How is Ephesians different from Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians?
Ephesians focuses on the believer's position in Christ rather than sin, correction, or legalism. Unlike Romans, which exposes sinners and presents the Gospel remedy, Corinthians, which reproves problems, and Galatians, which corrects legalism, Ephesians hammers home that believers are positioned in Christ and in the heavenlies.
Les explains that Ephesians contains 90-some prepositional phrases in its six chapters, all denoting the believer's position in Christ—"in whom," "in Him," "in this," or "in that." The whole book constantly drives home that believers are now in a peculiar position. By contrast, Romans shows that everyone was hell-bound, filthy, wicked sinners, and then gives the Gospel remedy: Christ has already forgiven, died, and paid by His blood, and all we do is believe it. Corinthians deals with problems that had to be reproved, and Galatians deals with going back into legalism and how that had to be corrected. Ephesians, however, does not deal with those things; it hammers home that believers are positioned in Christ, in the body, and in the heavenlies. Les notes the roots of that position are seen in verse 3. Believers are not an earthly people but a heavenly people, though still on the earth.