Ephesians
Authorship and Place of Writing
There can be no question about who the writer of this letter was. In the opening verse of the letter we read, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” Later in chapter 3:1 we read again, “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles.” In the letter Paul makes it known that he is in prison (cf. 3:1,13; 4:1; 6:20) as we have also seen with his letter to the Colossians.
It is apparent that Ephesians and Colossians were written at the same time, and even carried by the same individual, Tychicus, who is spoken of in similar words in both letters (cf. Ephesians 6:21-22 with Colossians 4:7-8). Looking at a map of the world at that time we realize that Tychicus would pass right through Ephesus on his way to Colossae.
As we have studied previously, Paul wrote these letters during his imprisonment in Rome while waiting for his appeal to be heard by Caesar (cf. Ephesians 6:19-20 with Acts 28:30-31 - the boldness Paul refers to is more fitting with the more relaxed circumstances of his imprisonment in Rome).
Recipients
There have been some questions raised about whom this letter was originally written to. There are two reasons for this. One is that there are several Greek manuscripts which omit the words “in Ephesus” in the opening verse of the letter. The other reason is the absence of any personal greetings and, particularly, of specific matters of faith and conduct. Some find this particularly strange in a letter to a congregation where Paul spent so much time.
How do we answer these concerns? First of all we need to realize that there are only five single manuscripts which omit the two words “in Ephesus.” All the rest of the hundreds of Greek manuscripts containing this verse include those words. Second, Paul was not consistent throughout all his letters in the way that he greeted the recipients of his letters. In four of his letters there are no greetings at all (Galatians, Ephesians, 2 Thessalonians, and 1 Timothy); in four letters Paul greets the believers in a very generic way (2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Titus); and in five of his letters he greets specific believers within the congregation (Romans, 1 Corinthians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, and Philemon).
Finally we have to realize that whether it was sent originally to the congregation at Ephesus or not, it does not change the fact that this letter was inspired and preserved by the Holy Spirit having a message for us still today.
History of the Ephesian Congregation
• Paul stopped at Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey on his way from Corinth to Jerusalem. After reasoning with the Jews in the synogogue, they asked him to stay, but said “I will return again to you, God willing” (Acts 18:1-22)
• When Paul left Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla had stayed there, and during this time Apollos also came to Ephesus and preached there (Acts 18:24-28).
• Paul returned to Ephesus on his third missionary journey and stayed there for over two years. During this time Luke tells us, “the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” After the riot broke out in Ephesus, Paul left the city going through Macedonia to Corinth (Acts 19:1-20:1).
• At the end of his third missionary journey Paul, instead of going into Ephesus, called the elders of the church to come to him at Miletus, where he encouraged them and bid them farewell (Acts 20:17-38).
• At the end of Paul’s imprisonment in Rome Paul visited the Ephesian congregation again, leaving Timothy in charge of the work there (cf. 1 Tim. 1:3; 3:14; 4:13; 2 Tim. 1:18).
• After Paul’s death tradition holds that John lived and worked in Ephesus. During his exile on Patmos John recorded the words of Christ to the congregation of Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7).
Purpose
Paul wrote this letter to make the Christians in Ephesus more aware of the riches they had in Christ and also to motivate them to draw upon these spiritual resources in their daily life and conduct. The first half of the letter describes the believer’s heavenly possessions in Christ Jesus: adoption through election, redemption, eternal inheritance, spiritual power and life, grace, heavenly citizenship, and the love of Christ. There are no imperatives in the first three chapters, focusing instead on the gifts offered to the believer from God. But the last three chapters include thirty-five directives which speak of the believer’s responsibility to conduct themselves according to their calling. These chapters point to the effects of God’s saving grace in the sanctified life of the believer, dealing with our relationship to God and our relationship with each other.
Emphasis in Ephesians
• Christ - Picking a theme for Paul’s letter to the Ephesians would have to include the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus is specifically referred to more than 68 times in the six chapters of this letter. He is called “Christ,” “Jesus,” “Lord,” “Christ Jesus,” Jesus Christ,” “the Lord Jesus,” “the Lord Jesus Christ,” “Christ Jesus our Lord,” “Savior,” “the Son of God,” “the Beloved One,” and “Christ and God.” It is also notable how often the preposition “in” is used with names, titles, and pronouns referring to Christ (over thirty four times), emphasizing how our entire salvation is intimately connected with the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. It has been said that Paul’s theology could be summed up in these two words, “In Christ.”
• Holy Spirit - There are twelve references to the Holy Spirit, which should not be surprising when we remember that when Paul first came into contact with believers in Ephesus, Paul found out that they had “not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2).
• Grace - The word “grace,” referring to the undeserved love which God has shown to us in and through His Son, Jesus Christ, is another major theme throughout this letter. The word “grace” is found twelve times in this letter, more often than most of Paul’s other letters (only in the longer letters of Romans and 2 Corinthians does Paul use the word “grace” more often).
• The Church - In Ephesians we find some detailed teaching pertaining to the Holy Christian Church. The word “church” occurs nine times in this letter, referring to the building up of the Church upon Christ, the unity of the Church in Christ, and the warfare of the Church. Paul also uses the picture of “the body of Christ” to describe the church (cf. Ephesians 1:22-23).
• God’s Almighty Power - We find the power of God as another focus in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In 1:19 we read, “that you may know ... what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.” Four different words are used to express God’s almighty power in that verse, and those four words continue to be used throughout the rest of the letter emphasizing God’s power to create and preserve His Church here on earth.
• The Christian’s Walk - Paul urges the Ephesians to “walk” or conduct themselves as lights in this dark world (5:8).
• Mystery - The term “mystery” generally refers to something that people cannot know unless God reveals it to them, “having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself” (1:19).
Outline
I. Salutation (1:1-2)
II. God’s Plan of Salvation (1:3-3:21)
A. Devised from Eternity (1:3-23)
B. Carried out in Time (2:1-22)
C. Preached to the Gentiles (3:1-21)
III. The effects of God’s Saving Grace (4:1-6:20)
A. A Life of Holiness (4:1-6:9)
B. A Life of Courage wearing God’s Armor (6:10-20)
IV. Final Greetings and Benediction (6:21-24)
Note: This study was prepared for the Bible Class at Zion Lutheran Church, Lawrenceville, GA by Pastor Nathanael Mayhew.
If you would like more information about this study,
please contact Pastor Mayhew