Charles Ellicott Commentary Ephesians 3:11

"according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:" — Ephesians 3:11 (ASV)

The eternal purpose.—Properly, the purpose of the ages; but the sense clearly is that of the purpose of God , conceived before the ages of His dispensation, and fulfilled through them. Therefore, the rendering in our version is substantially correct.

Which he purposed.—It should be, which He worked, or made, for the word is quite distinct from the substantive “purpose,” and is in itself ambiguous, capable of meaning either ordained or worked out. Either sense will suit the passage; but the latter is perhaps better, since the idea throughout is the completion and manifestation of the mystery of God’s purpose in the Lord Jesus Christ.