Identify what chapter in this epistle you will focus on. Chapter ___6___What happens in the previous chapter(s) prior to this chapter and how does it connect and flow with the next chapter and/or epistle? If chapter four and five of Ephesians were to be summarized, they would be summed up as, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling.” Paul encourages the believer to walk in faith, all while reminding them that as believers they have an obligation to live as servants of Jesus Christ. In Ephesians chapter five, verse one; Paul emphasizes the amount of hard work it takes to live in unity with each other, and states that they should be imitators of God. He concludes chapter five with truths and advice for solid families, which included husbands …show more content…
(Write and elaborate on at least 3-5 themes from the epistle). Compared with Paul’s other letters, Ephesians is harder than most to pin point the central themes. The most dominant theme present is God’s plan to reconcile Jews and gentiles; therefore, unity, the mystery of the gospel, and the holy call of God’s people will all tie into God’s plan to reconcile Jews and Gentiles. God’s plan to reconcile Jews and Gentiles for some is seen as the only theme of Ephesians. Paul believes the reconciliation was consummated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The fall brought separation, man’s separation from God and man’s division among mankind. The first chapters clearly depict this and the rest of bible and history proves it. Paul being a professed Christian Jew, had to have a heart for all people. This theme shows that the gospel restores communion between God and man as well as reconciles man with man. It is here we see the true power of the Gospel. The second theme is connected to the first theme, and it is unity. Although Ephesians doesn 't outline the definition of what unity is, it gives a description of primary features of unity. Paul is an advocate for unity because of all the bickering that was taking place in Ephesus. People were divided on scriptural doctrine. Paul wanted to remind them that God creates one body to serve Him. He calls all sorts of people from various backgrounds, and these groups of people comprise His church. …show more content…
Ephesians 1:7 reads, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” The word “riches” is used 5 times in this letter; while “grace” is used 12 times, as Paul writes of the riches of God’s grace. Here the word “redemption” means rendered. In this passage redemption implies that deliverance from sin and from the evil consequences of sin, has been purchased by the atonement os sin made by Jesus Christ through grace. Meaning that it is not by anything that we have done by our own deeds, but despite what we deserved God has glorified his grace by giving us redemption through the blood of his Son, which was the redemption price paid for our salvation. In Ephesians 3:5 it reads, “which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.” What this means is Paul wants the believers of Jesus Christ to know that we are all equal before the Lord as His children and as citizens of His eternal kingdom. This is a truth that had not been uncovered in the old Testament, this was a New Testament revelation. Because of what Jesus did on the cross we are all joint heirs in the Kingdom. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and
...gainst the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (New International Version, Ephesians 6.12). Each person must choose whether to allow God’s illuminating love to expose his sin and take it away in order to enter into His salvation.
Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the “Spirit”; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
Paul’s response was concerning ecclesiastical and doctrinal controversies. These Jewish-Christians were teaching false doctrine to the Gentile members. They taught that to be saved one must be circumcised and observe the ritual requirements of the law. Paul believed a Gentile did not need to go through the ritual requirements of the law, Gentiles were welcomed into the church through baptism professing faith in Jesus the Christ. In Acts 15:24-29 the Apostles and elders of the church did call the Gentiles to live within the moral teachings of the law, most specifically to avoid idolatry and sexual sin and counseled them on kosher restrictions when eating with others who were Jewish so as not to offend and complicate ministry amongst the Jewish communities. The account in Acts actually attest to the controversies of Gentile reception in the church and what their obligation to the law would be. This is the problem Paul is trying to rectify in
Chapter six talks about Christian Marriage. First off talking about how it is not and should not be like the last chapter. This marriage in not only a promise between husband and wife but also with God. He is just as much in the relationship as the wife and groom. Also the marriage shouldn’t be all about sexual attraction be should have to act of love activity in it. Christian Marriages are different because two people have agreed to let God make the marriage work if that s his will for them.
Throughout many of Paul’s letters there are many debates pertaining to the authorship, destination, date, and the purpose. In the book of Ephesians many scholars debate on the authorship and if Paul actually wrote the letter, or if it was a scribe. Although there are some debates on whether Paul actually wrote it or not, he does refer to himself twice in the letter. In 1:1 and in 3:1 Paul states himself, 1:3 states, “For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (NIV) In verse 1:3 Paul states that he is a prisoner, therefore it is debated that he did not specifically write this because he was imprisoned in Rome at this time. According to Wallace “This, of course, is not to say that the letter must be by Paul, but it is to argue that without such internal testimony, no such claim could be made” (Wallace). Many scholars also debate on the vocabulary usage and the structure of the letter. Some believe that the structure is similar, but the vocabulary seems to be different than his New Testament epistles. Hoehner claims that,” Though the book has a close affinity with Colossians, critics claim that Ephesians is uncharacteristic of Paul” (Hoehner 613). The destination of Ephesians is somewhat debated, but many do believe that the letter was sent to the church of Ephesus. “Some to claim that Ephesus is a better starting point, others suggest Caesarea.” (Wallace) Although this is an argument that has many valid points, it is obvious that Paul was imprisoned in Rome while he wrote Ephesians. It is said by Hoehner that “Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21-22), who also took Paul’s letter to Colossians (Col. 4:7-9)” (Hoehner 613). As for the date goes m...
In my passage Ephesian 1:15-23, this is Pauls prayer to Jesus of giving thanks, God has given us so much, and when God gives us a lot our perception can be changed based on how much we get from God, but we are blind because we can never be satisfied so we ask for more. We can build a wall of ungratefulness and never see the “light of God”.
True repentence is having genuine faith, giving one's sins to God, and asking that His forgiveness would be bestowed upon them. In return for one's faithful devotion to Him, His grace allows for unconditional love and forgiveness, making a person righteous in Him once again. It is through faith, by grace that forgiveness is attained Justification & Faith By Grace: Titus 3:16 states "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine..." yet on the surface of the writings of the authors James and Paul there lays an obviously seeming contradiction between the two authors writings.
The church of Ephesus was a very spiritual church and was certainly a church that was very active in the work of God. They endured for the Lord and suffered from persecution. But they were guilty of a sin that is sometimes hard to detect. But the Lord, who knows our hearts as well as our...
Redemption as a theme in the bible is one that seems to go through a transitional phase. The idea in this case is a representation of freedom, setting free from bondage or exchange of something that one has in their possession for another that is in another person’s possession. The concept in this case can best be defined as a sort of ransoming or trade off. Both the writers in the Old Testament as well as those in the New Testament differently interpret and expound on this theme. The concepts adopted by both sides remain the same to date; however, the events that surround the interpretation from both sides bring out two very different interpretations of the same concept.
Many scholars believe the address to the Ephesians was not included in the original writing. Since the city was in such a key area with a lot of important surrounding places the letter was not addressed for one place. It is believed the letter was not addressed to just one church because it traveled to all the people in the Asia region. The letter was written generally just to the “saints.” Since the letter was for all of the saints, chances are it was eventually addressed to the Ephesians because the location was central. Since the letter is for many different people and Paul was stuck in prison it reflected in his letter a non-real acquaintanceship with the recipients. A great example of this is in Ephesians 1:15 it says, “he heard”. The word heard shows that he has not seen it for himself. There are many elements to keep in mind while trying to interpretive scripture in the letter of Ephesians. The author and their situation, the recipients and the environment they live in, and ways the letter was written can have a huge influence on the meaning of the
The books of I and II Thessalonians, which are in the New Testament, are both letters to a church that Paul the apostle helped establish in the city of Thessalonica. First Thessalonians is agreed by biblical scholars to be written by Paul. The author of II Thessalonians, however, is still being debated about.
Jesus and Paul are two crucial characters in the New Testament. They both depict the Gospel on which Christianity is based upon, but there is debate about rather these two versions of the Gospel are complementary. Scholars like George Shaw claim that Paul is “anti-Christian,” and he “produced a fantastic theology” (Shaw 415-416). On the other hand, I believe that even though Jesus and Paul may present the Gospel different at times, they are still advocating the same religion. Through the understanding of the Gospels and Paul’s letters it is clear that Jesus and Paul have the same underlining goals and values.
Paul summarizes all this preaching in seventeen stanzas by referring to the "Spirit" and the "Flesh." We are first introduced by Paul of these topics/words in his letter to the Galatians. Paul contrasts the two ways of living in a community in chapter five of Galatians. "Spirit" is the caring of others and builds interpersonal relationships within a community. The "Flesh" is a self centeredness and a natural way to live of only caring for oneself. The "works of the flesh" will break apart a community.
Analysis of biblical writings has helped us to better understand the challenges and mysteries of scripture. In studying Ephesians 1: 15-23, research will help us draw out the bigger picture of what the writer intends to convey in his message. This passage is a prayer of thanksgiving and intercession in which Paul expresses gratitude to God upon hearing of the Ephesians “faith in the Lord Jesus and love toward all the saints” (1: 15 NRSV). This leads Paul to pray intensively that the Ephesians will gain an expanded awareness of the extraordinary and unsurpassed power of God manifested on their behalf. Paul writes this as encouragement and support to the readers.
Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away: see, everything has become new!” The use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation enables Gods people to return to him. Jesus came to forgive our sins and to save the world, he took all our sins so we wouldn’t have to be separated from God forever. God’s love is so incredible that he doesn’t give up on us and Jesus paid the price for our sins that we can be healed, not because we deserve it but because God’s forgiveness is totally free. Jesus breathed the holy spirit over the apostles and said “Peace be with you as the father as set me, so I send you” and “received the holy spirit, whose sins you forgive and forgiven them and whose sins you retain are retained” John