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Introduction
How has being an American changed recently?
What is now the major focus: being a part of the United States?
What effects has this changed focus had on the unity in our country?
What do you see as the most important identifying factor in your life?
What three words might an observant person use to identify you?
What three words would you use to identify yourself?
The believers in Ephesus struggled with their identity.
Some were Jews, some were Gentiles, and all were from Ephesus, a proud and pagan city.
They wondered how life as a believer affected them ethnically and culturally.
Paul gave the Ephesian believers a simple answer: they were unified "in Christ."
In his letter to Ephesus, he emphasized the doctrinal basis and practice of life "in Christ."
His timeless teaching helps us with our identity in a confused and volatile world.
Let’s learn some background information about this letter
Ephesians' Setting and Purpose
Paul's History with Ephesus
The apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the Ephesians during his first imprisonment in Rome between AD 60 and 63 (Eph.
1:1; 3:1; Acts 28:16-31).
While awaiting trial before Emperor Nero, Paul lived under house arrest in a rented place.
Picture of Ephesus in first century Asia minor
Paul visited Ephesus briefly when he was returning home from his second journey (about AD 51).
Priscilla and Aquila accompanied him when he entered Ephesus.
Although his visit was brief, it was effective.
Many Ephesians trusted in Christ and abandoned their pagan practices When Paul left Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila stayed behind to minister in the newborn church.
On his third missionary journey, Paul visited Ephesus again (about AD 54).
This time he ministered there three years.
The gospel spread across throughout Asia.
Later Paul held a brief conference with the elders of the Ephesian church at Miletus, about thirty miles south of Ephesus on the coast of Asia.
It was the elders' last glimpse of Paul, but Paul's care for them continued.
Ephesus' Obsession with Diana
Because some of the early manuscripts do not include the words "in Ephesus," some scholars believe Paul wrote Ephesians not only to the church in Ephesus but also to neighboring churches in the province of Asia.
The richest and most peaceful province of the Roman Empire, Asia was so populous that it was called the province of five hundred cities.
It stretched along the entire western coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and boasted many important and heavily populated commercial and manufacturing cities.
Athenians founded Ephesus as a port city on a plain near the mouth of the Cayster River.
The impressive city reflected the oriental influence of its large Asian population.
Because it was a free city, it enjoyed self-governance with authority vested in a senate and an assembly of the citizens.
Worship of the goddess Diana permeated the life of the city.
The Ephesians believed she gave and protected physical life.
They lived as if they owed their lives to her.
In their minds, they lived "in Diana."
The Ephesian silversmiths found a lucrative trade in making and selling miniature silver images of Diana.
People bought the images to gain favor with Diana and ensure her blessing on their lives.
When the gospel began to spread in Asia, belief in Diana waned.
Consequently, the silversmiths lost money and feared the worship of Diana might cease altogether.
DISPLAY: Visuals 2 and 3—Theater in Ephesus.
The city's theater, then the largest in the Greek world, boasted a seating capacity of twenty-five thousand.
During Paul's third missionary journey, an angry mob, incited against Paul's disruption of their pagan-based economy, stormed into this theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, two of Paul's missionary companions.
The town clerk addressed the mob, however, and successfully quelled the riot by reminding them of the "fact" that the image of Diana fell from the sky so Ephesus could be her temple guardian.
The crowd's anger quickly turned to pride.
The clerk also warned that continuing the riot might give Rome a reason to take away their city's freedom to govern themselves (Acts 19:23-41).
DISPLAY: Visual 4—Temple to and Statue of Diana.
The Ephesians took their role of defending and worshiping Diana seriously.
They built a magnificent temple to her around 700 BC.
The temple was subsequently destroyed and rebuilt twice with the last version being the most magnificent.
The temple is deservedly recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The superb structure of shining white marble stood outside the city walls and faced east.
It is said to have been over 450 feet long and around 225 feet wide.
By comparison, a football field is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide.
More than 127 marble columns supported the 60-foot-high temple.
Numerous statues and paintings adorned the temple, and within its inner shrine stood an image of the goddess Diana.
DISPLAY: Visual 5—Remains of temple of Diana.
Invading Goths destroyed the third temple to Diana in AD 262.
Over the centuries that followed, the location of the temple became unknown.
Not until the nineteenth century did archaeologists identify the temple's remains.
There wasn't much left.
Diana proved to be false.
There are no magnificent temples to her today and relatively few people seriously worship her.
The gospel, by contrast, has continued to grow, moving beyond ancient Asia Minor to reach countless people around the world.
Paul's emphasis on life "in Christ"
The typical Ephesian found identity in Diana and took pride in living in a free city.
Being "in Diana" and in Ephesus affected every aspect of the Ephesians' lives.
Paul directed the Jewish and Gentile believers in Ephesus to consider their unity and identity "in Christ" (Eph.
1:3).
In chapters 1—3, the apostle laid out the doctrinal basis for believers' unity in Christ.
In chapters 4—6, Paul communicated what life in Christ looks like personally as well as in the church, workplace, and home.
His doctrinal and practical teachings will help us learn why and how we can live in Christ to the praise and glory of God's grace.
ASK: Based on what criteria does the world assign identify?
Physical traits, "race," economic status, sexuality, generational group, political affiliation, religion, level of worthiness.
Paul's Personal Greeting
Paul recognized both his apostleship and his imprisonment as God's will for his life.
He was okay with how God had led him.
What a contrast to the superstitious Ephesians who expected only pleasant circumstances to come from their devotion to Diana.
ASK: What might the pagan Ephesians conclude about the prospects of living devoted to God?
That such a choice seemed foolish and troublesome.
Paul understood his riches in Christ were neither material nor earthbound.
He had abundantly more than the pagan Ephesians ever realized.
He detailed some of the blessings in Christ immediately after finishing his personal greeting.
Paul went on to address the Ephesian believers as "saints," a term identifying them as set apart for God.
He wished the Ephesian saints a twofold blessing of "grace" and "peace" (1:2).
Grace includes all of God's unmerited favor, and peace means the presence of calm, confidence, and contentment even during trying or troubling circumstances.
"Grace" was a common greeting among Greeks.
"Peace" was a common greeting among Jews.
Paul combined the words to show early on that both saved Gentiles and saved Jews were one "in Christ Jesus."
Being a saint in Christ supersedes all our physical or cultural differences.
Nothing about our physical makeup or cultural background will ever be as important as being together in Christ.
Introduction to Life in Christ
God bestowed us with blessings
Paul introduced life in Christ by thanking God for bestowing believers with the many spiritual blessings that come from being "in Christ" (1:3).
The blessings flow from God through Christ to us, and they operate "in heavenly places," meaning they are of a spiritual nature rather than physical.
Paul enjoyed rich blessings in Christ even as he lived under house arrest with very few earthly goods.
By contract, the Ephesians and visitors from around the world filled the temple to Diana with tremendous wealth and priceless works of art to gain Diana's attention and attempt to earn her blessings.
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