Preface to Ephesians
“The purifying of the heart is the enlightening of the spiritual eyes. Strange as it may seem, the true eye of the renewed man is seated in the heart rather than in the head.” -Charles Spurgeon
Resource for Study
- The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)
- https://www.bereanbiblechurch.org/studies/ephesians.php
- Free eBook – How to Study the Bible – 1 hour intro for beginners
- Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)
- The Unseen Realm by Michael S. Heiser
Who wrote Ephesians?
Paul is the author of Ephesians, and the name comes from the salutation in 1:1. The verbal similarities with Colossians has most New Testament scholars believing he wrote Ephesians very soon after he wrote Colossians.
When was it written?
If you go by the title of the Epistle, it appears the letter was to the Christians in Ephesus. The audience to whom Paul is writing has always been a question. Most scholars do not believe it was written to just the Ephesians. It is too generic and that it was written for many churches in the Lycus Valley area. That the letter was first sent to Ephesus but then was circulated throughout the region for all the Christian Churches. Some have asked if this letter was the “letter from Laodicea” mentioned in Colossians 4:16. Because this letter is believed to be generic in its writing the time frame of its writing is called into question in some circles. I think because Paul mentions his imprisonment in 3:1 similar to Colossians 4:3 that this letter was written during his 2-year house arrest in Rome in A.D. 60-62 (Reformation Study Bible pg. 2086)
Why was it written?
Since we have established that it was probably not written directly to the Ephesians, but for all Churches in the area the message is more general. The message is specific for the Gentile Christians to “appreciate the dignity of their calling, with its implication not only for their heavenly origin and destiny but also for their present conduct on earth, as those who were heirs of God, sealed with His Spirit.” The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) Pg. 245.
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