The Epistle to the Ephesians

If you want to understand God's desire for your life then you need to know What God's will is. These verse's from II Timothy lay it out nicely.

II Timothy 2:15
King James Version
[15] Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

II Timothy 3:16,17
King James Version
[16] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
[17] That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Timothy is related to Ephesians in that Paul wrote to Timothy when he was in prison. Timothy is a letter for leaders in this new age of the church of God. God's focus was that it would be read by and practiced by leaders in the church. Ephesians was a great place to get started in the journey of leading God's people.

Philemon was also attached to Ephesians as Paul is writing to one person in the church. So the whole package is:
1. Ephesians
2, Philippians
3. Colossians
4. I & II Timothy
5. Philemon

Ephesians 4:32
Expanded Translation
[32] And contrarily, become a forgiving believer who is edifying to all you see, Do it with all, compassion and Godly love in your heart. Do it as God in Christ forgave you of all sin.

Hey all, I am currently working on Ephesians 6:8, Not too much further to go. If anyone out there knows of an out of this world publisher, Agent or Publishers agent please ask them to PM me here on FB. I check my messages here every day.

Thanks for your info, prayers, and for reading this. BTW, the Practical treatises of Ephesians are far beyond what any of us ever thought. I feel like I have put every thing I have into the Practical and feel as though I have just skimmed the surface.

Ephesians 5:19
[19] Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

All you musicians out there, this verse will really reverberate with your hearts. You see it looks like God is saying the same thing three times which to us today seems right. If you grew up in the the times of the first century you would look at this differently. The anchor of this verse is the word Psalms. We see it and what do we think? of course the book of Psalms. Back then people thought of a psaltery or more freely of a definition it is a hollow box with some strings (or sinew which is a tendon from an animal which was probably dinner last night). The strings were brushed over with whatever was handy. I once played a night in a bar and used a quarter because I didn't have a pick so Hymn is an instrument used to strum the Psaltery. Next comes Spiritual Songs. This is the sound that comes out and is what delivers the Word. Here we have a person playing a guitar (Psaltery) with a pick or whatever will brush the strings, and singing their hearts out.

Ephesians is jammed full of these things. I love shaking the Ephesians tree and seeing what is going to come out.

I am working on Book #3 about the Practical treatises of Ephesians. It is very slow going but I am doing the best I can for you. I am currently on Ephesians 5:29. It's taking a long time but I will upload some choice parts as I go so please check back here

Remember, God loves you. He knows you and as Ephesians says He blesses you

Thought you might like to see this: I am currently working on Ephesians 4:1 - 6ff. I am only at 4:18 so I am thinking of putting a few Expanded Translation on FB as I go along.

Ephesians 4:17
Expanded Translation
[17] Listen to what I say and speak as one who knows by the
Lord. That you no longer act or walk as a gentile, being silly in your thoughts and imaginations.

Colossians 1:10
King James Version
[10] That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

I Thessalonians 2:12
King James Version
[12] That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

"To walk" is a Jewish metaphor for the manner of life one lives. A walk is a purposed manner connoting lifestyle and mannerism. The call to walk worthy is used redundantly in these verses. Paul is issuing a call to the “holy ones” to change their lifestyle. To leave behind pagan worship that was the only thing they knew and to follow a new Lord. Much the same as Jesus Christ called the 12 apostles.

My Christmas Gift to you.
These are the expanded versions of "the great prayer in the Ephesians" I wrote these in the book "The Great Prayer of Ephesians". these are Ephesians 3:14ff. I hope you enjoy them:

Ephesians 3:14-21
[14] For this reason (as I spoke afore) I bow my knees in thankfulness and humility to God, The Father.
[15]For whom the whole family, both on the Earth and in the Heavenlies is named.
[16]That the Father of us all, will give unto you, in accordance with the unquantifiable riches of his glory, strength, with his great might, by his gift of holy spirit in your innermost being
[17] So that Christ, The only begotten of the Father will dwell in your hearts by the faith you have demonstrated; that you, who being rooted as a tree and founded as a building in love,
[18] May be able as a direct result of the holy spirit that resides in you, be able to understand with all the saints what is the breadth which extends to all races and peoples and the length which spans from eternity to everlasting, and the depth that is so low no part of the creation can ascertain it, and the height that is far above all principalities leading to the very right hand of God
[19] And to experience the tranquility of the love of Christ which is far beyond knowledge, that your life will become one of being filled and overflowing with the fulness of our Fathers love
[20] Now to Him who is able and ready to perform exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or can conceptualize. All this is in accordance with the Power of God, which worketh in us
OR
Ephesians 3:20 alternate reading
Expanded Version #2
[20] Now to God, who is able and ready to perform on behalf of His people, exceeding far more abundantly than we can think, or conceptualize, in the spiritual realm, in the cosmos, and in the earthly places. All this strength is utilized in accordance with the power of God who worketh in us
[21] Unto God be all glory given in the church by Jesus Christ, throughout all ages, time and generations, forever and ever. Amen

God bless you and Merry Christmas
-Frank

As the Great Prayer of Ephesians is not considered part of either the Doctrinal or Practical Treatises, it has been treated as just an ancillary part of the Epistle. It has been viewed as being of less importance than other aspects of the Epistle. Most commentaries on Ephesians treat the prayer as a section to pass through as opposed to being valuable to dwell upon.

God placed the greatest importance on Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. In this Epistle He reveals the Great Musterion, the framework of the Church of the Body of Christ. The Epistle itself is a cyclical epistle and most probably is the lost epistle to the Laodiceans. Many believe that it is a Deutero-Pauline epistle, written by someone other than Paul, yet written in his voice. The great prayer of Ephesians acts as a bridge between the doctrinal and the practical treatises. It is the center of a perfectly balanced book meaning each doctrinal treatise coincides with a practical treatise.

Hey everyone, please feel free to comment on the posts on this page. I invite you to share your enthusiasm for the Epistle to the Ephesians.

The Great Prayer of Ephesians.

This prayer is the second prayer of Paul in this letter to the Ephesians . This prayer is an intercessory prayer from Paul to God. Often intercessory prayer is regarded as a defense for sin. In this case it is for the building up of the saints and would have to be considered as a necessary and vital function of Paul’s ministry as an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:11,12
KJV
[11] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
[12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ:

Paul’s purpose in this prayer is a request to God that He would impart to the believers His power, and to put into their hearts an awareness of the internal reality of His true presence. Paul desires an outpouring of God’s Love and His divine power into the hearts of the saints. The solemn introduction that Paul makes for the prayer gives the great weight to the prayer that is so rightfully deserves.

the Ransom

Back when a messiah was promised in Genesis, the price of the ransom was also set.

Genesis 3:15
[15] And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

In essence the ransom was a life for a life. The blood of Jesus Christ for the lives of the believers. The blood was given and thus the ransom was accomplished. So redemption is the fulfillment of the ransom agreement. In Jewish traditions ransom money is the equivalent for a forfeited life. This is a point where law and grace meet. The acceptance of agreed amount of ransom money is dependent upon the laws holding the one to whom the ransom is offered to abide by. So through the blood of Jesus Christ the ransom was paid and by law was accepted as payment in full.

Excerpt from "The Doctrine of Ephesians, A Philological Examination"

Thought I would put up an Expanded Translation of Ephesians 1:4. This is the translation from the book "The Doctrine of Ephesians. A philological Examination, - Enjoy

Ephesians 1:4
Expanded Version
[4] According as He, God, has assembled us and put us on the list, before the overthrow of the universe, so that we should be the sanctified ones, called out, held in reserve and unblemished, presented before Him in love.