Transcript
(Disclaimer: This might not be exactly what is said but is the general gist of the message!)
Hello! Today we are looking at the 3rd instalment of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and we are now coming up to half way through the full 6 chapters of the letter.
In this letter Paul gives us some shocking news, that he is writing this letter from jail! In fact Paul is writing the letter from jail in Rome. He doesn’t give us much details about his imprisonment but tells us that we mustn’t worry about him and that he is in jail because he is spreading the message of Jesus.
In his letter he mentions that he is in jail twice, once at the start and then again before he finishes the letter in prayer. In doing this, he creates a kind of sandwich. Jail, a bunch of other stuff and then jail again. The reason he does this is to make us, reading the letter, know that everything that he is saying in the middle of that sandwich must be read with his captivity in mind.
This is something that happens a lot in the Bible, the writers will sandwich thoughts together to help you sandwich the thoughts together in your head. So if you’re reading the bible and you see something sandwiched then remember that the two things will be linked together in some way!
So the question is – what is Paul wanting to sandwich between him being in jail? The answer is that he wants to tell us about his job as an apostle and the mystery of the gospel. He wants to tell us that the incredible message of God’s plan to save the world is worth giving his life to, even if it lands him in jail. In another letter he writes that it is worth following Jesus even if he ends up dying because of it. Paul tells us that God had this plan to make the whole world better and to bring us close to him but for centuries this plan was kept a secret, until Jesus entered the world and revealed God’s glorious plan and that now we as the church are God’s plan to show the world his wisdom, power and grace.
Paul ends his letter in prayer. This prayer is arguably the most well known part of his letter to the Ephesians and you will undoubtedly hear it quoted many times. Paul prays that you will know the full of extent of God’s love for you and that you will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
As in previous video’s I’m going to end in prayer and if you’ve had any questions or thoughts then make sure you chat it through with your family or church group.
Father God, I pray that we would know how big your love is. I pray that we would be filled with all the power that you have promised us and that through the church we would see the world transformed by your love. Amen