Ephesians

Ephesians is the forty-ninth book of the Bible. It is traditionally attributed to Paul and is generally dated to around AD 60 to 62, written while he was under house arrest in Rome. The letter is addressed to the church in Ephesus, a major city in what is now western Turkey, but some early manuscripts omit the place name, suggesting it may have been a circular letter intended for several churches.

The tone is reflective rather than urgent. Paul is not responding to specific problems but laying out, in some of his most elevated language, what God has done in Christ and what it means for the church.

The first three chapters describe the work of God: choosing a people before the foundation of the world, raising those dead in sins to new life, breaking down the wall between Jew and Gentile, bringing together a new humanity in Christ. The language piles up: chosen, adopted, redeemed, sealed, seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

The final three chapters turn to how this people should live. Paul calls for unity, for using the various gifts given to the church, for putting off the old self and putting on the new. He addresses husbands and wives, parents and children, slaves and masters. The letter ends with the famous passage about the armor of God: belt, breastplate, shield, helmet, sword, to stand against spiritual forces of evil.