One goal of “The Pew” is to encourage those of the way to always “go beyond the word”… seek God’s word and follow the good way… prayer, Holy Spirit and Obedience to our GOD…Led by our knowledge of what is expected of us.

Going beyond the word is simply knowing about the old journalism points of… “Who, What, Where,Why and How” We will start with one of the best. William Barclay’s Daily Bible Study. From his introduction to Ephesians:

The Supreme Letter

By common consent, the Letter to the Ephesians ranks very high in the devotional and theological literature of the Christian Church. It has been called ‘the Queen of the Epistles’ – and rightly so. Many would hold that it is indeed the highest reach of New Testament thought.

There is no doubt that Ephesians was written by Paul while he was in prison for the Faith. One question that surfaces is to whom Ephesians is written to. To whom was the letter written? Some think it might have been directed toward the Gentiles. Paul notes in chapter 4 verse 17… “With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.”  That enough to think this way…I don’t think so but it is an interesting thought when one is trying to unite the Faith. There is another fact about this letter. Paul was in Ephesus longer than most places and had friends there yet the letter is void of any personal greetings, overall it is a very impersonal in content and tone. There is more but I will refer to “Barclay” before moving on.  “None of the great early manuscripts of the Greek New Testament contains the words “in Ephesus” none of the great early manuscripts of the Greek New Testament contains the words in Ephesus.”

They all read: ‘Paul . . . to the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus.’ This is from a current text from the NLT version… “Ephesians 1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.”

There are other disputes which we will leave behind for now. The world of digital advances gives us a treasure trove of information and little gems that allows us to further acquire knowledge, such being this article written by Jack Wellman and posted in:  https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/5-good-chapters-of-the-bible-to-read-during-tough-times/print/ . A concise listing of bible verses that strengthen The Confidence of Our Calling. Now again to give credit to where credit is due…here are the verses Jack Wellman points out that strengthen our confidence in the calling we have been given… Ephesians 1:

4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan.

11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,[c] for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

See how it all comes together, we are so blessed. God had a plan…We have been adopted into His family…and it was of HIS doing.

We can say with confidence we have been called…Stand Strong in The Faith

Life is Good

jk