The Epistle to the Ephesians was not actually written to the Ephesians, but was an encyclical to the Church as a whole. In contrast to Paul's own use of the term church ( ekklesia, congregation), which he used only to refer to a local congregation, the author of Ephesians used the term in the singular to refer to the universal Church, and the opening address to the Ephesians is probably a late addition. Ephesians is supposedly addressed to a community of only Gentile Christians, but scholars doubts whether such a community yet existed in Pauline times.
The Epistle to the Ephesians copied much material from the pseudo-Pauline letter to the Colossians, which was in turn written sometime during the 70s, and was intended to address a sectarian conflict that had arisen in Asia Minor.
why did Paul persecute Christians?
Another answer from our community:Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians while he was in prison to help them to keep their faith strong, and more than this because of his love for them. Remember also the church was in it's early days, and temptations to stray from tenants where always a challenge. The Epistle to the Ephesians is believed to have been written in Paul's name in the 80s of the first century. Many passages in Ephesians were directly copied from the Epistle to the Colossians, which had been written around ten years earlier.
A: Although attributed to the apostle Paul, Ephesians was actually written during the eighties of the first century, long after Paul's death. Much of the material was copied from the Epistle to the Colossians, also a pseudepigraphical letter, with some changesof wording. As with any pseudepigraphical work, we can not assume that the intended audience really were the Christians of Ephesus, and in any case the opening address to the Ephesians is probably a late addition. Otherwise, the epistle is not a letter to a church or group of churches, but an encyclical. This author indicates that believers have already been saved by the grace of God, whereas for Paul salvation is not something people already have but what they will have when Jesus returns on the clouds of heaven and delivers his followers from the wrath of God.
In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul says that all our equal in God's eyes. The gentiles who accept Christ have access to God.
Paul uses the phrase "put on" twice in the book of Ephesians. Here are the two verses from Ephesians in which this phrase is found: Ephesians 4:24 "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Paul also uses this phrase 9 more times in other books of the Bible: once in Romans (twice if you count "put ye on"), four times in two verses in 1 Corinthians, once in Galatians, and three times in Colossians.
The letter of Paul to the people of Ephesus , is called the book of Ephesians.
There are six chapters in Ephesians. It was a letter written by Paul.
Six.
Six.
The letter known as Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians is considered to be a pseudo-Pauline epistle, because it was written in Paul's name long after his death. Many passages in Ephesians seem to be directly copied from the Epistle to the Colossians, itself a pseudo-Pauline epistle.The epistle is not a letter to a church or group of churches, but an encyclical. The opening address to the Ephesians is considered probably a late addition.
Ephesians is a letter written to the Christians at Ephesus by Paul.
Galatians and probably Ephesians
why did Paul persecute Christians?
Tradition holds that the Epistle to the Ephesians was written by Paul from Rome, while in prison, but Burton L. Mack (Who Wrote the New Testament) says that Paul's Letter to the Ephesians is not authentic. He says there is not a suggestion of the personal Paul in it - the style and vocabulary are both different, and even the rhetoric is entirely different. Many passages in Ephesians even seem to be directly copied from Colossians, which is also widely acknowledged to be pseudonomous. Paul could hardly have written this epistle, which belongs to late in the first century CE.
Paul the Apostle wrote a letter to the church at Ephesus. The people in this area were called the Ephesians. Many books of the Bible mention Ephesus, but Ephesians in particular says it the most.
The "full armor of God" occurs in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 6 (Ephesians 6:10-17). Paul also gives similar ideas in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 and perhaps e lsewhere.
Ephesians was most likely written by Timothy under Paul's authority, and was intended to preserve the apostle's legacy in the face of his possible imminent death after imprisonment. Ephesians was a general letter, or an encyclical, to be delivered to a broad range of primarily Gentile churches, just like 1 Peter and James.