(text only, no audio or video)
Title: Introduction to Ephesians
Intro: Ladies and Gentlemen, friends and family, the body of Christ….today, we as a people begin a brave new journey. Together we embark on an adventure like no other we’ve been on before.
To be sure, there will be difficult times. There will be many questions, some of which will forever remain a mystery. Over the next several months, as we journey together, there will euphoric highs, and crushing lows. But we will get through this together, I promise you. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, today we begin another season of Cleveland Browns football!
(Browns Slide)
But first…we are starting a new exegetical study today through the amazing book of Ephesians!
Let me wet your appetite for Ephesians by sharing some controversial verses that we will be dealing with, in due time:
“Fun” Ephesians verses:
6:5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;
5:4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place.
5:22-23 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
4:9 Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? (Did Jesus go to Hell?)
(read/pray)
Major Themes:
- The Importance of Unity in Christ
DQ: Where does the modern Church go wrong with this?
2. Encouraging the believers in the Love of Christ. (The word Agapao occurs 23 times in the N.T. 9 of them are in Ephesians.
DQ: In what ways might the modern church fail to encourage each other in the love of Christ?
3. Encouraging the believers to take a stand for Christ.
DQ: In what ways has the modern church failed to do this?
DATA Slide from NTS 4.10 keynote
Who is Paul?
“Paul, and apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God…”
Paul the Apostle also known by his Jewish name Saul of Tarsus was an apostle (although not one of the Twelve Apostles) who taught the gospel of Christ to the first-century world.
Paul is generally considered one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, and in the mid-30s to the mid-50s AD he founded several churches in Asia Minor and Europe. He took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences.
According to the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles, Paul was dedicated to persecuting the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem prior to his conversion.
In the narrative of Acts, Paul was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to “arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem” when the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a great light. He was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God. Approximately half of the book of Acts deals with Paul’s life and works.
Thirteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to Paul.
Who was the audience?
“To the saints who are in Ephesus…”
Ephesus was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the eastern Mediterranean area. It had a population of about 250,000 people. The temple of the Greek goddess Artemis was located there.
It came under Roman rule around 130 BC. The evangelist Paul stayed in Ephesus for 2 years, and wrote the first letter to the Corinthians there, and probably other Epistles also.
In the ancient world, Ephesus was a center of travel and commerce. Situated on the Aegean Sea at the mouth of the Cayster River, the city was one of the greatest seaports of the ancient world.
Three major roads led from the seaport: one road went east towards Babylon via Laodicea, another to the north via Smyrna and a third south to the Meander Valley.
Now that we have a better understanding of Author and Audience, let’s look at the conclusion of Paul’s salutation.
“Grace to you and peace…”
Paul wishes Grace and Peace to his audience, and I want to just dwell on these two concepts for just a minute. How many of you have ever seen this on a bumper sticker or poster:
“No Jesus? No Peace.
Know Jesus? Know Peace.”
DQ: What is the relationship between Grace and Peace?
If you come to an understanding of the Grace that comes with The Cross, you can have peace, in this life and the next.
Without The Cross, you will only have the illusion of peace.