Chapter 1
- Letter to the church of Ephesus
- Now modern city in Turkey
- Known to have ancient wonder, temple for Greek
- Lord who has blessed us in every way to Christ
- We are known before the world was created, we are predestined
- Salvation depends on God
- Bring Glory to God
- We have redemption through his blood
- God will eventually reveal the mysterious plan to the world when the time has reached fulfillment even when Christ returns
- We were chosen according to the plan
- We are God’s possession to praise his glory
- Emphasis on thanks to others (verse 16-17) and praise
- Asking the Father for spirit of wisdom and revelation
- Our eyes of our heart is to openly see the truth and know the hope of his calling, rules of his glory and his surpassing greatness
- Enlightened in reverence of God’s gloy, power, and strength above all authority, title, and time
- church is Body, God is the head
- Fullness of Christ filling the church in everything in every way
Chapter 2
- Ruler of the Kingdom of the air is the devil, in the minds of the disobedient
- We were dead and deprived due to our sins, but now alive because of Christ
- Without Christ, we are lost and our sinful nature takes over
- By Grace we are saved
- We will receive the inheritance
- Faith not from ourselves but from God
- Not by works, no one can boast
- We used to be gentiles
- All unclean in the presence of the Lord, circumcised or not
- We have been brought to Christ through his blood
- Spiritual pride blinds us, humbly thank God for salvation
- Christ brought down the barrier between people, and now real unity, the temple wall
- Physical illustration to represent symbolic wall
- to be a newborn person, remove the old laws, and merge with the new Testament, by Christ’s death
- Reconcile gentiles and Jews to God through the cross and the Holy Spirit
- No longer strangers to God, but citizens of God’s household
- Church foundation built by Apostles, prophets, and Christ Jesus
Chapter 3
- Mystery of gentiles and Israelites of one body
- Question of whether people are called to ministry, God chose them
- Paul given Grace to teach and give light to the people about the ministry
- Wisdom of God made known to all authorities, including the heavenly realms
- the plan carried out according to the purpose of the ages (eternal), all nations blessed through Christ
- Suffer may be necessary to spread the gospel and glory for God
- The whole family in heaven and Earth derives its name of the Father, we are all children
- 3:16, Holy Spirit dwells in our inner being and heart of faith
- Rooted and established in love, unbounded and everywhere, surpassing knowledge
- Ephesians 3:20, similar to benediction and doxology
chapter 4
- We are all unified in one body
- Keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace
- Concluding the doctrine teaching and applying it to life
- verses 2-4, how to live the calling
- Most likely conflict with those who are not unified in the Spirit
- All are under one head, thus one body
- Each of us has been given gift of Grace
- Christ descended to ascend higher to fill the whole universe
- God gave the masses apostles, prophets, and evangelists to teach the population and build up the Body of Christ
- We are mature and not to be tossed or deceived by scheming men
- Reference to 1 Peter 4:10-11, how to use your gift
- People today rely on intellectual pride rather than embrace the gospel
- We are taught in him and hear him
- Put off your old self, which was corrupted by deceitful desires
- verse 23 similar to Romans 12:2
- Put off falsehood ans speak truthfully
- 4:26, do not be angry all day
- Do not talk down but build others up
- Holy Spirit is guarantee that we belong to God
- Remove all bad emotion
- Forgive others just as God forgave you
Chapter 5
- Imitate God and Christ
- Live a life of love
- No hint of immorality, impurity, or greed
- Christ gave himself as a fragrant offering
- verse 3, be beyond reproach, proper of holy people
- No bad person has inheritance in the Kingdom of God
- Bad conversation does not reflect God’s grace
- verses 5-7 similar to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
- Beware those who speak empty words
- verses 8-10 similar to 1 John
- Be wise and make the most of your time
- Understand the Lord’s will and be filled with the Spirit
- Do not be drunk!
- verse 20, similar to verse 4
- Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ
- verses 22-33 for Husbands and Wives
- Everyone is one body
Chapter 6
- No strife in family when children honour parents and parents love them
- verses 1-4 must be read together for proper context or people will misinterpret the message
- Two way relationship in family
- too many folks do verses 1-3, but forget verse 4
- Group verse 5-6 together
- Slaves obey masters same as obeying Christ with will of God
- Don’t just work hard the boss sees you but all the time
- Obey in action and in the heart
- God does not show favouritism
- Be strong in God, for God is the ultimate strength and makes us strong
- The armor stands against the devil’s schemes
- the world is a battle, we must always keep on the armor of God
- Defend against threats from flesh, authorities, and spiritual forces of heavenly realms everyday
- Be firm in what we know is true, belt keeps our clothes firm in battle
- verse 16 reference to Hebrews 11:1
- Without faith, everything falls apart
- Salvation in the mind
- Truth of God’s word dispels the hypocrisy
- Reference to Hebrews 4:12 for sword
- verses 18-20, always pray, never underestimate prayer, never a bad prayer, all kinds of prayers, and for everyone
- Be alert in praying
- No useless pagan prayers
- Mystery of the gospel in Ephesians 3:6 is solved
- Paul cares about others before himself and sends Tychicus to help the Ephesus church
