Ephesians

Ephesians. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus from prison. Some think this letter may have been a circular intended for several churches because of the lack of personal greetings that are common in Paul’s other epistles. His theme is far from imprisonment. He writes of liberty, unity, and harmony.

In other letter, the apostle to the Gentiles addresses the error of some Jewish converts that one must convert to Judaism and keep the law and traditions of that religion as part of converting to Christianity. Paul reiterates that the law can only condemn sinful people who don’t keep in every regard; we are dependent on the grace of God, executed in Christ, if we want to be rescued from death and live a new life that is pleasing to God. Freedom from the law is not a license to behave immorally; it’s a new way of living where we are governed by love instead of rules and the Holy Spirit living in us empowers us to do good instead of all the evil things that previously enslaved us.

Because all Christians are partakers of the same grace, both Jews and Gentiles, the church should be unified. It is God’s plan that we should be in relationship with our fellows in Christ, helping each other, working together, and loving one another. There may be a distinction in Jewish heritage and history, but all Christians have the same faith whatever their background.

Grace and unity in the church should be characterized by harmonious relationships. Paul addresses how Christians related to each other and in this letter he specifically addresses marriage, family, and work relationships. In relationships, Christ is our model. The way he treats us, he held nothing back and even suffered a painful, humiliating death to rescue us, should inform the way we treat others, especially those who are under our authority or vulnerable because the don’t have the protectors in life that others may have. As we love others we should also respect others, especially those God has put in our lives for our provision, protection, and upbringing.

In a nutshell, the message of Ephesians is let love rule. This is the broken, partial, conditional, imperfect love that typifies human relationships. It is the perfect, pure love of God, love we can hardly understand. It is love we firs receive from God. God living in us makes us able to share this love with others. Paul doesn’t directly refer to Jesus’ statement that the brotherhood of believers would be recognized by their love for each other, but the notion runs through the letter.



Paul also wrote
First Corinthians
Galatians (216)
Romans
Second Corinthians

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Deuteronomy
Genesis

Google