Ephesians 1 Recap

It is so great to get into the word. As good as companion pieces are there is nothing like digging straight down into God's word and allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal His message to you. That is exactly what we are striving to do for this Ephesians study.

Ephesians = circular letter from Paul most likely intended for a greater audience.

-->Grace appears 12x and Peace 8x throughout this letter

-->Ephesus was a most important city during this time, located in W. Asia Minor (now Turkey)

-->Its harbor opened to the Cayster River, which emptied into the Aegean Sea -- the harbor does not exist any longer

-->This harbor area made Ephesus a major player is the trade route and helped it become a ginormous commercial center

-->Paul had spent 3 years in ministry in Ephesus previously

-->This letter, unlike his others, does not address any particular heresy or error that the church needs to hear about. Paul wrote this to expand the horizons of readers so that they might better understand the dimensions of God's eternal purpose and grace and come to appreciate the high goals God has for the church -- something we need to hear!

Thanks for a great kickoff to this study guys, I look forward to next week when we tackle Chapter 2!

Stay strong