Ephesians 1:1-2 — WELCOME TO EPHESIANS

READ THIS: Ephesians 1:1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,  To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

WELCOME TO EPHESIANS!!!!!! In these verses, Paul introduces himself and who he is writing to really quick. 

First off, if you just read 2 Timothy would us, you might notice that this letter is a bit more formal. Paul writes to a church in Ephesus that he wants to encourage in their faith. The first half is theological truths, while the second half is about how to apply them. This letter is also interesting because it is one of the only letters we have from Paul that isn't written to correct a bunch of things they were doing wrong...instead, he was just helping the Ephesians nail down some truth and live it out! (Which for those of you who read through Galatians with us...very different from how corrective Paul was with them).

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. If Paul were writing you a letter...would it be an Ephesians vibe or a Galatians vibe?

2. Do you there's anything in your life that you are being called to do by the will of God? (In verse 1, Paul is being called by the will of God to be an apostle!)
 
TRY THIS:
 
Pray to God that He will help you understand the book of Ephesians and to help you prioritize His word in your life in some way!

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 24, 2023 at 6:08 AM

    I think I would get a letter that would have both encouragement and correction!!! Both are needed in my case.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Galatians 2:1-5 — Marathon Training

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 2:1-5 1 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday, we learned about how Paul went to Jerusalem and shared the incredible things Jesus did, but today, we are hearing about Paul's second time visiting Jerusalem... 14 years later. Paul talks about a bunch of things that happened ...
Read more

Luke 8:19-21 — Jesus's Fam!

R EAD THIS:  Luke 8:19-21 19 Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Ummmm, hold up, is Jesus dissing on His family here? I mean, I know He is God's Son and all, but at first glance, this passage makes it seem like He is kind of hating on His family! However, if we really look into this passage, it's actually a lot more about us than it is about the family of Jesus.  In case you forgot, the last few passages have features Jesus telling and explaining different parables to a large crowd as well as His disciples. Clearly, the crowd has gotten so large that Mary and Jesus's brothers (yes... Jesus had brothers!) couldn't even reach Him. When someone told Jesus "hey dude, your fam is here an...
Read more

WELCOME BACK! Hebrews Introduction

WELCOME BACK TO DEEPLY ROOTED!!! Greetings fellow Bible readers and Jesus journey-ers! We're stoked to get back in the swing of things with y'all. For any new readers, this section would usually be where our handful of Bible verses will be. The section below would break down what in the world the verses mean. Then, there are some debrief questions for you to dive deeper and an application point. A new addition this year is the Song of the Week! We'll share a song that ties into the theme of the next few verses...if you gaze ahead and have song suggestions, comment below or text! HEBREWS INTRODUCTION: As with any book of the Bible, different Biblical scholars say different things about this letter, but we'll tell you the most probable take. So here it is: Hebrews is a letter written to a group of Jews who were being persecuted for deciding to follow Jesus. It is a letter to encourage them and to show that Jesus truly is the best person to follow despite how hard it was g...
Read more