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      Lesson 1:

      Introduction and Background

      OBJECTIVE:

      At the end of this session participants will have developed a basic understanding of the setting, context, authorship, and other background information that are needed to understand the meaning of the Ephesian letter as well as its value to their own spiritual journey.

      OPENING PRAYER:

      It is important that this study be undertaken in an attitude of prayer and meditation. This is true even in the case of this particular study that attends to the historical, cultural, and linguistic aspects of our study of Ephesians. May this prayer of illumination serve as a guide to prayer as you begin this study.

      Guide us, O Lord, by your Word and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light,

      in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace;

      through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

      (A prayer of illumination, Chalice Worship)

      READING: EPHESIANS 1:1­2

      Prior to beginning the study itself, read the letter in its entirety using a translation such as the New Revised Standard Version

      (NRSV), the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the New International Version (NIV), or the Common English Bible (CEB)

      Read an introduction to the Ephesian letter in the study Bible or dictionary of your choice.

      Review an outline of Ephesians in a study Bible or Bible dictionary.

      LESSON:

      READING A LETTER

      Having read the entire letter to the Ephesians, one is able to make some assessments of what lies before us. It isn’t a narrative, nor is it poetry. It is, in fact, written in the form of a letter, and a letter needs to be read in a particular way. Each letter is different from the next. Some are very personal, while others treat issues in a more general, less personal manner. Comparing this letter with the first letter to the Corinthians will give readers a sense of this spectrum. First Corinthians is very personal, while Ephesians has a very different feel. Whereas Paul seems very involved in the lives of his readers in Corinth, Ephesians lacks that intensity. Still, it follows the patterns of a letter, and should be read as a letter – a letter written to Christians living nearly two millennia in the past, Christians who lived in a Greco-Roman culture, who are being addressed by a Christian of Jewish descent.

      Ancient letters followed a certain format, as do most modern letters. Although some of the New Testament letters (and Ephesians might be one of these) use the format of the letter they are in fact designed for public consumption – a sort of open letter. Nonetheless, a typical letter from the ancient world, including those found in the New Testament would follow this pattern.

      Documents that are designated as letters, but are not true letters lack parts 1-3 and 6. The best example would be Hebrews, which is more a tract than a letter (Fee and Stuart, 46-47).

      What do we know about the author of this letter?

      The opening verses of the letter identify Paul of Tarsus as its author. This self-identification reappears in chapter 3, where the author identifies himself as being “a prisoner for Christ Jesus.” Unlike some other undisputed Pauline letters, the author makes few self-references or references to members of the author’s party or the names of those in the church that is receiving the letter. The only other person mentioned in the text is Tychicus, who appears to have been the bearer of this letter (6:21). Tychicus is also mentioned as the bearer of the Colossian letter (Col. 4:7). Traditionally interpreters have taken the letter’s two statements of identification at face value and have assumed that Paul is the author. If Paul is the assumed author, then the reference to being in prison would lead to the conclusion that this could be one of Paul’s final letters, written from Rome in the mid-60s, along with the Colossian and Philemon letters.

      For a number of reasons, many contemporary scholars reject Pauline authorship of the letter (along with the Colossian letter). If Paul isn’t the author, the assumption of many scholars is that it was written sometime after Paul’s death by associates of the late apostle. The clues that have led to this consensus include differences in style between this letter and the undisputed letters. There are also theological differences. For instance, whereas the earlier Pauline letters exude a sense of urgency due to the soon return of Christ, in this letter there is the sense that the church is

      hunkering down for the long haul. There is that sense that this is representative of a second generation of leadership. In relationship to leadership and structure, the more free-form structures of the Corinthian letter have given way to a firmer structure of Apostles, prophets, Evangelists, Pastor-Teachers. Finally, if the Book of Acts offers any clues to Paul’s relationship to the churches of Asia Minor, one wonders why there are no personal references to members of the church addressed by the letter – as is seen in the other letters. Even the Roman letter, which is written by Paul to a church he had yet to visit, includes significant references to persons known in common. Although none of these clues rule out Pauline authorship, a majority of scholars consider this the product of a second generation church.

      What do we know about the recipients of the letter?

      Getting beyond the question of authorship, where some disagreement remains, there is a much broader consensus that this is a general letter addressed to a number of churches and not to the Ephesian church in particular. Evidence here includes the fact that the letter doesn’t address specific questions or issues that had been raised by the recipients. In addition, there is textual evidence from some early manuscripts of the letter that suggest that this is a general letter. This evidence comes in the form of early manuscripts of the letter that do not contain the words “in Ephesus.” Instead, the letter is simply addressed to the “saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus.”

      There are other clues. If, for instance, this had been written by Paul to the Ephesian church (two assumptions that are in

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