The claim that the cult of Artemis of Ephesus included a rite of initiation, conducted by the kouretes, should be doubted. Various Ephesian magistrates in Roman Imperial times, but not the annual kouretes, declare that they celebrated “all the sacrifices and mysteries”. This however can be merely the increasingly pretentious terminology of the age, “mysteries” meaning no more than “holy rites”. Ancient authors show no knowledge of initiation to Artemis at Ephesus. In contrast, the inscriptions unambiguously attest initiation to Dionysus (...) and probably to Demeter, as we would expect in a Greek city. And in one dedication to Aphrodite, we do find again “mysteries”, but in this case metaphorical: they refer to marriage. (shrink)

In Ephesians 4:17–32, the concept of a “new man” is explored, emphasizing the transformation that occurs when one becomes a follower of Christ. This passage delves into the teachings and principles that guide believers in their spiritual growth and maturity journey. The keywords in this section highlight key aspects of the teaching, such as “teaching,” which implies the importance of instruction and guidance in understanding and living out the Christian faith. Additionally, the phrase “new man” signifies a radical change (...) within an individual when they surrender their old ways and embrace a new life in Christ. Ephesians 4:17–32 offers practical insights on how to live as a transformed individual. It addresses various aspects of personal conduct, including honesty, integrity, self-control, kindness, forgiveness, and love. These virtues are not only encouraged for personal growth but also for fostering healthy relationships within the community of believers. (shrink)

The erosion of traditional work roles which had been male biased has led to the increase of women in the workplace. Although a welcomed development, it has an attendant problem – a vacuum in the homestead. Consequently, families are filling this vacuum by employing various hands (houseboys and girls, maids and nannies) to handle the house chores in the absence of parents. Being part of the society and mostly affected by female personnel (as Islamic conservativeness is reducing female personnel), many (...) Christian parents are now faced with the issue of relating properly with their ‘servants’ and vice versa. In fact, there are many cases of maltreatment of these helps and pampering their own children while the helps are overstretched, on the one hand, and cases of outrageous and negative behaviours on the part of the ‘servants’. This article is aimed at giving a biblical guideline on domestic workers and masters relationship via a socio-rhetorical reading of Ephesians 6:5–9. It examines the Graeco-Roman household codes between servants and masters and provides a comparative analysis of these ethical codes with the Nigerian situation to emphasise the contemporary relevance of the passage.Contributions: The article holds that rather than being treated as domestic workers, these servants should be treated as part of the family. They should be sent to school, properly clothed, and fed and treated equally with the children of the home. They are human beings created and loved by God before whom we are all equals. (shrink)

One of the major causes of juvenile delinquency almost anywhere in the world, including Nigeria, is abusive conditions in the homes. The abusive condition in the Nigerian situation is exacerbated by the authoritarian concept of the home. Children are usually seen as mere objects who are to obey their parents, especially the father who has an absolute power over his children. Christian parents too are guilty of being authoritarian and their favourite cliché is ‘children, obey your parents’. This article aims (...) at developing a theological guideline that would assist fathers in rearing their children from the biblical perspective via a socio-rhetorical study of Ephesians 6:4. It examines the rearing of children in the 1st century among the Jews and the Graeco-Romans – the original recipients. Then, it compares the social condition of Nigeria with that of the 1st century Graeco-Roman. It concludes by stating that the key to understanding the verse is the phrase μὴ παροργίζετε, a combination of μὴ and a present active imperative, which is used to prohibit actions already in progress. Thus, the verse becomes an appeal to fathers to stop exasperating their children. To achieve this, fathers should see their children as full-fledged human beings with a right to their opinions and decisions about their lives. Contribution: This article holds that rather than being treated as obedient objects to fathers in all things, children must be seen as human beings created with will, mind and intelligence and therefore be given a say in issues that concerns them and be disciplined in love and not harshly. (shrink)

A presupposition of this essay is that a Christian understanding of sin should give attention to the emotions (or passions). Taking anger as a case in point, an account is offered of the paraenēsis in Eph. 4:26 where anger and sin are juxtaposed. The main argument is that the teaching about anger has to be situated in relation to the moral-theological vision of Ephesians as a whole, central to which is the coming together as one of Jews and Gentiles (...) in the Church. Anger is a sin, if it undermines the eschatological oneness of the Body of Christ. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Another Look at Silence and Knowledge of God in Ignatius's Letter to the EphesiansRyan Patrick Budd"The man whose delight is in the Lord's teaching knows the art of sitting still in the right place."—Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical PoetryIn this essay, I attempt to supplement the better analyses of St. Ignatius of Antioch's Epistle to the Ephesians (Ign. Eph.) 14.1 through 15.3 with structural insights. The main (...) fruit of the analysis will be to affirm the "mystical" meaning of Ignatius's concept of "hearing Christ's silence": the mature believer, who truly understands Christ's word, will be able to hear the silence of Christ—meaning, to understand Christ's hidden and mysterious Godhead—because Christ dwells within the believer as in a temple. The essay will proceed in three sections: First, a review of the more substantive commentaries on "silence" in Ign. Eph. 14–15; second, a presentation of a potential structure of the passage and a commentary on what that structure, if correct, would yield; and third, a very brief confirmation of the findings by reference to themes in St. Paul's own Epistle to the Ephesians.Scholarly Commentary on Ignatius and "Silence"In discussing Ign. Eph. 14–15, scholars have come to a wide variety of views, for almost as many reasons, as to what Ignatius means when he says the following: [End Page 451]It is better to be silent and to be, than to speak and not be. Teaching is good, if the one speaking should do. There is, then, one Teacher, who "spoke and it came to be," and even the things he has done silently are worthy of the Father. The one truly hearing the word of Jesus can also hear his [Jesus's] silence, that he might be fully made, that he might act through what he says and be understood through his (the believer's) silence.(15.1–2)1There are, however, two predominant camps into which one could group the different scholarly opinions: the first camp holds that Ignatius merely is speaking about integrity, the correspondence between words and deeds;2 the second camp holds that he is enunciating a kind of Christian mysticism.3 Two prominent members of the second camp, Virginia Corwin and Gregory Vall, though quite distinct in their views of the bishop of Antioch, provide reasoning that I find decisive in favor of recognizing that Ignatius—while certainly emphasizing a true correspondence between words and deeds—carries the point further than simple moralizing.Virginia Corwin's "Reserve of Deity" and the Believer's Knowledge of ChristCorwin, in her analysis of the passage, points toward a "reserve" existing "behind" the visible works of Christ, which is to be identified with his invisible, and thus "silent," Godhead, which one who truly hears his word can also "hear." She acknowledges, however, that Ignatius first recognizes Christ as an example of a truly effective teacher due to the absolute [End Page 452] correspondence between his words and his acts. She writes, "Christ... is a teacher unlike most, since there is no contrast at all between his profession and his actions.... He has an absolute clarity and a complete lack of any hypocrisy."4 The result of this recognition is not to stress ethical integrity, however important: it is to argue that, because of the correspondence between Christ's words and his silent acts and his even more silent person, the one who knows his words can come to a deep, profound, and infallible knowledge of who he is, himself.Corwin argues that there is something more about this Teacher than the mere—though impressive—integrity of his message:But it is not only the integrity of the teacher that distinguishes him, but his unique power: "He spoke and it came to pass"; at these words to the minds of both the writer and the hearers of the letter must have occurred the image of the mighty acts of creation.... It is precisely because the words of Jesus are in a sense mighty acts that they must be seen in the larger perspective.5Which "larger perspective" she means... (shrink)

The letter to the Ephesians employs various communicative strategies in responding to the rhetorical situation of its implied recipients. Focusing on the recipients' new identity and ethos έν Χριστώ [in Christ], the text emphasises supernatural elements such as resurrection, ascension, heavenly places, revealed mystery, Spirit and power. At the same time, it adopts a rich mosaic of traditional materials, inter alia echoing the Hebrew Scriptures, Hellenistic traditions and early-Christian liturgical traditions. This article explores the dynamic yet complex intertextual fusion (...) and reappropriation of (mainly Jewish) traditions in Ephesians as the author's experience and understanding of the ascended Christ. Special attention is given to the probable functioning of Psalm 68:18 (LXX 67:19) in Ephesians 4:1-16. In conclusion, the essay investigates the intended rhetorical effect of material from the Hebrew Scriptures in the letter - as construction of Christian identity in continuation with the story of Israel and from within the context of Empire. (shrink)

This study explores the phrase ‘sealed with the Holy Spirit’ of Ephesians 1:13 as a metaphor, which relates the status of the recipients with the seal. Past studies view that the metaphor teaches about covenant or unity in God’s protection, assurance, and ownership. This study hypothesises that the author uses metaphor to address the recipients who have a deeper sentiment with a seal meaning they are both Jewish and Gentile Christians but especially those who are slaves. The study combines (...) the Ephesians’ background, lexical, and exegetical analyses with the cognitive-linguistic metaphor exploration. The result shows that the metaphor ‘seal’ is closely related to the personal experience of the Gentile Christians especially the slaves more than to others as it teaches that the endowment with the Spirit makes them worthy and united in the same identity as God’s chosen people. Contribution: This article seeks to contribute to the ongoing challenges that Indonesian Christians face in manifesting their unity because of their diverse cultural or historical backgrounds as part of a formerly colonialised nation especially those who are underprivileged and live in rural areas. By recognising that God has redeemed, endowed them with the Holy Spirit, and united with each other, they are free from various status bondages, especially as a minority group among the largest Muslim population in the world. (shrink)

The question the author explores in this paper is whether Paul's stance on retaining one's ethnic identity which eventually was lost when the church became predominantly gentile was already lost by the time the letter to the Ephesians was written around 90 CE at the latest. The point is that Christ does not merely bring peace of mind, psychological well-being, but shalom, the total health and well-being of being right with God and finding peace even with enemies. It is (...) a real political and social peace that Christ enables and demands of those who truly belong to His kingdom. As Eph. 1-2 indicates, through the power of Christ hostility arising from difference can be turned into a cause of celebration of the blessings of God in Christ. (shrink)

South Africans live in a broken country where hatred leads to violence and destroys the relationships between people. The pertinent question here is: Is forgiveness between South Africans possible? This article is an attempt to understand 'forgiveness' in Ephesians, and to discuss the power of such forgiveness in a violent and broken South Africa. Ephesians 4:23 demands a change in the people's mindset in order to be able to, inter alia, be kind and compassionate when they forgive each (...) other. This forgiveness means to take control as a believer and to use one's power as a Christian to forgive because God forgave us. We need to be the initiators of the transaction. Forgiveness is a 'means for imitating God', for 'carrying out God's plan', and 'enhancing one's relationship' with God. Forgiveness will restore relations; it is a gift to oneself and to others, to society, to one's country. Ephesians advises to no longer rehearse and re-think the memories of pain, to stop harbouring and nursing grudges, to stop playing the victim and perpetuating negative emotions associated with this rehearsing, and to break people's commitment to remain angry. CONTRIBUTION: Ephesians aims to persuade believers that forgiveness is a choice to imitate God. Forgiveness is an act out of grace, kindness, and compassion. (shrink)

Generally, it is common knowledge that humans have the same time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 31 days a month, 365 days per year, but most of them do not know how to manage time and manage it to be something useful and effectively. That is because many people do not have the discipline in filling time. Those days are filled with things that are not directed, even worse is that filling the time of his or her (...) life with things that damage life. Even though wasting time is not unwise because it is a waste of the opportunity God has given and the time that has passed will not return, meaning that if the opportunity is not used, then the opportunity will be lost. How important is to redeem the time, especially for contemporary Christian leaders because all must be accountable to God. This study uses a research library. Library research is a literature study that is carried out by using relevant and available reading sources related to the topics discussed in the research. Books or journal articles related to the topics discussed are used as sources of reading to better understand time management and its application at the personal and organisational levels. From the various reading sources used, the writer develops this scientific article, including giving comments or critical comments that are conveyed in various parts of the writing, especially in the conclusions. (shrink)

This article employs the descriptive and exegetical methods. It found several ways by which patriarchy precipitates marital disharmony in Nigeria. For instance, the custom of the bride price instils in the husband the feeling of ownership of the wife, which encourages some men to treat their wives like their property. The nature of marital disharmony varies with couples, but there are some common characteristics. The husband may withdraw from his wife, avoiding all forms of contact and communication with her; wife (...) beating is also common. Ephesians 5:22-33 mitigates the patriarchal view of marriage, redefining the concepts of submission and leadership. The wife should submit to her husband’s authority as she would to Christ whilst the husband should exercise his authority with love in imitation of Christ. When this new definition of marital relationship is understood and applied by Christian couples, disharmony will be considerably alleviated. The church should be involved in the application of the text, teaching husbands particularly the need to exercise their authority in sacrificial love. Contribution: The article endorses the journal’s focus on the combination of the notions ‘source’ and ‘interpretation’ by its emphasis on the exegesis of writings in the field of early Christian literature. (shrink)

Formed in the tradition of Augustine and Calvin, the author traces the contributing contemporary influences that have nuanced and expanded his belief in the sovereignty of God, the love of God and neighbor, and the commitment to a just society. Rethinking this religious history in light of American racism, a pragmatic theory of meaning, contemporary social theory, and the contribution of John Rawls, the author endorses a qualified universalism and suggests that race, class, and gender require attention as variables that (...) often distort moral judgment but should not be thought to determine our essential selves or our conception of what is right and just. (shrink)

The shepherd has a very important role in God's purpose for His church. A shepherd should have the equipping ability as described in Ephesians 4:12a. This ability is manifested in two ways, namely: equipping the congregation with knowledge and experience of faith. The process of equipping the congregation will lead the Lord's congregation to spiritual maturity which is characterized by the unity of the spirit, the correct knowledge of the Son of God, full maturity and a level of growth (...) that is in accordance with the fullness of Christ. The results of the research conducted using the quantitative research method concluded that the ability of the pastor to equip the congregation based on Ephesians 4:1-16 had a significant effect on the spiritual maturity of the Baptist church congregations in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. (shrink)