Galatians A Suggested Outline of Galatians

Transcription

1 Galatians A Suggested Outline of Galatians I. Personal: Grace and the Gospel (1 2) II. Doctrinal: Grace and the Law (3 4) III. Practical: Grace and the Christian Life (5 6) Theme: Christ s death has brought in the age of the new covenant (3:23 26; 4:4 5, 24), in which believers do not have to become Jews or follow the outward ceremonies of the Mosaic law (2:3, 11 12, 14; 4:10). To require these things is to deny the heart of the gospel, which is justification by faith alone, not by obedience to the law (2:16; cf. 1:6 7). In this new age, Christians are to live in the guidance and power of the Spirit (chs. 5 6). ESV Study Bible The issue was debated finally at Jerusalem (Acts 15). The believers concluded (led by the Spirit) that: (1) God s program for today was to take out of the Gentiles a people for His name; (2) Paul was His apostle to the Gentiles, with a special ministry to the body, the church; (3) the kingdom program would be resumed after the body was completed. However, there were Jews who would not receive the simple message of grace and who tried to mix it with the Law, blending improperly the kingdom message and the church message. We call these people Judaizers, since their aim was to entice Gentile believers into the Jewish system. They taught that a person was saved by faith and by keeping the Law, and that the believer was sanctified and enabled to live a holy life in the same manner. 1 - Wiersbe The only Gospel that God approves and blesses is the Gospel of the grace of God, justification by faith in Christ Jesus alone. We are not saved by making promises to God but by believing His promises. Its Value Today Galatians is God s strongest word against legalism. The flesh loves to do things religious celebrate holy days, practice rituals, attempt to do good works for God. Many religious systems today mix law and grace and present a garbled, confused way of salvation that is actually a way of bondage (Gal. 2:4; 4:9; 5:1). Keeping the Sabbath, dietary laws, an earthly priesthood, holy days, obeying rules all of these are swept away in Galatians and replaced by the glorious liberty the believer has through faith in Christ!2 I. Personal: Grace and the Gospel (1 2) Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (515). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 2 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (515). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 1 Page 1

2 6 1:6 9 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! 3 They were then in the process of turning from simple grace to a mixture of law and grace. In 5:4 Paul says, You are fallen from [out of] grace (NKJV). This did not imply they had lost their salvation, but rather that they had moved themselves out of the sphere of grace into the sphere of the Law. Grace means I depend on God to meet my needs; through the Law I try to handle matters by myself, in my own strength.4 In every age, men have been saved by believing whatever promise God revealed to them. Noah believed God s Word about a flood and the ark; Abraham believed God s Word about his promised seed; today we believe God s Word about His Son s death and resurrection. Since the advent of Paul and the revelation of justification by faith, there is no other Gospel :11 18 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that 12 man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles only James, the Lord s brother. 6 Paul seems to imply that he was taught the gospel by Christ himself in the desert of Arabia! No wonder he was so confident about doctrine. It is later recognized and validated by the other apostles. It also gives him confidence to confront Peter when he acts inconsistently with the gospel. The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 1:6 9). Grand Rapids, MI: 4 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament ( ). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 5 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (517). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 6 The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 1:13 19). Grand Rapids, MI: 3 Page 2

3 2: When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 7 We get this summary statement about justification by Faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. 2: We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. 8 II. Doctrinal: Grace and the Law (3 4) In 3:1 5 Paul interrogates the Galatians, with five questions in as many verses. He despairs that they have come under the spell of the false teachers, and so he returns to their experience of how they first came to know Christ. ESV Study bible 3:1 2 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 9... We are sons of Abraham through faith, not by birth. 3:7 9 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you. 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 Paul reveals the purpose of the Law. The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 2:11 14). Grand Rapids, MI: 8 The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 2:15 16). Grand Rapids, MI: 9 The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 3:1 2). Grand Rapids, MI: 10 The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 3:7 9). Grand Rapids, MI: 7 Page 3

4 3: What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. 11 3: There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 12 Before the faith we now know came, the law shut men up, revealing their need for a Savior. As L.E. Maxwell has put it, We were crowded to Christ! The Law was God s schoolmaster (tutor) for the Jews in their national infancy. The Greek and Roman tutor used to guard and teach the minor children until they reached legal adulthood, after which the children were on their own. The Law kept the Jews in line, so to speak, until Christ came and the full revelation of the Gospel was given to Jews and Gentiles.13 The Law also kept the Jews specifically Jewish until the Messiah could be identified from among them, fulfill all the Messianic prophesies, and unmistakably identify Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah. No one else in all of redemptive history but Jesus can be identified as fulfilling the requirements of the promised one! Now there is no need for the Jewish law and we are no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. We are one in Christ! 4:1 7 What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. 14 The Jews were heirs, for God had made wonderful promises to them through Abraham, but it took many centuries before they received these promises. Paul is continuing his comparison between the situation of the Jews and the tutelage of the Roman or Greek child. The child, Paul reasons, might be heir to a fortune, but so long as he or she has not reached the legal age of inheritance, the child is no different from the slave. Even so, the Jews were in their spiritual childhood under the law. The rules and rituals of the Law were the religious ABCs they had to learn before they could graduate into their full The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 3:19 20). Grand Rapids, MI: 12 The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 3:27 29). Grand Rapids, MI: 13 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament ( ). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 14 The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 4). Grand Rapids, MI: 11 Page 4

5 inheritance. This legalism was bondage to the Mosaic system ( elements of the world see Col. 2:8, 20). But this dispensation of law ran its course, having prepared the way for Christ. 15 Paul now applies his argument: Why do you want to go back into bondage, into a second childhood? Leave the ABCs and enjoy the full inheritance that you have in Christ! 16 4:12 16, I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by 19 telling you the truth? 17 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth 20 until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! 18 He reminds them that it was through some physical affliction that he first came to them, and that they had then treated him like an angel. Now they treated him like an enemy because he was telling them the truth. Your false teachers make a big show of their love for you ( zealously affect you v. 17), but their motives are not pure. They want to use you to show off their spiritual conquests! (See 6:12 14.)19 Ishmael & Isaac 4:21 24a 21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. 24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. 20 The Old Covenant of Law The New Covenant of Grace 1. Symbolized by Hagar the slave-girl 1. Symbolized by Sarah, the free woman 2. Ishmael, a son born after the flesh 2. Isaac, a son born miraculously by God s promise The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 4:12 16). Grand Rapids, MI: 17 19,18, 20 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (525). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Page 5

6 3. Represents Jerusalem in Paul s day, still in spiritual (and political) bondage 3. Represents the heavenly Jerusalem which is free and glorious We Christians are children of promise, like Isaac (v. 23), and therefore children of liberty (v. 31). God had promised Abraham a son long before Ishmael was born. Ishmael was added (like the Law, 3:19) and was a son of the flesh, a slave s son. The old covenant of law was never God s final plan for Israel. It was added, like Ishmael, and brought bondage and sorrow. God s commandment to Abraham was to cast out Ishmael and Hagar! Law and grace, faith and works, promise and commandment, can never live in the same household. The Judaizers in Galatia wanted to invite Hagar and Ishmael back into the family again!21 III. Practical: Grace and the Christian Life (5 6) We now move into the final section of the letter in which Paul makes the practical application of Christian liberty to the lives of believers in a series of four contrasts. Liberty, Not Bondage; The Spirit, Not the Flesh; Others, Not Self; God s Glory, Not Man s Approval. 6 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. 22 5: I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! 13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself. Paul closes this section with the reminder that liberty is not license. By love serve one another, he says. We fulfill the law when we live in love (Rom. 13:8 10). The Christian who says, I have liberty to sin! understands nothing of the cross or of God s grace.23 5:16 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 5: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament ( ). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 22 The Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Ga 5:5 6). Grand Rapids, MI: 23 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament ( ). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 21 Page 6

7 In this final chapter, Paul presents two more contrasts in the Christian life. Keep in mind that he is describing the spiritual life of the believer who lives under grace and not under law. It is a life of liberty, not bondage (5:1 15), and one that is lived in the Spirit, not in the flesh (5:16 26).24 6:1 2 1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Suppose a believer is suddenly caught by the enemy and falls into sin. (Or it may be that the word overtaken suggests being caught in sin and found out by other believers.) Should our attitude be one of judgment and condemnation? No! If we are spiritual (walking in the Spirit, led by the Spirit, bearing fruit through the Spirit), we will seek to restore the fallen one. This Gk. word for restore is a medical term used for the setting of a broken bone. Christians are members of Christ s body, and a Christian in sin weakens the body. Of course, if the person does not submit to restoration, then the measures of discipline outlined in Matt. 18 and 1 Cor. 5 must be considered. We are to bear each other s burdens, but we must also bear our own burdens. See Paul s words to the Galatians in Gal. 6:1 5. There are some burdens that we can share with others, but there are also some that we alone can carry.25 6: Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which [a]the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Paul is saying that these Judaizers are not a part of the true Israel, the real people of God. Gentiles who receive Christ as Savior are not children of Abraham genetically, but spiritually (3:7). The church today is the true Israel of God, because God s ancient people have been set aside temporarily in unbelief and are termed not my people (Hosea. 1:9 10; 2:23; Rom. 9:25 26). One day Israel will become God s people and inherit their national promises.26 Ephesians A Suggested Outline of Ephesians I. Doctrine: The Believer s Blessings in Christ (1 3) Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (530). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 25 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (531). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 26 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (533). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 24 Page 7

8 A. Our possessions in Christ (1:1 14) 1. From the Father (1:1 6) 2. From the Son (1:7 12) 3. From the Spirit (1:13 14) B. Prayer for enlightenment (1:15 23) C. Our position in Christ (2) 1. Raised and seated on the throne (2:1 10) 2. Reconciled and set into the temple (2:11 22) D. Prayer for enablement (3) II. Duty: The Believer s Behavior in Christ (4 6) A. Walk in unity (4:1 16) B. Walk in purity (4:17 32) C. Walk in love (5:1 6) D. Walk in the light (5:7 14) E. Walk carefully (5:15 17) F. Walk in harmony (5:18 6:9) 1. Husbands and wives (5:18 33) 2. Parents and children (6:1 4) 3. Masters and servants (6:5 9) G. Walk in victory (6:10 24) Ephesians balances doctrine and duty. First Paul reminds us of what God has done for us; then he tells us what we must do for Him in response to His mercies. Christian living is based on Christian learning. The believer who does not know his wealth in Christ will never be able to walk for Christ. Our conduct depends on our calling. Too many Christians live in chapters 1 3 and study the doctrines but fail to move into chapters 4 6 and practice the duties. 27 Ephesians is one of Paul s four prison letters. The outlines of Ephesians and Colossians are very similar. Colossians was written to combat the heresy of incipient Gnosticism in the Lycus River Valley of Asia Minor. Ephesians was written as a circular letter to the same area to prepare the other churches for the coming heresy. Colossians is a terse, hard-hitting letter, while Ephesians is an extended logical presentation of the same truths using very long sentences: (1:3 14, 15 23; 2:1 9; 3:1 7, etc.). 28 In the prison letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians), Paul deals with the church collectively as the body of Christ, the bride, and the temple. In the pastoral epistles (such as Timothy and Titus), he deals 27 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament ( ). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 28 Utley, R. J. D. (1997). Vol. Volume 8: Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians). Study Guide Commentary Series (65). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International. Page 8

9 with the church serving Christ as a local body. Both emphases are necessary for a balanced ministry. Certainly God sees the whole body with Christ as the Head; but as far as the ministry is concerned, He works through the local assemblies in different places. The church universal (body of Christ) into which the believer is baptized by the Spirit is a valid concept; but the universal church concept is not a substitute for the action of the local church. The universal church never sent out a missionary, built a hospital, observed the Lord s Supper, or helped a needy family. It is the local church that receives the greater emphasis in the NT, but the ministry of the local church will be stronger if the members realize their position in the body of Christ.29 I. Doctrine: The Believer s Blessings in Christ (1 3) From the Father (1:1 6) 1:3 4 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. He has chosen us He has adopted us He has accepted us From the Son (1:7 12) 1:7 9 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, He has redeemed us He has forgiven us He has revealed God s will to us He has made us an inheritance From the Spirit (1:13 14) 1: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God s possession to the praise of his glory. He has sealed us He has given us an earnest 1: For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God s people,16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (537). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 29 Page 9

10 There are two prayers in Ephesians: (1) that you might know, 1:15 23; and (2) that you might be, 3: The first is for enlightenment, the second for enablement. Paul prays first that we might know what Christ has done for us; then he prays that we might live up to these wonderful blessings and put them to work in our daily lives. Notice Paul s requests: A. That God may give you spiritual understanding (vv a). Spiritual truths must be spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:9 16), and this understanding can come only from the Spirit. He wrote the Word; He alone can teach us what it says. B. That you might know the hope of His calling (v. 18b). Review vv. 4 6, where this calling is summarized for us. The Christian who does not know his high calling (Phil. 3:14), holy calling (2 Tim. 1:9), and heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1) will never be able to walk worthy of that calling (Eph. 4:1, where vocation is calling ). C. That you might know the riches of His inheritance (v. 18c). D. That you might know His power (vv ). Chapter 1 emphasized our possessions in Christ; chapter 2 emphasizes our position in Christ. Your position determines your possessions and authority. Regardless of where the President of the United States may be physically, his position as the man who sits behind the desk in the White House gives him power and authority. So with the Christian. Regardless of where we might be physically (Paul was a prisoner when he wrote this letter), we have power and authority in the spiritual realm because of our position in Christ. I. We Are Raised and Seated on the Throne (2:1 10) 2:1, 4 5, As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. A. What we were (vv. 1 3). The Gospels describe the resurrections of three people that Jesus raised from the dead: (1) a twelveyear-old girl, Luke 8:49 55; (2) a young man, Luke 7:12 15; and (3) an older man, John 11. Each of them was dead; We are born by nature children of wrath; when we reject Christ knowingly after reaching an age of accountability, we become children of disobedience by choice. When we trust Jesus Christ, we become children of God. B. What God did (vv. 4 9). Page 10

11 But God! These words are among the greatest in the Bible. God could have allowed us to go on in sin and live eternally with the devil in hell, but instead He chose to save us. God did this because He is rich in mercy and great in love. Mercy means that God does not give me what I do deserve; grace means that He gives me what I don t deserve. C. What we are now (v. 10). We are His workmanship, His new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). We were saved for good works. Just like Christ who said it is finished, we have a to do list that God intends us to finish as well. II. We Are Reconciled and Set into the Temple (2:11 22) In the first half of this chapter, Paul has been telling us what God has done for sinners in general; now he discusses Jews and Gentiles in particular. God had made no messianic covenants with the Gentiles, but God had promised the Jews a kingdom. What is the status of Jews and Gentiles in God s program today? A. What the Gentiles were (vv ). 2: Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision (which is done in the body by human hands) 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. God makes a distinction between Jews and Gentiles racially (1 Cor. 10:32), but not individually (Rom. 10:11 13). The Gentiles were without Christ; that is, they had no promise of a Messiah. Instead of being the people of God, the Gentiles were aliens...verse 13 sums up the Gentiles condition in two words: far off. While the problem of sinners in general (vv. 1 10) was spiritual death, the problem of the Gentiles in particular was spiritual distance from God and His blessings. Note in the Gospels that whenever Christ helped a Gentile, He did it at a distance (Matt. 8:5 13; 15:22 28). B. What God did (vv ). 2: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, But now in v. 13 parallels But God in v. 4. When Christ died on the cross, He broke down every barrier that stood between Jews and Gentiles. In the Jewish temple, there was a wall that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the rest of the structure; and on this wall was a sign giving warning that any Gentile who passed beyond it would be killed. Jesus Christ tore down that wall! He tore down the spiritual wall and brought the far off Gentiles near (v. 13). He tore down the legal wall, for He fulfilled the Law in Himself and ended the reign of the Mosaic law that separated Jews and Gentiles (vv ). Page 11

12 Christ not only made peace between sinners and God (Rom. 5:1), but He also made peace between Jews and Gentiles. He took sinful Jews and sinful Gentiles and through His cross made a new man the church. C. What the Gentiles and Jews are now (vv ). 2: For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Both Jews and Gentiles now belong to the household of God, and the Jew can no longer claim greater privileges. It is through faith in His blood that Jews and Gentiles are justified. Paul closes by picturing the church as a temple. This would be a fitting image not only for the Jews, who revered their holy temple at Jerusalem, but also for the Ephesians, who had the great temple of Diana in their city (Acts 19:21 41). Each believer is a living stone set into the temple (1 Peter 2:4 8). The apostles and prophets (NT prophets, 4:11) are not the foundation; they laid the foundation since they were the first to proclaim the message. Christ is the foundation of the local church (1 Cor. 3:11) and the chief cornerstone of the whole building. The church today is a living, growing temple; when it is completed, Christ will return and take the temple to glory. God dwelt in the Jewish tabernacle (Ex. 40:34), in Solomon s temple (2 Chron. 7:1), in the temple of Christ s body (John 1:14 and 2:18 22), and today in the individual believer (1 Cor. 6:19 20) and the church (Eph. 2:21 22). What a privilege to be the very habitation of God through the Spirit!30 Chapter 3 This chapter closes the first half of Ephesians in which Paul has described our wealth in Christ. Paul is about to move into the practical section (our walk with Christ), but first he pauses to pray. He begins his prayer in v. 1, but does not continue until he gets to v. 13! The intervening verses form a long parenthesis, but they are important, because they explain Paul s special ministry to the church body and to the Gentiles.31 3:1 1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles The first thing we note is that Paul calls himself a prisoner and that he connects his imprisonment to the Gentiles! Go back to Acts 22 for the explanation. Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem and was making his defense to his people. They listened to him until he got to the word Gentiles (Acts 22:21), and then Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament ( ). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 31 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (544). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 30 Page 12

13 a riot broke loose! The relationship of Gentiles to Jews was even a problem among the early Jewish believers, as Acts 10 and 15 reveal.32 3:6 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. In the OT, God revealed through prophecy His program for the people of Israel: that He would establish them in their kingdom when they received their Messiah, and then through Israel He would convert the Gentiles. God offered them the kingdom through the ministry of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2), whom the Jews permitted to be slain; through Christ s ministry (Matt 4:12 17), whom the Jews asked to be slain; and through the apostles and Stephen (Acts 2 7), whom the Jews themselves actually killed (Acts 7:54 60). Three offers of the kingdom were made to Israel, but the nation rejected each of them. They had rejected the Father, who had sent John; the Son; and the Spirit, who was energizing the witnessing apostles. With the death of Stephen, the offers of kingdom ceased temporarily; the message went out to the Samaritans and the Gentiles (Acts 8 and 10); in the meantime Paul was saved miraculously in Acts 9. Paul s ministry was to the Gentiles, and his message was that of grace, Paul s special task was to share the truth of the one body, the mystery of the church. Note Rom. 16:25 26; Col. 1:26 27 and 4:3 4; as well as Eph. 6:19. Here in v. 6, he states the mystery clearly: that believing Gentiles and Jews are one body in Christ. This mystery had not been made known before this time; but now God had revealed it to His apostles and NT prophets by the Spirit. To say that the twelve apostles from the beginning understood the mystery of the church is to deny Paul s inspired words here. Even Peter had to have a vision from heaven in Acts 10 before he would go to the Gentiles. The truth of the one body was given to Paul and its significance dawned gradually upon the early church.33 3:13 21 Paul s Intercession for the Saints You will recall that the two prayers in Ephesians (here and in 1:15 23) complement each other. The first is a prayer for enlightenment; the second is for enablement. Paul wants the Ephesians to learn all they have in Christ and then live what they have learned. 34 3: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. II. Duty: The Believer s Behavior in Christ (4 6) Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (544). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 33 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (545). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 34 Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (546). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 32 Page 13

14 Chapter Walk in Unity & Maturity 4:1 3, As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. We now begin the second half of the letter, which emphasizes the Christian s walk (4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15). The Christian life is compared to a walk because it starts with one step of faith, involves progress, and demands balance and strength. If we do not learn to walk, we will never be able to run (Heb. 12:1 2) or stand in the battle (Eph. 6:11ff) Walk in Purity These verses give us a list of character traits: think rightly about God, put off your old self, put on the new created to be like God. Do not sin with your mouth: falsehood, speak truthfully. In your anger do not sin, or give the devil a foothold. Do not steal, instead do something useful with your hands so that you can share your earnings. Verse 29 is a speech filter to put over your mouth, etc. These verses are saturated with instruction on living a Godly life in Christ. 4: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (547). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 35 Page 14

15 The first part of this chapter described the believer s relationship to the church; now Paul deals with the believer s relationship to the world. Certainly we are in Christ and a part of the body; but we are also in the world, where there is temptation and defilement. We cannot depart from the world because we have a responsibility to witness to it; but we must walk in purity and not allow the world to defile us.36 Chapter 5 continues with Paul describing the Christian walk. 5: Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord s will is. Instructions for Christian households walk well in your relationships 5: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 5: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 5: This is a profound mystery but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Husbands and wives are to model the relationship between Christ and the church, with the husband being the head and the wife being the church. Our marriages should put on display to a lost world the intimate relationship Christ desires to have with the spiritual body he described in chapter 2. Chapter 6: 6:1 9 continues to discuss right relationships between children and parents, and slaves and masters. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. 6:10 12 The Enemy we fight 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 6:13 17 The Equipment We Wear 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament ( ). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor 36 Page 15

16 buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 6:18 24 The Energy We Use 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord s people. Works Cited Driscoll, Mark. On the New Testament. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (360). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor All scripture is copied from:the Holy Bible: New International Version (electronic ed.) (Galatians & Ephesians). Grand Rapids, MI: Page 16