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and so throughout the epistle. The risen and ascended Lord is not only the
centre of the Unity of the Spirit, but the very meeting place of all
blessing. In Him distance is abolished and the far off are made nigh. In
the Lord they grow as an holy Temple. To Him arises the melody of hearts,
and strength is found `in the Lord' for the evil day.
`As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in
Him' (Col. 2:6).
One Faith
Just as we found that there were sixteen occurrences of the title
`Lord' both in Ephesians and in 2 Timothy, so we find that there are eight
occurrences of `faith' both in Ephesians and in 2 Timothy. The references to
faith in Ephesians are distributed as follows: Three in the doctrinal portion
(Eph. 1:15; 2:8; 3:12), three in the practical portion (Eph. 4:5,13; 6:16);
one in the central prayer (Eph. 3:17) and one in the closing benediction
(Eph. 6:23).
Let us look at the three references in the doctrinal section.
`Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and
love unto all the saints' (Eph. 1:15).
`For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast' (Eph.
2:8,9).
`In Whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of
Him' (Eph. 3:12).
In each of these passages there are peculiarities that repay attention.
In Ephesians 1:15 the words `your faith in the Lord Jesus' translate ten
kath'humas pistin en to kurio Iesou `The faith according to you in the Lord
Jesus'. Verse 15 is the opening verse of a member that extends to verse 19
where power to us -ward who believe `according to the working of God's mighty
power', brings the section to a conclusion.
Paul's Prayer (Ephesians 1:15 -19)
A
15,16.
Faith
according to you in the Lord Jesus.
kata.
B
17,18.
That He may give.
B
18,19.
That ye may know.
A
19.
Power
to us -ward who believe according to.
kata.
In Acts 17:28, where our version says `as certain also of your own
poets have said', the original reads:
Hos kai tines ton kath' humas poieton eirekasin
`The according -to -you poets'; the apostle intentionally turning away from
the Hebrew Scriptures in order to get the interest of his hearers. In Acts
18:15 where our version reads `If it be a question of words and names, and of
your law' the original reads kai nomou tou kath' humas, `That law which is
according to you'. One can sense the distance that is intended in these
words, between `Roman law' and this despised Jewish law of words and names.
So in Acts 24:22 `your matter' is `the thing according to you'. The faith
which Paul speaks of in Ephesians 1:15 is evidently something especially