Background on Ephesians

The Town of Ephesus

Ephesus was a leading town in the Roman Empire. As a major city in western Asia Minor (now Turkey), it was a leader in commerce, travel, and religion. In Ephesus was the temple to Diana (also known as Artemis). As the center of religious life in this town, the Ephesians were prone to worship her in immoral ways. This comes up in the biblical history of Paul’s visit to the town as well as in the content of the letter.

The town was situated on a major trade route, which meant that hundreds of thousands (even millions?) of people passed through Ephesus every year. Paul’s strategy was always to go to cities that had great influence, and he does that in Ephesus. It ranked up there with Rome, Corinth, Antioch, and Alexandria among the foremost urban centers of the empire.

It is believed that the apostle John spent his last days in Ephesus. It is therefore possible that Mary, mother of Jesus, who came under John’s care at Jesus’ request, spent the end of her life there, too. Catholic tradition maintains it as so, but there is little solid proof. John may not have settled there until much later, in which case Mary would’ve likely already been dead. 

The town benefited from the visit of the apostle Paul greatly, but the gospel (or some form of it) had surely already reached the city when he got there. We have a lot of Scriptural information about his visits.
 

Paul's Relationship with the Ephesians

The book of Ephesians makes it clear that Paul loved the Ephesians and the Ephesians loved Paul. They wept, prayed, and embraced each other. They were the closest of companions, which is no surprise since they had spent 3 years together.

The letter to the Ephesians is not confrontational. Paul is not defending himself or correcting a problem. It’s a letter filled with encouragement and advice about unity, salvation, and spiritual gifts. 
 

Ephesus Mentioned Elswehere in Scripture

Acts 18
Acts 19
Acts 20:16-17
1 Corinthians 15:32
1 Corinthians 16:8
1 Timothy 1:3
2 Timothy 1:18
2 Timothy 4:12
Revelation 1:11
Revelation 2:1