Ephesians-Exegetical Commentary-Kregel

Ephesians: An Exegetical Guide for Preaching and Teaching
© 2020 by Benjamin I. Simpson

Published by Kregel Academic, an imprint of Kregel Publications, 2450 Oak Industrial Dr. NE,
Grand Rapids, MI 49505-6020.
This book is a title in the Big Greek Idea Series, edited by Herbert W. Bateman IV.
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Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th Revised Edition, edited by Barbara and Kurt
Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger in cooperation
with the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, Münster/Westphalia, © 2012 Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. Used by permission.
The translation of the New Testament portions used throughout the commentary is the author’s
own English rendering of the Greek.
Scripture quotations marked net are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996–2006 by Biblical
Studies Press, LLC (www.bible.org). Scripture quoted by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked nlt are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©
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ISBN 978-0-8254-4543-9
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20 21 22 23 24 / 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface to the Series. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Author’s Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The Clausal Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Pauline Independent Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Pauline Dependent Clauses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Paul’s Style and Vocabulary in Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Paul’s Style in Ephesians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The Vocabulary of Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Ephesians 1:1–2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Paul identifies his credentials as an apostle through the will of God
and greets the church in Ephesus by wishing them grace and peace
from both the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:3–14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
God deserves praise because he blesses believers in Christ by
choosing them for adoption, by redeeming them through the
death of Christ, and by giving them the Holy Spirit, who serves as
a guarantee of God’s salvation in the future.
Ephesians 1:15–23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Paul prays that through spiritual insight God reveals the hope of
the believers’ call, the depth of his inheritance, and his immeasur-
able power available to them; the same power through which God
raised Christ from the dead and gives him dominion over all the
authorities of the world.
Ephesians 2:1–10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Despite once being dead in sins and under satanic control, God
demonstrates his mercy to the world by saving believers, making
them alive, and giving them a seat in the heavenlies with Christ—
an act of grace—so that they might walk in the good works that he
has prepared for them.
Ephesians 2:11–22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Even though Gentiles were once without hope and alienated from
the covenantal promises that God gave to Israel, Christ destroyed
the hostility between the two groups through his death by nullify-
ing the law and granting peace and access to God for both groups.
As a result he created a new people group out of the two, the
church, founded on Christ, and in which the Spirit of God dwells.
Ephesians 3:1–13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
According to his plan, God reveals the mystery of Christ to Paul,
along with the apostles and prophets, in order to proclaim this
mystery to the rulers and authorities of this world, namely that
Gentiles have become fellow heirs and fellow partakers of the
promise of Christ with the Jews.
Ephesians 3:14–21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
God, who is able to do more than anyone can imagine, deserves
all glory for strengthening the believers and for allowing them
to grow in ways that are inconceivable, since they have a firm
foundation.
Ephesians 4:1–16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Believers should walk in a manner worthy of their Christian faith by
keeping the unity of the community, which God made possible by
appointing Christian leaders to train the body, and which is essen-
tial for the growth of the body to withstand attacks of the evil one.
Ephesians 4:17–32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Believers should walk in holiness, recalling the change in their
lives in light of their new identity as Christians; and as a result,
they should build up the community through their behavior and
cease any conduct that breaks down the community community.
Ephesians 5:1–6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Believers should imitate God by loving one another like Christ,
who loved us by sacrificing himself for us. They should abstain
from any sign of sexual deviancy or harsh words, since these types
of people will not inherit the kingdom; rather, believers should be
known for thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:7–14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Believers should walk as children of light, characterized by good-
ness, justice, and truth, not associating with those who do shame-
ful deeds of evil, but rather exposing them.
Ephesians 5:15–21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Believers should walk in wisdom to understand the will of God,
because the age is evil, and submit to the Holy Spirit with the result
that they speak to one another with psalms, sing praise to God,
give thanks always, and submit to one another.
Ephesians 5:22–33. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Wives should voluntarily submit to their husbands as they would
to the Lord because he is the head; husbands should love their
wives self-sacrificially as they would care for their own bodies, just
as Christ loved the church.
Ephesians 6:1–4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Children should obey and honor their parents; fathers should raise
their children without provoking them to anger, disciplining them
and teaching them with Christian instruction.
Ephesians 6:5–9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Slaves should obey their masters wholeheartedly as if they are
serving the Lord himself; masters should treat their slaves with the
same respect, knowing that they also serve the Lord, who judges
without partiality
partiality.
Ephesians 6:10–20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Believers must empower themselves through prayer by taking ad-
vantage of the spiritual provision that God has provided, in order
to withstand the devil and his attacks on them.
Ephesians 6:21–24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Paul closes the letter by commending Tychicus, a trusted servant
who ministers to the church, to provide an update of his circum-
stances, and by praying that God gives them peace, love, faith, and
grace.
Ephesians: Interpretive Translation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Figures of Speech in Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Nugget Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
Introduction
Ephesians: An Exegetical Guide for Preaching and Teaching guides pastors and
teachers in their understanding on Paul’s Greek structure, his use of Greek claus-
es, his Greek syntax, and his Greek writing style with this single intention: to
underscore Paul’s numerous big Greek ideas.1 Tracing the various big Greek ideas
in Ephesians is possible by recognizing Paul’s thought process evident in the co-
ordination and subordination of the Greek clauses he employs within each of his
letters. We do not assume that pastors and teachers remember everything learned
during their initial study of New Testament Greek in their college or seminary
classes. We strive to define and explain Paul’s use of Greek in ways that help pas-
tors and teachers recall what was once learned, refresh and expand an apprecia-
tion for Paul’s presentation in Koine Greek, and underscore the value to engage
the Greek text when preparing to preach and teach Ephesians.
We construct the Greek words from Ephesians in 109 independent clauses and
255 dependent clauses and arrange them into clausal outlines. Each clause is
translated and then explained for interpretive recognition, comprehension, and
communication. The clausal outlines represent an early stage in preparing to
preach and teach the text.2 All the clauses appear in Greek from NA28 along with
an interpretive translation for easy usage. The clausal outlines make it possible for
pastors to visualize the relationship clauses have to one another in order to trace
Paul’s flow of thought and ultimately his big idea.
Number of Greek Words in Ephesians

Chapter NA28 SBL RP2005 MT THGNT
Ephesians 1 401 401 405 405 402
Ephesians 2 362 362 361 361 362
Ephesians 3 325 324 334 334 325
Ephesians 4 483 482 486 487 482
Ephesians 5 457 455 471 471 457
Ephesians 6 394 393 402 401 394
1. Portions of this work are excerpted from Simpson 2015; used by permission of the Cyber-Center for
Biblical Studies.
2. For nine steps of exegesis, see Bateman 2013.
20
The Clausal Outline 21
The Clausal Outline
The clausal outlines for Ephesians are based on a variety of Greek clauses em-
ployed throughout the letter. By nature, a Greek clause has a subject and a predi-
cate, which may be a verb, a participle, or an infinitive. They may be independent
or dependent Greek clauses. Whereas independent clauses can stand alone, de-
pendent clauses have a subordinate relationship to another clause.
Other terminology exists for this same process. Mounce (1996, xvi–xxiii) calls
it “phrasing,” Guthrie (Guthrie and Duvall 1998, 27–42) calls it “grammatical
diagram,” and MacDonald (1986, 145–52) calls it “textual transcription..” While
these other works tend to break sentences into clauses and phrases, Ephesians
concentrates on the clause level. As you work your way through the clauses in
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, you can expect the following.
1. Every clause reproduces the Greek text in the exact word order of NA28 even
when syntax is less than clear. Every attempt is made to make sense of Paul’s
syntax in Ephesians regardless of the occasional lack of clarity
clarity.
2. Every Greek clause underscores the Greek words deemed as important struc-
tural markers. A structural marker is always a verb, which may be a verbal
(participle or infinitive). Other important structural markers are conjunc-
tions, relative and demonstrative pronouns, and a select number of prepo-
sitional phrases that introduce clauses. Structural markers are always under-
lined and often in bold print. For instance:
5:28a (ὁ κλέπτων) µηκέτι κλεπτέτω
5:28a (The one who steals) must no longer steal
The major structural marker is the imperative κλεπτέτω, and therefore

underlined and in bold type. The substantival participle κλέπτων is an im-
portant verbal, but not the structural maker, so the parentheses offset it for
visual purposes.
3. Every Greek structural marker serves to distinguish different types of inde-

pendent and dependent clauses. The chart below summarizes the types of in-
dependent and dependent Greek clauses found in Ephesians and the means
by which they are introduced.
22 Introduction
Types (Classifications) of Independent and Dependent Clauses3
Three Types of Independent Clauses Four Types of Dependent Clauses

Conjunctive clauses are introduced by Pronominal clauses are introduced by a relative
simple connective (καί or δέ), pronoun (ὅς, ἥ, ὅ),
contrastive conjunction (ἀλλά, δέ, πλήν), a relative adjective (οἷος, such as; ὅσος, as
correlative conjunction (µὲν … δέ, or much/many as),
καὶ … καί), a relative adverb (ὅπου, where; ὅτε, when), or a

demonstrative pronoun (οὗτος).
explanatory conjunction (γάρ), inferential
conjunction (ἄρα, διό, οὖν, or
γάρ), or
transitional conjunction (καί, δέ, or οὖν).
Prepositional clauses are introduced by “for Conjunctive clauses are introduced by
this reason” (διὰ τοῦτο),
a subordinate conjunction that denotes seman-
“for this reason” (ἐπὶ τοῦτο), “as a result of tical concepts such as time (ὅτε, ὅτον),
this” (ἐκ τούτου), “why” (εἰς τί), or
reason and cause (διό, ὅτι, ἐπεί), purpose and
“in this” (ἐν τούτῳ). result (ἵνα, ὥστε), or
comparison (καθώς, ὡς, ὡσεί, ὥσπερ), etc.
Participial clauses are introduced by participles.
Their objects may be a noun, pronoun, preposi-
tional phrases, etc.
Asyndeton clauses are not introduced by a Infinitival clauses are introduced by infinitives.
conjunctive word or phrase.
4. Every independent Greek clause (the main thought) is placed farthest to the
left of the page. Dependent Greek clauses that directly modify a Greek word in
another clause are either placed in parentheses or positioned under (or above
if necessary) the word it modifies for easy identification. This positioning of a
clause visualizes the subordination and coordination of Ephesians’ basic gram-
matical and syntactical relationships, parallelisms, and emphases.
5. Every independent and dependent Greek clause has an interpretive English

translation provided under the Greek text. Every translated structural mark-
er is also underlined and often in bold print for easy recognition, use, and
evaluation.
3. W, 656–65. There is a difference between the chart above and Wallace. Whereas the pronominal clause
represents both the relative and demonstrative pronoun in the chart on this page, Wallace limits the
category to a relative pronoun.
One to Five Exemplified
An example of what to expect is nicely illustrated with a verse from Ephesians

1:15–16.
15 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο κἀγὼ ἀκούσας τὴν καθ’ ὑµᾶς πίστιν ἐν τῷ κυρίῳ

Ἰησοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην τὴν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους
15 For this reason, after hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love for all of the saints
16a οὐ παύοµαι
16a I do not cease
16b εὐχαριστῶν ὑπὲρ ὑµῶν

16b giving thanks on your behalf
16c µνείαν ποιούµενος ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν µου

16c while remembering you in my prayers,
1. The order of the Greek sentence is followed.
2. Every Greek clause underscores the Greek words deemed as important

structural markers.
3. Every Greek structural marker distinguishes the different types of inde-

pendent and dependent clauses. Ephesians 1:15–16 has three dependent
participle Greek clauses; verse 16a is an independent conjunctive clause
introduced by ∆ιὰ τοῦτο.
4. The independent clause (v

(v. 16a) is placed to the extreme left. The three de-
pendent participle clauses function adverbially modifying the main verb.
The participles are indented to show their relationship to the main verb.
Since the adverbial participles are the major structural markers, they are
clearly identified.
5. Every Greek clause has a corresponding English translation and all the
translated structural markers are identified for easy recognition.
6. Every independent and dependent Greek clause has a corresponding explanato-

ry discussion that underscores the grammatical, syntactical, and semantic func-
tions of their respective Greek structural markers that are underlined and often
24 Introduction
in bold print. Thus, not every word within a clause is discussed; explanatory
discussions major on the structural makers in order to underscore Paul’s point.
Yet if a structural marker is not in bold, it is often for easier visual distinctions.
Grammatical Function: Grammatical function identifies the Greek

structural marker as to whether it is pronominal, conjunctive, a verb, or
verbal (participle or infinitive). If the marker is a verb or verbal, it is
parsed with an appropriate lexical meaning provided from BDAG. If it
is pronominal or conjunctive, a lexical definition is also provided based
upon BDAG.
Syntactical Function: Syntactical function first draws attention to the

independent or dependent clause’s type. If it is a dependent clause, its syn-
tactical function within a sentence is underscored. All clauses are identi-
fied as either substantival, adjectival, or adverbial, as well as the word or
words the clause modifies.
Semantic Function: Semantic functions are by nature interpretive sug-

gestions whereby a Greek structural marker is explained based upon its
literary context. Semantic interpretations employ the categories listed
and defined in Wallace’s Greek Grammar beyond the Basics (1996), many
of which are discussed in critical commentaries, and reflected in English
Bible translations.
7. Explanatory discussions about Greek structural markers are interspersed

with commentary-like remarks identified as nuggets. Numerous text-critical,
grammatical, syntactical, structural, theological, and lexical nuggets appear
between clausal presentations that delve deeper into and expand on issues in
order to advance your appreciation for Ephesians, its readers, and its message.
8. All independent and dependent Greek clauses are grouped into units of
thought. Ephesians is broken into seventeen units of thought.
9. Every unit opens with a structural overview that provides a synopsis for
the unit’s structure and each summary is followed with a “Big Greek Idea”
statement.
10. An interpretive English translation of Ephesians concludes Ephesians: An Ex-

egetical Guide for Preaching and Teaching.
All ten expectations are intended to help pastors and teachers recall and refresh
their previous training in Greek, to expand a person’s understanding of Koine
Greek, and to encourage personal engagement with the Greek text. Hopefully the
process in this book will increase confidence in understanding and appreciating

Ephesians for preaching and teaching it.
Yet Ephesians is not a guide for translation. There are works designed for that task
(Larkin; Simpson 2015; Merkle). This book is a grammatical-like commentary
with interlinear-like English translations of the Greek text that provides exposi-
tional commentary-like comments to guide a pastor and teacher in their sermon
and teaching preparations.
But before delving into examining the “Big Greek Idea” in Ephesians, it may be
helpful to pause, define, and illustrate the different types of Greek clauses typical-
ly found in the letter.
Pauline Independent Clauses
Independent Greek clauses are rather important in determining Paul’s main

thought in a given sentence. There are three types of independent Greek clauses
found in the Greek New Testament: conjunctive, prepositional, and asyndetic. All
three types of independent clauses appear in Ephesians.
The first and most common type of independent Greek clause in Ephesians is
the independent Greek conjunctive clause. This clause is introduced by a Greek
conjunction (καί, δέ, γάρ, ἀλλά, ἄρα, διό, οὖν, πλήν). Sometimes the Greek
conjunction starts the independent clause. Other times it appears in a postposi-
tive position. The independent conjunctive clause dominates Ephesians. In fact,
independent conjunctive clauses appear in Ephesians at least sixty-eight times.
The following are a few representative samples worthy of mention.
2:8a τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσµένοι διὰ πίστεως·
2:8a For you are saved by grace through faith;
2:14a Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡµῶν,

2:14a For he is our peace,
2:19a ἄρα οὖν οὐκέτι ἐστὲ ξένοι καὶ πάροικοι,

2:19a So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens
3:13a διὸ αἰτοῦµαι µὴ ἐγκακεῖν ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσίν µου ὑπὲρ ὑµῶν,

3:13a Therefore, I ask that you not be discouraged because of my suffering on your
behalf,
4:1a Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑµᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσµιος ἐν κυρίῳ

4:1a Therefore, I, a prisoner in the Lord, urge you
26 Introduction
4:20 ὑµεῖς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἐµάθετε τὸν Χριστόν,

4:20 But you have not learned Christ in such a manner,
4:30a καὶ µὴ λυπεῖτε τὸ πνεῦµα τὸ ἅγιον τοῦ θεοῦ

4:30a And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
5:1 γίνεσθε οὖν µιµηταὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς τέκνα ἀγαπητά,

5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,
5:33a πλὴν καὶ ὑµεῖς οἱ καθ’ ἕνα ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα οὕτως ἀγαπάτω
5:33a Nevertheless each of you, love your own wife
6:4a Καὶ οἱ πατέρες, µὴ παροργίζετε τὰ τέκνα ὑµῶν,

6:4a And fathers, do not anger your children,
Naturally, these Greek conjunctive clauses are independent because they con-
tain a subject and predicate, present a complete thought, and can stand alone.
While it is not evident above, in the pages to follow all independent clauses will
be placed farthest to the left of the page because they are independent. Each
of the independent clauses above begins with a Greek conjunction that makes
some sort of connection with a previous clause or transitions to a new thought.
Also, as you can see from the samples above, conjunctions sometimes appear
in the postpositive position (Eph. 2:8a, 14a; 4:1a, 20; 5:1) but not always (Eph.
2:19a; 3:13a; 4:30a; 5:33a; 6:4a).
The most frequent independent Greek conjunctive clauses in Ephesians are

those introduced with καί. Of the sixty-seven conjunctive independent clauses
in Ephesians, 35 percent begin with “and” (καί). Even though Paul’s favored
conjunction is καί, five other Greek conjunctions appear in Ephesians: ἀλλά,
ἄρα οὖν, γάρ, δέ, διό, and οὖν. The following chart not only lists the Greek
conjunction and where they appear in Ephesians, it identifies how the conjunc-
tion has been interpreted semantically in our interpretive English translation
for Ephesians.
Conjunctions in Ephesians
καί ἀλλά δέ γάρ διό ἄρα οὖν οὖν
Ascensive 5:31c
The conjunction pro-
vides a point of focus
“even”
Conjunctions in Ephesians
καί ἀλλά δέ γάρ διό ἄρα οὖν οὖν
Connective or 1:22a, 22b 5:33c
Coordinate
2:6a, 6b,
The conjunction adds 17b
an additional element
4:11, 17b,
to the discussion
26b, 30a
“and, also” 5:4a, 11a,
14d, 14e,
18a, 29c,
31b, 33a
6:17a
Contrastive or 2:19b 2:5b, 13
Adversative
5:4c, 4:7, 20,
The conjunction 17b, 28b, 32
provides an opposing 18c,
5:3a,
thought to the idea to 29b
8b, 11b,
which is connected
6:4b 13, 32b
“but, yet”
Emphatic
The conjunction inten-
sifies the discussion
“indeed”
Explanatory 2:8b 4:9a 2:8a,
10a,
Following verbs of 5:2a
14a
emotion, the conjunc-
tion provides additional 5:9, 12,
information 14a,
“for” 29a
Inferential 5:5a, 2:11a 2:19a 4:1a,

The conjunction signals 6b, 8a 3:13a 17a
a conclusion or sum- 4:8a, 5:1,
mary of a discussion 25b 7, 15a
“therefore, thus” 5:14b 6:14a
Transitional 6:4a, 9a 3:21

The conjunction moves 6:21b
the discussion in a new
direction
“now”
28 Introduction
The second type of independent Greek clause in Ephesians is the independent

Greek prepositional clause. This clause is introduced by a Greek preposition (διὰ
τοῦτο, τούτου χάριν, ἀντὶ τοῦτο). There are at least six independent clauses in
Ephesians introduced with a Greek prepositional phrase.
1:15 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο … 16aοὐ παύοµαι
1:15 For this reason, … 16aI do not cease
3:1 Τούτου χάριν ἐγὼ Παῦλος ὁ δέσµιος τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ ὑπὲρ ὑµῶν τῶν
ἐθνῶν
3:1 For this reason, I Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you, the Gentiles
3:14 Τούτου χάριν κάµπτω τὰ γόνατά µου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα,

3:14 For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,
5:17a διὰ τοῦτο µὴ γίνεσθε ἄφρονες,

5:17a For this reason, do not become foolish,
5:31a ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν µητέρα
5:31a For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother
6:13a διὰ τοῦτο ἀναλάβετε τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ,

6:13a For this reason, take up the whole armor of God
Like the independent Greek conjunctive clauses, these Greek prepositional claus-
es are independent because they contain a subject and predicate, present a com-
plete thought, and can stand alone. In the pages that follow, all independent prep-
ositional clauses will be placed farthest to the left of the page because they too are
independent.
Ephesians 5:31a is part of an Old Testament quotation and 3:14 resumes Paul’s
argument from 3:1. This suggests that Paul predominantly uses the phrase διὰ
τοῦτο in the letter of Ephesians. The significant interpretive issue that the reader
faces is the referent to the prepositional phrase. Generally, in Ephesians, Paul uses
the preposition inferentially, stating an implication.
The third type of independent Greek clause is the independent Greek asyndeton
clause. This clause has neither an introductory Greek conjunction nor an opening
Greek prepositional phrase. Yet it too is an independent clause with only a verb as
its structural marker. It appears at least thirty-five times in Ephesians. Of these, a
few are worthy of mention because they exemplify what to expect when studying
Ephesians. There is but one structural marker, the verb, which is underlined and
in bold print
print.
1:3a Εὐλογητὸς [ἔστιν] ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,
1:3a Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
2:5c —χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσµένοι—

σεσῳσµένοι
2:5c —you
you are saved by grace—
4:5a [ἔστιν] εἷς κύριος,

4:5a there [is]one Lord;
4:5b [ἔστιν] µία πίστις,

4:5b there [is] one faith;
4:5c [ἔστιν] ἓν βάπτισµα·

4:5c there [is] one baptism;
4:10a (ὁ καταβὰς αὐτός) ἐστιν καὶ (ὁ ἀναβὰς) ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν,
4:10a (The
very one who descended) is also (the one who ascended) above all of
the heavens
5:14c Ἔγειρε
Ἔγειρε, (ὁ καθεύδων,)
5:14c Get up (sleeper,)
up,
5:22a Αἱ γυναῖκες [ὑποτάσσεσθε] τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν

5:22a Wives, [submit] to your own husbands
5:25a Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας,

5:25a Husbands, love your wives,
6:11a ἐνδύσασθε τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ

6:11a Put on the whole armor of God
Once again, these Greek asyndeton clauses are independent clauses because they
contain a subject and predicate, present a complete thought, and can stand alone.
In the pages that follow, they too will be placed farthest to the left of the page
because they are independent. Yet they differ
Ellipsis Defined from one another, making a significant rhe-
An ellipsis is the omission of torical thrust.
a word or any element of the
Greek language that renders First, it is important to recognize that not all
a sentence “ungrammatical,” asyndeton clauses contain a verb. There are
yet the missing element or five occurrences of these elliptical clauses
word is from the context. from our examples above (Eph. 1:3a; 4:5a,
5b, 5c; 5:22a). In English, we have to supply
30 Introduction
a verb, which raises the question about the nature of the clause. The clause might
make a simple statement, in which case we would use an equative verb. For ex-
ample, in Ephesians 4:5 Paul makes a series of assertions that require us to use
the verb is in English: “there is one Lord; there is one faith; there is one baptism..”
In Ephesians 4:10a, Paul supplies the equative verb. On the other hand, anoth-
er clause may insinuate an imperative. In Ephesians 1:3a, we might insert some
form of εἰµί, but the context suggests an imperatival idea: “Blessed be God” or
“God should be blessed..” Similarly, in Ephesians 5:22a, the verb is of this asyn-
deton clause is implied from the participle in verse 21, but the context suggests
that the force of the verb is imperatival: “Wives, submit to your own husbands.”
Second, the challenge with interpreting asyndeton clauses is understanding

their relationship to the context. Some of these clauses are straightforward;
some begin a new thought and do not require any additional link. For example,
in the household code, Paul addresses various members of the family
family. Each sec-
tion begins with an asyndeton (Eph. 5:22, 25a above, cfcf. 6:1, 5). He begins the
body of the letter with an asyndeton (Eph. 1:3a). At times the asyndeton might
simply be an aside. For example, in Ephesians 2:5c, Paul interrupts his state-
ment about how God treats the believer to make a statement about the believer.
He repeats the phrase in verse 8 but introduces it with a conjunction (γάρ).
And at times, the connection is not clear. For example, in Ephesians 4:4–6 he
makes a series of asyndetic statements with no connection, leaving the reader
to make the connection.
Finally, since there are no other markers, we would expect to find only the verb
of an asyndeton clause marked. However, in our examples above, we have three
clauses with additional markers (Eph. 2:5c; 4:10a; 5:14c). Two of these involve
substantival participles. In Ephesians 4:10a, Paul equates “the one who comes
down” (ὁ καταβὰς αὐτός) with “the one who goes up” (ὁ ἀναβάς). Similarly
in Ephesians 5:14c, Paul uses the substantival participle as a vocative: “Get up,
sleeper!” We have marked the substantival participles because of their impor-
tance, but they do not merit being placed on their own line. Ephesians 2:5c
merits our attention as well. The verb in the clause is periphrastic. Even though
there are two verbs, they create one verbal idea: “you are saved by grace.” . Be-
cause they represent a single verbal idea we have placed a contiguous line under
both verbs.
In summary, independent Greek clauses are rather important in determining

Paul’s main thought of a given sentence. There are 109 independent clauses in
Ephesians. While the independent Greek conjunctive clause dominates Ephe-
sians with sixty-eight occurrences, the independent Greek asyndeton clause ap-
pears thirty-five times. The independent Greek prepositional clause occurs mere-
ly six times and only in Ephesians.
The chart below identifies where the 109 independent Greek clauses appear in
Ephesians.
Independent Clauses in Ephesians
Conjunctive Prepositional Asyndeton

Chapter
Independent Clauses Independent Clauses Independent Clauses
1 22a, 22b 16a 1a, 2, 3a
5b, 6a, 6b, 8a, 8b, 10a, 11a,

2 5c, 8c, 9a
13, 14a, 17b, 19a, 19b
3 13a, 21 1, 14 8a
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 5c, 6, 8c,
1a, 7, 8a, 9a, 11, 17a, 17b,
4 8d, 10a, 26a, 26c, 27, 28a,
20, 25b, 26b, 28b, 30a, 32
29a, 31
1, 2a, 3a, 4a, 4c, 5a, 6b, 7,

8a, 8b, 9a, 11a, 11b, 12, 13,
6a, 8d, 14c, 22a, 25a, 28c,
5 14a, 14b, 14d, 14e, 15a, 17a, 31a
32a
17b, 18a, 18c, 29a, 29b,
29c, 31b, 31c, 32b, 33a, 33c
1b, 4a, 4b, 9a, 10a, 14a,

6 13a 1a, 2a, 5a, 11a, 23, 24
17a, 21b
Throughout Ephesians: An Exegetical Guide for Preaching and Teaching

Teaching, indepen-
dent Greek clauses will appear to the extreme left of the page with their verbs
underlined and often in bold print
print. Yet just as there are different types of inde-
pendent clauses, there are various types of dependent clauses in Ephesians wor-
thy of introduction because they expand Paul’s initial thoughts expressed in his
independent clauses.
Pauline Dependent Clauses
There are four types of dependent Greek clauses: (1) Greek pronominal clauses
are introduced by a relative pronoun (ὅς, ἥ, ὅ), relative adjective (οἷος, such as;
ὅσος, as much/many as), relative adverb (ὅπου, where; ὅτε, when), or sometimes
a demonstrative pronoun (οὗτος), (2) Greek conjunctive clauses are introduced
by a subordinate Greek conjunction (ἵνα, ὅτι, καθώς, εἰ, ἐάν, etc.), (3) Greek
participial clauses are introduced by a participle, and (4) Greek infinitival clauses
are introduced by certain infinitives or infinitives with a preposition (e.g., διά,
µετά, εἰς + infinitive). Regardless of its type, dependent clauses generally modi-
fy a word or possible concept in another clause.
32 Introduction
Procedurally, the type of dependent clause is first identified, and then the relation-
ship of the dependent Greek clause to words in other clauses (i.e., the syntactical
function) is determined. The syntactical function of a Greek clause may be adver-
bial, adjectival, or substantival. Once the
syntactical relationship of a dependent Steps for Identifying
clause is determined, it is positioned in the Dependent Clauses
outline for easy identification. If adverbial, 1. Take note of the type of de-
the first word of the dependent clause is po- pendent clause it is.
sitioned under the Greek verb it modifies; if 2. Be aware of the clause’s syn-
adjectival, the first word of the dependent tactical function.
clause is positioned under the Greek noun 3. Identify the verb, noun, or
or pronoun it modifies; if substantival, the pronoun the clause modifies.
clause is often placed in parentheses.
The first type of dependent Greek clause is the dependent Greek pronominal clause.
There are at least forty-six examples of the dependent Greek pronominal clause
in Ephesians. Naturally all begin with a Greek pronoun. Of these, thirty-eight rel-
ative pronouns are adjectival. In Ephesians, Paul uses the interrogative pronoun
τίς substantivally eight times. In the samples below, the adjectival relative clause
is positioned under or just above the noun or pronoun it modifies. All substanti-
val relative clauses functioning as either the subject or direct object of a clause are
placed in parentheses or on their own line. All relative pronouns are underlined
and at times in bold print along with their respective verbs. Below are extensive
examples from Ephesians 1:5–9, 18–19; and 2:4 that illustrate how Paul uses pro-
nominal clauses in the letter.
1:5a προορίσας ἡµᾶς 5bεἰς υἱοθεσίαν διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς αὐτόν, κατὰ τὴν
εὐδοκίαν τοῦ θελήµατος αὐτοῦ 6aεἰς ἔπαινον δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ
1:5a while predestining us for adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according
to his pleasurable will for the praise for his glorious grace,
1:6b ἧς ἐχαρίτωσεν ἡµᾶς ἐν (τῷ ἠγαπηµένῳ).

1:6b which he gave to us in (the beloved).
1:7 ἐν ᾧ ἔχοµεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν διὰ τοῦ αἵµατος αὐτοῦ τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν
παραπτωµάτων κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ
1:7 In whom we have the redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our
trespasses according to his rich grace

1:8 ἧς ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς ἡµᾶς, ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει,
1:8 which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight,
|
|
1:9a γνωρίσας ἡµῖν τὸ µυστήριον τοῦ θελήµατος αὐτοῦ,
κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν αὐτοῦ
1:9a by making known to us the mystery of his will, according to
his pleasure
1:9b ἣν προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ 10aεἰς οἰκονοµίαν τοῦ πληρώµατος τῶν

καιρῶν
1:9b which he intended in him10afor the administration of the fullness
of time
1:18b εἰς τὸ εἰδέναι ὑµᾶς

1:18b so that you may know
|
1:18c τίς ἐστιν ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ,
1:18c what is the hope of his calling
|
1:18d τίς [ἔστιν] ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τῆς κληρονοµίας
αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις,

1:18d what [is] the wealth of his glorious inheritance among the
saints,
|
1:19 καὶ τί [ἔστιν] (τὸ ὑπερβάλλον µέγεθος τῆς δυνάµεως
αὐτοῦ) εἰς (ἡµᾶς τοὺς πιστεύοντας) κατὰ τὴν

ἐνέργειαν τοῦ κράτους τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ.
1:19 and what [is] (his surpassingly great power) for (us who
believe) according to the working of his strong might.
2:4aὁ δὲ θεὸς πλούσιος ὢν ἐν ἐλέει, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ

2:4a but God, because he is rich in mercy, because of his great love
2:4b ἣν ἠγάπησεν ἡµᾶς,

2:4b with which he loved us,
These Greek pronominal clauses are representative of what to expect in Ephe-

sians. The pronominal clause that dominates Ephesians is the Greek relative
clause (ὅς, ἥ, ὅ). They are unable to stand alone and thereby are dependent
clauses. Yet they contribute grammatically to the sentence either as a subject or
direct object of a clause (substantival) or as a modifier of a noun or pronoun
within another clause (adjectival).
Paul predominantly uses the interrogative pronoun (τίς)) substantivally

substantivally. For ex-
ample, in Ephesians 1:18b–19, Paul repeats the interrogative pronoun three times,
34 Introduction
each functioning as the direct object of the infinitive εἰδέναι (“know”). The sub-
stantival clauses express what Paul wants these believers to know: the hope of
God’s calling, the wealth of his inheritance, and his power at work within those
who believe. Due to Paul’s extensive sentence, we have placed each substantival
clause on its own line. Each clause has its own grammatical issues. The first sub-
stantival clause is straightforward. The last two are elliptical—in English, we have
to supply the verb is: “what is..” The last clause contains two substantival partici-
ples. The first substantival participle functions as the subject of the clause. The
second substantival participle functions as the object of the preposition εἰς—this
power is for “us, who believe.”
Paul predominantly uses the relative pronoun adjectivally. He is able to string to-
gether long sentences with the relative pronoun. For example, he uses the relative
pronoun eight times in Ephesians 1:3–14, a text that makes up a single sentence.
In contrast, he uses the relative pronoun only twelve times throughout the second
half of the letter (Eph. 4–6), where
he uses shorter sentences. Even
though Ephesians 1:5–9 is part of The Relative Pronoun
the sentence, it provides a good in-
sight into how Paul uses the relative Regular Usage
pronoun. The first relative pronoun A relative pronoun usually agrees in
appears in verse 6b. It modifies the number and gender with its antecedent
object of the preposition at the end and thereby links the noun or pronoun
of verse 6a: “grace” (χάριτος). The to the dependent relative clause to de-
relative clause is aligned under the scribe, clarify, or restrict its antecedent.
word it modifies. Even though the
case of the pronoun is genitive, it Unusual Usage
functions as the direct object, but Sometimes the relative pronoun’s gender
due to attraction (BDF §294.2), does not match its antecedent because
the case of the pronoun shifted to sense agreement supersedes syntactical
agree with the case of the anteced- agreement (construction ad sensum).
ent. The relative pronoun agrees
with the number (singular) and Other times the case of the relative pro-
gender (feminine) with the noun noun is attracted to that of its anteced-
that it modifies. As we will see in ent. Often referred to as “attraction” or
the examples below, this is more “direct attraction.”
common in Paul’s writing.
The second relative pronoun appears in verse 7. The pronoun functions as the object
of the preposition ἐν: “in whom..” The antecedent of the pronoun is the substantival
participle τῷ ἠγαπηµένῳ from verse 6b, a reference to Christ. The pronoun retains
the number (singular) and gender (masculine) from the antecedent, but unlike our
first pronoun, the case is determined by its function within the relative clause.
The third relative pronoun appears in verse 8. The antecedent of the pronoun is at
the end of verse 7, a repeated reference to “grace” (χάριτος). The relative clause
gives the reader more information about this grace, namely that God lavishes it
on the believer. The pronoun agrees with the antecedent in number (singular)
and gender (feminine), but again, the case shifts. We would anticipate the case to
be accusative since it functions as the direct object, but the case shifts to genitive
to agree with the antecedent.
The final relative pronoun appears in verse 9b. The antecedent of the pronoun
is God’s “pleasure” (εὐδοκίαν). The relative clause gives a further description
of God’s pleasure—he intended it in Christ for his plan for the fullness of time.
The pronoun agrees with the number (singular) and gender (masculine) of
the antecedent, but its case is determined by its function in the clause. In this
case, it is accusative since it is the direct object of the verb προέθετο (“he es-
tablished”).
The last relative clause in our examples above illustrates how Paul can empha-
size an element with a redundant relative clause. For example, in Ephesians 2:4
he uses a relative clause to modify “love” (ἀγάπην). The pronoun agrees with
the antecedent in number (singular) and gender (feminine). The pronoun is
instrumental, so we would expect it to be dative, but due to attraction the case
shifted to accusative, the case of the antecedent. In this example, Paul uses the
cognate verb in the relative clause. He describes a love “with which he loved
us.”
. By using a verb within the same semantic family, Paul emphasizes God’s
love for us.
The second type of dependent Greek clause is the dependent Greek conjunctive
clause. There are at least seventy-six examples of dependent Greek conjunctive
clauses in Ephesians. The following are a few representative samples worthy of
mention. The Greek conjunctions with their respective verbs are underlined and
in bold print for easy recognition.
2:11a ∆ιὸ µνηµονεύετε

2:11a Therefore, remember
|
2:11b ὅτι ποτὲ ὑµεῖς τὰ ἔθνη ἐν σαρκί, (οἱ λεγόµενοι ἀκροβυστία)
ὑπὸ (τῆς λεγοµένης περιτοµῆς) ἐν σαρκὶ χειροποιήτου,

2:11b that once you—Gentiles in flesh, (the ones called “uncircumcised”)
by (the so-called “circumcised”) done by hand in the flesh—

|
2:12a ὅτι ἦτε τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ χωρὶς Χριστοῦ,
2:12a that you were at that time without the Messiah,
36 Introduction
[εὐαγγελίσασθαι … καὶ φωτίσαι (3:8–9)]

[to proclaim the gospel . . . and enlighten (vv
(vv. 8–9)]
3:10 ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἐν τοῖς
ἐπουρανίοις διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ
θεοῦ, 11a κατὰ πρόθεσιν τῶν αἰώνων
3:10 so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made
known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places through

the church, 11aaccording to his eternal purpose,
4:20 ὑµεῖς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἐµάθετε τὸν Χριστόν,

4:20 But you have not learned Christ in such a manner,
4:21a εἴ γε αὐτὸν ἠκούσατε

4:21a if indeed you heard about him
|
4:21b καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐδιδάχθητε
ἐδιδάχθητε,
4:21b and were taught in him,
5:16a ἐξαγοραζόµενοι τὸν καιρόν,

5:16a by making the most of the opportunity,
|
5:16b ὅτι αἱ ἡµέραι πονηραί εἰσιν.
5:16b because the days are evil.
5:25a Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας,

5:25a Husbands, love your wives,
|
5:25b καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησεν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν
5:25b just as Christ also loved the church
|
5:25c καὶ ἑαυτὸν παρέδωκεν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς,
5:25c and gave himself for her,
[προσευχόµενοι (v. (v 18a)]

[by praying (v(v. 18a)]
|
6:19b ἵνα µοι δοθῇ λόγος ἐν ἀνοίξει τοῦ στόµατός µου,
6:19b that a word may be given to me when I speak
6:21a Ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε καὶ ὑµεῖς τὰ κατ’ ἐµέ, (τί πράσσω),

6:21a Now that you also might know about my circumstances (what I am
doing),
|
6:21b πάντα γνωρίσει ὑµῖν Τυχικὸς ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἀδελφὸς καὶ πιστὸς
διάκονος ἐν κυρίῳ,
6:21b Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make
known all things to you
Like the dependent Greek pronominal clauses, these Greek conjunctive clauses
are unable to stand alone and thereby are dependent clauses. Of these examples,
five are clearly adverbial and two are substantival. The first word of the adver-
bial and adjectival conjunctive clauses is positioned either under or above the
word it modifies. The substantival clauses are placed in parentheses or placed
on their own line.
Even though most of the conjunctive clauses in Ephesians are adverbial, Paul
uses at least fourteen conjunctive clauses substantivally
substantivally. There are two examples
from the above (Eph. 2:11–12; 6:19b). In Ephesians 2:11–12, the conjunction
ὅτι in verse 11b and 12a function as the direct object of the verb µνηµονεύετε
(“remember”) in verse 11a. The conjunctions introduce what Paul wants these
Gentile believers to remember: that they were alienated from the people of God.
Because of this, the conjunction introduces indirect discourse.
The second substantival clause is in Ephesians 6:19b. The conjunction

ἵνα introduces a clause that functions as the direct object of the participle
προσευχόµενοι (“praying”) in verse 18. The conjunction introduces the spe-
cific requests in Paul’s prayer. In verse 19, his request is that God might give
him a word when he speaks. He makes a second request in verse 20b: to boldly
proclaim the gospel. He regularly uses ἵνα to introduce prayer requests (cf (cf.
1:17; 3:16a, 18a, 19b).
In Ephesians, Paul uses sixty-one adverbial conjunctive clauses in a number of

different ways. The first example comes from Ephesians 3:10. Paul introduces
the clause with the conjunction ἵνα. The conjunction modifies both infinitives
from verses 8b and 9a. Since there is an intervening clause in verse 9b, we
have repeated the infinitives to make the relationship clear. The conjunction
expresses the purpose of the infinitives. Paul’s ministry is to preach the gospel
and enlighten people so that God’s wisdom might be made known to the rulers
and authorities in the heavenly places. The last example, Ephesians 6:21a, is a
similar use of ἵνα. Paul is sending Tychicus to the Ephesians to give them a
report so that they will know about Paul’s circumstances. In this instance, the
conjunctive clause precedes the independent clause. In normal circumstances,
38 Introduction
it follows the independent clause. Finally, in Ephesians 5:16, he introduces a

conjunctive clause with ὅτι. The clause modifies the participle in verse 16.
The conjunctive clause gives the reason why believers should redeem the time:
“because the days are evil.”
In Ephesians 4:21, the third example above, the conjunction introduces a condi-
tional clause. In this instance, the clause is dependent on the independent clause
in verse 20—the apodosis of the conditional statement. The conjunctive clauses
in verse 21 are the protasis: “if if indeed you heard about him (v. 21a) and were
taught in him (v (v. 21b), then you did not learn Christ in such a manner (v
(v. 20)..”
This is a first class conditional statement, which puts forward a statement of truth
for the sake of an argument (W, 690–94). By framing the conditional statement
this way, Paul assumes that the Ephesians have indeed learned Christ.
The final example comes from Ephesians 5:25. The conjunctive clauses in verses
25b and 25c modify the verb of the independent clause in verse 25a: Paul’s com-
mand for husbands to love their wives. The conjunctions express a comparison
describing how husbands should love their wives, namely in the same way Christ
loved the church—by giving himself up for her.
The third type of dependent Greek clause is the dependent Greek participial clause.
There are at least one hundred dependent Greek participial clauses in Ephesians.
The most prominent dependent Greek participial clause is the adverbial partici-
ple, which modifies another verb. Paul uses fifty-six participles adverbially
adverbially. There
are twenty-three adjectival participles modifying other nouns and twenty-one
substantival participles, which function as a noun. The following examples are
worthy of mention with all participles underlined and in bold print, and at times
placed in parentheses for easy grammatical identification.
2:17a καὶ ἐλθὼν

2:17a and when he came,
2:17b εὐηγγελίσατο εἰρήνην ὑµῖν τοῖς µακρὰν καὶ εἰρήνην τοῖς ἐγγύς·
2:17b heproclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far off and peace to
those who were near.
3:9b τίς [ἐστιν] ἡ οἰκονοµία (τοῦ µυστηρίου τοῦ ἀποκεκρυµµένου

ἀποκεκρυµµένου) ἀπὸ τῶν
αἰώνων ἐν (τῷ θεῷ τῷ τὰ πάντα κτίσαντι),
3:9b what [is] the administration of (the mystery that was hidden) for ages in
(God who created all things),
4:28a (ὁ κλέπτων) µηκέτι κλεπτέτω,

4:28a (The one who steals) must no longer steal,
4:28b µᾶλλον δὲ κοπιάτω

4:28b but rather must do work
|
4:28c ἐργαζόµενος ταῖς ἰδίαις χερσὶν τὸ ἀγαθόν,
4:28c by producing what is good with his own hands,
|
4:28d ἵνα ἔχῃ µεταδιδόναι (τῷ χρείαν ἔχοντι
ἔχοντι).
4:28d that they may have something to share with (the one who
has need).
5:18c ἀλλὰ πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύµατι,

5:18c but be filled by the Spirit,
|
5:19a λαλοῦντες ἑαυτοῖς ἐν ψαλµοῖς καὶ ὕµνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς
πνευµατικαῖς,
5:19a with the result of speaking to one another with psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs,

|
5:19b ᾄδοντες
5:19b with the result of singing
|
5:19c καὶ ψάλλοντες τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑµῶν τῷ κυρίῳ,
5:19c and with the result of making music with your heart to the Lord,
|
5:20 εὐχαριστοῦντες πάντοτε ὑπὲρ πάντων ἐν ὀνόµατι τοῦ κυρίου
ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί,

5:20 with the result of giving thanks always for all things in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ to the God and Father,

|
5:21 ὑποτασσόµενοι ἀλλήλοις ἐν φόβῳ Χριστοῦ.
5:21 with the result of submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.
6:14a στῆτε οὖν

6:14a Therefore, stand
6:14b περιζωσάµενοι τὴν ὀσφὺν ὑµῶν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ,

6:14b by girding your waist with truth,
|
40 Introduction
|
6:14c καὶ ἐνδυσάµενοι τὸν θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνης,
6:14c and by putting on the breastplate of righteousness,
|
6:15 καὶ ὑποδησάµενοι τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιµασίᾳ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου
τῆς εἰρήνης,
6:15 by binding your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace,
6:16a ἐν πᾶσιν ἀναλαβόντες τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως,

6:16a in all things, by taking up the shield of faith,
These examples are representative of what to expect when translating depen-

dent participial clauses in Ephesians. As was the case for the Greek pronominal
and Greek conjunctive dependent clauses, these Greek participial clauses cannot
stand alone. They are dependent.
Most of the participles in Ephesians are adverbial. There are several examples
of this above. First, in Ephesians 2:17, the participle ἐλθών modifies the follow-
ing verb εὐηγγελίσατο. The participle expresses a temporal element, describing
when Christ preached peace: “when he came..” Another example is in Ephesians
5:18b–20. Paul uses five participles to modify the main verb in the independent
conjunctive clause: “and be filled by the Spirit..” These participles most likely de-
scribe the result of being filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms,
singing, praising the Lord, giving thanks, and submitting to one another. Finally
in Ephesians 6:14–16a, Paul gives a similar string of participles that adverbially
modify the verb “stand..” These participles describe the means by which a believ-
er stands against the evil one: “by by girding their waist with truth, putting on the
breastplate of righteousness, binding their feet with the gospel, and taking up the
shield of faith..” Adverbial participles are set on their own line in the clausal layout
and usually in bold and underlined.
Substantival participles function as a noun in the sentence. They are placed in pa-
rentheses in order to visualize the contribution the dependent Greek participle
makes to the clause. In Ephesians 4:28, Paul uses two substantival participles. First,
longer. The substantival participle ὁ κλέπτων
he tells those who steal to steal no longer
(“the one who steals”) functions as the subject of the imperatives “no longer steal”
and “must do work..” The second substantival participle τῷ χρείαν ἔχοντι (“the
one who has need”) functions as the indirect object of the infinitive µεταδιδόναι
(“to share”). He commands these thieves to work with their hands so that they
might have something to share with those who have need. The accusative χρείαν
(“need”) is the direct object of the substantival participle: “the one who has need..”
In the clausal outline, substantival participles are marked with parentheses marked
with parentheses, but retained on the same line with the major structural marker
marker. In
contrast, the participle in verse 28c is adverbial. It modifies the imperative κοπιάτω,
describing how these former thieves should work—by laboring with their hands.
Adjectival participles modify other nouns. These participles are placed in parenthe-
ses, normally with the noun that they modify, in order to visualize their contribu-
tion to the clause. A good example comes from Ephesians 3:9b, the second example
above. The participles are a part of a clause describing what Paul was making known
as a part of his ministry: “what is the administration of the mystery that was hidden
for ages in God who created all things..” The first participle modifies “mystery” (τοῦ
µυστηρίου), the second participle modifies “God” (τῷ θεῷ). Both participles agree
with the noun’s case, number, and gender
gender. The noun is included with the participle
within the parentheses and the participle itself is underlined. Articular participles
will always be substantival or adjectival; anarthrous participles will generally adver-
bial but can be adjectival (see, e.g., Eph. 1:21b; 4:14a; 5:27) (W, 617).
The fourth type of dependent Greek clause is the dependent Greek infinitival clause.
There are twenty-nine dependent Greek infinitival clauses in Ephesians. Most of
these infinitives are adverbial, making up seventeen instances. There are eight in-
stances of infinitives functioning substantivally (Eph. 1:10b; 3:13b, 16b; 4:17c, 22,
23, 24; 5:12) and four instances of infinitives functioning adjectivally (Eph. 3:6b, 8b,
9a, 17a). The Greek substantival infinitives below are underlined and are in bold
type, with their respective clauses placed in parentheses for easy identification.
3:8a ἐµοὶ τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη,
3:8a This grace was given to me, the very least of all of the saints,
3:8b τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὐαγγελίσασθαι τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον πλοῦτος τοῦ

Χριστοῦ,
3:8b to proclaim the good news of the unfathomable wealth of Christ to
the Gentiles,
[ἐδιδάχθητε (v. (v 21b)]

[you were taught (v(v. 21b)]
|
4:22 ἀποθέσθαι ὑµᾶς κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀναστροφὴν (τὸν παλαιὸν
ἄνθρωπον τὸν φθειρόµενον) κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυµίας τῆς ἀπάτης,

4:22 that you put off (the old man who is corrupted) according to the former
behavior according to the desires from deceit,

|
4:23 ἀνανεοῦσθαι δὲ τῷ πνεύµατι τοῦ νοὸς ὑµῶν,
4:23 but you are being renewed in your spirit, your mind
|
42 Introduction
|
4:24 καὶ ἐνδύσασθαι (τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν κατὰ θεὸν κτισθέντα)
ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ὁσιότητι τῆς ἀληθείας.
4:24 and you put on (the new self, created according to God’s likeness) in
righteousness and holiness from truth.
6:11a ἐνδύσασθε τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ

6:11a Put on the whole armor of God
|
6:11b πρὸς τὸ δύνασθαι ὑµᾶς 6:11c στῆναι πρὸς τὰς µεθοδείας τοῦ
διαβόλου·
6:11b so that you can 6:11c stand against the schemes of the devil
These examples are representative of what to expect when translating depen-

dent infinitival clauses in Ephesians. Like the other dependent clauses, Greek
infinitival clauses cannot stand on their own. They have dependent relation-
ships with other clauses.
Most of the infinitives in Ephesians are adverbial, modifying another verb. This is
the case in the final example above. In Ephesians 6:11b, the infinitive δύνασθαι
(“can”) modifies the verb in the independent clause ἐνδύσασθε (“put on”). The
infinitive expresses the purpose for putting on the whole armor of God. The sec-
ond infinitive in the verse (v
(v. 11c) is also adverbial, modifying the first infinitive.
This infinitive is complementary, completing the verbal idea of the infinitive. The
purpose for putting on the whole armor of God is so that the believer can stand
against the schemes of the devil. In Ephesians, out of the seventeen adverbial in-
finitives, eleven are complementary
complementary.
The adjectival infinitive modifies a noun in another clause. We see a good example
of this in Ephesians 3:8. In verse 8a, Paul describes his ministry as grace, which
God gave to him. In verse 8b, he uses the infinitive to describe this grace, name-
ly to proclaim the good news of Christ’s unfathomable wealth to the Gentiles.
Since the infinitive clause modifies a noun, it is adjectival. The infinitival clause
is epexegetical, giving more definition to God’s grace (W, 607). Even though we
have placed the infinitival clause on a line by itself, we have visually shown that it
modifies the noun χάρις (“grace”).
Finally, the infinitive can function substantivally

substantivally. The infinitival clause can func-
tion as a noun. In Ephesians 4:22–24, Paul gives three infinitives that function as
the direct object of the verb “you were taught” (ἐδιδάχθητε) from verse 21. The
infinitives express indirect discourse, giving what the Ephesian believers were
taught, namely that they took off the old self (v

(v. 22), renewed their minds (v
(v. 23),
and put on the new self (v
(v. 24).
In summary, there are four types of dependent Greek clauses: pronominal, con-
junctive, participial, and infinitival. These dependent clauses are extremely im-
portant because they provide additional information about the independent
clause that helps trace Paul’s flow of thought. The most frequent type of dependent
Greek clause in Ephesians is the dependent Greek participle clauses with at least
one hundred examples. Paul regularly uses dependent Greek conjunctive clauses
with at least seventy-six examples in Ephesians. Even though it is significantly
fewer, Paul still regularly uses dependent Greek pronominal clauses with at least
forty-six examples in Ephesians. Finally, he uses at least twenty-nine dependent
Greek infinitival clauses in the letter.
The following chart lists the types of dependent clauses in Ephesians, their syn-
tactical function, and their semantical category is identified as we have interpret-
ed them.
Syntactical Four Types of Dependent Clauses

Function and Verbal Usage in Ephesians
Pronominal
Interrogative Relative Pronoun Clause: 1:18c, 18d, 19; 3:9b, 18c;
5:10, 17b; 6:21a
Conjunctive ὅτι Direct Object: 2:11b, 12a; 3:3a; 4:9b; 6:8b, 9d, 9e
ὅτι Appositional: 5:5b
ἵνα Direct Object: 1:17; 3:16a, 18a, 19b; 6:19b, 20b
Participial Subject: 4:10a, 28a; 5:28c

Predicate nominative: 4:10a
Substantival
Clauses Objective (direct object, indirect object, object of the preposi-
tion): 1:1b, 6b, 11b, 21b, 23; 3:20a; 4:28d; 5:12; 6: 24
Appositional: 1:3b, 12, 19; 2:11b, 13, 14b (2x)
Vocative: 5:14c
Infinitive Direct Objects: 3:13b, 16b; 4:17c, 22, 23, 24; 5:12
Appositional: 1:10b
44 Introduction
Syntactical Four Types of Dependent Clauses

Function and Verbal Usage in Ephesians
Pronominal Relative Pronoun Clause: 1:6b, 7, 8, 9b, 11a, 13a, 13b, 14, 20a;
2:2, 3a, 3c, 4b, 10c, 21b, 22; 3:4, 5a, 7, 11b, 12, 15, 20b, 20c; 4:1c,
15c, 16, 30b; 5:4b, 18b; 6:16b, 17b, 20a, 22a
Indefinite Relative Pronoun Clause: 1:23; 3:13c; 4:19b; 6:2b
Adjectival
Conjunctive: None
Clauses
Participial Attributive: 1:19, 21b; 2:2, 7 (2x), 11b; 3:2, 7, 9b (2x), 19a, 20c;
4:14a (2x), 16 (2x), 18b, 22, 24; 5:13, 14a, 27; 6:16b
Infinitive Epexegetical: 3:6, 8b, 9a, 17a
Pronominal: None
Conjunctive ὅτι + Indicative Mood Clauses: 2:18; 4:25c; 5:16b, 23a, 30;
6:12
ἵνα + Subjunctive Mood Clauses: 2:7, 9b, 10d, 15b, 16a; 3:10;
4:10b, 14a, 15b, 28d, 29c; 5:26a, 27; 6:3a, 3b, 13b, 21a, 22b, 22c
οὕτως, πῶς; καθώς; ώς: 1:4a; 2:3d; 3:3b, 5b; 4:4c, 17d, 21c, 32c;
5:2b, 2c, 3b, 8c, 15b, 15c, 15d, 22b, 23b, 24a, 24b, 25b, 25c, 28a,
28b, 29d, 33b; 6:5b, 6b, 6c, 7b, 20c
εἴ (first class condition): 3:2; 4:21a, 21b, 29b
ἐάν (third class condition): 6:8c
εἰ µή: 4:9b
µέχρι (temporal): 4:13
Adverbial Participial Temporal: 1:5a, 13a, 13b, 15, 16b; 2:17a; 3:4; 4:8b; 6:13d
Clauses
Causal: 1:11b, 18a; 2:4a, 10b, 20a; 3:17b, 17c; 4:19a, 25a; 6:8a, 9c
Means: 1:9a, 20b, 20c; 2:15a, 16b, 21a; 4:2b, 3a, 15a, 28c, 32b; 5:10,
16a, 26b; 6:14b, 14c, 15, 16a, 18a, 18b
Manner: 2:3b, 12b, 12d; 4:18a, 18b; 6:6d, 7a, 9b
Concessive: 2:1, 5a
Result: 2:15c; 5:19a, 19b, 19c, 20, 21
Genitive Absolute: 2:20b
Infinitive Purpose: 1:4b, 12, 18b; 4:28d; 6:11b

Result: 6:19c
Complementary: 3:4, 18b, 19a, 20a; 4:1b, 3b; 5:28a; 6:11c, 13c,
13e, 20d
Paul’s Style and Vocabulary in Ephesians 45
Paul’s Style and Vocabulary in Ephesians
Every author of the Greek New Testament has a writing style that exhibits features
readily repeated or perhaps even unique to their letters. Speaking very simplisti-
cally, the author of Hebrews likes chiastic structures, Peter somewhat idiomatically
employs Greek imperatival participles, Jude favors the use of adjectival Greek parti-
ciples, and the adverbial Greek participle abounds in Paul. The authors of Hebrews,
Peter, and Jude often appeal to the Old Testament either by direct quotation or al-
lusion. The authors of Hebrews, Peter, and Jude are at times difficult to read due to
their complex writing styles. Although there are other stylistic issues that could be
listed for each of these authors, the point to be made here is that Paul also exhibits
several stylistic features in Ephesians worth highlighting.
For example, several commentators have noted Paul’s verbosity within the letter
(Turner2, 83). In fact, some of the longest sentences in the Greek New Testament
are found in Ephesians. A number of things in Paul’s writing style leads to this
wordiness. He tends to create genitive strings and amass prepositional phras-
es creating lengthy clauses. On occasion he seems to move away from his main
point, creating a digression. The focus of this section is to look at some of the
features that are peculiar to Ephesians.
Paul’s Style in Ephesians
The first stylistic element that stands out when reading Ephesians is the length
of the sentences. The first sentence in the body of the letter (Eph. 1:3–14) is the
longest in the Greek New Testament, spanning 202 words. In fact there are eight
lengthy sentences throughout the letter:
1:3–14 202 words

1:15–23 169 words
2:1–7 124 words
3:2–13 189 words
3:14–19 126 words
4:1–6 71 words
4:11–16 125 words
6:14–20 113 words4
These eight sentences alone make up 46 percent of the letter

letter. Most of these sen-
tences come from the first half of the book. These long sentences account for the
dearth of independent clauses, particularly in the first half of the book. There are
only twenty-six independent clauses in Ephesians 1–3, compared to eighty-three
4. These totals come from Hoehner, 153, 247, 306, 417, 472, 501, 538, 837, respectively
respectively.
46 Introduction
in Ephesians 4–6, giving a total of 109 independent clauses. These results are stark
when we compare this to another book, such as 1 John, which is a little shorter than
Ephesians. First John uses at least 179 independent clauses (Bateman 2017, 32–36).
Besides using extensive dependent clauses to extend these sentences, two other
features of these sentences stand out: genitive chains and prepositional phrases.
Genitive chains are several genitives, usually modifying the one before it. Below is
a sample of a genitive chain and the exegetical issues that they raise. The genitive
chains are underlined.
1:6a: εἰς ἔπαινον δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ

1:6a: for the praise for his glorious grace
The difficulty with genitive chains is understanding the relationship between the
genitives. In Ephesians 1:6 the genitive δόξης could be an attributive genitive:
“
“glorious praise..” Another option is that it could function as an objective geni-
tive—the reason for our praise. In this case, the genitive χάριτος would be attrib-
utive: “for the praise of his gracious glory..” Finally, the δόξης could be attributive
and χάριτος could be objective: “for the praise of his glorious grace..” While teas-
ing out the semantics of the genitive might seem tedious, there is exegetical value
to determine the object of praise in Ephesians 1.
Prepositional phrases also raise similar types of questions. Understanding what

each prepositional phrase modifies is essential to understand Paul’s argument.
Throughout the letter, Paul modifies a clause with several prepositional phrases.
For example, in Ephesians 1:3–14 Paul uses thirty-five prepositions. Two exam-
ples highlight the issues.
One example comes from Ephesians 1:4. The prepositional phrase at the end of
verse 4, “in love” (ἐν ἀγάπῃ) could modify either the participle in verse 5, “pre-
destining” (προορίσας), describing how God predestined us. If this is the case,
then this most likely refers to God’s love for the believer. Most English transla-
tions render the phrase this way (cf (cf. esv, niv, hcsb, rsv, nrsv). On the other
hand, the prepositional phrase could modify the previous clause: “he chose us to
be holy and blameless in love..” this suggests that Paul is referring to the believer’s
love (see Syntactical Nugget at 1:4b).
Our second example comes from Ephesians 4:12, which contains three preposi-
tional phrases that modify the verb in verse 11 ἔδωκεν (“appointed”). God ap-
pointed these Christian leaders “to equip the saints for the work of service.” If
the prepositions are parallel to one another, then the grammar suggests that Paul
intends for these Christian leaders to both equip the saints and do the work of
service. On the other hand, if the second prepositional phrase modifies the first,
then Paul intends these leaders to equip the saints so that the saints can do the
work of the ministry—no small difference in meaning. The phrases could be out-
lined in the following ways (see Syntactical Nugget at 4:11).
v 11: καὶ αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν …

v.
πρὸς τὸν καταρτισµὸν τῶν ἁγίων
εἰς ἔργον διακονίας,
εἰς οἰκοδοµὴν τοῦ σώµατος τοῦ Χριστοῦ
v 11: “and he gave …”

v.
“for the equipping of the saints”
“for the work of ministry”
“in the building up of the body of Christ”
v 11: καὶ αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν …

v.
πρὸς τὸν καταρτισµὸν τῶν ἁγίων
εἰς ἔργον διακονίας,
εἰς οἰκοδοµὴν τοῦ σώµατος τοῦ Χριστοῦ
v 11: “and he gave …”

v.
“for the equipping of the saints”
“for the work of ministry”
“in the building up of the body of Christ”
Both genitive chains and prepositional phrases are important to Paul’s argument.
However, they are not structural markers. In the clausal layout, you will find gen-
itive chains and prepositional phrases on the same line as the structural marker
that it modifies. The examples above show the complexity and exegetical options
that these phrases present. More discussion is given to these and other phrases in
the syntactical explanation.
Another stylistic feature that lends itself to Paul’s lengthy sentences in Ephesians
is digression. At times in the letter, it appears that Paul moves away from his main
point to either change his subject or add something beyond the topic of speech
(Bullinger, 906). Modern readers may conclude that Paul is absentminded, but
the letter would have been carefully crafted. Paul uses the digression for rhetori-
cal effect. We find digression in two texts. The first example is in Ephesians 2:1–7.
The subject of the sentence, ὁ θεός (“God”), appears in verse 4. The sentence is
complex with three verbs: συνεζωοποίησεν, συνήγειρεν, συνεκάθισεν. God
“made us alive” “raised,” and “seated us” with Christ. The verbs appear toward
the end of the sentence (vv(vv. 5b–6). Paul begins the sentence by addressing the
readers: “And even though you were dead in your trespasses and sins..” But he
goes into a long description of their former life as unbelievers and God’s mercy
48 Introduction
(vv. 1–4). He picks up his original thread in verse 5 by repeating the phrase but
(vv
he changes the pronoun: “And even though we were dead in our trespasses..” The
repetition suggests that verses 1–4 create a digression. Another digression ap-
pears in Ephesians 3. In verse 1, Paul begins his prayer that concludes the first half
of the book with the phrase: “For this reason, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus
on behalf of you, the Gentiles..” However, in verse 2 he begins a long discussion
about the gospel ministry that God gave him. Finally, in verse 14 he returns to the
benedictory prayer that ends the chapter (3:14–21).
Within the context of these lengthy sentences, Paul’s short pithy sentences have
a rhetorical effect. Both elliptical and asyndetic clauses have additional punch.
For example, after one of his lengthy sentences (Eph. 2:1–7), Paul gives four short
sentences (Eph. 2:8–9). The first sentence is an independent conjunctive clause
summarizing God’s salvation described in verses 1–7. The next three sentences
are elliptical, emphasizing that this salvation is a gift from God. The third and
fourth sentences are asyndetons creating a contrast.
2:8a τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσµένοι διὰ πίστεως·
2:8a For you are saved by grace through faith;
|
2:8b καὶ τοῦτο [ἐστίν] οὐκ ἐξ ὑµῶν;
2:8b and this [is] not from yourselves,
|
2:8c θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον· [ἐστίν]
2:8c it [is] a gift from God;
|
2:9a οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων [ἐστίν],
2:9a it [is] not from works,
|
2:9b ἵνα µή τις καυχήσηται
καυχήσηται.
2:9b so that no one can boast.
One more final stylistic element to point out is the Hebraic influence on Paul.
Turner notes that perhaps “some of the clearest Semitisms occur in this epis-
tle” (Turner2, 84). This fact is hardly surprising since Paul himself was Jew-
ish; nonetheless, it is worth highlighting some of these peculiar idioms within
Ephesians. The first example is that Paul uses an attributive genitive with υἱός
or τέκνα to refer to a group of people associated with a specific quality (Moule,
174). For example, in Ephesians 2:2–3, Paul refers to unbelievers as “sons of
disobedience” (τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας) and “children of wrath by nature”
(τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς). The first phrase insinuates that disobedience character-
izes these people; the second phrase suggests that they are destined for wrath.
In Ephesians 5:6, he states that God’s wrath will come upon these “sons of
disobedience” and contrasts them with believers, whom he calls “children of

light” (Eph. 5:8). Other attributive genitives such as “the promised Holy Spirit”
(τῷ πνεύµατι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῷ ἁγίῳ) indicate a Semitic influence as well
(W, 86–88).
Second, Paul makes indirect, or redundant statements. On two occasions he uses

circumlocution with mouth to refer to speech (Eph. 4:29; 6:19) (Turner2, 84).
There is possibly a Semitic idiom behind his use of the redundant relative pro-
noun. In Ephesians 2:4, he refers to God’s great love “with which he loves us..”
Again in Ephesians 4:1, he encourages believers to walk according to the call “by
which you were called..” By using a cognate verb in a relative clause to modify a
word, Paul places emphasis on the element.
Finally, Paul’s use of πᾶς … µή to mean “no one,” instead of οὐδείς, reflects a
Hebrew idiom. For example, in Ephesians 4:29 he writes: πᾶς λόγος σαπρὸς ἐκ
τοῦ στόµατος ὑµῶν µὴ ἐκπορευέσθω. Instead of “all words,” we might translate
the phrase: “do not let any unwholesome words come out of your mouth..” We find
a similar construction in Ephesians 5:5. Instead of inserting the negative first, we
have πᾶς: πᾶς πόρνος ἢ ἀκάθαρτος ἢ πλεονέκτης … οὐκ ἔχει κληρονοµίαν.
Literally, the phrase means that “all
all immoral, unclean, or greedy person has no
inheritance,” but it might be best rendered: “no immoral, unclean, or greedy per-
son has an inheritance..” The construction emphasizes each member of a particu-
lar class (Hoehner, 660).
The Vocabulary of Ephesians
There are some words in the letter of Ephesians that are unique. They do not ap-
pear elsewhere in the New Testament. The following chart identifies forty hapax
legomena in the book of Ephesians. The following list was composed with the help
of Burer and Miller’s A New Reader’s Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (2008,
362–71) and Sakae Kubo’s A Reader’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
(1975, 181–87).
Hapax Legomena in Ephesians

Verse Hapax Legomenon English Translations Lexical Form Lexical Meaning
1:11 ἐκληρώθηµεν “we have obtained κληρόω “obtain by lot”
an inheritance” (esv, BDAG, s.v.
v 2, p. 549
nrsv, nasb, nkjv, kjv;
cf csb, hcsb, nlt)
cf.
“we were chosen”
(niv;; cf
cf. rsv)
50 Introduction

1:12 προηλπικότας “the first to hope” (esv, προελπίζω “to hope before” or
gnb, nasb) “be the first to hope”
BDAG, s.v.v , p. 868
“the first to set our
hope” (nrsv, net)
“the first to put our
hope” (niv)
“first trusted” (kjv,
nkjv)
“first hoped” (rsv)
“already put our hope”
(hcsb)
1:19 µέγεθος “greatness” (esv, csb, µέγεθος “greatness” BDAG,

hscb, nkjv, kjv, net, s.v.
v 2, p. 624
nasb, nrsv, rsv, nlt)
“great” (niv)
2:12 ἄθεοι “without God” (esv, ἄθεος “without God”
rsv, nrsv, niv, net, BDAG, s.v.
v 1, p. 24
csb, hcsb, nasb, nkjv,
kjv, cjb)
2:14 µεσότοιχον “middle wall” (net, µεσότοιχον “dividing wall”

kjv, nkjv) BDAG, s.v.
v , p. 635
“dividing wall” (esv,
leb, nrsv, rsv, csb,
hcsb)
“barrier” (niv, nasb)
“wall” (nlt)
2:19 συµπολῖται “fellow citizens” (esv, συµπολίτης “fellow-citizen”

rsv, niv, net, csb, or “compatriot”
hcsb, nasb, nkjv, kjv) BDAG, s.v.v , p. 959
“citizens” (nrsv)
“citizens along with”
(nlt)
2:21 συναρµολογουµένη, “joined together” συναρµολογέω “fit” or “join to-
συναρµολογούµενον (esv,rsv, nrsv, niv, gether” BDAG, s.v. v,
4:16
net, nlt) p. 966
“fitted together”
(nasb, nkjv)
“put together” (csb,
hcsb)

2:22 συνοικοδοµεῖσθε “built together” (esv, συνοικοδοµέω “to build up” BDAG,
rsv, nrsv, niv, net, s.v.
v 1, p. 974
csb, hcsb, nasb, nkjv,
kjv)
“made part of ” (nlt)
3:6 σύσσωµα “members of the same σύσσωµος “belonging to the

body” (esv, rsv, nrsv, same body” BDAG,
csb, hcsb) s.v.
v , p. 978
“of the same body”
(nkjv, kjv)
“fellow members of
the body” (net, nasb)
3:6 συµµέτοχα, “partakers” (esv, rsv, συµµέτοχος “sharing with”

συµµέτοχοι nkjv, kjv) BDAG, s.v.
v , p. 958
5:7
“partners” (csb, hcsb)
“sharers together”
(niv)
“fellow partakers”
(net nasb)
3:10 πολυποίκιλος “manifold” (esv, rsv, πολυποίκιλος “(very) many-sided”

niv, nasb, nkjv, kjv) BDAG, s.v.
v , p. 847
“multifaceted” (net,
csb, hcsb)
“in its rich variety”
(nrsv, nlt)
3:18 ἐξισχύσητε “have the power” (niv, ἐξισχύω “to be able,” “to be
rsv, nrsv, nlt) strong enough,” or
“be in a position”
“have the strength”
(esv)
“be able” (csb, hcsb,
nasb, nkjv, kjv, net)
4:3 ἑνότητα “unity” (esv, rsv, ἑνότης “unity” BDAG, s.v.

v,
nrsv, niv, net, csb, p. 338
4:13
hcsb, nasb, nkjv, kjv)
“united in” (nlt)
52 Introduction

4:8 ᾐχµαλώτευσεν “he led a host of cap- αἰχµαλωτεύω “to capture” or “take
tives” (esv, rsv, nlt; captive” BDAG, s.v.v,
cf nasb)
cf. p. 31
“he took many cap-
tives” (niv)
“he captured captives”
(net)
“he made captivity
itself a captive” (nrsv;
cf nkjv, kjv)
cf.
“he took the captives
captive” (csb, hcsb)
4:9 κατώτερα “lower” (esv, rsv, κατώτερος “lower” BDAG, s.v.
v,
hcsb, nasb, nkjv, kjv)
“lowly” (nlt)
4:12 καταρτισµόν “equip” (esv, rsv, καταρτισµός “equipment” or
nrsv, niv, net) “equipping” BDAG,
s.v.
v , p. 526
“equipping” (csb,
nasb, nkjv)
“training” (hcsb)
“perfecting” (kjv)
4:14 κλυδωνιζόµενοι “tossed to and fro” κλυδωνίζοµαι “to be tossed here
(rsv, nrsv, nkjv, kjv) and there by waves”
“tossed to and fro by
waves” (esv)
“tossed back and forth
by the waves” (niv,
net)
“tossed by the waves”
(csb, hcsb)
“tossed here and there
by waves” (nasb)
“tossed” (nlt)
4:14 κυβείᾳ “sleight” (kjv) κυβεία “craftiness” or
“trickery” BDAG,
“cunning” (esv, csb,
s.v.
v , p. 573
hcsb, niv, rsv)
“trickery” (net, nasb,
nrsv, nkjv)

4:14 µεθοδείαν, “schemes” (esv, net) µεθοδεία “scheming” or
µεθοδείας “craftiness” BDAG,
6:11 “scheming” (nasb, niv,
s.v.
v , p. 625
nrsv)
“techniques” (csb,
hcsb)
“wiles” (rsv)
“plotting” (nkjv)
4:19 ἀπηλγηκότες “callous” (esv, rsv, ἀπαλγέω “to become callous,”
net, csb, hcsb) “dead to feeling,”
or “be despondent”
“lost all sensitivity”
BDAG, s.v.v , p. 96
(niv, nrsv)
“past feeling” (nkjv,
kjv)
“have no sense of
shame” (nlt)
4:23 ἀνανεοῦσθαι “renewed” (esv, rsv, ἀνανεόω “to renew” BDAG,
nrsv, net, csb, hcsb, s.v.
v 1, p. 68
nasb, kjv, nkjv, nlt)
“made new” (niv)
4:26 ἐπιδυέτω “go down” (esv, rsv, ἐπιδύω “to sink down” or
nrsv, niv, net, csb, “to set (upon)”
hcsb, nasb, nkjv, kjv, BDAG, s.v.v , p. 371
nlt)
4:26 παροργισµῷ “anger” (esv, rsv, παροργισµός “angry mood” or
nrsv, net, csb, hcsb, “anger” BDAG, s.v.
v,
nasb) p. 780
“wrath” (nkjv, kjv)
“angry” (niv, nlt)
5:4 αἰσχρότης “filthiness” (esv, rsv, αἰσχρότης “shamefulness” or
nasb, nkjv, kjv) “obscenity” BDAG,
s.v.
v , p. 29
“obscene” (nrsv, csb,
nlt)
“obscenity” (niv)
“vulgar speech” (net)
5:4 µωρολογία “foolish talk” (esv, µωρολογία “foolish talk” or
niv, net, nlt;; cf
cf. csb, “silly talk” BDAG,
hcsb, nkjv, kjv) s.v.
v , p. 663
“silly talk” (rsv, nrsv,
nasb)
54 Introduction

5:4 εὐτραπελία “crude joking” (esv, εὐτραπελία “course jesting” or
csb, hcsb) “risqué wit” BDAG,
s.v.
v xx, p. 414
“coarse joking” (niv;
cf nlt)
cf.
“coarse jesting” (net,
nasb, nkjv;; cf
cf. kjv)
“levity” (rsv)
5:12 κρυφῇ “in secret” (esv, rsv, κρυφῇ “in secret” BDAG,
niv, net, csb, hcsb, s.v.
v , p. 572
nasb, nkjv, kjv, nlt)
“secretly” (nrsv)
5:14 ἐπιφαύσει “will shine” (esv, nrsv, ἐπιφαύσκω “to arise,” “appear,”
niv, net, csb, hcsb, or “shine” BDAG,
nasb) s.v.
v , p. 386
“will give light” (rsv,
nkjv, kjv, nlt)
5:15 ἄσοφοι “fools” (nkjv, kjv, nlt) ἄσοφος “unwise” or “fool-

ish” BDAG, s.v.
v , p.
“unwise” (esv, niv,
144
net)
“unwise people” (nrsv,
hcsb, csb)
“unwise men” (rsv,
nasb)
5:27 ῥυτίδα “wrinkle” (esv, rsv, ῥυτίς “a wrinkle” BDAG,
nrsv, niv, net, csb, s.v.
v , p. 908
hcsb, nasb, nkjv, kjv,
nlt)
5:29 ἐκτρέφει, ἐκτρέφετε “nourishes” (5:29; esv, ἐκτρέφω “to nourish,” “to
rsv, nrsv, nasb, nkjv, rear,” or “bring up”
6:4
kjv) BDAG, s.v. v , p. 311
“feeds” (5:29; net, nlt;
cf niv)
cf.
“provides” (5:29; csb,
hcsb)
“bring up” (6:4)
6:3 µακροχρόνιος “live long” (esv, rsv, µακροχρόνιος “long-lived” BDAG,

nrsv, nasb, nkjv, kjv) s.v.
v , p. 613
“long life” (niv, csb,
hcsb, nlt)
“a long time” (net)

6:7 εὐνοίας “a good will” (esv, rsv, εὔνοια “good attitude”
nasb, nkjv, kjv) or “willingness”
BDAG, s.v.v 2, p. 409
“enthusiasm” (nrsv,
net, nlt)
“good attitude” (csb,
hcsb)
“wholeheartedly”
(niv)
6:12 πάλη “struggle” (nrsv, niv, πάλη “struggle against”

net, csb, nasb) BDAG, s.v.v , p. 752
“wrestle” (esv, nkjv,
kjv)
“battle” (hcsb)
“contending” (rsv)
6:12 κοσµοκράτορας “world rulers” (net, κοσµοκράτωρ “world-ruler”

rsv) BDAG, s.v.
v , p. 561
“world forces” (nasb)
“rulers” (kjv, nkjv)
“cosmic powers” (esv,
nrsv, csb)
“world powers” (hcsb)
“powers of this dark
world” (niv)
6:15 ἑτοιµασίᾳ “preparation” (kjv, ἑτοιµασία “readiness” or

nkjv, net, nasb) “preparation”
BDAG, s.v.
v , p. 401
“readiness” (esv, cjb,
gnt, csb, hcsb, niv)
“whatever will make
you ready” (nrsv)
6:16 θυρεόν “shield” (esv, rsv, θυρεός “shield” BDAG, s.v.

v,
hcsb, nasb, nkjv, kjv,
nlt, leb)
6:16 βέλη “arrows” (nrsv, niv, βέλος “arrow” BDAG, s.v.
v,
net, csb, hcsb, nasb, p. 174
nlt)
“darts” (esv, rsv, nkjv,
kjv)
56 Introduction

6:18 προσκαρτερήσει “perseverance” (esv, προσκαρτέρησις “perseverance” or
csb, hcsb, kjv, nkjv, “patience” BDAG,
leb, net, nasb, rsv) s.v.
v , p. 881
“always persevere”
(nrsv)
“always keep on” (niv)
6:19 ἀνοίξει “opening” (esv, nasb, ἄνοιξις “opening” BDAG,
rsv) s.v.
v , p. 85
“when I open” (csb,
hcsb)
“when I speak” (nrsv;
cf net)
cf.
“whenever I speak”
(niv)
“I may open” (nkjv,
kjv)
In summary, there are a number of hapax legomena in Ephesians that add to

the unique stylistic features of the letter. The amount of variation in Paul’s word
choice does not exceed the unique vocabulary we find in his other letters. The
statistics alone do not seem to rule out Pauline authorship of the letter (Hagner
2012, 591). Paul uses all three independent Greek clauses, but he uses both the in-
dependent Greek asyndeton and the independent Greek conjunctive clauses with
regularity The independent Greek prepositional clause is more exceptional. The
regularity.
frequency of these clauses highlight Paul’s style in Ephesians. Less than 25 percent
of the independent clauses occur in the first half of the book (Eph. 1–3), where we
find the lengthier sentences in the book.
Paul uses a number of dependent clauses that make up these long sentences.
While Paul uses a variety of dependent clauses, both the dependent Greek parti-
ciple clauses and dependent conjunctive clauses appear with the most frequency
throughout Ephesians. Besides these dependent clauses, Paul uses genitive chains
and prepositional phrases to make longer sentences. Finally, he uses digression to
both reinforce and reiterate points essential to the book. These lengthy sentences
help to frame Paul’s shorter, pithy statements. While his long sentences may add
rhetorical flourish, they make the simple sentences in the book stand out.
All English translations reflect the interpretive decisions of the translator or com-
mittee. The same is true throughout this work. Keep this in mind as you use this
tool to study the text of Ephesians and compare it with other translations and
commentaries. Remember to think critically as you sift through the issues. Al-
though we are confident in our conclusions, we take no offence if you differ from
them. We do, however, take offence if you just accept our conclusions at face
value. Our goal is for you to delve into the Greek text of Ephesians. Engage the
Scripture. As a Bible student, you will get no bigger payoff than when you actively
wrestle with the Greek and Hebrew text of the Bible. And remember to have fun
as you pursue the language.
Ephesians
Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians to give them an update on his situation in
prison. At the end of the letter, he says that he sent Tychicus to provide an update
about his current situation (Eph. 6:21–22), and yet he does not want them to lose
heart concerning his present situation. Paul most likely intended the letter to be
read in several churches throughout the Lycos Valley
Valley. The broad themes and omis-
sion of specific greetings suggest that he has a wider audience in mind. Regardless,
the letter has a coherent message for his readers (or more likely “hearers”).
It is popular to divide Ephesians into two parts: the first half (Eph. 1–3) addresses
doctrinal issues, and the second half (Eph. 4–6) addresses ethical implications.
It is true that Paul defines the relationship between the believers and God in the
first half; the second half rests on this theological foundation. However, it might
put too much weight on a dichotomy between theology and ethics. Paul looks
forward to the second half of the letter, and he certainly continues to develop
theological themes throughout the second part.
Perhaps the most dominant theme in the book is that God saves the believer as an
act of grace, as a gift, apart from works (Eph. 2:8–9). Through this act of salvation,
God shows his power to the world—the same power at work in Christ when he
raised him from the dead and enthroned him in heaven. This resurrection pow-
er is available to believers through their relationship with Christ (Eph. 1:19–23;
3:20–21; 6:10–20).
From this main theme, Paul develops two more additional and integrally related
themes that are essential to his argument. The first is that God created a new hu-
manity out of two distinct and antagonistic groups of people (Eph. 2:14–16). The
believers are able to partake in the promises of God due to their relationship with
Christ, regardless of their ethnicity
ethnicity. This new humanity makes up the church.
Paul uses two key metaphors to describe the church. In Ephesians 2:20–22, he de-
scribes a building, or a temple, in which the Spirit dwells. A more dominant met-
aphor is the church as a body, of which Christ is the head (Eph. 1:22–23; 4:15–16;
5:29–32). The metaphors imply that unity is vital to the health of the church (Eph.
4:1–6). These metaphors make two implications: the church as an organism will
mature, and we are interconnected. According to Paul, we will become more like
Christ and our choices and behavior affect one another.
The church plays a significant role in God’s plan. In Ephesians 3:10, Paul indicates
that God reveals his “multifaceted wisdom” to the rulers and authorities through
the church. This complex piece of wisdom is the unification of Gentiles with Jews,
58
Ephesians 59
a reference itself to the church. This looks forward to the second half of the book,
where Paul describes how believers should conduct their lives in this world.
The second related theme is that God has secured victory through Christ. Iron-
ically, Paul, who characterizes himself as an ambassador for God, preaches this
message of victory from prison. This apparent defeat is not surprising. Despite
this triumph, the church resides in a space dominated by those who have rebelled
against God (Eph. 2:2). Throughout the letter, Paul refers to a number of rulers,
authorities, and powers (Eph. 1:21; 3:10). In Ephesians 6:12, he describes them
as openly hostile to believers (cf
(cf. Eph. 4:15). As we read the letter, it becomes
clear that these powers are angelic or spiritual, cosmic forces that reside in the
“heavenly places..” The chief of these hostile figures is the devil (Eph. 4:27; 6:22).
The implication is clear: even though God has achieved victory for the believer
through Christ, we must watch how we live in this foreign world filled with ene-
my forces (Eph. 5:15–16).
In the second half of the letter, Paul shows how this theological reality impacts the
believer. As members of a new humanity, believers have a new ethic. As a result
of their new relationship with God, they should become holy, set apart from the
world in which they live. Paul organizes the second half of the book around the
Greek word περιπατέω (“walk”), a metaphor for how one behaves. He uses the
verb six times in the second part of the letter to describe how the believer should
“walk” (Eph. 4:1, 17 [2x]; 5:2, 8, 15). Believers should abstain from behavior that
tears down the community: lying, stealing, slander, obscene joking, unbridled
anger, sexual immorality, greed. Rather believers should characterize themselves
with kindness, generosity, love, and thanksgiving, which reflect how God treated
them (Eph. 5:1). This does not mean that Paul calls the church out of the world,
but to live in a way that exposes the evil in the world (Eph. 5:12).
Finally, Paul ends the letter with an extensive description of the “full armor of
God” (Eph. 6:10–20), which ties these themes together. He tells believers “to put
on” the armor to withstand the attacks of the devil (Eph. 6:11–12, 16). The imper-
ative “put on” alludes to the believer’s initiation into the Christian community (cf
(cf.
Eph. 4:24). Each piece of armor draws the reader back to the Christian faith: the
belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shodding their feet with the gospel
of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
God has given believers the provision that they need for victory against Satan;
they find it in the Christian community
community.
In short, the letter of Ephesians is Paul’s call for this new community without ethnic
distinction to live differently in a hostile world in light of the radical change that
God accomplished in their lives. God himself provides the power for this new life,
a power that he demonstrated through the resurrection and ascension of Christ.
60 Ephesians 1:1–2
Ephesians 1:1–2
Big Greek Idea: Paul identifies his credentials as an apostle through the will of
God and greets the church in Ephesus by wishing them grace and peace from
both the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Structural Overview: Paul begins his letter with a normal three-part greeting that
we find in other first-century letters (for more information on ancient letters, see
O’Brien 1993b, 550–53). First, Paul identifies himself as the author and describes
his apostolic office. He states that the authority of his position comes “through
the will of God” (Eph. 1:1). Second, he identifies his audience, the community
of believers in Ephesus. He calls them both “saints” (ἁγίοις) and “the faithful”
(πιστοῖς) in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:1). Third, he concludes the greeting with a wish
for their health. Paul replaces the conventional health wish, “Rejoice!” (χαίρειν)
(cf Acts 15:23; 23:26), with two nouns: grace (χάρις) and peace (εἰρήνη). He
(cf.
prays that these come from both the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (v (v. 2).
Outline:
Paul greets the believers in Ephesus (v
(v. 1)
Paul wishes the believers a blessing (v
(v. 2)
Clausal Outline for Ephesians 1:1–2

1:1a Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήµατος θεοῦ
1:1a Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
1:1b (τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ἐφέσῳ) καὶ πιστοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ·
1:1b (to the saints who are in Ephesus) and the faithful in Christ Jesus;
1:2 χάρις ὑµῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡµῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
1:2 grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Syntax Explained for Ephesians 1:1–2

1:1a Παῦλος: The proper noun “Paul” is in the singular nominative form. This is
himself. Syntactically, Παῦλος is
a normal way for a letter writer to identify himself
the subject of the sentence (“I, Paul, send greeting to the Ephesians”). Con-
ventional letters do not include a verb. They follow a three-part structure (A
to B, Greetings! See above Structural Overview). Semantically, Παῦλος is a
nominative absolute and does not require a verb (W, 49–51). The nominative
absolute regularly appears in phrases not normally construed as a sentence,
such as titles, headings, or salutations.
Ephesians 1:1–2 61
ἀπόστολος: ἀπόστολος is a singular nominative masculine from the noun

ἀπόστολος that means “apostle” (BDAG, s.v. v “ἀπόστολος” 2c, p. 122). Se-
mantically, ἀπόστολος is in apposition to Παῦλος and retains the same
syntactical relationship to the rest of the clause: “Paul, an apostle of Christ
Jesus..” (W, 48–49). The title adds formality to his letter. The following genitive
(Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ) could either be a genitive of possession (“an apostle belong-
ing to Christ Jesus”) or subjective genitive (“an apostle sent by Christ Jesus”)
(W, 82 n. 30).
Lexical Nugget: What does Paul mean when he calls himself an “apos-
tle” (ἀπόστολος)? The term “apostle” (ἀπόστολος) occurs eighty times in
the New Testament, thirty-four times in Paul’s writings, and four times in
Ephesians. The term literally means an “envoy,” “delegate,” or “messenger”
(BDAG, s.v.v “ἀπόστολος” 1, p. 122); however, New Testament writers use
the term to describe a specific group who functioned as God’s messengers.
The basic characteristic of an apostle is having seen the risen Lord (1 Cor.
9:1). This group surely included the Twelve, but was most likely larger (cf(cf. 1
Cor. 15:5–9). Paul himself describes his own apostleship as one “untimely
born” (1 Cor. 15:8), most likely referring to his Damascus road experience
(cf Gal. 1:13–17; Acts 9:1–19; 22:1–21; 26:9–18) (Barnett 1993, 45–51). In
(cf.
Galatians 1–2, Paul defends his apostolic authority with the authenticity of
the gospel message that he preached creating a link between the office of an
apostle and the content of the gospel message (Dunn 1998, 572–73). Paul
normally begins his letters by pointing to his apostolic authority (1 Cor.
1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1; cf
cf. Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:1). The reference
serves a specific purpose in each book. In Ephesians, Paul describes the
apostles as the foundation of the church, of which Jesus Christ is the cor-
nerstone (Eph. 2:20; cfcf. Heb. 3:1). God reveals his good news to the world
through the apostolic proclamation (Eph. 3:5). This proclamation of the
gospel lies at the core of Paul’s apostolic ministry (Eph. 3:8–13). Finally, it is
through his apostolic ministry that the believers are equipped for the work
of service (Eph. 4:11–12).
Paul states that this apostleship comes “through the will of God” (διὰ
θελήµατος θεοῦ). The preposition διά marks the intermediate agent (W,
433–35, specifically 434 n. 79; BDAG, s.v. v “διά” 3d, pp. 224–25). He regu-
larly uses the phrase to describe the source of his apostlicity (1 Cor. 1:1; 2
Cor. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1; cf
cf. Gal. 1:1). Most English versions translate
the preposition as “by the will of God” (esv, niv, rsv, nrsv, csb, nasb, nkjv,
kjv). The genitive θεοῦ can express possession: “God’s will” (csb, hcsb);
or as a subjective genitive: an apostleship that “God wills..” The following
section argues that all that God has done for the believer through Christ is
a part of his plan (Eph. 1:5). This includes Paul’s role as an apostle.
Text-Critical Nugget: Is Paul an “apostle of Christ Jesus” or “of Jesus

Christ”? A number of Alexandrian (ć A, 1175, 1739, 1881), Western (F, G),
and Byzantine (, K, L) manuscripts invert Jesus’s name and title: Ἰησοῦ
(cf MT; RP2005; THGNT). On the other hand, the earliest Alex-
Χριστοῦ (cf.
andrian manuscripts (46 B) and a key Western manuscript (D) follow the
NA28 reading: Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ. In his salutations, Paul normally refers to
Jesus as Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ (Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Col. 1:1; Phil. 1:1;
1 Tim. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1; Titus 1:1; Philem. 1). This suggests that the reading
“Jesus Christ” (Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ) is harder (Hoehner, 133 n. 2). This fact
along with the superior external support suggests that the original read-
ing is “Jesus Christ” (Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), though there is little difference in
meaning. The structural layout follows the NA28.
1:1b ἁγίοις: The Greek word ἁγίοις is a masculine dative plural adjective from
the noun ἅγιος. The substantival form of the adjective means “holy ones” or
“saints” (BDAG, s.v. v “ἅγιος” 2dβ, p. 11). Paul regularly refers to believers this
way (Eph. 1:15, 18; 3:8, 18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18). Syntactically, ἁγίοις functions as
a substantival adjective. The Old Testament regularly uses the term in refer-
ence to the nation of Israel (LXX Exod. 22:31; Pss. 15:3; 34:10; cf cf. Lev.
Lev 11:45;
19:2). By referring to believers as saints, Paul identifies Gentiles as the people
of God (Arnold, 69). The niv renders the adjective as “God’s holy people” (cf (cf.
nlt). Semantically, ἁγίοις is a dative of recipient, which appears in verbless
constructions. In this case, the dative identifies the saints in Ephesus as the
recipients of the letter. This type of dative regularly occurs in salutations (W,
148–49). Holiness is an important theme for Paul in the letter. The believers
are called to holiness (Eph. 1:4; 5:27; cfcf. 2:20). Holiness is not just a descrip-
tion of the state of the believer, but a process. Later in the letter, Paul describes
Christ sanctifying the church by cleansing her (Eph. 5:26). Paul imagines that
the believer will grow into the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13). On the one
hand, Paul describes the believers as holy, but on the other, he directs them to
live in a manner worthy of that status (see Porter 1993, 401).
οὖσιν: The Greek word οὖσιν is a masculine plural dative present active parti-
ciple from the verb εἰµί that means “to be” (BDAG, s.v.v “εἰµί” 3a, p. 284). Most
English translations render the participle as “who are” (esv, rsv, nrsv, nasb;
BDAG, s.v.v “εἰµί” 3a, p. 284). Syntactically, οὖσιν is an attributive participle
modifying “the saints” (τοῖς ἁγίοις). Semantically, οὖσιν is an equative pres-
ent tense, describing the believers as those who reside in Ephesus (ἐν Ἐφέσῳ).
Text-Critical Nugget: Should the prepositional phrase “in Ephesus” (ἐν

Ἐφέσῳ) be included in the text? Several significant Alexandrian manu-
scripts have omitted the prepositional phrase ἐν Ἐφέσῳ (46, ć, B, 1739).
The prepositional phrase occurs in most Western (D, F, G, latt) and Byzantine
manuscripts (K, L, w). Even though the omission of the phrase is support-
ed by the most significant manuscripts, the participle phrase (τοῖς οὖσιν)
and conjunction (καὶ) do not make sense without the prepositional phrase.
Without the prepositional phrase, we might translate the phrase as “to the
saints who are also faithful..” Many commentators suggest that Ephesians was
an encyclical letter, a letter sent to several communities. As the letter came
to different communities in Asia Minor, around Ephesus, the reader could
add the name of the community
community. This would account for the omission of
the phrase in the earliest manuscripts and the addition of the phrase in later
manuscripts. The more general message of Ephesians accounts for a broader
audience than a single town. However, while the insertion may not be orig-
inal, Paul most likely intended that Ephesus be a part of the larger audience.
The grammar requires a place name to be inserted, so we have included it.
Throughout the book, we will refer to the recipients as the “Ephesians..” (For
more information see Metzger, 532; net note for Eph. 1:1).
καί: The Greek word καί is a conjunction that means “and” (BDAG, s.v. v “καί”
1bα, p. 494). Syntactically, καί introduces a dependent coordinating clause “and
the faithful in Christ Jesus” (καὶ πιστοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ). The conjunction
joins this clause to the previous clause: “the saints who are in Ephesus” (τοῖς
ἁγίοις τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ἐφέσῳ), referring to the same group (W, 270–86, spe-
cifically 282). Because of this, many translations omit the conjunction (“to the
saints in Ephesus, the faithful,” net, niv) or treat the adjective attributively (“to
the faithful saints,” csb) (Barth, 67–69). Semantically, since Paul is referring to
the same group of people, καί is best understood as epexegetical (Merkle, 13).
πιστοῖς: The Greek word πιστοῖς is a dative plural masculine from the ad-
jective πιστός that means “faithful” or “trusting..” In this context, the adjective
is used substantivally to refer to believers (BDAG, s.v. v “πιστός” 2, p. 821).
Syntactically, πιστοῖς is parallel with ἁγίοις, giving a further description of
the believers: “the saints … and faithful..” Semantically, like ἁγίοις, πιστοῖς
is a dative of recipient. The prepositional phrase “in Christ Jesus” (ἐν Χριστῷ
Ἰησοῦ) expresses sphere. The Ephesian believers’ faith is in Christ Jesus (Hoeh-
ner, 143; Thielman, 34; Arnold, 69; cf
cf. Col. 1:2).
Syntactical Nugget: How does the repeated preposition “in” (ἐν) relate to
the context? Paul addresses his letter to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful
in Christ Jesus:
τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς οὖσιν

ἐν Ἐφέσῳ
καὶ πιστοῖς
ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ
The saints who are

in Ephesus
and the faithful
in Christ Jesus
The repetition of the prepositional phrase gives balance to the recipients.

Both prepositions convey the idea of sphere. The first preposition provides
the literal location of the believers; whereas the second preposition pro-
vides the location of their faith, which will dominate Paul’s blessing in the
next major section (Eph. 1:3–14). God’s blessing comes to the believers
because they are “in Christ” (see Theological Nugget at 1:4a).
1:2 χάρις … καὶ εἰρήνη: The Greek word χάρις is a nominative singular fem-
inine from the noun χάρις that means “grace” or “favor” (BDAG, s.v.v “χάρις”
2c, p. 1079). The Greek word εἰρήνη is a nominative singular feminine from
the noun εἰρήνη that means “peace” (BDAG, s.v. v “εἰρήνη” 2a, pp. 287–88).
Syntactically, the two nouns are nominative absolutes, an independent use
of the nominative in introductory material that is not a sentence (W, 49–51).
It is possible that we assume the presence of the optative form of εἰµί (εἴη)
(Arnold, 69). Most major translations translate the phrase without the verb:
“Grace to you and peace” (esv, rsv, nrsv, hcsb, nasb, nkjv). The kjv includes
it: “Grace be to you, and peace.”
Paul states that this grace and peace come “from God our Father and the Lord Je-
sus Christ” (ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡµῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ). The preposi-
tion ἀπό conveys the idea of source: “from” (esv, niv, rsv, nrsv, csb, nasb, nkjv;
BDAG, s.v.v “ἀπό” 5d, pp. 106–7). Paul concludes the letter with a similar wish for
peace, love, and faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 6:23–
24) (Lincoln, 6; Arnold, 69–71). By stating that this blessing comes from both
God the Father and Jesus Christ, Paul implicitly places Jesus and God on equal
footing and reflects the early Christian devotion of Jesus (Hurtado 2018, 54–55).
Theological Nugget: Why does Paul greet his readers with “grace and
peace”? This is a standard greeting in Paul’s letters (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3;
2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:2; Philem. 3;
cf 1 Tim. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4). The greeting is identical in Romans, 1
cf.
Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 2 Thessalo-
nians, and Philemon:
χάρις ὑµῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡµῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
In Colossians, he omits the reference to Christ: χάρις ὑµῖν καὶ εἰρήνη

ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡµῶν, but in 1 Thessalonians he omits the entire
prepositional phrase: χάρις ὑµῖν καὶ εἰρήνη. Titus gives a similar greet-
ing, but he refers to Jesus as: “Christ Jesus our savior” (χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη
ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡµῶν). Finally, both
1 and 2 Timothy offer a unique greeting, but add “mercy” (ἔλεος): χάρις
ἔλεος εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡµῶν
(“grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord”).
Lord”)
Romans 1:7
1 Corinthians 1:3
2 Corinthians 1:2
Galatians 1:3 χάρις ὑµῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡµῶν
Ephesians 1:2 καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
Philippians 1:2
Philemon 3
2 Thessalonians 1:2
Colossians 1:2 χάρις ὑµῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡµῶν
1 Thessalonians 1:1 χάρις ὑµῖν καὶ εἰρήνη
1 Timothy 1:1 χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ Χριστοῦ
2 Timothy 1:2 Ἰησοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡµῶν
Titus 1:4
Conventional letters in antiquity use the infinitive χαίρειν (cf.

(cf Acts 15:23;
23:26) (Klauck 2006, 18–19), but Paul uses the nominal form (χάρις) and
adds εἰρήνη, a Greek translation of the standard Jewish greeting: “peace”
(“shalom”; ˃ēČĔ). Paul may alter the standard greeting to allude to larger
themes that appear throughout the letter. Grace is the basis of our salvation
(Eph. 2:5, 8–9; cf
cf. Rom. 3:24). Through this salvation, believers have peace
with one another and with God (Eph. 2:14–15, 17; 4:3; cf.cf Rom. 5:1).

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What is the structure and content of the book?

What is the structure and content of the book?

What is Paul's style and vocabulary like in Ephesians?

What is Paul's style and vocabulary like in Ephesians?

Ephesians: An Exegetical Guide for Preaching and Teaching

© 2020 by Benjamin I. Simpson

Preface to the Series. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Number of Greek Words in Ephesians

The Clausal Outline

The major structural marker is the imperative κλεπτέτω, and therefore

3. Every Greek structural marker serves to distinguish different types of inde-

Types (Classifications) of Independent and Dependent Clauses3

Three Types of Independent Clauses Four Types of Dependent Clauses

καὶ … καί), a relative adverb (ὅπου, where; ὅτε, when), or a

5. Every independent and dependent Greek clause has an interpretive English

One to Five Exemplified

An example of what to expect is nicely illustrated with a verse from Ephesians

15 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο κἀγὼ ἀκούσας τὴν καθ’ ὑµᾶς πίστιν ἐν τῷ κυρίῳ

and your love for all of the saints

16b εὐχαριστῶν ὑπὲρ ὑµῶν

16c µνείαν ποιούµενος ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν µου

1. The order of the Greek sentence is followed.

2. Every Greek clause underscores the Greek words deemed as important

3. Every Greek structural marker distinguishes the different types of inde-

4. The independent clause (v

6. Every independent and dependent Greek clause has a corresponding explanato-

Grammatical Function: Grammatical function identifies the Greek

Syntactical Function: Syntactical function first draws attention to the

Semantic Function: Semantic functions are by nature interpretive sug-

7. Explanatory discussions about Greek structural markers are interspersed

10. An interpretive English translation of Ephesians concludes Ephesians: An Ex-

process in this book will increase confidence in understanding and appreciating

Pauline Independent Clauses

Independent Greek clauses are rather important in determining Paul’s main

2:14a Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡµῶν,

2:19a ἄρα οὖν οὐκέτι ἐστὲ ξένοι καὶ πάροικοι,

3:13a διὸ αἰτοῦµαι µὴ ἐγκακεῖν ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσίν µου ὑπὲρ ὑµῶν,

4:1a Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑµᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσµιος ἐν κυρίῳ

4:20 ὑµεῖς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἐµάθετε τὸν Χριστόν,

4:30a καὶ µὴ λυπεῖτε τὸ πνεῦµα τὸ ἅγιον τοῦ θεοῦ

5:1 γίνεσθε οὖν µιµηταὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς τέκνα ἀγαπητά,

6:4a Καὶ οἱ πατέρες, µὴ παροργίζετε τὰ τέκνα ὑµῶν,

The most frequent independent Greek conjunctive clauses in Ephesians are

Inferential 5:5a, 2:11a 2:19a 4:1a,

Transitional 6:4a, 9a 3:21

The second type of independent Greek clause in Ephesians is the independent

3:14 Τούτου χάριν κάµπτω τὰ γόνατά µου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα,

5:17a διὰ τοῦτο µὴ γίνεσθε ἄφρονες,

6:13a διὰ τοῦτο ἀναλάβετε τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ,

2:5c —χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσµένοι—

4:5a [ἔστιν] εἷς κύριος,

4:5b [ἔστιν] µία πίστις,

4:5c [ἔστιν] ἓν βάπτισµα·

5:22a Αἱ γυναῖκες [ὑποτάσσεσθε] τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν

5:25a Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας,

6:11a ἐνδύσασθε τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ

Second, the challenge with interpreting asyndeton clauses is understanding

In summary, independent Greek clauses are rather important in determining

Independent Clauses in Ephesians

Conjunctive Prepositional Asyndeton