Ephesians 1:15-23
New Catholic Bible
The Church’s Unity with Christ[a]
Christ, Head of the Church. Having heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love toward all the saints, 16 I therefore never cease to give thanks to God for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know him.18 I further pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, how rich and glorious is his inheritance[b] in the saints, 19 and how immeasurably great is the power that he has exercised toward those who have faith.
Such was his mighty power 20 that he exhibited in Christ
when he raised him from the dead
and enthroned him
at his right hand in heaven,
21 far above
every principality and authority,
power and dominion,
and every other title
that can be named,
not only in this age
but also in the age to come.
22 He has put all things
under Christ’s feet
and has made him
the head of the Church,
23 which is his body,
the fullness of him
who fills the universe
in all its parts.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 1:15 Our spirit is gripped with admiration before the diverse aspects of the mystery of Christ: Resurrection, Ascension, universal Kingship, mysterious and activating presence in the Church. The power of God is present in this mystery and sweeps away every other force. And with Christ rises the Church, the community of those called.
15
Paul clearly distinguishes the glorified Christ reigning in heaven and his mystical body developing on earth. We cannot confuse the Church and the Lord. But they are intimately connected. The community of those called is realized and grows under the impulsion of the life that Christ gives it. This community is the “fullness” of God, for in it everything must be reunited to be filled with God’s presence and love. The Church is the mystery of grace and charisms, of unity and growth (see Rom 12:4f; 1 Cor 12:12; Col 1:18).
The Apostle then goes on to describe the sinful state of humankind, in the grip of the power of evil (Eph 2:1-10), and the new state of humankind in which Gentiles and Jews now form a single new person, created in Christ and reconciled to one another and to God (Eph 2:11-22). - Ephesians 1:18 Inheritance: a Biblical word signifying what God promised to the chosen people. This was initially identified with the land and the blessings connected with it. But as revelation progressed, the true meaning of the “inheritance” was increasingly understood, until its definitive content was revealed in the New Testament: the inheritance is the state of the risen Jesus himself, communicated to those who believe in him.
Ephesians 2:1-10
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 2
Christ Brought Us from Death to Life.[a] 1 You formerly were dead as a result of your transgressions and sins, 2 which were your way of life in this worldly era,[b] obeying the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit that is now at work among the children of rebellion. 3 We too were all numbered among them at one time. We were ruled by our sinful nature, succumbing to the temptations of the flesh and desires. And like all others, we were by nature children of wrath.
4 But God is rich in his mercy, and because he had such great love for us, 5 he brought us to life with Christ when we were already dead through sin—it is by grace that you have been saved. 6 He raised us up in union with Christ Jesus and enthroned us with him in the heavens, 7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace evidenced by his mercy to us in Christ Jesus.
8 [c]For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. This has not come from you but from the gift of God. 9 It does not come from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for a life of good works that God had prepared for us to do.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ephesians 2:1 In Greek, these verses comprise a single sentence.
- Ephesians 2:2 This worldly era: i.e., synonymous with “rulers of this world.” It may also refer to the first of the two ages of the world—the present evil age and the age to come (see 1 Cor 3:19; 5:10; 7:31; Gal 1:4; Tit 2:12).
- Ephesians 2:8 We are saved by God’s gift, not by the works of the Law (see Rom 3:20-21).
