Ephesians

Author: the apostle Paul
Place of writing: probably Rome
Time of writing: 60 or 61 A.D.

Although Paul’s time in Ephesus, on his third missionary journey, presented him with some of the fiercest opposition that he encountered anywhere (see Acts 19:2-40), the church that he planted there soon began to thrive. In fact, when he writes this letter to the Ephesian believers, while under confinement in Rome, he does not address any problems within the church, as he does in so many of his other letters. Instead, he seeks to give the Ephesians a better understanding of the eternal wisdom of God, which he displayed in the gospel, so that they might continue to grow in their knowledge of the Savior.

The basic theme of this letter is that believers only advance in their lives as Christians when they grow in their knowledge of Jesus and what he has done for them. This is exactly what Paul prays for the Ephesian believers, first in 1:16-22, and then again in 3:14-21. The letter may clearly be divided into two major sections: the first three chapters are doctrinal, and give a foundational understanding of the nature of salvation; and the next three chapters are practical, and show how that doctrinal understanding manifests itself in the everyday life of the believer.

Paul begins with a hymn of praise for the great work of redemption that the three Persons of the Godhead have accomplished: the Father has chosen a specific people to be redeemed from their sin; the Son has redeemed that people through his blood; and the Spirit is now applying that redemption to God’s chosen people, giving them faith in the gospel and guaranteeing their final salvation by dwelling within them. Paul prays that the Spirit would continue to give the believers a greater knowledge of the glory of Jesus, and then begins to explain the amazing plan of salvation: when we were dead in sins and under God’s wrath, he raised us up, giving us the eternal life of Jesus, as a free gift. In Jesus, he has broken down all the barriers that divided us from God and from one another, so that we might be united as one man, and the dwelling place of God himself. Paul explains how this gift has come to Jew and Gentile alike, and prays once again that the believers would grow in their knowledge of Jesus’ love. Then, on the basis of that teaching, Paul exhorts the believers to live in unity, since they are united as the body of Christ; to walk in newness of life, since they have been given the life of Christ; to walk in the light, since they are children of God’s light; and to let their calling affect all of their relationships in the world. Finally, he concludes with an exhortation to be aware of the fierce spiritual struggle which believers have with unseen powers of darkness, and to be strong in grace and in the spiritual weapons which God has given them.

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