Ephesians - Christ and the Church

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church
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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• The Overview...
• Ephesians is Pauls dissertation on the
  relationship between Jesus Christ and His church.
  
• It explores the awesome mystery of Gods
  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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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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 Gods 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 1016) revealed more comprehensively or
  satisfactorily.

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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 1819 198).

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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 citys leading
  attraction.

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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 Dianas temple was recently no more
  than a swamp Albert Barnes.

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• Background of the Letter...
• Paul first came to Ephesus following extensive
  preaching in Macedonia and Achaia (Acts
  1610-1817).
• His initial visit there was brief, and he
  departed with a promise to return to the city
  (1821), leaving Priscilla and Aquila behind.
• Luke records work done by the couple in teaching
  Apollos the way of God more accurately (1826).

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• Background of the Letter...
• 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 (191f.).
• 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 (199,10).

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• Background of the Letter...
• The influence of the gospel was such that many
  confessed their deeds and even the magicians
  burned their books of magic (1918,19).

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• Background of the Letter...
• Pauls 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 Dianas worship.
• The uprising was suppressed by the city clerk,
  and Paul was able to leave Ephesus without harm
  (1923f.).
• After a three month stay in Greece, Paul spoke to
  the Ephesian elders at Miletus as he hastened to
  Jerusalem for Pentecost (2016,17).

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• Background of the Letter...
• 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
  (2019ff).

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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 Pauls prison
  epistles, sent by the apostle while he sat in a
  Roman prison awaiting trial at the hands of
  Caesar.

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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 believers 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 believers life of
  obedience on earth.

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• The Themes...
• Hodge States The apostle addresses himself
  principally to Gentile Christians. His object
  was...
• 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.
• To make them sensible of the greatness of the
  blessing which they enjoyed in being partakers of
  its benefits.

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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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Outline of Ephesians
Section Theme Passage
1 The Church - Gods Plan Fulfilled 13-14
2 The Church - Gods Glorious Inheritance 115-23
3 The Church - Gods Redeemed People 21-10
4 The Church - Gods Universal Habitation 211-22
5 The Church - Gods Mystery Revealed 31-13
6 The Church - Gods Glory Manifested 314-21
7 The Church - Gods Functional Family 41-16
8 The Church - Gods Transformed Man 417-32
9 The Church - Gods Righteous Walkers 51-14
10 The Church - Gods Submissive Servants (1) 515-33
11 The Church - Gods Submissive Servants (2) 61-9
12 The Church - Gods Secure Saints 610-20
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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• 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
  Pauls authority at Ephesus, and he chose to use
  his standard opening in this letter.

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Ephesians - Christ and the Church

• Chapter One...
• Verses 1,2 - Opening Statement
• This epistle was directed to the saints in
  Ephesus and to those faithful in Christ Jesus.