The real reason why the authenticity of this Epistle has been attacked is this. Ephesians teaches that the Church is a universal society, visibly united by baptism and the ministry, embracing Jew and Gentile on equal terms. But, according to Baur, this conception of the Church is a product of the 2nd century. He assumed that St. Paul could not include the twelve under the name of the "holy apostles," or teach a Catholic doctrine of the Church.[1] The present school of rationalists is inclining to admit that Ephesians is genuine. But it is hard to see how they will be able to do this without also admitting that the Epistle implies that the other "holy apostles" held, like St. Paul, that Christ is divine.
[Sidenote: To whom written.]
It is almost certainly not primarily a letter to Ephesus, but a circular letter to several Churches in Asia Minor.
In i. 1 we read the words "to the saints which are in Ephesus." But the words "in Ephesus" are omitted in the two great MSS. K and B. Origen also implies that these words were absent in some MSS., and St. Basil definitely says so. And as the Epistle contains no salutation to any individual, it is difficult to imagine that it was specially addressed to Ephesus, where St. Paul's friends were numerous and dear (see Acts xx. 17-38). In some passages St. Paul speaks as if he and those to whom he writes knew each other only through third persons (i. 15; iii. 2). This suggests that the Epistle was written primarily to a Church like that of Colossae which he had never visited.
The probable solution is that it was written to the Christians of Laodicea in the first instance. Tertullian says that Marcion had copies with "Ad Laodicenos" as the title. Now, in this case Marcion had nothing to gain by fraud, and we may therefore suppose that he had honest grounds for using this title. The same title gains some support from Col. ii. 1; iv. 13, 16. The last verse suggests that it was to be passed on from Laodicea. Perhaps several copies of the letter were written at {183} Laodicea, and a blank space left in them for the insertion of the various addresses. No doubt the letter would be forwarded to Ephesus in time.
Laodicea, at present called Eski-Hissar (the "old fortress"), is now utterly deserted. It was probably founded about B.C. 250 by Antiochus II. Theos, and named after his wife Laodike. It was distant eleven miles from Colossae. The population included some Syrians and Jews. It rose to great wealth under the Roman power, and was so rich that when it was destroyed by an earthquake in A.D. 60 it scorned to seek pecuniary aid from the emperor. It was in a central position on the great trade route from the east, and was famous for its banking business, its manufacture of fine garments of black wool, and its "Phrygian powder" for weak eyes. In Rev. iii. 18 there appears to be a veiled allusion to each of these three sources of prosperity. Timothy, Mark, and Epaphras (Col. i. 7) were instrumental in spreading Christianity in this region. Laodicea was the leading bishopric of Phrygia throughout the Christian period.
Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. With Antioch in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt, it ranked as one of the greatest cities of the East Mediterranean lands. Planted amid the hills near the mouth of the river Cayster, it was excellently fitted to become a great mart, and was the commercial centre for the whole country on the Roman side of Mount Taurus. The substratum of the population was Asiatic, but the progress and enterprise of the city belonged to the Greeks. There, as in the Florence of the Medici, we find commercial astuteness joined with intense delight in graceful culture. Some of the best work of the greatest Greek sculptors and painters was treasured at Ephesus. A splendid but sensuous worship centred round the gross figure of the goddess Artemis, whose temple was one of the greatest triumphs of ancient art. In the British Museum are preserved some fragments of the old temple built by Croesus, King of Lydia, in B.C. 550. The vast {184} temple which replaced this older structure was built about B.C. 350, with the help of contributions from the whole of Asia. The wealth of the city was increased by the crowds which attended the festivals, and many trades were mainly dependent upon the pilgrims, who required food, victims, images, and shrines. In St. Paul's time the city contained one temple devoted to the worship of a Roman emperor. Ephesus was also a home of magical arts, and was famous for the production of magical formulae known as "Ephesian letters." The actual foundation of the Christian Church in Ephesus may be ascribed to Priscilla and Aquila, whom St. Paul left there on his first visit (Acts xviii. 19), On his return to Ephesus he stayed there for two years (Acts xix. 1, 10), and the opposition of the tradesmen to a creed which affected the vested interests of idolatry was the cause of the riot so vigorously described by St. Luke. Even after the riot the superstitions of the mob were a serious danger to St. Paul (1 Cor. xv. 32; xvi. 9; 2 Cor. i. 8-10). At a later period Ephesus became the residence of St. John.
[Sidenote: Where and when written.]
St. Paul wrote this Epistle during his imprisonment at Rome, which began in A.D. 59 (see iii. 1, 13; iv. 1, vi. 22). Rome is not mentioned in the Epistle, but the connection between Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians points to the high probability that they were all written from the same place. This place is much more likely to have been Rome than Caesarea, the only other possible locality. Ephesians was apparently written later than Colossians, for it shows an emphasis on new points of doctrine—the continuity of the Church, the work of the Holy Spirit, the analogy between family life and the Church, and the simile of the spiritual armour.
[Sidenote: Character and Contents.]