The following is by Pastor Rob Golding of First Artesia Christian Reformed Church. He also writes for the Westminster Theological Seminary Magazine.
What is the book of Ephesians all about? The goal of this post is to help you remember just that. To do this, we will use the acronym P.U.R.E.L.Y to recall the main point of each chapter. Of course, a simple answer will leave out many important aspects, but the following should help you to understand and retain the most important aspects of the book.
P – Predestinating Love
Chapter 1: We cannot have life without God’s sovereign intervention. This requires predestination, election, and His choosing.
Key Verse: “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love, by predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,” (Ephesians 1:4–5, LSB)
U – Unifying Love
Chapter 2: Since God is the sovereign decider, we will be unified with those who were our enemies.
Key Verse: “by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might create the two into one new man, making peace,” (Ephesians 2:15, LSB)
R – Radical Love
Chapter 3: Since God set His love on us, our whole lives will be radically filled with His love.
Key Verse: “and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19, LSB)
E- Energizing Love
Chapter 4: This Love that takes over our whole lives will energize us to walk like Jesus, not like sinners.
Key Verse: “Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called,” (Ephesians 4:1, LSB)
L – Light of Love
Chapter 5: This new manner of walking will enable us to be the light of the world.
Key Verse: “But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.” (Ephesians 5:13, LSB)
Y -Yearning Love
Chapter 6: As lights of a distant land, we will yearn to be with Christ and fight His enemies ruthlessly until we are with Him.
Key Verse: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11, LSB)
The main point of Ephesians: Even though we were lost in sin, God predestines (Ch 1) us to unified (Ch 2) and fulfilled lives (Ch 3) marked by the resistance of sin (Ch 4) and embrace of God’s light (Ch 5) in the war for eternity (Ch 6).
Put more simply: God’s earth-shaking love radically changes us to be radically in love with Him.
-Rob Golding
The Fight of Faith 