LIFE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

LIFE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

The Book of Ephesians provides a thorough overview of the world and God’s plan to bless it through the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. It shows His purpose to bring light into the darkness caused by sin worldwide. He seeks to heal the moral and spiritual wounds that divide people and to establish genuine, lasting reconciliation. He accomplishes this through the church, which is His body.

God has done incredible things over the past 2000 years through the millions of believers who make up this great body. He has used those in previous generations to open the door to an abundant life, and the Gospel has spread worldwide through the activity of the church. Now, He is using people who are alive today to obey Him, serve Him, and live in the light of His divine will. In this way, God’s people today are the “light of the world.”

The Book of Ephesians aims to expand readers' understanding and perspective so they can comprehend God's purpose for the church. He wants to bless the world with His wisdom, foresight, and plans by saving people everywhere and using them to praise and glorify Him. The day will come when He will “gather together in one all things in Christ.”

He is reconciling individual believers to Himself through His grace. Those believers are then reconciled to one another because Christ has removed barriers between them by His death. He has made one body out of many believers who have been reconciled to Him and to each other. God’s grace has saved each person through faith in Christ. Now, we live in a way that reflects our new life in Christ, and can do so by the guidance of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

Ephesians is a letter of encouragement that helps us understand who we are and why we are here. It doesn't address specific problems but instead invites all believers to work together as members of the living body of Christ, which began on the Day of Pentecost as an infant church. That body was complete and alive at its birth. Over the generations that followed, the body has continued to grow in size. It remains the same unified body, composed of true Christians who have been born again and placed in the body by the Holy Spirit.

In writing this letter, Paul, who knew the Ephesians well because he had lived among them for three years and visited them on other occasions, affirms their identity and how they are seen in God’s eyes. Believers have experienced God's kindness and have a significant purpose in being chosen by Him. The Holy Spirit regenerates, fills, empowers, frees them from sin's bondage, and brings them near to God.

The church, which is the body of Christ, should be united in commitment, use of gifts, moral standards, practical living, love for God and others, and submission to our Lord. The powers of darkness that Satan controls will oppose each believer individually and will also try to divide and keep the body divided so it remains powerless.

By God's power, we must resist temptations and the devil's subtle wiles by putting on the full armor of God. We are responsible to our Lord Jesus Christ to remain loyal to Him and, through faith in Him, to be victorious in testimony and service until the end. When we read the letter to the Ephesians, we will be strengthened and become more aware of who we are and the value of every other believer in Christ.

This epistle answers the question that men and women always ask: “Why am I here?” The answer relates to considering eternity, finding peace with God, and being united with Christ. The understanding we gain about the nature of the church and our role in it will motivate us to live in harmony and unity with others and maintain faith in our Lord.

In 54 AD, Paul visited Ephesus briefly but effectively. He needed to be in Jerusalem on a specific date to fulfill his vow. He left Aquila and Priscilla there and then traveled to Judea, where he stayed for quite a long time. When he returned to Ephesus, he spent nearly three years engaged in wholehearted, active service, as described in Acts 19 and 20. The first of two letters written to Ephesus was likely penned about ten years after the events in Acts. While in Rome, imprisoned, the apostle's thoughts likely turned to the church’s calling—from the depths of sin to the heights of redemption—and he guided the saints’ minds to the “heavenlies” in Christ Jesus.

There was even a riot when the Gospel came to Ephesus because “the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” “Mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” This teaching was not based on emotion or feeling but on the name and message of a living Person who was crucified for our sins, was buried temporarily, and raised on the first day of the week. God saved many people in that city, and the word of God prospered.

After several years, possibly as many as 30, another letter was sent to the believers in Ephesus from the Lord, authored by the apostle John. At first glance, it seemed that things were going well in that church. Their efforts in spreading the Gospel and serving the community were well known; their dedication to outreach was recognized; they were praised for their patience, maturity, stance against evil, and their willingness to address wrongdoings when necessary. All of this they did for the Lord. However, something subtle had crept in almost unnoticed, and they hardly realized it. They had only a short time to make the needed changes, or their congregation and all its testimony and fellowship could be lost. What was so seriously wrong that they were at risk of stopping to be a genuine, scripturally founded New Testament church? They had fallen out of love with their first love and had ceased doing their first works.