The Letter to the Ephesians has been rightly called the Queen of the Epistles. With flowing prose Paul worships and glorifies Jesus. He presents the core doctrines of what it means to be a Christian and what it means for Christians to come together as the church. This letter is some of Paul’s last correspondence and was written while Paul was a prisoner in Rome. (The prison letters are: Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon.)
The letter is deep theologically and it will seem overwhelming at times. Some commentaries and devotional guides divide Ephesians into as many as twenty-one sections. However, I think reading it in bigger bites, one chapter a day; will be helpful to grasp a view of Paul’s vision of Christ and His followers.
Two points in the opening chapter caught my attention. The first is the phrase, “in Christ.” Paul uses this phrase more than fifty times in his letters. For Paul, to be in Christ, means that what is true for Jesus is true for us, the People of Christ. Jesus won a decisive victory over sin and death. Because we are in Christ we too have won that victory. Ponder that thought for a while.
The second point for me is worship. I get a sense that writing this letter was an act of worship for Paul. Worship is the core of the Christian life. A fully devoted follower of Jesus cannot stop telling, and retelling, with joy and wonder, the amazing story of what God has done in Christ Jesus, the Messiah.
I believe the first mission of the church is to introduce people to Jesus. The second mission is to help people learn to worship God with every fiber in their being. After all, as Paul said in Acts 17:28, “For in Christ we live and move and have our being.”
What does today’s reading reveal to you about God?
What does it reveal to you about yourself?
Think about what God wants you to do or remember about this passage.
Does God want you to change anything in your life?
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