Paul's Epistles - Ephesians
- Part 1:
Introduction
Pastor Bruce A.
Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
SERMON INTRODUCTION
In Paul’s 35 years of ministry, since his
conversion in Damascus, we have recorded in the Holy Bible many of his
epistles, or letters.
Paul’s first journey took place from 33AD
(the year of his conversion), through 46AD, leaving Damascus in 38AD.
Paul’s 2nd journey began in
50AD, four years later; during this time he wrote 1st and 2nd
Thessalonians, and Galatians, with his second journey ending in 54AD.
Paul’s 3rd journey began in
55AD and lasted until 58AD where he found himself imprisoned in Judea from
58-60AD. During his 3rd journey Paul wrote 1st and 2nd
Corinthians, and Romans. We have no record of writings from Paul during his
prison time between 58-60AD in Judea.
After his release from Judea, Paul
traveled on his voyage to Rome from 60-61AD, writing Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians and Philemon, and finding himself in a Roman prison in 63AD.
Released soon after his incarceration,
Paul then writes the epistles Hebrews, 1st Timothy, Titus and his
final letter before his death 2 Timothy, which was written from a Roman prison
he was placed in during 66-68AD.
Though the bible does not tell us when or
how Paul died, it is believed by scholars that he was beheaded in 68AD in May
or June.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE Ephesians 1:1-2
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s
holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Greetings and
Introduction to the Church in Ephesus
The
message of this epistle to the church is “The Church, The Body of Christ”.
1. Paul founded the church in
Ephesus on his first visit to the city in 54AD.
a.
His stay was short because he had a commitment to keep in Jerusalem
b.
After his journey back from Jerusalem, Paul stayed with the Church in
Ephesus for three years.
i.
Three years of whole-hearted intensely active service
ii.
Acts 19:8-10
iii.
Acts 20:31
2. Ephesians was written
during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome
a.
This was 10 years after he established the church
3. Romans and Galatians are 2
of Paul’s epistles that focus on justification, as Ephesians and Colossians
focus more on the Church.
a.
Though Paul wrote Ephesians and Colossians during the same time,
Ephesians emphasizes the Church as the Body of Christ, while Colossians Christ
as the Head of the Church
4. There are three distinct
images of the Church of Christ portrayed in Ephesians;
a.
The Temple 2:21, 22
b.
Human Body 1:22, 23; 4:15
c.
The Bride 5:25-32
Ephesians is broken into
two major themes;
1. First Theme
a.
Greetings 1:1-2
b.
Blessings 1:3-14
c.
Prayer 1:15-21
d.
Christ the Head 1:22-23
e.
How we fit in 2:1-10
f.
Blessed association with membership in Christ 2:11-22
g.
Gentiles 3
2. Second Theme
a.
Unity in His Body 4:1-3
b.
Unifying powers of the Body 4:4-6
c.
Edifying of His Body 4:7-16
d.
Duties of members 4:17 – 5
The church of Ephesus was
one of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation.
1. Ephesus
2. Smyrna
3. Pergamum
4. Thyatira
5. Sardis
6. Philadelphia
7. Laodicea
The
characteristics of Ephesus as mentioned by Jesus to John in Revelation 2:1-7, the church
having labored hard and not fainted, and separated themselves from the wicked,
however, they were admonished for having forsaken its first love. Revelation 2:4
Their first
love being their zeal and passion they first embraced their salvation as they
realized they loved Christ because He first loved them. 1 John 4:19.
They were alive
in Christ, but because of sins and transgressions, they had become dead.
Jesus did
commend them on their many good works and working hard. They tested teachers to
ensure they were real, they endured hardship and persevered without growing
weary.
But they lost
their warmth and zeal for Christ, and when that happened, they began to “go
through the motions” of good works which were no longer motivated by love of
and for Christ, but by the works themselves.
What was once a
love relationship cooled into a religion.
Their passion
for Him became little more than orthodoxy.
Surrounded by
Paganism and false teachers, the Ephesian church had ample opportunity to
correct false doctrine and confront heretical teachers.
If they did so
for any reason other than love for Christ and a passion for His truth, however,
they would have lost their way. Instead of pursuing Christ with the devotion
they once showed, much like a bride who follows her groom “through the desert”
(Jeremiah 2:2), the Ephesians
were in danger of falling away from Christ completely.
This is why He
warns those who have “ears to hear” to prove the reality of their salvation by
returning to Him and rekindling the love that had begun to cool. No doubt there
were among the Ephesians those whose profession was false and whose hearing had
become dulled. He warns the rest not to follow them, but to repent and return
to Him with the passion they once had for Him.
CONCLUSION
- We face the same challenges in the twenty-first century.
There are few
churches that aren’t subject to, and in danger of, a certain amount of false
teaching.
But Jesus calls
us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians
4:15), and to not let the frustration of false teaching overpower the
love of Christ in us (Ephesians
4:31-32).
Our first love
is the love Christ gives us for God and each other. We should be zealous for
the truth, but that zeal should be tempered so that we are always “speaking the
truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is,
Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).
Next week we
will look at Paul’s Blessings to the Ephesian Church
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