We are all trying to be the best version of ourselves. But how do we know who we
truly are? To understand our identity, we need to know who God has actually made us
to be. This question lies at the heart of the background of the book of Ephesians.
Ancient Ephesus was one of the largest and most important cities in the Roman Empire.
It was a bustling hub of business and trade. This attracted immigrants from many different places,
who brought with them their cultures, worldviews, and religious beliefs. Because of this,
Ephesus became a melting pot, where at least fifty different gods and goddesses
were worshiped. The Ephesians didn’t see worship of any of these gods as exclusive,
but people were free to worship as many of these gods and goddesses as they liked.
Despite all of this diversity, there was one goddess that Ephesus celebrated above all others:
Artemis of the Ephesians. Artemis was worshiped as both a fertility
goddess and a goddess of protection. The temple that they built for her was huge,
and elaborate. In fact, it was honored as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world,
and thousands of people would make pilgrimages to worship her every year. So many came to
Ephesus to worship her, that this became one of the major sources of income for the city.
With all of this worship of different gods and goddesses,
came a hyper awareness of the spiritual world. The Ephesians viewed this world as
full of demons and dark powers that were intent on bringing them harm. To protect themselves,
they practiced superstitions and magical rituals. They hoped that these works would
impress their gods, and draw to themselves spiritual power. And yet they still lived in
constant fear, never knowing whether their sacrifices and rituals were really enough.
In the midst of all of this religious diversity, Ephesus had a large Jewish population as well.
Rather than worshiping a whole host of different gods and goddesses like everyone else, Jews
would only worship one invisible God. They kept themselves separate from all of the sacrifices and
festivals to the many gods throughout the city. Because of this, people viewed them as intolerant,
and much of the population held animosity towards the Jews, having little to do with them.
When Paul came to Ephesus, he came with the power of the Holy Spirit. For three years God used Paul
to break through the darkness and the fear of the spirit world that was gripping so many in
this place. Thousands of people in Ephesus, and throughout the surrounding Roman province
of Asia recognized that it was only through Jesus that they could stand against all of the
demons and dark powers that threatened them. So many became followers of Jesus,
that there was a noticeable drop-off in the number of people making pilgrimages to visit Artemis!
When Paul writes this letter, about six years have passed since he left Ephesus. During that
time the church continued to grow throughout the entire region amongst the Jews, but even
more so amongst the Gentiles. Unfortunately even though they became followers of Jesus,
many of these new Gentile Christians carried with them some of the unhealthy worldviews of
their past. They continued to fear the darkness of the spiritual world around them. They had a hard
time letting go of their old identity, as people who were insignificant pawns of uncaring gods,
and victims of evil spirits. Along with this, the previous animosity between Jews
and Gentiles carried over into the church. This led to divisions and pride amongst them,
with each group claiming to be ‘more spiritual’ than the other.
Now when we go back and read this letter, what can we learn about our identity? When we accept Jesus,
our cultural worldview no longer defines who we are. We aren’t insignificant pawns,
but we are chosen and adopted by God. We are called to a life of hope and power to walk out who
God has created us to be. As we grow into our new identity in Christ, this is the Ephesians effect.