YouVersion Logo
Search Icon

Family Bible Study

Welcome to Ephesus, Part 5

Welcome to Ephesus, Part 5

Welcome to Ephesus is more than just a study about the book of the Bible we know as Ephesians. We will explore the city today and during the time of Paul. We will see how their culture existed including the worship of their gods, and how impactful this would have been to those who became Christ followers. We do this to better understand the message of the Bible and how we are to apply it today.

Locations & Times

Deatsville Baptist Church

184 Church St, Deatsville, AL 36022, USA

Monday 6:30 PM

Last week we learned:
- why Jesus came
- who he came for
- what he did by coming
- what we are to do now that He has come
This week we will learn:
- Why the church is here
- How we should be acting as the church


Ephesians 3
1 On account of this

What is "this"? That Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith and the reason for Gentiles coming to relationship with Yahweh.

I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles

Why is Paul considered a prisoner? Because he had a different life to live, but because of his choice to follow Jesus this became his destiny.

2 —if indeed you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace given to me for you. 3 According to revelation the mystery was made known to me, just as I wrote beforehand in brief, 4 so that you may be able when you read to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ 5 (which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit):

Who were these people that the mystery was not made known to? It was the OT Jews, who had not understood that Gentiles too could be brought into the family of God.

6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow sharers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 of which I became a servant, according to the gift of God’s grace given to me, according to the working of his power.

Although Paul was persecutors and zealot for the Jewish faith from a learning context, he became one of the primary mouthpieces of the faith spreading outside of the Jewish religion. Consider that for a moment, that Paul uniquely was positioned as a Pharisee and persecutor of the Way, was called to pursue the non-Jew to expose them to the gospel. Think about how contrary to his understanding that really was regarding the lineage of Judaism.

8 To me, the least of all the saints, was given this grace: to proclaim the good news of the fathomless riches of Christ to the Gentiles, 9 and to enlighten everyone as to what is the administration of the mystery hidden from the ages by God, who created all things,

Was this some kind of humbled attitude or perhaps a proclamation of the new position that Paul felt he had been relegated to from his position of previous religious piety.

10 in order that the many-sided wisdom of God might be made known now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places through the church, 11 according to the purpose of the ages which he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Did you just see who is the focus of the sentence? Notice who the wisdom of God is being shown too. Literally the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. God does that through us being the church. So in some cosmic sense in the spiritual realm, God is using what He has done through Jesus to provide a insight into his character to the elohim.
What does this imply about the spiritual world that we may not have considered before? Why did God want to show His wisdom, and why was it even required that He show that wisdom? Why did they not just understand who God is by being in His presence?

12 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through faith in him.

Not only through this spiritual display of His wisdom is he making known to others, but Jesus gives us access to the Father in a way that we can have confidence that such access is afforded to us.

13 Therefore I ask you* not to be discouraged at my afflictions on behalf of you, which are your glory.

Paul in some strange since understands that his afflictions are beneficial to the glorification of mankind and therefore to the eternal wisdom of God being displayed throughout the spiritual realm.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength
14 On account of this, I bend my knees before the Father,

Paul is yielding to the wheel of the king.

15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that he may grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,

Paul through his words and the working of the Spirit is encouraging these believers regarding who they are. Through the Spirit, Paul is wanting these people to feel the strength of this indominable God.

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (you having been firmly rooted and established in love), 18 in order that you may be strong enough to grasp together with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth,

This idea that Jesus's dwelling within the inner person is now brought forward for these new believers. The God they now worship, unlike the ones they had (ie Artemis), is not some external God that is untouchable, but rather exist within us. Not that we are God, but that God chooses to take up His dwelling among His people again just as in OT times.

19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Yes the cross the Jesus is what paid our fine, yet Paul here is wanting to encourage the ongoing daily life of the person by bringing forward in their minds the concept that God through Jesus intends us to be filled with God's presence now.

20 Now to the one who is able to do beyond all measure more than all that we ask or think, according to the power that is at work in us, 21 to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Keep in mind his glory in the church as we live our the love of Jesus is that God also is revealing to the spiritual realm what God intended for them to learn about His wisdom as well through God's creating and saving work of mankind.
4 Therefore

Since you are the manifest wisdom of God as the church on display to the heavenly.

I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to live in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called:

Get ready because Paul is about to lay out for us the understanding that is needed for us to live out this.

2 with all humility and gentleness,

Remember what it looked like to be a gentile in Ephesus? You were responsible for putting on display your greatness within society.

with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace;

This message still is true today. Practicing patience even in conversation with others is hard. Everyone has something to say, how hard it is to simply listen, even if you have something to say, and then just still withhold what you feel or think about something for the sake of others. Not that you withhold to endanger, but that you withhold sometimes out of a desire to keep the peace, knowing that only adding your opinion or fact might only insight more issues without any real purpose.

4 one body and one Spirit (just as also you were called with one hope of your calling), 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father

Notice the number 'one' here. Paul is specifically focusing us in on being not like a bunch of mindless clones, but rather a focused in on what keeps us together.

of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.

Notice the use of 'all'. Paul is again focusing us in on the fact that we are all together in this.

Gifted Leaders Bring the Church to Maturity
7 Now to each one of us was given this grace, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“Ascending on high he led captivity captive;
he gave gifts to men.”

Ps 68:18
18 You have ascended on high; you have led away captives.
You have received gifts from among humankind,
and even from the rebellious, so that Yah God may dwell there.

In context, the author of Psalms is talking about the eternal reign of God and the destruction of His enemies. This is then seen as the benefit to the follower of God under His protection. Who are the enemies of God though ultimately. Is it really just mankind? I think again we are seeing the beauty of how God is working in the heavenly as well. Paul appears to be pulling us into the conversation considering what Jesus did upon His death with the captives.

Back to Ephesians 4
9 Now “he ascended,” what is it, except that he also descended to the lower regions of the earth? 10 The one who descended himself is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order that he might fill all things.

So Jesus both ascending into heaven, and descending into the depths, has in totality gained control of all things.

11 And he himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers 12 for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to a measure of the maturity of the fullness of Christ,

Paul is revealing that people have different roles to play in the church, but ultimately that role is to be a mature man as we saw on display in Jesus. Wow! That Paul believes that we can strive for and even potentially through the indwelling of the Spirit be conformed so much to the likeness of Jesus.

14 so that we may no longer be infants, tossed about by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with reference to the scheming of deceit.

So this issue of false gospels coming in was real. Think about how hard it must have been for these new believers though to distinguish between what was false and what was real.

15 But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow into him with reference to all things, who is the head, Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined together and held together by every supporting ligament, according to the working by measure of each single part, the growth of the body makes for the building up of itself in love.

When we do speak with one another, we are to do so in love toward one another. Not doing so in anger or lacking in self control, but doing so in order to bring peace for the whole body. This is not to say that improper behavior is not brought out in the open to be dealt with so that it does not become contagious with the church. This is to bring the unity that God intended.

Appeal for New Behavior
17 This therefore I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles walk: in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart, 19 who, becoming callous, gave themselves over to licentiousness, for the pursuit of all uncleanness in greediness.

Man did Paul just really call out the unbelieving. The futility of the Gentile mind is one that unless we discover what life was like at the time of this writing, we cannot believe to have an accurate understanding of what that was like. Consider these topics in the context of Ephesus: slavery, food, social status, flaunting of money, and sexuality. When you consider how the hardness of someone's heart would restrict them God, that should be of particular concern to all of us.

20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard about him, and you were taught by him (just as truth is in Jesus), 22 that you take off, according to your former way of life, the old man, who is being destroyed according to deceitful desires,

Mental image here of removing a garment. You would want to remove that garment because it was destroying you as a person

23 be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man (in accordance with God), who is created in righteousness and holiness from the truth.

Being renewed to what you were created for. Put on the garment of the new man that has been created from the truth that has been revealed to you about God and your place in His kingdom.
Almost all Bible verses are taken from:
Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Eph 1:1–2). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.