HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

THE PERSPECTIVE OF EPHESIANS moves from a vastly cosmic picture of God’s plan (1.3–23) and the believers’ inclusion in it (2.1–22), to the role and mission of the church and life within it (3.1–5.20), to a depiction of relationships within the household (5.21–6.9), to a final description of how, with prayer, each believer stands battle-ready in God’s power (6.10–20). This broad perspective binds the Letter together. God’s power to enact the cosmic plan (1.3–23) is the same power available to the believer as armament (6.10–17). Relations of married persons mirror those between Christ and the church (5.21–33). Life within the church (4.1–13) reflects God’s larger purpose in Christ, “to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (1.10).

  Ephesians is especially concerned with power as ultimately grounded not in the “rulers and authorities” (1.21; 3.10; 6.12) but in God and enforced through Christ. It construes that power through metaphors of God as “Father” over “every family in heaven and on earth” (3.15) and Christ as “head” of the body (church) and by embracing traditional views of household arrangements (5.22–6.9). We have probably underestimated the social and political force of such a message in the first century when no one was more interested in power than Rome.

  Date and Place of Writing

  SEVERAL FEATURES OF EPHESIANS suggest a date in the last third of the first century CE. The author writes to a gentile church that seems to have little perception of being part of Israel and needs instructions regarding this connection (2.11–18). These features suggest that some time has passed since the original Pauline mission (cf. 1 Cor 16.3; Gal 6.16). Moreover, a late first-century date would also fit other features distinguishing this Letter from the seven undisputed Pauline Letters: the aforementioned transposition of Pauline eschatological fervor into spatial categories; the diminution of women’s status (see 5.22–24); and the reaccommodation to long standing cultural patterns of hierarchy and submission in the household (5.22–6.9). There are no clues within the Letter regarding its place of composition. [J. PAUL SAMPLEY]

  Ephesians 1

  Salutation

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

  To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithfula in Christ Jesus:

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

  Spiritual Blessings in Christ

  3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose us in Christb before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,c having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14thisd is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

  Paul’s Prayer

  15I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your lovee toward all the saints, and for this reason 16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20Godf put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

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  a Other ancient authorities lack in Ephesus, reading saints who are also faithful

  b Gk in him

  c Or been made a heritage

  d Other ancient authorities read who

  e Other ancient authorities lack and your love

  f Gk He

  1.1–2 The salutation takes the same form as most Pauline Letter openings.

  1.1 Like Romans, but unlike most other Pauline letters, Ephesians is sent solely by Paul. On Paul’s self-designation as apostle, see 2 Cor 1.1; Gal 1.1; Col 1.1. The frequent references to the will of God (see vv. 5, 9, 11; 5.17; 6.6) emphasize God’s plan and power. The saints, i.e., those set apart for God, are the believers (see v. 18; 2.19; 3.8, 18; 4.12; 5.3; 6.18). The location of the addressees in Ephesus is lacking in the best Greek manuscripts (see text note a).

  1.2 Grace, the foundation of life in Christ, has made peace possible (see Rom 5.1). Father, a favorite designation of God in Ephesians; see vv. 3, 17; 2.18; 3.14; 4.6; 5.20; 6.23. Family and household are primary social realities in Ephesians; in Roman times, the father had responsibility for all members of the household.

  1.3–23 Where a formal thanksgiving might be expected (cf. Rom 1.8), there is an ancient Jewish prayer form (beginning Blessed be the God; see also 2 Cor 1.3; 1 Pet 1.3), which identifies the author with Jewish tradition. Vv. 15–23, however, incorporate many elements of a typical Pauline thanksgiving.

  1.3 Heavenly places, an expression peculiar to Ephesians (see v. 20; 2.6; 3.10; 6.12).

  1.4 Chose (see also destined, vv. 5, 11) stresses God’s initiative. The blameless (lit. “without blemish”) life expected of those set apart for God (see 5.27; Col 1.22) has its roots in the purity expected of sacrificial animals and of priests (see Lev 21–22).

  1.5 Adoption, the means by which Gentiles are included in God’s household. See 2.19; Gal 4.5.

  1.6 Grace (Greek charis) echoes the salutation (v. 2) and is a technical term of benefaction that establishes reciprocity; God’s unconditional and previous election, described in vv. 3–7, places all believers in God’s debt. The Beloved, applied to Christ as a title nowhere else in the NT, though it is found in second-century Christian writings (cf. Letter of Barnabas 3.6; 4.3; Ascension of Isaiah 3.13).

  1.7 Redemption, the buying back of a slave or the freeing of a prisoner by ransom. See also v. 14; 4.30; Col 1.14.

  1.9 The content of the mystery, a reference to God’s previously hidden purposes, is given in 3.3–9; see also 5.32; 6.19.

  1.10 Fullness denotes completeness; see v. 23; 3.19; 4.13; see also 4.10; 5.18; Col 1.19. God’s plan for the fullness of time is linked with the previously hidden mystery in 3.2–9. To gather up (Greek, “to head up”). This image is developed later in the Letter where Christ is spoken of as the head of his body, the church (vv. 22–23; 4.15).

  1.12 For the praise of his glory (see also vv. 6, 14) is distinctive in the NT and reflects liturgical tradition.

  1.13 The seal, a sign of authentication or confirmation, designates ownership, and therefore protection, by the Holy Spirit; see 4.30.

  1.14 Pledge, a down payment securing the entirety of what is promised. See 2 Cor 1.22; 5.5. On salvation as an inheritance, see Rom 8.17; Gal 4.7; Col 1.12. Adopted children (v. 5) share fully in the inheritance.

  1.15 A nearly identical statement is Col 1.4.

  1.18
All the saints, i.e., believers, have been called and are expected to live in accord with that calling; see 4.1, 4.

  1.20 At his right hand, an echo of Ps 110.1.

  1.21 All rule and authority and power and dominion includes all supposed rival powers, whether cosmic or mundane; see 3.10; 6.12; Rom 8.38; 1 Cor 15.24; Col 1.16; 2.10, 15; 1 Pet 3.22.

  1.22 Under his feet, an echo of Ps 8.6. See also Ps 110.1; 1 Cor 15.25–28. Nowhere in the unquestionably authentic Pauline Letters is Christ called, as here, the head of the church (see also v. 10; 4.15; 5.23; cf. Rom 12.5; 1 Cor 12.12–27).

  Ephesians 2

  From Death to Life

  1You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christa—by grace you have been saved—6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—9not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

  One in Christ

  11So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth,b called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands—12remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16and might reconcile both groups to God in one bodyc through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.d 17So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.e 21In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22in whom you also are built together spirituallyf into a dwelling place for God.

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  a Other ancient authorities read in Christ

  b Gk in the flesh

  c Or reconcile both of us in one body for God

  d Or in him, or in himself

  e Or keystone

  f Gk in the Spirit

  2.1–10 The believers’ resurrection is linked with that of Christ (see esp. v. 6).

  2.2 In which you once lived. Different ways of living (lit. “walking”) are described in 4.1–5.20; see 2.10; 4.1, 17; 5.2, 8, 15. Ruler of the power of the air, probably the devil (4.27; 6.11). The disobedient spirit associated with this figure stands in contrast with the promised Holy Spirit (1.13; 2.18, 22).

  2.3 Children of wrath, powerless creatures subject to God’s judgment. See 5.6; Col 3.6.

  2.5 By grace you have been saved (see also 2.8). In the authentic letters, Paul views salvation as a future event (see Rom 5.9, 10; 13.11; 1 Thess 5.8). Grace (Greek charis; also v. 8). See note on 1.6.

  2.6 And raised us up with him (see also Col 2.12; 3.1). In the authentic Letters, Paul is careful to speak of believers’ resurrection as occurring in the future (see Rom 6.5; 1 Cor 15.21–23; Phil 3.10–11).

  2.8–9 By grace…not…works, a concise summary of Paul’s thought. See also Rom 3.21–31; 4.2–4, 16; 9.16; 11.6; Gal 2.16.

  2.9 On the prohibition of improper boasting, see Rom 3.27; 4.2; 1 Cor 1.29–31.

  2.10 Good works follow faith, never lead to it; see Col 1.10.

  2.11–22 These verses discuss the unity of Gentiles and Jews in Christ and mark off a new identity with social and political implications.

  2.12 On aliens, see 4.18; Col 1.21. Strangers, the opposite of citizens. See v. 19. Covenants of promise (see also 1.13; 3.6; Rom 9.4), possibly the covenants of Genesis, which also highlight God’s promises (Gen 15.12–21; 17.1–8; 26.1–5; 35.11–12).

  2.13 On far off and near, see also v. 17; Isa 57.19. Blood of Christ, an allusion to Christ’s atoning death. See Lev 16; Rom 3.25; 5.9.

  2.14 On peace, see also 1.2; 2.15, 17; 4.3; 6.15. In his flesh identifies Christ’s physical body on the cross as the means of reconciliation between Gentiles and Jews and between both groups and God (see v. 16; Col 1.22).

  2.19 Strangers and aliens, here reversed from v. 12 as a rhetorical inclusio (a repetition that signals the beginning and end of a unit). Household of God, a shift of image, but see note on 1.2; see 3.15; 5.21–6.4; see also 1 Tim 3.15; 1 Pet 4.17.

  2.20 Foundation of the apostles and prophets. Cf. 1 Cor 3.11. The prophets could be those of ancient Israel (see Rom 3.21) or those of the early Christian church (3.5; 4.11; 1 Cor 11.4–5; 14.3–6, 24). Cornerstone, a scriptural image (see Ps 118.22; Isa 28.16) widely applied to Christ; see Mt 21.42; 1 Pet 2.6.

  2.22 On believers collectively (the you is plural) as a dwelling place for God, see 1 Cor 3.16–17; 6.19; 1 Pet 2.4–6.

  Ephesians 3

  Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles

  1This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner fora Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—2for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, 3and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. 5In former generations this mysteryb was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

  7Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. 8Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, 9and to make everyone seec what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages ind God who created all things; 10so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.e 13I pray therefore that youf may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.

  Prayer for the Readers

  14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,g 15from whom every familyh in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

  20Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21to him be glory i
n the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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  a Or of

  b Gk it

  c Other ancient authorities read to bring to light

  d Or by

  e Or the faith of him

  f Or I

  g Other ancient authorities add of our Lord Jesus Christ

  h Gk fatherhood

  3.1–13 Paul’s status and the church’s mission are aligned with God’s eternal plan.

  3.1 Paul was a prisoner on several occasions (see 2 Cor 6.5; 11.23; Phil 1.13–14; Col 4.3, 18; Philem 1, 9); it is not clear which imprisonment is intended here (see 6.20).

  3.2 Paul had received a divinely appointed commission and was therefore a part of God’s plan (see 1.10; 3.9; 1 Cor 9.17; Gal 1.15–16; 2.7–9; Col 1.25).

  3.3 Conforming to the picture in the undisputed letters (2 Cor 12.1, 7; Gal 2.2), the author of Ephesians legitimates Paul’s authority through the concept of revelation, for Paul was not one of the original disciples.

  3.5 On the mystery not made known before but now revealed, see Rom 16.25.

  3.6 Inclusion of Gentiles (echoing 2.19–22) in God’s household or family.

  3.7 On Paul as a servant (Greek diakonos), see 1 Cor 3.5.

  3.8 Least of all the saints. See 1 Cor 15.9; 1 Tim 1.15; cf. 2 Cor 11.5.

  3.9 Plan, mystery, and God’s relationship to all things are treated once again (see 1.9–10; 3.3–5).

  3.10 The church has the cosmic task of making the wisdom of God (either wisdom from God or wisdom about God) known in the heavenly places; cf. the references to localized house churches in the undisputed Letters (Rom 16.5, 15; Philem 2). Rulers and authorities. See 1.21; 6.12.