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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ephesians 4:17-32

The apostle having gone through his exhortation to mutual love, unity, and concord, in the Eph. 2:16; there follows in these an exhortation to Christian purity and holiness of heart and life, and that both more general (Eph. 4:17-24) and in several particular instances, Eph. 4:25-32. This is solemnly introduced: ?This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord; that is, seeing the matter is as above described, seeing you are members of Christ's body and partakers of such gifts, this I urge upon... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Ephesians 4:1-32

With this chapter the second part of the letter begins. In Ephesians 1:1-23 ; Ephesians 2:1-22 ; Ephesians 3:1-21 Paul has dealt with the great and eternal truths of the Christian faith, and with the function of the Church in the plan of God. Now he begins to sketch what each member of the Church must be if the Church is to carry out her part in that plan. Before we begin this chapter, let us again remind ourselves that the central thought of the letter is that Jesus has brought to a... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Ephesians 4:17-24

4:17-24 I say this and I solemnly lay it upon you in the Lord--you must no longer live the kind of life the Gentiles live, for their minds are concerned with empty things; their understandings are darkened; they are strangers from the life God gives, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the petrifying of their hearts. They have come to a stage when they are past feeling, and in their shameless wantonness they have abandoned themselves to every kind of unclean conduct in the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 4:18

Having the understanding darkened ,.... Not that the natural faculty of the understanding is lost in men, nor the understanding in things natural and civil, and which is quick enough, especially in things that are evil; but in things spiritual it is very dark and ignorant, as about the nature and perfections of God, his holiness and righteousness; about sin and the consequences of it; about Christ, his person, office, and work, and salvation by him; about the Spirit, and his work of grace... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 4:19

Who being past feeling ,.... Their consciences being cauterized or seared as with a red hot iron, which is the consequence of judicial hardness; so that they have lost all sense of sin, and do not feel the load of its guilt upon them, and are without any concern about it; but on the contrary commit it with pleasure, boast of it and glory in it, plead for it and defend it publicly, and openly declare it, and stand in no fear of a future judgment, which they ridicule and despise: the Vulgate... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 4:18

2. Having the understanding darkened - This is the second instance alleged by the apostle of the degradation of the Gentiles. Having no means of knowledge, the heart, naturally dark, became more and more so by means of habitual transgression; every thing in the Gentile system having an immediate tendency to blind the eyes and darken the whole soul. 3. Being alienated from the life of God - The original design of God was to live in man; and the life of God in the soul of man was that... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 4:19

5. Who being past feeling - Οιτινες απηλγηκοτες . The verb απαλγειν signifies, To throw off all sense of shame, and to be utterly devoid of pain, for committing unrighteous acts. To be desperate, having neither hope nor desire of reformation; in a word, to be without remorse, and to be utterly regardless of conduct, character, or final blessedness. Instead of απηλγηκοτες , several excellent MSS. and versions have απηλπικοτες , being without hope; that is, persons who, from... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 4:18

Verse 18 18.Being alienated from the life of God. The life of God may either mean what is accounted life in the sight of God, as in that passage, “they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God, ” (John 12:43,) or, that life which God bestows on his elect by the Spirit of regeneration. In both cases the meaning is the same. Our ordinary life, as men, is nothing more than an empty image of life, not only because it quickly passes, but also because, while we live, our souls, not... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 4:19

Verse 19 19.Who being past feeling. The account which had been given of natural depravity is followed by a description of the worst of all evils, brought upon men by their own sinful conduct. Having destroyed the sensibilities of the heart, and allayed the stings of remorse, they abandon themselves to all manner of iniquity. We are by nature corrupt and prone to evil; nay, we are wholly inclined to evil. Those who are destitute of the Spirit of Christ give loose reins to self-indulgence, till... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:17-19

The moral characteristics of heathenism. The apostle warns the saints of Ephesus not to walk in the ways of paganism. These ways are vividly described. I. THE HEATHEN WALK IN THE VANITY OF THEIR MIND . This vanity has its intellectual and its moral side. 1. Intellectually, it represents the waste of speculative power upon questions of the profoundest importance, ending usually in pantheism, atheism, or polytheism. The pagan intellect groped in vain amidst the... read more

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