What is the goal of exegesis? Outline a basic “process of exegesis.” Outline and exegete Ephesians 2,1-10.

The goal of exegesis is to bring about the deep understanding of a passage. The task of the exegete then is to study the word of God faithfully, truthfully and historically accurate. We cannot hope to teach, explain, understand or apply Scripture to our lives or anyone else’s if we take this task lightly.

Briefly, the basic process of exegesis is first to orient oneself to the passage studying the historical context of the writer, audience and setting of the passage. Once we have an understanding of the historical context of the world surrounding the passage, then we can take a closer look at the big picture of the passage. This would mean understanding how the specific passage fits into the bigger picture of the book, and corpus of Scripture. Now that we have developed a basic meaning of the passage, it is time to employ the resources of commentaries, secondary sources and prayer to fine tune our understanding for teaching and preaching. Prayer is essential throughout the exegetical process because as this is God’s living word, it will only be by his living spirit that we can hope to gain understanding.

Ephesians 2: 1-10 breaks out into a fairly basic outline. Verses 1-3 are about Paul identifying his audience and himself as objects of God’s wrath, in their sin and disobedience. They sought to fulfill the desires of their human flesh over and above anything else. However, verses 4-9 are the turning point for the Ephesians and Paul, as he reveals the love of God and the grace of Jesus has changed these objects of wrath into kings and queens of the promise, seated with him in heaven. Objects of wrath have become objects of grace, love and honor. Finally, verse 10 completes the passage by now looking forward as to what the Ephesians and Paul were saved for. They have looked at who they were, who they are, and now they are understand their purpose. God saved them, so they could glorify him and bless others in the world as his workmanship. They were saved to do the good works that God had prepared for them and accomplished in and through them, in Christ Jesus.