"An Introduction To The Book Of Ephesians"

Jared Siebert

January 7/8, 2012

MP3-yes

NOTES FROM JARED'S SERMON

Spelling mistakes and grammatical issues are included free of charge.

The book of Ephesians is a letter written by Paul to the church in the city of Ephesus. It's important that you know that the bible is full of different kinds of literature – there are poems, songs, plays, letters, apocalypses, prophecies, narrative histories – each of these kinds of literature tell us something of how to interpret what is being said.

Here's what I mean. Take the sentence "He cut out his heart". Depending on where you find that sentence it will change the meaning. If you are reading a plot summary of an episode of Dexter you can guess a lot about what happened (most of it bad news). If you are reading a medical textbook you get another meaning altogether (most of it good news). If you are reading a lyric sheet from a CD it will most likely not be literal but poetic and figurative. And so on. The kind of literature you are reading makes a huge difference in understanding what you are reading.

Here are some things that you need to keep in mind when you are reading a letter in the Bible.

The Basics of Letters in the Bible:

1. They are meant to be consumed in a single sitting

a. Paul intended his letters to be read out in church and then passed around to the other communities. His letters were then copied and distributed around the world

2. They have a basic shape

a. Shape

i. name of the writer
ii. name of recipient
iii. greeting
iv. prayer wish or thanksgiving
v. body
vi. final greeting

b. the letters that we write have a basic shape too

i. name of the recipient at the beginning
ii. Body
iii. Farewell and name of the author

1. Name of Recipient

a. To whom it may concern belongs to a business letter. If you get a love letter that starts like this watch out.
b. Dear So and So means you are at least on friendly terms.
c. My Darling Puddin' Bear – this means that these people are sickeningly in love and should be avoided.

2. Farewell and Name of the Author

a. You can also figure out a lot from the endings

i. Sincerely So and So is less personal
ii. Love means you are pretty close
iii. XXX or XO are extremely close

iv. Galatians 1 is a famous example of using the shape of a letter to convey emotion. Paul uses only three verses to handle his name, their name, and greeting. He skips the whole prayer/wish and thanksgiving part and starts the body of his letter with "You foolish Galatians!" - The shape or the missing pieces of the shape can tell a lot about Paul's mood.
v. You can tell a lot about the mood of the author and how they relate or think of the recipient just from the basic parts of the letter.

3. They have a context – this is very important

a. most times a bible letter wasn't written to all churches for all time it was written to specific church at a specific time. That doesn't mean we get to ignore what they say – we just have to be a little more thoughtful about what and how we apply what is said.
b. a basic rule of interpretation is that a text cannot mean what it did not mean to the original writer and readers

i. That means You can't just take a text out of context and make say whatever you want it to say – you have to respect the meaning that it had when it was written before you can understand what it means now

4. they are written for a specific reason

a. Those reasons will either have arisen from the recipient or the writer.
b. it's important to know who initiated the letter and why.

5. they are a conversation – a biblical letter is not a theological treatise or compendium of theological ideas – it is a conversation

a. the theology that you find in a biblical letter is "task theology" – theology in the service of a particular need

i. that means that we don't find out ALL that Paul thought on subject. Instead we get a glimpse of his ideas in action – we see how what he thought applied to certain situations

b. A biblical letter is a lot like listening to one side of a phone call. You have to do some detective work to figure what is going on on the other end.

Here are my notes on the book of Ephesians.

1. Introductory Stuff (author, reader, greeting, prayer/thanksgiving) – 1

a. You can see all the different parts in the first chapter. Paul seems like he is in a pretty good mood.

2. Body

a. What God is up to in human lives - 2:1-10

i. He takes sin dead lives, makes them alive in Christ, trains them to be Royalty and then gives them work to do in the world.

b. The unique way that God has been working in the different human histories – Jew and Gentile – 2:11-3:21

i. Paul is saying that God plans to break down the wall between Jews and Gentiles – a fundamental distinction between people groups in the Jewish mind
ii. Even crazier is that God is now taking His good news beyond just Jewish people and beginning to change the history of the gentiles to. A mind blowing idea for Jewish people.

c. We need to get on board and work with God in the unity he is bringing about 4:1-16

i. God is doing all the work in the world and they need to start living into it – Paul urges them "to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

d. This new way of life is so different how should we live it out here in Ephesus? – 4:17-6:20

i. Put an end to your former life – 4:17-5:2

1. put an end to sensuality, impurity, and greed
2. stop lying and be straight with your neighbours
3. Stop getting into angry power struggles with your neighbours
4. If you were once a thief stop stealing
5. Stop with the unwholesome talk
6. Get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander
7. Begin to act the opposite of all of that.

ii. Instead seek a new way to live – 5:3-20

1. Get rid of any hint of sexual immorality, impurity, and greed
2. Knock off the obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse jokes
3. Turn your back on your former life, get with the new program

a. Be wise
b. Make the most of your opportunities
c. Don't guess figure out God's will
d. Move past getting full of booze and get full of God
e. Start adding to the church with ideas, songs, music and worship and thankfulness

iii. Live Jesus' way – total submission – 5:21-6:9

1. Husbands and wives submit to one another. Go the extra distance with each other even though the old Roman power systems have disappeared because of the gospel.
2. Children obey your parents and fathers be good to your kids, teach them the gospel way. Go the extra distance with each other even though the old Roman power systems have disappeared because of the gospel.
3. Slaves work for your master like your are working for God. Masters be kind to your slaves not more threatening them and mistreating them. Go the extra distance with each other even though the old Roman power systems have disappeared because of the gospel.
4. Learn to fight the spiritual fight – 6:10-20

a. Our struggle here is not like the Roman struggle that fight political powers and other countries and government. We are fighting the spiritual fight.

5. Pray your faces off.

3. Final greetings – 6:21-23

a. Tychicus is bringing the letter and knows I wrote it
b. Peace brothers and sisters
c. Love each other and God
d. Paul out.

(c) Lakeview Church