Introduction to the Book of Ephesians

Introduction to the Book of Ephesians

The Epistle to the Ephesians is one of the most concentrated presentations in Scripture of what God has accomplished in and through Jesus Christ and what that accomplishment means for those who are in Him. Paul begins, not primarily with what the believer must do, but with what God has already done. Only after establishing the believer’s position, identity, blessings, reconciliation, and calling in Christ does he turn to the manner in which the believer is to live. In this sense, Ephesians moves from position to practice, from doctrine to conduct, and from what God has accomplished for His people to how His people ought therefore to walk.

This movement is especially evident in the division between the first and second halves of the letter. Chapters 1–3 concentrate heavily upon God’s work in Christ, while chapters 4–6 explain how those truths are to be lived out. The transition is marked by Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:1, “I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called”. The word therefore is important. The Christian walk of chapters 4–6 does not establish the realities of chapters 1–3; rather, it proceeds from them.

Authorship

The letter identifies its author as Paul. It opens with the words, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” in Ephesians 1:1, and Paul again identifies himself in Ephesians 3:1 as “Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles”. The traditional position of the Church has therefore been that the apostle Paul wrote Ephesians, and the letter was received as Pauline very early in Christian history.

Some modern scholars have questioned Pauline authorship because of differences in vocabulary, sentence structure, theological emphasis, and the close relationship between Ephesians and Colossians. These observations deserve consideration, but differences in vocabulary or emphasis do not by themselves establish different authorship. Writers can employ different styles depending upon subject, occasion, audience, purpose, and even the assistance of a secretary. Ephesians also contains unmistakably Pauline themes, including grace, faith, union with Christ, reconciliation, the Church as Christ’s body, the relationship of Jew and Gentile, the Christian walk, and salvation apart from human works. Unless stronger evidence requires another conclusion, the letter’s own identification of Paul as its author should be given its proper weight.

Date and Place of Writing

Ephesians belongs among the letters traditionally referred to as Paul’s Prison Epistles. Paul repeatedly refers to his imprisonment, including in Ephesians 3:1, 4:1, and 6:20. The traditional view is that Paul wrote the letter during his imprisonment in Rome, probably around A.D. 60–62, although Caesarea and other locations have also been proposed. The Roman imprisonment remains a natural historical setting when Ephesians is considered alongside Acts and the other Prison Epistles.

Paul’s circumstances make the emphasis of the letter particularly striking. Although physically imprisoned, he writes repeatedly of the believer’s riches, inheritance, freedom of access to God, heavenly position in Christ, and participation in God’s eternal purpose. His imprisonment does not control his understanding of reality. Instead, earthly circumstances are interpreted in light of what God has accomplished in Christ.

The Recipients and the Words “In Ephesus”

The traditional text of Ephesians 1:1 addresses the letter “to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus”. There is, however, an important textual question concerning the words in Ephesus. They are absent from some early manuscript witnesses. This, together with the relatively general character of the letter, has led many scholars to suggest that Ephesians may originally have been intended as a circular letter for several congregations in Asia Minor, with Ephesus becoming the principal church with which the letter was associated.

That possibility deserves consideration because Paul had spent considerable time in Ephesus and knew the believers there well. One might therefore expect a letter written exclusively to that congregation to contain more personal references. Yet whether Ephesians was addressed specifically to Ephesus or circulated among several churches in the region does not materially alter its message. Its teaching was plainly intended for believers, and its themes extend far beyond the circumstances of one local congregation.

The City of Ephesus

Ephesus was one of the most important cities of Roman Asia. Located near important commercial routes, it was a major center of trade, culture, politics, and religion. The city was especially famous for the temple of Artemis, whose worship contributed both to the religious identity and the economy of the city. The events recorded in Acts 19 demonstrate how deeply the worship of Artemis was woven into Ephesian society and how disruptive the spread of the Gospel could be to established religious and economic interests.

Ephesus was also associated with magical practices and the use of spells and occult writings. Acts 19:18–19 records that many who believed openly confessed their former practices and that a large number brought their books together and burned them publicly. This background helps provide historical texture to Paul’s later references to spiritual rulers, authorities, powers, darkness, the devil, and spiritual forces of evil. His teaching concerning spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:10–18 did not arise in a cultural vacuum.

Paul and Ephesus

Paul’s relationship with Ephesus is developed principally in Acts 18–20. He first visited the city briefly and later returned for an extended ministry. During that period the Gospel spread widely throughout the surrounding region. Paul taught publicly and from house to house, reasoning with both Jews and Greeks, while the growing influence of the Gospel eventually contributed to the disturbance associated with Demetrius and the craftsmen whose livelihood depended upon the worship of Artemis.

Paul’s relationship with the Ephesian elders was particularly close. In Acts 20:17–38, he summoned the elders of the church to Miletus and gave them a deeply personal farewell. He reminded them of his manner of life and ministry, warned them concerning dangers that would arise after his departure, and entrusted them to God and to the word of His grace. This history provides an important backdrop for a letter concerned so deeply with the maturity, unity, protection, and proper functioning of the Church.

Purpose and Message of Ephesians

Unlike Galatians or 1 Corinthians, Ephesians does not appear to have been written primarily to correct one immediate crisis. Its purpose is broader. Paul presents the work of God in Christ within the scope of God’s redemptive purpose and then explains how those who belong to Christ are to live in light of that reality. The letter therefore brings together salvation, reconciliation, the Church, unity, spiritual maturity, Christian conduct, family relationships, and spiritual conflict within one coherent presentation.

At the center of that presentation stands Jesus Christ. God’s blessings are found in Christ; redemption is in Christ; God’s purpose is centered in Christ; Jew and Gentile are reconciled through Christ; believers are created in Christ for good works; the Church grows into maturity under Christ its Head; marriage points to Christ and the Church; and believers finally stand against spiritual opposition in the strength supplied by the Lord. Ephesians cannot properly be understood if Christ is treated merely as one theological subject among many. He is the One in whom Paul’s argument is repeatedly located.

The Structure of Ephesians

Chapters 1–3: What God Has Accomplished in Christ

The first three chapters establish the theological foundation of the letter. Paul begins with the spiritual blessings believers possess in Christ, moves through election, predestination, redemption, forgiveness, inheritance, sealing by the Holy Spirit, and the supremacy of Christ, and then describes humanity’s former condition and salvation by grace through faith. From there he turns particularly to the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile in one body and to the mystery now revealed concerning their common participation in the promises of God in Christ.

Chapters 4–6: Walking Worthy of the Calling

Beginning in chapter 4, Paul applies these truths to Christian conduct. Believers are called to preserve unity, grow toward maturity, put away the former manner of life, walk in love, walk as children of light, walk wisely, live in proper relationship with one another, and finally stand firm against spiritual opposition. The ethical commands are therefore grounded in the theological realities already established. Paul does not teach believers to live worthy lives in order to become accepted in Christ; he calls those who are already identified with Christ to live consistently with that calling.

The Centrality of “In Christ”

Few expressions are more important to understanding Ephesians than Paul’s repeated use of in Christ, in Him, in whom, in the Beloved, and related expressions. These are not ornamental phrases. They repeatedly identify Christ as the sphere, ground, and location of the blessings Paul describes. Ephesians 1:3 declares that God has blessed believers “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ”. Paul then continues to locate election, grace, redemption, inheritance, and sealing in relation to Christ.

This is particularly significant in Ephesians 1:4, where Paul states that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world”. Whatever theological conclusions are drawn from election and predestination, the words in Him must be allowed to retain their place within Paul’s argument. The interpreter should not begin with a theological system and then determine what Paul’s language must mean. The argument should first be allowed to develop from the words, grammar, context, and relationships Paul himself establishes.

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Re: Calvinism – Use of Ephesians 1:4

Although Calvinism uses Ephesians 1:4 as proof text of God choosing some individuals unto salvation and not others, there is another perspective that should also be kept in view. The words “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” do not require the conclusion that, before creation, God individually selected certain persons to receive salvation while passing over all others.

God foreknew the fall of humanity and, before the foundation of the world, had already determined His redemptive purpose in Christ. To say that God’s saving purpose was chosen beforehand in Christ does not diminish the truth that those who are in Christ were chosen before the foundation of the world. The question that must still be answered is how particular persons come to be included among those who are in Him.

Nor does the phrase itself determine whether that inclusion results from an unconditional selection of particular individuals or whether God determined beforehand that redemption in Christ would be genuinely offered through the Gospel and received by those who respond in faith to His gracious call. If Scripture elsewhere establishes that God has provided humanity with a genuine God-given ability to respond to that call, nothing in the words “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” would, by themselves, contradict such an arrangement. Conversely, that ability should not simply be assumed from this verse either. The point is that Ephesians 1:4 clearly establishes the eternal priority of God’s purpose and choosing in Christ, while the manner by which individuals come to participate in Christ must be established from Paul’s developing argument and from Scripture as a whole.

 

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Election and Predestination

Ephesians 1 has played an important role in Christian discussions concerning election and predestination. Because these doctrines have generated substantial theological debate, special care must be taken not to read later theological systems back into Paul’s words before examining the passage itself. Important questions include who or what is being chosen, the significance of being chosen in Christ, what Paul states believers are predestined to, how the expressions we and you also function in the argument, and how hearing, believing, and sealing relate to the larger passage.

The principal Greek terms will therefore be considered in their own contexts, including eklegomai for choosing and proorizō for predetermining or marking out beforehand. Neither Calvinist, Arminian, corporate-election, nor any other theological framework should be permitted to settle the meaning before the passage itself has been examined. The proper question is not which system can claim the vocabulary, but what Paul actually communicates through the vocabulary, grammar, context, and developing argument of the letter.

Grace, Faith, and Salvation

Ephesians contains one of Scripture’s clearest statements concerning salvation by grace. Paul describes people as formerly “dead in your trespasses and sins” in Ephesians 2:1, yet emphasizes God’s rich mercy and great love in making believers alive together with Christ. The culmination appears in Ephesians 2:8–9: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast”.

Paul does not leave good works outside the Christian life. Rather, he removes them from the foundation of salvation and places them in their proper consequence. Immediately after excluding works as grounds for boasting, Ephesians 2:10 declares, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life”. Grace does not make obedience unnecessary; it establishes its proper order. Salvation is not earned by works, yet those who have been created in Christ are called to walk in the works God has prepared for them.

Jew and Gentile Reconciled in Christ

The relationship between Jew and Gentile is not a secondary issue in Ephesians. It forms a substantial part of Paul’s argument in chapters 2 and 3. Paul reminds Gentile believers that they had once been separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope, and without God in the world. Then comes the great reversal of Ephesians 2:13: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ”.

Christ has made peace, breaking down the dividing wall of hostility and reconciling Jew and Gentile to God in one body through the cross. Paul speaks of creating “one new man” from the two in Ephesians 2:15. The Gentiles are therefore no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. This theme continues directly into chapter 3, where Paul explains the mystery that Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.

The Mystery Revealed

The word mystery, from the Greek mystērion, – (μυστήριον, [G3466]) – occurs repeatedly in Ephesians and should be understood according to Paul’s own usage. It does not describe a logical contradiction that must simply be accepted without examination. In Ephesians, a mystery is something once hidden but now revealed or made known by God. Paul speaks in Ephesians 3:3–6 of the mystery being made known by revelation and then proceeds to explain its content.

This is an important interpretive distinction. Something may exceed the limits of complete human understanding without containing a logical contradiction. Scripture contains truths whose depths we may never exhaust, but where God has revealed something, the interpreter should seek to understand what has been revealed rather than use the word mystery to prevent examination. In Ephesians itself, Paul repeatedly speaks of the mystery precisely because God has acted to make it known.

The Church in Ephesians

Ephesians presents several complementary pictures of the Church. The Church is Christ’s body, with Christ as its Head. Jew and Gentile together form one new humanity. Believers are members of God’s household and are being built together into a holy temple and dwelling place of God by the Spirit. Later the relationship between Christ and the Church is presented through the imagery of marriage, while the closing chapter portrays believers standing together against spiritual opposition.

These images should not be separated from one another as though Paul were describing unrelated ideas. Each contributes something to the whole. The body emphasizes union, interdependence, growth, and Christ’s headship. The household emphasizes belonging. The temple emphasizes God’s presence and holiness. Marriage emphasizes Christ’s sacrificial love and the Church’s relationship to Him. The armor of God emphasizes steadfastness in spiritual conflict. Together they present the Church as a people formed, reconciled, united, matured, and sustained in Christ.

The Holy Spirit in Ephesians

The Holy Spirit is woven throughout the letter. Believers are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1:13–14, where the Spirit is described as the guarantee of their inheritance. Through Christ, both Jew and Gentile have access to the Father by one Spirit in Ephesians 2:18, and together they are being built into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit in Ephesians 2:22.

Paul later speaks of the unity of the Spirit, warns believers not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, commands them to be filled with the Spirit, identifies the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit, and exhorts them to pray in the Spirit. The Spirit’s work therefore extends from the believer’s identification and assurance in Christ to the unity, holiness, worship, warfare, and prayer of the Church.

The Heavenly Realms

Another distinctive expression in Ephesians is the repeated reference to the heavenly realms. In Ephesians 1:3, believers are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. In Ephesians 1:20, Christ is seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. In Ephesians 2:6, believers are described as raised and seated with Christ there. In Ephesians 3:10, God’s manifold wisdom is made known through the Church to rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, and in Ephesians 6:12 the believer’s struggle is described in relation to spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

These references form a thread running through the entire letter. The heavenly realm is associated both with the believer’s blessings and position in Christ and with the spiritual opposition against which the Church must stand. Consequently, the spiritual warfare of chapter 6 should not be treated as an unrelated appendix to Ephesians. It belongs to the larger spiritual reality Paul has been describing from the opening chapter.

The Christian “Walk”

Paul repeatedly uses the language of walking to contrast the believer’s former life with the life that should now follow from being in Christ. Ephesians 2:2 recalls how believers formerly walked according to the course of this world, while Ephesians 2:10 describes the good works in which God has prepared His people to walk. The contrast is deliberate: there was an old walk corresponding to the old condition, and there is now a new walk corresponding to the believer’s new identity in Christ.

That theme becomes increasingly prominent in the second half of the letter. Believers are called to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling” in Ephesians 4:1, to no longer walk as the Gentiles walk in 4:17, to walk in love in 5:2, to walk as children of light in 5:8, and to carefully consider how they walk in 5:15. The repeated language helps connect Christian doctrine with Christian conduct. What God has done in Christ is intended to produce a life consistent with what He has done.

Unity and Maturity

Christian unity occupies a central place in Ephesians. Paul does not describe unity merely as organizational agreement or the absence of disagreement. The unity of the Church is grounded in realities God has already established: “one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all” in Ephesians 4:4–6. Believers are therefore instructed to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace rather than create a unity independent of truth.

At the same time, unity does not mean uniformity. Christ gives different gifts for the building up of the body so that believers may grow into maturity. Paul’s concern in Ephesians 4:11–16 is that the Church not remain spiritually immature, “tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching”, but grow together toward maturity under Christ the Head. Truth and love therefore belong together. Paul calls believers to speak the truth in love, not to sacrifice truth for unity or love for doctrinal victory.

The Old and the New

A major practical theme of Ephesians is the contrast between the old manner of life and the new. Paul describes the former self as corrupted by deceitful desires and instructs believers to put off the old man, be renewed in the spirit of their minds, and put on the new man created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth. This change is then expressed through very practical contrasts: falsehood gives way to truth, stealing to honest labor and generosity, corrupt speech to words that build up, bitterness and malice to kindness and forgiveness, darkness to light, foolishness to wisdom, and drunkenness to being filled with the Spirit.

Paul therefore does not separate theology from everyday conduct. The great truths of election, grace, reconciliation, union with Christ, and the Church lead directly into speech, anger, work, generosity, forgiveness, sexuality, marriage, parenting, employment, prayer, and spiritual resistance. Ephesians presents Christian truth as something to be understood, believed, and lived.

Marriage, Family, and Household Relationships

Ephesians applies Christian identity to relationships within the household. Paul’s instructions concerning husbands and wives in Ephesians 5:22–33 are grounded particularly in the relationship between Christ and the Church. Husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her, while the marriage relationship itself is used to illuminate the profound relationship between Christ and His people.

The household instructions continue into chapter 6 with children and parents and then with servants and masters within the social realities of the first-century Roman world. Whatever historical differences exist between those social structures and modern ones, Paul’s governing principle repeatedly places every human relationship under the lordship of Christ. Authority does not remove accountability, and social status does not alter the fact that both servant and master ultimately stand before the same Lord.

Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God

Ephesians concludes its practical instruction with the call to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” in Ephesians 6:10. Believers are instructed to put on the whole armor of God so that they may stand against the schemes of the devil. Paul makes clear that the struggle is not ultimately against flesh and blood but against rulers, authorities, powers of this darkness, and spiritual forces of evil.

The repeated command is not to conquer territory through human strength but to stand. Truth, righteousness, readiness associated with the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and persistent prayer form the imagery of God’s armor. These are not magical objects or independent techniques. The entire passage continues Paul’s emphasis upon depending upon what God supplies and standing firmly in what He has revealed and accomplished.

Important Interpretive Principles for Ephesians

Because Ephesians contains several passages central to major theological debates, it is especially important that Scripture be allowed to interpret Scripture. Words must be understood according to their grammatical and contextual usage. Individual verses must be read within Paul’s developing argument. Historical and cultural circumstances should be considered where relevant, and conclusions should not be allowed to extend beyond what the evidence reasonably establishes. Theological frameworks may help organize what Scripture teaches, but they should not become controlling assumptions through which Scripture is required to pass.

This is particularly important in passages dealing with election, predestination, spiritual death, grace, faith, salvation, human responsibility, the mystery of Jew and Gentile, and God’s eternal purpose. The question throughout this commentary will therefore not simply be which theological tradition has historically claimed a passage, but whether the proposed interpretation fits contextually, coherently, consistently, and progressively throughout Scripture without contradiction. Likewise, an interpretation must remain consistent with the perfection of God both in His natural attributes and in His perfect and good character.

Questions to Keep in View While Reading Ephesians

As the letter is studied verse by verse, several questions should remain before us. Who is speaking and to whom? What is the subject of the statement? What does the grammar actually say? What do the important words mean in their context? What has Paul already established before reaching this statement, and where does his argument proceed afterward? What does Paul explicitly state, and what conclusions require inference? Where an inference is necessary, does it reasonably follow from the biblical evidence, or has a theological conclusion been assumed before the passage was interpreted?

We should likewise ask how each interpretation fits other passages of Scripture. Apparent difficulties should be examined rather than dismissed, while genuine progressive revelation should be allowed to develop without creating contradiction. No interpretation should be protected merely by appealing to mystery, philosophical necessity, theological tradition, or an overarching system. The objective is not to make Paul conform to what we already believe, but to allow Paul to say what he actually says and then bring that teaching into harmony with the whole counsel of Scripture.

Major Themes in Ephesians

Among the major themes developed throughout Ephesians are God’s eternal purpose in Christ, the believer’s identity and blessings in Christ, election and predestination, redemption and forgiveness, grace and faith, the sealing and work of the Holy Spirit, the supremacy of Christ, salvation from the former life of sin, reconciliation between Jew and Gentile, the Church as Christ’s body, the mystery now revealed, unity and spiritual maturity, holiness of life, marriage and family relationships, and spiritual warfare. These subjects should not be isolated from one another because Paul presents them as interconnected parts of one larger argument centered in Christ.

One of the great strengths of Ephesians is therefore its breadth without losing its center. The letter stretches backward to God’s purpose before the foundation of the world, upward to Christ seated in the heavenly realms, outward to the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile in one body, inward to the transformation of the believer’s character, forward to the inheritance and redemption still anticipated, and finally into the daily struggle of believers who must stand against spiritual opposition. Yet throughout all of these themes the recurring center remains Christ.

Outline of Ephesians

Ephesians 1:1–2 — Greeting

Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and greets the saints with grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:3–14 — Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Paul praises God for every spiritual blessing in Christ and develops the themes of choosing, predestination, adoption, grace, redemption, forgiveness, God’s purpose, inheritance, hearing the Gospel, believing, and sealing with the promised Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:15–23 — Prayer for Knowledge and the Supremacy of Christ

Paul prays that believers may know the hope of God’s calling, the riches of His inheritance, and the greatness of His power, which was demonstrated in raising Christ and seating Him above every ruler, authority, power, and dominion.

Ephesians 2:1–10 — From Death to Life by Grace

Paul contrasts humanity’s former condition in trespasses and sins with God’s mercy and love, emphasizing salvation by grace through faith, apart from works, while showing that those saved are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.

Ephesians 2:11–22 — Jew and Gentile Reconciled

Gentiles who were once far away have been brought near by Christ’s blood. Christ has made the two one, reconciled both to God in one body, and formed them together into God’s household and holy temple.

Ephesians 3:1–13 — The Mystery Revealed

Paul explains his ministry among the Gentiles and identifies the mystery now revealed: Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.

Ephesians 3:14–21 — Prayer for Strength, Love, and Fullness

Paul prays that believers may be strengthened through God’s Spirit, that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they may comprehend the vastness of Christ’s love and be filled unto all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 4:1–16 — Walking Worthy and Growing in Unity

The practical half of the letter begins with a call to walk worthy of the calling, preserve the unity of the Spirit, recognize the diversity of Christ’s gifts, and grow together toward spiritual maturity under Christ the Head.

Ephesians 4:17–32 — Putting Off the Old and Putting On the New

Believers are instructed no longer to walk according to their former way of life but to put off the old man, be renewed in their minds, put on the new man, and demonstrate that transformation through truthfulness, honest labor, wholesome speech, kindness, and forgiveness.

Ephesians 5:1–21 — Walking in Love, Light, and Wisdom

Paul calls believers to imitate God, walk in love, reject the works of darkness, walk as children of light, live wisely, redeem the time, understand the Lord’s will, and be filled with the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:22–6:9 — Christlike Relationships in the Household

The life of the believer is applied to marriage, children and parents, and servants and masters, with each relationship ultimately placed under the authority and example of Christ.

Ephesians 6:10–20 — The Armor of God

Paul calls believers to stand firm in the strength of the Lord against spiritual opposition by putting on the whole armor of God and remaining watchful in persistent prayer.

Ephesians 6:21–24 — Final Greetings and Benediction

Paul closes by commending Tychicus, expressing his desire that the believers be encouraged, and pronouncing peace, love with faith, and grace upon all who love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Reading Ephesians on Its Own Terms

Ephesians should finally be approached as a complete argument rather than as a collection of isolated theological proof texts. Election should be read together with being chosen in Christ; predestination should be examined together with the purposes Paul assigns to it; grace should be read together with faith and good works in their proper order; spiritual death should be interpreted within Paul’s own description of the former walk; Jew and Gentile must be allowed their substantial place within the argument; the mystery should be understood according to what Paul says has now been revealed; and the commands of chapters 4–6 should be read as the response to the realities established in chapters 1–3.

The purpose of this commentary is therefore not to begin with a theological conclusion and search Ephesians for confirmation. It is to examine the words, grammar, context, argument, historical setting, and related Scriptures as carefully as possible, allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. Where conclusions are explicit, they should be stated plainly. Where conclusions depend upon reasonable inference, they should be identified as such and held with confidence appropriate to the strength of the evidence. The objective throughout is not the defense of a theological label but the pursuit of the truth communicated in the Word of God.