It remains, after he has stated the truth that all their hope is in Christ and thus they are all being built up together in the Spirit to be the dwelling place of God—it remains, I say, that he should teach them who he himself is and whether he himself is contributing to building them up together through the gospel and can give a reason for his own authority so that they may believe him.

After a diligent search I have found nothing that answers to his prior clause. . . . For he does not say, For this reason I, Paul, have done this or that or have taught this or that. Instead, leaving the thought in suspense, he goes on to other matters. Perhaps we ought to pardon him for what he himself has admitted when he said, if unschooled in speech, at least not in knowledge,^[1] and look for order in his meaning rather than in his words. This can be rendered as follows: I, Paul, in the chains of Jesus Christ and in chains for you Gentiles, have learned the mystery so that I may hand it on to you.

We often read that the body is called the prison of the soul. The soul is confined as if in a cage. Paul, for example, was constrained by the ties of the body and did not return to be with Christ so that the preaching to the Gentiles might be perfectly accomplished through him. But I grant that there are some who introduce another meaning here: Paul before his birth was predestined and sanctified from his mother’s womb for the purpose of preaching to the Gentiles. For this vocation he took on the bonds of flesh.

This is a very emphatic statement: Not only do we not hate you. We are even imprisoned on your account!

He is hinting at what was said about him in Damascus to Ananias, when the Lord said, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.^[1] By dispensation of grace he means the revelation made to him. It is as if he were saying: I did not learn it from any human. God chose to reveal it to me for your benefit, though I am only an individual.

Paul indicates that this mystery was made known to him through revelation. From this passage it is evident that a Christian, and a very excellent Christian at that, can be brought into being solely by grace. . . . Nevertheless, the power of God dispenses grace in many ways. Others come to faith by teaching, wherein by a legitimate training process and through the commandments of the Savior a person is reborn through the Spirit and water, so as to receive the spirit of Christ, in a teaching process that is mediated from human beings and through human beings. But what happened to Paul came to him by the grace of God through revelation. Although he, in my judgment, was the only one who received this particular revelation, God is able to reveal himself in this form or in other ways to others.

He indicates that he has been shown the revelation of the mystery of God, about which he says that he has written briefly, that is, precisely, according to their capacity to comprehend the wisdom of the apostle in the mystery of Christ.

The words I wrote a little before do not mean, as some think, that he has written another letter. For it is not with respect to himself that he says I have written but with respect to the mystery. For he is referring to the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I wrote to you a little while ago, yet it is this about which I have just now written. For this has been his subject from the outset right up to this passage.

He teaches that there is a perfect harmony—a complete unity and identity—between the revelations given to him and those given to the apostles. His purpose is to avoid discord and any appearance of having received by revelation something that was not given to the apostles by the living Christ.

Tell me then, what part did the prophets not fully grasp? How can Christ say later that Moses and the prophets wrote these things about me?^[1] . . . What he is saying is that the expectation of Christ was not revealed to everyone. It was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. Peter, if he had not been guided by the Spirit, would never have gone to the Gentiles.^[2] . . . The prophets therefore spoke but did not have complete knowledge at the time. They did not even have complete knowledge after they heard the gospel, which far exceeds human reason and common expectations.

It was made known incrementally to the prophets of old, but not fully then as it is now. For they did not see the whole picture but wrote down words about aspects of it.^[1] . . . Remember that in the apostles’ day there were many who had the gift of prophecy. It is in this order that he mentions that the revelation was known to the apostles and then to the prophets.

The Gentiles are fellow heirs with Israel. Put more precisely, they are fellow heirs with Christ.^[1] . . . It is not that some possession is divided among us but that God himself in his fullness is our inheritance and possession.

Now the meaning of fellow heirs is this: Just as there are many members in one body . . . and these, though in one body, have their differences and feel their own joy and grief in turn, so those who have believed in Christ, even if they have different gifts, are bonded together in the one body of Christ.

Everywhere Paul reminds us that we receive God’s gifts not by our own merit but by grace. Grace belongs to the giver, not to the recipient. And by adding according to the working of his power, he also ascribes this to God, so that if I do any work, it is God’s power. For it is not my power that works in me but God’s.

The gift was not sufficient if he did not provide power along with it. And, great as the power was, human zeal was not sufficient either. For Paul brought three things to the task of proclamation: ready and boiling fervor, a soul prepared to bear anything whatever and prudent understanding.

Although it is a token of humility to call oneself the least of all the saints, one is guilty of deceit if one conceals the truth in the heart and says something else with the tongue. We must therefore look for an argument showing how Paul truly was the least of all the saints and yet did not fall from the rank of an apostle. The Lord says in the Gospel. He who would be great among you, let him be less than all.^[1] . . . Paul demonstrates this in his actions.^[2] . . . Therefore the apostle Paul was meekest of all who sought to be weak on Christ’s account. . . . Because of this humility, amazing grace was given to him. In this way he became the least of all the saints in order to preach the unsearchable mysteries of God.

Those who visit a doctor do not complete their journey simply by arriving there. They must also learn the remedy and apply the medicines. We too, having reached this point, need to do the same, by learning the great humility of Paul. . . . Paul demonstrates humility when he calls himself a blasphemer and a persecutor.^[1] He describes himself as a dreadful offender on account of his former sins, which had now been canceled, . . . hence as the least of all the saints. He did not say of the apostles but of the saints who come after the apostles.

Was work given before grace? Or did grace come before any works? That which is working is God’s power. So grace had already been given. When it is said that Paul was made a minister according to the gift of God, we understand that the gift of being a minister was given before his working to make him a minister, and his being a minister is the gift and grace of God.

Unsearchable and hidden can be given two senses. The riches were previously unable to be searched out. They are now laid open after the Lord’s passion. Another sense, perhaps even better: Those things which by nature were unsearchable to humanity are the ones that have been made known by God’s revelation.

The divine apostle says not only that Christ’s nature is divine but also that his riches are unsearchable. And how does one preach if his riches are indeed unsearchable? I preach this very thing, he says, that they are unsearchable.

When he speaks of making all men see the plan, this includes both Israel and the Gentiles. Paul had doubtless received the gospel for the Gentiles. But the Jews too can see the plan if they follow and obey.

Christ is the only begotten Son of God, and through him all the rest are created. Through him the works of God are created, as God works in and through him. All ages of time are subsequent to Christ, being made by Christ. . . . Therefore, even though God is acknowledged as the Creator, God is nonetheless Creator through Christ. The term Creator therefore does not pertain simply to God as such but pertains to Christ and through Christ to God. Christ who was eternally begotten created all things in time. God worked and created all things through Christ.

These riches of his generosity were hidden from all past ages in God, the Creator of all. Where are Marcion, Valentinus and the other heretics who say that there is one creator of the visible world and another creator of the invisible? . . . However, the phrase mystery hidden from the ages could also be understood to mean that the very ages of time remained ignorant of his generosity when all spiritual and rational creatures who inhabited all previous ages remained unenlightened.^[1]

His expression through the church means through all the members of God and through every soul that has put on his mysteries and has hope in him. From this we understand what has been given to humanity. The powers and principalities in heaven are learning the wisdom of God through a human mediator.

Paul briefly touches on all the parts of the mystery that we have spoken of above when he speaks of the manifold wisdom of God, whether this be that he sent his Son or that such great majesty assumed the form of a slave^[1] or that greater gifts were given. The promises are so great: the forgiveness of sins, the promise of heaven, eternal life, glorification and our inheritance together with the same Christ in his resurrection after death and even his death itself. This is what makes up the manifold wisdom of God.

So abundant was God’s wisdom that he not only gave this teacher (Paul) to the Gentiles but also caused the truth to be-come known to the angelic spirits in heaven, who are the principalities and powers. They are powers because they have more power among the other spirits and are principalities because they are the principal powers. . . . The goal of all this is that the preaching of the church should be profitable to the Gentiles also. They are called to forsake their allegiance to the devil’s tyranny.

From this we see what it means to say that the mystery was concealed in God, for he adds according to the purpose of the ages. This means that, after certain ages had reached their destined end, the mystery was to appear through the presence of the Lord in whom it had been concealed. For it was proper for it to be revealed through the One in whom it was concealed.

The saving knowledge of the mystery of God is conferred upon the human race in this way: God bestows his grace on humanity as the firstfruits of Christ’s coming kingdom. When Christ appeared, God revealed his mystery for the salvation of humanity.

Nothing can give us such trust in God and purity of conscience^[1] . . . as the Word, the truth, the wisdom and the righteousness received in Christ. . . . One who thinks in an orderly manner now has the Word and reason as the content of his faith. One who can comprehend wisdom has wisdom as the content of his faith. One who understands truth has truth as the content of his faith. One who lives righteously now has righteousness as the content of his faith.

When some hear that Paul suffers tribulations, they may grow faint in faith. To prevent this he argues, in effect: I pray on account of what has been revealed to me that you should not grow faint through my tribulations. These tribulations I am suffering are not due to anything I have caused but rather because you are either weak in faith or now wavering, or because you are making some unnecessary additions to the faith. That is the reason I endure these trials. I am now hoping to recall you to true discipline and observance so that you will not depart from Christ, having your hope in Christ alone. For this is your glory.

One person will say that he attaches the words which is your glory to the tribulations . . . another to the boldness or else to the access or the faith. For boldness [or freedom of speech] is the glory to the one who possesses it, and access can be called the glory of the one who has access to God and faith the glory of the one with faith.

By kneeling we demonstrate the full form of prayer and petition. So we bend our knees. We ought not merely to incline our minds to prayer but also our bodies. We do well to lower our bodies lest we create an impression of elevation or an appearance of pride.

All good working and doing occur through Christ. The spirit of Christ is that of a serving ministry. He is himself the ministry of God toward us. God does everything through him. Therefore he says, I bend my knees to the Father.

God is fully and truly Father; for he was not first a father and later became son but is always Father and Father by nature. The other fathers, whether bodily or spiritual, have received this name from above. . . . Paul is saying here that he is petitioning the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is truly Father. He has his fatherhood not by receiving from another but himself has conferred fathering upon others.

Before any discussion we must note that he did not say from whom every fatherhood in heaven and earth is born but from whom every fatherhood in heaven and earth is named. For it is one thing to merit the name of father, another to have a natural relation [as eternal Father to all creatures]. . . . I have searched about in Scripture asking whether the word fatherhood is ever applied to the Gentiles. I have found nothing except the twenty-first psalm, and all the fatherhoods of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight,^[1] and the twenty-eighth, Give to the Lord, fatherhoods of the Gentiles, bring him the young of rams.^[2] Think by this analogy: As God exists, God allows the term existence to be applied to creatures as well. So we say that creatures exist and subsist, not so as to imply that they exist in and of themselves [as God exists] but as a derived existence enabled by God. . . . According to this same argument, God allows the term fatherhood to be given to creatures. So by analogy to his fathering we can understand creaturely fathering. . . . Similarly, as the only good One^[3] he makes others good. As the only immortal One^[4] God has bestowed immortality on others. As the only true One^[5] he imparts the name of truth. So also the Father alone, being Creator of all and the cause of the subsistence of all things, makes it possible for other creatures to be called fathers.

We who are not of Abraham’s race are called Abraham’s children if we possess his faith. Similarly, I think that the angels and other invisible powers have something like princes of their own in heaven whom they rejoice to call fathers. . . . Our term fatherhood may now be used in the light of the awareness that God is Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the only begotten Son is so not by adoption but by nature. It is by adoption that creatures also are allowed to participate in fathering and hence are given the name of fathers. And remember that whatever we say of the Father and Son we say also of the Holy Spirit.

What are these riches of the glory of God? They are being strengthened with might through his Spirit, so that they may be strong against the sinful nature, the desires of the flesh and the dreadful powers of this world. This strengthening happens through the Spirit of God. But how are persons strengthened and made firm through the Spirit of God? By Christ’s dwelling in the inner man, he says. For when Christ begins to dwell in the inner citadel of the soul, persons are made strong by might through the Spirit. In this way everything of a hostile nature is evicted.

Paul prays that believers be made more steadfast, not doubting but believing increasingly that Christ dwells in them even when they do not see him with their physical eyes. He prays that the Spirit which has been given them might infuse into them a certainty that Christ lives and is the Son of God, so that he lives by faith in their hearts. Thus when we have faith in him we behold him in our hearts. The benefit of this is that we grow more sure of his blessing. He does not desert us. He is always present through that faith in him which he guards in us. The gift of the Spirit, which is also the gift of God the Father, is given to us that he may keep us safe, to his glory.

Since he has taught that three things tend toward maturity in Christ—faith, understanding and love—he here brings them all into a brief compass. He is now praying that God will bestow all these gifts upon the Ephesians. Note the sequence he has followed: He spoke first of faith, that you may have Christ dwelling in the inner man in your hearts through faith. Now he speaks of understanding by saying so that you may comprehend with all the saints the breadth, length and depth. Again he adds with regard to love, to know the love that surpasses knowledge.

God is through all and in all, and is all things and the source of all, through whom all things come and over all. In this aspect the task of understanding is to note and know what the breadth, the length, the height and the depth of divine grace. How all these exist together or may be understood to exist in God and according to these aspects requires another, higher comprehension. . . . Hence he prays finally that the Ephesians may understand them all together. And so that they will not despair through their inability to comprehend them together, he adds: so that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints. Therefore the saints comprehend these things together and can expound them.

What is meant when Paul speaks of length and breadth and depth and height? Think of a sphere. The length is the same as the breadth and the height the same as the depth. So too all is proportional within the immeasurable infinity of God. A sphere is enclosed in a definite manner. God, being unenclosed, not only fills all things but exceeds all things. God is not confined but has everything within himself, so that he is the only one to be reckoned infinite. We cannot sufficiently thank him for the fact that, being so great, he deigned through Christ to visit human beings when they were subject to death and sin.

Let us think first about physical breadth and length, depth and height in order that we may be able to pass through these physical dimensions to their spiritual dimensions. For the sake of argument, let the physical length be that of heaven and earth, that is, of the whole world, from east to west. Let the breadth be from south to north. Let the depth be from the abyss and the infernal regions. Let the height be to all that is elevated above the heavens. But they say that the earth is round and rotates as a sphere. Roundness has no breadth and length, height and depth, but is proportional in all dimensions.^[1] Hence we are necessarily forced to understand spiritually by height the angels and forces above and by depth those powers below and what is beneath them. By length and breadth we speak spiritually of that which occupies the middle place between those above and those below. The consequence is that one draws near as a neighbor either to those things above or to those below. Whatever begins to advance one’s path toward better things so as to rise to the heavenly height, that is what Paul is calling length. Whatever brings one to the lower things as one lapses toward vice he is calling breadth.^[2]

The divine mind of the apostle did not imagine this fourfold figure of the cross to no purpose. He knew that this figure, which is divided into four segments from the common center, represents the power and providence of the one displayed upon it. This dimensionality runs through all things. For this reason he calls each of four projections by its own name. By the height he means what is above, by the depth the underworld, by the length and breadth the intermediate domain which is under the control of his all-governing power. Hence the worship of the cross is viewed in relation to the fourfold figure of the cross. The heavenly order is symbolically paying its devotion to the Lord in the upper part, the cosmic order in the middle part and even the infernal order in the lower part.

The height is the measure of the majesty of the Lord. . . . The length is the passion of the Lord’s cross, by which believers are sealed. The breadth is seen in Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is coming down upon all believers.

The one who knows the love that passes all understanding will better express the full measure of love for Christ. Paul prays that they may first know [the love of Christ] rather than do something. Doing comes from this knowing.

Can any words adequately describe this mystery, that God is born as a man? That God dies for the human race, the master for his servants, the Creator for his creation, the righteous for the unrighteous? . . . In the greatness of his majesty he became lowly to do on our behalf what was worthy of his love, so that we, insofar as we can, should join his household.

Faith is never directed solely to the Father or solely to the Son [but to Father and Son in their relationship]. Hence he adds that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Thus by confessing Christ and giving thanks to him in the same glorious terms, the same honor is reserved for the Son as for the Father. All things that come from God the Father have been restored through his Son. By this the faithful confess the divine perfection in its wholeness.