Chapter 12
Ephesians
The History:
Ephesus was the Capital of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. It was the seat of Government and religion. Because of where it was situated, it was very wealthy, and as the reserve bank, minted Roman coins.
It had boasted the temple of Artimus or Diana, which was less than half a mile from the port. The goddess was made from a black meteorite that fell on Ephesus.
A record of the Apostle’s visit is described in Acts chapters-eighteen-to-twenty. The letters to Timothy were both written from here. Paul visited Aquila & Priscilla in Ephesus around sixty AD. Some suggest it was these two who started the Church. It was certainly these two who heard Apollos impressively speaking one Sabbath, and took him under their wing to correct his doctrine. Paul later come back to establish debating sessions and doctrinal teaching in the debating chambers next-door-but-two from the temple of Diana. After a couple of years, Paul went up to Jerusalem.
The early church in Ephesus, were not allowed to own property, so church consisted of a network of house-groups scattered over the town, at first. As the harbour silted and larger ships could not enter, the city declined. When the coin-mint became vacant, the Church bought it, doubled its size and came together as one church. This caused many headaches when small homogenous groups from all over the town came together in one place.
Paul did go back to meet with the elders at a later date, but not into the town. His ship put into Miletus. This is recorded in Acts-chapter-twenty. He warned them, savages will come and strip the Church.203 Paul did not stay himself, but left Timothy to pastor the Church. As always happens when small groups combine to make a bigger church, they sought to solve differences by writing a constitution. Eventually the constitution took priority over grace and love, until a group of more wealthy Jewish Christians built an impressive synagogue in the suburbs, leaving the less wealthy Christians in the town centre. John stayed, settling in the original church at Ephesus. He spent his time defending the Church against false teachers204 and training others for leadership.
This church had the best leadership available and yet, by the third- century AD, the Church had all but disappeared. John dictated what he heard from Jesus in Revelation.
This is what you must write to the Church in Ephesus: I am the one who holds the seven stars in my right hand, and I walk among the seven gold lampstands. Listen to what I say. I know everything you have done, including your hard work and how you have endured. I know you won't put up with anyone who is evil. When some people pretended to be apostles, you tested them and found out that they were liars. You have endured and gone through hard times because of me, and you have not given up. But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don't have as much love as you used to. Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. If you don't turn back, I will come and take away your lampstand. But there is one thing you are doing right. You hate what the Nicolaitans are doing, and so do I. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches. I will let everyone who wins the victory eat from the life-giving tree in God's wonderful garden.205
Paul speaks to Christians with two passports, As Ephesians and as citizens of the kingdom of Christ Jesus. The first three chapters are speaking to the Kingdom of God and the second three, to the people of Ephesus. Paul might find it strange if you asked him ‘Are you a Christian’? He would understand better the term ‘are you in Christ’? In Ephesians, he is exploring the question, ‘Which kingdom are you in? The kingdoms of this world or the Kingdom of Christ’? How are you living?
At first, these Ephesians were a small group of common folk seemly not making much headway in the city. These house-groups, were up against one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Diana.
The Letter:
The theme of letter is, the new society called Ecclesia (Church). Jew and gentile are all equal in this new church. It is a book of two-halves The first half is doctrinal and the second practical. Chapters one-to three are about the work of God in setting them apart as Saints. The wonder of that, makes them citizens of God’s Kingdom, and faithful citizens at that.
Chapters four-to-six are about the way this awareness is displayed. It is about the fruit that should naturally grow from being planted in kingdom soil. It questions how a tree planted in one vineyard can produce fruit planted in another. It is about the discrepancy between physical behaviour on the horizontal plane, behaving differently to the spiritual behaviour of the vertical plane. So once again we see confrontation with Plato’s teaching suggesting separation of body and spirit. The vertical and the horizontal meet in the cross. Besides showing the unity of body and spirit. He also focuses on the cross as the means to unite Jew and Gentile church: ‘reconciling both to God in one body by the cross, killing the enmities in himself.’206
In chapter-one he uses Prayer207, Praise208 and Preaching209 to illustrate the unity of body and spirit. What part do these have to play if body and spirit are separate entities?
That leads on to the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. Resurrection has the power to re-unite both, the spirit with the natural body, then the spirit with the new body. Paul progresses the argument saying, both Jew and Gentile are dead in sin, both Jew and Gentile are raised through the Cross. Therefore, the Cross calls both Jew and Gentile into one church210.
In chapter-three, having formed the basic doctrine of unity, he opens up the doctrine of Duty.
Duty is not the same as works. Works is used to obtain salvation but God has taken care of all that in the cross. Duty is a response, it demonstrates gratitude and loyalty. Even today, the Church is keen to separate faith and works. But in doing so it hides the doctrine which unifies faith with duty. We are not expected to work for salvation but the duty of obedience, comes out of the free gift of salvation.
In chapter-four, Paul begins with ‘Therefore’. Therefore, is the uniting word between the two halves of the letter. The work of Jesus Christ in uniting body and spirit, Jew and Gentile, death and Life. Therefore, your duty is to live in this unity. It is the vision for the church assembly. The vision is not based on some fantastic mission but on a righteous functioning of church within this corrupt city.
Paul is not talking of unity of faith; Paul is talking of unity in spirit211. Trying to bring the Church to unity of one doctrinal faith, will destroy it. That misunderstanding eventually brought the Ephesian church down. Bringing unity of Spirit enables it to move from strength to strength. Paul uses a term coined by Plato
And this is the Mystery-truth: that by hearing the Good News, those who are not Jews will share with the Jews in the blessings God has for his people. They are part of the same body, and they share in the promise God made through Christ Jesus. 212
Plato argues the mystery of the idea of the chair is revealed in the diversity of designs produced from the idea. Paul argues the mystery of God and the Church is revealed in its diversity of Jew and Gentile not absorbing it under one constitutional detail213. Mystery is not that Gentiles should be saved, but that they should be co-equals in the Church. Paul had this confirmed, when a Gentile of Macedonia called out, ‘come over and help’. Peter had this mystery confirmed when the Roman centurion called out for Peter to, ‘come over and help’.
This ‘mystery’ is also displayed in both unity and behaviour one to another. Paul splits the last section into two parts to discharge this duty. The walk of a believer in chapter-four is sub-divided into a Christian’s walk before other believers, and Christian’s walk before unbelievers. There is a special focus on a weak point in the Church, home life and marriage. In all these areas the ‘secret mystery’ is :
Be willing to serve each other out of respect for Christ.214
203 Act 20: 28 Possibly speaking of Judaizers and their influence
204 Not only Judaizers but also a new brand of Greek false teachers names gnostics (who believed they had Plato’s ‘ ‘Mysteries’ sorted.
205 Revelation 2: 1 ff
206 Ephesians 2: 16
207 Verses 3-14
208 Verses 15-17
209 Verse 19 to ch 3: 21
210 Chapter 2
211 Unity of Doctrine is not unity in Spirit. If unity of doctrine is the basis of the church it brings together people who cannot belong wholeheartedly for compromise of inner understanding or belief.
212 Ephesians 3: 6 .
213 Perhaps he is pointing a finger at Judaizers
214 Eph 5:21