Paul's Epistle To The Ephesians

Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians is a rich, upbeat, and positive letter, full of warmth, theological insights, and spiritual depth. “Pound for Pound,” writes Klyne Snodgrass (1996), “Ephesians may well be the most influential document ever written” (p. 17). Its application for believers today is as significant as it was then. The Church in America, Snodgrass (1996) writes, “need[s] nothing less than a new reformation, and Ephesians is the document to bring it about” (p. 18). If Ephesians is such an important epistle, it might be helpful to know a little about who the Ephesian’s were and why Paul wrote to them.

The city of Ephesus was a major seaport city located on the east coast of the Aegean Sea at the mouth of the Caÿster River in the Roman

Paul intended, as evidence suggests, that this letter be circulated among the numerous churches in the province of Asia. Hays & Duvall (2011) note, however, that “the letter became associated more permanently with Ephesus because it was the leading city in the region” (p. 838). Paul seems to have no particular reason, i.e. no specific circumstance to address, to write this letter other than to strengthen the believers in Ephesus and Asia Minor. Paul cared deeply for the people that he had contact with and wanted to encourage them to stand firm in sound doctrine, holy living, and love (Barton, Comfort, Osborne, Taylor, and Veerman, 2001, p. 800).

Paul’s beautifully written letter to the believers in Ephesus and Asia Minor is intended to remind them of their standing in Christ and what that means for how they are living. Its message is as relevant today as it was when Paul wrote it. Connection with Christ is what brings life to the believer (John 15:1-17). As Klyne Snodgrass (1996) writes, “all the privileges of life are found in union with Christ and conveyed by the Spirit” (p. 18). Knowing this union himself, Paul wanted all believers to know the