COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS – AN INTRODUCTION

by Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© GOD’S BREATH PUBLICATIONS

 

Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul about 61A.D. while he was in prison at Rome. Paul had visited Ephesus on his second missionary journey and on his third missionary journey he actually decided to live there for three years.

 

Ephesus was the second most important city in the Roman Empire at this time in history. It was an important trade center and was the location of the 7^th wonder of the world, the Temple of Artemis which had taken 220 years to construct. It had an amphitheater that could hold 50,000 people and a stadium where fights were held between men and beasts.

 

People of Ephesus were proud of their custodianship of the goddess of Jupiter. Bigotry, fanaticism and sensuality ran high. The making of idols was a very large industry due to the influence of the goddess of Jupiter and other false gods the people of Ephesus worshipped.

 

Needless to say, followers of Christ living in Ephesus faced an onslaught of persecution and temptation. When Paul wrote his letter (Ephesians) to the Christians in Ephesus he wished to communicate important spiritual truths that would help Christians understand not only their inheritance as sons and daughters of God, but also their responsibility to live holy in a corrupt and cruel society. I’m sure you can see that Ephesus is a very appropriate book of the Bible for us today.

 

INTRODUCTION – The Book of EPHESIANS

 

Followers of Christ living in Ephesus faced an onslaught of persecution and temptation. When Paul wrote his letter (Ephesians) to the Christians in Ephesus he wished to communicate important spiritual truths that would help Christians understand not only their inheritance as sons and daughters of God, but also their responsibility to live holy in a corrupt and cruel society.

 

Chapters one through three speak about the Christian’s position and identity in Christ, the doctrine of Christian belief and the riches and spiritual wealth we have in Jesus Christ. This is our inheritance as God’s children.

 

Chapters four through six speak of how Christians are to live because of their position and identity in Christ and that it is our duty and responsibility to walk like Christ in our daily life and to keep in step with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. This is how we demonstrate obedience to God’s instruction in His Word and guidance of the Holy Spirit as well as our love for Jesus Christ,

 

The portion of scripture in Ephesians 4:1-6 is a transition from doctrine to duty, creed to conduct, from belief to life, from the Christian’s wealth to the Christians walk, positional truth to practical truth, from truth to testimony, from principle to practice, from knowledge to application. It is critical we have a balance of each of these areas of the Christian faith active and growing in our life so we can have spiritual balance in our lives. It is also true that such balance will enable us to survive spiritual battles that we face in this world.

 

There are many scripture passages that instruct us how to live as Disciples of Christ and in a sense demonstrate our role as spiritual soldiers in the daily battles we face. Following are only a few examples of such scripture passages.

 

Ephesians 4:21-24, “… if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

 

Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

 

Philippians 1:27-30 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents — which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”

 

2 Peter 1:2-4, “…His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

 

As we follow world events regarding wars, conflicts, rebellions and persecution of people we need to understand these activities are simply a reflection or symptom of what is going on in the spiritual realm as Satan and his demons exert their evil influence upon the nations of mankind.

 

Abraham Kuyper, Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian once described this battle that rages between God’s Kingdom and satanic forces by saying:

 

 “If once the curtain were pulled back, and the spiritual world behind it came to view, it would expose to our spiritual vision a struggle so intense, so convulsive, sweeping everything within its range, that the fiercest battle fought on earth would seem, by comparison, a mere game. Not here, but up there–that is where the real conflict is engaged. Our earthly struggle drones in its backlash.”

 

I must say before I go further that if you are not a Disciple of Christ; someone who has repented of your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, there are some very important points I must make.

 

First, you are missing out on a most precious and glorious personal relationship with our Creator. To have your sins forgiven and to have the gift of the Holy Spirit in your life and to have resources at your disposal so you can live and love to the fullest is beyond description.

 

Secondly, if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you have no protection against the satanic and demonic attacks that will be thrown against you in this life. You are defenseless against such attacks because you are not a child of God who can call God your spiritual Father. You have no forgiveness of your sins. You have not received the Holy Spirit to indwell you for the power to live like Christ. You have no spiritual armor with which you can withstand the schemes and devious attacks of Satan. It is also true you are under the condemnation of God for your sins.

 

I strongly advise and encourage you to consider the truth of the Gospel of Christ, His saving work on the cross and the love God offers you through His Son. You simply have to recognize your sinfulness, repent of this and ask God to forgive you of your sins through acceptance of Christ’s death on the cross. This decision will lead you to commit yourself to serving God through holy living and walking like Jesus Christ. If you make this decision, you will be forgiven of all your sins, past, present and future. You will be given the Holy Spirit to live within you, to help you live godly and pure. You will receive and have access to spiritual armor in order to defend yourself against evil. You will enter into a spiritual family called God’s universal church where you will find support, encouragement and help to grow in your new life. Please consider praying to God and accepting His Son as your Lord and Savior. Speak to a Disciple of Christ who can help you make this commitment.

 

Ephesians was basically written to weak sheep that needed to know that that their Heavenly Father, their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have granted them armor and weapons to survive the spiritual battles of life and deal with the mental, physical, emotional and psychological attacks of the world, the flesh and the devil.

 

Charles Swindoll describes the warfare that Disciples of Christ face the moment they become a child of God as follows;

 

“When we began the Christian life, we didn’t stroll onto a happy playground…we stepped onto a harsh battleground. Though we don’t hear bombs bursting in the distance or bullets whizzing past our ears, we live every day of our lives on a spiritual battlefield. And make no mistake: Satan’s snipers have us in their crosshairs. They know us intimately. Having studied us for years, they are familiar with our strengths and fully aware of our weaknesses. They’re masters of psychology and experts on human nature. They know their prey far better than we know our devilish predators. Whether you’re a young believer or an old saint, spiritually strong or weak, well trained or just a novice, Satan and his emissaries have one goal for you: destruction. Their one great hope is not simply to cripple you but to decimate you. Though their own ultimate doom is certain, they intend to bring down as many with them as they can.”