(BONUS EPISODE) February 2, 2025 - Communion Prelude with Bob Ellington

Introduction to Ephesians

Originally created: August 30, 2023

Series at BRBC started: February 2, 2025

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 4:6)

1. Title and Audience
   1. Title - the church in Ephesus
      1. Some of the oldest manuscripts don’t specify Ephesus leading many scholars to believe it was an “encyclical” letter intended to be read in the churches of surrounding towns and cities–like a regional letter
      2. Ephesus was the Roman capital of the province of Asia (modern Turkey)
      3. Brought by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21-22 and Col. 4:7-8; cf. Acts 20:4; Titus 3:12; esp. 2 Tim. 4:12)
   2. Audience - congregations at Ephesus and surrounding cities
      1. Mixed congregations of believers from Jewish and gentile backgrounds
      2. Ephesus was part of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3 along with Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea
         1. Paul’s effort in this letter to impress on the Ephesians the importance of doctrine in the daily life of the Christian and the church was successful, but Jesus warned them that it doesn’t supplant the love in the heart of the believer (Rev. 2:4-5).
      3. Companion to Colossians - Colossians is in many ways a commentary on Ephesians and vice-versa. Both letters intended for the churches in this Asia Minor area
         1. MacArthur study Bible: “One could say that Ephesians is the epistle portraying the ‘Church of Christ,’ while the focus of Colossians is the ‘Christ of the Church.’”
      4. Ephesian church in the NT
         1. Paul’s encounters
            1. Acts 18 - church begun perhaps by Priscilla and Aquila after Paul left them there. Apollos came to faith there under P&A’s ministry. (Acts 18:18-26)
            2. Acts 19 - Paul pastored for three years (53-56 AD)
               1. Paul encounters some disciples of John the Baptist; many Ephesians come to faith; a riot is started by those who profit from trade in the worship of Diana
            3. While in Miletus, he warned them of false teachers (Acts 20:17-38)
         2. Timothy
            1. Pastored after Paul for about 1.5 years
            2. 1 Timothy written while he was pastor there
         3. John
            1. Pastored there near the end of his life
            2. Likely wrote Gospel of John from there
            3. Jesus gave him a letter warning of loss of first love (Rev. 2:1-7)
2. Author - Apostle Paul
   1. Indicated in the letter itself (1:1; 3:1)
   2. No serious challenges to this authorship
   3. Fits the pattern of Paul
      1. Doctrine then application (like Romans)
      2. Logical flow from premise through argument to conclusion
      3. Has the typical “sidebars” that Paul uses to fill in important background on the way to his main point
         1. Example: 3:1 and 3:14 begin with him starting to explain the reason for his prayer that the saints would grasp the enormity of God’s love expressed in the riches of His grace, but he interrupts himself with 12 verses to explain the background of how his calling and current imprisonment fits into the eternal purposes of God.
3. Date and Location of Writing
   1. About 60-62 AD, approx. 4-6 years after concluding his pastorate there
   2. 1 of 4 of Paul’s “prison epistles” written from Rome (Acts 28:16-31). Others:
      1. Colossians
      2. Philippians
      3. Philemon

(BONUS EPISODE) January 26, 2025 - Sunday Evening Bible Study with Larry Walker - The Book of Mark

January 26, 2025 - Sunday Morning Service - 1 John 1:5-10 - Part 4

January 19, 2025 - Sunday Evening Service - Lessons from the Life of Joseph - Genesis 45

January 19, 2025 - Sunday Morning Service - 1 John 1:5-10 - Part 3

The World’s Hatred on Trial

John 15:18-16:4a (Reference: 1 John 3:13-16)

What Does Jesus Mean by “Hatred”?

So far in our study of the Upper Room Discourse (ch. 13-17), Jesus’ words have been encouraging and enlightening to the disciples. Having begun the happy, celebratory occasion of the Passover meal with shocking words of rebuke for their pride, His imminent departure, Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, and warning that they would all desert Him, He moves to words of love, peace, joy, and hope in what God has in store eventually for them. He does this in a loving response to the deep distress they were feeling. These positive, hopeful words last for 1 1⁄2 chapters (14:1-15:17), but now He must return to more distressing news in the remaining 1 1⁄2 chapters (15:18-16:33) as He warns them about the trouble on the horizon in the immediate hours, days, and even years ahead. In keeping with His words to Peter in 13:36 that, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward,” they are all about to follow Him down the Way of the Cross that leads to eternal life and the home in the Father’s House eventually, but in the years ahead will result in tribulation in this world.

His basic message over the next 1 ½ chapters will be centered around the hatred of the world compared with the love of God. When He talks about “the world,” it is vital that we remember the immediate application of that term is towards the evil religious system run by Satan through the Jewish leaders (cf. 8:44, 14:30, and the notes titled, “Jesus is Rejected by His Family,” from 7:1-9 for a study of the Greek word translated “world.”) This is not to say that the Gentile governments and cultures will accept them wholesale, but that persecution of His fledgling church will begin with the Judiastic system of that time. Like the man blind from birth that Jesus healed in ch. 9, they will be shunned from this system and cast out at the highest level of rejection to the point where the church will need to essentially form its own underground economy to support one another, especially the most vulnerable members.

After talking at length about the love God has for them and how they will need to love each other, He contrasts this love with the hatred of the world. The Greek word for “hate” is used throughout the NT for what we mean in English by the word, that is, a strong disdain that leads to opposition towards something. But it can also carry a modified definition of indifference to or relative disregard for something in comparison to something else such as when Jesus talks about the cost of discipleship:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)

In our text, His description of hate points to mainly the definition of strong disdain to the point of persecution. There will be times of indifference, but Satan’s system will respond to their witness with strong opposition, even injustice.

Outline

1. Jesus speaks plainly about the world’s hatred for Him and His disciples (vv. 18-20; cf. Matt. 10:24, John 13:16; also 2 Tim. 3:12)
2. Jesus passes judgement on the Jewish system for its rejection of Him (vv. 21-25; cf. Ps. 35:19, 69:4)
3. Jesus backs His judgement with two witnesses
   1. The witness of the Holy Spirit (v. 26; cf. Mark 3:22-30 and John 7:39; 14:16-17,26; 16:7,13-14)
   2. The witness of His disciples (v. 27; cf. 17:20 and Acts 1:8)
4. Jesus further explains the world’s hatred expressed through its treatment of His disciples (vv. 16:1-4a)

(BONUS EPISODE) January 12, 2025 - Sunday Evening Bible Study with Larry Walker - The Book of Mark

January 5, 2025 - Sunday Morning Service - 1 John 1:5-10 - Part 2

The World’s Hatred on Trial

John 15:18-16:4a (Reference: 1 John 3:13-16)

What Does Jesus Mean by “Hatred”?

So far in our study of the Upper Room Discourse (ch. 13-17), Jesus’ words have been encouraging and enlightening to the disciples. Having begun the happy, celebratory occasion of the Passover meal with shocking words of rebuke for their pride, His imminent departure, Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, and warning that they would all desert Him, He moves to words of love, peace, joy, and hope in what God has in store eventually for them. He does this in a loving response to the deep distress they were feeling. These positive, hopeful words last for 1 1⁄2 chapters (14:1-15:17), but now He must return to more distressing news in the remaining 1 1⁄2 chapters (15:18-16:33) as He warns them about the trouble on the horizon in the immediate hours, days, and even years ahead. In keeping with His words to Peter in 13:36 that, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward,” they are all about to follow Him down the Way of the Cross that leads to eternal life and the home in the Father’s House eventually, but in the years ahead will result in tribulation in this world.

His basic message over the next 1 ½ chapters will be centered around the hatred of the world compared with the love of God. When He talks about “the world,” it is vital that we remember the immediate application of that term is towards the evil religious system run by Satan through the Jewish leaders (cf. 8:44, 14:30, and the notes titled, “Jesus is Rejected by His Family,” from 7:1-9 for a study of the Greek word translated “world.”) This is not to say that the Gentile governments and cultures will accept them wholesale, but that persecution of His fledgling church will begin with the Judiastic system of that time. Like the man blind from birth that Jesus healed in ch. 9, they will be shunned from this system and cast out at the highest level of rejection to the point where the church will need to essentially form its own underground economy to support one another, especially the most vulnerable members.

After talking at length about the love God has for them and how they will need to love each other, He contrasts this love with the hatred of the world. The Greek word for “hate” is used throughout the NT for what we mean in English by the word, that is, a strong disdain that leads to opposition towards something. But it can also carry a modified definition of indifference to or relative disregard for something in comparison to something else such as when Jesus talks about the cost of discipleship:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)

In our text, His description of hate points to mainly the definition of strong disdain to the point of persecution. There will be times of indifference, but Satan’s system will respond to their witness with strong opposition, even injustice.

Outline

1. Jesus speaks plainly about the world’s hatred for Him and His disciples (vv. 18-20; cf. Matt. 10:24, John 13:16; also 2 Tim. 3:12)
2. Jesus passes judgement on the Jewish system for its rejection of Him (vv. 21-25; cf. Ps. 35:19, 69:4)
3. Jesus backs His judgement with two witnesses
   1. The witness of the Holy Spirit (v. 26; cf. Mark 3:22-30 and John 7:39; 14:16-17,26; 16:7,13-14)
   2. The witness of His disciples (v. 27; cf. 17:20 and Acts 1:8)
4. Jesus further explains the world’s hatred expressed through its treatment of His disciples (vv. 16:1-4a)