Ephesians Lesson 1

Ephesians Chapter 1:1-14

Background on the Book:

In the introduction Stott says, “Nobody can emerge from a careful reading of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians with a privatized Gospel.  For Ephesians is the Gospel of the Church.”

This book focuses on how you fit into the Body of Christ.  

John Prine wrote a song that John Denver made popular:
Blow up your tv, throw away your paper
Go to the country and build you a home
Plant a little garden, eat a lotta peaches
Try and find Jesus, on your own

Plenty of people think that seeking Jesus is solely a personal and not corporate practice.  Ephesians shows that John Prine doesn’t necessarily teach sound doctrine and that John Denver didn’t know false doctrine when it was offered to him.  Of course John Prine doesn’t get serious very often anyway but unfortunately people think that the Gospel is of some private interpretation and implementation forget the difficult and sometimes painful issues of how you fit with other members of His Body.

The authorship was not disputed from the first century till the early 1800s.  It was accepted to be Paul since the author says he is Paul (see verse 1).  Paul’s epistles do have somewhat different feels as you move from one to another.  Authors don’t necessarily cookie cutter everything each time.  You can sometimes figure out who wrote what from an analysis of words used and sentence structure.  That works OK but if the author is changing focus and has a large vocabulary and actually fits the message to the audience then it can breakdown.  I think the divine inspiration of Scripture further complicates this process.  Stott quotes Hodge as saying that, “The epistle reveals itself as the work of the Holy Ghost as clearly as the stars declare their maker to be God.”

Stott stresses that Ephesians is intercessory, affirmative, and evangelical.  Paul intercedes for the Ephesians, he affirms their faith, and makes statements about the role of the Church in spreading the Gospel.

The epistle seems less personal than some of Paul’s other epistles so it seems likely that it was meant, from the beginning and even in Paul’s mind, for more than just the Ephesians.  The key persons addressed are gentile Christians and it was probably intended to be circulated among the cities to intercede for, affirm, and encourage them to evangelism.

As a theme we see new life, new society, new standards, and new relationships.  This “new” theme is repeated as we are new creations in Christ.
Ephesians 1:1-2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  

We have the authorship and Paul’s confession that he is an apostle because God made him one.  He didn’t apply for apostle school.  He was simply knocked down, yelled at, and blinded by God who made him into an apostle; an apostle to the gentiles.  

Saints are who we are as Christians.  We are set aside for a particular purpose.  We are sanctified.  The word “faithful” is an interesting word that Stott expounds on.  It seems the author may have intended a blending of “being a believer” and “being faithful” and if so makes it even a richer sentence than it would be otherwise.  Christians are addressed as sanctified and faithful believers.   I don’t feel like I deserve the salutation but I do know God intends for me to receive it.  I think that is how Gideon must have felt when he was hiding to thresh a little grain and the Angel of God said, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”(Judges 6:12).  God has the full perspective and sees the end from the beginning.  Never forget that God’s evaluation is the right one.  Believe Him.  It is a work of Grace (undeserved blessing) in your life and that is why the text continues “Grace” first and then “Peace” from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  The work of God your Father who loves you is being accomplished by the omnipotent power of the Lord Jesus Christ and you CAN BE AND WILL BE sanctified and faithful believers.  That should give you tremendous peace.  

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  

Verses 1 and 2 have got to make you want to worship God, right?, and so Praise to Him who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing through our position in Christ.  I have absolutely no further spiritual needs apart from abiding in the vine.  He has blessed me with every spiritual blessing.  I will never exhaust His provision for me.  He “daily loadeth me with benefits.” Psalm 68:19.  Stott points out that verses 2-14 are one complex long sentence.  What a full sentence.  

Ephesians 1:4-6 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—  to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  

We are naturally sure that we are the ones in control of our salvation experience.  That God made a way and we found it.  Remember the mid 70’s nation wide evangelistic effort in which we put bumper stickers on our car that said “I found it”?  Of course then other bumper stickers showed up such as “I lost it” and “Give it back”.  It is our experience that we chose God and that we found Him through our searching.  However, after our salvation God uses Scripture to instruct and correct us.  He lets us know how desperate our situation was and that He was the one who did the choosing and selecting. Once again I’m old school.  If I spin something with the spin of the last 500 years I hope someone will stop me.  I hope I die standing with the reformation and with the early Baptists cause I think they had it right.  They had a plain reading of Scripture and let it speak for itself.

So what is He saying?  He is saying that He chose me before the world was made and furthermore He decided I would be holy and blameless in His sight.  In love He predestined me to be adopted according to His will and good pleasure.  His will is good through and through.  It is richly good with nothing capricious or happenstance about it.

It is all Grace, sola gratia, feely given to us in the One He loves, sola Christos.  God knows what it felt like when you got saved.  But He exercised His will first and the Holy Spirit moved on you and then you chose.  You get no glory and all the glory goes to God for His marvelous grace.  Your falleness kept you in chains and you would daily chose your chains when daily the Gospel was available until the day He moved.  The reason you got saved and the guy next to you didn’t was not because you listened, or were a better person, or had the right life experiences, or any thing in you.  The reason was God’s Holy Spirit.  He chose you.  The day the Gospel sounded so sweet and true was the day the Holy Spirit made your dead spirit breath.  All Grace all the time with all the glory to God and none to any part of man.  Like Bob Dylan said in the lyrics to the song Saved, “I was blinded by the devil, born already ruined, stone cold dead as I stepped out of the womb”.  I wasn’t born spiritually sick.  I was born spiritually dead.  I didn’t need to be resuscitated.  I needed to be resurrected.  I’m saved by the mercy and grace of God and by His love I’m made secure.

Before He moved I was still responsible for my decisions.  I always chose according to what I wanted but my cold heart was dead.  I think one of the frightening things is to look back as God instructs me and see that my inclination was not to Him.  I remember seeking Him and now He tells me that was the Holy Spirit.  He came to seek and save that which was lost.  I could have and would have lived my life apart from Him, denied him, loved the world and the things in the world.  By His Grace He gave me spiritual life.  

Ephesians 1:7-8 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.  

He redeemed us by paying the price with His blood.  You have forgiveness of your sins because He paid for them in full.  Grace is free but it wasn’t cheap.  He has lavished it on us when we were not lovable.  He also gave us understanding with regard to what is going on in history after saving us by His grace.  Redemption and forgiveness of sins is glorious but He goes on to teach us so much more.  

Ephesians 1:9-10 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

One of the things He teaches us it that He plans to bring all things into submission to Christ.  He lets us know that He intends to bring a harmony to all of creation.  This epistle is written to gentiles and so this comment foreshadows future discussions of how the gentiles are related to, in fact become, children of Abraham and equal in the body of Christ.  There are not first and second class positions.  He has made us one body.

Ephesians 1:11-12 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,  12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  

In him means in Christ and links back to verse 10 as Paul keep praising God for His work and for raising us up for the praise of His glory.  We who were the first refers to the Jews and Paul’s heritage.  So the believing Jews were chosen.

Ephesians 1:13-14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

And you gentiles now were also included because you heard, believed, were sealed with an earnest, until He completes the redemption of His possession to the praise of His glory.  So the believing gentiles were also chosen.  Christ is the one who reconciles us as one body.  So you can wander into a church on the other side of the planet with Zulu Christians and know they are part of your body.  The answer to “why are you” is always repeated, “His will, His glory”

Note that this section of scripture is clearly Trinitarian.  We have God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  

Meditate on the fact that you are God’s possession.  It is naturally to the praise of His glory but think about what it means to be His.  Can anyone take you from Him?  Will you behave as you did before you were redeemed?    You are “for the praise of His Glory”!  That is your answer to, “Why am I?”  Now how are you going to live?