Reference: Ephesians, The Epistle To The
Fausets
By Paul, as Eph 1:1; 3:1 prove. So Irenaeus, Haer. 5:2-3; 1:8, 5; Clemens Alex., Strom. 4:65, Paed. 1:8; Origen, Celsus 4:211. Quoted by Valentinus A.D. 120, Eph 3:14-18, as we know from Hippolytus, Refut. Haeres., p. 193. Polycarp, Epistle to Phil., 12, witnesses to its canonicity. So Tertullian, Adv. Marcion, 5:17, Ignatius, Ephesians 12, refers to Paul's affectionate mention of the Christian privileges of the Ephesians in his epistle. Paul, in Col 4:16, charges the Colossians to read his epistle to the Laodiceans, and to cause his epistle to the Colossians to be read in the church of Laodicea, whereby he can hardly mean his Epistle to the Ephesians, for the resemblance between the two epistles, Ephesians and Colossians, would render such interchange of reading almost unnecessary.
His greetings sent through the Colossians to the Laodiceans are incompatible with the idea that he wrote an epistle to the Laodiceans at the same time and by the same bearer, Tychicus (the bearer of both epistles, Ephesians and Colossians), for the apostle would then have sent the greetings directly in the letter to the party saluted, instead of indirectly in his letter to the Colossians. The epistle to Laodicea was evidently before that to Colosse. Ussher supposed that the Epistle to the Ephesians was an encyclical letter, headed as in manuscripts of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, "To the saints that are ... and to the faithful," the name of each church being inserted in the copy sent to it; and that its being sent to Ephesus first occasioned its being entitled the Epistle to the Ephesians. But the words "at Ephesus" (Eph 1:1) occur in the very ancient Alexandrinus manuscript and the Vulgate version.
The omission was subsequently made when read to other churches in order to generalize its character. Its internal spirit aims at one set of persons, coexisting in one place, as one body, and under the same circumstances. Moreover, there is no intimation, as in 2 Corinthians and Galatians, that it is encyclical and comprising all the churches of that region. After having spent so long time in Ephesus, Paul would hardly fail to write an epistle especially applying to the church there. For personal matters he refers the Ephesians to Tychicus its bearer (Eph 6:21-22); his engrossing theme being the interests and privileges and duties of Christ's universal church, with particular reference to the Ephesians. This accounts for the absence of personal greetings; so in Galatians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and 1 Timothy. The better he knows the parties addressed, and the more general and solemn the subject, the less he gives of individual notices.
His first visit to Ephesus is recorded in Ac 18:19-21. Some seeds of Christianity may have been sown in the men of Asia present at the grand Pentecost (Ac 2:9). The work begun formally by Paul's disputations with the Jews during his short visit was carried on by Apollos (Ac 18:24-26), Aquila, and Priscilla. At his second visit after his journey to Jerusalem, and thence to the eastern regions of Asia Minor, he encountered John's disciples, and taught them the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and remained at Ephesus three years (Ac 19:10; 20:31), so that this church occupied an unusually large portion of his time and care. His self denying and unwearied labors here are alluded to in Ac 20:34. This epistle accordingly shows a warmth of feeling and a union in spiritual privileges and hopes with them (Eph 1:3, etc.), such as are natural from one so long and so intimately associated with those addressed.
On his last journey he sailed past Ephesus, and summoned the Ephesian elders to Miletus, where he delivered to them his farewell charge (Ac 20:18-35). The Epistle to the Colossians, which contains much the same theme, seems to have been earlier, as the Epistle to the Ephesians expands the same truths. It, is an undesigned coincidence and proof of genuineness that the two epistles, written about the same date and under the same circumstances, bear closer resemblance than those written at distant dates and under different circumstances. (For instances of resemblance, see COLOSSIANS.) Tychicus bore both epistles, and Onesimus his companion bore that to his former master Philemon at Colosse. The date was probably before Paul's imprisonment at Rome became so severe as it was when writing the Epistle to the Philippians, about A.D. 62, four years after his charge at Miletus.
In Php 4:23 he implies he had some freedom for preaching, such as Ac 28:23-31 represents. His imprisonment, beginning February A.D. 61, lasted at least "two whole years." The epistle addresses a church constituted of Jewish and Gentile converts, and such was that of Ephesus (Eph 2:14-22, compare Ac 19:8-10). Diana's (Artemis) temple there, burned down by Herostratus on the night of the birth of Alexander the Great (355 B.C.), was rebuilt at enormous cost, and was one of the wonders of the world. (See DIANA.) Hence the appropriateness of comparing the church to a temple, containing the true inner beauty, which the idol temple with all its outward splendor was utterly lacking in. In Eph 4:17; 5:1-13, Paul alludes to the notorious profligacy of the pagan Ephesians.
Moreover, an undesigned coincidence, confirming the genuineness of both this epistle and the independent history, is the correspondence of expressions between the epistle and Paul's address to the Ephesian elders (Eph 1:6-7; 2:7; compare Ac 20:24,32). Alford designates this "the epistle of the grace of God." As to his bonds, Eph 3:1; 4:1, with Ac 20:22-23. As to "the counsel of God," Eph 1:11 with Ac 20:27. As to "the redemption of the purchased possession," Eph 1:14 with Ac 20:28. As to "building up" and the "inheritance," Eph 1:14,18; 2:20; 5:5, with Ac 20:32. THE OBJECT is "to set forth the foundation, the course, and the end of the church of the faithful in Christ.v He speaks to the Ephesians as a sample of the church universal. In the larger and smaller divisions alike the foundation of the church is in the will of the Father; the course of the church is by the satisfaction of the Son; the end of the church is the life in the Holy Spirit" (Alford). Compare as to the three, Eph 1:11; 2:5; 3:16. Throughout "the church" is spoken of as one whole, in the singular, not the plural. The doctrinal part closes with the sublime doxology (Eph 3:14-21).
Upon the doctrine rest the succeeding practical exhortations; here too the church is represented as founded on the counsel of "God the Father who is above all, through all, and in all," reared by the "one Lord" Jesus Christ, through the "one Spirit" (Eph 4:4-6, etc.), who give their respective graces to the members. These therefore should exercise all these graces in their several relationships, as husbands, wives, servants, children, etc.; for this end, finally, we must "put on the whole armor of God" (Eph 6:13). The STYLE like the subject, is sublime to a degree exceeding that of Paul's other epistles. The sublimity produces the difficulty and peculiarity of some expressions. The theme was suited to Christians long grounded, as the Ephesians were, in the faith as it is in Jesus.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, of Judea and Cappadocia, of Pontus, and Asia,
When they reached Ephesus he left them there. He went to the synagogue there and had a discussion with the Jews. They asked him to stay longer, but he would not consent. read more. He bade them goodbye, saying, "I will come back to you again if it is God's will." Then he sailed from Ephesus.
A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, skilful in the use of the Scriptures. He had had some instruction about the Way of the Lord, and he talked with burning zeal and taught painstakingly about Jesus, though he knew of no baptism but John's. read more. He spoke very confidently in the synagogue at first, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained the Way of God to him more correctly.
He went to the synagogue there, and for three months spoke confidently, holding discussions and trying to persuade them about the Kingdom of God. But as some of them were obstinate and refused to believe, finding fault with the Way before the people, he left them, and withdrew the disciples, and held daily discussions in the lecture-room of Tyrannus. read more. This went on for two years, so that everyone who lived in Asia, Greeks as well as Jews, heard the Lord's message.
This went on for two years, so that everyone who lived in Asia, Greeks as well as Jews, heard the Lord's message.
When they came, he said to them, "You know well enough how I lived among you all the time from the first day I set foot in Asia, and how I served the Lord most humbly and with tears, through all the trials that I encountered because of the plots of the Jews. read more. I never shrank from telling you anything that was for your good, nor from teaching you in public or at your houses, but earnestly urged Greeks as well as Jews to turn to God in repentance and to believe in our Lord Jesus. I am here now on my way to Jerusalem, for the Spirit compels me to go there, though I do not know what will happen to me there,
I am here now on my way to Jerusalem, for the Spirit compels me to go there, though I do not know what will happen to me there, except that in every town I visit, the holy Spirit warns me that imprisonment and persecution are awaiting me.
except that in every town I visit, the holy Spirit warns me that imprisonment and persecution are awaiting me. But my life does not matter, if I can only finish my race and do the service intrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of declaring the good news of God's favor.
But my life does not matter, if I can only finish my race and do the service intrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of declaring the good news of God's favor. Now I know perfectly well that none of you among whom I went about preaching the Kingdom of God will ever see my face again. read more. Therefore I declare to you today that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I have not shrunk from letting you know God's purpose without reserve.
for I have not shrunk from letting you know God's purpose without reserve. Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the holy Spirit has made you guardians, and be shepherds of the church of God, which he got at the cost of his own life.
Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the holy Spirit has made you guardians, and be shepherds of the church of God, which he got at the cost of his own life. I know that after I am gone savage wolves will get in among you and will not spare the flock, read more. and from your own number men will appear and teach perversions of the truth in order to draw the disciples away after them. So you must be on your guard and remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning any of you, even with tears.
So you must be on your guard and remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning any of you, even with tears. Now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of his favor, which will build you up and give you a place among those whom God has consecrated.
Now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of his favor, which will build you up and give you a place among those whom God has consecrated.
Now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of his favor, which will build you up and give you a place among those whom God has consecrated. I have never coveted anyone's gold or silver or clothes. read more. You know well enough that these hands of mine provided for my needs and my companions.
You know well enough that these hands of mine provided for my needs and my companions. I showed you in every way that by hard work like that we must help those who are weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for he said, 'It makes one happier to give than to be given to.' "
So they fixed a day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying, and from morning till night he explained to them the Kingdom of God and gave his testimony, trying to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. read more. As they could not agree among themselves, they started to leave, when Paul added one last word. "The holy Spirit put it finely," he said, "when it said to your forefathers through the prophet Isaiah, " 'Go to this Nation and say to them, "You will listen, and listen, and never understand, And you will look, and look, and never see! For this nation's mind has grown dull, And they hear faintly with their ears, And they have shut their eyes, So as never to see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their minds, and turn back, And let me cure them!" ' "Understand then that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen. They will listen to it!" OMITTED TEXT So he stayed for two full years in rented lodgings of his own, and welcomed everybody who came to see him, preaching the Kingdom of God to them and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ openly and unhindered.
Paul, by God's will an apostle of Christ Jesus, to God's people who are steadfast in Christ Jesus;
Paul, by God's will an apostle of Christ Jesus, to God's people who are steadfast in Christ Jesus;
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm.
so that we might praise the splendid blessing which he has given us through his beloved Son. It is through union with him and through his blood that we have been delivered and our offenses forgiven,
which is the advance installment of our inheritance, so that we may get full possession of it, and praise his glory for it.
which is the advance installment of our inheritance, so that we may get full possession of it, and praise his glory for it.
enlightening the eyes of your mind so that you may know what the hope is to which he calls you, and how gloriously rich his inheritance is among God's people,
he made us, dead as we were through our offenses, live again with the Christ. It is by his mercy that you have been saved.
to show the incomparable wealth of his mercy throughout the ages to come by his goodness to us through Christ Jesus.
For he is himself our peace. He has united the two divisions, and broken down the barrier that kept us apart, and through his human nature put an end to the feud between us, and abolished the Law with its rules and regulations, in order to make peace and create out of the two parties one new man by uniting them with himself, read more. and to kill the feud between them with his cross and in one body reconcile them both to God with it. He came with the good news of peace for you who were far away and for those who were near; for it is through him that we both with one Spirit are now able to approach the Father. So you are no longer foreigners or strangers, but you are fellow-citizens of God's people and members of his family. You are built upon the apostles and prophets as your foundation, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone.
You are built upon the apostles and prophets as your foundation, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Through him every part of the building is closely united and grows into a temple sacred through its relation to the Lord, read more. and you are yourselves built up into a dwelling for God through the Spirit.
This is why I, Paul, whom Jesus the Christ has made a prisoner for the sake of you heathen??2 if at least you have heard how I dealt with the mercy of God that was given me for you,
This is why I, Paul, whom Jesus the Christ has made a prisoner for the sake of you heathen??2 if at least you have heard how I dealt with the mercy of God that was given me for you,
For this reason I kneel before the Father
For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven or on earth takes its name,
from whom every family in heaven or on earth takes its name, and beg him out of his wealth of glory to strengthen you mightily through his Spirit in your inner nature
and beg him out of his wealth of glory to strengthen you mightily through his Spirit in your inner nature
and beg him out of his wealth of glory to strengthen you mightily through his Spirit in your inner nature and through your faith to let Christ in his love make his home in your hearts. Your roots must be deep and your foundations strong,
and through your faith to let Christ in his love make his home in your hearts. Your roots must be deep and your foundations strong, so that you and all God's people may be strong enough to grasp what breadth, length, height, and depth mean,
so that you and all God's people may be strong enough to grasp what breadth, length, height, and depth mean, and to understand Christ's love, so far beyond our understanding, so that you may be filled with the very fulness of God. read more. To him who by the exertion of his power within us can do unutterably more than all we ask or imagine, be glory through the church and through Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever. Amen.
So I, the prisoner for the Lord's sake, appeal to you to live lives worthy of the summons you have received;
There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope that belongs to the summons you received. There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, read more. one God and Father of all, who is above us all, pervades us all, and is within us all.
So what I mean and insist upon in the Lord's name is this: You must no longer live like the heathen, with their frivolity of mind and darkened understanding.
So follow God's example, like his dear children, and lead loving lives, just as Christ loved you and gave himself for you, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. read more. But immorality or any form of vice or greed must not be so much as mentioned among you; that would not be becoming in God's people. There must be no indecency or foolish or scurrilous talk??ll that is unbecoming. There should be thanksgiving instead. For you may be sure that no one who is immoral, or greedy for gain (for that is idolatry) can have any share in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
For you may be sure that no one who is immoral, or greedy for gain (for that is idolatry) can have any share in the Kingdom of Christ and God. Whatever anyone may say in the way of worthless arguments to deceive you, these are the things that are bringing God's anger down upon the disobedient. read more. Therefore have nothing to do with them. For once you were sheer darkness, but now, as Christians, you are light itself. You must live like children of light, for light leads to perfect goodness, uprightness, and truth; you must make sure what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the profitless doings of the darkness; expose them instead. For while it is degrading even to mention their secret practices, yet when anything is exposed by the light, it is made visible, and anything that is made visible is light.
So you must take God's armor, so that when the evil day comes you will be able to make a stand, and when it is all over to hold your ground.
In order that you also may know how I am, our dear brother Tychicus, a faithful helper in the Lord's service, will tell you all about it. That is the very reason I am sending him, to let you know how I am, and to cheer your hearts.
Smith
Ephe'sians, The Epistle to the,
was written by the apostle St. Paul during his first captivity at Rome,
apparently immediately after he had written the Epistle to the Colossians [COLOSSIANS, EPISTLE TO], and during that period (perhaps the early part of A.D. 62) when his imprisonment had not assumed the severer character which seems to have marked its close. This epistle was addressed to the Christian church at Ephesus. [EPHESUS] Its contents may be divided into two portions, the first mainly doctrinal, ch. 1-3, the second hortatory and practical.
See Colossians, The Epistle to the
See Ephesus