Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

For our New Testament readers readers we just finished our 15th book and for our full

Bible readers we finished book 54. Ephesus is in modern day turkey however

some scholars believe this book in particular may have been intended as some sort of mass email to lots of churches in the area, which could be one reason why it doesn't address any specific problems or offer rebukes and instead seems to

serve as more of a general encouragement and vision casting letter. Chapter 1

is dense. If you were half awake when you read it, check it out again. It is rich with theology and encouragement and

the kindness of God. Paul opens by reminding them that they were chosen by God in Christ

before the world was made. Reconciliation has always been God's plan even before things fell apart, and he's working out all things according to his will.

One of his glorious purposes in all of this is to give his kids an inheritance with Christ. He did and the spirit signed the paperwork.

Paul also reminds them that the father raised the son from the dead and that the same power

God used in that action is the same power that resides in his kids via his spirit.

Chapter 2 is an overview of the past, present, and future of every believer.

We were dead in our sins. We were slaves to our flesh doing whatever it wanted and by nature we were children of wrath just like everybody else

There was nothing special about us. We weren't especially good or moral or awesome. So what happened? How are we different?

According to Paul, God's mercy happened. He intervened and made us alive in Christ. He raised us from the dead. And that's not going to be the end of

his kindness to us. He's going to keep being kind to us forever. That was just

the beginning of the gifts God gave us.

V verses 8 and 9 tell us about a few of those gifts specifically.

Those verses say,

By grace you have been saved through faith,

and this is not your own doing.

It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

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