Sermon Tone Analysis

The Book of Ephesians Overview and Chapter 1:1-23

Background: The Apostle Paul was in custody in Rome.

He was writing to encourage the Christian churches in the Mediterranean.

The epistle of Ephesians is thought to be a circular used to minister to not only the Christians at Ephesus but also to the surrounding Christian churches in the area.

Author and date: Paul is the author of the epistle and identifies himself as the author in and .

Paul describes himself as being in prison.

Luke points out and confirms this fact in .

This letter is similar in content to Colossians, suggesting that both were written during the same imprisonment in Rome about 62 AD.

Tychicus was responsible for delivering Paul’s epistle to the Ephesian church ().

Setting: Ephesus was the capital city of the Roman province in Asia (today part of Turkey).

Located at the intersection of several trade routes, Ephesus was a vital commercial center of the Roman Empire.

It was the site of a famous temple for the goddess Diana, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

This Diana was not the beautiful Diana of Greek mythology.

It was actually the ancient Anatolian (a Middle Eastern city and people) conception of the goddess of fertility.

It was not the goddess of the moon, but the goddess of fertility, a vulgar multiple breasted idol of wood.

All sorts of gross immorality took place in the shadow of this temple.

Paul used the city as a center for his missionary work.

Paul visited Ephesus briefly on his second missionary journey.

When he departed he left Priscilla and Aquila to continue the work of the ministry in that city ().

On Paul’s third missionary journey, he spent about two to three years in Ephesus teaching and preaching the gospel of Christ.

During his second missionary journey, Paul was rebuffed by the Jews in the Ephesian synagogue for his teachings.

So, when Paul returned on his third missionary visit he taught both Jews and Greeks in the school of Tyrannus.

Paul’s ministry at Ephesus was marked by several spirit-empowered miracles.

As a result, the city became a center for evangelistic outreach to the province of Asia ().

In fact, so many people in Ephesus turned to Christ and renounced their pagan ways that some craftsmen in the city started a riot because the gospel threatened their trade of making and selling idols.

Theme: It presents the church, which is Christ’s body.

The emphasis is on the body of Christ.

Central to the message of Ephesians is the re-creation of the human family according to God’s originally intended design for it.

As such, this new creation shatters the opinion long held by the Jewish community that God accepts the Jew and rejects the non-Jew.

The traditionally assumed criterion of distinction between the Jew and the non-Jew is obedience to the law, but this criterion, fostering pride and pharisaism, was abolished in Christ’s sacrificial death.

Consequently, there remains no more hindrance to reuniting all humanity as the people of God, with Christ as the head.

The fact that even within the church itself, let alone outside the church, this reunification does not seem to be fully in effect, is the result of the partial arrival of the new age of God’s rule.

During the interim between this new age’s first in breaking with the first coming of Christ and Pentecost, and its final consummation at the second coming of Christ, God has endowed his new family with the power of the Spirit to keep them and to enable them to live out their new life as it will be done in the future.

Thus, the emphasis of Ephesians is on the unity of the church in Christ through the power of the Spirit.[1]

Chapters 1-3, present doctrine (instruction).

· Chapter 1, “The Church is a body”

· Chapter 2, “The Church is a temple”

· Chapter 3, “The Church is a mystery”

Chapters 4-6, present the “How to's” (pragmatic or practical).

· Chapter 4, “The Church is a new man”

· Chapter 5, “The Church will be a bride”

· Chapter 6, “The Church is a soldier”

Chapter 1 - The Church is a body (the divine purpose of God for the Church).

Introduction – Greeting Vv.1-2 ()

1. Paul identifies who he is, an Apostle of Jesus Christ – the sent one (messenger) of Jesus Christ.

V.1

Letters customarily opened with the name of the sender, the sender’s titles (if any were necessary), the name of the addressees and a greeting.

For example: “Paul … to the church at … greetings.”

Persuasive letters and speeches often began by establishing the speaker’s credibility, what the Greeks called ethos.

This beginning did not prove the speaker’s point but disposed the audience to hear him respectfully.[2]

2. Paul identifies the seat of his authority.

His authority comes from God the Father.

V.1

3. Paul identifies his audience and acknowledges their spiritual condition.

V.1

a. Saints at Ephesus (set apart ones).

i. ἅγιος hágios; fem.

hagía, neut.

hágion (39), adj.

from hágos (n.f.), any matter of religious awe, expiation, sacrifice.

Holy, set apart, sanctified, consecrated, saint.

It has a common root, hág-, with hagnós (53), chaste, pure.

Its fundamental idea is separation, consecration, devotion to the service of Deity, sharing in God’s purity and abstaining from earth’s defilement[3]

ii.

(A) It particularly means perfect, without blemish ().

iii.

(B) Metaphorically it means morally pure, upright, blameless in heart and life, virtuous, holy.

(1) Generally (; ; ; ; ; ; Sept.: ).

(2) Spoken of those who are purified and sanctified by the influences of the Spirit.

This is assumed of all who profess the Christian name, hence hágios, saint, hágioi, saints, Christians (, , , ; ; ; ; ).

Spoken of those who are to be in any way included in the Christian community ().

[A]Holy kiss means the sacred Christian kiss, the pledge of Christian affection (; ; ).

iv. (II) Consecrated, devoted, sacred, holy, meaning set apart from a common to a sacred use; spoken of places, temples, cities, the priesthood, men (; ; ; ; ; ; , of firstfruit); of a male opening the womb (); of apostles (); of prophets (; ; ); of angels ().[4]

b.

The 4102 pístis (Faithful/Believer) “in” Christ Jesus.

There is no separation between the believer and Christ Jesus ().

i. 4102.

πίστις pístis; gen.

písteōs, fem.

noun from peíthō (3982), to win over, persuade.

Faith.

Subjectively meaning firm persuasion, conviction, belief in the truth, veracity, reality or faithfulness (though rare).

Objectively meaning that which is believed, doctrine, the received articles of faith.[5]

ii.

(IV) As a technical term indicative of the means of appropriating what God in Christ has for man, resulting in the transformation of man’s character and way of life.

Such can be termed gospel or Christian faith (.).

iii.

(A) Of God, indicated as faith in, on, toward God, with adjuncts: epí (1909), on, with the acc.

(); prós (4314), toward, with the acc.

preceded by the art.

(); eis (1519), in, with the acc.

(); with the gen.

Theoú (theós [2316], God), of God, meaning the faith emanating from God (; ).

Used in an absolute sense (; ; , [cf. ; ; , ]); with ek (1537), from, and the gen., ek písteōs (, in allusion to where the Sept. has “fidelity [rather, faith in Christ]”); en pístei (en [1722], in, and the dat.), in faith, meaning in filial confidence, nothing doubting (); hē euchḗ písteōs (hē, def.

art.; euchḗ [2171], vow), to wish, vow of faith, meaning expression of a wish but with trust in the Lord to accomplish His will ().

Spoken analogically of the faith of the patriarchs and pious men under the Jewish dispensation who looked forward in faith and hope to the blessings of the gospel (cf.

.; ); of Abraham (, , , , , ; ).

iv. (B) Of Christ, faith in Christ: (1) As able to work miracles, to heal the sick (; , , ; ; ; ; ; ; , ; ; ; ; ).

(2) Of faith in Christ’s death, as the ground of justification before God, saving faith, found only in Paul’s writings (, , , ; , ).

Generally (; , ; , ; , ; , ; , , , , , , , ; , ; ; ; .