About This Book

Ephesians lifts the eyes of the church to the grandeur of God’s saving purpose. Paul writes to strengthen believers with assurance and to shape a mature, united church life in a world of competing powers and loyalties. The letter is not driven by a list of local problems so much as by a desire to anchor ordinary Christians in what God has done in Christ, so that their worship, relationships, and witness are marked by gospel depth rather than mere activity.

The movement of the book is clear. Paul unfolds the blessings of salvation in Christ and the eternal plan of God to gather a redeemed people (chs.1 to 3), then turns to the lived consequences of that grace (chs.4 to 6). Unity is not a vague ideal but a blood bought reality, and holiness is not self improvement but a new walk flowing from a new identity. The spiritual burden is that the church would know who she is, what she has received, and how she must now live, for the praise of God’s glory.

Ephesians trains the church to confess that God’s grace in Christ creates one new humanity, and to live as that people with humility, purity, and courage.

Preach Ephesians by keeping the indicatives bright and central, then let the imperatives land with their full weight, because Paul calls the church to become in practice what God has already made her in Christ.

Structure of the Book

This outline is designed to serve preaching series planning, keeping the letter’s big movements intact.

1. Praise for God’s saving plan
   God’s eternal purpose and the believer’s blessings in Christ, ch.1
2. From death to life by grace
   Salvation by grace through faith, and the creation of a new people for good works, ch.2
3. The mystery revealed, the church displayed
   Jew and Gentile united in Christ and Paul’s prayer for strengthening love, ch.3
4. One body, one Spirit, one Lord
   Unity, maturity, and Christ given gifts for building the church, ch.4
5. A new walk in a dark world
   Holiness, love, purity, wisdom, and Spirit filled living, ch.5
6. Households, conflict, and the armour of God
   Christ shaped relationships and spiritual warfare with steadfast faith, ch.6

Key Themes

• God’s eternal purpose, salvation is rooted in God’s plan to unite all things in Christ.
• Union with Christ, believers are chosen, redeemed, sealed, and raised with Christ, shaping identity and assurance.
• Grace that creates a people, salvation forms the church as God’s new humanity, not merely rescued individuals.
• The unity of Jew and Gentile, Christ has made peace and brought former outsiders near, creating one body.
• The church as God’s dwelling, the church is being built into a temple where God dwells by his Spirit.
• Christian maturity, Christ gives gifts so the church grows into stability, truth, and love, ch.4.
• The new life, believers put off the old self and put on the new, walking in holiness and wisdom.
• Spirit filled living, the Spirit shapes worship, relationships, speech, and endurance, especially in ch.5.
• Spiritual warfare, the church stands firm against evil by faith, truth, and the gospel of peace, ch.6.

Recommended Commentaries

Ephesians benefits from a commentary that can hold together the letter’s big theological vistas and its concrete ethical instruction. A reliable main volume will help trace Paul’s argument through chs.1 to 3, while an additional voice can be especially useful for the household instructions and the armour of God.

• The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon and to the Ephesiansby F. F. Bruce, Score: 8.7

  A restrained, lucid, and trustworthy evangelical commentary that continues to serve the church well.

• Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians and Philemonby William Hendrickson, Score: 8.4

  A warm, spiritually alert exposition that serves both study and devotion with steady insight.

• The Message of Ephesiansby John R.W. Stott, Score: 8.4

  A clear, theologically grounded guide to Ephesians that serves both the pulpit and the study.

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Extra help is often most valuable in ch.1 with its dense doxology, in ch.2 where union with Christ and the unity of Jew and Gentile must be handled carefully, and in chs.5 to 6 where application touches marriage, family life, work, and spiritual conflict.

Preaching and Teaching Helps

Ephesians is richly structured and highly applicable, but it requires careful work to keep the letter’s theology and ethics joined together.

• Show the big picture, regularly remind the congregation of God’s purpose in Christ so the details do not feel detached.
• Explain key phrases patiently, especially “in Christ,” “mystery,” and “powers,” since they carry much of the letter’s weight.
• Preach unity with concreteness, connect chs.1 to 3 to ch.4 so unity is grounded in grace, not temperament.
• Handle household passages with care, teach marriage and family instruction with Christ at the centre and with pastoral wisdom.
• Keep holiness from becoming moralism, show how Paul’s commands flow from identity, new creation, and the Spirit’s work.
• Preach spiritual warfare without sensationalism, emphasise standing firm in the gospel through truth, prayer, and endurance.

This Book in the Story of Scripture

Ephesians gathers up the storyline of redemption and shows its centre in Christ. God’s promises, the coming of the Messiah, and the bringing in of the nations converge here as Paul declares that Christ has made peace through his cross, uniting believers to himself and uniting believers to one another. The church is presented as the living evidence that God’s saving plan is at work in the world.

The letter shapes assurance and worship by setting salvation in the context of God’s eternal purpose and the believer’s secure union with Christ. It shapes holiness and mission by calling the church to walk worthy of her calling, to shine as light in a dark world, to love as Christ loved, and to stand firm with prayerful endurance until the day of Christ.

Because God has made us his people in Christ, we walk in love and truth now, standing firm in hope as his Spirit builds the church for his glory.