The Meaning of Ephesians 04:18 Explained

Ephesians 04:18

KJV: Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

YLT: being darkened in the understanding, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart,

Darby: being darkened in understanding, estranged from the life of God by reason of the ignorance which is in them, by reason of the hardness of their hearts,

ASV: being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart;

Discover Ephesians 04:18

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Ephesians 04:18?

MEANING: What does Ephesians 04:18 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Ephesians 04:18 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Ephesians 04:18?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Having the understanding  darkened,  being  alienated  from the life  of God  through  the ignorance  that is  in  them,  because  of the blindness  of their  heart: 

What does Ephesians 04:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Here Paul traced the attitude of typical unsaved Gentiles to its source. Lack of worthy purpose rests on unclear understanding (cf. Romans 1:21; 2 Corinthians 4:4). This in turn results from separation from the life that comes from God (cf. Ephesians 2:12). Separation arises from natural ignorance of God (cf. 1 Peter 1:14). That in turn rests on insensitivity to God and His ways (cf. Romans 1).

Context Summary

Ephesians 04:11-19 - Building Up The "body Of Christ"
Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, are the gifts of the risen Christ to His Church. There should be no rivalry among them. Each has his own work to do, as each wheel in a watch has its special function. None can do the work of another, and none should try to do it. The Apostles laid the foundations of the City of God, and the work of each is represented by a different stone. The pastor prepares the ground and sows the seed for the harvest which the evangelist reaps; but God will proportion the reward between them. The teacher is as much needed as the evangelist, but neither is so essential as God, who giveth the increase. Without that all labor would be in vain.
We learn from Ephesians 4:12 that the prime duty of all these agents is not to baptize, marry, and bury the saints, to comfort and console them, and to get them somehow into heaven, as the Arab guides get travelers to the top of the Pyramids. Their duty is to perfect, that is, to adjust the saints for the work of ministry, that they may contribute to the building up of the Church. A minister is a failure if he does all the work himself. The people must all be at work-in the quarries, or shaping the stones, or fitting them into their places. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ephesians 04

1  He exhorts to unity;
7  and declares that God therefore gives various gifts unto men;
11  that his church might be edified,
16  and grow up in Christ
18  He calls them from the impurity of the Gentiles;
24  to put on the new man;
25  to cast off lying;
29  and corrupt communication

Greek Commentary for Ephesians 04:18

Being darkened [εσκοτωμενοι οντες]
Periphrastic perfect passive participle of σκοτοω — skotoō old verb from σκοτος — skotos (darkness), in N.T. only here and Revelation 9:2; Revelation 16:10. [source]
In their understanding [τηι διανοιαι]
Locative case. Probably διανοια — dianoia It is possible to take απηλλοτριωμενοι — ontes with εσκοτωμενοι — apēllotriōmenoi (see note on Ephesians 2:12) which would then be periphrastic (instead of της ζωης του τεου — eskotōmenoi) perfect passive participle. From the life of God (ζωης — tēs zōēs tou theou). Ablative case απηλλοτριωμενοι — zōēs after δια την αγνοιαν — apēllotriōmenoi (Ephesians 2:12). Because of the ignorance Old word from πωρωσιν — agnoeō not to know. Rare in N.T. See note on Acts 3:17. Hardening (pōrōsin). Late medical term (Hippocrates) for callous hardening. Only other N.T. examples are Mark 3:5; Romans 11:25. [source]
From the life of God [ζωης]
Ablative case απηλλοτριωμενοι — zōēs after δια την αγνοιαν — apēllotriōmenoi (Ephesians 2:12). [source]
Because of the ignorance [αγνοεω]
Old word from πωρωσιν — agnoeō not to know. Rare in N.T. See note on Acts 3:17. Hardening (pōrōsin). Late medical term (Hippocrates) for callous hardening. Only other N.T. examples are Mark 3:5; Romans 11:25. [source]
Hardening [pōrōsin)]
Late medical term (Hippocrates) for callous hardening. Only other N.T. examples are Mark 3:5; Romans 11:25. [source]
Understanding [διανοίᾳ]
See on Luke 1:51. The moral understanding. [source]
Life of God [ζωῆς]
See on John 1:4. The life which God bestows; life in Christ. See 1 John 5:11. [source]
Through the ignorance []
The cause of the alienation. Not to be construed with darkened, since ignorance is the effect, and not the cause, of the darkness of the understanding. [source]
Which is in them [τὴν οὖσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς]
The participle of the substantive verb expresses the deep-seated, indwelling character of the ignorance. [source]
Hardening [πώρωσιν]
See on Mark 3:5. Dependent, like ignorance, on alienated. Arrange the whole clause thus:The Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind,being darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God,because of the ignorance that is in them,because of the hardening of their heart. [source]

What do the individual words in Ephesians 04:18 mean?

being darkened in the understanding being alienated from the life - of God because of the ignorance - being in them on account of hardness of the heart of them
ἐσκοτωμένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ ὄντες ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τὴν οὖσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς διὰ πώρωσιν τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν

ἐσκοτωμένοι  being  darkened 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: σκοτόω  
Sense: to darken, cover with darkness.
τῇ  in  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
διανοίᾳ  understanding 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: διάνοια  
Sense: the mind as a faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring.
ὄντες  being 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι  alienated  from 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀπαλλοτριόω  
Sense: to alienate, estrange.
ζωῆς  life 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ζωή  
Sense: life.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
διὰ  because  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: διά  
Sense: through.
ἄγνοιαν  ignorance 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ἄγνοια  
Sense: lack of knowledge, ignorance.
τὴν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὖσαν  being 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
διὰ  on  account  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: διά  
Sense: through.
πώρωσιν  hardness 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: πήρωσις 
Sense: the covering with a callus.
τῆς  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
καρδίας  heart 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: καρδία  
Sense: the heart.
αὐτῶν  of  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Neuter 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.

What are the major concepts related to Ephesians 04:18?

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