Through Ephesians for Skeptics and Seekers (Overview Part 1)

The letter to the Ephesians was actually a circular letter written by the apostle Paul. It was meant to be passed from church to church as he included guidance on on how to live for Jesus in a pagan world.

Paul lived and served in Ephesus for 2 years (and may have been imprisoned there for another year). Ephesus was the 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire behind Rome and Alexandria. There were 250,000 people living there in what was the most prominent city in all of Asia. Ephesus had a giant Temple to Artemis which was 4 times bigger than the Parthenon.

As people came to Christ, they stopped buying idols to the goddess Artemis and sorcerers even burned their scrolls. As a result, Paul and the church experienced persecution including the famous moment where 25,000 Ephesians chanted for their goddess while Paul hoped to speak to the rowdy crowd.

The letter to the Ephesians describes our identity and Christ, our calling to be people who walk the way of love, our invitation to live as children of light in a multiethnic church community, how to have healthy households, how to put on our the armor of God, and how we are made alive in Christ.

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