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Ephesians and Colossians: Prison Epistles, Part 1

  1. Lesson One
    Overview of Ephesians (Ephesians 1–6)
    22 Activities
  2. Lesson Two
    Authority and Power (Ephesians Review)
    22 Activities
  3. Lesson Three
    Author and Audience (Ephesians Review)
    16 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  4. Lesson Four
    Colossians Overview (Colossians 1–4)
    19 Activities
  5. Lesson Five
    Paul's Ethics (Colossians, Romans 6 Review)
    14 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

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Grab your Workbook Journal!

[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

Similar to the theme of unity, Paul’s rhetoric about “hostile powers” is driven by his context and the sensibilities of classical worldviews. His references to the “powers of this dark world” and “heavenly realms” may sound a bit foreign to us today, but this language would have immediately resonated with his audience.

We know from the surviving Greek magical texts that it was common in Paul’s context to assume a default state of hostility within the universe and to believe one’s self to be at the mercy of celestial forces. Some of these descriptions of Greek magic

. . . Agree that humanity is inescapably at the whim of the forces of the universe . . . Individuals seem to be nothing but marionettes at the end of power lines, pulled here and there without their knowledge by invisible forces. 

 

People also felt victimized by an impersonal, amoral Fate that affected them down to the minutiae of their lives and by fickle Fortune that seemed like a tempest at sea. [Dr. Ernest] Best summarizes the situation well: “Almost everyone in the ancient world believed that the way they lived was controlled by the stars, various deities and by other people. Fate . . . determined what should happen.”

Quotes from: Hans Dieter Betz, The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, vol. 1, 1986, p. xlvii; Ernest Best, Ephesians, vol. 36 of A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, 1998, p. 48; Charles H. Talbert, Ephesians and Colossians, 2007, pp. 18-19.

In ancient Greece, magic rituals, sacrifices, and even magic words were used to combat the forces of the universe. As desperate as these approaches may seem to us today, they provided a sense of security and control, and may have comforted those who knew nothing better. With this in mind, read the following passages. 

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  
Ephesians 6:12 NIV

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 
Ephesians 1:3 NIV

 

That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 
Ephesians 1:19-21 NIV

 

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 
Ephesians 2:1-2 NIV

 

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
Ephesians 3:10-11 NIV

  1. In your workbook summarize Paul’s message in the context of ancient sensibilities regarding fate and cosmic helplessness.