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, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia,
When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila behind there, but he himself went into the synagogue and addressed the Jews. When they asked him to stay longer, he would not consent, read more. but said farewell to them and added, "I will come back to you again if God wills." Then he set sail from Ephesus,
Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker, well-versed in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. read more. He began to speak out fearlessly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.
So Paul entered the synagogue and spoke out fearlessly for three months, addressing and convincing them about the kingdom of God. But when some were stubborn and refused to believe, reviling the Way before the congregation, he left them and took the disciples with him, addressing them every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. read more. This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
When they arrived, he said to them, "You yourselves know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots of the Jews. read more. You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that would be helpful, and from teaching you publicly and from house to house, testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there,
And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit warns me in town after town that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me.
except that the Holy Spirit warns me in town after town that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. But I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my task and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God's grace.
But I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my task and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God's grace. "And now I know that none of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom will see me again. read more. Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of you all. For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God.
For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God. Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.
Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. read more. Even from among your own group men will arise, teaching perversions of the truth to draw the disciples away after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.
Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears. And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace. This message is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace. This message is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace. This message is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have desired no one's silver or gold or clothing. read more. You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me.
You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. By all these things, I have shown you that by working in this way we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
They set a day to meet with him, and they came to him where he was staying in even greater numbers. From morning until evening he explained things to them, testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. Some were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. read more. So they began to leave, unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah when he said, 'Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them."' "Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!" [[EMPTY]] Paul lived there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete boldness and without restriction.
From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], the faithful in Christ Jesus.
From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], the faithful in Christ Jesus.
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.
to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will
In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will
who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of his glory.
who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of his glory.
-- since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened -- so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you are saved! --
to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, read more. and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, read more. in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles --
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles --
For this reason I kneel before the Father,
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named.
from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named. I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,
I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,
I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. read more. Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, read more. one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. read more. But among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting -- all of which are out of character -- but rather thanksgiving. For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God's wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. read more. Therefore do not be partakers with them, for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light -- for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth -- trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For the things they do in secret are shameful even to mention. But all things being exposed by the light are made evident.
For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.
Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, how I am doing. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances and that he may encourage 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