Ephesians – 1st Century Background and 21st Century Applications

A Sample Preview of “Ephesians – 1st Century Background and 21st Century Applications” This guide for “Ephesians – 1st Century Background and 21st Century Applications” has three parts for each of the six chapters. They include… • A paraphrase of the particular Ephesians text based on the original Greek text with input from various English and French translations. • Background on the text such as historical, theological or grammatical info that sheds light on the text and subsequent Application Questions. • Application Questions designed for interaction in a small group or for personal application. They are designed to help you more fully allow Christ and His Word shape your life-style, attitudes and behavior. Background info for your discovery in Ephesians. The letter was… • Written to "rank and file" believers in Jesus living in Ephesus, the most important city in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The city boasted of having a pagan temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Diana (Greek, Artemis); cf. Acts 19:23-31. • Designed to be a circular letter to be passed among the house churches and gatherings of Jesus followers throughout the region. • Transcribed while Paul was in prison in Rome in the early 60s. • Reminiscent of Paul's three year visit in Ephesus from 54-57 AD (See Acts 19) where large crowds were curious about the Jesus whom Paul proclaimed. Eph. 1:1-14 – A paraphrase Vss. 1-2 From: Paul, an apostle of Jesus by the will of God. To: All the saints -- faithful believers in union with Christ living in Ephesus. May God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you His grace and peace. Spiritual Blessings in Christ Vss. 3-6 Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us greatly in union with Christ and has granted all spiritual blessings from the heavenly world. God, before creating the universe, chose us to be His in Christ in order that we might be holy and without fault. In His love and according to His will, God adopted us as His sons – and daughters - in Jesus. Praise God for the splendor of His grace that He has generously given to us through His beloved Son. Vss. 7-10 The richness of Christ's grace was shown when He paid the redemption price on the cross with His blood, which, in fact, we owed, for our sins and transgressions. His sacrifice redeemed and pardoned our sin. God has caused us to abound with wisdom and understanding. He has made known His secret plan, which He decided to accomplish in Christ. God's plan, to be achieved at the end of time, consists in the reunion of all that is in heaven and on earth through Christ. Vss. 11-12 In our union with Christ, we have received the portion we were promised according to His plan. He made all things to conform to that which He decided and according to His will from the beginning. Let us, who were the first to hope in Christ, praise God's glory! Vss. 13-14 When you heard the message of the truth, the Gospel or "good announcement," you believed in Christ, which brought you salvation. God personally placed His mark on you by giving you the promised Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guarantees you the blessings of God which He has reserved and promised for His people and assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are His. Praise the grandeur of God. Background/Application topics (Eph. 1:1-14) Background: vs. 1 Paul's letters were addressed to believers throughout the Roman Empire in places like Ephesus, Corinth, Galatia, Philippi, Colossae, Thessalonika, and Rome. In some of his introductions, Paul referred to the "church," ekklesia in the Greek. (See Paul’s introductions in his letters to I, II Corinthians; Galatians; I Thessalonians). In other letters, Paul called believers in Jesus, "saints," agious in the Greek. Application: When you hear, "saints," what comes to mind? "Saints" often suggests "special or holy persons," or "elderly persons with halos behind their heads." Rather, Paul's use of "saints" refers to "rank and file believers in Jesus" – folks like you and me seeking to follow Jesus. I invite you to plan to read this letter differently as you "see” the Jesus followers -- the cooks, farmers, chariot drivers, maids, military commanders, mothers, fathers, teenagers -- in the 1st century church who received this letter. Background: vss. 2, 7 Grace, (charis) means "Unmerited favor extended to another" or "the payment of a debt another owes." Redemption was a familiar term for 1st century persons because of the Greco-Roman practice of redemption whereby "slaves were freed by the payment of a ransom." We might experience grace when we are in the grocery line with a few items and the person in front, who has a filled basket, invites us to go first. In 2009, Roxanna Saverna, an Iranian/American and National Public Radio reporter was arrested in Iran for buying a bottle of wine and sentenced to 8 years in prison. Fortunately, she was released early in 2010. If someone could have "finished Roxanna's prison sentence" so she could go free, that would be an act of grace and redemption. Application: Describe the circumstances in your life when you first discovered that God's grace and redemption was available to you? How is that event shaping you today? Eph. 2:1-10 – A paraphrase Vss. 1-3 Previously you were spiritually dead because of your transgressions and sins. (2) You conformed to the values and life-style of those with no interest in following Christ. You obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who controls people who disobey God. (3) All of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires and did whatever suited the wishes of our bodies and minds. In that state, God's wrath was inevitable. Vss. 4-5 But, God's mercy and love for us is so great that even though we were spiritually dead, He brought us to life with Christ. For by God's grace, you have been rescued from the consequences of your sin. Vss. 6-7 In union with Christ, God has raised us to live with Him in the heavenly realm. God did this to demonstrate for all time the extraordinary richness of His grace and mercy demonstrated in Christ. Vss. 8-9 Because of God's grace, you have been rescued through faith from sin's consequences. Don't arrogantly think you earned God's love by rescuing yourselves! No, it is God's free gift through Christ. Vs.10 For we are God's workmanship -- His special work of art. In union with Christ Jesus, God has already created us to lead a life rich in good works, which He has prepared for us to do.