Adoption Into The Canon
ADOPTION INTO THE CANON
We have no record of anyone in the early church raising a question about the canonicity of Ephesians. There were disputes about its destination, Marcion claiming that it was written to the Laodiceans and Basil later saying that in ancient copies it was addressed not to the Ephesians but to the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus. Clement of Rome probably refers to it, though without mentioning the author. Ignatius quotes from it, as do Polycarp and others. It appears in Marcion’s canon (where, as we have seen, it is said to be addressed to the Laodiceans) and in the Muratorian Canon. No serious doubt about its authenticity has come down to us from the Fathers.