SUMites, hi!

Welcome to this year's Summer Bible Study.

And this year we're looking at the Letter to the Ephesians.

The writers are going to take in turns to write about it chapter by chapter, and today is a wee introduction.

Ian says Ephesians is one of his favorite books of the Bible. I like that.

So what can I say about this book? 

It was written by the Apostle Paul, likely when he was in prison. It's amazing all the things Paul wrote while in prison! He would have had a lot of time to think... And to hear God's voice.

What an amazing man he was. What a strength he carried.

Unlike some of his epistles, the letter itself is not dealing with any particular problem in a given church. It's not a controversial letter. Instead, it deals with the glorious reality of walking with Jesus Christ.

If I can use one analogy for this book it's about the Heavenly Bank Account that is ours to draw on. 

It has two parts:

Part one: Chapters 1-3

Part two: Chapters 4-6

Part one is about what is available to us: The glorious, heavenly, wonderful bank account that is ours as a result of the Gospel. It deals with topics like: God's forgiveness, adoption, redemption, grace, inheritance, and more. It lays out all the wonderful things that are ours to draw on as a result of knowing Jesus.

When we read the first part, then, perhaps we can think in those terms: "I have a bank account from God, this is what's mine; this is what he's offered me."

And then Paul says "Therefore ..." which leads us into part two.

Part two describes how to walk out a vibrant Christian life, drawing down on that bank account. This part describes how to do things like spiritual warfare, not grieve the Holy Spirt, live well in our families, and unify with other believers.

My friends, have you ever thought about it in terms of you having a heavenly bank account? I hadn't until I started preparing for this study.

Well, I will leave it there, and on Wednesday let's grab our coffees, Bibles, pens, paper, and eager minds as Lynn leads us, full-on, into chapter one.

Ann