*Eph3:3,4,first letter wrote
Background:This letter may have been written to several churches in and around the important city of Ephesus. Paul founded this church on his third missionary tour(Ac18:23-20:1)The clear theme of the letter is unity:God's plan is to bring an end all that divides men and women,social classes,cultures,nations and religions.Jesus Christ is the unifying force,as the head unites the human body.Ch4-6 show that this does not mean we can do as we like. Christians are called to serve one another in love and the Holy Spirit is given to help them do this.
Author:Paul(1:1;3:1,seeRomans)
Date and Location:Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter(3:1;4:1;6:20)if refer to Caesarea (Ac24:27)it would have been written about AD57-59,if in Rome(Ac28:30),it is written about 60-62.Since he express no hope of release,it was probably just after his coming to Rome,while he was imprisoned in his own rented house(Ac28:30)
Recipients:The words"in Ephesus"(1:1)are missing in some important Greek manuscripts.This,coupled with the fact that there are no personal greetings in the letter and in specific church problems is addressed,has given rise to the idea that Ephesians was originally a cyclical letter,intended for circulation among the 7 churches of Asia Minor(Rv2,3).However,the majority of extent Greek manuscripts do include"in Ephesus" and none of those manuscripts indicate their destination.Ephesians may have been intended as a cyclical letter,being first send to Ephesus,the main city of Asia,where Paul had made his headquarters as he ministered throughout that region(Ac19:10).Having receive good report about these churches(1:15)and hearing that Tychicus(6:21)was ready to make a trip to Ephesus,Paul seized the opportunity to send the letter.
Purpose:
-To teach about the church as the body of Christ,composed of both Jews and Gentile believers
-To exhort believers to conduct themselves properly toward one another because of their oneness in Christ
-To equip them for spiritual warfare.
Unique Features:
-Addresses no specific church problem
-One of Paul's letter ,one 2 persons appeared:Paul and Tychicus
-In the original Greek,1:3-14 is the longest sentence in the Bible
-the phrase"in the heavenly realms",occurs 5x(1:3,20:2:6;3:10;6:12)and nowhere else in Scripture
-3 great figure of speech to illustrate our union with Christ:building(2:21,22)body(1:22,23;4:15)bride(5:25-32)
Comparison:
*Jos-earthly realms;Eph.-heavenly realms
*Col.-The content of 78 of the 115 verses in Eph. is repeated in Col. with slight differences;78 out of the 95 verses in Col. resembles Eph:
*Both stress the relationship between Christ the head and the church his body
*Eph. emphasizes the body,while Col. emphasizes the head
*Wrote Php., Col.,2Ti,Philem.and Eph.-while in prison in Rome,with 2Ti. coming during his second imprisonment when death was near
Abbreviations:Eph./ Ep
MV:Eph2:8
Bib1Yr:Eph5Followers
of God
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