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LESSON 9 • The Letter to the Ephesians
“That You Might Believe and Have Life In His Name” (John 20:31)
Preparation for New Testament Survey, April 2, 2006
The Letter to the Ephesians
INTRODUCTION
The part of the world now known asTurkey basked in prosperity during the first century A.D. Asia boasted of seven great urban centers, of which the queen was Ephesus. Through her port passed goods from China and inland Asia Minor often bound for Italy. It was located where the Cayster River emptied into the Aegean Sea. Not only was it a great seaport, there were three major roads that led into Ephesus.
It was also of great political importance because it was a Roman “free city” which meant that no occupation troops were stationed there and so the city was mostly self-governed.
It was also one of the “assize towns” which meant that important legal cases which had been referred to the Governor would be tried there.
You’re probably most familiar with the fact that Ephesus was known as a religious city. From earliest history, one of the great temples was located there, dedicated to the Greek goddess, Artemis, who was known by the Romans as Diana.
This was one prominent city; however, all over Asia, Ephesus was described as fickle, immoral, and superstitious. Occultism was deeply rooted in their culture, so it is not surprising what we read about in Acts 19.
Paul had been a missionary for about seventeen years before he reached Ephesus with Aquila and Priscilla. Their first visit was brief – little more than a reconnaissance trip. They stopped there on their way to Palestine from Corinthand Paul debated the Jews in the synagogue (Acts 18:18-21) and from that humble beginning, the church atEphesus was born. Paul and his team later returned during his third missionary journey and spent over two years in Ephesus making converts and training leaders to take responsibility (Acts 19:9-10).
Eventually a riot broke out in Ephesus over Paul. Demetrius, a silversmith, organized a city-wide protest. He charged that Paul’s success posed a threat to the economic well-being of craftsmen who made their living from the worshippers of Artemis (19:23-41). As a result, Paul moved on to Macedonia. But by this time the church was firmly established.
MONDAY
When Paul went to Jerusalem for the last time (A.D. 57), he asked the elders of the Ephesian church to meetwith him at Miletus so he could caution them about events of the future and bid them farewell (Acts 20:17-38).
With all this background and historywith the church in Ephesus, scholars raise the question why this letter to the Ephesians is strangely impersonal and is almost without any references to the circumstances either of Paul or the readers. As a matter of fact, it is the least personal of all Paul’s letters. There doesn’t seem to be any particular community crisis that motivated the letter and it contains only two brief references to false teaching (4:14; 5:6) which serve as the only warnings.
With these things true; this letter by Paul is one of the most exalted of the writings in the New Testament. Take a minute and scan the few pages in your Bible which contain this letter and you’ll discover that you’ve often visited these pages. If you’re a regular student and/or even teacher of the Word, I’m confident you’ve often found your way to the truths found on these pages.
With this introduction, I’m going to ask that in preparation for grasping the real scope of the material in this letter to the Ephesians, read it through several times this week comparing various translations. With this new appreciation for the letter, how would you describe the mood, tone, tenor of the letter?
Paul writes in this letter about the “big” stuff – and one of those important theological truths central to Paul’s message is that the church was in God’s plan from the beginning. He purposed to save those who would accept Jesus’ sacrifice and who would humbly surrender themselves and render obedience to follow His way. This saved group makes up the church – the body of Christ, God’s people. And the church exists to reconcile and unite people in Christ and to lift the human spirit into communionwith the divine and with one another.
TUESDAY
There are deep doctrinal and theological anchors found in the first three chapters of Ephesians where the emphasis is placed on our identity in Christ Jesus. This is masterfully couched as a meditation in praise of God, beginning and ending in prayer. It is this pervasive tone of prayer that is the most distinct feature of this letter. Paul closes in the final three chapters by calling believers to live a Christ-centered life because of our new identity.
Ephesians at first glance seems to be particularly rich in language about “knowledge and enlightenment,” but not uncommon for Paul (Eph. 1:17-18; 3:9, 19; 4:13; Col. 1:9-10: 2:2-3; 3:10; Rom. 10:2; 15:14; Phil. 1:9; 3:8; 1 Cor. 1:5; 4:5; 2 Cor. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 1:10; 2:25; Philemon 6). Not only did Paul want for the church to begin to grasp God’s purpose for us in the world, but he wanted believers to understand the exciting features of our life in Christ (Jn. 17:3, 20-23). In particular, he wanted them to grasp the hope to which they have been called, the glory of their inheritance, and the magnitude of God’s power.
Simply put, the goal of spiritual enlightenment is reunification and reconstruction of broken lives to the Heavenly Father. So from the very outset, we gain great insight into Paul’s concerns and priorities as we read his opening prayer (Eph. 1:15-23). The spirit of wisdom he references will help to transform the very core of our being and give us a brand new perspective on life.
Having established the problem of human alienation from God (2:1-10), Paul promptly moves to the related problem of alienation between people themselves (2:11-22). The particular focus of this section is on the deep hostility between Jews and Gentiles. Jesus abolished the law which divided and he created a new humanity, reconciling this new race to God through Jesus Christ. To describe this new reality, Paul uses three metaphors in 2:19-22: kingdom, body, and temple.
WEDNESDAY
Paul does not often talk about the “kingdom of God,” but when he does, it is normally “God’s kingdom” (Rom.14:17; 1 Cor. 4:20; 6:9; 15:50; 2 Thes. 1:5; Col. 4:11). Yet in Eph. 5:5, he speaks of it as “the kingdom of Christand God.” It is true that 1 Cor. 15:24states that Christ will rule until he hands over the kingdom to His Father. There is also the intriguing fact stated in Ps. 8:6, “He has put all things under his feet,” which is used in a similar way in 1 Cor. 15:27 and Eph. 1:22.
Paul speaks in this letter of the church as the “body of Christ.” In Col. 1:18 and Eph. 1:23 and 4:16, however, Christ is said to be the head of this body from which it derives growth. In Eph. 5:23, Christ is said to be the “Savior of the body” using a title that is found only in one other place, Phil.3:20.
Paul masterfully uses the symbolism of the temple to describe the new community. The church is founded on the “cornerstone” of Jesus. But since he is a living Lord and “head of the church,” it is a living entity, “joined together and growing into a holy temple of the Lord” (2:19-22; 1 Cor.3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16).
We find Paul’s emphasis on justification by God’s free gift (grace) accepted by humans by faith (1:13; 2:5, 8-9), and the conviction that the gift came through the sacrifice of Jesus’ life on a cross (2:15-16), and therein He purchased our redemption (1:7). You’ll also find in this letter the clear teaching of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit (1:13-14; 4:17-5:2) and the reconciling (2:17-18) power of the Holy Spirit which manifests itself in the community by diverse gifts (4:1-13).
This “good news” is placed within the framework of a cosmic battle, in which the conflict between truth and falsehood, good and evil, light and darkness, is represented by spiritual powers active in the world (6:10-18). These “powers and principalities” appear as superior to humans, yet related to the dispositions of human freedom (1:21; 2:2; 3:10). The “good news” in Ephesians announces God’s work to reverse this state of cosmic-historical hostility. The agent of reconciliation is the Messiah, whose death heals the rupture between God and humanity; reduces the cosmic forces that have enslaved humans; and reveals the possibility of a new way of being human, not divided by hostility but united in peace.
THURSDAY
In 2:1-2, Paul sketches briefly the state of humanity as subjects to the power of evil (see also Rom. 1:18-3:20). Here in Ephesians, the spiritual alienation is expressed in terms of subjection to spiritual forces - “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (2:2).
He then moves from that reality to the prospect of God bringing those who were “dead” in sin to life through the resurrection of Jesus (2:1-5). Paul emphasizes this being a gift of God (2:8-9).
When people in the world see what the possibility is for a humanity based not in rivalry and boasting (enmity) but in the gift of God (reconciliation), they will themselves be drawn into the community of peace. The church does not exist for itself, but as a sign and model for eternity, so that in the church, God might be “glorified,” as a powerful influence for good in the world (3:20-21).
The moral exhortation of Ephesians found in the closing three chapters is closely tied to its theological declarations in the early chapters. In the second part of the letter the writer develops the implications of God’s plan to unite all men and all things under Christ’s lordship.
The power at work in us is the Spirit of Jehovah God, but the measure of real transformation is Jesus himself. Paul says we are “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (4:13)
Using baptismal imagery, Paul tells them to “take off” all their hostile attitudes and actions that formerly characterized them when “they were darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts” (4:18) and to live by this new measure.
He urges them to use their diverse spiritual gifts for the building up of the one body whose head is Christ (4:1-16). In their personal conduct they must make a clean break withtheir former pagan customs, ignorance, and sensuality. The Christian life means living in conformity with the mind of God and walking in the steps of Christ (4:17-5:20). The whole life of the community, therefore, is to be based on those attitudes of “humility and gentleness” (4:2) that we learn from Jesus. With these attitudes, we will be able to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (4:3).
FRIDAY
Households, too, should demonstrate the same sort of attitudes in their members. By carrying these principles over into the social structures of our lives, we will “reveal” the mystery of God to the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that Paul would give such lengthy and positive attention to marriage. Although the wife is plainly told to be submissive to the husband, the strongest admonitions are given to the husband (5:21-6:9).
In light of their cultural context, Paul’s call to “mutual submission” was radical!
Paul ends this letter where he began it: with a vision of the heavenly realms. However, unlike chapter one where his focus was on God’s kingdom, this time his focus is on Satan’s realm.
The transition between the subject matter of 5:21-6:9 (relationships) and the subject matter of 6:10-20 (warfare) seems abrupt. Yet Paul knew that he could not talk about the ideal (harmonious relationships)without also discussing the reality of spiritual warfare. The Christian does not live in a vacuum.
Notice how Paul talks about “evil.” It is not just the absence of good. Evil is not just a vague, abstract force. It is real. And evil is personal.
But evil is not absolute nor is it irresistible. God is perfectly good! And He gives us the power over evil.
This Letter to the Ephesians calls for believers to see themselves from God’s viewpoint. We have been chosen for a purpose that God is working out! We have been equippedwith God’s power to do that work. We have been blessed beyond measure. Our lives in this world are battles against spiritual powers. When we live as God intended, our lives result in the praise of His glorious grace!
© 2006, Pleasant Valley Church of Christ
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