Step 1
In the first century, the world was divided, just like today, but the basic distinction was between Jew and Gentile. For that reason, some Jewish Christians had trouble accepting Gentile converts—some even said they needed to become Jewish first. Paul shows the Ephesians how God answered the world’s plea for oneness—it was in Christ.
The paragraph before my section speaks of the former state of Gentiles and Jews. Jews hated those who were not of their race and called them Gentiles, but the Law affected their bodies and not their hearts; Gentiles were outsiders-excluded from God’s people. My section talks of the wall being broken down and the new structure. All people—Jew or Gentile—can come to God through Jesus. In His death He not only brought harmony between man and God, but also between man and his fellowman. The section after mine relates that they can trust Paul knowing God’s plan, and that he is the minister to the Gentiles, for he in fact was in prison on the charge of bringing a Gentile into the Temple.
What it meant to these people was that they were now included in God’s plan. For so long they were not even allowed to go to the Temple in Jerusalem, and now they are the Temple! It meant putting away centuries of negative feelings towards each other and uniting under Christ.
Step 2
I don’t think there is really that big of a gap here. Racial or cultural division between Jew and Gentile was a major issue in the Ephesian church, and we still live in a divided world today-probably not as expressed. The differences for us I guess would be that there were express laws forbidding such intermingling in worship, but there are many underlying prejudices in our world. We have a history of knowing unity in Christ, but this concept was new to them.
Step 3
All people come to God through Christ, whose death destroyed the old barrier of the Law and commandments by making peace for all humanity with God. All that counts is Christ, for in Him all humankind is united in “one new man.”
Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians was both his way of showing gratitude and to give further instruction to his early Christian followers on how to maintain their faith in Jesus Christ, they now all possessed. The Thessalonians had not always been followers of Christ they were previously Gentiles who then converted to Christianity. Paul gave thanks and further instruction to the Thessalonians so that they could stay prepared for the Advent. I believe that Paul was aware that the followers of Christ what be subjected to temptation and suffering for spreading the Gospel. The Gentiles and Satan could have a great influence on followers of Christ if they are not prepared. Paul knows the struggle of being converted and in result prepared the Thessalonians through ministry and prayer.
However, after many years the Jews were given permission by the Persians to return to Jerusalem where they proceeded to build the second temple. During the time when the Roman rule came, the Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah to arrive. There was an uprising of zealots that opposed the Roman militants. There was a destruction of the temple and the only remaining part of this temple is the Western Wall. Another interesting factor is that the status of being Jewish is not only religious, but also ethnic. That is to say, one can be ethnically Jewish despite not holding these religious beliefs.
"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him."
While many Jews continued to follow their original faith, there were several that converted to this new way of living. Origination of Christianity starts with a Jew names Jesus, here it is seen again where present times were very difficult and Jesus was able to provide salvation to the people of his community. In the Jewish scriptures a messiah was predicted to happen and Jesus was believed to be the Messiah. In contrast many people did not believe that he was the Messiah and Jesus eventually was crucified by Pagans. Despite the horrific event that took place, Jesus was resurrected and passed a long his messages from God. Jesus brought light into the lives of the poor and helped the ill, he wanted a change to happen as there were many wars and chaos present at the time. After Jesus’ death, Paul, one of his apostles, left to travel around the neighboring countries and spread the name of Jesus and his teachings. Paul was a very important individual and main contributor to the success of
“Paul wrote his letter to the church in Corinth during the winter A.D. 56-57” (“An Introduction To The Book Of Romans | Bible.org”) to the faithful Jews who had established this church. Paul wanted to meet them face-to-face and provided this letter as his introduction until he could travel there. Paul’s message begins by addressing human identity in which everyone is ungodly and unrighteous. He tells us that we all have sinned, rebelled and not followed God’s will. The sinful way of humanity keeps us a part for God, although He has clearly shown His marvelous wonder since creating the world and through his Son Jesus Christ.
Judaism and Christianity are two of the most commonly known religions in the world. The latter is practiced by more than 2.2 billion people—by far the largest practiced faith. The former is practiced by a far smaller population—about 14 million. Despite the significant difference in the amount of people belonging to either religion, they share a history, and compare in far more ways than people realize. However, Judaism and Christianity are also far more different than people realize, as well.
Judaism and the Greco-Roman world had significant influences in early Christian communities. Each notably impacted the ways these communities defined themselves and related to the greater Greco-Roman culture in the earliest era of Christianity. As many authors and audiences in the New Testament were Jewish and lived in the Greco-Roman world, the connections between these communities and the earliest stages of Christianity are diverse and sometimes conflicting. The earliest Christian communities defined their identities in relation to Judaism and the larger Greco-Roman context in many and conflicting models, some of which include the relationship between Hebrew scriptures and the community, the inclusion of Gentiles based on faith, and accommodation
Paul was a Jewish man that was born in Tarus but had dual citizenship as a Roman citizen possibly due to his father’s Roman citizenship (Longenecker & Still, 2014). He was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1) and a devoted Pharisee that had permission to persecute any Jesus followers he came in contact with. It wasn’t until Paul, also known as Saul, had an encounter with Christ that completely changed his perspective on Jesus followers. Although many call this change a conversion from Judaism to Christianity, Paul describes his encounter as a call (Longenecker & Still, 2014). He did not see himself turning away from his God of Israel but having a call to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles (Longenecker & Still, 2014 & Gal. 1:15). Until years after the resurrection Christianity did not exist, it was simply a branch of Judaism. Jesus was the founder or this sect of Judaism but Paul defines the identitly of Christianity (Dunn, 2011).
On the other hand, Christianity traces its origin from Jesus Christ from whom the disciples, at Antioch, were first called Christians due to their manner of living, which was like Jesus Christ’s. Both Christians and Jews believe in one God who is called Jehovah; however, the point of divergence is that while Christians believe in the trinity (that is, God is one substance but three persons in one namely the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the Jews believe in God being just one substance one
...e his circumcision and explains that the physical act of circumcision is not enough, that faith is more important. He places importance on the word being for the Jews first and the gentiles second; because of the Abrahamic covenant. In conclusion, it is apparent that Paul’s letters (that which were written so long ago) still hold meaning for us as Christians today. We should approach them with the back knowledge that the early Christian suffered greatly to get us where we are today, and we should thank God for these divine works that keep us going on the right path to righteousness.(Romans 1-8)
‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28),
In The Letter of Paul to the Galatians, Paul addresses the conflict of Gentile Christians’ unclear relationship towards Judaism by urging both Jewish and Gentile believers to reexamine the Mosaic Law. This letter by the apostle is a defense of his mission of converting the churches of Galatia towards Christianity. During the early Christian movement, there was controversy surrounding the degree to which Gentile Christians should adhere to Jewish law, with Paul moving them to disregard it and follow a different path towards Christianity. Paul describes in his gospel a way in which faith in Jesus Christ frees his followers from traditional laws, and urges the Galatians to heed him instead of his opposition among the Jewish church. Paul effectively persuades his audience to abandon unnecessary laws of Moses to achieve an understanding of the importance of faith in Christ through an appeal to ethos and logos, and through allegories that introduces a reinterpretation of scripture and a new interpretation of God’s role in Christianity.
One of the major differences between Christianity and Judaism is based on their belief of God. According to Judaism, there is only one supreme God who is the true creator and existed before the earth and will continue to exist. There is no one that ever existed before God. Christianity belief of God is different from that of Judaism in the fact that there is one God who works together with the son and the spirit. Although Jesus is the son of God, he is a God in his own right. The concept of Christianity of God is that he is all powerful but at the same time a merciful and forgiving God. Judaism does not believe in the holy trinity. In addition, the two religions have differences on their beliefs on salvation (Avery-Peck & Neusner 20...
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.
When studying the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, many scholars regard the book of Romans as the most important of the apostle Paul’s letters. (Knight & Ray, 2005) This is perhaps because it contains the most in-depth exploration of Christian theology, namely justification through faith in Jesus Christ. (Hinson & Towns, 2013)The letter, especially chapters one through eight, contains a summary of what embodies a Christian worldview. Since Paul wrote to both the Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome, he provided for them, as well as readers today, a biblical perspective that answers questions about the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and culture.