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Ephesians (Introduction)

Recipients of the letter

Ephesus, an ancient commercial city in Asia Minor near the coast of the Aegean Sea, was the capital of the Roman province of Asia at the time of the New Testament. The apostle Paul stayed there for a short time during his second journey (c. 51-54 A.D.; cf. Acts 18:19-21) and then for three years during his third journey (c. 54-58 A.D.; cf. Acts 19:1-20:1; Acts 20:31). During this relatively long period, many people in Ephesus and the surrounding area heard the Gospel, resulting in a church that was soon established in faith and doctrine. Paul again had personal contact with this church's elders (or overseers) when, on his return from Greece, he called them to Miletus and gave them moving words of farewell (Acts 20:17-38).

Paul then wrote his letter to the Ephesians from his imprisonment in Rome (Eph 3:1; 4:1; 6:20), probably in the years 61-62 A.D. Because the words "in Ephesus" are missing from the introduction to the letter in some important New Testament manuscripts (Papyrus P46; added later in Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus), most theologians have concluded that this epistle was a circular letter to various assemblies in Asia Minor. However, there is as little evidence for this as there is for the assumption that the letter was written during Paul's previous two years' imprisonment in Caesarea. The bearer of this letter (as well as the letter to the Colossians) was probably Tychicus (cf. Eph 6:21; Col 4:7).

The church of Ephesus is in some ways representative of the whole church of God on earth: 

1. As far as we know, Paul worked in Ephesus for three years longer than in any other place (Acts 20:31). 

2. His 'farewell address' to the elders of Ephesus is a unique description of Christian ministry in the assembly.

3. Ephesians contains the whole counsel of God concerning His Son, the salvation of sinners, and the church. It is one of the most sublime epistles in the New Testament.

4. At the time of writing the first letter to Timothy, Paul's young co-worker was in Ephesus, where he received the important practical instructions for conduct in the house of God contained in this epistle.

5. The first letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor (Rev 2 and 3) are addressed to the church in Ephesus. However, the first signs of spiritual decline are evident here; the believers have "left their first love" and are called to repentance.

The subject of the letter

When Paul wrote the letter to the believers in Ephesus, he was in prison in Rome, in deplorable circumstances. However, in this letter, similar to Colossians, he shared things we do not find in any other New Testament epistle. Here, we are given a glimpse into the heart of God. You might say: Well, we can do that in the whole of Scripture; we can see the love of God everywhere. That is true. But what I mean by looking into the heart of God is that we are not given the perspective of our needs as sinners. The man who cried out in the temple: "O God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13) came to God out of his need. The letter to the Romans, which contains the Gospel in an exceptionally detailed form, meets this human need. We can identify with the words: "There is no one who does good" (Romans 3:12) and say: Yes, that’s me! The letter to the Romans addresses this with the justification of the sinner.

But in Ephesians, the Holy Spirit did not start from what we needed but from what was in the heart of God the Father. This letter gives us a glimpse into His heart. It lets us look away from ourselves into spheres far from this earth, the "heavenly places." This core concept of the letter occurs five times: in chapter 1:3 and 20; 2:6; 3:10; and 6:12. Perhaps this is why it is such a difficult letter for us because we are so little able to detach ourselves from our earthly limitations, even though, as children of God, we can claim everything mentioned in this epistle as our own.

Summary of Contents

The first part of the epistle (chapters 1-3) begins and ends with praise and worship to God, to whom we owe all the blessings we have received in Christ. In chapter 1, we are told of the eternal counsel of God in Christ for each believer personally and for all together. Chapter 2 shows the fulfillment of this counsel - again, for each believer individually and all together. The third chapter contains the revelation of the mystery of God in Christ through the apostle Paul. The common blessing of believers refers to the assembly (Greek: ekklesia) of God, which is described in this letter in its highest character - as the body of Christ, as the holy temple of God, and as the wife of Christ.

The second part (chapters 4-6) contains practical exhortations closely linked to the previous part. First, there is a call to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the assembly, followed by an instruction on the various gifts for building up the one body (4:1-16).

Paul then considers the new man and his implications for life in the Christian community, as well as for relationships in marriage, family, and the world of work (4:17-6:9). Finally, the believer's battle against the satanic powers that seek to deprive him of the enjoyment of the spiritual blessings of the heavenly places requires the whole armor of God (6:10-20). The letter concludes with personal messages and greetings.

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