The Apostle Paul wrote this letter (epistle) in accordance with the information that God and the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to him.
Ephesians 1:1 and 2:
1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of (the) intention of God – to the (people) being holy and believing in Christ Jesus; .2grace to you and peace from God our Father and (our) Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul begins this letter by first identifying himself to the readers by name: Paul. Next he identifies himself by 'job-title' or 'work-function' relative-to his working or service relationship with Christ Jesus: apostle. He did not mention his trade or employment career-track whereby he earned money as wages so that he would be able to buy food and maintain himself in the physical realm when it was necessary for him as he traveled.
An "apostle" is a person sent-forth or sent-away by someone on a mission or specific-assignment to someone else, and in the context we see that Paul was sent-forth by Christ Jesus. Paul was Christ Jesus' apostle through God's intention. The will of God was the action or agency by way of which the initiated progress passed-through in order to reach its accomplishment; it was interposed between the start and the result of him being an apostle of Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus did not apostle Paul without this being God's will.
Also we should understand that Paul had not come up with this idea, he had not decided all by himself that he would make himself an apostle of Christ Jesus, nor did some committee or organization get-together and vote Paul into being an apostle of Christ Jesus. There was not some "unknown force" which was driving him to do the things he was doing, nor was he deluded into thinking that he was somebody else, nor did he decide that he was "good enough" to be an apostle to his neighbors or to the whole world, nor had he "forced" God or Christ Jesus into making him an apostle! It is only by means of God's intention, and therefore also the Lord Jesus Christ's intention, that certain holy-people may become apostles of Christ Jesus.
Paul addressed this letter to the people who are presently and actively being holy and believing in Christ Jesus. The word "holy" is an adjective meaning: sanctified, set-apart from the state of being common, defiled or unclean against God, having come into the state of corresponding to the essence of God - holy-people. The word "believing" is an adjective meaning: faithful, trusting relative-to God - believing-people, believers. These holy-people (sanctified-people, Christians, saints, children of the only true God) had already believed what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ (refer to Romans 10:9), and had received the gift of holy spirit from God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was this holy spirit-life that allowed them to be holy and believing brothers in Christ Jesus. This truth concerning the spirit category could not change because all holy-people have the spirit of Christ in us. We are limbs of his one spiritual body, we are in Christ, similar to an arm or eye or leg being in the physical body. Therefore within the sphere of action of Christ all holy-people are holy and believing relative-to God Who is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and of all holy-people.
These people were children of God; God was their Father - spiritually. They also had their fleshy bodies with its soul-life so that they breathed and lived in the natural or physical realm too! The difference between holy-people and other people who have not believed what God says, is that holy-people have received the gift of holy spirit, but the other people do not have holy spirit-life within them and so they are not children of God and God is not their Father.
It is interesting to note that some Greek texts have the words "in Ephesus" inserted into this first verse because Ephesus may have been the first place to which Paul sent this letter to be read. However, Paul addressed this letter to the people being holy and believing in Christ Jesus throughout the whole area, not only at Ephesus itself. This, like many of Paul's letters, was an encyclical letter, which means that it was to be circulated around all the areas of Christians, not only in one location.
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