SEV Biblia, Chapter 3:8
A mí, digo , el ms pequeo de todos los santos, es dada esta gracia de anunciar entre los gentiles el Evangelio de las inescrutables riquezas del Cristo,
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Ephesians 3:8
Verse 8. Less than the least of all saints] elacistoterw pantwn agiwn. As the design of the apostle was to magnify the grace of Christ in the salvation of the world, he uses every precaution to prevent the eyes of the people from being turned to any thing but Christ crucified; and although he was obliged to speak of himself as the particular instrument which God had chosen to bring the Gentile world to the knowledge of the truth, yet he does it in such a manner as to show that the excellency of the power was of God, and not of him; and that, highly as he and his follow apostles were honoured; they had the heavenly treasure in earthen vessels. To lay himself as low as possible, consistently with his being in the number of Divinely commissioned men, he calls himself less than the least; and is obliged to make a new word, by strangely forming a comparative degree, not from the positive, which would have been a regular grammatical procedure, but from the superlative. The adjective elacuv signifies little, elasswn or elattwn, less, and elacistov, least. On this latter, which is the superlative of elacuv, little, St. Paul forms his comparative, elacistoterov, less than the least, a word of which it would be vain to attempt a better translation than that given in our own version. It most strongly marks the unparalleled humility of the apostle; and the amazing condescension of God, in favouring him, who had been before a persecutor and blasphemer, with the knowledge of this glorious scheme of human redemption, and the power to preach it so successfully among the Gentiles.
The unsearchable riches of Christ] The word anexicniastov, from a, privative, and exicniazw, to trace out, from icnov, a step, is exceedingly well chosen here: it refers to the footsteps of God, the plans he had formed, the dispensations which he had published, and the innumerable providences which he had combined, to prepare, mature, and bring to full effect and view his gracious designs in the salvation of a ruined world, by the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of his Son. There were in these schemes and providences such riches - such an abundance, such a variety, as could not be comprehended even by the naturally vast, and, through the Divine inspiration, unparalleledly capacious mind of the apostle.
Yet he was to proclaim among the Gentiles these astonishing wonders and mysteries of grace; and as he proceeds in this great and glorious work, the Holy Spirit that dwelt in him opens to his mind more and more of those riches - leads him into those footsteps of the Almighty which could not be investigated by man nor angel, so that his preaching and epistles, taken all in their chronological order, will prove that his views brighten, and his discoveries become more numerous and more distinct in proportion as he advances. And had he lived, preached, and written to the present day, he had not exhausted the subject, nor fully declared to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ - the endless depths of wisdom and knowledge treasured up in him, and the infinity of saving acts and saving power displayed by him.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 8. Unto me who am less than the least of all saints , &c.] This is an instance of the great humility of the apostle, and indeed the greatest saints are generally speaking, the most humble souls, as Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, and others; these have the meanest thoughts of themselves, and the best of others; they rejoice in the grace of God manifested to others; they are willing to receive instruction, nay admonition, from the meanest believer; they have the least opinion of their own works, and are the greatest admirers of the grace of God; and do most contentedly submit to the sovereign will of God: the reasons of their great humility are, because they have the largest discoveries of the love and grace of God and Christ, which are of a soul humbling nature; they are the most sensible of their own sinfulness, vileness, and unworthiness, which keeps them low in their own sight; they are commonly the most afflicted with Satan's temptations, which are suffered to attend them, lest they should be exalted above measure; they are the most fruitful souls, and boughs laden with fruit hang lowest; and they are the most conformable to Christ, who is meek and lowly. The phrase seems to be Jewish: there was one R. Jose the little, who was so called, it is said, because he was ydysj jq , the least of saints f35 : but the apostle uses a still more diminutive word, and calls himself less than the least of them; and adds, is this grace given ; that is, the gift of grace, as before, the ministerial gift: that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ ; the riches of Christ, as God, lie in the perfections of his nature, in the works of his hands, in his empire and dominion over all, and in the revenues of glory, which result from thence; and these riches are underived and incommunicable, and are ineffable, yea inconceivable: his riches, as Mediator, lie in the persons of the elect, in the grace that is laid up in him for them, called the riches of grace, and in the inheritance he is possessed of for them, called the riches of glory; and these rich things are communicable, as well as solid, satisfying, and lasting; and they are unsearchable to the natural man, and cannot be fully investigated by believers themselves; they will be telling over to all eternity: and they will appear unsearchable, when it is considered what they have procured, and what blessings have been dispensed according to them; what a large family Christ has maintained by them, and how richly and fully he has provided for them, and to what honour and grandeur he raises them all. Now it was great grace to intrust the apostle with such a ministry, to put such treasure into an earthen vessel; it was great grace that qualified him for it; and it was great grace in particular to the Gentiles, that he should be appointed to publish these among them; and so the apostle esteemed it, and himself unworthy of such honour.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 8-12 - Those whom God advances to honourable employments, he makes low in their own eyes; and where God gives grace to be humble, there he give all other needful grace. How highly he speaks of Jesus Christ; the unsearchable riches of Christ! Though many are not enriched with thes riches; yet how great a favour to have them preached among us, and to have an offer of them! And if we are not enriched with them it is ou own fault. The first creation, when God made all things out of nothing and the new creation, whereby sinners are made new creatures by converting grace, are of God by Jesus Christ. His riches are a unsearchable and as sure as ever, yet while angels adore the wisdom of God in the redemption of his church, the ignorance of self-wise an carnal men deems the whole to be foolishness.
Greek Textus Receptus
εμοι 1698 τω 3588 ελαχιστοτερω 1647 παντων 3956 των 3588 αγιων 40 εδοθη 1325 5681 η 3588 χαρις 5485 αυτη 3778 εν 1722 τοις 3588 εθνεσιν 1484 ευαγγελισασθαι 2097 5670 τον 3588 ανεξιχνιαστον 421 πλουτον 4149 του 3588 χριστου 5547
Vincent's NT Word Studies
8. Less than the least (tw elacistoterw). Only here in the New Testament, and very characteristic. A comparative is formed upon a superlative: more least than all the saints. Compare 1 Cor. xv. 8. 168 Unsearchable (anexicniaston). Only here and Rom. xi. 33 (note).
Which cannot be tracked out.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
3:8 {Unto me who am less than the least of all saints} (emoi twi elacistoterwi pantwn hagiwn). Dative case emoi with eloqe. The peculiar form elacistoterwi (in apposition with emoi) is a comparative (-teros) formed on the superlative elacistos. this sort of thing was already done in the older Greek like escatoteros in Xenophon. It became more common in the _Koin_. So the double comparative meizoteran in #3Jo 1:4. The case of hagiwn is ablative. this was not mock humility (#15:19), for on occasion Paul stood up for his rights as an apostle (#2Co 11:5). {The unsearchable riches of Christ} (to anexicniaston ploutos tou cristou). anexicniastos (a privative and verbal of exicniazw, to track out, ex and icnos, track) appears first in #Job 5:9; 9:10. Paul apparently got it from Job. Nowhere else in N.T. except #Ro 11:33. In later Christian writers. Paul undertook to track out the untrackable in Christ.
