EPHESIANS 3:1-6

Ephesians 3

	World English Bible Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy  and without blemish before him in love kaqw;ß ejxelevxato hJma'ß ejn aujtw'/ pro; katabolh'ß kovsmou, ei\nai hJma'ß aJgivouß  kai; ajmwvmouß katenwvpion aujtou' ejn ajgavph/,
5	which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now  been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; oJ; eJtevraiß geneai'ß oujk ejgnwrivsqh toi'ß uiJoi'ß tw'n ajnqrwvpwn wJß nu'n ajpekaluvfqh  toi'ß aJgivoiß ajpostovloiß aujtou' kai; profhvtaiß ejn pneuvmati,
6	that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow  partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, ei ta; e~qnh sugklhronovma kai; suvsswma kai; summevtoca th'ß ejpaggelivaß  ejn Xristw'/ #Ihsou' dia; tou' eujaggelivou, Ephesians 3 The words that the Apostle Paul wrote close to 2,000 years ago are  written in Koine Greek  language which were tr Verse 1 For this cause (toutou carin). Use of carin (accusative of caris) as a preposition with the genitive and referring to the preceding argument about God's elective grace. It is possible that Paul started to make the prayer that comes in verses Ephesians 14-21 when he repeats toutou carin. If so, he is diverted by his own words "the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles" (o desmios tou Cristou Ihsou uper umwn twn eqnwn) to set forth in a rich paragraph (Ephesians 1-13) God's use of him for the Gentiles . Verse 2 If so be that ye have heard (ei ge hkousate). Condition of first class with ei and first aorist active indicative and with the intensive particle ge that gives a delicate touch to it all. On oikonomian (stewardship, dispensation) see Ephesians 1:9; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:25. There is a related word used in Verse 3 By revelation (kata apokalupsin). Not essentially different from di apokalupsews (Galatians 1:12). This was Paul's qualification for preaching "the mystery" (to musthrion. See Galatians 1:9). As I wrote afore (kaqws proegrapsa). First aorist active indicative of prograpw as in Romans 15:4, not picture forth as Galatians 3:1. But when and where? Epistolary aorist for this Epistle? That is possible. A previous and lost Epistle as in 1 Corinthians 5:9? That also is abstractly possible. To the preceding discussion of the Gentiles? Possible and also probable. In few words (en oligwi). Not = pro oligou, shortly before, but as in Acts 26:28 "in brief space or time" = suntonwß (Acts 24:4), "briefly." Verse 4 Whereby (pros o). "Looking to which," "according to which." When ye read (anaginwskontes). This Epistle will be read in public. My understanding in the mystery of Christ (thn sunesin mou en twi musthriwi tou Cristou). My "comprehension (sunesin, Colossians 1:9; Colossians 2:2). Every sermon reveals the preacher's grasp of "the mystery of Christ." If he has no insight into Christ, he has no call to preach. Verse 5 In other generations (eterais geneais+). Locative case of time. He had already claimed this revelation for himself (verse Colossians 3). Now he claims it for all the other apostles and prophets of God. Verse 6 To wit . Not in the Greek. But the infinitive (einai) clause is epexegetical and gives the content of the revelation, a common idiom in the N.T. Ta eqnh is in the accusative of general reference.       Paul is fond of compounds with sun and here uses three of them. Fellow-heirs (sunklhronoma). Late and rare (Philo, inscriptions and papyri). See also Romans 8:17. Fellow-members of the body (sunswma). First found here and only here save in later ecclesiastical writers. Preuschen argues that it is equivalent to sundoulos in Colossians.  1:7 (swma in sense of doulos). Colossians 1:7 "You have heard ('Grace in truth') from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant      or fellowslave, sundoulos Fellow-partakers (sunmetoca). Another late and rare word (Josephus). Only here in N.T. In one papyrus in sense of joint possessor of a house.

WALK and THE CALLED OUT

 THE WALK OF THE CALLED  OUT

The Bible speaks of itself as "God-breathed",  as the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to 2Timothy 3:16.  Here the Greek word  being translated into Englishn as "inspired by God."

         God has so blessed us by giving us His message, Paul the Apostle has written that the message in Greek has a number of applications.  I have broken down this message into various parts.  WHAT DID PAUL WRITE? WHAT'S THE PRIMARY MESSAGE?  and WHAT MUST I DO WITH THE MESSAGE?

WHAT DID PAUL WRITE?

World English Bible   EPHESIANS 4

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,

1

Hebrew and Greek Original

Parakalw' ou\n uJma'ß ejgw; oJ devsmioß ejn kurivw/ ajxivwß peripath'sai th'ß klhvsewß hJ'ß  ejklhvqhte,       Verse 1 Wherewith ye were called WHAT IS THE PRIMARY MESSAGE?         Of course, the Apostle Paul makes a whole host of important points, and a mistake people often make from these, "host of important points". That the Bible, God's Word, can be made to say anything you want.  THAT'S THE SAME LIE SATAN TOLD EVE  "You surely shall not die!!" Genesis 3:4 THE BIBLE, GOD'S WORD, DOES HAVE ONLY ONE MEANING! HOWEVER, OFTEN, THERE ARE A THOUSAND APPLICATIONS. What I read here is ...  God is bringing up your walk. Obviously, God has a definite interest in your walk! HOW DO YOU WALK?        Naturally, if you have the normal function of your legs and are not impaired or handicapped you know how to walk. Certainly, you know what the word means: placing one foot in front of the other. To walk you move--there's action in a walk. As this word "walk" is used in Paul's writings, it is like a lifestyle. Your lifestyle is the way you live. WALK is translated from (peripath'sai )             (peri--) is a Greek preposition meaning to move around or about --walk about            In the verse considered  (peri--path'sai )  means to walk about as someone worthy of your calling.            "literally--go about, walk around....walk among the___. In several places one might also translate stay, spend some time, ...without the idea of remaining on the same spot." GREEK-ENGLISH LEXICON of N.T.  p654,  --Jesus Christ, John the Baptist were peripath'sai They were peripatetic preachers.  They had no one spot to stay. ACTUALLY THE ENGLISH DICTIONARY HAS THIS TRANSLITERATION: PERIPATETIC This same Greek word  (peripath'sai ) is used by the Apostle eight times in the six chapter of Ephesians. Paul uses the word differently in The Letter to the Galatians.  GALATIANS 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won`t fulfill the lust of the flesh. Levgw dev, pneuvmati peripatei'te                  kai; ejpiqumivan sarko;ß ouj mh; televshte. (See next page for further discussion about this.) GOD CHANGES YOUR LIFESTYLE STARTING FROM YOUR INSIDE TO YOUR OUTSIDE In other words, God changes                                                                               When your thinking changes--your behavior changes--what you are doing.  YOUR LIFESTYLE IS REALLY DEVELOPED FROM YOUR WORLDVIEW --FROM WHAT YOUR IS ACTUAL BELIEF. (I HAVE A BLOG ON WORLDVIEW--CHECK IT OUT) INCIDENTLY, JESUS PUT A FURTHER REQUIREMENT ON THIS LIFESTYLE. Jesus answered him, "Most assuredly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can`t see the kingdom of God."  .... "Most assuredly I tell you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he can`t enter into the kingdom of God! JOHN 3:3,5 When you are "reborn" --your worldview is reborn by God's Spirit--you are not even going to "see"--perceive or UNDERSTAND God's Kingdom. Nor will you enter it. ON BEING BORN AGAINS  READ JOHN 1:12-13  WHAT MUST I DO WITH THE MESSAGE? GO TO CHURCH??  NO!NO!                            (see blog "GALATIANS THE CALLED OUT)                        READ JOHN 1:12 AGAIN -----"BORN OF GOD" IS BETWEEN YOU AND GOD-----"BELIEVE IN HIS NAME" MEANS YOUR ASKING AND TRUSTING IN JESUS CHRIST This is praying to God and telling Him you want to be born again and trusting Him. --WHO IS "THE WORD" WHO IS GOD IN THE FLESH" (JOHN1:14)    "WALK WORTHY OF YOUR CALLING" THE WORD, "CHURCH" IN GREEK,  ECCLESIA,  MEANS ELECTED--CALLED OUT. IF you should so decide TRUST   IN JESUS   ... I BELIEVE GOD ELECTED OR GOD CALLED YOU.

MINISTRY IN THE ANCIENT CITY OF EPHESUS

Ephesians 1 1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; 4. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;

         

            I personally  enjoy reading and teaching this letter, because of the promises, and stress on "walking in the Spirit."

            I BELIEVE THE EPHESIAN CHURCH BECAME AN IMPORTANT PART IN THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS OF THE CHURCH.

ACTS 19:39,41  For "assembly" is translated from ecclesia or more often in the scriptures, this Greek word   ecclesia is translated "church".  
BUT NEVER MEANS A BUILDING
verse 4

He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love; even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him

Verse 4 Even as he chose us in him (kaqwß exelexato hmaß en  autwi).                                                                                                     First aorist middle indicativise of eklegw, to pick out, to choose. Definitive statement of God's elective grace concerning believers in Christ. Before the foundation of the world (pro katabolhß kosmou). Old word fromn istia kataballw, to fling down, used of the deposit of seed, the laying of a foundation. This very phrase with pro in the Prayer of Jesus (John 17:24) of love of the Father toward the Son. It occurs also in 1 Peter 1:20. Elsewhere we have apo (from) used with it (Matthew 25:34; Luke 11:50; Hebrews 4:3; Hebrews 9:26; Revelation 13:8; Revelation 17:8). But Paul uses neither phrase elsewhere, though he has apo twn aiwnwn (from the ages) in Ephesians 3:9. Here in Ephesians 1:3-14.           Paul in summary fashion gives an outline of  view of God's redemptive plans for the race.          That we should be (einai hmaß). Infinitive of purpose with the accusative of general reference (hmaß). See Colossians 1:22 for the same two adjectives and also katenwpion autou.        Briefly, about Paul's earlier first mission trip (Acts 13-14), he started with Barnabas and John also named Mark (Mark the Gospel writer), starting from Antioch of Syria. by sea to the island of Cyprus, and then to the mainland of Asia. One of the first places he stopped at was another Antioch, but Antioch of Acts 13:14, This was inland in the Galatian region. (Later on this trip John Mark left them at Perga and went to back  to Jerusalem. Paul wouldn't take him on the 2nd mission trip )         The first Sabbath Paul preached in the synagogue in Antioch of Galatia. Pulling no punches, part of his message mentioning "the good news made to the fathers... Be it known to you, therefore, brothers," ...that through this man (Christ) is proclaimed to you remission of sins, and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.        While Paul would first visit the synagogues, and had a good response from many in this Jewish setting, obviously some responded in hostility.  Soon he found the Gentile crowds responding with real joy and in large numbers.        Traveling by land, Paul and Barnabas planted churches. The Apostle Paul was moved of God to visit the Ephesus area,  to establish the Christian church there.  Again these churches were not buildings, but assemblies of believers. He had visited Ephesus coming back from his 2nd mission trip and left Priscilla and Aquila there and Priscilla and Aquila had a church in their house. ( Rom.16:4)            "While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country (Galatia) came to Ephesus...." Acts 18"24-19:1            EPHESUS BECAME THE CENTER OF CHRISTIANITY. When I write this it is not that there was some official designation (others have written this), or that some large church building had been built.          The last living Apostle, Apostle John had moved there. He lived there or had a residence there while writing some of his books.           Tradition tells us that John, in obedience to Jesus, had moved with Mary, Jesus' mother, to Ephesus to escape the Roman-Jewish war.                                         THERE

EPHESUS THE CENTER OF CHRISTIANITY DURING 50sAD

Ephesus 
Ἔφεσος  Efes

From Wikipedia, the free Biblehee encyclopedia

For homonyms of the Turkish word Efes, see Efes.

THE EARLY START, DEVELOPMENT AND SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL.

COMPARATIVELY  SPEAKING much is written, in the Bible about the Ephesian Church. 

The ministry in Ephesus, as a number of others was an urban ministry in a city of 200,000+

    In Ephesus, the Christian church met in houses or other convenient places.

For example, Aquilla and Priscilla had a church in their house.  (1Corinthians 16:19, Paul wrote Corinthians from Ephesus)

Ephesus was an important center for Christianity in the latter part of the first century, from 50AD into the first century.  

From AD 52–54, the apostle Paul lived in Ephesus, working with the congregation and apparently organizing missionary activity into the hinterlands.^[43]

 Initially, according to the Acts of the Apostles, Paul attended the Jewish synagogue in Ephesus, but after three months he became frustrated with the stubbornness or hardness of heart of some of the Jews, and 

He moved his base to the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9). Here Paul ministered successfully through the work of the Holy Spirit for at least 2 years. 

 The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary reminds readers that the unbelief of "some" (Greek: τινες) implies that "others, probably a large number, believed"^[44] and therefore there must have been a community of Jewish Christians in Ephesus.

Paul introduced about twelve men to the 'baptism with the Holy Spirit' who had previously only experienced the baptism of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7), and later became embroiled in a dispute with some artisans whose livelihood depended on selling statuettes of Artemis (Latin: Diana) in the Temple of Artemis (Acts 19:23–41).

Between 53 and 57 AD Paul wrote the letter 1 Corinthians from Ephesus (possibly from the 'Paul tower' near the harbor, where he was imprisoned for a short time). Later, Paul wrote the Epistle to the Ephesians while he was in prison in Rome (around 62 AD).

Roman Asia was associated with John,^[45]

 one of the chief apostles, and the Gospel of John might have been written in Ephesus, c 90–100.^[46] Ephesus was one of the seven cities addressed in the Book of Revelation, indicating that the church at Ephesus was strong.

The church at Ephesus

Two decades later, the church at Ephesus was still important enough to be addressed by a letter written by Bishop Ignatius of Antioch to the 
Ephesians (Church) in the early 2nd century AD, that begins with, "Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which is at Ephesus, in Asia, deservedly most happy, being blessed in the greatness and fullness of God the Father, and predestinated before the beginning of time, that it should be always for an enduring and unchangeable glory" (Letter to the Ephesians). The church at Ephesus had given their support for Ignatius, who was taken to Rome for execution.

House of the JESUS' MOTHER, Mary

A legend, which was first mentioned by Epiphanius of Salamis in the 4th century AD, purported that Mary may have spent the last years of her life in Ephesus. The Ephesians derived the argument from John's presence in the city, and Jesus’ instructions to John to take care of Mary after his death. 
Epiphanius, however, was keen to point out that, while the Bible says John was leaving for Asia, it does not say specifically that Mary went with him. He later stated that she was buried in Jerusalem.^[47] 

Since the 19th century, The House of the Virgin Mary, about 7 km (4 mi) from Selçuk, has been considered to have been the last home of Mary, mother of Jesus in the Roman Catholic tradition, based on the visions of Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich. It is a popular place of Catholic pilgrimage which has been visited by three recent popes.

The Church of Mary near the harbour of Ephesus was the setting for the Third Ecumenical Council in 431, which resulted in the condemnation of Nestorius. A Second Council of Ephesus was held in 449, but its controversial acts were never approved by the Catholics. It came to be called the Robber Council of Ephesus or Robber Synod of Latrocinium by its opponents.

Main sites[edit]

The Gate of Augustus in Ephesus was built to honor the Emperor Augustus and his family.

Tomb of JOHN THE APOSTLE at the Basilica of St. John.

Ephesus is one of the largest Roman archaeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean. The visible ruins still give some idea of the city's original splendour, and the names associated with the ruins are evocative of its former life. The theatre dominates the view down Harbour Street, which leads to the silted-up harbour.

EPHESUS ANGEL OF THE CHURCH ...(REPENT).REV. 2

Revelation 2

	World English Bible	Greek Original
1	To the angel of the assembly in Ephesus write: "He who holds the seven stars in his right hand, he who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands says these things:	Tw'/ ajggevlw/ th'ß ejn #Efevsw/ ejkklhsivaß gravyon: Tavde levgei oJ kratw'n tou;ß eJpta; ajstevraß ejn th'/ dexia'/ aujtou', oJ peripatw'n ejn mevsw/ tw'n eJpta; lucniw'n tw'n crusw'n:
4	But I have this against you, that you left your first love.	ajlla; e~cw kata; sou' o&ti th;n ajgavphn sou th;n prwvthn ajfh'keß.