Who Wrote Ephesians?

Ephesians is addressed to a group of believers who are rich beyond measure in Jesus Christ, yet living as beggars, and only because they are ignorant of their wealth. Since they have yet to accept their wealth, they relegate themselves to living as spiritual paupers.

Paul begins by describing in chapters 1-3 the contents of the Christian’s heavenly “bank account”: adoption, acceptance, redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, inheritance, the seal of the Holy Spirit, life, grace, citizenship – in short, every spiritual blessing.

All internal (1:1) and external evidence strongly supports the Pauline authorship of Ephesians. In recent years, however, critics have turned to internal grounds to challenge this unanimous ancient tradition. It has been argued that the vocabulary and style are different from other Pauline epistles, but this overlooks Paul’s flexibility under different circumstances.

The theology of Ephesians in some ways reflects a later development, but this must be attributed to Paul’s own growth and meditation on the church as the body of Christ. Since the epistle clearly names the author in the opening verse, it is not necessary to theorize that Ephesians was written by one of Paul’s pupils or admirers, such as Timothy, Luke, Tychicus, or Onesimus.

The Background of Ephesians

At the end of his second missionary journey, Paul visited Ephesus where he left Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:18-21). This strategic city was the commercial center of Asia Minor, but heavy silting required a special canal to be maintained so that ships could reach the harbor.

Paul remained in Ephesus for nearly three years on his third missionary journey (Acts 18:23-19:41); the Word of God was spread throughout the province of Asia. Paul’s effective ministry began to hurt seriously the traffic in magic and images, leading to an uproar in the huge Ephesian theater. Paul then left for Macedonia, but afterward he met with the Ephesian elders while on his way to Jerusalem (Acts 20:17-38).

Paul wrote the “Prison Epistles” (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon) during his first Roman imprisonment in A.D. 60-62. These epistles all refer to his imprisonment and fit well against the background in Acts 28:16-31. Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon were evidently written about the same time in AD 60-61.

Jesus in Ephesians

Paul’s important phrase “in Christ” (or its equivalent) appears about thirty-five times, more than in any other New Testament book. The believer is in Christ (1:1), in the heavenly places in Christ (1:3), chosen in Him (1:4), adopted through Christ (1:5), in the Beloved (1:6), redeemed in Him (1:7), given an inheritance in Him (1:11), sealed in Him (1:13), made alive together with Christ (2:5), raised and seated with Him (2:6), created in Christ (2:10), brought near by His blood (2:13), growing in Christ (2:21), a partaker of the promise in Christ (3:6), and given access through faith in Him (3:12).

The Keys to Ephesians

Key Phrase: Building the Body of Christ.

Ephesians focuses on the believer’s responsibility to walk in accordance with his heavenly calling in Christ Jesus (4:1). Ephesians was not written to correct specific errors in a local church, but to prevent problems in the church as a whole by encouraging the body of Christ to maturity in Him. It was also written to make believers more aware of their position in Christ because this is the basis for their practice on every level of life.

Key Verse: Ephesians 2:8-10

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Key Chapter: Ephesians 6

Even though the Christian is blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (1:3), spiritual warfare is still the daily experience of the Christian while in the world. Chapter 6 is the clearest advice for how to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (6:10).

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Content in this article is also taken from the Open Bible.

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