What is the history and significance of the church in Ephesus?

Ephesus, located in modern-day Turkey, was an important city in the ancient world. The New Testament features the church at Ephesus in three places. These include Paul’s missionary work in the city (Acts 19:1–20:38), the Letter to the Ephesians—which he wrote about five to ten years after leaving the city—and Jesus’ message to the church recorded by John in the book of Revelation (Revelation 2:1–7).

The first reference to Christian ministry in Ephesus was when Paul left the husband-and-wife team, Priscilla and Aquila, to serve in the city. This occurred at the end of his second missionary journey. Luke writes, “They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews” (Acts 18:19). Priscilla and Aquila had a great understanding of Scripture and showed a desire to disciple others (Acts 18:26).

Paul returned to Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Acts 18:21; 19:1–41). Once there, he began teaching about baptism in Jesus’ name (Acts 19:1–7). His pastor’s heart and his focus on Jesus characterized his ministry in the city. By doing so, Paul built on the work of Priscilla and Aquila and helped lay a foundation for a church in the city.

Shortly after his arrival in Ephesus, “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8). After receiving opposition inside the synagogue, he started to talk to people outside it (Acts 19:9). Paul did this “for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10).

In addition to facing persecution from Jewish leaders, Gentiles opposed him, too. Paul’s preaching was so fruitful that it disrupted the financial stability of Ephesus. Making and selling idols was important to the city’s economy. Upset at their loss of income, a group of Ephesians caused “a great disturbance” and rioted (Acts 19:23). After many hours, the unrest calmed down when a city official declared that Paul hadn’t broken any laws (Acts 19:35–41).

When Paul finally left Ephesus for Macedonia (Acts 20:1), he had served in the city for three years. Priscilla and Aquila, Apollos, and Paul had laid a strong foundation for the church in the city.

Yet Paul did not leave the church at Ephesus without a leader. He charged Timothy to serve there. He specifically told him to oppose false teaching: “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer” (1 Timothy 1:3). This reveals that the church, though having a firm foundation, was a work in progress as it corrected unbiblical teaching (1 Timothy 1:4) and confronted unbiblical leaders (1 Timothy 1:20).

Around 60 to 62 AD, Paul wrote a letter to the church at Ephesus while in prison in Rome (Ephesians 1:1, 3:1). The six-chapter letter has two sections: Chapters 1-3 focus on Christian theology, while chapters 4-6 focus on Christian living. Two primary themes in Ephesians are the unity that Jews and Gentiles have through Jesus (Ephesians 3:6) and the spiritual warfare Christians experience with Satan and demons (Ephesians 6:10–17).

About 30 years after Paul wrote Ephesians, John wrote Revelation. In chapters two and three of the book, John addresses seven different churches, including the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2:1–7). In the passage, John praises the church’s hard work, perseverance, and intolerance of false teachers (Revelation 2:2–3). He also criticizes them: “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:4–5). Jesus’ words show that the church had grown since Paul's time, but that it still had work to do.

Ephesus was politically, religiously, and economically influential in the Roman Empire. Because of this, the presence of a church in the city was spiritually and culturally significant.