Part #3 of a 4 part series.
Summary of Ephesians:
This book is a letter from Paul to Christians at Ephesus. As previously, on predestination, Paul said, "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world..." and "predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ...," and "having been predestined...in order that we...might be for the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:4-5;and 1:11) And, on the future events of the "last days" Paul spoke of God's purpose: "...when times have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one Head, even Christ." (Ephesians 1:10) Paul stated that salvation is not a reward for doing good and that Christ's death was to cancel the system of Jewish laws and to allow Gentiles to be a part of God's house. Paul referred to Christians as "children of light," and he advised, "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:20) For husbands and wives, Paul said "...each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." (Ephesians 5:33) For children, Paul instructs them to obey their parents, saying, "'Honor your father and mother' -- which is the first commandment with a promise -- 'that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.' " (Ephesians 6:2-3) For everyone, Paul said to always work hard, with gladness, "as if you were serving the Lord." Paul warned that Christians must always have the Lord's strength to "take your stand against the devil's schemes" and against the "powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" |
