Reading for February 11th

 Read Ephesians 3.1-21. In 3.1-21: Paul's imprisonment and ministry. In verse 1: The prayer (vv. 1, 14-21) is interrupted by vv. 2-13 (see Col 1.23-27) clarifying Paul's work on behalf of gentiles. On Paul as prisoner, see 2 Cor 6.5; 11.23; Philem 1.9; Phil 1.13-14. In verse 2: Commission, a management or stewardship position. In verse 3: As I wrote above, uncertain, but possibly the mission to the gentiles (2.11-12) or Christ's revelation (1.9-10). In verse10: The church manifests the wisdom of God's plan of reconciliation. In verse 14-21: The prayer resumes in a single sentence (vv. 14-19) and closes with a doxology (vv. 20-21). In verse 14: A play on father (patera") and family ("patria"). In verses 16-19: The goal is the fullness of God by way of the love of Christ. In verses 20-21: The doxology recalls the emphasis on power and abundance ( 1.19-20; 2.7). Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 10th

 Read Ephesians 2.11-22. In verses 11-22: Jews and gentiles are reconciled to God in the body of Christ. In verse 12: Aliens, those without knowledge (Col 1.21). In verse 13: The far off ... brought near (also 2.17), possibly drawn from Isa 57.19. In verse 14: Dividing wall, possibly the temple barrier separating the court of the gentiles from the parts of the Temple open only to Jews. In verse 18: Access, the right of approach, as if to a king (3.12). In verse 19; Household of God: For the patriarchal writer, God is father over the social relations in the believer's family (1.3, 17; 2.18; 3.14; 4.6; 5.20; 6.23). In verse 20: Paul speaks of Christ as a foundation (1 Cor 3.10-15), but not apostles and prophets. Cornerstone or keystone, a messianic term (Isa 28.16, perhaps Ps 118.21-23). Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 9th

 Read Ephesians 2.1-10. In 2.1-22: God's reconciling grace. God saves humankind from enemy powers and Christ ends the enmity between Jews and gentiles. In verses 1-10: Contrast between past walk (vv. 1-3) and present walk (vv. 4-10). In verse 2: Lived, literally "walked," connects the former walk (2.2) and the new way of walking in 2.10 (see 4.1, 17; 5.2, 8, 15). Ruler of the power of the air, Satan (4.27; 6.11-12). In verse 3: Flesh, fleshly disposition. In verses 5-6: By grace you have been saved, similar to Paul's language elsewhere, but never views the resurrection of the believers as a present reality. In verse 10: The good works that the community does are possible because God has created them in Christ. The life they lead is the way (literally "walk," v. 1). God has made it possible. Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 8th

 Read Ephesians 1.15-23. In 1.15-23: A thanksgiving. In verse 18: Heart, the seat of knowledge and understanding. because of the hope to which he has called you, the church must live out its, calling, as described in 4.1-3. In verses 20-22: At the right hand, the most honored position (Col 3-1); under his feet, a sign of victory, both quoted from Ps 110. In verse 22: Christ as head of the church (Col 1.18) is not found in the undisputed Pauline letters, which speak of local churches, not the universal church. Comments or Questions. 

Reading for February 7th

 Read Ephesians 1.3-14. In 1.3-14: Praise to God. The repetitions of praise (vv. 6, 12, 14) divide the one Greek sentence into three parts (vv. 3-6; 7-12; 13-14). In verse 3: Heavenly places occurs nowhere else in the New testament but Ephesians (1.20; 2.6; 3.10; 6.12). In verses 5-6: Adoption, a favorite concept for Paul (Gal 4.15; Rom 8.15, 23; 9.4); Paul never uses beloved to characterize Christ though later Christian writers, like Ignatius, do. In verse 7: For Paul, redemption (a purchase payment) covers all of the believers' loves and is completed only at the second coming ("parousia"). (See 3.24; 8.23; 1 Cor 1.30; see also 1 Cor 15.23). Ephesians holds a similar view but never mentions parousia. In verse 8: Wisdom and insight emphasize adequate perception; the recipients should avoid deceit and spread truth (4.14, 25; 5.6; 6.14). In verse 9: Mystery, Colossians reserves this expression for Christ (Col 1.26-27; 2.2;4.3); here it indicates God's reconciliation of all things, including Jews and gentiles in the body of Christ (3.3-4, 9). In verse 10: Gather up, "headup": Jesus is head of the body and the church grows toward the head. In verse 11: Paul links adoption to inheritance (Gal 3.29; 4.7; Rom 8.17). In verses 12-14: We you connects vv. 7-12 to 13-24, anticipating the direct address to gentiles in 2.1 and 3.1. A seal confirms authenticity; a pledge is a deposit against the full amount to be paid later; both are used similarly in Paul's undisputed letters (2 Cor 1.22; 5.5; Rom 8.23). Comments or Questions.  

Reading for February 6th

Read Ephesians 1.1-2. In 1.1-2: The epistolary opening. It is typical for Paul's letters: Identification of the letter's sender and recipients, followed by words or greetings. Comments or Questions. 

Reading for February 5th

 Read Song of Songs 8.6-14: In verses 6-7: Sayings on love. Documents were secured with wax, which were then stamped with a seal bearing the owner's distinctive symbol. The woman marks the man as her own. In verses 8-14: Miscellaneous poems. The brothers, mentioned in ch. 1, speak. In verse 9: If on her wedding day she has been chaste (a wall), they will give her silver ornaments. If she has not, they will guard her. In verse 10: She maintains that she is chaste, and mature with full breasts (towers). In verses 11-12: The man maintains that his vineyard (that is, the woman) is better than that of Solomon, where a single piece of fruit was worth a thousand pieces of silver. Baal-harmon means "possessor of wealth." The location is unknown. In verse 13: The woman speaks these final verses. Comments or Questions..