Ephesians

Since I've been memorizing Ephesians for the last couple of months, I thought that I might blog out some of my thoughts on the book.

When studying any book of the Bible, it's probably best to figure out why it was written. If we understand the author's purpose in writing, we'll have a better understanding of each paragraph. From my study, I have identified 3:1-6 as the thesis statement for the letter. I think that here Paul spells out his reasons for writing.

"¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

²Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, ³that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. ⁶This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus."

In the phases "in reading this" and "as I have already written briefly" lead me to the conclusion that this is the thesis statement for the letter. Paul's intention for his audience is that in reading this letter, they would understand the mystery of Christ. And what was this mystery? That through the gospel the Gentiles were heirs, members, and sharers together with the Jews.

This message, or "mystery" as Paul calls it, was new information. It was a brand new revelation from God. In the past, OT times, the Jews were God's favored people. If a Gentile wanted to be a part of God's chosen people, he needed to take on the identity marks of the Jews: circumcision, certain regulations on your diet, the observance of the law.

However, something had radically changed. God had given new information. The Holy Spirit had revealed this information to the apostles and the NT prophets. This was exciting information for Gentiles. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, they were being included into God's promised blessings.