Date The question of when Ephesians was written depends upon the prior question of authorship. Supporters of Pauline authorship naturally date the letter within the time frame of the apostle's ministry. Most correlate the imprisonment mentioned in 3:1, 4:1, and 6:20 with Paul's first imprisonment in Rome, where he lived under house arrest from A.D. 60 to 62, awaiting trial before the tribunal of Caesar (Acts 28:16, 30). This would imply a date for Ephesians in the early 60s alongside Paul's other "Captivity Epistles": Philippians (Phil 1:12-14), Colossians (4:3), and Philemon (Philem 9). Scholars who contend the letter was written by one of Paul's admirers date it as late as the 90s, long after the apostle's martyrdom in the mid 60s.

Destination The intended readership of Ephe-sians is more difficult to establish than it first appears. This is because the textual tradition underlying the letter's opening verse is uncertain: the words "in Ephesus" are missing from some of the most ancient manuscripts of the epistle in existence and, for this reason, may have been added after the letter was originally written (see textual note a on Eph 1:1). Identification of the readers thus depends on whether or not the disputed words are original. (1) If the phrase "in Ephesus" is authentic, then Paul was writing to Christians in the leading metropolis of the Roman province of Asia (southwest Turkey). This would not be surprising, as Paul spent several years ministering to the Ephesians and disseminating the gospel throughout the region (Acts 19:1-10; 20:31). (2) If the phrase was not part of the original letter, as many scholars maintain, then it seems the intended audience was more general than specific. Advocates of this position often describe Ephesians as a circular letter that Paul intended for several churches in Asia Minor. In this case, the Church at Ephesus was probably only one of several churches he expected to receive the letter.

Themes and Characteristics Ephesians sets before us a vision of Christ reigning in heaven next to the Father (1:20) and renewing the earth through his Church (3:10). Though Paul often attacks doctrinal error and moral laxity in his letters, he seizes the opportunity in Ephesians to step back from these controversies to contemplate and articulate in a more reflective way God's saving work in Jesus. Instead of pastoral surgery, then, Paul gives the Ephesians a dose of preventative medicine, hoping that a deeper appreciation of God's blessings will lead them to a more mature commitment to the gospel. Since many of Paul's readers are recent converts, Ephesians might best be described as Paul's mystagogical catechesis for the newly baptized.

The towering theme of Ephesians is the "mystery" of Jesus Christ once concealed but now revealed (1:9; 3:4, 9). This is first of all the mystery of Christ the Redeemer, whose violent death on the Cross was a vicarious sacrifice for the redemption of Israel and the Gentiles alike (1:7; 2:16; 5:2). Having died to restore peace between the Father and the human family, Christ now reigns supreme over all things at the right hand of the Father in heaven (1:20). So far is he exalted above creation that even the angels find themselves under his feet (1:21-22). As Paul reflects upon these redeeming achievements of Christ, he is not content to view them as events confined to the past. Rather, the Resurrection, Ascension, and Enthronement of Christ are saving mysteries that continue to grace our lives and souls in the present, making us participants in his royal, priestly, and prophetic mission to the world (2:4-6; 5:2).

The mystery of Christ is also the mystery of his ecclesial body, the Church. Nowhere does Paul give a more majestic presentation of this truth than in Ephesians. The Church he describes is nothing less than God's new creation in Christ (2:10, 15; 2 Cor 5:17). She is a holy and universal community that shines out to a world shattered by sin. Her life comes from the divine Trinity, as her members are made the children of the Father (1:5), the body and bride of the Son (5:22-32), and the temple of the Holy Spirit (2:21-22). Her dimensions are international, as she gathers together all peoples and nations into the family of the New Covenant (2:11-22; 3:4-6). The grace that unites the Church with her Lord is the grace of being "in Christ" (1:3; cf. 1:7, 10, 13). This union between Christ in his glorified body and Christ in his mystical body was first revealed to Paul at his conversion (Acts 9:3-5). Now, after many years of preaching and meditation, he is able to explain its heights and depths in simple yet profound terms for those newly acquainted with the gospel. «