Organising for complex engineering delivery

Almost eight themes can be deduced from the epistle to the Ephesians. They are discussed below.

The Greatness of God

In this epistle, God is magnified as the father of the Lord Jesus Christ and is magnified for all that He has done for the people in Christ. He declared boldly that God has chosen for himself a people that he has redeemed them from the bondage of sin. It is also important that for Paul in this epistle, all that we have access to in Christ was actually made possible by God the Father.

The Exalted Christ

As we have said earlier, the epistle has focused on what is called ‗cosmic Christology‘. This is because in this letter, Paul stressed Jesus dominion over the powers and principalities (Ephesians 1:21-22) as well as the role of Christ in bringing the purpose of creation to reality. This notwithstanding, Paul also hinted on the suffering of the Christ as it was through his blood that redemption was bought and that reconciliation was achieved through the cross (Ephesians 1:7;

2:16).

Present Dimension of Salvation

Though the discussion on the future aspect of salvation is not entirely omitted in the epistle, the epistle focused more on realized eschatology. It has been noted that the use of the perfect tense of sozo, the emphasis is on the present state of affairs (Arnold, 1993). The saints are said to have been saved and are saved, and they have been raised and exalted with Christ.

The Status of Believers

Using the ‗in Christ‘ formula, which occurred thirty-four times in the epistle to the Ephesians alone, Paul describes what the status of the believers are in their new-found relationship with the Lord. This was captured as follows:

As people who are united with Christ, believers have redemption, forgiveness of sins, a heavenly existence, access to the Father, knowledge of the truth and the gift of the Holy Spirit. They possess a new existence created by God and characterized by righteousness (Arnold, 1993).

Unity of Humanity

In the Jewish cosmology, they regarded anybody who is not a Jew as an outsider to the covenant of God. Consequently, it has always been a ‗we‘ and ‗them‘

relationship between the Jews and people of the other races. However, in this epistle, Paul announced that in Christ the dividing wall between the Jews and the Gentiles had been torn down as Christ has destroyed all obstacles dividing humanity. As far as he is concerned, both Jews and Gentiles now have access to the one God. There is now a unity of humanity as the church is now composed of both Jews and Gentiles.

Powers and Principalities in the Cosmic Struggle

The issue of cosmic struggle between the powers of darkness and the powers of Christ is stressed more in this epistle than any other Pauline epistles. However, he concluded his thesis on thesis struggle with the ultimate victory of Christ. For Paul, the believers can access the supreme power of Christ through their union with Him.

Ethical Obligation of Christians

Towards the end of the epistle, Paul began to express what the Christian character ought to be in all areas of life, beginning from his life in the society, to the church and to the family. He stated that this change in behaviour expected of the believers is available to them through their union with Christ and that it is expected of them to change their attitude and become Christ-like.

The Church

As stated earlier, the epistle to the Ephesians have a strong ecclesiastical focus. In the epistle he projects the church as an organism using the head-body imagery.

The church is also called the household of God. It is also known as the bride in relation to her loving and caring bridegroom, which is Jesus Christ.

4.0 Conclusion

In this unit you have learnt that the epistle to the Ephesians was said to have a circular nature because most manuscripts that have been seen do not contain the phrase ―to the Ephesians‖. You have also been taken through the various arguments for and against the Pauline authorship of the epistle. The date of the epistle is directly related to the date and you have been taught that if it had been written during the Ephesian imprisonment, it would have been written between AD 60 and AD 62.

5.0 Summary

The following are the major points you have learnt in this unit:

 The uniqueness of the epistle to the Ephesians had earned it many titles like ―the crown of St. Paul‘s writings‖ (Robinson, 1903) and ―the Queen of the epistles‖ (Barclay, 1958).

 The phrase ―at Ephesus‖ is not found in the manuscripts regarded as authentic and reliable. For example, Codex Vatican and Codex Sinaiticus as well as Chester Beatty P⁴⁶ do not have these words.

 To resolve the destination, the theory of a general readership wasd propounded. This theory would not only explain the absence of the destination of the epistle, it would also explain the seeming ―absence from the letter of all particular allusions and personal greetings‖.

 The arguments for and against Pauline authorship ranging from theology and style had been examined.

Self-Assessment Exercise

Examine critically the arguments for and against Pauline authorship of the epistle to the Ephesians.

6.0 References/Further Readings

Arnold, C. E. (1993). ―Letters to the Thessalonians ‖ in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, edited by Hawthorne, G. F. and Martin, R. P. Leicester: Inter Varsity Press

Barth, M. (1974). Ephesians. New York: Doubleday

Best, E. (1994). A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

Bruce, F. F. (1984). The Epistle to the Colossians, to Philemon and to the Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Barclay, William (1958). ―The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians‖ in the Daily Study Bible. London: St. Andrew Press.

Ellicott, C. J. (1859). A Critical and Grammatical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 2^nd Revised Edition. London: Parker and Son.

Robinson, Armitage (1903). St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, with Exposition and Notes. London: Macmillan.

Schnackenburg, R. (1991). The Epistle to the Ephesians, Edinburgh: T. & T.

Clark.

Stott, J. R. W. (1979). God’s New Society: The Message of Ephesians.

Illinois: Inter Varsity Press

Unit 2: Epistle to the Colossae