Ephesians Series: Introduction-Recipients

As we noted in our introduction, the epistle to the Ephesians appears to be a circular letter in the sense that it was intended to be read not only by the Christian community in the city of Ephesus but also by the many house churches throughout the Roman province of Asia, which is now called Turkey.

As we noted previously, we would expect that Paul’s lengthy stay in Ephesus would prompt him to send personal greetings in this epistle, but this is not the case.

However, this absence would be understandable if the letter is a circulatory letter intended for all the various house churches in the Roman province of Asia.

Traditionally, this letter has been identified as having been sent to the church at Ephesus.

The problem with this is that the prepositional phrase ἐν Ἐφέσῳ “in Ephesus” in Ephesians 1:1 is not found in the oldest and best manuscripts.

Further complicating matters is that Marcion said that this letter was sent to the Laodiceans and that Paul refers to in Colossians 4:16.

Also, the author does not demonstrate that he has an intimate knowledge of the recipients which we would expect if Paul was the author since he spent three years with the Ephesians.

Ephesians must be a circular letter sent to the various churches throughout the Roman province of Asia not only because of the lack of personal names and that it is authentic but also because of the textual uncertainty regarding the prepositional phrase ἐν Ἐφέσῳ (en Ephesō), “in Ephesus.”

This problem is resolved if the letter was circular.

Therefore, we can’t be dogmatic of course but a very possible scenario would be that Paul sent Tychicus with not only Colossians but also what we know today as the Ephesian epistle from Rome.

The first stop with the Ephesian epistle was Ephesus and from there it was sent to Laodicea, which accounts for this letter appearing in Marcion’s list as the epistle to the Laodiceans.

From Laodicea, a copy of Ephesians would then be brought to Colossae.

The reason why the Ephesian epistle did not appear in some of the best and oldest manuscripts is that this letter was meant for the various churches in the Roman province of Asia.

Thus, the place in which the name “Ephesus” appeared was left blank for the names of each of these churches.

Of course, the churches located in Ephesus would have made most of the copies of this letter because Paul’s base of operations was in this city for nearly three years.

Therefore, most of the surviving copies have the phrase ἐν Ἐφέσῳ “in Ephesus” in Ephesians 1:1 (so א2 A B2 D F G Ψ 0278 33 1881 𝔐 latt sy co).

The city of Ephesus was located on the western part of Turkey and was situated at the mouth of the Cayster River.

It had been founded by colonists from Athens in the eleventh century B.C.

They displaced the original inhabitants and began a Greek civilization on the Ionian coast.

The strategic location of the city favored its growth and it became a military prize for both the naval states of Greece and those who dominated Asia Minor thereafter, the Lydians and the Persians.

Alexander the Great received the homage of the Ephesian rulers in 334 B.C.

In 188 B.C. the Romans took it from Antiochus the Great and then in turn gave it to the king of Pergamum.

The Romans got it back again and incorporated it into the province of Asia.

Ephesus became the chief city of the province.

It was home to one of the seven wonders of the world…the Temple of Artemis or Diana of the Ephesians.

There was a great marble street in Ephesus, the Arkadiane.

There was also the Odieon Theater, which served the city as a council chamber.

With an artificial harbor accessible to the largest ships, and rivaling the harbor at Miletus, standing at the entrance of the valley which reaches far into the interior of Asia Minor, and connected by highways with the chief cities of the province, Ephesus was the most easily accessible city in Asia, both by land and sea.

Its location, therefore, favored its religious, political and commercial development, and presented a most advantageous field for the missionary labors of Paul.

The city stood upon the sloping sides and at the base of two hills, Prion and Coressus, commanding a beautiful view; its climate was exceptionally fine, and the soil of the valley was unusually fertile.

A great library was located in the city and of course the great agora or marketplace.

Carved into the great sidewalk leading to the building on the marble street is the mark of a bare foot, the ancient sign of direction to a house of prostitution-a reminder that Ephesus was a port city with many visitors and sailors.

There was a stadium constructed during the reign of Nero.

South of the stadium was the theater, set in the side of a mountain which was the scene of a riot when the apostle Paul was accused of ruining the business of the silversmiths in Ephesus who made a substantial prophet in relation to the worship of Artemis (Acts 19:23-24).

The silversmith’s union in the city, which made quite a profit from making idols of the fertility goddess Artemis were enraged at Paul and his teaching against worshipping idols.

The business community did not like Christianity because it cut into their profits.

But the riot was dispersed by the town clerk and he rebuked them for their conduct.

Paul went to Macedonia but returned at a later date.

Asia and in particular Ephesus was a fruitful field for evangelism.

In three years the entire region of Asia Minor heard the Christian message.

Churches were founded in almost every city and town…large and small.

Ephesus was an ancient city when Paul arrived.

By the middle of the second millennium B.C., settlers of Asiatic origin inhabited the site.

During the eleventh century B.C., Athenians arrived and gradually assimilated the older population.

After varying periods of independence and absorption into neighboring empires, Ephesus came into the Roman Empire in 133 B.C. as part of the province of Asia.

Though suffering terribly during the civil wars of the first century B.C., Ephesus enjoyed great prosperity under Rome during the first and second centuries A.D., when the city must have had a population of about a half million.

Here the Roman governor resided, and here Paul conducted the longest of his city ministries (two years and nine months, Acts 19:8,10).

A number of factors contributed to the prominence, which Ephesusenjoyed.

The first factor was economics.

Situated at the mouth of the river Cayster, Ephesus was the most favorable seaport in the province of Asia and the most important trade center west of Tarsus.

Today, because of silting from the river, the ruins of the city lie in a swamp 8 to 11 kilometers (5 to 7 miles) inland.

Another factor was size because Ephesus was the largest city in the province, having a population of perhaps 300,000 people despite the fact that Pergamum was the capital of the province of Asia in Roman times.

A third factor was culture since Ephesuscontained a theater that seated an estimated 25,000 people.

A main thoroughfare, some 35 meters (105 feet) wide, ran from the theater to the harbor, at each end of which stood an impressive gate and this thoroughfare was flanked on each side by rows of columns 15 meters (50 feet) deep and behind these columns were baths, gymnasiums, and impressive buildings.

The fourth, and perhaps most significant, reason for the prominence of Ephesus was religion since the temple of Artemis (or Diana, according to her Roman name) located in her midst and was ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

As the twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus, Artemis was known variously as the moon goddess, the goddess of hunting, and the patroness of young girls.

The temple at Ephesus housed the multi-breasted image of Artemis, which was reputed to have come directly from Zeus (Acts 19:35).

The temple of Artemis in Paul's day was supported by 127 columns, each of them 60 meters (197 feet) high.

The Ephesians took great pride in this grand edifice.

During the Roman period, they promoted the worship of Artemis by minting coins with the inscription, “Diana of Ephesus.”

As we noted in our instruction, during his second missionary journey, which took place between 49-52 A.D., Paul stopped at Ephesus.

He was urged to stay by the Ephesians but declined. Aquila and Priscilla as well as Timothy continued the work of the Lord in Ephesus according to Acts 18:18-21 while Paul sailed to Antioch.

However, Paul returned to Ephesus during his third missionary journey and stayed there for three years according to Acts 20:31.