A Note from Our Pastor:

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,”

Ephesians 3:1

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

Welcome to 2021 and another year of the blessings of serving our Lord and learning about his truth. Our prayers are with you for the coming year that the Lord might reveal more of his truth to you and that you might be blessed in that knowledge. There is no greater treasure in this life than to know the truth of Jesus Christ and his salvation.

As we begin the new year, we also begin a new chapter in our Study in Ephesians. As we move to chapter three, the focus is going to shift. In this chapter the Apostle Paul is going to focus on explaining his ministry and the purpose of his ministry to God’s people.

The Apostle begins the chapter by pointing back to the end of chapter two. It is important to remember that when this writing was composed it was not written in chapter and verse form. The Apostle begins this verse by saying what is going to follow is because I desire that you grow and become the temple of God for his abode here in time.

The Apostle then gives us definitive proof that this book was written by Paul. The man converted from persecuting the Jews. The man who would be tortured, imprisoned, and eventually put to death for preaching the truth of Jesus Christ. Knowing definitively who the author is does not change the authority of the content, but it does make it easier from a study perspective to discuss authorship.

Finally, Paul tells us that he was a prisoner in the course of writing this epistle. Paul was under house arrest in Rome awaiting trial when he wrote this letter to the Ephesians. Of note though is the approach and attitude that Paul takes regarding his imprisonment. He does not see it as a great injustice but rather sees the grace and mercy that God gives him to handle it. He understands that it is part of his calling and as such, God is going to strengthen him during it that he might complete his calling.

The Apostle would assert here that while the Roman bonds were strong, the bonds of service to God and Jesus Christ were stronger. In other words, if the requirement to be free from Roman bonds was to turn away from the teachings of Jesus Christ, then no freedom would be had.

May we all see our service to Jesus Christ with that level of dedication.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah