Free Essay: The Book of Ephesians

The book of Ephesians falls under the category/genre of the letter. In this regard, the book has been written by Paul and his disciples while he was in jail in Rome, to the church of Ephesians where the central message of unity and reconciliation was being spread to the entire creation, and through the agency of the church.

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There are some of the major themes have been covered in the book of Ephesians. They are as outlined below:

Blessings

The theme is exclusively included in the introduction part of the book. In this regard, Paul, who is the author, explains various blessings which its believers can receive from Jesus Christ, which are spiritual (Holy Bible, 492). He states that the one is supposed to live godly and observe all the wills of God on humanity for the blessing s promised to his people to be realized in the end as a reward. He also explains that God loves his people and cannot forsake them through lies that they will receive blessings yet they will not be there in the end: even when they have observed all the requirements of Christ Jesus. There is also the revelation we as God's children have been adopted as his sons, through forgiveness and redemption. Finally, we have been given the holy spirit to guide us in whatever we do, so we are not strayed by the counteractive actions of the awful devil which serve to reveal the blessings bestowed on us.

Redemption

The theme is paramount, and more especially in chapter two, whereby we have been born again in Christ Jesus. In this regard, we have been reminded of the great extent in which God loves us, such that he was able to redeem us from the death that had begotten us (Thielman, Frank, 24). Thus, the actions of God of restoring lives for us from the death shows that he indeed loves us. Further, following the restoration of our lives, God made us be seated with Jesus in heaven, which tend to be realized through his Grace laced by our faith in him and his actions.

Christ's mystery

In this case, the theme of Christ's mystery has been exhausted in the book of Ephesians, and more particularly in the third chapter. The mystery of Christ has been made known via the revelations of the holy spirit. It is stated that through the word of God, the Gentiles have become the heirs and partakers of the promises of Jesus Christ, together with the Israel, where they have together become the members of one body. The author, Paul, reveals that his sole mission towards the Gentiles is to spread the gospel of such a mystery of Jesus Christ, which has been revealed.

Unity

The theme of integration can be seen to have been exhausted in the fourth chapter in the book of Ephesians. In this regard, there is a calling to us to live fully and worthily to show our absolute reception of Jesus Christ. Most importantly, we have been summoned to unity as one body of believers under one Lord, one hope, and one spirit (Thielman, Frank, 28). We have been given prophets, apostles, pastors, evangelists, and the teachers by God, which prepare us for the services of God which makes the body of Jesus Christ to be built up and unify us as God's children.

Rightful living

In chapter six of the book of Ephesians, the theme of rightful living is paramount. In this case, there are instructions to the parents, slaves, children, and masters. They have been given to them by Paul, and hold the practical instructions on the ways to relate well with the people in their respective societies. Such work is irrespective of their statuses in life.

There are some key verses in the book which surround the passage at hand. They are:

• Ephesians 5:1; therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children
• Ephesians 5:15; be cautious, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise

The two verses tend to surround the passage at hand which is under the armor of God, through advising the Ephesians to live well with wisdom as God's children Such will shield them from the harmful plans of the devil, hence protective to their welfare.

There is two sole purposes for Paul writing the book of Ephesians. The seemingly major point made by Paul is under the book of Ephesians 2:8, which explains that through grace we have been saved by faith, which is the gift of God for us all (Thielman, Frank, 42). The message has been presented in the books of Romans and Galatians. Thus, Paul was destined at preparing the Christians to walk with God and to understand that they are no fighting the battles of flesh and blood, but against the dark forces and their rulers gathered against our lives, and in the heavenly places. Thus, we need to put on the armor of God to have the abilities of adequately dealing with them.

There are the happenings of the chapters before the chosen passage: which is located in the last chapter of the book of Ephesians. For the four chapters before, chapter two of the book exhausted on the topic '' made alive in Christ.'' The chapter revolved around God's great love for his children whom he saved from death. His children have hen been seated with Jesus Christ in heaven through their faith and God's Grace. Chapter three of the book exhaust on the topic ''the mystery of Christ.'' In this case, the chapter reveals the mystery of Christ, which has been made known by the revelations of the holy spirit. Here, the gentiles and Israel are the one and partake of the promises of God. Then, Paul states that he has a mission towards the Gentiles, which is that of preaching to them of the revealed mystery of Jesus Christ. Finally, there is a strong prayer by Paul to the believers in God. Chapter four of the book exhausts on the ''Unity in the body of Christ,'' where Paul reminds the believers to live a life worth noting of the existence of Jesus Christ in them. He reminds them to stay in unity as the children of one God. Finally, he reminds the believers to live as one with the image of God in holiness. Chapter five revolves around the topic ''be imitators of God.'' Here, Paul reminds the Christians to be the imitators of God through living righteous lives, since Jesus Christ accepted to be crucified for the sake of their sins to be forgiven.

The passage explores the need for the Christian: the Ephesians: to put on God's armor which includes doing the right things to be able to fight spiritually with the forces of darkness. They are called upon to be active in the Lord. Such act as the corroborations of the messages of the book in the preceding chapters, where the Christians have been enlightened on such aspects as the spiritual blessings, redemption, Christ's mystery, purposes of their unity, as well as their need to act in the proper ways which reflect the fact that they are the children of God.

If there was the removal of the chapter from the book, there could have been the discontinuation, rightly, of the smooth flow of the message of the book. In this regard, it can be established that the passage exhausts on the topic ''The Armor of God (Holy Bible, 482).'' Under the topic, the need for the Christians to put on proper instruments of God for them to be ready to fight with the forces of darkness is well explained. It is the continuation of the previous five chapters, where several divine needs of Christians as wished by God are well brought out. Such include the aspects of spiritual blessings of God to his children through Jesus Christ, redemption and restoration, the mysteries of Christ Jesus, unity, and the need for the people of God to do good.

The unfamiliar words found in the passage are armor, heavenly realms, flaming arrows, the helmet of salvation, and ambassador in chains.

One of the figures of speech used is ''full armor'' which is a metaphor. It has been used to represent the instruments of God such as prayer, hence showing the strength of instruments. Also, there is the use of contrast and juxtaposition in ''...not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers'' to the stress of the need for spiritual wellbeing amongst the children of God (OUTSKIRTS Press, 36).

The author seemed to want a response in the form of living godly form the readers since he besieges them, in the form of a letter, of the divine blessings, unity, and lives from God to them.

Works Cited

Holy Bible. , 2018. Print.

JACKSON, THOMAS. Conversational Commentary on the Book of Ephesians. Place of publication not identified: OUTSKIRTS Press, 2018. Print.

Thielman, Frank. Ephesians (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament). Baker Books, 2010.