Ephesians
Ephesians Series 2024
Over the 7 Sundays from 14th July to the 25th August, the New Testament readings are all from the book that we know as Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. So, it gives us an opportunity over the summer to do a deep dive together into this wonderful part of the bible. How shall we do this?
All our sermons in that period will be expounding the various passages that are set for that Sunday.
Let’s all read the letter over the summer. It is 6 chapters, and you could read the whole thing in under 20 minutes. Or you could read a bit every day. Maybe try a different translation or version than the one you are used to.
Pray and listen to what God may be saying to you about what you have read. You might want to note down something in a journal or on a pad of paper. Maybe God will prompt you to do something; or give you a promise to hold on to; or a truth to believe; or a command to obey.
Sometimes we learn more when we discuss it with others. Foor for Thought on Tuesday evenings will be looking at Ephesians over this period and that is one opportunity to do that. But maybe talk about it over the dinner table at home, over a beer with a mate, or coffee with a friend.
You might want to get a good commentary or guide to Ephesians to read alongside. If you have a study bible they often include notes or guides. There are lots of great resources on the internet too, such as this video from the Bible Project.
You might want to read this brief introduction to Ephesians from The Bible Society
Or this page from Bible Society https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/explore-the-bible/read/eng/GNB/Eph/1/
Ephesians
This letter has been called the “Queen of the Epistles”. We know it was written when Paul was in prison, either the two years he was in Caesarea Maritime, or perhaps when in Rome, or some other imprisonment. It is therefore slow and thoughtful, prayerful and general, rather than urgent, argumentative and addressing a particular problem.
It was probably carried by one of Paul’s disciples, Tychicus, and probably at the same time as the letter to the Colossians. It is unclear to whom exactly it was written; the earliest manuscripts do not include the word Ephesus, and it seems that Paul was writing to people he had not met, but had heard about; and it contains no personal greetings. He was definitely writing to Gentiles. It may have been an open letter to be distributed to a number of churches or copied down as Tychicus passed on his way.
The key thought of the letter is the gathering together of all things in Christ. It speaks of a uniting and mending of a divided and broken world, which is only possible in Jesus Christ. As part of God’s plan, the Church, the Body of Christ, is to be an agent bringing people to the uniquely all-sufficient Christ that they may be united in him.
The first half of the letter (chapters 1 – 3) tells us what God has done for us; the second half (chapters 4-6) tells us how we should live as a result of what God has done for us.
Go Deeper
John Stott: The Message of Ephesians (IVP, 1979)
Francis Foulkes: Tyndale New Testament Commentary on Ephesians (IVP, 1989)