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Leadership of the Church at Ephesus    

The beginning of the church at Ephesus started when Paul visited there toward the end of his second missionary trip (Acts 18:19-21). Sometime later, Apollos spoke boldly in the synagogue and caught the attention of Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:24-26). Paul firmly established the church when he spent 3 years (circa mid A.D.50’s) there during his third missionary trip. 

Later, possibly a 4th missionary trip after Paul was released from his first imprisonment in Rome, he appears to have visited Ephesus in person and left Timothy there (1 Timothy 1:3)   sometime around A.D. 64 for Timothy to be the church’s pastor. Timothy was still in Ephesus when Paul wrote 2 Timothy from Paul’s second imprisonment in Rome (A.D. 67-68). Paul urged Timothy to come to Rome quickly, but it is not known if Timothy made the trip before Paul’s execution.

At some point there appears to have been a transition in leadership of the church at Ephesus, and John, the apostle, became the pastor. John was also said to have ministered to several other churches in the region of Asia minor (present-day western Turkey). Church tradition says that Timothy was martyred in Ephesus around A.D. 97. John was exiled to Patmos, apparently around A.D. 96-98, where he wrote the book of Revelation. Then, he came back to live and write in Ephesus. John is thought to have died around 98-100, but he was not martyred.      

The Condition of the Churches in Asia Minor

As the first century was coming to an end, the book of Revelation included a review of the church in Ephesus and the churches in the surrounding region. As Jesus addressed the churches, He stated to each and every church that “I know your works.” Jesus acknowledged the persecution that some churches were facing when He commended them for qualities such as “you hold fast to My name” (2:13) and “have not denied My name” (3:8), as well as noticing that other churches have shown perseverance (2:3, 3:10). Jesus also warned the church of Smyrna of persecution that was soon to come (2:10).

Jesus commended churches in what they were doing that was obedient. However, to five different churches, Jesus addressed the need to repent (2:5, 16, 22, and 3:3, 19). Two churches had to deal with eating “things sacrificed to idols” (2:14, 20) as well as repenting of sexual immorality (2:14, 21). The church at Laodicea had to repent of its’ focus on riches (3:17) and the church at Ephesus had to repent of losing its’ love for Christ (2:4). Jesus ended His assessment of each church with an encouragement to obey, and a promise of reward for the obedience of those who overcome (2:7, 11, 17, 26, and 3:5, 12, 21) The reward was usually a promise of much closer fellowship with Jesus Himself.      

Continuing the Development of New Testament Writings 

Mark appears to have been written in the A.D. 50’s, and Luke around A.D. 60-61. By contrast, it is believed that John’s gospel was written in A.D. 90’s based on the authority of Polycarp (who lived around A.D. 69-155) and was reputed to be a disciple of John. Likewise, John 3 epistles are also thought to be written in the A.D. 90’s.   

In the first century, a church would perhaps have only one or two gospels and a few apostolic letters (Metzger, The New Testament, p. 274). Books gained prominence if they were written by an apostle (or by someone who had direct contact with the group of apostles), had a unique effect upon people, and were used in times of worship (Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, p. 61-62).

Combating Heresy and Defining Doctrine

Jesus had warned against false teachers (Matthew 7:15-20) and so had Paul (Romans 16:17-18). Paul had even warned the leaders of the Ephesian church about false teachers when he met with them on his third missionary trip at Miletus (Acts 20:28-31). When Paul left Timothy in charge of the Ephesian church, he warned Timothy about accurate doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3-4), and Paul wrote Timothy about it again later (2 Timothy 1:13-15, 2:1-2, 14-18, 4:1-5). Paul himself based doctrine on “the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3 NKJV).

In the book of 1 John, John does not specifically define the false doctrines that he faced, but John restates the fundamentals of the faith. The more that early Christian leaders defended the faith against the heresies of that first century, the more they defined and clarified true Christian doctrine.       

John’s Passing and the Next Generation of Leaders

When John, the apostle, passed away around A.D.98-100, his impact had influenced the next generation of leaders.

Ignatius of Antioch (A.D. 35-107) was pastor of the church at Antioch. (Shelley, p. 70), and Antioch was one of the largest cities of the Roman empire. Ignatius is thought to have been a direct disciple of the apostles, possibly having personally known John. Ignatius wrote about church government, stressed church unity, and he defended the belief that Jesus was fully human and fully God. Ignatius journeyed to Rome where he ended up being arrested, condemned, and he died as a martyr in the Colosseum.

Polycarp of Smyrna (A.D. 69-155) was a bishop of the church in Smyrna, and a friend of Ignatius of Antioch. Polycarp was said to have been a disciple of John the Apostle. In addition to leading a church, he defended Christian doctrine. Polycarp died a martyr, burned at the stake (Shelley, p. 37). There is a report that says the fire did not consume him and that he was stabbed to death by a soldier.

Papias of Hierapolis (A.D. 60-130) served as bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia (present day Turkey). Papias claimed to have known both John the Apostle and Polycarp. He is reported to have written a 5-volume work that interpreted the sayings of Jesus and preserved apostolic traditions, but now most of those five volumes are lost.