kai; parepivdhmoi
; Acts 7:6
pavroikon ejn gh'/ ajllotriva/
;
id.
vs. 29
pavroiko" ejn gh'/ Madiavm: paroikei'n
Lk. 24:18; Heb. 11:9.
sunp. tw'n aJgivwn
] fellow-citizens (v.l.
concives
) with the saints of the spiritual Israel. For the image see Heb. 11:16, 19; 12:22 ff.; 13:14.
oijkei'oi tou' qeou'
] Gal. 6:10
pro;" tou;" oijkeivou" th'" pivstew"
, 1 Tim. 5:8. The singularly happy translationof the household of Godis due to Tyndale. 20.
ejpoik....Cristou' jIhsou'
] The new Society was more than a
Commonwealth; it was a fabric in which the several parts were joined together on one divine plan. In this the Gentiles were
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the head corner-stone being Christ Jesus Himself.
ejpoik. ejpi; tw'/ qem
.] The image is worked out in detail in 1 Cor. 3:10 ff. Comp. Col. 2:7; Acts 20:32.
tw'n ajpost. kai; profhtw'n
] The order of the titles seems to shew beyond doubt that the reference is to the apostles and prophets of the New Covenant: those who had divine authority to found and to instruct the Church. Under this aspect they form one body (
tw'n ajp. kai; pr.
). Elsewhere they are considered separately. Comp.
cc.
Eph. 3:5
toi'" aJgivoi" ajpostovloi" aujtou' kai; profhvtai"
, 4:11
e[dwken tou;" me;n ajpostovlou" tou;" de; profhvta"
.... 1 Cor. 12:28 f.
e[qeto ejn th'/ ejkklhsiva/ prw'ton
ajpostovlou" deuvteron profhvta"
... 1 Cor. 14:29, 32, 37; Apoc. 18:20; 22:9. So we read of prophets in the early history of the Church: Acts 11:27; 13:1; 15:32; 21:10.
qemelivw/ tw'n ajpost
.] Comp. Apoc. 21:14.
ajkrogwniaivou
] Is. 28:16 LXX.
eij" ta; qemevlia Seivwn livqon polutelh' ejklekto;n ajkrogwnivaion
: 1 Pet. 2:6.
Cf. Mark 12:10; Lk. 20:17; Acts 4:11
kefalh; gwniva"
: Ps. 118:22 (117:22).
21.
ejn w|/...ejn kurivw/
]
in whom each several building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy sanctuary in the Lord.
The fabric in which the Ephesians were built was destined to become a sanctuary. It was not merely put together by the workman's skill: it had in it a principle of life. The foundation was unchangeable, but, while this underlay all, there was room for a harmonious development. The structure, like the Jewish Temple, included many buildings (Mark 13:1 f.), but all these were to be equally parts of the Sanctuary in the new Temple. The image appears to mark the consecration of all the ministries of life in the New Order, in correspondence with the equal inclusion in it of all the races of men.
ejn w|/
] The fabric has its foundation and its harmonious development in Christ Jesus. In Him too as the Lord it finds its consummation.
pa'sa oijkodomh;
]
every building, each several building:
council chambers, treasuries, chambers for priests, cloisters, all become part of the sanctuary (
naov"
not
iJerovn
), the parts contributing to the one whole, as the limbs to the one body. And this whole is divine, so that in the end the whole citythe New Jerusalembecomes a Holy of Holies: Apoc. 21:16.
For
pa'sa
see Eph. 1:3 note. In Acts 2:36
pa'" oi\ko" jIsrahvl
is probably to be rendered every house of Israel, each in its peculiar place and with its peculiar character.
sunarmologoumevnh
] Compare Eph. 4:16. This harmonious fitting together of the parts and the building up of the whole (vs. 22) are present and continuous processes. Contrast Eph. 3:17
ejrrizwmevnoi kai; teqemeliwmevnoi
.
au[xei
] Matt. 6:28; 13:32; Lk. 1:80; 2:40; Col. 2:19. Each several building is incorporated in the whole and grows not by itself but with the whole.