In this study we must endeavour to determine for whom the Ephesian letter was intended, and how it came to be known as the Letter to the Ephesians. In such an exercise of reconstruction, there may well appear to be conjectural elements. Moreover, in this study we shall cover some of the ground already covered in the first article, but this is inevitable.
First, we concentrate on the letter to Colosse, because it contains clear clues which enable us to decide in what circumstances it was composed. This, in its turn, may enable us to see how the longer letter (the Letter to the Ephesians) came to be written. Epaphras had played an important part in the founding of the ecclesia at Colosse: Paul informs us the ecclesia resulted from the work of this “beloved fellow-servant” (Col. 1:7). But his activities had not been confined to Colosse, for he had laboured in the cause of the gospel also in the neighbouring centres of Laodicea and Hierapolis (4:13). Although Paul had heard much from Epaphras which redounded to the credit of the Colossians (see 1:3-8), yet a strange heresy had found support among certain members of the community: the worship of angels and legalistic practices (2:8,16-23). These details furnish all the evidence we need to conclude there were Judaisers in Colosse. While this is not the place to examine the heresy in detail,1what we know of the Jews, even within the confines of the Christian church, demonstrates how subversive their teaching could be. It is not difficult to understand how they could be persuasive, for they could invoke the authority of Moses and appear very knowledgeable because of their familiarity with the Old Testament, especially in the eyes of new converts with a pagan background.
Epaphras, understandably, was experiencing difficulty in coping with the heresy, but he knew there was one well capable of handling the problem: the Apostle Paul. Aware that Paul was in Rome, he made the long journey to the capital with the express intention of acquainting him with the situation in the ecclesia and soliciting his help in dealing with the heresy: hence the Letter to the Colossians.
As already mentioned above, the Judaisers were active in propagating their teaching wherever they could. Close to Colosse lay Laodicea, and it may well have been that the heretical ideas had also affected the Laodiceans.2If we look at Colossians 4:16, we discover Paul there instructs the Colossian brethren to ensure the letter they received would also be communicated to the Laodiceans. Hence it is surely not unreasonable to conclude the heresy had found some support in Laodicea, or at the least there was the danger of such a development.
Now the care of all the churches was ever a major concern for the Apostle (see 2 Cor. 11:28). One can therefore see that as his mind prayerfully dwelt upon the Colossian problem, he may have contemplated the desirability of writing to all the ecclesias in Asia. Prominent among these was the one at Ephesus; Paul knew his letter-bearer Tychicus would pass through the city on his way to Colosse, and there may well have been a chain of Christian churches already in existence in the hinterland of the city. Thus the Apostle would decide to send them a circular letter, with the same basic theme: the all-sufficiency of the Lord Jesus and his unique place in God’s cosmic purpose. Righteousness from God the Father on the condition of faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus: this was the essence of the gospel of salvation, and there could be none other. While the work of the angels as ministering spirits was unquestionably important, the elevation of the Son to the Father’s right hand conferred on him a status that was unique, and the supreme visible demonstration of this fact will be on the occasion of the Son’s return: “And when he {the Father} again bringeth in the firstborn into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him” (Heb. 1:6).3
As we endeavour to follow Tychicus on his travels, we see that he would certainly need to pass through Ephesus and from there the direct route was up the Maeander valley, and then along the valley of its tributary, the Lycus. But let us first consider his visit to Ephesus. He would assuredly make contact with the brethren there and give news of Paul’s welfare (see Eph. 6:21), and also explain the reason for his mission, reporting on the heresy troubling the Colossians. He would tell them about the letter he was conveying, destined to deal with the Colossian hereby. As Onesimus was in his company, he would explain why they were travelling together and that he was the bearer of a letter to Philemon. All this would be of the greatest interest to the Ephesian brethren. But there was also another letter and doubtless Paul had given Tychicus instructions to make this known at Ephesus, although it was not specifically addressed to them. Its high spiritual value would be immediately apparent and they would want a copy. Indeed it was probable the Apostle had told Tychicus that they were to have one. Paul had foreseen that heresies would disturb the ecclesia at Ephesus (see Acts 20:29,30).
Now Tychicus would not want to tarry at Ephesus but would be anxious to reach the ecclesias in the Lycus valley as soon as possible, so that assistance could be afforded in combating the heresy. We saw in our first study that the manuscript evidence favoured the view that the Ephesian letter had more than one destination. Indeed when we take note of the following passage, we perceive at once it could not refer to Ephesus: “For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and which ye shew toward all the saints…” (Eph. 1:15). Can we imagine him writing in these terms to the converts he had made himself, and among whom he had spent so much time? But in the case of the ecclesias in the Lycus valley, which he had never seen (cf. Col. 2:1), he was dependent on what he had heard from Epaphras. We thus discover a first clue which indicates the primary destination of the Letter to the Ephesians was the brethren in the Lycus valley.
If this indeed be the case, how did it come about that the letter generally bears the title it does? We now engage in an exercise of reconstruction, recognising, as we have already done, there is an element of conjecture in it. There can be little doubt that Ephesus possessed its own copy. Appreciating as they undoubtedly did the quality of the letter, the brethren may have assumed the responsibility of ensuring other ecclesias also had a copy, or indeed they may have been requested by Paul to do this on his behalf. We know already the Apostle’s preaching activity, assisted by such fellow-workers as Tychicus, had spread well beyond Ephesus itself. It was this fact which so alarmed Demetrius who, to alert his fellows, declared: “And ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people…” (Acts 19:26).
While we cannot be sure which ecclesias were already in existence in the province of Asia, such ecclesias were assuredly known to each other. They lived in a pagan alien world. It was in their interests to support and encourage each other. Understandably they could exchange letters they had received, especially in the case of epistles written by the Apostle. This could lead to the multiplication of copies, thus ensuring their survival, and their being available to ourselves centuries later.
Moreover, Ephesus — having received its own copy and, being a large ecclesia, with many converts made by Paul during his preaching in the city — could have become in a special sense the custodian of the letter, which could explain why in due course it became known as the Letter to the Ephesians.
At a first glance, we see one letter is longer than another, Ephesians containing six chapters and Colossians only four. But that Paul intended them to be looked at together is made evident by Colossians 4:16, where he requests an exchange of his letters by the Colossians, and the Laodiceans. We can confidently identify the letter from Laodicea as The Letter to the Ephesians. So in our time we shall do well to embrace for ourselves Paul’s instruction.
- This I have attempted to do in The Letter to the Colossians, The Christadelphian,1981, ch. 4.
- See J.B. Lightfoot’s admirable chapter on “The Churches of the Lycus”, London,1876. In connection with the proximity of the ecclesias, this is what he says: “Laodicea and Hierapolis stand face to face, being situated respectively on the southern and northern sides of the valley, at a distance of perhaps six miles, and within sight of each other, the river lying in the open plain between the two. The site of Colossae is somewhat higher up the stream, at a distance of perhaps ten or twelve miles from the point where the road between Laodicea and Hierapolis crosses the Lycus… The three cities lie so near to each other, that it would be quite possible to visit them all in the course of a single day” (p. 2).
- We should take note of the rendering in the RV which rightly brings out the fact the homage paid to the Lord by his attendant angels will be on the occasion of his return to the earth. Other versions (e.g., the RSV) can wrongly give the impression this homage was paid at the Lord’s first coming. This verse is discussed in an enlightened manner by B.F. Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Macmillan 1906, p. 22: “The first introduction of the Son into the world, described in v. 2, had not issued in an open triumph and satisfied men’s desires, so that there was good reason why the writer should point forward specially to the Return in which Messiah’s work was to be consummated.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One