Paul's Theology in Ephesians: Church, Unity, and Salvation

Introduction to Paul's Theology in Ephesians

The Book of Ephesians is one of Paul's writings, or at least attributed to Paul. Paul develops his strong and well-articulated spiritual philosophy and theology, which he presents in this letter to the people of Ephesus. Central to an understanding of Paul's theology as expressed in Ephesians is the conversion of Paul and the power it had over him and his life mission. Paul's vision of Christ empowered him to preach Christ's word, and he begins the epistle with a positive and upbeat tone: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). Paul also establishes the truth of Christ as God's Son, in whom "we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace" (Ephesians 1:7). Thus, the cornerstone of Paul's theology is consistent with the Christian gospel and centers on redemption and salvation.

Paul also mentions the purpose of God's plan, which he describes as a "mystery" but one that will be revealed "when the times reach their fulfillment — to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ" (Ephesians 1:10). One statement that Paul makes in the first chapter of Ephesians relates to being "chosen" or "predestined," which shows how closely connected the speaker was to his Jewish faith and how aware Paul remains of the interconnectedness of Jews and Christians (Ephesians 1:11). Because Ephesians is written as an epistle, Paul speaks to his audience in Ephesus directly, offering prayers as well as a cohesive theology. The epistle has a personal tone and a personal message as well.

As Slusser (2003) points out, it is crucial to use exegetical methods when analyzing Ephesians for its theological messages. Like exegesis, "biblical theology is that discipline which seeks to understand a single author, time period, or type of literature within its historical and cultural context" (Slusser, 2003, p. 3). One of the exegetical objectives is concordance, which is especially true in the case of the Pauline writings. As Ford (2001) points out, Ephesians is "generally seen as dependent on the Letter to the Colossians… so it is especially interesting to note where the two diverge." Concordance is well over one-quarter, as "out of 2,411 words in Ephesians, 26.5% are paralleled in Colossians, once with 29 consecutive words repeated verbatim" (Ford, 2001). This may well be due to the fact that Paul was entrusted with delivering the word of God as a preacher of Christ and might have developed speeches and epistles that he could deliver in different cities.

The Church as the Body of Christ

The theme of travel and expanding the kingdom of Christ makes its way into Ephesians in a direct way. Paul has become aware of the need to create a "body" of Christ — a Church. As Wallace (n.d.) points out, "the theme of Ephesians is 'the Church, the Body of Christ.'" This theme emerges first in the second chapter of the text. Here, Paul establishes the central metaphor of a building — a physical church "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20). The masonic imagery presages the evolution of Christianity as a concrete faith, with actual structures and buildings to house the masses of believers.

By Chapter 4, Paul refers more definitively to the theological function of the Church as that which creates unity "through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). Wallace (n.d.) interprets the passage to mean that the "Church is to maintain the unity in practice which Christ has brought about positionally." In other words, unity in Christ enables Christ to do His will on earth. Human beings must facilitate Christ by creating a community together. Christ is the spiritual figurehead of the community, which perpetually serves Christ. Paul describes the Church as being representative of "unity of spirit" among all Christians, who communicate the "bond of peace" in God's name (Ephesians 4:3).

Christian Living and Paul's Moral Code

Paul suggests that Christian community building is a theological necessity; the Church will become a physical sign of doing God's will as well as a manifestation of that will. Bonding together in the name of Christ helps to remove the bonds of ignorance, which harden the heart. As Paul puts it, "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts" (Ephesians 4:18). Paul does refer disparagingly to the Jews, whose hearts were as hard as his was until his vision.

Paul also presents the moral code upon which Christian doctrine, rooted in Christ, is built. Living a good life becomes a central Christian theme. It is possible that this theme came from Paul's preaching in Greek lands, for it was Aristotle who wrote about the "good life" centuries earlier. Paul's doctrine was in fact blended with Platonic and Neo-Platonic thought to form the first foundation stones of the Christian Church. Furthermore, Paul's moral code was formulated within a patriarchal framework in which the woman is subordinate to the man: "Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything" (Ephesians 5:24). The gender and social norms that Paul outlines in Ephesians are thus linked to his hierarchical theology.

Christian living is the theme of much of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians. For example, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry" has become entrenched in Christian discourse because of Paul (Ephesians 4:26). "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). At this point, Paul's theology becomes Paul's code of ethics. The remainder of Paul's epistle is concerned with Christian moral codes. Paul distinguishes these from those insufficiently outlined in the Hebrew Bible and establishes the core vision of compassion, tolerance, and forgiveness. Although not strictly theological issues, these moral concerns go hand-in-hand with the budding Christian theology.

Conclusion: Paul as Founder of the Early Church

The fundamental purpose of Paul's preaching at Ephesus was therefore to help build the early Church. This is why Paul is considered a founding father of the Church. Paul wanted "so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Slusser, 2003, p. 13). In Paul's epistle delivered at Ephesus, the speaker establishes the theological underpinnings of the Christian faith, which was then emerging and coagulating along the teachings of the apostles.

Making a clear demarcation between the faith of the Jews and the faith of those who believe that Christ is the messiah, Paul draws in his readers and asks them to contemplate his personal vision. Paul comes from the perspective of one who has credibility as someone who knows Jewish theology intimately, based on his orthodox upbringing. As he came to know Christ — first via the vision on the road to Damascus and then via devoting his life to preaching — Paul also develops a core Christian theology in which Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. Although there is a trinity of Holy Ghost, Father, and Son, there is also unity among the trinity.

References

Bible: New International Version.

Ford, D. F. (2001). "He is our peace": The Letter to the Ephesians and the theology of fulfillment — A dialogue with Peter Ochs. Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, 1(1). Retrieved from http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/journals/ssr/issues/volume1/number1/ssr01-01-a01.html

McRay, J. (1996). Ephesians, theology of. Retrieved from http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/ephesians-theology-of.html

Slusser, W. T. (2003). Toward a biblical theology of Ephesians: A life worthy of the calling. Retrieved from http://www.slusser.us/papers/Ephesians%20paper.pdf

Verhey, A., & Harvard, J. S. (2011). Ephesians: A theological commentary on the Bible. Louisville: John Knox.

Wallace, D. B. (n.d.). Ephesians: Introduction, argument, and outline. Bible.org. Retrieved from http://bible.org/seriespage/ephesians-introduction-argument-and-outline