POSTING WITH A PURPOSE! WHEN WE WRITE, we often have a purpose for what we write. What’s your purpose for writing?

In this series, we will study the Book of Ephesians.

In Ephesians, Paul, the author, introduces four metaphors to describe God’s church.

They are the body, the temple, the bride, and the army. 

Our focus will be on these metaphors in terms of what they are to us and our relationship to Christ.

You may view any of our other videos at  SabbathSchoolDaily.com.

You may also obtain the study guide for this series at Sabbath.School or ssnet.org.

Let Us Invite God’s Presence:

Holy Father, thank you for the letter that Paul has written to the Church in Ephesus.

Help us to see in this letter the message you have for us. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Writing allows us to express ourselves. Through writing, we are able to convey messages, preserve knowledge, and share experiences with others.

It serves as a means of communication and documentation across various mediums such as books, articles, letters, emails, reports, and even social media platforms.  

The general purpose of writing is to communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and stories.

Therefore when we write, we generally have a purpose for what we are writing.

For instance, In 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address he had a purpose.

Mr. Lincoln wrote this famous speech after the terrible battle at Gettysburg during the American Civil War.

In this battle, about 7,000 soldiers were killed.

Thus, in the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln expressed that the Civil War was a test for America to show if it, as a nation founded in 1776, would continue to grow as a country or “perish from the earth.”

Likewise, Paul wrote a letter addressing the Ephesians.

Our exploration will shed light on the wisdom found in this ancient text and show us how it is relevant to our lives today.

Imagine, for a moment, walking through the vibrant streets of Ephesus, a busy city filled with people from all walks of life.

As we listen to their conversations, we hear their interest in magic incantations and the worship of many gods.

We see the huge temple of Artemis and large ships moving in and out of the port.

And in the middle of all of this, we observe people of all ages and social classes rushing to join a riot in the amphitheater.

These sights and sounds bring the Ephesians’ world to life, revealing the challenges they faced and the temptations that surrounded them.

The Ephesians were an ancient people who lived in the city of Ephesus.

Ephesus was located in what is now modern-day Turkey.

The city of Ephesus was an important center of trade, culture, and religion in the ancient world.

The Apostle Paul played a significant role in the history of the Ephesians. 

He visited Ephesus and spent several years there, establishing a Christian community and preaching the teachings of Jesus Christ.

But what motivated Paul to write this letter to the Ephesians?

Paul has an important purpose for writing to the Ephesians.

Part of his purpose for writing them was because he had been arrested for his faith and was in prison.

Paul wanted to encourage them not to lose hope because of his imprisonment.

The other reason Paul wrote to the Ephesians was because of the ongoing persecution of the Christians and the temptation to lose hope.

In this series, from the Book of Ephesians, through the eyes of Paul, we explore the matchless love of Jesus Christ, who holds the power to transform our lives, even in the middle of trying times.

Ephesians 4:1–16 remind the Ephesians of what happened when they accepted Jesus as their Savior and became a part of the church.

Paul tells them in Ephesians 2:19–23 and Ephesians 4:1-16 that they are a part of the body of Christ.

In Ephesians 2:19-22 He tells them they make up the temple of Christ.

In Ephesians 5:21–33, he says they are the bride of Christ.

Then in Ephesians 6:10–20, Paul identifies them as a strong well-equipped army ready for battle.

In other words, it was Paul’s purpose to show the Ephesians that God has a plan for them.

They were to play a strategic role in fulfilling God’s grand plan.

He tells them in Ephesians 1:9-10

9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. (Ephesians 1:10).

God’s bigger plan is to unite everything in Christ.

“Paul was a living example of what every true Christian should be. He lived for God’s glory. His words come sounding down the line to our time:

“For to me to live is Christ.” “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”  

Paul, once a persecutor of Christ in the person of fighting against the followers of Christ, became an influencer, preaching about a crucified savior; he now held up before the world the cross of Christ. How did Paul influence the people of Ephesus?

Part 2: Paul, Evangelist to Ephesus

Ephesus was the capital of one of the empire’s richest provinces, the province of Asia, which covered much of what we know today as Asia Minor, also considered modern-day Turkey.

In Paul’s day, about 250,000 people lived in Ephesus. Ephesus was a port city built near the water.

It was also economically important because the trade roads passed through it.

The Ephesians worshiped many gods; one of their main gods was Diana.

Diana was referred to as Artemis by the Greeks, as indicated in Acts 19:24, And Acts 19:35

Acts 19:24

24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.

And Acts 19:35

35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus? (Acts 19:35.)

You see, Diana was the Roman moon goddess.

The Ephesians believed that Diana protected their city.

Thus, she was held as the supreme god.

Therefore, the Ephesians included the worship of Diana in every part of the city, including ceremonies, athletic games, and annual celebrations.

In Acts 18:19-21 we read about Paul’s first visit to Ephesus and his promise to return.

18 So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow.

19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

20 When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent,

21 but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus. (Acts 18:18-21)

Acts 19:1–12 tell of Paul’s second visit, at which time he stayed for three years, according to Acts 20:31.

Paul remains in Ephesus for those three years because he wanted to help Christianity grow strong there.

In Acts 19:13-20 we discover that some strange things happened in Ephesus while Paul was there that caused the people to respect and honor God. Read about what happened in Acts 19:13-20

13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.

19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.

20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

So, Luke in Acts 19 shares a story about seven traveling Jewish exorcists in the city.

These men traveled from city to city, claiming to free people from demons.

The seven men decided to mix the names of Jesus and Paul with their other incantations to drive out demons.

However, this practice proves to backfire. It became an unwise undertaking for these exorcists.

When these seven men used Jesus’ and Paul’s names to attempt to force a demon out of a man, something terrible happened.

The man with the evil spirit jumped on the seven Jews, beat them up, and tore off their clothes.

 When the people in the city heard the news of what happened to the seven men, Acts 19:17 tells us that it made such a profound impact that it moved many of the people to praise the Lord Jesus.

17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. (Acts 19:17). Then, some of the new Christians in Ephesus publicly burned all handbooks of magic.

These books were worth “50,000 pieces of silver according to Acts 19:19.

19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. (Acts 19:19)

What lesson did they learn from what happened to the seven Jewish men?

The Christians in the city learned that they must not mix the worship of Jesus with magic or with other evil things.

The influence of Paul and the bad experience of the seven Jewish men had a major impact on their Pagan Temple.

What impact did Paul’s anti-idolatry have on the Temple of Diana?  

Imagine A WILD FIGHT IN A THEATER.

Part 3, A Riot in the Amphitheater

When we stand up for what we believe, we will face major challenges. This is exactly what Paul experienced in the City of Ephesus. But what we will see is that even amid turmoil, God Always comes through.

Read about the Riot that took place in the Amphitheater at Ephesus in Act 19:21 to Act 20:1

See how God took what the devil meant for bad and turned it into good.

What we find is that even though the devil attempted to end Paul’s work in Ephesus, it instead became a big success.

Paul’s preaching made some people in the city really mad.

Why? His preaching was so impactful that it affected the entire economic system of Ephesus.  

Artemis, the goddess Diana, drove the entire economy for the city of Ephesus.

 The Temple of Artemis made the city of Ephesus a tourist attraction.

It was a magnificent structure with 127 pillars all around it.

Each pillar was 60 feet tall and was made from Parian marble.

In ancient times, Parian marble was the best marble.

Parian marble was pure-white.

36 of the white marble pillars were covered with gold.

This temple was so famous for its beauty that it earned the reputation of being one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

So, what caused the riot in the Amphitheater?

It was Paul’s teachings against idol worship or idolatry.

Convinced of Paul’s teaching, many people stopped buying the statues of the moon goddess Diana.

So, the merchants in the city who sold the statues started losing money.

Notice what Demetrius, the silversmith, says to the other merchants in Acts 19:27.  A silversmith is someone who makes things from silver. (Split)

27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.” (Acts 19:27)

Demetrius’ statement causes the workers in the city to become very angry with Paul.

As he spoke the crowd grew larger.

The crowd grew so big that they left the marketplace and went to the large amphitheater in the city.

This theater was big enough to hold 25,000 people.

For two hours, the people in the theater continued to shout according to Acts 19:34

34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:34). (Split)

Finally, the town leader came to the theater and dispersed the crowd.

He told the crowd to stop shouting and leave. (Split)

From the book The Acts of the Apostles, it says:

Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen saw that by the teaching and spread of the gospel the business of image making was endangered. The income of pagan priests and artisans was at stake, and for this reason they aroused against Paul the most bitter opposition.

The decision of the recorder and of others holding honorable offices in the city had set Paul before the people as one innocent of any unlawful act. This was another triumph of Christianity over error and superstition. God had raised up a great magistrate to vindicate His apostle and hold the tumultuous mob in check. Paul’s heart was filled with gratitude to God that his life had been preserved and that Christianity had not been brought into disrepute by the tumult at Ephesus.—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 295.

So, after the crowd is disbursed, Paul meets with the Christians and then leaves the city.

Acts 20:17-38 tells of Paul’s third visit to Ephesus, at which time he meets with the leaders of the Ephesian church.

 Warning of the tough times ahead, read what Paul talks about in this meeting in Acts 20:17–38

The following is an overview of Paul’s visit to Ephesus leading up to his letter to the Ephesians. (Split)

AD 52: Paul’s initial, short visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:18–21).

 * AD 53–56: Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:1–20:1). He composes 1 Corinthians near the end of his stay there (1 Cor. 16:5–9).

* AD 57: While at Miletus, Paul meets with the elders from Ephesus (Acts 20:17–38).

* AD 62: Paul composes his letter to the Ephesians. It is believed that he wrote this letter while imprisoned in Rome. 

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul sets before them the “mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19), the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8), and then assure them of his earnest prayers for their spiritual prosperity.—The Sanctified Life, pp. 83, 84.

How did the people of Ephesus respond to his Letter?

 Learn More in Part 4:  Hearing the Letter to the Ephesians.  

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