8 - The theology of Ephesians within the Pauline Corpus and the New Testament

Summary

Ephesians is both a reinterpretation of the Pauline message for a later situation and a document with its own distinctive place in the New Testament. Inevitably, however, when its thought is compared with that of other sections of the New Testament, because of its place in the Pauline Corpus, the focus is on its relation to the theology of Paul in the undisputed letters. An assessment of this relationship is complicated somewhat by the role of Colossians as an intermediary between Paul and Ephesians. Whether it is held to have been written by Paul himself, or authorized by him during his lifetime, or written by a follower after his death, as has been argued in the first part of this volume, Colossians represents a halfway stage in the development between the undisputed letters and Ephesians. Ephesians extends still further and, in the process, generalizes Colossians' application of the Pauline gospel to cosmological concerns. In its reminder to its readers of their identity as believers, Ephesians builds on Colossians' emphasis on the cosmic Christ and on its imagery of this Christ as head and the universal Church as his body. It amplifies for its own purposes Colossians' initial use of the household code.