13--14.
Χριστοῦ, 14. ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν φερόμενοι παντὶ only; Isa. Ivii. 20 vat.;
f Matt. xi. 7; Jude 12. h Here only.
Jos., Antt., ix., 11,
ο νήπιοι, ἃ Τ ἀνέμῳ τῆς "διδασκαλίας ἐν τῇ
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κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ “ περι- εΞΙ Cor. ili. τ "kuBeia! τῶν Paul. d Here e=Heb, xiii. 9; Jude 12; Eccl. vii. 8.
g(M att. xv. ὃ; Mark); Col. ii. 22 Paul only; Prov. ii, 17.
κυβεια AB°CD°EKL, etc. ; κυβια S8B*D*FGO?P, Euthal., etc.
Otium Νογυ., iii., Ῥ. 4. The adj. ἥλικος in the NT has the idea of magnitude (Col. ii. 1; James iii. 5), and that is its most frequentsense in non-Biblical Greek. Much depends, therefore on the context. The antithesis between τέλειον and νή- πιοι favours the idea of age (so Mey., Harl., Abb., etc.). But the idea of stature is suggested by the μέτρον, the πληρώ- ματος, the αὐξήσωμεν and the αὔξησιν, and is on the whole to be preferred (so Syr., Goth., Copt., Eth. prob., AV., RV., Erasm., Grot., Beng., Rick., Alf., ΕΙΙ., εἰςο.).---τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ: of the fulness of Christ. The πλήρωμα here is taken by some in the sense of per- fection. So Rick., who makes it ‘‘ the perfection possessed by Christ,” and Ol- tramare who renders it ‘‘the measure of the height of the perfection of Christ ”. But τελείοτης is one idea, and πλήρωμα another. Not less foreign to the real meaning of the noun are such inter- pretations as ‘‘the gracious presence of Christ ” (Harl.) ; “the perfect age of Christ” (Luth. ; cf. Calvin’s plena aetas) ;
‘the stature of the full grown Christ,” etc. Nor can the phrase be taken as a designation of the Church (Storr; also Baur, who holds it = that with which Christ fills Himself or is completed, i.e., the Church). For that would give the incongruous idea that we are to attain to the Church. The Χριστοῦ is the poss. gen., and the phrase means the fulness that belongs to Christ, the sum of the qualities which make Him what He is. These are to be imaged in the Church (cf. i. 23), and when these are in us we shall have reached our maturity and attained to the goal set before us. Thus the whole idea will be this—‘ the measure of the age, or (better) the stature, that brings with it the full possession on our side of that which Christ has to impart— the embodiment in us the members, of the graces and qualities which are in Him the Head”. It has also been asked whether the goal thus set before us is regarded as one to be reached in our present temporal life by way of develop- ment, or one to be attained to only in the future life. As between these two
ideas the preference must be given (with Chrys., Oec., Jer., Luth., de Wette, etc.) to the former, in view of the general tenor of the exhortation introducing the para- graph, the point of iii. 19, the place given to unity and maturity, etc. So Mey. thinks it refers to the Christian condition to be reached “after the last storms and before the Parousia”. Not a few of the Fathers, however, take the resurrection to be specially in view, and interpreters like Theod., Calv., etc., think it looks to the perfected life of the other world. But Paul gives no clear indication of the time, and it may be, therefore, that he has in view only the goal itself and the attain- ment of it at whatever time that may take effect.
Ver. 14. ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι: that we may be πὸ longer children. Statement of aim following on the previous state- ment of goal or limit. The verse is regarded by some (Harl., etc.) as con- nected immediately with vv. 11, 12, and coordinate with νετ. 13. Others under- stand it as an explanation of what the attainment of the goal spoken of in ver. 13 means. But it is best to take it as subordinate to the immediately preceding statement. That is to say, as ver. 13 has set forth the goal to be reached and the limit put upon the bestowal of the gifts referred to as given by Christ, this verse now gives the purpose which was in view in setting such a goal before us and in giving the gifts of Apostles, prophets, etc. (Mey., Ell., etc.). That purpose looks to a change which has to take place in us from the condition of νήπιοι and κλυδωνιζόμενοι to that of ἀληθεύοντες, αὐξάνοντες, etc. The μηκέτι implies something different from the existing condition, and that existing condition, we see, is one of immaturity, assailed, wavering faith, and subjection to the dis- tracting influence of false teachers. In his address to the elders at Miletus (Acts xx. 29) Paul had spoken of ‘“ grievous wolves” that would enter the Ephesian Church after his departure. But the statement here is wide enough to apply to the Church generally and not merely to the Ephesians. νήπιοι; literally infants