Intro to Ephesians

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 
Ephesians 5:15–16 

Aww, the book of Ephesians, what a wonderfully beautiful and encouraging book. It is probably one of the most well-known books in the Bible in terms of its content, apart from the Gospels. We can quickly defend election by Ephesians, stating how God chose us to be His own before the foundations of the world (1:4). And how our salvation is not merited or earned by our own works (2:8-9). We can all quote, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (4:5) and that we should speak the truth in love (4:15). We also have heard how husbands are to love their wives like Christ and wives are to submit to their own husbands at many weddings (5:22-33) and that we should put on the whole armor of God (6:10-17). It is a very memorable book and welcome letter as we near the end of our Bible in a Year journey.

Interestingly enough, for as much as we know within the book of Ephesians, the salutation and structure of Ephesians is quite similar to Colossians. In fact, of the 155 verses in Ephesians, over half contain identical expressions with those in Colossians. And yet, for some reason Ephesians is much more quotable and memorable. One reason could be that Paul expands upon the themes and is much more instructive in this letter as opposed to the one to the Colossians. As we read this book, really spend time meditating on the content that you read and ask of yourself how can you apply what it is that you are reading. In the first half of the letter (chapters 1-3), the major themes can be summarized in God’s purpose in Christ and the tenets, or indicatives, of Christianity. Here the Gospel really shines and we can have great joy in what Christ has done and glory in the Father for His perfect gift.

In the second section (chapters 4-6), we find God’s purpose for the church and the imperatives for how the people of God should live. These chapters you can say provide real practical advice for how believers are to live in this world, interact with his fellow neighbors, and how we are to care for one another. This is not a very complicated letter and much of what we read is very simple, and yet it requires us to have wisdom. If we are unwise, we can easily read through these six chapters and come away unchanged. And by doing so, we dishonor and disobey God and live in this present age without the fear of the Lord. We surely live in evil days, awaiting the day when Jesus will return and vanquish evil, but this is no excuse to live in a manner that is contrary to our calling with “humility and gentleness, with patience...[and] unity of the Spirit” (4:2-3). In fact, Paul reminds us that it is because of Christ, that we are to live new lives, having put off our old selves, having prayerfully prepared ourselves to combat Satan and the world. And so Christian, I commend to you to walk as children of light, as adopted sons and daughters of God, in the love of Christ and for His glory.

Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez

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These articles follow the current Bible Reading plan for Overflow Ministries. If you would like to join the reading plan, simply download the plan here: Overflow Reading Plan

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