Day 31 - Galatians 2:1-Ephesians 4:16

Ephesians

At the time of writing of the New Testament, the Roman government provided postal service only for official government correspondence and not for personal letters. Thus, the letters of Paul and the other New Testament authors had to be delivered by a designated courier. In all of his letters, except perhaps Ephesians, Paul addresses the letter to a specific party. For example, the letter to the Romans opens, "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus . . . to all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints" (Romans 1:1,7). However, the words "at Ephesus" in Ephesians 1:1 do not appear in three of the early Alexandrian Greek manuscripts suggesting that Ephesians may have been a "circular letter" intended to be sent to a number of different churches. Even so, there are no letters extant with any other name in the place of Ephesus. Likewise, it has been noted that it is strange for Paul not to mention individuals he knew and worked with in the church there. Instead he concludes simply with, "Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible." (Ephesians 6:23-24). This may be explained by the fact that Paul knew so many people there after three years that he did not want to single out any individual. And, whether addressed solely to the Ephesian church or to a number of others, it is not unlikely that the letter was copied and distributed to other churches in that region, including Laodicea and Colosse as were other letters (cf. Colossians 4:16).

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians was one of four he wrote from prison in Rome. This letter is a practical treatise in the Christian's daily walk, speaking on such matters as the believer's position in Christ and Christ in the believer. Perhaps the best known passage in Ephesians is the passage in Ephesians 6:10-20 regarding spiritual warfare.

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