Ephesians Manuscript Study

If you are new to this blog, I encourage you to start with  Intro [1]  and then continue in order. This is in answer to Ephesians in Review at the end of   Ephesians 6:10-24 THE LAST ONE!!! [23] . This study of Ephesians has been so rich for me.  It was one of my favorite books of the Bible before I started, but I love it even more and understand it even better now. It has also amazed me how many opportunities God has given me to share from my time studying it. It seems like Ephesians relates to EVERYTHING! 1) When I started studying Ephesians this time, I was struck by the theme of unity. I found that it was all over the place, even when the word itself was not used (for more on unity, see my post,  Unity Through and Through - Thoughts on Ephesians 4:1-16 [16] ). I was happy to receive confirmation of that when I read one of my pastor's sermons, and he said that unity was the main theme of Ephesians: "to unite all things in [Christ], things in heaven an...

If you are new to this blog, I encourage you to start with  Intro [1]  and then continue in order. "11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore..." Ephesians 6  ESV I wondered at the emphasis on stand: stand v 11, withstand and stand firm v 13, stand v 14. Why stand? Then I thought of earthly wars. How often is a commander content that his army just stand their ground? Aren't they usually trying to advance? Gain more ground? I found what my Pastor Timothy had to say to be helpful: We stand, in this case, because the ground has already been won (cf. Thielm...

If you are new to this blog, I encourage you to start with  Intro [1]  and then continue in order. I think I have said this before, but as with all of my observation posts, these are not necessarily the only right answers. These are my observations of the text and my answers to the questions. I have provided these for people who like to know that they are on the right track. But please don't think, just because you came up with something else, that it is wrong. On the other hand, if you come up with something that is different than you have ever heard before, it would probably be good to discuss it with a mature believer, to make sure you are on the right track. DAY 2 1) we do not wrestle against -flesh and -blood v12 BUT against 2) -against the rulers -against the authorities -against the cosmic powers over this present darkness -against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places  v12 3) v11 Put on the whole armor of God -that you may be ...

If you are new to this blog, I encourage you to start with  Intro [1]  and then continue in order. DAY 1 Read through chapter 6 and mark words that you previously marked. Read 6:10-24 and look for words that are repeated in this last section and mark some of them. Praise God for something you read about. DAY 2 1) What is being contrasted in v12? 2) If you did not already write them out, what are we wrestling against? 3) Compare v11 with v13 (look for similarities and differences). 4) Who are you tempted to think of as your enemies (v12)?  Talk to God about this. 5) What do you think it means to stand firm (v13)? DAY 3 List the different parts of the armor of God and other information given about the pieces of armor. Thank God for something or somethings in this list. DAY 4 1) What does this passage say about prayer? 2) When or how should we pray? 3) What should we pray about? Pray according to something Paul said. 4) What is Paul's prayer requ...

If you are new to this blog, I encourage you to start with  Intro [1]  and then continue in order. Before we look at any specific people, I think it would be good to get a big picture of how this section fits in with the previous section. The following is from my pastor's sermon notes (see 5:21-24) , and I think it is a good visual to help us with that - the part that starts "WATCH CAREFULLY THEREFORE HOW YOU WALK". So I think this helps us to see that wives submitting to their husbands, children obeying their parents, and bondservants obeying their earthly masters all fall under the "submitting to one another in the fear of Christ". And that goes along with giving thanks, singing and making melody, and speaking to one another in songs, which all fall under being filled in the Spirit and watching carefully how we walk. Now that we have the all-important context, I have just a few thoughts... As a wife, when I recently looked at this, I think I wa...

If you are new to this blog, I encourage you to start with  Intro [1]  and then continue in order. These are my answers to the questions I asked in my previous post [21]: DAY 1 wives husbands children fathers slaves masters DAYS 2 AND 3 1) Wives 1. submit to your own husbands v22   -as to the Lord Why? For the husband is the head of the wife =as Christ is the head of the church 2. as the church submits to Christ = wives should submit in everything to their husbands v24 3. let the wife see that she respects her husband v33 Husbands 1. love your wives v25 -as Christ loved the church 2. in the same way (as Christ loved the church) should love their wives as their own bodies -he who loves his wife loves himself v28 -we don't hate our bodies, but: v29 -nourish -cherish our flesh -because we are members of his body v30 3. leave his father and mother v31 4. hold fast to his wife v31 -and the two shall become one flesh v31 5. let...

If you are new to this blog, I encourage you to start with  Intro [1]  and then continue in order. Well, we are almost done with Ephesians - only two sections left! I know it has been a lot of work, but hopefully you have seen some of the benefits of digging into God's word. Don't quit yet, persevere to the end and get that good fruit that comes from studying diligently! DAY 1 Now we move on to specific instructions for specific groups of people. So first of all, read through 5:22-6:9 and note all the different people Paul addresses. Mark them a certain way, if you would like. DAYS 2 AND 3 1) List the commands Paul gives to wives and husbands and any reasons he gives for the commands. 2) How do verses 23 and 24 help to flesh out what it means for a wife to submit to her husband? 3) How does the comparison of Christ loving the church in verses 25-27 help us to understand how husbands are to love their wives? 4) Same question for 28-30 as above... If you are a wi...