Lesson 10
1. We are now in the 3rd apostolic phase for Paul.
1st phase - itinerant evangelist
2nd phase - pastor Corinth and later Ephesus
3rd phase - coordinator of missionary activities
BACKGROUND
2. Both 1st and 2nd Tim. Are written to Timothy dealing with the church at Ephesus. The letter to the Ephesians was also probably written to Timothy at a later date. 1 Cor. is written from Ephesus (spring of 57 AD) and 11 Cor. is written from either Macedonia or Ephesus.
3. Paul's 3rd missionary trip lasted four years (54 - 58 AD). Paul's first Roman imprisonment was from 61-63 AD
4. Ephesian church was a strategic church. From 36 to 120 AD, there were 4 principal centers of Christianity in the world:
5. Jerusalem
6. Antioch - Syria
7. Ephesus
8. Rome
9. After 120 AD up to around 200 AD - #5 was Alexandria of Egypt.
10. Paul dies around 68 AD - after which we don't hear anymore out of Antioch. Ignatius is later martyred there. Jerusalem church remains until the Muslim invasion in 600 AD. It's importance became cyclic. Becomes a city of relics.
11. We are then left with Ephesus and Rome and later Alexandria of Egypt. Paul's input into Ephesus on 3rd missionary journey had heavy consequences for next 200 years.
12. The apostle John and Mary the mother of Jesus moved to Ephesus. This greatly enhances the strength of that church. John writes Revelation on Patmos - close to Ephesus - in 95 AD. John was in Ephesus from around 60 to 100 AD.
13. Ignatius in 107 AD writes letter to Ephesus. Tradition says that Onesimus became pastor of Ephesus. He pulled Paulus Corpus together.
14. Early Pastors of Ephesus:
15. Paul 54-57 AD
16. Timothy 63-64 AD
17. John 80-90 (91) AD (after Timothy dies)
18. Onesimus? - 107 AD (Ignatius writes him there)
19. Acts 18:18 reviews last part of 2nd missionary journey. 18:22 concludes 2nd trip.
20. Acts 18:23 - Paul goes to Galatia region for 3rd trip to them.
21. He is traveling among the churches established on 1st missionary trip.
22. Aquilla and Pricilla were left in Ephesus
23. 18:24 - A Jew named Appolos, an Alexandrian came to Ephesus
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; 26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he helped greatly those who had believed through grace; 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
24. Aquila and Priscilla take him home to explain to him the way of the Lord more accurately.
25. The thought is that they had a Bible study in their home. The church in Ephesus is being seeded.
a. Aquila and Priscilla are getting Ephesus ready for Paul. They sent Apollos to Achaia - Corinth.
26. 19:1 - Apollos goes to Corinth. Paul comes through upper country - primitive area. Comes to Ephesus. Finds
27. some disciples of John and asks if they had received the HS. He lays his hands on them -12 men.
28. 19:6 - The Holy Spirit came by laying on of hands.
29. 19:7 - All 12 disciples spoke in tongues and prophesied.
30. 19:8 - Paul works in synagogue for 3 months. Longest time ever. But some begin to speak evil and he left – he was not booted out however. He took his disciples with him. (12+)
31. 19:9 - He reasoned daily with them in the school of Tyrannus.
32. Paul rents a hall from an individual named Tyrannus. He was probably a philosophical teacher. Paul uses primarily Greek method for imparting truth. He had not done this before (started a school). The most fruitful thing Paul did in terms of training was done at Ephesus. The way and methods he chose had longest lasting effect. (Time: 54-55 AD)
33. Ephesian helpers:
34. Priscilla & Aquilla - veterans, they helped Paul in Corinth
35. Twelve disciples - Paul gets them filled with HS and calls them into ministry. He sets up school to train them.
36. Erastus
37. Trophimus - (part of 12?)
38. Tychichus - (part of 12?)
39. Timothy
40. Titus
41. Gaius
42. Aristarchus
43. EPHESUS BACKGROUND:
44. EPHESUS. The most important city in the Roman province of Asia, on the W coast of what is now Asiatic Turkey. It was situated at the mouth of the Caÿster River between the mountain range of Coressus and the sea. A magnificent road 11 m wide and lined with columns ran down through the city to the fine harbor, which served both as a great export centre at the end of the Asiatic caravan-route and also as a natural landing-point from Rome. The city, now uninhabited, has been undergoing excavation for many years, and is probably the most extensive and impressive ruined site of Asia Minor. The sea is now some 10 km (7 mi) away, owing to the silting process which has been at work for centuries. The harbor had to undergo extensive clearing operations at various times from the 2nd century b.c. ; is that, perhaps, why Paul had to stop at Miletus (Acts 20:15-16)? The main part of the city, with its theatre, baths, library, agora and paved streets, lay between the Coressus ridge and the Caÿster, but the temple for which it was famed lay over 2 km to the NE. This site was originally sacred to the worship of the Anatolian fertility goddess, later identified with Greek Artemis and Latin Diana. Justinian built a church to St John on the hill nearby (hence the later name Ayasoluk—a corruption of hagios theologos), which was itself succeeded by a Seljuk mosque. The neighboring settlement is now called Selc¦uk.
45. The original Anatolian settlement was augmented before the 10th century bc by Ionian colonists, and a joint city was set up. The goddess of Ephesus took a Greek name, but clearly retained her earlier characteristics, for she was repeatedly represented at later periods as a many-breasted figure. Ephesus was conquered by Croesus shortly after his accession in c. 560 b.c, and owed some of its artistic glories to his munificence. After his fall in 546 it came under Persian rule. Croesus shifted the site of the archaic city to focus upon the temple of *Artemis: Lysimachus, one of the successors of Alexander, forcibly replanted it about the harbor early in the 3rd century b.c. Ephesus later formed part of the kingdom of Pergamum, which Attalus III bequeathed to Rome in 133 bc. It became the greatest commercial city of the Roman province of Asia. It then occupied a vast area, and its population may have numbered a third of a million. It is estimated that the great theatre built into Mt Pion in the centre of the city had a capacity of about 25,000.
46. Ephesus also maintained its religious importance under Roman rule. It became a centre of the emperor cult, and eventually possessed three official temples, thus qualifying thrice over for the proud title neo„koros ('temple-warden') of the emperors, as well as being neo„koros of Artemis (Acts 19:35). It is remarkable that Paul had friends among the *Asiarchs (Asiarchai, Acts 19:31), who were officers of the 'commune' of Asia, whose primary function was actually to foster the imperial cult.
47. The temple of Artemis itself had been rebuilt after a great fire in 356 bc, and ranked as one of the seven wonders of the world until its destruction by the Goths in ad 263. After years of patient search J. T. Wood in 1870 uncovered its remains in the marsh at the foot of Mt Ayasoluk. It had been the largest building in the Greek world. It contained an image of the goddess which, it was claimed, had fallen from heaven (cf. Acts 19:35). Indeed, it may well have been a meteorite originally. Silver coins from many places show the validity of the claim that the goddess of Ephesus was revered all over the world (Acts 19:27). They bear the inscription Diana Ephesia (cf. Acts 19:34).
48. There was a large colony of Jews at Ephesus, and they had long enjoyed a privileged position under Roman rule (Jos., Ant. 14. 225ff.; 14. 262ff.). The earliest reference to the coming of Christianity there is in c. ad 52, when Paul made a short visit and left Aquila and Priscilla there (Acts 18:18-21). Paul's third missionary journey had Ephesus as its goal, and he stayed there for over 2 years (Acts 19:8, 10), attracted, no doubt, by its strategic importance as a commercial, political and religious centre. His work was at first based on the synagogue: later he debated in the lecture-hall of Tyrannus, making of Ephesus a base for the evangelization of the whole province of Asia. The spread of Christianity, which refused syncretism, began to incur the hostility of vested religious interests. It affected not only the magic cults which flourished there (Acts 19:13ff.—one kind of magic formula was actually called Ephesia grammata) but also the worship of Artemis (Acts 19:27), causing damage to the trade in cult objects which was one source of the prosperity of Ephesus. There followed the celebrated riot described in Acts 19. Inscriptions show that the grammateus ('town clerk') who gained control of the assembly on this occasion was the leading civic official, directly responsible to the Romans for such breaches of the peace as illicit assembly (Acts 19:40). It has been suggested that his assertion 'there are proconsuls' (19:38), if it is not a generalizing plural, may fix the date with some precision. On Nero's accession in ad 54, M. Junius Silvanus, the proconsul of Asia, was poisoned by his subordinates Helius and Celer, who acted as proconsuls until the arrival of a regular successor.
49. Christianity evidently spread to *Colossae and the other cities of the Lycus valley at the period of Paul's stay in Ephesus (cf. Col. 1:6-7; 2:1). It was Paul's headquarters for most of the time of the Corinthian controversy and correspondence (1 Cor. 16:8), and the experience which he describes as 'fighting with wild beasts' happened there (1 Cor. 15:32). This seems to be a metaphorical allusion to something already known to the Corinthians, perhaps mob violence. (There was no amphitheatre at Ephesus, though the stadium was later adapted to accommodate beast-fighting.) G. S. Duncan (St Paul's Ephesian Ministry, 1929) has maintained that Paul was imprisoned two or three times at Ephesus, and that all the captivity Epistles were written from there and not from Rome. E. J. Goodspeed (INT, 1937), followed by C. L. Mitton and J. Knox, have located at Ephesus the collection of the Pauline Corpus of letters. There are difficulties in the hypothesis of an Ephesian imprisonment which suits the case, and although B. Reicke and J. A. T. Robinson have recently revived the idea that some or all of the captivity Epistles were written from Caesarea, it remains preferable to place them in Rome (see C. H. Dodd, BJRL 18, 1934, pp. 72-92).
50. After Paul's departure Timothy was left at Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3). The Pastorals give a glimpse of the period of consolidation there. It is thought by many that Rom. 16 was originally addressed by Paul to Ephesus.
51. The city was later the headquarters of the John who had jurisdiction over the seven leading churches of Asia addressed in the Apocalypse. The church in Ephesus is addressed first of the seven (Rev. 2:1-7), as being the most important church in the de facto capital, and as being the landing-place for a messenger from Patmos and standing at the head of a circular road joining the seven cities in order. This church is flourishing, but is troubled by false teachers, and has lost its 'first love'. The false apostles (2:2) are most probably like the *Nicolaitans, who seem to have advocated compromise with the power of paganism for the Christian under pressure. The Ephesians were steadfast, but deficient in love. Ramsay characterized Ephesus as the 'city of change'. Its problems were the problems of a successful church coping with changing circumstances: the city too had had a long history of shifting sites (cf. 2:5b). The promise of eating of the tree of life is here probably set against the background of the sacred date-palm of Artemis, which figures on Ephesian coins.
52. According to Irenaeus and Eusebius, Ephesus became the home of John the apostle. A generation after his time Ignatius wrote of the continuing fame and faithfulness of the Ephesian church (Ephesians 8-9). The third General Council took place here in ad 431 to condemn Nestorian Christology, and sat in the double church of St Mary, the ruins of which are still to be seen.
53. It retained prominence until around 250 AD. (until its destruction by the Goths in ad 263)
54. Has a pop. of around 100-250,000 at this time
55. Economy built on idol tourism and temple prostitues
56. Acts 19 - Paul trained students for 2 years in school. All who lived in Asia heard the gospel preached from this base, during Paul's 2 year stay.
57. Interesting that on his 2nd journey, the spirit of God would not permit his entrance into Asia, so he went to Macedonia instead. But 6-7 years later, he is back at Ephesus on 3rd trip. Fullness of time?
58. The whole area explodes with the gospel. Paul plants many churches in Asia. In Rev. 2:1-7 it mentions the angel who holds seven stars in his right hand. There are 7 churches tied to Ephesus - fruit:
59. 1. Smyrna 6. Laodicea
60. 2. Perganum 7. Hierapolis (not mentioned in Rev.)
61. Thyatira
62. Sardis
63. Philadelphia
64. In Rev. 2:1 - To Ephesus - you need to be doing what you did at the first, establishing churches like you with the seven. You should be about the same deeds you were at first.
65. 1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
66. The first 2 years Paul was there he did not leave Ephesus. The 12 must have been sent out to start the 7 churches.
67. Acts 19:11 - extraordinary miracles happened through Paul. Ephesus is centered (founded) on black magic, witchcraft, etc. All locals carried omulets which contained incantations. The greater the power of the enemy displayed, the greater the power of God manifested.
68. 11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
69. Acts 19:13-20 13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." 14 And seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. 18 Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of all; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. (NASB)
70. The word of God was changing lives dramatically.
71. Acts 19:21 - Paul purposed to go to Jerusalem - but he didn't (confusing verse)
72. 21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome." 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
73. Acts 19:23-27 The silversmith Demetrius was losing money, as was his fellow tradesmen. The KOG will attack the evil base a city is built on - in this case idols & $. Riots insue.
74. 23 And about that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. 26 "And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. 27 "And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship should even be dethroned from her magnificence." 28 And when they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 And also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority did not know for what cause they had come together. 33 And some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander (synagogue leader), since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 35 And after quieting the multitude, the town clerk said, "Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 "Since then these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 "For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 "So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 "But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly. 40 "For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today's affair, since there is no real cause for it; and in this connection we shall be unable to account for this disorderly gathering." 41 And after saying this he dismissed the assembly.
75. The town clerk quieted the crowd.
76. Acts 20:1 - Paul leaves for Macedonia. 11 Cor. Paul says he was confronted with wild beast at Ephesus. It must have happened at this time.
77. After this time period in Ephesus, Paul's focus of ministry changes. We are going into the 4th phase in Paul life.
No comments:
Post a Comment