Ephesians Background
“Much of the trouble in the Church today is due to the fact that we are so subjective, so interested in ourselves, so egocentric. That is the peculiar error of this present century. Having forgotten God, and having become so interested in ourselves, we become miserable and wretched, and spend our time in ‘shallows and in miseries’.
The message of the Bible from beginning to end is designed to bring us back to God, to humble us before God, and to enable us to see our true relationship to Him. And that is the great theme of this Epistle; it holds us face to face with God, and what God is, and what God has done; it emphasizes throughout the glory and the greatness of God.” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“Much of the trouble in the Church today is due to the fact that we are so subjective, so interested in ourselves, so egocentric. That is the peculiar error of this present century. Having forgotten God, and having become so interested in ourselves, we become miserable and wretched, and spend our time in ‘shallows and in miseries’.
The message of the Bible from beginning to end is designed to bring us back to God, to humble us before God, and to enable us to see our true relationship to Him. And that is the great theme of this Epistle; it holds us face to face with God, and what God is, and what God has done; it emphasizes throughout the glory and the greatness of God.” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Ephesus
Next to Rome, Ephesus was the most important city Paul visited on his missionary journeys. The main city of the Roman province of Asia, it was a populous port city, important as a center for commerce, religion, and politics. It had two great architectural wonders, the temple of Diana – 425 feet x 220 feet x 65feet. That is twice the size of the Parthenon and a 50,000-seat theatre (Acts 19:29). It also had a stadium or race course that often hosted fights between men and wild beasts (see 1 Cor. 9:24–25; 15:32—words written from Ephesus).
Paul visited Ephesus during his second journey, a visit cut short by his haste to return to Jerusalem (Acts 18:19–21). He visited again on his third journey and remained there for three years (Acts 19–20). He later sent Timothy to Ephesus as his representative. After Paul’s death, the apostle John made Ephesus his headquarters until his death, by which time the Ephesian church had “fallen from [its] first love” (Rev. 2:1–7).
Willmington, H. L. (1997). Willmington's Bible handbook (703). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
Ephesus
Next to Rome, Ephesus was the most important city Paul visited on his missionary journeys. The main city of the Roman province of Asia, it was a populous port city, important as a center for commerce, religion, and politics. It had two great architectural wonders, the temple of Diana – 425 feet x 220 feet x 65feet. That is twice the size of the Parthenon and a 50,000-seat theatre (Acts 19:29). It also had a stadium or race course that often hosted fights between men and wild beasts (see 1 Cor. 9:24–25; 15:32—words written from Ephesus).
Paul visited Ephesus during his second journey, a visit cut short by his haste to return to Jerusalem (Acts 18:19–21). He visited again on his third journey and remained there for three years (Acts 19–20). He later sent Timothy to Ephesus as his representative. After Paul’s death, the apostle John made Ephesus his headquarters until his death, by which time the Ephesian church had “fallen from [its] first love” (Rev. 2:1–7).
Willmington, H. L. (1997). Willmington's Bible handbook (703). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.