Ephesians 3:5

3:5 Now this secret ¹  was not disclosed to people ²  in former ³  generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by ⁴  the Spirit,

Ephesians 3:18-19

3:18 you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ⁵  3:19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to ⁶  all the fullness of God.

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¹ tn Grk “which.” Verse 5 is technically a relative clause, subordinate to the thought of v. 4.

² tn Grk “the sons of men” (a Semitic idiom referring to human beings, hence, “people”).

³ tn Grk “other.”

⁴ tn Or “in.”

⁵ sn The object of these dimensions is not stated in the text. Interpreters have suggested a variety of referents for this unstated object, including the cross of Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem (which is then sometimes linked to the Church), God’s power, the fullness of salvation given in Christ, the Wisdom of God, and the love of Christ. Of these interpretations, the last two are the most plausible. Associations from Wisdom literature favor the Wisdom of God, but the immediate context favors the love of Christ. For detailed discussion of these interpretive options, see A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians (WBC), 207-13, who ultimately favors the love of Christ.

⁶ tn Or “with.”