1. John Mackay, God’s Order: The Ephesian Letter and this Present Time (New York: Macmillan, 1953), 19.
2. God’s New Society is the title of John R. W. Stott’s commentary on Ephesians (Downer’s Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1979), now published under the title The Message of Ephesians: God’s New Society. Note the similarity to John Mackay’s God’s Order.
3. Among the letters, only 1 John has more focus on both, and only 1 Corinthians has more focus on love.
4. See the treatment by Neil Alexander, “The Epistle for Today,” Biblical Studies: Essays in Honour of William Barclay, eds. Johnston R. McKay and James F. Miller (London: Collins, 1976), 99–118.
5. Especially the Greek text, which translated literally reads: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the holy ones who are and faithful in Christ Jesus.”
6. The most attractive of these emendations are: (a) “Asia”; (b) “Hierapolis and Laodicea”; (c) “the holy and faithful who are in Christ Jesus.” Hierapolis and Laodicea were two cities near Colosse, forming a “tri-city” complex. Marcion labeled Ephesians as the letter to the Laodiceans (cf. Col. 4:16).
7. See Acts 18:19–21; 19:1–41; 20:17–38.
8. It is also possible that Ephesus was one of several cities to which the letter went.
9. Adolf Jülicher, An Introduction to the New Testament, trans. Janet Penrose Ward (London: Smith, Elder, 1904), 146–47.
10. Edgar J. Goodspeed, The Key to Ephesians (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1956).
11. Lincoln, Ephesians, lxxix.
12. Ibid., lxxxii.
13. R. Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 23, 34–35 (italics mine). See also Werner Georg Kümmel, Introduction to the New Testament, trans. Howard Clark Kee (Nashville: Abingdon, 1975), 364, who suggests Ephesians was addressed to a “general spiritual crisis.” But can a crisis be general?
14. Cf. Colossians 2:2 and Ephesians 6:22.
15. J. Paul Sampley, “Ephesians,” The Deutero-Pauline Letters (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 23.
16. Nils A. Dahl similarly suggests that Ephesians is a letter of reminder and congratulations; see his “Interpreting Ephesians: Then and Now,” Currents in Theology and Mission, 5 (1978): 133–43.
17. Two massive studies of authorship should be consulted: C. Leslie Mitton, The Epistle to the Ephesians, presents the case against Pauline authorship, while A. Van Roon, The Authenticity of Ephesians, argues for it.
18. Mitton, The Epistle to the Ephesians, 261. See Ernst Käsemann, “Ephesians and Acts,” Studies in Luke-Acts, eds. L. E. Keck and J. L. Martyn (London: SPCK, 1968), 288, who says that the craftsmanship of the author leads us very close to Paul!
19. Compare Eph. 1:1–2 and Col. 1:1–2, which is not too important; Eph. 1:7 and Col. 1:14; Eph. 2:5 and Col. 2:13; Eph. 3:2 and Col. 1:25; Eph. 3:9 and Col. 1:26; Eph. 4:16 and Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:32 and Col. 3:13; Eph. 5:5–6 and Col. 3:5–6; Eph. 5:19–20 and Col. 3:16–17; Eph. 6:1–4 and Col. 3:20–21; Eph. 6:5–9 and Col. 3:22–4:1. More detailed comparisons can be found in the Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 2:758-759, and in Abbott, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians and Colossians, xxiii.
20. See Eph. 6:21–22 and Col. 4:7–8.
21. Most scholars assume that Colossians was written first and served as a model for Ephesians. Those arguing Ephesians was not written by Paul would not argue the author copied from Colossians; they would say the writer was so enamored with Colossians that its wording became his wording. Other scholars challenge this reconstruction by arguing Ephesians was first and served as the model for Colossians, while some even question any literary relation at all.
22. For further discussion of 2:20, see pp. 136–37.
23. Mitton, The Epistle to the Ephesians, 15, 136, 152.
24. Bruce, The Epistle to the Ephesians, 63.
25. See also Romans 1:1–17; 10:5–8; 15:15–21; 1 Corinthians 3:10–11; 9:1–27; 15:1–11; 2 Corinthians 10–13; Galatians 1:15–24.
26. Paul does speak of the Holy Scriptures (Rom. 1:2) and of the law as holy (7:12), but he also refers to a holy kiss (16:16, et al.) and in many manuscripts of 1 Thessalonians 5:27 to the holy brothers. If this latter were the correct reading, it would be a telling argument.
27. See Barth, Ephesians, 1:335.
28. Similar to 3:1, Paul refers to himself by name within the body of other letters (see 2 Cor. 10:1; Gal. 5:2; 1 Thess. 2:18). Note Lincoln, Ephesians, 455, on 6:19–20, who claims that Paul’s request for prayer, although he is deceased, is supposed to be both a literary device and a request by the real author for prayer for his own proclamation of the gospel. Lewis R. Donelson, Pseudepigraphy and Ethical Argument in the Pastoral Epistles (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1986), 10–11, questions the frequent claim that pseudonymity was an innocent literary device with no intent to deceive.
29. Note how Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 135–36, struggles to answer this question, but not too convincingly. The same can be said for Lincoln, Ephesians, 171–72, 193–95.
30. Many, of course, deny the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians as well.
31. See Donelson, Pseudepigraphy, 11, who assumed several New Testament letters are pseudonymous, but was unable to find a single example of someone accepting a document known to be a forgery. For a survey of recent discussion of pseudepigraphy, see Thomas D. Lea, “Pseudonymity and the New Testament,” New Testament Criticism and Interpretation, eds. David Alan Black and David S. Dockery (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), 535–59.
32. This is especially true for a letter that emphasizes truth as much as Ephesians does. See also Richard Bauckham, “Pseudo-Apostolic Letters,” JBL 107 (1988): 469–94, who points out that addressees of pseudepigraphs cannot be the real readers; they must be later people in an analogous situation. A pseudepigraph cannot perform the same function as a real letter (p. 475). He also points out how rare apocryphal apostolic letters were.
33. See the comments of H. J. Cadbury, “The Dilemma of Ephesians,” NTS 5 (1958–1959): 95–96.
34. Caird, Paul’s Letters From Prison, 29.
35. See Karl Georg Kuhn, “The Epistle to the Ephesians in the Light of the Qumran Texts,” Paul and Qumran: Studies in New Testament Exegesis, ed. Jerome Murphy-O’Connor (Chicago: Priory Press, 1968),115–31 (originally published in NTS, 7 [1960–61]: 334–46), and Franz Mussner, “Contributions Made by Qumran to the Understanding of the Epistle to the Ephesians,” in the same volume, 159–78.
36. See Barth, Ephesians, 1:21.
37. This also negates earlier attempts to find Gnostic influence behind Ephesians.
38. See Ralph P. Martin, “Ephesians,” The Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1971), 11:129, who thinks Luke is that disciple. Luke Timothy Johnson, The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 369–372, suggests a Pauline school active with Paul during his ministry.
39. Cadbury, “The Dilemma of Ephesians,” 101.
1. See 1 Corinthians 6:11, where “sanctified” is the verb form of the word “holy.” In the Old Testament both Israelites and angels were sometimes called “holy ones.” Such language was adapted to describe God’s people in the New Testament.
2. On the textual question of whether “in Ephesus” belongs to the original text and the question of the destination of the letter, see p. 21 in the introduction.
3. See especially comments on 1:3–14; 2:5–7, 11–22.
4. On the subject of such tensions in the biblical material, see my Between Two Truths (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990).
1. See Mackay, p. 17, who uses this phrase as a description of the whole letter.
2. A similar situation exists in 1 Thessalonians 1–3, where it is also difficult to know where Paul’s prayer stops.
4. The doxologies in 2 Corinthians 1:3–7 and 1 Peter 1:3–9 begin the same way: “Praise be to [Blessed is] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
6. NIV: “Praise be to the Lord.” See also Romans 1:25 and 9:5.
7. See Gordon D. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994), 666–67.
8. See Stott, God’s New Society, 35, who suggests “the unseen world of spiritual reality,” and Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 51, who offers “the area and effectiveness of God’s activity or of that of the ungodly ‘powers.’ ”
9. In addition to the 164 times that “in Christ” occurs in Paul’s letters, the Greek equivalent for “in the Spirit” occurs 22 times (5 in Ephesians) and “in God” occurs 3 times (none in Ephesians). Note that 23 of the 36 occurrences in Ephesians are in the first two chapters. Ephesians is above all else the letter explaining union with Christ.
10. The text rendered more literally is: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus freed me….”
11. See Galatians 3:8 in the context of Genesis 12:3; 18:18. Cf. also the contrast between being “in Adam” and being “in Christ” in 1 Corinthians 15:22.
12. The teaching on election in 1:4 will be treated with 1:5–6, even though it belongs with 1:3 as part of the main statement of the letter.
13. The focus on “inheritance” and “God’s possession” in 1:14 continues this thought (cf. Rom. 8:14–15, 28–30).
14. T. F. Torrance (“Universalism or Election,” SJT 2 [1949]: 315) defined election as “the love of God enacted and inserted into history in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ so that in the strictest sense Jesus Christ is the election of God.” Note the similar ideas in 1 Peter 2:4–8 and the use of “the chosen” to describe Jesus in Luke 9:35, a term borrowed from Isaiah 42:1. On the subject of election, see A. A. Solomon, “The New Testament Doctrine of Election,” SJT 11 (1958): 406–22; H. H. Rowley, The Biblical Doctrine of Election (London: Lutterworth, 1953); William W. Klein, The New Chosen People: A Corporate View of Election (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990).
15. The same problem recurs in 3:17 with “in love” and in 1:8 with “in all wisdom and understanding.” In 4:2 and 16 “in love” comes at the end of the phrase or clause.
16. See Harold H. Ditmanson, Grace in Experience and Theology (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1977), 57–59.
17. Note the recent book by C. Marvin Pate, The End of the Age Has Come: The Theology of Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995).
18. See, for example, its use in Luke 4:18.
19. The same connection exists in Colossians 1:14.
20. See also 1 Corinthians 1:21–30; 2:7.
21. See Raymond E. Brown, The Semitic Background of the Term “Mystery” in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968); Chrys C. Caragounis, The Ephesian Mysterion.
22. Several nuances are possible: the act of managing, the responsibility of managing, or the office responsible for managing (see Luke 16:2; 1 Cor. 9:17).
23. Probably Christ, rather than God, is viewed as the one who administers.
24. Cf. Colossians 1:25–26.
25. See Romans 13:9, the only other New Testament occurrence of the word.
26. Cf. Colossians 1:20.
27. See Acts 7:23 or 9:23, both of which have the Greek word for “fulfill.”
28. Whenever “of” constructions occur in Greek, a decision must be made about the nuance intended. While “the true word” is a possible translation, more likely the intent here is “the word about the truth.”
29. See 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22.
30. On the Spirit in Paul, see Gordon Fee, God’s Empowering Presence. A textual question exists in 1:14 about the gender of the Greek pronoun referring to the Spirit. This should not be seen as a question of the personhood of the Spirit, but a question about which noun is the antecedent of the pronoun.
31. Only five texts in Paul’s letters refer to Christ in us: Romans 8:10; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 2:20; 4:19; Ephesians 3:17. Colossians 1:27 should be understood as “Christ among you, the hope of glory,” i.e., Christ among the Gentiles.
32. See Galatians 2:17 for justification taking place “in Christ.”
33. See e. g., Romans 8:1–4; 2 Corinthians 5:14–21; Galatians 2:19b–20; Philippians 3:8–10; Ephesians 2:4–10.
34. See James S. Stewart, A Man in Christ (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1936), 154: “When we speak of being ‘in Christ’ we are consciously or unconsciously making a confession of faith; we are framing a Christology.”
35. Faith is the noun form of the word “believed” in 1:13.
37. Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers: Discerning and Resistance in a World of Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 160.
38. This description comes from Émile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, trans. Joseph Ward Swain (Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press, 1947). Unfortunately, in actuality too many communities only mirror themselves in worship and do not encounter God.
39. Quoted without reference in Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (San Francisco: Harper, 1992), 243.
40. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism (New York: Crossroad, 1990), 5 (italics his).
41. Thomas Wright, Bringing the Church to the World (Minneapolis: Bethany, 1992), 51. Wright also discusses the high cost of idolatry.
42. Compare Acts 17:28, which says that in God we live and move and have our being.
43. See Paul’s treatment of these ideas in reference to sexual conduct in 1 Corinthians 6:15–20.
44. The comment is from conversation with a Swedish theologian, Runar Eldebo.
45. Wendell Berry, “Men and Women in Search of Common Ground,” Home Economics (San Francisco: North Point Press, 1987), 115 (italics his).
46. Karl Barth, Ethics, ed. Dietrich Braun, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (New York: Seabury, 1981), 499.
47. Cf. Romans 8:9–15; 1 John 4:13.
1. Note “wealth of his glory,” “Spirit,” “power,” “belief,” knowing what one possesses in Christ, “fill,” “fullness,” and “church.”
2. Romans 5:1–5; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Galatians 5:5–6; Ephesians 4:2–5; Colossians 1:4–5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 5:8; Hebrews 6:10–12; (cf. 10:23–24); 1 Peter 1:21–22. The textual question as to whether “the love” belongs in Ephesians 1:15 should be answered in the affirmative.
3. See p. 59. As in the doxology, all five terms appear in Galatians 5:4–7; Ephesians 4:2–15; Colossians 1:4–6.
4. See also Romans 6:4; 8:18; 2 Corinthians 3:18.
5. Technically, this may be a Hebraic genitive: “the Father characterized by glory.”
6. The Greek word pneuma (“spirit”) occurs fourteen times in Ephesians, twelve of which refer to the Holy Spirit (1:13, 17; 2:18, 22; 3:5, 16; 4:3, 4, 30; 5:18; 6:17, 18). This word is used of the ruler of this world in 2:2 and of the human spirit in 4:23. In Ephesians the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of salvation (1:14; 4:30), a revealer (1:17; 3:5), the basis of unity (2:18; 4:3–4), the builder of the church (2:22), a present power (3:16), the source of life (5:18), and the means of ministry (6:17–18).
7. See the discussion in Gordon Fee, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994), 674–76.
8. Several other passages also focus on the future (see 1:10, 12, 14; 2:7; 3:11; 4:13, 30; 5:5; 6:8–9).
9. C. F. D. Moule, The Meaning of Hope (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1963), 11, quoting M. Warren.
11. Cf. Acts 4:2; 1 Corinthians 15:20–24.
13. The New Testament refers more frequently to Psalm 110:1 than to any other Old Testament text: see Matthew 22:44/Mark 12:36/Luke 20:42–43; Matthew 26:64/Mark 14:62/Luke 22:69; [Mark 16:19]; Acts 2:34–35; Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12–13; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22.
14. Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians, Power, and Magic: The Concept of Power in Ephesians in Light of its Historical Setting (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992), who suggests that the goal of Paul’s prayer here is the appropriation of the unsurpassed power available to Christians.
15. See the discussion of 6:10–20, pp. 334–46.
16. Oscar Cullmann, The State in the New Testament (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1956), 95–114.
17. Barth, Ephesians, 1:154, 174–75 (italics his).
18. Walter Wink, Naming the Powers, vol. 1, The Powers (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 5.
19. See especially Romans 8:34–39; 1 Corinthians 15:20–28; Philippians 2:9–11; Ephesians 3:10; 4:8; 6:10–20; Colossians 2:10, 15; 1 Peter 3:22.
20. Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians, 54–56. Knowledge of the Ephesian “letters” was believed to give one magical powers. Note also Acts 19:13.
21. George E. Ladd, The Presence of the Future (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 90, 115. Note Matthew 12:32 and the similar phrases in Mark 10:30 and 1 Timothy 4:8.
22. Note the expectation that all will be summed up in Christ (1:10), the concern for the coming ages (2:7), the reference to eternity throughout all generations (3:21), final unity (4:13), the kingdom (5:5), and judgment (6:8).
23. See Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 6:16; 10:14–17; 11:23–34; 12:4–31; Colossians 1:18–24; 2:6–19; 3:15.
24. Suggestions have been made that it derived from Gnosticism, Stoicism, Semitic ideas of corporate solidarity, the Eucharist, or physiological insights from ancient medical thinking. While Gnosticism is discounted today as a source of Paul’s thinking, any or all of the other possibilities could be instrumental in Paul’s thinking.
25. The difference between “all things” and “in every respect” is minimal, but is tied to the decision whether “fills” is middle or passive. If “fills” is passive, the adverbial “in every respect” must be chosen as well.
26. The Greek text does not use pleroma for the second occurrence of “fullness” in the NIV, but a participle, “You have been made full in him.”
27. See Barth, Ephesians, 1:203–5. The attempt to find a background in Gnosticism is misguided. Only the second-century Valentinians used pleroma in a technical sense; see the arguments of P. D. Overfield, “Pleroma: A Study in Content and Context,” NTS 25 (1979): 384–96.
28. C. F. D. Moule, The Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1962), 168.
29. See The Loci Communes of Philipp Melanchthon, trans. Charles L. Hill (Boston: Meador, 1944), 68.
30. See his A Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, ed. Joseph O’Malley (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1970), 131
31. See Hans-Reudi Weber, Power: Focus for a Biblical Theology (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1989).
32. See Paul S. Minear, To Die and To Live (New York: Seabury, 1977), 49.
33. In addition to his Naming the Powers (n. 18 above), see Wink’s Unmasking the Powers, vol. 2: The Powers (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986) and Engaging the Powers, vol. 3: The Powers (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992).
34. Frank E. Peretti, This Present Darkness (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1986), and Prophet (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1992).
35. Barth, Ephesians, 1:147.
36. Wink, Engaging the Powers, 160.
37. See George M. Marsden, The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1994). See also the lament over the church’s failure with regard to the mind in Mark A. Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994).
38. Tertullian in response to his own question “What is faith?” Quoted without reference in James S. Stewart, The Wind of the Spirit (Nashville: Abingdon, 1968), 53
39. Compare 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 and 2 Corinthians 4:7–15.
40. See n. 18 and Wink, Unmasking the Powers, 57, 77. Wink even discusses approvingly people who talk to the “angels of the plants” (156).
41. See the critique of this movement in Michael Scott Horton, ed., Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church? (Chicago: Moody, 1992), and a defense in Gary S. Greig and Kevin N. Springer, eds., The Kingdom and the Power (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1993).
42. While most of this subject is outside the concerns of Ephesians, we will deal with this issue again in chapter 6.
1. See 2:11–13, 19–22; 4:17–24; 5:8; also expressing the same idea are 3:5 and 4:28. Cf. also Romans 8:9–15.
2. C. L. Mitton, Ephesians, 155. See the discussion by Andrew T. Lincoln, “Ephesians 2:8–10: A Summary of Paul’s Gospel,” CBQ 45 (1983): 617–30. Neither author accepts Pauline authorship of Ephesians, however, and Lincoln attempts to identify shifts from Paul’s style as proofs that someone else wrote the letter.
3. Some have even suggested 1:23 should end with a comma instead of a period, but this is unwarranted.
4. In fact, the RSV borrows the words “he made alive” from 2:5 and duplicates them in 2:1 to try to smooth out Paul’s thought.
5. Literally “walked” in verses 2 and 10. This word will dominate the ethical discussions in chapters 4 and 5 (see 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15).
6. E.g., Romans 7:4–5; 8:12–16; Galatians 3:29; 4:6. In Ephesians see 2:11–22; 4:1–16; 5:1–2; 6:11–12.
7. See Barth, Ephesians, 1:212, 216.
8. Both nekros and thanatos are used in the New Testament to express this metaphorical death.
9. This language was fairly common in both Old and New Testaments and in other Jewish sources (see Ps. 88:3–6; 143:3; Ezek. 37:11–14; Matt. 8:22; 23:27; Luke 15:24; Rom. 5:12–21; Eph. 5:14; esp. 1 Tim. 5:6 [referring to the pleasure-seeking widow who is dead while living] and Rev. 3:1 [referring to the church at Sardis, which had a reputation for being alive, but was dead]).
10. See especially Romans 5:12–21; 6:15–23; 7:5, 24; 8:6–13.
11. Ernest Best, “Dead in Trespasses and Sins,” JSNT 13 (1981): 16.
12. The two words are used interchangeably both in the singular and in the plural (e.g., Rom. 5:20; Col. 1:14; 2:13. Regarding the word “sin” (hamartia), 48 of the 64 Pauline occurrences of this word are in Romans, of which only three are plural. In Romans Paul views sin not so much as individual misdeeds as the tyrant that dominates human life. Of the 16 occurrences outside Romans, 9 are in the plural.
13. See Romans 6:4; 8:4; 1 Corinthians 3:3; 7:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2; Galatians 5:16. This use of “walk” also occurs in the Johannine literature and elsewhere in the New Testament (e. g., John 8:12; 11:9–10; 1 John 1:6–7; Acts 21:21).
14. See pp. 40, 42, 47–48, 56–57, 63–64.
15. The attempt by Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 91 and 96, to see “age” in 2:2 as pointing to a personified being does not do justice to the temporal meanings of the word in 1:21 and 2:7.
16. Compare Galatians 1:4, which speaks of Christians being rescued from the present evil age, and Romans 12:2, which cautions Christians not to be conformed to the present age (NIV, “the pattern of this world”).
17. Compare “the prince of this world” in John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11, and “the prince of the demons” in Matthew 9:34; 12:24, in which the word “prince” (archon) translates the same word rendered “ruler” here. References to “rule” or “rulers” in Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; 6:12 use a related word arche.
18. Exousia; the NEB translates this singular word as a collective noun, “spiritual powers,” but that is without warrant.
19. See Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians, Power, and Magic, 60–61; Everett Ferguson, Demonology of the Early Christian World (Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen, 1984). 45–47, 75–86
20. Walter Wink, Naming the Powers, Vol. 1: The Powers (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 83. It is possible that exousia (“authority,” the word translated “kingdom”) is a genitive of apposition. If so, we should translate, “the ruler, the authority of the air.”
21. Such a negative use of the word “spirit” is rare in Paul’s writings (seen only in 1 Cor. 2:12; 2 Cor. 11:4; 2 Thess. 2:2 [NIV, prophecy]; 1 Tim. 4:1).
22. See John 3:36; Romans 2:8; 10:16, 21; 15:31; Hebrews 3:12, 18–19; 4:2, 6, 11.
23. Compare Deuteronomy 25:2, where “deserves to be beaten” is literally “a son of stripes,” and 1 Samuel 26:16, where “deserve to die” is literally “sons of death.”
24. The contrast with the mercy of God in verse 4 seems to require that the wrath in verse 3 is also present.
25. The meaning here is virtually “custom” and is the loosest use of this term.
26. Whether “by nature objects of wrath” was intended to teach a doctrine of original sin is debated. The Semitism “children of wrath,” which stands behind this expression, does not refer to babies. Paul is describing adults, not children, so this part of the statement is not about original sin. The key word is the word “nature.” It is probably better to say this text assumes a doctrine of original sin than teaches it. How sin gains entrance or is transmitted is not discussed here or elsewhere; that sin has infected the human race is presupposed. This text is similar to Paul’s discussion in Romans 5:12–14. The strongest recent argument for the relevance of Ephesians 2:3 to the doctrine of original sin is that by David L. Turner, “Ephesians 2:3c and Pecattum Originale, GTJ 1 (1980): 195–219.
27. The love of God appears in 1:4, 6 and 5:1; the love of Christ appears in 3:18–19; 5:2, 25. See also Romans 5:5, 8; 8:35, 39; 15:30; 2 Corinthians 13:11, 13; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 16.
28. Ernst Käsemann made this expression popular. See his “ ‘The Righteousness of God’ in Paul,” New Testament Questions of Today (London: SCM, 1969), 174–76. Barth’s attempt (Ephesians, 1:220) to suggest that “made alive together with” has a double meaning referring to resurrection with Christ and to the joining of Jews and Gentiles is unconvincing.
29. Other texts emphasize the role of the Spirit in salvation too (e.g., Rom. 5:5; 8:9–17 [note the death-life contrast in 8:10]; 1 Cor. 6:11; 12:3, 13; Gal. 3:2–6; Eph. 2:18).
30. See 1:7; 2:13, 15–16; 5:2.
31. See p. 84 for the importance of referring to the “twin event” of the death and resurrection of Christ.
32. See Romans 6:1–14; 7:4; 8:11–13; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 2 Corinthians 4:10–12; Galatians 2:19–20; 6:14; Philippians 3:9–10; Colossians 2:12–13; 3:1–4; 2 Timothy 2:11–13.
34. Morris, Expository Reflections on Ephesians, 50–51.
35. See pp. 38–40, 42, 47–48, 56–57, 63–64.
36. Lewis B. Smedes, Union with Christ: A Biblical View of New Life in Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), 59.
37. See Robert C. Tannehill, Dying and Rising with Christ (Berlin: Verlag Alfred Töpelmann, 1967), 1.
38. See Käsemann, “ ‘The Righteousness of God’ in Paul,” 170–76; E. P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977), 463–72, 506–8; Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983), 4–10. Morna Hooker has several articles promoting “interchange” as a helpful explanation of salvation. “Interchange” is best summarized by the statement, “He became what we are in order that we might become what he is” (from Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Preface). See her “Interchange in Christ,” JTS 22 (1971): 349–61; “Interchange and Atonement,” BJRL 60 (1978): 462–81; “Interchange and Suffering,” in Suffering and Martyrdom in the New Testament, ed. William Horbury and Brian McNeill (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1981), 70–83; and “Interchange in Christ and Ethics,” JSNT 25 (1985): 3–17. Cf. John 5:24; 1 John 3:14.
39. The Pauline letters use the verb “save” (sozo) 29 times and the noun “salvation” (soteria) 19 times. Usually Paul has in mind our future salvation (Rom. 5:9–10), but he also uses it to refer to an event of the past (Rom. 8:24) or something being experienced in the present (1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 6:2).
40. The future component, the “not yet” part of Christianity is not mentioned here but is present elsewhere in Ephesians (1:10, 14; 4:30; 5:5).
42. These statements do not deny the importance of humans being created in the image of God or their potential value. Instead, they proceed from a sense of the seriousness of the human plight.
43. See my discussion of this issue in “The Gospel in Romans: A Theology of Revelation,” Gospel in Paul: Studies on Corinthians, Galatians and Romans for Richard Longenecker, eds. L. Ann Jervis and Peter Richardson (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 288–314.
44. See n. 2.
45. See D. H. van Daalen, “ ‘Faith’ According to Paul,” ExpTim 87 (1975–76): 83–85.
46. See William Sanday and Arthur C. Headlam, The Epistle to the Romans (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1896), who define faith as “the lively act or impulse of adhesion to Christ” (11) and the “enthusiastic adhesion, personal adhesion; the highest and most effective motive-power of which human character is capable” (34, italics theirs).
47. Possibly Acts 15:11 can be read to suggest grace enables belief. Obviously theological systems that emphasize “irresistible grace” are attracted to the idea that faith itself is God’s gift.
48. As James D. G. Dunn argued. See his “Works of the Law and the Curse of the Law (Galatians 3.10–14),” NTS 31 (1985): 523–42; “Yet Once More—‘The Works of the Law’: A Response,” JSNT 46 (1992): 99–117. But Romans 4:2–4 refers to Abraham’s works before any thought of “boundary markers.” Romans 9:32 also seems to contrast works in a general sense with faith. See Douglas J. Moo, “ ‘Law.’ ‘Works of the Law,’ and Legalism in Paul,” WTJ, 45 (1983): 73–100; C. E. B. Cranfield, “ ‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT, 43 (1991): 89–101.
49. See especially Romans 3:19, 27; 4:2; 1 Corinthians 1:18–29; 3:21; 4:7; Galatians 6:14.
50. This theology of boasting (both negatively and positively understood) is a recurrent theme throughout the Corinthian letters. The positive sense of boasting is often lost in translations by the substitution of rejoice for boasting (cf. NIV in Rom. 5:2, 3, 11).
51. See 1 Corinthians 15:20–24, 45–49, where the resurrection is viewed as the inauguration of a new order and Christ is a “new Adam” (cf. Rom. 5:12–21). In 2 Corinthians 4:6 the coming of the gospel is equivalent to the creation of light, and in 5:17 those in Christ are a new creation. Colossians 1:15–20 emphasizes the relation of creation and redemption (see also Rom. 8:18–23; Eph. 3:9;. 4:24; Col. 3:10). Each of the Gospels—especially John—draws parallels between its account and Genesis. See Paul S. Minear, Christians and the New Creation: Genesis Motifs in the New Testament (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1994).
52. This statement has already been anticipated in 1:4: “he chose us in him [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
53. Stott, God’s New Society, 84–85.
54. See 1 Timothy 2:10; 5:10, 25; 6:18 (NIV has “good deeds”); Titus 2:7, 14; 3:8, 14 (NIV has “doing what is good”). Note the similarity of 2 Timothy 2:21 to Ephesians 2:10.
55. Conversely, the singular “work” in Paul’s letters is always positive except for two texts: 1 Corinthians 5:2 (NIV, “this”) and 2 Timothy 4:18 (NIV, “attack”), both of which are clearly negative—the one defined by context and the other by the addition of the word “evil.”
56. Cf. our earlier description of the prevalence of meaninglessness in the ancient world as witnessed by the common epitaph “I was not, I was, I am not, I don’t care” (see pp. 82–83).
57. Courses on death and dying are the most popular electives on several college campuses (see Nathaniel Sheppard, Jr., “Popular College Courses Reflect Students’ Changing Vaules,” Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1995, sec 1, 13).
58. See the discussion of this in the previous section, pp. 85–86.
59. Walter Wink, Unmasking the Powers, vol. 2: The Powers (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 10–11, 24–26. On p. 30 he asks, “When we tear the mask away from Satan, do we find ourselves?” In Engaging the Powers, vol. 3: The Powers (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 8, Wink suggests it is merely a habit of thought that makes people think of powers as personal beings and states his preference of considering them as impersonal entities.
60. 1 Chronicles 21:1; Job 1–2; Zechariah 3:1–2 (cf. also the account of temptation in Gen. 3). Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 refer to the kings of Babylon and Tyre respectively, not to the fall of Satan. Evil spirits and demons are also rarely mentioned in the Old Testament (Deut. 32:17; 1 Sam. 16:14–23; 19:9; Isa. 65:11).
61. The Pauline letters refer to Satan only ten times and to the devil eight.
62. See his A Treatise On the Anger of God, secs. 5–6, 16–17.
63. Passages like Psalm 78, Hosea, Romans 1–3 (especially 3:21–26), and our text present in moving fashion God’s dealing with his anger and showing mercy.
64. Formerly called “corporate personality.” See Russell Philip Shedd, Man in Community: A Study of St. Paul’s Application of Old Testament and Early Jewish Conceptions of Human Solidarity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964; H. Wheeler Robinson, Corporate Personality in Ancient Israel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1964).
65. See 1 Corinthians 15:20–23; 2 Timothy 1:10; Hebrews 2:14–15; see Tannehill, Dying and Rising with Christ, 123.
66. Ibid., 1. See also Ben Witherington, III, Paul’s Narrative Thought World (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1994), who suggests conversion is being put into the story of Christ.
67. Note John Calvin’s comment: “… as long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us” (Institutes, 3.1.1). For discussion of union with Christ and participationist categories, in addition to the works by Smedes, Tannehill, Sanders, and Shedd, see James S. Stewart, A Man in Christ (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1936); Michel Bouttier, Christianity According to Paul, trans. Franke Clarke (Napierville: Allenson, 1966); Albert Schweitzer, The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle, trans. William Montgomery (London: A. & C. Black, 1931).
68. Notably, P. P. Waldenstrom; see Axel Andersson, The Christian Doctrine of the Atonement According to P. P. Waldenstrom, trans. G. F. Hedstrand (Chicago: Covenant, 1937). Waldenstrom’s recoil from such ideas led to several wrong emphases in his own explanation.
69. Remember that the verb for “live” (v. 2) and “do” (v. 10) is actually “walk.”
70. See pp. 38–40, 42 and 63–64.
71. Smedes, Union with Christ, 109.
72. See the discussion in Beverly Roberts Gaventa, From Darkness to Light: Aspects of Conversion in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 9.
73. See the discussion of separation and culture in 5:6–14.
74. Romans 6:13 describes Christians as those who have just emerged from the grave and are looking for something to do.
75. Stewart, A Man in Christ, 194.
76. Elsewhere in the New Testament, see especially 1 John 1:8–10.
77. See the discussion in Gaventa, From Darkness to Light, 10–14.
78. C. F. D. Moule, The Meaning of Hope (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1963), 5, tells an (apocryphal) story about B. F. Westcott, a famous nineteenth century New Testament scholar, being asked by a Salvation Army lass if he was saved. He replied, “My dear, do you mean sotheis, sesosmenos, or sozomenos? Is it the aorist participle of the Greek verb that you mean, or the perfect, or the present?” All three are true—the past act, the past act and its present effect, and the present reality. Conversion is a process still taking place and moving toward completion.
79. See the discussions in I. Howard Marshall, Kept By the Power of God (Minneapolis: Bethany, 1969); Judith M. Gundry Volf, Paul and Perseverance: Staying In and Falling Away (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1990); Gerald L. Borchert, Assurance and Warning (Nashville: Broadman, 1987).
80. Larry Katz, “Between the Lines,” Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1995, sec. 13, p. 21, quoting Carly Simon.
81. Jack Miles, God: A Biography (Knopf, 1995), quoted in a review by Ross Miller, Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1995, sec. 14, p. 4.
82. The words are from Herod in W. H. Auden’s “For the Time Being.” See his Collected Longer Poems (New York: Random House, 1965), 189.
83. Note 1 Corinthians 15:10, where Paul wrote, “But by the grace of God I am what I am.”
84. Käsemann, “ ‘The Righteousness of God’ in Paul,” 173.
1. Barth, Ephesians, 1:275.
2. 1:22; 3:10, 21; in chapter 5 the word occurs six times: 5:23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 32.
4. Remember that 23 of the 36 occurrences of “in Christ” and related phrases take place in the first two chapters; Paul demonstrates the solidarity Christians have with Christ and the privileges that come with that union.
5. Lincoln’s view (Ephesians, 138) that Isaiah 57:19 is not already in mind in 2:13 is unlikely. See Peter Stuhlmacher, “ ‘He is Our Peace’ (Eph. 2:14): On the Exegesis and Significance of Ephesians 2:14–18,” Reconciliation, Law, and Righteousness: Essays in Biblical Theology (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 182–200, who argues Ephesians 2:14–18 is a Christological exegesis of Isaiah 9:5–6; 52:7; 57:19.
6. See Acts 2:39; 10:36; Romans 10:15; and especially Ephesians 6:15.
7. For a summary of this debate, see William Rader, The Church and Racial Hostility, 177–201. Lincoln, Ephesians, 127–34, rejects a background in Gnosticism, but views 2:14–16 as hymnic and as reflecting Hellenistic Jewish cosmological speculation. Stuhlmacher, “ ‘He is Our Peace,’ ” 182–200, rightly rejects speculations about both Gnosticism and hymnic reconstructions.
8. This passage is largely chiastic, a form of inverted parallelism in which the first line mirrors the last, the second the next to last, and so on (note how v. 12 is mirrored in v. 19, v. 13 in v. 17 and v. 14 in v. 16). However, elaborate explanations of a chiastic structure involving each line of the passage are forced. See, e. g., J. C. Kirby, Ephesians, Baptism, and Pentecost (London: SPCK, 1968), 156–57.
9. This is the force of the present tense in the imperative.
10. E. g., Acts 10:45; Romans 2:26–27; 3:30; Galatians 2:7–9, 12; Colossians 4:11; Titus 1:10. Circumcision was the mark of belonging to the covenant and the primary symbol of obedience to God’s law.
11. Katatome (“mutilation”) and peritome (“circumcision”). This co-opting of the term “circumcision” seems to be based on the thinking of Colossians 2:11, which speaks of the spiritual circumcision Christ works on Gentiles.
12. Barth, Ephesians, 1:254–55. See also the balanced discussions in Scot McKnight, A Light Among the Gentiles (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991), 11–29; John G. Gager, “Judaism as Seen by Outsiders,” Early Judaism and its Modern Interpreters, eds. Robert A. Kraft and George W. E. Nickelsburg (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 99–116. Not all relations between Jews and Gentiles were marked by hostility, but one has only to read The Letter of Aristeas, 134–39, which views the law as preventing mingling with other nations, and Tacitus, Histories, 5.5, which harshly describes Jews as hating non-Jews, to see Ephesians 2:11 mirrored. Frequent conflicts between Jews and the Roman authorities in Palestine and several expulsions of Jews from Rome (cf. Acts 18:2) only heightened the tensions. Note too the patience of the Jews listening to Paul’s defense until he mentions his mission to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21–23).
13. The opposite, “not by the hands of men,” is used to describe what God does, such as a temple God will build (Mark 14:58), our eternal dwelling in heaven (2 Cor. 5:1), or the spiritual circumcision Christ effects at conversion (Col. 2:11, which should be compared to Eph. 2:11).
14. These elements assume the privileges Jews enjoyed (cf. Rom. 3:1–2; 9:1–5).
15. The word “excluded” is the same word translated “separated” in 4:18 and “alienated” in Colossians 1:21, the only other times the word occurs in the New Testament.
16. Not all occurrences of “now” (nun and nuni) have this meaning, but many do (see Rom. 3:21; 5:9–11; 7:6; 8:1; 16:26; 1 Cor. 15:20; 2 Cor. 5:16; 6:2; Eph. 3:5; Col. 1:22, 26; 2 Tim. 1:10).
17. See Lincoln, Ephesians, 146–47. Note also Psalm 148:14; Acts 2:39; 22:21; 26:23.
18. See Romans 9:24–26; 11:30–32; 1 Peter 2:10.
19. Note the parallel between “blood” and “death” in Romans 5:9–10 (cf. also 1 Cor. 11:25–26; Col. 1:20). See the discussion in Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 112–28. Is there an allusion to the blood of the new covenant?
20. See Ernst Käsemann, “The Saving Significance of the Death of Jesus in Paul,” Perspectives on Paul (London: SCM, 1969), 39.
21. Barth, Ephesians, 1:295.
22. See 2 Baruch 29 and 73; Testament of Levi 18.4. Note also the use of Isaiah 52:7 in 11Q Melchizedek. See Stuhlmacher, “ ‘He is Our Peace,’ ” 188.
23. As examples, see Genesis 37:14 (NIV, “well”); Psalm 38:3 (NIV, “health”); 73:3 (NIV, “prosperity”); Leviticus 26:6; Judges 4:17 (NIV, “friendly relations”); Zechariah 8:16 (NIV, “sound” judgment). For good discussions of peace see Ulrich Mauser, The Gospel of Peace (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1992); Perry B. Yoder, Shalom: The Bible’s Word for Salvation, Justice, and Peace (Newton, Kans.: Faith and Life, 1987).
24. See Leviticus 26:3–23; Psalm 34:14; 37:37–40; 85:10; 119:165; Isaiah 32:16–17; 52:7 (to which allusion is made in Eph. 2:17).
25. See Numbers 6:26; 25:12; Isaiah 54:10; Ezekiel 34:25; 37:26; Malachi 2:5; for the promise of one who will bring peace, see Isaiah 9:1–7; 11:1–9; Micah 5:2–5; Zechariah 9:9–10.
26. Such as Isaiah 2:2–4; 11:1–9; Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV, “prosper”). The theological significance of peace in the New Testament is no less important. Not surprisingly, the first word of the risen Christ to his disciples in the Gospel of John is “peace.”
27. That the neuter is used for “the two” (rather than the masculine as in 2:16 and 18) is no proof that reference was originally to two parts of the cosmos (contra Lincoln, Ephesians, 128–29). The neuter and the mixing of genders often occur in reference to people (note, e.g., John 1:11; 6:39–40; 1 Cor. 1:27–28).
28. Literally, “having killed the hostility in himself.” The phrase means that the killing takes place in his own being, not that the hostility is his.
29. Koshi Usami, Somatic Comprehension of Unity: The Church in Ephesus (Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1983), 53–55, suggests that Paul intentionally avoided the pronoun “we” in verse 17, in order not to express an attitude of superiority.
30. The NRSV moves “in his flesh” forward so that it relates to both the action of making one and the action of destruction.
31. See Barth, Ephesians, 1:285–87; Schnackenburg, Ephesians, A Commentary, 111–16.
32. The Letter of Aristeas, 139, 142.
33. Note the use of “curtain” (katapetasma), not “barrier” (mesotoichon) or “dividing wall” (phragmos), in Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45; Hebrews 6:19; 9:3; 10:20.
34. See Josephus, The Jewish War, 5.193–94.; 6.124–26; Antiquities of the Jews, 15.417; Philo, Embassy to Gaius, 212. See the discussion in Robinson, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 59–60.
35. Schnackenburg, Ephesians, A Commentary, 113–14, assumes the temple is in ruins at the time of writing and thus rejects the temple barrier option. Stott, God’s New Society, 91–92, 98–99, following Robinson, accepts the temple barrier interpretation and assumes the temple is still standing. For Christians the temple was no longer an obstacle preventing access to God after the crucifixion. But nothing can be determined from this verse about whether the temple was still standing.
36. The Greek word for “abolish” (katargeo) appears in Romans 3:31, where Paul states he does not abolish (active voice, NIV: nullify) the law. In Romans 7:6 he uses the passive voice of the same word to say “we have been released from the law.” Paul both had to affirm the law and to prevent it from being a source of division or a means by which people presented themselves to God.
37. This view of flesh as both the source of the problem for humans and the solution in the Incarnation and death of Jesus is paralleled in Romans 8:3 (see also 7:4).
38. See the discussion of solidarity with Christ, pp. 112–14.
39. Barth, Ephesians, 1:267, 300.
40. Cf. 4:13, where the “not yet” character of this reality is expressed.
41. 1:23; 4:4, 12, 16 (twice); 5:23, 30. The word also occurs in 2:16 and 5:28, the latter referring to physical bodies.
42. Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 117.
43. The only other texts that mention the new being (man, self) explicitly are 4:24 and Col. 3:10.
44. The theology of Galatians 3:28 flows through this text: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Note that “one” (heis) in this verse is masculine—one person—not neuter.
45. See the discussion in Rader, The Church and Racial Hostility, 228–32; Lincoln, Ephesians, 134, 144.
46. See Romans 5:10–11; 11:15; 2 Corinthians 5:18–21; Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:20–22. Still, Ralph Martin considers it the center of Paul’s theology. See “Center of Paul’s Theology,” Dictionary of Paul and his Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1993), 92–95; see also his Reconciliation: A Study of Paul’s Theology (Atlanta: John Knox, 1981); Peter Stuhlmacher, “Jesus as Reconciler, Reflections on the Problem of Portraying Jesus Within the Framework of a Biblical Theology of the New Testament,” Reconciliation, Law, and Righteousness, 1–15.
47. Paul may have coined the word; other Pauline texts use the verb katallasso and the noun katallage
48. The word “access” (prosagoge) occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only at 3:12 and Romans 5:2. The verb form is used in a similar way in 1 Peter 3:18.
49. It is not impossible that the Greek for “by one Spirit” should be understood as it is in Philippians 1:27 of the unity of humans, but this is not likely, given the focus on the Holy Spirit in 2:22.
50. This expression is a hendiadys—two terms to express one idea. “Aliens” is a negative word here, but note it is used positively of Christians in 1 Peter 2:11 to stress that Christians do not belong to this world.
51. The description of the church in family terms reappears in 3:14–15; 5:1.
52. Note the similarity of language and mixing of metaphors in 4:16.
53. “With” compounds are used fourteen times in the letter to underscore unity with Christ and unity in Christ. The uses in 5:7 and 10 are to prevent union with unbelievers.
54. Note the similarity between 2:19 and 1 Peter 2:4–6, both alluding to Isaiah 28:16. The Dead Sea Scrolls likewise interpreted this verse in Isaiah as referring to a spiritual temple (see Manual of Discipline, 8.5–8). For a discussion of the relation of 1 Peter 2:1–10 and Ephesians. 2:19–22, see my “I Peter II.1–10: Its Formation and Literary Affinities,” NTS 24 (1977): 97–106.
55. In grammatical terms, a subjective genitive, a possessive genitive, or a genitive of apposition.
56. This statement is one of the reasons some feel Paul did not write Ephesians. On whether this represents a later veneration of the apostles, see pp. 25–27 of the introduction.
57. No attempt should be made to make all the foundation passages in the New Testament agree. In 1 Corinthians 3:10–11 Paul refers to the only foundation that can be laid, Christ himself. In Matthew 16:18 Peter is the rock on which the church is built, and in Revelation 21:14 the walls of the new Jerusalem have twelve foundations on which are the names of the twelve apostles. Each of these figures of speech must be interpreted in its own context without being overpowered by the other contexts or being seen as correcting a previous picture.
58. See “Temple Foundation Stone Discovered,” Christianity Today, May 18, 1992, 52. The use of Isaiah 28:16 in 1QS 8.5–8 to refer to foundations is further argument against the meaning “keystone,” which does not appear as the meaning of akrogoniaios until the third century A.D.
59. In addition to 1QS 8.5–8, see also 5.5; 1QH 6.25–27; 7.8–9.
60. Targums are Aramaic paraphrases of the Hebrew Old Testament.
61. In 1 Peter 2:4–8 they provide one of the most decisive statements of the letter, and in Romans 9:32–33 they provide the solution to the Jew-Gentile problem (much of chaps. 10–11 are a commentary on 9:30–33).
62. Unless en should be understood as “on” rather than “in.” The addition of the article in 2:21 in some manuscripts to read pasa he oikodome (meaning “every building”) is late, and the context rules out such a reading. Instead pasa oikodome is probably a Hebraism, meaning “the whole building.” See discussion in C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek (2d ed.; Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1963), 94–95.
63. See Bertil Gärtner, The Temple and the Community in Qumran and the New Testament (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1965).
64. The role of women was ignored, except as they were joined to their families.
65. To be fair, we should point out that not all relations between Jews and Gentiles were bad.
66. See pp. 47–48, 56–57, 63–64, 100–102, 112–14, 117–19.
67. Various types of sacrifice existed in the Old Testament and elsewhere—such as sacrifices of thanksgiving, for forgiveness, to ward off danger, for communion, and for purification.
68. The words are from Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Preface (see pp. 102–3, n.38, above).
69. “Blood” occurs only twelve times in Paul’s letters, and four of those have nothing to do with atonement.
70. See Rader, The Church and Racial Hostility, 222–34; Carl B. Hoch, “The New Man of Ephesians 2,” Dispensationalism: Israel and the Church, ed. Craig Blaising (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 98–126; Andrew T. Lincoln, “The Church and Israel in Ephesians 2,” CBQ 49 (1987): 605–24; Markus Barth, The People of God (Sheffield: JSOT, 1983). Barth’s contention that Christ joins Gentile Christians to Jews (whether Christian or not) exceeds the subject of Ephesians, which is about Jews and Gentiles in Christ.
71. See the discussion in R. Fowler White, “Gaffin and Grudem on Eph 2:20: In Defense of Gaffin’s Cessationist Exegesis,” WTJ 54 (1992): 303–20; R. B. Gaffin, Jr. Perspectives on Pentecost: New Testament Teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979).
72. Wayne Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1988), 57–63.
73. Remember that unity is one of the main themes of the letter.
74. See John G. Gager, “Judaism as Seen by Outsiders,” 105–13.
75. See Rader, The Church and Racial Hostility, 173–74, who points out that Ephesians 2:11–22 is not mentioned in publications and printed sermons dealing with the slavery issue. He offers several reasons why this happened, one of which is that people were more concerned about equality than unity, but can we ever really have equality without unity? For other painful evidence of the way Christians argued against the abolition of slavery, see E. N. Elliott, ed., Cotton is King and Pro-Slavery Arguments (Augusta, Ga.: Pritchard, Abbott, & Loomis, 1860).
76. One barrier does still exist: Separation because of sin is still required (see chap. 5). Christians may never be in union with evil. The difficult part is separating from evil without causing division, name-calling, and distrust or being guilty of arrogance.
77. The Covenant Hymnal (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1973), no. 139.
79. Tom Wright, Bringing the Church to the World (Minneapolis: Bethany, 1992), 25.
80. This segregation of the sexes has been a synagogue custom for nearly two thousand years. Whether it was in practice in the first century is uncertain.
81. Nor should modern Israel be given political privilege over Palestinians, as some evangelicals have often argued.
83. See the classic discussion by H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1951).
84. See the works in n. 20 and Wink, Engaging the Powers, 175–257.
85. God is present with individuals, but God is experienced in a qualitatively different way when Christians gather. Otherwise no need would exist for temple language or for such statements as, “Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:20).
86. E. g., Acts 7:38; 19:32, 39, 41; cf. Heb. 2:12 (NIV, “congregation”).
87. Paul speaks of the church in universal terms, but Robert Banks is correct to say that local churches are to be viewed as tangible expressions of the heavenly church. See Paul’s Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Historical Setting (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980,) 47.
1. 1:10 (NIV, “put into effect”) and 3:2.
2. For the impact of these verses on the question of authorship, see the introduction, pp. 26–27.
3. Barth, Ephesians, 1:359–60. This section explains the character of Paul’s whole ministry, not just his imprisonment.
4. The choices are Ephesus, Caesarea, or Rome, with either of the last two being possible and Rome being the most likely (see p. 29).
5. Note how Acts 20:22–23; 21:4, 10–14 underscore both the Spirit’s compelling him to go to Jerusalem (lit., 20:22 has “bound by the Spirit”) and the prophetic warnings of imprisonment.
6. See also 4:1; Philemon 1, 9–10, 13; 2 Timothy 1:8. 16.
7. See also Romans 15:30–32 and 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16.
8. Elsewhere in Paul at 1 Corinthians 9:17 (NIV, “trust”), Colossians 1:25 (NIV, “commission”), and 1 Timothy 1:4 (NIV, “work”).
9. See comments on 1:9, p. 53.
10. Cf. Romans 16:25–27; 1 Corinthians 2:1; Ephesians 6:19; Colossians 4:3.
11. See Chrys C. Caragounis, The Ephesian Mysterion, especially 118.
12. Similar to the double reconciliation in 2:16 between God and humanity and between Jews and Gentiles. See Stott, God’s New Society, 117.
13. Cf. the use of the word in Romans 15:4.
14. See Caragounis, The Ephesian Mysterion, 99–100; Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 132, as representatives.
15. An objective genitive or an epexegetic genitive, respectively.
16. See Romans 16:25–27; 1 Corinthians 2:6–16; Colossians 1:26–27; 2 Timothy 1:9–11; Titus 1:2–3; Hebrews 1:1–2; 1 Peter 1:19–21.
17. E.g. Lincoln, Ephesians, 170. See my treatment of Romans 16:25–27 in “Gospel in Romans: A Theology of Revelation,” Gospel in Paul, eds. L. Ann Jervis and Peter Richardson (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 292–96.
18. Romans 16:25–27; 1 Corinthians 2:6–16; Ephesians 3:2–13; Colossians 1:25–2:3.
19. See LXX of Psalm 8:5 and Ezekiel 2:1 respectively.
20. See Genesis 12:3; Deuteronomy 32:43; Isaiah 2:2; 11:10; 49:6.
21. Because “holy” comes before “apostles” and “his” (NIV, “God’s”) comes immediately after, some think only the apostles are called holy (see Lincoln, Ephesians, 179; Schnackenburg, Ephesians, a Commentary, 133–34). This is an unnecessary conclusion. The NIV rightly takes “by the Spirit” with “revealed” rather than with “prophets.”
22. See the discussion of this issue at 2:20, pp. 136–37.
23. Three of the fourteen “with” (syn) compounds in this letter occur in this verse. The NIV adds “Israel” to the text.
24. Some commentators suggest a play on Paul’s name, since in Latin paullus means “little” (see Bruce, The Epistle to the Ephesians, 63).
25. See 1 Corinthians 15:8–10 and 1 Timothy 1:12–17.
26. Paul S. Minear, To Die and to Live: Christ’s Resurrection and Christian Vocation (New York: Seabury, 1977), 94–95, distinguishes the audience in the first two, that the first purpose focuses on Gentiles, the second on the union of Jews and Gentiles.
27. Barth, Ephesians, 1:343, argues Christ has this responsibility. Lincoln, Ephesians, 184, says the reference is to God’s act of administering to disclose his purpose.
28. The question whether “everyone” belongs in the text compounds the problem. If it belongs in the text, the focus is on Paul’s responsibility for the gospel. If it does not, the focus could be on Paul’s task of enlightening other Christians about their responsibility for the new revelation.
29. Cf. 1 Corinthians 4:1, where Paul asks that he and others like him be considered as stewards (oikonomoi, a word related to oikonomia, “administration,” in 3:9) of the mysteries of God.
31. Stott, God’s New Society, 124, quoting McKay, God’s Order, 61. McKay thought both good and evil spirits were addressed.
32. Walter Wink, Naming the Powers, vol. 1: The Powers (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 89, 93–96. G. B. Caird, Principalities and Powers (Oxford: Clarendon, 1956), 28, 81, had argued this earlier. While admitting the difficulty of his interpretation, Wink thinks the conversion of the nations demands revelation to the angels of the nations, his understanding of “rulers and authorities.” In my estimation he has both assumed too much and overinterpreted the verse.
33. Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 140.
34. Barth, Ephesians, 1:365.
35. See also Hebrews 10:19, which speaks of having “boldness” to enter the Holy Place. The NIV uses “confidence” to render the word “boldness” (parresia) in both passages in Hebrews, but in Ephesians 3:12 “confidence” translates pepoithesis and “freedom” is used to translate parresia.
36. Autou as an objective genitive.
37. Barth, Ephesians, 1:347. This is part of a larger debate in Pauline theology over passages that could be rendered either “faith in Christ” or “faithfulness of Christ” (see Rom. 3:22, 26; Gal. 2:16; 3:22; Phil. 3:9). See the discussions by Richard Hays, “ΠΙΣΤΙΣ and Pauline Christology: What Is at Stake?” and James D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” both in Society of Biblical Literature 1991 Seminar Papers, ed. E. H. Lovering, Jr. (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991), 714–29 and 730–44, respectively.
38. The NIV has rearranged the order to avoid the thought that confidence comes from human faith.
39. Verse 13 can be understood in different ways: (1) I ask that you do not lose heart; (2) I ask God that I do not lose heart; (3) I ask God that you do not lose heart. The NIV has chosen the first option and uses the word “discouraged.” The second option does not seem to fit with Paul’s attitude in this context, but does deserve reflection (cf. 2 Cor. 4:1—one does not talk of not losing heart unless it is an issue). The third option also deserves consideration—in effect, a prayer that they will not lose heart.
40. Second Corinthians, Philippians, or Colossians 1:24–29 provide a broader description of hardship in ministry.
41. See 6:20; also Acts 28:20; 2 Timothy 1:16. Note too that in Philippians, he faced death with the same attitude.
42. See Romans 8:17; 2 Corinthians 4:10–11; 13:4–5; Philippians 1:29.
43. Barth, Ephesians, 1:362. See the passages mentioned in n. 16.
44. Wink, Unmasking the Powers, vol. 2: The Powers (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 173; Engaging the Powers, vol. 3: The Powers (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 8–9. See p. 163, n. 32.
45. Wink, Engaging the Powers, 68.
46. See the discussions on pp. 126–36 and pp. 142–43.
48. This word is so debated and abused that often it becomes hardly usable.
49. Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The American Scholar,” The Complete Essays and Other Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, ed. Brooks Atkinson (New York: The Modern Library, 1950), 52.
50. See pp. 140–41, 144–45, 150–51.
51. See Hanson, The Unity of the Church in the New Testament.
52. Lincoln, Ephesians, 364.
53. The words are from Billy Joel’s song “Pressure.”
54. Barth, Ephesians, 1:357.
55. See C. F. D. Moule, “ ‘The New Life’ in Colossians 3:1–17,” RevEx, 70 (1973), 481–493, especially 481–82.
2. Note the parallels with Colossians 2:6–10.
3. The only alternatives are to take these participles as nominative absolutes, which is unlikely, or as imperatives, which Barth does (see Ephesians, 1:371–72). Taking them with what follows shows also that verses 18–19 are part of the prayer rather than an explanation of the results. It is unusual for elements of a hina (“that”) clause to precede hina, but see John 13:29; Acts 19:4; 2 Corinthians 2:4; Galatians 2:10.
4. NIV, “I pray … he may strengthen you with power …”
5. NIV, “have power,” but a different word is used here than is used in verse 16.
6. Or possibly only the first two.
7. Standing for prayer appears to have been more common. For this and other postures, see Matthew 26:39; Luke 10:13; 18:11, 13; 1 Timothy 2:8.
8. See Robinson, St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 82–83.
9. Ibid., 83. The word for “kneel” (kampto) occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only at Romans 11:4; 14:11; Philippians 2:10, the first quoting 1 Kings 19:18 and the other two quoting or alluding to Isaiah 45:23.
10. See 1:2, 3, 17; 2:18; 3:14; 4:6; 5:20; 6:23.
11. See Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6; cf. John 5:18. See the classic treatment of this expression by J. Jeremias in The Prayers of Jesus (Naperville, Ill.: Allenson, 1967). Jews did refer to God as “Father,” but usually with a qualifying genitive such as “Father of lights” or “Father of mercy.”
12. See Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 11:31; Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 1:3.
13. See also 1 Corinthians 8:6. Both this verse and Ephesians 4:6 draw on the Shema (Deut. 6:4), the primary confession of the Old Testament and Judaism that only one God exists.
14. The NIV translates pasa patria as “whole family,” similar to the way pasa oikodome was understood as “the whole building” in 2:21. The normal way to understand this construction is with the word “every” (cf. “every spiritual blessing” in 1:3), but clearly one building is in view in 2:21.
15. Patria occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only at Luke 2:4 (NIV, “line”) and Acts 3:25 (NIV, “peoples”), the latter in a quotation of the promise to Abraham that through his offspring “all nations on earth will be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). Allusion to the Genesis promise is likely for Ephesians as well.
16. In 1:13–14 Paul emphasized that all believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit as a mark of their salvation and future hope. In 1:17–19 he prayed that the Spirit would make known how great God’s power is.
17. Cf. Romans 5:5; 8:9–11; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:17–18. The attempt by Barth (Ephesians, 1:392) to understand “the inner man” as Christ is misguided.
18. Note that the Spirit can be called the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ (e.g., Rom. 8:9).
19. See comments above, pp. 56–57.
20. A different word for “strengthen” than the one used in Ephesians.
21. Note also Romans 5:5, where the Spirit pours the love of God into our hearts.
23. Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 152, suggests “wisdom”; Bruce, The Epistle to the Ephesians, 68, suggests “fullness”; Robinson, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 176, suggests “God’s purpose.” C. Arnold, Ephesians: Power and Magic, 91–93, argues that no object is needed since the dimensions are an expression in the ancient world for supernatural power. Accordingly, he interprets the goal as comprehension of God’s power.
25. Romans 16:25–27 and Jude 24–25 also begin “To him who is able” and are similar in length. All three doxologies begin identically in Greek (for other doxologies, see Luke 2:14; Rom. 11:36; 16:27; Gal. 1:5; Phil. 4:20; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2 Tim. 4:18; Heb. 13:21; 1 Peter 4:11; 2 Peter 3:18; Rev. 1:6; 5:13; 7:12; cf. also Luke 17:18; John 9:24; Acts 12:23; Rom. 4:20; Rev. 16:9).
26. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism (New York: Crossroad, 1990), 18.
27. Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance,” The Complete Essays and Other Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, ed. Brooks Atkinson (New York: Random House, 1950), 162–63. Emerson did not capitalize “spirit,” and much of his emphasis on self-reliance is an overstatement. Compare Heschel, Quest for God, 5: “To pray is to take notice of the wonder…. Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living” (italics his).
28. E.g., Robinson, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 84.
29. Among numerous works on this subject, see Elizabeth Achtemeier, “Female Language for God: Should the Church Adopt it?” The Hermeneutical Quest, ed. Donald G. Miller (Allison Park, Pa.: Pickwick, 1986), 97–114; Roland M. Frye, “Language for God and Feminist Language: Problems and Principles,” SJT, 41 (1989), 441–69; Paul K. Jewett, The Ordination of Women: An Essay on the Office of Christian Ministry (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 119–41.
30. St. Theresa of Lysieux said, “If you are willing to serenely bear the trial of being displeasing to yourself, then you will be for Jesus a pleasant place of shelter” (quoted by Scott Peck in People of the Lie [New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983], 11).
31. Along with grace, truth, faith, and hope; see p. 59.
33. Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers, vol. 3: The Powers (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 160.
34. Philip Spener’s comment on 3:16, Pia Desideria, trans. Theodore G. Tappert (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1964), 116.
36. J. B. Phillips, Your God Is Too Small (New York: Macmillan, 1961).
2. Barth, Ephesians, 2:453–57.
3. “Grace,” “truth,” “faith,” “love,” and “hope.”
4. Barth, Ephesians, 2:451.
6. Note the parallels with Colossians 2:19; 3:11–12; note also that “you” is used in 4:1–6, “we” in 4:7–16.
7. Ephesians 4:15 could be taken imperativally, and 4:17 is a general imperative.
8. Given the importance of Paul’s theology of being in Christ, the NIV translation “for the Lord” loses the impact of Paul’s thought.
9. See Galatians 5:26 and virtually all of 1 Corinthians (esp. 1:29–31; 8:1–3; 13:4).
10. Tapeinophrosyne, the word in question, occurs only in Paul’s prison letters and always with a positive meaning, except for Colossians 2:18 and 23.
11. Note Galatians 5:23; 6:1; Colossians 3:12; 1 Timothy. 6:11; Titus 3:2.
12. The NIV uses “meekness and gentleness of Christ” in 2 Corinthians 10:1. “Gentleness of Christ” can be understood as “gentleness that comes from Christ” or “a Christ-like gentleness.”
13. See Chrysostom’s homily on 1 Corinthians 13:4.
14. Why the NIV chose “through the bond of peace” is unclear; the text has “in (en) the bond of peace.”
15. Compare the similar ideas in 1:18; 2:16, 18; also 1 Corinthians 8:6.
16. The NIV language hides the similarity of language between verses 1 and 4.
17. Despite this, some scholars suggest Ephesians was originally a baptismal homily. See especially John C. Kirby, Ephesians: Baptism and Pentecost (Montreal: McGill Univ. Press, 1968), who suggests Ephesians is for the renewal of baptismal vows, probably in the context of observing Pentecost.
18. See also Romans 9:5; 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 12:6; 15:28; Colossians 1:16; 3:11. Romans 9:5 has the only other occurrence of “over all” in Paul’s letters, but whether he is referring to Christ or to God is debated.
19. At least fifteen of Paul’s 101 uses of “grace” refer to grace for ministry (see esp. Rom. 1:5; 15:15–16; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 9:8.
20. Paul uses dorea, not charisma, here, although 1 Peter 4:10 does use charisma in a similar statement.
21. Similar language occurs in Romans 12:3; 2 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Peter 4:10.
22. The quotation in Ephesians is similar to the Syriac and the Targum (an Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures), although the Targum still uses the second person singular: “You ascended up to the firmament, O prophet Moses, you took captives captive, you did teach the words of the law and gave them as gifts to the children of men.”
23. Possibly the psalm alluded to the Levites as given to God (see Num. 8:5–19; 18:6; Isa. 66:20–21). See Gary V. Smith, “Paul’s Use of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8,” JETS 18 (1975): 181–89. If so, the application to Christian leaders would be that much easier.
24. See especially Lincoln, Ephesians, 242–44.
25. Cf. the NIV footnote: “the depths of the earth.”
26. That is, is it a partitive genitive or a genitive of apposition?
27. This view has been popularized by G. B. Caird, “The Descent of Christ in Ephesians 4,7–11,” Studia Evangelica II, ed. F. L. Cross (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1964), 535–45. See also Lincoln, Ephesians, 246–47.
28. Abbott, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians and the Colossians, 116.
29. Any discussion of Christ’s going to Hades to release Old Testament believers is motivated by theological issues in the church’s history and not by the text of Ephesians. Other occurrences of the ascent-descent motif do not refer to a descent into Hades; only Romans 10:6–8 even suggests such an idea, but there the idea is that no one needs to descend into the “deep” (abyssos, the place of the dead) to bring Christ up.
30. See 1:10, 22–23; 3:19; Colossians 1:15–20.
31. The word “office,” however, is probably too strong to describe any New Testament text on leadership.
32. Note the cadence set up with each title being preceded by “some” (men before “apostles” and de before the other titles). Neither de nor the article appears before “teachers.”
33. Barnabas is listed as a teacher-prophet, but he is also called an apostle in Acts 14:14.
34. See Ernest Best, “Ministry in Ephesians,” Irish Biblical Studies 15 (1993): 146–166.
35. Note Acts 1:21–22; 1 Corinthians 9:1.
36. This is how Ephesians uses the word (see 2:20; 3:5; also Acts 1:21–22; 15:2–16:4; Gal. 1:17–2:10).
37. 2 Corinthians 8:23 (NIV, “representatives”); Philippians 2:25 (NIV: “messenger”).
38. The NIV translation “Junias” is unfortunate, for the name is clearly the feminine, “Junia.”
39. This list is not a complete list of early church leaders; note, for example, “overseers and deacons” (Phil. 1:1) and “elder” (Titus 1:5).
40. The related verb occurs nine times as well.
41. The NIV “become mature” represents the words “unto a mature man.” A parallel should be drawn to the new being in 2:15, but even though both images are corporate, the intent is not the same. Aner is used here for “man” rather than anthropos, which was used in 2:15. Nowhere else is aner used to represent the church, and it is safe to say that the focus is on conveying the ideas of unity and maturity, not on maleness or church. James 3:2 uses this same expression to speak of the person who is mature enough to control the tongue.
42. Note the preponderance of words in verse 14 for deception: “cunning” (meant negatively in the sense of trickery, actually the word for playing with dice), “craftiness,” and “deceitful scheming.”
43. Truth and love are emphasized in the rest of the letter, which should be no surprise, since they are two of the five words summarizing the Christian faith (along with grace, faith, and hope; see p. 59). Note the focus on truth and love in 4:16, 21, 24, 25; 5:2, 9, 25–33; 6:14, 23.
44. This verb occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only at Galatians 4:16.
45. See John 3:21 and 1 John 1:6, both of which have “do the truth” (NIV, “live by the truth”). In the Old Testament see Genesis 32:10; 47:29; Nehemiah 9:33 (NIV, “faithfulness” or “faithfully”).
46. See pp. 40–42, 47–48, 56–57, 63–64.
48. See 1:22–23; 2:16; 3:6; 4:4, 12; it will appear again in 5:23, 28, 30.
49. With the possible exception of the Synoptic eucharistic sayings, depending on how one interprets them.
50. Of Paul’s ninety-one uses of “body,” only four appear outside Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthian, Ephesians, and Colossians. While “head” is used of Christ in 1 Corinthians 11:3, only in Ephesians and Colossians is a Christological understanding of “head” brought into relation with “body.”
51. See Barth, Ephesians, 2:449; he translates is (426): “He provides sustenance to it through every contact according to the needs of each single part” (the only other New Testament passage with epichoregia is Phil. 1:19, “the help given by the Spirit”).
52. Ethics are not necessarily Christologically based, or for that matter, even Christian. For example, ethics can legitimately be grounded in a creation theology, in the Old Testament covenant, or in eschatology.
53. Note that God’s relation with us is not based on any of these, for his relation with us is based purely on grace.
54. William Temple, Readings in St. John’s Gospel (London: Macmillan, 1939), 1:118.
55. Ignatius, To the Trallians 4.2. He is talking about praotes, a variant spelling of the word translated “gentle” in Ephesians 4:2.
56. Paul S. Minear, To Die and to Live: Christ’s Resurrection and Vocation (New York: Seabury, 1977), 92.
57. See Richard F. Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1979), 296.
58. See 1 Corinthians 1:12–17; Galatians 3:26–28.
59. E.g., see Ray C. Stedman, Body Life (Glendale, Calif.: Regal, 1972), 38–39, 51–58.
60. See Ernst Käsemann, “Ministry and Community in the New Testament,” Essays on New Testament Themes (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1982), 63–94.
61. See Kevin Giles, Patterns of Ministry Among the First Christians (Melbourne: Collins Dove, 1989).
62. See the discussion of preaching in John William Beaudean, Jr., Paul’s Theology of Preaching (Macon, Ga.: Mercer Univ. Press, 1988), 205–7.
63. See Matthew 20:25–28. 1 Corinthians 16:15–16.
64. See my discussion of these issues in “ ‘Your Slaves—on Account of Jesus:’ Servant Leadership in the New Testament,” Servant Leadership: Authority and Governance in the Evangelical Covenant Church, eds. James R. Hawkinson and Robert K. Johnston (Chicago: Covenant Publications, 1993), 1:7–19.
65. NIV: “in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
66. B. Pascal, Pensées (New York: Random House, 1941), no. 100.
67. M. Buber, Good and Evil: Two Interpretations (New York: Scribners, 1953), 111.
68. Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island (New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1983), 190–91.
69. Scott Peck, The People of the Lie (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), 135.
70. Chicago Tribune, November 7, 1993, section 1, p. 3.
71. David Nyberg, The Varnished Truth: Truth Telling and Deceiving in Ordinary Life (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1993). Nyberg assumes there is so much deception that it is the backdrop against which an occasional example of pure truth-telling stands out.
72. Peck, People of the Lie, 162. See also the comment of Richard Restak, another psychiatrist: “Secrets, especially those we try to hide from our conscious selves, make the mind sick. Conversely, acceptance of unwanted thoughts robs them of their power to inflict suffering” (Chicago Tribune, December 1, 1991, section 5, p. 4).
73. Michael Novak, “Awakening from Nihilism: The Templeton Prize Address,” First Things 45 (August/September, 1994): 18–19.
74. Merton, No Man Is an Island, 188.
75. Slightly altered from Wendell Berry, “The Loss of the University,” Home Economics (San Francisco: North Point Press, 1987), p. 87.
76. P. Spener, Pia Desideria, trans. Theodore G. Tappert (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1964), 95.
77. God’s New Society was the original title of John Stott’s commentary on Ephesians.
78. Robinson, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 101.
79. 1 Corinthians 4:7.
80. See Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith, eds., Devotional Classics (San Francisco: Harper, 1990), 178–83, 269–74. Confession, obedience, and rejecting the desire for distinction are obvious first steps.
81. The language is from Morris, Expository Reflections on Ephesians, 131.
82. Foulkes, Ephesians, 116–17.
83. On imitation of Paul see 1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1. On the conflicts mentioned see Galatians 2:11–14; then 1:6–9; 3:1–6; 5:2–12; and the whole of 1 and 2 Corinthians.
84. See Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 168.
85. Bruce, The Epistle to the Ephesians, 87.
86. Some denominations actually permit either adult or infant baptism and immersion or sprinkling.
87. This statement is not in the translated works of Luther, but is quoted by Spener, Pia Desideria, 100.
88. That church members cannot officiate at weddings is due to legal constraints, not theological ones.
89. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism (New York: Crossroad, 1990), 50–51.
90. See pp. 61, 115–19, 146–52.
91. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, trans. John W. Doberstein (New York: Harper & Row, 1954), 91.
92. Quoted in Henlee H. Barnette, “The Minister As a Moral Role-Model,” RevEx 86 (1989): 509–10.
2. Note the prominence given to words for the mind, ignorance, thinking, desiring, learning, truth, and sin. Parallels exist with 2:12, 15; Romans 1:21–32; Colossians 1:21; and especially 3:9–10.
3. Lincoln, Ephesians, 272. The “two ways” are the ways of evil and of righteousness (see, e.g., Ps. 1).
4. For the structural dominance given to the word “live” [“walk”], see p. 194.
5. The related adjective (mataios) occurs six times (e.g., 1 Cor. 15:17 [“futile”]; James 1:26 [“worthless”].
6. Barth, Ephesians, 2:499.
7. Ibid., 2:500.
8. The root translated “hardening” is used for marble and for skin or bone that has no feeling. The NEB translation, “grown hard as stone,” conveys the idea well.
9. Paul S. Minear, “A Theology of the Heart,” Worship, 63 (1989): 247.
10. In other texts the NIV translates this Greek word as “lewdness” (Mark 7:22); “debauchery” (Rom. 13:13); “shameful ways” (2 Peter 2:2); “filthy” (2:7), and “lustful” (2:18). Other words for sexual sin often occur in close proximity.
11. The NIV usually translates this word “greed”; more traditional translations use “covetousness.”
12. Of 46 occurrences of the Greek word Christos (“Messiah”) in Ephesians, 23 have the article (often used with proper names in Greek). No pattern emerges as to the significance of the use of the article. Its presence here may be insignificant, but it may also emphasize the whole divine plan as caught up in the Messiah.
13. The NIV should not be understood to suggest the readers had not heard of Jesus.
14. Lincoln, Ephesians, 271, suggests “Christ” in verse 20 stands for the Christian tradition, but this is unlikely, especially in view of the change from “Christ” to “Jesus” in verse 21.
15. See Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5, 10–11, 14; 11:4; Galatians 6:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:14.
16. “Him” is in the accusative case, which can be understood either as “heard about him” or “heard him.”
17. See Robert Tannehill, Dying and Rising with Christ (Berlin: Verlag Alfred Töpelmann, 1967), 24–25.
18. See pp. 40–42, 47–48, 56–57, 63–64, 102.
19. Romans 5:12–21; 1 Corinthians 15:20–22, 45–49.
20. Romans 6:6; Ephesians 2:15; 4:22–24; Colossians 3:9–10.
21. Romans 7:22; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Ephesians 3:17.
22. 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15.
23. In addition to the texts above, for “putting off” see Romans 13:12; Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 2:11; 3:8; Hebrews 12:1; James 1:21; 1 Peter 2:1; for “putting on,” Romans 13:12; Ephesians 6:11–14; 1 Thessalonians 5:8. Even though baptism stands behind the imagery of “putting off” and “putting on,” the idea of changing clothes should not be viewed as evidence of a baptismal ritual of literally changing clothes. Evidence for this practice does not appear before the second century. Lincoln, Ephesians, 284–285, gives helpful information on this subject and on the background of the language.
24. Not necessarily “point” action, as has been the traditional way of looking at the aorist tense!
25. The NIV does not communicate the continuing process of renewal. To do so is awkward—“to be being made new.”
26. Lincoln’s suggestion (Ephesians, 283, 286) that “deceit” should be seen as a genitive of origin yielding “desires which come from deceit” is possible, but less likely; yet if true, it would strengthen the argument that truth is the origin of righteousness and holiness in verse 24.
27. Ephesians and Colossians use two different roots to describe newness, and they use them differently. Ephesians 4:23–24 uses ananeoo (“make new”) and kainos (“new”), whereas Colossians 3:10 has anakainoo (“renew”) and neos (“new”). The two roots are used interchangeably in Paul’s time, and no difference in meaning is intended, despite the proposal by Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 200.
28. See, for example, Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 200. Note Titus 3:5, which does speak of the renewal by the Holy Spirit (cf. also Eph. 3:16).
29. See the overreaction by Ernest Best, “Two Types of Existence,” Interpretation 47 (1993): 39–51.
30. Blaise Pascal, Pensées (New York: Random House, 1941), no. 536. Pascal emphasizes these themes repeatedly. See especially numbers 139, 164, 171, 194, 418, 430, 494, 555, and 561.
31. See Luther: Lectures on Romans, trans. and ed. Wilhelm Pauck, The Library of Christian Classics (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961), 218, 225, on Romans 8:3. See also the treatment of John Loeschen, Wrestling With Luther: An Introduction to the Study of his Thought (St. Louis: Concordia, 1976), 43–58.
32. The image is attributed to Theophon the Recluse.
33. Pascal, Pensées, nos. 430, 198, and 82.
34. Ibid., no. 347.
35. Ibid., no. 412.
36. See Augustine, “On Continence,” sections 5–9, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 3:381–83; “Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament,” Sermon 78, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 6:491–95. Pascal (no. 691) said, “Man has no other enemy than lust.”
37. See, for example, Seneca, Ad Lucilium, Epistle 116; and cf. Hippolytus, 177.
38. Tom Wright, Bringing the Church to the World (Minneapolis: Bethany, 1992), 48.
39. In much of Greek thought, the will of God is expressed by a single formula: “not to desire.” See “θυμός,” TDNT, 3:167.
40. More than fifty sitcoms appear on prime time TV each week.
41. This famous line is from Augustine’s Confessions (1.1).
42. Cf. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Quest for God (New York: Crossroad, 1990), 57: “It is precisely the function of prayer to shift the center of living from self-consciousness to self-surrender.”
44. See also the discussion on pp. 99–107, 117–19, 270–74.
46. Robinson, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 108 (italics his).
47. Not on the basis of 4:23, but of 1:13–14; 3:16; 4:30, and other references to the Holy Spirit.
48. See Stott, God’s New Society, 182; Barth, Ephesians, 2:542, who views humans as partners with God in a dramatic struggle. This passage betrays no fear of synergism, the idea that God and humans work together in the salvation process.
49. See Eduard Schweitzer, The Letter to the Colossians, trans. Andrew Chester (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1976), 202, for a slightly different version.
50. At baptism, Galatians 3:27; repeatedly, Romans 13:12–14; at the end of time, 1 Corinthians 15:53–54; 2 Corinthians 5:2–4.
51. See 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 4:10–11; Galatians 3:3.
52. Barth, Ephesians, 2:545.
53. Such as the evil yetzer and the good yetzer in Judaism.
54. Similarly, a novelist has been defined as a shaman who is offering his experience for the use of the rest of the tribe. (Russell Hoban, Chicago Tribune Magazine [July 23, 1995], 8). The same is true of actors and musicians.
55. Pascal, Pensées, no. 502.
56. See p. 238. Or, as Art Spander said about a certain football player, “Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity” (Sporting News [August 22, 1988]).
57. Cf. a line from Star Trek: “Having is not so pleasurable a thing as wanting.”
58. One has only to read George M. Marsden, The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1994). Despite the fact that Christians started most of the private universities and colleges in this country, virtually no major Christian universities exist.
59. Mark A. Noll The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 3.
60. See Luther’s Large Catechism, 4.84–86.
61. Mentioned by Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers, vol. 3, The Powers (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 294.
62. William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 3.
63. Paul S. Minear, To Die and to Live: Christ’s Resurrection and Christian Vocation (New York: Seabury, 1977), 155.
1. Lincoln, Ephesians, 295, finds seven sentences in this block of text, five of which (4:25, 26–27, 28, 31–32; 5:1–2) have two exhortations followed by a motivating clause. This works for verse 25 only if the participle is taken as an imperative, but not for verses 26–27, and it ignores the motivation “as dearly loved children” in 5:1.
2. Literally, “Be angry and do not sin.”
3. Possibly eight, if verse 27 is viewed as a motivation in parallel with verse 30.
4. The NIV uses the same translation in Psalm 4:4 as for this verse, even though the Hebrew word translated “anger” usually means “tremble” or “be agitated.” Does the context of the psalm suggest trembling before God’s presence or trembling in anger at human injustice? Paul uses the form of the text from the LXX.
5. See Daniel Wallace, ὈΡΓΙΖΕΣΘΕ in Ephesians 4:26: Command or Condition?” Criswell Theological Review 3 (1989): 353–72.
6. If that is not a violation of the Old Testament origin of these words.
7. Other texts speak of the devil’s seeking an avenue of attack (cf. 1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:14; 1 Tim. 3:7; 2 Tim. 2:26; 1 Peter 5:8; Rev. 12:9; 20:10).
8. Lincoln, Ephesians, 304.
9. Acts 2:45; 4:34–35; Romans 12:13; Titus 3:14.
10. See 2 Corinthians 4:12; cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:9.
11. In 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 God is the one who does the sealing.
12. Some distinguish the two words for anger by saying thumos is used of outbursts of anger, whereas orge is used of enduring anger, but in the LXX and the New Testament they seem interchangeable.
13. Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 211.
14. The word only occurs in three other places in the New Testament: Acts 8:23; Romans 3:14; Hebrews 12:15. The verb form is used with similar intent in Colossians 3:19.
15. Other than the parallel in Colossians 3:13, Paul uses this word for forgiveness only in 2 Corinthians 2:7, 10; 12:13, all in reference to Christians forgiving each other. He also uses aphesis in Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:14, and the verb aphiemi in this sense in Romans 4:7. For Paul, apparently words like “justification” or “redemption” were more comprehensive to express the concept of salvation.
16. Note also Leviticus 18:2–6 and 20:7–8.
17. Cf. Luke 6:36: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (see also 1 John 4:11).
18. See 1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:7, 9.
19. Cf. Romans 14:15.
20. The NIV’s “live a life of love” is literally “walk in love.”
21. See also Galatians 1:4; 2:20; 1 Timothy 2:6; Titus 2:14.
22. Ernst Käsemann, “The Saving Significance of the Death of Jesus in Paul,” Perspectives on Paul (London: SCM, 1969), 39. See p. 129.
23. For example, Exodus 29:18; Leviticus 1:9.
24. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.6.2.
25. See pp. 87, 145, 186, 188, 209.
26. Truth has already been discussed in relation to 4:15; see pp. 205–6, 215–17, 225–27.
27. Immanuel Kant, Doctrine of Virtue (quoted in Sissela Bok, Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life [New York: Pantheon Books, 1978], 32).
28. Mackay, God’s Order, 174.
29. John Chrysostom makes this and similar points in his commentary on this text.
30. Note that in John 8:44 the devil is the father of lies.
31. Scott Peck, The People of the Lie (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), 66.
32. Michael Novak, “Awakening from Nihilism: The Templeton Prize Address,” First Things 45 (August/September, 1994): 18–19.
33. Note Matthew 18:21–22; Luke 10:25–37.
34. For an overview, see Bok, Lying.
35. Mackay, God’s Order, 174.
36. Stott, God’s New Society, 185–87.
38. On the other hand, Seneca cautions that the wise man [sic] will never cease to be angry once he begins, for every place is full of crime and vice. See De Ira 2.9.1. Stählin (“ὀργη,” TDNT, 5:419) suggests that only two New Testament texts view human anger positively: Romans 10:19 and 2 Corinthians 7:11.
39. Jesus himself was angry; see, for example, Matthew 18:6–9; 23:13, 17, 33–39; Mark 3:5; 10:13–16.
40. See Janet Malone, “Exploring Human Anger,” Human Development 15 (1994): 33–34.
41. De Ira 1.21. Seneca lived from 4 B.C. to A.D. 65.
42. See comments at pp. 97, 109–11 and 347–54.
43. See Doug Sherman and William Hendricks, Your Work Matters to God (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1987).
44. Stanley Walters, “The Voice of God’s People in Exile,” Ex Auditu 10 (1994): 81.
45. See G. B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1980), 20–25. Examples: “I pronounce you man and wife;” “This conversation is over;” and “You are not guilty.”
46. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism (New York: Crossroad, 1990), 25. See also p. 78: “A word has a soul, and we must learn how to attain insight into its life.”
48. Zerwick, Epistle to the Ephesians, 129.
49. See pp. 133–36, 141–42; also comments on 1:4–8; 2:4–7.
50. Cf. Ps. 78:38; 85:2–3.
51. In 1:6–8 God’s grace sent his Son; in 2:4 the mercy of God brings life from death.
53. See pp. 206–7, 215–17 for the discussion of the application of truth there.
54. Paul will treat the subject of speech more closely in 5:4 and 12 (see pp. 269, 276, 281).
55. See Deuteronomy 15–16, which argues against being tightfisted toward the poor and against appearing empty-handed before the Lord. Offerings are to be brought in proportion to the way the Lord has blessed.
56. Heschel, Quest for God, 148, is strong in making this point. He points out that the failure to offer sacrifices on the altar of peace requires that they be offered on the altar of war.
57. Malone,“Exploring Human Anger,” 38, who adds: “Thus, in forgiving others we empower ourselves.”
58. The New Testament in Modern English (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960).
1. Uncharacteristically, the Greek text has few connectives between the various injunctions in 4:25–5:2, which gives emphasis to the connective in 5:3 (an adversative de).
2. Note that Lincoln, Ephesians, 316–17, puts a paragraph break at verse 6 in his translation, but in his comments on structure says that this passage proceeds in two main stages: verses 3–6 and verses 7–14.
3. The same three in slightly different order appear in 2 Corinthians 12:21.
4. The word “impurity” can be used of any uncleanness, including literal or ceremonial uncleanness. See also Romans 1:24, where this word is used of sexual sin.
5. Note also that the verb form of this word is used in 1 Thessalonians 4:6 to describe sexual cheating.
6. Note Testament of Simeon 5.3: “Fornication is the mother of all evils: it separates from God and drives those who indulge in it to Beliar.”
7. See Wisdom of Solomon 14–15, especially 14:12, 27–28. Testament of Judah 19.1 views love of money as a sure path to idolatry. Note that Paul’s discussion of sin and the law in Romans 7:7–12 focuses on the command not to covet (cf. also Matt. 6:24; 1 Tim. 6:10).
8. J. A. Bengel, Gnomon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1877), 3:102.
9. “Improper” in verse 3 and “which are out of place” (lit.: “things that are not fitting”) in verse 4 reflect expressions popular in Stoic discussions (see also Acts 22:22; Rom. 1:28; Col. 3:18; Philem. 8).
10. The Greek text has a wordplay between thanksgiving (eucharistia) and coarse joking (eutrapelia).
11. Zerwick, Epistle to the Ephesians, 138.
12. P. T. O’Brien, “Thanksgiving Within the Structure of Pauline Theology,” Pauline Studies, eds. Donald A. Hagner and Murray J. Harris (Exeter: Paternoster, 1980), 50–66, especially 62. He also points out that Paul uses thanksgiving language more than any other Hellenistic author, pagan or Christian, and that the thanksgiving language is close to what we normally understand as praise.
13. The alternative “kingdom of the Christ and God” in the NIV footnote reflects a debate about whether this text refers to Christ as “God.” The Greek text has one article preceding “Christ” and “God.” Usually this indicates one entity being referred to with the two words. However, the presence or absence of the article in Greek is not always easily explained, especially with names and titles. To assume that “God” is ascribed to Christ here is hazardous, particularly when Ephesians does not make this point elsewhere (cf. 1 Tim. 5:21 and 2 Tim. 4:1, which use one article before God and Christ Jesus, surely with no intent of equation).
14. Barth, Ephesians, 2:566, 592–98. His comment that the author does not summarily condemn immoral people outside the church may fit with Paul’s attitude in 1 Corinthians 5:9–13, but it does not do justice to Ephesians 4:17–19.
15. The estimation is from Herbert Braun, Gerichtsgedanke und Rechtfertigungslehre bei Paulus (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, 1930), 44.
16. It is one of the fourteen “with” (syn) compounds in Ephesians. See pp. 136, 161.
17. The simpler form is used in Luke 5:7 of a business partnership and in Hebrews, usually in reference to sharing in or participating in Christ, the Spirit, or something from God.
18. The textual variant behind the KJV “fruit of the Spirit” is clearly inferior and appears to have been influenced by Galatians 5:22.
19. Elsewhere this verb occurs only in Philippians 4:14 and Revelation 18:4, and its corresponding noun only in Romans 11:17; 1 Corinthians 9:23; Philippians 1:7; and Revelation 1:9.
20. “Deeds of darkness” could be understood either as an adjectival genitive (“deeds characterized by darkness”) or a genitive of source (“deeds that have their origin in darkness”), probably the former.
21. The logic is the same as 2 Corinthians 6:14: “What fellowship can light have with darkness?”
22. See, for example, Matthew 18:15; 1 Corinthians 14:24; 1 Timothy 5:20
23. “By the light” could be attached to “exposed” as in the NIV or to “becomes visible.” Either makes sense, but the connection with “exposed” is preferable.
24. This understands the verb form phaneroumenon as passive, as it is usually understood. If taken as a middle with an active meaning, the translation would be “everything revealing is light,” which does not make much sense.
25. Foulkes, Ephesians, 154.
26. Lincoln, Ephesians, 330.
27. See 4:18 and the discussion on pp. 72–73, 230–31.
28. Paul Ricoeur, “Preface to Bultmann,” Essays on Biblical Interpretation, ed. Lewis S. Mudge (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980), 53.
29. Neil Alexander, “The Epistle for Today,” Biblical Studies: Essays in Honour of William Barclay, eds. Johnston R. McKay and James F. Miller (London: Collins, 1976), 99–118.
30. See Newsweek, February 6, 1995, 20–21. Bisexuality was featured as the “cover article” of Newsweek, July 17, 1995, 44–50.
31. Demosthenes, Against Neaera, 122 (fourth century B.C.). Plutarch (first century A.D.) argued that a wife should not be angry if her husband had sexual relations with a paramour or slave, but should see that her husband respected her and did not share debauchery with her. See his Moralia: Advice to Bride and Groom 140B (16).
32. Pro Caelio, 20.48. He asserts that such affairs were never blamed or forbidden.
33. See Richard Oster, “The Ephesian Artemis as an Opponent of Early Christianity,” Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 19 (1976): 28.
34. See Diogenes Laertius 6.66: “Bad men obey their lusts as servants obey their masters.”
35. Caird, Paul’s Letters from Prison, 84.
36. Aboth 3.14.
37. Stott, God’s New Society, 197.
38. On the wrath of God, see pp. 111–12.
39. Depending, of course, on whether Romans 7 is autobiographical, but even if not, the point is valid.
41. See G. H. R. Horsley, New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity (Macquarie University, 1989), 5:106–7.
42. Obviously this is important in discussing division within the church. We cannot live in union with those who claim to be Christians and live immorally.
43. Bengel, Gnomon, 3:103.
44. In Rome a senator was prohibited from marrying a woman whose parents had at any time been an actor (see Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome [Baltimore: John Hopkins, 1983], 185, 188–89. See also Pascal, Pensées, no. 11, who felt the theater to be the greatest danger to Christian living.
45. For a more complete discussion see the comments on the husband-wife section, pp. 301–6, 311–17.
46. Max Lucado, “Light of the … Storage Closet?” God Came Near (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1987), 113–17.
1. The NIV has made this into an independent sentence.
2. Other manuscripts have added some form of “submit” to make the sentence smoother.
3. A translation that begins a new paragraph at 5:22 should at least start the verse with a phrase like “As an example of mutual submission….” People must know that the submission of wives to husbands and the love asked of husbands are both examples of the mutual submission required of all Christians in 5:21. They also must know that submission is a necessary mark of the Spirit’s work in a person’s life.
4. Cf. Luke 1:3; Acts 18:25.
5. See the discussion of various possibilities in Lincoln, Ephesians, 341–42.
6. J. A. Bengel, Gnomon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1877), 3:105, remarks that the opposite of redeeming time is losing time.
7. Note also the contrast of drunkenness and Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:13–15).
8. Note 1 Samuel 1:12–16; Isaiah 28; see Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 236.
9. In the New Testament this word occurs only here and at Titus 1:6 (NIV, “wild”) and 1 Peter 4:4 (NIV, “dissipation”). An adverbial form of the word describes the behavior of the prodigal son in Luke 15:13 (NIV, “wild”).
10. Gordon Fee, God’s Empowering Presence (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1994), 721–22.
12. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 722.
13. See also 1 Corinthians 14:26; Colossians 3:16.
14. As it does throughout Ephesians and especially in this chapter (vv. 8, 10, 17, 20).
15. The Letters of Pliny, 10.96.7
16. Some differentiate “psalms” as the use of Old Testament psalms, “hymns” as Christian hymns, and “spiritual songs” as either anthems of heavenly worshipers (cf. Rev. 5:9–10) or spontaneous Spirit-inspired singing (see Ralph P. Martin, “Ephesians,” The Broadman Bible Commentary [Nashville: Broadman, 1971], 11:166). See also Donald Hustad, “Doxology: A Biblical Triad,” Ex Auditu, 8 (1992): 9–13. Bruce suggests that “spiritual songs” refer to “unpremeditated words sung ‘in the Spirit’ ” (The Epistle to the Ephesians, 111.)
18. When New Testament believers applied the title “Lord” to Christ, they also applied Old Testament texts referring to Yahweh to him.
19. On this issue see my “ ‘Your Slaves—on Account of Jesus’: Servant Leadership in the New Testament,” Servant Leadership, eds. James R. Hawkinson and Robert K. Johnston (Chicago: Covenant Publications, 1993), 1:7–19; “Authority and Submission,” Between Two Truths: Living with Biblical Tensions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990), 81–94.
21. On Galatians 3:28 see my treatment, “Galatians 3:28: Conundrum or Solution?” Women, Authority, and the Bible (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1986), 161–81.
22. Other problems involving women are evidenced in 1 Corinthians 11 and 14.
23. The only time that “obedience” and “submission” are brought close is in 1 Peter 3:1–6.
24. See Numbers 1:16; Deuteronomy 1:13; 2 Samuel 22:44; Isaiah 7:8.
25. Depending on which manuscripts one follows, for there are variants.
26. An overview of the debate can be found in Wayne Grudem, “The Meaning of Kephale (‘Head’): A Response to Recent Studies,” TrinJ, 11 (1990): 3–72.
27. Titus 2:4 does, but uses different words from those in Ephesians 5:25.
28. Note “cleansed with washing of water in a word” (5:26) and “glorious” (NIV, “radiant”), but on the latter, cf. 1 Corinthians 4:10.
29. In later rabbinic writings, “sanctify” was actually used of taking a bride in Jewish marriages
30. See 1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11.
31. Note the alternative translation in the footnote of the NIV.
32. See the discussion in Barth, Ephesians, 2:691–99.
33. Elsewhere the language is that Christ gave himself for an individual (e.g., Paul in Gal. 2:20) or for “us” (Eph. 5:2). The change here is in keeping with the increased focus on the church throughout the letter.
34. Cf. 1:9; 3:9; see pp. 53, 159–60.
35. NIV, “Be very careful, then, how you live.”
36. Seneca, Moral Letters to Lucilius, 41.1–2, speaks of God as a holy spirit indwelling us.
37. See especially 1:13–14, 17; 2:18, 22; 3:16; 4:3.
38. Judaism and the cults of Isis and Dionysus were also charged with being subversive.
39. For example, little is known about the life of women in the lower classes.
40. For good summaries of women in the ancient world, see Sarah B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity (New York: Schocken, 1975); Leonard Swidler, Women in Judaism (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1976); Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1982); Ross S. Kraemer, ed., Maenads, Martyrs, Matrons, Monastics (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988).
41. Marriages in the West were sometimes sine manu—“without hand,” meaning that the wife did not pass to the husband’s authority.
42. For example, Numbers 5:16–31 describes the testing of a wife with bitter waters. Mostly this text is a picture of the plight of women in the ancient world, and no one would suggest such a test today. Such texts are infrequent, though they are still instructive for understanding both the ancient world and the character of Scripture.
43. See “The Danvers Statement” printed as an advertisement of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood in Christianity Today, 33, no. 1 (January 13, 1989), 41.
44. Contrary to “The Danvers Statement” mentioned in the previous note.
45. The house code in 1 Peter and 1 Corinthians 7 both recognize less than ideal situations.
46. See Philippians 2:12–13 or James 2:22. Exegetes in the early church combined divine intention with human efforts and had no difficulty with the idea of synergism. See Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 312.
47. Mackay, God’s Order, 177–78. For the second point he is dependent on Arnold Toynbee.
48. Stott, God’s New Society, 207.
49. James and Phyllis Alsdurf, Battered into Submission (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity, 1989).
50. Even though he applies this quotation to Christ and the church in 5:30–32.
51. The same thing could have been said of the husband’s becoming part of the wife and of his being like her own body. The reason the text does not say this is because it focuses on husbands.
52. See Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.
53. See pp. 63, 117, 146–47, 149–53.
2. See the discussion of this issue on pp. 293–94, 311–17.
3. See Matthew 10:21, 34–37; 12:46–50; 19:27–29; Luke 9:57–62; 14:26.
4. In addition “nurture” (ektrepho) is used in 6:4 and in 5:29 (NIV, “bring them up” and “feed” respectively) and “fear” in 6:5 and 5:21, 33 (NIV, “reverence” and “respect”). Note the “not … but” contrasts in 6:4, 6, similar to those in 5:15–18.
5. The NIV loses the parallels by using “as” in verse 5, “to win their favor” (for “as pleasing men”) in verse 6a, “like” in verse 6b, and “as” in verse 7. All four “as” phrases uses the Greek word hos.
6. A few manuscripts omit “in the Lord,” possibly to avoid the thought that obedience was confined to Christian parents.
7. Matthew 15:4; 19:19; Mark 7:10; 10:19; Luke 18:20.
8. Cf. the similar wording in Deuteronomy 22:7.
9. Despite 2:15.
10. The objection is sometimes made that this is not the first commandment with promise, since the second command in the Decalogue assures God’s love to those who keep his commands. This is a rather pedantic objection, for the assurance of God’s love with the second command comes in a description of God, not in a specific promise, and the broader law seems to be in view, not just the Decalogue.
11. See similar statements in Deuteronomy 4:40; 22:7; Psalm 55:23; Proverbs. 9:11; 10:27.
12. Morris, Expository Reflections on Ephesians, 192.
13. Literally, “according to the flesh.”
14. See especially Romans 1:1; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Philippians 2:7
16. Of the five occurrences of “trembling” in the New Testament, four are connected to “fear.”
17. The NIV uses “heart” in both places, but a more literal translation of verse 6 is “from the soul.”
18. See 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11.
19. See Philo, Special Legislation 2.225: “Parents, in my opinion, are to their children what God is to the world”; Josephus, Against Apion 2.206: “Honor to parents the Law ranks second only to honor to God.”
20. See Romans 1:30; 1 Timothy 3:4; 2 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6; cf. Old Testament texts mandating death for rebellious sons (Lev. 20:9; Deut. 21:18–21).
21. This passage does not even comment on girls. Lincoln, Ephesians, 395–402, provides a good discussion of attitudes concerning children and fathers. See also Jane F. Gardner and Thomas Wiedemann, The Roman Household: A Sourcebook (London: Routledge, 1991).
22. See Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome (Baltimore: John Hopkins Univ. Press, 1982), 180–81.
23. One further point, despite occasional claims to the contrary (cf. George Stoeckhardt, Ephesians, trans. Martin S. Sommer [St. Louis, Mo.: Concordia, 1952], 250), this text is irrelevant for a discussion of infant baptism.
24. Jews could buy another Jew who sold himself into slavery for only six years; then he had to go free (see Exod. 21:2–11). Women were not released after six years; if they were purchased, it was for marriage.
25. Aristotle, Politics, 1253b5, 1259b3–1260b6; Nichomachian Ethics 5.1134b, 8.1161ab. For information on slavery in the ancient world, see “Slavery,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 6:65–73; Thomas Wiedemann, Greek and Roman Slavery (Baltimore: John Hopkins Univ. Press, 1981).
26. Publilius Syrus wrote, “It is counted as a virtue to do wrong for one’s master’s sake” (maxim 534; see Gardner and Wiedemann, The Roman Household, 46).
27. Note also, however, that no theological defense of slavery is offered in the New Testament.
28. See E. N. Elliott, ed., Cotton Is King and Pro-Slavery Arguments (Augusta, Ga.: Pritchard, Abbott & Loomis, 1860).
29. Stott, God’s New Society, 249.
30. M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), 175.
31. Ibid., 24.
32. Cf. James 2:1–13.
33. Cf. Colossians 3:17.
1. See the treatment by Andrew Lincoln, “ ‘Stand, Therefore …’ Ephesians 6:10–20 as Peroratio,” Biblical Interpretation, 3 (1995): 99–114; also in his commentary, Ephesians, 432–41.
2. Rhetoricians described what effective communication is and taught people accordingly. Many people were astute enough to be effective without being trained in rhetoric.
3. See, for example, Genesis 15:1; Exodus 14:14, 25; Deuteronomy 1:30; 3:22; 33:29; Joshua 10:14–15; Psalm 18; 35; Isaiah 42:13–25; Jeremiah 21:3–7; 46; Revelation 2:16; 6:2–8; 9:7–19; 19:11–16.
4. Wisdom of Solomon 5:17–23 may also have been part of the formative background, for it describes the armor of wrath God puts on and adopts “breastplate of righteousness” from Isaiah 59:17. The word for “armor” there is the same word as in Ephesians 6:11, 13 panoplia. See also Ignatius, Letter to Polycarp 6:2, which uses language of battle equipment in an exhortation toward Christian living. In the New Testament, see Romans 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:8. Whereas Ephesians has “the breastplate of righteousness” and “the helmet of salvation,” 1 Thessalonians 5:8 has “putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet” (see also Rom. 6:13; 2 Cor. 6:7; 10:3–4).
5. The translation is from G. Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English (Baltimore: Penguin, 1962).
6. Note also Exodus 14:13; Joshua 1:6–9; 1 Samuel 4:9.
7. The first occurrence in verse 13 (“stand your ground”) is actually a compound form, meaning “stand against” in the sense “oppose” or “withstand.”
8. In the first edition of the UBS Greek text verses 14–20 are one long sentence. Logically verse 18 shifts to the subject of prayer, but grammatically it is dependent on verse 17, which causes debate about the flow of the text. The NIV started a new paragraph at verse 19 because the logic shifts to prayer for Paul, but grammatically verses 19–20 merely continue verse 18. The NIV has inserted the word “pray” in verse 19; the text has only “and for me.”
9. Robert A. Wild, “The Warrior and the Prisoner: Some Reflections on Ephesians 6:10–20,” CBQ, 46 (1984): 286–88, argues that 6:12 is the central element in 6:10–20 because it is flanked on both sides by the command to put on the armor of God. This places too much emphasis on verse 12.
10. Paul uses participles to describe the armor until verse 17, where the imperative “take” is used. Some suggest the shift is from items requiring human effort to those that are pure gift, but this is unlikely. The other pieces of armor are no less gifts, and human effort is also involved in taking the helmut of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Possibly these two pieces of the armor are more comprehensive, encompassing all other gifts. In any case, Paul emphasizes salvation and the Spirit by the grammatical shift. Faith is also emphasized by the insertion “In addition to all this” (v. 16).
11. “Finally” could be understood as “for the remaining time,” but more likely it serves to introduce the conclusion of the letter.
12. Similar exhortations appear in 1 Corinthians 16:13; 2 Timothy 2:1 (see also Phil. 4:13; Col. 1:11; 1 Tim. 1:12).
13. The NIV uses the same expression, “put on the full armor of God,” in both verse 11 and 13, but different Greek verbs are used. In verse 13 Paul uses analambano, “to take up” (the same word reappears in v. 16 in the statement, “take up the shield of faith”).
14. Note the similarity of Isaiah 52:1.
15. Especially those in non-Western cultures react against an individualistic approach. See Gottfried Osei-Mensah, Wanted: Servant-Leaders, the Challenge of Christian Leadership in Africa Today (Achimota, Ghana: Africa Christian Press, 1990), 67. Martin Kitchen, Ephesians (London: Routledge, 1994), 112–28, offers an extended but not always convincing argument for this view.
16. See Romans 11:20; 14:4; 2 Corinthians 1:24; Galatians 5:1; Philippians 4:1; Colossians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 2 Timothy 2:19. Similar urging to resist the devil and be strengthened by God appears in James 4:7–8 and 1 Peter 5:8–10.
17. Elsewhere Paul warns of Satan’s temptations and complains of his obstacles (1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:3; 12:7; 1 Thess. 2:18).
18. The word translated “power” in 1:21 is not the same word translated “powers” in 6:12.
19. “World rulers” is a word used of the planets in astrological speculation, the thought being that the movement of the planets controlled life on earth. The word was also used for Zeus and for emperors.
21. Such as Mark I. Bubeck’s hierarchical explanation that the most powerful evil spirits are principalities, then powers (less independent and powerful), rulers of darkness (lower grade officers), and demons. See his The Adversary (Chicago: Moody, 1975), 72–73. See also C. Peter Wagner, ed., Engaging the Enemy: How to Fight and Defeat Territorial Spirits (Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1991), 38, 48.
22. See 2 Corinthians 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:2 (NIV, “prophecy”); 1 John 4:1–3.
23. See Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, 273; Hendriksen, Exposition of Ephesians, 273, for this view.
25. Barth, Ephesians, 2:796.
26. Barth (ibid.) argues that righteousness should be understood as a gift, because of its background in Isaiah 11:1–9, but the use in Ephesians suggests otherwise (as does 1 Thess. 5:8, which speaks of the breastplate of faith and love, surely pointing to human actions).
27. See Luke 12:35; 1 Peter 1:13
28. Barth, Ephesians, 2:777, maintains instead that the allusion to Isaiah 11:5 indicates reference is to a special belt designating an officer.
29. Both “shield” and “sword” are also metaphors. They are used in the Old Testament of God’s protection and judgment respectively (Ps. 3:3; Isa. 34:6), though that does not seem to be Paul’s main focus here,
30. Arrows were often dipped in tar and set aflame just before being shot.
31. “In addition to this” (v. 16) is literally “in all things” and could mean in every situation.
33. Barth, Ephesians, 2:775.
34. The sword in mind is the short, straight sword of Roman infantry, effective for close combat.
35. Whether generally (as Isa. 55:11; Heb. 4:12) or for creation (Gen. 1:3; Ps. 33:6; Heb. 1:3), healing (Ps. 107:20), judgment (Isa. 11:4), or salvation (John 6:63). Cf. Isaiah 49:2; Revelation 1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:15.
36. See especially Romans 10:8, 17; 1 Peter 1:25.
37. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 730, argues it is; Lincoln, Ephesians, 451, argues it is not.
38. As Fee argues in God’s Empowering Presence, 730–31. For similar phrases see Jude 20; cf. John 4:24; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 14:16
39. Romans 8:26 is also instructive: “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.”
40. See especially Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38; Luke 21:36; Colossians 4:2. In 1 Thessalonians 5:6–8 the encouragement to be alert precedes the armor imagery.
41. Verses 19–20 do not fit easily into a theory of a pseudonymous author. The explanation that the author adopts the persona of Paul as part of the device of pseudonymity is not convincing. See Lincoln, Ephesians, 453, 455. His attempt (“Stand, therefore … ,” 108) to explain this as impersonation to enliven the peroratio on the basis of remarks by Quintilian, a first century rhetorician, is a misappropriation. Quintilian was not referring to pseudonymity, but to the use of dialogue by which the readers or hearers knew the words of someone else were presented, as the examples he gives show. See Quintilian, Institutes, 9.2.29–37. Either Paul seeks prayer for himself, or someone seeks to mislead the readers into thinking he does.
43. Barth, Ephesians, 2:782.
44. Arnold, Power and Magic, 36–39, 73.
45. Quoted without reference by Lawrence S. Cunningham, “Satan: A Theological Meditation,” Theology Today, 51 (1994): 359.
46. Walter Wink, Unmasking the Powers, vol. 2: The Powers (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 11, 26.
47. See the discussion of 1:21 and 2:2 on pp. 76–78, 84–86 and 96–98, 109–11.
48. See Luke 12:11; 1 Corinthians 2:8 (cf. Luke 20:20).
49. For a critique of interpreting this language as structures, see Stott, God’s New Society, 267–75; Arnold, Power and Magic, 169–82; Peter T. O’Brien, “Principalities and Powers: Opponents of the Church,” Biblical Interpretation and the Church: The Problem of Contextualization, ed. D. A. Carson (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984), 110–50.
51. As indicated earlier (see p. 110), why is it relatively easy for people to believe in a beneficient being (God) or beings (angels), but so much more troublesome to believe in the devil and demons?
52. See also Luke 11:11–13 and texts like Matthew 25:41, which speak of the devil and his angels.
53. The only basis of such an idea is found in the accounts in Mark and Luke of the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39; cf. Matt. 8:28–34). Both accounts use both the singular and the plural to refer to the demon(s) (cf. also Matt. 12:43–45; Luke 11:24–26).
54. See Timothy M. Warner, “An Evangelical Position on Bondage and Exorcism,” Essays on Spiritual Bondage and Deliverance, ed. Willard M. Swartley (Elkhart, Ind.: Institute of Mennonite Studies, 1988), 79.
55. Heinrich Schlier, Principalities and Powers in the New Testament (New York: Herder and Herder, 1961), 58.
56. Unlike the speculation of Thomas B. White, “Understanding Principalities and Powers,” Engaging the Enemy, ed. C. Peter Wagner (Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1991), 60. (Isa. 14 and Ezek. 28 both describe earthly kings.)
57. Note Colossians 1:16, which asserts that Christ created the rulers and authorities. Limited evidence of rebellion by angels against God appears in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6.
58. “Satan” is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 21; Job 1–2; Zechariah 3. “Demons” are mentioned twice in connection with idolatry, similar to 1 Corinthians 10:19–21 (see Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37–38).
59. 1 Samuel 16:14–23; 18:10; 19:9.
60. See Acts 5:16; 16:16–18; 19:13–16. In John the only occurrence of the language is in accusations that Jesus has a demon. John does speak of Satan, the devil, and the ruler of this world.
61. See Mark 1:32–34; 9:17; cf. Luke 13:10–17.
62. See Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 171–72.
63. G. B. Caird, Principalities and Powers (Oxford: Clarendon, 1956), p. 9.
64. See Everett Ferguson, Demonology of the Early Christian World (Lewiston, N.Y.: Mellen, 1984), 170–74.
65. The idea developed from Daniel 10:18 that specific spirits control specific geographical areas. By naming or binding the spirits, the area is supposedly released to accept the gospel.
66. An attempt to rectify this is a collection of essays in The Kingdom and the Power, eds. Gary S. Greig and Kevin N. Springer (Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1993); against this movement are the essays in Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church? ed. Michael Scott Horton (Chicago: Moody, 1992). The attempt to reject any “signs of power” after the apostolic age is as equally misguided as the overemphasis on power.
67. For such ideas and language see the essays edited by P. Wagner, Engaging the Enemy.
68. Wink, Unmasking the Powers, 63.
69. See Robert T. Sears, “A Catholic View of Exorcism and Deliverance,” Essays on Spiritual Bondage and Deliverance, ed. Willard M. Swartley (Elkhart, Ind.: Institute of Mennonite Studies, 1988), 108–10.
70. Warner, “An Evangelical Position on Bondage and Exorcism,” 83.
71. See several of the articles in Swartley, ed., Essays on Spiritual Bondage and Deliverance, especially “Jane Miller’s Story and Testimony” and “The Case of Jane: Psychotherapy and Deliverance,” 174–91, which tell of the painful childhood and life of a woman in therapy who underwent several exorcisms while in therapy. We should distinguish demon possession from split personality disorder, whereby a personality fragments for self-defense. Furthermore, nearly all discussions of demonic possession proceed on an assumption that humans are composed of body, soul, and spirit. Despite its convenience, I find it questionable that this trichotomous view can be substantiated biblically. First Thessalonians 5:23 cannot be the only text we read with regard to the human makeup.
72. Wink, Unmasking the Powers, 63.
73. Animistic cultures think of a high God removed from the earth, leaving humans to fend for themselves in battling other spirits. Focus on the demonic is similar.
74. See the treatment by Scott Peck, People of the Lie (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982), 182–211, especially 183: “Genuine possession, as far we know, is very rare. Human evil, on the other hand, is common.”
75. Morris, Expository Reflections on Ephesians, 200.
76. This is not to make light of serious questions about the legitimacy of abortion in cases of threat to the mother’s life, incest, or rape.
77. From the third verse of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
78. Wink, Unmasking the Powers, 33.
79. In addition to this passage, cf. James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8–9; and the temptation narratives of the Gospels.
80. See the comments by Peck in footnote 70.
81. See the article by Joe D. Wilmoth, “After Deliverance, Then What?” Leadership (Summer 1991), 68–70. One cannot help but wonder whether “deliverance ministries” are not emotional jolts that may or may not have long term effect.
82. Note Paul’s concern (1 Cor. 10:19–21) about participating with demons in eating food sacrificed to idols.
83. The opposite position is argued by C. Fred Dickason, Demon Possession and the Christian: A New Perspective (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1987). He goes far beyond the biblical evidence, and his viewing tongues as an entrance for demons is erroneous.
85. The NIV “as I should” in verse 20 is literally “as it is necessary.”
1. There are thirty-two words the same; within them, Ephesians adds “what I am doing” and Colossians “and fellow servant.”
2. Excluding verses 1–2, where stereotypical phrases show correspondences of seven words in 1:1 and eight in 1:2.
3. See Philippians 2:25; Colossians 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 3:2.
4. On “peace,” see 2 Corinthians 13:11–13, which may be the closest to Ephesians; Galatians 6:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:16. On “love,” see 1 Corinthians 16:24 (Paul’s love) and 2 Corinthians 13:13 (God’s love).
5. In 1 Thessalonians the greeting is merely “grace to you and peace.” The Pastorals are slightly different.
6. Meyer, Ephesians, 555, understood love as a “moral element” because reference to divine love would not fit with faith.
7. See e. g., Romans 15:13; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 13:13; Galatians 6:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; 1 Timothy 1:2; Jude 1:2.
8. See pp. 46, 164–65. See also 1 Timothy 1:14, the only other occurrence of “with faith” and one that also seems to refer to Christ’s faithfulness.
9. A negative version of this statement appears in 1 Corinthians 16:22: “If anyone does not love the Lord—a curse be on him.”
10. This should be excluded, for the other six occurrences of the Greek word all refer to immortality.
11. See Robinson, St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 138; Caird, Paul’s Letters From Rome, 94.
12. See Ralph Martin, “Ephesians,” The Broadman Bible Commentary, ed. Clifton J. Allen (Nashville: Broadman, 1971), 177.