Ephesians was traditionally attributed to Paul, but most scholars now believe the letter was not written by Paul, but in the Pauline tradition. Disputed authorship does not mean that the epistle is not Scripture, but that it must be interpreted differently than an undisputed letter. Clear references to Ephesians do not appear until later, around 110-120 CE, meaning that this letter was probably written around the late 80s to the early 90s. This book does not read like an ancient letter but more like a teaching document. Importantly, Ephesians lacks the words “in Ephesus” in the earliest greek manuscripts. Furthermore, the book lacks the warm greetings common to the epistles and is general in content. This lack of personalized information …show more content…
Paul emphasizes that the church is one; “one body and one Spirit” and has “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father.” The chapters leading up to this pericope instruct the church not to spend their time and energy in division, but to live peaceably with one another. This naturally leads into Ephesians 6:10-20; this pericope gives the reason that the church must be united, so that they can put on the armor of God and fight evil within the world, not each other. The letter ends after this pericope with a final …show more content…
The metaphor here is less expansive than it is in Ephesians. The breastplate is “faith and love” and the helmet is “the hope of salvation.” Here, unity is also emphasized, much like Ephesians 6:10-20. Believers are to be separate from non-believers, and united in action. The repeated use of “us” emphasizes this unity. There is similarity between the Thessalonians passage and the Ephesians passage in that both are using the language of soldiers, and neither passage is encouraging offense action. Instead, in both cases, defensive language is used. In Ephesians, the church is to stand firm, and in 1 Thessalonians the church is to be alert, to “keep awake and be sober,” like soldiers on watch. Of course, the most striking difference between the passages is the goal or purpose in putting on the armor. In Ephesians, the goal is to put on the armor to stand against evil, but in 1 Thessalonians, the goal is to be alert for the Lord’s return. Yet both the image of defending and staying alert are united in this imagery of a soldier’s