The story of how Paul came to the city of Ephesus. “Acts chapter 19” Ephesus was a huge city, it was the epicenter of worship for most of the Greek and Roman gods. For over two years, Paul had a really effective missionary presence there, lots of people became followers of Jesus, but years later, after being imprisoned by the Romans, Paul reminds people the gospel story should affect how we live every part of our life story, personally, in our neighborhoods and communities and in our families. Paul praises God the Father, for the amazing things that he has done in Christ Jesus from eternity past, the Father has purposed to choose and bless a covenant people, the family of Abraham. Through Jesus, now anyone can be adopted into that family, Jesus’s death covers our worse sins, our worse failures, in Jesus we find God’s grace, that grace has opened up a whole new way for us to understand every part of our lives. God’s purpose was to unify all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. God’s plan was always to have a huge family of restored human beings who are unified in Jesus Christ. This divine purpose became clear when we were first made into that family, referring to ethnic Jews in the family of Abraham. Non-Jews heard about Jesus and the salvation through him and were also brought into this family by the work of the Holy Spirit, “the book of Acts” about how God’s Spirit brought together Jews and non-Jews into one family in Jesus, it is just like God promised to Abraham long ago.
God the father and Jesus the Son and the Spirit, all three work together as Paul tells the story of the gospel. Paul prays that these followers of Jesus would not just know about, but personally experience the power of the gospel, that they would be energized by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and placed him as the exalted head of the whole world. Paul elaborates on God’s grace and this new multi-ethnic family of Jesus. Paul’s retelling the story of how these non-Jewish Christians came to know Jesus, before hearing about Jesus they were physically alive, but they were spiritually dead, trapped in a purposeless life of selfishness and sin, deceived by dark spiritual forces of evil. But God in his great love and mercy, he saved us and forgave all of our sins and he joined our lives to Jesus’ resurrection life, he brought us back to life. Now, having been created as new human beings through Jesus, we have the joy of discovering all of the new calling and purposes and tasks that God has set before us. Not only have we been shown God’s grace, we have also been invited into a new family. Before hearing about Jesus, non-Jewish people were not just cut off from God, we were cut off from his covenant people, the family of Abraham, and for a really practical reason. The commands of the Sinai covenant formed like a boundary line around the family, like a barrier that kept most non-Jewish people away, but in Jesus, the laws of the Torah have been fulfilled and the barrier is removed, the two ethnic groups have become a new unified humanity that can live together in peace.
Paul marvels at the unique role that he got to have in spreading this good news to non-Jewish people, even though he is in prison, he is thanking God for the chance he has had to see this covenant family grow so huge and that Jesus’ followers would be strengthened by God’s Spirit to simply grasp and comprehend the love that Christ has for his people. Paul’s challenging people to respond to the gospel story by how we live our own life story and everyday life of the church. The church is a big family with lots of different kinds of people, but Paul emphasizes that we are one. We are one body that is unified by one Spirit, we have one Lord with one faith, we have one baptism, we believe in one God. However, unity is not the same thing as uniformity, Jesus’ new family consists of lots of very different kinds of people, but we are all empowered by the one Holy Spirit, each using our unique talents and passions to serve and to love each other, and to build up the church. Building up the church as a new temple and we are all becoming a new humanity with Jesus as the head, challenging every Christian to take off our old humanity like a set of old clothes and to put on our new humanity in which the image of God is being restored.
Instead of lying, new humans speak truth. Instead of harboring anger, we peacefully resolve our conflicts. Instead of stealing, new humans are generous. Instead of gossiping, we encourage people with our words. Instead of getting revenge, new humans forgive. Instead of gratifying every sexual impulse, new humans cultivate self control of our bodily desires. Instead of getting drunk, new humans come under the influence of God’s Spirit. What does that influence looks like, singing together, but also singing alone, the Spirit works in the lives of Jesus’ people in singing and music. The Spirit’s influence is being thankful for everything and the Spirit will compel Jesus’ followers to put themselves underneath others and to elevate others as more important than themselves. In Christian marriage, a wife who follows Jesus, she is called to respect and allow her husband to become responsible for her. The husband is called to love his wife and to use his responsibility to lay down his selfish agenda, to prioritize his wife’s well-being above his own, this kind of marriage is actually reenacting the gospel story. The husband’s actions mimic Jesus and his love and self-sacrifice. The wife’s actions mimic the church, which allows Jesus to love her and to make her new, the same idea applies to children and parents as well as slaves and masters.
The reality of spiritual evil, these are beings and forces that will try to undermine the unity of Jesus’ people and to compromise our new humanity. Paul challenges people to stand firm and to put on a metaphorical set of body armor. Paul has drawn all off these pieces of body armor from the book of Isaiah 11:5; 49:2; 59:17, and how Isaiah depicted the Messianic King. Now as Christ followers, we need to make Christ’s attributes our own, since we make up Jesus’ body, forming habits, proactively using prayer, the scriptures and our relationships with each other to help us grow and mature as followers of Jesus.
God the father and Jesus the Son and the Spirit, all three work together as Paul tells the story of the gospel. Paul prays that these followers of Jesus would not just know about, but personally experience the power of the gospel, that they would be energized by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and placed him as the exalted head of the whole world. Paul elaborates on God’s grace and this new multi-ethnic family of Jesus. Paul’s retelling the story of how these non-Jewish Christians came to know Jesus, before hearing about Jesus they were physically alive, but they were spiritually dead, trapped in a purposeless life of selfishness and sin, deceived by dark spiritual forces of evil. But God in his great love and mercy, he saved us and forgave all of our sins and he joined our lives to Jesus’ resurrection life, he brought us back to life. Now, having been created as new human beings through Jesus, we have the joy of discovering all of the new calling and purposes and tasks that God has set before us. Not only have we been shown God’s grace, we have also been invited into a new family. Before hearing about Jesus, non-Jewish people were not just cut off from God, we were cut off from his covenant people, the family of Abraham, and for a really practical reason. The commands of the Sinai covenant formed like a boundary line around the family, like a barrier that kept most non-Jewish people away, but in Jesus, the laws of the Torah have been fulfilled and the barrier is removed, the two ethnic groups have become a new unified humanity that can live together in peace.
Paul marvels at the unique role that he got to have in spreading this good news to non-Jewish people, even though he is in prison, he is thanking God for the chance he has had to see this covenant family grow so huge and that Jesus’ followers would be strengthened by God’s Spirit to simply grasp and comprehend the love that Christ has for his people. Paul’s challenging people to respond to the gospel story by how we live our own life story and everyday life of the church. The church is a big family with lots of different kinds of people, but Paul emphasizes that we are one. We are one body that is unified by one Spirit, we have one Lord with one faith, we have one baptism, we believe in one God. However, unity is not the same thing as uniformity, Jesus’ new family consists of lots of very different kinds of people, but we are all empowered by the one Holy Spirit, each using our unique talents and passions to serve and to love each other, and to build up the church. Building up the church as a new temple and we are all becoming a new humanity with Jesus as the head, challenging every Christian to take off our old humanity like a set of old clothes and to put on our new humanity in which the image of God is being restored.
Instead of lying, new humans speak truth. Instead of harboring anger, we peacefully resolve our conflicts. Instead of stealing, new humans are generous. Instead of gossiping, we encourage people with our words. Instead of getting revenge, new humans forgive. Instead of gratifying every sexual impulse, new humans cultivate self control of our bodily desires. Instead of getting drunk, new humans come under the influence of God’s Spirit. What does that influence looks like, singing together, but also singing alone, the Spirit works in the lives of Jesus’ people in singing and music. The Spirit’s influence is being thankful for everything and the Spirit will compel Jesus’ followers to put themselves underneath others and to elevate others as more important than themselves. In Christian marriage, a wife who follows Jesus, she is called to respect and allow her husband to become responsible for her. The husband is called to love his wife and to use his responsibility to lay down his selfish agenda, to prioritize his wife’s well-being above his own, this kind of marriage is actually reenacting the gospel story. The husband’s actions mimic Jesus and his love and self-sacrifice. The wife’s actions mimic the church, which allows Jesus to love her and to make her new, the same idea applies to children and parents as well as slaves and masters.
The reality of spiritual evil, these are beings and forces that will try to undermine the unity of Jesus’ people and to compromise our new humanity. Paul challenges people to stand firm and to put on a metaphorical set of body armor. Paul has drawn all off these pieces of body armor from the book of Isaiah 11:5; 49:2; 59:17, and how Isaiah depicted the Messianic King. Now as Christ followers, we need to make Christ’s attributes our own, since we make up Jesus’ body, forming habits, proactively using prayer, the scriptures and our relationships with each other to help us grow and mature as followers of Jesus.
You quoted Scripture throughout most of it (which I loved) and you did a great job of weaving it into the story too (so to speak) 
My one suggestion would be to include all of the Scripture references, as well, so that every reader would 1. know when you are quoting Scripture and 2. know where to find the various verses and passages in the Bible if they want to.