Bible Text: Ephesians 1:1-2 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: Ephesians, The Queen of the Epistles

1.  The occasion which prompted Paul to write Ephesians was the specter of future infiltration of the church by false teachers from within and without (see Acts 20:29-30).  It appears they succeeded against false teachers but failed to love Christ and the church as they had done at the start (Revelation 2:1-4).  Dr Charles Ryrie writes in the Ryrie Study Bible:  “More than thirty years before, this church had been commended for its love (Ephesians 1:15-16).  Most were second generation Christians whose purity of doctrine and endurance in service were unquestioned, but they had abandoned that eagerness to please and devotion that characterizes first love.”  This should prompt us to ask ourselves “Have I failed to maintain the fervency of my first love for Christ?”

2.  Chapters 1-3 of Ephesians are primarily doctrinal/theological, whereas chapters 4-6 are primarily practical concentrating on duties and responsibilities of the Christian life based upon the doctrine in the preceding section.  This is a common practice in Paul’s epistles.  However it would be a mistake to think that doctrinal sections have no practical application or that practical sections are devoid of doctrine.

3.  The following is a great summary of the Book of Ephesians.  “It has often been suggested that the contents of the epistle can be summarized by the three words sitting, walking, and standing.  By position, the believer is seated with Christ in the heavenlies (2:6); his responsibility is to walk worthier of the calling wherewith he has been called (4:1); and this walk is further seen as a warfare in which he is engaged against Satan and all his hosts and in which he is exhorted to stand against the wiles of the devil (6:11).  (Dr. Alfred Martin)