Specific instructions for christian living ephesians 4. Ephesians chapters wonderfully expound the gospel while ephesians chapters 46 provide a clear picture of how those doctrines change our lives. It deals, however, not so much with a congregation in the city of ephesus in asia minor as with the worldwide church, the head of which is christ, the purpose of which is to be the instrument for making gods plan of salvation known throughout the universe eph 3. Half of the teaching in this epistle relates to our standing in christ, and the remainder of it affects our condition. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of god not by works, so that no one can boast. E phesians is one of the most encouraging books in the new testament. Prior to writing his epistle to the ephesians in 6061 ad, paul had an established. And i pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all. The book of ephesians hits on a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors, designed to ensure believers are living up to our heavenly calling. I believe is the overwhelming external evidence of pauline authorship of ephesians.
Ephesians 1 paul, an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god, to gods holy people in ephesus, the faithful in christ jesus. The letter has the most to say about the universal church and lacks the sort of specific problems which form the occasion for each of the previous letter of paul. The author except for the pastorals, ephesians has the worst. Paul gives thanks and prays for the ephesians ephesians 1. Ephesians 1 niv bible paul, an apostle of christ jesus. What lends the strongest support for holding to the pauline authorship of ephesians, philippians, colossians, and philemon. Karl barth on the authorship of ephesians and colossians. During this time he also wrote colossians and philemon. The author of the book of ephesus was the apostle paul. The purpose of this essay is to explore the book of ephesians by commenting on critical issues, such as date, authorship, and setting, major theological themes, the purpose of the letter, and to offer an outline of the book itself. Book of ephesians ephesians chapter 1 ephesians chapter 2 ephesians chapter 3 ephesians chapter 4 ephesians chapter 5 ephesians chapter 6.
The theology of chapters focuses upon the need for the ephesians to. It was written, according to the text, by paul the apostle and timothy to the church in colossae, a small phrygian city near laodicea and approximately 100 miles 160 km from ephesus in asia minor scholars have increasingly questioned pauls authorship and attributed. The authorship of ephesians the letter to the ephesian church is regarded as one of the masterworks of the nt, but it is also one of those books that the critics like to say wasnt authored by paul. Here we have yet another letter from the apostle paul. Ephesians contains more hymns and liturgical material than any other letter. The author of ephesians claims to be the apostle paul with. Paul names himself as the author of the epistle to the ephesians ephesians 1. Ephesians places the burden of proof on contrary hypotheses.
The apostle paul wrote this letter to the churches in ephesus and the surrounding region c. Issues of authorship, and the history the text are also covered in detail. As we continue in our faith from day to day, month to month, and year to year, the temptation to get comfortable will always exist. All too often those who teach from this book bypass all the foundational instruction and go directly to the closing chapter. The intention of the letter to ephesus is to help them understand gods purpose for their lives, unity of the church, and the.
Paul is named as the author in the first part of the letter. I offer the following commentary and summary for ephesians in this article. Ephesians 1, new international version niv the bible app. I dont think opponents to pauline authorship come close to putting ephesians with the apocryphal books, so i. The letter is addressed to the church in the city of ephesus, capital of the roman province of asia asia minor, modern turkey. In this article well be looking at the arguments offered on both sides. This time, pauls writing to the church in ephesus and, boy, does he have a lot to say. They early church was not only closer to the situation but also they were very astute in their judgment of genuine and fraudulent compositions. Though he did not personally know the recipients, paul was. Ephesians is the great pauline letter about the church. The book of ephesians page 3 what we possess in christ our possessions the believers blessed life ephesians 1 key verse. Some liberal critics have attempted to raise doubts, yet the authorship of the book is solidly established both by the clear statement in the book itself and by the records of the early uninspired christian writers. Barclay and others have suggested that ephesians was a circular letter william barclay, the letters to the galatians and ephesians, p. An advance is made in ephesians, in that here for the first time all christians are regarded as forming one ecclesia, or assembly of god, or church, of which christ is the head ephesians 4.
This letter was written by paul, an apostle of jesus christ 1. Doctrine occupies the greatest portion of the book of ephesians. The book of ephesians along with philippians and colossians, was written by the apostle paul while in prison in rome. Yet the pauline authorship of ephesians has been greatly disputed in recent years. The letter to the ephesian church is regarded as one of the masterworks of the nt, but it is also one of those books that the critics like to say wasnt authored by paul. To deny pauline authorship of a book in the bible is to challenge its authority as scripture.
Because the name ephesus is not mentioned in every early manuscript, some scholars believe the letter was an encyclical, intended to be circulated and read among all the churches in asia. I dont think opponents to pauline authorship come close to putting ephesians with the apocryphal books, so i cant deny its pauline authorship. Apparently this happened to the book of romans since codex g ninth. This development was very natural in one who was writing from rome, the centre of the civilised world. The style of writing is clearly pauls, he begins with his customary personal greetings and words of thanks, and addresses issues of doctrine, as with the rest of his letters. She stated that paul did not write the book of ephesians. Unlike other books like romans or 1 and 2 corinthians which are undisputedly pauline, it has been debated whether ephesians and colossians along with 2 thes.
However, the similarities between ephesians and colossians have led most scholars to. Abbott, a critical and exegetical commentary on the epistles to the ephesians and to the colossians, icc, pp. Since clement of rome cites ephesians, it must be dated earlier than ad 95. Summary of the book of ephesians story of the bible.
The book of ephesians clearly leaves its mark among other bible books by displaying the powerful impact of the gospel of christ jesus in the individual and corporate life of believers. The intention of the letter to ephesus is to help them understand gods purpose for their lives, unity of the church, and the spiritual realm of the christian life. In chapter 1, for example, 12 verses are taken up with translating just one sentence from the original greek ephesians 1 v. The epistle to the ephesians table of contents introduction 3 chapter one 7 chapter two 11 chapter three 14 chapter four 18 chapter five 22 chapter six 27 this study guide was developed in preparation for teaching adult bible classes. Paul spent the first three chapters of the letter discussing gods creation of a holy community by his gift of. Most books attribute the authorship to that of the apostle paul.
Most early writers spoke of the epistle as having been addressed to the ephesians. Colossians is named for the city of colossae, where the church it was addressed to was located. It was written, according to the text, by paul the apostle and timothy to the church in colossae, a small phrygian city near laodicea and approximately 100 miles 160 km from ephesus in asia minor. The pauline authorship of ephesians not only has the earliest attestation of any book of the nt but this attestation continued until the last two centuries. The book of ephesians was very likely written between a. Despite some objections, the overall evidence seems to weigh in favor of pauline authorship. The hypostasis of the archons, written sometime in the third century, cites the same verse and attributes the book of ephesians to paul. The book of ephesians is a letter written to the christians at ephesus.
For example, in chapter 1 of his letter clement explains that his writing to the. Because the name ephesus is not mentioned in every early manuscript, some scholars believe the letter was an encyclical, intended to be circulated and read. Nov 27, 2009 to deny pauline authorship of a book in the bible is to challenge its authority as scripture. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to paul the apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as deuteropauline, that is, written in pauls name by a later author strongly influenced by pauls thought, probably by a. The book of ephesians is a prison epistle letter written while in prison. It was written to encourage believers to walk as fruitful followers of christ and to serve in unity and love in the midst of persecution. If such is truly the case, then paul wrote ephesians around 6163 a. Ephesians 1, new king james version nkjv the bible app.
However, paul presented the gift of god in christ and the benefits we. Objections to pauls authorship the first objections to pauls authorship of ephesians arose among scripture scholars in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century on the basis of internal evidence, that is, content that seemed inconsistent with pauls authorship. The epistle of paul to the colossians, or simply colossians, is the twelfth book of the new testament. Paul identifies himself as a prisoner at the time of his writing ephesians 3. Enclosed within the book of ephesians is the discipline needed to develop into true. While manuscripts vary on the destination, all agree that paul is the author. Paul wrote the letter to the ephesians sometime in ad 60 61, around the same time he wrote colossians and.
With extensive research and thoughtful chapter by chapter exegesis, this lucidly written commentary leads readers through all aspects of the book of ephesians sociological, historical, and theologicalto help us better understand its meaning and onging relevance. Grace and peace to you from god our father and the lord jesus christ. Apr 17, 2009 the pauline authorship of ephesians not only has the earliest attestation of any book of the nt but this attestation continued until the last two centuries. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to paul the apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as deuteropauline, that is, written in pauls name by a later author strongly influenced by pauls thought, probably by a loyal.
Paul intended that all who long for christlike maturity would receive this writing. The central organizing theological idea in ephesians is that through christs atoning work god has mightily brought about the churcha new humanity, i. 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. Prayer for ephesians strength, praise to god ephesians 3. Biblical scholars are divided over the authorship of ephesians and colossians. You may remember him from such new testament letters as romans and 1 corinthians. Essay about letter to the ephesians 1186 words bartleby.
There are four commonly espoused views concerning authorship and dating of the epistle of james. The concept that the elect jews and gentiles compose the one family of god, the one holy nation, is a central theme of the book of ephesians. To the saints in ephesus, a the faithful in christ jesus. Some critics think that the book reflects aspects of vocabulary, style, and doctrine that differ from pauls writings. The indication is that the epistles to the colossians, philemon and the ephesians were carried to their destination by tychicus and onesimus cf. With extensive research and thoughtful chapterbychapter exegesis, this lucidly written commentary leads readers through all aspects of the book of ephesianssociological, historical, and theologicalto help us better understand its meaning and onging relevance. The traditional idea, that god deals in one manner with the gentile christians and in another with the jewish christians, and that the races are identifiable in christ, has created havoc in the interpretation of the scripturesparticularly the. The purpose of the book of ephesians was to warn the church elders about the false teachers that were teaching a false gospel and to maintain their first love that they held when. Several of the early church writers site the book of ephesians, for example irenaeus and clement of alexandria both state that paul was its author. Ephesians and colossians summary the epistle to the ephesians. Constables notes on ephesians 2020 edition for some interpreters, the reference in 2 timothy 4. Ephesians overview dummelows commentary on the bible.
Twice in this epistle paul referred to himself by name as the author of the book eph. Which book of the new testament has been attributed to paul even though it does not claim pauline authorship. Ephesians intro to ephesians biblica the international bible. It is possible that paul could have written the letter when he was imprisoned at caesarea 9 acts 24. It was also to be read in the neighboring church at laodicea 4.
Likewise, there is only a limited overlap of vocabulary and, theologically, some issues are expressed differently whilst others, such as the second coming of jesus, are completely omitted. The key personalities of ephesians are the apostle paul and tychicus. The epistle to the ephesians, also called the letter to the ephesians and often shortened to ephesians, is the tenth book of the new testament. Foster, there is little consensus as to the genre, structure, dating, and authorship of the book of james. This summary of the book of ephesians provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of ephesians.
Introduction from the niv study bible go to ephesians. Book of ephesians overview insight for living ministries. Ephesians 1 niv bible paul, an apostle of christ jesus by. External evidence for pauline authorship of ephesians christian.
336 1239 42 1584 1353 1190 938 1110 147 805 923 1092 1363 268 597 581 1305 919 752 1453 1253 1361 324 414 1401 749 1397 1445 332 1404 352 388 1052 633