Setting the Stage for the Letter to the Ephesians Scripture Reading: Eph 1:1-3

Some names is history we are able to quickly identify…Paul is one of them His name was originally Saul (Acts 7:58) Saul of Tarsus was obedient to his teachings and believed he was faithfully serving God Saul would become a great leader of the anti-Christian movement in Jerusalem Acts 9:1-2 “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Gal 1:13-14 “13 For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. 14 And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. In the midst of all his activity, Saul would be confronted by the Lord and ultimately converted to His teaching (Acts 9) The author

Saul of Tarsus becomes Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15) While working with the Church in Antioch, Paul is called by the Spirit to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (which he did) Acts 13:1-3 “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.” The author

The book of Acts records three journeys Paul took throughout the Roman Empire spreading the Word Paul first ministered in Ephesus about the year 53 but was unable to remain there Acts 18:19-21 “19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, 21 but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.” A couple years later Paul returns to and stays in Ephesus for a couple years and helped evangelize the whole region (Acts 19:1-20) Acts 19:21-42 shows the strong opposition Paul faced The author

Paul would pen his letter nearly ten years later while imprisoned in Rome Acts 3:1 “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—” Acts 4:1 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,” Eph 6:20 “for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” For a stronger historical background one can compare Eph 6:21-22 with Col 4:7-9, and the letter to Philemon The author

The addressed (Eph 1:1b-2) Paul here is addressing the “Saints” The abuse of the term saint The dictionary divines saint as: “A person officially recognized for holiness of life.” The question is, who makes this official recognition? This is usually done by some religious organization through a process known as canonization The deceased person’s life is examined to see if he/she qualifies for sainthood If their character is proven to be true and above reproach, and if he/she has been responsible for performing at least two miracles, then he/she is qualified to be made a saint We do not find any such procedure authorized in scripture The addressed (Eph 1:1b-2)

The addressed (Eph 1:1b-2) The abuse of the term saint We do find Paul uses this term many times in this short letter Eph 1:1, 15, 18; 2:19; 3:8; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18 These saints were alive, not dead There is no evidence whatsoever they had performed any miracles The term saint is simply one of many used to describe those who have believed Jesus Christ is their Savior and have followed His commands Christians called “disciples” (Acts 9:1, 10, 19, 25-26, 36, 38) Christians called People “of the way” (Acts 9:2) Christians called “saints” (Acts 9:13, 32, 41) The addressed (Eph 1:1b-2)

The addressed (Eph 1:1b-2) The word “Saint” means one who has been set apart and is related to the word “Sanctified” which means to set apart When the sinner obeys commands of Christ and is buried and rises from the waters of baptism, he is taken out of the world and placed in Christ The believer is in the world physically, but not of the world spiritually Jn 17:14-16 “14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” The addressed (Eph 1:1b-2)

The addressed (Eph 1:1b-2) The phrase “In Christ” is used multiple times in this letter Saints in Christ (1:1) Blessed in Christ (1:3) Chosen in Christ (1:4) Adopted in Christ (1:5) Redeemed in Christ (1:7) Sealed with the Holy spirit in Christ (1:12-13) Created for good works in Christ (2:10) Brought near to God in Christ (2:13) built in Christ (2:22) Partakers in God’s promise in Christ (3:6) All things on Heaven and earth are gathered in Christ (1:10) The addressed (Eph 1:1b-2)

The Aim of the message (Eph 1:3) Every book in the Bible carries one central theme even if it deals with many different topics Matthew is the book of the kingdom Galatians is the book of liberty The letter to the Ephesians main theme is found in 1:3: “The blessings (riches) in Christ” The Aim of the message (Eph 1:3)

The source of our blessings: God the Father in Christ When one is born again into God’s family, they are born rich The riches of God’s grace Eph 1:7 “7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” Eph 2:7 “7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The riches of God’s glory Eph 1:8 “18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” Eph 3:16 “16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,” The riches of God’s mercy Eph 2:4 “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,” The “unsearchable riches of Christ” Eph 3:8 “8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,” The blessings/riches

The scope of our blessings: “All spiritual blessings” In the OT God promised His earthly people, Israel, material blessings as a reward for their obedience (Deut 28:1-13) Today, He promises to supply all our needs “According to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19) He does not promise to shield us from poverty or pain Acts 14:22 “22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” God has provided us everything we need for a successful, satisfying Christian life The spiritual is far more important than the material/physical The blessings/riches

The sphere of our blessings: “In the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus” The lost soul is more interested in the earthly things, because that is where he dwells Jesus called them, “The children of this world” Lk 16:8 The Christian’s life is centered around heaven His citizenship is in Heaven (Phil 3:20) His name is written in Heaven (Lk 10:20) His Father is in Heaven His thoughts and intentions ought to be centered on the things of Heaven (Col 3:1) The blessings/riches

The fact Paul is writing about wealth would be significant to his readers, because some considered Ephesus “The Bank of Asia” The great temple of Diana (one of the seven wonders of the world) was there and not only a center for idol worship, but also a depository for wealth Some of the greatest art treasures of the ancient world were housed in this building Paul will compare the Church to a temple and will explain the great wealth that Christ has in His Church Paul has already used the word riches, but consider some of the other financial words such as Inheritance (1:11, 14, 18, 5:5) fullness./filled (1:10, 23; 3:19; 4:10, 13; 5:18) Paul is clearly teaching his readers, “Be Rich!” Conclusion