Ephesians Commentary – Week 1

For the next several weeks, I will be releasing a commentary series on the book of Ephesians. Today is a brief introduction, and in the following weeks we will be taking a verse by verse dive into the whole book. Please feel free to leave comments or ask questions!

Our common hope in Jesus is rooted in His identity as Israel’s Messiah (Christ). We put our trust in His finished work on the cross. We believe in and follow Him as He partners with us by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the complete fulfillment of His redemptive plans. We expect with eager faith His return, when He will restore the throne of David to Israel. We proclaim the Gospel of Messiah’s kingdom for the salvation of Israel and for the inclusion and inheritance of the nations into this promise.

As you read through this study on Ephesians, you will very clearly see my fascination and fixation upon the Messianic hope and all that is included in its promises. Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians is one which has dramatically changed my life’s focus on more than a couple occasions, providing context and encouragement in my pursuit of Jesus. I believe its message is still living and active today- in the same manner as all Scripture- and for this reason it requires the enthusiastic “amen” from our hearts.

This study is designed to be read as a verse by verse parallel to Ephesians. My hope in this study is to be accessible to as many people as possible. While I will make occasional references to the original Greek definitions and grammatical content, this will be done mostly for the purpose of clarifying common misunderstandings regarding the text itself. My hope is to approach the more scholarly elements of this effort in a way that actually leads to a greater simplicity of understanding.

I have kept as many of the verse by verse insights within the text itself, so that we can examine what the text is and is not saying in context to itself. In some cases however, my desire was to bring in other relevant passages I believe will help us better understand what Paul is communicating. When including these passages, I did so in what I call “Deeper Looks”, which are essentially side notes to the verse by verse study.

Before you read the study, I have what might seem an odd request…

Stop reading my notes and pick up your Bible. My recommendation when studying the Epistles is to begin your study by reading the whole letter aloud, and if possible, in its entirety in one reading. This will help give context to what the original hearers of the epistle experienced at their first encounter with Paul’s words. In fact, most of the New Testament books are shorter than or equal to a modern Sunday morning sermon, so this is not a difficult feat.

As a brief side note, most of the epistles of the New Testament include prayers. After reading the epistles aloud, I believe it is a great practice to look to these prayers as a guide. Throughout your study, pray these prayers aloud. Apply these prayers to your life, your family, your church, and to whatever else you think they may apply. I believe the Holy Spirit loves to speak, inspire, convict, and empower us through the Biblical prayers. Praying the Bible is a fantastic way to fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and over time it will produce a theology of the heart that will strengthen you in the areas of life intellectual theology fails to do on its own.

Another good practice when studying New Testament books is to seek better understanding of the Old Testament passages being referenced by the New Testament. Each of the New Testament books contains references to the Old Testament. We need to remember that Jesus and the apostles didn’t have the New Testament to reference when they taught on the word of God. They only had the Old Testament. New Testament teaching is an extension of the Old Testament, because the Old Testament is the “proof text” for what Jesus and the apostles taught. This means that if we understand the Old Testament passages in their proper context, we will have a much better understanding of what the New Testament passages are actually teaching.

Possibly the greatest example of using the Old Testament context to interpret New Testament passages is Psalm 110. This is the most quoted and alluded to Old Testament passage of Scripture throughout the New Testament. Understanding the context of Psalm 110 and how the apostles were using it in their teachings may transform your whole understanding of the New Testament. Paul alludes to Psalm 110 in the first chapter of Ephesians, and uses the Psalm as a foundational text within many of his epistles.

The most directly referenced Old Testament passage in Ephesians is Psalm 68. After studying Psalm 68 more thoroughly, I have come to the conclusion that this Psalm is specifically where Paul derives most of his theology regarding the Church in its mission, spiritual gifts, and practical identity. After this Ephesians study, I am strongly considering a verse by verse study of Psalm 68.

Other quotes or allusions to Old Testament passages in Ephesians are:

Genesis 2; Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5; Psalm 4; Psalm 8; Psalm 133; Psalm 3 139; Isaiah 52; Isaiah 57; Isaiah 59; Zechariah 8. I am sure I’m missing some, but you get the idea. Ephesians is a very Old Testament rich book.

There will be times throughout reading this study that I will prioritize some uncommon ideas in an almost redundant manner. Typically, this is because the conclusions I’m making are different or missing from most teaching I hear and read concerning this epistle. This is not to say I disagree with teaching I’ve heard (though this is sometimes the case). More often, it is to shift emphasis. I believe the greatest teaching errors we’ve made, especially in modern Christianity, are not always due to inaccuracies in our general understanding. The errors come from overemphasizing minor points of the message while missing or minimizing the main issue. For this reason, I will occasionally dwell on a topic by explaining it from more than one angle, or by rephrasing it a few times. In light of this, my hope is to give a faithful account to the truths in this epistle which are most beneficial to equip others and which partner in the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification.

When I wrote this study, I did so while reading along-side to the New King James Version, as well as the Greek Interlinear Bible. I enjoy the poetic value of the NKJV and the ability to use the Interlinear for quick reference to the original grammar used in the Greek. This is not necessary, but quite simply my preference. I believe you will get just as much out of my study using just about any other English translation to follow along.

Next week, we will look at an introduction to Paul’s apostleship, and after that we will dive into the verse by verse study. Until then, if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section. Blessings!