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III 331 EPHESIANS 2:3

I. THE MYSTER Y OF SALVATION AN D OF THE CHURCH

EPHESIANS

Address and Greetings1From Paul, appointed by God to be an apo st le of Christ Jesus, to the sain ts'who a re fa ithful to Christ Jesus: .Grace and peace to you from God ou r 2Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

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2 C o 1:22 +Rm 3:24+Ps 66:2

IICol 1:3-4.9Phm4-5Ac 9:13+I C o 1 3:13 +3:14,16 :I:Ex 24:16+ U.w1 In 5:20Hcb3 :1Ac9:13+ -':20I P 1:5 :;:"-Is52:13Col 2:12Ac 2:33 -1 1 P 3:22Col 1:16;2:15 -'Ph 2:9 0Ps8:6 UI Co 15:24-25Col1 :18 'c.19+ Ul

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p , Lit. ' the setting f re e of that (enslaved people)wh ic h ha s bee n acq uired' i.e. by God. and at the costof the life of his Son . T his is on e o f the occasions whenPa ul w iden s an a.T. con cept (lik e 'bl essing ', 'sa int ','cho ice'. 'adoption', 'recemeuon'. 's hare ' , ' p romise')by applyi ng it to the Church as the new Is rae l and thebody of the sav ed .

q , Om . 'a nd the love that you show '.r . This gift is wh at technically wo uld be ca lled(ac tual) grace .s. 1 it. ' hear t' : used in the Bible for t he s ea t ofknowledge as wel l a s o f l ov e.t. Names t raditional in Jew ish literature for angelichierarchies.u. Lit. ' f il l s all in all' . The Church , a s the body ofChrist 1 Co 12:12f, can be called the Iulnes s (n teroma ;cf. intra 3: 19 ; 4:13) in so far as it includes the wholenew creation tha t shares (s ince it for ms the set ting ofthe human ra ce) in t he cosm ic rebirth under Chr is t itsruler and head , cf. Col l :15-20f. The adverbia l phras e'all in a ll' is us ed to SURRe'it something of limitlesssize, cf. 1 Co 12;6; 15:28; CoI3:1!.2 a. Air is the hab i ta t o f demons a nd of thei r rulerSat an .b. Paul writes as a J ew.

h imself as the head , so as to reattach it to God . Thehuman (Jew and pa gan ) a nd th e ange lic wor lds ar ebr ought toge the r a gain through th e fact th at they weresa ve d by a s ingle act , cf. 4: lOr.l. C hrist.m. F if t h b lessing: the Jew s are ch ose n to be thehuma n s ha re a llotted to God, a nd a re to be hiswitness unti l t he coming of the Messiah. Paul, being aJe w, here uses we'.n. Si xt h b lessing: the pagans are called to sha rethe s al va t ion t hat had, till then, been re s erved for theJews ; th at th ey will be sav ed is proved by the fac t th atth ey receive the Sp irit a s was promised.o. Pa ul completes his t ri ni tarian account of God'splan with t he Spirit, sin ce the giving of th e Spirit showsthe p l anhas r eached its final stage. Neverthe less, thoughth is gif t has already beg un , it is on ly given in a h iddenway whit e t he unsp iritual world la s ts , and will onl ybe given fully when the k ingdom of God is completea nd Christ comes in glo ry.

1 a . Ad d. 'who are at Ephesus' . The wo rds ' atEphesus' wer e probabl y not pa rt o f the o rigina l te xt.Th e wo rd s 'who a re' could be part of a very earlyaddit ion . So me cr itics th ink they a r e a ut hentic. thatthey were fo l lowed by a blank to be ti lled in with t henam e of whichever church was being sen t the letter,b . All the way through the let ter, 1:20; 2:6; 3:10:6:12, Paul reverts to this ope nin g referen ce to he ave n.The sp iritual blessings listed in th e fol lowing versesmust wa it till the end of the wo rld before they can befully rea lised in heaven where they have been formulatedst ncc a ll ete rn ity.c. First blessing: th rou gh their uni on with th eglorified Chr ist the fa ithful a lready eniov. in a hiddensort of way, the eternal hap piness to which th e chosenare ca l le d. ' l ove' he r e is primarily the love God ha sfor us, an d th at leads him to 'cho ose' us an d to cal l usrobe -notv' i cr. Col 3:12; 1T h 1:4; J Th2 :13: Rm 11;28.bu t does not excl ude ou r love f or G od th at resultsfrom and is a response to hi s ow n lo ve fo r us,cf. Rm 5:5.

d . Second blessi ng: Jesus C hri s t, the on l ySo n, isbo th th e so u rce and th e model of the way God ha schosen fo r us to become ho ly, i.e. by adorning us ashi s heirs . cf. Rm 8:29.e . The wo rd ' urace' (charts t as it is used he reemp hasises not so much th e in t er io r gift that make sa h uman be ing holy , as th e grat uitousness of G od'sfavour and the way he manifests his glory. c f. Ex 24:16f .T hese are the two themes thai ru n through this accountof G od 's blessi ngs: their source is God 's liberality,and their purpose is to make hi s glory app reciated bycre atures. Everyth ing come s f rom him , and eve ry thingshould l ea d to him.f . Var. (Vulg) 'hi s beloved Son'.g . Th ir d b lessing: our re demp tion by an event intime. i.e. the death of Jesus.h. God the Father.I. Fo u r th b lessing: the revelation of the 'mystery' ,Rm 16:25f.I. Lit. ' f or a dispensation of the times' full ness ',er, Ga 4:4f.k . The ma in theme of this letter is how t he wholebody of crea tion, having been cut off from the C reatorby s in , is decom pos ing , a nd how its reb irth is effec tedby Christ re uniting a ll its parts into an organism with

Salvation in Christ a free gift2And you weredead, through the crimes and the sins -in which you used to l ivewhen you were following the way of this world, obeying the ruler who governsthe air," the spiri t who is at work in the rebel lious. Web all were among them

14 the pledge of our inheritancewhich brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own,>to make his glory praised.The triumph and the supremacy of Christ

15 That will explain why I, having once heard about yourfai th in the Lord Jesus,16 and the lovethat you show" towardsall the sa ints, have never failed to remember17 you in my prayers and to thank God for you . May the God of ourLord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit r of wisdom and perception18 of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten

the eyes ofyour mind- so that you can see what hopehis call holds for you, what19 rich glories he has p romised the sain ts will inher it -a nd how infinitely great isthe power that he hasexercised for usbelievers.T his you can tell fr om the strength20 of his power -at work in Christ , when he used it to raise h im from the dead and21 to make him sit at his right hand , in heaven, far above every Sovereignty,Authority, Power, or Domination,' or any other name that can be named , not22 only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet,23 and made him, as the ruler of every th ing, the head of the Church; 'which is hisbody, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation,

PAULEPHESUSOFATLETTERCHU RCHTHETO THE

God 's plan of salvationBlessed be God the Father of ou r Lord Jesus Christ,who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ."Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, 4to be holy and spotless, and to live through love ' in his presence,determini ng that we should become his adopted sons," throughJesus Christfor his own kind purposes,to make us praise the glory of his grace ,'his free gift to us in the Beloved,"in whom, through his blood , we gain our freedom, the forgivenessof our sins.oSuch is the richness of the grac ewhich he" has showered on usin all wisdom and insight.He has let us know the mystery of his purpose, 'the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginningto act up on when the times had run their course to the end; ' 10that he would bring everything toget her under Christ, as head,everyt hing in the heavens and everything on earth.kAnd it is in him' that we were claimed as God's own, '" I Ichosen from the beginning,under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all thingsas he decides by his own will;chosen to be, 12for his greater glory,the people who would put their hopes in Chr ist before he came.Now you too," in him, 13have heard the message of the t ru th and the good news of yoursalvation ,and have believed it;and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spiritof the Promise, 0

Rm 1:1 +Ac 9:13+

Tb 1 3:1Ga 3:14Ex 15:16In 17:241 P 1:205:27rl I' Co 1:8 +I In 3:1J. I:12Rm 8:29

rtf! Rm 3:24+I!Co l l :13-14Heb 1:32:7

Rm 16:25+

Mk 1:15Ga 4:4 +Col 1:16.20

DI7 :6+Col 1:12I s46:10RV4:11

Ps66:2

Ac 1:4IICo l l:5;2:9Hcb 6:124:302 Co 1:22Ac 2:33+Rm5:5 +

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Paul, a servant of the mystery3 So I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you pagans. . . Yo u havepro bably heard how I have been ent rusted by God wi th the grace" he mean tfor yo u, -a nd that it was by a revelation" that I was given the knowledge of themys tery, as I have just desc ribed it very shortly. If you read my words, you willhave some idea of the dept hs that I see in the mystery of Christ. -Th is mysterythat has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apos tles and prophetswas unknown to any men in pas t generations; -it means that paga ns now sharethe same inheritance," that they are par ts of the same body, and that the samepromise has been made to them, in Chris t Jesus, through the gospel. I havebeen made the servan t of that gospel by

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4:I EPHES IANS 334 335 EPHES IANS 5:2 0

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of a ll who are reborn 2:15 + . or else (an d thi s senseis to be p referred) as refe rring to the to tal Chr ist.I.e. the who le body. l Co 12:12+. mad e of head v. 15;1:22 : Co l 1:18, a nd the rest of tne body v. 16 : 5:30.k. Var. (Yul g) 'each member'.I. Var. ( V u lg) 'Being devoid of hop e ' .m. Or 's exuali ty an d every kind of indecency andgreed'.n. Eac h hum an bei ng should ' put on the New Ma n'.Ep 2:15 + (here . as in v. 22, tra nsla ted 'self' ). so as tobe re-created in him. cf. Ga 3:27; Rm 13:14. In someplaces Paul ta lks in the same way abo u t the ' newcreature', 2 Co 5:17+.o. Lit. 'wo rki ng the good thin g wlth his own h and '.'Good' and ' (own) hand ' are omitte d o r in terchangedin var ious readings: the ori ginal text may have beenambiguous .P. Var. (Vulg) 'fo r building up the fa ith ' .

Q. The one Holy Spirit t hat keeps t he one bo dy ofChrist unit ed , 4:4 : I Co 12: 13. is 'g rieved' . cr. 4:30 ;Is 63:10. by a nything th at har ms the unity of the bo dy.r. ' yOU ; var . 'u... The same i n 5:2.5 a , 'pr omiscuity' : li t. 'greed' , app are n tly sexualgreed in this co ntext. Uncont ro lled greed treats allcrea tures wi th the wor ship due to Go d and so turnsthem into ido ls.b. Th e wrong sort o f way to talk abo ut se xua limmorality is the way th at leaves the sub jec t in adangerous obscu rit y. v, 3. To talk abo ut it in suc h a way,however. that it is recognised f or wha t it is wi ll lead toits be ing co rrec ted; this sort of light is the ligh t ofChrist tha t puts an end to darkness .c, Th is (like I Tm 3:16) seems to be an extractfrom an ea rly Christ ian hymn . On bapt ism as anen lighten ing, er, Heb 6:4; 10:32 (ef. Rm 6:4 + ).d. Var , 'a nd you will touch Chri st' ,

4 a . Paul lists thr ee different threats to the Church'suni ty : a r gumen ts be tween C hr ist ians vv. 1-3, divers ityof se rvice in the Church vv. 7- 11. uno r thodox teachi ngvv , 14-15. These threa ts ar e all ave rt ed by a pp lyin gthe pri nciple of unity in Christ. vv. 4-6, 12- 13.18.b . Var. (VUIR) 'within a ll of us'.c. Charisma o r special graces given to individua lsfor the benefit of the whole co mmunity . cf. 1 Co 12:1- ,d. Foll owi ng rabbinic pr act i ce Pau l qu ot es thistext for the sake of t wo phrase s: ' he asce nded ' vv , 9- 10.and ' he nave Rfts' v. I I . wh ich he in terp rets as theasce nsi on of Jesus a nd th e descent of the Spi rit .e, Add . (VuIR) ' firs t of all ' .I. Lit. ' int o the lower pa n s o f the eart h' . The mos tap propr iate inter pre tation is that ' the ear th' is itselfthe ' lowe r reg ion' to whic h Chr is t descended to Rive't he gifts' to mank ind an d Pa ul' s a r gumen t i s tha t' these f t ca n only be fro m the one who asce nded '.But t he phr ase ca n b e ta ken to mean the subte rraneankingdom of the dead , N b 16:33(, to which Chr istdesce nde d bef or e t he res urrect ion, 1 P 3:19f.1:. By ascending th ro ugh all the cosm ic sphe resa nd taking possess ion of them all one af ter another.Chr ist becomes the head of the who le ptero ma orto ta l co smos 1:10 + . and make s the entire universeack nowledge him as 'Lo rd' . cr 1:20-23 ; Col 1:19;Ph 2:R-11.h. Paul limit s his list to char isms that re late toteachi ng and wh ich are t he o nly ones that apply inthis conte xt. vv. 13- 15.I. The particular ' sa ints' Paul mentions here seem

to be miss ionaries and o t he r teacher s , c f. 3:5. but mayinclude all the faith ful in so far as t hey a ll help tobuil d UP the Church. cf. Ac 9:13 + .I. T his doe s not refer prim ari ly to t he ind ividua lC hris tian. T he se nse is collect ive. It can be ta ke n as

referring to Christ himself.th e New Man . t he archetype

5Try, t e n to imitate God, a ~ ~ h i l d : e n of his .that he loves , -and follow C h ~ i s t ~ + N ~ +by loving as he loved you, giving himself up In our place asa fragrant offering : / f 6and a sacrifice to God. -Among you the re must be not even a mention of ~ 1 & l 8fornica tion or impurity in any of its for ms, or promiscuity: this would GaS : I9+4 hardly become the saint s! -There must be no coarseness, or salacious talk and Ac9 :13 +5 jokes-a ll th is is wrong for you ; raise your voices in thanksgiving instead. -Foryou can be qui te cer ta in that nobody who actually indulges in fornica tionor impu rity or promiscuity-wh ich is wors h ip pi ng a false god a-c an inheritanything of the kingdom of God. 0 Do not let anyone deceive you with emptyarguments: it is fo r this loose l iving that God's anger comes down on those whorebel against him. 0 Make sure that you are not included with them. 0 You were

9 darkness once, but now you are light in th e Lord ; be l ike chi ld ren of light, -forthe effects of the l ight are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth .I? Try to discoverwhat the Lord wants of you, 0 having noth ing to do with the fut ile12 works of darkness but exposing them by contras t. -The things which a re done13 i n secret are things that people are ashamed eve n to speak of; 0 but anything14 expos ed by the light wi ll be i ll uminated -a nd anything illuminated turns into In 3:20-21light. b That is why it is said;v

Wake up from your sleep,r ise from the dead,and Christ wil l shine on you ,"

15 So be very careful about the sort of lives you l ead, like intelligent a nd not like16 senseless peo ple. -This may be a wicked age, but your lives should redeem it. Co14:51 And do no t be thoughtless but recognise what is the will of the Lord . -Do not Coll :9drug yourselves with wine, th is is s imply d is sipa tion ; be f illed with the Spirit. P?l?119 Sing the words and tunes of t he psalms and hymns when you are together , IICoI3:16-1720 and go on singing and chanting to the Lord in your hearts, oSO that always andeverywhere you ar e givin g thanks to God who is our Father in the name of ou r 1 Th 5:18Lord Jes us Christ.

II. EXHORTATION

When he ascended to the height , he captured prisoners,he gave gi fts to men,"When it says, 'he ascended', what can it me an if not th at he descended' right

down t o the lower regions of the earth?" -The one who ro se higher than all the 10heavens to fill a ll th ings" is none other than the one who descended. -A nd to IIs ome, his gift was that t hey should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some ,evangel ists; to some, pastors and teachers ; oSO th at the saints together' make 12a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. -In th is way we 13are a ll to come to uni ty in our fai th and in ou r knowled ge of the Son of God, unt ilwe become the perfect Man; ' fully mature wit h the fu llness of Christ himself.Then we shall not be children any longer, or tossed one way and another and 14carried alo ng by every wind of doctr ine, a t the mercy of all the tricks men playand the ir cleverness in practising deceit. 0 If we live by the truth and i n love, we ISsh all g row in all ways into Chris t, who is the head -by whom the wh ole body 16is fitted and jo ined together, every j oint- adding its own strength, for eac hseparate part to work according t o i ts funct ion. So the body grows until it hasbuilt itself up, in love .

The new life in Chr is tIn particular, I want to urge you in the name of the Lo rd, not to go on living 17the aimless kind of life that pag an s live. 0 Int ellec tua lly they a re in the dark, 18and they are est ranged from the life of God, without knowledge because they

have shut t he ir hea rts to it. -Their sense of right and wrong once dulled ,' they 19have abandoned themselves to sexuality and eagerly pursue a career of indecencyof every kind . '" 0 Now that i s hardly the way y ou have learnt fro m Christ, -un less ~ yo u fa iled to hear him properly when you were tau ght what the truth is in Jesus .Yo u must give up your o ld way of life; you must pu t aside your old self, which 22get s co rrupted by following illusory desires . 0Your mind must be renewed by a 23spir itual revolution SO that you can put on the new self that has been created in 24God 's way, in the goo dness and holiness of the truth."

So from now on, there mu st be no more lies: You must speak the truth to one 25another, since we a re all par ts of one another. -Even I f you are angry, you mus t not 26sin,' never let the sun set on yo ur anger -or else you will give the devil a footh old. 27Anyone who was a th ief must stop stealing; he sho uld try to find some useful 28manual work instead, and be ab le to do some goo d 0 by helping others'! that arein need . 0 Guard against foul talk; let you r words be for the improvement of 29ot he rs , as occasion offers, and do good to your listeners, -otherwise you will 30on ly be gr ieving the Holy Spirit o f God who has marked you with his sea l foryou to be set free when the day c omes. q 0 Never ha ve grudges against others, or 31lose your temper, or raise your vo ice to anybody, or ca ll eac h ot her names,or allow any sort of spitefulness . 0 Be friends with one another, and kind, 32forgiving each ot her as r eadi ly as G od forgave your in Christ.

Rm 12:6

[ i ' t ~ ~ 2Col 3:13

A call to unityOIICOI3:12-14 4 I, the .pr isoner in the.Lord, implore you t h r ~ r to .lead a lifeworthy of yourI cl;VN7 vocatron. 0 Bear With one ano ther chan tably, In complet e selflessness,Co I3:14-IS gent leness and patience. -Do all you can to preserve the un ity of the Sp ir it by theI c ~ ' r o : r ; ~ peace tha t binds you together. -There is one Body, one Spirit, jus t a s you were all 4

r g 2 t I J called in to one and the same ho pe when you we re called. -There is one Lord, onen ~ ? j 1 i fa ith, one bap tism, -and one God who is Fa ther of all, over all, th ro ugh all and

wit hin a ll."Eac h one of us, however, ha s been given hi s own share of grace," given asCh rist a llotted it. 0 It was sa id tha t he wou ld:

I to 12:28 fTt 1:5 +

2:21: 4:16Co l l :23-t-:3:111.21 +I Co 14:20

I P 3:19 +

Rm 1:18-32IICo l l : 21I P 1:18: 4:3

Co l 2:4.8Tb 4 :6irCol }:19

2:15+Co l 3:10+

Ps 68:18Ac 2:33

Is 63:101:13+Rm 1:29+Col 3:8

IICo I3 :9-1OCo l 3:5

Zc 8:16Co l 3:91 Co 12:12+Ps4:4 LXXM rS:222 Co 2:11Ac 18:3+ :20:34-35I 'fb 4 :11M t15:11Jm 3:10-12

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5:2 1 EP H E S I A N S 336 337 EPHESIANS 6:24

Personal news and f inal salutationI should like you to know, as well, what is ha ppe ning to me and what I am 21IICo14:7 doing; my dea r b ro ther Tychicus, my loyal. he lpe r in the Lord, will te ll you

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cr. Is 11:4-5 : 59: 16-18; Ws 5: 17-23 . The se are the a rmsof Yahweh with which , Pa ul say s, the Chr istia n is toa rm h im self.d . Va r. ' you have '.e . These ar e t h e spirits who we re th ou gh t to movethe sta rs an d , con seq uently, th e universe. They livedin ' th e heave ns' , 1:20f : 3:10 : Ph 2:10. or in 'th e a ir',2:2, t.e. the space between the surface of th e ea rt h andthe he aven where God l ives . Some of the m a re amongthe 'elem en ta l principles of the wor ld ' , Ga 4:3. Th eydisobeyed Go d and want to en slave the human raceto themselves in sin 2:2. We used to be their slaves butChrist cam e to f re e us, 1:21; Co l 1:13 : 2:15.20, a nd ifCbrisua ns are arm ed with the power of Christ. they wiIJbe ab le to fight them .f . Li t. ' that I may be given speech in opening ofmy mou th' , He b raism, cf. Ezk 3:27: 29:21: Ps 51:15;cf . Co l 4:3.R. O m. 'of the aoscet'.

h . O r 'May grace be with all who love ou r Lor dJesu s C h r is t in eterna l life '. Add . (VuIS .) 'Am en"cf . Ph 4:23. .

c. By draw ing a parallel be twee n a human marriageand th e mar r ia g e of Christ to his C hurch , vv, 2332.Pa ul mak es the se two conce p ts illu min e ea ch oth er .Chr is t is th e hu sba nd of th e C hur ch because he is herhead and bec a us e he loves the Churc h as much as aman loves his own body when he lov es his wife . Hav inges tablishe d th is, th e compar is on naturally suggests anidea l fo r hum an ma rriage. T he sy m bo l o f Israe l as th ewife of Ya hweh i s co m mo n in th e O.T., Ho 1:2 + .f. It was customary in the Midd le East ,a t the timethis lett er was wr itten, for the 'so ns of th e wedding '

to escort the bride to her hus band after she had ba thedand d ress ed. As app l ie d my st ica lly to the Chu rc h,Christ washes his bride himself in the bath of bap tism,and mak es her immaculate (note t he m en tion of abaptisma l fo rmula) and int roduces her to h imself.

g . Add . (Y u lg) 'ma de fro m his flesh and blood' .h. Pa ul makes thi s G n text a pr oph e cy of themarr i ag e of Christ and the Church: a mystery. liket hat of the salvation of th e pa gan s . that has bee nhidden but is no w revealed, c f. I :!:"f ; 3:3f.6 a, Om. 'in the Lord' .b. L it . ' fear and trembling', cf . 1 Co 2:3+ .c. G od i n the O.T . arm s himsel f agai ns t h ts enemies,

22 everything. I am sending him to you precisely for this purpose, to give younews about us and reassure you.23 May God the Fa ther and the Lord Jesus Christ gran t peace, love and fa ith to24 all th e brothers. May grace and eternal life be with all who l ov e ou r LordJesus Christ.'

The morals of the homeGive way to one another in obed ience to Christ. W ives sho uld rega rd their g

husbands as they rega rd the Lord, -si nce / as Ch rist i s hea d of the Church a nd 23sav es the whole body, so is a husband the hea d of his wife; - a nd as the Church 24submit s to Christ, so sho uld wives to their husbands, in everything. Hu sbands 25sho uld love their wives jus t as Ch rist loved the Church a nd sacr ificed himselffor her -to make her holy. He made her clean by wash ing her in water wit h a form 26of words, -so that when he took her to him self she would be glo rious, with no 27speck or w ri nk le or a nything like tha t, bu t holy and fault less'! I n t he same way , 2Mhusbands must love their wives as they love the ir own bodies ; for a man to lovehis wife is for him to lo ve himself. . A ma n never hates his own body, bu t he feeds 29it and looks after it; and that is the way Ch rist t reats the Church, because it is 30his body-a nd we arc its living parts.' -For this reason,a man must leave his father 3 1and mother and be joined to his wife , and the two will become one body. -This 32mystery has many impl icat ions ; but I am saying it a pplies to Christ and theChurch.' -To sum up ; you too, each one of you , must love his wi fe as he loves 33himself; and let every wife respect he r husband .6Children, be obed ient to your parents in th e Lo rd v-i-that is you r duty . -Thcfirst commandme nt that has a promise attached to it is: Honour your fat herand mother, -and the prom ise is: and you willprosper and have a long life in the land.And pa rents, neve r d rive you r children to resentment bu t in br ing ing them up 4co rrect them and guide them as the Lo rd does .Slaves, be obedient to the men who a re ca lled your masters in th is world,with deep respect > and sincere loyalt y , as you are obedient to Christ: ' no t only 6whe n you are under their eye, as if you had only to p lease men , but because youa re sla ves of Christ and wholehear t edl y do the will of God. Wo rk hard and 7willingly, but do it for th e sak e of the Lo rd and not for the sake of men . You 8can be sure that everyone, whether a s la ve or a free man, will be properly rewardedby the Lo rd for whatever wo rk he ha s done well. -A nd those of you who are 9employers, treat yo ur slaves in the sam e spirit; do without th reats , rememberingthat they and you have the same Master in heaven and he is not impressed by onepe rson more th an by another.

IICo I3 :224: 1T. 2:9-1ORm 6: 15 +I P 2:18

Pr 13:24+

Jb 31:15D II 0 :17 +

t Cu 11:3

Ps 87:5lIe " 13:18I P 3:1-7

1:12 ';!)5:211(113:19I P 3:7Rm6:41T I3:5 -72('011 :2Col 1:22Rv 19:7-8 :21:2.9-1I

R m 13:122 C o 6:7:10:4Jm 4:7M I1 6:17+1 P 5:8-9

The spiritual warFinally, grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of his power. -P ut God's :7a rmour on ' so as to be able to res ist the devil's tactics. -For it is not against hum a n 12

enemies tha t we hav e" to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powerswho orig inate the darkness in thi s world, th e spiritual army ofevi l in the heavens .'Tha t is why you must re ly on God 's a rmour, or yo u will not be ab le to put up any 13res istance when the worst happens, or have enough res ou rce s to hold yo urground .

~ W 5 SO stand your ground, with tru th buck led round your waist, and integrity 14n ~ ~ fo r a breastp late, -wearing for shoes on your feet the eagerness to spread the 15

S 4 : ~ 9 ; gospel of peace -and a lways carrying the shield of fa ith so that you ca n use it to 16J J n l j ~ : ' p ut o ut t he burning arrows of th e e vil one. -And then you must accept salvation 17Hcb 4:12 f rom God to be your helmet a nd receive the word of God f rom the Spirit to use

as a sword .. ; Pray a ll the time, as kin g for what you need , praying in the Spirit on every 18possible occasion . Never get tir ed of staying awake to pray for all the saints ;

Rm 15:30 + and pr ay fo r me to be given an opp ortunity to ope n my mouth! and speak 19Rm 16:25+ without fear and give out the mystery of the gospel. -of'wh ich I am an amba ssador 20

in chains; pray that in proc la iming i t I may speak as bold ly as I oug ht to .

Pr 6:20Si 3:16IICoI3 : 2{}-21Ex 20:12

I Co 12:12 1Gn 2:14M119 :5pRm 16:25 +-