Ephesians
A letter on what the church is, and who you are inside it.
Who wrote it: Says it is from Paul, from prison. Many scholars think a follower wrote it in his name after his death, because the style and some ideas differ from his undisputed letters; others defend Paul. If Paul, the early 60s AD.
What it is
Ephesians is calm. There is no crisis, no false teachers to fight, almost nothing local; the oldest manuscripts do not even have 'in Ephesus' in the first verse, and it was probably a circular letter to several churches in the region. That makes it the most general of the letters, and the best one to read if you want to know what the New Testament thinks the church is for.
The first half is one long sentence of praise, in the Greek. Chosen before the world was made, adopted, forgiven, sealed with the Spirit. Then chapter 2: you were dead, and God made you alive, by grace, through faith, not by works, so nobody can boast. And you are his workmanship, made for good works. Paul (or his student) then says that the wall between Jew and non-Jew has been demolished at the cross and one new humanity built in its place. The church, in this letter, is not a club. It is the demonstration to the universe that God can make enemies into family.
The second half says: so live like it. Walk worthy of the calling. One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Speak the truth in love. Don't let the sun go down on your anger. Be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving, because God forgave you. Then the household code in chapters 5 and 6, which begins with 'submit to one another' and addresses wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves and masters in turn, telling husbands to love their wives the way Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. It ends with the armor of God: the point of which is not to attack but to stand.
Verses worth keeping
8for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, that no one would boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
Gen Zsame meaning, your wordsYou've been saved by grace, through faith. That didn't come from you; it's God's gift. It isn't a reward for what you did, so nobody can brag about it. Because we're God's handiwork, made in Christ Jesus for good things to do, which God set up ahead of time for us to walk into.
Verses 8 and 9 get quoted alone. Verse 10 is why the gift was given.
Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Gen Zsame meaning, your wordsNow to the one who can do far, far more than anything we ask or even imagine, through the power that's working inside us.
The start of a prayer. 'Inside us' is where the power is located, not out there somewhere.
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
Gen Zsame meaning, your wordsBe kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, the same way God in Christ forgave you.
The standard for forgiveness is not how much they deserve it. It is how much you were forgiven.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Gen Zsame meaning, your wordsFinally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor, so you can hold your ground against the devil's schemes.
Every piece of the armor that follows is defensive except one. The instruction is to stand, four times.
Read Ephesians
The full text, every chapter, from the World English Bible, a modern public-domain translation. Pick a chapter below. The highlighted verses are the place to start if you have never read it.
Ephesians 2
1You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, 2in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience. 3We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus; 8for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, that no one would boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
11Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision” (in the flesh, made by hands), 12that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of separation, 15having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace, 16and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility through it. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. 18For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, 20being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; 21in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
Questions about Ephesians
Does Ephesians tell wives to submit to husbands?
5:22 says wives submit to husbands. 5:21, just before it, says everyone submit to one another, and in the Greek verse 22 borrows its verb from 21. Husbands are then told to love their wives the way Christ loved the church, by dying for her. Christians disagree about whether this describes a permanent structure or transforms a first-century one from the inside. Either way, the husband's instruction is the longer and harder one.
Why does it talk about slaves and masters without condemning slavery?
Because it is a first-century letter to households where slavery was legal and everywhere. It tells masters to treat slaves the same way and reminds them they have a Master in heaven who shows no favouritism, which undercut the whole thing. It did not abolish slavery, and the church took too long to. Reading these verses as an endorsement is a misuse that Christians have rejected.
Did Paul write Ephesians?
The letter says so. But its Greek is more elaborate than Paul's other letters, some words are used differently, and it overlaps heavily with Colossians. Many scholars conclude a student wrote it in his name, which was an accepted practice then. Others think Paul wrote it late, with a scribe, for a general audience. Either way, the church has read it as apostolic teaching from the start.