The Apostle Paul starts his letter to the church at Ephesus identifying himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. The opening of the letter is brief, without the more detailed greetings often found in Paul’s other letters. But in that brevity, Paul not only stresses his authority under God, but also anticipates the strong emphasis he will make later in this chapter, and book, on God’s sovereign plan and purpose.
Christian Believers Everywhere
Paul appears to greet the faithful believers in Ephesus. According to tradition, the Apostle Paul wrote the letter while he was in prison in Rome (around AD 62). This would be about the same time as his Epistle to the Colossians (which in many points Ephesians resembles) and the Epistle to Philemon.
In the King James Version of the Bible, Ephesians 1:1 states that the epistle is addressed “to the saints which are at Ephesus.” However, three earlier ancient manuscripts of Ephesians have a blank space where the words “who are at Ephesus” has been inserted. Paul may not have written the epistle directly to the Ephesians. It may have been a circular letter written not to any one congregation, but meant to be passed to many different congregations in different cities, including the congregation at Ephesus.
Do You Suppose . . .?
Do you suppose that the Holy Spirit might have inspired the Apostle to write the letter to you and your church? We can gather that the letter was also intended in a more general sense – to circulate among Christians as a great statement of God’s eternal plan, worked out in the church and in individual Christian lives. In the blank space we are to put our city, then the “saints” the letter addresses, may include you. How about it; are you a believer who will not perish? (John 3:16)
The Great Themes and Doctrines of Christianity
This letter to the Ephesians, and us, is different compared to many of the other New Testament letters Paul wrote. Like Romans, Ephesians was not written so much to address problems in a particular church; more so, it was written to explain some of the great themes and doctrines of Christianity. The Letter to the Romans focuses more on God’s work in the individual Christian, but Ephesians includes the themes of God’s work in the church, the community of believers.
Ephesians has many similarities with Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Since Paul wrote both of them from his Roman imprisonment, his mind may have worked on the same themes when he wrote each letter. Ephesians reads like a commentary on the Pauline epistles. It carries the thought of the earlier letters forward to a new stage.
The Things God Has Prepared
Paul wrote about the things which God has prepared for those who love Him and revealed them to us through His Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) Ephesians is the fulfillment of the revelation of things God has prepared for those who love Him. Study the Book of Ephesians and learn what God has prepared for you.
The Significant Teaching on Divinity
In Ephesians, Paul provides significant teaching on salvation, reconciliation, the nature of God’s family, and the Christian identity. Paul’s goal was to encourage and energize believers in their faith. The book of the Epistle to the Ephesians is a complete Body of Divinity. Ephesians chapter 1 talks about the work of the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, on behalf of the believer. The doctrines of the gospel are in the first chapter of Ephesians. In chapter two, you have the experience of the Christians. And before the Epistle is finished, you have the precepts of the Christian faith. Believers should read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Epistle to the Ephesians.
In Ephesians, Paul provides significant teaching on salvation, reconciliation, the nature of God’s family, and the Christian identity. Paul’s goal for all of this teaching was to encourage and energize believers in their faith. Even “the best saints need fresh supplies of the graces of the Spirit,” and “the desire to grow” (Matthew Henry’s commentary on Ephesians 1:1, 2).
So, what does this mean to you? Well . . .
In conclusion, the Daily Bread email message sent on 10/11/2022 says,
Ephesians 1:1, 2: – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (NASB)
Paul starts his letter to the church at Ephesus identifying himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He stresses his authority under God. He appears to greet the faithful believers in Ephesus.
He wrote the letter while he was in prison in Rome (around AD 62), about the same time as the Epistle to the Colossians and the Epistle to Philemon. But three earlier ancient manuscripts of Ephesians have a blank space where the words “who are at Ephesus” may have been inserted. The letter may have been a circular letter written not to any one congregation, but meant to be passed to many different congregations in different cities, including the one at Ephesus.
Do you suppose that the Holy Spirit might have inspired the Apostle write the letter to you and your church? Ephesians includes the great themes of God’s work in the church, the community of believers. Ephesians is the revelation of things God has prepared for those who love Him. The book is a complete Body of Divinity. Study the Book of Ephesians and learn what God has prepared for you.
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