A Study of Ephesians
As I was searching for more information about the book of Ephesians, it was clear that there is a debate about whether or not Paul was the author of this letter. According to Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, there are four reasons why the authorship of Ephesians is debated: Language, style, theology, and Colossians . Many theologians see the language in Ephesians as being too different from the other Pauline letters to actually be a letter from Paul. The style, too, shows the author expressing himself in a way that was different than typical Paul. The theology is more highly developed and the understanding of Christ seems to be deeper than Paul’s theology and understanding presented in other letters. Also, some scholars get the feeling that Ephesians is an imitation of the letter to the Colossians. For each of those reasons that Paul’s authorship of Ephesians is questioned, there are reasons to believe that he was, in fact, the person responsible for writing the letter. Who is to say that Paul did not have several styles of writing? He was an intelligent man and could find more than one way to express his words and ideas. As he grew as a Christian, he would, obviously, gain understanding about God and be able to share that knowledge more effectively. Ephesians could be a reflection of the realization of a deeper relationship with and awareness of God. If the previous assumptions are true, then it would be ridiculous to say that Ephesians is merely an imitation of the letter to the Colossians.
In addition to those who feel that Paul may not be the author of Ephesians there are those who doubt the letter was written to the people of Ephesus. According to B.W. Johnson in The People’s New Testament, there is no question about the authorship of this letter, but instead there is the issue of to whom the letter was written. It seems that one of the most trusted manuscripts, The Vatican, omits In Ephesus from the first verse. In addition, in the third Century, the heretic, Marcion says that the letter was written to the Laodeceans, and Paul’s letter to the Laodeceans is missing unless the letter to the Ephesians is actually that lost letter. But, as Johnson goes on to say, the Vatican does use the heading of The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians and in the second century when the facts were clear, it was spoken of at the “Epistle to the Ephesians”.
The date of the Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is likely 60 A.D. As Daniel B. Wallace, Th.M., PhD writes, we know that the letters of Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon were written at the same time. If Paul talks in Philemon about being released from prison, he has obviously spent time serving his sentence, and though he may be overly positive about the amount of time he has left to serve, he is still nearer to the end of his sentence which was served from 59-61 A.D.
The major themes of Ephesians include the purpose of the church as well as the unity of the believers and diversity of gifts; moral standards and relationships within the church family, and finally, spiritual warfare. Although Ephesians is among the shortest of Paul’s letters it is packed with much information and encouragement.
Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians by blessing God and saying that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. What exactly are the spiritual blessings? As I searched for this information, I found that they are justification, forgiveness, being at peace with God, adoption, sanctification and eternal life. I had never really considered justification or being a peace with God. What a beautiful gift is having peace with our Creator!
Paul also states in verse 5 that we are predestined to adoption as God’s children. Could this mean that God has decided before we were even born that we were destined for eternal life or eternal damnation? No, it doesn’t. Ralph Price writes about predestination and explains that the church is God’s eternal purpose and that God has predestined the church to be saved, but anyone can become a part of His church, thereby being predestined for eternal life. So while we aren’t pegged for Heaven or Hell before we’re even born, if we choose God and choose to join His Church or Family, we are then predestined for eternal life in His Presence.
In Chapter Three of Ephesians, Paul reveals a mystery. God’s plan had been hidden from previous generations waiting for God to reveal it in His perfecting timing. God’s plan was to have the Jews and Gentiles come together as one. It was already known that Gentiles would receive salvation (Isaiah 49:6) but it had never been exposed that Jews and Gentiles would become equal in the body of Christ. Paul was the one to break the news because God had given him the ability to successfully share the gospel of Christ.
In Chapter Four of Ephesians we learn about unity in the body of Christ. According to verses 4-6 believers are one in body, spirit, hope, Christ, faith, baptism and God. However, unity won’t just happen easily. Believers must work at having unity and God has placed the Holy Spirit with us to help guide us to unity. Being sinners, imperfect humans, threatens our unity every day. Paul writes in verses 2-3, “with all lowliness, and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”. Paul explains that we might be angry with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but that we are not sin while in our state of anger. Verse 32 states, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” This verse sums up the way we should treat everyone, from our children to those who wrong us.
In chapter Five of Ephesians, Paul describes the ideal Christian walk. Walk in love, walk in light and walk in wisdom. As Christians we are to become imitators of God, much as our own children imitate us. As a mother of two, I can see things that I say and do, both positive and negative, reflected by my children. If I stay as close to God as my children stay to me, I should find myself reflecting those things that are of God. Paul stresses in verses 3-7 that we aren’t even to speak of those things that are being done in disobedience to God. We are only to reflect those things that God shows us in His perfect nature. In doing so, we are walking in light and are not a part of the darkness that is disobedience to Him. If we spend our time mirroring God’s love and light, we are walking in wisdom. In verse 16 Paul advises us to walk in wisdom “redeeming the days, because the days are evil”. He is referring to the difficulty that assails us each day as we strive to live a Christ-like life. By walking in wisdom, we stay close to God and can overcome the obstacles to our Christian life.
In the end of Chapter Five and the beginning of Chapter Six, Paul writes about the relationships between husbands and wives and parents and children. He says that children should obey their parents and that parents are not to provoke their children to anger. He tells the Ephesians that wives should submit to their husbands and that husbands are to love their wives. This does not mean that either is inferior to the other, however. God calls all Christians to submit to each other. That means that by loving their wives “as God loves the Church”, husbands are actually submitting. By obeying their parents, children are submitting to them. By not provoking their children to anger, parents are submitting to their children.
Jeff VanVonderen says in his book, Families Where Grace is in Place, that in some versions of the Bible the words “be subject” are in italics because they are not found in the original Greek. Therefore, verse 22 literally says, “Wives to your own husbands as to the Lord.” Paul says that the husband is to be the leader of the household, the head. In worldly terms this means the boss! But, as VanVonderen goes on to say, “in the Kingdom of God, the head is the person who comes under others, serving and building and being willing to die for them”.
Crystal Lutton writes in her book, Biblical Parenting, that God commands children to obey their parents, not for parents to force their children to obey. Obedience is an act that comes naturally out of trust. We trust God and, therefore, want to obey Him. The same goes for the relationship between parents and children. Parents who continually “provoke their children to anger” through punishment and lack of true discipline (the ‘training and admonition of the Lord’ spoken of in verse 4 of Chapter 6) will not receive obedience from their children.
In verses 10-20 of the final Chapter of Ephesians, Paul writes of protecting ourselves from battles with darkness. Each piece of armor that Paul mentions has a purpose. The Belt (girded at the waist) is used for Truth. Satan uses lies, but believers who know God’s truth can defeat those lies. The Breastplate is righteousness. Satan attacks our emotions and trust. Protecting our heart with God’s righteousness ensures His approval of and love for us. The Footgear is the readiness to spread the gospel. Satan would have us to think that telling others of the Good News is pointless, but the Footgear of God gives us the motivation to continue spreading the gospel. The Shield is faith. We can look beyond the battle and know that the ultimate victory is ours’. The Helmet is our salvation. It protects our minds from doubting God. The Sword is the Spirit and the Word of God. The Sword is the only weapon of offense in the list of armor.
After studying and researching Ephesians, I feel closer to my fellow Christians. All too many times we let sin tear apart our Christian family. Paul has left us valuable insights and directions for keeping our families strong. Whether it is our marriage or parent and child relationships or our relationships with our Christian brothers and sisters, Ephesians contains important things to put into practice when dealing with others. Exercising grace with others as God showed His grace for us is the most important action in our Christian walk. Loving each other as Christ loves us is the key to building the strong relationships needed to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives and for His Church.
Works Cited
1. Beers, B. Gilbert, et al. The Life Application Bible. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc. 1993.
2. Garrard, Brian. “Biblical Snapshots-The Book of Ephesians”. Grace andTruth.Org.
http://graceandtruth.org.uk/Articles/ephesianspf.htm. (Accessed April 2005).
3. Johnson, B.W. “Introduction to the Epistle to the Ephesians”. Christian Classics
Ethereal Library. http://www.ccel.org/j/johnson_bw/pnt/PNT10.htm. (Accessed
April 2005.
4. Lutton, Crystal. Biblical Parenting. Salt Lake City, UT: Millennial Mind Publishing,
2001.
5. Price, Ralph. “Predestination-Ephesians 1:3-6-Outline”. Gahanna Jefferson
Church of Christ. December 2001. http://gjcoc.com/SO/Predestination.htm.
Accessed April 2005.
6. VanVonderen, Jeff. Families Where Grace is in Place. Bloomington, Minnesota:
Bethany House Publishers, 1992.
7. Wallace, Daniel B. “Ephesians: Introduction, Argument, Outline”. Bible.org. 2005.
http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1332. Accessed April 2005.
8. Wilson, Ralph. “Introduction to Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians”. Joyful Heart
Renewal Ministries. April 2005. http://www.jesuswalk.com/church/0_intro.htm.
Accessed April 2005.
