at a glance
author: The apostle Paul.
date: About AD 60.
setting: Paul wrote this letter from Rome while he was in prison. He probably intended this to be a circular letter, to be passed on from the believers in Ephesus to other Christians in the area.
verses to remember: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (4:4–6).
theme to consider: As believers, we are united in Jesus Christ. We should do all we can to live in unity with other believers.
unchanging truth
What the youth leaders planned to be a weekend youth retreat of mountain air, togetherness and spiritual encouragement instead turned into something else altogether. A jealousy-fest broke out among the sophomore girls over who was shamelessly flirting with whom. There were more backstabbings than pillow fights in the junior high cabin. And kids came to the worship services with attitudes that were as bitter as the camp food.
Sound familiar? If you’ve been around the church much, you may feel like you’ve seen it all. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a church youth group and a gang of rowdies who don’t know any better. This is what the church is supposed to be like?! Hardly.
Paul’s message to the Ephesians about the importance of unity among Christians could have been addressed to any modern-day youth group. “Enough!” he says. “It’s time for you to grow up!” We’ve wasted far too much time being spiritual babies and insisting everything go our way. We have to start looking out for other people instead of for “number one.”
The message of the book of Ephesians is this: If we’re going to call ourselves Christians, then we’re going to have to start acting like Christ. Paul reminds us that with the help of the Spirit, we will be able to do that.
1. Christians are the body of Christ, and the world is looking to us to get a picture of what Jesus is like (4:1–13).
2. It’s time for us to grow up and mature in our Christian faith—the old way of living just won’t do anymore (4:14–32).
3. Good and evil are at war, and the battle lines are drawn across our souls (6:10–18).