May 15 - June 19, 2022
Ephesians has long held a lofty place in the New Testament canon. It is concise, well- structured, and tightly argued. John Stott noted that “It was John Calvin’s favorite letter. . . .”
William Barclay quotes Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s assessment of it as “the divinest composition of man” and adds his own dictum that it is “the Queen of the epistles.” John Mackay, former President of Princeton Theological Seminary, writing in 1948 called Ephesians “the most contemporary book in the Bible” since it promises community in a world of disunity, reconciliation in place of alienation and peace instead of war.
Seventy years later, Ephesians is as contemporary as ever. Truly, Ephesians is “doctrine set to music” as Mackay said. Thus, in this series, we will strive to hear this music well, even as we consider how we can play the music in our lives. Ephesians is all about learning to think and live theologically.
William Barclay quotes Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s assessment of it as “the divinest composition of man” and adds his own dictum that it is “the Queen of the epistles.” John Mackay, former President of Princeton Theological Seminary, writing in 1948 called Ephesians “the most contemporary book in the Bible” since it promises community in a world of disunity, reconciliation in place of alienation and peace instead of war.
Seventy years later, Ephesians is as contemporary as ever. Truly, Ephesians is “doctrine set to music” as Mackay said. Thus, in this series, we will strive to hear this music well, even as we consider how we can play the music in our lives. Ephesians is all about learning to think and live theologically.
May 15There was a great rift between us and God, that has now been healed, for we have been seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Nonetheless, we still struggle against the darkness of sin within ourselves and in the structures of sin in our society. Acknowledging this essential truth is foundational to grasping all that God has done for us and in us.
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May 22By God’s work, we have redemption through Jesus’ faithful sacrifice, a solution to the dilemma of sin which no one foresaw. This is purely, 100%, God’s grace at work and, thus, none of us can boast about belonging to God. God has rescued us so that we can be Christ’s hands and feet in this time. Indeed, we are what God has made us.
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