194 sigurd grindheim
is probably the reason why they are designated as “holy” (v. 5).51 the
antithesis is to “sons of men,”52 which is a hebraism for human beings
(Mark 3:28). that suggests that the apostles are seen as holy, not in con-
tradistinction to Christians in general, but in contradistinction to human
beings in general. the mystery is not an exclusive prerogative of the
apostles and prophets. when the divine wisdom, intimately related to the
mystery, is made known to the powers and authorities (v. 10), the instru-
ment is not the apostles and prophets, but the church. the reconciliation
of Jews and gentiles and their coexistence in unity as the body of Christ
(1:22–23) are the first visible results of Christ’s reconciliatory work. this
fact serves as a proclamation to the heavenly powers and authorities that
the universal summing up of all things in Christ will become manifest in
that they also will be subordinated to the headship of Christ.53 the saints
are also the recipients to whom the mystery is made known in 1:9, as they
are in the parallel, Col 1:26. this interpretation would be in line with the
understanding of the apostolic and prophetic offices in the epistle to the
ephesians, as described in 4:11–12, where they are integrated into the func-
tion that is given to each individual in the church. the last of the two
purpose clauses in v. 12—“so that the body of Christ may be built up”—
should probably not be taken as dependent on what has just been said
about the offices, but on the previous purpose clause only: “to equip the
saints for the work of ministry.” thus, the building up of the body of Christ
is the function of each believer. that the emphasis in the context is on
the individual believer is confirmed by the fact that the section vv. 7–16
is marked out by an inclusio with “each one” (Ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ, v. 7, and ἑνὸς
ἑκάστου, v. 16).54
the picture of the apostles in ephesians can thus be appreciated as
not fundamentally different from Paul’s view of the spiritual gifts, as it
51 even though the apostles are understood as being set apart and elected for a spe-
cial ministry, this does not explain the use of the term “holy” here. Contra Merklein, Das
kirchliche Amt, 190; Barth, Ephesians 1–3, 335; lincoln, Ephesians, 179; Best, Ephesians, 308;
o’Brien, Ephesians, 233; sellin, Epheser, 256–57.
52 Paul ewald, Der Brief des Paulus an die Epheser, Kolosser und Philemon (2nd ed.; Kom-
mentar zum neuen testament 10; leipzig: deichert, 1910), 158. similarly, schlier, Brief an
die Epheser, 149.
53 lincoln, Ephesians, 186–87; schnackenburg, Ephesians, 140–41; o’Brien, Ephesians, 248.
54 gnilka, Epheserbrief, 213; Markus Barth, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and
Commentary on Chapters 4–6 (aB 34B; new york: doubleday, 1974), 478–81; gordon d.
Fee, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul (Peabody, Ma: hen-
drickson, 1994), 706; o’Brien, Ephesians, 304. Contra schlier, Brief an die Epheser, 198–99;
Merklein, Das kirchliche Amt, 76; lincoln, Ephesians, 253; schnackenburg, Ephesians, 182–83;
Muddiman, Ephesians, 200.