Ephesians 1:15.— Having, in the foregoing verses, thanked God for the great favours and mercies which, from the beginning, he had purposed for the Gentiles under the Messiah, in such a description of that design of the Almighty as was fit to raise their thoughts above the law; having taken notice of their standing firm in the faith which he had taught them, and thanked God for it;—the Apostle here goes on to intreat of God that he would enlighten the minds of the Ephesian converts, to see fully the great things which were actually done for them, and the glorious state they were in under the gospel; of which he gives us such a draught from this verse to ch. Ephesians 2:10 as in every part of it shews, that, in the kingdom of Christ, they are set far above the Mosaical rites, and enjoy the spiritual and incomprehensible benefits of it, not by the tenour of a few outward ceremonies, but by their faith alone in Jesus Christ, to whom they are united, and of whom they are members; who is exalted to the height of all dignity, dominion, and power, in his glorified humanity, and in his mediatorial office.
After I heard of your faith— Some have hence argued, that this Epistle, if directed to the Ephesians, must have been written before St. Paul's long abode at Ephesus; since he would not have spoken of their faith as only known by report, if he had, by two years and a half, been conversant with them, and seen the effects of it. To this it has been answered by some, that the word ακουω signifies, not only to hear, but to understand, by whatever means the knowledge be attained. And others have said, that this Epistle was intended, not only for the church of Ephesus, but for other Asian churches in the neighbourhood. But, perhaps, the easiest and most solid answer is, that, as it was now five or six years since St. Paul quitted Ephesus, he might judge it proper thus to express his complacency on hearing that they continued, in the midst of so many circumstances of temptation, to behave in a manner so worthy what he had personally observed among them. See Colossians 1:4. Philippians 3:21. 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6; 1 Thessalonians 3:6. Instead of faith, some read faithfulness.