Well, Christmas is officially over and 2020 has officially begun. Everyone, including the kids & college students go back to work today, SO, we’re going to resume our devos fro Ephesians. With this in mind, we’re going to review some from the 1st 3 chapters of Ephesians before we resume where we left off. Happy 2020!
“This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.” Ephesians 1:1-2
The Apostle Paul, sometimes called St Paul was one of the main writers of the New Testament and a central figure to the building and development of the original church, didn’t start so saintly! Deeply religious and formally trained after the Hebrew tradition, Paul was once a vicious enemy of the Church as He saw Jesus and the Church as a threat to Judaism and all its traditions! So, he took it upon himself to execute Christians. It was while on one such mission to do so one day that Paul (then Saul) encountered the Risen Christ Himself and was converted (Act 9)!
If there was ever an example of what it means to repent (turn away from your former life and TO Christ), Paul was it! He became “one of the leaders of the first generation of Christians, often considered to be the most important person after Jesus in the history of Christianity.” (Britannia.com) He started several churches, wrote half the New Testement, was imprisoned for his faith numerous times and was beaten and ultimately martyred for following Jesus! It was he who wrote the letter to the church at Ephesus. It was he who though chosen later than the other apostles, was “chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus”!
Paul’s letter was to the Ephesian church who he described as “faithful followers of Christ Jesus”. Ephesus was an ancient Greek city off the coast of of Ionia.
It was home to the Temple of Artem
Artemis, one of the 7 wonders of the world. The church was addressed by John in the Book of Revelations (Revelation 1:11& 2:1-7).
So this Letter was written to an important church in an influential city by one of the most important figures in the Bible and it’s been preserved for our benefit! Paul’s word to these Christians bear repeating to us today!
Paul starts with a blessing: “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace”!
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give us grace and peace as we study it as well.
Think about it!
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