III THE EPHESUS LETTER AT the time of the writing of the epistle, Ephesus was the metropolis of Ionia, and undoubtedly a great and opulent city. All kinds of people were gathered there, the wealthy and the learned, as well as the poor and the illiterate. The general condition of life was that of a wealthy, cultured, and corrupt community. So far as the history of the church is concerned, we have a most interesting account of its planting and progress in the Acts of the Apostles. This account lies