Ephesians Roadmap

Ephesians  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  33:54
0 ratings
· 35 views
Files
Notes
Transcript
We are about to begin our epic journey though Ephesians. Before you begin any journey, it’s always good to have an idea of where you’re going. So this morning's message is kind of an overview or a roadmap of where we're heading. I want you to know where we're going. There's a reason why we’re going through Ephesians - we’ll get there in a moment.
Last week when talking about the NT, I said these are real letters, inspired by a real God, written by real people, to real people, who were in real life situations. Are you real? Your neighbors? Anybody in a real-life situation? Now, if God is real, and people are real, and life is real - shouldn’t church be real?
First challenge of the Journey: Reject passivity.
Sunday morning service is a time and place for the Church to participate in worship, prayer, and fellowship (not passively listen). The Church is to be active being the Church Monday - Saturday. First question -
Ephesians: Now this letter was written by the Apostle Paul and we'll talk about him next week. Most of Paul's letters follow a common format or progression. Paul often began his letters with theological statements and spiritual truths and then moved into life application. Ephesians follows that format nicely. It’s divided into 6 chapters - chapters 1-3 are theological / spiritual truths, and chapters 4-6 are application - how do we live as followers of Christ in this world because of these spiritual truths.
Who was Paul writing to?
Ephesians 1:1–2 ESV
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who are the recipients? It says to the saints in Ephesus, but that may or may not be the intended audience. Among scholars, this is an issue that’s split down the middle, and ultimately doesn’t matter a whole lot - but good to know. Some say this is written to the church in Ephesus - others say it’s not. I'm in the camp that this was a circular letter, and not written specifically to believers in Ephesus - there’s support for both sides. One example of why I think it’s a circular letter is that it’s missing personal references. Paul usually wrote, “Say hello to Betty and Morse.” None of that in Ephesians.
Another reason is the earliest manuscripts that we have do not contain the words “in Ephesus.” The earliest manuscripts read,
“To the Saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus.”
This was probably a letter that was intended to be circulated among Christians and churches in a geographical area.
So how do we get, “Ephesus?”
The scribes who copied Paul’s letter possibly said, “Ok this copy goes to Tualatin.” So they would write, “To the saints in Tualatin. And “This copy goes to Milwaukie. Wait - no saints live in Milwaukie (Darlene) … so … to the saints in Happy Valley.” And so on.
So that is how I approach this letter - that this is a general letter written to all followers of Christ.
Why might this be important for us to know?
This is one of the reasons I chose Ephesians - the whole letter is applicable to every believer in Christ - and it’s especially applicable to us in our time. Ephesians, possibly more than any other letter transcends culture, time, location. As our culture changes from day to day - I think this letter is going to help us in ways we can’t even imagine yet. In Ephesians, there’s no saying, “This issue only applied to them.” Can’t say this doesn’t apply to me.
As we go through this letter, we will be confronted with several issues or themes. We need to be aware of these issues. This morning, we’re going to look at the roadmap and start with a little evaluation of how ourselves and Sunnyside (reject passivity). When we finish Ephesians, we’ll revisit this evaluation and see what progress we’ve made (Email).
As we go through this letter …
1. We will be confronted with the Mission of Christ.
What’s His mission? We’ll discover that Christ’s mission is to unite all things in heaven and on earth, to unite Jew and Gentile, unite sinners with Christ - and more than that. Ephesians will challenge us to be engaged with Christ’s mission - to become participants and not spectators.
Where is Sunnyside specifically engaged in the Mission of Christ?
Where am I specifically engaged in the Mission of Christ?
2. We will be confronted with our Identity in Christ.
I’m convinced that this is a serious issue in our world and within the Body of Christ. How many people are struggling with identity? Just think about the sexual issues surrounding identity. Am I gay? Am I straight? Am I trans? Am I BI? Am I a pronoun? Am I a boy? Am I girl? Am I …?
People are constantly looking for identity in a world that is constantly shifting. They’ll never find it - apart from Christ. And if the followers of Christ don't know their identity in him, we have a serious issue. Ephesians will challenge us to know and embrace our identity in Christ. Again, a little evaluation:
Who am I in Christ?
What is Sunnyside’s identity?
What does our community know about Sunnyside’s identity?
3. We will be confronted with our Manifestation of Christ.
What I'm talking about is how do we show up in the world - in our homes, neighborhoods, our workplaces etc. Ephesians will challenge us to manifest Christ wherever we are - 7 days a week.
Here’s the eval:
How do take what Christ has done in my heart and manifest Christ out there?
How do I manifest Christ outside of Sunday morning church?
How does Sunnyside manifest Christ outside of Sunday morning church?
Whether it’s general Christian living or specific ministries. Here’s another way -
4. We will be confronted with the Empowerment of Christ.
We’ll discover that God has given us a purpose - and He’s given spiritual gifts and strengths to empower us to fulfill that purpose - or the Mission of Christ. Ephesians will either challenge our beliefs about spiritual gifts or encourage to pursue.
What spiritual gifts has Christ given to me?
Where and how do these gifts show up in my life?
How well does Sunnyside embrace the empowerment of Christ to fulfill its mission?
5. We will be confronted with the Authority of Christ.
We will discover that Christ has given His people and Church authority. Authority to oppose the darkness. Authority to stand firm. Authority to fight. Authority to overcome. Ephesians will reveal the authority that Jesus has given His people.
What do I know about the authority that Christ has given me? Given His Church?
How and where does Christ’s authority show up in my life?
How and where does Christ’s authority show up at Sunnyside?
6. We will be confronted with the Supernatural.
Our fight is not against humanity - but against the powers of darkness. We are to pray in the Spirit on all occasions. You can’t read Ephesians without acknowledging the supernatural.
As our culture changes - we need to know and be engaged in the mission of Christ, we need to know our identity in Christ, we need to manifest or take the presence of Christ wherever we go, we need the empowerment of Christ to complete the mission, we need to operate under the authority of Christ - and as this world increasingly becomes spiritually dark, we will need to engage the supernatural - both good and bad.
Conclusion: Pray Ephesians 1:17–19
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more