Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

“Dear God, I’m sure it is very hard for you to love all the people in the world.

I only have four people in my family and I can never do it.”

It is a common question to wonder about.

How is it possible for God to love every one?

I believe it is something we will never comprehend, but we need to be understand He does love every one.

As we enter into the month of December, we must remember the love God has for us .

We must remember that Christ is come, the King has already come and He came because He loves us.

We must remember that.

If you have your Bibles this morning, I would like for you to open them up to the book of Ephesians and turn to the 2nd chapter.

The book of Ephesians, chapter 2.

The books of Philemon, Colossians, and Ephesians are all closely related.

Philemon and Colossians mention several of the same names, such as Archippus, Onesimus, Epaphras, Mark, as well as others.

Ephesians and Colossians both share several main topics with the book of Ephesians expanding on the key ideas.

These similarities indicate that Paul probably wrote them all around the same time, and as indicated by the latter part of the book of Acts, was probably in prison not long before he died at the time of his writing.

Philemon and Colossians mention several of the same

Transition: We’re going to be studying this morning this passage in the book of Ephesians, but in order for us to understand the passage, we must understand the context in which it was written, and to do that, we must look at the city of Ephesus.

Background to Ephesus

B.

A. Chief City on the West Coast of Asia Minor

The Location

Ephesus was located halfway up the western cost of Asia Minor and it was plotted on the Aegean Sea at the Mouth of the Cayster River.

The Size and Exchange/Market

Ephesus was a very important city.

It was the most important trading center in the Mediterranean region.

It was a gate city of Asia to Europe and it received thousands and thousands of visitors due to the temple of Diana.

The Temple

The Temple of Diana was massive—450 feet long, 225 feet wide, 60 feet tall, and contained more than 127 columns.

B. Temple of Diana

i.

The Wonder of the Temple

Due to the size of the temple, it was regarded as one of the wonders of the world.

The Temple attracted people from all over the world and they would come to visit Ephesus solely for the Temple.

The Wrongness of the Temple

The World around the Temple (The City)

The size and the wonder of the temple was not the main reason people came to Ephesus.

It was because of Diana.

Diana was a goddess of the hunt, wild animals, fertility and childbirth, and the moon.

The Temple of Diana was not the home of the goddess, rather it was a shrine.

The chief one, the headquarters, was located at Ephesus and it was devoted to her service.

She was worshipped in the temple as well as in minute shrines modeled after the temple.

The shrines frequently featured crude objects, typically made of silver, stone, wood, or clay.

At the head of the cult, was their “chief priest”, a eunuch with the title Megabyzos.

Under him were appointed priests called Essenes.

Other priests included Kouretes, Krobati, and Hilroi, all of which performed obscure duties.

Then there were the priestesses.

The temple services consisted of sacrifices and ceremonial relations involving the priestesses.

Obviously, there is a problem in Ephesus.

Paul understands this when he goes.

C. Paul and the City of Ephesus

Paul’s Visit to Ephesus

Obviously, there is a problem in Ephesus

After a 1.5 years in Corinth

After visiting Corinth, toward the end of Paul’s second missionary journey, and then for over 2 years on his third missionary journey, Paul ministered, taught, and counseled the church at Ephesus.

During Paul’s time there, he saw many people converted to faith in Jesus Christ and he saw many people oppose his preaching.

Demetrius, who made idols and symbols for the worship of Artemis found his business suffering because of Paul’s preaching.

Due to a near-riot, Paul left the city after stabilizing and growing the church there.

Leaving Timothy to Pastor

The Letter to Ephesus

After Paul left Ephesus for the last time, the elders there knew they wouldn’t see his face again.

They didn’t see Paul again.

Imagine the challenges this young church faced.

Think of the challenges married couples faced when they were first starting out.

I say first starting out, because after years of being together, you both block the other out.

Think about the separation of the Artemis-followers and the Ephesian church members...

A young man tells his family he has received Christ and the family tells him he’s as good as dead to them.

The man goes to meet his friends and they don’t show up.

He opens his business up and there are no customers.

He goes to his friend ans asked why they haven’t been around and they tell him that they can’t do business or be around someone who is one of those “Christians”.

Think about what the church is going through.

But Paul, wanting to help the church and wanting to strengthen the church and wanting the church to be able to survive in the sinful city of Ephesus in the future and wanting to encourage the Ephesians church picks up his pen during the imprisonment of his Roman captors and begins writing this letter to the Ephesians.

He divides the letter into 2 parts:

Doctrinal (Chapter 1-3): Paul spends the first part of the letter discussing the work of God and His gift of grace in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This is the section that provided a wealth of knowledge in Christ.

Practical (Chapter 4-6): In the second part, Paul makes his purpose clear, he expects the church at Ephesus to walk in Christ.

He lays out several practices the young church should follow in their church, in their homes, and in their city.

Transition: This morning, we are going to be examining a section of the first part of the letter to the Ephesian church.

1.

What You Were—Past Guilt: 2:1-3

A. A Life of Death (v.1)

The 3 Types of Death in the Bible

Physical Death ()

Spiritual Death ()

Eternal Death ()

The Type Used Here: Spiritual Death, separated from God

Adam sinned and God moved out of Adam.

He died immediately in the spirit.

Jesus raised 3 dead people

Jairus’ Daughter- few moment dead

Widow’s Son- few hours dead

Lazarus- few days dead

Which is the most dead?

Dead = Dead

B. A Life of Trespasses and Sin (v.

1-2)

We were dead because of our trespasses and sin.

Trespasses and sin are what separate men from God.

To trespass here, means to fall away, slip, deviate..

Fall away from the way of God

Slip from doing what we should

Deviate from the right path

Sin means here to miss the mark—