The People and Problems in Ephesus
For a letter written nearly 2,000 years ago, the message of Ephesians is fresh and relevant for today. People living in the Roman Empire in the first century were embroiled in ethnic and class divisions. Worship of the true God was scarce while worship of false gods flourished. People lived in fear and confusion. It was into this context that the apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the Ephesians. Of the 27 New Testament books, 21 are letters or epistles. God used these messages to deliver the gospel of Christ throughout the Roman Empire. After his Damascus Road conversion (see Acts 9), Paul spent the rest of his life building believers up in their faith instead of persecuting them. Paul focuses on the work accomplished by Christ’s death and resurrection and the way believers should live as a result.