The first part of this class deals with Paul’s address before Athenian philosophers at Mars Hill. Last time we covered his lengthy speech at Pisidian Antioch to Jews. These speeches show Paul addressing Jewish and then Greek audiences.

We analyze the content of Paul’s message to Greek philosophers which also included the key truth of resurrection of Christ. After the speech in Athens, we now turn to Paul’s address to the Ephesian elders who were called to Miletus to meet him. This will be the longest address to Christians in the book of Acts.

As we analyze these verses, we go into detail to show how Paul characterizes his own previous three years of ministry at Ephesus. Ephesus is a central place in the NT with not only the material in Acts, but also the book of Ephesians as well as Paul’s letters to Timothy who was in Ephesus when they were written to him.

They help us define the church, her leadership, her message, and what is expected to be normative during the church age. We strongly emphasize the necessity of defining the church biblically rather that allowing church history after the death of the apostles to be considered normative.