Joyce Meyer - Ephesians: Biblical Commentary

Author:Paul

Date:About AD 60

Audience:Christians in the city of Ephesus and in nearby churches

Pauls letter to the Ephesians is a well-loved book of the Bible that teaches believers some of the most important lessons of our faith, such as who we are in Christ, how we are to live as followers of Jesus, and how to gain victory in the spiritual battles we face.

Paul probably wrote this Epistle as a circular letter, which was addressed to the Christians in Ephesus but was also meant to be shared with surrounding churches.

Ephesus was a large, influential commercial city in modern-day Turkey. According to bibleandhistory.com, In the New Testament era it was the fourth greatest city in the world. Spiritually, this cosmopolitan city was the center of worship for the goddess Artemis. It was full of occult practices such as sorcery, astrology, fortune-telling, and perversion, including prostitution in the temple. Against this backdrop, we can understand why the Christians in Ephesus needed the strong teaching and encouragement Paul provided in this letter.

Most likely, Paul wrote Ephesians about AD 60, during his two-year imprisonment in Rome. I have visited the prison where Paul was incarcerated, and I could see that his circumstances there must have been extremely hard. History tells us that the city sewer ran nearby, so we can assume that not only was the prison dark and uncomfortable, but it also smelled bad. In the midst of such hardships, Paul chose not to focus on the daily difficulties of his life but on helping other people by writing to his fellow believers to encourage them in their walk with God.

Before we even begin looking at the text of Ephesians, we learn an important lesson as we think about Pauls circumstances when he wrote it: no matter how difficult your life may be during certain seasons, remember to do all you can do to bless, help, and encourage others.

The entire letter of Ephesians is six chapters. are about how we are to behave as Christians. This sequence is very interesting because it reflects exactly what we should experience in our walk with God: first we become established in our personal relationship with God, and then we learn to grow in holinesschanging our thoughts, words, and actions so we will think, speak, and act as God would have us think, speak, and act.

No matter how much we love God, when we read the first three chapters of Ephesians, we cant help falling more and more deeply in love with Him. When that happens, changing our thoughts, words, and behavior becomes not something we feel we have to do to get God to love us, but something we want to do because we begin to see how much He loves us and we love Him so much in return.

A lot of people have misunderstood how to make changes in their thinking or behavior. They have tried to change based on their human strength or willpower and they have failed, ending up disappointed and frustrated. Ephesians teaches us that we absolutely cannot change by simply trying or through self-effort. We cannot change because we are motivated by fear that God will not love us if we dont. The right motive for changing is to want to please God as a way of expressing our love for Him in response to His amazing love for us.

One of the most vital and refreshing lessons of Ephesians is that relationship with God must come first. Thats the key to effecting change in your life. If you will take time to develop a strong relationship with God, begin to see how much He loves you, and know who you are in Christ, change will come, and out of that relationship your life will bear the good fruit that God intends.

Being in Christ is a spiritual reality, the most important spiritual reality in which you can live.

In Christ, you are unconditionally loved and accepted.

You are saved through faith, and faith alonenot through anything you can do.

In Christ, you have victory in the spiritual war.

Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed), by the will of God [that is, by His purpose and choice], to the saints (Gods people) who are at Ephesus and are faithful and loyal and steadfast in Christ Jesus:

A building cannot be built properly unless it is constructed on a solid foundation, and our Christian lives cannot be properly built to withstand the storms of life unless we have a solid foundation. Ephesians 1 is about the foundation of our walk with God. In it, Paul discusses several things that are of great importance to those who are children of God.

First, Paul clearly establishes that he is an apostle by the will of God. He did not call himself to the task of being an apostle. Whatever we do in life only works well if it is Gods will for us to do it. Too often we decide what we want to do and then pray for God to make it succeed, but our relationship with God doesnt operate that way. His will must be first in all things.

Being in Gods will always produces peace in our lives, so checking to see if we have peace in a situation is one primary way we can discern whether or not what we are doing is indeed His will. Also, when we are following Gods will, what we are doing works well. We may face opposition and times when we need to press through difficulties, but ultimately Gods will always produces peace and good fruit. It is not Gods intention for us to struggle through life, but we will unless we are in His will.