Page 17 - Ephesians

That will give you a general idea of how we will develop it. Let me
show you how the background of the book, sheds light on the
wonderful message “Unfathomable riches in Christ”. I’ll give
you a principle of Bible study as we get into this. Ask God to
make you a scholar, IN the book, and not a scholar, ABOUT the
book. You would be amazed at how many volumes have been
written about the book. Remember, the only background
necessary, to get the revelation of Christ from a passage, is found
in the Bible already.

There are a few things in Acts which shed light on the message of
Ephesians. The first is from Acts 19:17-20. Paul had a ministry in
Ephesus and great results followed.

“And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who
lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of
the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Many also of those
who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing
their practices. And many of those who practiced magic
brought their books together and began burning them in the
sight of all; and they counted up the price of them and found
it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So, the word of the Lord
was growing mightily and prevailing.”
50,000 pieces of silver in Paul’s day is about $250,000 in our
money. They were heathen books, magical books, witchcraft.
They burned them! What a bonfire! What a testimony this must
have been to those observing. When God begins working in our
hearts, there will be a great bonfire of what was precious, before
you saw your wealth in Christ. Our idols become fuel for the fire.

Any criminal in Ephesus was safe from prosecution. You can see
how Ephesus would attract the worse criminals by sheltering
them. It was a city of idolatry. The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia says that Diana was the goddess of fertility. You
have probably seen pictures of Diana. She had rows and rows of
breasts. The temple was full of priestesses who were ceremonial
prostitutes. Lust arousing damsels using sex as an act of
worship. Ephesus was entirely corrupt. Full of idolatry, witchcraft