Letters-07-Ephesians

LETTERS OF APOSTLES
to First-Century Churches

Lesson Seven: Ephesians
Theme: Eternal Plan
AD 62

Events Leading up to Paul's Arrest

�� From now on for the next three years, Paul's life was turned upside with the unintended and unexpected.� He had intended to leave Ephesus, but not in the way he did.� Late in his third year there, the shrine silversmiths of the goddess Diana were so upset by their loss of income that they started a riot.� His friends, Gaius and Aristarchus, were thrown into the ampitheatre (Acts 19:29), and there is some indication he had been in the past since in 1 Cor. 15:32 he says he "fought wild beasts in Ephesus."� But on this occasion, his friends urged him to escape, which he did perhaps the next day (Acts 19:30f, 20:1).

�� He now headed for Jerusalem but indirectly, traveling from Turkey up and over into Greece, then back down into Turkey, probably picking up the last of the donations for the poor Christians in Judea (Acts 20:1-6).� He was anxious to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost, the birthday of the church (Acts 20:16).� James, the brother of Jesus, was the only apostle left in Jerusalem (Acts 21:18).�

�� In the mean time the Jews from the area of Ephesus in Turkey (Acts 21:27) followed Paul and stirred up a riot against him in Jerusalem.� He was seized in the temple, dragged out to be beaten to death, then rescued by Roman soldiers who arrested and chained him (Acts 21:30-33).� Upon learning he was a Roman citizen, they allowed him to address the Jews which was really a sermon.� Instead, the Jews insisted on a formal trial the next day and plotted to kill Paul on his way between the jail and the Sanhedrin's court in the Temple (Acts 23:12-15).� Paul's nephew reported the plot to the Roman centurion.� So Paul was sneaked out of Jerusalem that night and transferred to Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast, the Roman headquarters of Judea, escorted by 270 guards (Acts 23:16-24).

�� Five days later, when the Jews figured out what had happened, and the high priest Ananias (the same high priest who had Jesus executed some 35 years earlier - old!) went to Caesarea and hired a lawyer to prosecute Paul (Acts 24:1).� Governor Felix held court and Paul said he'd just gone to Jerusalem to "bring my people gifts for the poor" (Acts 24:17).� No decision came from the trial because Felix was hoping for a bribe from Paul (Acts 24:26).� Frequently Felix and his Jewish wife, Drusilla, would send for him in private to hear more about what Paul had to say.� He was kept in a minimum-security prison where he could receive friends and anything they brought him (Acts 24:23).

�� Two years passed as Governor Felix waited in vain for his bribe.� Finally Felix was replaced by Festus as governor.� Three days after taking office, Festus went to Jerusalem where the Jews said they wanted Paul transferred back to Jerusalem for trial, though they actually planned to ambush and kill him along the way (Acts 25:1-5).� A week and a half later, Festus returned to Caesarea and held court the next day, with the Jews accusing him of blasphemy against their religion and treason against Caesar.� Festus told Paul basically that he must either go to Jerusalem or Rome, Paul chose Rome (Acts 25:9-12).

�� A few days later, King Agrippa and his wife (who was also his sister!), Bernice, arrived and wanted to hear what this Paul had to say.� Paul's defenses both before Governor Felix and King Agrippa are published in full in Acts 24 and 25.� At the end, Agrippa said, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."� But, Paul wanted to go to Rome, and this was how he was to go, for there he would be able to preach the gospel to Caesar Nero himself.�

�� The trip to Rome was nearly a disaster.� After sailing through storms, the ship wrecked and the passengers were rescued by people on the tiny island of Malta just south of Sicily, a large island off of Italy.� Six months or more after setting sail, Paul arrived in Rome.� There, he sent for the Jews in Rome to come see him at his place of arrest.� They hadn't even heard about his problems with the Jews elsewhere (Acts 28:21), but wanted to.� So a few days later, a large number of Jews went to Paul while he explained "from morning till evening" how Jesus had fulfilled the prophecies in the Old Testament.� "Some were convinced...but others would not believe."� As they left, Paul cried out after them, "God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!" (Acts 28:29).

Thereupon, Paul stayed for two years under house arrest in a house he himself chose and rented, and was allowed to receive any and all visitors, awaiting his hearing before Nero Caesar.� "Boldly and without hindrance he preached" (Acts 28:30-31).� Of course, his desire to meet the Christians in Rome was finally realized.� It was during this time that Paul wrote his "prison epistles" ~ Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (who lived in Colossae).� He wrote earlier letters to the Philippians which we do not have (Phil. 3:1), and he apparently wrote the church at Laodicea which we do not have (Col. 4:16).

Background of People He Wrote

�� The seaport, Ephesus, was the capitol of the province of Asia.� Its temple to Artemis/Diana eventually became one of the Seven Wonders of the World.� The temple was burned and rebuilt 7 times, each time larger than the last.� Whereas Solomon's temple was 30' X 90', the last temple to Artemis/Diana was 164' X 308'.� It had 120 columns set in two rows, each 6' across and 60' high.� However, the second temple is the one Paul saw, built during the reign of Alexander the Great.� Her temple was an empty building except for her statue at the far end.� There was also an ampitheatre built in her honor nearby.� Olympic-type games were play there.

�� Artemis/Diana supposedly fell from heaven into a forest near Ephesus (Acts 19:35).� Her crown looked like a city wall, her chest was full of breasts as the mother of all life, and her legs were wrapped together as a mummy and carved with animals and mystical incantations.� These incantations must have also been printed on scrolls for use in witchcraft.� As a result of Paul's teachings, such scrolls were burned publicly, valued at 50,000 pieces of silver.� (A piece of silver was a day's wages.)

�� Shrines of her temple ~ sacred dwelling places ~ were made and sold to tourists to take home with them, or travelers to pack for their trip so they would never be far from worshipping her ~ the life giver and protector.� These shrines were also placed in graves, possibly to provide a place of worship for the spirits of the departed.

�� Artemis/Diana was goddess of the forests and wild animals, and life in general, and therefore a general llife-giving force in nature.� She was especially dear to women giving birth.� Therefore, she was the goddess of fertility, although she was portrayed as a virgin.� Her priestesses were virgins.� Her high priest was a eunuch, and under him were priests who served for only one year to offer sacrifices ~ anything of value ~ in behalf of the city government (never blood sacrifices) ~ probably disguised taxes.� Her temple was used as the treasury building of the Ephesians and the province of Asia.

�� After three years in Ephesus (Acts 20:31), the old pagan ways could tolerate Paul no longer.� "A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines or Artemis/Diana, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.� He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said, 'Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.� And you see and hear how this fellow Paul was convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia.� He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. �There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis [Diana] will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.' '� As a result, a riot started and progressed top the ampitheatre where the crowd shouted for two hours "Great is Artemis [Diana] of the Ephesians!" (Acts 19:28-34).� Then ensued the riot and Paul's escape from the city.

An interesting and fairly reliable speculation is that Mary, Jesus' mother, was living here in Ephesus by now.� This comes from the Apostle John's ties with Ephesus over the years, and the fact that his final days were spent on the isle of Patmos (Revelation 1:9) off shore from Ephesus and Miletus in the Aegean Sea.� It was to John's care that Jesus had entrusted his mother (John 19:26-27).� Also interesting is the fact that never do any of the New Testament letters of the Apostles greet Mary or mention anything about her, even though their letters were sent to the entire civilized world at that time and she had to be somewhere among them.

�� Over the next 35 years, four letters were written to the church in Ephesus by apostles.� This letter of Paul's was the first.� A couple years later after being released from prison, Paul wrote two letters to Timothy who was in Ephesus (I Timothy 1:3).� And thirty years later, the Apostle John wrote a fourth letter to them as one of the "seven churches of Asia" in the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:4; 2:1).� By this time, the church at Ephesus had deteriorated (not in size or doctrine, but in love) as Paul had predicted would happen in Acts 20:28-30).

Verses Depicting Theme

1:3�� heavenly realms

1:4�� before the creation

1:9-11�� the mystery of his will... when the times will have reached their fulfillment... the purpose of his will

1:14,18�� our inheritance...his glorious inheritance

1:20�� heavenly realms...rule and authority, power and dominion

2:1�� kingdom of the air

2:6�� in the heavenly realms

3:2,4,6�� the mystery made known....the mystery of Christ?mystery through the gospel

3:9�� mystery which for ages past was kept hidden

3:10�� rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms

3:11�� his eternal purpose

3:15�� his whole family in heaven and on earth

4:10�� ascended higher than the heavens in order to fill the whole universe

6:11�� the devil's schemes

6:12�� Our struggle is...against the rulers...authorities...powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms

6:19�� the mystery of the gospel

1:3�� Jesus Christ "fell" to us from heaven, as did Artemis/Diana, but then he returned to bless us in the _______________________________________.

1:4-5�� A separate study of "chosen" reveals that being chosen relied on being qualified (Jesus did that for us if we believe he did), and begin the church.� "Church" literally in Greek is the "called out" or chosen ones.� This verse also strongly infers that the world was created for mankind.

1:9�� The mystery of God was purposed through __________________________.

1:10�� (Also repeated in 3:6)� Here is the theme of the letter:� God put into __________________ when the ________________________ reached their _____________________, bringing all things in __________________ and on earth under one head, Christ.� Who do you think is the other who is trying to be our head (hint: 6:5)? ____________________

1:13�� Some people say the seal mentioned in Revelation 7:2 is our government ID/social insurance/security number, etc.� What does this verse say the seal is?� ______________________________ (The Bible always interprets itself!)

1:20-21�� God raised Jesus back to life, then seated him in the _____________________ realms, far above all ___________________ and authority, _______________________ and dominion.

1:22�� God made Jesus head over everything for the _____________ which is his __________________.� In Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus also called his church the ___________________ of heaven.

2:2�� The ruler of the _____________________ of the air is the _________________ at work in the disobedient.� Ephesus 6:5 specifies who this is:� __________________________

2:6�� How did God raise us up with Christ (Romans 6:4)? ________________________� We Christians are right now seated with Christ in the ______________________________________.

2:10�� Although we cannot be saved by a certain number of works, we were ________________ to do good works which God ____________________ in advance for us to do.

2:14�� By Jesus' blood, he "our peace" made both Jews and Gentiles one and destroyed the ___________________________ dividing wall of ___________________________ by abolishing the Law of Moses.� (Remember, it was Jews from Ephesus and the rest of Asia who caused Paul's arrest in Jerusalem leading to his imprisonment in Romew (Acts 21:27).

2:19�� Christians of all nationalities are fellow __________________ with God's people and members of God's __________________.

2:20�� The foundation of this church is the ___________________ and ____________________.� What does Revelation 21:10 and 14 say the foundation of the New Jerusalem is?� ________________________________.� This would lead us to conclude that the church is the New Jerusalem.

2:21-22�� The grand temple to Artemis/Diana in Ephesus was nothing compared to the holy ______________ in the Lord.� We are being built together to become the dwelling, not where Artemis lives, but where ___________ lives by his Spirit.

3:1�� Because of all this, Paul was a voluntary ________________ of Christ, even though he was an involuntary prisoner of Rome.

3:9-11�� God created all things so that now, though the __________ his wisdom could be made known to __________________ and __________________ in heavenly realms according to his ____________________ purpose.

�� Why would God have to do all this to prove a point?� To find this out, we can trace all the times "mystery" is mentioned in the Bible:

�� Matthew 13:10f, 34f�� Romans 10:1; 11:11f,19,25,27,35

�� Romans 16:24-27�� I Corinthians 1:2,17; 1:7,9

�� I Corinthians 1:2; 3:19-4:1,5�� I Corinthians 15:50-57

�� Ephesians 1:1-4,9,10�� Ephesians 3:3,4,9

�� Ephesians 5:30,32�� Colossians 1:23, 26-28

�� Colossians 1:1; 2:2,3�� Colossians 3:24; 4:3-6

�� II Thessalonians 2:2-10�� I Timothy 3:15,16

�� Revelation 10:6,7�� Revelation 17:7-9,14,17

�� The result is that the "mystery" is forgiveness and salvation!� Satan is the accuser (Revelation 12:10).� Every time he influences us to sin and we give in to him, he says to God, "See, I told you they are bad."� But what we do, God can undo.� Satan and justice insisted on punishing us, so God sent his Son to take our punishment for us.� Satan is justice, but he is not mercy.� God is both.� So when the punishment was settled, he showed mercy to us and said, "Now I'll pretend you never did those things; I'll pretend you're perfect."� Satan, the accuser, God the merciful one.� Apparently none of the angels of God or Satan understand this.� So God is demonstrating it through us.� Perhaps, since God's angels will be casting Satan's angels into hell, they need to know and understand this.

�� The rest of the reasons we?re here, we?ll have to keep searching scriptures for.� Perhaps you've figured out another reason.� But isn't it wonderful that we have a God we cannot fully understand?� If we could completely understand God, he would not be God.

3:13�� Apparently the church at Ephesus was discouraged because of Paul's ______________________ and perhaps felt it was their fault since it was Ephesian-Asian Jews who got him in trouble in Jerusalem, leading ultimately to his imprisonment in Rome (Acts 21:27).

3:14�� God's kingdom-family is both in __________________ and on _______________.

3:18�� Christ dwells in us so we may grasp how ______________ and _______________ and __________________ and __________________________ his love is.

3:20�� God can do __________________________ more than all we ask for __________________.

4:1�� Again, Paul says he is a prisoner, but of whom?� ___________________________________

4:4-6�� List below the seven things there is only one of:

�� *

�� Check the ones that are part of what we call the "Trinity" ~ the three parts of God.

4:8�� When Jesus ascended to heaven, he led __________________ in his train.� Isaiah 6:1 says the train of God's robe filled the ________________________.� I Kings 8:10-11 says the cloud that filled the Temple was the ______________________ of the Lord.

�� Therefore, God's train is his glory.� What is God's glory?� Exodus 33:18-23 says Moses asked to see God's glory.� God replied, "When my glory passes by" you will see my back (train).� List below from Exodus 34:6-7a the traits that create God's glory/train:

�� *

�� Therefore, it is by these traits in Jesus' "train" that he led captives to freedom in heaven.� Remember, we were not entitled to heaven until Jesus overcame death.� Everyone had been held in paradise until his resurrection and ascension.

4:14�� Childish Christians are tossed _______________________ by the waves, blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the _______________ and _________________ of men in their ______________.

4:15�� Who is head of the church? _______________

4:17�� The Gentiles were ___________________ in understanding because of the _________________ in them due to the _____________________ of their hearts.

4:19�� The Jews were usually moral, but the result of the Gentiles hardening their hearts was the loss of all ________________, giving themselves over to ___________________ with a continual _________________ for more.

4:32�� But if one of our numbers does any of these sins listed in the previous verse, we must ___________________ because Christ forgave us.

5:3-5�� List still more sins, which he calls idolatry:

�� * O

�� * F

�� * C

�� * I

�� * G

5:18�� We can be filled with the Spirit instead of getting _______________.

5:19�� We need to speak to each other with __________________, _________________________ and ______________________________ making music by playing on the strings of our _______________.

5:21�� Men and women are to submit to who? _________________________

5:2�� Wives are to submit to who? _______________________

5:25�� Husbands are to submit to who? _____________________

5:32�� Wives are compared to what? ______________________

6:1�� Children are to submit to who? ______________________

6:4�� Fathers are not to _________________________ their children.

6:5�� Slaves are to submit to who? ______________________

6:9�� Masters are to remember they have a Master in ____________________.

6:11�� We are to put on the armour of God so we can take a strand against who and what? __________________________________________________________________________________________

6:12�� Though we seem to be struggling only with people and events on earth, actually we are struggling against rulers, authorities, and powers of this ________________________ and against the ________________ forces of evil in the _________________________.

6:14-16�� Our Christian armour is:

�� * Buckle of ____________________

�� * Breastplate of __________________

�� * Boots of _____________________ with the ___________________ of peace (not war)

�� * Shield of ______________________

�� * Helmet of _______________________

�� * Sword of the Spirit which is the __________________ of God.

6:20�� Paul was an ambassador for God in _____________________.

6:21�� Tychicus, who delivered Paul's prison letters to both Ephesus and Colossae (see Acts 20:4), was from the province of ______________________.

Events After Writing the Letter

AD 63�� Phil. 4:15-16�� WROTE PHILIPPIANS

�� THEME:� PERSISTENCE

�� Phil. 1:7,�� "...palace guard....I am in chains."

�� 12-14, 4:21

�� Phil. 1:24-25�� Hoped for release soon

�� 2:24

�� Phil. 2:25-30�� Delivered by Epaphroditus

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws