historical background of ephesians pdf

What stands out about Ephesians is the awe with which it contemplates the mystery of the Church. HtT[o0~Ï¯8 j{TUÚÒMZ¥JÊj¢Á Þ(FÆõßïØ&4½ì!`s¾ï;×òfõív«pyyq»ýq 4««¯×æ²,c PVÊ=àcÊðMÌ+#!8JBt(VôË?Á30æÀ<0øMÝw@BB)( ÜØS¿åØ1áÎ Ñ¬ýIa%Y¡õÊûÕ ýòÉfÎÐ&`!c±s¹÷@@7îz¡öCÈ`çÅ. This ascetic form of Gnosticism is the background of part of the letter to the Colossians (see Col 2:21,23 and notes). Paul wrote it about 60-62 A.D. Key Themes. trailer Ephesians offers general instruction in the truths of God’s redemptive work in Christ; the unity of the church among diverse peoples; and proper conduct in the church, the home, and the world. Ephesus was a port city for the west coast of Asia during the period of the New Testament . 0000001196 00000 n To analyze this letter fully, it is important to consider it in conjunction with Colossians and … Birmingham, Alabama The more we study Paul the more we see that Paulinism is the application of the gospel to human affairs. 0000002237 00000 n 612-614, Brevard S. Childs, The New Testament as Canon: An Introduction, pp. Eventually, the city clerk was able to bring order to the theater and dismiss the crowd. <<9CE847119CE8DA4E8380EBCFA419AA85>]>> The letter seems to have been written to the church that he founded in Ephesus, and it seems that he intended for it to circulate around the churches in Western Asia Minor (present day Turkey). hޜ�wTT��Ͻwz��0�z�.0��. It was a large temple dedicated to a goddess named Diana (Artemis). Qf� �Ml��@DE��H��b!(�`HPb0��dF�J|yy��ǽ��g�s��{��. HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK OF FIRST CENTURY EPHESUS. xref Polycarp (125 A.D.) attests to its canonicity in his own epistle to the Philippians (chapter 12). He sailed to Macedonia and then traveled to Greece where he stayed for three months. ��{��9 ��BwX�D8��]RDW��*�"f"�+��V-��N`c-�]��K��N��n�:��)z��b��T� #�HtbJB�b��Y^8�ӹH�.``h`�` ��*��-�T��\�\I(��,��a Q� �yB�T ��k��AS^*��1�w�4΀X�`�hF٧@� �m�8��Q/H3? 0000000516 00000 n One of the seven wonders of the world was in Ephesus. �tq�X)I)B>==�� ȉ��9. x�b```f`` Joshua describes the military triumph of God’s people through faith and obedience. Signing the name of an influential person of the period was common practice from “the third century BC to the first century AD.” Study Notes on Ephesians Page #6 Introductory Thoughts about Commentaries Only the Scriptures provide an infallible, authoritatively inspired revelation of God’s will for man (2 Timothy 3:16,17). Ephesians, written around the same time as Paul’s epistle to the Colossians, remains an important piece of historical evidence that also preserves some important doctrinal concepts. This view is the background of much of 1 John (see 1:1; 2:22; 4:2–3 and notes). %%EOF Ephesians chapters 1-3 wonderfully expound the Gospel while Ephesians chapters 4-6 provide a clear picture of how those doctrines change our lives. Therefore, prior to carefully exegeting Ephesians, it is important to gain an understanding of the epistle’s authorship, its recipients, its historical background, and its themes and central message. They disobey … It's also important to discover the author's intended meaning of the text in order to interpret it. THE LITERARY SOURCES AND HISTORICAL IMPLICATIONS OF EPHESIANS A. J. DICKINSON, D.D. 3:1, 4:1). This is the land God had promised Israel through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ephesians towers over Paul’s thirteen known epistles in its exaltation of the glory of God and His grace toward the church. $E}k��yh�y�Rm��333��:� }�=#�v��ʉe Ephesians Summary by Jay Smith. 0000000016 00000 n EPHESIANS Pastor David Legge 4 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ". This background information comes in handy when James starts to reference things like “the Law”. 4). Author – The Apostle Paul. Background on Colossae and the Colossians; Colossians and Work. hތ��n�0��#q��:��D9� !.�[o1Jȁ��c��t[��d��3��y��EK�fZ��`�w��|N��-��v�P��U��E��DxF z=fAO��4�I��[Bc�ˍ��m>��o��+X�r��DR��? Date – The letter to the Ephesians was written during Paul’s Roman imprisonment between 60 and 62 AD. uJǹ�'c��~��v��[�Ϣ�lQ��[��T�!�w��ƌ��|յX9��Y�H��:jBaJ��n�ks��ͮ3��lF.�JJ�Ij|A��-��Ǯ)��9(�Ot�Q�M��}��4�3X��Me��R=h��f��^��3�%��D�W>�أe�^�,�� 0 �&ր 0000001993 00000 n Colossians are found in Ephesians. For a brief time at the end of his second missionary journey, and then for more than two years on his third missionary journey, 0000000866 00000 n 0000002315 00000 n After this, Paul called the disciples together, embraced them, and de-parted for Macedonia (Acts 20:1). Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: (NIV) Ephesians 1:1-3 From: Sha'ul ("Shaa-ool"), by God's will an emissary of the Messiah Yeshua. $O./� �'�z8�W�Gб� x�� 0Y驾A��@$/7z�� H��e��O��OҬT� �_��lN:K��"N��3"��$�F��/JP�rb�[䥟}�Q��d[��S��l1��x{��#b�G�\N��o�X3I��[ql2�� $�8�x��t�r p��/8�p��C��f�q��.K�njm͠{r2�8��?��. It was written to encourage believers to walk as fruitful followers of Christ and to serve in unity and love in the midst of persecution. 0000002849 00000 n Because it was also at an intersection of major trade routes, Ephesus became a commercial center. )ɩL^6 �g�,qm�"[�Z[Z��~Q��7%��"� 99 0 obj <> endobj The City of Ephesus was a center of trade in the Roman Empire largely due to its geographical location on the Mediterranean Sea thus enabling the city to be a vital port in the region of Asia Minor. startxref All people are by nature spiritually dead. The city of Ephesus was a large commercial port city … It is interesting to note and observe that while the New Testament often refers to the church, it does not speak of going … The Acts of the Apostles - History & Background Preface This is the second of a two volume set of Luke's writings, it's companion volume being the Gospel of Luke.At the end of the Gospel of Luke Jesus says "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." The City of Ephesus Ephesus was the most important city in western Asia Minor (now Turkey). BACKGROUND: . Historical, Sociopolitical, Cultural Context of Ephesians The ruins of Ephesus can be found today on the west coast of the country of Turkey. Ephesians : Introduction & Background. Jewish believers at this time grew up following the law and believing that their obedience meant their salvation.… The below chart will help underline and point out these similarities. 0000001081 00000 n As a chief commercial center, Ephesus was a “melting pot of nations and ethnic groups.” The book of Joshua describes the conquest and possession of the land of Canaan and may be divided into three simple divisions: (1) invasion or entrance, (2) conquest, and (3) possession or division of the land. God Worked in Creation, Making Humans Workers in His Image (Colossians 1:1–14) God at Work, Jesus at Work (Colossians 1:15–20) Jesus, the Image of the Invisible God (Colossians 1:15–29) “I’m … Introduction to Ephesians AUTHOR: The apostle Paul (Eph 1:1; 3:1). Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the hymnwriter, wrote these words about the book of Ephesians - he said: 'It is the divinest composition of The Historical and Cultural Context of the Text The writer "The most uncontroverted matter in the study of Galatians is that the letter was written by Paul, the Christian apostle whose ministry is portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles. They were the tribes of the nation Israel that descended from the family of Jacob. Audience – Paul wrote to the network of house churches in Western Asia Minor, in and near Ephesus. For example, in chapters 1-3 Paul depicts the birth and purpose of the church while in the later section, we get a picture of … Paul is sending the slave Onesimus back to his master Philemon, in the care of Tychicus. The temple and streets were lined with immoral goddess prostitutes. It was not necessarily written to the believers in the city of Ephesus. Since the body was considered evil, it was to be treated harshly. Historical Background- Ephesians The letter to the Ephesians was written probably during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome between 60 and 62 AD. The letters of the apostles are not studied productions but are born of … Why do we give background? the Ephesians” (Acts 19:34). %PDF-1.4 %�� The key personalities of Ephesians are the Apostle Paul and Tychicus. 479-521, T. K. Abbott, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians, ICC, pp. Ephesus was a large prosperous city in Asia Minor. 1 Much of what follows is adapted from Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, pp. Furthermore, I think the letter has to be kept in its historical context as a companion letter with Colossians and Philemon. Written in 62 A.D. Apostle Paul explains the identity of the newcomers in Christ both Jews and Gentiles having been brought together into one body with Jesus Christ at the head. The book of Ephesians is a Prison Epistle (letter written while in prison). Early sources in church history that attribute this letter to Paul include: Irenaeus (200 A.D.), Clement of Alexandria (200 A.D.), and Origen (250 A.D.). 0000000948 00000 n Ephesians Historical Background for Passage Originally named Ephesians. Some assumptions about Ephesians itself and the role of this passage in this letter. It had a harbor that at that time opened into the Cayster River (see map, p. 2429), which in turn emptied into the Aegean Sea (see map, p. 2599). }��\C��ܝ4�*�Z�M�C$��9Ar��S�{P��\mkoq�ԞV.겴�"0;�_d�)��9� Contrary to what is probably the majority opinion in current New Testament scholarship, I think the Ephesian letter is by Paul. Genesis 49:1-28tells you exactly who the 12 tribes are. ��3��R� `̊j��[�~ :� w��! Ephesians Historical Background We must understand Ephesus if we want to understand the Book of Ephesians. 0000001956 00000 n Ephesians: Background • Context: Written in 61-62, when Paul was a prisoner in Rome (cf. "1 The reason is because the writer … Here God fulfilled that promise, though not exhaustively since there still remains a rest for the people of God (Heb. 109 0 obj <>stream 99 11 endstream endobj 210 0 obj <>stream Ephesians describes the church as God's new humanity, a colony in which the Lord of history has established a foretaste of the renewed unity and dignity of the … @� ��_� We can do this by learning the historical … ÕÇXÁ±þ0 Õta° endstream endobj 100 0 obj <> endobj 101 0 obj <> endobj 102 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/ExtGState<>>> endobj 103 0 obj <> endobj 104 0 obj [/ICCBased 108 0 R] endobj 105 0 obj <> endobj 106 0 obj <> endobj 107 0 obj <>stream