Ewald Schmidt

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus …” Ephesians 1:1 (NIV)

We hear so many words every day. Our technology delivers words at the speed of light. However, with such a flood of words, many words have lost impact: a digital noise that we quickly discard and forget. Few words are worth remembering on a daily basis.

In Biblical times it was so different. The arrival of a personal letter was an event of huge importance. Somebody needed to communicate an idea. One had to go to great lengths to write it down on a papyrus roll. A trustworthy person had to be found, willing to travel great distances by foot, to deliver this letter by hand to the intended receiver. The journey was fraught with many dangers, risking wild animals and robbers along the way. That is why every personal letter received brought great joy, and every single word was treasured. According to the style of writing, a letter usually stated who the author was, and who the intended reader would be at the top.

In the first sentence of the letter to the Ephesians we learn about the grace of God in one man’s life. In the Book of Acts, we encounter Paul as somebody who really hated Jesus and his church. But years later, he became a living witness that Jesus is alive.  From being a persecutor of the church, he has become a messenger of Jesus, a bearer of Good News. He wrote this letter to the first Christian church in Ephesus, a harbour city on the Asian continent. This congregation in Ephesus consisted of native Greeks, who turned their backs on their pagan past to follow Jesus. There were also some Jewish believers, who found the Messiah that they were expecting for some generations, in Jesus. Some believers were rich businessmen, others were still slaves. But every believer in Ephesus needed to be encouraged to remember that they now possessed a new life in Christ. This is the central theme of the letter to the Ephesians: Believers have received a new life in Christ. This letter has also been preserved through the ages to bring this message to us: through our belief in Christ we have received new life.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have come to save us, and that you have given us a new life, an abundant life worth living to your glory! Amen