Ephesians

Paul's third missionary journey was his most successful, by far. Paul spends A.D. 54-57 in Ephesus, a dazzling deep-water port city on the west coast of Asian Minor. A very wealthy city and the home of the Temple of Diana (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world), Ephesus could boast a population of 250,000, a fabulous theater seating 25,000, marble streets (with street lighting at night - one of only three such cities in the Roman Empire), and a deep and abiding love of literature, theater, and culture. Paul is a sophisticated urban creature, and he is very much at home in Ephesus. By the end of his nearly three-year stay, Paul can rightly claim that "all of Asia Minor had heard the gospel" as a result of his efforts in Ephesus.

Ephesians is one of three epistles and one letter that Paul writes while in Rome, A.D. 60-62 (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). Often incorrectly referred to as one of Paul's "prison epistles" (he was not in prison in Rome in A.D. 60-62; he was living in his own rented house, free to come and go as he pleased), Ephesians is a brilliant exposition of Paul's thesis that we are "saved by grace through faith". It is also a glittering display of Paul's rhetorical fireworks. Logos Bible Study's Dr. Bill Creasy examines this extraordinary epistle in detail.