By Sam E. Stone Key passages from the book of Ephesians have been considered this month, following the theme, “Victory in Jesus.” Chapter 5 contains guidelines for Christian behavior in a pagan world. Today’s background Scripture begins in v. 15. Even before this, however, Paul warned about dangers such as sexual immorality, impurity, greed, […]
By Sam E. Stone Today’s text is especially appropriate as the world celebrates the birth of Christ. The Christmas story does not begin in Bethlehem. Before the world was created, God existed. The prologue of John’s Gospel affirms this. That life was the light of all mankind. Paul’s message to the church in Ephesus […]
By Sam E. Stone When we become discouraged in today’s hostile religious environment, it helps to remember what it was like for the first-century Christians back when the church began. In pagan Ephesus, few people knew anything about Jesus Christ, even less about who or what a “Christian” was. There of all places, it […]
By Sam E. Stone In the book of Ephesians the apostle Paul tackles one of the great challenges facing believers in the first century: uniting all Christians in one body, following the one head, Jesus Christ. That challenge remains today! Two groups of people were living side by side in Ephesus—Jews and Gentiles. Each […]
By Sam E. Stone “Jesus Is Lord” is the theme for this quarter’s studies, focusing on Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. These books (along with Philemon) are often referred to as the Prison Epistles. Most Bible students believe they were written around the same time period. In Ephesians the apostle refers […]
