1 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.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. ~ Ephesians 1:1-2 NLT ~
This bible study was written by Cheryl Showers, a minister of God, bible study teacher, church leader, and prison minister for many years. Most importantly, I am a bondservant to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Greetings to every person who reads this bible study. I pray that as you read and study God’s word, your love for Him will grow, as you see how wide and how long, how high and how deep His love for you is. I pray that the more you learn and read and study His word, the more you will hunger and thirst for still more.
I pray that the Lord will protect each one of you, and that as we continue to embark on this study of Ephesians together, He will give us His divine wisdom, so that we will not only understand Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, but we will also understand how it applies to our lives today. My prayer for each one of us is that we will not only gain head knowledge, but that we will also live out the rest of our lives according to God’s holy word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
I love reading Paul’s many epistles, for many reasons. One of the reasons I love to read them is because of how Paul always begins his letters. In fact, as I read the opening in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I was inspired to write a similar opening in this study to each of you who are reading and participating in this study.
In the opening of his letters, Paul almost always began by introducing himself, and his position in the church. He almost always stated his qualifications, possibly in an offensive move against false teachers, false prophets and imposters. Let’s look at a few of his letters to see…
This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach His Good News. ~ Romans 1:1 NLT ~
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:1 NLT ~
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
I am writing to God’s church in Corinth and to all of His holy people throughout Greece. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:1 NLT ~
I especially love Paul’s introduction in Galatians. Before there could be any argument about whether he was fit to lead the church, or if it should be someone else, Paul set the record straight. He wasn’t writing to overstep his bounds. Yet Paul immediately establishes his right to send this epistle to the Galatians when he says…
This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ Himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. ~ Galatians 1:1 NLT ~
Paul’s greetings were always warm and filled with love for the people he was writing to, and he almost always gave a blessing to the recipients. Let’s read Paul’s greeting and blessing in Ephesians…
1 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.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. ~ Ephesians 1:1-2 NLT ~
Look at how Paul addresses the Ephesians. He calls them “God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.” To address the Ephesians like that would have told them immediately that Paul held them in high esteem. Then, after letting them know how much he valued them, Paul asks that God the Father and Jesus would give the Ephesians grace and peace. Let’s look at Paul’s blessings in the greetings of some of his other epistles…
1 This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. ~ Philippians 1:1-3 NLT ~
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
2 We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.
May God our Father give you grace and peace. ~ Colossians 1:1-2 NLT ~
This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God give you grace and peace. ~ 1 Thessalonians 1:1 NLT ~
Do you see the pattern here? In Paul’s day, there were no computers, so writing and mailing letters took much longer than it does today. The churches that Paul established loved and respected him. Therefore, they looked forward to hearing from him, either through a mutual friend, such as Timothy or someone else, and also in his letters.
The church was greatly persecuted in those days, as those who were a part of it, were well aware. Indeed, Paul had left Ephesus in quite a hurry, after ministering there for three years, due to a riotous crowd that wanted to capture him. After the mayor of the city defused the situation, Paul called the believers together and encouraged them, before bidding them farewell.
After leaving the church in Ephesus, Paul went on to Macedonia to preach and teach. After his time in Macedonia, Paul planned to sail past Ephesus without stopping, so he could hopefully get to Jerusalem in time for the festival of Pentecost (Acts 20:16 NLT). Therefore, when he reached Miletus, which was near Ephesus, Paul sent for the elders, of the Ephesian church, to meet him before he continued on his way to Jerusalem.
Paul knew that the road ahead of him was a hard one, and that this would be the last time that he saw his friends, the Ephesians…
22 “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me,23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. ~ Acts 20:22-24 NLT ~
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them. 37 They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye. 38 They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship. ~ Acts 20:36-38 NLT ~
The Ephesian believers never did see Paul again, because Paul was indeed arrested, for his faith and service to Jesus, just as the Holy Spirit had said he would be. As a matter of fact, the next time the Ephesians heard from Paul, after they departed, leaving Paul on the ship that night, was in this very Epistle to the Ephesians that we are studying now.
Just imagine how touching it was to get a letter from this apostle and spiritual father, who was no imprisoned for Christ, and instead of bemoaning his own situation, Paul chose to greet them and bless them, instead…
1 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.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. ~ Ephesians 1:1-2 NLT ~
Praise God for this letter from the Apostle Paul, for it not only helped the Ephesians’ spiritual growth, it also helped countless others to draw closer to the Lord. Please join me next time, as we discover what the Lord wants us to know about spiritual blessings.
© 2014
Cheryl A. Showers
Burning Fire Shut Up In My Bones 