The Apostle (remember, "apostle" means "one who is sent") Paul writes to a church within a generation after Christ ascended to Heaven. His message in this letter? "Grow in spiritual maturity, learn your Godly calling, and work together as a church (body of believers")
Look at it this way:
(1) Chapters one through three tell us what God has done in us.
(2) Chapters four and five tell us where we are right now.
(3) Chapter six tell us of the spiritual fight now and in the future.
Jack Wellman of patheos.com says:
"There may be two purposes for Paul having written the Book of Ephesians. Perhaps the greatest of all points Paul makes in this book is the fact that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). This doctrine that we are saved only by grace and it is a free gift of God had been written about in the Book of Romans as well as in the Book of Galatians.
Paul wanted the readers to know that is was only because of the mercies of God that we are saved by grace through faith and that faith is in Jesus Christ but even that faith is a gift from above. Even more, Paul wanted to prepare the Christian for their walk with God and to know that we “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12) so they will need to put on the full armor of God so that they “may be able to withstand in the evil day” (Eph 6:13) and the evil one and his demons."
"There may be two purposes for Paul having written the Book of Ephesians. Perhaps the greatest of all points Paul makes in this book is the fact that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). This doctrine that we are saved only by grace and it is a free gift of God had been written about in the Book of Romans as well as in the Book of Galatians.
Paul wanted the readers to know that is was only because of the mercies of God that we are saved by grace through faith and that faith is in Jesus Christ but even that faith is a gift from above. Even more, Paul wanted to prepare the Christian for their walk with God and to know that we “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12) so they will need to put on the full armor of God so that they “may be able to withstand in the evil day” (Eph 6:13) and the evil one and his demons."
The amazing thing in this book to the Jewish folk was the fact that the Christian groups (assemblies) were now considered to be "the body of Christ"(Ephesians 5:32).
If you were Jewish, you were told that you alone were the child of God. Could you imagine the shock when you read and hear that “the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus”
(Ephesians 3:6).
In the First Testament this was not revealed, and so to the readers and hearers here, this was beyond puzzling; this was almost shocking. (Ephesians 3:5, 9).
If you were Jewish, you were told that you alone were the child of God. Could you imagine the shock when you read and hear that “the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus”
(Ephesians 3:6).
In the First Testament this was not revealed, and so to the readers and hearers here, this was beyond puzzling; this was almost shocking. (Ephesians 3:5, 9).
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To our knowledge, every photo and graphic in this website are public domain and royalty-free. If you find a graphic or picture that is copyrighted, please contact us and we will correct it, along with our sincerest apologies.