The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (347 page)

* 
2 Cor 3:18
: Cleansed in baptism through the power of the Holy Spirit, our soul shines with the reflected glory of God.

* 
2 Cor 4:7
,
this treasure
: i.e., the apostolate.

* 
2 Cor 4:12
: i.e., we suffer, if necessary, even unto death, that you may have (spiritual) life.

* 
2 Cor 5:19
: Or, "God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ."

* 
2 Cor 5:21
,
made him to be sin
: i.e., "sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh" (
Rom 8:3
).

* 
2 Cor 9:1
,
superfluous
: Yet Paul goes on to do so at some length, exhorting them to be generous.

* 
2 Cor 10:1
: Paul is referring ironically to what some people are saying about him; see
verse 10
.

* 
2 Cor 12:7
,
a thorn
: Perhaps some form of sickness or disability, or the opposition of Israel to his teaching.

* 
2 Cor 12:13
: Paul ironically asks forgiveness for not being a charge on them as the other apostles were.

THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE GALATIANS

* 
Gal 1:6
: After the greeting there is no commendation, as was usual, but rather strong rebuke.

* 
Gal 1:10
: No doubt Paul was accused of exempting Gentile converts from the law of Moses in order to curry favor.

* 
Gal 1:19
: 
Lord's brother
: See the note on
brethren
at
Mt 12:46
above.

* 
Gal 2:16
,
works of the law
: Paul is contrasting not faith with good works but faith in Jesus Christ with observance of the law of Moses.

* 
Gal 3:2
,
Spirit
: He probably refers to the outward manifestations of the Spirit, such as the gift of tongues.

* 
Gal 5:11
,
stumbling block of the cross
: So far as the Jews were concerned, this would consist largely in the exemption of converts from the obligations of the law of Moses.

THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS

* 
Eph 1:1
,
To the saints who are
: The addition "at Ephesus" is doubtful. The letter may have been a form of encyclical.

* 
Eph 1:10
,
to unite
: Or, "to sum up." This is one of the chief themes of the letter. Men are to be under Christ as head of the Mystical Body, and even irrational creatures must be in some way under him as the cornerstone of creation.

* 
Eph 2:14
,
dividing wall
: A metaphor taken from the wall that divided the court of the Gentiles from the court of the Israelites in the temple.

* 
Eph 3:3
,
the mystery
: i.e., that the Gentiles were to be admitted to the Church on the basis of equality.

* 
Eph 5:14
: Apparently a fragment of an early Christian hymn; cf.
1 Tim 3:16
.

THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS

* 
Phil 1:14
,
because of my imprisonment
: i.e., because I continue to preach in their midst, though in prison.

* 
Phil 1:20
,
honored in my body
: i.e., through my sufferings.

* 
Phil 2:6
,
in the form of God
: The Greek shows that divine attributes, and therefore nature, are implied here. It is not the divine nature he set no store by, but equality of treatment and recognition of his divinity.

* 
Phil 2:7
,
emptied himself
of this external recognition, which was his right.

* 
Phil 3:12
,
made me his own
: On the road to Damascus.

* 
Phil 3:19
: These Judaizers made holiness a question of distinction of foods and set great store by circumcision.

THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS

* 
Col 1:15
,
first-born
: Born of the Father before all ages. The reference here is to the divine person of the Word; see
verse 16
.

* 
Col 1:18
: His human nature.

* 
Col 1:24
,
what is lacking
: Christ's sufferings were, of course, sufficient for our redemption, but all of us may add ours to his, in order that the fruits of his redemption be applied to the souls of men.

* 
Col 3:18—4:5
: The whole passage corresponds closely to
Eph 5:22—6:9
.

* 
Col 4:10
: Mark, the evangelist, and, probably, the John Mark of
Acts 12:12
,
25
.

* 
Col 4:14
: Luke, the evangelist.

THE FIRST LETTER OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS

* 
1 Thess 1:1
: Paul joins with himself two who had evangelized Thessalonica with him.

* 
1 Thess 2:18
,
I, Paul
: He distinguishes himself from Silvanus and Timothy.

* 
1 Thess 4:3
,
sanctification
: With special reference to the practice of purity, specially difficult to those newly converted from paganism.

* 
1 Thess 4:3
,
immorality
: i.e., sexual immorality.

* 
1 Thess 4:11
: The Thessalonians thought that the second Coming of Christ was at hand and tended to neglect their daily duties. He corrects this misconception.

* 
1 Thess 4:13
: Paul tells them that those who died before Christ's second Coming are no worse off than those who will still be alive at his coming.

* 
1 Thess 4:17
: i.e., we who are alive shall go out to meet him and accompany him back on his return to this earth.

THE SECOND LETTER OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS

* 
2 Thess 2:2
: Paul warns against over-eagerness to expect the second Coming, and specifies various signs to be looked for first.

* 
2 Thess 2:3
,
the man of lawlessness
: i.e., Antichrist.

* 
2 Thess 2:7
: Evil will operate secretly till the final unmasking.

THE FIRST LETTER OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY

* 
1 Tim 1:2
: Timothy, son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, was already a Christian when Paul met him (
Acts 16:1
). A close association ensued.

* 
1 Tim 1:4
,
myths and endless genealogies
: A reference to the Jewish legends and spurious pedigrees added by false Judaizers to the Biblical narratives; cf. the Book of Jubilees.

* 
1 Tim 1:20
,
delivered to Satan
: A form of excommunication; see note on
1 Cor 5:5
.

* 
1 Tim 2:6
,
ransom for all
: This is why Paul wants prayers for all (
verse 1
).

* 
1 Tim 3:1
,
bishop
: At this time an office probably not distinct from that of priest.

* 
1 Tim 3:11
,
women
: i.e., deaconesses.

* 
1 Tim 4:3
,
forbid marriage
: As some Gnostics did.

* 
1 Tim 4:3
,
abstinence from foods
: As practiced by Judaizers.

* 
1 Tim 5:3
,
real widows
: i.e., with no one to help and support them.

* 
1 Tim 5:12
: Paul had no objection to widows marrying again; cf.
1 Cor 7:8-9
. But the widows here had clearly made some sort of vow or promise to serve the Church in singleness. Paul recommended that younger widows should marry again (
verse 14
).

THE SECOND LETTER OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY

* 
2 Tim 1:15
,
Asia
: The Roman province of that name, now in western Turkey.

* 
2 Tim 2:18
: They explained the resurrection by saying it was the rising to newness of life in baptism, thus ignoring a bodily resurrection, a doctrine the Greeks found very hard to accept; cf.
Acts 17:32
.

* 
2 Tim 3:16
: Paul refers to the Old Testament Scriptures.

* 
2 Tim 4:6
,
on the point of being sacrificed
: Literally, "poured out in sacrifice" as a drink-offering or libation.

* 
2 Tim 4:21
,
Linus
: According to tradition, the successor of Peter in the see of Rome.

THE LETTER OF PAUL TO TITUS

* 
Tit 1:5
,
elders
: Each Christian community was ruled by a body of elders.

* 
Tit 2:13
,
God and Savior
: Both terms appear to refer to Jesus Christ.

* 
Tit 3:5-7
: A brief and clear statement of the doctrine of justification.

THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS

* 
Heb 1:1-4
: A contrast between the progressive and piecemeal revelation of the old dispensation and the complete revelation of the new given by a single representative—no mere prophet but the Son of God himself.

* 
Heb 2:2
,
angels
: The covenant of Sinai was thought to have been given through the angels.

* 
Heb 2:10
,
suffering
: The divinely appointed means of progress toward God; cf. verse
18
.

* 
Heb 3:11
: Those who murmured against God in the desert were excluded from the promised land (the "rest"). Christians should beware lest, by offending God, they be excluded from heaven, the true rest, of which the promised land was a type.

* 
Heb 5:1-5
: If Jesus was to be mediator, he had to have a human nature like ours, and, moreover, he could not appoint himself, but had to be appointed by God.

* 
Heb 6:4
,
impossible
: The apostasy referred to in
verse 6
is clearly thought of as so deliberate as to preclude any real possibility of repentance; or there may be a reference here to the impossibility of being baptized a second time.

* 
Heb 7:3
,
without father
: i.e., the father is not mentioned in Scripture.

* 
Heb 7:3
,
neither beginning of days nor end of life
: So too here, they are not mentioned in Scripture either. Thus his priesthood can be taken to foreshadow or symbolize the Christian priesthood. "You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Ps 110:4; cf.
Heb 7:17
).

* 
Heb 8:11
: This verse means merely that knowledge of God will be commonly shared. It does not exclude the existence of a ministry of teaching in the Messianic times.

* 
Heb 10:1
ff.: The sacrifices of the old law, being imperfect, were repeated and did at least keep alive a sense of sin. Contrast with Christ's sacrifice (verse
14
).

* 
Heb 11:6
: Here is stated the minimum necessary for salvation.

* 
Heb 12:1
ff.: After explaining in the preceding chapters how we are redeemed through faith in Jesus Christ, the author now exhorts his readers to run the race with perseverance.

* 
Heb 13:1
ff.: Moral exhortation.

* 
Heb 13:9
: Again the warning against false doctrine, especially the Judaizers' teachings; cf.
Phil 3:19
;
1 Tim 1:4
;
4:3
.

* 
Heb 13:13
: i.e., "Let us leave the observance of Judaism behind us."

THE LETTER OF JAMES

* 
Jas 1:1
,
twelve tribes
: i.e., Jewish Christians outside Palestine.

* 
Jas 1:22
: This is the main theme of the letter.

* 
Jas 2:1-7
: These are hard words, but no harder than those of Jesus.

* 
Jas 2:10
: In keeping the law, we must keep
the whole law
. We cannot pick and choose.

* 
Jas 2:14
: Good works are necessary besides faith.

* 
Jas 5:3
: The "treasure" they have laid up is described in the following verses.

* 
Jas 5:13-15
: This passage is the scriptural basis for the sacrament of anointing the sick.

THE FIRST LETTER OF PETER

* 
1 Pet 1:1
: See note on
Jas 1:1
. Baptism is the main theme of this letter which, in fact, may have been a baptismal address.

* 
1 Pet 1:11
,
Spirit of Christ
: Christ, as the eternally existing Word, is envisaged as inspiring the prophets of old.

* 
1 Pet 3:1-6
: Peter's teaching on the behavior and status of women corresponds to that of Paul, though without Paul's forthrightness.

* 
1 Pet 4:1
,
ceased from sin
: Peter means that a continual acceptance of suffering is incompatible with a proneness to sin.

* 
1 Pet 5:13
,
Babylon
: Rome was as full of iniquity as ancient Babylon; cf.
Rev 17:9
.

THE SECOND LETTER OF PETER

* 
2 Pet 1:4
,
partakers of the divine nature
: A strong expression to describe the transformation of human nature by divine grace.

* 
2 Pet 1:16-18
: A reference to the transfiguration.

* 
2 Pet 2:3
: Much of the material of this chapter appears to be from the Letter of Jude.

* 
2 Pet 3:16
,
this
seems to refer to the theme of the end of the world and the second Coming of Christ, about which Paul had written in his letters to the Thessalonians.

THE FIRST LETTER OF JOHN

* 
1 Jn 1:1-7
: Note the likeness with John's Gospel
1:1-18
.

* 
1 Jn 1:3
,
fellowship
: A Johannine theme.

* 
1 Jn 1:5
,
light . . . darkness
: Another familiar theme in John's Gospel.