Ephesians
Paul's soaring letter on who believers are in Christ and how to walk worthy of that calling
Ephesians at a glance
Paul's soaring letter on who believers are in Christ and how to walk worthy of that calling
Ephesians is a letter written by the apostle Paul, most likely during his imprisonment in Rome around A.D. 60-62, to the church at Ephesus, a major city of Asia Minor where he had ministered for about three years. Unlike letters written to fix a specific crisis, Ephesians reads like a grand summary of Paul's gospel. It sits among the Prison Epistles alongside Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, and it presents the church not as a local problem to be solved but as God's eternal masterpiece.
The letter falls into two clear halves. Chapters 1-3 unfold what God has done: choosing believers before the foundation of the world, making the spiritually dead alive by grace through faith, and breaking down the wall between Jew and Gentile to create one new body, the church. Chapters 4-6 turn to how believers should live in response: walking in unity and holiness, speaking truth in love, ordering marriage and family life after the pattern of Christ and the church, and famously putting on the whole armour of God to stand against the devil.
Ephesians matters because it anchors Christian living in Christian identity. Believers are not saved by good works but created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Its vision of one unified church, saved entirely by grace, has shaped Christian teaching on salvation, unity, and spiritual warfare for two thousand years.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:8 King James Version
Explore Ephesians
How Ephesians unfolds
8 sections- 1Blessings in Christ (ch. 1)Paul opens with a sweeping doxology: God has chosen, adopted, redeemed, and sealed believers in Christ. He prays that the Ephesians would know the hope of their calling and God's great power.
- 2Saved by grace (ch. 2:1-10)Once dead in trespasses and sins, believers have been made alive with Christ. Salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, and God has prepared good works for His people to walk in.
- 3One new man: Jew and Gentile united (ch. 2:11-22)Christ has broken down the middle wall of partition, making peace and building Jews and Gentiles together into one holy temple with Christ as the chief corner stone.
- 4The mystery revealed and Paul's prayer (ch. 3)Paul explains his stewardship of the mystery that Gentiles are fellowheirs in Christ, then prays that believers would grasp the breadth, length, depth, and height of Christ's love.
- 5Walking in unity and newness (ch. 4)Paul urges the church to keep the unity of the Spirit, describes Christ's gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, and calls believers to put off the old man and put on the new.
- 6Walking in love, light, and wisdom (ch. 5:1-21)Believers are to be followers of God as dear children, avoiding darkness, redeeming the time, and being filled with the Spirit, speaking in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
- 7Household relationships (ch. 5:22-6:9)Paul orders marriage after the pattern of Christ and the church, calls children to obey their parents, fathers to nurture their children, and servants and masters to serve as unto the Lord.
- 8The whole armour of God (ch. 6:10-24)The letter closes with the call to stand against the wiles of the devil wearing truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, praying always.
People to know
4 figures- PaulThe author, an apostle of Jesus Christ writing as the prisoner of the Lord, likely from Rome.
- The saints at EphesusThe recipients, a largely Gentile church in the great Asian city where Paul had ministered for years.
- TychicusA beloved brother and faithful minister who carried the letter and reported Paul's affairs to the church.
- Jesus ChristThe center of the letter: head of the church, the chief corner stone, and the one in whom every blessing is found.
Words worth carrying with you
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:8 · KJV
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32 · KJV
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11 · KJV
Think you know Ephesians?
30 questions from the King James Version, all ages welcome. Keep score, then challenge a friend or your whole group.
Leading a group? Download the free printable Ephesians quiz pack (PDF) - questions, answer key with verses, and a score sheet.
The whole book, on video
The full narrated quiz - timed, illustrated, and made for playing together.
Ephesians Bible Quiz: The Armor of God | 30 Questions