Day 265

Isaiah 39:1–41:16; Ephesians 1:1-23; Psalm 66:1-20; Proverbs 23:25-28

TODAY WE BEGAN Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. This letter is quite different from many of his other letters, including Galatians —which we concluded yesterday —leading some biblical scholars to propose that the letter was written by someone else in Paul’s name. Other scholars argue that the circumstances surrounding Ephesians (and the way these letters were passed around among the churches) have more to do with these nuances than the writer.

Paul spent about three years in Ephesus among the community he’d established. At that time, the city was one of the most important in the Roman Empire. As a thriving cosmopolitan port city, Ephesus was a cauldron of ideas and culture. But Paul didn’t write this letter to combat false teaching or correct misbehavior. He knew his readers and had spent much time among them, which makes the letter even more compelling.

In Ephesians, we get a sense of the big picture. Vast mountaintop vistas of our faith will lead us to consider the massive implications of what God has been doing and continues to do among His children. But what makes this big picture so captivating is the environment from which Paul wrote. As we learned from the book of Acts, Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem and was eventually imprisoned in Rome. And it was here that Paul likely wrote Ephesians around the year AD 60.

Knowing that Paul was in captivity when he wrote this letter will make what we read all the more poignant. Paul’s imprisonment may very well have casted doubt on the validity of his message, and it certainly would have made it very difficult for many to consider a life of faith in Jesus because they didn’t want to end up in prison like Paul. But this did not discourage Paul from writing beyond his circumstance and detailing a spiritual awareness that cannot be altered by imprisonment —or any trial of life.

Paul poured out his heart and hope in Ephesians. There are passages in this letter that we could —and should —ponder for days. Paul wrote from his heart and appealed to the hearts of his readers. If we’ll approach this letter with this in mind, his words can have the very effect they were intended to have on the Ephesians.

MEDITATION:

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. . . . Those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.