Ephesians overview

It’s a simple book and a really positive one. Half about the wonder of God’s love, particularly this gospel era Paul is part of announcing. Half about living as God’s children. Pauls tone is visionary rather than disciplinary though, it’s an encouragement to imagine how great life could be if lived by God’s template.

I found it uplifting. I made a conscious effort not to be distracted by some of the thorny theological disputes it has fuelled such as predestination and gender roles in marriage.

It has a motherhood vibe you have to break through. The other letters are written about specific church issues. This seems more like a generic Christian pep talk, is hard to know if it’s addressing specific issues for the ephesians.

I felt a bit trivial whining about my issues in the face of these visions of cosmic truth. But it’s right to bring it down to “how does this help me stay positive in the COVID queue?”.

If I had to guess, if say the ephesians needed confidence. They were perhaps feeling overwhelmed. And I vibed with that.

Indeed I feel that ephesians has helped me understand how to access Pauls letters. They’ll always be there. While it’s good to appreciate them on a cosmic level if you can, it’s also valid to just grab something for now from them.

They are too dense, too big, to keep in your head at once. They say our brains max out at seven or so things they can process simultaneously. Well Paul can toss out more than seven simply saying hello.

Paul is really excited about the unity of all people in Christ. He’s bursting with the gospel here. Then he connects it to how to live, and it’s a beautiful vision… Children of light, lifting others higher than yourself, upturning the world’s power dynamics. Warriors of truth, diminishing the darkness, fighting for Christ’s loving vision in the spiritual realities around us.

1 the wonderful gospel, being chosen to be God’s children, being loved being safe, being able to choose to live the life God wants for us

2 how great is the unity of all people in the gospel of Christ. I worry about those who aren’t in, but in the glow of a lovely family Christmas reunion, I remember to trust that God’s sense of justice is bigger than mine.

3 Paul overwhelmed by the glorious time we are in, and his role in announcing the fullest revelation of God’s grace. A celebration of the good news of Christ.

4 living the Christian life, Paul’s advice always rings true as you read it but gets muffled as you live it. My prayer is to soak up these ideas and words, repeat them so they stick with me

5 being children of light, which involves singing and elevating others higher than yourselves. This becomes a model for marriage. I think about the power of light to clarify darkness and diminish it.

6 Being strong, Being aware of spiritual warfare. I mull over some of my decisions, my parenting, how my work experiences have undermined my confidence. This lifts me up, encourages me to keep going, keep fighting and have faith that I’m roughly in the right direction.