84 Ephesains

The Epistle to the Ephesians

Here we have yet another letter from the Apostle Paul. You may remember him from such New Testament letters as Romans and 1 Corinthians. This time, Paul's writing to the church in Ephesus and, boy, does he have a lot to say. Here's his message: God is great. He gave the world Jesus and then he handpicked Christians to be his chosen people. Sure, it was sad when Jesus died on that cross, but some good stuff did come out of it. Because Jesus sacrificed himself, God is willing to wipe the slate clean and start over with humanity. Plus, God has opened his doors to new members in his post-Jesus phase. Before, God only had a special relationship with the Jewish people. Now he's good with anyone who wants to become a follower of Jesus. That means that Gentiles who love Jesus are entitled to the same love and doting attention God has been lavishing on his people since he created this place we call Earth.


Wondering why Paul's writing all this stuff down in a letter? Well, he's in prison.

He's doing time for Jesus. But he didn't want the people in Ephesus to miss out on all his good advice. Advice like…

• Love each other, Ephesians. That's very important.
• Wives should respect their husbands. Husbands should respect your wives.
• Kids should listen to their parents.
• And slaves should most definitely obey their masters. Yup slaves.. hmmm let me explain.. In Bible times, slavery was based more on economics; it was a matter of social status. People sold themselves as slaves when they could not pay their debts or provide for their families. In New Testament times, sometimes doctors, lawyers, and even politicians were slaves of someone else. Some people actually chose to be slaves so as to have all their needs provided for by their masters. After seven years they had a choice to leave or stay and the majority stayed.
Hey, some of Paul's advice is better than others. Remember, it's hard out there for a Christian. Paul suggests that the Ephesians put on the armor of faith to guard themselves from the naysayers out there.

Ephesians

Paul is, writing to people in the Christian church in Ephesus (which was part of modern-day Turkey). And wants to talk about God. The Almighty is pretty awesome, says Paul. For starters, he gave the world Jesus. He also handpicked Christians to be faithful followers of Jesus. and adopted them as his kids. God also passed on his grace and goodness. And because Jesus died, God opened the door for everyone in the world to be redeemed and forgiven for all kinds of bad stuff. God has also let Christians in on all kinds of amazing divine secrets. Jesus is the key to most of them. But he's also got some pretty good ideas for the future . And just who will reap these rewards? Us, the followers of Jesus, of course. They were the first ones to hear Jesus' message and believe in the truth. God is good! But the people in Ephesus are pretty good, too. Paul's heard about all the amazing things they've done, and he hasn't stopped thanking God for putting such nice people on Earth since. Not even for one second... Paul's also been praying that the Christians in Ephesus keep expanding their horizons and getting to know God a little better every day. After all, God raised Jesus from the dead and then set all kinds of amazing things in motion. Right now, Jesus is up in Heaven with God and sitting at God's right hand . He also gets to rule over everyone and everything.

Okay, so these Christians are good now, but it wasn't so long ago that they were living pretty sin-filled lives. As far as anyone knew, they were dead to God because they didn't know about him or his laws or promises. Basically, these people just followed everyone else in the world and did whatever it was they wanted. They ate what they wanted. They had sex with who they wanted. And they didn't even feel guilty about it the next morning. Okay, so they were dead to God, but he's apparently very forgiving, because He went and made them come to life again. It's a miracle! By sin they had died (metaphorically), but through Jesus they started living again. Now these believers have risen up to be with Jesus. God saved them. These Christians didn't "earn" salvation by being good people or something. God gave it to them as a gift.

These Christians were Gentiles in the beginning. That just means they weren't Jewish. They also weren't circumcised like Jewish people. That means they didn't have any relationship with God at all. They just worshiped their pagan gods and had no clue. They also didn't know anything about all the promises that God made to his people way back in the Hebrew Bible. Gentiles weren't part of that stuff, so they clearly weren't going to be saved. Cause they really didn’t know. But now, because Jesus lived and died, God has pulled the Gentiles in for all to share. Before, Gentiles were separate in God's eyes. Now they're part of his chosen people. There aren't two groups anymore—Gentiles and Jews. There's just one group. Everyone believes in Jesus, so everyone gets to benefit from God's promises. Back in the Hebrew Bible, God also gave his people all kinds of laws to follow. Now, God has tossed all those out so that everyone can come to him on the same footing. It's all because of Jesus. He died, and all the old feuds between Gentiles and Jews are over. Now there's just peace. It's a new humanity. Gentiles aren't on the outside looking in anymore. They're citizens of Heaven. They've got the keys to God's house. And this is the house that Jesus built…along with some help from the apostles and prophets. Sure, Jesus is the most important brick in the wall, but all believers—whether they're Gentiles or Jews—are there too.

Now Paul drops a little bombshell. He's in prison. He's been locked up because he's been spreading the good word about Jesus to all the Gentiles…and some folks are not happy about it. See, there's a mystery afoot. The world didn't know about God. Now Paul wants them to know. He now knows that God always intended to bring the Gentiles into the fold. How does Paul know this? God told him. Even though Paul was the lowliest of all the saints. God entrusted him with the special mission of bringing Jesus to the Gentiles. So, really, don't be too upset that Paul's in prison, he says. It's all worth it because he's doing it in service to God. On top of all this, Paul says a prayer for the Ephesians. He hopes that God will strengthen them and that Jesus will be in their hearts every day. Christians should be like plants with roots made of love. ( love is a pretty big thing for Paul.) That's because Jesus is so loving. In fact, he loves them so much there's no way to really measure it. His love is longer and higher and deeper than anyone can even imagine.

If Jesus loves his followers, that means they should love each other. Christians have a special bond with each other because of Jesus. That means they need to be humble, gentle, patient, loving, and peaceful with each other. They're all united in one body because of Jesus. The church isn't just a group of random individuals. There's one Holy Spirit, one God, one way of believing in him, and one baptism. Christians may be one body, but they all have different and individual gifts. Some folks are apostles or prophets. Some are evangelists, pastors, or teachers. It's a mixed bag. But in the end, all these jobs have the same purpose: making the church stronger. People can't really do anything on their own. But together, they're unstoppable. Basically, Christians shouldn't act like kids who change their minds about everything every day. Kids are also really gullible and will pretty much believe anything. Believers need to act like adults. Like the parts of the body they are. If they do the right thing, the body will. But if they decide to stop contributing one day, the whole body will collapse..

Followers of Jesus shouldn't live like non-believers. The Gentiles out there don't have a clue. They do what they want and they really love sinning. It's so delicious to them…but that's not what Jesus would do. A Christian doesn't live the same way everyone else does. If you believe in Jesus, you need to toss aside your old life and embrace your new one. The new life involves way less selfishness and way more holiness. That means you shouldn't lie. It's okay to be angry, but don't let it fester too long. Practice patience. Don't let the devil into your life. He's always looking for an opening. Don't steal. Instead, work hard so you have something to share with those who need it. Don't say mean and nasty things. Be kind. Christians have been marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. In short, just dump all the bitterness, wrath, anger, fighting, lies, and bad intentions and be excellent to each other.. Oh, and don't forget to forgive each other. After all, Paul says, God has forgiven you. Really, just be a good person. Sex outside of marriage? Bad. Gossip? Bad. Greed? Bad. Anyone who does this bad stuff is most definitely not going to be part of God's kingdom. Sorry, sinners. Christians shouldn't believe the lies people (who aren't Paul) will try to feed them, too. It wasn't so long ago that these Gentile-Christians were hanging around in darkness without a clue about God. Now Jesus has turned on the light and they need to act like it. They can see everything now—they know which things are good and true. And don't be stupid. Think before you do something God wouldn't like. Don't get drunk, either. Instead of chugging wine all day, try gulping down some Holy Spirit. It's so refreshing. And don't forget to sing! God's pretty into the whole praising-him-through-song thing.

Everyone should serve everyone else. That's the way that Jesus likes it. He's way in favor of helping others. Ladies, listen to your husbands. Obey them. Jesus is the head of the church and your husband is the head of your household. But husbands—you've also gotta love your wives. Equality… It totally makes sense because Jesus loves his church. He also died to save his church. Jesus was the one who made his church holy. Love your husbands with all you got. That's the same kind of love husbands have to show to their wives. A man should love his lady like he loves himself. He should care for her like he cares for his own body. That's why, Paul says, a man leaves his family and makes a life with his wife. Those two people become joined together as one person. And that is why men should love their wives and women should respect their man.

Kids should also listen to their parents. It's right there in the 10 Commandments. But on the other hand, dads shouldn't abuse their power or try to purposely tick off their kids. They should be loving and understanding and help teach their little boys and girls the proper way to behave. Same thing goes for slaves: obey your masters. Don't just follow orders when the master is watching, either. Do it all the time. Because God is always watching. It might help to think of yourself as a slave for Jesus. Don't just listen and obey because some human master wants you to. Do it because God and Jesus want you to. After all, God sees all the good things you're doing and he will reward you for not being rebellious and disobedient. Masters aren't totally off the hook either. Christian slave owners have an obligation to treat their human property decently. That means not threatening them and stuff. Masters need to remember that everyone on Earth is a slave to God. Even them. Everyone has God for a master. As far as the God is concerned, there's no difference between slaves and their owners. They're all equal. In Heaven, of course. On Earth, people should just stick to their assigned roles. …

In general, Christians should just be strong in their faith. They need to put on (spiritual) armor to protect themselves from this crazy world and the devil who's running loose. Christians don't have to worry so much about flesh and blood people messing with them. It's institutions—like rulers and authorities—who can move society in a bad direction. In an evil direction. They need to put on armor so they can withstand the blows that are coming. Fasten the belt of truth and sport a breastplate of righteous. Put on shoes of peace and take a shield of faith with you. Slap on a helmet of salvation and swing the sword of the Spirit, Word of God at the bad guys. One thing that will help, too, is prayer. Christians should pray for themselves and definitely pray for Paul. He needs those happy thoughts. He is in prison, after all. And since it's tough for Paul to visit, he's sending along his friend, Tychicus, to give the Ephesians the full scoop on what's going on. Finally, he's sending peace to all the faithful out there and wishing all good things for them. Great read here on how you are suppose to be in the eyes of God..Read it.. its all good.

This letter is a bit of a recap from what Paul wrote to the people in Ephesus. Paul wants the folks in Colossae to know that Jesus is it! He's been around since the beginning of time and his mere existence is the glue that holds all of Creation together. His death also saved the entire world. Paul might still be in prison, but he's still got some wisdom to share. The Colossians need to watch out for false teachers who are looking to lead them astray. They don't have to worry about all those Jewish laws from the first five books of the Bible. (There's 613 of them, so that's a load off.) And wives, kids, and slaves? Keep on obeying. Paul is nothing if not consistent.

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