The Life in Christ: Ephesians in Integral Perspective

In the Summer of 2022, I decided to see what it would be like to apply the Integral Hermeneutical method I developed a few years ago to a whole book of the Bible: namely, the text traditionally known as Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. Why Ephesians? Beyond the practical fact that it’s a manageable length for a first foray into this sort of exercise, Ephesians has long been recognized as a wonderfully rich text. At times, its focus is on the depths of the Mystery of God, at others, on very practical issues of human relationships, but always, it seeks to describe — often through the language of prayer and praise — the full implications of what it means to be Christian, or to use its own distinctive language, to be “in Christ.”

Here is the series outline:

• 1.1          Getting to Know You
• 1.2          On Grace and Peace
• 1.3-14     Blessing God
  • • 1.4-6      On Election and Predestination
    • 1.3-14    Cosmic Questions
    • 1.1-14     ‘In Christ’
• 1.15-23   A Question of Power (Part I)
  • • A Question of Power (Part II)
• 2.1-10     And You Too
  • • 2.1-3 Bad Influences
• 2.11-22   Christ our Peace
  • • 2.11-13 Dividing Lines
• 3.1-13     A Matter of Meaning
• 3.14-21   God’s Power for Us

Targum on Ephesians 1-3

• 4.1-6      Unity as Witness
• 4.7-16    Gifts of Grace and Growth
  • • 4.8-10    God’s Power for Us (Again)
• 4.17-24    Old And New
• 4.25-5.2   Body Building
  • • Idolatry and Excess: The Moral Code of Ephesians 4-5 in its Historical Context
• 5.1-14     Children of Love and Light
• 5.15-21   Toward a Wise Life
• 5.22-6.9   Smash the Kyriarchy?
  • • Household Codes under the Microscope
    • A Biblical Case for Christian Egalitarianism
• 6.10-24    God’s Armour for God’s People

Targum on Ephesians 4-6

Putting it All Together: The Life in Christ, An Integral Study of Ephesians