The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. According to its text, the letter was written by Paul the Apostle, an attribution that Christians traditionally accepted. However, starting in 1792, some scholars have claimed the letter is actually Deutero-Pauline, meaning that it is pseudepigrapha written in Paul's name by a later author strongly influenced by Paul's thought. According to one scholarly source, the letter was probably written "by a loyal disciple to sum up Paul's teaching and to apply it to a new situation fifteen to twenty-five years after the Apostle's death".
Papyrus 49, a 3rd-century manuscript of the Epistle to the Ephesians
German inscription of the text, "One Lord, One faith, One baptism," (Ephesians 4:5).
Authorship of the Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles are the thirteen books in the New Testament traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle.
Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, 17th-century painting. Most scholars think Paul actually dictated his letters to a secretary, for example Romans 16:22, cites a scribe named Tertius.
A 19th-century portrayal of Paul the Apostle