Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Philemon 1:5 Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
Colossians 1:3-4 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one…
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the s…
1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love…
1 John 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
1 Thessalonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and o…
1 Thessalonians 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ephesians 1:15–end
We have come to the last part of this chapter, which consists of Paul's earnest prayer to God in behalf of these Ephesians. We should pray for the persons for whom we give thanks. Our apostle blesses God for what he had done for them, and then he prays that he would do more for them. He gives thanks for spiritual blessings, and prays for further supplies of them; for God will for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them. He has laid up these spiritual blessings for us in the hands of his Son, the Lord Jesus; but then he has appointed us to draw them out, and fetch them in, by prayer. We have no part nor lot in the matter, any further than we claim it by faith and prayer.…
Wherefore--because ye are in Christ and sealed by His Spirit (Eph 1:13-14).
I also--on my part, in return for God's so great benefits to you.
after I heard--ever since I have heard. Not implying that he had only heard of their conversion: an erroneous argument used by some against the address of this Epistle to the Ephesians (see on Eph 1:1); but referring to the report he had heard since he was with them, as to their Christian graces. So in the case of Philemon, his "beloved fellow laborer" (Plm 1:1), he uses the same words (Plm 1:4-5).
your faith--rather, as Greek, "the faith among you," that is, which many (not all) of you have.
love unto all the saints--of whatever name, simply b…
Faith in the Lord Jesus - Cordial reception of the Christian religion, amply proved by their love to all the saints - to all the Christians. Perhaps love here implies, not only the kind affection so called, but also all the fruits of love - benevolence, and kind offices of every description.
John Gill on Ephesians 1:15
Wherefore I also,.... As well as others:
after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus; who is the immediate object of faith, and a very proper and suitable one; having every thing in him that is agreeable to the case and circumstances of those that trust in him. And the grace of faith, which terminates on him, is a seeing him, a beholding the glory of his person, and the fulness of his grace; a going to him, and venturing on him; a laying hold upon him, and embracing of him; a committing all unto him, and a leaning and depending on him, and a living upon him, and a walking on in him.
And love unto all the saints: whether Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, greater or lesser believers, of meaner…
The Church Fathers
He now moves on to specific exhortations for the Ephesians, and at the same time he warns them not to entertain contrary ideas. He first expresses himself generously: "having heard," he says, "of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." For this is the sum of things, this is virtue, this is the mystery, that there should be faith in Christ Jesus. This faith also encourages one to love all the saints, all who have faith in Christ and have been sanctified through him. Thus one who is faithful in Christ loves the saints.… "Therefore I also, having heard of your faith, love you."
Never was anything equal to the yearnings of the Apostle, never anything like the sympathy and the affectionateness of the blessed Paul, who made his every prayer in behalf of whole cities and peoples, and writes the same to all, "I thank my God for you, making mention of you in my prayers." Think how many he had in his mind, whom it were a labor so much as to remember; how many he made mention of in his prayers, giving thanks to God for them all as though he himself had received the greatest blessing. "Wherefore," he says, i.e., because of what is to come, because of the good things that are laid up in store for them who rightly believe and live. And it is meet then to give thanks to God both for all the things which mankind have received at His hands, both heretofore and hereafter; and meet to give Him thanks also for the faith of them that believe. "Having heard," saith he, "of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and which ye show toward all the saints." He on all occasions knits together and combines faith and love, a glorious pair; nor does he mention the saints of that country only, but all. "I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ephesians, Epistle to — Was written by Paul at Rome about the same time as that to the Colossians, which in many points it resembles. Contents of. The Epistle to the Colossians is mainly polemical, designed to refute…
Prayerfulness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Ephesians 1:15-19
15. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
15. Quapropter ego etiam, audita fide quae apud vos est in Domino Iesu, et charitate erga omnes sanctos,
16. Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
16. Non cesso gratias agere pro vobis, memoriam vestri faciens in orationibus meis;
17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
17. Ut Deus Domini nostri Iesu Christi, Pater gloriae, det vobis Spiritum sapientiae et revelationis, in agnitione ipsius,
18. The eyes of your understanding being enlig…
Paul prays that his readers may have the spiritual understanding to grasp the full significance of God’s gifts (1:3-14).
1:15 Paul links faith in Christ with love for God’s people. Personal faith in Christ brings salvation, and salvation is expressed, above all, by a life of love (see Gal 5:6; Col 1:4; 1 Thes 1:3; 3:6; 5:8; 2 Thes 1:3; 1 Tim 1:14; 2:15; Titus 2:2).
