Efesus 1:6-7

1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace ¹  that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. ²  1:7 In him ³  we have redemption through his blood, ⁴  the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Efesus 1:23

1:23 Now the church is ⁵  his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. ⁶ 

Efesus 2:20

2:20 because you have been built ⁷  on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, ⁸  with Christ Jesus himself as ⁹  the cornerstone. ¹⁰ 

Efesus 3:12

3:12 in whom we have boldness and confident access ¹¹  to God ¹²  because of ¹³  Christ’s ¹⁴  faithfulness. ¹⁵ 

Efesus 4:4

4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling,

Efesus 4:6-7

4:6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Efesus 4:19

4:19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. ¹⁶ 

Efesus 4:24-25

4:24 and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image ¹⁷  – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. ¹⁸ 

4:25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, ¹⁹  for we are members of one another.

Efesus 5:19

5:19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music ²⁰  in ²¹  your hearts to the Lord,

Efesus 6:14

6:14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening ²²  the belt of truth around your waist, ²³  by putting on the breastplate of righteousness,

Efesus 6:16

6:16 and in all of this, ²⁴  by taking up the shield ²⁵  of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Or “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Many translations translate δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (doxh" th" carito" autou, literally “of the glory of his grace”) with τῆς χάριτος as an attributed genitive (cf., e.g., NIV, NRSV, ESV). The translation above has retained a literal rendering in order to make clear the relationship of this phrase to the other two similar phrases in v. 12 and 14, which affect the way one divides the material in the passage.

[1:6]  ² tn Grk “the beloved.” The term ἠγαπημένῳ (hgaphmenw) means “beloved,” but often bears connotations of “only beloved” in an exclusive sense. “His dearly loved Son” picks up this connotation.

[1:6]  sn God’s grace can be poured out on believers only because of what Christ has done for them. Hence, he bestows his grace on us because we are in his dearly loved Son.

[1:7]  ³ tn Grk “in whom” (the relative clause of v. 7 is subordinate to v. 6). The “him” refers to Christ.

[1:7]  ⁴ sn In this context his blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, refers to the price paid for believers’ redemption, which is the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross.

[1:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “which is.” The antecedent of “which” is easily lost in English, though in Greek it is quite clear. In the translation “church” is repeated to clarify the referent.

[1:23]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps, “who is filled entirely.”

[1:23]  sn The idea of all in all is either related to the universe (hence, he fills the whole universe entirely) or the church universal (hence, Christ fills the church entirely with his presence and power).

[2:20]  ⁷ tn Grk “having been built.”

[2:20]  ⁸ sn Apostles and prophets. Because the prophets appear after the mention of the apostles and because they are linked together in 3:5 as recipients of revelation about the church, they are to be regarded not as Old Testament prophets, but as New Testament prophets.

[2:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “while Christ Jesus himself is” or “Christ Jesus himself being.”

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps “capstone” (NAB). The meaning of ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogwniaio") is greatly debated. The meaning “capstone” is proposed by J. Jeremias (TDNT 1:792), but the most important text for this meaning (T. Sol. 22:7-23:4) is late and possibly not even an appropriate parallel. The only place ἀκρογωνιαῖος is used in the LXX is Isa 28:16, and there it clearly refers to a cornerstone that is part of a foundation. Furthermore, the imagery in this context has the building growing off the cornerstone upward, whereas if Christ were the capstone, he would not assume his position until the building was finished, which vv. 21-22 argue against.

[3:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “access in confidence.”

[3:12]  ¹² tn The phrase “to God” is not in the text, but is clearly implied by the preceding, “access.”

[3:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “through,” “by way of.”

[3:12]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “his.”

[3:12]  ¹⁵ tn Or “faith in him.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.

[3:12]  sn Because of Christ’s faithfulness. Though Paul elsewhere teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith is reliable and worthy of such faith.

[4:19]  ¹⁶ sn Greediness refers to an increasing desire for more and more. The point is that sinful passions and desires are never satisfied.

[4:24]  ¹⁷ tn Or “in God’s likeness.” Grk “according to God.” The preposition κατά used here denotes a measure of similarity or equality (BDAG 513 s.v. B.5.b.α).

[4:24]  ¹⁸ tn Or “in righteousness and holiness which is based on truth” or “originated from truth.”

[4:25]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Zech 8:16.

[5:19]  ²⁰ tn See BDAG 1096 s.v. ψάλλω.

[5:19]  ²¹ tn Or “with.”

[6:14]  ²² sn The four participles fastening… putting on…fitting…taking up… indicate the means by which believers can take their stand against the devil and his schemes. The imperative take in v. 17 communicates another means by which to accomplish the standing, i.e., by the word of God.

[6:14]  ²³ tn Grk “girding your waist with truth.” In this entire section the author is painting a metaphor for his readers based on the attire of a Roman soldier prepared for battle and its similarity to the Christian prepared to do battle against spiritually evil forces. Behind the expression “with truth” is probably the genitive idea “belt of truth.” Since this is an appositional genitive (i.e., belt which is truth), the author simply left unsaid the idea of the belt and mentioned only his real focus, namely, the truth. (The analogy would have been completely understandable to his 1st century readers.) The idea of the belt is supplied in the translation to clarify the sense in English.

[6:16]  ²⁴ tn Grk “in everything.”

[6:16]  ²⁵ sn The Greek word translated shield (θυρεός, qureos) refers to the Roman soldier’s large rectangular wooden shield, called in Latin scutum, about 4 ft (1.2 m) high, covered with leather on the outside. Before a battle in which flaming arrows might be shot at them, the soldiers wet the leather covering with water to extinguish the arrows. The Roman legionaries could close ranks with these shields, the first row holding theirs edge to edge in front, and the rows behind holding the shields above their heads. In this formation they were practically invulnerable to arrows, rocks, and even spears.