HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  3.12 Access to God, a reprise of 2.18.

  3.13 Sufferings, lit. “tribulations,” a technical apocalyptic term for end-time afflictions; see Rom 5.3; 1 Thess 3.3, 7.

  3.14–21 Prayer and doxology.

  3.15 The Greek term for family is derived from the word “father” see text note g.

  3.16 Riches of his glory, an example of the effusive style of Ephesians.

  3.17 On the notion that Christ may dwell in the faithful, see Gal 2.20. The hearts of the faithful as the dwelling place of Christ parallel the temple as the “dwelling place for God” (2.22). The doubled verbs (rooted, grounded) emphasize love and enlarge the metaphor to include growth.

  3.18 Breadth and length and height and depth, expansive imagery that may refer to the cosmic vastness of God’s plan and purpose; see Rom 8.38–39.

  3.19 Love of Christ, either love for Christ or love from Christ; the Greek is ambiguous.

  3.20–21 For similar doxologies, see Rom 16.25–27; Gal 1.5; 1 Tim 1.17; 2 Tim 4.18.

  Ephesians 4

  Unity in the Body of Christ

  1I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

  7But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it is said,

  “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;

  he gave gifts to his people.”

  9(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descendeda into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

  The Old Life and the New

  17Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. 18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. 19They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20That is not the way you learned Christ! 21For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. 22You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

  Rules for the New Life

  25So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and do not make room for the devil. 28Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up,a as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.b 1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2and live in love, as Christ loved usc and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

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  a Other ancient authorities add first

  4.1–5.20 Counsels on behavior worthy of God’s calling.

  4.1–6 Believers’ calling and comportment are grounded in their fundamental unity.

  4.1 On the concern that believers live worthy lives, see Col 1.10; 1 Thess 2.12.

  4.2–3 On the virtues of the worthy life, see Col 3.12–13; see also 1 Cor 13.4.

  4.4–6 This strong emphasis on unity was anticipated in 1.22–23; 2.14–16, 18.

  4.6 On God above all and through all and in all, see 1 Cor 15.28; cf. 1 Cor 8.6.

  4.7–16 Grace equips the body of Christ with a variety of gifts (see 1 Cor 12.4–11). Responsibility for unity lies with all believers.

  4.7 On individualized measures, see Rom 12.3.

  4.8 The quotation is derived from Ps 68.18, which speaks, however, of God, not the people, receiving gifts.

  4.9–11 An example of early Christian exegesis, focusing on key words in the quotation; see also Rom 10.6–10; Heb 2.6–9.

  4.9 Descended…earth. See Mt 12.40; 1 Pet 3.19.

  4.11 The list of gifts stresses leadership functions in the church. Is the list representative or complete? Rom 12.6–8; 1 Cor 12.28–30 suggest the former.

  4.12 Ministry (Greek diakonia). As the cognate of this term, servant, was applied to Paul in 3.7, recipients of the Letter are invited to join with Paul in service to the gospel.

  4.13 Maturity (lit. “mature person,” reprising the “one new person” of 2.15, where the NRSV has one new humanity), as distinguished from childishness (v. 14); see Phil 3.12; Col 1.28. The Greek can be translated as “perfect person” (cf. Heb 6.1, which involves a play on the two senses of maturity and perfection), but here such a translation is problematic both because Paul thinks of new believers as babies in faith (see Philem 10; Gal 4.19; 1 Cor 2.1; 4.15) and yearns for them to grow up in faith (Phil 3.12–15; 2 Cor 3.18) and because modern “perfectionism” is a serious malaise.

  4.15–16 On Christ as head of the body, see 1.22–23; note on 1.22.

  4.17–24 These verses address contrasting ways of life.

  4.17 Affirm and insist. Doubling provides emphasis. Ironically in a letter written to Gentiles, the Gentiles denotes a rejected way of living.

  4.20–24 Metaphors of teaching and learning are interlaced with references to putting garments off and on for baptism. To learn Christ (v. 20) means not only to learn about him (v. 21) but also to put away the old way of life (v. 22; see also Rom 6.6) and to be clothed with the new self (v. 24; see also Gal 3.27; Col 3.10).

  4.25–32 Practical suggestions for the new life.

  4.25 Putting away develops the theme of v. 22. Speak the truth. See Zech 8.16.

  4.26 Be angry but do not sin. See Ps 4.4 (Septuagint). Do not let the sun go down on your anger, a maxim found in non-Christian writings of this period (cf. Plutarch, On Brotherly Love 17, 488C).

  4.30 Wrongful conduct risks alienation from the Holy Spirit by which readers were set apart for God (see 1.13–14).

  4.32 An echo of v. 2.

  Ephesians 5

  Renounce Pagan Ways

  3But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. 4Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. 5Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

  6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God com
es on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be associated with them. 8For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—9for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; 13but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

  “Sleeper, awake!

  Rise from the dead,

  and Christ will shine on you.”

  15Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  The Christian Household

  21Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

  22Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. 24Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

  25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, 27so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. 28In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30because we are members of his body.d 31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. 33Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.

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  a Other ancient authorities read building up faith

  b Other ancient authorities read us

  c Other ancient authorities read you

  d Other ancient authorities add of his flesh and of his bones

  5.1 The readers are to be imitators of God in forgiveness (4.32) and in love (5.2); this is a pivotal exhortation. Whereas calls to imitate Christ are widespread in the NT (see 5.25; see also Rom 15.7; 1 Cor 11.1), imitation of God is rare (see Mt 5.44–45, 48). As beloved children. In Roman times parents were role models (see also 1 Cor 4.14–17).

  5.2 Live in love (lit. “walk in love”). See also vv. 8, 15. Christ loved…for us. See v. 25; also Gal 2.20. The image of Christ’s self-sacrifice moves the author to describe believers as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (see, e.g., Ex 29.18; Ezek 20.14; see also Rom 12.1; Phil 4.18).

  5.3–20 Counsels on how to live carefully and wisely.

  5.3 On things that must not even be mentioned, much less done, see v. 12.

  5.4–5 Lists of vices that imperil inheritance in the kingdom are also found in 1 Cor 6.9–10; Gal 5.19–21; Rev 22.14–15. On the connection between the greedy and the idolater, see Mt 6.24.

  5.5 Kingdom of Christ and of God, an infrequent expression in the NT (but see 1 Cor 4.20; 6.9–10; 15.24, 50).

  5.6 Wrath of God, a reference to God’s final judgment. See Rom 1.18 (where God’s wrath is also understood as present); Col 3.6; Rev 19.15.

  5.7 Being associated with unbelievers is also prohibited in 2 Cor 6.14; cf. 1 Cor 5.9–13; 7.12–16.

  5.8 Children of light, a metaphor not found in Israel’s scriptures, but common in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the NT. See Mt 5.16; Lk 16.8; Jn 12.36; 1 Thess 5.5.

  5.9 Fruit, i.e., moral results. See Mt 7.16–20; Gal 5.22; cf. unfruitful works in v. 11.

  5.10 Try to find out, lit. “find out,” “discern.” See Rom 12.2; Phil 1.10; see also v. 17.

  5.13–14 On exposure by the light, see Jn 3.20–21.

  5.14 The source of this quotation is uncertain. It may be a fragment of a Christian hymn; see also Isa 26.19.

  5.16 Making the most of the time, lit. “buying up the time,” but the meaning is uncertain. Cf. Col 4.5, where the same phrase bears on how believers relate to outsiders. The days are evil, a common apocalyptic perspective. See Mt 24.22; Acts 2.40; Gal 1.4.

  5.17 Understand…the will of the Lord. See also v. 10. The contrast is with following sinful human wills (see 2.3, where the plural form of the Greek term here translated will is translated desires).

  5.18 Filled with the Spirit, i.e., not with wine. See Acts 2.15–17.

  5.20 Giving thanks to God. See 5.4; Col 3.17; 1 Thess 5.18.

  5.21–6.9 The author introduces a discussion of relations within the household with an exhortation to mutual submission.

  5.21 Be subject to one another (see 1 Pet 5.5) was probably not originally part of the traditional material that follows, but derives from the author. It is debated whether the exhortation to mutual submission is applicable only to the section on wives and husbands or stands as the heading under which all the counsels in 5.22–6.9 are to be understood.

  5.22–33 Wives and husbands (see Col 3.18–19).

  5.23 For the husband as head of the wife, see 1 Cor 11.3; for Christ as head of the church, see 1.22; 4.15.

  5.24 Subjection of wives to husbands is reaffirmed (see 5.22) and extended: so also wives ought to be subject in everything. Nowhere do the undisputed Pauline Letters call for the subjection of wives.

  5.25 As Christ loved the church. See v. 2.

  5.26 Cleansing…washing, a reference to baptism. See 4.22–24.

  5.27 Usually Paul exhorts believers to present themselves to God or Christ (see Rom 6.13, 19; 12.1; 2 Cor 11.2); here the focus is entirely on Christ’s action. Without blemish. See 1.4; Phil 1.10.

  5.28 He who loves his wife loves himself (see also v. 33) echoes Lev 19.18.

  5.31 Gen 2.24; see 1 Cor 6.15–17.

  5.33 Mutuality of husband and wife is affirmed, despite the difference in verbs.

  Ephesians 6

  Children and Parents

  1Children, obey your parents in the Lord,a for this is right. 2“Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise: 3“so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

  4And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

  Slaves and Masters

  5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; 6not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, 8knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.

  9And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.

  The Whole Armor of God

  10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For ourb struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes fo
r your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16With all of these,c take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

  18Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. 19Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,d 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

  Personal Matters and Benediction

  21So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord. 22I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are, and to encourage your hearts.

  23Peace be to the whole community,e and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.f

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  a Other ancient authorities lack in the Lord

  b Other ancient authorities read your

  c Or In all circumstances

  d Other ancient authorities lack of the gospel

  e Gk to the brothers

  f Other ancient authorities add Amen

  6.1–4 Children and parents (see Col 3.20–21).

  6.2–3 See Deut 5.16; see also Ex 20.12.

  6.4 On the discipline of children, see Heb 12.7–11.

  6.5–9 Slaves and masters (see Col 3.22–4.1; 1 Tim 6.1–2; Titus 2.9–10; 1 Pet 2.18).

  6.6 On slaves of Christ, see Rom 1.1; 1 Cor 7.22; Phil 1.1. Will of God. See 5.10, 17.