Efésios 3:8, Romanos 1:5 NVT

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints ; not only of apostles and prophets, but even of all believers—a profound expression of humility, founded not only on his persecuting career, but on his consciousness of sin, of inborn rebellion against God's Law, of fountains of unlawful desire in his flesh ( Romans 7:18 ; 1 Timothy 1:13-15 ), making him feel himself to be, in heart and essence, the chief of sinners. The sense of sin is not usually in proportion to the acts of outward... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8

The unsearchable riches of Christ. "Riches" an attractive word. Human heart leaps towards them. Ceaseless disappointments of most who follow after them. Here the riches that moth and rust do not corrupt, nor thieves break through to steal. 1. There are in Christ unsearchable riches of compassion . Case of the lost, proper object of pity. Christ's pity boundless. Human pity often quenched by great wickedness, troublesomeness, loathsomeness. Not so Christ's! Pity for thief on cross,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8

"Less than the least of all saints." I. HE WHO IS MOST HIGHLY GIFTED WITH DIVINE GRACE WILL THINK MOST LOWLY OF HIMSELF . St. Paul, the most gifted apostle, is most deeply conscious of his own unworthiness. We must distinguish between the endowment of grace and the acquisition of merit. To have much grace is only to be much favored. As a man grows in grace he grows in power of spiritual insight; and the result is twofold—he has more knowledge of his own true... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8

"The unsearchable riches of Christ." Some riches are unsearchable because they are inaccessible, like jewels guarded by jealous sentinels, and pearls in sea-caves, and the gold-mines of remote stars. Some riches are unsearchable because they are secret, like treasure hid in a field, and ancient records in undeciphered hieroglyphics; in this sense an illiterate man finds the wealth of a library, and an unscientific man the stores of a museum, unsearchable. No doubt there are wonderful... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8-9

The apostle's high privilege. Very often does he refer, with a sort of grateful humility, to the Divine favor in attaching him to the service of the gospel. I. MARK THE CONTRAST BETWEEN HIS CALL AND HIS SENSE OF PERSONAL NOTHINGNESS . "Less than the least of all saints." The expression is exceedingly emphatic, being a comparative formed upon a superlative. He could never forget his share in the death of Stephen, and his fierce persecutions of the Church of God.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ephesians 3:8

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints - This is one of the class of expressions unique to Paul. The ordinary terms of language do not express the idea which he wishes to convey, and a word is therefore coined to convey an idea more emphatically; compare the notes at 2 Corinthians 4:17. The word used here - ἐλαχιστότερος elachistoteros - does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. It is a comparative made from the superlative. Similar expressions are found, however, in later... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ephesians 3:8-9

Ephesians 3:8-9. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, &c. Here are the noblest strains of eloquence, to paint the exceeding low opinion which the apostle had of himself, and the fulness of unfathomable blessings which are treasured up in Christ. The word ελαχιστοτερω is a comparative, formed from the superlative ελαχιστος , the force of which it is difficult to express in the English language. Doubtless he speaks of himself in this humble manner, on account of his having... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ephesians 3:1-21

God’s wisdom and love displayed (3:1-21)It was because Paul had taken the gospel to the Gentiles that he was imprisoned in the first place (Acts 21:27-36). Yet he feels humbled to think that God should graciously choose him for such a noble work (3:1-2). As a Jew he was once proud of his belief that only Jews were God’s people. Even if some of the ‘far off’ Gentiles believed in God, they were still not God’s covenant people in the sense that Jews were. Now God’s special revelation shows Paul... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ephesians 3:8

Unto = To. who . . . least = to the less than the least. Greek. elachistoteros. Only here. That is what Paul was. What he became, see 1 Corinthians 15:10 (laboured more abundantly, &c). saints . In Ephesians 3:5 , "holy". See Acts 9:13 . is = was. preach . App-121 . among = to. unsearchable = untraceable. Only here and Romans 11:33 , which see. riches . See Ephesians 1:7 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Ephesians 3:8

Unto me who am less than the least of all saints, was the grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.Less than the least of all saints ... It is a mistake to render this "the very least of all saints,"[19] for it was clearly Paul's intention here to invent a word for pressing his utter rejection of any personal glory regarding the wonderful grace given. He compared a superlative, which is illegal grammatically (!); but Paul was above many of the rules so... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:8-9

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ephesians 3:8

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ephesians 3:8-9

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ephesians 3:1-21

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ephesians 3:8

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Ephesians 3:8

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