The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (216 page)

Word Study

Unite
(
Eph 1:10
)

Anakephalaioō
(Gk.): "recapitulate" or "sum up under one head". The verb is rarely used in antiquity and appears only twice in the NT. It can refer to the placement of a numeric sum over a list of figures that have been added or, more generally, to a gathering together of scattered elements. In Rom 13:9, Paul uses this Greek word to explain how the moral commandments of the Law all add up to one: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." In Eph 1:10, he asserts that God's supreme plan for the universe is to put Jesus Christ at the summit of all things seen and unseen. Present in the background is Adam, whose headship over the human family left the world in a state of chaos and sin. Christ comes as the new Adam to be established as the new "head" over all things (Eph 1:22; see also 5:23). He reverses the damage done by Adam's rebellion by piecing creation back together again and by summoning a family reunion of all God's children: Israel, the Gentiles, and even the angels. This grand work of reunification is already under way and will continue until Christ subdues his enemies (1 Cor 15:2428) and the grace of redemption permeates the entire universe (Rom 8:19-23) (CCC 518, 1042-43).

1:14 guarantee:
An expression derived from a Hebrew term meaning "pledge" or "down payment" (Gen 38:17-18). The Spirit received in Baptism (Acts 2:38) is thus a first installment of the fullness of God's life and blessing we hope to possess in heaven (2 Cor 1:22; 5:5; CCC 1107). 
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1:15 I have heard:
The comment here and at 4:21 suggests that Paul has never met his intended readers in person. 
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1:18 your hearts:
In biblical thinking, the heart is the center of the person, where thinking, willing, and feeling originate. See word study:
Heart
at Deut 30:6.
enlightened:
By the grace of faith in Christ (5:14). Early theologians described Baptism as the sacrament of "enlightenment" (CCC 1216). 
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1:20 sit at his right hand:
A position of royal honor and sovereignty. • Paul alludes to Ps 110:1, which describes the coronation and enthronement of the Messiah in heaven. Now reigning beside the Father, Christ wields authority to govern the cosmos (Mk 16:19; CCC 668). Psalm 110 is the most frequently cited passage of the OT in the NT (Mt 22:44; Acts 2:34-35; 1 Cor 15:25; Heb 1:13). 
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1:21 rule and authority and power:
Names given in Jewish and Christian tradition to different choirs or orders of angels. They can refer to blessed angels or to demons who fell from their ranks (Eph 3:10; 6:12; Col 2:15; 1 Pet 3:22). Paul's point is that God has elevated Christ far above all creation, including things visible and material as well as things invisible and spiritual (Col 1:16; CCC 331-36, 395). • Catholic theologians have traditionally recognized nine choirs of angels arranged in three levels or hierarchies. The first consists of the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; the second of the Dominions, Authorities, and Powers; and the third of the Rulers, Archangels, and common Angels. Theologians classify these angelic orders according to their divinely given tasks.
this age:
Jewish tradition distinguished between the
present
evil age and the
coming
messianic age. Just as Christ's coming marked the transition from Old Covenant era to the New, so he will come again in glory to close the present age of history and open the future age of eternity (Mk 10:30; Lk 20:34-36). 
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1:22 under his feet:
A position of subjection and defeat. • Paul alludes to Ps 8:6, where David marvels that God crowned Adam and his descendants as rulers of his creation (Gen 1:26). Although this government was frustrated because of sin, Jesus reclaims Adam's dominion over the visible world and extends it over the angelic realms as well (Heb 2:5-9). All will acknowledge Christ's kingship when he subdues his last remaining enemies—the devil, the demons, and death.
See note on 1 Cor 15:25-27
. • It is an awesome fact that the whole power of creation will bow before a man, in whom is the divine Word (St. John Chrysostom,
Homilies on Ephesians
3, 1).
the head:
Christ reigns supreme over the cosmos and the universal Church, which is his "body" (1:23). See word study:
Head
at Eph 5:23. • God has set over all creation one and the same head, the incarnate Christ. That is, he has given to angels and men one and the same government (St. John Chrysostom,
Homilies on Ephesians
1, 1). 
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2:1-22
A tragic picture of man without God. The chapter falls into two halves: the first explains how Christ reconciles men with God (2:1-10), and the second how Christ reconciles men and nations with one another (2:11-22). Notice that Paul stresses the radical difference between living "by grace" (2:5) and living "by nature" (2:3). 
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2:1 you were dead:
Spiritual death is the consequence of sin (Rom 5:12), and those who are dead in sin cannot recover the life and grace of God for themselves any more than a corpse can revive itself to live again. Believers are brought from spiritual death to spiritual life through Baptism (Eph 2:5; Jn 5:24; Rom 6:4, 23). 
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2:2 power of the air:
Paul assumes the ancient belief that demonic spirits crowd the atmosphere, posing an ominous and ongoing threat to our spiritual lives. The
prince
among them is Satan, the archenemy of God, who is veiled from our sight but is not thereby any less real or dangerous (4:27; 6:11; Jn 8:44). Man is powerless to resist the domination of the devil without the assistance of grace (Eph 6:11-17).
See note on Eph 6:10-17
.
sons of disobedience:
A Hebraism meaning "rebels" or "sinners" (5:6). 
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2:3 children of wrath:
I.e., enemies of God liable to judgment. This results
(1)
from the dismal inheritance of Original Sin, which spreads to every living person by natural generation (by nature, 2:3), and
(2)
from the actual sins and ongoing rebellion of the human family against God (trespasses and sins, 2:1) (CCC 402-5).
See note on Rom 5:12
. • Through the sin of the first man, which came from his free will, our nature became corrupted and ruined; and nothing but the grace of God alone restores it (St. Augustine,
On the Grace of Christ
55). 
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2:5-6
By grace we share in the exaltation of Christ: his rising from the dead, his ascent into heaven, and his enthronement at the Father's right hand. Paul articulates this theology of participation by using the preposition
with
three times in these verses (in Greek, the verbal prefix
syn-
). 
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2:6 sit with him:
I.e., we are made to share in the heavenly reign of Christ (CCC 1003). 
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2:8 grace:
The biblical term for
(1)
God's favor and
(2)
God's supernatural life. The former designates the
conditions
of its bestowal (a free and undeserved gift, Rom 6:23), and the latter designates the
content
of the gift we receive (a share in the divine nature, 2 Pet 1:4) (CCC 1996-2003).
have been saved:
Salvation is here described as a present state resulting from a past action. The preceding context indicates that deliverance from sin and spiritual death is in view (2:1-3). That salvation is not thereby assured but is also a future hope;
see note on Rom 5:10
.
through faith:
Faith is instrumental in saving us and uniting us with Christ. In the context of conversion, salvation is
conferred
through the instrument of Baptism (1 Pet 3:21), and salvation is
received
through the instrument of faith (Rom 3:2425). For Paul, belief in Jesus Christ is a divine gift (Phil 1:29) that we exercise when we adhere to God with trust (personal aspect) and assent to the truth he has revealed in the gospel (propositional aspect) (CCC 177). 
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2:9 lest any . . . boast:
Because salvation is neither a payment for services rendered nor a personal achievement, there is no room for pride or boasting on our part (1 Cor 4:7). 
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2:10 good works:
Works of righteousness that pertain to salvation (Rom 2:6-7). These are made possible by the grace of God empowering us from within (Phil 2:12-13; Heb 13:20-21). • The Second Council of Orange decreed in
A.D.
529 that man, weakened by the Fall of Adam, is incapable of performing works worthy of eternal life by his own natural strength. Only by the supernatural help of the Spirit can we be humble, obedient, and loving in a way that truly pleases the Lord (Canons 1-25) (CCC 2008-11). 
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