In the new testament, the Ephesians book was written by Saint Paul the Apostle during his prison sentence. However, according to some researchers, the book was written by one of Paul’s disciples since there were some vocabulary items, which were not used by St. Paul (Goodspeed, 75). The book reveals the central knowledge about the core of Christian ideology and its meaning, regardless of a societal problem. If to look at the importance of each Word in the past context, Paul is portrayed as a true Christian, loyal to his beliefs and willing to transfer his knowledge to others to save their souls.
According to the sacred text of the message, St. Paul wanted to unite the spirits of every Christian on the only path to God. He appears smart and loyal to the Lord since he accepts the change in Gentiles’ spiritual position and acknowledges it as a work of Jesus Christ. Moreover, as God’s chosen, he willingly spreads the knowledge about spiritual warfare, unity among Christians, and loyalty to God.
The recipients of the given message appear to be the Ephesians, Ephesus residents, the letter to whom Paul wrote while being in the Roman prison. Some believe that the message was supposed to be delivered to all the Roman churches, but others tended to the particular church’s passage. The city of Ephesus was a substantial residence of Christianity because of its strategic placement in the natural harbor and the many trade routes that can help spread God’s Word (Goodspeed, 54). Because the city was prosperous, Romans, as invaders, presented the land with more freedoms and gave them more rights than other conquered lands.
Considering St. Paul’s connection to the city, he used to be its resident for around three years, where he worked as a missionary to bring Christianity to the place. While being there, the Apostle attempted to persuade their people to become true Christians (Goodspeed, 36). However, near the end of his sacred mission, a riot started, where people worshiped the pagan God Artemis, which was the reason for Paul to leave the city (Goodspeed, 37). Therefore, these people’s spiritual conditions were not excellent since they failed to ascend to true religion. Their atonement and repentance were yet to come since the church of God existing in the city had lost the first love they had.
As estimated, Paul had written the passage somewhere between AD 60-61, around the time, when he also wrote two other paths to spread the word of Jesus Christ. As reported earlier, during the time of writing, he was in a Roman prison. Moreover, Paul had written the letter on the occasion of teaching ex-pagans to live for the only true God, explain God’s mystery, and tell them about the unity of Christians. The structure of Ephesians reflects its purpose since the book is divided into two clear sections.
There are 41 occasions of Paul mentioning the command ‘remember’, which indicates that the Apostle wanted those people to remember God’s truth in its purest form. He wanted them to receive the calling of God and remember the real purpose of Christianity. Furthermore, he thoroughly explains the often asked ‘why’ of Christians to attract them to the religion and further promote God’s Word. He acts as a true Christian since he spreads the Word while being in prison for the purpose that the people knew salvation and its price.
Reference
Goodspead, Edgar J. The Key to Ephesians. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2020.