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Through Ephesians for Skeptics, Seekers, and Those Who Love Them

October 31, 2025

The letter to the Ephesians was actually a circular letter written by the apostle Paul. It was meant to be passed from church to church as he included guidance on on how to live for Jesus in a pagan world. Paul lived and served in Ephesus for 2 years (and may have been imprisoned there for another year). Ephesus was the 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire behind Rome and Alexandria. There were 250,000 people living there in what was the most prominent city in all of Asia. Ephesus had a giant Temple to Artemis which was 4 times bigger than the Parthenon. As people came to Christ, they stopped buying idols to the goddess Artemis and sorcerers even burned their scrolls. As a result, Paul and the church experienced persecution including the famous moment where 25,000 Ephesians chanted for their goddess while Paul hoped to speak to the rowdy crowd. The letter to the Ephesians describes our identity and Christ, our calling to be people who walk the way of love, our invitation to live as children of light in a multiethnic church community, how to have healthy households, how to put on our the armor of God, and how we are made alive in Christ. #NewTestament, #Ephesians, #BibleStudy, #Christianity, #BibleCommentary, #ScriptureAnalysis, #Faith, #ReligiousEducation, #Devotional, #ChristianLifestyle, #SpiritualGrowth, #ChristianTeachings, #Church, #EarlyChurch

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About Through the New Testament for Skeptics, Seekers, and Disciples

Through the Bible for Skeptics, Seekers, and Disciples is a great resource for those who are exploring faith, those who are new to faith, those who are wanting to grow, or those wanting to help others you love find faith. Each devotional pulls out the key parts to know and addresses the parts which may be confusing or need more context.

About Dr. Eric Bryant

Eric has been with Gateway Church in Austin since 2011. Currently he serves as the Campus Pastor for Gateway South Austin with Senior Pastor Carlos Ortiz, Jr.. Gateway’s founding pastor is John Burke and is known for their mottos: “no perfect people allowed” and “come as you are.”

From 1998-2010, Eric served as part of the leadership team with Erwin McManus at Mosaic in Los Angeles, a church known for its creativity and diversity. The four years prior to that he helped plant a church in Seattle, WA.

Eric is the author of Not Like Me: Loving, Serving, and Influencing Our Divided World and Fruitful: Becoming Who God Created You To Be. He was a contributing author with Rick Yamamoto for Uprising Experience: A Personal Guide for a Revolution of the Soul by Erwin McManus.

Eric has taught courses at Bethel Seminary and coaches pastors. He is also the founder of Innovative Church Leaders which helps pastors experience and bring renewal.

Eric lives with his wife, Deborah, in South Austin, TX near their young adult children – son Caleb, daughter Trevi, and son-in-law Adrien.


Contact Through the New Testament for Skeptics, Seekers, and Disciples with Dr. Eric Bryant

Mailing Address
3600 Denbar Court
Austin, TX 78739
Telephone
512-574-8689