The Letter To The Ephesians

Historical and Literary Context When looking at the historical context of Ephesians the first questions that are raised is if Paul is the author of this

Ephesians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul during his imprisonment in Rome. This is the same Paul who had previously persecuted the church. He is not writing to a particular church body, rather his intended audience was various churches in the surrounding vicinity of Ephesus. To encourage

In chapter 1, Paul writes about his sufferings and how they are helping the progress of the gospel. Chapter 2 is about the benefits of Christian faith, “mind of Christ”, and how Jesus gave up his glory so he could rescue mankind, and save us of our sins. Chapter 3 Paul again explains the benefits of Christianity and prompts the church to keep up with the Gospel. In the last chapter Paul promotes Christians to rejoice in the lord by praying and giving thanks to God. “My God shall supply all your needs.”

The content of Paul’s letter in Ephesians 5:22-32, was for the husbands and wives to have a relationship that was centered on Christ’s relationship with the church. It’s obvious that Paul desire for the marriage couples in Ephesus was that of one that were based on biblical principles and concepts, however, in verse 32 Paul states, “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” Ralph Joseph Lawrence proclaims, “This great mystery refers to marriage, the union of a man with a woman, and which, by the will of our Savior, is a sacred sign or sacrament of that most holy union of Christ with his Church. The Apostle Paul likens the husband to Christ, the wife to the Church. The husband is head of the woman,

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is written while he is held in prison. He proposes a guideline based on the gospel to explain how to live a life filled with God’s grace. Paul writes that before the introduction of Jesus’ teachings, people were trapped in a life of sin, hopelessness, and greed. Now, Jesus has provided a way for people to manifest a new form of humanity. This humanity is meant to be celebrated through God’s grace.

In chapter five of 2nd Corinthians, verses one through ten, an important message of hope and confidence is disseminated into the emerging Christian communities by the apostle, Paul. Paul is an early figure in the spread of Christianity. His travels to all parts of the Diaspora greatly enabled the spread of his Christian message. Paul’s letters back and forth to various churches provide the reader with the necessary messages and teachings that the early Christian communities were most concerned about. In this particular case, Paul is writing this letter, epistle, to the church at Corinth.

Paul wrote the book of Ephesians, while he was imprisoned. The date that Ephesians was written is best dated between 60-90 AD, but closer to 90 since Ignatius is the earliest known person to quote it. Traditionally it is understood that this letter was written to believers in Ephesus of Asia Minor. Through this book Paul reveals who we are with and without Christ. Ephesians discusses the topic of blending the Jewish and non-Jewish Christians into one community. The reoccurring theme in Ephesians is God’s purpose and plan in offering redemption to His people and the manifestation of that purpose in the life of the believer. Ephesians seeks to shape believers by reminding them how wonderful God’s work in Christ is, how significant their unity with Christ is, and what living for Christ looks like.

Carson and Moo make the reader aware of the authorship dispute regarding Ephesians. They point to seven arguments that support the traditional view that Paul wrote it. Likewise, they then draw attention to five argument used by modern scholars to deny Pauline authorship. After the controversies surrounding authorship are covered Carson and Moo move on to another controversy. The section tiled “Destination” is where it is found. Modern scholars argue several theories as to where Paul or whoever they claim the author to be, may have written the letter for. Once claim that has gained traction over the years is that the letter was meant to be a circular letter—a letter circulated among churches. Another claim is that the letter was intended for the Laodiceans, as Marcion thought. Even still, another theory suggests the letter was written as an introduction to all the other letters Paul wrote. After the destination controversy is discussed Carson and Moo close the chapter with a brief discussion regarding Ephesians contribution to

Paul ends his letter to the Ephesians by give praise directly to God. He uses the word “immeasurably” about what God will do for us. This is translated to Greek as hyperekperissou which means “in the highest regard”. This correlates to the rest of the verse to express that God will always have more then we can possibly imagine. As long as we surrender ourselves to Him and allow His power to work through us, we will receive His power in the fullest.

Upon our arrival to Ephesians 4, we come to an epistle that many believe was penned by the Apostle Paul while being held in prison. In writing this letter, his primary audience is to a group of churches in 1st century Ephesus. It is important to note that in the historical context in which this letter is written, Christianity was not the popular religious belief of the nation. But rather, Ephesus was an extremely diverse culture in its religious practices throughout the city. As a result of this cultural norm, seemingly anything and everything was deemed acceptable, and any attempt of creating a moral compass was met with vast opposition by the majority culture. This cultural paradigm eventually began to infiltrate the church as well in several ways, both implicit and explicit. For due to the plethora of moral doctrines sweeping the culture, many who inhabited the city of Ephesus found themselves being exposed to beliefs, doctrines and practices that were plain heretical in nature simply because in OT language, “everyone (was doing) what was right in their own eyes.” (Judg. 21:25) Consequently, many of those who attended the church found themselves wavering in their theological foundations. In doing so, Paul writes this narrative in an attempt to challenge the church at Ephesus to redirect their lifestyle focus back to the Word and ways of the God who, by grace, saved them.

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 NIV.

The book of Ephesians written by Paul to Ephesus is perhaps one of most divinely inspired books of the New Testament. Paul writes this letter to the churches of Ephesians so they may have a better understanding of God’s purpose for people and the church. This theological message that Paul presents in this letter has served as a guideline for many generations on how the church and Christians should conduct themselves. When Paul begins his letter to Ephesus he starts out with a prayer regarding God’s blessing drawing attention to his wisdom, forethought and purpose in his opening remarks (Eph. 1:3-6 NIV).

From Chapter 17: Ephesians - The Unity of the Spirit: Briefly summarize the issues surrounding authorship of Ephesians. Highlight the purpose of Ephesians. Discuss the theme of Ephesians.

The book of Ephesians falls into the Bible, it talks about the redemptive arrangement of Christ, which is the solidarity, compromise, and recovery of all men. Ephesians was composed in two noteworthy segments: 1:3-3:21, which is viewed as philosophical, and 4:1-6:20, which advises how the devotee is to experience the Christian life. This brings together everything in Christ. The entry of Ephesians 2:14-22, falls into this first division.

In the ESV study bible, the authors wrote an excerpt on Ephesians prefacing the author, title, date, background information, and a description of the ancient city of Ephesus. Relating to the author of Ephesians all scholars believed that Paul wrote the letter, until recent times where many scholars propose that an imitator or a follower of Paul wrote the letter. The scholars give two reasons for this theory, the first is the letter’s style does not represent Pauline thought, and the second being the authors unfamiliarity with the recipients. In contrast, some scholars say there is ample proof of Pauline authorship; the first reason is the letter explicitly claims to be Paul’s in Ephesians 1:1 and 3:1, and the second reason subsists in more analysis of the text and that it is similar to other Pauline texts. The final argument for Pauline authorship is the forcefulness of the author’s speech mentioned in Ephesians 4:15, and verse 25. In these two verses, the argument that the author is unfamiliar with the audience stands debunked because the author commands of them and the author addresses the unity they all possess.