Sorry, I have been AWOL lately! I must confess that writer’s block is a beast and the past several months that I’ve been enjoying summer, I have also been blocked. And then recent events in one of my communities had me thinking about how a “house divided cannot stand.” That is something, I believe, that is timeless and a core principle of the book of Ephesians. I’m thankful that my classes have allowed me to study this amazing epistle, and I cannot wait to study more of the Bible.
By the way, this is part one of a 8 part series. That’s right. Eight. Part. Series. The challenge will be writing it all, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got that covered until school starts.
At the time Paul wrote Ephesians, the city of Ephesus filled with tourists and commerce as well as Greco-Roman worship to Artemis of Ephesus and Domitian, the Emperor. The poor and uneducated likely practiced magic, and Gnosticism probably existed in some form among the populace. Additionally, when Paul wrote this letter, a church and synagogue were already established in the city.
Before I go much further, let’s talk about Gnosticism. The term gnostiskos means “having knowledge,” from the root gnosis, or knowledge. It’s essentially a conglomeration of ancient Greek philosophy with ties to first and second century Judeo-Christian beliefs.
These beliefs included: 1) the physical stuff is eeeeeevil. Your flesh, your things, anything not spiritual? Not ok. But the spiritual side is good. Let’s all get spiritual! 2) there is no sin, only ignorance. (So like… you can achieve perfection/salvation by just knowing…) 3) There is a God, but he’s completely unknowable. He gave rise to lesser beings (Aeons).
Essentially, Gnostics denied the Trinity or that God created (and that He saw it was good), but they did believe that we can achieve salvation from gaining more and more knowledge.
Okey doke, back to Ephesus! The population would annually swell as pilgrims would come to pay homage to the goddess Artemis at the Atemesian, with the temple serving as a bank of sorts because of the deep respect for Artemis. This does not mean that this particular institution was free from corruption. Corruption definitely existed. Funny how that works… Corruption in political and financial settings run by… humans! **gasp!**
Now let’s talk relations between the Jews and Greeks. It would not be incorrect to say they just didn’t like each other. If someone lived outside a Grecian city, they were automatically “pagan.” Jews began to believe similarly. Reading through the Bible has definitely helped me to see that they, the chosen people, did not do well at keeping themselves holy and separate. I mean, you might have a handful that did it well, but ultimately their downfall as an independent nation was due to incorporating customs and idols that God had deemed “unclean.” As a way to prove themselves as other, though, Jews started to put a lot of emphasis on circumcision. It became a matter of pride. (Ok, I just heard Scar talking in my head…. Yeesh!) The original intent was to be a physical reminder of Israel’s unique mission to be emissaries of God to the surrounding people. (You know, like when God says… “You will be a priestly nation…”? a part of that commission was as a mediator between mankind and God, and well… they failed. Epically. Nat 1. Crit failure. God went elsewhere to see redemption come to mankind, though He did keep His promises… ALL OF THEM!)
I wouldn’t be surprised if first century tensions between the cultures were similar to today’s tension in the USA. It was very much an “us vs them” mentality and it is in this setting that Paul writes the letter to the Ephesian church.
Next up, the founding of the church in Ephesus!
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