Ephesians - Christ and the Church

1Ephesians - Christ and the

Church

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

•The Overview...

•Ephesians is Paul’s dissertation on the relationship between Jesus Christ and His church.

• It explores the awesome “mystery” of God’s eternal plan for the reconciliation of man to God and man to man.

• It presents the church as a unique institution and the principal entity through which Jehovah determined to make known to the world His profound wisdom and unbounded grace.

• It is also the institution in which He pleases to bestow upon humankind His greatest blessing of eternal salvation.

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•The Overview...

•The letter proclaims a welcome message of heavenly beneficence for men hopelessly entangled in the consequences of sin and gives a solemn challenge to those who accept God’s offer of redemption to “walk worthy of the calling” with which they had been called.

•Perhaps nowhere else is the “mystery” by which God would provide “one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16) revealed more comprehensively or satisfactorily.

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•The City...

•Ephesus was the capital city of the Roman province of Asia and was located near the northeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea at the mouth of the Cayster river.

• It was situated at the junction of important trade routes and was a key site on the main route between Rome and the eastern stretches of the vast empire.

• In 29 A.D. Ephesus was heavily damaged by a great earthquake, but it was rebuilt by the emperor Tiberius.

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•The City...

• In New Testament times, the city was “the metropolis of Asia” and possessed a splendor un- surpassed by any other city of the region.

•A large number of Jews with Roman citizenship lived in Ephesus, and they maintained an active synagogue there (Acts 18:19; 19:8).

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•The City...

•The populace was largely devoted to the worship of the eastern goddess Diana [not the Diana of Greek mythology], a many-breasted “mother goddess,” whose statue reputedly had fallen “directly from the heavens” into the possession and adoration of the citizens of Ephesus.

•The religious activities in the city were centered around Diana, and a great temple had been erected in her honor.

•Along with the “heaven-sent” statue, this magnificent structure was the city’s leading attraction.

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•The City...

•After many years of prominence, Ephesus eventually fell into considerable deterioration after its harbor was filled with silt and became unusable.

•Today, only the remnants of some of the city wall and a gate, the stadium, a theater, Roman baths, and a library may be found.

•The site of Diana’s temple was recently no more than a swamp [Albert Barnes].

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•The Temple...

•The most notable structure in the ancient city of Ephesus was the magnificent temple erected for the worship of the pagan goddess Diana.

•The temple of New Testament times had replaced an earlier one burned in 356 B.C. by Herostratos, who confessed to the deed as nothing more than an attempt to be remembered forever on the pages of history.

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•Background of the Letter...

•Paul first came to Ephesus following extensive preaching in Macedonia and Achaia (Acts 16:10-18:17).

•His initial visit there was brief, and he departed with a promise to return to the city (18:21), leaving Priscilla and Aquila behind.

• Luke records work done by the couple in teaching Apollos “the way of God more accurately” (18:26).

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•As promised, Paul returned to Ephesus and continued his teaching there for more than two years.

•One of his first efforts involved an encounter with twelve disciples who had only a limited understanding of the gospel (19:1f.).

•When he was denied the use of the Jewish synagogue, the apostle resorted to the school of Tyrannus, where he taught for two years and from where he was successful in spreading the truth throughout all Asia (19:9,10).

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•The influence of the gospel was such that many confessed their deeds and even the magicians burned their books of magic (19:18,19).

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•Paul’s work was interrupted by an uproar instigated by Demetrius, a silversmith and leader of the craftsmen of Ephesus who made their living by selling items related to Diana’s worship.

•The uprising was suppressed by the city clerk, and Paul was able to leave Ephesus without harm (19:23f.).

•After a three month stay in Greece, Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders at Miletus as he hastened to Jerusalem for Pentecost (20:16,17).

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•The apostle spent a total of three years in Ephesus, “serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials.”

•He could testify to the saints that he had “kept back nothing that was helpful,” and consequently he was “innocent of the blood of all men” (20:19ff).

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•The Epistle...

•The Author: Paul identifies himself by name as the author of the letter.

•The Recipients: For many centuries it was accepted that the letter was sent, as the inscription in most versions indicates, to “the saints who are in Ephesus.”

•The Date of Writing: Ephesians is one of four letters generally regarded as Paul’s “prison epistles,” sent by the apostle while he sat in a Roman prison awaiting trial at the hands of Caesar.

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•The Themes...

•One writer says, “Ephesians is an essay on the church, which is shown to be the fulfillment of the purpose of God conceived in eternity before time began.”

•Another suggests, “The ‘heavenly’ character of the believer’s calling is stressed in Ephesians...Although previously dead in sin, the Christians has been raised with Christ and seated with Him in the ‘heavenly places.’ This ‘heavenly’ calling, in turn, provides the means and the empowering of the believer’s life of obedience on earth.”

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•The Themes...

•A third opinion is that “if one theme can be discerned, it is the grace of God which has produced a united church, Jew and Gentile, in one body.”

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•The Themes...

•Hodge States: “The apostle addresses himself principally to Gentile Christians. His object was...

1. To bring them to a just appreciation of the plan of redemption, as a scheme devised from eternity by God, for the manifestation of the glory of his grace.

2. To make them sensible of the greatness of the blessing which they enjoyed in being partakers of its benefits.

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•The Themes...

•Hodge States: “The apostle addresses himself principally to Gentile Christians. His object was...

3. To lead them to enter into the spirit of the gospel as a system which ignored the distinction between Jews and Gentiles, and united all the members of the church in one living body destined to be brought into full conformity to the image of Christ.

4. To induce them to live as it became a religion which had delivered them from the degradation of their condition as heathen, and exalted them to the dignity of the sons of God.”

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Section Theme Passage1 The Church - God’s Plan Fulfilled 1:3-142 The Church - God’s Glorious Inheritance 1:15-233 The Church - God’s Redeemed People 2:1-104 The Church - God’s Universal Habitation 2:11-225 The Church - God’s Mystery Revealed 3:1-136 The Church - God’s Glory Manifested 3:14-217 The Church - God’s Functional Family 4:1-168 The Church - God’s Transformed Man 4:17-329 The Church - God’s Righteous Walkers 5:1-14

10 The Church - God’s Submissive Servants (1) 5:15-33

11 The Church - God’s Submissive Servants (2) 6:1-9

12 The Church - God’s Secure Saints 6:10-20

Outline of Ephesians

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•Chapter One...

•Verses 1,2 - Opening Statement

- It was characteristic of Paul to identify himself as an apostle in his opening remarks.

- In his letter to the Galatian churches, Paul had found it necessary to stress immediately that his apostleship was not “from men nor through man.”

- There seems to have been no such opposition to Paul’s authority at Ephesus, and he chose to use his “standard” opening in this letter.

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•Chapter One...

•Verses 1,2 - Opening Statement

- This epistle was directed to the “saints” in Ephesus and to those “faithful” in Christ Jesus.

Documents

Ephesians - Christ and the Church