Ephesians 1:6
Context1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace 1 that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. 2
Ephesians 1:20-23
Context1:20 This power 3 he exercised 4 in Christ when he raised him 5 from the dead and seated him 6 at his right hand in the heavenly realms 7 1:21 far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 1:22 And God 8 put 9 all things under Christ’s 10 feet, 11 and he gave him to the church as head over all things. 12 1:23 Now the church is 13 his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 14
1 tn Or “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Many translations translate δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (doxh" th" carito" autou, literally “of the glory of his grace”) with τῆς χάριτος as an attributed genitive (cf., e.g., NIV, NRSV, ESV). The translation above has retained a literal rendering in order to make clear the relationship of this phrase to the other two similar phrases in v. 12 and 14, which affect the way one divides the material in the passage.
2 tn Grk “the beloved.” The term ἠγαπημένῳ (hgaphmenw) means “beloved,” but often bears connotations of “only beloved” in an exclusive sense. “His dearly loved Son” picks up this connotation.
sn God’s grace can be poured out on believers only because of what Christ has done for them. Hence, he bestows his grace on us because we are in his dearly loved Son.
3 tn Grk “which” (v. 20 is a subordinate clause to v. 19).
4 tn The verb “exercised” (the aorist of ἐνεργέω, energew) has its nominal cognate in “exercise” in v. 19 (ἐνέργεια, energeia).
5 tn Or “This power he exercised in Christ by raising him”; Grk “raising him.” The adverbial participle ἐγείρας (egeiras) could be understood as temporal (“when he raised [him]”), which would be contemporaneous to the action of the finite verb “he exercised” earlier in the verse, or as means (“by raising [him]”). The participle has been translated here with the temporal nuance to allow for means to also be a possible interpretation. If the translation focused instead upon means, the temporal nuance would be lost as the time frame for the action of the participle would become indistinct.
6 tc The majority of
7 sn Eph 1:19-20. The point made in these verses is that the power required to live a life pleasing to God is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. For a similar thought, cf. John 15:1-11.
8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Grk “subjected.”
10 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Grk “and he gave him as head over all things to the church.”
13 tn Grk “which is.” The antecedent of “which” is easily lost in English, though in Greek it is quite clear. In the translation “church” is repeated to clarify the referent.
14 tn Or perhaps, “who is filled entirely.”
sn The idea of all in all is either related to the universe (hence, he fills the whole universe entirely) or the church universal (hence, Christ fills the church entirely with his presence and power).