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Introduction
The reading time for this book is approximately twenty minutes and it
contains 155 verses.
It is always interesting to consider the contrast between how a book
begins and ends. For instance, Romans begins with a statement
concerning the gospel as “promised afore by His prophets in the holy
scriptures” (Rom. 1:1-2). It ends with a statement about the mystery,
“mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made
manifest” (Rom. 16:25-26). The beginning statement was about that which
had been revealed aforetime (Rom. 1:2), and the closing was about that
which had been hidden since the world began, but now is made manifest
(Rom. 16:25-26). In Romans Paul develops the truth of the first
statement, the gospel; but it is not until Ephesians that he develops
the truth of the mystery, which is the final statement in Romans.
Therefore, Ephesians is the development of the Roman epistle.
Furthermore, if we consider Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians, there
will be seen a development of truth. In Romans we have “died with
Christ” (Rom. 6:8); in Colossians we are “risen with Christ” (Col. 3:1),
and in Ephesians we are “seated with Christ” (Eph. 2:6)
The focal point of Ephesians is the mystical body of Christ which is the
congregate of all believers from Pentecost to the rapture, of which
Christ is the head. The scriptures record a number of metaphors of this
corporate body of saints.
|
Metaphor |
Reference |
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Metaphor |
Reference |
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Bride |
Rev. 21:2 |
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Church of God |
Gal. 1:13
1 Cor. 15:9 |
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Flock
(In the KJV it says “one fold” but the correct wording is
“one flock”. A fold has a circumference but no center,
whereas a flock has a center and no circumference.) |
Jn. 10:16 |
Church of the living God |
1 Tim. 3:15 |
|
Temple |
Eph. 2:21-22 |
Church of the Firstborn |
Heb. 12:23 |
|
Body of Christ |
Eph. 4:12 |
Building |
Eph. 2:20-21 |
|
One body |
1 Cor. 12:13 |
Holy Nation |
1 Pet. 2:9 |
|
House |
Heb. 3:6 |
A Royal Priesthood |
1 Pet. 2:9 |
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Mystery |
Eph. 3:9 |
Holy City |
Rev. 21:2 |
|
Wife |
Rev. 21:9 |
Chosen generation |
1 Pet. 2:9 |
|
New Man |
Eph. 2:15 |
A peculiar people |
1 Pet. 2:9 |
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In Ephesians Paul will use three pictures of the church, viewing
it as: |
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a) |
A temple (ch. 2:21-22) |
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b) |
As a body (ch. 1:22-23) |
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c) |
As a bride (ch. 5:25-32) |
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Throughout much of the Old Testament the prophets of God
prophesied of the coming kingdom when Christ would rule as King
(Psa. 2:6; 110:2; Isa. 9:6-7). |
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a) |
When our Lord was here this kingdom was offered to Israel, but
in rejecting the King (Lk. 19:14; Jn. 19:15) they rejected the
kingdom. |
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b) |
In Acts the gospel was presented to them again, both in the
homeland and in the distant lands, but again they rejected until
Paul said: “I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles” (Acts
13:47), “I will go unto the Gentiles” (Acts 18:6). |
From then on it is as if Israel disappeared for nothing is heard of
them until the Book of the Revelation (Rev. 7:4).
During the intervening period God had said: “To take out of them a
people for His name” (Acts 15:14), and while unlike Israel, which could
be seen as a congregation, this congregation could not be seen as such
for it cannot on earth be localized. This congregation, the church,
began at Pentecost and its sojourn on earth will end at the rapture.
God tells quite clearly that this was a mystery, a sacred secret, and
that congregation would consist of people who were in an organic union
with Christ as the Head. It was and is a profound truth. Every saint
of this era is a member in a living organism, the mystical body of which
Christ is the Head. In this “church”, “body”, there would be a fixed
equality of people, void of any divisions, for:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there
is neither male or female” (Gal. 3:28). This congregation is called,
among other names, “The body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12). It
is this living organism that Paul speaks of (1 Cor.12:12-27; Col. 1:18,
2:19) but the doctrine of which is expanded in Ephesians. However,
while it is presented as a “body”, here the teaching is different from 1
Cor. 12:12-27. There the whole body is seen as the saints, but here the
Head is Christ, and the saints of this age are the body. It must be
stressed that the church is not an outgrowth of Israel, neither is it in
place of Israel. They are two totally distinct entities.
The Author
The authorship of Ephesians was never disputed until 1792 when Evanson
pronounced it as a forgery. Others, while not calling it such, allow it
to be viewed as a phony. This is because of the difficulty of the name
“Ephesus” and the difficulty to explain statements made in the book.
See the next section under “Observations”.
In Ephesians Paul identifies himself twice over (ch. 1:1; 3:1). In
Pauline fashion he describes his apostolic authority as God given, just
as in 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; Col. 1:1. He also declares himself to be
the “least of all saints” and “is
this grace given” (to be an apostle and preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ (ch. 3:7-8).
As when dealing with atheists, it is not my responsibility to prove God
is, but theirs to prove He does not exist. Here it is not my
responsibility to prove Paul is the author, but for skeptics to prove he
is not.
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To deny the authorship of Paul leaves unanswered questions such
as: |
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a) |
Why did the Holy Spirit, who is omnipotent, permit a forgery to
be accepted as genuine for almost 1800 years? |
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b) |
Could any deceiver encourage the saints by presenting such high
truths and write: “lie not one to another”? |
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c) |
Could someone have just used Paul’s name? |
Surely the Almighty had and has sufficient providential control that
He could prevent, and would prevent, such situations.
Observations
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That which is emphasized in Chapters 4, 5, 6 is our walk, not
our talk. |
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a) |
Chapter 4:1-16 – a worldly walk |
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b) |
Chapter 4:17-32 – a renewed walk |
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c) |
Chapter 5:1-5 – a loving walk |
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d) |
Chapter 5:6-14 – a childlike walk |
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e) |
Chapter 5:15 to 6:9 – a circumspect walk |
Those To Whom It Was Addressed
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It is very easy to say that “the Bible says it was to the saints
in “Ephesus” (ch. 1:1) therefore, with many that ends the
matter. The problem with this is that we are going by a handed
down translation and not the original manuscripts. |
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a) |
To what extent does this statement “at Ephesus” give the true
understanding of that which was written? |
If one were able to read that which Paul originally wrote the
question would be easily answered. The argument that it was
exclusively to the saints at Ephesus leaves several major
questions. It does seem strange to me that Paul, who spent three
years with the saints in Ephesus (Acts 20:31), does not mention one
of the saints in the salutation or closing comments. To say that he
has “heard of their faith . . . and love” (ch. 1:15), or that they
had “heard of the dispensation of the grace of God” given to him
(ch. 3:2) would be almost hurtful to those with whom he had wept
(Acts 20:37).
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It would appear to me there could be several possibilities, none
of which effect the content and truths presented.
The following suggestions have been made it was written to: |
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a) |
The saints at Laodicea (Col. 4:16). Of this I can find no
evidence. |
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b) |
To saints in general as the RSV says: “to the saints who are
also faithful in Christ”. However, this leads to the question
of why would Paul be so ambiguous when in other epistles he
names the place. (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2) |
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c) |
It may have gone to Ephesus first, for the letter to them also
comes first in Revelation 2:1. Was this the way the postman
went, that is, in a great circular fashion, the first major stop
being
Ephesus, then Smyrna, and in time to Laodicea? |
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d) |
Rather than being exclusively for the Ephesian church it was all
the churches in the area. |
In a summary and consideration of all the possibilities, I see this
letter not exclusively for the local church at Ephesus but mainly
for the churches in the area where Paul had not been. This would
explain why salutations, etc., would be left out. There can be no
doubt that it had to do with the city of Ephesus and the surrounding
area.
Background
Ephesus was an important city in Asia Minor. It had a theater that
seated 50,000. It’s temple to Diana was one of the seven wonders of the
world.
The scriptures do not inform us of when, how, or who God used to start
the church at Ephesus. One thing we do know, it was not Paul for he was
forbidden to go into that area and preach (Acts. 16:6). It would seem
that Priscilla and Aquila were either the start of it or came to Ephesus
shortly after it began. In time, this godly pair who sought to teach
the truth of God (Acts 18:26) were left there by Paul on his second
missionary journey (Acts 18:18-19). Later Paul came back during his
third missionary journey and stayed there three years (Acts 20:31). It
was not easy work for Ephesus was the scene of much conflict due to the
devotion to Diana (Acts 19:28). So fierce was the conflict that Paul,
recalling it, spoke of it that he had "fought with beasts" (1 Cor.
15:32). It was here he had almost lost his life in the riot (Acts
20:1). After three years Paul left. Possibly Aquila and Priscilla had
gone elsewhere or died, and Timothy was left caring for the saints. It
was not long before men of influence, (Hymenaeus and Alexander) possibly
elders in the church, began to teach error. Due to their teachings of
“fables and endless genealogies” (1 Tim. 1:4) and ascetic teachings such
as forbidding of marriage and abstaining from certain foods (1 Tim.
4:3), problems began to arise. These doctrines resulted in that which
was not “godly edifying which is in faith” (1 Tim. 1:4). This resulted
in the great danger of division between Jewish and Gentile believers.
Paul’s writing will teach them that there can be no division in the
mystical body of Christ. A truth which is sadly not recognized by many
despite the verbal belief of it.
When Written
It is beneficial to get a summary of the missionary journeys of Paul and
when the epistles were written.
|
Experiences |
Date |
Books written |
Main themes |
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1st Missionary Journey |
47-50 A D |
None |
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2nd Missionary Journey |
51-54 A D |
1 & 2 Thessalonians |
The Coming
The key concept: hope |
|
3rd Missionary Journey |
54-58 |
1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans |
The Cross
The key concept: faith |
|
1st Imprisonment |
|
Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Philemon |
The Church
The key concept: love |
|
4th Missionary Journey |
65-67 |
1 Timothy, Titus |
The Congregation
The key concept: consistency
|
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2nd Imprisonment |
67-68 |
2 Timothy |
(The
above structure and thoughts were adapted from “The unfolding Drama of
Redemption” Scroggie)
Peculiarities
Words peculiar to Ephesians of which I am aware:
|
Words |
Reference |
|
Words |
Reference |
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Obtained an inheritance |
ch. 1:11 |
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First trusted |
ch. 1:12 |
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Greatness |
ch. 1:19 |
Without God |
ch. 2:12 |
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Middle wall |
ch. 2:14 |
Fellowcitizens |
ch. 2:19 |
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Fitly framed together |
ch. 2:21; 4:16 |
Builded together |
ch. 2:22 |
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Same body |
ch. 3:6 |
Partakers |
ch. 3:6 |
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Less than the least |
ch. 3:8 |
Manifold |
ch. 3:10 |
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May be able |
ch. 3:18 |
Unity |
ch. 4:3, 13 |
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He led captivity |
ch. 4:8 |
Lower |
ch. 4:9 |
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Perfecting |
ch. 4:12 |
Sleight |
ch. 4:14 |
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Tossed |
ch. 4:14 |
Past feeling |
ch. 4:19 |
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Deceive |
ch. 4:14 |
Go down |
ch. 4:26 |
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Be renewed |
ch. 4:23 |
Filthiness |
ch. 5:4 |
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Wrath |
ch. 4:26 |
Jesting |
ch. 5:4 |
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Foolish talking |
ch. 5:4 |
Shall give thee light |
ch. 5:14 |
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In secret |
ch. 5:12 |
Wrinkle |
ch. 5:27 |
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Fools |
ch. 5:15 |
Live long |
ch. 6:3 |
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Nourisheth |
ch. 5:29 |
Rulers |
ch. 6:12 |
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We wrestle |
ch. 6:12 |
Darts |
ch. 6:16 |
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Preparation |
ch. 6:15 |
Shield |
ch. 6:16 |
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I may open |
ch. 6:19 |
Perseverance |
ch. 6:18 |
Key Verse:
Chapter 1:7
Key Words
|
Key words |
No. of verses |
|
Key words |
No. of verses |
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In Christ Jesus |
5 |
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In Christ |
5 |
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Walk |
6 |
Together |
6 |
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According to |
14 |
Love |
14 |
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Riches |
5 |
Heavenly places |
4 |
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Grace |
12 |
Glory |
8 |
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Fullness |
4 |
Filled |
2 |
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Fill |
1 |
In Him |
12 |
Notes
Ephesians and Colossians are both similar and
contrastive.
Similarities
|
Data |
Ephesians |
Colossians |
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Paul a prisoner |
ch. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20 |
ch. 4:3 |
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Tychicus was the postman |
ch. 6:21-22 |
ch. 4:7 |
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Commended for their faith and love |
ch. 1:15 |
ch. 1:4, 8 |
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That both would grow in the knowledge of God and
understanding |
ch. 1:17 |
ch.1:9-10 |
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Both would know the will of God |
ch. 5:17 |
ch. 1:9 |
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Both mention redemption through Christ |
ch. 1:7 |
ch. 1:14 |
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Both speak of Christ as the Head |
ch. 1:22-23 |
ch. 1:18, 24 |
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In both Christ is above principalities and powers |
ch. 1:21 |
ch. 1:16-17 |
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Both speak of deliverance from darkness |
ch. 2:2 |
ch. 1:13 |
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Both explain the process by which this deliverance was
wrought |
ch. 2:1-10 |
ch. 2:14-16 |
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Both speak of the termination of the law |
ch. 2:14-15 |
ch. 2:14-16 |
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Both have a call to holiness |
ch. 4:17 - 5:13 |
ch. 3:1-7 |
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Both speak of being strengthened by God’s Spirit |
ch. 3:16; 4:23-24 |
ch. 3:9-10 |
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Both speak of forgiveness that is the outcome of love |
ch. 5:21 - 6:9 |
Col. 3:18 - 4:1 |
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Both speak of forgiving as God forgives |
ch. 4:32 |
ch. 3:13 |
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Both have a prayer at the end for the preaching of the
gospel |
ch. 6:18-19 |
ch. 4:3 |
Contrasts
|
Ephesians |
Colossians |
|
Greeting only one name
(ch. 6:21) |
Personal greeting and many names
(ch. 1:1-12; 6:4-17) |
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Were exhorted to lay hold of hope
(ch. 1:18, 2:12, 4:4) |
Commended for their hope
(ch. 1:5) |
|
In Ephesians: “I am in Christ”
(ch. 1:1) |
In Colossians: “Christ is in me”
(ch. 1:27) |
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The main problem in Ephesus seems to be the lack of unity
between Jew and Gentile
(ch. 2:1-22) |
There are several problems in Colosse which include,
Judaism, asceticism and degrading Christ
(ch. 2:18, 21) |
Themes
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In reading Ephesians one is impressed by the themes of the book: |
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a) |
The blessings from God: |
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i) |
“The ri ches
of His grace (ch. 1:7), “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (ch.
3:8), and “the riches of His glory” (ch. 3:16) |
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b) |
The grace of God: |
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i) |
The blessings of being
in Christ are based on grace (ch. 1:2, 6, 7; 2:7); His peace
(ch. 1:2); His will (ch. 1:5); His pleasure and purpose (ch.
1:9); His glory (ch. 1:12, 14); His calling and inheritance (ch.
1:18); His power and strength (ch. 1:19; 6:10); His love (ch.
2:4); His workmanship (ch. 2:10); His Spirit (ch. 3:16); His
offering and sacrifice (ch. 5:2); and His armour (ch. 6:11, 13).
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c) |
The obligations of Christian living: |
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i) |
“Be filled with all the fulness of God” (ch. 3:19); to “come in
the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ” (ch. 4:13); and to “be filled with the
Spirit” (ch. 5:18) and (chs. 4-6). |
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d) |
The sovereignty of God: |
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i) |
“The God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us” (ch. 1:3);
“He hath chosen us” (ch. 1:4); and “the good pleasure of His
will” (ch. 1:5). |
The Old Testament and Ephesians
It will be observed that there are comparatively few Old Testament
quotations in Ephesians, but there are some as well as those which have
a distinct similarity of concept as the following table shows. The
reason for differences is often because of the use of the Septuagint, a
translation, and perhaps more of a paraphrase of the Old Testament. It
was the work of seventy scholars and therefore it’s name is often
abbreviated as LXX.
|
Quotation |
Ephesians |
O. T. Reference |
|
“When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and
gave gifts unto men” |
ch. 4:8 |
Psa. 68:18 |
|
“When he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own
right hand in the heavenly places” |
ch. 1:20 |
Psa. 110:1 |
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“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be
the head over all things to the church” |
ch. 1:22 |
Psa. 8:6 |
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“Speak every man truth with his neighbour” |
ch. 4:25 |
Zech. 8:16 |
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“Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall give thee light” |
ch. 5:14 |
Isa. 60:1-2 |
|
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your
wrath” |
ch. 4:26 |
Psa. 4:4 |
|
“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and
shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall
be one flesh” |
ch. 5:31 |
Gen. 2:24 |
|
“Honour thy father and mother” |
ch. 6:2 |
Ex. 20:12 |
|
“That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on
the earth” |
ch. 6:3 |
Ex. 20:12;
Deut. 5:16 |
|
“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with
truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness” |
ch. 6:14 |
Isa. 59:17 |
|
“Your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace” |
ch. 6:15 |
Isa. 52:7 |
|
“Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God” |
ch. 6:17 |
Isa. 59:17 |
|
Making one new man |
ch. 2:15 |
Ezek. 37:16-19 |
|
“Preached peace” |
ch. 2:17 |
Isa. 57:19 |
Suggested Structure
|
Chs. 1-3 |
Chs. 4-6 |
|
Doctrinal |
Practical |
|
The truth expounded |
The truth outlived |
|
The privileges of the saints |
The obligations of the saints |
|
Consider your inheritance |
Comprehend your inheritance |
|
Our standing before God |
Our state in the world |
|
What I am in Christ |
What I should be for Christ |
|
That I might know |
That I might be |
|
We are sitting |
We are standing |
May God grant us good understanding as He, by His
Holy Spirit, deigns to guide us into all truth.
John 16:13
Rowan Jennings, Abbotsford,
British Columbia
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