Ephesians: A Life-Changing Letter (An Overview Of Ephesians)

SERMON OUTLINE:

The Background of the Letter:

(a). The City

(b). The Church

(c). The Correspondence

The Structure of the Letter

(a). The Sections

(b). The Purpose

(c). The Ideas

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• Sports brand logos quiz.

• Diadora

• Umbro

• Under Amour

• New Era

• Lotto

• Converse

• Lotto

• Greatest boxer ever, Mohammed Ali wore… Adidas boots or Everlast.

• Our own champions e.g. Anthony Joshua wore…Under Amour,

• e.g. Tyson Fury…Nike

• TRANSITION:

• In many ways the Apostle Paul was a boxer,

• He wasn’t sponsored by Nike or Addidas because he fought a different type of fight.

• His were metaphorical not literal!

• A quick glance of his New Testament letters soon reveals this,

• He spent a lot of his time fighting one problem after another,

• e.g. in his Corinthian letters,

• He fights was against division within the Church.

• As he battled with quarrels that were tearing apart the church.

• In Galatians, he battled legalists,

• People who were trying to imprison the believers with the old rules & regulations.

• That the New Covenant had free them from.

• In 2 Thessalonians he fought against confusion and fear,

• In 1 and 2 Timothy, he fought against a lack of confidence.

• In Colossians it was a full-on battle against false doctrine.

• So, it appears again and again,

• That the apostle Paul was always fighting something or someone in his letters.

Question:

• What would the apostle have written in his letters,

• If he hadn’t had any heresies to correct, any fights to referee,

• Or any false teachers to expose?

Answer:

• I suggest it would be the book of Ephesians.

• In this letter:

• Paul exchanged his boxing gloves for a paintbrush!

• I say paintbrush because in this letter, the apostle Paul,

• Paints a magnificent portrait of Christ and his people.

• It really is a magnificent sight to behold!

The Background of the Letter:

(a). The City

(a) Ephesus was one the great cities of Asia Minor:

• Whenever you come across the word Asia in the New Testament,

• It is not referring to the continent but to this region i.e. Asia Minor.

• Today Ephesus’ well-preserved ruins are in modern-day Turkey

• Modern day Selçuk in Turkey.

(b). Ephesus was a Roman capital of about 250,000 people,

• It was a city that knew all about Roman pomp and ceremony,

• Important events took place there.

• Such as the Panionian games (similar to our Olympics)

(c). It was a safe-city or a city of refuge.

• Guilty criminals could run to the temple in Ephesus and find refuge,

• So, you can imagine the kind of residents that attracted to the region.

(d). It was a seaport,

• The city was once considered the most important Greek city

• And the most important trading centre in the Mediterranean region

• It was called, “The market for Asia-Minor.”

• With world trade come people from all over the world,

• And with them their gods and religions.

• It was a diverse city in people and in religion.

On a hill overlooking and dominating the city was a temple:

• The temple of the Greek goddess Artemis/Diana.

• (In Roman mythology, Artemis was also known as Diana).

• This was the cities jewel in the crown.

Ill:

• In the ancient world, the temple was one of the seven wonders of the world.

• It was 420 feet square.

• One of its features was its pillars, it contained one hundred and twenty-seven pillars,

• Every one of them the gift of a king.

• All were made of marble, and some were studded with jewels and overlaid with gold.

• This temple cast a long shadow over the city:

• And was a key focal point, that highly influenced the people.

• And worship of this goddess was jealously guarded,

• The apostle Paul found this out on his third missionary journeys,

• (Acts chapter 19 verse 23-24).

• Where the local tradesmen got very upset,

• Because people were coming to faith and were no longer buying their religious idols.

• To summarize:

• Do the city was big, important and cosmopolitan in its people and religions.

(b). The Church

• NIV: “To God’s holy people”

• KJB: “To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:”

Ill:

• On the first day at a missionary training school,

• The teacher entered the room and without saying a word,

• Walked down between every row of students.

• Finally, without saying a word, she walked out of the room again.

• A few minutes later she came back into the classroom and asked the class.