Mar 31, 2019
The Ephesian church was in a Greco-Roman culture that promoted sexual unrestraint, slavery, idolatry, materialism, and gluttony. As a wealthy port city, distractions were everywhere—from athletics to business, to festivals and drinking parties. To live for God, believers were to be strong in the strength (Gr. kratos,...
Mar 24, 2019
In the first century, Rome imported slaves as its economic backbone from Europe, the Mediterranean, Spain, Syria, and Greece. As a Roman city, Ephesus had 50,000 slaves—the most valuable being doctors, architects, musicians, and sculptors. Those who broke the law, had financial debts, or were war captives were sold in...
Mar 17, 2019
Like most Greco-Roman cities, Ephesus practiced pater familiasor ‘father of the family’. This meant the father or oldest son had dictatorial control over his house, and children had no rights or value before puberty. However, biblically all humans, regardless of life-stage, have infinite value and are worthy of...
Mar 10, 2019
God created Adam as the first human and at the first wedding in Eden, God presented Adam with a wife (Gen. 2:18-25). This first family shared a common God, DNA, and a desire to live in harmony. While God created them equal in value, they were made different by design. God built the husband to be the head and...
Mar 3, 2019
By the first century, Ephesus had many powerful and educated women, just as in other Mediterranean areas (Acts 13:50; 17:4, 12). As there were people from all social classes in the church, they needed to be taught God’s design for their homes. The sexes didn’t evolve but God created them to complement one another in...