Theme of the book ephesians

The book of ephesians was written to gods holy people in ephesus ephesians 1. The city of ephesus was a large commercial port city in asia minor present day turkey located at. The traditional idea, that god deals in one manner with the gentile christians and in another with the jewish christians, and that the races are identifiable in christ, has created havoc in the interpretation of the scripturesparticularly the writings. Understanding the book of ephesians and bible study guide. If it is true that god is on mission and that believers are called to follow in that mission, then every book of the bible will contribute to that vision. His typically lucid style and clarity of thought present a. Second, god has reconciled these saved individuals to each other, christ having broken down the barriers through his own death 2. However, paul presented the gift of god in christ and the benefits we. Aug 04, 20 the call of christ is a call to action, and ephesians lays out gods desire for your spiritual walk like no other book of the bible. The major theme of joshua is the victory of faith b. Ephesians presents many significant themes which bring major contributions of thought. Overview and outline of ephesians bible study deeper. Ephesians pastor david legge 4 grace be to you, and peace, from god our father, and from the lord jesus christ. Enclosed within the book of ephesians is the discipline needed to develop into true children of god.

Its origin has customarily been credited to paul the apostle however, beginning in 1792, this has been tested as deuteropauline, that is, composed in pauls name by a later creator. You cant live with them, you cant move to a desert island to escape them. The key personalities of ephesians are the apostle paul and tychicus. When christ redeemed us from sin and death, he incorporated all believers into his body. Major themes pauls second missonary journey to ephesus map chronology chart of pauline letters ephesians 1 ephesians 1. I offer the following commentary and summary for ephesians in this article. Ephesians and colossians were probably composed at the same time in rome. All three letters were sent with tychicus and onesimus. Listen to archived messages from this series in the player below. The book of ephesians is the book of the heavenly places in christ eph. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Its a wonderful book of the bible full of instructions that relevant to our everyday lives today.

He has imputed his righteousness to his body, for now we have been bought with a price and therefore no longer our own but all things are gods. Introduction to ephesians bible exposition commentary. In the book of ephesians, we see how the gospel story affects believers everyday lives. A concise statement of the theme of pauls letter to the ephesians might be. Ephesus was the chief city of the coastal area of asia minor. The book of ephesians survey introduces a list of themes and describes six of them. Those that like to get into studying the bible and its heavy doctrines prefer to study the first part of pauls letters and often treat the latter part as secondary or of less value see the right diagram where a wall separates the two sections. Now, in no way does this theme detract from the responsibility and culpability of man to respond for salvation, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, but in our preaching of the book of ephesians, we do well to recognize the theme of gods role in salvation. Put on the full armor of god so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes. Prayer for ephesians strength, praise to god ephesians 3. Specific instructions for christian living ephesians 4. The book of ephesians hits on a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors, designed to ensure believers are living up to our heavenly calling. Everything including our work on earth is a part of gods plan. Having explained gods great goals for the church, paul proceeds to show the steps toward their fulfillment.

Book of ephesians overview insight for living ministries. Intro to ephesians biblica the international bible society. In live abundantly, bible teachers lenya heitzig and penny pierce rose challenge you to dig deep into the book of ephesians to find the spiritual treasure god has for you. The book of colossians is very similar to that of ephesians, in fact both books have passages with similar themes and phrases. The book of ephesians tells how the gospel affects our. Ephesians and colossians have a number of parallels.

Free sermon book of ephesians martyn lloydjones trust. We therefore welcome all the more warmly the following contribution to the debate which is based on a paper given to the tsf group in oxford. Doctrine occupies the greatest portion of the book of ephesians. The church has received wondrous blessings in union with christ. The epistle to the ephesians, additionally called the letter to the ephesians and frequently abbreviated to ephesians, is the tenth book of the new testament. What was hidden throughout the ages was revealed to us when christ came. Ephesians niv paul, an apostle of christ jesus by the. Introduction to the book of ephesians summary of hebrews. The mercy of god in jesus christ is the high point of all history, and for the past two thousand years gods mercy has been running throughout the world to bring together all kinds of people to form one new family of god. Blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in christ. Paul intended that all who long for christlike maturity would receive this writing.

Summary of the book of ephesians story of the bible. Ephesians reveals to us the great mystery of the church which is the body of christ. Another theme which does justice to the content of the epistle and one that i suggest for this study is that. Martyn lloydjones 18991981 was a welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the reformed tradition. As we continue in our faith from day to day, month to month, and year to year, the temptation to get comfortable will always exist. Join us as we walk through the book of ephesians together beginning in january 2020.

The book of ephesians is a prison epistle letter written while in prison. Another major theme in ephesians is the keeping of christs body that is, the church pure and holy. Ephesians major themes introduction to the book of. Key verses and themes in galatians, ephesians, and.

Pattern for christian living, ray summers 18 ray summers, ephesians. The central organizing theological idea in ephesians is that through christs atoning work god has mightily brought about the churcha new humanity, i. It is therefore critical to understand the nature and calling of the church that we might be effective members of the one body that is called to bear witness to gods grace in this world. The book of ephesians was very likely written between a. Some have argued that paul wrote colossians from ephesus or caesarea, but most of the evidence favors rome as the place where paul penned all the prison letters ephesians, colossians, philippians and philemon.

The book of ephesians hits on a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors. Stay encouraged and united with christ with these popular bible verses from the tenth book of the new testament, ephesians. The purpose and plan of ephesians preaching source. The concept that the elect jews and gentiles compose the one family of god, the one holy nation, is a central theme of the book of ephesians. Gods glory, the mystery, unity of the body, redemption, calling of the. Each paragraph calls us to renewed thinking that leads to faithful godly lives. Our theme for this study is the glory of christ and his church. The ephesians called to reflect on their state of heathenism.

While this is certainly a major theme in pauls book, it seems to ignore what i would argue is the major underlying purpose of ephesians which is our position in christ and the life that flows from it. The author of ephesians is believed by many to be paul, although modern scholars have pointed to the differences in grammar and the strikingly similar vocabulary in pauls other letters as proof that paul did not author the book. The call of christ is a call to action, and ephesians lays out gods desire for your spiritual walk like no other book of the bible. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to paul the apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as deuteropauline, that is, written in pauls name by a later author strongly influenced by pauls thought, probably by a loyal. The epistle to the ephesians, also called the letter to the ephesians and often shortened to ephesians, is the tenth book of the new testament. Samuel taylor coleridge, the hymnwriter, wrote these words about the book of ephesians he said. Ephesians executable outline study resources blue letter bible. Mar 06, 2020 now, in no way does this theme detract from the responsibility and culpability of man to respond for salvation, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, but in our preaching of the book of ephesians, we do well to recognize the theme of gods role in salvation. God the father planned throughout history for jesus to create a multiethnic community of followers.

Though the specific purpose of the book is difficult to nail down precisely, certain theological and ethical themes play an. This is certainly a fitting theme statement for our own day. Ephesians seeks to shape believers by reminding them how wonderful gods work in christ is, how significant their unity with christ is, and what living for christ looks like. Paul wrote the letter to the ephesians sometime in ad 6061, around the same. When i was done preaching through the entire book, i. The traditional idea, that god deals in one manner with the gentiles and another with the jews, and that the races are identifiable in the kingdom of god, has wrought havoc in the interpretation of the. The purpose of the book of ephesians was to warn the church elders about the false teachers that were teaching a false gospel and to maintain their first love that they held when they first became believers.

Paul explains the mystery of the church and gives practical insight into living as believers. There is not one exhortation in the first three chapters. The message of ephesians for the global church is that in christ god has reconciled to himself all things by his free grace, and in so doing he has enabled humans all over the world to be reconciled with one another. Test your knowledge of this amazing book of the bible. The four main gospel truths are emphasized over and over god, man, christ, response. Ephesians 3 new international version niv gods marvelous plan for the gentiles. First, it is obviously a biographical narrative, dealing with pauls own circumstances. The church has been brought from death to life in christ. To teach the christians at ephesus the wonder and practical implications of being the church in christ. Overview of the book of ephesians reformed answers to. First, god has reconciled individuals to himself as an act of grace 2. With its exalted view of the church in gods plan of. This letter is one of pauls four imprisonment letters. Covering topics such as living in gods will and receiving peace no matter the circumstances, the book of ephesians reveals the magnitude of every christians inheritance, a gift exceedingly abundantly above what.

Most bible surveys and handbooks simplify the message of ephesians as exhortations to the body of christ, the church. I chose to teach ephesians because i think christians today need some help with two things. His principal ministry was at westminster chapel, in central london, from 19391968, where he delivered multiyear expositions on books of the bible such as romans, ephesians and the gospel of john. Comprised of jews and nonjews, these followers form the covenant family god promised to abraham.

With its exalted view of the church in gods plan of redemption, it is common to suggest the theme as the church, the fullness of christ. Abbott, a critical and exegetical commentary on the epistles to the ephesians and to the colossians, icc, pp. It was written to encourage believers to walk as fruitful followers of christ and to serve in unity and love in the midst of persecution. The importance and style of prayer needed for the welfare of the church. A few weeks ago, i started a wednesday night series on the book of ephesians. Ephesians 3 gods marvelous plan for the gentiles bible. The epistle to the ephesians, also called the letter to the ephesians and often shortened to ephesians, is the tenth book of the new. The book of joshua is not a picture of heaven, but rather a. Two significant prayers of paul are found in this book eph 1. Paul spent more time there than any other city about three years. Intro to colossians biblica the international bible. The book of ephesians is a letter from paul to christians at ephesus. Ephesians is so broad, so sweeping in its content, that recognizing the underlying theme is easily missed.

One thing is certain ephesus was a city in darkness blinded by idolatry and material wealth. The apostle paul wrote this letter to the churches in ephesus and the surrounding region c. Here are three principles from ephesians that inform our prayer, thinking, and engagement in gods global mission. During this time he also wrote colossians and philemon. A grand epistle like ephesians almost defies coming up with one main theme. Some have taken the absence of the usual personal greetings. Book summary ephesians reveals to us the great mystery of the church which is the body of christ. The main theme of the letter to the ephesians is to explain the mystery of the church. Paul gives thanks and prays for the ephesians ephesians 1.

This summary of the book of ephesians provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of ephesians. Theme verse of ephesians therefore i, the prisoner of the lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. Finally, be strong in the lord and in his mighty power. Be the first to answer every question correctly and win a cash prize. The book of ephesians is a beautiful revelation of the church and the spiritual blessings we have in christ jesus. The reoccurring theme in ephesians is gods purpose and plan in offering redemption to his people and the manifestation of that purpose in the life of the believer. The idea behind the word for mystery is that this truth was.