Ephesians: A Literary Analysis

It is determined by the readers and writers’ religious response to the world and by a person's final cultural categories of rhetoric. Apostle Paul’s journey to minister and teach the church, embodied more than one religious response, his primary response was the Reformist view of the world (see Table 1). This assumes that salvation would come from supernaturally given insight to deal with corruption in social organizations and structures (Robbins, 1996). His secondary religious response to the world was Revolutionist (see Table 1). This view declares that a supernatural power has to destroy the natural earth for salvation to come, as believers feel compelled to participate in changing the world in word and in deed (Robbins, 1996). Apostle Paul encouraged the church of Philippi to be humble and work together because others are watching their example. It is clear that his ministry was a religious movement due to his consciousness of the group. In chapter 2 verse 4, the Apostle Paul appeals to keep the harmony and solidarity of the group (Desilva, 2004); explaining that Christ’s example of humility is the solution to selfish motivations and vanity.

Paul’s letter to the Romans can be broken down into four major sections. Within each of these sections there is a single compelling issue. Within the context of these respective issues, several interpretive questions can be answered through the interpretative process. These answers help us to understand how to apply the spiritual principals to our lives, as well as, help us compel other individuals to apply these spiritual principles within their lives.

This passage stood out for me because Paul is using a metaphor to indicates that he is proud to be apart of God’s large building plan, and he could not speak to them in deep spiritual truths because they were carnal. Paul recognized their carnal mindset due to their division in the church. (Bailey, 2011, p. 130) Paul was addressing ‘anyone who builds” on that foundation, and focuses on two lists of building materials. Gold, silver and precious stones will withstand fire while wood, hay and straw will not. Paul insists that all things will be tested. He knew he had laid the foundation by spreading the gospel in the world.

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

Instructions: After reading the passage from Scripture, please make five “I believe” statements about the application of the passage to a specific behavior related to your choices in the arts. Please provide the specific verse that you are drawing your statement from. These statements should be distinct from the statements that you will write for the other assigned passages.

( Philippians 4:3). Paul had led by example and had confidence in the

As Paul reflects on his escape he starts to understand the need for reliance on another power (as in God)

     The meaning of the passage to Paul is to strengthen his brothers in the faith. Paul wrote this to show them that things will not always be perfect and that some times they will face trials but with Jesus all things are possible. Paul also encourages himself through the encouragement of the church of Colosse. I think that when Paul writes to the church’s and tell them what he thinks, encourages them , prays for them, or even just telling them what he face for the gospel, that it gives him a sense of accomplishment or even a sense of why he is doing what he is doing.

From Chapter 17: Ephesians - The Unity of the Spirit: Briefly summarize the issues surrounding authorship of Ephesians. Highlight the purpose of Ephesians. Discuss the theme of Ephesians.

The title of Ephesians may be a bit misleading because many studies have shown that Ephesians may have been written to all Christians rather than the Ephesian church exclusively because it is applicable to the Christian church as a whole. Edgar Goodspeed wrote, “The church in Ephesians is always the church universal, never the individual local church.” Although readers of Ephesians today should still consider the culture and historical background of Ephesus when reading Ephesians, it is important to realize that this book may have been directed to the whole church in general rather than the church in Ephesus specifically. Therefore, all believers today should take this passage to heart and interpret the pronouns “you”, “us” and

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.

a) Paul tells them to be strong, and to let God 's power run their faith in him. (verse 10)

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.

In this letter Apostle Paul showed how great his love was for the church of Philippi, showing his gratitude for their financial support to further the work of the ministry and to express his concern about their spiritual walk. His only thought was about advancing the cause of Christ and building the Philippians’ faith to continue their mission in spite of the persecution they were facing. Within their church many of the people were at odds and some were trying to hinder the spread of the Gospel. Because of this, Paul encourages the church of Philippi to "stand fast, be of the same mind, rejoice in the Lord always but by prayer let your request be made known and the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (4:1-7).

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