Doug and I are going to study the book of Ephesians together. We are going to try to do it a la Reading the Bible for All Its Worth. There’s a lot of work upfront, but I hope it is worth it.
All posts from us will have Ephesians in brackets for the Googlers of the religious blogosphere.
If anyone else wants to join, feel free. The only rule that I am placing on myself is No Commentaries. Bible Dictionaries ok, Eerdman’s Handbook ok – but no commentaries.
It will basically go like this:
- Find out the history of the Ephesian church in Acts. This provides some context.
- Use whatever resources you have (except commentaries) to discover when and where it was written.
- Read the book in one setting.
- Answer the who and what questions. (I have to keep in mind that this is an overview, I can get bogged down in minutia this early.) For example, who are the Ephesians? What is the author saying to the original audience? What situation is the author addressing? What does Paul say is happeneing to himself? Whom does he address specifically? What does he say about God?
- Go through the chapters and answer the why questions. Why is Paul saying this to them? Why did he use this example? Why does he mention certain people?
- Lastly, after going through chapter by chapter, review your notes and ask How does this apply to me?
The first post will appear Monday, and all other posts will appear Monday and Thursday for the month of April.
I look forward to it. Thanks for being my friend, Doug.