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Logos Ministries Incorporated
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This is an inductive study of the Ephesian epistle. THE INTRODUCTION GENERAL INFORMATION The name "Ephesus" was not casually chosen. The word simply means "desirable." In their minds, this was an appropriate description. It was located on a plain between two mountain ranges. It was the cosmopolitan center of the world of that day. It had all of the social and cultural trappings one could find in Rome. It contained one of the seven wonders of the world. It was, perhaps, the richest city in the world of that day. The notoriety of the city was known world-wide. Paul came to Ephesus, the first time, on his second missionary journey.
Could Paul have visited the city of Ephesus as a child? As you can see on the map which follows, ((map here)) by our standards it isn't that far from his boyhood home in Tarsus – 900 miles by water, 600 miles by land. By their standards, however, it was a great distance. Paul's life before he became a Christian suggests a very strict upbringing. This being the case, it seems doubtful that he visited the city with such an evil reputation. On his third missionary journey, Paul spent about three years in Ephesus.
During that time, Paul taught the disciples and new converts each day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. The news of this growing, well taught church spread quickly throughout the whole province of Asia. Many scholars believe that the Apostle John and Mary the mother of Jesus live in the city. In Revelation 2:1-7, John wrote about the Ephesian church. He said that the church had flourished, but false teachers had come and the congregation had lost their first love. The city of Ephesus is strategically located. It rests in a valley between two mountain ranges. Ephesus was located at the mouth of the Coyster River which was a great natural seaport. This is located on the western coast of Asia minor. THE ECONOMIC SITUATION IN EPHESUS One needs to be aware of the Ephesian economy because it bears heavily on the position of the church at the time Paul wrote this epistle. Being the most favorable, natural seaport in the region, it is not surprising that it was the most important trade center west of Tarsus. With a population of at least 300,000 people, Ephesus was the largest city in the province. The city was situated at the cross roads of two ancient overland trade routes. On the following map, you can see that one route went west through Hieropolis, Laodicea, Phyrgia and beyond. The other route went North to Smyrna, Pergamum and Troaz. ((map here)) Ephesus was probably the wealthiest city of the world of that day. This grew out of the fact that the priests of the temple of Diana (Artemis to them) provided the prestigious banking service for the great nations of the world. The temple was the Swiss banking system of the first century. The fact that the temple and the priests were also a strong, world class political force also helped to place this temple among the financial elite of that day. The Lydians, under Croesus, conquered the city in 560 B. C. This was a daring venture to say the least. He burned the temple against the will of the most powerful people in the world of that day. Alexander volunteered to rebuild the temple at his own expense. This created a delicate situation for the temple leaders. It would be nice to have this massive structure built without cost. It would be like rebuilding New York City today. The down side was that this would place these leaders in a patronage position to Alexander. They solved the situation graciously. They kindly refused Alexander's offer saying it would not be appropriate for one god to build a temple to another. THE CULTURAL SITUATION IN EPHESUS. Ephesus was the largest city in the Roman province of Asia. Rome had a plan as they developed chief cities in each province of the realm. The culture and lifestyle of Rome were vastly different from those of their conquered territories. They wanted these nations to become as Roman as possible. Rather than just tell them about Roman ways, Rome built replicas of Rome all over their empire. The Decapolis in Israel is a good case in point. Just about everything you can find in Rome, you can also find in these special cities. Ephesus was one of these special cities. It is, therefore, not surprising that Ephesus had a theatre that would seat 25,000 people quite comfortably. This theatre had excellent acoustics. The baths were an important part of the Roman experience of culture and business. These baths were as beautiful and ornate as any to be found in Rome. It is not surprising that the fountains of Hadrian were to be found in this city. Impressive buildings were a vital part of the mystic of Rome. One would expect some very impressive structures in this city as well. Ephesus was a carbon copy of Rome, complete with all of its vices. Like the city now called Ammon, Jordan, the main street of the city was bordered by a three foot wall on each side. In this wall, at about 75 foot intervals, there were niches where Roman idols were placed. Indeed, where streets intersected, there were altars built to each of their most prominent deities. Just passing along this street was viewed as an act of worship. You may remember that Paul spoke of this situation when in Athens. In Acts, Luke quoted the words of Paul:
Just walking through the streets of this city would make an observant Jew unclean. THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION IN EPHESUS The temple of Diana, or as they called her "Artemis," was one of the seven wonders of the world. This gives you an idea of the respected position and financial acumen they enjoyed. The worshippers of Diana believed she was the twin sister of Apollo and daughter of Zeus. Thus, they treated her with mutual respect and deference. The temple of Diana was a thing of beauty, a masterpiece of design and artistic skill. The temple contained an image of Artemis that they believed came directly from Zeus. This statue may well have been carved from a fallen meteorite. The temple was built just one mile outside the city This place of worship was 420 feet long by 240 feet wide and 60 feet high. It was supported by 117 or 127 columns, depending on which report you accept. Each of these columns was the gift of a prince. Like the Vatican, it was a religious structure, but had become a political force as well. This temple was under construction for 220 years. Coins have been found that were minted at the time of the apostle Paul. On the face of these coins the words were embossed "Diana of Ephesus." In 560 B. C. Croesus dedicated the city to Artemis. Artemis, or Diana, was the goddess of fertility. She was, in the Greeco- Roman culture, what Ashteroth was in the Egyptian and other middle eastern cultures. Because of the association with fertility, the worship of Artemis centered around sexual orgies. People were afraid not to participate in these orgies lest they have no children, their fields would not produce and their animals would have no young. THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS The church in Ephesus was founded about 50 A. D. As indicated earlier, Priscilla and Acquilla came to the city of Ephesus with Paul. They helped in the founding of the congregation.
It is clear that Paul wrote the first Corinthian epistle while he was in Ephesus. He wrote:
Paul not only helped found the Ephesian church, but was basically involved in the discipling of these new Christians. As Luke reported, this was done in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. We also know that some, who had been disciples of John the Baptist, made their way to Ephesus and were involved in the early stages of the founding of the church in this city. In Acts, Luke recorded the words of Paul
Paul gave the same message in I Timothy
We know that in the city, men were making huge fortunes through servants who were involved with the occult. The silversmiths were also amassing great fortunes through the sale of silver crafted sculptures of the goddess Diana. This eventually led to Paul's imprisonment. All of this points clearly to the fact that idol worship and the black arts were deeply entrenched in the culture. Because Paul and the fledgling church were immersed in countering this movement, they experienced strong opposition from both civil and religious leaders. |
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