Ephesians: Our Immeasurable Blessings in Christ

By John F. MacArthur

These first four study guides in a 16-volume set from noted Bible scholar John MacArthur take readers on a journey through biblical texts to discover what lies beneath the surface, focusing on meaning and context, and then reflecting on the explored passage or concept. With probing questions that guide the reader toward application, as well as ample space for journaling, The MacArthur Bible Studies are an invaluable tool for Bible students of all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Jul 1, 2000
• ISBN: 9781418587208

John F. MacArthur

Widely known for his thorough, candid approach to teaching God's Word, John MacArthur is a popular author and conference speaker. He has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, since 1969. John and his wife, Patricia, have four married children and fifteen grandchildren. John's pulpit ministry has been extended around the globe through his media ministry, Grace to You, and its satellite offices in seven countries. In addition to producing daily radio programs for nearly two thousand English and Spanish radio outlets worldwide, Grace to You distributes books, software, and digital recordings by John MacArthur. John is chancellor of The Master's University and Seminary and has written hundreds of books and study guides, each one biblical and practical. Bestselling titles include The Gospel  According to Jesus, Twelve Ordinary Men, Twelve Extraordinary Women, Slave, and The MacArthur Study Bible, a 1998 ECPA Gold Medallion recipient.

Book preview

MacArthur Bible Studies

Ephesians

Our Immeasurable Blessings in Christ

Ephesians

MacArthur Bible Studies

Copyright © 2000, John F. MacArthur, Jr. Published by Word Publishing, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other— except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Scripture passages taken from:

The Holy Bible, New King James Version

Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

Cover Art by Koechel Peterson and Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Interior design and composition by Design Corps, Batavia, IL.

Produced with the assistance of the Livingstone Corporation. Project staff include Dave Veerman, Christopher D. Hudson, and Amber Rae.

Project editor: Len Woods

ISBN 0–8499-5541–6

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians

Introduction

The Riches of His Grace

Ephesians 1:1–14

Prayers That Please the Father

Ephesians 1:15–23

Amazing Grace!

Ephesians 2:1–10

The Mystery of Unity in Christ

Ephesians 2:11–3:13

Power for the Church

Ephesians 3:14–21

God’s Pattern for the Church

Ephesians 4:1–16

Principles of New Life

Ephesians 4:17–32

Walking in Love and Light

Ephesians 5:1–14

Wise Living

Ephesians 5:15–21

God-honoring Relationships

Ephesians 5:22–6:9

Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 6:10–17

A Praying Church

Ephesians 6:18–24

The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians

Introduction

The letter is addressed to the church in the city of Ephesus, capital of the Roman province of Asia (Asia Minor, modern Turkey). Because the name Ephesus is not mentioned in every early manuscript of this letter, some scholars believe the letter was an encyclical, intended to be circulated and read among all the churches in Asia Minor and was simply sent first to believers in Ephesus.

Author and Date

No evidence has arisen for questioning Paul’s authorship. He is indicated as author in the opening salutation (1:1; 3:1). Written from prison in Rome (Acts 28:16–31) sometime between A.D. 60–62, the letter is, therefore, often labeled a prison epistle (along with Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). Ephesians may have been composed almost at the same time as Colossians and initially sent with that epistle and Philemon by Tychicus (6:21–22; Colossians 4:7–8). See Introduction to Philippians: Author and Date in The MacArthur Study Bible for a discussion of the city from which Paul wrote.

Background and Setting

The gospel probably was first brought to Ephesus by Priscilla and Aquila, an exceptionally gifted couple (see Acts 18:26) who had been left there by Paul on his second missionary journey (Acts 18:18–19). Located at the mouth of the Cayster River, on the east side of the Aegean Sea, Ephesus was perhaps best known for its magnificent temple of Artemis, or Diana, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was also an important political, educational, and commercial center, ranking with Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch of Pisidia, in southern Asia Minor.

Later, Paul firmly established this fledgling church on his third missionary journey (Acts 19), and he pastored it for some three years. After Paul left, Timothy pastored the congregation for perhaps a year and a half, primarily to counter the false teaching of a few influential men (such as Hymenaeus and Alexander), who were probably elders in the congregation there (1 Timothy 1:3, 20). Because of those men, the church at Ephesus was plagued by fables and endless genealogies (1 Timothy 1:4) and by such ascetic and unscriptural ideas as the forbidding of marriage and abstaining from certain foods (1 Timothy 4:3). Although those false teachers did not rightly understand Scripture, they propounded their ungodly interpretations with confidence (1 Timothy 1:7), which produced in the church harmful disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith (1 Timothy 1:4). About thirty years later, Christ gave the apostle John a letter for the church indicating that its people had left their first love for Him (Revelation 2:1–7).

Historical and Theological Themes

The first three chapters are theological, emphasizing New Testament doctrine, whereas the last three chapters are practical and focus on Christian behavior. Above all, this is a letter of encouragement and admonition, written to remind believers of their immeasurable blessings in Jesus Christ, not only to be thankful for those blessings, but also to live in a manner worthy of them. Despite, and partly even because of, Christians’ great blessings in Jesus Christ, they are sure to be tempted by Satan to self-satisfaction and complacency. Thus, in the last chapter, Paul reminds believers of the full and sufficient spiritual armor supplied to them through God’s Word and by His Spirit (6:10–17) and of their need for vigilant and persistent prayer (6:18).

A key theme of Ephesians is the mystery (meaning a heretofore unrevealed truth) of the church—that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel (3:6), a truth completely hidden from the Old Testament saints (3:5, 9). All believers in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, are equal before the Lord as His children and as citizens of His eternal kingdom, a marvelous truth that only believers of this present age possess. Paul also speaks of the mystery of the church as the bride of Christ (5:32; Revelation 21:9). Paul emphasizes the major truth that

Reviews for Ephesians

[matthauck_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lincoln doesn't believe in Pauline authorship--something that alerts me from the start about this person's view of the Scripture. But, you don't have to agree with all the assumptions of a commentator in order to benefit from his analysis of the text.That given, Lincoln was a considerable help for the particularly difficult passages I wasn't able to figure out from Hoehner and O'Brien. I would recommend those two before this Lincoln.