation and Lordship, it is done according to our own carnal will; it is not done according to the will of God.

III. By whom glory is to be given to God. The Church. By the Church is meant the congregation of faithful men, among whom the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments rightly administered. All Gods works show His praise, but His saints shall bless Him.

IV. During what period. Throughout all ages. Every work of man has its limit and its end: all the glory of the creature is as the flower of the field; the wind passeth over it, and it is gone. But it is not so with the glory of God; His praises are endless as His life. Eternity only is the full scene of Gods praise, As it was in the beginning, so it is now, and shall be evermore. (H. J. Hastings, M. A.)

The glory of God

It must be remembered that no praise can add to Gods glory, nor blasphemies detract from it. The blessing tongue cannot make Him better, nor the cursing any worse. Nec melior si laudaveris, nec deterior si vituperaveris. As the sun is neither bettered by birds singing, nor injured by dogs barking. He is so infinitely great, and constantly good, that His glory admits neither addition nor diminution. (T. Adams, D. D.)

Glory is Gods alone

Caesar once said to his opponent, Either I will be Caesar, or nobody. So the Lord saith, Either I will be a great God, or no God, That man disparages the beauty of the sun who sets it upon a level with the twinkling stars, which only borrow their light therefrom. (Archbishop Seeker.)

How God is glorified

The glory of God is from His perfection, regarding extrinsically, and may in some degree be described thus:–It is the excellency of God above all things. God makes this glory manifest by external acts in various ways (Rom 1:23; Rom 9:4; Psa 8:1). But the modes of manifestation, which are declared to us in the Scriptures, are chiefly two; the one, by an effulgence of light and of unusual splendour, or by its opposite, a dense darkness or obscurity (Mat 17:2-5; Luk 2:9; Exo 16:10; 1Ki 8:11). The other, by the producing of works which agree with His perfection and excellence (Psa 19:1; Joh 2:11). (Arminius.)

Gods glory eternal

Agesilaus might have led Tigranes, King of Armenia, captive at the wheels of his chariot. He rather chose to make him an ally; on which occasion he made use of that memorable expression, I prefer the glory that; will last forever to that of a day. (Plutarch.)

God glorified in Christ

A sick woman said to Mr. Cecil, Sir, I have no notion of God. I can form no notion of Him. You talk to me about Him, but I cannot get a single idea that seems to contain anything. But you know how to conceive of Jesus Christ as a man, replied Mr. Cecil; God comes down to you in Him, full of kindness and condescension. Ah! sir, that gives me something to lay hold on. There I can rest. I understand God in His Son. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. (W. Baxendale.)

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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 21. Unto him] Thus possessed of power and goodness, be glory in the Church-be unceasing praises ascribed in all the assemblies of the people of God, wherever these glad tidings are preached, and wherever this glorious doctrine shall be credited.

By Christ Jesus] Through whom, and for whom, all these miracles of mercy and power are wrought.

Throughout all ages] . Through all succeeding generations-while the race of human beings continues to exist on the face of the earth.

World without end.] . Throughout eternity-in the coming world as well as in this. The song of praise, begun upon earth, and protracted through all the generations of men, shall be continued in heaven, by all that are redeemed from the earth, where eras, limits, and periods are no more for ever.

Amen.] So be it. So let it be! and so it will be; for all the counsels of God are faithfulness and truth; and not one jot or tittle of his promise has failed, from the foundation of the world to the present day; nor can fail, till mortality is swallowed up of life.

Therefore, to the Father, Son, and holy Ghost, be glory, dominion, power, and thanksgiving, now, henceforth, and for ever. – Amen and Amen.

1. FOR the great importance of the matter contained in this chapter, and the sublimity of the language and conceptions, there is no portion of the New Testament equal to this. The apostle was now shut up in prison, but the word of the Lord was not bound; and the kingdom of God seems to have been opened to him in a most astonishing manner. There seems to have been exhibited to him a plan of the Divine counsels and conduct relative to the salvation of man, before and from the foundation of the world to the end of time; and while, with the eye of his mind, he contemplates this plan, he describes it in language at once the most elevated that can be conceived, and every where dignified and appropriate to the subject; so that he may with safety be compared with the finest of the Grecian writers. In the notes I have already observed how hard it is to give any literal translation of the many compound epithets which the apostle uses. Indeed his own nervous language seems to bend and tremble under the weight of the Divine ideas which it endeavours to express. This is most observable in the prayer and doxology which are contained in Eph 3:14-21. A passage in Thucydides, lib. vii. cap. lxxxvii, in fine, where he gives an account of the total overthrow of the Athenian general, Nicias, and his whole army, by the Sicilians, has been compared with this of the apostle; it is truly a grand piece, and no reader can be displeased with its introduction here: – , , , , , , , ‘ “This was the greatest discomfiture which the Greeks sustained during the whole war, and was as brilliant to the conquerors as it was calamitous to the vanquished. In every respect they were totally defeated; and they suffered no small evil in every particular: the destruction was universal, both of army and navy; there was nothing that did not perish; and scarcely any, out of vast multitudes, returned to their own homes.

The learned may compare the two passages; and while due credit is given to the splendid Greek historian, no critic will deny the palm to the inspired writer.

2. With such portions of the word of God before us, how is it that we can he said conscientiously to credit the doctrines of Christianity, and live satisfied with such slender attainments in the divine life? Can any man that pleads for the necessary and degrading continuance of indwelling sin, believe what the apostle has written? Can we, who profess to believe it, be excusable, and live under the influence of any temper or passion that does not belong to the mind of Christ? Will it be said in answer, that “this is only a prayer of the apostle, and contains his wish from the overflowings of his heart for the spiritual prosperity of the Ephesians?” Was the apostle inspired or not when he penned this prayer? If he were not inspired, the prayer makes no part of Divine revelation; if he were inspired, every petition is tantamount to a positive promise; for what God inspires the heart to pray for, that God purposes to bestow. Then it is his will that all these blessings should be enjoyed by his true followers, that Christ should inhabit their hearts, and that they should be filled with all the fulness of God; yea, and that God should do for them more abundantly than they can ask or think. This necessarily implies that they should be saved from all sin, inward and outward, in this life; that the thoughts of their hearts should be cleansed by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, that they might perfectly love him, and worthily magnify his holy name.

As sin is the cause of the ruin of mankind, the Gospel system, which is its cure, is called good news, or glad tidings; and it is good news because it proclaims him who saves his people from their sins. It would be dishonourable to the grace of Christ to suppose that sin had made wounds which that could not heal.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Unto him be glory in the church; the whole church of Jews and Gentiles. The church only knows the mystery and partakes of the benefits before mentioned, and therefore the church only can rightly glorify God for them.

By Christ Jesus; either in Christ, in whom the Father hath displayed all his love to us; or rather by (according to our version) Christ, as the Mediator between God and us; by whom we offer up our services to God, praises as well as prayers, Rom 1:8; 7:25. Throughout all ages; or, through all generations.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

21. Translate, “Unto Him bethe glory (that is, the whole glory of the graciousdispensation of salvation just spoken of) in the Church (as thetheater for the manifestation of the glory, Eph3:10) in Christ Jesus (as in Him all the glory centers, Zec6:13) to all the generations of eternal ages,” literally,”of the age of the ages.” Eternity is conceived asconsisting of “ages” (these again consisting of”generations”) endlessly succeeding one another.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus,…. This is a doxology, or an ascription of glory to God, with which the apostle concludes his prayer; glory is to be given to God on account of his perfections, which are to be celebrated; and on account of the works of creation and Providence, which are to be commended and acquiesced in; and on account of temporal mercies, for which thanks should be given; and especially for spiritual mercies, and above all for Jesus Christ: the glory of salvation, from first to last, is to be ascribed to his free grace; and his worship is to be regarded and constantly attended on; faith is to be exercised on him, as a promising and covenant keeping God; and our lives and conversations are to be ordered aright according to his word; and we are cheerfully and patiently to suffer for his cause and interest, in all which instances he is glorified: and the place where this glory is to be given, is the “church”; for the church, and true believers, only know the blessings and mysteries of divine grace; and they only know how to glorify God aright; and besides, glory must be given to God by believers, not only separately and apart, but conjunctly and together, in a church state; because there the Lord appears glorious, grants his presence, and displays his mighty grace: and this is to be done by “Christ Jesus”, or “in” him; and may refer either to the church, which is in Christ; or to him as the medium by whom praise and glory are to be given to God; for all blessings are in Christ, and come to us through him, and he is the only way of access to God; nor can our praises and thanksgivings be acceptable unto God, but through him: and this glory is to be given

throughout all ages, world without end, Amen; for the church will abide for ever, in which it is to be given; the blessings of grace will be for ever dispensing, for which it is to be given; and Jesus Christ, the Mediator, will continue for evermore, by whom it is given: to all which is added the word “Amen”, signifying his wish, that so it might be, and his faith, that so it would be.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

In the church ( ). The general church, the body of Christ.

And in Christ Jesus ( ). The Head of the glorious church.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Glory. Properly, the glory, which is His due.

In the Church. Through which His many – tinted wisdom is to be displayed, and which is His fullness. The variety of the divine wisdom is again hinted at in all that we ask or think.

By Christ Jesus [] . Rev., better, in. As the Church is the outward domain in which God is to be praised, so Christ is the spiritual sphere of this praise.

Throughout all ages, world without end [ ] . Lit., unto all the generations of the age of the ages. Eternity is made up of ages, and ages of generations.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “Unto him be glory in the church” (auto he doksa en te ekklesia) “To him (God) be the glory in the church.” Let glory be to the omnipotent God of love, holiness, power, and wisdom. The glory is ascribed to the trinitarian God. That glory is to be given “in the church,” the worship, praise, and service body or assembly, which God purposed from eternity and which Christ established, purchased, and died for, Mat 16:18; Mat 28:18-20; Joh 20:21; Act 20:28; Eph 1:21-22; Eph 2:19-22; Eph 3:9-10; Eph 5:25; Eph 5:27.

2) “By Christ Jesus” (kai en christo iesou) “Even in (or by) Christ Jesus.” Even by the instrumentality of Jesus Christ, who loved the church, taught the church, bought the church, and promised to return to the church, Mar 13:34-35; Act 1:10-11; Mat 13:1-58; Mat 25:1-46; Rev 19:5-9; Rev 21:9-14; Rev 22:16-17.

3) “Throughout all ages, world without end” (eis pasas tas geneas tou aionos ton aionon, Amen-) “Unto all the generations of the age of the ages (Amen). So may it ever be,” or exist Jesus established His church in person by called out baptized disciples in Galilee, who began accompanying Him, at His call, for purposes of worship, study, witnessing, and service. He called them 11 the light of the world and the salt of the earth” in His inaugural address to them in the Sermon on the Mount, Mat 4:13-19; Mat 5:1 to Mat 7:29. He called them “My church,” Mat 16:18-19; “little flock” Luk 12:32; and gave them assurance that “the gates (ramparts) of hell would not prevail against them” as an institution, and pledged to be with them alway, Mat 28:18-20. The church will still be praising Him in eternity, Rev 21:9-14.

“THE FAITHFUL FEW”

In every church, in every clime,

When there’s some work to do,

It’s very likely to be done

By just the “Faithful Few.”

Many folks will help to sing,

And some are glad to talk,

But when it comes to doing things,

A lot of them will balk–

I can’t do this, I can’t do that,

Excuse me, please, this time-

I’d be so glad to help you out,

But it’s not in my line. “

So when the leader looks about

For some who’ll help to “do,”

He nearly always has to go

And ask the Faithful Few.

He knows full well they’re busy, too,

And always hard at work,

Yet he is sure they’ll not refuse,

Nor any duty shirk.

They never stop to make excuse

But always try to do

The very, very best they can

To smooth the way for you.

God bless, I pray, the Faithful Few,

And may their tribe increase!

They must be very precious to

The blessed Prince of Peace.

–Chester F. Shuler

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

(21) Unto him be glory in the church by (properly, in) Christ Jesus.In the parallelism of these clauses is implied the great idea of the Epistlethe unity of the Church in Christ. Hence all that is in the Church is in Christ Jesus. The visible unity of the Church represents, as it depends on, the invisible unity with God in Him.

Throughout all ages, world without end.The original expression is emphatic and peculiar: to all the generations of the age of the ages; that is, in each successive generation of that age (or, dispensation) which includes in itself all the ages which we can reckon or conceive. The conception represents to us each generation, as adding its own peculiar thanksgiving to the great chorus of praise which fills eternity.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

21. Unto him Repeated with majestic emphasis.

Be glory Namely, an ascription of supreme adoring honour.

Throughout all ages end Literal Greek, into all generations of the age of ages. And here we might be surprised at generations being ascribed to the eternal ages. But the word generation designates, not a real progeny, but a time period. With the elder Hebrews a generation seems to have been a century, with the Greeks, one third of a century. (See Robinson’s Greek N.T. Lexicon on the word.) Grotius rightly says, For the purpose of magnifying, the apostle here mingles two Hebrew idioms, namely, “to generations of generations,” (as in Psa 10:6,) and “to ages of ages,” (as in Isa 45:17, and elsewhere.) But it may be asked how does this phrase truly and completely express eternity? for it appears to express not time infinite, but merely time indefinite. We may reply, that, at any rate, St. Paul here uses it for time infinite or endless, since he uses it to measure the duration of Jehovah’s glory, which must be infinite in duration.

Amen Grotius suggests: “The Churches were accustomed to acclaim amen at such doxologies, which, that they may do, Paul gives them a lead.” A beautiful thought, confirming the idea that St. Paul conceptually dedicates his Ephesian and universal Church with this prayer and choral finishing.

And now, this glorious Church, as viewed from its divine side, is delineated, erected, finished, and dedicated with prayer and rapturous anthem. Let us next contemplate the human side of its churchly and Christian duties.

PART SECOND.

HUMAN SIDE OF CHURCHDOM DUTIES OF GOD’S ELECT CHURCH ON EARTH, Eph 4:1 to Eph 6:24.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Eph 3:21. Throughout all ages, &c. The original contains one of St. Paul’s self-invented, and most expressive phrases, which we may defy any version fully to express;through all the successions of an endless eternity, may come something near it; but even this, emphatical as it may seem, falls very short of the sublimity and spirit of the original.

Inferences.St. Paul’s understanding in the mystery of Christ, is just matter of perpetual joy to the whole Christian world, who have thence derived so much of their knowledge and of their hope. Let us congratulate ourselves and each other on the propagation of so glorious a system of divine truth, which had so long been concealed from ages and generations. The apostles and prophets were raised up by God to receive and reveal it, and we are entered on the blessed fruits of their labours. Let us learn from them to set a due value on our participation in that inheritance, on our union to that body, to which by the gospel we are called.

May it particularly teach us that humility which was so conspicuous, so amiable, so admirable in St. Paul. This excellent man, who stood in the foremost rank of Christians, of ministers, of apostles, yet labours for words to express the sense he had of his own meanness and unworthiness, and commits a kind of solecism in language, that he might lay himself as low as possible; using the most diminutive term that could be, to describe himself as one who, in his own esteem, was less than the least of all saints! And shall we then exalt ourselves, and be proud of the trifling distinctions which raise our obscure heads a little above some of our brethren?

Let those in particular who have the honour of being called to the sacred office of the ministry, consider how reasonable it is, that, instead of being puffed up with it, they should rather be humbled, when they reflect how unworthy of it the best of men are, and in how defective a manner the most faithful discharge it; while yet the grace is given them to preach the riches of Christ, his unsearchable riches. Let these be made the grand subject of their preaching; and let all the course of it be directed, in a proper manner, to the illustration of that subject. Let the well-chosen phrase which the Apostle uses here, teach them and all Christians to search more and more into this unfathomable abyss; as still sure to discover new wonders in the variety and fulness of its inexhaustible contents, beyond what they have known before, and to find new treasures in tracing again those already known.

This glorious theme is worthy of the contemplation of angels; and we are elsewhere told, that these celestial spirits desire to look into it (1Pe 1:12.) and to learn new displays of the divine attributes from the church. Let not our hearts then be cold to these sacred truths which are our own salvation, while they rejoice in them (principally, perhaps,) on the general principles of piety and benevolence.

Let our eyes then be frequently directed to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our knees be frequently bowed before him, invoking him, under that amiable and delightful character, as the great Father of that one family, which in infinite mercy he is forming to himselfa family, consisting, not only of those who have been originally the inhabitants of heaven, who were born in his house, and have never offended him, but of many who have been, and many who are inhabitants of earth, once the children of the curse, and the heirs of death and destruction.

Let us all remember, it is now the family of Christ, our great elder Brother; who, though the Lord of heaven, disdains not to own that humble relation, while the angels are adoring him, as standing at the head of the society, and esteem it their honour to be related to him. Let us be more affected with the grace extended to us, and consider our relation to him as a bond of union among ourselves. While we are of this family, let not the different garbs that we wear, or the different apartments in which we are lodged, alienate our affections from each other; but let us often be thinking of that blessed day, when the whole family of saints and angels now above, and faithful believers now upon earth, shall meet in heaven; and let us, in the mean time, endeavour to behave as worthy members of this glorious society, and have its common interests at heart.

And from that eminently faithful and honourable branch of the family, the blessed Apostle, let us learn what to wish for ourselves and our brethreneven that God, according to the riches of his grace, would strengthen us with might by his spirit in the inner man; that we may attain great degrees of vigour and confirmation in religion, by the vital and powerful operations of the Holy Spirit of God upon our hearts; that we may be strong to discharge every duty, to resist temptations, to conquer our enemies, to assist our brethren, and to glorify our Father and our Saviour. Let us earnestly desire, that Christ may not only now and then visit our hearts, but, by the habitual and lively exercises of faith, may even dwell in them; that we may thus be continually conversant with him, as our most honoured and beloved guest; and that love may take deep root in our hearts, and be solidly grounded there. Let us earnestly pray that, under Divine illuminations, we may be enabled to form more exalted and suitable conceptions than we have ever yet attained, of the breadth, and length, and depth and height, of this unfathomable, this inconceivable love of Christ, which surpasses the perfect knowledge even of saints in glory. And O that, by these contemplations, we may find ourselves daily filled with all the fulness of God, so that our hearts may even overflow with the abundant communication of his gifts and grace!
What shall we say in return for the knowledge that he has already given us, for the love which he has already wrought in our hearts, if we are so happy as to know the grace of God in truth? What! but that, believing his power to outdo all it has already wrought for us, yea, to do for us exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think, we will still confide in him, and call upon him; and will humbly endeavour to bear our part with the whole church, in ascribing to our Redeemer, our Sanctifier, and our Father, glory throughout all ages, and even world without end. Amen.

REFLECTIONS.1st, The Apostle gives his beloved Ephesians an account of his sufferings for the truths which he had asserted. For this cause, because I declare the privileges to which the Gentiles, in common with the Jews, are admitted through the gospel, I Paul am the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles; and those are honourable bonds which, in his service, are laid upon us, if, or since, ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me to you-ward, as especially commissioned and sent to preach the gospel to the Gentiles: and how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery of his gospel, as a common salvation for men of all nations, (as I wrote afore, in this Epistle, in few words, whereby when ye read ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, and how fully and clearly he has acquainted me with his gracious designs,) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, the Gentile world being left in almost utter ignorance; and those to whom the light of truth was revealed in types and prophesies, seeing but through a glass darkly, compared with the present clear dispensation, of the gospel, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, since the ascension of Jesus into the heavens; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs with his believing Israel, and of the same body, incorporated in one church, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel, sharing in all the privileges of the gospel dispensation equally with the Jews. Whereof I was made a minister, by a divine call and ordination, not of men, nor by man, but immediately from Jesus Christ himself, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me, appointing me to this office, and qualifying me for the discharge of it, by the effectual working of his power, enabling me for my work, and crowning it with success. Unto me who am less than the least of all saints, so exceedingly lowly does the great Apostle speak of himself, and wants words sufficiently abasing to express the sense that he entertained of his own unworthiness of so high an honour; even to me, vile as I am, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; those treasures of grace and glory which reside in him for his faithful saints, which can never be fathomed, never be exhausted; a store that mocks computation, and in which we know neither where to begin nor where to end the wonderful account; and to make all men see, as far as my ministry should reach, what is the fellowship of the mystery, and how blessed is that communion of saints into which, by the gospel, they are admitted, even Gentiles as well as Jews, which from the beginning of the world had been hid in God, a secret lodged in his own Divine mind, who created all things by Jesus Christ, without whose co-efficient agency was not any thing made that was made. And the revelation of this mystery, which was so long concealed, is made known, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, that fresh matter might thus be afforded to the angelic host for their contemplation, wonder, and praise; according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, who was ordained to be the great agent in redemption, as he had been in creation: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of himfaith, of which he is both the great author and object, whereby we can now approach the throne of grace with humble confidence, regarding God as our father and friend, and admitted into the most endeared fellowship with him. Wherefore, considering these inestimable blessings and privileges, I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, or be disheartened or desponding at these sufferings, which are your glory, and should minister to you continual matter of rejoicing in the honour thus conferred on me, and in the confirmation given thereby to the gospel which you have received. Note; (1.) None can make gospel ministers but God only: they who run unsent, must return unblest. (2.) The grace of God should be the grand subject of our ministrations; for to preach this are we sent. (3.) If we know the power of the gospel, we shall not be ashamed of that cross, which, for the sake of it, we shall be called to bear. (4.) The greatest Christians have the most lowly thoughts of themselves. (5.) None can truly preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to others, who have not first experienced something of them in their own souls. (6.) They who by faith in a Redeemer behold a reconciled God, will delight to approach him, and to maintain constant communion with him.

2nd, The Apostle informed us what was the subject of his preaching, and he failed not to water the seed sown with his fervent and importunate prayers. For this cause, that you may not faint, and that the gospel may be made effectual to you, I bow my knees unto the

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Father in him, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, both angels and men, saints on earth, and saints in heaven, who, through their adored Saviour, have obtained a more excellent title, as children of God, than that in which the carnal Jews boasted, as children of Abraham. Now the Apostle prays for them,

1. That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, out of the abundance of his grace, and for his great name’s sake, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, to oppose all your spiritual foes, to resist every temptation, to bear up under all persecution, to discharge every duty and service for God’s glory, and the good of immortal souls; and steadily and perseveringly to hold on your heavenly course, till your warfare shall end, and your victory be complete. Note; Spiritual blessings are the best of blessings, and most earnestly to be sought.

2. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, making your souls the place of his abode; blessing you with a sense of his nearness and special presence; and enabling you, by faith, to draw out of his fulness; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, fully persuaded of God’s love in Christ towards you, experiencing the richer manifestations of it in your hearts, and cleaving to him with fixed attachment, as the tree that hath struck its roots deep into the earth, may be able to comprehend with all saints, to whom in bonds of fervent love you are united, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. Its infinite fulness none, not even angels, can comprehend; but larger and more extensive views of this love than we have yet attained to, we cannot but desireto behold its vast extent, as reaching to all nations and sinners of every degree; its duration towards the faithful saints of God, even to all eternity; the depths of wretchedness in which we lay, and of sufferings to which, for our sakes, the Son of God incarnate submitted; and the transcendent heights of glory to which he himself is now exalted, and to which he has engaged to bring his faithful people, that they may reign with him for ever and ever.

3. That ye may be filled with all the fulness of God; completely made partakers of a divine nature, and, to the utmost capacity of your souls, may be enriched with all that light, grace, peace, joy, and holiness, which God, as your covenant God, has promised to his dearest and most faithful children in this world; and may you come to the eternal enjoyment of him in a better, to dwell in God, and God in you, for ever.

4. He concludes with a doxology. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, who counts nothing too great or too good to bestow on his saints, and hath already given us the most encouraging experience of his power and grace; unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end; eternal blessings, praise, and adoration, be rendered unto him for this astonishing redemption; and let every member of the church, in heaven or on earth, with holy rapture and joy, cry, Amen!

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Eph 3:21 . ] pointing back with rhetorical emphasis. See Schaef. Melet. p. 84; Khner, II. p. 330.

] sc . : the befitting honour . Comp. Rom 11:36 ; Rom 16:27 ; Gal 1:5 ; Phi 4:20 . Certainly God has the glory (Eph 1:17 ), from which fact Harless explains the article; but it is not of this that the doxologies speak, not of this fact being testified to God, but of His receiving the human praise, which to Him pertains (Rev 4:11 ). Compare the conception, , Luk 17:18 ; Act 12:23 ; Joh 9:24 ; Rom 4:20 ; Rev 4:9 .

. .] not to be taken together (Luther, Michaelis, Koppe, Rosenmller, Flatt, Holzhausen, Meier, Olshausen), against which we may decidedly urge, not indeed the want of the article, since , the Christian church, might be combined as one idea in contradistinction from the Jewish, or any other whatever, but the utter superfluousness of this distinguishing designation; for that was the Christian church, the , was self-evident. Rather is . the outward domain in which God is to be praised, and the spiritual sphere in which this ascription of praise is to take place; for not outside of Christ, but in Christ as the specific element of faith, in which the pious life-activity of the Christian moves does he praise God. Comp. Eph 3:5 ; Eph 3:20 . Allied, but not identical (in opposition to Grotius and others), is the conception , Rom 1:8 ; Rom 7:25 . Both conceptions: Col 3:17 .

. . .] unto all generations of the world-age of world-ages . [196] This cumulation of the expressions is solemn. The denotes the eternal world-period beginning with the Parousia , the , conceived of as the superlativum of all world periods (Winer, p. 220 [E. T. 309]), in so far as it, just as the last and eternal one, transcends all. other since the beginning of the world. Comp. Dan 7:18 ; Dan 3 Esdr. 4:38. The plural expression (Gal 1:5 ; Phi 4:20 , al. ) is not different as to the thing intended, but is so as to the conception; since in it the Messianic period, although equally thought of (comp. also on Luk 1:50 ) as the superlative of all the , is not thought of in its unity without distinction, but as a continuous series of several periods: consequently not as a single totality, as in the case of , but according to the several constituent parts, which collectively form the whole of the Messianic eternity, in short, not as the time of times , as in our passage, but as the times of times . By . . . the thought is expressed, that the indicated ascription of praise to God will extend to all the generations of the (nigh) Messianic world-period, i.e. that this ascription of praise in the church is to endure not only up to the Parousia, but then also ever onward from generation to generation in the Messianic aeon, consequently to last not merely , but also . On , generation (three of which about = 100 years), comp. Act 14:16 , and the passages from the LXX. and Apocrypha in Schleusner’s Thes .; from Greek writers, in Wessel, ad Diod. I. 24. The designation of the successive time-spaces of the everlasting Messianic by , is derived from the lapse of time in the pre-Messianic world-period in which with the changing generations one age of man ever succeeds another by virtue of a certain anthropological mode of regarding eternity. Of the church , however, it is presupposed that she herself (and so, too, will it be with her praising of God) endures on into the everlasting , but not that she has still a very long temporal duration before the Parousia, according to which de Wette has here found a contradiction to the apostle’s expectation elsewhere of the nearness of the Parousia. The Parousia brings for the not the end, but the consummation. Hofmann, Schriftbew . II. 2, p. 127, retaining before . . (see the critical remarks), would have . . ., to belong only to . ., and not to ; for only at present and upon earth does the glorification of God take place in the church , but in Christ it takes place eternally. Incorrectly, because even the temporal glorification does not take place otherwise than , consequently the would have had its logical position only after . If were genuine, it would not be equivalent to , as would need to be assumed on Hofmann’s view, but it would be et quidem, idque , however superfluous and cumbrous such a stress laid on it might be. According to Baur, p. 433, there meets us again here the Gnostic idea of the , in accordance with which they, “as the , are the aeons in the sense, in which God Himself, as the extra-temporal unity of time, individualizes Himself in the aeons as the elements of self-unfolding time.” In this way one may over-urge Gnosticism.

[196] “ , periodi oeconomiae divinae ab una quasi scena ad aliam decurrentes,” Bengel.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

REFLECTIONS

WHAT cause of thankfulness hath the Church of God to offer, that the gracious purpose of Jehovah, hid in his breast from the beginning of the world, unknown to Angels, and principalities, and powers; should be so fully and openly revealed to the Lord’s people; yea, while the world knoweth it not, because it knew him not in whom it is hid; is made known to the saints and household of God! Oh! the blessedness o f being made acquainted with the love, the everlasting love of God the Father, in his counsel, purpose, and will, in his grace to the Church! And, oh! the blessedness, that all the revelations of his love should be made known to us in the Person, and flow to us from the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Spirit! Surely, every mercy becomes a tenfold mercy, coming to the Church, as the whole doth in, and through Christ. Lord! give all thy redeemed grace to bend the knee, as Paul did before the God and Father of the whole family, that we may be able to comprehend with all saints, all the vast dimensions of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, and be filled with all the fullness of God!

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Ver. 21. Glory in the church of Christ ] Who is the refulgency of his Father’s glory, Heb 1:3 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

21 .] to Him (solemn and emphatic repetition of the personal pronoun) be the glory (the whole glory accruing from all His dealings which have been spoken of: His own resulting glory) in the Church (as its theatre before men, in which that glory must be recognized and rendered) [ and ] in Christ Jesus (as its inner verity, and essential element in which it abides. If the be omitted, beware of rendering ‘ in the Church which is in Christ Jesus ,’ which would not only require the article (cf. Gal 1:22 , . ), but would make superfluous. As the text stands, we need not say that . . is a second independent clause: it belongs to . as inclusive of it, though not as descriptive of .: ‘in the Church and (thus) in Christ Jesus’) to all the generations of the age of the ages (probably as Grot., ‘augendi causa duas locutiones Hebraicas miscuit Apostolus, quarum prior est , , Psa 10:6 , altera , Isa 45:17 .’ Probably the account of the meaning is, that the age of ages (eternity) is conceived as containing ages, just as our ‘age’ contains years: and then those ages are thought of as made up, like ours, of generations. Like the similar expression, , it is used, by a transfer of what we know in time, to express, imperfectly, and indeed improperly, the idea of Eternity).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Eph 3:21 . : unto Him be the glory in the Church in Christ Jesus (better, “and in Christ Jesus”). In the the great Subject of the ascription is named the second time with rhetorical emphasis, and as it stands first in the sentence (not ) is to be supplied. The article with defines it as the glory that is due to Him, or that befits Him. And that “glory” is to be given Him , the Church being the domain in which the praise that belongs to Him is to be rendered Him. The reading of the TR, , , follows such authorities as [351] 2 [352] [353] [354] , Syr., Eth., Arm., Goth. It is rendered by some “in the Church which is in Christ Jesus”. But there is no evident reason for defining the Church here specifically as in Christ ; for it is the Christian Church that is obviously meant, and there is no need to distinguish it from the Church of Israel. Such a construction, too, distinguishing one Church from another, would have been clearer if had appeared before , although the absence of the article is not fatal to it ( cf. 1Th 1:1 , etc.). Hence those who follow the TR take the words as two distinct clauses, , , understanding them to mean that the praise which is given in the Church is praise given in Christ in virtue of her union with Him as her Head, or taking them to point first to the Church as “the outward domain in which God is to be praised” and then to Christ as the “spiritual sphere in which this ascription of praise is to take place” (Mey.), it being only in Christ that believer or Church can really praise God. There is, however, a small, but important addition made to the text by some of the oldest and best authorities, by the insertion of before the . The evidence is so strong ( [355] [356] [357] [358] , 17, Vulg., Boh., etc.) that the can scarcely be refused, and it is accepted by LTTrWHRV. So the sentence becomes “in the Church and in Christ Jesus,” and the idea is that praise is to be given to God and His glorious perfections shown forth both in the Church which is the body, and in Christ who is the Head in the Church as chosen by Him, and in the Christ as given, raised, and exalted by Him. So Haupt, with a somewhat similar idea, understands the sense to be that the glorifying of God takes place in outward-wise in the circle of the Church and at the same time in such inward-wise that it is in Christ. . : unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen . More exactly “unto all the generations of the age of the ages. Amen.” Another of these reduplicated, cumulative expressions by which the mind of man working with the ideas of time labours to convey the idea of the eternal. The formula may be, as was suggested by Grotius, a combination of two distinct phrases of similar meaning, one in which continuance, endless continuance, is expressed in terms of , ( cf. e.g. , Luk 1:50 ; , or with LTTrWHRV); and another in which the same idea is expressed in terms of , ( cf. , Rev 14:11 ; , Gal 1:5 , etc.). The peculiarity here is the conjunction of the two formul and the use of the sing. in the latter; cf. , 3 Esdr. 4:38; , Dan 7:18 ; [ ], Heb 1:8 ; , 2Pe 3:18 . The precise idea underlying the phrase is not quite clear. It may be that the everlasting future is thought of as one long “age” embracing in it an unnumbered succession of “generations” and making the sum and crown of all possible “ages”. Or the “age of the ages” may have the force of a superlative, “the age par excellence ,” the “age beside which there is none other to be named,” and that regarded as containing in itself all conceivable “generations”. More precisely, the idea of the Parousia may be behind all, the age ( ) being the Messianic age which opens with the Parousia, brings all other “ages” with the “generations” belonging to them to an end, and is itself to endure for ever. Thus, as Meyer puts it, the idea is that the glory to be given to God in the Church and in Christ its Head is to “endure not only up to the Parousia, but then also ever onward from generation to generation in the Messianic on consequently to last not merely , but also ”. The , which occurs so frequently in our Lord’s discourses at the beginning of an affirmation, is used here, as so often in the OT, at the close of the sentence in the sense of so be it (LXX, ; cf. Num 5:22 , etc.). It was the people’s assent in OT times to declarations made at solemn assemblies (Deu 27:15 ; Neh 5:13 ; Neh 8:6 , etc.). It was also their response to the prayers offered in the synagogue, and from 1Co 14:16 we gather that this use of the word was continued in the Christian Church.

[351] Codex Claromontanus (sc. vi.), a Grco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[352] Codex Mosquensis (sc. ix.), edited by Matthi in 1782.

[353] Codex Angelicus (sc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.

[354] Codex Porphyrianus (sc. ix.), at St. Petersburg, collated by Tischendorf. Its text is deficient for chap. Eph 2:13-16 .

[355] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

[356] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

[357] Codex Alexandrinus (sc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).

[358] Codex Ephraemi (sc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Unto = To.

glory = the glory. See p. 1511.

by. Greek. en.

throughout . . . end App-151.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

21.] to Him (solemn and emphatic repetition of the personal pronoun) be the glory (the whole glory accruing from all His dealings which have been spoken of: His own resulting glory) in the Church (as its theatre before men, in which that glory must be recognized and rendered) [and] in Christ Jesus (as its inner verity, and essential element in which it abides. If the be omitted, beware of rendering in the Church which is in Christ Jesus, which would not only require the article (cf. Gal 1:22, . ), but would make superfluous. As the text stands, we need not say that . . is a second independent clause: it belongs to . as inclusive of it, though not as descriptive of .: in the Church and (thus) in Christ Jesus) to all the generations of the age of the ages (probably as Grot., augendi causa duas locutiones Hebraicas miscuit Apostolus, quarum prior est , , Psa 10:6, altera , Isa 45:17. Probably the account of the meaning is, that the age of ages (eternity) is conceived as containing ages, just as our age contains years: and then those ages are thought of as made up, like ours, of generations. Like the similar expression, , it is used, by a transfer of what we know in time, to express, imperfectly, and indeed improperly, the idea of Eternity).

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Eph 3:21. , in the Church) Eph 3:10.- , into all) Eph 3:11, ch. Eph 2:7 : comp. again Psalms 117. Into all generations, which , the age, comprehends, and which terminates in the everlasting ages, .- , generations) A generation is properly a period of human life, whilst we proceed from parents to children; are periods of the Divine economy, passing on as it were from one scene to another. Here both words, for the sake of amplification, with a metaphor in , generation, are joined together, so that a very long time may be implied. For there are in no longer generations.[55]

[55] Therefore must be taken metaphorically.-ED.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Eph 3:21

Eph 3:21

unto him be the glory in the church-The church, being the creation of Gods love in Christ and the receptacle of his communicative fullness, is the instrumentality formed for his praise. His worship is a daily tribute to the divine majesty and bounty. The life of her people in the world, her warfare against sin, her ceaseless ministries to human sorrow, and need proclaim the divine goodness, righteousness, and truth. She reflects the light of Gods glory and makes it shine into the midst of the benighted world.

[Nor does the church alone render this praise and honor unto God. The display of God’s manifold wisdom in dealing with mankind is drawing the admiration and praise from the celestial world. (Eph 3:10). The story of redemption is the theme of endless songs in heaven. All the celestial hosts join in concert with the redeemed from the earth, and swell the chorus of their triumph.]

and in Christ Jesus-This denotes that this act of adoration is to be done in immediate connection with the work and person of Christ Jesus; for it is he who has brought about the whole scheme of redemption from which the act of adoration and praise springs.

unto all generations for ever and ever.-[This is a cumulative expression of great force. This glory is to be given to God during all the ages of time and eternity. His name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him. (Psa 72:17). I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the peoples give thee thanks for ever and ever. (Psa 45:17). The stream of time rolls on world without end, but the glory is to continue throughout all the ages of eternity. Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever. (Rev 5:13).]

Amen.-This word is used for the purpose of adopting as ones own what has just been said. The word is limited to the religious atmosphere, being on human lips, an expression of faith that God holds the thing true, or will or can make it true.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

be: Eph 1:6, 1Ch 29:11, Psa 29:1, Psa 29:2, Psa 72:19, Psa 115:1, Isa 6:3, Isa 42:12, Mat 6:13, Luk 2:14, Rom 11:36, Rom 16:27, Gal 1:5, Phi 2:11, Phi 4:20, 2Ti 4:18, Heb 13:21, 1Pe 5:11, Rev 4:9-11, Rev 5:9-14, Rev 7:12-17

by: Phi 1:11, Heb 13:15, Heb 13:16, 1Pe 2:5

throughout: Eph 2:7, 1Pe 5:11, 2Pe 3:18, Jud 1:25

Reciprocal: Deu 26:7 – we cried Neh 9:5 – bless Psa 52:9 – praise Psa 72:5 – as long Psa 102:21 – General Psa 104:31 – The glory Psa 113:2 – General Isa 43:21 – General Isa 44:23 – glorified Isa 55:13 – for a Luk 19:38 – glory Joh 12:28 – and will Joh 14:13 – in my Rom 1:8 – through Rom 1:25 – more Rom 16:25 – to him 2Co 4:15 – the abundant Eph 1:12 – be Eph 1:22 – to the 1Ti 1:17 – be 1Ti 6:16 – to whom 1Pe 2:9 – show 1Pe 4:11 – that Rev 5:13 – blessing

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

(Eph 3:21.) -To Him be glory in the church in Christ Jesus. Such a pronoun, emphatic in position and from repetition, occurs in common Hebrew usage-a usage, however, not wholly Hebraistic, but often found in classic Greek, and very often in the Septuagint. Bernhardy, p. 290; Winer, 22, 4. may, as an abstract noun, have the article prefixed; or the article may be used in what Bernhardy calls its rhetorische form, signifying the glory which is His especially, and due to Him confessedly, p. 315. The difference of reading is not of essential moment. Some MSS., such as A, B, and C, with the Coptic and Vulgate, supply before . ., and this reading is preferred by Lachmann, Rckert, and Matthies, but refused by Tischendorf, while D1, F, G, with Ambrosiaster, reverse the order of the clauses, and read- . Koppe, on the authority of one MS., 46, is inclined to reject as spurious the whole clause- . Harless and Olshausen show that these various readings have their sources in dogmatic views. It could not be borne by some that the church should stand before Christ, and the , without which there would be an asyndeton, was inserted in consequence of certain opinions as to the connection and meaning of the clause which follows it. Hofmann, Schriftb. vol. ii. part 2, p. 108, pleads for , and connects with the following words, , etc. The relation of the two clauses- and -has been variously understood:-

1. Luther, Michaelis, Koppe, Rosenmller, Flatt, Meier, Holzhausen, Olshausen, and Stier, connect the words thus-In the church which is in Christ Jesus. Not to say that a second is wanting (Gal 1:22),-which, however, in such a connection is not always repeated,-the meaning does not appear to be appropriate. The second clause has no immediate union with the one before it, but bears a relation to .

2. Some render by the words through Christ-, as in the interpretation of Theophylact; , as in that of OEcumenius; per Christum, as in the paraphrase of Grotius, and the exegesis of Calvin and Beza, Rollock and Rckert. Such a translation is not in accordance with the usual meaning of the preposition. The passages adduced by Turner in denial of this are no proof, for in them , though instrumental, retains its distinctive meaning, and is not to be superficially confounded with .

3. The words seem to define the inner sphere or spirit in which the glory is presented to God. It is offered in the church, but it is, at the same time, offered in Christ Jesus, or presented by the members of the sacred community in the consciousness of union with Him, and by consequence in a spirit of dependence on Him. So generally Harless, Meyer, de Wette, Alford, and Ellicott. The place of doxology is the church, and the glory is hymned by its members, but the spirit of the song is inspired by oneness with Jesus. is the splendour of moral excellence, and in what place should such glory be ascribed but in the church, which has witnessed so much of it, and whose origination, life, blessings, and hopes are so many samples and outbursts of it? Ebrard, Dog. 467. And how should it be presented? Not apart from Christ, or simply for His sake, but in Him-in thrilling fellowship with Him; for no other consciousness can inspire us with the sacred impulse, and praise of no other origin and character can be accepted by that God who is Himself in Christ. The glory is to be offered-

. -to all the generations of the ages of the ages. Amen. This remarkable accumulation of terms is an intensive formula denoting eternity. The apostle combines two phrases, both of which are used in the New Testament. -Luk 1:50 -is phraseology based upon the Hebrew . Psa 72:5; Psa 102:24. The other portion of the phrase occurs as in Gal 1:5 – (1Pe 1:25), . Heb 5:6; Heb 6:20. We have also in many places; and in the Septuagint, , , , . So stands in Dan 7:18 for the Chaldee . This language, borrowed from the changes and succession of time, is employed to picture out eternity. It is a period of successive generations filling up the age, which again is an age of ages-or made up of a series of ages-a period composed of many periods; and through the cycles of such a period of periods, glory is to be ascribed to God. It is needless, with Meyer, to take in a literal sense, or in reference to successive generations of living believers, for often simply means a period of time measured by the average life of man. Act 14:16; Act 15:21. The entire phrase is a temporal image of eternity. One wonders at de Wette’s question-Was the apostle warranted to expect such a long duration for the church? For is not the church to be gathered into the heavens?

The obligation to glorify God lasts through eternity, and the glorified church will ever delight in rendering praise, as is most due. Eternal perfection will sustain an eternal anthem. The Trinity is here again brought out to view. The power within us is that of the Spirit, and glory in Christ is presented to the Father who answers prayer through the Son, and by the Spirit; and, therefore, to the Father, in the Son, and by the Spirit, is offered this glorious minstrelsy-as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

The God whom heaven’s triumphant host

And saints on earth adore,

Be glory as in ages past,

As now it is, and so shall last

When time shall be no more.

Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians

Eph 3:21. The pronoun him stands for God, whose name is mentioned in verse 19. Glory is from DOXA, which occurs about 163 times in the Greek New Testament, and is rendered by “glory” 144 times. The outstanding definition in Thayer’s lexicon as it applies to God, is expressed by the three words, “praise, honor, glory.” Men are expected to honor God, but they are not left to follow their own devices in offering honor to Him. Unless they proceed in the way that God has directed, their pretensions of honor will not be recognized by Him. It is stated by the apostle that the glory (or honor and praise) that is offered to God is to be done in the church. This decree rules out all other attempts, devised by man. Even admitting that the show rf honor performed by men outside the church are as expressive as any that are done in the church, yet it will not be accepted because He has ruled that it must be done through the divine organization. This is in agreement with the divine purpose that all religious instruction must be done by the church (verse 10). The further stipulation that the glorying must be done by Christ Jesus is not done arbitrarily, but is logically necessary if it is to be done in the church, for chapter 1:22 declares that Christ was given to be head over all things to the church. Therefore, anything that is done in the church is done by Christ Jesus, and vice versa. Throughout all ages. There are men who teach that the church was sufficient for the Lord’s purposes in the beginning of the era, but that modern conditions make it necessary for new methods to be ‘med. This italicized phrase disproves that heresy, for it declares the honor given to God in the church must be so done throughout all ages. As a matter of further emphasis Paul adds world without end which is the same as saying “to the end of the world.” Amen is explained at Mat 5:18 in volume 1 of the New Testament Commentary.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Eph 3:21. To him be the glory. To Him sums up emphatically all that has been said in Eph 3:20. Be, which is supplied, may mean let it be, or may it be, since the reference is to the glory which is due to Him, which will be given Him, not His essential glory, although this is the basic of the glory to be ascribed to Him (comp. chap. Eph 1:12; Eph 1:14 : unto the praise of His glory).

Is the church and in Christ Jesus. The rendering of the E. V. is altogether inadmissible, whatever be the correct reading. There is considerable variation in the authorities, but the evidence of the Sinaitic manuscript is decisive in favor of the reading given above, from which, moreover, the others could readily be derived. Many authorities omit and, a few others read in the Church and Christ Jesus. The sphere in which the glory is given is defined in a two-fold manner: in the Church, since here the glory is ascribed; in Christ Jesus, since only in fellowship with Him can it be offered. The Church, here as in chap. Eph 1:22-23, means the body of Christ, the in-visible Church; but this does not warrant the explanation here: in the Church which is in Christ Jesus. The renderings, by Christ Jesus, with Christ Jesus, are unwarranted.

Unto all the generations of the age of the ages. This is the literal rendering of an accumulation of terms, peculiar to this passage, but unmistakably pointing to eternity, though its unending duration is set forth in conceptions borrowed from the successive periods of time. In fact the phrase seeps to be a combination of two others, each of which is used to express endless duration: generation of generations (Isa 34:17) and the more common ages of ages. It may be that the term generations was suggested by the thought of a development of the Church through a long series of generations begun on earth, and to be continued through the age of the ages, i.e., the eternal reign of the Lord in the world to come. But it is improper to divide the two conceptions, since the generations belong (in this figurative mode of expression) to the ages of eternity. Gnostic ideas can be found here only through arbitrary exegesis and by those who are lacking in sympathy with the great thoughts of the Epistle.

Amen. Comp. Gal 1:5. As the Epistle has been liturgical in its form, the doctrinal part appropriately closes with this term. In this section also we find the Trinitarian tone, so characteristic of the three chapters. The power within us is that of the Spirit, and glory in Christ is presented to the Father, who answers prayer through the Son and by the Spirit; and, therefore, to the Father, in the Son, and by the Spirit, is offered this glorious minstrelsy: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. (Eadie.)

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

“Glory in the church” not in the world. The world owes God nothing in the way of glory, for they understand Him not. Any glory that is going to come to God is going to come from the church or Himself via Christ and His work. This is to be the plan of action throughout the ages.

The proof of my comment about the world can be seen on practically any television broadcast. He is not upheld as God, He is not upheld as a supreme being, nor is he indeed upheld at all in most shows. If He is mentioned it is in a joking or derogatory manner at best.

Someone did a survey of the media’s presentation of things religious and in the vast majority of cases the portrayal was negative. God’s people are portrayed in a negative light as well. They are the perverts, they are the whackos, and they are the deranged. No, don’t look for the world to glorify God in any way. If they do see Him in a positive light it is often for a profit in the end.

Next, we need to consider how He is glorified in the church. Or is He in our current day? Most would say that He is and I would probably agree, but I question how much glory He is finding there in recent days. The glory seems to be shared by the flashy dress, the technologically correct presentation, the accomplished musicians/instruments, and the flash of the current “worship” climate that is specifically designed to appeal to the flesh of the lost.

How can it relate to the glorification of God when we appeal to the flesh of lost man? How can satisfying the fleshly desires of Christians even glorify God. Many worship services are totally designed to reach the human side of man rather than to stir the spiritual side to consider God and His desires.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson