Paul's Prison Epistles: Paul and the EphesiansSample

The Church in Ephesus: Acts 19:1-41

Ephesus was the capital city of the Roman Province of Asia which corresponds roughly to the modern region known as Asia Minor. During the first century, it was one of the most populous and important cities in the Roman Empire, serving as a gateway between the eastern and western worlds. Geographically it lay on the coast of the Aegean Sea not too far north of the Meander River.

Now, we should mention that some scholars believe that this letter was not originally sent to the Ephesians. There are a variety of reasons for their doubt, but all of them are poorly founded. For one thing, some scholars point to the fact that some manuscripts of this letter are missing the words “in Ephesus” in Ephesians 1:1. While this is true, most manuscripts actually do contain these words, and no known manuscript names a different audience.

Beyond this, many details in the letter would have been particularly relevant to Ephesus. Consider just two examples. 

First, we know from Acts 19 that during his time in Ephesus Paul had clashed with worshippers of the pagan goddess Artemis and with many occult practices. Correspondingly, in Ephesians 5:11 he taught strongly against “fruitless deeds of darkness,” and in Ephesians 6:11-12 he insisted that Christians battle against the false pagan gods.

Second, we know from archeological research that the city of Ephesus was considered to be the “nurturer” of Artemis, and Artemis was said to have made Ephesus the most “glorious” city in the province of Asia. In relation to this, in Ephesians 5:27-29 Paul spoke of Christ as “feeding” or “nurturing,” the church and talked about how Christ is turning the church into his “glorious,” radiant bride. 

These and other details appear to have been tailored to resonate particularly with the Ephesian church.

Finally, several early church fathers testified that Paul sent this letter to the Ephesians. For instance, Clement of Alexandria, writing near the end of the second century, wrote these words in chapter 5 of his work The Instructor:

And writing to the Ephesians, Paul has unfolded in the clearest manner the point in question, speaking to the following effect.

Clement followed this preface with the full text of Ephesians 4:13-15.

Similarly, Tertullian, who wrote at the very beginning of the third century, had this to say in his work Against Marcion, book 5, chapter 17:

We have it on the true tradition of the Church, that this epistle was sent to the Ephesians, not to the Laodiceans.

According to Tertullian, the whole tradition of the church prior to that time had affirmed that this letter was sent to Ephesus. And no early church witness contradicts Tertullian on this point. In short, there is strong evidence for believing that Paul intended this letter to be read by the church at Ephesus.