according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Parallel Translations
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according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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accordinge to the eternall purpose which he purposed in Christ Iesu oure lorde
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According to the eternall purpose, which he wrought in Christ Iesus our Lord:
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Ephesians 3:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Timothy 1:9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
- Ephesians 1:11 We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will,
- Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love,
- Romans 9:11 For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls,
- Isaiah 46:10-11 I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please. I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have planned. I will also do it.
- Isaiah 14:24-27 Yahweh of Armies has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and tread him under foot on my mountains. Then his yoke will leave them, and his burden leave their shoulders. This is the plan that is determined for the whole earth. This is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For Yahweh of Armies has planned, and who can stop it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”
- Ephesians 1:9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
- Romans 8:28-30 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.
- Jeremiah 51:29 The land trembles and is in pain; for the purposes of Yahweh against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 11. According to the eternal purpose. How carefully does…
11. According to the eternal purpose. How carefully does he guard against the objection, that the purpose of God has been changed! A third time, he repeats that the decree was eternal and unchangeable, but must be carried into effect by Christ Jesus our Lord, because in him it was made. Thus he declares, that the proper time for publishing this decree belongs to the kingdom of Christ. Literally the words run, “according to the eternal purpose (ἣν ἐποίησοεν) which he made.” But I consider the meaning to be, which he purposed; because the present discussion does not relate solely to the execution of the decree, but to the appointment itself, which, though it took place before all ages, was known to God only — till the manifestation of Christ.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which was before all beginnings.
Which was before all beginnings.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed…
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Ver. 11. According to the eternal purpose] Of calling and saving the Gentiles by Christ; a secret that the angels themselves could not understand till the afore appointed time came.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain According to the eternal purpose: all that God doeth…
According to the eternal purpose: all that God doeth in the work of our redemption, whereby he sets forth his manifold wisdom, he doeth according to what he had from eternity purposed to do, and therein likewise shows his wisdom, to which it belongs to order and determine things before the doing of them, and then to do them as they have been ordered.
Which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; not only as the eternal Wisdom of the Father, but as designed in God’s decree to be the Head of the church, and he by whom God would in time execute his eternal purpose.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Our apostle here shows,
Our apostle here shows,
1. That whatever the wisdom of God has done in the work of redemption, was from all eternity purposed to be done, and that our Lord Jesus Christ was the Person by whom God would in time execute his eternal purpose: According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus.
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Next, he shows the great and gracious privileges which all believers are admitted to the participation of, by and through our Lord Jesus Christ; namely, boldness, access, and confidence: In whom we have boldness, and access, with confidence, through the faith of him.
Access’ that is, a liberty of approach to God as a Father:
Boldness; that is, a freedom of speech in delivering our heart, our whole mind and heart, to him, in the duty of prayer and thanksgiving:
Confidence; that is, a well-grounded persuasion that both our persons and performances shall find acceptance with God.
All which privileges are enjoyed by the exercise of faith in Christ: We have boldness, access, and confidence, through the faith of him.
Lastly, He exhorts them not to faint under or be discouraged at, his present sufferings, much less to backslide from christianity upon that account, seeing that his tribulations were both profitable, and also glorious and honourable: I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
Observe here, 1. That new converts to christianity are subject to faintings and drooping discouragements at the news of sufferings.
Observe, 2. That persecution for the gospel of Christ is a trial, not only to those who are under it, but to those that hear of it. St. Paul here was more afraid of the Ephesians fainting under his sufferings, than he was of his own fainting, and therefore he doth carefully guard against it: I desire you not to faint at my tribulations.
Observe, 3. That the persecutions and afflictions, the hardships and severities, which the ministers of Christ do for the most part endure and undergo, are for the sake of their people; they might shift off and shun the cross as well as other men, did not love to the souls of their people engage them to suffer the sharpest persecution for their sake: I desire you faint not at my tribulation for you; that is, for preaching the gospel to you.
Observe, 4. From those words, My tribulation, which is your glory: so honourable it is to suffer for Christ, that not only the ministers of Christ themselves, who suffer, are thereby honoured, but the people of their charge also are greatly honoured thereby; in testifying God’s high esteem of such a people in sending his ministers not only to teach and instruct them, but to suffer for them, yea, even to die for them. Which consideration ought not only to prevent our people’s fainting at our sufferings, but should make them glory in them, and take encouragement from them: My tribulation, saith St. Paul, is in your glory.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain According to the eternal purpose,.... The whole of salvation,…
According to the eternal purpose,.... The whole of salvation, in which is displayed the great wisdom of God, is according to a purpose of his; the scheme of it is fixed in the council of peace; the thing itself is effected in pursuance of it; Christ, the Redeemer, was set forth in it; his incarnation, the time of his coming into the world, his sufferings and death, with all their circumstances, were decreed by God; and the persons for whom Christ became incarnate, suffered, and died, were appointed unto salvation by him; and the application of it to them is according to his purpose; the time when, the place where, and the means whereby souls are converted, are all settled in the decrees of God; the Gospel itself, the preaching of it by such and such persons, its use to make men see the mysteries of grace, and the fellowship of them, and to make known these things to the angels of heaven, are all according to a divine purpose: and this purpose is eternal, or was in the mind of God from all eternity; for no new will can arise in him; no purpose, resolution, or decree can be made by him in time, which was not in his breast from everlasting; and his purpose concerning the salvation of men must be eternal, since a council of peace was held, a covenant of peace was made, a promise of life was given, persons were fixed upon to be saved, a Saviour was appointed for them, and grace, and the blessings of it were put into his hands before the world began.
Which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; the constitution of it was in him; God was in Christ contriving the scheme of salvation; eye was upon him, his thoughts centred in him, in him are all his promises, and blessings of grace designed and provided for his people; and the execution of this purpose is by him; though some refer this clause to the church in Eph 3:10 which he has made in Christ, or by Christ, has built upon him, and united to him; and others, to the manifold wisdom of God displayed in Christ, who is the wisdom of God, and in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. According to the eternal purpose] κατα προθεσιν…
Verse 11. According to the eternal purpose] κατα προθεσιν των αιωνων. According to the purpose concerning the periods. This seems to refer to the complete round of the Jewish system, and to that of the Gospel. I have often observed, that though the proper grammatical meaning of the word is ever-during or endless duration, yet it is often applied to those systems, periods, governments, c., which have a complete duration, taking in the whole of them, from their commencement to their termination, leaving nothing of their duration unembraced. So, here, God purposed that the Jewish dispensation should commence at such a time, and terminate at such a time that the Gospel dispensation should commence when the Jewish ended, and terminate only with life itself; and that the results of both should be endless. This is probably what is meant by the above phrase.
Which he purposed in Christ Jesus] ην εποιησεν. Which he made or constituted in or for Christ Jesus. The manifestation of Christ, and the glory which should follow, were the grand objects which God kept in view in all his dispensations.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain According to the eternal purpose - see the note,…
According to the eternal purpose - see the note, Eph 1:4. Literally, “the purpose of ages,” or of eternity. Locke, Chandler, and Whitby render this, “according to that disposition or arrangement of the ages which he made in Jesus Christ, or through him.” The object of such an interpretation seems to be to avoid the doctrine that God had a purpose or plan in the salvation of people, and hence such expositors suppose it refers to the arrangement of the “ages” of the world by which the plan of redemption was introduced. On the word rendered here as “purpose” - προθέσις prothesis - see the notes at Rom 8:28; compare Eph 1:11. It is rendered “showbread” - the bread of setting before,” Mat 12:4; Mar 2:26; Luk 6:4; Heb 9:2; “purpose,” Act 11:23; Act 27:13; Rom 8:28; Rom 9:11; Eph 1:11; Eph 3:11; 2Ti 1:9; 2Ti 3:10. It does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. In most of these cases it refers to the “purpose or intention” of God; in not a single case does it mean “arrangement or disposition” in any sense like that of making an arrangement of “ages” or periods of the world; and the interpretation proposed by Whitby, Locke, Clarke, and others, is wholly at variance with the settled use of the word.
The word rendered “eternal” - αἰώνων aiōnōn - may mean “ages;” but it also most usually means eternity; see Eph 3:9. Here it may mean “the purpose of ages;” i. e., the purpose formed in past ages; but the word is most commonly used in the New Testament in the sense of “ever, and forever;” compare the following places, where it is so rendered in our common version, and beyond a doubt correctly; Mat 6:13; Mat 21:19; Mar 3:29; Mar 11:14; Luk 1:33, Luk 1:55; Joh 4:14; Joh 6:51, Joh 6:58; Joh 8:35; Joh 14:16; Rom 1:25; Rom 9:5; Rom 11:36; Rom 16:27; 2Co 9:9; 2Co 11:31; Gal 1:5. The fair meaning of the passage here is, that God had formed a plan which was “eternal” in reference to the salvation of people; that that plan had reference to the Lord Jesus; and that it was now executed by the gospel. It is impossible to get away from the idea that God has a “plan.” It is too often affirmed in the Scriptures, and is too consonant with out’ reason to be disputed. It is as “undesirable” as it is impossible to escape from that idea. Who could respect or honor an intelligent being that had no plan, no purpose, no intention, and that did all things by caprice and hap-hazard? If God has any plan, it must he eternal. He has no new schemes; he has no intentions which he did not always have.
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Which he purposed - Literally, “which he made.”
In Christ Jesus - With reference to him; or which were to be executed through him. The eternal plan had respect to him, and was to be executed by his coming and work.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain which he purposed--Greek, "made." ELLICOTT translates, "wrought."
which he purposed--Greek, "made." ELLICOTT translates, "wrought."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. Eternal purpose—Of reconciling the whole race in Christ,…
11. Eternal purpose—Of reconciling the whole race in Christ, Eph_1:10; which purpose takes completion in the elect through faith. But the wisdom of God is manifold. As the ideal of God is not realized, so that that pure mercy is not fulfilled, thereupon he avails himself of that non-realization to unfold his attribute of justice in judgment upon sin, and thus reveals more completely his full-orbed nature.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. according to the eternal purpose] Lit., and better,…
11. according to the eternal purpose] Lit., and better, according to the purpose of the ages. I.e. the Church, as watched by the angels, presents to them the final result (final in kind) of the great Plan of Divine developments by which the glory of God was to be displayed in His dealings with Sin. The redeemed Church corresponds to this Plan; it is (in kind, in essence,) the realization of the Divine Idea. No other and better thing in that kind is to succeed it. The past “ages,” angelic, paradisaic, patriarchal, Mosaic, prophetic, have led up to the Universal Church, in its spiritual reality, as their goal.
in Christ Jesus our Lord] Lit., in the Christ, Jesus our Lord.—The “Purpose” was “purposed” (lit. “made”) “in Him,” inasmuch as both Idea and Working were altogether bound up with Him. “In Christ” God was to “reconcile the world”; “in Christ” the saints were to “have redemption in His blood”; “in Him” to be “rooted and built up”; “complete in Him”; “abiding in Him”; “walking in Him”; “dying in Him” (Rev_14:13); “made alive in Him” (1Co_15:22). Thus “in the Christ,” the Eternal and Anointed Son and Word, the Idea stood forth formed; and in that Christ, as “Jesus our Lord,” incarnate, sacrificed, glorified, the Idea is carried into realization.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) The eternal purpose.—Properly, the purpose of the ages;…
(11) The eternal purpose.—Properly, the purpose of the ages; but the sense clearly is, of the purpose of God (see Eph_1:11), conceived before the ages of His dispensation, and fulfilled through them. Hence the rendering of our version is substantially correct.
Which he purposed.—It should be, which He wrought, or made, for the word is quite distinct from the substantive “purpose,” and is in itself ambiguous, capable of meaning either ordained or worked out. Either sense will suit the passage; but the latter perhaps better, since the idea is throughout of the completion and manifestation of the mystery of God’s purpose in the Lord Jesus Christ.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in…
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. The apostle is ever anxious that we should connect these operations, of God with the profundity, deliberation, and awfulness of an eternal decree, and that we should thus contrast them in our minds with many even of the most important works of man which are often determined, on his part, by a passing event or other trivial cause. The verb in this clause is ejpoihse, which he made, and it has been debated whether it denotes the original formation of the purpose, or the execution of it under Christ. With A.V and R.V, we prefer the former. The object of the apostle is to indicate that the purpose existed from eternity; but, besides, the meaning of "fulfilled" or "executed" can hardly be sustained by &retype. The closing formula, "in Christ Jesus," is perfectly applicable to the eternal formation of the purpose; it is the constantly returning indication of the element in which the whole scheme of grace had its beginning, its progress, and its end.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 11. According to the eternal purpose. The purpose which…
11. According to the eternal purpose. The purpose which God had in all the ages proposed to fulfill through Jesus Christ.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.