The Unification of the Church

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Recommended: Historical background of Ephesians

Context
The letter of Ephesians is the tenth book in the New Testament, its authorship is attributed to Paul after his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to apostle. The legitimacy of his authorship is still debated by scholars. Harold Hoehner in his book “Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary,” lists a number of reasons why many scholars reject Paul as the author. But, for the purposes of this exegetical Paul is considered the author of the letter.
It is estimated that the letter was written in A.D 60-61 (Arnold, 3). It is thought that it was also meant for many other churches located in that area. Accordingly, during this time Paul was a prisoner in Rome for two years. (Hoehner, 92).
Paul wrote the letter to the church in Ephesus which was located in Western Asia Minor. It was an important city in the Roman Empire because it represented a multi-ethnic commercial region, and it was largely populated. Ephesus was also filled with many pagans customs like the cult to Artemis, gods, and magic practices (Arnold, 3-5). Still, because they had heard the gospel that Paul had shared to them, many Jews and Gentiles converted to Christianity.
Like most of Paul's letters, Ephesians is very structured and it consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Ephesians can be divided into two, which separates the theological basis for Christian unity, and the practical instruction for its maintenance (Patzia, 228).
The progression of the letter starts with an introduction by Paul where he greets and bless his audience, the church of Ephesus, and introduces himself. It follows on explaining that they have been predestined in God's plan for His glory. It continues by stating that we have dead because of our sins but now we ar...

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...aims God's greatness.

Paul declares the power and supremacy of God (v.6b)

Who is over all and through all and in all.

God is over all things, He has a transcendent sovereignty (Gaebelein, 56) His absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure; over heaven, earth, and all the so called gods and goddesses (Arnold, 26); and, also, over people. God is through all things which describes His omnipresence (Patzia, 234) an attribute particular of God to be in every place at the same time. He is in everything (Arnold, 26) And, God is in all things, omnipotence of God over all creation (Arnold, 26) unlimited extent of the divine power

Works Cited

Arnold, Clinton E. Ephesians. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.
Hoehner, Harold. Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002

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