Ephesians 4

The book of Ephesians is one of Paul’s many New Testament letters, or epistles, to the Christian church still in its infancy. At the time of its writing, Paul is in Rome, imprisoned for championing the purposes of Christ and growing the church. We see numerous occurrences where Paul, being a man of little concern for the status quo, is either imprisoned or fleeing capture by Jewish or Roman officials for usurping the latter (Acts 19: 23-41). The date of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is dated 60-61A.D., depending on differing research. While this is certainly one of his epistles known as the “prison letters”, Ephesians was penned prior to Paul’s first roman

In his new book Becoming the Gospel Michael Gorman provides an interesting look at the life and letters of the apostle Paul. Gorman wants his readers to consider that more than knowing the gospel and its power to save, Paul want his recipients of his letters to live out the gospel in their lives. Thus Gorman’s central argument in this book is that “Paul wanted the communities he addressed…to become the gospel, and in so doing to participate in the very life and mission of God” (Gorman 2). Gorman explores this idea by taking the reader through a look at the letters of Paul using a “missio Dei” lens, to provide a new view of what Paul is teaching to these early Christian communities.

Believers have been unified in salvation by grace and are called to live like Christ.

Paul wrote the book of Philippians as a letter to the church of Philippi. Paul uses this letter to thank the church for sending him financial aid while also trying to “bolster their enduring faith” (Neal, 88). Throughout this letter, Paul gives guidance to the church, however, in chapter 4 he focuses on encouraging “harmony”, “Christian joy and peace”, and “a sense of satisfaction” (Elwell & Yarbrough, 296-297). Each topic Paul discusses continues to be issues today and Paul’s words of wisdom remain true. In my own life, I have learned from Paul’s teaching to cast all my cares on God and try to lean on His, rather than my own, understanding.

For you were once murkiness, however now you are light in the Lord. Live as offspring of light (for the product of the light comprises in all decency, nobility and truth) (Ephesians 5: 8-9). "Here Paul develops the difference in the middle of obscurity and light" (Wood, 69). They were not oblivious and after that in the light. They were the dull and afterward they were the light. Obscurity alludes to when they were lost and did not know the Lord. They were the light when they were spared and got to be one in Christ. "The entire passage plays on the rich imagery of dimness and light, "obscurity" speaking to lack of awareness, blunder and shrewd, "light" speaking to truth and exemplary nature" (Stott, 199). The word, you, alludes to the Christians

We can just be a testament to what beautiful blessings that we have received by being faithful to the word. Christians need to show the non-believers that there is good that comes out of having faith in the gospel. Once non-believers understand the word and how powerful it is sky’s the limit on the many blessing with one will

The genre of Ephesians 2:1-10 is an Epistle. The Epistles were letters teaching specific churches or groups of people; often inspired by God. They are split into two categories: Pauline Epistles, written by Paul and traditionally Paul was the first word of the book in Greek, and General Epistles, often referred to as the Catholic epistles and were written to the universal Church. The Pauline Epistles consist of: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The General Epistles consist of: Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, and Jude. The interpretive principles of this genre are that it is meant to be read as a whole and in one sitting in order to get the main idea of the passage, one must view the paragraphs as the main unit of thought in the passage, one must know the structure to understand the letter, and one must do background reading to fully comprehend the main concept and the history and culture of the setting.

Ephesians 6:10-16: Paul becomes aware of all the evil that stalks the church of Ephesus and he tries to make everybody aware by explaining them their own significance and identity in Christ.

When considering the strengths and weaknesses of the book, the strengths dramatically outweigh the shortcomings. Allen succeeded in showing the reader that there is no excuse to discount the ministry of Paul as irrelevant in today’s missionary setting. He powerfully implemented scripture throughout the book with precision. Every verse, story, and biblical example of Paul’s practices and teachings that Allen used were necessary and served to back up his claims with ultimate truth. Also, the open addressing of his opponent’s arguments served to strengthen Allen’s thesis in a way that a simple stating of facts would be incapable of

In a world that does not know the Gospel anymore, we must indulge in it, and love our fellow community though they may not share similar values, but find balancing in still remaining in our own values. Though many of times we find ourselves in opposition of the majority of the world, we must exude Christ love onto others as He does to us unconditionally. The author addresses ways in which we are able to live out our faith and still find a place within our community though they may not share similar values.

Often many argue that you must be a part congregation to be a part of The Church. Although being a part of a church is important, it is not necessary to be a part of the body. I believe that those who do not have a church congregation to be a part of have a hindered spiritual walk. Being a part of a church calls for accountability, lessons, and ministry, which has been vital in my own personal

In Ephesians 1 verse 11 it means that if you are a believer, God has assigned you to His chosen life. That we have been chosen as Gods portion and He has appointed you to Himself. It also means that God has chosen us as His inheritance. This is one of the many blessings which we have as believers. God does this according to His purpose and His will. God is never forced by anyone or anything outside of Him. Everything is under His control and is part of His plan. Every flower and plant – God controls its birth, it’s growth and its death. Laws such as gravity and physics are under His control. God never makes mistakes! He is in control of all creation and nothing is by chance. There is nothing outside of His control. When I read this verse, it means to me that I was planned to be on this Earth, by God. I was thought about even before my mom and dad were born. That God picked my mom and dad just for me. God has a plan for my life and I should be looking for His will in my life and to live it. God controls everything that happens to me and will happen to me. God knows my future and my destiny. Ephesians 1 verse 12 talks about Gods work of the Father. God does everything for a purpose and to glorify Himself. God does this so that all created beings and events will bring him glory. God is love, pleasure, will,

A literary analysis is the practice of looking closely at small parts to see how they affect the whole. Literary analysis focuses on how word techniques are used by the author to create meaning. One of the reasons that Paul penned his letters in Ephesians was to bolster areas that were weak in the church. In addition to that, Paul wanted to clarify central beliefs that may not have been well-defined. Probing Paul’s letter with such a supposition, reveals several frailties among the Ephesian that Paul needed to encourage and reinforce. One of these weaknesses are amalgamated with the word riches, which is present throughout the letter in Ephesians. In this portion of the essay I will break a portion of the text down into parts, in order to examine the different elements of this piece of literature, by analyzing a portion of the text.

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers to equip his people for works of service, so the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,

Ephesians 3:14-21 “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with the power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in