Ephesians belongs to that group of letters that Paul wrote while awaiting trial in Rome. These letters—collectively referred to as "The Prison Epistles" or "The Captivity Epistles"—include also Colossians, Philippians, & Philemon. Let me quote (rather extensively) from John Stott as he expounds on the significance of this fact as it is reflected in the tenor of Ephesians:
Let me remind you that he [Paul] was a prisoner in Rome. Not indeed in a cell or dungeon, but still under house arrest and handcuffed to a Roman soldier. Yet though his wrist was chained and his body was confined, his heart and mind inhabited eternity. He peered back "before the foundation of the world" (verse 4) and on to "the fullness of time" (v10), and grasped hold of what "we have" now (verse 7) and ought to "be" now (verse 4) in the light of those two eternities. As for us, how blinkered is our vision in comparison with his, how small is our mind, how narrow are our horizons! Easily and naturally we slip into a preoccupation with our own petty little affairs. But we need to see time in the light of eternity, and our present privileges and obligations in the light of our past election and future perfection. Then, if we shared the apostle's perspective, we would also share his praise. For doctrine leads to doxology as well as to duty. Life would become worship, and we would bless God constantly for having blessed us so richly in Christ.1
So, what was the occasion for writing the letter & what were his concerns?
We begin with two observations. First, one of the perplexing issues in the scholarship of Ephesians is that the earliest manuscripts of the letter lack the name of the city. Many of the early Church Fathers also claim that the name of the city was absent in the copies of the letter they possessed. Second, while most of Paul's letters were written to address specific needs, which are often self-evident in the letter itself, such does not seem to be obvious in Ephesians. In particular, many scholars feel that, since Paul had spent at least three years in Ephesus, we can expect there to be more indications (or more obvious signs) of intimacy with the audience than is reflected in the letter; e.g., none of his acquaintances in Ephesus is named in the concluding greetings to the letter such as is found in his other letters. The letter appears, instead, to them to be a general letter that somehow in its history of transmission the letter came to be attached to the church of Ephesus. As a general letter it served to extoll Christians to realize the immense significance, both theologically and practically, of what God has done in Christ; the whole letter is, to cite Stott again, "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. And its central theme is 'God's new society-—what it is, how it came into being through Christ, how its origins and nature were revealed to Paul, how it grows through proclamation, how we are to live lives worthy of it, and how one day it will be consummated when Christ presents his bride the church to himself in splendour, 'without spot or wrinkle or any such thing . . . holy and without blemish' (5:27) . . . here is Christ's own specification of his church for which once he 'gave himself up' (5:25), the church 'which is his body', and even his 'fullness' (1:23).2
Gordon Fee, on the other hand, discerns three concerns in Ephesians, in each of which the Spirit plays a central role: 1) the Gentile mission—the passion of Paul's life—and especially in terms of the establishment of a new 'humanity' resulting from their reconciliation with the Jews, 2) Christ's victory—and the role of the Holy Spirit in the readers' participation in that victory—over the powers and principalities for the sake of the reconciled church, and, consequently, 3) the "unity of the Spirit" in the way they live, which "is brought into final focus in 6:10-20, where through the weapons and armor provided by Christ and the Spirit they are urged to stand as one people in their ongoing conflict with the powers."3
But discussion of the occasion and purpose of Ephesians has always been linked to its relationship with the letter to the Colossians. One of the intriguing features of Ephesians and Colossians is the many close parallels in thought, themes, and language between the two letters. These have led all scholars of Paul's letters to agree that the origins of the two letters are bound together, even though they disagree on the nature of this bond. One common view held by most evangelical scholars regarding this relationship and the origin of Ephesians is reflected in Francis Foulkes:
We suppose therefore that Paul wrote Colossians from his confinement in Rome to meet special difficulties and dangers in the church at Colossae. Then, as he thought over and expressed the truths of the Person of Christ, he was led on in his meditation to dwell on God's purpose in Christ as it is to be worked out in the Church. He thought not just of Colossae, but of all the churches, especially those of the Roman province of Asia. He saw how they needed to be given a vision of the greatness of their calling, and of the importance of the life and unity of the Church as the Body of Christ. So, shortly after writing Colossians, he wrote Ephesians.4
Unlike Colossians, however, Ephesians was not written to combat errors or false teaching. So, while stimulated by what he was saying to the Colossians, Paul could be "more detached and therefore more exalted. He rose above the smoke of battle and captured a vision of God's sovereign plan that transcends the bitterness of controversy and the necessity for the church militant here on earth to fight incessantly for its very existence."5
Others, however, are not so sure about such a general purpose for the letter. Frank Thielman, e.g., has made a convincing case that the letter was written by Paul with the particular circumstances of the church(es) in Ephesus in mind. He, e.g., disagrees with the often repeated claim that the letter is impersonal; I will let him be heard in his own words:
. . . the letter does express concern for its readers on specific topics. Paul prays that they might have a better understanding of what God has done for them in Christ (1:1:18-23), that Christ might dwell in their hearts (3:17), and that they might understand the massive size of Christ's love for them (3:18-19). In addition, he wants his readers to word together as they remain faithful to the teaching of the church's founders and its present leaders (4:1-16; cf. 2:20) and to avoid compromise with the harmful moral standards of their unbelieving environment (4:17-19; 5:3-38). When these concerns are coupled with Paul's request that his readers not be discouraged because of his suffering for them (3:13), it is not too speculative to think of the letter as a response to a certain weariness in the readers' commitment to the gospel. It is also reasonable to imagine that this discouragement has led to disunity and moral compromise with the surrounding culture . . .6
It should also be noted that, historically, the interpretation of the letter has often been linked to the religious culture of Ephesus, especially to the city's reputation as a center of magical practices and the worship of Artemis (or Diana). From Luke's account of Paul's time in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-21), and especially, of Sceva and his sons' attempt to drive out evil spirits, how deeply the powers of darkness pervade Ephesian culture.
Researches in recent years have confirmed much of the ancient city's interest in such magical practices. As a result some scholars are even more certain that Paul's references in the letter to "the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places" (3:10) and "the authorities, the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (6:12) should be understood within the cultural-religious context of the city in the first century AD.
Additionally, Thielman thinks that, in addition to the cult of Artemis, some thoughts should also be given to the prominence of the imperial cult in the civil live of the city. Emperor worship was a prominent feature of life at every level of society in the Roman Empire. When Herod the Great built the port-city of Caesarea and named it in honour of Augustus Caesar, he had a temple dedicated to Augustus that was visible to ships coming in from the sea. Later Pontius Pilate (26-36 AD) would dedicate another temple to Tiberius. Ephesus was a particularly important centre of the imperial cult; the city had temples dedicated to both Emperor Augustus, "son of god," and to his adopted son and successor, Tiberius Caesar. In friezes adorning every public space were depicted images celebrating Augustus' imposition of unity on the world through conquest and underlining the assertion that the world as it presently exists is the work of the gods and Augustus. Against this background, Thielman proposes a scenario in which Paul—having perhaps learned of the discouragement the Ephesian Christians were facing and, perhaps of the disunity that was creeping into the church in that city—felt that "they needed the reminder of (1) the power and grace of the one God, to whom they had committed themselves at their conversion; (2) the role that, as the church, they were playing in God's plan to unite the whole universe in Christ and under his feet, and (3) the ethical responsibility that God's grace and their role in God's plan placed upon them. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians is his response to this need."7
Perhaps more than anyone else, Clinton Arnold has called our attention to the subject of magic and spiritual powers in its historical setting in ancient Roman Asia. After a lengthy exploration, he concludes:
. . . even if "in Ephesus" was not original in Ephesians 1:1—although there are good arguments in favour of its authenticity—it is still likely that Ephesus was one of the destinations for the letter, if not the primary recipient, because of its standing as the leading city of the region and because of its strategic importance for the Christianity of the province. In a general way then, Ephesians may very well give us a picture of the situation of the churches in Ephesus in the mid first century. Based on Ephesians, it appears that the churches were dealing with a problem of Jews-Gentile disunity (Eph 2:11-22) and were still struggling with the issue of divine power and evil spirits. The letter also gives evidence of a strong, if not predominantly, Gentile presence in the churches who needed doctrinal instruction as well as ethical exhortation.8
What then are we to make of all these opinions? Short of an extremely early document being found that will provide definitive evidence that the word 'Ephesians' was original to the letter, the question will never be settled with absolute certainty. But even if such a thing were to happen, scholars will still debate it. What is important, it seems to us, is that, the letter must have come to be associated with the city of Ephesius for good reasons, though what they are remains uncertain. The letter's concern with the question of the "powers" and "the heavenly places" is one, and makes plenty of good sense against the historical circumstances in the city. That, alone, seems good enough.
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2022
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