Ephesians 3:8
The unsearchable riches of Christ
- The gospel’s word εὐαγγελίζομαι euangelizomai · to speak good news
Original
Translations
Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
to me—the less than the least of all the holy ones—was given this grace, among the nations to proclaim good news—the untraceable riches of the Christ,
모든 성도 중에 지극히 작은 자보다 더 작은 나에게 이 은혜를 주신 것은 측량할 수 없는 그리스도의 풍성을 이방인에게 전하게 하시고
그분께서 모든 성도들 중에서 가장 작은 자보다 더 작은 나에게 이 은혜를 주신 것은 헤아릴 수 없는 그리스도의 부요함을 내가 이방인들 가운데 선포하게 하고
Commentaries
Matthew Henry on Eph 3:8-12 as a whole
Those whom God advances to honourable employments, he makes low in their own eyes; and where God gives grace to be humble, there he gives all other needful grace. How highly he speaks of Jesus Christ; the unsearchable riches of Christ! …
Read the whole commentary →Wesley Eph 3:8
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given - Here are the noblest strains of eloquence to paint the exceeding low opinion the apostle had of himself, and the fulness of unfathomable blessings which are treasured up in Christ.
Read the whole commentary →
Note
Having spoken of God's purpose for the nations, Paul looks at the man entrusted with it. The grace given to one who is "less than the least" was the task of bringing the Gentiles good news, and the good news is the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Ephesians 3:8In verse 7 Paul said, "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace" (Ephesians 3:7). Verse 8 says what that grace was given for, and verse 9 that the work is to make plain to everyone a mystery hidden for ages in God. Between them Paul calls himself elachistoterō, "less than the least." The word takes the superlative "least" and adds a comparative ending to it, a form that strains grammar to lower the speaker further. Elsewhere he calls himself "the least of the apostles" (1 Corinthians 15:9), because he persecuted the church of God.
The verb is , here the aorist infinitive euangelisasthai, "to bring good news," and its object is the news itself: "the unsearchable riches of Christ." The gospel here is not a list of rules to keep but an announcement of the wealth that is in Christ. The adjective is built on ichnos, a footprint: riches whose tracks cannot be followed to their end. Paul used the same word when he broke into praise in Romans: "How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!" (Romans 11:33). The BSB there renders it "untraceable," the exact picture of the Greek.
The versions differ in small ways that teach. The KJV reads, "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." Its "among" follows the Textus Receptus, which has the preposition en; the older manuscripts, which the BSB follows, have the plain dative, "to the Gentiles." The LSV renders the verb fully and the adjective literally: "among the nations to proclaim good news—the untraceable riches of the Christ." In both the KJV and the BSB the word "gospel" disappears into "preach"; in the Greek the verb itself means to bring good news.
Wesley hears in the verse "the noblest strains of eloquence to paint the exceeding low opinion the apostle had of himself, and the fulness of unfathomable blessings which are treasured up in Christ" Wesley. Matthew Henry draws the lesson that "Those whom God advances to honourable employments, he makes low in their own eyes" Matthew Henry, and marvels at the gift of hearing it: "how great a favour to have them preached among us, and to have an offer of them!" Matthew Henry.
The messenger is less than the least, and the riches of Christ he brings cannot be tracked to their end. No one could trace them that far, and still they were handed to the Gentiles as good news.