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St Paul's Letter to The Ephesians

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The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. According to its text, the letter was written by Paul the Apostle, an attribution that Christians traditionally accepted. However, starting in 1792, some scholars claim the letter was probably written by a loyal disciple to sum up Paul's teaching and to apply it to a new situation fifteen to twenty-five years after the Apostle's death. The overall theme of the letter is the need for Christians to get along with each other and not bicker and backbite and negatively gossip etc. Another major theme in Ephesians is the keeping of Christ's body (that is, the Church) pure and holy. The letter urges: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. — Ephesians 5:1–2 In the second part of the letter, Ephesians 4:17–6:20, the author gives practical advice in how to live a holy, pure, and Christ-inspired lifestyle. According to Catholic tradition, the Apostle Paul wrote the letter while he was in prison in Rome (around AD 62). This would be about the same time as the Epistle to the Colossians (which in many points it resembles) and the Epistle to Philemon. Early lists of New Testament books, including the Muratorian fragment and possibly Marcion's canon attribute the letter to Paul. There have been at last 279 commentaries written on this letter between 1519 and 2001, with 54% favouring Pauline authorship, 39% concluding against Pauline authorship and 7% remaining uncertain. In our Commentary, we adopt a balanced position and give our reading of the Letter from all possible angle, confirming the methodology of transpersonal history. It was Marcion, a second-century gnostic Christian teacher who created the first New Testament canon, and who included this letter I the new testament he compiled. If Paul was the author of the letter, then it was probably written from Rome during Paul's first imprisonment, and probably soon after his arrival there in the year 62, four years after he had parted with the Ephesian elders at Miletus. Dr Daffern, who has visited Ephesus, in this reading and commentary explores the many complex depths of this letter drawing on the methodology of transpersonal history and making the letter come alive in new ways for both Christians and non-Christians alike.

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St Paul's Letter to The Ephesians VN557008.mp3