Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture) Quotes

“The six practices or attitudes that Paul has named with which Christians should arm themselves for spiritual battle are as follows: The belt: base all you say and do on the gospel truth. The breastplate: conduct yourself righteously, united to Christ. The footwear: always be ready to share the gospel. The shield: when troubles come, put your faith in God and his word. The helmet: hope in God’s salvation, no matter what. The sword of the Spirit: listen to the word of God and proclaim it to advance Christ’s kingdom.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“To put on the breastplate of righteousness is to conduct oneself justly in a manner consistent with the new self.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“The first step in arming ourselves for spiritual combat is to wrap ourselves in the truth of the gospel and to be truthful in all we say and do.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“The danger is not that Satan will overwhelm us with his power but that we will be deceived or tricked by him.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“be a slave of God or of Christ is not a matter of shame but of honor. Scripture refers to Moses as a slave of God (1 Kings 8:53; Neh 10:30; Dan 9:11), Paul describes himself as a slave of Christ (Rom 1:1; Gal 1:10; Titus 1:1), and Revelation refers to †prophets, martyrs, and all Christians this way (Rev 2:20; 10:7; 19:2; 22:6).[6] Christians can be called slaves of Christ because we were purchased by his blood (1 Cor 6:19–20; 7:22; Rev 5:9) and belong to him.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“body relationship. The Church is the body of Christ by virtue of being the Bride of Christ.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“Essentially Paul is saying, “Husbands, seek the good of your wives regardless of the cost to you.” With these words Paul instructs husbands to deny themselves as completely as he has instructed wives to deny themselves by subordinating themselves to their husbands (5:22, 24).”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“It is important to understand that Paul is not speaking of romantic or sexual love (eros), the kind of love celebrated in popular music and film. Eros is a wonderful gift created by God; it is a love based in desire that arises naturally and is appropriately expressed in marital intimacy. Here, however, the Apostle speaks of agapē,[14] the “great love” attributed to God in 2:4, a love that arises from a choice of the will and that does not depend on the worthiness or response of the person beloved.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“responsibility of those who are already part of the new humanity toward the rest of the human race is to be exercised by proclaiming the †gospel, by works of charity, and by suffering that is united to Jesus’ paschal mystery. In this way the “third race” exists for the benefit of the other two.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“It is highly significant that Paul repeats the word “create” (used in 2:10) to describe what God has accomplished. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God has initiated the “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15) promised in Isa 65:17–18. He has created a new humanity without divisions in Jesus, who is a second Adam (see Rom 5:12–19; 1 Cor 15:45–49). God has opened a new possibility for the “dead” (2:1) and divided descendants of the first Adam: to be united in the Messiah, to share in peace (2:14) and wholeness.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“law. Now the relationship of both Jews and Gentiles to God is founded on “the new covenant in my blood” (1 Cor 11:25), that is, on Messiah Jesus’ death on the cross, rather than on the law of Moses that divided them.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“God’s preparation and our free choices cooperate to enable us to fulfill God’s will that good works characterize our lives (Catechism 1993).”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“the NJB puts it, “we are his work of art.” Furthermore, it is not simply that we have been rescued from the evils that oppressed us—we have been made completely new, created in Christ Jesus. Since the context speaks of how we have been”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“Though a person may receive baptism centuries after the death and resurrection of Christ, at the moment of baptism, that person is united across time with Jesus in his death and resurrection. All the sacraments enable us to transcend time and place because they unite us to Jesus, the eternal son of God, whose paschal †mystery transcends time and space.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“Nevertheless, it is obvious that being seated with Christ in the heavens does not mean that Christians now fully experience reigning with Christ, even though we have begun to experience the benefits of salvation. God’s purpose for saving us is so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us. A glorious future awaits us.[11] As was mentioned earlier (1:21), the fundamental division of time in Scripture is the division between the present age and the age to come. When Paul speaks of “the ages to come,” he refers to our eternal future.[12]”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“However, there is more to our being seated with Christ in the heavens. If we are “in Christ Jesus,” members of his body, and Christ our “head” is in heaven, we also are in heaven in some way. Life in the Spirit is life in God, whose presence defines the boundaries of heaven.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“The phrase “seated us with him in the heavens” in Christ Jesus goes beyond other texts that speak of the believer’s solidarity with Jesus’ dying and rising.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“explain how God saved us, Paul uses three verbs to which he adds the prefix syn-, which means “with.” The repetition of this prefix links us inextricably to Christ in the action that unfolds.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“To make plain that we did not deserve this love, Paul indicates that God loved us even when we were dead in our transgressions. This line recalls Rom 5:8, where Paul says that “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“Paul describes what kind of God this is: he is rich in mercy. Mercy, eleos, refers to the good will and kindness that seeks to help someone who is in trouble or need.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“The hope contained in this invitation is eternal life with God and one another. Paul wants his readers to grasp that reality more deeply, because clarity about our ultimate future changes our outlook on everything, even our view of crushing hardships and sufferings that can defeat merely human optimism.”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):

“Constantly remembering people, thanking God for them, and commending them to God in prayer is another way that Christians demonstrate love (Eph 6:18; Col 4:2).”
― Peter S. Williamson, Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture):