Introduction to Ephesians
Written in AD 60-62 by
Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome to the
members of the church in Ephesus, a Greek
colony-city on the main highway to Rome.
This city was the gateway of Asia. Ephesus was a melting pot
of humanity. It was a place of great wealth and luxury. It was the center of
worship of Diana (Roman name for Artemis), a satanic stronghold. Ephesus was full of
wizards, sorcerers, witches, astrologers, diviners of the entrails of animals
and people who could read one’s fortune by the palm of the hand. And yet, after
the preaching of Paul, the magicians publicly burned their books, “so the word of the Lord grew mightily and
prevailed” (Acts 19:19–20). Timothy and Erastus were with Paul, but he sent
them to Macedonia, while “he himself stayed in Asia
for a time” (Acts 19:22).
This church was Paul’s main work in Asia.
The Gospel message was spread throughout most of Asia as a result of the work
in Ephesus. On
his second journey, Paul came to Ephesus and
taught the twelve disciples who knew only the baptism of John (Acts
19:1–7) and “went into the
synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading
concerning the things of the kingdom
of God” (Acts
19:8). He later taught in the school
of Tryannus for two years, and as a
result, “all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and
Greeks” (Acts 19:9–10).
Paul sends this letter, along with the letter to the
Colossians and another to the Laodiceans and one to Philemon, through Tychicus
and Onesimus (Col
4:7-9, 16; Ephesians 6:21).
History of the church in Ephesus:
1- Paul
first went to Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila and reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue. (Acts
18:19)
2- On
his second trip he taught John’s disciples the correct Gospel. (Acts 19:1-7)
3- Apollos
also preached in Ephesus.
(Acts 18:24-26)
4- Paul
preached for three months in the synagogue (Acts 19:8)
5- Paul
taught in the School
of Tyrannus for two years
(Acts 19:9-10)
6- Alexander
the Silversmith opposed Paul in Ephesus
(Acts 19:33)
7- The
letters to Ephesus,
1 Timothy and Revelation makes at least three letters
written to this church.
Problems in the church:
1- Being
reconciled to God
2- Judaizers
and Gentiles were dividing the church
3- Anarchy
was fragmenting the church
THEME: The Glory
of the Church of Jesus Christ
Since this letter was written at the same time as the one
for the Colossians and for Philemon, they share many similar passages. However,
their themes are entirely different and should be duly noted.
They key thought throughout the letter is the “gathering
together all things in Christ”. Colossians was written to show the preeminence
of Jesus as Head of the Church, while Ephesians shows the universality of the
church as the Body of Christ.
The purpose of the letter is to show how God unites all
peoples in Christ through the One
Great Universal
Church, which is the Body
of Christ. God’s eternal purpose is carried out by Christ through His Body on
earth, the church, the Kingdom
of God.
While Paul taught the Gentile Christians to stand firm like
a rock for their Freedom in Christ, as he did the Romans and the Galatians, he
did not want them to be prejudiced against the Jewish Christians, but to regard
them as brothers in Christ.
Ephesus
was the center of the Gentile Christians, so they receive this Queen letter,
this supreme letter exalting the Oneness, Universality and unspeakable grandeur
of the Body of Jesus Christ.
References used:
1- Halley’s Bible Commentary
2- Richard Bagget, Sunset School
of Preaching
3- Nave’s Topical Dictionary
4- Strong’s Hebrew and Greek
Lexicon