There’s something about scripture that the more I read it and appreciate the more I’m aware that I need to understand how I can bridge the gap between what it says and how I live. That’s not just an individual consideration. It affects how I view the nature of how we gather as the called out ones and the kind of relationships I hope to be a part of and make contributions to develop.
One of the key books that I read that stimulates that kind of thought has been the letter from Paul to the church in Ephesus. The first thing I note, though, is that in as much as it’s written to that area it’s not as specific as say what he writes to the Corinthian church and the church in Galatia. There’s something in this letter that’s a bit more generic in nature.
Although it is generic in nature, it is still addressing key issues of the day that the church at the time needed to be aware of. One of the reasons why I love the David Pawson overview of the book is that it helps me appreciate that the best way to deal with heresy is a glorious unveiling of the truth. The best way to know the counterfeit is immersing yourself in the real thing. That’s another reason why the Ephesian letter is such a captivating one.
This letter was the first one I read that got me to appreciate the way that the approach to loving Jesus was a foundation of orthodoxy (right teaching) on which to express orthopraxis (right practice). Behaviour flows from belief. Getting it wrong in the first area has a knock on effect to the second area. Problems in the second area can help us to explore again what foundation we’re building on.
The one thing I am particularly looking forward to in exploring Ephesians is appreciating it as an entire document. It might be considered as a circular letter and I can consider myself as being part of those in the route it was meant to reach to ensure that relationships horizontal and vertical were based on the right foundations to be expressed in the right engagements.
I am also looking forward to seeing how even though I read this letter and blog through it on my own, how it further informs how we are to be as an expression of the Body of Christ.
So the next blog in this series will consider what my initial reaction is to reading the entirety of the letter as a letter.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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