Overview: Ephesians

Paul's letter to the Ephesians. The story of how Paul came to the city of Ephesus is very interesting and you can read it in Acts chapter 19. Ephesus, this giant city was the epicenter of the worship of most of the Greek and Roman gods and for about two years Paul had a very effective mission there. Many people became followers of Jesus. A few years after his imprisonment by the Romans, Paul wrote this letter. The thoughts on the paper are divided into two very clear halves. In the first part, Paul explores the history of the gospel, how the entire story climaxed with Jesus and the creation of a multinational community of his followers.

The second half of the letter is connected to the first with the word "therefore." Here Paul explores how the gospel story should influence the way we live every part of our life story—personally, in our neighborhoods, in our communities, and in our families. So let's dig in and see how Paul explains all of this. Chapter 1 begins with a beautiful Hebrew-style poem where Paul praises God the Father for the wonderful things he has done in Christ Jesus. From eternity, the Father deliberately decided to choose and bless a covenant people. Here, think of Abraham's family in Genesis chapter 12, verses 1-3.

Through Jesus, anyone can now be adopted into that family. The death of Jesus covers our worst sins, our worst failures, and in Jesus we find the grace of God. In fact, Paul says that grace has opened a new way of understanding every aspect of our lives. He says in chapter 1, verse 10, that God's purpose was to unite all things in heaven and on earth under Christ, a title which means the Messiah. God's plan has always been to have a giant family of restored beings who are united in Jesus, the Messiah. Paul says that this divine purpose became clear when we first joined that family, and here he refers to the ethnic Jews, in the family of Abraham.

But then Paul talks about how you, meaning the Gentiles, heard about Jesus and salvation through him and were also brought into this family by the work of the Holy Spirit. Here he refers to the events recounted in the stories of the Acts of the Apostles, how the spirit of God united Jews and Gentiles into one family in Jesus. It is exactly as God promised Abraham long ago. Note also how in this poem, Paul begins to speak of God the Father, then of Jesus, the Son, and finally of the Spirit. The three of them work together as Paul tells the gospel story, and it is truly amazing.

After the poem, Paul responds with a prayer. He prays that these followers of Jesus will not only know about Him, but personally experience the power of the gospel, that they will be strengthened by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and established Him as the exalted head of the entire world. . In chapter 2, Paul elaborates on some key ideas from the poem in chapter 1, especially the grace of God and this new multinational family of Jesus. He begins by retelling the story of how these Gentile Christians came to know Jesus. Before hearing about Jesus, they were physically alive but spiritually dead.

Caught in the trap of purposeless living, selfishness and sin, they had been deceived by the dark spiritual forces of evil. But surprisingly, God in his great love and mercy saved them, forgave them all their sins and united their lives with the resurrected life of Jesus, bringing them back to life. So now that they have been created as new human beings through Jesus, they have the joy of discovering the new calling, goals, and tasks that God has placed before them. Not only have they been shown the grace of God, but they have also been invited to become part of a new family.

Before hearing about Jesus, these Gentiles were not only separated from God, but also from his covenant people, Abraham's family, and for a very practical reason. The commandments of the Sinai covenant formed a dividing line around the family. They were like barriers that kept most of the Gentiles out. But in Jesus the laws of the Torah are fulfilled and the barrier is removed. The two ethnic groups have been transformed, as Paul says, into a new, united humanity that can live together in peace. In chapter 3, Paul continues to marvel at the unique role he himself has played in spreading this good news to the Gentiles.

Even though he is in prison, he thanks God for the opportunity he had to see this family become so gigantic. Paul closes the first half of the letter with another prayer. This time he prays that the followers of Jesus will be strengthened by the Spirit of God, to understand the love of Christ for his people. The second half of the letter begins with Paul changing the subject, challenging the reader to respond to the Gospel story based on how they live their lives. So in chapter 4 he begins simply with the daily life of the church. The church is a big family with many different types of people, but he emphasizes that they are One and the word 'One' is the key in this chapter.

They are One Body, united by One Spirit. They have one God and one faith. They have a baptism and believe in one God. There is a lot of unity. However, Paul says that unity is not the same as uniformity. He goes on to explore how Jesus' new family is made up of very, very different types of people, but they are empowered by a Holy Spirit, and each uses his talents and passions to serve and love each other as well. like to build the church. Here he uses two very beautiful metaphors. One is the building of the church as a new temple and the second is that everyone is being transformed into a new humanity with Jesus at the head. "The New Man" is a metaphor he will use in the next two chapters.

Paul challenges every Christian to put off the old man like an old garment and put on the new man, in whom the likeness of God is being restored. He then goes into this long section where he compares the new man to the old. Instead of lying, young people tell the truth, instead of holding grudges, they resolve conflicts peacefully. Instead of stealing, young people are generous, instead of gossiping, they encourage with their words. Instead of taking revenge, young people forgive. Instead of satisfying all sexual urges, young people cultivate self-control over their bodies' desires. Instead of getting drunk, the young people yield to the influence of the Spirit of God.

He says that this influence manifests itself in four different ways. The first has to do with singing, together but also alone, and it is interesting that the first thing Paul thinks about how the Spirit works in the lives of Jesus' people is singing and music. The third sign of the Spirit's influence is to be grateful for everything and the fourth is that the Spirit will force followers of Jesus to put themselves last and elevate others as more important than themselves. Paul talks more about the fourth point, showing how this works in Christian marriage. Therefore, a wife who follows Jesus must respect and allow her husband to be responsible for her.

Her husband is called to love his wife and to use his responsibility to sacrifice his own selfish agenda, to prioritize his wife's well-being over his own. Paul says that this type of marriage is actually reconstructing the story of the Gospel. The husband's actions imitate Jesus' love and self-sacrifice. Wise actions imitate the church, allowing Jesus to love it and make it new. Paul then applies the same idea to children and parents, as well as slaves and masters. Paul closes the letter by reminding these Christians of the reality of spiritual evil. These are beings and forces that will attempt to undermine the unity of Jesus' people and compromise his new man.

Therefore, Paul challenges them to stand firm and metaphorically put on the armor, which he describes in detail. Paul drew these pieces of armor from the book of Isaiah and how Isaiah described the Messianic King. So now as followers of the Messiah we must make the qualities of the Messiah our own, as we form the body of Jesus. In practice, I think Paul means that the Christian begins to form habits, using prayer, Scripture, and relationships with each other proactively as they help us grow and mature as followers of Jesus. This is the letter to the Ephesians. Very powerful!

Here Paul summarizes the entire story of the gospel and how he is to shape every part of our life story. Contact us: [email protected]