Ephesians

Overview

Who

Written by "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God" (1:1), who calls himself "the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles" (3:1) and "an ambassador in bonds" (6:20). He sends the letter by "Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord" (6:21).

Written to "The saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus" (1:1). Many were Gentiles who "in time past" were "without Christ" (2:11-12).

When

Traditional view: About AD 60-62, during Paul's imprisonment, near the time of Colossians and Philemon.

Scholarly view: Many scholars think it was written in Paul's name by a follower, about AD 80-90; others hold that Paul wrote it from prison.

Where

Written to "The saints which are at Ephesus" (1:1), a leading city of the Roman province of Asia. Some early manuscripts lack "at Ephesus", and many think it was meant to be read in several churches.

Written from Paul writes as a prisoner (3:1, 4:1, 6:20). Traditionally Rome.

Why

To praise God, who "hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (1:3); to pray that the readers may know "the hope of his calling" (1:18); to show that Jew and Gentile are made "one new man" in Christ (2:15); and to urge them to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called" (4:1) and to "Put on the whole armour of God" (6:11).

Paul is "in bonds" (6:20) and asks the readers "that ye faint not at my tribulations for you" (3:13). The Gentile believers had once walked "according to the course of this world" (2:2) but were now "fellowcitizens with the saints" (2:19).

Outline

1. 1:1-14 Every spiritual blessing in Christ
2. 1:15-23 Prayer for wisdom and knowledge
3. 2:1-10 Saved by grace through faith
4. 2:11-22 Jew and Gentile made one
5. 3:1-21 The mystery revealed; Paul's prayer
6. 4:1-16 One body, gifts to the church
7. 4:17-5:20 Walk in love and light
8. 5:21-6:9 Wives, husbands, children, servants, masters
9. 6:10-24 The whole armour of God

Key themes

• "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (2:8).
• Christ "hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition" (2:14).
• "There is one body, and one Spirit" (4:4).
• "Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us" (5:2).
• "Put on the whole armour of God" (6:11).

From the letter's own text, compared with Acts 19-20 and Colossians; authorship and dating views summarized from standard introductions.