1,000,000 Chapters – Part 3 Sample

Ephesians is one of what are typically called as the “prison epistles.” These were letters written from jail by Paul the Apostle, who was in prison for preaching about Jesus. It is interesting to read this letter knowing that the person writing it was sitting in a jail – which in those days were more like the wet, smelly dungeons you might see in Game of Thrones than they were like modern jail cells. To think about the encouragement and hope given in the letter despite the author’s situation is truly amazing. 

The church in Ephesus faced an interesting challenge: the city of Ephesus was home to a giant temple to a goddess named Artemis. Artemis was believed to be the goddess of the hunt and was also known as Diana in Greek mythology. The temple in Ephesus was where much of the worship of Artemis took place, with an all-female priesthood and worship that included prostitution and sexual acts on a regular basis. 

The letter to the Ephesians falls into two neat sections – section one (Chapters 1-3) talks about how God has brought people who once lived in darkness out into the light, and that it is not by anything a person has done that they are living in the light but because of the grace of God. Section two (Chapters 4-6) are the “So what?” chapters that talk about what the first section means when you put it into practice in real life. 

The section that often gets the most attention is Ephesians 5:22-32, which deals with marriage. Paul teaches that wives should “submit” to their husbands, which can be used to oppress and make wives into second class citizens. However, reading 5:21 first will help us understand that people who follow Jesus are meant to submit to each other – regardless of gender or relationship. It is an attitude of humility and service that Paul is shooting for in this section, and the specifics about marriage are targeted to the Ephesian church and their specific situation. 

The second half of the letter has some powerful, practical teaching but we encourage you to read the entire thing so that you get a sense of the big picture that Paul is painting. When we know we’ve been given a great gift of God’s grace, it’s easier to jump in and begin living out the instructions that Paul gives in the second half.