The Letter to the Ephesians

Ephesus. The city stood near the coast of what is now western Turkey, and it was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Its chief glory was the great temple of Artemis, counted among the wonders of the ancient world, which brought in crowds and trade. Its ruins can still be seen today.

Paul at Ephesus. Acts tells the story. Paul stopped there briefly (Acts 18:19 to 21) and returned to stay for about three years (Acts 19:8 to 10; 20:31). He taught daily in the hall of Tyrannus. People brought their books of magic and burned them (Acts 19:18 to 19). Demetrius the silversmith, who made shrines of Artemis, stirred up a riot, and the theatre rang with the cry "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" (Acts 19:23 to 41). On his way to Jerusalem, Paul called the elders of Ephesus to Miletus and said a tearful goodbye (Acts 20:17 to 38). The world of spirits and powers was very real to those people, which helps to explain the letter's stress on Christ above every power (1:21) and its armour against evil (6:10 to 17).

Jew and Gentile. By now the first readers were mainly of Gentile birth. They might have thought lightly of the people from whom Christ came. The letter reminds them that they were once "strangers to the covenants of promise" (2:12), and that they have been brought near. Christ "has broken down the dividing wall" (2:14). The image may recall the barrier that kept Gentiles out of the inner courts of the Temple, though the text does not say so. It speaks of one new humanity, and it never speaks of Israel as cast off. The Church's teaching on Israel remains Romans 9 to 11 and Nostra Aetate 4.

Paul in chains. The writer speaks as a prisoner (3:1; 4:1), an "ambassador in chains" (6:20). Tradition groups this letter with Philippians, Colossians and Philemon as "letters of captivity". Acts ends with Paul two years under guard at Rome, still preaching (Acts 28:30 to 31). Tychicus carries the letter and will give the news (6:21 to 22; compare Colossians 4:7 to 8).

The Church's tradition. The letter names Paul, and the Church has received it among his letters since the earliest witnesses. The Council of Trent lists it among his fourteen. St Ignatius of Antioch, writing to the Ephesians about 107 to 110, seems to know it, and says that Paul mentions them "in all his Epistles" (To the Ephesians 12). St Polycarp cites it, once with the words "by grace you are saved" (To the Philippians 1), and again at 12. St Irenaeus names it as Paul's Letter to the Ephesians (Against Heresies 5.2.3). Benedict XVI, in his catechesis of 14 January 2009, speaks of it simply as part of St Paul's correspondence.

A scholarly note. Traditionally the letter is by Paul; some scholars think a later disciple. Since the early 1800s many critical scholars have questioned Paul's direct authorship because of its long, flowing style, its vocabulary, its close but different likeness to Colossians, and its picture of the universal Church. Some propose a secretary working at Paul's direction. Others propose a disciple, setting out Paul's teaching for a new day. Others keep Paul as author, and note that a prisoner writing a general letter may well write differently. The USCCB introduction reports these views without deciding. The Church has not defined the question. It does not touch the letter's inspiration: whoever the human writer was, God is its author (Dei Verbum 11; Catechism 105 to 106), and it is Sacred Scripture and apostolic teaching (Dei Verbum 20).

Was it written "to the Ephesians"? Some of the oldest manuscripts, among them Sinaiticus and Vaticanus in their first hand, lack the words "in Ephesus" at 1:1. St Basil already knew of copies without them. The letter also has no personal greetings, which is strange when Paul had spent about three years in that city. So many think it was a circular letter for several Churches of the province, with Ephesus as its chief destination, or that it is the letter "from Laodicea" of Colossians 4:16. The NRSV prints "in Ephesus" and the Church keeps the traditional title.

The letter has two halves. Chapters 1 to 3 tell what God has done. Chapters 4 to 6 say how to live, beginning with "I therefore" (4:1). Doctrine comes first, and duty follows from it.

• God's plan from before time. The Father chose us in Christ to be holy, destined us as his children, and did all this out of love (1:3 to 6; Catechism 52, 257, 294, 1077). The Catechism calls this the "plan of his loving kindness" (257). Blessing and praise are the first response (Catechism 1083, 2627).
• The mystery. "Mystery" here is not a riddle. It is God's plan, once hidden and now shown in Christ (1:9; 3:3 to 6; Catechism 51, 772, 2603). Benedict XVI says that it needs contemplation of the heart as well as reason (14 January 2009). The goal is "to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth" (1:10; Catechism 668, 772, 1043, 2823). Everything finds its meaning in Christ.
• Christ the head of the Church and of all things. God raised him and set him above every power (1:20 to 22; Catechism 272, 648, 668, 669). Benedict XVI explains the word "head" on two levels: he leads and nourishes the Church, and he is Lord of the cosmos. This is good news to anyone who fears other powers, since Christ stands above all of them. The Church is "his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all" (1:23; Catechism 753, 830).
• Saved by grace, for good works. "By grace you have been saved through faith... not the result of works" (2:8 to 9), and the next verse goes on: "created in Christ Jesus for good works" (2:10). Both verses belong together. Salvation is God's gift from first to last, and it bears fruit (Catechism 1996, 2008 to 2011; on merit, 2010). God is "rich in mercy" (2:4; Catechism 211, 1073). We are already raised with Christ in hope (2:6; Catechism 1003, 2796).
• Peace. "He is our peace" (2:14; Catechism 2305). Christ makes peace between Jew and Gentile and with God. The Church is called to be that peace in the world, and in any community divided by birth, caste, race or language.
• The Church: household, temple, built on the Apostles. The Church is God's household and a holy temple (2:19 to 22; Catechism 756, 797). She is apostolic because she is built on the foundation of the Apostles (2:20; Catechism 857).
• The unity of the Church. "One body and one Spirit... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all" (4:4 to 6; Catechism 172, 249, 814, 866, 2790).
• Gifts and ministries. The ascended Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers "to equip the saints" (4:11 to 12; Catechism 794, 1575), until all reach "the full stature of Christ" (4:13; Catechism 674, 2045).
• Baptism and the new life. "One baptism" (4:5). Sealed by the Spirit for the day of redemption (1:13; 4:30; Catechism 698, 706, 1107, 1274, 1296). Christ cleansed the Church "with the washing of water by the word" (5:26; Catechism 628, 1228). The call is to put away the old self and put on the new (4:22 to 24; Catechism 1473, 1695). "Sleeper, awake!" (5:14; Catechism 2641) may be from an early baptismal hymn, as many scholars think.
• Daily morals. Tell the truth, "for we are members of one another" (4:25; Catechism 1267, 2475). Be angry without sinning, and let no anger last the day (4:26). The thief must work so as to have something to share with the needy (4:28; Catechism 2444). Forgive as God has forgiven you (4:32; Catechism 2842). Greed and impurity are excluded from the kingdom (5:3 to 5; Catechism 1852, 2113).
• Marriage, a great mystery. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her (5:25). Paul takes Genesis 2:24 and says, "This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church" (5:32). From this the Church teaches that Christian marriage is a sacrament and a sign of Christ's love for the Church (Catechism 772, 796, 1602, 1616 to 1617, 1659). The Latin Bible renders "mystery" in this verse as sacramentum.
• "Be subject to one another." The whole household passage is headed by 5:21, addressed to all (Catechism 1269, 1642). St John Paul II teaches that Ephesians 5 must be understood as "mutual subjection out of reverence for Christ", and that in marriage this subjection is "not one-sided but mutual" (Mulieris Dignitatem 24). So this passage gives no licence to a husband to dominate, and none at all to harm. St John Chrysostom, in substance, tells husbands to win their wives by patient love and never by fear or force, and calls the home "a little Church" (Homily 20 on Ephesians; compare Catechism 2204).
• Children, parents, slaves. Children obey in the Lord, and parents must not provoke them (6:1 to 4; Catechism 2217, 2223, 2286). Paul speaks to slaves and masters as he found them in that society, and he reminds masters that both have one Master in heaven, with no partiality (6:5 to 9). He does not here teach that slavery is good. The Church teaches firmly that enslaving human beings is a sin (Catechism 2414).
• Spiritual combat and prayer. Our struggle is against the powers of evil (6:12). The Christian stands firm in God's armour, with no panic, because Christ is already above them (1:21). The armour ends with prayer: "Pray in the Spirit at all times" (6:18; Catechism 2636, 2742).

Our Lady in this letter. The letter does not name her. Yet the Church sees in its opening hymn the one in whom this blessing was fulfilled in a unique way. The Catechism applies Ephesians 1:3 to 4 to Mary: the Father blessed her more than any other created person, and chose her in Christ to be holy and blameless (492). So the Latin Church reads Ephesians 1:3 to 6, 11 to 12 on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. All her holiness comes from Christ (Catechism 492).

• The one in whom everything is. The little phrase "in Christ" or "in him" keeps returning from the first lines. Blessing, choice, redemption and inheritance are all "in him" (1:3 to 14).
• Lord of all powers. Raised and seated above every rule and authority (1:20 to 22). Benedict XVI uses the old title Pantokrator (14 January 2009), and says that the cosmos itself is understood through its bond with him.
• The one who went down and went up. He descended and ascended "so that he might fill all things" (4:9 to 10; Catechism 631, 633, 661).
• Our peace. In his flesh and on the cross he joined two peoples into one (2:14 to 16).
• The head who nourishes. From him the whole body grows (4:15 to 16; Catechism 794, 798).
• The bridegroom who gave himself. He loved the Church, gave himself up for her, cleansed her, and cares for her (5:25 to 29; Catechism 757, 796, 823). He offered himself as "a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (5:2; Catechism 616).
• A love beyond knowing. Paul prays that Christ may dwell in our hearts, and that we may know "the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge" (3:17 to 19; Catechism 2714).

The Catechism quotes this letter often: God's plan, 52, 257, 1077; all things in Christ, 668, 772, 1043; Mary, 492; the Church as body and bride, 669, 796, 823; apostolic foundation, 857; unity, 172, 866; ministries, 794, 1575; the seal, 698, 1274; marriage, 1602, 1616, 1659; prayer, 2636, 2714, 2742.

The Fathers, in substance. St Irenaeus cites Ephesians 5:30 to show that our real bodies are nourished by the body and blood of the Lord in the Eucharist, and so will rise (Against Heresies 5.2.3). St John Chrysostom preached twenty-four homilies on it. In the twentieth he says that a husband should be ready to suffer anything for his wife, even death, since Christ loved a Church that was not yet beautiful, in order to make her so. St Ephrem also commented on Paul's letters; that work survives in Armenian. St Jerome and Marius Victorinus wrote commentaries as well.

The Popes. Benedict XVI's catechesis of 14 January 2009 is on the theology of Colossians and Ephesians: Christ as head, the mystery, the cosmic Christ, and the Church as Bride. His audience of 22 October 2008 also cites this letter on God's plan in Christ. St John Paul II's Mulieris Dignitatem 24 (1988) is the key reading on 5:21 to 33.

In the liturgy.

• Syro-Malankara. In the lectionary we examined, as Epistle at the Holy Qurbono: Eph 2:14 to 22 on Qudos Eetho Sunday, Sanctification of the Church; Eph 1:3 to 14 on the First Sunday after Denho; Eph 6:18 to 24 and Eph 2:1 to 10 on the Second and Third Sundays after Qyomtho; Eph 4:7 to 16 on the Ascension; Eph 1:15 to 23 on the Sixth Sunday after Qyomtho; Eph 2:11 to 22 on the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost.
• Latin. The Sunday second reading from the Fifteenth to the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time of Year B. Also Eph 3:2 to 3a, 5 to 6 at Epiphany every year; Eph 1:3 to 6, 11 to 12 on the Immaculate Conception; Eph 1:3 to 6, 15 to 18 on the Second Sunday after Christmas; Eph 5:8 to 14 and Eph 2:4 to 10 on the Fourth Sunday of Lent in Years A and B; Eph 1:17 to 23 at the Ascension, Year A, and Eph 4:1 to 13 as a choice in Year B. On weekdays it is read in Year II, from the Twenty-eighth to the Thirtieth Week of Ordinary Time. Eph 5:21 to 32 is the reading on the Twenty-first Sunday of Year B, and it is often chosen at weddings.
• Syro-Malabar. In the calendars of readings from 2025 to 2027 we examined, at the Holy Qurbana: Eph 5:21 to 6:4 on the First Sunday of Annunciation; Eph 3:1 to 13 and Eph 5:5 to 21 on the Third and Fourth Sundays of Annunciation; Eph 4:1 to 6 on the Third Sunday of Denha; Eph 4:17 to 24 on the First Sunday of the Great Fast; Eph 4:7 to 16 on the Third Sunday of Resurrection; and Eph 2:19 to 22 on the Dukhrana of St Thomas the Apostle, 3 July, fitting since the Apostles are the Church's foundation. Calendars vary by year.

Read it aloud in one sitting, in about twenty minutes. It was perhaps meant to be heard in the assembly, and the opening sounds like prayer. Then take six days, one chapter each:

• Day 1: chapter 1. Turn 1:3 to 14 into your own prayer of blessing.
• Day 2: chapter 2. Read 2:8 to 10 as one thought, and then think of someone you see as an outsider.
• Day 3: chapter 3. Kneel for 3:14 to 21, if you can.
• Day 4: chapter 4. Use 4:25 to 32 as an examination of conscience.
• Day 5: chapter 5. If you are married, read 5:21 to 33 together, slowly, beginning at verse 21.
• Day 6: chapter 6. Put on each piece of the armour in prayer before the day starts.