Intro to Ephesians

RADIUM

In 1898 Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium - which is a radioactive material that emitted a mystical glow in the dark. It was captivating and naturally scientist and industrialist alike took interest in it. Eventually radium as you might know, found it's way into many of the consumer products. I believer I even have a clock somewhere in the storage, it's one of those film clocks for devloping film in the dark.

Anyways, it was became widely applied on watches and instrument panels for it's glow in the dark properties. This was great step forward, it revolutionized visibility in low light. What we learned from that time is that workers - they handled radium-laced paint brushes by mouth, a practice called "lip-pointing," unknowingly ingested the radioactive material.

Over time, these workers, particularly young women known as the "Radium Girls," began suffering from severe health issues. Anemia, bone fractures, and agonizing jaw and bone pain revealed the hidden danger of radium poisoning. Their plight raised public awareness and led to stricter safety regulations for handling radioactive substances.

The point here is that things might look one way, but as time goes by, the unseen at first reality began to have its effect. And the more we looked into unseen, the more aware we became of someting that is gravely serious, although benign or even appealing at first look.

THE REALITY

Seeing things for what they are is important, it opens our eyes to the truth behind things, experiences and events. As kids there are so many things that are mysterious to us, but as we grow up and explore in wonder and awe, we come to know more and more the secret mysteries - that are all around us.

Seeing the reality of this life, is something we all at one time or another, begin to think deeply about.

Is this all there is?

How did we come to be?

What is my purpose?

Is fate driving my choices and decisions?

Will I ever change? What makes us change? Why people are so different?

Is anyone besides us humans seeing what's going on the world around us?

Is there a rhyme and reason to this all?

Today we begin, our study of the letter that was written 2,000 years ago. from modern day Italy to a place in modern day Turkey - written in Greek, by a Jewish man who lived in the Roman empire.

talk about mutlicutlural

SO WHAT?

And what does that have to do with any of us?

I mean there are 2.2 millions books printed every year now, we can't pinpoint the exact number - but there is an estimate out there - that we have about 158,465,000 books in the world.

so what would this piece of ancient literature have to say anything to the contemporary world with our complex and complicated issues and moral dilemas?

And that's a fair questions to ask.

In fact our search for meaning in life, should begin with a lot of good questions

question our assumptions, questions our worldview and it's premises

question our beliefs and biases and so on

good, hard, honest and deep questions - are a must for us to be able to see things for what they are.

So why this book?

the answer might be a bit more complicated than the question.

Is that we believe 2000 years ago,

God came down to earth in the person of Jesus Christ,

and brought about a new way of life,

connecting and fullfilling the promises of long ago,

that God would re-create humanity one day,

without erasing and starting over again,

he would work with people providing a way to live a new life,

by remaking us in the image of His son Jesus.

The promises were - He would take care of the sin

that humanity willingly and consciously invited

and continues to live in.

He would remove the power of sin once and for all,

taking care of the justice himself,

laying down his life instead of ours.

And then empower us to live as new people,

a society made up of all nations,

not just the nation of Jewish people - through whom Jesus was born,

but all the nations - through Jesus would be welcomed into this new re-creation process.

Sometimes referred to as being born again spiritually.

While we maitain our identity in our bodies

and our families of origin and our life history,

but from the moment we encounter Christ

and repent

and turn away from sin and towards following Jesus.

Something of eternal proportions happens in our soul,

it might not feel like that at first,

but through God's spriit we come alive to a new reality,

which makes so much more sense,

the more you start to look around you with a fresh set of spiritual eyes.

You start to notice the darkness you were once in,

and the ever growing light and the desire to be pure -

the desire to see the complete goodness of God fully become a reality in our life.

God making us into a new society of people

who will live every day closer and closer to the purpose and design that God intended for us.

This new humanity, will continue to live in the midst of those who always have a choice,

and this new humanity(Christians) will continue to influence the society

and nurture their families,

and make a difference in their communities

and continue to implore and pursue others to become part of this new way of life.

All this to bring joy and glory to our Creator

and to share in the peace and joy ourselves

knowing our questions are answered,

our futures are secure,

our present is being redeemed and remade,

even as we continue the fight against the old nature, habits and so on..

THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS

That was the claim that Jesus, and disciples, including the author of the book of Ephesians - were sharing with everyone. This is what they called the unveiling of the great mystery. The good news. The gospel. God's masterplan from way before He even created all of us.

And yes, it would be quite a claim.

if it was by an ordinary man, but Jesus wasn't.

His life was different, what He spoke about resonated with the deepest questions of our hearts.

It validated our deepest needs to be cared for and protected for by our Creator.

He paved the way through His life into a secure restored realtionship with our Father in Heaven.

He did what no other man could do, healed the sick, cast out demons, walked on water and turned water into wine.

but then to cap it all off, and this is the most significant part - he rose from the dead.

And it would be hard to believe, but we have historical proof of this,

and the amount of witnesses,

and thousands of followers who in this world had very much to gain from following Jesus,

been radically transformed to such an extent,

that it swept across the whole known world.

And the importance of truth and honesty and love and kindness and the balance of the two,

and thousands of years later,

unsurprisignly this letter along with 65 other compositions within this book we call the Bible,

has withstood the test of time and has been the catalyst for people encountering the Giver of Life Himself - the Creator of Universe

leading people to the encounter with the person of Jesus - on a deep intimate level.

It changed not just individuals,

but famlies, churches, communities, neighborhoods, even countries at times..

THE EPHESIANS SLIDE AGAIN

And so we take these words and we read them, and we study them, because we have come to experience even ourselves, the personal relationship with God.

But yea having 66 of them, you know you pick and choose, and there is so much for us to learn and grow in.

But the letter sent by Paul, to Ephesians - has been referred to by those who have studied it more than even I have - as the queen of the letters - written in the Bible.

And that probably has to do with it's breathtaking panoramic sweep of God's redemptive action in the history of humanity with all its implications.

meaning what is God's plan and how is being carried out in the lives of ordinary people like you and me,

who happend to be invited on this extraordinary journey of being God's new creation.

I initially thought to begin our first series with this letter - as it has the blueprint for the church.

you might have noticed, I kept selecting some passages from this book to show the foundation of our mission and some of the core values.

And so here we are going through it for the rest of the summer.

Welcome aboard!

I encourage you to get yourself a notebook and a pen.

especially for the next sessions - so that you can not just take notes here as needed, but also can continue the work of studying at home.

HERMENEUTICAL BRIDGE (picture of the guy on the bridge)

Now anytime we open a piece of literatury, especially an ancient one.

we would do well to place ourselves within the context of when and where it was written

who wrote it and who read it - and ultimately what the author intended and possibly what the indended audience heard.

It would be good for you, to learn to think like this when it comes to the Bible.

it's useful to know the background, sometimes it's crucial.

Theologians talk about a hermenutical bridge

culture

language

time

situation

Observation - Interpretation - Application

We gather to worship God, but also to equip the saints.

this is part of the equiping.

this is what I do when I am reading or studying the passage, ask my kids or my friends, and I did this way before I became a pastor - this is not a pastor thing - it's just something we all ought to learn.

So today we'll explore the background around the letter, and gain a bit of insight into the author and possibly the first initial recipients of this letter.

EPHESIANS 1:1

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:"

Paul

he is one of the most widely known apostles in Christianity.

he was a 1st century rabbi - a teacher with followers

he wrote 13/27 books in the New Testament (all the "city sounding" book names are his)

Who was this man?

He was born in Tarsus

His mom named him Saul actually - Shaul

it's later among the more greek audience he uses his Greek name (think like Americanized) Paul

he was Jewish and a pharisee at that

he basically wanted nothing to do with Christianity

in fact so much so, that he from very early on - was part of the mobs that would attack Christians

he was a studious learner, he studied the Jewish Scriptures and probably had all of it memorized.

One of his teachers was complaining sort of that he is a voracious reader and that it's hard to find more good books for him to read...

His studies earned him a position of prominence among the jewish religious leaders, and so he obtains permission to go to a city called Damascus - to go take a bunch of Christians to jail.

essentially became a religious terrorist.

It is on his way to persecute innocent people - he a blinding encounter with the risen Jesus.

who says Saul - why are going after me?

And the reality of God - became so evident for him in that moment.

he realized he's not fighting a rebels against Jewish religion, but the followers of Jesus the Messiah he heard about.

And he responds to Jesus with an open and repentant heart - basically saying "I'm ready to follow you, I was wrong and from now I'm following you - what do you want me to do?"

SLIDE OF MISSIONARY JOURNEYS

Long story short, he becomes a follower of Jesus, and later a pastor of a church where followers of Jesus for the first time are called Christians.

within a decade he will be sent by the Holy Spirit as missionary to proclaim the good news to all the nations - like he does in this letter.

by the way the word apostle - is just that - "one who is sent out"

He would go on at least 3 missionary journeys, possibly four

and these were journeys of like massive proportions

you'd travel on a ship, and then in land on carts and just by walking

so it took years to complete just one...

By the way the book of Acts - details all these journeys and what happened on each, if you're interested to really see the context.

EPHESIANS 1:1

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:"

Paul, that you now know a little about , was the one sent out by Jesus and that's part of God's plan for his life, to the saints

SLIDE OF EPHESUS

And so in the spring of 52, not 1952, but 52 AD

he visited the city of Ephesus

he saw this capital of the eastern section of the Roman Empire

EPHESUS (show Library of Celsus slide)

Minor Asia

it was one of the largest and prominent locations in the Roman empire

was once the most important Greek city and most important trading center in the Mediteranean region

250,000 people lived in this strategic city

In Ephesus

they had a theater/stadium - 25,000 seats - thats

temple of Diana - 4 times bigger than the Pantheon in Athens Greece

one of the wonders of the world

multitudes of tourists and worshippers visited Ephesus to see the temple, and the city's commercial life and prosperity depended on these visitors.

this was a city - very much like in our modern time

where plurality of worldviews and tolerance of every kind of religion was upheld, except if it threatened to take people away from the business side of religion as you will see

the Ephesians would say they were very spiritual

there was all sorts of pagan worship

black magic, superstition, sexual perversion - this was very secular place

They were also very well off economically.

wealthy and rich city.

although apparently there wasn't much of upward mobility - everybody kind of stayed in their role most of their life.

rich were rich and middle class remained middle class. I believe most of the properties around Ephesus were owned by the rich.

Initially it was a port city, but it had to move up inland every so often as the sand and silt

it's currently 3 miles away from the sea

Ephesus port was known as the Gate by Which the West Visited the East.

MISSION TRIP TO EPHESUS

Paul had a brief stop in this city and first time around

he didn't have much time to do any work, so it looks like he leaves behind a couple - Aquila and Priscilla. and this husband and wife team likely has been the begining of the church plant, later another guy Apolos arrived and he taught some too.

PAUL AS A PASTOR IN EPHESUS

Anyway on his 3rd missionary journey Paul comes to Ephesus. (You can open Acts 19 to follow along)

and stays there for 2 years and 3 months - pastoring and teaching and leading the church there.

or more precisely a network of churches - which more than likely gathered at homes.

He first preaches among the jews for a few months, eventually some of them believe

then he continues teaching daily from the school of Tyranus

which basically gives him a public platform in the city and he would do that for the next two years at least

so that most people have heard of Christianity in that region.

Here God moves powerfully though Paul

healings occur, and people use his handkerchiefs

Here the sons of Sceba test out the powers of casting out demons

Here they gather magic books and burn them..

Cost of 6 workers yearly wage for 10 years.

Paul comes and brings light to this city - that got used to living in the darkness.

and it will never be the same for them.

The ministry is fruitful.

but remember they worship Diana and many other gods

and Paul's ministry is starting to disrupt the cities trade of little figurines and idols being sold.

basically people are not buying the idols anymore, and the silversmiths got angry

went out to a do a little protest against the Christians

and so a riot breaks out.

THE GREAT EPHESUS THEATER

people would pile in there and watch a play

for two hours a ton of poeple piled in - and yelled "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

And then of course Paul's like "I can preach to them"

and his church was like "nope, no way you're getting mobbed if you go there.."

and then the official came in an said - "Hey calm down, we have a process for this, take it to the court if you have an issue" and it died down.

Paul met with the pastors of Ephesus

I know that I'm never going to see your faces ever again

He says I'm going to Jerusalem

gets arrested

taken as a prisoner in Rome

chained to a guard - people could come and go

can you imagine many of the guards - who were chained to Paul - became Christians.

we learn about that in Romans.

~10 YEARS LATER

Paul then writes this letter about 10 years later.

by this time he has traveled much more, and so he is prompted by the Holy Spirit to address the church in Ephesus, or more likely allthe churches in that region and to passed on and read in each church.

in God's foresight it was mean to come all the way to us today.

So all of this to say is that Ephesians, most likely was the first of the city that this letter was intended to, because in the earliest manuscripts it says something to the extent of "to the saints who are (in ephesus) and faithful in Christ Jesus.

it seems like this became a letter that would be circulated in the region from church to church.

And yet there's enough historical confidence for us to say, that Paul likely addresssed it to the Ephesian church first.

So..

EPHESIANS 1:1

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:"

SAINTS

"person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and typically regarded as being in heaven after death." - Google

"a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God."

Even the dictionary defines a saint as a “person officially recognized for holiness of life.” Who makes this official recognition?

Usually some religious body, and the process by which a person becomes a saint is technically known as canonization. The deceased person’s life is examined carefully to see whether he qualifies for sainthood. If the candidate’s character and conduct are found to be above reproach, if he has been responsible for working at least two miracles, then he is qualified to be made a saint.

So who is Paul addressing?

for one - he was at least at that time speaking to people who are alive.

because 9 times in this brief letter Paul addresses his readers as saints.

These saints were alive, not dead, though once they had been “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1-3)

The word saint is simply one of the many terms used in the New Testament to describe “one who has trusted Jesus Christ as Savior.” The person is “alive,” not only physically, but also spiritually

And if you're reading through Acts what you'll see, is this was a interchangeable title for Christians

disciples, people of the Way, followers or saints

The word itself just means "one who has been set apart"

When the sinner trusts Christ as his Savior, he is taken out of “the world” and placed “in Christ.” The believer is in the world physically, but not of the world spiritually

How did these became saints?

"faith" in verse 1 and "grace" in verse 2

Warren Weirsbe says:

"The word faithful carries the meaning of “believers in Christ Jesus.” These people were not saved by living faithful lives; rather they put their faith in Christ and were saved. This is clear from Ephesians 1:12–14, 19.

EPHESIANS 1:2

" Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

It was common in the Roman empire to begin the letter with saying "grace to you"

It was common in Jewish culture, and even so today to greet a person with "shalom" or "peace to you"

Because the theme of the letter is God reconciling humanity with one another through Jesus Christ

Paul intricately connects the two words

wishing both grace - which is the undeserved mercy - the lavish outpouring of God's love on us

and the picture of shalom - which is not just the tranquility you experience

but both in the Bible and Jewish tradition - this word carries the notion of total wholeness, completeness, that feeling of being at home

In this case the reality behind the two words is:

God has lavishly blessed us with mercy - that anyone can come and become a part of this new family of God, the new creation, the new humanity.

And that God himself removed the walls that separated us from each other and from Him - the power of sin is removed - and it no longer separates us from God.

We have grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

And these are the words that launch us into this epic letter

a composition focused on exploring the why and what and how of God's top-secret plan,

that is out and fully in the open now

to create a new people with new values,

new norms

and new relationships that flourish and nurture.

NO LONGER SEPARATED

No longer separated from God or from each other

people of different nationalities, ethnicities, social and cultural background, are all called in to follow Jesus and become this new community of grace and peace.

PEOPLE THEN AND NOW

So what can we see

When we explore the lives of the people who lived before us, we see that fundamentally we're all the same.

driven by the same ambitions, figuring out the same issues of our families of origin, or environment in which we grew up, grappling with same existential questions.

figuring out what's going on in our hearts and minds and souls.

Wether it's Paul, who grew up super conservative and to the point of terrorizing followers of another group - that to Him looked like enemies.

Or the Ephesians, who as a people, lived in relative prospertiy, much like us today.

were surrounded by people who each considered themselves spiritual

but all they meant

is that they figured out a way for themselves

they created or picked up a god here and there

and hoped their best

that the fate, or the goddess would be merciful enough to them.

in case of Diana/Artemis - we know she had necklace of Zodiac on her neck.

And you can imagine as people brought sacrifices, they just hoped she was powerful enough to undo the fate or horoscope

which loomed over them as they thought.

Very much like our society, maybe today we sacrifice not animals,

but our time on the altar of productivity,

feeding the monster of consumerism,

hiding ourselves in the shrine of individualism,

looking for love in the wrong places,

throwing a sprinkle of yoga or meditation in there(for spiritual purposes) to see

that hopefully just hopefully our life becomes better and funner and cooler.

We live not surrounded by temples and idols,

but much of the same places ares still around

they just go by the names of

strip bars and casinos and bars and horoscopes and psychics

the darkness that was in Ephesus wasn't any different that the darkness that we face today.

Fundamentally we aren't any different.

Times are.

Things around us, yes.

But human drives, desires and motivation of the heart. They all remain the same.

And so what a breath of fresh air - when Paul in Ephesians says - there are riches of God's mercy towards you - the Creator doesn't need to be appeased, He came down became the way for you to enter into a relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Your fate is not written in the stars, you have a calling and a purpose that God made uniquely for you - so you can live in a community and build each other up. And it's never forced on you, God is gentle and kind and gracious as He works with us. There is a good will of God for humanity.

Paul was confident enough to say "by the will of God"

how about you and me?

do you know if you're in the will of God?

what is God's will for your life?

Let me tell you that's not a mysterioius questions anymore - it has been reveealed - and we see the answer to this question in the letter to Ehpesians.

CONCLUSION (show Ephesians last slide)

That's all for today, we'll continue verses Ephesians 1:3-14

I want to conclude with this:

All the disciples suffered for their faith, and what they preached. They all died at the hands of those who persecuted them.

Apostle John, was the only one of the 12 who died his own death at old age, according to tradition, he died in Ephesus at the age of 88 - somewhere at the turn of the century 99AD.

He also ministered to the church in Ephesus

then it was Timothy

then it was Polycarp

Although John didn't loose his life, he was exiled for a period of time to the island of Patmos in the Mediterranean. And that's when he wrote the book of Revelation.

Very early on in the book - Jesus addresses the churches in the area.

First on the list in Revelation - is Ephesus.

how soon they fell away from having Paul, John, Timothy and Polycarp

"But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first."

At the core of it all - what changes us and what changes the world around us - is when we become the channels through which God's love flows into us and out towards others.

It was in love that God made his grand plan - revealed in Ephesians 1

Ephesians 2 - but God rich in mercy, because of the great love

Ephesians 3 - This love is endless and boundless - try to measure it Paul would say - it's just too deep and too wide.

Ephesians 4 - bear one another inlove, speak truth in love, build up each other in love

Ephesians 5 - watch God love you and others and immitate that like a child that watches a parent - live in that love - in all your relationships.

Ephesians 6 - so love with love that is incorruptible - God's love is the only one that doesn't pass away.

So lean into your relationship with God, read and re-read Ephesians to see how richly and lavishly God has loved you and what a mighty awesome He has for you life.

Use the moments to repent and ask God to reshape your life

so that it shines forth the light that has been revealed into our life through Jesus.

Let us stand now and thank Him for this gift to the church

for the work that Paul put into it

for the fact that the Holy Spirit revealed the good news in such a beautiful way in this letter

for being invited into this community of God's new creation

for the following weeks to fruitful and life-transforming for our minds, hearts and relationships.