Ephesians 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, Paul's description of God as "the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named," is unique. Unfortunately the charm and the force of it cannot be represented in an English translation. The Greek word represented by "family" is used to denote not only a family, but a clan, a tribe, a nation, a race — any number of men who are thought of as the descendants of one father. We have no analogous word in our own language, and therefore the felicity of Paul's expression cannot be transferred into English. What he means is this: — You have a name for those who belong to the same family, the same tribe, the same nation, the same race, by which you describe them as the descendants of a common ancestor; a name which implies that their unity is not the artificial creation of human law, but consists in their relationship to a common father; this name bears witness to the relationship of all the families and tribes of men, and of all ranks and orders of angels, to the eternal Fountain of all created life. God is the true Father of all races in heaven and on earth; and the unity of a family, a tribe, a nation, in its common ancestor, has its original and archetype in the unity of angels and men in Him. This great and noble conception of the unity of heaven and earth in God is characteristic of that form of Christian theology which is illustrated in this Epistle and in the Epistle to the Colossians. As yet, according to Paul's conception, the Divine idea is unfulfilled. Its orderly development has been troubled, thwarted, and delayed by sin, by sin in this world and in other worlds. But it will be fulfilled at last (Colossians 1:16). In union with Christ, the Eternal Son, heaven and earth will be restored to the Eternal Father. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,WEB: from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, |
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