Bible Question: Could you please give me an introduction on the book of ephesians with reference to the author, time and also about the church in ephesus |
Bible Answer: Greetings chandren, Ephesians was written to encourage and strengthen the believers in Ephesus in their Christian faith and to remind believers of their immeasurable blessing in Jesus Christ, and not only to be thankful for those blessings, but also to live a life that is worthy of them. Ephesus was a important political, educational, and commercial center. It was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean world during NT times. Its 1/4 to 1/2 million population included had its share of great preachers. Ephesus was the capital Roman province of Asia (Asia Minor, modern Turkey). It is best known for its magnificent temple of Artemis, or Diana, one the 7 wonders of the ancient world. The letter of Ephesians explains the nature and purpose of the church. Church is not meant to be a four walled building but instead the church of Jesus Christ is the people who love Christ and are committed to serve Him. Several pictures of the church are presented: body,temple, nystery, new man, bride, and soldier. The letter of Ephesians became a circular letter hat was widely ditstributed to many of the early churches. Ephesians was written about 60 AD by Paul from Rome during Paul's imprisonment there. The church at Ephesus was one of the most prominent of the churches established in about 53 AD during one of Paul's couragious journeys. It is believed that the gospel was first brought to Ephesus by Pricilla and Aquilla who were left there by Paul on his second missionary journey and then was more firmly established by Paul on his third missionary journey (Acts 19). The church was pastored by Paul for about 3 years. After Paul left Timothy pastored the church for about a year and a half, primarily encountering the false teaching of a few influential men, such as Hymenaeus and Alexander, who were probably elders in the congregation there. Because of these men, the church was plagued by "fables and endless genealogies" (1:4) and by such ascetic and unscriptural ideas as the forbidding of marriage and abstaining from certain foods. Although those false teachers did not rightly understand Scripture, they propounded their ungodly interpretations with confidence, which produced in the church harmful dissputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. The letter was not written to confront any heresy or problem in the churches in the area. Paul had spent over 3 years with the Ephesian church and as a result he was very close to them. The first 3 chapters are theological, emphasizing NT doctrine whereas the last 3 chapters are practical and focus on Christian behavior. Hope this helps, prayon |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Ephesians | Author | ||
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dave9x | ||
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israelmylove | ||
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ThomasTheNonDoubter | ||
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Mrs.T | ||
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bjs | ||
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iamahearer | ||
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Gme37779 | ||
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chandran | ||
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prayon | ||
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Bukola | ||
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Effie |