Theme - Ephesus was the capital of pro-consular Asia and the great political, commercial, and religious centre of Asia. Paul laid the foundation for the church when he was there for a short time on his return trip from his second missionary journey; he also spent three years in the city on his third missionary tour. It was the first of the seven churches of Asia to which the special letters to The Revelation were directed, and it was the city in which John the Apostle resided in the closing days of his life.

Although the Epistle is addressed to the church at Ephesus in many ancient manuscripts, the two oldest extant manuscripts do not have the name Ephesus. For this reason, and because of the lack of personal greetings or other statements of a personal nature, many think the Epistle was not written exclusively for the church at Ephesus.

The theme of the Epistle is the Church, Christ's Spiritual Body. The real object of the apostle is to set forth God's purpose in summing up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth

Outline - This theme and chief purpose are simply set forth in the analysis which follows: I. The Doctrinal Section (1:1-3:21) II. The Practical Section (4:1-6:24)