The Book Of Ephesians

By Jon Vandermark

This is an in depth look at Paul's Epistle to the Ephesian Church. Take a look at the background, and the reasons for his writing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jon Vandermark
• Release date: Oct 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370289080

Jon Vandermark

I attend Two Rivers Church in Binghamton, NY and am very proud to be part of an amazing, spirit filled church! I am donating a lot of the proceeds from these books to our ONE campaign, in which we are trying to raise money for a new building!

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Introduction

The letter to the Ephesians ranks very highly in the literature of the christian church. It has been called the Queen of the Epistles. There is no reason to question Paul's authorship. He is indicated as the author in the opening verse. The letter was written while Paul was in a Roman prison (Acts 28:16-31) sometime between 60-62 AD. It is often referred to as a prison epistle (along with Phillipians, Colossians and Philemon). It may have been composed at the same time as Colossians and initially sent with that epistle and Philemon by Tychicus (Eph 6:21-22; Col 4:7-8). In Colossians, Paul says that Tychicus will tell them about his affairs, and in this book, he says that Tychicus will give them all information. The letters parallel so closely that some have said that Colossians is the overflow of Ephesians, or vice-versa.

The letter is addressed to the church in Ephesus, the capitol city of the Roman province in Asia. Because the name Ephesus is not mentioned in every manuscript, some scholars believe this letter was encyclical, intended to be circulated and read among all the churches in Asia minor and was simply sent first to the believers in Ephesus.

It is likely that the gospel was first brought to Ephesus by Priscilla and Aquila, a very gifted couple (Acts 18:26), who were left there by Paul on his second missionary journey (Acts 18:18-19). Located at the mouth of the Cayster river on the east side of the Aegean sea, the city of Ephesus was perhaps best known for its magnificent temple of Artemis, or Diana, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was also an important political, educational, and commercial center, ranking with Alexandria in Egypt, and Antioch of Pisidia.

The young church begun by Priscilla and Aquila was firmly established later by Paul on his third missionary journey (Acts 19) and was pastored by him for about three years. After Paul left, Timothy pastored the congregation for about a year and a half, primarily to oppose the false teachings of a few influential men (Hymenaeus and Alexander), who were probably elders in the congregation there (1 Tim 1:3-20). Because of those men, the church in Ephesus was plagued by fables and endless genealogies (1 Tim 1:4) and by unscriptural ideas as the forbidding of marriage and abstaining from certain foods. Although those false teachers did not rightly understand scripture, they expressed their ungodly interpretations with confidence (1 Tim 4:7), which produced harmful disputes in the church rather than godly edification which is in faith. Thirty or so years later, Christ gave the apostle John a letter for this church indicating thats its people had left their first love for Him (Rev 2:1-7).

The style of the book that Paul wrote is different than his other books. While he wrote most of his books as part of his busy ministry, meeting some demanding problems in the church that had to be dealt with at that moment, in Ephesians Paul is in prison and is under no time restrictions. The style of the book is more of a long meditative prayer which ends with a great doxology. It is in the language of a lyrical prayer, not the language of argument, controversy, or rebuke.

The theme of Ephesians is the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. The key thought of the book is the gathering together of all things in Christ. In nature, as it is without Christ, there is nothing but disunity and disharmony. Man's dominion has broken the union that should exist between man and beast – man is divided from man, class from class, nation from nation, etc. Paul says this broken union is internal also with everyone having a war inside of them – torn between the desire for good and the desire for evil. We hate sin, yet love it at the same time. The problem extended into the heavenlies where there is a battle between the forces of good and evil. And finally, worst of all, there is disharmony between God and man.

It is in the first three chapters of this letter that Paul deals with the conception of unity in Christ. These chapters are theological, emphasizing new testament doctrine. In the last three chapters he has much to say of the church's place in God's plan to bring about that unity. These chapters are practical and focus on christian behavior. It is here that Paul comes out with one of the greatest phrases of the body of Christ. Perhaps, above all, this is a letter of encouragement and admonition, written to remind believers of their immeasurable blessing in Christ Jesus – and to not only be thankful for these blessings, but also to live in a manner worthy of them. Despite a christian's great blessings in Christ, he is sure to be tempted by Satan. It was for this reason that Paul reminds believers of the full and all sufficient spiritual armor supplied to them through God's Word and His Spirit. Also, of their need (our need) for vigilant and constant prayer.

Another key theme of this letter is the mystery of the church, which is that Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel (3:6). This is a truth that is completely hidden from the old