Exegesis on Ephesians 1:3-14
Exegesis on
EPHESUS, which is familiarly known in history under a great variety of names, was a very celebrated city of Lesser Asia. The remarkable events connected with the work of God in “forming there a people for himself,” (Isa. 43:21,) through the labours of Paul, together with the commencement and progress of that church, are related by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles. At present, I shall do nothing more than glance at what bears directly on the argument of the Epistle. The Ephesians had been instructed by Paul in the pure doctrine of the gospel. At a later period, while he was a prisoner at Rome, and perceiving that they needed confirmation, he wrote to them, on that account, the present Epistle.
This letter is different from some others by Paul. It doesn’t have his usual personal messages, and the earliest versions don’t even mention Ephesus.
Again, in this letter Paul isn’t tackling any particular problem. It isn’t a troubleshooting letter like some of his others. At the same time, it is very similar to the letter to the Colossians. A lot of the material overlaps.
It may be that Ephesians is a letter which is taken round various churches in Asia Minor by Tychicus, and read out in several churches. It could be a teaching letter or sermon to Christians whom Paul has never met, and (because he is now in prison) will never get to know. And so he writes some general teaching on the theory and practice of Christianity. He outlines all that God has done for us through Christ, and the difference Jesus makes to our outlook, behaviour and relationships. The Greek is quite formal, and at times complicated. 1:3–14 is all one sentence!
Some scholars view this epistle as encyclical, a circular letter to be distributed to several undesignated local churches in the province of Asia or some other area. This is supported by two observations: (1) the words “in Ephesus” (1:1) do not appear in three early Alexandrian Greek manuscripts, and (2) it is strange for Paul not to mention by name any of the individuals in a church where he had lived and worked for three years (Acts 20:31). However, it seems better to accept “in Ephesus” as genuine because of the wide geographical distribution of the Greek manuscripts that do include those words. Also no manuscripts of this epistle mention any other city, and none have only the word “in” followed by a space to insert a city’s name. The prescript or title “To the Ephesians” appears in all manuscripts of this epistle. Furthermore, all the letters Paul wrote to churches mention their destinations.