A letter from the Ephesians

Ephesians 1:3-14

A letter from Apollos in Ephesus to his friend and mentor:

Dear Paul,

The Elders of the church here in Ephesus were so worried when we heard of your sufferings in Rome, but then we heard that you had been released from prison and allowed to stay in your own rented house. They asked me, Apollos, your wise old friend to write this letter to you as a brother philosopher.

The church is alive and well here in Ephesus; and ever since I returned from Corinth, the number of Christians has been growing. You led us, from when we were a tiny congregation meeting in a private house until we were big enough to hold our assemblies in the lecture hall of Tyrannus in the marketplace. Then we split into several different congregations meeting in different houses, and now there are twenty thriving churches, each with thirty or forty members. In a city of a quarter of a million residents (if you include the slaves, and we always do) that may not seem like many, but we have high hopes.

Several of your friends among the Asiarchs who rule the Province are faithful members of the church – and one of the proconsuls of the city. The Town Clerk, who defended you during the rioting in the theatre, was converted last year. And several gladiators, who brought their armour to our assembly because they won’t need it now. And the madam of one of the brothels, almost opposite Aquila and Priscilla’s tent-making shop where you stayed, has just become a Christian! Now we use her former premises, called The House of Love, for our meetings! The great Temple of Artemis is still the centre of the city’s life, but one of us received a prophecy that one day there will be nothing left of that. And the silversmiths, who sell silver models of the temple, and were the cause of the riot, are still bothering us. Of course Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians still argue over law and grace; but at last we are beginning to see each other’s point of view.

We hear you have written a letter to the church in Colossae. We’re actually rather jealous. It’s only a small place, way up-river from here, whereas Ephesus is the harbour at the river’s mouth, and the capital of the Province of Asia. Yet you’ve never written a letter to us! Couldn’t you summarize what you wrote to them, and repeat it in a letter to us and all the new churches in the towns around here? What we need is a summary of what you’ve learnt in your years as a missionary – visiting the churches; dealing with their squabbles and disagreements. What are the things you would like the churches in Asia Province, at the present stage of their development, to pay most attention to?

In the letters you wrote from here to Corinth and Rome, you stressed the importance of unity, between Jewish and Gentile Christians in the church, and between different races in the Empire. Does that mean unity at all costs, even if it involves ignoring the false ideas that some Christian preachers proclaim? Is it more important than the gifts of the Spirit? Can we make much impact on the Roman authorities while the church remains so small and divided?

Sadly some converts here continue to steal, or visit prostitutes; they quarrel and gossip. What have you learned about the relationships between Christian husbands and wives? Is the husband still the head of the house? I can think of some couples where the husband would order his wife to leave the church if you said otherwise! What about disobedient children, and parents who punish their children too severely? What about slaves who become Christians? What is the secret we have to share – the mystery of our religion?

Give us a good, thoughtful, philosophical reply.

We’re asking Tychicus to bring this letter with him to Rome, and hope he may be able to bring back your reply. Then I shall be able to tell my friends that those who are in Christ have a philosophy to bear comparison with all the others.

Your devoted friend and colleague,

Apollos