Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Ephesians 3:18 - 3:18

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Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Ephesians 3:18 - 3:18


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18. ἐξισχύσητε. ‘That ye may be strong enough.’ Just as we need spiritual strengthening to enable us to believe, because faith in the Christ revealed in Jesus our Lord must tax to the uttermost every faculty of mind and heart and will that we possess, so the fuller revelations that He has in store as we grow to maturity in Him can only be apprehended by faculties developed by ‘abiding in Him’ and in communion through Him with all who are His. The truth may be regarded in two aspects and must be approached by us in two ways, from ‘without’ as a mighty all-inclusive Whole, and from within in detail in its personal relation to ourselves.

καταλαβέσθαι. Of mental comprehension (Act 4:13; Act 10:34; Act 25:25).

σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις. Eph 1:15, Eph 6:18; cf. Eph 4:13. The whole truth is too vast for the comprehension of any individual isolated from his fellows. As it takes the whole Church with the appointed contributions from every tribe and kindred and tongue to embody the Christ, so it takes the whole Church to apprehend all the stores of wisdom and knowledge that are hid in Him. The thought is deep and striking. It is strange that it does not come to the surface anywhere else. Cf. Du Bose, Ecumenical Councils, pp. 43 f.

τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ ὕψος καὶ βάθος. These words which are left without precise definition present the truth in its objective aspect. It fills space and time and reaches to the utmost bounds of Heaven and Hell. If we must give a name to it, it is ‘the gracious purpose of God’ (Lightfoot) or more precisely, as defined in the next clause, ‘the love of Christ’ in its relation to the Universe. Greek Theologians, e.g. Athanasius De Inc., found these four dimensions symbolized by the four arms of the cross.