Ephesians 4: 11-16

The beginning of chapter one in Grasping God’s Word discusses the four steps of ‘The Interpretive Journey’ that are designed to navigate readers through the Bible, but as a whole, it is designed to help readers “grasp the meaning of the [Bible that] God intended” (Duvall & Hays, 2012, p.21). In order to understand the intention God has for each passage of His word, there must be a substantial understanding of the context according to the original audience, therefore the first step is titled “Grasping the Text in Their Town” which answers the overarching question of ‘What did this message mean for people of that time’? As this question is inquired throughout Ephesians 2:1-10 , the reader is instructed to make simple yet meaningful observations,

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

Acts 8:26-40 teaches us a variety of things about mission as well as evangelism’s role within it. It reminds us whose mission it is, that radical inclusion is anticipated, that evangelism is an important aspect of but is not in itself mission, and that the Holy Spirit plays a fundamental and essential role in mission and effective evangelism.

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

He further clarifies that in Christianity, God is not even a person. Instead, he is a dynamic, pulsating activity — almost a kind of drama. Additionally, he says the Holy Spirit also shares in the same love that exists between God and Jesus; and like them, He is eternal also. The author informs us that we too can share in that eternal love, and we can help others share in it as well. Here, he reminds us that those superior traits, as well as appalling ones that we know, come by a kind of infection — we come in contact with the source of the infection. Therefore, we can take part in the shared love that exists between the three persons by coming in contact with that love. Furthermore, we can expose others to that love, so that they might also become infected. Each of us, then, can become a "little Christ," which is the whole purpose of becoming a

The main idea of this passage is embodied in verse 11 and 12 “Christ himself gave people to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”

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.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the

Dr. Elmer Towns and his co-author Ben Gutierrez in their book “In Essence of the New Testament: A Survey” supports the idea and the importance of all Christians grasping the knowledge put forth in the book of Romans. Biblical educators such as Samuel Coleridge and Martin Luther holds Paul’s epistle to the Romans in high esteem (Towns & Gutierrez, 2012). They refer to as “the most profound work in existence and “the purest gospel (Towns & Gutierrez, 2012). These claims are evident when reading Paul’s epistles in the book of Romans, one can feel Jesus Christ’s inspiration in his words and message. In Romans 1:6 -7

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.

The theme of his letter to the Ephesians is that believers have been unified in salvation by grace and are called to live like Christ. Ephesians 2:1-8 focused mainly

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.

In the beginning of the book of Ephesians, Paul specifically states that he is the author of the letter to Ephesians, though the authenticity of Paul’s authorship has been questioned. Signing the name of an influential person of the period was common practice from “the third century BC to the first century AD.” Though it would not be the first time that Paul’s name was forged, Ephesians is not a controversial letter, so if the author did not want to include his own name, he could have written the letter anonymously; also, given moral influence of the text, the author would not have lied for no cause. Ephesians is a bit different from the other letters of Paul in that it does not follow the normal structure he has previously used: “salutation, thanksgiving, prayer, body, ethical exhortations, greetings.” Paul also makes many personal references throughout the book of Ephesians including sharing that he is in prison.

I chose to write my paper on Philippians 3:12-21. Before writing this paper I was not entirely familiar with the reasons for Paul’s letters to the church of Philippi. It was an interesting study once I understood the background and reasoning for Paul’s writings. Paul writes a thank you letter to the Christians at Philippi for their contributions and support in his hour of need, and he uses the occasion to send along some instructions on Christian unity. Paul is also giving them an update on his circumstances. Most of Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi dealt with areas such as joy, rejoice, praise, thankfulness, and attitude.

The main message of this passage is that whatever He calls us for to do we shall do it, and hope for the best, to experience the riches of his glorynessasked, and to feel his Almighty power. But be grateful for all that He has done for us. In the passage it is easy to catch that Paul is praying/asking for “Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”(olive tree