The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (213 page)

6:15 a new creation:
The indwelling of the Spirit renews us from within and makes us sharers in the divine life (2 Pet 1:4; CCC 1214). The regenerating grace of the New Covenant will eventually permeate the entire cosmos (Rom 8:19-23; Rev 21:1).
See note on 2 Cor 5:17
. 
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6:16 Peace and mercy:
For similar benedictions, see Ps 128:6 and Sir 50:22-23.
the Israel of God:
The covenant family of believing Israel united with the Gentiles. See essay:
Kingdom Restoration
at Acts 15. 
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6:17 the marks of Jesus:
Property and slaves in the ancient world were branded with a mark of ownership. Paul views himself as a slave of Christ (Rom 1:1) who bears physical scars from the many persecutions that accompanied his apostolic work (Acts 14:19; 16:22; 2 Cor 11:23-29). 
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INTRODUCTION TO

Author
 The author of Ephesians twice identifies himself as the Apostle Paul, once at the beginning of the letter (1:1) and once in the middle (3:1). This claim was universally accepted by the early Church and remained an unquestioned tradition until Erasmus of Rotterdam first raised doubts about it in the sixteenth century. Since then, many have either questioned or denied that Paul wrote Ephesians, alleging that the tone and style of the letter differ so markedly from Paul's undisputed letters that it could not have come from the same author. It is widely held today that Ephesians was written in Paul's name by a Pauline disciple who wished to honor the apostle by developing his doctrine and applying it to new situations in the Church.

Although the distinctiveness of Ephesians among the letters of Paul should not be minimized or overlooked, it need not imply that Paul was not the author. Stylistic differences between Ephesians and Paul's other letters can largely be explained by the circumstances of his readers. No doubt Paul writes with a more terse and aggressive style in his other epistles, where he is wrestling with doctrinal and moral problems that plagued his missionary churches. His Ephesian readers, however, were not entrenched in controversy at this time, so it is not surprising that this letter has a more calm and lyrical style than is found elsewhere in Paul's writings. Claims that theological differences set Ephe-sians apart from the genuine Pauline writings are likewise overdrawn, since the presence of numerous Pauline ideas in the letter is precisely what leads scholars to insist that it must have been written by one of Paul's disciples. If anything, the NT collection of Paul's letters shows him to be an exceptionally versatile writer who can adapt both his manner and his message to the needs of his audience. It is important, therefore, not to exaggerate the uniqueness of Ephesians at the expense of other factors that cohere nicely with the traditional view.

Date
 The question of when Ephesians was written depends upon the prior question of authorship. Supporters of Pauline authorship naturally date the letter within the time frame of the apostle's ministry. Most correlate the imprisonment mentioned in 3:1, 4:1, and 6:20 with Paul's first imprisonment in Rome, where he lived under house arrest from
A.D.
60 to 62, awaiting trial before the tribunal of Caesar (Acts 28:16, 30). This would imply a date for Ephesians in the early 60s alongside Paul's other "Captivity Epistles": Philippians (Phil 1:12-14), Colossians (4:3), and Philemon (Philem 9). Scholars who contend the letter was written by one of Paul's admirers date it as late as the 90s, long after the apostle's martyrdom in the mid 60s.

Destination
 The intended readership of Ephe-sians is more difficult to establish than it first appears. This is because the textual tradition underlying the letter's opening verse is uncertain: the words "in Ephesus" are missing from some of the most ancient manuscripts of the epistle in existence and, for this reason, may have been added
after
the letter was originally written (see textual note
a
on Eph 1:1). Identification of the readers thus depends on whether or not the disputed words are original.
(1)
If the phrase "in Ephesus" is authentic, then Paul was writing to Christians in the leading metropolis of the Roman province of Asia (southwest Turkey). This would not be surprising, as Paul spent several years ministering to the Ephesians and disseminating the gospel throughout the region (Acts 19:1-10; 20:31).
(2)
If the phrase was not part of the original letter, as many scholars maintain, then it seems the intended audience was more general than specific. Advocates of this position often describe Ephesians as a circular letter that Paul intended for several churches in Asia Minor. In this case, the Church at Ephesus was probably only one of several churches he expected to receive the letter.

Themes and Characteristics
Ephesians sets before us a vision of Christ
reigning
in heaven next to the Father (1:20) and
renewing
the earth through his Church (3:10). Though Paul often attacks doctrinal error and moral laxity in his letters, he seizes the opportunity in Ephesians to step back from these controversies to contemplate and articulate in a more reflective way God's saving work in Jesus. Instead of pastoral surgery, then, Paul gives the Ephesians a dose of preventative medicine, hoping that a deeper appreciation of God's blessings will lead them to a more mature commitment to the gospel. Since many of Paul's readers are recent converts, Ephesians might best be described as Paul's mystagogical catechesis for the newly baptized.

The towering theme of Ephesians is the "mystery" of Jesus Christ once concealed but now revealed (1:9; 3:4, 9). This is first of all the mystery of Christ the Redeemer, whose violent death on the Cross was a vicarious sacrifice for the redemption of Israel and the Gentiles alike (1:7; 2:16; 5:2). Having died to restore peace between the Father and the human family, Christ now reigns supreme over all things at the right hand of the Father in heaven (1:20). So far is he exalted above creation that even the angels find themselves under his feet (1:21-22). As Paul reflects upon these redeeming achievements of Christ, he is not content to view them as events confined to the past. Rather, the Resurrection, Ascension, and Enthronement of Christ are saving mysteries that continue to grace our lives and souls in the present, making us participants in his royal, priestly, and prophetic mission to the world (2:4-6; 5:2).

The mystery of Christ is also the mystery of his ecclesial body, the Church. Nowhere does Paul give a more majestic presentation of this truth than in Ephesians. The Church he describes is nothing less than God's new creation in Christ (2:10, 15; 2 Cor 5:17). She is a holy and universal community that shines out to a world shattered by sin. Her life comes from the divine Trinity, as her members are made the children of the Father (1:5), the body and bride of the Son (5:22-32), and the temple of the Holy Spirit (2:21-22). Her dimensions are international, as she gathers together all peoples and nations into the family of the New Covenant (2:11-22; 3:4-6). The grace that unites the Church with her Lord is the grace of being "in Christ" (1:3; cf. 1:7, 10, 13). This union between Christ in his glorified body and Christ in his mystical body was first revealed to Paul at his conversion (Acts 9:3-5). Now, after many years of preaching and meditation, he is able to explain its heights and depths in simple yet profound terms for those newly acquainted with the gospel. «

OUTLINE OF THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS

1. Opening Address (
1:1-2
)

2. Doctrinal Exposition (
1:3-3:21
)

   A. Divine Origin of the Church (
1:3-14
)

   B. Prayer for the Church (
1:15-23
)

   C. Building Up the Church (
2:1-22
)

   D. Mystery of the Church (
3:1-13
)

   E. Prayer for the Church (
3:14-21
)

3. Moral Exhortation (
4:1-6:20
)

   A. Unity of the Church (
4:1-16
)

   B. Moral Maturity in the Church (
4:17-5:20
)

   C. Household Life in the Church (
5:21-6:9
)

   D. Spiritual Warfare in the Church (
6:10-20
)

4. Closing Farewell (6:21-24)

THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO THE

Chapters

1
2
3
4
5
6

Essays and Charts

The Four Marks of the Church

Salutation

1
 
Paul
, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are
 
*
also faithful
^a
in Christ Jesus:

2
 
Grace to you and peace
from God our
Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3
 
Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
⁴
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and blameless
before him.
⁵
He destined us
in love
^b
to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
⁶
to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
⁷
In him we have
redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
⁸
which he lavished upon us.
⁹
For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight
the mystery
of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ
¹⁰
as a plan for the fulness of time, to
unite
 
*
all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11
 In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will,
¹²
we
who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.
¹³
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were
sealed
with the promised Holy Spirit,
¹⁴
who is the
guarantee
of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Paul's Prayer

15
 For this reason, because
I have heard
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love
^c
toward all the saints,
¹⁶
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
¹⁷
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
¹⁸
having the eyes of
your hearts
enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
¹⁹
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might
²⁰
which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him
sit at his right hand
in the heavenly places,
²¹
far above all
rule and authority
and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come;
²²
and he has put all things
under his feet
and has made him the head over all things for the Church,
²³
which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all.

From Death to Life with Christ

2
  
And you
he made alive, when
you were dead
through the trespasses and sins
²
in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the
power of the air
, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
³
Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature
children of wrath
, like the rest of mankind.
⁴
But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us,
⁵
even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved),
⁶
and raised us up with him, and made us
sit with him
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
⁷
that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
⁸
For by
grace
you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—
⁹
not because of works,
lest any man should boast
.
¹⁰
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works
, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.