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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Ephesians 5:26 - 5:26
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26. ἵνα αὐτὴν ἁγιάσῃ καθαρίσας τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος. “That he might expressly claim her for Himself after cleansing her by the bathing with the water.” Cleansing and sanctifying are two results of the one act of baptism, but St Paul (1Co 6:11) regards them separately, the removal of defilement preceding the consecration.
ἐν ῥήματι. τῷ λ. τ. ὕ. and ἐν ῥ. are syntactically independent and probably τῷ λ. should be taken closely with καθαρίσας and ἐν ῥ. with the main verb ἁγ. St Paul’s main business is with the duties of husbands and wives, so the antitype is indicated with the utmost conciseness. The ref. in τῷ λ. τ. ὕδατος is certainly to Baptism (cf. Tit 3:5; Heb 10:22), λουτρὸν being (see Robinson) the act of washing rather than the laver. This is naturally connected with καθαρίσας, nor does it seem to require any further definition to justify the effect claimed for it. ἐν ῥήματι ‘in the power of a word’ is best connected with ἁγιάσῃ as the means by which He ‘set her apart.’ The key to St Paul’s meaning is to be found in Rom 10:8-17, where the thought of τὸ ῥῆμα is dwelt upon in detail. He starts with a quotation from Deu 30:14 where ῥῆμα = ‘the commandment of the Lord.’ This corresponds under the new dispensation to τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς πίστεως, i.e. the Christian Creed Κύριους Ἰησοῦς, the living Lord, who is the perfect revelation of the Will of God, and is accepted as Sovereign in the confession of the Christian Faith. Then in Eph 5:14 St Paul asks, “How can men believe one whose voice they have not heard (οὗ οὐκ ἤκουσαν)? How can they hear without a preacher?” implying that the preacher not only brings a message about Christ but in a real sense speaks the words of Christ (2Co 13:3), or at least brings a message from Him. His conclusion is summed up in Eph 5:17, ἄρα ἡ πίστις ἐξ ἀκοῆς ἡ δὲ ἀκοὴ διὰ ῥήματος Χριστοῦ, where again Christ is the source and not only the subject of the ‘Word.’ So here ἐν ῥήματι in a sentence describing an action of Christ must refer to a word spoken by or at least in the name of Christ, i.e. to ‘the Gospel’ as resting on His commission to His Apostles, e.g. Luk 24:47; Act 26:17 f.; cf. Mat 28:19 f. The Gospel is primarily a declaration of the Lordship of Jesus and a call to baptism into that Name on the acceptance of that Creed. The Gospel therefore, thus linking men to Christ, is regarded as ‘a power of God unto salvation’ Rom 1:16. Through the Gospel the Gentiles enter into their inheritance with the Jew (Eph 3:6). It is the means by which men are ‘begotten anew,’ cf. 1Pe 1:23-25 and 1Co 4:15. Elsewhere both cleansing, Act 15:9, and consecration, Act 26:18, are ascribed to ‘faith,’ but this as we have seen implies a ‘word.’ Of course the ‘Gospel’ is identical both with the Baptismal Creed and the Baptismal Formula and a meaning can be extracted from ἐν ῥήματι if the phrase is connected with τῷ λ. τ. ὕδατος. But the form of expression is unnatural. The clue to the meaning and construction of the whole phrase is to be found no doubt in the marriage customs of the time. The reference to these customs is unmistakeable in παραστήσῃ (cf. 2Co 11:2). It is hardly less clear in τῷ λ. τ. ὕ. both in Greek and in Jewish marriage ceremonies. See esp. Eze 16:9. It is natural therefore to connect ἐν ῥήματι with the formal claiming of the Bride by the Bridegroom, which in the modern Jewish rite takes place at the bestowal of the ring, in words which Mr Abrahams tells me are at least as old as cent. II A.D.: ‘Behold, thou art sanctified to me.’ (Talmud, Qiddushim, pp. 5–8).