I’m so thrilled to have several of you who have decided to join together to commit to our hearts and minds the entire book of Ephesians! Over the next few days, I will cover the who, what, when, where, why and how of all this. Before tackling anything, I like to know what I’m getting into, so I wanted to give a basic overview of the book’s layout. There are lots of outlines and guidelines out there, so please take a few moments to take a look at your Bible’s Study notes and familiarize yourself with the book’s contents. There is also a great article written by gotquestions.org.
WHO, WHEN & WHERE
It is understood that Paul was the author and the epistle (or letter) was written around 60-63 AD to the church at Ephesus (modern day Turkey about 6 miles from the Aegean sea) and was primarily written to encourage believers. Paul was most likely in prison at the time he wrote this letter (Eph 4:1-3). From the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, I found that Ephesus at the time was a huge center of worship for the goddess Diana, also known as Artemis – one of the 7 Wonders of the World. In the book of Acts 19:23-41, we find that Demetrius, a silversmith starts a riot that ends up in the amphitheater. The reference Bible mentioned that the 24,000 person amphitheater was uncovered by archaeologists at the turn of the century! It is interesting also to note that this might be the same place Paul refers to in 1 Cor 15:32 where he “fought the wild beasts in Ephesus…”
The church at Ephesus was also one of the 7 churches mentioned in Revelation. They were noted for their hard work and endurance for the Lord, but had “forsaken (or abandoned) their first love” Revelation 2:4.
The entire book is six chapters with 155 verses – I have the outline I used to break it down by chapter (see photo). If we divide 155/6, we get 25.83, which means 6 verses a week for about 26 weeks. This will bring us to half the year for the whole book! There are plans out there for 26 weeks, but I think I may use one that is about 28 weeks (2 weeks in there to catch up).
Go ahead and grab a journal notebook (might even be one you got as a gift last Christmas?), a pen, and your Bible… jot down some thoughts on the book of Ephesians to get you thinking about the place.