The Ephesians, One Of Great Intriguing Distinction Essay

Paul wrote the letter to Ephesus in regards to Christians and how their lives should be directed and it explains how Christ has made the ultimate sacrifice and the results of that sacrifice. Some of the results and benefits include spiritual blessings, the gift of salvation through hearing the word of the truth, and the ability to grow closer to God. Also in Paul’s letter, it provides Christians, new and old, an instruction booklet of how we should live our lives according to how God would want us Christians to live our lives. Such information includes what roads are needed to take in order to get closer to God, how achieve spiritual gifts and powers from the Holy Spirit, and the way to protect against the attacks from the evil one. Ephesians 3:16-18 is spoken in the second part of Paul’s letter when he talks about the gift of salvation. Paul prays that his people may be fulfilled with the power through his Spirit in the inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith.

The first letter to the Christian community was sent from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, though Paul was the main author. Paul was writing to them to clear up their misunderstandings about the return of Christ, also considers it as instructions in holy living. Paul wrote about his longing to visit the church in Thessalonica but

The book of Ephesians is one of Paul’s many New Testament letters, or epistles, to the Christian church still in its infancy. At the time of its writing, Paul is in Rome, imprisoned for championing the purposes of Christ and growing the church. We see numerous occurrences where Paul, being a man of little concern for the status quo, is either imprisoned or fleeing capture by Jewish or Roman officials for usurping the latter (Acts 19: 23-41). The date of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is dated 60-61A.D., depending on differing research. While this is certainly one of his epistles known as the “prison letters”, Ephesians was penned prior to Paul’s first roman

Wacaster’s book, which is (as the title suggests) centered on Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, is very obviously intended to the common-level, “average” audience. Wacaster does not delve into complex conversations of textual variants, manuscript discrepancies, and disputations of authorship, nor does he use vocabulary or phraseology that is above the understanding of most individuals. Rather, Wacaster is simple, straightforward, and effective in communicating his points on the wonderful book of Galatians. With many commentaries that are written at a graduate and scholarly level, a more basic approach is much appreciated and needed.

The author of Colossians has experienced the resurrection of Christ. How can this be since the undisputed letters indicate believers have not experienced the resurrection of Christ. Colossians was written after the resurrection of Christ, therefore Paul did not write it (Ehrman, 444). According to Ehrman, even more scholars are convinced that Ephesians was not written by Paul just as Second Thessalonians and Colossians were not written by Paul. The primary issue with Ephesians is the letter is written to the “Saints in Ephesus” (Eph1:1).

Many people can teach the Gospel, but few can present it in a way of compelling and authentic manner. Through his teachings to the Ephesians, Ignatius provides beneficial concepts for Christianity that are crucial for the Church to pursue. He commends the Ephesians to live in unity and communion with God, respect the authority placed over them, and stray from false teachings. His thought-provoking ideas are absent from believers today and should be more vividly displayed in the lives of Christians.

A literary analysis is the practice of looking closely at small parts to see how they affect the whole. Literary analysis focuses on how word techniques are used by the author to create meaning. One of the reasons that Paul penned his letters in Ephesians was to bolster areas that were weak in the church. In addition to that, Paul wanted to clarify central beliefs that may not have been well-defined. Probing Paul’s letter with such a supposition, reveals several frailties among the Ephesian that Paul needed to encourage and reinforce. One of these weaknesses are amalgamated with the word riches, which is present throughout the letter in Ephesians. In this portion of the essay I will break a portion of the text down into parts, in order to examine the different elements of this piece of literature, by analyzing a portion of the text.

Our source of knowledge of the apostolic work of Paul comes first from the Book of Acts. The epistles written by Paul serve to further our knowledge of his mission. These letters were written to churches that he had founded or churches that were known to him. Luke’s account of Paul introduces us to the basic facts about this important biblical figure. A more complete understanding of Paul’s journeys can be gleaned from his letters. These epistles were written almost at the time they occurred and they comprise some of the earliest works contained in the New Testament.

This chapter gives a change in the emphasis of this great book of the Bible. The first three chapters of Ephesians are highly doctrinal about the person and character of Christ and God’s plan for His Son. Chapter four starts the emphasis on the practical aspect of the theology. We as Christians are to model the person and character of Christ. We are to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called.”

The book of Ephesians falls into the Bible, it talks about the redemptive arrangement of Christ, which is the solidarity, compromise, and recovery of all men. Ephesians was composed in two noteworthy segments: 1:3-3:21, which is viewed as philosophical, and 4:1-6:20, which advises how the devotee is to experience the Christian life. This brings together everything in Christ. The entry of Ephesians 2:14-22, falls into this first division.

In Ephesians 2:14-22, Paul writes a letter to the people of Ephesus both Jews and Gentiles of the time, telling them that Christ had broken down the wall of hostility so that they can live in peace and unity. Within this paper, there will be an extensive exegetical look at the history of the passage; what the significance of this passage is to the biblical audience, and the differences between the biblical audience and today’s audience. By studying this passage, people today can grasp the meaning and apply it to their lives.

The genre of Ephesians 2:1-10 is an Epistle. The Epistles were letters teaching specific churches or groups of people; often inspired by God. They are split into two categories: Pauline Epistles, written by Paul and traditionally Paul was the first word of the book in Greek, and General Epistles, often referred to as the Catholic epistles and were written to the universal Church. The Pauline Epistles consist of: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The General Epistles consist of: Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, and Jude. The interpretive principles of this genre are that it is meant to be read as a whole and in one sitting in order to get the main idea of the passage, one must view the paragraphs as the main unit of thought in the passage, one must know the structure to understand the letter, and one must do background reading to fully comprehend the main concept and the history and culture of the setting.

Paul visited Ephesus on his first missionary journey, on the way from Greece to Syria. After his third missionary journey, he stayed there and pastored the Ephesian church for 3 years (Easton, np). “Though Paul was not the first to bring Christianity to Ephesus, for Jews had long lived there, he was the first to make progress against the worship of Diana” (Orr, np). Because of his strong ties to the church, Paul cared deeply about the faith of the believers there (Macarthur, np).

Paul claims to be the author of Ephesians. In fact, the letter was spread around the world recognizing Paul as the author, early in the church history. However “Since the nineteenth century Pauline authorship of Ephesians has been doubted”(The Baker Bible Handbook, 835).This is because notable differences in language and style have been found between Ephesians and other letters claimed to be written by Paul such us Colossians. Anyways, those who believe it was written while Paul , have concluded that he wrote

In the beginning of the book of Ephesians, Paul specifically states that he is the author of the letter to Ephesians, though the authenticity of Paul’s authorship has been questioned. Signing the name of an influential person of the period was common practice from “the third century BC to the first century AD.” Though it would not be the first time that Paul’s name was forged, Ephesians is not a controversial letter, so if the author did not want to include his own name, he could have written the letter anonymously; also, given moral influence of the text, the author would not have lied for no cause. Ephesians is a bit different from the other letters of Paul in that it does not follow the normal structure he has previously used: “salutation, thanksgiving, prayer, body, ethical exhortations, greetings.” Paul also makes many personal references throughout the book of Ephesians including sharing that he is in prison.