Ephesians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture)

S. Williamson Peter

Description

In this third volume of the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (CCSS), Peter Williamson interprets Ephesians for pastoral ministers and lay readers alike. This volume, like each in the series, relates Scripture to life, is faithfully Catholic, and is supplemented by features designed to help readers understand the Bible more deeply and use it more effectively in teaching, preaching, evangelization, and other forms of ministry.

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441206718
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Series Page

Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture
S ERIES E DITORS
Peter S. Williamson
Mary Healy
A SSOCIATE E DITOR
Kevin Perrotta
C ONSULTING E DITORS
Scott Hahn , Franciscan University of Steubenville
†Daniel J. Harrington, SJ , Weston Jesuit School of Theology
William S. Kurz, SJ , Marquette University
†Francis Martin , Dominican House of Studies
Frank J. Matera , Catholic University of America
George Montague, SM , St. Mary’s University
Terrence Prendergast, SJ , Archbishop of Ottawa

© 2009 by Peter S. Williamson
Published by Baker Academic a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2011
Ebook corrections 12.03.2021
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-0671-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Nihil Obstat: Msgr. Robert Lunsford Censor Librorum
Imprimatur: Most Rev. Earl Boyea Bishop of Lansing
March 11, 2009
The nihil obstat and imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. There is no implication that those who have granted the nihil obstat or the imprimatur agree with the content, opinions, or statements expressed therein.
Scripture is taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.
“This series promises to be spiritually and doctrinally informative, based on careful, solid biblical exegesis. The method and content of this work will be helpful to teachers of the faith at different levels and will provide a reliable guide to people seeking to deepen their knowledge and thereby nourish their faith. I strongly recommend the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture.”
—Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster
“This series richly provides what has for so long been lacking among contemporary scriptural commentaries. Its goal is to assist Catholic preachers and teachers, lay and ordained, in their ministry of the word. Moreover, it offers ordinary Catholics a scriptural resource that will enhance their understanding of God’s word and thereby deepen their faith. Thus these commentaries, nourished on the faith of the Church and guided by scholarly wisdom, are both exegetically sound and spiritually nourishing.”
—Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM Cap, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
“This new Bible commentary series is based on solid scholarship and enriched by the church’s long tradition of study and reflection. Enhanced by an attractive format, it provides an excellent resource for all who are serving in pastoral ministry and for the individual reader who searches the Scriptures for guidance in the Christian life.”
—Emil A. Wcela, Auxiliary Bishop (retired), Diocese of Rockville Centre; past president, Catholic Biblical Association
“The CCSS is a long-awaited addition to Catholic books on the Bible. It is clearly written, sticks to the facts, treats the Bible as true history, and does not get lost in idle speculation and guesswork about the sources of the Gospels and the other books. Homilists will find here the pearl of great price and the treasure hidden in a field. Laypersons who are looking for a truly Catholic interpretation of the Bible will find it here. Those who want to know more about God’s holy word in the Bible will want to purchase the whole set.”
—Kenneth Baker, SJ, editor, Homiletics and Pastoral Review
“This new commentary series appears to me to be a gift of the Holy Spirit to Catholic clergy, religious, and laity at this historic moment. Pope Benedict has effectively announced the rebirth of Catholic biblical theology, bringing together Scripture, tradition, and the teachings of the Church. This commentary reflects not only biblical criticism but also the unity of the Word of God as it applies to our lives. This is a marvelous and timely introduction.”
—Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR, author and preacher
“This new commentary series should meet a need that has long been pointed out: a guide to Scripture that will be both historically responsible and shaped by the mind of the Church’s tradition. It promises to be a milestone in the recovery of a distinctively Catholic approach to exegesis.”
—Aidan Nichols, OP, University of Oxford; Fellow of Greyfriars, Oxford
“The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture employs the Church’s methodology of studying Sacred Scripture in a faithful, dynamic, and fruitful way. It is now the go-to resource that I can enthusiastically recommend to all my students.”
—Jeff Cavins, founder, The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study System
“Mary Healy and Peter S. Williamson, with Kevin Perrotta, have launched an exciting and most promising Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. I plan to read and use it as a basis for preaching and am already profiting from the advanced segments.”
—Michael Scanlan, TOR, Franciscan University of Steubenville
“The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture fills a great void by giving us a serious, scholarly, and orthodox commentary series. These volumes are deep and profound yet lucid, easy to read, and rich with detail. This set will fill a great void for Scripture students of all ages, levels of education, and experience.”
—Steve Ray, lecturer; author of the Bible Study Guides for Genesis and Acts; and writer, producer, and host of the ten-part documentary series Footprints of God: The Story of Salvation from Abraham to Augustine
“The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture affords its readers a helpful guide for encountering the books of the Bible in a way that respects both the whole of Scripture and the givens of Catholic faith. Many will discover in the volumes of this collection wellsprings of spiritual refreshment.”
—Romanus Cessario, OP, St John’s Seminary
Contents
Cover
Tilte Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
Illustrations
Editors’ Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Outline of the Letter to the Ephesians

Part 1 Proclamation of God’s Gracious Plan of Salvation in Christ
Blessing God for Every Spiritual Blessing (1:1–14)
A Prayer to Know God and to Understand His Gifts (1:15–23)
Saved by Grace through Faith for Good Works (2:1–10)
Gentiles and Jews Reconciled to God and United in the Messiah (2:11–22)
Commissioned to Proclaim God’s Secret Plan (3:1–13)
A Prayer for Divinization (3:14–21)

Part 2 Exhortation to Christian Conduct
Building Up the Church (4:1–16)
The New Self and a New Way of Living (4:17–5:2)
Children of Light (5:3–20)
Wives and Husbands, Christ and the Church (5:21–33)
Children and Parents, Slaves and Masters (6:1–9)
A Summons to Spiritual Battle (6:10–24)

Suggested Resources
Glossary
Index of Pastoral Topics
Index of Sidebars
Map
Notes
Back Cover
Illustrations
Figure 1. Beginning of Ephesians in P46
Figure 2. Papyrus document with seal
Figure 3. Statue of the goddess Artemis
Figure 4. Stone inscription denying Gentiles entry to temple
Figure 5. Roman arch with capstone
Figure 6. Apse mosaic from church of St. Pudentiana in Rome
Figure 7. Spacious room in terrace house of Ephesus
Figure 8. Early Christian baptismal font
Figure 9. Remains of commercial agora (marketplace) in Ephesus
Figure 10. Remains of theatre in Ephesus
Figure 11. Stone relief of armed gladiator
Editors’ Preface

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord. . . . All the preaching of the Church should be nourished and governed by Sacred Scripture. For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the power and goodness in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons and daughters, the food of the soul, a pure and perennial fountain of spiritual life.
Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum 21

Were not our hearts burning while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?
Luke 24:32
The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture aims to serve the ministry of the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. Since Vatican Council II, there has been an increasing hunger among Catholics to study Scripture in depth and in a way that reveals its relationship to liturgy, evangelization, catechesis, theology, and personal and communal life. This series responds to that desire by providing accessible yet substantive commentary on each book of the New Testament, drawn from the best of contemporary biblical scholarship as well as the rich treasury of the Church’s tradition. These volumes seek to offer scholarship illumined by faith, in the conviction that the ultimate aim of biblical interpretation is to discover what God has revealed and is still speaking through the sacred text. Central to our approach are the principles taught by Vatican II: first, the use of historical and literary methods to discern what the biblical authors intended to express; second, prayerful theological reflection to understand the sacred text “in accord with the same Spirit by whom it was written”—that is, in light of the content and unity of the whole Scripture, the living tradition of the Church, and the an