Chapters
Introduction
Paul is filled with wonder at the great goodness God has given believers through Christ. He also praises God’s wonderful plan to join Gentiles and Jews together in one new community: the church, which is the body of Christ.
In this letter, Paul gives one of the clearest descriptions of the Christian life in the New Testament. Even though he wrote from prison, the letter is full of joy, praise, and thanks. It is a fitting response to God’s amazing grace in Christ. God has given this grace in great measure to all those he chose to know his love, both Gentiles and Jews.
Setting
Paul’s third missionary journey took place from AD 53 to 57. During this journey, he spent much of his time in Ephesus. Ephesus was the capital and port city of the Roman province of Asia. It was on the western coast of the land now called Turkey. In Paul’s time, Ephesus may have been the fourth-largest city in the Roman Empire. It may have had about 500,000 people. Many people came to the city to visit the famous temple of Artemis.
After a short first visit to Ephesus, Paul returned and stayed there for about two to three years (see Acts 18:19–21; 19:1–20:1). Ephesus was a large and successful city, but Paul’s time there was difficult. Many people opposed him, and he suffered greatly (see Acts 19:21–41; 1 Corinthians 15:32; 2 Corinthians 1:8–9; 11:23–27).
Even so, people across the province heard the good news about Jesus (the gospel) for the first time. Many small groups of believers began to meet in homes, villages, and towns. The seven churches named in Revelation probably began during this time. Some of these churches, such as the church in Colossae, were started by people Paul had led to faith in Jesus. These believers had not met Paul in person.
We do not know how well these churches understood the gospel. But Paul’s letter to the Colossians shows that some believers had met false teachers and had wrong ideas about the faith. In Ephesians, Paul is concerned about one wrong idea in particular. Some people may have thought that Gentile Christians were less important than Jewish Christians. They may also have thought Gentile Christians were separate from Jewish Christians and not fully part of God’s renewed people.
We do not know what caused this misunderstanding. Perhaps some Jewish Christians treated Gentile Christians unfairly. Or perhaps some Gentile Christians did not want close fellowship with Jewish Christians. The problem likely came from the long conflict between Jews and gentiles in the Roman world. Paul was also concerned that some believers did not understand how God’s people should live. They were called to live in a way that was clearly different from the world around them.
Paul writes a letter from prison that seems to be intended for several of these churches full of new believers. Paul cared deeply for them as their spiritual father. God had also sent him to bring the good news to the Gentiles. So Paul wanted these new believers to understand two things clearly: what God had given them in Jesus Christ, and how God wanted them to live in response.
Summary
Paul praises God for all God has done. Paul gives a beautiful summary of the good news of God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ. He makes clear that this grace is for Gentiles as well as Jews (chapters 1–3). Paul also gives practical teaching about how believers should live in response. They must turn away from their former way of life and become truly good, growing to be like Christ (chapters 4–6).
After a short introduction, Paul praises God for the amazing grace believers have received in Christ (1:1–2; 1:3–14). Because of his sovereign love, God has:
chosen them,
forgiven them,
brought them into his family,
made them his children, and
promised them eternal blessings.
Because of his ruling love, God has chosen them, forgiven them, brought them into his family, made them his children, and promised them eternal blessings (1:15–23). They deserved God’s judgment. But God saved them by his grace, not because of anything they had done. He saved them because they are joined to Christ (2:1–10).
As Gentiles, they had been far from God and his blessings. But God showed them mercy. Through Christ’s work of making peace, they have now become members of God’s family. They are fully equal to Jewish Christians. They are no longer outsiders (2:11–22).
God chose Paul to share the gospel with them (3:1–13). Paul then prays for them a second time (3:14–21). He asks God to:
give them spiritual strength,
make their faith and love stronger,
help them understand Christ’s saving love, and
fill them with God’s own life and power
In response, they should live with humility, grace, and love. Their lives should honor the calling God has given them. God has given each believer gifts. They should use these gifts to strengthen the body of Christ, which is the church (4:1–16). They should turn away from their old sinful ways, which Paul calls darkness. Instead, they should live as children of light. The Holy Spirit should fill them with kindness and love. As they follow Christ’s example, they should seek to please God in everything (4:17–5:20).
All their relationships at home should show respect and love as they live for Christ. This includes relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and slaves (5:21–6:9). At the end of the letter, Paul warns them to put on God’s armor. This means they must trust God’s strength to protect them from the devil (6:10–20). Paul closes the letter with personal words and a blessing (6:21–24).
Author
Many Christians have traditionally believed that Paul wrote Ephesians. The same is true of the other Prison Letters: Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.
However, some scholars think a later follower of Paul may have written Ephesians. They base this view on its words, style, structure, setting, purpose, and main theological ideas. Other scholars think Paul wrote the original letter, but a later editor revised it.
However, Ephesians fits well with Paul’s teaching and style. Some people say it is different from Paul’s other accepted letters. But these differences can be explained in several ways:
Paul did not always use the same words or style.
This letter also has different content. For example, Ephesians 1–3 includes long sections of blessing, praise, and prayer.
Paul’s own thinking may also have developed over time.
Paul also used secretaries to write down his words (see Romans 16:22). These secretaries may have had some freedom to express Paul’s thoughts in their own words.
Ephesians seems to be a general letter sent to several churches, not only to one church.
For these reasons, there is no strong reason to deny that Paul wrote Ephesians.
Recipients
Many Christians have traditionally believed that Ephesians was written to the church in Ephesus. But it may have been a general letter meant for several churches in the Roman province of Asia. There are two main reasons for this view:
Many early manuscripts do not include the words in Ephesus (Ephesians 1:1).
Ephesians does not include personal greetings or personal details. This is surprising if Paul wrote only to the church in Ephesus. Paul had spent a long time in that city and knew the believers there well (see Acts 19:10; 20:31).
Date and Place of Writing
Ephesians is one of the Prison Letters, along with Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Many Christians have traditionally believed that Paul wrote these letters from Rome in AD 60–62. Others think he wrote them shortly before he was put to death around AD 64 or 65. This would make the Prison Letters some of Paul’s last writings.
However, Paul may have written these letters earlier, while he was in prison in Ephesus. In 2 Corinthians, written soon after Paul left Ephesus, Paul speaks about the strong opposition he faced in that area. He also says he had been in prison many times (see 2 Corinthians 11:23–27). If Paul wrote the Prison Letters from Ephesus, then he wrote them earlier in his life, around AD 53–56.
Meaning and Message
Praise for God’s Grace
Ephesians gives more praise for God’s saving grace than almost any other book in the New Testament. God shows this grace to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Only by God’s grace, believers have been:
chosen,
forgiven,
brought into God's family,
made God's children,
promised eternal blessings, and
given the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit marks them as belonging to God forever (Ephesians 1:3–14). Salvation is not something people can earn. It is a free gift from God (Ephesians 2:1–10). Because of this, believers know they are called to praise God forever for his amazing grace (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). They can give no smaller response, because they owe everything to him.
The Condemned State of Human Beings
The first three chapters of Ephesians are full of praise for God’s grace. This grace stands out even more because Paul also speaks about sin and God’s judgment against it. What is true of Paul’s readers is true of all people. All people will experience God’s judgment (see Ephesians 2:1–3, 12). Every person is guilty before God and faces his final judgment, because God is completely holy and cannot accept sin.
This idea may sound harsh to many people today. But it comes from a serious view of human sin and of God’s complete holiness. Apart from Christ, human beings are ruled by sin and are under the power of the devil. For this reason, sharing the good news is urgent (see Mark 16:15–16; compare Romans 9:1–3; 10:1).
The Unity of the Church
God’s wonderful plan is to include Gentiles in his family (see Ephesians 2:11–3:6). Ethnic differences do not make one group more important than another before God. They should not divide God’s people (compare Galatians 3:28). God has united people from every ethnic background in his church (see Ephesians 2:14–17; 3:6). Because of this, believers should welcome one another with humility, grace, and love. They should not treat people differently because of their ethnic background (see Ephesians 4:1–6; Romans 15:5–7). In the church, a person’s deepest identity comes from faith in Christ.
Living Like Christ
In Ephesians 4–6, Paul describes how Christians should live. Believers should turn away from their old sinful ways, which Paul calls darkness. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they should live as new people who belong to the light. They should seek only what is good, right, and true (Ephesians 5:9). Believers should show gentleness, honesty, respect, kindness, and love to others. Their lives before God should be full of purity, praise, and thanks (see Ephesians 4:17–5:20). Believers should become like Christ and show his character in all they do and say (see Ephesians 4:13, 15; Romans 8:29). In Christ, God has made them new so they can become like him (see Ephesians 4:24; 5:1–2).
Respect and Love at Home
In Ephesians 5:21–6:9, Paul teaches believers to show respect and love to the people in their homes. This includes husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and slaves. Paul refers to the family and household relationships that were common in his time. But he also teaches that believers should act like Christ in every relationship.
Spiritual War
Ephesians 6:10–20 gives the clearest New Testament teaching about how believers should protect themselves against the devil. Paul uses figurative language when he speaks about armor, weapons, and battle. He is not talking about a physical war. He is using the idea of a soldier’s armor to describe how believers depend on God’s strength, truth, faith, salvation, and word. In this spiritual battle, believers cannot depend on their own strength. They must use what God gives them.
Most of the armor Paul describes is for defense. Only the short sword is a weapon for attack. Paul is not describing Christians as people who go out to attack the devil. Believers should take the devil’s opposition seriously. But Paul does not make spiritual war the main focus of the Christian life. He does not teach believers to think of it mainly as an aggressive or offensive battle.