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having been rooted and grounded in love 18 ye may be strong enough to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth , 19 and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of GOD.

14 f. touvtou cavrin ] as in vs. 1 having regard to the new view of life laid open by the universal Gospel.
kavmptw ta; g. ] The phrase is found in LXX. 1 Chron. 29:20, and in Phil. 2:10; Rom. 11:4 (a quotation from 1 Kings 19:18 not LXX.); 14:11 (from Is. 45:23 LXX.). More commonly we find qei'nai ta; g. (Lk. 22:41; Acts 7:60, & c.). Clement (1.57) speaks of ta; govnata th'" kardiva" . On the attitude in prayer see D.C.A. s.v. Genuflexion.
pro;" to;n patevra ] The absolute title expresses an important truth. In prae- Christian times GOD had revealed Himself as Father to one race: now it is made known that all the races of men are bound to Him in Christ by a like connexion; and far more than this (Eph. 3:15). He Who is the Father of men is also the source of fellowship and unity in all the orders of finite being. The social connexions of earth and heaven derive their strength from Him; and represent under limited conditions the power of His Fatherhood.

The preposition prov" implies ‘coming before Him,’ ‘addressing Him in prayer,’ a fuller thought than the simple dative (Rom. 11:4).

15. ejx ou| ... ojnomavzetai ] Every ‘family,’ every society which is held together by the tie of a common head and author of its being, derives that which gives it a right to the title from the one Father. From Him comes the spirit by which the members have fellowship one with another and are all brought together into a supreme unity. pa'sa patriav ] Latt. omnis paternitas, every family , every group of beings united by a common descent or origin. Comp. Lk. 2:4; Acts 3:25; Gen. 12:3, 28:14.

Familia was naturalised by Rabbinic writers. ejn oujr. kai; ejpi; g. ] It is characteristic of St Paul to recognise the variety and unity of the manifold life in earth and heaven. Origen endeavoured to give precision to the thought by supposing that there were races in heaven corresponding to the races on earth.

The phrase ejn oujranoi'" kai; ejpi; gh'" is apparently unique and to be noticed (comp. Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:16, 20; 2 Pet. 3:13). Generally oujranov" and gh' are combined.
ojnomavzetai ] derives its name , and further, since the name is designed to express the essence of that to which it belongs, ‘derives that which truly makes it what it is.’

16-19. The prayer corresponds with that in Eph. 1:16 ff. In both cases the Apostle enforces the need of spiritual illumination for the full understanding of the Gospel. In the former prayer he begins with the thought of personal enlightenment which leads to a living sense of the greatness of the Divine power: in this he begins with the thought of personal strengthening which issues in higher knowledge and completer work.

16. i{na ...] depending on the idea of prayer involved in kavmptw ta; g. Eph. 3:15. See Mark 13:18; 14:35; 1 Cor. 14:13, & c.
kata; to; pl. t. d. ] The glory of GOD is the sum of His perfections as manifested to us. This, in its inexhaustible wealth, is the only limit of our prayers. Comp. Rom. 9:23.
dun. krat....eij" t. ej. a[nqr .] that ye may be strengthened (V. corroborari , V.L.
confortari ) with power answering to your need through His Spirit , so that each access


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