Exploring The Book of Ephesians: This is an article that explores the treasure house of riches in Christ from the book of Ephesians in the New Testament of the Bible.
The Book of Ephesians – An Introduction
Financial security is something that most people pursue with great passion and enthusiasm. After all, we live in the lucky country where material riches are in abundance if we are prepared to put in the hard work.
On the other hand, spiritual security is something we often neglect; and yet as Christians we have a treasure house of riches in Jesus Christ (Bock, 1994, p. 308). The book of Ephesians is often referred to as the believer’s bank, the Christian’s check book and the treasure house of the Bible (MacArthur, 1986, p. vii). MacArthur states that “this beautiful letter tells Christians of their great riches, inheritances, and fullness in Jesus Christ and in His church. It tells them what they possess and how they can claim and enjoy their possessions” (MacArthur, 1986, pp. vii-viii).
In light of this, this article will examine the treasure house of riches in Jesus Christ from the book of Ephesians by exploring background information to the book, by outlining the content of the book, by identifying the themes of the book and by discussing one major theme and how it relates to the contemporary scene.
Background Information
Most commentators believe that the apostle Paul is the author of Ephesians (Ferguson, 2005, p. viii). MacDonald suggests that both external and internal evidence supports Pauline authorship (MacDonald, 1995, p. 1903). Some commentators argue that minor differences in language and style challenge the authenticity of Pauline authorship (Wood, 1978, p. 5). They suggest that it may have been authored by a colleague of Paul or a disciple of Paul (DeSilva, 2004, pp. 716-717). MacDonald states that these arguments can be answered satisfactorily and the Pauline authorship should be accepted as genuine (MacDonald, 1995, p. 1903). The external evidence is solid and strong (MacDonald, 1995, p. 1903). The early church considered Ephesians to be a genuine writing of Paul and listed him as author (Wood, 1978, p. 4). The internal evidence is also quite solid and strong (Jensen, 1981, p. 313). Paul was identified as author in 1:1 and 3:1 and though there are minor style and language anomalies, these can be easily justified (Wilkinson & Boa, 1983, p. 400).
The book of Ephesians was written during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome around A.D. 60-62 (Boice, 2003, p. 3) and is considered part of his “Prison Epistles” along with Colossians, Philemon and Philippians (MacArthur, 2005, p. 1680). Again there is debate around the place and time of the writing of this epistle. Some commentators endeavour to associate the writing with Paul’s two-year stay at Caesarea and others endeavour to associate the writing with and unproven Ephesian imprisonment (MacDonald, 1995, p. 1903). Wood states that “the arguments in favour of either Caesarea or Ephesus as the place from which Paul wrote the imprisonment letters are insufficiently conclusive to supplant the traditional view, which sees Rome as the location” (Wood, 1978, p. 15).
It seems that some commentators see this epistle as encyclical, that is, it was circulated among several local churches in the province of Asia (Tenney, 1985, p. 319). They support this conclusion with two observations. First, the Alexandrian Greek manuscripts do not include the words “in Ephesus” and second Paul does not mention any individuals in the church, which seems strange because he worked there for three years (Hoehner, 1983, p. 613). Bock suggested that “it probably was a regional letter rather than a letter written to one locale” (Bock, 1994, p. 308). However, Hoehner argues for “in Ephesus” to be genuine due to three factors: the numerous Greek manuscripts what include in Ephesus, no other manuscripts of this epistle mention any other city and Paul always mentions the destination of his epistles in the salutation (Hoehner, 1983, p. 613).
The city of Ephesus was chosen due to its strategic position as a harbour and trade route into South-East Asia (Blaiklock, 1976, p. 324). It was a cosmopolitan city that kept up-to-date with world affairs. It was known as the “first city” of the province of Asia (Jensen, 1981, p. 314). Jensen states that “the city was a haven for philosophers, poets, artists and orators. Corinth, across the Aegean Sea, was one of its rivals in those disciplines” (Jensen, 1981, p. 314). The worship of Diana played a central part in the religious activities of the area. In fact, the city of Ephesus housed the temple of Diana also known as Artemis (Jensen, 1981, p. 315). This shrine of Diana was seen as “a nature goddess, associates with carnal fertility rituals, orgiastic rites, and religious prostitution” (Blaiklock, 1976, p. 326). It seems the worship of Diana was world famous (Acts 19:27). Jensen also noted that “many of the Ephesians also identified with the imperial cult of Augustus and with various forms of magic” (Jensen, 1981, p. 314).
Paul visited Ephesus on his way back to Antioch on his second missionary journey. During his third missionary journey, Paul spent three years at Ephesus ministering to the people the gospel of Jesus Christ (Hoehner, 1983, p. 613). Paul’s ministry in Ephesus created a stir. Miracles occurred (Acts 19:11-12), sorcerers were converted to Christ (Acts 19:17-20) and the unbelievers rioted over the loss of business due to people turning from idolatry to Jesus Christ (Acts 19:23-41). The church in Ephesus grew out of Paul’s ministry and many Gentiles were converted and several Jews also (Jensen, 1981, p. 315). The church at Ephesus became a strategic location for the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ into the province of Asia. Jensen writes that “the church itself served as a ‘mother church’ to the others of the province” (Jensen, 1981, p. 315).
Paul wrote this epistle to the church at Ephesus to encourage them in their faith in Lord Jesus Christ. In the next section of this paper, I will identify some of the themes of this epistle that would encourage their faith and walk in Jesus Christ.
Themes From Ephesians
The key theme of Ephesians is the “mystery” of the church (MacArthur, 2005, p. 1680) “which in other ages was not made know to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:5-6; NKJV). The point emphasised here is that the church is distinct. In other words, “in Christ, Jew and Gentile alike would henceforth be one in His Body, the church” (MacArthur, 1986, p. ix) “so as to create in Himself one new man from the two” (Ephesians 2:15; NKJV). “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:38; NKJV).
Paul does not abolish these categories (Andrews, 1996, p. 191), instead he emphasised the corporate unity (all one) of the redeemed in the Body of Christ (Fung, 1988, p. 176). MacDonald suggests this is not only the key theme but the main subject of Ephesians (MacDonald, 1995, p. 1904).
Another key theme in Ephesians is “the riches and fullness of blessing” that believers have in Jesus Christ (MacArthur, 2005, p. 1681). This key theme can be seen in verses like: “the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7, NKJV), “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8, NKJV), “the riches of His glory” (Ephesians 3:16, NKJV), “be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19, NKJV), “come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13, NKJV) and “be filled with Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18, NKJV).
The Book of Ephesians is also rich with minor theological themes and truths. For example, the church is a living organism not simply an organisation (Ephesians 2:19-22). These minor truths explain the salvation process (Ephesians 1:3-14), the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9), reconciliation and peace (Ephesians 2:14-17), ministry (Ephesians 4:7-16), roles within the family (Ephesians 5:22-6:4) and the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Outline of Ephesians
It seems that most commentators suggest that the book of Ephesians has two parts. For example, Jensen divides Ephesians into our heritage in Christ (Ephesians 1-3) and our life in Christ (Ephesians 4-6) (Jensen, 1981, p. 321). Hoehner divides the book of Ephesians into the calling of the church (chapters 1-3) and the conduct of the church (chapters 4-6) (Hoehner, 1983, pp. 614-615). A key verse for this outline is Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (NKJV). This verse tells us that God has prepared a work for us to walk in. The Greek word for walk here is peripateo. It is used in the figurative sense and means the walk of life or one’s conduct or practice (Bauer, et al., 1979, p. 649) and this word is used several times in chapters 4-6. Hoehner points out that the “path of good works is discussed by Paul in Ephesians 4-6” (Hoehner, 1983, p. 624). This is demonstrated in Hoehner’s outline of chapters 4-6: Walk in Unity (4:1-6), Walk in Holiness (4:17-32), Walk in Love (5:1-6), Walk in the Light (5:7-14), Walk in Wisdom (5:15-6:9) (Hoehner, 1983, p. 615). The New King James Version brings this out best in its translation of the Greek text (see 4:1, 17; 5:1, 8 & 15).
Stott states that “the whole letter is thus a magnificent combination of Christian doctrine and Christian duty, Christian faith and Christian life, what God has done through Christ and what we must be and do in consequence” ( (Stott, 1989, p. 25). The point that Stott makes is that the book of Ephesians has two distinct parts. MacArthur adds that “the first three chapters are theological, emphasizing NT doctrine, whereas the last three chapters are practical and focus on Christian behaviour” (MacArthur, 2005, pp. 1680-1681). Another commentator divides Ephesians into sitting, walking and standing. Martin suggests that “by position, the believer is seated with Christ in the heavenlies (2:6) and his responsibility is to walk worthy of the calling wherewith he has been called” (Martin, 1969, p. 1301). He goes on to say that “this walk is further seen as a warfare in which he is engaged against Satan and all his hosts and in which he is exhorted to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Martin, 1969, p. 1301). Though Martin divides Ephesians into three sections; however, his three sections still fall under the two headings of doctrine and practice as seen in his outline of the book of Ephesians (Martin, 1969, p. 1302).
Dividing the book of Ephesians into two sections of believer’s position and believer’s practice allows for a very simplistic outline. Under the heading of believer’s position, we could outline chapters 1-3 as spiritual blessings (1:1-14), prayer blessings (1:15-23), salvation or grace blessings (2:1-10), mystery blessings (3:1-13) and family blessings (3:14-21). Under the heading of believer’s practice, we could outline chapters 4-6 as the worthy walk (4:1-16), the holy walk (4:17-32), the loving walk (5:1-14), the wise walk (5:15-6:19) and the battle walk (6:10-24).
The Major Theme of Mystery
Ferguson wrote that “Romans is the most impressive of Paul’s letters. But Ephesians is probably the most elegant” (Ferguson, 2005, p. xi). Ferguson goes on to say that “from beginning to end Ephesians sets before us the wonder of God’s grace, the privilege of belonging to the church and the pattern of life-transformation the gospel produces” (Ferguson, 2005, p. xi). Wilkinson and Boa wrote that “many regard Ephesians as the most profound book in the New Testament” (Wilkinson & Boa, 1983, p. 402). Boice wrote that “if Ephesians is profound, it is so not for the mysterious nature of its unfathomable deep secrets, but for the clear way it presents the most basic Christian truths” (Boice, 2003, pp. 1-2). Tenney wrote that “Ephesians is a specimen of Paul’s ‘Bible conference’ technique” (Tenney, 1985, p. 321). In other words, Ephesians presents us with a new and full picture of the church as a single functioning body created out of Jew and Gentile with standards of its own and engaged in a spiritual battle (Tenney, 1985, p. 321). Paul called it a mystery revealed (Ephesians 3:1-6).
What is a mystery? Ferguson explains that “mystery in the New Testament does not mean something ‘spooky’, but something that is hidden and to which we would have no access without divine revelation” (Ferguson, 2005, p. 76). Boice adds that mystery in contemporary English means something unknown. However, he states that “in Greek the work mysterion refers to something known only to the initiated” (Boice, 2003, p. 95). Boice goes on to say that “it is not that the thing itself is unknown. It is known – but only to those to whom it is revealed” (Boice, 2003, p. 95). This is what Paul points out to his readers in Ephesians 3:2-6, “If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery … which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (NKJV). We notice here that the mystery was made known to Paul by revelation (3:3), the mystery was not made known in other generations (3:5) that the mystery was now being revealed (3:5) and that the mystery was hidden for ages in God (3:9) (Ferguson, 2005, pp. 76-77). Paul did not learn the mystery from others nor did he discover it through ingenuity (MacDonald, 1995, p. 1925). He received this mystery by direct revelation from God and he was charged to communicate this mystery in his gospel teaching (Ephesians 3:2).
What is the mystery? Paul received the mystery but what is this mystery? Boice explains: “Quite clearly, it is that the Gentiles should be made partakers along with the Jews of God’s great blessings in the church” (Boice, 2003, p. 95). MacArthur writes: “There were many truths hidden and later revealed in the NT that are called mysteries. Here is one: Jew and Gentile brought together in one body in the Messiah” (MacArthur, 2005, p. 1689). Paul put it simply this way: “That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (NKJV). The mystery is not that the Gentiles would be saved but that they would be joined with the Jews in one body – the church (Martin, 1969, p. 1308). Paul anticipated this in chapter one when he said that God would bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head – Christ (Boice, 2003, p. 95). When Paul reflected upon the mystery in chapter five, he said that “this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (NKJV).
This mystery is best explained in chapter two of Ephesians: “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” (verses 14-16, NKJV). This new community that God had formed by bringing Jews and Gentiles together in Jesus Christ is what we know as the church. In the Old Testament, the temple separated Jews and Gentiles but in the New Testament, Jesus Christ brings Jews and Gentiles together. Jesus broke down the walls that separate. Jesus not only reconciles Jews and Gentiles to God but He also reconciles Jews and Gentiles to each other thus bringing peace. It is difficult for us today to understand the enmity and hostility between the Jews and Gentiles in Jesus’ day. We see a little of that in the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. But what we must understand is that this hostility and enmity is very real and Jesus is the only one who can break down the walls of hostility and enmity in order to bring Jews and Gentiles together.
When we think of the gospel message today, we often think only in terms of reconciliation with God. But the gospel message is far more reaching than just reconciliation with God, which is of great importance of course. But it also involves reconciliation of people. Yes, God reconciles people to Himself but also He brings people together under the headship of Jesus Christ and we call this the church. God not only forgives us for our sins but He also gives us the ability to forgive the sins of others so that we can come together as the family of God. In many ways, the application of the mystery is still far reaching today. Bock explains: “Believers do not have a private faith; they have corporate relationship and responsibility to each other” (Bock, 1994, p. 308). Yes, we are the family of God and that means we not only need God but also we need each other. And when it comes to ministry, it means working with God and each other. Bock suggests that the major focus of Ephesians is the corporate nature of those who are in the body of Christ (Bock, 1994, p. 308). I suppose it could be summed up with the following words: “From Christ the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:32, NIV). There is much to learn today from the corporate nature of the church, especially the fact that we need each other and we are responsible to each other when it comes to Christian living and ministry. This corporate nature of the church is often lost in our individualistic society where we tend to do life and ministry my way rather than God’s way.
Conclusion
Paul’s letter written to the church at Ephesus and circulated among the surrounding churches in the province of Asia is certainly a treasure house of riches. The key treasure of course is Jesus Christ reconciling people to God and to each other, which is the mystery revealed. Jesus breaks down the walls that so easily divide and He brings people together with God regardless of their ethnicity or social standing. This truth is still standing strong today – Jesus Christ breaking down the walls that divide and bringing us together with God and each other so that we can minister the gospel to a lost world. There is no greater ministry than the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it should be central to all the ministries in the church. The mystery is revealed. We are one in the Lord and we are rich in Jesus Christ.
Bibliography
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