hat is meant by the τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις ἢ Some give it the widest possible sense, ¢g., per omne vestrum tempus reliquum quum in hac vita tum in futura quoque (Morus), “the succes- sively arriving ages and generations from that time to the second coming of Christ” (Ell.). But it is rather another form ot the αἰὼν ὁ (Harl., Olsh., Mey., Haupt, etc.), the part. ἐπερχόμενος being used of the future (¢e.g., Jer. xlvii. 11; Isa. xli. 4, 22, 23, ΧΙ. 23; Luke xxi. 26; Jas. v. 1, εἰς), and the future being con- ceived of as made up of an undefined series of periods. In other cases redupli- cated expressions, αἰῶνες τῶν αἰώνων, etc., are used to express the idea of eter- nity. God's πο therefore, is that in the eternal future, the future which opens with Christ’s Parousia, and in all the continuing length of that future, the grace of His ways with those once dead in sins should be declared and understood in all the grandeur of its exceeding riches,
—ty χρηστότητι ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς: in kindness
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ἡμᾶς ἐν χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ. 8. τῇ γὰρ ᾿ χάριτί 3 ἐστε σεσωσµένοι * διὰ i Ver. 5 reff
τῆς πίστεως, ‘kai τοῦτο οὐκ "' ἐξ ὑμῶν," θεοῦ τὸ "δῶρον : 9. οὐκ "' ἐξ
ἔργων, ἵνα μή τις "καυχήσηται.
Phil. Π1, ϱ; Col. ii. 12 al.; 1 Pet. 1, 5; =see Acts xv. 9. n=here only; δωρεά, John'iv. 10; 2 Cor. ix. 15 al.
m 2 Cor. iii. 5; 1 Cor. i. 30.
Το. αὐτοῦ ὅ γάρ ἐσμεν ? ποίημα,
k Rom. iii. 22, 30; 2 Cor. v. 7, 9 al., ii. 16, ili. 26;
11 Cor. vi. 6; Phil. i. 28.
ο Rom. ii. 17
al(34), but Paul only, exc. James i. 9; iv. 16, not in Col.; so also καύχημα and καύχησις, exc. James
iv. 16. p Rom. i. 20 only; Gal. ΥΠ, 17.
1 Ina. om. DEFG, d, e, 6, Eth., Victorin., etc. 2avrov χαριτι σεσ. εσµεν DE, ἆ, ε, al., Vss.
3 Before πιστεως Om. της δῷ
BD!FG 17, 67", 76, 80, Chr., Thl.-text, etc, ; insert
DEKL, most mss., Thdrt., Dam., Thl.-comm., Oec. 4upov DFG 46, 52, 73, etc., Arm. Chr., Dam., etc.
ὄθεου yap N.
toward us. The ἐν is taken by some (Mey., etc.) as the instrumental ἐν, ‘by means of kindness”. It is more natural to give it the proper force of ‘‘in,” as defining the way in which the grace showed itself in its surpassing riches. It was in the form of kindness directed towards us. The χρηστότης, which means moral goodness in Rom. iii. 12, has here the more usual sense of benig- nity (cf. Rom. ii. 4, xi. 12; 2 Cor. vi. 6; Gal. ν. 22; Col. iii, 12; Tit. iii, 4).— ἐν Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ: in Christ Fesus. Again is Paul careful to remind his readers that all this grace and the mani- festation of it in its riches have their ground and reason in Christ.
Ver. 8. τῇ yap χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσ- μένοι: for by grace have ye been saved. More exactly ‘‘ by the grace,” 1.6., by this grace, the grace already mentioned. Grace is the explanation of their own salvation, and how surpassingly rich the grace must be that could effect that !— διὰ τῆς πίστεως: through faith. That is, by faith as the instrument or means. Paul never says διὰ τὴν πίστιν, as if the faith were the ground or procuring cause of the salvation. It is the χάριτι, too, not the explanatory πίστεως that has the first place in Paul’s thoughts here.—at τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ἡμῶν: and that not of your- selves. That is, not as proceeding from yourselves or of your own performance. The sentence thus beginning with καὶ τοῦτο (cf. Rom. xiii. 11) is not paren- thetical, but an integral part of the state- ment. But to what does the τοῦτο refer ? To the πίστεως say some (Chrys., Theod., Jer., Bez., Beng., Bisp., Moule, etc.). The neut. τοῦτο would not be irrecon- cilable with that. The formula καὶ τοῦτο indeed might rather favour it, as it often adds to the idea to which it is attached. It may also be granted that a peculiarly suit-