Why Paul Wrote the Christians at Ephesus

The Ephesian Epistle Stresses Unity and Focuses on Christian Living

Apr 24, 2009

Attempting to break down the differentiation between Jew and Gentile, Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus emphasized the unity of all believers and called for love.

Paul’s letter or “epistle” to the Ephesians emphasized the unity of the Christian church and provided instruction of living the faith. Written during the latter two years of Paul’s captivity in Rome ca AD 58 or 63-64, the letter was sent to the fledgling Christian community in Ephesus, a community that would represent the strongest Christian presence in the East and supplant Jerusalem after Titus destroyed the city in AD 70.

The Thesis of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians

Acts 28.30 indicates that Paul, during his captivity in Rome, had the freedom to preach and meet with other Christians. As such, he was well aware of the growing conflicts and dissension within the various Christian communities in the Eastern part of the empire.

Paul’s emphasis on Church unity focused on instructions for living in grace: the riches in Christ; suffering in Christ; and the Headship of Christ. Dr. Charles Smith Lewis, a former Professor of New Testament at Western Theological Seminary in Chicago (now Evanston), states that “the discord between the elements of the church, the distinction between Jew and Gentile, all must yield to that greater purpose.”

The “greater purpose” was the will of God. Paul called for a “great oneness in Christ.” Toward that end, Paul’s first challenge to the Ephesians was to engage in walking worthy. The end of his first chapter (a literary breakdown decidedly not in original sources) reminds the Ephesians that the church is “the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

Put simply, Paul was reminding the Ephesians that when God looks at Christ, he was seeing his church; when non-believers looked at Christians, they should see Christ. The church, (individual Christians) was “seated with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus” (2.6).

Jews and Gentiles are Equal Christians

Paul quotes Isaiah 57.19 in 2.17 to illustrate that God, through Christ, has brought together the Jews and the Gentiles. God’s desire was to “reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross…” (2.16). Paul further details that this goal was what prompted God to call him into service as a minister to the gentiles.

Pail refers to his calling as the “stewardship of God” (3.2). A steward was one who cared for the master’s possessions. It was a position of great personal responsibility and obligation. At the end of Chapter 3, Paul refers to his personal tribulations (v 13) but states that they were on behalf of his ministry: “for they are your glory.”

The Challenge to Walking Worthy

Chapter 4 demonstrates a shift in Paul’s message. Christians, unified in the grace of Christ, are instructed to walk in unity. This is made abundantly clear in verses 4-6. In verse 7, Paul follows up his unity theme by stating that “to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” The term “gift” in the original sources is singular.

In Chapter 6 Christians are challenged to be defensive (6.14ff) as well as offensive (6.17ff).

Paul’s admonition to wives and husbands, often a source of bitter contemporary debate, begins in 5.22. Yet his statement in verse 25, telling husbands to “love your wives” and comparing this love to Christ and the church is in stark contrast to the way women were treated in the first century.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, bearing the strongest link to Paul’s authorship of all of his epistles, formed a relationship between Christ and the church that Paul also emphasized in Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12. It called for unity and provided a formula for effective daily living.

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