This presentation will argue that Ephesians describes a global perspective of the Church by recognizing the letter’s characterization of the Church, surveying discourse participants to identify the Church, and examining the letter’s portrayal of the Church through two verses as a test case.
Ephesians is rife with imagery characterizing the Church. Scholars typically describe the Church in Eph as a local gathering, though close attention to the letter may suggest a different view. First, the presentation will summarize the imagery deployed in the letter to describe the Church (e.g., 1:1 ἅγιος). In addition to concrete concepts, the epistle also employs vivid imagery that provides rich insight into the letter’s perspective of the church: architectural (e.g., 2:21 οἰκοδομή/ναός), anatomical (e.g., 4:12 σῶμα), and abstract (e.g., 1:23 τὸ πλήρωμα). Provided the wealth of analogical descriptions of the Church in Eph, a simple question remains whether the ecclesiological imagery permits or hinders the identification of the Church as described in Eph.
Second, we will concretize the analogical survey provided above by comparing different discourse participants. Considering Ephesians as an entire discourse reveals a few categories of agents who participate in the discourse: the narrator, the audience, God, and then an unclear array of spiritual beings. Granted the ambiguity of metaphors on their own to identify the ontological audience in Eph, the all-seeing perspective of the heavenly realm and whatever spiritual beings prowl the earth are universal in scope. This universal view likely undergirds a global perspective of the Church in Eph.
Third, applying the proposed ecclesiological perspective of the Church in Eph, the presentation will select two passages as a test case for the letter’s perspective of the Church: Eph 2:7 and 3:10. If the Church is a localized gathering of a global entity participating in the discourse of Eph with spiritual entities of questionable intent in the background, then these observations might clarify the nature or identity of the Church in Eph. The presentation argues that the primary audience before whom God’s grace is displayed (2:7) is spiritual beings who populate the heavenly realm and watch rapt as God masterfully unfolds his rich grace in the lives of each believer. Eph 3:10 clarifies that God’s plan “might be made known” to rulers “in the heavens.” Not only is God displaying (Eph 2:7) grace but doing so emphasizes his masterful wisdom as he administers his will at the right time, encourages and enriches believers, and puts spiritual beings on notice along the way. Contending with the global perspective of the Church in Eph can 1) combat pessimism about the Church since God’s rightly administering it, 2) encourage downcast believers who can see the faithfulness of their brothers, and 3) recognize the spiritual nature of evangelical Christian life.