[CatherineTorpey]

Hello Bible in the Middlers!

Tomorrow, Rev. Amanda is preaching on “Peace Ain’t Easy, But It’s How We Rise.” Her text is Ephesians 2.14–22.

Ephesians is one of the “epistles” attributed to Paul. (Epistle is a Greek word meaning “letters.”) The majority of scholars believe that it was not, in fact, written by Paul, but by one of his followers who attributed it to him. When the letter writer claims to be Paul, it could be that they trying to deceive the hearers of the letter. Or, it could be that the anonymous author is simply indicating that although Paul isn’t the actual author, the writer was a close associate of Paul’s and speaks from the authority of his teacher. We can’t be sure of the motivations, but certainly the compilers of the New Testament did believe the letter had been written by Paul, which is why it made it into the canon.

The reason scholars conclude that it isn’t by Paul is because, for one thing, it simply doesn’t sound like him. Paul’s other epistles have a recognizable personality, in terms of what he says, the way he says it, and the way he uses certain words or phrases. A second reason is that about half of the letter can be argued to be a re-write of Colossians, which is also non-Pauline. The third reason is that some of the language indicates later theological developments. It was probably written around the year 90.

The letter to the Ephesians has a kind and encouraging tone. It gives Christians guidance for how to live. (Paul’s genuine letters are all addressing very specific instances that he feels he needs to correct.) This letter seems to be intended for a general Christian audience, and indeed the earliest manuscripts do not include the address to the church in Ephesus.

Today’s passage is an appeal to live in peace, specifically directed at ensuring that those who were Jewish Christians not be seen as superior because of their circumcision. Circumcision, of course, was the outward sign of being Jewish, and it seems that in these early days of Christianity it was considered better to be a Jewish Christian than a gentile Christian. Paul (as we will call the author) is insisting that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is what is meaningful, but being “in Christ.”

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