St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians
A verse-by-verse study of this great Epistle of Christian doctrine and practice.
We are saved by Grace; we are Saints by Grace; and we operate in the Christian
life by God's Grace provision for us.
Therefore, we have everything we need to perform those "good works"
for which we were created in Christ, which "God has before ordained
that we should walk in them."
To receive Warren Doud's Ephesians study, either as an
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A Preview to the Study of Ephesians
A reference book that is an essential in any study that involves the Apostle
Paul, whether his epistles or his activities and speeches in the Acts of the
Apostles, is the masterful history "The Life and Epistles of St.
Paul", written in the 19th Century by the Rev. W. J. Conybeare, MA, and the
Very Rev. J. S. Howson, DD.
For what it's worth, this is my all time favorite Christian publication! I have
studied the book twice and read parts of it many times. Unfortunately, it is now
out of print, although firms like Amazon.com
have been successful in finding copies in their network of used book dealers.
From the first paragraph of their introduction: "The purpose of this work
is to give a living picture of St. Paul himself, and of the circumstances by
which he was surrounded."
Actually, they did far more than that modest sentence indicates. Either
Conybeare or Howson (or both of them) personally walked and sailed everywhere
that the Apostle traveled! Their account is a great travelogue, an historical
tour-de-force, and an insightful Christian analysis and examination of Paul's
ministry. Included in the book are the authors' own translations from the Greek
of Paul's inspired writings! The excerpt below will give you an indication to
the depth of thought and careful consideration that went into all their writing.
From "The Life and Epistles of St. Paul", by W. J. Conybeare and
J. S. Howson, pp. 702-705
These are Conybeare and Howson's introductory paragraphs to their translation
of the Epistle to the Ephesians.
"We have seen that the above Epistle to the Colossians, and that to
Philemon, were conveyed by Tychicus and Onesimus, who traveled together from
Rome to Asia Minor. But these two were not the only letters with which Tychicus
was charged. We know that he carried a third letter also; but it is not equally
certain to whom it was addressed. This third letter was that which is not
entitled the Epistle to the Ephesians; concerning the destination of which
(disputed as it is) perhaps the least disputable fact is, that it was not
addressed to the Church of Ephesus.
"This point is established by strong evidence, both internal and external.
To begin with the former, we remark, First, that it would be inexplicable that
St. Paul, when he wrote to the Ephesians, amongst whom he had spent so long a
time, and to whom he was bound by ties of such close affection (Acts 20:17,
etc.), should not have a single message of personal greeting to send. Yet none
are found in this Epistle. Secondly, he could not have described the Ephesians
as a church whose conversion he knew only by report (1:15). Thirdly, he could
not speak to them, as only knowing himself (the founder of their church) to be
an apostle by hearsay (3:2), so as to need credentials to accredit him with them
(3:4). Fourthly, he could not describe the Ephesians as so exclusively Gentiles
(2:11; 4:17), and so recently converted (5:8; 1:13; 2:13).
"This internal evidence is confirmed by the following external evidence
also.
1. St. Basil distinctly asserts, that the early writers whom he had consulted
declared that the manuscripts of this Epistle in their time did not contain the
name of Ephesus, but left out altogether the name of the church to which the
Epistle was addressed. He adds, that the most ancient manuscripts which he had
himself seen gave the same testimony. This assertions of Basil's is confirmed by
Jerome, Epiphanius, and Tertullian.
2. The most ancient manuscript now known to exist, namely, that of the Vatican
Library, fully bears out Basil's words; for in its text it does not contain the
words 'in Ephesus' at all; and they are only added in its margin by a much later
hand.
3. We know, from the testimony of Marcion, that this Epistle was entitled in his
collection 'The Epistle to the Laodiceans.' And his authority on this point is
entitled to greater weight from the fact, that he was himself a native of the
district where we should expect the earlier copies of the Epistle to exist.
"The above arguments have convinced the ablest modern critics that this
Epistle was not addressed to the Ephesians. But there has not been by any means
the same approach to unanimity on the question, who were its intended readers.
"In the most ancient manuscripts no church is mentioned by name, except in
those consulted by Marcion, according to which it was addressed to the
Laodiceans. Now the internal evidence above mentioned proves that the Epistle
was addressed to some particular church or churches, who were to receive
intelligence of St. Paul through Tychicus, and that it was not a treatise
addressed to the whole Christian world; and the form of the salutation shows
that the name of some place must originally have been inserted in it.
"Again: the very passages in the Epistle which have been above referred to,
as proving that it could not have been directed to the Ephesians, agree
perfectly with the hypothesis that it was addressed to the Laodiceans. Lastly,
we know from the Epistle to the Colossians, that St. Paul did write a letter to
Laodicea (Col. 4:16) about the same time with that to Colosse. On these grounds, then,
it appears the safest course to assume that the testimony of Marcion
(uncontradicted by any other positive evidence) is correct, and that Laodicea
was one at least of the churches to which this Epistle was addressed. And,
consequently, as we know not the name of any other church to which it was
written, that of Laodicea should be inserted in the place which the most ancient
manuscripts leave vacant.
"Still, it must be obvious, that this does not remove all the difficulties
of the question. For, first it will be asked, how came the name of Laodicea (if
originally inserted) to have slipped out of these ancient manuscripts? And
again, how came it that the majority of more recent manuscripts inserted the
name of Ephesus? These perplexing questions are in some measure answered by the
hypothesis advanced by Archbishop Ussher, that this Epistle was a circular
letter, addressed to not one only, but to several churches, in the same way as
the Epistle to the Galatians was addressed to all the churches in Galatia, and
those to Corinth were addressed to the Christians 'in the whole province of
Achaia.'
"On this view, Tychicus would have carried several copies of it,
differently superscribed, one for Laodicea, another, perhaps, for Hierapolis,
another for Philadelphia, and so on. Hence the early copyists, perplexed by this
diversity in their copies, might many of them be led to omit the words in which
the variation consisted: and thus the state of the earliest known text of the
Epistle would be explained.
"Afterwards, however, as copies of the Epistle became spread over the
world, all imported from Ephesus (the commercial capital of the district where
the Epistle was originally circulated), it would be called (in default of any
other name) the Epistle from Ephesus; and the manuscripts of it would be so
entitled; and thence the next step, of inserting the name of Ephesus into the
text, in a place where some local designation was plainly wanted, would be a
very easy one. And this designation of the Epistle would the more readily
prevail, from the natural feeling that St. Paul must have written some Epistle
to so great a church of his own founding as Ephesus.
"Thus the most plausible account of the origin of this Epistle seems to be
as follows. Tychicus was about to take his departure from Rome for Asia Minor.
St. Paul had already written his Epistle to the Colossians at the request of
Epaphras, who had informed him of their danger. But Tychicus was about to visit
other places, which, though not requiring the same warning with Colosse, yet
abounded in Christian converts. Most of these had been heathens, and their
hearts might be cheered and strengthened by words addressed directly to
themselves from the great Apostle of the Gentiles, whose face they had never
seen, but whose name they had learned to reverence, and whose sufferings had
endeared him to their love.
"The scattered churches (one of which was Laodicea) had very much in
common, and would all be benefited by the same instruction and exhortation.
Since it was not necessary to meet the individual case of any one of them, as
distinct from the rest, St. Paul wrote the same letter to them all, but sent to
each a separate copy authenticated by the precious stamp of his own autograph
benediction. And the contents of this circular epistle naturally bore a strong
resemblance to those of the letter which he had just concluded to the
Colossians, because the thoughts which filled his heart at the time would
necessarily find utterance in similar language, and because the circumstances of
these churches were in themselves very similar to those of the Colossian church,
except that there were not infected with the peculiar errors which had crept in
at Colosse.
"The Epistle which he thus wrote consists of two parts: first, a doctrinal,
and, secondly, a hortatory portion. The first part contains a summary, very
indirectly conveyed (chiefly in the form of thanksgiving), of the Christian
doctrines taught by St. Paul, and is especially remarkable for the great
prominence given to the abolition of the Mosaic Law. The hortatory part, which
has been so dear to Christians of every age and country, enjoins unity
(especially between Jewish and Gentile Christians), the renunciation of heathen
vices, and the practice of Christian purity.
"It lays down rules (the same as those in the Epistle to Colosse, only in
an expanded form) for the performance of the duties of domestic life, and urges
these new converts, in the midst of the perils which surrounded them, to
continue steadfast in watchfulness and prayer. Such is the substance, and such
was most probably the history, of the Epistle.
[ End of quotation. ]
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