AN ANALYSIS OF EPHESIANS

SALUTATION. 1:1-2
Sender(s): Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God

Addressees: The saints who are at Ephesus

Greetings: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ

Christian Motifs: Paul is an apostle by God’s will, not of his own choosing; God
is the Father of all the saints (a reference to adoption?)

OPENING MESSAGE. There is none that I can discern

Significance in the absence of the above: Paul must feel confident that he can go
right to his teaching without an opening statement. He had spent a great deal of time with
the Ephesians so this is not a surprise. He begins with the blessings of God and just
moves out from that point.

BODY OF LETTER. 1:3-6:17

Formal Opening: 1:3-14 (DECL) What God has done for us in Christ. The theme
of this passage is “in Christ.” God’s election of us is in Christ, in Christ we have
redemption, God’s will is revealed in Christ, God will unite all things in Christ, we have
obtained our inheritance in Christ, we are the first hope in Christ, to the praise of God’s
glory, in Christ we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.

FIRST MAIN SECTION: 1:15-3:21 Our Position in Christ

Sub-Section 1: 1:15-23 (DECL) The hope, the riches, the immeasurable

greatness: Paul’s thankfulness for the Ephesians’ faith in Christ and care for the saints;
Paul’s prayer that the Ephesians know the hope of their calling, the riches of Christ’s
inheritance in the saints, and the greatness of His power to those who believe; the
glorification of Christ

Sub-Section 2: 2:1-10 (DECL) Dead in sin made alive by God: We were

all dead in our former way of life; following the course of the world which is under
Satan’s control; God made u alive together with Christ through faith which is itself a gift
from God; we are created for good works which God prepared beforehand

Sub-Section 3: 2:11-3:13 (DECL) The mystery of the gospel: the Gentiles

are fellow heirs, members of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ
through the gospel. Fellow citizens and saints being built together into a dwelling place
for God by the Spirit
 Sub-Section 4: 3:14-21 (DECL) Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians and
doxology: the length, breadth, height, and depth of the love of Christ; God is capable of
doing far more than we ask or think

SECOND MAIN SECTION: 4:1-6:17 Our Walk with Christ

Sub-Section 1: 4:1-16 (DECL/HORT) God’s gifts: walk according to

your calling for there is one body and Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God
and Father of all; He gave some to be apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists,
and some as pastors and teachers; God equips the saints for works of service

Sub-Section 2: 4:17-24: (HORT) Put on the new self: Your are not to
walk like the Gentiles do; we are to lay aside the old self which has been corrupted but
put on the new self and be renewed in the spirit of your mind

Sub-Section 3: 4:25-5:14: (HORT) Exhortations: Love on another just as

Christ also loved you; we were formally in darkness but now we are Light in the Lord

Sub-Section 4: 5:15-6:9: (HORT) Wives, husbands, children, fathers,

slaves, masters: submit to one another out of reverence to Christ, wives to your husbands,
husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church; Children obey you parents, fathers
do not provoke your children to anger; Slaves obey your earthly masters as you would to
Christ rendering service with good will as to the Lord, masters do likewise and know that
their Master and yours is in heaven

Sub-Section 5: 6:10-17: (HORT) Put on the whole armor of God: Be

strong in the Lord with the strength of His might

The Body’s major Declarative Elements: The declarative elements hinge around who we
are in Christ. God has performed a gracious and merciful act in sending Christ to be the
propitiation for our sin. Paul wants us to know that we were dead to God but in Christ we
have been made alive; and not only that but Gentiles as well as Jews are part of God’s
kingdom.

The Body’s major Hortatory Elements: Understanding our position with God because of
Christ, we should now walk in accordance to our faith. We are to live appropriately as
those who have been saved by the gospel of God.

CLOSING: 6:18-24

Greetings: -

Final instructions or information: 6:18-20: Pray for all the saints, pray for Paul to
be bold and speak the gospel; 21-22: Tychicus will send information regarding Paul’s
circumstances and to comfort them
 Doxology: -

Benediction: Peace be to the brethren and love with faith from God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ, Grace to all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ

Signature: -

STRUCTURE

Opening message’s anticipation of the rest of the letter: Since the opening doesn’t
exist as such, it is difficult to answer this question. The Formal Opening however sets the
tone for the rest of the letter. Even though it is all Declarative, it points the way to ch. 4-
6 in that it anticipates the question if this is what God has done for us, how should we
live?

Relation of sections of Body to each other, and to Opening and Closing: The Body is
in two main sections, the Declarative (this is our position in Christ and what God has
accomplished for us in Him) and Hortatory (how we should live to God). The whole
letter centers on these two parts. If the believer understands what it cost God to save us
then their response should be one of gratitude and longing to do God’s will out of love
for Him.

Relation of Closing to the various parts of the letter, including the Salutation and
Opening Message: The closing can almost be attached to 6:10-17 on the armor of God.
Paul asks the believers in Ephesus to pray for his ministry and for all the saints, so that
the message they received from God may go out to others also and that believers
everywhere would coming to a full understanding of their life with God.

Significance in the order and arrangement of the material of the letter as a whole;
signs of logical progression: I think Paul sets this up beautifully. After the theology of
the first three chapters, Paul brings it down to where “the rubber meets the road.” He
shows that each has his own gift to use for the building up of the church and that the
gospel affects all of our relationships from our relationship to God, our spouse, our
family and our working relationships. The truth of the gospel touches every aspect of our
lives.

Evidence of Inclusios: The repetition of in Christ (in Him) throughout the first Chapter.
The peace and the grace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ at the beginning
and end of the letter (almost like bookends); also 5:2 “walk in love just as Christ also
loved you and gave Himself up for us…” (in Paul’s call to be imitators of him as he is of
Christ) and 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave
Himself up for her…”