removal of these bands brings freedom. It is not unlikely that some false interpretation of redemption as a deliverance from the fetters of physical law caused the Apostle to emphasise its moral nature. Comp. Lightfoot on Col. 1:14.
kata; to; pl. t. c. auj
.] This characteristic form of expression is peculiar to St Paul: 2 Cor. 8:2; Rom. 2:4; 9:23; Phil. 4:19; Col. 1:27; 2:2; and below Eph. 1:18;
cc.
2:7; 3:16.
8-10. This revelation of His grace GOD has made known to us in its immeasurable issues.
8.
h|" ejper....fronhvsei
] Latt.
quae superabundavit in nobis, which
(grace)
He
made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence
.... The rhythm of the
sentence determines that the words
ejn p. sof. kai; fron
. are to be joined with
ejperivsseusen
and not with
gnwrivsa"
. The parallel phrase in Col. 1:9
i{na plhrwqh'te th;n ejpivgnwsin tou' qelhvmato" aujtou'
seems to be no less decisive for the interpretation of
p. sofiva/ kai; fronhvsei
as describing the manner in which the grace of GOD was manifested in those on whom it was bestowed. The application of wisdom and prudence to GOD in Prov. 3:19 (LXX.) and the use of
polupoivkilo" sofiva
in Eph. 3:10 does not justify the reference of
pa'sa sof. kai; fron
. to GOD here. On the other hand the fact that His grace issued in such gifts to men implies that they found exercise in the contemplation of His working. Through these believers are enabled to trace the connexion between the successive revelations which He made
polumerw'" kai; polutrovpw"
, all leading up to the final revelation in His Son; and yet more the complete and harmonious fulfilment of His earthly work in His Birth, His Death, His Resurrection, His Ascension, followed by the descent of the Holy Spirit. The same gifts have also a further application. St Paul's thoughts necessarily turned to the contemplation of the special privileges of the Jews (comp. Rom. 9:4 f.); but we can now observe the signs of GOD'S counsel in the training of the nations and in the slow realisation of manifold lessons of the Gospel in post- Christian history.
For the transitive sense of ejperivsseusen see 1 Thess. 3:12; 2 Cor. 4:15; 9:8. The intransitive sense wherewith He abounded would require h|" to be an attraction from h|/ which is very much rarer than the attraction from h{n .
For pavsh/ compare Eph. 1:3 note. The distinction of sofiva and frovnhsi" is marked from the time of Aristotle ( Eth. Nic. 6.7).
Wisdom deals with principles: prudence with action. In this way prudence may be called the child of wisdom (Prov. 10:23 LXX. hJ sofiva ajndri; tivktei frovnhsin ). Frovnhsi" occurs in the N.T. again only in Lk. 1:17, but the corresponding adjective occurs frequently (e.g.,, Matt. 10:16; 25:2).
9. gnwrivsa"...tou' qel. auj .] Vg. ut notum faceret sacramentum voluntatis suae. Having made known in that He made known the mystery , the Divine counsel now revealed, which was the expression of His will. The fact of a revelation is always implied in the word mystery in the N. T. (see Eph. 3:3 note), even in the Apocalypse, where the revelation is imminent. The phrase to; must. th'" boulh'" occurs in Judith 2:2. Compare 2 Tim. 1:9 f.
9, 10. kata; th;n eujdokivan ...] according to His good pleasure gracious purpose which He purposed (set before Himself) to accomplish in Him , the Beloved, destined to issue in a dispensation belonging to and, as it were, springing out of the fulness of the seasons when the full measure of their appointed course, with all their lessons of preparation and discipline, should be accomplishednamely, to sum up all things in the Christ ....