CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Letter to the Ephesians

Orientation

Ephesians is a majestic letter. The great Protestant Reformer John Calvin regarded it as his favorite book of the Bible. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the English poet and literary critic, described it as “one of the divinest compositions of man.” Leading twentieth-century biblical scholar F. F. Bruce called it “the quintessence of Paulinism,” while contemporary commentators regard it as one of the most significant documents ever written.

HISTORICAL MATTERS

The Historical Origins of Ephesians

Author: Paul, but this is disputed (see the sidebar “The Authorship of Ephesians”)

Date: AD 61–62

Location: Most likely Rome

Setting: Paul is imprisoned, mostly likely in Rome.

LITERARY NOTES

The Authorship of Ephesians

Ephesians claims to be written by Paul (1:1; 3:1), and for most of church history this was not disputed. Currently, however, many scholars regard the letter as pseudonymous (it claims to be written by Paul but actually was written by someone else). Doubts about authorship have been raised on linguistic, stylistic, and theological grounds. While the language of Ephesians is somewhat distinct when compared to Paul’s “undisputed” letters, it is not so different as to necessitate a different author. We do not have enough of Paul’s writings to make a scientific judgment about that. Theologically, the letter is similar to Colossians (also disputed), but its emphases are quite different from Romans and Galatians. While the issues are complex, Ephesians is better regarded as an authentic, late writing that complements Paul’s earlier writings by setting the work of Christ in a cosmic, universal context.

Ephesians has played a pivotal role in the theology of the church throughout the ages, providing major contributions to themes such as union with Christ, predestination, salvation, grace, the church, Jew-gentile relations, marriage, and spiritual warfare. This short letter has left a huge legacy.

Figure 16.1. Location of Ephesus [© Baker Publishing Group]

HISTORICAL MATTERS

In Captivity

Ephesians is one of the Captivity Letters, having been written during one of Paul’s imprisonments (see 3:1; 4:1; 6:20). He wrote the letter late in life, around AD 61–62, most likely during his imprisonment in Rome. If, however, Ephesians was written while Paul was imprisoned in Ephesus itself or Caesarea, then its dates would be around 55 or 58, respectively. Paul spent three years in Ephesus (52–55), longer than any other location, on his third missionary journey (Acts 19).

HISTORICAL MATTERS

Ephesus

Ephesus was on the western coast of modern-day Turkey. It was the capital city of the Roman province of Asia, and the third biggest city in the empire at the time. It was also a religious hub, being home to the famed temple of the goddess Artemis (Acts 19:27)—one of the seven wonders of the world—and was the center of the imperial cult for worship of the emperor. Even though the letter probably was not written for the Ephesians only, the city’s religious and political importance affected the entire region.

LITERARY NOTES

At Ephesus

Since the best and earliest manuscripts do not include the phrase “at Ephesus” in the opening address, “To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus” (1:1), the letter probably is not written to the church in Ephesus directly. This would explain why there are no personal references, no mention of problems in the church, and nothing else that indicates that Paul is addressing a particular congregation. Since Paul spent three years in Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Acts 19), it would be strange not to greet his friends if the letter was meant for that church in particular. Instead, Ephesians reads as a general letter that can easily be circulated to multiple congregations (cf. Col. 4:16). Most likely, the letter was sent to churches in Asia Minor in the general vicinity of Ephesus, and over time it became associated with the most important city of that region, which is why later scribes added “at Ephesus” to the text.

Exploration—Reading Ephesians

Every Spiritual Blessing in Christ

READ EPHESIANS 1:1–14

After a standard greeting (1:1–2), Paul begins an extended doxology that is introduced and summarized by verse 3: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (NIV). The heavenly realms and spiritual blessings are a key focus of the letter. Moreover, these blessings come us to “in Christ”; union with Christ is a central theme. Several blessings are mentioned in the doxology, including predestination, adoption, redemption, forgiveness of sins, and the Holy Spirit. These blessings are bestowed on us “in him” (1:4–13).

THEOLOGICAL ISSUES

In Christ

“In Christ” can mean a variety of things, depending on the context. Sometimes it means that God has acted “in Christ” for us, with Jesus as the mediator of God’s will. Sometimes it describes people (“my brother in Christ”); this is Paul’s way of saying that someone is a Christian. The phrase “in Christ” is only one way that Paul indicates one of his most important themes: union with Christ. This theme can be understood through four terms: union, participation, identification, and incorporation.

At three points in the doxology we see that these spiritual blessings are “to the praise of his glorious grace” and “to the praise of his glory” (1:6, 12, 14). God’s plan for the salvation and blessing of humanity has praise as its ultimate goal. In the end, believers are part of a grand plan that results in the praise and glory of God in Christ.

CANONICAL CONNECTIONS

Psalms and Isaiah

Paul alludes to several psalms and Isaiah to show that believers are united to God’s anointed king in his victory over God’s enemies. Christ is now enthroned in heaven, seated above competing rulers, authorities, and powers (1:20–22; 4:8; cf. Pss. 110:1; 8:6; 68:18). When the people of Christ take their stand against these powers (6:10–17), they do so with the armor of God and of his Messiah, as seen in Isaiah 11:5; 52:7; 59:17.

RECEPTION HISTORY

Adoption as Sons and Daughters

In English translations, Ephesians 1:5 has long been translated with some version of “adopted as a son” or “adopted to sonship.” This accords with the practice of Roman law whereby the inheritance was passed through the male line. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries there has been greater recognition of the difficulties this kind of translation creates for female readers. Claire Powell describes it this way: “Nowadays it may be somewhat confusing for women to read this” language of adoption as sons. Paul’s point is not meant to exclude women. Rather, Paul’s point in calling salvation “adoption” is to say that through Jesus believers obtain “the privileged relationship of the beloved child to a committed parent.” In Christianity, the inheritance of God is given to all who believe, male and female, slave and free, rich and poor. Therefore, it is probably clearer in modern culture to use “children” as some translations like the NRSV now do: “adoption as his children.”1

The doxology includes what are arguably the theme verses of the letter: “He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him” (1:9–10). Everything in heaven and earth is brought together in Christ. Christ is the centerpiece and central coherence of the entire cosmos, which finds its purpose and goal in him.

LITERARY NOTES

The Structure of Ephesians

The letter divides neatly into two halves, with the first half (chaps. 1–3) offering a profound theological treatise centered on God’s reconciling work in Christ. God brings salvation by making spiritually dead people alive with Christ. As a consequence, Jews and gentiles—formerly enemies—are brought together in Christ. The second half (chaps. 4–6) applies the theological argument of the first half to the life of the church, households, and individual believers. While there are still some major theological insights to be found in this half of the letter, it is primarily about living together as members of Christ’s body, while resisting the spiritual forces of evil.

Prayer

READ EPHESIANS 1:15–23

Paul then prays that God would give his readers “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (1:17). He wants them to know the riches of their glorious inheritance and God’s power that raised Jesus Christ to his right hand, above all (1:18–21). God has put all things under Christ’s feet and made him head of the church, his body (1:22–23).

We see here the importance of knowledge: wisdom, revelation, knowing God better, and knowing God’s power are important for believers. We also see the exalted Christ towering above all competing spiritual forces.

THEOLOGICAL ISSUES

Participation with Christ

Our participation with Christ is seen clearly in 2:1–10 as Paul says that believers have been made alive with Christ, raised with Christ, and seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. By faith believers are connected to Christ so that we participate in the events of his narrative. We hitch our wagon to his wagon, so that where he goes we go too. He pulls his people through death, resurrection, and ascension, so that believers can say we have been put to death with Christ, raised to new life with Christ, and elevated with Christ to the heavens. Participation is a key mechanism in the way that God saves his people.

Salvation

READ EPHESIANS 2:1–10

The argument of the letter properly begins in chapter 2, with the assertion that prior to Christ, all people were “dead in [their] trespasses and sins” (2:1). Walking according to the world and the ruler of the air (the devil), all people live for the gratification of the flesh (2:2–3). This is a hopeless situation, since spiritually dead people are unable to please God or reach out to him on their own.

CANONICAL CONNECTIONS

The Mystery of Christ

Related to the Jew-gentile theme is the unveiling of the “mystery” of Christ (Eph. 3:3–7). This refers to how God would fulfill his promises to Abraham, that all peoples would be blessed through him (Gen. 12:3). The Old Testament does not directly answer how this will happen but says only that it will happen in the fullness of time, and so it remained a mystery as to how God would do it. Though Paul does not spell this out in Ephesians, he sees gentile salvation in Abrahamic terms in Romans 4 and Galatians 4. The fact that Jews and gentiles can now be God’s people through faith in Christ answers the mystery that was left unexplained for generations past. Now it is clear how the gentiles will be blessed through Abraham: through faith in Christ.

Figure 16.2. Statue of Artemis [Shutterstock / Valery Shanin]

God alone can change the situation. He makes people alive with Christ, raising them up and seating them with him in the heavenly place. The mechanism for salvation is participation with Christ. His resurrection becomes our resurrection, his ascension becomes our ascension, and we go from being dead and buried to being seated with God in heaven. Since it is God’s work that makes us alive with Christ, it is by grace we are saved, through faith (2:4–9). Our works cannot achieve salvation; rather, we become God’s workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (2:10).

Reconciliation

READ EPHESIANS 2:11–22

The vertical reconciliation with God in Christ has horizontal implications, which Paul spells out for Jews and gentiles (2:11–22). The gentiles were far off, strangers to Israel and God’s promises (2:11–12). But now Christ has made the two (Jew and gentile) one by making peace through the cross (2:13–16).

CANONICAL CONNECTIONS

Peace between the Nations

When Paul discusses the reconciliation of Jews and gentiles in 2:13–17, he alludes to Isaiah 57:19, which points to a future peace between the nations, Israel, and God. This is a common theme in Isaiah (2:2–4; 11:10; 19:24–25; 45:14, 22; 51:4–5; 52:10; 55:5; 56:6–7; 60:11; 66:18–23) and sometimes is connected to the idea of a new creation (66:18–23). Paul regards the union of Jew and gentile as the creation of a new person (2:15), and the new-creation theme is seen throughout Ephesians (2:10; 3:9; 4:13, 22, 24).

While at one time the gentiles had only limited access to the presence of God in the temple, now they are built together with believing Jews into a holy temple, in which God dwells by the Spirit (2:18–19). This is an extraordinary reversal of fortune for gentiles; now in Christ they are coheirs and equal partners with believing Jews.

THEOLOGICAL ISSUES

Incorporation

Incorporation is a major motif in Ephesians 4, as Paul speaks about believers as parts of the body of Christ. Our individual union with Christ means that we are also united to one another. As incorporated members of Christ, each body part has a role to play to serve the overall body.

Mystery Revealed

READ EPHESIANS 3:1–21

Paul reflects on his own role in proclaiming Christ to the gentiles, and how God has revealed a formerly hidden secret: in Christ the gentiles are coheirs and partakers of the promise (3:1–6). The “promise” likely refers back to God’s promise to Abraham that all peoples of the earth would be blessed through him (Gen. 12:1–3). A big question mark left hanging at the end of the Old Testament is how exactly the peoples of the earth will be blessed through Abraham. Paul’s point is that in Christ that question has now been answered. Now that all people are saved through faith—and not through membership in the nation of Israel—the gentiles will be blessed in Christ.

THEOLOGICAL ISSUES

Ecclesiology: The Theology of the Church

Ephesians presents the most developed theology of the church (ecclesiology) in the New Testament. Beginning with salvation by grace through faith (2:1–10), Paul moves immediately to the reconciliation of Jew and gentile (2:11–22). In chapter 4 the church is described as the body of Christ, with Christ as its head (4:15–16) and with other parts of the body performing different functions, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers (4:11). There is unity and diversity within the church: a body is obviously one, but a body also has different parts, working together for the proper function of the body. In 5:22–33 the church is regarded as the bride of Christ. The bride metaphor is common in the Old Testament, speaking of the marriage between God and Israel (e.g., Jer. 2:2; Ezek. 16; Hosea 1–3). It is striking that the image now refers to Christ as the husband and the church as the bride. Marriage emphasizes Christ’s love and devotion to the church. He dies for her (5:2) and is her savior (5:23). He continues to nourish and care for her (5:29) and wants to present her pure and holy (5:26), beautiful and glorious (5:27).

The Body of Christ

READ EPHESIANS 4:1–32

Paul begins the second half of the letter by stressing the unity of the body of Christ. We share in the one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all (4:1–6).

But the attention then turns to the necessary diversity within the body. From his ascended and victorious position, Christ gave grace to each one as he apportioned it (4:7–10). In particular, he gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (4:11). Their role is to equip the saints for the work of ministry, which is building up the body of Christ (4:12). The goal of all this is that the body will attain unity and maturity, with members no longer being little children who are tossed around by false teaching and human craftiness (4:13–14).

As members of the body, believers are to put off the old self and replace their former practices and attitudes with godly alternatives that will build others up. Instead of lying, believers should speak the truth (4:25); instead of stealing, they should work and give to others (4:28); instead of being consumed by bitterness and malice, they should be kind, compassionate, and forgiving (4:31–32).

LITERARY NOTES

Ephesians and Colossians

Why is Ephesians so similar to Colossians? Is one an expansion of the other? Is one a summary of the other? Are they written by two different people—Paul and an imitator? An interesting fact is that the Old Testament quotations and allusions found in Ephesians are missing in Colossians. Perhaps this means that Paul wrote Colossians first and then decided to expand it for a general audience and with deeper scriptural support. While there does seem to be a genetic relationship (siblings or cousins?), the two letters are also somewhat independent of each other. They have differences in purpose, audience, and some content.

Walking in Love, Light, and Wisdom

READ EPHESIANS 5:1–17

Children imitate their father, and so believers are to walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us (5:1–2). Paul leans further on the “walking” metaphor as he highlights the incompatibility of deeds of darkness for the children of God (5:3–14). Believers are now light in the Lord and ought to walk as children of light (5:8–9). Not only will they take no part in the works of darkness, but also they will expose them (5:11). Believers are to consider carefully how they walk, choosing to walk in wisdom (5:15), redeeming the time, and understanding the will of the Lord (5:16–17).

Filled with the Spirit

READ EPHESIANS 5:18–6:9

Rather than getting drunk on wine, believers are to be filled with the Spirit (5:18). The Spirit-filled life consists of speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, giving thanks to the Father, and submitting to one another (5:19–21).

THEOLOGICAL ISSUES

Married to Christ

Our union with Christ is emphasized in 5:22–33, where Paul connects human marriage to the marriage between Christ and the church: Christ is the husband, and the church is the bride. He gave himself up for her, and he nourishes and cherishes her. When Paul cites Genesis 2:24 in 5:31, saying that a man will leave his parents and be united to his wife and the two will become one, Paul says that he is actually talking about Christ and the church (5:32).

Submission becomes the pivot point into the household code of Ephesians, and Paul spells out a series of asymmetrical relationships, with wives submitting to husbands, children obeying their parents, and slaves obeying their masters. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church, fathers are to instruct their children without provocation, and masters are to remember that they too have a master in heaven (5:22–6:9).

THEOLOGICAL ISSUES

Mutual Submission?

Some interpreters regard 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (NIV), as teaching mutual submission being required between husbands and wives, parents and children, and slaves and masters. Others interpret “submit to one another” to refer to submission as appropriate according to each set of relationships (wives to husbands, children to parents, and slaves to masters) and therefore not as an endorsement of mutual submission.

Spiritual Warfare

READ EPHESIANS 6:10–20

The concluding section of the letter acknowledges that believers’ battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of darkness (6:10–12). Believers are to take up the whole armor of God to stand against evil, donning the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (6:13–17).

These well-known images of the Roman soldier also have a background in Isaiah, as the Lord and his Messiah battle their enemies. The armor of God is shared with his people so they are fully equipped to take their stand.

Figure 16.3. Statue of a Roman soldier [Shutterstock / Sanit Fuangnakhon]

RECEPTION HISTORY

High Impact

Ephesians had a significant impact on the early church, seen in the letter’s many quotations in early Christian literature and its influence on Christian liturgy and piety through the centuries. At the end of the fourth century, John Chrysostom declared that it is full of Paul’s sublime thoughts and doctrines. Ephesians also played a significant role in the theology of the Reformation. John Calvin preached a series of forty-eight sermons on the letter from May 1558 to March 1559. Through Calvin and others the letter has wielded significant influence on the Reformed tradition of Protestantism.

Final Greetings

READ EPHESIANS 6:21–24

Ephesians closes with a short greeting that does not mention any of Paul’s readers by name. The only person named is Tychicus, whom Paul apparently sent to deliver the letter.

Implementation—Reading Ephesians as Christian Scripture Today

The theological contribution of Ephesians is hard to overstate. It presents a view of the cosmic Christ, with Jesus as the central reconciling figure of the entire cosmos, with all human history seen within a divine plan that spans before creation to its consummation, and with all people caught up in the intersection between worldly and spiritual forces.

While the Protestant tradition has tended to focus on themes like justification by faith and the atoning death of Jesus, Ephesians pushes us to reflect on complementary themes such as the importance of union with Christ, Jesus’s ascension to the right hand of the Father, and the reality of spiritual warfare.

The letter provides a clear exposition of salvation by grace through faith, and the reconciliation of Jew and gentile in Christ. The nature of the church as the body of Christ is instructive, as is the household code. All of these issues continue to shape the church’s theology and practice in profound ways.

KEY VERSES IN EPHESIANS

• Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. 1:3
• But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 2:4–5
• Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 5:1–2
• Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 6:11–12

Christian Reading Questions

1. Read the doxology in Ephesians 1:3–14 and contemplate how each spiritual blessing mentioned there is mediated to believers through Jesus Christ. How do the blessings come “in him”?
2. Articulate the logic driving the argument from Ephesians 2:1 to 4:16. How does “salvation by grace through faith” construct the body of Christ?
3. Read Colossians and make a list of similarities and differences between it and Ephesians.
4. Read Galatians and notice the differences in purpose, tone, and argument between it and Ephesians.