Exegesis of Ephesians 2:1-7
God’s Mercy for the Ephesian Church: A Look at Ephesians 2:1-7
INTRODUCTION
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 imprisonment, along with the letter to Colossae (Tyndale, 1987). Despite Paul credited with authorship of the thirteen New Testament letters, several schools of thought doubt whether he actually wrote the book of Ephesians. While it is likely he did not physically write the letter himself as was customary with the other disciples, enough variations in language and literary style cause many to believe the fallacy of Paul’s authorship. The overwhelming evidence although, suggests that Paul intentionally sent this letter to the Ephesians under his authority. In addition, the letter to the church is not typical of the other epistles in that Ephesus is not experiencing major hardships and strife that other early church bodies are. Corinthian church is rife with numerous issues contributing to its weakened state. Likewise Galatia, suffers from a prominence of false prophets, Judaizers, disillusioning the church into believing the need for following some of the OT law, such as circumcision. Ephesians, however, addresses no prominent or minor strife within its church. Paul, as mentioned earlier, seeks to build upon the believer’s current knowledge of God’s purpose for His church and by grace, expand on the high goals He has set
INTRODUCTION
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 imprisonment, along with the letter to Colossae (Tyndale, 1987). Despite Paul credited with authorship of the thirteen New Testament letters, several schools of thought doubt whether he actually wrote the book of Ephesians. While it is likely he did not physically write the letter himself as was customary with the other disciples, enough variations in language and literary style cause many to believe the fallacy of Paul’s authorship. The overwhelming evidence although, suggests that Paul intentionally sent this letter to the Ephesians under his authority. In addition, the letter to the church is not typical of the other epistles in that Ephesus is not experiencing major hardships and strife that other early church bodies are. Corinthian church is rife with numerous issues contributing to its weakened state. Likewise Galatia, suffers from a prominence of false prophets, Judaizers, disillusioning the church into believing the need for following some of the OT law, such as circumcision. Ephesians, however, addresses no prominent or minor strife within its church. Paul, as mentioned earlier, seeks to build upon the believer’s current knowledge of God’s purpose for His church and by grace, expand on the high goals He has set