The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (215 page)

Children and Parents

6
  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
²
"
Honor your father and mother
" (this is the first commandment with a promise),
³
"that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth."
⁴
Fathers, do not provoke
your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Slaves and Masters

5
 
Slaves, be obedient
to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ;
⁶
not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as servants
^f
of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
⁷
rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to men,
⁸
knowing that whatever good any one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
⁹
Masters, do the same to them, and forbear threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

The Whole Armor of God

10
 Finally,
be strong in the Lord
and in the strength of his might.
¹¹
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
¹²
For we are not contending against
flesh and blood
, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
¹³
Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
¹⁴
Stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
¹⁵
and having shod
your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace
;
¹⁶
besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the Evil One.
¹⁷
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸
Pray at all times
in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
¹⁹
and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,
²⁰
for which I am an
ambassador in chains
; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Personal Matters and Benediction

21
 Now that you also may know how I am and what I am doing,
Tych'icus
the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything.
²²
I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

23
 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
²⁴
Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love undying.

Commentary on The Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians

1:1 Paul:
Named as the sender of the letter. For a discussion of Pauline authorship, see introduction:
Author
and notes on Eph 3:8 and 6:20.
apostle of Christ:
Paul was formally commissioned by Jesus to carry the gospel to "the Gentiles" and "the sons of Israel" (Acts 9:15; cf. Rom 11:13-14).
the saints:
I.e., those who are baptized and set apart to serve God (1 Cor 6:11). The majority of surviving manuscripts include the words "in Ephesus" in this verse, but they are lacking in some of the most ancient copies of the letter we possess (see textual note a). For the implications of this, see introduction:
Destination.
 
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1:2 Grace . . . and peace:
A customary greeting in Paul's letters (Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; Gal 1:3). 
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1:2 Father:
The preeminent title for God in Ephesians (1:3, 17; 2:18; 3:14; 4:6; 5:20; 6:23). 
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1:3-14
A panoramic view of salvation that stretches from the past (election, 1:4) to the present (adoption, 1:5) to the future (recapitulation, 1:10). Like an orchestral overture, it introduces many themes to be developed in subsequent chapters. Structurally, Paul has organized this benediction around the work of the Trinity (CCC 257-58). The Father chooses us (Eph 1:4), the Son redeems us (1:7), and the Holy Spirit seals us (1:13). Notice, too, that Paul celebrates blessings traditionally linked with Baptism, such as sonship (1:5), grace (1:6), forgiveness (1:7), and sealing (1:13). These 12 verses comprise only one sentence in the original Greek. • Paul's benediction follows the format of a Hebrew
berakah,
i.e., a prayer of blessing and praise to God in elevated language (1 Chron 29:1013; Tob 13:1-18; Dan 3:3-68) (CCC 1078, 2627). 
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1:3 in Christ:
A description of our union with Jesus through grace. Similar expressions of incorporation punctuate the letter and culminate in Paul's vision of Christ as the "head" of his mystical "body", the Church (1:22-23; 2:16; 5:23).
the heavenly places:
I.e., the spiritual realm where believers sit enthroned with Christ (1:20; 2:6) and where angels and demons move about unseen (3:10; 6:12).
See note on Eph 2:6
. 
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1:4 holy and blameless:
The standard of spiritual perfection that God desires for his children (5:27; Col 1:22). • Paul employs cultic terminology from the OT, where holy means "set apart" for the Lord and blameless means "unblemished" or "fit for sacrifice". This recalls how animals were set apart for priestly inspection, and only those free of physical defects could be sacrificed to Yahweh (Lev 1:3, 10). These offerings were mere shadows of the Christian vocation to offer ourselves as holy and living sacrifices to the Father (Rom 12:1) (CCC 1426, 2807).
See note on Eph 5:2
. 
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1:5 He destined us:
The Father predestined believers for divine adoption (1:4). This eternal decree springs from his love and unfolds in history as the elect are saved by grace (Gal 4:5) and eventually brought to glory (Rom 8:23). Because the doctrine of predestination holds together two mysteries, one of divine sovereignty and one of human freedom, it should be an incentive for Christians to confirm their election through works of righteousness (2 Pet 1:10), rather than an excuse for spiritual indifference or moral laxity. We cannot gain access to God's hidden
plan,
but we do know the
precepts
he has revealed for our salvation (Deut 29:29). As with the election of Israel, God took no consideration of our merits or worthiness when he predetermined our adoption in Christ (Deut 7:7; Rom 9:10-11) (CCC 381, 600).
See note on Rom 8:29
. • Predestination can have no other cause than the will of God alone. And the sole motive for God's predestinating will is to communicate his divine goodness to others (St. Thomas Aquinas,
Commentary on Ephesians
1, 1). 
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1:7 redemption:
Freedom purchased for a slave or prisoner by a ransom price. Christ redeemed us
from
sin and
for
divine sonship (Gal 4:5) at the expense of his own blood (Rev 5:9; CCC 517). • Divine redemption is first displayed in the Bible in the Exodus (Ex 15:13; Deut 7:8). We participate in a new and spiritual Exodus when Christ rescues us from the bondage of guilt and the tyranny of the devil (Rom 6:15-18). 
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1:9 the mystery:
A central theme in Ephesians, introduced here and developed more fully in 3:1-19. See word study:
Mystery
at Eph 3:3. 
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1:12-13
Here and elsewhere Paul alternates between
we
and
you.
Among the options,
(1)
"we" could refer to Jewish Christians (us, 2:14), and "you" to Gentile Christians (2:11); or
(2)
"we" might refer to Christians known by Paul, and "you" to those unacquainted with Paul personally (1:15; 3:2); or
(3
)"we" might refer to believers long since converted (1:12), and "you" to more recent converts. None of these possibilities is mutually exclusive of another, so it is quite possible the groups in question fall into more than one category. 
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1:13 sealed:
In the ancient world, seals were marks of ownership and protection (4:30; Ezek 9:4-6; Rev 7:4). Believers are divinely sealed by the Spirit. The Church Fathers employed this language to describe the indelible mark impressed upon the soul in Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders (CCC 698, 1272-74, 1296).
See note on 2 Cor 1:22
. •In Pauline theology, Baptism does to the soul what circumcision did to body: it marks it with the sign and seal of the covenant (Rom 4:11).
See note on Col 2:11
. 
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