Paul names himself as the author of the epistle to the ephesians ephesians 1. The key personalities of ephesians are the apostle paul and tychicus. Moreover, support for pauline authorship was maintained as early as the second century by early church fathers such as ignatius who ascribed ephesians as being from. The book of ephesians was very likely written between a. Scott, the epistles of paul to the colossians, to philemon and to the ephesians 1930 p. Some have taken the absence of the usual personal greetings.
The letter to the ephesian church is regarded as one of the masterworks of the nt, but it is also one of those books that the critics like to say wasnt authored by paul. All three letters were sent with tychicus and onesimus. Paul gives thanks and prays for the ephesians ephesians 1. Karl barth on the authorship of ephesians and colossians. Its authorship has traditionally been credited to paul the apostle but, starting in 1792. The author of the book of ephesus was the apostle paul. Prayer for ephesians strength, praise to god ephesians 3. Prior to writing his epistle to the ephesians in 6061 ad, paul had an established ministry in ephesus. Ephesus boasted international trade, a thriving silversmith guild, and a theater that seated 20,000 people. Yet the pauline authorship of ephesians has been greatly disputed in recent years. This is a lengthy commentary on ephesians over 900 pages, but well worth the purchase. While this book begins, paul, an apostle of christ jesus through the will of god, to the saints who are at ephesus, and the faithful in christ jesus 1.
The book is address by paul to the church at ephesus. Paul the author of this letter, realizing that the ephesians were starting to forsake their first love, wrote this epistle to encourage them to love both god and their fellow saints. Ephesians is the great pauline letter about the church. Style and genre in ephesians q m t qdonovan the authorship of ephesians is an increasingly open question in current discussion. The letter is addressed to the church in the city of ephesus, capital of the roman province of asia asia minor, modern turkey. Externally, pauline authorship of ephesians had widespread and consistent support through most of church history. If such is truly the case, then paul wrote ephesians around 6163 a. The epistle of paul to the colossians, or simply colossians, is the twelfth book of the new testament. The apostle paul wrote this letter to the churches in ephesus and the surrounding region c. Recall the opening scenes in the sound of music movie. Ephesians 6 background information with maps and images.
As ive preached through ephesians over the past two years, ive benefited from hoehner in many ways, and have read almost all of the. Hoehner also probably gives the most robust defense of pauline authorship of ephesians of any commentary over 100 pages. For the purpose of this sermon, i will assume that paul is the author. Paul wrote the letter to the ephesians sometime in ad 6061, around the same time he wrote colossians and philemon, as he sent all three letters by the hand of tychicus, accompanied by onesimus ephesians 6. The hypostasis of the archons, written sometime in the third century, cites the same verse and attributes the book of ephesians to paul. Put on the full armor of god so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes. The letter brims with deep conviction expressed primarily in terms, not of argument and polemic, but of adoration.
Ephesians is placed in this time period because of its close association to colossiansphilemon and the probability that tychicus delivered both letters eph. Biblical scholars are divided over the authorship of ephesians and colossians. During this time he also wrote colossians and philemon. Ephesians gives no hint of pauls release from prison as do philippians 1. Erdman, the epistle of paul to the ephesians philadelphia.
It deals, however, not so much with a congregation in the city of ephesus in asia minor as with the worldwide church, the head of which is christ, the purpose of which is to be the instrument for making gods plan of salvation known throughout the universe eph 3. Unlike other books like romans or 1 and 2 corinthians which are undisputedly pauline, it has been debated whether ephesians and colossians along with 2 thes. When we study this book, it is as though we have climbed a high mountain peak, because the book gives us that kind of perspective on what god has created. I dont think opponents to pauline authorship come close to putting ephesians with the apocryphal books, so i cant deny its pauline authorship. It is significant that ephesians was recognized from the beginning as a pauline letter. Nov 27, 2009 to deny pauline authorship of a book in the bible is to challenge its authority as scripture. The intention of the letter to ephesus is to help them understand gods purpose for their lives, unity of the church, and the spiritual realm of the christian life. Because the name ephesus is not mentioned in every early manuscript, some scholars believe the letter was an encyclical, intended to be circulated and read. Pauline authorship of ephesians was largely unchallenged by scholars until the 19th century when biblical criticism became vogue amongst the theological community and academia. Ephesians intro to ephesians biblica the international bible. Many liberal american and european scholars have abandoned the pauline authorship of ephesians, although outstanding english and american scholars alike advocate its. Specific instructions for christian living ephesians 4. Eph has 155 verses, 73 of which are similar to ones from col. According to the opening paragraph of the article for the book of ephesians on wikipedia, it is not universally held that ephesians was written by paul.
The book of ephesians clearly leaves its mark among other bible books by displaying the powerful impact of the gospel of christ jesus in the individual and corporate life of believers. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to paul the apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as deuteropauline, that is, written in pauls name by a later author strongly influenced by pauls thought, probably by a loyal. The book of ephesians is a prison epistle letter written while in prison. In this article well be looking at the arguments offered on both sides. In ephesians 4 through 6, the members of the church doing good work on behalf of. Several of the early church writers site the book of ephesians, for example irenaeus and clement of alexandria both state that paul was its author. To the saints in ephesus, a the faithful in christ jesus. Most books attribute the authorship to that of the apostle paul. The author except for the pastorals, ephesians has the worst credentials for authenticity, in critical circles, among all of pauls epistles. The argument against ephesians authenticity, however, rests exclusively on internal evidence, for as even kummel admits, without question ephesians was extraordinarily well attested in the early church.
It was written to encourage believers to walk as fruitful followers of christ and to serve in unity and love in the midst of persecution. A source on that site says, hoehner surveys 279 commentators from 1519 to 2001, finding 54% favor pauline authorship, 39% conclude against pauline authorship, and 7% remained uncertain. The book of ephesians is a letter written to the christians at ephesus. Book of ephesians overview insight for living ministries. Letter of paul to the ephesians, new testament writing once thought to have been. Milligan, saint pauls epistles to the thessalonians 1908 vi, ix, p. Ephesians also refers to most of the other letters of paul. Some critics think that the book reflects aspects of vocabulary, style, and doctrine that differ from pauls writings. Some have taken the absence of the usual personal greetings and the verbal similarity of many parts to colossians, among other reasons, as grounds for doubting authorship by the. Ephesians ivp bible background commentary institute of biblical. Survey of ephesians what is a good summary of the book of ephesians. The book of ephesians hits on a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors, designed to ensure believers are living up to our heavenly calling.
Enclosed within the book of ephesians is the discipline needed to develop into true children of god. The book of ephesians the holy bible complete chapters 1 6. Since clement of rome cites ephesians, it must be dated earlier than ad 95. The authorship of ephesians the letter to the ephesian church is regarded as one of the masterworks of the nt, but it is also one of those books that the critics like to say wasnt authored by paul. Home the study bible commentary series, new testament paul. In a previous essay on the authorship of ephesians link 1 below we proposed the thesis that that letter was composed by pauls son in faith, timothy, who had been influenced by his fellow ephesian transplant, the apostle john. While colossians sets forth christs glory as head of the church and of the universe, ephesians sets forth the glory of the church itself, and draws practical conclusions from it. Ephesians chapters wonderfully expound the gospel while ephesians chapters 46 provide a clear picture of how those doctrines change our lives.
The purpose and plan of ephesians preaching source. Dec 01, 2002 hoehner also probably gives the most robust defense of pauline authorship of ephesians of any commentary over 100 pages. Objections to pauls authorship the first objections to pauls authorship of ephesians arose among scripture scholars in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century on the basis of internal evidence, that is, content that seemed inconsistent with pauls authorship. We therefore welcome all the more warmly the following contribution to the debate which is based on a paper given to the tsf group in oxford. While early lists of new testament books, including marcions canon and the muratorian. The church father origen of alexandria rejected the pauline authorship of hebrews, instead asserting that, although the ideas expressed in the letter were genuinely pauline. Because the name ephesus is not mentioned in every early manuscript, some scholars believe the letter was an encyclical, intended to be circulated and read among all the churches in asia minor and was simply. Paul wrote the letter to the ephesians sometime in ad 60 61, around the same time he wrote colossians and philemon, as he sent all three letters by the hand of tychicus, accompanied by onesimus ephesians 6. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to paul the apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as deuteropauline, that is, written in pauls name by a later author strongly influenced by pauls thought, probably by a loyal disciple to sum up pauls teaching and to apply it to a new situation fifteen to twentyfive years after. Ephesians 16 nkjv greeting paul, an apostle of jesus. To deny pauline authorship of a book in the bible is to challenge its authority as scripture. As we continue in our faith from day to day, month to month, and year to year, the temptation to get comfortable will always exist.
Pastor steven cole sermons ephesians pastor steven. Doctrine occupies the greatest portion of the book of ephesians. The epistolary structure, vocabulary, and style are consistent with pauls other epistles. Ephesians overview dummelows commentary on the bible. Summary of the book of ephesians story of the bible. Oct 03, 2014 the book of ephesians the holy bible complete chapters 1 6. Finally, be strong in the lord and in his mighty power. It was written, according to the text, by paul the apostle and timothy to the church in colossae, a small phrygian city near laodicea and approximately 100 miles 160 km from ephesus in asia minor. The first verse in the letter identifies paul as its author. A mere mention of some of the basic problems will suffice as a background against which to note the purpose and plan of the letter.
Findlay, the epistle to the ephesians, in the expositors bible, reprint ed. That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. Letter of paul to the ephesians work by saint paul britannica. Today mike gives a deep dive into the background and meaning of ephesians 6. This summary of the book of ephesians provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of ephesians. The author exhorts his readersparents and children, masters and. Paul identifies himself as a prisoner at the time of his writing ephesians 3. It is possible that paul could have written the letter when he was imprisoned at caesarea 9 acts 24. This epistle is addressed to the saints at the church in ephesus, a prosperous port city in the roman province of asia minor. Paul intended that all who long for christlike maturity would receive this writing. The letter has the most to say about the universal church and lacks the sort of specific problems which form the occasion for each of the previous letter of paul.
Ephesians places the burden of proof on contrary hypotheses. However, paul presented the gift of god in christ and the benefits we. Twice in this epistle paul referred to himself by name as the author of the book eph. It was written, according to the text, by paul the apostle and timothy to the church in colossae, a small phrygian city near laodicea and approximately 100 miles 160 km from ephesus in asia minor scholars have increasingly questioned pauls authorship and attributed the letter to an. This summary of the book of ephesians provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of ephesians. Some liberal critics have attempted to raise doubts, yet the authorship of the book is solidly established both by the clear statement in the book itself and by the records of the early uninspired christian writers. There is one body and one spiritjust as you were called to one.
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