The Epistle of Paul the
Apostle to the
Ephesians (에베소서)
In Rome,
Paul was in official custody. Although his movements were restricted, he
continued to guide the early church and preach the gospel. The Romans could
imprison Paul, but they could not imprison the spread of the Good News.
Numerous local assemblies had sprouted up along the routes of Paul's three
missionary journeys. The members of these churches were still proclaiming the
gospel, not only by what they said, but also with their lives. Paul wrote the
letter to the Ephesians to strengthen these congregations. He wanted them to
understand the spiritual identity behind the numerous groups that gathered in
houses all over the Mediterranean world, and he wanted them to encourage each
other in the faith. They were the body of Christ.
Author and Date
Paul identifies himself as the author of Ephesians at the
beginning and middle of the letter (1:1, 3:1). Internal evidence supports
Pauline authorship. The fact that the author describes himself as being imprisoned
points to Paul, for Luke describes Paul as being under house arrest in Rome in Acts 28. The letter is similar in content to
Colossians, suggesting that both letters were written during the same imprisonment
in Rome, around A.D. 60. The vocabulary and thought of the
letter are typical of Paul, with his characteristic emphasis on justification
by faith (2:8). New uses of old words are merely examples of the apostle's
genius and versatility. Finally, the early church fathers were unanimous in
ascribing the letter of Ephesians to Paul.
Modern scholars have recognized the clear Pauline themes
in the letter, but some have used this characteristic of the letter to prove an
alternative theory about the authorship of Ephesians. These scholars contend
that when the body of Pauline epistles was collected, someone else constructed
Ephesians as an introduction to Paul's writings. However, this elaborate theory
still has to surmount the convincing evidence for Paul's authorship of the
letter.
Setting
Ephesus
was the capital of the Roman province of Asia (today part of Turkey). Located at the intersection of several major trade
routes, Ephesus was a vital commercial center for the Roman Empire. It was the site of a famous temple for the fertility goddess Diana that was
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Most importantly, however, Ephesus figured prominently and dramatically in early church
history, for Paul used the city as a center for his missionary work in that
region.
Paul visited Ephesus briefly at the end of his second missionary journey.
When he departed, he left behind Priscilla and Aquila to continue the ministry in that city (see Acts 18:18-21). On Paul's third missionary journey, he spent
about three years in Ephesus. When the apostle's gospel message was rebuffed by
the Jews in the Ephesus synagogue, Paul taught scripture to both Jews and
Greeks in the school of Tyrannus. Paul's ministry at Ephesus
was marked by several spirit-empowered miracles. As a result, the city became a
center for evangelistic outreach to the rest of the province of Asia (see Acts 19:18-20). In fact, so many people in Ephesus turned to Christ and renounced their pagan ways that
some craftsman in the city started a riot because the gospel threatened their
trade of making and selling idols.
In Acts 20:17-38 Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church about "savage
wolves" who would not spare the congregation. About four decades later,
the Lord Jesus Himself dictated to the Apostle John a letter to the same
congregation (see Revelation 2:1-7). He commended the Ephesians for hearing
Paul and not tolerating false teachers, but He exhorted them to recapture their
first love for God.
Recipients
There is much evidence that the Epistle to the Ephesians
was originally a circular letter sent to several congregations in the province
of Asia, where Ephesus was the capital.
Some manuscripts lack "in Ephesus" in 1:1. Another clue that Ephesians is a
circular letter is its lack of personal reference. The phrases in 1:15 and 3:2 imply that Paul had only heard of the recipients
of the letter but had never met them. This is especially noteworthy since Paul
had spent three years ministering at Ephesus. It seems likely that the apostle would have
mentioned at least some of the Ephesians by name in his letter. In addition to
the lack of personal references, the content and teaching of the letter is
itself very general. Paul refers to the church as the body of Christ as a
whole, and not a specific local church. If the letters to the Corinthians
bristle with local congregational problems, Ephesians lacks such allusions
entirely.
The idea that Ephesians is a circular letter is not unparalleled.
In a way, all the New Testament epistles are circular in the sense that they
eventually were circulated among many churches. While the question of
destinations is interesting, it does not strongly affect the meaning of the relevance
of the letter. To a greater or lesser extent all the letters in the New
Testament are for general edification of the church.
Themes
Ephesians, like so much of Paul's writing, underscores
the truth that salvation is by faith alone and not through works of human
striving. The first half of the epistle (chs. 1-3) addresses the central
doctrines of the Christian faith, while the second half of the letter (chs.
4-6) describes how those spiritual truths should be reflected in a Christian's
behavior. Some would divide the second half of the letter into two sections -
first the Christian's conduct and then the spiritual conflict with the forces
of evil. Such a division highlights the familiar passage describing putting on
the spiritual armor of a Christian.
The whole letter emphasizes the truth that all believers are
united in Christ because the church is one body of Christ. In early chapters,
Paul describes how God formed this new body from Jews and Gentiles with His Son
at the Head. Through Jesus' death, God reconciled sinful people to Himself. The
reconciliation with God has its effects on earth. People who were normally
divided, like the Jews and the Gentiles in the first century, were reconciled
to each other through Christ. In Ephesians, Paul exhorted his readers to live
out the spiritual truth of being joined together with Christ. Whether Jew or
Gentile, they had to work together to make the unity of the church a reality.
In the rest of his letter, Paul gives a number of practical ways for church
members to unite against the forces of evil. Each individual has to do his or
her part in order for the whole body to function properly. Each person has to
display Christ's love, patience and gentleness as they use their gifts to build
up the church. From parent to child, employer to employee, each person has a
unique task in the body of Christ (5:22-33).
