Oct 19 2008
Bible Study of the Book of Ephesians!
Today begins our study in the book of Ephesians. I think the first thing we need to know is where it is. I found this map to aid us. If you are unfamiliar with the area, we are about 500 miles NW of Israel across the Mediterranean Sea into the Aegean Sea in what is now
Turkey.
Ephesus was a part of Paul’s second missionary journey. Paul was writing to the Ephesians because there were people trying to incorporate false beliefs into their Christianity. Paul wanted them to understand just what Christianity was all about and to do away with the false doctrine that was trying to infiltrate them. Paul states he is writing to the saints and to the faithful. This would be the time to do a quick word study since in my mind these are the same thing.
Saints = Noun a: one of God’s chosen and usually Christian people (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)Faithful = 2: steadfast in affection or allegiance: loyal also = 5: true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)
Both words are referring to those who are actually living the Christian life. Paul wants to encourage them to keep up the good work and stay firm in the Gospel they were taught. We will get into all of that later.
For now let us agree that we can learn from what Paul has to say in the rest of the book. We will get into Eph.1:2 in tomorrows blog. If you have questions or comments at anytime leave them in the comment section and I promise to get back with you. The real work begins this week so stay tuned.
