21. In whom--as holding together the whole.
fitly framed--so as exactly to fit together.
groweth--"is growing" continually. Here an additional thought is
added to the image; the Church has the growth of a living organism,
not the mere increase of a building. Compare
1Pe 2:5;
"lively stones . . . built up a spiritual house."
Compare
Eph 4:16;
Zec 6:12,
"The Branch shall build the temple of the Lord," where
similarly the growth of a branch, and the building of a temple, are
joined.
holy--as being the "habitation of God"
(Eph 2:22).
So "in the Lord" (Christ) answers to "through the Spirit"
(Eph 2:22;
compare
Eph 3:16, 17).
"Christ is the inclusive Head of all the building, the element in which
it has its being and now its growth" [ALFORD].
JFB.
Picture Study Bible