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Similar phrases are: 2 Cor. 5:19 oJ lovgo" th'" katallagh'" , Acts 13:26 oJ lovgo" th'" swthriva" tauvth" , Acts 14:3, 20:32 oJ lovgo" th'" cavrito" aujtou' .
to; eujaggevlion th'" swt. uJ. ] the gospel —the glad tidings— of your salvation (Gal. 2:7 to; eujagg. th'" ajkrobustiva" ), proclaiming that ‘to the Gentiles’ also ‘was sent the salvation of GOD’ (Acts 28:28; 11:18; 15:7).

The phrase is unique. Comp. Acts 20:24 to; eujaggevlion th'" cavrito" tou' qeou' , 2 Cor. 4:4 to; eujaggevlion th'" dovxh" tou' cristou' , 1 Tim. 1:11 to; eujagg. th'" dovxh" tou' makarivou qeou' .

13b. The incorporation of the Gentiles in the Body of Christ leads on to the wider thought of the action of the Spirit through the Church which brings the consummation of the Divine will. The relation of man and of humanity to GOD is essentially established through the action of the Word, the Son, in Creation and in Redemption. The Holy Spirit is a special gift to the Church and Christians.
ejn w|/ kai; pist. ejsfr .] in Whom , as united with Him, having also believed (Acts 19:2) ye were sealed .... It is possible to take ejn w|/ in connexion with eujaggevlion , ‘ and
when ye believed in it
, as not hearers only, ye were sealed ....’ This construction is
justified by Mk 1:15, but it seems to be less natural than that which has been adopted.
ejsfragivsqhte ] See Eph. 4:30 mh; lupei'te to; pn. to; a{g. tou' qeou' ejn w|/ ejsfragivsqhte eij" hJmevran ajpolutrwvsew" .

Sfragiv" is used of a visible attestation of the reality of a spiritual fact: 1 Cor. 9:2; Rom. 4:11; 2 Tim. 2:19. Comp. Apoc. 7:3 ff.; 9:4. The ‘seal’ openly marked the servants of GOD as belonging to Him (2 Cor. 1:22), and assured them of His protection. So they were solemnly recognised as His sons (comp. John 6:27) and on the other hand pledged to His service.
tw'/ pn. th'" ejpagg. tw'/ aJg .] with the Spirit of promise, the Holy Spirit: the Spirit who had been the subject of the promises of GOD through the prophets and of the Incarnate Son: Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4 f.; 2:17, 33; John 14:15 ff.; 16:7 ff.; Gal. 3:14. The emphatic order which fixes attention on the characteristic attribute of the Spirit
(
tw'/ aJgivw/ ) leads on to the description of His work in Eph. 1:14. Comp. 1 Thess. 4:8 to; pn. aujtou' to; a{gion .

Here the Spirit is regarded as the instrument with which ( tw'/ pn .) believers are sealed: in Eph. 4:30 as the element, so to speak, in which they are immersed ( ejn w|/ : comp. Matt. 3:11). Those who are ‘in Christ’ are also ‘in the Spirit.’ Here the thought of the gift is dominant: there the thought of the Person. For to; pn. th'" ejpagg . compare Heb. 11:9 eij" th;n gh'n th'" ejpaggeliva" .

14. o{ ejstin ...] which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of GOD'S own possession (Vg. in redemptionem acquisitionis (V. L. adoptionis )), unto the praise of His glory. The partial gift—partial because it is limited by our present capacity—shews surely that to which it leads, and in which it will find its consummation. What we have received is a pledge of that which GOD has prepared for us as sons. When we gain our end, then creation also shall find deliverance from corruption and enter on ‘the freedom of the glory of the children of GOD,’ and all things shall declare the praise of their Maker and Redeemer. Rom. 8:18-25 is a pregnant commentary on the verse.
ajrrabwvn ] An ‘earnest’: 2 Cor. 1:22;5:5 ªoJº dou;" to;n ajrrabw'na tou' pneuvmato". jArrabwvn is properly a deposit paid as security for the rest of the purchase money; and then, by a natural transference, the first instalment of a treasure given as a pledge for the delivery of the remainder.


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