A study of Ephesians: BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

Welcome - Those new… we are happy to have you.

New Series (resources to accompany this new series??

Ephesians 1:1–14 ESV

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: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

PRAYER:

Starting a new series today Called EPISTLE: A study of ephesians.

Now why EPISTLE?

Epistle means LETTER. This is one of the FORMS we see in the bible. The whole bible contains different literary forms and so we are going to see that difference today

——-

EPISTLE SIMPLY MEANS: LETTER

Why Epistles? Why letters & why are we Looking at this

LETERS WERE THE MAIN METHOD OF COMMUNICATION IN THE TIME OF THE EARLY CHURCH.

Why were letters a thing in the ancient world? it was the main form of communication outside of Visits & being face to face.

When you got a letter, you got all your gonna get. it was a simple way of life. letters were EXTREMELy important.

A FEW THINGS ABOUT LETTERS IN THE TIME OF THE FIRST CENTURY:

1.Firstly, material was expensive: Centuries before Jesus’ time they would use tablets which had brief information o n them but they progressed to eventually become more personal....The oldest physical example of a Greek letter is a trio of thin lead tablets which date to c. 500 BCE. Other materials used included pieces of pottery and limestone, animal skins, and tablets covered in a mix of beeswax and carbon, and wooden tablets with a darkened or lightened surface. As in Egypt, though, the preferred form of writing messages was on papyrus. Rather than scrolls, the

Greeks typically folded their papyrus documents into sheets, tied them up with string and then put a seal on them to make sure only the intended recipient read them. Pens were often made of reeds and dipped in ink, but writing on wax or clay tablets used a stylus.

WRITING LETTERS WASNT SUPER EASY.....

2.There was no post network as such in Classical Greece, but there were specialized messengers (hemerodromoi) and messenger ships.

It took a team to write letters: Leaders would use secretaries, someone who with differing levels of ability and influence would physically document the letter which is why there are discrepancies....

Transport was something large to consider as well: who would then “carry” the letter and be entrusted to carry a letter was a major part of the deal also - Who was traveling to a destination, people would be known carriers or couriers.

being a courier was a dangerous job.

Letters were also meticulous, people would take along time to think about and write letters - and so therefore they were intense forms of communication: think about this: Because material was so expensive and hard to come by, and because of shipping challenges & trade routes and other things GETTING letters to a destination AND to also the right person was no easy task - You can see WHY letters were such a big deal.

It was RARE to get LETTERS - it was TREASURED When you received a communication from afar from a letter it was a special, almost a sacred thing.

NO I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT OUR BIBLES: They are ONE LONG LETTER

One complete book

Made up of 2 Testaments/66 smaller Books

BUT FOR US: 1 LONG LETTER, ONE GIANT EPISTLE WHICH IS INTENDED FOR YOU and for me.

—————

A reminder whenever we are reading ANY part of the bible but certainly today, you must aways look for certain things…. and if you get in the habit of reading your bible this way, what you will find is they are always there to some degree or another:

You must ask yourself:

*is there a command to be obeyed?

*is there a warning to heed?

*Is there a promise to grab a hold of, to trust?

*is there a truth by which i can build my life?

…. and in all of it - Do i see Gods grace?

a Quick note on bible study:

“we have to deal with what was written and why… and to who

Dont sit there an first think “what does this mean to me”?

that is incorrect in our approach to the study of our bibles…

how we study the bible is important bible study… stay with me.

We start with the plain things and the main things are the plain things and we simply have to approach our bibles this way:

What was being written to them? and why? and from that place… we can begin to see how that now fits into our individual lives and our church here in S Augustine 2024.

It wasn’t written to me then, but it is for me now. Why? because i am now apart of the church, the body of believers, so this is NOW for me also.

SO WHO?

… who wrote it? Paul

…Who was it written to? the Faithful saints in Ephesus.

Ephesus was a great and thriving city. It was nestled right there in the mediterranean and it was for many reasons a great city to plant a church in: here is why, People would move about from place to place and the spreading of the Gospel message was able to go out and move quickly - the message spread there through pauls ministry

The most important structure in Ephesus was a major temple to the Greek goddess Artemis (known in Rome as Diana), which was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world and which people came from far and wide to see.

God had Paul raised up, to go and to take the message to the gentile world.

This is also the place where we read about Priscilla and acquilla taking Apollos aside and teaching him beyond the baptism of John: but even here you see the movement of the message:

Acts 18 (ESV)

24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

something else kind of Cool - was this would eventually become where Timothy is the pastor: (Remember that, by the time Paul write to Timothy, Timothy was leading the church in Ephesus.)

With a temple like this - Artemis or Diana… As a fertility goddess, ritual prostitution played an important part in the worship of Artemis. So, from a Christian point of view, the temple was an exceedingly immoral.  Worship also included many secret rituals or ‘mysteries’, portraying birth and death-hence Paul’s repeated use of the word ‘mystery’ in his letter (Ephesians 1:9; 3:3, 4, 6, 9; 5:32; 6:19). The difference was that whereas their ‘mystery’ was hidden and secret, revealed only to the special few, Paul says that God’s ‘mystery’ has now been made fully known in Jesus-to everyone!

Religion & Also Big-Business

But the temple wasn’t just about religion; it was also about business–big business! There was a guild of silversmiths who made little silver shrines and copies of the stone that fell from heaven. Clearly they made a good living out of it; because when Paul began to preach about Jesus and people started responding to the gospel, they were afraid that it might affect business and so stirred up a riot (Acts 19:23-41).

But Artemis affected more than the livelihood of a guild of silversmiths. She affected the whole of the city’s life. In fact, her temple served as the city’s main bank, and thousands of temple servants were entrusted with looking after the fortunes that people entrusted to them. Artemis’ image was also on their coins, and festivals and games held in her honour. So to challenge Artemis, like Paul did, was to challenge the whole social and economic order. But that is what the gospel is meant to do!

early church tradition has it that this is where John the apostle wrote his gospel, lived and spent his final years.

Early church tradition links John the Apostle with Ephesus and it is said that he spent his final years here. When he wrote Revelation, he was in exile on Patmos (Revelation 1:9), which was a tiny island some 50 miles south-west of Ephesus, so it is entirely possible. According to other early church traditions, Jesus’ mother Mary also ended up here, having been entrusted to John’s care by Jesus (John 19:25-27).

———————————————————————————————-

WHY WAS IT WRITTEN…. and WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?

so they why and the what

to motivate and to FORM the church, to issue warnings… and to encourage sound doctrine and belief. To ward off outside influence….

Ephesians Introduction

The writer never loses sight of his goal, to present the purpose and plan of God clearly so as to motivate the church to live in a way that will forward that purpose on earth.

——————————————————————————————————-

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH? its the same now, as it was then. how cool is that?

to take forward the work of the GOSPEL in the WORLD. to each Sunday take the kingdom of God into the kingdom of this world.

How do we do that?

One person at a time. One invitation at a time. Oh i wonder if youve had a revelation yet that you are part of the greatest rescue mission the world has ever seen… the CHURCH of the Lord JESUS CHrist on this earth.

When you became a christian: you joined an army, not a social club. You were made to help this things advance. But sadly MANY christians accept the lie that they couldnt possibly make a difference.

THATS WHAT PAUL is doing with this hustling bustling church in EPHESUS

why did God have Paul write this letter then…. and why does He have us read it now?

the same thing he is saying and doing in the church then, is what he is saying and doing now

he writes to

1.To tell the church they are blessed

pre destined according to gods purpose… to be blessed….

The New Bible Commentary The Central Message of the Letter

Ephesians makes dominant a theme which was already important in Colossians, namely cosmic reconciliation in Christ

blessed with what? the saving grace of the lord Jesus. Blessed to be IN CHRIST. Apart of CHRIST. In this thing called the church and now apart of and carrying the GOSPEL story: the same is true today….

they aren’t lacking a thing….

he calls it a lavish grace….

Did you know that if you know Jesus as Lord, you are blessed.

Ephesians 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

You are blessed because you didn’t choose him, but rather HE CHOSE YOU.

Let that frame your world today:

Ephesians 1:4 ESV

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Its a good thing you came to church today, a friend brought you today.. you showed up today - Because Paul has big news for you, God has big news for you… Before anything was anything - before the very world was created: you were blessed. You were CHOSEN.

Everybody say it together: Thank you Jesus, I am blessed

Its true.

Ephesians 1:5 ESV

5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

in this chapter alone look at the extent that Paul goes to to show how blessed we are:

*Blessed with every spiritual blessing (so many impossible to name them all)

*chosen to be set apart HOLY and Blameless before him

*Loved, destined for adoption.. but not just adopted - made SONS and Daughters with RIGHTS

*Graced: 6.to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved.

*Redeemed: Ephesians 1:7 “7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”

*Forgiven: Ephesians 1:7 “7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”

*Aware: Verse 9. Ephesians 1:9 “9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ”

*Given an inheritance: Ephesians 1:11 “11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,”

*Hearers of the Truth: Ephesians 1:13 “13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,”

*Sealed with The Spirit:

2.to tell the church why (its is blessed)

So he goes on to tell them the way and they why in church WE ARE BLESSED,….

The New Bible Commentary The Central Message of the Letter

Ephesians makes dominant a theme which was already important in Colossians, namely cosmic reconciliation in Christ

why its blessed. Because of GRACE THROUGH FAITH … and not by WORKS. its a gift.

Ephesians 2:1–10 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

When i grew up my perspective of God and heaven.

Notes:

Author: paul - Thats clear.

Occasion: to motivate and to FORM the church, to issue warnings… and to encourage sound doctrine and belief. To ward off outside influence….

Date”?

Reason for Writing:

Ephesians Introduction

The writer never loses sight of his goal, to present the purpose and plan of God clearly so as to motivate the church to live in a way that will forward that purpose on earth.