in the Fusing the Horizons sections. I am truly thankful for the loving support of my children, Sarah and C. J. I dedicate this book to my husband, Jim, who has never failed to love me “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” (Eph 5:25).
1. Ambrosiaster, Epistle to the Ephesians 3.18.2, in CSEL 81.3:93.
2. Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love.
Abbreviations
AB Anchor Bible
ANTC Abingdon New Testament Commentaries
CSEL Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum
ICC International Critical Commentary
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament,
Supplement Series
NovTSup Supplements to Novum Testamentum
PG Patrologia graece, edited by J.-P. Migne, 162 vols.
(Paris, 1857–86)
PL Patrologia latina, edited by J.-P. Migne, 217 vols.
(Paris, 1844–64)
TynBul Tyndale Bulletin
SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series
SP Sacra pagina
WBC Word Biblical Commentary
WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament
Ancient Sources
Aristotle
Pol. Politica (Politics)
Augustine
Ep. Epistulae (Letters)
Cicero
Att. Epistulae ad Atticum (Letters to Atticus)
Fam. Epistulae ad familiares (Letters to Friends)
Quint. fratr. Epistulae ad Quintum fratrem (Letters to Quintus)
1 Clem. 1 Clement
Clement of Alexandria
Strom. Stromata (Miscellanies)
Dio Chrysostom
2 Serv. lib. De servitude et libertate ii (Or. 15)
(On Slavery and Freedom 2)
Diogenes Laertius
Lives Lives of Eminent Philosophers
Epictetus
Diatr. Diatribai (Discourses)
Eusebius
Hist. eccl. Historia ecclesiastica (Ecclesiastical History)
Herodotus
Hist. Historiae (Histories)
Jerome
Comm. Eph. Commentariorum in epistulam ad Ephesios libri III
(Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians)
John Chrysostom
Sac. De sacerdotio (On the Priesthood)
Hom. Eph. Homiliae in epistulam ad Ephesios (Homilies on
Ephesians)
Josephus
Ant. Jewish Antiquities
J.W. Jewish War
Martin Luther
Papacy On the Papacy in Rome, against the Illustrious
Romanists in Leipzig (1520)
Origen
Cels. Contra Celsum (Against Celsus)
Princ. De principiis (Peri Archōn) (On First Principles)
Pliny the Younger
Ep. Epistulae (Letters)
Plutarch
Am. prol. De amore prolis (On Affection for Offspring)
Polybius
Hist. Historia (Histories)
Quintilian
Inst. Institutio oratoria (The Institutes)
Seneca
Ben. De beneficiis (On Benefits)
Ep. Epistulae morales (Moral Essays)
Ira De ira (On Anger)
Tertullian
Marc. Adversus Marcionem (Against Marcion)
Thomas Aquinas
Comm. Eph. Super Epistolam B. Pauli ad Ephesios lectura
(Commentary on Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians)
Introduction
Overview of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians
Perhaps no letter in the Pauline corpus takes the reader to such mountain heights of adoration and to such level fields of practicality as the six short chapters of Ephesians do. One might call it a feast for the Christian imagination, for it lays out the gospel with great depth and intellectual texture. Paul1 reflects on the magnificence, even lavishness, of God’s redemptive work established in Christ and continued in the Spirit. Chrysostom remarks how Paul grasped the eternal plan of God, connecting Paul’s thought with Christ’s own words in Matt 25:34 to the faithful that he will welcome them into the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.2 Paul explores the intricacies of what this kingdom looks like for the church now and in the future, as he fills out the picture of the Triune God who from the beginning has orchestrated this grand movement of salvation. Jerome, likely following Origen, acknowledged the complexity of Paul’s thought in describing God’s free gift of salvation. Recall, Jerome remarks, that Ephesus in Paul’s day had at its center the great temple of Artemis/Diana and the widely practiced magical arts commanding allegiance and attention of all its dwellers and visitors. Paul’s letter taught deep theological realities about the powers and principalities against which believers do battle, for the Ephesians were in the thick of the fight.3 Martin Luther, in his theological disagreement with the Roman Catholic Church, argued that Ephesians (4:5) expressed Paul’s vision of the church as the one true body of believers united by one heart even though separated physically by thousands of miles.4 Luther’s comments reflect the general Christian debate about the nature of the church, which has continued through the centuries and relies in large part on Paul’s understanding of the church expressed in Ephesians. As these three examples show, Ephesians covers key foundational aspects of the gospel, including Christology, pneumatology, soteriology, eschatology, and ecclesiology. To these we might add the modern questions of authorship and the social roles described in chapter 5. In Ephesians we find much to reflect upon as God’s plan of redemption, and our own part in the story, is laid before us. The first chapter of Ephesians presents with rhetorical flourish and fanfare the praise rightly due to the one true God, Father, Son, and Spirit. The stage lights are first focused on God the Father, who chose to redeem the world for his good purposes, including creating a people unto himself in Christ. In chapter 2 the spotlight grows to include more fully the role of Christ Jesus in the plan of salvation, and with chapter 3 the stage is flooded with light, revealing the activities of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing the goals of salvation within the church. The final three chapters direct attention to the church, this new creation based on the work of Christ and empowered by the Spirit for God’s glory. Why start with the Trinity? Whatever Paul’s reason, it has the effect of reinforcing the amazingly simple, but profound truth that God