Page 81 - Advanced New Testament Survey Student Textbook

sacrifice—but they point to the fact that submission to authority isn’t easy for anyone. How do you
struggle with submitting to authority, even when that authority is handled appropriately and fairly?
Paul discusses the reality of spiritual conflict and exhorts his audience to prepare themselves (Eph 6:10–
20). What is your perception of spiritual conflict? What opposition do you sense to God’s work in your
life and the lives of people around you?
Atmosphere
Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians around the same time he wrote Colossians and Philemon, as he
sent all three letters by the hand of Tychicus, accompanied by Onesimus (Ephesians 6:21; Colossians
4:7–9; Philemon 1:10–12). At the time, Paul was in Rome undergoing his first Roman imprisonment
(Ephesians 3:1; 4:1). For this reason, Ephesians is one of the four epistles commonly known as the Prison
Epistles. Paul in this letter was not responding to any particular theological or moral problem, he just
wanted to protect against future problems by encouraging the Ephesians to mature in their faith
(Ephesians 4:1).

Highlights: key passages:

• All spiritual blessings. 1:3-14.
• Paul's first prayer. 1:15-23.
• Salvation by grace. 2:1-10.
• Oneness of Jews and Gentiles in Christ. 2:11-22.
• The revelation of the mystery. 3:1-13.
• Paul's second prayer. 3:14-21.
• The worthy walk. 4:1-16.
• The different walk. 4:17-32.
• The loving walk. 5:1-14.
• The wise walk. 5:15-6:9.
• The Christian Walk as warfare. 6:10-20.

Practical Application: 114

Perhaps more than any other book of the Bible, the Book of Ephesians emphasizes the connection
between sound doctrine and right practice in the Christian life. Far too many people ignore "theology"
and instead want to only discuss things that are "practical." In Ephesians, Paul argues that theology is
practical. In order to live out God’s will for us in our lives practically, we must first understand who we
are in Christ doctrinally.

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