PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Ephesians
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 67,086 words · 103 reading sections
Ephesians 1:1
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Ephesians 1:1 EPHESIANS: THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE EPHESIANS INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS The city of Ephesus is, by Pliny {a}, called the other light of Asia; Miletus was one, and Ephesus the other: it was the metropolis of the lesser Asia, and one …
1,625 wordsSECTION 2Ephesians 1:2
Ephesians 1:2 Ver. 2. Grace be to you, and peace from God,.... See Gill on "Ro 1:7".…
19 wordsSECTION 3Ephesians 1:3
Ephesians 1:3 Ver. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,.... God, the first person in the Trinity, is the God of Christ, as Christ is man and Mediator; he chose and appointed him to be the Mediator, and made a covenant with him as such; he formed and prepared an human nature for him, and anointed …
865 wordsSECTION 4Ephesians 1:4
Ephesians 1:4 Ver. 4. According as he hath chosen us in him,.... This choice cannot be understood of a national one, as Israel of old were chosen by the Lord; for the persons the apostle writes to were not a nation; nor does he address all the inhabitants of Ephesus, only the saints and faithful in Christ that resided…
1,036 wordsSECTION 5Ephesians 1:5
Ephesians 1:5 Ver. 5. Having predestinated us,.... Predestination, taken in a large sense, includes both election and reprobation, and even reaches to all affairs and occurrences in the world; to the persons, lives, and circumstances of men; to all mercies, temporal or spiritual; and to all afflictions, whether in lov…
485 wordsSECTION 6Ephesians 1:6
Ephesians 1:6 Ver. 6. To the praise of the glory of his grace,.... The grace of God manifestly appears in the predestination of men to adoption; in that God had no need of sons, he having a dear and well beloved one; in whom he is well pleased; and in that those he adopts are so unworthy of the relation; and in that m…
497 wordsSECTION 7Ephesians 1:7
Ephesians 1:7 Ver. 7. In whom we have redemption through his blood,.... Redemption supposes captivity and slavery, and is a deliverance out of it; God's elect by nature are in bondage to sin, Satan, and the law; through the grace of Christ, they are redeemed from all iniquity; ransomed out of the hands of him that is …
402 wordsSECTION 8Ephesians 1:8
Ephesians 1:8 Ver. 8. Wherein he hath abounded toward us,.... That is, in the grace which is so abundantly displayed in redemption and forgiveness of sin, through the blood of Christ: in all wisdom and prudence; this may be understood, either of the aboundings of grace in the Gospel; which may be called all wisdom an…
510 wordsSECTION 9Ephesians 1:9
Ephesians 1:9 Ver. 9. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,.... The Gospel, which is a mystery, a hidden mystery, the mystery of God and of Christ, and the mystery of the Gospel; the several doctrines of it are called the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; such as are concerning the trinity of persons in…
269 wordsSECTION 10Ephesians 1:10
Ephesians 1:10 Ver. 10. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times,.... Or "according to the dispensation", &c. as the Alexandrian copy reads; the fulness of time appointed by God, and fixed in the prophets; after many times and seasons were elapsed, from the creation of the world; at the most suitable and conve…
772 wordsSECTION 11Ephesians 1:11
Ephesians 1:11 Ver. 11. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,.... Or a part and lot; that is, have obtained one in Christ, in his person, and in his fulness of grace, in the blessings and promises which are in him; or have obtained to be the Lord's clergy, or heritage, to be his portion and inheritance; or rat…
423 wordsSECTION 12Ephesians 1:12
Ephesians 1:12 Ver. 12. That we should be to the praise of his glory,.... This is the end of predestination to the inheritance; and the sense is, either that the praise of the glory of God, in his grace and goodness, might be discovered and made known unto the saints, as it is displayed in election, redemption, justif…
327 wordsSECTION 13Ephesians 1:13
Ephesians 1:13 Ver. 13. In whom ye also trusted,.... The Gentile believers, the Ephesians, whom the apostle now particularly addresses; and who participated of the same grace and privileges with the believing Jews; the promise belonged to all that God called, whether afar off or nigh; and the same common salvation was…
942 wordsSECTION 14Ephesians 1:14
Ephesians 1:14 Ver. 14. Which is the earnest of our inheritance,.... The incorruptible and never fading one in heaven, or the heavenly kingdom; this is the Father's gift, his bequest, and belongs only to children; it comes to them through the death of the testator, Christ, and is for ever; and of this the Spirit of Go…
509 wordsSECTION 15Ephesians 1:15
Ephesians 1:15 Ver. 15. Wherefore I also,.... As well as others: after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus; who is the immediate object of faith, and a very proper and suitable one; having every thing in him that is agreeable to the case and circumstances of those that trust in him. And the grace of faith, which …
278 wordsSECTION 16Ephesians 1:16
Ephesians 1:16 Ver. 16. Cease not to give thanks for you,.... On account of their faith and love; which were gifts of grace bestowed upon them, and not the produce of their own free will and power; and therefore thanks are given to God for them: making mention of you in my prayers; which shows the apostle to be a pra…
3,530 wordsSECTION 17Ephesians 2:1
Ephesians 2:1 INTRODUCTION TO EPHESIANS 2 The design of the apostle in this chapter, is to magnify the riches of divine grace, in the effectual calling and salvation of sinners, by Christ Jesus; in order to which, he describes the sad estate they are in by nature, and before conversion, even God's elect among the Jew…
1,292 wordsSECTION 18Ephesians 2:2
Ephesians 2:2 Ver. 2. Wherein in time past ye walked,.... Sins and transgressions are a road or path, in which all unconverted sinners walk; and this path is a dark, crooked, and broad one, which leads to destruction and death, and yet is their own way, which they choose, approve of, and delight to walk in; and walkin…
673 wordsSECTION 19Ephesians 2:3
Ephesians 2:3 Ver. 3. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past,.... What the apostle says of the Gentile Ephesians before conversion, he says of himself and other Jews; and this he does, partly to show that it was not from ill will, or with a design to upbraid the Gentiles, that he said what he did; a…
642 wordsSECTION 20Ephesians 2:4
Ephesians 2:4 Ver. 4. But God, who is rich in mercy,.... Mercy is a perfection of the divine nature, and is essential to God; and may be considered with respect to the objects of it, either as general, extending to all men in a providential way; or as special, reaching only to some in a way of grace; for though mercy …
409 wordsSECTION 21Ephesians 2:5
Ephesians 2:5 Ver. 5. Even when we were dead in sins,.... See Gill on "Eph 2:1". Hath quickened us together with Christ: which may be understood either of regeneration, when a soul that is dead in a moral or spiritual sense, is quickened and made alive; a principle of life is infused, and acts of life are put forth; …
654 wordsSECTION 22Ephesians 2:6
Ephesians 2:6 Ver. 6. And hath raised us up together,.... Which refers either to a spiritual resurrection, to a resurrection from a death in sin, to a spiritual life; and which is the effect of almighty power, and of rich grace and mercy; and in which Christ is concerned: he is the efficient cause of it, he raises the…
362 wordsSECTION 23Ephesians 2:7
Ephesians 2:7 Ver. 7. That in the ages to come,.... This is the end of God's permitting sin, in which men are morally dead; and of his suffering them to go on in sin, in a state of unregeneracy; and of his quickening them with Christ, and raising them up, and causing them to sit together with him: namely, that he mig…
570 wordsSECTION 24Ephesians 2:8
Ephesians 2:8 Ver. 8. For by grace are ye saved,.... This is to be understood, not of temporal salvation, nor of preservation in Christ, nor of providential salvation in order to calling, and much less of being put in a way of salvation, or only in a salvable state; but of spiritual salvation, and that actual; for sal…
882 wordsSECTION 25Ephesians 2:9
Ephesians 2:9 Ver. 9. Not of works,.... Of any kind, moral or ceremonial, before or after conversion, done without faith or in it, nor of these in any sense; works are neither the moving causes, nor the procuring causes, nor the helping causes, nor "causa sine qua non", or conditions of salvation; the best works that …
149 wordsSECTION 26Ephesians 2:10
Ephesians 2:10 Ver. 10. For we are his workmanship,.... Not as men only, but as Christians; not as creatures merely, but as new creatures; the work of grace upon the soul seems chiefly designed, which like a poem, as the word may be rendered, is a very curious work; the king's daughter is all glorious within, for this…
591 wordsSECTION 27Ephesians 2:11
Ephesians 2:11 Ver. 11. Wherefore remember, that ye be in time past Gentiles in the flesh,.... This, with what follows in the next verse, the apostle puts the converted Ephesians in mind of, in order to magnify the grace of God in their conversion; and to humble them in a view of their former state and condition; and …
352 wordsSECTION 28Ephesians 2:12
Ephesians 2:12 Ver. 12. That at that time ye were without Christ,.... Or separate from him: they were chosen in him and were preserved in him, and were redeemed by him before; but they were without any knowledge of him, faith in him, love to him, communion with him, or subjection to him, his Gospel, government, laws, …
625 wordsSECTION 29Ephesians 2:13
Ephesians 2:13 Ver. 13. But now in Christ Jesus,.... Being openly and visibly in Christ, created in him, and become believers in him; as they were before secretly in him, as chosen and blessed in him before the foundation of the world: ye who sometimes were far off; who in their state of unregeneracy were afar off fr…
289 wordsSECTION 30Ephesians 2:14
Ephesians 2:14 Ver. 14. For he is our peace,.... The author of peace between Jew and Gentile: there was a great enmity of the Jew against the Gentile, and of the Gentile against the Jew; and chiefly on account of circumcision, the one being without it, and the other insisting on it, and branding one another with nickn…
4,053 wordsSECTION 31Ephesians 3:1
Ephesians 3:1 INTRODUCTION TO EPHESIANS 3 In this chapter the apostle hints at his state and condition as a prisoner, and at the afflictions he endured for the sake of the Gospel; and whereas he knew these would be objected to his ministry, and be discouraging to the saints, he chiefly insists on these two things; na…
1,085 wordsSECTION 32Ephesians 3:2
Ephesians 3:2 Ver. 2. If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God,.... Not the free love and favour of God in his heart towards his people; nor internal grace wrought in the heart of the apostle; but either the gift of grace, as in Eph 3:7 qualifying him for the work of the ministry; and so the Ethiopic v…
280 wordsSECTION 33Ephesians 3:3
Ephesians 3:3 Ver. 3. How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery,.... Or "is made known unto me": so the Alexandrian copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin version. The Gospel, which is sometimes called a mystery, the mystery of the Gospel, the mystery of godliness, and the mystery of faith: the se…
230 wordsSECTION 34Ephesians 3:4
Ephesians 3:4 Ver. 4. Whereby when ye read,.... The above chapters, and seriously consider what is contained in them: ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ of his person, office, and grace; and which knowledge was very large indeed.…
43 wordsSECTION 35Ephesians 3:5
Ephesians 3:5 Ver. 5. Which in other ages was not made known unto, the sons of men,.... That is, which mystery of Christ, and of the Gospel, was not made known to men in general, nor so clearly as under the Gospel dispensation. Some hints were given of it to Adam, immediately after his fall; and the Gospel was before …
407 wordsSECTION 36Ephesians 3:6
Ephesians 3:6 Ver. 6. That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs,.... With the Jews, of all the blessings of grace, of lasting salvation, and of the eternal, incorruptible, and never fading inheritance in heaven; that they should be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus, and inherit all things: and heirs they a…
277 wordsSECTION 37Ephesians 3:7
Ephesians 3:7 Ver. 7. Whereof I was made a minister,.... That is, of the Gospel, not by men, but by God: and he is a true minister of the Gospel who is called of God to the work of the ministry, and is qualified by him with grace and gifts for it; and who faithfully discharges it according to the ability God has given…
333 wordsSECTION 38Ephesians 3:8
Ephesians 3:8 Ver. 8. Unto me who am less than the least of all saints,.... This is an instance of the great humility of the apostle, and indeed the greatest saints are generally speaking, the most humble souls, as Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, and others; these have the meanest thoughts of themselves, and the best of…
542 wordsSECTION 39Ephesians 3:9
Ephesians 3:9 Ver. 9. And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,.... Or "the dispensation of the mystery" as the Complutensian, and several copies, and the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, read. The mystery is the Gospel; the fellowship of it is the communication of grace by it, a participation o…
476 wordsSECTION 40Ephesians 3:10
Ephesians 3:10 Ver. 10. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places,.... By whom are meant, not civil magistrates, much less evil angels, but the good angels, the angels in heaven; See Gill on "Eph 1:21". might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God; not the perfection of w…
385 wordsSECTION 41Ephesians 3:11
Ephesians 3:11 Ver. 11. According to the eternal purpose,.... The whole of salvation, in which is displayed the great wisdom of God, is according to a purpose of his; the scheme of it is fixed in the council of peace; the thing itself is effected in pursuance of it; Christ, the Redeemer, was set forth in it; his incar…
393 wordsSECTION 42Ephesians 3:12
Ephesians 3:12 Ver. 12. In whom we have boldness and access,.... Into the holy of holies, to the throne of grace there, and to God the Father, as seated on it: Christ is the way of access; union to him gives right of access; through his mediation his people have audience of God, and acceptance with him, both of person…
324 wordsSECTION 43Ephesians 3:13
Ephesians 3:13 Ver. 13. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you,.... The apostle was a man attended with many tribulations, and great afflictions, which he did not suffer as an evildoer, either from God or men; wherefore he was not ashamed of them, but gloried in them; yea, he took pleasure in …
299 wordsSECTION 44Ephesians 3:14
Ephesians 3:14 Ver. 14. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,.... That is, pray unto him for the perseverance of the saints; for nothing is more desirable to the ministers of Christ than that; which is the pure gift of God, and is what he has promised, and therefore should be prayed to for it; for what God ha…
265 wordsSECTION 45Ephesians 3:15
Ephesians 3:15 Ver. 15. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. This may refer either to God, the Father of Christ; who is the Father of the whole family in heaven and in earth; not only the Father of Christ, but the Father of spirits, of angelic spirits, as well as of the souls of men; and the Father o…
320 wordsSECTION 46Ephesians 3:16
Ephesians 3:16 Ver. 16. That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory,.... Or according to, and out of that rich, plenteous, and glorious fulness of grace and strength in Christ Jesus. To be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; this is the petition which the apostle puts up on his be…
346 wordsSECTION 47Ephesians 3:17
Ephesians 3:17 Ver. 17. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith,.... This is another petition put up by the apostle for the Ephesians, which is for the inhabitation of Christ in them: the inhabitant Christ is he who dwells in the highest heavens, who dwells in the Father, and the Father in him, in whom all fulne…
467 wordsSECTION 48Ephesians 3:18
Ephesians 3:18 Ver. 18. May be able to comprehend with all saints,.... This is the end of their being rooted and grounded in love, that they, together with the rest of the saints interested in it, might have a larger and more comprehensive view of what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; not of God him…
174 wordsSECTION 49Ephesians 3:19
Ephesians 3:19 Ver. 19. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,.... The love of Christ to his own, to his church and people, is special and peculiar; free and Sovereign; as early as his Father's love, and is durable and unchangeable; the greatest love that ever was heard of; it is matchless and unpara…
489 wordsSECTION 50Ephesians 3:20
Ephesians 3:20 Ver. 20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly,.... This is the conclusion of the apostle's prayer, in which the power of God is celebrated, a perfection which is essential unto God, and is very large and extensive; it reaches to all things, to every thing that he wills, which is his actu…
349 wordsSECTION 51Ephesians 3:21
Ephesians 3:21 Ver. 21. 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, …
404 wordsSECTION 52Ephesians 4:1
Ephesians 4:1 INTRODUCTION TO EPHESIANS 4 The apostle having in the three former chapters treated of the doctrines of grace, and explained and established them, proceeds in the three following to exhort to the duties of religion; and in this advises to a becoming conversation in general, and to brotherly concord and …
1,364 wordsSECTION 53Ephesians 4:2
Ephesians 4:2 Ver. 2. With all lowliness and meekness,..... In the exercise of humility, which shows itself in believers, in entertaining and expressing the meanest thoughts of themselves, and the best of others; in not envying the gifts and graces of others, but rejoicing at them, and at every increase of them; in a …
377 wordsSECTION 54Ephesians 4:3
Ephesians 4:3 Ver. 3. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit,.... That is, a spiritual union: there is an union between God and his people, and between Christ and his members, and between saints and saints, and the bond of each union is love; and that it is which knits and cements them together; and it is the la…
466 wordsSECTION 55Ephesians 4:4
Ephesians 4:4 Ver. 4. There is one body,.... The church; in what sense that is a body, and compared to one, See Gill on "Eph 1:23". It is called "one" with relation to Jews and Gentiles, who are of the same body, and are reconciled in one body by Christ, and are baptized into it by the Spirit; and with respect to sain…
648 wordsSECTION 56Ephesians 4:5
Ephesians 4:5 Ver. 5. One Lord,.... The Lord Jesus Christ, who, by right of creation, is Lord of all; and by right of marriage, and redemption, is the one and only Lord of his church and people; he has betrothed them to himself, and is their husband, and so their Lord, whom they are to worship and obey; he has redeeme…
451 wordsSECTION 57Ephesians 4:6
Ephesians 4:6 Ver. 6. One God and Father of all,.... That there is but one God is the voice of nature and of revelation; and may be concluded from the perfections of deity, for there can be but one eternal, infinite, immense, omnipotent, all-sufficient, perfect, and independent Being; and from one first cause of all t…
445 wordsSECTION 58Ephesians 4:7
Ephesians 4:7 Ver. 7. But unto everyone of us is given grace,.... Which may refer to the saints in common, and may be interpreted of justifying, pardoning, adopting, sanctifying, and persevering grace, bestowed upon them all, freely and liberally, not grudgingly, nor niggardly, and without motive and condition in them…
225 wordsSECTION 59Ephesians 4:8
Ephesians 4:8 Ver. 8. Wherefore he saith,.... God in the Scripture, Ps 68:18 when he ascended up on high; which is not to be understood of Moses's ascending up to the firmament at the giving of the law, as some Jewish writers {q} interpret it; for though Moses ascended to the top of Mount Sinai, yet it is never said …
655 wordsSECTION 60Ephesians 4:9
Ephesians 4:9 Ver. 9. Now that he ascended,.... These words are a conclusion of Christ's descent from heaven, from his ascension thither; for had he not first descended from thence, it could not have been said of him that he ascended; for no man hath ascended to heaven but he that came down from heaven, Joh 3:13 and t…
472 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.