Ephesians Summary
Expositions and Manuscript Study at Urbana 06by By Lindsay Olesberg
Introduction
The book of Ephesians describes God’s cosmic purposes and the place of the church in his eternal plans. Written from prison to ordinary people who are a small religious minority in the midst of a colossal economic, military, and cultural empire, Paul masterfully addresses the tension between the victory of Jesus over all things in heaven and earth (which has been accomplished) and our lived experience of waiting for the consummation of his reign over all things. Christians must live worthy of this calling in the midst of a fallen and spiritually embattled world.
Ephesians 1:1-14 (Exposition, Dec. 27) Transcript - Audio/Video
Paul begins with a proclamation of praise for God which is as lavish and overflowing as the grace he describes. He depicts God as generous, rich, intentional, proactive, happy and purposeful. Through Jesus, God has fulfilled his plan to bring humans into a new relationship with him, one of belonging to his family. The images of Roman adoption and redemption (from slavery) highlight this transference of ownership. Paul repeats the phrase “in Christ” frequently to emphasize the centrality of Jesus in God’s plans as well as the union that is made possible through his blood. His generosity extends further in giving his own Spirit as a seal and deposit, ensuring our full redemption.
Ephesians 1:15-2:10 (Manuscript Study, Dec. 28) Questions for Small Groups
Since we don’t see reality clearly and we tend not to appropriate all we have in Christ, Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts will be enlightened in our knowledge of God. The very same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work within God’s people. God has won the cosmic victory over sin, death, and all the powers in the heavenly and earthly realms. Jesus sits in authority over every power imaginable and so, as his body, we have hope and confidence. Apart from the redemption of God through Jesus, all humans are “the living dead,” but by his grace, love, and mercy we are made alive with the resurrected Christ and are seated with Jesus in his victory, freed to walk in the good works he has planned for the church.
Ephesians 2:11-22 (Exposition, Dec. 28) Audio/Video
Paul reminds the Gentiles of what it was like to be without God and alienated from the people of Israel. Jesus’ blood didn’t just accomplish reconciliation with God; it also made reconciliation between hostile people groups possible. In fact, God makes a whole new humanity out of both Jews and Gentiles through his death on the cross. This new humanity (two becoming one is an image of marriage, i.e., creation of a new family) is the temple God chooses to dwell in by his Spirit. In the ancient world, the building of temples was the normal activity of conquerors to demonstrate their victory, power, and glory. The global, multi-ethnic church is the concrete sign of the triumph of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Ephesians 3:1-21 (Manuscript Study, Dec. 29) Questions for Small Groups
Paul understands that he has been caught up in the grand purposes of God through his calling to preach to the nations. The inclusion of the nations in Jesus’ body is a glorious mystery now revealed. This transnational, reconciling community is the center piece of God’s plan to demonstrate God’s wisdom and power to all the powers in heaven and earth. Paul sees reality clearly, even while chained in a Roman prison. His prayer for their strengthening and filling with the love of God overflows into a doxology of praise for God’s power that is at work in the church.
Ephesians 4:1-16 (Exposition, Dec. 29) Audio/Video
In light of this awesome truth about the role of the church in God’s cosmic plans, Paul commands Jesus’ people to line up their personal and communal lives with this already established spiritual reality and grand calling. We are to make every effort to preserve oneness in the church (i.e., stay in the “marriage”’). Christ has given leaders to the body as the fruit of his victory over his enemies. Using these leadership gifts rightly is key to the body growing into maturity and unity. Speaking the truth in love and every individual participating in the work are the means by which the church “grows up” into the full stature Christ intends.
Ephesians 4:17-5:16 (Manuscript Study, Dec. 30) Questions for Small Groups
Paul insists that believers must live out the new life in the new family they have been transferred into through Christ. Through a series of (often repeating) commands, he exhorts them to put off their “old self,” be renewed in their minds (ways of thinking), and put on the “new self.” Quality of relationships, purity, and truthfulness in speech are central, since those things build up or undermine Christian communities and their witness to the watching world. We have been brought into a family which is characterized by light, thus we must let light permeate and transform every area of darkness in our lives together.
Ephesians 5:17-6:9 (Manuscript Study, Dec. 31) Questions for Small Groups
God’s will is that God’s people be filled with his Spirit. In this living, breathing temple there is to be singing, music, thanksgiving, and mutual submission. Paul particularly addresses relationships in the extended household (which is at the core of the new community): wives/husbands, children/parents, and slaves/masters. These relationships are characterized by an imbalance of power in most cultures most of the time. Paul’s commands to mutual submission and right use of power are a striking application of his call to unity as a new spiritual humanity in Christ and his teaching about putting on the “new self.” Being part of a new household, with Christ himself as the head, requires that those with power use their power to love and serve as Jesus does, and that all honor and submit to other members of their household.
Ephesians 6:10-24 (Exposition, Dec. 31) Audio/Video
Paul closes the letter by turning the readers’ attention back to the cosmic realities. The spiritual forces of evil over whom Jesus has triumphed seek to chip away at what he has accomplished for the church. We are exhorted to remember who our real enemies are and stand our ground. Using the image of a Roman soldier, Paul reminds the audience of central elements of the “new self” and of walking in the light. As the Roman armor was designed to work corporately, and would not be as effective for individual use, this imagery continues Paul’s emphasis on community. The community of faith participates in spiritual warfare through resisting the temptations of disunity and through prayer. Throughout the letter he has prayed for them, and now he invites them into active prayer as well. In prayer true spiritual reality becomes clear again and we find power to live out and proclaim the gospel.
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