Bible Study The Book Of Ephesians Verse By Verse

Lesson One Chapter One Verses One & Two

Introduction

      The book of Ephesians is considered by many people to be the greatest of Paul’s writings. The rule by which we measure greatest is according to the benefits we derive from an object or person. Thus, while studying the Ephesian Epistle we are very prone to say, "It is the sublimest of all of Paul’s writing." On the other hand, I am confident that a verse by verse study of any of the other twelve letters of Paul would similarly affect us. We need to remember Paul’s own words, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" (2nd Timothy 3:16).

      The Ephesian Epistle seems to have a greater degree of relevancy of our day and time than many of the other letters of Paul, and that could account for it being the favorite of New Testament Baptist.

      Ephesians was written during Paul’s first imprisonment at Rome, Approximately ten years after the Church at Ephesus was founded. Paul calls himself the "Prisoner of Jesus Christ", "The prisoner of the Lord", and "An ambassador in bonds" (3:1, 4:1, 6:20). Allowing these references to refer to Paul’s first imprisonment at Rome would fix the date of this Epistle within the Year the years of 61 – 63 AD.

      The doctrine of the Church is the prominent teaching throughout the Epistle, yet the doctrinal scope of the letter is of such extent that the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God, and subjects related thereto are discussed at length.

      In Ephesians we will find clear and graphic language dealing with moral, marital, and Church problems. Submission to principles set forth by Paul in this letter which relate to these problems will be the means of solving any current difficulties we may have, and will fortify us for the whole of our life.

      The Ephesian letter and the Colossian letter are alike in many respects. There are some profound differences, and these differences argue against Ephesians being a circular letter. Yet, the sameness of both is apparent, and Ephesians may be correctly described as an expansion of the Colossian letter. (The Colossians were instructed to exchange letters with the Laodiceans, Col. 4:16).

      There are many key words and phrases in the letter which facilitate our understanding. The key phrase is, I believe "In Jesus Christ," which appears twelve times. The key word, I believe is, "all," which appears forty times in the letter, and is used in such God honoring statements as "He created all things" "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will", "and hath put all thing under His feet, and gave Him head over all things to the Church", and He fills "all and in all". Etc... Etc...

      We will in the series of these studies frequently refer to the book of Acts, chapters 19, 20, & 21.

 

The Salutation

      The first two verses of Ephesians make up the salutation. This kind of salutation was generally used in Paul’s day in beginning a letter. The order of procedure was to give first the name of the writer; hence, thirteen of the 27 books of the New Testament begin with the name, "Paul". Secondly, identification of the person or people being addressed, and thirdly, it was customary to express greeting.

Paul, The writer of Ephesians

      Paul being a devout follower of Christ, would not so much as let a salutation be spent without bringing honor to his Lord in it.

      Paul was a freeborn Roman citizen (Acts 22:28), yet he was a Jew racially, (Acts 22:3). It is highly probable that Paul’s parents gave him two names at birth, Saul and Paul. Saul was his Jewish name, and connected him to the citizenship in the empire.

      Over and over in Paul’s writings it is made clear that he was called of God to be an Apostle to the Gentiles and as his work demanded practically all of his time to be spent in the Roman world he began to use the name that would commend him in some measure to that world.

      In the opening words of the salutation Paul makes two candid claims for himself. First, he asserts that he is "an Apostle of Jesus Christ." In affirming he was an Apostle of Christ he did not intend to draw attention to himself, to the contrary, for in one place he said, "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." (1Co 15:9). But he did want to remind the beloved saints at Ephesus that his mission was authorized by God. Thus it is, he says secondly, that his apostleship was "by the will of God".

      The Roman Catholic Church claims their popes are the successors to the apostles, and with each elevation to the papal chair another new apostle is made. This claim is the ultimate combination of ignorance and arrogance. But not so with Paul, he says his ascendancy to the office was "not of men, but by Jesus Christ" Gal. 1:1. Therefore, he occupied the office as a result of sovereign and irresistible grace. Paul’s attitude toward his apostolic office was not one of pride or haughtiness, but rather of astonishment.

      The general meaning of the word "apostle" is one sent on a mission. In this broad sense of the word U.S. ambassadors sent to foreign countries could be called "apostles".
      Jesus Christ was one sent from God, and the author of Hebrews calls him "the Apostle and High Priest of our profession" (Heb. 3:1). However, in the N.T. the primary use of the word "apostle" had to do with those chosen of Christ and given special assignments wherein they were sent forth with Divine authority to proclaim the glorious gospel of God.

The Addressee

      Those whom the letter was sent are designated "the saints which are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus" V.1. All saved people are saints, but all saved people are not faithful. The Ephesians are addressed by Paul here as faithful saints. The word "saint" and the word "sanctify" come from the same root word which means, "To set apart for the common use". In the N.T. usage the term "saint" meant one that was separated from whatever was unholy, and coupled with separation from the unholy was consecration to God.

      I think it would be remiss on my part if I did not mention the fact that Paul’s letter was not the only letter the church at Ephesus received from an apostle of Jesus Christ. Some thirty years after the date of Paul’s letter they received an apostolic communiqué from the exiled apostle John. The church at Ephesus was at the time of John’s letter yet faithful as regards orthodoxy, but they had removed to a dangerous degree from Christ on the scale of love.

The City of Ephesus


    1. Ephesus was an important city during the time of the Grecian Empire, but it was after and during the Roman conquest that Ephesus reached its pinnacle of significance. Ephesus was located on the west coast of what is now Asiatic Turkey, and was the chief city of the province. Tradition teaches that the Virgin Mary who was committed to the care of the Apostle John Is buried here, along with Timothy, Paul's spiritual son in the faith. Authentic history provides us with the Information that John made Ephesus his home base from which he contributed such to the evangelization of Asia (See Fausset's Bible Dictionary - Pg. 208

      Ephesus during the days of Paul and John was steeped in paganism. It was in Ephesus that the great temple of Diana stood, which temple was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Acts 19:35 "...The city of the Ephesian is a worshipper of the great goddess Dianna ..." The temple of Diana was the chief glory at the city, and the people were completely given over to the worship of the image, they were idolaters in the ultimate sense of the word. In spite of Ephesians idolatry the Jews had erected, a synagogue were the city (Acts 19:8), and speculation has it that some of the Jews from the Ephesian synagogue were present on the day of Pentecost and witnessed the baptism of the church in the Holy Spirit, and that it was through this experience the first seeds of Christianity were sown in Ephesus.

The Greeting


    1. Vs. 1 "... To the faithful in Christ Jesus." This suggests a dual location of the Ephesian saints. They were physically and geographically at Ephesus, but spiritually they were "in Christ Jesus."

    Vs. 2 "Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." The usual Greek greeting would begin with "rejoice!" The words rejoice and grace in the Greek pronunciation sounded much the same, but the deviation was due to the fact Paul and the Ephesians knew that it was God's grace which was the basis all rejoicing. The term "peace" is the Jewish element In the greeting.