Ephesians 4:6

Eph_4:6

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

The universal Fatherhood of believers

I. A truth proclaimed by the gospel.

II. A truth manifoldly confirmed by Christian experience.

1. The Divine Father is over all His children. Fatherhood the ultimate truth concerning God on which all others rest, and out of which they grow. Expressive of

(1) supreme authority;

(2) protective care;

(3) the grace of God as an administrative principle.

2. The Divine Father is through all His children. This preposition suggests movement and instrumentality.

(1) The energy of the Father working through His children;

(2) the distribution of spiritual gifts;

(3) the revelation of the Father through believers.

3. The Divine Father is in all His children.

(1) In the consciousness of their relationship to Him (Rom_8:15; Gal_4:6);

(2) in real union with Him (Joh_17:22-23). (A. F. Muir, M. A.)

One God and Father

The ideas connected with God and Father are here joined beautifully in the same person--power and love. Majesty is softened with tenderness, and the splendours of the Divinity tempered by the condescensions of paternal love. This principle is indeed wonderfully exemplified in all Gods dealings with the human race since the beginning of the world. The entire Jewish theocracy was the clothing the splendours of the present Ruler under the forms of a carnal ritualism. Whenever, in the old Testament, the glory of the Lord appears, two things take place--the sinful creature is laid in the dust, and then a word of comfort comes from the excellent glory: power is tempered with grace; the majesty of Jehovah with the human heartedness of the Father. Thus it was with Isaiah (Isa_6:5-9); Ezekiel fell prostrate (Eze_3:23); and Daniel fainted and was sick certain days (Dan_8:17-27); John, the beloved, fell down as dead before the glory of his Master (Rev_1:17); and even the fierce murderer of the saints (Act_9:4-5) was overwhelmed by the manifested glory. It is a source of comfort to remark that in these and all such cases there is ever some word or act of kindness on the part of God to raise up and strengthen His trembling creatures. It is the realizing of the name, God and Father. This is, indeed, the principle of Incarnation. The awful glory of the incorruptible God is tempered, softened, humanized in the person of Christ. (W. Graham, D. D.)

The Fatherhood of God

There are degrees of Fathership; or rather, there are such different degrees of the development of a Fathers love as make new orders in the relationship. He is the Father of the inanimate creation. Job calls Him the Father of the rain. In a higher sense and measure, He is the Father of the whole human race. All are the creatures of His hand; all are the subjects of His special providence; for all Jesus died. But the believer says it as a heathen or man of the world never says it. Or, see it again in this way. God has only one begotten Son, Jesus Christ. As many as believe are united to Jesus Christ; they become members of that mystical body. So they become sons by a double process, and by virtue of their union with Christ they are sons indeed. Therefore to them in a further degree God is Father. I do not say He is a reconciled Father to them, that He did not need (that is not in the Bible), but they are reconciled children to Him. There are two persons who best know what it is to say Father. One is a little, simple, trusting child, of the womb of the morning, who has not yet unlearnt the faith of his infancy. The other is a penitent, rising up from his sin, going back to his home--I will arise, and go to my Father, and will say unto Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. I believe the remedy of all sorrow and almost all sin will be to think of God more as a Father. But this is not the line of thought along which I wish to take you now, but it is this, that God is the common Father of us all. Surely it would be a great thing if we could have it always before us--One God and Father of all. There is a great deal of harshness of opinion in the world just now, and men are very busy unchurching and un-Christianizing one another. The rich speak of the poor as the lower orders, and the poor--partly in consequence because they think the rich look down upon them--the poor dislike the rich much more than the rich dislike the poor. But ought this to be where all are one family? Do we call brothers and sisters lower orders? At this moment, have you any disagreement with any living man? have you any quarrel? Now think--That person has the same Father that I have; how patient that Father has been with that man; how very patient God has been with me; and is this the way, as a child of God, I should act to another child of the same God? There are deep mysteries in Gods providence--why some are heathen and some are Christian, some know nothing and some know much, some have so many advantages and some have so exceedingly few. But let us never forget the Word, and all it tells, and all it teaches us to do--One God and Father of us all. I know nothing which brings heaven so near. Here are we on earth trying to say, and we ought to say, every day, Our Father. And up there, just inside the blue veil, the hundred forty-and-four thousand have the Fathers name on their foreheads. Was this the reason why Christ taught us to say, Our Father? (J. Vaughan, M. A.)

God the Father of all

The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide worlds joy. The lowly pine on the mountain top waves its sombre boughs, and cries, Thou art my sun. And the little meadow violet lifts its cup of blue, and whispers with its perfumed breath, Thou art my sun. And the grain in a thousand fields rustles in the wind, and makes answer, Thou art my sun. So God sits effulgent in heaven, not for a favoured few, but for the universe of life; and there is no creature so poor or so low that he may not look up with childlike confidence and say, My Father, Thou art mine. (H. W. Beecher.)

God is above all

When Bulstrode Whitelock was embarking, in the year 1653, as ambassador for Sweden, he was much disturbed in his mind, as he rested at Harwich on the preceding night, which was stormy, while he reflected on the distracted state of the nation. It happened that a good and confidential servant slept in an adjacent bed, who, finding that his master could not sleep, at length said, Pray, sir, will you give me leave to ask you a question? Certainly. Pray, sir, dont you think that God governed the world very well before you came into it? Undoubtedly. And pray, sir, dont you think that He will govern it quite as well when you are gone out of it? Certainly. Then, sir, dont you think you may trust Him to govern it properly as long as you live? To this last question Whitelock had nothing to reply, but, turning himself about, soon fell fast asleep, till he was aroused and called to embark.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph 4:6. Πάντων, of all) This word occurring thrice, and πᾶσιν presently after, both are masculine; for all are reduced to unity [are brought together as one, under the one God and Father].—ἐπὶ) high above all with His grace.—διὰ πάντων) Working throughout all, through [by means of] Christ.—ἐν πᾶσιν,[56]) in all dwelling, in (i.e., by) the Holy Spirit.

[56] ABC Memph. read ἐν πᾶσιν only. DGfg Vulg., both Syr. Versions, Iren., Firmilian ad Cypr. 150, Hilary, add ἡμῖν. Rec. Text, with no very old authority, reads ὑμῖν.—ED.

The larger Ed. had preferred the omission of the pronoun, whether ὑμῖν or ἡμῖν; but the Germ. Vers., following the decision of the 2d Ed., received the pronoun ἡμῖν.—E. B.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph_4:6. Observe the climactic advance in Eph_4:4-6 : the Church, Christ, God;and at the same time the climax in the divine Triad: Spirit, Lord, Father. Only the dominion of the Father is the absolute one, that of the Son is the derived, conferred, obtained (Php_2:9; 1Co_15:24 ff; 1Co_3:23, al.; comp. Ernesti, Ursprung d. Sünde, I. p. 194 ff.), in which He also disposes of the Spirit (2Co_3:18). See also Gess, von der Person Christi, p. 158 ff.

πάντων] i.e. of all believers, as those who have the υἱοθεσία (Eph_1:5; Rom_8:15; Gal_3:26; Gal_4:5), so that God is their God and Father. Holzhausen erroneously (seeing that the context treats of the Christian ἑνότης) thinks that all men are intended. Not even the spiritually dead members of the church are included (in opposition to Münchmeyer), as results from the sequel indicated by διά and ἐν, since they have not the Spirit and belong not to Christ (Rom_8:9), but are aloof from connection with Him and stand outside of grace (Gal_5:4 f.; Joh_15:2; Joh_15:6), consequently have no share in the body of Christ (Eph_1:23) and in the living temple of God (Eph_2:22 f.).

ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων κ.τ.λ.] The relation of the Θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων to the πᾶσι in threefold manner. Comp. Rom_11:36, where, however, the prepositions define the subject, not, as here, the object. πάντων, πάντων, and πᾶσιν are equally to be taken as masculine, because the preceding πάντων was masculine, and because the discourse continues in Eph_4:7 with ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν, wherein the πάντες are individualized. Wrongly, therefore, many (including Erasmus, Michaelis, Morus, Rückert, Baumgarten-Crusius) have taken the first two as neuter, while the Vulgate, Zachariae, Koppe, et al., give the second point alone as neuter, and Matthies, on the other hand, explains all three elements of the relation of God to the world and mankind, consequently as neuter.

ἐπὶ πάντων] ἐπάνω πάντων, Chrysostom; τὴν δεσποτείαν σημαίνει, Theodoret. Comp. Rom_9:5. See Wessel, ad Diodor. xiii. 14; Lobeck, ad Phryn p. 474; Winer, p. 335 [E. T. 521]. After this relation of transcendence there follows, in διὰ … πᾶσιν, that of immanence.

διὰ πάντων] cannot, since the πάντες are the Christians and the relation of God to what is Christian is characterized, apply either to the creation (Estius, Wolf, and others), so that we should have to think of the all-penetrating creative power of God, or to providence (Chrysostom and his successors; Beza, Grotius: per omnes diffundit providam suam gubernationem); but the charismatic presence of God by means of the Holy Spirit, pervading and ruling all Christians, is meant. See also Eph_4:7, and comp. 1Co_12:6. The distinction from the following ἐν πᾶσιν lies not in the thing itself, since both elements denote the immanent ruling of God by virtue of His Spirit, but in the form of conception, since with ἐν the relation is conceived of as operative indwelling, and with διά as operative movement throughout all Christian hearts (Deus enim Spiritu sanctificationis diffusus est per omnia ecclesiae membra, Calvin). According to Harless, the thought expressed in διὰ πάντων is, that God as head works through the members. But of the conception of the head and the members there is absolutely nothing in the context; further, though mention is made of God as Father, it is not the Father, but Christ, that is Head of the members; lastly, in place of the simple ὤν, which is to be mentally supplied, there would be insensibly introduced a wholly different supplement, namely, ἐνεργῶν, or a similar verb.[202] At the bottom of this explanation there lies, indeed, the presupposition, that the relation of the Trinity is expressed in the three prepositions, as Jerome, Thomas, and many of the older expositors would have it. Against this altogether arbitrary supposition, however, Theophylact already rightly declared himself. See also Hofmann, Schriftbew. I. p. 201. Olshausen, too, finds here, as at Rom_11:36, the Trinity; holding that God is described in His various relations to the creature [rather to the Christians] as Lord over all things, as instrument by which they are (this being held to apply to the Son), and as the element in which they are. Thus, moreover, the prepositional relation of the last two clauses is exactly reversed, inasmuch as not διὰ πάντων κ.τ.λ. is explained, but διʼ οὗ πάντες κ.τ.λ.! According to Beyschlag, Christol. d. N.T. p. 250, there is expressed, at least in the form of hint, the threefold mode of existence of God (self-preservation, self-disclosure, self-communication). But apart from the fact that such a threefold form of existence is not the expression of the New Testament triad, the self-communication, in fact, is implied not only in ἐν πᾶσιν, but necessarily already in διὰ πάντων. Lastly, Koppe is wrong in an opposite way: Sententia videtur una, tantum variis formulis synonymis (!) expressa haec: cui vos omnes debetis omnia.

Observe, further, that the great fundamental elements of unity, Eph_4:4-6, are matters of fact, historically given with Christianity itself, and as such are not affected by differences of doctrine; hence without reason there have been found here traces of the later age, when upon the basis of the Pauline thought a Catholic church was built, of which the centralization in doctrine and constitution was not derived from the adherents of Paul, but was a Petrine thought (Schwegler). The Catholic idea in our passage is just the Pauline one (1 Corinthians 12), cherished by Christ Himself (Joh_17:20 f.).

[202] This also in opposition to Winzer: qui per omnes operatur, quasi unoquoque utitur ad declarandam suam majestatem, ad consilia sua exsequenda. So, in the main, de Wette (comp. Bengel): it applies to the operation brought about by means of all; and Reiche: omnibus utitur quasi instrumentis, quibus … res Christiana stabilitur, augetur, consummatur.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph 4:6 . εἶς Θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων : one God and Father of all . This supreme name, Θεὸς or ὁ Θεὸς καὶ πατήρ , is used both absolutely (1Co 15:24 ; Eph 5:20 ; Jas 1:27 ), and with defining terms, e.g. , τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν , Eph 1:10 (Rom 15:6 ; Eph 1:3 ; 2Co 1:3 ; 1Pe 1:3 ), ἡμῶν (Gal 1:4 ; Phi 4:20 ; 1Th 3:11 ; 1Th 3:13 ; 2Th 2:16 ), πάντων (here; cf. the longer designation εἷς Θεὸς ὁ πατὴρ ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα , 1Co 8:6 ). Christian unity being here in view, the name applies to the special Fatherhood of God in grace, not (with Holz., Abb.) to the universal Fatherhood of God and His relation to all men. Attention is rightly called by Mey. and others to the advance in the thought in these verses from Church to Christ , and from Christ to God who is One in the highest and most absolute sense the One source of life and good in all His people, the one to whom both Christ and the Spirit are related. ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων , καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν ὑμῖν ὑμῖν : who is over all, and through all, and in [ you ] all . The ὑμῖν of the TR (following some cursives and Fathers), and the variant ἡμῖν (in [359] [360] [361] [362] , Lat., Syr., Goth., etc.) must be omitted (with LTTrWHRV) as having no support from [363] [364] [365] [366] , 17, Copt., Eth., etc. The πάντων and the πᾶσιν are most naturally taken as masculines here, in harmony with the previous πάντων . The clause, therefore, expresses a three-fold relation of the One God and Father to the all who are His: first , the relation of transcendence (Mey.) or sovereignty ἐπί (= ὑπεράνω , over or above ) expressing the supremacy of absolute Godhead and Fatherhood; second , that of immanence διά (= through ) expressing the pervading, animating, controlling presence of that One God and Father; and third , that of indwelling the ἐν expressing the constant abode of the One God and Father in His people by His Spirit. Neither the creative action of God (Est.), nor His providential rule (Chrys., Grot.), is in view, but what He is to the Christian people in His dominion over them and His gracious operative presence in them.

[359] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[360] Codex Augiensis (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Trinity College, Cambridge, edited by Scrivener in 1859. Its Greek text is almost identical with that of G, and it is therefore not cited save where it differs from that MS. Its Latin version, f, presents the Vulgate text with some modifications.

[361] Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.

[362] Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.

[363] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

[364] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

[365] Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).

[366] Codex Ephraemi (sæc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph_4:6

One God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all and in us all, εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν ἡμῖν. As the church is one because pervaded by one Spirit, and because it is owned and governed by one Lord, so it is one because it has one God and Father; one glorious Being to whom it sustains the twofold relation of creature and child. This God is not merely over us, as afar off, but through all and in us all, i.e. pervading and filling all with his sustaining and life-giving presence. There are many passages to which the doctrine of the Trinity gives a sacred rhythm, though the doctrine itself is not directly asserted. It is so here. There is one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father. The unity of the church is founded on this doctrine. It is one because there is to us one God and Father, one Lord, one Spirit. It is a truly mystical union; not a mere union of opinion, of interest, or of feeling; but something supernatural arising from a common principle of life. This life is not the natural life which belongs to us as creatures; nor intellectual, which belongs to us as rational beings; but it is spiritual life, called elsewhere the life of God in the soul. And as this life is common, on the one hand, to Christ and all his members and on the other, to Christ and God, this union of the church is not only with Christ, but with the Triune God. Therefore in Scripture it is said that the Spirit dwells in believers, that Christ dwells in them, and that God dwells in them. And, therefore, also our Lord prays for his people, That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. Joh_17:21.

It is obvious from the whole connection that the word πάντων (of all, and through all), is not neuter. The apostle does not refer to the dominion of God over the universe, or to his providential agency throughout all nature. Neither is the reference to his dominion over rational creatures or over mankind. It is the relation of God to the church, of which the whole passage treats. God as Father is over all its members, through them all and in them all. The church is a habitation of God through the Spirit. It is his temple in which he dwells and which is pervaded in all its parts by his presence. The preposition διὰ, therefore, does not here express instrumentality, but diffusion. It is not that God operates through all (διὰ πάντων), but that he pervades all and abides in all. This is the climax. To be filled with God; to be pervaded by his presence, and controlled by him, is to attain the summit of all created excellence, blessedness and glory.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who only is joined together with us in Christ.

Who only hath the chief authority over the Church.

Who only poureth forth his providence, through all the members of the Church.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

above--"over all." The "one God over all" (in His sovereignty and by His grace) is the grand source and crowning apex of unity (Eph 2:19, end).

through all--by means of Christ "who filleth all things" (Eph 4:10; Eph 2:20-21), and is "a propitiation" for all men (Jo1 2:2).

in you all--The oldest manuscripts omit "you." Many of the oldest versions and Fathers and old manuscripts read, "in us all." Whether the pronoun be read or not, it must be understood (either from the "ye," Eph 4:4, or from the "us," Eph 4:7); for other parts of Scripture prove that the Spirit is not "in all" men, but only in believers (Rom 8:9, Rom 8:14). God is "Father" both by generation (as Creator) and regeneration (Eph 2:10; Jam 1:17-18; Jo1 5:1).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. One God] The fountain of all being, self-existent and eternal; and Father of all, both Jews and Gentiles, because he is the Father of the spirits of all flesh.

Who is above all] ο επι παντων. Who is over all; as the King of kings, and Lord of lords.

And through all] Pervading every thing; being present with every thing; providing for all creatures; and by his energy supporting all things.

And in you all.] By the energy of his Spirit, enlightening, quickening, purifying, and comforting; in a word, making your hearts the temples of the Holy Ghost. Some think the mystery of the blessed Trinity is contained in this verse: God is over all, as Father; through all, by the Logos or Word; and in all, by the Holy Spirit.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. One God and Father of all. This is the main argument, from which all the rest flow. How comes it that we are united by faith, by baptism, or even by the government of Christ, but because God the Father, extending to each of us his gracious presence, employs these means for gathering us to himself? The two phrases, ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων, may either mean, above all and through all Things, or above all and through all Men. Either meaning will apply sufficiently well, or rather, in both cases, the meaning will be the same. Although God by his power upholds, and maintains, and rules, all things, yet Paul is not now speaking of the universal, but of the spiritual government which belongs to the church. By the Spirit of sanctification, God spreads himself through all the members of the church, embraces all in his government, and dwells in all; but God is not inconsistent with himself, and therefore we cannot but be united to him into one body.

This spiritual unity is mentioned by our Lord.

“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast, given me, that they may be one as we are.” (John 17:11)

This is true indeed, in a general sense, not only of all men but of all creatures. “In him we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:28.) And again, “Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?” (Jeremiah 23:24.) But we must attend to the connection in which this passage stands. Paul is now illustrating the mutual relation of believers, which has nothing in common either with wicked men or with inferior animals. To this relation we must limit what is said about God’s government and presence. It is for this reason, also, that the apostle uses the word Father, which applies only to the members of Christ.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(6) One God and Father of all.—Necessarily, through the Son, we pass to the Father (as the Lord Himself invariably teaches us to do), since He is (to use the old Greek expression) “the fount of Deity.” He is said to be the “Father of all.” We cannot limit this universal Fatherhood; although, undoubtedly, the context shows that the immediate reference is to those who are His children by adoption in Jesus Christ. The Church is essentially Catholic, inheriting by special gift what is the birthright of all humanity; incapable of perfection till all be drawn into that closer sonship, yet having neither right nor desire to deny that outside her pale at any moment the wider Fatherhood of God extends.

Who is above all, and through all, and in you all.—The word “you” has little authority; many MSS. and commentaries have “us.” But the best MSS. and authorities omit both, as probably early glosses of explanation which have crept into the text. Accordingly, the word “all” throughout must be taken, as above, as applying to all God’s rational creatures, made in His image (and indeed, in a lower sense, even to all His creatures), but especially and properly to the members of Christ’s Church. In the three-fold sentence many ancient and modern interpreters trace a reference to the Holy Trinity. But, strictly speaking, this cannot be, as the passage expressly points to the Father; although, in virtue of the eternal unity of the Godhead, it may be true that in the expression “through all” and “in all” we trace those manifestations of the Father which are especially made through the Son and by the Holy Spirit. Hence we must refer all properly to the ultimate conception of God the Father; as “above all” in the sovereignty of His will, since to work out “His pleasure they are and were created,” and His will becomes to them the “law eternal;” as “through all” in the diffusive power of the forces—physical, moral, and spiritual—by which the world of nature, still more the world of man, most of all the society of Christians, are swayed as wholes; and “in all” by the indwelling of God in the individual for creation, sustentation, regeneration, which is the breath of life—both the physical and spiritual life. (This individuality, and the especial reference to Christians, are marked by the very natural gloss “us,” or “you,” in this clause.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. one God and Father of all] The ultimate Source of spiritual unity. Baptism seals faith, faith unites to the Lord Christ, Christ reveals the Father as “the only true God” (Joh_17:3), with Whom He, one with His Church, is eternally one.—“Of all”:—here, obviously, all believers. Other aspects of Divine Fatherhood are not here in question. See above on Eph_1:2. And cp. on this Ephesians 4 :1Co_8:6.

above all, &c.] The thought in these clauses progresses downwards and inwards. The Eternal Father, in His Son, supremely presides “over all” His regenerate children, carries out action “through” them, and dwells “in” them. On the last word see Eph_2:22; 2Co_6:16-18; 1Jn_4:12; 1Jn_4:16.—“In you all”:—there is clear evidence for the omission of “you”; considerable evidence for the reading “us”; but a preponderance, chiefly of patristic quotations, against any pronoun. The context however is clear for the special reference to the Church. The power and immanence of God in the Universe would be only a remote plea for Christian union.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

One God and Father of all,.... That there is but one God is the voice of nature and of revelation; and may be concluded from the perfections of deity, for there can be but one eternal, infinite, immense, omnipotent, all-sufficient, perfect, and independent Being; and from one first cause of all things, and the relations he stands in to his creatures: there is but one God, who is truly, and really, and properly God, in opposition to all nominal and figurative deities, and which are not gods by nature, and to the fictitious deities and idols of the nations; and there is but one God of Jews and Gentiles; nor is the unity of the Godhead inconsistent with a trinity of persons in it: and this one God is the Father of all; the Father of all mercies, and of all spirits, both angels and souls of men; and he is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of all the elect in him: and seeing that they have all one covenant God and Father, who has predestinated them to the adoption of children, and who has put them among the children, and adopted them into his family, and stand in the same relation to him, and enjoy the same privileges, they ought to love as brethren:

who is above all; which may denote the superior excellency of his nature, not above his Son and Spirit, who are of the same nature with him, but above angels and men; and the extensiveness of his government, over all creatures in general, and over his church and people in particular:

and through all; the Arabic version renders it, "taking care of all"; which may have respect to his providence, which is either universal, and reaches to all creatures his hands have made; or special, and concerns his own chosen people, who belong to his family, and to whom he stands in the relation of a covenant God and Father: or this clause may refer to the perfections of his nature, which appear through the whole of the salvation of all the chosen ones; as his wisdom, love, grace, mercy, justice, holiness, truth, and faithfulness:

and in you all; which is to be understood, not of his being in his creatures, by his powerful presence, which is everywhere supporting them; but of the gracious union there is between him and his people, and of his gracious inhabitation in them by his Spirit. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, the Complutensian edition, and some copies, read, "in us all"; and the Alexandrian copy, and the Ethiopic version, read only, "in all".

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Ver. 6. One God and Father of all] Have we not all one Father? saith Malachi. {Mal 2:10} Why then dissent and jar we? How is it that these many ones here instanced unite us not? "My dove, mine undefiled is but one," Son 6:9.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

One God - The same God; therefore there should be unity. Were there many gods to be worshipped, there could be no more hope of unity than there is among the worshippers of Mammon and Bacchus, and the various other idols that people set up. People who have different pursuits, and different objects of supreme affection, can be expected to have no union. People who worship many gods, cannot hope to be united. Their affections are directed to different objects, and there is no harmony or sympathy of feeling. But where there is one supreme object of attachment there may be expected to be unity. The children of a family that are devoted to a parent, will be united among themselves; and the fact that all Christians have the same great object of worship, should constitute a strong bond of union among themselves - a chain always kept bright.

And Father of all - One God who is the Father of all; that is, who is a common Father to all who believe. That this refers to the Father, in contradistinction from the Son and the Holy Spirit, seems evident. The Spirit and the Son are mentioned in the previous verses. But the fact that the “Father of all” is mentioned as “God,” does not prove that the Spirit and the Son are not also endowed with divine attributes. That question is to be determined by the attributes ascribed to the Son and the Holy Spirit in other places. All sincere Christians worship “one” God, and “but” one. But they suppose that this one God subsists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, united in a mysterious manner, and constituting the one God, and that there is no other God. That the Father is divine, they all hold, as Paul affirms here; that the Son and the Holy Spirit are also divine, they also hold; see the John 1 note; Heb. 1 note; Phi 2:6 note; Rom 9:5 note. The meaning here is, that God is the common Father of “all” his people - of the rich and the poor; the bond and the free; the learned and the unlearned. He is no respecter of persons. Nothing would tend more to overcome the prejudices of color, rank, and wealth, than to feel that we all have one Father; and that we are all equally the objects of his favor; compare notes on Act 17:26.

Who is above all - Who is supreme; who presides over all things.

And through all - He pervades universal nature, and his agency is seen everywhere.

And in you all - There is no one in whose heart he does not dwell. You are his temple, and he abides in you; see Eph 2:22; notes, 1Co 6:19. The argument here is, that as the same God dwelt in every heart, they ought to be one. See this argument beautifully expressed in the Saviour’s prayer, Joh 17:21; compare Joh 14:23.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

One God; God is here taken personally for the Father, the other two Persons being before mentioned, Eph 4:4,5.

And Father of all; of all believers.

Who is above all; not only in the excellencies of his nature, but especially in his sovereign dominion over the church.

And through all; by his special providence, through all the members of the church.

And in you all; by inhabitation, and the conjunction of believers with him. Though the former two may be applied to God’s universal dominion and providence over all the creatures, yet, the apostle speaking of the conjunction of believers in one Father, they are both to be restrained according to this last clause.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. One God—Again St. Paul takes care to fasten our salvation to Him who is above all heavens. He is dealing with late worshippers of Diana or Jupiter. This salvation hangs not from these idols. Nor is it a mere earthly system with no heaven-connected cord. It is bound to the throne of the Infinite.

And Father of all—One of the traces of the fatherhood of God, which Gentilism had lost, is the idea that the name Jupiter is in origin Zeus-pater, God-father, or, rather, Sky-father, or Heaven-father. St. Paul restores the true fatherhood to his converted Gentiles, pointing them to the supreme Zeus-pater, whom no image could represent, and no temple hold.

Above… through… in—The threefold members are unquestionably based in the Trinitarian thought. Beginning with the baptismal form, (Mat_28:19,) thence taking that of the benediction (2Co_13:14) and the trisagion, (Rev_4:8,) we have models according to which Paul’s trinal clauses should certainly be interpreted. See our note on the Sacred Three, vol. ii, p. 77. The accordance of the prepositions here with the Trinitarian Persons is obvious. The Father, as original creator, is above all; the Son, as agent, or manifest God, is through all; the Spirit, as Sanctifier, is indwelling. Yet while these trinal attributes may thus symbolize the tri-personality, they may still accordantly be considered in pure reference to the one God as Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Immanent. As the Omnipotent, he is the essential force; as Omnipresent, he fills all space; as Immanent, he is the inmost basis of all substance and all existence. But we must never convert this Omnipresence, or Immanence in things, into an identity with things. For this identity with things is pantheism. It makes all things God. Pope’s lines—

“All are but parts of one stupendous whole,

Whose body nature is, and God the soul,” etc.,

do truly express this divine Immanence, with great poetic beauty. They should never be charged with pantheism; they declare that God is in all things, but not that he is all things. But Emerson’s language—

“He is the axis of the star;

He is the sparkle of the spar,

He is the heart of every creature;

He is the meaning of each feature;”

identifies God with things, the Creator with the creature. It identifies God with our own persons, and thence becomes self-deification. It identifies God with stocks and stones, and thence becomes fetichism.

In you all— The you is rejected by the best readings.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

One God and Father of all - That believe. Who is above all - Presiding over all his children, operating through them all by Christ, and dwelling in all by his Spirit.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

6. One God. Not gods many, but one God for all; “The Father of all, above all, through all, in all.” Meyer, upon this passage, says that the elements of church unity are: (1) The church itself constituted as a unity: One Body, one Spirit, one Blessed Hope. (2) The means by which this united church is built up: One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism. (3) Over all one Supreme Ruler, the God and Father of all. Bishop Pearson, on the creed, notes “Points of Unity of the Church.” He enumerates, (1) Unity of the Head; (2) Unity of the Spirit dwelling in it; (3) Unity of hope; (4) Unity of faith; (5) Unity of ordinance for admission; (6) Unity of the one Father; (7) Unity or organization, one Body.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

6. εἶς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων, ὁ ἑπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν. The deepest ground of unity, underlying and sustaining both the unity of love and hope, and the unity of common service of the One Lord who has been revealed in human flesh, is the unity and universal fatherhood of God. This truth St Paul had proclaimed at Athens as the ground of the unity of the race, Act 17:26; Act 17:28; cf. Heb 2:11; Heb 12:9. The thought of the Fatherhood was at the heart of the prayer, Eph 3:14. The unity of God in the same way knits Jew and Gentile in Rom 3:30 and is the ground of all-inclusive intercession in 1Ti 2:1-5. In Rom 11:36 St Paul has been describing the working out of the counsel of God in human history, and God is therefore acknowledged as the source and way and goal of the whole development, ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ διʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα. Here the thought is of the fundamental constitution of the universe, and God is ἐπὶ πάντων ‘supreme over all’ (cf. Rom 9:5), ‘all-pervading’ διὰ πάντων: the thought is not easy to define or to parallel. Robinson paraphrases ‘operative through all.’ It is possible, esp. if we read ἴνα πληρωθῇ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ in Eph 3:19, that it may mean ‘to whose perfect manifestation all things minister’) ‘and immanent in all’ ἐν πᾶσιν, the converse of Act 17:28 (ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν). πάντων and πᾶσιν may be either masc. or neuter. In connexion with πατὴρ it is natural to take πάντων as personal. But there seems no reason to limit the reference in the prepositional phrase. In any case the addition of ἡμῖν to ἐν πᾶσιν is alien to the spirit of the passage.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6.] one God (the unity is here consummated in its central Object: ‘hoc est præcipuum, quia inde manant reliqua omnia,’ Calv. But we must not miss the distinct witness to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in these verses:—going upwards, we have 1st, the One Spirit dwelling in the one body:—2nd, the One Lord appropriated by faith and professed in baptism:—3rd, One God and Father supreme, in whom all find their end and object) and Father of all (masculine: ‘of all within the Church,’ for so is clearly the primary meaning, where he is speaking distinctly of the Church:—of all (Mey.) who have the υἱοθεσία. But it can hardly be doubted, that there is a further reference—to the universal Father-ship of all men—which indeed the Church only inherits in its fulness, others having fallen out of it by sin,—but which nevertheless is just as absolutely true), who is over all (men, primarily; and from the following,—men only, in this place. He is over all, in his sovereignty as the Father), and through all (men: in the co-extensiveness of Redemption by the Son with the whole nature of man: see on ver. 10 below, and ch. 2:20, 21) and in all (men: by the indwelling of the Spirit, see ch. 2:22. So that I cannot but recognize, in these three carefully chosen expressions, a distinct allusion again to the Three Persons of the blessed Trinity. All these are the work of the Father:—it is He who in direct sovereignty is over all—He who is glorified in the filling of all things by the Son:—He who is revealed by the witness of the indwelling Spirit. Many Commentators deny such a reference. Almost all agree in ἐν πᾶσιν representing the indwelling of the Spirit: the διὰ πάντων has been the principal stumbling-block: and is variously interpreted:—by some, of God’s Providence,—τουτέστιν, ὁ προνοῶν καὶ διοικῶν, Chrys., al.: by others, of His pervading presence by the Spirit,—‘spiritu sanctificationis diffusus est per omnia ecclesiæ membra,’ Calv.: by others, to the creation by the Son, ‘per quem omnia facta sunt’ (Aquin. in Ellic.): but this seems to be a conversion of διὰ πάντων into διʼ οὗ πάντες, as indeed Olsh. expressly does, ‘als Werfzeug¸ durch das die sind.’ Irenæus, v. 18. 2, p. 315, gives the meaning thus, adopting the Trinitarian reference, but taking the πάντων both times as neuter, and reading ἐν πᾶσιν ἡμῖν: ‘super omnia quidem Pater, et ipse est caput Christi: per omnia autem verbum, et ipse est caput ecclesiæ: in omnibus autem nobis Spiritus, et ipse est aqua viva,’ &c.).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. εἷς Θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων. “One God and Father of all.” Observe the climax: first, the Church, then Christ, then God; also the order of the three Persons—Spirit, Lord, Father. Ellicott quotes from Cocceius: “Etiamsi baptizamur in nomen Patris Filii et Spiritus. Sancti, et filium unum Dominum nominamus, tamen non credimus nisi in unum Deum.” It is arbitrary to limit πάντων to the faithful. It is true the context speaks only of Christians, but then πάντες has not been used. The writer advances from the Lord of the Church to the God and Father of all. For this notion of Fatherhood see Pearson, On the Creed, Art. 1.

ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν. “Who is over all, and through all, and in all.” The Received Text adds ὑμῖν, with a few cursives, and Chrys. (Comm. not text), Theoph., Oec. ἡμῖν is added in D G K L, Vulg., Syr. (both), Arm., Goth., Iren.

There is no pronoun in א A B C P 17 672, Ign. Orig. al. It was, no doubt, added as a gloss, πᾶσιν seeming to require a limitation.

As πᾶσιν is undoubtedly masculine, it is most natural to take πάντων in both places as masculine also. Ver. 7 individualises the πάντων by ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν. Erasmus and some later commentators, however, have taken the first and second πάντων as neuter, whilst the Vulg. so takes the second.

ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων; cf. Rom 9:5, ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων Θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοῦς αἰῶνας. “Over all,” as a sovereign ruler. It is less easy to say what are the distinct ideas meant to be expressed by διά and ἐν respectively. The latter is more individualising, the indwelling is an indwelling in each; whereas διὰ πάντων expresses a relation to the whole body, through the whole of which the influence and power of God are diffused. It is a sustaining and working presence. This does not involve the supplying of ἐνεργῶν.

We are not to suppose a direct reference to the Trinity in these three prepositional clauses, for here it is the Father that is specially mentioned in parallelism to the Spirit and the Son, previously spoken of.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

One God and Father. The fundamental ground of unity. Note the climax : One Church, one Christ, one God.

Above all [επι παντων] . Rev, over : as ruler.

Through - in [δια - εν] . Through, pervading : in, indwelling. Compare ch. Eph 2:22; Eph 3:17.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.