If you only had one more letter to write ...

What would you do if you were told that you had only one letter to write to those that you love before your life came to an end?

Before attempting to read the letter to the Ephesians, written by Paul the Apostle, its important to know why he wrote it. Scholars tell us that Paul wrote the letter as a companion to two other letters written just prior: Colossians and Philemon. In fact, Ephesians shares some of the same content and structure of Colossians.

Paul is in prison either in Caesarea awaiting extradition to Rome or waiting for a trial before Caesar in Rome. While there it is believed that Paul wrote the Colossian letter addressed to a specific community in north Asia Minor concerning their views on the person of Jesus. Paul's concern was that they did not cloud the reality of the person of Jesus as the Son of God with other beliefs from other religions. He also wrote Philemon; a personal letter to a slave owner encouraging him to take back his wayward slave. While waiting for Tychicus to come and carry the two letters to their destination, Paul decides to write a third letter which was not addressed to any particular Christian community but rather was a general letter that gave Paul the freedom to share his large thoughts about God's cosmic plan for humanity and the world. This is the letter we call Ephesians.

With this background in mind, what we have in the Ephesian letter is Paul's most important thoughts on God's plan. Paying attention then to the first words Paul writes is hugely important. Like a father leaving his final parting thoughts to his loved ones, Paul pens large sweeping thoughts about God's character and his involvement in the life of humans and the world to rid the world of evil. Nothing short of the church as God's evidence of heaven and earth living under the authority of Christ is the secret message that will reveal the wonder of God's plan to the rulers and principalities on earth. It will not be Caesar who will bring peace to humanity and the world but human beings transformed into one new humanity in Christ living in harmony with each other. It is this community that will drive back evil and walk in the life that God has designed for them.

God has given the church the opportunity to join Him in the battle against evil. By living in redeeming relationships with each other and with others at large, the church reveals to the world what it means to live in God's kingdom and to have God as King! Paul's hope is that this letter circulate all over Asia Minor as an encouragement to carry on in faithfulness to what God has called the church to be so that God's plan will continue to be revealed to the world and others may "awaken" to the reality of life in its fullness as God intended it.

What we are embarking on in this series is nothing less then uncovering God's cosmic plan for the world. Reading through Ephesians with this in mind will open up the letter for you and give you a full picture of what God has in mind for us as His community. I pray that you will be encouraged and your faith in His Church will be renewed. Understanding our purpose and place in this plan will reinforce why we continue to meet on Sunday and celebrate our relationship with Christ, with each other and with our world.

I look forward to our journey together these next several weeks!